Tantero War

The Battle of Keradri, as chaotic as it was revolutionary, saw aerial combat thrust to the forefront of modern war. Valenros' unpreparedness in the air was a large contributor to its partial defeat.

### Location

Helmfeld Line
Sedrennian Sea

Tantero Archipelago

Amakar Strait

### Belligerents

Federal Republic of the Florantians
Kingdom of the Valenrosians

Karanlan Dominion (1426 only)

### Result

Great Power-mediated peace at the Renau Summit
Florantian strategic victory

Florantian annexation of Tantero, Acenoa and much of southern Helmfeld

Creation of the International Canal Mandate

The **Tantero War**, also called the **Florantine-Valenrosian War**, the **Sedrennian War**, or the **War in Helmfeld**, was a multi-continental industrialized conflict fought between the Florantian Republic and the Kingdom of Valenros during the early Age of Sail. Florantia, having exploded onto the political scene following its unification in 1370, rallied behind President Allesio Firavanti's dream of a Republic spanning all ethnically Florantian regions - primarily the frustratingly independent Kingdom of Helmfeld and the Valenrosian-controlled Tantero Archipelago. While Firavanti fell short of these lofty goals in his lifetime, the Republic he built nevertheless continued to pursue them, alongside ambitions of colonial grandeur. Aiming to make the Florantian state powerful enough to face its rivals politically and militarily, President Pietro Garavini was quick to encroach upon the Valenrosian sphere of influence during the Scramble for Ahinador. Florantia's invasion and annexation of the Karanlan province of Ifdir in the 1410s particularly inflamed tensions between the two Great Powers, as Republican troops were quick to occupy many isles on the Ifdiri coast of the Amakar Strait that were regarded as vital to Valenrosian colonial integrity. At the Sinkavora Summit, the Karanlan Dominion ceded Ifdir and its surrounding provinces to Florantia, pushing Valenros to realign its colonial policy in full opposition to the Republic's.

The collapse of the Sovereignty of Estadoria into brutal civil war in 1419 sharply upended the balance between the Great Powers. With much of central and southern Teceria plunged into conflict and Republican sentiments on the rise throughout Vaurithius, President Garavini's administration was galvanized in their mission to unseat Valenros as hegemon of the Sedrennian sea. The Republic began a lively diplomatic campaign calling for the annexation of Tantero and the rump state of Helmfeld, emphasizing the ethnically Florantian nature of the regions, while providing weapons to anti-Valenrosian movements in Ahinador. This situation would escalate into the Tantera Crisis, as Florantia began openly demanding the 'return' of its claimed states. The Kingdom's refusal led to Garavini ordering the Republican Navy to set up a blockade around the Tantero archipelago and to halt Valenrosian shipping through the Amakar Strait. The fellow Great Powers of Balveria, Eblia, and Ardonia, wary of the Crisis erupting into war, attempted to diplomatically resolve the situation, enacting the Second Partition of Helmfeld in May of 1423. Intended to settle disputed Florantian and Valenrosian claims over the small state, the Partition split Helmfeld between Florantia, Valenros and Balveria. Instead of resolving the matter, however, the Partition only intensified the Crisis, as the two opposing Powers massed their forces along the new and heavily fortified Helmfeld Line in a nearly unprecedented military buildup.

In February of 1424, the Crisis boiled over into widespread violence. Two Valenrosian airships, attempting to bypass the Amakar Strait, recieved several warning shots from Florantian warships in the strait. The Valenrosian airships responded with a full salvo, sinking several Florantian merchant ships as well as two Republican Navy vessels. This engagement, though brief, became a watershed moment as the Florantian public erupted in a frenzy of anger and nationalism. Encouraged by the public, Garavini's government ordered the forceful occupation of Tantero, along with strategic isles in the Amakar strait occupied by Valenrosian colonial garrisons. This retaliatory strike, though succesful, prompted an official declaration of war from the Kingdom of Valenros. With the archipelago and the strait now under firm Florantian control and both nations' militaries already mobilized, the Tantero War had begun.