Editing Principality of Sealand (section)

=== 1978 attack and Sealand Rebel Government ===
In August 1978, Alexander Achenbach, who described himself as the Prime Minister of Sealand, hired several German and Dutch mercenaries to lead an attack on Sealand while Bates and his wife were in Austria, invited by Achenbach to discuss the sale of Sealand.<ref name="Criminal 2021"/> Achenbach had disagreed with Bates over plans to turn Sealand into a luxury hotel and casino with fellow German and Dutch businessmen.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Payne |first=Adam |date=Mar 2, 2017 |title=WELCOME TO SEALAND: The utterly bizarre independent micronation that's been sitting off the British coast for over 50 years |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-history-of-micronation-sealand-2017-3 |website=[[Business Insider]] |language=en-US |access-date=3 April 2019 |archive-date=3 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403231349/https://www.businessinsider.com/the-history-of-micronation-sealand-2017-3 |url-status=live }}</ref> They stormed the platform and took Bates's son, Michael Bates, hostage. Michael was able to retake Sealand{{how?|date=September 2024}} and capture Achenbach and the mercenaries. Achenbach, a German lawyer who held a Sealand passport, was charged with treason against Sealand,<ref name="Criminal 2021">{{Cite podcast |url=https://thisiscriminal.com/episode-171-sealand-8-27-21/ |title=171: Sealand |website=Criminal |publisher=[[Vox Media Podcast Network]] |date=2021-08-27 |access-date=29 August 2021 |archive-date=30 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830095350/https://thisiscriminal.com/episode-171-sealand-8-27-21/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and was held unless he paid [[Deutsche Mark|DM]]&nbsp;75,000 (more than US$35,000 or £23,000).<ref>{{cite news |title=Attempt to free captive from private 'island' fails |date=5 September 1978 |page=3 |work=The Times}}</ref> Germany then sent a diplomat from its London embassy to Sealand to negotiate for Achenbach's release. Roy Bates relented after several weeks of negotiations and subsequently claimed that the diplomat's visit constituted ''de facto'' recognition of Sealand by Germany.<ref name="LP11">{{cite book |last1=Ryan |first1=John |title=Micronations |title-link=Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations |last2=Dunford |first2=George |last3=Sellars |first3=Simon |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-74104-730-1 |page=11}}</ref>

Following his repatriation, Achenbach and Gernot Pütz proclaimed a government in exile, sometimes known as the Sealand Rebel Government or Sealandic Rebel Government, in Germany.<ref name="LP11"/>