Fajatziak Conflict

The Fajatziak conflict (Ibarmentudiak: Fajatziak gatazka) was an uprising in the northern Ibarmentudiak province of Fajatziak, in the Handikogoiordoki Confederal state. The uprising was fought as a guerilla conflict in early 1937, but escalated into a stagnant war from mid 1937 onwards, with the summer of 1939 seeing the heaviest fighting. The Ibarmentudiak Confederal government fought against the Fajatziak Social Liberation Front (Fajatziak Gizarte Askapenerako Frontea, FGAF), later joined by the Fajatziak Republic. The conflict is often considered one of the preceding conflicts to the later Ibarmentudiak Civil Conflict, a wider Guerilla war actively fought between 1984 and 2004, which is still being fought in rural Ibarmentudia in the modern era.

Fajatziak Conflict
Part of Ibarmentudiak Civil Conflicts
Ibarmentudiak Forces during the March 1939 offensive.
Date 6 January 1937 – 29 January 1939 (2 years, 23 days) Location Fajatziak Province, Handikogoiordoki Confederal state, Ibarmentudia Result Ibarmentudiak victory: FGAF and Fajatziak republic disbanded. Buildup to the Ibarmentudiak Civil Conflict starta.
Belligerents
Ibarmentudia	Fajatziak Republic Fajatziak Social Liberation Front
Commanders and leaders
Briareo Besoita-Ormaechea Keperin Esnarruza Atreo Jurio Belita Solagurenbeascoa	Oton Aiza Andres Gabica-Aldecoa Arkimedes Biurrarena Antxone Barroetabeña
Strength
Around 150,000. Including Military, Civil Guard, Vigilantes and Law Enforcement.	Unknown, presumed to be over 100,000
Casualties and losses
17,500 KIA 35,000 WIA	35,000 KIA 50,000 WIA
4,000 civilians killed 75,000 internally displaced 56,500 total killed 85,000 wounded

Buildup to conflict

The province of Fajatziak, before being part of the Confederal State of Handikogoiordoki and eventually Ibarmentudia was an independent Ibarmentudiak-speaking Country, and for the longest time had a separate national identity from the rest of the Ibarmentudiak-speaking world. As it was for the most part separated from the rest of Ibarmentudia by the Goimendi mountains and the Logrotxera river, it was one of the few Ibarmentudiak-speaking states which were free of being heavily influenced by the royal House of Aguirregoitiafelipena. However, during the 1819-1853 Alboziradia-based Ibarmentudiak Confederacy, Fajatziak lost its independence after a short war in 1849. During this time, Ibarmentudia was trying to unify the Ibarmentudiak-speaking countries of Parenthia, and despite the fact that it succeeded in its goal, Fajatziak kept its separate national identity. Eventually, the Confederacy fought a war against multiple foreign nations, and the democratic institutions were replaced by the Royal House of Saenz of Almagrian origin, which is still the ruling royal house of Ibarmentudia to this day.

Starting from 1930, the National Kingdom, as well as the Confederate State of Handikogoiordoki started moving against Fajatziak Independence movements, as well as Fajatziak nationalism. In 1934, the Regional Left-leaning Fajatziak National Party, the largest Fajatziak party was outlawed by the Handikogoiordoki Legebiltzarra, resulting in protests and riots in multiple Fajatziak cities, among them the capital of Alilgeina. The riots were eventually crushed by Ibarmentudiak and Handikogoiordoki Police, but with immense violence. In late 1936, leaders of the former Fajatziak National Party met up with leaders of three other outlawed Regional parties, proclaiming an ultimatum for the Central Ibarmentudiak Government. Either Ibarmentudia would allow the Fajatziak province greater freedom to the level of becoming its own confederal state, separate from the Handikogoiordok state, or it would start using violence to separate from Ibarmentudia, starting from the 1st of January, 1937. Ibarmentudia refused, with the then Lehendakari Briareo Besoita-Ormaechea proclaiming that:

Ibarmentudia does not negotiate with those who threaten violence.

in a speech held on radio.

Protests in Alilgeina against the banning of the Fajatziak National Party

Conflict

Initial Advances

On January first 1937, the Fajatziak Social Liberation Front, or FGAF, was officially founded. On January sixth, three bombs exploded in Alilgeina: one at the central railway station, one at the largest police station in the city, and another one at a Civil Guard base just outside of the city. The Handikogoiordok state instantly declared martial law in the Fajatziak province and requested Ibarmentudiak military and Civil Guard support. On the eighth, the FGAF captured the rural town of Zarteixo, together with the military garrison just outside of it. Using weapons captured at the garrison, the FGAF continued its push across rural Fajatziak. In two weeks, the organisation captured three other rural towns. Starting from mid-February, clashes between the FGAF and the Ibarmentudiak Civil Guard became more common, but due to budget constraints in the decades before the conflict, the Civil Guard was often pushed back by the FGAF, which was supposed to be an ill-equipped and badly trained force.

Through February, March, and April of 1937, the FGAF continued seizing land in rural Fajatziak, with the Ibarmentudiak Civil Guard being unprepared for the kind of conflict they were fighting. On the 12th of April, a bomb exploded on a busy street in Aranarteamendia, the capital of Ibarmentudia. Almost instantly, the FGAF was blamed for the attack, and orders to send the Ibarmentudiak military in to end the rebellion followed. In May, a counteroffensive was started against the Fajatziak Social Liberation Front, but got bogged down after only two weeks without gaining any objectives due to the bad infrastructure in the province. Furthermore, the logistics of the Army were, just like the Civil Guard, unprepared for the kind of war against they were fighting against the FGAF. In June, the strategy of the Ibarmentudiak forces changed from an offensive one to a defensive one. From then on, it would be tried to contain the FGAF in the area they conquered while preventing further expansion, rather than going on the offensive against them. Military units would be located around the seized areas and areas prone to seizure, while an increased amount of Civil Guard units were located all around Fajatziak province.

Between July and November of 1937, very little happened in the form of advances. The FGAF was reorganising the attack deeper into Fajatziak, while Ibarmentudiak forces were unable to restart an offensive against Fajatziak forces. In the seized areas, the FGAF reorganised itself into the Fajatziak Republic and proclaimed independence.

FGAF Soldiers, led by Arkimedes Biurrarena (second from right on bottom row), posing after the capture of Zarteizo.

Assault on Alilgeina

In December 1937, the Fajatziak Republic launched an offensive against the capital, Alilgeina. Despite the temperatures reaching -15°c and heavy snowfall, the Republic marched on and broke through two Ibarmentudiak brigades on the road towards Alilgeina, twenty kilometres to the North. Within only a few days, Fajatziak forces reached the suburban areas and started pushing into the city centre. Ibarmentudiak forces, with orders to hold the city until reinforcements came. Between the 17th of December and the 4th of January, 1938, a ceasefire was started to allow both residents of the 50,000 large city to evacuate, and to celebrate Christmas and the new year. Using this time, Ibarmentudia relocated units from the front at the river Logrotxera to the Alilgeina front. Once the ceasefire agreement expired, Ibarmentudiak units had grown to twice their original size, and cut off the Fajatziak units at Alilgeina from the main lines, encircling them just outside of the city centre. Despite multiple attempts to break out of the Alilgeina pocket, the Fajatziak forces failed every time, and after running out of supplies and munition, surrendered to the Ibarmentudiak forces on February 26th. A total of 5,000 Fajatziak soldiers died, while another 10,000 were captured or wounded. In turn, Ibarmentudiak forces lost barely 2,000 and had 3,000 wounded.

Ibarmentudiak civil guard soldiers in the ruins of a factory in outer Alilgeina.

The failed offensive on Alilgeina showed that the Fajatziak forces were not as unbeatable as Ibarmentudiak soldiers believed. In March, a counteroffensive by Ibarmentudiak forces was launched near Alilgeina. However, due to heavy rainfall, it got bogged down, only pushing Fajatziak forces back by barely ten kilometres. The FGAF responded by launching an offensive of its own, capturing an Ibarmentudiak munitions depot, containing heavy artillery. The FGAF tried two more offensives in rural Fajatziak, but only the first one, operation Pegasus, succeeded, pushing out Ibarmentudiak forces in Western Fajatziak. The second offensive, operation Achilles, was however unable to capture its main objectives, and its gains were pushed out in only one month. By October 1938, due to heavy rainfall and storms, most operations ceased, and the frontlines came to a standstill once more until early 1939.

Counteroffensive at Buile

In November 1938, Ibarmentudiak elections took place, with Briareo Besoita-Ormaechea winning a second term as Ibarmentudiak Lehendakari on a platform which promised to end the Fajaztiak conflict. He, once re-elected, started to mount pressure on the Ibarmentudiak armed forces to end the conflict as soon as possible. During the winter, once again the large-scale offensives halted, but this time, unlike last year, the Fajatziak Republic refused to accept the proposed truce by Ibarmentudia for celebrating Christmas, fearing Ibarmentudia would again use it for a surprise attack on weak spots. In February, Besoita-Ormaechea signed a bill, allowing more Confederal troops to be mobilised in case of an emergency. Two weeks later, on March 6th 1939, Ibarmentudiak forces, reinforced by an armoured battalion, pushed through the lines near Buile, thirty kilometres north of Alilgeina. Due to their ability to outmanoeuvre their Fajatziak counterparts, the Ibarmentudiak offensive was able to gain large swaths of land in very little time. It however had to stop after only 2 days, as Ibarmentudiak logistics were unable to keep the armoured battalion supplied. Furthermore, Fajatziak artillery was relocated to counter the Ibarmentudiak offensive. Ibarmentudiak forces did however capture a major road which was supplying troops in the east. Seeing the supply situation worsening, and the area having relatively little strategical value, Fajatziak units retreated from it, crossing the river Granatzile towards the main force. In a week, Ibarmentudia had captured more land than it had done in the previous year.

Soldiers of an Ibarmentudiak mortar company, presumed to be part of the 33rd Infantry Batallion, standing guard on a hill overlooking the approach to Buile.

Fall of Zarteixo and collapse of Fajatziak Republic

Fajatziak units started becoming undermanned during the spring after a loss of morale following the Ibarmentudiak March offensive. Fajatziak was however right in expecting an attack to come, because on May 16th, Ibarmentudia launched a new offensive against the under-manned units in southern Fajatziak, with their goal of capturing Zarteixo, the largest town the Fajatziak republic occupied. With a single armoured spearhead following the Logrotxera river all the way to Zarteixo, Ibarmentudiak forces were able to accomplish their goal in around two weeks, surrounding Zarteixo and laying siege to the Fajatziak troops in it, who surrendered by March. The liberation of Zarteixo proved to be both an important morale and strategic victory for Ibarmentudia, with the morale of many Fajatziak soldiers being crushed after failed counter-offensives to stunt the offensive and the largest town (with a fairly large supply of weapons) being lost to them. Furthermore, it had the last airfield which was able to receive foreign aid by plane, cutting the Fajatziak republic off from most of its international donors.

In June, the leader of the Fajatziak republic, Oton Aiza, committed suicide, often blamed on the loss of Zarteixo and the subsequent regrouping in the northern Fajatziak region to prevent all hope to be lost. Ibarmentudia, now definitively on the winning side, undertook three more large-scale offensives against Fajatziak strongholds: First a siege near the town of Naiera, where it drove out the Fajatziak defenders in August. Then an offensive in the south in September, cutting the remaining Fajatziak units into two pockets, West and East. And finally, a third offensive cleared the Eastern pocket of Fajatziak occupation in October. Ibarmentudia succeeded in all three of the offensives, and by November the Fajatziak Republic only held a presence in Western Fajatziak. During the winter, whatever Fajatziak forces remained had lost hope, many seeing the writing on the wall. Even the moderate and war-longing presence in the Fajatziak Republic started calling for an end to hostilities: Yet, the FGAF, which by then had its goal hijacked by the most extremist units of the organisation, was not going to give up as easily. In January 1940, FGAF members carried out a massive series of bombings across the country, striking civilians in all four Confederal States. Seeing the FGAF becoming detrimental to the Republic’s goals and legitimacy, the Republic outlawed the FGAF and arrested many of its members. Ibarmentudia, in response to the bombings, started mounting pressure on the frontline, sending units deep into Fajatziak-held areas. This was enough for the Republic, which on the early morning of January 29th, 1940, announced its unconditional surrender to Ibarmentudia. The Conflict was over.

Aftermath

The direct aftermath of the Fajatziak conflict was clear, a reshaping of the Fajatziak confederal province. Fajatziak got split into five different provinces, including the Urban province of Alilgeina. Soldiers captured during the conflict were repatriated back to Fajatziak province after screening for crimes, but the steady flow of people back into Fajatziak did not stop most of the citizens of the province from emigrating. By 1943, the net population of the Fajatziak population had decreased by 17.5%, most of them leaving for other areas in either the Handikogoiordoki Confederal State or the Edurnebaso Confederal State. Those who remained in Fajatziak remained in an underdeveloped region, where crime was rampant for most of the years following the conflict. Fajatziak dropped behind the rest of Ibarmentudia in median income, with the average Fajatziak citizen earning on average 35% less than those from other regions. Seeing the region fall behind, the Confederal Government pledged to help in the reconstruction, handing out subsidies to the Handikogoiordoki Confederal Government, equivalent to more than 2 billion Txanege today adjusted to inflation. The subsidies mainly helped those in the urban areas of Fajatziak though, with most of rural Fajatziak being deprived of help in reconstruction. The reconstruction effort of Fajatziak and other areas touched by conflict was badly executed, but it did help in the end. Fajatziak Nationalism rapidly decreased in popularity after the conflict, and most of the leaders of both the Republic and the FGAF were arrested and given long prison sentences for treason. Most of the FGAFs leaders died in prison, ending the dream of Fajatziak independence there. However, a group of three FGAF leaders; Andres Gabica-Aldecoa, Arkimedes Biurrarena and Antxone Barroetabeña made it out of prison with no intentions of giving up on reform. They, together with a group of two other politicians founded the organisation Freedom, Socialism, People (Askatasuna, Sozialismoa, Herria - ASH) in 1976, and started abusing the unstable state of Ibarmentudiak politics in the late 70s to get people to join its cause, which eventually spread to result into the Ibarmentudiak Civil Conflict.

A map showing the advances and development during the conflict in Fajatziak province.

Casualties

While the exact numbers of casualties are not fully known, studies carried out by the Alboziradia University of History were able to get the most reliable numbers. It is believed that around 35,000 people died on the Fajatziak side, split between 27,000 Republicans and 8,000 FGAF members. Another 50,000 got wounded during the entire war, of which 7,500 died of their wounds later on. On the Ibarmentudiak side, around 17,500 people died, most of whom Civil Guard and Armed Forces. Ibarmentudiak wounded were more massive, at around 35,000, of which it is unknown how many died of their wounds. Around 4,000 civilians were killed during the entire conflict, usually the result of misguided artillery fire or other accidents. Another 75,000 got displaced or became refugees, putting the total casualties at 56,500 killed and 85,000 wounded, most of the casualties being male in the 20-25 age.