Thoirazonan War

The Thoirazonan War was a major armed conflict, leading up to the creation of the modern Republic of Ihazon and Thoiria as we know it today.

Cause and Build-up

Since its establishment in 1961, the relationship between Thoiria and Ihazon had been strenuous at best and downright hostile at worst. This would only continue to escalate, and many deemed it inevitable that the tension would eventually burst, causing a conventional war between the nations. Politicians and media expressed great concern about the ramifications of such a war, pointing to how dangerous the same people who committed the 1960 Parliament Coup would be as an army backed by a whole nation.
However, the sentiment among the people would become increasingly in favour of war, with claims that Thoiria posed an existential threat to the nation of Ihazon.

This was not lost on the political scene of the country. One man in particular built his entire identity on this very sentiment: Senator Shrove Pulpaclean.
In 1981, in what opponents described as "fearmongering", Pulpaclean ran a campaign dedicated to "deal with the Thoirian threat". While adamant that he would not be instigator of such a war, he claimed the neighbouring country would soon be the one attacking Ihazon, and as such he would make the country ready for immediate retaliation.

His campaign was undoubtedly helped by two events.
Firstly, from 1961 onwards, Kemur had grown from being an already significant trading town to a city-state whose neutrality between the nations acted both as a deterrence against escalation as well as a vested interested to obtain control over it. In addition, from the latter half of the 1970s, Kemur had also started expansive mining and quarry projects that had significantly boosted its economic output. Moreover, rumours had spread about a potential oil well being hidden underneath the dry sandlands of Kemur. With both nations relying on their oil supply from Radosis and Tekkea, they had a very clear economic benefit from gaining controlling of this city.

Secondly, in 1981, Thoiria started the construction of its first nuclear power plant outside of Landesgarten.
This project's existence, while under strict supervision from The Atomic Council to ensure it would not create atomic weapons, nonetheless were as if not only wood was added to the fire, but straight up gasoline. It wouldn't be long before Pulpaclean used this to further stir up the flame of the people in his campaign.
Indeed, later the same year, Pulpaclean would be elected Chancellor of Ihazon.

The Beginning of the War

In a cabaret in Kemur at June 30th, 1982, as the popular Thoirian band Song Wives stepped up on the scene to perform, the band would produce a multitude of machine guns and shortly after rallied up all Ihazonan citizens in the room to swiftly execute them. This would become known as the Night of Song Wives
The nation of Ihazon was shocked. War was now inevitable.

Ihazonan troops were soon sent to occupy the city. Before the direct attack, a multitude of loyalists from Kemur joined the cause. However, upon arriving in the city, they immediately were laid under fire by a combined infantry force of Thoirians and Thoirian loyalists from Kemur, who had already taken a foothold of the city due to their close proximity.
Ihazonan forces pressed on, but had to eventually fall back and set up a defensive perimeter outside the city. Focus had then become to prevent a Thoirian invasion, a threat that seemed all too real amidst the chaos.

That year it was an especially cold winter. From the snow fell in November, a standstill evolved that locked the sides in time. Both sides experienced trouble with vehicles breaking down from the cold. However, while forces stationed inside the city of Kemur were well fed with rations from Landesgarten, the Ihazonan defensive perimeter was far from the capital. The closest settlement, Water Woods, was small, and had their already minor farms suffer from the winter, leaving no surplus for a large military army.

In February 1983, a fleet of steel would cover the sky of Kemur. Ihazon's fleet of bomber planes, while small, was enough to wreak havoc on the city. Bombs were primarily focused on civilian structures, showing a clear expectation that Ihazon would soon take control over the industrial facilities of the city.
The city's centre along with many of the Thoirian forces' foothold were decimated, and they were forced to withdraw. After the continuous carpet of bombs seized in April, Ihazonan forces moved in to take control of what was left of the city.

As a counter-measure, Thoirians set up a wall of anti-aircraft weaponry along what was once the border between Thoiria and Kemur in an expectations of having their capital soon acted upon. At the same time, their own forces quickly adopted a more guerrilla-style warfare as instead of concentrating force on attacking the city, they instead sent covert squads during night time to commit sabotage, targeting both vehicles and the industrial facilities of the city.

In June, Ihazonan forces attempted to move ahead of the city towards the Thoirian border but was met with heavy resistance.
In an attempt to break the stalemate, in August Ihazon deployed bombers to break the perimeter. Oblivious to the wall of anti-aircraft guns that had been well hidden in the foliage of the Thoirian border, the planes took heavy fire and many were shot down.
The rest of the year was spent attempting to root out the AA weaponry, both through infantry and with fighter jets, with little success.

After yet another winter had settled in 1984, work began to build a military airstrip closer to the border, as the long distance between the military base outside Tinville and the border made attacking difficult. With difficult terrain and frequent sabotages from Thoirians, however, this would prove a challenge.

End of the War

Until 1989, little progress were made by either side.

Events (temporary)

• 1960
  • Several riots across Ihazon
  • Armed rebellion marches into the Parliament of Ihazon
    • After an epic shootout the rebels are defeated
• 1961
  • Thoiria is established to prevent further rebellions
• 1978
  • Kemur has become a major trading hub with good industry
  • Ihazon declares border through Kemur, claiming it is at least part Ihazonan
    • Both countries station troops in the city
    • Kemur votes to belong to Thoiria
    • Some Ihazonans want to take Kemur by force and warn about Thoiria wanting the same
• 1981
  • Shrove Pulpaclean is elected Chancellor of Ihazon
    • Warns that Thoiria is dangerous but is ignored by the Senate
• 1982
  • Attack on cabaret in Kemur - Night of Song Wives
    • Ihazonans are executed by what appears to be Thoirian soldiers
  • Shrove Pulpaclean declares war on Thoiria
    • Kemur is bombed by Ihazonan bombers and Ihazonan troops move in to hold the city
    • Thoiria sends bombers in retaliation and their own troops
• 1989
  • It's revealed Ihazon staged the Night of Song Wives
    • Pulpaclean is arrested and executed in Trondheim
    • Togfan initiates a truce between Thoiria and Ihazon, and both move their troops out of the city
  • Ihazon is reformed into the Republic of Ihazon and the military is disbanded (replaced with mercenaries)
  • Both countries vow to peace