Osorra-Tilenno War

The Osorra-Tilenno War, sometimes called the War of Tears (Tilennan: Daenàrouna Zjiló) was a military conflict in Northern Avalonia between the communist state of Osorra and the Federal Empire of Tilenno. Later on members of the North-South Concordant entered the war at various times as well, with Cipertine fighting a large portion of the war on the eastern front. The conflict began on 11 May 1979 with the Invasion of Àsaupaso, and lasted until 6 August 1982, with the official surrender of Osorra and the signing of the Treaty of Ytriva. It is one of the only conflicts in Anterra that saw a nuclear bomb used and represented a cession of the Frigid Chessboard in Avalonia. The war affected the Osorrai psyche to a great degree and forced Osorra to accept a subordinate role within the power structure of Anterra.

The war emerged in the context of an increasingly assertive Osorra, which was quickly building up its navy, economy, and space program through the Three Satellites, One Man, One Bomb and 2000 Plan. The country was attempting to broaden its power base through interventions across Avalonia and was allegedly developing a bomb. In the early part of the 70s this brought strained relations with much of the wider world and Osorra began a series of proxy operations to bolster its position. Meanwhile in Tilenno social tensions led to a protracted series of strikes and riots, all of which was supported by the Osorrai government. As international forces moved forces into Tilenno and anti-Osorrai rhetoric grew inside Tilenno the Osorrai government began growing ever more uneasy about the prospect of an invasion from Tilenno. When the Liria Message was intercepted the military began a preemptive strike against Tilenno. The first phase of the war saw the Osorrai army advance across the coastal plains of Tilenno in grand tank battles. The navy launched operations to neutralize Tilennan ships and occupy many of the islands that made up the Tilennan core. Initially the Osorrai armed forces were extremely successful, unleashing large amounts of damage. Air campaigns left Tilennan supply lines and communication lines in tatters. Osorra began massive psychological campaigns to bring Tilenno to defeat, at one point flying a zeppelin into the capital with speakers that rang out the Internationale. Cipertine, worried about the prospects of an Osorrai victory, mounted an invasion which led to the second phase of the war.

The Cipertine advance meant Osorra had to evacuate many of the forces on the Tilenno front, stalling its advance. Its air force and navy too had to be redeployed. Initally the Cipertine push was quite speedy but as Osorrai reinforcements arrived it slowed down. The two sides would engage in a great deal of dogfighting and Osorra would deploy and test out numerous SAM systems. With Osorrai forces on the Tilennan front reduced, Tilenno was able to mount several counteroffensives. Osorra was able to halt these early advances, however now on two fronts it was fighting on the defensive.

The third phase, "attrition", saw the front staying steady as all sides mounted offensives that failed to break the line. Vast tracts of land were mined, and fortifications built to keep any side from advancing. The primary mode of warfare during this phase was airwar, with all sides trying to bomb the cities and supply lines of the other. Cipertine began a renewed naval campaign against Osorrai ships, attempting to free Tilennan islands.

The fourth phase was enabled due to the nuking of Bores, a medium-large city close to Hireno. Osorra, wanting an advance into Cipertine lest it get burnt out due to its lower resources pool, dropped a nuke down a Tilennan city. The nuke brought the ire of the international community and due to several counteroffensives, Tilenno did not surrender. The naval campaign soon got much more intense and the previously strong Osorrai navy could only operate near its coast. The other sides could soon occupy Osorrai islands. The Osorrai high command finally began to sue for peace, realizing there was no chance they could win the war.

Tilennan Mineworker revolt
In the early 70's a major social insurgence occurred in Tilenno known as the Mineworkers Revolt. Fed up with the systematic exploitation and indigent working conditions, Tilennan miners all across the Federation refused to work and went on a collective strike. This soon spread to other low income workers and destabilised the economy. Strikes and protest popped up everywhere, demanding better pay and working conditions as well as better social services and more protection by the state. Politicians under the pressure from the richer upper class, were unwilling to give in and struck down these protest with force. Many scholars point at the link with the Osorran radio station Radio Cuzka, which at the time spread jazz and socialist ideas all across North-Avalonia. It was also broadcasted in Tilenno and even translated into and Tilennan. The mineworkers that started the uprising, were most likely inspired by the messages this station divulged.

To distract the public from these issues, the Tilennan government started focussing its attention on Osorra and used them as a representation of Artemian influence in Avalonia and depicted them the root of all their problems. By doing this they could slowly shift the attention away from the revolt and onto Osorra. This worked, but caused Tilennan politics to radicalize very quickly. In 1976 Xàreisae Couraede was elected as Prime-Minister at only 24 years old, promising that Osorra would pay for what they caused and Avalonia would finally be liberated. So the likelyhood of war inched ever closer. Military spending Tilenno soon went up and so did the weapon industry. This war was also seen as a way to boost the slumping economy and at this point seemed inevitable.

Liria Message
Tilenno knew that waging a war against Osorra would likely result in a defeat and so it tried to get other Avalonian nations to join in, masked under the premise of liberating Avalonia. A message was sent by foreign affair minister Liria Rido to Chezzetcook asking for support in the war, but this message was intercepted by Osorran intelligence forces. When Osorra discovered war was coming, it decided it couldn't wait for Tilenno to strike and realised they were better of by making the first move themselves, while Tilenno was still not fully prepared.