Dawn Rebellion

Please note that this is the Gundam Wiki's article on the rebellion led by Char Aznable and Garma Zabi prior to the One Year War; if you are looking for the article on the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin episode that chronicles its events then you should head to Dawn of Rebellion.

Dawn Rebellion
Dawn Rebellion
Data
Beginning	0077 U.C.
End	0077 U.C.
Location	Guardian Banchi
Result	Victory for Space Defense Military Academy Third Year
Belligerents
Space Defense Military Academy Third Year
Earth Federation Forces (Guardian Banchi Regiment)
Commanders
Garma Zabi Char Aznable Zenna Mia
Guardian Banchi Regimental Commander
Strength
200 cadets ~10 × 8-Wheeled Armored Car ~10 × Self-Propelled Heavy Motar
2 battalions of 1000 soldiers each
Miscellaneous
OVA	MSG ORIGIN: First Seen in Episode #3
Manga	MSGTO: #46 - Chapter #47

The Dawn Rebellion is a conflict featured in the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin manga and its OVA adaptation. It was an assault by the third year cadets of the Autonomous Republic of Zeon's Space Defense Military Academy on the nearby Earth Federation Forces Garrison at Guardian Banchi, Side 3 .

Background

In UC 0077, tensions between the Autonomous Republic of Zeon and the Earth Federation came to a head when a Federation ship arrived at Zeon, its captain declaring his mission Priority One, ignoring traffic control's warning to give right-of-way to an outbound transport exiting the spaceport. The Federation ship collided with the transport, causing its engine to ignite and send it flying uncontrollably into an agricultural block, destroying both the ship and the structure.

This incident was deplored by the Zeon legislature, as the floor speaker decried the Federation's continued abuse of power and publicly recalled Zeon Zum Deikun's demands for independence. Riots began in Zum City, which were being violently suppressed by the Federation garrison from the Guardian Banchi colony. Chairman Degwin Sodo Zabi warned his son Gihren that allowing the riots to continue would put Zeon at war with the Federation. Further, Degwin reminded Gihren that his younger brother, Garma, was enrolled in the Zeon Military Academy at Guardian Banchi and that the Federation had the authority to seize the academy in the event of an emergency, effectively making him a hostage.

After returning from their cleanup operation of the debris left from the destroyed agricultural block, Char Aznable persuaded Garma Zabi to attack the Federation Barracks; ambushing and disarming the base. Despite the cadets suffering a huge disadvantage in numbers, the Guardian Banchi regiment would be caught off guard by the sneak attack. .

Chronology

After Garma gave the cadets a prep talk, Zenna Mia held Superintendent Dozle Zabi at gunpoint in order to allow the cadets to sortie. Dozle managed to disarm her and discovered that his little brother was the one who riled up the cadets. By then, however, they had already reached the Federation Garrison. With the rear guard in effective range, the operation commenced on Char's command. At least five cadets, on jet-packs, opened fire on a barrack; this allowed Garma to confirm the target for his heavy mortars and they began to bombard the base. As Char hovered above the barracks, the Federation troops awoke and were now aware of the attack . The Federation troops attempted to scramble only to be met with explosive charges planted outside their barracks.

Cadets moved in under the cover of their APCs and mortar fire while the base's Regimental Commander headed up to the control tower, desperately trying ordering his men to counterattack before being injured by a mortar strike on the tower. .

In the midst of the battle, Char assigned Lino Fernandez, who had deduced Char's identity as Casval Rem Deikun and pledged his loyalty, to capture an enemy tank. But as soon as Fernandez had accomplished his objective, Char told his subordinates that the former had been killed by said tank. As the cadets prepared to fire on Fernandez, he realized he had been set up to die and had no way of warning his comrades as Char instructed him to switch to a private frequency. His pleas to Char, referring to him by his birth name, were ignored as Fernandez was killed.

At that moment, Char stormed the control tower and cornered the Regimental Commander and his staff, forcing the Federation forces to surrender.

As the artificial sun rose, Dozle arrived on the scene, ordering both sides to stand down, though the battle was already over.

Aftermath

This incident would become known as the Dawn Rebellion, which became the starting point of the One Year War. Publicly, the Dawn Rebellion was celebrated by Zum City, hosting a ticker tape parade for Garma and his 200 cadets, as well as granting tribute to the fallen cadets by having their photos carried in the cars trailing behind Garma.

However, behind closed doors, the Federation officers denounced the Rebellion, demanding the cadets be punished and Garma handed over to them. Degwin interrupted the meeting, apologizing for the Federation's losses and promising to ensure the cadets were properly disciplined; though he had Dozle scapegoated for allowing the Rebellion to occur under his nose, and Dozle was forced to resign from his position as the academy's superintendent. In order to prevent any further incidents, Degwin demanded that the Federation relinquish their military assets to Zeon's control and withdraw their forces.

Despite Garma being the public face of the Dawn Rebellion, Dozle correctly reasoned that Char was the true mastermind and had him expelled, though officially, it was treated as Char's graduation from the academy and entry into Zeon's military reserves with the rank of private. Prior to his departure for Earth, Char requested to become a mobile suit pilot if he were ever to called into service. Realizing Garma told Char about his secret project, Dozle consented to give Char consideration.