The Tesh-New Crobuzon War began an indeterminate amout of time prior to Anno Urbis 1805. The war is alleged to have begun following sanctioned piracy by Tesh and the Witchocracy against New Crobuzon merchants who had recently begun to travel through the Firewater Straits. The war ended with a nominal New Crobuzon victory and the capitulation of Tesh, although the Witchocracy continues to control passage through the straits.
Pre-war events[]
Several years prior to the outbreak of war, an agreement with the Witchocracy had allowed New Crobuzon's ships to traverse the Firewater Straits, located roughly a thousand miles from New Crobuzon. The new trade route opened relations with formerly near-mythical city-states, such as The Brothers, and greatly enriched New Crobuzon as a variety of merchants, including Teshi traders, began to frequent the city's harbours.
At some point prior to 1802 pirates and bandits, allegedly sanctioned by Tesh and the Witchocracy, began to prey upon New Crobuzon merchant vessels. After several months of ambiguous signals and a marked decrease in the movement of goods through the straits, the Tesh ambassador to New Crobuzon formally declared the war via a letter to the New Crobuzon mayor, Eliza Stem-Fulcher.
Course of the War[]
Beginning (prior to 1802)[]
At the initial outbreak of the formal conflict, Tesh and the Witchocracy cast a thalassomach hex over the straits, shutting them off to New Crobuzon navy. Around this period, New Crobuzon loses contact with its diplomatic mission in Tesh.
Special Offensive (c. 1802-1805)[]
Sometime after the casting of the thalassomach hex and the deployment of the Overseas Militia into the area around Tesh, the New Crobuzon parliament declared the "Special Offensive", presumably related to the drafting of criminals and Remade to supplement volunteer militia. During this time, New Crobuzon was able to move its forces into the Galaggi Veldt around Tesh's city walls and moats, where New Crobuzon and Teshi forces clashed several times. Known engagements from the early period of the Special Offensive include the Battle of Bad Earth and the Fight in the Sun. Although there are no details of the engagements, they were the subject of horrible rumors and stories in New Crobuzon.
During this time, Tesh utilized a variety of strange magicks and weaponry, child suicide bombers, and colourbombs against New Crobuzon forces, and within New Crobuzon the war was generally considered to have "gone bad" despite official news sources stating otherwise.
Conclusion (1805)[]
Toward the end of the war, New Crobuzon was able to break the hex and move its forces through the Firewater Straits, allegedly with the assistance of Grindylow pathfinders. Around this time, New Crobuzon also began implementing a scorched-earth strategy. New Crobuzon forces carried out massacres of villages and towns in the vicinity of Tesh and sent remade slave-assassins to destroy the Tesh monasteries out in the briarlands around the city proper.
Several weeks before the end of the war, Tesh sent a Witnessing to New Crobuzon as a display of their power. Tesh also began to conclude its preparations for the summoning of a Phasma Urbomach to destroy New Crobuzon while concurrently stalling for time with contradicting diplomatic peace talks. Ultimately, the ritual was interrupted and Tesh was forced to surrender as New Crobuzon forces closed in on the city and cut off essential supplies.
Post-war[]
Although Tesh formally surrendered to New Crobuzon, it is not known whether the Witchocracy followed suit. Currently, Tesh has closed its borders to trade and exploration, while the Witchocracy continues to control the Firewater Straits and bar its traders from doing business with New Crobuzon.