Grand Mexican War

The Grand Mexican War
Date January 16, 2081 - May 20, 2085 Location North America Result Worldwide nuclear annihilation
Belligerents
Allies Tikal Vinsalia New Quebec J Andres Caribou Britain Rome Nippon	Coalition Mexico NA Commonwealth California Southwest SR Northwest SR Grand Ottoman
Commanders
Fidel Gabriel Robert Cabot Charlotte Laurent	Ernesto Bolivar Sean Bronson Aaron Slater Ernesto Espada

Prelude

In 2068, the nations of North Mexico, North American Commonwealth, and California orchestrated the collapse of the Navajo Union when Mexico refused to renew a lease on Puerto Peñasco. Failure to renew the lease lead to the collapse of Navajo economy. The three nations then supported the revolutionary leader, Ernesto Espada as he established the Southwest Socialist Republic.

The four nations sought to eliminate hostile nations and replace them with friendly ones. In 2080, a similar collapse within the Caribou Federation permitted Espada to influence another revolution leading to the formation of the Northwest Socialist Republic. On December 25, 2080, the North American Commonwealth annexed Las Islas Bellas and established new maritime borders. These new borders greatly weakened the economy of Tikal and its trading partners. The other nations of North America already identified the threat to their existence and had prepared for an eventual war. Tikal declared war on North Mexico on January 16, 2081. The Republic of Mexico, North American Commonwealth, Republic of California, Southwest Socialist Republic, and Northwest Socialist Republic quickly released a joint statement, calling themselves the Coalition for a Better America. The statement served as a declaration of war on Tikal and against anyone else who declared war against any signatory. Vinsalia, New Quebec, J Andres, and the Caribou Federation also voted to support Tikal and join in war against the Coalition. Rome and Britain both joined the side of the Allies in March.

The Caribou Theater

Battle of Anchorage
Part of The Grand Mexican War
NSR tanks advance from Juneau towards Anchorage
Date February 2-7, 2081 Location Anchorage, Caribou Federation Result Coalition Victory; Dissolution of the Caribou Federation Territorial changes Alaska gained by California Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut gained by NSR
Belligerents
Allies Caribou	Coalition California Northwest SR
Commanders
Gordon Somerset Greg Stone	Arthur Tarklin
Strength
15,000 troops 4 destroyers 35 aircraft	80,000 troops 800 tanks 2 aircraft carriers 5 cruisers 8 destroyers 3 submarines 150 aircraft
Casualties and losses
6,375 dead 2,283 wounded 3,927 deserted 4 destroyers	631 dead 1,428 wounded 5 aircraft

The war was initially being fought on three fronts: in the north, east, and south. The Coalition recognized the Caribou Federation as its weakest opponent. Elimination of the Federation would eliminate a very long border to defend and allow better deployment of resources to the two remaining fronts. Soldiers from the NSR began sweeping east to west through the Caribou Federation. When the NSR was formed, the Caribou Federation lost its most populous regions. The former Canadian provinces of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut were easily captured with little resistance.

California directed its naval fleet to Anchorage to meet with the NSR army and force the surrender of the Federation. The NSR army engaged with Federation Defense Forces in the city of Juneau, very briefly before moving to Anchorage. Federation losses were minimal in the battle of Juneau, but the persistent loss of territory inspired many to desert the army.

Admiral Arthur Tarklin, commander of the Californian navy during the Battle of Anchorage.

On February 2, the Californian fleet arrived in the Gulf of Alaska and began launching air strikes from the aircraft carriers. The Federation lost four naval destroyers in the opening hours of the battle. The air strikes originally targeted military targets to support the movement of NSR troops through the city. As the battle continued and the military strength of the Federation dwindled, it became clear that the government needed to be pressured to encourage surrender.

On February 5, California landed its own troops in the city, and together with the NSR, captured the majority of the city. The Federation troops were dispersed and used asymmetrical warfare to their advantage to slow the advance of Coalition troops into the inner city. On February 6, General Greg Stone pleaded with government officials to ask for a surrender. The troops were deserting at an alarming rate and Stone recognized that victory would be impossible. The government was in a secure location beneath the Federal Offices and the legislature moved to impeach and remove President Gordon Somerset to facilitate the surrender to the Coalition forces. Somerset fled the building and took to the sky in a small single-engine aircraft taken from the nearby airport. Somerset's flight was in violation of a no-fly zone instituted by the Californian navy and was shot down.

General Stone negotiated a surrender with Californian Admiral Arthur Tarklin. The Federation would disband and the army would immediately stand down. All military and civilian firearms were ordered to be turned in to the Coalition forces. California took administrative control of Alaska while the NSR took administrative control of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. The NSR integrated its new territory into the NSR on March 1.

The Mexican Theater

Battle of Puerto Vallarta
Part of The Grand Mexican War
Tikal troops land on the beach in Puerto Vallarta
Date February 8-April 3, 2081 Location Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Result Allied Victory; Mexican troops retreat to Guadalajara
Belligerents
Allies Tikal	Coalition Mexico
Commanders
Armando Ortega	Javier Lopez
Strength
30,000 troops 400 landing craft 50 aircraft	12,000 troops 100 tanks 24 aircraft
Casualties and losses
5,200 dead 3,100 wounded 18 aircraft	7,600 dead 2,200 wounded 8 aircraft

Battle of Tikal City
Part of The Grand Mexican War
Tikal troops fire a mortar
Date October 23, 2084-January 8, 2085 Location Tikal City, Tikal Result Coalition victory; Tikal surrender
Belligerents
Allies Tikal	Coalition Mexico Southwest SR
Commanders
Armando Ortega	Diego Acosta
Strength
17,000 troops 200 aircraft	30,000 troops 100 tanks 150 aircraft
Casualties and losses
8,000 dead 3,400 wounded 82 aircraft	10,200 dead 4,700 wounded 16 aircraft

The borders between Tikal and Mexico prior to the outbreak of war in 2081.

Shortly after Tikal declared war on Mexico, the battles began on the border between the two countries. The Mexican army was larger and better trained than the Tikal army and the opening battles in January went poorly. Tikal forces on the east lost Xalapa and on the west lost Iguala.

After it became apparent that the Californian fleet would be moving north to support the Coalition forces in Anchorage, General Armando Ortega developed a new war plan that involved an amphibious assault on North Mexico. Tikal did not share its plans with the other allies, in fear that the surprise attack would be discovered. Early in the morning on February 8, 2081, Tikal launched 400 hastily-made landing craft from Ixtapa into the Bahia de Banderas and Puerto Vallarta.. The amphibious assault was very successful in that it deposited a large fighting force behind the Mexican lines. As an attack was not anticipated so far behind the border, the troops were unprepared for an assault of that magnitude.

On the first day of the battle, Tikal forces captured Gustavo Diaz Ordaz Airport. Although it would be about a week before Tikal troops pushed back Mexican forces out of the area around the airport, the airport became a critical supply link for the new force. The Mexican air force, stationed in Guadalajara frequently patrolled the area to prevent Tikal supply planes from landing. Once the airport was captured, Tikal moved 50 fighters to the airport to police skies in the area. Fighting continued for nearly two months in Puerto Vallarta before the Mexican troops retreated to Guadalajara.

The Tikal army moved in on Guadalajara in early May 2081. Ortega's forces were once again victorious in capturing the city; however, the Mexican troops cut around the Tikal army, eliminating their connection to their supplies. Ortega pressed onwards, but the lack of supplies eventually drained his army, and he surrendered to the Mexican army on August 18, 2081 in the city of Penjamillo.

Although Mexico had little success on the west coast until the surrender of Ortega, the story was very different on the eastern coast. Mexico obliterated the Tikal army repeatedly in Puebla and Cordoba. By the time of Ortega's surrender, they had reached Villahermosa.

Following the victory in Villahermosa, the Mexican Army continued along the Yucatan Peninsula, pressing on to the capital of Tikal City. The two armies met again in Campeche for a prolonged battle lasting much of 2082. For much of 2083 and 2084, the Mexican army worked on fortifying its existing position, before moving on its final offensive towards Tikal City.

The Mexican army had a significantly larger force when attacking Tikal City, although the true devastation to Tikal was not caused in the battle, but due to economic strains induced by the war. A large portion of the country was being occupied by Mexico, impacting revenue streams to the capital. Tikal City was the largest city in the country, so despite the loss of territory, the ledgers were financially stable assuming Tikal City was still running efficiently. However, after nearly four years of war, the costs were beginning to strain the city, and once the economic output of the city was limited, the support structure began to falter.

Fidel, High Prince of Tikal was executed for war crimes on January 12, only four days after the Tikal surrender and reunification of Mexico.

On January 8, 2085, General Ortega sent word of his surrender to the Mexican army. Later that day, the Tikal army formally surrendered to the Mexican army. High Prince Fidel was captured and taken prisoner back to Mexico City. Although the country surrendered, the Tikali Navy, including the ballistic missile submarines, did not follow the order and stayed in position with the Allied Atlantic fleet, who were forming a plan of attack for an invasion of the Yucatan peninsula.

Two days after the surrender, Fidel was found guilty of war crimes, including crimes associated with the Tikali revolution which he initiated 27 years earlier. He was executed publicly in Mexico City on January 12, 2085.

The Eastern Theater

Battle of New York City
Part of The Grand Mexican War
New York City lost electric power numerous times during the ten-month long battle
Date February 12, 2081-January 14, 2082 Location New York City, Vinsalia Result Coalition Victory, Allied retreat
Belligerents
Allies Vinsalia J Andres New Quebec	Coalition NA Commonwealth
Commanders
Armand Isidore Daniel Wheeler Elliot Byrne	Nora Gardner
Strength
150,000 troops 450 aircraft	175,000 troops 700 aircraft
Casualties and losses
56,000 dead 42,000 wounded 280 aircraft	41,000 dead 78,000 wounded 210 aircraft

The Thames F-2 Vulture was the primary fighter used by J Andres during the Battle of New York City.

War in the eastern theater began with the Battle of New York City in February of 2081. The Commonwealth staged troops in New Jersey and captured Staten Island on the opening day of the attack. The rest of the battle for New York was long and drawn out, lasting ten months in total. The battle for air supremacy was fierce, with the Commonwealth operating out of Newark and Vinsalia operating out of JFK. After three weeks of dogfighting, the Commonwealth claimed the skies, laying waste to JFK airport and forcing Vinsalia to fly from Albany to engage targets. Two members of the J Andres nobility notably served in the Battle of New York City, Lady Vanessa of Lanier was flew many missions over the city as part of the Air Force, and Lord William of Rossingol fought on the ground as part of the 32nd Battalion.

While the Commonwealth made slow gains in New York City, the northern and western regions of Vinsalia were collapsing quickly. Buffalo fell in early February of 2081, Rochester fell in April, and Syracuse in October.

In January of 2082, the long battle for New York City was over and the Commonwealth captured the city. The Vinsalian troops retreated north to defend Albany and the J Andres troops retreated east to defend the border. The Commonwealth army continued to lay waste to Vinsalia, capturing Utica in March 2082, Schenectady in November 2082, Poughkeepsie in May 2083, and Hudson in January of 2084. From there, the southern contingent of the Commonwealth army cut into the western section of J Andres Lanier Province and up into portions of New Quebec in preparations for the attack on Albany.

The Atlantic Theater

Battle of Bermuda
Part of The Grand Mexican War
Date March 3-17, 2081 Location Bermuda, NAC Result Allied victory, NAC retreat
Belligerents
Allies Vinsalia J Andres New Quebec Britain Rome	Coalition NA Commonwealth
Strength
6 aircraft carriers 80 ships	2 aircraft carriers 20 ships
Casualties and losses
2 aircraft carriers 24 ships	2 aircraft carriers 9 ships

There were two large battles in the Atlantic theater, both of which were very influential on the war as a whole. The Battle of Bermuda from March 3-17, 2081 pitted the Commonwealth Northern Fleet against the combined navies of Britain, Rome, Vinsalia, J Andres, and New Quebec. The Commonwealth fleet was vastly overmatched and was nearly entirely destroyed in the two week battle. Both of the Commonwealth aircraft carriers were destroyed as were one of the Roman carriers and one Vinsalian carrier. The Allied forces rescued 8,500 Commonwealth sailors from the water during and after the battle. The sailors were treated as prisoners of war and housed at Puerto Pacis in J Andres for the remainder of the conflict.

The second large battle in the Atlantic was the Battle of Cuba, which occurred from July 9-August 18, 2084. In this battle, the Allied fleet once again battled the Commonwealth fleet around Cuba and its surrounding islands. The Commonwealth established a significant naval base in Havana, after absorbing Las Islas Bellas in 2080. The Allied forces were successful in expelling the Commonwealth Navy from their base in Havana, but were unsuccessful in entering the Gulf of Mexico, where the Commonwealth was further supported by the Mexican Navy. The Allies failure to enter the gulf resulted in a failure to support Tikal during the Battle of Tikal City, which ended in Tikal surrender.

The Pacific Theater

Battle of Seattle
Part of The Grand Mexican War
Date November 19, 2083-February 6, 2084 Location Seattle, California Result Allied Victory
Belligerents
Allies Nippon	Coalition California Northwest SR
Strength
42,000 soldiers	35,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
6,200 dead 4,800 wounded	14,100 dead 6,300 wounded

The Pacific Theater opened as Nippon entered the war on May 6, 2081. As Nippon declared war, they attacked the Mexican and Californian fleet at Pearl Harbor and the NSR at Vancouver. The assault on Hawaii was not successful in repelling the Pacific fleet, but it did engage the fleet to prevent the fleet from engaging Nippon in other locations. The attack on Vancouver was successful, although it took four months for Nippon to capture the city.

With Vancouver captured, Nippon turned its attention south towards Seattle. Nippon had a much larger force and invaded the city in November 2083. The attack on Seattle lasted three months with the Californian Army retreating in February of 2084. After the Coalition army retreated, the citizens of Seattle took up arms against the occupying force. It took Nippon another eight months to establish order.

The European Theater

War began in the European theater in October of 2081 after the Grand Ottoman Empire declared war against Rome. The North American Commonwealth lobbied heavily with the Sultan, hoping to engage Rome and Britain in an additional way to prevent them from sending more troops overseas. The Grand Ottoman Empire needed very little convincing to wage war against Rome. The ploy was successful and Rome stopped sending troops to the New York City, ultimately resulting in the Commonwealth capturing the city. Rome repelled the Ottoman attack easily, but it was another distraction away from the main fronts.

Nuclear Conclusion

On May 20, 2085, the war ended abruptly after an outbreak of nuclear activity. It is believed a Tikali submarine launched the first attack, targeting numerous cities in Mexico. Within two minutes of launch, Mexico fired salvos at J Andres, New Quebec, and Vinsalia. The allied forces aimed at the Commonwealth, California, the NSR and SSR. The entire nuclear portion of the war lasted approximately two hours, but each nation decayed into immediate anarchy. The nuclear attacks were not limited to North America, as the other continents were provoked to some extent and joined in on the mutually assured destruction.