The Kresimirian Unification War (1918–1921) was a foundational civil and secessionist conflict fought in the aftermath of the collapse of the Vosti Empire. The war was waged between the Centralist Faction, which sought to create a unified, independent Kresimirian state based on the Sanctian Church, and the Eastern Pravoslavic Confederacy, which aimed to unite the southern, Pravoslavic-majority territories with the newly independent Boskenmark.
The conflict, often described as the “War of Brothers,” ended in a decisive Centralist victory. It led to the formation of the Divine Republic of Kresimiria and the controversial incorporation of the Bosken-majority district of Moraviskameja into the new state, setting the stage for a century of ethnic tension and insurgency.
Background
For centuries, the lands of Kresimiria and Boskenmark were subject states within the vast, multi-ethnic Vosti Empire. While the Empire enforced a political peace, a deep cultural fissure existed. The northern and central duchies (modern Kresimiria) adhered to the Sanctian Church (the precursor to Kresimirianism), while the southern provinces adhered to the Pravoslavic Faith.
In October 1918, facing economic exhaustion from the Continental War and widespread mutinies, the Vosti central government in Vost collapsed. The abdication of the Emperor created an immediate power vacuum.
The November Decrees
On November 14, 1918, a group of Kresimirian intellectuals and officers gathered in Sinj. Led by Filip Novak, they formed the Revolutionary People’s Council and issued the “November Decrees,” declaring a unified, sovereign Republic over all former Vosti territories north of the River Brod.
Simultaneously, local leaders in the south, fearing religious persecution by the Sanctian majority, declared the formation of the Eastern Pravoslavic Confederacy in Sprodvice. They petitioned the newly independent state of Boskenmark for protection and eventual annexation.
Phase I: The Vacuum (1918–1919)
Securing the Capital
The war began not on the battlefield, but in the barracks. General Dominik Loncar, the highest-ranking Kresimirian officer in the Imperial Army, sided with Novak’s Council. In the Battle of the Kambel Bridges (December 1918), Loncar’s loyalists purged Vosti imperial remnants from Sinj, securing the city as the Centralist headquarters.
The Northern Compromise
The Centralists faced a strategic nightmare: they were surrounded. While the Confederacy mobilized in the south, the northern miners of Severnivaraje were organizing under the radical trade unionist Igor Marlek.
To avoid a two-front war, Filip Novak negotiated the Bistrica Armistice with the northern landowner Antonio Iric. In exchange for promises of regional autonomy (which would later be formalized as “District status”), Iric’s Bistrice People’s Party kept the north neutral, allowing Loncar to focus his army entirely on the south.
The Battle for the Tracks
In mid-1919, the conflict centered on the industrial hub of Novi Otonik. Control of the city’s steel mills and rail yards was essential. Financed by the merchant Luka Matar, Centralist militias seized the city in the Battle of the Iron Tracks, cutting off the Confederacy from the northern coal supplies.
Phase II: The Siege of Ravna Skrad (1920)
By 1920, the war had stalemated along the “Faith Line” in central Kresimiria. The Confederacy held the critical city of Ravna Skrad, the gateway to the southern plains.
In the winter of 1920, General Loncar launched his most ambitious offensive. Centralist forces encircled Ravna Skrad, trapping 15,000 Confederate defenders under General Falko Kiesewetter. The Siege of Ravna Skrad lasted six months. It was a brutal campaign of attrition, characterized by trench warfare and artillery duels.
The city fell in February 1921. The Centralist victory broke the back of the Confederate army. General Pevic committed suicide rather than surrender, and the road to the south lay open.
Phase III: The Southern Campaign (1921)
Operation Divine Wrath
Following the fall of Ravna Skrad, the conflict shifted to the Bosken heartland of Moraviskameja. The Revolutionary People’s Council, influenced by the hardline theology of Kresimir Basic, declared the campaign a “holy necessity.”
As Centralist troops advanced, Bosken resistance morphed into guerrilla warfare. It was during this phase that a young captain named Lev Ruka rose to prominence, organizing the “Black Brigades” to harass Loncar’s supply lines.
Boskenmark Intervenes
Facing total defeat, the Confederacy invoked a secret defense pact with Boskenmark. In March 1921, Boskenmark regular troops crossed the River Brod, officially entering the war. This escalation threatened to turn the civil war into a regional conflagration.
The Battle of the Brod Ford (May 1921)
The decisive engagement took place at the Battle of the Brod Ford near Brod Moravice. General Loncar, utilizing superior artillery manufactured in Novi Otonik and intelligence provided by Marin Muller (a local Kresimirian loyalist), outmaneuvered the combined Confederate-Boskenmark force.
The Boskenmark army, fearing encirclement and domestic unrest at home, retreated across the river on May 20, 1921, effectively abandoning the Confederacy to its fate.
Aftermath and Legacy
On May 27, 1921, the Treaty of Sinj was signed, formally ending the war. The Divine Republic of Kresimiria was proclaimed, and the Constitution was ratified.
The “Moraviskameja Question”
The victory had severe consequences for the southern population.
- Annexation: Moraviskameja was forcibly incorporated into the Republic as District X.
- Disenfranchisement: The 1921 Constitution included the Faith Restriction Clause, which stripped the voting rights of the Pravoslavic Bosken majority, effectively rendering them subjects rather than citizens.
- Insurgency: Refusing to accept the defeat, Lev Ruka and the remnants of the Black Brigades went underground, forming BRC-21 in November 1921.
The Iron Era
The war militarized Kresimirian society. The fear of a “second secession” justified the authoritarian policies of the RPP and the creation of the Council for Internal Affairs, leading directly to the “Iron Era” of the mid-20th century.
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Retrospective Updates
For the Siege of Ravna Skrad article (to be created):
Context: The siege was the turning point of the Unification War. Lasting through the winter of 1920, the Centralist victory under General Loncar destroyed the main field army of the Eastern Pravoslavic Confederacy, allowing Kresimirian forces to push south into Moraviskameja.
For the Dominik Loncar article:
Update to “Kresimirian Unification War”: Loncar’s military genius was the deciding factor in the war. His victory at the Siege of Ravna Skrad and his tactical defeat of the Boskenmark intervention force at the Battle of the Brod Ford cemented his status as the “Sword of the Republic.”
For the Lev Ruka article:
Update to “Early Life and Unification War”: During the final collapse of the Confederacy in 1921, Ruka commanded the “Black Brigades,” a guerrilla unit that covered the retreat of Bosken civilians. His refusal to surrender after the Battle of the Brod Ford marked the transition from conventional war to the insurgency that would define his life.
For the Boskenmark article:
Update to “History”: In 1921, Boskenmark intervened directly in the Kresimirian Unification War in an attempt to annex Moraviskameja. The defeat of its expeditionary force at the Battle of the Brod Ford forced a humiliating withdrawal, poisoning diplomatic relations with Kresimiria for the next century.
For the Antonio Iric article:
Update to “Political Career”: During the Unification War, Iric negotiated the Bistrica Armistice with Filip Novak. By keeping the northern districts neutral and preventing a miner’s uprising, Iric allowed the Centralist army to focus its attention south, though he would later clash with Novak over the centralization that followed the victory.