Saguenay War (1983: Doomsday)

The 2009 Saguenay War is a conflict in North America primarily between and, but it has drawn in other nations from North America and Europe as well.

Background
The background of the war can be traced back to 1759. In that year, invading British troops took control of the French colony of Nouvelle-France. Under them, it became known as Quebec after its capital city.

Since this day, some Quebecois, as they were called, wished to be independent of Britain, and later Canada. Their influence was particularly strong in the Saguenay region of Quebec. This resulted in the FLQ (Front du liberation du Québec) terrorist attacks in the seventies. In 1980, an referendum on Quebec independence failed. The independence movement, however, did not give up.

A chance to free themselves manifested itself in the aftermath of, in 1983. With the destruction of Ottawa, the capital, and of the provincial capital of Quebec City, surviving politicians from the Saguenay region took charge and declared independence, blaming 's NATO membership for the targeting of Quebec City and Montreal by the Soviets.

Since 1984, has had contact with the Canadian Remainder Provinces, which considers them as part of Canada along with the rest of their former country. Because of Canadian dominance in the region and international participation, Saguenay remained unrecognized by all countries save one; the American survivor nation based in former Michigan's upper peninsula,, who recognized a kindred spirit when it saw one.

Though Saguenay remained unrecognized by Canada, under Canadian Prime Minister Jacques Ducharme relations began improving, and for a while, the most optimistic believed peaceful reintegration to be possible. But, in 2001, when Canada reinforced the Gaspé peninsula in order to prevent raids by bandits in the St. Lawrence area, Saguenay took this as a threat, and relations quickly deteriorated once again.

Conditions seemed perfect for a war; all that was needed was a spark. This spark came in the assassination of Saguenay's Prime Minister Stéphan Tremblay on September 9, 2009, by a radical element of one of Canada's political parties. War was declared the next day by Saguenay. Calls for peace by the were ignored and on September 10, Saguenay announced over radio that there was a state of war between Canada and Saguenay. The Celtic Alliance and the other members of the ADC quickly began to mobilize in support of the Canadians.

After a quick debate, however, the government of the Republic of Superior, an American survivor state in the upper peninsula of Michigan with a long-standing dispute with Canada, declared war on Canada in support of Saguenay on September 15th and began to move troops into the area.

Active stages of the war
Fighting officially began on September 12 when Canadian forces were able to repel a small force of the Army of Saguenay intruding on Canadian territory near the town of Forestville, Quebec. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Jacques Ducharme urged the Canadian people to be calm during the crisis and also announced that Canadian military recruitment levels would be dramatically increased. Reports had already showed an upswing in volunteers for the Canadian military by that point.

Northern Front
The fighting first began on the western front, which is the northern part of the province of Quebec as well as the south of the province of Nouveau-Quebec. The fighting here has so far consisted of raids and skirmishes, not large armies intent on conquering. Saguenay forces have attacked several power plants in the area, causing disturbances in production and commerce in the region. Canada and the Celtic Alliance have begun air raids on Saguenay, disrupting them as well. The land fighting had largely ended by December due to the onset of winter.

In March Canadian troops began moving on Saguenay positions, and during this month many small skirmishes were fought in the region, causing much devastation.

Southern Front
The eastern front consists mainly of the Gaspe peninsula, originally a Canadian region, but occupied by Saguenay during the majority of the war.

On September 13, Saguenay troops launched a surprise amphibious assault on the fortified Gaspe peninsula. The Canadians were not prepared for an attack on the peninsula, as it is far away compared to nearer targets in North Quebec and Nouveau-Quebec. The Canadian navy started scrambling to find the secret Saguenay naval base that must have been in the area. Some analysts believe that Saguenay is working with the criminal warlords collectively known as the, based around the nearby St. Lawrence River. This is mainly due to the fact that reinforcements from Superior have been able to get through, despite the lack of another route. However, allegations of this kind have been around since Canada first began investigating the raiders.

A Canadian counterattack against the invading Saguenay forces near the town of Cap-Chat, Quebec, failed on September 15. This failed counterattack was the point at which public opinion turned against the Liberal Party and their leader, Jacques Ducharme, for good.

On September 17, Saguenay's blitz through Gaspesie ended. The entire peninsula is now under Saguenay occupation, and reports seem to suggest that they are trying to get the culturally-similar population of the peninsula to help them. Saguenay and Superior have now established a state in the former Gaspe peninsula called the, though this is viewed as a puppet state by Canada and the local resistance.

From this time until early December, there have been regular border skirmishes in this region, with only one real large-scale battle. On November 23, Canadian forces attempted one last time before winter to retake the Gaspe peninsula, this time attacking the town of Trois-Pistoles on the southern bank of the St. Lawrence River. The army, having covertly traveled along the southern border of occupied Gaspe, turned towards the river and attacked the Saguenay/Superior garrison. Their plan was to attack the end of the occupied region where there were fewer soldiers. However, their plan went awry as a regiment of Superiorian soldiers had just arrived in the city the day before, and were deployed to repel the Canadians. Only a third of the Canadian army which attacked Trois-Pistoles got back to New Brunswick. The rest were either killed, captured, or separated from the army.

With the coming of winter and the Saguenay success at Trois-Pistoles, border skirmishes slowed down and stopped, as both sides prepared for winter and for a renewed offensive in the spring. At this point, the Celtic Alliance deployed an armoured brigade equipped with the latest Challenger One MBTs, along with No.11 squadron of the CADF. A battalion from the CANI was also deployed. The Nordic Union deployed a squadron of the latest Saab Gripens, which proved to be a vital asset as the most advanced aircraft in the conflict. An Infantry battalion was deployed as well. Other countries in the ADC made token deployments, with Corisca sending a medical unit. All these forces fought under ADC command. North Pennsylvania announced to Canada they were going to break their neutrality and meet up with the ADC Forces throughout late January and Febuary.

This offensive here began in late February. Canadian ranks were swelled by the soldiers conscripted back in late autumn, and trained during the winter months. At this time they were met up with 2,000 more soldiers from the ranks of North Pennsylvania and the Niagaran Mercinariness Force who had been blockading routes to Superior and crushing the Lawrence Raiders throughout the rest of Quebec and Ontario. The opposing Saguenay and Superior forces, though largely cut off from their countries by the harsh winter weather, were nevertheless no pushovers. The first major battle took place during the night of February 25 to February 26 in Paspébiac, lasting about six hours. The joint Celtic Alliance/Nordic Union/Canadian/Pennsylvanain offensive forces were victorious. In the following month, it slowly became clear that Saguenay could not hold the peninsula. Canadian troops arrived at the city of Gaspé on March 14, and the capture of it was the next major battle. Finally, on the 12th of April, as the Canadian army approached a large Saguenay/Superior force in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, a Saguenay envoy offered to begin peace talks, and implied that they might accept returning Gaspésie to Canada.

Naval Conflict
Naval conflicts in the war have been limited, mainly by the lack of ships, especially by Saguenay. Canada originally thought that Saguenay had no naval forces. However, their navy was used to attack the Gaspe peninsula, giving the Saguenay a tactial advantage. Canada found Saguenay's naval base on the 18th of October, and destroyed the base. During the bulk of the war any Saguenay ships came from the occupied Gaspe peninsula, and Superior ships had to travel all the way from the Great Lakes. Some battles were fought in the St. Lawrence River, and a few in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. However, Saguenay forces were often less powerful, and thus normally attempted to flee rather than fight. A CNDF battle group was deployed as well.

Air Forces
As at sea, Canada has superior air forces. Saguenay's small air force consists mostly of Superior equipment, as well as some airplanes in the region at Doomsday, converted to military use. Canada's air force has fought in the first battles of the war, however since part of it was being transferred to the northern front even before the war, it did not affect Saguenay's advance into Gaspesie so much. The Celtic Alliance has also used their air forces to attack Saguenay. The RSAF deployed a squadron of Saab Grippens, these becoming the most advanced fighters in the North American continent.

Attempts to end the War
Saguenay first attempted to end the war in September, when the occupation of Gaspesie was completed. Canada rejected this, saying that they would never abandon their territory. A second attempt occurred on November 1, when a group of Saguenay and Superior diplomats came to the Canadian city of Sacré-Coeur. They asked to meet with Canadian diplomats to negotiate an end to war. Canadian diplomats arrived on November 4 and talks began. The Saguenay/Superior delegation had demanded that Canada retract their claims on the Great Lakes region, Saguenay, and the Gaspe peninsula, and recognize the independence of Saguenay and the Republic of St. Lawrence. Canadian officials did not accept these demands, and after four days of fruitless negotiation the Saguenay/Superior diplomats left.

The third attempt came when president Terrance Newman of Superior proposed peace talks for December 24. Canadian Prime Minister Walter Natynczyk did not agree to these talks, citing Saguenay's ongoing occupation of the Gaspe peninsula as his reason.

The final, and successful, attempt began on April 12, when a Saguenay envoy in Gaspesie proposed a truce and peace talks. The truce officially began at 3:00 pm on that day, and arrangements were made for representatives from Canada, the Celtic Alliance, Saguenay, and Superior to meet in neutral territory. Vermont offered to host peace talks between the parties in the war, and the representatives from the four countries began talks in Manchester, Vermont, on April 24th. Representatives from Aroostook, the League of Nations and the United Communities were also present as observers.

The Results of the Treaty of Manchester
The negotiations took a month, and some thought that a return to war was inevitable. However, they finally concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Manchester on May 28th. The results of the treaty were as follows:


 * Official recognition of the country of Saguenay and of the borders between Saguenay and Canada.
 * LoN investigations into the Canada First Party's involvement in the assassination of Stéphan Tremblay and into the involvement of Superior and/or Saguenay with the.
 * No reparations will be paid by either side, save in the event that one of the investigations is successful.
 * Saguenay and Superior recognize Canadian authority and claims over the St. Lawrence River Valley and Southern Quebec.
 * Canada recognizes Superior claims to parts of the former Province of Ontario, in return for a pledge by the Republic to not take any more of said territory, with the exception of Thunder Bay, pending the result of the scheduled referendum there. The Windsor region will be given to future arbitration by the LoN.
 * Aroostook and Vermont will assist the Canadian government in exterminating the Lawrence Raiders
 * Canada must drop its veto to Superior joining the League of Nations, and join the United Communities in some form. In a rather surprising turn of events, the Celtic Alliance has decided to send along an ambassador with the Canadian delegation to the UC, as an observer, to monitor the situation.
 * Investigations will also occur over the damage of civilian targets and the death of civilians in Saguenay by Canadian and Celtic forces.

The Investigations
Somewhat surprisingly, the LoN investigations went along rapidly. By the end of summer, the results of all three would be known, largely confirming what most people had already suspected.

Investigators would first announce in early July that the Saguenay government's allegations the bombing of civilian targets there by Canadian and Celtic forces were largely unfounded. Any civilian casualties that had occurred during such activities were determined to be the result of slight misses, or of civilians being too close to military targets when bombs hit them.

In a damning revelation, investigators announced in late August that they had determined, through examination of captured weapons, interrogations, eyewitness accounts, the result of investigations into the Lawrence Raiders. The net result was that representatives from both the Superior and Saguenay governments had both been supporting the raiders, in an effort to use them to contain the Canadian government. This had meant the raiders could survive under the pressure put on them by the Canadians, and would allow passage to their forces, as seen by actions during the Saguenay War.

Yet, this did not come soon enough, in light of the third investigation, which concluded in mid-July. This investigation, which was into allegations that the Canada First Party had caused, somehow, the death of the Prime Minister of Saguenay, had profound effects in the Canadian government. Investigators concluded that if the party leadership had not known about the assassination before it happened, they likely should have. If they had known, they either supported it or did nothing to prevent it. Either way, the elements of the party which had done the deed must have had the support of someone higher-up in the party, though they knew not who, and it was these elements which has caused the spark to force the disagreements between Saguenay and Canada into war.

The net result of this was about half of the CFP MPs crossing the floor and voting against the government during a non-confidence vote, causing a new election to occur. Many of the CFP MPs who had crossed would join the Conservative and Liberal Parties, though a fair amount of these would be defeated in the election, which came just after news of the investigation into the support given to the Lawrence Raiders. This would prevent the Conservatives or Liberals from winning outright, but between the two they were able to establish a coalition government under the Conservative Party leader to keep the Canada First Party out of power.

Humanitarian impact and war crimes
Saguenay has claimed countless civilian deaths caused by bombing raids by the CADF and the NUAF, but the Celtic Alliance was quick to deny this, stating that they have limited their attacks to military targets.

LoN investigators have confirmed that Celtic and Canadian forces did indeed limit themselves to military targets and any civilians that perished as a result were more than likely collateral damage.

Infrastructure damage
Much damage was taken in the Northern Quebec region due to the numerous skirmishes, and also in Saguenay proper due to bombing.

The area around Gaspe also took a great deal of damage, since it was fought through twice.

Responsibility for the war and motives
and Republic of Superior demanded early on it the war that immediately ban the Canada First Party, under the pretext that it is a militant terrorist organization, and that its leaders be extradited for conspiracy to force Saguenay to join Canada. The Canada First Party has called these demands an interference in Canadian internal affairs, and has always asserted that the assassination was carried out by a rogue element not under the direct command of party leaders.

To a certain extent, however, the two governments did get their wish with the fall of the Canada First Party from power in August 2010, after LoN investigations showed that higher-ups in the party likely knew of the actions beforehand, and if they did not, they should have. The new coalition government of the Conservative and Liberal parties has proved much more moderate, thought they still refuse to ban the CFP.

Reactions to the conflict
The following are reactions from various nations who are not combatants during the war:
 * New England Flag.png The Provisional Republic of Aroostook has officially announced its neutrality in the conflict, warning both sides that any aggressive act against Aroostook will be considered an act of war. The population, however, remains split on the issue. The town meeting of Aroostook, New Brunswick even passed a resolution declaring they will leave the Republic if Aroostook ever comes into conflict with . When reports, however, came out that Saguenay and Superior were working with elements of the, public opinion swung sharply against those nations.
 * 250px-Flag of the United Kingdom.svg.png The PM of issued a statement supporting  and blamed  for starting the war.
 * FrenchTerritories.PNG‎ The Republic of the French Southern Territories on November 5, 2009 diplomatically recognized Saguenay and denounced Canada for its expansionist policies against the nations in the region. This reaction came as no surprise considering the long standing dispute that the Republic has had with Canada over the ownership of Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
 * Vermont_Flag.png Vermont has taken no official position on the conflict, but President Jim Douglas has publicly said that he hopes all sides in the dispute can agree to a peaceful resolution.
 * Flag_of_Thunder_Bay.svg has taken no official position in the conflict. However, President Leppe's rhetoric prior to his death included support of Saguenay and denouncement of Canada on a regular basis, though the new government is much more moderate.
 * officially declared neutrality in the conflict. This is due to the difficulty of sending troops to Saguenay. The Virginian President-General Sumrall has made it no secret that, if possible, Virginia would side with Saguenay and Superior at the drop of a hat. President-General Sumrall has issued a statement on the situation, officially scolding the Canadians. He said "The situation in St. John's is hypocrisy at its worst. They were supposed to be the epitome of pacifism and diplomacy, and yet these pig-headed Canadians have rejected three separate offers for peace."
 * While Victoria has made a statement hoping for a quick end to the war, they have not come out in support of either side. This is due to the wide public support for Canada, while the nation's status as an independent nation made up of mostly Canadian territory would make not supporting Saguenay's independence hypocritical. It has publicly condemned Superior's participation as that of an opportunistic rogue state involving itself in domestic affairs in order to exploit the situation.
 * 675px-Flag of Pennsylvania.svg.png has openly supported Canada and has supplied and rescued stray soldiers and had sent a small batch of "token troops" upriver to do hit-and-run operations on the Lawrence Raiders during the war. They refused to fight Superior or the Republique du Saguenay however, only fighting the raiders that they so deeply hate. This has resulted in hampered relations with Superior and Virginia, but the North Pennsylvanians are determined to stop the threat of the Raiders and to let Canada squash the "rebels", which will allow easier contact with the outside world.
 * The as a whole decided to be neutral in the conflict, but the end of the war has brought up the subject of a united government for the three Ontario member-states. The United Communities-Governed Capital, Niagara Falls openly supports the Canadians, although only in their prayers, while North Pennsylvania has only fought the Raiders, the Ontario county-states all have varying opinions and Toledo is neutral.
 * NorthwestAllianceFlag.png The broadcasts messages weekly in support of the Canadian government, and have gone on the record as stating that they would send troops if they could. In fact, to be called a Republican, or anything else associated with Superior or Saguenay, is considered a major insult.