Limitist Coup

The **Limitist Coup**was an attempted coup d'etat carried out by liberal politician Sir Penrose Gill and General Manfred Xavier. They had at their disposal some 4000 troops and a mob of 1200 civilians. The coup was badly carried out, and after Gill was imprisoned inside the labyrinthine Royal City, cavalrymen dispersed the gathering.

## Background

Emperor Viktor's ultraconservative tendencies were commonly known among Kymurian elites, and many were aware that the constitutional order established in 812KF carried no actual definitive check on the monarch's power. As such, a race to act first began, with the so-named 'Ultraroyalists' seeking to abolish the parliamentary government before the 'Limitists' could act against Viktor's court.

Strangely, the parliament itself was barely involved at all. Baron Ross, the prime minister, was unaware that Viktor had specific plans to act against parliament, and as such, thought all letters directed to him by Limitists were a hoax. Now that the considerable power of the Prime Minister seemed unavailable to them, Limitist action became far more radical. They planned to overthrow Viktor and replace him with his far more liberal younger brother Johannes.

## Coup

The main Limitist figure was Sir Penrose Gill, a Coppannis MP. The second was General Manfred Xavier. They had the support of the 45th Town Regiment, which in Saffira numbered around 4000 men. At 6.00am on the morning of the 12th Day of the Month of Pour, the regiment and a liberal crowd of some 1200 assembled at the enormous Zapha's Square, opposite the chambers of government, and began chanting demands and singing hymns.

In accordance with an act passed eight years earlier, all demonstrations had to be cleared with the City Governor's and Police Chief's office beforehand, and since no such permission had been granted, the nominal authorities arrived with two constabulary battalions (600 men in total) to send the crowds home, but realised something far more serious was afoot as they noticed that many in the crowd were armed soldiery.

The Emperor was immediately informed of the gathering when he awoke at 7.45am. Not wishing to be lured into a trap, he summoned the privy council and ordered all metropolitan cavalry regiments to stand-to. So many messages were being sent in and out of the royal city that the mail room collapsed into chaos at around 9.30.am.

The Prime Minister, Baron Ross, now realised that the letters sent to him were genuine, and that many of them in fact contained valuable information on what may be happening. He sent a (delayed) message to Viktor stating that he was unconditionally loyal to the monarchy, and included statements from his archives detailing the plan of the Limitists. Later on, a group of Limitists led in person by Gill barged into Ross's office demanding that he announce his official support. Ross insisted that he would remain neutral (the Limitists were unaware of his communication with the palace) 'until the winner is revealed.' He then excoriated the Limitists for risking another civil war.

After leaving the Prime Minister's office, Gill led the crowd towards the Royal City. Since his reinforcements from the Metropolitan Cavalry had let to arrive and all communication was slowed down by the mail room problems, The Emperor began to play for time. He sent an envoy to Gill stating that he would allow the crowd up to the gates of the royal city, but no further, and that Gill could receive an audience with Viktor. General Xavier warned Gill that he might be walking into a trap, and that they could use their soldiery to storm the Royal City (guarded by only 300 Infantry and 200 Cavalry) and force the issue before Viktor could gain an upper hand. Gill believed that the Emperor would listen to him, and that their assembled crowd could be used as leverage rather than a blunt force weapon. After he was led into the gates by Lord Chamberlain Albert Sartor, to much cheering from the demonstrators, he was taken into the heart of the enormous royal city and locked in a servants' pantry in the largely empty Carlyle Palace on the pretext that Sartor had gone to order him some tea.

After nearly two hours had passed, General Xavier began to fear that his predictions had come true, but before he could act, several thousand Metropolitan Cavalry troopers filled the wide avenues leading to the Royal City Gates. They advanced at a trot, shouting 'Long Live the Emperor!' This was enough to rout much of the crowd and some of the soldiery, while many others surrendered. A battalion of soldiers formed square around General Xavier, and two squadrons of cavalry charged them down, killing all present, despite orders to bring out the officers alive.

Surrendered or arrested soldiery were sent to isolated garrisons in the Northwest or at St. Trecherman's point. Gill was tried for high treason and conspiracy to regicide (a controversial aspect, since there were no technical grounds to prove that he intended to murder the Emperor

Observers both then and later have described the attempt as "completely naive" and "amateur." In particular, the sluggishness with which the anti-Viktor crowd acted and their unwillingness to force any action have been heavily criticised. It has led some to believe that royalist agitators may have staged the event as a false flag event, but no substantial evidence for this has been found. Furthermore, Prince Johannes had left Saffira the day before to take a holiday in Pamnia.

Although the coup was farcical, many liberal sympathisers remained willing to take action against the Emperor.