Era 19: The World Transformed
Map 1957:
The World War: 1957-1964
By January 1957, the 'big' war is fought by the alliance of the Aarut Federation, the Varakan Empire, and their mutual friends (known simply as the 'Allies') against the United Furotoca and its allies (referred to as the 'Furotocans', although their actual ideologies are quite varied).
1957: Enthusiasm
The biggest ever sea battles take place in the [Mediterranean]. This is the long-awaited showdown between the Allied and Furotocan fleets. Thousands of aircraft are involved too. Both sides lose many famous warships. The Furotocans have superior radar and communication, but the Allies win by sheer weight of numbers. The Furotocan expedition in [North Africa] is isolated and defeated.
With its capitol cities in enemy hands, the Holy Empire of Tezan begins to collapse, brining chaos to large parts of [Africa]. The Manzuru send little help to their Varakan allies in the north, but show great interest in expanding westwards across the continent with their Varakan-made weapons.
Allied progress is slow elsewhere. A daring Varakan airborne-amphibious invasion of various ports and islands in the [Aegean] area is a disaster. Some islands are captured, and new Marzhung-built helicopters prove useful, but many beachheads have to be evacuated, causing more losses of Allied ships and planes. The Republic of Turun (central Turkey) is dragged into the war on the Furotocan side. The Aarut had wanted to invade [Sicily], but Furotocans reinforce the central islands, and the moment passes. The tiny Tezanian island of [Malta] is the only prize the Aarut marines can gain.
The Argine army hovers menacingly on the border of [northern Italy].
During late autumn, the Poneb Empire invades the Sezvyr Covenant, but is soon pushed back by the intervention of the Marzhung, who have been anticipating such a move by Poneb. Poneb's forces are outgunned and outclassed. The Sezvyr fall under Marzhung influence. This humiliation is the final straw for Poneb's imperial regime, and revolution occurs behind the lines. Fighting continues, but this war remains separate, for now. The Thereska Sarvonia is placed in a diplomatic tangle with its neighbours, but manages to keep its own hostilities limited to the Varakan front.
In the Far East, the skirmishing between the Huiyan and the Varakan army of the Irzhul Katan comes to a close. Despite Huiyan-Yanshi public sentiment against Varakans, both sides withdraw without further incident, and the Irzhul rebellion is crushed. Meanwhile the Tiandishi continue to attack the Shynists of [Tibet], and a Carrier battle off the southern coast of the [Philippines] turns out to be the last noteworthy event in the 'Gentlemen's War' - incidentally it is a victory for the Takaraji. Around the same time, the Takaraji test fire a large ballistic rocket capable of reaching hundreds of miles into mainland [China] from [Japan]. The Huiyan-Yanshi are not far behind with their own rocket program. Both remain well ahead of [Europe] in that field.
The Takaraji navy offers some help for the Varakans in the [Indian Ocean] but that is as far as their involvement with the Allies goes.
In [North America], The Xanto are forced out of Marinata (California) by a Takaraji expedition, with most of their aircraft and heavy weapons lost. The Takaraji position is strengthened by alliance with the Lantamac Empire (Mexico). The Xanto reluctantly turn to guerrilla warfare. The Lantan High Priests now abandon caution and call for a war of resistance to all foreign invaders. Some claim the Lantan hierarchy is now nothing more than a propaganda tool in the hands of the Xanto, but in any case thousands of guerrilla fighters answer the call.
In [South America], the Matac Empire is the protagonist in an ongoing war, with fighting concentrated around the [Amazon] area. A messy tribal conflict has been set in motion, with modern rifles and heavy weapons - the Matac even have a growing airforce, though it is made of obsolete foreign planes. The Takaraji and Aarut are moved to reinforce their garrisons on the continent. The Aarut play a lesser role as they are also dragged into fighting the Rayulat warlords of [Venezuela], not to mention the forces of the Zanac Kingdom (southern Chile) which, with its traditional links to Tezan, is the only country outside of [Africa] and [Europe] to openly support the Furotocan cause.
1958: Engagement
The Sarvonians, aided by Urgruian mountain troops, encircle and capture a whole Varakan army in the [Caucasus]. This temporary success inspires a few more [east European] countries to officially join the Furotocan war effort. Things then change on the Amestrian front. The Roskians and Aarut are pushed towards the [Baltic] coast. Evidence of Roskian war crimes is uncovered - 'death camps', and poison gas attacks against whole villages. Despite this, not all of the Amestrian guerrilla factions choose to cooperate with the Furotocans. Times are bleak in Amestria.
The air war over [Europe] gets more intense. New Varakan jet bombers come into service. With their cities burning, the Furotocans struggle to make ready their new interceptors and radar-guided rockets. Most of Varaka's cities and factories are too far away for retaliation, but Furotocan bombers are able to some reap some revenge against the Aarut, Argines and Roskians.
'Operation Tagarot' is the long-awaited push by Argines and Aarut into northern [Italy], to avenge the Furotocan incursion of 1955-56. Argine troops attack with surprising bravery and savagery, stirred up by propaganda full of apocalyptic imagery. They reach deep into northern [Italy] but are stalled after suffering almost half a million casualties. Then follows flash floods and thick snow, which gives both sides a pause to catch their breath.
The Allies gain theoretical control over most of northern [Africa]. Manzuru forces reach the [Atlantic] coast of Saigara (Cameroon). But the Varakans in particular are plagued by rebels and resistance fighters across huge swathes of territory.
Marzhung intentions in Sezvyr become clear with the declaration of the 'Greater Progressive Union of Marzhung-Sezvyr'. While Poneb and the Marzhung-Sezvyr are still fighting a skirmish war across the [Urals] and the [Artic] coast, Marzhung troops are being drawn further and further east to deal with obstinate Sezvyr warlords.
Otherwise, tensions in the Far East begin to ease for various reasons. The Krashenist revival in [India] is a growing danger to both Varakan and Tiandishi power. The Holy Shyin Emperor calls for peace, and Varaka does not oppose the Tiandishi occupation of the [Tibetan plateau]. Meanwhile a conservative regime takes hold in Takaraji. Both Huiyan-Yanshi and the Takaraji lose interest in perusing the Gentlemen's War in the [Pacific], and both look to gain something from the collapse of the Sezvyr.
Aarut policies in [North America] lead to more fighting there between all sides. Native guerrilla factions are stirred up to fight against each other, as well as the Aarut. The Panto leadership loses any kind of real authority. Old hatreds are revived. Most of the [eastern USA] returns to disputed-zone status. All this violence does no good for the fortunes of New Aarut, and resentment towards the mother Federation steadily grows. Meanwhile the Takaraji reinforce their [Pacific] protectorates and are drawn into fighting Lantan-inspired guerrillas in the [Rocky Mountains].
The idea of a grand 'triple alliance' - the Furtocans, Yanshi-Huiyan, and the Xanto-Panto - against the 'global imperialists' (Allies) seems dead at this point.
1959: Frustration
It seems that anti-air missiles and improved radar may be a little too late. Blockade, invasion and bombing seem to be strangling the Furotocan war industry. But the Allies are suffering their own problems from partisans, rebels, and dissenters, particularly in the old Tezanian heartlands. Also, Furotocan ships, subs and bombers still prowl the high seas, operating from friendly bases spread across the world - in Xanto and Zanac territory, former Tezanian territories, and even Krashenist strongholds in [India].
A Krashenist-Jurancist movement has another attempt at seizing power in Kronahar (England/Wales), which has so far been a passive supporter of the Allies along with Rithland, Geldut, and other countries trapped in the Aarut economic sphere. Rithland (Scotland) draws closer to the Allies, and sends troops are sent south to intervene. Some later see action across [Europe] too.
With the prospect of a long guerrilla war in [Siberia] against Sezvyr rebels, the need to contain Takaraji incursion, and Varakan pleas for assistance against Sarvonia, the Marzhung try to force an advantageous peace with Poneb. Marzhung elite troops probe as far as the [White Sea], but Poneb stubbornly fights on under its new Republican government. Sarvonia and the Furotocans send whatever war supplies they can, and make little secret of it. Marzhung forces begin to skirmish with Sarvonian garrisons on the east bank of the [Volga]. A trickle of supplies comes from Huiyan-Yanshi, until Aarut and Rosk eventually send some ships to lay mines off Poneb's coasts and impound trade vessels.
Furotocan aircraft carry out a daring low-level attack on the unfinished Yansalan (Suez) Canal, doing enough damage to keep it that way until the end of the war.
There is action on all fronts during Summer and Autumn. The Varakans grind their way through Furotocan defence lines in [Turkey] and the [Caucasus], while the exhausted Argines lose ground in [Italy]. Meanwhile the Furotocans push further into the [Baltic], and the Rosk Empire faces massive civil unrest at home. But unlike in Poneb, the Roskian military uses brutal methods to hold on to power. The Aarut are overstretched and cannot offer any new offensives on any front.
For the Furotocans, a knock-out blow against the Aarut homeland (Denmark and northern Germany) launched from Amestrian and Vauslan territory is a tempting idea, especially if the Thessen Union (Germany) can be inspired to join the Furotocan war effort. Thessen has been modernising and mobilising for years, but still refuses to make any firm commitments. The situation in Amestria is still unstable. And the Aarut have several strong defence lines in the way. So instead, the Furotocan leaders eventually decide on a grand counter-offensive in the east to save Sarvonia from its impending doom. Plans are set for the following year.
The year ends with a serious wave of unrest and rebellion across the Varakan Empire. Guerrillas seize large parts of [North Africa], Yansala (Egypt), and southern Nayir (Arabia). There is a real attempt to create a fundamentalist Wainist republic in southern [Iran] and [Pakistan]. Krashenists also threaten to overrun much of [India], but there the Takaraji and Tiandishi also intervene. Fighting is fierce - roughly a million people are killed this year in [Bengal] alone, the vast majority civilians, as the Tiandishi and Varakans combine forces against the Grajaj Krashenists. It doesn't stop the spread of their ideas. Shynist and Krashenist uprisings cause similar problems all across [western China]. Tiandishi is distracted while the Takaraji and Yanshi negotiate a new and peaceful state of affairs in the [Pacific].
In [North America], a political crisis in New Aarut drags on throughout the year. The Aarut Federation retains military control of the core territories. Guerrilla fighting continues and there is a flood of refugees heading to relatively-safe areas. The 'illegal' colonist states of New Rithland (Saskatchewan), Saargarat (South Dakota) and New Geldut (Gerorgia) fight to survive and expand in the face of fierce native resistance. The Takaraji disapprove, but the Aarut stance remains ambiguous.
In [South America], Matac forces cause the collapse of the old Zamarac Kingdom with the help of river gunboats and aircraft, but they cannot complete the conquest. Takaraji and Aarut colonial troops and their affiliates put pressure on the Matac supply routes. The Amasan Empire (northern Argentina) attacks the Matac allies from the south. The Hygurans (northern Brazil) mobilise to see what they can gain from Zamarac lands.
1960: Escalation
The Varakans buy some time by pulling hundreds of thousands of troops pulled out of the front lines to contain the revolts. Even so, [northern India] and large parts of [Africa] are basically abandoned for the time being. At the same time, Varakan military leaders defeat a mutiny by reformist-moderates in Vesakarai (the grand new Varakan capitol, north of OTL Teheran), and take more power for themselves in the process. One item on the new agenda is the building of hundreds of new concentration camps all across the Empire. The Varakan emperor Gavanael II, already weakened by illness and the loss of his eldest son in an air training accident, is left as a figurehead ruler only.
On a fine spring morning, the first nuclear explosion in history occurs at a pre-determined height over the small town of Guusli, on an island in the [Adriatic]. A fast and high-flying Varakan jet bomber has evaded Furotocan air defences to drop a Uranium nuclear bomb. There has been no prior testing - Allied scientists were confident enough of their design. Total deaths are under twenty thousand, but that is not the point. The Varakans declare it to be a 'warning shot'. Weeks later, with furtive armistice talks coming to nothing, the Allies then strike the crowded city of [Naples] with another Uranium bomb. This time around seventy thousand die instantly, not counting the after-effects...
There is surprisingly little panic across the United Furotoca - the people are hardened by years of conventional bombing, and there is still much confusion and disbelief surrounding these atomic weapons. The Furotocan leaders, aware of the many difficulties of their own atomic bomb program, coldly gamble that the Allies cannot maintain this bombardment. Allied peace demands are unacceptable. The Furotocan leaders appeal to their people to withstand whatever may come. The United Furotoca still stands.
Meanwhile, both the Allied and the Furotocan armies are focused on the fighting in the [Caucasus]. As expected, the Marzhung officially join the Allied cause and quickly overrun all Sarvonian territory east of the [Volga]. The Furotocan counter-offensives get into action, and collide head on with new and increasingly desperate offensives launched by the Allies - even Manzuru troops are now fighting in the [Caucasus]. The biggest tank battles in history - so far - are fought in the plains between the [Don] and the [Volga], with equally fierce air battles raging overhead.
The Varakans and Marzhung ultimately meet at the north-west corner of the [Caspian sea], and also cross the [Don] in several places, but their victory is not complete. The Furotocan [Black Sea] Fleet maintains stubborn pockets of resistance in the [Caucasus]. More of the Yeshegi mountain fighters are drawn over to the Furotocan side. And on the [Anatolian] front, overstretched Varakan forces are almost pushed back to pre-war borders - it seems the famous old cities of the Voresian Empire may be spared further bombardment.
Republican Poneb remains resolute in the face of further Marzhung-Sezvyr advances, as well as an abortive but surprisingly serious attack out of [Finland] by the Roskians with Rithlander and other miscellaneous Allied troops tagging along.
The Furotocan fleet returns to action, armed with experimental anti-ship and anti-air missiles. Furotocan subs cannot get through the [Straights of Gibraltar] but a new generation prowl the [Mediterranean]. Allied ships are sunk at an alarming rate. Elite troops are sent to raid the [African] coast and find the Allied garrisons there in some disarray.
Varakan supply lines are now almost nonexistent beyond [Mesopotamia]. The Marzhung are left with a heavy burden on the [Asian] front, especially after basically commandeering large numbers of Varakan tanks and jet bombers.
The Varakans pull out all the stops to launch a third nuclear attack in the winter. But despite careful preparation and simultaneous decoy raids, the bomber carrying the nuke is shot down by the latest Furotocan hybrid jet-rocket interceptors high above [Greece]. The Furotocan spy network plays a role in this, as do the latest Furotocan computing machines which are now regularly decoding Allied messages. But Varakan secrecy is such that the actual intended target is never known for sure. The Allies have now almost exhausted their stockpile of enriched Uranium - gathered at great expense over the past few years - and in any case need a better way to get through Furotocan air defences.
As the year ends, Krashenists in [northern India] declare their own state - 'Kajiri Karashai' - and the Varakan Empire faces another round of rebellions, but not quite the great collapse that the Furotocans are hoping for. A fatalistically determined mood grips both sides.
In the Far East, the Marzhung-Sezvyr end up fighting a major battle with Takaraji-Asalyat colonial forces over the Kartung Protectorate, much to the surprise of both sides. A compromise is soon reached and the Takaraji sphere avoids antagonising the Allies any further. Meanwhile the Huiyan-Yanshi publicly guarantee protection of Siyaga Kingdom (Thailand) and Great Dagon (Borneo) against further Tiandishi ambitions, causing some controversy. Tiandishi troops are accused of various atrocities against Shynists in [Tibet] and various 'subversives' across [South-East Asia] but this is soon overshadowed by disturbing rumours coming out of the Varakan Empire.
Things remain violent in [North America], and New Aarut remains in limbo. Old Aarut is eventually forced to negotiate more autonomy for the new territories in order to keep war supplies flowing to [Europe]. This begins an unstoppable chain of events. On the west coast, the Lantan uprising begins to die down for now, as it seems the Takaraji have no further interest in Xanto or Xante lands, but Lantan fundamentalism begins to overtake the traditional leadership.
1961: Survival
The Marzhung now play the leading role on the Allied side, and attack Sarvonia with everything they can muster, a two-pronged attack from across the [Don] and from the north through occupied Ponebyan territory. Aside from aircraft, Varakan support is lacking. But the Furotocans cannot manage another big counter-offensive, and with most of Sarvonia's industrial territory already lost, they choose to preserve their forces and fall back towards the [Dnieper] and Kuparta (the Crimea), the latter of which is soon placed under siege.
The Argines take the opportunity to push again through the [Alps] into [Italy]. Even the Aarut manage to push back on the Amestrian front with help from Rithlander and Roskian troops.
Poneb finally cracks under the pressure. A punishing armistice is signed, but loyalists reject it and continue to fight on in some areas. Other loyalists join up with the Keyzad of Sariv (Belarus) which is soon dragged into the war.
Things look better for the Furotocans in the [Mediterranean]. Special forces are send into [Tunisia] by boat and aircraft to support an anti-Varakan revolt, which is successful. This gives extra encouragement to rebels all across [north Africa] and [Arabia]. The Aarut then lose control of much of [Algeria] and [Morocco]. The Varakans regroup at the [Nile] delta. The brutal conditions in Varakan concentration camps are made public, aiding Furotocan propaganda - whole villages at a time are being detained on minimal rations, used as forced labour or killed outright in an effort to stamp out rebellion. Meanwhile several islands in the [Agean] are recaptured from the Varakans and more progress is made on the [Anatolian] front.
Nonetheless, for the Furotocans, the overall picture is disheartening. There are now two main problems - the chaotic mix of equipment types, standards, procedures, languages and nationalities in the Furotocan armies, and then the industrial situation. Strategic stockpiles are exhausted. The remaining oilfields in Zevon (Romania) cannot produce enough fuel on their own. Only the Allies have colonies and access to foreign markets around the world. The Furotocans place their hopes in the internal collapse of their enemies, and in secret weapons projects...
The Furotocans test a Plutonium implosion-type nuclear weapon in a remote valley in the [Alps]. The yield is greater than the Varakan plutonium nukes, and makes much more efficient use of its fuel, but is of a more complex design, one that the Varakans and Aarut are now belatedly trying to master themselves. It is a bulkier weapon, and the Furotocans have not yet overcome the problem of delivery.
The next nuclear attacks are by the Varakans again. Two smaller scale Uranium devices are used on the Sarvonian front line, carried by inconspicuous medium-size jet bombers, blasting Furotocan positions in support of Marzhung advances. Results are mixed - the Allies succeed in irradiating more of their own troops than the enemy. But not much of Sarvonia is left unconquered as winter sets in.
Tiandishi remains occupied with Shynists and Krashenists, a problem made worse by the failure of Varakan power in [India]. Huiyan-Yanshi and Takaraji are now concerned with economic problems resulting from the western war, and with matching the electronics, jet propulsion and nuclear technology that have been pushed so far ahead in the west.
The Matac Empire has no hope of completing the conquest of the [Amazon basin]. It is forced to accept a peace that grants some new territory, but grants even more to the Amasans and Hygurans. For the first time, all of [South America] is officially divided up between centralised powers, not that it makes much difference to the more remote tribes of the interior.
1962: Desperation
All of [Europe] is suffering the side-effects of the war. The Thessen Union still remains neutral. But the Ustri Kingdom (Switzerland), although it has been a neutral power for around two centuries, now shows signs of a making surprise late entry to war on the Furotocan side. Ustri is in the grip of pro-Furotocan democratic reforms, and has its own reasons for wanting to prevent total Allied domination of [Europe].
In the Far East, a newly-elected government in Huiyan begins making threatening statements towards the Allies, and once again builds up forces on the border of Varaka's Ihrzul Katan (Mongolia). Public sentiment is with the Furotocan cause, especially after news of the Allied nuclear attacks and death camps. Huiyan leaders are concerned about the kind of world an Allied victory will bring - probably not conductive to their long-term plans for overseas industrial entrepreneuring. The Yanshi leadership shares the same concerns, but it splits with Huiyan over tangling with the Allies. The Takaraji are not happy with Huiyan's stance either, but so long as the Yanshi fleet remains neutral, they remain more concerned about their northern frontier with Marzhung-Sezvyr.
In New Aarut, ongoing arguments over autonomy lead to insurrection. Some of the Aarut federal governors are taken prisoner, accused of various devious schemes. A provisional Continental Federation is declared, with the goal of ending the cycle of unrest, restoring peace and allowing the colonial territories to fully control their own economies. But things quickly get out of hand, as radical liberals, anarchists, and Krashenist-Jurancist factions try to take a share of power. Pro-native guerrillas and terrorist groups take advantage. Aarut loyalists plea for reinforcements to prevent a complete breakdown. The Aarut know this would mean stripping soldiers from other fronts...
It's all good news for the Furotocans, who manage a surprising advance into Athistoka (Turkey / Kurdistan) and even cross the border into Hannuria (Lebanon), occupied by Varakans since the start of the war. Now the Varakan hold on [Cyprus] seems vulnerable. There is simultaneous fighting in [Libya].
The Marzhung advance sluggishly in Sarvonia - overextended, harassed by rebels, and with the Varakans unable to provide vital supplies. The westernmost portion of Sarvonia holds out.
Seven years into the war, all sides are exhausted. The majority of fronts are now in stalemate. There is a sense that the war is grinding down to its conclusion. But all sides want a fitting reward for their efforts. There is still the hope of achieving something spectacular that could change everything...
The Furotocans finally launch their own nuclear attack, with a slow but very long-range and high-altitude bomber, under cover of electronics warfare and escorted by new long-range jet escort fighters. The target is Izarih, so-called 'Tank City' (Esfahan, Iran). Despite frequent run-ins with Varakan jets, the attack is a success, although most escorts do not have fuel to return to Pelonar (north-west Turkey). The dramatic night-time detonation of the Plutonium implosion-type device is captured on colour film by Furotocan bomber crews and is soon shown in newsreels. The strike on the 'industrial' target causes an estimated 60,000 deaths, and provokes a mixed reaction from the rest of the world.
In the years head, the Varakans would always claim to have shot down a separate nuclear strike attempt by the Furotocans, but this is never conclusively proved to the outside world. In any case, the Furotocans now claim to have another weapon ready for use, and promise nuclear retaliation against any Allied territory. But as it happens, the next device used by the Allies is against their own territory - the Varakans nuke a stronghold of Wainist fanatics in [Delhi].
The Aarut Federation wavers. Its leaders are worried about another three or four years of war, worried about potential nuclear attacks against the Aarut homeland, and worried about sacrificing the unity of the Federation for the questionable war aims of the Allies. And so they begin separate and secret peace negotiations. A deal is agreed fairly quickly - the Aarut will keep a base at [Gibraltar], already under construction, and keep hold of islands in the [Atlantic], but will withdraw from [North Africa] and the rest of the [Mediterranean], allow Furotocan trade in the [Atlantic] after the war, and finally agree to the idea of self determination for all Amestrian and other [Baltic] territories. The Aarut risk a tricky entanglement with the remaining Allies on some fronts, but they see no other choice.
The Allies are naturally outraged, especially the Argines, who ensure the Straights of [Gibraltar] remain closed, and even move troops into [Morocco] as the Aarut begin to retreat. But as the Aarut fleet moves back into the [Atlantic], the Furotocans venture into the western [Mediterranean] and send support to rebels in Nemarthia (Spain).
The Roskians vow to fight on alone from their [Baltic] strongholds against Ponebian and Amestrian 'terrorists'.
The Marzhung, shaken by recent events, and not quite willing to pursue total war in [Europe] with unresolved issues in [Asia], convince the Varakans to join them on the negotiation table with the Furotocans. But the Furotocans still insist on pre-war borders, meaning the liberation of all of Sarvonia, including the [Caucasus]. The war drags on...
The Furotocans now believe that the Varakan threat can be diminished before a final all-out effort is made to liberate Sarvonia and end the war. They have been conspiring for some time with Varakan rebels and moderates, and in the wake of the strike on Izarih, they try to coordinate a full scale revolution. But they fail, as double agents reveal their true colours and hard-line militarists simply tighten their grip. More cities fall into rebel hands behind the lines, but the fronts in Athistoka and Hannuria are held by the Varakans with Manzuru reinforcement. The Furotocans face a dire fuel shortage in the deserts of [Libya], and despite having superior weapons including new anti-tank rockets, they find themselves outmanoeuvred by the Varakans.
As the year ends, the Huiyan generals show they weren't just bluffing. Huiyan tanks roll into the Ihrzul Katan (Mongolia) and cross into the Tuizen Katan (Sinkiang). Although lacking experience and having inferior weapons, the Huiyan forces make rapid progress. Varaka's eastern border garrisons had been cannibalised years previously. Ihrzul and Tuizen rebels join the fight. This triggers another wave of unrest throughout Varaka's eastern territory. Marzhung-Sezvyr can only send a token gesture of assistance. Yanshi does nothing, and the other Far East powers offer official protests, but otherwise stay out of things.
