Korei Civil War (1976)

Current map of Korei

The **Korei Civil War** was a war that took place from October to November 1976 in Korei. A war was waged against the Korei government by rebels with the goal of attaining independence for the southern region of Korei. It was led by the Korei Parliamentary Reform (KPR), led by Thinkery.

In May 1976, the Presidential election was won by BITT/BYTE, which caused protests, with the KPR accusing Red, the ruler of Korei, of nepotism and rigging the election, seeing as how BITT/BYTE and Red were good friends.

In late October, the heaviest fighting of the war took place in the capital city of Korei, in which the KPR had stormed the border of Korei and had conducted air raids across the city, which is believed to be the cause of most of the deaths and displacements of civilians in the war.

During the storming of the last KPR controlled compound, the leader, Thinkery, had been captured by DLF Leader Dexter Meritorious Witnick IV and was forced to give up the rebellion. He agreed, and the war officially ended on November 14. In December, Thinkery was officially sentenced to two years in prison in Korei and was forced to pay heavy war reparations. In the DLF, he was executed.

## Background

Korei was founded in April 1976 by Red, and had amassed a small population. A flag design had been put forward by someone, leader of Lanodola, that was turned down after a snap vote. The month after, there was an election for President, with four candidates running, including Thinkery. Thinkery, along with the other two candidates, lost by one vote to BITT/BYTE. Outraged, Thinkery accused Red of nepotism and election rigging, citing that BITT/BYTE was good friends with Red. His accusations went unheard of, and, over the coming months, called for an overthrow, publicly advertising in Korei and even contacting world leaders for support. Bitz, a local, had partnered with Thinkery and together formed the KPR, which was situated just outside of Korei.

While visiting Korei, Dexter Meritorious Witnick IV, leader of the DLF who had been contacted by Thinkery, had alerted Red of the rebellion, saying that Red should consider purging anyone involved in the group, citing, “[Red] can quell a rebellion before it even starts”.

In early October, a meeting took place with Red, Witnick, Thinkery and Bitz, which quickly turned hostile, with Witnick and Red threatening war if the KPR didn’t dissolve. After escalating tensions, Red declared war on KPR.

## Course of the conflict

### **Beginning of the conflict and failed peace talks**

The border between Korei and the KPR was heavily guarded by Korei and DLF soldiers, with DLF soldiers entering KPR territory to keep them in check. Witnick, along with General D34DM3M3 of the DLF, had attempted to talk Thinkery into surrender, but talks fell apart, and the DLF called for Wanglandia to send in support. Wanglandia mainly gave technical and strategic support, with it being too small a country to supply any manpower other than WillyWangFlaps, the ruler.

Tensions were high in areas close to the border, with soldiers encouraging citizens to stay at least two kilometres away from the border.

### **Storming of the border**

On 24 October, KPR rebels stormed the border and headed directly to the capital city, failing an attack on the city streets. It is reported that at least 3 civilians were killed before authorities arrived. DLF soldiers had arrived, repelling the KPR further towards the border.

KPR soldiers had retaliated by breaking a blockade created by soldiers, and called in battle ships into the city’s harbor. A ground offensive by the DLF had further pushed KPR soldiers back into a makeshift bunker.

Witnick, who was also fighting the war, attempted to clear civilians from the main fighting area, though KPR’s strategic positioning in the city centre had prevented any escape without getting shot. KPR tanks and bombers came in, striking buildings that were thought to contain pro-government soldiers, when most contained civilians. A key intersection was lost to KPR airplanes who had bombed the buildings around them, causing heavy damage and loss of civilian life. Most pro-government offensives failed, resulting in KPR victory into entering the country.

Later that night, a ceasefire was called and ObsceneCabbage II had been flown in from Vulparia to Korei to be briefed on the situation. The ceasefire would last until 10:00 the next day. During this time, Obscene attempted to reach an agreement with Thinkery, but they didn’t see eye to eye. Obscene announced thatthe Vulparian military would also join pro-government forces if an agreement was not met by the deadline. Bitz, a KPR fighter, said that the only way that
KPR would retreat was if BITT/BYTE was removed from office, with Obscene denying the offer.

For
the rest of the morning, Thinkery tried to find evidence of election rigging, but none was found. Meanwhile, DLF soldiers were attempting to fortify the town hall which contained most of the city officials, as well as called for evacuations which cleared around half of the city’s population, the other half either trapped or choosing to remain in the city. Part way through the ceasefire, Wanglandian forces had arrived, only consisting of WillyWangFlaps and one armored tank. Noticing the intimidating amount of pro-government forces, the KPR bunkers around the City were fortified heavily with things such as quick-drying concrete, barbed wire and machine guns.

Despite the country of NSDR having no connection to the war, Witnick declared all relations between NSDR and DLF cut, giving the reason that since Thinkery was leader of it, there was no sane reason to keep them around. This prompted outrage from Thinkery and Bitz, who then refused any other peace deal.

When the ceasefire ended, KPR had immediately launched another ground invasion, with pro-government forces being pushed back once again. Despite the fortifications to the town hall, an airstrike had blown up the side of it, killing two city officials. More airstrikes destroyed more buildings, with the dust and debris enough to stop any other airplanes from being able to see, which many DLF and Vulparian bomber jets to be taken down.

A series of heavy losses had forced pro-government forces out of the town hall, but after more Vulparian infantry were sent in, along with assistance from Wanglandia, a second offensive had proven successful in getting soldiers closer to the KPR bunker and wounding Bitz. The third offensive got them closer to the main bunker where Thinkery was believed to be hiding, though, when a fourth offensive captured the bunker, it turned out to be Bitz.

That night, a second bunker was taken and Bitz had been gravely wounded, and Thinkery was planning on retreating to a bunker further away from the city, but it had already been bombed by Vulparian bomber jets.

### **Final offensive and Thinkery’s capture**

That afternoon, a ceasefire had been arranged that was much shorter than the last one, plus, Thinkery had refused to leave his bunker. The ceasefire quickly broke down after only less than an hour, and Vulparian soldiers charged the bunker Thinkery was believed to be hiding in, only to once again find it was a decoy, and that Thinkery was trying to escape by sea in a Gotland-class submarine which was successfully bombed and Thinkery was captured.

The next day, during the clean up of the city, negotiations were underway for Thinkery’s life. Bitz was saved by a DLF medic, and also captured. In a surprise move, an attempt on Thinkery’s life was made by Willy, Obscene and Witnick, all of which failing and keeping him barely alive. However, in retaliation, Bitz made an attempt on Obscene’s life, shooting him in the shoulder. Bitz was then killed, and the formal process for peace began.

### **Official end to the war**

When Red was briefed on the situation, Thinkery was taken into custody and imprisoned, only let out to sign the deal to end the war on November 14. Later that month, he was charged with igniting a war and killing ten civilians, despite DLF and Vulparian estimations being much higher. Thinkery was sentenced to five years in jail.

## Reactions and Aftermath

The first people on the ground after the fighting ended was lead reporter and Prime Minister of Vulparia, Ace Ryan, reporting that night of the destruction of Seyong.

There was much talk amongst the international community about the war, especially in Vulparia, where WillyWangFlaps, the current Defense Minister, being praised as a hero by local and state television, which is believed to have led to his victory in the most recent election. The DLF had another outlook on the war, saying that Thinkery should not only be arrested in Korei, but also in the DLF.

The trial had begun in DLF, and Thinkery's fate was taken to the public. The vote was deadlocked, meaning Thinkery would remain detained in the DLF until a rescheduled vote, which occurred on 18 March 1977, and, after four or five days, a six to one vote favoured Thinkery to be executed. He was executed in San Franshitsco on 19 June.

Wanglandia had, however, made Thinkery a diplomat for the NSDR, which had been receiving much backlash since it was led by Thinkery and was known for its lack of civil rights. Other countries such as Lanodola have announced that Thinkery would not be allowed into their countries and have implemented stronger border regulations.

In December, the DLF released an official report saying that at least 9 civilians were killed during the fighting, with over 20 being displaced, leading to a refugee crisis and an influx of refugees settling in the neighboring country of Rexisteria.