Six-Months War; Take 4

[GamezRule]

Announcement from the Imperial Government

Are you prepared to fight for Nippon? Our Empire is under assault by our old enemy! The United Kingdom, apparently dissatisfied with losing to Nippon once, had decided to lose to Nippon twice! Over the past two years, Nippon has become devoted to restoring peace to wartorn China! Unfortunately, not every power in the world sees the good in this, and once again the good people of East Asia are under attack from outsiders in the West! Nippon did not choose to be put in this place, but we have had it thrust upon us! Now we must all ask ourselves, what are we prepared to give to ensure that Nippon can remain free!

We must look not to others in this moment, but look at ourselves! What will you say when your decendants ask you what you did when Nippon needed you! This is our moment to show the world our national unity! This is our moment to show the world our strength! We are a mighty and industrious people, but we cannot prevail unless every man, woman, and child show their devotion to the Emperor and to the Empire! The British have seen fit to kick us while our hands are tied! Now we will deliver to them a kick so powerful they will require ten years to build up and prepare the necessary security for their King to step outside!

The Emperor calls on every citizen of this Great Empire to humble themselves and prepare to fight the necessary fight! Will you answer the call of the Emperor? There is more honor to die free than to live a slave! We will not allow Nippon to fall to the British slavers! With the help of Nippon, Manchukuo, and China, the world can be free! We will not retreat, we will not surrender! We will not rest until we can claim victory!

 

[Grandkhan]

An announcement from the Diplomatic Staff of Andrew Palmer, President of the United States of America, and Frank Polk, Secretary of State of the United States of America

Some years ago, the United States signed the Treaty of Honolulu with the Empire of Japan. This gave Japan the full right to intervene in China without American interference, and signed a pact of non-aggression in the Pacific.

We had hoped that China's security would be restored with Japanese intervention, and that Japan would aim only to secure China from chaos, anarchy, and Communism.

However, we are disappointed to see that this is not the case. The Japanese intervention into Manchuria has been a blatant war of conquest. They have not aided the Qing in restoring territorial security to their domains. Nor have they returned Manchuria to the Republic, the supposed recognised-by-Japan legitimate government of China.

Furthermore, we have reason to believe that Japan is pursuing other, more nefarious goals in Asia. After all, where did the Javans get their weapons from? There can only be one answer - Japan.

No, to our dismay, Japan's actions in China are blatantly expansionistic. The Emperor cares not for China's security - all he wants is a greater Empire in Asia.

The United States cannot in good concience allow this go by. As such, the United States of America declares the Treaty of Honolulu to be null and void.

Furthermore, the United States, in support of the United Kingdom, issues a declaration of war upon the Empire of Japan.

Asia will be free of tyranny.

Signed, Andrew Palmer, President of the United States of America
and Frank Polk, Secretary of State of the United States of America

OOC: Sorry Gamez. I feel bad about deceiving you, but frankly this has been a while in the making.

 

[GamezRule]

To: The United States
From: Empire of Japan
CC: The World

It's kinda funny that we told you what we planned to do in China and you said you were neutral. The entire point of the Treaty of Honolulu was that American economic influence in China would remain the same at the end of the day. Reality is never what it seems.

Furthermore, there has not been time to actually support the Republic of China. Our intent in invading the Qing was to turn the land over to the Republic. Japan's only desire regarding map changes is that Manchuria is made independent as a buffer state between the rest of China and Korea/FERR. We support the independence of Mongolia because it is a region that is under the control of a brutal Empire. Japan's final desire is that all nations in East Asia, including those that are her colonies, may be independent and self supporting, so that the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere may live up to it's name.

 

[TheLizardKing]

Excellent update TLK. The stuff about the Montreal Expo and the video was great.

Minor quibble; in Australia, we don't elect our Governor General - they are appointed by the monarch of Britain, and thats because they have no power anyway. The Prime Minister is the elected position (indirectly) which runs the executive. The confusion arrises from the GG being the representative of the 'Head of State', which is the President in the US, but only because the President is both the Head of State and Government and as a result people get confused.

So yeah, the elected official in charge of Australia should be the Prime Minister.

Also, Sichuan's theme music is amazing.

Well thank you, and my apologies. I'll admit I'm not that knowledgeable with how the Commonwealth/Parliamentary systems work. I'll fiddle around with the phrasing a bit. Thank you for pointing it out; I'll make sure not to make the same mistake in the future.

And all compliments belong to Bair_the_Normal.

Unfinished paragraph, I think.
Did my continued road and factory building net anything?
Also, surprised that China is actually holding its own (for now) against Japan.

It was, I'll fix it.

And it did, yes. You got a few EP from it, but there wasn't much to say except "the Netherlands got money from it." Which I suppose I could have written, but I think at that point in the update I was at a loss for finding better ways to describe things.

TLK, Can you post what you stated about my Cinema Technology?

I have that your inventors have developed color film (well, dull color, but it's there.), and a company based out of Chicoutimi created an add-along device to films, allowing for some types of music to be played. It is a widely held belief that speaking parts for movies aren't too far off.

^For any nations interested in how the technology of Cinema is progressing.

From: Javan Rebels/Islamists
To: The Dutch Colonialists

We encourage you to come and try to fight us. Our land shall be freed, and the Word of Allah spread across our paradise.

From: The Dominions of Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Nepal and Bhutan
To: The United Kingdom; The Empire of Japan

We follow suit. A state of war now exists between our nations, and the Empire of Japan.

From: Portugal
To: The Second Spanish Empire

What is good for Spain is not necessarily good for Portugal. We continue to respect, and abide by the Treaty of Friendship, but the rise of Falangism, and the whisperings of Iberian Unity in those Falangist circles are most disheartening to the Portuguese people. The voters have spoken, and your ideaologies are not welcome here.

From: The Qing Empire
To: The Empire of Japan

We find it funny that when Japan realizes it has bit off more than it can chew, it offers peace. We demand that the entirety of Manchuria is restored to Imperial rule, and that Japan does not acknowledge the independence of any of this Cliques. We also wish for reperations to be paid for the destruction of our navy, and Warker Corp, in the unlawful invasion of Imperial Chinese land.

From: Indochina
To: The Empire of Japan

We will mantain our allegiance to you. The Imperialists shall drown in the surf of the Pacific. We consider a state of war to exist between us, and any nation that dares declare war on Japan.

From: Siam
To: The Empire of Japan
CC: Involved Nations

It is not in our immediate interests to involve ourselves militarily in your conflict. Our heart goes out to the people of Japan, and we will make it a point to show our support to you, through money and aid. Furthermore, the good from members of the Commonwealth, the United Kingdom itself, or the United States of America are not welcome in SIamese ports. We intend to continue our trade with both the German Empire, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, so long as they remain neutral in the conflict.

From: The Most Heavenly Kingdom of Tibet, Yunnan Clique
To: Sichuan Clique

It is good to know that we can be peaceful in this time of war. We will retain the borders agreed upon, and expect you to do the same.

OOC: Stats, and front page stuff will be up. Relevant parties shall be recieving PMs with information privy to them within the next few hours as well. More NPC diplomacy as I see fit will come as well.

 

[thomas.berubeg]

To: Quebec
From: Germany

DELAG is interested in running trans-Atlantic flights, so naturally the German government is interested in such a deal, including the airport and trade agreements. However, we wish you luck in trying to import beer into Germany.

To: German
From: Quebec

The German People will soon see the benefit of Top-Fermenting beer.


BTW, if anyone has AIM, and wants to discuss anything with Quebec, my username is thomasberubeg

 

[thomas.berubeg]

Les Plaines D’abraham





Les Plaines D’abraham is the world's first piece of Cinema with both sound and color. Instead of a simple proof of concept, the film was a full length, 4 hour long epic. It follows the interweaving tales of 3 participants in the battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec city. The first is Tarhe, a Huron warrior whose wife is killed by a French Soldier who is attempting to rape her. Tarhe, who is out at the hunt when this happens, comes back to his village, and finds the tribe in the midst of funeral preparations. Swearing revenge, he pledges to hunt down the killer even if “He must cross the great river and find him in the longhouse of the french king himself.” As the negotiations between the French and the Wyandot solidify into an alliance, Tarhe becomes disgusted by the fact that his people will not support him, and sets off to hunt for the killer, a man he knows only by the description given to him by an old woman, who witnessed the crime “Your wife cut into his face with her knife. The scar she gave him will not quickly fade. Find him, and bring us justice.” This clearly illustrates the metaphor of Tarhe’s wife, who is never named, and the plight of the Natives at the hands of the White, and establishes Tarhe’s role as a “Savior” of sorts.

The film quickly establishes, though, that not all white people are evil. Tarhe is shown travelling, but falls into a ravine and injures himself. He lies there for days, despairing of ever bringing justice to his wife’s killer, Fading in and out of consciousness, when he is found by Jean-Paul Tremblay, a French Quebecois soldier who is returning to his home on leave for the Harvest season. Picking up Tarhe, Jean-Paul brings him to his home, and slowly nurses him back to health.

As tensions rise between the French and the English, Colonel Matthew Smithers, a British officer in charge of a regiment in upper New York, is shown training his forces. A scene where a shot ricochets into his arm to no reaction firmly establishes him as a Proper British Gentleman, with a stiff upper lip, while another firmly establishes his honor, when he is presented with a number of French poachers, and he allows them to leave, after swearing to him on the Bible that they will return home. (This film’s access to sound and dialogue allows it to move away from the tradition of racially enforced stereotypes.)

Jean-Paul returns to his regiment stationed at Fort-Carillon, and Tarhe, fully recovered, chooses to follow him, explaining to Tremblay in broken french that staying near the French army will help him find his wife’s Murderer. On their journey to the fort, Jean-Paul, who has struck up a fast friendship with Tarhe tries to convince him that his quest for vengeance will lead only to sorrow. In a passionate scene where they hunt and kill a deer for dinner, Tarhe declares that the Killer is less than an animal, and so deserves to die.

They arrive at the fort days before an impending attack by the British under General Abercrombie, who is portrayed as a fat, ineffectual Buffoon. Colonel Matthew Smithers, under the command of Abercrombie, attempts to mitigate the disaster, but General Abercrombie overrides him over and over again, and is shown to to lead his forces to a massacre. In a break from History, a french shot is shown killing Abercrombie, and Smithers takes command, leading the forces on a retreat, realizing that he cannot win.

During the battle, however, Tarhe spots the man he is hunting, but realizes also that Jean-Paul is in peril (slowly being crushed under collapsed Earthworks.) Making a difficult choice, Tarhe chooses to save his friend. In the confusion, his prey disappears, and Tarhe angrily blames Jean-Paul. The confrontation turns ugly, and in anger, Tarhe stalks off into after the british army, deciding that the British will give him ample opportunity to find and kill his prey.

General Montcalm leads his forces to Quebec City, to assist in the defense. Over the course of the three month Siege of Quebec city, Smithers gets to know Tarhe, who has joined the British as a scout, and, though they come from different worlds slowly strikes up a friendship. In the final act of the Film, which covers the day preceding the fifteen minute Battle, The french forces are shown in Quebec city, getting drunk and killing time. The scared man tarhe was hunting is shown cheating at cards in a low level townhouse, and then attempting to rape a barmaid behind the bar. He is lynched by an angry mob, and left swinging.

Tarhe eventually reveals his mission to smithers, and Smithers speaks to him, trying to convince him that revenge is not the right answer. Before being able to convince him that revenge is not the right course, General Wolfe declares an assault on the city. The battle is shown to be quick and brutal, leaving the French decimated. In the aftermath, Tarhe wanders through the smoky battlefield and burning city, eventually finding the corpse of his friends Jean-Paul and Smithers each having pierced the other with their sword. Silently crying, Tarhe takes a relic from both of them by which to remember them, and slowly walks toward the riverfront in the city, where he finally comes across the hanging corpse of the man he was hunting. Realizing that he has lost everything, even his purpose, Tarhe throws his weapons into the water, and prepares to hurl himself in. Out of the Fog, however, come the shades of his friends and his wife, who take him by the hand and lead him away.

The final shot of the movie is a visibly older Tarhe, at Jean-Paul’s former home, tending to the fields. He is called in by a woman, who he is obviously married to, sits down to dinner with 2 children, who he greets by name: Matthew and Jean-Paul.

 

[talonschild]

OOC: A question of pedantry - I assume you meant the US "dissolved" the Haitian Parliament, as "absolved" means "forgave". Which seemed sort of a weird course for the US to pursue.

Second - Does Russia actually have an Air Force, or is it currently just a show department?

Lastly - a quick rundown on Commonwealth elections: For the elections to the Lower House (generally called the House of Commons), the nation is divided into electoral ridings (or electoral districts, or whatever). Each party can nominate a candidate in each riding. On election day, voters cast their ballot for their preferred candidate; the candidate that wins the most votes takes the seat in office. The leader of the largest party then is declared Prime Minister.

The above assumes a First-Past-The-Post system - each riding elects one candidate. Australia, at least, has transitioned to a more proportional system. As well, very rarely the Prime Minister is not the head of the largest party - see the Canadian King-Byng crisis. I should emphasize, though - very, very rarely.

There is also an upper house, called the Senate, or the House of Lords, depending on the case. In Australia, Senators are elected. In Canada, they are appointed by the Governor-General "on the advice of the Prime Minister." In Britain, well, see Wikipedia on the House of Lords.

The Governor-General is the Queen's representative - in the UK there is none, as the Queen herself is available. In other Commonwealth countries, the Governor-General is appointed by the Queen "on the advice of the Prime Minister" to do the Queen's duties, such as giving royal assent (signing bills into law).


What I wrote about Lower House elections is a good basis for holding parliamentary elections (at least, fair ones) in any parliamentary system. Bear in mind that some states use non-proportional representation (i.e. winner-take-all in each riding) whereas others use proportionally representational systems, particularly in smaller, more progressive and (in our timeline) European countries.

 

[TheLizardKing]

@talonschild; and so I did. I fixed it.

Russia does have an airforce, but I'm making an attempt to change the names of the branches of each nation's military to a more proper name, should players mention it in their orders. It is certainly not necessary, but I figured it's a good flavor thing.

I also am updating the front page, everything should be up except for the UU pages, and the treaty list.

 

[ZeletDude]

King Vittorio Emmanuele's 1925 Address to the Italian People

​

Good Evening my friends, I am speaking to you all today via radio, from my office in Rome. The purpose of this address is to tell you all what exactly will happen to my office I hold, and to me myself. I know very well that the people of Italy do not trust me anymore, following the incident of two years ago. Before I announce what will become of the Monarchy, and myself let’s set one thing straight. The military coup was not my idea, and I was even opposed to it. I am fervently for Constitutional Government, and I have been in my entire twenty-five year reign. Even as British troops approached Rome, and French troops approached Milan I was still for Constitutional Government, even as war loomed on the horizon with Austria-Hungary, I was still for Constitutional Government, and even today as Italians die in the Middle East to ensure that the Arabs in the Hedjaz get the freedom they deserve, I am still for Constitutional Government. As any leader in a Democracy knows, I must do what the people want even if that means stepping down, or leaving public life. As, what the people want is usually in the best interest of the nation as a whole.

For this is the reason I am announcing that I will abdicating the throne to my son, Umberto, effective immediately. I promised to the Italian people that I would do all in my power to faithfully serve them, and this is the reason I am abdicating, it is best for the Italian People. As the current crisis in the Middle East is burning, I must turn my throne over to more able hands. I have not made this decision with a light heart, I have ruled Italy through troubling, and booming times. When I ascended the throne in 1900 following my father’s death I inherited a county rife with economic and political problems. No one, not even I could have imagined that one day in the near future the Italian tri-color would be flying over all of North Africa, in the cities of Algiers, Tunis, even Port Said. In the cities of Trento, and Bolzano, and I could not in my most vivid dreams imagine that the Aegean islands, Ionian Islands, and even Crete would be under Italian control. In these past twenty-five years Italy has gone from a minor European power, to a true player in world stage.

So much good has become of Italy in these past twenty-five years, we have ensured the stability and peace in the Balkans, not once, not even twice, but thrice, first with our intervention in Albania, second with our intervention in Austria-Hungary, and lastly, and most recently, our intervention, and support of the Republicans in Greece. All these interventions have proved one thing, Italy is a nation of Democracy, and we have shown that we support Democracy in other nations. I am proud to have been ruling you all in those past quarter century, and I am proud to have been a part of Italy's rising.

As my last statement to the Italian people as their King I say the following, People of Italy, remember that your nation is proud of all the hard work you have done to ensure that your nation is powerful and not thrown aside. And most of all, I am proud of what Italy has accomplished. Because of this pride I am stepping aside, to ensure that Italy can forever remain what it is today. A stable, and Democratic power committed to peace, and prosperity for all nations.
Viva l'Italia


ooc- TLK my armed forces are named as such

Navy - Regia Marina (Royal Navy)
Army - Regio Esercito (Royal Army)
Airforce - Regia Aeronautica Italiana (Italian Royal Airforce)

 

[talonschild]

OOC: While we're on the topic of names: Crimean Nation's Army, Crimean Nation's Army Air Force, Crimean Nation's Navy. Translation to Crimean Tatar is proving difficult, and will not be included for a good long while.

 

[ZeletDude]

To: The Greek Republicans
From: The Kingdom of Italy
We will provide whatever you need, whether it be funds, or should you require it, actual troops. We do not want to see the spread of Communism into Greece.

 

[christos200]

From Ecuador
To Spain:

As a Spanish Speaking nation and an old Spanish colony, we have strong ties with the Spanish people. We would like to ask for an economic pact and trade agreement.

 

[talonschild]

To: Ottoman Empire
From: Qırım Cumhuriyeti (Republic of Crimea)

In order to improve our standing economically, we would like to negotiate free passage through the Bosporus for Crimean shipping. What price would be convenient for you?

Viktor Azarov, Premier

 

[Milarqui]

From: Dominion of Australia
To: Empire of Japan, Members of the Commonwealth

As does our friend and mother, the United Kingdom, so do we, members of the Commonwealth. Thus, from this moment on, the Dominion of Australia is at war with the Empire of Japan.

 

[Optical]

From: South Africa
To: Empire of Japan
CC: Commonwealth

It is also our intention to support our ally, the United Kingdom, in this conflict, and thus the Union of South Africa declares war upon the Empire of Japan.

 

[Lord of Elves]

From: Second Spanish Empire
To: Ecuador
While these things are in principle agreeable to us, we have no use for an "economic pact" without a disclosure of what such a pact would entail. We would be willing to arrive at an arrangement, for example, whereby Spain would acquire some form of market monopoly on any given commodity, to be sold by Spanish corporations at a discounted price to Ecuadorian business, and as the term monopoly implies, to be bought by Ecuadorian business from Spain in exclusivity.

@TLK
Ejército Nacional (National Army)
Armada Nacional (National Armada)
Fuerza Aérea Nacional (National Air Force)

 

[thomas.berubeg]

@TLK

Armee de la Terre Du Quebec
Armee de la Mer Du Quebec
Armee De L'Air Du Quebec

 

[Optical]

Russia does have an airforce, but I'm making an attempt to change the names of the branches of each nation's military to a more proper name, should players mention it in their orders. It is certainly not necessary, but I figured it's a good flavor thing.

OOC: Army: Royal South African Divisions/Koninklike Suid-Afrikaanse Afdelings (RSAD/KSAA) --- colloquially called the Afdelings or 'Arsad' in English, and the Afdelings in Afrikaans
Navy: Royal South African Fleet/Koninklike Suid-Afrikaanse Vloot (RSAF/KSAV) --- colloquially called 'Arsaf' in English or the Vloot in Afrikaans
Air Force: Royal South African Air Force/Koninklike Suid-Afrikaanse Lugmag (RSAAF/KSAL) --- colloquially called the Lugmag in both English and Afrikaans

 

[DC123456789]

To: The Netherlands
From: Empire of Japan

Japan looks kindly upon the attempts by the Netherlands to reform Indonesia. Though we feel that they are ultimately being conducted poorly, we have no intention to interfere. We offer the Netherlands a non-aggression pact lasting ten years.

From: The Netherlands
To: Japan

We will consider your offer. However, we demand that you renounce all support for Indonesian independence and all rebels in the Dutch East Indies, as well as act on your promises, if we are to accept.

And it did, yes. You got a few EP from it, but there wasn't much to say except "the Netherlands got money from it." Which I suppose I could have written, but I think at that point in the update I was at a loss for finding better ways to describe things.

I would prefer to have some mention, even if it's just "More roads and factories were built in the Dutch East Indies" or something like that. Just so I know that you've actually read it and taken it into account.

From: Javan Rebels/Islamists
To: The Dutch Colonialists

We encourage you to come and try to fight us. Our land shall be freed, and the Word of Allah spread across our paradise.

We'd like to see you speak with so much confidence once your organization has been destroyed and your leaders are rotting in prison.

From: The Netherlands
To: All Parties in this Pacific War

The Netherlands will remain neutral. Military vessels may pass through Dutch waters, but they may not engage enemies in Dutch waters or dock at Dutch ports. Armies also may not enter Dutch territory, under any circumstances.

 

[Gem Hound]

I'm just curios about what happened to my fighters.