Heckel-Cleves War (Pacifica)

Heckel-Cleves War
Part of the Elbonian Wars
The Battle of Nassoben, the bloodiest battle of the war
Date 4 March 1624 - 9 August 1688 Location Kingdom of Heckel, Kingdom of Cleves Result Hecklian victory Treaty of Rodenne Unification of Heckel and Cleves Declaration of the Elbonian Empire Territorial changes Annexation of Cleves into Heckel
Belligerents
Template:Country data Kingdom of Cleves	Template:Country data Kingdom of Heckel
Commanders and leaders
Josef II Vilhemm I Adolp I Conrad von Nassoben Erwin von Bissenne Johannes Bosh Kilian Graf Kurt Berger	Lutvig I Karol I Lutvig II Nomann Hosse Wolfgang Braun Gereon von Sommer Karol von Tossallin Bastian Kapsner
Strength
486,000	524,000
Casualties and losses
82,000 killed 91,000 wounded 111,000 captured	78,000 killed 94,500 wounded

The Heckel-Cleves War, known in Heckel as the Elbonian War of Unification, was a conflict between the Elbonian Kingdom of Heckel and the Elbonian Kingdom of Cleves. Lasting from 4 March 1624 to 9 August 1688, the war was caused primarily by Heckel's ambitions of becoming the main Elbonian power and the boiling rivalry between Heckel and Cleves from as early as the 14th century. The war became a part of the much larger Elbonian Wars, and the victory of Heckel paved the way for Elbonian domination from the 17th to 19th century.

Hecklian forces mobilized for war on 1 March, and Clevian forces returned the gesture the following day. Negotiations to end hostilities before war broke out occurred between 2 and 3 March, however historians believe that these negotiations were just a way so that Heckel could prepare further. Hecklian troops started the war by invading Cleves on 4 March 1624.

The war would continue for another 64 years, before finally seeing the end after the disastrous battle of Bissenne on 7 August 1688, which saw the capture of Clevian king Adolp I, alongside 84,000 of his men. Prince Erwin, alongside several of his men, crossed the border into Hohenland on the same day, to prevent themselves being captured by the Hecklian forces. King Adolp was then forced to sign the treaty of Rodenne on 9 August, which marked the end of the war.

The war's impact was one that would define Sugovian history for the next 2 centuries, hailing the period of the Elbonian Wars. The war also saw, for the first time, a unified Elbonian state, under the Hecklian dynasty.

Background

Rivalry between Heckel and Cleves

Before the war, the Elbonian peoples have never been unified under a single state or political entity. Most Elbonians felt more loyalty towards their tribes, and in time, these tribes became what were known as the Stem Duchies. While the other Almannic migrants also formed their own stem duchies, the Elbonians were noticeably late in adopting and dropping the system. In 1312, as the other duchies have formed into larger entities of their own, the Elbonian duchies remain divided by stem lines. However, between the 15th and 17th century, many of these duchies were consolidated until eventually only two of the original 16 duchies remained, the Clevians under the Kingdom of Cleves, and the Hecklians under the Kingdom of Heckel.

This longstanding blood feud between the Elbonian peoples were a massive driving force in Heckel-Cleves relationship, as both sides now believe that the other is blocking their path to unify Elbonia.

Hecklian ambitions

Despite both claiming that they would be the ones who would unify the Elbonias, historians agree that the Hecklians were far more motivated and ambitious compared to their Clevian counterparts. This was noted when then king of Heckel, Lutvig I, claimed that he wanted a Heckel-led Elbonia to "...stretch all the way to the Eastern coasts." This comment made Lutvig, and to a lesser extent his successors, controversial in the eyes of the coastal states, which feared that a Heckel-led Elbonia would attempt to subjugate them.

Hecklian and Clevian mobilization

On 1 March, the Hecklian forces mobilized for war. It was unclear what caused the sudden mobilization as many contemporary sources have different reasonings they got from hearsays. The gesture was answered by Cleves a few hours later when they also mobilized their forces, meaning both kingdoms were ready for war.

Between 2-3 March, both sides tried to diffuse the situations via negotiations. However, by 3 March, it was clear that negotiations were going nowhere. At that point, Heckel mobilized 150,000 men, while Cleves mobilized somewhere between 140,000 to145,000 men. While both sides wanted to diffuse the tension, it was clear that war was inevitable. There had also been speculations that both Lutvig I and Josef II wanted war to occur so that they can expand their kingdoms and become the dominant preeminent Elbonian power.

Timeline of the war

Invasion into Cleves to the Battle of Upper Aldenborg (1622-1634)

On 4 March, Heckel officially declares war on Cleves. Hecklian forces would invade via their shared border and by 7 March, both armies would engage in the first battle of the war, the Battle of Shwarstonne an di Klefs. The battle was a surprising Clevian victory, yet it did not stop the Hecklian advance. Despite high morale on both sides, the slow-moving nature of the first 12 years of the war caused fatigue and war exhaustion among the troops. It was even noted by the commander of the Clevian forces at the time, Johannes Bosh, that "...what was actually a day in the frontlines felt as if it was 10 whole years. The only exciting thing happening here are the occasional run-in with the enemy, which happens at least once every three to five weeks."

A major engagement during this period would be the Battle of Upper Aldenborg (1634), which changed the style of fighting from a slow paced battle strategy to swift light infantry charges. The battle saw Cleves abandoning their heavier equipments in favor of a more swift and much more mobile light infantry force. This force was used by Cleves to route the Hecklians in Upper Aldenborg, catching their forces off guard and ending the battle in their favor.

Battle for the Ammel to the Second Battle of Rodenne (1634-1638)

The Battle for the Ammel was [placeholder please ignore lol]

Hosse's campaign to the Battle of Nassoben (1638-1655)

Nomann Hosse was assigned by king Karol I as the new general of the Hecklian army with the hopes of having the fortunes of the war once again be in Heckel's favors. Hosse studied the Clevian strategy in great lengths and detail and created a counter-strategy to defeat the Clevian army by [placeholder]. This strategy saw casualties rise in the ranks of the Clevian forces, and saw the first turning point of the war, where Heckel now had an upper hand in the ground combat.

Hosse's success would abruptly end when, in 1655, his men besieged the Clevian city of Nassoben. The battle was brutal, and in the midst of the chaos, it was said that a stray arrow hit Nomann Hosse straight in his neck, killing him in an instant. The death of Hosse caused panic among the ranks of the Hecklian forces and they retreated from Nassoben in a disorderly manner, leaving many of their fighting equipment in order to save themselves from what they thought would be an onslaught by Clevian forces. The forces of Nassoben were led by Vilhemm I, who would subsequently ascend the throne following the death of Josef II, which occurred around the time of the siege.

The Seven Years, coronation of Vilhemm I to the XX (1655-1662)

Main article: The Seven Years (Pacifica)

The Battle of Nassoben would mark the second turning point in the war. The constantly shifting back-and-forth between Heckel and Cleves would be broken by Clevian victory at Nassoben, beginning a period known as the Seven Years, where, for a brief moment, Cleves reigned supreme over all of Elbonia. Following his victory at Nassoben, Vilhemm I led a campaign up and down the Elbonian plains and disturbed Hecklian supply lines. Vilhemm was crowned following his success at Nassoben and the siege being lifted.

The Seven Years were, according to the king of Heckel's archivist, to have been "...one of the bleakest moment in (Elbonian) history." The successes of Vilhemm I caused panic as now, it seemed as if Cleves will be the victors of the war. Both general Gereon von Sommer and Wolfgang Braun were killed during Vilhemm I's campaign in Heckel.

Battle of Bissenne to the Treaty of Rodenne (1688)

In 1688, forces of king Adolp I were resupplying in the city of Bissenne, however they were caught by surprise by the Hecklian vanguard, led by Hecklian king Lutvig II. The battle of Bissenne was bloody, and saw king Adolp nearly killed. By the day's end, king Adolp was captured and his entire army of at least 24,000 men surrendered. The battle was an unmitigated success for Heckel, and opened the gates to Cleves wide open. After the victory, Lutvig II and his men would march all the way to Cleves nearly unchallenged as resistance to Lutvig's forces, especially those led by Prince Erwin, decided to take their chances and escape to the northern countryside, where they would regroup in neighboring Hohenland.

With Cleves occupied, king Lutvig II declared himself "Emperor of the Elbonians" and the creation of a new Elbonian Empire, with a unified Heckel and Cleves as its main power projector. One week later, king Adolp was forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Rodenne, which disestablishes Cleves and establishes a new Elbonian Empire. The treaty was rejected by many of his more radical and hawkish supporters leave Cleves to make their way to Prince Erwin's forces in Hohenland. Another demand was for the House of Cleves to pay a $5,000,000 reparation for the casualties both sides suffered.

Despite the treaty being signed, marking the end of hostilities, fighting would still occur, especially in the northern countrysides.

Aftermath

Elbonian ultimatum to Hohenland

Following the unification of Elbonia, many Clevian loyalists fled in the cover of night to the neighboring kingdom of Hohenland. Many in the Elbonian Empire saw this as an act of aggression and sent an ultimatum to Hohenland. Due to the demands, including allowing Elbonian troops into Hohenlander soil, were too much, the Hohenlander kingdom rejected the ultimatum, starting the Hohenlander War.