Pre-SKNES II: The Bonaparte Legacy

[SouthernKing]

DO NOT POST YET!

For newcomers to this thread, the updated list of nations/players is over here

[YOUTUBE-OLD]OA0b6r_t6Ic[/YOUTUBE-OLD]

Statys

The ruleset is 90% done, it needs some final touches/proofreading/etc and I should be posting it tomorrow. None of it's really grounbreaking, although the military system is slightly different from what most people are used to. Stats are about 75% done and should be up a couple of days after that. I'm posting this now, because by all rights this should have been up three months ago and frankly, I wanted to get the thread up as soon as humanly possible.

Introduction​

This NES is set in the world of The Bonaparte Legacy, an alternate history mod for the game Darkest Hour. The premise is that a diplomatic incident led to Napoleon III's Second French Empire to intervene on behalf of the Confederacy in the American Civil War. The CSA not only won the ACW, but the French Empire survived as well. Seven decades and one world war later, this world is unrecognizable but strangely familiar.

The Rules​

Well, first of all, here are some sample stats:

Belgium/Player
Capital: Brussels
Constitutional Monarchy: Leopold III/Paul Van Zeeland/Labor Party (Social Democrat)
Next Election:
Dissent: 15%
Economy: 43-16/0: Demobilized
Research: Infantry (60), Armor (10), Navy (25), Air (20)
Army: 30 Infantry III Brigades, 5 Mounted Brigades, 5 Motorized I Brigades, 10 Artillery II Brigades
-Belgian Congo: 5 Infantry III Brigades
Navy: 4 Destroyers, 1 Light Cruiser
Air Force: 2 Fighter I Wings
Colonies:
-Belgian Congo: 8 EP/20%

The NES will start on July 1, 1936, and each turn will cover 6 months. (Trust me, there are reasons for the odd start date) Turns that cover July-December of a year will be referred to as Late 19XX for simplicity’s sake, and turns that cover January-June are Early 19XX. So the first turn is Late 1936, the second Early 1937, and so on.

Politics:

The identity of the people (or person) who actually run the upper echelons of your government is particularly important, since this can determine quite a few things. Listed in the stats is your government type, which can be anything from the most open of democracies to the most tyrannical of dictatorships, and the monarch, head of government, and/or ruling party and ideology, depending on which is applicable to your government.

The ideologies that can appear in this NES are: Communist (Soviet-style), Socialist (Yankee-style), Social Democrat, Liberal, Moderate, Conservative, and Fascist. Communists and fascists are most likely to be found in dictatorships based on ideology, while the others are usually found as political parties in more moderate governments.

Democratic governments have periodic elections; the turn of the next scheduled one will be marked under “Next Election.” Of course, a situation may arise that forces an off-schedule election to occur.

The last stat in this section is Dissent. Dissent is measured by a percentage, from 0 to 100. This measures the overall resistance that your government faces, both from the people and from the opposition. Alternatively, it can be seen as the percentage of your people who are willing to take violent action against your government. The higher your dissent is, the harder it will be for your government to do stuff. If it is higher than 25%, then there is the chance of a rebellion. If dissent hits 100% at any time, then your government will collapse completely and your country will likely fall into chaos and lawlessness. So beware.

Economy:

Your economy in this game is less a representation of government income or actual GDP and more a representation of industry and production capability. Economy is measured in Economic Points, or EPs.

There are three numbers in your economic stat. The first is your income per turn, in EPs. This number will rise or fall each turn for each country, dependent on a lot of factors. The second is the amount that you must pay for military upkeep. In peacetime, you must pay 1 EP for every 5 military units that you have. The third, after the slash, is the amount of EPs you currently have banked.

You can spend your free EPs on anything that you can imagine, really, from buying military units to funding public works projects. However, you cannot spend fractions of EP, and you cannot start deficit spending.

In times of war, you can mobilize your economy. This has the effect of halving your military upkeep, that is, you now pay 1 EP for every 10 units instead of every 5. In addition, you can only spend EPs on military-related items or research. You are now able to build Militia Brigades as well. But beware: mobilizing your economy will cause a rise in dissent, especially if your people believe that there is no good justification for it.

Military:​

Research:

Research in this game represents military research funded by the government in some form or another. The fields you can put EP into are: Army, Armor, Navy, Air, Rocketry, and Nuclear. Placing more EP into a particular field allows the construction of more advanced and better equipped units. The number next to each field shows the number of EPs currently invested in that field. (Don’t worry, most countries already have a significant amount invested in research at game start.)

Most possible unit types have different tiers; this is to attempt to simulate differences in quality within a given military. Investing more EP in a certain field will unlock higher tiered units. You can upgrade units in the same category from one tier to the next by simply paying half the price you would regularly pay. However, a country that invests in a specific field will have an edge in that field over a country that does not.

I’m going to stress that keeping your military up to date is expensive. Only the wealthiest of countries can afford to keep a large and modern military. Smaller countries in particular may find it more effective to maintain a small fighting force with modern equipment instead of a larger but more obsolete one.

Military Positioning:

The Army, Navy, and Air Force stats denote the number and type of units stationed at home. Military units in each branch that are not currently stationed in the homeland (for example, colonial garrisons or expeditionary forces) are listed separately under each header, with each location and the number of units.

Military Units:​

Here is each unit, their cost, and their research requirement. Multi-tiered unit types have the required research beside each tier. Do note that these numbers are NOT final and may/probably will be changed.

Army Units:

Militia Brigade: 1 EP. Requires mobilizing economy.

Infantry Brigade: 4 EP
-Infantry I: none
-Infantry II: 20 Army
-Infantry III: 40 Army
-Infantry IV: 60 Army
-Infantry V: 100 Army
-Infantry VI: 140 Army

Special Forces Brigades:
-Mountain Brigade: 8 EP, mountains in country
-Jungle Brigade: 8 EP, jungle in country
-Arctic Brigade: 8 EP, tundra in country
-Desert Brigade: 8 EP, desert in country
-Marine Brigade: 10 EP, a navy
-Airborne Brigade: 10 EP, an air force

Mounted Brigade: 10 EP

Artillery Brigade: 8 EP
-Artillery I: 30 Army
-Artillery II: 60 Army
-Artillery III: 80 Army
-Artillery IV: 120 Army

Motorized Brigade: 10 EP
-Motorized I: 50 Army, 10 Armor
-Motorized II: 80 Army, 40 Armor
-Motorized III: 120 Army, 70 Armor

Light Tank Brigade: 12 EP
-Light Tank I: 10 Armor
-Light Tank II: 40 Armor

Medium Tank Brigade: 18 EP
-Medium Tank I: 20 Armor
-Medium Tank II: 50 Armor

Heavy Tank Brigade: 24 EP
-Heavy Tank I: 30 Armor
-Heavy Tank II: 60 Armor

Navy Units:

Destroyer: 5 EP, 0 Navy

Submarine: 5 EP, 10 Navy

Light Cruiser: 10 EP, 10 Navy

Heavy Cruiser: 15 EP, 20 Navy

Battleship: 20 EP, 30 Navy

Carrier: 30 EP.
-Carrier I: 50 Navy. Can carry 1 air wing.
-Carrier II: 75 Navy. Can carry 3 air wings.

Superbattleship: 50 EP, 100 Navy

Air Force Units:

Fighter Wing: 6 EP.
-Fighter I: 10 Air
-Fighter II: 50 Air

Bomber Wing: 12 EP
-Bomber I: 20 Air
-Bomber II: 70 Air

Interceptor Wing: 8 EP
-Interceptor I: 20 Air
-Interceptor II: 70 Air

CAS Wing: 10 EP, 30 Air

Fighter-Bomber Wing: 10 EP, 50 Air

Heavy Bomber Wing: 16 EP, 100 Air

Jet Fighter Wing: (Classified)

Other:

Cruise Missile: (Classified)

Nuclear Warhead: (Classified)

Colonies:

Indeed, the age of imperialism is nearing an end, if it is not already over. However, many countries still possess territories overseas. Under the “Colonies” header is marked each of those possessions that your country has. Each colony has two numbers. The first is that colony’s contribution to your economy. The second is the local dissent in that colony. Obviously, if this gets too high, you may start to see unrest or even rebellion.

Orders, Updates, and Other Mod-Related Stuff

Orders should be sent by PM. I’d prefer if you limited them to as few PMs as humanly possible; my rather limited inbox space tends to fill up very quickly. I will delete all orders for a turn after that turn’s update is posted, so if you have any grievances about what happened please resend.

Most importantly, orders should be on time; without them, I can’t update. If, 24 hours before the deadline, you have yet to send me orders, I’ll shoot you a reminder as a visitor message. If you don’t like VMs, or if you get annoyed by this system, just let me know and I won’t send them to you. I found that this worked with SKNES I, so I’m doing it again. I try to be a fairly relaxed mod when it comes to deadlines; I understand that people have time constraints, and I’ll still read orders sent in shortly after the deadline. But don’t push it too hard.

I want to aim for regular weekly updates. However, this may not be possible due to some RL things, so I’ll see what happens.

My AIM is southern_king, I’ll try to be on as much as possible if you wish to stop by and ask me questions or simply chat. I don’t usually like using IRC, but if someone really wants me to it’s an option.

A brief poorly written background for each playable country is in the next post. I'll add more to the OPs tomprrow.

 

[SouthernKing]

Afghanistan: By the 20th century, Afghanistan had become one of the most backwards and isolated nations on Earth. When Amanullah Khan attempted to begin modernization and do away with centuries-old traditions, he was deposed by reactionary tribal leaders in 1929 and replaced by the reactionary Mohammed Nadir. In 1933, Mohammed Nadir was assassinated, and the throne passed to his young son Mohammed Zahir, who may be the one to finally turn Afghanistan into a modern state. But in 1936, trapped between stronger neighbors and faced with the destabilizing influence of the Soviet Union to the north, there is little Afghanistan can do.

Argentina: Argentina emerged from the War of the Pacific alongside Peru and Bolivia, victorious over Chile. The ideal that Argentina should be the one to dominate the southern half of South America would proliferate through the dominant Argentinian upper class over the next several decades, and resulted in the absorption of Uruguay and Paraguay before 1900. Alongside widespread industrialization, political reforms pushed through in the first decades of the 20th century helped shift power from the upper to the middle class. However, the Great Depression brought the forward progress to a halt, and Argentina’s future is uncertain, especially as neighboring Chile gears for war.

Australia: The Dominion of Australia has been nominally independent since 1901. Its soldiers served with distinction in the Great War, and much like the rest of her allies, it was able to reap the fruits of the victory throughout the 1920s. As was the case in tens of other countries, the Great Depression brought the Australian economy to a crashing halt, although it managed to remain politically stable throughout the period. As the world inches closer and closer towards another world war, Australia has made it clear that she will stand by her British motherland, against whoever their enemies may be.

Austria: After the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dismantled, and the Habsburg monarchy brought to an end after centuries of power. Austria herself was stripped of two-thirds of her land. In 1919, Austria was proclaimed a federal republic. But as the country’s economy failed to recover, the country’s people turned to radicalism, and Austria remained extremely politically volatile. In 1929, chancellor Engelburt Dolfuss had a new constitution passed, effectively making the country a dictatorship. After continued unrest in the early 1930s, Dolfuss allowed the rapidly growing right-wing nationalist National Socialist Party into government, and began modeling it after the Italian fascist state. After Dolfuss died in early 1936, National Socialist leader Adolf Hitler assumed power.

Belgium: Belgium took the side of Britain and Prussia in the Great War, and despite heavy fighting on its lands it emerged victorious. As a result, it was awarded the department of Pas-de-Calais from France. However, Belgium was also promised reparations that never came, and was unable to fully rebuild after the war. Coupled with the outbreak of the Great Depression, Belgium was left with an increasingly fragile economy. The current administration has failed to find a solution to this problem, and both left-wing and right-wing sentiment is building within the country. Meanwhile, France to the south is growing increasingly militant, and it has indicated that it wants Pas-de-Calais back.

Bohemia-Moravia: The dream of an independent Czech state was brought one step closer to realization in 1916 when Czech rebels declared Bohemia and Moravia independent from Vienna. The new Republic of Bohemia-Moravia was recognized as independent after the war. Although democracy was retained in the post-war years, tensions between the Czechs and the sizeable German minority grew, despite Prague’s best efforts to reconcile. The German-speaking Sudetenland was the hardest-hit by the Great Depression, and many Germans, having lost faith in the Czech government, now seek secession of the Sudetenland with Germany – or, even worse, Austria.

Brazil: After eliminating slavery through manumission in the 1880s, the Empire of Brazil faced a greater threat: liberal revolutionaries. Fortunately for the Emperor, it was able to crush the rebellions that sprung up in 1888-1889. Brazil quickly built up an export-based industrial economy, which blossomed especially after the Great War to compensate for the loss of production in Europe. Predictably, the Great Depression reversed economic growth. A group of military officers quickly seized power with the approval of the Emperor and began curbing civil liberties and consolidating the power of the federal government at the expense of the states, by and large turning Brazil into an dictatorship. A burgeoning socialist movement in Brazil seeks to restore democracy along Yankee lines.

Bulgaria: After the Ottoman Empire brutally put down an 1876 rebellion in the region, the Bulgarians would have to wait until the Great War for indepedence. In 1914, another rebellion occurred, this time more successful, proclaiming an independent Bulgarian state. Bulgaria saw some economic growth during the 1920s but quickly crashed as soon as the Great Depression arrived. As a member of the recently formed Balkan League, the Bulgarians are preparing for war with the Ottoman Empire as they feast their eyes on the Ottoman land to their south. At home, not all is well: a Soviet-backed Communist movement is rapidly growing in popularity and power among the vast numbers of unemployed.

Canada: The British North American colonies were granted dominion status in 1867. With the completion of a transcontinental railroad fueling trade, the Canadian economy boomed, a boom that continued to echo until just before the Great Depression. During the Yankee Revolution in 1932-1933, Canada seized the New England states for reasons of “national security,” although just years later an independent republic was created in New England. With the Red Scare sweeping the nation and a number of Yankee expatriates settling in the country, Canadian politics has taken a sharp turn to the right. With each passing day, tensions along the southern border spike, and war between the USSA and Canada seems ever more likely.

Chile: Argentinian intervention on behalf of Peru and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific turned the tide, and the war ended with a decisive Chilean defeat, with significant territories lost to the victors. In the aftermath of the war, things began to go increasingly poorly for Chile. A collapsing economy and destabilized political system led to a civil war in 1891-1892, placing dictator Jose Balmaceda in power. After Balmaceda’s death in 1915, Chile lapsed into another period of civil war before republican government was restored a year later. What looked like a period of economic growth in the 1920s was reversed by the Great Depression In 1933, partly in reaction to the Yankee socialist revolution, a group of fascists led by Jorge Gonzalez ousted the republic and declared a “new state” in Chile. The country is beginning to militarize to worrying levels, and wants its lost territories back.

China: After the Xinhai Revolution brought millennia of imperial rule in China to a sudden halt in 1911, a decade of fragmentation and chaos ensued as various warlords grabbed what land they could. More often than not, the warlords simply fought each other, further weakening the country. However, the armies of Yuan Shikai’s Republic of China defeated the warlords, and more or less reunited the country by the early 1920s. After Shikai’s death in 1926, a power vacuum emerged. This vacuum was quickly filled by the Kuomintang, a right-wing party led by one Chiang Kai-Shek. It only took a brief power struggle, not entirely unlike that seen in the post-Lenin Soviet Union, for the Kuomintang to solidify their grasp over the country. Under Chiang Kai-Shek, China has taken a course directly towards ultranationalist authoritarianism, with civil liberties heavily curbed and the country increasingly militarized. Future conflict in East Asia involving China seems likely.

Colombia: The construction of the Panama Canal by Dixie investors in the 1890s provided a boost to a Colombian economy already growing from exports of cash crops. However, most of the beneficiaries of the economic growth were foreigners or rich landowners, making the blow from the Great Depression especially hard on the lower classes. The Depression brought a center-left government to power, which has attempted to pass economic reforms aimed at aiding middle- and lower-class Colombians, much to the chagrin of said foreigners and rich landowners, while at the same time avoiding revolution. Colombia has never had any interest in going to war, and most Colombians wish to maintain neutrality for the time being.

Confederate States of America: After the Confederacy successfully won its independence in 1863, the new nation’s path ahead would be a rocky one, plagued by political and social problems, but the CSA would prevail. Under intense international pressure and a new generation of politicians, the practice of slavery would be gradually phased out in the last decades of the 19th century. Despite that, the CSA remained isolationist. With Dixie neutrality in the Great War, and However, the Great Depression, followed by the Yankee Socialist Revolution of 1933, created a new socialist state out of the former Union. Red Scare hysteria enveloped the Dixie populace in full swing, fueled by exiled Yankees spreading tales of the horrors brought by the socialists. During the civil war in their neighbor, the Dixies seized Missouri for “security purposes”, and as part of a deal to ensure recognition of the Yankee socialist state, the Dixies were allowed to keep it. The elections of 1933 brought the conservative Josiah Bailey to power by a landslide. Bailey has pledged to take a hard line against the leftist threat both at home and abroad, and to most observers it is only a matter of time until war returns to North America. Within Dixie borders, many members of the African minority are angered about being perennially treated like an underclass, and there is talk of violent uprising.

Corea: Japanese pressure forced Corea out of Chinese influence in the later 19th century, but Japan never annexed it. Instead, the two countries developed a close relationship, which helped Corea modernize and industrialize. Corea has also pushed for closer relations with the British and Germans, who have served well as Corean trading partners. Corea and Japan may soon be forced to work even closer together, as the rise of a not entirely friendly China is worrying.

Croatia: Croatian independence was declared in 1917 as Austria-Hungary collapsed in on itself. Over the course of the 1920s, a fledgling but stable center-left republican government was able to solidify its governance of the country. The Croatian economy remains largely agrarian and was never able to share the fruits of worldwide economic growth during the 1920s, and was hit hard by the Great Depression. Although there is growing support for Communism in the country, Croatia remains democratic. In the foreign front, the Croatians are increasingly worried about the overbearing presence of Italy, and ethnic tensions have proven to be a point of conflict with Serbia.

Ecuador: The history of Ecuador has been a rocky one. It has been run by, at various times since the mid-19th century, Church-friendly dictators, liberal reformers, and banking oligarchs. A policy of economic liberalism led to the last of those three gaining power just before the Great Depression. While focusing on exports has stabilized the domestic economic situation, a rise in political radicalism threatens to unravel the whole situation again.

Finland: When Russia fell to revolution in 1919, the devolved Finnish government was quick to exit the trainwreck – or that’s what the Finns thought would happen. It did not take long for a group of socialists and communists to attempt a coup. A bloody civil war resulted, between the German-backed Whites and the Soviet-backed (or as much as they could support it, with them facing their own civil war) Reds. By 1921, the Reds had secured power, and began the process of rapidly socializing and industrializing the country. Due to its vastly different economic system, the country was left untouched by the Great Depression. Finland’s success is beginning to worry – or inspire – some in neighboring Scandinavia. At home, there is a vocal – and growing – minority which seeks Finnish reunification with the Soviet Union.

Federal Republic of Central America: Although the original FRCA (or UPCA as it was also known at one time) collapsed under internal pressure in the 1840s into a number of squabbling petty states, the hope of reunification remained. French meddling in the Americas served as the impetus for greater political cooperation, ushering in a new union out of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua in 1896, with Costa Rica and Guatemala joining in 1900. There was some talk of constructing a canal across Nicaragua around that time, but that faded away after the Panama Canal was built. The FRCA managed to stay neutral in the Great War despite frequent border clashes with Colombia. Its economy remained stable due to a healthy trade relationship with the USA. However, the Yankee Revolution not only ended that relationship, but also created an atmosphere of political instability as Yankee-backed leftist groups began to grow exponentially in strength.

France: French victory in the Franco-Prussian War ushered in a golden age of sorts of France. Under the Second Empire, France became a global naval, colonial, and industrial power capable of challenging Britain itself. However, this all crumbled during the Great War, where France was defeated by the British and Prussians and forced to accept humiliating terms in accordance to the Treaty of Potsdam. France was not only forced to accept full blame for the war and accept a unified German state on its borders, but also burdened with heavy reparations, limited with its military size and strength, and stripped of large parts of its territory and colonial empire. The imperial government established under Napoleon III was ended and replaced with a weak and unstable Third Republic. The French economy spiraled into collapse throughout the 1920s. France found a solution with Eugene Deloncle’s far right Front National-Socialiste, which came into power in 1931 and ended the Third Republic. France slid into dictatorship extremely quickly and with immense popular support. Deloncle conducted increasingly violence and repressive campaigns against “undesirables” such as Jews, leftists, trade unionists, and Gypsies, and has quickly remilitarized the state, much like the fascists in Italy. Britain and Germany are growing increasingly concerned with France, especially as it has its sights set on regaining territory it once held.

Germany: When Prussia lost to the French in 1871, it appeared that all hope of German unification would fade away. The idea, however, remained in the back of the Prussian consciousness, and the support would always be there. The Great War pitted Prussia against Austria-Hungary and the south German states of Baden, Wuerttemberg, and Bavaria. During the latter half of the Great War, the south German states were rocked by republican revolutions, causing them to flip sides. In 1918, as the Great War drew to a close, a united German Empire was proclaimed. Nevertheless, Germany faced a multitude of problems after the war, the impacts of the significant population losses from the war among them. With the onslaught of the Great Depression, the first visible cracks in the German political system began to appear. When France began to dramatically remilitarize, the Germans grew increasingly concerned, and attempted to counter by fortifying the border between France and Germany. Whether Germany can survive war with France is uncertain, and rightfully so.

Great Britain: Although Britain emerged from the Great War victorious, the apparent golden age of the Victorian era was long gone. Imperialism was clearly on the decline, and anyone could see that the days of the British Empire were numbered. The British population growth was negatively impacted by the tremendous losses of the Great War. In the immediate post-war years, the economy grew moderately, but that did not lost. The London stock market crash of 1929 not only sent the British economy into free fall, but reverberated around the world and created a global economic crisis of proportions unseen in human history. On the Continent, the post-war political situation Britain and her allies had worked hard building began to collapse under its own weight. Italy turned against the British, and France began to rapidly remilitarize. Britain’s woes escalated even further with the Yankee revolution, turning a former ally into a potential enemy. Drastic action must be taken if Britain is to maintain her position atop the ladder of the world’s great powers.

Greece: The Greeks fought against the Ottomans in the Great War, and at its end received a significant amount of land. The irredentists and other nationalists, who were powerful voices in Greek politics, were not satisfied; Thrace remained Turkish, and the Ottomans were still in Europe. The Greek economy remained stagnant throughout the 1920s, thanks to an unholy amount of debt accrued from the last several decades. The Great Depression hit Greece especially hard, and the constitutional monarchy was only able to hobble along in the final years until 1935, when a fascist government led by Ioannes Metaxas rose to power. Metaxas was quick to do what fascists usually do when they come to power, curbing civil liberties, building up the country’s military, and suppressing trade unions and Communists. In 1936, the country, along with Serbia and Bulgaria, went to war against the Ottomans, hoping to expel the Turks from Europe, permanently.

Haiti: Haitian history post-independence has been defined by the struggle between the French-speaking Catholics and the Creole-speaking voodoo worshippers. Currently, the Catholics are in power: a mulatto, Stenio Vincent, is the president, although dictator is a more accurate term to describe him. The country remains extremely unstable, with the vast majority of Haitians in poverty due to a very poor economy, and there exists a growing and increasingly vocal socialist minority, backed by the USSA.

Hungary: In 1918, a democratic Hungarian state was proclaimed, independent of the Hapsburg monarchy it had been part of for hundreds of years. Initially, Hungary was a democracy led by a broadly leftist coalition of communists, socialists, and social democrats, led by Bela Kun. Instability and social unrest persisted, however, and in 1922, Kun purged the non-Communists from government and effectively turned the country into a Communist dictatorship. Kun spent the rest of the 1920s reforming the economy into a planned economy along Soviet lines. Unscathed by the Depression, Hungary now sets her eyes on her neighbors, seeking some of the old Austro-Hungarian territory back.

 

[SouthernKing]

India: Long the “jewel in the crown” of the British Empire, India by the 1930s had become extremely difficult to keep as a crown possession. A grassroots independence movement, spiritually led by Mohandas Gandhi, had gained immense support among nearly all sections of the population. In 1934, Britain, facing economic woes at home and the Yankee socialists abroad, finally capitulated and granted India nominal independence as a dominion within the imperial framework. This controversial move garnered even more questioning when the first elections brought a socialist party to power. India’s main problems for now are internal: religious and ethnic strife, a popular and Soviet-backed leftist movement, and the economic stagnation caused by decades of British rule will plague whoever rules the subcontinent for years.

Italy: The Italians fought for the winning side of the Great War, and were given some land from France and Austria-Hungary. However, the peace treaties left them with less than they had hoped to gain. Unable to repay the debts it had accumulated fighting the war, Italy saw growing economic stagnation and political instability throughout the 1920s, especially after right-wing groups attempted to topple the government in 1922, only to be stopped by the military. Those same right-wing elements – the fascists, as they called themselves – rose to power in the 1930 elections under Italo Balbo. Balbo promised a new era for Italy. Nationalistic fervor was higher than ever, allowing Balbo to turn Italy into a dictatorship with ease. With a bolstered military, Italy began a number of aggressive campaigns abroad, with the seizure of Albania, followed by the invasion of Abyssinia in 1935. These did not go unnoticed, however, and an Anglo-German embargo drew Italy closer to a similarly minded regime in France.

Ireland: Prime Minister William Gladstone successfully reformed Irish politics in the 1860s, and not long after the island achieved home rule as a dominion of Great Britain. Relations between Ireland and Great Britain have been cordial since then: British and Irish soldiers fighting alongside each other in the Great War helped reduce the historical tensions between the two countries. Ireland’s economy is, for the most part, tied in with Britain’s. The London stock market crash of 1929 negatively impacted a previously steadily growing economy.

Japan: The first setback for the post-Meiji Japanese came in the form of a loss to Russia in a war in 1905. However, they did recover these losses with the seizure of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands during the Russian Revolution. As the most industrialized power in East Asia, Japan is fairly democratic, although perhaps not as much as its European counterparts. The rise of China has worried Japan greatly, which is now pushing for closer ties with the Coreans. Japan may soon have to serve as a counter to China in Asia.

Mexico: French intervention in the Americas placed Maximilian on the throne of the Empire of Mexico, and began a new era in the country’s history. With significant foreign investment, the Mexican economy grew rapidly throughout the latter part of the 19th century. However, the economy all but collapsed with the Great Depression, which has left much of the country unemployed and its economy in shambles. The refusal of the imperial government to make any reforms to an increasingly broken system or provide support to the increasingly massive numbers of poor has radicalized the republican and socialist movements, and little would make the USSA happier than having a socialist ally in the New World. Mexico in 1936 is a country sliding headfirst into revolution, civil war, or both.

Netherlands: The Netherlands stayed neutral during the Great War, following a tradition established in the later part of the 19th century, and entered the 1920s prosperous and one of the most democratic nations on Earth. Universal suffrage was introduced in 1921. The country has remained stable ever since, but there is growing concern: Belgium is growing increasingly unstable, and France’s remilitarization is worrying.

New England: While the rest of the United States descended into revolution in 1932-1933, Canada looked south, occupying six New England states. While under normal circumstances this would have been resisted heavily by the local populace, there was a general sentiment of “Better them than the Reds” among the New Englanders. Nevertheless, there was great pressure for Canada to let New England go, and it was finally granted independence in early 1936 as a member of the British Commonwealth. While New England faces a multitude of problems, not least of which is the overbearing presence of a USSA eager to regain its lost territories, it knows it can count on help from Britain.

Ottoman Empire: Although the Turks fought on the losing side of the Great War, they saw defeat coming earlier than its allies did, and sued for peace in 1917, over a year before the war actually ended. Consequently, the Ottoman Empire was allowed to remain intact, minus its North African holdings, Iraq, and some land in the Balkans. It was able to weather a number of republican and nationalist uprisings in the immediate aftermath of the war, and the not insignificant oil deposits found in the eastern part of the empire appeared to be bringing the state into a new era. Still, the Great Depression took significant toll on the health of the Ottoman Empire. Seeing weakness, an alliance of Balkan nations declared war in 1936, with the goal of expelling the Turks from the European continent once and for all. Perhaps the Ottoman Empire can one day break free from the stigma of being the “sick man of Europe,” but it will not be easy.

Persia: Persia was one of the non-western states that was never quite able to modernize in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Attempts at instituting constitutionalism failed, and the British and Russians clashed for influence over Persian territory. In 1921, army officer Reza Khan overthrew the last shah of the Qajar dynasty. Although he originally intended to create a republican, influence by the clergy convinced him to crown himself Shah. He began yet another attempt at modernization and secularization, which proved more successful than previous ones. The Shah also was able to enforce Persian independence from the British and Russians, something which has made neither happy. Although Persia’s economy has grown with the development of a petroleum industry, its people chafe under the Shah’s harsh rule.

Peru-Bolivia: After Peruvian and Bolivian (and Argentinian) victory in the War of the Pacific in 1881, a permanent friendship between Peru and Bolivia was established, with quickly morphed into political union in 1887, in the recreation of the short-lived Peru-Bolivian Confederation. Surprisingly, the new country remained stable and with a growing economy. It remained neutral in the Great War. But like the rest of South America, the onslaught of the Great Depression brought the country’s economic growth to a crashing halt, while creating a tense political atmosphere. The socialist movement in Peru-Bolivia is strong, growing, and increasingly vocal in its efforts to gain economic reforms and integration for the country’s large indigenous population. Thus far, neither of those goals have been accomplished.

Poland: For years the Poles were stateless, under the thumbs of Prussia, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. However, Poland was resurrected by Jozef Pilduski’s revolution in 1919, as Russia succumbed to revolution and Austria-Hungary was torn asunder. While the country was, initially, a republic, economic woes accentuated by the London stock market crash of 1929 kept it weak. In 1930, Marian Zyndram-Koscialkowski, with the backing of the military, seized control of the government and created a new fascist state. Although it is closely aligned with France in the west, Poland lies in a precarious position. The Soviets to the east would like nothing better than to see the fascist regime gone, and the Germans to the west are getting increasingly nervous, particularly as Poland sets its eyes on liberating its countrymen still living in areas under German control.

Portugal (Nationalist): Portugal fought for the Allies in the Great War, and gained some colonial territory in its aftermath. The Great Depression caused the country’s economy to take a nosedive. Radicalism exploded, and the country began to be heavily destabilized What finally tore the country apart was the Porto Massacre. In February 1936, the Portuguese military fired their weapons upon a crowd of striking dockworkers in the northern city of Porto, killing several dozen. In response, the Portuguese Communist Party called for a general strike, and over 200,000 workers walked off their jobs. The monarchy attempted to reconcile with the strikers, but then a conservative politician named Antonio Salazar led a coup that overthrew the government and promised to take a hard line against the strikers, beginning fighting and a civil war. The Nationalists enjoy the support of France and other right-wing governments abroad.

Portugal (Socialist): After the Porto Massacre, a general strike was called, beginning the events that led to civil war. After Salazar’s coup, the Communist Party of Portugal declared a revolution. Union leader Bento Goncalves emerged as the leader of the revolutionaries. Even if the civil war is won, Goncalves and other leaders face a difficult choice. There are two functioning and successful revolutionary leftist political and economic systems in the world today, the Soviet model and the Yankee model. Which model will be the path to a bright, socialist future for Portugal?

Romania: The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia were united as Romania at the end of the Crimean War in 1856. Romania grew further and further apart from the Ottoman Empire. After the Great War, the people of Transylvania and Bukovina, formerly Austro-Hungarian territory, voted to join their Romanian brothers. Romania has seen its economy grow despite the Great Depression because of its oil reserves growing in strategic importance, especially as tensions in Europe continue to escalate.

Saudi Arabia: A unified state in the center of the Arabian peninsula was long overdue, destroyed by repeated Ottoman intervention and infighting among leading families. It was the Saud family that finally did it in 1924, after expelling the Hashemites from the Hedjaz. The country did suffer under the Depression, but a steady stream of income from pilgrims to the Islamic holy sites has softened the blow, and the discovery of vast amounts of oil under the Arabian sands has caught the eye of some Westerners.

Scandinavia: Although Denmark and Sweden lost the Second Schleswig War of 1864 to the Prussians, the fact that Sweden intervened on behalf of the Danes boosted the already high popular support for a unified Scandinavia. Political union was achieved in 1865, and a parliamentary system established along a Westminster model. The Scandinavians entered a period of economic prosperity, with industrialization going forward at a steady pace. Although the Scandinavians remained militarily neutral in the Great War, they did take a pro-British stance diplomatically. The Russian and Yankee Revolutions and the promise of a socialist or communist future, plus the onset of the Depression, caused great political turmoil in the decades after the Great War, especially among the lower classes; to stymie this, a succession of social democrat governments under Emperor Christian II [OTL Christian X of Denmark] laid the foundations for an extensive welfare state. Scandinavia appears dedicated to this third way between capitalism and communism. However, Scandinavia is bordered by the Finland, an ally of a Soviet Union that appears to be dedicated to spreading the Revolution abroad. Stockholm has good reason to be concerned.

Serbia: Serbia emerged after the Great War as a minor power in the Balkans, having tripled its territory and gained sea access. Nevertheless, the simple fact remained that Serbia was an overwhelmingly pre-industrial economy. After King Peter I died in 1921, the throne passed to his son Alexander, who has made attempts to shift Serbia to a manufacturing economy and largely failed. The Depression has accentuated the numerous problems that plague the country. The economy, already stagnant, collapsed , and tensions between ethnic Serbs and the country’s numerous minorities are growing to critical levels. More recently, Serbia was the leader in efforts to unite the Balkan countries behind a common goal – defeating the Ottoman Empire – and provided the main backing to form the Balkan League. Now that war with the Ottomans has been declared, how mighty Serbia actually is shall be put to the test.

Siam: The kings of Siam were one of the few eastern rulers able to keep their country independent. A series of treaties with Britain established a permanent border between Siam and the British possessions. Siam steadily modernized, with the construction of railroads and telegraph lines to serve as a basis for more advanced industrialization, and a more structured system of administration created. In the Great War, Siam joined the British side and successfully invaded French Indochina, gaining Laos at the end of the war. The country’s growth was reversed by the oncoming of the Great Depression, but many people still believe Siam can become a new regional power in Southeast Asia as colonial rule begins to erode.

Slovakia: The constitutional monarchy of Slovakia was formed out of the rubble of Austria-Hungary at the end of the Great War. While the Russians intended for it to become a state under Russian influence, the Bolshevik revolution provided the country with an exit from that fate. Mojmir III (a cousin of the deposed Tsar Nicholas II) was the country’s king. Economic progress was slow due to the simple fact that Slovakia was still heavily agrarian, and the Great Depression hit the country hard, although the country appears to be recovering. In the foreign department, Slovakia is trapped between a rock and hard place: it has fascist Austria and Poland on two sides and communist Hungary on the third side.

Slovenia: One of the states that emerged from the ruins of Austria-Hungary, Slovenia was formed by a rebellion that occurred in 1917-1918. While the Slovenes hoped to control all lands with a Slovene majority, they were not able to acquire all of it; Italy got there first. Although it is a republic, Slovenia remains poor due to a largely agrarian and backwards economy that failed to develop under Austro-Hungarian rule and has continued to fail to develop during independence, something that the coming of the Great Depression has not helped.

South Africa: The history of South Africa has been one of tensions between the British, the Afrikaners, and the black natives. This tension manifested itself in conflict during the Boer Wars. After South Africa officially became a dominion in 1910, and achieved some measure of self-rule, the white ruling class significantly ramped up the level of repression of the black and Asian majority. Many blacks heavily oppose any affiliation with Britain whatsoever. There is significant support for radical politics among the non-whites. The Great Depression has negatively impacted the South African economy as well, and the situation is growing increasingly unstable.

Soviet Union: Although Russia fought, fared well, and won against France and Austria-Hungary during the Great War, its military obsolescence became clear very quickly, and the casualties were enormous. The average Russian was hopelessly poor and chafing under harsh tsarist rule. The spark that lit the political tinderbox was the assassination of one Ioseb Dzugashvilli, an influential Georgian member of the Communist Party, in 1919. Immediately, the Bolsheviks rose up and overthrew Nicholas II. By 1923, a bloody civil war was over and the Bolsheviks had consolidated control and declared the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. After the death of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin in 1930, Ivan Smirnov was quick to step up and fill the power vacuum, with the backing and ideology of Leon Trotsky. Within just a few years, Smirnov’s ideological enemies were suppressed, and programs of mass industrialization had allowed the country’s planned economy to survive almost unscathed the Great Depression that left the capitalist powers so debilitated. The Soviet Union has sought to aggressively expand the communist sphere, and it has succeeded to some extent, with allied Communist regimes arising in Finland and Hungary, and Communist parties elsewhere increasing in popularity. The revolution in America has complicated matters, and a debate rages within the Communist Party: should the Russians seek close relations with the Yankees despite ideological differences, or should those ideological differences serve as a reason for the Russians to keep their distance?

Spain: The Spain of today is a far cry from the colonial empire it once was. In 1874, French intervention placed the young Alfonso XII on the Spanish throne. Spain entered a brief period of prosperity and expansion – rebellions in Cuba were crushed, and the Spanish colonial empire underwent what would ultimately be its final period of expansion by acquiring Morocco and northeast Bornero. Despite French pressure, Spain remained neutral during the Great War. Everything began to collapse after the war – its economy went into a slump that turned into a freefall after 1929. The subsequent growth in popularity of Communism and the ensuing Red Scare hysteria alarmed King Alfonso XIII to the point where, in 1931, he invited a military junta led by General Jose Sanjurjo to head the country as an emergency administration. Five years later, the military junta remains in power. It is growing more and more apparent that the “emergency” may in fact be permanent, and the Spanish people are chafing under martial law. The outbreak of civil war in neighboring Portugal has not helped matters. Immediate reform is necessary if national disorder – or far worse – is to be averted.

Switzerland: Known for its longstanding neutrality, Switzerland stands in a great position to continue its self-induced isolation from world affairs. Not only is it a banking and tax haven for those willing to make the necessary effort, the country sits in a well-defensible position and with one of the most militarized populations on Earth. Not even the most militaristic of countries will touch it.

Tibet: Tibetan independence was a certainty from 1911 on. Currently ruled by the Dalai Lamas as it always has, Tibet sits in a heavily defensive position, as it sits in the roof of the world, perhaps the most isolated country on Earth. Any attack on Tibet would be a damn fool thing to do.

United Socialist States of America: With the Federals forced to accept defeat to the Confederates and their French allies in the American Civil War, it appeared that any hope the United States had at becoming a great power was lost. However, a second industrial revolution in the latter decades of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century created an economic boom. By 1916, when the Yankees entered the Great War on the British side, they had become the world's largest economy. Relations with the CSA had normalized, and had even become friendly in some respects. However, all this came at the cost of rising internal tensions between the bourgeois and the proletariat, and when the economy began to collapse in 1929, the Yankees were pushed ever closer to the brink of civil war. In the 1932 elections, Socialist Party candidate Norman Thomas won handily. Fearing the emergence of Bolshevism in America, President Hoover, with the backing of military and business leaders, declared martial law. This was the final push over the edge for many, even those who were not socialists, and this led to a full-blown uprising and a brief civil war. Nevertheless, during the events of ’33, Missouri and the New England states were annexed by the CSA and Canada, respectively, something the Yankees are bitter about – and prepared to go to war to rectify.

Venezuela: Venezuelan politics in the second half of the 19th century was defining by the rule of a series of dictatorships seemingly alternating with elected presidents. Venezuela’s previously agricultural economy remained heavily stagnant until the discovery of large petroleum deposits under the country’s surface. The foreign investment and oil wealth flowing into the country created an atmosphere of prolonged economic growth and relative political stability, even to the point of cushioning the fall caused by the Great Depression. In 1936, Venezuela remains a republic with an elected government. Whether it will stay that way is uncertain.

 

[SouthernKing]

Alliances:

Balkan League: Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia
British Commonwealth: Australia, Canada, Great Britain, India, New England, South Africa, Yemen
Communist International: Finland, Hungary, Soviet Union
Japanese-Corean Alliance: Corea, Japan
Paris-Rome Axis: Austria, France, Italy, Poland
Triple Alliance: Confederate States of America, Germany, The United Kingdom

Wars:

Portuguese Civil War (1936-): Portugal (Socialist) vs. Portugal (Nationalist)
War of the Balkan League (1936-): Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia vs. Ottoman Empire

Recommendations:​

Now, since the stats aren’t up yet (I have to go over them again and finalize them, they should be up in a few days tops), I’m going to post some preliminary recommendations for different categories.

The Powers: In the perception of denizens of this world, Britain, France, Germany, the Soviet Union, and the USSA are probably the “great” powers (not in any particular order), all things considered. Not too far behind those five, Italy, China, the CSA, Japan, and Spain are the secondary powers. (again, not in any particular order) If you’re new to NESing, I’d strongly encourage you to avoid any of these countries.

For players looking to fight wars right off the bat: Well, at game start there are two. If civil war suits you, then choose either the Nationalist or Socialist Portuguese (they’re pretty much equal statistically, so you get to pick whichever one suits your tastes). If you’re looking for an international conflict over land and people, then the Balkans are already heating up: the fledgling countries of Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia have just begun to fight against the archaic Ottoman Empire in the Balkans.

For players looking to build up and then fight: It’s a virtual certainty that war will break out in North America and Western Europe sometime during the course of the NES. Any player in one of those two places will have to fight sooner or later.

For those of you looking to crush all under their jackboots: Fascist or other far-right dictators are in power in Italy, France, Austria, Poland, Greece, Chile, and China. So far, only the first four are really cooperating with each other. There’s also Nationalist Portugal. Brazil and the Ottomans show some signs of far-right-ism, but not as much as the others.

For your inner proletariat: The Soviet Union here is Trotskyist, and has allies/satellites in Finland and Hungary. The USSA is more democratic socialist/syndicalist, and not really affiliated with the Soviets (yet) due to ideological differences. There’s also Socialist Portugal. India, though a British dominion, is also very much on the path to some form of socialism.

For people looking to play as capitalists democracies and fight for TRUTH, JUSTICE, and the <insert nationality here> WAY: Britain and all of her dominions (well, except India), Germany, the CSA, and Japan are all (mostly) democratic and centrist. Of course, there are others, but those are the big ones.

Map

Spoiler :

You can probably figure out what each of the countries are. In Portugal, the Socailists are in the south, the nationalists are in the north.

 

[SouthernKing]

Reserved

 

[SouthernKing]

Reserved II

 

[SouthernKing]

YOU MAY NOW POST

A couple of matters I should address.

This isn't plausible/ignores butterflies!
To be honest, I kind of agree that the parallelism to OTL is stretching disbelief a bit. I'm using historical figures as a matter of convenience, as thats how the mod does it.

This isn't what won the poll
No, it isn't. I realized that I wouldn't actually enjoy modding the states NES, so I'm modding this.

Feel free to reserve nations...now. I'd recommend making at least 2-3 choices, so that if you're unhappy when the stats do come up.

 

[Luckymoose]

#1 Soviet Union
#2 Japan
#3 Ottomangs

 

[Azale]

I don't really know what your modding style is like SK, but I'm going to give this a shot just for the effort you obviously put into getting this off the ground.

1. China
2. Japan
3. CSA

 

[Arrow Gamer]

1) New England
2) USSA
3) CSA
4) Germany

 

[ork75]

1. Chile
2. Peru-Bolivia (if possible socialist movement within said state)

 

[Lord of Elves]

1. Brazil
2. USSA
3. Argentina
4. Soviet Union

 

[Nintz]

1. India
2. Spain
3. Italy
4. CSA

 

[Omega124]

1. Scandinavia
2. CSA
3. Argentina

 

[Immaculate]

1. Britain
2. USSA
3. Colombia
4. CSA

 

[Arrow Gamer]

Actually going to hop out of this.

Sorry.

 

[bestshot9]

This looks interesting.

1. Italy
2. CSA
3. South Africa (maybe? eh)

 

[Nuka-sama]

1. USSA
2. South Africa
3. Italy

 

[Grandkhan]

eh why not.
1. France
2. USSA
3. Italy
4. Greece

 

[Deusselkerr]

1. Germany
2. Mexico
3. Hungary
4. Bulgaria