26 Minute War

The 26 Minute War, also known as the Wallaceian Coalition War against Chiyesa, was a brief war in March of 43AUC involving the Unified Tribes of Chiyesa on one side and the Wallaceian Empire, the Republic of the Isles of Birillum and the Kingdom of Desonia on the other side.

## Background

The conflict has its roots in March of 43AUC when the Unified Tribes of Chiyesa claimed a portion of land, known in Chiyesa as Sunta Brathge or the Wolf Plain, that was part of the Knights of Donnersmarck's territory. The border skirmish soon escalated into a full scale war and became the first test to the ability of the International Community to peacefully resolve conflict between its member nations. The name of the war comes from the fact that it only took 26 minutes from the start of the war until it was formally ended in the Treaty of New Arcburg.

## Course of the War

On the 11th of March 43AUC, at 22:51 Chiyesa made its claim including a small part of roofed forest already claimed by the Knights of Donnersmarck. At 22:57, Emperor Obama of the Wallaceian Empire, overlord of the Knights, asked the Unified Tribes to rescind their claim. Around the same time, imperial tribes started patrolling the border between the Knights of Donnersmarck and the Unified Tribes of Chiyesa.

At 23:22, the Pontificate of Neo Boreopolis proposed International Community Resolution 1 (ICR§1) and a debate was held between a representative of the Empire and of the Unified Tribes, after which the members of the International Community would vote to recognize either party's claim on the disputed territory. The debate ended at 01:02 the next day after which voting began. The Unified Tribes voted in favour of its own claims, the Wallaceian Empire and the Isles of Birillum voted in favour of the Wallaceian Empire's claims. Both the Pontificate and the United Avian Kingdom voted undecided and the other IC members did not even have the time to cast their votes as by that point war had already broken out. At 01:39, Governour General Dale White of the Republic of the Isles of Birillum announced his neutrality should war break out, unless it violated ICR§1. With the International Community undecided and both sides awaiting the decision of the remaining members, tensions continued to rise between both parties.

As imperial troops continued to patrol the border, Emperor Obama himself payed a visit to the contested area, only to see that Chiyesa had already erected a defensive wall to defend their claim. At around 01:47, Chiyesan forces shot arrows at Emperor Obama in a border skirmish. At 01:54, the Wallaceian border patrol killed a Chiyesan soldier, resulting in a Chiyesan declaration of war against the Empire at 01:55. At 01:56, the Wallaceian Empire released a statement, saying it would not declare war back as the Wallaceian Empire was acting in mere self defence. The situation de-escalated somewhat as the border patrol temporarily retreated from the area. At 01:59, the Wallaceian Empire requested the aid of the Kingdom of Desonia. At around 02:09, the Republic of the Isles of Birillum offered its services as mercenaries to the Empire, promising to provide siege engineers. At 02:10, Wallaceian soldiers killed another Chiyesan.

At 02:20, Chiyesa invited Emperor Obama to join peace talks in the Chiyesan capital. The Chiyesa gave their word that this wasn't a trap. At around 02:30, the Wallaceian peace delegation arrived, accompanied by a representative from the Kingdom of Desonia. The Chiyesa proposed drawing a line through the middle of the contested area to divide it between the two parties. The Wallaceian Empire refused as they claimed the entire region. At around 02:34, the peace talks devolved into insults and the Chiyesa attacked the Wallaceian peace delegation. At 02:35, the Wallaceian Empire formally declared war on the Unified Tribes, citing the incident at the peace conference as a casus belli. Shortly after, both the Isles of Birillum and the Kingdom of Desonia declared war on the Unified Tribes and joined the Wallaceian Coalition.

The Coalition forces marched on the Chiyesan capital, hoping to enforce a quick and total surrender. At 02:43, a casualty fell on the Coalition's side; a soldier of the Kingdom of Desonia who burnt to death. At 02:44, another Chiyesan soldier was killed, this time by Desonian troops. Shortly after, Chiyesan soldiers started surrendering. At 02:51, the Unified Tribes formally surrendered.

## Effects of the War

Following the Chiyesan surrender, Chiyesa renounced its claims on the disputed territory in the Treaty of New Arcburg. The Kingdom of Desonia and the Republic of Birillum both entered a military alliance with the Wallaceian Empire. The international ramifications, however, are arguably bigger than the results of the war itself. In response to the growing threat of war in the west, the Free Principality of Tomopolis, the Empire of Wineghem and the Pontificate of Neo Boreopolis announced an alliance called the Nations of the East. In addition, the Principality, the United Avian Kingdom and the Pontificate all expressed their concern over the fact that the warring parties failed to respect the rules of the International Community. In the Pontificate and the Principality, additional complaints arose over the position of Birillum in the Wallaceian Coalition War. While they had initially declared their neutrality, they offered their services as mercenaries during the war, even before the ambush of the Wallaceian peace delegation. In the Pontificate, this led to a meeting of the Council of Elected Bishops, who voted to enact a trade embargo against the Republic of the Isles of Birillum for their involvement in the war. The motion was eventually defeated when the Pontifex Maximus broke a tie of 6 in favour and 6 against. In a statement which followed, the Pontifex did however condemn the role of the Republic in the Wallaceian Coalition War against Chiyesa.

## Historical Sources

1/23 | *The 26 Minute War* was written by SibCDC in 43AUC (*2020*) as a historical reference work on the 26 Minute War. The book is stored in the Borges Library under the History section.