Essexo-Hudson War

Essexo-Hudson War
Date 30 May 2019 - Present Location Essexia; Dronfield, UK Result Ongoing (Stalemate)
Belligerents
Essexians Commonwealth of Essexia IAE IEN Fröhlichwaffe (Until 19 June 2019)	Hudsons Morgan Hudson Jill Hudson Darren Hudson Bruno the dog Kiera Bridget (Until mid-2019)
Commanders and leaders
Essexian Leaders Emperor Terry of Essexia General Lord Matthew General Lord Jacob Fleet Admiral Earl Jack Minister of Defence Crown Minister Summers	Hudson leaders Field Marshall Morgan Hudson General Jill Hudson Admiral Darren Hudson General Bruno the dog Admiral Kiera Bridget (Until mid-2019)
Strength
23 7 People 1 Person + 10 Ships 2 3 aircraft Total: 10 People, 10 Ships and 3 Aircraft	5 5 People (4 by late 2019) Total: 5 People

The Essexo-Hudson War, also referred to as the Morgz Crusade, is an ongoing conflict involving the Commonwealth of Essexia and the online coalition of Morgz. It began on the 30th May 2019, and is currently in a stalemate.

History

The Nation of Essexia had long held prejudices against the Hudsons, despising their success and growing numbers. By the time they had amassed 10 Million supporters, the Emperor had lost all will to continue pointless diplomacy; He brought the nation into it's first conflict outside of Essexia.

Declaration of War

On the afternoon of the 30th May 2019, Emperor Terry emphatically announced that "THE ESSEXIAN GOVERNMENT HAS DECIDED TO DECLARE MORGAN "MORGZ" HUDSON AND HIS DEPUTY GILL "MORGZ'S MUM" HUDSON, AS ENEMIES OF THE STATE, TO BE PROSECUTED BY THE ESSEXIAN MILITARY COURT. AS OF 23:34, ESSEXIA IS AT WAR WITH THE MORGZ EMPIRE AND HER ALLIES."

It should be noted that this declaration was from the Emperor, and not the Parliament of Essexia. Regardless, the nation was in a state of conflict, and began preparations for battle.

Initial Victories

In the beginning, the Hudson's were seen as winning due to their growing number of supporters. However, these initial gains were reversed by the rapid mobilisation of the Essexian armed forces; With the exception of the BTS-01 Muncey Trapezoid-class Battleship, which entered service on the 17th June, the entire Essexian fleet had been in service by the time war was declared. During this time, the number of ships in service was at its peak, with Essexia boasting the 93rd largest fleet in the world by number of ships (According to period-accurate estimates); Therefore it took mere days for the entire Imperial fleet to be battle-ready. Furthermore, the entire air force had also been in service by this time with the Fröhlichwaffe (However these aircraft were transferred to the Imperial Essexian Navy on the 19th June) and were also quickly mobilised. The Imperial Army of Essexia took around two weeks to mobilise, but with the Sandon military parade just weeks prior to the outbreak of hostilities on the 10th May, the IAE were fully reinforced, and prepared for war.

Naval and air operations secured air and naval superiority in the skies and waters of Essexia relatively quickly, and the army have maintained control of the nation's territory throughout the conflict. This is due to the rapid mobilisation as stated above.

Although the Hudon's war support and support base continued, and continues, to grow, the sheer might of Essexia's armed forces prevented any battle from taking place, preemptively stopping any such actions before they could start.

Stalemate

By June, neither side had met in battle, and to this day no battles have been fought in the war. Consequently, a stalemate ensued, and continues to this day.

Renewed Commitment

Lord Matthew reminded the nation on the 26th February 2020 that Essexia was still at war with the Hudsons. Lord Jacob, as ex-Minister of Defence, claimed that the nation had devoted "600,000 unproductive minutes" to the task of counter-insurgency, however he also ended with a statement that "the deployment of only another 200,000 we might see some real progress in pacification and the hearts and minds of the locals." Current Minister of Defence Summers also jumped in, adding that "we slowly but surely are winning in a war of attrition." When the Emperor inquired how are"the Expeditionary forces to WillNE preforming?", Summers explained that "Expertly, with extra logistics and forces, willine and pyro will be able to deliver a critical blow to Morgz’s mums industry and ego." Earl Jack finished the discussion with "We are winning the people's hearts and minds and patreons", but this statement has been widely debated as untruthful, and reminiscent of US President Lyndon B. Johnson's false remarks on winning the Vietnam war in the 1960s.

Criticisms

On the 27th May 2019, Lord Jamie had won Essexia's first General Election in a landslide. However, as a reformist liberal, he was somewhat opposed to the war, but not against the cause. He, like the vast majority of Essexians, despised the Hudson community and sought to prevent them from posing a threat to Essexia, however he aimed to do this peacefully and diplomatically. Therefore, at the outbreak of war, he did not instruct the armed forces to act. Rather, this was commanded so by the leaders of the armed forces, and the Emperor himself. Consequently, some have argued that Essexia didn't act quickly enough, whilst others claim that Lord Jamie's non-involvement was the correct decision, due to the sudden and spontaneous characteristic of the conflict.

Furthermore, due to the IEN and Fröhlichwaffe's ineffective vehicles, due to their light-weight, albeit flimsy, designs, many have questioned the necessity of these branches of the armed forces. One consequence of this was the dissolution of the air force, officially to reduce bureaucratic burden.