San Salvador del Norte Incident

Not to be confused with the Battle of San Salvador del Norte.

San Salvador del Norte Incident
Part of the Creeperian Civil War
Pro-Miguel VII soldiers during the skirmish.
Date 2 January 1933 (1933-01-02) Location Santiago Carpio Quiñónez Military Base, San Salvador del Norte, San Salvador del Norte, Creeperopolis Result Miguelist victory
Belligerents
Pro-Romero I soldiers	Pro-Miguel VII soldiers
Commanders and leaders
José Fernández Sotomayor † José Caballos Menéndez † Armando Fuentes Cobos	Sebastián Rivas Grijalva Carlos Durán Gómez (WIA) Juan Quiñónez Videla
Units involved
34th Infantry Regiment (Pro-Romero I elements) 1st Infantry Company 3rd Infantry Company	34th Infantry Regiment (Pro-Miguel VII elements) 2nd Infantry Company 4th Infantry Company 1st Logistics Company
Strength
500	750
Casualties and losses
44 killed 82 wounded 7 captured	22 killed 91 wounded 2 captured
3 civilians killed

The San Salvador del Norte Incident (Creeperian Spanish: Ինծիդենտե դե Սան Սալվադոր դել Նորտե), also known by the numeronym 2-E, was a military skirmish between Creeperian Army factions loyal to opposing claimants to the throne of Creeperopolis which occurred on 2 January 1933. The incident marked the beginning of the eighteen year-long Creeperian Civil War.

Names

The military skirmish of 2 January 1933 is most commonly known as the San Salvador del Norte Incident (Creeperian Spanish – Creeperian: Ինծիդենտե դե Սան Սալվադոր դել Նորտե; Creeperian Spanish – Iberic: Incidente de San Salvador del Norte), however, it is sometimes rendered as the "North San Salvador Incident" or its equivalent in academia in foreign nations. In Creeperopolis, the event is also known by the numeronym 2-E (2-Ե), standing for "2 January" in Creeperian Spanish (2 Enero), and during the civil war, it was known by both sides as The Attack (Ել Ատաքփե; El Ataque).

Background

Political instability

Political violence in Creeperopolis peaked during the Crisis of 1928, when two prime ministers–Édgar Cazalla Beldad and Joel Lacasa Campos–were assassinated and street violence by the Falange Creeperiano, Atheist Red Army, and Camisas Negras went practically unchallenged by Creeperian security forces. Since the end of the crisis, and throughout the prime ministership of Tobías Gaos Nores, violence reduced, however, with the loss of the Creeperopolis national football team to Tirol in the 1932 Terraconservan Cup and subsequent riots led to a renewed series of street violence in the country.

The right-wing Creeperian Conservative Coalition (CCC) and the left-wing People's Social Coalition (CSP) both were complicit in the occurring street violence and did little to nothing to pressure their member parties from ceasing hostilities. As a result of the violence committed by the paramilitaries of the Catholic Royalist Party (PRC), Creeperian Social Communist Party (PCSC), and Creeperian Pro-Fatherland Front (FPPC), the 1932 general election was a sweeping victory for the center-right National Conservative Party (PCN), which promised to bring an end to the unchecked violence plaguing Creeperian society.

Death of Adolfo IV

Emperor Adolfo IV (r. 1918–1933).

On 2 January 1933 at 9:02 a.m. San Salvador Time (SST), Creeperian Emperor Adolfo IV died at the San Salvador Imperial Palace. The news of his death was publicly disclosed by Doctor Jorge Gómez Figueroa, the lead physician of the Creeperian royal family, at 10:01 a.m. SST at the Cathedral of Christ the King, where he stated that the Emperor died to complications from a severe case of Creeperian Malaria.

Adolfo IV's son, Prince Romero, was informed of the news at 10:30 a.m. SST, and at noon, he made a speech from the San Salvador Imperial Palace accepting the title of Emperor Romero I. In the speech, he expressed his hope to lead Creeperopolis to a period of peace and tranquility after years of violence and political instability. His proclamation as Emperor was rejected by the People's Social Coalition, however, which saw Romero I as a far-right radical who would take any opportunity he could to suppress and dismantle the existing Creeperian democratic system. Instead, the coalition recognized Romero I's younger brother, Prince Miguel, as the rightful Emperor after he declared himself Emperor Miguel VII in opposition to his brother's claim.

Both Romero I and Miguel VII denounced the other's claim to the throne as illegitimate and as a threat to social and political order, and both claimants ordered the arrest of the other on charges of sedition and conspiracy. With an ongoing succession crisis, Prime Minister Máximo Illescas Freixa declared that the parliament recognized Romero I as the rightful Emperor in an effort to try to unify the country, however, the People's Social Coalition reiterated its support for Miguel VII. Additionally, the People's Social Coalition went further and rejected the legitimacy of Illescas Frexia as prime minister, announcing that it now recognized communist politician Rolando Rubio Noboa as the legitimate prime minister.

The Creeperian Armed Forces fractured along partisan lines during the succession crisis, with right-leaning elements recognizing Romero I's claim and left-leaning elements recognizing Miguel VII's claim. Both claimants called upon the armed forces to join their side, which they saw as the rightful Creeperian government, and ordered them to not join the other. They also called upon the various military officers to inform their men that they must remain loyal to who they perceived to be the legitimate Creeperian Emperor. In fear of starting a civil war (which was been as inevitable), both Emperors instructed their loyal military supporters to not attack military supporters of the other, but they did order their military supporters to secure various military garrisons and bases across the country.

Leaders

Pro-Miguel VII faction

• Lt. Colonel Sebastián Armando Rivas y Grijalva – 2nd Infantry Company

Lieutenant Colonel Sebastián Armando Rivas y Grijalva was born on 1 January 1899 in La'Victoria, San Luís. He joined the army in 1917 and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1929, being given the command of the 34th Regiment's 2nd Infantry Company. Rivas Grijalva was known to heavily support socialist ideals and was a member of the Creeperian Socialist Party (PSC).

• Lt. Colonel Carlos Emmanuel Durán y Gómez – 4th Infantry Company

Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Emmanuel Durán y Gómez was born on 17 December 1900 in Salvador, Salvador. He joined the army in 1918 and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1930, being given the command of the 34th Regiment's 4th Infantry Company. Durán Gómez was an outspoken communist and was a member of the Creeperian Social Communist Party.

• Lt. Colonel Juan Enrique Quiñónez y Videla – 1st Logistics Company

Lieutenant Colonel Juan Enrique Quiñónez y Videla

Pro-Romero I faction

Colonel José Fernández Sotomayor.

• Colonel José Manuel Fernández y Sotomayor – 34th Infantry Regiment

Colonel José Manuel Fernández y Sotomayor was born on 12 September 1897 in Denilla, San Salvador. He joined the army in 1915 and attained the rank of Colonel in 1931, being given the command of the 34th Infantry Regiment. Fernández Sotomayor was known as a staunch royalist, and he was a member of the Catholic Royalist Party. He stated in October 1932 that he was considering retiring from the military by 1935 and pursuing a political career to become a representative to the parliament from San Salvador's 7th district, the one representing Denilla.

• Lt. Colonel José de la'Cruz Caballos y Menéndez – 1st Infantry Company

Lieutenant Colonel José de la'Cruz Caballos y Menéndez was born on 2 July 1901 in Panachor, Zapatista. He joined the army in 1919 and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1929, being given the command of the 34th Regiment's 1st Infantry Company. Caballos Menéndez was a member of the National Conservative Party.

• Lt. Colonel Armando Joaquín Fuentes y Cobos – 3rd Infantry Company

Lieutenant Colonel Armando Joaquín Fuentes y Cobos was born on 16 September 1901 in La'Unión, La'Unión. He joined the army in 1919 and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1931, being given the command of the 34th Regiment's 3rd Infantry Company. Fuentes Cobos never joined a political party during his lifetime, and he held centrist political views. He also reportedly supported retaining the monarchy, seeing it as a unifying institutional force for the nation.

Skirmish

In San Salvador del Norte, the 34th Infantry Regiment was tasked with securing control of the Coronel Santiago Carpio Quiñónez Military Base. Colonel José Fernández Sotomayor, who was in command of the regiment, declared his support for Romero I, however, three of his five junior officers dissented with his allegiance and favored Miguel VII. Fernández Sotomayor demanded full loyalty to Romero I from all his soldiers and officers, but those who had sympathies for leftist ideals rejected his demands.

At 7:23 p.m. SST, Lieutenant Colonel Sebastián Rivas Grijalva declared that he had taken control of the regiment, and upon his declaration, the regiment fractured into soldiers loyal to Romero I and those loyal to Miguel VII. After two minutes of standing off against each other, a soldier shot his rifle at 7:25 p.m. SST, and immediately, both sides began firing upon the other.

See also

Creeperopolis portal Terraconserva portal

• Christmas Putsch
• Crisis of 1928
• 1933 Salvadoran coup d'état

Bibliography

• Pareja Palau, Orlando Óscar (1 May 2009). Written at San Romero, Creeperopolis. Գփերրա Ծիվիլ [Civil War]. History of the Fatherland (in Creeperian Spanish). I (2nd ed.). San Salvador, Creeperopolis: Impresión Creeperiano. pp. 37–55. ISBN 978-0-8330-4159-3. Retrieved 24 July 2022.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Pareja Palau, Orlando Óscar (15 September 2016). Written at San Romero, Creeperopolis. Սան Րոմերո Ի [Saint Romero I]. Monarchs of the Fatherland (in Creeperian Spanish). II (2nd ed.). San Salvador, Creeperopolis: Impresión Creeperiano. pp. 67–87. ISBN 9780803207943. Retrieved 24 July 2022.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

External links

• North San Salvador Incident (IIWiki; 9 February 2020) by Creeper