Battle of Gwryeng'-'an Palace

Battle of Gwrjing'-'an Palace
Part of Pan-Septentrion War
Date Mar. 10, 1942 Location Gwrjing'-'an Palace, Blim-tsi' Prefecture, Themiclesia Result Gentlemen-at-Arms victory
Belligerents
Dayashina	Themiclesia
Commanders and leaders
Nagami no Komaro (永海小万呂, みずみのこまろ)	Law Ljak-gwring (翱亦衡), Privy Councillor
Units involved
Themiclesian Marines under Dayashinese control	Gentlemen-at-Arms
Strength
45	57 Enclosure-Gentlemen 82 Corridor-Gentlemen 243 Gentlemen-at-Large
Casualties and losses
29 dead, 7 injured	181 dead, 152 injured

The Battle of Gwrjing'-'an Palace (永安宮之役, Gwrjing'-'an-kjung-tje-lik) was contested on Mar. 10, 1942 between the Gentlemen-at-Arms (郎, rang) and a small group of Themiclesian Marines (舫冗人, pjang-njung-njing) under Dayashinese control. The Dayashinese Imperial Special Operations Group (D/ISOG) infiltrated the Themiclesian Marine Corps starting in 1939 and, using it as a source of weapons and opportunity, made several attempts on the Emperor's life. The Gentlemen-at-Arms are the ceremonial guard of the Emperor. Engagement occurred near the Front Hall of the Gwrjing'-'an Palace and lasted slightly less than an hour, both belligerents nearly annihilated. While the Dayashinese infiltrators possessed rifles and pistols, the Gentlemen-at-Arms were armed only with jade-tipped spears, shields, and bronze swords and possessed limited mounts.

Background

On Jan. 11, 1936, conscription came into effect in Themiclesia to raise soldiers against the encroaching Menghean expedition army, which first engaged Themiclesia's forces in Dzhungestan in 1933 and had been successful in pushing the front westwards since. However, since 1935, the Themiclesian Army had requested permission to conscript, which the government rejected as diplomatically dangerous, thinking it may provoke Menghe to pursue a similar policy, which would only dwarf whatever Themiclesia could muster. To satisfy shortages in personnel, the Ministry of War resorted to conscripting various already-mustered groups, such as the Royal Engineers (who served the royal house and are not analogous to engineers in the military), the Royal Guards, the Capital Defence Force (then an autonomous part of the Army), and even parts of the Kien-k'ang Metropolitan Police. Two of the Navy's three regiments of marines were conscripted, for similar reasons, in mid-1935. In 1937, government policy placed the Navy in charge of coastal defence, having ruled out a naval engagement on the high seas.

The Army's haphazard pre-1936 conscription policy left various unplanned vacancies in Themiclesia's defences and other public services. Rather than returning the conscripted units to their original places, the Army decided these units were seasoned and could not be replaced with inexperienced conscripts in the short term. Hence, these positions were left vacant through the war, and some were outright abolished afterwards. The Themiclesian Marines however, were an exception; the Navy, to satisfy its task of coastal defence, required a certain amount of land forces, and in 1937 they decided to replace the two regiments of marines that had, in 1935, been conscripted. As the statutes preferentially conscripted only one man from each household (mainly to maintain family trades) and only those who have completed compulsory education in Themiclesia, most newly-immigrated Dayashinese and Menghean families were effectively exempt from conscription. Though the Army welcomed volunteers, many immigrants failed to demonstrate fluency in Shinasthana and were thus declined to serve. The Navy, which had dealt with multilingualism before, eagerly recruited these individuals; the Admiralty held that, as long as unit commanders were able to communicate with other commanders, it did not matter as much for the recruits to speak the official language fluently.

In 1938, the government printed a speech by the Prime Minister, in which the enlistment of Menghean immigrants was said to be "irrefutable proof that Menghe's people support Themiclesia's cause in the war, irrespective of nationality". The following year, when Dayashina declared war on Themiclesia, a virtually identical speech was printed, with the Prime Minister expressing deep regrets and calling on the Dayashinese government to "follow the will and free conscience of its natives that now serve in Themiclesia". To further the effects of the speech, the Themiclesian Air Force dropped pamphlets with photographs of the 4th and 5th Regiment of Marines—primarily Dayashinese-born—with large signs that poked fun at various faults of the Imperial Dayashinese Army, including corporeal punishment, poor ration variation, and garrison hygiene problems. The IDA leadership was incensed at these individuals, some believing their relatives should be punished for their "desertion".

Gwrjing'-'an Palace

Main article: Gwrjing'-'an Palace

Aftermath and trials

For the Gentlemen-at-Arms

Shortly after the battle, the Themiclesian press popularized the theory that the battle "destroyed Themiclesia's future leadership". The Gentlemen-at-Arms are considered the premier source of the Civil Service's elite recruits. Seven-eighths of the Gentlemen-at-Arms perished in the battle, giving the impression that the Civil Service would experience difficulty recruiting its top members for years to come. However, the reality is not as drastic as printed. The turnover rate of the Gentlemen-at-Arms was very high, as a new cohort of 100 or so would be produced as a consequence of each general election. Theoretically, this meant the effects of the massacre would last no longer than three or four general elections; however, the willingness of recruits to become Gentlemen-at-Arms nosedived after the incident. Previously, it was considered a time-consuming but necessary step towards a high-flying career in the Service. The battle exposed the inherent risks in the position, which the system did not address.

For some months, the government adivsed news agencies to refrain publishing stories about the state of the Gentlemen-at-Arms, who were seen as a symbol of the social elite. Though silenced in Themiclesia, it generate discussion abroad over the future of the institution. A former ambassador to Themiclesia, Henry Carisle, wrote that if the Gentlemen-at-Arms could be trusted over the monarch's life, then there should be no pragmatic objection against giving them updated weapons; conversely, if they could not, then they should not be stationed around the monarch in that role. Themiclesian diplomat Tan Hlas replied defending the institution, noting that each Gentleman has invested in an openwork saddle, jade-inlay scabbard, and jade-tipped spear (worth more than $30,000 in 2019). The Gentlemen-at-Arms themselves expect a future career in the Civil Service and had parents and other relatives in its higher echelons. The first condition weeded out those begrudged to society, while the second ensured their loyalty towards the Crown. Carisle conceded to Tan's analysis but considered the practice "byzantine".

See also

• Themiclesia