2418 Palakkinen Border Crisis

The 2418 Palakkinen Border Crisis was a conflict between Palakkinen and it's two neighbours: the Hveden Federation and Empherias.

Rising tensions
the conflict began on 3 April 2418 when the Palakkinen army marched one thousand troops over the border into the Hveden South Polar Territory. The rest of their professional army, numbering 14,000 troops was on standby on defensive positions in the east and west. These incursion troops occupied the mountainous regions with no resistance but then settled into defensive positions. At the same time, the Palak government issued a call to the Ministry of War for militia to be called up. Initially, the Ministry of War called up 8% of the countries' male population, reaching nearly 285,000 men. After backlash, notably the Men's Uprising of 2418, and the lack of any real infantry equipment, people dodging the draft, and lack of time to train people for the conditions, the Ministry scaled back these operations and asked for just 85,000 men (1.25% of the male population). The Palakkine government announced their takeover of these lands to the Hveden government in a telegram on 5 April 2418.

In response to the act of aggression, the Hveden government authorised the local governor of the region to have executive jurisdiction over the direction of the army and he appointed a local general to lead a division of 10,000 troops of the local south-eastern army to retake the territories. This division moved to recapture a local village, five kilometres away from the Palakkine troop stronghold, and waited under orders of the governor by 20 April. The following day, the Hveden government sent a telegram to the Palak oligarch requesting that they move out of the occupied land or prepare for war. The Hveden government then sent a separate notice to the Prime Minister of Empherias, Elizabeth Rose, asking for her to fortify their border with Palakkinen - to which Rose accepted. Rose instructed the Minister of War, Henry Alark, to lead the situation. He pulled 10,000 reserve troops into active duty on 21 April, followed by another 14,000 reserve troops on 22 April. These would be taken from divisions stationed on the eastern border anyway to patrol the entire lengths of the border - with larger clusters of troops at major crossing points.

On 25 April, the Palakkine army moved 3,000 professional troops to the western border with Empherias, a far-cry from the almost 24,000 troops the Empheri army had stationed. The Hveden government began negotiations with the Palakkine leadership and thus both army groups stayed on standby. the Palakkine army moved 10,000 professional troops to it's main easterly border with Hvede. By 26 April, the ERS Abigail, the Empheri navy's main battleship, sailed down the Ewynn river alongside two destroyers to enforce a blockade on all trade in and out of Palakkinen. Naval officers were also considering the possibility of sailing to the capital of Palakkinen for bombardment, but no orders were ever given. Palakkinen used this brief pause in the war to train militia and set up hastily built defences in occupied regions. By the end of May, negotiations were still ongoing but the Palakkine army on the western border was backed up with another 5,000 troops for a total of 8,000; while their eastern border doubled in troops to 20,000 with ten thousand more militia. Crucially, Palakkinen orders to not fight or to cross any border. Seventy-thousand militia were still on standby, although this was costly to the Palak economy.

Ahitereiran intervention
Because of worries of an escalation and the aggressiveness of Palakkinen, Ahitereira-Koresa stepped in and intervened in the conflict. They, alongside the Hveden Federation and Empherias, would agree to embargo and blockade Palakkinen, and sign a non-aggression pact between the three of the them and a regional defence pact. This was signed by all three nations after two days of discussion on 5 June 2418.

Following this announcement, the Palakkine army began bolstering it's army which was completed by 20 June 2418. It's western border defences from 8 thousand to 10 thousand troops with 2,000 more militia, while it's eastern border went from 20,000 to 23,000 thousands troop with more militia. Fifty-thousand militia men remained on standby while 15,000 were sent home to prevent major economic consequences. 1,000 RPA mercenaries stationed in Palakkinen also joined their occupying forces in the south.

The Ahitereiran Minister of Foreign Affairs met with the Palakkinen triumvirate on 15 July 2418 to discuss peace terms. The Empheri Minister of Foreign Affairs arrived the following day as well. They drafted the Treaty of Kryrene which would do the following:


 * 1) Have the Palakkine government sign a pact of non-aggression with both the Hveden Federation and the Kingdom of Empherias.
 * 2) Have the embargoes imposed on Palakkinen by Ahitereira-Koresa, Empherias, and Hvede, dropped.
 * 3) Have all parties signing agree to sign the upcoming Treaty of Tyrs which focused on economic prosperity.

All parties signed this treaty, with Ahitereira-Koresa signing first on 3 August 2418, Empherias signing on 20 August 2418, Palakkinen signing on 23 August 2418, and the Hveden Federation signing on 2 September 2418. The Palakkine government sends a telegram to the Queen of Ahitereira-Koresa, Joana I, thanking her.

Aftermath
Palakkine militia that were called on during the war, the remaining 70 thousand men, were officially discharged on 3 September 2418. The professional army also left all the borders and returned to peace-time conditions. Palakkinen won from the war as it kept all land that it had occupied during the war, without having to withdraw troops. The new territory was incorporated officially into the oligarchy on 10 September 2418 and work began on minor infrastructure the following month alongside military outposts. However, the economic damage it suffered for the 5 month loss of workload from it's tens of thousands of men, and the constant stream of supplies needed to resupply the armies during winter, took a toll on the Palak economy, which saw it go into recession. Although, soon after, the Palakkine government began relations with the newly established Kiavalar.

The Hveden Federation and Empherias both withdrew their army to pre-war conditions by late September 2418. The Hveden Federation, upset that Palakkinen had not agreed to withdrawn from the occupied areas, issued a diplomatic protest on 25 November 2418, but the Palakkine government simply stated that the land would not be returned. Because the land taken was so insignificant in terms of population and resources, the Hveden government officially stopped pursuing the return of the land on 1 December 2418, and then recognised the territory as Palakkinen land on the same day via a vote in their national assembly.

International response

 * RPA issued a diplomatic protest against the embargo on Palakkinen from their secondary headquarters in Karavalar on 7 June 2418. They noted that under the current policies enacted against a client of theirs (Palakkinen), that their business services would be severely hampered. It wished that it did not have to get involved in any potential escalated conflicts, but would take any action necessary if the embargo continued and that the issue was a matter of keeping the business afloat. The Ahitereiran diplomat replied on 10 June, stating that the organisation had more to lose by missing out on business in Ahitereira, than business in Palakkinen. The diplomat stated that, "We have no intention of continuing trade with the RPA, as they are simply continuing factors to the disease of war." before announcing the withdrawal of all support for the organisation whether or not the RPA continued business with the Palaks. This led to the 2418 Ahitereiran-RPA schism. Any effort from the RPA to prevent an embargo failed, and they gave up trying to intervene in the war diplomatically soon after. Following the end of the conflict, the Palakkine government thanked the RPA for their support and allowed offices and recruitment centres to be constructed in Marukputo, the capital. The RPA thanked the delegation from Palakkinen and officially set up a regional office as a liaison in March 2419.