Attack of Gloomy Wednesday
| Attack of Gloomy Wednesday | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Meritian Border Crisis | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
Diplomatic support  Kingdom of Scynja |
Diplomatic support | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 6+ | 2 (presumed) | ||||||
The Attack of Gloomy Wednesday, or simply Gloomy Wednesday was an attack by the United States of America on a Meritian National Park owned by the DNR in the southern portion of Province District 01. It lasted from 12:50 PM MGT (EST) until military action was declared over by 1:30 PM MGT (EST). The attack served a purpose of continuing aggressions between the two nations and prolonging the Meritian Border Crisis, which as of recently before the attack on Meritian soil had been dying down. The breech in national borders resulted in the first action seen by the Border Security Agency of Meritia since its prior creation in July 2022, following a similar border breech into the same region. After the conclusion of the attack, Joseph I of Meritia declared full retaliation for the heinous crime through the annexation of more US land and congratulated the MAF and BSAM on their quick response to such a catastrophe compared to prior incidents.
Background
Following an improvement between Merito-United States relations after the conclusion of the Merito-American War, the US would launch maintenance efforts in the areas surrounding Meritia, which the government did not consent to. Emperor Joseph I stated that "if the US were to attempt the destruction of Meritian resources, there would be severe retaliation." After this, it had seemed as though they left the region following alleged activity near the protected Territory of Sinumia, which gave the Meritian Military Forces the green light to stand down from possible military action. This would prove to be an unwise decision by the high command of the MMF, as only days later the maintenance team authorized by the US government had returned, this time not only coming threateningly close to Meritia, but actually breeching its national borders, in order to destroy the nature of the only operational National Park in Meritia, protected by the administration of the Department of Natural Resources. This attack on the land of Meritia led to immediate response by the Border Security Agency of Meritia and Meritian Armed Forces, as they prepared to drive off the American intruders with force. This never occurred, as shortly before an initial deployment to secure the capitol, they left the area behind in shambles. Military action was ended at 1:30 PM MGT (EST), after the capitol was deemed to be safe, and the DNR was called for inspection of the damage the US had done to the region.
Aftermath
After the attack had come to a closure shortly after 1 PM MGT (EST), immediate deployment of the Department of Natural Resources land surveyors was issued by Meritia, in order to determine the severity of the damages on the National Park. Only later in the day after rainy weather had stopped was this inspection carried out, which found moderate damage to the trees surrounding the southern part of Province District 01, and remanents of the wood which were scattered around the region which the attack took place. These scraps were collected by Meritia, who declared they would erect a memorial in the park made out of the wood pieces to honor the nature lost in its careless destruction by the United States. The attack led to the annexation of the entire wooded region surrounding mainland Meritia, at last connecting Sinumia to the main Provinces and greatly expanding the territory of the Empire of Meritia.
Reactions
Many nations were quick to react to the incident as it was made aware by the Imperial Government. Scynja and Fontasia were authorized to enact immediate diplomatic support per the terms of the Tri-Alliance Pact, and Roscamistan quickly followed in condolences to Meritia after hearing of the news. The citizens greatly favored military retaliation for the event in the name of Meritian Nationalism, and several other states followed in their declaration of diplomatic support. The US was severely denounced by Meritia for this irresponsible breech of established peace terms, and many believed that a second war should be declared in retaliation for such a travesty.