Conquest of Africa

The **Second Bovido-Libirachi War**, more commonly known as the **Conquest of Africa** and as the **Great Crusade** within the Bovido Imperium, was a military scramble for control over the African continent which was largely fought between the Bovido Imperium and the forces of the United Front Allies, which would later become the Shanghai Pact in 2035. The war saw the Bovido Imperium attempt to build a new empire across the north of the continent, whilst the United Arab Republic and the Federation of Ducist attempted to resist the Bovido armies, with the military power of the Libirachi Empire backing up the regimes, directly with Ducist and indirectly through Persia for the UAR, making the war the first major world conflict in the aftermath of the Libirachi Civil War and the Has Wars, the latter of which was fought between the Libirachi and Bovido armies which would come to loggerheads once again over a decade late.

Following the merger of Bovido Has and ST Joseph's Devotees into the Bovido Imperium in 2030, the new state began to aggressively assert its power in the Arabian peninsula and in South America, making blatantly clear of it's intention to eradicate Islamic nations in their entirety, leading to the formation of the United Arab Republic in 2031 as the remaining nations banded together for stability. Likewise, the Federation of Ducist had in turn began to look outwards again, eager to expand it's boarders under the dictatorship of Cyril Ramaphosa and with the support of the Libirachi Empire had expanded into neighbouring nations, more than doubling the size of the federation within the space of the first 5 years of his regime and bringing Cameroon into the federation as a willing member state in 2032. Having prepared extensively for conquest, the Bovido Imperium under the leadership of Imperator Anton Ujung and the Bovid Prime Minister of North Africa, High Admiral Tokyo Bovido, launched an invasion of the Islamic Emirate of Egypt, controlled by the Egyptian Islamic Brotherhood which had evaded Bovido control despite the main cities of the country having been controlled since prior to the Has Wars. With the attack on it's ally, the United Arab Republic launched a strategic counter-offence into the Nile region of Egypt, managing to get as far as Cairo before the Bovido military, the Maximo Exercitus Imperium, pushed them back to the Sahara desert in the regions of former Libya, now firmly in UAR control.

Now that the Bovido Imperium had begun to conduct open warfare against the United Arab Republic, the Libirachi Empire began to assemble a coalition of forces against the Imperium, coercing the Persian Republic to join it in declaring war upon Imperator Ujung's regime. As a result, the Bovido regime conducted a Raid on Nupersia to try to knock Persia out of the war, but only succeeded in earning them a retaliatory attack on Christmas day, which devastated much of the Bovido Imperial digital infrastructure and resulted in the Bovido Imperium refusing to conduct a full out assault on Persia and the Libirachi Empire, instead continuing war with the UAR. In the aftermath of the joint Persian-Libirachi retaliation, the Bovido Imperium launched an invasion of the western seaboard of the United Arab Republic, causing immense damage to the Arab armed forces and gradually clawing away at the UAR's dominance of North Africa. In November 2034, the state of Morocco seceded from the republic, instead attempting to pursue it's own peace treaty before being annexed by the Imperium. At the same time, Imperium naval forces managed to secure dominance in the Strait of Gibraltar and secured their control over the Mediterranean sea, hindering the Arab Republic's trade links and damaging the trade potential of Libirachi allies like Isgardia and Loxenia in the process.

By 2035, many of the nations involved in the conflict had began to fall into political instability, with an attempted coup d'état in the Persian Republic only fuelling the ongoing political crisis as President Geena Kulmuni refused to hold elections, although by November 2035 she reluctantly left office and took up the title of General Secretary of the Shanghai Pact, whilst prime minister Hassen Ahmed took over the presidency. Elsewhere, in the North African Federation conflict between federalists and extremist Christians resulted in a wave of coups d'état which overthrew regional governments, allowing Jean Bagasauo to plant himself as the leader of the nation, propped up by Bovido Imperium security forces led by High Admiral Torrent Koon. Meanwhile, the Bovido Imperium became further driven to eradicate the United Arab Republic, resulting in the Decimation of Tunis, which in turn shattered Bovido confidence in their leadership and allowed Cardinal Julios Cragen to overthrow Anton Ujung in a coup d'état in January 2036; with the change of regime in the Imperium, a peace process with the Libirachi Empire was opened as the Shanghai pact continued it's invasion of Jerusalem State.

In April 2036, a peace accord between the Shanghai Pact and the Bovido Imperium was signed with the aim of ending the conflict; ironically however, the Treaty of Beijing further pushed the Bovido Imperium into militantism as the Bovido political establishment cannibalised itself over divisions over the agreement. In June 2036, Bovido High Admiral Torrent Koon defected from the imperium and established a military regime in the North African Federation, forcing Imperator Julios Cragen to renege on the pledges of the treaty; under Koon, the NAF launched an invasion of the Bovido Imperium, whilst the Shanghai Pact renewed their assault on Jerusalem State. In an act of desperateness, the Bovido Imperium launched an attack on the United States of America in January 2037 as part of an attempt to keep them out of the conflict, but instead allowed the USA to invoke Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's treaty, bringing further allied forces against the Imperium.

With the aid of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the Shanghai Pact inflicted several embarrassing defeats upon the Bovido Imperium, and successfully seized control of Jerusalem State during the latter half of 2037. Alongside the Bovido Imperium's military struggles, its ally the North African Federation suffered from internal strife and collapsed in August 2037 following a brief civil war. In October 2037, the Shanghai Pact and NATO launched a joint operation to liberate northern Africa from the Bovido Imperium and simultaneously diverted Bovido armed battalions away from Jerusalem, allowing the Shanghai Pact to encircle the city of Jerusalem. With Imperator Julios Cragen trapped in the city of Jerusalem, the Grand Council of the Bovido Imperium deposed Cragen in March 2038 and appointed Nicholas Azure as imperator; however, with the Bovido Imperium effectively crumbling by the summer of 2038, Azure was forced into peace negotiations after several key defeats in northern Africa, including the loss of Egypt and Libya.

## Name

The multi-year conflict has been known by many different names from different figures; most scholars of Libirachi and Bovido history refer to the event as the **Second Bovido-Libirachi War**, following the first war in 2020-22, and view the conflict as the final culmination of the centuries long rivalry between the Libirachi state and the clerical devotees of the Bovido faith. Within the Bovido Imperium, propaganda and government documents referred to the conflict as the **Great Crusade** or the **Final Crusade**, in reference to the ideological desire to eradicate Islamic beliefs in the regions surrounding the "holy lands" of the levant.

Africanist historians refer to the conflict as the **Conquest of Africa** or the **Second Scramble for Africa** in reference to the colonial nature of Bovido and Libirachi intervention in the continent - regions under Bovido or Libirachi control saw very limited self government and saw the entire existing state apparatus appropriated for the gain of the governing power. Under this view, common in many regions of Africa and the African diaspora, neither faction of the conflict entered the conflict with the interests of African citizens in mind, and instead used the continent to conduct a proxy war. Many Africanist scholars consequently view states established following the war with significant suspicion, and in some cases have rejected the legitimacy of the new states due to their roots in neo-colonial institutions and proxy warfare.

The use of the phrase "conquest of Africa" to describe the conflict amongst the general population came after a speech by the American progressive politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the United States House of Representatives in 2033 calling for aid for the Islamic Emirate of Egypt and the United Arab Republic. Following Ocasio-Cortez's speech, the term became widely used by both media outlets and other politicians, leading to the phrase becoming the most commonly used and well known descriptor of the conflict, even after the Bovido Imperium dissolved and its conquered provinces were redistributed.

## Prelude

After decades of high tensions between Bovido Has and the Libirachi Empire spewed over into full fledged warfare between the new leaders of both nations following the Assassination of Hazael Buller, with the start of the Has Wars in 2020 leading to the eventual Invasions of Belitung and Japan during which the regimes of Emperor Damal Clod and Archbishop Syli Dean respectively fell to the Libirachi war machine, leaving the state of Bovido Has in disarray, with only scattered remnants of the former military might left over from the devastating conflict. Distracted by their own internal affairs following the Assassination of Laura Fox in 2022, the Libirachi Empire turned a blind eye to the Bovido Hassian Contingency led by Anton Ujung as fractional infighting between the remnants led to the formation of a reunited Bovido Has in the middle east, whilst the Libirachi Civil War was raging between the Union of Aligned Nations and the Confederacy of Independent Nations Following the merger of Bovido Has and ST Joseph's Devotees into the Bovido Imperium in 2030, the new state began to aggressively assert its power in the Arabian peninsula and in South America, making blatantly clear of it's intention to eradicate Islamic nations in their entirety, leading to the formation of the United Arab Republic in 2031 as the remaining nations banded together for stability. Likewise, the Federation of Ducist had in turn began to look outwards again, eager to expand it's boarders under the dictatorship of Cyril Ramaphosa and with the support of the Libirachi Empire had expanded into neighbouring nations, more than doubling the size of the federation within the space of the first 5 years of his regime and bringing Cameroon into the federation as a willing member state in 2032.

Following the 2027 Global Banking Crisis, the states of Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania, as well as territory controlled by the Egyptian Islamic Brotherhood, were all thrown into chaos as financial and military backers in Asia, Europe and America all began to withdraw their operations from the nations, leaving them all to bear the brunt of the Great Crash by themselves, causing the area to greatly destabilise. Following the collapse of Uganda and the subsequent 2028 Ugandan Coup d'état by members of the Security Coalition as a result of state-wide bankruptcy, the nations of north Africa began to look towards each other for safety and a surge in pan-Arabism began to arise, especially as the expansionist nation of Ducist in the south of Africa began to make it's way up the continent under the presidency of Cyril Ramaphosa, leaving many people in the Islamic nations of the north to fear for their sovereign independence. Adding in to a cacophony of pressures on the Arab countries, the newly formed Bovido Imperium had merged with ST Joseph's Devotees in 2030, meaning that they could launch an invasion to conquer the region from both sides of the continent, from their foothold in Egypt and across the Atlantic ocean; furthermore, the increasingly aggressive rhetoric of Imperator Anton Ujung began to imply that an invasion was imminent, moving to place soldiers all along the boarders with Islamic Brotherhood controlled Saharan Egypt, gearing up for an assault. Formalised by the Treaty of Rabat on August 20, 2031, the unification established the formation of the United Arab Republic, placing Kais Saied as the first President of the UAR and the Pan-Arab Council was established as the parliament of the regime; with the formation of the United Arab Republic, the Persian Republic began to support the regime to allow the Libirachi Empire to fund three of the four major African nations, financing Canto Haven and Ducist directly and through the Eurasian Union of States and Persia, they also had a significant political stake in the United Arab Republic as so to prevent a Bovido Hassian invasion of the continent, thanks to the centuries old rivalry between the two nations.

## Year One

### Invasion of Egypt

 Main article: Invasion of Egypt

Having prepared extensively over the prior 5 years for a crusade into Africa for the subjugation of the local Arab population, the local Bovido Imperium garrison stationed in Cairo under the leadership of High Admiral Torrent Koon made their move across the Nile into the Islamic Emirate of Egypt on September 1, 2033 behind a barrage of artillery shots and pushing across the river at Kasr Al Nile Bridge into western Cairo, smashing through the Egyptian Islamic Brotherhood defences which had been raised along the bridge, forcing the EIB into a retreat from the onset as the Maximo Exercitus Imperium pushed through the vastly inferior Egyptian holdouts on the western bank of the Nile. With large deployments of *Leopold 3* tanks leading the charge through the busy streets of Cairo, High Admiral Torrent Koon made a televised address to the people of Egypt in which he declared a war upon terror against the Islamic Emirate, launching flurries of *Shenyang FC-31* air fighters into the skies above the nation as soldiers at all Bovido Imperium stations began to mobilise over the river Nile within the day and by September 27th, the Bovido Armies had captured every major city to the west of the Nile, pushing outwards into the Sahara desert to try and catch the fleeing Islamic Brotherhood rebels before they escaped into the neighbouring United Arab Republic, a strong Islamic nation formed in the aftermath of the 2027 Global Banking Crisis to protect itself from the encroaching Bovido armies.

Hearing news of the Bovido Invasion, President Kais Saied of the United Arab Republic ordered General Rachid Ammar to engage in a counter-offensive to push the Bovido armies out of Egypt, rallying to the aid of their allies in the Egyptian Islamic Brotherhood, and with significant pressure being put upon the government by Persian President Geena Kulmuni, the UAR launched it's offensive on October 3, 2033 through Libya State into the north of Egypt, catching the Maximo Exercitus Imperium by surprise as the army pushed its way into western Cairo on the 16th of October, engaging the armies of Torrent Koon in the streets of the Egyptian capital city in prolonged guerrilla warfare before the Bovido army secured a crushing blow at the the Giza Opera House where UAR forces were forcefully repelled and sent into retreat alongside the Islamic Brotherhood fighters that had joined forces with the nation, beginning a humiliating withdrawal from the nation as General Ammar attempted to minimise losses on the long march to the Arab boarder in Libya State, which they finally crossed on November 17, 2033 with the Bovido army hot on their heels, ending the first battle of the Conquest of Africa. With the first UAR military operation since the Unification of the Arab State in 2031 ending in failure, the military command of the nation began to stumble as many within the armed forces blamed President Kais Saied for interfering in the operations of the different branches of service, leading to increased army autonomy. The Islamic Emirate of Egypt was dissolved on November 20, 2033, with the lands formerly claimed by the nation now occupied by the Bovido Imperium.

### Declarations of War

With Egypt having completely fallen to the forces of the Bovido Imperium, the Libirachi Empire could no longer turn a blind eye to the actions of it's rival superpower and began to bring into use the Eurasian Union of States of satellite and puppet states loyal to the Libirachi Empress Penny Fox, sending soldiers from all of the nations to the United Arab Republic, the Federation of Ducist and Canto Haven to train up local forces to act as a defence against the Bovido expansion into the nation, drafting in Geena Kulmuni of Persia to act as a public backer to the UAR, whilst the Libirachi government backed them from behind the scenes. Having only changed governments a few months prior due to the 2033 Libirachi Coup d'état in which political infighting brewed over into a self coup, with the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order deposing President Damien Salamander and replacing him with propaganda minister Karyn Voor, the Libirachi Empire found itself in a precarious place as the doctrine of New-Think began to be implemented in the months after the July coup, introducing the Central Military Commission in October 2033 to reign back in the historically autonomous armed forces of the empire, whilst the removal of Grand General Fang Torrent from the rank of Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and the subsequent granting of the title to the Empress Fox, also in October 2033, ensured that the military found a new loyalty towards the empress, following the Wahngso Crisis in 2026 when the Libirachi Imperial Army attempted to force Penny Fox to abdicate.

Left with no choice but to declare war, the Libirachi Empire placed itself at the head of the United Front Allies comprised of all the Libirachi/EUS backed states in the fight against the Bovido Imperium and on October 2, 2033 war was declared by President Karyn Voor at 4:31pm (local time), allowing Libirachi battalions the permission to begin to attack Bovido forces under the command of Imperial High Command. Returning the favour later the same day, Cardinal Julios Cragen declared war on the Libirachi Empire and all Eurasian Union of States/United Front Allies forces in a fiery speech broadcast across the wireless radio, bringing the two nations back to conflict for the first time in over a decade.

### Raid on Nupersia

 Main article: Raid on Nupersia

With the Conquest of Africa formally started by the October 2033 declarations of war, the Maximo Exercitus Imperium (MEI) forces began to draft up plans for a surprise attack on the Persian Republic to try to knock out a key United Front ally early on within the conflict to prevent them from supplying the United Arab Republic, and on November 30, 2033 MEI aerial forces consisting of 10 *Buller*-*AZ15* class bomber jets crossed over the Persian boarder and made a bombing run upon the republic's capital of Nupersia, evading the Persian air force to land a series of high yield quaz-bombs upon major landmarks in the city, including the Persian Congress and the Prime Minister's Executive Office, killing Prime Minister Emanuel Parra in the initial raid, before all 10 of the bombers were shot out of the sky by Persian special forces protecting the city. As the nation reeled from the attacks on the morning of December 1st, President Geena Kulmuni signed an executive order granting herself emergency powers to postpone the 2034 elections and appointed Muhammed Abdulla as the new Prime Minister to replace Parra, shutting down much of the Persian Congress as an "emergency measure" on December 2nd and instead installing a Council of Ministers to act as parliament, with Prime Minister Abdulla chairing the new council at the president's behest.

Now attempting to control the government from a decimated city, President Kulmuni signed another executive order on December 5th moving the executive offices of the government to the city of Dubai, former capital of the Confederacy of Independent Nations; as the Persian Republic began to grow more autocratic, the Persian armed forces began to mount assaults along the Bovido-Persian boarder with Persian armed forces attacking Bovido outposts and destroying sentries along the region, forcing Bovido Imperator Anton Ujung to flee the city under the guise of a trip to visit Pindoraman Prime Minister Marisa Belacqua in the South American region of the imperium.

### Christmas Attacks

 Main articles: Christmas Attacks and Assault on Arab Republic Desert Outposts

With the city of Jerusalem vacated by high ranking members of the Bovido Imperium following a series of skirmishes along the Bovido-Persian boarder, the Persian Republic began to mount preparations for a retaliatory strike against the Bovido capital upon the orders of President Geena Kulmuni, whilst the armed forces mobilised under the command of Field Marshal Fahd al-Mutair towards the boarder line in preparation for an assault. On the morning of December 25, 2033 the city of Jerusalem was rocked by explosions as a series of missiles launched from the Persian Republic struck their targets of key religious buildings in the Bovido capital city, killing millions of church-goers on the Christian holy day as the majority of strikes targeted large churches, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which was destroyed. At the same time, the Libirachi Commission for the Preservation of the New Order's Advanced Weapons division utilised a new space technology launched by the Imperial Aerospace Executive during the Race for Mars, knocking out the satellites of the Bovido Imperium and rendering them useless, preventing communication between Jerusalem and Brasilia and leaving the Imperium blindsided to the retaliatory attack on the capital.

Unable to raise the capital of Jerusalem from his Egyptian base, Bovido Prime Minister Torrent Koon ordered his forces in attack on the United Arab Republic in the evening of December 25th, with local garrison forces moving to capture outposts in eastern parts of the UAR controlled Sahara by December 28th. With Imperator Ujung unable to coordinate forces in his empire, Jersualem State began to operate autonomously under the control of Prime Minister John Francis, with the state coordinating a secure network re-launch on December 31st to allow communication between all Prime Minister offices to resume as normal, with Imperator Anton Ujung returning from hiding at some point in early January 2024. Despite this, much of the Bovido satellite network remained unserviceable and with the capture of UAR Saharan military bases, the Imperium began to make a move towards ground-based high speed fibre cables to temporarily replace the loss of satellites.

## Year Two

### A Second Front

 Main article: Operation Avestor

Operation Avestor was a Bovido military campaign for the conquest of the United Arab Republic, following several previous attempts to knock out UAR allies from the war, such as the Raid on Nupersia and the Invasion of Egypt in 2033. Beginning on February 9, 2034, the start of Easter for Christians across the world, the operation began with it's first phase, an assault on the west coast of the United Arab Republic; on February 9th, the Bovido 3rd, 5th and 7th Attack Fleets began a week long journey across the Atlantic ocean, launching from Belém port in the Pindoraman region of the Bovido Imperium.

Following an attack upon the Persian Republic in November 2033 and a swift allied response in December of the same year, the Bovido Imperium found itself uniquely crippled with its extensive satellite network knocked out thanks to a Libirachi pulse weapon attack, with many of the Bovido ground armies now unable to coordinate attacks with their counterparts across the African continent. Determined to prevent the United Arab Republic from being able to regroup its forces, Bovido Imperator Anton Ujung and Pindoraman Prime Minister Marisa Belacqua began preparations for an assault against the western coast of the UAR, set to begin on February 9, 2034. Dubbed as Operation Avestor, the campaign became the brainchild of Major General Michael Clod and Commandant Major Jair Bolsonaro, the head of the Pindoraman armed forces.

With the first wave of Maximo Exercitus Imperium (MEI) forces departing from Belém port in the Pindoraman region of the Bovido Imperium on February 9th, 2034, the operation got underway, with the naval forces of the Pindoraman region being conducted by Commandant Major Jair Bolsonaro whilst Major General Michael Clod commanded the ground forces of the MEI for the attack. Landing on the beaches of Nouakchott in the United Arab Republic on February 15th, the MEI began its assault on the city with a coastal bombardment from *Ujung-class* aircraft carriers, whilst the carriers' compliments of *BZ-99* Bombers and *Buller-AZ15* class mid-range bombers attacking the Arab army's costal barricades, whilst *Ezra II class* landing craft brought infantry forces down to the beaches and shores of the nation to begin a ground assault on the city of Nouakchott.

#### Battle for Morocco

 Main article: Battle for Morocco

With the first wave of Maximo Exercitus Imperium (MEI) forces departing from Belém port in the Pindoraman region of the Bovido Imperium on February 9th, 2034, the operation got underway, with the naval forces of the Pindoraman region being conducted by Commandant Major Jair Bolsonaro whilst Major General Michael Clod commanded the ground forces of the MEI for the attack. Landing on the beaches of Nouakchott in the United Arab Republic on February 15th, the MEI began its assault on the city with a coastal bombardment from *Ujung-class* aircraft carriers, whilst the carriers' compliments of *BZ-99* Bombers and *Buller-AZ15* class mid-range bombers attacking the Arab army's costal barricades, whilst *Ezra II class* landing craft brought infantry forces down to the beaches and shores of the nation to begin a ground assault on the city of Nouakchott. Meanwhile, the Bovido 5th Fleet began a landing at the city of Dakhla further to the north on February 16th, with the *Ujung-class* flagship Korban leading the assault upon the coastal defences of the region under the command of Fleet Admiral Yamori against Commander Dakoy of the Dakhla regiment, with the *Ezra II class* landing craft of the 5th Fleet devastating much of the local ground forces in the region as the Moroccan state forces began to become stretched out with the multiple fronts that the Bovido armed forces had opened up in the defences of the region. As the Imperium continued to land infantry in the port of Dakhla, the Korban's compliment of *AKL-17 "Caanan"* *class* jet fighters began to attack the city's air defences and destroy roads into the city, making it next to impossible for the forces of the United Arab Republic to mount a successful defence. Similar scenes erupted in the city of Nouakchott as the superior Bovido forces began to take over the city, with provincial government forces surrendering on February 26, 2034 as it became clear that President Kais Saied had refused additional support to back up the region, instead pronouncing in a February 24 speech that "we will suffer losses but our heart and spirit remains, the Bovido can't break that and so long as the spirit remains, we shall fight back", in a speech widely regarded as conceding defeat in the region.

As the Bovido 3rd and 5th Fleets began to secure territory along the Moroccan coast, the 9th Fleet begun it's own assault on the town of Laayorne on February 20th, catching the region by surprise as the underequipped local police forces failed to hold out against the incoming Bovido forces, and quickly the landed armed forces managed to overrun the city, with regional forces surrendering quickly on February 21st to prevent unnecessary loss of life. With settlement after settlement falling to the incoming Bovido armies, President Kais Saied tasked General Abdel Bennani with an operation to push back the Bovido forces from the region; taking command of the IX Ground Corps, General Bennani launched an assault on the advancing Bovido armies as they began to assault the region, sending forces to combat the 2nd Bovido Army at Oudane where the forces of the Bovido Imperium attempted to gain control over a regional government facility where Bennani's forces were based.

Despite this counter attack, the Bovido forces pushed forwards further into the state of Morocco, seizing the cities of Marrakesh and Safi as Major Bolsonaro's forces ran rampage through the United Arab Republic, forcing President Kais Saied to cancel a planned visit to the state for fears of safety. With the fall of General Bennani's forces at the Battle of Oudane, the Bovido forces took control over the Southern Morocco Command Base, effectively ending the UAR's ability to retake the region with the loss of it's major forward base in the region. Now forced into retreat, Bennani and the remnants of the IX Ground Corps fled the region to the city of Fes, effectively transforming the A2 Motorway into the worlds largest defensive fortification as the governments and local armed forces of Casablanca and Rabat also fled their regions to the growing fortifications as the naval forces of Bovido Admiral Yamori bombarded the cities.

### Formation of the North African Federation

 Main article: North African Federation

With the Conquest of Africa raging around the north of the continent, the governments of Sudan, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ghana began to implement proposals to unify the remaining independent nations of North Africa together to defend against the Bovido Imperium, akin to the Unification of the Arab State into the United Arab Republic in 2031. On March 16, 2034 President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of Sudan announced the creation of the North African Federation, with Sudan, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Eritrea as member regions of the federation, whilst al-Burhan served as the initial president of the federation before alternating the presidency to the leaders of the member regions every year on April 1st. Despite this new nation being founded, it remained as a weak political power and like the United Arab Republic had done, the North African Federation struggled to integrate the militaries of the constituent nations together in an effective way, as well as suffering from political dissatisfaction and disunity among the various political factions of the federation. Subsequently, President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan began to give the military more power to control regions in the nation, resulting in an autocratic military dictatorship led by the former Sudanese military general forming, solidified by the August 19 dissolution of the Federation Congress, less than 6 months after its formation.

### Purge of the Libirachi Army

 Main article: 2034 Libirachi Army Purge

The 2034 Libirachi Army Purge took place between May 17 and May 25, 2034 under the leadership of President Karyn Voor to remove key members of the Imperial High Command of the Libirachi Imperial Army as part of a drive to bring the LIA under the control of the government and the newly established Central Military Commission which was established on May 1, 2034 and immediately authorised the purge to target key figures regarded as resisting the campaign. Among those indicted included Grand Moff Joseph Zuma and long-serving Grand Admiral Rithnuro Thrawn, hero of the Has Wars, both of whom advocated for the operational independence of the Libirachi Imperial Army, a longstanding tradition dating back to the presidency of Stanford Rightly in the 1800s which had caused numerous problems for the Libirachi government over history, with the memory of the Wahngso Crisis still fresh in the memory of the Empress Fox and many other members of government.

Beginning on May 17, 2034, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Central Military Commission jointly ruled that 17 officers of the Libirachi Imperial Army had committed punishable offences, ranging from corruption to treason, and passed an order to COMPNOR to ensure that all 17 were brought before trial; tasked with rounding up the members of the military, Major General Maximilian Veers of the Vindicta conducted a wide-reaching purge of the Imperial High Command, executing Grand Moff Joseph Zuma on May 18th, before claiming that Moff Zuma had "resisted arrest". Likewise, following internal resistance to the creation of the Central Military Commission, Minister for War Alexander Fowle was similarly arrested and sentenced to death by Attorney General Lauren Salamander on May 20th. Out at sea in the Pacific Ocean on a tour along the western coast of the United States of America, Grand Admiral Rithnuro Thrawn was relieved from his post by Fleet Admiral Alexander Kallus and flown back to America, before being flown back to Beijing from a Libirachi air base, where Thrawn stood trial for corruption, receiving a life sentence in prison and being stripped of all titles and medals. Meanwhile, the retired Grand General and former Supreme Commander Chen Bingde was pulled out of retirement and sentenced to death by the Vindicta, acting on the orders of the Empress Fox directly.

### Battle of the Gibraltar Strait

 Main article: Battle of the Gibraltar Strait
    The Battle of the Gibraltar Strait, also known as the Gibraltar Strait incident, was a naval battle in the Strait of Gibraltar between the forces of the Bovido Imperium and the United Arab Republic, with British and Spanish naval vessels taking part in peace keeping operations in the aftermath. During the naval battle, land forces of the two main participants also engaged in conflict, resulting in the fall of the UAR state of Morocco falling to the Bovido Imperium in November 2034. As the second phase of the Bovido Imperium's Operation Avestor, the Battle of the Gibraltar Strait also severely damaged the governments of British Prime Minister Priti Patel and Spanish President Elena Garcia, who both lost control over the strait, an important part of both nation's international foreign policy. Similarly, the battle also impacted the nations of Isgardia and Loxenia as a result of a new power gaining dominance over the largest shipping route in and out of the Mediterranean sea, with both nations now forced to work with the Christian nation who controlled both the strait and the Suez Canal.

Following the Battle for Morocco, the armies of the United Arab Republic were in a bad position as the Bovido Imperium forced it into retreat from most of Morocco state, with the forces of General Abdel Bennani transforming the A2 motorway by the city of Fes into a defensive fortification to prevent further advances. State Premier Aziz Akhannouch of Morocco began to press the government of President Kais Saied to attempt to get the UAR president to commit to further resources to protect his region. Having failed to do so, Akhannouch unilaterally attempted to open negotiations with Major General Michael Clod for the surrender of his region, as Major Jair Bolsonaro of the Bovido military continued to attack the A2 Defence Barrier, breaking through on August 22, 2034. Meanwhile, Fleet Admiral Yamori of the Bovido navy began moving his naval forces from the Moroccan coast and into the Strait of Gibraltar, directly engaging Arab forces on September 15th, 2034, with skirmishes continuing repeatedly as Bovido forces assaulted the Arabian navy in the region, decimating the I and IV fleets of the Arab Republic before claiming naval supremacy in the region with the declaration from President Saied on October 26th that the republic wouldn't "commit further resources to the defence of the strait".

On November 4th, 2034, Premier Aziz Akhannouch announced a unilateral surrender of the Moroccan state to the Bovido Imperium, invoking Article Two of the Arab constitution to declare Morocco an independent nation and to join the Imperium, with Akhannouch becoming the acting prime minister for the region. Now with security forces refusing to obey his orders, General Abdel Bennani made his third major retreat of the Conquest of Africa, withdrawing with Moroccan rebels back to the Arab capital of Tunis in order to meet with the President. Ultimately, Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch would be executed by the Bovido armed forces just days later on November 6th, placing Prime Minister Torrent Koon of North Africa in control of the region.

### Creation of the Shanghai Pact

Having been at war for over a year by the point of September 2034, President Karyn Voor of the Libirachi Empire began to motion for a replacement to the Eurasian Union of States to allow the inclusion of the African nations of Canto Haven, Ducist and the United Arab Republic as well as actively being able to coordinate the mobilisation of the allied forces, with responses to Bovido aggressions in Africa and Asia being largely disjointed and uncoordinated with individual nations responding independently. With negotiations opening in the last days of the Battle of the Gibraltar Strait, the foundations of what would become the Shanghai Pact began to develop in November 2034 and on December 14th, Chairman Stanford Newman of the Eurasian Union of States issued a proclamation that the EUS would become the Shanghai Pact on January 1, 2035, with Ducist as a founding member of the organisation. With the EUS dissolving on December 31, 2034 and the pact being created on January 1, 2035, the last remnants of Civil War-era politics were swept away to allow African nations to join the Beijing based defence pact, with Canto Haven joining on January 12th and the United Arab Republic joining in February 2035. The new Shanghai Pact also carried over the Coordination Council from the Eurasian Union of States, allowing the Libirachi regime to continue in it's domination of the political systems of it's satellite states. On January 1, 2035, Stanford Newman was selected as the first General Secretary of the Shanghai Pact and was confirmed by an election later in the year; with his selection, Newman had served consecutively for 13 years as the leader of the Libirachi government's international cooperation programme.

## Year Three

### Persian Coup Attempt

 Main articles: 2035 Persian Coup d'état attempt and 2034-35 Persian Constitutional Crisis

Following a year of conflict with the Bovido Imperium during the Conquest of Africa, the Persian Republic found itself embattled, having lost Prime Minister Emanuel Parra during the Raid on Nupersia in November 2033, the government of President Geena Kulmuni began to attempt to centralise power to the executive branch in order to deal with the war. Citing Article IV of the 2024 Persian Constitution, on October 7, 2034 President Kulmuni refused to call elections in November 2034 and instead expanded her presidential term using legally dubious means, resulting in a constitutional crisis and a split within her own political party as former backbench members of the Persian Congress began to call for new elections to be held. As plans for the Shanghai Pact began to be drawn up in late 2034, President Kulmuni began to syphon power to the organisation's Coordination Council in early 2035, resulting in further protests against the executive office. With opposition being led by Union for Persia leader Hassen Ahmed, the government of President Geena Kulmuni and Prime Minister Muhammed Abdulla found itself under intense scrutiny in February 2035 as Ahmed led parliament to formally call for new presidential elections. Following a flurry of senators defecting from the Progressive party on March 1st, Prime Minister Abdulla resigned his office and dismissed his Council of Ministers and joined with the opposition in calling for the removal of Kulmuni, orchestrating a build-up in militias around the capital city of Dubai. On March 17, 2035 following street battles with government security forces, Muhammed Abdulla proclaimed an alliance of militias known as the United Front and declared himself to be the rightful president, as mob forces backed by defected members of the army overran the city of Dubai and forced President Geena Kulmuni to flee the capital, retreating to Abu Dhabi where she began to coordinate a national response to the group. Ultimately despite his opposition to president Kulmuni, opposition leader Hassen Ahmed led members of the former Persian Congress to denounce the militias and mobs who had overrun the capital, mobilising the army to retake the city. As street fighting overran the capital city, Ahmed created his own Council of Ministers to lead the government response to the crisis, whilst President Geena Kulmuni returned back to the city on March 23rd, 2035. Upon her return and the final elimination of the United Front on the 26th, Hassen Ahmed was appointed as prime minister to form a coalition government.

### Battle for Libya

 Main article: Invasion of Libya

Following months of strategic victories in the Bovido conquest of North Africa, Imperator Anton Ujung began to demand the complete obliteration of the United Arab Republic in Spring 2035 out of fear that the Libirachi Empire would join in the conflict if the war became prolonged. Consequently, on April 14, 2035 the Bovido Imperium launched it's 3rd Holy Naval Group under the control of Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku to begin a naval assault of the city of Benghazi, with the *Ujung*-*class* aircraft carrier Bounty of the Waves serving as the flagship for the naval group, whilst the 16th Fleet under the command of Captain Istu Yamatora split off from the group to attack and lead a landing at the coastal city of Tripoli. Having launched from the Nile basin, the Naval Group landed on the beaches of Libya State on April 20th, 2035 and immediately began a coastal bombardment of the cities, encountering fierce resistance from Major General Khalifa Haftar, Vice President of the UAR and military head of Libya state, who commanded the XXX Land Corps of the Arab Republic in the defence of the twin regional capitals. Having landed on the beaches of Benghazi on April 20th, the Maximo Exercitus Imperium (MEI) armed forces of the Bovido Imperium quickly overran the port of Benghazi and much of the seafront face of the city, pushing the local forces back to the Benghazi Way Motorway where the forces of the XXX Corps under the control of Major General Khalifa Haftar transformed the highway into the primary defence force for the Arab Republic.

Meanwhile in Beijing, the government of the Libirachi Empire's Fox Dynasty under the leadership of President Karyn Voor began to ramp up the nation's war drive for deployment into Africa following months of armed forces restructuring which had hampered it's ability to mobilise forces effectively. With the appointment of Sun Jianguo as Grand Admiral and Qi Jianguo as temporary Grand General by the Central Military Commission, the Libirachi Imperial Army began to deploy support to Major General Khalifa Haftar's XXX Corps in Benghazi from May 9th 2035, where Libirachi forces and Bovido soldiers fought in open combat for the first time in over a decade, resulting in Libirachi soldiers managing to keep the line against the Imperium, forcing a no-man's zone across much of the coastal region of the city, resulting in the seaboard assault of Libya being halted and instead forced the Imperium to begin a land invasion from their stronghold in Egypt.

Launching from the Egyptian boarder on May 26th, the 2nd Egyptian Corps under the command of Major General Michael Clod began a steady move through the Saharan desert of Libya state virtually unopposed as the armies of the United Arab Republic began to retreat back to the coastal city strongholds, unwittingly giving the Bovido armies time to prepare for their massive assault on the city of Benghazi. Arriving to the south of the city with three land armies, Major General Clod began a siege of the state capital and the XXX Corps led by Major General Khalifa Haftar, bombarding the city mercilessly from the 3rd Holy Naval Group sitting at the shoreline. Despite this, with Libirachi aid, Haftar's forces were able to maintain a hold over the capital, resulting in a stalemate which would last until November 2035; with the UAR forces held at Benghazi, Clod was able to direct his armed forces to seize control over much of the Libyan state, turning the stronghold of Benghazi into an isolated fortress city in the middle of the Bovido Imperium's North Africa province. Despite being nominally in control of the UAR forces in the capital, Major General Haftar seceded much of the day to day responsibilities after initially securing the safety of the region in June 2035, and instead began to lead forces against the Imperium elsewhere within the United Arab Republic.

### Red Wave

 Main article: Red Wave

The Red Wave, also known as the 2035 North African Federation Crisis, was a series of coups d'état within the member regions of the North African Federation taking place between February and August 2035, which saw adherents to the Final Testament raised to office as the head of regional government across the federation in the states of Chad, Nigeria, Sudan and Togo, whilst in the states of Eritrea, Ivory Coast, Mali and Sierra Leone, elected officials took office based on the promise of Christian unity, effectively giving sympathisers to the Bovido Imperium full control over the nation, before allowing the armed forces of the Imperium to take over the federation under the guise of a peace-keeping mission, transforming the federation into a satellite state of the Imperium just over a year after the nation's foundation. Beginning with the election of Jean Bagasauo to the office of Vice President of the North African Federation on February 5, 2035, a gradual slew of adherents to the Final Testament began to be elected to office across the federation, winning majorities in the state governments of Mali and Ivory Coast in late February of the same year. Likewise in the states of Eritrea and Sierra Leone in early March 2035, members of the Christian Loyalist party won majorities in all offices of state, leading to President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan calling for a state of emergency and halting elections scheduled for later in the year, leading to accusations that President al-Burhan was attempting to seize power in a self coup, and protests began to arise across the nation as citizens called for elections to be held as scheduled. Subsequently on March 29 the armed forces in Chad overthrew the Chadian House of Representatives, stating that their term in office had ended and that the armed forces would hold power until new elections were ordered by the president. With President al-Burhan's term in office due to end on April 1, 2035, Vice President Yayi Boni began to take over operations of the government in order to secure a peaceful transition, moving towards a more militant strategy to try to combat the growing wave of Bovido loyalists taking power by dissolving the remaining state assemblies and passing further powers to the executive offices of each individual state in order to try to consolidate power with the African Federalist party.

However as a result, the local armed forces in Nigeria and Togo took part in a coup d'état in their states on the night of May 3rd 2035, deposing the local governors and placing a Christian military regime in charge of the region; meanwhile in the federation capital of Khartoum, the government of President Yayi Boni began to disintegrate as Vice President Jean Bagasauo and his Christian Loyalist party began to obstruct Boni's legislative agenda, blocking a move to send federal military forces to the states under insurgent control whilst also changing rules on presidential powers through congress to allow the impeachment of a president with a simple majority of 9 out of 17 state governors on May 14th, 2035. In the aftermath of this rule change, Vice President Jean Bagasauo motioned for an impeachment bill to be launched on May 16, 2035, securing the support of 8 state governors in regions controlled by the Christian Loyalist Party, falling short by one vote. On May 17, Governor Riek Machar of Sudan was assassinated in the street by an unidentified assailant, making way for Machar's deputy Salva Kiir Mayardit to take over the leadership of the state, subsequently voting for the motion of impeachment the same day, giving way to allegations that Riek Machar's murder was politically motivated. With President Yayi Boni declared to be impeached by the council of governors on May 18, 2035, Vice President Jean Bagasauo assumed the powers of the presidency the same day; having effectively led a constitutional coup against Boni, Bagasauo dissolved the state governments of the regions and began to consolidate power to the presidency, before establishing the Presidential Council of the North African Federation on May 23, 2035 as a collective head of state with all Christian Loyalist and military governors present, temporarily making the presidency itself vacant, though Jean Bagasauo as the leader of the council continued to serve within the same capacity as *de-facto* head of state.

On June 12, 2035, President Jean Bagasauo was targeted by a bombing attack at the headquarters of the Presidential Council in Khartoum which assassinated many of the military leaders of the council but left Bagasauo himself largely unharmed. Though profusely denied at the time, the Libirachi Empire's Commission for the Preservation of the New Order was revealed to be behind the attempted assassination after the conclusion of the war when the incident was mentioned in the Imperial Ministry of Propaganda's official history of the Conquest of Africa. Ironically, in attempting to assassinate President Bagasauo, the Libirachi Empire allowed him to assert his dominance over the North African Federation following the deaths of the nation's leading military generals, who had been attempting to keep Bagasauo in check through the powers of the Presidential Council, which was immediately dissolved in the aftermath of the attempted assassination attempt. With no military leadership in the NAF, President Bagasauo turned to his allies in the Bovido Imperium and brokered an agreement for soldiers of the Imperium to act as the military forces of the federation, with High Admiral Torrent Koon taking up office as Vice President of the federation on July 14, 2035.

### Invasion of Jerusalem State

 Main article: Invasion of Jerusalem State

The Invasion of Jerusalem State was an invasion of one of the three component states of the Bovido Imperium, undertaken by the Libirachi Empire from May 27, 2035 until April 13, 2036 which culminated in the 2036 Bovido Coup d'état in January 2036 and the Treaty of Beijing in April 2036, resulting in the temporary end of the Shanghai Pact's invasion of the Bovido Imperium. Following the breakdown of the peace process, the Shanghai Pact would launch the second invasion of Jerusalem, codenamed Operation Invincible.

Following months of internal political disquiet, the Libirachi government of President Karyn Voor began its long awaited invasion of the Bovido Imperium on May 27, 2035 with the launch of the 5th Libirachi Occupation Army forces into the northern Lebanon region under the leadership of Grand General Qi Jianguo. In a coordinated effort, the IV Persian Army led by General Ahmed Salamai struck out from their base in captured lands in the town of Jericho. Initially leading to surprised reactions, the retired Bovido Major General Nathaniel Eli was brought back to lead the Maximo Exercitus against the invading forces, engaging Libirachi forces at Mount Hermon on June 2, 2035, where the 5th Occupation Army under the lead of Grand General Qi managed to push back Eli's forces after a week of skirmishes, resulting in the Bovido forces having to retreat to the town of Kfier. Meanwhile, the Persian armies assaulted the city of Kayla from May 29th and within days the city capitulated to the Persian armies, giving them unparalleled control over the north of the Dead Sea, with boats from Persia shipping across reinforcements and equipment.

As part of a drive to engage the whole Shanghai Pact with the invasion, soldiers from the Russian Federation, Isgardia, Loxenia and Belarus began to assemble in Damascus from June 1, 2035 under the lead of the pact's military leader, Major General Xu Fenlin, and the combined forces of the pact entered into Chtoura on June 9th, capturing the town as Bovido forces retreated from the boarder. Continued bombardment of Bovido cities by the forces of the Shanghai Pact was carried out between June 7, 2035 and September 14th, 2035, covering for a drive towards the city of Jerusalem as the city of Ramallah near the Bovido capital fell to the invading forces of the pact, with high members of the local clergy in captured towns being summarily executed after the fall of the settlements, leading to hundreds of Clergy leaders being massacred at Jericho city on July 29, 2035 in a mass execution arranged by Major General Xu. Meanwhile, the Libirachi army led by Grand General Qi Jianguo began to capture more and more towns in the north of Jerusalem State, seizing the regional capital of Beirut on August 31st 2035 and forcing the collapse of Tripoli-of-the-west on September 10, giving the Libirachi Empire access to the regions busiest port cities.

With hundreds of towns and cities across the north of the Imperium having fallen to allied forces, the Bovido Imperium began to mount a counter attack from the south, requisitioning soldiers from the ongoing Invasion of the United Arab Republic and the Invasion of Libya and bringing them to the nations capital, as Jerusalem State Prime Minister John Francis frantically attempted to repel the invading forces under intense political pressure from Imperator Anton Ujung and Cardinal Julios Cragen. Following months of siege by Libirachi, Persian and Russian forces, the capital city of Jerusalem began to fall into political upheaval following Imperator Ujung's decision to initiate a thermo-nuclear strike against the United Arab Republic on November 25, 2035, killing the Arab president Kais Saied in the process; despite having effectively destroyed the remnants of the UAR in the strike on Tunis, Ujung's attack began an escalation of the war and left many within the imperium fearful of a retaliatory thermonuclear strike upon Jerusalem, destabilising Anton Ujung's hold over the Christian nation and allowing a coalition of forces within the imperium to begin making moves against their leader.

### Persian Political Crisis

 Main article: 2034-35 Persian Constitutional Crisis
In the aftermath of the failed 2035 Persian Coup d'état attempt, opposition leader Hassen Ahmed was appointed as Prime Minister of Persia by President Geena Kulmuni, and negotiations between Ahmed and Kulmuni opened as to how to resolve the ongoing constitutional crisis which had begun in November 2034 with Kulmuni's refusal to hold elections in accordance with the constitution; during these negotiations, General Secretary Stanford Newman of the Shanghai Pact acted as a mediator to allow for talks to work effectively. Ultimately on August 15, 2035, President Kulmuni and Prime Minister Ahmed signed a transition agreement which allowed Kulmuni to remain in place until elections were held on November 17 of the same year, in which she was not allowed to run again as president. With both Libirachi leaders Penny Fox and Karyn Voor as well as President Kulmuni realising their power over the Persian Republic was slipping, Kulmuni negotiated the Persian Republic's full entry into the Shanghai Pact's Coordination Council, signing over all international and defence policy control over to General Secretary Stanford Newman, a puppet of the Beijing administration, before herself standing for election as General Secretary in November 2035, assuming control of the Coordination Council on November 20, 2035, just 3 days after loosing her presidency of Persia. In the subsequent 2035 Persian Presidential Election, Prime Minister Hassen Ahmed was elected president despite not winning the popular vote, owing to Kulmuni's disqualification from the race, although in accordance with the Persian treaty with the Shanghai Pact, the office of Prime Minister was left vacant with the functions being operated by the Coordination Council of the pact.

### Decimation of Tunis

 Main article: Decimation of Tunis

Following months of strategic victories in the Bovido conquest of North Africa, Imperator Anton Ujung began to demand the complete obliteration of the United Arab Republic in Spring 2035 out of fear that the Libirachi Empire would join in the conflict if the war became prolonged. After the slow failure of the Invasion of Libya and the Libirachi Empire's retaliatory invasion of Jerusalem State, Imperator Ujung defied the advice of his ministers and ordered a thermonuclear strike on the Arab capital on November 24th, 2035, marking only the second time a Bovido nuclear strike had been ordered, and the first to be used against an external nation. After being relayed to High Admiral Torrent Koon, the order was briefly halted by Koon and his military command, before Imperator Ujung summoned Koon to Jerusalem on November 25th and ordered the military to go through with the instruction. At 3pm (5pm GMT), the BH-K43 class submarine *Invincible* launched a thermonuclear fusion missile towards the Arab capital city of Tunis, where UAR President Kais Saied and the UAR congress were holding military funding talks. Detonating above ground at 3:54pm on November 25th, the blast incinerated and decimated much of Tunis, killing President Kais Saied and eradicating the upper echelons of the Arab Republic's leadership in the process, leaving a power vacuum behind in the process. With no civilian government left, Major General Khalifa Haftar assumed powers as President of the United Arab Republic, though with the capital and military headquarters decimated by the attack, only a handful of major cities remained loyal to the regime; on the same day as the attacks, the besieged forces of the XXX Corps in the fortress city of Benghazi surrendered to the Bovido Imperium, ending the 7 month siege of the city, whilst the Libirachi marines deployed there fled into the deserts around the city, engaging in guerrilla warfare against the imperium. Within the Bovido Imperium, despite the success of the mission, many within the upper ranks of the regime began to make moves against Imperator Anton Ujung, viewing the attack as unnecessarily provocative against the Libirachi Empire, especially given the Libirachi military's sweeping marches towards the Bovido capital of Jerusalem, whilst also highlighting the failures and divisions within the Bovido armed forces in the process.

### Attempt to Assassinate Jean Bagasauo

 Main article: Attempted Assassination of Jean Bagasauo

Following the Red Wave in the summer of 2035, Jean Bagasauo had managed to place himself as the leader of the North African Federation, ruling with High Admiral Torrent Koon of the Bovido Imperium as his deputy, effectively making the region a province of the imperium through Koon's involvement. Subsequently, on November 24th, 2035 Libirachi Empress Penny Fox ordered the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order to depose Bagasauo, believing that without a local leader to head the federation, the region would never accept Bovido dominance and subsequently there would be enough domestic upheaval for the Libirachi Empire and their ally Ducist to launch an invasion from southern Africa. As such, at a speech to celebrate the NAF's alliance with the Bovido Imperium on December 16, 2035, several shots were fired at Bagasauo, hitting the president in the chest and arm before the would-be assassin was apprehended by Bovido security forces.

With President Jean Bagasauo temporarily incapacitated by the attempt on his life, Vice President Torrent Koon assumed full control over the nation in the evening of December 16th and immediately launched a televised attack on the Libirachi Empire, accusing Empress Penny Fox and Libirachi President Karyn Voor of "attacking the peace in North Africa" and blamed the failed assassination squarely on the nation's infamous COMPNOR organisation, resulting in Foreign Secretary Angelica Rivera proclaiming that the Federation's rhetoric "would lead only to war" in a speech to the assembled leaders of the Shanghai Pact at the organisation's leadership conference on December 20, 2035. Under Vice President Torrent Koon's effective reign, Bagasauo was sent into hiding with Koon governing in his name, but in January 2036 following a coup d'état in the Bovido Imperium, Bagasauo was brought back out of hiding and started to act as the figurehead leader of the regime again from January 7th, 2036.

## Year Four

### Bovido Coup

 Main article: 2036 Bovido Coup d'état

After several months of poorly coordinated military failures during the Libirachi Empire's invasion of Jerusalem State, as well as a stagnant effort in the Bovido Invasion of Libya, on November 25, 2035 Imperator Anton Ujung ordered a thermonuclear strike against the city of Tunis, capital of the United Arab Republic, which began to fracture the unity of the Bovido Imperium's leadership; having previously been united by a desire to eradicate the UAR and beat the Libirachi Empire in the Conquest of Africa, less ideological leaders such as High Admiral Torrent Koon and Pindoraman Prime Minister Marisa Belacqua began to question the reign of Imperator Ujung, sowing the seeds of discontent in several grand council meetings between November 26 and December 24, 2035 where the two leaders openly began to make moves against the Bovido leader. Subsequently, Inquisitor Justas Kolas of the Holy Clergy had the two regional prime ministers on January 1, 2036, bringing them to detention in Jerusalem, although in actual fact Kolas had managed to bring the two most powerful leaders of the Bovido opposition into the capital before defecting and helping the pair formulate moves against Ujung. With Imperator Anton Ujung unaware of the plots against him, having trusted Inquisitor Kolas completely in his task to prevent unrest within the imperium, High Admiral Torrent Koon used his power within the Maximo Exercitus Imperium to begin re-deploying soldiers around the capital of Jerusalem, personally hand-picking a squad of marines to join him in the takeover of the city. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Marisa Belacqua attempted to covertly acquire the support of leading Clergy members, including Julios Cragen and Nicholas Azure, with the assistance of Inquisitor Justas Kolas who hid the evidence of meetings between key officials in order to keep their existence secret.

On January 3, 2036, the forces of the Holy Clergy and the Magisterium began their coup d'état against Imperator Anton Ujung, with armed forces of the Maximo Exercitus Imperium seizing control of major facilities across the capital controlled by the Praesidium of the Bovido Imperium, managing to gain power within the city in the space of hours. At 2pm GMT, the combined forces of the Clergy, Magisterium and MEI assaulted the imperial palace in Jerusalem in a siege that lasted until 4:35pm, when the palace was breached, allowing an influx of soldiers to storm the building, engaging in fierce gunfights against imperial guards. By 6pm GMT, the coup forces claimed control of the palace and Imperator Anton Ujung was arrested by members of the Magisterium before being stripped of his titles by a unanimous vote of a self-appointed Grand Council consisting of Cardinal Julios Cragen, Prime Ministers Marisa Belacqua and Torrent Koon and Minister Nicholas Azure. With Ujung deposed, Cardinal Cragen took over the *de-jure* powers of the Bovido throne, being crowned as Bovido Imperator on January 4, 2036 in an elaborate ceremony in front of the Praesidium, Clergy, Magisterium and Maximo Exercitus in the Jerusalem palace, formally ending the coup with the selection of a new leader. Whilst Prime Ministers Marisa Belacqua and Torrent Koon began to receive large levels of autonomy to their regions of Pindorama and North Africa respectively, Imperator Julios Cragen and newly appointed Cardinal Justas Kolas began to purge Ujung loyalists from the Bovido leadership, removing Jerusalem State Prime Minister John Francis and replacing him with Pius Campeggio, who had briefly held the title before in 2029. By January 5, 2036, Anton Ujung had been executed for war crimes and Imperator Julios Cragen began to open peace talks with the Libirachi Empire.

### Capitulation of the United Arab Republic

Following the Invasion of Libya and the Decimation of Tunis in 2035, the United Arab Republic had effectively collapsed entirely after the death of President Kais Saied during the destruction of the Arab capital in November 2035. Under the leadership of the self proclaimed president, Major General Khalifa Haftar, the remnants of the United Arab Republic had gathered in the city of Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast in a final stand against the ongoing Bovido invasion. Under the command of Captain Itsu Yamatora, the Bovido Imperium launched it's final assault on the Arab remnants on March 23, 2036, with forces from all sides bombarding the city. Despite intense resistance from Arab forces, President Khalifa Haftar resigned his office as president on April 10, 2036 and fled the city with the aid of Libirachi commandos rather than face capture by Bovido forces who had surrounded the resistance headquarters in the centre of Tripoli. On April 11th, the vice president Major General Rachid Ammar unconditionally surrendered the city of Tripoli to the Bovido Imperium, ironically just days prior to the signing of the Treaty of Beijing which temporarily ended conflict in northern Africa.

### Failed Peace

 Main article: Treaty of Beijing

Following the 2036 Bovido Coup d'état and the deposition of Imperator Anton Ujung, the new regime under the leadership of Julios Cragen began to try and end the ongoing Conquest of Africa in order to allow the Bovido Imperium to re-stabilise under his leadership; as such, on January 10, 2036 a peace process between the government of the Libirachi Empire and the Bovido Imperium was opened, allowing the Libirachi government under the leadership of President Karyn Voor to try to extract massive reparations from the Bovido regime through the negotiations. Conducted against the backdrop of the Invasion of the United Arab Republic and the Libirachi invasion of Jerusalem State, the peace negotiations took a sour turn following the collapse of the last remnants of the United Arab Republic in 2036 but despite this the two sides finalised the agreement on April 12, 2036.

Formally signed in the Forbidden City in Beijing on April 13, 2036, the Treaty of Beijing was sealed by Nicholas Azure and Angelica Rivera, the Bovido and Libirachi foreign ministers respectively, and Secretary General Geena Kulmuni of the Shanghai Pact, who signed on behalf of the governments of Austria, Belarus, Canto Haven, Ducist, Isgardia, Loxenia, Persia and the Russian Federation, whilst Avalonian Prime Minister Nina Auber was a signatory to act as a mediator between the two opposing sides of the conflict. However, the treaty was largely regarded as being harsh on the Bovido Imperium, forcing them to relinquish all conquered territory immediately and recognise their leadership and invasions as having been illegal; following the conclusion of the conflict, it has been suggested by some that this was in fact intentional, and Libirachi foreign secretary Angelica Rivera deliberately attempted to sow disunity within the Bovido Imperium through the treaty as a means of conducting diplomatic sabotage against the Imperium.

### Disintegration of the Bovido Imperium

 Main article: 2036 North African Federation Crisis

Within a day of the signing of the Treaty of Beijing, Cardinal Justas Kolas resigned from his office as head of the Bovido government on April 14, 2036, landing a crippling blow on the regime of Imperator Julios Cragen; similarly, Prime Minister Torrent Koon of North Africa began to make manoeuvres against the imperator, publicly threatening the withdrawal of military backing for the Bovido regime if it didn't renounce the treaty. On April 20, 2036, the Shanghai Pact Administrative Zone in Africa (SPAZA) was established with *de-jure* control over the province of North Africa, with Cardinal Nicholas Azure and PM Torrent Koon tasked with overseeing the gradual transfer of territory to the SPAZA under the leadership of Commissioner Gwen Ranol. However, the Bovido Imperium armed forces under the leadership of Prime Minister Koon repeatedly defied the directives of the SPAZA and direct orders from Imperator Cragen, refusing to transfer territory from military leadership to the hands of the Shanghai Pact. Determined to pursue peace and to end the war between the Bovido Imperium and the Shanghai Pact, Imperator Julios Cragen issued a warrant for the arrest of Torrent Koon on June 17th, 2036 and tasked his security forces with hunting down the renegade military leader - at the same time, Cragen attempted to re-open negotiations with the Libirachi regime on the basis that the Treaty of Beijing could cause the disintegration of the nuclear armed state, whilst also appealing to the United Nations to reject the actions of Torrent Koon as the policy of the Bovido government. Upon hearing the news of the warrant for his arrest, Torrent Koon fled the Bovido Imperium on June 18, 2036, flying via private jet from Cairo to the North African Federation, where Koon formally held office as Vice President under the leadership of Jean Bagasauo, and brought with him a sizeable contingent of the Maximo Exercitus Imperium to join with the already existing Bovido occupation force in the North African Federation under Koon's personal control.

    Upon his arrival in the North African capital of Omdurman, Torrent Koon orchestrated a constitutional coup d'état by forcing President Jean Bagasauo to resign his office on June 20, 2036, with Koon assuming the presidency on an acting basis whilst Bagasauo was forced into house arrest in the capital. Now in charge of the North African Federation, President Torrent Koon began to consolidate his position of power, enacting a purge of civilian leaders on July 7th, before launching a mass build-up of soldiers on the boarders with the Bovido Imperium in order to prevent a Bovido assault on the federation. On July 11, 2036, President Koon announced via a radio address that the nation now possessed nuclear arms which had been "liberated" from the Bovido Imperium during Koon's defection, causing widespread panic from the international community - on the same day, the United Nations, N20 and the Shanghai Pact all adopted resolutions condemning the action, whilst Libirachi President Karyn Voor announced on July 12th that the Libirachi Imperial Army was prepared to use force against the North African Federation to compel it to relinquish it's nuclear weapons and to remove Torrent Koon as head of state, citing the successes of the invasion of Jerusalem State as evidence that the Fox Dynasty was able to exert its military influence effectively.

As the crisis continued to escalate, Bovido Imperator Julios Cragen declared that the Treaty of Beijing was "null and void" on July 13, 2036 in a televised address to the Bovido public from the balcony of the Imperator's palace in Jerusalem; widely perceived as an attempt to placate hard-liners in his government, Cragen's proclamation effectively ended the peace process with the Shanghai Pact and simultaneously served to weaken his position as the Bovido imperator by acquiescing to the demands of his political opponents. The same day, Yesu Soong was appointed as prime minister of North Africa and tasked with preserving the territorial integrity of the Bovido Imperium in an attempt to restore some of the authority of Imperator Cragen; at the same time, on July 13, 2036 the armies of the Bovido Imperium were mobilised under the command of Major General Michael Clod in preparation for the creation of a second front of war against the North African Federation.

### Creation of Greater Ruthenia

 Main article: Greater Ruthenia

Following increasing Libirachi control over it's satellite states of Belarus and Loxenia during the early 2030s, Empress Penny Fox began the process of integrating the two nations in 2035, using the Shanghai Pact to facilitate the legal surrender of sovereignty to the body through the use of the Coordination Council, which under the leadership of Secretary General Geena Kulmuni formally granted power to the Libirachi throne on February 3, 2036. During the same time period, the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order had been tasked with producing a draft treaty to formally unite the two nations, and the subsequent Greater Ruthenia Act was presented to the parliaments of Belarus and Loxenia by Presidents Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Alex Glyn respectively on April 1, 2036, allowing the treaty to be formalised with minimal debate. As such, on May 16th the title of Grand Duke of Greater Ruthenia was established as a member of the Libirachi nobility, with the Greater Ruthenia Act granting the title primacy as the head of state for the nation. On June 1, 2036, the Republic of Belarus and the Federal Republic of Loxenia dissolved themselves in accordance with the Greater Ruthenia Act, with the Commonwealth of Greater Ruthenia taking over legal sovereignty for the former nations; similarly, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was created as the first Grand Duke in a private ceremony in Beijing, before returning to Loxzchen to appoint former Loxenian president Alex Glyn as First Minister on the same day.

### Annexation of the African west coast

 Main article: Annexation of the west coast of Africa
    Having usurped power within the North African Federation, President Torrent Koon announced a military build-up along the Bovido Imperium boarder as one of his first acts of government on July 7, 2036. On August 1, 2036, the armed forces of the North African Federation entered across the Bovido boarder over the Senegal river under the command of former president and General Abdel al-Burhan; the same day, the Moroccan region of the Bovido state of North Africa under the leadership of Governor Zebadiah Keto proclaimed it's allegiance to the North African Federation, securing the key port city of Tangier at the strait of Gibraltar for the NAF. Despite initially holding off the Federation forces in the town of R'Kiz, the armed forces of the Bovido Imperium were quickly forced into retreat along the coast, as the Federation army captured the city of Nouakchott on August 9, 2036, followed by Tiouilit on August 17th with minimal resistance. Taken aback by the concentrated invasion, Bovido Major General Michael Clod struggled to remobilise soldiers to the western coast due to concerns with a Federation invasion from elsewhere along the southern boarder; instead, on August 15th forces were withdrawn from the Mediterranean shores of the imperium and deployed to engage in a counter-offensive along the Moroccan province boarders on August 18th. On August 20, 2036 the province under the leadership of Governor Keto was formally accepted as a state of the North African Federation in a move widely condemned by the international community, and the region began to launch an invasion down into the town of Bon Lanuar as part of the unified Federation army assault.

Faced with war on two fronts as the Shanghai Pact's invasion of the Bovido Imperium's capital re-escalated, Imperator Julios Cragen ordered the Maximo Exercitus Imperium to focus on fending off the Shanghai Pact from invading the Bovido capital, and on August 24th Bovido forces began to retreat from the region, allowing the North African Federation to capture the city of Benichab on August 30, 2036, less than a month after the beginning of the invasion. On September 1, 2036, the northern and southern armies of the Federation met in Inal and the entire west coast of Africa was *de-facto* annexed into the Federation the same day. At 5:30pm on September 2, 2036, Imperator Julios Cragen called on Koon in a televised speech to resign his office and flee, or to "face the consequences of his actions" against the Bovido Imperium. Later the same day, President Torrent Koon and Governor Zebadiah Keto attended a ceremony in the Municipal Palace to formalise the new annexation of western Africa in the city of Tangier; moments before the signing of the formal document, explosions ripped through the palace in an attack linked to the Bovido regime, destroying the ceremonial signing room in the process and killing Governor Keto, seriously injuring President Koon in the process. With Torrent Koon incapacitated, the Federation began to crumble and on September 26, 2036, regional Chairman Motazz Moussa proclaimed Sudan to be an independent region and signed into law a decree which saw Sudan secede from the North African Federation the following day. Following the secession of Sudan from the federation, the North African Federation Congress formally impeached President Torrent Koon from all of his offices and replaced him with former president Jean Bagasauo on September 28, 2036; Bagasauo appointed congress leader Lassina Zerbo as his deputy.

### Operation Invincible

 Main article: Operation Invincible

Following Imperator Julios Cragen's July 13, 2036 proclamation that the Treaty of Beijing was "null and void", General Secretary Geena Kulmuni of the Shanghai Pact ordered the joint Libirachi, Persian and Russian armed forces under the leadership of the organisation's military leader Xu Fenlin to begin preparing for a renewed assault on the Bovido Imperium capital region of Jerusalem State to begin in mid August. Codenamed "Operation Invincible", the plan involved the three nations launching a coordinated assault from the Libirachi and Persian boarders, using the city of Amman in the Persian Republic as a staging point to attempt to seize the capital city of Jerusalem. On August 10, 2036, Operation Invincible launched with the capture of the town of Jiftlik by Persian forces launching from Amman, whilst Libirachi and Russian forces seized the town of Shlomi on August 11th. With the annexation of the west coast of Africa ongoing, the Bovido Imperium found itself pressed for resources as Major General Michael Clod attempted to balance the twin threats of the North African Federation and the Shanghai Pact, resulting in Imperator Julios Cragen ordering forces to withdraw from the west to protect the capital city. Meanwhile, the joint Libirachi and Russian armies progressed downwards through Jerusalem State towards the city of Yarka, encircling the city by August 20th as the local garrison surrendered to save their own lives; on August 22nd, Garrison Commander Judas Purba was assassinated by agents of the Clergy in retribution for his surrender.

On August 25, 2036, Grand Duchess Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya of the Commonwealth of Greater Ruthenia announced that forces from the new nation would be joining the Operation Invincible taskforce to aid the Persian armed forces in their push towards a recapture of Jericho city, which had been handed back to the Imperium following the Treaty of Beijing. On August 29th, the joint forces entered Jericho city and encountered fierce resistance, with the city finally capitulating to the Shanghai Pact on October 14, 2036. On September 23, 2036, former Bovido cardinal Justas Kolas met in secret with COMPNOR chairperson Win Myint in Kampala, Canto Haven, to discuss the possibility of a Libirachi-backed coup to overthrow Imperator Julios Cragen but these talks went no further after Kolas was recalled to Jerusalem to become an adviser to the imperator, who remained unaware of the plotting. By October 27th, the city of Taibe had fallen to the Persian-Ruthenian armed forces, whilst Libirachi-Russian forces managed to capture the key city of Netanya on October 29, 2036, following two months of intense fighting in and around the coastal city, with the Imperial Naval Legion helping end the resistance with a coastal bombardment by the destroyer *INL Pearl*.

On October 28, 2036, the joint Persian-Ruthenian forces advanced southwards to the town of Avnat on the dead sea and established maritime connections between the Persian Republic and the occupied regions, with the occupying forces seizing control of vast energy generators which were quickly stripped down and sent back to Persia as a spoil of war. Having completed a naval based occupation of the city of Netanya, the Libirachi-Russian forces attempted to make a pincer movement north towards the port city of Haifa, but were ultimately repelled by November 25th; instead, the Imperial Sky Core of the Libirachi armed forces launched a brutal bombing attack on Haifa, attempting to keep the Bovido naval forces located there confined to port before they could regroup and damage gains made elsewhere. A two month long siege of the city of Haifa took place between November 25, 2036 and January 29, 2037, with the region ultimately falling to the concentrated efforts of the Libirachi-Russian forces on January 30, 2037.

### Banjul Crisis

 Main article: Banjul Crisis

Following the annexation of the west coast of Africa, a terrorist attack in the newly conquered city of Tangier on September 2, 2036 left President Torrent Koon incapacitated and hospitalised in a coma, leaving the North African Federation without a leader or even a viable successor. As the nation succumbed to political factionalism and disunity, the state of Sudan formally declared it's independence on September 26, 2036 and left the federation the following day. Faced with the prospect of the nation collapsing after the loss of both it's capital city and a major economic hub, the North African Congress launched impeachment proceedings against Torrent Koon, removing him from the positions of president and vice president on September 28, 2036; the same day, the NAC appointed former president Jean Bagasauo to the presidency and congressional leader Lassina Zerbo was selected to become vice president. Despite the appointment of a new government, internal difficulties within the North African Federation continued to persist as the armed forces remained loyal to Torrent Koon, with General Meles Zenawi taking control of the army in the absence of Koon, whilst the threat of attack from the Bovido Imperium or Ducist remained a significant defence issue for the new government. On October 10, 2036, President Jean Bagasauo passed a decree condemning the annexation of north western Africa, and proposed peace talks with Imperator Julios Cragen to return the annexed provinces, alongside extraditing Torrent Koon to face Bovido justice. Within the government, the decree divided the establishment as the leadership of the armed forces sought to preserve the legacy of President Koon whilst many officials within the Christian Loyalist Party aimed to restore relations with the Imperium and ultimately aim for union between the two nations.

By October 26, 2036, the disunity in government had also manifested into popular dissatisfaction in the establishment and mass protests began to rise up across the sub-Saharan states of the Federation, with rioting groups seeking to topple the local governments imposed during the Red Wave of 2035 and cede from the union. Under the banner of the People's Democratic Union for Self Government (UDPPA), many of these groups formed a unified rebel alliance with militant leader Idriss Deby as leader and launched insurgency campaigns against regional governments; on November 24, 2036, the UDPPA met formally with delegates from the Shanghai Pact, including Persian prime minister Tamim bin Hamad, and formally signed an agreement of support between the two organisations, with the Shanghai Pact to provide resources and training to rebellious groups. On November 27, 2036, Vice President Lassina Zerbo fled the North African Federation and joined the UDPPA's branch in western Sudan, leaving the federation in a governmental crisis once more as the African Federalist Party blocked President Jean Bagasauo's attempts to remove Zerbo from office, effectively leaving the presidential succession at the hands of the UDPPA. In response, the armed forces under the leadership of Meles Zenawi began to force President Bagasauo to take an ever harder line against secessionist groups, whilst hindering efforts by Bagasauo to enter into peace negotiations with the Bovido Imperium. Bilateral talks between the Imperium and the North African Federation formally opened on December 16, 2036, with Bovido Prime Minister Yesu Soong traveling to the capital Banjul on December 25-30 to take part in one-on-one negotiations with President Jean Bagasauo; on December 31, 2036, both parties announced the Banjul Treaty, which formally conceded the annexed portions of north west Africa back to the Bovido Imperium and pledged to extradite former president Torrent Koon in exchange for an end to the hostilities between the two nations and a re-opening of trade between the two countries.

### Bovido-American Diplomatic Crisis

 Main article: Bovido-American Diplomatic Crisis

In response to the Shanghai Pact's invasion of Jerusalem State, on September 30, 2036 Bovido delegate to the United Nations, John Francis, proposed a motion to the UN Security Council that the organisation condemn the Fox Dynasty for it's "war crimes" and threatened to veto any counter proposal condemning the Bovido Imperium for the same issue. The following day, President Selina Meyer of the United States of America ordered an arrest warrant for ambassador Francis and formally designated the Holy Clergy of the Bovido Imperium as a terrorist organisation following the discovery of Bovido war crimes by forces of the Shanghai Pact during their invasion. On October 3, 2036, operatives of the Central Intelligence Agency and United States Marine Forces stormed the Bovido embassy in Washington D.C., violating diplomatic protocol to arrest members of the Clergy and close down the embassy; simultaneously, John Francis was arrested at the Bovido consulate in New York, in a move fervently denounced by Imperator Julios Cragen and other high ranking members of the Imperium regime. With all members of the Bovido diplomatic mission detained on US soil, Secretary of State Alexandria Raines put a motion before the United Nations Security Council on October 10, 2036 to revoke the Bovido Imperium's permanent member status on the council and hold it vacant until the fall of the regime; with the Bovido Imperium absent, the motion carried unanimously. Several political critics of President Meyer denounced the act as a needlessly political intervention into a foreign war, with others suggesting that the detention of Bovido figures was designed to boost the presidential campaign of Alexandria Raines in the run-up to election day.

## Year Five

### 2037 North African Coup d'état

 Main article: 2037 North African Coup d'état

Following the signing of the Banjul Treaty between the Bovido Imperium and the North African Federation on December 31, 2036, the armed forces of the North African Federation began to protest even further against the administration of President Jean Bagasauo, souring relations between the Bovido-loyalist government and the Koon-loyalist armed forces led by General Meles Zenawi. As former president Torrent Koon began to make a recovery in late December 2036, the treaty's article requiring the extradition of Koon to the Bovido Imperium helped crystallise the armed forces' opposition to the treaty and the governments which signed it. On January 1, 2036, General Zenawai issued a televised address to the nation calling upon President Bagasauo to revoke the treaty and "preserve the Federation's integrity". On January 12, 2037, the armed forces launched a coup d'état against the government, with soldiers in many of the western parts of the federation seizing control of local institutions and forcefully dissolving them, instead installing regional military governorships. However, despite capturing the capital city of Banjul, the coup plotters failed to seize high ranking members of government, who fled to the city of Yamoussoukro and established it as the new capital for the regime. In the evening of January 12th, both President Jean Bagasauo and General Meles Zenawi made televised statements, both claiming victory in the coup; in effect, the coup had divided the federation, as the armed forces retained sole control over the western coast, whilst the government controlled the south coast and much of the inland regions. On January 13, 2037, Meles Zenawi proclaimed himself as president of the North African Federation and established the Patriotic National Military Administration with himself as the leader, backed up by a large contingent of armed forces loyal to the military government - despite this, a sizeable remnant of the armed forces remained loyal to President Jean Bagasauo's regime, allowing the government to assert it's dominance along the Ivory Coast, at a greatly reduced capability.

### January 20th Attacks

 Main article: January 20 Attack

Following months of strained relations between the Bovido Imperium and the United States of America during the Bovido-American Diplomatic Crisis, tensions between the two nations began to reach breaking point following the election of Alexandria Raines as president on November 4, 2036 after Raines had campaigned on a platform of increasing American intervention on the world stage, specifically mentioning the conflict in Africa as an example of a situation where American influence would be needed. Against the backdrop of the Shanghai Pact's invasion of Jerusalem State, Bovido Imperator Julios Cragen authorised the Bovido armed forces to conduct a pre-emptive strike against the United States of America to prevent it from entering into the conflict; on January 4, 2037, Imperator Cragen gave a public address on the anniversary of his seizure of power to denounce the "abhorrent dereliction of morality" that president-elect Raines was intending to partake in as part of her manifesto pledge. On January 6, 2037 this address was broadcast again following the certification of Raines' victory in the 2036 presidential election.

On January 16, 2037, the nuclear-equipped submarine *INL Peacemaker* launched on a 4 day journey to the Gulf of Mexico from the Pindoraman provinces of the Bovido Imperium, equipped with a high-yield thermonuclear bomb. At 12:01 noon on January 20, 2037, just moments following the inauguration of President Alexandria Raines, the *Peacemaker* received the order from Imperator Julios Cragen and detonated it's payload in the gulf, causing a mushroom cloud of water vapour to form in the initial aftermath. The *INL Peacemaker* and a nearby oceanic documentary crew ship were obliterated in the initial explosion.

As a direct result of the thermonuclear explosion, a large tsunami wave struck the south coasts of the states of Florida and Alabama within hours of the detonation, causing widespread death and destruction in the aftermath. In response to the detection of a nuclear detonation, President Alexandria Raines and Vice President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were quickly taken from the site of the inauguration at the Capitol in Washington D.C and taken aboard a modified Boeing E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post designated as *Nightwatch*, which took up the moniker of *Air Force One* upon President Raines' boarding, whilst the helicopter *Marine Two* carrying Vice President Ocasio-Cortez flew quickly to Virginia. After being in the air for several hours, President Raines gave an address to the nation from *Air Force One*, before returning to Washington D.C. The attack on the United States would see President Alexandria Raines commit the nation to fighting in the Conquest of Africa, triggering Article 5 of the NATO defence pact to launch a western assault against the Bovido Imperium.

### North African Civil War

 Main article: North African Civil War

Following months of civil unrest and turmoil during the Banjul Crisis and subsequent coup d'état in early 2037, the political tensions within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation began to expand as the government of President Jean Bagasauo struggled to exert itself following the establishment of the Patriotic National Military Administration, with General Meles Zenawi establishing his own rival government within the north western coastal provinces of the nation. With the government of the state effectively crippled by the January coup, the People's Democratic Union for Self Government (UDPPA) launched an uprising against Bagasauo's administration on January 13, 2037 and began to wrestle control over swaths of the inland sub-Saharan provinces from the government, formally claiming captured regions on January 24, 2037; on January 24, 2037, UDPPA leader Idriss Deby proclaimed the creation of the Free Republic of Southern Sahara within the group's captured territories, with Deby serving as president whilst North African vice president in-exile Lassina Zerbo was appointed as vice president and the minister for federal dissolution, owing to his unique position within the North African Federation's government. With the declaration of the formation of Southern Sahara, President Jean Bagasauo of the North African Federation declared a state of emergency within the nation the same evening and ordered the boarders of the nation to be shut in a wide reaching speech broadcast across the country; in response to the broadcast, Empress Penny Fox of the Fox Dynasty delivered a rival speech on January 25, 2037 to the United Nations General Assembly in which she called upon the nations of the world to include Jean Bagasauo on their lists of international criminals and threatened to launch a full scale invasion of the nation if it did not surrender.

With a state of emergency taking place within the North African Federation, President Jean Bagasauo launched an assault against the rebel forces of the UDPPA on January 27, 2037 and attempted to drive the armed forces into the Laos capital region of Southern Sahara; however, upon the armed forces' arrival within the city's outskirts on January 28th, the UDPPA was able to engage the armed forces in active conflict and managed to force the forces into retreat to the city of Lomé by February 16th, with Southern Sahara expanding it's territory further into the North African Federation. On February 20, 2037, the Patriotic National Military Administration under the leadership of President Meles Zenawi launched an attack on the city of Koumbia from the north, leaving the government of President Bagasauo under assault from two fronts, and the PNMA was able to capture the region by March 19, 2037 after the regional garrison surrendered. With the PNMA making successes in the north and the UDPPA having success in the east, the two factions signed a mutual cooperation treaty on March 20, 2037, with the intention of recognising Meles Zenawi's claim to the presidency of the federation in exchange for Zenawi's PNMA recognising the right for the UDPPA to form the nation of Southern Sahara under Idriss Deby's leadership. Within the Patriotic National Military Administration, former president Torrent Koon assumed office as deputy of the regime after fully regaining consciousness on March 29th, 2037, following an assault on his life in September 2036.

Following weeks of negotiations, on March 21, 2037, the Free Republic of Southern Sahara was admitted to the Shanghai Pact; the same day, General Secretary Geena Kulmuni, Saharan President Idriss Deby and Ducistian President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a tripartite pact to launch an invasion against the North African Federation by stationing Ducistian soldiers within Saharan borders and launching a joint strike forces against the North African government. On April 1, 2037, the 9th Ducistian National Army launched from the city of Lomé and launched an assault into the North African Federation, quickly sweeping through the inland of the federation to reach and capture the city of Kumasi by May 1, 2037. On May 6th, the joint Ducist-Saharan armies began a renewed assault forwards, and managed to press forwards into Ahafo state, encountering minimal resistance from the North African Federation's armed forces, before launching an assault on the region of Lacs on May 29th. With the region surrounding the capital city of Yamoussoukro now under the threat of a Shanghai Pact occupation, on June 25, 2037 North African president Jean Bagasauo offered a peace summit with the Shanghai Pact with the ambition of ending the conflict; however, in an interview with Libirachi media network BLTV the following day, Shanghai Pact general secretary Geena Kulmuni rejected any attempts at a peace process, claiming that the "Shanghai Pact [was] now in with a decisive chance of winning the conflict".

In direct retribution for President Bagasauo's attempt at a peace summit, Imperator Julios Cragen of the Bovido Imperium proclaimed the beginning of a "holy rectification operation" with the intention of toppling Bagasauo's regime and installing a new puppet leader before the Shanghai Pact could capture the city of Yamoussoukro; however, political realities during the ongoing Siege of Jerusalem meant that the Imperium's forces remained deeply overstretched in western Asia and the middle east, resulting in a Bovido stealth conflict instead being waged, with technological attacks and assassination plots against President Jean Bagasauo becoming increasingly frequent from July 2037 onwards. Similarly unable to mount forces to invade the Patriotic National Military Administration, the Bovido Imperium instead launched a barrage of missiles against the PNMA from July 1, 2037, with regular missile strikes on key regions in the PNMA taking place almost daily for the rest of the conflict. On July 13, 2037, the armed forces of the Bovido Imperium managed to down a military plane carrying PNMA deputy leader Torrent Koon in a targeted attack widely interpreted as retribution for Koon's brief dictatorship in North Africa and his invasion of the Bovido Imperium.

In the aftermath of the death of Torrent Koon, PNMA leader Meles Zenawi agreed to join the Shanghai Pact invasion of Yamoussoukro, and on July 16, 2037, the tripartite pact of Ducist, Southern Sahara and the PNMA launched a joint invasion of the North African capital city; with much of the armed forces of the North African Federation having defected to form the Patriotic National Military Administration in January 2037, the government of President Jean Bagasauo found itself unable to defend the city, and on July 24, 2037 President Bagasauo agreed to a full armistice, with the pledge to sign a full surrender agreement following negotiations after the armistice took effect the following day.

### Treaty of Kampala

 Main article: Treaty of Kampala

On August 1, 2037, a conference was held in Canto Haven with President Karyn Voor, President Cyril Ramaphosa, President Hassen Ahmed and Governor Vanessa de Rouge of the Fox Dynasty, Ducist, Persia and Canto Haven respectively in attendance, with the purpose of outlining proposals for the now effectively surrendered North African Federation. Lasting between August 1 and August 11, 2037, the Kampala Conference saw the four main Shanghai Pact allies and the North African government sign the Treaty of Kampala, which formally ended the conflict and saw President Jean Bagasauo resign from office to be extradited to the Fox Dynasty to face trial under protection from the Bovido Imperium, whilst *de-jure* North African vice president Lassina Zerbo would assume the presidency for two months, before in turn handing the presidency to PNMA leader Meles Zenawi; under the auspices of the treaty, the federation would formally be dissolved and replaced with a Shanghai Pact military occupation in the south, whilst the PNMA would remain in control of the north, and both halves of the nation would share the same president with different military leaders for the regions. Similarly, under the treaty, the boarder between North Africa and Southern Sahara would become formally fixed at the final boarders before the Shanghai Pact joint invasion of the North African Federation.

### Siege of Jerusalem

 Main article: Siege of Jerusalem

As part of Operation Invincible, Persian and Ruthenian armed forces had been engaging Bovido Imperium forces around the Dead Sea and the Bovido-Persian boarder since August 10, 2036. Following a brief confrontation from January 2, 2037 until January 9, 2037 in which the Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas monetary was destroyed, the joint Persian and Ruthenian armies progressed northwest towards the Bovido Imperium's capital of Jerusalem, before reaching the outskirts of the city on February 1, 2037; from the outskirt town of Ubeidiya, the supreme allied command under General Xu Fenlin began to coordinate forces against the Bovido capital city. On February 3, 2037, the Shanghai Pact forces began to enter the mega-city, encountering fierce resistance from Bovido street guerrillas as the overstretched Bovido armies struggled to react to the invasion of it's capital city. In the aftermath of the January 20 Attack, President Alexandria Raines of the United States of America invoked Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's defence accords, requiring all member states to contribute forces to defending "homeland soil" and to engage in a retaliation against the Bovido Imperium. Whilst Spanish and Canadian forces were allocated to the defence of strategic bases in Europe and North America, Dunsteenian, British and American forces were put into active combat duty as part of a NATO contingent led by US General Mark Milley; on February 20, 2037, the NATO contingent began active participation of the siege, taking advantage of Shanghai Pact gains to launch an assault against the city of Jerusalem from the city of Ramallah, due north of the capital.

With the global alliance encroaching on the city from the north, Imperator Julios Cragen ordered the mobilisation of the masses on March 13, 2037, giving an impassioned broadcast to the citizens of Jerusalem ordering Bovido citizens to throw themselves in front of the NATO and Shanghai Pact armies to halt their advance. The lack of a coherent Bovido armed forces command structure had meant that Major General Michael Clod was left to direct the Bovido Imperium's military campaigns in both Africa and Asia by himself, leading to mass military failures as the regime found itself overstretched. As such, on March 20, 2037 the Bovido Imperium high command was directly overhauled by order of Imperator Cragen; Major General Clod and High Admiral Yamori were both removed from office, leaving Amar Sato to become praefectus of the armed forces, in effect it's supreme commander. As one of his first acts as the leader of the armed forces, Praefectus Sato began to redistribute groups of the armed forces towards the defence of Jerusalem, withdrawing forces from the North African Federation boarder in order to fortify the capital city. At the same time, martial law was enacted in Jerusalem State on March 29, 2037, with Sato being appointed as prime minister of the province on the same day, giving him the authority to control all Bovido forces within the region to mount a defence. Under the new military regime in Jerusalem, the armed forces launched a counter attack against the NATO-Shanghai Pact forces on April 13, 2037 and managed to secure a defensive perimeter around the city from the town of al-Za'im on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

With the NATO-Shanghai Pact forces trapped in stalemate in a prolonged siege of Jerusalem, the Bovido Imperium began to resupply it's armed forces within the capital province, privately abandoning aims to recapture annexed land back from the North African Federation in early May 2037 as the Imperium's main international ally fell into the grasp of a civil war. Despite this drive to protect the capital province, the city of Tel Aviv fell to the armies of the Shanghai Pact on June 19, 2037, effectively ending all resistance to the Shanghai Pact outside of Jersualem and the southern regions of the state. As the Bovido Imperium continued to resist the siege by western and eastern forces, Praefectus Amar Sato claimed victory on July 29, 2037 in an address to the population of Jerusalem State, claiming that the "haggard forces of the unenlightened" had failed in their attempts to capture the region. As a means to break the stalemate with the Bovido Imperium, the Shanghai Pact launched Operation Safeguard on October 1, 2037 and by November 2037, Praefectus Amar Sato had been forced to redistribute armed forces away from the region of Jerusalem on the orders of Imperator Julios Cragen to reinforce the armies led by Commander Itsu Yamatora in defending the Northern Africa province led by Prime Minister Yesu Soong.

Following the diverting of Bovido Imperium forces to resist Operation Safeguard, on December 1, 2037 General Mark Milley of the NATO forces in Jerusalem state launched a direct assault on the capital city, pushing forwards down the Jerusalem state motorway through intense street fighting to reach the University of Jerusalem; by December 10, 2037, the NATO joint force became mired in guerrilla fighting at the university grounds, halting the forces' assault. Similarly, the Shanghai Pact forces under General Xu Fenlin launched an assault on Ramat Rachel on December 2, 2037, managing to capture the region and gaining a foothold within the city of Jerusalem; simultaneously the Shanghai Pact forces began to make moves towards encircling the whole city, pressing down from the city of Tel Aviv into southern provinces of the Levant; with the Shanghai Pact's press south coming as a surprise to the Bovido military leadership, the forces were able to entirely encircle the city by January 3, 2038.

### Operation Safeguard

 Main article: Operation Safeguard
With the Siege of Jerusalem having come to a stalemate by September 2037, Libirachi empress Penny Fox invited Melinia Vicetti, Hassen Ahmed and Vladimir Putin of Isgardia, Persia and Russia respectively to a conference in Beijing on September 13, 2037 in order to establish a plan to divert Bovido attention away from the capital of Jerusalem in order to weaken it's defences there. As such, the senior leadership of the Shanghai Pact agreed to launch an incursion into the Bovido Imperium from the north, using the pact's administrative zone on the Libyan Mediterranean coast as a key base of operations from which to launch from. From September 20, 2037, troop movements from Isgardia to the Shanghai Pact Administrative Zone in Africa began to take place, with Major General Khalifa Haftar overseeing the organisation and operations of the newly established African Liberation Army as forces from Isgardia, Persia and Russia arrived in the SPAZA. Simultaneously, Major General Haftar's Arab Resistance movement began to mobilise across the eastern parts of the former United Arab Republic in coordination with the African Liberation Army with the aim of assisting the ALA with their assault on the Bovido Imperium. On October 1, 2037, the African Liberation launched a joint assault on the cities of Tripoli and Ras Lanuf under the command of Major General Haftar, launching coordinated sea and land based operations from the central administrative region of the SPAZA in order to unite the "islands" of SPAZA control in Northern Africa. Caught unprepared by the Shanghai Pact assault, the forces of the Bovido Imperium began a tactical withdrawal from the cities on October 29, 2037 and began to retreat back to more easily defendable inland positions, as the Shanghai Pact continued to deploy Isgardian commandos onto the northern Mediterranean coast of Africa; by November 17th, the three "islands" of the SPAZA had been united into one singular province under the control of Governor Gwen Ranol and Major General Khalifa Haftar.

Under the command of Commander Itsu Yamatora, regional armed forces were forced to withdraw even further inland as Shanghai Pact bombing raids disrupted and destroyed supply routes to the frontlines, leaving the Bovido armies understaffed and underequipped to stand their ground. On November 26, 2037, Imperator Julios Cragen ordered army Praefectus Amar Sato to redirect forces from the defence of Jerusalem to protect the Imperium's gains in Africa, inadvertently allowing the Shanghai Pact to make breakthroughs in their assault on the Bovido capital city. On December 1, 2037, the Shanghai Pact and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation announced a military alliance with the intention of defeating the Bovido Imperium in Africa; as part of this agreement, NATO forces launched into Saharan Africa from the Free Republic of Southern Sahara on December 2, 2037, overwhelming boarder guards and pushing forth into the desert, managing to push north enough to bridge Southern Sahara with the Shanghai Pact Administrative Zone in Africa by December 24, 2037 in a move dubbed the "Christmas Miracle" by several press outlets in the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

## Year Six

### Fall of Jerusalem

 Main article: Fall of Jerusalem

Following the complete encirclement of Jerusalem city on January 3, 2038, the Shanghai Pact forces under the leadership of General Xu Fenlin began to launch a bombardment of existing Bovido supply lines surrounding the region in an attempt to prevent a counter-attack on the Shanghai Pact forces, whilst also launching a campaign to starve off the Bovido capital by disconnecting the region from water and electrical supplies. On January 10, 2038, Bovido Imperator Julios Cragen announced in an address to the nation that political command of the nation would remain in Jerusalem, whilst the army command would move to be based in Cairo under the leadership of Praefectus Amar Sato; as part of the withdrawal to Cairo, Praefectus Sato began a withdrawal from the Sinai peninsular lasting from January 12 until February 3, 2038, with Bovido forces maintaining a perimeter around the Suez Canal to control shipping routes through the region. Faced with the sudden withdrawal of Bovido forces, General Xu tasked the Persian forces of the Shanghai Pact with seizing the abandoned lands, ensuring the capture of surrendered lands by February 4, 2038. On January 28, 2038, a large scale explosion took place at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's mission base in the outskirts of Jerusalem, killing several high ranking US and British commanders in the process; subsequent surprise missile attacks took place on January 29th and February 1st, whilst an armed helicopter transporting replacement commanders to the mission base was shot down in the evening of February 6, 2038. Faced with a barrage of undetectable assaults on the NATO leadership and high death tolls, UK prime minister Angela Rayner announced in a ministerial statement to Parliament on February 11, 2038 that British forces would be withdrawing from the mission in Jerusalem, whilst the Dunsteenian foreign ministry confirmed Dunsteen's withdrawal of forces from Jerusalem to focus on Operation Safeguard the following day. With the withdrawal of key western allies from Jerusalem, on February 29, 2038 US president Alexandria Raines signed a formal treaty with Libirachi president Karyn Voor for the Shanghai Pact to purchase American military bases in the region at a sizeable mark-up whilst the United States Armed Forces formally withdrew from the mission in Jerusalem; leaked files from 2047 would later show that the Libirachi armed forces were responsible for the mystery attacks on NATO leadership in an attempt to get the western forces to leave Jerusalem and prevent any partition agreement with the United States. On March 3, 2038, Cardinal Nicholas Azure of the Bovido Imperium resigned his role within the Bovido government and joined up with the armed forces in Egypt as a personal advisor to Praefectus Amar Sato. By mid-March, the political power of Imperator Julios Cragen had all but evaporated, effectively leaving him as a prisoner in Jerusalem whilst the provinces of the empire he nominally ruled began to descend into factionalism; despite having lost grasp of the Bovido political system, Imperator Cragen remained publicly confident in his ability to lead the nation and made several public speeches and addresses as if he still controlled a vast transcontinental empire. As a sign of Cragen's diminishing authority, on March 13, 2038 prime minister Marisa Belacqua pronounced the autonomy of the province of Pindorama, effectively unilaterally revoking the *Treaty of Pindoraman Assentation* that Belacqua signed in November 2030 to bring Pindorama into the Bovido Imperium.

Following the declaration of autonomy for Pindorama, Praefectus Amar Sato and North African prime minister Yesu Soong travelled to Brasilia to meet with prime minister Marisa Belacqua on March 19, 2038, with the trio of leaders holding a political conference at the presidential palace to discuss the future of the Bovido Imperium; following several days of negotiations, the trio of leaders formally called a meeting of the Grand Council of the Bovido Imperium on March 23, 2038, and with the presence of former cardinal Nicholas Azure, the Grand Council voted to formally impeach Imperator Julios Cragen, with Azure being appointed as acting imperator and being reinstated as cardinal. At the same time, Belacqua, Sato and Soong formally proclaimed the establishment of the Triumvirate as a formal government institution between the three forefront Bovido leaders. Under the new regime, Nicholas Azure immediately initiated the Depurgo Protocol across the entirety of the state of North Africa on March 23, 2038, after the protocol was first used by Praefectus Sato in Egypt, and began to establish regional command centres at the behest of Sato in order to coordinate local forces better. With his removal from office on March 23, 2038, Julios Cragen proclaimed the formation of the Holy Salvation Government of the Bovido Imperium to control the territories in Jerusalem still loyal to him. On March 29, 2038, Imperator Nicholas Azure formally reached out to the Shanghai Pact with the promise of securing a peace agreement and an initial meeting between Bovido negotiator Justas Kolas and Persian prime minister Tamim bin Hamad took place in Geneva, Switzerland on April 2, 2038, with a follow-up public conference between bin Hamad and Kolas occurring on April 10, 2038. On April 11, 2038, Imperator Azure dismissed himself as cardinal and appointed Yesu Soong to the office, conducting a reshuffle of prime ministers on the same day to appoint Amar Sato as prime minister of North Africa and giving Justas Kolas the effectively defunct title of prime minister of Jerusalem State. Following the government re-shuffle, Imperator Azure made a televised public address directed at leaders of NATO and Shanghai Pact nations on April 13, 2038, pledging willingness to sign a conditional surrender and denouncing the proto-government in Jerusalem led by former Imperator Julios Cragen. As negotiations between the Bovido Imperium and Shanghai Pact continued, Libirachi vice president and foreign minister Angelica Rivera travelled to the United States of America on April 21st, 2038 to meet with President Alexandria Raines and discuss terms for a new political world order in the event of a Bovido Imperium surrender during the war and began working on negotiations for a reformed United Nations. On April 29, 2038, Cardinal Yesu Soong gave a speech in Rio de Janeiro announcing that peace negotiations between the Shanghai Pact and the Bovido Imperium had begun, with Soong, prime minister Justas Kolas and Libirachi foreign minister Angelica Rivera leading the negotiations; despite the announcement, war hostilities between the two states continued.

On June 16, 2038, a hypersonic missile fired from a Persian military base struck the Bovido Imperial Palace in Jerusalem, killing the self-proclaimed imperator Julios Cragen and senior members of his Holy Salvation Government. With the death of Julios Cragen, the city of Jerusalem began to crumble in its defences and within days of Cragen's death, the city walls were breached by the armies of the Shanghai Pact, who claimed full control over the city on June 29, 2038. The capture of Jerusalem marked the end of 130 years of Bovido occupation of the region and was regarded as a significant turning point in the fight against the Bovido Imperium, as the culmination of a three year military campaign in the region.

### Egyptian Revolution

 Main article: Egyptian Revolution
With the Shanghai Pact's successful encirclement of the Bovido Imperium's capital city of Jerusalem on January 3, 2038, the Bovido armed forces began a strategic withdrawal from Jerusalem State and the Sinai peninsula lasting from January 12 until February 3, 2038, with Bovido forces maintaining a perimeter around the Suez Canal to control shipping routes through the region. With forces withdrawn from the middle east, Praefectus Amar Sato began to establish a new military centre of command in the city of Cairo in the now conquered Egyptian provinces of the nation and started a re-distribution of armed forces in northern Africa under the "Depurgo Protocol", a military order designed to purge local regions of civilians through mass executions, before extracting all items of value and destroying infrastructure to prevent NATO/Shanghai Pact forces approaching the region. On February 16, 2038, a coalition of Egyptian resistance groups hijacked a television broadcast and proclaimed the formation of the Egyptian People's Revolutionary Front (EPRF) alongside footage of the Imperium Complex in Cairo city centre, which was then attacked by an explosion live on air. Following the bombing of the Imperium Complex, Praefectus Sato ordered a brutal repression to take place against the local population, with reprisals taking place against hundreds of innocent residents of major Egyptian cities between February 17th and 23rd - in response to the reprisals, the EPRF launched a secondary campaign against Bovido activities along the Suez canal, with attacks against transport ships blockading the Bovido Imperium's ability to maintain internal connections between regions of the nation. Attacks against Bovido military patrols and equipment shipments continued into the first weeks of March 2038, with a second attack on the Imperial Complex in Cairo nearly assassinating Praefectus Sato on March 18th. Following Pindorama's declaration of full autonomy on March 13th, Praefectus Sato and North African prime minister Yesu Soong travelled to Brasilia to meet with Pindoraman leader Marisa Belacqua in a political conference on March 19, 2038, leaving the region of Egypt effectively without government - on March 20, 2038, the Egyptian People's Revolutionary Front launched riots in the streets of Cairo and dozens of other major Egyptian cities as thousands of Egyptians took to the streets to bring about a regime change, managing to seize control in the central Cairo municipality after senior Bovido military commanders fled the city on March 24, 2038.

On March 25th, 2038, General Xu Fenlin of the Shanghai Pact ordered the launch of an invasion of the Bovido controlled regions of Egypt and formally recognised the EPRF's claim to control of the former territories of the Islamic Emirate of Egypt; on March 30th, the joint Persian, Greater Ruthenian and Russian armies began to launch assaults against the Bovido holdings at the Suez Canal, successfully managing to capture the Port Said region at the mouth of the canal by April 11, 2038. On the same day, Praefectus Amar Sato returned to Egypt after having been appointed as prime minister of North Africa just hours earlier, and began to withdraw battalions from the Libyan regions in order to quell the Egyptian rebellion, inadvertently allowing Major General Khalifa Haftar's African Liberation Army to make headway in expanding the Shanghai Pact Administrative Zone in Africa in the process. On April 29, 2038, members of the EPRF assassinated Major General Michael Clod, one of the region's highest ranked officers and a former leader of the Egyptian provinces; in response, Sato launched a repressive terror against the population of Alexandria, whereby thousands were subjected to torture and imprisonment in retribution. On May 19, 2038, a civilian uprising began in the Islamic quarter of Alexandria after a local imam was killed by Bovido security forces; the EPRF quickly joined in the conflict, and by June 6th, the city centre and administrative regions were under the control of rebellious factions. With the two major Egyptian cities under the control of the Egyptian People's Revolutionary Front, the EPRF conducted an election to nominate a leader, with the politician and economist Tarek Shawki winning election as the leader of the organisation; as the head of the EPRF, Shawki began to negotiate with the Shanghai Pact for backing against the Bovido Imperium, with the two organisations signing a joint accord to aid the overthrow of the Imperium on July 16, 2038.

Following months of conflict in eastern Egypt, the military forces of the Shanghai Pact arrived in the city of Cairo on July 25, 2038 and established the Egyptian Transitional Administration under the leadership of General Xu Fenlin to oversee civilian and military operations in the region. On August 13, 2038, Prime Minister Amar Sato fled northern Africa and landed in the city of Brasilia in Pindorama; with the commanding officer of the north African division of the Bovido armed forces having fled the region, the Shanghai Pact was able to secure a major propaganda victory over the Imperium, and on August 27, 2038, General Adama Sang surrendered the remaining garrison in Egypt to the Transitional Administration. By September 3, 2038, all major military bases in Egypt transferred control over to the Shanghai Pact, leaving the Egyptian Transitional Administration as the sole government of the region.

### Reclamation of northern Africa

 Main article: Operation Safeguard

Following the success of the "Christmas Miracle" of connecting the Shanghai Pact Administrative Zone in Africa (SPAZA) and Southern Sahara via land bridge on Christmas Eve 2037, Major General Khalifa Haftar and NATO commander Mike Milley agreed upon a twin prong strategy, whereby NATO forces would focus on liberating Algeria and eastern Morocco, whilst the Shanghai Pact and the African Liberation Army would focus on liberating Mauritania and Mali, as well as the remainder of Libya. In the aftermath of the January 3rd encirclement of Jerusalem city, the Shanghai Pact launched an invasion of Mali from the Shanghai Pact Occupied Zone in North Africa (SPOZNA) under the command of Wang Guanzhong, which managed to achieve instant successes with the capture of the city of Sikasso and it's surrounding region on February 20, 2038, whilst General Milley launched an invasion into the province of Illizi and managed to secure the fall of the local military administration on February 13, 2038, after a hand-over of NATO occupied regions in Libya to the Shanghai Pact on January 18th allowed NATO to commit more forces to the capture of the province. With the formation of a rebel group in neighbouring Egypt, Major General Haftar's eastward invasion of the Libyan provinces formally halted on March 2, 2038 in order to allow for the redeployment of forces across the SPAZA, whilst the southern Shanghai Pact forces from the SPOZNA succeeded in capturing the Mali regional capital of Bamako on March 9th, bringing the Shanghai Pact forces to the former boarders of the state of Mauritania. Meanwhile, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation under the command of General Milley continued to drive north and west, liberating thousands of square miles of territory from the Bovido Imperium in Milley's push towards the Mediterranean. Following the deposition of Bovido imperator Julios Cragen on March 23, 2038, NATO and Shanghai Pact forces' approaches into the Bovido Imperium were temporarily halted at the orders of both commanders, although hostilities resumed on April 2, 2038 after it became official Shanghai Pact policy to continue the assaults to use as a negotiation tool for any future surrender terms, effectively forcing NATO to resume it's assault for fear of domestic political ramifications. As Praefectus Amar Sato attempted to deal with an uprising in the Egyptian provinces of North Africa, Bovido armed forces began to withdraw from the Libyan regions in order to prop up the government in Cairo, allowing the Shanghai Pact to capture the province of Sabha on April 19, 2038.

By May 1, 2038, the ALA had succeeded in liberating the entire pre-Bovido region of Libya as Bovido forces attempted to maintain control over the Egyptian territories, with Praefectus Sato leading the armed force's withdrawal to Egypt and the Nile Valley. With the Egyptian Revolution and the EPRF rebellion occupying the Bovido Imperium in Egypt, the Shanghai Pact began to redistribute further forces in Asia into northern Africa through the Free Republic of Southern Sahara and the Shanghai Pact Occupied Zone in North Africa; by May 16, 2038, the Shanghai Pact forces had reached the region of Tagant after pursuing the fleeing Bovido Imperium through the Sahara desert, and seized control of the region after defeating Bovido forces in the Battle of Tidjikdja from May 26-30, 2038. On May 25, 2038, Southern Sahara joined Operation Safeguard and launched an invasion of the state of North Africa, seizing control over the Gao province within days. Alongside the Shanghai Pact's successes, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation succeeded in liberating the provinces of Djelfa, Touggourt, and El Oued in June 2038. Following the surrender of a local Bovido garrison, NATO also claimed control over the province of Bordj Baji Mokhtar

### Treaty of Shanghai

 Main article: Treaty of Shanghai

After months of attempts, negotiations between the Bovido Imperium and the Shanghai Pact made a breakthrough in late June 2038 following the death of former imperator Julios Cragen, and on June 27th, Imperator Nicholas Azure travelled to Canto Haven to meet with President Karyn Voor as part of a peace summit in Kampala; during the meeting, both leaders committed to holding a final peace summit in Beijing in November 2038 to sign an agreement to end the war. At the behest of Libirachi empress Penny Fox, General Secretary Geena Kulmuni began to draw up terms of surrender to impose on the Bovido Imperium in preparation for the summit, and on July 29, 2038 the proposed terms were presented to the heads of government of the Shanghai Pact at a summit in Beijing. Despite publicly presenting a unified face, significant internal disagreements persisted over the terms of surrender, with Persian president Hassen Ahmed and Isgardian president Melinia Vicetti calling for a complete dissolution of the Bovido Imperium, whilst Ducistian president Cyril Ramaphosa sought to keep a rump imperium in place to retain a balance of power. Amid the rift, the Persian government began to call for General Secretary Kulmuni to resign from office; whilst Kulmuni initially resisted the calls, denouncing them as politically motivated thanks to her ongoing animosity with President Ahmed, she ultimately caved in to the growing pressure and stepped down on August 17, 2038, leaving Carlo Boreal as acting general secretary. Within days of taking office, acting secretary Carlo Boreal travelled to Canto Haven on August 29, 2038 to meet with Imperator Nicholas Azure, as well as separately meeting the de-facto governing triumvirate of Marisa Belacqua, Amar Sato, and Yesu Soong through a private videoconference. During the meetings, the Bovido Imperium agreed to send Imperator Azure to the Fox Dynasty to sign a peace agreement in late September or early October, whilst Boreal himself would travel to visit prime minister Belacqua and Cardinal Soong in Pindorama at the same time. On September 21, 2038, Imperator Nicholas Azure travelled to the Fox Dynasty to attend a peace summit, landing in Shanghai in the morning of September 22nd. Whilst Azure had been promised a meeting with Empress Penny Fox, diplomatically his equal, he was instead greeted by vice president and foreign minister Angelica Rivera upon arrival and was relieved of his honour guard at Shanghai International Airport. At 14:05pm, Azure and Rivera formally signed the Treaty of Shanghai into effect, which saw the Bovido Imperium unconditionally and immediately surrender to the Shanghai Pact and its allies across all theatres of war, formally ending the Conquest of Africa.

## Aftermath

### Collapse of the Bovido Imperium

With the signing of the Treaty of Shanghai on September 22, 2038, Imperator Nicholas Azure surrendered the armed forces of the Bovido Imperium to the Shanghai Pact and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, formally bringing the Conquest of Africa to an end after five years of continuous warfare. Due to the relinquishing of claims to territory in northern Africa and the middle east, Imperator Azure signed a decree abolishing the offices of prime minister of North Africa and prime minister of Jerusalem State, as well as abolishing their respective Bovido states under the constitution of the Imperium; consequently, the Bovido Imperium's legally occupied territory was reduced to only the Bovido State of Pindorama, making prime minister Marisa Belacqua the de-facto prime minister of the Imperium. In the evening of September 22nd, 2038, formal lines of communication between Imperator Azure and Pindorama were cut at the order of Cardinal Yesu Soong, effectively removing Azure from the chain of command within his own empire. In the morning of September 23, 2038, prime minister Marisa Belacqua of Pindorama gave a televised address where she announced the repeal of the *Treaty of Pindoraman Assentation* and proclaimed the state of Pindorama to be the Empire of Pindorama, with herself as empress. Following the succession of Pindorama, the Bovido Imperium became a rump entity with no territory other than the illegally occupied territories in Africa it had pledged to hand to the Shanghai Pact in the Treaty of Shanghai. On September 24, 2038, Imperator Nicholas Azure abdicated the Bovido throne and decreed the immediate dissolution of the state as part of an agreement with the Libirachi government to avoid a harsh prison sentence. With the dissolution of the Bovido Imperium, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Shanghai Pact moved to occupy all former Bovido lands in Africa and formally took control of the last Bovido military base on October 14, 2038. As much of the Bovido Imperium's territorial loss had come during the war, the final dissolution of the Imperium was largely peaceful and consisted of a simple decree which was near universally followed by the armed forces of the regime.

## See Also

* Bovido Hassian Contingency
* Bovido nationalism