Frisian War

The Frisian War, also sometimes referred to as the War of Frisian Liberation or Patriottyske Ferdigening fan it Heitelân, is an ongoing military conflict between the Water Tribe and Fryslan. The war began following a prolonged period of high tensions between the two nations during the extended Frisian Civil War, sparked by the rapid failure of negotiations at the Skylge Conference. The Earth Kingdom has remained neutral despite its presence in the region and the diplomatic tensions being as great as the Water Tribe's.

Background

Frisian Civil War

Tensions around the Western Canal had been high for a great while, as the Frisian Civil War had seen the region destabilised. In particular, the Battle of Ljouwert Baai saw naval traffic near the canal come under direct threat from the crossfire. This event prompted a blockade on the city of Ljouwert, prohibiting the transit of all war materials to and from the city by sea or air. This blockade did little to mitigate the civil war, as the conflict continued unabated, but did effectively ground any effort for the Frisian fleet to become seaworthy at the capital. The Water Tribe would join this blockade, as Chieftain Urist began to assert the Water Tribe's position as a major power, often describing the Tribe as "Mother Hen caring for her eggs", referring to the small Frisian nation.

As tensions between Fryslan and the joint powers of the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom continued to rise, further incidents contributed to rising tensions. The blockade's initial mission of containing the conflict would be transformed into a wider strategic goal of pacifying the waters around the canal, to prevent any future battles in Ljouwert Baai. This goal was explicitly incompatible with the notion of Frisian independence entailing the nation to self-defense, and thus tensions continued to rise the longer the blockade was in place. As the civil war ended, the three parties met for talks to normalise relations on the island of Skylge, seeking to resolve this contradiction and put to bed other issues of bad blood.

Skylge Conference

The Skylge Conference was an unmitigated disaster by most accounts. While reports are spotty, we can ascertain from statements given by both parties as to matters of disagreement.

In Ljouwert we brokered an agreement on the law of war - one Fryslan Corp. became wholly uninterested in keeping the instant we did something they didn't like, albeit wholly in line with the treaty. Most recently, we attempted to reach peace in Skylge, offering extremely generous terms to the corporation, and yet most terms were refused on baseless grounds, and in their place the Frisian diplomatic delegation inserted absurd demands - among them, the cession of the Amity Islands and other territories to Fryslan. When the ridiculous nature of these demands was pointed out, the delegation refused to negotiate further, demanding that the blockade be unconditionally lifted.

This quote is taken from the Water Tribe's official press release of 23rd March 2022, which was widely seen as the declaration of war. The Water Tribe states here that one issue was the Frisian lack of commitment to the International Conventions on the Law of War, but they also state direct matters from the Skylge Conference, stating that Fryslan was offered "extremely generous terms", to which the Frisians demanded the Amity Islands and "other territories". They also state that the blockade on Ljouwert be lifted immediately. From this, it would seem clear that the Frisian intent at Skylge was to reassert their maritime control over the Ljouwert vicinity by lifting the blockade and taking control of the nearby islands not within Frisian borders, even if those were held by other powers.

Fryslan released two statements regarding the declaration of war, intending to set the record straight. The first states the following:

They refused to even consider apologising for the suffering caused to innocent Frisians, apologising for helping Fryslân's most significant criminal escape, and pledging to return him to Frisian custody, should he arrive in one of their nations.

This refers to the capture by Water Tribe special forces of Fokke Terpstra, a Frisian communist who began the civil war. He had been detained in Fryslan before the Water Tribe had broken him out of jail and taken him into their custody. Terpstra is now known to reside in the Air Nation. It is understood that Fryslan asked that, if Terpstra were to re-enter Water Tribe borders, they would turn him over to the Frisians - this request was rejected. Furthermore, this statement mentions the requirement of an apology for the blockade, which Fryslan maintains is illegal, another denied request.

We did ask for the Amity islands among other islands. We acknowledge this. But when you consider all the suffering caused as a result of their illegal blockade, it seems like the least they can provide as compensation.

Confirmation is given here regarding the Amity Islands being requested, with a motive of economic compensation for the damage of the blockade. Later, the Frisians state this was an intentional overreach as they would moderate their position down to removing the blockade and no transfers of any resource, but this was also rejected.

In their second statement, the Frisians noted that the Water Tribe required them to sign the Convention on the Peaceful Resolution of International Disputes, which Fryslan had not been a signatory to in the past. Upon mentioning this, the matter was apparently not mentioned again within negotiations.

Outbreak of war

While the Skylge Conference had clearly been intended to resolve disputes and establish common ground for the parties of the region to cooperate, both sides clearly deemed the others initial demands as unspeakably radical. Communication broke down rapidly, as Frisians were incensed by the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom's refusal to apologise or compensate them for the blockade they considered illegal, while the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom appeared outraged and possibly amused that the Frisians would even make demands in their current position.

On the 23rd of March 2022, the Water Tribe formally declared war on Fryslan, thus beginning the Frisian War. The Earth Kingdom stayed remarkably quiet on the matter, stating only a request to keep the conflict from spilling into international waters, stating "We watch the developing situation with great concern". By the next day, the reports of the first dogfights over Ljouwert were confirmed as the war began in earnest.

While Fryslan had been a highly divided state prior to the war, only just barely recovering from its civil war, this division soon melted away as all Frisian society rallied behind the flag against the foreign invaders. In the Water Tribe, political divisions persevered as the Court of Harmony formally began impeachment proceedings against Chieftain Urist, but these would later be delayed indefinitely.

From the outset, the strengths of each side were apparent. Frisian society was still teeming with armed veterans of the civil war, who were highly capable with firearms, but had no airforce experience to speak of, nor a functional navy, armored cars, or tanks. The Water Tribe had a far larger army as well as all of these things. Despite this, the Water Tribe did not rapidly achieve superiority. The Frisians had been secretly constructing a large air force in order to defend their nation, which soon proved useful - the Frisian air force would rapidly gain experience through combat sorties and keep the Water Tribe's elite Valkyrie fighters at bay. An initial Water Tribe attack saw a dogfight over Ljouwert, as well as an airdrop of tanks in the western Frisian desert. These tanks were quickly counterattacked by a hastily assembled Frisian armored car brigade with air support. The presence of a Frisian airforce caught all parties offguard, as no combat-capable Frisian aircraft were known to exist pre-war. Following the lack of a prompt surrender, the Water Tribe would prepare Operation Trident to compel a surrender.

Initial offensives

Operation Trident

Frisian aerial counterattacks

See also

• Water Tribe
• Fryslan
• Earth Kingdom
• Frisian Civil War
• Water Tribe Civil War
• Western Canal