Mogidar Affair

The Mogidar Affair was a conflict between **Grienzland** and the **Gallian Republic** that took place in 1911 as a result of the latter's invasion of the country of **Marrakosh**. It nearly lead to war, but was averted at the last moment. However, this incident proved to both sides that war was inevitable and the increased tensions caused the Major Powers of **Uropa** to begin accelerating preparations for the conflict to come.

## Historical Background

### The First Marrakoshi Clash

Prior to 1908, Marrakosh was ruled by an Alqarfic Sultan named Abdassan. In 1905, a pirate lord in the country was involved in a kidnapping plot, wherein they attempted to ransom a Hispalian citizen and his half-Brettish son. This lead to Abdassan requesting assistance from the international community, condemning the bandit group and calling for their destruction. Gallian soldiers from Gallian East Ifrania marched into the region and killed locals and bandits alike, retrieving the hostage and demanding reparations for expenses and casualties from Abdassan for their troubles.

The following year, Abdassan made a request of Grienzland to help assure his authority in the region. He feared the growing boldness of the Gallian Republic, and sought help in ridding his countryside of rebel groups waiting for the spark to begin open revolt against their leader. Grienzen Emperor Albert III arrived in person in Marrakosh and brought with him a division of soldiers ready to help the local Marrakoshi troops to take the fight to the rebels. But as soon as this occurred, the Gallian Republic threatened to declare war on Grienzland, proclaiming that they were attempting to conquer the region. This was to cover for the fact that the rebels were being backed by Gallian forces, trained by Gallian advisors and equipped with weapons from Gallian East Ifrania.

In order to avoid a war, Emperor Albert III convened a conference with the Great Powers of Uropa, expecting calm heads to prevail and to find help in talking the Gallian Republic down. But instead, every other Great Power sided with Gallia against Grienzland, backing their intentions to escalate the clash to an active war. Shocked by this hostility, Emperor Albert III backed down, agreeing to withdraw his soldiers and abandon Sultan Abdassan to stand alone against the rebels and pirates.

### Patricide and Brother War

In 1908, Sultan Abdassan was killed by his two sons in a bloody coup to wrest control of the country for themselves. It is suspected that they did so at the behest of agents from the Gallian Republic, though this has never been proven. Regardless, within one year the two brothers were at each others' throats, with younger brother Abdelassin garnering the loyalty of the Marrakoshi military in the coastal cities, and the older brother Abdelmawlay seeking the support of the **Alhamqaa** fanatics and rebels in the inland desert regions. Gallia saw Abdelmawlay as being open to their influence as many of his new warriors were already working with Gallian troops from Gallian East Ifrania. They continued to send his forces weapons and supplies from the south, along with promises of more support if he should agree to make Marrakosh a colony of Gallia upon his victory over his brother.

The arming of Abdelmawlay's guerillas threatened private economic development of the region, as Grienzen citizens were in the process of setting up mines and railway lines from the mountains to the coastal ports. These workers came under attack by the rebels and requested official government support of the Fatherland, and this lead to another conference in 1909, this time between only Grienzland and Gallia. At this meeting, diplomats from both countries signed an accord wherein Grienzland recognized Gallia's claim over Marrakosh's commerce, and in turn Gallia assured it would not interfere with Grienzen economic activity within the country. But when Gallia continued to arm and equip the rebels, it became clear that they did not intend to stick by their end of the agreement.

### Gallian Invasion of Marrakosh

Abdelmawlay waged his guerilla war against his younger brother until 1911, when he finally agreed to the Gallian Republic's offer to help him overthrow the government of Marrakosh and install him as a puppet ruler, subservient to Gallia. As soon as he accepted, 12,000 Gallian soldiers landed in Marrakosh in a naval invasion and linked up with the Alhamqaa rebels to fight the government's disarrayed army. The Marrakoshi military swiftly fell before the combined Gallian expeditionary force and Abdelmawlay's guerillas, and it was clear that Marrakosh would come under the dominion of Gallia.

This naturally posed a severe risk to the many **Fey Cats** who lived in the region as the Gallians were expected to impose the **Ascendancy of Man's** goal of "Pseudo-Human" eradication. What's more, the Gallian Republic's explicit Wolf Persecution Laws put the private mining company expedition consisting of Grienzen citizens in jeopardy, as it included a man named Heinrich Wilhelm, a **Wolfen** prospector and engineer. Despite the hardship inflicted by the guerilla raids, work had progressed on developing the mines in the mountains of Marrakosh, and as such he was unable to reach the coast to escape back to Grienzland before the Gallian conquest had been completed.

## Grienzen Intervention

In an effort to protect its citizenry, the Grienzen navy dispatched the IGS *Puma*, a gunboat from the Ifranian Colonial Defense Squadron, to the port city of Mogidar. The *Puma* had a decade-long, celebrated history of intercepting and defeating pirates both in the water and at various harbors. As it was in the area, the *Puma* docked at the harbor town of Mogidar before Wilhelm and his team had begun the three day trek from the mining office to the coast. This expedience was mocked by international press as jumping the gun on Grienzland's part and condemned as warmongering by diplomats from **Grand Breteyne**.

Aware of the substantial threat that would face Wilhelm on his way north toward the harbor town, the *Puma*'s captain ordered the two squads of Imperial Marines to protect the area around the docked ship in preparation for his arrival. However, when they tried to disembark, they came under fire by Gallian soldiers, leading to a ten hour siege of the ship. The Gallian embassy refused to respond to calls from the captain of the gunboat with anything more than confirmations that they wanted to come to a peaceful agreement. Eventually a fire broke out on the deck of the gunboat, believe to have been started by thrown firebombs. In response, the deck machine-gunners opened fire on the gathered mob of aggressive Marrakeshi rabble throwing rocks and shouting threats.

This successfully ended the siege and caused the Gallians to call for a ceasefire. But not long after, the Gallian ambassador to Grienzland threatened that continued military intervention in Mogidar would lead to war. Grand Breteyne backed Gallia's posture with the goal of quashing Grienzen influence in Ifrania. This came even as the IG Heavy Cruiser *Buchou* steamed into Mogidar and fired upon a local Marrokeshi vessel attempting to sneak up on the *Puma*, causing the pirate boat to capsize. The *Buchou* then engaged in a standoff with a Grand Breteyne warship, HM Armored Cruiser *Persephone* arriving from the north.

## Outcome

The situation seemed certain to escalate to war, but Grienzen Emperor Albert III personally contacted Ambassador Albert von Kochterlen in Paree with orders to come to a peaceful compromise. Emperor Albert III wanted to demonstrate that he was a reasonable leader who could negotiate with his Gallian counterpart as equals rather than as a contentious agitator seeking to set the continent aflame with a terrible war. Appealing to economic progress and reconciliation, von Kochterlen successfully brokered a deal that appeased both sides.

The Gallian Republic agreed to grant all Grienzen citizens in Marrakosh as well as allowing any willing Fey Cats in the region to immediately abandon their property within the country and emigrate. Additionally, Gallia gave the as yet undeveloped region of Southern Kamenda to the Grienzen colony of **Kamenda**, expanding its borders with additional land to grow its agricultural area.

In turn, Grienzland agreed to recognize the Gallian claim on Marrakosh and abandoned all economic activity and investment in the region. All mining equipment and completed infrastructure were abandoned without recompense, requiring the Grienzen government to reimburse its divested citizens from profits made by selling property in South Kamenda.

Despite the peaceful resolution to the conflict, the closeness both sides came to war proved a harbinger of things to come. From 1911 on it became clear that Uropa could not avoid a war for much longer. Grienzland grew more distrustful of the Gallian Republic than ever, had demonstrated its willingness to break agreements without notice and military prevent attempts to mitigate the repercussions of having done so.

Grand Breteyne took a decidedly negative stance on Grienzland's actions during the Mogidar Affair. Every minute detail of the efforts to resolve the crisis came under fire by Brettish government officials and the Commonwealth's press, painting Grienzland as a buffoonish, slavering barbarian, stomping about wildly with the misguided intention to start a fight as quickly as possible.

## Other Names

In Grienzland, this event is referred to as the *Puma's* Pounce, referring to the speedy arrival of the IGS *Puma* on the scene. The swift response of the *Puma* and brave defense of the ship by the Imperial Marines became a heroic story popular among the Grienzen people.

In the Gallian Republic, the incident is called the Second Marrakoshi Clash, with the First Marrakoshi Clash being the Grienzen attempt to back the late Sultan Abdassan in 1906. The common perspective on the two Marrakoshi Clashes is a narrative of Grienzland's disrespectful warmongering as it repeatedly refused to honor Gallia's rightful claim to the region.