Iustitian War for Independence

Iustitian War of Independence
Part of the collapse of the Valahandian Empire
Date March 8, 1798 - May 3, 1802 Location Iustitia, southern Khersonsic peninsula Result Iustitian independance, formation of Provisional Iustitian Government
Belligerents
Kingdom of Valahandia	Iustitian Revolutionaries
Commanders and leaders
King John IV Duke of Celon Count of Reona Count of Ceira	Ross Ashley Donald Walton Steven Brannock
Units involved
23,500	18,000
Casualties and losses
900 killed or wounded 2,000 captured	1,600 killed or wounded 1,270 captured

The Iustitian War for Independence was a major turn-of-the-19th-century conflict between the Kingdom of Valahandia (allied with Iustitian colonial loyalists) and Iustitian republican forces. The culmination of over a century of unrest, republican forces defeated the Valahandians at the Battle of Lera Forest and forced a legal acknowledgement of an independent Iustita on May 3, 1802 after over four years of intense fighting. Following the Valahandian withdrawal from Iustitia, the Provisional Iustitian Government was established to govern the fledgling nation.

Background

By the mid 18th century, an irreconcilable rift emerged between Iustitia and mainland Valahandia, leading to calls for independence from Iustitians from all walks of life, though perhaps the most vocal of these groups was the large and influential merchant class, desperate to circumvent the confines of Valahandia's domineering trade policies and regulations. The Iustitian nobility, most of whom were heavily invested in the colony's thriving mercantile enterprises, were more than happy to support the budding rebellion where they could. In 1792, Ross Ashley, Baron of Machlain, called a meeting of Iustitian noblemen, guild leaders, bankers, and merchants to discuss the prospects of independence, but a preliminary vote indicated that the committee was not confident Iustitia would be able to maintain it's sovereignty after a split and would be subsumed by another colonial power. Instead, the committee drafted a protracted list of demands, which they intended to present to John IV, King of Valahandia, via a special envoy led by Douglas Black, the patriarch of one of the Valahandia's most well respected banking families. Black, however, was arrested by James Collins, the Governor of Iustitia, and detained in the citadel on Poplar Ridge for over year.

John IV, upon being alerted of the potential uprising, summarily denied all of the Ashley committee's demands, stripped all involved noblemen of their titles and knighthoods and branded all members of the committee traitors, though he was unable to enforce their arrests. In fact, the colony entered a state of open revolt by the winter of 1794, with loyalists and the Governor's garrison engaging a mob of supporters of the committee in open conflict in the streets of Iustitia on February 8, 1794. Although the mob was pushed from the city, they marched on the Poplar Ridge Citadel (aptly renamed Fort Black in 1814 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the event) and freed Douglas Black, taking the citadel as their own on February 21, 1794. Following the taking of the citadel, a temporary stalemate set in, with Collins unable to retake the fortress and the disorganized pro-committee rabble unable to organize themselves enough to launch a counter offensive. As the deadlock drew on, Ashley, who was not directly involved in the Iustitian revolt, reconvened the committee in Verreggio, where all members present committed to unseating Collins in order to force John IV to heed their earlier demands. Steven Brannock, a defected garrison captain, was charged with assembling an irregular army to lead a march on Iustitia planned for the summer of 1795. The committee also declared itself to be the legitimate governing body of the colony, leading to attacks on Collin's tax collectors over the following months. Collins fled the colony in August of 1795, fearing a march on Iustitia City, and Kenneth Hunt, a member of Ashley's committee, was named the new Governor of Iustitia by a humiliated John IV. Some of the Ashley committee's demands were met, though the overwhelming majority of grievances remained unaddressed.