Update 0: A Turkish Phoenix?
A secret location somewhere in Istanbul, Turkey
January 1, 1936, 2100 hours
"If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital."
- Napoleon Bonaparte
For the Council, it is time to get back to work. Yes, it is New Year's Day. Yes, many of the leaders did not feel too well after heavy bouts of drinking the night before. Yes, people are still in a festive spirit. But the world does not wait for celebrations.
They meet in a small, dark room in an innocent-looking building in the backstreets of the former imperial capital. This is not Constantinople. Some modernisation and repairs have taken place, and a few factories have been built on its outskirts, but many of its buildings are run down and in a sad state of disrepair. No grand palaces or government offices remain here - the capital has moved to Ankara when the Turkish Republic was founded. In these times of transition, Istanbul is overlooked and neglected.
The meeting is top secret. There are many senior members of the government here, but also other more shadowy figures. Codenames substituted for real names.
"Dell19" spoke first. "So to carry on from what we discussed previously, it would be an excellent idea to expand our industrial capacity as we are surrounded by many powerful nations. And as head of research I highly recommend we start looking into basic tabulating computers to help government and administration."
"Our military should be the priority," said PrinceScamp, pointing to the two soldiers who stood guard at the door. "I mean, look at them. Those Great War era rifles are a disgrace. They're relics from the days of the Sultan."
At this point the Chair spoke. "PrinceScamp raised a good point. Dell19, inform the people at Military Industries here in Istanbul we really need better equipments for our infantry divisions. Luckymoose, I need to ask you to speak to the people at Istanbul University if they can help us modernise our agriculture. Once these are done, then Dell19 I say we start researching industrial technologies."
The head of the navy, who had his hand up the whole time, interrupted. "Sorry to interrupt but my arm is really getting tired. If I could direct your attention to something I found while looking through the Foreign Ministry's documents. These are the countries which guarantees the respective country's independence in our region."
"Look at that," said General Karmic Knight. "Like the Great War all over again".
"Albania is a potential target for expansion though," observed Dell19, "no one cares about them. Only Italy guarantees them. If I remember correctly the Albanians have no national army to speak of, correct?"
"Quite right," said someone.
"They got a source of oil as well", said mostly-harmless. "We're a bit short on that resource".
Someone else interrupted. "Huh. Twenty-three years of independence and they can't even organize a military. They would be better off under our 'guidance'. I bet if we attack fast enough their diplomat won't even have time to cry to Mussolini about it!"
"Hold it right there. Aggression is not going to go down well with our neighbours or with our public."
The discussions continued through the night.
-------------------------------------------
Ankara, Turkey
January 5, 1936
The next few days passed by relatively quietly. President Kemal gathered the generals together in Ankara and told them they would need to move towards a "Standing Army".
Then, on the fifth of January
The Parliament met in an extraordinary session and decided to uphold the claims. If Turkey is to become a major power in the world, that is the way it has to be. Angry words arrived from Athens, Sofia, Belgrade, Baghdad and other capitals. It could have been worse. It was a diplomatic coup for Turkey that the non-aggression pacts and guarantee of Turkish independence by the Powers remained intact. Still, this has raised Turkey's belligerence in the eyes of the international community.
That evening, the Council met again in Istanbul. On the wall of the room there was a new map of Turkey. It showed current Turkish territories - and claimed territories highlighted in dark green.
The campaign now starts in earnest.
A secret location somewhere in Istanbul, Turkey
January 1, 1936, 2100 hours
"If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital."
- Napoleon Bonaparte
For the Council, it is time to get back to work. Yes, it is New Year's Day. Yes, many of the leaders did not feel too well after heavy bouts of drinking the night before. Yes, people are still in a festive spirit. But the world does not wait for celebrations.
They meet in a small, dark room in an innocent-looking building in the backstreets of the former imperial capital. This is not Constantinople. Some modernisation and repairs have taken place, and a few factories have been built on its outskirts, but many of its buildings are run down and in a sad state of disrepair. No grand palaces or government offices remain here - the capital has moved to Ankara when the Turkish Republic was founded. In these times of transition, Istanbul is overlooked and neglected.
The meeting is top secret. There are many senior members of the government here, but also other more shadowy figures. Codenames substituted for real names.
"Dell19" spoke first. "So to carry on from what we discussed previously, it would be an excellent idea to expand our industrial capacity as we are surrounded by many powerful nations. And as head of research I highly recommend we start looking into basic tabulating computers to help government and administration."
"Our military should be the priority," said PrinceScamp, pointing to the two soldiers who stood guard at the door. "I mean, look at them. Those Great War era rifles are a disgrace. They're relics from the days of the Sultan."
At this point the Chair spoke. "PrinceScamp raised a good point. Dell19, inform the people at Military Industries here in Istanbul we really need better equipments for our infantry divisions. Luckymoose, I need to ask you to speak to the people at Istanbul University if they can help us modernise our agriculture. Once these are done, then Dell19 I say we start researching industrial technologies."
The head of the navy, who had his hand up the whole time, interrupted. "Sorry to interrupt but my arm is really getting tired. If I could direct your attention to something I found while looking through the Foreign Ministry's documents. These are the countries which guarantees the respective country's independence in our region."
"Look at that," said General Karmic Knight. "Like the Great War all over again".
"Albania is a potential target for expansion though," observed Dell19, "no one cares about them. Only Italy guarantees them. If I remember correctly the Albanians have no national army to speak of, correct?"
"Quite right," said someone.
"They got a source of oil as well", said mostly-harmless. "We're a bit short on that resource".
Someone else interrupted. "Huh. Twenty-three years of independence and they can't even organize a military. They would be better off under our 'guidance'. I bet if we attack fast enough their diplomat won't even have time to cry to Mussolini about it!"
"Hold it right there. Aggression is not going to go down well with our neighbours or with our public."
The discussions continued through the night.
-------------------------------------------
Ankara, Turkey
January 5, 1936
The next few days passed by relatively quietly. President Kemal gathered the generals together in Ankara and told them they would need to move towards a "Standing Army".
Then, on the fifth of January
The Parliament met in an extraordinary session and decided to uphold the claims. If Turkey is to become a major power in the world, that is the way it has to be. Angry words arrived from Athens, Sofia, Belgrade, Baghdad and other capitals. It could have been worse. It was a diplomatic coup for Turkey that the non-aggression pacts and guarantee of Turkish independence by the Powers remained intact. Still, this has raised Turkey's belligerence in the eyes of the international community.
That evening, the Council met again in Istanbul. On the wall of the room there was a new map of Turkey. It showed current Turkish territories - and claimed territories highlighted in dark green.
The campaign now starts in earnest.
