The Imperial African War

* The Imperial African Territories grant independence to the ACN Nations
* The ACN Nations recognise the Imperial African Territories as a Legitimate African Nation

### Also known as

African Crisis of 1982-83, The Liberation War

Combatants| Imperial Forces

* The Imperial African Territories
	+ African National Socialist Party Militia
* The Imperium
* The Italian Empire

* Republic of South Africa
* Namib Empire
* Republic of Mozambique
* Zambia
* Ghanian National State
* Tshuapa
* Kinshasa
* Republic of Bangui
* Republic of Congoa
* Free Malawi

Supported by:

* The Republic of Australia

Commanders| Imperial Forces

* Imperial African Provisional Government (until 27th December)
* Robert Mugabe (from 27th December)
* The Emperor
* Umberto II

* Mobutu Sese Seko

Forces| Imperial Forces

* 1,150,000 Imperial African Soldiers
* 30,000 Imperian Soldiers
* 15,000 Italian Soldiers

Casualties| Imperial Forces

* 125,959 Imperial Africans Killed
* 1,239 Imperians Killed
* 984 Italians Killed

**The Imperial African War** ,also called **The African Crisis of 1982-83** in The Imperium and **The Liberation War** in Southern and Central Africa, was a major conflict on the African Continent. Fought in April 1982 and ending in January 1983, the war was fought by The Imperial African Territories who were backed by The Imperium and The Italian Empire and The African Coalition of Nations.

The War would spark due to the death of the Imperiumist Dictator of the Imperial African Territories, Reinhard Heydrich. Being a former National Socialist (some claimed he still was at the time of his death), his reign of the Imperial African Territories saw a time of divide and violence between African Nationalists and National Socialists who were predominantly German, acting to suppress the African Nationalists. Many claimed Heydrich was a supporter of these Nazi Groups and provided them with weapons and financial aid.

Upon his death, the National Socialist Groups began to lose to the African Nationalists who began attacking Imperial Government Forces, in the ensuing conflict, the National Socialist Militants and the Imperial African Army would band together to fight the Independence Forces.

## History

### Background

The Imperial African Territories itself was formed at a time of rearrangement and this is caused the state to be weakened from the start. It was formed in July 1942 in the wake of The War of Liberation and The Paris Peace Treaty. The Imperium needed to control the vast continent of Africa and all it's diverse cultures and people. Northern Africa was able to be directly administrated by the Imperium and later the Italian Empire. The Lands in South and Central Africa were susceptible to native rebellions and the Free Atlantic State's Invasions. It was decided an Imperial Puppet Government was to be formed in the Southern African Lands to maintain order and control. The Emperor chose Reinhard Heydrich to lead The IAT to pay thanks for his help in the Imperiumist Takeover.

Heydrich was a brutal leader. In his reign from 1942 to 1983, hundreds of thousands of native Africans would die. In the 50s and 60s, the IAT faced a great threat from the West African Communist Rebellion and in response the African National Socialist Party consisting of mainly Germans and Italian Exiles, would form to oppose the WACR and various Native Nationalists. Due to the Imperial Government's reluctance to stop either side led to claims that Heydrich was a Nazi Sympathiser and even the leader of the ANSP. His Nazi Past was a leading factor of this and in Imperia, many called for the Emperor to remove him. But, the IAT held on and defeated the WACR in a brutal series of raids which were supported by the ANSP in 1973.

For the rest of his reign, he would continue to make deals with the ANSP to keep them on side and they had become a large force within the Imperial African Territories. Heydrich had a de-facto alliance with the ANSP and he allegedly gave them permission to crush Native Uprisings in a plan to not use Government Forces. Heydrich implemented a form of segregation in the IAT where they count all citizens as Imperian but with their Native Nationality placed before this e.g. Rwandan-Imperian. Many in the IAT claimed this was a form of segregation as most top Imperial African Leaders are Full Imperian and the Natives had little chance of success.

However, Heydrich would fall incredibly ill in 1982 and would pass away in March 1982 from Lung Cancer. The Imperial African Territories was thrown into disarray as the African Natives began to rearm and prepare an uprising with Heydrich gone and the Imperial African Government in turmoil. The ANSP were rapidly trying to gain more power and also prevent these groups from rearming. But on the 7th of April 1982, Leaders of 11 Secessionist African Nations met in secret in Cape Town and formed the African Coalition of Nations and officially declared war on the Imperial African Territories and the IAT Provisional Government.

### The War

While there was many African Nations who had declared independence, there was still a considerable area still held and loyal to the Imperial African Territories. In the initial days of the conflict whilst the Militias and Secessionist Forces attempted to gain control over their respective regions, the ACN began encouraging the Kenyan, Tanzanian and Rhodesian people to rebel and began to support smaller uprisings, although these would not be successful as the Imperial African Territories was able to clamp down control in these areas. A majority of the Eastern IAT Lands stayed loyal to the IAT.

On the 8th of May, the Republic of Australia announced their support for the ACN and began providing the ACN fighters with small arms and armoured vehicles. The Imperium and the Italian Empire threatened Australia with trade sanctions if they did not rescind their support. The Australians refused and called The Imperium's bluff. Over the course of the war, over 10,000 Australian L1A1s would be sent to the ACN.

As the Western ACN Nations began to solidify their control, the Imperium announced that 20,000 Imperial Soldiers would be deployed to the region to maintain order and the Italian Empire sent 10,000 to support the mission. By June, the ACN Nations had been able to kick the Imperial Forces out of their Land and the IAT had been successful in crushing the small rebellions in loyalist territories. The Two Sides stood locked along the Border stretching across Africa. In July, the ACN launched a campaign against the loyalist territories in West Africa (Liberia, Ivory Coast, Mali and Senegal), the Imperial Forces were forced to abandon West Africa by late August. In response, the Imperial Forces launched an offensive on the main border aimed at crushing the ACN resistance by force.

On the 28th of August, Imperial African Forces would march into Kinshasa but they would be unable to hold it and a battalion of Imperial Africans were trapped in Kinshasa as the ACN Fighters encircled the city on the 1st of September. Further South, the Imperial African and Italian Forces invaded Tanzania and conducted a Naval Invasion threatening Maputo. The Imperial Forces were suffering high casualties for every push they made. On the 5th of September, Imperial African Soldiers in the Congo attempted to break out the trapped Battalion in Kinshasa who were fully surrounded and being massacred. However, it would not be until the 11th of September until the relief column could break through. By that point, the Battalion had been reduced from 900 soldiers to 125. The Relief force was then pushed back in a major ACN offensive across the front ,which while costing heavy losses, forced the Imperial Forces out of the ACN Nations. The ACN was winning.

In November, there would be major Loyalist uprisings across Western Africa which was occupied by the ACN. The Imperium would support these uprisings and moved in forces from North Africa to help kick out the ACN. By December, this was achieved. The war had come to a ceasefire and a large loss of life was for nothing. On the 19th of December, the African Nazi Militia massacred 2,000 - 4,000 African Civilians in Kampala who were apart of nationalities of the ACN. This would cause the Imperial Government to briefly turn on their ANSP allies and they conducted a purge of ANSP Leaders in Kampala, although many Imperial African Officers refused to carry out the orders. The Imperium would mediate a Christmas Truce from the 24th to the 31st. This truce was respected by both sides. During this time, a new IAT Government under the Zimbabwean Robert Mugabe would take power on the 27th. The Mugabe Government negotiated a new alliance with the ANSP.

On the 1st of January 1983, the day fighting was supposed to resume, no fighting would occur. However on the 2nd, a terrorist attack by ANSP militants caused the deaths of 654 South African Civilians. The Mugabe Government showed support for the attack and he praised it. It was at this point the Imperium and Italian Empire withdrew support. On the 3rd, they threatened Mugabe with an ultimatum, he was to end the war by the 10th of January in either a ceasefire or military victory or the Imperial and Italian Armies would invade and bring an end to the war.

Following this, Mugabe ordered a full frontal offensive on the 4th which failed within hours and over 16,000 Soldiers would be killed. The ACN Leaders would offer Mugabe a second ceasefire at the end of the offensive on the morning of the 5th and Mugabe was pressured to accept. The Two sides would come to a peace deal and it would be formalised on the 6th. The Treaty established the independence of the ACN Nations and the ACN Nations had to recognise the Imperial African Territories as a Legitimate African Nation ,meaning they couldn't spark or support any African Nationalist Uprisings in the IAT.

## Aftermath

Although the war was a ceasefire, it was more or less as loss for the Imperial African Territories. The IAT was already barely functioning before the war with an economy in ruins. The war sent the nation into collapse. The IAT was too weak to even prevent the ANSP from gaining more power, to the point where the ANSP would commit a second massacre of Africans ,whose nations had seceded, in Kampala. Robert Mugabe was a tyrant and actively opposing any reform. The country fell into violence and chaos but Mugabe maintained control with a large amount of Imperium support. Imperial Soldiers would stay in the remaining IAT controlled lands until 1998.

The war set the IAT on the path for collapse. The Nation was divided in half with the Western IAT being largely lawless. The IAT military was crippled in the war and hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed. Rwandan General Asafa Soyinka was outraged at how the war was handled and became disillusioned with the IAT as a state. Soyinka began preparing a coup but the nation would collapse in 1999 after a complete Imperial withdrawal from Africa. The Ugandische Reich under the now National Socialist Robert Mugabe took it's place as several states finally seceded. Soyinka was forced to flee to Kinshasa , becoming a General in the Kinshasan Army and vowing to liberate Rwanda from the Ugandan Oppressors led by Robert Mugabe.

For the ACN Nations, they stayed united after the victory and became a source of stability in Africa. The Alliance is full of democratic nations and functioning states in comparison to the North African Climate of Fascists, Dictators and Socialists. They cooperated and quickly rebuilt the destroyed lands of Southern Africa together, allowing them to gain an economic advantage over their Imperial African Rivals. Although they lost substantial numbers of soldiers, they came out on top in the end.