Puffalian-Western War

The Puffalian-Western War, also known as the Western Theatre, was part of the Frosian War fought between the Western Union (then Circular Powers) and the Axis Powers, who were supported by NNM and Little Penland militants and terrorists, primarily in Snowiny. The war lasted 3 months, making it the first and longest war in the coalition's history.

The war initiated after NNM seperatists hijacked a plane and crashed it into the Benetton Towers in Snowiny, with the Puffalian Axis declaring war on the Western coalition afterward. Most of the events occurred in Snowiny, however it later shifted to Margate, Amataria and Terra Federation in a last ditch attempt by the Axis to use their resources to win the Frosian War. However, it failed, and Snowiny and the other nations of the group gained international respect from other countries for fending off the Axis.

The war also inducted a new member into the Western Union - Amataria.

Prelude
Tensions have been rising between the Nexonan Nationalist Movement and the winning powers of the Fall of Nexon and The Plague War ever since those wars ended. NNM had already been plotting attacks on what they thought their 'easiest target'. Plans quickly changed after Ed Island gained independence January 2014. NNM planned to hijack a Margatian plane and crash it into the second tallest towers in Antarctica located in Greenfield, the Bennetton Towers, to harm Snowiny's reputation and high spot on the Top list and to destroy one of Snowiny's main tourist attractions. The wars against Puffalia and Puffarus from February to June by the Axle Powers had further made this easier, as Snowiny was much distracted with preparing their troops in case of a war with Puffalia and Puffarus. Snowiny was already fearing they would quickly be drawn into the war because of the Puffalian hatred towards the Snowinians too, which came true after the April 2nd attacks.

Robert Smith had responded to the press on how Snowiny will not stand this and immediately declared war on NMM. Shortly after, NNM managed to gain the support of Puffalia and Puffarus, and the following two quickly denounced Snowiny and a few days later declared war.

The Western Powers quickly responded to this, with both Margate and Terra Federation tightening security in the homeland and stating that they would commit to fighting the Axis coalition.

The War
Smith was hoping that the war would be over in no time, possibly within a few days. However, they had underestimated the strength of the Axis and the NNM. Snowiny's largest ally in the Western coalition, Margate, had suffered setbacks with NNM extremists sabotaging equipment and machinery in the military bases of Nexon, and with the majority of the Axle Powers' military strength in the main theatre of the Frosian War, the sheer number of soldiers fighting for the Axis brought most battles to a stalemate for days, prolonging the war to three months

The first strategy to invade the nations of Western Union was to firstly, use the state of Penland as a springboard to the rest of Snowiny as the state was more likely to be co-operative with the Axis. Underestimating the abilities of the Western Powers, Puffalia sent an initial 120,000 troops, it was seen as sufficient to invade and take control.

Battle of Veinsheidt
The island of Veinsheidt was a strategic weakness in the Snowinian national defense grid. Analysts for the military of Snowiny suggested that the island was too irrelevant to the strategy of the Puffalians and that the surrounding islands had no facilities or military advantage. Rather, it was expected that the island of Witaon would be of more strategic purpose as it had an airbase within range of key Snowinian cities. It could also be used for the invading force to enter Penland. Thus, Witaon was fortified heavily while the other islands were not. However, they were proven wrong when Veinsheidt was invaded with such speed due to the lack of resistance that the airfield was vulnerable as the two islands were separated only by a stretch of water a mile wide at its narrowest point. The attempted crossing of the small strait was unsuccessful as water mines were placed there, blowing up the landing craft. Eventually, Veinshiedt was surrounded by Western reinforcements the island was re-captured once again.

At the same time, a naval blockade was attempted by the Puffalians. Spreading the ships around the Snowinian mainland, it was meant to starve the nation's homeland and prevent allied reinforcements from coming in as they used the airfield on Witaon to bomb mainland Snowiny into submission, as well as conduct a major invasion from the shores of Penland without much interference. After Western forces re-captured Veinshiedt and successfully defended Witaon, Axis forces deployed even more ships and manpower to the blockade. From the inside, the Snowinians knew that while they could defeat the blockade, it would result in major casualties as the Puffalians would have the upper hand, leaving the mainland exposed to potential invasion. At this point, the Margatian navy was deployed and a large fleet, led by Supreme General SlenderXP and Chief Naval Commander Chris Tang was tasked with breaking the blockade. After much deliberation, the navy decided to use automated "suicide bombers", an idea inspired from the Kamikaze of Japaland during the Khanzem war. Packing five old submarines (that the navy decided were too slow and outdated) with explosives, as well as fitting them with basic yet effective anti-radar detection technology, they were sent remotely from a distance away and set to explode under key communications and command ships as well as aircraft carriers. The blockade was successfully broken up after this, and the remaining ships either fled or were sunk by Western forces.

Axis Operation: South Plague
By this time, however, landing craft and additional ships had transported fifty thousand troops to begin the invasion of Snowiny, titled as Operation: South Plague. Coming from the ships of the blockade, the troops merged together and regrouped at the southern coast of the island, which fell under the autonomous region of Penland. With help from Penlandian militants, the lightly defended district fell to the Axis and the Penlandians in just a week. However, the national government of Snowiny quickly responded by deploying most of the troops stationed on the mainland to defend the border and declaring a state of national emergency. Later reports showed that the Snowinian government intended to wait for more reinforcements before capturing Penland so as to ensure that the casualty count on the Western side would be lower, as well as crush the Little Penland movement one and for all. The Puffalians then established a pro-Axis puppet state to exploit the people and natural resources of Penland. With the Puffalians also establishing rule and conquering Polaris, there were even more troops that could come in, making the situation even more dire. As much as the Western forces tried to prevent the inflow of enemy troops, it was impossible to do so as the only way to sufficiently protect the mainland was to blockade it - ironically the strategy that the Puffalians used and failed. Snowiny began to lose territory as troop numbers from the invading force outnumbered the number sent to defend.

The 21st of April was a particularly dark day in the war. NNM terrorists and armed milita hid explosives in the military compounds of Margate and the Terra Federation, and them attempted to blow them up. The idea was to cripple the militaries of the two nations so that they would withdraw their armies from the battlegrounds in Snowiny in order to defend their homelands. The citizens of the Terra Federation (all of whom are trained to be in the military) did manage to spot most of the bombs and de-arm them in the nick of time. Margate however was not as fortunate. With NNM militants hidden within the large population of the nation of 30 million (including the army itself), and with military bases and facilities being centralized to Nexon, the impact on the key bases and the military was devastating. The armada led to defend and reinforce was recalled back to Margate to defend key bases and conduct background checks as the nation was put under lockdown. Just a few hours later, KZT Triple X missiles were loaded and pointed towards Margate City and Auzua Island, the capital and a key crop-growing area where most of Margate's food is produced after being captured by militants, who threatened to launch the missiles if their demands to withdraw from the war, give Nexon independence, and pay a half a trillion Margate dollars in reparation.

Calling the demands outrageous, the government called on the Margate Special Forces, a new agency formed with reconnaissance agents and commandos, into action, storming the base and unloading the weapon.

Western Re-invasion of Penland
Snowinian troops gradually began to decrease in number. The population of Snowiny was limited and so was the number of troops and military personnel. Meanwhile slave labour and forced military service from the conquered territories of New Delphis, Polaris and Penland meant that the number of troops would increase everyday. With the coalition naval fleet broken up and Margatian and Terran ships recalled to defend the homeland (as it was much closer to the Puffalians), fewer reinforcements were coming in to defend, much less retake Penland and the conquered territories. By the beginning of May, the Puffalians had pushed the frontline to the city of Venila, with the invading force becoming stronger and allied morale dropping.

The tide was turned when Rusca and the Seal Islands declared war on the Axis. The 4th of May marked the day Ruscan reinforcements arrived on Snowinian shore. Aid from the Seal Islands was also provided, but stopped after the Puffalians began to invade home territory, leading them to divert resources to prevent the fall of their nation. As Ruscan trooops poured in by the thousands, the Axis attempted to counter this incoming flow of reinforcements by also forcing Penlandian citizens to be conscripted into the army. The front line slowly began to shift closer to the south, but there was no decisive victories for the Western Powers yet.

The Terra Federation and Margate by this time had conscripted enough manpower to resume military aid to Snowiny and defend their homeland at the same time. While Margate had lost a small bit of territory - Aerius Island, which was close to the Frosian islands, there was no real threat yet as vigilance was maintained and the NNM being forced to hide after a mass crackdown by Margatian authorities expelled five NNM-affiliated members of parliament from the government.

With the Margatians and Terrains initiating a blockade of the the Sub-Antarctic trading routes, reinforcements from Puffalia slowed, although there remained a number of drafted militia which boosted Axis numbers. Within days, the Western powers were at the doorstep of the city of Visla, a key trading and supply base. Within a day, Western forces had cut off Axis forces from reinforcements and had encircled the city. Nevertheless, the encircled forces refused to surrender and bloody street fighting ravaged the city for close to a week as Western forces tried to forcibly flush the Puffalians out of the city. By the time Western forces had claimed victory, a combined forty thousand had been killed in the streets. This was the turning point of the war, as the Axis nations decided that Snowiny was more trouble than they could afford, and the manpower could be shifted, especially in the Freezelandian campaign.

Axis Invasion of Amataria and Margate
Surprisingly, despite the combined Zhouese-Puffalian invasions against various nations in the Asiapelago, Amataria was relatively untouched, with only a few bombing raids on its capital, Mek City. This all changed, however, when the focus of the attacks became Amataria, which was close enough to allow for quick resupply and reinforcement for the Axis, and because of it's relative isolation from the other Circular nations, gave an advantage to the Axis. With Shops too busy defending its colonies, Amataria's defense was left solely to the Western Union. A massive army 300,000 strong landed on the beaches of NV Island and South Amataria simultaneously, pushing for the capital, while cyber hackers attempted to shut down the computer systems controlling Amataria's massive robot army, just like how they did too Munijoch and Shops Island.