War of Estranged Siblings

War of Estranged Siblings
Date 1733 Location Southern Cibola
Belligerents
Confoederatio Aemilia	Restored Lanzerwald Republic
Commanders and leaders
Hedy von Rossmarkt	Jules Sebastian de la Rochelle

The War of Estranged Siblings was a conflict that started in late 1733 and lasted until the summer of 1736. The basis of the conflict was sown in 1723, when Jules Sebastian de la Rochelle took side against his younger sister Emilia Antoinette, when she tried to make their hometown Stadt Taktwinkel, independent from the failing Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen. Following his sister's victory and subsequent ascension to the throne as the first princess of Taktwinkel, and soon afterwards the Confoederatio Aemilia, Jules fled to Neurossheim in Etzeland where he lay low for a moment. In III.1733 he published a book containing libel and slander towards the princess, which irritated the princess and called for a meeting of the Aemilian chapter of the Order of the Holy Lakes in VI.1733. Meetings of the chapter were mandatory for all who qualified for membership and Jules Sebastian de la Rochelle was expected to attend. As he refused to return from his place of exile and attend the meeting, a request of extradition was sent to Mondo Etzeterra. Mondo sent a representative to Jules Sebastian, inviting him to discuss the matter at the court, but after receiving this invitation he fled the Mondosphere towards Rossmarkt. Rossmarkt at the time was located in the Green and Jules Sebastian de la Rochelle established his own republic there, calling himself a Stadtholder of the Lanzerwald.

Princess Emilia Antoinette sent her confidante, Hedy von Rossmarkt, long-time captain of the palace guard in Taktwinkel, to Rossmarkt to negotiate the return of Jules Sebastian with the promise of a lenient trial. As Captain von Rossmarkt approached the city with her troops, they were met with warning shots and the captain retreated to a location out of the range of the city's small arms and asked Princess Emilia Antoinette for further instructions. Princess Emilia Antoinette promised to send reinforcements, a full legion including several Panzergefechtswagen I. She however did not authorise an assault on the city, believing that the possible bloodshed would not be proportionate to the offences committed by Jules Sebastian. The hope of the Confoederatio Aemilia remained that Jules Sebastian would cease his hostile behaviour and surrender to the superior Aemilian forces. There were also worries that the Panzergefechtswagen I, which was outdated when it was introduced in 1716 compared to tanks fielded by other nations, might not be a strong enough weapon to quickly overwhelm the Restored Lanzerwaldian infantry, armed with rocket-propelled grenades.

Still, the Aemilian forces were able to seal off the city for a while. Establishing checkpoints on the roads to the city, that led food and trading goods in, but not weapons and would hinder the escape of Jules Sebastian de la Rochelle. The blockade of the city lasted all of 1734, and other troops were brought into the region to bring villages in the Lanzerwald under the control of the Confoederatio Aemilia and incorporated into the confederation as Rossmark, still without its future capital city under control of the Aemilians. Early 1735 saw the introduction of the new Panzergefechtswagen II, a modern battle tank to the legion which was now considered to be capable of storming the city. Hedy von Rossmarkt asked for additional artillery in the form of Mehrfachraketenwerferlastkraftwagen I but this was rejected by Princess Emilia Antoinette, who considered the weapon to be too inaccurate to be used against an enemy that housed between civilians.

On I.1736, a new meeting of the Aemilian chapter of the Order of the Holy Lakes was called to discuss the relation of the Confoederatio Aemilia and the The realms of the Order of the Holy Lakes after the deaths of Gray Rechter and Hans Schafenweide in Huyenkula. The absence of Jules Sebastian de la Rochelle during the wake caused a lot of irritation and reinvigorated the will of the Aemilians to bring Jules Sebastian to justice. Over the next few months, more troops were amassed, preparing for a full-on assault on the city. The northern neighbour of the Confoederatio Aemilia, Mondo Etzeterra was highly concerned with the possible bloodshed in the city and offered to mediate between the parties that seemed to be intent on going to war. Princess Emilia Antoinette agreed to let the Etzerlander send an envoy to the city to invite Jules Sebastian de la Rochelle to the mediation session. Fearing for his life, as he thought the envoy was an assassin trying to murder him, Jules Sebastian de la Rochelle attempted to flee the city again, only to be caught by an Aemilian patrol and brought over to Stadt Taktwinkel for his trial.

Jules Sebastian de la Rochelle was convicted of libel against the princess and two cases of contempt of the Aemilian chapter of the Order of the Holy Lakes. For his libel he was ordered to issue a rectification in the national papers of the confederation, pay a fine of 500 großpfennig. For the two cases of contempt he was also ordered to pay fines of 500 großpfennig, resulting in a total fine of 1,500 großpfennig. The city of Rossmarkt was peacefully incorporated in the jurisdiction of Rossmark and was made its capital.