Marik Civil War (31st c.)

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Marik Civil War (31st c.)
Part of Succession Wars
Start Date 3014 - 3015
Result Janos Marik's victory
Factions
Loyalist of the Free Worlds League Rebels of the Free Worlds League
Commanders and leaders
Janos Marik Anton Marik
Environment
Standard
Conditions
Normal


File:JanosMarik.jpg
Janos Marik, Captain-General of the Free Worlds League
The rebel Anton Marik, Janos' younger brother.
Maximilian Liao, Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation.
Vesar Kristofur, Precentor of ROM.
File:Jaime Wolf.jpg
Jaime Wolf, leader of the Wolf Dragoons.
Joshua Wolf, Jaime's brother.
Natasha Kerensky, Joshua's lover.
Betrayal

If any event could evoke sympathy for the Captain-General, it would be that day when Janos Marik confronted the truth that his own brother had made common cause with the Liao enemy. After a decade of disappointments it was the ultimate disappointment.

- From Crossed Swords, by Ema Kochkov, Rahne Publishing, 3021[1]

The Marik Civil War, also known as Anton's Revolt, was a full-fledged civil war that engulfed the Free Worlds League from 3014 until 3015. The loyalist forces of Captain-General Janos Marik fought against the rebel forces of Anton Marik, Janos' younger brother and would-be usurper.

Background

Despite being close, the two brothers clashed frequently during the failed Marik offensives of 3001 to 3003. Despite the strong opposition of Anton Marik his close friend Willis Crawford was used as a scapegoat. Crawford was charged with dereliction of duty, court-martialed, found guilty, sentenced to death and then executed by firing squad.

Many consider this the seeds of later troubles. As early as 3003, Anton began communicating covertly with Maximilian Liao, Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation, carefully planning a move against Janos.[2]

Anton Marik secretly met Maximilian Liao on Terra in 3014. The chancellor promised his support in a rebellion, offering the services of the mysterious mercenary Wolf's Dragoons, five veteran regiments. He further sweetened the deal with a proposal of a future betrothal to Candace Liao, his eldest daughter. [3]

It was clearly a win-win deal for the Capellan Confederation. A victorious Anton would be in Maximilian's debt, but it was of little matter which side won: the Free Worlds League would be weakened for several years in either case.


Revealed only several decades afterwards, was the fact that Anton Marik's top aide and adviser was Vesar Kristofur, the Precentor of ROM, working undercover. Influencing and manipulating certain events, his goals were twofold:

  • 1st) disrupt the economy of the Free Worlds League, weakening the value of the Eagle, the currency of the Free Worlds League, in order to strengthen the value of ComStar's C-Bill.
  • 2nd) gather information about the mysterious Wolf's Dragoons [4].

Beginning

On May 22, 3014, calling Janos a "madman" and a "tyrant", Anton Marik openly challenged his brother's reign. Self-declaring himself Captain-General, he called upon all provinces and military units of the Free Worlds League to rally at his side.

While the Wolf's Dragoons conducted several highly successful strikes against loyalist forces, several units and many star systems did indeed flock to Anton's banner; however it was far less than what he'd expected.


Rather than be devastated by his brother's betrayal, the war re-energized Janos. He officially declared all rebel military units and leaders, foremost his brother Anton, as traitors and outlaws.

On June while Nova Roma fell to Rebel forces, most provinces invoked the Home Defense Act. They declined to support either rebels or loyalists and declared their neutrality in the civil war.

Reacting quickly, Janos invoked the powers of Special Resolution 512 in order to gain the loyalty of the provincial units. By this measure he gained the support of the Principality of Regulus and of the Sirian Concordance; rallying his loyalist forces he gave orders to counter-attack.


Worse was yet to come for the rebel side: the revelation that Anton was receiving support from the Capellan Confederation enraged many citizens of the Free World League who consequently supported and joined the loyalist side. Only the martial services of Wolf's Dragoons stiffened the rebel resistance.


By February 3015, the rebels controlled only a few remaining star systems. The tremendous strain upon Anton began to show.

He met with Jaime Wolf at his headquarters on New Delos in February 26th. Anton gave the order to break the mercenary regiments into company-sized forces in order to distribute them among other rebel troops, hoping that this measure would slow the advance of the loyalist forces.

Jaime Wolf refused, citing the terms of his contract. This refusal led to a fallout with devastating consequences.


On March 6th Anton gave the order to arrest Jaime's brother, Joshua Wolf and 27 other Dragoon personnel and dependents. While being interrogated, Joshua Wolf was killed, apparently "in a struggle with his guards". It has been speculated that he was intentionally murdered by Vesar Kristofur.

The remaining prisoners were quickly executed; it would not be revealed until several years later that Jaime Wolf's wife and two daughters were among them. Attempting to use the "prisoners" as hostages Anton sent a message to Jaime Wolf, announcing their arrests and concealing the executions [5].


The response was swift, overwhelming and deadly: the enraged Wolf's Dragoons fell upon New Delos crushing all opposition.

After three days of fighting, Natasha Kerensky led her Black Widow Company through a forest fire, attacking the rear of Anton's palace and ultimately killing him as a wall collapsed upon him.

The Dragoons then proceeded to destroy all remaining rebel units on New Delos, ending Anton's rebellion.

Aftermath

The end of the civil war led to the six-month long New Delos Treason Trials. Several rebel leaders among them Gerald Marik, Janos' own son, were found guilty of treason, sentenced to death and then executed. Additionally, another panel was formed to investigate the conduct of Janos' troops, the New Delos War Crimes Trials.[6]


Rebel military units were disbanded in disgrace and stricken from the records. In a twist of realpolitik, Janos gave the Wolf's Dragoons an offer of employment with the Free Worlds League, which Jaime Wolf accepted.

While managing to escape the carnage of New Delos, Kristofur's failure was not forgiven by ComStar's First Circuit; he was excommunicated and then sent into exile.

References

  1. House Marik (Free Worlds League), chapter Brother against Brother
  2. House Liao (The Capellan Confederation), p. 52
  3. Handbook: House Liao, p. 36
  4. Historical: Brush Wars, p.?[citation needed]
  5. Historical: Brush Wars, p.??[citation needed]
  6. Mechwarrior: Destiny, p. 146

Bibliography

Dates

  • Start Date - 3014
  • End Date - 3015