Hylian military coup of 1941
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| Hylian Military Coup of 1941 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Hylian National Army , | Hylian government | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| General Victor Badanko | President Lord Alexander Gainsbourg | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Land Army, Air Army, Navy, Gendarmerie (majority) | Hylian Popular Union, Police, Gendarmerie (minority) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 350,000 soldiers, 85,000 gendarmes | 60,000 police, 15,000 gendarmes, 123,000 protesters | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 21 dead, 81 injured | 178 dead, 600 injured | ||||||
the military coup of 1941 commonly known as "coup de 41" or "Avril coup" is a power grab orchestrated April 1, 1941 by the hylian army against the communist government of Lord Alexander Gainsbourg.
prelude
Presidential and legislative election of 1940
In full recession the election of the communist candidate Alexander Gainsbourg has from the announcement of his new program worried the high military officers, this new program indicates in particular the reduction of the military personnel, of the budget allocated to defense and in particular a bill on the nationalization of the whole country by the state.
During the elections, several incidents involving soldiers took place in front of the polling stations, despite these incidents Alexander Gainsbourg was elected with 52.23% of the votes in the second round against the right-wing candidate Habel Mora.
Military Conspiracies
7 months after the election of Gainsbourg, the main generals and admirals of the army participate in a meeting on national security at the headquarters of the army in Santiago, during this meeting they decide to organize a coup d'etat in front of the progressive nationalization of the country and the arrest of several rich bourgeois accused of "bad treatment towards the workers" which they consider as a communist takeover.
Takeover
April 1st
4:50 a.m. local time: the armys leaves all garrisons and positions itself on the main road axis and town hall.
5:10 a.m.: the gendarmerie enters the premises of RTH then cuts the antenna before taking control of the Shoren aerodrome, surrounding White Hill and the central police station of Santiago.
5:15 a.m.: as the first soldiers arrive in front of the central police station, the gendarmes summon the police to surrender who refuses to surrender, the high-ranking putschist Fabrice Dumalié then orders the gendarmes to "get the cops out of the police station by lethal force if necessary"
5:25 a.m.: the gendarmes launch an assault on the police station, the municipal policeman Johan Bergan killed by a bullet in the chest is the first death of the coup.
6 a.m.: the 45th Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Armored Regiment encircle White Hill and summon the President to surrender.
6:5 a.m: after 40 minutes of shooting, the central police station surrenders, fighting breaks out between government supporters and the municipal police against the army and the gendarmes, in the rest of the country the countryside is taken without problem and the cities are quickly under control despite initial resistance from the police.
6:29 a.m: on Radio Television Hylianei 1 (RTH1) General Victor Badanko accompanied by Admiral Horad Laudier and General Karlson Mon'Hi declares martial law throughout the country and the dismissal of President Gainsbourg
"Faced with the risk that our nation will fall into the chaos of communism anarchy, we the soldiers of the nation have decided to save the motherland by declaring martial law throughout the country, the dissolution of the senate and the immediate dismissal of President Gainsbourg![...]anyone being out of his home will be arrested for violating martial law, STAY HOME!"
Victor Badanko, April 1, 1941, broadcast speech
6:42 a.m: on the radio-democratei, the president addresses the people and calls for a demonstration.
"[...]Our democracy is threatened by this attempt to seize power led by a dozen military generals in the pay of the bourgeoisie, "au arma Citoyei" (in arms citizens) and take back our homeland."
President Lord Alexander Gainsbourg, April 1, 1941, broadcast speech
7:14 a.m: the Army took control of the ministries, the seat of government and surrounded White Hill