STORMING OF THE WINTER VILLA
The Storming of the Winter Villa was a military operation by the Exiles of the Kuribayashi Shogunate against the Trathiran Reich, aimed at toppling the Reich and eliminating its command structure.
The attack was a success, resulting in the death or capture of all remaining members of the Trathiran Politburo and the Restoration of the Jade Empire of Ingen. PRELUDE
A month previously, the Trathiran Revolt had seen traitorous social-nationalist revolutionaries overthrow the Shogunate. Shogun Tadamichi Kuribayashi had committed seppuku after ensuring the safe evacuation of his only child, Takara. Escorted by loyalists including Admiral John Cornewaille, Daimyo Matomoro Kanbei, and a cadre of the 77th Regiment, Takara led a growing movement of Exiles over the next month, harassing the Reich through actions such as the Assault on Gau III.
Several days prior General Takeichi Starkpfote, a secret loyalist, had used his credentials to access the Winter Villa and assassinate the leader of the Trathiran movement, Kanzler Heinrich Pfalzgraf. He then called for an emergency meeting of the surviving Politburo and the new Kanzler Ilsa Glatz, gathering the enemy leadership in one place. ORDER OF BATTLE
Takara Kuribayashi commanded a scratch force composed of two squadrons of Jade Marines, seven loyalist samurai, General Starkpfote, Avery Johnson and Daimyo Matomoro Kanbei. In reserve was the 4th Company, 2nd Battalion, 77th Regiment, waiting to move in once the Politburo was secured and neutralise any counter-attacks.
Thanks to inteference by General Starkpfote, the security around the Winter Villa was lighter than usual. Most of the guards were strategically placed to leave a key access route through the South Gate largely undefended. The Politburo consisted of eight members, with four guards in the meeting chamber and two by the south gate.The rest of a full company of Reichswehr was present around the perimeter of the estate. |
COURSE OF BATTLE
Just after dusk on the 4th of Ruby, 2434 AT, the strike team rode a quartet of private civilian-model Inoshishi SUV's to within six kilometres of the Winter Villa, where they dismounted and approached the site on foot. Following a stream bed, they bypassed the outer perimeter of sentries and gathered beneath the footbridge that led to the South Gate.
Avery Johnson approached the two guards on-station, distracting them for long enough for Kanbei and one of the samurai to dispatch the two guards covertly and conceal their bodies beneath the bridge. The team then advanced through the building, leaving two marines to cover the South Gate as the rest of the force approached the meeting chamber.
Utilising a breaching charge, the Exiles stormed the Politburo during their emergency meeting session. Starkpfote, who was in the room at the time, drew his blaster weapon and shot both of the guards by the door. A third guard was killed by Sergeant Armaunde de Beynac and the fourth by Midori Tate, a samurai in Kanbei's retinue. Sergeant de Beynac was killed by return fire from Minister for Education Katzenhaft. Kanbei rushed the table and severely injured Katzenhaft with a blow from his hikatana, ending resistance in the meeting room.
At this point, Katzenhaft used an unknown device or artifact to open a portal to a dimension of the Corruption. A being of Corruption emerged, and whilst eyewitness accounts vary, all agree that it was at least nine feet tall, only partially opaque, and had white eyes. It identified itself as 'the Spoken Word of Crom Dubh' and attacked the group. Kuribayashi engaged in melee combat with the being and destroyed it. The remaining Trathirans surrendered their arms and were quickly neutralised.
Avery Johnson approached the two guards on-station, distracting them for long enough for Kanbei and one of the samurai to dispatch the two guards covertly and conceal their bodies beneath the bridge. The team then advanced through the building, leaving two marines to cover the South Gate as the rest of the force approached the meeting chamber.
Utilising a breaching charge, the Exiles stormed the Politburo during their emergency meeting session. Starkpfote, who was in the room at the time, drew his blaster weapon and shot both of the guards by the door. A third guard was killed by Sergeant Armaunde de Beynac and the fourth by Midori Tate, a samurai in Kanbei's retinue. Sergeant de Beynac was killed by return fire from Minister for Education Katzenhaft. Kanbei rushed the table and severely injured Katzenhaft with a blow from his hikatana, ending resistance in the meeting room.
At this point, Katzenhaft used an unknown device or artifact to open a portal to a dimension of the Corruption. A being of Corruption emerged, and whilst eyewitness accounts vary, all agree that it was at least nine feet tall, only partially opaque, and had white eyes. It identified itself as 'the Spoken Word of Crom Dubh' and attacked the group. Kuribayashi engaged in melee combat with the being and destroyed it. The remaining Trathirans surrendered their arms and were quickly neutralised.
AFTERMATH
After seeing Kuribayashi single-handedly defeat the avatar of Crom Dubh, the Exiles knelt to her and, at Kanbei's insistence, recognised her as a divinity. Starkpfote urged her to assume the mantle of Jade Empress, a title that had not been used in centuries. Following general acclaim from her followers, she accepted.
A broadcast was made to the nation in which Takara Kuribayashi outlined the fall of the Politburo and announced the Restoration of the Jade Empire, calling upon all those loyal to the old Shogunate to rally to the Imperial banner..The captured Politburo members were held in the meeting chamber whilst Starkpfote began moving through the building, gathering loyalists and ordering the Reichswehr to stand down. The 4th Company moved to take control over the Winter Villa whilst above, the IJN Fury Of Saigo and several other Exile vessels decloaked and began attacking critical Trathiran assets.
Just before midnight, the compound was fully secured, whilst across the coutnry loyalist forces wiped out the surviving Reichswehr rebels. The eight politburo members, including Reichskanzler Glatz and the severely injured Katzenhaft, were led into the courtyard and executed by firing squad.
A broadcast was made to the nation in which Takara Kuribayashi outlined the fall of the Politburo and announced the Restoration of the Jade Empire, calling upon all those loyal to the old Shogunate to rally to the Imperial banner..The captured Politburo members were held in the meeting chamber whilst Starkpfote began moving through the building, gathering loyalists and ordering the Reichswehr to stand down. The 4th Company moved to take control over the Winter Villa whilst above, the IJN Fury Of Saigo and several other Exile vessels decloaked and began attacking critical Trathiran assets.
Just before midnight, the compound was fully secured, whilst across the coutnry loyalist forces wiped out the surviving Reichswehr rebels. The eight politburo members, including Reichskanzler Glatz and the severely injured Katzenhaft, were led into the courtyard and executed by firing squad.
HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
The Trathiran Reich, whilst short-lived and unable to expand much beyond the Imperial City, dealt huge damage to the Shogunate of Ingen and permanently altered Ingenious perceptions of themselves and the universe. The Restoration of the Jade Empire, however, was a crucial moment in the history of Ingen. It had been twelve centuries since the fall of the First Jade Dynasty, and with the restoration of the monarchy the nation of Ingen began to embrace its imperalist nature. In the decade following the Restoration, the Jade Empire expanded to control a half-dozen solar systems and become one of the foremost military, economic and political powers of the FB-1 region.