[center][b][h1]SALUTE TO THE FALLEN[/h1][/b][/center]

[center][u][b]August, 1910[/b][/u][/center]

[list][*][b][color=purple][u]Tyro-Antarian Empire[/u][/color][/b]
With the [i]Troubles of July[/i] behind them, the Tyro-Antarian Empire decided--with an overwhelming majority--to pass the [i]Civil Suppressions Act[/i] in mid August.. This act was delegated to the local authorities, giving them the power to enforce acting legislation on riot suppression and civil disobedience and enacting new legislature to "[i]root out dissidence where it exists, and stamp out the flame of radicalism before it spreads[/i]."

[center][img]http://www.unionhistory.info/britainatwork/emuweb/objects/common/webmedia.php?irn=3000003&size=272x200[/img]
[i]The Tyro-Antarian Diet, 1910[/i][/center]
With success on the act still uncertain, attention of the Tyro-Antarian Empire turned toward industrialization. The Tyro-Antarian Empire was falling behind it's cultural neighbor Blutland. With the Tyro-Antarian Diet still in session, several prominent--and backed by industrialists--politicians brought forth the idea of a "Tyro-Antarian rail through every city center." The idea had merit, as rails eased the movement of goods, soldiers and even ideas across the country. The more frugal politicians promised to shut the idea down before it ever saw the ink of a parliament bill. So expensive would this bill be that it could very well force the still fledgling industrial economy into a recession.

[b][u]DECISION[/u][/b]: [i]A Rail Through Every Town[/i] (Always available)
-- Immediately spends [b]$450,000,000[/b] a month for twelve months.
-- [b]Rails[/b] grows by +6% a month for twelve months.
[/list]
[list][*][b][u][color=lightgreen]Empire of Saurilia[/color][/u][/b]
The concept seemed logical enough. Battleships were heavily gunned and heavily armored, but too slow to hunt down smaller, faster warships such as cruisers. On the other hands, cruisers lacked the firepower and protection of the battlewagons. So why not combine the two into a battleship-sized vessel armed with the big, long-range guns of a battlewagon, but with the speed of a cruiser? They could use their speed and firepower to chase down lighter enemy warships and commerce raiders. If they encountered enemy battleships, their superior speed would enable them to escape. 

The Kriger-class was designed with an armament that could achieve parity with the Blutlander [i]Blutlandia[/i]-class, but achieve nearly ten more knots an hour. This unmatched speed could make a Kriger-class battlecruiser an excellent commerce raider as well as a fast acting ship capable of matching an enemy's superior force.

[center][img]http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints-depot/ships/ships-uk/hms-invincible-1909-battlecruiser.gif[/img]
[i]The Kriger-class battlecruiser design, 1910[/i][/center]

[hider=Kriger-class Battlecruiser (1910)]
Cost: $1,768,995
Displacement: 	17,250 long tons (17,530 t) at load
Length: 567 ft (172.8 m) overall
Beam: 78.5 ft (23.9 m)
Draught: 30 ft (9.1 m) at deep load
Installed power: 41,000 shp (31,000 kW)
Propulsion: 4 shafts, Torgunn direct-drive steam turbines, 31 Congan water-tube boilers
Speed: 	25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range: 	3,090 nmi (5,720 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 784
Armament: 	
    4 × 2 – 12-inch (305 mm) K-kI guns
    16 × 1 – 4-inch (102 mm) K-kII guns
    7 × 1 – Havka guns
    5 × 1 – submerged 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes
Armour: 	
    Belt: 4–6 in (102–152 mm)
    Decks: 1.5–2.5 in (38–64 mm)
    Barbettes: 7 in (178 mm)
    Turrets: 7 in (178 mm)
    Conning tower: 6–10 in (152–254 mm)
    Torpedo bulkheads: 2.5 in (64 mm)[/hider][/list]
[list][b][color=lightblue][u]Republic of Staratia[/u][/color][/b]
The West had long been a neglected region of the Staratian sphere of influence. With the quiet Samyet people in the North and a Dominion neighbor that had it's own troubles to contend with, Staratian eyes rarely turned so far from the Continent. August 29th was the day that changed all that. The Sublai Khanates, a wildland of familial tribes and provincial governments that bore power from the strength of one's army, had recently been united into a single--barely manageable government called [i]The First Khanate[/i]. 

On August 29th, 1,300 mounted raiders--using a mosh posh of different rifles--crossed the Staratian frontier and attacked several villages. Their intent was not claiming jewels or prizes. The Khanate raiders simply sought to destroy. A day later, on the 30th, another 900 crossed the border and attacked a merchant convoy destined for the Meung Dominion. Of the 56 men and women in the caravan, there were no survivors.

[center][img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Battle_of_Khalkhin_Gol-Mongolian_cavalry.jpg[/img]
[i]Khanate raiders crossing into Staratia, August, 1910[/i][/center][/list]

With no active military presence, thousands of refugees from the West started flocking to the East--many on foot--most in carriages and on horseback. The Khanate raiders ran amuck. For now.