Six Years' War

The Six Years' War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Almeron, the Stahlheimian Empire, and their respective allies. It lasted approximately six years(thus it's namesake) and ended with Almeronian victory after the Battle of Alstedt. It caused a major shift in the world's balance of power and has triggered change both in Almeron and Stahlheim. The Empire was largely considered the favorite to win going into the war, though towards the end of its course a series of shocking victories led by the Almeronian King forced Stahlheim to concede defeat.

Background
Tension between Almeron and Stahlheim had been rising for nearly a decade. Stahlheimian territories along the border with a primarily Almeronian population was cause for much conflict, and negotiations to see the territories annexed went poorly. Rising militarism in Stahlheim brought about a heavily reactionary foreign policy, and a thinly veiled insult sent from the Emperor to the King of Almeron under the guise of negotiations saw the two countries at the very brink of war.

Soon, clashes along the border between the angry peasantry of provinces hoping for re-unification and Stahlheimian soldiers led to what is now known as the Massacre of Carenton. Soldiers under a Stahlheimian Captain were given the order to disperse the citizens by whatever means necessary. When the citizens refused to return home as they were ordered, one soldier attacked. From there chaos followed and at day's end over one hundred citizens and three soldiers were dead.

The clash outraged the Almeronian people, and within days the King called for an immediate annexation of all border provinces with an Almeronian majority, or else there would be war. The Emperor responded to this ultimatum with only three words. "Come take them." War was declared the following day, with both forces calling their levies to arms and making ready for war.

Battles
A list of the notable battles of the war(in order) are as follows.
 * 1) Battle of Carenton
 * 2) Battle of Havre
 * 3) Siege of Bellemont
 * 4) Battle of Saint-Jean
 * 5) Battle of Mentanon
 * 6) Siege of Forges
 * 7) Siege of Lundes
 * 8) Battle of Agenais
 * 9) Second Battle of Carenton
 * 10) Siege of Wittenburg
 * 11) Battle of Marlheim
 * 12) Battle of Mindenberg
 * 13) Battle of Alstedt
 * 14) Battle of the Leben

Course of the War
Despite the brewing anger from both sides of the conflict, it took several months for the first major battle of the war to take place. Prior to the Battle of Carenton, border clashes between small forces of militia and guardsmen were happenstance for several months. Once both countries had garnered sizable forces and prepared to meet in battle, Stahlheim was widely favored to end the war swiftly. A larger military with a prominent steel industry and recent technological advances formed the basis for a staunch opponent, and the Kingdom of Lorenthal provided assistance to the Empire by way of supplies against their rivals.

Initially, Almeron found little success against the Stahlheimian war machine. The first several years of the war took place entirely in Almeron, an initial defeat at Carenton paving the way for Imperial armies to take multiple Almeronian towns and castles. Support from Lorenthal allowed the Empire to keep marching without fear of running out of crops or lumber, and Almeron had to actively raise more troops to try and replace fallen Knights that were far too valuable to lose to Imperial arquebusiers. Lorenthalian support eventually faded away, however, the country caught up in a bloody revolution against their monarch that called for all resources dedicated to the home front.

Though the Kingdom was constantly struggling to keep up, the war effort was miraculously preserved at the Battle of Agenais. An unprecedented number of knights from the Order of the Dragon took up the defense of the city and refused to give in even as defeat seemed certain. They managed to hold despite all odds, being relieved by a huge host of soldiers under King Charles at the precipice of the battle. The Imperial forces were forced to retreat after the losses they sustained, retreating to the border at Carenton and regrouping under Grand Marshal Frederic Richter.

The tide of the war shifted after the Second Battle at Carenton, a rejuvenated Almeronian army with high morale pushing back a weary Stahlheimian force in need of reinforcements at several points. The last two years of the war would see this pattern continue, incursions led directly by King Charles III forcing an Imperial response that prevented a coherent regrouping. The last true Stahlheimian victory of the war came at Marlheim, wherein an inferior force under the Grandmaster of the Order of Saint Aldhard defended the village and pushed back a sizable Almeronian infantry brigade.

As the war reached its climax, the Emperor of Stahlheim himself began gathering reinforcements from elite units often held in reserve(such as the Steel Brigade and Emperor's Fist). They began their march at the onset of the Battle of Mindenberg(too late to have an impact) and made it from the capital to Alstedt in time for the war's penultimate battle. After a shocking Stahlheimian defeat at Alstedt, the Emperor rallied what was left of his army and camped his forces on the far side of the river Leben. Despite a superior defensive position, the sheer losses the Imperial army had taken at Alstedt proved too much, a set of volleys and a brief clash between the countries infantry forces brought a sense of dread to the Stahlheimian generals. They called for a full retreat, hoping to save more lives and regroup elsewhere with any other men they could call to arms.

After a series of minor skirmishes and the army under King Charles nearly marching to the heartland of Stahlheim untouched, the Emperor called for peace negotiations. The Treaty of Havre was signed a month later, officially ending the war on Almeron's terms.

Aftermath
The war caused a major shift in how the world viewed Almeron and Stahlheim, the former becoming almost legendary for their unlikely victory and the latter seen no longer as an invulnerable juggernaut. The Almeronian economy recovered incredibly quickly, the war's peace treaty calling for steady gold and steel to flow to the Kingdom by way of reparations. The annexation of border provinces such as Carenton and Havre increased the Kingdom's territory and brought with it eager citizens ready to work to repair the damage the war had brought. The war saw a shift with a sense of permanence in Almeron, the Kingdom becoming stronger and more unified overall. When one asked a noble from where he hailed after the war, he proudly praiseed his Kingdom and no longer defended the name of his home province alone. The war has set Almeron as a major power and perhaps the strongest player in world politics.

By contrast, Stahlheim's defeat triggered a series of events that has seen the Empire suffer greatly and struggle to maintain its status atop Estoria. A weakened economy due to reparations paid has led to a failure to repay debts to nobles who contributed greatly to the war effort. Nobles that were promised cuts of Almeron at war's end have spoken out openly against the Emperor, and the Archduke of Highreach has declared his province's sovereignty after the Emperor's failure to keep his promise of rewards to Highreach. The country is now stuck in civil war, fighting to quickly put down the 'rebellion' so that unity might be achieved and the process of recovering what has been lost can begin.