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Shadow of the Andes - An Interactive Chilean AAR

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(Great, I need to go to sleep, Im gonna wake up to a brave new world)

(In case the Coup succeeds...)

I would like to remind all citizens that there is no need to agitate, that no one is going to be censored, and free elections will occur when stability has been established (mandatory 5 years). I am sure our transitionary presidente will have more to say to you all, but I will do my best with a quick one. If you agitate, you will always have the government pardon to return, but you will be removing yourself from putting your voice to our First Democracy. So please consider this.

Chile Para los chilenos!
 
1886-1887 Civil War: A Chile Divided​
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The 4th Chilean Civil War, 1886-1887, was engineered by Carlos Andonie. Many observers claimed that Andonie declared a coup against the Republic in the hopes of preventing the election of the FNT candidate Sérgio Gogołów, or worse, the Communist Armando Renin. They were wrong. The 4th Chilean Civil War was the culmination of ten years of plotting, scheming, and political maneuvering by Carlos Andonie to topple the 3rd Republic. Ten years of close elections, fractured coalitions, and broken promises and finally put Andonie in the position he wanted to be. Was he, as his critics said, the most unpopular President in Chilean history? Perhaps. But he had power where it counted, in his own hands, and he would use it to create a liberal revolutionary government the likes of which the world had never truly seen before. Or at least, he would try.

On the eve of the elections, with voting still in progress and electors on their ways from across the nation to cast their ballots in support of one candidate or the other, Andonie wired his generals saying that it was time. In a public address, he announced the suspension of the elections and the institution of a new government and constitution, backed by the military and, so he claimed, the people. The immediate response was confusion and outrage. Juan Alvarez, General of the Army of the North immediately declared that he whole-heartedly backed the coup. Armando De Vasces, much to Andonie's bemusement, also sent a telegram voicing his support for the revolution.

However, Andonie had one immediate problem. Alvarez was stationed far in the country's north - in Potosi - and De Vasces was further away still. Of the cabinet, Lorenzo Subercaseux, the state minister, and Jose Aragon, the minister of war, publicly voiced their support but the powerful Republicano Pedro Rivera gave an immediate and fiery address denouncing Andonie. He was joined in his dissent by the equally powerful socialist candidate and minister of employment Sérgio Gogołów, and their voices were heard by the capital guard - the troops in the immediate vicinity. Worse still, word came in that Maximillian de Conti (the general of the reserve army, then stationed just a few miles away in Valparaiso) and Sebastian Hidalgo, in relatively nearby Neuquen, had also both chosen to oppose the coup. Both would arrive long before Juan Alvarez could plausibly reach Santiago and seize the revolutionary cabinet, provided the capital guard didn't do the same first. Not for nothing, though, had Andonie spent ten years planning this coup. With the help of his supporters, Andonie and his cabinet fled the city of Santiago and rapidly reached the city of Antofagasta, which he chose as his provisional capital until the end of the civil war in early 1887.

No sooner had he reached Antofagasta than Andonie received word that Tarquino Zepeda, whose support he had been counting on, had finally declared himself in support of the coup and that his army was on the move. Zepeda's endorsement, though crucial, had been delayed by one of the coldest winters in Chilean history. Storms had cut telegraph lines and blocked railroad trains, and Andonie had worried that Zepeda's support would never come - or just as bad, his army would be immobilized by weather. A sudden improvement in early January left Zepeda free to act, albeit slowly.

With Andonie's desertion, Minister of the Interior Pedro Rivera should have become the provisional President, but he abandoned both his provisional Presidency and his losing campaign to take direct command of the capital guard, which was soon buttressed by thousands of both volunteers and conscripts. The same was true of Andonie's revolutionary army. Chile enacted its first draft laws since 1856 that January. Local militias and conscripts immediately engaged Zepeda in Telen, delaying him for an additional two weeks before he again make for Santiago. Zepeda would be constantly harassed by militias and locals during his campaign through southern Chile, their intervention considerably slowing his progress and inflicting a slow stream of casualties on his army. The winter would also take a severe toll on him.

Meanwhile, in Revolutionary Antofagasta, much was made of De Vasces' declaration of support, as his marine unit controlled the canal zone and thus considerable overseas political value. This revelation started speculation among Andonie and his inner circle that the capture of the canal zone could prove an asset to them: they could use the canal for international leverage. In point of fact, the De Vasces' support ultimately came to nothing. It transpired that most of the officers in the marine unit were in fact members of the Communist Red Guard, and they immediately arrested De Vasces and returned control of the canal zone to the Republic. Since Columbia and the Chilean navy naturally cut the telegraph wires from Panama to Antofagasta, Andonie would remain unaware of this until the end of the war and continue to act as if the canal zone were under his control, ordering the rapid construction of several transport flotillas in the hopes of transporting the marine force to Chile proper to aid in the war. While the Red Guard might have infiltrated the marines, they were absent in both Zepeda's and Alvarez's armies, and neither suffered any insurrections - Andonie never suspected that he might have lost an entire division to double-insurrection.

With Rivera in the field, commanding a force 30,000 strong made up of capital guards, militiamen, and conscripts, it was not clear who should become the President of the Republic. Because Andonie's Revolutionary Army had claimed half the country, many electors had been sequestered or prevented from reaching Santiago and the electoral victor was unclear. In a hastily prepared conference, the Republican leaders eventually agreed that Sérgio Gogołów, who had been the frontrunner at the time that Andonie had disrupted the elections, should become the Provisional President. Whatever his title, Gogołów held essentially no power during the civil war. The real power lay with the generals on the battlefield.

By January 17th, 1886, Juan Alvarez's Army of the North had split into two pieces and entered Vina del Mar and San Juan, intent on surrounding Santiago on two sides and dislodging Rivera's 30,000 troops. However, the timely arrival of Sebastian Hidalgo's forces in Santiago ended Alvarez's plan, as with the additional of Hidalgo's troops Alvarez had become outnumbered and was in danger of being outmaneuvered. Alvarez dug in and decided to wait for Zepeda. The "Stalemate of Santiago" would continue until late April, when Alvarez would finally beat a retreat from Vina del Mar and San Juan amid news that Zepeda had been waylaid in the south. Rivera and Hidalgo advanced in May, retaking both areas without resistance before progressing deeper into enemy territory. Alvarez launched a counterattack against Rivera's 30,000 man force at San Juan on June 21.

It would prove to be a deadly mistake, because just four days prior, Eduardo Alvarez and the Republican Navy had completed a lengthy journey north through the canal the US, where they had returned from the Springfield Armory with a shipment of US-made machine guns. Over the course of the two-week battle, a bewildered Juan Alvarez would lose 16,000 soldiers to Rivera's 3,000, and the former's shattered army would be chased even further. During another terrible loss at La Rioja, in which Alvarez lost 19,800 to Rivera's 6,000 from July 14 to August 3rd, Hidalgo would slip through the "Antofagasta gap" in the enemy lines, deep into territory under the control of Andonie's interim revolutionary government. The successive month would be known as "Bloody August" to Andonie's forces, in which Alvarez lost battle after battle to Rivera. Alvarez was routed at Vinchina and Catamarca and finally fought to the death in a week-long battle at Santa Rita, where Alvarez himself caught an enemy bullet and died. No member of his army surrendered.

Zepeda, for his part, had been wreaking havoc in the country's south until Bloody August, when more and more urgent pleas from his counterpart finally drew him north. On September 7, Zepeda cornered and destroyed an element of Rivera's rearguard before advancing into Cordoba De Argentina to confront Rivera. Rivera and Zepeda locked in an even battle, both sides sustaining immense casualties, until Hidalgo relieved Zepeda on October 6th. Zepeda, then sorely outnumbered and exhausted from a month of battle, finally lost his last soldier on the 9th. Zepeda himself, like Alvarez before him, fought to his own death. On October 14th, the last elements of the defector army fell in Tucuman. On November 22nd, the cities of Antofagasta and Calama surrendered to elements of Hidalgo's army after prolonged siege, forcing Andonie's revolutionary council to flee the city and his Revolutionary Navy from the port. Eduardo Alvarez engaged them on the 19th and sunk all six transport flotillas in a single engagement in Arequipa Bay, the first naval engagement in the 3rd Republic's history.

Carlos Andonie fled the country, along with Lorenzo Subercaseux, Jose Aragon, and the remaining members of his revolutionary council on the 1st of January. They were believed to have entered Jujuy, Argentina on that day, but the stubborn Argentinian government (ever opposed to Chile and with the war fresh in their minds) refused to allow the battered Chilean army to give chase. The whereabouts thereafter of the fugitives is unknown, though most agree they made their way to Buenos Aires and caught a ship from there. Legend has it that Argentinian locals could hear Carlos Andonie cursing as he fled through the country side, ten years of careful planning undone by a few stubborn, skilled, and lucky individuals.

The remaining elements of Revolutionary Chile surrendered to the Third Republic on January 21st, 1887, and Provisional President Sérgio Gogołów called the electors back to Santiago, much later than they should have met, to decide the result of a year-old election.

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Presidential Election continues. Keep voting.

Rudders10, Lyonessian, zagoroth, thekinguter, Maxwell500, and OConner (barring aquittal) are disenfranchised until the end of the next presidential election.
 
zagoroth said:
(Great, I need to go to sleep, Im gonna wake up to a brave new world)
Click to expand...

I appreciate the praise, but unfortunately for you the 10 O'Clock update is probably going to be titled "Chile Under Socialism," which I don't think is the Brave New World you were hoping for.

President:
Sérgio Gogołów ((Dyranum)): 9
Armando Renin ((Red Cesar)): 5

Chief of Staff:
Eduardo Alvarez ((Gloa)): 8
Mario Juarez ((LeeroyJenkins)): 6
 
I am glad to see this coup has been brought down, though many lives were unnecessarily lost to transform this Republic into nothing more than a glorified oligarchy.

Due to Aurora de Chile's solvency being in question (it's chief being a fugitive of the government), I will create a new liberal paper, Libertad, which will have writers from various political leanings (though largely moderates and liberals) and will be more in line with my antiwar views than my previous paper did. As well, I hope this will counterbalance the socialist papers that have sprung up over the past decade or so.

One final matter; while I disagree with Senor Gogolow on many issues, largely related to the economy, he is the best candidate in this race. I urge all those who would rather have a moderate socialist, tempered by a conservative and liberal backing, in office rather than a full-blown communist at the helm of this great nation to support Senor Gogolow.
 
Once again our glorious nation has been saved from the jaws of tyranny by the efforts of the common man! Let freedom ring from the highest heights of the Andes! Let us track down these former paragons of liberalism in order to bring justice to all would be tyrants! Truly the Liberales have proven themselves to be less honorable than the Emperor they once ousted. With these vile bureaucrats finally out of power the far left can begin to rebuild Chile both politically, socially, economically, and morally. Viva Chile! Viva La Republica De Tres*!

---Basilio Bautista---
(*I take Latin)
 
((Saved by machine guns, the Red Guard, and geography. Awesome update, by the way.))

Long live the Republic! The courageous, loyal, and expert military and political leaders from all political persuasions are to be commended for their defense of Chile.
 
((Now that was a hard fought civil war. The armies of the North and Patagonia were designed individually stronger (being deployed on borders), but I deliberately striped the artillery from the South and gave it more cavalry to make it faster. Combined with the artillery of the Support made them a powerful force. Not that I had any inkling of a presidential coup; this deployment made geographical sense.))
 
Two men speak in a French café by the riverside.
"It still hurts to think the revolutionary sentiment was defeated by so little."
"God only knows what would it entail if it had succeeded, though. Were you keen on becoming another Robespierre?"
"Fortunately without the part when they put me to the guillotine. I think even my grandfather would find it too French for Chile... and he did miss the Bourgogne."
Measured laughing ensued.
"There's still a future ahead to look for."
"Yes, one with a red tint, like the visage of blood on the ground of Antofagasta."
"It does raise some questions on how would one keep these cronies away from power."
"Of course. While we fought honourably to uphold the ideal of a freer world, the left with their failed rhetoric still managed to make a difference. It was despicable, but effective."
"Surely one can all learn from one's mistakes, and another's right moves."
"Luckily, I know just where to start."
With those words and a sip of red wine, Lorenzo Subercaseaux went back to his chambers.
 
In a hospital somewhere in Europe

"El Presidente, I am so sorry to hear of your loss"
"Thank you nurse, but the loss of my son on the battlefied is nothing when set against the lost opportunity for Chile. I thought the country was ready for the change and I did this for Chile, not for myself although I am sure that is not how it will be viewed."
"I am sure in time Senor that the people will realise"
"no" cuts out the Presidente, "they will not, so be it. Still I wonder how our Armies were so defeated, our 100,000 trained soldiers against so few. The geography and weather did for us as much as the Red Guard and their friends. No, I grieve for more than my loss, I grieve for the brave General Alvarez, Reckless and Mad Zepeda and the rest of the men. And I grieve for those on the other side, who fought so hard against us. I hope the Chile they have now is one they will be happy with.
"But surely there is another chance Senor"
"No, nurse, my time has passed and I fear the time for true democracy has passed, my dream of a Chile where votes counted, where individuals not parties ruled is gone. And what we have now is the result of my folly. I engineered Gogolow into the frontrunner position, I hoped Roseno would abstain so that I could replace him, and while Severino brought it on to himself I exploited it for my own ends and now look, thousands dead and Chile under a red flag. No, my time has passed and I leave it to others to fight for the cause, if it is not already lost"

And so passed away former Presidente Andonie
 
(I really do not see how we should have lost... More troops, half the cabinet... Oye)

Congratulations to the 3rd Republic, Ill just chill wherever I am moping.

I might remind the 3rd Republic that we would have pardoned all of you, I wonder if you are as civil.
 
Huzzah! Huzzah! Long live the 3rd Republic! Long Live Chile!

We have won a great battle today against the liberal elite who, in an act of desperation after seeing that a socialist grabbed the liberal nomination, would throw away everything the Chilean people hold dear and institute a bourgeois dictatorship, fueled by American dollars and German marks! This is a victory for the common man just as much as it is a victory for the men who fought the war! Long live the people of Chile!
 
Ex Umbra in Solem

The forces of unconstitutional violence have been defeated. The forces of dignity and tradition have prevailed.

If we can learn anything from this lamentable affair, it is that an independent army is an essential safeguard to the security of the Republic. Those who opposed the coup, like myself, were men of merit and character, selected for their ability and not their loyalty to the President; the officers who fell in with Senor Andonie were his political allies, selected solely to shore up his presidency. In open confrontation, the latter was soundly defeated by the former. Officers of merit shall always triumph over officers of politics. It is crucial that our army leadership be comprised only of the officers of merit, who will not only maintain the Republic from internal violence and disorder but shall also defend Chile from external aggression with agility and diligence.

That is why - whether it be headed by Senor Gogołów or Senor Renin - I ask the next administration to respect the integrity of the army and retain the loyal military leadership while appointing genuinely impartial generals to command the defeated armies of the traitors. It was the loyal army, in conjunction with the people, who saved the Republic from downfall; by selecting generals on the basis of ability and not party politics, we can ensure that such a coup shall never happen again.

Meritocracy must now triumph over nepotism, to end the rampant politicisation of the army.

- General Charles Maximilien, Prince de Conti
 
Oh wait, I am in Argentina, not Chile. Sweet, I guess there will be no trials.

(Oh, and dramatic story telling will be following from me in the near future ;-))
 
Señor Aragon gets a letter informing him of the death of President Andonie. First Zepeda, and now Andonie. The warriors of freedom had died on by one, and now there was only Aragon.

The Liberales were done for, Aragon had known this, the Revolution was to be the last Hoorah for freedom. But freedom lost on the battlefield. Odds were all in their favor, but Liberty had died that day. They had failed Chile, and themselves.

No, Aragon though, No this cannot be the end, not like this, I will not lay down and die

And so Aragon left Argentina straight West, heading for Chile, where one last great act of freedom would be accomplished. Because even with oppression, even with the most stringent government, Aragon realized he still had one freedom left to choose.



He stared up into the azure sky, clear now, but not so long ago the clouds rained blood. Blood. Blood was on the ground, glistening scarlet, such a shade he had not seen. The bright white light of the sun reflected on the horizon and briefly blinded him. He sighs and gets up, brushed himself off, frees himself from the oppressive ground. He looks around at bodies in numerous, the dead, innocent soldiers in the game that was played across Chile. He begins to walk, and walk, across the scarlet, beneath the azure, and into the white light beckoning. They begin to stand up with him, following him, one by one. A man, then a woman, and then the Chileans pick themselves up from bloodied ground and follow. It was a long walk to Santiago.
 
zagoroth said:
Señor Aragon gets a letter informing him of the death of President Andonie. First Zepeda, and now Andonie. The warriors of freedom had died on by one, and now there was only Aragon.

The Liberales were done for, Aragon had known this, the Revolution was to be the last Hoorah for freedom. But freedom lost on the battlefield. Odds were all in their favor, but Liberty had died that day. They had failed Chile, and themselves.

No, Aragon though, No this cannot be the end, not like this, I will not lay down and die

And so Aragon left Argentina straight West, heading for Chile, where one last great act of freedom would be accomplished. Because even with oppression, even with the most stringent government, Aragon realized he still had one freedom left to choose.



He stared up into the azure sky, clear now, but not so long ago the clouds rained blood. Blood. Blood was on the ground, glistening scarlet, such a shade he had not seen. The bright white light of the sun reflected on the horizon and briefly blinded him. He sighs and gets up, brushed himself off, frees himself from the oppressive ground. He looks around at bodies in numerous, the dead, innocent soldiers in the game that was played across Chile. He begins to walk, and walk, across the scarlet, beneath the azure, and into the white light beckoning. They begin to stand up with him, following him, one by one. A man, then a woman, and then the Chileans pick themselves up from bloodied ground and follow. It was a long walk to Santiago.
Click to expand...

((for a moment there I thought you had developed a zombie army of the dead that was marching on Santiago :) ))
 
((Woo! I've outlived all my predecessors and successors! But don't worry guys, he'll be dead soon...))

I personally don't even understand Andonie's reasons for starting a coup; he looked as though he wanted Gogolow to win, and he could have easily pushed for the liberals to oppose a coalition (or at least the coalition candidate)

((I do understand that he wanted to end this bickering (or at least make it stop), and at the same time ensure a liberal government would remain in power, but he could've started by using the Republican method, voting))
 
Gogolow

I call on Gogolow to create a FNT-Republicano government. His coalition partners, the Nuevo Liberales are gone and disgraced and Republicanos are supporting his candidacy. It would be good for the nation after so much loss instability to be led by a coalition made up of the defenders of the Republic.

Pedro Rivera
 
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