A War of Blood and Steel [Althis|PT|OOC|Ended]

[Tracian Empire]

What should I do with the Spanish Civil War?

Well, it's up to you. Considering the role that it played in real life, it would be interesting to at least have had a conflict between leftists and fascists. Having the civil be still ongoing or close to starting would also be a possibly, and would be interesting from an IC perspective, but that's also probably something paralyze your nation, since the civil war would be the only thing you'd be able to deal with, and people also generally don't like to play such nations, so it would also be completely fair and acceptable if you'd like to avoid it altogether.

[Remnants of Exilvania]

Application is written. I have no idea why I wrote my history like this when my usual fare is a drier, more technical style. I guess I was just feeling a bit poetic or something?

Nation Application

Full Nation Name: The official name of the state is the Commonwealth of Northern Socialist Council Republics (da: Nordiske socialistiske rådsrepublikkenes samfundet).

Short Nation Name: Colloquially, the nation is often referred to as Norden, the Northern Commonwealth, or the NSRS.

National Symbols: The flag of the Northern Commonwealth is as follows: a field of red charged with a roundel of white, in which is inscribed a stylised swan of blue.

Capital: Nominally, the capitals of the four nations: Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, and Helsinki, are considered to be of equal status. In functional governance, the government and the legislature both meet in Copenhagen, making that city the functional capital of the Northern Commonwealth.

Territory: The territory of the Northern Commonwealth includes Fennoscandia bounded on the east by the Russo-Finnish border as defined in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu (identical to the real life treaty except: the Petsamo Corridor remained in Russia), Jutland bounded on the south by the Eider River, the small islands off the coasts of these two main landmasses, and the following major islands and island groups: Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, the Faroes, the Shetlands, the Orkneys, the Danish Isles, Bornholm, and the Åland Islands.

Form of Government: The Northern Commonwealth is a republican, democratic, and parliamentary confederation. Sovereignty is vested in the Commonwealth Parliament, a unicameral legislature to which members are nominated on an open-list proportional-representative basis through regular elections held no more than three years apart under universal suffrage and which appoints from one of its members a Speaker who performs largely ceremonial and functional roles. The Commonwealth Parliament also nominates and has the power to recall a State Minister, who may not serve concurrently as a member of parliament, in whom the executive powers of the state are vested. The confederate nature of the Northern Commonwealth is clear in the high degree of self-rule afforded its constituent republics and autonomous regions, with the Commonwealth government largely overseeing matters of common welfare.

Head of State: The head-of-state of the Northern Commonwealth is Jens Nordstjerne, Speaker for the Brother Peoples.

Head of Government: The head-of-government of the Northern Commonwealth is Anders Dyrssen, State Minister of the Commonwealth.

Ideology: The ruling Agrarian League - Labour Party - Socialist Left coalition is broadly reformist-socialist and anti-military in nature.

Population: The population of the Northern Commonwealth is 17.05 millions, of which 6.14 Sweden, 4.27 Denmark, 3.67 Finland, and 2.97 Norway.

Military Description: The Northern Commonwealth has large, well-trained, but not particularly well-equipped armed forces with a strongly defensive posture, with a philosophy of leveraging its geographical advantages to remain secure despite having a much smaller industrial base and population compared to its neighbours. Broadly speaking, in peacetime it only maintains a small professional core around which a large reserve force can be rapidly mobilised during times of crisis.

Its army, still based on the Sixty Divisions Plan established after the Great War, calls for a force of 60 divisions (hence the name), including two armoured divisions (on paper, light armour supported by motorised infantry, but the necessary motorisation equipment has yet to be produced), six ranger divisions (elite infantry specialised for harsh terrain and weather), four dragoon divisions (name anachronistic; bicycles, not real horse cavalry), and four armies of 12 reserve infantry divisions each, for a total of 148,520 peacetime and 595,400 mobilised paper strength. Compared to other armies of the region, the Commonwealth Army is seriously deficient in armoured or motorised forces and only mediocre in terms of heavy artillery, choosing instead to place its faith in a deep and flexible defence supported by extensive border fortifications. The Danevirke line along the southern border of the Commonwealth, in particular, is regarded as one of the finest border fortifications of the era.

Compared to other states of similar stature and technological sophistication, the Northern Commonwealth maintains a large and flexible navy albeit one without heavy ships that can truly dominate the high seas. Considering the sheer British naval dominance in the region, the Commonwealth Navy is a force built with an asymmetric strategic situation in mind, built to survive against and interfere with, rather than emerge truly victorious over, hostile forces. Consequently, like the army, it is a force dedicated to the immediate security of the Commonwealth's home territories, consisting of a broad destroyer, patrol boat, and submarine force built around a core of 13 coastal defence heavy cruisers. All in all the navy fields 91 heavy vessels (that is to say, excluding patrol boats) for a total paper strength of 32,500 peacetime and 48,750 mobilised.

It is the relatively new air force, however, that is the true pride of the Commonwealth Armed Forces, and it is in this arena that the Northern Commonwealth's technological sophistication truly shines. Unlike the Army, which mostly serves the function of hiding behind the nation's border fortifications and rough geography, and the navy, some of whose hulls are nearly half a century in age and are showing serious signs of age despite many refits, the Commonwealth Air Force has the equipment, the training, and the sheer size to compete with any other in the world. With aims of being the ultimate mobile force that can shore up defence both on the ground and on the sea when surface forces are in difficult situations and preventing any hostile air forces from doing the same, the Northern Commonwealth has developed a force of three air divisions each containing three fighter wings and three bomber wings, for a peacetime paper strength of 16,200 and a mobilised paper strength of 32,400.

Tech Tree: The United Kingdom

Economic Description: With a highly-educated population and one of the finest technological academia in Europe, the Northern Commonwealth boasts one of the highest industrial productivity and best standards of living in the world, which thanks to the country's flexible monetary policy and a decisive fiscal response survived the harsh years of the Great Depression relatively intact.

Well educated and technically sophisticated the Northern Commonwealth's population may be, however, that population is not a large one, meaning that the Northern Commonwealth's economic and industrial capacity is, in absolute nominal terms, merely a fraction of those of the great powers. Furthermore, the economic prosperity of the Northern Commonwealth hides serious regional inequalities; in development the vast and underpopulated north lags many years behind the mechanised farms and industrial cities of southern Scandinavia, and despite two decades of recovery and developmental assistance so does Finland.

Goals: Despite only being tangentially involved in it, the Northern Commonwealth is possibly the country whose culture and politics was most affected by the sheer pointless butchery of the Great War. The main centrist parties of the Commonwealth, both on the left and the right, are agreed: the single overriding foreign policy of the Northern Commonwealth must be the establishment of a stable and peaceful international order in which alone its own security and prosperity can be assured.

Point of Divergence: Swedish-Norwegian participation in the 1864 Prusso-Danish War; the outcome of the war remains unchanged, but the pan-Scandinavian movement emerges strengthened.

History: Emerging from the smoke and thunder of the Prusso-Danish War of 1864, the populist Pan-Scandinavian wave of the 1860s and '70s, and then the mass labour movements of the late 19th Century, the Commonwealth of Northern Socialist Council Republics - originally just the Scandinavian Confederation and then the Northern Revolutionary Commonwealth before the current name was arrived at - entered the 20th Century full of all the nationalistic pride and futuristic optimism that so defined Europe of the Belle Époque. As a revolutionary state, although exactly what kind of revolution was a matter of some contention between the progressive liberals, the labour movement, and the anarcho-syndicalists, to say nothing of the Scandinavian Romanticists for whom 'socialism' meant a return to agrarian idyll away from the violent market forces of the industrial city and the various flavours of radical nationalists, it also dreamed of overturning the old European order to establish something truly new and better in its stead.

And then diplomacy failed and the world descended into madness.

While the Northern Commonwealth is not conventionally considered a belligerent in the Great War, being involved only in the peripheral conflicts that defined its conclusion, it would be incorrect to say that the Commonwealth did not suffer from it. The British, who feared her enemies subverting her trade interdiction by using neutral European powers as a conduit of trade with the outside world, issued an ultimatum to cease trade with its enemies or be interdicted as one, and the Northern Commonwealth spent most of the war being blockaded by the Royal British Navy, even as the Danish minority of northern Germany, which due to cultural and nationalistic ties the Northern Commonwealth regarded as being naturally within its sphere of influence, was drafted into the Kaiser's armies and sent to the trenches to bleed and die.

According to the traditional metrics by which a state's success is measured - victory on the battlefield, the absorption of new territories, and the realignment of its neighbours in its favour - the Northern Commonwealth gained much from the Great War. The Commonwealth's attempt to finally break itself free from the British naval blockade caught the United Kingdom with complete surprise and the Commonwealth swan flew over the Northern Isles before the British could muster a response. The disintegration of the German and Russian Empires into bloody civil wars, and the rapid intervention of the Commonwealth Armed Forces in both, saw the Duchy of Schleswig and - the big prize - the Grand Duchy of Finland declare independence and soon hold plebiscites to formally join the Northern Commonwealth.

Yet the popular memory of the Great War was not that of brave sailors pressing on through the dark, nor was it the red flag flying over the Northern Commonwealth's new territories. Rather, it was the collective memory of sixteen-year-old South Jutlander boys who returned from the Western Front with no spark left in their eyes. It was the hunger seasons of 1916 and 1917, with British cruisers in the Baltic turning away much-needed shipments of corn and wheat from the Americas. It was the visions of mass executions and forcible population transfers that coloured the Finnish Civil War, and of the ice-covered remnants of Swedish volunteers who froze, unlamented and unremembered, in the frozen darkness of the Sami winter.

And all those trenches on the foreign newspapers. Kilometre after kilometre of barbed wire and mud, decorated only by the corpses of uniformed men draped over them.

The voices that once called for an international revolution sputtered and died. The calls for a glorious Swedish return to the Baltic petered out into silence. The Northern Commonwealth emerged from the Great War, in short, with a renewed determination that never again will its people make the mistake of war, as a nation that wished nothing more than to be left alone.

As the Northern Commonwealth's people, and thus their chosen representatives, turned their eyes inwards, towards achievements that were perhaps less glorious but did every bit as much to heat and lighten hearth and home, the politics of the country quickly settled into a stable sort of neutrality, retreating in onto itself surrounded by defences and no longer so eager to venture out into the world beyond its own frontiers. The Great Depression, which simultaneously focused the attention of the Northern Commonwealth towards domestic matters while sapping money away from the defence budget, did nothing but accelerate this trend, even as eyebrows rose and traumas were refreshed as neighbouring country after neighbouring country fell into the fires of despotism and revanchism.

As the Year of Our Lord 1936 draws to a close, the Northern people enjoy the comforts of their home and hearth, their spines warm and their bellies full, even as the world outside their little island of stability teeters towards the inevitability of a second conflict like a derailed train. Images of barbed wire and mud flash in their minds again. They hope, hope against all reason, that if they just close their eyes and pretend that nothing is happening, then it will all just go away.

But the world is not in the habit of entertaining anyone's delusions.

Have You Read, Understand, and Agree with the OP Posts & Rules In Detail?: Javel!
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Also, slight map error: the territory of the Northern Commonwealth includes what used to be the Duchy of Schleswig, but not the Duchy of Holstein. You've given me one province too much in South Jutland in the official map.

That's on purpose. After consulting a bunch of maps I figured that the correct border for Slesvig isn't there. If I remove the tile, you're missing a good chunk of it, if I keep it with you, Holstein is missing a slice of itself, albeit a kinda important one.

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

That's on purpose. After consulting a bunch of maps I figured that the correct border for Slesvig isn't there. If I remove the tile, you're missing a good chunk of it, if I keep it with you, Holstein is missing a slice of itself, albeit a kinda important one.

Fair enough. :p

At least I didn't make the Victoria II map you're using even more awkward by picking up Repola and Porajärvi. ;)

[Arvenia]

What should I do with the Spanish Civil War?

Well, it's up to you. Considering the role that it played in real life, it would be interesting to at least have had a conflict between leftists and fascists. Having the civil be still ongoing or close to starting would also be a possibly, and would be interesting from an IC perspective, but that's also probably something paralyze your nation, since the civil war would be the only thing you'd be able to deal with, and people also generally don't like to play such nations, so it would also be completely fair and acceptable if you'd like to avoid it altogether.

Yeah, it's much more better with a civil war. There would mostly be a lot of political violence between fascists and leftists.

[Remnants of Exilvania]

That's on purpose. After consulting a bunch of maps I figured that the correct border for Slesvig isn't there. If I remove the tile, you're missing a good chunk of it, if I keep it with you, Holstein is missing a slice of itself, albeit a kinda important one.

Fair enough.

At least I didn't make the Victoria II map you're using even more awkward by picking up Repola and Porajärvi.

I did check those out and I think they were there as tiles on the map back then but I can't tell for sure anymore. Currently not capable of checking the map as my phone doesn't like enlarging pictures and I won't use up precious mobile data to download.

Anyway that's moot right now. Besides, not having them can lead to some fun interactions with Moscow.

[Kenobot]

Reservation

Nation Name: The Dominion of India
Territory: IRL British Raj 1937 + Sri Lanka, Burma, British Malaya and Singapore
Tech Tree: British
#JDMZVUM1QC (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Deblar]

Nation Application

Full Nation Name: Third French Empire

Short Nation Name: French Empire; France

National Symbols:

Flag:

Coat of Arms:

Capital: Paris

Territory: IRL 1937 French territories, including colonial possessions

Form of Government:

Official/ De Jure:
Federal Constitutional Monarchy with Bonapartist Characteristics

De Facto:
Federal Semi-Absolute Monarchy

France’s government is officially a constitutional monarchy, but considering the powers and influence of the Emperor, it works more like a semi absolute monarchy.

The executive branch of government is made up of the Emperor, his cabinet, and the virtually powerless Chancellor, whose only real duty is to preside over the National Assembly.

The legislature is the unicameral, aforementioned National Assembly, which contains hundreds of elected representatives from across Metropolitan France, as well as at large representatives from each of France’s colonies. Their duty is to propose, debate on, and pass legislation to be approved by the Emperor.

The judicial branch, made up of the Supreme Court and other inferior courts, is tasked with upholding the Constitution of 1922, as well as the rule of law. They also have the authority to make sure that neither the National Assembly or the Emperor can overstep their authority.

As a bonus, to keep the colonies from revolting, Napoleon IV graciously offered autonomy to each colony, giving them control over most internal activities, excluding foreign policy. It is believed that the Emperor may offer greater autonomy to a select few colonies.

Head of State:

His Imperial Highness Napoleon IV, Emperor of the French Nation and People, Knight Grand Cross of the French Legion of Honor, Archduke Consort to Archduchess Maria Annunciata of the Danubian Realm

Description:

Napoleon IV, born Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph Bonaparte, or simply Louis-Napoleon, was born in 1856 as the only child of Napoleon III and Eugenie de Montijo. He grew up in the shadow of his father, as well as his great uncle, and while growing up aspired to be just as great. After the Franco-Prussian War and he establishment of the Third Republic, Napoleon IV fled to first Belgium, then Austria with his mother, while his father went into German imprisonment until his death. After a while, Napoleon IV would complete his education and return to France, joining the army. Later on, in 1897, would marry Archduchess Maria Annunciata, and the two had four children, though one died young.

During his military service, he would steadily rise the ranks over the years, becoming a field marshal by the time the Great War breaks out. Around 1917, when the front was mostly stationary, Napoleon IV was given control of the front, and utilizing a recent invention, tanks, would be able to break the stalemate and steadily push the Germans out of France using divide and conquer tactics similar to those of Napoleon I. He would also play a rather big part in negotiating an armistice with Austria following the defeat of Italy. After managing to counter the 100 Day Offensive by the Germans, Napoleon pushed his men into the Rhineland in late 1918 and early 1919, and with the German Empire beginning to flat out disintegrate, the French began to blitz through, and had put Cologne under siege before the Germans finally surrendered. With peace negotiated with Germany, Napoleon IV playing a big part in said negotiations, Napoleon would return home a war hero who had brought victory to France, though with a heavy toll.

After the war, however, the corrupt government of the Third Republic would refuse to give the army their full pay, their truthful reasoning being that they had embezzled the soldier’s pay into larger corporations. The government had also embezzled welfare money and money used to pay politicians into these corporations as well, which caused a high amount of unrest. Napoleon IV was also pretty livid himself, becoming the face of the anti-government movement that was only growing. Eventually, in early 1921, Napoleon IV, after consultation with his men and other unhappy politicians, would launch a military coup, arresting the president and corrupt government officials. Soon after consolidating full control of France, Napoleon IV declared the reorganization of the Third Republic into the Third Empire. Since then, he has balanced the act of managing the government, relations with other nations, and preparing his eldest son, Eugene-Napoleon, aka Napoleon V, to one day become Emperor

Head of Government(Official/ De Jure):

The Honorable Imperial Chancellor Babette Dupont

Description:

Babette DuPont was born in 1867 to a rather wealthy family. He would briefly serve in the military before getting involved in politics. During his days as a politician in the corrupt Third Republic, he had called out the government’s corrupt practices and was the face of resistance to their corruption among public officials. As Napoleon IV prepared to coup the government, DuPont worked with him and the military to help orchestrate the event. Afterwards, the Third French Empire would be established, and DuPont would serve in the National Assembly before being appointed Chancellor by Napoleon IV in 1932. Since then he has served in this position, and plans to shepherd the French nation towards stability and prosperity alongside Napoleon IV.

Ideology:

The ideology of France as a whole is difficult to concretely determine, as France is somewhat of a functioning democracy. However, as shown by the partisan makeup of the National Assembly, there is strong support for ideologies such as social liberalism, socialism, and conservatism. Fascism, while banned, is also supported by a small but notable minority that operates underground. Napoleon IV in particular is an authoritarian-leaning centrist, and is also a devout Catholic, though he and his government honors and respects the right to freely worship other religions, as well as the separation of church and state.

Population: approximately 41 million, not including colonies

Military Description:

The French military compared to OTL is a bit improved, as Napoleon IV has adopted a “non-complacent” stance on the military, stressing that the nation “must be the most prepared for any conflict at any time”. Research towards improving upon military equipment for both the army and navy is greatly funded, and has yielded good results

For the army, the primary rifle is an improved upon MAS-36(a bit lighter and a bit farther range), which research started a decade earlier than OTL, researched fully by 1928 and mass produced as part of an initiative by Napoleon IV to revitalize French industry following the beginning of the Great Depression. The MAS-38 is the primary sub-machine gun in use. The French Army also makes use of tanks, and have researched and begun developing better tanks with better communication, vision, and ergonomics. One such tank is the medium cavalry tank SOMUA-S36, which is on its way to being the primary tank of the French Army.

The French Navy is among the largest and most developed in the world, in part due to the aforementioned research programs that have been generously funded. With a total armada of seven battleships, 19 cruisers, 71 destroyers and 76 submarines, France has the 4th largest navy in the world behind Britain, America, and Japan.

Tech Tree: French

Economic Description:

France’s economy is a bit of a mixed bag. While France still practices capitalism, there are very stringent anti-trust regulations put in place to prevent the creation of mega-corporations that could gain lobbying power and corrupt the political system, which was exactly what brought the end of the Third Republic. There is also a wide welfare net, similar to the one employed in Germany under Otto von Bismarck. With all these regulations, as well as the presence of minority government stake in most sectors, France can be considered a mixed economy. France’s urban areas are mostly quite industrialized, though the countryside remains largely agricultural.

The French economy took a hit with the Great Depression, though under Napoleon IV’s guidance, the economy has since largely rebounded, and through the Emperor’s initiatives, France’s industry has expanded. France currently stands as one of the most industrialized countries on Earth.

As for France’s colonies, most of them have some ways to go in industrialization, though Napoleon IV plans on fixing that and working with colonial leaders to help bring industry to the rest of the French colonial empire.

Goals:

Public: Maintain Economic Recovery and Prosperity, Insure the Empire’s Survival, Contain the Fascist Threat in Italy and the Socialist Threat in Soviet Russia

Private: Spread Influence around Europe and Other Parts of the World, Gain Closer Ties to Britain and America, Eliminate Fascism at Home and Abroad

Point of Divergence:
Napoleon IV never fled to Britain following the Franco-Prussian War and never joined the British army, therefore avoiding his OTL 1879 death in the Anglo-Zulu War. Upon his return to France following the completion of his education in Austria, he would join the French military, rising the ranks over the years, while also marrying the Austrian Archduchess Maria Annunciata, the daughter of Archduke Karl Ludwig. Meanwhile, corruption would begin to run rampant through the Third Republic, and as the years went by it would only grow worse. By the time the Great War breaks out, corruption is at an all time high. During 1917, with the front stationary, Napoleon IV, who by now is a field marshal, is given command of the front. He would utilize a recent invention, tanks, to help break the stalemate, and using divide-and-conquer tactics similar to that of Napoleon I, he would manage to push the German forces out of France, successfully countering late-war offensives from the Central Powers, and after pushing troops rather deep into the Rhineland, he would force a German surrender. After the war, in 1921, fed up with the government’s corruption, and with the support of the people and numerous politicians, Napoleon IV would launch a military coup, and after fully consolidating control over France and its territories would declare himself Emperor, giving rise to the Third French Empire.

History:

• 1870: The Second French Empire was led by Napoleon III, who was quite ambitious; so much so that many argue that he was too ambitious for his own good. Driven somewhat by this ambition, he led the French to war with Prussia- which would end in humiliating defeat. Napoleon III was captured, his son, Napoleon IV, and his wife, Eugenie de Montijo, fled to first Belgium, then Austria, and the Second French Empire ceased to exist, and the Third French Republic rose from its ashes. However, seemingly out of the gate, large corporations with large amounts of lobbying power would use said power it their advantage, and the young and susceptible government would cave in, giving birth to a culture of corruption in the government. This would only grow in the coming years, and with it grew feelings of contempt towards the government for its seeming inability to do much beyond protect the interests of these corporations.
  
• 1877: Napoleon IV, who up to this point had lived abroad with his mother, comes of age and decides to return to France, sending political shockwaves throughout not only France, but the whole of Europe. Some believed the reestablishment of the French Empire was inevitable if not imminent. However, to some’s disappointment, Napoleon IV showed no interest in politics, and by association reestablishing the French Empire, instead deciding to join the French military. The corrupt government breathed a sigh of relief, and life in France proceeded as normal for a while.
  
• 1874-1894: France, while expanding its colonial possessions in Africa and Asia, and despite political turmoil (think Paris Commune), the corruption problem is never rooted out, and only grows worse over the years. With the corruption growing, so does dissatisfaction with the government, though for now nothing meaningful could be done, as the Third Republic would crush dissent.
  
• 1897: Napoleon IV, after a courtship that lasted about a year, marries the Austrian Archduchess Maria Annunciata in a rather lavish ceremony. French reactions are mixed, as well as Austrian, and chatter on a reborn French Empire kicked back up.
  
• 1903: Napoleon IV, after years of honorable service, is made a Field Marshal in the French Army. Napoleon accepts his new post, preparing to help lead the French Army as needed. Also, in the same year, Napoleon IV’s firstborn son, Eugene-Napoleon, later Napoleon V, is born in Paris.
  
• 1905: Napoleon IV and Maria would welcome a set of fraternal twins, Louis-Napoleon and Francis-Napoleon, though Louis would unfortunately pass away in 1909 of an illness.
  
• 1914-1919: As the Great War breaks out, corruption is at an all time high in France, and if it weren’t for the Great War, the people, who were largely dissatisfied and angry, may have just overthrown it. The war goes pretty much the same as OTL up to a point, and in 1917, with the front rather stationary, Napoleon IV is given full control over the front. Utilizing a recent invention, tanks, he would break the stalemate, and using divine-and-conquer tactics similar to that of Napoleon I, would help push the Germans almost completely out of Metropolitan France by late 1918. While in command of the front, Napoleon IV would play a big part in negotiating an armistice with the Austrians. After countering the 100 Day Offensive, Napoleon IV pushed the French Army into Germany, going deep into the Rhineland as Germany began to splinter. The city of Cologne was being put under siege around Spring of 1919 when the Germans finally surrendered, and the Treaty of Versailles was signed, bringing an end to the Great War.
  
• 1918: Napoleon IV and Maria welcome another child, a girl who they named Paulette.
  
• 1920: Napoleon IV would be hailed as a war hero for helping to bring victory to France, though it came at a heavy cost, both financial and human. As the war came to an end, the soldiers began to seek their pay, though due to both war-caused economic downturn and corrupt economic practices that funneled the soldier’s salaries, as well as welfare money and politician salaries, into the aforementioned corporations. The citizens’ dissatisfaction with the government reached its peak, and not only were the people getting rebellious ideas, but so was the military, including Napoleon IV.
  
• 1921: In February, with the people’s support, the military’s support, and even the support of a few politicians in the Third Republic, Napoleon IV launched a military coup against the corrupt government. Corrupt government officials, including the president, were placed under arrest and eventually executed for “crimes against the French Nation”. After consolidating full control over all of France, Napoleon IV, with the support of the people, would do what many expected him to do almost a half century before- declare himself Emperor and give rise to the Third French Empire.
  
• 1922: A new constitution is approved and put into place, much to the celebration of the nation. As the government is set up, the first new laws are passed, among them being stiff anti-trust laws that effectively broke up the large corporations into smaller ones with not nearly as much lobbying power, and the laws were structured to keep it that way. Laws protecting worker’s rights and labor unions were also passed, as well as a reformed welfare, legal, and taxation systems.
  
• 1923-1929: With the new era in France, the French economy finally caught up with the Roaring 20’s, with economic growth and prosperity skyrocketing. The economic policies made by the government to encourage new businesses to be created and to lower taxes helped add to the prosperity. However, following the crash of the NYSE, the French economy would take a considerable hit, thought he quick thinking of Napoleon IV allowed the worst to be largely avoided in most areas of France.
  
• 1930-1934: Napoleon IV begins his initiative to bring pre-Depression economic prosperity back to France, beginning with an initiative to get men who lost their jobs to work in state-owned factories, which often produced military equipment and refined materials. The initiative to get jobless men into new jobs in the factories would prove successful, and Napoleon IV would move on to revitalizing infrastructure, which would also help to create jobs. These and more would aid in the recovery of the French economy, and in 1934, the Great Depression was declared over in France, as by this point many strides had been made in economic recovery.
  
• Present: With the growing storm in Europe, Napoleon IV has to face the challenge of leading France into an uncertain future, the likes of which not a soul has seen since just before the Great War. Though just as Napoleon IV led his men to victory, and just as he lead the nation through the worst global economic crisis in history, Napoleon IV is prepared for whatever may come France’s way.

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[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

Anyway that's moot right now. Besides, not having them can lead to some fun interactions with Moscow.

To be honest, if I’m accepted then “if I stay quiet and don’t move the Kremlin won’t notice me” will adequately describe my Russia policy.

[Deblar]

Anyway that's moot right now. Besides, not having them can lead to some fun interactions with Moscow.

To be honest, if I’m accepted then “if I stay quiet and don’t move the Kremlin won’t notice me” will adequately describe my Russia policy.

Assuming I get eventually accepted, I think my policy with Russia will be “We don’t like them, but we don’t hate them”.

Oh, and also “whatever we do, we can’t let them join the Axis cuz then Europe would be royally fucked”

[Tracian Empire]

To be honest, if I’m accepted then “if I stay quiet and don’t move the Kremlin won’t notice me” will adequately describe my Russia policy.

Assuming I get eventually accepted, I think my policy with Russia will be “We don’t like them, but we don’t hate them”.

Oh, and also “whatever we do, we can’t let them join the Axis cuz then Europe would be royally fucked”

Do keep in mind that in real life, French socialism was quite a big movement, which made the interwar French governments oppose the Soviet Union and be afraid of it, which led to the policy of the Cordon sanitaire.

The policies of your nation are of course up to you, but you will have to deal with socialism quite a lot, especially if France will like in real life try to claim a leading role in the continent

[Tracian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: The Dominion of India
Territory: IRL British Raj 1937 + Sri Lanka, Burma, British Malaya and Singapore
Tech Tree: British
#JDMZVUM1QC (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

Are you planning to be independent or under British control/British influence like the British Raj of real life?

[Intermountain States]

Nation Application

Full Nation Name: United States of America

Short Nation Name: The United States, America, USA

National Symbols: Bald Eagle, Statue of Liberty, Uncle Sam, Lady Columbia, Star Spangled Banner, North American Bison, Stars and Stripes, etc.

Capital: Washington D.C

Territory: The lower 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Panama Canal

Form of Government: Federal Constitutional Presidential Republic

Head of State: President John Nance Garner, Vice-President Charles McNary

Head of Government: Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn

Ideology: Liberal democracy, anticommunism, federalism, republicanism

Population: ~148,594,713
United States - 131,028,000
The Philippines - 16,000,000
Puerto Rico - 1,543,913
Guam - 22,800

Military Description: The United States military is an all-volunteer force that stands at around 200,000 strong. As America did not enter the Great War, there was no mass mobilization of armaments and manpower compared to the likes of the American Civil War. That isn't to say that the country is lacking militarily, military observers are keeping track of the weapons used by other major powers and the military is always testing new toys for active service. The United States has also engaged in interventions in East Asia and Central and South America, especially the United States Navy and the Marine Corps. As it stands, the United States Navy is perhaps the most important asset to the country as the Navy spent much of its resources to protect international trade. New ships are also being built to bolster the Navy.

The United States Armed Forces is at the stage of not having its full potential drawn. The military is small as the country is focused more domestically with the economy and ending the unrest, different from full mobilization in a foreign war. However, the federal government has flirted with the Preparedness Movement, a Great War era domestic campaign initiated by former President Theodore Roosevelt and then-General Leonard Wood to strengthen the military in case of a hypothetical war. The Preparedness Movement gained some momentum when hunting down Pancho Villa but fizzled out as the Great War drew to a close. However, with the deployment of the National Guard against communist and fascist organizations in the era known as The Troubles, along with fears of the Soviet Union and Japan, the Preparedness Movement returned to full steam as another mean to unify the country and to grow the military against all threats, domestic or foreign.

Tech Tree: USA

Economic Description: The United States is a wealthy nation and its vast size stretching from sea to shining sea allows for a diverse range of industries to flourish. The Midwestern United States provides itself as new industrial centers for manufacturing and mining with the Ohio River Valley providing premium mining productions. Much of the Plains states and New England are agricultural centers while coastal states were centers of trade and fishing, with California being well known for its gold mines in addition. Texas, California, and Pennsylvania are also invaluable sources of oil along with other minerals such as gold and coal. Much of the southern states, however, were impoverished and saw the brunt end by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Although the country is still recovering from the Great Depression, revitalizing the economy of the American South has taken number priority by the federal government.

Goals: Continual recovery from the Great Depression, protecting American interests in the Americas and East Asia

Point of Divergence: 1916, "He kept us out of war."

History: The United States of America remained neutral as Europe tore itself apart. The public was against entangling in foreign affairs of Europe and the American public themselves were divided on the major powers. The Americans did not want war and the election of President Champ Clark in 1912 and in 1916 solidified America's neutrality. The rise of communism in Europe had also strengthened the pacifists and isolationists belief that America was right not to be involved in Europe with fears that American involvement would have made the situation worse. However, individuals with rather internationalists or aggressive leanings on foreign policy saw Europe's descendance as proof that American action could've prevented such an ordeal in Europe. Nevertheless, isolationists among both Democrats and Republicans ensured that America would focus on her own backyard instead of sailing across the Atlantic to fix one of Europe's many problems.

The 1920s saw a decade of economic prosperity, cultural dynamism in the arts and social movements, and massive scale usage of automobile, radios, telephone, film, and electrical appliances in America. While much of Europe licked its wounds from the Great War, America was living up the life of luxury. While America was still isolationist, that is not to say that the country shuts itself off from the global stage. The United States was a creditor nation throughout the 1920s, providing loans to European countries. Small scale interventions also took place in Central and South America and East Asia.

Fortune, however, did not last and the decade of prosperity and investments ending with the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The Presidency of Herbert Hoover had attempted to bring relief to the country with raising federal income taxes on high earners, enacting tariffs on foreign goods to protect American businesses, and expanding collateral banking credits. Public projects were also underway to bolster the economy with the country being on a very slow road to recovery after worsening effects such as unemployment and homelessness. The Great Depression brought some changes to the national politics. The Progressive Party had emerged as a major party with some of the more left-wing members of both the Republican and the Democratic Party joining the reformed Progressive Party. The Great Depression also saw a rise in communist and fascist activities, organizations that the government saw as a threat to the country. Memberships into previously marginalized organizations such as the Communist Party, the Socialist Party, the Silver Legion, etc. reached an all time high. Threatened by the rise of far-left and far-right groups, Republicans, Democrats, and Progressives talked of forming a grand coalition to keep out the fringes from power. Unfortunately, the centrist coalition in the United States struggles to find a compromise between it’s disparate members. The stark differences between the parties were too high to reconcile and coalition talks ended as soon as it began.

As the 1932 federal election begins, the Progressives nominated Governor Floyd Olson of Minnesota and Senator Huey Long of Louisiana. Meanwhile, conservative Democrats and Republicans rallied behind a coalition ticket of Speaker of the House John Nance Garner of Texas and Senator Charles McNary of Oregon. The various fringes had coalesced themselves in an attempt to be formidable forces in politics. The various socialist, syndicalist, and communist organizations formed the Combined Worker's Party and casted William Z Foster for the Presidency. Many far-right organizations sponsored William Dudley Pelley under the True American Party. Whatever threat the Combined Worker's Party or the True American Party posed to the establishment, it wasn't in the ballot as Foster and Pelley combined barely broke 7% in the popular vote and the race was between Garner and Olson as the clear front runners. Neither candidates were able to secure enough electoral votes to claim victory and the country entered a constitutional crisis as both candidates refused to yield. As the House of the Representatives remain hesitant on deciding the electoral result, both the TAP and the the CWP took the opportunity to point out the indecisiveness of the American system.

Fearing that prolonging the election would led to public discontent and create more support for the CWP and the TAP, Olson backs down. In a secret meeting with Garner in Washington, the two candidates agrees to Garner becoming President-Elect in exchange for Progressive influence in government and the denial of the TAP and the CWP in federal government. Four months after the election in 1933, Olson publicly concedes the race and Garner was declared as the President-Elect by the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, the secret meeting in an effort to unify the country for peace backfired as the backroom deal was seen as tyrannical and corrupt by Pelley and Browder. Public confidence in the government begins to fade and protests begin across the South and the Great Lakes. Some of the Governors in the affected areas deployed the National Guards to keep the peace. President-Elect Garner met with Hoover and MacArthur in discussion of implementing War Plan White in preparation for domestic uprising.

Protests turned to riot and labor strikes and political rallies dissolved into violence as Browder and Pelley advocated for taking up arms against Garner and each other. Thus beginning the two year period known as The Troubles. Pelley and the Silver Legion attempted to rally the southern states to secede (again) but was given a unreceptive response by most of the governors. Any attempts of violence by the Silver Legion against state governments were quickly crushed by state national guards and high ranking members of the True American Party were arrested, including Pelley who attempted to flee to South America. The True American Party was no more and only pockets of resistance existed in the swamps.

Compared to Pelley, Browder's Combined Worker's Party was more trouble to the federal government. In tandem with the Mafia and dissident members of the Progressive Party, the Combined Worker's Party held effective control from Chicago to Pittsburgh known as the Red Belt. They were able to resist incursions by police and the National Guards and union militias engaged with loyalist militias and the police in the region. At the recommendations of his generals, President Garner implemented War Plan White and federal troops lead by General Dwight D. Eisenhower were deployed to the Red Belt to bolster loyalist forces. Federal troops lead by General S. Patton were also deployed to the southeast to support the National Guards there. The initial success of the Red Belt sputtered and the left-wing partisans were no match for trained federal troops and in a few short weeks, the CWP was pushed out of Pittsburgh and Chicago lie as the only major stronghold of the party. By the fall of 1933, organized resistance from the CWP fell apart and order was restored to Chicago and Pittsburgh. Browder himself is missing and is presumed to have died during the fighting in Chicago. Remaining CWP and TAP activities have faded into the underground and federal troops are still kept in affected regions to keep the peace. However, the organizations were severely weakened to have any affect on the United States. By January 1934, Congress declares the Troubles to be over.

The Troubles prolonged the effects of the Great Depression and President Garner has the delightful task of fixing not just an economic setback but a divided nation. Negotiations between Democrats and the Progressives lead to a series of programs, public work projects, austerities, financial reforms, and regulations nicknamed the Bold Deal by the media. Reconstruction of the areas affected by the Troubles (especially the American South and the Midwest) also passed Congress. Despite Progressives gaining some seats in the 1934 midterm, Garner was able to defeat Progressive candidate Senator Hiram Johnson of California in the 1936 Presidential election. Despite the so far tenuous decade of the 1930s, there is reason for Americans to have some optimism for the prospect of the country. The economy appears to be going right back on track and domestic enemies of the Union has been crushed. Time will tell, however of any new threats facing the country, be it domestic or perhaps foreign.

Have You Read, Understand, and Agree with the OP Posts & Rules In Detail?: No comment
#JDMZVUM1QC (do not delete this, it's for keeping track of the apps)

[Strala]

Reservation

Nation Name: Republic of China
Territory: China proper, Xinjiang, and Mongolia (or inner Mongolia if Mongolia isn't allowed)
Tech Tree: Soviet tech tree (I'm still kind of confused about tech trees. If a Soviet tech tree isn't allowed, then I'll go with China's)
#JDMZVUM1QC (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Tracian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: Republic of China
Territory: China proper, Xinjiang, and Mongolia (or inner Mongolia if Mongolia isn't allowed)
Tech Tree: Soviet tech tree (I'm still kind of confused about tech trees. If a Soviet tech tree isn't allowed, then I'll go with China's)
#JDMZVUM1QC (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

Essentially, each nation can use whatever tech tree from real life they want, within reason. Some nations will use their own tech tree because the real life tech tree of their nations fits, while others will have a reason or another for why they feel another tech tree would work better. Because we don't have enough tech trees in real life, and since very few players like to play weak nations, we also have a rule which allow two nations to use the same tech trees, case in which we would suspend disbelief and just pretend that they're different even if they aren't.

So you could certainly use the Soviet tech tree, you would be the second player doing so. Just keep in mind that in order for China to have developed so much technology by itself, you'd need to make your own history so that China became industrialized enough to do it.

Reservation accepted, with the exception of Mongolia, which is already owned by the USSR.

[Strala]

Reservation

Nation Name: Republic of China
Territory: China proper, Xinjiang, and Mongolia (or inner Mongolia if Mongolia isn't allowed)
Tech Tree: Soviet tech tree (I'm still kind of confused about tech trees. If a Soviet tech tree isn't allowed, then I'll go with China's)
#JDMZVUM1QC (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

Essentially, each nation can use whatever tech tree from real life they want, within reason. Some nations will use their own tech tree because the real life tech tree of their nations fits, while others will have a reason or another for why they feel another tech tree would work better. Because we don't have enough tech trees in real life, and since very few players like to play weak nations, we also have a rule which allow two nations to use the same tech trees, case in which we would suspend disbelief and just pretend that they're different even if they aren't.

So you could certainly use the Soviet tech tree, you would be the second player doing so. Just keep in mind that in order for China to have developed so much technology by itself, you'd need to make your own history so that China became industrialized enough to do it.

Reservation accepted, with the exception of Mongolia, which is already owned by the USSR.

Got it. Um can I still reserve inner Mongolia?

[Tracian Empire]

Essentially, each nation can use whatever tech tree from real life they want, within reason. Some nations will use their own tech tree because the real life tech tree of their nations fits, while others will have a reason or another for why they feel another tech tree would work better. Because we don't have enough tech trees in real life, and since very few players like to play weak nations, we also have a rule which allow two nations to use the same tech trees, case in which we would suspend disbelief and just pretend that they're different even if they aren't.

So you could certainly use the Soviet tech tree, you would be the second player doing so. Just keep in mind that in order for China to have developed so much technology by itself, you'd need to make your own history so that China became industrialized enough to do it.

Reservation accepted, with the exception of Mongolia, which is already owned by the USSR.

Got it. Um can I still reserve inner Mongolia?

Half of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from real life is free, you can see it on the map, that can certainly be yours, but the other part that is near Manchuria is part of Japan.

Also, your reservation wouldn't include Tibet, right?

[Strala]

Got it. Um can I still reserve inner Mongolia?

Half of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from real life is free, you can see it on the map, that can certainly be yours, but the other part that is near Manchuria is part of Japan.

Also, your reservation wouldn't include Tibet, right?

No probably not, but this largely depends on the point of divergence. I'm currently thinking of a divergence in the Song Dynasty, one where maybe Wang Anshi never fell out of favor and his reforms got continued and the Southern Song survived for a while. So Tibet likely wouldn't have been incorporated into a Chinese Empire anytime soon.

[Tracian Empire]

Half of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from real life is free, you can see it on the map, that can certainly be yours, but the other part that is near Manchuria is part of Japan.

Also, your reservation wouldn't include Tibet, right?

No probably not, but this largely depends on the point of divergence. I'm currently thinking of a divergence in the Song Dynasty, one where maybe Wang Anshi never fell out of favor and his reforms got continued and the Southern Song survived for a while. So Tibet likely wouldn't have been incorporated into a Chinese Empire anytime soon.

I'm not familiar with the Song Dynasty, but you can certainly start with whatever divergence you feel would make the most sense for your concept.

I'll be adding your reservations to the map shortly

[Strala]

No probably not, but this largely depends on the point of divergence. I'm currently thinking of a divergence in the Song Dynasty, one where maybe Wang Anshi never fell out of favor and his reforms got continued and the Southern Song survived for a while. So Tibet likely wouldn't have been incorporated into a Chinese Empire anytime soon.

I'm not familiar with the Song Dynasty, but you can certainly start with whatever divergence you feel would make the most sense for your concept.

I'll be adding your reservations to the map shortly

By the way, are there still concession cities and ports in China? Is it possible to butterfly them away if I can come up with a good plausible history/reason why they never occurred?

[Tracian Empire]

I'm not familiar with the Song Dynasty, but you can certainly start with whatever divergence you feel would make the most sense for your concept.

I'll be adding your reservations to the map shortly

By the way, are there still concession cities and ports in China? Is it possible to butterfly them away if I can come up with a good plausible history/reason why they never occurred?

I don't think anyone directly mentioned them, but as per the rule of assuming reality unless mentioned otherwise, they should exist. As an example, I haven't mentioned Austria losing its concession in Tianjin, then it should exist.

But it's your history, so you can indeed butterfly them away if you can explain why they never happened - your history would have precedence over the one of potential colonial powers here.

[Strala]

By the way, are there still concession cities and ports in China? Is it possible to butterfly them away if I can come up with a good plausible history/reason why they never occurred?

I don't think anyone directly mentioned them, but as per the rule of assuming reality unless mentioned otherwise, they should exist. As an example, I haven't mentioned Austria losing its concession in Tianjin, then it should exist.

But it's your history, so you can indeed butterfly them away if you can explain why they never happened - your history would have precedence over the one of potential colonial powers here.

Alright. Thank you for this clarification.

[The National Dominion of Hungary]

Full Nation Name: The Soviet Union.

Short Nation Name: The SU.

National Symbols: The Red Banner and the Hammer and Sickle are the most prominent ones.

Capital: Moscow.

Territory: The Soviet Union and it's puppet-states, the United Socialist Republic of Turkestan and the People's Republic of Mongolia

Form of Government: Unitary Authoritarian Marxist-Leninist One-Party State.

The Treaty on the Creation of the Soviet Union saw the establishment of the All-Union Congress of Soviets and its Central Executive Committee and the executive Council of People's Commissars. As time went on however, various Commissariats, Ministries and Sub-Ministries were created, resulting in a labyrinthine governmental structure that was effectively paralyzed between the death of Lenin in 1924 and subsequent power-struggles up until the death of Stalin in 1927. The subsequent government established by Bukharin and Kaganovich proceeded to replace the Treaty on the Creation of the Soviet Union with the 1929 Constitution of the Soviet Union which among other things saw the state being reformed from a federal to a unitary one and the creation of the United Socialist Republic of Turkestan out of former Soviet territory. This was followed by the 1931 Governmental Reformation Act where the Soviet government structure reformed and reorganized to promote more efficient performance and maximal utilization of talent and expertise. Superfluous agencies were disbanded and condensed providing the government with a clear delineation of duties and responsibilities as well as establishing the formal links between the Communist Party and the Soviet Government and placing the Red Army under Party control through the Party Council on Military Affairs working jointly with the People's Ministry of Military and Naval Affairs.

The General Secretary serves as the Head of State of the Soviet Union while at the same time serving as the head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The GenSec exercises the right to submit legislative proposals to the Presidium as well as the right to sign bills into law or to veto them. The General Secretary can further issue laws by decree in the form of executive orders as long as such decrees are not in contradiction with existing laws. The Head of State is advised by the Politburo Core Leadership Committee and is granted the above rights to be centrally involved in crafting legislation and directing national policy-making. ​The General Secretary is further empowered to grant pardons and reprieves and to convene and adjourn the Presidium under extraordinary circumstances. The GenSec also has the right to appoint the Premier of the Soviet Union and People's Ministers, these appointments then need to be confirmed by a Presidium vote. The Head of State is also invested with extensive rights to implement the Soviet Union's foreign policy and determine the Soviet Union's position and stance in international affairs in consultation with the People's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Presidium of the Soviet Union is the main unicameral legislature of the Soviet Union, invested with the power to legislate and pass acts. The Presidium is the only body with the power to amend the Soviet Constitution, constitutional amendments can only be proposed either by the Politburo Core Leadership Committee with the signatures of all members or as a legislative proposal signed by 2/3's or more of the Presidium's deputies. In order for Constitutional Amendments to pass into law, they must be passed by 2/3's majority vote. The Presidium's primary duty is the enactment of laws and making amendments on existing legislation governing civil affairs, state organs, criminal offences and any other matters of concern. When the Presidium is in recess, Core Committee of the Presidium which acts as the permanent body of the legislature shall review and vote on all legislative proposals presented to it. This includes the ratification documents regarding international agreement which must be voted on by the Presidium before becoming legally binding. The Presidium of the Soviet Union is to have 520 delegates which are elected from among the members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union by the Politburo, delegates then serve a six-year term in the Presidium and a delegate cannot serve more than two consecutive terms in the Presidium. Most observers consider the Presidium to be a rubber-stamp body for the Politburo Core Leadership Committee's decisions.

The State Council of the Soviet Union is the chief executive, administrative and supervisory authority of the country. As such its main functions are to formulate administrative measures, issue decisions and orders on the practical implementation of policies and passed by the Presidium and to monitor the implementation of these policies through the organs of the Ministries. The State Council is chaired by the Premier of the Soviet Union who serves as Head of Government. The State Council includes by default the heads of each of the People's Ministries and Executive Departments. In order to help the Premier one Executive Vice Premier and three Vice Premiers are included among it's members which the Premier may appoint and or dismiss freely as long the individual is a member of the CPSU and above the age of 35. The State Council directly oversees the People's Ministries of the Soviet Union, ensuring they are operating correctly and fully implementing any and all policies and measures passed by the Presidium. The State Council is furthermore responsible with overseeing the subordinate Oblast authorities. As many laws enacted by Presidium will not address every possible detail, and either explicitly or implicitly delegate the powers of implementation to some appropriate state department, the Premier can as the head of the executive branch delegate responsibilities to State Executive Departments or to form new State Executive Departments with the approval of the General Secretary.

Head of State: General Secretary Nikolai Bukharin.

Head of Government: Premier Lazar Kaganovich.

Ideology: Marxism-Leninism-Bukharinism / Stalin-Kaganovich Thought / Neo-Bolshevism.

Population: 158 850 000 in Soviet Union / 12 500 000 in USR Turkestan / 800 000 in PR Mongolia.

Military Description: The Soviet Military is divided into three branches, namely the Red Army, the Red Army Air Force and the Red Army Navy. At it's highest point during the Russian Civil War it numbered over 6.5 million men at arms, however it was significantly reduced in the immediate years after the victory of the Communist forces and the establishment of the Soviet government. Reductions and budget-cuts were the order of the day throughout the 1920's as reconstruction took priority. Military manpower thus reached a low-point of 650 000 active troops in 1928. This order continued until the 1930's when the Red Army saw a significant increase in size and funding in the 1930's. Soviet military theoreticians led by Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky have been developing the so-called "Deep-Operations" doctrine emerging as a direct consequence of their experiences in the Russian Civil War. To achieve victory, Deep Operations envisage simultaneous army-size unit attacking throughout the depth of the enemy's lines, inducing catastrophic defensive failure. The deep-battle doctrine relies upon recent aviation and armor advances with the expectation that maneuver warfare offers quick, efficient, and decisive victory.

However, with the arrest of Tukhachevsky and over 5000 other officers of various ranks for suspected association with "treasonous elements" as part of the CPSU's governing faction's purge of the rival Trotskyist wing of the CPSU, the Red Army's actual efficiency in the implementation of these tactics is questionable. The Red Army is well supplied with T-26 and BT tanks as well as artillery while battalion-level support companies provide mortar and heavy machine-gun support. The main infantry weapon is the Mosin-Nagant rifle supplemented by the DP light machine gun alongside small numbers of the PPD SMG and the AVS-36 semi-automatic rifle. The Red Army is however severely affected by a lack of radios which makes command and control difficult as well as a lack of trucks which negatively impacts transportation and logistics.

Red Army: 1 600 000 Active troops in 102 Infantry Divisions, 18 Armored Divisions and 6 Cavalry Division and 2 Mountain Divisions - 2 600 000 Reserves.

Red Army Air Force: 115 000 Active personnel - 60 000 Reserves.

Polikarpov I-15 Fighters - 1200
Polikarpov I-16 Fighters - 832
Polikarpov Po-2 Recon/Training - 1540
Neman R-10 Recon/Light Attack - 124
Sukhoi Su-2 Ground Strike- 52
Tupolev SB Light Bomber - 152
Ilyushin DB-3 Medium Bomber - 255
Tupolev TB-3 - Heavy Bomber - 818

Red Army Navy: 45 000 Active Personnel / 20 000 Reserve Personnel

Baltic Fleet - 2 Battleships / 1 Heavy Cruiser / 14 Destroyers / 32 Torpedo Boats / 24 Minelayers-sweepers / 26 Submarines - Based in Leningrad

Black Sea Fleet - 1 Battleship / 4 Light Cruisers / 12 Destroyers / 18 Torpedo Boats / 18 Minelayers-sweepers / 12 Submarines - Based in Sevastopol

Northern Fleet - 6 Destroyers / 6 Submarines - Based in Murmansk

Pacific Fleet - 2 Heavy Cruisers / 3 Light Cruisers / 20 Destroyers / 12 Minelayers-sweepers / 12 Submarines - Based in Vladivostok

Tech Tree: Soviet/Russian Tech Tree.

Economic Description: The Soviet Union operates under a so-called "State-Directed Market Economy", an outgrowth of the Leninist NEP complemented by the planning policies championed by Premier Kaganovich and People's Minister of Reform and National Development Sergei Kirov on the basis of their former mentor Joseph Stalin. Despite the vast amount of resources across it's great expanse which could easily support a truly vast industrial economy, the Soviet Union is in many ways a largely agrarian nation to this day. With Stalin's death, his envisioned Great Break never occurred. Instead, a significantly more limited so-called "Measured Industrialization" policy formulated by Bukharin has been the order of the day. With a focus placed on agriculture and light industries as well as support of craft industry rather than absolute fixation on the expansion of heavy industry argued for by Stalin saw the Soviet Union became a major food producer while growing light industries allowed for a greater improvement in the availability and quality of consumer good, raising the standard of living and a more diversified civilian economy.

However, Kirov still managed to lobby for the implementation of a limited Five-Year Plan based on Stalin's original vision running from 1930-1935. This saw the construction of the city of Magnitogorsk from scratch, the construction of the Stalingrad Tractor Factory and a number of other plants based on it to help facilitate the mechanization of agriculture. The five year plan also developed hydroelectric power in Ukraine as well as the coal and steel industries of the Donbas and the Kuznetsk Basin in Siberia and munitions production in Barnaul. Another Five-Year Plan is currently ongoing, starting in 1936, however the main economic focus of the Soviet government has been Bukharin's Siberian Plan, a massive, long-term project to develop cities, industries and resource extraction operations throughout Siberia in conjunction with Great Settlement Plan, or the GSP, often seen as one of the General Secretary's great pet project with the long-term goal of turning the West Siberian Czernozem belt and the Siberian Chestnut Soil belt into secondary Russian agricultural heartlands. This is probably why many of the industrial investments of the First and currently ongoing Second Five-Year plans have been in Siberian towns and cities.

Large sums have been invested into the construction of transport infrastructure in Siberia and the construction of GSP villages. These standardized planned settlements, with access to running water and electricity and basic services where the workers of newly established Kholkhozes and Sovkhozes are housed have appeared in their hundreds along new road and rail-lines in Western Siberia and northern Kazakhstan. Overall, Siberia has seen significant investment and development under the Bukharin government, admittedly to the detriment of the Russo-Ukrainian heartlands west of the Urals. However, it has also led to the growth of industry and agriculture in Siberia and helped offset rural overpopulation in the Soviet Heartlands. However, with the Financial Crisis and the rising potential for conflict, some in the Soviet Government are looking for a policy of greater state control of the economy and a much heavier focus on heavy industry and armaments industry to expand and modernize the Red Army while securing the Soviet economy against the fluctuations of the market.

Goals: Grow the national economy - Continue the Siberian Plan - Industrialize through economic planning policies - Expand and modernize the Armed Forces (Official) / Annex Belarus - Annex the Pamir - Install Communist Regimes in the Baltic States - Install a Communist Regime in Poland - Extend influence where opportunity presents itself (Private)

Point of Divergence: 1924.

History:

1924-1927: When Lenin died in January 1924, Joseph Stalin took charge of the funeral and used it to cement his image as Lenin's rightful successor. Still, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union quickly split along ideological fault-lines left unresolved since Lenin's days and formed into three principal groups, namely the Trotskyist radicals, the Bukharinist moderates and the Stalinist hardliners. This split resulted in a vicious power-struggle in the Kremlin and led to Stalin disbanding the Cheka and replacing it with the NKVD in order to remove the old leadership of the secret services, loyal to Trotsky. However, he failed at taking control of the new organization, instead Bukharin managed to staff it's highest position with one of his own, namely Genrikh Yagoda. This event is believed to have accelerated Stalin's rumored paranoia significantly. The power-struggles paralyzed the Soviet government, which had grown into a byzantine network of agencies, commissariats and sub-divisions under Lenin's rule, with Lenin dead, the central figure holding it all together was gone. By 1927, it seemed that Stalin had sufficient control over the Party apparatus to begin purging his opponents, starting with Trotsky and Zinoviev but, on August 21'st 1927, Joseph Stalin died when on the way to Perm when his train derailed in a sharp turn. There are many theories regarding Stalin's death among modern historians. Some claim that his former closest associates, Lazar Kaganovich, Vyascheslav Molotov and Sergei Kirov orchestrated the accident to have Stalin killed, fearing a supposedly growing paranoia and struck a deal with the Bukharinists. Since all three were given high positions in the Bukharin government, it is plausible. Another theory is that Bukharin orchestrated Stalin's death using his control over the NKVD though Yagoda and then formed a joint government with the second most powerful faction in the party which now stood leaderless. The theory that is was an actual accident is widely disbelieved.

1928-1930: The government formed by the Bukharinists and remaining Stalinists immediately began with re-writing the constitution, adding the so-called "Three Pillars of Governance" which literally constitutionalized the rule of the CPSU over the Soviet Union, other significant changes were made as well, most importantly the re-definition of the Soviet Union from a federal state to a unitary which also led to the official changing of the country's name from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic to, simply, the Soviet Union. Another large change was the removal of all references to class-struggle from the document, a move later seen as a symbolic gesture of the transformation of the CPSU from a revolutionary vanguard party to a governing party. Borders were also re-drawn. With northern Kazakhstan being annexed into the SU while the rest of the USSR's Central Asian territories were organized into a new state under a Communist puppet-government, seeing the official birth of the United Socialist Republic of Turkestan. Comprehensive government reforms were undertaken after that, restructuring the Soviet government from the ground up, partially to improve efficiency and clearly delineating the duties and responsibilities of the new government bodies. It was surely also a used by the new Bukharin-Kaganovich government to remove potential rivals from influential position and to sideline the Trotskyist wing of the CPSU. This new government soon started busying itself with internal politics and economic programs.

1931-1937: The Bukharin government had through it's absorption of the Stalinist wing of the Party by default integrated parts of the Stalinist platform. This new strand of Soviet ideology which blended parts of Bukharinist and Stalinist ideology would develop into the Neo-Bolshevism that characterized the Bukharin/Kaganovich regime. This saw an increased level of investment in the Red Army across all it's branches along with adopting the Five-Year plan strategy proposed by Stalin, now overseen by People's Minister Kirov. These plans were significantly more limited in scope however as a large portion of the government's yearly investment funds remain allocated to the long-term Siberian Plan. While the Soviet leadership considered traditional Russian village life reactionary and backward, there was not significant support for forced collectivization in the government, leading to Lenin's "Lead by Example" policy established under the NEP continuing under Bukharin. Instead, Bukharin's vision of the future Russian countryside was through the construction of new planned villages with more access to modern amenities and melding of local and Party authorities to gradually further the ideology in rural areas. The construction of such new planned villages around newly established farms in the West Siberian Czernozem Belt has been a critical part of Bukharin's Siberian plan. The construction of these settlements and new farms resulted in a significant increase in land-cultivation and easing the rural overpopulation issues in the Soviet heartland west of the Urals. At the same time, many important heavy industry investments made under first Five-Year Plan have been made east of the Urals, as a complement to the Siberian Plan.

In the Kremlin however, factionalism started rising in a conflict between the governing Neo-Bolsheviks and the Trotskyists, especially after the Financial Crisis hit the Soviet Union. Trotsky saw the financial crisis as evidence that Capitalism was collapsing and now was the time to spearhead the World Revolution while some in the hardline-Stalinist wing looked at the effects of the Crisis in the Soviet Union and claimed that the country would have been spared the economic fallout of the Crash had the government taken a more Stalinist economic approach with greater centralization and less international ties. Initially dismissive of the criticism, Bukharin disregarded it but as the government's opponents grew bolder and their criticism grew more fervent, it is believed that Kaganovich convinced Bukharin to strike back, leading to the Purges which began in 1936. Trotsky himself fled the country into exile while his closest allies including Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev were sentenced for conspiring with Trotsky to overthrow the government and plunge the country into chaos. Trotsky himself was also sentenced to death in absentia while a number of Stalinist hardliners were faced with expulsion from the Party while Bulganin and a few of the most prominent Stalinist dissidents were sentenced to prison. While initially limited, the Purges later spread. Possibly due to Kaganovich and later also Kirov encouraging Bukharin to get rid of all "traitors and subversives" which led to around 5000 Red Army officers from various branches and tens of thousands of ordinary people being arrested as well and sentenced to hard labor in Corrective Labor Camps, also known as Gulags, for suspected association with "Trotskyites and Bulganite Deviationism".

Have You Read, Understand, and Agree with the OP Posts & Rules In Detail?: Yes indeed
#JDMZVUM1QC (do not delete this, it's for keeping track of the apps)

[Theyra]

After thinking about it, I do not think I got it in me to finish the app. So I give up my reservation.

[Hubaldad]

edited my app, will be sending a RP sample to you. I'm not new fyi, this is just a new nation.

[Arvenia]

Nation Application

Full Nation Name: Spanish Republic (República Española)

Short Nation Name: Spain (España)

National Symbols: Flag and Coat of Arms

Capital: Madrid

Territory: Spain, Andorra, Spanish Morocco, Western Sahara and Equatorial Guinea

Form of Government: Federal Semi-Presidential Republic

Head of State: President Miguel Azaña Diaz

Head of Government: Prime Minister Niceto Alcalá-Zamora

Ideology: The Spanish Republic primarily espouses republicanism, constitutionalism, federalism and secularism, while various Spanish parties espouses different ideologies. However, the Spanish Republic has recently cracked down on extremist ideologies, thus banning both far-right and far-left groups from participating in elections or even holding seats in the Spanish Parliament.

Population: 24,699,000

Military Description: The Armed Forces of the Spanish Republic (Fuerzas Armadas de la República Española) consists of the Spanish Army (Ejército Española), the Spanish Navy (Armada Española), the Spanish Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Española) and the Spanish National Guard (Guardia Nacional Española). The first three are traditional military branches, while the fourth is a militarized police force that replaced the old Civil Guard. The Spanish military has currently 303,460 personnel (133,650 actives and 169,810 reserves). Unlike OTL, the Spanish military is more stable and unified, although still subject to manipulation by rival political groups.

Tech Tree: Spanish

Economic Description: Spain currently operates a market economy. The country is both agrarian and industrial, albeit more industrialized. The main industries are machine tools, pharmaceuticals, metals, chemicals, automobiles, medical equipment, shipbuilding, apparel, textiles, food, beverage and clay. The national currency is the Spanish peso ($).

Goals: Annex Gibraltar, retain Andorra, form stronger ties with Latin American countries, strengthen the Spanish military, become an economic powerhouse and keep political turmoil at bay.

Point of Divergence: 1872

History: WIP

Have You Read, Understand, and Agree with the OP Posts & Rules In Detail?: Yes
#JDMZVUM1QC (do not delete this, it's for keeping track of the apps)