Volkian Civil War

This page (or section) is a work in progress by its author(s) and should not be considered final.

The Volkian Civil War was a civil war fought in Volkia between Volkian government forces and several monarchist militias from 1925 to 1926. The fighting resulted in the defeat and disarmament of the militias by the Volkian military. It marked the end of major monarchist unrest in Volkia.

Volkian Civil War
Part of pro-monarchist unrest in Volkia
A residential area in Askiz after a government shelling
Date March 9, 1925 - May 18, 1926 (1 year, 1 month, 24 days) Location Volkian Federative Republic Result Government victory: Republican government preserved Volkian territorial integrity preserved Disarmament of monarchist groups End of significant monarchist unrest in Volkia
Belligerents
Government forces	Monarchists
Commanders and leaders
Stefan Gurkovsky Mikhail Vernadsky Grischa Yeltsov Ivan Lyapin Radomir Trekchov  †	Sergei Vinogradov  † Aleks Mikhaylov   Miroslav Zaytsev   Anisim Dmitriev   Radomil Kuzmin
Strength
195,000	100,000
Casualties and losses
17,500 killed 21,750 wounded 5,600 missing Total: 44,850 casualties	27,200 killed 24,200 wounded 13,500 missing Total: 64,900 casualties
10,000 civilians killed 119,750+ total casualties

Volkia's monarchy came to an end in 1887 and was replaced with a federal republic in 1888. While the majority of voters elected to abolish Volkia's monarchy, there were still many ardent supporters of the Kamenevs throughout Volkia. While these supporters hailed from all parts of Volkia, there were many concentrated in Uzlovaya Oblast. The province was the epicenter of multiple monarchist uprisings by monarchist militias since the failed Purple Rebellion in 1890, but the civil war was by far the largest and deadliest monarchist conflict.

The war began when a group of Kamenevists, led by Anisim Dmitriev, attacked the federal armory in Askiz, Uzlovaya Oblast on March 9, 1925 in order to secure weapons and ammunition. The skirmish resulted in the deaths of 24 government soldiers and 37 monarchists, and the capture of the rest of the monarchists. The next day while visiting the battle site, President Stefan Gurkovsky announced that the government would root out the monarchist militias.

Background

Since 1880, the Kingdom of Volkia had been experiencing severe economic stagnation and increasing social unrest between the various social classes. The harvest of 1885 exacerbated things, as it was a massive failure due to an outbreak of stem rust that devastated the country's cereal crops. Famine spread quickly throughout the country and food riots grew in both size and frequency. The largest of these riots took place in Volkgoroda on May 2, 1885 which led to the deaths of approximately 850 people. This particular riot is considered to be the start of the Volkian Revolution.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to feed the kingdom's army due to the food shortages, resulting in large numbers of disaffected soldiers who began siding with the peasantry and joining in on the riots. Members of Parliament began speaking out against the monarchy, with some beginning to encourage the removal of King Yuri IV by May 15, 1885.

Unable to control growing republican sentiment and with escalating violence across the country, Yuri IV agreed to abdicate and was replaced by a provisional government on May 25, 1885. The monarchy technically remained in place but had lost all power following Yuri IV's abdication. The provisional government enfranchised men and women over the age of 18 regardless of property ownership; previously only males who owned property could vote. A national voter list was created and was first used for the national constitution referendum on April 3, 1888. With 62.5% of voters approving the document, it was ratified on April 17, 1888 and completely abolished the Volkian monarchy.

The abolition of the monarchy created tension between those in favor of the new federal government and those who wished to bring back the monarchy. Monarchists began creating militias and political organizations in order to further support for the return of the monarchy. Some organizations supported bringing back the Kamenev dynasty, while others supported crowning a new king. The first monarchist revolt happened June 5, 1895 and was contained to several cities within Uzlovaya Oblast. It was defeated the next day by federal forces. Small-scale monarchist attacks continued to happen between 1901 and 1922 with varying success.

Monarchist groups grew quiet over the next several years as they rebuilt and continued to recruit in secret following the failures of the two decades prior. The Kamenevists, a monarchist group dedicated to restoring the Kamenev dynasty, decided to resume attacks on federal supplies to take them for themselves.

Attack on the armory

At 2:00 AM on Monday, March 9, 1925, a group of 100 Kamenevists led by Anisim Dmitriev broke into the Askiz Federal Armory with the intent to seize stockpiled weapons and cause damage the facility to hamper the manufacture of firearms by the federal government. The Kamenevists took the armory guards as hostages while beginning to load trucks with rifles and ammunition. One guard tried to escape and was shot by the raiders, drawing police attention to the operation. At 2:45 AM local police began responding to the armory and were subsequently shot at by the raiders. Two police officers were killed and three were injured in the skirmish. The police retreated and called for assistance from the local army garrison, who responded in force.

Approximately 250 soldiers from the Askiz garrison surrounded the armory by 3:20 AM and exchanged gunfire with the Kamenevists now trapped inside the armory compound. Commander of the garrison, Colonel Ivan Lyapin, tried to open a line of communication with Dmitriev to discuss surrender but ultimately failed. President Gurkovsky was notified of the raid at approximately 4:00 AM via telegram and boarded a train to travel to the city.

Lyapin chose to hold off on attacking the armory until sunrise, at which point he had an additional 200 men, armored trucks, and machine guns to support them. Lyapin offered the raiders the chance to surrender a final time but received no response. At 6:30 AM Lyapin's armored trucks broke through the gates to the armory and began firing on Kamenevist positions, located in the compound's various buildings. The raiders were able to set up machine guns of their own and strengthen their defenses due to Lyapin's order to wait until sunrise. The trucks were supported by Lyapin's infantry and ultimately were able to secure the majority of the compound by 6:50 AM.

The armory's main manufactory building remained under Kamenevist control and saw the heaviest fighting during the skirmish. Machine guns were able to keep federal troops pinned down even with support from the armored trucks. Lyapin's forces pulled back to better cover and again tried to contact Dmitriev to discuss surrender with again no response. Lyapin decided to use battalion guns to shell the manufactory's defensive positions which worked exceedingly well. By 7:20 AM, Lyapin's forces had overrun the manufactory and taken the surviving raiders prisoner.

The bodies of the armory's guards were discovered after the end of the skirmish, appearing to have been executed by the Kamenevists. Violent interrogation by some of Lyapin's troops revealed Dmitriev ordered their killings and the identities of the militants that shot them. These four men were taken outside to the armory's courtyard and summarily shot for their roles in the raid and the deaths of the armory guards, reportedly under Lyapin's orders. Two other raiders who tried to shoot a group of soldiers confiscating weapons were shot and killed as well. The surviving raiders, 61 in total, were taken prisoner and stood trial after the conclusion of the war.

The federal response

Enemies of the state

President Gurkovsky arrived in Askiz around 7:20 PM and immediately traveled to the armory to assess the damage. Gurkovsky spoke with Lyapin and some of the garrison soldiers, thanking them for their service by "defending the Volkian republic." At about 7:00 PM, Gurkovsky made a speech before the damaged armory that was attended by the soldiers involved in the recapture of the armory as well as Askiz citizens. In it he praised the willpower and strength of the nation's soldiers and vowed to bring a stop to monarchist unrest in Volkia.

Open conflict

End of the war

	Volkian Federative Republic
Main article: Volkia
Important Topics: Culture ♦ Lupine ♦ Volkian language ♦ Lunarism ♦ Volkian korona ♦ Defense Forces
Government: Federal Government ♦ President ♦ Cabinet ♦ National Assembly ♦ Federal Supreme Court ♦ Political Parties
History: Grand Principality of Volkia ♦ Duchy of Volkia ♦ Kingdom of Volkia ♦ Volkian Civil War ♦ Northern Revolt ♦ Volkian Revolution
Important Figures (Past and Present): Yuliya Surkova ♦ Aleksey Pushkarev ♦ Stefan Gurkovsky ♦ Ivan Ogarkov ♦ Vasily Tolmachyov ♦ Yulian Lebedev