Eastern Hills War

Eastern Hills War
San Fernando provincial forces march through Pendouah after capturing it from Revivalist forces.
Date March 10th, 1924 - September 2th, 1924 Location Ambonar and San Fernando Province, Slokais Islands Result Slokasian Victory
Belligerents
Slokais Islands San Fernando Province Eastern San Fernando Territorial Militia Slokaisian 9th Mounted Cavalry Assorted Minjian volunteer units	Revivalists Holy Defenders Various Revivalist Groups
Commanders and leaders
San Fernando Governor Lanier Jiang General Samuel Gonsalves Colonel Martin Raymondo Cruz	Paul Samrajon Samson Yahaira-John
Strength
15,000 regulars 150 cavalry	5,000 militia members 3,000-5,000 volunteers
Casualties and losses
1,400 killed Thousands wounded	450 killed Hundreds of civilians

The Eastern Hills War was a armed conflict in Slokais Islands, only lasting several months in 1924. However the conflict was significant in the history of the Ambonar Church of God and Rivalists in Slokais.

Background

In 1922, the territory of Ambonar was an independent and governed by a secular governor but largely managed by Revivalists. However with the election of George Livingstone and the demand for more farming and industrial space, Ambonar was declared as the Province of Eastern San Fernando, with a provincial governor being set to be elected in 1924. In addition, settlers from other provinces began migrating to the province, conflicting especially with Revivalist sects in the Eastern Hills region. In addition, Minjian, who had largely been forced out of the province in prior centuries also began to return in some numbers The local response was initially somewhat civil with Ambonese protesters gathering across the territory to prevent the inauguration of local officials.

Conflict

Intial Violence

Violence began on March 10th 1924, when the Township Mayor of Isloyos-Cruz was prevented from taking his office at the Courthouse by mostly unarmed Revivalists. The Mayor had not been elected and instead appointed by the provincial government which was already viewed as illegitimate. After several hours of waiting, an armed faction made of mostly mobsters working for the Mayor eventually took the building by armed force. In total 34 civilians were killed and many others were injured. In response the local branch of the Ambonar Church of God, quickly became a staging ground for armed rebels. By March 11th, hundreds had gathered outside the Church to prepare for a assault on the Courthouse. Many of these volunteers came from local polygamist cells, with children as young as 12 taking up defensive positions around their home compounds. In the inverse various volunteers guarded government buildings across the region, many of these volunteers were Minjian rice farmers who benefited from provincial land programs.

On March 13th, the Revivalists stormed the Courthouse, however the Mayor was able to escape the chaos on horseback riding to Newton, just across the border in San Fernando Province. From there the Revivalists took a public vote and elected Samson Yahaira-John, a Revivalist academic as the new mayor of the Township. Upon news reaching, Xulin the provincial capital, the Eastern San Fernando Territorial Militia was deployed to the Eastern Hills region to prevent further violence and restore order.

Newton Raid

Settlers fought Rivalist militias such as the Holy Defenders, which engaged in counter attacks on settler communities burning crops and destroying Minjian related objects. The largest was the Newton Raid in San Fernando Province which saw the burning of the Newton Minjian Temple and the killing of the town’s mayor.

Federal Involvement

Initially, settlers organized into loose militia's during the first weeks of the conflict however after the Newton Raid, the Slokasian 9th Mounted Cavalry was deployed to drive the Holy Defenders back into Ambonar. The 9th MC saw immediate success and was ruthless in their destruction of Rivivalist infrastructure. On May 18th, Colonel Martin Raymondo Cruz successfully captured the Holy Defenders leader, Paul Samrajon and executed him on the spot.

Aftermath

With the defeat of the Revivalists, settlers quickly drive them from their homes, with relatory violence occurring for the next few years across Ambonar Province. Despite this the Church of God did not take a position as it had in prior border conflicts in the 1800s, this is likely theorized as a political move, with the National Party soon becoming the party’s political instrument in the Provincial Legislature.