The Martian Revolution

**Location:** Mars, Earth's moon,
the Asteroid Belt, the
moons of the gas planets
 **Results:** Martian victory
* Independence of Mars
* Independence of the Lunar Colony
* Formation of the Free Lunar State

The Revolutionists* The Martians
* The Lunars
* The Fourth Chinese Republic
* The United States of America
* Westasia
* Eastasia

## Context

During the Martian famines of the 2640's, the Gasan government decided to export much of the Martian produced grain while leaving the local population with not much to eat. The people rioted in streets but were met with the harsh authority of Gasan police forces. At the time, the Martians had developed their own national identity and were not so happy to be treated as a colony of the Gas Planets. The famines and its riots under worsened the tensions between the two people of the Federation. Meanwhile, the Gasans controlled the production of food and did not allow the Martians to export their goods to any other country. This proved to be a problem as the discovery of the Great Red Fog had occurred not so long ago, and there was a strong demand for foodstuff to be shipped to the new colonies.

A similar environment was present in Argerive, as the lunar people clashed with the government of the United States. The problem with them is that they could not possibly survive without being supplied by the United States. Meanwhile, food was getting scarcer on Earth, and the Terran governments were angry at the Federation for refusing to allow Mars to trade with other countries.

Mars saw a wave of nationalism which originated from the city of Grenna. At first, the movement sought the recognition of Martian control over their own world using peaceful means, but later, the Martian people called for a more violent approach to completely free Mars and have the planet become an independent republican state.

Seeing the growing tension on Mars, Sylvian Felter, a martian-born officer in the United States Space Force, decided to head back home and assist his people. Sylvian knew that his people would not survive in a war with the Federation: then the most powerful country in the solar system. He knew that the only way to beat the Gasans would be with superior strategy and understanding of the environment.

In June 2651, Jasmine Thirdleg died from illness at the age of fifty-four. Although at that point, the monarchy had been a figurehead, the Gasans adored their queen and felt outraged by her death. The Gasans blamed the Martians, and believed that they had poisoned her, but the Martians rejected the accusation. The prime minister of the Federation announced his intentions of bringing a small military detachment to Mars to apprehend the "Terrorist group" responsible of the "regicide".

Sylvian secretly founded Grenna's Military Academy by leading a few hundred Martians into the forest of Grenna and teaching them how to fight. Meanwhile, an associate of Sylvian, the nationalist politician Jenessa Ovrill, flew to Argerive to convince them to aid them in their coming war with the Federation, in exchange for their own freedom from the United States. Jenessa also made contact with terran governments who were not in good relations with the United States, notably China, and sought their support. Meanwhile, the Federation was increasing the size of their army

## Securing Mars

On November 2652, just as the Gasan military detachment was about to arrive in Arote, the Martian rebels launched a series of attacks on the Martian cites, and enforced Martian rule in all of them. Meanwhile, because the United States' entire spatial military division was garrisoned on Argerive, it was completely seized by the Lunar rebels. The Lunars used their navy to intercept the Gasan military division promised by the Federation. The Gasans did not think that the Martians would have a navy, so they were taken by surprise and their ships were destroyed without adverse casualties.

The Martians toppled down the provincial, Gasan loyal government of Arote and captured the minister. Much of the gasan inhabitants of the city were captured as well. Sylvian Felter then seized every other city on Mars and established complete Martian control over Mars by the end of the year. In March 2653, Mars had it's first elections, fulfilling its republican promise. Jenessa Orvill was elected by 43% of the voting population, and became the very first Martian President.

While in full control of the planet, Jenessa and Sylvian concentrated the country's resources and effort into building a navy. Meanwhile, the Gasans sent small groups of armed forces to assault the planet. To avoid having the new navy destroyed before it could develop to its full potential, the Martians sent half of it to Argerive and the other half they sent to an uncharted territory off system. Despite losing their entire space fleet, the United States swiftly tried to build another one to try to take back Argerive, but their fleet was destroyed by the Martians. The Martians later found the Kanita system and established a military base on Banzar's moon, Chenya.

The Gasan attacks on Mars began to become larger and more consistent, but the Martians used tactiful moves and exploited the Gasans ignorance of the Martian climate and geography, often resorting to guerilla warfare. Every Gasan attack on Mars ended up a failure and cost them much casualties while the Martians suffered minimal casualties.

Within a few months, food shortages became a problem in the gas planets, but the United States promised to supply the Federation with food. Meanwhile, on Earth, China funded and armed terrorist groups to attack the United States and even performed air raids on their European allies, notably the country of Weastasia. China threatened US allied countries into joining their side and even sunk US ships with their submarines.

## Siege of Mars

After several other failed invasions of Mars, the Gasans decided the entirely siege the planet in the summer of 2653, the later planned to lead an American joint mission to attack and invade Argerive. The Federation had never tried to invade Argerive because the city mostly had docking ports, and only one hangar. Therefore, invading the city was challenging. The Martians managed to make contact with their fleet on Chenya by knocking down four strategically placed transmitting ships in the Gasan's PCT network surrounding the planet. The Martians attacked the Gasan blockade with whatever ships they had on the planet, while their fleet from Chenya attacked as well. Federation did not anticipate that a Martian fleet would attack them from the rear, and so their blockade was destroyed.

Meanwhile, as the Lunars were barely holding off the attacking Gasans and Americans, the Martian fleet came from behind and destroyed the attacking fleet.

## Martian Offense

From there, the Martians and Lunars began their offence, striking at the moons of the gas planets. By then, the Gasan morale was decreasing and the gradual loss of their moons meant that they had less resources to build ships with. This war with the moons went on until the day Sylvian took a dozen gasan hypersteel coated supply ships as well as two captured triremes and flew deep into Uranus to capture the capital city of Athens. The gas planets had always been considered as impregnable, and in all of history: attacking a gas planet without a gasan hypersteel coated ship is virtually impossible. Therefore, the Federation did not anticipate that the Martians would attack one of their own worlds, and their navy was scattered and busy fighting in the battles on Titan and Triton, which took place simultaneously.

By taking Uranus' capital city and keeping members of the parliament of Athens as hostages, Sylvian had asserted control over much of Uranus and used the shipyards of Athens to build his own small navy of gasan hypersteel ships.

## The Bombing of Argerive

In the Autumn of 2653, as an act of desperation, the Federation decided to deploy the spares of their nuclear arsenal. The last three of the thermonuclear weapons built in the time of Florence and Anthony, then nicknamed: "Flare Bombs". Seeing no way to invade Argerive, the Gasans detonated one of Flare Bombs on the city, causing its quasi-destruction. The bombing of Argerive caused a massive uproar in the terrestrial planets. The remaining Lunar ships led a massive air raid on Gasan moon cities in retaliation, causing tens of thousands of civilian casualties.

The United States of America publicly denounced the Interplanetary Federation as they valued the Lunars as American citizens and refused to condone the massacre of millions of their own citizens. The United States backed down from the war and annulled their food deal with the Federation.
Following the bombing of Argerive, Jenessa flew to Earth and managed to rally several Terran states to her side, including Westasia and Australia.

Sylvian Felter left Uranus at once. Since he left with the Uranian parliament members as hostages, he was not attacked on the way out. He left the bulk of his army and his entire gasan hypersteel fleet in Athens to secure the city.
Within 48 hours of the bombing of Argerive, the Martians and their Terran allies pinpointed the launching facility that stored the remaining Flare Bombs and neutralized it.

## Ending and Aftermath

With the Martians in control of much of Uranus, and with food getting scarcer on the gas planets, the Federation agreed to surrender, and in 2654, they signed the treaty of Athens which ended the war and recognized Mars as an independent sovereign state. Jenessa agreed to restore all the Gasan food industries on Mars, to save the Gasans from total economic collapse.
The Martians saw an economic growth after the war, mainly due to their discovery of the Kanita system and their trade with China.
The Martians were the first to recognize the bombing of Argerive as an act of genocide, and later on, many Terran countries did the same, starting with China.