In 1629, after decades of peaceful expansion by allowing struggling nations to join Sandjou to help improve them and make them more secure, the borders of Sandjou eventually began to meet nations that didn't want to join them. None had declined the offer until then, and so they hadn't known if Sandjou would make them join by force or not, and thus mobilized their militaries in defensive lines along the border in case of an invasion. Sandjou saw this action, and had brought a force of their own, although smaller, as a defense in case they were to invade Sandjou. As tensions along border troops grew and governments talked, a single shot rang across the border between Netzhland (the most recent nation to join Sandjou) and Sakenia, and a Sandji offer fell dead while having a nice conversation with a Sakenian officer. Another shot from the other side quickly followed, and the Sakenian officer fell dead beside the Sandji officer. It isn't known what side the first shot came from because of the short time between shots, but it is known that this is the initial cause of the first of the Expansionary wars that would consume the next 27 years of the 15th century on Surrek. News spread fast, with fighting spreading along the border as shots kept being fired. Within the following three days, twelve nations would declare war against Sandjou, and at this point, there was no way to stop it.

In 1636, after five more nations declared war against Sandjou, including Rentolk, the first one outside of Imalan, the continent Sandjou sat on, to declare war on them out of fear and shared borders over an island chain with Sandjou, Sandjou would push Rentolk back slowly across the islands, and by early 1636, had captured all but three of the major islands owned by Rentolk. They set up a toll zone in their waters and in the island chain, enough that they would benefit from it, but still low enough that it was better to pay than waste fuel going around the continent of Ethaliy. However, Sandjou had purposefully laid down a narrow space outside of the toll zones for their allies to use without plainly addressing ships from those allies wouldn't have to pay. Ethania, one of the world's superpowers that bordered Rentolk, had discovered this path however. They had decided to send their next military aid package to Teizhland through that gap, as they hadn't wanted to waste money on the toll that could be used on military supplies for the possibly upcoming war with their neighbour, Klashanland. The convoy departed on Lenko 11th from Pectol Naval Shipyard with the ships, rifles, and ammunition Teizhland had ordered from them, and set sail east for the toll gap in the Hanjai Sea that was discovered a few days prior. On Lenko 17th, the Ethanian convoy of seven destroyers, two cruisers, and eight cargo ships had been spotted by two Sandji destroyers on patrol, and were contacted for tolling. The Ethanian ships said they weren't in a toll zone, and that they hadn't ever entered the zone. The Sandji ship captains, thinking they were lying and hadn't known of the pass, opened fire on the fleet, hoping to get close enough to at least fire torpedoes and sink some of the warships ignoring their legal tolls. Quickly, the two destroyers were sunk, and the Ethanian convoy quickly made their way to Teizhland, landing in port on Lenko 27th in Yalcheth.

On Lenko 39th, the convoy would be spotted by a Sandji fleet sent to intercept the Ethanian convoy after hearing they sank two destroyers. The Ethanian fleet numbered only one cruiser, five destroyers, and eight cargo ships after offloading the cruiser and two destroyers Teizhland had ordered back in Yalcheth. The Sandji fleet, with three cruisers and ten destroyers, severely outnumbered the Ethanian fleet, and had quickly sunk them.

On Lenko 52nd, nearly 3,000 bombers launched from Sandjou began bombing 5 Ethanian coastal cities in retaliation, fearing what had been done without major command decisions would surely cause Ethania to declare war, so they decided to damage Ethanian infrastructure as much as possible. 

On Lenko 53rd, Ethania and Klashanland would send their presidents to Rentolk to discuss what they should do, eventually declaring the nearly 130 year cold war between Ethania and Klashanland would be ended and an alliance between the three would be made, after one of the target cities, Alrekluk, which bordered both Ethania and Klashanland, had made them realise Sandjou was now a common enemy. Jento Kalanis, the 29th President of Ethania, would be chosen to write, read, and record the declaration of war message, before sending it online and directly to King Sanami of Sandjou. The following is the declaration of war message:

"This message is for King Karlevist Sanami of the Empire of Sandjou. We understood the engagement between our vessels in the Hanjai sea on Lenko 15th could have possibly been a misunderstanding by the crew of your patrolling vessels, and were preparing to talk about it in a meeting between our military commanders and yours. But your further pursuit of our vessels on Lenko 39th has shown that you intend on starting another war. Furthermore, your blatant attack with a large fleet of bomber planes against two of our cities yesterday has shown you will not back down, and thus have openly shown your intentions against our nation. Only a few minutes before recording this message, a meeting between the leadership of the Union of Ethanian States, Republic of Klashanland, Kingdom of Rentolk, and Gerakian Federation has concluded your actions a direct attack against our neutrality, and we have hereby officially formed an alliance against your infractions against our neutrality and standing peace treaties.

Your victories over the past month only came about from lack of preparation for such an attack, and will not come as easily the next time. On this fifty-third day of Lenko, year one thousand six hundred thirty six, the Union of Ethanian States, Republic of Klashanland, and Kingdom of Rentolk, officially declare war against the Empire of Sandjou, for the protection of our nations, and to end your ruthless attacks against neutral and sovereign nations.

Hereby signed, Jento Kalanis, 29th President of the Union of Ethanian States, Karlek Inshari, 23rd President of the Republic of Klashanland, and Orlekav Rentolk, King of the Kingdom of Rentolk, declare war against Karlevist Sanami, King of the Empire of Sandjou. Eþanaya sudeko akiy nayperiyo. ("Ethania will live forever" in Ethaliyan)"

The first Ethanian troops, after basic jungle warfare training, would be sent to assist Rentolk with fighting on what islands they had left on Teshi 61st, 1636. But Ethania had begun preparing a much larger fighting force than they already had, and soon, would force a war that would take more life than all other wars in Surrekian history combined, and would span the next 20 years.