The Toran Liberation Army (トラン解放軍, Toran Kaihou Gun), also known informally as the Liberation Army, the Freedom Fighters and the Rebel Army was a group of soldiers and other volunteers who fought against the Scarlet Moon Empire during the Gate Rune War.
The Liberation Army was founded and led by Odessa Silverberg[1] as the Anti-Imperial Movement. Even in the early stages of the war, the Liberation Army had to deal with insurrectionists[2]. Although the Liberation Army under Odessa was tiny[3], it prepared plans and laid ground work for future gains which would prove vital to the army's victory in the Liberation War[4]. However, before the Odessa-led force could continue to grow, their hideout in Lenankamp was attacked and Odessa was killed[5].
With the fall of the Liberation Army after the sack of their Lenankamp hideout, officers fled before trying to pull together as many survivors as possible. One large contingent, led by former Liberation Army Vice-Commander Flik, fled to Kunan[6] before a crackdown on rebel factions forced him to flee to the revived Liberation Army under Tir McDohl[7], who had assumed the leadership of the army with the backing of the late Odessa and her brother, Mathiu Silverberg[8]. Other rebel hideouts were destroyed in the counter-revolutionary attack[9], spreading the rebels far and wide.
Following the resurrection of the Liberation Army until Tir McDohl, which could be considered in some ways to be a distinct organisation from the original[10], the organisation expanded from just a few hundred members[11] to a much larger force. The arrival of more former soldiers, under Sanchez, Humphrey Mintz and Flik, allowed the new army to first defeat Kwanda Rosman in the Battle at Pannu Yakuta Castle and later win the Battle at Fortress of Garan[12]. However, the biggest victory was the defeat of Teo McDohl. News of the defeat sparked the break out of insurgencies all over the Empire, keeping the Imperial Army's hands full[13], while the liberation of the Lorimar region united rebel factions throughout the nation[14]. Further increases in the Liberation Army's strength would come with the signing of an alliance between the rebels and the Dragon Knights[15].
Despite all these gains, however, the Liberation Army was not yet a true army[16], nor was it a fully unified force[17]. It was also not immune to spies and intelligence leaks[18]. After Sanchez was revealed as the spy in the ranks of the Liberation Army, his punishment was postponed so as not to destroy morale at a pivotal stage of the war[19]. Still, the Freedom Fighters would continue to win battle after battle, taking the Floating Fortress of Shasarazade to open up the path to Gregminster itself.
Following the last battle and the defeat of Barbarosa Rugner, the war ended in victory for the Liberation Army, ending its role in history. The Toran Republic was founded soon after.
References
- ↑ "Let me introduce myself. I'm Odessa Silverberg, leader of the Liberation Army. How do you do?" - Odessa Silverberg (Suikoden)
- ↑ "Recently many of our hideouts have been discovered. There must be a spy among us. With all the problems we already have, we can't afford to recruit complete strangers." - Flik (Suikoden)
- ↑ "Right. The Liberation Army may be tiny now, but someday we'll be big enough to meet the Imperials head-on. When that day arrives, the fire spear will come in handy." - Odessa Silverberg (Suikoden)
- ↑ "Commander Tir, we should be able to defeat the armored cavalry with the Fire Spears. Please give the order to advance." - Mathiu Silverberg (Suikoden)
- ↑ "Odessa was killed when the hideout at Lenankamp was attacked." - Mathiu Silverberg (Suikoden)
- ↑ "After the hideout at Lenankamp was attacked, I escaped toward Milich's domain in the west." - Flik (Suikoden)
- ↑ "I was out there rounding up the former soldiers of the Liberation Army who were scattered all over the place. Suddenly there was a crackdown on the rebel factions, and many of our comrades were captured. That was when I heard about a revived Liberation Army and came here." - Flik (Suikoden)
- ↑ "But you Tir, however, are a born leader. I'm sure Odessa realized that. That's why she wanted me to meet you. Please accept this earring, and live out your destiny as leader of the Freedom Fighters." - Mathiu Silverberg (Suikoden)
- ↑ "When the old Liberation Army's hideout was attacked, it seemed that other hideouts were destroyed as well." - Sanchez (Suikoden)
- ↑ "Congratulations, Commander Tir. Let's designate this day the New Liberation Army's Founding Day." - Mathiu Silverberg (Suikoden)
- ↑ "Even with the old Liberation Army's survivors and Varkas' bandits, we still only amount to a few hundred men." - Mathiu Silverberg (Suikoden)
- ↑ "Combined with the men that Flik has brought our forces should be strong enough to break through the entrance to the west, the Fortress of Garan." - Mathiu Silverberg (Suikoden)
- ↑ "The Liberation Army continues to increase in force daily." - Lepant (Suikoden)
- ↑ "Our best plan would be to catch the Imperial Army off guard and unite the various rebel factions throughout the country." - Lepant (Suikoden)
- ↑ "Let's go to Joshua's quarters to draw up an alliance pact between the Liberation Army and the Dragon Knights. He should agree to help us now." - Humphrey Mintz (Suikoden)
- ↑ "And they're a trained army, whereas we're just a ragtag bunch." - Flik (Suikoden)
- ↑ "Commander Tir, despite its name, the Liberation Army is not yet a unified army. To continue fighting in the future, we need to give the troops some proper military training." - Mathiu Silverberg (Suikoden)
- ↑ "According to their report, it appears that there is an intelligence leak somewhere in our army." - Mathiu Silverberg (Suikoden)
- ↑ "If you kill Sanchez now, and the troops find out that he was a spy, the morale of the Liberation Army will plummet. Administer the punishment later. Right now, we must prepare the Army and march to Gregminster." - Mathiu Silverberg (Suikoden)