Kirschite-Commonwealth War

Tomad

The **Kirschite-Commonwealth War**, known by many in the Commonwealth of America as **the Great Patriotic War**, was a brother war declared by the Principality of Kirsch on the Commonwealth of America. Despite being on the offensive and having the most elite force on the server, Tomad, the Commonwealth was able to defeat Kirsch, causing the Kirschite leader, Cambrian\_ to leave the server. Many American cities like Chicago, Sherman, and Lafayette were damaged in the war, though the nation was fully repaired within a week.

### Causes of the War

The causes of the war are still debated by many different parties with varying perspectives, mainly the argument is between Europeans, Americans, and ex-Kirschites. It is definite that the war was started over personal out-of-game issues that Cambrian\_ had with Sikorskiii, due to a personal revelation to Cambrian\_ about the nature of their friendship, spurred on by the Commonwealth's sudden change in diplomacy, which favored nations such as Zuiderland and France over allies like Kirsch. The breaking point was when the fall of the Duchy of Neue Land, a Kirsch puppet state that spanned from England to Italy. German and Batavian separatists appealed to the Commonwealth for support in independence, and was only given verbal support. Upon the Republic of Batavia and the Federal Republic of Germany's declaration of independence, Kirsch began to plot war against the Commonwealth. Other suggested reasons for the declaration of war had to do with Cambrian\_'s disdain for new players and advertising the server, of which Commonwealth players like bonito\_pibb and Sikorskiii were large proponents. Some also suggest the war was started to prevent Kirsch from falling into irrelevancy, as Cambrian\_ himself state that he was going to annex the entirety of the Commonwealth if he had won.

### Prelude to the War

Ever since the fall of Neue Land, Commonwealth leadership had suspected that Kirsch would strike back at the Commonwealth. In the land-claims chat, Tomad and PurpleHeart had renounced their Iberian citizenship and instead joined Kirsch. This didn't immediately worry Commonwealth leadership, as previous conversation with Tomad indicated that he would stay neutral if a war occurred. It was later revealed that Tomad was unaware of Kirsch's hatred towards Neuschwabenland, a former Iberian ally. Had it been known, the war might have ended much earlier. In Kirsch, Cambrian\_ was dissatisfied with the state of the server, particularly with the moderation and with his diplomatic standing, having lost Tomad and the other Iberians as his strongest allies. After several days of trying to convince him to help in a war against the Commonwealth, Tomad and PurpleHeart\_ agreed to help Kirsch. Just before the war, lordship over the Duchy of Rubicon and Avon was given to the Caribbean, but were almost immediately released to maintain the Caribbean's neutrality, ironically the reason that Kirsch entrusted their vassals to them in the first place.

### The Battle of Chicago

The Battle of Chicago is regarded as the largest battle in the server's history, involving up to fifteen different players at once. It is also likely the longest lasting battle in the server's history, with fighting occurring in the city, suburbs, and countryside for the near entirety of the war. Since Cambrian\_'s personal issues with Sikorskiii were the prevailing cause for war, Chicago was the first city to be attacked. Kirsch forces had gathered North of the city before the declaration, and immediately once the war began flew in and started to destroy the city. Within 20 minutes, the city of Chicago and it's relatively massive population had mobilized its forces, and was able to prevent Cambrian\_ from causing more destruction. Sikorskiii immediately engaged in battle with Tomad and other Kirschite forces in the Chicago Commons, though the battle quickly devolved as the Kirschites were pushed into Lake Michigan. Kirschite forces had retreated from Chicago for the time being. After redirecting their effort towards Revere, another attack was launched on Chicago by Kirschite forces, but fighting once bogged down again as the much more numerous Chicagoan forces pushed the Kirschites out to Lake Michigan. On the third attempt to take the city, Kirschite forces were able to sack Trinity Church, however they were once again pushed out, this time to the Remington Village section of South Chicago. Using ender pearls, the Kirschite forces were able to evade death, and instead turned south to Lafayette. The fourth and last Kirschite attack on Chicago would occur right before the war's end, as their forces were desperate for a victory. After going around and setting fire to several suburbs like Muskegon, Hoffaton, and Pawnee, they tried to take the city from the air. Attempts to bomb Tammany Hall to ruin ended up in failure, and Kirschite forces were forced to stick to the air as they could not land in the city. After crashing down in the Chicago River, Cambrian almost died before tridenting off, and for Kirsch to be disbanded.

### Commonwealth Victory and Aftermath

The loss of the war caused Kirsch to be disbanded, its colonies freed, and its land temporarily sold off. The Kirschite leader, Cambrian, left the server as a result of the loss (as well as due to previously stated personal issues with staff members). The Commonwealth came out of the war as the largest nation on the server, and as the world's biggest power. Despite this, the Commonwealth would take a neutral foreign policy, which would generally serve it well and allowed it to retain it's top spot for the rest of the server's lifespan.