Invasion of Gogsan (1940)

Invasion of Gogsan (1940)
Clockwise from the top left: IDA troops of the 16th Infantry Division enter Gimhwa, Gogsanese tankette crew mounting their vehicle, Gogsanese reserve troops moving to the front, IDAAS G6H dirve bombers above eastern Gogsan
Date 12 June 1981 - 2 September Location Gogsan, East Daekan Sea Result Daekanese victory Gogsan fully annexed by Daekan Gwul is captured, later commits suicide
Belligerents
Daekan Supported by:	Gogsan Supported by: Esgonia
Commanders and leaders
Hae Taejong (Emepror, Commander-in-Chief) Ryang Jung-Min (Prime Minister) Yon Tae-Hyun (Minister of Defence)	Si Gwul (King, Commander-in-Chief) Kong Min-Ki (Prime Minister) Sol Kyung-Sam (Minister of Defence)
Strength
~1,600,000	~1,100,000 (peak)
Casualties and losses
105,519 total	551,214 total

The Invasion of Gogsan, also known as the Fourth Reclamation Campaign in Daekan, was a military invasion of the Kingdom of Gogsan by the Empire of Daekan which started on June 12 of 1940, and concluded on September 2nd of the same year with the capitulation of Gogsan.

When Gogsan declared its independence from Daekan after the 1895 Revolution which overthrew the Daekanese Emperor and installed a Republican government, the newlly born Republic of Daekan did not forsake its claim on its former territory. Skirmishes on the Daekanese-Gogsanese border began as soon as 1903, and naval encounters were also common. The 1912 incursions by the Daekanese National Army ended in defeat in the hands of the Dogsanese stratocrat Kam Young-Il. After the 1922 Daekanese coup d'etat which reinstated the monarchy, the newly-crowned Emperor, Hae Taejong, promised that Gogsan would be reclaimed. Indeed, several incursions by the Imperial Army were made into Gogsan in 1927, ending in success and small swathes of land being put under Daekanese control. Gogsan itself was suffering from internal power struggles between King Si Gwul and General Kam, which resulted in the latter being imprisoned and the military purged of his supporters. The dissaray within Gogsan and the weaking of its Army's officer corps were recognised as a massive opportunity by Daekan, and after Kam's death in 1938, plans were put forward for an invasion.

After a one year delay to ensure sufficient preparation, the Daekanese enacted a false flag operation in what came to be known as the Nohwa railway incident on June 7, which then escalated into a full-scale invasion on the 12th. The invasion started with large scale air attacks on the capital city of Gimhwa and facilities of the Royal Gogsanese Air Force by the Imperial Daekanese Air Force. The air campaign was followed by an ground invasion of five IDA Army Groups. The defending Royal Gogsanese Army, while being aware of a potential attack, was caught in the middle of preparations and was overwhelmed by the massive air attacks. By August, the IDA had captured most of Gogsan's southern population centres and destroyed several RGA field armies, and was in the process of surrounding Gimhwa by the 25th.

Historians mostly agree that the RGA's purged officer corps, that was made up of mostly inexperienced commanders, the lack of training for the lack and file, as well as the poor and outdated state of its equipment, were contributing factors to the rapid collapse of the Gogsanese military. King Si Gwul requested a ceasefire on the 30th of August, which was accepted, thought not entirely observed. On September 1st, he and his government signed the uncoditional surrender of the Gogsanese Armed Forces, which came into effect on the 2nd. Gogsan was occupied and Gwul placed under arrest. The country was later intergrated fully into the Daekanese Empire.

Background

In antiquity, Gogsan was one of the several kingdoms of Daekan and became part of the unified First Kingdom of Daekan when it was first formed. However, after the Second Invasion by the Esgonian Khanate and the First Kingdom's fall, Gogsan established itself as a strongly independent minor kingdom. Gogsan suffered several wars and conquests by the four major Daekanese Kingdoms during the Four Kingdoms period, and managed to defend itself from two invasions by the Second Kingdom of Daekan. In 1441 it was reconquered by the then newlly-established First Empire of Daekan, only to regain its independence in 1585. In 1789, it was reclaimed by the Empire in the War of the Two Tigers.

In 1829, an underground movement of Gogsanese nationalists began operations in the occupied province. Initially rural guerillas that differed little from bandits, they gradually grew in numbers and influence. The resurfacing of Si Seon, the long-thought dead heir to the Gogsanese throne in [TBD] in 1860, only served to strengthen their position. The rebels, at first several different factions that often fought each other, united in 1866 under the nationalist leader Yu Nam-Sun, forming into the Restoration and Independence Movement (RIM).

Gogsanese declaration of independence

In the decades of social unrest that led to the 1895 Daekanese coup d'etat, the Restoration and Independence Movement under Yu grew more influential, infiltrating government and military positions staffed by Gogsanese-born officials. In particular, Yu had secretly forged an alliance with the Gogsanese-born Imperial Army Major General Kam Young-Il, then part of the 4th Army's General Staff, stationed at the Esgonian border. In 1893, Kam, who was favoured by then Emperor Hae Jung as a trusted ally, managed to secure a transfer to the 9th Army, stationed in Gogsan, as a staff officer. It was relatively rare practice for high-ranking Gogsanese officers to be stationed in their home province in fear of gaining too much influence, but Kam managed to convince Emperor Jung that his presence would help calm local unrest and restore trust in the Imperial government. Insted, in the two following years, Kam worked in secret to establish contacts with RIM cells in the area and secure high-ranking positions for his political allies.

When the Daekanese National Salvation League, led by a collection of republican military officers as well as anti-monarchist intellectuals and politicians, began the coup to overthrow Emperor Jung in 1895, Kam acted quickly. He had the 9th Army's commanding officer, General Mae Jung-Hee, arrested and then executed under the false accusation of him being one of the plotters, and took overall command of the 9th Army. Kam then established martial law and dispatched troops to secure Gogsan's provincial borders.

As chaos and fighting between republican and royalist forces erupted in the south, Kam declared Gogsan's independence on April 8th, shocking Emperor Jung and his loyalist, who had considered him a faithful subject. Busy fighting each other, both royalists and republicans made little advances against Gogsan. Kam quickly started a large-scale purge of his troops to root out any pro-Daekan officers, and officially established the new Kingdom of Gogsan on May 2nd, with the now former 9th Army forming the core of the new Gogsanese Royal Army. Kam's plans to establish Yu Nam-Sun as Prime Minister were thwarted when Yu passed away in mid-May due to heart attack.

Kam continued strengthening Gogsan's position against the newlly born Republic of Daekan, even though skirmishing on the new border continued. In early August, he officially invited Si Seon, rightful heir to the Gogsanese throne, to assume the position of King. However, Seon had suffered a stroke and had become non-responsive a week prior. It was then decided that Kam would resume his one-man reing as regent until Seon's son, Si Gwul, reached the age of 16, when he would assume the throne.

Internal power struggles and border skirmishes

Kam rulled Gogsan as a military dictatorship in the four following years. He strengthened the military and enacted economic reforms, which admittedly only had little positive impact on Gogsan's small economy. Seon passed away in January 1899, two months before his son reached maturity. Si Gwul was crowned King in March 22nd, and Kam stepped down as Regent the same day. Gwul immediately appointed him Prime Minister, however, as a reward to his service. Effectively, Kam and his clique of military officers continued to weild the true political power in the country, both due to their established influence and Gwul's close relationship to Kam, who he saw as a mentor, and according to some historians, even as a secondary father figure.

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