Rebellion of the Three Banners

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The **Rebellion of the Three Banners**, also known as the **Chosen War** or **Jinhyung War**, was a war that took place between 1950 and 1952 between the State of Chosun, a short-lived successor state to the United States Military Government of Chosun, and three independence movements: the Revolutionary Movement for the Independence of Atsu (RMIA), the Daitan Revolutionary Corps, and the Shunreng Peoples' Movement. Later, the city of Fusan declared independence as the Confederation of the Free Cities from Shunreng and was largely unopposed. The Soviet-backed Provisional Government of Upper Chosun also attempted to intervene against the State of Chosun but failed to gain any land, and even lost control of the Liaoning Peninsula, due to a harsh guerilla campaign spearheaded by Atsu. The war was a victory for all revolutionary groups, who proceeded to expel all Chosunese from their lands and destroy Chosunese cultural artifacts in the Glorious Restoration.

## Name

The name "Rebellion of the Three Banners" refers to the ceremonial banners famously raised by the three independence movements to rally their forces at the start of the war. It was used by the governments of Atsu, Daitan, and Shunreng (but not Fusan) to parallel the historical Revolt of the Three Feudatories and Rebellion of the Three Guards in China.

Contemporary news reports in the United States, Fusan, Quelpart, Japan, and other Western-aligned countries used the terms "Chosen War" or "Jinhyung War", referring to the Jinhyung Peninsula. The Soviet Union, China, the State of Chosun and its successor the Republic of Chosun, and other Eastern Bloc countries used "Chosun Uprising". Most countries nowadays use "Rebellion of the Three Feudatories" except for Chosun which still calls it the Chosun Uprising.

## Background

After World War 2, direct Japanese possessions on mainland Asia - that is, excluding Manchukuo and Mengjiang - were split into two. Those north of the Khumun River and the FOGGY River, including the Liaoning Peninsula, were placed under the Soviet-backed Provisional Government of Upper Chosun. The Soviet Union planned on returning the lands to Communist China once they had won the civil war; the Republic of China protested this, but the newly established United Nations sided with the Soviet Union to balance their interests. Meanwhile, lands south of the rivers - i.e. the Jinhyung Peninsula proper - were granted to the United States Military Government of Chosun, with plans to turn it into an independent state after a few years of reconstruction.

The situation immediately became unstable. Growing protests in United States Military Government of Japan over the Dethronement of the Japanese Royal Family inspired independence movements by the then-minority groups in Chosun: the Daitanese, Shunrengese, and Atsu. The largest movements representing them were the Daitan Revolutionary Corps, the Shunreng Peoples' Movement, and the Revolutionary Movement for the Independence of Atsu or RMIA respectively. On October 5, 1948, the Council of the Three Banners was held in Daiku in which the three movements agreed to declare independence at the same time and support each other during the ensuing war.

The Bombing of the Geunjeongjeon took place on January 27, 1949. The blame was initially pinned on communist insurgents, but investigations by the United States military concluded that they were caused by the independence movements. Plans were drafted up to quell the rebellions, but General Dave Thomas, who was the head of the military government, scrapped them, stating that the movements had gotten too powerful at this point and it would be best to support them instead in order to prevent communism from spreading even further south. Instead, the Thomas-Baker Plan was set up, where the Military Government would be dissolved a few months prior to the date of independence (which was estimated to be on July 4, 1950, in order to be timed with the US celebration) but troops would be kept in a few bases to support the movements. These plans were relayed to DAITAN REVOLUTIONARY who then communicated them to SHUNRENG REVOLUTIONARY and ATSU REVOLUTIONARY.

## The War

ATSU REVOLUTIONARY, SHUNRENG REVOLUTIONARY, and DAITAN REVOLUTIONARY declared independence earlier than the US had planned: on March 7, 1950. All three groups famously rallied their forces by raising ceremonial banners similar to those in use in the Qing dynasty of China. Their forces easily overwhelmed the poorly-organized soldiers of the State of Chosun, and soon Shunreng had control over Daiku and Fusan, Daitan controlled Daiden and some territory around it, and Atsu controlled Hanshyng. Quelpart initiated Operation Rising Phoenix not long after, on July 4, in order to secure the valuable port of Beuk Huo.

## Aftermath

The rebellion led to widespread devastation in the Jinhyung Peninsula and the surrounding territories, and the displacement of upwards of one million people.

In order to "purify" the peninsula and strengthen the primacy of their respective ethnic groups, the governments of Daitan, Shunreng, Fusan, and Atsu carried out the Glorious Restoration - the mass destruction of Chosunese cultural artifacts and forced migration (often accompanied with widespread abuse and genocide) of Chosunese people to Chosun. The mass influx of people into the heavily mountainous region of Chosun in turn led to the Great Famine of Chosun which caused even further deaths.

Disagreements over borders led to frequent clashes between Daitan, Shunreng, Fusan, and Atsu, the largest of which was the Nuvanshen War which led to the Atsu capture of Nuvanshen (Nanshin).