1938 Epping Bombing

1938 Epping Bombing
Part of Malgravean Civil War
Date 12th of March 1938 Location Government Sector , Epping Result Start of the Malgravean Civil War and passing of the National Security and Stabilisation Act of 1938
Belligerents
The United Kingdom of Malgrave	National Council for Stability and Justice
Commanders and leaders
Prime Minister Jozef Wajda
Casualties and losses
1 ISD operative killed

The 1938 Epping Bombing is the term given to a major historical event in the United Kingdom of Malgrave which is credited as a major contribution to the start of the Malgravean civil war, as the unsuccessful assassination of several senior government officials marked a major escalation in the level of violence and general unrest that had plagued the country since the Great Exodus in 1933.

Background

In the late 1930s Malgrave was experiencing escalating political and social tensions, as the unity government under Prime Minister Jozef Wajda had enacted a series of military cutbacks designed to refocus the countries limited resources towards infrastructure projects to increase the countries self-sufficiency and provide sufficient housing and public services to the population. Prime Minister Wajda's decision garnered strong opposition from militaristic factions within the country who argued that other nations could take advantage of the country in it's newly weakened position, with the National Council for Stability and Justice (NCSJ) being the primary voice for these frustrations.

In an effort to weaken the governments proposals, the NCSJ organised several protests. A number of these turned violent, and rumours soon circulated that the NCSJ was behind several of the paramilitary organisations that were responsible for the violent activity. After a short investigation, the NCSJ was officially banned from organising in the capital and an additional clampdown was organised against all paramilitary groups in the country.

In 1937 the government publicised plans which included a further reduction of the size of the armed forces, with the paper outlining several warships which could be sold to finance the expansion of new residential districts in the country. The NCSJ saw this as a major betrayal of those who had sacrificed to protect the country during the exodus and planned several demonstrations in cities outside the country.

Initially, the government allowed these demonstrations to go ahead, however, after several hours violence broke out between protesters and members of the security services and hundreds of people were injured in the ensuing clashes. In response, the government officially banned the NCSJ from organising and arrested several members of the organisation which were deemed to have been responsible for recent violence. Such an action led to several members of the NCSJ to plot the assassination of the Prime Minister and oversee the instalation of a new NCSJ-led government.

At the end of 1937 the Internal Security Division started to receive intelligence about a potential attack on Epping, but due to ongoing disagreements with Political Protection Service and the International Operations Committee, it was unable to secure the location and target of the planned assault until the date of the attempted assassination.

Bombing

On the morning of the 12th of March 1938, three members of the NCSJ infiltrated the government sector in Epping. Utilising their connections within the Royal Army and wearing disguises obtained from the state-run construction company, they gained access to the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defence and began work planting an explosive device in a conference room scheduled to host a high-level meeting led by senior government officials and the Prime Minister to discuss the deteriorating security situation in the country.

The ISD was finally able to piece together target of the planned NCSJ-led operation the following day but due to continuing infighting they were unable to pinpoint the location of the assassination plot, and so were forced to send several agents to oversee the work of the Political Protection Service. When the ISD initially arrived they failed to properly identify the source of the assassination attempt, but with the assistance of Political Protection Service they eventually discovered an error in one of the assailants' paperwork and that led them to uncover the explosives.

It is believed that the NCSJ panicked upon seeing the arrival of the ISD and their newfound cooperation with the PPS and attempted to detonate the explosives early, however due to recent budget cuts the explosives failed to detonate properly and only one ISD operative was killed during the operation.

Aftermath

The immediate aftermath of the bombing saw heightened political and social tensions across Malgrave, as the NCSJ and other extremist organisations in Malgrave announced the start of a wider campaign that would eventually lead to the outbreak of the civil war. In spite of the unrest, a majority of citizens rallied around Prime Minister Wajda and his government.

Within weeks, the Chamber of Representatives passed the National Security and Stablisation Act of 1938 (NSSA). This legislation gave sweeping powers to law enforcement and intelligence services in the country including the authority to detain individuals suspected of subversive activities without trial. The NSSA also formalised the establishment of the Special Investigative Service and gave them wide-ranging powers to surveil those suspected of subversive behaviour and hunt down remnants of the NCSJ and other illegal opposition groups in the country.

Initially, the government's quick response was praised by the population as an important step to maintain national security and prevent foreign powers from taking advantage from the fragile state of the country. Years after an effort was made to weaken the NSSA, however, this died out when it's organisers were accused of links to the Socialist Republic of Malgrave.