War of the Doge Wonderlandian Succession

Joint Mandator and Nantese forces preparing to take Caparce while the Loyalist army is off guard

### Result

Treaty of Woofertown (1343) * Crowning of both Anna Schmidt and Joseph Weber as Otto von Longdawg LXXV
* Formation and destruction of Blemian Republic
	+ Formation of Blemian Protectorate
* Loyalist/Mandator split in Dogeism

### Territorial changes

Doge Wonderlandian capture of entire Ibarklan peninsula

## Strength

* 150 cannons
* 800 cavalry

**Naval forces:*** 312 Doge Wonderlandian fortune ships
* 34 light caravels
* 220 cannons
* 1,900 cavalry

**Naval forces:*** 77 heavy caravels
* 22 heavy fortune ships
* 25 galleys
* 2,000 Hart troops

## Casualties and losses

*Note: this is outdated and needs to be updated to current lore*

The **War of the Doge Wonderlandian Succession** (1320–1342) was an early-13th-century Doge Wonderlandian war, triggered by the 1319 death of Franz Schmidt, Otto von Longdawg LXXIV. It established Doge Wonderlandian supremacy on Forsenan and cemented their place as the most powerful nation on the continent. It was the largest armed conflict on the continent until the Second Protescheems War in 1375.

Franz Schmidt, Otto von Longdawg LXXIV had ascended to the throne in 1315 after the unexpected death of his father, Ben Schmidt, Otto von Longdawg LXXIII. In 1319, he was assassinated by his second cousin, General Joseph Weber, who felt he should have inherited the throne. Weber covered up the assassination as an illness, and proclaimed that this was a sign that Schmidt had lost the Mandate of Doge, thus making Weber the rightful ruler. He also claimed it delegitimized Schmidt's heir apparent, Anna Schmidt, who was governing Doge Wonderlandian colonies in Ibarkla. Weber then claimed the throne, sparking the Loyalist-Mandator political rift in the Dogeist religion.

Schmidt and Weber both believed themselves to be the rightful emperor of Doge Wonderland. Schmidt contacted the isolationist Kingdom of Nanto and sold the recipe to gunpowder as well as a 99-year lease on northern Ibarklan colonies in exchange for materiel and manpower; she planned to amass a large army to invade Woofertown and take back the throne. Meanwhile, Weber readied a large armada and the Doge Wonderlandian army to invade the Ibarklan colonies. He also made a secret deal with Nanto, promising them the entire city of Caparce in exchange for their hidden, true loyalty.

Loyalist forces commanded by Schmidt held the advantage in the early stages of the war, even capturing Weber's flagship with him onboard. However, Weber coordinated with the Nantese to mutiny, freeing him and allowing his surviving forces to capture Caparce, while Schmidt and the Loyalists were forced to retreat to Windfall. Simultaneously, the Hartdon Republic secretly encouraged and backed slave resistance movements throughout the northern Ibarklan colonies, especially in the Hartdon mountains, promising to help them set up a semi-independent protectorate and their freedom.

After reaching Windfall, the Hartdon Republic coordinated simultaneous slave uprisings in all Ibarklan colonies within their sphere of influence; Mouriprin, Twin Fangs, Nor Pisce and Cacobaco all were captured by joint slave-Hartdon forces within days, while many others were captured in the following weeks. Weber was abandoned by the Nantese forces, who took advantage of the situation to capture the Doge Wonderlandian colonies along the western coast of Ibarkla as well as Caparce, cutting both Loyalist and Mandator forces off from any aid.

Weber and Schmidt then entered into an uneasy alliance to retake Caparce to allow for sea resupply from Doge Wonderland proper, which they did successfully. Despite both sides attempting to sabotage the other, both discovered the other's attempts, resulting in a grudging mutual respect. Meanwhile, the slave uprising had successfully taken much of Northern Ibarkla, forming the Blemian Republic, while Nanto had conquered Doge Wonderland's western colonies. Weber and Schmidt then simultaneously proposed marriage to each other, and married in the fall of 1323. This gave them both power and a legitimate title, and they consolidated their forces in preparation for the recapture of the colonies.

By the winter of 1323, reinforcements arrived from Doge Wonderland proper. They then engaged in a campaign to retake all former Doge Wonderlandian colonies, first fighting a long, intense war in the Blemian Republic then retaking the western colonies. Despite having a numerical advantage, the population of the Blemian Republic lacked enough materiel support from the Hartdon Republic and were forced to fight a guerilla campaign, which they eventually lost with the capture of Mouriprin in April 1341. Most fled to the northern islands of Aesland, where they formed the Blemian Protectorate; those who stayed were massacred or recaptured into slavery. The western colonies were recaptured from Nanto without much bloodshed owing to Nantese inexperience in waging war or in use of firearms.

By 1342, the war was essentially over, and Doge Wonderlandian authority had been asserted over the entire Ibarklan subcontinent. On 7 September 1343, the Treaty of Woofertown (1343) was signed, signifying an end to the war; Anna Schmidt and Joseph Weber were both given the regnal title Otto von Longdawg LXXV, signifying their shared power.

## Background

In 1315 Franz Schmidt became the Emperor of Doge Wonderland, Otto von Longdawg LXXIV. His ascension to the throne was controversial, given his inexperience in governing as well as his physical unattractiveness. One royal governor wrote of him, "his hideousness is such that it cannot be tolerated within one's line of sight; his face causes babes to shriek and cry, young children to flee to their mothers, older children to begin praying for fear of Cringecifer's wickedness being given physical form, and even grown men to cower and flee".

Despite this, he ascended to the throne after his father's death. Schmidt's second cousin once removed, Joseph Weber, felt especially insulted by Schmidt's inheritance of the throne. Weber was an accomplished general in the Doge Wonderlandian Army, having successfully led a large-scale campaign against the Kingdom of Nolar in northern Ibarkla, allowing Doge Wonderlandian colonies to be established there, and felt the throne rightfully belonged to him rather than Schmidt.

## Prelude to war

Weber's patience ended when, in late 1315, Schmidt appointed his daughter Anna, then Princess of Doge Wonderland, to the position of Imperial Governor of the Dominion of Ibarkla due to her skills at diplomacy, with the intent of establishing trade relations with the isolationist Nantese Shogunate. Despite the younger Schmidt's merit, Weber saw this as a nepotistic act, and felt that the emperor was unfit to rule. Thus, he began making preparations to execute a coup, planning to use his position as a general in the Doge Wonderlandian army to his advantage.

On 16 April 1319, Weber replaced the elder Schmidt's guards with troops loyal to him and poisoned him while having a private dinner. He then publicly announced the news of Schmidt's death, claiming it was due to a sudden illness. He claimed that this showed the elder Schmidt had lost the Mandate of Doge, thus making him and his heir apparent, Anna, unfit to rule. Thus, Weber claimed the throne himself, and with the throne became Grand Shibe of the Dogeist Church.

This caused a political rift in the Dogeist religion. Two main factions emerged, the Loyalists and the Mandators; the Loyalist faction believed Anna Schmidt was the rightful emperor and Grand Shibe, while the Mandator faction supported Weber. While his charisma and talent at giving prepared speeches allowed him to quell discontent temporarily, he was forced to put down an uprising in Woofertown before setting sail to Caparce with a large armada with the goal of capturing Schmidt and either forcing her to officially abdicate her claim to the throne or executing her.

Before they could depart, a small Loyalist rebel group hijacked a Doge Wonderlandian caravel, with the goal of warning Schmidt about the incoming force; they succeeded in giving her a month's notice. She contacted the Nantese leadership and entered into a military alliance with them in preparation for the incoming war, trading gunpowder and a 99-year lease on the colonies of Walconum and Ergentum in northern Ibarkla for military aid. However, Nanto was later contacted by Weber, who convinced them to secretly enter into a deal with him and betray the Loyalists in return for the city of Caparce itself.

## Specific objectives

### Mandators

The Mandators planned to force Schmidt to officially abdicate her claim to the throne, but, failing that, were prepared to either capture or kill her to prevent her from utilizing it. She had no heirs, and the throne would have *de facto* gone to Weber, her closest living relative, in the event of her incapacitation or death. As the Ibarklan colonies were extremely profitable, they also planned to retake those as well; they prioritized the capture of Caparce to prevent potential Loyalist forces from resupplying Schmidt's faction and allow for their own reinforcements from the Doge Wonderlandian heartland.

### Loyalists

With the outbreak of the war, Schmidt was put into a precarious position; despite potentially having the support of Loyalists in the Doge Wonderlandian heartland, it would be very difficult for her to capitalize upon those resources. In addition, though the population of the colonies was theoretically high, most of the population were slave laborers, and there were few centers of production in the colonies. Thus, she planned to defeat the Mandator force quickly with her existing forces and capture Weber before reinforcements from the heartland could arrive, allowing her to return to Woofertown and reclaim the throne.

## Aftermath

Article II, Section I of the Treaty of Woofertown officially recognized the joint power of Schmidt and Weber, coronating them both as Otto von Longdawg LXXV and Grand Shibe CII of the Dogeist Church. This had profound implications on the Dogeist Church and Doge Wonderland as a whole; it set the precedent that two individuals could hold both positions.