Estovakian Civil War

Estovakian Civil War
An Emmeria Daily News newspaper on the war's end
Preceding	2006 Free Erusea uprising
Concurrent	Circum-Pacific War
Following	2014 Free Erusea uprising
Details
Date	June 30, 2007–October 29, 2013
Locations	Estovakia
Outcomes	Construction of the Aerial Fleet Eastern Faction victory The Generals establish a new Estovakian government

"Soon after [the asteroid fell], the news reported that [Estovakia] had fallen into a civil war... one that would last for years."

― Melissa Herman

The Estovakian Civil War was an internal military conflict that ravaged Estovakia from 2007 to 2013.

History

Background

The impact of 1994XF04 Ulysses caused the collapse of Estovakia's economy and infrastructure, leading Emmeria and non-governmental organizations to begin plans for humanitarian and reconstruction aid in 2000. According to a report of the Amherst Research Institute published in 2014, it would take thirty years for Estovakia's economy to return to the level achieved in the 1990s without external help.

As a result of the destruction caused by Ulysses, the control of the federal government over the regions of the country slowly disappeared, leading them to become a breeding ground for armed groups that became their sole ruling bodies. The constant lack of resources triggered a wave of infighting and widespread plundering that forced Emmeria to freeze their aid efforts.

Start of conflict

In April 2007, western Estovakia and the country's former capital were taken over by one of the most powerful factions, the Lyes United Front, whose task was returning peace and stability to the country. As a sign of goodwill, Emmeria responded to the situation by harmonizing their aid delivery plans with their government. However, the LUF employed them to crack down on any opposition to their rule. The origins of the civil war laid on the Front's decision to stop the flow of supplies to the city of Gledina, an act that killed over 200,000 people.

Horrified by their decision, the Eastern Faction of Gustav Dvornik declared war on Lyes, backed by several opposition groups, marking the start of combat between the factions. Over the course of the war, the two main factions expanded with the merging of groups allied with their cause: the LUF was joined by the Island Coalition and the Independent Tariff Federation, whereas the Eastern Faction assimilated the Northern Highlands, an act facilitated by the friendship between Dvornik and Isaac Arensky.

The war saw the LUF and the opposition troops fighting in various battlefields and cities across the country, leading the Eastern Faction to form the elite Vampire and Strigon fighter teams, respectively commanded by Ilya Pasternak and Victor Voychek. Dvornik's army was joined by Belkan Federation technicians and exiles from the Belkan War, including Lorenz Riedel. Riedel, who had collaborated with Project Pendragon director Anton Kupchenko, supplied them with confidential research on heavy command cruiser technology that was adapted into Dvornik's "Aerial Fleet Initiative" that birthed the P-1112 Aigaion and its escort cruisers. Emmerian assistance to the LUF was discontinued in 2010.

Eastern Faction victory

The strength of Strigon, Vampire and the Aerial Fleet became the greatest asset of the Eastern Faction, and ultimately allowed them to win the war in 2013. After the end of the conflict, former members of the Faction formed a political party that assumed control of the postwar government, which was headed by a cabal of military officers known as "The Generals" that included Dvornik himself. Despite their victory, they faced rampant unemployment, the rise of secessionist movements and an insurgency by remnants of the Lyes United Front, which claimed the life of Arensky in an attack in December 2013.

Emmeria's humanitarian aid continued under the new government with the assistance of Emmerian Army troops. The prolonged lack of supplies led to an attack by LUF soldiers against a makeshift storehouse in the city of Vistoc on February 4, 2014, which ended in the looting of the site and the death of 28 soldiers and workers. However, their continued delivery of aid to the Lyes United Front during the war sparked feelings of distrust and hostility among the Estovakian populace, leading to the outbreak of the Emmeria-Estovakia War in August 30, 2015.