Aemilian intervention in the United Principalities
| Aemilian intervention in the United Principalities | |||||||
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 Aemilian Federation
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The Aemilian intervention in the United Principalities was a military operation started by the Aemilian Federation in the 11th month of 1741 AN, following the collapse of government in the United Principalities of Cibola days earlier. With the United Principalities holding the territory and the people that did not join the Confoederatio Aemilia after the fall of Sankt Ludwigshafen, Aemilia still felt strongly connected to the people and territory and did not want to risk it falling into anarchy, or being annexed by hostile nations.
Preparation for the conflict started much earlier than the onset of hostilities. Since the release of the The Plight of the Louisians in 1637, key people in Aemilian government had advocated for a military intervention and bringing the seven Louisian villages under Aemilian control. Princess Emilia Antoinette would not hear about the plans for an invasion, but contacts with Louisian militants were made and they were clandestinely trained in guerrilla warfare by Aemilian instructors, following the proclamation of the Louisian Decree in 1637, support for the militias by most Louisian people subsided and they became a sleeper cell. Likewise, similar cells had been trained by Aemilian instructors in Altdorf where some people did not agree with the city's ascension into the United Principalities but wanted to remain closer to neighbouring Altstadt, which had joined the Confoederatio Aemilia. These cells too were instructed to lay low and not take any action against the government of the United Principalities until an opportune moment would arrive.
As cracks began to form in the government of the United Principalities between 1637 and 1741, it became more and more susceptible to corruption and while not directly involved, the Recession of 1737 made people all across Micras poorer, including in the United Principalities. Aemilian intelligence organisation Auditus Susurros was able to infiltrate government agencies and put moles on key positions. These moles were instructed not to perform any harmful activities but only to report information back to Aemilia.
When it became clear that the nation was on the verge of collapse in the second half of 1741, these sleeper cells were activated by the Auditus Susurros and were given instructions what to do when the signal was given for an Aemilian intervention. As Kaiser Ludwig von Heida-Weisse publicly confirmed that the government of the United Principalities had failed in 8.XI.1741, the Louisian sleeper cells rose up and raised the Aemilian flag over the seven Louisian villages. Aemilian troops, including an armoured division with Panzergefechtswagen II were stationed at the Aemilian side of the border, ready to roll in should the United Principalities respond by deploying their own troops to squash the insurrection. The 2nd Corps' 9th and 10th division of the Weisenburger Kriegstruppen were stationed in nearby Gödelitz and Aemilian envoys were sent to the town to discuss the peaceful surrender of these troops.
The situation in Altdorf was a little more chaotic following the declaration of the Kaiser. As a larger city, a significant amount of Ziboler police was stationed in the town and they tried to stop the militias that wanted the city to defect to the Aemilian Federation. Riots broke out, and several rioters and policemen were wounded. From Bülow the 1st Corps 4th Division was sent to the city from the south, while the Aemilian Kriegskorps Ludwigshafen approached the city in the north. The militia was able to route the police from the city centre, and take provisional control over the city, which was now under siege from both sides by opposing armies. Like in Gödelitz, Aemilian envoys were sent to the Cibolan troops to discuss a way to prevent bloodshed.
While no direct fighting had taken place before the discussions between the Aemilian envoys and the Cibolan generals, after the generals made it clear that they would not accept an Aemilian incursion into their failing state, this began to change. The Aemilian Equites Caeli started raids on targets of the Cibolan Luftstreitkräfte on 12.XI.1741, destroying anti-aircraft installations, as well as fighter planes in an attempt to establish air superiority over the north of the United Cibolan Principalities' territory. While not all targets were destroyed, and the Equites Caeli lost an F-9 Ashavan II fighter plane, while another was damaged but able to return, the raids were largely successful.
Following the bombing raids, on 13.XI.1741, in the Altdorf theatre of war, the Kriegskorps and the Kriegstruppen started to attack each other with artillery. With their advanced SAI Bigbaddaboom 155, the Kriegskorps was able to gain the upper hand, firing more shells at the Cibolans than vice versa, but both sides had to mourn casualties. The Aemilian air superiority made a huge difference though, with F-9 Ashavan II fighter planes successfully destroying many Cibolan artillery installations.
Before hostilities had broken out, much of the Cibolan military had been stationed in the south and thus unable to quickly respond to the Aemilian incursion, allowing the Aemilians to quickly gain the upper hand in the north. As days passed without reinforcements coming from the south, the lords of Büdelow and Gödelitz became more and more concerned, sending desperate messages to the emperor and the senate. But on 17.XI.1741, these lords absolutely panicked as Aemilian armoured divisions rolled into Altdorf, without any resistance from the Kriegstruppen that had retreated outside the range of the SAI Bigbaddaboom 155 that Aemilia had fielded into the theatre of war, and with the Cibolan police still present in the outher parts of the city, only being able to field officers with small arms, it quickly gave up the fight. As Altdorf was annexed into Aemilia, an envoy was sent to the Oberbürgermeister of Bülow-Altdorf-Colsburg with the promise, that if the Reichsstadt would surrender, it would be allowed to form an entity, along with Altstadt, as a separate jurisdiction in the Aemilian Federation, the Oberbürgermeister asked his Stadtrat for council, and on 25.XI.1741, the Reichstadt issued a declaration that it would join the Aemilian federation. After the declaration was signed, the 1st Corps 4th Division's Generalmajor Rudolf von Rott sent a message to Generalfeldmarschall Karl-Henrich von Könlingen with a request for instructions, the general field marshal instructed him to take back the imperial city by force, but Major General Von Rott found no merit in this command, given that he had received no reinforcements from Weisenburg, and defected his Division to the Aemilian Kriegskorps.
After the fall of the Imperial City of Bülow-Altdorf-Colsburg and its annexation into the Aemilian Federation, the Oberbürgermeister of Gödelitz sat together with the generals in charge of defending his city, Generalmajor Erich von Muddelsdorf and Generalmajor Heinrich Fuchs, whose forces were stationed in nearby Irsdorf. They informed the Oberbürgermeister that they would be able to defend the city for a while, but that they had not been promised any reinforcements from Weisenburg and that a siege of the city would lead to a huge loss of life, and almost certainly defeat of the Cibolan defenders. The Duke of Weichenheim-Rhaetia, also present at the meeting informed them that many people in the countryside had been supportive of the Aemilian incursion and said that he felt that if Aemilia would honour the present borders of the Imperial City and the Principality, it would be wise not to oppose the invaders. The Major Generals Von Muddelsdorf and Fuchs, as well as the Duke of Weichenheim-Rhaetia, and the Oberbürgermeister of Gödelitz, sent an envoy to Princess Emilia Antoinette, offering her their allegiance, effective on 2.XII.1741.
On 5.XII.1741, Generalmajor Ernest von Schligen of the 5th "Alchish" Infantry Division, of the 1st Corps of the Weisenburger Kriegstruppen received the order to perform a counter-attack and cross the Aemilian border, and take the settlement of Sierra de la Plata in the jurisdiction of El Dorado. Surprised by this command, he informed Generalfeldmarschall Karl-Henrich von Könlingen that an ape was impersonating him and asked the general field marshal to come to the city of Alch to discuss his actual orders. Enraged, Generalfeldmarschall Karl-Henrich von Könlingen headed to Alch along with two dozen officers of the military police. As they arrived near the city, on 6.XII.1741, they were greeted by an envoy from the 5th division, who informed them that they had arrested Major General Ernest von Schligen for attempting to defect to Aemilia. The Field Marshal let down his guard as he was led to the cell where Von Schligen was supposed to be held, only to find himself outnumbered by soldiers loyal to Von Schligen who arrested him and threw him in the cell instead.
Following the capture of the field marshal, Major General Ernest von Schligen called for a meeting, to be held on 10.XII.1741, of the remaining major generals in the north who had not yet defected to the Aemilians, among them Major General Friedrich von Hulfingel of the 6th Division and Major General Jonas von Köhler of the 8th Division, Major General Emil von Mödehlkopf was not invited as he was considered to remain loyal to the imprisoned field marshal. Envoys from the Kriegskorps Ludwigshafen were present. The three major generals came up with a plan and set it in motion.
On 11.XII.1741, Field Marshal Karl-Henrich von Könlingen was removed from his cell and ordered to wash and groom himself, and was given a clean uniform to wear, he was then brought to a television studio. Journalists from Der Tag were present as the field marshal announced that the Kriegstruppen would lay down their arms, and that all soldiers would return to their military bases, where they should wait for Aemilian troops to take over the bases, after which they would be dismissed and allowed to go home, for the eye of the camera, the field marshal signed a declaration that the Kriegstruppen would surrender to the Aemilian Kriegskorps. Newspaper Der Tag shared recordings of the speech on ClipWave, and they were picked up by all media in the United Principalities of Cibola.
In the days following the declaration, some skirmishes still happened as not all soldiers were informed of the surrender, or believed it to be legitimate, and this caused a few unfortunate incidents with casualties to be mourned on both sides. All in all, the surrender happened without too many incidents, and on 15.XII.1741 Chancellor Konstantin Tiedemann of the United Principalities was welcomed in Stadt Taktwinkel where he met with Chancellor Charlène Jolicoeur-Schafenweide of the Aemilian Federation. In a treaty signed by both chancellors, then ratified by the Imperial Senate of the United Principalities and the Aemilian Senate, it was decided that the federal structure of the United Principalities would be disbanded, Kaiser Ludwig von Heida-Weisse would be exiled, and all subdivisions of the United Principalities would join the Aemilian Federation as jurisdictions, according to the borders of that day, so with Altstadt being added to the Reichstadt of Bülow-Altdorf-Colsburg. The treaty was proclaimed on 20.XII.1741, and the war ended.
