Anahuense Civil War
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| Gran Rugidoan Civil War | |||||||
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| Part of Rugidoan Political Crisis | |||||||
| File:Civil War 1968-1970.jpg Clockwise from left: Bombardment of the Presidential House; a soldier standing on the ruins of Los Canas; two jets engaging each other during the Battle of the Jilachi Desert; soldiers of the Unidad y Fuerza and civilians celebrating the end of the war in 1970; NRP tanks entering Santiago de Lujambio in 1968; AGR Santisima Trinidad being destroyed in the defense of Roca Roja. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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Supported by  Vultesia |
Supported by  Gavrilia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Comandante Cresencio | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 20,000 - 30,000 killed | 7,000 - 15,000 killed | ||||||
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70,000–80,000 killed (in total) 8,000 disappeared 410,000 internally displaced | |||||||
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The Gran Rugidoan Civil War (Español: Guerra Civil Gran Rugidoense, colloquially referred as “La Definitiva” or 4th Rugidoan Civil War amongst historians) was fought in Gran Rugido from 1968 to 1970 between the military-led junta government of the “National Reorganization Process” and supporters of the legitimate government of the nation -or “Loyalists”-, leaded by Susete Hernández Niño and several pro-democracy guerrillas. The war began with a coup d'état carried out in May 1968 by revolutionary leftists led by the army under the command of Leobardo Zavala, who dethroned President Hernández and declared Gran Rugido as “the paradise” for progressives. The President and remaining loyalists escaped to the Roca Roja Island where she rallied popular and loyalist support to retake the mainland, escalating rapidly to a full-scale civil war.
The last war of the political crisis that have engulfed the nation ever since the end of the Rugidoan Spring, the conflict lasted for 2 years, 4 months and 2 weeks and included the deliberate terrorizing and targeting of civilians by government death squads including prominent clergy from the Catholic Church, the recruitment of child soldiers and other human rights violations, mostly by the NRP, but also with reports of the loyalist government and supporting factions. An unknown number of people disappeared and the AWA states that between 70,000 and 75,000 people died in the conflict. The war ended with the Capture of Laurua on September 19, 1970 and the subsequent Santa Elisa Peace Accords were signed on September 24.
Background
Gran Rugido after the end of its Revolution was characterized for political crisis that happen sporadically across the nation. The first significant breaking point for the unipartite government of the PRM was the 1933 peasant massacre in Izamal. La Matanza, 'the slaughter' in Spanish, as it came to be known, allowed a military-led government to maintain power and reinforced the animosity of many Rugidoans towards the government, military, and landed elite.
The 1962 Rugidoan presidential election was called by leftist groups as a massive electoral fraud, that “favored the military-backed Unión Democratica Rugidoense (UDR) and candidate Susete Hernandez Niño”. Opposition to the Hernandez Niño government was strong on the leftist side and eventually, the situation broke down with the UASE student’s movement that culminated in the Masacre del Campus Mayor by rouge agents of leftist parties (reported firstly as government forces until 1990). Also in 1966, several syndicalist and communist parties that were forbidden in the 1940s eventually rearose the political spectrum, with the Communist Party of Gran Rugido forming the Frente Rugidoense Nacional de Liberación, while the Syndicalist Party eventually evolved into the National Workers Party, leaded by railway union leader Hectór Barrón.
Historian Homero Salgado posits the displacement and dispossession rates as a major factor. Nearly 35% of the civilians in Gran Rugido were disfranchised from land ownership either through historical injustices and the never made promises of several former Spring leaders, war or economic downturns in the commodities market. During this time frame, the country also experienced a growing population amidst major disruption in agrarian commerce and trade.
1968
With tensions mounting and the country on the verge of an insurrection, the civil-military National Reorganization Process (Spanish: Proceso de Reorganización Nacional) deposed President Susete Hernandez Niño in a coup on May 5, 1968. Shortly before 01:00 am, President Hernández Niño was detained and taken by helicopter to the airport, before leaving for Isla Roca Roja at roughly 02:43. At 03:10 all television and radio stations were interrupted. Regular transmissions were cut and replaced by a military march, after which the first communiqué was broadcast:
[...] People are advised that as of today, the country is under the operational control of the Joint Chiefs General of the Armed Forces. We recommend to all inhabitant’s strict compliance with the provisions and directives emanating from the military, security, or police authorities, and to be extremely careful to avoid individual or group actions and attitudes that may require drastic intervention from the operating personnel. Signed: General Leobardo Zavala, Admiral Anastasio Kuribeña Müller and Brigadier Rafael Alemán Valadés.
A state of siege and martial law were implemented, as military patrolling spread to every major city. The morning was seemingly uneventful, but as the day progressed, the detentions multiplied. Hundreds of workers, unionists, students, and political activists were abducted from their homes, their workplaces, or in the streets.
The following day, May 6, President Hernandez Niño broadcasted through an open channel in Rugidoan radios the following broadcast:
“Yesterday, the Armed Forces of my own country cowardly deposed me from power, under the pretext that they would improve the country, a task that remains in my duty and was on the verge of completion. Although they had another destiny in mind for me, brave people from the party and from the same opposition with whom we have resolved our differences, managed to divert destiny and now I am in Los Canas, Isla Roca Roja, where we will bravely resist the new order imposed by the cowardly military power.
To all those who still have the heart and the courage to say "No" to these traitors, I ask one thing: resist and support the government of the island. We are on our way to claim and return to you. I know I have not been a good leader for you ... but I hope you can have a place for me in your will to resist. Together, we will change Gran Rugido.
Following the announcement, the temporal Government of Gran Rugido in Isla Roca Roja was established.
From May to August
Wishing to project a populist image, the NRP enacted a land reform program, which restricted landholdings to a 100-hectare maximum, nationalized the banking, coffee and sugar industries, scheduled elections for June of 1970 and disbanded the military death squad ORDEN (Organizacion Democratica Nacional).
However, the land reform program was received with hostility from radical persons inside the military and economic elites, which sought to sabotage the process as soon as it began. Upon learning of the government's intent to distribute land to the peasants and organize cooperatives, wealthy Rugidoan landowners began killing their own livestock and moving valuable farming equipment across the border, where many Rugidoan elites owned additional land. In addition, most co-op leaders in the countryside were assassinated or "disappeared" soon after being elected and becoming visible to the authorities. The Socorro Justicialista documented a jump in documented government killings from 234 in May 1968 to 487 the following month. Nonetheless, the reforms were recieved with praise from the Syndicalist and Socialist Parties.
Rebellion and Escalation
As the leftist government began to expand its violence towards its citizens, not only through death squads but also through the military, any group of citizens that attempted to provide any form of support whether physically or verbally ran the risk of death. Even so, many still chose to participate and support Hernández Niño. But the violence was not limited to just activists but also to anyone who promoted ideas that "questioned official policy" were tacitly assumed to be subversive against the government. A marginalized pro-democracy group that metamorphosed into a guerilla force that would end up confronting these government forces manifested itself in campesinos or peasants. Many of these insurgents joined collective action campaigns for material gain; however, in the post-war period, many peasants cited reasons other than material benefits in their decision to join the fight.
The insurgents in the Civil War viewed their support of the insurrection as a demonstration of their opposition to the powerful leftist elite's unfair treatment of peasant communities that they experienced on an everyday basis, so there was a class element associated with these insurgencies and the feeling that they were abandoned after the coup. They reveled in their fight against injustice and in their belief that they were writing their own story. The peasants' organization thus centered on using their struggle to unite against their oppressors, not only towards the government but the elites as well, a struggle that would soon evolve itself into a political machine that came to be associated with the Union y Fuerza.
Eventually, the guerrilla evolved into the Union y Fuerza Movement (Spanish, Movimiento Unión y Fuerza) that declared full loyalty to the legimitate government in the Isla Roca Roja, alongside remenants of the democratic parties. The Union y Fuerza immediately announced plans for an insurrection against the government, which began on July 21, 1968 with the 1968 Santiago de Lujambio bombings. The attack was met with shock by the NPR, as the military forces couldn't withstand the engagement of the following week at La Rioja. Eventually, seeing the island government as the main cause of the insurrection, the generals adopted the Campaña de Liberación, an offensive plan to circle and eventually destroy the government in Los Canas, plan adopted on August 5, 1968.
The ensueing defense of Roca Roja is now considered as the official begining of the civil war, as both forces battled wach other in the seas surrounding the island for nearly two weeks, before the Loyalists emerged victorious after the Rugidoan Navy retreated after sustaining 75% of loss rate against a 61% loss on the Loyalist side.
Despite the narrow victory of the Loyalists, President Niño did not took action until September, with the Offensive Campaign N° 4510 (Spanish: Campaña Ofensiva Número 4510), when the Loyalist Arm, Navy and Air Force were created and thus, a force to combat the junta. By October, the military junta was now fighting the Union y Fuerza Movement on the south, the Santa Elisa Armed Student Movement in said city and the Holy Knights of Mendoza, a Christian based guerrilla on the west . In November, the guerrilla instigated "Operación Miedo Blanco" , a campaign of violent political repression primarily targeting the UyF and other democratic movements, in an attempt to consolidate their power. "Operación Miedo Blanco" was escalated on 12 November 1968 following the appointment of Anastasio Kuribeña Müller as Chairman of the Junta, who took a hardline stance against opponents. Despite this, it did not successfully consolidate their power as much as hoped. Ironically, the majority of the casualties of it, estimated 6,000 to 10,000 victims are believed to be innocents, with the violence and collateral damage shocking many Rugidoans into supporting rebel groups.
On December, 24 1968, the civil war escalated further when the Loyalists, on the leadership of Hernández Niño and General Bernardo Castillejos landed on Santa Elisa and Santa Fe, on the mark of Operation Footprint. The battle of both cities would last till January 12, with a harsh victory from the Loyalists, but with now two city ports they could use as base of operations.
1969
The start of 1969 was marked by a turning point to the Loyalist cause. After the battle and following victory of Santa Fe, news on the mainland that the Loyalits managed to land on the state of Santa Elisa increased their popular support. National Reorganization forces reorganised during this time, studying the Loyalist tactics and planning a renewed offensive, with assistance of former Syndicalist generals and covered up Vultesian arms support. On a social manner, the NPA fulfilled its reform on the land by redistributing land in Ethiopia that once belonged to landlords to the peasants tilling the land. However, mismanagement, corruption, and general hostility to the violent rule was coupled with the draining effects of constant warfare and the pro-Loyalist guerrilla groups, resulting in a drastic decline in general productivity of food and cash crops. Exploiting this failure, the remanants of the UDR promised the people a far better land reform once the war ended.
NPR counter-offensive
The NPR counter-offensive began in the border between Linares and Xalapa, specifically at the town of Puerto Progreso, in order to try to gain themselves another week before reinforcements from the capital could arrive. According to General Zavala, "the success of the January counter-offensive in the central strategic direction was considerable. Having suffered a major defeat, the Loyalists striking forces of Army Group Centre were retreating." Kuribeña's objective by February 1969 was "to deny any breathing space, to drive them eastward without let-up, to make them use up their reserves before spring comes..."
The 20th Army, part of the Rugidoan 1st Shock Army, the 22nd Tank Brigade and five air squadrons launched their attack on 10 February 1969. By 17 February, the NPR was beign pushed after a campaign of strafing bombings and encirclement forced them to retreat from the western part of the city. On 21 February, the NPR pushed back the Loyalists, not before allegedly using Mustard gas against the retrating forces.
At heavy losses, and after several saturation attacks, the Loyalists eventually won the town, executing most of NPR soldiers in the process. Following this, it was well assumed that the NPR Armed Forces, although well equiped and "unmatched", were unready for the Loyalist offensives that followed.
Operation Perfidia
The Loyalists next major offensive, led by Bernardo Castillejos, was Operation Perfidia. On 10 March 1969, the Loyalists launched an attack which took the Iraqi forces by surprise: using Raindance helicopters, they landed behind NPR lines, silenced their artillery, and captured an socialist headquarters. The NPR, in response, used a large number of tanks, helicopters, and fighter jets, in order to attack the buildup around the headquarters. Though they took heavy losses, they eventually broke through Iraqi lines.
The Ejercito Leal and guerrilleros were followed up by surrounding the NPR 20th Army, 1st Shcok Army and 1st Mechanised Divisions that had camped close to the city of Bahía Escondida. The NPR launched a counter-attack using their 12th Armoured division to break the encirclement and rescue the surrounded divisions. NPR tanks came under attack by 95 Loyalist F-04 Starfire and F-5 Tiger fighter jets, destroying much of the division.
Operation Perfidia was an Loyalist victory; NPR forces were driven away from Xalapa and certain parts Altépetl. The Loyalist Army and the Unión y Fuerza destroyed 120–200 tanks and armored vehicles in a costly success. In just the first week of the battle, the NPR lost half of their tank reserves. By this time, most of Altépetl was recaptured. On April 1 1969, the "Encuentro Amistoso" between the Holy Knights of Mendoza and the Loyalists took place on the city of Yanhuitlán.