[center][h1][b]Conflict in the Corner of the Continent[/b][/h1][/center]

[center][img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Coat_of_Arms_of_the_Kingdom_of_Portugal_(1640-1910).png[/img]
[i]Seal of the Kingdom of Madeira[/i][/center]

The [b]Kingdom of Madeira[/b] had reigned since it's declaration of independence in 799. So culturally attached to the Azreko-Dallins, pacts of mutual friendship kept the fledgling nation secluded from an otherwise active political scene. It's existence was marred by such seclusion, as it was given second hand aid by it's two neighbors and often warred the Batifegalé in the South just to stay afloat. The conclusion was an agrarian economy, a recession in continuation since the 1790's and a corrupt and bloated aristocracy. It's one colony in Mateen floundered, it's 11,000 settlers having starved in the Long Winter of 1802.

On the morning of January 4th, Dallin Chief of the Army Petrus Matthius was called--for the first time since the fall of the Tyrant--to a briefing with his General Staff and the King, Adelius Odrimus, nearly two decades his junior. Per the request, a detailed report of the Dallin Royal Army was offered up. Comparatively, the DRA ([i]Dallin Royal Army[/i]) was not as inefficient as initially imposed. With soldiers who were at least sure of themselves, they were at worst ill equipped with Azerkan Model 1789 Muskets and a lack of standardized uniforms. 

[center][img]http://www.napolun.com/mirror/napoleonistyka.atspace.com/img/Portuguese_Legion.jpg[/img]
[i]Dallin infantryman and dragoon, circa 1811[/i][/center]

The Dallin Royal Army comprised 80,000 men with 30,000 mounted cavalry. Among these 80,000 were 12,000 Dallin Infantry of the Line--the elite guard of the fledgling Dallin Army. These soldiers far out skilled the common rifleman. With years more training, minor capacities in hand to hand fighting, discipline, tracking and logistics, they were a nearly self-autonomous infantry unit capable of fighting by it's own, on it's own. The required age for entry was twenty-eight, and many of these men had seen hard fighting in the Tyrant's War and were better because of it. They were easily identified by their sleek white uniforms, and as commented by the Chief of the Army: "[i]So easily to find are they, because it's easier to kill your enemy when they know where to look for you[/i]."


[center][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8f/03/24/8f0324acf29c92f1be82c110abad6b72.jpg[/img]
[i]Dallin Infantry of the Line[/i][/center]

The Madeiran Army on the other hand, the intended target of Dallin, was in far worse shape. Numbering 110,000 with an estimated 15,000 cavalry and 68 cannon, the Madeiran Army posed a much larger threat on paper than in the field. Since the 1740's, the average Madeiran soldier was required by law to furnish his own rifle, lodgings and footwear. Their uniforms, given to them by the state, were often a hodgepodge of hand-me-down's. Similarly, the Madeiran soldier was paid poorly compared to the average Dallin. Paid $40 a month by the Dallin state, the average Dallin soldier fetched over twice as much as his Madeiran contemporary. The Madeiran soldier fared an average of $12--officers given the bit at $18--with no room to advance unless by combat.

[center][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/95/bc/2e/95bc2e104a3e1fbc1b2f2da10e907257.jpg[/img]
[i]Madeiran infantryman, 1800's[/i][/center]

The Madeiran's however harbored excellence from the [b]Portimau Naval Artillery School[/b], where they churned out naval gunners and field artillery officers at a premier. Using Gilbradian smoothbore field guns, the Madeiran Field Guns were among the best in the world, or as an Azrekan marshal once said: "If they could pay their men enough to stick around and fire the guns."