Marienberg Uprising
| Marienberg Uprising | |||||||
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 Joseph Trammer † |
 Septimus Barret | ||||||
The Marienberg Uprising of 2015 was an unsuccessful rebellion in the Imperial Princedom of Marienberg against Vionna-Frankenlischian rule which took place from May to August of 2015. Though primarily organised by the Society for the Independence of Marienberg, it was supported by several organisations within Marienberg with different political stances. Initially successful, the uprising failed to secure wide support and a government crackdown saw the rebels defeated. Though there remains a strong movement in Marienberg for greater autonomy, the successful suppression of the 2015 uprising and siginificant government investment in the region has been effective in ending wider wishes for Marienberger independence.
Background
Early Politics
The process of Marienberger integration into Vionna-Frankenlisch had been a long and politically controversial one. By 1910, Marienberg's independent political bodies had been abolished and the Princedom was granted seats in the House of Commons and its aristocracy were permitted to the House of Nobles. This caused a period of instability and unrest in Marienberg but this subsided over the course of the Great Cornellian War with the only incident of note being a series of minor risings that were put down in 1916. Over time, the changes to the Marienberger political scene had the unintended effect of creating a melting pot of various parties and ideals. The old political bodies in Marienberg had been both corrupt and closed to any groups outside of the ruling Liberal Merchant Party and the National Conservative Party, which served as a controlled opposition. The collapse of the old political elite in the Princedom and the new representation available to perviously outlawed political groups permanently shifted the balance of Marienberger politics away from the center and by 1950, half of the seats in the Marienberger State Diet (a kind of local legislature) belonged to radical parties from both the left and right. This arrangement was concerning to the old order in Marienberg who saw their power slipping away with each election. However, the Imperial Government in Frankenlisch and many people in Marienberg were satisfied with the situation and no action was taken to curb radical movements in the region. The government in Frankenlisch was particularly happy as the Marienberger independence movement seemed to have been permanently weakened by this.
Red Decade
Main Article: Independent Marienberg Socialist Republic
Things remained stable until the Civil War of 1966 which saw the Vionna-Frankenlischian monarchy abolished and the old order exiled. The rise of the DPRVF brought many local changes with it. The Imperial Princedoms of Ceasia and Wolfswood remained loyal to the old monarchy and refused to cooperate with the socialist government of Marshal Howell. Marienberg, conversely, had endured a Civil War of its own which had only ended when leftist forces from Frankenlisch arrived to force a Socialist victory. Following the Civil War, Marienberg was granted greater autonomy from Frankenlisch and existed as the Independent Marienberg Socialist Republic.
Although officially independent from Vionna-Frankenlisch, the IMSR's National Soviet was essentially subservient to the whims of Marshal Howell's government and many of Marienberg's public and political institutions were heavily influenced by the Statsec in Frankenlisch. Nonetheless, the Marienberg independence movement was essentially satisfied and the true level of Vionna-Frankenlischian control was not realised until some years after the Red Decade had ended. Marienberg was not heavily involved in the War of Restoration, one brigade of the Red Army of Marienberg took part in the Battle of Nieuwesel and was almost completely destroyed. Once Marshal Howell had been killed and his government collapsed, the National Soviet made the decision to surrender to the Royalists and not to try and maintain independence. A treaty was signed following the restoration of the monarchy, restoring the old institutions in Marienberg and granting amnesty to its leaders.
Postwar Situation
In the aftermath of the War of Restoration, Vionna-Frankenlisch was ruled for six years by a government led by the Earl of Breem. Initially this took the form of a military junta headed by the commanders of the Royalist Army-in-Exile including, controversially, the Duke of Gestoria as Chancellor - a position traditionally held by commoners only. After a year, the Earl of Breem was appointed Prime Minister of an Imperial Party government and elections were reinstated. Though royals and Princes of the Realm were conventionally barred from holding high cabinet positions, the Prince of Marienberg was made Defence Minister and a Marienberger MP, Sir Andreas Andarri was Minister of Finance. These appointments appeased the Marienberger political scene, particularly the right-wing. At the 1986 election, the six constituencies in Marienberg all elected Imperial Party members and the reformed Marienberger Diet was dominated by the royalist Imperial Marienberg Party. Between 1986 and 1991, Marienberger politics were dominated by the Imperial Party and Lord Cypran's government included four Marienberger ministers, including Prince Lazzaro as Minister of Defence for the second time.
The amicable relations between Marienberg and the Imperial Party came to an end in March 1991. Facing conflict with Prodava, Prince Lazzaro resisted Lord Cypran's calls for war and was forced to resign. Marienberg, situatied on the Prodavan border, was considered to be a prime target for the vast Prodavan army and war was unpopular in the Princedom. Lazzaro was forced to resign and Cypran's other Marienberger ministers resigned in solidarity. This seriously harmed the credibility of Lord Cypran's government and was one of the causes of its collapse following the war. In spite of Marienberger opposition, the Prodavan War broke out on 14th March 1991 and lasted until June 1993. Throughout the course of the war, twenty-thousand Marienberger soldiers fought in the Imperial Army and, despite his opposition, Prince Lazzaro had taken command of a brigade midway through the conflict.
In April 1992, the Prodavan Third Army had launched an offensive against Marienberg. The Marienberg Campaign lasted five weeks and saw the Prodavans pushed back to the pre-war border where they dug in. The City of Marienberg managed to avoid fighting by forming loyalist brigades to defend itself and General Salahe's Third Army was defeated in two weeks of running enagements. Though the Vionna-Frankenlischians had proven victorious and fighting on their own soil had aroused a patriotic spirit in Imperial Marienberg, the locals steadily became insensed that a war waged without their consent had ended up in their own lands. Though the Prodavan War ended in an Imperial victory, Lord Cypran's government was voted out and John Hammond's Labour Party saw its first government in thirty years.
Feeling betrayed by the Imperial Party that they had remained faithful to, the Marienberger political scene began to shift back to its old radical nature. 1995 saw the first Marienberger Diet seats taken by the Marienberg Communist Party and the National Leagues. The following year, the Marienberger Catholic Movement was formed and sent its first representative to Caledonia, and there was a record number of League and Red Band parades. The Royal Auxiliary Marienberg Constabulary, known as the Sashes for the silk sashes they wore, began keeping files on all Marienberger politicians. Matthew Mainwaring, then Security Minister, was the first cabinet minister to suggest that a secret independance organisation was operating in Marienberg.
Society for the Independence of Marienberg
Though none of Matthew Mainwaring's security sweeps had discovered it, his suspicions were correct. The Society for the Independence of Marienberg had been in existance since 1988 and was chaired by Matteo Opeoti, a prominent Marienberger writer and diplomat. He had begun by organising an undercover debate group: The Marienberg Independant Political Society. From 1988 to 1994, the MIPS held secret meetings in a converted barn near Lesso, attracting prominent seperatists such as Bishop Rollo Leandri and Sir Ian Smith-Felliani. Opeoti officially reformed the group in 1995 as the Society for the Independence of Marienberg after its twenty-nine members agreed to take a more active stance in securing Marienberger independence.
1996 was an important year for the Society. It saw the arrival of five new members, including the man who would become their most important and renowned figure: the Viscomte de Ferie. Andreas Ferie-Lancier had ascended to the title in 1990 after the death of his half-uncle, Guillame de Ferie, and had already done much for the cause that he was soon to lead. By the time he joined the SIM, the Viscomte had a security file fifteen pages thick and his pro-Marienberg views were well-known and controversial. Considered by some to a supremacist rather than a mere patriot, the Viscomte's views on his homeland were let slide as he was an influential member of the House of Nobles and a strong political asset for the Liberal Party. His conviction that Marienberg's true potential was being stunted by rule from Frankenlisch was his chief motivation and the SIM leadership considered him their most important agent due to the respect he commanded in the Court of Saint Romulus and his heartfelt wish to improve the average Marienberger's situation.
Matteo Opeoti died of a heart attack in November 1998 and the members of the SIM elected the Viscomte de Ferie as their new leader. The Bishop of Lesso resigned his membership but still allowed the Society to meet on his lands. He later became leader of the Marienberger Catholic Movement, a politcal group which represented the interests of Catholics in the Diet. From this point on, the SIM moved further and further away from political agitation towards violent uprising. The Viscomte de Ferie had served alongside Prince Lazzaro in the Prodavan War as commander of a regiment of Marienberger cavalry.
Opeoti's death left the Society in a precarious position. The factions which he had kept together in life now had little in common and infighting threatened to tear the group apart. Initially, the Viscomte de Ferie tried his best to keep the factions placated within the SIM. However, when this became almost impossible, he decided to reorganise the group. This was done at the so-called Congress of Lesso. The various factions within the SIM were expelled and delegates were recieved from them intead. This meant that planning for the independence movement could take place seperate from petty political concerns. The factions would carry on their own independent actions while the Society devoted itself to the cause of Marienberger independence. The groups under the umbrella of the Society for the Independence of Marienberg were:
The Marienberg Communist Party
The Marienberg Worker's Socialist Party
The Marienberger Catholic Movement
The Marienberger branch of the National Leagues
These groups remained in opposition to each other politically, and campaigned against each other in the Diet. But they were informally allied under the watchful eyes of the Society. Rather than each group working towards Marienberger independence in their own way, the Society would parcel out tasks to whichever group was best suited. For example: fundraising was often undertaken by the MCM, which could operate under the guise of charity. The WSP and the Communists had close access to industry, and the National Leagues could utilise their paramilitaries to intimidate threats. Though there were often disagreements and rifts, under the careful leadership of the Viscomte de Ferie, the situation stabilised and the Society worked steadily towards its aims of independence.
Opening Stages
Janders Report
In September 2013, a Conservative government was elected in coalition with the Imperial Party. Led by Dochlov Zimmermann, this government earned the distrust of the SIM by commissioning the Janders Report to investigate political reform in Marienberg. In February 2014, the report eventually recommended the dissolution of the Marienberger Diet, the redrawing of parliamentary constituencies accross the whole princedom, and the devolution of minor responisibilities to local authorities - essentially bringing Marienberg into line with much of the rest of Vionna-Frankenlisch. When the detailed contents of the report reached the Society, the response was panic. For many amongst the Marienberger independence movement, the Janders Report represented what they most feared: that the government in Frankenlisch was finally going to crack down on the last vestiges of Marienberger autonomy. Though its powers were limited, the mere existance of the Diet was a symbol of the princedom's removal from Frankenlisch.
Matthew Martin, then Minister for the Home Office, fiercely opposed the adoption of the Janders Report's findings in Cabinet. He was well aware of the disastrous affect the dissolution of the Diet would have on public relations in Marienberg. Though Martin gained the support of several junior ministers, the matter was put to the Cabinet which voted 12-6 to adopt the findings of the report. Only the intervention of the Chief Whip Albert McCairth prevented Martin from resigning in protest. Following his retirement from politics in 2020 Matthew Martin wrote The Janders Folly, a critically acclaimed book on the Uprising and its causes.
In anticipation of increased unrest, the RAMC was strengthened with hand-picked candidates from constabularies all across Vionna-Frankenlisch. Preference was given to those with experience fighting violent crime. Officers were seconded from the Imperial Army Commissary Department to investigate the backgrounds and political sympathies of candidates. In total, 1,201 policemen volunteered for two-year placements in the RAMC and 884 were accepted for service. In addition, 300 former soldiers (mostly combat-experienced NCOs) were taken on as 'special constables'.
The sudden and heavy strengthening of security forces in Marienberg did not go unnoticed by the SIM. When the first steps towards implementing the Janders Report were taken in September 2014, the Society were fully aware of the numbers and disposition of the RAMC - including the new special constables. The Viscomte de Ferie demanded action and the SIM launched its first official operation on 2nd October 2014.
Montemarin Raid
Main Article: Montemarin Raid
A sympathetic officer in the Imperial Supply Corps informed the SIM of a military convoy headed to the town of Montemarin in central Marienberg. The convoy of trucks and Light Dragon carriers was carrying 500 rifles and ammunition, along with revolvers and grenades, to arm the new special constables of the RAMC. As the distance was short (the material was being moved from a military camp in Harroway) and there was a need for secrecy, it was moved by motor convoy by night rather than by train. The Viscomte de Ferie decided that the first military action of the SIM would be to ambush the convoy and seize the weaponry.
As they already had access to some rifles, a company of men was assembled from the National Leagues to make the ambush. Once the equipment had been captured, it was to become the responsibility of the Communists who could hide it more effectively. 30 Blackshirts armed with a variety of rifles and pistols were selected to ambush the convoy two miles north of Montemarin in the Mevente forest. 12 drivers were hand-picked from the Marienberg Communist Party to take control of the captured vehicles and drive them to a safehouse where the equipment could be stashed temporarily. Though de Ferie planned the operation himself with several deputies, the commander of the raid was Alessandro Esquito, a young communist and veteran of the War in Cassadia.
Esquito and his 42 men staged a textbook ambush, laying a felled tree trunk across the forest road to hold up the vehicles and overpowering the drivers and few guards. The army contingent responsible for the convoy was only ten men strong and the twelve drivers were unarmed. Commanded by a Sergeant of the Royal Harroway Rifles, the convoy surrendered without a fight and were locked in a nearby barn while the Communists drove away in the vehicles. Esquito left with his communists, leaving Captain Giacomo Federti and his blackshirts to guard the hostages until the captured equipment was hidden away. Once the convoy was out of sight, Federti ignored Esquito's orders and marched his company towards Montemarin, arriving before dawn on 3rd October.