A major reason for this Camarilla success was the increasing power struggle within the Sabbat. It was during the American War for Independence that the sect began to feed upon itself, as many revolutions do. The failure of the Sabbat leaders to crush the Camarilla during the War for Independence, a time it could have been easily accomplished, as well as the acceptance of Camarilla defectors, caused many Sbabat to consider their leaders weak.. Many sect leaders were forced out of power or destroyed.
As soon as a leader claimed power, he was challanged by other power-hungry vampires. Soon, factions began to develop and wage war on other Sabbat, both within their own territory and other cities. The Black Hand was shortly the only element of the Sabbat to remain somewhat intact, though it had its own problems. The schisms made it that much easier for Camarilla to gain control of many of the Sabbat-held cities. The internal conflict waged from the 1800's through the 1930's. Since that time, the Sabbat has become a little more stuctured but it is far from being organized or having a strict hierarchy
Fortunately, the Sabbat managed to keep control of some major cities in the United States even through the internal war. Some cities, such as Philadelphia, remained under Sabbat domination because the Black Hand centralized most of its numbers in these locations. The Sabbat began to develop along two lines~ city Kindred and nomadic Kindred.
In the last 20 years, the Sabbat has begun to reassert itself, this time much more forcefully than it ever has before. The Sabbat has become much more powerful than the Camarilla had suspected only a few years ago. The sect has been able to take back several cities the Camarilla had stolen from it as well as ones it had never controlled before. The Sabbat is a major threat to the Camarilla and the intense growth of this enemy sect has caused the Camarilla to fear another Great Jyhad.