Update 4 - Year 1905
Global Events:
The Iroquois continue to modernize and militarize, while the DTC finishes it’s fortifications,
the Strong Line, named for the engineer who came up with the idea.
The Cubans, after much consideration,
bought the Scandinavian West Indies,
in exchange for providing the Scandinavians
with enough planes and ships to form 5 new task forces and 5 new air wings.
Incan Empire becomes the wealthiest nation of all the world!
Read below for details.
After the death of UK’s king, a popular military coup took place, led by Prince Chris. Parliament was dissolved, it’s members arrested.
Empire of Great Britain, as it is renamed, is now an absolute monarchy.
Though some oppose this, the majority of people both in the British Isles and in France support the new king.
Abroad, however, it seems that the Triple Alliance is about to collapse, as Iberia and Occitania protest this,
especially the rumors of the negotiations between People’s Republic of Germany and the Empire of Great Britain to form an alliance.
The METO countries – now joined by Scandinavia - too are alerted by this development.
War in the Baltic rages on.
German-Russian fleet has lost it’s surprise effect, but there were no noticeable casualties on both sides.
It is then that the Finns betray their former allies in Scandinavia (by the way, most of Finland’s population supports the invasion).
A sudden attack on the Scandinavian fleet destroys many ships. Encouraged,
the Russians and the Germans join into the attack, losing several ships but crippling the majority of Scandinavia’s fleet in the “Battle of Åland”, named so for the main Finnish naval base.
The troops and local administration in Copenhagen, Visby, and other Scandinavian islands in the Baltic Sea,
fearing a naval siege and bombardment, surrender to the Russian navy without a fight.
This all leaves Sweden open to a naval invasion...
(-15 Scandinavian task forces, -2 Finnish task forces, -2 Russian task forces)
...Which doesn’t happen,
making the hasted buildup of Scandinavian coastal fortifications look like a waste of resources.
Instead, the Finnish invade with ski troops.
Scandinavians failed to build up a bigger army since the war was declared.
The majority waited on the coast,
so the Finns got control of nearly a half of Sweden in the north,
and decimated two divisions on the northern Baltic coast.
Only then do the Scandinavians prepare defenses and dig trenches, stopping the Finns for a while at least.
Nevertheless, with no British support to be seen, Scandinavian government now actively considers surrendering...
(-1 Finnish division, -2 Scandinavian divisions)
The Ministry of Love is established in Germany, to “clean” the ranks of the party, using very brutal methods.
It also is given free reign in the German parts of the former Baltic Federation, enforcing order.
According to the rumors, it’s leader is Joseph Stalin, who recently disappeared from Caucasus (see below).
In the meantime, Germans begin massive army growth (which severely damaged their economy, along with the loss of Rhineland industries) and the “Freedom Campaign”, a crucial propaganda campaign.
It already increased the morale of the civilians and the military alike.
Three divisions of volunteers joined the military.
The Burgundians tried again to launch a pre-emptive strike against the PGR airplanes and ships,
but their previous attempt, a failure due to lack of targets, revealed their plans to Germans.
The German ships are in the Baltic Sea.
The German airplanes are well-hidden, while there are numerous fake airports throughout Germany.
On the ground, Burgundians continue to advance, taking Hannover.
At Hamburg, however, they face not only a small garrison,
partisans and militia as before, but also...
almost a half of the German army.
Failing to take the city, they retreat to Hannover.
(-3 Burgundian divisions, -2 German divisions)
Italian troops take Munich at last,
with assistance of Burgundy’s army. However, back at home, economy collapses again. Country is in anarchy.
A communist Italian assassinated Generalissimo Antuan, and a military council took over.
Italy still is in the war, but with the new internal problems, it is likely that it will soon withdraw.
Number of deserters grows drastically.
A German army soon crossed Danube, and liberated Munich from the dismoralized Italians.
(-1 German division, -5 Italian divisions, -1 Burgundian division)
The only METO offensive that is going right is the Hungarian one, despite the heavy fighting and casualties for both sides.
Using advanced strategy and an innovative and efficient doctrine, they threaten Dresden with encirclement and the German forces in Bavaria to be cut off along Danube.
Some of the Hungarian forces also advance north into the Baltic Federation, where they take Vilnus, greeted by Lithuanian nationalists.
(-6 Hungarian divisions, -2 Hungarian air wings, -5 German divisions, -1 German air wing)
And even Hungary isn’t successful everywhere.
A massive Russian army, plus a naval landing in Danube, stormed through the undefended Hungary,
seeking to “liberate Romanian and Hungarian peoples” and “remove the military dictatorship”.
They advanced along Danube. Bucharest has already fallen, and Budapest itself is threatened.
There are only nominal casualties to the local militia, as the entire Hungarian army and air force is elsewhere.
In Caucasus, the Russians stomp down the resistance without casualties, and the Moscow-Baghdad Railroad is almost done.
There is just one minor failure – Stalin has escaped pursuit, and some say that he is the leader of the Ministry of Love in Germany.
The Turkish Islamic Republic is officially declared independent,
with capital in Uskudar,
though only the Islamic League nations recognize them so far.
In Egypt, all the hell breaks loose.
Occitanian offensive against Egypt has failed due to the Arab defenses.
In the meantime, Arab-Egyptian offensive to Southern Sudan, to Abyssinia and Somalia meets very light resistance.
Arabs land in Eritrea and block the Red Sea. It is then that they encounter the force of the Royal Navy.
The Arab-Egyptian blockade is broken, and the entire Arabian Red Sea fleet is annihilated by the sheer firepower of the more advanced and numerous British fleet,
which then proceeds to destroy the Suez canal by bombardment and to seize the area from the Egyptians by a landing.
(-3 Occitanian divisions, -3 Arabian divisions,
-5 Arabian task forces, -2 Egyptian divisions,
-2 Egyptian task forces, -2 British divisions, -2 British task forces)
Elsewhere, the Iberian-Occitanian forces occupy the Arabian Central Africa colony with no casualties of note.
The Liberians enter the war, occupying the British Ivory Coast.
(-2 Liberian divisions, -1 British division)
The Treaty of Tokyo is signed,
granting China independence within the territory the rebels occupied last year.
It also brought China into an alliance with Japan.
Japan and India invade Russia,
in exchange for Japan acquiring the Scandinavian island possessions in the Pacific Ocean.
Only Tibet is garrisoned, but there the resistance to the Japanese and Indians is strong, so their offensive in the area is hampered somewhat and certain casualties are taken.
Indians overrun the weakly-protected south of Persia with a naval landing, while the Japanese advance in the Russian Far East,
unopposed and taking massive chunks of land.
(-1 Indian division, -1 Japanese division, -1 Russian division)
First aircraft carriers are created in Japan, and already ten task forces, with planes aboard, have been created.
Random Events:
A rising interest in science and technology in Russia led to numerous new inventions,
though only a few of these are of actual assistance (+1 Education).
One of these is the new design for a zeppelin, immediately adopted by the OFPD (+1 project speed).
In Brazil, the missionary progress has mixed results.
While the colonials, both white and black, support Iago II,
back in Brazil discontent rises.
Rumors circulate that Iago plans to form a “Black Guard”, devoted to him alone (-1 Culture).
In Incan Empire, a Brazilian entrepreneur has proposed the Inca with a plan to restart the work on the Panama Canal,
interrupted by the WWI.
He says that if provided with sufficient help, he will be able to complete the canal within three years.
Spotlight:
Incan Golden Age
“Europeans had many ideas -
that all empires fall, that no culture could rival theirs,
that the Native Americans could not come up with a stable government,
that the natives could never comprehend diplomacy,
that no nation with planned economy can be economically superior to free nations.
The existence of the Incan Empire has proven all these ideas wrong.”
- Richard Westley, 1899, “The Incan Empire: History and Culture”
On the year 1905,
it was officially announced that the Incan Empire is the richest and most economically advanced nation of the world.
This was it’s Golden Age – not that it ever had a Dark Age, well maybe apart from the time of the first contact with Europeans,
which brought diseases from across the ocean.
It was a mighty super power,
though in self–enforced isolation in diplomacy, apart from their neighbors and allies in Brazil, with whom they shared an entire continent.
It only once came close to a major uprising, in the 16th century, and it was avoided anyway.
It had planned economy, and nevertheless was the most economically advanced nation in the world.
It is rapidly industrializing, and has a vast and efficient army and navy.
It one of the world’s largest suppliers of rubber and of local luxury goods.
It is believed that if the Inca had allied with Iberia in WWI, the British Coalition would have been defeated completely.
Those who would say that the Incan Empire is on the crossroads will be wrong – for Incan history always traveled by a straight path.
NPC Diplomacy:
From: Scandinavia
To: Russia, Finland, Germany
You have won. We would agree to negotiations – what are your terms?
*secret*
From: Iroquois Nation
To: Incan Empire
Greetings, brothers to the south!
We have received news that the Aztecs plan to attack your territory.
Instead, we should ally and together carve up their bloodthirsty empire! Right?
*secret*
From: Italy
To: METO countries
We have much dissent in our territory.
We propose that you take over the territory we took in Germany,
so our army can put down the rebellions and then march to assist you again.
OOC:
As some might have noticed from the Inca post,
nations with an Economic Powerhouse Economy will have the projects they start faster by one turn, and Monopoly Economy – faster by two.
This is an unwritten rule, as I am too lazy to write it down.
So, Germany's and Russia's demands seem to be: 2 economy levels to Germany and a promise that Scandinavia will never build more than 5 task forces. Will you agree to all these demands, or will this devastating war continue?
.
