Great Balonese War

The Great Balonese War was fought between the Axis (the Balonese Empire and the United States of America) and the Allies (Soelsham, Estoritia, Espaeria, and Hufial). Millions of lives were lost as nations rose and fell. The war would see the end of the Balonese Empire and would be key in the creation of New Estoritia.

## Timeline

February 1st, 1914 – Balonese Archduke Fyordor Gofra is shot and killed on holiday in Soelsham, a small pro-Espaerian county who wished for total independence from the Balonese Empire.

February 5th, 1914 – The Soelsham government is blamed for the murder and Balo declares war.

February 10th, 1914 – Estoritia declares that Balo must withdraw its declaration of war on Soelsham or Estoritia would invade Balo. Balo declares war on Estoritia.

February 12th, 1914 – The United States of America makes a defensive pact with Balo and declares war on Estoritia and Soelsham.

February 13th, 1914 – Espaeria tries to host emergency talks between the four countries but the talks backfire after a Balonese Army platoon shoot 15 Estoritian civil servants. Espaeria declares war on Balo and the United States of America.

February 18th, 1914 – Forces from both the United States of America (USA) and the Balonese Empire invade Soelsham.

March 10th, 1914 – Soelsham falls to the ‘Axis’ forces.

March 18th, 1914 – Axis forces launch an invasion into Estoritia. Espaeria and Estoritia form a defensive line, known as the Ahmed line, after General Karim Ahmed, head of the Espaerian 5th division, mainly made up of the Jewish and Muslim minority groups of St James.

April 1st, 1914 – The first battle for Marne starts on the Estoritian border with Soelsham.

June 5th, 1914 – The first battle for Marne reaches a stalemate. Axis forces attack Noerahl, a small mainly Jewish village in northern Estoritia.

September 11th, 1914 – The battle for Noerahl ends in a victory for the Axis, who continue to advance further west. The 5th division are crushed in the battle and many of the troops are sent to Balonese concentration camps based off of their religions. As most of the men are either Jewish or Muslim, the division, consisting of 15,000 men, who had lost 3,000 in battle, is cut down to just 2,000 survivors, all of whom had retreated to form a rear-guard before the battle had ended, but were forced back to the third line of defence, the remaining 10,000 were captured and later executed in mass executions in concentration camps. General Ahmed reforms his division, still with a Jewish and Muslim majority, but a small band of Christians also joined as a sub-unit known as the Hellfighters.

September 18th, 1914 – The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th divisions of the Espaerian Army are deployed to Estoritia, leaving the 11th division to protect the borders.

September 19th, 1914 – The USA sends all its forces to Soelsham, including the American Navy, who lose half their forces after they are sunk one week later by an Espaerian Navy all-out attack.

October 4th, 1914 – The Balonese Army attacks Aeijeh, a holiday town in the north of Estoritia, but the attack goes wrong, and the town is split in two between opposing armies. The high cliffs to the east of the town is held by the Estoritian Army 122 Arhwosht (Estoritian for division), and the flats to the west are held by the Espaerian 1st division. These two armies are cut off from their supply train when they are encircled in an attack three days later. Many soldiers starve to death and many others resort to launching suicidal attacks against the Balonese Army to try break the siege. The 122 Arhwosht is totally wiped out and the 1st division launches an all-out assault on Suwwishel, the weak point in the siege line and the lowest point of the flats. The division contained 15,000 men from the state of Westermere before the battle, and by the time of ‘the charge of the dead’, 4,000 have been killed. The remaining 11,000, under the guidance of General Percival Walford, attacks Suwwishel in the dead of night. The line is broken and of the 11,000 initial survivors, 10,000 escape back to ‘Allied’ (Espaerian and Estoritian) lines.

December 25th, 1914 – An estimated 1381 Allied soldiers are killed defending the front line after the ‘Christmas Attack’ on all fronts by Axis forces.

January 1st, 1915 – Estoritian forces retreat to Estoritia City and soon all Espaerian forces have to retreat to allow a strengthened line. The 263 Arhwosht leads the defence of Estoritia City, alongside Arhwoshts 264 to 300.

January 10th, 1915 – Axis forces attack Estoritia City, starting the battle for Estoritia.

January 19th, 1915 – Espaerian forces are withdrawn from Estoritia and form a defensive line around Espaeria.

January 31st, 1915 – Estoritia announces a full surrender to Axis forces, meaning that the Axis forces have full control of the Eurishean continent. Estoritian refugees flee to Espaeria and Hufial, an independent superpower whose empire wished to expand to Balonese territory, but the central government feared that war would result in a collapse of the empire and instead took in millions of refugees.

February 5th, 1915 – On the anniversary of the start of the war, thousands line the streets of Lyber, the Balonese capital, to celebrate the success of the Axis and to mourn the loss of fallen soldiers. The JANSI party in St James launches an attack on central government offices in support of the Axis. The JANSI believe that the Axis will initiate a new ‘golden era’ of Jamesian society, with the total removal of Jews, Muslims, and all Holfish elements of society, as well as separation from Espaeria and the Grand Master Templar given total power.

February 12th, 1915 – The battle for Espaeria is launched after Axis forces attack 90% of Espaeria’s borders but after only one month, the attack fails and Espaeria pushes the Axis back to Estoritia. By now, the Espaerian Army consists of over 10,000,000 men, but this is still less than the 20,000,000 of the Axis, with both nations contributing 10,000,000 men.

March 13th, 1915 – Estoritian resistance attacks the sea defences in the south of the nation. An estimated 400 Axis soldiers are killed.

March 14th, 1915 – The ‘Kill Order’ is sent out by Axis high command. All Jewish, Muslim, and Holfish civilians (defined by having at least one member of one of the listed groups as a direct relative in the past 8 generations) are to be taken to concentration camps and executed. All Espaerian POWs (Prisoners of War) are to be executed if they are an Officer, tortured for information if they are an NCO, and used as slave labour if they have no rank. All villages with Estoritian resistance groups are to be destroyed completely, with women kept as slaves and children sent to the USA for re-education, and all towns and cities enter complete marshal law, with daily executions to create intimidation. The Estoritian Genocide starts.

March 15th, 1915 – The northern Espaerian state of St James is invaded, and with over 60% of the male population away from the state, the invasion is successful for the first two weeks. JANSI Party members guide the invading army, and the Grand Master Templar has to escape to St Edmunds-Upon-Baxley.

March 20th, 1915 – The 5th, 6th, and 7th divisions deploy to St James and counterattack the Axis forces. The Axis forces had taken Magnapor, Flumdos, and were preparing their assault on James City before being pushed all the way back out of the state and out of the country over just 2 days.

March 25th, 1915 – The Espaerian government announces that an attempted genocide had taken place in St James.

March 26th, 1915 – Axis forces try to sweep into Peregwyn Fortress to gain foothold in Espaeria, but the landings fail after heavy machine gun fire from the beach slaughters over 28,000 of the 50,000 Axis soldiers as they hit the beach. The battle lasted for a day and by the time the sun had set, 531 Axis soldiers had surrendered, and the rest had been killed. Out of the 100 defenders, 80 had survived without wounds, 19 had been wounded, and 1 had been killed – Major Gareth Williams PC PO DJC PSA (President’s Cross, Presidential Order, Distinguished Jamesian Cross, Peregwyn Soldier’s Award). Major Williams was killed after charging onto the beach and stealing a landing craft to try distract attention away from the shoreline defences. After a 15-minute chase, Williams landed the craft back on the beach but was killed whilst attacking another landing craft filled with Axis soldiers.

March 30th, 1915 – Heroes Day in Espaeria is held to commemorate all those that had died so far. During the day, enlistment hit an all-time high, with over 100,000 men signing up to fight.

March 31st, 1915 – JANSI Party members attack and kill Lady Annabel James, the wife of Grand Master Templar Stephen James III. The Grand Master Templar issues a search and destroy order to combat the JANSI Party. Stephen III puts his surviving family under full military protection in St Edmunds-Upon-Baxley except for his brother Solomon, who heads to the front line alongside Stephen. The two head the 4th division in preparation for an invasion of Estoritia.

April 8th, 1915 – A total 5,104,129 soldiers from Espaeria cross the Eurishian Sea and land all across the southern coast of Estoritia. These landings are successful and multiple beach heads are secured, at a cost of only 4,120 men.

April 9th, 1915 – Balo orders that all Espaerians living in Balo, the USA, or conquered territories in Estoritia are to be rounded up and face the same judgement as civilians detained under the ‘Kill Order’.

April 10th, 1915 – Resistance groups in Estoritia launch attacks on Axis bases and create routes for the advancing Espaerian Army to use. The USA withdraws all its troops to the northern state of Ajfwat in Estoritia, whilst Balo withdraws to Estoritia City.

April 15th, 1915 – The battle for Estoritia City starts when the entire Espaerian Army attacks Balonese defences around the city, pushing them back.

April 19th, 1915 – The 10th division breaks through Balonese lines and advances into the northeast of the city. The 11th division soon does the same in the southeast. The Balonese Army sends troops from the defences to the west to the new eastern line.

April 20th, 1915 – All divisions break through the original defensive line.

April 21st, 1915 – The Balonese Army attempts to evacuate from Estoritia City, but all Balonese aircraft are grounded after heavy bombing runs destroy the temporary airfield.

April 22nd, 1915 – The Balonese High Command in Estoritia City get highly intoxicated and order every man to charge the Espaerian Army lines. Each of the remaining 19,290 soldiers are given varied alcoholic drinks before all charge. The charge fails and all 19,290 soldiers are killed. The Balonese High Command in Estoritia City send out a surrender telegram and all commit suicide to escape possible war crimes trials.

April 24th, 1915 – Estoritia City is confirmed to have been captured by Allied forces.

April 25th, 1915 – Hufial enters the war and joins the Allies after a Balonese Special Army unit attacks the Hufial Embassy in Lyber, killing all inside.

April 30th, 1915 – The Hufiallian National Army lands 1,921,516 soldiers in Estoritia to start the fight to push into Soelsham.

May 18th, 1915 – Allied forces assault the Axis line in Ajfwat, starting the battle of Ajfwat.

May 19th, 1915 – JANSI fighters murder 150 in a sporadic shooting spree in three separate mosques in St James. The president orders that all JANSI members are to be treated as outlaws and are to be shot on sight.

May 30th, 1915 – The fifth charge at Ajfwat by Axis forces. Over 100,000 soldiers charge towards Allied lines, but the attack is stopped after the Allies inflict heavy losses.

June 10th, 1915 – The Soelsham Resistance Network (SRN) rise up and destroy 15 transport trains carrying vital Axis supplies to the front line. Hewsher, the second largest city in Soelsham, is destroyed in revenge.

June 18th, 1915 – Espaerian forces clearing the west of Estoritia discover large concentration camps filled with Muslims, Jews, Holfish, and Espaerians. Estimations suggest that in total around 5 million people have been held across 30 camps. Mass graves and furnaces are also discovered, as well as gas chambers and suggested firing walls. To this day nobody knows how many people died as unlike the future BSSR (who implemented the Total Genocide), the Axis kept no records of those interned.

June 21st, 1915 – Ajfwat sees further horrors as civilians attempting to escape from Axis forces are cut down as they try head through refugee corridors.

July 1915 – Constant attacks from both sides but a stalemate is prominent. For the entirety of July, no gains for both sides is made but the Axis face far worse losses, estimated to be over 1 million.

August 2nd, 1915 – Introduction of airplanes to the fight. Dive bombings on Axis lines by Allied fighter pilots kill few but creates fear and many Axis soldiers dig out hiding positions in case of an attack. Allied air photographers are able to capture the entire defensive position in the centre of the Axis defensive line and display the previously hidden weak point.

August 3rd, 1915 – Allied commanders conclude that for a 2-kilometre stretch in the centre of the defensive line, the Axis defences are only 2 layers deep, compared to the usual 5. Regular dive bombings force Axis defenders underground every hour and Axis soldiers in this sector start to lose focus.

August 8th, 1915 – All out charge by the Allies onto the Axis weak point. Dive bombing early in the morning had forced the Axis soldiers to seek refuge and were unaware of the incoming attack. The Allies send over 150,000 men over the line and into the muddied no man’s land, as they successfully breach the Axis line at Ajfwat for the first time since the battle began with only 121 losses.

August 28th, 1915 – Axis forces are crushed as Allied forces move down the defensive lines. Axis retreats to the Soelsham border and Marne, the last Axis position in Estoritia.

September 1st, 1915 – Allies attack Marne, starting the second battle of Marne.

September 11th, 1915 – JANSI Party members attack the Jamesian Trade Centre and kill 830 people around the area with petrol bombs and rifles. One JANSI soldier is captured and gives the location of the JANSI headquarters away under interrogation.

September 13th, 1915 – St James police raid the JANSI headquarters and capture 104 members of the party, but the leadership escape to the USA.

September 25th, 1915 – The Allies face a second defeat at Marne as the USA sends in a new type of soldier – the ‘Stormtrooper’. These ruthless young men, all under 25, are seen as the elite of the Axis armies but they have a fear of dive bombing after a successful sortie on an Axis base kills 20 Stormtroopers as they train. The Allies send 60% of their flying units to take to the skies over Marne.

October 1st, 1915 – Allied forces are victorious at Marne and push into Soelsham. The Axis leadership declares that Soelsham must be ‘burnt and abandoned’, and all Axis forces are withdrawn to the Balonese Empire.

October 10th, 1915 – Soelsham is liberated by the Allies.

October 18th, 1915 – Emperor of Balo, Taie Tei declares that peace talks are ‘necessary to save lives’ and invites Allied high command to Balo for peace talks with whatever protection they need.

October 19th, 1915 – Allied high command accepts the invite and prepares to travel, inviting the 1st through 5th divisions to act as ‘protection’.

October 21st, 1915 – Allied high command lands on the beaches of Lyber with the 1st and 2nd divisions acting as the main guard, and the 3rd, 4th, and 5th divisions acting as back up. Taie Tei is distressed by the sight of the 5 divisions and calls for the entire remaining Balonese Army to travel to Lyber from their defensive positions around the empire. However, as the army travels to the city, the 6th to 11th divisions of the Espaerian Army engage with these worn out and demoralised soldiers, wiping almost all of them out (figures suggest the total could be above 5 million). Hufial invites the entire American Army to peace talks in Hufidon (the capital of Hufial) and the USA accepts the invite.

November 10th, 1915 – Taie Tei surrenders Balo to the Allies and dissolves his empire, with just the nation of Balo under his control. The USA lands in Hufidon to start peace talks.

November 30th, 1915 – The entire Allied combined forces land outside Hufidon and engages the unprepared and unarmed army of the USA, wiping out half of the USA’s remaining forces (a suggested 3.5 million soldiers) and the rest surrender. The USA surrenders to the Allies and the war officially ends.

December 31st, 1915 – The JANSI leadership declares the war still active and launches a ‘ghost war’ on Espaeria.

April 13th, 1916 – JANSI Party members attack returning Espaerian Army soldiers, and a small battle ensues, but all 50 JANSI are killed.

September 4th, 1916 – JANSI Party members murder the First Lady of Espaeria and those held responsible are captured and executed.

January 31st, 1917 – Adolph Itsle becomes leader of the JANSI Party after the previous leader (Rudolph Herman) is killed by Hellfighters. JANSI soldiers kill 10 young children in Flumdos.

October 10th, 1917 – JANSI soldiers storm the Holfish Museum and destroy 90% of the building’s exterior and kill all working inside.

May 17th, 1918 – JANSI soldiers try to attack Magnapor Regional Airport but are stopped by the police.

June 23rd, 1918 – The JANSI Party goes underground after several successful raids remove their threat. The war is declared over for the second time.