Kroftish Military

Commander in chief
 Engagements

The **Kroftish Military** is the armed forces of Kroftland. It consists of 3 service branches; the Imperial Army, Navy, and Airforce. Each branch of the Kroftish military serves a different domain, and is put under different leadership.

Since the founding of the Imperial Navy after the proclamation of the Kroftish empire, the Kroftish military has played a significant role, not only in Helva, but Almoria as a whole.

## History

#### Origins

The idea of a unified Kroftish military was originally seen as an abstract concept. During the ducal and kingdom eras of Kralfald, armies and navies were raised by counts, and, occasionally, by the duke or king himself. There were vast differences in manpower, equipment, and training between the armies of different counties, and counts had a large degree of authority over their troops. Then-king Markas I, who had already planned on proclaiming the Kroftish Empire before ending the Kralfald-Nortdor War in 273, proclaimed his navy as the Imperial Navy. Following victory in the war, and his coronation as Kroftish emperor, he united all county armies into the Imperial Army.

#### First Krofto-Nabilan War

Eager to utilize his newly united army and naval forces, Markas I sought to stake a further claim into Eastern Zira, and in 275 he made the decision to expand further into Nabila, a nation which Kroftland had signed a peace treaty with. The war was successful, and the Krofts made yet another treaty with the Nabilans, gaining even more territory for their overseas colony. Following the war, the primary mission of the Kroftish forces shifted to securing the now vast borders of the empire. The country would not go to war again for another 40 years, during the reign of Markas V.

#### Krofto-Nierokland War

With Kroftland having been at peace for many years, the nation had time to build up a sufficient force to begin another phase of conquering the remaining independent Kroftish duchies. In year 315, emperor Markas V, just 18 years old at the time, declared war on the Duchy of Nierokland, and sent a force of about four thousand men, and five naval ships. The war began, and the well-equipped, professionally trained, and centralized Kroftish forces proved to best the county armies of Nierokland. After about a year of conflict, the Nieroklanders capitulated and joined the empire, leaving only the Duchy of Brogland and the Duchy of Donsland as the last independent Kroftish duchies.

#### Second Krofto-Nabilan War & Decolonization Wars

Maintaining overseas colonies proved to be expensive and administratively difficult for the Kroftish government. Shipping supplies between Helva and Eastern Zira drew Kroftland into severe debt as opposed to profit, and the local Nabilan population grew increasingly hostile to their occupiers. In 333, what remained of the independent Nabilan territory had rallied an army, and attacked several Kroftish expeditionary forces' outposts by surprise. With a limited amount of soldiers available, emperor Volf I ordered naval troops in the area to take up muskets and assist in the war effort, leading to the formation of the Naval Infantry Corps. Despite inflicting large amounts of casualties on the Nabilans, Volf I eventually withdrew his forces from the south of the colony and signed a treaty with the Nabilans in 334, returning land that had been annexed in the first Krofto-Nabilan war. Just 6 years later, in 340, native populations across the northern Nayabic coastal colonies began to rise up against their Helvic occupiers, and the Decolonization Wars began. Initially, the Krofts, along with their Palmoran and Esernian allies, had vested interests in maintaining their colonial territories, but war expenses and loss of life proved to be to high of a cost, and the Helvic nations slowly withdrew. Numerous war crimes and atrocities were committed by the Helvic colonial powers during the Decolonization Wars, leading to over 70,000 civilian casualties. The war saw far higher casualties than in the previous wars against the Nabilans, seeing some 8,500 Kroftish soldiers and sailors perish, the most in Kroftish history at that point. Emperor Karel I eventually signed peace with the Nabilans in 365, officially ending the colony of Kroftish Nabila.

#### Krofto-Veintish Conflict & Krofto-Brogland War

Following a rather embarrassing defeat in Eastern Zira, Karel I sought not only to restore Kroftland's honor, but to further unite the remaining independent Kroftish lands. In 372 he sent a contingent of the Imperial Army to the east banks of the Farna river, near the town of Londdruf, a Kroftish speaking town, to expel the forces of the Kingdom of Veintland-Rindland. A small battle broke out, with the Kroftish side claiming victory, pushing the Veinto-Rindish regiment to the west banks of the river. Following this ordeal, Karel I broke ties with the Veinto-Rinds, which would not be restored until the kingdom's dissolution during the following year.

Having won a small victory in the conflict, Karel I then set his eyes on Brogland in the northeast. The Broglanders were reknowned as experts in mountain warfare and hand to hand combat, and were prepared to defend themselves, even with far fewer men than the Krofts. The war began in 374 with a naval invasion on Robborhofin, followed by a large scale land invasion from Nierokland. The Duke of Brogland and his armies then retreated into the Vitz mountains and awaited a Kroftish advance. As the Imperial Army chased the Broglanders into the mountains, large scale battles ensued, resulting in high casualties for the Krofts. Although the Krofts, who fielded an army of around 15,000, vastly outnumbered the Broglanders (only about 1,000), they also sustained far more casualties. It is estimated that the Imperial Army lost about three thousand men, compared to the Broglander army, which lost only about five hundred men. Nevertheless, the situation for Brogland was hopeless, and surrender soon followed. Karel I hailed the annexation of Brogland as a great victory for Kroftland, bringing the nation closer to complete unification. He had originally planned an invasion of Donsland, but was unable to, due to the Esernians invading it first. Karel I was furious that Donsland was in Esernian hands, and maintained a large military presence on the Esernian border.