Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Dinh AaronMk
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Dinh AaronMk my beloved (french coded)

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Federal Republic of China


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(blue)


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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by CaptainBritton
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CaptainBritton Man of War

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Nation: The Royal Dominion of Canada

History: The Great White North was one of the major players of the British Empire during the Great War. Dutifully they served throughout all thirteen years of warfare, and without question died for colonial masters who ruled from across an ocean. Their participation did not come without a price, however, as the Westminster Statute of 1924 forced the hands of the Crown, and Canada became in the terms of British Parliament, “separate and coequal”.

Canada came through the Great War as one of the most well-off Dominions. It had rapidly industrialized, and its standard of living became comparable to those in Britain itself pre-war. Squalor shrunk massively as factories opened their doors to produce war materiel. Being an ocean away from the fighting, no pillaging took place, and besides U-Boats sailing the North Atlantic, the homeland was spared.

All was not well as 1927 rolled around. Canada was now legally independent as a civilized nation, true. But it had come at great cost. 120,000 Canadians were casualties in some form throughout the war, dealing an extreme blow to the young male population. Maimed and shell-shocked soldiers returned home to a society which was increasingly moving away from agrarian pursuits in favor of industry. Farmers cursed the factories which their sons and daughters went to work for. Canada in 1929 was a perfect storm for disaster.

As the United States’ stock market took its dive, it sent the precarious Canadian economy into free-fall. The Dust Bowl moved north through the US plains and forced what few Canadian farmers remained in the prairies to flee or starve. While never in outright famine, for as long as the United States struggled, so too did its largest overland trade partner to the north.

In the midst of the crisis, Mackenzie King refused to resign his Liberal government as the Conservatives took the Parliamentary majority. Upon calling for a dissolving of the Parliament and a new general election by King (a precedent set in 1925, only granted due to the emergency war-time government), the affair spiraled into a crisis which only resolved when the British Crown threatened to exercise its power to change the Canadian Constitution itself. King stepped down without incident, and the Conservative government took power.

The Conservative government would receive a vote of no confidence in 1931 due to disastrous economic policy, including minimizing worker's rights in an emulation of the American system.. King attempted to claim his seat once again but was ousted by his party due to the crisis he’d caused only a year before. A young Liberal MP from British Columbia by the name of Lawrence Morriss had climbed through the ranks in the recent blunders, and achieved the station of party leader, being sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada in 1932.

His first experience in office was a coup in the United States. Morriss’s test of leadership had come in his first two months. People had not forgotten the Liberal party of Mackenzie, nor the Crisis of 1930. As American refugees flooded the border, he had to pick and choose his battles. As the people in his own borders suffered, he had to turn back at least half of all those seeking asylum due to protest by a growing Conservative minority. Canada would eventually recover, but as a changed nation.

With its new national identity and its economic integrity restored by 1940, Prime Minister Morriss saw his ninth year in office, until suddenly dying from a heart attack at the age of 45. His most trusted advisor, Lennox Dwight, was earmarked to take his post until a spat over the newest development in the American Great Cleansing saw the radically leftist Dwight removed in favor of a more moderate candidate, leaving neither Conservative nor the average Liberal worker in good standing with the sitting party.

It is now 1955. The Liberal party’s control wanes under ineffective leadership which neglects issues at home and abroad. The British-aligned Conservatives grow steadily under new leadership, and a coming general election threatens to oust the Liberal party from its twenty-year government. Quebec and the rest of French Canada prepare their referendums for a Conservative victory, and Canada itself is poised to return to the hole it had dug itself in 1917 during the conscription crisis as war looms.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Mao Mao
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Mao Mao Sheriff of Pure Hearts (They/Them)

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

"It's called the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it."


HISTORY
The United States of America was in the midst of a growing labor movement when the Great War finally ended. President Wilson, an anti-labor, began drifting plans to crush the movement before it grew out of control. But then, the Industrial Workers of the World announced a general strike, where all the workers united to get their demands met. Wilson immediately got to work in crushing the strike with help from the military and police departments across the country. Once it became clear how much of a threat the labor movement was, Democrats used both President Harding and Coolidge to start chipping away unions and labor rights.

President Herbert Hoover won the 1929 election with plans on doing the same things, angering the pro-labor movement again. However, he was forced to maintain the European aid mission and subsidies to farmers pushed by his predecessors causing the booms of the twenties. But then, the crash of 1929 happened followed by the Dust Bowl. With those factors, Hoover put an end to the aid mission while attempted to raise agricultural tariffs, but led to the signing of the Tariff Act of 1930. Still, he didn't want the government to be heavily involved since he believed in laissez-faire economics. Many experts expected Hoover to lose his 1932 reelection campaign, which he did.

Even known faith in Hoover was long gone, Americans were still hopeful that a Republican President would undo the damage. Their trust went to one person in particular: Henry Wallace. A farmer from Iowa, Wallace campaigned on the promise of major agricultural reforms and an answer to the anti-labor Democrats. And with the Great Depression getting worst, he won the 1932 election in a landslide. That caused wealthy businessmen and several Democrats to be concerned. So, after Election Day, in the act of desperation, they gathered, discussed, and followed through with a plan that eventually led to the incident known as The Business Plot.

General Douglas MacArthur marched into Washington D.C. and arrested Wallace inside the Capitol Building. Vice President-Elect James LeCron was also arrested at the airfield of Washington Airport by General George Patton. On Inauguration Day, Americans watched in surprise as MacArthur was sworn into a temporary presidency. Left-wing third-parties organized widespread protests in response while almost every member of the Congress and Senate remained silent on the matter. Those that remained vocal in the legislative branch received no responses from MacArthur. Meanwhile, a committee was formed with the task of finding a suitable replacement for the presidency.

After two weeks of discussion, the committee put forward Everett McKee, an unknown right-wing political figure from Oklahoma. The Republican Party denounced the choice and called for a general strike across the nation. But, there were supporters, like Charles Lindbergh and William Pelley, that backed the new president. Infighting occurred in Washington D.C., lasting for three days until the Silver Legion of America (led by William) arrived to establish control. Fearful of arrest and harm, several Republicans, Democrats, and third-party officials fled the city and went into hiding. Their fears were correct when the headquarters of the Socialist Party of America burnt to the ground while their members perished in the fire or were arrested shortly after. Fortunately, most of the members (including the party's leadership) fled the night before. Now in control, President McKee invited Pelley to be his vice president after his performance in the capital. Then, he outlawed third parties in the country, focusing on the SPA and the IWW.

Vice President Pelley incorporated the Silver Shirts and the Black Guard (known as the Black Legion, a popular militia part of the Klan) into the U.S. military. Several military generals were concerned about the indications, including Major General Smedley Butler. Two months after the coup d'état, Butler attempted to assassinate President McKee and Vice President Pelley and free Wallace from prison. The week-long coup d'état failed horribly, resulting in the deaths of Butler and Wallace along with the purge of the military afterward.

The entire purge, known as The Great Cleansing, lasted from 1933 to 1936, which targeted military officials from the army to the air force. It gave more power and influence to the Silver Legion and the Klan throughout the country, especially in the South. When the 1936 election happened, McKee won by a long shot to his Democratic opponent across the country. Although, some suspected that imitation and voter suppression played a major role in his victory. For the second term, President McKee sought to dismantle antitrust laws and empower capitalist policies to combat the Great Depression.

Then, in 1939, a third and final coup d'état was organized by the resistance group using the name "Sons of Liberty." Unlike Butler's Revolt, this coup dealt a devastating blow with McKee's death and Pelley's serious injury. Though, it ended with the resistance fighters killed or arrested by Brigadier General Charles Lindbergh and General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur offered to maintain the presidency until the 1940 election, which was only a few months away. Everyone hesitated to allow MacArthur to maintain the country again; however, once Lindbergh backed the idea, all of them agreed.

The Republican Party sought out Lindbergh and asked him to be the replacement Republican nominee after learning of Pelley's injuries. Lindbergh accepted the nomination with Gerald Smith becoming the vice present nominee shortly after. Being the first pilot to make a nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, he was already an icon to the world--including Americans. But his actions during the Savannah Spring only made him more popular with the American people. And the live broadcast of the trials and executions of the Sons of Liberty members boosted that popularity.

And once the dust had settled, President Lindbergh and Vice President Gerald Smith managed to secure enough votes to win the 1940 election (rumors surfaced that they also used imitation and voter suppression). Their first action was to layout the foundations of a new government program with the ultimate goal of ensuring that every American had work. However, the program remained in the drafts because of the potential constitutional issues it faced.

Fifteen years passed; the year is 1955, where Lindbergh and Smith have achieved the longest presidential term in the country's history. And yet, they are still changing the United States. The newly created Federal Security and Intelligence Agency has essentially become secret police with influence from the Legion and Klan. Some argued that FSI was unconstitutional, while the majority, including Lindbergh, established that it wasn't only constitutional but necessary to deal with threats to American values. And it's director, J. Edgar Hoover refuses to testify in the Senate with the support of the Lindbergh administration.

Meanwhile, the mysterious government program is set to finally be revealed on the White House lawn. With the 1956 election getting closer, rumors are spreading that both Democrat and Republican politicians are starting to worry that Lindbergh will seek out a sixth term. But, those in power either only care about themselves or have become too scared to speak up. However, there are rumors of resistance fighters hiding throughout the country, waiting for the day to strike and bring back democracy.


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Hidden 4 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by DELETED32084
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THE REPUBLIC OF ARGENTINA



Argentine president Hipólito Yrigoyen wins the election of 1928, promising extensive reforms to labor rights. His victory agitates the fractured conservative factions in Argentina, who begin plotting to overthrow his presidency for the first time since the Argentine Constitution of 1853.

In 1930, a military coup, supported by the Argentine Patriotic League, forced Hipólito Yrigoyen from power, and replaced him with José Félix Uriburu. Support for the coup was bolstered by the sagging Argentine economy, as well as a string of bomb attacks and shootings involving radical anarchists, which alienated moderate elements of Argentine society and angered the conservative right, which had long been agitating for decisive action by the military forces.

During his brief tenure as president, Uriburu cracked down heavily on anarchists and other far-left groups, resulting in 2,000 executions of members of anarchist and communist groups. The most famous (and perhaps most symbolic of anarchism's decay in Argentina at the time) was the execution of Severino Di Giovanni, who was captured in late January 1931 and executed on the first of February of the same year.

On March 30, 1931, Uriburu was assassinated by an anarchist gunman while enjoying a glass of wine along the boulevard in Buenos Aires. Several bombings in the following days killed multiple politicians and military leaders, leaving the country temporarily leaderless as anarchists declared a New Republic. Many Argentines failed to take the declaration seriously and street fighting between various factions broke out across Buenos Aires. Sensing weakness in its neighbour, Chile moved to seize the disputed Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands in the far south and quickly overran the demoralized local garrison.

A collection of military officers, led by Admiral José Luis Villán, moved to reassert control over the country as things began to spiral out of control. Military checkpoints were setup at strategic points and Buenos Aires essentially placed under siege by the armed forces. The countryside, largely oblivious to the goings on the if the city-folk carried on as they might normally do.

Several weeks of street fighting ended with over a thousand dead and the military firmly in charge of the country with Villán at the helm. A number of anarchists were arrested and exiled, most of them to Chile.

From 1932 to 1942 Villán steered the country deftly through crisis after crisis. Argentina fought a brief war with Chile, retaking the disputed island in the south, and purchased the Falklands from a cash strapped and fading British Empire. In 1941 the Galapagos Islands were purchased from Ecuador, under the noses of an interested Chile, allowing Argentina to spread its influence into the southern Pacific. During this time he strengthened ties with Spain and modernized the countries military.

Tensions continued to climb with Chile as the anarchists exiled during the 1931 coup began to rebuild their support in Argentina with the quiet support of the Chilean government. In 1944 Chile and Paraguay announced an mutual military aid pact and made not secret of their ambition to curtail Argentine power in South America.

1946 saw several Brazilian ministers who had showed sympathy for the Chilean-Paraguayan Alliance were assassinated during this period and Argentina found itself at the brink of war with virtually all of its neighbours.

To ease tensions, Villán stepped down as President in 1947, a position he had never been elected to in the first place, and was replaced by Miguel Juárez Celman who began to try and mend relationships with neighbours. For two years there was a marked decrease in tensions throughout the region as Celman sought to strengthen diplomatic ties and economic relationships.

All the hopes for a peaceful future were dashed in 1950 when Celman was killed by a roadside bomb, along with a dozen Argentine civilians. Links between the bomber, anarchists, and Chilean intelligence, led to a savage response from Argentines. The Chilean embassy burned even as shots were fired over the border.

The small-arms fire turned into artillery shells, and before anyone could really put a stop to it, planes were pounding positions on either side of the border. Paraguay and Chile declared war on Argentina in the fall of 1951. Brazil declared neutrality even as troubles festered within her own borders.

Fierce fighting broke out along the border, ultimately an opportunity for the Argentine to flex their relatively small but increasingly modern and well trained military. Fighter bombers, acquired from Spain, hammered Paraguayan forces even as light armour and mechanized infantry pushed aside any real resistance. Chilean forces failed to provide any of the promised support for their allies and in 1953 Paraguay surrendered after nearly a third of the population had been killed.

By the end of 1954, Argentine paratroops, in conjunction with Naval elements, captured the city of Puerto Montt, effectively severing southern Chile from the rest of the country. A few isolated garrisons would surrender in early 1955 and Argentina would consolidate all of Chile south of Puerto Montt.

The war with Chile drags on, and tensions with the Empire of Brazil continue to increase around Uruguay and the extensive shared border. As Brazil sits poised to find its way in the world, Argentina will stop at nothing at ensure her own place as South Americas dominant nation.







SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS



A Spanish expedition under Christopher Columbus arrived and claimed the island for Spain in 1493.

The first English colony was established in 1623, followed by a French colony in 1625. The English and French briefly united to massacre the local Kalinago, and then partitioned the island, with the English colonists in the middle and the French on either end. In 1629, a Spanish force sent to clear the islands of foreign settlement seized St. Kitts. The English settlement was rebuilt following the 1630 peace between England and Spain.

The island alternated repeatedly between English (then British) and French control during the 17th and 18th centuries, as one power took the whole island, only to have it switch hands due to treaties or military action. Parts of the island were heavily fortified.

Since 1783, Saint Kitts has been affiliated with the Kingdom of Great Britain, which became the United Kingdom. During the Great War, the region remained loyal to the British Crown and served as a coaling station for allied warships, as well as a place of rest and relaxation for injured soldiers.

When the war ended little had changed for the Caribbean paradise save its newly cemented status as a travel destination for those seeking some peace and quiet. In recent years, however, troubles have begun to appears as various forces make their intentions in the Caribbean clear. With the British government largely seeking to stem inflation and raging debt, the Island nation increasingly finds itself having to deal with matters once dealt with by Whitehall.

Rumours of Mexican, American, and even Argentinean agents, are rife and the government knows it needs to take steps to secure its future lest they pass from one master to another.






POST CATALOGUE

* Argentina * St Kitts and Nevis *


1. Battle of the Caribbean
(A fiasco of epic proportions pits American and Argentine warships against each other.)
2. Revolution: Part I
(Young revolutionaries realize their drinking conversation is deadly serious.)
3. Tales from the Front: Part I
(An artillery officer serving in Chile brings the rain.)
4. Revolution: Part II
(The lover of a would-be revolutionary becomes a pawn in the political future of Argentina.)
5. The Pacific: Part I
(The Galapagos Squadron returns home.)
6. The New Man: Part I
(A new Staff-Sergeant is due to arrive on the island and his superior wonders what the future holds.)

7. Tales from the Front: Part II
(Argentine forces advance through the ruins of Osorno.)
7. Money talks
(Argentine business interests are in danger in the Dominican. )

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Hidden 4 yrs ago 2 yrs ago Post by TheEvanCat
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TheEvanCat Your Cool Alcoholic Uncle

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Mexico



Nation: The United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos)

Map:


History:


Characters:


Posts:


Mexico Wiki Page
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Crusader Lord
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Crusader Lord A professional, anxiety-riddled, part-time worker

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República Democrática Reformada do Brasil







Nation: The Reformed Democratic Republic of Brazil, aka “República Democrática Reformada do Brasil”

Map:



History: In November of 1917, large-scale riots of all political parties were in full swing across Brazil. Nationalists, socialists, and others railed against a government that, differing from popular opinion, had declared war on Germany on October 26th, 1917 to try to divert local attention from the government's own problems and failings and "fry a bigger fish". This ultimate failure of an attempt would, however, simply stoke the civil riots and anger against the government to even greater heights. As things only seemed to get worse for the next few months, the government's grasp on things would begin to wane...until finally in February 1918 a 'change' began. In the Rio Grande Do Sul, a Populist by the name of Rafael Faria-Jaeger led a famous speech where he gathered up support and convinced over 5000 soldiers alongside socialists, nationalists, and others to defect to his cause.

Expounding on the need for Brazil to "return to its own internal affairs" and make its people stronger by uniting them together, he captured the eye of the Brazilian people and began to exert a greater influences on the tenetes (basically a term for junior officers in the Brazilian Army) as he rallied them under his banner too. More and more as he went about giving speeches, forming great marches, and speaking to the ills suffered under the existing government as he kept his hotbed of a broad-band political party together through his direction towards solving Brazil's internal problems. Eventually this would lead him and his followers to snowball to the point they would seize power in May 1918, taking over control of the country from "those who sought to destroy our people" as he would put it in his inaugural speech.

Under Rafael, Brazil would begin a decades-long move to reform the government itself, look after its own internal matters, and develop/industrialize the nation both on the coast and in its interior. While naturally the coast had the most pronounced effects of these years of reform and industrialization, the furthering of development and education deeper within Brazil's interior had its own noticeable effects as mining and agriculture grew into various towns and areas that fueled the growing amount of jobs and improving conditions/wealth of the nation. Many a man could find "Honest work and a full stomach!", a motto the new government's reforms and development pushed out, and the emphasis on ensuring the well-being and prosperity of a united Brazilian people would ingrain a nationalistic sentiment into the public mindset as the years went by. Likewise the opportunity came early on to silently and softly nip the influence of the coffee magnates in Brazil when Rafael was in power, especially with them weakened in the wake of the Coffee Market Crash of 1917 after the UK banned the importation of coffee during the war.

By the time of the early to mid 1930's, President Victor Fidalgo would rise to power and ultimately take an interest in empowering the military of Brazil in particular. He had spent years before as a politician and before that a sailor, reflecting on the past issue of German Indiscriminate Submarine Warfare that had taken the life of his brother and father during the earliest years of The Great War. In this regard President Fidalgo had been haunted for years, until he came to office and resolved to reform the Brazilian Military and arms business as a whole. No longer would his people be so behind the likes of other nations, but would be prosperous and mighty to defend their own interests! The other nations could do so, so why couldn't they? In this he would build on existing reforms, expanding the Brazilian arms business and forming his own more powerful version of IMBEL tied to the Ministry of Defense.

His actions would push Brazilian weapons and ship development into new heights, as well as increase profit with new arms licensing agreements from overseas. Yet ultimately whilst President Fidalgo wouldn't transform Brazil into a militarized nation akin to a "North Korea", but his efforts in the long term would instead see the Brazilian "barco subaquático" (underwater boat; nicknamed "S-Boat") rise to prominence in the Brazilian Navy. Likewise his actions would create better ships, along with Brazilian-invented arms and licensed pieces making greater profits overseas (especially in Africa and Europe) and locally.

Now currently under President Gustav Corderio, who was only just elected to office back in November 1954, Brazil has by now been shaped into a nation that carries with it a sense of great national pride and unity throughout. It has retained a strong arms industry still to this day, among other profitable industries such as rubber/synthetic rubber and metals, though it has likewise become a more humane society than many other 'great nations' out there. Eschewing colonies and the adoption of any "racial theory", the nation's treatment, acceptance, and representation of all of its minorities and native tribes has been smoothed out over the decades with no small amount of effort. Brazilians take a point of moral pride that, unlike the decadent Europeans and Americans or even the Argentinians, Brazil has survived and thrived through the greater development of its coast, at least better and noticeably improved development of its interior, and its effective handling of all peoples.

Even so, with a distaste for the USA, the growing tensions, and witnessing the expansion of Argentina...even Brazil's people and their government have begun to play their cards more purposefully. Expansion nor alliances are not out of the question, nor is going to war if they felt they needed to for one reason or another. Only time will tell, however, if they will reach out into the world in one manner or another: Trade or tricks. Peace or war. Alliance or denouncement. Whatever it may be that they do, will the world be ready for it?

(Economic Note: Brazil's military production has also been selling guns to decolonizing peoples in Africa, and would prob sell to groups or mercs or the ilk under the table if it meant out-competing a rival or enemy nation. Sell to smaller nations to fuel their conflicts to the end that our interest are upheld, or simply to make a profit, sell to bigger nations who really need supplies and we have the production facilities to make those orders happen. Prob would sell to any 'friends' as well, in terms of international relations, to make bank and such as well.)

(Other Note: Maybe Brazil has become oddly obsessed with trying to turn every type of ship into a submarine-style submersible boat. Imagine the attempt at a submersible aircraft carrier or such things. XD)
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Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by Byrd Man
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Byrd Man El Hombre Pájaro

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Nation: Vatican City

Map:



aka that purple bit.

History:

Only 121 acres in size, Vatican City is the smallest sovereign nation in the world. Despite that it is one of the oldest and most powerful institutions in the world. The Papal States ended with the unification of Italy in 1871. After a period of nearly fifty years of uncertainty on the Church's place in the country, the Holy See was declared independent in 1929. Though the years of the Papal States and fiery Catholic conquest is now a distant memory, the Catholic Church has still held on to power firmly in its own ways. With hundreds of millions of good Catholics stretched across the globe, a fortune so vast that is thought to be truly incalculable, and access to even the most darkest secrets mankind has to offer, the Church is seen as a valuable ally to have, and a fierce enemy to cross.

Characters:

Leo XIV - Pope, formally Cardinal Martino Gallo.
Cardinal Vicenzo Donini - Vatican City power broker, Cardinal Secretary of State, president of the Vatican City Commission
Archbishop Eugene König - German Archbishop and head of L'Entità
Father Harold Mitchell - Born Hideo Matsumoto, Japanese priest, lawyer, and Devil's Advocate
Oberst David Stoller - Head of the Swiss Guard, Vatican City's defacto military.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by Vilageidiotx
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Vilageidiotx Jacobin of All Trades

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ETHIOPIA AND ITS CLIENTS


The first victory was at hallowed Adwa where the Roman dead fell
The second victory was at traitor’s Segale where Solomon did quell
The third victory was at British Eldama where blood spilled under shell
The fourth victory was at distant Fashoda under where the Nile dwell
The fifth victory was the honorable peace worthy of the stele.
-Nebiyu Eleyas, Court Poet of Iyasu V, 1922

2017 Reboot Char Sheet
2017 Reboot App
2014 RPG PoW Sheet
2012 MCF PoW Sheet
2011 Sporum Sheet



RESOURCES

NAMES

Convention:
"Ethiopians do not use surnames. The same system is used by both Christians and Muslims. An individual's name consists of his proper name followed by his father's name. Individuals are, there-fore, normally referred to by their proper (i.e. first) name. Both the proper name and the father's name may have two components; thus a name may consist of three or four words. In addition secular or religious titles may be added to one or both names. (See appendix for titles). Many Ethiopian names are, in effect, phrases. Wives do not take their husbands' names. Three courtesy titles are used in Ethiopia: Ato (Mr), Woizero (Mrs), and Woizerit (Miss)." (citation: "Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia" by Paul B. Henze)

Ethiopian names (see naming conventions below)
Quick Ethiopian Names
Quick Oromo Names
Quick Somali Names
Quick Arab NAmes
Quick Swahili Names
Quick Luo (Uganda/Kenya) Names
Quick Kikuyu (Central Kenya) Names

OTHER
Ethiopian Folktales

MAPS













PROVINCES























CHARACTERS

ETHIOPIA AND CORE SUBJECTS (MEDRI BAHRI & DJIBOUTI)

Imperial Family
-Negus Negast Sahle the First, Emperor of Ethiopia (Born 07/04/1930: 24).
-Le'elt Taytu Yohannes (Born 09/11/1932: 22): Ambitious princess. Description/Introduction
-Leul Yaqob Yohannes (Born 02/02/1939: 16): Sahle's idealistic young brother.
-Emebet Hoy Eleni: (Born 1910: 45) Mother of Sahle, Taytu, and Yaqob, widow of Yohannes.

Imperial Family (Deceased)
-(Negus Mikael of Wollo, born Mohammed Ali): Father of Iyasu V. Lived 1850-1919.
-(Iyasu V): Grandfather of Sahle, Yaqob, and Taytu. Lived 1895-1935.
-(Yohannes Iyasu): Son of Iyasu V and father of Sahle, Yaqob, and Taytu. Lived 1915-1951 (died of influenza)

Imperial Court
-Tsehafi Taezaz (Minister of the Pen):
-Afe Negus (Mouth of the King/Minister of Justice):
-Meridazmach (Minister of Defense):
-Bahr Negus (Sea King/Minister of the Navy:
-Bejirond (Minister of Finance):
-Minister of Foreign Affairs: Man Chelot Wesene (The Fifth Victory).
-Minister of Transportation and Public Works:
-Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones:
-Blattengeta (Lord of the Pages/Youths):

Ambassadors from Ethiopia
-

Ambassadors to Ethiopia
-EGYPT: Sad al-Mir. Description/Introduction

The Bureaucracy
-

The Mesafint (The Five Rases)
-Begemder:
-Illubabor:
-Gojjam:
-Tigray:
-Wollo:

The Mekwanint (lesser nobility)
-

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
-Abun:

Mehal Sefari (Royal Guard)
Gear: White dress uniform w/ gold trim. White-tan pith helmet w/ lion's mane plume. Epaulettes with lions mane fringe. Luger sidearm. Shotel sidearm. MP-28 Submachine guns.
Characters:

The Army
Gear:
Characters:

The Airforce
Gear: Warm clothes. Pistol.
Characters:

The Navy
Gear: Grey uniforms.
Ships:
Characters:

The Shotel
Gear: Unmarked khaki or black uniforms. German Luger.
Characters:
-Leyla Masri: Nineteen year old agent. Knows martial arts. Daughter of Masri Farid. Description/Introduction
-Elias Zelalem: Leyla's partner. Boyish looking. Description/Introduction

The Meqabyan (AKA Shiftas, Rebels, and Extremists)
-

People of Ethiopia (By Location)
-

EMIRATE OF DARAAWIISHTA

Emir: Hassan al-Himyari: (Born 1902: 53).
-Azima al-Himyari: (Born 10/06/1936: 18 )Hassan's daughter and heir.
-Táofàn: Chinese man in his seventies who taught furusiyya. Speaks many languages. Veteran of Boxer Rebellion.

Dervish Military
-

THE PROTECTORATES

Mombasa
-

Nairobi
-

Buganda
-

Acholiland
-

Sudd
-

FERENGI (Foreigners)
-Mahboob el-Sader: Representative of Aden and the Aden General Union of Workers (AGUW). Description/Introduction
-Farouk I: King of Egypt.
-Ahmad bin Yahya (Amhad the Devil, Big Turban, al-Djinn): King of North Yemen (Mutawakkilite Kingdom).
-Saleet el-Baluch: Maternal nephew of Ahmad. Member of Ahmad's inner circle. Description/Introduction

PEOPLE FROM THE PAST
-Nebiyu Eleyas, Court Poet of Iyasu V (Wrote the five victories poem).

PLACES
-

APPENDIX

PRODUCTS
Vehicles
-Doofarka: Dervish military produced dune-buggie. Typically basic skeletal build. Rounded at top to allow to roll.

CULTURAL/REGIONAL APPENDIX









Ethiopian Calendar (major holidays in bold).
-January 7th: Genna (Christmas)
-January 19th: Timkat (Epiphany)
-February 2nd: Yaqob's Birthday
-March 2nd: Adwa Day
-Spring: Siklet (Good Friday) and Fasika (Easter).
-July 4th: Sahle's birthday.
-September 11th : Enkutatash: New Year's Day (12th on leap years, including 1956). Also Taytu's Birthday.
-September 27th: Meskel: Finding of the True Cross (biggest holiday)

Precipice Specific Terms or Phrases (AKA shit I made up).
-Shotel: Name for national intelligence of Imperial Ethiopia. Words means Sword.
-Doofarka: Means "Pig" in Somali. Dune buggies used by Somalians.
-Furusiyya: Technically a real thing, the Arabic equivalent of Chivalry, but in PoW being used in the context of Somalian martial arts and military philosophy.

Ethiopian Royal Titles (ordered by importance)
-Negusa Negast: "King of Kings." Title conferred to an Ethiopian Emperor. Sahle is Negusa Negast.
-Nigiste Negestatt : "Queen of Kings." Female reigning Empress. Zewditu crowned as this during her failed rebellion.
-Negus: King.
-Itege: Queen-Consort or Empress-Consort. Wife of the Negusa Negast or Negus.
-Leul: Prince.
-Le'elt: Princess.
-Emebet Hoy: "Great Royal Lady". Wife of royal princes.
-Lij: "Child". Used as a term for noble boys.
-Emebet: "Royal Lady". Female member of the royal line.

Ethiopian Feudal/Military Titles (ordered by importance)
-Makwanent: Not a title. The Ethiopian word for the aristocracy as a whole.
-Mesafint: Not a title. The upper echelon of the nobility, typically with royal ancestory.
-Bitwoded: Court title meaning "Favorite". Used as qualifier for official title like Ras, implying Royal favor.
-Ras: "Head." A position similar to duke. Many Rases throughout history held power almost equal to that of a Negus.
-Meridazmach: "Chief of Staff". A rare title similar to Ras. Originally used to denote the ruler of Shewa.
-Dejazmach: "Commander of the Gate". Comparable to count or earl.
-Fitawrari: "Commander of the Vanguard". Comparable to Baron.
-Kegnazmach: "Leader of the Right." Minor nobility
-Grazmach: "Leader of the Left". Minor Nobility
-Azmach: "Leader of the Rearguard". Minor nobility usually given to trusted advisors or ministers.
-Balambaras: "Commander of the Fortress." Semi-noble title given to people entrusted with important supporting commands.
-Shaleqa: Military rank comparable to >ajor. Commander of 1000 men.
-Meteolaqah: Military rank comparable Lieutenant. Commander of 100 men.
-Asiralaqah: Military rank comparable Corporal. Commander of 10 men.

Ethiopian Religious Titles (ordered by importance)
-Abun/Abune: Metropolitan of the Ethiopian Church. A title also given to bishops.
-Etchege: Administrative head of the church. Second under the Abun, sort of like Minister of Pen to the Abun.
-Nebura ed: Civil governor of Axum, appointed from the clergy.
-Aleqa: Chief or head. The title given to the dean of a church.
-Gabez: Custodian of a church, charged with caring for the treasures of the church.
-Kahen: Priest
-Abba Mahbar: Head of a monastic community.
-Arde'et: Disciple. Monk.
-Debtera: A non-ordained traveling religious person within the Ethiopian church. Responsible for impromptu acts of worship, the making of herbal remedies, the exorcising of evil spirits, and spell-binding.
-Kiddus: Saint or holy man.
-Abba: Father. Used the same as in the west.

Ethiopian Court Titles and Civil Offices (ordered by importance of place)
-Enderase: Regent or co-ruler.
-Tsehafi Taezaz: "Minister of the Pen". Most powerful post in the court, signs official documents. Similar to Privy Seal.
-Afe Negus: "Mouth of the King". Announces royal decrees. Sort of a Press Secretary.
-Meridazmach: "Chief of Staff". Secretary of War.
-Bejirond: "Treasurer". Secretary of Finance.
-Liquamaquas: Body double for the Negus, used in battle to confuse enemies.
-Aqabe Se'at: "Keeper of time". Official, often a clergyman, responsible for the Emperor's schedule.
-Blattengeta: "Lord of the pages". Administrator of the palace itself. Also given to head advisors.
-Blatta: "Page". Palace servant.
-Mesfin: Governor of a province.
--Tigray Mekonnen: Governor of Tigray.
-Shum: Governor of a sub-province.
--Wagshum: Governor of Wag
--Jantirar: Ancient hereditary rulers of the fortress at Ambassel in the Wollo Province.
-Mislene: Sub-Governor.
-Kentiba: Mayor.
-Nagadras: Senior bureaucrat in charge of markets, customs duties, and tax collection.
-Ballabat: Official in charge of local government offices. Essentially a bureaucratic manager.
-Korro: Bureaucrat.

Legal Terms
Land Tenure
-Gult: An ownership right acquired from the monarch or from provincial rulers who are empowered to make land grants. Gult owners collect tribute from the peasantry and exact labor service as payment in kind from the peasants. Until the government instituted salaries, gult rights were the typical form of compensation for an official.
-Maderia: Land granted mainly to government officials, war veterans, and other patriots in lieu of a pension or salary. Although it is land granted for life, the state possesses a reversionary right over all land grants; this form of tenure comprised about 12% of the country's agricultural land.
-Mengist: Land registered as government property.
-Rist: Hereditary, inalienable, and inviolable form of land tenure. No user of any piece of land can sell his or her share outside the family or mortgage or bequeath his or her share as a gift, as the land belongs not to the individual but to the descent group. Most peasants in the northern highlands hold at least some rist land.
-Samon: Land the government granted to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in perpetuity. Traditionally, the church had claimed about one-third of Ethiopia's land; however, actual ownership probably never reached this figure. Estimates of church holdings range from 10 - 20% of the country's cultivated land. Peasants who work on church land pay tribute to the church (or monastery) rather than to the Emperor.
Division of land (by Importance)
-Taklai Ghizat: Province. Governed by a Mesfin.
-Awraja: Subprovince. (The smallest part of the Provinces and Districts map in the resources at the top of this post). Governed by a Shum.
-Woreda: Administrative level below the sub-province. Typically a town and its surrounding area. Governed by Kentiba.
-Gasha: Feudal division of land, approx 40 to 80 acres.

Racial and Ethnic groups (ordered by prominence)
Racial Map
-Habesha: The collective name for the peoples of the Ethiopian highlands. This is the origin of the old term 'Abyssinia'.
--Amhara: An Habesha people, and the dominate racial group politically. The language, Amharic, is named after them. Primarily Christian.
--Tigrayans/Tigrinyas: A Habesha people from the north of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Speak Tigrinya.
--Agaw: Highland people, primarily Christian. Small in numbers now but was significant in the Aksumite period. Were the people that founded the Medieval Zagwe dynasty.
-Oromo/Galla: One of the most numerous races in Ethiopia, roughly one third of Ethiopians. Mostly Muslim, but large contingent of Christians too. Descended from warrior tribes that came from the south in the late middle ages. Prominent in the 19th century, particularly during the Zemene Mesafint, when their cavalry was especially renowned.
-Somali: Dominant in Somalia/Adal, and common in the east of Ethiopia, especially the Ogaden. Mostly Sunni Muslim, some Sufi Muslim. Speak Somali.
-Tigre: Muslim pastoralists living in the northwest of Eritrea. Related to the Sudanese Beja people.
-Falasha: Jewish people, also sometimes called Beta Israel. Primarily live in their own communities in the northern highlands.
-Gurage: Primarily Christian Afro-Asiatic people south of the Awash river. Speak Gurage.
-Silt'e: Muslim Afro-Asiatic population south of Addis Ababa.
-Sidama: The people of the Sidamo region. Largely protestant for some reason.
-Welayta: The culturally and racially distinct people of the Weylata region. Have a thing for red, black, and orange stripes for some reason.
-Afar: Primarily Muslim pastoralists living in the Danakil region. Have a thing for putting butter in their hair and cutting off the dicks of their enemy with a special dick slicing knife called a gile.
-Shanqella: Catch-all term for the dark-skinned tribes living in the west along the frontier with Sudan.
-Saho: A primarily Muslim people living in Eritrea. Related to the Afar.



Ethiopian Phrases
-Abet: A greeting call, used to attract attention, or to acknowledge such a call.
-Ato: Mister.
-Ayzore!: Be strong! Call of encouragement that can be used in battle, travel, or work.
-Isshi: Okay.
-Jan Hoi: Your Majesty.

Afar Terms and Phrases
-Gile: Knife worn by Afar men. Used primarily to slaughter livestock.

POST CATALOGUE
-1:TAYTU/LEYLA/ELIAS INTRO. FIVE VICTORIES POEM. Meeting in Cairo turns sour.
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THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

"Australia has once been perilously near to the brink of disaster. No nation, even Britain, has been in greater danger in invasion and yet lacked the resources to defend itself." - Former Labor Prime Minister John Curtin, 3rd of February, 1943
After enabling militia to serve in a limited capacity in the Pacific South West.

Conscription was very much against Labor Party policy.





Recent History:
With no definitive winner of the Great War, the people of Australia have been left cynical towards the Crown's ability to defend her native sons and daughters from over 15,000 kilometres away - as the crow flies. And that's before you factor in how well conscripted members of the armed forces were put to use by British officers in highly questionable situations such as Gallipoli. Followed by the country being very much left to fend for itself as returning soldiers brought back the Spanish flu, which led to even more loss of life and between a quarter and a third of the population getting pneumonia.

The results were the Anzac nations of Australia and New Zealand realized they would be best served by uniting as a single nation so that Defence could be more effectively utilised, as both countries seemed to have mostly similar values and a somewhat shared history. The Statute of Westminster providing the autonomy required for the former colonies to act. Australia swung heavily to Nationalism. Under a new party comprising of many Commonwealth Liberal Party members, but with reputable Labor head Billy Hughes pushed to the front in a leadership capacity. Once known to all as an incredible British imperialist, he saw the need for greater self-determination and the means to protect itself as its own service to the auld country.

Australia offered the former Nation of New Zealand a questionable deal. They could either join as a single new state of New Zealand and receive only twelve senators, or it would be permitted to double its level of autonomy by entering Australia as two states - Northern New Zealand and Southern New Zealand - with the cost being the expectation of greater economic burden. New Zealand, also valuing greater autonomy after the events of the war jumped at the chance for larger representation in the Upper House - viewing this new expanded nation to be in the best long term interests of maintaining New Zealander and British ideals and culture in the Pacific. This decision has led to Republicans and Maori natives wondering if The Right Honourable William Massey, the Reform Party of New Zealand Prime Minister, had just swapped one yoke around the country's neck for another, and began some bitter sentiment towards what would come to be known as 'Mainlanders'. Massey did however manager to secure one final policy point - that Maori citizens would still maintain their right to vote (gained way back in the 1860s) under this new expanded Australian aegis. A right that thus far had not extended to the Aboriginal Australian populations. On the topic of Maori seats in parliament, Massey was basically told "You get twelve senators per state, how you divide them is up to the people of New Zealand." and was not granted any special treatment in the House of Representatives - as the House seats are to remain relative to the population. To get this through the Maori were granted two of the twelve senators in both the Northern and Southern Islands. Previously, Maori electorates made up about 1 in 20 of the general New Zealand parliament, or around 5%. This 5 percent was gone in the lower house of parliament, but replaced with roughly 16% of New Zealand's upper house vote. This sounded fine on paper, but Maori soon became disenfranchised as they were largely outnumbered in the Senate by Mainlander senators, and white nationalism began to spread in New Zealand's southern island where it was felt by many that the Maori were over-represented as over 80% of the Maori population lived in the North Island and both island were granted two Maori senators.

In addition to this, it was agreed upon by unwritten rule, that should an Australian reside over the seat of the Prime Ministership of the Commonwealth, there would sit a New Zealander in the position of Governor General and vice versa. With the importance of showing unity amonst the two held of paramount importance.

With New Zealand now on board, "the Little Digger" as Prime Minster Billy Hughes was affectionately known, turned to the task of expanding the defence force. As Australia was now "Eight States Girt By Sea", it became immediately obvious that the main priorities were maximising the Royal Australian Navy, and rapidly enlisting and training the next generation's fighting force. The former was acheived by sending back to Britain for current cutting edge naval ship designs, whilst simultaeously developing an engineering force who would be able to build them once designs were brought back by steamer. To train a fresh set of engineers he injected a large amount of money into a South Australian saddlery company who were looking to transition into the automotive industry and the Holden Motor Company was born. They rapidly expanded and trained a new workforce, and with the sizable investment the 48-215 was soon born, with 5 prototypes and just under a dozen pilot cars coming out before they were ready for mass-production, and whilst the mid-sized, three-speed sedan was somewhat derivative and not terribly impressive in and of itself. What was impressive was how quickly the engineers were able to produce a functioning car, and how much they were able to learn from their first attempt. Their second attempt, the FJ was an enormous hit and very quickly flooded the streets. Holden engineers and workers were the talk of the country, and the Australian government handpicked select engineers to work side-by-side with naval engineers to get to work on expanding the Royal Australian Naval fleet with budding ingenuity and innovation.

Also looking to expand on this development and innovation field, Billy Hughes pumped in money to develop a new agency responsible for scientific discovery and research - the CSIRO. With the outbreak of Spanish Flu following the war, it seemed too important to get left behind on the scientific front. He also saw great value in the trend towards aviation innovation, putting forward £10,000 reward for the first person to successfully fly from the United Kingdom to Australia in less than 30 days. After Hughes' tenure even further investment was put into the aviation industry in general as both hard and soft power - with the development of the CAC Wirraway, followed by the CAC Boomerang and the CA-25 Winjeel trainer which gave way to the CA-26 and CA-27 Sabres, as well as the nationalisation of Qantas.

Many leading economists suggest that it was sizable investments into the defense, aviation and automotive industries by Labor leaders like John Curtin and, after Curtin's death-in-office, Ben Chifley, along with mining, metal processing, textiles/clothing/footwear and chemicals which provided an environment of high production (yet less reliant on exports), full employment and the heavy stimulus which saw Australia through the Great Depression mostly unscathed - a unique situation for the country which often saw it's economy rocked so heavily by natural forces such as drought, flood and infestation from introduced species. It's heavily regulated and protectionist, with Labor Policy maintaing the stance towards the 'White Australia' policy of the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901, back during the original Federation of the country. "This country shall remain forever the home of the descendants of those people who came here in peace in order to establish in the South Seas an outpost of the British race." - John Curtin.

But the lines between the Labor Party and the Communist Party were becoming blurred. Years earlier the inauguration of the famed Sydney Harbour Bridge, a masterpiece of ingenuity that showcased Australian design, engineering, steel and construction industries, had been marred by The New Guard - A far right Nationalist movement who were strongly opposed to communists and New South Wales' Labor Premier Jack Lang in particular. A few left-leaning politicians would waver between stints at the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Industrial Socialist Labor Party (ISLP). In 1947, the Liberal Party were able to exploit this as Labor Prime Minster Ben Chifley went too far, and attempted to nationalise the banks. The High Court found this unconstitutional, the press and middle class Australians saw it as a bridge too far towards communism and it opened up an opportunity for the National Liberal Party. Chifley did however manage to pass the Commonwealth Bank Acts of '45 which gave the government control over monetary policy and allowed them to establish the Commonwelth Bank of Australia.

The strikes in the waning years of the 1940s in both Queensland's rail and the coal industry brought unemployment and hardship. Chifley responded by barring rail workers on strike from obtaining unemployment benefits. And sent in army troops to break the coal strike. This was because Chifley viewed these strikes as efforts by the Communist party to splinter Labor support and supplant them as the party of the working man. National Liberal Party leader Robert Menzies exploited Red hysteria to portray the Labor party as soft on communism, pointing at recent banking policy. Chifley was in a difficult position, under attack from both the right and left, and was unable to thread the needle of making a successful argument to the Australian people that "to the contrary, Labor is a bulwark against communism" and that the most effective way of weakening the strength of the Communist party is to improve the conditions of the people. The Australian people didn't buy it, neither on the mainland now across the Tasman, and Bob Menzies was able to secure the election. With Chifley barely being able to cling to a senate majority.

Chifley proved to continue to be a thorn in Menzies side from the Senate, where he remained as Labor leader and often was able to confound the Prime Minister, passing Labor amendments or outright blocking legislation. Menzies chose to respond to this by riding his high popularity at the time, looking to trap Chifley in a double dissolution election by introducing a bill to ban the Communist Party of Australia. He expected Chifley to reject it, opening up the opportunity to attack Chifley once more as being soft on communism at the ensuing election. Instead, Chifley zagged and passed it with a re-draft, and allowed the High Court to kill the bill as invalid - six justices to one. Menzies was later able to get his double dissolution election however, as he introduced legislation to change Chifley's Commonwealth Banking Bill. However, some damage had been done in the public's eyes towards Menzies with his attempt to kill the Communist party, regardless of whether the people would be willing to vote for the Communist Party his decision struck at the Aussie ideals of "a fair go". Menzies high popularity barely saw him scrape through, but not without losing seats to Labor. He did however achieve his plan of knocking out Chifley and the Labor Senate majority, and was now free to start moulding his vision for Australia into the '50s.

With the Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy seeing massive expansion, Bob Menzies turned to expand the Australian Army. Still smarting from the previous election, Menzies chose to do this in a way to avoid conscription where possible. Sensing growing dissatisfaction from the Aboriginal population due to the vast disparity in rights between Aboriginal, Torres Strait and Pacific Islander rights and Maori rights, Menzies passed legislation that would enable Aboriginal and Islanders voting rights in return for Military service. He also saw the benefit of strategic allied naval ports, and began diplomatic proceedings to further expand the Australian Commonwealth to other Pacific Neighbours. Fiji was the first nation to join, in return for six senate seats and the written condition that their population would always be rounded up for an additional seat in the House of Representatives. Samoa and Papua New Guinea began murmurings of their desire for independence (Samoa having been 'roped in' to the Commonwealth under New Zealand rule) and were given two senate seats each as they were viewed as 'territories' of Australia and New Zealand. Both also received the 'round up' Lower House stipulation and this degree of self-determination mostly kept things orderly. Tonga was a different proposition, but was happy for their status as a 'Protected State' of the United Kingdom be diverted to the regional Commonwealth of Australia, particularly after experiencing heavy losses due to the Spanish flu. They remained a constitutional monarchy of their own, with Australia holding right to veto over foreign policies and finances... but seldom, if ever actually exercising that right. That desire to be left to their own devices swung both ways, however. They have no say in greater Commonwealth politics. With fears spreading through mainland Australians that their politics were about to be overrun with representatives from the island Nations. In response Menzies made two changes. First, that any new additions would receive the 'round up' rule in the House of Representatives providing they existed as a 'whole' nation prior (no 'splintering' grouped island states in an attempt to garner more political influence), but would only be represented by three new general Pacific Islander senators. Secondly, in a blatantly cynical move, Bob Menzies awarded two senators to a thusfar unrepresented territory - the Australian Antarctic Territory. With no permanent population in Antarctica, these were basically filled by the government's whim. Whilst particularly unfair, since the people who are IN Antarctica at any moment in time and are capable of voting there, do so at the Government's discretion, it's not technically unconctitutional since they are still 'free' elections otherwise. Menzies has stripped back the 'White Australia' policy, to allow free movement between all parts of the Commonwealth for all who can prove 'birthright' residence within any of its shores. However, being the 1950s, travel is still prohibitively expensive for most.

The year is now 1955, Robert Menzies is still Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, under his hand he now looks to direct the country into a new era of private enterprise and self-sufficiency. His Liberal Party controls both the Upper and Lower Houses, albeit by a slim margin. Now is the time for growth. The time for Australia to spread its wings and grow beyond it's quite heavily regulated economy, the time for Menzies show his power and grow his popularity amongst the Australian people.

Government

House of Representatives:
301 Seats - Proportional to Population, with former island nations getting 'rounded up' in seats.

Populations at 1955:
Australia (mainland and Tasmania) - Roughly 9.25 million
New Zealand - 2.13 million
Papua New Guinea - 2.09 million
Fiji - 335,000
Solomon Islands - 102,000
Samoa - 94,000
French Polynesia - 69,000
New Caledonia - 68,000
Vanuatu - 55,000
Cook Islands - 16,000

Senate (Sixty seven senators in total):
Mainland Australia (6 WA, 6 SA, 6 QLD, 6 NSW, 6 VIC, 2 NT, 2 ACT) - 34 senators
New Zealand - 12 senators
Tasmania (generally views self as 'mainland') - 6 Senators
Fiji - 6 senators
Samoa - 2 Senators
Papua New Guinea - 2 Senators
General Pacific Islanders - 3 senators
Australian Antarctic Territory - 2 Senators

Interesting points of difference and challenges:
After the war, Australia still cares greatly for the Crown... but is heavily into self-determinism and birthing a new Southern Commonwealth capable of taking care of its own interests.

This included looking to create a great Southern Royal Navy - which they have made good use of Britain's past naval supremacy to try and make up lost ground. Unfortunately, Britain's supremacy has started to sway since the invention of the submarine.

Australia has embraced the importance of the aviation industry, and is well aware that in that way lies the future. At this point, however, the main trait of Australian planes is reliability - and they rely heavily on pilot ingenuity to make up for deficits in areas like speed.

The population of Papua New Guinea feel heavily underrepresented and exposed. They have only two senators compared to New Zealand's twelve, despite having similar sized populations. The Aboriginal population also feels somewhat disenfranchised, with Maoris retaining rights that Aboriginals could only dream of from prior to joining the expanded Commonwealth. Maoris are disenfranchised as they have lost their 'Maori seats', and their senate influence (which was the trade-off benefit for losing those seats) has been diluted with the addition of fifteen other senators since they joined.
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The Empire of Japan




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Nation:
German Council Republic / German Soviet Republic (German: Deutsches Räterepublik)
Map:





History:




To appease the home front and the increasingly influential and discontented Social Democratic Party, von Baden and promised extensive reforms to the tired people of Germany. With assurances to extend representation, ease conscription, and provide wartime pensions, von Baden had managed to prevent the immediate rebellion of Germany's most discontent, if he had only just as soon issued commitments that would prove tough to keep. After years of debate and consultation, the Treaty of Rotterdam officially signified the end of the Great War. Agreeing to no territorial exchanges, Germany would agree to pay reparations to Belgium and little else, even going as far as to denounce any territorial claims in their East Asian holdings unto the neutral Chinese, done out of the belief that Japan had done nothing to be rewarded throughout the course of the war.

With millions dead or grievously wounded, scores of political prisoners taken, and few significant gains as a result, the most generous clause of the Great War was one of a bitter status quo. The damage was one, sealed and irreversible as they were etched into the annals of history. There was little left for Germany to do but continue, few ways to proceed other than forward. And so, Germany marched onward.

At the conclusion of the Great War, Germany had found herself in much the same condition as she did in its beginning: With few allies, many enemies, an over-stretched Empire, and the clamor of its internal factions now more emboldened than ever before to seize what was so rightfully promised to them. In the following year, Germany withdrew its forces from the rapidly decaying Austro-Hungarian Empire as per demobilization of the country and transition into the civilian economy, yet the action would soon seal the fate of its sole accomplice in the region. Soon after, in spite of Kaiser Otto von Hapsburg's proclamation of a Confederation of Austrian States, the discontented peoples of the Hapsburg lands found themselves unwilling to merely accept any status quo. Sparked by the Siege of Brno and the returning Czechoslovak Legionnaires, one by one, states seceded from the crown, until the monarchist government was left with a paltry sum of what once remained of the mighty Austrian Empire.

Troubles for the recently-peacefound Empire failed to stop with the Austro-Hungarian Implosion. Just after the absence of the scorned Wilhelm II, his son and heir to the throne - Wilhelm III - soonafter announced his own abdication to the throne of Emperor and King of Prussia. Unlike that of his father, the exile of Wilhelm III was self-imposed, later admitting that he was, "...far too ashamed to stand before the people of Germany as a 'Heir of Ruination'". This left the incredibly young Wilhelm IV to lead the German Empire in what was possibly her most dire time. At only the age of 22, he was, unlike the majority of the Hohenzollern family, left near completely tutorless, to say little of his practical political experience; Although he technically had held the rank of Captain in the 1st Guards Regiment, he neither saw any active combat nor had any experience in any maneuvers aside from basic scholarship. Yet, with the tenured hand of Maximillain Von Baden at his side, Wilhelm IV was coronated in Brandenburg, headstrong in his assertion to the throne.

The coronation of the young prince into emperor did little to alleviate the unrest boiling below among the German people. In spite of the newfound Emperor's assured temperament, living conditions in Germany continued to deteriorate. The demobilization of Germany saw its wartime economy nosedive, and with both weak foreign and domestic markets Germany saw rampant unemployment, inflation, and with it economic and social instability. Lack of stability on a global scale as well as inflation due to excessive debt and financial mismanagement lead to the Goldmark’s value plummeting, wiping out vast swathes of industry almost overnight. In mere weeks, the value of the Goldmark hyperinflated almost exponentially. Barter economies became widespread throughout the country. So useless was the Goldsmark at one point that war veterans used the paper money the government payed them with to heat their homes. Hyperinflation threatened a near-breakdown of the German economy by the end of 1928.

Immense pressure from the completely bust economy saw very limited avenues of recovery. As a gesture of goodwill, the United States proposed the Wilson Plan, in which they offered financial assistance to the nations of Europe as a means to ensure a long-lasting peace. Von Baden was swift in his acceptance of the gesture, serving to inject the offerings of the plan directly into the German treasury. With this newfound money coming at virtually no price, the Reichstag just as soon began a lengthy debate on how quite this funding should be used to alleviate the current financial crisis. Although the monetary issues of the Goldmark were, in the short term, somewhat quelled, the Reichstag feared that the current procession of the economy would soon lead to an utter collapse in the private sector, if not acted upon soon. This, combined with the emboldened status of the Communist and Social Democratic parties provoked a distinct concern among the predominantly aristocratic Reichstag that, if not soon alleviated, would soon lead to a complete loss of control in the already-foundering German state. Under the influence of his court and Reichstag, Wilhelm IV quickly passed a series of emergency decrees on January 13th, 1929, aptly referred to as the Emergency Economic Powers Act. In effect, this gave the German government large amounts of control over the direction of the direction of industry, disallowed collective bargaining, and directly injected upwards of 70% of the previous Wilson Plan budget into the hands of private enterprises, such as the notable Junkers, Herr, und Krupp. Unincluded in any of these decrees were any of the aforementioned promises made by the earlier Maximilian Von Baden in the closing days of the Great War.

In effect, the decision to influence the German industry from a top-down, state capitalistic approach did very little to alleviate the needs of the average German citizen, where the decree was largely seen as an extension of the austerity of the wartime economy. In an era which promised lasting peace and prosperity, the average German was left jobless and often penniless. Despite an initial revitalization of some industry, the effects of the Act still left scores of Germans out of work and with promises unfulfilled. With such resentment built up over time and in time, the essential banishment of labor unions from Germany, a broad coalition of varied republicans, socialists, and communists banded their strength together, knowing now the only way for the dictatorship of the German Empire to end was a truly united front; Here, Die Einheitsfront was born.

On March 9th, 1929, the city of Cologne - set in the industrial heartland of Germany - experienced a wide series of strikes planned by the Einheitsfront in response to massive unemployment, mismanagement of funds by factory owners, and most importantly, the hyper-inflated pricing of food. Although an initial response from Berlin set to the rioters was somewhat muted, in time, clashes erupted between the Einheitsfront and the local Westfalen Freikorps, which eventually sprawled out into a gigantic, near city-wide battle between the two. Over the course of several days, the fighting escalated in scale and ferocity, calling upon a deployment of soldiers from all over the Empire to quell the unrest. Fighting soonafter spread into Bavaria, Hesse, and Alsace, with a series of states soon reported takeovers at municipal levels. Soldiers in many regions, unconvinced of the crown's wishes to fulfill any of their previous promises, took up arms in conjunction with the United Front. The combat even spilled over into the neighboring German Austria, a revolutionary surge from the neighboring Czechoslovakia and Hungary unable to be quelled by the decaying Hapsburg rule. The lines in the sand were now clearly drawn: The German Civil War had begun.

After months of vicious and brutal fighting, assisted by the recently revolutionized government of neighboring Poland, the German Civil War had come to a close. The Einheitsfront emerged victorious, the vanquished monarchists and proto-fascists were killed, imprisoned, or exiled, and in the place of the old Hohenzollern monarchy a new constitutional system was to be implemented. However, given the multipartisan composition of the United Front, there was initially much heated debate over what form the new government was to take. Supporters of the old Social Democratic Party were in favor of a mixed socialist welfare state, whereas the communists wished to completely revolutionize the old system, dismantle its last pieces, and instate a collective egalitarian society. After months of infighting and power struggles which resulted in rather comical events like the 1930 Reichstag Brawl, the KPD emerged victorious, thanks in no small part to the influence of Poland. In 1931, the constitution of the country was created, solidifying Germany's position as a communist state, and Ernst Toller was voted in as the first President of the German Council Republic, with Johannes Hoffman elected as the first Chancellor.

Toller's performance as the first president was one filled with a rather heavy duty before him, and one which he achieved with a very mixed legacy. Although responsible for a wide variety of initial projects to assist Germany's recovery, Toller was known for his general ineptitude towards appointing effective personnel as well as his general lack of urgency towards any situation. For example, Toller's choice of Foreign Minister, a certain Dr. Franz Lipp, had insisted that every single key to the restrooms in the German parliament had been stolen by the monarchists when fleeing, had issued a declaration of war towards Switzerland when they had refused to lend Germany 53 trucks (The result of which lasted approximately six hours and the only skirmish entailed within had the only casualty listed as a German patrol dog), and, had he not suffered from a heart attack and died on the typewriter from which he was stationed, would have issued a declaration of war upon the Empire of Japan for "the failure to purchase sufficient quantities of German tractors". The only instance in which he had broken this trend was due to his belief that the army would attempt to coup him, and thus, in a bid to curb their political influence, kept the Red Army preoccupied with construction projects, such as bridges, roads, and opera houses, that - while nice to have - Germany did not particularly need. As such, on the commencation of war in China, Toller was very quick to persuade the KPD to lend aid to China, eventually serving to funnel over as many postwar surplus materiel as could be provided.

With the new election cycle in 1936, Toller had proven to be nowhere near as popular enough to necessitate a repeated term, and was soon ousted by the new electee, Eugen Leviné. While certainly proving to be more apt than the previous Toller, Leviné only enjoyed lukewarm reception throughout the wider German population. Although he, unlike his predecessor, had made more conceited efforts to reaffirm the reconstruction program of Germany in the wake of both the Great War and the Civil War, his outspokenly audacious nature committed him to a more aggressively ideological crowd, and for the vast majority of Germans, simply any sign of improvement was a much-needed bolster to the more weary German people. However, come the next election, the UCDP had proposed just the candidate...

Albert Einstein had previously made his living as a world-renowned physicist, and showed only limited interest in political office. Only at the repeated insistence of his accomplices did he, after much debate, make the decision to run for office for President in the 1940 Election. With only a narrow margin of success - boiled down to the most minuscule of percentage difference - Einstein rose as the Third President of Germany. He soon proved to be Germany's most popular president to date. As a result of his series of collective, mutualist economic reforms - in addition to hiss expressive personality, keen inquisitive sense, wit, intelligence, and highly developed sense of empathy - made him enormously popular within and outside of Germany. During Einstein's presidency, the German economy began booming, proving to have completely recovered from the devastation of two wars, and soon after blossoming further as the industry began its steady growth under the UCPD's policy. To this day, Einstein is regarded as the most popular president of Germany to date.

Serving the maximum of two terms, the successor to his position, Wilhelm Stoph currently resides as a modest presider over the DRR. Largely considered to be a more homely president as opposed to many potential candidates, his popularity and legacy remains middling, though how much of this is due to the previous popularity of Einstein remains to be seen. Nevertheless, 1955 marks an election year for the German Council Republic, and the horrors of the Great War are fast becoming a distant memory in the eyes of the people.

The Home of the World Revolution peers out into the world, for it knows of the inevitable struggle between proletariat and bourgeois. For Germany, question of world revolution remains not as "if"...only "when" and "how"...
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At the advent of the Great War, the kingdom of the Netherlands stood before a harsh choice; to join arms with the French, the British, or the Germans -- they were caught in a position with seemingly no escape. Troops were evenly divided across the borders -- the western coast, the southern border with Belgium, and the north and western coast and border with Germany. During this time, the parliament decided on neutrality politics, appeasing every side of the conflict that would take a scale that was larger than life. To this end, general Snijders was selected to fulfill the role of supreme commander of the Dutch armed forces. Immediately this caused tension; Snijders was of the opinion that an attack by the Germans was undefeatable, and advised that the Netherlands should form an alliance with -- and fight on the side of -- the German empire.

This tension rose throughout the entire war, and parliament tried to relieve him from his position many times only to find their attempts thwarted by the queen Wilhelmina, who shared Snijders' opinion in no small part due to her blood ties to the German crown. Due to this, and despite Snijders' offers to resign, disallowed by the queen, Snijders remained in charge of the armed forces of the Netherlands throughout the Great War.

The Great War saw much activity for the Netherlands who, inadvertently, profited greatly off of the Great War through contracting with the warring nations, providing an access port for domestic trade -- and occasionally a safe harbor to repair military vessels in for both sides -- through it's ports. The ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam expanded exponentially during this time, as the Netherlands was one of the few neutral nations in northern Europe that provided access routes to areas that were otherwise inaccessible.

Moreover, the Great War also displaced a great many people who moved to the Netherlands as refugees -- from France and Belgium primarily, and later on from Germany too. Although these refugees originally had intended to return to their homelands, it soon became apparent that the war would not come to an end any time soon. By the time the war was over in 1927, these people had built up new lives in the Netherlands, and not many were willing to give this all up to return to a country that would still be war-torn and offered few chances for them. The influx of refugees -- who, by then, were as much citizens as anyone else -- provided the Netherlands with a large population growth of all classes -- whether it be labourers, intelligentsia, or otherwise.

By 1921, it had become obvious that the Great War was lasting too long: the refugees that had been assumed would go home in fact did not end up going home. As more and more refugees from Belgium, France and Germany flooded the Netherlands, it soon became obvious that this could go on no further. It's own population of roughly 6.9 million in 1921 meant that they could utilize all of the country -- and then have room to spare. Housing, feeding and generally making space for an influx of some 2-3 million refugees from 1914 to 1921, however, was a challenge that the Dutch government had been ill prepared for.

In January 1921 this "issue" of the refugees became a furious argument in parliament; this culminated in a physical argument between Paul de Groot of the Communistische Partij Holland and Roelof Kranenburg of the Vrijzinnig Democratische Bond that was stopped just before it came to blows by other members of parliament. From henceforth onwards, the refugees became a true political issue in the Netherlands that came to be known as the Refugee Question.

In April that same year, when the first ceasefires were written up, the Dutch member of parliament Age Buma put forth a motion to ask for the research on whether it was possible to drain the Zuiderzee. Normally such a request would have been met with stern disagreement, but in the past 3 months the Refugee Question had turned from just another issue into the only issue that was currently plaguing the Netherlands. Buma proposed, in his motion, that the land made available by the drainages would be enough to house the refugees, and by developing agricultural investments in the area, feed them too.

While the flames of war were fanned around the Netherlands, it turned inwards, towards its own. Age Buma created a research team spearheaded by Cornelis Lely.

Several old plans were revisited, and it was decided that the 1866 plan "Stieltjes" would be used as a blueprint for the project that would be dubbed Zuiderzeewerken.



Plan Stieltjes


Queen Wilhelmina gave the project her stamp of approval and openly supported the project once she became aware of it, calling it a "great project of ingenuity that will make the Netherlands into the prosperous nation we all want it to be." While there were great conflicts between Wilhelmina and parliament -- most importantly over the axis-aligned supreme commander Snijders -- she enjoyed the popular support of not just the Dutch people, but also the refugees that now lived in the Netherlands; due to this, it was hard for the politicians of parliament to change their minds on the project.

The Zuiderzeewerken were finally proposed to parliament in October 1922, and approved. A year later preparations were complete, and construction was started on a large dam across the sea between Noord-Holland and Friesland. This construction was simple enough on it's own if it were to function like an actual dam, but there were several requirements from an engineering perspective that made the project much harder. First of all, the depth of the sea fluctuated heavily, from 4 meters to 20 meters. An optimal route had to be charted, performed by Cornelis Lely himself (aided by mathematicians and field measurement equipment, of course) during the preparations.

A secondary challenge was that the dam had to be able to open and close; ship traffic to ports -- most importantly Amsterdam -- could not be impeded.

It took four years -- to 1926 -- to create this dam. During this time the polders for the land reclamation projects were also started, creating the basis for the actual land reclamation process. Construction on the polders (and the prerequisite equipment to begin reclaiming land) was complete by 1927, and the process to take water out of the polders begun.

From 1914 to 1927, Snijders never wavered from his duties as the supreme commander of the Dutch armed forces, but it was not a surprise when he was fired from his position in 1927, after the war ended, the reason being cited as defeatism. Queen Wilhelmina gave up her support for Snijders at this time, as the war was over and her (and Snijders) opinions on Germany were no longer relevant.

Snijders accepted the outcome of his service and was commemorated later that year with a plaque showcasing his face, lined with the text "een leven in dienst van zijn Land en zijn Volk," placed in Scheveningen, and paid for by the queen herself. He went on to take part in the authoritarian right-wing political party Verbond voor Nationaal Herstel but ultimately gave up his seat in parliament.

As one of the few countries in Europe that had managed to remain neutral throughout the conflict, the peace that followed the Great War was signed in Rotterdam -- a city that, despite the war around it, had managed to become Amsterdam's rival. It was apparent that neutrality and peace had done the Netherlands much good -- and queen Wilhelmina, albeit silently, wished that this would convince the other powers in Europe to fare a similar course.

With the end of the war, however, the Refugee Question became even more pressing -- the obvious truth now became simply a truth, and many of the refugees indeed did not feel much for moving back home to their war torn countries. For example, Amsterdam now knew not only the Jodenbuurt, but also the Duitsenkwartier and the Franse Wijk, where many of these people had settled in the years prior. These areas were, at the time, impoverished and intended to be temporary housing that had slowly managed to become permanent.

The Flemish Belgians settled massively in Noord Brabant, a region they were intimately familiar with for the most part -- having lived in Southern Brabant and surrounding regions themselves. They were well received in the region, sharing a language and parts of a culture, and had no trouble finding a new home in the region. Most of them took up jobs at local farms, others settled in the cities and found employment quickly. The Wallonians, on the other hand, settled in cities further north, often taking up residence in the French neighborhoods in Den Haag, Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

In and of itself this was not a problem -- the Dutch prided themselves on their (misplaced) notions of tolerance -- but it became more and more obvious that there was simply a lack of housing, and agricultural production was unable to keep up, leading to a massive decrease in agricultural exports, which ended up hurting the Dutch economy.

But the Zuiderzeewerken would need time and effort to be able to be completed -- time and effort that, unfortunately, would outlast the creator of the plan, Cornelis Lely. In 1929 he passes away, leaving behind a legacy that would inspire future generations of Dutchmen -- but, at the time, it seemed like a hollow sacrifice in the face of a lack of housing and space -- the polders had begun emptying the polders two years before, and process had been slow, slower than anticipated. The water was slowly draining, but not fast enough to make a difference in the difficult refugee situation.

Come 1930 and that situation had worsened considerably. With the communist uprising in Germany so close to their homes, many people began to worry that another war was soon upon them. The flood of new refugees from the east only furthered this worry, as rich German aristocrats began arriving daily. Many of these aristocrats settled in Amsterdam -- albeit not in the Duitsenkwartier -- and Den Haag, often close to universities and other well-off areas. They did not fit into the Dutch system, where the aristocrats were aristocrats, but otherwise simply people. Rich people -- often times, very rich people -- but people all the same.

Their arrival could not have been more ill-timed. Following their arrival, people took to the streets in the Hague, marching to the Malieveld to express their discontent at the arrival of even more refugees -- much more so rich aristocrats who felt, according to the Dutch, like they were god's gift to the Dutch.

Willem Albarda of the Sociaal-Democratische Arbeiderspartij saw his chance in the uproar, and expecting support from the eastern neighbors in Germany, declared that in five days time there would be a revolution if parliament did not secede to his demands. He declared such in the middle of the large gathering and received mixed responses then and there, but he continued his speech;

Nemen wij het initiatief niet, dan nemen anderen het. Er zijn redenen om het spoedig te doen en het hier te doen; de stemming onder de arbeiders is er gunstig voor; morgen moeten wij het doen, anders houden wij de beweging niet in handen.



If we do not take the initiative, others will take it. There are reasons enough to do it soon and to do it here; the mood under the laborers is good for it; tomorrow we have to do it, otherwise we cannot keep the movement contained.




The next days were uneventful; the speech had roused a response from the government that had begun arming the local police departments with carbines, and attached an extra cavalry detachment to the Amsterdam police department to contain any threat in the capital, but otherwise did not seriously respond to the threats or the list of demands that was delivered to them.

Meeting with his organization, Albarda once more delivered a speech;

Hier noch elders woonde ik ooit een avond bij van zo grote, historische betekenis als deze: wij komen hier om te spreken op het ogenblik, dat ook ons, de arbeidersklasse, de macht in handen zal geven! [...] Bezoedelt deze grote tijd niet door onwaardige daden; laat er eenmaal worden gezegd: het Nederlandse proletariaat toonde zich berekend voor zijn taak, de Nederlandse proletarische revolutie is geweest het gloriepunt in de geschiedenis van Nederland!



Here nor elsewhere have I ever been to a night of such big, historical importance as this night: we come here to speak in the moment, that will give us too, the laborer-class, the power in our hands! [...] Do not tarnish this great time with unworthy deeds; let it be said once: the Dutch proletariat showed itself prepared for its task, the Dutch proletarian revolution has been the glory-point in the history of the Netherlands!


The attendants -- those close to Albarda, mostly -- left the meeting feeling roused, but calm. The next day the "storm" would break loose. They would wake to affidavits stuck to the walls in every city, reading:

Tegenover de aankondiging, dat eene minderheid naar de macht zal grijpen, heeft de Regeering besloten in het belang van de rechten en vrijheden van het gansche volk, het gezag en de orde te handhaven.



Against the announcement, that a minority shall seize control, has the government decided in favor of the rights and freedoms of the entire populace, to maintain law and order.


The revolution -- much like its lead-up -- was uneventful. There were more contra revolutionaries than revolutionaries, and in light of this the government decided to suspend the Landstorm and instructed the police to continue their normal duties. Later on, Albada made apologies, saying he did not speak the word revolution once.

It became apparent that many of the people in the Netherlands were perfectly happy with the situation as it was following the peaceful survival of the Great War -- a glance to the east, west and south made apparent to all that lived in the Netherlands that things were not quite so bad, and even the proletariat was in agreement that a revolution would not make matters better -- most socialist parties agreed that from henceforth socialist ideals would be furthered in the democratic process. The SDAP boycotted any debate about this topic to save themselves from embarrassment.

With the communist uprising averted and the Zuiderzeewerken in full swing, the Netherlands entered a period of relative quiet and comfort, and the Zuiderzeewerken were completed in 1932, although much of the lands in the Flevopolder had already been taken into use five years prior to that, developed by parliament and occupied by farmers looking to expand on new and cheap agricultural lands. The Markerpolders, or at least the areas close to Amsterdam, were turned into a mixture of industrial and residential areas with small-scale agriculture, to provide a peripherie to Amsterdam. The straight-lined canals that ran through the reclaimed land area were perfect for an increase in size for the Amsterdam ports, and in the long term, this provided Amsterdam with an edge it needed to once again jump ahead of Rotterdam as 'the port of Europe.'

This passive attitude of investment and life-improvement would continue in the Netherlands, even as eyes in Indonesia began to turn to the Sino-Japanese conflict when it arose. When this war ended in 1944, eyes averted once more; some with relief, some with anger. It was an open secret that a large portion of Indonesians were slowly becoming tired of the Dutch, and the only thing that had been keeping them in check was the KNIL -- which had seen a surge of reinforcements from the continent back home during the years in which there was a housing shortage -- living in warm, sweaty Indonesia where half the locals hate you was still preferable over living in a cramped space in the Netherlands, especially when the KNIL command fed you and kept a roof (or tent) over your head.

And so, the Indonesians' eyes averted with anger -- anger that the Japanese had not continued their conflict and seized control of Indonesia like they had Vietnam and given them their "freedom" under a military government. And the KNIL averted their eyes with relief that they did not need to fight the trained war machine of the Japanese empire.

April 3rd, 1945 would be the date ingrained into the memory of every soldier in the KNIL, however. While the declaration of war was quick to arrive in the Netherlands, news did not travel so quickly across a multitude of oceans and continents back, and while the Dutch government was still gathering itself, the KNIL was already fighting the Japanese imperial forces, unaware that war had even been declared. By then, however, it was more than obvious.

The first invasions were swift -- caught off guard in positions that were poorly fortified, the Japanese overran most of the border regions in areas of Indonesia that had been deemed "strategically unimportant" to the Dutch. For the most part, these were regions that provided little to no actual monetary gains to them. But these routs quickly cascaded, and as one region fell, many of the KNIL soldiers trapped behind enemy lines and aware of what happened to POW's from what had happened in the Chinese-Japanese war, the next would quickly fall too, it's defenses not bolstered by the men that the Indonesian command had expected to arrive as part of the retreat.

The saving grace of the KNIL forces that were essentially trapped on Indonesia was the navy, and while it could not rival the Japanese navy in size nor poundage, it made effective use of it's tools, and hindered the Japanese invasions where possible. It was this naval aid that allowed the KNIL to regroup in key positions, such as Batavia and Surabaya.

From here on out, it was a losing battle, marred by the occasional outbreak or victory, but mostly marred by a bitter sense of dread -- it became more apparent as the years dragged on that British help was out of the question, and the Australians no longer had any interest in helping the Commonwealth and, in turn, the Dutch.

Surabaya, one of the most important trade hubs in Indonesia, fell to the Japanese after a bitter fight in 1954 -- a bitter fight in which it had to be said that the KNIL made the Japanese pay for every step they set inside of their city. The situation, however, wasn't tenable, and the command was given all the way from the Netherlands by queen Wilhelmina herself to "abandon this reckless attempt at heroism and save your selves, that you may fight to defend the crown jewel another time."

The North Sumatra 1st Garrison battalion, 2nd Garrison battalion and the Sabang detachment began preparing for a massive evacuation from Surabaya while the fighting was raging, during which the Japanese saw the destruction of the entire North Sumatra 1st Garrison, who sacrificed their lives to hold the line against the Japanese. By the time the Japanese broke through, preparations were only halfway complete, and the 2nd Garrison turned to fight the Japanese, offering the Sabang detachment a chance to continue preparations. Over half the 2nd Garrison battalion lost their lives before the evacuation order was given. Under constant fire, the men of the KNIL abandoned the city -- a city that would soon fly Japanese colors, but would always be a Dutch territory.

Among the men of the Sabang detachment was cpl. Setiawan Krisna, an otherwise indistinguishable Indonesian soldier who, among the giants of the Netherlands, looks like a dwarf. Despite this, his senior officers claimed he fought off an entire house worth of Japanese soldiers while the rest of his men prepared a small boat for the evacuation.


Bottom, 2nd to left; Setiawan Krisna


Embellished or not, the Dutch were aware of their lacking support among the Indonesians, as they only enjoyed Indonesian support in the larger cities that had been "enriched" by the Dutch presence, and not the countryside province that had mostly enjoyed a lack of representation and the disdain of the Dutch who saw them as little more than rice-growing savages.

To this end they provided Setiawan Krisna with a knighting as a knight 4th class in the Militaire Willems-Orde. Immediately, they began spreading news of this among the few locations they still held in Indonesia; propping up Setiawan Krisna as an Indonesian war hero who did his part in the fight against Japanese imperialists.

But the Japanese are not the only threat. The Partai Komunis Indonesia has recently reared it's head, and they do not care whether it is a Dutchman, an Indonesian, or a Japanese head on the Indonesian snake; what matters is their alignment to the cause of the proletariat. Thus far, faced with a far more credible and present threat, the Dutch have not made any large steps in eradicating or pacifying the PKI, and while queen Wilhelmina has not actively flirted with communism yet, she has also not been outspoken against it -- there are yet chances for rapprochement, though the windows of opportunity are closing fast.

Despite the war, elections in the Netherlands have continued as they always have; the current leading party is the Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij who have, with a coalition of likeminded center-christian parties, taken over the position of the government. The prime minister, Rody Broodman, was elected under vague promises of military reform to aid the situation in Indonesia, but has thus far not performed much and seems to be happy to let the situation ride the course it rides.

Queen Wilhelmina, bitter about being forced to lose her "crown jewel" Indonesia, has petitioned aid from the first and second chamber of parliament, in a request to hand over control of the country to her under a provisional arrangement in which the prime minister and her temporarily switch roles -- she will determine the course the Netherlands fares for the duration of the war, and the prime minister will temporarily take the role of ratifier, the man who will approve all these actions.

The proposal was pushed through -- with approval and encouragement of Rody Broodman himself, who was seemingly far less equipped to handle the war than he originally thought -- with a thin 66% to 34% margin in the second chamber, and an even thinner 58% to 42% margin in the first chamber, which was still held by a liberal and democratic majority. The deciding factor therein was that queen Wilhelmina was eager to face the Japanese emperor, whereas Rody Broodman was, quite simply put, not.

But, besides for her willingness to face off against the emperor of Japan, the queen has also recently vented frustrations about Great Britain and it's unwillingness to participate in the conflict. While a token force of soldiers has been sent by the Brits, continued support from the Brits has remained out, and it has come down to the Dutch and only the Dutch to stop the Japanese war-machine. With oil and rubber production being not just threatened, but downright taken over by the Japanese, Wilhelmina seeks to act fast - and perhaps do so with the aid of a broken Russia. It is clear that, should Great Britain stay the course, Wilhelmina will be none too pleased and will potentially even blame any negative outcome of the Japanese-Dutch wars on the Brits.

Apart from her ties to Russia, she has also expressed interest to her close confidante's that she is interested in pursuing closer ties with the Chinese if Russian aid is not enough. There currently exist no diplomatic channels -- but it is possible that Wilhelmina seeks to open more channels in the future.

Lastly, she has called upon the restoration of the once positive Japanese-Dutch relations during the times in which the Dutch were the only European power allowed to trade with Japan on the artificial island of Dejima. She recounted the fact that once the ties had been "so good" -- glossing over the many conflicts that arose in this time -- that there were even Dutch studies (a phenomenon known to the Japanese as Rangaku).

His name went unmentioned by Wilhelmina personally, but when she said "Japanese, call upon your emperor to stop this madness, that we might become friends motivated by mutual profit and investment," it was quite clear she was referring to the many candidates for the prime ministership of Japan, petitioning them to call for an end to this war.
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Nation: People's Republic of United Workers/Popolrespubliko de Unuiĝintaj Laboristoj (PUL)

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Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

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History:

The dissolution of the Russian Empire has proved to be one of simply agonizing lethargy. Having been ruled beneath the Russian crown since the 19th century, the many nations of the Caucasus had proven incredibly eager to recapture their independence. With the seeds of rebellion firmly planted throughout the Russian Empire during the chaos of the Great War, many Caucasian peoples vied for their freedom, including the Georgian National Union and the Armenian National Liberation Movement, and when the winds of insurrection blew across Russia fatefully in 1917, the rebels of the Caucasus too, sprang to life. From Tbilisi to Van, guerillas and skirmishers - many of whom had been veteran insurgents within the too-decaying Ottoman Empire - carried out their struggles in the dark of night and foggiest of days.

Courageous as they had been, many of the rebels had only limited support from the world at large. Having fought both nations in the Entente as well as the Central Powers, these movements would inevitably begin to run out of supplies and steam, as their international recognition more strongly favored the Ottomans and Russia. Although this season of rebellion had firmly come to a close with the final reestablishment of the Viceroyalty in 1921, the ideas which would power the cause of self-determination would never truly die. Secret societies convened at churches, revolutionaries plotted at dinner tables, all waiting for their right moment to strike once more.

The recent ascension of Tsarina Kira Romanov had once again thrown the decaying Russian Empire into full-blown crisis. Yet, within every crisis lay opportunity, and so was it that the many rebels of the Viceroyalty once more took up their arms for their cause. Beneath every banner and for every ideology was the conflict fought, with what few loyalists could keep a force to the monarchist revitalists, to republicans and socialists. Yet, when the dust had settled in 1951, the Caucasian Peasant's Front - led by the emphatic Viyan Petrosyan and the keen-minded Vasily Blyukher - had emerged as the dominant force in the region, forcing out the South Russian Imperial Army and the Chechnyan National League from the region and to the north. With their grasp on the region more fully established and the makings of a constituent republic in the works, Petrosyan and Blyukher have emerged as popular figureheads in the region, and now can afford to - at least temporarily - catch their breath.

As it stands, the Transcaucasian SFSR was formed from the remains of the former Tsar's Viceroyalty of the Caucasus. Former Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, Luxemburgists, Anarchists, and all manner of movements convene within its vast and varied territories, which has - unsurprisingly - resulted in political infighting. Befitting of this motley political crew, Transcaucasia stands as a thoroughly patchwork state carved from Russia: It is a vastly eclectic union of Russians, Armenians, Georgians, Chechens, Tatars, Azerbaijanis, Turks, and Kurds. Though tensions between the ethnicity have (many) a grievance against others, the presiding SFSR has managed to keep these sentiments under wraps...for the time being, at least.

Yet still, the young Trancaucasian Union has far from escaped many of the classical issues its constituent states historically possessed; It is besieged on all sides by unfriendly faces, only barely able to be supported by the greater European socialist powers via tiny ports in the Black Sea and shoddy airfields in Sochi. A belligerent Turkey to the West, an unkind Iran to the South, and the vastness of the Tsarina's unwelcoming realm to the North all belie Transcaucasia, all of whom have envied their eyes upon its lands and resources. Still yet a young nation, much of Transcaucasia is resource-rich and infrastructure-poor, with only the major arteries from Baku and Yerevan linking north and west to its Georgian ports, with little room for much else. It is blessed with perhaps the largest oil reserves in the former Empire, yet a monotone export economy cannot sustain Transcaucasia forever, for its geography limits its potential buyers to transports along Russia's former railways and those along the Black Sea.

All in all, Transcaucasia lies in a lamentable position, and must tread carefully if it is to fulfill its dream of a worker's paradise, lest it be devoured as it has so many times before.
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The Federal District of Sitka

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History:

It first started in the early 20's, Russian Jews fled the collapsed Empire and settled along the west coast around Seattle. The small community began to slowly grow through the decade as unease began to seep through Europe. In the 30's, at the height of the worldwide depression, an influx of Jews fleeing pogroms and scapegoats from their European homelands came to America. They were met with unfriendly indifference by the now right-wing government in control. Jews of various nationalities, the incoming refugees and including those whose had called America home for centuries, were packed off and shuttled to Alaska.

An act of Congress created the Federal District of Sitka in 1935. The first group of settlers arrived to find a grouping of rocky islands and a harsh climate. But to these people, this was nothing news. Now twenty years have passed and over 2.5 million Jews call Stika home. It is a melting pot of religious zealots, refugees in search of a permanent home, criminals looking to hide from something. Most of the population are just good people keeping their heads down and trying to survive, the words Gam Zeh Ya’avor -- This Too Shall Pass -- in the back of their minds.

Characters:

Ruth Endlmen-Coen: Official "head of government" for Sitka, liaison to US Department of the Interior
Ben Levy: Detective Sergeant, Sitka PD
Jacob Abrams: Half Jew-Half Inuit Detective, Ben's partner
Rabbi Asa Balsm: Hassidic Rabbi and leader of Hassid community.
Yuri Rudnitsky: Russian gangster

Post Catalogue

1. "קאַווע"
2. "דאָונאַץ"
3. "שאָך"
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