The Oil Wars

**The Oil Wars** were a collection of conflicts fought between the Lady Republic of Therica, Democratic Republic of Teaufortria, Republic of Waxwaerlia, and Erphan Caliphate of Ka'liqhistan from 6e12 to 6e22. The collective conflicts were only referred to as the Oil Wars after the fact; The Coalition-Waxwaerlian conflicts from 6e12 to 6e18 and the Ka'liqh-Therican conflict from 6e18 to 6e22 were, at the time, considered separate conflicts.

## Background

The Coalition-Waxwaerlian conflict, though having started officially in 6e12, had been brewing since the turn of the 6th Era. After the Economic Crash of 6e10 created an extreme strain on the Benthic cod oil industry, the governments of Waxwaerlia, Therica, Graecia, and Teaufortria, whose industrial economies relied heavily on the industry, began exploring alternative sources of oil for domestic consumption and sale.

Therica quickly discovered the existence of fossil fuels in the deserts of the Middle Country, prompting Waxwaerlia, a long-time economic adversary, to follow suit and find their own source of fossil fuels. The lack of desert or any seismic data showing large oil pockets anywhere in the country prompted the Waxwaerlian government to look elsewhere, namely the A'liqh desert in Ka'liqhistan. They approached the militantly isolationist Erphan Caliphate with numerous, increasingly desperate offers to drill in the desert from 6e11 to 6e12. The Ka'liqh refused on religious grounds, saying it would go against Ja'hiri scripture to allow a foreign agency to profit off of their land.

Therica, having taken a noticing to Waxwaerlia's advances on the Ka'liqh desert and not wanting their enemy to get ahead in the economic race of the time, reached out to other Benthic countries- Graecia and Teaufortria- in an effort to establish a coalition to deter Waxwaerlia from moving to a war footing with Ka'liqhistan. The Therican public, however, wanted a war with Waxwaerlia. This sentiment came in the wake of the assassination of Caesaress Celinda Waxwiller and attempted assassination of Caesar John Waxwiller XVI, as well as the bombing of the TCS *Randwell*, both in 6e10, having been claimed by pro-Waxwaerlian insurgents.

The Eastern Coalition was formed in 6e12, a precursor to the Worldwide Alliance of Nations, as a way to deter Waxwaerlian aggression. It, however, did little to halt the already-mobilizing Waxwaerlian military, and the Waxwaerlian government who declared that a war was necessary to the survival of the country.

## Outbreak

### The Battle of the Ka'har

In the Dawn Season of 6e12, The Waxwaerlian High Command launched a surprise attack on the Southeast A'liqh desert, in the *Ka'har* region. The *Exercitu Turba* seized the oil fields that they coveted quickly, and took control of the region by the end of 6e12. The additional infrastructure allowed their army to grow extremely quickly, and all early counter-attacks by Ka'liqh forces failed to recapture the region.

No major conflicts followed this for several shifts, until the Waxwaerlian forces began moving quickly towards the Ka'lhir Cradle- the fertile Andrean coastline of Ka'liqhistan where the Capital and most major cities in the country lay.

### The Battle of the Ka'lhir Cradle

Despite the Ka'liqh's best efforts, the Waxwaerlian military took city after city until they were at the Ka'liqh capital, Bazar Alkabir. The Ka'liqh Caliphate issued an order to their people to remain in the city, and "defend (it) to the last soul".