Les Travailleurs et les Paysans République Socialiste d'Oléri-des-Grâces

The Workers' and Farmers' Socialist Republic of Yewao was a former nation in what is now Yewao Province, in the nation of Kanjor. It lasted from 1956 until it joined other nations and factions to form the First Republic of Kanjor in 2070. It still has a strong political influence on the collective memory of the citizens of Yewao.

History
When the Assembly of the Second Kingdom of Kanjor dissolved the monarchy in 1956, a political shockwave rippled across the country. Almost immediately upon hearing the news, local communists took to arms, quickly capturing key buildings around Demettion. Demettion had for decades been the centre of communism and socialism in Kanjor, and had significant demographics of poor and immigrant workers.

The uprising spread, and by the end of the week worker's communes had spread across the city, and were managing food supplies and other municipal functions. Just ten days after the uprising broke out, the Conference of Workers' and People's Councils declared the Workers' and Farmers' Socialist Republic of Yewao. The movement began to spread into the countryside, and was readily accepted in small villages and farming communities.

Production increased in Demettion and in farming communities, as bureaucratic positions were stripped away and worker morale was boosted to new levels. However, the good times were not to last, and conflict was brewing between the WFSR and the House of Valerian as the communist movement swept north, entering Valerian-controlled Vagderra. This began a 114-year long war which was largely a stalemate, and which left both Yewao and Vagderra with manpower shortages and large amounts of damage, from which neither province has fully recovered. The war also caused a political reshuffling and a move towards centralisation.

Economy
Yewao's economy at the time of the uprising was almost entirely based on agriculture and fishing, with only a few large factories in Demettion. There was a strong small-scale craftman's style industry however, and most products came from small workshops.

Factory production increased in Demettion almost immediately, with the introduction of better wages and working hours, as well as the boost in morale. Much focus was placed on improving production in the large factories for basic goods, and the small workshops providing other goods. This led to an economic re-evaluation, and all but one of the large factories was converted to different production.

Agricultural production also greatly increased, as tools and machinery normally sent to other parts of Kanjor were concentrated on Yewao. In many parts of Yewao, agriculture had not been advanced for several hundred years, and the sudden arrival of machinery and supplies had a profound effect on the farmers there.

Fishing was mostly low-scale, as the fishing fleet suffered from a lack of fuel and the threat of rival navies in the Sovalt Channel.

Significant efforts were made also to boost the birth rate in Yewao, an investment that paid off during the war. Whilst mothers worked, children were looked after by the elderly in nursing communes.

Military
The military of the WFSR was a volunteer-based militia for almost all of its existence. Only towards the end of the war did the WFSR try limited conscription, but this was unpopular and the resentment caused by it led to the dissolution of the WFSR in 2070.

War with the House of Valerian
The war with the House of Valerian began by most sources with a series of skirmishes between communist farmers and royalist émigrés. Both sides began to move troops to the border regions, and fighting escalated. The first significant battle occurred at the start of 1957, where a Valerian cavalry squadron surprised a WFSR militia unit setting up trench fortifications around a small village.

The tide of the battle turned when the cavalry broke through on the left flank of the village, forcing the incomplete defences to be abandoned. The militia was quickly cut off, but refused to surrender, instead barricading the village, and preparing a last stand at the village's church. The militia held the walls of the village for several days, until the Valerians received reinforcements, and forced their way in just after dawn on the fifth day of fighting. By midday, the militia had been pushed back to the church in extraordinarily bloody fighting. The royalist commander offered the handful of defenders a last chance to surrender, which they refused. The royalists then proceeded to burn the church, and the remains of the village, with the defenders inside. However, they pulled back once news arrived that a new WFSR militia was moving to reinforce the village, and a storm prevented the trenches from being used. When the WFSR reinforcements arrived, they found the smouldering ruins of the village, and the half-burnt church, with a crude WFSR flag still flying from the top, but the defenders dead from smoke asphyxiation. The flag was recovered, and the militia adopted it as their mascot. Their anger led them to attack the much larger Valerian forces massing to the north, with a fiery passion that quickly overwhelmed the superior numbers and arms of the Valerian force. This was the creation of Flag Unit, the WFSR's much famed (and feared) shock force.

Several more battles occurred over the course of 1957, but mostly ended in stalemate, or a reversal of the previous victory. By the start of 1958, the frontline had stabilised, and would remain largely unchanged until 1973, when a massive WFSR offensive pushed the line several hundred kilometres northwards. It too would remain stable until the Valerians launched the last major attack of the war in 2065, which returned the border to roughly the 1956 line. It formed the basis of the modern provincial border between Yewao and Vagderra.

Other conflicts
A small contingent of troops was sent to aid the fledgling Republic populaire de Sovalt-Nord, and later advisers to train North Sovalt troops. However, the advisers were withdrawn just before the fall of Talenfort, along with most of the troops. A small volunteer force remained, and fought to the last man in the battle for Talenfort, though it is possible some fighters escaped the city and joined the resistance.

Another small force was sent to aid the worker's and farmer's communes in Zanyal, but these communities were largely not threatened.

Government and Politics
The government of the WFSR had two distinct stages, the original People's Councils stage, and the later Politburo stage.

Conferences of the People's Councils
The Conferences were a series of gatherings of representatives from the Workers' and Farmers' councils, to decide on policies and events on a scale larger than the individual councils. This worked well in the early months of the WFSR, but became increasing inefficient as time went on. By the late 1960s, each Conference would have well over 1000 different delegates, and political decisions often took days to resolve.

Politburo
In 1971, after an astounding 1700-delegate conference, the move was made to create an Executive to facilitate decision-making. While the idea was initially disliked by most delegates, it finally came into being, on the proviso the Conferences held a veto over the Politburo. The Politburo was made up of eight regional delegates, headed by a ninth, non-voting one; the Chairperson. The first Chairperson, Jaques Milonet, originally a young factory foreman at the time of the uprising, proved so popular and effective that he was elected for the next thirty five consecutive years. He eventually resigned not long before his death.

The last Politburo Chair was Claudette Druyfes, who led the dissolution of the WFSR.

Dissolution and Lasting Effects
In 2070, a ceasefire was drawn up between the WFSR and the Valerians, ending the 114-year long conflict. Both sides were exhausted from the fighting, and little had changed, and popular discontent was running high. The last Politburo had made the ill-fated move to start conscription and massive rationing in 2069, which had finally broken the dream of the WFSR for many people. In addition, there were no more of the original revolutionaries, and most of those from the early years of the WFSR were very elderly. It was hoped by some conservative members of the Politburo that the ceasefire would regain popular support for the Politburo, and allow the nation to rebuild itself.

However, the message of Kanjoran national unity spread into the WFSR, and gained much support from the younger generation. By August 2070, meetings had begun to join the proposed Kanjoran Republic, and by September 2070, the WFSR was formally dissolved.

The lasting effect of the WFSR has been diluted somewhat by later repressions in the 23rd century by fascist governments who have tried to destroy all memory of it. The study of the WFSR has since regrown, and the ideals are popular with young Yewaoans. For many people in Yewao, the stories of the WFSR are still fondly cherished, and it has contributed to Yewao's tendency for political radicalism and support for left-wing parties.