WIP -- I plan for this faction to be a minor air & naval power, defended (and defined) by its relatively powerful navy & air force on the coast, and by its small army on the mountains, where it keeps additional air units to help defend the country. Military emphasis is on the air and sea -- hence powerful ships and planes. However, tanks and infantry are sadly lacking, and only used in self-defense or in occupying battered enemy territory close to the shores that they bombard.
Name The United Kingdom of Valeria -- a.k.a. The Valerian Empire
Ruler: King Adrian Dragonstone
The Empire is ruled by a single emperor, who holds the ancient title of "Great King" in his own language (translates to Emperor as well). He directly rules over the various kingdoms within Valerian borders. The Imperial government consists of the Supreme Court, the Imperial Senate, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The Emperor's power isn't defined in government. It's only limited by what he specifically cannot do that the other governments have the exclusive task of doing. However, these limits are nominal at best, and the Emperor has nearly absolute power during a war. The only thing that the Emperor cannot do is raise taxes from the people. Instead, his income comes from his own personal properties, and government-owned industries -- both domestic and foreign.
The Supreme Court is the highest court of the land, and all appeals past it only go to the Emperor, who rarely hears appeals. It also governs the lesser courts in the land. It has the right to be the final authority if necessary on all cases heard on any dispute (criminal or civil), and interprets cases held on laws that have a largely undefined "gray" area in them. However, only the King has the right to strike down a law, and only the legislature and the King have the right to make them.
The Imperial Senate one of the two legislatures of the government, and deals with domestic matters only. Its primary concern is to pass laws of non-financial origin and pass them to the Emperor to issue as decrees.
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Elected Assembly of government. This portion of the legislature consists of nobles elected from the various districts to their seats. This body works in conjunction with the other House to pass both foreign and domestic laws. This body's main focus is on foreign policy.
The House of Commons is the only truly democratic portion of the government. This portion of the legislature deals with financial matters and is responsible for dealing with the national budget, etc. It works in conjunction with the other two legislatures in acquiring funding for the military.
Economy: Capitalist -- with minor governmental regulations in place, to keep inflation down. There are also government-owned industries in place to keep the rising corporations in check. Not only does this help regulate the economy, but it also provides a very good way for the Emperors to acquire a vast sum of wealth for their own endeavors.
Population: About 7,500,000 (1930 census), somewhat densely populated.
Society: WIP
Military:
The Valerians possess seven aircraft carriers of modest size. Three were sold at great price to the Valerians from different nations, and were then modified by the Valerians to fit their own needs, another one were converted from other ships, and two are of their own make. Although relatively small, their flight deck is somewhat wider and their draft deeper than normal carriers of that size, to accommodate for rough seas, as well as a greater number of aircraft on a less expensive ship. These are truly the backbone of the Royal Air Force, as these swift-moving carriers allow elements of the RAF to strike at distant areas often and repeatedly. These ships allow the launch of large numbers of small bombers and fighter planes, allowing them to fight wars quickly and efficiently.
The Valerian possess three battleships that provide long-range artillery support, as well as present a formidable anti-ship armament on the high seas. These are always accompanied by an escort of multi-purpose destroyers, which the Valerians either built, or purchased & customized to suit their needs.
Twenty smaller submarines, and this number is rapidly growing. Fifteen of these were purchased at great expense from the major powers, and another five were built as upgraded versions of the other ones. The new submarines are smaller, cheaper, but their true payoff is their speed and efficiency. Smaller crews and smaller fuel requirements make these a real money saver -- especially if they start losing submarines in naval engagements. These submarines are capable of firing torpedoes, as well as both short-ranged sea-to-air and the longer-ranged sea-to-land missiles.
Along with their regular navy, they have also designed and fielded a version of amphibious assault ship not seen elsewhere, even among the five major powers. They built seven, and sold two at very high profit to those powers wishing to form an alliance with them. These ships have a wide flight deck to keep a large force of autogyros (helicopters), and other short-range landing force elements within the well deck and other vehicle bays. These ships usually fill a single, universal role: get infantry, aircraft, and swift-moving vehicles onto enemy territory quickly and efficiently. The autogyros fielded from amphibious ships are able to transport small numbers of soldiers onto enemy beaches very quickly, and their ability to land and take off in many environments make not only them, but the ships they launch from very formidable forces in times of war.
Along with the main elements of this fleet come many kinds of support vessels, namely those designed to protect the main fleet, including destroyers. Other small versions of the main fleet ships exist, and their purpose is to field troops over smaller and more remote beachfronts, where the fleet vessels would do a less efficient job at. Many of these latter vessels have been converted from supply ships to fill these functions, as their nature allows them to go very far from Valeria without the need to resupply, at the same time as being able to support the fleet proper.
Artillery makes up for the general lack of tanks and other larger elements of the land forces that the Valerians lack. Powerful but slow-moving cannons provide truly long-range support in terms of mountain defense, as well as naval warfare. This, along with mechanized infantry form the backbone of anti-tank combat, aside from RAF support. Light artillery, although cheap, abounds within the Valerian army, and the heavy pieces usually end up staying put in areas of strategic importance, or in areas where the artillery itself is easily defended from enemy attacks.
Tanks are almost non-existent within Valerian borders, due to the terrain, as well as stress on naval, infantry, and air units as opposed to heavy land vehicles. Mountainous terrain, along with cities built in high places, are two main contributing factors to the kingdom's natural defenses against tanks that exist. Heavy artillery, along with a highly mobile infantry and air force, have contributed to the natural defensibility of the inland area against land elements such as tanks.
The Royal Air Force is one of the most advanced and numerous in the area. Due to the growing dependence of the Royal Navy on air support, the Valerians have built numerous small craft meant for engaging targets at sea, air and land. Usually, bombers look alike one another, with two exceptions: their heavy bombers, although less common, are significantly larger and can travel great distances, should the Valerians need to bomb distant targets. Their smaller aircraft carriers normally field these, along with surface-to-land fighters, as well as air-to-air fighters. Another prominent feature on carriers is the number of anti-submarine autogyros found on them, and usually these "gyros" are on those ships solely for that purpose.
Experiments have been attempted with war balloons, but ideas for this never got too far off the ground. The original idea was to have a constant refueling station for autogyros, but the aircraft itself was too heavy for a war balloon to effectively house more than one -- never mind carry the fuel for it. Instead, war balloons have instead found their own use: bombing runs over a stationary target. These massive things would carry more small bombs than planes or gyros could ever hold, and the balloons would start dropping these bombs until they ran out. They are few in number, as they need heavy support in order to stay in the air, and they can only afford to keep so much armor that keeps them from being shot down by enemy fire.
Foreign Relations: Due to the recent coronation of their new Emperor, the Valerians have yet to modify their new foreign policies off of his opinions. Word is that he operates differently than his late father, Emperor Charles Dragonstone, in the fact that the new Emperor plans to pursue a more aggressive military and diplomatic policy overseas. In addition, he is also looking for new allies to further strengthen his nation's power.
History: WIP, coming soon.
