Siege of Little Caldera

The 2003 Revolt, also known as the Civil Siege of Little Caldera, was a political, social, and military struggle between the Volkspartei and pro-Volin organizations. The revolt began after years of oppression against Volin people in the federal Austro-Calderan government.

Prior to the 2003 Revolt, only citizens of Gothic descent could vote for their province representatives, which was originally accepted as many Volins saw the Gothic citizens as simply being more proficient in government, but the continued lack of representation led to rioting and protesting in the capital, Little Caldera.

2003 Revolt
Linden street's destruction after tanks fired upon protesters 8 November 2003
Date 12 August - 4 December 2003 (3 months, 22 days) Location Little Caldera, Southeastern Province, Austro-Caldera Result Volkspartei victory
Belligerents
Pro-Volkspartei forces: Calderan Armed Forces Little Caldera Police Volkspartei Defense Southeastern Province National Guard	Anti-Volkspartei forces: Volin militia Northeastern Province National Guard Steelport militia
Commanders and leaders
Derrich Lundsteiner Issac Pope Kyron Whistein	Big Eagle Gena Walter Johnathan Goth
Units involved
1st Infantry Division 1st Armored Battalion Alpha Defense 1st Infantry Brigade	3rd Infantry Brigade
Strength
Calderan Armed Forces: 12,000 infantry 10 tanks Volkspartei Defense: 12 guardsmen SEP National Guard: 4,000 infantry	70,000 - 80,000 civilian protesters Volin militia: 15,000 infantry NEP National Guard: 4,000 infantry Steelport militia: 1,000 infantry
Casualties and losses
97 infantry dead 35 infantry wounded 1 tank destroyed	4,452 infantry dead 246 infantry wounded 2,522 protesters arrested
1,000 - 5,000 civilians dead or missing Around 10,000 civilians wounded

Background

Since the Volkspartei took control of the Calderan government after Seuber's death, Volin people have been oppressed in various different aspects, but the primary of which is the lack of representation in which they were not allowed to govern themselves.

In the establishment of the 3 provinces, the Volkspartei made way for representation of different ways of life, and separated Volins from Gothics. Volins could now run for government in their own province, but Volins could not vote for each other. This created civil unrest which went unsolved, allowing Volin militias to build and make plans for a large event to undermine the Volkspartei, which eventually came in summer of 2003.

Initial Protests

On the 12th of August, 2003, Volin militamen and their leader marched along streets with anti-Volkspartei flags and spoke only in Volin to express their want for representation in government. Little Caldera Police acted quickly, arresting a number of protesters until local jails were full, then they began offloading protesters into suburb jails, but the wave of protesters grew too much, and the Southeastern Province National Guard was called in to quell protesting.

Seeing military arrive sparked rioting, and Volin militia commander Big Eagle quickly contacted friends to allocate the Northeastern Province's National Guard and the Steelport militia to arrive in the city and help protect rioters and looters. This display of force made Prime Leader Lundsteiner panic, and on the 14th of August, he called in the Army and the Volkspartei Defense to defend the city and himself respectively.

First Shots

Although the question of who fired the first shots is often debated among scholars, it is commonly theorized that a member of the Volin militia who was not following orders decided to shoot at a soldier who was attempting to halt a rioter's attempt to break into a military truck.

These first shots were catastrophic for the Volin militia, who had hoped to intimidate and encourage the Volkspartei to fulfill demands instead of outright combat, because the Calderan Army designated the entirity of the Volin militia as hostile, and opened fire on anyone carrying their flag. This started major violent engagements within the city between pro-Volkspartei forces and anti-Volkspartei forces, and most engagements ending in Volkspartei victories thanks to the much higher trained soldiers and wider access to equipment.

Anti-Volkspartei forces did gain early victories though, resulting in the Northeastern Province National Guard sectioning of a portion of the city and establishing a base of operations that was mainly operated by the Steelport militia.

Active War zone

After these first engagements, Little Caldera became a classified as a war zone by the CAF, and the military blockaded the city. Over the next month, civilians would be evacuated through 1 open subway tunnel by the Southeastern Province National Guard, while the CAF would line up at buildings and push out sections of the city to draw out rebels.

In order to minimize casualties, the CAF adopted a strategy dubbed the "drip" strategy, where small groups of soldiers were sent deep into the city and would secure as many areas as possible before encountering enemy soldiers and fleeing to a nearby safe house. This method of incursion worked well to scare enemy troops into submission, and eventually encouraged Gena Walter to stop sending troops from the Northeast, as the blockade had already obstructed easy travel, and troops were already worried about disobeying their superiors.

During this time, the Volkspartei did not actually leave Little Caldera, but instead placed a temporary pause on government duties as they waited in a bunker being protected by the Volkspartei Defense.

After 3 months had passed, the Northeastern Province National Guard was ready to surrender, because of a drop in morale and a lack of purpose in what the soldiers were doing. The SEP National Guard allowed them to pass through the evacuation tunnel, and the loss of their most highly trained ally immediately damaged the Anti-Volkspartei forces morale, and led to Commander Goth announcing that his soldiers stand down, and he allowed his soldiers to flee or join the Volin militia as they wished.

Despite losing many of his allies, Big Eagle wanted to keep the fight going, and kept an effort fighting in the city until December 4th, when Calderan Armed Forces used a plane to airdrop into enemy territory and captured the main base of operations from the inside. Big Eagle was arrested, and military forces ceased to occupy the city.

NEP National Guard involvement

Background

The Northeastern Province of Austro-Caldera is the least populated one, but also has the highest number of Volins. Despite this, like every province, only citizens of Gothic descent could vote for representation. Due to having such a high number of Volins, the province's national guard was made up of entirely Volins, and these soldiers saw it unfit that they could fight for their province, but not elect leaders to represent themselves.

When Big Eagle contacted the NEP National Guard and asked for support for their struggle, Volin leader Walter was ecstatic and pledged a brigade in case fighting broke out. These were among the first soldiers to arrive in Little Caldera after the SEP National Guard arrived to stop protesters.

Involvement

The NEP National Guard was the most trained organization in the Anti-Volkspartei forces, and they provided resources such as standard issue firearms to the Volin militia and Steelport militia. Seeing a governmental organization on their side, the NEP National Guard's arrival also boosted morale for Volin troops.

In the first stages of the conflict, the NEP National Guard fought heavily, and claimed buildings for their own by hanging the national guard flag upside down to differ it from the SEP National Guard who were also operating in the city. The NEP NG were the first to capture what would be the Steelport militia's base of command, and led untrained Volin militia into successful engagements against the Calderan Army. However, as time grew on, the NEP NG saw a lack of resources such as reinforcements, ammo, and food, and this eventually led to the surrender of Commander Walter and his forces on October 13th.

Punishment for treason

While soldiers who fought against Pro-Volkspartei forces were not punished, Commander Walter was tried and sentenced to life in prison for disobeying his leaders and abusing a Volkspartei entity against them. As a reward for surrendering, however, the Volkspartei enacted a law that allowed Volins to vote for representation in their province as well as the ability to run for province representative. A small step in the right direction, Commander Walter has written letters from prison detailing his pride in his soldiers and what they've accomplished.

Volkspartei representatives simply state that while the NEP National Guard's involvement was treason, it was true that they were fighting for a good cause, and it was foolish of the government to allow people of Volin descent to elect the Prime Leader, but not their own provincial leader.

Aftermath

Portions of the city, particularly ones under militia occupation, were completely destroyed. Little Caldera allegedly saw this as an opportunity though, and these parts of the city were heavily renovated for modern times, and a parade was held to celebrate the rebirth of the phoenix that were the streets that were decimated in the conflict.

Overall, it cost 2.3 billion dollars to fully repair and renovate the city, which was done in a matter of months due to the Volkspartei's high priority of it, and afterwards it had seemed as if no fighting occurred at all.

Little Caldera designated the 4th of December as "renovation day", and the 5th of December as "province day", and parades are held on both days to celebrate the outcome of the 2003 Revolt. Pictures and videos of the revolt are still shown online and often appear in the parades to occasionally pay homage to the soldiers who gave their lives that day, militia or Volkspartei. Memorials also appear for the civilians wounded, killed, or missing throughout the conflict.