Siege of Little Caldera

The Siege of Little Caldera was a military struggle between the Volkspartei and anti-Volkspartei organizations. The revolt began after years of oppression against the Volin people in the Fascist Calderan government.

Before the 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, which eventually broke out into combat.

Siege of Little Caldera
Volin Militants outside Little Caldera Police headquarters on 8 November 2023
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 Provincial Guard	Anti-Volkspartei forces: Volin militia Bavogian Provincial Guard Steelport militia
Commanders and leaders
Karl Steinenkatz 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 Little Caldera Police: 8,000 officers Volkspartei Defense: 12 guardsmen SEP Guard: 4,000 infantry	70,000 - 80,000 civilian protesters Volin militia: 15,000 infantry BPG: 4,000 infantry Steelport militia: 1,000 infantry
Casualties and losses
56 officers dead 23 officers wounded 1 SPU officer dead 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, the Volin people have been oppressed in different ways, the primary of which is the lack of the right to elect government leaders.

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

Initial Protests

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

Seeing the military arrive sparked rioting, and Volin militia commander Big Eagle quickly contacted friends to allocate the Bavogian Provincial 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 entirety 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 ended in Volkspartei victories thanks to the much better trained soldiers and broader access to equipment.

Anti-Volkspartei forces did gain early victories, though, resulting in the Northeastern Province Guard sectioning 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 classified as a war zone by the CAF, and the military blockaded the city. Over the next month, civilians would be evacuated through one open subway tunnel by the Southeastern Province Guard, while the CAF would line up at buildings and push out sections of the city to draw out rebels.

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 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 three months had passed, the Northeastern Province Guard was ready to surrender because of a drop in morale and a lack of purpose in what the soldiers were doing. The SEP 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 made an effort to fight in the city until December 4th, when Calderan Armed Forces used a plane to airdrop into enemy territory and capture the main base of operations from the inside. Big Eagle was arrested, and military forces ceased to occupy the city.

Bavogian Provincial Guard involvement

Background

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

When Big Eagle contacted the BPG (Bavogian Provincial Guard) and asked for support for their struggle, Bavogian 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 Guard arrived to stop protesters.

Involvement

The BPG 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 BPG's arrival also boosted the morale of Volin troops.

In the first stages of the conflict, the BPG fought heavily and claimed buildings for their own by hanging the Bavogian flag, which was easily identifiable as it was the only flag that featured purple. The BPG was the first to capture what would be the Steelport militia's base of command and led the untrained Volin militia into successful engagements against the Calderan Army. However, as time grew on, the BPG 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 provincial representative. In a small step in the right direction, Commander Walter has written letters from prison detailing his pride in his soldiers and their accomplishments.

Volkspartei representatives simply state that while the BPG'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 provincial leader.

Aftermath

Portions of the city, particularly those under militia occupation, were 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, and afterward, it 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 parades to occasionally pay homage to the soldiers who gave their lives that day, whether in the militia or Volkspartei. Memorials also appear for the civilians wounded, killed, or missing throughout the conflict.