Rubicon War

Not to be confused with the Rubicon Incident of 1936.

Rubicon War
Part of the Salisfordian Civil War and the Creeperian Conflicts
Two maps showing the first phase (left) and second phase (right).
Date 13 October 1961 – 22 April 1976 (14 years, 6 months, 1 week and 2 days) First phase: 13 October 1961 – 5 March 1964 (2 years, 4 months and 3 weeks) Second phase: 15 September 1968 – 8 April 1969 (6 months, 3 weeks and 3 days) Location San Pablo, Creeperopolis (first phase) San Paolo and Terrano, Salisford (second phase) Result Stalemate Salisfordian military victory (first phase) Creeperian military victory (second phase) Rubicon Agreement Territorial changes Status quo ante bellum
Belligerents
Creeperopolis	Salisford
Commanders and leaders
Romero II Alfonso Cabañeras Moreno Raimundo Serrano Suñer † Venustiano Zaldívar Herrera Gustau Riviéra e Cabriéra Armando Pacheco Jalisco José Fuentes Castro (WIA) Léonard Ramiéra e Umana Fidel Salinas Quijada Adolfo Suárez Figueroa	Carlo III Sandro Neri † Teodoro Mattera Antiamo Marchetti Giacomo Conte Omar Bianchi Renzo Testa † Lazzaro Sartori Vincenzo Moretti Ercole Fabbri Tommaso Costantini
Units involved
32nd Army 91st Infantry Division 36th Mechanized Division 22nd Armored Division 30th Artillery Division 18th Air Force Wing 5th Flotilla	3rd Brigade 147th Paratroopers Regiment 42nd Infantry Regiment 75th Infantry Regiment 4th Armored Regiment 2nd Fusilier Regiment 70th Attack Wing
Strength
25,000 soldiers 500 tanks 250 aircraft	22,500 soldiers 600 tanks 200 aircraft

The Rubicon War (Creeperian Spanish: Guerra del Rubicón; Salisfordian: Guerra del Rubicone) was a major war in Sur which occurred in two phases between 1961 and 1976. The war was fought between Creeperopolis and Salisford over a territorial dispute along the Rubicon River, which marked the border between the two nations. Despite the Salisfordian military victory in the first phase and the Creeperian military victory in the second phase, the war ended in a diplomatic stalemate as neither Salisford nor Creeperopolis made any significant gains as a result of the conflict.

In 1936 during the Creeperian Civil War, the Catholic Imperial Restoration Council (Imperial Council) made a secret agreement with the Salisfordian government to partition the nation of Castilliano in an effort to end a brief conflict being fought between Castilliano and Salisford and to get the Salisfordians to send volunteers to help the Imperial Council against the National Council for Peace and Order (National Council). Despite the agreement, after the war ended in 1949 and Castilliano was annexed by Creeperopolis, the Creeperian government did not allow Salisford to take territory from Castilliano as was promised due to Creeperopolis making a separate agreement with Castilliano ensuring their protection. In 1952, Salisfordian First Minister Sandro Neri pressed Creeperopolis to fulfill the agreement and cede the promised territory to Salisford, however, the Creeperian government refused citing all of Castilliano as "an integral part of Creeperopolis."

After an increase in anti-government protests in the Castillianan departments and the assassinations of two Castillianan independence activists, Neri again pressed the Creeperian government to cede the territory, which were again rejected. The two nations entered into negotiations to settle the disputed territory, however, in 1961, a skirmish between Creeperian and Salisfordian soldiers along the Rubicon River brought a sudden end to the negotiations and tensions between both nations rose. As both nations began to mobilize their soldiers in preparation of war, Salisford invaded Creeperopolis on 13 October 1961 with the objective of securing the entire Salisfordian claim.

Background

Conflicts between Castilliano and Salisford

Further information: Castillianan–Salisfordian Wars

Rubicon Incident

Main article: Rubicon Incident

In 1936, diplomatic relations between Salisford and Castilliano strained, mostly as a result of the arrest of Humér Paguét e Fonts, a Castillianan diplomat, who was charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct and rape against various Salisfordian women. Castilliano rejected the Salisfordian charges, denying that Paguét e Fonts had any involvement with the alleged misconduct and rape and accused the Salisfordian government of arresting him for political reasons, as Paguét e Fonts had voiced criticisms of Leonardo Bari, the first minister of Salisford.

Portrait of Cabañeras Moreno, 1938.

With tensions high between the two nations, Salisford moved troops across the border with Castilliano and into Sant Pau (present-day San Pablo), citing historical claims to the northern territories of the region. Castilliano would reject the claims, accused Salisford of starting a war over a diplomatic incident hiding under the guise of "historical claims," and moved troops to intercept the Salisfordian soldiers. Both sides clashed and the fighting developed into a three-week long intense border conflict. Before any side made a breakthrough, the Catholic Imperial Restoration Council (Imperial Council), concerned about the possibility of further escalation between the two nations, stepped in and helped negotiate an end to the fighting.

To convince the dissatisfied Salisfordian administration to agree to end the conflict, Adolfo Cabañeras Moreno, the minister of defense of the Imperial Council, secretly negotiated a deal with Bari to partition Castilliano sometime in the near future, promising Salisford the northern half of the country. In return, the Salisfordians agreed to send an expeditionary force to assist the Imperial Council in breaking the stalemate which has developed in the Creeperian Civil War.

After an agreement was reached with the Salisfordians, Cabañeras Moreno then approached Óscar Benléu e Laréira, the prime minister of Castilliano, and informed him of the "agreement" that he had negotiated with the Salisfordians, telling him that he had no intentions of actually going through with the plan and that it was only an effort to end the conflict. He assured Benléu e Laréira that Creeperopolis would support Castilliano in any war should Salisford attempt to enforce the false agreement which was made.

After consulting with both sides in secret, the Imperial Council publicly offered to mediate peace between the two nations. Both nations met in the city of Guiraiso and formulated that Rubicon Agreement, which both nations agreed to. Cabañeras Moreno, Bari, and Benléu e Laréira were all in attendance of the signing of the agreement, which acted as a peace treaty between Castilliano and Salisford. The criminal charges against Paguét e Fonts were dropped by the Salisfordian government as a part of the agreement.

Annexation of Castilliano and social unrest

Following the conclusion of the civil war in 1949, Castilliano held a referendum on 1 December 1949 to decide if it should be annexed by Creeperopolis or not. The referendum resulted in favor of annexation by a large margin, but many called into question the legitimacy and the legality of the votes and the referendum itself. Despite the brewing controversy, the ruling party of Castilliano, the right-wing Castillianan Coalition of Autonomous Rights (CCDA), which heavily campaigned in favor of the referendum, accepted the results of the vote and Creeperopolis formally annexed Castilliano on 25 December 1949. The annexation was also supported by Benléu e Laréira, Agostéia Martéu e Puéi, and Efraïne Carból e Fórtrosa-Dóna, all of whom served as prime minister of Castilliano after the 1934 Castillianan coup d'état.

After Creeperopolis' annexation of Castilliano, various left-wing groups formed the Union of Castillianan Opposition Forces (UFOC), formed as the successor of the left-wing Coalition of the United Social Left (CESU) which was banned by the Castillianan military government in 1937. The Union of Castillianan Opposition Forces, otherwise known as simply the Opposition, was led by Abél Uriéra e Chicote, Joaquín Córsega e Rubiéra, and Eusebio Lancóme e Moléu, all of whom had previously served as the leader of the Coalition of the United Social Left, with Uriéra e Chicote and Córsega e Rubiéra also serving as prime ministers of Castilliano.

The Opposition heavily criticized Carból e Fórtrosa-Dóna's decision to allow annexation into Creeperopolis and denounced him and the Castillianan Coalition of Autonomous Rights, declaring them "Traitors to the Fatherland." Carból e Fórtrosa-Dóna was appointed as captain general of the department of Castilliano by the Creeperian government and cracked down on the Opposition's activities, arresting its leaders and protestors. As the Opposition refused to recognize the annexation of Creeperopolis and opposed Carból e Fórtrosa-Dóna's administration, the organization was declared as a terrorist organization by the Creeperian government.

Soldiers of the 32nd Army arresting a group of anti-government protestors in Chalatenango, early-1961.

In the 1950s, the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) carried out operations which assassinated each of the three leaders of the Coalition of the United Social Left, presumably at the request of Carból e Fórtrosa-Dóna. Uriéra e Chicote was shot by a group of armed DINA agents in San Pablo in March 1952. In June 1958, Córsega e Rubiéra was killed by a car bomb planted by the DINA in Santa María. Finally, Lancóme e Moléu was killed by a DINA sniper in Ciudad Los'Ángeles. The assassinations of the Opposition's three leaders caused many of its other prominent leaders to flee the country or go into hiding.

In 1960, Guilhém Garçon e Justament was proclaimed as the leader of the Opposition. He called for Castillianans across the country to rise up in protest against the Creeperian government for the independence of Castilliano. The protests of early-1961 occurred across the Castillianan departments of Castilliano, San Pablo, Santa María, and Sonsonate, with an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people marching in protest of Creeperian rule. The government responded with military force to suppress the protests leading to hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests.

Rise of Sandro Neri in Salisford

Official portrait of Neri, 1959.

In 1945, King Francesco I died of lung cancer, ending his relatively conservative reign in Salisford. His eldest daughter, Maria, succeeded him as Queen Maria III. During the first years of her reign, Maria III established herself a reputation of being liberal-minded monarch, seeking to reform Salisford's traditional institutions in favor of new ones which she perceived to be more modern and democratic. To aid her, she offered amnesty to the previously-exiled academic Giacomo Ottone and appointed him as her first minister. Together, Maria III and Ottone attempted to transform Salisford into what they described as "a modern country worthy of Ecros."

Maria III and Ottone went about reforming Salisford in a heavy-handed manner, brushing aside the concerns of conservatives and moderates, and alienating many traditional power bases in Salisford, most notably the nobility and the military. Their actions caused much controversy within the country, which led to a number of opponents to their reforms to form the Catholic Front, an organized opposition group to the attempted reforms.

In 1950, after an attempt by Maria III to dissolve the Catholic Front, Major General Sandro Neri, the commander of the Salisfordian volunteers in Creeperopolis, crossed the Rubicon River and declared that Maria III's government was illegitimate. After a brief military struggle, Neri entered the city of Savotta on 3 November 1950 and dissolved the Salisfordian government. The following day, Maria III appointed Neri as her new first minister and formally ceded all political power to him.

In late-1952, Neri was made aware of the secret agreement made between Creeperopolis and Salisford during Bari's administration and decided to press the Creeperian government to fulfill the agreement that was made back in 1936, especially after the assassination of Uriéra e Chicote by the Creeperian government earlier in the year. Despite the agreement to cede Castillianan land to Salisford, Creeperopolis refused to cede any land to Salisford after Castilliano had already been annexed. Alfonso Cabañeras Moreno, who had succeeded his older his brother as minister of defense in 1944, stated that he was under obligation to fulfill the agreement, as the agreement was made by his older brother and not himself, and that even his older brother never intended to fulfill the agreement, mentioning the secret agreement made with Castilliano to defend it in the event the Salisford ever attempted to enforce its claim. He also stated that, regardless, the annexation referendum was for Castilliano in its entirety, and that the land that Salisford claimed was included in the referendum.

Prelude

Salisford claims the department of San Pablo

The territory claimed by Salisford.

Skirmish of 4 February

Main article: Skirmish of 4 February

Order of battle

Creeperopolis

Creeperian Army

32nd Army – General Raimundo Serrano Suñer

91st Infantry Division – Lieutenant General Gustau Riviéra e Cabriéra

67th Infantry Battalion – Brigadier Romulo Enríquez Revelo

74th Infantry Battalion – Brigadier Alexandre Léon e Pérre

75th Infantry Battalion – Brigadier Fabián León Flores

80th Infantry Battalion – Brigadier Maximiliér Alvaréu e Alvaréu

81st Infantry Battalion – Brigadier Sergio Zorro Juárez

16th Engineer Company – Lieutenant Colonel Enrique Hidalgo Fuentes

36th Mechanized Division – Lieutenant General Armando Pacheco Jalisco

16th Mechanized Battalion – Brigadier Cristól Escócia e Piéira

17th Mechanized Battalion – Brigadier Félix Casanova Bermúdez

23rd Mechanized Battalion – Brigadier Xavier Montt Salinas

28th Mechanized Battalion – Brigadier Juan Duarte Linares

30th Mechanized Battalion – Brigadier Pablo Córdoba Galván

17th Engineer Company – Lieutenant Colonel Norberto Ureña Iñez

22nd Armored Division – Lieutenant General José Fuentes Castro

8th Armored Battalion – Brigadier José Nuñez Payés

16th Armored Battalion – Brigadier Marcéu Guerriér e Rosér

22nd Armored Battalion – Brigadier Carles Carriéra e Flors

24th Armored Battalion – Brigadier Vicente Fernández Jalisco

30th Armored Battalion – Brigadier Héctor Rodríguez Molina

30th Artillery Division – Lieutenant General Léonard Ramiéra e Umana

34th Artillery Battalion – Brigadier Jórdi Cadiérs e Guilhém

35th Artillery Battalion – Brigadier Alfonso Dávalos Herrador

43rd Artillery Battalion – Brigadier Danielér Serán e Lóbi

45th Artillery Battalion – Brigadier Gonzalo Sánchez Obregón

Creeperian Air Force

18th Air Force Wing – General Fidel Salinas Quijada

22nd Air Force Division – Lieutenant General Osiel López Pérez

22nd Air Force Battalion – Major General Alfonso Cárdenas Guillén

28th Air Force Battalion – Major General Santiago Castañeda Murillo

32nd Air Force Division – Lieutenant General Roberto Quijada Ureña

31st Air Force Battalion – Major General Adelso Anaya Gutiérrez

32nd Air Force Battalion – Major General Nicolás Valdéz Zaragoza

Creeperian Navy

5th Flotilla – Admiral Adolfo Suárez Figueroa

1st Fleet – Vice Admiral Armando Piñón Castro

1st Sector – Rear Admiral Enrique Larrañaga Gaitán

2nd Sector – Rear Admiral Alexander Dávalos Hernández

2nd Fleet – Vice Admiral Pío Fuentes González

3rd Sector – Rear Admiral Jorge Obregón Salinas

4th Sector – Rear Admiral Gonzalo Pérez Zaldívar

Salisford

Royal Salisfordian Army

3rd Brigade – Lieutenant General Antiamo Marchetti

147th Paratroopers Regiment – Colonel Giacomo Conte

3rd Parachute Infantry Battalion – Major Paolo Scalzo

7th Parachute Infantry Battalion – Major Barnaba Cusmano

4th Light Parachute Armored Battalion – Major Nicolò Magliozzi

42nd Infantry Regiment – Brigadier General Omar Bianchi

17th Savari Battalion – Colonel Marthese Benedetti

21st Ascari Battalion – Colonel Gaetano Falzon

37th Ascari Battalion – Colonel Antonino Saliba

41st Ascari Battalion – Colonel Arturo Zerafa

132nd Engineer Battalion – Lieutenant Colonel Furio Sala

103rd Artillery Battalion – Lieutenant Colonel Tristano Ferretti

75th Infantry Regiment – Brigadier General Renzo Testa

15th Hussar Battalion – Colonel Coreno Ciresi

22nd Infantry Battalion – Colonel Paolo Buono

51st Infantry Battalion – Colonel Carlo Terazzo

58th Infantry Battalion – Colonel Lorenzo Casella

107th Engineer Battalion – Lieutenant Colonel Salvatore Rosi

111st Artillery Battalion – Lieutenant Colonel Luca Pagono

4th Armored Regiment – Brigadier General Vincenzo Moretti

24th Dragoon Battalion – Colonel Matteo Neri

2nd Armored Battalion – Colonel Lucio Bertone

11th Mechanized Battalion – Colonel Edmondo Pisoni

18th Mechanized Battalion – Colonel Fabrizio Dito

109th Engineer Battalion – Lieutenant Colonel Ermilo Mattei

145th Support Battalion – Lieutenant Colonel Tito Arrese

2nd Fusilier Regiment – Brigadier General Ercole du Mazza

13th Cuirassier Battalion – Colonel Marco Storace

15th Fusilier Battalion – Colonel Pietro Gentile

25th Fusilier Battalion – Colonel Annibale Pastore

26th Fusilier Battalion – Colonel Massimo Lunati

101st Engineer Battalion – Lieutenant Colonel Michele Sala

115th Light Artillery Battalion – Lieutenant Colonel Gennaro Montagna

Royal Salisfordian Air Force

70th Attack Wing – Brigadier General Tommaso Costantini

70th Operations Group – Colonel Achille Palumbo

32nd Attack Squadron – Major Ottone Martino

36th Fighter Squadron – Major Stefano Caputo

51th Fighter Squadron – Captain Filippo Borroni

70th Maintenance Group – Lieutenant Colonel Beppe Bianco

70th Mission Support Group – Lieutenant Colonel Alessio Paoli

First phase

Operation Saulo

Main article: Operation Saulo

The capitol building of Guiraiso burning on 7 March 1962.

Operation Níspero

Main article: Operation Níspero

Operation Romero

Main article: Operation Romero

Operation Serpente

Main article: Operation Serpente

Operation Genesís 3:15

Main article: Operation Genesís 3:15

Operation Blasfemador

Main article: Operation Blasfemador

Inter-phase low-level fighting

Assassination of Sandro Neri

Main article: Assassination of Sandro Neri

Second phase

Operation Saúl

Main article: Operation Saúl

Creeperian soldiers near the Rubicon River in October 1968.

Operation Maximiliér

Main article: Operation Maximiliér

Late-war low-level fighting

Creeperian soldiers on patrol near San Paolo in mid-1971.

Peace agreement

Main article: Rubicon Agreement (1976)

See also

Creeperopolis portal Salisford portal Terraconserva portal

• Timeline of the Rubicon War
• List of wars involving Creeperopolis
• List of wars involving Salisford

Similar or related wars

• Castillianan Insurgency
• Great Surian War
• Surian Fishing War

References

Bibliography

Academic books and papers

• Pareja Palau, Orlando Óscar (1 May 2009). Written at San Romero, Creeperopolis. Գփերրա Ծիվիլ [Civil War]. History of the Fatherland (in Creeperian Spanish). I (2nd ed.). San Salvador, Creeperopolis: Impresión Creeperiano. ISBN 978-0-8330-4159-3. Retrieved 25 March 2022.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

Government official releases

News sources

• Castél e Riviéra, Joel Luís (4 March 1952). Fuentes Linares, Francisco Bernardo (ed.). "¡Lo Cap Separatista Castillan Assassinat a San Pablo!" [Castillianan Separatist Leader Assassinated in San Pablo!]. Tiempos de San Pablo (Newspaper) (in Castillianan). XXIII (64). San Pablo, San Pablo, Creeperopolis. p. 1. Retrieved 25 March 2022.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Poleti, Teodoro (9 June 1936). "Diplomatico castigliano arrestato!" [Castillianan Diplomat Arrested!]. Araldo di San Pablo (Newspaper) (in Salisfordian). XXXVII (161). San Paolo, San Paolo, Salisford. p. 2. Retrieved 26 March 2022.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

External links

• Media related to the Rubicon War at LCN Wiki