STATS
Excerpt from Admiral Folly by Willie Hopper
There was definitely some grumbling when we received the order to set sail from Western Australia to the Mozambique Channel. Some officers were sympathetic to the whites in Madagascar and saw the territorial contest between the Zulus and Madagascans as some “tribal squabble”. Even so, we all believed that Australasia’s intervention in the conflict would bring the war to a decisive close quickly. In a way, we were right.
We landed the armies in Manakara and circled around south of the island. Reports said that the Zulu fleet passed Ifaty, sailing south. When we reached Ambovombe, we learned that the Zulu fleet was bombarding Toliara. The Battle for the Mozambique Channel began in late-March.
Excerpt from Report to the Emperor by Emem Ihejirika
We sent the whites running. Their tactics made me think “they weren’t taking this seriously” at the time. It was a close battle, but that was what made their break all the more rewarding. We sailed north to make sure no Madagascans would see Maputo any time this year.
President Ajala Richards’ Statement
…te fate of South Africa must be decided by the South Africans. Our Republic is dedicated to ensuring and safeguarding the peace and unity of Africa, but it shall continue to respect the sovereignty of [Africa’s] major empires.
The Zulus victory in the naval battle wasn’t alone in changing the course of the war. A military coup attempt in Maputo failed after two ringleaders stepped forward, turned in their comrades, and implicated Madagascan intelligence services. Suddenly, Madagascar’s forces in Maputo were seen as a threat to Maputo province itself. However, even with a more friendly king in Maputo, the Zulus could not have launched the Mozambique offensive without victory at sea to ensure that the worrisome new Madagascan army, equipped with Amaros arms and supplies, would not land behind the Zulu forces in Maputo.
Suddenly, the Madagascan army defending positions in Maputo found itself outnumbered 3:1. Worse yet, the impressive trenches built by the Madagascans became perfect targets for Zulu bombers and fight-bombers. General Afolayan of the Zulu Empire pushed out the Madagascans after several days of fighting before finishing the mainland coup by entering Mozambique, where he encountered significant partisan resistance.
By the end of 2029, the Zulus had trapped Madagascar and Australasia on the island. Australasia’s government is facing severe criticism for her support of Madagascar, which wouldn’t be as pronounced had the turn of events not trapped 22,000 Australasia soldiers on the island. In Amaros, the fact that over 300 IP had been transferred to Madagascar before the complete collapse of that country’s defenses in Africa and subsequent blockade has proved extremely unpopular, especially in light of the country’s cancelation of the Niger Reconstruction program.
Northwest of intense fighting in Mozambique, the Amaros Republic conquered Chad, seizing Abeche in early-May. Across the Atlantic, the Second Empire of Brasil invaded Pernambuco, nominally defeating that country. Brasilian forces now face a simmering partisan movement, commanded by General Carlinhos Henriques, a former bureaucrat turned national hero.
Finally, the Kingdom of Mysore gambled on a massive military expansion to cement its power in the region. At 44,200 soldiers, the Mysore 2nd Army isn’t just the largest army on the planet, larger than the entire national armed forces of several powers, but also the largest air force. While extremely taxing, the kingdom has used this single army to conquer not one, but three, provinces.
International politics have entered, or reentered, a familiar realm. State actors now must contend with one another as well as tribal kingdoms and petty republics of the neutral zones. The Kingdom of Mysore and Amaros Republic show us that overwhelming firepower can cow any petty kingdom, while the Zulus show us that air power dominates those without it.
These countries aren’t the only ones embarking on bold military adventures. Reforms in the Levantine Republic has turned the Reconnaissance Army into the Model Army while the country’s Roger de Lluria Naval Academy in Denia prepares naval officers for command of the country’s coming Republican Navy. In China, the Great Five Armies are now the Great Two Armies.
[-38 IP for Australasia for fleet repairs in Madagascar.
-68 IP for the Zulus after the Battle of Mozambique.
-92 IP for Zulus after the Battle for Maputo.
-15 IP for Madagascar for reinforcements to Maputo.
-17 IP for Zulus after the Battle for Mozambique.
-39 Wealth in Mozambique
-50 IP from various Mysore battles
-14 IP for Amaros for the Conquest of Chad
-28 IP for Brasil for the Conquest of Pernambuco
+10 IP, +113 gold looted from Pernambuco for Brasil
-15 wealth in Pernambuco]
No IP or Gold can be sent to Madagascar until the blockade is lifted. Australasia cannot build units in trapped forces. Madagascar cannot borrow from any market, nor pay back any money owed except within its own market.
Excerpt from a public imperial ceremony in Brasil
For your outstanding services in the Entre Rios Campaign, I award you, General Pilinion Romao, the Ordem Militar de Avis…
Excerpt from Statements issued by the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil
We have become concerned about the lack of leadership from Rome. Now it is the time for the Church to arise and minister to the same people that Jesus once did. The hungry, the poor, the oppressed, the sick. Whether the Pope is in Rome or Quito is not our concern, our concern is about helping others. All people who come to our Churches are welcome and all may claim shelter here. The CNBB shall act as the final authority for all members of the Church and shall meet with any representatives from any churches that are sent. We wish to meet our brothers and sisters across the world in order to settle any doctrinal interests and coordinate disaster relief.
Excerpt from Announcements
The Incan Pope is proud to announce that the Brazilian church under the leadership of the CNBB has entered communion with the Andean Church; they are a particular church sui iuris with their own hierarchy and traditions, but nevertheless the Brazilian and Incan churches are now united.
Statement from the Pontifical Swiss Guard by Marco Fulci, Head of Guard
We suspect schismatic elements for the attempted assassination on the Pope. The PSG, Italia, and the Roman Catholic Church will not rest until the ringleaders of the plot are under arrest and justice is delivered to the families of the slain.
Excerpt from The National Truth
Lets call it what it is: a coup. Our so-called “bishops” should all be put on trial and publicly questioned. This church, which has stood strong for thousands of years, has a rough period and all of a sudden our bishops become Protestants? No, that would leave our bishops with some dignity. Instead, they become whores to the Incan Pope. All Brazilians should ask “who do they work for?” The Heir of Peter, or our imperial neighbor to the west?
General Romao’s award stands in stark contrast of Imperial treatment of Ansaldo Vinci, a man generally seen as unfit for command. Following the recent Conquest of Pernambuco, amid the backdrop of a simmering partisan movement, some see the award of the Grand Cross as premature. Defenders of the inspired general blame the government, who they say added only four hundred pieces of heavy weapon systems to Brasil’s two armies, not nearly enough to secure the province or defeat the embattled enemy before it went underground.
This discussion is small though. The big discussion is the Brazilian Schism. The move by Brazil’s bishops has, at the very least, been met with fierce resistance from the middle clergy and a large number of Catholics at home and abroad. Some priests have gone as far as to secede from the new church to reconfirm their commitment to the Roman Catholic Church.
From a White Return pamphlet circulated in Madagascar following the Battle of Mozambique
Australasia’s people may not have been subject to racial intermixing, but their politics certainly have. How Australasians tolerate their terrible government assisting these blacks is beyond any rational thinking white person in Madagascar or elsewhere. But who do we have that we can turn to? Mysore has fallen to racial intermixing too.
Blacks have their homeland. Maybe it is time to fight for our own.
The White Nationalist Socialist Party declared a formal split with the MNSP after the Battle for the Mozambique Channel and fall of Mozambique province. The WNSP declared that all whites, all over the island, should refuse to pay taxes, burn any draft cards, and refuse to assist a government that “ruthlessly oppressed white men and women”.
For a war that should have a “minimal impact” on the daily lives of Madagascans, the war is having a huge impact. Taxes have skyrocketed to pay for the war effort, a blockade is causing an economic crisis on the island, and racial tensions are coming to a pitch.
Excerpt from Imperial Airways: Contesting the Skies
Imperial Airways and the Indian Royal Air Company have a few things in common. We’re both state-sponsored. We both work in the skies. And…really, that’s it. The biggest difference between our companies is one of us is turning a profit.
2029 was not a good year for the Royal Air Company, despite the government’s massive expansion of its air force. While government contracts in Mysore were, still are, very lucrative, gross mismanagement has led to ballooning costs for the RAC while the Imperial Airways, a smaller company, manages to prosper by plying the growing international airways.
Excerpt from For the Love of Family
The government not only encourages motherhood, but supports the mother through a generous education and social welfare program…
Meanwhile, in Texas, the country’s AIDS Program continues with remarkable success, boosting national economic growth and lifting thousands of farmers out of poverty.
***
To end this portion of the news, lets discuss Generation I factories. First generation factories have been the workforce of the global industrial community for years, but in two provinces they’re finally going out the door. In Mysore province, two factories closed down in 2029 while three advanced factories, including Gen III factories, are opening shop.
In Natal, a factory is closing, largely from the strain of having to compete in the war economy. In contrast, the massive industrial stockpiles Madagascar acquired from Amaros prior to the blockade is proving a boon for Madagascar province, which built thirty-two new first and second generation factories in 2029.
Projections for 2030 predict that the current downsizing in Mysore will be short-lived as, despite massive tax hikes and huge government borrowing, Mysore’s first generation capacities will once again begin to grow. Natal is a different story, as the fate of Zulu industry will depend on how the outcome of the war.
The Zulu Empire, like the Kingdom of Mysore, was forced to borrow money to cover the cost of a large military. Other countries forced to borrow to cover costs are the Empire of China, Free Sinai, Puerto Rico, and Republic of Arizona.
Meanwhile, the Confederate State of Alabama is officially insolvent and has been locked out of international financial markets.
PARTING SHOTS
What does it mean to be a superpower? Political scientists are wondering the answer to that exact question now as they deal with the implications of global power rapidly shifting to two poles of power: Cuzco and Mogadishu. Superpowers have 6 Influence to throw around now.
The Amaros Republic remains a great power, left behind in the ascent of its two fellow great powers because of its depleted industrial base. Africa is remarkable for its political strength, hosting a superpower (Somalia), a great power (Amaros), and middle power (the Zulu Empire). The Amaros Republic is joined by the United Dioceses of Italy. Europe hosts the Levantine Republic, now a full-fledged middle power, and Bulgaria, an emerging middle power.
Asia hosts three emerging great powers: Australasia, China, and Russia. The Kingdom of Mysore, at the center of great web of intrigue and power, itself is a middle power. In the Middle East, the Kingdom of Transjordania is an emerging middle power.
Back in South America, we have Brasil, lovely Brasil, the eternal emerging middle power.
CHEMICAL WARFARE
Countries can now order chemical attacks during combat. Troops are assumed to have chemical defenses already, such as gas masks. Ordering a chemical attack against somebody of the same tech level won't do a lot, but will still have an effect. Chemical weapons become more powerful as the enemy you're fighting grows weaker.
The year is 2030.