The Hundred Days War

The Hundred Days War (実録・百日戦役, jitsuroku: hyakunichi sen'eki) is a book that can be found in. Joshua Bright gives it to Estelle Bright at the night of their stay in the Kingfisher Inn near Ruan's Valleria Lakeshore during.

It is also available in the in a bookshelf in the Hermit's Garden after interacting with it during  part 2.

English= [The Hundred Days War]


 * 

In spring, 1192 of the Septian Calendar, a single cannon-shot shook the Haken Gate, situated in the northern part of the Liberl Kingdom. This marked the beginning of an invasion later known as the Hundred Days War, and the moment in which the raging golden stallion assailed the noble white falcon.

During this time, the Haken Gate was little more than a reinforced medieval rampart. It easily succumbed to the round fired by one of the Empire's Reinford Company-built orbal tanks, leaving a section of the aged barrier fractured beyond repair.

And as the Liberl Kingdom's other defensive walls were hit in succession by a fusillade of cannonballs, they too fell under the explosive impact and were reduced to a mountain of rubble.


 * 

At about the same time that the first cannon-shot was fired, a single letter from the Erebonian embassy located in the Royal City was delivered to Queen Alicia. More specifically, it was a writ containing a declaration of war by the Erebonian Empire upon the Liberl Kingdom.

In terms of diplomatic wisdom, the propriety of the declaration was established by being handled prior to the preemptive strike, but in this instance, there was hardly a difference in time between when the two occurred. In short, firing the first shot at the exact moment war was declared on the Liberl Kingdom made it possible for the Erebonian Empire to guise their preemptive strike as one of legitimacy when the first bombshell hit. This could be referred to as a new diplomatic war tactic, though one incapable of being employed without a meticulous level of planning used in concert with an orbal communication system.
 * 

After the destruction of the Haken Gate, the Imperial Army began its invasion of Liberl in earnest. Overall its troop strength was made up of thirteen divisional units. This proved to be roughly half of the Empire's entire military force, and was such a massive deployment that it exceeded three times that of Liberl's entire Royal Army.

Within a month after the outbreak of war, the Imperial Army had occupied nearly all of the Liberl territory. Only the Grancel region and Leiston Fortress, situated just off the shore of Valleria Lake, remained in opposition. So rapidly were these blitz tactics carried out that even the Calvard Republic, an ally of the Liberl Kingdom and long-time rival of the Erebonian Empire, never had the opportunity to dispatch auxiliary forces to aid its partner.

However, in a following attempt by the Imperial Army to take direct control over the Zeiss Central Factory and Malga Mine, they instead found themselves on the verge of being forced to surrender to Queen Alicia, who remained entrenched within the Royal City.
 * 

Two months following the outbreak of war, the battle situation was altered in a way which no one could have previously anticipated.

Unbeknownst to the Erebonian army, three patrol ships were quietly being developed behind the walls of Leiston Fortress. Upon completion, they were put under the direction of veteran commander, General Morgan, and a large scale counterattack was launched.

These patrol ships, shielded by armor far superior to the tanks of their imperial counterparts and mounted with a substantial amount of high-performance orbal weaponry, had also managed to boost their speed to over 1800 selge per hour. Using these crafts-- an independent mobile force lauded as the elite of elite-- Liberl's forces mounted an attack and quickly recaptured the checkpoints connecting the various regions. And as this strike was underway, they simultaneously launched an amphibious attack from Leiston Fortress and, one by one, defeated the remaining isolated imperial divisions.
 * 

After just three months following the outbreak of war, the larger part of the Imperial Army's remaining divisions finally surrendered. However, as capitulation was at hand, there were indications of a surge of further reinforcements from the imperial homeland-- a move which galvanized other continental nations to follow suit and join the Calvard Republic in supporting Liberl. Together they lambasted the Empire, and a formidable group of allied forces began to materialize.

Amidst all the chaos the Septian Church, in cooperation with the Bracer Guild, called for an armistice, and after approximately one hundred days from the start of the war the hostilities came to an end. In the following year of 1193, in the Erbe Royal Villa on the outskirts of the Royal City, a peace treaty was signed by both the Liberl and Erebonian sides. Although no indemnification was made, an official apology was offered up by the imperial government as they expressed that they had, '...made a grievous error attributed to a tragic incident occurring within (their) borders.'
 * -|Japanese= 『実録・百日戦役』


 * ＜開戦＞

七耀暦１１９２年春、一発の砲弾がリベール王国の北部に位置するハーケン門を揺るがした. 後に『百日戦役』と呼ばれる侵略戦争の始まりであり、猛き黄金の軍馬が白き隼に襲いかかった瞬間であった.

当時のハーケン門は、中世の城壁を補強しただけのものでしかなく、帝国ラインフォルト社製の導力戦車から放たれた導力弾は易々と城壁の一部を粉砕した. そして王国の防壁は、続けざまに浴びせられた砲弾の雨によって瓦礫の山と化したのである.


 * ＜宣戦布告＞

実は最初の砲弾とほぼ同時に、王都グランセルにある帝国大使館から、一通の書状がグランセル城のアリシア女王の元に届けられていた. すなわちエレボニア帝国によるリベール王国への宣戦布告文書である.

外交通念からすると、宣戦布告の正当性は「先制攻撃前に行う」ことで確立されるが、この場合の時間差は瞬きをする程度のものしかない. つまり砲弾発射と同時に宣戦布告を行い、その着弾をもって先制攻撃とするという巧妙な正当化が行われたのである. それは導力通信を利用した綿密な連携なくしては成立しえない新たな外交戦術ともいえた.


 * ＜電撃作戦＞

ハーケン門を文字通り粉砕した帝国軍は、そのままリベール領土の侵略を開始した. 総兵力１３個師団. これは全帝国軍の半数近くにして、王国軍の３倍近い規模に及ぶ大兵団である.

開戦からわずか１ヶ月で、帝国軍はグランセル地方とヴァレリア湖上のレイストン要塞を除く全王国領土を占領する. 王国の親しい隣人で、帝国と長年に渡って対立してきたカルバード共和国も、迅速極まる電撃作戦の前に援軍を派遣する機会を逸してしまう.

そして帝国軍は、ツァイス中央工房やマルガ鉱山を接収しつつ、王都の女王に降伏を迫るのであった.


 * ＜反攻作戦＞

開戦から２ヶ月後、誰もが予想しなかった形で戦局が変化することになる. ３隻の軍用警備艇がレイストン要塞内で開発され、宿将モルガン将軍の指揮の元、大規模な反攻作戦が実行されたのである.

戦車をはるかに上回る重装甲と、高性能の導力兵器を大量に搭載しながら、時速１８００セルジュもの機動性を実現した警備艇──これを使って精鋭中の精鋭と謳われた独立機動部隊が地方間を結ぶ関所を奪還した. そして王国軍の総兵力がレイストン要塞から水上艇で出撃し、各地方で孤立した帝国軍師団を各個撃破したのである.


 * ＜終戦＞

開戦から３ヶ月後、各地で抵抗を続けていた帝国軍師団の大部分は降伏した. 帝国本土から更なる増援の動きも見られたが、ここに至ってカルバード共和国を中心に大陸諸国がこぞって帝国への非難声明を出し、援軍派遣の動きが具体化していった. そんな中、七耀教会と遊撃士協会が協同で停戦を呼びかけ、開戦からおよそ百日ほどで戦争は終結した.

翌１１９３年、王都郊外のエルベ離宮でリベール＝エレボニア間の講和条約が結ばれた. 賠償金は支払われなかったが、「不幸な誤解から生じた過ち」という表現で、帝国政府から正式な謝罪声明が出された.