 |
||
| Martian Revolution | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dates | 17 March 2087 - 1 January 2095 (7 years, 9 months, 15 days) |
|
| Location | Mars, Martian Orbit | |
| Result | United Nations strategic victory Martian Commonwealth abolished Ares Freedom Fighters splinters into terror cells Martial law begins on Mars Civil protests break out across Sol |
|
| Theatres | Martian Orbital Theatre (2087-2090) Tharsian-Olympian Theatre (2087-2095) Argyrean Theatre (2093) |
|
| Belligerents | 🇺🇳 United Nations - Sol Defence Corps Navy (SDCN) - Sol Defence Marine Corps (SDMC) - Naval Special Operations Command (NAVSOC) - United Nations Peacekeeper Corps (UNPKC) 🟧Martian Commonwealth - Ares Freedom Fighters (AFF) - Ares Freedom Fighters Navy (AFFN) - Rogue SDC Auxiliary Corps Element Martian Gendarmerie |
|
| Commanders and Leaders | 🇺🇳 United Nations SECGEN Johnathan Bochuj FADM Samantha Rodriguez RADM Shichiro Katayama ADM Matej Novak CMC Ba Zhurong SMMC Katek Duros 🟧Martian Commonwealth Governor Markus Kauffman FADM Guring Wilibald RADM Alexander Ewas GEN Robert Namang (AFF) COL Mu Esmee (AFF) |
|
| Strength | 🇺🇳 United Nations Start of war: 6,250,000 soldiers 32,712 naval personnel 180 serviceable warships 🟧Martian Commonwealth Start of war: 2,825,000 ready soldiers 1,182 naval personnel 102 serviceable warships |
|
| Casualties and Losses | 🇺🇳 United Nations 900,000 - 1,100,000 dead 32 vessels lost 🟧Martian Commonwealth - 1,800,000 - 2,000,000 dead All vessels lost by end Civilian casualties: 8,000,000 - 11,000,000 dead |
|
The Martian Revolution (17 March 2087 — 20 December 2095) was a rebellion and political revolution on Mars involving armed fighting between the secessionist Martian Commonwealth and the forces of the United Nations of Earth and Luna.
The revolution was driven by concerns of resource and economic exploitation of Mars by the Earth-dominated government, resulting in widespread dissatisfaction and resentment towards the Colonial Administration of Mars (CAM), which governed the planet on behalf of Earth. Escalating tensions culminated in Mars seceding from the CAM and declaring itself an independent state known as the Martian Commonwealth, demanding recognition as a sovereign entity. However, the United Nations refused to acknowledge Martian independence, leading to an intervention by the UN forces, aiming to maintain Earth's control over the planet.
In 2087, the Martian Commonwealth declared itself an independent state, separating from the CAM. Shortly after, the United Nations decided to intervene on Mars, perceiving the secession as a threat to national security, and mobilized its military forces. The war lasted for eight years, involving millions of soldiers and hundreds of starships. The conflict resulted in significant casualties, with the loss of over 3 million soldiers and 8 million civilians. During the war, the United Nations' military forces, including the relatively young Peacekeeper Corps (PKC) and Sol Defence Corps (SDC), were capable of dominating the inexperienced and undertrained Martian secessionists in space, but faced initial challenges during the surface portion of the war due to inadequate preparation and the logistical complexities of waging an offensive war on another planet. However, the UN armed forces adapted by employing unconventional warfare tactics and prioritizing intelligence gathering. The establishment of secret organizations such as the predecessors to the Sol Intelligence Service and Sol Defence Corps played a notable role in the conflict. By 2095, with the Bombing of Olympia, the UN achieved a victory with significant costs, resulting in the occupation of Mars by UN forces.
The Martian Revolution had far-reaching consequences, fundamentally altering the power dynamics between Earth and Mars. Despite Mars losing the war, Earth recognized the industrial potential of the planet and began negotiations aimed at fostering better cooperation and independent trade, acknowledging the significance of Mars' industrial capabilities. These negotiations sought to rebuild Mars and establish a new framework for relations between Earth and the Martian people. The Bombing of Olympia had permanently altered the public view of the United Nations and the Sol Defence Corps, the atrocity ruining their reputation for years to come and cementing seeds of dissent and, in some cases, separatism across Sol.
Origin
The United Nations assumed direct administration of Mars when it was founded as a colony in the mid-2040s, and by 2070, the planet had attracted several hundred thousand permanent residents. Over the next two decades, Mars experienced remarkable economic growth, fuelled by extensive interplanetary travel and lucrative real estate opportunities. This led to a massive migration of Terrans to the red planet, where they secured large apartments and condominiums at incredibly low prices, driven by the allure of living on another world.
During this period, the UN governed Mars with an approach reminiscent of a mining colony. Mars exported its resources to Earth in exchange for investment and supplies such as food and water; this was referred to as the Martian Resources and Development Acts (MRDA). Companies operating on Mars prospered as a result of the MRDA and the investments it brought, allowing for a significant expansion of operations. In due course, the demand for Martian resources was satisfied, and supply only grew; Martian resources gradually began losing their value. At the same time, Earth's continued development of their own mining industry would only see the demand for Martian resources plummet; the Red Planet suddenly lost any capability to sustain its own economy; it became a mining colony that struggled and even failed to serve its purpose. The severe economic decline that followed led to a mass exodus of workers, corporations, and previously thriving settlements; ghost towns permeated the Martian landscape.
The economy of Mars completely crumbled, leaving Mars with little more than a population composed of people that could not afford to leave Mars, and poverty became widespread, and what remained of the old government resigned. This saw Václav Schwarzenberg, an economist of Czech origin, appointed as Governor of Mars shortly after, and with it came thorough economic reconstruction.
Schwarzenberg's government quickly got to work on fixing the Martian economy, which would be done primarily through the establishment of a rather extensive manufacturing sector in the remaining population centres of Mars, with the planet shifting its economic focus away from resource extraction and towards industrial production. This would be further encouraged by the imposition of harsh tariffs on all exports of raw resources out of the planet, making it such an unprofitable endeavour that it all ended up being sold on the domestic market, fuelling a boom in local manufacturing and job creation, allowing Mars to export large quantities of manufactured goods to planets in their vicinity.
Mars found itself off the ground, slowly trudging along towards recovery. Despite the fact that economic conditions were getting better, the red planet remained heavily reliant on Earth, especially in terms of transport, as the old trade fleet had either been scrapped or sold while trying to recoup losses during the economic downturn. Mars had no choice but to entrust the transport of their goods to Earth. Corporations swiftly took advantage of this by burdening Mars with exorbitant transport fees, as they weren't willing to carry out the transport of Martian goods without any profit incentive.
It was around this time that one of the first parties that favoured Martian interests over those of Earth, or even the United Nations as a whole, formed: the Movement for Martian Independence, led by Markus Kauffman, with ambitions to completely tear down Earthly economic dominance over the Red Planet and seeking to establish a self-sufficient Martian economy, and if it came to it, an independent state.
2082-2085: Schism within the Movement for Martian Independence
It wasn't long until the factions of the Movement for Martian Independence began deliberating over what to do if they succeeded, immediately forging a schism within the MMI, with a significant portion of their moderates deciding to form a splinter party of their own, the Party for Interplanetary Cooperation (PIC), supportive of moderate autonomy and protectionist economics while maintaining the status quo and continuing to serve as a loyal colony of the United Nations.
What remained of the Movement for Martian Independence was a more radical faction advocating for a more assertive stance towards the United Nations, which would advocate for equal status to that of Earth and economic independence, alongside autonomy so extensive that it would for all intents and purposes be an independent state.
The Party for Interplanetary Cooperation quickly found the support of the people and overshadowed the far more radical Movement for Martian Independence, allowing for the election of the moderate and relatively popular George Faragher to the position of Colonial Governor in 2082, with the Colonial Assembly swiftly finding itself dominated by the PIC. The government of Faragher saw success with the renegotiation of trade with the United Nations and the maintenance of the status quo. The years that followed would be marked by relative stability, consistent economic growth and development, and the implementation of various economic reforms that would gradually usher the Martian economy into a new era of prosperity.
2085: Solar Recession
In late 2085, Earth experienced a recession, forcing the United Nations to significantly cut expenditures on everything that did not require funding, instead prioritizing their own recovery and bailing out the banks. Mars suffered greatly as a result, as Earth-based companies suddenly couldn't afford to handle Martian transports any further, owing to the recession and the heavy financial strain that it had put on them. Much of the progress that was made came to a sudden halt as the export-oriented Martian economy now found itself in a position of extreme overproduction as supply towered over demand, plunging Mars into a deflationary spiral, with corporations being forced to downscale once more, with the wages of the people being slashed and unemployment rates skyrocketing. The Martian population struggled to make ends meet, with basic necessities other than manufactured goods and raw resources becoming completely unaffordable for the Martian people.
In an effort to bail out Mars, Earth would attempt to send a ₵14 trillion aid package meant to stimulate the economy and pay for the construction of a new trade flotilla, although it would never make its way to Mars as a result of bureaucratic delays and political disagreements between Earth and the Red Planet.
Faragher's administration would inevitably fall, plagued by a sharp decline in public approval, incessant protests and demonstrations, and harsh criticism from all parts of society. This would force the Colonial Assembly to choose Abernathy, a seasoned politician and political hawk known for his unwavering, harsh stance on law and order, as the interim governor of Mars. Shortly after his appointment, Abernathy immediately got to work on quelling the unrest, declaring a state of emergency and imposing martial law on all affected areas, citing it as a necessary measure to restore law and order on the planet. Shortly after, Governor Abernathy would begin his harsh crackdown on the protests.
2085-2087: Towards a Violent Revolution
Abernathy's reign, as brief as it was, was characterized by excessive brutality towards those who did not submit, with much of the violence being carried out by a newly formed Special Constabulary (which would gain notoriety for its ruthlessness, brutality, and impunity), alongside various UN garrisons and police forces, many of which were formed out of the increasingly impoverished Martians.
Henceforth, the idea of a peaceful revolution was abandoned, with many Martians feeling as if it was no longer feasible to even bother trying to pressure the government to take any action, as each attempt only ended in harsh repression. And so, discontent only kept growing among the Martian population, fueling a sense of frustration and anger. This sentiment would be swiftly capitalized on by the previously marginalized Movement for Martian Independence, which managed to galvanize the masses and return to the spotlight.
Martians now found themselves with a common enemy, and could no longer afford to bicker, and so a broad united front would be made against Abernathy's regime, formed out of liberal elements of the PIC, the poor and unemployed, elements of the parliament, and disillusioned, sympathetic UN garrisons.
On 12 March 2087, disloyal elements of the UN Garrison on Mars, backed by a significant number of MMI-aligned civilian supporters and various party-affiliated paramilitary formations, initiated a coup d'état at the Colonial Hall, the seat of government of the Colonial Administration of Mars located in the city of Olympia. The putschist forces overwhelmed the local security detail and Peacekeepers, catching them off guard and resulting in the deaths of four Peacekeepers and seven militiamen. Governor Abernathy, who held office under the UN's authority, was apprehended by the militia, briefly tried, and subsequently executed. Markus Kauffman was installed as the President of the newly established Martian Commonwealth.In the days following the coup the district governments of Tharsis, Mariner, and the Southern Highlands willingly seceded from the CAM and aligned themselves with the Martian Commonwealth. While other districts did not secede, major groups in districts, such as Boreum, Nostrum and Rutherford also aligned themselves with the Commonwealth and provided support to the three seceding, but the district governments did not formally secede from the CAM - a number of attempted coups occured in Rutherford but the Commonwealth eventually called upon all revolutionaries to Tharsis. Putschist fighters continued to make strategic advancements, with government forces seeing large scale defections and diminishing control over key territories. The CAM's grip on power grew increasingly tenuous as more districts expressed their support for the coup, resulting in the eventual collapse of the CAM regime. Although this development was viewed with exceptional concern by the United Nations, they opted not to intervene, as they were still recovering from the Solar Recession.
Shortly after, a second round of negotiations with the UN would begin, demanding equal representation for Mars in the UN government, independent oversight of the Martian economy, and the ability to have its own constitution and lead an independent foreign policy. However, the United Nations quickly rebuffed these terms, as they would essentially give Mars de facto independence, setting a dangerous precedent for colonies dissatisfied with the United Nations and Earth's policy towards them. As a result, the United Nations expressed strong dissatisfaction with Governor Kauffman's government, leading to his attempted impeachment from office in September 2085, with 58% of the UN legislature being in favour.
Kauffman opted to completely disregard the UN's decision to impeach him, arguing that the United Nations had no right to remove him from office without the approval of the Martian people. This would see the Martian Colonial Assembly adopt a unilateral declaration of independence by the end of 2085, with the Martian Commonwealth being proclaimed just days later.
Prelude to War
2086-2087: Establishment of the Ares Freedom Fighters, Escalating Tensions
Governor Kauffman knew that war was coming, as tensions between the Martian Commonwealth and the United Nations only grew and diplomatic efforts seemed to be failing as the two sides consistently accused each other of escalating the situation. This increasingly volatile situation led the government to establish the Ares Freedom Fighters, initially a volunteer armed formation comprised of Martians seeking to defend their homes, soldiers from the UN Garrison on Mars, and militiamen from paramilitary wings of various political parties.
Over the next year, the AFF continued recruitment efforts, among them encouraging the Martian units within the SDCN to defect. This would see a significant amount of success, as a large number of sailors from the predominantly Martian Sol Defence Corps Navy (SDCN) squadrons deployed around Martian orbit would mutiny against UN authority, diverting starships to Martian ports, removing tracking devices and repainting them in Martian red. A fleet of civilian starships was built up as well, many of which would be converted into improvised fighting vessels through the installation of additional armour plating, weapon systems, and rudimentary countermeasures such as electronic jamming devices. Over time, more than 30 converted SDC warships and over 100 civilian freighters and transports were modified to form the provisional fleet of the militia. Simultaneously, the governments of Mars and the United Nations continued attempts at deescalation, with the Martian side only using the negotiations as a means to buy time.Recognizing the imminent threat posed by the Martian Commonwealth to the interests of the United Nations, an emergency meeting of all UN legislative bodies was convened to determine the most appropriate course of action. While some individuals within the UN expressed a desire to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Commonwealth's government and attempt to resume cooperation, many also condemned the violent nature of the coup. Secretary-General Johnathan Bochuj urged the General Assembly to intervene, arguing that allowing not only violent overthrow of the government but also secession would set a dangerous precedent for other planets under UN authority. Consequently, the United Nations would officially intervene on Mars, with the stated goal of disarming "terrorist organizations" on Mars and restoring the CAM's authority over the planet.
With a 71% supermajority in the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council, seeing as a United Nations colony—the planet of Mars—was taken over by what they perceived to be terrorist forces, armed intervention was the only option. The SDC would be mobilized with the mission of restoring peace and stability to the Martian colony.
Peacekeepers stationed in Commonwealth-occupied territories were almost universally outnumbered by militia forces, leading to widespread air evacuations that shuttled the scattered Peacekeepers into organized units in UN-held strongholds in Argyre, Hellas, Rutherford, and Schiaparelli. Over the next several days, while generals were drafting orders, several of these forts were unsuccessfully attacked by militia forces.
Meanwhile, Fleet Admiral Samantha Rodriguez of the Sol Defence Corps ordered the mobilization of the Ares Fleet to Mars, under the command of Admiral Matej Novak. The fleet had orders to establish a trade blockade to block civilian traffic from delivering supplies to Commonwealth forces. Initially, the move was uncontested, with supplies being cut off and traffic being diverted to UN-controlled cities instead. However, the SDC discovered that the militia had commandeered several SDC ships landed at Martian surface anchorages in Tharsis, staffed by rogue SDC personnel and militia members.
2087: First Battle of the Blockade
The majority of civilian traffic from Earth through to Mars was suspended with the March declaration of war, but several civilian sympathizers and minor rogue Sol Defence Corps elements in the auxiliary corps had made under-the-table agreements with the young Martian Commonwealth to provide them with supplies, so long as they can manage to create a fault in the UN blockade long enough for an initial wave of supplies to reach Mars from Earth and Luna. It was generally agreed upon that the current state of the Martian revolutionary fleet would not be able to deal considerable damage to the UN blockade, so they planned to make various holes in the blockade throughout the early stages of the war and completely dismantle it in later stages with the aid of sympathizers and rogue elements.On May 13th, 2087, the first Martian fleet mobilisation departed to engage what the Commonwealth considered to be the weakest part of the blockade - a point near the Earth-Mars Lagrange point protected by six Bulgaria-class heavy corvettes assisted by two auxiliary compliments, one of them infiltrated by a rogue element of the auxiliary corps. Though the heavy corvettes possessed greater firepower than the Martian complement of 3 armed civilian craft and 2 Vietnam-class reconnaissance frigates, they possessed insufficient armaments by the time of contact as a result of the auxiliary compliments deliberately providing them with fewer munitions than possible. All of the civilian craft were lost in the initial battle, but the Martian Vietnam-classes alongside the realigned auxiliary compliments managed to keep the fault in the blockade open long enough for the turncoats to ferry supplies through to Mars. The battle eventually ended with the majority of the auxiliary complement defecting to Mars and one of the two Vietnam-class frigates being lost. The fault in the blockade was eventually re-established, but as a result of the first battle, Mars now possessed military-grade arms and materials for both naval and infantry forces alongside general supplies for both military and civilian use.
In response to the initial attack on the blockade, the SDC moved to reinforce both Lagrange points with a compliment of one France-class multirole destroyer, the SDCN Pollock and 4 Bulgaria-class heavy corvettes, redistributed from the stronger components of the blockade. As word of rogue elements in the auxiliary corps came to SDC knowledge, resupplies to the blockade were briefly paused as the SDC conducted an internal evaluation of the auxiliary corps in hopes of uncovering any other rogue elements. Most of the turncoats were auxiliary compliments within the blockade itself, so few rogue elements were found on Earth or within SDC starbases, but several elements within the blockade were uncovered and removed from the fleet, which additionally damaged the flow of supplies to the blockade for a short period.
Mars remobilised their fleet in response to the Lagrange point reinforcements with one Finland-class assault frigate and two Vietnam-class reconnaissance frigates, alongside a compliment of re-armed auxiliary craft. Though the auxiliary craft previously only possessed self-defence point defence systems, they still employed the use of torpedoes using manual launching, throwing torpedoes out of the craft by hand. As the France-class and Bulgaria-classes focused initially on the larger components of the Martian strike, they were caught off-guard by the unconventional usage of torpedoes, leading to the loss of the majority of the reinforcements. Two of the Bulgaria-class vessels were destroyed while the other two were disabled and later captured by the AFF. The France-class destroyer managed to disable the main Finland-class frigate before it was eventually boarded and captured by the remainder of the Martian attack force. This engagement bought more time for supplies to reach Mars until the AFF was forced to give up the fault in the blockade with the mobilisation of two Gibraltar-class torpedo destroyers and one United Kingdom-class heavy cruiser.
2087: SDC Amphibious Assault on Tharsis
The escort had dealt considerable damage to the Turncoat by the time of the auxiliary reinforcements. They were ill-prepared for the suicide attacks and the escort was all but destroyed, though did not result in a Martian victory as the SDCN Springfield delivered the killing blow to the now-damaged Turncoat, eliminating the auxiliary reinforcements as well. The AFF was unable to respond in time, with the Springfield reaching Martian orbit. It conducted numerous orbit-to-surface bombardments of the Tharsis shipyard and other nerve points throughout Tharsis before eventually entering the Martian atmosphere and providing Marine reinforcements to Peacekeepers in New Zion, New Phucket and a major reinforcement to the Peacekeepers in Olympia, where the more vital combat was occurring. The SDCN Springfield was eventually subdued by Martian surface-to-air weaponry and captured by the AFF. The Springfield managed to provide more damage than originally planned, eliminating not only the primary AFF shipyard but also other minor shipyards across Tharsis. This reduced the AFF's ability to procure ships to only small craft and captured SDCN vessels, preparing them for the eventual destruction of the Martian fleet.
2090: Second Battle of the Blockade
Throughout the 2087-2090 period, Mars had exhausted their initial resources in attempting to recover from the SDCN Springfield's amphibious assault on Tharsis, leading to the need for a second battle of the blockade. They had raised a slightly larger navy before the attacks, but most of their resources went to small craft or infantry reinforcements as they were unable to create any large craft. As the continued existence of the Ares Freedom Fighters fleet depended on a second wave of supplies, the entirety of the AFF fleet remaining was mobilised to punch another fault into the SDC blockade. Additionally, while Mars was reeling from the amphibious assault on Tharsis, the United Nations had formed the predecessors to the Sol Intelligence Service, UN External Intelligence and UN Internal Intelligence, formed as a merger of various national intelligence agencies. Internal Intelligence was tasked with uncovering rogue cells within the SDC and preventing any major acts on behalf of civilian sympathisers, with the merger contributors operating each within their respective nations and UN Internal Intelligence as a whole conducting anti-sympathizer measures on Luna. As a result, the supplies to reach Mars through a fault in the blockade would be greatly diminished from their initial wave, so no matter the outcome of the battle, the Martian fleet would be likely disabled.
The SDC, anticipating a second attack on the blockade, begins plans to bait the AFF into an ambush. UN Internal Intelligence operatives at this time are tasked with infiltrating the few remaining turncoat vessels and commandeering them, posing as the turncoats themselves. In conjunction, the SDC began producing various weak points throughout the blockade. The commandeered turncoats communicated to Mars what they believed to be the weakest aspect of the blockade - a stretch of the blockade protected only by two Finland-classes and a Gibraltar-class, alongside a small auxiliary compliment. The potential area of the fault would not be small, but it would be defensible by the Martians considering the size of their attack force, and would be taken very quickly. As Finland-class frigates and Gibraltar-class destroyers had played a major role in the earlier periods of the war, the SDC was baiting the AFF under the assumption they would be more confident going up against a Finland-class or perhaps a Bulgaria-class, preparing an ambush of more diverse, stronger vessels. On April 1st, 2090, the entire Ares Freedom Fighters navy mobilized to punch open a new fault in the blockade and keep it open.
The battle opened with a major confrontation between the Gibraltar-class SDCN Sydney Opera and its compliments, the AFFN Borromeo and the AFFN Vulkan. The Sydney Opera unexpectedly retreated from combat, and Martian Rear Admiral Alexander Ewas, at the last moment, recalled a third of the fleet, realizing it was an ambush. Unfortunately, with the fervour of the AFFN, less than a third of the fleet ended up retreating. Before the AFF fleet was able to move into position to defend the fault, they were ambushed by two ambush components; a heavy force comprised of three United States-class fast battleships and one Bharat-class heavy battleship, the flagship SDCN Belastung, with a compliment of two Gibraltar-class torpedo destroyers, and two France-class multirole destroyers. The second force was a smaller, rapid attack force comprised of three France-class multirole destroyers, two Kazakhstan-class carrier frigates and their small craft, and three Finland-class assault frigates. The superior training of the SDCN and the fact that they were not affected yet by attrition led to a near-total SDC victory in the second battle, with their only losses being two Finland-class assault frigates, one Gibraltar-class destroyer, and several small craft. The retreating fleet was pursued further by the ambush components, and the second battle of the blockade concluded in an SDCN victory, with the Martian fleet being reduced to 10-20 operable vessels.
Ground War
After the Martian space navy was completely crushed in the Second Battle of the Blockade, it forced the AFF to fight the revolution and fend off the Sol Defence Corps on the surface of Mars. Though theoretically, the orbital superiority of the blockade would force the Martian Commonwealth into surrender, most of the Martian cities were underground, alongside the majority of the AFF. Combined with the fact of Earth investments on Mars, it also forced the SDC and PKC onto the ground.
2091: SDC Reinforcement of Tharsis
During the time between the Second Battle of the Blockade and 2091, the more elite teams of the Sol Defence Marine Corps had been separated into a new special military force, the Naval Special Operations Command. NAVSOC would play a major role in the ground combat portion of the Martian Revolution, providing expertise and direction to the gradually bogged-down Marines and Peacekeepers who were struggling to deal with Martian guerrilla fighters.
2091-2092: Martian Guerrilla Wars
With the SDMC, NAVSOC and PKC establishing staging grounds along the border of Rutherford and Tharsis, the Ares Freedom Fighters prepared to drag down the UN forces into a ground war of attrition. While the Ares Freedom Fighters Navy was at work attempting to break the blockade, the AFF militants on the ground had lots of time to prepare for a ground portion of the war should it occur, establishing air defence systems in major cities and strongholds alongside preparing the intercity maintenance and life support tunnels for use in combat - a substantial part of the fighting in the ground war was based around these tunnels - during the beginning, the AFF used the tunnels alongside routes to the surface as a means of ambushing enemy patrols and intelligence gathering, though as UN forces learned the nature of the labyrinthine maintenance tunnel systems, they eventually joined the AFF under the surface engaging in combat within the tunnels. Due to the nature of the tunnels being for civilian use and facilitating life support systems across the districts - alongside both civilian and military logistics - UN forces were unable to flood and vacate the tunnels en masse.
2091-2092: Early Guerrilla War
A number of factors contributed to the overwhelming advantage Mars had during the early guerrilla war; they possessed the home field advantage with a greater knowledge of the Martian landscape and Martian tunnel systems, rogue SDC and PKC commanders enlisted to train AFF militants and gendarmes, who have a far superior level of morale compared to the UN forces - the Martians stand to gain or lose everything, and are fighting for the good of Martian lives, while SDC and PKC forces are fighting almost solely out of duty and possess little attachment to Mars or the campaign to recapture Mars on an individual level. This combined with the fact that SDC and Gendarmerie located on Mars were frequently dealing with trade piracy before the scrapping of the trade flotilla while the SDMC and PKC had been engaging in low-intensity peacekeeping operations, gave them an additional land combat knowledge advantage much in the same way the SDCN had outperformed them with superior naval combat knowledge.
Often they spent their efforts attempting to recoup reckless offensives against UN forces during the very first parts of the war, which led to them reigning in the militants - most offensives on the surface were reduced to raids and distractions to keep UN forces on edge and slowly worn down with major offensives more infrequent and occurring when the Commonwealth government deemed it a strategic move, while also employing privateers - the same that turncoat SDC commanders and gendarmes butted heads with during the existence of the trade flotilla now being employed to aid in the revolution, being sent out by the Commonwealth to raid SDMC and PKC patrols and forward operating bases and, in return, they get to salvage any supplies they find.
2092-2093: Tunnel War
While distraction offensives and privateers kept UN forces busy on the surface, AFF militants made their way underneath the SDMC and PKC staging grounds to establish intelligence gathering in the form of passive observation through plainclothes observation and listening outposts on both the surface and under the ground, and cyberwarfare. The Commonwealth found this to be an essential step in a more strategically inclined ground war, allowing them to beat out UN forces not only through attrition and superior ground knowledge but also a general strategic advantage. The intelligence-gathering stage lasted for six months before the UN forces eventually learned of Martian operations underneath the surface, leading to a massive shift in the UN approach to combat. Bases on the surface became secondary to operations in the tunnels, and though they were able to disable the vast majority of AFF intelligence equipment in the tunnels, they had made many preparations for more traditional ground combat and therefore were generally unprepared for guerrilla tunnel combat, which gave the AFF an edge in tunnel combat until the UN fashioned a new doctrine for the ground war.
The majority of engagements during the ground war occurred in these labyrinthine maintenance tunnels, with forward operating bases established within them and both sides fighting over one vital piece of information; their layout. Neither side had a particular edge over the other - both had to scour and scavenge now archaic floor plans for the maintenance network to plot offensives. Patrols very often met each other around corners and in close quarters, leading to many UN and AFF engagements being patrol squads meeting and engaging each other in close-quarters combat. The AFF jumped on the opportunity to use the labyrinthine network as a means to ambushes while the UN wanted to know the quickest, most defensible routes so they could make major advances towards urban centres in Tharsis and Mariner.
For almost the entire Guerrilla War and Tunnel War, it was agreed upon that Mars had the advantage over the UN forces in combat. However, with the blockade, attack on industry in Tharsis, and the gradual deterioration of manpower and equipment, the AFF and the Commonwealth were soon put against the same issue that led to their defeat in the Naval War; dwindling resources.
2093: Operation Argyre Sand
The Ares Freedom Fighters and the Martian Commonwealth had exhausted their materiel resources by 2093, having still been subsisting on the very first supply of resources from the First Battle of the Blockade and whatever they could manage within Tharsis, Mariner and the Southern Highlands. As they continued to fight the war of attrition throughout Tharsis and Mariner, a number of the more experienced and equipped AFF forces were withdrawn from the Tunnel War and transported to New Marseille in Mariner. The cells of the Ares Freedom Fighters and the Commonwealth government had come together on a plan to recuperate their resources and continue to fight to meet what they believed to be 'the UN's breaking point' in the war of attrition, and to do this they planned to capture multiple industrial cities in Argyre and the district's capital city, San Carlos, and capture the district as a whole. Being that it was in an entirely other district from Mariner, there were no maintenance tunnels connecting cities on the border of Mariner to Argyre, and as a result, the offensive would have to be done on the surface.
With Mars' large transport economy, many civilian and commercial transport craft were refashioned into military transport craft and shuttles, alongside nearly every military-grade mechanised asset the Commonwealth still possessed at the time. Militants were to be equipped with hardsuits, engage defending forces on the surface, and capture Kowash, Matsumoto and San Carlos. The plan to rush straight to the capital and force the entire district to surrender was a risky endeavour, but the Commonwealth had no other choice - they had next to no mobile ground-to-air defence methods as any they did were repurposed for the ground-to-air defence networks of Olympus, New Zion and other major cities. Any that they had left was to be used to stop mechanised units from being disabled from orbit while in transit, but there was no chance of them being able to defend an entire city. The advance of hardsuit-equipped militants would be facilitated by mechanised units and atmospheric craft. Operation Argyre Sand was to be initiated on May 28th, 2093, under the direction of AFF General Robert Namang.
The UN forces severely underestimated Operation Argyre Sand as they believed initially that the withdrawal was not soldiers being relocated but soldiers and resources being lost to combat, but later intelligence from orbit determined that, with the transport of mechanised craft, they were planning an offensive. Additionally, garrisons positioned in Argyre were reasonably small, and the district was more of a logistics hub with the only presence there being transport and manufacturing, though when the operation was found out, a reinforcement of SDMC and NAVSOC soldiers was dispatched to Argyre. The AFF had an edge on the UN when Operation Argyre Sand was initiated, catching UN forces completely off guard by the scale of the offensive. Two separate units departed from the Mariner cities of Savant and Rothen in the Martian morning, with the Savant Unit targeting Kowash while the Rothen unit was planning on a straight-line advance from Rothen through Matsumoto and into San Carlos, where the Savant unit was to then accompany them in capturing the city.
Being that the UN forces were caught off guard, the units were able to capture Kowash and Matsumoto without much difficulty, but their eventual advance into San Carlos was contested by the PKC stationed there and later SDMC and NAVSOC reinforcements. Additionally, the Savant unit was slowed down in their assistance of the Rothen unit as they were forced to defend against a major offensive from Saint Gedeon. The garrisons stationed at both Saint Gedeon and San Carlos were insufficiently equipped to handle the advance of a large Martian mechanised advance and were eventually subdued by a combination of overwhelming strength and air support from Martian shuttlecraft and atmospheric fighters - general Martian air superiority, though they operated very carefully under the constant watch of SDCN ships in orbit.
As the Martians encroached on San Carlos, the UN forces stationed there recognised they would not win, but also now knew that they were capturing San Carlos for its arms manufacturing. As they withdrew from San Carlos and evacuated civilians, PKC and SDMC soldiers began to destroy and raze nearly every means to manufacturing in the city to disallow the Commonwealth their ultimate goal in the end. They succeeded in this, with the Savant and Rothen units entering San Carlos abandoned without any serviceable equipment. They held San Carlos for a long period before orbital support eventually destroyed nearly all of their mechanised craft because San Carlos and its neighbouring cities had no ground-to-air defence. Many militants were lost in the campaign and though mechanised units were able to finish it, they too were eventually lost, and in the end, the AFF and the Commonwealth did not gain the means to produce more materiel resources. After the failure of Operation Argyre Sand, Mars had all but lost the war.
2094: Bombing of Olympia
With the failure of Operation Argyre Sand, the combined UN forces put their eyes on recapturing the Martian capital of Olympia. As Martian resources were now next to dry, minor urban centres across Tharsis were practically indefensible against the still-operating UN war machine, and many soldiers relocated to Olympia and New Zion in the Martian's last-ditch effort to prolong the war. A substantial portion of UN materiel assets and manpower were focused around Olympia after a period of recouping isolated loyalist cells within the province of Olympus. With multiple units prepared on the outskirts of the Olympian tunnel network to initiate a subterranean advance into the city, precision weaponry prepared to disable ground-to-air defences, and mechanised units prepared to encircle the city and create a humanitarian corridor for any remaining civilians.
The Bombing of Olympia began on December 29th, 2094, with the UN offensive beginning with precision attacks on the Olympia ground-to-air defence network, which led to the network being repurposed to combat the precision weaponry and the mechanised encirclement, while keeping several flak cannons pointed at the sky. This acted as the prelude to the infantry advance, with a large number of units forcing the AFF to spread their forces within the city thin to keep each advance at bay. Being that the city had been converted into a fortress by the AFF, they still proved adept at keeping the UN combined soldiers at bay. Some units made it within the city but remained pinned down as many others were pinned down through bottlenecks. As the SDMC, PKC and NAVSOC engaged the AFF and the Martian Gendarmerie, civilians were being evacuated through the tunnel network and on the surface in atmospheric craft, with the UN hoping to evacuate as many civilians as possible before the end of the battle. The battles continued on and off for two days with minor engagements around New Zion as the AFF attempted to disable the precision strikes with aid from New Zion, which was a failed endeavour. By December 31st, the ground-to-air defence network was completely disabled and all UN soldiers were withdrawn from the city, 2 hours after New Year 2095, the SDCN Cherdorlaomer, an Bharat-class Heavy Battleship, and the SDCN Lots, a Japan-class Battlecruiser, initiated a forty-minute bombardment on the central collection of domes which levelled two-thirds of the entire city, killing everybody inside. Nearly every Ares Freedom Fighters militant in the city was killed alongside the Commonwealth government seated there, and out of the roughly 4,400,000 remaining inhabitants of Olympia, 19,760 survived the orbital strike. Markus Kauffman was present in Olympia at the time of the strike.
After the Bombing of Olympia, the morale of the Ares Freedom Fighters and the Martian Commonwealth completely plummeted, and every resident of the Sol system was shocked and appalled at the strike. Seven hours after the Bombing of Olympia, the remnants of the Martian Commonwealth seated in New Zion formally surrendered to the United Nations, and with the Commonwealth Instrument of Surrender, the revolution was over.
Post War
The Bombing of Olympia and the decisive victory of the United Nations led to total civil outrage and backlash across the entire solar community and completely crushed Martian morale across the entire planet. It was revealed to the civilian public that the Bombing of Olympia occurred as a result of the SDCN Cherdorlaomer and the SDCN Lots acting on unreliable intelligence - they were still largely operating on little intel coming out of the Martian Olympian stronghold and had little-to-no idea how many civilians had escaped, and acted primarily off of the amount of civilians that had escaped through the humanitarian circle. The Captains and involved crew members of the Cherdorlaomer and Lots were court-marshalled and jailed, though very little information was given about their trial other than that. Civil outrage and protests broke out across Venus, Earth, Luna and on the Galilean Colonies, and while law enforcement and UN Internal Intelligence attempted to quell the protests, they continued for close to seven years with little success in quelling them. Many protests and movements acting in opposition to either the Bombing of Olympia or the United Nations and Sol Defence Corps as a whole continue today, with a deep-seeded sentiment against the entities. During the height of the protest period, they escalated oftentimes into violent conflict between protesters and law enforcement, causing a number of civil incidents that worsened the situation all-around. The Martian Revolution had greatly harmed the Martian reputation in perspective with the Solar community but the Bombing of Olympia was horrific for the reputation of the Sol Defence Corps and the United Nations, and as a result, neither side won the war of reputation - in the case of the UN, it was political suicide.
With the Commonwealth Instrument of Surrender, the blockade withdrew, but martial law began on Mars, lasting for twelve years in response to civil protests and the mass-splintering of the Ares Freedom Fighters back into their constituent cells which devolved into terrorist cells as opposed to continuing the fight as it was before. The AFF was believed to have been crushed and disbanded, but as terrorist and activist cells sprouted up across Mars combating the martial law, it became clear that the Ares Freedom Fighters were not done fighting, and prolonged the martial law period from what was originally going to be six year to twelve. The period of martial law kept Martian morale down, whether deliberate or not, and combined the war and the Bombing of Olympia, it sowed the seeds of anti-UN sentiment in Mars and across Sol for generations to come. Many previously unaligned civilians began to side with the post-war AFF cells during the protests, though the cells have become far more minor and the political situation in Mars has de-escalated for the most part. To this day, cells of the AFF exist even after the end of martial law, conducting terrorist operations across the Sol system, but primarily concentrated in Mars. The views on the AFF remnants differ greatly amongst the public, with some believing them to be in the wrong for the act of terrorism, and many siding with them based solely on the atrocity of the Bombing of Olympia.