University Records: Examination of conflict (Public Information)

[University Of Cambridge]

University of Cambridge press

Date: 23/06/825 A.S.

Subject: Rheinland-Liberty Conflict

History of Sirius-Examination of conflict

Written for the University of Cambridge's School of History-Dr Amendo Lopez
This essay is public information to be read at leisure. It remains the Intellectual property of the author and the University. Please reference accordingly.

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Introduction

The Rheinland Liberty conflict is one of the more recent conflicts in the history of Sirius. The causes and motivations of this conflict have very few academic examinations and explanations as to how and why the conflict began and fewer still on the social and political aftermath. This report is an attempt to provide a critical examination of the Rheinland-Liberty conflict and to provide an academic assessment of the buildup of hostilities and it's aftermath.

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Origins and theories

The Origins of the conflict are still shrouded in rumor and secrecy, and few details of the political landscape at the start of the war can be obtained. What we do know is that following the events of the Nomad war, Rheinland leveled accusations against Liberty over experiments on Aliens and/or alien related materials. The validity of these accusations has yet to be verified and the question of how Rheinland came to acquire such information has yet to be answered. Rheinland thus, incurred the ire of Liberty who promptly denied the accusations and returned them. Unsurprisingly, Rheinland denied the accusations as well. The relationship between the two houses, which has always been tense, declined even further and a brief but tense cold war began.

However, in order to fully understand the events of the above, we must further examine the relationship between Rheinland and Liberty. Rheinland has been, for roughly a century, in debt to various Liberty corporations, but primarily Inter-space commerce and Synth foods, which the Rheinland public has never fully accepted, which can be seen through the formation of the Landwirtrechtbewegung (LWB) which has constantly attacked vessels and assets belonging to the Liberty food giant. Following the events of the 80 years war and the Nomad conflict Rheinland's economy was a shadow of it's former self and it's relationship with the other houses had been severely damaged. Therefore the new accusations thrown at Liberty caused an uproar within congress and on the second of January 818 A.S, Liberty declared war on Rheinland.

There are various theories on the ulterior motives of the causes of the conflict, the most prominent being that for both houses it was an attempted 'land grab'. For Rheinland, the conflict offered a chance of both redemption and prosperity, a chance to show the rest of Sirius that Rheinland was free of infection and doing it's utmost to see to the removal of all traces nomadic infection as well as showing the other houses and indeed it's own people it's renewed Military and economic might. By going to war with Liberty, Rheinland may have been attempting to seize Planet Atka and thus ensure at least part of Rheinland's economic future. Liberty, in contrast, may have been attempting to do a similar thing, by repulsing a Rheinlandic attack and then launching an invasion, Liberty could well have ensured that Rheinland stayed under the heel of a Libertonian economic monopoly. A weak Rheinland is seemingly in the best interests of Liberty as it guarantees a market for Libertonian goods and a stable, predictable border.

Another theory (which has widely been dismissed as a conspiracy theory) is that the War was orchestrated by the Nomads themselves, in order to ensure that both houses remained weakened and thus more susceptible to increased alien influence with little means of defence. This theory has, as mentioned, been dismissed by most politicians, academics and researchers as a conspiracy due to a lack of empirical evidence. However, the general concept of the idea, (to ensure the weakness of both houses) is one that ought to be examined. With both houses weakened by a prolonged war, corruption, dissent and crime would rise and the influence of various criminal organisations would be cemented. One may also examine the wider context of Sirius, with Bretonia engaged in the Tau conflict with the Empire of Kusari, a weak Liberty would be unable to fully support it's ally and Rheinland would indirectly aid Kusari by undermining Bretonia's primary supplier and traditional ally. This theory is supported partly by the relationship Rheinland has had with Kusari due to Rheinland's dependence on H-fuel and the negative Rheinlandic option of the Gas Miners Guild (GMG).

Finally, the last theory is that the Liberty-Rheinland conflict was the result of a prolonged cold war between the two houses that may have stemmed from the destruction of Freeport-7, the destruction of the RNC-Donau and the death of Admiral Otto Schultzky in New York. Rheinland's attempt to expand it's influence had been met with a negative response in Liberty and the deaths of 2600 civilians (who were citizens from all four houses) required an answer in Liberty's courts. Rheinland, with it's increasing interest in the Sigma region, became the most likely suspect. Admiral Schultzky's death in Liberty therefore could well have provoked a cold war between the two houses that may have only increased tensions over the years and therefore could be used as one possible explanation of the later conflict.

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Aftermath

The aftermath of the Liberty-Rheinland conflict resulted in disaster for Rheinland. With it's economy in ruins and it's military once again weakened by war, Rheinland fell back from Liberty and looked to expand elsewhere. During the course of the war and it's immediate aftermath, the various criminal groups in Rheinland had expanded their influence, the Red Hessians gained ground in the Omegas and the Unioners and DWR saw an influx of support from their grassroots organisations. Anti-Liberty sentiment was high, particularly from the working class, but from all segments of Rheinlandic society as well. Even though the war ended some years ago, Rheinland still has not recovered and Liberty's influence only grew in Rheinland as materials and credits were needed to rebuild once more. Liberty on the other hand prospered economically, the war called for an influx of new ships and a number of new factories opened to meet the demand. The unemployment level dropped and, due to the increased number of naval craft and pilots, crime fell, or at least criminals made more of an effort to hide what they were doing. The War restored some faith in the 'Libertonian Dream' and it incidentally provided much needed experience to Libertonian pilots for the next conflict with Gallia and the surplus of military craft was later sold to Bretonia for further financial gain.

The long term consequences of the war for Rheinland are yet to be seen, and many documents and actions conducted by both sides remain classified. Rheinland's destruction of the Bering gate left the system under increased Liberty influence, but has since fallen under the control of pirates and other undesirables. The sole remaining connection between Rheinland and Liberty remains heavily militarized and controlled by both sides and Rheinland stands on the verge of a major financial meltdown if it's other ventures fall. One observation of the war is that the Rheinland fleets fought very effectively against the Liberty Navy and thus gained a number of tactical victories over Liberty, but ultimately failed to acquire any major strategic victories. The question of what is next for Rheinland remains unanswered, but it is fair to say that Rheinland simply cannot afford to make any more mistakes on the level of the Liberty-Rheinland conflict, lest she falls completely into ruin.

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Dr Amendo Lopez
School of History
University of Cambridge

Acknowledgements

Mister Andrew Harper (Editor)

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