Voltan Civil War

Voltan Civil War Gros Revolucjōn (Great Revolution)
Communist forces defend their position during the war.
Date 29 January 1917 – 21 January 1924 Location Volta Result Communist victory
Belligerents
Voltan Democratic Republic Supported by: Delamaria (1920-1923) (Via Bureau of Foreign Activities) The Naga Kingdom (Rhava) (1918-1924) Fravina (1920-1923)	Voltan Workers' United Front Communist Party of Volta Voltan People's Army Union of Tlaloc Communists Voltan Socialist Workers' League Supported by: Rhodellia (1922-1924)
Commanders and leaders
Otto Schmitt Gustav von Bothmer †	Hans Krenz Awitsotl Tlatoa Paul Liebknecht

The Voltan Civil War was a civil war fought in Volta over the political future of the country. The war divided Volta along two factions. The first, commonly referred to as the Blue Army, was the government of the Voltan Democratic Republic and its loyalists, largely committed to either maintaining the previous order or keeping in place the old institutions and attempting reforms from within it. The second, commonly referred to as the Red Army, was the Voltan Workers' United Front, an alliance of various far-left revolutionary cells dedicated to communist revolution and led by the Communist Party of Volta, with the most prominent other members being the Union of Tlaloc Communists and the Voltan Socialist Workers' League.

The Red Army started only with control over Volta's industrial cities in the east of the country, but slowly expanded their control westwards. The Blue Army launched a series of counteroffensives in an attempt to suppress the rebellion and regain control of the country. However, while the first offensives were mildly successful and the Blue Army was in an advantageous position, various internal problems within the Blue Army eventually caused it to weaken, giving the Red Army ample opportunities to strike back. By 1923 the Blue Army was in full retreat, and a communist victory was clear.

The formation of the Socialist Federal Republic of Volta was proclaimed on 14 April 1923, though the war continued until 21 Jan 1924. Towards the end of the war officials of the previous government fled Volta to other countries and eventually formed the Voltan government-in-exile.

Background

The first President of Volta, Eugen Rathenau, took absolute power in 1876, in what most historians regard as a self-coup. After this he implemented a series of policies meant to alleviate a labor shortage within the agricultural industry, the largest industry in Volta at the time. These policies included banning the freeing of Tlaloc slaves, allowing once-freed Tlaloc's to be forced back into slavery, and a contract labor system for mischlings (part-Dolch, part-Tlaloc people) and low-class Dolch that trapped many into working in slave-like conditions for the rest of their lives through a cycle of perpetual debt. These policies proved widely unpopular.

Volta began industrializing in the mid-to-late 1890's, particularly in the eastern and more urbanized areas of the country, but Eugen kept his system alive. In fact, he even expanded some parts of the system to allow for factory's to have their own workers as well. These moves again proved massively unpopular among the workers.

Eugen died in 1901, after which his successors continued the policies. There were calls for reform from the working class, and a small minority within the ruling class, but these were largely ignored as the vast majority of the ruling class benefited from the system. Instead of heeding calls for reform, the government began a massive campaign of political repression, effectively eliminating freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. They also introduced public executions in an attempt to deter anyone from associating with anti-government movements. However, rather than crushing dissent as was intended, this only caused more discontent but drove it underground.

Formation of the Communist Party

People eventually began organizing into various underground cells. One such cell had someone named Leon Thälmann as a member. This cell was arguably moderate, not advocating for a revolution but rather for reforms within the current system such as the introduction of a social welfare system and the abolition of slavery. Nevertheless, the government still considered them a threat, and they were arrested on 11 March 1904 and publicly executed them on 17 August of that same year. Leon Thälmann and his cell were among the first to be publicly executed following the introduction of public executions.

Leon's brother, Rudolf Thälmann, was a witness to the execution. Though he had not associated with anti-government cells before, after the execution of his brother Rudolf also began associating with them, eventually joining one as a full member. This cell began reading works such as the Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital, among other communist writings. These writings would strongly influenced the cell, and eventually they adopted communism as their ideology. Around the same time they also began spreading communist writings of their own among the general populace.

In 1909, this cell formally established the Communist Party of Volta. They were quickly banned by the government. Around the same time the government banned the party, authorities raided the headquarters of the Communist Party, destroying their base of operations. However, as they failed to capture the leadership of the Communist Party, their base of operations was simply forced outside of Köstritz. The Communist Party continued it's anti-government activities, helping to organize various strikes and rallies around the country and also spreading communist propaganda nationwide. Rudolf Thälmann, and the Communist Party as a whole, eventually became known for their support of workers rights and for evading the authorities. Many ordinary people dubbed them "Die Roten Überlebenden" (or "Dī Rot Øbalēbendere" in Voltan), meaning "the Red Survivors." They gained a strong reputation for supporting the rights of mischling workers and Tlaloc slaves.

On 9 July 1912, the leadership of the Communist Party, including Rudolf Thälmann, was captured. They were denied a trial and publicly executed on 21 August 1912. This destroyed the leadership of the Communist Party, but the party itself survived. The remaining members escaped into dense forests and continued their operations, albeit in a weakened state.

Voltan Workers' United Front

Following the arrest of their leadership, the Communist Party of Volta pivoted away from organizing strikes and demonstrations (though they did continue to do that) and moved towards preparing for an armed uprising against the government of Volta. To help achieve this, the Communist Party allied itself with the Union of Tlaloc Communists and the Voltan Socialist Workers' League. This alliance was dubbed the Voltan Workers' United Front, and was led by the Communist Party. Their continued support for various strikes and demonstrations, even if less than what they did before, helped them to continue to gain support among the general population. This combined with their new alliances allowed them to stockpile resources in their hidden operational bases within the forests.

In 1915, Hans Krenz became the Chairman of the Communist Party of Volta and effective leader of the alliance. He had previously served in the Voltan military, and maintained a number a links with disgruntled groups within the Voltan military. Through his connections, the communists were able to for the first time establish contact with factions of the Voltan military sympathetic to their cause.