1699 Drak-Modani attempted coup d'état

In the first days of 1699 AN, a coalition of hardline Committee for United Modani Solidarity members, military leaders, and business magnates launched a failed attempt to take control of the Bovic Draconian State in Modan. In a public statement, they indicated that they were motivated by an unwavering commitment to the Draconian Supremacy Movement and the need to defend it against corruption in the "highest levels of the government" and from foreign threats. The coup attempt prompted an intervention by Shireroth and led Benacia Command to enact its longstanding plans to secure the Sabatini Naval Station and to recover naval and technological assets deemed to be of great interest and utility.

Timeline of events

2 Novaber

On the morning of 2.I, during his preparations for the opening of debate in The Fury on legislation that would begin the process of liberalizing the state, Kamil Gavrilov received a summons for the Co-Chancellors to appear before the Co-Monarchs at the Royal Palace to discuss the very same bill. Expecting that he would need to justify this radical decision or face dismissal, Gavrilov put out a call for those members of his cabinet in-office to accompany him, so that each may present benefits from their sphere of responsibility.

At 11:13, this impromptu meeting was interrupted by troops in the 14th Grenadier Regiment. Once Gavrilov was taked into custody, the order was given to proceed with seizing control of the Fury's legislative office building, preventing representatives from attempting to flee.

At 14:00, the Speaker of the Fury promptly opened the plenary session, with all members of the hardline faction present and the minimum sufficient number of the reform faction escorted and under guard by the 14th Grenadiers as necessary to meet quorum. Attempts by the reform faction to declare the session as out of order went unheard. The hardline faction moved to suspend the agenda and submitted emergency legislation to create an emergency governing committee to replace the present government, named the State Committee to Review Ongoing Threats and Urgent Matters. This new committee, consisting of middle and high-ranking party, government, and military officials, was then granted emergency legislative authority, including the power to suspend The Fury and to try prisoners under a new criminal court under the State Committee's direct supervision.

The State Committee convened at 14:21 and used its newly-granted power to suspend The Fury until the end of the year. Troops were ordered to deploy to all major cities to enforce obedience to the new government, as well as to close all border crossings.

At 16:35, the Mayor of Eriksberg, Kesta Szil, issued a statement on state broadcasting throughout Capeshire, calling the new State Committee illegitimate, and asked the people of Drak-Modan to resist it. Part of his speech was cut off by State Committee supporters.

At 19:00, the 501st Shock Brigade broadcast over radio that its officers have voted to detain their commanding officers on the charge of treason against the lawful government.

3 Novaber

By 01:00, demonstrators against the State Committee gathered outside the Royal Palace in Drakorda, demanding that the Co-Monarchs denounce the coup government and order the restoration of the Gavrilov-Teimuraz government. At 4:00, Drakorda Police and the 14th Grenadier Regiment begin dispersing the demonstration using teargas and Horjins. 7 demonstrators are run over and crushed to death when they refuse to break a human chain.

At 07:50, the commanding officer of the 401st Shock Brigade and his staff release a statement indicating their refusal to obey any orders issued by the State Committee.

At 09:15, 9. Streïhvasza of the Isenbury Association crossed the border into Drak-Modan under escort by units of the 401st Shock Brigade, headed for Karamola.

At 9:30, Magister Alcazaba Castros orders the 89th Shock Brigade to deploy to Bajkir, in order to strengthen the position of State Committee supporters under threat by elements of the 501st Shock Brigade.

At 15:21, the first units of 9. Streïhvasza reach the outskirts of Karamola. They are greeted by the command staff of the 401st Shock Brigade. Riman Valentin is released from prison and broadcasts a message across Drak-Modan, for all good and honest Draconians to resist the State Committee, and that "[they] represent the party of yesterday, but tomorrow is ours!".

At 16:45, the Mayor of Karamola acquiesces to demands that the MILF banner be raised at city hall under the national flag. When asked by journalists if he is sympathetic to MILF, he curtly replied no, and that "for now, they're interested in inclusive rights, but they'd better not forget to respect who belongs in charge."

At 17:00, in a broadcast from the legionary-garrisoned naval station on Sabatini Isle was read a prepared statement issued in the name of Co-Chancellor Davit Teimuraz: "Attempts to preserve Draconianism by force of arms will only cause the state to unravel still faster. The present constitutional order, birthed in that same ideology, is likewise unsustainable. We must restore and revitalise our national community on the basis of a return to Modanese traditional values."

At 17:10, lead units of the 89th Shock Brigade arrive in Bajkir, augmenting the Bajkir Police Service and the Police Service Irregulars in stamping out resistance to the State Committee and any sign of counter-Draconian activity. Members of the Defenders of Draconia begin seizing building materials and directing them to Yazovo State Park southeast of the city.

At 21:13, patrols of the 501st and 89th Shock Brigades encounter one another in western Bajkir. After a lengthy exchange of fire, neither side succeeds in dislodging the other.

4 Novaber

In the predawn hours, fighting breaks out between units of the 3rd Division over whether to support the State Committee or the resistance against it.

At 09:40, elements of the 501st Shock Brigade overwhelm border guards and wave a flag of truce to meet with Shirerithian troops over the border.

At 12:00, 3. Streïhvasza of the Lowbrook Association crosses the border into Kizshire, headed towards Bajkir.

By 15:00, three battle commands of the Isenbury Association have arrived in Karamola. Troops are instructed to fire only when fired upon, to minimize civilian casualties where able, and to deliver anyone disrupting the peace to the civil authorities.

As the workday ends in Drakorda, demonstrators begin gathering again in front of the Royal Palace, again demanding the denouncement of the State Committee's illegal usurpation of power. Among them are deserting soldiers from Fort Drakorda.

At 21:57, troops from the Isenbury and Lowbrook Associations meet halfway between Karamola and Bajkir. Reconnaissance units are detached from 4. Streïhvasza Lowbrook and 8. Streïhvasza Isenbury to begin probing southwest into southern Kizshire and points beyond.

6 Novaber

At 09:00, checkpoints are established throughout central, southern, and eastern Bajkir. All travellers are checked against their identification, and anyone with a low Kinsey score are detained. Anyone identified as a dissident Draconian is similarly detained.

At 10:27, after easily dispersing police officers and police service irregulars, a column from the 501st is stopped by elements of the 89th who have barricaded the boulevards leading towards Bajkir's government center. By noon, the fighting intensifies as each side deploys their artillery.

At 11:30, a patrol of Imperial Troops is ambushed in the outskirts of Karamola by a pro-State Committee faction in the 401st Shock Brigade.

By 14:00, the anti-State Committee members of Fury have been relocated out of Drakorda as part of their "protective custody".

At 14:30, Mayor Kesta Szil greets the first units of Imperial Troops as they reach Eriksburg. On her orders, Eriksburg City Hall lowered the flag of Drak-Modan and raised the old flag of Modan Lach.

At 15:30, journalists temporarily secured control of a radio station in Lyhigh and broadcast that MILF members and low-Kinsey residents are being lynched. When pressed, Mayor Nikki Kosygin released a statement that everything is being done to limit the violence, but that popular wrath can be difficult to control.

At 16:53, Mayor Kesta Szil is assassinated on the front steps of Eriksburg City Hall.

In the early evening, Horjins and teargas are used to disperse renewed demonstrations outside the Royal Palace and The Fury. Demonstrators are detained and transported out of the city. Troops loyal to the State Committee begin seizing food and other supplies as storeowners in Drakorda organize noncompliance against the State Committee.

7 Novaber

At 01:00, 4. Streïhvasza Lowbrook began to arrive in Eriksburg in full force. City residents awoke to find that a 24-hour lockdown had been imposed on all nonessential travel.

At 06:00, a demi-regiment (~600 men) of the 2^nd Vanguard Division departed from the defensive perimeter established around Twoggle in a column of 70+ land-cruisers and light trucks, accompanied by motorcycle scouts driving ahead of, and along parallel roads to, the main column. A Salbnan of the Modani People's Union presented his complements to the mayor of Twoggle and advised that, in view of the atrocities being reported in the provincial capital, the party's Vanguard Division, recently returned from manoeuvres in Highpass would be rendering aid to the civil power in Selmlshire.

At 8:20, the lead column of 8. Streïhvasza Isenbury took fire on its final approach towards Modan Hamlet. The battle command proceeded to extend its front line to partially-encircle the city and disrupt the movement of supplies therein.

At 12.00 (midday) the Kaiseress was attended, at her Montran residence, by the Count Palatine of Mirioth and Amity, Soleima Eslamdokht, and Davit Teimuraz, the Co-Chancellor of Drak-Modan, these being the Archons of the N&H National Sector Parties for Sathrati, Shireroth, and Drak-Modan respectively. The delegation, accompanied by Frainan Uihmanzis Aryo Barzan, chief of the Political Directorate of Benacia Command, waited upon the Imperial presence and, following the presentation of gifts and the exchange of hostages in the ancient fashion, were shown into the audience hall and to the immediacy of the Kaiseress, whereupon they did dutifully perform the kneeling ritual and render their salaams. Those presented by the Manager of the Montran estates, once permitted to rise to their feet, did extol the virtues of the Kaiseress and present the compliments of the Congress of Chryse, reporting that, through the universal observation of the Covenant mandated by the Benacian Union, the offering of prayers and insense to the Imperial Icons - depicting the personage of the Kaiseress - had been restored to its greatest extent since the era of the ancient myth-shrouded Kaisers. Even in secular Elwynn, the reconquest had seen the restoration of the veneration of icons. Encouraged by the Kaiseress to get to stating the purpose of their visit, Aryo Barzan stepped forward and bowed to the throne, advising that with regards to the situation in Drak-Modan, Benacia Command had authorised the enacting of certain measures to secure, in order of priority, the island and harbour of Sabatini with the knowledge and consent of the Co-Monarchs, the Drak-Modani fleet lest it fall into the hands of the erstwhile Prince of Modan, and the gravimetric vehicles operated by the DMDF in view of the pressing shortage of components for the vehicles operated by the Black Legions. The delegation further assured the Kaiseress that the Congress in Chryse harboured no objections to any intention that the Imperial Republic may have towards resolving the Modanese question on the mainland.

At 13:00, anti-State Committee officers stationed at Fort Drakorda attempt to force pro-State Committee command staff to stand down. They are overpowered and removed.

At 15:30, additional Horjins are stationed in front of The Fury, based on intelligence that a mass demonstration against the State Committee was being planned.

Between 17:00 and 19:00, traffic is suspended through Drakorda's government center. Despite being rush hour, traffic in the city is light, as increasing numbers of residents stay home to avoid danger.

8 Novaber

Beginning around 02:00, several thousand demonstrators began to gather across the line of Horjins from The Fury. Those stationed in front of the Royal Palace are redeployed to augment the former, as for the first time, a demonstration doesn't form there.

At 03:14, Magister Philokrates Kakadu gave the order for troops to drive their Horjins through the demonstration yet again. The order is ignored by the low-ranking officers.

By dawn, the demonstration has turned into an encampment, with hot food and water being distributed to keep demonstrators' spirits up. At the front line, demonstrators sang The Spirit of Cow like Butter is melting and steamy Draconian songs at the soldiers, who remain sitting atop vehicles and behind barricades.

At 11:15, Riman Valentin identified himself among the demonstrators in Drakorda. Directing his speech to the soldiers guarding The Fury, he asked that they not forget that demonstrating today are their family members, neighbors, lovers, and friends, that the State Committee is illegitimate, and that a new world is coming, where Draconians can live in pride hand in hand with non-Draconians.

At 11:45, the order to drive over the demonstrators was reissued and ignored again.

At 11:51, Riman Valentin was shot by sniper fire. Demonstrators are shot while attempting to shield his body.

At 11:53, Defenders of Draconia detonate bombs amidst the demonstrators, causing them to scatter, and begin to shoot down at them from surrounding rooftops. The soldiers deployed on scene open fire on the Defenders of Draconia and wave demonstrators to take refuge behind the Horjins and in The Fury.

At 12:22, Riman Valentin was declared dead.

By 15:00, Drakorda government center is cleared of non-state combatants. Demonstrators are escorted back out of The Fury. The officers choose from among themselves to designate one as a liaison with the demonstration encampment, to improve communications between the two groups. At 16:30, the liaison officer, First Draconary Sophus Cordelier, spoke before the demonstration, that the soldiers posted at The Fury intend to remain neutral and to serve only to ensure that no further blood is shed; if the demonstrators remain peaceful, no harm will come to them; if anyone else comes to attack them, they will be protected; but if the demonstrators become violent, they would need to leave.

9 Novaber

Beginning at midnight, widespread electromagnetic interference targeting radio frequencies reserved for military and civil government usage reported throughout Sehmlshire and the So-Saran isles of Draconia. Communications and IT systems that relied upon the Benacian Data Network experienced a nationwide drop-off of service as the data nodes for Dracoheim, Drakorda, Lyhigh, and Modan Hamlet set to emitting null responses.

At 01:15, 268 gravimetric air vehicles of the 6^th Brunïak Afzælt-bi-Łoïdi, escorted by 72 F-9 Ashavan II of the 501 Operational Effect Regiment crossed over into Sanaman air space, passing over Thanidor and the western part of So-Sara. In spite of the government of Sanama remaining a formal part of the Raspur Pact and giving formal approval for the overflight, the disordered condition of the country meant that the Aerospace Forces of the Black Legions were obliged to begin their suppression of enemy air defences mission from the moment they crossed into Sanaman air space. A Nereid engaged and destroyed with S-2 Standard Missiles an air-defence tracking radar that went active in territory occupied by the self-declared Democratic Republic of Thanidor.

At 02:20 601 Air Assault Regiment diverged from the main stream shortly after crossing into Drak-Modani airspace. Escorting F-9's were engaged by F-10 Carnifex scrambled from Dracoheim AFB, the ensuing high altitude engagement resulted in the loss of 27 Ashavans for 4 Carnifexes. Ground-based air defences were hastily activated, amidst continuing targetted electromagnetic interference, around Fort Arg-e Isabella, Dracoheim AFB, Kaiseress Noor Naval Base, Arg-e Noor, and Kaiser Ayreon IV Naval Base, Bandar e-Kalirion. DMDF sites in the islands were soon heavily bracketed by barrages of S-2 and S-3 Schlächter and subjected to a sudden and ferocious airborne assault by the Guards Pathfinder Regiment.

Having encountered resistance in the air and on the ground, a further wave of 144 Ashavans began their overflight of Sanaman air space, bound for skies over Draconia. The DMDF, struggling in response to the initial disorientating assaults, had an inventory of another 95 jet fighters in the region to call upon in reply, a mix of F-8 Shrikes and Ashavans. A major and chaotic air battle ensued over the next three hours, with more and more aircraft being scrambled and thrown into the fray. In spite of the strength of resistance, the majority of gravimetric aircraft - those not engaged in the strike against the aviation and naval facilities of the DMDF - were able to continue their onward journey eastwards.

By 04:00, the lead cohorts of the three motorised infantry regiments of the XXX Salb were on the ground on Sabatini isle, reinforcing the garrison of the eponymous naval station.

Reports of heavy gunfire in and around the Organic Research and Application Laboratory in Eriksburg began to filter out from 05:00 onwards. A troop of 40 individuals dressed in the Pattern M1671 Combat System modified to facilitate the carrying of a separate hermetically sealed-oxygen supply, appeared to be set on clearing a path for 8 individuals in capacious yellow hazmat suits to gain access to the facility. In spite of the assailants having taken care to omit all forms of identifying insignia from their uniforms and equipment, their methods of fire and movement, combined with the clinical manner with which they disposed of all whom they encountered, led to their provenance being widely wondered at.

At 11:00, the demonstration encampment before The Fury voted to relocate to the Royal Palace, as during their brief time in the building, it was clear that the State Committee was not there, but reports were that the Royal Palace remained occupied.

By 13:00, demonstrators began re-establishing their encampment in the plaza before the Royal Palace. Soldiers of the Garde Royale de Porte Arrière (GRPA) demand that the demonstrators leave the premises, but retreat behind and lock the iron gates as the demonstrators stream into the plaza by the thousand.

At 17:26, two-thirds of the soldiers that had been deployed in front of the Fury are ordered to the Royal Palace, to act as a barrier between the palace fence and the surrounding demonstration. First Draconary Sophus Cordelier attempts to speak with the officer of the watch behind the palace gate, but the officer refuses, telling him simply "keep them back".

10 Novaber

By 03:00, fighting within the 3rd Division is ended, with the pro-State Committee faction prevailing. The State Committee then ordered that the 3rd Division deploy all available troops to Kurpla to act as a strategic reserve against encroaching Shirerithian forces and to maintain order in the city centers.

At 08:00, the State Committee to Review Ongoing Threats and Urgent Matters broadcasted a message from Kurpla, informing the public about the ongoing foreign invasion. They warned that Shirerithian troops intended to resubjugate Draconians and scatter them to the wind, because they fear the strength that a Draconian receives when Draconians come together. The State Committee also stated that invading troops are being aided by anti-Draconian forces, which the previous government had allowed to take root and corrupt their beautiful Draconian society. They ended their statement with a call to action, for all Draconians to resist and do harm both to the foreign invader as well as to those who have been corrupting their country from within, and that Drak-Modan will prevail against all its enemies.

Around 13:30, troops of the 3rd Division cross into Kizshire. On the road to Kurpla, they pass by a heap of smoldering corpses being tended to by irregulars who simply describe themselves as fulfilling "clean-up duties" for the State Committee. Upon reaching Kurpla proper, the detachment is immediately split up. Two regiments are sent east to shore up the defensive line against encroaching Shirerithian and rebel troops; two regiments are sent north, accompanied by an equal number from the 423rd Shock Brigade, with order to secure Drakorda at all cost.