Zahavan Civil War

The Zahavan civil war was a between Primogenitor Argentius Vairosean, the Borealis Segmentarch Zucarius Anliates, Argentius' uncle and the self proclaimed Dassaretian Confederacy under Tarquin Verpe over both control of the Imperium, and the establishment of a Dassaretian state. The Dassaretian Confederacy was never recognized by the Imperial government, or internationally.

The loyalist government was forced to implement expanded conscription and the raising of volunteer forces to combat the forces of the usuper Analiates, due to the majority of regular forces being committed to fighting separatist forces. By contrast the usurper forces consisted largely of domestic household formations and both domestic and foreign mercenaries forming what was known as the Zuraxian Legion. The Dassaretian's meanwhile relied almost entirely on volunteers and domestic militia units, relying on the mountainous and rugged terrain to makeup for their lack of good equipment and training.

The war would be particularly devastating in terms of lives lost due largely to the use of outdated tactics and strategy in combination with the use of advanced and not fully understood military technology. The war would also see an end to the ____ dynasty following the murder of the Imperial family and the death of Argentius shortly after the conclusion of hostilities leading to the ____ dynasty.

The war would formally end with the surrender of Zucarius Anliates to Imperial forces after an 9 month long siege of his main power base, Anliatium, modern day Severian.

Background
In 1855 Philon Vairosean died, his heir and eldest son Eulalius was set to marry Aeliatia Verpe daughter of Tarquin Verpe. The marriage was meant to ease tensions in the western territories of the Imperium, a region that had historically been a hotbed of revolt and shunned Imperial authority. The remote nature of the Zapadis region, and its terrain made enforcement of Imperial rule difficult, the prospect of a Zapadian aristocratic family to marrying into the Imperial family had eased tensions considerably.

The peace and unity the marriage was to bring however would not come to be. En route to meet his betrothed Eulalius became ill with fever and after several weeks of sickness and being bedridden he too died. Historically once a Primogenitor had pledged one of his children's hands in marriage, the next in line would take their elders place should something happen to their older sibling. Argentius however was in love with the daughter of courtier at his father's council, and had been having a secret affair with her. Argentius, against the advise of his Rehati declined to honor his father's agreement and rejected Aeliatia's hand.

The insult to Tarquin was so great that within a year he had rallied other Zapadian nobility and influential families to his cause, and declared all of Zapadis an independent state, known as the Dassaretian confederacy, taking the name of Tarquin's own household among the most prominent families in the region with influence going back hundreds of years.

Argentius responded by mobilizing the Imperial army, and preparing for a campaign to crush the Dassaretian rebellion. It was expected to be a quick affair, with loyalist forces having large advantages in manpower, equipment, and training. This however was not to be the case, as the war would not only drag on for several years, but would expand in scope to include other smaller factions attempting to rebel against Imperial rule.

Mobilization
At the outset of the war, the Imperial army was some 50,000 men. Over 90% of this force was immediately mobilized and began being moved west

Tactics
Infantry tactics, particularly in the early stages of the war contributed to the extremely high casualties sustained in battles. At the beginning of the war many commanders still marched their men out in tightly closed formations, often with soldiers shoulder-to-shoulder in double-rank battle lines, usually in brigade or division ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 men in strength. These tightly packed box like formations presented easy targets for defenders, who could easily fire several volleys before the attacking force would be close enough for hand-to-hand combat. The idea was to close on the enemy's position with this mass of soldiers, using the massed formations of troops to mass fire against the defenders, and then charge the defending force with bayonets, this would hopefully convince the defenders to leave their position, surrender, or be killed. This was the typical style battles were conducted in during the 1700s and earlier 1800s. Advances in firearms technology, and artillery made these tactics outdated and through the course of the war, only a handful of such frontal assaults were ever able to achieve any measure of success, and always resulted in excessive losses for the attacking force.

The use of skirmishers would become a common tactic used largely by Imperial, and Usurper forces who could call upon generally better quality troops. Skirmishers were small groups consisting usually of 2-4 men who would be positioned in front front of main battle lines sometimes in lightly fortified positions with gaps between each position. These skirmishers would be used to harass and when possible break up attacking formations, probed enemy strength in preparation for an attack, and screen the defensive line.

Cavalry tactics would also change during the course of the war. At the outset of the war cavalry was typically used to guard supply lines, as personal guards for senior officers, and was commonly deployed in the skirmisher role. This was in addition to the traditional cavalry role of scouting and reporting on the strength and movements of enemy formations. By wars end however cavalry formations would be used to launch far reaching rapid raids, often reaching deep behind enemy lines disrupting lines of supply and communication.