The Rail Wars
| The Rail Wars | |||||||
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| Part of Wars of the Disinherited | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Moorland
|  The Green  Confederacy of the Dispossessed.
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The Rail Wars is the name given to the ongoing military conflict between the Kingdom of Moorland and remnants of the Confederacy of the Dispossessed over the abandoned remnants of the Trans-Keltian Express around the city of Revby, Moorland's Green Line railroad that extends through the Green from Nevermoor to the Kells, and the surrounding territory.
Background
For several years Moorland had been operating what it called the Green Line, a spur railroad that extended through unclaimed territory in the Green from the city of Raveness west to the port of Kells. Seeking to limit its expansion, Moorland had hesitated claiming these lands but struggled with the economic woes associated with the East Keltian Collapse and subsequent breakdown of the Trans-Keltian Express. While neighboring Mercury was able to secure the Hagbard-Signe tunnel to keep the express open to their lands, Moorland was cut-off by the loss of the Revby section and forced to ship goods via the much longer northern route. Furthermore, the Green Line was unreliable as it was a low-grade track that had been hastily constructed through hostile territory, constantly under attack by hostile forces such as the Fuath.
Conversations with Bassaridia Vaeringheim to normalize relations and develop stronger economic ties made having a secure transportation network much more desirable. This need was exacerbated by the rail companies who were taking losses from raids and accidents on the low-grade track. Seeing that a boon was to come from increased trade with Bassaridia, the rail barons put pressure on the monarchy to secure the Revby section of the TKE and seize the area around the Green Line so a high grade track could be installed without fear of attack from hostiles. Therefore, in 1744.10, King MacMartin order the MAF to begin securing Green Line as a hard stop to hostile forces south of the line. He also issued an edict declaring the unclaimed lands north of the Green Line, between the Strait and Mercury, to be claimed by Moorland. To secure this objective, the MAF would launch into a series of conflicts dubbed the Rail Wars.
Major Battles
The Green Line
For nearly a decade, Moorland had been operating what it called the Green Line, a spur of the TKE that extended from the Dunn Mountains Viaduct, east across the Green to the port of Inverkell. Due to raids by hostiles, mostly Fuath, the train has been kept strictly armored and does not transport civilians. Most of the time it carries freight goods to/from the port. Fargus MacDoon, President of the Dunn Line that operates the train, a wealthy millionaire tycoon, had long been pushing for Moorland to invade the region and formally annex it in order to allow passenger rail to be extended along the Green Line; a move that would result in greatly increased profits for the DL. The King, wary to overextend Moorland's forces, and dealing with the reverberations of the East Keltian Collapse, had consistently pushed back against this idea. However, in 1744, with continued attacks by hostile forces in the Green, relations with Bassaridia normalizing, and a failure to support the abandoned portion of the TKE through Revby, coupled with pressure from the rail barons, the King finally relented, launching what would be the start of the Rail Wars.
The first major confrontation occurred along the Green Line. For years the Fuath had been raiding the line, seizing train cars and goods, or sabotaging the line itself, causing train accidents. These persistent problems became a costly fiasco for the Dunn Line. Not only did it require the trains to be constantly armored and given a security detail, but the loss of revenue from theft and damage cut deeply into profits. The owners of the company began hiring mercenaries to protect to railroad, bypassing MAF units deployed in the area. Also, unlike the MAF, the mercenaries were not bound by the ethics of civilized warfare. Whereas the MAF had previously only targeted combatants, mercenary forces attacked Fuath encampments indiscriminately, burning whole villages to the ground. This prompted concern from the Moorlander government, and in 1744.12 the King issued an edict forcibly disbanding the mercenary companies but, in allaying the rail companies, agreed to provide security and launch a full-scale invasion of the region.
Thus in 1744.13 elements of the MAF arrived in the area, including the Nevermoor Knights, who immediately began a sweeping campaign to secure the landscape on either side of the Green Line. The MAF began a systematic rounding up of Fuath into detention encampments, including women and children. This was deemed necessary both for Moorland's protection and their own. The rogue bands of Fuath, while poorly organized and without a centralized leadership, nonetheless continued to attack MAF forces and disrupt the rail line wherever they could. But they could not withstand the full brunt of the MAF being deployed to the area. What had been restrained fighting, Moorland unleashed the full power of its armed forces. Within two months, by 1744.15, the MAF had secured the territory south of the Green Line roughly 33km and north of the line about 6km.
Two internment camps were established, one at Inverkell and the other at a military encampment that would be named Fort Ruthven. Around three-thousand Fuath were placed in detention and given temporary shelter, food and medicine. Final disposition of the prisoners had, as of late 1744.15, not yet been determined. The King's Council remains in debate over how best to release civilians without endangering Moorlanders. In the meantime, MAF forces began fortifying the territory south of the Green Line in order to wall off any further attacks on the rail. The focus now being to sweep across the north, secure the spur of the Blue Line to the TKE, and restore the abandoned section to Revby.
The Blue Line
The advent of a summer filled with heavy rains followed by a harsh winter forced the MAF to hunker down for the better part of a year, delaying offensive maneuvers north until the spring of 1745. Once the weather began to warm and the spring snowmelt had dried up enough to move troops and equipment, MAF forces headed north along the Blue Line, supported by reinforcements and supplies from the Kells. The spur rail had been abandoned for a number of years, and while it was overgrown with brush, was not completely impassable. The Army Corps of Engineers was brought in to clear the rail, escorted by AFVs, and make it usable to the point where artillery on railcar could be towed north within range of Revby where the Dispossessed were holed up. Since armored railcars were already in use on the Green Line, getting them onto the spur via the turntable at Kells was a simple task. While MACE worked to clear the rail, armored units advanced north on either side of the tracks.
Most resistance was fleeting. Primary forces of the Dispossessed and Fuath had fallen back and were reinforcing their position at Revby behind the city walls. Scouts and aerial recon had reported that the enemy was digging in at the city in anticipation of a siege. The MAF, for its part, was planning pincer action by landing forces at the head of the Signe-Hagbard Tunnel just south of the Mercurian border. These additional forces would then advance south, concentrating enemy forces in the city.
Revby
The penultimate battle came at Revby after the combined forces of the MAF had pushed back the remaining hostile troops from the Blue Line into the city. This had a combined effect of both cutting off the enemy from gaining any reinforcements, but also concentrating their remaining assets in a stronghold. By early 1746, artillery had been brought in by rail to the outskirts of Revby where they began a relentless barrage of the city's defenses. MAF forces that had moved south from the Signe-Hagbard Tunnel found themselves holding position north of the city and blocking any escape or re-supply. The majority of MAF forces were, instead, concentrated on the southern walls where artillery pounded the Fuath defensive line. Previous engagements had primarily been in open areas along the rail lines, but here the enemy had dug in deeply and had had time to prepare significant defenses. When MAF forces arrived, the city's walls had been repaired and obstacles constructed around the perimeter. This halted any advancement of ground forces until artillery could blast their way through. It took a month before a scorched path was wide enough to allow armored vehicles and tanks to approach.
Final Maneuvers
While the MAF had expected that shevy shelling would open up Revby for a ground advance, the reality was that the Fuath had dug themselves in deeply enough that the battle turned into a protracted siege. Enemy forces had the wherewithal to create a large stockpile of supplies before MAF forces had advanced on the city, and they managed to keep underground supply lines open via the port. This all added up to a siege that ended up lasting nearly four years. What eventually tipped the scales in Moorland's favor was the discovery of hidden supply lines via the Strait of Haifa and eliminating these, along with the relentless bombardment of the city. By the winter of 1747, enemy forces had begun to seriously falter. Several defensive positions began to fall back, opening up areas of a city wall that had been pummeled to gravel. Actual fighting had, by this point, wilted off to sporadic engagements, with neither side making any real advances. But it wasn't until a harsh winter set in that, coupled with the loss of key supply lines, that the Fuath began to clearly falter. It was mostly evident in the opening of key positions along the city perimeter, as points that had been heavily defended were suddenly unmanned. Intelligence chocked this up to rampant sickness behind enemy lines. The MAF, choosing not to engage in the winter, simply fortified its position further and strengthened its stranglehold on the city. By spring of 1748, the MAF sent forward an envoy to approach the city and demand the surrender of the remaining forces. What they discovered was a populace deep in the throes of starvation and rampant sickness. The Fuath had no choice but to accept the terms and lay down arms. In 1748.2 the MAF marched into the city and took possession of Revby, officially ending the Rail Wars.
The remaining Fuath and Dispossessed were disarmed and placed under house arrest awaiting trial. Following their surrender, Moorland brought in emergency aid and goods to help the remaining population and control the spread of sicknesses. With the victory, Moorland aims to reopen the rail lines and settle those Fuath who have accepted joining Moorland into the region.
