Lyrevale Civil War
The Lyrevale Civil War was a conflict between the Lupine majority South and the Apartheid North of Lyrevale supported by the Matriarchy of Ethalria. It marked the culmination of a decade of tension between the two nations, and resulted in a decisive victory for the North, however the government of the south was guaranteed asylum within a designated safe zone by the Auroran Continental Assembly. Ethalrian support was key in the victory though caused significant controversy as the date of the legality of their military pact with the North was disputed.
| Lyrevale Civil war | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A destroyed Ethalrian tank in early 1986 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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North Lyrevale:  Great Morstaybishlia |
South Lyrevale:  Norograd | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Beatrice gunner Filip Alistair  Delores Sofura |
 Morgan Filtarn | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
290,000 300,000 |
430,000  15,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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31,200 10,800 |
~39,000 Unknown | ||||||
Prelude
After Lyrevale seceded from Norograd in Early 1975, there was a series of large riots precipitated due to a dispute between Lupine landowners and Human farmers. The situation became so dire that both parties were invited to the post Auroran Imperial War Weyrcliff talks in order to produce a compromise that would prevent a secondary conflict. It was decided that the country would be temporarily spit into two states, North and South Lyrevale, and give priority to human and lupine land claims respectively in those given areas. Whilst those at the talks were happy with this outcome, the split caused outrage on both sides, and a migration ensued as the species were all but segregated. Most people did not heed the outcome, however, and chose to stay on the lands their families had lived and worked on for centuries. In the south, social democratic reformists continued to recognise most of the standing claims from before 1970, and a policy of coexistence and tolerance of other species was included into their new constitution. In the North, however, Lupine-owned lands were often seized and sold off to human buyers only, as they considered the ACA split to have effectively sanctioned the redistribution by giving humans priority. Consequently, the North adopted an apartheid stance in which lupines were considered secondary citizens.
With welfare for Lupines generally improving in neighbouring nations whilst decreasing inside the Norths borders, a second wave of Migration began. Considering the lupine population was still approximately 30%, and was similarly economically productive, border fences were erected to prevent escape and free movement was suspended. Whilst acknowledged by the continental community, little action was taken in an act of wilful ignorance. This is partly attributed to South Lyrevale strengthening its ties with Norograd, and the prevailing idea that enforcing sanctions on the North would lead to the socialist nation restoring its influence over South West Aurora again. The Lupine majority South was nonetheless outraged at the governmental abuse of sentient rights, and offered citizenship to anyone who defected from the North. In response, authorisation was given to North Lyrevalian border patrols to shoot anyone attempting to cross.
In the early hours of the 17th of October 1985, several lupine families, numbering 16 in total, attempted to cross the border east of Fenrir by cutting through the dual-layered border fence with wire cutters. 7 made it through before a patrol spotted the hole in the fence and opened fire on those who remained, killing 8 and injuring one who managed to escape whilst wounded during the firefight. The incident enraged the government of the South, with President Morgan Filtarn delivering an ultimatum to Prime Minister Beatrice Gunner mandating that they both legally recognise and actively improve the welfare of Lupines or face a declaration of war. At the time, the south had become militarily more powerful than the stagnant North and was in a far better position strategically. It was thus believed that such an invasion would be swift, or even result in a rapid Northern surrender. Not willing to concede, the North garnered support from other powers who sought to oppose Norograd through Lyrevale. This quickly caught the attention of the Ethalrian Matriarch Delores Sofura, who secretly pledged to support the North in the event the South invaded.
The War
28 days after the ultimatum was delivered to the North, South Lyrevale began its invasion. Within days, the Norths only coastal city of Port Athlos had fallen and all forces inside captured or killed. Just hours after it was lost the Ethalrian armed forces began mobilising, and the Matriarchy surprised the world by declaring its intentions to intervene in the conflict. President Filtarn publicly condemned the movement, and calling for the ACA to force them to withdraw. Without any leverage over the nation, however, nothing could be done and the Matriarchs navy began engaging with them in the southern ocean just a few days later. However, Norogradian General Secretary Kiet Narvga began pushing for measures to ensure the safety of those affected by the conflict, calling for the creation of a safe zone enforced by the ACA to be created in which no fighting could occur.
On the 8th of December, a major naval battle began between the Southern carrier group flagshipped by LNV Pontifex and and three Ethalrian Amphibious strike groups with multiple carriers. This resulted in the disabling of the Pontifex and the sinking of a dozen other vessels, with the Ethalrian forces suffering only 3 sinking's in return. This scattered what was left of their navy and consequently resulted in the loss of naval superiority in the Southern Ocean below Lyrevale, leaving the coast open to naval invasion. The army continued to move Northwards with the support of Auraliyan volunteer troops who were adept at sabotaging infrastructure and logistics behind the lines. The threat of invasion from the south and the emergence of a second front led to a large number of troops being redeployed along the coast which slowed advances in the North.
Port Athlos was Ethalria's first target, securing a coastal connection and leading an advance that would force Southern lines to retreat back to the original border or risk encirclement. Several incidents occurred in which Ethalrian troops accidentally landed within Quartz Fern Coast territory, causing a ceasefire which allowed Southern forces to regroup to form defensive lines within the Auric Mountains around Athlos.
Aftermath
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