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 Quixano Arce, Duke of 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 Quixano and Federico Arenas Antúnez, Duke of Arava, wanted to retain the monarchy. Arenas put himself forward as the most qualified to be king based on his precedence at the top of the peerage. Eligio Prieto Matobos, Duke of 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, Arenas 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 Arenas 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.

Opposing forces
It took Arenas' 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 Arenas, Duke of 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, Ocoa, Paniceres, Sala, 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 Prieto, Duke of Montaña, led the Republicans from his palace in Ascara. Capitalizing on historical nostalgia for the Montañan Confederation, he used the confederation's flag to represent the Republicans. While this was helpful in Republican strongholds, it alienated others and prevented Prieto 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 Nedio Cosemola de la Capana 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 Prieto, 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 Acirgamo Araya, Duke 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 northwest. 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 Cortés Tavija Iñíguez focusing predominantly on, a concept he seemed particularly adept with.

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

Battle of Plenas
Despite several military columns obviously moving toward the capital city, the Republican attack on Plenas was a surprise to the Monarchists. renas had anticipated they would attempt to cut the city off, intending to pressure the Monarchists to stand down. Instead, Republican forces assaulted Monarchist checkpoints from the west and north, quickly routing the lightly armed Monarchists and taking control of large portions of the city by nightfall.

The following day, Monarchist forces attacked from the east. Since both sides drew from the former forces of the kingdom, they were similarly equipped and trained. Heavy street fighting took place off and on for a period of a month before Monarchists solidified their hold on the capital once more. Republican forces largely surrounding the city attempted to cut it off. Monarchists controlled the port and aerodrome, however, and were able to keep the city supplied.

By the end of the month, Arenas was able to rally other forces loyal to the Monarchist cause. These forces advanced on the Republican forces around Plenas and forced them to withdraw after another week of intense fighting. The city was relatively unscathed, as much of the fighting was conducted with small arms and low caliber guns. Nonetheless, military losses on both sides were fairly high with estimates of over a thousand casualties to each side. The battle ended with the Monarchists clearly in control of the capital but with unclear influence outside the southern coastal area.

Battle of Motril
Óscar Acirgamo, Duke of Cuesta, sought to capitalize on the fighting in Plenas as a means to unite the north and establish the Kanakan Alliance to further northern causes and political power. On March 19th, he ordered the detention of Republican and Monarchist sympathizers in military units across northern Ventora. In response, despite being heavily engaged around Plenas, the Republicans launched an airborne assault from Montaña on April 4th.

Intense street fighting took place for the next week. During that time, troops loyal to the Monarchist cause were able to escape. As the war itself progressed, they took on largely methods of fighting across the northern duchies. Troops loyal to the Republicans worked their way back to Motril Global Aerodrome and were extracted back to Ascara. The Republicans used aircraft to evacuate troops from a dozen other locations in northern Ventora. By mid-April, the fighting in Motril was largely over. Although the city would see intermittent aerial bombardment over the course of the war along with occasional terroristic bombings and unpredictable street fighting. The city's far northwest location resulted in its environs not being particularly significant to any side in the war except as the nominal capital of the Kanakan Alliance.

Central Front
After the Republicans were forced to leave Plenas, Monarchist forces pursued them back through the neighboring duchies until their supply lines were too extended for this early stage of the war. Beyond the first few months of the war, most fighting took place in the so-called Central Front, a band of 8 or so duchies across the middle of the country. Battles were mostly considered s and occurred sporadically, but frequently. With some engagements involving Kanakans, most battles were between Republicans and Monarchists.

Through literally hundreds of battles, Monarchist and Republican military casualties rose to the thousands. Substantail damage to property, including farmfields and industrial facilities, also resulted from the fighting, as did numerous civilian deaths and injuries. Beyond conventional warfare, fighting also included terroristic and did much to begin alienating the general population with regard to the feuding between the nobles. Most of the civilian casualties during the war happend in the Central Front.

Some scholars view the Central Front period as a sort of proxy war between the former Coastal and Montañan confederations in that the Monarchists and Republics fought each other but not in their home duchies.

Northern Front
Kanakan forces hit both Monarchist and Republic forces in the northern areas of the central duchies with some fighting in the northern duchies as well. The numerically smallest of the combatants, the Kanakans were also the least well equipped, although they did have some armor, armored cars, and aircraft left behind when Monarchist and Republican leaning troops left the north.

The Northern Front was largely a nuisance to the main combatants but demonstrative of the Kanakan attitude toward control by the south. The Kanakan Alliance developed largely to secure a voice for the north in determining the country's future and to prevent the southern duchies from dominating that future. While the northern military was a force to be reckoned with, it was never significant enough to sway the outcome of the war. Nonetheless, the effect of the Kanakan Alliance was to quicken the loss of popular support for the war by virtue of its ability to engage the other combatants unexpectedly and with good effect.

Battle of Ascara
In June of 1964, the Monarchists laid siege to Ascara in an effort to force the Republicans to surrender. Monarchist forces cut off the land approaches and set up a in the Gulf of Eshar. The city was not completely cut off as it was still accessible by air and the Republicans were able to continue supplying their troops.

By August, it was clear the siege wasn't effective, so the Monarchists invaded the city on September 1st. Fierce street fighting resulted in portions of the city falling under control of one side or the other, and often back again, over the next month. Significant military casualties were matched by substantial numbers of civilian injuries and deaths. On October 4th, the parties agreed to a cease fire with all forces to stay in position. This left about a third of Ascara under Monarchist control until the end of the war.

Treaty of Terelle
Neither the Monarchists nor the Republicans controlled enough territory to compel a solution on the other combatants. The Kanakan Alliance never held much territory outside their region but played a role in preventing clear dominance by any of the combatants. Recognizing the high economic costs of the war and facing increasing losses of public support due to the relatively high numbers of civilian casualties, the factions agreed to discuss possible terms to end the war. They first met at the Summer Palace on September 11, 1964. Initial discussions focused on the set-up of the meeting space, sizes of delegations, and other rather insignificant details that appeared to threaten the success of the venture. Unexpectedly, Federico Arenas, leader of the Monarchists, appeared on October 1st and unilaterally agreed to the rules of order proposed by the Kanakan Alliance. This compelled the Republicans to also agree or appear to be the hold-up of talks. The factions also agreed to a cease-fire, which held, except for three incidents, until the signing of the final treaty.

By October 13th, delegates to the Terelle Talks had developed a general framework for peace and the reunification of the country. The following day, delegates from each of the duchies convened to flesh out the details of the final Treaty of Terelle. Ancillary to this, they also drafted modifications to the Ventora's constitutional law to reflect an elected regency in lieu of the monarch. While the negotiations did not achieve complete agreement on all terms, all 26 dukes agreed to accept the conditions in the final treaty and ratify the constitutional changes in the Protocols of State during their meeting on October 16th. Both documents were formally signed and put into effect in a ceremony on October 18, 1964.

Aftermath
Following the signing of the Treaty of Terelle by all 26 dukes, they elected Tulio Seve Olmo Cantú, Duke of Caniza, to serve as first regent. Viewed as the most neutral of all the dukes, Olmo took office on October 19, 1964 for a term to run through December 31, 1969.

The Treaty, through the Protocols of State, also established modifications to constitution law which layered the commonwealth form of government over Ventora's technical status as a kingdom. Although the constitution still includes the monarchy, the actual practice recognizes the regency as head of state in lieu of a monarch. Some of the regent's duties are those of a typical head of state while others are more ceremonial. Some authorities of the monarch were transferred to the govenor general as and some to the commissioners as heads of their respective government departments. With the lack of an actual monarch, the dukes no longer have fealty to the head of state. Although the duchies are rather autonomous, they have a confederal relationship with the national state as well as the other duchies.

Provisions of the Treaty granted amnesty to the dukes, their subordinate officials, and military personnel for their roles as part of their respective blocs. In this manner, no one could be charged with treason, espionage, or other crimes against the state. Additionally, everyone was exempted from prosecution for murder, assault, and certain other criminal offenses, since not all forces in the conflict fell into the traditional definition of organized military forces. The exclusion only covered actions with a clear military purpose and specifically excluded activities of a criminal nature. Nonetheless, 27 persons were charged in following years for cruel or inhumane actions or murder as a result of actions deemed to exceed the normal prosecution of military operations. The most famous trial was that of Citrio Ibáñez Zavala who was convicted of the torture and murder of over 100 persons during the war.