Karl Josef Nachtegaal

**Karl Josef Nachtegaal** was an Astaravan military officer in the service of the Kanorian Empire. He served as the commander of the 6th Corps of the Imperial Kanorian Army from 1955 onward. In this capacity, he served in the Upper Basin War against Valeron, earning many decorations and awards in the process. Nachtegaal was a prodigal and innovative commander, which was partially attributed to his relative youth compared to other Kanorian generals.

He was awarded the princedom of his hometown, Kamst, in 1955.

He was a friend of fellow general-prince Adrien Menger, the son of renowned Field Marshal Clemens Menger.

## Biography

### Early life

Karl Josef Nachtegaal was the only lowborn general of the Imperial Kanorian Army with the exception of IKGC commanding general Laurence Bucca. He was born to Franz August and Lynesia Nachtegaal in 1926, on the outskirts of Kamst, then part of the Kingdom of Astavara. His parents were masterful musicians in their own right, and were arguably the most famous artisans in Central Helinska in the 1920s. During the partition of Astavara, Franz August was repeatedly denied royal military commissions due to his low birth, in spite of fame and talent. This bred feelings of resentment which led him to stress the importance of military affairs to his children, especially his eldest son, Karl.

### Military career

#### Kanorian Confederation

When Karl came of age, his father sent him to military academies in the Kanorian Confederation, whose petty prince-regents desired the prestige associated with the Nachtegaal name. Karl became a prodigy on the subject of war, surpassing his noble-born peers with ease. He served the Prince of Mannemsberg as commander of the Duke Adrien von Mannemsberg Infantry from 1946-48, becoming a Colonel of the Kanorian Confederation (*konföderationoberst*) in 1947. He was especially involved in the recruitment of ethnic Astavarans who emigrated to the Confederation from the territories of the communist Astavaran government. He and his regiment were called up during the *Tarnkrieg* of 1950 and the annexation of Vennau by the Republic of Kanoria in 1954.

#### Kanorian Empire

He accepted the rank of General Officer in 1954 following the establishment of the Kanorian Empire and annexation of communist Astavara. He was given command of the 6th Corps, which contained regiments from the newly-formed Estevera Province, along with most other provinces of Imperial Kanoria.

Nachtegaal participated in the Upper Basin War in 1955. His 6th Corps achieved fantastic success against the armies of Valeron on multiple occasions, including against a superior force at the Battle of Rabwitz. He was highly decorated for his conduct and was ennobled as the "Prince of Kamst" at the personal request of Emperor Osea I.

He was called up to fight against the Freylan-Balvalan invasion of Kanoria in 1955 as part of the War of the End-Times. He heavily engaged the forces of the Rygard Pact in the Ashenstein Province and the Northern Province, fighting them to a stalemate, before swinging southward to crush the rebellious nobility in the Defiance of the Princes. While he was away, Field Marshal von Pfeiffer surrendered his entire 5th Corps to the Balvalan Army, preventing him from marching east to reinforce Clemens Menger's struggling army in the Laron Province. Nachtegaal became bogged down fighting the Balvalans and Valeronian resistance movement simultaneously, unable to inflict a decisive blow against his opponents.

When Kanoria secretly agreed to withdraw from the Fulcrum, the Balvalan and Freylan forces began to withdraw, and Nachtegaal was able to suppress the Valeronian partisans more effectively. However, he soon came under attack when the vengeful Fulcrum invaded Kanoria from all sides. He repulsed landings in Ashenstein, but could not prevent the Fulcrumites from establishing the Fulcrum-Republic of Valeris to the west. This crushing invasion led to a split at the highest levels of Kanorian society, with the Felrin Province declaring independence through a revolution.

Like most of the military elite, Nachtegaal chose to support Emperor Osea I in the Kanorian Fraternal War. Rather than send his 6th Corps to attack troops of the Felrin Republic, he marched west. The Fulcrum was preparing invasions of Kanoria in order to cut their way to Düllsberg and topple the Emperor, leaving the Felrin Republic as the only remaining Kanorian state in Central Helinska. These invasions ultimately came through Valeris and Motezor and caused Kanoria to join the Rygard Pact. Nachtegaal fought them alongside his good friend General Adrien Menger of the 4th Corps. He was noted for the loyalty of his regiments; despite having two from the Felrin Province (around which the secessionist, pro-Fulcrum, Felrin Republic was situated), he reported no defections. Some important battles were fought in Nachtegaal's home region of Estevara Province, especially the Battle of Hakkenhaar, which came to be known as his greatest victory and earned him the commission of Field Marshal.

Thanks to the work of Nachtegaal, the Fulcrum was unable to overthrow the Kanorian Empire. After the Felrin Republic was dissolved, Emperor Osea I offered peace terms to the Fulcrum, which reluctantly accepted the loss of their satellite in Felrin because they knew they could not afford to fight wars in Central and Eastern Helinska simultaneously. The peace treaty stipulated that Kanoria had to withdraw from the Rygard Pact, which it duly did, reasserting its neutrality.

Republican Field Marshal Albert Stadion resigned after the Fraternal War, and was replaced as commander of the 2nd Corps by Adrien Menger. Nachtegaal was offered the 4th Corps, Menger's prior command, but declined, choosing to stay with the 6th.

Nachtegaal married Isabel Zarina of the House of Mannemsberg in 1956.

In 1957, the Kanorian Empire declared war on the Fulcrum and rejoined the Rygard Pact in response to the revelation of Project: Permanence. Field Marshal Nachtegaal provided supporting elements during the invasion of the Fulcrum-Republic of Valeris. He and his 6th Corps also participated in the Kanorian landings in Motezor during the liberation of Gresia and won some minor victories there. After the landings, other Kanorian Corps-level armies were shipped back to the homeland, with Nachtegaal representing the sole Kanorian contribution to the Johninian campaign.

When the war finally came to an end, Nachtegaal and his 6th Corps returned to garrison at Floris in Estevera Province.

They continued to fight the Valeronian resistance movement and kept it weak.

Nachtegaal attended the funeral of Field Marshal Clemens Menger in 1969 and Emperor Osea I in 1972. He attended the Imperial Conference of 1972, where he was a staunch supporter of Osea II. He was gravely disappointed by the referendum that created the Bundersrepublik Ionien out of Kanoria's southern provinces, and later fell into a state of rage and depression when word reached him that independent Valeronian and Astavaran states would be reestablished (FR Valeron and West Astavara respectively). When the Conference drew up the borders for the continued Kanorian Empire, Nachtegaal successfully advocated for the inclusion of Estevara Province and parts of Ashenstein. However, he was disappointed by the loss of the Laron Province (Republic of Laronia) and the decision to eventually grant independence to the Imperial Island Territories.

Nachtegaal became the Imperial Commissioner for Military History in 1978, personally appointed by Emperor Osea II. He promoted good relations between the Kanorian Empire and Federal Republic of Ionia, and supported measures of political and economic integration between them.

When his friend Adrien Menger died in 1982, he was offered command of the 1st Corps and *de facto* supreme commandership of the entire Kanorian military, but he declined. He said in a statement that he wanted to put active army life behind him and devote himself to the study of the martial sciences.

However, someone had not forgotten about his past: a former Valeronian partisan named Janos Meander whose village had been burned by Kanorian troops in 1956. He attacked Nachtegaal with a machete at his home in Kamst in 1983, severely disfiguring him, as well as leaving him mute. Nachtegaal threw his own blood in Meander's eyes, blinding the man. This allowed the severely wounded Kanorian general to kill his assailant. He was transferred to a medical facility in Hakkenhaar, and later moved to Lasalza for intensive treatment. He had recovered from his physical wounds by 1985, but remained disfigured and scarred, especially around his upper body. Unable to speak, he devoted himself exclusively to historical work and communicated by writing his thoughts on paper. He chronicled the military and political history of Kanoria, as well as its predecessor states, the Ionian Rebel Alliance and Despotate of Ionia. He met Cyran Virwenys on several occasions.

When the Laronian Regime of 1991-92 threatened to attack Fish Island, Emperor Osea II issued a guarantee on the independence of the Fish Islanders. This prompted a Laronian invasion of northeastern Kanoria (Düllsberg Province). The scarred, aging Nachtegaal agreed to take command of the 2nd Corps and help repulse the invasion, communicating his regimental orders entirely by handwritten notes. His continued skill quickly made itself apparent on the battlefield. Nachtegaal put the Laronian invasion force to flight in a matter of nine days. He retained his commission for one year, but during that time returned to his usual historical work.

### Later life

His wife, Isabel Zarina, died in 1996.

In 2002, Nachtegaal became the last living Kanorian Field Marshal who served the "Old Empire", when Walter Alberst died.

He wrote 33 books on Central Helinskan history from 1979 to 2003.

He attended the funeral of Osea II and coronation of Osea III in 2004. He was the subject of much gossip, as he had developed an immense reputation. He died later that year, survived by his son Hubrecht Sandro and daughter Vera Marta.