War of the Three Capitals

The  (: Guerra de las Tres Capitales) was a fought in Ventora in the wake of the  left by the death of King Florián III and the entire royal family in train derailment at Lorqui on September 13, 1961. After succession talks broke down, fighting broke out on March 11, 1962 and lasted until the Treaty of Terelle formally ended the war on October 18, 1964. The name derives from the provisional of the three factions in the war: Plenas (Monarchists), Ascara (Republicans), and Motril (Kanakan Alliance), which were also each locations of significant battles.

Background
King Florián III and the royal family, including all official heirs to the throne, were killed their train, dubbed the Royal Extra, derailed at the Lorqui viaduct. The dukes of the 26 duchies convened within days for discussions on determining the next king. Initial talks were unproductive due to a period of mourning which extended a full month beyond the traditional period of a week. In the meantime, they designated Tácito Duque de Castellano to act as regent until a more permanent successor could be agreed upon.

Once talks began in earnest, it became apparent some dukes, led by Castellano and Federico Duque de Arava, wanted to retain the monarchy. Arava put himself forward as the most qualified to be king based on his precedence at the top of the peerage. Eligio Duque de Montaña led a faction of dukes who proposed changing the country into a with an elected  but retaining the class system, including the nobility. As talks dragged on, they became increasingly acrimonious to the point where meetings became shouting matches with no one really listening to the ideas put forth. On more than one occasion, sessions ended after physical altercations broke out among some participants and had to be broken up.

Finally, on March 4, 1962, Arava stated "As dean of the peerage, I have right of ascendancy and denying such is counter to the natural order of things. Further, these confrontations called discussions are pointless. Might makes right and the forces I control shall see me enthroned." Thereupon, the doors to the chamber swung open and army men loyal to Arava came in to arrest the dukes who did not agree to his claim. In the confusion, several smoke bombs were ignited and the chambers cleared, with no arrests being effected.

On March 11, 1962, Republican forces attacked the Monarchist military in Plenas to start the fighting.

Opposing forces
It took Arava's Monarchists three days after his seizure of the palace to assemble an army. By then there were two other forces to be reckoned with: the Republicans and a new group based in northern Ventora calling itself the Kanakan Alliance. The factions aligned themselves largely along the lines of the old rivalries from the historic Coastal and Montañan Confederations and the more independent northern region. Despite the relatively regional nature, each bloc had supporters throughout the country which complicated defining the battle lines.

Monarchists
Headquartered in Plenas, Federico Duque de Arava led the Monarchists. They were the most well-organized and largest group, benefitting from controlling much of the structure of the kingdom's government. The duchies of Arava, Barcon, Carrizal, Castellano, Challuyo, Mocaregua, Paniceres, Ocoa, and Tremanca, as well as parts of Lepe and Tramullas, were Monarchist strongholds to greater or lesser extent.

Commanding significant numbers of the kingdom's military, Captain-General Celio Ibáñez Estrada was the senior Monarchist military leader during the war. His forces numbered at least 177,750, with some estimates speculating over 200,000 troops.

Republicans
Eligio Duque de Montaña led the Republicans from his palace in Ascara. Capitalizing on historical nostalgia for the Montañan Confederation, he used the {{:File:Montaña confederation flag.png|confederation's flag]] to represent the Republicans. While this was helpful in Republican strongholds, it alienated others and prevented Montaña from enlarging his base of support in the rest of the country. Republican duchies included Alpunte de Oeste, Estévez, Fonteo, Montaña, Tauro, and Xahlan. Parts of Alto Rio Novo, Caniza, Lepe, Ceiba Baja, and Tramullas had significant Republican followings.

General Rómulo Peña de la Cruz was the initial commander of Republican forces. Killed during the Battle of Plena, he was followed by Colonel Álvaro Carrasco Palomo. Immediately promoted to Lieutenant General by Montaña, Carrosco's higher rank was recognized after the war for both protocol and pension purposes. Republican forces included army, naval, and air force personnel and numbered around 81,280 at their height.

Kanakan Alliance
In the face of the rising Monarchist and Republican camps, Óscar Duque de Cuesta easily manipulated regional distrust of the southern duchies into forming his northern alliance which he named for the Kanakan Steppe to further draw in peoples from the northest. With its capital in Motril, Cuesta, other duchies aligned with the Kanakan Alliance were Aurelia, Escariche, Palmar, and ]]Sabaray. Some areas in Alto Rio Nove, Caniza, and Ceiba Baja were also substantially disposed to the Alliance.

Militarily, the Alliance was the smallest of the forces at an estimated strength of about 77,725. Most of the force consisted of ground troops with some air support capability. The lack of heavy armor resulted in Colonel Borja Cortés Iñíguez focusing predominantly on, a concept he seemed particularly adept with.

Battle of Plenas
Republicans launch surprise attack against Plenas. Repulsed after a week'a fighting and relatively low casualties

Battle of Motril
Kanakan Alliance detains Army Republican and Monarchist sympathizers. Republicans launch airborne assault from Montaña. Monarchists escape and begin guerilla actions.

Central Front
After Republicans repulsed from Plenas, occurs sporadically, largely in areas of the middle duchies as Republicans and Monarchists vie for control.

Northern Front
Kanakan forces hit both Monarchist and Republic forces in the northern areas of the central duchies. The Northern Front is largely a nuisance to the main combatants but demonstrative of the Kanakan attitude toward control by the south.

Battle of Ascara
Monarchists lay seige to Ascara in order to force a Republican surrender. Monarchists do not control enough territory for this to be decisive and the Republicans can easily resupply by sea. The Kanakan Alliance also prevents clear dominance by any of the combatants.

Treaty of Terelle
Growing popular dissastisfaction with the on-going conflict results in the dukes meeting at the Summer Palace. With no clear victor and the obvious economic and human toll of the continued fighting, they agree to establish a commonwealth government layered on the monarchical framework of the kingdom with an elected regent to serve as head of state.