Mexican War
| Mexican War | |||||||
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   Clockwise from top:
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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 New Mexico | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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 Leafy |
Kate | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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 2 players |
1 player | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 29 coalition deaths | Eventual collapse of the state and banned | ||||||
The Mexican War, also known as the Air Nation Civil War or the Gulf War, was the first ever international conflict. The conflict involved two of the major alliances of the world (the Quadruple Alliance and the Princes of Andorra) against a small but highly militarised secessionist state of New Mexico.
Context
The conflict found its roots in the construction of the Northern Canal, a canal that stretches for over 1500 blocks to connect the Central Sea to the Air Nation's northern lake. This was the hallmark project of Mexico City, led by Templemaster Kate. Kate had adopted the former capital of Mexico, acquired by the Air Nation following that state's collapse, and turned it into one of the most heavily industrialised regions in the world. The canal directly connected to Mexico City's port and was a hallmark of the new city's prestige. Unfortunately, the canal's southern end was precariously close to the border of both Andorra and the Free Territory, who both feared an Air Nation annexation would see their "backyard" seized. To ease these concerns, the Canal Company Charter was signed. This relegated ownership of the canal to a company, overseen by a non-aligned chairman, with the company divided into three equal shares by Andorra, Free Territory, and the Air Nation. This agreement was necessary to obtain permission to finish the final stretch of the canal, but tensions remained over the sudden shift to spheres of influence.
Prior to the canal, the Air Nation was relatively uninvested in the events of the Central Sea due to its lack of maritime connection. This ended with the construction of the canal as shipping had to be protected. The Air Nation would refuse to sign the Open Seas Treaty, guaranteeing the passage of all ships in a variety of legal contexts, due to concerns that it would permit the canal being freely blockaded in wartime without legal recuse. Additionally, the Mexican leadership led by Kate was aggravated by the canal agreement, arguing that the canal was dug by them and thus belonged to them. The day before Mexico's seccession, the Northern Temple was founded by Samigot, further destabilizing the internal balance of power in the northwestern Air Nation.
Acting without orders, Kate unilaterally annexed a small island off the coast of Andorra near the canal in the name of the Air Nation. This was promptly fortified to international outcry. Andorra expressed immediate concern and established the "border security zone", a region of influence outside official borders where they would not permit foreign claims, which included a section of the canal and the island in question. Andorran allies in the Earth Kingdom and Free Territory threatened war if the island were not relinquished. Furious internal debate in the Air Nation ensued between the hawks, led by Kate, arguing that it was necessary to ensure Air Nation influence over its rightful property, and the doves, led by foreign minister Vidcom, who insisted war was a destructive and futile recourse. Grandmaster Paperweight ultimately sided with the doves, prompting Mexican leadership to declare independence, beginning the Air Nation civil war.
Andorran entry to the war
A phony war ensued at first, with only limited encounters - Samigot briefly duelled Kate over the deserts, a small skirmish in the Free Territory took place - but escalation would soon come near Andorra. Mexican leadership interpreted the Andorran security zone as a de facto annexation, thus violating the canal agreement and permitting New Mexico to leave the agreement and unilaterally claim the entire canal. Andorra responded by claiming that any foreign ship that passes through their zone will be interpreted as engaging in an act of war.
Mexican pilots in Port Cass set sail in the Chicago, a heavily fortified endstone ship that had sailed out as the first to cross the canal, to return to their home port. Andorran forces sent the flagship Andorra in pursuit. Andorra had to arrive from its port in Ordino and was significantly less advanced than Chicago, sporting fewer torpedos and no armour. Recognising this, the Andorran navy planned to let Chicago enter the canal, destroy the island fortifications while they were under-defended, and then use Andorra to obstruct the canal. This plan was initiated successfully, but the destruction of the beacon on the island was noticed by Mexican forces, who promptly flew to the scene where a brief close-quarters battle commenced. While Andorra was far from the guns of Chicago that was now halfway up the canal, the ship's defenders were without their armour or proper weapons due to the suddenness of the operation. The Mexicans demanded the captain surrender, who responded by scuttling the ship. The wreck of Andorra still sits in its final resting place.
This clash was the first serious armed engagement by Mexican forces, yet was not against the Air Nation or one of its allies. As a result, Andorra declared war and was joined by the Free Territory and the Earth Kingdom. During this time, Air Nation diplomats successfully appealed to the Quadruple Alliance that the Mexicans were aggressors by having declared secession, thus activating the terms of the treaty. New Mexico was, as a result, at war with most of the world's powers.
Diplomacy
A lull set in once again after the Battle of the Central Sea, as the two major alliances coordinated a strategy. As part of this strategy, a diplomatic isolation effort was initiated - any neutral power that recognised New Mexican sovereignty would be treated as a co-belligerent. This effort largely backfired, sparking protest from Ratzores and Atlas. While Atlatian complaints remained just complaints, the Ratzorean assembly voted after fierce debate to recognise New Mexican sovereignty. This was promptly decried by Andorra, to whom Ratzores was an ally and thus obliged to enter into a defensive war. The Ratzorean leadership retorted by arguing Andorra had initiated the war, as the border security zone was itself meddling in the affairs of another state. Both sides appeared mutually willing to end their alliance as a result, with all Ratzoreans forced to leave AAPC territory.
Sunday 25th July 2021
The coalition issued its statement demanding the end of the insurgency by July 25th 2021, without which offensive action would begin. This deadline was not met by the Mexicans, and so began the bloodiest day of the war.
Military actions began in Freeport, where Earth Kingdom troops met up with Casslandian forces. Kate flew to this area and successfully killed Earth Kingdom forces while repelling the Cassland force to flee the area. This was the first victory of the day to New Mexico.
The second battle took place in Inkwood, where the Air Nation had been flying Fire Nation soldiers in one-by-one. Kate intercepted this effort, and a huge battle soon took place. New Mexico's forces were heavily equipped with totems of undying, bought from Atlas shortly before secession broke out. Additionally, coalition forces had taken a "close enough" approach to armour and weaponry, reasoning that enchanted diamond was worse but similar enough in quality to enchanted netherite to achieve much the same effect. This assumption proved wrong, as Kate was able to kill the much larger joint AN-FN force and even capture the Firelord's shield. This was the second victory of the day to New Mexico.
After the fires in Inkwood were put out, the initiative turned to the coalition who began an invasion of Mexico City itself. Air Nation, Fire Nation, and Free Territory forces fought together here with the Free Territory forces showing particularly impressive results - they had invested in equivalent equipment to the Mexicans, and it showed. The Free Territory would be the only party of the coalition to successfully destroy a Mexican totem. Multiple explosions and fires rocked the town with large-scale property damage. Despite this, Liz of the Free Territory's helmet broke, putting the advantage back in Mexican hands once again and seeing the town cleared once more. This was the third win of the day.
Due to the unprecedented 17 players online at once, the coalitions superiority in fleets and air power was largely mitigated. This did not stop Earth Kingdom forces taking the initiative, gambling that the action in Mexico City would keep the Mexican forces distracted while they engaged in smaller operations. Using rowboats, Earth Kingdom forces successfully landed and destroyed the island fort near Andorra, seizing its beacon and ravaging its walls to the point of being useless. Kate would not know about this until the end of the day, and it would be the only coalition victory.
Kate resumed the attack on Inkwood once again, having temporarily liberated Mexico City, and heavily depleted Air Nation forces struggled to mount an effective resistance, due to their fallen weapons and armour being destroyed by vengeful Mexican forces. Inkwood's Great Hall almost burned down at one stage, leading to a temporary ceasefire. This would be another victory for the Mexicans.
Finally, in a last-ditch effort, the majority of the coalition rallied to invade Mexico City one last time. Air Nation, Free Territory, Andorra, Cassland, and Fire Nation participated here. While the Mexican forces handily won most encounters, they could not prevent the widespread vandalism and destruction of the city as the coalition forces fanned out. After a while, it became clear that further fighting was fruitless, and a ceasefire was called for.
Post-25th Reaction
With the war on the battlefield, the meta-war began, as all parties involved were now fully aware of the importance of the "no war" precedent that this conflict had broken. The number of messages on the server discord was almost double compared to the day before and after these battles. Unfortunately, this led to Kate leaving the server with no return. After three weeks of no response, New Mexico was concluded to no longer exist. This is canonically hard to explain, so permit the following:
While Kate had successfully led the Mexican forces to resist an invasion against a vastly larger foe, this success would not last. The defeat had been so staggering that an unconditional surrender seemed to be guaranteed. With its existential threat gone, what exactly was New Mexico to be? Rival factions in the military almost began fighting to secure their ideological preference. Monarchists in the rural outskirts intended to crown Kate as queen, establishing a rival dynasty to the Earth Kings to their south. In the navy, theocratic ideals of the Air Nation held sway as officers wished to establish a rival Empyrean state to the Inkwood Conclave. In the rank and file, many had been radicalised by socialists from abroad and the support from Ratzores, thus they began to immediately seize what ruins were left. In this chaos, what rubble was left of the city was pulverised yet further. Kate fled for her life, never to be seen again. As the socialist revolt spread out further, the naval officers invited Air Nation ships to enforce peace. Thus, New Mexican independence was snuffed out no sooner than it had began.
Legacy
Following the end of the conflict, peace was eagerly returned to the region. The northern canal today has seen reduced importance; while it is still traversable, a new Earth Kingdom railway line has been laid on top of it. Near Andorra, the wreck of *Andorra* and the fortified island remain untouched, a brutal reminder of the horrors of war. Inkwood saw rapid repair and growth at the end of the war, and the nearby Floating City exploded with the influx of both Inkwood and Mexican refugees. Mexico City remains in Air Nation territory, but is little more than a shadow of its former glory.
Some Mexicans fled the conflict, travelling to the extreme far east, settling the new state of the Third Mexican Empire. This new state has significantly better relations than its predecessor, thriving through the terracotta trade.
Before the war, a strong pacifist norm dominated but was tested on multiple occasions. With the outbreak of an actual international war, this grudge is now validated. The great powers of the world have slowed armament programs significantly and, as a community, it is now clear that interpersonal issues should never be settled in game.