AMW Big Discussion Thread

[Chrinthania]

Then not only will it take as long as it does now to get a member approved, but we'll also add on top of that another wait until the MC can post an actual 'yes' or 'no' The goal is to streamline the process so that we don't lose people who would otherwise work well with us to the waiting game. We should accept or deny members of the strength of the application alone. Once approved, we can start working with them to assimilate them into AMW (yes, like the Borg). Once we get them approved, then we worry about where they settle on the map, perhaps. Thus allowing potential neighbors input while also getting the applicant a timely response.

[Nova Gaul]

I really like the idea Chrin, and think it would be a good vehicle to get some more blood into AMW. There is talent on the boards besides AMW after all, and those benighted people in the general RP world could make great contributions to our stellar community, it has fewer nuclear dragons and all that.

Anyway, FWIW, this has my total support. One addition I would make though is that the membership community might actually seek to recruit new people? Anyway, just an aside, but I think you're working on a sound new paradigm here, kudos.

[Walmington on Sea]

Unlikely as it may seem, I am, thanks to Ian (and to a lesser degree others) that much closer to reorganising my military to take account of Chrin's departure from the Americas.

In case anyone is bored or interested enough to care, when I finish drafting the relevant material, military aircraft used by Walmington shall be as such:

Elemental flight training and streaming of cadets according with ability (id est, discerning whether they drop out, go to multi-engine, rotary-wing, or fast-jet training) shall continue to be conducted aboard the venerable Chassire (IRL de Havilland Canada) Chipmunk despite its 66 year vintage. The 'munks will have been upgraded with Franco-American 180hp O-360 engines and new instrument panels appropriate to a modern context.

Baseline Chipmunks will continue to serve private flying clubs, some of which have relationships with the RAF and participate in preliminary training of under-age Air Cadets, and specialised variants in public-private ventures will serve as glider tugs.

Selected RAF and FAA recruits will then move on to Wychwood Wheatear (IRL NDN Firecracker) turboprop trainers, which are also furnished with the capacity to carry dumb-bombs, fuel-air explosives, and air-to-ground rockets for counter-insurgency service. This is since LRR/TCB's last Avargan move, which left the (abortive British) Firecracker up for grabs. Designed to be versatile, modern, and cheap, it fits perfectly Walmington's Empire on a Shoestring strategy.

Fast-jet pilots then move on to the Stockley Brushfire (IRL on-again off-again Canadian venture Venga TG-10 Brushfire), the 'jet trainer for the price of a turboprop trainer' with secondary combat capabilities.

The RAF will keep complete airframes and unassembled parts for kit-form Wychwood Wren (essentially proposed-but-not-realised Gnat Mk4) light fighters in wartime emergency reserve, and may use them to quickly supply start-up air-forces in friendly states... the former Shieldian Empire might be the sort of place that Wren should be delivered on short-term lease, to enable 'agreeable' elements an edge over those stuck using base-line Colt-II (Ajeet). Perhaps the GFR is flying some while the collaborative Colt Millennium fighters are assembled... that may even have been a pot-sweetner in Wychwood's efforts to convince the Republic authorities to adopt their proposal: short-term lease of second-hand RAF aircraft until the contract's completed. Emesa would also likely receive scores of Wren in broken-down kit form, to be assembled rapidly in-country while retired or civil-aviation pilots received quick refresher training, if the CPRD ever advanced again. ((Just a suggestion!))

For front-line combat aircraft, I'm running with the Fairey Delta-2, a British programme from the early-mid Cold War era that set speed records, but, bafflingly, was not pursued to fruition as a fighter, much to the relief of France's Dassault, which then sold the Mirage to half the world. This will become the Stockley Spiteful Mk.II, being derived from the ogival-wing variant of the FD2, upgraded with digital communications and new radar, some use of composites in at least a few parts of the airframe, and possibly canard foreplanes as with some Mirage upgrades, such as the Atlas Cheetah. For many years likely one of the best fighters in the world, this will never the less be on its last-legs in Walmingtonian service, more than proficient against the Drapoel, but struggling to match the agility and complexity of emerging European fighter types, and about as stealthy as a Shieldian locomotive falling off a bridge on to Crazy Chingiz's Hippo Wholesale Warehouse.

Then there'll be the Stockley Swiftsure Mk.IV (extrapolated development of the Avro Canada Arrow) interceptor. This is primarily a screaming reminder to Riga of just who exactly is boss when it comes to building fighters that are apt to tear themselves apart at flank speed. Or, it's just an Orenda-engined Arrow with true fly-by-wire instead of just the (then-impressive) forerunner, and new composite materials to prevent the thing melting at Mach 3. Great for setting records and putting the wind up Gandvian long-range patrol aircraft over the Arctic, worse than useless in a dogfight.

Finally, the Chassire Comet will be the TSR-2... but with Orenda engines. And, you know, seen to completion. A deadly, deadly strike aircraft that made everyone else in the world look like gristle-chewing cavemen when it appeared in the 1960s, but which Walmington has possible clung on to for slightly longer than advisable. Which, of course, is totally against character for my nation, I know! It's still part of our nuclear trident ((a tame version of the USA's Cold War nuclear trident, as we have the TSR-2 instead of strategic bombers, cruise-missile submarines instead of ballistic missile, and... okay, well, we have ground-based silos in Norbray, so we probably win on that one)).

The FAA ((Fleet Air Arm)) will have what would have been the Joint Service Buccaneer. In short, it's a supersonic Buccaneer, in its day excellent as a strike aircraft and good enough as a fighter, today good enough as a strike aircraft and dubious as a fighter.

Then, there are collaborations with the fallen Grand Empire of the Shield for strategic lift aircraft. The An-22 will be a Walmingtonian design, for Walmingtonian needs, manufactured on the cheap, cheap Shield, a joint effort by Graye-Bankfield and Chassire. Possibly the Shieldians may have used it in an effort to supply puppets in Outer Depkazia with heavy equipment despite their lack of proper airbases.

Finally, it looks like the incomplete late-Soviet project to turn the An-72 into a carrier-based AEW aircraft may be another joint WoS-Shield project, with Elliot-Bankfield having the radar suite and Graye & Bankfield having the cheap, mid-sized, STOL airframe.

This has to be the coolest aviation force ever. Canard Fairey Delta-2; Super-Gnat; Chimpunk; TSR-2; Avro Arrow; supersonic-Buccaneer; Soviet carrier-launched AEW jet; VG-10; plus Sikorsky helicopters.

Myriad Canadian airliners, seaplanes, air freighters, utility aircraft, and the like will also continue to feature.

This information is not yet all in place in my factbook, but work is on-going, and I just wanted to put it in the public domain so as to avoid later conflicts should the British Isles in particular, or other areas generally be claimed and new demands on relevant projects arise.

[The Crooked Beat]

Not that it's necessarily any of my business, but a strong (if belated) endorsement of that proposal from this quarter! At the absolute least, it seems as though the Fairey Delta could act as a pretty viable F-104 substitute in AMW's aeronautical past, and probably a bit safer at that. And it is satisfying to finally see AMW embrace the TSR-2, which has been lurking on our periphery for a very long time now. Probably Gandvik's VL(MiG)-31 was designed to a significant extent with engaging just that sort of low-level target in mind.

I don't see how any prospective UK player could really have that much to complain about, seeing as they'd retain just about everything that Britain built in real life plus a rich selection of what-ifs and abandoned projects, though not having a Buccaneer might be a little distressing. Nothing that couldn't be counterbalanced with a hearty helping of SR.177s and P.1154s, though!

All in all, it strikes me as a logical and extremely interesting outline, and I look forward to seeing the final product in action!

A small question, is there any chance that Avarga might train its fast-jet pilots at Walmingtonian and Nibelung flight schools? The Finns operate a sizable trainer fleet for such a small nation, but I'm thinking that Avarga, with its substantially larger navy and lesser emphasis on maintaining a show of military self-reliance, might have looked at in-house flight training as an area where some savings could be made.

Also, I've been thinking about Gandvik's air force lately, and was wondering if anyone would mind terribly if I poached some Sukhoi designs. In particular, the Su-24 would address an important shortcoming in terms of all-weather precision attack capabilities (and fit-in conveniently with the current VL numbering scheme), fitting between the VL(MiG)-27, which isn't really equipped for long-range missions, and the PTO(Tu)-22M, which in Gandvian service would be oriented toward maritime strike. Given how I've already claimed MiG, it doesn't seem productive to hold onto what in most respects amounts to a parallel set of designs, but the Su-24 is a fairly unique machine in Russia's order of battle, and one that Gandvik could definitely use.

[Kavoso]

Hey,

I have been meaning to create my factbook but I wanted to bang-out economic details before. My application has been posted, and despite the little feedback, I was hoping someone can give me an economic estimate using the information from my application. If you need more information, just give me a shout.

Thanks.

[Chrinthania]

Well, we had this discussion (you and I) a week ago and I explained to you that, with the state of AMW, the size of the claim (around 91, 92 million), its interaction with the rest of the world as we discussed, that a good GDP for you would be 25,000 per capita, which is around 2.28 Trillion.

[The Crooked Beat]

This might be rushing things a little, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to write a few lines on Gandvik's possible relationship with Kavoso.

In most respects, Gandvik is a European nation, with its roots in RL Finland, Estonia, and Ingria, so its arrival at Kavoso's present-day frontiers would have been at least partially a result of military conquest. This would have happened mainly at the expense of Finnic, Ugric, Turkic, and Celtic peoples that might have occupied the space between approximately Novgorod and the Ural Mountains/Volga River in AMW's history. So there's probably a decent amount of scope for conflict between Gandvians and Kavosans from at least 1600 or so, if that is something that seems worth including.

Nowadays, Gandvik would be concentrating on ways to cash-in on Kavoso's extensive fuel and mineral reserves, possibly benefited in that respect by its geographical position, by building pipelines, roads, and railways connecting Kavoso with industrial and population centers in Europe. Depending on their outlook, the Kavosans might not like essentially autocratic Gandvik very much, but the Gandvians at least would want to keep the resources flowing for economic reasons. For reasons of mutual suspicion, military cooperation does not look entirely promising (though that is subject to revision), but Gandvik would be very eager to sell Kavoso icebreakers, cargo ships, and ocean drilling platforms built at its ice-free ports in the White Sea, and might cooperate in improving transportation infrastructure, especially in terms of ports, terminals, railways and pipelines for extracting the country's natural bounty.

A possible point of contention revolves around the North Pole and Arctic oil, something that Gandvik has been trying to claim for itself with a series of high-profile expeditions, Chilingarov-style. There is plenty of room to solve this issue through negotiation, but if either country tends to view the other in a hostile light, things could also take a violent turn, perhaps with one of the involved parties attempting to seize some islands or something to that effect.

Anyway, those are just some possibilities, which you should feel free to adopt or discard as the mood strikes you.

[Chrinthania]

Alrighty, so, as I have said, I would run this by you guys before anything, so, here goes. I've toyed around with an OP for a new Application Thread. Below is what it looks like at the moment. I'd love input/suggestions from the community.

___


A Modern World

A Modern World (AMW) is a NationStates roleplaying community created when a number of players, dissatisfied with the billion-person populations and fluid geography that characterized a lot of NS roleplay, came together to try something different: a more realistic world. A world where political maneuvers and trade negotiations were more common than total wars, where players could look at a map and know where a country’s mountains and resources were located, where the cultures of states and relationships between them could be developed over the long term.

A Modern World was the result.

Of course, now that we have your attention, AMW is much more than that. It's complete with in-depth history, colorful and well-developed characters, a place where realism combines with fantasy to make a world uniquely different from our very own--even if many others think AMW is just an alternate reality group.

They're wrong.

Certainly we do base some things in reality. In fact, if you took a look around NS, you'd see others taking pages from the annals of history and weaving them into the tapestry of their nation. So, what does AMW take from reality?

Geography: We use real life (RL) Earth geography. That means that natural resources, climate, topography, etc.. are all based on which part of the world you call home.

Population: Instead of a population matrix, we use real populations. This is directly tied into your geographic claim. If you pick, for instance, Pennsylvania, then your AMW nation would have the same population that Pennsylvania has in real life (IRL).

Technology: Modern is our middle name, and, as such, we are a modern tech RP group. Simply put, that means that anything available in the real world may be available in AMW. Talking bears (stuffed or otherwise), Starships and phasers locked on stun, fairies, sparkly vampires, orcs, witches, time machines, sonic screwdrivers, etc... are not permitted in AMW.

Outside of these general guidelines, you are welcomed--and invited--to be as creative as you wish. Our members pride themselves on creative cultures such as, for example, a unique Drapoel culture in Southeast Asia and a nation of Celts in the Eastern Europe.

Think you're not the greatest writer? Is English a secondary language for you? Unsure of how the military works, or how to put together an economy? Worried that your history may not mesh with the collective history of AMW? Don't worry! AMW works together as a group to help its members achieve their goals! We're a tight-knit community that is always willing to lend a hand, offer advice, and share our knowledge!

Have any more question? Ask us! Feel free to leave a question in our Big Discussion Thread, or, if you're feeling froggy, pop on into our IRC room at irc.esper.net and our room is #AMW!

Think AMW is right for you? Have an idea already? Then please feel free to apply! There's no formal application, but we do ask that you give us at least a paragraph on each of the following topics: Government, History, Economy, Culture, Military. This way we can get a better understanding of your vision and how it can work in AMW!

We hope to hear from you soon!

_____

SO, what do you all think?

[Walmington on Sea]

Much as I liked Spyr's work, that does look reasonable to me, Chrin.



On an unrelated note, another quick miltiary-equipment-musing has me wondering if we might be better off with a, "Who has what?" thread of AMW, distinct from the Big Discussion Thread. I know that a lot of players don't really care about military equipment in particular, and I worry that they may end up missing other discussion points amidst all the Nyyyowm! Whoosh! Taka-taka-taka! Boom! or be put off by it. (It could also be used to deal with non military items, ideas, and persons being nabbed from the real world.)

I don't know if it'd be worth-while, but it's a thought that's occurred to me while realising how many people I should really consult over a barely consequential decision on 4x4 vehicles in the Walmingtonian armed forces.

Iansisle, Cassanos, and The Crooked Beat at the very least.

The issue, if it is one at all, is that WoS previously used the Spanish URO VAMTAC as a HUMVEE-like vehicle, identifying it as a joint Anglo-Avar venture (when TCB was in the relevant territory).

One possibility: continue to do so, and the WRE can use the Lamb... o... how do you spell Lamborghini? Oh, like that, according to my brand-aware spell-checker. Well, Chrin can always have the Lamborghini entrant to the HUMVEE competition. Sure, it failed IRL, but surely it'd be Extra Latin to use something that's essentially unfit for purpose but makes everyone else jealous of how chic it is?

Another possibility: More Walmingtonian-on-Shield*. Some AMZ vehicles as the result of Stockley, Wychwood, or Chassire getting behind Westerton or whatever relevant enterprise remains in the GFR. One issue there is whether Nibelunc wants or needs them instead, since most relevant German industry is south of the Danube. Not that he can't use some of it anyway, I just wouldn't want to paint anyone into any corners.

((*I'm robbing your pistol, because I used that Polish effort to represent the Constable Custodian automatic pre-AMW after seeing it in the Imperial War Museum as a kid, so getting it back, even if only built-under-licence, means all of my nostalgia.))

[Chrinthanium]

Well, apart from American tech that vanished, whatever was used by players of Spanish origin are welcomed to use them. So, WoS, Keep Calm and Carry On!

And, a thread detailing who has what does seem agreeable to me. Personally, it can be bothersome to have to sort it all out when, as is the case, part of this persons claim has part A, and part of this other persons claim has part B, and so on. A repository, where such information can be accessed, would work well. Of course, now I have to sort out what I actually have in total.

Now, as far as the proposed new OP for an application thread, all I need is a green light to launch a new thread with the new OP.

[Kavoso]

I completely agree with WOS, but I also believe that there should be a all-purpose military topic that does not just deal with ‘who has what’ but all military equipment affairs that relate to the world of AMW. Therefore this topic, in my vision, would allow members to confer all military equipment of AMW, pitch custom made equipment and talk commonly about the military competence of our nations. And as WOS stated, it would be for a niche assembly but I still believe it is needed.

I also support Chrin's idea of a fresh OP for the application thread. Something more warming and welcoming should absolutely draw new members in.

[Walmington on Sea]

May as well go for it, Chrin. Do you remember the password for the applications puppet? If not I can telegram you. Probably best to use that in case we see cause to edit the OP and you're not around.

[AMW Applications]

Yeah, I got it up and going again (as you can see). New app thread: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=209089

[Cassanos]

I would like to have a general military thread, since I'm afraid I have taken several designs made by Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann IRL (such as most tracked vehicles), and while Wegmann is from Kassel in Suabinc, the contemporary company is based in Munich. I have two options here: Either I expand my claim southwards to the Inn river, getting most of Bavaria and a few million people in the bargain, or I just have Daimler and Porsche continue their traditional lines of work in the tank-building-business while taking KMW's designs.
What does the community think?

[The Crooked Beat]

No problem either way from this angle. Both courses of action seem entirely reasonable, and while there seems to be some potential for confusion if we ever get someone to claim that remaining chunk of Central Europe, they'd still have Oto Melara even without any of RL Germany's defense industry, so everything could probably be smoothed-over fairly easily whatever happens.

As for a special sort of who-has-what thread, from my perspective at least I'm not sure it's strictly necessary, but I certainly won't object if one is created.

[Cassanos]

Not to mention Steyr-Puch just south of the Danube .

[Chrinthania]

We have a cartography question. TCB/LRR stated on the offsite the map was wrong and that Saratov belongs to Depkazia. Yet, no where in the previous applications thread does he actually state he is making it part of his claim. So, when Kyle did the new map, he lumped it in with Kavoso because his claim stated "rest of Russia". So, now the question remains, who has Saratov?

What happens if Kavoso has Saratov? Then Depkazia and Gandvik have Saratov as a buffer between them. It also gives the Former Shield one more neighbor. If it is in Depkazi hands, it would make the map more aesthetically pleasing, and allow Depkazia, Former Shield, and Gandvik to all border each other.

[The Amyclae]

On an unrelated note, another quick miltiary-equipment-musing has me wondering if we might be better off with a, "Who has what?" thread of AMW, distinct from the Big Discussion Thread. I know that a lot of players don't really care about military equipment in particular, and I worry that they may end up missing other discussion points amidst all the Nyyyowm! Whoosh! Taka-taka-taka! Boom! or be put off by it. (It could also be used to deal with non military items, ideas, and persons being nabbed from the real world.

I'm not opposed to this idea. Perhaps, even, you all could move that sort of discussion to the off-site? If there was ever a reason to have those forums around, I feel that discussion would be it. But I also wonder about the point of the Big Discussion Thread, which has been recently propelled by discussions of who has what, where. We could try to liven it up with chatter about cricket, or other zany bits of OOC, but only Gellert could contribute. It'd simply be a sadder thread without *vrooms* and *pews* and the dangers of Walmington-Shieldan technical adventures. But since I'm not a participant either way.... *shrugs*

[Iansisle]

I've got a non-military topic for the discussion thread.

Just what the heck is going on in Gallaga, anyway? Last I left things, there were Depkazis and Greeks, then I turned my attention elsewhere. And it appears nothing has happened in the meantime. Dep, Byz, do we want to work out OOC what happened?

[Chrinthania]

Oh Europe-Prussia, we needs to have a chit-chat, good sir.

I sent you two TGs over the last month which have gone unanswered. Luckily for me, Kyle (Hibernordia) was kind enough to delineate all the territories within Western Roman control that are "South of the Ebro River" in accordance to you claim of "North of the Ebro River." Though, that's making life difficult for me, not because of his work (which is superior to any one else I know), but because it cuts things in half, or worse, including some cities. Also, and this is where I'm having some issue, your map in your offsite factbook doesn't even look to follow the flow of the Ebro River, thus confusing the situation more. So, I need to know where, precisely, your border is.

Now, if we're going to use the Ebro River, then we have to agree on certain things. First of all, if you're going to set the border right there, any industry and military industry of Spain's that might be confused because of such a border needs to be worked out. My feeling on the matter is that, since you've all of France, any Spanish military industry located within your claim should rightfully be mine. That's just my opinion, though. In my claim, the portion of Italy that I claimed excludes a large to most of Italian Military Industry for another claimant because I would actually have the benefit of having most of the Spanish military industry. No need for me to take both nations military stuffs and jam it all into one claim as far as I see it.

We could clarify the border, though, and make life much more simpler for the both of us. It strikes me as a tad weird that you'd cross the Pyrenees (A mountain chain) only to stop at a river. Why not be less ambiguous about a border and sort out actually territory (Regions or provinces) that we can trade back and forth until we work out a border we can mutually agree on. If, as you said, your claiming of Spanish territory was to give Spanish culture a home if someone needed until someone snapped up Spain, you'd probably not need anything South of the Pyrenees any longer since the Western Roman Empire gives Spanish, Italian, Portuguese a nice home and, if I don't mind saying, a nice blend into something more unique than just a copying of their RL cultures. Though, that's roughly a 10-12 million person population shift, and probably something neither of us really wants to do, if I may assume. I'd rather clarify the border by working out exchanging more individual territories within Spain until we're roughly at our current population levels give or take to either side. The Ebro River make a nice, simple border on a map, but, it's rather useless when it comes to being so specific with population (which, if Kyle's addition is correct, you're actually incorrect about).

Also, I asked you to clarify Valendian history as it pertains to the RL history of the Roman Empire. Did Julius Caesar conquer Gaul? It's a rather important question because so much of his claim-to-fame is conquering Gaul. If he didn't do that in AMW, then I'll have to work out what he actually did, which is most likely conquer the Iberian Peninsula. Your factbook doesn't go any earlier than around the 8th Century Common Era (or AD if you will). Personally, I don't care one way or the other as to Caesar's history in Gaul as it pertains to AMW. Certainly nothing wrong with him being the conquer of Hispania and Lusitania as opposed to Gaul. I just need to know.

Anyway, that's about all I can think of for right now. Hopefully you'll see this and reply.

[Europe - Prussia]

Oh shi- I swear Chrin I haven't received any of the TG you sent me. I would have answered if that was the case.

About the borders; For starters, I should have TGed you about this earlier in order to clear it out and and for this I apologize. Now, about the borders, there's a reason I chose the Ebro river because it's a pretty much straightforward border; to the north of the Ebro are the regions of Catalonia, Navarre, Basque country plus half of Aragon. I know that the Ebro has a lot of tributaries that are also considered part of the river itself, but by considering those regions as part of the "north" of the Ebro, we can keep things simple. I mentioned all of this on this post, though I should have mentioned it in my factbook or somewhere else, and for this lack of oversight once again I apologize. Please Ignore the map in my factbook too; I based it on the same approximation I made above and as such it's not very "exact".

Like I said above, we could keep things simple with me keeping the regions of Catalonia, Navarre, Basque country and the north half of Aragon, with you keeping the entire population of Aragon and it's industrial complex. I'm open to other ideas if you have another one though so no worries. To tell you the truth I would give you those territories and establish the border at the Pyrenees seeing that the Spanish culture continues to exist through your nation but by now I have everything so intermingled that it would be too big of a hassle to rewrite my factbook. I know I sound somewhat lazy but please bear with me

About the history part, I think I told you I a TG, but I don't really mind how things went before the 8 century, as long Charlemagne rises to power and then his children ruins everything so if you need Caesar conquering Gaul and adding it along the Swiss valleys to the Roman Empire until it's RL fall I'm fine with it. Go wild!.....as long the setup I created for Valendia's foundation remains that's it.

[Chrinthania]

Believe it or not, I actually have the population figures that Kyle worked up for us from the Spanish census people. Once I get home from work, I can go ahead and I'll bring that information out and post it so that you know. He got really specific so I'm just going to paste what he said. No need for us to give away population that's rightfully hours and set a dangerous precedent for future claimants in the future. Everything else, looks good to me. We also need to work on our shared mutual history so that we both know where were coming from. But I'm not up to that part of my history so I will get back to you

[Depkazia]

Gallaga?
I wonder about that, too.

I was still posting, but without counter-moves from the Greeks it began to seem pointless. As I left it, Chingiz was in Boodor, directly over-seeing management of the city in hopes of keeping the Depkazi-lead administration relatively free of corruption. I think the last thing I mentioned was how he was trying to find co-operative Gallagan figures with measure of popular support or respect in order to have them help him legitimise some sort of move against the Hajji Tarkhan Sovyet in Gallagan eyes, after his envoy was murdered on his good-will mission there (actually by Depkazi mutineers rather than the Gallagans themselves, but that's not what Semerkand has reported) .

Chingiz is promoting what he's calling Milli Uyanışı, or National Awakening, in which the Turkic peoples of Depkazia and Gallaga (and any in surrounding states) come together and regain past glory. And while his rule in Depkazia is in many respects more liberal than one would expect of a man styled Caliph, he is trying to use the notion of the Caliphate and Islam both to inspire those who actively believe, and perhaps to guilt the less observant into going along with it. You may not really be practising, but surely you aren't saying that you actually oppose the Caliphate!? And he's importing heavily subsidised grain and fuel oil to be distributed from Boodor in hopes of maintaining the initial enthusiasm of the populace for his intervention.

IRL, this coming Monday it will be one year to the day since Chingiz ordered full reserve mobilisation in the Khaganate (and since he attacked the Greco-Armenian population of Khakendi (in Depkazia) with chemical weapons after a failed attempt on his life while passing through the city en route to Boodor). Particularly large forces, mostly Akıncılar (irregular raider types) have massed in Saykhin, which is still being built into a vast showpiece and garrison city.

Chingiz had two Tumen (essentially divisions) in Gallaga, under Mareşal Agah Ahmetoğlu, one based in and around Boodor, the other pushing on west/northwest towards Nusheld and beyond.

Last I knew, the Byzantines had 'fought' (presumably against armed locals) to encircle Nusheld, and were trying to advance north, but not to enter the city. Chingiz's scouts were expecting to make contact with the Greek cordon around the city. Both sides were ordered not to fire unless fired upon, but the Depkazis had moved on to, "...or unless the Gallagans are fired upon, or request help directly" which I assumed that some Gallagans may have taken advantage of, realising that they could get artillery/air support by claiming that such a Byzantine unit or position had previously fired on them. I assume the Golden Army is keeping records of Gallagan claims and requests attendant to each strike authorised.

The Depkazis had also deployed 300 airborne troops (because, sadly, Chingiz's means do not really extend to long range deployment and support of entire airborne armies) just north of Nusheld, ahead of the Byzantine ground advance, to block key roads, on the assumption that there are only a handful of viable roads in southwestern Gallaga. Even though there's only 300 of them, and they're only lightly equipped, it was hoped that the paucity of possible routes and co-operation of Gallagan partisans would enable them to have a small presence on every possible avenue of advance. While none would be able to stop the Byzantines if they decided to force the issue, the Empire's forces would have to directly attack Depkazi troops and Gallagans, or else stop just north of Nusheld and work on Plan B while the main Depkazi force rolls by them and establishes itself in most of Hevma Gallaga.

(Chingiz has a contingency plan in case the Byzantines do what he'd do in their position, but it involves air-strikes on any airfields or ports north of his roadblocks that fail to resist any prospective Greek landing, so he'll be really hoping the locals don't allow any such landings to happen.)

[Depkazia]

Oh, and Saratov, was there a decision?

My position is that Chingiz would be more than happy to shine his munificence upon the territory, but it's in no way crucial for me to have it. It would make things easier for me if I bordered Gandvik, and I like the idea, but I don't know if that's a better argument for or against, really!

[Jatriqya and Hoya]

Yes, I completely dropped the ball on the Gallaga front. Last I left it, it was just as Depkazia had describes. The idea at the time, was that the Byzantines would patiently wait outside of Nusheld for the Shieldians to leave, before taking it, in order to have full control of the Black Sea coast of Gallaga. Last I knew, the Byzantine controlled the much of Western Gallaga under Nusheld, while having moved around Nusheld (the city), and had at least started to move North from there. It is my impression that they would have been able to move all the way north from there fairly quickly, but only on a fairly small sliver of land. The amount of fighting the Byzantines had to do against a real, organized force is, I imaging, quite low... Thankfully, the Byzantine forces have experience in the same type of territory as they are fighting in in Gallaga - they're not completely out of the loop, and every day they are there helps. I can only assume that the Byzantines would retaliate when attacked by Gallagans, but not in an offensive way - i.e. stick it out, anti-aircraft missiles at the ready, etc. if the Depkazis tried anything funny. Of course, Byzantine pounds (and food) would probably be flooding the area, with Byzantine soldiers sweeping out old shieldian houses and allowing Gallagans to take ownership of them, etc. In terms of the Hajji Tarkhan Soyvet, I had intended, at one point, to try and help them, but that plan obviously never came to fruition.

I thought there was a map of our current situation somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. I'm fine with settling it OOC, as that's what I have most time for right now - exams are coming on and I do, apparently, have to study now.