Yurtstead War

= Yurtstead Conflict =

The Yurtstead Conflict (also known as the Second Battle of Riverford) took place on the days of September 6th and 7th, 2014. Driven by the colonialist attitudes of two states involved, as well as prevalent jingoistic nationalism on both sides, it is internationally viewed largely as a reminder that territorial disputes between states should be solved in a civil, diplomatic manner. In the end, quick diplomacy and a shared interest in peace helped prevent what could have been a long and pointless war.

New Detroit
At the beginning of the month of June, 2014, the town of New Detroit was established by its Autocrat, Screenname. The small town quickly grew outward and annexed the neighbouring town of Jericho on August 2nd. As expansion in the North, South and West was impossible, the city-state looked eastward across the River Sanzu as a potential area for settlement. Just as it began expanding to the east, it voluntarily joined the Kingdom of Grundeswald as a state.

Gensokyo
New Detroit was given Istanbul and Grundeswegian Gardizona to administer in an effort to decentralise Grundeswald's territories in the region. The collective territories of Istanbul, Grundeswegian Gardizona and New Detroit were organised as West Grundeswald for a brief period, until the name was changed to Gensokyo.

Gensokyo was elevated above the other states of Grundeswald and was declared the Kingdom of Gensokyo by mid-August. The arrangement guaranteed that Grundeswald and Gensokyo would be in perpetual personal union, but Gensokyo would have absolute control over its domestic affairs and significant say in foreign affairs. Satisfied with its position, the Gensokyojin government began its expansion to the East.

Riverford
About a month after New Detroit was founded, the town of Riverford was declared nearby. Early on, Screenname began mentioning problems she was having with a neighbouring town. The leader of the nearby town of Riverford, Seargeant_Pepper, had claimed everything between Riverford's then-borders and New Detroit proper, including all the small towns in between in the process; this left little room for New Detroit to expand. Screenname protested these claims and Pepper responded in an uncompromising fashion, adamantly stating that New Detroit must not build across the Sanzu River. Screenname responded with a passive &quot;whatever&quot; to Pepper in an attempt to indecisively end the issue. Around this time, Riverford joined the Danzilonan Federation, meaning both Riverford and Gensokyo had a larger force to support them; this would prove to be destructive in the end.

Yurtstead
Pepper went away on vacation for a week, and Gensokyojin citizens rushed to take advantage of his absence. In an effort to solidify their claims across the river, Yurtstead was constructed and fake names were put on the buildings there in order to inflate the population statistics, with the intent that, upon Pepper's return, Riverford would drop or modify their claims, creating a more favorable situation for Gensokyo. Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect, and as Pepper returned so too did his threats: he demanded that Gensokyo demolish Yurtstead or he would do it himself. Screenname was tired of what she perceived as bullying, and informed Pepper that Gensokyo was supported by Grundeswald. Pepper, in turn, said Riverford would be supported by the Danzilonan Federation.

On September 7th, 2014, citizens from the Holy Krautchan Empire and the Danzilonan Security Force, a loose militia organized by TheTrackball, made their way to the Yurtstead, and a staredown ensued.

First Skirmish
As Prussians and Grundeswegians erected a wall and built more yurts, the Danzilonan Security Force, lead by TheTrackball, gave a 24-hour notice before they would start attacking the HKE forces. This quickly became five minutes, then 60 seconds, before either time span had actually elapsed. As second 0 ticked on the imaginary clock, DSF forces attacked the unprepared HKE builders. The occasion was a decisive DSF victory, although no Prussians or Grundeswegians were pearled.

IIC Travel Advisory
The International Infrastructure Consortium immediately issued a Travel Advisory, warning players to avoid all travel to the immediate and surrounding disputed land claims due to reports of innocent bystanders being attacked without justification. As such, travel in the area became more sparse after the advisory was issued, backed by comparing the daily averages of the IIC Jenkins project. The IIC assisted Ad Astra Corporation trading missions, and other independent merchants in and out of the area, but refused to partake in peacekeeping operations.

Second Skirmish
Volunteers from Carson arrived to assist the Prussians in particular. The battle-hardened volunteers managed at first to repel the DSF, and push them all the way back to Riverford. While the Carsonites appeared to have the upper hand, the DSF forces successfully organised a counter-attack and forced the Carsonites north into the abandoned settlement of Holy Tree. Outnumbered and wounded, the volunteer militia retreated away from Riverford and a ceasefire was declared.

Ceasefire
Delegates from the nearby town of Mount Augusta brokered a ceasefire between the HKE and the DSF, the terms of which stating that neither side was to commit any act of violence nor were they to grief the Yurtstead. The DSF interpreted this as meaning no one was to build anything, so the ceasefire was effectively broken within minutes of its implementation.

Third Skirmish
Confusion over the terms of the ceasefire lead the DSF to once again deliver an ultimatum to the HKE forces in Riverford. When they refused to vacate the premises the greatly outnumbered Reichsvolk were slaughtered.

This battle was due to multiple acts of miscommunication. The HKE forces were under the impression that the ceasefire did not prohibit building, merely griefing, the definition of which is, of course, up to interpretation. In fact, many of the people present at the third skirmish had thought the issue of the border had been solved by a map proposal made by Seargeant_Pepper himself. This encounter, of course, accomplished nothing but damaging armour and wasting money of participants on both sides of the conflict.

Fourth Skirmish
In a desperate attempt to solve the conflict militarily, two of the volunteers who had fought before launched a counter-attack against a force nearly eight times their size. It ended with a retreat after a few minutes of fighting with no casualties.

Discussion
While a pointless battle was being fought for a third time, talks began between the level-headed government officials of Grundeswald and the DZF. Both sides put forward their desire for peace and stability in the region, and the idea of a full-scale war over what ultimately amounted to a few blocks of forest biome was equally distressing to either participant. Riverford, being represented by the DZF, was adamant that they wanted the NPC villages in the disputed territory. The Grundeswegian delegation agreed, stating that New Detroit had absolutely no use for them at all.

To the South of the forest biome was a large area of desert that Gensokyo also desired. The Danzilonan delegation put forward the notion that a Danzilonan presence in that particular area actually predated a Gensokyan one, to which the Grundeswegian delegation agreed.

Border
&lt;WRAP right 415px&gt;

&lt;/WRAP&gt; As tensions waned and the Yurtstead grew quiet, both sides unceremoniously agreed after hasty negotiations to declare a recognised border that satisfied both parties. Screenname was dissatisfied with the amount of desert Gensokyo received, but was promptly told to deal with it.

Lessons Learned
Having overseas colonies is a completely worthless endeavour and should be avoided at all costs while you still have the time and resources to maintain the mother country.