Midnight in Moscow, Mk. III (IC Thread!)

by **Hastiaka** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 1:47 am

Kingdom of the Netherlands
Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Dutch Indonesia

Episode 2: Naval Ambitions

HMNS Floris-Jan Hinderiks entering the Port of Batavia as reinforcement from the Andaman Trading Ports

Governor Rennwick greeted another Incoming Dutch naval ship. He was obviously bothered by the security tensions brought on to them by the increasingly ''popular'' communism by the Northern Slavic States. Soon, it may spread to China, Indochina and before you know it, the Dutch East Indies. The HMNS Flors-Jan Hinderiks is a newly constructed ship from the Netherlands. It stayed in the Andaman Sea as a member of the Dutch Counter-Piracy fleet. A fleet composed of a mere 6 warships. ''Captain Machiel van Steijn. I welcome you to the Port of Batavia. You see, we only have five cruisers here. Thank god for your destroyer! I'm sure that the Commodore will be glad to hear this.'' Machiel and Governor Rennwick proceeded into the military sector of the dock. Alas, three glorious heavy cruisers and two light cruisers lay anchored in the docks. Her dutch crew hurried to repair the damaged hulls and cleaned and repainted her entire body. ''Governor Rennwick, i fear that the Indies is under-defended. The damned summit in Brussels has forced the Navy to concentrate on Homeland. Socialist France is now a real thing i guess.'' the Captain remarked as they strolled down the dock. The wind was strong. The sky was cloudy as grey clouds eclipsed the sun. Then, Commodore Stakenbourgh arrived and greeted Captain Machiel. ''Commodore Stakenbourgh! Glad to see you in these dark days!'' Machiel smiled as they shook both hands. ''Captain Machiel, How's the Counter Piracy fleet in the Andaman Sea?'' Commodore Stakenbourgh asked as he offered the captain a cigar. However, Machiel refused. ''The Fleet in the Andaman has been reinforced with two more cruisers last month. We have lost the HMNS Stefan Werges, a sloop of war to Indian and Sri Lankan pirates. We are trying to make a deal with the Royal Navy by July. We are also at the brink of constructing four new ports scattered across the Indies. Bali for one will be host to Fort Johan van Nassau.’’We only have a total of 16 warships in the Indies and we cannot risk any attacks by any chance. After the convention at Belgium, The Colonial Navy will return to Batavia for ocular inspection. Furthermore, Fort Johan van Nassau is designated as the largest fortress in Malaysia and will house 4,000 KNIL Soldiers and will possess 20 artillery cannons from the reserve swathes in the Netherlands. HMNS Van Roijinik; the only frigate in the Northern Quadrant will be tasked to defend Fort Johan van Nassau from any invading forces.’’ Then, then, Commodore Stakenbourgh proceeded with Captain Machiel to their offices in the Port Authority office. Though lacking virtual support from Homeland, the KNIL possesses men of great skill and loyalty. The largest problem in the Naval affairs in the Indies is not the lack of ships but rather the damage of HMNS Van Alleenk; The only frigate stationed in Jakarta. Currently, Spanish Aceh has been ignored by Governor Rennwick for years claiming that Aceh is a waste of time and a drain of manpower.

Brand New Bofors 40mm cannons at the 57 year old Fort Van Deechanik's storages

In Surabaya, 13 new Bofors 40mm cannons were shipped by the Request of the KNIL. Indegenous recruits were increasing as the governor launched the Indies’ Anti Communist Propaganda across the the Indies. Anti-Communist sentiment has inspired the natives to go against and react negatively on this new Ideology. However, despite the propaganda, the Communists wish to see the Indies free from Dutch Control. General Reykaff van Eedorch is seen talking to Mayor Meekstat van Aleech. ’’Mayor Meekstat, Do you assure me of 1,000 members for the KNIL? I wish to spread further Anti-communist sentiment across the Indies’’ then, the two walked towards the capitol building. ''General Reykaff, what news do we have from the Netherlands? I assume the struggles against Communism are successful?'' the Mayor asked as he pointed west. The General frowned and replied; ''France is Communist and so is The illegitimate Russia. Ukraine and others. We fear the worst.'' The Netherlands has always been hostile to the Communists as they were the only faction who even dared to say that the Netherlands must give up her East Indies. Nevertheless, Thousands of Sailors from the Netherlands is sent towards Belgium to increase Naval Security in the area. The Flanders is favored by the Dutch the most as they speak Dutch and is also culturally accepted throughout the Nation.

KNIL Board of Naval Warfare, Colonial House, Batavia
Dutch East Indies, Dutch Indonesia
Jakarta

The room was intense. The air condition was slowly fading as the Generals and Politicians gathered and shout at each other. Governor Rennwick sided with the KNIL representatives. The situation was that the East Indies was heavily under-defended and is open to any invasion within the month. 20 Warships including 6 cruisers, 10 destroyers, 1 semi-submarine, 1 coastal patrol corvette and two Frigates with one Frigate heavily damaged. Initially, 59 warships were stationed in the Indies with 12 more anchored at the ports as reserves. However, this led to a sharp 70% decrease when the Government moved most of the KNIL's Naval Force to the Netherlands to secure the English Channel and BENELUX for a Month. The 3 cruisers and 2 oilers are still under construction. From 80,000 Dutch Naval Forces in the Indies, only 100 of these sailors stayed and has left the KNIL's scarce Naval force to defend the Indies. ''General Stakenbourgh! The Netherlands needs more defense than the Indies! To hell with it! France is the greatest threat we have ever faced in the history of Modern History!'' General Stakenbourgh laughed and said ''Sir Lieendorp van Anticch do you want to live?'' he asked. A surprised Lieendorp replied. ''Pardon me General Stakenbourgh?'' Commodore Stakenbourgh stood up and replied with a gentle answer; ’’What I’m saying is that if we are to live, we must increase the military’s resources. We have an entire pool of them in the Indies and the Netherlands. Perhaps we forgot the Malaysian recruits. They seem promising. The KNIL needs more funds. In all our territories, 46 forts and a quarter of them is semi-functional! Look, commies and fascists are approaching fast. What do you want to happen to your wives? Your children? Your mothers and fathers? Even your sisters and brothers! They will die in an inevitable death if we are not to wholly protect the Indies. Sir Lieendorp?’’ Sir Lieendorp looked at the Commodore and took out a picture of his family. ’’Aye, let us agree. The British forces will be thinned out once an unexpected attack will occur. Let us not depend on others and be truly independent on ourselves! But we also need to trade more! I will double the cargo ships and request for a new Dutch Port in Japan.'' Sir Lieendorp took out a check from his pocket and wrote. ''10,100,000 DUTCH GUILDERS PROPERTY OF THE BANK OF AMSTERDAM'' and gave it to the KNIL's donation bank account in Batavia. Stakenbourgh lauded the politician for donating 30% of his Shares to the KNIL's donation account in Batavia.

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Holland, Kingdom of the Netherlands

SS Infeedorp van Victory; Part of the Netherland's efforts to restore Global trade and propagate Capitalism in the Interbellum years.

It's been years since the First Global War. They said that this war was the war to end all wars. But what others thought was wrong. Even though, the Interbellum years are soon to be shortened as many feared. A new war of global scale might once again sparked. Unaware of the consequences of the past generations. Communism has arise as the greatest threat to the Western Empires. As the Bolsheviks' rebellion fall in the North, others will soon follow. France, Italy and Spain is succumbing to socialist ideologies as they stomp out the Republics and Monarchies that once stood there. But the Netherlands, despite France and neighbors turning into Socialists one by one, resists such ''corrupt'' ideologies and attempts to purge this radicalist movement.

King Willem has been reflecting about undermining socialist advance into their own advantage. Spain's monarchy has been severely weakened as socialists with their so called ''Republic'' an irony of sorts may or may not lead to the KNIL's invasion of Spanish East Indies territory. All but Aceh will be colonized. Certain ports will be controlled by Dutch authorities in the Philippines.

Java Sea, HMNS Van Rojinik

The night was quiet. In the ports, HMNS Van Rojinik was moving out from the Fortress in a covert operation. Three more ships joined the Frigate as they entered Spanish ports in the Indies. Commodore Stakenbourgh led the HMNS Van Rojinik in the advance against Spanish authorities. They claim to make Spanish holdings in the Indies as protectorates and dominions under the guise of protecting it from the scums and virus of Communism. Slowly, in the midnight moon, Five ships blockade the largest Spanish held island in the Indies. A blockade which is to be reckoned with as six more ships come as reinforcement. By morning, the Spanish was caught unaware.

An ultimatum will be given soon to the Spanish Monarchy: The Dutch Empire will help them restore their great empire and will give the Dutch the Indies by peace. Thus effectively ending the 2nd Spanish Republic. or the Dutch will take the Indies by force and declaring war on the Monarchy, effectively rushing in their end and the Dutch will fund a capitalist government to establish a Third Republic.

by **Kargintina** » Sun Mar 01, 2015 3:11 pm

Dominion of Canada Circa March 31st 1921
Music

Parliament building, Ottawa
Prime Minister Arthur Meighen stood in front of the whole parliament, which was having a discussion on foreign affairs. With the surging of Communism in Russia and the Communists also threatening to take Italy and France, many Parliament members where worried. "Italy is lost, and France soon shall be as well!" said one. The Prime Minister looked towards him. "I fear you may be correct, but surely it can be stopped elsewhere. The situation in Russia is starting to look brighter, and the French colonies still stand free of Red rule." A senator stood up. "What about in Khmer, the Communists only exist in the north, surely we could fight them there." The Prime Minister looked to the senator and spoke. "The crown won't let us directly deploy into Khmer, but I assume we could support the Republicans to help them crush the Communists." "Alright then."

The Prime Minister retired to his office. He rubbed his hands on his face. With the next election coming later in the year, he needed to increase his reputation. Many people where starting to lean towards W.L. Mackenzie King's Liberal Party and Thomas Crerar's Progressive party, Meighen's Conservatives where losing support, the Great War being a large reason. The Prime Minister began writing letters and a new bill to be presented at the next Parliament meeting.

Official Communique of the Dominion of Canada
To: Prime Minister David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
From: Prime Minister and Minister of External Affairs of the Dominion of Canada, Arthur Meighen
Encryption: Low

Greetings! I have messaged forth to you with the hopes that we can possibly schedule a time when the Canadian and British militaries can preform a joint Naval and Land exercise in Nova Scotia. This exercise will test both of our militaries to ensure they are ready for any new threats, especially with Communism on the rise across the globe. We hope you can agree to this exercise as we believe it will be for the benefit of our great allignment of Dominion and the Crown.

Official Communique of the Dominion of Canada
To: Whomever it may concern in the Republic of Dai Viet
From: Prime Minister and Minister of External affairs of the Dominion of Canada, Arthur Meighen
Encryption: Strong

Greetings! We have noticed your fight for a free Republic in Khmer, and believe that bringing you to power would return stability to to the extremely unstable country you currently are in. We have decided, that if you approve, we will send 12,000 SMLE Mk III rifles in period shipments over the next few months, to aid you in your fight for a Free Republic. These shipments shall arrive along the coastline, and hopefully you shall find them useful. We also can send food, water and other normal supplies your soldiers may need, as we have many excess uniforms from the Great War, as majority of soldiers are no longer enlisted. This of course, must be in secret as Canada does want not the accusal of surging Communist nations or even non-Communist nations. We can also send around 30 Great War veterans to train your men in using these modern rifles and how to fight well.

National Defense Headquarters, Ottawa
"It looks like we won't be going to Russia." said General Thomas Victor. "The Reds are collapsing. Moscow will be in White hands soon." He placed the report on the table. "I guess the 30 men going to Khmer will be from the planned expedition?" Minister of National Defense Lieutenant General George Pearkes responded. "Correct." We shall be sending them to Khmer to ensure that the United Communes of Khmer don't gain power." "Of course. Meighan doesn't give a damn if the Dai Viet republic actually gets into power. He just wants to win a war to look good for the election in December." The Lieutenant General grunted. "Figures. To bad he doesn't realize the last thing the people want is a war, hell, if the crown didn't control our foreign policy we've sent in forces to that hellhole of a country." "Huh, ain't that the turth."

Outside, the 30 men had been briefed on their upcoming mission. "Shit, man, the damn government can't pick us a nice place to go? First the fucking freezing Russian north, now the extremely hot and moist jungles of Indo-China? You gotta be fucking kidding me." Another soldier grunted. "Even when we where sent to France, a nice ass country, we end up with a fucking dirt covered hellhole with no signs of vegetation for miles." "Aw, fuck war man. It ruins the god damn earth.'' "You hate war, yet your a soldier?" asked a third soldier. "Oh trust me, I love serving my country, but, when I saw what that gas did you at Ypres, I had no fucking remorse killing those German shits. Thats what war does to you man, I killed at least five of those fuckers, with zero remorse or hesitation." "Well, I guess we better get some rest, it's gonna be a short feeling time before we're deployed so get rest and enjoy your time before we get deployed to hell.

by **Sveltlana** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:12 am

Reserved for ~~rosiyskaya imperiya~~ provisional russian govt.

Finished post: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=332000&p=23658166&sid=1287bf5fc00295251530c96956669455#p23658166

Временное правительство России

Provisional Russian Government

Салют отцам и нашим дедам

Chapter 2: The Perm Offensive
3 April, 1921

Yekaterinburg, Yekaterinburg Oblast
Town Hall of the City, HQ of the PGR
5th March 1921

Kolchak addressed the following telegram to the generals of the Northern Flank:

Code: Select all: -- Telegram to Commanders Bovarin, Perevalov, etc., -- -- 5, March. -- You are to disrupt the retreat of the Red Guards as much as possible. Seize any assets that the bolsheviks may have left behind, or take it forcefully if possible. -- Use cavalry to best achieve this order, or other light units. -- However, the way in which this shall be accomplished I shall leave to the judgement of each of the generals. -- If the enemy retreats across the Volga, end your pursuit, report your correct positions and await further orders. -- Do not fail the Russian people, for the evil of bolshevism will do its best to avoid that. -- -- Alexander Vasiliyevich Kolchak -- -- President of the Provisional Russian Government

Poltova, Poltova Oblast
Town Hall of the City
7th March 1921

“Pyotr Nikolayevich!” cried the man as he ran into Wrangel’s office. “The cossacks have arrived!”

“Excellent. Have the secretaries send a telegram to Kolchak and Denikin now.” Standing up from his desk, Wrangel walked to the window to see whether the mounted riders could already be seen entering the city of Poltova, but he was left down: the Cossacks had remained on the outskirts of the city. Wrangel stroked his chin and turned to face the secretary. “Secretary, order the horses to be prepared. I plan on meeting with the force of Cossacks now.”

“Right away, sir, right away!” cried the man as he walked out, slurring his words in haste. Ten minutes later, the Black Baron was riding with his aides towards the Cossack host, but was interrupted by the commander of the host, who had somehow found out that Wrangel was riding towards him or had decided to ride to meet him of his own accord.

“I was hoping to inspect your troops now, Pavel Antonoviyich.”

“And you shall, Pyotr Nikolayevich, although it is opportune that we meet here. The men are restless, the horses are fresh, and the Ukrainian bastards are close at hand. Have you ever seen the mowers reap the wheat, Wrangel? It’s how we’re going to…”

“Yes, yes, Pavel Antonoviych, that is good to hear. Can you lead me to them if you will now?”

“Of course, Bla- Pyotr Nikolayevich. Yes, just follow after me. I have a couple dozen thousand men in this host, yes sir, and we are completely at the command of the Southern Russian Army. Denikin has been informed, I suppose?”

“Yes, I have ordered a telegram to be sent to Anton Ivanovich now and he should know about your arrival soon. He and I have made plans: you are to ride west towards the Dnieper now and secure the territory there from the enemy forces. Again, your mission is to defend the Crimea, Sevastopol and the supply lines emerging from therein, so I do not expect your host to give hot pursuit to the enemy now. Anton Ivanovich is marching most of his forces North, he should secure Kiev and the northern flank of the Dnieper from the Ukrainians. We will pen them down to kill their own countrymen and pillage their own country if they will.”

South of Arkhangelsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast
Southern Karelian Offensive
9th March 1921

Evgeniy Karlovich Miller always insisted, with ludicrous and imbecilic stubbornness, that his mind and attention be present at each and every intersection or rumor of intersection between the White and the Red forces as far as Gallant Miller's Men were concerned. The only company of men that had achieved greater fame and renown in all Russia over Gallant Miller's Men (who had furthermore received a heavy blow to their prestige after receiving 8,000 casualties in the Arkhangelsk Offensive) were Vladimir Oskarovich Kappel's Little Swedes. The Little Swedes. It was a funny nickname because many of the 'Little Swedes' were Norwegian or Danish. Perhaps the Little Swedes were known as such because the Swedes, being at the vanguard in terms of economic and political power over their nordic partners, were more powerful in the Confederation (at least symbolically) than the others.

Miller was tired. He'd gone through two days without a wink of sleep. The stench of coffee profusely emanated from his yellow and worn teeth, his lips were always slightly open, and around his eyes, dark creases had formed that highlighted the reddened sclera around his clear blue eyes. His elaborate moustache, which had been a device of pride and power, now bowed to the ground and was grey and disheveled. The General had a dreamy look about him as he sat at the chair and, fully cognizant of the limitations on his mental and neuronal activity, tried to sleep. At this he proved unsuccessful. The velvet chair, although at a comfortable obtuse angle, seemed to Miller to be acute and sloped in such a manner that its designer ensured that no soul could fall asleep while sitting there. His legs refused to carry him up and away from the piece and to his bunk.

A lieutenant knocked in the door. Miller, wild-eyed and cross-faced, looked at the lieutenant as if he was an extraterrestrial landing on Earth promising to allow the Dodo walk the Earth. The lieutenant did not bring any Dodos back from the dead, but only handed the following telegram:

Code: Select all: -- Telegram to Gen. Miller -- -- 9, March. -- I know that you and the multinational forces are already giving chase to the leaderless enemy and exterminating his company from the face of the Earth. -- Undoubtedly, soon you will be able to enlist the aid of the Expeditionary Forces to advance to the city of Petrograd and aid Nikolai Nikolaievich's forces in laying siege to the capital of the Red Menace. -- By delivering a blow to the enemy of such proportions, and striking directly at his head, we shall gain a massive tactical and strategic advantage over the enemy. -- -- Alexander Vasiliyevich Kolchak -- -- President of the Provisional Russian Government

Yekaterinburg, Yekaterinburg Oblast
Town Hall of the City, HQ of the PGR
12th March 1921

The table nodded in approval as the General finished speaking and sat down once more. All that he had said had been carefully recorded in the minutes of the meeting by the secretary, whose typewriter had constantly hummed as the General spoke and was now quiet, having left its distinctive marks on a thick yellow sheet of paper that the secretary extracted from the machine and began to read aloud:

“Alright, I shall read what the Eastern Command has agreed upon: one, a General assault on Perm shall be prepared using available artillery so as to extirpate the Red Army from the city. Two, Pepelyayev and Bovarin shall be sent to secure the southern flank of the advancing forces to protect them from a possible offensive from Kamenev. Three, Bovarin’s forces will remain available to aid the assaulting forces in the form of reinforcements. Four, Kappel will be sent north of Zlatoust so as to advance from the rear of Kamenev’s forces were he to advance upon the Perm Offensive. And five, Kollman shall be sent south to protect the Kolchak Line from a possible Red Offensive counting with about 30,000 men on horse.”

“Excellent, secretary,” said Kolchak with a nod of approval. “Wire that to the General Command, secretary. Northern and Southern Commands need to be informed about these movements.”

Perm, Perm Oblast
Perm Offensive
21st March 1921

Manuel peered at the city with his pair of binoculars. He could almost see the Red Guard preparing for the Perm Offensive that would break the Northern Flank of the Volga line and allow special forces to advance upon Moscow. "Are we in range?", he asked.

"I believe so," answered his comrade, Pavel. "You did grease the gun, did you? I've got this telegram from the base, apparently we'll start shelling the bastards in Perm this afternoon. And if our gun isn't ready..."

"Ja, I think so, I did grease the gun," answered Manuel. "I did so last night, in fact. I was watching the stars."

"There were no stars last night. You... you weren't drunk, were you?" Pavel began walking towards the breech loader. "Let me see how well you..."

"No, Pavel, no!" cried Manuel with haste. "I assure you that I did grease the gun just as you showed me how!"

"Fool," retorted Pavel with a frown. "We might be short on hands on this side of the war, but if you German bastards think you can come here, take Kolchak's money, and waste it on drink and whores, you might at least do that in your free time." He tried to walk through Manuel, although the German didn't budge. "Stand aside now. If you didn't rear the gun properly, the shell might just burst in the damn thing for all we know. Send us to hell with a bang."

"Alright... here." Manuel opened the breech. Indeed, the gun had been greased, although in a manner that was shoddy at best and promised to cause trouble in the near future. Clumps of the cheap material had accumulated around the barrel, and some had slid to compartments where there should be no such material. In fact, as Manuel opened the gun, a small waterfall of the lubricant had fallen like honey from a glass jar and left the covering feeling slippery and greased. Pavel peered into the barrel and saw that Manuel had not even applied the lubricant to the entire surface where it was required, so that the mechanism might fail while the bombardment raged on.

"Good enough," said Pavel.

"This is a Krupp. We made the damn thing! I know how to take care of it."

"Like hell you do. The gun isn't worth a damn thing if you don't fire it well, so if it's a damn Krupp, you better know how to treat it to land a shell on top of that slimy bastard Tukhaevsky. Did you hear? That Miller got his lads to land one a shell on Frunze. Damn good shot. From what I hear, North Command's advancing on Petrograd and will take the city by the end of the Summer. You know what that means?"

"Vodka will be cheaper."

"Idiot," roared Pavel similar to how the piece would roar as it joined the rest of the artillery in a deadly barrage. Both men remained quiet until a messenger on horse trotted by the battery, calling for the officer to order his men to begin laying shells on top of the defensive positions at Perm. The Officer nodded and told his lieutenants. The lieutenants nodded and told their squads. The squads nodded and, taking shells from the magazine, prepared the weapons for their bloody duty.

And with the roar of heavy artillery, a bombardment that would last for two weeks began.

Near Olonets, Olonets Oblast
Karelian Offensive
25th March 1921

After the Red Guards were routed from the outskirts of Arkhangelsk, the whole Red Army had completely crumbled after Frunze was killed after a shell fell on top of his headquarters, wounding or killing many other men of distinction that had played an important part in the force that had unsuccessfully assaulted Arkhangelsk. It was a great victory for the White Forces: the second or third most important port under White control had been secured from an enemy force and now, large amounts of men were marching towards Petrograd.

Miller knew the enemy had been dispersed for now, but he would surely regroup and attempt to cause as much trouble as he could. Miller was wholly confident that the 10,000 garrison he had left in Arkhangelsk (5,000 Germans, 4,000 Columbards, 1,000 Anglo-Belgians) and the Scandinavian Fifth army would be capable of securing Karelia and Olonets from the enemy. Miller himself was leading 58,000 men towards Petrograd (22,000 Russians, 16,000 Columbards 10,000 Germans, 7,500 Scandinavians and 2,500 Anglo-Belgians).

Yekaterinburg, Yekaterinburg Oblast
Town Hall of the City, HQ of the PGR
3rd April 1921

“Order the assault on Perm” said Kolchak.

“Yes sir!”

To the Foreign Relations Office of Moldava:

Greetings;

It is with gladness that I see that the fair country of Moldava has secured its borders from the red menace that is currently pillaging the Ukraine. We hope most sincerely that these forces will fulfill their honorable duty and protect your nation from the trouble that would befall were the red forces to seize control therein.

On behalf of the Russian nation, I would like to inquire so as to the position of Moldava on the civil war that is currently raging in my nation, and hopefully we shall know of your neutrality or of your righteous defensive attitude towards the Bolshevik menace.

Viktor Nikolayevich Pepelyayev
Prime Minister of the Provisional Russian Government

To the Foreign Relations Office of Germany, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Belgium:

Please accept my congratulations on behalf of the Russian nation and President Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak on the successful performance of the multinational force on the Arkhangelsk offensive. The enemy has been successfully routed and now the allied forces are ready to advance upon Petrograd to capture Lenin and sever the head of the Bolshevik menace once and for all.

Viktor Nikolayevich Pepelyayev
Prime Minister of the Provisional Russian Government

by **Senkaku** » Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:02 am

Reserved for Grorious Qing.

Xinhua, Part One, Chapter Two: Tianxia
(Section One)

The Forbidden City, Beijing

Changchun
Army Group Amur HQ

The headquarters had been busy for the past few days- indeed, many had not slept since the previous day, and it was now creeping into early morning in Changchun. In addition to the extra reinforcements pouring through Shenyang and up towards the fronts, they'd been busily directing what forces were already available to their jumping-off positions, marching past Jiamusi and Daxing'anling so that the transition could be as smooth as possible. Telegraph lines had been busily being laid in preparation for the attack, and they'd even connected telephones to the field headquarters in Mudanjiang, Jiamusi, and Daxing'anling. The preparations had been somewhat hurried, but they were finished now, as nearly a million men in three armies prepared for the strike. Another ten thousand troops had been stationed in Harbin, with its large Russian population, to quell any unrest that might come from the new attack against their countrymen.

Generals Ilmen Bolad and Lin Qiang were sitting near the plotting table, while various staffers pushed pieces around based on telegraph or phone dispatches from the field headquarters.
Suddenly, one of them turned towards the two men. "Generals, Daxing'anling reports they have completed final preparations and are on standby."
Bolad opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly another staffer turned. "Sirs, Jiamusi also reports they're ready to go."
Qiang was standing to respond when a third man, over by the telephones, put his set down and stood up, calling to them. "General Ilmen, General Lin, Mudanjiang reports they've completed their preparations and are ready to attack."
Qiang, now standing, paused for a moment, and Bolad glanced up at him and nodded.
"Instruct all three field headquarters to commence with the attack, immediately."

Khabarovsk

The Russian population of Khabarovsk would awake first to a few distant thumps, and then eerie whistles would come from above, with no explanation.
The whistling was then followed by a series of massive explosions, as Chinese artillery shells struck here and there in the still-sleeping city. Dawn had not yet broken, but already, following orders relayed from the field headquarters in Jiamusi, the vanguard of the Chinese attack was already setting off across the Amur, most in small boats that had been disassembled, carried with the army, and reassembled on the shore. A few boats had been equipped with machine-guns, or some improvised mortar-type weapons, but, for the most part such additional weaponry was not necessary. Khabarovsk's defenders were few and far between, and the confused city was, within the hour, in the hands of the crack New Army divisions that had been sent ahead of the main force to seize it. The shelling, which had been light and pointless anyways, quickly stopped as the Chinese took over the city, and soon more Chinese troops were coming over in commandeered Russian craft- first New Army troops and Bannermen, but soon hordes of Green Standard troops, too, were marching through the streets of Khabarovsk, following the Banner cavalry and the pathetically few New Army mechanized units to strike further into Russian territory.

In Changchun, Bolad listened to the quick briefing from the Jiamusi headquarters, read to him fresh off the telegraphs by one of the staff officers.
"Operation entirely successful. Main prong marching for the coast, city firmly in control."
Ilmen Bolad, the illegitimate son of a Manchu nobleman and a Mongol princess, stood up, smiling, and paced to the window.

Outside, the Spring City was turning green with an early spring, dewdrops gleaming in the morning light.

Outside Vladivostok

The Vladivostok attack, as one of the three main prongs of the strike, was just as well-planned as the Khabarovsk assault, and, due to the increased Russian presence around such a key port and naval base, it had been allocated more artillery and more New Army soldiers. The Vladivostok attack itself was divided into two prongs- the northern prong slicing just above Lake Khanka to cut off the Trans-Siberian Railway and roads to the north, the southern prong crossing over from the border a few miles away to march towards the mouth of the Ussuri and the city itself. It would take each prong hours of marching as the sun began to rise to reach the city itself, which by then had been at least partially alerted to the presence of Chinese troops nearby- indeed, it would likely take much of the day.
However, cavalry and mechanized forces were sent racing ahead, and they would be able to reach the city in just a few hours.

As the main body of the Chinese forces continued to slog northeast, towards the mouth of the Suifen River, towards Vladivostok, or down past Lake Khanka, New Army mechanized forces and Banner cavalry were beginning to appear amongst the outlying farms and towns outside of Russia's prized eastern port. The Russians knew they were there, and were apparently ready to fight- progress slowed significantly as the forces the city governor had mustered and managed to send off engaged the advance forces, but by mid-afternoon they had crossed the Suifen's winding, branching mouths and battled their way through the Russian opposition, heading towards the peninsula upon which their prize sat.

Meanwhile, to the north, near Lake Khanka, the northern Vladivostok prong had successfully seized the Trans-Siberian Railway, blocking it and sending forces down to march of Ussuriysk. Boats, hidden from view on Xiaoxingkai Lake, helped speed their progress, and soon Ussuriysk was under attack, as its pitifully few defenders fought against New Army and Banner troops, who were supported by several bomber airplanes. Another ten bombers, meanwhile, as artillery was well out of range of Vladivostok itself, were striking at the city with near-impunity, facing little anti-air fire. The elderly Chinese airplanes did well enough, though- even their inexperienced bombardiers managed to roughly adhere to the grid pattern they had been assigned, indiscriminately dropping bombs within a target box that encompassed much of urban Vladivostok and the largest of the naval bases near it. Each of the planes carried nearly a thousand pounds of bombs, and one was laden with fléchettes, which were rained down on the suddenly-panicked city. By the time the bombers droned off- one suffering some damage from machine-gun fire and another dealing with mechanical problems- smoke was rising in little plumes all over Vladivostok, and several hits had even been achieved against the ships of the Pacific Fleet.

It was decided, as the vanguard continued to try and push further on, that Russian resistance was becoming too stiff to seize the city in a single day with just their advance forces. It would require a regrouping and a coordinated push by the huge force that was still trailing behind the leading elements the following day to finally take Vladivostok- but that was well within their capabilities. The Chinese began bringing up their men and artillery as quickly as they could, in preparation for the final push on the city they knew as Haishenwai.

Blagoveshchensk

The attack on Blagoveshchensk was conducted with considerably less energy and force than the attacks on other cities, as though Chinese high command had only thought of it after they'd positioned most of their troops and even then were not particularly invested in its capture. A small group of perhaps 10,000, or even fewer, Green Standard troops, along with a few field guns and one piece of heavy artillery, had been allocated to its capture, along with less than a thousand Bannermen, and they attacked more than three hours after their comrades on the three main prongs, which allowed the city's inhabitants to receive at least some news and make a few hurried preparations as the sun came up. They were using commandeered fishing boats seized from villages along the river the day before the attack, and even the weak Russian resistance was enough to inflict heavy casualties as they crossed. A few desultory shots from their single piece of heavy artillery concluded the bombardment: the little army had been allocated little in the way of ammunition, and besides, their artillery officers could scarcely hit within half a kilometer of their targets. The field guns barked a few times, but a few were so worn out they could not even reach the opposite bank, and one even dropped a shell amidst the boats carrying the landing force, overturning one. A total of six boats capsized or crashed under their excessively heavy loads, and those who made it to shore were engaged by the Russians, whose spirits had been buoyed by their enemies' incompetence. The attack might have been finished then and there were it not for the MDT political officers among the ranks. Their red armbands and high-quality pistols were clear identifiers, and they willingly fired on those of their own men who seemed ready to jump overboard or try to swim back to China or surrender. Between their swift executions of those they saw fleeing, their hurried distribution of alcohol to the second wave, and their booming voices, they managed to get the attack force off of the riverbank- just. The Russians quickly were disheartened as the heavy piece fired a few more shots and the Chinese swarmed ashore, and, with nearly 2,000 casualties, many self-inflicted, the Blagoveshchensk task force struggled into the city. Initially, there were several lootings, torchings, and rapes, but between Russian resistance and the swift action of political officers, the unruly Green Standards were quickly restored to their usual sullen discipline, and a few units were sent out with the Bannermen to extend their reach a bit further, and there were a few scenes of last-minute house-to-house fighting and shooting in the streets as the Russians tried one last time to force back the pitiful Chinese force that had invaded their city. Alas for them, though, the Chinese, drunk or high on opium and with a bullet their only reward for turning back (in the case of the Green Standards), managed to finally find their resolve, and fought with the fury of demons, overwhelming the last Russian defenders and slaughtering them.

Blagoveshchensk, despite a few minor difficulties, by that evening, had sent word back to Changchun, confirming the city was in Chinese hands.

Outside Rukhlovo

Meanwhile, far to the north, another operation was underway. This was the third prong, the northernmost attack, and it would be the strategic underpinning of all the other assaults if the Russians chose to resist further. The northern prong was larger than any of the other armies, for it had a critically important role. In addition to cutting off the Trans-Siberian Railway and seizing the northernmost towns of Outer Manchuria, it was this army, marching from Daxing'anling across the Amur, that would fortify the passes of the Stanovoy Mountains and hold them against a Russian counterattack, assuming it fell there. They would be responsible for the defense of the entire Amur Basin, for if the Russian armies managed to break through the Stanovoys, there was no telling what could happen on the flatter, open plains of the Amur and her tributaries, despite the hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops who would be present.
The town of Rukhlovo, a few tens of miles from the border, was this army's first stop. It was basically undefended, a few thousand people and a railway station, and within a few hours of the Chinese invasion the Yellow Dragon Flag was flying over the station and Chinese troops milling about in the streets. Rukhlovo, even in the first hours of its occupation, was rapidly becoming a staging area for the troops still pouring over the Amur by ferry, to be deployed by the thousands to march to distant passes and villages further to the north and east. Some cavalry were even sent south, to raise the Azure Dragon over the towns around them and destroy whatever resistance the Russians seemed to be offering.

By the time the sun set, most of Outer Manchuria's population was under the control of or being attacked by the armies of the Dragon Throne, and by the time the sun set the following day, even proud Vladivostok had succumbed swiftly enough to a coordinated attack by nearly 100,000 of the troops in the vast host dispatched against it. Generals Lin and Ilmen were recalled to Beijing, to be honored for their excellent execution of the invasion, while their subordinates at various field offices and the headquarters in Changchun dealt with the ongoing details of subduing the remainder of the vast territory they had laid claim to and the foreign office worked on breaking the news to the Russians.

Beijing
The Forbidden City
Hall of Heavenly Purity

"Obviously this will take the Russians some time to decide how to respond to, because they can hardly just pull men away from their western front to fight us right now. The Board of War, until we finally get this Central Military Commission idea off the ground, is basically in charge, and I've followed my generals' advice to activate our armies in Mongolia in case of some sort of Russian attempt at a counterattack. They think it's unlikely, though, and would rather we focus on the upcoming Xinjiang campaign."
"Thank you, President Wu. How many men have we allocated to the Xinjiang campaign?"
"Roughly a quarter million, radiant lord, primarily Green Standard troops but supported by around 50,000 New Army personnel. The primary objectives are Kashgar, Hotan, Yarkand, Ulgii, and Altay, and their surrounding areas, which at present are under the control of a number of warlords."
"So we're sending Green Standards against hardened steppe riders and Hui insurgents?"
"Illustrious lord, they are accompanied by a significant detail of Minister Cibukit's military political officers, and supported by several aircraft, which are sure to have significant shock and tactical value. Additionally, many of our Banner and New Army forces are tied up either in the Russian operation- which is employing more than a million men- and the garrison of key cities against foreign aggressors."
"Of course. I'm sure the campaign will be successful, especially under your oversight," the Emperor said lightly- a little too lightly. Wu stiffened imperceptibly, but said nothing as President Sirin straightened his papers and began.
"We've completed a dozen new complexes since our last meeting, using convicts from the Board of Punishments to crank out and lay the bricks and concrete. President Wu mentioned to me it was not a major concern but that he was somewhat worried about our consumption of high-grade steel that could otherwise be being used for the military, but we're using as little as is possible without risking the collapse of the buildings."
Minister Cibukit interjected. "My men have already sold off nearly all of the apartments, and now we have reports of overcrowding even in the new buildings. Is there any way to speed their construction?"
"We're already skipping everything but basic structural support and utilities, and even those are limited. Most of them only have running water on the ground floor and public lavatories, and some haven't been able to be equipped with electricity as of yet. We're building as fast as we physically can, with fairly limited resources, and many of my architects have expressed grave doubts about the integrity of the buildings because of their rushed completions."
Cibukit nodded, sitting back. "Of course. You're all working very hard," he said with a polite nod.
Sirin Ayan nodded. "Yes. With the new batch of southern convicts we're expecting to arrive in two days and the completion of the newest steel plant in Taiyuan, I'm hoping to break ground on another twenty over the next week. However, provided we continue to keep rent artificially low, I'm afraid we will lack the funding to continue after that unless there are drastic changes made to our allocation for Zhili and cuts made elsewhere."
"Would the remainder of the Navy budget be enough?"
"Illustrious lord, the Navy budget would not be enough by any stretch," Wu said, shaking his head.
"We can possibly supply more conscripted labor?," President Agicaelr of the Board of Punishments suggested.
Sirin shook his head. "No, even they're becoming a drain on our coffers."
"So feed them less. I have more than we could ever possibly need, so if you burn through them a little faster than usual it should be fine."
President Tuan, of the Board of Finance, raised his hand. "That could help, but I would also mention that the same conscript labor teams President Sirin is using have brought my ministry's inactive salt production facilities in Jiangsu back to nearly full production. Combined with the improved tax enforcement we've been seeing in the last few months, we could suddenly be looking at a government surplus."
Grand Secretary An sighed impatiently. "That surplus could be extraordinarily useful in improving the sorry state of the current civil service! Let the conscripts starve a little more than usual. The extra silver would be welcome in building an actual functional civilian government rather than the current setup we have, which is..." he sighed, waving a hand. "You know."
Cibukit raised an eyebrow very slightly, but besides that there was no response. President Sirin shrugged, and they all looked at the Emperor.
"The Grand Secretariat can some of the silver. Most of it needs to go to the Board of Works. President Sirin, I want you to implement the cost-cutting strategies we just discussed anyways. I want to begin expanding this housing initiative to other cities afflicted by overcrowding as well, such as Shenyang or Nanjing." He turned to President Wu. "I assume even though you and your staff are temporarily directing Xinjiang and Manchuria that the Central Military Commission is to be ready soon?"
"We've put some of our finest officers on it, and we're just working out the command structure. By the time we've gotten all our forces out to Urumqi for the actual offensives, I expect it will be prepared to direct them."
"Very well. Minister Cibukit, could you give us a quick briefing on the new propaganda program?"
Cibukit looked slightly surprised, but nodded. "Of course, my lord emperor. I'm sure all of us have noticed the posters going up around the city. We're working on more like them, to try and appeal to the people and stir up nationalist sentiment. Soon we'll have ones encouraging the war in Manchuria, and I think we've begun work on a line to encourage people to enter resettlement programs as well."
"Oh, I almost forgot," President Agicaelr interjected. "The first resettlements are going about as predicted. There have been plenty of deaths, but they're easing strain on the cities they're targeting and increasing the percentage of Han residents significantly in the targeted areas."
The Emperor nodded, and Cibukit continued.
"The propaganda is closely linked to some of the other campaigns we've recently undertaken, such as central food distribution to the poor, paying jobs as militia or police officers or paid coolies, and I think as we're upping the ante both in Zhili and across the country it is definitely having an effect. I think expanding the housing initiative will only increase that effect."

大清帝国的正式公报
Official Diplomatic Communiqué of the Empire of the Great Qing

Addressed to: to whom it may concern in the Provisional Russian Government

With respect, my good sirs, the land in question does not belong to the Russian people at all, but rather to China, and it is not Russia's choice whether to surrender it or not. While we understand the difficulty that will be involved in parting with the city of Vladivostok, I assure you that we would be perfectly willing to negotiate as to its use as a port by the Russian nation. However, those negotiations must come later- for the present, we have henceforth declared the Treaty of Aigun and all subsequent treaties regarding the cessation of Chinese territory to Russia as illegal, as they were made using illegal negotiating tactics and blackmail by force while China was having issues elsewhere. As such, we hope you will cooperate with the occupation of Outer Manchuria by elements of the Imperial Chinese Army until further talks about Manchuria's future can begin. China remains a strong supporter of your fight against the Bolsheviks, but the Emperor is somewhat disappointed by your failure to see reason and while we doubt those currently in Petrograd could do better, if the Provisional Russian Government continues down its current path we will have no recourse but to find out.

Yours,

Ping Shizhe
Senior President of the Board of Rites

POST SUMMARY:

1.
~1,000,000 soldiers have invaded Outer Manchuria. 250,000 troops marched on Khabarovsk and Vladivostok, while around 500,000 are marching along the Stanovoy Mountains to fortify various passes. Around 10,000 troops were also dispatched to seize Blagoveshchensk, which they managed to do (barely). Vladivostok resisted for a bit longer, but it fell too after a bombing raid and coordinated assault with artillery support, and (note to self: must discuss with Svelt) the ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet have been captured by the Chinese.
2.
The Qing have sent Kolchak a very nasty letter saying basically "either let us keep Manchuria or watch as we support the Reds".
3.
Imperial policy continues to focus on domestic affairs, for the most part, and a number of quality-of-life programs have begun, including resettlement of refugees to farmland in Manchuria and Mongolia, food distribution (soup kitchens, basically), and the government has been hiring people to serve as paid coolies (a step above the conscript labor) or militia or police officers so that they get money and do something useful. Additionally, propaganda efforts have begun increasing across the country, and the housing initiative in Beijing is going to be expanded to other badly overcrowded cities.

by **Alsheb** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 11:22 am

1st of April 1921
Sivas Province, near the border of Russian-occupied Anatolia
Democratic Republic of Greater Kurdistan

Peshmerga soldiers after the initial push into Russian Anatolia

The peace in the White Russian-held Anatolian land formerly known in Turkish as Ordu, was violently disturbed as the sun dawned over the new month.
Under the cover of night, big groups of people had encroached upon the borders of this territory of the Provincial Russian Government, which now came out of their stealthy hiding places, and into the light. It was the Kurdish Peshmerga Army that attacked, violently and relentlessly.
Operation Dawn of Caucasia had started.

Tens of thousands of Peshmerga attacked the Russian positions along the Kurdish-Russian frontier, aided by artillery fire and even some tanks. Even the Peshmerga Airforce, for what little air equipment the Kurds had, was thrown into action to provide backup for the advancing Kurdish forces. At least 10,000 Peshmerga professional troops charged the White Russian lines, while many tens of thousands more reservists also participated in the onslaught. The uneasy coexistance of the Provisional Government and Kurdistan came to a sudden and abrupt end, as all-out war now swept away any doubts.

The zealous attacks from the Peshmerga quickly succeeded in making the Russian border defence crumble. The Russian Army had no choice but to retreat before the Kurdish onslaught, which made its way to the port city of Ordu. Where before the Ottoman Turks had stood and later the Russians, now Kurdish feet trod the earth of the ancient realm of Trebizond.

Together with the vicious attack against the Russian Whites, a communiqué was published in the Kurdish capital city of Hêwler, signed by both the President and the High Consul of Kurdistan. It read the following, and was aimed specifically at the Caucasian people under Russian Provisional rule.

Proud people of the Caucasus! Armenians! Georgians! Azeris!

For too long have you suffered under the yoke of foreign puppeteers! For far too long have your rights been denied by foreign slave masters, Turkish and Russian alike! For centuries you have felt nothing byt the stain of the whip, heard nothing but the sound of lies, tasted nothing but the ashes of bitter oppression!

But not anymore!

The Democratic Republic of Greater Kurdistan has today launched the War of Liberation against the oppressive Provisional Government of Russia! We have attacked them in the Caucasus and in the realm of ancient Trebizond. The Dawn of Caucasia is upon us!

Shake off the yoke of Provisional rule! Break the chains of the White Russian tyrant! Rise up, proud people of the Caucasus! Rise up, and claim your freedom! Rebel against the oppressors, fight for your independence! Side with Kurdistan today, and win your country back tomorrow!!!

by **The Kingdom of Glitter** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 2:18 pm

The Kingdom of Belgium

Koninkrijk België | Royaume de Belgique

10 April 1921
Antwerp, Belgium
Antwerpen ZeeArsenaal

One of the goals of the Prime Minister was to give Belgium a proper navy. Since her establishment, Belgium's navy was always lacking. Originally starting with two small gunboats in the Royale Marine, the Belgian navy was never able to accomplish much. Many would have expected the Belgian navy would have grown since the establishment of the Congo Free State, but due to the fact that it was considered private property of the monarch until the earliest years of the twentieth century, His Majesty's Government never bothered to expand the navy in order to defend the colony, as it was his property, not theirs. In fact, the Marine Royale was abolished several times since Belgium's independence, being discarded rather than improved. Prime Minister Delacroix wanted to change all of this, and his plans had already begun. Before the purchase of the two ships from Germany, the Belgians only held two cruisers, the HMS Leopold I and the HMS Louise, with both ships named for the first King and Queen of the Belgians. With the two new ships came two new names. The DMS Lothringen was officially christened the HMS Brussels by Her Royal Highness Henriette Elisabeth, the Duchess of Brabant, at the Antwerpen ZeeArsenaal alongside the DMS Pruessen, which was christened the HMS Liège.

Along with the two ships that arrived from Germany, the British had given the Belgians several vessels free of charge, the HMS Brabant (Formerly the HMS Bacchante), the HMS Cardinal Mercier (Formerly the HMS Euryalus), the HMS Luxembourg (Formerly the HMS Colossus), and the HMS Henriette (Formerly the HMS Shannon). Currently, the Belgians only maintained two naval bases, the Sint Leopold ZeeArsenaal in Zeebrugge and the Antwerpen ZeeArsenaal in Antwerp. It was also decided the Belgian government would pay two construct a new arsenal in Ostend. It was decided it would be called the Oostende ZeeArsenaal. It was also decided that Fort Napoleon would be heavily renovated and would also be named Fort Albert in honor of the king. It was in the hopes of the Prime Minister that through increasing government spending in regards to the military that he would be able to boost the Belgian economy. Unfortunately, his plans only encompassed Flanders and largely ignored Wallonia. This was not meant as an insult, however, as the fact of the matter was the navy had to reside near Belgium's coastline, and that was exactly where Flanders was located. Besides, the Prime Minister hoped to funnel investment from abroad largely to Wallonia, and the Germans had already begun rebuilding the once destroyed industries of the Walloon cities. A campaign to hire sailors to man the new vessels had begun across the country, and foreign advisers from Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Germany were all employed in order to train the new recruits and whip them into shape.

15 April 1921
Brussels, Belgium
Station Brussel-Luxemburg

It was announced that the King and Queen would travel to Luxembourg on an official state visit. King Albert was also the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and as part of his duties as Grand Duke he frequently visited the tiny grand duchy. Relations between Belgium and Luxembourg were quite strong, as Luxembourg remained almost entirely dependent upon Belgium for most aspects of life. Luxembourg's foreign policy was always in line with Belgium's and the two maintained both a customs and a currency union. Besides, in recent years something new had developed in Luxembourg. The Grand Duchy was already considered one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, and with various revolutions across the Continent the tiny nation had become a hub of refuge for the rich, famous, and deposed. Luxembourg was now home to overthrown dynasties such as the Romanovs, Savoys, and Bourbons, all of which fled their native lands for the safety Luxembourg offered upon the outbreak of revolution.

King Albert was a man of the old school and had yet to really recognize any of the revolutionary governments in Europe as legitimate. Besides, civil war still plagued almost all of the nations that had ousted their governments and in some cases there was no clear successor. So, he chose to recognize the deposed Kings and Emperors as the heads of state of various nations. He would dine in Luxembourg City at the Grand Ducal Palace with the ousted dynasties in order to maintain cordial relations and reassure them of their safety within Luxembourg.

The Royal Train had been commissioned for the journey, as it was the only way the Belgian royal family would travel by rail. The train consisted of a wide variety of lavish cars, such as the drawing room coach, the private sleeping coach for the King and Queen, sleeping coaches for the children of the monarch and other assorted members of the royal family, the dining coach, several parlor cars where the royal family could relax and other government officials would often travel, and on occasion, there would be a coach for the high ranking clergy within Belgium. In total, there were about six cars on the average Royal Train, and that was just the number prepared for the journey to Luxembourg. The royal family boarded the train and set off for Luxembourg. The Prime Minister and several other government officials were expected to make the journey on their own private train to Luxembourg within the coming week in order to meet with the deposed heads of state. In total the King and his family would be in Luxembourg for a period of two and a half weeks, but King Albert would always be on call should his government in Brussels need him.

Official Diplomatic Communique of the Belgian Government

Addressed to the Government of the United Kingdom

Dear Prime Minister David Lloyd George,

The Belgian people are more than grateful for your most generous donation of various vessels to our navy. It is the hopes of my our Prime Minister and our King to further strengthen the Belgian navy in order to better defend our shores and our colony abroad.

Our naval officers and advisers have determined it would be best for your nation to construct a naval base in Niewpoort. We welcome this idea and sincerely hope this will strengthen the already unbreakable bonds between our two nations. I personally recommend you employ the help of local Belgian architects, laborers, etc. in order to construct the base, as it would further grow the Belgian economy, of which is undergoing a most fragile recovery.

Written on behalf of His Majesty King Albert, King of the Belgians.

Sincerely,
Henri Jaspar
Foreign Minister of the Belgians

by **Neo-Assyrian Empire** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 7:07 pm

Rzeczpospolita Polska
Jazda z Huzarów

Military Outpost, Outside of Grodno
8^th of April, 1921
It was a few minutes past midnight in the northern city of Grodno. Three miles to the north, in the military barracks, everything happened as usual. Guards stood in the towers while others patrolled the immediate area. What they couldn't see, however, was a band of Polish soldiers marching towards the outpost. Disguised as Lithuanian soldiers, they were tasked with "attacking" the base to justify the invasion of Lithuania. And that was exactly what they were going to do.

The attack was highly orchestrated. The Lithuanian unit fired blank bullets at the base. To make the attack look convincing, some soldiers would occasionally fly back and scream as though they were actually hit. Not long after, an explosion was detonated along the North Wall. The Polish "defenders" then counter attacked. "Oni naruszył podstawy!" yelled a defender; they have breached the base. The battle lasted for another fifteen minutes, with a few more controlled explosions destroying an empty barracks and an old munitions storage.

After the firefight, the Defenders of Grodno captured the vile Lithuanian soldiers. Officer Ziemniak, who over saw the base, sent a telegram to the Marshal, telling him exactly what happened that night. Ziemniak was about to start a war.

Belweder Palace, Warsaw
8^th of April, 1921
Pilsudski walked slowly through the gardens of his palace. The flowers of Belweder were usually beautiful, the fresh spring air made the flora more alluring than usual. Then he heard the sound of rushed steps behind him. He turned around to find a man carrying a letter. "Marshal," said the man, saluting, "This just came in from Grodno. It's an urgent message."

Pilsudski returned the salute and took the paper. He read it carefully.

Code: Select all: TO: BELWEDER ATTACKED BY LITHUANIANS STOP FIVE WOUNDED STOP THIRTY POWS STOP REQUIRE ASSISTANCE STOP FROM: GRODNO

He nodded. "So it has begun." He folded the message and handed it back to the carrier. "I want you to send a telegram to General Rydz-Smigly in Bialystok. Tell him to mobilize the cavalry and prepare for a land-invasion of Lithuania. After that, message Grodno that they will be resupplied with reinforcements and that they, too, should prepare to invade."

"Yes sir!" The messenger saluted once more before running back into the Palace. Pilsudski turned towards the brook running through the palace's gardens. Without thinking, he took out a 5-Grosz coin and flicked it into the water.

"May God be on our side..."

Polish-Lithuanian Border, 5 Miles Away From Lazdijai, Lithuania
11^th of April, 1921
The first wave of the Polish invasion forces were finally coming to the border. 3,500 infantry, aided by 1,000 cavalry, would be the first to penetrate the Lithuanian border and, if there was any luck, secure some border towns. Meanwhile, thousands of other soldiers were being mobilized across the country as the public demanded revenge for the Grodno Attack. General Rydz-Smigly, riding on the back of his horse, looked across the border. He commented "I thought I would never see the day in which Poland and Lithuania, brothers for a millennium, turn against one another. Perhaps there shall be- I hope there will be- a peaceful resolution to this conflict." He turned to his forces. "Let us start the bloodshed."

With that, the Polish Hussars rode into Lithuania. The war has begun

by **Altito Asmoro** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:47 pm

Lhasa
The Capital City of Tibet

The Communists began to formed up demonstrations all across Lhasa, all while the soldiers are desperately to calm them down, which is fruitless since the ration of soldiers and the Communists are huge, significant ratios. They demanded a change in the government, and it bugging the elites, but not the Dalai Lama. Sending a letter to Red Russia is not an answer, while at the same time asking for the pacification's reinforcement from China is a suicide. However, it seems that the Communists also began to provided themselves with smuggled weapons, smuggled from Russia, all are very outdated weapons dating back before 20th century, but it's enough.

by **The Industrial States of Columbia** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 9:51 pm

Reserved for Ellada

What to do:

Prepare for the dawn, a dawn that shall not be red!!!!

by **Epraria** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:15 pm

La Repubblica Socialista d'Italia

Rome,
Lazio Region
10th of March, 1921

Rome had compared to the rest of Italy's major cities only seen minor damage as the revolution and following civil war was quick to secure it in the hands of the socialists. Rome would remain mostly untouched by the civil war only seeing minor fighting between the two sides. The city soon reestablished itself as Capital of Italy and the people went on with their lives. The former Parliament building would soon be taken by the Senate of Workers and one of the major subject matters there would be the issue of the pope in the Vatican. Many of the more radical parts of the Communist party called for the removal of the Pope yet in the end the Pope was to be left alone as he remained an important figure in Italy as many where still believing Catholics and taking action against the heir of St. Peter would only cause friction and controversy for the young socialist Republic. So the Pope was left alone.

The Party was more united on the question of France, Italy would support the French Socialist Republic and recognize it as the Legitimate French government but would not get involved directly into the war. So supplies, weapons and volunteers where sent in droves to the French Socialists. So when the declaration of victory by the French Socialist Republic in mainland Europe was proclaimed the supplies and weapons shipments where slowed down and decreased while the Socialists in Italy celebrated the victory of Socialism in France. Now with the victory of the socialists in France the Premier Consul Giuseppe Perrelli felt ready to make his move for an alliance between the two socialist states in an alliance to spread socialism. When he presented the idea to the Senate and Tribune it quickly made it through.

The Senate was however not prepared for the start of a civil war in Spain. It was expected that Italy was not ready for foreign adventures but the offer of an alliance with Spain was a tempting one and many in the senate believed that they could not allow the democratically elected socialists be put down by a ramble of corrupt right-winged buffoons. After much consideration Perrelli would side with the interventionists as there was to much to lose in a potentially hostile Spain.

Franco-Italian border

for the first time since the end of the Italian civil war in 1920 the border between Italy and France saw an decrease in shipment of weapons, supplies and volunteers from the Socialist Republic of Italy going to France to help the French Socialists against the corrupt third republic. The border between Italy and France had not only seen the large shipment of weapons and supplies but also seen skirmishes between Italians and French on both sides of the civil war yet the skirmishes had been small in nature as the new government in Rome did not want to escalate things and get involved directly into the French civil war just yet.

Official Diplomatic Communique of the Socialist Republic of Italy

Addressed to the Government of the French Socialist Republic

Dear Premier Ludovic-Oscar Frossard

Italy and France has long had excellent and friendly relations and even during the hardships of the great war we fought on the same side. Now that we both stand with the light of Socialism lighting the way i would like to offer an alliance between the Socialist Republic of Italy and the French Socialist Republic.

Sincerely
Giuseppe Perrelli
Premier Consul of the Socialist Republic of Italy

Official Diplomatic Communique of the Socialist Republic of Italy

Addressed to the Government of Spanish Republic

Dear President Julián Besteiro Fernández

After much consideration we have decided that we will accept your offer of Alliance and mutual defense agreements between our two great socialist republics and as such we will send the necessary support to the the Spanish Republic and it's People in their fight against the Corrupt right who want to bring down Spanish Democracy.

Sincerely
Giuseppe Perrelli
Premier Consul of the Socialist Republic of Italy

by **The Kingdom of Glitter** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 1:59 pm

The Kingdom of Belgium

Koninkrijk België | Royaume de Belgique

22 April 1921
Arlon, Belgium
Outside of Arlon

The government train had almost arrived in Arlon, the final stop on the route to Luxembourg. It was in the early hours of the morning, and the Prime Minister was in his private drawing coach with his wife, Marie Delacroix. The two were sitting on one of the coaches as they had just gotten out of bed due to the trains proximity to the Grand Duchy.

"I do indeed hope this all goes well, Léon. You know how much I love meeting with royalty."

"I am sure it shall, Marie. However, I am more concerned with the occurrences in their former realms than I am with them. The rise of communism is a scary one indeed. I hope that Belgium is spared."

"Oh hush now, Léon." Mrs. Delacroix said as she got off the couch and made her way over to one of the mirrors. As she began to put her earrings in, she continued. "You must not concern yourself with governing this nation while we are in Luxembourg. The Grand Duchy is not under your jurisdiction, and you must view this as a time to relax."

"I suppose you are right my dear, it is jus-"

It was then that coach was propelled off its tracks, smashing into the ground and rolling on its side. As Mrs. Delacroix screamed the rest of the train behind them followed suit, with the sleeping coach behind the coach holding the Delacroixs landed on top of theirs. The entire train, carrying the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and the Cabinet of Ministers had flew off the tracks and lied devastated.

22 April 1921
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Grand Ducal Palace

King Albert and his family had been staying in the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg City, his official residence in the Grand Duchy. His family always stayed in the palace when they would visit Luxembourg, seeing that Albert was in fact the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. It was a smaller but still luxurious palace which had remained unoccupied for the majority of the year. King Albert had been considering asking his daughter Louise Marie to act as his official envoy to the Grand Duchy, but decided to postpone his intentions until she was married. The King and Queen resided in the master bedroom, asleep as it was in the very early hours of the morning.

A knock was heard on the door. Albert quickly awoke and got up to answer it.

"I am so sorry to bother you, Your Majesty. But I have news on the Prime Minister and those traveling with him."

"Yes, well what is it?"

"Their train had crashed before reaching Arlon. The Prime Minister is dead, Sir. As is the Deputy Prime Minister."

"My God! Let me get dressed, we must return to Brussels at once!"

"I am afraid that is not possible, Sir. The line to Brussels is covered in the wreck."

"Then we shall travel as soon as it is clear. I must return to Brussels and ensure a new government is formed."

"Yes indeed, Sir. I shall notify the rest of the Palace of your decision and have word sent to Brussels at once."

It was most shocking news indeed. With the Prime Minister dead, the path the nation was on was now in jeopardy. King Albert would have been less concerned if the Deputy Prime Minister was not also killed, but that was just not the case. The rest of the Cabinet of Ministers was either dead or wounded and unable to assume the role of Prime Minister. This left the King and his nation in a very peculiar, and most unfortunate, situation. A governmental crisis had now descended upon Belgium, and the King knew a path of difficult choices had to be traveled.

24 April 1921
Brussels, Belgium
Palace of the Nation

The political situation in Belgium was interesting. With a dead Prime Minister, followed by a Dead Deputy Prime Minister, the government remained in turmoil. There were several options for a new Prime Minister, and it was decided that the Deputy Chairman of the Catholic Party, Mr. Casmir de Vil, would be appointed the next Prime Minister of Belgium. Some members of the government survival the wreck, namely the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of the Treasury, the latter of which was not actually on board the wrecked train. Those who remained maintained their positions within the government, but a new era was about to begin in Belgium.

Now Prime Minister de Vil was an interesting man. He was the son of a steel worker in Montegnée in Wallonia and got his start in government when he became a lawyer after brief service in the Royal Army. He was a well known and well respected lawyer, and eventually ran to represent his native region in the Chamber of Deputies. He worked his way up through the party and was eventually made Deputy Chairman of the Catholic Party, serving under the now late Chairman Delacroix. Due to his reputation, experience in the armed forces, and extensive experience in government, he became the most obvious choice to follow Prime Minister Delacroix.

What was largely unknown about Prime Minsister de Vil was his intentions for his new office. Like his predecessor, he hoped to continue growing and strengthening Belgium's military. However, he was aggressively anti-Communist. He spent some of his time fabricating plans to try and stop the Red Threat from entering Belgium through France, his first idea was to mobilize a portion of the Royal Army and begin manning checkpoints along to Franco-Belgian border. He had known for quote some time that the Communists had defeated the Third Republic, at least in mainland France, and the declaration in Paris only reaffirmed this belief. Belgium would not fall, at least not under de Vil.

by **The New Lowlands** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 3:29 pm

Freistaat Deutschland
Einigkeit Und Recht Und Freiheit
-THEME-

im Namen seiner Exzellenz
Der Präsident der Freistaates Deutschland

To His Honourable Excellency the Prime Minister of the Netherlands,

On behalf of the German People and State, and in accordance with long-lasting bonds of mutual co-operation between our nations since Germany's formation, interrupted only by the intercession of our most recent war, I give my greetings as President to yourself and the people of the Netherlands, in the hope of continued peace and mutual understanding.

This missive, however, is written with another matter in mind: in keeping with the German policy of postwar peace and reconciliation, we must express to the Dutch Government our most immediate intent to repatriate, for the purposes of a trial before the Supreme Court on special charges of treason to the nation and crimes against humanity one Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht von Preußen, also commonly known as Wilhelm II, with immediate effect, and request the full co-operation of the Dutch authorities in this matter.

Regards,

His Excellency the President of the Free German State,

Friedrich Ebert

by **Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 4:54 pm

United Communes of Khmer
Há Noi
High People’s Council

“… And, the Council also considers the grievance and number of these crimes committed against the wellbeing of the Khmer People, their communes and the Union of Khmer Communes as a whole. The part governor Vong had during the Glorious Awakening of the people has given us a list of heinous and treasonous crimes, of which we will mention only a few, for this wretch does not deserve our fullest attention. These crimes are, among others: Murder, abuse of state powers, treason against the rightful government of the Khmer, leading an armed coup and rebellion, trying to overthrow the Righteous Communes, rape, arson, destruction of communally held goods, theft, opposing the peaceful progression into a socialist state, and disobeying the Council’s direct orders. What do you have to say in your defence?”

And all at once, the entire courtroom looked down upon this single man, governor Vong, standing in the middle of this great and hostile hall. A hall he had previously called home, but now represented no more than a prison. He was clothed in peasant’s clothing, for the High Council had stripped him of his rank and privileges when they took Há Noi by force the week before. His nose was bloodied, his eyes purple and swollen, and this once mighty and powerful man could do nothing more than stare through the slit that had become his eyelids, so thick that he could not distinguish more than a few colours. His whole body cried out in abuse, having taken the worst over the last week before this trial. It took Cong great pain to speak up when spoken to, especially when this whole room was so hostile. A jury of ‘peers’, angry revolutionaries, shouted abuse whenever there was a silence, something that was not reined in by the courts at all. If anything, it was supported. Vong spoke up, his voice cracked but loud enough to follow.

“I… I am governor-general Narong Vong, officer in His Majesties Imperial Army, governor of the province of Northern Vietnam, and rightful authority in the name of the Crown”

A loud string of abuse streamed from the jury, some of which took to standing up while shouting what they had to say. It was the typical revolutionary slander, nothing Vong hadn’t heard before. With a power unknown in his voice, he went on, eventually forcing the abusers back into their seats.

“And I stand here before a Revolutionary Court, with no authority based in our constitution. I stand here before a mock trial of criminals and usurpers, making opportunity from the haggard state of their nation and empire. All these accusations place me as some lowly peasant, like yourself! I am no mere farmer or factory worker. Everything I did was in the name of the Crown, the constitution, and the people of the empire. Every revolutionary dead was proclaimed thusly by my office, in regard to their treason. I have committed no crime against the state. It is indeed you who are at fault here, and you shall be dealt with accordingly!”

Under cheering among the crowd, taunting of the most grievous of sorts, Chairman of the Council Muoy stood up from his chair. He was dressed in almost regal attire, a uniform that had certainly belonged to one of the higher officers of the Imperial Army before it collapsed under the attacks of the socialists. Only a week ago, they had captured the town from the imperial garrison, and already they were basking in almost royal splendour. Was this true communism? For the moment, they were too busy rounding up ‘traitors’, so no-one had the mind to speak up. As the Chairman opened his mouth to proclaim his final statement, the governor burst out in another power play of his voice, an act of defiance spurred by a certain indifference towards fate. His defiance would be recorded.

“And you stand here, rats from the gutter, to call me a traitor! I defended my country to the last breath of my soldiers before you stormed in. I did my duty. While I distributed food among the poor in Há Noi, you torched towns and religious buildings of enormous value. You sowed death and destruction, formed your revolutionary government in blood and tears. You stand here, as a mock court to be rid of me. But you know this cannot last. Your revolution will make way for another, and another, in Perpetua. You shall know no sleep for years to come, until you all hang by the street lights of the capital! Whether by the guillotine of your own people or the guns of the Empire, you shall fall. And I will not be there, but I am safe in that knowledge. Chairman, do your worst. I have done my duty, for emperor, king and country. All hail!”

His last hail fell away in the hurricane of taunts that followed, the total enragement of the people’s jury. The entire stand was a mess, men and women hanging over each other in a game of pointing and yelling, all throwing out the nicely pieced together propaganda fed by the leaders of their movement. The Chairman let them go for a few minutes, before finally, slowly, putting an end to it. Speaking in the words of a judge, but with the meaning of an executioner, the proclaimed;

“The Court has formed her opinion on the appropriate reaction to your treason, citizen Vong. The Court shall hereby follow the expressed will of the people, the will that governs nations, and we hereby sentence you to die by the hands of the people you wronged. Your sentence will be performed by throwing you from the stairs of the People’s Palace. That is our sentence.”

The crowd erupted in cheering, calling out the name Muoy in glee and excitement. This hero of the revolution, their great leader, had spoken his wisdom, to the will of the people he protected. This was the leader they had been hoping for. Someone who listened to them, someone who was their servant instead of them serving the Great Leader. Chairman Muoy played this game brilliantly, he had been doing it for years. Now it had come to fruition. These people would walk through the forge for him. They, evidently, would kill in his name. He nodded at two soldiers of the Revolutionary Guard, two peasants who had been handed rifles three days prior. They wore little more uniform than regular rags, the same clothing they had been recruited in. One wore a hat slightly covering his face, while the other had a bandana strapped to his head. They took Vong’s arms tightly, before dragging him backwards out of the palace. There, he was thrown from the stone stairs that led up to the main doors, where an enormous crowd of angry populace had been waiting for him. To the great dismay of the Chairman, and to the betterment of Vong, it was all over very quick. The crowds gathered around the broken body of the former governor, which was too broken to form any form of defence. The beating only took seconds before the sharp objects began reaching the stairs. Pitchforks, knives, tar, bayonets, rifles, everything bore down on the lifeless form of Vong, who had seen his last light. His head was put on a spike and placed in front of the palace, the former governor’s palace. Thus was the end of the Great Defender of Há Noi.

To all the righteous governments of the People, governments by the masses,
Regarding the future of the Great Revolution,

Comrades from around the world,

With the capture of Há Noi, the new capital of the United Communes of the Khmer, a new order has arisen in Asia. A first seedling of the Glorious Revolution, it is only a small beginning in the spreading of communist Marxist teachings across the world. Many will be our victories, as evidenced by our superior military victories in the north. May there be many more!

Yet, the spread of the true teachings do not come without their dangers. Many seek to oppose the formation of a truly free state, the fascists, aristocrats and democratic weaklings still present a threat to the existence of our Union. While the will of the people is strong, it cannot best the fire of cannon and the steel of the bayonet on its own, dangers given to our enemies by evil paymasters of foreign nations. Because of this imbalance, the transitional government of the Union asks assistance in our struggle. Many veterans died in our conquests, and their knowledge is growing thin. We humbly ask that your righteous governments can send aid in whatever form, from weapons to economic power, to ensure the survival of our young utopia. We eagerly await your response.

Highest Regards,
Chairman of the High People’s Council
Transitional President of the United Communes of the Khmer

Republic of Dai Viet
Thanh Hoá
Presidential Office

WIP (they accepted Canadian help, basically. Will get that into writing soon.)

by **Alsheb** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 5:47 pm

Democratic Republic of Greater Kurdistan

May 1921
Batum Oblast
Georgia

The Kurdish Peshmerga had made a quick and merciless advance into Russian Anatolia, easily sweeping through the lands that were part of Russia only in name. The White forces, in accordance with the Kolchak Declaration and out of sheer necessity to use all manpower available to defend against the Bolsheviks, had all but left the Caucasus and Anatolia to their fate. What little White Russian forces there were left in Anatolia, most of them military units employed by local rulers, were easily swept away by the Kurdish offensive.

Now that Anatolia had been liberated from nominal White Russian control, the advance into the Caucasus proper could begin. As May commenced, hundreds of thousands of Peshmerga troops poured into the Batum Oblast of what was formerly known as the Governorate of Georgia. The Hêwler Declaration in which the Kurdish government had called for a Transcausasian Revolution had not missed its effect, as many local volunteers flocked to the side of the Peshmerga, and the port city of Batum opened its gates without a fight.

With northern Anatolia and the coastline of Georgia thus under control of the Kurds, the Peshmerga turned their attention towards the next target: the Georgian regional capital of Tiflis.

Late April 1921
Yerevan
Armenia Governorate

Tensions had been brewing in Yerevan as of late. The withdrawal of Russian troops from Armenia, combined with the Kolchak guarantee that the regions of the former Russian Empire were allowed to decide their own fate, and the Hêwler Declaration calling for national liberation of the Caucasus, were not lost on the Armenian independence movement. The most notable political organisation in this movement was the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), a Socialist and Armenian nationalist party that had been founded in 1890. Many ARF members, also known as Dashnaks, were veterans from the Kurdish Revolution, during which they fought alongside the Peshmerga for the establishment of an independent Kurdistan.
It was thus to be expected that the Federation would be sympathetic to the cause of the Kurdish plans for the Caucasus. And as it turned out, they were.

The morning of April 27th saw the town hall of Yerevan in turmoil. Armed men burst into the building at dawn, Russian flags were removed and replaced by the Armenian tricolour. At 8 o'clock in the morning, Armenian Revolutionary Federation leader Hovhannes Katchaznouni appeared on the balcony. Under loud cheering of the assembled crowd, Katchaznouni proclaimed the Armenian Democratic Republic and pledged to the cause of the liberation of the Caucasus.

While the control of this new Republic for now only stretches out over the immediate surroundings of Yerevan, the Dashnaks have already geared up for expansion, declaring the Armenian Revolution to be one for all of the Armenians in the Caucasus. Time will tell in how far they will be succesful, and how it will aid the cause of the Kurds.

by **The Grand Republic of Hannover** » Thu Mar 05, 2015 9:51 pm

London - British Empire
Theme

Disillusionment in Eastern Europe:

After allowing the Scandinavian Command in Russia to take tactical decisions for the British Expeditionary Force in that troubled country (Russia, to be exact), logistics were improved and the coordination between the Scandinavian and British Forces increased. The British government hoped that with this new factor the foreign forces in Russia follow suit in order to more effectively combat the Red forces.

Yet, at home the stance on the war was not improving. This worried the Prime Minister as his coalition and thus his seat were in danger in the next elections. The leadership of the country decided that it was best to quietly remove another 800 boots from Russian soil. The current amount of British troops in Russia is 1,400. The size of the fleet at the Baltic Sea remains unchanged. The hope was that the public would become less interested in the issue in order to continue operations.

Encouraging Economic Growth:

The Columbian investment came at the right time. With the different policies to attract foreign investment, Great Britain was finally seeing its policy give fruits! The different aid packages that the USC established for Europe made it ever more evident that Great Britain could benefit even more so. The question was how the British government could qualify for these different aid packages. To begin with, the Prime Minister argued, Britain would submit its application with the GDP per Capita not of the British Isles themselves but of the entire British Empire. This would, in fact, drastically reduce the GDP per Capita and technically show the British Empire as doing very bad in comparison to other European Nations. Was this cheating? The Prime Minister thought. The answer: No. Since the British Empire is looking to invest and help all of its territories and not just the British Isles, the GDP per Capita used was indeed the correct one. The British Empire was also in need of improving its infrastructure - especially its naval-commercial infrastructure. Thus, the government would also apply to receive funds from the Infrastructure Program in order to begin an aggressive program of infrastructure expansion and improvement.

Additionally, the British government began a tax incentive to open up more industrial capital (factories) in the nation. The policy called for a land tax exemption for 3 years and a 3-year tax cut of 30% on the factory's revenue. This policy would apply to new factories opened from the day the policy was created. The idea was to encourage the expansion of the British industrial base. Additionally, considering the policy of the USC in regards to factories, this policy would fit well. The government hoped that foreign investment would also increase in this sector as it would become cheaper to open up factories and run them.

Project Thinking Owl:

With the ongoing policy, the government began to see the migration of more members of the Intelligentsia from other countries. The ongoing Civil War in France (and its proximity to Britain) allowed many French experts to move to Britain. More over, the British Government extended this policy to the immigration offices in Cairo and Gibraltar in order to encourage a higher influx of experts from Spain and Italy.

Britain's intelligentsia policy could signify the beginning of a Modern Renaissance for the country. The aim was at the long-term effects. More advancements in many areas could permit the increment of the standard of living as well as the increment of total output by the economy.

Civil Conflict in Khmer:

The fact that the British Empire held very important lands near Khmer gave it the most righteous duty to participate in such conflict. For Britain it was very convenient to support the Government Faction since it could allowed the country to heavily invest in Khmer and create another economic base that benefits Britain (while, of course, benefitting the people in Khmer).

To begin with, the British Naval Bases in Hong Kong, Singapore, and British Thailand were put on high alert for any naval/amphibious attack that could come from the opposing factions in Khmer. The British Army in Hong Kong and British Thailand were also put on high alert with the warning of large-scale invasions. The British Government began the delivery of more artillery pieces as well as material for the future expansion of the defensive installations in those places.

The British Army delivered funds and weapons to the Government Faction. In addition, the leader of such faction was invited to have a conversation in regards to Civil Conflict in Khmer with the Vice-Minister of the Army - who was expected to travel to Hong Kong in the next couple of weeks.

Relations with Canada:

The letter sent by the Canadian Government came in as a light of the good relations between both countries. Not only was Canada a British Dominion but it was also a member of the Grand Development Bank, and the London Stock Exchange owned a significant portion of the Toronto Stock Exchange. This solid commercial unity allowed for both governments to increase their diplomatic and military cooperation.

The British Armed Forces saw this request as an opportunity for both nations to improve their tactics and create new ones based on the different new challenges that the advent of technology has brought upon the battlefield.

Strengthening of the Financial Market:

The British Government, due to the weaknesses shown by the Financial Sector during the War, decided to create a financial agency that promotes more stability in the Financial Sector. Thus, through the Financial Stability and Efficiency Act, the Parliament created the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Among the many goals that this independent organization had, the most prominent were the Market Behavior Monitoring (studies done every quarter to measure how stable the sector is and how prepare it is to face stressful situations such as the massive fleeing of money) and the power to investigate any financial illegal actions and/or dangerous financial speculation.

The hope of this new policy approach to the financial sector was to avoid the evident weakness of the sector during the war. By fixing the mistakes of the past, the goal was to make the sector more stable and reliable for future economic growth.

818 - Tracking Purposes

by **Senkaku** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 10:28 am

Xinhua, Part One, Chapter Three: Tianxia
(Section Two)

Zhengyangmen Gate, Beijing

Fangchenggang
Prefectural Commissioner's Office

"Prefect Gong, this just came in from Nanning. It's labeled as urgent, forwarded from Beijing, in response to your inquiry about the Hanoi rebels."
Major Gong Li, head of the Fangchenggang Military Prefecture, rose from his desk, taking the message from the secretary and nodding, thanking her. Fangchenggang, like many cities far from the capital or the great ports, had not yet seen much in the way of modernization. The city still relied on the old messenger bird system that had served China since the Song Dynasty for rapid communication with the higher powers of government. Prior to the Civil War, when the city had been one of the last Republican strongholds, it had essentially been a French colony, practically run by the foreigners as part of their sphere of influence.
Now, though, it was firmly under Beijing's thumb. Like many of the last Republican holdouts in the south, Fangchenggang was still a military district that was run by the Army, with the help of the Ministry of Domestic Tranquility. Major Gong was the prefect in addition to the local military commander, which gave him considerable authority over the prefecture.
Now, he opened the little scroll the secretary had handed him- apparently a copy of some telegraph cable, by the look of the paper.

URGENT::BEIJING DIRECT
The Central Military Commission and the Board of War, with the full authority of the Emperor, the Grand Secretariat, and the Grand Council, hereby instruct military units attached to the border regions of southern Guangxi to undertake whatever operations deemed necessary by provincial command to suppress the rebellion in the northern regions of the Khmer Empire and ensure they pose no threat to the lives or livelihoods of Chinese citizens.

There was an addendum as well, written in dark blue to indicate it was from provincial command.

Major-Prefect Gong Li of Fangchenggang Military Prefecture, you will use what forces are at your disposal, in conjunction with a reinforcement party to arrive in two days' time, to engage in suppression of threatening elements in Khmer territory directly to the south of your prefecture and, if possible, undertake operations in conjunction with further reinforcements to strike at subversive elements in Haiphong and the Red River Delta. Further orders will follow as necessary, but you are authorized to engage immediately.

Li folded up the paper, setting it down, and headed out to start preparing his men.

Two days later, Major Gong was standing on a hill overlooking Fangchenggang's placid bay and cityscape. In the bay, there were two steamers, one of which was carrying several field guns mounted in hastily-prepared barbettes. Both carried machine guns, but the other one was carrying a number of small lifeboats, equipped with small, cheap outboard motors.

With those two ships, and a handful of junks, Gong's deputy, Captain Chen, would execute a small amphibious landing near Haiphong, with around 1,000 New Army troops. The plan was to then march on the city, which would be caught by surprise and nearly undefended thanks to the lack of any professional soldiers defending it. Even if the attack failed- and while Gong knew it was daring, he doubted, given the conditions of the city's defenses, that it would- they would be able to place mines at various points on the Red River and cut off roads to Hanoi.
Meanwhile, Gong would lead around 3,500 additional troops, comprising of around 1,100 New Army soldiers and 2,400 Green Standards (and their political officers), overland along the coast, to link up with Chen. Unbeknownst to either of them (at least for now), three more steamers and around a thousand additional troops were being dispatched from Hainan for an attack on Haiphong as well, and Chinese troops all along the border would be marching on Hanoi.

In total, roughly 90,000 men would be mobilized at Beijing's behest, launching roughly simultaneous attacks into the Red-controlled Khmer territories with their superior weapons and training. Most would begin marching on Hanoi, using their machine guns and artillery to sweep the Vietnamese militia who dared resist out of their way, but in the end around 10,000 men were marching down the coast on Haiphong, and another 2,500 were going by sea- most in the steamers under Captain Chen or his counterpart from Hainan, Captain Ji, but a few hundred more who would come in in junks or smaller craft from other areas. The campaign was far more haphazard and rapidly organized than the Manchurian operation, with little central coordination from Nanning or Guangzhou- but, against a poorly organized, weak enemy, it would probably be enough.

If not, there were other men, in other places.

Beijing
The Meridian Gate

"Birds and cables from our bases in Xinjiang indicate the beginning of the campaign is going well. The force marching on Kashgar and Yarkand has encountered significant but ineffective opposition, and they mention that their aircraft have been extremely effective." President Wu pointed to the map that dominated the wall, with pins stuck all across it.
"We've had significantly more issues with Altay and Ulgii. The Ulgii prong's supply train was hit in a night attack and they've had to stop, obviously, because they need to make sure they can reconnect their supply lines and keep everything running. The Altay prong has simply faced greater resistance; they seem to be more tactically astute than their fellow rebels in Kashgar. But the campaign is, for the most part, going well."
The Emperor nodded. "Very well. Have their been any issues with troop discipline or the like?"
"Not that I've heard of or that Minister Cibukit has told me about."
"Good. Keep me informed of any developments, I have a meeting I need to get to."

Cibukit tapped his pen against the paper, frowning at Pujie's point. "Grand Secretary An may not approve of all of your policies or all of my ministry's actions, but he is unquestionably loyal. I would point out, sire, that it is good to have some contrasting opinions on the Grand Council, to some extent. An will always do his uttermost to pursue whatever course is decided on, he simply has different and sometimes useful ideas."
"Very well. But Viceroy Zhang needs to go."
"I'm assuming you'd prefer execution?"
"Yes, for disloyalty or treason or corruption or something. I want to use this as a chance to fire up the propaganda effort- something we can show off. Perhaps a public trial and execution for all of them?"
"That would be doable, certainly, radiant lord."
"I also want to seize their property. We can sell it and use it to pay for more programs that will make people happy- tree-planting, apartments, food, work, whatever."
"Also doable. However, radiant lord, I did wish to bring up an issue that we've been encountering of late."
"Yes?"
"The tower blocks are already turning into havens for crime. They're overcrowded and full of lowlifes and the situation is getting out of hand. They're like rat's nests."
"So station men inside them. I'm sure redshirts or Green Standards with guns and clubs or swords would help deter them. Just clear out the troublemakers and keep men stationed inside, to keep the peace. You should talk to Sirin, perhaps he could have his architects install some security features."
"Of course," Cibukit said, bowing his head. "Consider it done, my lord."
"By the way, I want Zhang arrested soon."
"I'll get things set up as soon as possible."

POST SUMMARY:

-Chinese troops have invaded Northern Vietnam.
-The Chinese are busily repacifying the rebellious regions of Xinjiang.
-The Emperor and Minister Cibukit are planning to remove the Viceroy of Zhili and other "disloyal" courtiers and have them brought to show trials and executions.
-The propaganda offensive by the MDT has continued across the nation, but most of the quality-of-life programs remain contained to Zhili.
-The new tower blocks that continue to be cranked out in Beijing have rapidly become havens for crime, and the MDT is cracking down.

by **Caltarania** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 12:07 pm

Spanish Republic | República Española

Chapter 2 - Blood for Blood

Madrid, Distrito Federal
June 10th, 1921

Bullets whizzed over the heads of soldiers loyal to both the Second Republic and the newly-proclaimed 'Third Empire'. Currently, the Republic held the city of Madrid, though the Empire had been throwing every asset at it's disposal to rectify this; or at least that was how it seemed to the Republican forces. Everyday, new Imperial soldiers arrived in the city, and every day the Republic refused to budge. Though this was beginning to change, as the Republican forces started to become in dire need of food, water, reinforcements and above all ammunition. Forces loyal to the Republic had held Madrid for weeks now, since the 'Siege' of the city began in late April, and had used every available means to gain resources without having to divert them from other fronts, yet it was now becoming clear that this situation could not last indefinitely.

Julián Besteiro - Presidente of the Republic - had stayed in the city of Madrid, along with Primer Canciller Indalecio Prieto, in order to raise the morale among the troops. At various points, he was even seen on the front lines, though for security reasons these times did not last for very long. While the Presidente raised morale, however, the Primer Canciller had the more difficult job of trying to keep order in an increasingly chaotic Cortes Generales. Since the so-called 'Corte de la Sangre', the Cortes Generales had been in dire straits. Just over a quarter of the deputies had been killed as a result of the massacre, and in addition to that the deputies and senators loyal to the cause of José Antonio Primo de Rivera had left to join his new 'Imperial Court'; these deputies consisted of the members of his right-wing electoral alliance, along with more right-wing members of the Partido de Centro. Furthermore the former Gran Senador had been killed during the firefight, and therefore a new one needed to be elected, as did new deputies and senators. Unfortunately, it was nigh impossible to hold an election until the battle in the city had been won; and that did not seem likely to happen any time soon.

Fire raged in Puerta del Sol, as explosive material had been detonated by the Republican troops, in an attempt to halt the Imperial advance across the iconic square. It had been a futile attempt, however, as General Franco himself led his army across the square against the weakened Republican formation; it was a hopeless fight, of course, and the Republican armies pulled back, towards the defensive positions of the narrow streets which lay behind the large plaza. Franco's men followed them, and the firefight moved from the open plaza to the constricted streets of Madrid. It would seem that the Republicans were, slowly but surely, losing ground to the Empire. As the Imperials pushed closer towards the Cortes Generales, the soldiers began to waver. That was, until, gunfire could be heard from behind the Imperial positions, and Franco's lackey turned behind himself, to see the famed 'Cargo del Quinto Regimiento'. The Fifth Regiment charged at the Imperial positions with ferocity, and now surrounded the Imperial forces. The leader of the troops in this area quickly surrendered, and his troops were soon to follow. This fight had been won, but the battle still raged.

Elsewhere in the city, the Presidente was told of the state of the battle. One of his top generals - Vicente Rojo Lluch - informed him about everything; the Cargo del Quinto Regimiento and how it won the fight for the Puerta del Sol for the Republic, that Franco's men had advanced into the Salamanca district, that the Republican forces had broken through at Carabanchel, only to be pushed back, and how communications with the rest of the Republic had been severed by Franco's forces surrounding the city in nearly every direction.

"It's a stalemate, Julián." the young General said bluntly. The bruises and injuries which he had sustained in the liberation of the Cortes Generales were visible on his face, though they were not prevalent elsewhere on his body. "We need reinforcements. If we were able to contact anyone, this would be easy, though as I said our lines of communication have been severed by Franco's men." Vicente said.

"We need more troops, more ammunition, more equipment and more outside support, Vicente. We need more of everything." Presidente Besteiro said, before sighing. "Maybe we should just retreat - surrender even. It's not fair for us to le-" Julián's words were cut short, as a young woman ran into the room, holding in her hand a piece of paper; which had recorded a telegram on it. Ancient technology, yet it incited a cheer from the Presidente and his assistants.

"General Augusto has forced a breakthrough at Navamorcuende! He's broken through the Imperial lines, and is on his way to lift the Siege of Madrid!" the young woman said, exalted, which was met with more cheers.

From His Imperial Excellency, Regente of the Spanish Empire
José Antonio Primo de Rivera

Dear Francois de la Rocque, President of the French Third Republic,

Greetings, representative of the French Third Republic. It is my greatest honour - as Regente of the Spanish Empire - to formally denounce the French Socialist Republic, in order to recognise the French Third Republic as the one and only true representative state of the French people. As comrades of the right, we wish also to ask that our two great nations can create agreements in regards to mutual defense and mutual alliances.

Warm Regards,

HIE Regente José Antonio Primo de Rivera of the Spanish Empire

From His Imperial Excellency, Regente of the Spanish Empire
José Antonio Primo de Rivera

Dear all pretenders and claimants to the Spanish throne,

Greetings, claimants to the throne. It is my greatest honour - as Regente of the Spanish Empire - to formally invite you to Toledo, so that you may once more have the chance to be crowned Emperor of the Spanish Nation and it's People.

Warm Regards,

HIE Regente José Antonio Primo de Rivera of the Spanish Empire

by **Kargintina** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 1:23 pm

Dominion of Canada Circa June 12th 1921
Music

Ottawa, Canada
Prime Minister Meighen once again stood before Parliament. All of them had gathered, to see what else the Prime Minister had up his sleeve, as 1921 had been a year of many changes in Canada. The Parliament room had a strange feeling, as the many members didn't know what to expect. "My trust worthy Parliament, and my fellow Canadians, today I stand before you to present yet another great change in this year of many changes, with the rapidly changing times and the always increasing population, even with the many great men lost in the horrible conflict we have endured, we need to promote movement to the northern regions. The only way to ensure that all of this great dominion is filled with loyal citizens. I present to you the Northern Migration act. This act shall try to encourage citizens to move into the north by promising land and money to anyone who agrees to go north and settle their permanently. Anyone who goes north into Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador or Saskatchewan shall receive two acres of land and $450 if they settle in new areas. I hope this act will help bring this great nation into the future."

There was a mixed reaction. While most where in favor, a few where against it. "Sending these people to die in the freezing cold, while giving them money? This will only waste Canadian money and lives." "The American move West failed, the Mid West is the least populated area in their country!" Another shouted. However, those in favor replied. "This could bring us prosperity, think of all the untapped resources that could lie just north of us. This is truly a great chance we must take." "The north is the only option, just think, 100 years from now we could run out of space and then what, just let ourselves go into anarchy due to overpopulation while the north lies untouched?" The Prime Minister grew grim. "Enough!" We shall have a vote, as always. All in favor raise your hand." A clear majority raised their hands. "All against?" Meighen wondered why he bothered asking. The small minority of hardliners raised their hands. "Well, it appears that this shall go into official voting now. Thank you."

Vancouver, Canada
The massive cargo ship lay in port. Hundreds of people move all around the harbor, mostly military personnel. However, the main "stars" where the thirty Great War veterans getting ready to begin the sail across the ocean to Khmer. As they approached the ramp up to the ship, a man approached them. "Well, look who it is, our special guests. I hope you'll enjoy your "trip" to Vietnam." The eldest one stepped forward. "Alright then sir, which way." He said in the most serious tone imaginable. The man was Captain John K. Carlson, the oldest of the 30. The man housed multiple scars on his face, and had a beard that went down to his stomach. He was a 100% Quebecois, and spoke English as a second language behind French, as opposed to other 29, who all where fluent English speakers. "I believe that guy needs a bath." said the youngest of the thirty, Henry G. Frackmen, who was only 32. His older brother, also one of the 30 George S. Frackmen, replied. "I don't think a bath would help at this point." "You know I was wondering, you think we'll have any time to y'know, spend some time with Vietnamese girls?" "I'm pretty sure that you got more than needed time with that girl in Paris back'n 16." "How would y'know, you where over'n the Rhineland, getting your ass kicked along with that whole offensive." "Oh trust me, Fred told me everything before he took that Gewehr 98 round right in the heart in 18'." "Oh Fred, God forgive his soul."

Nearly 3,000 rifles where loaded into crates and brought upon the ship. "C'mon now, hoist the bloody pieces of shite up!" The rifles destined for Dai Viet where hoisted up onto the ship. "Bloody hell, if I haven't seen a more load of rifles." Uniforms and food supplies where brought on by the many dockworkers moving up and down the ramps to the ship. "Is Vietnam really worth how much we're giving away?" "I sure as hell hope so.

Nova Scotia
Canadian forces began setting up the area of land where the planned joint exercise with the British would take place. Multiple hundred soldiers and workers helped hoist artillery guns, rifles, Mounted Machine guns and other things the military would need. "Son of a, this id'nt fast enough! The goddamn British'll be here before you lazy maggots finish up! C'mon, faster!" Shouted General George Pearkes, who would be leading the Canadian forces in the exercise. "This all gotta look nice and pretty when the Brits show up, gotta impress the masters y'know." He said to a Captain standing near him. "Wonder if this just another one of Meighen's gimmicks to keep'm in power when the election comes in December huh?" asked the captain. "Maybe, maybe." The Prime Minister was never this devoted to the military, but now, with that Great War tearing Europe to shit n' all, I guess he wants everyone to still have pride in our armed forces, even after the German victory." The captain looked at him strangely. "Its not that directly a German victory." "Please, France collapsed, Russia collapsed, Italy collapsed, Britain is the only goddamn member of the Entente to be swinging its self itself all over other nations."

"Al'right, time to get this bastards to work harder. "C'mon you bloody maggots, time is a wasting, the Brits are coming and you're all slouching around!" He ascended his horse. "I know you can work faster, now c'mon." A voice was heard from the distance. "Where is General Pearkes?!" shouted someone. "Bloody daft, this bugger. Over here!" The man approaching was a messenger. "I have a message from the Governor-General." "Hmm, the ell' does Vimy want with me now?" The letter was from Lord Byng of Vimy. General Pearkes retired to his tent. "Hmm, need more rifles for Khmer, well bloody ell', fuck you." He threw down the letter. "Looks like my men oughtta give up some rifles eh." A Captain stepped into his tent. Preparations are almost finished sir."

Official Communique of the Dominion of Canada
To: An Dhung Phang, President of the Republic of Dai Viet
From: Prime Minister and Minister of External affairs of the Dominion of Canada, Arthur Meighen

We are glad you have accepted the offer, we would have sent more Veterans, but currently we needed to have them in Nova Scotia for something important and we wish to keep our involvement in the conflict as secretive as possible, to not enrage the Socialist powers, China and Japan, or maybe even the other factions in Khmer. The veterans, along with the first shipment should arrive within the next few months. We are glad our two nations could work together.
Signed, Arthur Meighen, Prime Minister of Canada

Official Communique of the Dominion of Canada
To:David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the British Empire
From: Prime Minister and Minister of External affairs of the Dominion of Canada, Arthur Meighen

We are very glad you decided to accept our offer, as already the Canadian military has begun preparing Nova Scotia for this event. Granted, we cannot guarantee the safety of anyone in the area of the exercise, due to the intense nature of military exercises. On another note, I do accept both of your proposals to try and help bring Canada into the future of military technologies alongside Britain, that way we can remain as advanced as the rest of the lands of the crown.

The exercise itself will be held sometime within the next few months, and should take about two weeks. We hope that the exercise will go well for both our militaries and help strengthen the bond between our nations.
Signed, Arthur Meighen, Prime Minister of Canada

by **The Emerald Dragon** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 6:01 pm

To, the Brazilian Foreign Affairs Department

Greetings, fair nation of Portuguese and African colonials to our south. This trade deal of an amicable yet intimidatingly good stature of which I will commend and approve.

Signed, Diego Morales - President of the Federation of Venezuela

(Yeah, sowwy. Tired, need sleep.)

by **The Grand Republic of Hannover** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 6:06 pm

London - British Empire
Theme

Encouraging Economic Growth:

Thanks to the incoming financial aid from the USC, the government was able to start new programs to encourage the economic growth and development of the Empire. Among the programs was a set of subsidies for a number of industries within Britain. Yet, these subsidies were not simple transfer payments to make the industries' costs lower. The subsidies were only given to those industries starting a plan to become more efficient. In other words, only those industries that tried to use energy, input materials and labor more efficiently and in more innovative ways would get the subsidies to offset the costs of these projects (as well as a small profit so to encourage them to do so). The idea was to make the British Industrial Base as globally competitive as possible.

In addition to this program of subsidies, the government increased the incentive for the construction of residential zones (See this post). In addition to the existing tax incentives, the government created a subsidies fund for construction firms that seek to draft innovative designs that would use energy, space and natural light more efficiently. The program focused especially on buildings that were at least 5 stories high.

In regards to the trade school programs (See this post), the government used part of the financial aid from the USC to give some scholarships to encourage more people to graduate from trade school. With these incentives in place the idea was to increase the size of the industrial work force as well as its efficiency at the workplace. Evidently the British government was stressing the need for increasing the industrial efficiency of the country. The reason being was the aim at becoming the industrial powerhouse of Europe and an important industrial base for the world.

The project to expand and modernize the Manchester Ship Canal (See this post) was well under way. Thanks to the financial aid from the USC (in this case, the other fund focused on infrastructure was used) and the private-sector engagement, the project came at little expense to the national government. With the help of this same Columbard fund, the national government began the planning of expanding the main ports of the British Isles (the Port of London, Grimsby & Immingham, and the complex of the Port of Bristol, among others). The main focus was, once again, the modernization of equipment as well as some moderate expansions in order to increase the total amount of cargo that each port can handle in a yearly basis.

Great Britain tried to benefit as much as possible from the Columbard different financial aid programs. The generosity of the USC would help Britain catapult itself back into a very important position in the global economy.

Realpolitik in the Suez Canal Company:

With the ongoing French Civil War and the recent confrontations between the factions in that conflict (To which Britain responded here), the British Government realized that the stability of the Suez Canal Company was in danger. What the Prime Minister feared the most was that the company shares owned by France would be used as another weapon in the already-catastrophic Civil War. This potential threat could endanger the naval traffic going through the Suez Canal and it could put in danger the valuable revenue that the British government receives from said company.

As a result, the British Government instructed its representatives in the company to do the following. 1) Offer the purchase of the French shares at a fair price (the market price) in order to preserve the stability of the company. 2) If there is any process of purchase of those shares by another nation (since share purchases must be notified to the board before it actually takes place), the representatives were given the power to forcefully take ownership of those shares while compensating France with a mere fraction of the actual share price (60% of the market price). The reason for this last instruction was because the government feared that France could be threatened and pressured into giving away those shares to hostile nations (such as the Socialist Front rising in Europe). And 3) If the French did not agree to sell their shares to Britain, the representatives were allowed to negotiate a deal with France - if a month of negotiations have passed without a successful deal, the representatives are allowed to purchase said shares at the market price.

Since the French Civil War was beginning to concern the British Government (because of its recent events near the British Isles), the position towards the question at hand was one of extreme assertiveness. Britain will not allow that the Suez Canal is put in jeopardy because of internal issues, especially at a time such as these when the economies of the world need to recover from the war.

Growth of the Grand Development Bank:

Since its creation, the Grand Development Bank (GDB) witnessed a healthy rate of expansion and financial growth (See this post). However, the Bank of England realized that if the bank were to grow more, it needed to be allowed to expand its banking services and products. Thus, the bank's Charter was expanded to allow the organization to give out loans on physical capital projects in all of the member nations (including Britain). Additionally, it was allowed to begin creating savings accounts to any factory, company, and other commercial venues in the member nations. These savings would be very similar to the normal savings accounts that commercial venues can use. Therefore, these would have a greater variety when administering its funds, creating more stability at the same time (no one would like to keep all its savings in just one bank that could fail at any time).

Finally, the Bank of England received a financial package from the British Government (funded in large part by one of the Columbard financial aid programs) in order to expand the funds of the bank and increase the size of its operations. A guideline that was to be followed, however, was that the bank could not loan any money to ventures in the Stock Market (as noted in its Charter - see first post of Old IC) in order to continue with its goal of promoting economic growth and the creation of employment.

This new, fresh injection of money gave the GDB the opportunity to go into a fast-growth track. The bank's importance was still undermined by its size so any new injection would help to increase its size, its operations, and thus allow the bank to achieve a more influential role in the global financial market.

Naval Base in Belgium:

As advised in the letter sent by Belgium, the British Navy began the construction of a naval base in Niewpoort. In order to boost the Belgian economy, labor from the same country would be used to build the naval base. This new naval base would allow Britain to have a greater influence over the Channel and to increase the protection of the British Isles. Considering the dangers posed by the French Civil War, the British Navy invested in the modernization of its warning systems in order to make it more efficient and effective at protecting the homeland from any invasions.

Additionally, the naval base in Belgium would allowed the Navy to better distribute its ships in the vicinity of the Channel instead of heavily relying on just one naval base or two. And, based on the Project Thinking Owl (which aims at attracting the intelligentsia of politically troubled countries such as France), this base in Belgium would increase the safety of the passenger ships carrying experts and their families to Britain in search for a better future.

818 - Tracking Purposes

by **Baja California y Sonora** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 7:26 pm

República Brasileña
Chapter two, Part one- The War and Us.

Brazilian Soldiers

The name for our title comes from the epic war drama written by Peruvian writer Gustavo Guadalupe Diaz Jimenez del Rosario in 1932, years after the end of the Brazilian-Peruvian Conflict of 1921. Diaz's novel of the same name, portrays the story of two children, one living in Brazil, and the other in Peru. Bringing a stark contrast to the lives of the Rubber Royalty of the Brazilian Amazon, and the city dwellers of Lima at the time of the war; Diaz's novel explores the theme of poverty, death, and division of the classes in his debut literature work. The War and Us upon release gained critical acclaim and widespread recognition selling millions of copies years following its release. Whilst the novel was a great success, Diaz's life began crumbling months following its release. Having left Peru and vowing to never return, Diaz left for places that were more encouraging of the arts and briefly lived in Argentina and Brazil before dying at the age of 33 of unknown causes. Though his death is a mystery to this day, bringing a wide range of theories, he is buried in a cemetery near the city of Salvador.

May 25,
Signing of the Salvador Accords,
Palace of the Saints, Salvador.

-To do-

-Salvador Accords (Go ahead and get that out of the way)
-Some economic shit to do
-Declaration of war on Peru/Invasion begins.

by **The Kingdom of Glitter** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 8:07 pm

The Kingdom of Belgium

Koninkrijk België | Royaume de Belgique

24 June 1921
Brussels, Belgium
Palace of the Nation

Two months had passed since Prime Minister de Vil had risen to power. In that short time span, the Prime Minister had already forced several laws through the Belgian Parliament. The first was minor housekeeping. Since she achieved her independence, the King and his family had always resided in Laeken, a small hamlet just outside Brussels. Laeken was almost entirely made up of royal estates, namely the Palace of Laeken, the Royal Greenhouses, a small garden estate featuring the famous Chinese Pavilion and the Japanese Tower (the property is commonly known as the Oriental Gardens), the Church of Our Lady, and the Laeken Cemetery - home to Belgium's deceased social, political, and economic elite. The Belgian government - what remained of it after the Arlon Disaster - had gathered here for the funerals of Prime Minister Delacroix, the Deputy Prime Minister, and several other members of the Cabinet of Ministers. Due to its small size in both land and population, it was decided that Laeken would be incorporated into the City of Brussels. And finally, after over eighty years, the Belgian monarch finally resided within the nation's capital.

The most controversial law passed by the new Prime Minister was the the Security of the Nation Act. Under the SNA any and all anarchist, communist, and socialist political parties were prevented from being created and any existing parties were forced to dissolve. Leaders of the former parties were subsequently rounded up and arrested by the Staatsveiligheidsdienst (Sécurité de l'Etat), a new secret police agency formed under the SNA. Initially, their disappearance was questioned, but over time other issues arose that distracted the Belgian people. These leaders were eventually transported to the Congo to work in prison camps, with the most extreme facing firing squads. The Stavi - as it was commonly known - also kept tabs on anyone registered to any parties that were now outlawed, or anyone suspected of sympathizing with them. For many Belgians, the Stavi was just another government institution that consumed their taxes. However, for any anarchists, communists, or socialists, or anyone accused of being one for that matter, the Stavi begin a reign of terror - all at the hands of Prime Minister de Vil.

The Prime Minister also hoped to further stabilize the recovering Belgian economy. As a result, he also had the Royal Reserve Act passed. The RRA created the Belgian Royal Reserve, which became the central bank of Belgium. The Royal Reserve replaced the National Bank of Belgium, which was thought to have largely failed the Belgian people and only proved useless in the recovery effort. The RRA laid out three clear goals for the Royal Reserve's monetary policy: Maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. Under the Act, the National Bank of Belgium was dissolved and all of its reserves were transferred to the Royal Reserve. The last governor of the National Bank, Leon Van der Rest, decided to retire rather than complete his term, which was going to be allowed, and was instead succeed by Fernand Hautain. Together, Governor Hautain worked with Prime Minister de Vil to try and finally stabilize the Belgian currency. The revolution in France had caused Belgium and Luxembourg to leave the Latin Currency Union and instead created the Belga, of which was worth five francs. At first, the Belga was attached to the British pound at a rate of 35 belgas (175 francs) = 1 pound and was thus put on a gold standard of 1 Belga = 209.211 mg fine gold. However the Prime Minister saw the much economically stronger United States of Columbia as a much better candidate. It was hoped that Columbia would be able to aid them at the Conference of Brussels, and as such the Governor would be among the Belgian delegation in attendance. Tying the Belga to the United States Dollar would be on de Vil's agenda for the Conference, and he hoped that finally the Belgian economy and currency would both stabilize. Luxembourg also adopted the Belga, in accordance with the currency union between the Grand Duchy and the Kingdom.

26 June 1921
Brussels, Belgium
Palace of Laeken

Every week the King was required to meet with the Prime Minister under the Belgian Constitution. King Albert made it a happen to meet with his Prime Minister as often as possible, and the two usually met at least twice a week. The King would also summon other such ministers for meetings to fully understand the situation within his realm. He had taken quite some time to grieve the loss of Prime Minister Delacroix, who he regarded as a true patriot. Thus far Delacroix's military reforms were a success and many across the country had joined the navy to man the new ships acquired under the late Prime Minister. King Albert was skeptical of some of de Vil's new laws, namely the Security of the Nation Act. While a staunch opponent of communism, the King did not support the idea of a secret police agency terrorizing the Belgian people. However, the King was in no position to oppose the law and he feared a coup d'teat if he had refused to sign the bill and make it law. de Vil truly kept the King in an interesting position. He was a very powerful man, who appeared to have the backing of the government and the military. Should he accuse the King of being a communist, the entire nation could turn on the royal family and depose King Albert. The King's fears were largely unwarranted, as the Prime Minister knew the King was key to national unity. Despite the loss of the Great War, the Belgians still revered King Albert as a national hero. When Belgium was occupied, he would write weekly addresses and have them sent to the occupied territories and read to his subjects in private. He was a symbol of Belgian resistance and unity, and was key to the stability of the nation.

The King was sitting down for dinner with his wife and three daughters. Princess Henriette was twenty one years old and was still unmarried. King Albert and his wife, Queen Elisabeth, had discussed the issue extensively. The two knew that their daughter would not marry entirely for love, and hoped that she would find love with the husband that was assigned to her - just as they had with one another. The King was the first to speak on the subject.

"Louise, Marie. You are dismissed from the table now."

The two girls nodded, said good evening to their parents, and left the room together.

"Henriette, there is something your mother and I would like to discuss with you." the King said as he turned his attention to his daughter.

"What is it father?"

"Your father and I would like to discuss the topic of your marital status. Quite frankly darling, the fact that you still lack as husband, a fiance, or a viable suitor is concerning. With the Right of Succession Act you can now inherit your father's throne when he passes. It is due time for us to arrange for a husband. Unfortunately, we have had to ignore this important task with the War and the subsequent events in our country."

"But mother, I do not need a husband. At least not yet! Besides, I have Philippe, he and I are ver-"

"I am sorry Henriette, but he is not a viable suitor for you. He is a commoner, and while there is nothing wrong with that, he cannot possibly be your husband. A commoner cannot be the Prince Consort." the King said sternly.

"I am afraid I have to agree with your father. We do not have the luxury of marrying for love. Your father and I did not, his father did not, and so on and so forth. As royals, our marriages are entirely political. Sometimes, love develops just like it did for my and your father. However, we cannot marry for love, we have other such commitments."

Henriette was obviously disappointed, but was not surprised in the slightest. She knew that one day she would be expected to marry a man she did not initially love - for the good of her country.

"Alright. I agree." the Princess reluctantly said. "Just promise me you will find me a good husband, and allow me to still see Philippe until my new suitor begins courting me"

"It shall be done, my dear" the King said. "You may join your sisters now, or choose to spend your time however you like."

Henriette got up, kissed her mother on the cheek, and walked over and hugged her father. She quickly left the dinning room, leaving the King and Queen at the table.

"Well Elisabeth that went far better than I ever could have expected. Shall we retire now?"

"Indeed we shall, my dear."

The two got up and began to walk the halls of their palace, discussing possible suitors for their daughter.

Official Diplomatic Communique of the Belgian Government

Addressed to George V of the United Kingdom

Dearest King George V of the United Kingdom,

As you may or may not know, my eldest daughter the Duchess of Brabant -my one and rightful heir - is currently unmarried. She is currently twenty one years of age and her mother and I have both decided the time for a courtship between our daughter and a suitor has come.

Your second eldest son, the Duke of York, is a most admirable man and an excellent candidate for my daughter's hand in marriage and to sit beside her on the throne as the Prince-Consort of the Belgians. I would like to petition your ear to arrange a marriage between the Duke of York and the Duchess of Brabant.

In a show of solidarity between our two nations, in coordination with the strong ties our governments have been perusing, I request the Duke of York is sent to Brussels to begin courting my daughter, so the two can one day marry and rule my nation side by side.

May God bless you and your family, as well as all of those who call themselves Britons.

Sincerely,
Albert
King of the Belgians

by **Kryskov** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 12:11 am

The Austrian Empire
Renascentia

Parliament Building
Vienna
June 21, 1921

The day in Vienna was breezy and warm as the many carriages and automobiles cluttered the throughway in front of the Parliament. Today was going to be hectic. The many and many representatives from throughout the empire knew so. The Kaiser released his Declaration of 2 April, in which he declared the various unions (or, in some cases, the separation) of kingdoms and duchies into provisional states. Since then, the Provisional Assemblies elected representatives to the scheduled 21 June Constitutional Convention, which the Kaiser tasked with "advising to the amendment or draft of a new Constitution, to be proposed to and deliberated on by the Imperial Council of Austria."

Each one of the representatives arrived to the conference with specific orders and desires from the provisional states. Bohemia, Sudetenland, Slovakia, Carniola, Hungary, Croatia, Transylvania, Trentino & Trieste, Vojvodina, and, of course, Austria all held a presence at the conference. The ultimate goal, now obvious, was the federalization of the empire.

The Kaiser opened the session with an address to the assembly. Here, using various languages at various points in time, he pleaded to the gentlemen gathered to find a solution to the ethnic tensions rising in the nation while preserving the monarchy and the republican values Austria had embraced for over 70 years. He announced the Imperial Cabinet's position on the issue, during which Ministers von Gayer and Salvatore spoke about the Kaiser's proposed restructuring of the economy, tax laws, and state responsibilities.

The convention lasted for over two months. There was heated debate about the rights and powers granted to the states, the status of religion, and even the monarchy, who proposed the convention in the first place. One surprising faction leader who endorsed the monarchy's proposed plan was Mihaly Karolyi, who until March was organizing a potential political overthrow of the Austrian hierarchy in Hungary. Karolyi argued that the monarchy was necessary to deliberate on potential stalemates and stand as a beacon of tradition to anchor the nation through another wave of turmoil. The convention got particularly tense when fifteen Marxist delegates walked out in protest of a clause passed by the convention that forbade the existence or election of any party which advocated the violent overthrow of the government for social or political reform or the establishment of a single-party state. Because the convention was being kept in as much secrecy as possible, the protesters had to be arrested for violating an attendance and gag law imposed by the Imperial Council.

Ultimately, on June 15, the convention adjourned itself for the last time. The draft of the constitution was sent the same day to the Imperial Council, who convened temporarily in the Hofburg palace. Many in the House of Deputies and House of Lords were delegates to the convention. Once again, the Kaiser opened the emergency session in a plea to accept the new constitution. Once more, there was an anxious waiting period for those outside the palace who wondered what exactly was going on.

The Federation of Danubia
Vita

Parliament Square
Vienna
June 22, 1921

In the backdrop was the Parliament Building. Here, thousands and thousands of Viennese commoners gathered to listen to an official decree from the Kaiser. Coming after a great gathering of the nation's mightiest political stars and an emergency meeting of the Imperial Council, the whole city, and indeed the nation, awaited eagerly for some official to come out. At noon, the Minister-President, Ernst Seidler, stepped out of the building and onto a platform. Thunderous applause erupted as Seidler appeared behind a podium covered with radio microphones, and one that connected to the loudspeakers in the square. The applause and cheers continued for several minutes.

"My p-" The applause was too great. "My peop-" The applause was still to loud. Seidler held up his hand to quiet the audience. "My people...a Royal Decree from His Imperial Highness Karl, our beloved Emperor." Seidler got out a scroll and unrolled it.

"Signed by His Imperial Majesty. 'Effective upon issue, I, Karl, Emperor of Austria, hereby ratify and put into effect the plan proposed by convention and ratified by Council on June 22 of this Year of Our Lord, to put each ethnic nation under its own autonomy under the Crown of Austria!" Applause erupted once more, this time for ten minutes. "From henceforth, any and all titles and laws referring to the Empire of Austria will be transferred to Our Glorious new nation, the Federation of Danubia!"

by **Hastiaka** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 2:08 am

Crest of Holland

Kingdom of the Netherlands
Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam, Amsterdam
Holland

Episode 3: To rule the people

King Willem and Queen Wilhemina walked through the Isle of the Palace of Amsterdam. Home to the constituents and and monarchs of the Empire. As communism spread through the world, the Imperial Family has been attempting to re-implement and re-instate the significance of a royal family. Perhaps, the Princes and Princesses of the Kingdom is tired of Politics and would like to rule the Kingdom themselves. But King Willem and Wilhemina always tells their children not to meddle with the politics that were not meant to be. King Willem and Queen Wilhemina though had motives to make the Monarchy popular. The increasingly absolute power of Holland prompted the two monarchs to meddle with the name 'Netherlands' and turn it into 'Holland' A fierce opposition met them when Limburg and Zeeland representatives entered the room during a brief and informal meeting at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. As the main Secondary Power in Europe, the Dutch Empire must uphold her legacy as a monarchy. Not only will the Dutch shrug off the floods associated with the Lowlands, it will also make the name of the country ''catchy'' in informal tongue. PM Asturias has been conflicting and countering the King for a year by now. Especially when times are scarce as the threat goes on. This, in respect of the country. The argument landed on the favor of the Parliament and not the King.

This rivalry will be soon intensified when the German Government sent a letter concerning about the situation of the Deposed German Monarch. A formal meeting this time around, was held in the Royal Palace of Amsterdam since renovations and security measurements were being done at the Hague. Queen Wilhelmina sat beside his Husband as they entered the room. ''His majesty, King Willem of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Holland and Her majesty, Queen Wilhelmina of House Orange-Nassau. We welcome you back to the Koninklijke Raadsman Tribunaal conference room. A temporary replacement to the States-Generals of the Netherlands. The topic to be discussed is about the situation of His Majesty in Exile, Emperor Wilhelm II. We ask and stress that all individuals involved, Political in nature or Royal must respect each other's opinion.'' A 50-year old man said as he entered the microphone. 10 people sat in a rectangular table. The King obviously was just the image of the Kingdom. But Queen Wilhelmina is secretly the true monarch. For some reason, King Willem has been active on politics with the supervision of his Wife. With the discussion about to start, King Willem stood up and left the area. Queen Wilhelmina looked at the obviously shocked politicians with a sharp eye. PM Asturias began to speak. ''The Kaiser does not deserve to live here. We are pressured by the Allies to give him to them.'' Little did they expect, Queen Wilhelmina has familial links with the Kaiser. She began to lecture the Prime Minister.

''As a genuine relative of the Deposed Kaiser, i have the right to defend my relative. First of all, the Right to Asylum is an essential example of Human Rights. You for example Prime Minister Asturias, what if you were deposed from our country? Would you like to come back? The Right to Asylum must and will be respected! I declare that the deposed Kaiser is to stay in the country! I would personally file an Administrative case against you Prime Minister Asturias. I am very well aware of the consequences of this discussion. I don't care if the Germans will march in front of Holland. Screaming their taunts. I care for the respect of our very nation! I fear that the States-Generals have become Corrupt! Where are the reforms? Where is the approval of the people? Germany may be great. They may be even greater. Let the communists, Let the republicans, Let the conservatives, Let the Nazis, Let the socialists and Let the superpowers of this world march in front of Holland. Let them destroy this very room. Let them destroy our very home. Let them blaze our colonies in the Far East. Let them sink our fleets, Kill our men and Famish our people. Let them Come! Let them March! But we, even reduced to a few inches of land. A few inches of brain. Even to a beating heart. We are Netherland.''

A thunderous applause was raised from the audience. Others cried and knelt in front of the queen. Her speech was made Headline throughout the colonies and the nation. Millions more approved of the Queen. Rallied against the increasing power of communism and socialism. But truly they were, they rallied for the respect of the Empire. In the streets of London, New York, Paris, Madrid, Tokyo, Rome and Berlin, Thousands of Dutch Nationals and Descendants rallied to protest the decision of their Queen. She hit headlines and thousands of news outlets spammed papers with Headlines such as; ''We are Netherland'' ''Queen strikes Back!'' ''Let them March'' and ''Forever Dutch''. Her popularity sprang everywhere. Within days, Political opponents of the crown were silenced. Queen Wilhelmina became an icon to the Hollanders and the rest of the Empire. Staunch opposition was dying. ''Wij zijn Nederland! Wij zijn Nederland! Wij zijn Nederland!!'' Shouted the protesters all throughout the world. The Wilhelmina Effect was felt all over the world. Prime Minister Asturias and his allies resigned within the week.

Queen Wilhelmina wrote personally two letters to two nations: Germany and Spain.

Kingdom of the Netherlands and her Dependencies

Personal Message from the Office of HM Queen Wilhelmina

To the Government of Germany

I do not mean to offend you and your people, Nor do i mean to promote the destruction my Relative has caused. But i will and i must say, We are Holland. We are part of the Netherlands not Germany. Should you ever knock on my door, aiming a million guns at me, I will not give him back. I know you might impose harsh and punitive Economic sanctions upon my Nations. Germany has a thousand times more men we can ever possess. We do not have the right to say that were are not threatened by your force. I respect you and your People. But i would like to see a better future within reach. A future of commerce, trade and development. Let us throw our crude ways and be more modern. Leave everything behind and face the threat head-on

I wish to improve economic conditions in our nation. Elevate the position of the poverty and the masses. Ushering a new Golden Age; The Age of Technology. Let us contribute to one another. A Utopia of Sorts. However, i do wish you respect my People's decision.

With all due respect and great love,

Queen Wilhelmina
Monarch of the Kingdom of Netherlands

Kingdom of the Netherlands and her Dependencies

Personal Message from the Office of HM Queen Wilhelmina

To the Monarchs of the ''Third Spanish Empire''

I greet you with my wishes. I however, grant you an Ultimatum. Grant me all your territories in the Indies EXCEPT ACEH and i shall buy them for 10 million dollars. I would personally fund your military and ensure that Communists will not succeed in their fervor. I send this letter to you not as your enemy, but as your guide. Should you ever decline this most generous request, My navy will destroy your indies with Impunity. Your Navy has been extremely weakened by your civil war and the most recent wars. I wish you fulfill this request.

NOTE: Please never include Aceh.

Wishing for your consideration,

Queen Wilhelmina
Monarch of the Kingdom of Netherlands

by **Alsheb** » Sun Mar 08, 2015 10:28 am

Armenian Dashnaks in Yerevan

June 1921
Yerevan
Armenian Democratic Republic

The Peshmerga had made a remarkably quick advance throughout Georgia, pushing with ease through the countryside while marching East. What little resistance they had encountered was mainly limited to local warlords or nobles who claimed to rule on behalf of the All-Russian State. But with the White Army having completely withdrawn from the Caucasus months ago, thay had very little to back this claim up with. Let alone that they had armed forces capable of withstanding the Kurdish offensive.

Having liberated southern Georgia, the Peshmerga split in two. One army group advanced to the north, reaching Tbilisi by the end of May 1921. Some fighting took place here, but by May 27, the city had been pacified, and the Democratic Republic of Georgia was proclaimed, to be incorporated into Kurdistan as an autonomous region. In general, the Kurds were welcomed into Georgia, as they promised democracy, redistribution of lands and the end of the rule of aristocrats and despots.

The second army group of the Peshmerga went east, into Armenia. Their orders were to support the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the newly-declared Armenian Democratic Republic in securing all of Armenia for their revolution. The Dashnaks linked up with the Kurdish troops once they entered Armenia, and quickly made short work of whatever resistance was still left in the area.

One the Peshmerga had reached Yerevan, plans were set in motion for an official state visit of the High Consul of Kurdistan to the newly established Armenian government, in order to determine the future of the area as well as Kurdish-Armenian relations for the future.

Midnight in Moscow, Mk. III (IC Thread!)

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