Fifth Scourge

"Oh, shit, Rats!" --Sgt Woodley, No. 17 Grenadiers, Battle of Lyon, 834AW.

The Fifth Scourge was the fifth in a series of invasions launched by the united clans of the House of Jerod. It is commonly considered to have begun in 834AW, though some sources cite the Y'sstok Incursion in 832AW to be the start. Including the Y'sstok Incursion in its history, it began with a Jerodian assault through the Southern Pass into the Feline Sultanate in the winter if 832, and ended with the fragmentation of the Jerodian invasion forces in 840 following the breaking of the siege of Tahad, Lupinia.

The Jerodians had a far superior number of forces compared to their foe for the vast majority of battles fought throughout the war. Some estimates place twenty million mobilized soldiers, aviators, sailors, and irregulars acting on behalf of the House of Jerod, with far fewer, roughly seven million total, between the combined strengths of the Sultanate, Union, Lupinia, and other regional powers. This was also the first Scourge conducted utilizing mechanized military equipment, which propelled the armies of the House of Jerod far further north than ever before. Extensive spy and sabotage operations were carried out all throughout the region by Jerodian agents and associated terrorist organizations, made more effective by mass media to communicate their messages, and modern electronic communications to coordinate their efforts. This war would claim more lives than any in the region's history; by some estimates there were as many as sixty million military and civilian fatalities.

(more to come)