Historical Conflicts

Battle of the Mississippi Delta (2064)

During the early Reconstruction, GATA's growing presence across North America had been well-received by coastal populations looking for respite from famine and roving militias and pirate gangs.

However, as GATA reached further inland, their offer of order and safety was met with skepticism from the people, and resistance from the factions to whom power had accrued during the tumult of the Dark Decade.

The founding of the Texan Empire in 2064 was followed shortly by the nascent proto-state's occupation of New Orleans, securing the Mississippi River, a vital waterway for transportation and trade. The Texan Empire's aspiration was to establish their early border as coterminous with the river.

Despite Atla's long-standing refugee camp in the port-city, the people of New Orleans were largely receptive to the Texan Empire's presence, and after a short time, New Orleans' alliance with the growing Free Territory movement was cemented.

The popular sentiment in the region was that the Texan Empire exemplified a more culturally compatible model for relative peace and security that afforded them far more personal liberty that of the censorious GATA.

When GATA loyalists began to suffer targeted political violence, their ostensibly lawful acts of self-defense were met with horrendous reprisals from the occupying Sovereigns. GATA was forced to respond, and deployed military assets to the region, only to encounter heavy resistance.

Over the course of several weeks, battles that began in the fields devolved into urban warfare that had become entrenched in the city's network of artificial Old World waterways and levies.

GATA was forced to deploy reinforcements, but could not give the appearance of desperation, so rather than sending a higher quantity of soldiers, they opted for quality. They sent three UDAs. Their effectiveness was decisive, as key leadership and military infrastructure were systematically eliminated over several weeks, seemingly by ghosts.

However, the Texan Empire proved to be particularly belligerent and their defiance inspired other Sovereign townships and coalitions to send support down the Mississippi River.

With no viable win condition, GATA's still-maturing leadership was confronted with the possibility of a stalemate, and considered both escalation and occupation as non-starters, either of which would be embarrassing for the young superpower.

Then, Hurricane Ilya struck. It is suspected that one or more of the UDA's utilized the storm as cover to sabotage civilian infrastructure, including the critical waterway and levy system, causing severe flooding in the surrounding area. Some conspiracy theorists even propose that Ilya was an artificial hurricane concocted by geo-engineers in Atla.

In the aftermath, the formerly vital hub of New Orleans had been catastrophically washed away, and its citizens displaced. A surge of refugees dispersed along the Mississippi and across the South.

Despite their apparent defeat in the conflict, the regional sentiment in support of the sovereign Free Territory movement was solidified. Texan Empire's support along the Mississippi was bolstered.