Flagpole warfare

Flagpole warfare was a tactic employed by the Riyatic Resistance during the Second World War that called for the removal or destruction of all flagpoles and other contraptions in Riyata where flags could be flown or mounted. The strategy was a form of victory denial and originated during the evacuation of Grana in March 1941, during which the Grana Metropolitan Police was instructed to take down virtually every public and private flagpole in Grana and eleven neighboring cities in preparation for the Battle of Grana. Only two flagpoles were left flying the Riyatic flag at the Palace of State and Taliqen Bridge, but both were destroyed by officials before the capture of the city by Ta'arohan forces. As a result, the occupying forces had nowhere to fly the Ta'arohan flag except for makeshift locations such as windowsills and street lights. New flagpoles were only brought in three weeks after the city was taken, but even those were often removed by civilians or Resistance members at night if there was no guard posted. The practice spread across occupied Riyata as a type of symbolic warfare and became a major inconvenience for Ta'arohan officials over the entire course of the occupation.