---
title: "Elysian Civil War"
type: "event"
nation: "esu"
infobox: (14 rows)
---
**The Elysian Civil War** was a civil conflict fought for the control and leadership of the United States of [[elysia]] between 1920 and 1922. The war was waged in reaction to the oppressive politics of Elysian President Vincent Stone and the Years of Oppression. Starting off as a series of prison riots in government internment and labour camps, the conflict soon erupted into a full-on popular uprising against the current government. It led to the formation of the Elysian Reconstruction Authority and, eventually, the [[elysian-state-of-unity]] in its territory.
The end of the Great War was seen as a great disappointment by the people of Elysia. An atmosphere of bitterness had descended upon the population as millions mourned for the people lost in the war. The political climate quickly acclimated to this atmosphere, giving extremist parties fertile breeding ground to expand and build their support bases. The communists especially started gaining significant momentum in congress, leading to corporate lobbyists and right-wing political parties to ferment the Red Scare in response.
This air of political rivalry eventually culminated during the presidency of Right-Wing politician Vincent Stone, who aggressively cracked down on most left-wing politicians under the excuse of foreign conspiracy. Stone’s political terror created an incredibly tense atmosphere between the government and its people, with the uprising of the Spartacus Division being the final straw. Seeing an opportunity and a just cause to rally around, military defectors and civilian volunteers formed the Elysian Revolutionary Guard against what would come to be called the Elysian White Army.
Initially, the civil war was limited only to the northeastern parts of the country, with the Revolutionary Guard seizing arms from army garrisons and gathering support from the smaller towns and cities in the area. Officially, the first large-scale skirmish of the war was fought in Fort Union on December 20th 1920, following the government’s declaration of martial law and the deployment of army units against the Guard. The Guard would quickly begin scoring victories across Elysia, advancing southward across the Saharan seaboard and driving the White Armies into a retreat.
The Guard would capture Metro Regima without a fight in March of 1921, marking a major turning point in the war. The Guard’s momentum would inspire various other uprisings in Northeastern Elysia, including the Corona Revolt in what is known today as Dogma. The advance would come to a screeching halt, however, as the White Armies began digging in for a prolonged period of siege warfare across a trench network stretching from the Great Lakes to the Sahara referred to White Army command as the Tango-Line. It was at this stage of the war when the White Army began making any meaningful progress, capturing back territory in the more rural parts of the country, and severing Corona off from the rest of the Guard, beginning a prolonged siege that would last until February of 1922.
This period of stalemate ultimately ended following the defection of Colonel [[george-elwood]] of the White Army’s Military Intelligence Agency. He brought with him detailed information regarding the White Army’s organizational structure and troop formations. The Guard used this information to great effect, piercing White Army's weak points and later encircling entire armies in the process. By the end of 1921, the White Armies were in full retreat, enacting scorched-earth tactics to slow down the enemy by any means necessary. The remaining White Army forces formed a final defensive line in and around the capital city of Nexus, settling in for a Guard siege. The city was thoroughly devastated during the siege, with many civilians caught in the crossfire, either due to being conscripted by the White Army or due to the Guard’s prolonged bombardment of the city and its defenses. Eventually, Nexus would buckle under the relentless assault of the Guard, with the last of the White Army’s central leadership and troops either captured or killed in the final assault on the city centre.
Following the fall of Nexus to the Revolutionary Guard and the death of the President, the White Army’s central command structure had practically collapsed. Sporadic fighting still occurred in cities in the North and Southwest; however, by the end of May, any organized major resistance had mostly fizzled out, with many remaining Army units simply defecting to the Guard or integrating back into civilian life. White Partisans continued to operate in the country until 1926, when a raid on partisan leaders by the Ministry of the Interior effectively ended all Partisan activity in the country. The war ended with an estimated 4,500,000 total casualties, mostly consisting of civilians on the side of the Revolutionary Guard.
<div class="imgrid">
<figure style="flex:2.410"><img src="/assets/old-media/media/elysian-civil-war-2.jpg" alt="Members of the Spartacus Division just before the assault on Griffon Hall."><figcaption>Members of the Spartacus Division just before the assault on Griffon Hall.</figcaption></figure>
</div>
## Background
Ever since the turn of the century, the United States had existed in a tumultuous political climate. With major manufacturing firms and industrial tycoons consolidating their power through monopolies, aspects such as worker safety and proper wages were being left by the wayside. This led to a rapid growth in wealth inequality as well as the increasingly slum-like conditions for many immigrant workers moving into the country. This disparity of living conditions between the working class and the richest of society created the perfect socioeconomic conditions for socialist ideals to spread and flourish across the country.
### From the Great War to stirrings of revolution
The United States entered the war on the side of the Central Powers in 1914, declaring war on Hollosend and quickly taking Annesburg in a surprise attack. The war would, however, quickly turn against the US, as the nation was locked into trench warfare with Hollosend all around Annesburg in what was simply referred to as “The Meatgrinder”. Following a breakthrough by Hollosend that chased Elysia back to the Riverwall, both sides quickly signed an armistice, leading to Elysia’s exit from the war.
The atmosphere following the war was that of bitterness and mourning. With the war ending with no major gains for the United States, the then moderate-led government quickly became largely unpopular. This led to both the Communist Party of Elysia, as well as the right wing Restorationist-movement quickly gaining seats in Congress. In the 1918 presidential election, a member of the Restorationist-movement, business magnate and former Army Captain, Vincent Stone won over the social-democrat backed former foreign minister Marcus L. Rockwell. Stone quickly began appointing his business associates into positions of power, gaining a large amount of favour from many of the corporations on Beat Street. Along with his conservative government, he began spearheading a campaign claiming socialist and communist politicians were being funded by foreign agitators to attack the Elysian government and its people. This initiative was largely financed by many of the media companies that President Stone was a shareholder with.
On the 30th of November, 1919, President Stone held an emergency session of the Elysian Senate. In an hour-long speech, he claimed that the Elysian government was to become the “Capitol of Truth”, a place where no traitors would be welcomed. During the speech, alongside reaffirming his commitment to protecting the nation’s interests, he elaborated on an active plot by the Communist Party of Elysia funded by the Entente to throw Elysia into chaos by undermining the power of its government. He began reading off a list of “enemies of the state”, politicians and journalists he deemed to be actively a part of the conspiracy. A swathe of arrests followed this, with the arrested being hauled off into prison complexes and hastily set up labour camps in the countryside. This event is commonly seen as the beginning of the Years of Oppression.
<div class="imgrid">
<figure style="flex:1.549"><img src="/assets/old-media/media/elysian-civil-war-3.jpg" alt="The Stone Cabinet, with the president himself pictured third from the right."><figcaption>The Stone Cabinet, with the president himself pictured third from the right.</figcaption></figure>
</div>
## Warfare
### Prison riots
During the Years of Oppression, the United States maintained 25 prison camps across its territory. A large concentration of them were in the rural parts of Northeastern Elysia, with some only 50 kilometers apart. This complex was overseen from a command post in Griffon Hall, a former presidential residence near Moose Pen. On the 17th of August, 1920, A group of prison guards in Camp Charlie, a prison camp housing many communist sympathizers and politicians, revolted under the leadership of an escaped prisoner and former Communist Party chairman, [[archer-maine]]. This attack began a series of camp liberations spreading across the northern countryside, eventually culminating in the newly founded Spartacus Division, composed entirely of former prisoners and prison guards, beginning to disarm army garrisons across northern Elysia. This campaign, combined with the assault and takeover of Griffon Hall by the Spartacus Division, caused the national government to declare martial law, declaring the uprising as illegal and a foreign ploy to disrupt Elysian society. Despite this, many citizens began willingly assisting the escaped prisoners, horrified by the stories carried over from the camps.
### Escalation
The final escalation towards all out war came on December 20th, as part of the Spartacus Division’s disarmament campaign led them to the military garrison in Fort Union. Under the assumption that the garrison would fold like most others up to that point, a prolonged firefight erupted between members of the Guard and the local police and garrison. Both sides began calling for further reinforcements, escalating the firefight into an outright battle. Most of the city centre of Fort Union was decimated from prolonged Guard mortar fire, however the Guard would eventually come out of the engagement victorious. The defeat sent the White Army forces into an all out retreat southward, giving the Guard the opportunity to swoop through the Northeast megalopolis with very little resistance, eventually taking [[metro]] [[regima]] without a fight in early 1921. From there on out, soft frontlines began to form across the country, leading the small prison riot to escalate into a full blown civil war.
### Battle of the Tango-Line
Following the takeover of Metro Regima by Guard forces, central command immediately began making plans to utilize the momentum gained from the retreating White Army forces. Up to that point, the Guard had utilized defected Ranger detachments to their fullest extent, harassing White Army supply lines and infrastructure across the Saharan seaboard. However, this campaign could only stretch so far out from Guard lines, with their forces encountering stiff resistance following the takeover of New Winscor just south of the city. White Army forces had spent most of the time of their retreat digging in a continuous defensive system across the fields south of the city. The Guard soon followed suit, with trenches and fortifications soon stretching for kilometers across Old Elysia. A prolonged period of trench warfare began for most of 1921, with both sides committing to grueling offensives which resulted in very little tangible gains for either side. This trench network was dubbed by White Army command as the “Tango-Line”
Despite continued sabotage by Ranger detachments in White Army territory, the Revolutionary Guard was unable to break White Army lines for some time. This trend quickly changed following the defection of Colonel George Elwood of the White Army’s Military Intelligence Service. Defecting due to an apparent conspiracy to have him executed for having pro-guard sympathies, he quickly fled to the Guard’s central command, bringing with him a wealth of classified intel regarding White Army operations, troop formations and logistical routes.
This major advantage culminated in a major offensive by Guard forces in December of 1921, piercing through and encircling many White Army formations simultaneously all across the Tango-Line. With the White Army thrown into nigh total disarray, they began enacting a scorched-earth campaign as they retreated south.
<div class="imgrid">
<figure style="flex:0.948"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d/1oUIOznP_HE3Jks65rcO-BQtEeQzbGfsv=w2000" alt="Frontlines and main offensives in April 1921. The siege of Corona continues, and trench warfare across the Tango-Line begins. Areas controlled by the Elysian Whites and their offensive marked in blue. Areas controlled by the Revolutionary Guard and their offensive marked in red."><figcaption>Frontlines and main offensives in April 1921. The siege of Corona continues, and trench warfare across the Tango-Line begins. Areas controlled by the Elysian Whites and their offensive marked in blue. Areas controlled by the Revolutionary Guard and their offensive marked in red.</figcaption></figure>
</div>
### Siege of Corona
Soon after the Battle of Fort Union and the Guard takeover of Metro Regima, a significant portion of the military and civilian population in and around the city of Corona (now Dogma), inspired and sympathizing with the cause of the Revolutionary Guard, rose up as an independent contingent of the Guard. Intending to take the northern parts of the country into the control of the Guard, the Corona contingent was met with stiff resistance from neighboring cities and regions, with the Contingent soon sent back to the city of Corona to dig in for a prolonged siege. Besides the Battle of Nexus, the Siege of Corona soon became the most bloody theater of the conflict, with the city’s defenses being under constant bombardment by White Army forces. Thousands of civilians suffered from starvation as the only avenue of resupply was through shipping via Lake Skandario.
The siege would come to a swift end in February of 1922 following the collapse of the White Army’s central command structure. The White Army units left in the northern parts of the country quickly surrendered to advancing Guard units. The humanitarian relief mission would last until January of 1924.
### Battle of Nexus
The White Army’s retreat south following the collapse of the Tango-Line quickly devolved into chaos. In the panic to escape from the advancing Guard formations, swathes of equipment were left behind intact and quickly reappropriated into the Guard’s use. Falling back to Nexus through the Saharan seaboard, the retreating armies burned the city of Aquila down behind them as they began setting up defensive positions in and around the capital city of Nexus. This slowed the Revolutionary Guard’s advance enough for them to set up proper trench networks surrounding the city, leading to a weeks long siege of the city. The situation inside the city became dire as the Revolutionary Guard cut off all means of direct escape from inside its walls. The White Army, originally composed of professional soldiers with years of experience, was now mass conscripting civilians to fight against the approaching army. Many of these improvised formations would quickly surrender or be wiped out after being sent into combat for the first time.
This state of gridlock was eventually broken on the 14th of January, when following a massive wave of surrenders across the front, Guard command decided it was time to blitz into the city all at once. After a prolonged artillery barrage covering the entire city, a mass charge of all Guard units was ordered to capture the city from the White Army’s control. Within the span of a few hours, the last White Army defenders of the city had surrendered, and the remaining senior members of the government either arrested or summarily executed. This battle would ultimately see the last large-scale engagement of the war, with the White Army having been effectively paralyzed.
### Red and White terror
Both the White Army and Revolutionary Guard committed acts of political violence during the war, referred to as the White terror and Red terror respectively. The terror consisted of a calculated aspect of general warfare and, on the other hand, the local, personal murders and corresponding acts of revenge. In the former, the commanding staff planned and organised the actions and gave orders to the lower ranks. At least a fifth of the Red terror and most of the White terror was centrally led. The main goals of the terror were to destroy the command structure of the enemy; to clear and secure the areas governed and occupied by armies; and to create shock and fear among the civil population and the enemy soldiers. Additionally, the common troops' paramilitary nature and their lack of combat skills drove them to use political violence as a military weapon.
It is important however to note that the White Terror was far more prevalent compared to the Red Terror, with Army command having issued the “Shoot-on-the-spot” decree soon after the fall of Fort Union. In general, the White Terror simply acted as a wartime continuation of President Stone’s oppressive policies, with many civilians displaying even a hint of sympathy toward the Guard in public being tried for treason and executed. Total estimates for people killed during the terror range in the hundreds of thousands, with ~30,000 attributed to the Guard, and ~300,000 to the White Army.
### End
Following the fall of Nexus on the 14th of January and the death or capture of most of the White Army’s central leadership, the organization began quickly fizzling out. Even those most loyal to the White Army’s cause saw continuing fighting as a pointless endeavour after the death of the President. A wave of desertions followed, with many who feared persecution from the Guard fleeing to neighboring Hollosend and Calveria, as well as Evrian nations such as St. Testudera and Elvester. With most organized resistance having quickly folded, the Guard declared itself victorious in the Elysian Civil War, declaring the establishment of the Elysian Reconstruction Authority as a continuation of the United States.
The White Army had been defeated. The government forces had lost the civil war, several military leaders committed suicide or were arrested and tried for their crimes. Many of them were sentenced to either forced labour or death, with a very rare few pardoned for any crimes by Supreme Protector Archer Maine later on.
## Aftermath and Impact
The civil war was a catastrophe for Elysia: with an estimated 4,5 million - around 4,8% of the population - being listed as casualties. The conflict remains the bloodiest in the history of the continent, surpassing that of even Elysia’s own involvement in the Great War. Swathes of public and private infrastructure had been reduced to ruins, with many districts in cities like Nexus and Dogma being built back from the ground up.
Politically, the country remained divided on the system of government that was to follow the United States. While many conservatives and liberals campaigned for a return to the parliamentary system with tightened power to institutions other than the Parliament itself, an equal number of more radical elements campaigned for the abolishment of the same system that’d given power to men like Stone. For a while, neither side could consolidate enough of a consensus regarding the situation, either due to not having a solid enough idea to campaign behind, or because of pushback from opposing sides. This factionalism would only come to an end upon the publishing of Archer Maine’s One Choir, establishment of the Gestaltist Party and the Unity State. Even then, an air of political division has remained ever since.
While the larger scale offensives and battles of the civil war were over, many White Army holdout groups resorted to partisan warfare, relying on agrarian communities as bases of support for their operations. These largely decentralized covert groups would carry out operations across the country for years after the war’s end, with the movement coming to a strong halt following the death and capture of the organizations’ leadership and Elysia’s re-entrance into the Elyrian Doctrine.
With the establishment of a planned economy, widespread nationalization and a de-facto purge of large private enterprise in Elysia, the country entered an economic slump following the war, quickly attempting to compensate for the jobs lost with industrial, urban and agricultural expansion in the major cities. To repair and heal after the conflict, Elysia imposed a nigh-total policy of political isolation from the rest of the world until 1925, when the country would re-emerge on the world stage once more.
The Civil War continues to be a sore topic in Elysia to this day, with many public works made in remembrance of those lost during the conflict. Most interestingly, the Unity State grieves people lost on both sides of the conflict, regarding it as a large waste of life to restore freedom back to Elysia. Public opinion on this policy has been mixed, however most agree to it acting as a perfectly fine compromise.
<div class="imgrid">
<figure style="flex:1.715"><img src="/assets/old-media/media/elysian-civil-war-5.jpg" alt="White Army POWs in New Winscor."><figcaption>White Army POWs in New Winscor.</figcaption></figure>
</div>
