Peninsular Republic Civil War

Fought between the years of 2251 and 2255, the Peninsular Republic Civil War pitted mutinous Hoplite soldiers against the forces loyal to the governing Assembly, though the loyalties of various military units and powerful families would be in flux during the war. The mutiny began following the disastrous Upper Peninsula Punitive Expedition, where, including those in the garrisons of the sacked settlements and ports, more then four hundred Hoplites had lost their lives along with countless Helot slave soldiers and many thousands of colonists and Frontier Company staff at the hands of a mysterious alliance of Tribes. The Assembly, under the influence of powerful slave and land owning families that had invested in the colonies, ordered another expedition be mounted. They also planned on trying the surviving Hoplites from the first expedition, less them a quarter of the total number sent, for deserting when they retreated without authorization. This started a schism among the military command, with several Generals saying they would resign rather then participate or authorize it. The Assembly finally found a commander who would do it, and ordered Hoplites to assemble. Those selected refused nearly to a man, and were labelled traitors. They fought back, with the intial troops sent to arrest them disbanding at the first shots, and the 2nd group joining the mutineers. Fighting broke out across the nation as local schisms erupted into full out warfare. Over the next three years the rebels focused on consolidating their positions and linking up with each other, til they had the capital region surrounded. There were few pitched battles in the war, as the loyalists had trouble fielding enough men to guard what they had. They inevitably lost because they refused to arm their slaves in enough numbers to make a difference, worried about the effect on their economic interests, which were their main motivation for war in the first place. This would lead to the surrender of the Assembly in mid 2256.

Background

The Peninsular Republic had been colonizing and exploring the upper Peninsula of Michigan since the late 2100s. The waters of the northern lakes were far less irradiated then the south, and these lands were populous though mostly by tribals, the descedants of locals or refugees who had fled worse off areas of the country. In this area the Peninsular Republic found a perfect market for slaving, and soon had set up trade posts to export their human cattle back to the heartland. In the early 2240s, boats of tribals began to raid and attempt to infiltrate the Peninsular Republic itself. It was unnown what their motivation was, these raids were poorly organized and inevitably failed. Regardless, as time went on, fewer and fewer slaves were found inland to be brought to market. It was unknown if this was related to the attacks on the colonies which followed shortly afterwards, wiping out the majority of PR settlements on the northern Peninsular. A punitive expedition of Hoplite soldiers was arranged to be sent to retake control, bringing with them a detachment of Helot slavesoldiers. The expedition landed and retook some of the towns, but shortly after marching inland, a massive and well armed tribal army of mysterious origins defeated them. The expeditionary force fledback to their ships and fled back to the Peninsular Republic.

Political Deadlock

There were three parties in assembly, the Patriot's Party, the Taxpayer Party and the National Renaissance Party. Patriot's and Taxpayer had united to break decades of deadlock and dominate NR Party. In general, the Patriot's Party was seen as pro-expansionism and had many military families in it, while the Taxpayer party represented business interests. The interests that both represented and the values they upheld meant they would not abide by the loss of the colonies on the northern Peninsula. That area had been a hotbed of slaver activity, with the tribal inhabitants being taken and sold to the mainland. Its loss was thus a large blow to those families rich off the slave trade, as well as those who had invested in the colonization efforts. The National Reneisssance gained increasing support among the military, however with elections long away the Patriot's Party still held the influence given by the army. They repaid this by working with the Taxpayer Party to authorize a return expediton to the Upper Peninsula in order to retake the lost lands. Furthermore, they made it known they intended to try the enlisted men who had returned. The commanding officer and his family were publicly immolated as a punishment and warning.

Mutiny

Immediately following the declaration b y the government that the army would return, there were protests among the generals. The first two who were approached to leave it refused to do so quietly. The third publicly denounced the plan and said he would rather be arrested then carry it out. He was quietly arrested in the middle of the night by the 'Cedars', the secret police force that was formally meant to deal with anti-slaver sentiment. The Assembly finally found a commander who would lead the mission, and the orders were issued to Hoplites to assemble. Nearly to a man, they refused. There were not enough Cedars to arrest so many, so the Wranglers were to be used as well. A few were taken, but soon they began fighting back, as Hoplites kept their own equipment with them at their homes. Realizing what was happening, those with the target on their back assembled into their own small units in several cases to fight back. Troops were mobilized and sent to arrest them, but the first group to arrive refused to engage. The Assemblists used them instead to cordon off the mutinous units. A second unit arrived and was sent in, but they defected in several cases. Finally, a force of Wranglers and citizen supporters of the Patriot Party, many of them ex soldiers, assembled to effect the arrests. Bloody fighting broke out. At Bay Gulch, A unit of Hoplites held out in a fortified manor for hours against a large force before being massacred. Once the initial mutineers had been dealt with, frustrated and vengeful Assemblists turned on the famileis and perceived sympathizers, killing many in a pogrom.

Uprisings

This was the final straw for many. When news of the brutality broke out, the National Renaissance Party enacted a protest in the Assembly, blockading themselves in and refusing to let the other parties in. They argued they had lost their legitimacy by this unlawful massacre. Military units were sent to take it back but they mutinied. All throughout the capital region and spreading beyond, Hoplites turned on the government, bringing Helot underlings with them. A citizens armed movement opposing the Patriots and Taxpayers movement began, as the Wranglers and Cedars launched raids snatching up dissidents.Low level warfare broke out across the country between political enemies, and those just settling old scores.

Assassination of Assemblyman Chambers

War officially breaks out when pro-mutineer dissidents assassinate one of the highest ranking Patriot's Party members, instigating a massacre in the capital region. Mutinous troops move in to engage, and this is enough impetus for loyalist miltiary to fight them. All throughout the country the low scale conflict breaks out into full blown war. The mutineers are mostly isolated, and so at first focus on surviving and linking up the nearest units.

Siege of Waltersville

First case of the pro-mutineer Scratch Bands engaging in combat when many civilians in the town of Waltersville arm themselves to fight off the loyalist forces sent to arrest the mutineers. A siege would set in the town, with the populace being starved and sniped.

Patriot Front Assassninations

Several figures, including two assemblymen linked to the movement are assassinated. Some of these are done by the bartons, who have been preparing for an uprising for years and now see an opportunity. They intend to blame these attacks on the National Renaissance to stir up trouble.

Capture of the Assembly

Loyalists capture the Assembly, the mutinous soldiers are lined up and shot down while the arrested dissident politicians are taken to prison camps.This leads to further mutines among the army, with now more then a quarter against the government.

Tamaton Massacre

Patriot's Front avenges its dead by murdering pro-National Renaissance civilians and several former members of the party, as well as one of the generals who refused to lead the expedition. A notable massacre occurs at the village of Tamaton in which up to a hundred people from pro Nr families are killed.

Battle of Augustus' Rise

First great rebel victory, mutineer Hoplites defeat a force of loyalists and wranglers, allowing them to break the siege on a rebellious town and link up two significant rebel forces. This would lead to the loyalists disengaging troops to deal with this new threat, lessening pressure on mutineers, allowing them to recover and rebuild over winter before launching their spring offensive.

Penitentiary Raid

The unified mutineers and civilian volunteers attack a prison containing many of the National Renaissance members and hoplites arrested for retreating. This is a huge blow to loyalist morale.

Kag's Crossing Massacre

Mutineer loyal town is overrun by loyalists, all the men are massacred except for a few who hide or escape.

Equinox Massacre

Bartons make their presence felt when a band of them attacks a slaver compound in the winter, freeing dozens of slaves and killing all the overseers.

Spring Offensive

Spring of the second year, mutineers launch an offensive and link up several pockets. The Assemblists panicked and sent their reserves as well as disengaging more units from their isolation operations to meet this threat. This results in the first, and one of the few real pitched battles of the war. During the winter the mutineers had organized many civilians into a militia, while the lack of Hoplites on their side lead the Assemblists to arming and expanding the Patriot Front Paramilitary. The Hoplites on their side were still only dubiously loyal for the most part, and so were not trustworthy with fighting. At the battle of New Alpena, the loyalist force would only be a quarter Hoplites, while the mutineers force was nearly half comprised of them. Their superior discipline was a key factor in defeating the loyalists. However, the mutineers do take quite heavy losses and so are forced to halt their activities and adopt a defensive stance for the time being.

Safe Acre's Massacre

A fair sized rebel town falls to the Patriot Front, who kill over a hundred people in the aftermath in addition to all the surrendering mutineers.

Battle of Waltersville

Northern contingent of Hoplites mutinys near Waltersville siege, and they join with Scratch band to end the siege of Waltersville. more then half the population is dead either from violence or starvation, but it is a big victory in wae of Safe Acre's.

Battle of Denton's Hill

Assemblist victory as they deploy the elite Constitutional Guard unit to prevent the north and the south from meeting up in the west part of the Peninsula.

Manitoulin Uprising

Inhabitants of Maintoulin island rise up and capture the island, executing the Taxpayer and PAtriot's party assemblymen in the area. The area was formerly a loyalist hotbed but the atrocities and oppression of the ruling government has become too much for many. The island becomes a port for pirate raiders onto the mainland, as well as targeting shipping from loyalist cities on the east coast.

Winter Pause

An especially severe winter puts an end to most of the fighting. Many die in the cold as the war has begun to take its toll on agriculture and trade.

Battle of the Sault

Canadian raiders attack Sault Ste Marie, forcing Assemblists to send many of their hoplites and helots there, as well as some of the Patriot's Front to ensure loyalty. They feel they ahve no choice, having to show they are defending borders to be seen as legitimate. This gives the rebels an opportunity.

Northern Offensive

Rebels in the northwest pocket begin an offensive eastwards and north, aiming to capture the top of the Peninsula and reach the east coast. With the loyalists focusing on invasion, there is little in their way. Within a few weeks they have reached their objective, though they are forced to abandon some territory they formerly had in the west as the scratch bands left aren't numerous enough to hold off the loyalist forces. However, the land route for the army on the border is now cut off, and rebels are moving towards Alpena southwards.

Battle of Castor's Cul

Patriot Front loyal miltia moves on a National Renaissance loyal area which has had the hoplites mostly leave. Half the town is captured but the rebels hold the river bank, the Patriots Front burns the town but leaves as they are sniped from afar.

Battle of Throatcutter Line

Constitutional Guard, Wranglers, patriots front and newly raised hoplites from loyalist families are sent north to attack the rebels blockading the border regions to the north. Those troops formerly sent to Sault are recalled and told to make a crossing and fight their way south. They are enticed to fight the rebels with a justification of further lake people invasions in the west coast that they need to respond to. The rebels have prepared for this battle, making fortifications they call the 'thratcutter line' as by holding it they prevent the loyalists from linking up, bleeding their force of much needed men. The battle is bloody but the rebels ultimately triumph, a small force is able to break through from the north with the assitance of the Constitutional Guard, but when the Guard is called to the west to help the faltering offensive that beachhead collapses under a counter attack.

At this point, rebels hold; northwest interior, 'throatcutter line', southcentral, capital region pockets,midwest pocket, mid east coast pockets, southern coast border pocket, manitoulin. loyalists hold; capital, west coast, center, northeast coast, southeast coast, south pockets, sault province, eastern colonies

Battle of Drummond

Loyalists in Sault try to retake Manitoulin but are stopped at Drummond

Harrowing of the South

Assemblists begin a chauvachee style offensive in the south, designed not to take and hold territory but to devastate loyalist communities, steal crops, burn homes, make winter as harsh as possible. They deliberately avoid places which are defended in order to maximize the success of as few men as possible. Following this, done during autumn, they spend the rest of the year gathering the harvest and bringing it north, as well as hunting as many animals as possible. Over the winter, under cover of storms, untenable territories are to be abandoned to shorten the lines as much as possible. Population is brought with army, suffering losses due to weather, but the act goes mostly unnoticed by the rebels who are reeling from the raids.

South Unified

In early spring, rebels realize the loyalists have abandoned the south and so are able to unify the forces on the southeast coast, south central and midwest pockets. The loyalists have established defensive works protecting the approach to the capital and their precious central and west coast regions, the most populated and loyal. This would prove to be a fatal mistake, as the rebels were now able to attack from the north and the south against nearly all fronts. The loyalists had few troops for what territory they had, and with much of the army still trapped north, they had little to spare for offensives. The mutineers let the scratch bands defend and raid, while they focused on proper organized offensives. The rebels prepared for what they thought would be the death blow to the government, the beginning of the end.

Battle of Mount Pleasant

Only pitched battle of the southern offensive of this era as Assemblists are very popular there. They put up a fierce fight and repel two attempts to seize the city. The rebels offer them a ceasefire and begin negotiatons. Mt Pleasant doesn't surrender but does take the ceasefire, which eventually leads to their surrender following Houghton as the war seems lost.

Battle of Houghton

Rebels attack from the north and the south on the thin salient connecting west coast with the central/east loyalists. The Constitutional Guard is sent in to bolster the defenses but is unable to turn the tide. The Assemblists are forced back, and are now separated. The rebels quickly follow this up with a drive towards ludington, splitting the west coast loyalists in half.

Battle of Mio

Assemblists march to try and recapture houghton lake and rejoin their split forces, having evacuated the forces from Sault by sea. Many are lost by piracy, but the Assemblists use human shields to prevent the rebels from targeting the boats. They also brought in forces from the south, staging mercenaries near Midland to launch an attack near Mt Pleasant as a diversion. These forces are mostly mercenaries and hired raiders, and their attack on a predominately loyalist leaning area further alienates the assembly from its supporters. The rebels are slow to respond which leads to some criticism against them, but those at Mt Pleasant are far from Alpena and the guns of the rebels are at their backs. At Mio, the Assemblists have gathered their forces, as well as sending out conscripted slaves in numbers for the first time in the war. This measure is unpopular as it takes them off the fields, hurting profits. But at this point they have little choice. As their army marches, the rebels near the lake move to intercept them, joining ones form the north. They cut off the Assembly army from behind, moving around them in two wings. Assembly turns back and fights them near the town of Mio. The battle is going well for them, but when the rebels withdraw, the Assemblists try to get their Hoplites from Sault to keep fighting. They refuse, realizing they are being lied to, and the battle turns. Some even begin to defect. The largest set piece battle of the war ends as half the Assemblist army is surrounded and surrenders, the rest fleeing back to the capital region.

Battle of Cadillac

ONe of the few intact loyalist hoplite units in the south, which was garrisoning Traverse City, marches south to try and halt the rebels. They are delayed by barton activity and so arrive too late, but the rebel troops engage them on the way back from Ludington in a pitched battle. They win, the rebel army which just took Ludington is seriously bloodied and retreats, but the loyalists are soon recalled to the capital region. They march north, joining the rest of the Patriot Front, Wranglers and armed slave overseer battalions evacuating the northwest pocket to the capital region.

Battle of Greyling

Rebels in the north try to stop the Assemblist forces from arriving at the capital region, engaging them at Grayling. The Assemblists break through and rejoin the capital region, bolstering the defenses.

Sacking of Sault

Raiders and the north peninsula tribals move onto the now largely undefended Sault province, pillaging and murdering at will.

Capitulation of Northwest

Traverse City and surrounding communities on northwest shore, being primarily loyal to Patriots/Taxpayers out of concerns for further invasion from lake peoples, surrender to rebels once the rebels assure them of protection. The withdrawal of the loyalist troops from region undercut and support they might have had for the assembly. At this point the loyalists basically control only the capital and surrounding region, west to Keno, south to Greenbush, and the southwest coast. There are other loyalist pockets but they are largely insignificant. This surrender slows the rebel advance to the capital region as they have to move in to take over this territory, stretching troops in north thin.

Assembly Isolated

As winter begins, the last winter of the war, the Assembly is now only in control of perhaps a quarter of the nation. They use the winter to reorganize their troops and try to arrange for reinforcements from sea. However, the rebels on the coast largely prevent any reinforcement efforts. The southwest loyalist pocket sgns the Freemont Ceasefire with the rebels.

Spratt Uprising

Bartons are desperate to try and topple the government and replace it with one which abolishes slavery, not wanting one band of slavers to replace another. They instigate a slave uprising, raiding farms near the town of Spratt. They are successful for some time, however the loyalists in the capital region are still string enough to put down the rebellion after several weeks.

Siege of Fairview

After spring thaw, the rebels besiege the city of Fairview, which falls after six weeks.

Glensbar Ambush - loyalist column on the way to Fairview is ambushed by Bartons and wiped out

Lachine Raids

Bartons raid slavers, freeing slaves to grow their army as they try to carve out some sort of statelet in the besieged capital region. They kill over a hundred in a two week period in this region until Constitutional Guard arrives to chase them off.

Rust Massacre

Barton friendly civilians near Rust are killed by loyalists in a massacre.

Battle of Atlanta Forests

After the fall of Fairview, rebels attack loyalist held forests. They are engaged by Bartons, as well as PAtriot Front guerillas. The towns easily fall but the bushwacker war in the trees between the three side continues on.

Lupton Uprising

Bartons capture some villages and free slaves in a chaotic border region between the two sides. Nobody botheres to crush them for the time being...

Battle of Hubbard Lake

Final pitched battle between loyalists and rebels as the rebel offensive from the south decisively defeats remnants of the loyalist military, driving them back towards Alpena itself.The war is clearly over, the rebels are closing on the capital and only thing stopping them is the need to resupply. The Assembly is also concerned about growing influence of Bartons, who now rule over territory. They figure it is better to live under a rival then be killed as a slaver.

End of War

Assembly capitulates, giving over power to a council of the senior National Renaissance Assemblymen who survived, Generals, and prominent scions, with 7 members total. They chose to mostly forgive the rival politicians and powerful family heads, instead choosing to scapegoat the members of the Patriot Front and a few black sheep families. Fewer then a hundred are executed in the aftermath of the victory, and only one of them an Assemblyman, a junior who personally participated in massacres. The Transitionary Council as it is called is given total power for the time being to deal with the ongoing crisis

(postwar events)

Suppression of Bartons - The new Peninsular Army would spend years chasing the remnants of the Bartons, but it only took a few months to recapture the villages and plantations they had occupied. Following this, a brutal guerilla war ensured, in which the Transitionary Council resorted to atrocious measures to suppress any support for this movement.

Sault Crisis - the Sault Province was largely lawless and occupied by raiders and invading tribals. A military expedition would be needed to reclaim it. Ironically, the war whcih had begun over an overseas military expedition, would close with the formation of another one. It would take two years before the flag of the Peninsular Republic flew over Sault Ste Marie again.

Piracy - Many on Manitoulin refused to give up their lfiestyle of raiding and plunder, and for many years the island would be a haven for pirates and bandits. Several punitive expeditions would be launched until a more elegant solution was discovered, hiring the pirates to kill one another.

Corrective Revolution - Just over two years after the peace, the Transitionary Council was overthrown and its members executed by military officers who represented an aggressive expansionist clique which had manage to bridge the gap between the slavers who required more slaves and the nationalist-militarists who could be swayed by the promise of glory and conquest. This new movement, with two figures at the top, would complete a bloody purge of its enemies before a reorganization of the military lasting just over two years. Following this, they would begin their southward expansion, kicking off an era of expansionism that would last for almost three decades straight and bring the to the gates of chicago and Detroit.

Casualties

The exact number of casualties is unknown, it is believed that approximately 10,000 people or more were killed. This represented a significant portion of the Peninsular Republic's population at the time. Of these, fewer then four thousand were soldiers, the rest civilians killed by either side.

Aftermath

There remained some loyalists to the old order who refused to give up the fight, the most famous being Cuthbert's Rangers.

Belligerents

Assemblists had the Wranglers, the Constitutional Guard, the SIDR (Cedars) secret police, the Patriotic Front paramilitary and elements of the military.

Mutineers, later known as the Citizen's Alliance, had many of the Hoplite military units, as well as irregular formations known as Scratch Bands, made up of sympathetic civilians often veterans themselves.

third party the Bartons, an anti slavery guerilla movement which tried to free slaves and organize a resistance, named for a town which had seceded from Peninsular Republic but been destroyed for it. As well there were many independent and opportunistic bandit groups, raiders and tribal war bands, too numerous to name. The only other significant faction was the Church of the Undying Flesh, a ghoul worshipping cult which had influence in much of the PR frontier. However their aim as for the most part low scale violence and theft to gain protection and influence among the subjugated populace, and their military impact as negligible.