The Uprising on Serenno was a part of the Thirteenth Serennoan Civil War that took place on Serenno between 95 and 94 BBY.
Prelude[]
After many years of absolute rule of Count Jalrus, his rivals began preparing to overthrow him and his family and take control of Serenno. To this end the rebel counts began arming and recruiting mercenaries and allied with Jalrus's cousin Dagron to attack Jalrus in his stronghold of Castle Giron. Although Jalrus is killed in the attack along with many members of his family, his nephew Maran survives and begins rallying support to counter the rebels as they make their move against his family.
Uprising[]
Planet-Wide Revolt[]
Following the death of Jalrus, the rebel leaders Angal, Histor and Daria ordered their forces to move on key positions across the planet in order to force their allies into action. Angal's forces gathered at his stronghold of Gandor and moved on to capture the nearby town of Sirelevo. Rebel forces had already begun attacking the planet's second city of Friscia and they succeeded in capturing the city's spaceport, one of only two on the whole planet. However government troops struck back and were able to recapture the spaceport but not before the rebels crippled the ships and the communications tower, preventing the government from launching their ships.
At the same time Histor's forces moved against the key trading town of Horspan in order to cut off the government from its supplies from outlying settlements. Despite his superiority in numbers, the royalist forces held out against his original assault and it was only when the local population cut off the town from its water and food supplies that Histor was able to capture the trading centre. However the rebels weren't able to capture the nearby crossroads that would've opened the way to the capital Thirula and other royalist and Borzia strongholds.
Meanwhile Daria's forces moved through the planet's northern mountains, taking the mining towns of Jiddi, Kyt and Meruit that had already largely joined the rebels against the Borzia. However his forces were stopped from progressing further by the onset of the planet-wide winter storms that effectively made travel to and around Serenno impossible. The majority of the mining towns joined the rebels but a few remained loyal to the ruling family but the status quo was maintained by the onset of winter.
Revolts in Thirula and other royalist strongholds were quickly put down, although some countryside areas remained outside their control. However around two-thirds of the planet and half the population was under the control of the rebels, who were using their momentum to attempt to crush the royalists before the winter allowed them to regroup and strike back in the spring.
Rebel Assault[]
The rebel Counts prepared their armies for a lightning strike at the capital Thirula in an attempt to bring a quick end to the war that was brewing across the planet. Counts Jamil and Ordec led their militias through the countryside around the capital in order to surround the city and link up with the armies of Angal and Histor. Histor, supported by reinforcements led by Count Bregar pushed to the crossroads outside Horspan and succeeded in driving the royalists back towards the capital. While Count Prospo's militia seized the fishing port of Rogo, cutting the capital off from one of its few remaining supply lines, Angal led his forces towards the capital to strike the killing blow.
However the new Borzia monarch Maran had been preparing the defence of the city, pulling all available forces into the city and allowing the rebels to take much of the surrounding countryside. With the city protected by shields from the rebel starships but with their spacecraft unable to launch, the royalists prepared to defend against a rebel ground assault. Outside the city, the rebel armies united with the mercenary general Gringraw chosen to command the rebel army in its attack on Thirula.
Surrounding the city, the rebels prepared their attack. Although the city was protected by its shield, Gringraw set up a specialised heavy cannon that would rip a hole in the shield so that the rebels could march throw and assault the city. This cannon opened the attack and the rebels marched through the gap but were met with heavy resistance by the royalist defenders. However the rebels pushed onwards and drove the royalists into the city itself, allowing Gringraw to bring forward more cannon to bombard the capital. The rebels advanced down the main street towards the royal palace, but left much of the city in royalist hands. At this point the royalist general Rur launched a counter-attack on the flanks of the advancing rebels and broke their attack.
While the rebels regrouped at their foothold inside the shield, Rur ordered his forces forward in an attempt to break them. Fighting their way forward under heavy fire, the royalists engaged the rebels and after a brief fire fight drove them back through the hole they had made. Faced with this stiff resistance, the rebels pulled back from the city and gathered for fresh attacks. However Gringraw's cautiousness brought him into conflict with the rebel counts and the rebel command structure became bogged down between them which meant that they did not launch an attack for several days. While the rebels lingered, the first of the winter storms arrived and the rebels were ordered to retreat but were forced to march through days of ice and snow before they arrived back at Horspan.
Winter Campaign[]
As the rebels suffered losses during their long retreat, Maran and his supporters regrouped in Thirula and prepared for the war to continue after the winter ended. However Rur suggested an attack during the winter, and that if they succeeded in catching the rebels off guard it would be worth the risk. Despite opposition the plan was approved and Rur prepared the royalist forces for the campaign. First Rur marched his forces to Rogo, capturing the town with ease as the rebels were unaware of their approach. He then swept north through the countryside and captured the city of Karos where they rested through the worst of the storms before moving on.
With communications blocked out by the atmospheric turbulence the rebels were completely unaware of the royalist gains and their ships were unable to supply air cover. Rur pushed on to Horspan but the city surrendered without a fight at the sight of his army. From there the royalists waited for the winter to end before laying siege to Friscia, capturing the city before Gringraw's army could arrive to save them. With the rebel fleet held above Thirula and Friscia to stop the royalist ships from taking off, the royalist army was free to pursue Gringraw's army without their ships supplying covering fire. However the rebels were reinforced by Daria's army from the north and took up a defensive position on Rackus Ridge to block the approach to their last stronghold on the planet at Sirelevo.
Battle of Rackus Ridge[]
The two sides faced each other below the ridge as the royalist forces prepared their attack in the hopes that they could break the rebel army. Rur decided a fast attack all along the rebel front line would allow him to find weaknesses in the rebel army and pore forces in to split and annihilate the rebels. However this attack failed miserably as after three assaults the royalists were driven back with heavy losses and he regrouped in order to renew the attack the next day. As the rebels had lost many of their artillery in their retreat during the winter, Rur decided to use his superiority in cannon to launch a bombardment of the rebel positions. At dawn on the second day the cannons opened fire but the bombardment had very little effect, although the rebel Count Prospo was killed by an artillery blast while he went out to survey the battlefield.
While the bombardment continued, Rur prepared to launch another all-out assault but this would be reinforced by further attacks on the rebel flanks in the hopes that this would turn the rebel lines and break them. The royalists were ordered to advance under cover of the artillery barrage and they advanced up the ridge to the rebel defences. However the rebels had dug in by this time, having created two lines of trench defences on the ridge, granting them cover from the artillery and from the advancing royalists. This allowed them to fire on the royalists long before they could return their fire and the royalists suffered heavy losses and their attack stalled. When Rur saw what was happening he committed more troops to the attack but still the royalists halted before the rebel lines and were cut down. However on the lower flanks of the ridge, the royalists were able to reach the trenches quicker and access the trenches easier. Once they were in they poured into the trenches and drove the rebels up towards the centre of their line, allowing the rest of the royalist army to break into the trenches as well. The rebels fell back to their second line of trenches and from there they were able to repel any further royalist attacks and Rur, seeing that nothing else could be done that day ordered the attack to halt.
Realising that an opportunity had arisen to end the battle and defeat the rebels, Rur ordered his artillery to keep up their bombardment of the rebels in their second trenches. With his troops already exhausted from the previous day's fighting and trench digging, Gringraw decided to withdraw but he was overruled by Angal and the other counts so he was forced to order his men to dig a third line of trenches in preparation for the royalist attack. However due to the constant royalist bombardment the rebels failed to finish the trench and by dawn they were exhausted. The royalists had also been active as Rur had diverted troops around the side of the ridge so that he could fall on the rebels from three sides and annihilate them. At dawn Rur ordered the attack and the royalists attacked the rebel trenches and despite fierce resistance the rebels were overwhelmed and driven back to their unfinished third trenches. However the momentum of the royalist advance swept through these trenches as well, routing the rebel forces completely. In the confusion, Dagron was captured and Jamil killed while the remaining counts fled and Gringraw formed a rearguard that held the royalists long enough to prevent the total destruction of the rebel army.
Victory on the Ground[]
With the victory at Rackus Ridge, Rur's army pushes to the last rebel stronghold at Sirelevo in an effort to crush the uprising once and for all. However Gringraw's delaying actions had allowed the rebels to entrench themselves in the city and prepare for a long bombardment. For weeks on end the royalists besieged the city but Gringraw and the remaining rebel Counts refused to give in. Faced with utter defeat, the Counts withdrew their ships from Thirula and Friscia in order to help protect Sirelevo. However Maran took the opportunity to launch his ships and they set off in pursuit of the rebel fleet.
With both fleets heading for Sirelevo, but with the royalists in greater numbers, it looked like the war would soon be over. However Gringraw has managed to contact fellow mercenary Jixtes Varn, who arrives with his fleet and engages the royalist fleet. A space battle erupts above the planet and although the royalists are able to drive Varn and the rebels to the edge of the system, there was enough of a window for Gringraw and Counts Angal, Daria and Ordec to escape. Sirelevo quickly fell and Histor and Bregar are captured. However despite this victory, the remaining rebels still formed a great threat to Maran's government and a Republic fleet led by Admiral Gor Koon arrived to try and keep the peace.
Aftermath[]
Tensions remained increasingly high on Serenno as Maran attempted to assert his dominance on the planet while the rebels prepared for their counter-attack. However, even with the Republic presence, full-scale war could not be averted.