Superior

Republic of Northern Wisconsin
Flag
Motto: Our right, our land!
Capital	Iron Mountain
Largest city	Superior
Official languages	English
Demonym(s)	Wisconsinite
Government	Provisional Presidential Republic
• Provisional President	William Kinnard
• Provisional Deputy-President	Edwin Mills
Legislature	Provisional State Council
Independence from Great Lakes Federation
Area
• Total	35,841 sq mi (92,830 km2)
Population
• 2020 estimate estimate	661,807
• Density	18.4/sq mi (7.1/km2)
Currency	Northern Wisconsin Dollar
Time zone	CST
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.nw

Northern Wisconsin officially the Republic of Northern Wisconsin is a self-proclaimed breakaway state in the midwest region of North America. It lies between the Republic of the Heartland and the Great Lakes Federation and Lake Superior, occupying an area of 92,830 km2 (35,841 sq mi), with a population of about 661,000. Northern Wisconsin declared its independence from the Great Lakes Federation two years after the shattering and has since gained diplomatic recognition as a sovereign state from The Republic of the Heartlands. Most of Northern Wisconsin is covered in a mixture of plains and fields and dense forests. Its capital is Iron Mountain and largest city is Superior.

History

The Shattering

Following a disputed election, and a tie vote, the U.S. Congress installs the most unpopular President in U.S. history, as David Jefferson Adams becomes the 44th President of the United States. Shortly after the election, increased unrest, rioting, and a growing number of militias have given rise to ever-increasing domestic terrorism. In response, the President invokes the Homeland Security Act, and declares martial law on the West Coast, and other areas of the country. Though highly contested, a Supreme Court ruling sidesteps the electoral process, disqualifying popular Presidential candidates from several states. Public outrage explodes when a sham election leads to incumbent David Adams accepting a second term in office. During the 57th Inauguration Day ceremonies, Washington, D.C. is struck by a low-yield nuclear weapon, killing David Adams and most of the U.S. Congress. The destruction of Washington, D.C. effectively breaks the chain of succession, sending the nation into chaos. In an emergency vote, NATO deploys peacekeepers to the greater D.C. area, to secure international interests. With separatist sentiment rising, California's governor declares home rule, and secedes from the Union. Texas follows quickly, and declares sovereignty, taking neighboring states with them and forming the Republic of Texas. Following suit, other separatist movements gave rise to Cascadia, the Republic of the Heartland, Great Lakes Federation, Georgia Federation and New England.

Early Movements

The idea of the republic originated from a little known man named William Arthur Kinnard. During the early months of the existence of the Great Lakes Federation (GLF), Kinnard and a small group of locals were upset about the policies and government of the GLF. Kinnard believed the government to be corrupt, the people of northern wisconsin and the upper peninsula under-represented, and that the policies and motives of the GLF did not align with that of the people in northern Wisconsin. GLF policies became increasingly authoritarian, and made local governments extremely reliant on the federation government in Columbus, Ohio. Local decision making near impossible without the stamp of approval from Columbus. To make matters worse, the federation government appointed loyal GLF supporters to local government roles to insure the cooperation of individual states and counties. Amidst growing tensions between the successor states, the Great Lakes Federation was experiencing trouble maintaining control and implimenting its policies in fringe areas, such as northern Wisconsin, southern Illinois and parts of western New York. Locals became increasingly rebellious and refused to abide by mandates made in Columbus.

Militant Separatists

Basing himself in Iron County, Wisconsin, Kennard began the preparation and planning of armed resistance against the GLF. Kennard and his group, now dubbed the Northern Wisconsin Independence Front, or NWIF for short, began acquiring weapons (mostly AK and FAL rifles) and other equipment such as explosives from black market sources within the GLF. As rumours spread, Kennard eventually became a person of interest to law enforcement agencies. Small militant groups of the NWIF had set up cells within several counties, all under the direction of Kennard, who had given the instruction to "target institutions most prized to the federation" and to "hurt their mechanisms of control". The areas heavily influenced by separatist groups grew larger and the country became increasingly lawless. In a response to this, the GLF government dispatched Internal Troops (GLF Department of Internal Affairs) to secure strategic locations in problematic counties and placed them under provisional military administration. In addition, the GLF declared any separatist group or individuals claiming to be separatists to be "unlawful" and "criminal". Law enforcement in northern Wisconsin had issued a warrant for the arrest of William Kennard on the basis of being a separatist. These actions had not had the desired effect that the GLF was looking for. More people became upset with military administration, and as a result, more locals turned to the NWIF or other militant and separatist groups.

August 8th Bombings

On August 8th, NWIF cells carried out coordinated bombings of a GLF government and military installations in Eau Claire, Wausau and Menomonie. The result was 112 dead, and several hundred more injured. The NWIF claimed the attacks, and demanded that northern Wisconsin and the upper peninsula be given independence, among a list of other demands, and warned that more attacks would continue if demands were not met. In short order the Great Lakes Federation declared the NWIF a terrorist organization, and called for the arrest of any known members or individuals in support. The GLF encouraged "loyal citizens" to turn in any suspected members to law enforcement or military police. Harsher martial law was put into effect in counties known for harboring separatists, and civil liberties were revoked.

Open Rebellion

Several weeks after the August 8th attacks, the NWIF called for a general uprising of "any able bodied individual willing to hold a rifle". Social order quickly broke down as NWIF militants and separatists launched coordinated attacks on September 2nd to occupy local government centers, police stations, power plants, radio and newspaper outlets, national guard armories, airports and harbors. It was believed that the NWIF had approximately 30,000 active and armed fighters at this time. The separatist movements in southern Illinois and New York had followed suit and began their own strikes.

NWIF irregular fighter with a Borz submachine gun

The GLF attempted to deploy regular government troops to subdue the militants and separatists.

War

Federation troops had to fight town by town as militant fighters and groups of armed militia had organized to give some resistance. On 11 December, federation forces launched a four-pronged ground attack north, in an attempt to reach Iron County, the supposed headquarters of the NWIF. The main attack was temporarily halted by a federation commander, who then resigned in protest, stating that it is "a crime" to "send the army against its own people." Many in the federation military and government opposed the war as well and held a sort of "let them go" mentality. More than 500 professional soldiers and officers refused to take part in the operation; of these, 35 were convicted by military courts and the rest were discharged. The morale of the federation troops, poorly prepared and lacking in experience and training, was low from the beginning. Some units resisted the order to advance In Rib Lake, civilian protesters stopped the center column and set 30 military vehicles on fire, while about 100 conscripts deserted their units. Advance of the western column was halted by the unexpected NWIF resistance around Ridgeland and the federation forces suffered their first serious losses. Deeper in northern Wisconsin, secluded groups of federation troops started to surrender to the local militias.

The federation government ordered the army to show restraint, but it was neither prepared nor trained for this. Civilian losses quickly mounted, alienating the population and raising the hostility that they showed towards the federation forces, even among those who initially supported the federations' attempts to restore control. Other problems occurred as the federation sent in freshly trained conscripts from neighboring regions rather than regular soldiers mostly concentrated in Ohio. Highly mobile units of NWIF fighters inflicted severe losses on the ill-prepared and demoralized federation troops. Although the federation military command ordered to only attack designated targets, due to the lack of training and experience of federation forces, they attacked random positions instead, turning into carpet bombing and indiscriminate barrages of rocket artillery, causing enormous casualties among the civilian population. On 29 December, in a rare instance of a federation outright victory, GLF airborne forces seized the city of Iron Belt (the declared headquarters) and repelled a separatist counter-attack in the Battle of Upson. With the federation closing in on the headquarters, the separatists relocated and set up new headquarters in Iron Mountain, leaving Iron Belt essentially abandonded and devoid of any useful resources.

Following the relocation of the NWIF headquarters, the federation government slowly but systematically expanded its control over the surrounding counties. In what was dubbed the worst massacre in the war, federation forces killed at least 103 civilians while seizing the Ashland (several hundred more were detained and beaten or otherwise tortured). In the south, the federation launched an offensive along the entire front in February, advancing in large columns of vehicles. According to an estimate cited in a Republic of the Heartlands Army analysis report, between September and February, when the federation forces conquered most of the republic in the conventional campaign, their losses in northern Wisconsin were approximately 4,100 killed, 15,000 wounded and more than 700 missing or captured.

GLF soldiers occupying Prentice

As the war continued, separatists resorted to mass-hostage takings, attempting to influence the federation public and leadership. In March, a group of NWIF militants took more than 1,500 people hostage in southern Wisconsin in hospital hostage crisis; about 120 civilians died before a ceasefire was signed. The raid enforced a temporary stop in federation military operations, giving the NWIF time to regroup during their greatest crisis and to prepare for the national militant campaign. The full-scale federation attack led many civilians in northern Wisconsin to side with separatist forces and thousands of volunteers to swell the ranks of mobile militant units. Many others formed local self-defence militia units to defend their settlements in the case of federation offensive action, officially numbering 5,000–6,000 armed men. Altogether, the NWIF forces fielded some 10,000–12,000 full-time fighters and 15,000 reserve fighters at a time, according to the NWIF command. As the territory controlled by them shrank, the separatists increasingly resorted to using classic guerrilla warfare tactics, such as setting booby traps and mining roads in enemy-held territory. The successful use of improvised explosive devices was particularly noteworthy; they also effectively exploited a combination of mines and ambushes.

By June, a federation commander in northern Wisconsin at the time, was critically injured and paralyzed in a bomb blast. Suspicion of responsibility for the attack fell on rogue elements of the federation military, as the attack destroyed hopes for a permanent ceasefire. In September, the federation forces in Rhrinelander opened fire on a massive pro-independence peace march which had involved hundreds of people, killing a number of demonstrators.

Aid from the Republic of the Heartland

On 10th December, between 1,500 and 2,000 NWIF fighters infiltrated Ashland, Superior and Eagle River and launched a three-day surprise raid on the cities, overrunning much of it and capturing caches of weapons and ammunition. Also in December, NWIF fighters attacked Rhrinelander. A month later, on 16 January, NWIF forces destroyed a federation armored column in an ambush near Shatoy, killing at least 76 soldiers; in another one, near Vedeno, at least 28 federation troops were killed. Intelligence reported that the NWIF had improved weapons and more supplies than in previous offensives, and there was speculation from within the GLF that the NWIF was being given weapons and unidenfified volunteer soldiers from the Republic of the Heartland, the rival state to the GLF.

As military defeats and growing casualties made the war more and more unpopular in the Great Lakes Deferation, and as the presidential elections neared, the federation government sought a way out of the conflict. Although carrying on a slow and taxing war, the separatists persisted. The federation even officially declared "victory" in May, after a new temporary ceasefire was reached. While the political leaders were discussing the ceasefire and peace negotiations, military forces continued to conduct combat operations. In August, federation army troops were moved south due to what was planned as their final offensive against remaining separatist strongholds, the NWIF launched counter-offensives in an attempt to stop federationt troops but ultimately failed.

The planned final offensive against the separatists came to a halt when the Republic of the Heartland came to an agreement with the NWIF, pledging military support to the movement should the GLF continue it's offensive. The Great Lakes Federation, fearful of entering a war with the Heartland, stopped the planned offensive just days before it was set to commence. Delgates from the NWIF, the Republic of the Heartland and the Great Lakes Federation met for negotiations. During eight hours of subsequent talks, the individuals present drafted and signed the Prentice Accord on 31 August. It included: technical aspects of demilitarization, the withdrawal of both sides' forces from respective territories, the creation of a demilitarization zone, the withdrawal of all federal forces from Northern Wisconsin by 31 December, and a stipulation that any agreement on the relations between the Republic of Northern Wisconsin and the federation government need not be signed. The Great Lakes federation did not officially recognize the Republic of Northern Wisconsin, but agreed to the listed terms.

Military

Armed miltia groups and separatists are split into dozens of guerilla groups of various sizes, most of which are a part of the Northern Wisconsin State Defence Force under the provisional government. The state militia consists only of volunteer units. Provisional president William Kinnard had created a legal framework for local militia companies to organize, drill, and serve as a home guard unit capable of handling state emergencies under the assistance and supervision of county sheriffs offices. Reports estimate that around 6,000 to 7,000 individuals are active militiamen, with a reserve force of 13,000 to 15,000. Most militiamen are stationed at strategic locations in Northern Wisconsin including (but not limited to) power plants, airports, harbors, police stations, courts, former Wisconsin National Guard armories, municipal buildings and newspaper and radio stations. The Northern Wisconsin Naval Militia has around 500 volunteers. The Northern Wisconsin Civil Air Patrol handles the management and security of airfields in the republic.