St. Ark National Democratic Forces

About
The St. Ark National Democratic Forces (aka. Šv. Arkos Nacionalinės Demokratinės Pajėgos) was a resistance group founded in the St. Ark Federation during its crisis in 1979, after Fred Goldlock overthrew the government in a coup d'etat. The resistance groups motives were clear, to restore democracy within the St. Ark Federation once again. During the beginning of the resistance movement, it had over 390,000 resistance members in the year of 1979, however, due to efforts by Fred Goldlock and the St. Ark Armed Forces, it had dwindled to over 15,000 in the year of 1984. By the early 80s, the St. Ark National Democratic Forces and their presence over the entire country had been greatly weakened, and they struggle holding out on its last strongholds in the rural areas of St. Ark. In 1984, the Battle of Dimitri's Forest Roads occurred, and it would be a determined fate whether or not the St. Ark National Democratic Forces would continue to survive or be completely wiped out.

Background
In 1979 prior to the coup d'etat, the St. Ark Federation was at a boiling point. 3 years after the Federation War, the country has not recovered from the war, and as a result, St. Ark struggled from losses and debt including an economic downturn, with the majority of the population being completely humiliated by the Federation War. Because of this, the parliament had passed economic laws, including much more higher taxes for the average citizen, much to the disappointment of the people. As a result of the economic laws, the situation would eventually go downhill for the country, and massive nationwide protests broke out in the cities.

The president of the St. Ark Federation, which had been informed of the unrest all throughout the country, proceeded to deploy the National Guard to many of the cities in order to put down the unrest and stabilize law and order in the country, however, it soon came out that the National Guard had ultimately failed to stabilize the cities, and the country would continue to be overwhelmed by a series of protests. As a result of this, the National Guard had no choice but to resort to violence, which involved firing at protestors with live ammunition.

After the violence which had occurred in the city of St. Thomas, Fred Goldlock and several generals within the army proposed a plan to overthrow the St. Ark government, presumably to takeover the country for themselves, and as a result, in 11:30 PM, St. Ark troops were ordered to the capital and proceeded to storm parliament, including the residence of the president. The military then detained the president, including several political dissidents and members of parliament. After the government was overthrown, Fred Goldlock issued a statement on television announcing a 10 year martial law on the country, and proclaimed a military government. He then also stated that parliament was suspended, and trade routes were blocked, including blocking civilians from fleeing the country or going overseas.

Founding
After members of parliament were detained by the military, and parliament was suspended aswell, including the overthrow of the government, members of parliament, who had been spared by the military from being arrested, had proposed uniting together to form a resistance movement, meant to overthrow Fred Goldlock from power, it would later on be named the St. Ark National Democratic Forces, which would later on be shortened to SANDF.

Beginning of the Catastrophe
Several days after the resistance movement was founded, the St. Ark National Democratic Forces called for all of the civilians to arm themselves and wage a war against the military, and called for the overthrow of Fred Goldlock. Civilians, which had been violently cracked down by Fred Goldlock's forces, proceeded to take up arms aswell, and joined the movement. In St. Thomas, the epicenter of the conflict, the majority of civilians there also proceeded to join the St. Ark National Democratic Forces, and in total, over nearly 400,000 joined the resistance. The following day, the St. Ark National Democratic Forces would face its first action against the St. Ark Armed Forces.

Prior to the action, the National Guard was then deployed to St. Thomas once again, including several other cities which had been reported to have signs of resistance in the area. however, as soon as they were bound to secure the cities, National Guard units were ambushed by resistance members, in which a heavy battle was fought between them and resistance, in which the country would further plunge into anarchy once again. Some from the National Guard, including those from the St. Ark Armed Forces, began defecting to SANDF, which had placed the National Guard stationed in the cities in grave danger. The fight would continue on for another 5 days, until the last National Guard unit in St. Thomas surrendered, which resulted in over 180,000 National Guard personnel dead.

In the aftermath of the violence which had occurred, the St. Ark National Democratic Forces gained traction within the country, and many soldiers began defecting to their side in huge numbers, including thousands of more civilians joining the resistance movement to restore the government and overthrow the military, this would later on be known as the beginning of the Catastrophe, or otherwise known as the beginning of the Federation Civil War

Federation Civil War
After the violence which had occurred which resulted in 180,000 personnel belonging to the National Guard dead, many saw this as an opportunity to overthrow the military government, and as a result, the St. Ark National Democratic Forces grew in sheer size. They began taking up more arms, and as their numbers grew, so did their influence over the country, which gradually overwhelmed Fred Goldlock's rule over the country. The St. Ark National Democratic Forces seized major cities and sometimes outnumbered St. Ark troops, and had nearly seized the capital city of St. Ark, which could've potentially led SANDF to victory, however, it wouldn't last however, as the resistance movement soon ran out of ammunition for their weapons, including a lack of equipment, which gradually led the resistance movement to decline.

After it soon came to conclusion that the St. Ark National Democratic Forces were gradually declining due to the lack of manpower and several other internal problems, Fred Goldlock and the St. Ark Armed Forces began a counter offensive against the resistance movement, and as a result, several strongholds and other major cities that they had seized were recaptured by the St. Ark military, which resulted in SANDF further declining. It further escalated when the remaining members of parliament, which were now commanders or leaders of the resistance movement, had all been assassinated, and the resistance movement was reduced to several remaining pockets of resistance, and only controlled smaller towns and highways which stretched to the rural countryside.

Remaining influence
Since the St. Ark National Democratic Forces had dwindled in size, and being constantly cornered by St. Ark troops, with Fred Goldlock succeeding in his counter offensive, the SANDF resistance movement was on the brink of disintegrating, with little to no proper leadership and a lack of manpower. However, there was a little glimmer of hope for the resistance movement, and it would be shifting their focus on the rural countryside in St. Ark, including Mount Cromwell. Because of the harsh terrain and weather like conditions, it gave them spots to hide in, and several strongholds in Mount Cromwell and rural areas were constructed, willing to carry on the resistance movement once they had took enough time to reorganize and strike again. However, there was one major setback, due to the lack of communication, several units from SANDF units seperated, and as a result they were unorganized and often isolated to the point they would spend over 30 days for accomplishments by rebels.

Dimitri's Forest Roads
In the years between 1980 and 1983, some of the last organized units in SANDF were destroyed as a result of the St. Ark Armed Forces counter offensive, leaving only one organized unit left remaining, as a result, the organized unit would constantly migrate into temporary strongholds, where they would ambush convoys which had hampered Fred Goldlock's efforts to stabilize the countryside, however they were still struggling to find another area where there was no influence. However, when they were surveying the locations beside Mount Cromwell, they stumbled upon an abandoned town called Dimitri's Forest Roads, which had no signs of life, and after some had scattered across the town, there were no signs of the St. Ark military, including no signs of any civilians in the town. They eventually came to conclusion that the town was completely empty, and it became the perfect place for the unit to rest. Overnight, the town underwent major rebuilding, and the town was turned into a living fortress. The unit had gradually recovered after settling in, but they weren't prepared to fight once again. They also had dug several tunnels leading in and outside of the town as supply routes, and underground shelters and holdouts were constructed under the town.

Battle of Dimitri's Forest Roads
However, despite their safe location and surroundings, their stronghold would later on would be revealed to the St. Ark military. Over miles away from Dimitri's Forest Roads, there was another town which was located south of their stronghold, which was properly functioning and only a thousand residents continued to live in it, although they had struggled for years, the remaining SANDF leadership did not do a proper survey of the area surrounding them, and as a result they were in complete grave danger if they did not decide to leave as soon as possible, however, the leadership had declined, and claimed that the village located nearby did not pose a threat to them. However, a few days afterwards, three men, who worked as scavengers to earn for a living, had planned to walk miles away to Dimitri's Forest Roads, and began their journey, however, the next day, only one returned to the town heavily injured. As he tried to explain the situation to the nearby police department, he had described that he along with two other men approached an abandoned town near their location, suspecting it to be a fraud, the local police department sent a few sheriffs to inspect the area, only for them to not show up a few days later, then, they proceeded to send more sheriffs, in which some of them were found shot in the head inside their own vehicle, once the local department sent even more sheriffs.

Suspecting rebel activity after the local police department had realized most of the groups they had sent did not reeturn back, the local police department had called the military to report signs of rebel activity, and as a result several convoys belonging to the St. Ark military arrived to the town, and drove up north where they were ambushed by rebels, the majority of the soldiers were crucified infront of the former town hall. As the convoys had mysteriously disappeared out of nowhere, the St. Ark military then proceeded to send thousands of personnel to the abandoned town, where they were suddenly attacked by more rebels, as a result, they began retreating, and reported it to the command, and the highway leading to the area was then temporarily closed and destroyed beyond use. Artillery was then used in the clash and the abandoned town was bombarded nearly for days. Weeks later, Fred Goldlock began his preparation for an operation to take over the town and destroy the last organized rebel forces, and the following day the Battle of Dimitri's Forest Roads began, and so was the fate for the factions.

Canon Scenario
In the year of 1984, Fred Goldlock's final offensive against the St. Ark National Democratic Forces in Dimitri's Forest Roads began, and a massed attack by St. Ark troops weakened and overwhelmed rebel outposts, forcing resistance to retreat from the outskirts and into the town, after more heavy battles and clashes ensued in the winter, it eventually led to a stalemate, and the situation exhausted thousands of troops stationed in the winter. Finally, after weeks of heavy clashes, SANDF units in the frontlines were wiped out by mortar, and government forces marched into the center of the town, and tanks including vehicles rolled into the town center, officially marking the capture of the last rebel held territory. The remaining SANDF units which survived the wipeout, attempted to retreat northwest out of the town into Mount Cromwell where they aimed to establish a stronghold, but they were ambushed by government forces with the remaining survivors either shot by government forces or starved to death. In the aftermath of the defeat, Fred Goldlock issued a statement on national television that he had now finally secured his control over the country and continued his police of the 10 year martial law, including the creation of a new society. It also marked the beginning of Fred Goldlock consolidating his power, and reign of terror over the country for decades to come.

Alternative Scenario
In the year of 1984, Fred Goldlock's massive final offensive began, officially beginning the Battle of Dimitri's Forest Roads. This time, before they could potentially begin a surprise attack on the rebels, rebel forces properly secured their outposts and located possible potential attacks, in which it resulted in the deaths of hundreds of government forces. A mass attack, which involved over a hundred rebel forces occurred, and artillery, which was stolen, was used to shell the nearby town at their approximate location, resulting in the commander of the offensive being killed as a result of the battle, as a result of heavy loss, government forces were forced to retreat and deserted, betraying the military command and began collapsing in the process. In the aftermath of the war, several groups from the living fortress hijacked several radio towers nearby, announcing a decisive victory over the battle.

In the aftermath of the offensive which had failed, Fred Goldlock was completely devastated by the total loss, and he would eventually execute many of his generals in the process. Because of this, the St. Ark National Democratic Forces would continue its democratic revolution against the military government, and might potentially pose a threat to Fred Goldlock's regime, and the Federation Civil War would continue to rage on for years to come. If the alternative scenario happened, then the events of New Shingleton would have not occurred, and since stability decreased ever since SANDF won, it would be likely that the rebels would make a great resurgence and eventually takeover the country and establish democratic rule in the country once again.

Aftermath
In the aftermath of the Battle of Dimitri's Forest Roads, the St. Ark National Democratic Forces ceased to exist as a resistance movement, and as a result the Federation Civil War had ended, in which Fred Goldlock began rebuilding the country from the ground up. Although it had been completely destroyed in the battle, remnants of the St. Ark National Democratic Forces continued to exist, although most of them were located in Mount Cromwell or otherwise rural areas which were hard to reach by government forces. Most of these remaining strongholds located in Mount Cromwell were isolated, and unorganized, and the majority of resistance members would not return to society for another 5 years. Although the military had wanted to destroy the remaining remnants of SANDF, Fred Goldlock denied any efforts to destroy the remnants, as they had been gradually weakened to the point they had not posed a threat to his regime.

In the aftermath of the democratic revolution in 1989, which resulted in the overthrow and execution of Fred Goldlock and the destruction of the military government, SANDF's motives were fulfilled, and a democratic government was established in the St. Ark Federation for the first time in 10 years, however, the democratic government was unstable, which resulted in the constitutional crisis in 1995. After the revolution in 1989, and the ending of the Cold War, remnants of the St. Ark National Democratic Forces in Mount Cromwell were advised by authorities to disarm themselves, and the St. Ark National Democratic Forces officially ceased to exist. The resistance members underwent rehabilitation and treatment in medical facilities. Later on, former commanders of the strongholds, later on had wished to carry on the legacy of SANDF, and in the year of 2000, the National Democratic Prosperity Party was established, later on called the NDPP, which served as a political party still existing to this day.

Legacy
Although originally a resistance movement founded by former members of parliament who went under constant controversy for unconditionally supporting the passing of economic laws, the St. Ark National Democratic Forces held a great legacy within the St. Ark Federation. It had inspired dozens to continue and carry on democracy till death, and a democratic movement in the St. Ark Federation would continue for over 10 years thanks to the resistance movement. It had also inspired the beginning of the democratic revolution in 1989, which involved the overthrow of Fred Goldlock.

Several other resistance movements, such as the New Shingleton resistance movement, aimed to restore democracy in the St. Ark Federation, was inspired by the St. Ark National Democratic Forces, and would later on become a threat by Fred Goldlock and his regime.

Flags
Over the years of its existence, the St. Ark National Democratic Forces had used a variety of different flags in the course of the Federation Civil War, this came up with several variations of flags, but two were known as the infamous known flags for the St. Ark National Democratic Forces.

St. Ark National Democratic Forces flag
The St. Ark National Democratic Forces flag, also known as the SANDF flag, was the official flag of the resistance movement, and the most widely used flag for resistance during the Federation Civil War. It involved a white flag, with the name of the resistance movement placed in an orange text. It would later on be seen in the game, the Battle of Dimitri's Forest Roads. This flag would also become synonymous for the movement.

Flag of the St. Ark Federation
Although SANDF resistance flew their own flag during the course of the Federation Civil War, in some cases, the St. Ark National Democratic forces would also use the old flag of the St. Ark Federation, which had been used from 1957 to 1979. It became known as the democratic flag, and became synonymous for freedom and democracy in the country. It involved a blue and black flag, with the symbol of the Federation placed in the middle of the flag. It would become widely used aswell, although in some cases they would use the main flag.