Zahavan Civil War

The Zahavan Civil War was a conflict fought between the Primogenitor Argentius Vairosean and his Uncle Demoleon, who had claimed his throne. The war grew to include numerous localized rebellions against imperial authority, and later an attempted social revolution by the Cult of ______.

Background
The Zahavan civil war was was the culmination of the instability generated by a series of short lived, and inept Primogenitors whom had passed increasingly unpopular decrees. By the time Argentius became Primogenitor in 1896, he was the fifth such person to be named Primogenitor since 1891. The untimely deaths of his predecessors, coupled with their inept leadership had led to a growing national weariness in Imperial authority, and Zahavan faith as a whole. Only a year into his reign, Argentius' uncle, Demoleon declared himself rightful Primogenitor, and claimed the throne for himself. Following his claim to the throne, several legions, namely those lead by his sons declared their support for Demoleon's claim to the throne while other legions swore their loyalty to the crowned Primogenitor.

Members of the Rehati, and the Megas Syndriot, as well as several other relatives attempted to mediate between Argentius and his Uncle throughout 1896 and 1897, with an uneasy peace existing between the Primogenitor and his Uncle during this time. Ultimately, however negotiations broke down, and battle ensued between the two in November 1898 CE.

Hostilities begin
After over two years of attempted negotiations Demoleon, believing his position to be strong enough for a quick victory dispatched a force of some 40,000 troops under command of his son Stefanos, to attack imperial forces camped outside town of Nakhmas. The Imperial commander, Tetrach Tullus Numerius with 26,540 thousand men were under the impression that the latest round of negotiations would not conclude until the following day and were taken by surprise.

The resulting battle saw Stefanos' army suffer light casualties, while Numerius' force was annihilated, with some 11,350 killed, 8,438 captured, and 4,760 wounded or missing. Even more damaging than the loss of Numerius' force was that now Argentius' left wing was outflanked forcing him to withdraw south across the Nefertari river. This maneuver left a clear path towards the capital Arcanium, where Argentius' was forced to leave only a small garrison whose numbers were bolstered by naval infantry from the Imperial fleet. The political ramifications of the reigning Primogenitor abandoning the capital bolstered Demoleon's position and would have more disastrous affects for Argentius in the years to come.

First battle of Thraxia
The early and decisive victory coupled with the now seemingly clear path to the capital emboldened Demoleon who split his forces in two, Two legions would pursue Argentius' forces across the Nefertari, while the remainder of his force would march on Arcanium and begin a siege. Demoleon placed Aulus Sallustius as commander for the forces sent to peruse Argentius.

The two forces would meet at the town of Thraxia, which was an important railway hub, and one of the few areas where a substantial crossing of the Nefertari already existed. Sallustius had been slowed on his march south by bands of loyalist Praecep frontier troops, allowing Argentius' forces time to prepare defenses. The following battle saw bloodletting likely never before seen on the Avalonian continent. Sallustius' troops advanced over largely open ground and despite a continual bombardment lasting over 6 hours the defenders had remained steadfast in their fortified positions resulting in substantial casualties for the attackers.

After the fourth attack had not only been repulsed but had actually lost the positions previous attacks had taken on the town outskirts, Sallustius pulled his forces back and began to make defense works of his own. The slow static fighting around Thraxia would continue for the rest of the year and into 1899.

Siege of Arcanium
With Argentius' forced pinned down to the south Demoleon proceeded to march on the capital virtually unopposed and in January of 1920 laid siege to the city itself. Initially Demoleon believed the city would capitulate quickly, with his intelligence reporting their was a skeleton garrison of only four to six thousand men. In reality the garrison, which had been bolstered by Praecep frontier troops, academy cadets, and left behind Ordo Hetaeri guards with naval infantry was closer to 18,000 men. Still much smaller than the 178,000 Demoleon had under his command.

While the siege could have been, and perhaps should have been a knockout blow and victory for Demoleon, it turned out to be one of his greatest miscalculations which resulted in his ultimate defeat. From the beginning the siege was ineffective, the weather was poor, making conditions for Demoleon's troops difficult to conduct maneuvers or to construct siege trenches. Another overlooked issue was the fact that Demoleon's forces had virtually no naval presence nearby, allowing the city to continue to receive supplies, and the loyalist ships in harbor would routinely shell Demoleon's forces whenever they attempted to move. Lastly, Demoleon was so fixated on taking the capital, he repeatedly refused requests from Sallustius for more troops to break the stalemate around Thraxia to the south.

Still the mere fact that the capital city was under threat, and the reigning Primogenitor had fled caused significant political pressure on Argentius, and in fact there were calls by some for him to abdicate. Additionally there were a number of defections to Demoleon's side by some army troops.

Battle of Helios Bay
While the vast majority of the Nautika remained loyal to the Primogenitor elements of the third flotilla defected to Demoleon following the announcement that Arcanium was besieged. This provided Demoleon's forces with an opportunity to fully envelop the capital, and increase the pressure on Argentius further. Demoleon issued orders for the flotilla to steam for Helios Bay immediately under Admiral Cominius Megadates.

The loyalist forces under Admiral Hieronymus Kyrios uncovered the pretender plans due to loyalist elements within the third flotilla, with their plans revealed Kyrios laid a trap for the pretender ships, steaming most of his ships away while leaving only one armored cruiser in the bay with several destroyers while the bulk of his forces steamed out to sea. When the pretender forces arrived, Megadates assumed the remainder of the loyalist fleet was docked in the harbor and commenced his attack. The larger pretender force was able to easily brush aside the rear guard loyalist fleet and maneuvered to begin a blockade of the city harbor.

Megadates ordered his ships to begin taking out the cities coastal harbor batteries which were now firing upon them, with his fleet arrayed to bombard the harbor defenses Megadates had left his ships as prime targets for Kyrios' arriving fleet. Pinned between the harbor, and the arriving loyalist fleet Megadates ships were picked off one by one, until with his own flagship reduced to a burning hulk, Megadates issued the order to surrender shortly before taking his own life.

The defeat of the third flotilla ensured Arcanium could not be completely enveloped, the victory at Helios Bay also gave Argentius and the loyalist cause a much needed political boost. Additionally it forced Demoleon to make a decision, either attempt to assault the city outright, or lift the siege and attempt to defeat Argentius in the field. With summer already approaching the window for any meaningful campaign season would be closing rapidly.

Siege of Arcanium lifted
With the defeat of Megadates' third flotilla at Helios Bay Demoleon and the pretenders forces had no means to completely envelop the capital, and rather than risk his army in what would surely be a costly assault on the city Demoleon chose to withdraw his army to the northwest to reoccupy the defensive positions he had started the war from, allowing his troops to recover and build up supplies for the following campaign year. It was this decision that many attribute as being Demoleon's second crucial strategic error leading to his defeat, with many military scholars arguing the results of the war may have ended in his favor had the pretender to marched south, joined with his son and forced a decisive battle against Argentius in the field. This was also a popular view among the Pretenders own officers as is shown in their since declassified memoirs.

The loyalist forces in Arcanium under Tetrarch Theophilus were in no condition to launch a major counter attack, however harass pretender forces as they withdrew from the field with light cavalry hit and run attacks. In the coming days after the siege was lifted frontier troops, remnants of Tullus Numerius' force that had been hiding in the countryside trickled into the city bolstering Theophilus' forces. With his position secure and it obvious that Demoleon would not be conducting further offensive operations Theophilus, under his own initiative, began planning one of the most daring operations of the entire war.

Stalemate
With the siege of Arcanium lifted and Demoleon's forces retiring towards stronger positions, and Argentius' forces now well entrenched in and around Thraxia a period of relatively little action settled in across both armies. Both Demoleon and Argentius focused on trying to rally political support to their sides, while building up supplies and refitting their armies for the coming offensives.

Politically momentum was swinging back into Argentius' favor following the setbacks at Helios bay, and Demoleon's withdrawal from Arcanium. Militarily both sides were roughly even in terms of numbers of guns and manpower, with loyalist forces controlling the navy in its entirety. Argentius' was consolidating his forces, while Demoleon decided to keep his forces split in order to keep loyalist forces in the south. With the wet season now setting in Demoleon decided to make another gamble in hopes of retaking the initiative.

Keletros Rebellion begins
Telakhas Vallis was a high priest of the cult of Keletros, Keletros being the god of workers, laborers, and craftsmen was always viewed as a necessary deity, but one of a lower social status, much like his followers. Vallis had for some time been teaching a radical interpretation of the Epitoma Aiona claiming that one day the world would belong to the workers and laborers of the world. This rebellious rhetoric had earned Vallis a censure from the Magos several times, and before the outbreak of hostilities he was to be summoned to before the Ecclasiarchs for possible removal from his position for heresy. When conflict broke out however he refused his summons and instead began preaching that the civil war, was itself a sign from Keletros that the time was now for the new social order to seize control.

Vallis had the less devout members of his priesthood killed, and led a group of fanatics to raid several Praecep and custodes armories, with the majority of military forces were either rallying towards either the loyalist or pretender causes Vallis and his fanatics were virtually unopposed. They quickly set out across the countryside, rallying others to their cause while stealing and killing landowners, and any other officials who didn't agree to follow the new order.

In a matter of weeks Vallis and his fanatics had secured several villages and small towns before marching on the city of Ephisia. Ephisia should have been able to hold off Vallis and his band of rabble but the garrison was murdered by the citizenry who was enthralled by Vallis' sermons. After the fall of Ephisia, Vallis officially proclaimed a new state, the republic of Keletria, sending the heads of several imperial officials to both Demoleon and Argentius, demanding they surrender their claims on the throne and acknowledge the new order.

Second battle of Thraxia
Over the course of three years the situation around Thraxia had changed little. Argentius' forces held the town center including the rail yards and were now heavily fortified in their positions. In the meantime Argentius' forces not dedicated to the defense line had spent the first year suppressing a series of popular uprisings and securing positions along the river so as to avoid being outflanked. By the second year unrest had been quelled and following news of the battle in Helios bay, popularity with the young Argentius' had grown, priests had even declared the lifting of the siege of the capital and the naval victory a sign of Argentius' divinity and assurance that he would be victorious.

Throughout 1899 and into 1900 pretender forces launched a series of attacks against Thraxia, and even briefly succeeding in establishing a bridgehead across the Nefertari before a heavy concentrated bombardment and counter attack by Imperial forces drove them back across the river. By 1901 both sides seemed content to do little more than launch small scale raids in attempts to capture enemy soldiers or documents and discern what the other side was planning. Argentius' had spent the spring and summer of the year quietly bolstering his forces with troops from the western Ethnarchates. Sallustius meanwhile had received little in the way of reinforcement to replenish his losses, and had had to launch raids to capture supplies from nearby settlements.

As it was, when orders for a large scale offensive came from Demoleon during the winter of 1901 it was as much a surprise to Sallustius as it was to Imperial forces. The attack began on December the 12th 1901 with a massive artillery barrage followed closely by assaulting infantry. The Imperial lines were shattered by the unexpected attack, and were pushed from their positions on the opposite riverbank into the city of Thraxia itself. Pretender advances soon stalled as the fighting devolved into vicious street fighting, and while Sallustius was able to take most of the city center he was unable to push Argentius' forces from the city entirely. The two sides again settled into a battle of attrition within the city.

Battle of Moriae
Moriae is an important city even today for its position on the Masalia river, and coast. In 1901 Moriae was one of the few cities who was largely industrialized and many of its factories produced arms and munitions for the Imperial military before the outbreak of hostilities. Demoleon was quick to dispatch forces to secure it for Prentender forces at the start of the war and the arms Moriae's factories produced were critical as Demoleon sought to build an edge in guns and equipment over Imperial forces. Control of Moriae also ensured all goods coming into the port were seized by pretender forces, and the city with its control over the Masalia become a vital gateway life line for food and other supplies needed to keep pretender armies in the field.

Demoleon had left a sizable force to secure the city of some 16,000 men, by 1901 however Demoleon too had to respond to popular uprisings and was eventually forced to take troops from the city to garrison other towns and villages to ensure stability and keep his lines of supply and communications secure. By March the garrison was down to half its original strength, and remained vulnerable to attack or blockade by sea.

After the siege of Arcanium had been lifted, Tetrarch Theophilus find his force bloodied and trapped between Demoleon's forces in the north, and Sallustius forces to the south. For four months Theophilus tried and failed at making contact with Argentius, while rearming and reorganizing his own forces. As spring arrived Theophilus decided the best course of action would be to march his forces north, seize the city of Moriae, and then entrench his position there, thus cutting off the pretenders from the valuable production of Moriae's factories, as well as securing control of the Masalia river for Imperial forces.

In early May Theophilus embarked half his force aboard an Imperial flotilla, and split his remaining force, with the bulk of his cavalry advancing in a wide curve on his left flank while the bulk of his force advanced along the coast. This maneuver had the desired effect, as the pretender garrison commander Tetarton mistook the cavalry force for an entire Imperial army, resulting in reinforcements that would have gone to the city being sent further west.

Within two days Theophilus' naval force had managed disembark, unnoticed north of Moriae, as Theophilus force arrived from the south on May the 5th Tetarton arrayed his defense works to the south. On the morning of the 6th Tetarton found himself surrounded on land, his lines of communication up river cut and an Imperial flotilla threatening in the bay.

Theophilus invited Tetarton to talks, Tetarton believing to be facing a much larger force which had enveloped him overnight, and unable to call for help capitulated, surrendering the city without firing a shot. His force of roughly 9,500 being taken prisoner, and Imperial forces moving into the city. It was yet another disaster for Demoleon and had severe political repercussions for the Pretender cause.

Third battle of Thraxia
With news of the disaster at Moriae reaching Sallustius' command, the need for a victory became desperate for the pretender forces as political support was eroding quickly. With the Imperial forces barely hanging onto Thraxia Sallustius committed almost all his reserves into one final push to take the city. At first as before pretender gains were rapid, and sizeable. By mid June the Imperial forces held only a few pockets within the outskirts of the city, and Sallustius believed it was only a matter of time before the Imperial position collapsed.

What Sallustius had unwittingly done however is fall into a clever trap laid by Argentius. During the previous year Argentius had moved a full two themes, the ninth and thirteenth from the Zapadis ethnarchate and now positioned both of these forces on the left flank of Sallustius' line. Sallustius had been so focused on achieving a breakthrough, and being limited on reinforcement had been forced to draw forces from his flanks and feed them into his center. During a reconnaissance raid, Imperial forces learned many of the pretender front line trenches were very lightly manned, with gaps in the line and had few reserves. The raid itself should have tipped Sallustius to what was happening but reports of increasing raids on the flanks of the line were dismissed as standard Imperial actions from the previous year.

On the morning of May 17th the assault elements of the ninth and thirteenth themes crossed bridges they had erected during the night across the Nefertari. At 9am on the 17th the Imperials began their attack. The initial assault was actually a feint, on Sallustius' center and forces in the city itself, meant to keep Sallustius attention there and not on his flanks. Shortly after the initial bombardment, the assault elements of the ninth and thirteenth began their assault. The undermanned lines on the Sallustius' flanks were quickly overrun, and within an hour the vanguard of the attacking force was sweeping across the flanks and into the rear of the Pretender positions. Pretender artillery batteries and supply depots in Sallustius' rear at first thought the cavalry riding towards them was their own, realizing too late that they were in fact Imperial forces.

Through the use of newly acquired armored cars, impervious to small arms fire and fitted with multiple machine guns, and cavalry Sallustius' twelfth theme was entirely surrounded by mid afternoon. Sallustius himself originally refused to believe the reports and it was not until his own headquarters had to be evacuated that he accepted the gravity of the situation. Sallustius immediately dispatched orders for his forces to breakout, north away from Thraxia but the attempted breakthroughs were repulsed and by morning the following day Imperial forces were applying steady pressure to the pocket Sallustius now found himself trapped in. Sallustius issued a change of orders, telling his forces to not yield ground, dig in and await reinforcements from the north.