Second Ludwiggian-Monovian War
| Second Ludwiggian-Monovian War | |||||
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| Belligerents | |||||
 Sankt Ludwigshafen
|  Monovian militants
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Adam Rettich
| Elonzo XIII
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| Units involved | |||||
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The Second Ludwiggian-Monovian War was a conflict that was fought out between the Republic of Sankt Ludwigshafen and Monovian militants that sought to re-establish the Kingdom of Monovia, with Sankt Elonzo as its capital. The Monovian militants were lead by Elonzo XIII, a bastard son of Elonzo XII.
The war started when Heinrich aus dem Wald, mayor of Sankt Elonzo was assassinated by three members of the Royal Guard of King Elonzo XIII who shot him down as he cycled from his home to the city council building in the early morning of 10.XIV.1707. A group of 200 hundred militants then assaulted the city council building itself, murdering 4 council members, as well as 15 council workers. The Bezirksbürgerwehr was able to assemble roughly 500 riflemen and tried to capture the council building in the early hours of the evening, but by then the Monovian militants had been able to entrench themselves and the Bezirksbürgerwehr was unable to assault their positions. The Monovian militants declared that they would crown their king, who was not present with the militants that had taken the council building and that they would make Siseranism the official religion of their kingdom.
News of the uprising reached the Nationalversammlung three days later, on 13.XIV.1707. Stadtholder Adam Rettich asked the Nationalversammlung for permission to deploy both the Kriegskorps and the Dragonerkorps and this permission was granted. As the uprising came as a total surprise to the Ludwiggian government, no preparations had been made to wage war and only one division of the Kriegskorps, the 6th division, was ready for combat. On 20.XIV.1707 the 3rd division also reported to be ready for combat and the two divisions were sent towards Sankt Elonzo to build a military base from which the Kriegskorps could operate, including an airstrip for 20 J-1 Lärm fighter planes that would be used by the 3rd division. Both divisions of the Kriegskorps were attached with a division of the Dragonerkorps Ludwigshafen with the same division number, as these had trained together in peace time.
In the meantime the Monovian Royal Army brought more of their troops into Sankt Elonzo and started their work on improving the fortifications of the city. It became clear that besides Monovians, also Siseranist extremists of Ludwiggian descent had joined the insurgency. They burnt down the Ludwiggian Reformed Church of Sankt Elonzo and ransacked houses of church leaders to find Scriptures and theological treatises, which they would tear up. A group of 64 theologians, preachers and other church officials were locked up in the city council building where they were tortured. Thousands of people tried to flee the city, but many were stopped by the insurgents who had forbidden anyone from leaving the city. People that were found fleeing were imprisoned in a warehouse under terrible conditions.
Reports of these terrible conditions in the occupied city reached the 6th and 3rd division of the Kriegskorps, which had set up a base 10 kilometres east of Sankt Elonzo on 8.XV.1707. The news that church leaders were being held by Siseranist extremists was considered especially concerning because of the events in the Ludwigshafener Civil War, in which Siseranist extremists had performed human sacrifices in order to appease their goddess Sisera. Realising that time was of the essence, the 6th and 3rd division of the Kriegskorps decided to begin the assault on Sankt Elonzo on 12.XV.1707, four days before the 7th division was expected to strengthen their numbers. The 6th division took up a position south of Sankt Elonzo, while the 3rd division would attack from the base in the east of the city.
Battle of Sankt Elonzo
As planned, the assault on the city started on 12.XV.1707 at 5 hours in the morning, 20 J-1 Lärm fighter planes attacked the city walls in an effort to breach the Monovian defences. The planes tactic was to first strafe the walls with the plane's machine guns, before dropping its bombs on them. The mission proved to be highly dangerous as only 3 planes returned to the airstrip, but they had a devastating effect on the Monovians who lost most of their fortified machine gun nests. At 8 AM the first platoons of the 6th division had made progress towards the southern city walls of Sankt Elonzo and could see the Monovian machine gun nests and riflemen standing upon the walls which were breached in places. The 6th dragoon division first opened fire with the 3 anti-tank cannons and 1 FLAK cannon that it possessed and fire was returned by the Monovian machine gun nests on the walls. With 8 heavy machine guns from the dragoons providing suppression fire against the defenders, the infantrymen of the Kriegskorps 6th division launched their assault on the walls. The Monovians proved to be more resilient than assumed and caused numerous losses to be mourned on the Ludwiggian side. The 6th division was however able to route the defenders from the southern fortifications. In the east, the assault on the city proved to be less successful. When the 3rd division reached the city walls it found that they had remained mostly intact, despite the bombing runs of the J-1 Lärm fighter planes. Artillery strikes by the 3rd dragoon's anti-tank cannons and FLAK cannon proved to be insufficient to breach the eastern fortifications and they remained in Monovian hands during the first day of the battle of Sankt Elonzo as the 3rd division retreated.
On the second day of the battle of Sankt Elonzo 2 companies of the 3rd division connected to the 6th division which had spent the night defending the southern fortification from relentless attacks and was exhausted. The relatively fresh troops from the 3rd division were sent into the southern quarter of the city first, and had to fight for every meter against highly motivated Monovian and Siseranist defenders. From civilians that had been trapped into the city, they collected intelligence about the plans of the insurgents. They told them that the Siseranists had constructed a temple in the city centre and had been abducting hundreds of people who were to be sacrificed to appease the Gods. The Siseranists seemed certain the end times had arrived when they heard the news that Kildare, formally Siseranist Jingdao, had been absorbed into the Imperial Republic of Shireroth. Determined to save these people, the 2 companies fought their way towards the city centre, but made progress very slowly.
As the day of 14.XV.1707 dawned, the 7th division reached Sankt Elonzo, two days ahead of schedule. They brought 20 new J-1 Lärm fighter planes with them, so that there were now 23 planes available to launch a bombing raid on the eastern fortress. At noon, the planes flew towards the city and attacked the eastern fortifications with all their might while the artillery suppressed the Monovian anti-air efforts, dealing heavy damage to the defensive structure. The 3 remaining companies of the 3rd division were connected to the 7th division and together they started a new assault on the eastern quarter of the city. Like in the southern quarter of the city, progress was slow but certain, and the enemy troops were being pushed back towards the city centre.
In the city centre the situation grew tense as the Ludwiggian troops came closer and closer, and the Siseranists and Monovians began to discuss amongst themselves whether they should try to flee the city while they were not yet completely encircled. The Siseranist High Priestess Elijahna, who had been crowned Queen of Sankt Ludwigshafen in XIII.1693 during the Ludwigshafener Civil War opposed the proposal and instead pushed for human sacrifices to the Gods, to gain their favour and turn the tide of the battle. High Priestess Elijahna possessed a great charisma, as well as other charms and was able to convince the other commanders of her plan. On the morning of 15.XV.1707 the Monovians and Siseranists rounded up the church officials who had been locked up in the city council, and the civilians who had tried to flee and were locked up in the warehouse and brought them to the marketplace, which was adorned with colourful ribbons and statues of the Ci Empress. The captives were tied to each other and doused in thousands of litres of gasoline, vapours of which spread over the entire marketplace. After a bizarre chant in traditional Jingdaoese, High Priestess Elijahna lit the first of the captives. As the gasoline ignited, so did the gasoline vapour which had spread over the entire marketplace and even further into the city. The result was a massive thermobaric explosion that destroyed the city centre and created a good deal of damage, as well as massive fires, in the rest of the city. Ludwiggian troops and all remaining civilians tried to flee the city as soon as they could, but thousands of civilians died in the explosion or the flames, as well as 237 Ludwiggian soldiers.
Opening of the southern front
As the fires in Sankt Elonzo extinguished themselves, Ludwiggian troops entered the city to find survivors and bury the dead. Without regard for whether a fallen man had belonged to their own troops, to the civilian population, to the Monovians or to the Siseranists, a proper and respectful burial was given to all who had been found. Even the evil High Priestess Elijahna was given a respectful Nazarene burial, and prayers were said for her soul. After most of the fallen had been buried, only the 6th division remained in the ruins of Sankt Elonzo and the other divisions were sent back to Sankt Ludwigshafen. As the soldiers told their relatives and friends about the events that had unfolded in Sankt Elonzo they could do little more than pray together and hope that the fallen were in a better place.
However, while the nation yearned for peace and healing, the pretender king Elonzo XIII had not been caught yet, as he had not been in the city. On 2.I.1708 a courier belonging to the Royal Guard of King Elonzo XIII was apprehended by the Dragonerkorps Ludwigshafen's 1st division in the Lanzerwald, southwest of Oudorp. He was travelling from the south carrying a letter from the pretender king himself, giving instructions to Siseranist insurgents north of the republic to prepare for an attack on Louisville in III.1708, the letter suggested that the Royal Guard of King Elonzo XIII and the Monovian Royal Army would attack Oudorp at the same time, in an attempt to surprise the Ludwiggians.
The Monovian atrocity at Sankt Elonzo meanwhile had won the Ludwiggians a certain measure of international sympathy. The Benacian Union had felt compelled to offer the donation of six Katzenklavier artillery pieces, and the production-run of cadet trainer aircraft it had previously obtained a licence for.
