The Siroccoan Uprising of 1978 is a historical event in New and Improved Medici.
Events leading to the uprising[]
During the 70s, the islands of Sirocco were poor and unstable. It was the poorest region in Medici during that time. Towns like Costa Di Ravello were shack villages, similar to the ones found in modern day Solís. During the seventies the islands' de facto capital was Costa del Porto, which is where the rich lived. It also had the islands' only police department, meaning sackings of the villages were common. Sometimes the rich from Costa del Porto would hire mercenaries to raid these villages and kill their inhabitants due to unpaid bills and such. However, one day in September 14th 1978 a young boy by the name of Manuel Giacomo snuck up behind a mercenary and killed him with a hunting knife in Cirilla. He grabbed the mercenary's gun and killed two more before being shot himself. Luckily for him his uncle and father grabbed the two dead mercenaries' guns and killed the rest. This inspired the village to rise up.
The uprising[]
The villagers decided to raid Porto Sirocco at night. At midnight on the 15th of September they raided the village, while being led by Manuel. They successfully raided the port and got a hold of weapons meant for the army of mercenaries being built in Costa del Porto. The port was unguarded due to the instability happening in Costa Di Ravello nearby. There the mercenary militia shot and killed the entire village.
Luckily one person escaped. He reached the newly founded uprising and told them about the atrocities that happened in Costa Di Ravello. The uprising marched towards the village. The mercenaries hadn't left, since they were too busy looting houses. There one of the biggest battles of the small conflict happened.
The battle of Costa Di Ravello[]
While the mercenaries were busy looting the houses, the uprising set up home-made bombs on the abandoned houses. Unfortunately a mercenary noticed them and opened fire. The bombs were detonated killing 36 mercenaries and 2 rebels. The gunfights on the main street continued long into the night. The battle ended with a decisive victory for the uprising.
Casualties:
- Uprising
- 32 dead
- 60 wounded
- Mercenaries
- 72 killed
- 200 wounded
After this victory, the uprising recruited new soldiers into their army by saving villages from the mercenaries. The army at its largest was 800 strong. On the 1st of October began the siege of Costa del Porto.
The siege and battle of Costa del Porto[]
The uprising surrounded the town, mostly occupied by the rich business owners of Sirocco. They told the town to surrender, or they would face destruction. Most of the soldiers were ready to do this, thanks to the oppression of the rich of the islands. The Medician military had heard of this and was torn on intervening. Eventually the Medician military decided to join with the uprising due to the business owners breaking the law more. The Medician military sent in two helicopters and three corvettes to the siege.
The rich were still reluctant to surrender, so the military and the uprising pushed into the town. Multiple buildings were raided and looted by both the military and the uprising. The main police station, which had mostly corrupt cops, was surrounded and destroyed into the ground. The station would be rebuilt though. Knowing they could not escape, the rich surrendered, with nearly half the town razed.
The battle ended at exactly 5:45 pm on the 2nd of October 1978, which became Di Ravello day.
Casualties
- Civilian (mostly the rich)
- 300 killed
- 1000 injured
- Mercenaries
- 245 killed
- 567 injured
- Uprising
- 167 killed
- 397 injured
- Medici military
- 2 killed
- 100 injured
Aftermath[]
The uprising would cause the Medici military raise their presence on the Sirocco islands. Shortly after Di Ravello, who fought alongside the military and was the main man destroying Costa del Porto, built more roads and other infrastructure. This increased his popularity leaving a presence of support for him especially in Costa Di Ravello, which he completely rebuilt with immigrants from the island of Soros, just south of Sirocco.
The military also enforced laws and completely rebuilt the police department. That process was only finished 1982 due to gang activity in Costa Del Porto and the building of new bases.
Costa Del Porto has never truly recovered from the conflict. It was looking like it could rebuild in the 2000s, but the civil war and burning of the town brought that to a grinding halt. The town is now one of the poorest in Medici with cramped apartments and little jobs due to Porto Sirocco closing down. The other towns, meanwhile thrive on tourism. Costa Di Ravello, after being renamed Costa Di Rico has become the number one place to retire to in Insula Fonte.
Total Casualties
- Civilian
- 987 killed
- 2987 wounded
- Mercenaries
- 786 killed
- 2652 wounded
- Uprising
- 498 killed
- 789 wounded
- Military
- 2 killed
- 100 injured
Trivia[]
- This conflict caused more destruction to Costa del Porto, than the burning of it in 2015.
- Most of the civilians killed during the battle of Costa Del Porto were middle-class migrants from Insula Fonte, who were looking for a more peaceful place.
- Most of the people who hired mercenaries were given the choice of the death penalty or a life sentence. Most surprisingly chose the death penalty. About 30 people were executed.
- The smoke rising from Costa Del Porto during the battle was reported to be visible from Albeto Pero in northern Insula Fonte.
- After the war Manuel joined the military, but was killed during the civil war in 2015, while guarding Vigilator Sud. He was meant to retire the day he was killed.