The UMMR and the Martian Conflict

“We will have to remind our naughty house guests who the lord of our red manor is at the end of a bayonet.”

-Wilhelm Heilblaster, Prussian Kaiser

“Despite their superior technology and numbers, an army of such diversity without clear class distinctions in officer rank can never hope to reach a level of organization capable of total military victory.”

-Sir Edward Gotha, Commander: British Interplanetary Expedition Force

“The majority of the Martian population is composed of American immigrants from both the Union and the Confederacy, so it pains me to admit that we’re fighting another civil war. What pains me even more is that when they packed their bags they didn’t forget to take our rebellious nature with them.”

-Kevin Johanson, President: Union States of America

“I have read about the fighting spirit of the ancient Zulu, the highlander, the brave, and the samurai. But today I witnessed the ferocity of all these warriors and never before have I been afraid to don the King’s uniform.”

Lt. Thomas Starman, Leader: British Special Operations Team Six: The Diamond Dogs

“A nation that successfully broke the tyrannical grip of the British and the Union knows that the only difference between a native uprising and a just war of independence is how badly the rebels want it.”

Braddock Coyer, President: Confederate States of America

Despite the fact that the Unified Metropolitan Martian Republic is relatively new, Mars has been colonized since before the American Civil War. Mars, with its thin atmosphere and desert-like geology was a perfect place to experiment with envirodomes. Mars began as an experimental colony of Prussian scientists. The Prussian Empire knew of the vast resources of the red planet as well as the money that could be made from advanced envirodome research. The plan was to use envirodomes to create various flora for oxygen and microorganisms to transfer solar radiation into heat. The Martian experiment was becoming too much of a financial burden on the empire. The facts were clear that even with the profits from the envirodome research Prussia would bankrupt herself before it would make Mars habitable enough to commence full-scale mining operations. Large amounts of Martian land was sold to the British Empire, the United States, France, Russia, and Japan.

Further terraforming campaigns were enacted including releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to thicken it as well as massive operations to melt and transport water from the large formations of ice on the planet. Massive envirodomes were constructed to house five large cities that were interconnected via above ground enclosures and smaller subterranean towns. Thin microfilaments that ran to magma pits of dormant volcanoes were webbed into Martian structures to supply heat.

The practice of water collection gave birth to a rather curious instrument: the burnsaw. A superheated chainsaw developed for slicing through the planet’s cyrosphere to reach the water underneath, or more directly, carving large chunks from the glaciers themselves. The burnsaw became an iconic tool of the early settlers, and later, it took on a more sinister association as the weapon of choice for Martian army hit-and-run “terror squads.”

Despite the harsh cold, deadly sandstorms, and hard labor, the Martian population grew as subjects of Earth’s various empires looked to Mars as a place to escape their tyrannical rulers. Despite the fact that they were still citizens of their respective empires, the distance provided a slim hope for some sense of autonomy. Some subjects got their wish as pressure from France on Earth and hostilities towards the Russian Mars colonies caused Britain to pull her troops from the colonies and turn a blind eye towards the red planet. The British colonies were essentially British only in name. A similar evacuation of authorities to the home planet was made when the American Civil War broke out. The Union and Confederacy eventually solidified within the decade but Britain found her boundaries stretched too far on Earth to see Mars as anything but a passing investment. Years after the Civil War, the Union was able to buy much of Britain’s Martian soil for pennies on the dollar.

The various colonists began to see themselves as Martians rather than their previous terrestrial citizenship and grew tired of selling off their resources at prices that flirted with thievery. The argument that the terrestrial countries were making up for lost wages in vast amounts of free material resources and aid became less and less true as the Martians started to rely less on the imported rations that had slowed to a trickle and more on their own envirodome enclosed farms for subsistence. The Martians became fed up with having their lives see-saw from iron fisted tyranny to criminal neglect depending on the political climate of Earth. While small scale riots were suppressed by imperial forces, full-scale violence was inevitable when a man of Native American descent known as Chief Iron Cloud was secretly voted in as the first president of the United Metropolitan Martian Republic.

Since its conception as a testing ground for envirodomes, Mars was considered a neutral ground where scientists could work together to create a utopia through super-advanced scientific research. While a few loyalist scientist fled to earth, (it was mandated that all who did not want to become a free citizen of the UMMR was free to leave during what was later called the Loyalist Exodus before the war), many stayed to outfit Mars’ small but motivated army with cutting-edge equipment.

The war was primarily fought by Prussian troops, who, despite selling off a large amount of Martian land, still held the majority. The Union also had a strong military presence as did the Confederacy, which was paid by the Union in stockpiled Martian resources and promised a large share of Martian real estate upon suppressing the uprising. The British played a small role, initially offering a few expeditionary forces as auxiliary support. Once (city unnamed as of yet)’s dome was breeched the Honourable East India Trading Company dispatched their famous Anti-Piracy and Native Pacification Squad, known as the Regulators, feared as the foremost experts in urban combat.

The Martian conflict was split into two periods: “The Polite War” that lasted three years, and “The Burning Years” that lasted two. The Polite War was a series of police actions that pitched terrestrial military forces against Martian rebels within the cities. Fighting within the cities came to an end when massive bombing destroyed every rail station on the planet.

The need to land and organize in a friendly or neutral environment brought about the creation of Orbital Entry and Rapid Establishment, (OERE, pronounced “oar”). This involved rail train cars entering the atmosphere and landing in the frozen deserts near the cities and quickly constructing bases by modifying the landing cars. The term OERE is used as a verb:

“We landed but were met by heavy resistance. Unable to OERE the area”

“We were able to OERE 50 miles from the target”

The Polite War got its namesake from the orders given to troops to put pressure on the Martians while doing as little damage as possible to the cities themselves. OERE warfare was extremely unconventional and unwieldy without further restrictions placed on the soldiers. The invaders found themselves on the defensive with only a few boarder clash victories.

The Burning Years saw a more conventional change in tactics, ie, put pressure on the civilians to destroy enemy morale. Envirodome farms and ranches were targeted. Crops were difficult to grow within a damaged envirodome and livestock could not be replaced. OERE’s were organized into three types: command, which acted as a resource stockpile and command base, support, which defended the command bases and doubled as long range artillery support, and attack, which housed the assault forces. The thin atmosphere made air warfare impossible on the terrestrial side, however, Martian scientists were able to develop small scout craft to find OEREs and attack craft to support ground troops.

The Burning Years destroyed one of five cities, (despite capturing the city, guerrillas made it impossible to keep as a foot hold. The cities were too large and the terrestrial forces too small) and damaged a significant amount of the surrounding area. Terrestrial troop deaths numbered in the hundreds of thousands, (five to one compared to Martian deaths), public support on the home front became nonexistent while the harder the terrestrial forces pushed, the more tenacious the Martians became. It was clear that without a proper home base, efficient logistical support, readily available reinforcements, bombers and other air support, the war was unwinnable. As one Prussian officer put it,

“We know now that there is no winning a land war on Mars. Their cities are massive and they defend them like swarms of rabid bees. What’s more, there is no capturing a Martian city, like a storybook monster it must be burnt to ashes before it stops fighting. Even if I had a thousand tanks, even if I had a mountain of gold to enlist all six Revolvers, there is no killing the Martian monster. Not in his cave.”