- Layton: "You knew I'd have to cut them."
- Melanie: "I knew the choice would be yours. It's what we live with, Layton. Every second of our existence. You have the train, Layton."
- ― Layton wins at a terrible cost in The Train Demanded Blood.
The First Snowpiercer War is a train-wide war that broke out on Snowpiercer seven years after its departure. Originally starting as a Tailie rebellion with the help of other passengers seeking a change, it escalated after the First Class passengers, aided by the Jackboots, began their own effort to take control of the train, leading to a war between the two armies for control of the train.
History[]
Early Stages[]
Following Pike's failed insurrection, Andre Layton began planning another one using his access as the new Train Detective to recruit others to their cause and gain access to other parts of the train. Layton was able to unite the Tailies and Third Class to overthrow Melanie Cavill's rule. The War exploded into a multifronted civil war when First Class's frustration with the disasters led to the discovery that Mr. Wilford was, in fact, a myth. Cavill was arrested and sentenced to death by lung of ice while the Jackboots, under the leadership of Commander Grey, Robert Folger and Lilah Folger worked to take full control of Snowpiercer for themselves.
All Out War[]
The rebels, led by Layton infiltrated various sections of Snowpiercer for their weaknesses and managed to plant three of their own in the drawers to be resuscitated when the time was right while young Miles was in the Engine itself as an Engineer Apprentice. In this role, Miles helped to trigger the civil war by revealing the truth about Mr. Wilford's absence to LJ Folger. The Brakemen, under the command of Roche, chose to remain neutral and get out of the way of the rebel army when confronted with Layton and Bess Till, a Brakeman who had chosen to side with Layton fully.
The first battle of the War in the Nightcar turned into a stalemate with both sides taking heavy losses and being forced to retreat. Pike was removed from the Drawers by Commander Grey and the Folgers and suggested that with enough pressure, Layton would fold which came in the form of a threat that Grey and the Folgers would kill everyone if they didn't surrender. After learning that Zarah was pregnant with his baby, Layton decided to surrender.
The War came to a head when Melanie managed to escape execution with the help of the Notary, Jinju Seong and Javier De La Torre. Melanie then defected to Layton's side, knowing that the train wouldn't survive in the hands of the Folgers and believing that Layton might do a better job of leading the survivors of humanity than she ever did. Melanie presented the rebel army with a plan: as the Jackboot army was all in one place, separating part of the train would send them all to die in the Freeze. However, the plan required two safety switches to be flipped, one on each side of the separation, while Miles and Bennett Knox would handle the rest from the Engine. Melanie would be able to handle the switch downtrain while Layton agreed to go behind enemy lines in order to get the other switch. Martin Colvin, not wanting the Folgers to be in power, secretly supplied Miss Gillies with a gun which she managed to hide in the subtrain. Till then recruited Roche to help Layton get behind enemy lines by taking him to the Folgers under the guise of a surrender.
In the Classroom car, the Folgers held a ceremony where Layton officially surrendered to them before Roche, Grey and two Jackboots took him towards First to broadcast his surrender over the train's PA system. As they left, the Folgers made it clear to Grey that they were going to be in charge once the War was over. Once in the subtrain, Roche locked the door and confronted the Jackboots with the gun smuggled in by Miss Giles. At the same time, Melanie pulled the safety switch and Miles detached the rear half of the train from the seven cars. Seeing this, the Folgers realized that Third had never been the rebel army's target. In the subtrain, a fight broke out between Roche, Layton and the three Jackboots, but the two rebels were overpowered and Roche was knocked unconscious. Before Grey could execute Layton, the Last Australian arrived with Strong Boy and Z-Wreck whom he had rescued from the Drawers. The three overpowered Grey and his men, but Layton had them leave the Jackboots unconscious and flee with Roche uptrain for safety.
Emerging on the other side of the seven cars, Layton discovered that the last car in the seven held the revolution prisoners. Layton attempted to free his friends, but couldn't in time and was forced to abandon them to die with the Jackboot army. After Layton pulled the safety switch, Miles disconnected the seven cars and Bennett send them away onto a switch track, leaving the Folgers, minus LJ who had remained in First, Grey and the Jackboot army to freeze to death. Miles and Bennett then reconnected the rest of the train.
Aftermath[]
In the aftermath of the Jackboot defeat, Melanie officially handed over control of Snowpiercer to Andre Layton, ending the war. Melanie subsequently made a train wide announcement of the handover of power and Layton began planning for a new democratic government. Free of the Tail, the Tailies began running wild enjoying their new freedom with the Brakemen struggling to maintain some semblance of order. The War left 147 people dead in the detached section of the train, a number of others dead from the Nightcar battle and over a hundred wounded. Snowpiercer itself also suffered damage from the separation which left 37 Battery Cars offline even after the train was reconnected. The only known survivors on First's side were LJ Folger, Ruth Wardell and at least a dozen Jackboots who were in First when the Jackboot army was eliminated. After the fall of their leaders, the surviving Jackboots were no longer a problem and were disbanded by Layton.
The Tailies victory in the War and the overthrow of the old government was short-lived due to the arrival of Big Alice and the real Mr. Wilford shortly thereafter.
Quotes[]
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