Operation Icebox

Operation Icebox was a consolidated military and diplomatic operation conducted in 1718 AN by the Imperial Federation to accomplish two complementary objectives. The first was to secure the southern coast of Eura under control of a strong Raspur Pact naval power. Settling the islands with Imperial assets was completed relatively uneventfully by {{AN|1717}, with the consolidation and subsequent formation of Imperial Eura concluded by the close of the next year.

The second goal was to connect these newly reinforced trade routes to new reaches of Imperial influence beyond Eura, off the coast of Frigia, a region of the so-called Antarctic Union. The latter was concluded by 1719 AN, although efforts to build these colonies after their formal annexation slowed at a local level due to the high monetary cost paid by the Imperial Federation to purchase the sovereign territory of North Frigia from its native government.

Background

Anarchy in Eura

Initially, the Imperial Court wanted to secure Raspur Pact control over the southern coast of Eura, which by 1715 AN had begun to succumb to anarchy in the wake of abandonment of the coastal islands by their former occupants. Seeing an opportunity following the Conquest of Valora to consolidate its considerable holdings far overseas, the Imperial Navy recognized that it needed more facilities and population bases to sustainably maintain its presence this far from the Imperial heartland. Thus, expanding to these islands became a priority for the Imperial Navy, wishing to establish support bases, tax bases, and other infrastructure needed to support a large military force.

The operation went smoothly, with rebuilding efforts beginning soon after Imperial control was established in mid 1718 AN.

Discovery of Frigia

Secondly, it was during this phase of exploration and expansion near Eura that the Imperial Federation discovered the people of Frigia, then its neighbors the Vulcanians and Koralians afterwards. Shortly after making contact, merchant marines attached to the Imperial Navy diplomatic corps discovered that the island (mistakenly named Frigia in its entirety on early Imperial Navy maps) possessed a considerable population in its interior that was well-concealed by the outer uninhabitable icebound coastlines on nearly all sides. It was also found that this island possessed considerable technology unique to the area that took advantage of an abundance of rare minerals. This, coupled with the difficulty in farming crops or traveling between the island's geothermically warmed inhabited areas without advanced infrastructure, meant that the island was technologically advanced and diplomatically isolated at the same time, a rare combination on Micras.

Further investigation revealed that, due to the lack of warm water interior ports with very few exceptions, trade could only take place by three methods. The first would be by air through the extreme cold (a danger in itself), by sled (even more dangerous as most of the island's north half was covered by vast ice sheets), or by hopping through Frigia's only warm-water port of Wesport, then through the tiny port towns to the north and east connected to it and the interior by infrequently traveled roads and tunnels in the country's few internal trade routes to the mostly-frozen northern coastlines.

Alternate routes lay through Koralia in the winter months, mainly through the north port of Hard Knox, which had overland trade routes over the ice sheet open during deep winter and closed during the summer due to thinner or more brittle ice. (The port city itself, formerly also a fishing town, was named originally as a joke, after a tale of one of its local inhabitants having a drunken fistfight with a flying beast of unusual size, which the beast won in comical fashion. The man survived this creation of a booze-addled epic in front of a crowd of witnesses, who in turn never stopped retelling this seemingly impossible, ridiculous story to anyone willing to listen. Despite efforts by local leaders to change the city's in recently more prosperous years, the name has stuck, becoming an ironic source of local pride.)

It was then that the Imperials realized that the natives on Frigia (never mind the rest of the deep interior) did not care to maintain places beyond its already sparsely inhabited outer coastlines, even when and where they were able. Further inspection revealed that that the large islands to the north of the small, icy subcontinent were nearly entirely empty (aside from small fishing towns), despite the relatively hospitable environment they provided. It was noted that the natives maintained a trading city of modest size to the northwest of the mainland, which served as the country's only real, year-round artery connecting its sparse, barely-connected coastal possessions. Several small port towns on the country's periphery thrived on fishing industries in those few areas not frozen over year-round farther outside of Wesport's reach, thanks to peripheral geothermic activity in the areas they were founded in.

In the ensuing months, Imperial bases of various sizes were set up for exploration purposes on the North Frigia islands (the largest being dubbed "New Glacio" after the eponymous Glacier City). It was near this time that Imperial diplomats and merchants discovered the country's lax military state, coupled by its vast trading potential, having discovered that the icebound island country was an unexpectedly, and unprecedentedly, huge source of exotic minerals, metals, and even novel technology. With the newly discovered country well-defended in the interior but apathetic to its northern and outer coastlines, the Imperial Federation jumped on the opportunity to rapidly build up these Imperial Navy bases to secure areas for merchant ships to refuel and conduct trade with nearby port cities down the western Frigian coast. Efforts to quickly set up and consolidate Imperial supply lines rapidly commenced as exploration of the region's trade potential intensified.

Consolidation of Imperial Eura

It was by this time that the Euran colonization operation was in full swing, and the Imperial government officially launched Operation Icebox to take full advantage of this interesting discovery. In terms of colonization potential, the situation off the coast of Eura and in its environs was, by comparison to Haifa, far easier in terms of logistics due to existing Imperial presence in the area, and significantly more uneventful due to lack of resistance to exploration and settlement. Authority had long collapsed in the region, and hostile forces were scarcely found, with most of the regions' populations welcoming the return of prosperity to the islands off the coast of Eura. Named the Forgotten Isles in the years leading up to it, the only presence of authority over the past five years in the area was a very large Imperial Navy base centered on the port city of Farquat.

Colonization of these island groups proceeded rapidly, with the territory being consolidated around Farquat and being dubbed Imperial Eura, being accorded home rule according to Imperial model governments much closer to home on the northern end of Imperial holdings on the Keltia coast.

The North Frigia Purchase

Initial Colonization of North Frigia

The picture was nearly the same on so-called "North Frigia", with the very few natives there adopting a near-total attitude of apathy towards Imperial encroachment on their northern territory. Being so isolated from the southern homeland, by the time the Imperials arrived, the natives were effectively a separate set of peoples, even from the polar natives (that is, those that flew their odd, furry mounts resembling dragonoid pterosaurs). However, the Imperials were keenly aware of the ability of the island proper to defend its interior, and did not wish to offend the natives. The Imperial Federation wanted access and trading rights to tap into the country's huge mineral wealth, and could not hope to occupy the country's valuable interior due to its sheer size, unknown defensive capability, near-uninhabitable coastlines, and disparate populations.

Nonetheless, the Imperials found the North Frigian island to be of paramount strategic importance, as it also connected the Raspur Pact supply routes over a much shorter distance from Eura to Tapfer. This, coupled with the renewed mercantile importance thanks to Greater Frigia, made the importance of reaching a deal with the native governments there paramount to Imperial interests. Thus, delegations were sent with generous offers to the native government, seeking sovereignty over these islands and rights to trade.

Settlement with the Natives

After some months of negotiations and rounds of first contact with the native governments of Frigia, Vulcania, and Koralia, these were secured, along with limited technology transfers as part of the initial deal. The trade deals included exchanges of various raw materials, protection agreements for the outer coastlines, and free passage for Imperial ships in native waters, and overland for civilian merchant convoys. In turn, the Imperials by their presence in the region provided de facto protection of the island country's near-uninhabited outer coastlines, and had free rein in developing a colony in hospitable waters -- a rarity for Imperial ambitions abroad.

However, the Imperials incurred a high monetary investment at the outset. In addition to expecting a hefty cash payment, the natives wanted to develop and secure their outer coastlines, but lacked any sort of significant navy or coastal infrastructure past Wesport and Hargeon. While they were willing to give up a few forgotten islands to do it, they still wanted significant amounts of international currency to trade with in future exchanges with others. Thus, in exchange for North Frigia, the Imperial Federation was obligated to offer cash, as well as additional direct investments in modernizing the country's outer coast, a hugely costly endeavor. Additionally, it invested its technological prowess into building interior roads underneath the ice sheet, another huge cost.

While it was dubbed "Nikamura's Folly" for the outlandish price tag, the Imperial Court was made aware of the long-term importance of gaining the islands here of all places, so the Emperor reluctantly approved the considerable budget required to purchase the territory, at the expense of rapid expansion over Haifa past the coastlines, as the latter was a difficult project anyway. By 1719 AN, the purchase agreements were complete and Imperial funds transferred to their new, accidental "protectorate" at the far end of Micras, but in return for badly needed rare materials to maintain the Imperial Navy's juggernaut elsewhere, particularly in the rebuilding of advanced infrastructure in recently reclaimed North Valora.