1716 Ludwiggian Restoration

1716 Ludwiggian Restoration
Part of Conflicts in the Lanzerwald
Soldiers of the Army of the Provisional Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen advancing on a windmill in a field of tulips near Oudorp.
Date 12.X.1716 - Location Lanzerwald Result Destruction of most cities in the Lanzerwald except for Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen and Altdorf (formerly known as Oudorp). Restoration of the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen. Severe reduction of the influence of the Ludwiggian Reformed Church. Severed relations with the Mondosphere.
Belligerents
Army of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen	Army of the Republic of the Sovereign Lanzerwald	Armed forces of the Mondosphere Whales Auxiliary Force

The 1716 Ludwiggian Restoration was a successful attempt by Ludwiggian insurrectionists to destroy the Lanzerwald Republic and restore the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen. The seed of the insurrection was planted in late 1715 when the Lanzerwald Thing, of the Realm of the Sovereign Lanzerwald outlawed motorised vehicles following the debacle of the Schorpioen I Pantserstrijdwagen medium tank that was being developed by Osthügel Motorenwerke but was so expensive it bankrupted the Republic of the United Cities in the Lanzerwald in VI.1715.

Osthügel Motorenwerke's director Wilhelm von Streußbergen, the factory's management and staff of Osthügel Motorenwerke, who were overwhelmingly of Ludwiggian descent, were outraged by the ban but did not protest in public knowing very well that public opinion was against them at the time. Instead they worked in secret to finish the armoured vehicle, which was now named Panzergefechtswagen I and of which one hundred twenty units were produced and stored in the factory's underground storage. Von Streußbergen sought alliances with other Ludwiggians who were annoyed with the course of the Lanzerwaldian Republic. With several other industry tycoons and disgruntled politicians did he found a provisional government for a new Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen, and the militias of Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen, Lanser and Moorheim agreed to participate in an insurrection. Ludwiggian minorities in Grenstad, Oudorp, Vulcuria and Hamstadt were also incorporated in the secret Army of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen.

Timeline

X.1716

• 12.X.1716: The provisional government of the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen issues the proclamation of the Fifth Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen, claiming that it would govern all land that was until that moment occupied by the Republic of the Sovereign Lanzerwald. The militias of Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen, Lanser and Moorheim tear down all Lanzerwaldian flags from public buildings and replace them with the banner of the Ludwiggian Republic. In the cities that they control, the Ludwiggians order that Cibolan-Saxon is from that moment onwards the only official language used by the state. Riots erupt in Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen which has sizeable Zandarinian minorities but the militia's response is vicious and the rioters are either killed or dispersed from the city.

• 13.X.1716: The general synod of the Ludwiggian Reformed Church gathers in Oudorp to discuss the events that had unfolded the previous day. By a great majority, the synod condemned the actions of the Ludwiggian insurrectionists and called for them to lay down their weapons and restore the status ante quo.

• 14.X.1716: The Steden-Generaal meets in an emergency session for the first time since the uprising began, the session descends into chaos as its president Ludwig Schafenweide does not arrive in person but sends a courier instead, that delivers the gavel of the Steden-Generaal, cut into pieces, and a letter that conveys the president's support to the Ludwiggian insurrection. Stadtholder Hendrik Martenszoon presides over the session in his stead and the Steden-Generaal resolves to expel all members that refuse to condemn the insurrection. Thirty-seven representatives leave the Steden-Generaal and join the provisional government in Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen. After their departure, the Steden-Generaal resolves to require all members of the military to declare in an oath that they reject the goals and demands of the insurrectionists and that they will fight for the Lanzerwald Republic, the order is sent to all military units spread throughout the republic.

• 15.X.1716: As the first military units receive the order to denounce the insurrection it becomes clear that the willingness to condemn the insurrection is mainly determined by ethnic background of the soldiers. Soldiers of Zandarinian descent are almost unanimously willing to take the oath while many of Ludwiggian descent reject and flee from their positions, whole companies of the Krijgskorps and Dragonderkorps tear down the flag of the Lanzerwald from their poles and replace it with the flag of Sankt Ludwigshafen, in some cases the Ludwiggian soldiers kill their Zandarinian former comrades and vice versa. News of these bloodbaths horrify the people in Oudorp who begin to realise the seriousness of the situation in earnest.

• 16.X.1716: Combined remnants of the 1ste Krijgskorps, the 2de Krijgskorps and the Dragonderkorps are sent by the Steden-Generaal to Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen to take it back from the hands of the Ludwiggian insurrectionists. Their haste is influenced by the fear that the Ludwiggian insurrectionists seem to attract more and more support every day, from Ludwiggians that are persuaded to join them. Roughly three thousand riflemen take part in the assault on the city. Unknownst to the Lanzerwaldians, the Ludwiggians had decided on an attack on Oudorp on the same day, and they have deployed sixty of their new Panzergefechtswagen I to the battle, along with roughly two and a half thousand infantrymen. Not expecting any armour participating in the battle, the Lanzerwaldians have not brought anti-tank weapons with them, only a dozen mortars to destroy the city walls of Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen. Both sides meet in the middle between the two cities in the meadows of the small village of Kuhstein. The battle lasts the entire day as neither side is willing to give up, but results in almost two-thousand casualties on the side of the Lanzerwald and six hundred casualties on the side of the Ludwiggians. Remnants of the Lanzerwaldians are routed back to Oudorp where news of the defeat of the army is received with horror.

• 17.X.1716: The army of the provisional government of the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen is reinforced with another thousand soldiers and thirty more Panzergefechtswagen I medium tanks. An assault is launched in the morning but the Lanzerwaldians are heavily entrenched and repel the first attack with heavy losses on both sides. Ludwiggians use the tank guns and captured Lanzerwaldian mortars to lay siege to the city and bombard it around the clock, the aggressors focus on bombarding those parts of the cities where fresh water and foodstuffs are sold in order to break the will of the people. Not having been designed to function as a ballistic weapon, the Flachfeuergeschütz 40/1716 that is mounted on the PzGfWa I proves to be highly inaccurate in this role and its grenades end up raining down all over the city.

• 23.X.1716: After the first day of the siege it quickly descended into a stalemate with Ludwiggian troops firing their guns sparingly to save ammunition, only responding to movements on the side of the Lanzerwaldian defenders. Still, the lack of food and water was very troubling for the citizens inside the city walls. A group of Lanzerwaldians of Ludwiggian descent that had previously remained neutral on the insurrection begin pleading with the Steden-Generaal to enter negotiations with the aggressors, they are ridiculed and accused of treason and their rations are being cut as a punishment. Embittered by this treatment they conspire together in one of their houses to see how they can help their Ludwiggian brothers outside the gates.

XI.1716

• 1.XI.1716: In the middle of the night of 24.X to 1.XI a massive fire breaks out in Oudorp, the Ludwiggian conspirers that were treated so poorly before have doused flammable materials within the city with petroleum and lighted them, they keep running through the city with makeshift Molotov cocktails and throw them at the commercial buildings where the food and water storage of the cities is kept. The fire quickly spreads over to other buildings and the local fire station is unable to gather water from the river as that is in the line-of-fire of a group of circa ten PzGfWa I tanks who respond to all movement with destructive gunfire. As more and more buildings fall victim to the fire, the Steden-Generaal sends an envoy to the Ludwiggian to discuss a cease-fire, but he is beaten with sticks and told to go back to the Steden-Generaal and only come back after he has secured an unconditional surrender of the city. The Steden-Generaal refuses and in the morning of 25.X over half of the city has been burnt down. As the Ludwiggian troops enter the city late in the morning they meet little resistance, remaining members of the Steden-Generaal are placed under arrest and kept in solitary confinement in the city jail.

• 3.XI.1716: Representatives of Hamstadt, Prins Haven and Nieuw Rotterdam meet in Nieuw Rotterdam to discuss the loss of Oudorp. They acknowledge that they are unable to retake the city from the hands of the bloodthirsty Ludwiggians and that they have little chance to save Grenstad and Vulcuria. Instead they resolve to establish a new Lanzerwaldian Republic with Nieuw Rotterdam as its capital city. The cities send a representative to Walstadt as well to discuss cooperation but their delegation in military dress is seen as provocative by the border patrol of Walstadt and they return to Nieuw Rotterdam after warning shots have been fired vice versa.

• 4.XI.1716: Representatives of Grenstad and Vulcuria meet with representatives of the provisional government of the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen, including Ludwig Schafenweide, in Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen, their aim is to be able to retain their Zandarinian culture while avoiding bloodshed. The meeting is unsuccessful as Schafenweide demands the unconditional surrender of the towns and refuses to make any promise that the towns will be able to retain their Zandarinian customs or the Cibolan-Dietsch language. After the meeting the towns start preparing themselves for a Ludwiggian attack, which is considered to be inevitable by the representatives.

• 5.XI.1716: Two divisions of the army of the provisional government of the Republic of Sankt Ludwgishafen reach the outskirts of Louisville and demand its unconditional surrender. The town agrees, realising that it is no match to the Ludwiggian forces. Boterbaai sends a representative to the advancing troops to announce that it too will surrender to the Ludwiggian forces. While not committing any atrocities in these cities, the Ludwiggian forces order that the Louisian language needs to be phased out in the towns and that Cibolan-Saxon will be the only official language. The official names of the cities are changed into Ludwigsdorf and Butterbucht respectively.

• 12.XI.1716: Five divisions of the army of the provisional government of the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen reach Elonzo, they send envoys to the city. These envoys inform the city council that the provisional government sees no future for Elonzo and will destroy it, the inhabitants of the city are ordered to surrender to the Ludwiggian troops and to be taken into captivity. The city refuses the demands of the Ludwiggians and dig in to prepare for a siege. Unknown to them, the Ludwiggian soldiers have brought ten pieces of a new artillery system, the Mehrfachraketenwerferlastkraftwagen I (MfRwLKW I) and plan to deploy that to the city.

• 13.XI.1716: After the dawn of the day, the commanders of the five divisions that have laid siege to Elonzo count the number of people that have reported to them to be taken into captivity. A thousand inhabitants of the city have given up their freedom in order to save their lives. At nine in the morning the attack on the city starts, the MfRwLKW I batteries unleash their deadly barrage and engulf the city in an inferno. At the afternoon only a few ruins remain upright and the Ludwiggian troops sweep in to capture those that have survived the inferno. They blow up stone buildings that remain standing, and torch the wooden buildings that have miraculously not been burnt down in the inferno. Only the street plan of the city, visible by the paved roads, remains.
• 14.XI.1716: A general order was passed to the Western Natopian Demesnial Forces and the Whales Auxiliary Force giving the command to fire for effect upon any party of combatants observed to be upon the threshold of crossing the frontier. The "shoot on sight" order was subsequently endorsed by the Imperial Council of Natopia and communicated to both the Natopian Garrison on Cibola as well as the Cibolan Continental Theatre Command for allied formations in Natopian territories.

• 15.XI.1716: Following the destruction of Elonzo, Mondo advises the warring parties that any attack upon the trading city of Rossmarkt would make him "extremely unhappy". Later that day, a Mondosphere gravimetric warship crosses the border and takes up station directly above the city's marketplace, ostensibly to ensure the safety of the traders below. The arrival of the warship leads to panic in the city, and the city sends representatives to the remnant of the Lanzerwald Republic in the south-east.

• 18.XI.1716: The representatives of Rossmarkt that were sent to Nieuw-Rotterdam return, they bring the news that Lanzerwald is unable to assist Rossmarkt against the invasion from Mondo, now Mondo has joined the Raspur Pact. The city is told to evacuate its population towards the Lanzerwaldian cities in the south-west. Preparations for the evacuation start immediately, everyone is told to bring only those goods that are helpful on the journey towards the remnants of the Lanzerwald Republic and leave everything unnecessary, especially heavy goods, behind, even if they have emotional value.

• 19.XI.1716: The citizens of Rossmarkt are evacuated from the city, two companies of the 1ste Krijgskorps and the city's militia protect the three thousand citizens. The journey is considered to be extremely perilous as the Western Lanzerwald is home to many tribes that are hostile to the Lanzerwaldians, among them Monovians, Siseranists and according to local mythology even a tribe of cannibals. The greatest danger is however the onset of the coldest time of the year in the Lanzerwald, with temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius not being unheard of.

• 22.XI.1716: As the news of the Raspur Pact aligned Mondosphere intrusion into the territory of the Lanzerwald reaches Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen it is very concerning to the members of the provisional government, a combined arms company carrying the secret new superweapon J-2 Schwefel is brought to a secret location within 160 kilometres of the Mondosphere city of Bein, to be able to retaliate should Mondo try to take more land.

XII.1716

• 4.XII.1716: In a second session on the civil war, the Ludwiggian Reformed Church once again condemns the actions of the insurrectionists and calls on them to lay down their arms and repent. The synod orders all local parishes to ban participants in the insurrection from taking part in the Holy Supper. The provisional government responds angrily, and arrests more than a hundred clergymen, some of which are martyred as the soldiers use excessive violence when they storm the synod.

• 5.XII.1716: As a snowstorm sweeps over the southern Lanzerwald, the realisation that the refugees from Rossmarkt have not yet reached the safety of the three cities in the south-east, sends chills on the spines of all who live there. Unknown to them, the refugees have lost their way and instead of walking towards the city of Hamstadt, they are encroaching on the military base of Flaschenhals in Whales. Seeing lights in the distance, the soldiers of the 1ste Krijgskorps are sent forwards to greet what they think are the guards of the city of Hamstadt. Tired as they are, they run towards what they perceive as their comrades, guarding the outer positions of the city.
  • The triggering of motion sensors along the frontier between Asara Eliana and the Lanzerwald in turn prompted the issuance of an alert at the Flaschenhals cantonments garrisoned by the Whales Auxiliary Force. In consequence the Area Defence Squadron assigned to the Asara Eliana was ordered to their firing positions and within the hour the six M1701 158mm MLRS available to the squadron had fired forty-eight "Venceja" lightweight multirole missiles towards the coordinates of the detected column, fused to airburst at a height of ten metres above the centre mass of the dense body of hostile contacts mapped by the remote sensors. In remembrance of how the last engagement with the Lanzerwald went, each of the five military districts of Whales was obliged to turn a Motorised Squadron out of barracks and onto the road towards Flaschenhals, whilst the remainder of WAF personnel were placed on alert.
  • As the airburst explosions wreaked havoc on the refugees of Rossmarkt behind them, the Lanzerwaldian soldiers realised that they were not headed for Hamstadt but that they were instead bombarded by Whales. Enraged they pressed forwards towards the fortifications of Flaschenhals, even though they were not armed or numbered sufficiently for the assault, as there were only six-hundred amongst them, two-hundred of the 1ste Krijgskorps and four-hundred of the city militia. Nor did they have any up-to-date knowledge about the defensive fortifications. From the moment that the first missiles hit the civilians behind them, the troop was just under three kilometres, or roughly half a league, away from the walls of Flaschenhals. Majoor Fred Groenteman, who was the leader of the operation urged his soldiers to charge forward with all the strength they still had in them, despite the extreme cold and the terrible snowfall. "Forward soldiers! Charge for the guns!" he said, and into the night, ran the six-hundred.
  • The first WAF forces to arrive to investigate the scene of the artillery barrage were four Horjin IFV's from the HQ motorised squadron of the Asara Eliana Military District. Startled by the report of charging infantry emerging from the blizzard, their commanders ordered the vehicle hatches to be locked shut and secured. Adjusting to the thermal imaging scope, the lead vehicle traversed its turret to bring the barrel of the Horjin's 40 mm Autocannon to bear on the advancing mob of enemy troops. Following this example, the other three Horjins likewise began to engage the targets to their front, trying to fell as many of the attackers as possible. After five minutes of this, the Horjins shifted their gears into reverse, retiring towards Flaschenwals whilst continuing to engage whomsoever remained upright and advancing. The cantonments meanwhile were in an uproar. As klaxons blared ceaselessly, troops were spilling out into the night and dashing towards their assigned pill boxes or designated section of the perimeter earthworks to defend, all whilst the personnel of the area defence squadron hurriedly reloaded the MLRS for another salvo directed against the incursion point. By now news of the engagement had reached Walstadt, along with an urgent request for the deployment of a gravimetric gun-cutter to provide fire support.

• 6.XII.1716: Landing parties from Mondo's gravship continue to search the now abandoned city of Rossmarkt for any survivors; any found are politely, but firmly, returned to the city and pacified with copious amounts of cake. When, later that day, a peacekeeping force from non-Raspur Pact Steerswick arrives to assume responsibility for the city, the gravship retires over the border.

• 7.XII.1716: The provisional government of the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen sends representatives to the cities of Butterbucht (pre-war Boterbaai), Ludwigsdorf (pre-war Louisville), Lanser, Grenstad and Vulcuria that their cities are to be abandoned and that housing for their cities will be arranged in the direct vicinity of Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen. Given the harsh economic circumstances, and the prospect of the Ludwiggians coming to raze the towns anyway, a majority of the people from the cities flee towards Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen. The army is sent in to capture remaining citizens and forcefully relocate them.

• 10.XII.1716: From a position roughly fifty kilometres north of Prins Haven and Hamstadt, soldiers belonging to the army of the provisional government of the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen have set up a launch site for the J-2 Schwefel primitive cruise missile. The first barrage of ten cruise missiles towards Prins Haven is fired around noon on 10.XII.1716. Reconnaissance teams are sent forward to determine if the largely untested weapons have hit the cities at all, and what kind of damage they have caused. The reconnaissance teams report that of the ten missiles, four of them have landed in the city, of which three exploded and caused a great deal of damage, one of them did not explode but still destroyed a single home because of its inert mass. Of the six missiles that fell outside the city, two were not recovered and considered to have landed in the sea, and the other four created large craters.

• 11.XII.1716: Bills have been posted in prominent public places in the garrison towns of Western Natopian Cibola, advertising for volunteers to join a punitive expedition to Sankt Ludwigshafen. Volunteers, who would be expected to enlist for a forty-eight day period of service, are instructed to register at the cantonments of the Western Natopian Demesnial Forces in Geneva. Protests and scuffles ensued after an irritable official was observed to manually correct all references to "Sankt Ludwigshafen" to "Nieuw-Rotterdam" on the bills with a felt tip pen.

• 12.XII.1716: After the bombardment of Prins Haven, and after news about the bills for a punitive expedition into the remnants of the Lanzerwald Republic reach the three Lanzerwaldian cities, many of its inhabitants flee towards the north where they intend to join the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen, others flee into the thickness of the forest to hide there. The government of the Republic of the Sovereign Lanzerwald remains in Nieuw-Rotterdam, but is losing influence day by day. The remnants of the 1ste Krijgskorps, the 2de Krijgskorps and the Dragonderkorps do constitute not more than a thousand men, but they are resolved to keep their position in Nieuw-Rotterdam until the rest of the population has the opportunity to flee to either Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen or into the Green. A representative is sent to Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen to inform the provisional government of the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen of this last stance, and their intention to lay their weapons down afterwards, and the representative is sent back with the assurance that Sankt Ludwigshafen will maintain a cease-fire until after the Lanzerwaldian battle with Whales.

• 13.XII.1716: Grand Duchess Lystasia announces the withdrawal of Steerish peace-keeping forces from Rossmarkt, expressing annoyance with the situation: It is clear that my father's intervention in this conflict, while well-intentioned, has not helped. I am available to assist any of the parties in negotiating an end to this crisis, but unless or until that happens, I shall take no part in it. Any residual population still remaining in Rossmarkt is offered a free choice of relocation to Steerswick, or safe passage to Sankt Ludwigshafen via neutral territory.

• 14.XII.1716: The provisional government of the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen places its leader , Ludwig Schafenweide under arrest, accusing him of using excessive violence against the Zandt population, the Ludwiggian Reformed Church, and the Lanzerwaldian population in general. The arrest leads to an uproar and dissenting troops threaten with a putsch. The tension is eased as the provisional government offers to release Ludwig Schafenweide from prison if he refrains from participation in Ludwiggian politics, and they offer to appoint his son Simon Schafenweide to the position of Stadtholder.

• 16.XII.1716: Ludwiggian troops enter the town of Rossmarkt to evacuate the last remaining citizens to Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen and Altdorf. With them they bring rye bread with cheese so the people can eat something with fibres again after weeks of being force-fed cake.