Pacification of Lionsgate

Pacification of Lionsgate
Part of First Great War
File:Kurel-Am-Dunthur-Firing-Squad.jpg The execution of Orville Sherridan, one of the events that sparked the Blue Rebellion
Date April 24, 1903 to May 6, 1903 Location Lionsgate, The Imperial Colony of Acronius Result Lionsgate firmly under Imperial Vedrian control
Combatants
Template:Country data Vedria Vedrian Empire	File:Acronian Revolutionary Movement.gif Acronian Revolutionary Movement
Units involved
Template:Country data Vedria XV Corps Template:Country data Vedria Kurel-Am Dunthur	File:Acronian Revolutionary Movement.gif Acronian Insurgents
Strength
15,700 men 24 artillery pieces 137 dragoons	15,000 to 20,000 men
Casualties and losses
97 killed 203 wounded	~3,500 killed 3,986 imprisoned 169 executed

The Pacification of Lionsgate, also known as the Battle of Lionsgate, was the first major battle of the Blue Rebellion. The battle began when soldiers from the Kurel-Am Dunthur, the elite Vedrian colonial troops, executed two of the Sherridan siblings, along with 43 other people, on April 24, 1903. The executions enraged the local Acronian populace which led to the storming of the Kurel-Inod Fortress, the escape from the Viceroy's Palace and the Bloody Saturday Massacres. Several days later the regular army troops of the XV Corps, led by General Onul Sat-emen, from the nearby Sherridan Island Garrison arrived in the city to quell the unrest. Over course of a week, around 3,500 rebels were killed, 4,000 imprisoned and a further 169 executed. The unrest was quelled but a staggering cost; much of the city had been damaged by the fighting

Background

The battle was a result of the Executions of the 24th of April, 1903, wherein fourty-one native Acronian dissidents and four regular criminals were executed by firing squad at the Lionsgate Plaza. Among the fourty-one Acronians executed that day were Orville and Charles Sherridan, both brothers of Edgar Sherridan, one of the revolutionary movement's leaders. Most of the dissidents were executed due to their participation in an earlier independence rally held in Lionsgate. The rest were executed on charges of treason, subversion and illegal possession of firearms.

The executions spurred the formation of huge crowd of around 10,000 Acronian protesters around the Kurel-Inod Fortress. The Kurel-Inod Fortress was the main symbol of Vedrian power in the city; it housed the Viceroy of the Acronian Colonies and the headquarters of the elite Kurel-Am Dunthur, the Vedrian colonial dragoons/military police. The Kurel-Inod Fortess was made up of a wall, 15 meters high and five meters thick, the Viceroy's Residence, the Kurel-am Dunthur's barracks, a stable and three watchtowers on the north, south and west corner of the fortress. The southern side of the fortress featured the heavy cast-iron gate that kept the base secure from intruders. The fortress also had enough stocks to last several weeks, in case of a siege or natural calamity befalling the city.

Order of Battle

Vedrian Forces

The Vedrian forces present in Lionsgate at the time of the executions were the 250-man strong Kurel-Am Dunthur. The Kurel-am Dunthur (English: Lion's Guard) was an all-Vedrian unit of colonial dragoons that functioned as an elite military police force in the city, stamping out protests and arresting dissidents whenever they arose. The Kurel-Am Dunthur were also capable of fighting regular combat engagements, though they were lightly armed compared to regular army forces. A soldier of the Kurel-am Dunthur was armed with a 6.25mm Type-1901 straight-pull bolt-action carbine, a Firebrand 10mm revolver, and, in close-quarters operations, a shortsword and shield. Each soldier also used horses as a regular means on transportation in and out of the city as well as a means of turning the Kurel-Am Dunthur into shock troops, which proved effective in dispersing protests and riots. The unit was also equipped with three Type-92 machineguns for intimidating and, in the worst case, dispersing crowds of protesters.

Also in the city were several hundred policemen of both Vedrian and Acronian origin. It is currently unknown whether or not these police forces took part in suppressing the rebellion or joined the ranks of the protesters.

The Vedrian XV Corps was a regular army unit comprised of three regiments of infantry; the 4th Colonial Infantry Regiment, 13th Infantry Regiment and the Jamestown Brigade. Each regiment consisted of four battalions of infantry and one battery of light artillery, plus a squadron of scout cavalry. Supporting the main force was the 15th Artillery Battalion, equipped with 105mm howitzers and a battery of 203mm heavy guns, and the 101st Dragoons, a squadron of cavalry.

The regular infantryman of the XIII Corps was equipped with the 6.25mm Type-1900 bolt-action rifle. The Type-1900 was effective up to a range of 1000m, and remarkably accurate, yet reliability was an issue in dirty environments. It could also be equipped with a 5-inch bayonet for close quarters combat. Each battalion was also equipped with four Type-92 machineguns, which were spread out to each battalion's four companies. The light artillery battery was equipped with 75mm field guns and 127mm mortars for use as fire support.

All in all, roughly 15,700 Vedrian soldiers participated in the battle for Lionsgate, though only the infantry regiments and cavalry squadrons saw regular combat; artillery was used sparingly in order to spare the city from further damage.