Acadian Revolution

The Acadian Revolution was the Acadian front of the Colonial Antarctica War that freed Acadia from Puffish rule. However, the country suffered heavy damage and over 250,000 out of the 4,500,000 people on the island left, and it should be noted lots of aid to Acadia was sent by another country in revolt against Puffle'and, the USA. Historians argue that if USA didn't give aid to Acadia that Acadia would have been completely suppressed by the Puffish with ease due to the larger size and superior experience of the Puffish armed forces.

Similar to the United States of Antarctica, the Acadian Revolution was, and still is a source of pride for Acadians, showing that a small country was able to defeat Antarctica's largest empire at the time. The Acadian Revolution was especially popular during the crisis with the United States of Antarctica from 2016 to 2017, with many Acadians remarking "if we can defeat a large and powerful country once, we can do it again", in reference to the Revolution. Additionally, the Revolution also provided a homeland for the Acadian people and put many events into motion.

Background
Ever since Colonial Antarctica was founded in 1990, tensions were high between the Puffish government and the colonists. Before the Colonial Antarctica War, there had been numerous failed attempts to gain freedom from Puffish rule. The first one, was the Khanz Rebellion in 1993, which caused Puffle'and to dispatch tanks and large amounts of soldiers to stop the unrest, or the High Penguin Rebellion in 1995, and the Adelie Rebellion in 1996, all of which were suppressed. These minor rebellions only made the Puffish government react more harshly each time, introducing more laws.

Before the war, tensions were already high in the Province of Acadia, the Puffish colony that constituted Acadia and much of the northern coast. Although Acadian citizens were able to become Puffish citizens, and had special passports which allowed them to travel to other colonies. However, to keep there passports and citizenship, they had to pay special tax that allowed them to hold the passport, along with other taxes that the rest of the colonies had to pay. Like all the other colonies, there were Puffish soldiers in Acadia, as with the other colonies, to suppress rebellions.

In early 1999, tensions grew to an all time high, as Puffle'and started to crack down on smuggling of goods from other countries, which was illegal, as Puffle'and only allowed goods to be shipped from Puffle'and. After rumors appeared of colonists plotting a massive rebellion all over Antarctica, Puffish troops began starting to search houses, barns, and stores for smuggled goods or weapons. This greatly angered the colonists, who felt their freedoms and personal property were being taken away or violated, and only hastened the demise of Puffle'and in Antarctica, specifically Acadia.

Revolution in Acadia
In March, coinciding with the larger protests that had taken place around Antarctica against Puffish rule, similar protests broke out in Acadia as well, calling for an end of taxation without representation in the Puffish Parliament, along with some calls for independence. Puffish officials, who saw the protests as a threat, ordered that they be suppressed. Around mid March of 1999, Puffish soldiers began firing upon peaceful protesters, killing or wounding many. This however, brought more people to the streets.

Soon, the Acadians, who had stockpiled weapons, began firing back upon the Puffish soldiers. By late March, the protests had escalated into rebellion, as the rebels increased in number and began actively fighting against the Puffish. Losing control of the rebellion, the Puffish governor of Acadia at the time, Richard Livingston, appealed to the colonial government in Landsowne for reinforcements and aid in crushing the rebellion. However, by then, across Antarctica, the rebellion had broken out into war as well.



In April of 1999, Acadian rebels engaged Puffish soldiers in the first major battle of the revolution. Many soldiers of the recently disbanded Acadian Colonial Forces who were sympathetic to the rebel cause attempted to empty out the Royal Armory on King Street. They were soon met by a large Puffish force, who then encircled the armory, and a firefight soon broke out. Unfortunately for the Puffish, rebels nearby heard of the fighting and alerted the main rebel force, who counterattacked the Puffish force, many of whom were captured.

Thus, the Battle of King Street was the first major battle of the war, and resulted in an Acadian rebel victory. It also allowed the rebels access to the largest armory in Acadia, giving them many more weapons and ammunition to fight in their revolution. Two weeks later, a Puffish reinforcement force from Shiverpool to aid in crushing the rebellion was met by around 10,000 rebels, as compared to the 7,000 Puffish soldiers from Shiverpool. Outnumbered and outgunned by the rebels who had just raided the armory, the Puffish were forced to retreat back to Shiverpool.

Rebel Takeover
With the main Puffish threat gone, the Acadian rebels turned their sights down to the Puffish government district of Acadia, where the local council met and where the governor's residence was. However, the Puffish soldiers, who numbered around only 2,000, barricaded every road into the district, preparing to wait out the rebels until a greater amount of reinforcements could be sent. Despite being outnumbered, the Puffish expected to emerge victorious, seeing the rebels as a unequipped, unorganized band of ragtag soldiers.

In mid April the first rebel soldiers advanced onto the barricades, and were quickly beat back by the Puffish soldiers, who had the support of the air force, as opposed to the rebels, who had no aircraft. However, the sheer numbers and greater morale of the rebel force soon allowed them to break through one of the barricades, which caused the complete collapse of the Puffish defense and allowed the rebels to spill into the government district. The Puffish attempted to build a second barricade towards the center, but were quickly overrun.

As the rebels began approaching within yards of the Governor's Mansion, Governor Richard Livingston called in an emergency evacuation. The Governor's Mansion was barricaded all around, and was defended by only around 60 soldiers. However, they were all aware they had no hope of victory or even survival, but just wanted to hold out long enough for the governor to escape. By noon, Governor Livingston boarded a Puffish navy helicopter and flew out of the city, landing on a Puffish ship, where he remained for the next few weeks, inspecting situation.

Within minutes of the evacuation, rebel forces stormed the Governor's Mansion, killing or capturing most if not all of the Puffish soldiers. The rebels then proceeded to loot the Governor's Mansion of all its valuables, including large amounts of money which weren't evacuated in time. With the extensive amount of food supplies left behind, the rebel soldiers threw a large party, which lasted until the next morning. It was during this time that a photograph of a lone Acadian soldier hoisting the flag of the Republic of Acadia was taken, and served as an iconic image during the war.

Shiverpool Campaign
After establishing control over Acadia, the rebels aimed for their next goal, to kick the Puffish out of the Province of Acadia completely. Around 15,000 rebel soldiers prepared to invade Shiverpool. However, before retreating into Shiverpool, the Puffish had destroyed the bridge that connected Acadia with Shiverpool to slow the rebel advance and buy them more time. Thus, the rebels had to wait until they had vessels to cross the river. As they prepared, Acadian batteries on the Acadian side began bombarding the Puffish positions, in order to provide cover for the rebels.

In early May, after days of bombardment, the first rebels advanced into Shiverpool, crossing the river on many small boats. Within hours, Acadian rebels had seized the port of Shiverpool, where a few Puffish navy ships were docked. Meanwhile, the Puffish began setting up barricades around the city, determined to block off the government district, and turned it into a fortress of sorts. The Puffish knew they probably had little chance of reinforcement, as other Puffish forces were elsewhere, but they wanted to keep the Acadians from taking Shiverpool.

Over the next few days, fighting broke out into the smaller streets, and the Shiverpool Campaign consisted of urban warfare. By the end of the week, Acadian soldiers had defeated the Puffish in multiple neighborhoods of the city, and overran many barricades. The rebels now advanced onto the government district, where around 2,000 Puffish soldiers prepared to make a last stand. Acadian soldiers, on the other hand, numbered around 15,000, and were armed with seized Puffish equipment. Though the Acadians outnumbered the Puffish, the Puffish still had superior training and equipment.

After a brief but fierce battle, Acadian soldiers overran one of the barricades, and thousands of Acadian soldiers poured into the government district. Puffish soldiers attempted to make a last stand at the city hall, but were either all killed or surrendered. Many other Puffish soldiers attempted to push the Acadian rebels out, but there were too many, and they were forced to surrender. Within a few minutes, the entire area was in Acadian hands. Acadian soldiers removed the Puffish flag and planted an Acadian flag onto city hall. Over the next few weeks, Acadian soldiers would defeat the last Puffish resistance in the countryside, but the last major Puffish resistance had been defeated.

The Acadians continued to hold Shiverpool and its surrounding lands as part of the newly founded Republic of Acadia for nearly a year, which was the greatest territorial extent of Acadia until the acquisition of Gilneas in 2005, and was Acadia's only mainland territory. Acadia was pressured to give up Shiverpool to the United States of Antarctica in a separate treaty after the war. As a small country faced against an ever imperialistic power, Acadia quickly handed over Shiverpool, which became part of the USA, though the Antarcticans did give Acadia a small sum for the territory.

Naval War
The rebels' naval defense consisted of seized Puffish ships, but also bought old ships from larger powers with what money they had, and were also reinforced by their allies' navies. However, this was near to nothing compared to the Puffish navy, which was prepared to reclaim Acadia from the rebels. In the summer of 1999, a massive Puffish naval force headed towards Acadia, carrying a large force of Puffish soldiers. The soldiers were prepared to crush the rebellion in Acadia and join up with the mainland Puffish force to crush the Antarctic rebels on the mainland.

The rebel navy sat a few miles off the coast of Acadia, with a few ships docked in the harbor. The rebel defense consisted of five seized Puffish ships, seven purchased ships from foreign powers, eight Antarctic rebel ships, and twenty-two rebel allied ships. On the other hand, the Puffish had around ninety to one hundred ships, filled with thousands of soldiers. The rebel defense was bleak and had a sure chance of failure. However, the rebels sought to delay and inflict as much damage as possible on the Puffish force.

At the Battle of Sub-Antarctica, which involved the navies of several rebel groups against the Puffish navy, the Puffish emerged victorious, destroying, capturing, or scattering most of the rebel fleet. The rebel navy had been far outgunned and outnumbered by Puffle'and, who had one of the most powerful and largest navies in Antarctica at the time. The Puffish victory at the Battle of Sub-Antarctica removed the rebel naval defense that protected the mainland, and now allowed Puffle'and to land forces onto the continent.

Puffish Attempts at Reclamation
After their victory at the Battle of Sub-Antarctica, the Puffish began to approach the Antarctic mainland, particularly Acadia. The island was the key to reclaiming the Peninsula, and also had a large port where the Puffish navy could dock. However, the rebels had occupied the island for about a year, since around April 1999. The Puffish began preparing to retake Acadia. They began landing soldiers on the Sub-Antarctic islands, ready to land in Acadia, along with commanding some forces inland to invade Acadia from inland.

Battle of Delphi
After the defeat of the rebel navy during the Naval Campaign, and a series of skirmishes along the coast that ended in rebel defeat, Puffle'and had a clear path to reclaiming the island. An army of 25,000 Puffish regulars, reinforced by 5,000 Loyalists from the countryside and another 15,000 Alemanian mercenaries, prepared to strike the island. On the other hand, the rebels only had around 20,000 soldiers, supported by around 10,000 from their minor allies. Still, the revolution now had only one chance of victory or defeat.

The rebels quickly moved to establish blockades on every major street in Acadia that led to Delphi. Shiverpool was quickly emptied of soldiers and equipment, as the rebel leaders saw little to no chance of any successful resistance there due to the size of Puffish soldiers, and its garrison of 5,000 marched south to reinforce the rebels. Meanwhile, the Puffish decided on a two pronged attack to strangle the rebels, with a Puffish army from the north and a second army making a beach landing. The Puffish also expected Acadian loyalists to join them along the way.

On October 5, 1999, the first Puffish army made contact with the Acadian blockade on King St, a large street in Delphi, now named Independence St. Though the Puffish far outnumbered the Acadians, who only had around a few hundred at the blockade, they were soon reinforced by the main rebel force, who quickly drove back the Puffish force within hours. The Puffish air force attempted to bomb the rebels to open the path, were forced to retreat after being attacked by anti-aircraft guns and rebel allied planes.

Meanwhile, the second Puffish force landed on the beach, facing much resistance. Still, the Puffish force managed to break though. The Acadians, who failed to leave any second lines of defense in the south, were soon overrun. The main army was now in danger of being trapped. However, fierce fighting in the streets between a mix of Acadian militia and rebel soldiers soon put the fighting in the south to a stalemate. After rebel allies joined the fight, the full force of the Puffish southern force was completely routed.

Now, with the fighting in the southern part of the island ending with an Acadian victory, the southern defense was free to aid the northern force, who were about to be overrun. The Puffish had broken the blockade on a smaller street and were about to wrap around and surround the northern defense. However, fortunately, 15,000 soldiers arrived to reinforce the northern defense. The sounds of the euphoric southern forces broke the morale of the Puffish forces, who assumed that there was a much larger army than what truly was. Many fled or surrendered, giving the victory to the Acadians.

End of the Revolution
The Acadian Revolution ended with the rebel victory at the Battle of Delphi, but officially ended with the hoisting of the Acadian flag, rather than the rebel flag, on the dome of the Puffish colonial administration building in downtown Delphi. While the Acadian flag had been used by the rebels many times during the war, this was its first official use. As Greg Cleanington, leader of the Acadian rebel forces, was busy fighting alongside the mainland Revolutionists, the leader of the rebel forces in Acadia, Tyler Aberdeen, declared the founding of the Republic of Acadia that same day.

With the Puffish, who had been dealt a devastating defeat at the Battle of Delphi, no longer threatening the newly founded Republic, Acadia began providing more aid to the mainland Revolutionists in their fight against the Puffish, sending more men and supplies than before. The large amounts of foreign aid gave much more strength to the rebels, who were fighting back harder than before, and they eventually won the fight against the Puffish, securing their newly founded country, the United States of Antarctica's sovereignty.

The Treaty of Parie in 2000 forced Puffle'and to recognize the independence of Acadia, the United States of Antarctica, and many more countries that had fought against Puffle'and for independence. Many countries joined in, recognizing the newly founded countries. A Constitutional Committee in Acadia drafted the Constitution of the Republic of Acadia later in 2000, which was ratified in a referendum, and created a government system for the new Republic. Over the next few years, Acadia would continue setting up its government, and soon was on the road to greatness.

The Acadian Revolution also drastically changed Acadia and the surrounding territories. Most of the Puffish population, around 250,000, left the island over the next few months for Puffle'and or other Puffish colnies, fearing persecution from the ethnic Francterran and Alemanian populations of Acadia, who were in the majority and were no longer regulated by the Puffish government. Though as of 2018, a small minority of Puffish, around 100,000, or 2% of the population of Acadia, remain in Acadia, their numbers are much smaller than before.

Trivia

 * Despite its small scale, the Acadian Revolution can be argued to have influenced the main revolution on the continent, since the Puffish victory at Acadia would've allowed it control of the Antarctic Peninsula without resistance, which would've cut the rebellion in half.
 * Contrary to popular belief, and despite being the commander of the Acadian forces in the Antarctic Revolution, Greg Cleanington didn't participate in the Acadian Revolution, with Tyler Aberdeen being the leader of the Acadian Revolution.