Marley Mid-East War

The Marley Mid-East War is an ongoing conflict between the nations of Marley and the Mid-East Allied Forces on the continental mainland.

Prelude
In Marley's operation to take the Founding Titan from the royal family of Paradis, their mission was met with failure. Not only were the warriors unsuccessful in taking the Founding Titan, but the Female Titan and the Colossus Titan were lost during the Stohess District raid and the battle of Shiganshina District, respectively. With the loss of two Titans, Marley's military capabilities were greatly reduced. This loss of power was noticed by the Mid-East Allied Forces, a coalition of territories against the nation of Marley, and thus war was declared in the year 850.

Naval conflicts
While the specific events of the war between Marley and the Allies are unknown, Marley successfully gained the upper hand over the Allies over the course of four years. A significant portion of the combat took place on the sea, where Marley slowly pushed back the Allies' fleet and gained control of the waters. However, the naval battles were evidently poorly fought, as Marley had lost over half of its navy during these four years.

While Marley and the Allies fought for control of the seas, the Allies also began work on the anti-Titan artillery, cannons with 100mm armor-piercing shells capable of killing any Titan, even one of the nine, with a single shot. While this weapon would not be seen until the last days of the war, it nonetheless posed a significant threat against Marley's military, which heavily depended on the power of the Titans.

Battle of Fort Slava
In the year 854, Marley had succeeded in pushing the Allied fleet to the naval station near Fort Slava on the coast of the mainland. At the request of the navy, ground forces were sent to take over the fort before Marley's fleet could advance upon the Allies' fleet stationed in the bay. While the Titan warriors waited on standby, Commander Magath of Marley's military led a unit of 800 warrior cadets in a siege against the fort. Trenches were dug by the cadets in order to avoid the machine gun defenses placed around the fort, ensuring a slow but guarded advance. Late into the siege, the front unit of the warrior cadets was hit with explosives, bringing the trench advance to a halt.

Cadet Colt suggested to Commander Magath that they should send out Titan warriors Galliard and Pieck, "Jaws" and "Cartman", to attack the Allies' defenses, but the suggestion was denied due to the presence of the anti-Titan artillery mounted on armored trains on the railways surrounding Fort Slava. Seeing an opportunity to prove her worth as an inheritor of the Armored Titan, Cadet Gabi approached the defense bunkers in plainclothes feigning surrender, secretly carrying a bundle of grenades with her. When the train approached, she tossed the explosives at the head of the train, derailing the weapon as the bunkers opened fire once more. With the artillery out of commission, Magath sent forth Galliard to attack the Allies' defenses.