Martian Revolution

"The citizens of Mars were - are - our friends. Attacking the cities my men once called home, opening fires on ships we once called our own. It was haunting, and I never want something like it to happen again."

- Rear Admiral Anthony Sinclair, The Solar Flare interview, March 2099

The Martian Revolution was a civil war fought between the United Nations of Earth and the Martian Commonwealth from 2088 to 2095. It was the first proper interplanetary war fought by the Sol Defence Corps, and featured the heavy usage of counterintelligence, special operations, and propaganda on both sides of the war.

Memos from the CAM Governor Jeanette Tatham were leaked to the public in 2087. These memos revealed plans for Earth to receive a majority of Martian government-subsidised exports, leading to the sentiment that Earth had been exploiting Martian labour and resources for its own gain rather than for the advancement of the Mars economy. This drove interplanetary tensions to an all-time high and eventually led to the demanded dismissal of Governor Tatham, which the Assembly legislation had denied.

In outrage, political activist Mark Spencer-Kauffman rallies the Martian people, telling them about how Earth asked for everything and gave them an empty, red planet. While he was met with severe opposition from both Earth and Mars, he managed to gain the popular support of the Martian population and even convinced several groups on Earth to support his movements. Spencer-Kauffman later had parts of the CAM government break away and establish the Martian Commonwealth, an independent government of Mars that quickly gained the support of several provincial governments. In spite of this, it was unrecognised by the UN.

With the upper hand in both propaganda and public opinion, the newly-formed Commonwealth's militia had managed to convert several trade and supply ships to warfighting vessels and quickly gained the support and control of Martian shipyards, briefly including the then-independent Stratford Shipyards, and churning out new ships under the Commonwealth navy.

The war is widely believed to have been won with unconventional warfare tactics employed by the United Nations following their increasing levels of defeat in the early war days; the formation of the Sol Intelligence Service and, later, SDC's formation of NAVSOC greatly turned the war in Earth's favour with its superior doctrine and training compared to the Commonwealth's brute strength.

The Commonwealth was defeated in October 2095 at the Battle of Schiaparelli culminating in a UN victory and the placement of Mars under Peacekeeper occupation. This was combined with the reestablishment of the Colonial Administration of Mars (CAM), now fully under UN control and possessing little to no independent exercising of its own.

Background
Following the official start of Mars' colonisation in 2053, the UN sought the creation of a political entity to manage and administrate the development of Martian colonies planetwide. The Colonial Administration of Mars was created, with a central Governor appointed to serve as the body's chief executive. The CAM's duties were to act as a quasi-government and liaison to the UN with the goal of advancing Martian development.

Most of the mining corporations who settled on Mars had their roots on Earth, and frequently exported their resources away from Martian soil before government incentives encouraged the companies to instead sell raw material to developing Martian industry, particularly in the Tharsis district.

Political activists rallying against the UN's doctrine of Mars, calling its policies 'exploitative'. This spread to the media, where tabloid outlets picked up on the dissent and campaigned for full-on independence from Earth.

With its now-massive industry and workforce by the mid-2080s, the Martian government, previously loyal to the UN, were being increasingly replaced in municipal elections by pro-independence politicians, pushing forward doctrine that increasingly shifted the Martian economy away from a focus on trade with Earth. This culminated in increased tariffs placed on Earth resource imports from Mars.

Peacekeeper Affairs
Mars' internal and national security during its early colonisation days was performed by the United Nations Peacekeeper Corps (UNPK), a move initially intended to be temporary but later had Peacekeeper troops overstay their visits amidst civil unrest. Due to the lack of proper developed police and counterterrorism forces on Martian boom towns, Peacekeepers, particularly its Military Police, were sent to act as de facto law enforcement until the establishment of municipal police. However, the Peacekeepers themselves inhibited the growth of police operations due to the better-armed, better-trained UNPK soldiers often responding to calls the local police were not suited to tackle. This led to weak, malformed law enforcement being enacted and, after several planetwide catastrophic failures on the part of local police, the UNPK was chosen to stay and train officers.

These combined factors led to the UNPK having a well-entrenched fighting force on the planet, all of them answering to Earth-based Peacekeeper command. Concerns over national security, as well as a desire to keep the Peacekeepers in power, prompted the United Nations to pass a law early on in Martian history that prevented the CAM from forming its own formal standing military. This effectively cemented the UNPK as the premier military on both Mars and Earth.

2085-2087: Trade Conflicts
The UN legislation reacted with outrage at the news of the Martian government placing trade tariffs, and exercised its authority via the Colonial Administration Assembly to place a new governor, Jeanette Tatham, heading the CAM government. UN charter permitted the appointed position of Governor to be sworn in by the General Assembly rather than by municipal elections, a move meant to keep Earth in power but also drew heavy controversy from Martian citizens, due to them not having a say in the head of state of their own nation.

The Colonial Administration of Mars and, to an extent, the entire planet, was effectively split into two parties: "Freedomers" or "Reds", Martian citizens (and to an extent, politicians) who valued independence and sought for total sovereignty in their trade, military, and political affairs; and "Unioners" or "Blues", pro-UN Martians who preferred to remain in their current status as effectively another state of the United Nations.

2087-2088: Negotiations with UN
The United Nations' plans for the CAM, long term, were to integrate it as an exclaved member state of the UN and be given marginal independence in exchange for military, economic and diplomatic interlink between Mars and UN member states on Earth. Initially a favourable proposal, the Red-aligned CAM legislation, the Council, saw severe hindrances in the goal for statehood; they rejected the proposal primarily on the basis that Mars, as a planet, should have its own economy and military.