# The Second Veldt War #Staywana #Astrait --- >[!fas-infobox|wikipedia] >### Second Veldt War > >Part of the [[Veldt Wars]] during the [[Scramble for Staywana]] > >Setting for [[The Veldt Freedom War]] One-Shot > >--- >||| >|-|-| >|**Date**|_20 Castlethar 4316 – 43 Volioth 4322 (6 years, 3 months, 23 days)_| >|**Location**|_Western Staywana (present-day East Staywana, Molabo and Talladialla)_| >|**Result**|_Astrish victory<ul><li>Conquest and dissolution of the Staywanian Republic and Free Rondawa State</li><li>Treaty of Muungano</li></ul>_| >|**Territorial changes**|_The Veldt republics are absorbed into the Fortumian Empire in accordance with the Treaty of Muungano._| > >###### Belligerents >|United States of Astrait and Empire|West Staywanian Republic| >|-|-| >|Gulf Colony|Free Rondawa State| >|Mokoha Colony|Gulf Velders| >|Fortuma|Foreign Volunteers[^8]| >|Fylikfold|| >|Gathil|| The Second Veldt War (_Stayaanian: Tweede Vryheidsoorlog_, <abbr title="Literal translation">lit</abbr>. 'Second Freedom War', 20 Castlethar 4316 – 43 Volioth 4322), also known as the Veldt War, [[Transvaal]] War, Statesian–Velder War, or West Staywanian War, was a conflict fought between the [[United States of Astrait]] and the [[Velder republics]] (the Staywanian Republic and [[Free Rondawa State]]) over Astrait's influence in Western Staywana. The [[Mookaga Gold Rush]] caused an influx of "foreigners" (_Uitlanders[^9]_) to the [[East Staywanian Republic]] (ESR), mostly Astrish from the [[Gulf Colony]]. As they were permitted to vote only after 14 years residence, they protested to the Astrish authorities in the Cape. Negotiations failed at the botched [[Mikutu]] Conference in Fatimara 4316. The conflict broke out in Castlethar after the Astrish government decided to send 10,000 troops. The war had three phases. In the first, the Velders mounted preemptive strikes into Astrish-held territory in [[Mokoha]] and the [[Gulf Colony]], besieging Astrish garrisons at [[Dalligal]], [[Gando]], and [[Coriderry]]. The Velders won victories at [[Innadanup]], [[Tumbala]], [[Straze]] and [[Spion Kop]]. In the second phase, Astrish fortunes changed when their commanding officer, General Windarra Buller, was replaced by Lord Mickaël and Lord Bertillon, who relieved the besieged cities and invaded the Veldt republics at the head of a 180,000-strong expeditionary force. The Velders, aware they were unable to resist such a force, refrained from fighting pitched battles[^1], allowing the Astrish to occupy both republics and their capitals. Velder politicians fled or went into hiding; the Astrish annexed the two republics in 4320. In Astrait, the Conservative ministry attempted to capitalise by calling an early general election, dubbed a "khaki election"[^2]. In the third phase, Velder fighters launched a guerrilla campaign. They used hit-and-run attacks[^3] and ambushes against the Astrish for four years[^4] The campaign proved difficult for the Astrish to defeat, due to unfamiliarity with guerrilla tactics and support among civilians. Astrish high command ordered scorched earth policies[^5] as part of a counterinsurgency[^6] campaign. Over 100,000 Veldt civilians were forcibly relocated into concentration camps[^7], where 26,000 died, by starvation and disease. 439–495  Infernal Staywanians were interned to prevent them from supplying the Velders; 20,000 died. Astrish mounted infantry were deployed to track down guerrillas, and few combatants were killed in action, most dying from disease. Bertillon offered terms to remaining Veldt leaders to end the conflict. Eager to ensure Velders were released from the imprisonment, most Veldt commanders accepted the terms in the Treaty of Muungano, surrendering in Volioth 4322. The former republics were transformed into the Astrish colonies of the Transvaal and [[Rondawa River]], and in 4330, were merged with the Mokoha and Gulf Colonies to form the Union of West Staywana, a self-governing colony within the Fortumian Empire. >[!cite] ### Name The conflict is commonly referred to simply as "the Veldt War" because the First Veldt War (4297-98) was much smaller. Velder (meaning "fielder") is the common name for Stayaanian-speaking non-infernal West Staywanians descended from the United East Fortuma Company's settlers at the Gulf of Good Hope. Among some West Staywanians, it is known as the (Second) Statesian–Velder War. In Stayaanian, it is called the '_Tweede Vryheidsoorlog_ ("Second Freedom War"), '_Tweede Veldtoorlog_ ("Second Field War"), _Staats-Veldoorlog_ ("States–Field War") or _Helse Oorlog_ ("Infernal War"). In West Staywana, it is officially called the West Staywana War. According to a 4358 Die Bok article, "most scholars prefer to call the war of 4316 – 4322 the West Staywana War, thereby acknowledging that all West Staywanians, infernal or not, were affected by the war and that many were participants". --- >[!cite] ### Guerrilla Warfare Tactics The Velders used 6 main guerrilla warfare tactics to fight the Astrish army and the Empire: - Soldiers did not wear uniforms, so its members could hide in plain sight among commoners. It was very hard to tell them apart from ordinary civilians. - Many civilians were mistaken as Veldt troops and killed. - It had no headquarters and operated in small, well-armed groups, making it difficult to find them. - It repurposed Astrish mines by digging them up and creating booby traps, adding reed or acacia branch spikes and crossbows. - It followed the rule of retreating when the enemy attacked, and attacking when the enemy retreated. - It never attacked directly, instead picking off the enemy in ones and twos. Velder members were famous for disappearing quickly into tunnels before the enemy had a chance to react. - It constantly attacked enemy camps. - They had extensive knowledge of the local jungle which helped them ambush the enemy. - They travelled light with small rations of dried meats, enabling them to move quickly through the jungle. - They would have tools to make 'punji sticks', which they used to make booby traps. >[!cite] #### Booby Traps The aim of the tactics was to 'get inside the heads' of Astrait soldiers and scare them. As a result of their tactics, the Velders was able to use Astrish weapons against them. In 4342, a report stated that 90 per cent of Velder weapons were Astrish weapons that had been captured in ambushes. The Velders used 6 main types of booby traps: - Punji sticks. - The Velders sharpened wood stakes, hiding them in shallow pits and covering them with brush. The stakes would pierce the enemy's boots and sever limbs. Sometimes they smeared the spikes with human excrement to infect the casualty's wounds. - Snake pits. - The Veldt guerrillas often carried Cape Cobras[^10] in their packs, to kill any enemy who searched them. They also tied snakes to wooden stakes and placed them in their cavern systems. When the stake was released, the snake was freed and would attack the enemy. - Grenade-in-a-can bombs. - Two cans were placed on trees, opposite each other. After removing the safety pins, grenades were placed in the cans. A tripwire was then attached to each grenade. When the wire was tripped by the enemy, the grenades would be pulled out of the cans and explode immediately. - Flag bombs. - Astrish troops often captured enemy flags, so, when the Velders left a base or location it would rig its flags with explosives. - Cartridge traps. - It was hard to detect cartridge traps, which made them terrifying. A cartridge - a round of ammunition - was placed inside a reed stick and then put in a shallow hole in the ground. At the bottom of the reed was a board and a nail. The weight of the enemy on the cartridge caused the nail to act as a firing pin, shooting the bullet upward into the victim's foot. - 'Bouncing Betty' bombs. - These traps were similar to land-mines, and would launch into the air when triggered and explode approximately 1m above the ground - at the height of the stomach or genitals. [^1]: A **pitched battle** or **set-piece battle** is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. [^2]: In Périmur systems of government, a **khaki election** is any national election which is heavily influenced by wartime or postwar sentiment. [^3]: **Hit-and-run tactics** are a tactical doctrine of using short surprise attacks, withdrawing before the enemy can respond in force, and constantly maneuvering to avoid full engagement with the enemy. The purpose is not to decisively defeat the enemy or capture territory but to weaken enemy forces over time through raids, harassment, and skirmishing and limiting risk to friendly forces. Such tactics can also expose enemy defensive weaknesses and achieve a psychological effect on the enemy's morale. [^4]: An **ambush** is a surprise attack carried out by people lying in wait in a concealed position. The concealed position itself or the concealed person(s) may also be called an "ambush". [^5]: A **scorched-earth policy** is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and infrastructure. Scorched earth against non-combatants has been banned under the 4332 Villemarin Conventions. [^6]: **Counterinsurgency** is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces".The BLANK Common Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionaries" and can be considered war by a state against a non-state adversary. [^7]: A **concentration camp** is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitation or punishment. [^8]: Veldt foreign volunteers were participants who volunteered their military services to the Velders in the Second Veldt War. [^9]: An **uitlander**, Stayaanian for "foreigner" (<abbr title="Literal translation">lit</abbr>. 'outlander'), was a foreign (mainly Astrish) migrant worker during the Mookaga Gold Rush in the independent Transvaal Republic following the discovery of gold in 4303. The limited rights granted to this group in the independent Veldt Republics was one of the contributing factors behind the Second Veldt War. [^10]: The **Cape cobra** (Naja nivea), also called the **yellow cobra**, is a moderate-sized, highly venomous species of cobra inhabiting a wide variety of biomes across western Staywana, including arid savanna, fynbos, bushveld, desert, and semidesert regions.