Ripuarian Revolution


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The Ripuarian Revolution (: Révolution Ripuarie; : Ripuarische Opstand) was a conflict that lead to the secession of the tenth province of the Kingdom of Lindenholt (At that time, Ripuaria province) and the establishment of an independent Grand Duchy of Ripuaria. The conflict that started as riots and evolved into a war between the First Republic of Umbrellia and the Kingdom of Lindenholt lasted three years until the signing of the treaty of Janjirie.

The rising trend of nationalism across Vestea in the 18th century made the people of Ripuaria consider themselves as Ripuarian nationalists. The linguistic composition of the province had a majority of Umbèrge and Ripuarian speakers who considered themselves ethnically Ripuarian. Many outspoken Ripuarians regarded the rule of King Maximilian II as despotic. Unrest was high among Ripuarians and unemployment and poverty were prevalent in the province. The Ripuarian upper-class was neglected and often considered as inferior to the Lindians. This tore a social breach in the relationship between Lindians and Ripuarians. The inspiration of the Umber Revolution lead to an accelerated demand for Ripuarian independence from the Kingdom.

Tensions had been on the rise throughout the entirety of Lindenholt, with the source for unrest among ethnic Lindians being the refusal of Maximilian II to sign the Valentine's constitution. The riots that ensued in the capital city of Artwingen spread to Ripuaria in the following weeks, here unrest was mostly caused by the independence movement. On 24 February 1853, riots broke out in Ripuaria City, shops were looted and Lindian policemen were attacked. After the provincial government house was torched by rioters, members of the Ripuarian upper class and several of the Ripuarian provincial government members soon joined the rioters. King Maximilian II ordered the army to suppress the rioters who met the troops with fierce self defense.

Mass desertion of Ripuarians in the Lindian army lead to the formation of the Ripuarian Free Army in the city of Gefell led by former Lindian army commander Lauther van Stokfort-Lautherstein. The Ripuarian National Congress was established by the rebels in the city and began to plead for foreign support for their conflict. On the 28th of February 1853 the National Congress' pleads were met with a positive response from the Umber government and they intervened on the Ripuarian side against the Lindians.

Province of Ripuaria
Considered a part of the Lindian Realm during Lindenholt's separation from the Agrestic Holy Empire, Ripuaria had been a province of Lindenholt from its independence onward. When in the Late 18th-Early 19th century Lindenholt became a kingdom, it retained its Ripuarian territories. The Catholic upper classes, who enjoyed great autonomy under the previous Republic of Lindenholt, now were faced with a unitary state that took efforts to further centralise its administration.

Maximilian I's rule over Lindenholt and Ripuaria was focused on further integrating the Catholic and speaking elements of society through a policy of coexistence. Provided that the has a dominant status within the country, minority groups were allowed to operate under complete freedom. Proposals for a proportional divide between Catholic and Calvinist members of parliament and cabinet ministers were made several times during Maximilian I's rule, however any hope of this happening was crushed after Pope Leo X threatened to excommunicate those that held office in the Lindian government. Maximilian I's heir and later King Maximilian II reversed many of his father's coexistence policies and instead implemented discriminatory policies to further the country's centralisation efforts.

While major differences between Lindenholt and Ripuaria certainly existed, Ripuaria's position within the country was not unique. The provinces of Brusseland and Hoveland, which were majority Catholic, also faced repression under Maximilian II's rule. Lindenholt's Felsinian holdings, while religiously closer to the monarchy, endured similar measures to further incorporate them in to the country. Similarly to how the Umbèrge and Ripuarian speaking Ripuarians were looked own upon the Artwingen government, ethnically Lindian and Calvinist speakers of Low-Englean dialects in the north east of the country experienced an active effort by the government to force the standard Lindian language upon the population.

Free Ripuarian Army
On the 25 February 1853, in the aftermath of the riots in Ripuaria City and the burning of the provincial government, Lauther van Stokfort-Lautherstein, an ethnic Ripuarian, member of the Ripuarian royal family and commander in the Lindian army, was inspired by the events. Commanding over a force of 500 Ripuarian troops, he deserted the Lindian army and established the Free Ripuarian Army with the goal of building a Ripuarian army to fight against the Kingdom of Lindenholt. He gathered political figures from the city and established the Ripuarian National Congress to serve as a temporary civilian government and began a campaign lasting three days until the 28 February 1853 to establish control over the Ripuarian Province. By the end of his campaign to unify the province he managed to gather as much as 3,750 troops to his army. The Ripuarian National Congress agreed on establishing and running a recruitment campaign for the Free Ripuarian Army which by the 17 March 1853 managed to amass an army of around 11,000 Ripuarians.

The rapidly growing resistance army built up fortifications and entrenched in cities and towns across the province. A loose organisation structure was built with Lauther leading the army and several junior commanders being promoted to take responsibility over various fronts against the Lindian army. The tactics and organisation used by the army resembled an early form of which included mixing in with local population and efficient utilization of the army's small size as an advantage in choke-points and narrow combat width such as in cities and urban areas.

In terms of equipment, the Free Ripuarian Army had nothing except what was left behind by the Lindian army. Until the Umber army intervened, the Free Ripuarian Army relied on civilian hunting muskets, captured Lindian muskets and guns, and agriculture tool such as pitchforks and scythes.

Umber intervention
The First Republic of Umbrellia formerly allied itself with the Ripuarian breakaway state as early as 4 days after riots initially swept across Ripuaria. With intense negotiations leading up to the 28th of February, Director François Sagât agreed to assist the Ripuarian National Congress' independence efforts. Umber efforts to prop up the Ripuarian cause included liberal shipments of muskets and funding for weapon assembly factories along the Ripuarian-Umber border. Eventually, through the construction of planned defensive outposts inside Ripuaria, Umbrellia began entrenching for future ground assaults from Lindian forces.

Umbrellia's entrance into the Ripuarian Revolution culminated in numerous battles across the Lindian-Umber border for the remaining conflict.

Background
Since 1825, Umbrellia's form of government, after suffering devastating revolutionary victories brought by the Umber Revolution, changed from a federated monarchy to a parliamentary democracy: the First Republic. A brutal 5-year revolutionary war, followed by 11 failed coup d'états orchestrated by the exiled royal families. Re-centralization efforts thereafter remained difficult as government officials were constantly battling loyalist efforts to re-establish the United Kingdoms with help from foreign powers. This lack of authority left a power vacuum in Umbrellia's Southern and Central provinces, filled by reactionary militias responsible for continued civil discontent. The First Republic faced uncertainty beginning in 1862 with a successful coup executed by the House of Côgnosènteur and House of Barlïet. This was followed by a rocky two-year transition back to the United Kingdoms of Umbrellia under a constitutional monarchy.

Lindian response
While the revolt and desertion of troops in Ripuaria caused outrage within the Lindian government, large factions within the !Calvinist elite were rather content with the Catholic province breaking away. They saw it as an opportunity to solidify repressive policies against Catholics nationwide at best and the loss of a rebellious province at the worst. Paradoxically, the Catholics saw the rebellion as a form of treachery that was unsympathetic to the cause of equality between Catholics and Calvinists in Lindenholt, as well as decreasing the influence that the Catholics had on the national government.

Regardless of public opinion, the government deemed the revolt a violation of its sovereignty and ordered local forces to resist against revolutionary elements. These orders were largely ineffective however, as forces within the province deserted en masse. It took until the last days of February for 1 Division under the command of Bernhard van Wagelen-Onderkreugel to reach the borders of Ripuaria. A reconnaissance contingent crossed the border during the early morning of March 1st, initiating the March Offensive.

March Offensive


The March Offensive saw three Lindian divisions come in to action against Ripuarian revolutionary forces. In the early morning of March 1st units from 1 Division crossed the rebellious province's borders. The first elements of resistance took place in the town of Seuren. Armed citizens along with a small number of Ripuarian troops had taken positions in government buildings and farmhouses located outside the town. Van Wagelen-Onderkreugel overestimated the presence of enemy forces at first, opting to surround the town rather than storm it. On the evening of March 2nd however, it became apparent that whatever defence existed would not be able to withstand a Lindian assault. Around noon of the next day the Division reported that the defenders had been dislodged.

From the 3rd of March through the 6th, 3 Division (under command of Prince Charles) and 1 Division fought several skirmishes against ill-equipped revolutionaries, capturing the western and northern roads to Lerwijk but not before both had been sabotaged and obstructed with debris and cut down trees. Despite these delays, 3 Division set up their encampment near Lerwijk in the afternoon of the 6th of March, whereas 1 Division arrived later that evening to the northern outskirts of the city.

It took 2 Division, commanded by Alexander Quentemeijer, until the 5th of March to cross the Ripuarian border in the east, mainly due to logistical delays and the mobilisation of the Ellijn University Students Company. 2 Division's orders were to swiftly lay siege to the city of Ripuaria, the window of opportunity for such an operation had closed by the time that the unit arrived to the front however, as the FRA's strength in the area had significantly increased. In addition to this, the Umber involvement in to the war meant that there was a serious risk of being cut off. Mainly because of this 2 Division was ordered to take up defensive positions after advancing a couple of kilometres in to Ripuaria.