Antigoan National Revolution

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The Antigoan National Revolution, or often referred to as the Antigoan - Pretanic War, the Antigoan rebellion or in Antigo the War of Antigoan Liberation, is a four-year war between Antigo (with some support from Suria) and Pretany (with principal support from its allies). It took place between the ANLA's invasion into Antigo in 1935 and the signing of the armistice in Daulselon on 9 August 1939. The war started off by ANLA retaking Antigo and parts of Pretany, which later became an armed conflict with Pretany and Inara after attacks into Pretany and later Inara.

The war resulted in Antigo's de facto independence from the Kingdom of Pretany, yet no peace treaty has ever been signed. Technically, Antigo and Pretany are still at war and engaged in frozen conflict. However, discussions are underway for a peace treaty to be signed by the middle of 2019.

Background

In 1932, the Kingdom of Pretany, under King Durgan of St. Richards, has decided to take a tougher stance against the Antigoans in the Antigoan shires, which has been under Pretanic rule since the 1200s after the fall of the Inarans. The king has implemented controversial policies which aim for Antigoans to assimilate into the Pretanic culture. At the same time, nationalist feelings were on the rise in Antigo in the 20th century, partly due to the fact that 75% of the population of Antigo had converted to a particularly extreme version of Cuppa between 1885 and 1930. Nevertheless, some Antigoan political parties like the Antigoan People's Party (APP), the Peace Action Party of Antigo (PAPA) and the Cuppa National Party (CNP) have pursued strategies of co-operation with the Kingdom of Pretany in hopes of being granted greater self-rule, forming a partial self-ruled government known as the Antigoan Council. However, some radical groups like the Socialist Antigoan Workers Party (SAWP) and the National Communist Party of Antigo (NCPA), have taken a non-cooperative strategy demanding 'immediate independence from Pretanic Imperialists'. These radical groups are known to have formed the Antigo National Liberation Army (ANLA), a guerilla force aiming to bring Antigo's independence by force. However, the ANLA then fled to Suria, where the Antigoan Provisional Government was formed with support from Suria, during the Pretanic Spring in 1931.

Meanwhile, talks between the Antigoan Council and the Kingdom of Pretany have stalled in 1934, due to a higher tax implemented at the beginning of the year for the more rural desert areas of the kingdom, and the failure to contain several revolts instigated by the ANLA. The Antigoan Council also began to lose the support of many Antigoans due to little progress made for self-rule of Antigo, and the council started losing its influence over Antigo from 1935 onwards, giving room for the ANLA to launch more guerilla attacks. The leader of SAWP and local politician, John Briarmack, quickly rose to prominence as a force that could challenge the crown in St. Richards, fighting for the ethnic rights of descendants of the Antigo Tribe.

Course of the war

Retake of Antigo (1935)

In January 1935, the ANLA crossed De Brage River and seized control of Taparokagrad. The ANLA had a combined arms force including tanks supported by heavy artillery, while the Pretanic forces in Iramovirsk had no tanks, anti-tank weapons or heavy artillery to stop such an attack. By February, the ANLA managed to gain control of the duchy and proceeded on to take control of the other areas of Antigo. Initially, the King of Pretany did not take much action, believing that the attacks will seize as the Pretanic forces are able to outnumber the ANLA by the time the ANLA reach Antigo City. It is also believed the ANLA is poorly equipped compared to the Pretanic Guards. What was unexpected, however, was that the ANLA managed to occupy Antigo City in September 1935 due to John Briarmack's successful tactic on capturing the city, prompting the evacuation of the Antigoan Council and the Pretanic-Antigoan State government to Del Kilsur. The ANLA and the Antigoan Provisional Government established formal control over Antigo City in October and declared the formation of the People's Antigoan Republic on 1 November 1935. Eventually, after the battle of Del Kilsur on 20 November, the Pretanic-Antigoan State government managed to flee to Pretany, while leaving what remained of the Council behind. The Council Members were eventually convicted for collaborating with Pretanic Imperialists and publicly executed in Antigo City on December. This was the first recorded group of people who had been executed in the hands of the ANLA and the Antigoan Provisional Government.

Western Antigo Confrontation (1936)

Map of Western Antigo Confrontation and first Antigoan invasion into Pretany.

When word of the proclamation spread to St. Richards, the Royal National Guard sent in 2000 troops into unoccupied western parts of Antigo to put a stop to the rebellion in January 1936, while defending the remaining unoccupied regions. Meanwhile, John Briarmack and the ANLA has started taking action to move onto western Antigo. The two sides met in Savanna Avay in March. The Battle of Savanna Avay was largely a disaster; the Guards were overcome by the ANLA and many were killed or taken prisoner. The Guards, while well-equipped, were mostly overpowered by the incoming Antigoan air raids sent by Suria. Savanna Avay is the last major Antigoan city to fall to ANLA's hands. The ANLA then took the military equipment and used them to take over other parts of Antigo and conducted massacres against those sympathetic to Pretanic rule. By May, the ANLA managed to take control of all Antigo after the capture of the last Pretanic base in Tunn-a-flats.

In response to the resistance made by the Pretanic forces, and partly due to his overconfidence after his military achievements, John Briarmack proposed leading the ANLA to attack and take over several parts of Pretanic villages which are also heavily populated by Antigoans. In the first-ever Antigoan Rally on 22 June, there was certain opposition towards this move. General George Markus, a close aide of Briarmack, argued that such an invasion is unnecessary and heavy costs will be involved; adding that the return of Antigoans from Pretany can be solved diplomatically. Although there was intense debate by both sides, the Provisional government decided on Briarmack's suggestion instead. Those who opposed Briarmack were then convicted of being in sympathy with the Pretanic Imperialists and they were executed on December 1936.

Meanwhile, the Royal Government of Pretany was in turmoil over the defeat of the Pretanic Guards and their capture. As King Durgan at the time has cut defence budgets in 1933, the Pretanic Guards are weak, though with sufficient military equipment. Hence, King Durgan sought military advice from Inara and Mazan, which suggested destroying all routes leading from Pretany to Antigo and relocating majority of the Guards to St. Richards' perimeter, which was largely believed to be Antigo's target. However, while Pretany took the advice to build up defences around St. Richards, the advice to destroy the routes was unheeded as they were still crucial to Pretany's economy and transportation.

First invasion into Pretany (1936-1937)

In July 1936, John Briarmack authorised the invasion into Pretany and the ANLA took over Crowdersworth swiftly without resistance, with the help of captured Pretanic tanks used to navigate the landscape. What was unexpected, however, was that the ANLA proceeded westwards to Rockatresston instead of northwards to St. Richards. Immediately, Pretany tried sending its troops to Rockatresston to counter the incoming troops, but, even with some support from Inara, Rockatresston was captured by the ANLA 14th Army Group. The citizens in the city were rounded up and taken hostage. However, the ANLA also faced heavy losses as well, with about 1,200 soldiers dead from the invasion.

After the capture of Rockatresston, there was a debate among Antigoan generals on whether to launch a further attack into Inara and later unto St. Richards, which was proposed by Lieutenant Colonel Osmus Bradley. Initially, John Briarmack has expressed some support, but he pointed out that the ANLA has no navy ships to attack the island, and there are little resources left to attack further into Pretany unless Suria gives further support. During a round of talks with Suria in Taparokagrad in December 1936, Suria has expressed that 'while we have given enough support for the liberation of Antigo, we decided to give no more support until necessary.' Eventually, John Briarmack decided not to launch an attack onto Inara lest relations with Suria soured, and also denounced the need of invading St. Richards in January 1937, though this was deliberately not made known to the Pretanic government.

Recapture of Rockatresston and Antigoan retreat.

Meanwhile, the government of Pretany held certain debates on whether to hold talks with Antigo, fearing further attacks by Antigo and an eventual invasion into St. Richards. The King has also cabled to Suria to stop aiding Antigo for the war, which, by then, has temporarily stopped, but Suria made no mention of the stopped flow of aid but emphasised that talks are needed for both Pretany and Antigo. Later in April 1937, with help from Kalm, the well-equipped and well-rested Pretanic forces managed to take over Rockatresston, forcing the ANLA 14th group to retreat from the city after Kalmish air raids destroyed the Antigoan bases in the city. The 14th Group morale hit rock bottom when Lieutenant General Andrus Mark was killed in an automobile incident. However, Suria forces managed to help the group to retreat safely back to Antigo, while also bombing several Antigo-Pretanic routes along the way to prevent an invasion by Pretany from the west.

Attacks by Pretany into Antigo, Rickorack March and Second Antigoan invasion (1937-1938)

Map of Second Antigoan invasion.
Rickorack March.

While it was largely decided by the Pretanic Guards not to attack into the Antigoan territory, Lieutenant James Ferguson went ahead and authorised and used his troops - the 26th Pretanic Border Regiment - to attack the Antigoan city of Gut on 24 January 1937. In response, the ANLA troops stationed in Gut - the 17th Army Group - bombed the bridges along the Gut River to stop the incoming Pretanic troops. Later in February, a Pretanic military airbase was set up in Gut for air raids into Antigo. The Pretanic bombings included the Kuyak Bombings, the destruction of Bez and the raid of Antigo City throughout the year 1937, resulting in the deaths of 20 000 civilians in total. A large portion of these air bombings, however, are not authorised by the Pretanic government, and there were demands from the government to stop the raids. It was only when Ferguson was demoted and reassigned the raids stopped, though Pretany did not remove its air base from Gut.

In response to the air raids, the ANLA marched into Rickorack and onto Port Battle, known as the Rickorack March, believed to be actually Briarmack's last-minute decision and just a deliberate attempt to provoke the Pretanic Guards. In December 1937, an Antigoan base has been set up in Lybram, and later the ANLA launched an attack onto Port Battle in February 1938, destroying Pretany's major navy bases, which was considered a 'great surprise to Antigo'. To propagate the belief that Antigo will still launch an invasion onto St. Richards, the remainder of the ships were deliberately sent along the Turpis River to St. Richards. The ships were then forced to stop near Tripolis by Pretanic Guards. To avoid capture, the Antigoan sailors bombed themselves which destroyed the ships and the incoming Guards.

Later in May, Antigo announced that they have managed to stole plans for nuclear weapons from St. Richards, which greatly alarmed the Pretanic government. The government launched a major lockdown in the capital in the attempt to expose the Antigoan spies, which only ended after the war. The spies are never discovered, and it is believed that the spies had escaped prior to the lockdown.

At the same time, with new planes from Suria, Antigo launched a surprise air raid on Rockatresston, the second attack by Antigo, which destroyed about 80% of the rebuilt city and killed many of the civilians there. The planes were then deliberately crashed into Inara, where about 200 people died and destroyed a part of Inara. Inara prompted to send its navy ships to help Pretany retake Rockatresston from ANLA land troops, which were ill-prepared to secure the city; the ANLA troops, not wanting to face capture, bomb themselves and the base which also destroyed the Inaran Army as well. It is believed this second attack was to, in fact, destroy much of Pretany's key areas as much as possible before the conclusion of the war.

Armistice (March 1938 – August 1939)

By January 1938, Antigo claimed to have developed a nuclear weapon capable of destroying St. Richards. After the Antigoans gave threats that they will launch nuclear warheads into St. Richards to 'conclude the ongoing war', Pretany decided to send its delegates to Antigo to discuss the terms for an armistice. Negotiations for an armistice started on 13 March 1938 in Daulselon. During the talks, however, there were certain disagreements over a major issue on the demarcation of the border between Pretany and Antigo; Antigo wants control over southwestern Great Richards which has a large portion of Antigoans, which Pretany considered this condition 'unacceptable', and wanted the line to be at the original border demarcating the shire since the 8th century AD, which posed several problems due to the various old maps' inconsistencies.

Meanwhile, it was largely agreed to remove the Pretanic Gut Air Base, and in July 1938 Lieutenant James Ferguson was arrested by the Pretanic military for 'not obeying actual commands of the Pretanic Guards'. The ANLA later withdrew from Rickorack in September. The border issue was eventually resolved when it was decided that the Antigoans in Pretany will return to Antigo 'out of their free will', and Inara and Pretanic scholars agreed on the border demarcation which was reluctantly accepted by Antigo after Suria persuaded Antigo that this is for a quick end to hostilities.

The armistice was agreed by all sides in May 1939, and belligerents established the Pretanic Demilitarised Zone, which since then been patrolled by the Antigoan Peacekeeping Troops (APT) and the Pretanic Border Patrol. The armistice agreement was signed in the Peace House (claimed to have been built overnight by Antigoans) on 9 August 1939. While the armistice called upon the governments of Pretany, Antigo, Suria and Inara to participate in continued peace talks, there has been no peace negotiations since the war until 2018.

The war is considered to have ended at this point, though without a peace treaty signed. Antigo claims that the war is a success and a successful liberation from Pretanic rule, and to this day the end of the war is commemorated yearly in Antigo on 9 August.

Aftermath

Antigo

For Antigo, postwar recovery was quick; John Briarmack immediately requested Surian economic and industrial aid. In September 1939, an agreement was signed between Antigo and Suria which grant Antigo one billion yanas in monetary aid, industrial equipment and consumer goods, and also effectively cancelled any war debts with Antigo. Later, Antigo signed a defence treaty with Suria and UL137, which helped bolstered Antigoan defences during the World War.

The war was a driving force which also allowed John Briarmack and his party to quickly become the sole party controlling Antigo; the Briarmack Revolution in August 1940 overthrew the short-lived Antigoan monarchy after a year of strikes and demonstrations. Following a constitutional change declaring Antigo to be a 'theonomic Cuppalist Republic', Operation Kleaquin was launched by the SAWP to wipe out any unclean individuals, hence about 23 000 were executed by the regime, including 3000 children with suspected ties to 'unclean individuals'. About 2,000,000 were sent to concentration or work camps where about 300,000 to 1,200,000 died, according to estimates by analysts.

Antigo today is a self-ruled state which sovereignty still remains questioned; Pretany claims Antigo under its rule while the Briarmack government often propagated the fact that Antigo has already gained its independence from the war 'which has blatantly been denied over and over again by Pretany'. Though Antigo faced great developments after the war, famines and mismanagement of funds have severely impacted the Antigoan economy. Till today about 80% of Antigoans live in poverty. The nation is also infamous for its poor human rights records and a known nuclear threat; having attained Pretanic intelligence during the war which helped Antigo's controversial nuclear programme since.

Inara

Inara has faced some negative impacts from the war, especially during Antigo's second invasion onto Rockatresston when Antigoan planes crashed into Inara. However, reconstruction works with aid from Pretany have greatly improved Inara's economy. After the war, to help recovery efforts in southwestern Pretany, the Pretanic government invested in Inaran businesses to help produce supplies for the rebuilding of southwestern Pretany, especially restoring the city of Rockatresston. In 1957, to prevent any future Antigoan invasion onto Inara, Inara and Pretany signed the Mutual Defence Assistance Treaty, known as the Rockatresston Treaty. This explains the continual presence of Pretanic military forces around Inara, though in the past few years there has been opposition from some Inarans who believed that the presence of the Pretanic military in the caldera is infringing Inaran sovereignty.

Some Inarans, inspired by Antigo's de facto independence, tried lobbying for Inaran freedom from Pretany, forming the Inaran Freedom Group in 1957. The Group has certain involvement in the 1987 Inaran protests and the 1992 bombings of Pretanic navy ships. In 1995, the Group was disbanded following the arrest of the Group's chief Messian Kelanten.

Pretany

The war has a significant impact on Pretany's economy. Much of the nations' resources up till the 1950s have been devoted to the restoring of infrastructure damaged by the ANLA. Some duchies, upon receiving news that Pretany lost its control over Antigo, started rebelling against the Pretanic Crown, but by and large, these so-called uprisings have little impact. Nevertheless, there have been significant changes made to the Pretanic government. Strong socialist policies were implemented and its monarchical powers were dissolved to a constitution and parliament. The first democratic elections by Pretany were held on 1948, won by the Pretanic Democratic Alliance. The elections have also enabled social stability in the kingdom.

Much of Pretany's nuclear programme was halted in the 1940s to prevent any Antigoan spies from gathering further information about the programme, though, in fact, this move is unnecessary as the then leader of Antigo has little interest in building up Antigo's nuclear programme.

Suria

Suria has been condemned for supporting Antigoan independence in the war, and hence its relations with Pretany and Inara were strained.