War of Western Aggression

The War of Western Aggression was a conflict between The Ninth Empire of Oz and the nascent United Kingdom of Wonderland.

Provoked by continued invasions of Promiseland by the Blue Army, Frieda Jacobs (the first Queen of Hearts) assembled the collected armed forces of Wonderland into an army so large that The Wizard of Oz would never press the issue again.

The Prelude

After the coronation of Frieda Jacobs as Queen of the Realm and that kingdom’s annexation of Fatherland, Motherland, and Yesterland, the populace of Wonderland’s westernmost kingdom, Promiseland, was divided on the issue of unification. Though all were angry about the Ozite attempt on Jacobs’ life the year before (see “The One About the Woods”), and though most agreed that Jacobs was the prophesied “descendant of the seven queens,” there were a fair number of Promiselandians who felt they had more in common with the neighboring Ozite state of Munchkinland than they did with any of their Wonderlandian neighbors.

Oz’s Wizard, Oscar Diggs, seized upon this opportunity and began to lobby with the other nations of Eden for permission to liberate Promiseland. His successful liberation of Oz from the “corrupt” United Countries earlier in the Interregnum had cemented his status as a champion of freedom in many circles, and he was soon given leave to “protect” Promiseland villages on the border from Jacobs’ “authoritarian” troops.

Tensions came to a head when the Four Witches were shot out of the sky above the Forest of Fangs by Reekian Rangers levied by Jacobs to even the odds. Seeing this attack on his chief lieutenants as a perfect casus belli, Oscar Diggs took to the balcony of the Green House the next day to declare war on The Realm.

The War

The “war” itself was short-lived. Citizens of The Highlands and Neverland, who had heretofore been reluctant to join Jacobs’ new unified kingdom, were quick to send their forces the aid of The Realm.

The resulting host—comprised of the Forces of Fatherland, the Motherland Militia, the Promiseland Defense Force, the Highlands Horde, the Neverlandian Navy, and the Knights of the Realm—met the combined Blue, Purple, Yellow, and Red armies of Oz on a field near Yonder.

Though the Blue Army was gung-ho to lead at least one charge against the Wonderlandian front line, cooler heads prevailed and the Ozites marched home. The sight of what they were up against was just too frightening for the halflings—even more frightening than the Witches who had pressed them into service, and who terrorized them on a daily basis back home.

To this day, Edenians refer to the conflict variously as The Battle Over Yonder and The Battle That Never Was.

The Aftermath

Edenians outside of Wonderland, seeing the army of Promiseland join forces with the rest of their Wonderlandian neighbors, began slowly to recognize Frieda Jacobs’ new unified kingdom as a sovereign nation. And when the United Kingdom signed a treaty with The Ninth Empire to cede all lands south of the Yonder River, and to forever forsake any and all claims to the same, the remaining doubters fell in line. Edenians who had feared Jacobs as an expansionist were satisifed that she was no threat to peace, and the new country became a founding member of The Council of Five soon thereafter.