Annexation war

The annexation war is the war type that allows one state to steal territories from another state: if victorious, the territory itself is transferred to the winner as direct ownership.

Casus belli

It becomes available with Leadership and costs 200 Politics Points to be declared.

It requires to preemptively fabricate a territorial claim for the territory one wants to annex, which takes about a day to complete in persistent mode. This action also informs the other State that a claim is being fabricated.

War goals

In an annexation war the unique objective is to control the target territory usually through an occupation.

If the target territory disappears or becomes controlled by a third party in any way, the defender will be considered eliminated and it will trigger the end of the war as a victory for the agressor. However in such case, the territory transfer will not apply considering it doesn't exist or belongs to someone else.

Unsettled territories

In the case of the annexation target being or becoming a non-settled territory (an empty territorial claim), to win the aggressor must reclaim the tile himself in any way: by claiming it or by settling it.

If the war is lost however, the tile is given back to the defender no matter its content. If the tile is still unsettled, the defender will auto-reclaim it. If the defender can no longer hold the tile as a claim, the tile becomes neutral again.

Resolution

If the war is won, the target territory is transferred to the aggressor by the armistice treaty, but it gives the defender a 'liberation' casus-belli for that same territory.

If the target territory is a regional center, all its attached countrysides will also fall under the control of the winner as their ownership follows that of their regional center.

If the war is lost, the target territory is remains controlled by the defender.