Great War

The Great War (sometimes also called the Seven Years War) was a global war which lasted from ** to **. Owing to the global nature of the hostilities, it led to the largest mobilization of military personnel ever recorded in history, with some estimates concluding that over 70 million military personnel were involved, thus making it one of the largest wars in history.

It was also one of the deadliest conflicts in history with an estimated ** million casualties, which impacted military personnel and civilians in equal measure. The resulting political order has had a dramatic impact on the course of international politics and is recognized as the origin of the existing political order.

Hestia
In southern Hestia, the Guild Territory of Tergest had been a semi-autonomous region under the administration of Serenierre, although tensions simmered between Furlanie on the territory. As Tergest provided Serenierre the only access to the Lougeon Sea, it had profound importance for it.

South Hestian Front (1935-1938)
On 12 March 1935, Guillaume VI declared war on the Grand Duchy of Furlanie and Field Marshal Dénis de Rogére's Army Group South, with a strength of some 150,000 military personnel, commenced an offensive operation designed to push into the Furlanien flatlands. Early battles in the course of the front proved to be successful for the Serenien offensive and a successive number of battles and skirmishes followed wherein the Furlanien army was put on the backfoot.

The Serenien military's early advances were focused on Furlanien flatlands in the north west and the Royal Serenien Army made extensive use of light tanks and motorised infantry to break through defensive lines. During the opening phase of the offensive, Serenierre's Army Group South swept through the areas around the Timaf River. The offensive doctrine utilized was premised on theories developed in the previous decade by the Royal Military Academy in Villesen and were considered to be unique for their time.

Further Serenien advances
By November 1935, the Serenien army found itself entrenched in positions with strong resistance from the Furlanie defenders, especially those located in the mountainous Cjanie region. Moreover, Furlanie defensive positions across the Lusiris River proved to be formidable and blunted the Serenien advance.

Serenien retreats
Following the successful Furlanien counter-offensive in 1937, mounting pressures on Serenien Army positions and increasingly bleak casualty figures led to the Mutiny of 1937, which saw an already demoralised army capitulate on a number of critical battle locations. [more details to follow]