Atanosian War

**Location**
 **Result**
 **Participants**
 **Commanders and Leaders**
 **Casualties and losses:**
Atanosia: 5,000,000 (2,500,000 military, 2,500,000 civilian)

The Atanosian War was a conflict between Coriolanus Snow, the dictator of Atanosia, Eurasia, and the International Confederation of Free States, and to a lesser extent OMNI Enforcer. The war began with Snow's attack on Eurasian military bases in the nation, killing over 3,500 legionaries. Eurasia quickly ordered an invasion of its former ally, alongside New-Zealand and New Europe, as well as New Tarajan and the OMNI Enforcer.

Several 'districts', the term used by the Atanosian Government to refer to administrative divisions within their nation, rebelled and joined the allied forces in liberating the country. Heavy fighting commenced, and after two years of brutal warfare the fighting ended.

The war ended with the capture of Snow in 1997, after which the remaining loyalist forces surrendered, whereupon the rebel forces founded the current state of New Atanea. Snow was tried for war crimes and Crimes against Humanity and imprisoned in a Arveyran prison. He was later found to have committed suicide, though it is suspected he was murdered by Eurasian operatives.

## Background

Coriolanus Snow was elected to the Presidency of Atanosia in late 1994 as a far-right candidate. His election was controversial, with many international observers claiming voter fraud. However, upon taking office he initiated a series of bizarre, authoritarian policies, including renaming the nation "Panem," Eurasian for "bread," and reorganizing the nation into 13 districts and a Capitol.

While curious to outside observers, nothing was presumed to be nefarious in Snow's actions, until January 1st, 1995, when Snow instituted martial law in the country and arrested all foreigners. Embassy staff from Eurasia, Arveyres, New Tarajan, Duresia, New Zealand, Antanares, Planita, and numerous others were arrested and detained, and foreign civilians were arrested and mutilated, many having their tongues cut out and being sold into slavery. The international community responded with horror and indignation, to little effect.

At the time, the Military of Eurasia maintained several large military bases in the country, owing to an outstanding assistance treaty. Atanosian military forces ambushed these bases, killing around 5,500 legionaries. An ad hoc excavation was ordered, and several bases were evacuated in time, thanks largely due to the assistance of the Royal Tarajani Navy, whose nearby fleet aided in evacuating the majority of Eurasian forces.

A joint effort by OMNI Enforcer and the Batavian Cohorts rescued most of the foreign embassy staff, but those not rescued were executed on live television by Snow in retaliation. In response, on February 16th, 1995, Eurasia, Duresia, New Zealand, New Tarajan, and Antanares declared war on Atanosia. Upon receiving this news, Districts 12 and 13 in the far north rebelled against Snow.

## Conflict

### Invasion

The Military of Eurasia was the first to enter the country, landing in Districts 12 and 13 en masse. Initially, five legions were deployed. The New-Zealand Defence Force also deployed several army groups. The rebels welcomed the invaders with open arms, but the districts were far from secure. Their southerly areas were still mostly under loyalist control, and the allied forces were forced to launch immediate offensives to prevent themselves from being overrun.

Eurasia also launched an invasion of District 6, the industrial heart of Atanosia, in an effort to divert forces away from the beachheads. This was successful, as the loyalists were forced to divert significant manpower to combat this Eurasian offensive.

### Push to the Capitol

From their bases in districts 12 and 13, allied forces, which now included New Tarajan and to a lesser degree Arveyres, launched massive offensives into districts 2, 5, and 6. The Eurasian Air Force launched massive bombing offensives against the capital, Caelux, as well as loyalist positions. The offensive began with a prolonged, massive artillery and aerial bombardment lasting four days, which was the largest use of conventional explosives since the Ienaran War.

District 2 quickly capitulated, joining the rebels. President Snow reactivated several nuclear power plants in districts 8, 9, 10, and 11, increasing the manufacturing capacity of Atanosia. In District 5, as coalition forces crossed the massive hydroelectric dam, it was destroyed by the Atanosian Air Force, causing massive civilian casualties due to flooding. This stalled the allied advance in district 5, though the offensives into 2 and 6 were successful. New Zealander forces successfully liberated district 2 in mid-1996, and Eurasian forces district 6. Tarajani forces, stalled by the floodwaters, finally liberated district 5 in late '96.

Following the loss of almost half of the country, districts 1, 4, 7, 8, and 11 rebelled and joined the rebels. In a last ditch attempt to salvage the war effort, Snow expended half the nation's oil reserves to reactive large numbers of mothballed armor and aircraft. The final, significant Atanosian offensive of the war was launched from districts 3, 9, and 10. This forced deep into allied territory and completely surrounded the 9th Armored Cohort of the 18th Legion, which fought to the death. The Tarajani 87th Airborne Infantry bravely fought a rearguard action, losing almost the entirety of their force before Eurasian and New Zealander reinforcements could halt the loyalist advance.

### Fight for the Capitol

Following the failure of the Winter Offensive by Snow in 1997, Atanosia's defeat was all but certain. The remaining districts rebelled, leaving only the Capitol to defend against the allied advance. The allied forces paused to ready for the final offensive, which launched in August of 1997. Eurasian forces approached from the north, Tarajani from the west, and New Zealander from the east.

The Battle for Caelux was perhaps the bloodiest of the war, with loyalist forces fighting the allied advance street for street, house for house, and room for room, with civilians caught in the crossfire. The allies lost over 200,000 in the battle alone, and the loyalists lost an estimated 500,000. The battle culminated in the Eurasian attack on the parliament building in the Battle for the Atanea. Eurasian forces fought room for room and floor for floor, ultimately taking the building in the afternoon hours of September 9th, 1997. Snow himself was captured attempting to flee the city by Tarajani forces. Remnants of loyalist forces signed peace accords the following day on September 10th, putting the conflict to an end.

## Aftermath

The Atanosian War was one of the bloodiest wars since the Great War. Due to the advances of modern television and reporting, home audiences across the world were able to view the carnage of the war. An outpouring of public support for the allied coalitions swept through many populations, with many foreigners volunteering in the Eurasian auxiliary legions. Following the loyalist capitulation, many loyalist soldiers and officers were hanged for war crimes by the Eurasian and Tarajani Governments.

Atanosia itself lay in complete ruins, with the infrastructure of the country almost entirely destroyed. The allies set up joint occupation zones, but the country never truly reclaimed its former glory. It was eventually absorbed by New Tarajan as part of an closed-doors agreement. Coriolanus Snow was hanged publicly in Julium by Eurasia in early 1998. Many current Eurasian politicians and nobles served in the war as officers, including Emperor Augustus IV.

The discovery of concentration camps built by the Atanosian loyalists to house dissidents and captured POWs horrified the world, and several new human rights laws were passed in the UNE as a result. Observers did charge Eurasia with conducting summary executions of many captured loyalist officers, though this had never been proven. In total, the war saw 6.5 million casualties, a quarter of which were Atanosian civilians caught in the crossfire.