Coalition Wars

The Coalition Wars was a continental war fought between the Coalition of Free States and The National Imperium of America from April 20, 2162, to January 12, 2164. It remains the largest and most deadly war in North America to date, with an estimated 1,496,600 casualties.

Pretext
In 2161 and early 2162, The CFS and the NIA were nearly equal in military capability, and entered a state of cold war, with key moles in both governments releasing intelligence to the other side in the Espionage War. Tension build up all across the continent as potential war plans were drawn up on both sides. During this time, rebels in California began leaking intelligence from the NIA to the CFS. On April 4, 2165, the Five Hour Revolution put power in California from a government loyal to the NIA to a government loyal to the CFS. Members of the old government and a large portion of the army fled to the Iowan Federation. On April 13, Revolutionary California sent an Ultimatum to Iowa demanding that all extradited to California. Upon their refusal, California declared war.

War Breaks Out, May-June 2162
Following the declaration of war, Iowa immediately started building defenses on their border, complete with mines, pillboxes, and hedgehog roadblocks. Secondary defenses included infantry, artillery, and short range anti tank missiles, located within 20 miles of the border. By the time California forces began pouring across the border, they were nearly slowed to a halt as armored divisions and motor infantry units were torn to shreds in numbers. Corporal Brigham Knight wrote an account in his diary:

We were told we would be rolling into Des Moines in a month. Now it's three weeks, and we haven't even made it to Bismark. Every day, we manage to break even further behind Iowan defenses, but I doubt it's enough to prevent the NIA from preparing to crush us.

On May 24, the CCA declared war on the State of Bolivar, and the United Kingdom followed Central America soon after into war, but wouldn't ever see significant action against the Bolivarians. On June 5, Monarchist Missouri declared war on the Southwest Republic. The Commonwealth of the Deep South announced it's neutrality concerning Missouri shortly after. Cascadia declared it's neutrality in all wars on June 5. The State of Adolf declared war on California and Michigan June 12.