The Imperium War: One Year Later
Reflections from the Wartime Pharaoh of the Kemetic Republic of Osiris
Reflections from the Wartime Pharaoh of the Kemetic Republic of Osiris
A Brief History of the Imperium War
One year ago today, I was elected the seventh Pharaoh of the Kemetic Republic of Osiris in a narrow victory over incumbent Pharaoh Treize Dreizehn. This was the first time in the history of Osiris that a challenger had unseated an incumbent Pharaoh. Later that evening, Treize Dreizehn announced that he would not honor the results of the election -- which he claimed at the time had been manipulated -- and ushered in the month long ordeal that would come to be known by various names, but which I have consistently called the Imperium War.
Shortly after announcing that he would not transition the Delegacy to me as the newly elected Pharaoh, it became clear that Nevadar, High Queen of Gatesville Inc, and Durkadurkiranistan had taken control of Delegate nation The Dourian Embassy. Following unsuccessful negotiation with Nevadar, Gatesville Inc announced that it would annex Osiris as part of Gatesville's empire. What followed was the establishment of the Osiris Imperium as the alternative government of Osiris, led by rogue Delegate Durkadurkiranistan who at the time declared himself Governor Imperator of Osiris. The Imperium was supported by the un-flagged Gatesville Guard, the infamous Aezean Combine, and initially by The West Pacific which withdrew its support after the Combine's involvement became clear.
The month of July 2013 passed with a public war fought by the Kemetic Republic of Osiris and a coalition of allied forces which, throughout the course of the war, came to include the following regions:
Behind the scenes, and in recognition that the public war would take months to be successful if victory were to be possible at all, a covert war was being fought with the assistance of the United Imperial Armed Forces -- Albion (which had initially been the first region to pledge public support to the KRO), The Land of Kings and Emperors, and The New Inquisition. North East Somerset served as liaison between the KRO and the UIAF, to pursue a strategy in which UIAF units would build influence masquerading as support for Gatesville Inc.
Upon building an insurmountable bloc of influence, either Delegate Durkadurkiranistan would be forced to use all of his influence to banject UIAF units and demolish his own endorsement count, or they would be left in the region to preserve The Dourian Embassy's influence. If permitted to remain in the region, UIAF units would have been able to provide support to KRO lead nations seeking to re-take the Delegacy. Either way, the Imperium would have been fatally undermined.
As Pharaoh-in-Exile, I was also involved in one-on-one negotiations with Nevadar throughout the war as well as indirect negotiation with North East Somerset acting as intermediary. There were also KRO attempts, which still will not be disclosed, to infiltrate the Imperium and subvert it from within, which we were prepared to act upon as a long-term strategy should all other options have failed.
Ultimately, it was private negotiation that led to the conclusion of the Imperium War. The KRO signed a peace agreement with Gatesville Inc which included a number of conditions under which Osiris would be returned to the KRO, notably that The Dourian Embassy would not be ejected and banned. Upon re-securing the Delegacy and despite my strong disagreement, it was the overwhelming will of the Cabinet and the Council of Ma'at (Security Council) to break the peace agreement. With assistance from some of the above mentioned allied forces, Diamete (Sentimental Journey) took the Delegacy as a Priest of Ma'at on 30 July 2013 and ejected and banned The Dourian Embassy from Osiris. This was marked by the KRO as the official end of the Imperium War and victory over Gatesville Inc.
The Imperium War: Internal Effects
The Imperium War revealed the deep fissures that existed within the KRO community. While this was not the first public revelation of these divisions -- that had occurred earlier, during the brief coup d'etat perpetrated by Empire in December 2012 -- it was by far the most remarkable.
The war began with accusations by Treize Dreizehn that the election for Pharaoh had been manipulated by Biyah, a core member of Empire. Although these accusations were definitively dispelled by voluntary public disclosure of votes, it is notable that the KRO deemed it necessary to take such steps to disprove allegations that had been made in the absence of any evidence. This revealed the level of distrust that already existed within the KRO community, and more broadly within the NationStates Gameplay community, in regard to Empire.
Conflict between defender citizens and independent, imperialist, and raider citizens also took center stage for the first time during the Imperium War. This conflict was generated by inept and counterproductive behavior on the part of Mahaj, former Chief of the Band of the United Defenders League, as well as the insistence of The Rejected Realms and Lazarus that dual UIAF citizens should be purged from Balder in accordance with the Pan-Sinker Security Pact. This insistence was contrary to the wishes of the KRO, which was covertly working with the UIAF to pursue the strategy previously detailed.
These divisions were dragged kicking and screaming into the light of day for the first time by the Imperium War, but they had existed throughout the course of the KRO's history. These same divisions would come to play a significant role during the Osiran Reformation led by Pharaoh Detective Figs (Astarial), following dissolution of the KRO. Core members of Empire, alarmed by the removal of their power and the institutions that had perpetuated it, entered into uneasy alliance with defenders and some independents alarmed by the raider-imperialist course that the new Sekhmet Legion of Osiris was taking.
This alliance that was used so effectively to undermine the Reformation government was the leading factor in the internal conflict that would ensue following the resignation of Detective Figs, resulting in the permanent exile of Empire's core members and the establishment of the Osiris Fraternal Order.
The Imperium War: External Effects
While it is difficult to ascertain the precise effect that the Imperium War had upon Osiran internal affairs, it is not at all difficult to determine the effect of the Imperium War upon foreign affairs.
It goes without saying that the Imperium War ended any remaining semblance of peace between Osiris and Gatesville Inc, which had only a few months earlier been uneasy allies through the short-lived Sovereign Confederation. Ironically, the outbreak of hostility between Osiris and Gatesville Inc was contrary to my own wishes as a candidate for Pharaoh. Even prior to the election, I had proposed a national sovereigntist agreement involving Osiris, Gatesville Inc, and Antarctic Oasis, which I had intended to present to these regions as Pharaoh. Unfortunately, Gatesville Inc had other plans, collaboration was never to be realized, and Gatesville has once again faded into obscurity.
The Imperium War also brought Osiris new allies, virtually overnight. Balder, kept at arm's length by previous governments, quickly became Osiris' strongest supporter and to this day remains our closest ally. Albion, The Land of Kings and Emperors, The New Inquisition, and Europeia had been approached with skepticism and, at times, outright contempt by previous governments. The support of the former three in the covert war and the latter in the public war ensured that they would later be included among Osiris' closest allies and the first treaty allies of the Osiris Fraternal Order.
Meanwhile, relations with most defender regions and organizations were demolished over the course of the Imperium War. The ineptitude and disregard for the wishes of the KRO demonstrated by the United Defenders League resulted in severance of relations with the UDL relatively early in the war. The insistence of The Rejected Realms and, to a lesser degree, Feux's Lazarus upon aggressive application of the Pan-Sinker Security Pact strained relations between Osiris and these two Sinkers, and between Osiris and the Founderless Regions Alliance. Osiris severed relations with the FRA as part of the peace agreement with Gatesville Inc, and the FRA declined to re-establish relations after the KRO nullified the peace agreement. By war's end, Osiris maintained strong relations with only one defender region, Spiritus, relations later damaged during the Reformation and subsequent establishment of the Osiris Fraternal Order.
The Imperium War also led to a reconsideration of the approach that Osiris had been taking to external affairs, both diplomatic and military. It became clear very early that the combined forces of defenderdom, excluding 10000 Islands, and Osiris' own treaty allies would not prove effective against the Imperium. Indeed, had the UIAF chosen to actually support the Imperium, there is every possibility that the Osiris Imperium would still be in power today. Following the Imperium War and as a direct result of it, we began to pursue a more realistic approach to foreign affairs that would prioritize relations with diplomatically and militarily strong independent and imperialist regions, even raider regions. This was in contrast to an earlier, enduring prioritization of relations with neutral-independent GCRs, and decreasingly competent and effective defender regions and organizations.
In short, the Imperium War initiated a complete overhaul of Osiran foreign affairs. Observing that moderate independence and reliance on defenderdom would not protect Osiris from threats to her community, the KRO began to look toward imperialism and toward raider unity as a more effective shield against such threats. This shift toward imperialism and raider unity would continue during the Osiran Reformation and would finally be solidified by the Osiris Fraternal Order.
The Imperium War: Reflections, One Year Later
With one year to reflect upon the Imperium War and its effects, I have reached a few conclusions.
The decision to pursue a covert war with the assistance of the UIAF was clearly, even in hindsight, the correct decision. The size and involvement of the Osiran community at the time, the large number of forces involved from other regions which made central command nearly impossible, the incompetence of the UDL and the failure of other defenders to fully commit to liberation -- all spelled disaster for a public war. Operational security would have been impossible. Update attempts were and would further have been laughable. Covert, re-founded units would have been purged day after day before acquiring any influence, as the rogue Delegate's influence would have continued to grow.
On the other hand, the choice to end the war through private negotiation rather than the definitive military victory which was in reach was not the right decision. It deprived the Osiran community of true victory against its enemies and pride in that victory. The private nature of the negotiations deprived the UIAF of a much more publicly visible role in liberation of Osiris, which has allowed detractors to continue falsely and outrageously insisting that the UIAF was playing both sides and to concoct absurd conspiracy theories. It led to deception in regard to the terms of the peace agreement, rendering future diplomatic resolutions to such conflicts difficult if not impossible. It was, quite simply, a mistake -- my mistake -- and the consequences of that mistake are to some degree still being felt and may have broader repercussions during future Feeder and Sinker conflicts.
To her credit, as my Kai Repat (Vice Delegate) at the time, Detective Figs (Astarial) remained consistently and adamantly opposed to anything but definitive military victory. She was right.
What of the Osiris Imperium and the Imperium War, and those who fought the Kemetic Republic? It is no secret that Treize Dreizehn and Durkadurkiranistan have been permitted citizenship in the Osiris Fraternal Order, and that the former has served with distinction as the presiding officer of our legislature since the inception of that office. The Dourian Embassy is today a member of our in-game regional security council.
While his methods remain questionable, it is clear that Treize Dreizehn had some of the same concerns regarding the influence of the Empire elite that came into clear display during the Osiran Reformation. It is clear that one of the goals of the Osiris Imperium was expulsion of Empire from Osiris and from the Osiran community. Whatever one may think of the methods employed, it is clear now beyond the shadow of any doubt that expulsion of Empire from Osiris was a worthy objective.
Whatever its methods, whatever its short-term effects during July 2013, the Osiris Imperium and the Imperium War have had an overall positive impact upon Osiris. It was the Imperium War that awakened Osiris to the fragility of its own government and community, and the fragility of the KRO's alliances. It was the Imperium War that initiated a re-thinking of Osiran foreign affairs, which has resulted in a firm regional identity and a much stronger network of realistic alliances.
It was the Osiris Imperium and the Imperium War that finally awakened Osiris to the fatal flaws at the core of the Kemetic Republic of Osiris, starting us on the journey that has led us to the security, stability, and far stronger community of the Osiris Fraternal Order. That journey took Osiris through the bitter upheaval of the Reformation, the internal conflict in its aftermath, and the establishment of the Osiris Fraternal Order. It hasn't been an easy journey, but it has been a necessary one, and it was a journey we may not have taken at all had it not been for the Osiris Imperium.
