Delkoran Civil War
| Delkoran Civil War | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The Fall of Norenstal, by Haldric Villadsen (1874) | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Belligerents | ||||||||
| Royalists | Free Peasant Movement | Jarl Council | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
| Vallgaar III |
Loke Frederiksen Klaus Nygaard |
Astrid VII Bragnr II Aksel V Almar Bundgaard | ||||||
| Strength | ||||||||
| 524,800 | ~57,000 | 76,500 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||
| 65,629 | 15,783 | 20,924 | ||||||
The Delkoran Civil War was a conflict fought within the Kingdom of Delkora from 1828 to 1832 between forces loyal to King Vallgaar III and an alliance of the jarls of the Delkoran states and various peasant militias. A result of a complex interplay of social, political, and economic forces, the war was the deadliest conflict in Delkoran history up to that point, with over 100,000 military casualties and an estimated 25,000 civilian casualties, mostly resulting from famine and disease. The war resulted in the abdication of Vallgaar III and paved the way for the establishment of parliamentary government following the 1833 Constitutional Convention.
Background
The centuries following the establishment of a national monarchy in Delkora in 982 CE were characterized by frequent infighting between the national monarch and the jarls, who shared sovereignty and possessed their own personal armies. The jarls would often try to pressure the monarch into passing favorable policies for their respective states, and were aided by the fact that there was not yet a national army loyal only to the King. Instead, the national monarch had to rely on armies recruited by the jarls, which remained loyal to them only.
The jarl's monopoly of force meant that the Kingdom functioned as a de facto confederation for much of its early history. Because of the absence of a strong central government to impose uniform laws throughout the Kingdom and mediate disputes between the states, there were a number of bloody skirmishes between the jarls from 1100-1300 CE. This prompted King Haldor III in 1385 to negotiate the Peace of Aberald with the jarls. The jarls agreed to disband their personal armies in exchange for a guarantee that each jarl would have absolute sovereignty over his respective state. The newly-empowered national monarch would serve as a neutral enforcer of agreed norms and ensure the continued sovereignty of each state. To achieve this end, he would be empowered to assemble a national army.
The agreement had the effect of shifting a great deal of power to the national monarch, laying the foundation for a modern nation state and enabling an era of military exploits that lasted for several centuries. Although there were still disputes between the jarls, these were resolved peacefully through the Jarl Council. For the most part, the jarls were content to allow the national monarch to manage inter-state and foreign diplomacy while they were left to govern domestic matters in their states.
The jarls, however, despite theoretically being absolute monarchs, in practice had to share power with a politically organized peasant class that governed numerous communes scattered throughout the Delkoran countryside. The jarls were normally able to maintain good relations with the peasants, largely allowing them to self-govern in accordance with their local customs, so long as they paid taxes. This system was put under pressure, however, as the Kingdom's military commitments abroad grew more numerous from the mid 1500's to the 1600's, necessitating the drafting of large numbers of peasants into the national army. This, combined with increasing crop demands placed on rural communities, had the effect of greatly disrupting rural life and contributing to increasing poverty in the countryside.
This coincided with the dissemination of radical political works from philosophers like Halvar Bertram, which are now credited with instilling an early form of class consciousness in the peasant class. The communes began to agitate for political reforms that would give them more influence over national politics, and throughout the 1600's and 1700's, monarchs were generally amenable to their demands out of a desire to maintain stability.
Outbreak of the war
This changed with the coronation of Vallgaar III in 1812. Unlike his predecessors, Vallgaar took a more hard line approach with the communes, demanding their absolute loyalty. In response to several communes in southern Cybria voting to stop supplying soldiers for the national army, Vallgaar issued the Decree of 1825, outlawing all communes in the Kingdom and directing the jarls to disband them and resettle their inhabitants. The jarls rejected the order, arguing that disbanding the communes would inevitably lead to unrest. Moreover, they insisted, the decree had no legal force, as the Peace of Aberald forbade the King from interfering in the governance of individual states.
In response, Vallgaar issued an ultimatum, threatening to use the national army to disband the communes by force if the jarls refused to act. Fearing that such a move would, if unsuccessful, prompt a peasant revolt or, if successful, be a prelude to Vallgaar seizing absolute power, the jarls convened in Falbaard in 1826 to begin plotting a coup, and appointed the Cybrian noble Almar Bundgaard as their military commander. The five agreed to begin quietly rebuilding their former armies.
In 1827 the King, hoping to send a message, ordered the Falvryn Massacre, sending in troops to storm the Falvryn Commune and massacre its inhabitants. As word of the massacre spread, peasant communities in the surrounding area were quick to act, raiding county armories for weapons before retreating into the Grymvar Mountains to the west. In response to the massacre, the jarls delivered what became known as the Falvryn Ultimatum to Vallgaar, demanding his abdication. When it became clear Vallgaar had no intention of abdicating, the jarls of Norvia, Vassengård, and Banderhus launched a series of coordinated ambushes on garrisons and armories close to their state capitals early in 1828, securing needed supplies for their fledgling armies and forcing Vallgaar's troops to retreat east toward Cybria and south toward the port cities along the Sundering coast. Vallgaar declared the jarls to be in open rebellion, issuing a decree abolishing their thrones and appointing himself "King of All Delkora."
Stalemate
Although initially caught off guard by the ambushes, Vallgaar's forces were able to quickly regroup and fortify their positions along the borders of Cybria. Jarl Astrid of Cybria and her army, greatly outnumbered by Vallgaar's forces in Norenstal and the surrounding countryside, retreated west into Førelskov, joining up with the jarls' forces there to fortify their position. In Banderhus, Jarl Bragnr's forces were able to seize control of much of the state, although Vallgaar's forces in Falbaard were able to hold out for several months. To the south, the jarl forces seized control of the cities of Grafholmen and Izenhoth.
Initially, the jarls hoped to amass two large forces, one in Førelskov and one in Norvia, and and make a rapid push toward Norenstal from the north and south. This plan failed, however, as the King's forces proved to be far better equipped and trained, and were able to route the jarls' forces at the Battle of Boerenir (1828) and the Battle of Grypenveld (1829). By the end of 1829, the conflict had devolved into a war of attrition, with neither side making significant territorial progress. Vallgaar's forces had a clear numerical advantage, and further benefited from control of key port cities in the north. Also working to the King's advantage was the fact that the peasant militias had not joined forces with the jarls, and in fact fought with them as much as Vallgaar's forces. Aware of this fact, Bundgaard sought to forge an alliance with the peasant militias, having little success.
In the spring of 1830, Vallgaar launched an assault westward into Førelskov and south toward Grafholmen. The jarls' forces suffered a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Bjorndal, and were forced to retreat to Gothendral. In Norvia, the jarls won a Pyrrhic victory in the Battle of Dornhelm. With the jarls' two major centers of power in danger of falling, Bundgaard again sought an alliance with Frederiksen's forces. With the peasant militias' manpower now standing at nearly 30,000 as a result of peasants fleeing Vallgaar's violent reprisals in Cybria, Frederiksen recognized that his forces would have significant say in the formation of a new government in the event Vallgaar was successfully ousted. He thus agreed to work with the jarls, contingent upon the peasantry having a meaningful say in the drafting of constitution after the war.
Turning point
In August of 1830, Vallgaar's forces began closing in on Gothendral. The main body of his army began a march northward through the Grymvar Mountains, where it faced ambushes from peasant forces. Meanwhile, a smaller detachment from Darzenbrom marched west along the coast, pushing the jarl forces back toward the city. To the south, the jarls faced a major defeat in the Battle of Grafholmen and were forced to retreat to Izenhoth.
In late November, with Vallgaar's forces still stalled in the mountains, a large peasant force launched a series of raids on the towns to the north of Norenstal. This further slowed the progress of Vallgaar's army, as it was forced to send reinforcements. Meanwhile, peasant forces in the mountains continued to harass the King's forces, which were ill-equipped for guerrilla warfare. The onset of a harsh winter further worked against the Royalist forces, with thousands of soldiers perishing from exposure, starvation, and disease.
The slowing of the King's forces in the mountains allowed the jarls to regroup. With peasant reinforcements, they were able to retake Grafholmen and achieve a crucial victory in the Battle of Tordenhelm, cutting off crucial southern supply lines for the Royalists. By 1831, the King's forces were running low on gunpowder, foodstuffs, and clothing. By consolidating their control of the southern states, the jarl and peasant forces secured access to enough farmland to keep their forces well fed. In the fall of 1831, Vallgaar's weakened forces converged for an assault on Gothendral, suffering a disastrous defeat that forced them to retreat back into Cybria.
In December of 1831, a combined peasant-jarl force converged for a large-scale assault on Helsingar Fortress, successfully seizing it. This proved to be a major blow to morale for Vallgaar's forces, and prompted a wave of desertions and defections. To the north, the jarls' forces converged on Darzenbrom, the King's last major port city. To the south, forces from Norvia seized towns in southern Cybria and began encroaching upon Norenstal. With the enemy closing in, Vallgaar's remaining divisions fell back to Norenstal and began preparing for a lengthy siege. The peasant militias and the jarls' forces encircled the city and began preparing for the final push.
During the winter of 1832, an estimated 3,500 civilians died in Norenstal from disease and starvation as a result of the city being cut off from supply lines. On 20 March, Bundgaard and Frederiksen sent a message to Vallgaar imploring him to surrender to avoid further bloodshed, even offering to allow him to remain in power in a reduced capacity if he agreed to do so. After receiving no reply from the King after several weeks, they agreed to commence with the attack, and in the early morning hours of 3 April, the start of the religious holiday of Ostara, the rebel forces entered the outskirts of the city, encountering heavy resistance from Vallgaar's forces.
Fall of Norenstal and aftermath of the war
The Battle of Norenstal lasted nearly five months and cost thousands of lives on all sides, proving to be the single most deadly engagement of the war. On 26 September 1832, the last of Vallgaar's forces in the heart of the city surrendered, and Vallgaar himself was taken into custody inside Hyengaard Palace by peasant forces. The King abdicated the same day and ordered his remaining troops throughout the Kingdom to lay down their arms.
A provisional government was established the next day, consisting of a council of delegates representing the jarls and the peasant militias. Among the many orders of business considered by the council at its first meeting on 1 October was the fate of the royal family. Frederiksen informed the council that the peasant militias under his command had voted to try the King, Queen, and Crown Prince before a special tribunal for "crimes against the peasantry" and intended to execute them if found guilty. Bundgaard and the other delegates of the jarls objected to this, fearing the precedent such a show trial would set, and demanded Frederiksen turn over the royal family. Frederiksen refused, and a public tribunal took place in Hyengaard Palace on 15 October in which the three refused to speak when offered the chance to defend themselves. After being found guilty, King Vallgaar, Queen Anna, and Crown Prince Davik were sentenced to death by guillotine and executed the following day in Vydenhelm Square.
The execution further strained the already tense relations between the peasant militias and the jarls, and a number of small skirmishes broke out between their respective forces throughout the Kingdom in the months following the conclusion of the war, leading many to fear that a second civil war was imminent. Elsewhere in the country, unrest began to break out as a result of widespread food shortages.
Constitutional convention
At the second meeting of the provisional council on 20 October 1832, the delegates began planning for a constitutional convention to draft a new constitution for the nation. The convention, comprised of delegates representing the jarls, peasant militias, nobility, townspeople, and the Vallyar Order, met for the first time on 1 December, electing as its president the Banderhus noble Edvard af Telberath, a highly regarded political philosopher who was respected by all sides.
After three months of bitter debates, it became clear that the two most influential factions at the convention, the jarls and the peasant militias, would not be able to come to an agreement on any major issues. The jarls made clear they would not accept any arrangement that stripped them of their powers or abolished the national monarchy. The militias, in turn, made clear they would not accept any government that was not based on popular sovereignty, nor the retention of absolute monarchy.
After extensive negotiations, Telberath convinced the delegates to turn over the most controversial question, the status of the monarchy, over to the public in a nationwide referendum. On 4 March 1833, a referendum was held that found a slight majority of the public in favor of a constitutional monarchy over a republic. Using the results of these referendums to frame the debate, the delegates proceeded with the drafting of the new constitution.
By July 1833, two major proposals had emerged. One greatly limited the power of both the national monarch and the jarls and would have established parliamentary sovereignty. Another, favored by the jarls, would have created a confederal form of government in which most power would have rested with the states. After months of negotiations, all parties had agreed on a compromise proposal by Telberath that merged elements of both plans. on 25 October 1833 this draft was ratified by the convention and subsequently put before the public for approval in a referendum, receiving overwhelming support.
Elections were subsequently held that year and, immediately thereafter, parliament went about the process of selecting a new national monarch, eventually settling on Jarl Aksel of Førelskov, a member of the House of Valdenharm, a cadet branch of the by then extinct House of Gryngaard-Sorenzborg. A national referendum was held to test his support, and after Aksel received the support of an overwhelming majority of the population, he was coronated as the new king.
Historical interpretations
The Delkoran Civil War is generally regarded by left-wing historians as an example of a bourgeois revolution. While the Delkoran bourgeoisie had largely sided with the Royalists, the victory of the rebel forces nonetheless paved the way for the rise of capitalism and liberal democracy. Authors writing from a historical materialist perspective view the primary cause of the revolution to have been the increasing exploitation of the peasantry over the course of the 18th and early 19th centuries caused by enclosure, industrial serfdom, high taxation, and conscription.