User:Pixy/Third Insurrection
 | This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author. Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions. Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page. |
| Third Insurrection | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Workers occupy a plaza in Dinsmark during a strike. | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Belligerents | ||||||||
|
|
|
| ||||||
Supported by
|
Supported by
|
Supported by
| ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
|
|
| ||||||
| Strength | ||||||||
| TBD | TBD | TBD | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||
| TBD | ||||||||
The Third Insurrection, also known as the April Insurrection, was a major civil war in Brumen that lasted from 10 April 1919 until 22 March 1922 and was fought between the Absolutists, Constitutionalists and Socialists. The Absolutists fought to preserve Brumen's absolute monarchial system of government, the Constitutionalists wished to replace it with a constitutional monarchy whereas the Socialists intended to overthrow the monarchy completely and replace it with a left-wing socialist state. Historians generally agree that the conflict was by two major factors: the economic and social changes caused by the industrial revolution as well as political dissatisfaction between the monarchy and the noble houses of the Kingdom. The Third Insurrection began on 10 April 1919 initially as a series of loosely coordinated protests by members of various labor unions from armament factories in the city of Ankerplatz near the Drevstranese border where workers both walked out and occupied public areas, demanding better working conditions and higher wages. Local officials were confused by conflicting rumors and reports about the protests, with news describing the event as everything from a simple peaceful protest to a Drevstranese attack on Brumen's soil, led to a violent suppression of the protests by both law enforcement officials and a mobilization of the Grand Army of the Realm's (GAR) local garrisson which further enflamed the situation. As news of the protest and its violent suppression spread the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the largest association of labor, worker and trade unions in Brumen, organized a general strike at the city of Hafenstadt to protest the government response in Ankerplatz and demanded the same concessions. These striking workers however were shot upon by police officers and soldiers which resulted in non-members of the TUC alongside the general population attacked local army barracks and police stations to protect the striking workers. Hannes II the reigning monarch at the time proclaimed that all labor unions are to be disbanded which was followed by the signing of a Royal Decree that legalized Hannes II's proclamation. The proclamation however was largely ignored by the nation's labor unions, and both members and non-members of labor unions walked out in solidarity and protest towards the monarch's decision.
Socialist movements affiliated with the TUC initiated an insurgency campaign in almost all realms across the nation. TUC strongholds include the realm of Bewahren where it had successfully taken over and controlled key government and military institutions. House Hoffman alongsidee Houses XX, XX and XX protested Hannes II unilateral decision to issue a royal decree without consulting the Oberhaus and instead issued their own decree towards the monarch which labeled Hannes II proclamation to be null and avoid as it conflicts with the interests of the nation. In response Hannes II dissolved the Oberhaus and arrested Ulrich Hoffman, the head of House Hoffman, alongside his supporters. This led to the realm of Sudentor, the ancestral homeland of House Hoffman, to declare war upon the monarchy and demanded the abdication and exile of Hannes II, establishment of legislative and judicial bodies and the release of all prisoners. The faction led by House Hoffman becoming known as the Constitutionalists, those led by Hannes II were the Absolutists and the Socialists used as an umbrella term to describe the various left-wing and worker movements throughout the country. Officers and enlisted personnel of the Grand Army of the Realm (GAR) could be found in all three factions though a significant number of them sided with the Consitutionalists. Right from the start Absolutist forces found themselves fighting a war on two fronts, from the east Socialist insurrectionists were able to initially expand their area of control quickly with the cities of Endeheim, Gelddorf and Schonfurt falling under their control over the next three months. Constitutionalist forces were able to expel government and military officials loyal to the monarchy and began their slow conquest towards the east. Socialist uprisings in the west were also rampant but were quashed with considerable loss off life, though it prevented Socialist elements from establishing a firm foot-hold in Constitutionalist-held territories. By December 1921 Dinsmark had been captured by the Constitutionalists and Hannes II arrested though this did little to abate the fighting. Ulrich of House Hoffman proposed peace talks with the Socialists in order to reach a compromise agreement but due to the Socialists largely decentralized structure, took more time than Ulrich would have liked to make significant progress. By February 1922 however an agreement was reached between the Constitutionalists and moderate elements of the Socialist movements and Brumen soon adopted a new constitution, abolishing the absolute monarchy and installing a constitutional monarchy in its place. This process known as the Second Reformation is seen by historians as the start of a democratization period for Brumen. Radical elements of the Socialist movements continued to instigate an insurgency in the east that would not be quashed until the last communist holdout surrendered in 1923.
Background
Internal factors
Economic & Social
The industrial revolution in Brumen that began in the early 19th century led to rapid economic and societal changes and consequences in the Kingdom. A process of urbanization swept the country with people migrating from the nation's rural regions to its major cities and industrial centers. This influx of residents who were previoulsy unfamaliar with urban culture were quickly introduced to new lifestyles and urban culture and with better wages these influx of people disrupted the existing social order. Since the abolishment of feudalism in the 16th century Brumenese society was divided into three distinct orders. This social order had kept Brumenese society stable for nearly half a millenium but found itself incompatible with the changes brought upon by the nation's industrialization. Brumen's pre-existing social class is as follows:
- The first order: highest class and consisted of the nobility.
- The second order: second highest class and consisted of wealthy merchants and business owners.
- The third order: lowest social class and consisted the working class such as laborers, servants and peasants.
Discontent quickly grew amongst working class when their hopes for a better life through the nation's industrialization were quashed as they experienced severe overcrowded housing, poor sanitary conditions, long working hours, little to no working rights and/or protections and inadequate wages from their employers. These newly urbanized workers were also exposed to new ideas about political, economic and social orders which sparked conversations amongst them and was quickly disseminated through the fledgling press industry. Long standing grievences amongst workers who lived in rural areas primarily revolved around the concept of property, who firmly believed that land should belong to those who worked on it. Workers who were previously relatively content with their way of life became disillusioned with the rapidly changing social and economic conditions they found themselves in. The large number of people who similar grievances and presence of the press which allowed thoughts and news to be disseminated quickly allowed information to be quickly spread throughout the population. This led to a slow but growing call for change in the country's economic and social order. Workers established associations with similarly minded workers to voice their opinions together which eventually led to the creation of the first unions in Brumen. By 1901 unions could be found in almost every city in the country. These unions generally had common goals: improve working conditions, obtain better benefits and wages, establish proper complaint procedures, develop rules governing the status of employees and increase the bargaining power of the union's members through collective bargaining.
Wealth and land ownership was disproportionately distributed towards the first and second orders of Brumenese society, with them controlling nearly 78% of the nation's wealth and 90% of its land.
Political
External factors
Drevstranese Civil War
Factions
Absolutists
The Absolutists are a faction of the Brumenese government and GAR led by Hannes II that fought to preserve the nation's absolute monarchy. Hannes II
Constitutionalists
Socialists
The Socialists is an umbrella term used by historians to refer to left-wing factions that sought to overthrow the monarchy and establish a Socialist state in its place. These groups range from political parties, labor unions and defectors from the GAR itself who fought for the socialist cause. Socialist movement first began to appear in the mid 18th century as a result of nation's industrialization and initially began as labor unions that demanded better working conditions and wages from their employers through protests and strikes. Though large in scale they were relatively peaceful in nature and never turned violent. These efforts had mixed success and popularized the process of collective bargaining throughout the nation. The largest of these organizations and political movements includes the Trade Union Congress (TCU/GSK), Transport Union (TU/VU), Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (ASD/AdSD), Association of Coal Miners (ACM/VdB) and the United Front of Miners & Farmers (UFMF/VFdBL). Members of Brumen's socialist movement were comprised mostly of blue-collar workers who performed manual labor or skilled trades. By the early 20th century this had expanded to include white-collar workers who embraced the advantages of establishing unions. The success of the Crimson Revolution in Ostrozava raised hopes amongst the Socialists that a transition into a left-wing nation was possible and concurrently raised concerns among the upper class and nobility who were worried that the revolution in Ostrozava might result in cascading domino effect. Further fueling this fear was the start of the Drevstranese Civil War (DCW), bringing the threat ever closer to home. Hannes II's decision to support the Royalist faction and later direct participation into the war was highly unpopular amongst the general population. When it became apparent that the Royalists lacked the means to decisively end the DCW, Hannes II ordered the GAR to directly intervene in the civil war. A general mobilization was announced and a conscription enacted to fulfill additional manpower requirements of the GAR. Workers were not consripted were required to work longer to support the larger war effort which only further antagonized the population.