Rattanjeetland Falls
Gorditas and Lindsholm Attack After Negotiations Falter

No one really knows when war broke out, but on the afternoon of January 14, 2002, the powerful arsenal of the Gorditan and Lindsholmian armies opened fire on the Empire of Rattanjeetland.

Only two days earlier, Lord Somerset of Buenos Altos had abdicated his nation to the Ethnarch. At the time, Buenos Altos was in the midst of a disastrous war with Gorditas over the occupation of Meijing in the Phoney War. Lord Somerset and the Prime Minister of Gorditas had brokered a ceasefire that lasted until midnight on January 12. Following the abdication, the Prime Minister extended the ceasefire to midnight on January 14.

However, the cause of the dispute laid in the interpretation of the Buenos Altan abdication as the Ethnarch assumed power as the head of state of Buenos Altos. Consequently, the Prime Minister held the Ethnarch responsible for the past actions of Buenos Altos. Nevertheless, the Ethnarch believed that when Lord Somerset resigned, Buenos Altos was given a clean slate from which to start anew since a new head of state had taken the reins of power.

Negotiations between the Prime Minister and the Ethnarch began on the morning of the 14th and quickly collapsed. Gorditan officials sought to impose a harsh treaty on Buenos Altos while the Ethnarch rejected many terms of the Prime Minister's proposal. In frustration, the Ethnarch annexed the great majority of Buenos Altos, leaving 1/5 of the nation intact in the hope that any treaty imposed on Buenos Altos would not limit Rattanjeetarr expansion into the area.

The move infuriated the Prime Minister. Talk of war quickly spread from the Chateau du Feu all the way to the Adiposia, but Rattanjeetarr officials dismissed the rumors. Around 3:40PM, the Prime Minister made good on his intent to go to war. In accordance with the GX alliance, the Prime Minister was able to acquire Lindsholmian military support. Marcusburg pledged limited neutrality in the conflict.

Rattanjeetarr radar immediately picked up troop movements in Gorditas and Lindsholm. Military intelligence reported that a major assault from a Lindsholmian weapon had failed to fire, thus providing Rattanjeetland with an opportunity to defend itself. Facing an imminent attack, the Major General of the Rattanjeetarr army ordered a series of quick strikes as deterrence.

While the Gorditan and Lindsholmian generals attempted to fix the weapon, Rattanjeetarr troops had captured the famed Gorditan air base used in the Kamo-Gorditas War and successfully raided a Lindsholmian missile battery. In response, the Prime Minister successfully ordered the capture of the feared Rattanjeetarr missile battery fields of Confedland. Meanwhile, the Supreme Viceroy of Lindsholm launched a devastating electromagnetic shockwave, obliterating the newly constructed Rattanjeetarr superbase in the northeast.

The acts of deterrence had clearly failed in their objective. More missile attacks and a Rattanjeetarr naval assault on Gorditas and Lindsholm all fail miserably. While nervous onlookers in Marcusburg and Samchorage watched Rattanjeetarr warships sail onwards, an earth-shattering seismic wave tore through the Buenos Altan superbase, ripping it to shreds on the desert floor. The Gorditan army, acting on orders to avenge wounded pride, obliterated the entire Rattanjeetarr garrison stationed on Gorditan soil.

As the last available bombers from Rattanjeetland were unable to drop their payload onto Gorditas below, the Ethnarch sent an emergency envoy to Gorditas and Lindsholm with a notice of his unconditional surrender. A draft treaty ending the war is expected some time before this weekend.

RELEVANT MATERIAL:
Rattanjeetland Press Release
Gorditas Press Release