[hider=Acier][center][b]Nation Name:[/b][/center]
[center][b][u]Free Republic of Acier[/u][/b][/center]
[center][b]Flag[/b][/center]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/u5Q8XfR.png[/img][/center]
[b][i][center]nulli secundus[/center][/i][/b]
[hider=Desired Map Location][img]http://i.imgur.com/XM6RdXd.jpg[/img][/hider]
 
[center][b]Government:[/b][/center]
The Free Republic is governed by directly elected representatives in the Grand Council made up of two hundred Councilors, who then elect an executive Small Council, made up of 12 heads of particular branches of the government. As there is no executive branch, the politics of the Small Council are cut-throat and frenzied, with councilors jockeying for power.
The Free Republic is a new nation, recently formed from rebellion against a monarchy that previously ruled the people of Acier. It is a nation with a unified culture, with a focus on individualism and personal achievement, and a history of industrial progress and a proud military tradition. The Free Republic is very overtly expansionist, demanding land and resources to fuel Progress, and to spread the freedoms within the nation to the rest of the world. The nation has a very small amount of Elan available to it, and has set its sights on other nation to supplement this natural weakness.
Liberty is the chief virtue of government in Acier. The people are beholden to no one but the government, and the State takes a very lax role in internal policies. There are almost no restrictions on industry, freedom of speech is guaranteed, voting is open to every citizen, and there is legal gender equality [the common person still believes in the dogma of women being subordinate to men, however] along with property rights and freedom of religion. The one area in which the freedom of the people is compromised is in the military: there is a three-year mandatory military service for every able-bodied man, with certain aspects of the government pushing to extend this requirement to women.
[center][b]Economy[/b][/center]
The Free Republic is as capitalist as a nation can be. There are almost no restrictions on industrialists, many of whom have created vast manufacturing empires within the small borders of Acier. Taxes are very light, with the government relying on the private sector to service its people with services such as roads, utilities and healthcare. Trade is unrestricted, with merchants of all stripes visible in the bustling markets of the nation. Technological advancement is prized by the Republic, and in the military especially the Republic is one of the technological frontrunners. The drawback of such things is that there is massive income disparity, with the poorest citizens living in abject poverty in the dirty shanty towns outside the major cities, and the wealthy industrialists living in opulent decadence.

Opiates have begun to be mass produced by a few of the more avant-garde captains of industry, and the Grand Council is divided as to whether or not it should be banned. It would be the first non-military good to be banned by the government, and the balance of power changes daily, with most favouring its production.

[center][b]Leaders:[/b][/center] 
The Small Council holds a great deal of power, having massive pull in the Grand Council as well as having the traditional powers of an executive branch. The Councilors are:

High Justice Francois Piat: Head Justice and representative of the Judiciary on the Small Council, Abel is a hard-line liberal, fighting tooth and nail against the last few jobs of the government, to in his mind “free the people from the Tyranny of State”

High Consul Louis Montefleur: In charge of foreign policy, he is an ardent expansionist. He dreams of massive tracts of land and resources to fuel Acier to international glory.

Field Marshal Petra Lysette: The only female member of the council, she is in command of the nation’s land armies and is a firebrand nationalist. A talented orator, she holds a position as a hero of the people, and the accompanying massive popularity.

Fleet Admiral Claude Bernadette: A new role on the council, he has become unpopular among his fellow councilors for his constant demand for a larger navy, which he sees as a severe deficiency in the nation’s national defense.

Lord Chancellor Arthur Gabler: A second-generation immigrant, he is in charge of the spending and collecting of the relatively small tax income of the nation. He is a close ally of Marshal Lysette, and supports the military more than other councilors would deem responsible

High Chamberlain Jean LaGarre: Speaker of the house and in charge of politics and bureaucracy, he is a traditional liberal deep in High Justice Piat’s camp, and strongly against the expansionist faction

Minister of Technology Gunther Farber: A new role, put in place just last election, he is in command of the national scientists, and plays the middle ground between the two major Councilar factions. His technological goals are focused on working around the severe lack of Elan in the nation, in both the private and military spheres.

[center][b] Important Locations[/b][/center]
Important Locations:
Lutte: The Capital city of the Republic and the largest city by a fair margin, Lutte is a city clouded with the smoke of industry. It is the manufacturing centre of the nation, with factories sitting side by side with governmental building and palatial mansions, while in the slums the poorest of society fight tooth and nail for food, shelter and safety. 

Foirture: The major port of the nation and the second-largest city, Foiture is dominated by it massive market district, where items of every shape and size are traded for every coin under the sun. It has less industrial potential than Lutte, but is home to the small but quickly-expanding Grand Fleet, and sailors on shore leave are common sights.

[center][b]Cultural Overview[/b][/center]
The people of Acier value family and their rights – freedom is enjoyed by all classes of society, and the people make the most of it. The Press is a very popular institution, with cheap pamphlets distributed to all walks of life detailing everything from foreign policy decisions to fictional adventures of heroism and romance. There is no state religion, but the vast majority of people are [to be addressed later: probably some shitty Christian expy]. Family is important to the people of Acier, and large family gatherings are very common on feast days or national holidays. Families rely on each other, and most families are governed informally by the patriarch, though that is not without numerous exceptions. Most of the people are highly patriotic, the nation being very new. Many desire expansion and greater glory for their nation.  Military service is very respected, and war heroes are rated on the same lines of fame as sporting legends and famous musicians or writers. Sports are also very common, especially among the rich, and inter-collegiate leagues are the largest venues for such competitions. Every citizen is required to own a weapon, and with the police being privately run under government oversight the average citizen defends this right before many others.

[center][b]Military Overview[/b][/center]
The Army is the focus of the Republic, and it is where most of the money and manpower goes. Infantry doctrine has faced massive upheaval in the last few years, with jacketed rounds and smokeless powder making massed infantry combat pointless and horribly bloody. Infantry doctrine now focuses on small units of a few dozen of men working independently, a Koch machinegun attached to every squad. The average infantryman is equipped with a bolt-action rifle, 8x51mm rounds fed by a box magazine. The Dupont rifle replaced the earlier lever-action variants in the interest of prone-firing and extra reliability. Grenades are standard issue in every squad, and the general plan of attack against civilized nations features infantry charges prefaced by grenades and artillery strikes, covered by pre-set machinegun and mortar emplacements. The Army take the lessons of modern military thinkers very seriously, focusing on very mobile warfare around fortified positions, aiming to outmaneuver on the attack and interdict on the defense.
The officer corps is entirely professional soldiers, and so has a great deal of experience, fueling the army to push the envelope of combat doctrine, but the nature of a draft army is that many untested units will have a lack of real military knowledge. The sidearm for the army is the .45 Bisset revolver. 
The Artillery Corps is attached to the Army and is crucial to its success. Field artillery is a staple of Acian attacking and defensive strategy, air-burst shrapnel shells just now coming into use. The Artillery Corps’ newest responsibility is Air Defense, and their new anti-aircraft guns are designed to fix the severe lack of air power in the Republican military.

The Republic’s navy is no less professional, but significantly smaller. Despite the urging of the Fleet Admiral, the navy’s main jobs are protecting shipping from piracy and external threats, and safeguarding transport fleets for the Army. They have few battleships, several cruisers and a large number of destroyers, which rely on massed torpedo attacks to combat the floating Elan Fortresses of the other civilized nations.

The Republic’s Air Force is tiny, and there is no getting around it. They have two Elan-powered Flying Battleships, mostly for prestige. They are not intended for use against other civilized nations, but against southern Savages who do not possess anti-aircraft guns. The battleships are specifically designed to be able to be transported by sea, to reach the southern continent where their work can begin.


[/hider]