Battle of Adolfo III Land

Battle of Adolfo III Land
Part of the Creeperian Civil War
File:Creeperian patrol ship BIC Rodrigo in Adolfo III Land.png BIC Rodrigo in Adolfo III Land months after the battle
Date 29 January and 5 February 1933 Location Adolfo III Land Result Imperial Council victory Territorial changes Imperial Council gains symbolic control of Adolfo III Land
Belligerents
Imperial Council	National Council
Commanders and leaders
José Figueroa Martí	José Castro Umaña † Víctor Gaitán León
Strength
1 patrol ship (BIC Rodrigo) 38 sailors 10 soldiers	1 patrol ship (BNC Carlos) 33 sailors
Casualties and losses
1 patrol ship damaged 10 sailors killed 3 soldiers killed 20 injured	1 patrol ship scuttled 20 sailors killed 5 sailors executed 11 injured
3 researchers killed

The Battle of Adolfo III Land (Creeperian: Բատաժա դե լա'Տիերրա դե Ադոլֆո Գ / Batalla de la'Tierra de Adolfo III) was a land and sea battle that occurred between the Catholic Imperial Restoration Council (Imperial Council) and the National Council for Peace and Order (National Council) in the Southern Ocean and in Adolfo III Land, Tierrasur. It is the only military conflict to ever occur in Tierrasur.

During the initial sea battle on 29 January 1933, patrol ships BIC Rodrigo and BNC Carlos exchanged fire from their onboard autocannons. After approximately one hour of fighting, the surviving crew of Carlos surrendered to Rodrigo. The crew of Carlos was captured. A few days later on 5 February 1933, the captured sailors from Carlos launched a rebellion at the Nuevo Creeperópolis I research station. The rebellion failed; its leaders were executed and the remaining crew of Carlos were set adrift on a lifeboat in the Southern Ocean and were never seen again. The battle symbolically asserted the Imperial Council's control over Adolfo III Land.

Prelude

On 2 January 1933, the Creeperian Civil War between the Catholic Imperial Restoration Council (Imperial Council) that supported Emperor Romero I and the National Council for Peace and Order (National Council) that supported Emperor Miguel VII. As both factions were solidifying their control over parts of the country, both governments wanted to assert their control over the Creeperian claim in Tierrasur: Adolfo III Land, which Creeperopolis has claimed since 1839.

In mid January 1933, both the Imperial and National Navies ordered ships to travel to Nuevo Creeperópolis I (a research station established in Adolfo III Land in 1931) and inform the researchers and soldiers there of the unfolding civil war, as well as to reinforce the research station from a possible attack by the other faction. The Imperial Council dispatched BIC Rodrigo — a patrol ship commanded by Lieutenant José Figueroa Martí and crewed by 38 sailors — while the National Council dispatched BNC Carlos — a patrol ship commanded by Lieutenant José Castro Umaña and crewed by 33 sailors.

Sea battle

On 29 January 1933, both ships encountered each other approximately 14 nautical miles (26 km) north of Nuevo Creeperópolis I. According to a report drafted by Rodrigo's crew (the only account of the battle), Carlos approached Rodrigo and opened fire first; Rodrigo subsequently returned fire. Both ships were only armed with one 20-millimeter (0.79 in) autocannon on their bows. Both crews alternated between shooting at the other ship's bridge, its propeller, and the other autocannon to disable each. At close range, the crews also utilized their Figueroa-22 rifles to directly target the other ship's crew.

After one hour of fighting, the crew of Carlos surrendered to Rodrigo after suffering several casualties. In total, 8 sailors onboard Rodrigo and 13 sailors onboard Carlos were killed. The ships were maneuvered close to each other and both ships' commanding officers boarded lifeboats to meet each other on the water. Castro Umaña was killed during the battle, so one of his staff officers, Sub-Lieutenant Víctor Gaitán León, negotiated the crew's surrender. The surviving crew was taken as prisoners onboard Rodrigo. Figueroa Martí ordered his men to recover supplies from Carlos, including food rations, firearms, and ammunition, before scuttling the ship. Rodrigo then continued to travel towards Nuevo Creeperópolis I which it reached later that day. The research station raised the flag of the Imperial Council and its commander, Lieutenant Óscar Peralta Dávalos, declared Adolfo III Land's allegiance to the Imperial Council.

Land rebellion

Nuevo Creeperópolis I in 1934

At Nuevo Creeperópolis I, the crew of Carlos was confined in a storage room and guarded by soldiers of the research station. They were given few rations by the research station and their medical needs were not tended to by the research station's doctor. On 4 February 1933, one of the injured sailors died of his wounds, and the remaining sailors began protesting their treatment by damaging equipment in the storage room.

On 5 February 1933, the research station's soldiers intervened in the protest by entering the storage room and attempted to force Carlos' crew to end the protest. Gaitán León led his men in an uprising against the research station and managed to steal some of the soldiers' weapons. The sound of gunfire from the storage room prompted Rodrigo's sailors to intervene in support of the soldiers. After several minutes of gunfire, the outnumbered rebels surrendered.

The rebellion killed 3 soldiers, a further 2 of Rodrigo's sailors, and a further 7 of Carlos' sailors. The day after the rebellion, the surviving 12 members of Carlos' crew were boarded back on Rodrigo and the ship traveled north. The crew was informed that they were being taken back to the mainland to be imprisoned, but instead, approximately 250 nautical miles (460 km) north of Adolfo III Land, five of the rebellion's leaders (including Gaitán León) were brought on deck and thrown overboard into the Southern Ocean as a form of execution for treachery. The bodies of Carlos' prior casualties were also thrown into the ocean. The ship continued north approximately 10 nautical miles (19 km) and the remaining 7 prisoners were boarded onto a lifeboat and set adrift. They were never seen again.

Aftermath

Rodrigo returned to the mainland and reported their victory against Carlos. The crew was commended for their action remained in Tierrasur and were all awarded the Star of the Imperial Navy. The bodies of those killed aboard Rodrigo and at Nuevo Creeperópolis I were returned to their families. Rodrigo resupplied and returned to Adolfo III Land where it spent the winter trapped in ice; it returned to Creeperopolis in 1934 and was scrapped in 1947. On 19 February 1936, the Imperial Council had Nuevo Creeperópolis evacuated; the research station was never relocated and the Creeperian government believes that it has since sunk to the bottom of the ocean as it was located on an ice shelf.

Legacy

The Battle of Adolfo III land held no tactical or strategic significance, but it did symbolically mark the Imperial Council's control over Adolfo III land. The National Council never attempted to assert its control over Adolfo III Land, which it referred to as Miguel VII Land. On 29 January 1937, all members of Rodrigo's crew who participated in the battle were retroactively awarded the Tierrasur Service Medal, awarded to Creeperian military personnel who served on active duty in Tierrasur; the 1937 awards to Rodrigo's crew is the only time the medal has been awarded for a combat action.

See also

• List of battles in the Tierrasurian Circle