Second Reunification War of Hoterallia

This article talks about the second reunification war of Hoterallia, for the first unification war and warlords Era in 1377, use the First Unification War of Hoterallia

Second Reunification War of Hoterallia
Part of Era of Civil Wars
File:Second Reunification War of Hoterallia collection.png Clockwise from the top: Three generals of the Shori Clique planning underground in Oracloer A wave of G4M1s of the People's Liberation Army preparing to strategic bombing of Hersu The 1st Armored Division and 2nd Infantry Division of the Shori Clique going to the ruined of Gerkoller The 11th Artillery Battalion of the Shori Clique watching for planes to shoot down.
Date 21 July 1939 – 28 March 1949 (1949-03-28) (9 years, 8 months and 1 week) Location Hoterallia Result Royalist Victory. Shori Restoration succeed. National Diet established for democracy. Reunification of Hoterallia Continuation of the Shori Dynasty. Territorial changes Reunification of Southern, Northern and Western Hoterallia into the Second Empire of Hoterallia.
Belligerents
Shori Clique 4 Ways Movement Risen Phoenix Movement Provisional Government of Hoterallia Kingdom	File:People's Revolutionary Council of Hoterallia Flag.pngPeople's Revolutionary Council of Hoterallia File:People's Revolutionary Council of Hoterallia Flag.pngProvisional Government of Socialist Republic of Hoterallia File:People's Revolutionary Council of Hoterallia Flag.pngPeople's Liberation Front of Hoterallia Hong Chi Autonomous Separatist	Multiple others warlords states
Commanders and leaders
Emperor Norihi Early Taihago Early Kodoha Prince Momomito Shori Prince Korihe Shori	File:People's Revolutionary Council of Hoterallia Flag.pngMamuguchi Hideyu File:People's Revolutionary Council of Hoterallia Flag.pngChiroma Jukori Hong Chi File:People's Revolutionary Council of Hoterallia Flag.pngFirou Washite	Yu-kio Lori Herio Meki Al-Asur Mogochi Chi-chi Kogu Sappore Kou
Strength
~1,200,450 Shori Clique: 1,005,650 Risen Phoenix Movement: 110,000 4 Ways Movement: 84,800	~780,320 People's Liberation Front of Hoterallia: 767,000 Hong Chi Autonomous Separatist: 13,320	~320,870
Casualties and losses
50,000-60,000 civilians dead ~579,000 military dead	~687,000 military dead	Unknown, most are captured or joined other cliques
Around 50,000-60,000 civilians dead according to body counts of the Shori Clique, more than 80,000 is suspected ~1,266,000 military dead on all sides of the war Multiple others clique dead are still unknown due to their flexibility of changing war sides and surrendering in large numbers

The Second Reunification War of Hoterallia (Hoterallian: ほてらじあの第二次統一戦争, Hoterallian Romanized: Hoterajia no Dainiji Tōitsu Sensō) was a civil war in Hoterallia fought between the Shori Dynasty-led government of the Kingdom of Hoterallia(KOH) and forces of the People's Revolutionary Council of Hoterallia(PRCH) lasting intermittently between 1939 and 1949.

In July 1939, the self-proclaimed People's Revolutionary Council declared their government as the true government of Hoterallia, holding Oracloer and they collapsed the whole country into war, the royal family created a provisional government based in their last bastion, Gerkoller, declaring the Kingdom of Hoterallia instead of their long lasting Empire of Hoterallia. After the two sides rallied up their army, regional warlords with enough money and manpowers declared their independence with their own intention of reuniting Hoterallia under their banner and their ideology.

Near the end of 1948 and the beginning of 1949, the Shori Clique runs a long campaign of encirclement and underground recruitment called Operation Phoenix Revival which helped their army grown in number, even many defected the Revolutionary Council due to their cruel ways to runs the country such as massacring individuals that opposed the regime, strict land reforms that causes wide famines,… By March 1949, many cabinet leaders of the PRCH had surrendered in their specific captured bunkers and by the 20 March, the Council finally surrendered and returned all captured POW and civilians. On the 28 March, the Shori Restoration occurred, returning the 48 years-old Emperor Norihi back to throne and proclaimed the Second Empire of Hoterallia.

Background

By the end of the Great War, the Empire slowly deteriorated in economic development even though not fully joining the war and getting invaded, the Emperor still launches massive reforms that eased up the mad population. But a small group intellectuals called themselves the Revolutionary Council and claimed that "They were the voice of the people…" which did not gain much attention until Emperor Norihi started to show his sickness, the power grip started to loosen, starting to past the power down to one of his son, Prince Momomito Shiro.

The Diet weren't established at the time, it was just a small parliament that issues works to intellectual and aiding the Emperor in his reign. The PRCH started to gain popularity slowly but steadily, their works were still unpopular to the mass population liking the Emperor greater reforms. Even though the Council lacks their popularity, they were stealing weapons from the military which were mostly worn out rilfe and weapons, they were also able to hide their secret underground airforce and armored vehicle that they built using scrap metal.

Their underground works was later found out and multiple councillors were arrested while many others escaped, they later formed the People's Liberation Front of Hoterallia. The front mostly ran small attacks on rice storage and banks, which mostly ended in failure, but they still go on with their ideas, they continued with small raids on army garrison and weapons storage.

On 7 April 1948, Norihi and several other old Taihago leaders held a meeting, during which they proposed that Communist activities were socially and economically disruptive and had to be undone for the country to develop. On 12 April, in Oracloer, many suspected Communist members were purged through hundreds of arrests and executions on the orders of General Chojiro Gozu. This incident widened the rift between the Heiji, the de facto leader of the Taihago, and Wang Jingwei, the leader of the PRCH who then expanded their control over the city of Oracloer. Eventually, the PRCH were deemed "A threat to the Empire" and cause a major shift. The Taihago resumed its campaign of reforms and changes in September 1948.

Communist Insurgency

On 11 May 1949, the Revolutionary Council launched an uprising in Oracloer against the Imperial Government in nearby Jotsu. On 14 May, the main forces of the Liberation Front left Oracloer and headed eastward for an assault on Gerkoller. Imperial forces quickly occupied Gerkoller while the remaining members of the PRCH in Oracloer reinforced their power. A PRCH meeting on 21 May in Jotsu confirmed the objective of the party was to seize the political power by force, but the PRCH was quickly suppressed the next day on 22 May by the Imperial government in Jotsu led by Kigata Howei. On 26 May, Norigi announced a state of emergency that has bestowed on the Empire, as the situation continued out of control for the Imperial government.

Attempts were later made by the PRCH to take the cities of Magateza, Jiko-risu and Go-kio. The Liberation Front consisting of mutinous former Imperial Army soldiers as well as armed peasants established control over several areas in western Hoterallia. The Imperial Forces continued to attempt to suppress the rebellions. The situation only deteriorate further with the fact that the PRCH launched multiple small campaign to try and distribute the Imperial Force out thinly, to which many documents by the PRCH officers wrote "to penetrate the line and broke the army".

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  The city of Oracloer during the Communist purge on 12 April

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  The PRCH addressing to the people in Oracloer about the occupation of fhe city

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  The Imperial Army marching towards Jotsu

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  The Imperial Force preparing to fight with the Liberation Front in Jotsu

Atrocities

During the war both the Imperial and Communists carried out mass atrocities, with thousands of non-combatants deliberately killed by both sides. Historian Shojo Kouza has estimated atrocities in the Second Reunification War resulted in the death of between 50 thousands to 80 thousands people between 1949 and 1959.

Imperial atrocities

In order to slow the Liberation Forces down when they marched through Central Hoterallia, the Imperial Forces were made to burn everything in the agrarian lands to create a scorched earth strategy, which in turn destroyed hundreds of kilometre squares of farmlands, starving hundreds to thousands of Central Hoterallian ethnic minority groups and at one point, cannibalism almost killed an ethnic group.

Communist atrocities

While maintaining order in the controlled provinces, the PRCH council leader, Mamuguchi Hideyu, launched multiple radical policies to mobilize Hoterallai against the Landlord class, but protected the rights of middle peasants and specified that rich peasants were not landlords. Council work teams went quickly from village to village and divided the population into landlords, rich, middle, poor, and landless peasants. Because the work teams did not involve villagers in the process, however, rich and middle peasants quickly returned to power. After the policies, the 1950 People's Act worsen the situation and increased the pressure to the rich and well-off population and those condemned as landlords were buried alive, dismembered, strangled and shot.

In popular culture

Film

• The Day Break (1975), a documentary by historian Chusu Matsuma about the beginning of the war.
• I Were There (1982), a film based on multiple eyewitnesses during the communists purge of April 1948
• Burning Across The Highlands (1989) is a documentary about the scorched earth policy of the Imperial Force and its after effects.
• Court Without Justice (2000), directed by Nishikita Strong, is a documentary about the PRCH's 1950 People's Act.
• Another Body Down The Ground (2007), a dramatization of an Imperial soldier dodging execution of the Communists.
• Food As Last Resort (2008), a documentary about the ethnic group in Central Hoterallia that chose cannibalism to survive.
• A Red Flower (2019), is inspired by Josuko Hotoka, a gardener who were drafted by the Imperial Force and planted hundreds of flower during the war.

Literature

Fiction

• Maekawa Yoshio (1960). A Child of War
• Kubo Yoshiro (1967). Run, Run And Run
• Yamane Hotaka (1973). Death Beyond The Living
• Miura Aika (1977). Scorched Earth, Hell Earth
• Kurokawa Kaoru (1986). Went To Hell And Back
• Shimoda Hideaki (1999). Smokes Burning The Sky: A Novel
• Shimoda Hideaki (2000). Smokes Burning The Sky: A Novel (International Version)

Non-fiction

• Arai Katsuro (1953). Poems During Wartime
• Yoshida Yuichi (1974). A Story of A Veteran: How Hoterajia Was Cut Apart
• Jo Shuichi (1998). What A Day To Die

TV series

• Blood On Brothers Hands is a story about two twin brothers fighting for opposite sides.
• What I Would Do To Survive is a story of a small village in Central Hoterallia during the scorched earth policies.