Fhainnin Civil War
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The Fhainnin Civil War was a multi-party civil conflict which took place within the Kingdom of Fhainnlannachaeran from 1906-1909 mainly between the Republicans, lead by Callac Cananach's faction, and the monarchy of Fhainnlannachaeran, largely under the umbrella of the Volunteer Armies for the Restoration of the Throne and the Royal Army of the Fhainn. It was sparked by a series of poor rulers, a disastrous defeat in the 1987-88 Fourth Kin War, which was expected to be an easy victory, subsequent crackdowns on speech and association, and the refusal of the monarchy to extend the voting franchise for Vicars - local governors - to all landed men rather than only nobility.
| Fhainnin Civil War | |||
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| Part of Great Republican Wave | |||
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| Date | Feb. 15, 1906 to Sept. 9, 1909 | ||
| Location | Faneria, Levantia | ||
| Caused by | Voting Rights, Legislative Powers, Restriction of Constitutional Government by Rih | ||
| Goals | Overthrow of the Fhainnin Monarchy | ||
| Methods | Protest (prior to 1906); Violent uprising and Civil War (1906-1909) | ||
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Background
Republican and Socialist Movements
Fourth Kin War
The Fourth Kin War was a disastrous conflict Faneria had initiated against Fiannria over petty land claims along the northern border in 1887. However, the Rih at the time, Rethys V Suthar-Màrtainn, insisted on leading the army personally, leading it to disaster and rout early in the war until he personally was captured. In addition, the former Rih Cledwyn Suthar-Màrtainn, a popular figure who had given up his title shortly after his coronation to join the Royal Army as an officer, was killed in the conflict. Rethys chose to save himself at any cost, ceding large portions of territory in the eastern Ninerivers and claims around Sorhaithe in return for his own release. This, combined with war reparations, lead to outrage over postwar unemployment and economic tumult culminating in the 1888 Teindun Riots, which were crushed by the Royal Army. The mismanagement of the war, dramatic turn in Fhainnin ascendancy in northern Levantia, and economic issues combined with the response from the central government broke nearly a century of goodwill and faith in the Throne for much of the urban populations of the nation.
Constitutional Crisis
The Kingdom of Fhainnlannachaeran became a constitutional monarchy after the implementation of Luthais Suthar-Màrtainn's 1830 Constitution, creating a Senate and reestablishing the noble seats of the Vicar-princes of old as governates elected by the local nobility. This constitution had not resolved the issue of extending the franchise, but instead left a seventy-year clause which would require an amendment to extend voting rights to all landed males by 1900. Local elections were instituted universally by the deadline, but Senatorial and Vicarial seats remained untouched, with attempts to prepare voting registries and integrate local voting into a nationwide system. In fact, it appeared that Rethysear Suthar-Màrtainn, matriarch of the House of Suthar-Màrtainn for the last three decades of the family's rule, actively pushed to move the government back to an absolute monarchy. The Senate, in addition, was stacked entirely with members approved by the Rihs themselves.
As a result, when reigning Rih Ruaridh Suthar-Màrtainn was confronted with the issue in 1900, he attempted to sidestep the issue entirely, ordering yet more arrests of Republican thinkers and removing the clause entirely from the Constitution. He did so with the Senate's approval due to their being largely his own appointees, but later backtracked after a serious riot in Sethsport in 1901, allowing a controlled minority party to exist within the Senate called the Reformists under the prominent republican John MacRenyth. This appeared to be an acceptable compromise with liberal elements of society, allowing them a say, albeit a ceremonial one, in government.
Bombing
On February 15th, 1906, members of a republican group bombed a railway bridge over the Mull River underneath a royal train, killing Ruaridh and Rethysear Suthar-Màrtainn. This made one of Rethysear's nephews, Glen Wynnys-Màrtainn, next in line to the throne, but he refused the crown and joined the Reformists in support of temporarily putting off a coronation. Considering this a power play by the republicans, the Senate majority ejected the Reformists, who proceeded to meet with Callac Cananach's Republican Front, creating the National Republican Party.
After the formation of the NRP, the Throneswatch put out bounties on its leadership, with MacRenyth being killed in a march on the Royal Palace in Oirthidún on February 27th. By this point, army defections and uprisings were becoming a serious issue, as Cananach's faction of the NRP was still agitating for a revolution. MacRenyth's death heralded the end of any possible peaceful resolution, and on February 28th, another royal cadet branch member, Donnal Wynnys-Màrtainn, was crowned by General Donaghue Wyddin, his uncle and a close associate of the Throneswatch itself.
Senate Coup
The Vicars of Vrael, Dunlann, and Connsmonann refused to recognize Donnal, siding with Glen Wynnys-Màrtainn and de facto joining the Republican umbrella. Within the month, a large number of Royal Army units defected, breaking apart or joining the uprisings en mass. In response, the Royalists disbanded the Senate, declaring a state of national emergency and ordering outright attacks on Republican-held cities and defectors.
With violence escalating, the NRP held its own Senate without the Royalists, declaring the monarchy to be over and making Faneria a republican state. This lead to the siege of the capital quarter of Oirthidún by elements of the Royal Army before defecting units and protesters expelled them from the city. Rih Donnal attempted to personally broker a peace with the rebels, but his relative, General Jonah Lohr-Màrtainn, chose to defect, delivering Donnal into Republican custody and defecting to the Republicans along with tens of thousands of men. This largely lead to the collapse of Royalist support in the lower Ninerivers.
Warfare
Faneria Proper
With the core regions of Faneria effectively lost before an effective resistance could be mounted, the Royalist generals in the Ninerivers instead fled west, fighting in Fhainnholdt and Mhartainnvail through the end of 1906 and early 1907. Much of the remaining Royalist army's organized forces were destroyed in the Western campaign, eventually failing to hold a defensive line along the Caedrian Foothills and fleeing to Gleathan at the temporary capital of Rihsport. By the time Republican troops began to besiege the city, most of the forces fighting for the Royalists were formed from volunteer units under the umbrella of the Volunteer Army for the Restoration of the Throne, which failed to hold the city after several months of siege and fragmented into several smaller forces in Vrael, the northern provinces, and Srathlann. The Srathlann-Itheachan VAR units would surrender after crippling losses to defection and rebel action in March of 1907, with hardliners fleeing to Fiannria. This marked the end of realistic prospects of the monarchy winning the civil war, along with the initiation of a purge of socialist elements within the NRP by Callac Cananach.
Vrael-Sleiban Campaign
Lyukquar and Culriochan Independence Movements
During the initial uprisings in 1906, separatists in both Culriocha and Lyukquar had risen up, attempting to declare independent states. This met with mixed success, namely with the crushing of Protestant militias in Lyukquar by the Ninth Royal Army stationed there in anticipation of conflict with Caergwynn. Culriochan sepearatists met with more success, declaring a provisional state in mid-2006 and fighting parts of the growing VAR forces until the Siege of Rihsport. After Rihsport, Culriochan forces were able to hold the Prevalian Isthmus for several months until Republican forces circumvented them with uncontested amphibious landings along the Vandarch coast, routing the militias and forcing the provisional government to accept a status as a semi-independent region within the new government system.