Junoan Civil War (Legacy)

~100,000 Dead, 130,000 Displaced

The **Junoan Civil War** was a civil war between the revolutionary, democratic forces of the Junoan People's Republic and the monarchist pro-Eshan forces of the Second Kingdom of Juno. The conflict began on July 2nd, 1906, when a rebellion against the monarchist government sprung out in Western Juno and grew into a nationwide revolution. It ended on June 28th, 1908 when the government signed a treaty with the revolutionary government following the Second Battle of Umura where the monarchist army was surrounded and destroyed in the capital city of Umura.

## Background

Following the First Junoan War in 1904, the First Kingdom of Juno surrendered to Esha and after the treaty of Doneslav the government was replaced with the Second Kingdom of Juno. The new Junoan government was controlled by the Eshan government which heavily suppressed the Junoan population. Eshans were commonly favored in law, business, schooling, jobs, and loans throughout the east of the country. However, most of the west remained friendly to Junoans and local governments favored Junoans. The new government rarely involved itself in the west and things remained the same for the most part.

In 1905, the Junoan government began heavy suppression of anti-government ideas and speech such as protests and posters. Local elections were commonly rigged to favor monarchists and those friendly to the Eshan royal family. In May, 1905, 23 suspected communists and democratic reformists were taken into custody and publically executed in Umura for treason, although no evidence was ever given as to why they were punished.

In early 1906, Western Juno became the target of mass oppression of Junoan culture and criticism of the government was outlawed. Many Western Junoan governors, mayors, and government figures were jailed or executed under the guise of terrorism and being traitors of the government. Around 600 Western Junoans were executed between January 5th and May 12th, 1906, leading to mass riots in Western Juno and public opinion fell dramatically.

## Warfare

### Motea Uprising

*Main article: Motea Uprising*

In June 1906, around 20,000 rebels in the general area of Motea, a town in Western Juno, rose up against the local government forces, seizing the police office, city hall, local soldier barracks, and captured most of the urban area of the town along with guerillas occupying the nearby forests and marshes around Motea. Western Juno became overflowed with winter snow in the southwest mountains and wetlands were created which guerilla fighters used to their advantage to slow down and stop reinforcements and government soldiers from getting to Motea. Between June 6th and July 2nd, Motea was fought for between rebels and government forces with many civilians caught in the crossfire. The battle ended when the rebel forces captured the city hall and eliminated or captured all opposing forces in the town.

Following the capture of Motea by rebel forces on July 2nd, the Junoan government pulled out all military units from West Juno and created a defensive line separating the west and east. Several days later on July 8th, the Eshan government declared that Juno would be formally released from Eshan ownership and the nation was released from being a puppet. Eshan forces stationed in Juno were called back and the government was left to fight the rebel forces with their small army of around 40,000 soldiers who were lead by mostly incompetent officers and generals who gained positions during the leadership purge by the government in 1905.

### Umura Uprising & Eastern Disorder

*Main article: Umura Uprising*

While the west was being overrun by rebels and government authority collapsed, once residents of the East became aware of the Motea Uprising and the rebels' victory, many in the capital Umura began to show support for the rebel cause. Several accounts exist of local law enforcement in the city arresting those who burnt the Junoan flag or were speaking out in support against the government. The support of the rebels by Umura's populace soon drove the government to act in order to suppress ideas of revolt and between July 15th and August 3rd, around 12,000 residents of Umura who were found to support the rebels or possibly show signs of support were arrested, hung, executed in public, or just shot in the street. Several catholic churches were also burned down, the most notorious burning being of Saint Andrea's Cathedral where around 600 churchgoers, pastors, and nuns were burnt alive or shot fleeing the building by the local army garrison.

In response to the mass amounts of brutality against the people of Umura, on August 4th, around 30,000 residents suddenly began resisting local police and many attempting to defend themselves and their family from raids, mostly with the use of firearms. Another 2,700 attempted to seize the city hall from the local army garrison stationed there. The battle lasted around 2 hours with most of the rebels being shot, arrested, or fleeing only to be either shot or arrested later by police. Many of them were kept as prisoners by the government and interrogated to death, with a small number being liberated later in the war by forces of the Yellow Army.

Soon after August 4th, smaller resistance continued against the government in Umura but was quickly crushed. Resistance in the countryside of the east however, persisted for much of the Civil War. In the rural town of Tetorok near Umura, resistance against the government continued until the end of the war and local forces helped the Yellow Army to encircle Umura during the Second Battle of Umura.