Editing History of the Succession Wars

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	Hoping to knock out the Combine as they had the Confederation, the Federated Commonwealth launched the [[War of 3039]] but were forced to back off when the Kuritans (with ComStar assistance) proved more formidable than expected.  Still, the expectation was that a new Succession War would begin as soon as the Federated Commonwealth sought to unite the Inner Sphere under one rule once more...until [[3049]] when the [[Clans]], the descendants of the SLDF exiles, launched their own [[Operation Revival|invasion]], touching off a new era in history.<ref name=MW2/>		Hoping to knock out the Combine as they had the Confederation, the Federated Commonwealth launched the [[War of 3039]] but were forced to back off when the Kuritans (with ComStar assistance) proved more formidable than expected.  Still, the expectation was that a new Succession War would begin as soon as the Federated Commonwealth sought to unite the Inner Sphere under one rule once more...until [[3049]] when the [[Clans]], the descendants of the SLDF exiles, launched their own [[Operation Revival|invasion]], touching off a new era in history.<ref name=MW2/>
		+
		+	==Dates==
		+	*Start Date - [[Start date::2786]]
		+	*End Date - [[End date::3030]]
	==References==		==References==

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The '''Succession Wars''' were one of the most devastating conflicts ever, engulfing the [[Inner Sphere]] in nearly constant fighting for three hundred years following the fall of the [[Star League]]. With the destruction of [[House Cameron]], the [[Successor States|five remaining Great Houses]] almost immediately started fighting each other over the position of [[First Lord]]. The devastation was unimaginable: untold numbers of casualties, hundreds of worlds rendered lifeless, and technological progress pushed back centuries as much of the knowledge humanity had gained in the preceding years became [[lostech]].<ref>''Shattered Sphere'', p. 7</ref><ref name=TRO3039>''Technical Readout: 3039'', p. 222</ref> ==Prelude== In the wake of the [[Star League Civil War]], the [[Star League High Council|High Council]] reconvened in the ruins of [[Unity City]] on 10 October [[2780]]. The bickering began almost immediately as, with the death of the Cameron line, the most pressing matter became determining who would assume the position of First Lord. One of the few things the Council Lords could agree on was the appointment of [[Jerome Blake]] as Minister of Communications to restore the League's communications network. The other was that [[Aleksandr Kerensky]], hero of the Civil War, would ''not'' become the next First Lord. On 18 October they formally stripped General Kerensky of his title as Protector of the Star League.<ref name=SL95>''The Star League'', p. 95</ref> For the next ten months the Council Lords attempted to convince their peers to elect them as the new First Lord; entire planets were up for sale as they haggled with each other to gain support for their claim. Realization eventually settled in that there could be no agreement on the matter, and finally a short statement was given to the media: "After long months of intense negotiations, we have reached an impasse on the question of who should become the next leader of the Star League. It is our opinion that the inability to find a new First Lord makes any further decision-making impossible. Therefore, we officially dissolve the High Council on this day, August 12, in the year [[2781]]".<ref name=SL95/> Although there was popular support for his seizing power, General Kerensky was determined to save the Star League, and for two years he shuttled between the leaders of the Great Houses in an attempt to get them to reconcile. The House Lords were unmoved though and began to massively buildup their militaries, recruiting even among [[Rim Worlds Republic]] prisoners. When the recruiters began soliciting [[Star League Defense Force]] units, General Kerensky decided there was only one way to save the spirit of the Star League. His plan, [[Operation Exodus]], saw himself and the vast bulk of the SLDF disappear from the Inner Sphere on 5 November [[2784]], never to be seen again.<ref>''The Star League'', pp. 96–97</ref> In the power vacuum which followed, the Great Houses began to seize worlds of the [[Terran Hegemony]] for themselves.<ref name=SW4>''Succession Wars'', p. 4</ref> ==First Succession War== When [[Coordinator]] [[Minoru Kurita (28th c.)|Minoru Kurita]] unilaterally declared himself the new First Lord in [[2786]], the other House Lords quickly followed suit, touching off the [[First Succession War]]. The Successor States invaded each other with their massive armies while Jerome Blake [[Operation Silver Shield|seized Terra himself]] to serve as the headquarters for the newly christened [[ComStar]]. The war would last for 35 years and become the single bloodiest conflict in human history: ignoring the [[Ares Conventions]], all sides made use of weapons of mass destruction, wiping out entire cities and rendering whole planets uninhabitable.<ref name=MW2>''MechWarrior, Second Edition'', pp. 111–113</ref><ref name=SW4>''Succession Wars'', p. 4</ref><ref name=BS14>''BattleSpace'', pp. 13–14</ref> When the war finally ground to a halt in [[2821]], it was more out of sheer exhaustion than anything else. None of the Successor States were any closer to their original goal, but the scale of the atrocities which had been committed meant none were willing to make a lasting peace either.<ref name=MW2/> The next few years were dedicated to rebuilding, but with their crippled infrastructure and the deaths of so many scientists and technicians the task was immense. Nine out of every ten [[WarShip]]s and nearly half of all [[JumpShip]]s had been destroyed during the war, but with the heavy targeting of the shipbuilding industry the ability to replace these losses was virtually nil.<ref name=SW4/><ref name=BS14/> ==Second Succession War== The [[Second Succession War]] began in [[2830]] when [[Jinjiro Kurita]] launched all-out offensives against the neighboring realms, provoked in part by ComStar secretly feeding information to the [[Lyran Commonwealth]].<ref name=CS23>''ComStar'', p. 23</ref> No less bloody than the first, the Second Succession War also ended inconclusively, grinding to a halt in [[2864]]. The technological decline brought about by the first war continued unabated: many worlds regressed to the level of [[twentieth-century]] Terra, if not further. Even for the few worlds which were able to stave off such a drastic regression, none could boast technology more advanced than what was available at the start of the [[Age of War]].<ref name=TRO3039/><ref name=SW4/> This decline was helped in no small part by ComStar itself, whose [[Operation Holy Shroud]] actively sought to destroy any knowledge which it didn't monopolize.<ref>''ComStar'', pp. 29–30</ref> Their ability to reproduce advanced computers, large fusion engines and other technological devices severely hampered, the Successor States took to cannibalizing existing equipment just to keep their current inventory of war machines operational.<ref name=MW2/> The last WarShips were lost in battle during the war, rendering the class extinct in the Inner Sphere. With a similar fate awaiting the few remaining JumpShips (and with them all hope of interstellar travel), an unwritten agreement was formed whereby these ships were now off limits in battle.<ref name=BS14/> Thanks to the [[Communications Protocol of 2787]], ComStar was able to preserve the [[hyperpulse generator]] network, though under Blake's successor [[Conrad Toyama]] their operation began to take on a quasi-mystical nature.<ref name=CS23/> ==Third Succession War== The [[Third Succession War]] began similarly to the second, with ComStar secretly supplying information to the Lyrans, thereby provoking [[Miyogi Kurita]] into attacking them.<ref>''ComStar'', p. 32</ref> Lasting from [[2866]] to [[3025]], the war was characterized by its low-intensity nature and the rise of neo-feudalistic traditions in all of the Successor States. An informal set of rules took hold as the Successor States realized the few remaining vital resources had to be protected. With JumpShips too precious to destroy, ground combat began to play a more prominent role, with aerospace forces taking on an increasingly supporting nature.<ref name=BS14/> Vital objectives like factories and cities were still fought over, but very rarely within them so as to avoid collateral damage. Battles, particularly between [[mercenary]] units, were conducted in stages to allow Techs to scavenge the battlefields while [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarriors]] were more willing to surrender to a superior force so they could pay their ransom and escape off-world. Meanwhile, the destruction from the two previous wars had made it more difficult for the Great House families to exert centralized control over their realms, forcing them to rely more and more on the [[nobility]] class to govern their state.<ref name=MW2/><ref name=SW4/> Towards the end of the war, and despite ComStar's best efforts, the Successor States had made small gains in recovering some of what had been lost over the last few centuries. However, the greatest development came in [[3028]] with the discovery of the [[Helm Memory Core]]. The unveiling of an intact Star League database brought with it the promise that humanity would be able to claw its way out of the darkness of the Succession Wars.<ref name=TRO3039/> ==Fourth Succession War== Lasting from [[3028]] to [[3030]] the [[Fourth Succession War]] was a short and brutal war between two emerging power blocs. Declared during the marriage of [[Hanse Davion]] and [[Melissa Steiner]], the Fourth Succession War was a conflict started by the newly formed [[Federated Commonwealth]] against the ComStar-sponsored [[Concord of Kapteyn]]. One of the few conflicts that had a clear winner, the Fourth Succession War saw the emergence of the new Federated Commonwealth as the most powerful nation since the original Star League. The [[Capellan Confederation]]'s territory and power was cut in half, with many of its former worlds under the control of the new FedCom alliance or forming part of the [[Tikonov Free Republic]] and [[St. Ives Compact]]. The Draconis Combine also lost a large number of worlds to Steiner forces, though it managed to capture a few Davion planets in recompense.<ref name=MW2/> ==Aftermath== The Federated Commonwealth dominated the Inner Sphere like no power before the start of the Succession Wars, but its creation did not lead to the end of the fighting. Seeking to create a buffer between it and the new superstate, the Combine allowed for the formation of the [[Free Rasalhague Republic]], an action which sparked the so-called [[Ronin War]]. The [[Duchy of Andurien]], hoping to take advantage of a mortal enemy in its weakened state, seceded from the [[Free Worlds League]] and launched an invasion of the Confederation; the [[Andurien Crisis]] finally ended with Andurien being forcibly returned to the League.<ref name=MW2/> Hoping to knock out the Combine as they had the Confederation, the Federated Commonwealth launched the [[War of 3039]] but were forced to back off when the Kuritans (with ComStar assistance) proved more formidable than expected. Still, the expectation was that a new Succession War would begin as soon as the Federated Commonwealth sought to unite the Inner Sphere under one rule once more...until [[3049]] when the [[Clans]], the descendants of the SLDF exiles, launched their own [[Operation Revival|invasion]], touching off a new era in history.<ref name=MW2/> ==Dates== *Start Date - [[Start date::2786]] *End Date - [[End date::3030]] ==References== <references/> ==Bibliography== * ''[[House Davion (The Federated Suns)]]'' * ''[[House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)]]'' * ''[[House Liao (The Capellan Confederation)]]'' * ''[[House Marik (The Free Worlds League)]]'' * ''[[House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)]]'' * ''[[Shattered Sphere]]'' [[Category:History|Succession Wars, History of]] [[Category:Wars]]

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