1935-2000 Era War 4: New Beginnings (IC)

[Aclus]

1935-2000 Era War 4: New Beginnings

Welcome to the 20th Century, specifically 1935 in our absolutely insane universe where armies number in the tens of millions and small wars lasting only a few months kill hundreds of thousands. It has been about 14 years since the end of The Nine Years War between the world’s two main alliances: The Western League and the Alliance of Republican Nations. After nine years of war, more than 82 million have died and the world is yet to have learnt its lessons. The Boer rebellions of 1924, The downfall and splitting of the Rannorian people. The rise of fascism and communism running rapid in the once great cities of the worlds old guard empires. The rise of new powers in the East, that of the likes of the Hoosier Alliance, The Nihonese and the coming of the Aydinirians.

The world has known little to no peace since empires clashed during the Great war, however a brief amount of silence has surprisingly graced it in a brief 5 year period. From 1930 to 1935, the rise of the Nihonese saw them come into a arms race with that of the aging yet still mighty Manticoran empire. The Aclusian Empire, an empire that has stretched millennia across the seas is bursting at its seams, a people wanting a change after years of bloodshed. The Hoosier alliance leading the powers of Indianum in terms of technological and military might, Aydinir following suite. The collapse of the massive Rusklandr confederation bringing the birth of smaller nations grabbing at whatever is left. The Norcourtian Empire, the only singular nation to not have fought the great war has developed into one of the worlds leading arms and trade dealing nations.

The Arengin Union, the Skartenians, mighty nations of the once equally mighty western league continue forward in this war torn world. Though plagued with memories of the great war, this has yet to stop neither for preparing themselves for when the time may come for another. To the North in Europeia, the years have been rather kind to the empire of the Twelve isles and Wargloria, that of which may be owed to the strict military doctrine of these elite nations themselves. And finally, the red rebirth of the Traansval brought forth by the power of the people's dive into communism.

For these nations, history continues to be written. However It is into this war torn world that you, nations both old and new, are thrust. Despite the loss of life, there has been no closure, for the issues which caused The Nine Year War have not been resolved. Dark clouds of war hover on the horizon and omens appear, heralding the deaths of millions more sometime soon. How soon, however, is up to you. Will the world experience a period of peace or will this be but a brief respite, the eye of the storm so to speak?

The path lies in your very hand my friend...........Welcome!

If you have any question, feel free to ask me or Manticore, and Arengin Union. Also, join our Discord Server Here: https://discord.gg/EWvJr5q
OOC Thread

Simple Rules of the IC involve no godmodding, no meta-gaming, no OOC banter or discussion, no one liner posts. All posts should be at least 1 paragraph in length. Beyond that, enjoy.

[The Manticoran Empire]

In 1926, the Armored Board of the Manticoran Army declared specifications for a new medium tank. Initially, the design was required to have sufficient armor to defeat 37mm, 47mm, and 57mm guns, a gun capable of firing armor piercing and high explosive rounds for both anti-tank and infantry support missions, an engine of sufficient power to move the tank at 25-30 km/h on road and no slower than 15 km/h off-road, a range of at least 200 kilometers, a separation of the engine from the crew, a three man turret with a turret basket, a weight of less than 30 tons, and reliability and ease of maintenance superior to current Armored vehicles. The design process ran into several hiccups as the designers struggled to find a way to meet all requirements within the weight limit. Most initial designs had a light, 37mm or 47mm gun in a turret and a larger 75mm howitzer in a sponson in the hull. However, it soon became apparent that this design was very poorly thought out and left the crew cramped and unable to fight for very long.
By 1930, several adjustments had been made. A 57mm gun was selected, due to the large stocks of guns and ammunition in service. The barrel was lengthened from the 23 caliber length of the heavy tanks in the Great War to 43 calibers, effectively doubling the muzzle velocity to 800 meters per second. It was also decided that the gun would be mounted in a rotating turret for more effective work against tanks and to provide a shorter profile for the vehicle overall. Other requirements included three inch thick frontal armor, a 300 horsepower or greater engine, a top speed of 42 kilometers per hour, an operational range of 200 kilometers, a .30 cal M1919 machine gun mounted in the hull and another mounted coaxially in the turret, and finally a radio in the turret.
A prototype was built in 1932 by three different companies, each built slightly different. The first prototype, built by Ares Tractor Company, was a pretty typical tank of the time, drawing heavily upon the Aclusian Vickers Medium, which was produced under license by Ares. Tall, blocky, with a riveted hull and turret, it suffered from severe unreliability in the transmission and engine as well as commonly bogging down due to thin tracks. The second prototype, built by Shelby Autocar Manufacturers, was a bit different, effectively an enlarged M1917 tank. It suffered from similar issues to the ATC design, primarily in the idler and sprocket wheels as well as the engine being overstressed. The third prototype, built by Gordon Motors, was new. It employed rolled homogeneous steel armor, just as the other two prototypes did, but it was welded together instead of riveted. The vehicle weighed 25 tons and had relatively wide tracks, giving it excellent off-road characteristics. The engine was easy to access, with large panels on the engine deck that opened to give mechanics full access and the ability to quickly remove the engine if replacement or more extensive maintenance was required. Similar ease of maintenance methods were used for the transmission, with the transmission held in a housing at the front of the tank that could be removed and replaced in only a few hours.
In testing lasting nearly a year, the GM tank was far superior to the competition, completing 2,000 kilometer cross country tests with barely a quarter of the breakdowns of the ATC and SAM designs. Tests were carried out in Manticore, Tamir, Almaty, Nuwe Afrikaa, St. Esther, and several other island territories of the Empire. During these tests, flaws in the three prototypes were found and corrected.
In September 1933, GM was awarded a contract for 18 test vehicles for testing by the Armored, Infantry, and Cavalry boards. The following month, the gun was lengthened again to 60 calibers. In March of 1934, a contract was signed for full production, with an order for 1,200 tanks placed in that same contract. Production was supposed to hit 100 tanks per month by June but delays in the expansion of the workforce and factory delayed that target until September of 1934, by which time the first 200 tanks had been produced and delivered. The final batch of tanks is scheduled to be delivered by July 1935.

[Norcourt]

Leerian Town of Salacona, 1935

Norcourtian Protectorate of The Merchant Republic of Leeria

After the occupation of Leeria in 1928, the Norcourtians had appointed a leader for their new protectorate merchant republic. Prince of The Republic, Konstantin Kostov I, elected by the Leerian People to represent their republic, to their Norcourtian Protectors, thus adding onto Maranossos' titles (Maranossos I, Emperor of The Norcourtians, King of The Goldrushians & Dralesians, Lord Protector of Saxland & Leeria). The Prince was very much more prince, than he was Prince of the republic, holding almost absolute power in his realm.

Native Leerian men were encouraged to join the Army of Leeria, a contingent of the Norcourtian Imperial Army, and were put through rigorous training, as any Norcourtian soldier would be. They were armed with older M1896 Bannerman-Croft Infantry Rifles, essentially a longer version of which the Norcourtians were servicing, still perfectly adequate for the era.

The Prince, Konstantin Kostov, was a solid man in his own right, leading his people as though he were a loyal satrap. He was a very vocal advocate for Norcourtian rule, whilst also preserving the virtues of a Leerian Commonwealth. Despite the commonly thought to be puppeteering of Konstantin, he remained a capable advisor to Maranossos, distinguishing himself as a favorite among Maranossos’ command.

Life under Norcourtian rule was relatively peaceful, many Leerians were granted Norcourtian citizenship after a male member of their immediate family had done their time in the army. This was done to encourage military service and duty to the empire, and left many who were not selected, inspired to volunteer. Many Norcourtians, looking to find their luck somewhere other than the mainland, integrated into the republic.

As the 3rd GADNAC Army had done in 1928, the same was to be done in '35. All 11 Divisions of the 3rd GADNAC had blitzed south, seizing the former Rusklandr territory of southern Leeria, bringing order and putting an end to civil unrest and potential warlords. This action would also prove to be important for flow of trade from Norcourtian Leeria, and to the South, Aydnir, an ally of the Norcourtian Empire. Maranossos had known of the growing beast that was the Nationalist Hoosier's to the north, and as such had kept remnants of the original armies, along with their Leerian contemporaries, stationed in Leeria, occasionally going off for leave in mainland Norcourt, while the Leerians remained on duty in the comfort of their Homeland.

Of the initial 13 3rd GADNAC (Goldrushian And Dralesian Army Corps) Army Divisions stationed in 1928, all had remained, the 96th, 24th, 2nd, 5th, 79th, 51st. 42nd, 35th, 160th, 67th, and 11th Infantry Divisions, including two armored divisions, the 100th, and the 402nd.

Of the initial 13 7th Army Divisions, only 7 had remained, including most notable the 13th Elixian Legion, the 1st, 27th, 21st, and 33rd infantry divisions, including two armored divisions, the 212th, and 503rd.

The 1st Leerian Army made up the bulk of the Northern Leeria Garrison, structurally the same as the Norcourtian Army units already stationed. These men, like the GADNACs were serviced by the Norcourtian Military, though of course foreign auxiliary. Inspired mostly by patriotism for their new merchant republic, and raised in the tough rural lifestyle, the Leerian soldier is as capable, and as well equipped as any other in the Norcourtian Military.

The Armored Divisions, did not service the previous Sicalia M.I & M.II Light Tanks as they did in 1928, but had fully reequipped with the newer AM31-A1(L) Ulca Light Tank

The Norcourtian Indianum Armada had begun their journey from Norcourt to dock at the Port City of Talinnigrad, staying close to Leeria. made up of 10 AIN Sentinel Class Battleships, 5 AIN Harkearean Class Battleships, 5 AIN Vanguard Class Battleships, 4 AIN Icarus Class Aircraft Carriers, 44 U-Boats & Submersibles, 10 Heavy Cruisers, 5 Light Cruisers, 20 Destroyers, & 2 Floatilla Leaders.

Harbrook Palace, Norcourt

Maranossos had planned to hold a Military Parade in Norcourtia, inviting the likes of the foreign minister of Aydnir. This was only to further their relations in a positive sense, after all, the Aydinirians were viewed as brothers by the Norcourtian people.

Maranossos had sold 3 AIN Harkearean Class Battleships, 20 Destroyers, and 28 older Monitor Warships to be used in the Aydinirian Navy, mainly as a symbol of friendship, but also to cut the costs of maintaining a couple unused ships in the Norcourtian Navy.

Beginning in 1928, after putting down Councilist Uprisings in the Northern Regions, Maranossos had begun to contract Bannerman-Croft to begin the marketing of 275,000 surplus, and new production M1893 Bannerman-Croft Infantry Rifles (Nicknamed the "Aydnirian Model"), along with 210,000 surplus M1890 Bannerman-Croft Infantry Rifles. Despite the age, these rifles had proved to be the basis of the currently serviced Norcourtian workhorse, the M1932. Along with various other things, Vergaus Mk.1 Heavy Machine Guns, Arciero V-Series M.I & M.II model light tanks, and other surplus military equipment, having also sold the licenses to produce such arms, and modify them in any way they see fit. the Aydnirian Military was to be reequipped, and trained by Norcourtian Officers, as a sign of alliance between the two nations.

As was usual, there was peace in the Norcourtian Empire.

[Aclus]

New Chapter to an Old book

---

The days of the Aclusian Empire, January 27th 1935

The world had changed quite a bit within the last 5 years. The coming of the new decade saw the collapse and challenges of the old systems. The squandering of the post war governments around the world, the riling of the way the average man of the working class lived, many who had given their youths in promise of the brighter future the war would've brought.

Instead, the 1930s brought only a prolonged suffering of the working man, the strained buildup of tensions with mighty nations of the world that had stood powerful for so long. Even at times, once thought everlasting empires and powers. Brought to their knees by the swaying power of their own people. The days that followed since the starting of the new decade, were not too kind to the Aclusian Empire as well.

The nation, or rather the empire had pushed out of the depressing stage of its very own post war phase, rather yet entering the new decade with minds full of ideas. Ideas of change, the coming of the next generation carrying the flames of the many political ideologies and beliefs. All grouped up together stirring a mixing bowl of uncertainty of what the empires future may hold.

The streets of the capital cities had once rung with laughter of the common and rich man alike, children once wandered down with their mothers and fathers on Sundays to worship his beloved holiness. The smell of the most premium meats and fruits, exported from across the rich lands across the empire would fill the air, however that scent had long come and passed, with the smell of smoke brought by the torches of a angered youth and frustrated elders of a generation taking their place.

The empire had begun to fall into a lack of unity and direction, with the wars and rebellions that had have been dealt with over and over again abroad the lands across. Thoughts against the current system had been seeded in the minds of many, many more even taking actions in the streets. Clashes of different loyalties and ties took place in the major capital cities in the home isles, more than those abroad really. Cities like the capital Aclusia, Liverpool, and Manchester would take the brunt of the movements, usually ever dealing with them via the police, but in some cases the army.

The protests and marches were mainly that of the AUF and the ACP, the leading parties besides that of the ultimate power of the current standing government. The Aclusian union of fascists had and always have been a thorn in the governments side, having grown through the words of the former Sir Oswald Mosley. Known for his fanaticism and overall disciplined loyalists dressed in their black sleek uniforms sporting red arm bands. Their opposition? the natural born enemy of every fascists, the reds. The Aclusian Communist party led by John Slater, filled with men of a lesser discipline than the fascists. However filled to the brim of the average dockyard worker, factory workers and the average man.

However with the onset of political instability in the nations people, the Aclusian empire has actually braved the storm of the 1930s effects on the security of the nation. Modernization in the nations military branches have seen massive progressions, huge steps into preparing for the rise of tensions the worlds nations had begun to grow evermore with each day. The first in modernization which came as a surprise to the military board, was the army.

The Rannorian continuation war saw the use of a "modern" Aclusian army thrown into the fire again in 1928, though the tactics of that of which existed in 1918. The major overhaul took place within the change of doctrine within the role of the infantry and their equipment. Restructuring right down to the average squad, now supported with a Bren light machine gun each. This was then followed by the arrival of newer tanks and vehicles in the Aclusian arsenal, mainly the massive production of the fast and much heavily armoured Cruiser Mk.IV tank and the Bren carrier. Mechanization was key for modern warfare, and modern warfare seemed to be coming in the future of the Aclusian Empire.

The Royal Navy however would come to the table with the biggest changes, as the old sailed away and the laying down of the new. The Naval act of 1928 saw the huge shift of the building of Capital ships. Standardization of the BL 16in naval gun on every class but one in the Navy, and majority sharing the same designs with some minor changes in between. New names like that of the Lion, Conqueror, and Olympus coming to light, backed up by that of the newer Royal Navy aircraft carriers. However the laying of the Aclusian navies flagships, the Odin class came about to that gave the world its message, that the Royal Navy was not to be thought of that of a aging tale of a has been. That the Royal Navy still ruled the seas.

The Royal Air Force came third with the arrival of much newer planes of a new design. The beginning of the century found the superiority of the monoplane, this of which was perfected by that of Aclusian engineering with the likes of, the Hawker Hurricane and Bristol Blenheims. Even the massive shift in the heavy bombing role when the Vickers Wellington flew on the scene.

[TENNOHEIKA BANZAI NIHON]

A Rising Sun

The past five years had come and gone fast. Nihon relieved from the trade embargoes once pressed during the tensions, now was doing well, working towards peace with Manticore. While there had been tensions, a large effort by the politicians had been made to form a better relationship, by working to reestablish diplomatic ties and toning down on the militarization of Manchuko.

The Empire now had a growing relationship with Hoosier, the other dominant power of Indianum, with increased cooperation and shared goals; the main one being pushing the Europa powers in Leersog and Smirsja out.

Militarily Nihon had seen major advances in its navy and air corps, now fielding a number of advanced planes and having built the first Amphibious Assault Ship, the Shinshu Maru class. Dozens of destroyers, torpedo boats, cruisers, and carriers were under construction, with the aim of retaining naval supremacy over the neighboring Indianum countries.

The army had decreased in size significantly to comply with the 1928 Deescalation Treaty and was now one of the best trained and well equipped Nihon had seen in decades.

Efforts had been made in order to reduce tensions in the Sea of Nihon to create the Nihonese Coastal Safety Force in 1932. This force had been used with great success, replacing many of the Imperial Nihonese Navy vessels that used to patrol there, now barred due to the treaty’s provision requiring ships to be under 10,000 tons.

Now Nihon had become more powerful than ever before, the military had fine tuned its readiness that it lacked in 1928, maintaining defensive positions better than how they had been neglected in the past.

Nihon had resolved to while abiding by the treaty put in place, be ready for the case it was broken. Air bases had been enlarged in the north and south of Honshu, now holding hundreds of bomber ready to fly to Hokkaido and initiate defensive or retaliatory measures at the notice of their government, ready to go, should war ever occur.

Nihonese culture in this time had expanded, with a number of Manchukoans moving to Nihon, ever adapting and changing. Politically the past few years had seen several new parties rise up, including the Nihonese Facist Party, influenced from Hoosier and Aclusian ideology and angry at points of the compromise struck in 1928 they considered unfair. Their party remained small at the moment, consisting of only 6 members of the Diet, although only time could tell, with the arrival of Nihonese soldiers who had served under Wargloria.

Gokyo, Nihon
Gokyo Bay
January 1, 1935

It was a rather nice clear day as Prime Minister Takaki Tanka, flanked by Minister of War Araki and Minister of Foreign Affairs Shidehara, strode down the dock, surrounded by their Kenpeitai and Tokko guards as members of the Imperial Special Naval Landing Forces and soldiers from the Kwangtung Army stood at attention, watching as Nihonese troops flowed out of transports, marching in precise columns. They were no ordinary Nihonese soldiers however, they wore grey Warglorian uniforms from their service in the conflict within Traansval and Rannoria. They also seemingly had changed, marching the Warglorian goose step fashion rather than the Nihonese high step as they had been trained to do before.

Parents, children, wives, and friends waved from the crowded docks and surrounding areas coming from far and wide to see their men coming home from their fierce battles in Europa after years of service. They cheered, waving Nihonese and Warglorian flags, and could be heard shouting “Tenno Heika Banzai! Doitsu (Wargloria) Reich Banzai!”

Some of the returning men could be seen doing Warglorian salutes, yet others, remaining true, raising their arms in the air and yelling “banzai!”

Tanaka grinned as he watched and moved forwards as he motioned for a translator as he walked over to meet the Warglorian officers sent to hand the Nihonese men back over. After exchanging greetings, with the Warglorian commander, Lieutenant General Schneider and several of his officers, Tanaka motioned them to follow him. As they walked, he spoke, “Gentlemen, it is an honor for your presence. The people and Emperor of Nihon could not be more grateful for the safe return of our men. You have come on a very good day, I apologize you had to celebrate New Years eve on a ship, but I encourage you and your crew to join us for our military parade to welcome our men and celebrate the New Year with us.” The men continued to talk, politics, military, and culture, but Tanaka could not help but smile, watching the men reunited with their families.

At about noon the parade in the streets of Gokyo begun, with Tanaka watching alongside his ministers and with the Emperor Showa. He had invited the Warglorian commanders to join him and they watched as columns of Nihonese troops marched.

First was sailors from the Nihonese Navy, marching alongside as Nakajima A2N Fighters, Hiro Flying Boats; Kugishio Torpedo Bombers, Aichi Dive Bombers, and Mitsubishi G3M bombers flew in formations overhead.

Next was marines from the Special Naval Landing Forces, marching alongside Type 93 Armored Cars and FB Swamp Vehicles.

Following them came sailors from the Coastal Safety Force and members of the Manchuko National Police Force carrying their respective flags.

The Army’s display however was the most impressive, as Kawasaki Ki10s, Kawasaki Type 88s, Mitsubishi Ki2, Nakajima Ki4s, and Tachikawa Ki9s flew in formations overhead.

Soldiers from the Kwangtung Army, Imperial Guard, and Home Army Group marched in large formations next to the returning men having served in Wargloria, still in their Warglorian uniforms.

They showed off the new Type 95 Light Tanks, Type 89 Medium Tanks, SV1 Heavy Tanks, Type 92 Tankettes; Sumida Armored Cars, new Mitsubishi Staff Cars, and many artillery pieces.

And as the parade ended, Tanka’s speech begun. He stepped up to a podium, the eyes of the crowd all upon him. He began. “We are gathered here today to not only celebrate the New Year under his Holiness the Emperor’s Divine reign, but we are here today to welcome our soldiers, who fought so gallantly in Traansval and Rannoria under Warglorian command to liberate the oppressed peoples of Europa and secure our Divine interests in the region. By the Grace of Heaven they have finally returned after many years. Your faithful and undying support of our men has enabled them to take the action to secure our allies from attack and on behalf of all of Nihon, I express my gratitude to the government and military of Wargloria, for bringing our men home. We honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to our Glorious Leader may his Divine will continue to lead our nation and our allies into prosperity. Our prayers are with the families as we think of those who died with honor and glory in the field of battle.The experience in Europa will prove invaluable to achieve our ultimate aims for peace and security across the Divine Orient and those who will continue to serve in the Imperial Armed Forces, and those who join will be rewarded with honor and prosperity. In the recent days and months, we have faced great threats to our security and we will implement lessons learned to prepare to combat threats that face us today. We look to the imperialist Norcourtians who have pressed their will upon the natives of the country, and we must move towards action. Indianum belongs to Indianumites and their allies, not imperialist powers. With our mutual interest with the Hoosier and Warglorian governments we will continue to spread our aims of peace and security across the Orient. We must never allow our enemies the upper hand to achieve their dangerous imperialist goals.” He raised his arms into the air, “Doitsu Reich Banzai! Tenno Heika Banzai!”

The crowd cheered and waved Warglorians and Nihonese flags as they yelled, “Banzai!”

The rest of the was celebrations in the streets and a speech by the Emperor to celebrate the New Year were held, everyone happy at the return of their soldiers and a new year of opportunities.

[The Hoosier Alliance]

January 1st, 1935

The last eight years within Iron Guard Hoosier have been years of progress. Since leaving its state of semi-isolationism, Hoosier has grown to include the Carribean mainland and the majority of the island of Shishiri. The nation has grown into a power in its own right, clamoring for the position of dominate Indianum power, competing with the long time allies in Aydinir and the once enemies in Nihon. After the peace agreement settled between Nihon and Manticore, Hoosier began to a new approach to both nations. Once at the brink of war with Nihon, Hoosier now grows closer to the rival power, seeking another ally in the region to combat foreign powers and influence. Once dependent on Manticore for arms and briefly allied to offset the power of the Nihonese, Hoosier has entered an arms race with the empire after being forced to give up territorial claims in Sirvanska, trying to prepare itself for a seemingly inevitable conflict as the two nations hold different goals and allies.

The Hoosier Army, Navy, and Air Corps has grown to a size unseen since the Great War. The Hoosier Army numbers nearly one hundred divisions, the navy is large enough to compete with most other world powers, and the Air Corps is as large as the Manticoran's. Four aircraft carriers were ordered, as well as twenty battleships, twenty cruisers, ten heavy and ten light, thirty destroyers, and fifteen submarines Previously stifled by the Manticoran treaty, the Hoosiers have decided the secretly break it. Officially, surplus arms are being sold to Hoosier paramilitary factions. The story is not a difficult one to believe, as paramilitary forces were used to keep law and order after the fall of the monarchy. All total, twenty infantry and ten mounted infantry divisions are being trained by veterans during their "free time".

On the border with Almaty, the Army of the West has hunkered down and fortified the border, creating bunkers, trenches, fallback positions, and more as a way to prepare for a Manticoran invasion, as well as drawn up offensive plans for a theoretical war with the empire.

On the border of Smirsja, the 15th and 16th Corps have done the same as on the border of Almaty. With government rhetoric having been directed at foreign powers with claims in Indianum, the army has taken positions on borders of non-Indianum powers occupying native land, most notably Manticoran and Skarten colonies.

[Norcourt]

Falgraaden, Sicalia, Norcourt

The streets were alive and bustled with wealth, and commerce. The children playing kickball on the field rushed towards Francisco's Bakery, a local favorite that gave out sweet rolls at a discount price during the rush hour. The women tended to their babies, gossiping on their porches and discussing how tiresome they were of their duties. The men went about their day jobs, many of them veterans in the army after doing their mandatory service time. Despite the major industry boom in Norcourt, the heartland still remained the same. Ever since the Norcourtian Civil War of 1896, the Norcourtian people had understood both the terrors of a Communist regime, and of that of it's past, and since then there has been mostly peace for nearly 40 years.

A new generation of young men and women were slowly arising, with jobs paying higher than ever under Maranossos' rule, and babies being born left and right.

Naval Act of 1935, Port of Sicalia, Norcourt

To begin the year of 1935, Maranossos had commissioned the construction of 2 HLS Sentinel Class Battleships, the HLS Redemption, Serpentine, and 1 HLS Harkearean class battleship, the HLS Cerberus. An Icarus class aircraft carrier, the HLS Lombardi was to be constructed as well, while an Aclusian Apollo Class Aircraft Carrier had recently been commissioned.

Norcourtian Military Board of Armour & Motor Vehicles, Norcourtia

A newly commissioned tank design trials had begun, with the dominant companies of Arciero, Carthston Motors, and Murazzo, all submitting their own designs, suggestions, and notes. It had been decided that within the next few years the board would focus on developing a medium sized tank, weighing from 25 to 30 tons, at least one and a half inches of armor, utilizing the newly developed 57mm Pontus AT-Gun, and able to reach a maximum of 23 mph on paved roads. Arciero had suggested placing an additional 75mm AT Cannon in the hull of the AM31-A1(L) Ulca, though it was seen as vastly impractical, unwieldy, cumbersome, and would not be acceptable by the board. Murazzo had suggested a larger landship styled heavy tank, with multiple turrets each with lighter caliber guns and/or machine guns, with one 75mm hull AT Gun, though that design was also seen as obsolete and had not even been taken into consideration. Carthston had proposed some good ideas, though they were not practical enough for Norcourt's industry, being rather expensive and advanced. Carthston's idea was taken into consideration however, and the trial redone to fill the requirements of a simpler version of the idea proposed by Carthston. Day after day, week after week, plan after plan, failed attempts flew straight out the window, but eventually, one design soon came to light.

The Capital of The Republic of Leeria, Murs

The 7th Army, and it’s Leerian contemporaries, after completing specialty training in coordinating ground & air forces, by use of radio and other means, were to be deployed to the north, south of the city of Syrissa. The 3rd GADNAC Army were to rendezvous up north as well, after securing southern Leeria, and leaving a small force, just about large enough to maintain order.

Syrissa, Leeria

Construction of a defensive line, dubbed the “Magnar Line” (named after General Edvard Magnar) began in the northern Leeria mountain range, in case of any form of northern aggression. Within this line, was to be settled in, the 7th Army, and the 1st Leerian Army, with it's western flank being secured by the soon arriving 3rd GADNAC Army. Mostly composed of foxholes, dug in along the northern side of the mountain range, they were to employ an elastic defense against any invaders, whilst also coordinating artillery, and air support.

En masse, artillery had been set up along the rear mountain range, made-up mostly of Pontus 75 & 155mm Field Guns, and Carsidullo 105 & 155mm Howitzers.

The 174th & 132nd Infantry Divisions of the 1st Leerian Army, along with the 415th Leerian Armored Division, had been stationed in Syrissa, to keep order, and to secure the city, digging in and entrenching themselves along the perimeter of the city, in four lines of trenches, with multiple pillboxes being set up along them, and foxholes acting as forward defense points, with the fallback zone being the trenches. The Vergaus Machine Guns had been set up in crossfiring roles to maximize offensiveness, while coordinated artillery supported from the south. Anti-Tank capabilities had been maximized through both artillery, and the use of the Norcourtian designed M1929 Devereux AT/AM Rifles, chambering a 8x108mm round, traveling under high velocity, sure enough to penetrate 33mm of armor within a range of 100 yards, more than capable of dealing with most modern tanks. Along with support from the nearby air bases of Toerberg, and Alyse, the Magnar Line was set in stone.

They were determined to protect what was theirs, after all, this was their home, many of the men in the division were born and raised in Syrissa, living under Norcourtian rule for most of their teen through early adult years.

Despite the Norcourtian bringing education, a stable government, a proper well trained army, and most of all peace and liberty to those in Leeria, the powers that be in Indianum had seen it fit to push their "Indianum for Indianumites' ' campaign even further. As all was well in Leeria, the average citizen earning nearly fourteen kade per hour, at minimum, and living in modernized housing provided by Norcourt. It had not been apparent to the hypocritical Indianum warmongers, that their true conquistador colours were showing.

A strong sense of nationalistic pride had surged throughout the nation, self-governance, as a commonwealth/protectorate of the Norcourtian Empire, they weren't a run of the mill colony by any means, despite what the false eyed Hoosiers and Nihonese had seen.

Having endured through the struggle of their previous government, these lads were encouraged even more so to protect their beloved nation.

[Nazeroth]

EMIRATE OF FABUHAD/إمارة فابهاد

Fabudishu, Capital of Fabuhad

The call to prayer played with the very air of the land, it's song of faith winding down every street in the capital of Fabuhad. The faithful by the thousands gathered to morning prayer, including the Emir himself Mumbati Farhad. A new era was coming in the world, where men and machines were both born onto the Earth. Gone were the days of sail and horse, at least, in the lands of the Imperial powers. This was not quite the case in Fabuhad, it was an ancient area almost lost in time, where the reaches of modern science and technology were only just making their mark. After morning prayer and other religous tasks the Emir had met with his top advisers. His court of diplomats, generals and other men of important standing in the Emirate. It was a balacing act for the Emir, to satisfy his followers while still strengthening his nation.

Brining Fabuhad into the modern era was vital, not only for technological reasons, but for defensive reasons. Fabuhad was one of the few Islamic nations that had gained sovereignty from former colonizing powers, and they had learned very well what the outsiders and infidels were capable of. It was for this very reason that Fabudishu's first airport was created by the guiding hand of the Emir. No longer was trade and diplomacy regulated to sea voyage or a harsh trek through the blistering desert wastes. Already they had begun being visited by the powers of the world and their "delegations" This meant the Emir now had small buildings constructed to serve as their embassies, though he retained control over these territories should be wish to have them removed. With the finding of Oil in Fabuhad also brought many eyes.

They hungered for it, they craved it with all their minds and hearts. It was a black temptress, and for this it was the Emir's greatest fear of exploit. This vulnerability had been brought up by his Generals, convinced that at any moment the invaders would return to re-colonize this holy land. His diplomats and economic advisers offered a two prong solution. Their oil reserves while not fully explored were deemed to be of massive potential. This could be harnessed to enrich Fabuhad, the would buy the very weapons and goods to protect themselves. Already talks were taking place with Nihon, an asian nation with it's own eyes on their oil supply, along with other former and current Imperial powers.

The Emir sipped tea as he dismissed his advisers and pondered, god willing, Fabuhad would become the jewel of the desert.

[The Manticoran Empire]

Under the National Defense Act of 1934, following the successful trials of mechanized forces in Aclus, Hoosier, Wargloria, and Manticore, the Royal Manticoran Army was authorized to begin the transition of the Tank Brigades into Armored Divisions. The 1st Tank Brigade was selected as the first one to transition, though 1934 was primarily spent in determining how the new division would be organized. The Experimental Mechanized Force, tested from 1928 to 1932, had two mechanized infantry battalions in armored half-tracks, each of two rifle and two machine gun companies, a light tank battalion of three tank companies, a field artillery battalion with a battery of towed 75mm howitzers, a battery of towed 105mm howitzers, and a battery of self-propelled 75mm howitzers. It was decided that the division should be similar but that the entire division should be self-propelled.
The final table, published in December 1934, had the division organized around a Tank Regiment, two Armored Infantry Regiments, a Self-propelled Field Artillery Regiment, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company, a Service Company, a Signal Company, a Recon Battalion, an Engineer Battalion, and a Divisional Train. The tank regiment would number three battalions, including 1 light tank battalion and 2 medium tank battalions. Each Medium Tank Battalions would have 53 M1 medium tanks and 488 men. Each Light Tank Battalion would have 53 M1 or M2 Light Tanks and 382 men. A Headquarters Company of 174 men, a maintenance company of 188 men, a service company of 191 men, a recon troop of 202 men with 17 armored cars, and a medical detachment of 68 men brought the regiment up to a total of 2,181 men, 106 Medium Tanks, 53 Light Tanks, 17 Armored Cars, and almost 1,000 other vehicles. The two Armored Infantry Regiments each total 2,472 men carried in half tracks while the Artillery Regiment totals 2,385 with 36 105mm self-propelled guns. In total, the division has 14,459 men, 176 tanks, 68 Armored Cars, 1,500 half tracks, and almost 4,000 other vehicles.
Transitioning all 16 tank brigades to Armored Divisions will raise the combat strength of the Army by over 230,000 men and add another 347,000 men to supporting formations. This would raise the Army’s end strength by 548,800 men, resulting in the army exceeding its treaty limitations by over 270,000 men and increasing the total number of divisions from 84 to 100. However, the Army was determined to not be left behind in the motorization race and so the transitions went ahead, though 1st Brigade was passed over. Instead the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th Brigades would transition first and would receive first priority for new equipment. The rest of the Army would transition after that. Under current production rates, it was estimated that all brigades would have successfully expanded into divisions by 1939.

Further developments were being made by the Royal Manticoran Navy as the Empire shifted its focus to fighting wars in Indianum. With that goal in mind, the Navy found itself needing to ensure that cargo ships carrying men and material could make it to Indianum in one piece while simultaneously ensuring that trade with adversary nations was cut off. To this end, the Navy had spent the last decade building up the strength of their light units. All ships in the fleet possessed sonar sets to detect submarines. Studies of sonar and the effect of the ocean on soundwaves had resulted in the discovery of distinct temperature divides, called thermoclines, around 200 to 300 meters below the surface. These areas would reflect sound waves, theoretically allowing any submarine that could reach those depths to be completely invisible to outside detection. However, the most modern RMN submarines could reach only 80 meters. As such, the Navy began to research what would be required to allow a submarine to survive at 300 meters below the surface of the ocean.
In the interim, the RMN had decided that there needed to be a reorganization of the fleet. With 78 capital ships, 19 carriers, and hundreds of other vessels, it had become clear to the Navy that there would need to be a substantial shift in assignments, especially given the speed differences between the modern Averland and Mootland class battleships and their predecessors. To this end, the RMN established two battleship fleets. The first would consist of the modern battleships and the 12 Caerus class battlecruisers, which would put it at a current strength of 36 capital ships. By 1940, that strength would be up to 60 ships. The second fleet would take the older capital ships, 42 in total, and position them in Tamir, where they would be well placed to secure the trade lines with Manchukuo and Breyburg. Most of the carrier fleet would go with the first battle fleet, providing a powerful airborne strike and scouting force. The rest of it would be stationed with the fleet in Manchukuo, to support the Breyburg navy.
With organization and submarine development given their priorities and goals, the Navy turned to its vast fleet of auxiliaries and cargo ships. The goal here was to ensure that, in time of war, the Navy could quickly and efficiently get men and material from one place to another and that required convoy exercises. Twice a year these exercises were held, once in the summer and once in the winter. Cargo ships would be drawn together and placed with an escort of destroyers, cruisers, and occasionally battleships and aircraft carriers. These exercises had started in 1924, during the initial tensions with Nihon. Since then, the Navy had decided that every convoy needed at least one aircraft carrier to provide scouting and long range strike capabilities as well as sonar equipped destroyers and light cruisers to engage enemy submarines. Surface raiders would be handled by heavy cruisers and battleships.
With new goals set, the Royal Manticoran Navy had its course set for the next few years.

All of these led to the Ministry of Defense forwarding invitations to the Norcourtian and Aclusian militaries for a series of joint maneuvers in Almaty and Manchukuo. Among the key points of the maneuvers would be staging troops and equipment at port facilities, loading cargo vessels, running them in convoys to ports in Manchukuo, before offloading the troops and cargo, transloading them onto railcars, and shipping them by rail or road to the maneuver area near the Almaty border. The actual field maneuvers would last approximately two months and cover 10,000 square miles, with the goal to improve coordination and communication between the three allied armies as well as to assess the current training and tactical doctrines of the armies.

[TENNOHEIKA BANZAI NIHON]

Gokyo, Nihon
Yasukuni Shrine
January 2, 1935

Guji (Chief Priest) Momoki Kamo stood at the front of the hoden, as priests began rituals to enshrine the Nihonese and Warglorian war dead. Next to him stood Emperor Hirohito who was flanked by several generals, guards, and politicians.

"We are gathered here today to honor those who died in the name of our Glorious Emperor, and for the security of the Reich. We are here to enshrine the 53,452 Imperial Nihonese soldiers who died in Traansval and Rannoria, alongside the many Warglorians who laid down their life to ensure peace and prosperity across Europa."

Emperor Hirohito now stepped forward and began his speech. ""In efforts to protect and secure peace and security across the Orient and Europa, our brave soldiers have made Glorious sacrifices for our Empire and our allies. The thought of those officers and men as well as others who have fallen in the fields of battle, those who died at their posts of duty, or those who met with untimely death and all their bereaved families, pains our heart night and day.

The welfare of the wounded and the war-sufferers, and of those who have lost their homes and livelihood, are the objects of our profound solicitude.

Under my Divine order, I have declared a memorial to be built on the grounds of Yasukuni, to honor the war dead of both Wargloria and Nihon. We cannot be more grateful to these men, who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our Empire and the Reich. "

Warglorian Officers and Nihonese-Warglorian troops at the service.

The service continued with Warglorian commanders, Shinto priests, Nihonese government leaders, and Nihonese soldiers speaking. It was a moment of reflection, but at the same time, a hardening of the Nihonese will to fight.

Crest of the Imperial Diet

Military Service in Traansval and Rannoira Memorial Act

1. In honor of the Nihonese soldiers who were deployed in service with the Warglorian Armed Forces, and the Warglorian soldiers and sailors who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the name of peace in Europa, the Imperial Diet has authorized all government buildings to fly the Nihonese Mourning Flag, or the Nihonese Flag at half staff.

2. Every Nihonese soldier and the Warglorian commanders of the units that served in Traansval shall receive the Traansval War Medal.

3. Every Nihonese soldier and the Warglorian commanders of the units that served in Rannoria shall receive the Rannoria Combat Action Medal.

4. A statue so described by His Holiness the Emperor, shall be built and placed in Yasukuni Shrine, to honor every Nihonese and Warglorian soldier that died in service during the Traansval and Rannoria campaigns.

Gokyo, Nihon
Imperial General Headquarters
January 2, 1935

"Gentlemen, the Imperial Army is here today to form an independent battalion that will give the Empire, compared to Aydinir, a decisive edge in our intelligence operations against the hostile Europa nations." called General Sakamoto.

At the front of the room sat Chief of Army General Staff Kotohito Kan'in and Chief of Navy General Staff Hiroyasu Fushimi, while numerous important generals and admirals were seated at opposite sides of the room. Today would be very important for determining the fate of a new program, one created by both intelligence officials and the Ministry of the Army.

"A Nihonese man stands out in a crowd of Manticorans, making him obvious and a poor spy. Likewise, the arrogant Manticorans and other Europa nations have been known in the past to discriminate against native Indianumites, and cannot help but hold them in suspicion. So naturally when tensions started with Manticore, we employed more and more hakujin (white) operatives than ever before. Our military faces the same disadvantage. We have some white soldiers among our ranks, but scattered across our different divisions. That is why I proposed to the Imperial Army General Staff Headquarters that we create an all white unit. There are many advantages from this, namely for field intelligence and a possible diversion."

He paused as Prince Fushimi asked, "What sort of diversion?"

Sakamoto nodded, "In the simplest terms, we have discussed in the Army and Intelligence groups that these soldiers would be able to wear similar or identical uniform to opposing forces and in that sense allow them to get close to the enemy before attacking. Namely they could be used in Manchuko, where any Manticoran invasion will involve Breyburg. Amid the initial confusion, we could send our men in Manticoran uniforms to Breyburgian lines, and then once allowed near or into their lines, strike."

A General asked, "Is that not a dishonorable method of warfare?"

Sakamoto paused and replied calmly, "The Europeans are not known for their honor. The unit in war will primarily be used for intelligence gathering in hostile territory were an Indianumite would stand out. But I will have arranged for small differences to be made in the uniforms unless circumstances in war make it impossible."

The general nodded and remained quiet.

Sakamoto continued, "One advantage is that in war, should our great army advance into hostile territory, these men are more likely to be more respected by the white populace, who would be less likely to rebel against a white unit than a Nihonese unit they see as foreign. The unit will primarily be made up of young men from the former Crimetopolis, who have a grievance against Breybrug. There will also be a few Warglorians, Aclusians, Carriebeaners, Twelve Islandrs, a few outcasts from Hoosier, and a few men originating from the Arengin Union. Some have been born and raised in Nihon, others are former soldiers or immigrants."

"They have been promised higher pay for their unique abilities, and risk they may have to take, while those who do not have citizenship have been offered that immediately."

"As for their numbers many are coming from regular Nihonese units, while others are being recruited currently. As of now, we have 732 men and hope to end with 800. To match the procedures of enemy units we currently have intelligence officials studying that, although most importantly is how they look and how they talk. We have been able to obtain actual or look-alike copies of uniforms from Breyburg, Manticore, Aclus, Rachana, and Norcourt. As for how they speak, we have seen to it that every officer speaks fluent English."

"Gentlemen, I would like to introduce Colonel Oskar von Niedermayer, formerly a captain in the Warglorian Army."

Niedermayer stepped out and gave a curt bow. "He is the current commander of the unit, and is very well trained from his service in the Warglorian Military. He is fluent in Warglorian, English, and Arengin, while his Nihonese and Aydinirian are passable. He is a career officer, having served since 1905 in the Warglorian Army and during his deployment to Nihon, has since decided to stay."

Prince Kan'in asked, "How do we ensure their loyalty? It seems the Manticorans could just send immigrants to join the unit and spy on us."

Sakamoto nodded. "Sir many of the men selected are already in service, and have pledged loyalty to the Emperor. We have screened the men and have picked the best ones based off of their performance and loyalty in the past. Our way of ensuring the security of the program will be its secrecy, although existing rules in the Imperial Army may help to make sure no potential spies can slip in."

Prince Kan'in nodded. "It seems clear to the Supreme War Council that this unit could prove useful in the future. It is approved."

[Newne Carriebean7]

Carriebean City
January 1, 1935

The Capital of Carriebean was rather busy, a mobile city that hemmed and hawed with the times. The antiquated system of horses was being phased out with electric trams that hummed electric glows rather than shitting every five seconds. While the city had an optimistic outlook, there were still political divides between the left and the right, which played out in violent protests that forced increasingly small numbers of neutral soldiers to break up the opposing sides.
Carriebean was rather lucky to even be a state, as the vultures of Breyburg, Manticore and their victorious allies all descended on her corpse again and again, even when she failed to learn her lesson and marched soldiers incompetently to their deaths. It was through a combination of blind luck and a little bit of foreign policy miracles that the proud and triumphant multi-colored blue sun emblazoned banner still waved above Carriebean City.
The bitter sting of losses in the adopted homeland of Shishiri in the early 1910s owing to insubordinate warmongering handed the Pirate Party and Marvin Washvelt’s administration a crushing defeat in the 1925 election. The political parties of the right and the left increasingly draw more antagonism towards each other. While gun battles in Congress are lax, there are the occasional nut job politicians with a revolver full of bullets and a few bad ideas.
Riding in the open topped chariot was the President, Rachlét Partenbre, and the Prime Minister Mara Chyltenslavbargden. The sun’s rays warming the party as it made it’s way across the capital, with The President smiling lightly at Mara, meeting with the same warm response.
“So Mara, how goes things at home?”
“At home? Why would you care about my personal life? I don’t peek around seeing how many prostitutes you buy off.”
“It’s a mere formality, we’re still friends right?”
Mara finally chuckled before admitting defeat with a faux punch at the president.
“Alright. My son’s working on a farm. We grow sugar wheat. You know, that combination of sugar and a grain that you use?”
“I swear half of this is just used for exposition in some novel, you really must liven up your wordplay, dear.”

“I have a few choice words to ‘liven up’ my word play: piss, shit, go fuck yourself, shall I continue?”
Partenbre’s face curled into an expression as if he had just sniffed a piece of shit. Defeated, he sighed reluctantly.
“No, no need for that. Shall we discuss military matters? How about our re-armament?”

“We know everyone’s rearming around us, manticore, nocourtia, that third nation no-one remembers.”

“Nihon?”

“Hell if I know. The point is we’ll be left out in the dust like last time. You remember Washvelt’s piss poor strategies?”

“How can someone not open up a history book and see the utter ass-whoopin’ we got from many different nations? What we need to do is modernize. Maybe we can start out with a standard firearm for all enlisted men.”
“Standard firearm? My poor Partenbre, I think all this drinking really is affecting your judgement. We don’t need a standard firearm, we can just have a general mass levy one we utilize in the event of invasion. They can either use the hunting rifle or the tens of millions of colt revolving carbines we have left over. Why spend the money for a standard firearm if they’ll just run out of ammunition for it? That’s why we give each soldier five different guns and ten different types of ammunition.”
“Maybe instead of the firearm we can focus on our navy. But I’d rather discuss this with the naval ministry in detail.”
“Which Naval-Minister?” Partenbre jested, much to the chagrin of Mary.
“You know damn well I mean Shitty Sam! Get your head out of your ass!”
“But I don’t want to come out, it feels nice and safe.”

“You can be safe, but don’t complain to me when you have nothing to do and have wasted your life away with your head up your fucking ass.” Mary hissed venomously as the carriage came to a halt outside the Imperial Palace. Both the President and Prime Minister left the contraption, staring at rifle wielding warrior monks that flanked both sides of a red carpet outside the main entrance. Walking inside, the reluctantly made eye contact with the Leading Minister Marchiba Bantejø, who was shockingly still alive. Taking a tender moment of surprise, some small talk left Mara’s mouth.
“How’s the heart?”
“Still beating, you know, I’m saddened I’m not Prime Minister ma tier-reeal boy.”
“I’m a woman.”
“Whot in the fucks a woah man. Sounds like an ambush. It’s lingo you know.”
“Still, you should know what the fuck gender I am. I’m only a historical first for this country!”
“Historical last-“
Mara so badly wanted to sucker punch the one hundred and nineteen year old man, but she refrained for now, merely giving him a stern look before continuing on to meet with the cabinet.

Saluting back a few guards as she entered the room, she observed the ministers of the various posts sitting around a long table and smoking cigars while doling out gracious shots of whiskey, spilling all over important documents relating to finance, military blueprints and political flyers for campaign season. The mood in the room shifted, from one of drunken banter about women and personal details about military secrets to one of an almost regretful and reluctant silence upon understanding the rank of the man and woman who had just entered. All at once, every minister dusted off the peanut crumbs, cigar ash and whiskey splotches and saluted, akin to a military officer. Partenbre and Mara returned the salute, and the meeting would officially commence now.

“Murderous Jack. We still do not have a main army tank which we will be able to utilize in future conflicts with our diplomatic dickheads, why is this? If you cannot answer It I shall ask Rango, who should be on top of these sorts of things.” Partenbre inquired, sharply looking at Jackson.
The Minister of the Army coughed inbetween puffs on a freshly lit cigar before choking momentarily as he rummaged his brain for information.
“I don’t take your meaning, we’ve got plenty of tractors and kapital defense tanks at our armored disposal. While it is true the speed difference is an egregious nineteen miles per hour between the two, I can assure you that an upgraded tractor engine has been contracted with the Minister of Manufacturing.”

“Is this true? Is my Army minister lying through his fucking teeth?”
“Y-yes, I-I mean N-No, I mean y-yes.” Rango confidently began with a slight studder. Partenbre pressed him on this, throwing a nearby book at his face which the now scared Rango barely managed to duck out of the way of.
“Answer the goddamned question, Rango.”
“Well we did receive the contract, it’s just that progress has been… slower than expected. We’ve got plenty of machine parts for the upgraded engines, it’s just that there’s been an absence of ‘hands in the factories’ if you catch my meaning.”
“So you’re hiring prostitutes? Why the fuck would you hire the highest ranking members of our society to conduct menial labor?!”
“We’ve had to hire anyone and everyone, and even then there are still every two workers either unionizing or walking off the job for every one we hire. It’s simply unsustainable at this rate.”
The Prime Minister soon turned a rather wicked grin on her face.

“I’m sure the army would be more than willing to ‘escort’ workers to their posts, if they like it or not.”
“Have we considered talking to the unionists?” The Education minister suggested.
“Talking to godfull communists? You’re clearly not right in the head. Negotiation is simply the first state to letting the fucking communists win! I’m sending in the fucking army and that’s that!” The President screamed, shutting down the suggestion by Paula Edison Monroe.
“Well sir, if you wish for progress on Carriebeanian armored units, we have eleven Disuns comprising 1,000 personnel each, armed with 2 Kongress Whip Halftracks, 4 Tractor Assault Vehicles and 2 Pope Talos Armored Cars.”
“How many in a separate cavalry sized division, say with 20,000 mounted riflemen, purely a hypothetical.”
“Well, uh, we’d double the amount in a usual Disun and then do those numbers nine more times for 99 Kongress Whip Halftracks, 198 Tractor Assault Vehicles and an even 100 Pope Talos Armored Cars.”
“Have you considered diverting the needed military machinery before?”
“No sir.”
“Get on it immediately. I want three calvary divisions with this stuff, oh and attach 1897 75mm Cannons, maybe five batteries worth for each division.”
“But that’s twenty cannon sir.”

“Quadruple it, then check your goddamned math you motherfucking dumbass.”
“eighty cannon sir, now you’re talking!”
“Now then, Naval Minister, how’s my fleet?”
Sampson “Shitty Sam” Norrington rustled his rather thick bush of greying white hair before giving a subtle smile, revealing his lack of any teeth, save for a yellowed front one he affectionally calls “chomper”
“Hot damn, we gots a navy. We gots that fancy schmacy aircraft carrier and a whole slew of capital ships at our discretion. I’d like to run a few brand spankin’ new ship designs over Rango, if he’s in the mood.”
“Oh I’m always in the mood for military expansionism, just show the new blueprints here.” Rango insisted, clearing away a spot of mold and thin layer of dust from a rarely used side table to lay out the naval blueprints on the unsteady platform. Prime Minister Mara loomed over the plans like a vulture over a dilapidated corpse.

Queen of the Waves
Displacement: 7,000 tons
Length: 550 feet
Beam: 60 feet
Complement: 415 enlisted and 35 officers for a total of 450 personnel
18 x Shark Torpedo Bombers organized in nine 2 plane squadrons
Armament:
22 x Vinegar Machine Guns
4 x 75mm AA Flak Cannons
Top Speed: 17 knots

Mara merely nodded her head in approval as Rango looked puzzled at the details, how sparse they seemed to be. Just the bare bones.
“Was this it? Just a nod?” Rango thought to himself. “Surely there must be more than that..”
“Um, Prime Minister, have any questions about the ship?”
“When can we start building the keel? I want two of these things.”
“Two aircraft carriers, and they wont be built from the keel, but we’ll start by razing a few decks from some bought paddle wheel steamers, then we’ll fit in the needed hangar bays and storage facilities for ammunition, expand the crew quarters out and possibly fit a boiler or two more in there. Optimistically the refit will only take 6 months if everything works out without a hitch, construction wise.”
“Excellent, see to it immediately. I want these two aircraft carriers to be readied in due time. We’re going off to war with someone, I can’t for the life of me choose who to declare war on.” Mara clapped her hands gleefully.

Joseph Birmingham Harold just so happened to be drinking from his canteen of scotch, when the thought of casually throwing around war like it was some toilet paper (whatever the fuck that was) caused him to gag on the liquid and spew the booze all over the President’s face, much to his chagrin.
“I’m sorry. Could you run that by me one more fucking time.”
“We’re going off to war with some-“
“Are you a fucking idiot?! Carriebean is in no way, shape or forum ready to get involved in an international conflict. We’re going to need to maintain our neutrality for at least two years.”
“But I want to go to war now.”
Harold leapt up from the table and yanked the middle aged female prime minister of Carriebean, hissing venomously into her ears.
“If you’re so inclined to go to war, pick up a fucking rifle, get on a fucking horse and trot about and invade some fucking neighboring country like the one man army you’ll never be! If you really are as jingoistic as you boast, then you won’t hesitate when under fire, running for your comrade’s arms as explosions rip apart your armored support, with it raining shit, blood and guts all over you while doing this on less than a half hours’ sleep in some ankle deep shit water filled trench with the only thing preserving your sanity is playing Arengin Roulette every night and wishing, just wishing, you’d lose.”

With that, the Foreign Minister’s icy cold grip let go of Prime Minister Mara Chyltenslavbargden, who momentarily looked dazed before regaining her composure. Shrugging her shoulders, she sat back in her seat to hear a report by the agricultural minister on selling more fertilizer and infamous Carriebeanian shit sandwiches to boost the local economy. A reeal thrilling read of fourty nine pages of bureaucratic bullshit she had to simply nod, smile through her gut and quell the burning sensation in the back of her mind that screamed to shoot the minister of agriculture for being a boring old prick.
“And in conclusion, by feeding the Carriebeanian people larger bushels of corn, we can export even more shit to other nations and to ourselves as fertilizer by anywhere from 15 to 20% more. Thank you.”

If Tao Bendouin had been expecting anything more than a half-assed nod by a few attentively snoozing aides, he was clearly insane. The performance of blabbing out straight facts with little to no alternation in his otherwise unbearable, monotone, voice landed with a thud in the room.
“That’s…” started Foreign Minister Harold in-between more and more frequent shots of rum. “Very interesting, uh, Tao. Now we know that larger corn pieces will enable more exports, sure to please Rango very much so; yes, yes indeed.”
Seeing an awkward pause in conversation, Leading Minister Marchiba Bantejø was quick to wave down the naval minister for his concentration.
“Shitty Sam! Over here dumbass. Before we were so… enthralled with the tales of the corn husk monster that dry and blunt Tao had force fed us by locking the doors, let us get back to the real meat and potatoes, the real sugar and shit, the real-“
“Boats?” Shitty Sam mused, nursing the dying glows of his final cigar in-between small drops of whiskey falling onto his tongue.
“Yes, those… floating thingies on the water, whatever the fuck you call them. I think Anchors is a good name for it.” Bantejø beamed with a smile, feeling vindicated for remembering the name.
“But those sink.”
“Sink, float, whatever. The Carriebeanian navy has historically been known for doing one or the other, though most often the former rather than the latter.”
“Well,” started the Naval Minister, anxious to speak to the leadership about progress. “We’re just about wrapping up the construction of two baby battleships and a few more submarines.”
“So there is progress.” The Education minister mused inbetween falling asleep and banging her head on the oak table in exhaustion.
“Nobody likes the peanut galley, so fuck off education minister.”
With a curt middle finger by Monroe, Shitty Sam continued.
“We’ve now doubled our amount of baby battleships from two to four. Our converted carriers will take a long time to actually be in a position to launch planes from, so that’s a sour note. But to end it on a happy note, there’s only been three reports of cholera and malaria onboard a destroyer, down from the thirteen reports last month.”
“Well what happened to the ten?”
Sam looked dazzled and stupefied. “What?”
“What happened to the ten before, did they recover?”
“Nope, they died.”
“Fuck.”
With another audible sigh, President Rachlét Partenbre and the Prime Minister both got up and thanked the cabinet for their patience before announcing:
“Alright then, this meeting of the cabinet is dismissed.”
With that information sinking into those not drunken, stoned or tired, the sounds of shuffling chairs and the door opening lead to chatter among the ministers with their various lower-level department vice-ministers over the progress of their respective departments.

Imperial Carriebeanian Navy leaving Port, taken from Carriebeanian flagship Baja California by an unknown sailor. From closest to farthest ship:
Noah Steel (BC-21)
Marvin Washvelt (BC-20)
Chōsokabe (BC-19)
Buccaneer (PBS-1)
Freebooter (PBS-3)
Fillibuster (PBS-4)
David III Class Battleship Baja California

The sun peeked it’s head up among the glistening waters and huge mountains that contained the Main Carriebeanian Fleet. Many of the ships of the fleet were still divvied up amongst the local warring parties, with one section devoted to battleships and another section for submarines, though the armored cruisers and minesweepers had long since outgrown such partisan motions and coordinated their efforts as best they could. The Carriebeanian fleet, while by no means as powerful as it had been in the early 1900s, was slowly rebuilding.

Various dockyard workers hummed away at stripping another paddle wheel steamer destined for her transformation into an aircraft carrier.
For the first time, there had been actual effort paid to logistics of naval exercises, with the acquisition of several coilers slated for the scrap yards of the Twelve Isles to being pressed into service as spare parts/ammunition/coilers. Still, the Carriebeanian fleet was far from being able to support the so called “Tin-fleet”, nicknamed owing to the formation of two budget cruisers with a protective belt of tin instead of steel or bronze. The number of corners cut on these ships would amaze even the most sai pinching Carriebeanian accountant wanted for tax evasion.

There were noticeable gaps in the wooden floors, with sloppy nail work that was begging for a lawsuit for some dumbass civilian with shit tons of money. That was why they had been assigned to the small force guarding the capital, “out of sight and out of mind”; as they say.
By far the most promising accomplishment of a fleet still reeling from losses incurred against Skarten during the Parsi conflict was the construction of the nation’s first aircraft carrier. While no means perfect, the Empress of the Seas represented a newer generation of Carriebeanian officers, ones that had pushed, lobbied and threatened political figures hard for a new torpedo bomber/ dive bomber. Still, the defiant dreadnought dragging dudes that represented the majority of Naval Command (all card carrying Patriotic party members no doubt) managed to block more carriers along the slipways, thanks in part of their concrete political connections with the slave owning Carriebeanian nobility.

In lieu of more carriers, the navy opted to construct large commerce raiders, nicknamed “Baby Battleships” after their fractional size to a regular Carriebeanian battleship and with increased speed for lessened armor. Sticking battleship guns on the cruisers proved satisfactory, and two more were immediately ordered in 1931. Now the Freebooter and Filibuster were under the assistance of several tow boats to finally fit out fully prior to their official commissioning into the Imperial Carriebeanian Navy.

However, this proved to be a double edged sword, as plans to upgrade the outdated Coastal Defense Cruisers and build a more powerful sister ship were shelved in favor of the raiding vessels. There had increasingly been calls to pay the air force more attention than a bizarre glance one would give a socially anxious teenager flipping shit burgers from the comfort of your horse drawn carriage while at the cart through at Carrie-Mart’s shit Burgers.

The aging flagship’s commander paced back and forth in his admiral’s quarters, walking on his cane to steady his body while frequent drags on numerous cigars steadied his nerves. Admiral Prinz von Wall was this man, thickly coated in a beard that seemed to almost be as large as the amount of medals awarded throughout his military career. While hostilities with the Skartens had all but ceased, there remained the matter of an aggressive Manticore and Aclus.

Understanding the dangers, commerce raiders had also been contracted. The ZIT-class vessels (Zeelandian Interception Trawlers), named after a fictional country favored in Carriebeanian war games stood at thirty disguised commerce raiders armed with a few leftover land cannons, some torpedoes and hidden machine guns to wreak havoc on enemy supply lines and convoys. Still, the strain on the dockyards at the conversion forced only seventeen raiders to actually be on the open oceans, waiting from the signal from Carriebean City to begin hunting.

An abrupt knock on his door brought his focus away from grandiose strategic and tactical planning for military episodes to more immediate concerns of who the fuck was there. Grumbling to himself, he cracked the door open slightly to see a slightly younger grey bearded replica of himself, albeit with a different naval rank of six compared to Wall’s seven chevrons adorning each flanking epaulettes on his daily naval uniform.
“Vice Admiral Harrison, what a surprise.”
Vice Admiral Michale Harrison gently put his hand on Admiral Prinz von Wall’s shoulder and disarmed any possible interruptions with a slight smile.
“Oh you would be lost without me. I know you’re not deaf, but I brought along a parrot.”
“Parrot? You know I’m not that much into birds, maybe some champagne, but not a bird.”
“Oh you’ll love it.” Harrison insisted, brining in a cage to the room and hanging it from the celing, with a bright yellow and blue parrot perched on his mount, nibbling at his own shoulders before squacking.
“Raa, you love me motherfucker, raa!”
“So you’ve already taught the motherfucker to swear. As If I had enough trouble sleeping. I appreciate the gesture Harrison.”
Not wanting to look empty handed, he rummaged his pockets for a pen and handed it to Harrison, who analyzed it with a face filled with chagrin.
“I wanted it to be in red.”
“Well that’s the only pen I have right now, so you’ll just going to have to suck it up. Remember, YOU’RE the one that sprung this bird on me at the last minute.” Wall accused Harrison, poking him with one of his fingers, who replied with a goofy looking grin.
“Fair point. Now are we going to do military drills or what?”
“Naval Exercise Hound. The Entire main fleet is to embark just to sortie into the open ocean and sail to the Empire of Nihon or Wargloria, whichever is closest, to partake in naval exercises with their naval and air forces. Some people call it a way to push the plot forward, I call it a helpful plot device called expositional naval hijinks.”
“Did you inform the other captains?”

Admiral Wall’s face drew a blank for a moment before sheepishly running out into the halls to deliver written instructions for the sortie to the local scribe, who copied it nearly two hundred times before the messages were lowered onto several boats and hand delivered to every single ship of the Carriebeanian Main Fleet. A large delay was noticed before the first ships actually took the “urgent” stapled to the top of the letter, barking out orders for more supplies and for the supply ships to be moored alongside to bring along fresh carriebeanian paticones, human feces and surprisingly large quantities of live ammunition.

By the time the sun was setting, the anchors were raised up as the fleet slowly shuffled It’s way from the main anchorage, just as the stars were beginning to decorate the skies above, two words brought much of the hive of activity to a screeching halt.
“MOVIE NIGHT!”
Anchors were immediately dropped onboard many ships irregularly, with multiple collisions occurring as the popcorn was being popped on the 3 inch guns via gun powdered embers or hot coals from the boilers inside the armored and unarmored cruisers. Onboard the flagship, rigging was set up and boarding parties tied a massive sheet to two mountains that guarded the fleet entrance, with hundreds of Carriebeanian ship captains fighting for front row seats or anchorages to get the best view of the feature presentation. The crews of the vessels fought on top of the gun turrets and any available space on the decks for prime ass sitting real estate for the film.

After ten minutes of numerous technical delays, the aging film projector roared to live, playing “Gone with the Tornado” picturing a pleasant and happy depiction of the antebellum Carriebeanian nation, portraying the Carriebeanian Free State as a bunch of radical Satanists and the good hardworking carriebeanian plantation owners. The movie dragged on…and on…and on with numerous clusterfuck shots of nothing, sloppy, sloppy editing and terrible voice dubbing on the slaves that spoke. When the credit’s finally rolled, the time was two in the morning. While many sailors were tired, shifts were immediate offered just so the fleet could resume it’s progress.

When the Carriebeanian Carrier Empress of the Seas ripped the finished movie screen, it caught one of the airplanes still on the deck, tanging it up as the carrier picked up speed, soon dragging the plane down into the ocean, scrapping the side of the Carrier. Elsewhere, Carriebeanian torpedo boats found the minefields placed outside of the naval base for protection, found as several explosions were noticed on neighboring destroyers with tired howls of laugher at the idiots in the torpedo boats… immediately followed by the peer pressure in following the torpedo boats and blowing up their own destroyer.

Eventually, the bright idea was given to illuminate the area… by shooting star lights up into the air. The 11 inch battery on the Buccaneer roared, firing two “very fucking bright” shells that brought the blood and shit on decks to the attention of many sailors before the ships were plunged back into darkness. Floorboards onboard the Coastal defense ships were torn up and tossed into bonfires, barely managing to not spread to the rest of the ship or the close ammunition that was used as kindling for some reason.

The Protected Cruiser Benevolent, notorious for aging engines, failed to start in the vanguard, blocking several other protected cruisers from maneuvering around for a few solid hours. After many hammers and swearing in multiple tongues, the aging engines sputtered to life, though a Carriebeanian tugboat captain wanted to avoid taking any chances, so moored his vessel and provided a source of propulsion in the likely event her boilers opted to explode.

Elsewhere, the Carriebeanian Submarine force put on a surprisingly competent performance, managing to clear the harbor hours before the movie had even begun, with many sailors opting not to watch the film and anxiously cast off. While the twenty-five Carriebeanian submarines surfaced for once, the rest of the fleet sluggishly maneuvered their way outside of the harbor.

By the time the sun was beginning to peek its head at six am above the flanking and rugged mountain ranges, the Carriebeanian main fleet was only now beginning to get out from the narrow strait that lead to the mouth of Carriebean and towards the open ocean, with plenty more room for maneuvering and tactical error.
Admiral Prinz von Wall failed to get a flashing wake of sleep, being kept together by numerous cups of coffee and good old nose candy. As he brought another glass of happy brown juice for his brain , the entire ship shuddered, spilling the scaling liquid all over the naval man, who howled in pain, gripping his face as several aides rushed in to clean up.
“Who the fuck did we hit.”
“A rock sir. We’re taking on water.”
“Well, take the water out, where’s the fucking hole?”

He was escorted over to a map of the ship, where two lights were flashing indicating water damage. With a simple press of the button, several gears were heard as the watertight doors began to lower. Unknown to him, nearly twenty sailors were still struggling to get out of the area, and found themselves sealed off from the outside world, condemning them to death.

“There. See? Problem solved. Someone get me another fucking cup of coffee, and try not to hit any more fucking rocks.” He barked out, much to the chagrin of the blind helmsman, who spun the ship’s wheel to the port only to hit a rock on the other side.
“For fuck’s sake….”

[The Manticoran Empire]

The 25th Parliament had assembled on the 3rd, almost three and a half weeks ago. Those first few weeks had seen little actual governance accomplished, as the first order of business had been to introduce the new members of Parliament, elected in the general elections last fall, see out the old MPs, and reorganize the various committees with new rosters for the session. The very first thing across their desk after all of this had occurred wasn’t a new budget, as one might think. Such things were accomplished by the prior session. For the incoming session, the first order of business was, traditionally, military appropriations bills. In this case, the Armed Forces Committees of the Commons and the Lords had wasted no time. The National Defense Act of 1935 was the product of 14 years of study and consideration and was set to propel the Empire into the 1940s. Among the topics covered by the Act were provisional organizations for armored, infantry, and cavalry divisions, provisions for a major international military exercise with Aclus and Norcourt, the opening of additional factories to manufacture tanks, guns, planes, trucks, autocars, and ammunition, and the quinquennial mobilization and training of the Militia.

Armored divisions were the first topic of discussion. Totaling 14,299 men, they would contain almost 5,000 vehicles, including 52 armored cars, 68 light tanks, and 159 medium tanks. The provisional order of battle was selected based on experimentation done with the Experimental Mechanical Force and observations of the Aclusian Experimental Mechanized Force.

Provisional Order of Battle, Armored Division
Total Authorized: 14,299 Men
Headquarters and Headquarters Company: 309 Men
Armored Regiment Headquarters: 99 Men
3x Tank Battalions: 720 Men each
2x Armored Infantry Regiment Headquarters: 99 Men
6x Armored Infantry Battalions: 1,039 Men each
1x Armored Artillery Regiment Headquarters: 21 Men
3x Armored Artillery Battalion: 520 Men each
Armored Engineer Battalion: 674 Men
Mechanized Cavalry Recon Squadron: 908 Men
Signals Company: 302 Men
Anti-Aircraft Automatic Weapons Battalion, Self Propelled: 702 Men
Divisional Trains Regiment Headquarters: 103 Men
Ordnance Battalion: 772 Men
Provost Marshal Platoon: 91 Men
Medical Battalion: 417 Men
Divisional Band: 58 Men

The reorganized order of battle for the Infantry Division would remove the ten tank companies from the division and use those vehicles to establish independent tank battalions to support infantry divisions. Other proposals included the possible addition of an anti-aircraft battalion to replace the tank companies.

Provisional Order of Battle, Infantry Division
Total: 15,131 Men
Divisional Headquarters: 313 Men
3x Infantry Regiment: 3,207 Men each
Divisional Artillery Regiment Headquarters: 118 Men
3x Field Artillery Battalion, Motorized, 105mm, Truck Drawn: 509 Men each
Field Artillery Battalion, Motorized, 155mm or 4.5 inch Tractor Drawn: 518 Men each
Regimental Medical Detachment: 8 Men
Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop: 149 Men
Engineer Combat Battalion: 637 Men
Medical Battalion: 505 Men
Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, Mobile: 801 Men
Divisional Troops Battalion Headquarters: 119 Men
MP Platoon: 80 Men
Ordnance Company: 147 Men
Quartermaster Company: 193 Men
Signal Company: 322 Men
Divisional Band: 58 Men
Medical Detachment: 15 Men

There was a further reorganization of the Cavalry Division, increasing it in size to 11,676 men as well as increasing the number of motor vehicles.

Provisional Order of Battle, Cavalry Division
Total: 11,676 Men
Divisional Headquarters: 206 Men
Mechanized Reconnaissance Squadron: 690 Men
Anti-Tank Troop: 156 Men
2x Cavalry Brigades: 3,413 Men
Engineer Squadron: 467 Men
Signals Troop: 183 Men
Ordnance Troop: 146 Men
Divisional Artillery Regiment: 2,069 Men
Medical Squadron: 365 Men
Quartermaster Squadron: 568 Men

The final provisional order of battle was for an airborne division. The division would contain 8,505 men.

Provisional Order of Battle, Airborne Division
Total: 8,505 Men
Divisional Headquarters: 200 Men
MP Platoon: 38 Men
Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion: 505 Men
Divisional Artillery Regiment: 1,474 Men
Engineer Battalion: 436 Men
Ordnance Company: 77 Men
Signal Company: 85 Men
Parachute Infantry Regiment: 2,029 Men
Medical Company: 215 Men
2x Glider Infantry Regiment: 1,678 Men
Quartermaster Company: 90 Men

The army would, at the end of the day, transform four Cavalry Divisions into Airborne Divisions, making the final strength of the army 4 Airborne Divisions, 8 Cavalry Divisions, 16 Armored Divisions, and 72 Infantry Divisions, all planned to be fully manned and equipped by 1940. The total end strength would remain at 3.7 million men, with troops cut from the divisions being transferred into independent companies, battalions, and regiments to be grouped under the Corps and Army headquarters.

[Norcourt]

Following Maranossos' overthrow of the Elixian Council in 1926, the Norcourtian Military, had transformed itself, from that of a minor threat frontier empire, into that worthy of challenging the mass scale empires of the world. Maranossos, and General Odenathus had advised on reforming the military following the Norcourtian occupation of Leeria. During the guerilla war. Norcourtian troops often found themselves pinned down, and outnumbered, and despite their superior small arms and training, were incapable of taking strategic points without being overrun by tens of thousands of guerilla soldiers, and partisans of the like, thus beginning the recognition of a need for more coordinated joint operations involving ground attack aircraft, on the fly artillery strikes, and strategic bombing missions.

Maranossos had put to use the likes of Bucerri, Marave, Viscardi, and Hollock and conducted trials concerning that of Fighter Bombers/Ground Attack Aircraft, Strategic Medium and/or Light Bombers. Bucerris submission of the B.28.I had been adopted after quick trial, whilst other requests would later be trialed and completed within the following years. Despite the B.28.I flying nearly 1,500 successful sorties, destroying the likes of enemy transports and light armor, it's weaknesses were rather strongly apparent. The B.28.I was of course a biplane fighter bomber, originally based on a heavier multi-role fighter concept, conceived a year before by Bucerri, using the same engine that was initially used. It was slow, going a mere 175 mph, armed with a single 500 lb bomb, triple 8mm Machine Guns, two on the front and one for the rear gunner. Eventually, after much development, seeing that of the B.28.II which had a stronger engine and larger bomb capacity, and the B.30.III, which was the first monoplane in the Bucerri Fighter Bomber Series, maintaining the designation past the second addition, to avoid confusion. Eventually, the faster, more capable B.35.IV "Hound" was eventually adopted by the likes of the air force. The B.35.IV was armed with double 12.7mm and triple 8mm Machine Guns (two in the front, and one for the rear gunner), while also carrying 500 lbs of bombs. The B.35.IV was also able to go toe-to-toe with enemy fighters, being relatively agile, and reaching maximum speeds of 270 mph. Viscardi, among the others, were chosen to continue development of strategic and tactical bomber craft, as Viscardi Biplane Heavy Bombers had conducted strategic bombing raids on Sirvanskan supply lines, during the late stages of the war, when the first airbase had already been constructed. With newer technology and proper training, coordinated ground attacks, along with strategic bombing would surely be in consideration when needed.

It wasn't only the air corps that had been reformed, but also that of the army themselves, and the armor being used by such. Up until 1928, the Armoured Divisions had been purely integrated into the likes of the infantry, seldom being used, and only brought out when needed. The older Arciero V-Series Tanks were perfect- if it was the 9 Years War. Despite being adopted only a few years earlier, the Arciero M.I suffered several issues, the lack of a radio, and the lack of solid AT Capabilities (though this would later be fixed with the M.II) among many other issues such as light and easy to pierce armor, which would continue on to the M.II.

The Arciero AM31-A1(L) Ulca which was adopted in response to the issues of both tanks in the Sirvanskan War, resulting in a relatively lightweight, fast, and capable light tank, fitted with a proper communications radio, 25mm of Armor, and a high powered 47mm AT-Gun. Crews were supplies with 1/4ths high capacity shrapnel shells, along with 3/4ths AT shells , to fill the role of Infantry Support, and Anti-Armor.

With better coordination and communications, tank commanders were given the initiative to achieve any objectives they saw fit, if the situation was appropriate.

Motorized infantry, though slow to be introduced into the military, it's potential was seen during the Sirvanskan War, and slowly but surely, integrated into the army, whilst horses were still to be used in situations when fuel was lacking or for reserve contingents, as Norcourt had never really relied on cavalry units heavily, instead favoring lighter infantry.

As was seen in other nations, airborne military units had been considered in Norcourt, though not yet fully developed, it was most likely to be conducted from Hollock Heavy Transport Planes, and a new line of Marave Heavy Transports in the future.

Though much has changed since 1928, the military and Maranossos saw no use in stopping there. Routine military exercises were to be conducted alongside Manticoran military forces in the regions of Almaty and Manchukuo. Mainly forces of the mainland army were to be prioritized first, with the 7th Army beginning their transportation shortly. Modern training programs that had been in use in Leeria, had also been brought to the mainland, and though a little costly, it wasn't too much, and was well worth it. The military's further modernization, would only push Norcourt ahead, as was Maranossos' plan.

[Aclus]

In the early Morning Rain
January 12th, 1935
Operation Zero, Snowy Bay of Manchuko
Naval Task Force F

The fog grew thinner as the lines of ships approached ever closer to the distant coast of Manchuko. Ships of many sizes cutting through the water like a blade flowing gently down the river. From the larger capital ships escorting the rest of the task force, to the smaller but clunkier troop filled transport vessels in the center of the mass of vessels. For the first time in Aclusian naval operations as well, came along the aircraft carriers. Two of the newest models that had been launched just months ago, HMS Apollo and HMS Ark royal tagging along for the latest in allied military maneuvers with the Manticorans.

As the transport ships began to reach the docks, the massive amounts of Aclusian army infantry began to disembark and form up in their respective formations. As for the armoured vehicles and infantry transports, they would take the majority of the first 2 days of arrival to fully be loaded off of their transports within the docks. In the meantime however chief of staff of the Aclusian expeditionary force, Field Marshal Sir John Henry Braddock had brought down his cabinet of staff officers and made haste to establishing a local Headquarters in the cities best hotel, awaiting the arrival of the commanding Manticoran officers.

The Aclusian troops even making themselves comfortable with the local pleasantries, many after the formation of their units, heading out to the local pubs for a drink or some actual food besides army rations. Many even heading down to the local city brothels, or rather trying their hand at getting lucky with some of the locals. Always a rare chance however of actual success. Though with the sudden arrival of foreign soldiers in the city, the local populace was rather very friendly, once being citizens of the Nihonese empire, now subjects of the Manticorans. The Aclusian has always been seen an ally of either of the belligerents.

Throughout the night came the bustling of trailers carrying transport trucks and the various armoured units of the expeditionary force, luckily for the highly efficient Manticoran docks, tracks installed for hauling freight and cargo up and down the port came in handy as the off boarding proved to become a very efficient process. Even bringing upon a crowd of the local oriental and white populace stood by watching in awe. Many however having to have been pushed back away a safe distance to avoid disrupting the process.

[HypErcApitAl]

BRA (Blue Republic of Aimesland)

Chamberlain, Aimesland

The Aimeslandish, a peaceful and peaceable people, inevitably had to leave their isolationism. The Senate was loud, and constantly bickered over the fate of the Nation.

President Winston was in her room, busy practicing her saxophone, when...

One of her advisors, Todd J. Newman barged in the room.

"I'm sorry, Ms. President, but things look very bleak." He prefaced.

"What's the matter, Todd? And, whadduh mean, 'bleak?' " She asked.

"We're the only Spring Liberalist nation, we're surrounded by Monarchists, Communists and Fascists, the world seems to be ever-hostile.." He kept on going, on and on until he fainted from Stress and Anxiety.

The boy's body shook.

The head-of-state grabbed him, placed him on her bed, checked his temperature with her hand...

By Goodness.

The boy was sweaty.

Heck, the boy was essentially flooding with body liquid.

Sprout called in a nurse.

"What's the issue, Ms. President?" She asked.

"The boy's overflowing with Sweat. He was trying to inform me of the World State, but he just... collapsed. Is he okay?" Winston shuddered.

The nurse would also examine him.

"I'll go getcha a towel, okay?" She answered, before sprinting out of the room and heading for the Samston House's medbay.

The gaggle of nurses stood-by.

"Anything okay? Is The President hurt?" One of them asked.

"No, but one of her advisors is very sweaty." She replied.

"That doesn't sound good. Could be poison." A second nurse responded.

"Maybe, or Anxiety. In all my years of people sweating bullets and heatwaves, I think this points moreso in that direction. Poison also makes sense, but that's an irrational guess to take. Why guess 'Poison' when this place is heavily-guarded?" She stated.

"Anyways, we have to help 'em." She continued.

Six of the nurses in the medbay would march, with their medical gear, to Sprout's room.

A nurse placed him on a gurney, being ever-so-gentle, and strutting back to the medbay. The other nurses stuck around and talked to Sprout.

She laughed and smiled.

"That's okay. I don't mind. Politics is stressful, at times. Probably the only time an Aimeslandish politician will admit that." She continued to giggle.

Meanwhile, nurses checked the boy, and patted him down with a towel.

They continued to demonstrate their bedside manner, and also make sure it was just Stress that had made him collapse and breakout like that.

---

The Aimeslandish mindset/mentality could be described as "Technoenvironmentalist," as they both were a deeply-environmental and technological people. Oddly holding both positions at the same time, which was paradoxical, but made sense considering the Aimeslandish History.

A long history of Republicanism, Progressivism and Liberalism, and then before all of that, Anarchism and Paganism. But now, Aimesland seemed like it was heading towards Environmentalism again. To better Nature instead of stepping away from her. But... that was a political issue, a talking-point, a conversation many Aimeslandish were engaging in.

Street debate.

The masses continued to question, to yearn, and to continue thriving and upbuilding their society. Now, they were heading towards Futurism. Futurist art and ideologues piqued Aimeslandish interests, and maybe pursuing technological ideals and standards. Technocracy. But, it seemed farfetched compared to the Present.

Technocracy seemed a way better alternative than both Fascism and Communism; Aimesland was already close to that ideology, or those concepts already.

The Aimeslandish were Antifascist, and also Anticommunist, though earlier was heading towards Socialism. Socialists had some good ideas, but every other Communist-Socialist concept would transform Aimesland into what it wasn't, or couldn't ever be.



Aimeslandish questioned Government and the State, not worshipped them. To be cynical and skeptical was a part of it; a hidden string that connected all of Aimeslandish culture and behavior.

Why give up firearms? Why give up our defensiveness? Yes, we don't want a fight, but it's way better to have weapons and to have a culture of being an Armed Republic than to be pacifistic.


But now, everything has questioned Aimesland and her principles.

---

"Is Idealism dead? Is Hopeless Romanticism dead? If they are, then I might-as-well be dead, because these are my values, and the values of Aimesland. I am the change of the change." Sprout thought to herself whilst fetching herself some wine.

She needed to feel something. The thought of World Politics disturbed her, but an insular Republic couldn't stay that way for forever. She had to blossom and be social; stop being such a wallflower, make new friends..

Heck, Aimesland had no friends at all. No one had barely noticed her, alas.

The humors. Although Humors were an ancient, and nonsensical medical/scientific concept, they've essentially encapsulated and explained Aimeslandish culture and norms. Love/Romance being one of these humors.

Wine, chocolate, cheese and other love devices, or aphrodiacs were a part of this. Maybe a remnant of Anarcho-Environmentalist Aimesland, no one'll know...

Maybe being laissez-faire was killing the nation; had Aimesland been stricter, then maybe the world would've been alot more different. Eh, even entertaining that thought made no sense. It was Spring Liberalism that introduced so many ideals, ideas, and standards to the world.

---

"The Fascists are not Peace! They're a bundle-of-sticks, and they're going to step on us!" One senator shouted.

"Eh. I've been to Wargloria before. Yes, they are indeed backward, but..." Senator Amy Edison replied.

"We'll ask 'em for some guns. It's simple, really. They think we're backward; we think they're backward, but guns are peace. To survive, you need a defense, yeah?" Amy added and asked.

"Yeah, but, we shouldn't do Business with..." The senator interrupted herself, clearly unable to hold back her amusement and laughter.

"FREAKING FASCISTS!" She guffawed.

Amy shook her head.

"I'll motion to the President, and if she thinks the same way that you do, then the case is closed. Though, I'm sure she doesn't. We all know her at this point." Amy replied.

"I mean, she has only one term. She's too old. I mean, why not a fourteen-year-old? Yes, Sprout is a Goth, and whatnot, but we need someone who can continue pushing. We need a two-term candidate, here, not some..." The other senator told.

The senator got interrupted by Eric Dawson, known supporter of Sprout Winston and the Winston Admin from the jump.

"I DON'T CARE! IF YOU DON'T LIKE HER, THEN GET OUT! WE DON'T NEED YOU TROUBLESOME FOLK IN POLITICS! HECK, WE DON'T NEED YOU IN AIMESLAND! YOU'RE HOLDING US BACK!" Eric howled with all of the Righteous Anger in his soul.

Eric'd then adjust his bow-tie and gave a smirk as if nothing happened.

"Get some laws passed, 'cause after this shit, I'd like to go home or go watch some Cheerleading, if y'all'd mind." Gregory Adams yawned.

"I feel you. I mean, we're the Aimeslandish Senate. We don't sit on our hands all day!" Amy scolded.

A reddened Sprout would appear.

"Still-still having fun?" She asked.

"Yeah." The Winstonites in Senate laughed.

"We just needed you to pass this document asking those fascists for some guns." One of the senators told.

"How many guns?" Sprout asked, then sitting on the floor crisscrossed.

"About 1,200. Though that number could always be upped." The senator answered.

"We could always do with s'more guns, if anything, it's the ste-stereotype that we're barba-barbaric. I can't sta-stand it." Sprout hiccuped and burped.

"I could understand that, Ms. President." The senator agreed.

If there was one good thing Wine was good for, it was for stirring-up Emotion. And maybe, at some times, Morale. All her time in Band and also Cheering had also taught her that Entertainment was very important. That, and gossip/rumors.

For a politician, she'd seem to have so many rumors, even pre-Presidency. It seemed odd, but Sprout could always suck-up to her base, or to another subclass of Aimeslandish.

"It'll-it'll get passed, alright." Sprout smiled, before laying on the carpet.

---

That saying. That awful saying.

"The pen is mightier than the Sword..."

How many have died to a pen-prick? Probably six, and that was accidentally.

How many have died to swords, or even bows?

So many. The Sword was a versatile weapon, used by countless Aimeslandish generations by both citizen and soldier alike. If a gun jammed, a Sword was the best option. Either that, or to go in the Battlefield punching and throwing shoes, which seemed like a very-last resort.

Kicking peoples' teeth out of their throats seemed cool, but slicing their limbs off or beating them into Last Saturday also seemed cool, if-not, then maybe cooler.

The Aimeslandish Armedforces still had knives and daggers though. It was always good to be varied, and to have many ways of killing or brutalizing someone.

Stealth, Power, etc. There were so many different kinds of warfare. One could also be a caveman about it and throw stones, but nowadays, a stone-throwing would get you hailed down with bullets.

Shameful display.

It was honorable, yes, but also truly sad.

[Nazeroth]

EMIRATE OF FABUHAD/إمارة فابهاد

Safir was a construction worker, he gazed upon the blocks being built in front of him. It was to be a grand hotel in Jaffabad, the largest city in the south of Fabuhad. The tropical breeze kissed the sweat coming down his skin as stone after stone was laid out and raised. The Emir had ordered the construction of this hotel, it was part of Fabuhad's emergence into the global world, but here they were pulling things with horses instead of trucks like the other modern powers. Regardless, life was getting better in the nation, slowly but surely. This hotel would welcome wealthy foreigners and push their funds into the Emirate, so this building would be feeding Safir's future and his childrens future. Praise Allah, the Emirate would become the jewel of the world, the sands and palm trees of this land would mystify and dazzel the world. He picked up another brick, laid it down and applied the bonding agent. They worked early in the morning to avoid the hot sun, but when it rose it was time for a break, the heat with work would overcome them.

He and the others broke for the day, he smoked a ciggerate while eating his lunch. His freind leaned over and asked him a question.

" Do you think we will see cars soon? I heard their are cars in the capital, I would love to see one, they make horses seem slow." The young man said smiling. Safir nodded " I Think we will see a lot more than cars my freind, I think this building and others like it are going to change our lives forever..." He put the ciggerate out and stared at the power lines being attached to poles across the road.

[HypErcApitAl]

BRA (Blue Republic of Aimesland)

Expecting nonetheless from the Centrists in gov't - or those that lobbied, Sprout shook her head. Everything in the world couldn't save her from facepalming at the Centrists - those idiots that couldn't take a side, and bastardized ideas for laws that flunked or got Vetoed by past presidents.

She wasn't going to accept the Centre's barricading and walling-up of her and her special interests. More quarreling in Senate had to happen, and most of the senate was anti-Centrist, and even maddened that they still were in gov't as they took-up the Neutral or Abstain/Indifferent vote on things.

---

Aristonia, the personification of Aimesland.

Debating and whatnot continued, though many seemed to be a bit bored and returned to their festivals, or sports.

Aimeslandish were passionate about Politics, but them leaving isolationism, and only them leaving, didn't do much. Besides that, everything else was stagnant. Sprout was still passing laws, doing speeches and debating with the Senate.

Aimeslandish Landenforcers and Admirals structured and mobilized the Aimeslandish Armedforces, training them and continuing their state-of-readiness. Factories made more tanks, and more new tanks.

Armin pistols were trusty, but had to now be updated, as the Republic was readying for a new world - a world where Spring Liberalism wouldn't be hiding in a bush. A world where the dustbowl, or saltshaker/sandclock got overturned and everyone was forced to fight.

Now, troops were getting trained and doing exercises, with both swords and rifles, and training new soldiers how to improvise and survive with barely anything.

---

Ambercity

Ambercitizens, the denizens of Ambercity partied, drank and engaged in alot of whoring. Loud music played in parts of the city, and boys were playing Flag Football or chasing-down girls.

It seemed way better than the Capitol (Chamberlain) or other parts of Aimesland, as they acted like they had no cares in the world, whilst the other Aimeslandish freaked out over the world changing and politics - how the Blue Republic was going to behave and engage with the "powers" around them.

---

Meanwhile (still in Ambercity)

"I put all my Chi on that damned race! You suck!" She cried out, quickly unsheathing her rapier and putting-on her knuckles.

"You're just a bad racer, you suck! You can't even drive fast enough to b-"

She interrupted the man with a swing with her blade to his arm.

"All the ponying you do, and you can't realize that I'm the best. Everyone here that betted on me, including myself, knows this. I'm not at-school playing Follow The Leader. I'm sittin' here, racin' with a loser who knows not how to take a Defeat." She moaned, swinging her rapier to his leg.

"Racing's not Tag." He cried out as blood gushed from his arm and his hip.

"Technically, it is." The girl's boyfriend rushed to her side, wielding a mace.

"Either/or, I'd still win. I bet my Life, and his life on that statement." The girl punched the boy in his face, then kissed her boyfriend.

"I can't believe it!" The bloodied boy cried.

"Jack his motorcycle." The girl commanded.

Two of the gamblers nodded, threw her the Chi that was betted on, and drove off.

[Norcourt]

Render Unto Norcourt

---

The thump of boots to the ground, and the clank of rifles to the shoulder, join in unison to the beat of drums. The Annual Parade was being held in Sicalia, the second capital of the Empire, instead of Norcourtia which was originally planned. Throughout the Empire, partial mobilization in the form of a small scale recruitment campaign had led to the increase of men volunteering to the military, with the army reaching over 3 million all around, not including that of the reserves.

It was here, in the city square, that Maranossos, his generals, advisors, and his wife, were stationed, bestowed upon a large concrete slab, erected on it a podium and appropriate seating.

“To tell you the truth, I’m quite nervous…” He told his wife, “You’ve said that for the past 7 years, it’ll be just the same, don’t you worry now.” she said, placing her hand on his, calming him.

For the past 9 years, Maranossos had brought modern infrastructure, military reform, and even more valuable territories to the empire. Despite this, he had felt rather nervous, but all would change when he spoke upon to his peoples. Initially, Maranossos was brought up as the Grand Lord Caneius’ son, living in the most fortunate of quarters. He eventually became a war hero, as the outbreak of Norcourtian Civil War in 1896, saw a 16 year old Maranossos put under the wing of Captain Odanathus, another young officer, who had also proved himself throughout years of service, later becoming one of Maranossos’ best friends.

All had changed upon his exile from Norcourtia in 1901, whence the Elixian Council had falsely accused the 21 year old son of Caneius, of embezzlement, and various falsely claimed criminal charges of Maranossos’ actions during the war. These actions by the council were put in place by the head alderman, to further derail the lineage of the Grand Lord, and establish a Norcourt ruled solely by the Elixian Council. This was the root of Maranossos’ hatred for the council, which would gradually lead to the overthrow of the Elixian Council in 1926, his disbandment of the Elixian Armies which would lead to integration into the national army and civil guard, and Maranossos proclaiming himself King of The Norcourtians and Emperor of Elixians in 1928.

Maranossos had stepped up onto the podium, his civil guard shouldering arms, at attention beside him. Perhaps the whole city and more stared and watched. As was tradition following his declaration of empire, he, his generals, his advisors and wife, were all given torch sticks, which had been selectively taken out of the bundle held in hand. He had placed his upon the flame in front of him, then lighting his wife's, who lighted Odenathus', which started a continuous flame to those with torch in hand.

He placed his fist upon his heart, and took a breath.

"It is from the bottom of my heart, that I thank you all. Nearly 40 years ago, I lead armies in the war, 34 years ago I was exiled away from my home and my people, and just 9 years ago, you have all put me in the position to rule over my people, as King and Emperor

"My people, my brothers, my sisters, my fellow Norcourtian, I bring you here today, as I have done for years. With the growing state of our Empire we have had growth, advancements in technology, prosperity, with our growing economy, and most importantly, peace in our realm."

"Despite the conflict of Leeria, which itself, led to our annexation, and civilization spreading to the Indianum continent. Goldrushia, and Dralesia thrives, and vital steel and oil is pumped through Norcourtian supply lines, along with valuable manpower in the form of laborers and soldiers alike. Elixians, Goldrushians, Dralesians, Leerians, Saxons, and Jalumyyrians, whatever race you are born into, by allegiance, you are all sworn Norcourtians in the eyes of the Elix.

As of today, our military stands the strongest it has ever been since the dawn of the 1890s, and with it stands behind a unified empire, willing to fight when needed. I'm sure it is to all of you, no secret, that outside threats loom on the borders of our realm, waiting to strike havoc whenever they feel as such. Norcourt will not allow it, I will not allow it, and you will not allow it. Together, we shall take initiative, strengthening our borders, our armies, and each other. New military technology has provided us with modern warplanes, battleships, and tanks of the like, along with many other new designs being researched as we speak. When we stand together, we thrive, and as does the Elix.

All men and women will be granted citizenship throughout the Empire, lower incomes to higher incomes, Leerian or Dralesian, whatever it may be, all Norcourt asks for in return, is to fight, to fight for her. All able-bodied men and women will be eligible for a 2 year mandatory service in the reserves to king and country, whether it be fighting on the grounds of our enemies, or assembling the tools needed to do so, I ask you all to do your part. When duty calls, I'm sure you all will heed it's cry…"

He then proceeded to hold his torch to the sky, "For the Elix, or for nothing!" He shouted, and with that, the crowd let out a mighty huzzah, lifting their own torches, as the bugles blew to the heavens. Marched forward the Norcourtian Military Parade, units of the 1st Norcourtian Army marched forward, with an intimidating display of coordinated legs swinging and marching in unison. Followed by artillery and armored divisions, the newer model Ulca Light Tanks had their time to shine, whilst the air corps flew their agile, and heavily armed Bucerri fighter planes in perfect formation. Newer arms, armor, motorcars, artillery guns, and aeroplanes, made their first public appearance in the parade. It was a wonderful sight of modern firepower, and unity, one not uncommon, throughout the Norcourtian Empire.

[TENNOHEIKA BANZAI NIHON]

Gokyo, Nihon
Imperial General Headquarters
January 6, 1935

General Hisaichi Terauchi motioned at the map of the location of Nihonese forces. "We have only 25 divisions equipped for offensive measures, and we already keep three of our best divisions here in Gokyo! If we give the men who served in Wargloria two months leave and have some of them recruited, we can fill more than 15 new Type A divisions. These can be our elite forces, and we can finally deploy more meaningful forces inside our empire. We should always be ready for war with our adversaries, not waiting until they attack for us to build up our army."

Chief of Army General Staff Kan'in nodded. "We can find it in our budget to create these new divisions. Although it seems we will have to find the correct weaponry to arm them."

Terauchi smiled. "We just bought 60,000 HAG 33 rifles from the Warglorians. If we use our tech sharing agreement, and reverse engineer a few of the rifles we bought, we can start building them ourselves. If we build 170,000 rifles ourselves that should be sufficient. The troops can use most of the regular weapons the Type A divisions use, but I propose we buy some tanks. Our order for the Aclusian Six Tons should be sent soon but if we ordered 300 Panzer IIIs from Wargloria, then built some domestically, we could have enough to equip the new divisions in a few months."

General Iwane Matsui, known as the "Aydinir Expert" gave a small grin. "The Indianum Expeditionary Forces could use a manpower boost. The army could use a boost in general."

Kan'in though for a second before he began. "I agree. We will need more men to act in support roles for our new divisions. A call for 20,000 more men will do. We should hurry with our request, I hear the navy wants to buy 19 destroyers from Wargloria."

Terauchi chuckled. "They also want more everything. I think we will need emergency funding for the new divisions."

Message From: The Army Ministry and Navy Ministry of the Empire of Nihon
To: The Warglorian Foreign Ministry
Encryption: Medium

The Imperial Nihonese Army and Navy requests to purchase:

-300 Panzer IIIs
- 3,200 3.7 cm Pak 34s
-19 Ehre Class Destroyers

The Imperial Nihonese Navy would also like to reiterate the request for 2 Wargland Class Heavy Cruisers.

The appropriate funds will be transferred upon the acceptance of the order. The Empire of Nihon thanks the Warglorian Reich for its commitment to the security of Indianum, and the forces that protect it.


From,
Minister of Army Senjūrō Hayashi and Minister of Navy Mineo Ōsumi

In recent days orders had gone out to Nihonese shipbuilding companies, requesting building of 20 new Modified Fubuki Class destroyers in addition to that already ordered.

Message From: The Army Ministry of the Empire of Nihon
To: The Aclusian Foreign Ministry
Encryption: High

In the Empire of Nihon's quest for peace in the Orient, the Imperial Nihonese Army reaffirms the request to purchase 1,420 6 Ton Light Tanks in the quest to modernize the Nihonese Army.


From,
Minister of Army Senjūrō Hayashi

Emirate of Fabuhad
Dockyards
January 6, 1935

Major Yasue Norihiro of the Imperial Nihonese Army stared out across the sea towards the beautiful lands of Fabuhad. Talks with Fabuhad were underway and it was his duty to assess the capability and needs of the Emirate from an army standpoint, and report back to the Imperial General Headquarters. With him was Captain Koreshige Inuzuka of the Imperial Nihonese Navy, both "Afrika Experts." Major Norihiro was rather excited for the diplomatic mission, a chance for his promotion and the fact it was being led by Prince Nobuhito. The Major smiled at his luck being deployed to a nice desert paradise, in contrast to his former deployments in Manchuko, where the men had to be ready to face simmering tensions with Manticore every once and a while. With them they were bringing several thousand older Type 38 rifles, surplus from the military readying for war with Manticore in 1928. They also bore other cultural gifts, including katana swords, traditional foods, sakura trees, and other fancy cultural items made in Nihon.

He watched as they neared port, as the three escorts (1 Chikuma Class Cruiser and 2 Mutsuki Class Destroyers) guided the small fleet of government and merchant ships in. He smiled in the cool breeze and once the plank was lowered, and then moved with the Prince and his navy counterpart to meet with the local officials.

Aydinir
Foreign Affairs Office
January 6, 1935

Seizo Hashiguchi walked up the steps to go talk with the Aydinirian Foreign Minister. He was a newer diplomat, with the Empire having just recently in 1928 eased tensions in the area enough for talks. He was in the dark about his supposed mission, the Nihonese Minister of Foreign Affairs seemed to have a plan that had been discussed with the Prime Minister. He had heard the Prime Minister had been very reluctant, but ultimately it was approved. With him he carried an offer. It seemed simple enough that there was no need for it to be hand delivered, but Hashiguchi reasoned that the election year was coming soon and the Prime Minister didn't want to appear soft to the Army or Navy.

The document he had read:

Message From: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Empire of Nihon
To: The Aydinirian Foreign Ministry
Encryption: Hand Delivered

It is the utmost wish of the Prime Minister of Nihon, that the two nations of Aydinir and Nihon, two of the three most powerful native Indianum nations, reconsider our relationship and forgive past offenses. As an act of our goodwill, we would like to offer to work towards a trade deal, non aggression pact, and possible military reductions in sensitive areas. May we work together to ensure peace in the Orient between us and our allies last for many years to come.

Sincerely,
Minister of Foreign Affairs Baron Kujiro Shidehara

Gokyo, Nihon
Imperial General Staff Headquarters
January 13, 1935

Major Shimeharu of the Imperial Nihonese Navy stepped out in front of the crowd of reporters. "For the past few days, the Imperial Nihonese Armed Forces have been made aware of the aggressive, unprovoked military drills being carried out across Manshu (Manticoran Manchuko) and Almaty by the Manticoran, Aclusian, and Norcourtian Armed Forces. This is a clear provocation by the Manticoran side to attempt to destabilize the Divine Orient and our Ultimate Aims for peace and prosperity in Indianum. In coordination with our Glorious Manchukoan allies, we condemn this Manticoran aggression against the sacred borders of Manchuko. His Holiness the Emperor has authorized the Imperial Nihonese Army Manchuko Area Support Group to join the Manchukoan National Police Forces in joint defensive drills in Manchuko, to demonstrate the readiness of our military and our willingness to protect the sovereignty of all rightful Indianum nations."

"In coordination with the efforts of our brave Army servicemen, the Imperial Nihonese Navy has authorized for elements of the 1st Nihonese Fleet to be deployed to a classified location approximately 100 miles away from Manchuko, as a demonstration of force; to observe possible movement of our adversaries, or be in position to respond to Manchuko in a timely manner."

"We will not stand for the continued Manticoran escalations in the area and urge the Manticoran side to continue their compliance with established treaties. As such, we will be deploying observers in accordance with previous treaties to watch over the drills." Major Shimeharu bowed, and returned to the building.

Gokyo, Nihon
Gokyo Bay
January 13, 1935

The ports were swarmed with activity, sailors loading additional supplies for the deployment, estimated to be held for around a month. As the men were getting ready to set sail, Captain Sugimura sat aboard his flagship, the HINMS Takao, a Takao Class Heavy Cruiser. The General Headquarters was sending 1 Heavy Cruiser, 2 Light Cruisers, and 4 Destroyers. His orders were to conduct a patrol in the Mrozny Sea until either the Manticoran drills ended, or after 1 month and 2 weeks at sea, as they could be needed elsewhere. A deliberate attempt was made to keep the deployment numbers secret, with Special Naval Landing Forces guards ordered to turn back any civilians that did not work at the port and journalists were not allowed in aside from those from the Imperial Navy. By noon the fleet had begun to set sail and Sugimura watched from the Takao as the fleet passed though the fortifications in the bay.

Soon they had reached the open ocean, and escorts moved into their positions, surrounding the cruisers and the support force. as the ships temporarily lined up in columns while they were still in friendly waters. Sailors were moving about the deck as Sugimura watched as the force moved, the time going by as the red sun dipped below the horizon.

[HypErcApitAl]

BRA (Blue Republic of Aimesland)

Aimeslandish Senate

"Who even gave this to us?" One of the senators said.

"It's dumb. It's a dumb idea; getting rid of our culture like that. All of our tradition. That's just like saying: "We'll destroy the gov't and replace it with old people, and then destroy the Flag." Amy Edison cried.

"It ain't passin', I tell ya what. The President herself won't even allow this to pass; as it'd just erase everything." Eric shook his head.

"Rip the bill up, pass more Conservative laws that'd enshrine our culture of swordfighting and melee, and make sure we remain Armed. These idiots are coming for the Sword now, see what else they'll come after. They'll prolly say we should disband our Armedforces, next." Another senator said.

"You kill the Nation by killing its Culture; we have to make sure Aimeslandish culture and behavior stands. We have to make sure that the Republic lives on for Eons." Amy howled.

"This ain't even debated. This is Facts. Everyone knows how disasterous this'd be to Aimesland." Senator Jared Springfield added.

"Conserve everything. Save all of our hobbies and practices, and the School System. If our Armedforces and citizens have been fending their lands with trusted weaponry, then why concede? Why tire? Why get rid of it all?" Senator Maryfield commented.

"It's inane. We have melee for a purpose. We've said this arguement for far too long; the good-ol' Ammunition Arguement, but they do not care. They want us to be treaded upon." Another senator told.

"They say 'it's not practical,' then they were the ones who made us debate on Uniforms a whole-ass week ago, the Skirt v. Pant Discussion." Senator Griffin nodded.

---

Mobs and crowds got rowdy, hearing of the proposed changes to the System. They flooded the streets, destroying stuff and vandalizing property, then students of both colleges and highschools got in to protest, stating that Fencing, Axe-throwing and other valuable skills kept them busy, occupied, and saved them several times.

Parents also marched, and all of the associations and sporting groups got angry and threatened to leave the country, if such laws or bills were enacted to takeout melee weapons from both the hands of innocent Aimeslandish civilians and soldiers.

---

In short, the paper/bill got voted "nay" unanimously since the idea of removing swords, bows, and other melee from Aimesland was so unpopular, and that the people were so used to Archery and other skills or practices involving things that weren't firearms, like Skeet, Shootingranges and so on.

Instead, laws got passed-in that supported swordplay, knifeplay, axes, Archery, and other arts and activities/hobbies involving these weapons; all around, not just in the hands of Aimeslandish Enlists, but also in the hands of Aimeslandish citizenry and anyone who wanted to defend themselves.

The right to self-defense/defend isn't just constricted to firearms, but applies to everything, in the nation. The Armedforces has a long history of training-up spearmen, calvaries, and so on, not just using muskets or old-school firearms in the past, but using melee alongside them, and that legacy continued into the present-day, though the Military had to develop, buy, and implement more newer weapons, uniforms, and vehicles.

Come 'n' take'em!

[TENNOHEIKA BANZAI NIHON]

Gokyo, Nihon
Imperial Palace
January 14, 1935

Seated around the table for the highly secretive meeting were mainly army and navy officers, coupled with some of the Prime Minister's top ministers and the Emperor's advisors. Today they were to brief the Emperor on the emerging "Operation Seinaru Jiyū" plan, created by several high ranking planners and the ministers of war. It was not yet know to most military personnel, but if they were successful in convincing the Emperor, within the year, they would see the plan unfold.

Chief of Army General Staff Kan'in stood and bowed towards the Emperor. "Your Majesty, as you know, our politicians have had an issue with Aimesland, being they are so close to our shores. A couple hundred miles off yes, but their dangerous ideas are intolerable. We have accepted the westernization of our society, but it is time we push back. Remember, it was the communists and the liberal factions that had attempted to kill your grandfather all those years ago. And now the Aimeslandish have been making moves recently that pose a threat to your glorious reign though their dangerous ideas. Think of what could happen if these spread to Nihon! The Kenpeitai is stretched enough." He glanced at Major General Tojo, head of the Kenpeitai, who nodded his agreement. "They are clearly abolitionist, and surely want to threaten our security."

"This is our chance at expansion, the development of precious resources. Aimesland is too far out there to get the support of any major powers, and while I assume Manticore will not like our plans, I think we can convince them to turn a blind eye. They do not want another 9 Years War. But they are a righteous nation, so we will have to play by the rules unless the Aimeslandish break them first. The Kwangtung Army command has a plan, and I think they will be able to execute it well."

General Jirō Minami, Commanding Officer of the Kwangtung Army stood. "Your Imperial Highness, our armies are the best equipped they have been in years. And if we play our cards right, we will not have to expand our current forces at all. We already have plans to increase our forces by 16 divisions with the forces that came from back from Wargloria, perfect for our invasion."

"The Aimelandish Army according to our reports is only 400,000 strong, meaning a single army of ours can stand toe to toe with them. The initial invasion is still being planned with our Navy and Army experts in that field, and we have begun gathering supplies since November last year. I expect to be ready by March at the latest if we ready immediately, although from what I have heard from my navy counterparts, we will have to find a justification for the war so that could take until March to provoke them into causing an offense. Despite that, I have found that our forces are sizable enough to take on the relatively smaller and less experienced Aimeslandish. While I prefer the use of chemical weapons in our campaigns to make things easier for our men, you remember what happened last time in the Carriebean. The whole damn Manticoran navy came right to our doorstep and we were powerless to just standby and watch."

"My intelligence officers have suggested we set up a line of communication with the Manticorian Empire during the conflict as the deescalate tensions. While we have confirmed the locations we intend to launch our coastal invasion from, we have communicated with our Hoosier military counterparts our intentions and we will finalize our plans once our planners are able to meet with Hoosier command. The initial operation belongs to the navy so their plan is more concrete as of now."

Vice Admiral Takahashi Sankichi, Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet rose. "Your Majesty, our navy is primed and ready to start tensions. The 1st Fleet has recently dispatched a small cruiser group, which we have employed to fool our enemies intelligence services. We announced their deployment officially, keeping their numbers hidden. At the order, one Heavy Cruiser, one Light Cruiser, and two Destroyers will break off from the formation and head towards Aimesland, with the intentions of gathering intelligence, but on the same token, to be noticed by the Aimelandish. It is our hope with our ships constantly harassing them, they will slip up. If not, we have methods to make them slip up."

"Our First and Sixth Fleets are ready to depart at the start of conflict and with numerical and technological superiority, we will crush the Aimeslandish Fleet, allowing for our transports to arrive unopposed. That plan has been finalized, although I expect when the Hoosiers arrive we may discuss first strike options."

Emperor Hirohito looked to several of his advisors. and after speaking with them for 20 minutes he said, "This war seems to be one of easy and quick reward. I will not oppose it. You may proceed with these actions. When it is time for war, we will communicate in depth with the Diet for a declaration of war." He then stood and left, his aides following."

Sankichi gave a rare smile. "Send word to Captain Sugimura. Launch Operation Kōtō Kurēn."

[HypErcApitAl]

BRA (Blue Republic of Aimesland)

The Samston House

Todd J. Newman appeared, to give The President a Status Update.

"Hopefully, you're not overwhelmed again." Sprout asked.

"This isn't a Laughing Matter, Ms. President, but.." Todd prefaced.

"Oh, boy. I'm not laughing. I'm all-ears. Just tell me." Sprout responded.

"Things're looking dangerous, right now. Remember what I told you, the other day?" Todd asked.

"Yeah. I remember when you fainted, too." She straight-facedly said.

"We don't have any allies, we're the only (and probably last) of our kind, everyone seems to want us erased off the map...' The girl listed.

"But, I really don't care. I'm being optimistic. What's the point in worrying?" She continued, stating her point.

"Ofcourse. Well, we've been building alot of weaponry, and also those Warglorian guns, and also those Ragtag/Misfit uniforms." Todd stated.

"Made sure they were in Red, Blue and Green?" She asked, interested.

"Yes." Todd answered.

"This Warglorian thing seems... interesting. Maybe we could make an agreement with them." She schemed.

"I really don't want to sell-out Aimeslandia, but, at what cost? I'm the President. I mean, politicians do all sorts of risky and crazy things, right?" Sprout pondered.

Todd agreed.

"You're doing a great job. Don't worry about the Senate; they're a buncha fools and obstructionists." Todd assured.

"I picked 'em. But, eh. I could see what you're saying. There's Centrists, and Never-Winstonites, and... it's a mess. I can't change the world when the World is against me, against Aimesland and her interests of bettering the world." She responded.

"Don't say that. Don't talk like that. Yes, you can. You can do it, Aimesland can do it. We'll win, in the end." Todd continued to assure.

Winston laughed and smiled.

"We've been quiet and secretive so long, that these freaking warmongers make all sorts of propaganda and stereotypes about our Nation. 'Oh, they're a Nudist Republic,' 'oh this,' 'oh, that,' like, when will it end? When will these blubbering Beluga Whales learn that their actions have consequences? That they're insane? They keep repeating the same nonsense, and slathering it onto themselves, thinking it'll work, but it doesn't. These people enslave people. Slavery. It's an old, archaic practice. These idiots mock us for having swords and bows and whatnot, when they don't even know how to shoot a bow. They don't even know Martial Arts, or taking care of their swords, or how to throw a javelin, or... it's so much. It's so much that they don't know, and just so much they think they know. They think they have Aimesland down to a Science, like: 'well, they're quiet, and secretive, and young. Let's take advantage of the Youth and get 'em to shoot themselves in the foot. Let's infiltrate their Republic and lobby to centrist scum and anti-sword activists. Let's erase Aimeslandish culture. Let's bring back God, and turn 'em into somethin' they're not, cause we're better than Aimesland. And, we're better than that Sprout girlie, too.'- essentially, is what they're saying, and thinking." She went on-and-on.

"Spring Liberalism is ironclad. It's more ironclad than Communism-Socialism. We don't have holes in our arguement, unlike those goddamned pinko-commies and slaver scum. They're still engaging in Slavery, in the freaking Thirties. Come on, now. We're all people, aren't we? So why are they puttin' people in chains, and-and whipping them, and..."

She weeped, not being able to add onto what she said before.

The thought of Slavery had literally broke her down, and she made a hand gesture for the advisor to exit her room.

---

The mobs found the peoples behind the anti-sword bill, and... let's say it wasn't Pretty.

The Senate was still reeling from that proposed attack on the nation, and promised to unmask everyone behind Anti-Aimeslandish ideas, or ideas to destroy the nation and its legacy - to fundamentally change Aimesland and make her foreign, even to her own people.

Treason.

---

Communist-Socialists, Fascists, Slavers and Monarchists looked like they were starting to gang-up on Aristonia. Indeed. They seemed to be using that strategy of "first, let's destroy 'em from the inside then from the outside" or "Divide-&-Conquer" element.

A freedom-loving, democratic people, versus radicalists and revolutionaries but also versus tyrants. Their foolish ideologies would be torn asunder, in the end.

It made no sense as to why the Far-left and Far-right allied up, since they were chaotic revolutionaries and the Slavocrats and Serfs were the statusquo. Why work w/ the Statusquo when you can simply destroy it? Become a tolerant people who love fun, games, and sport?

Communism-Socialism and Fascism were mentally-controlling; Slavocracy and Monarchism were physically-controlling. Spring Liberalism didn't control at all; it just advanced and liberated, or freed. The monarchists "liberate" the freeman only to place him under a new King, or Jarl, or Emperor, or Lord, or what-have-you.

The slavers bind-up the freeman, send off his family to get raped by other slavers or customers, whip, lash, and hang him for speaking out, and then make Bloodmoney off of it.

Fascists worshipped the State, instead of questioning it. They were gatekeepers of tradition and conserving, or preserving. Not allowing women to speak-out, forcing the genders and whatnot to be segregated, blinding the Youth w/ Propaganda, all-the-while spouting propaganda about how they used to be an Empire.

All of those ideologies were Regressive, or Regressivist, where Spring Liberalism was Progressive and Progressivist. Communist-Socialists or Democratic Socialists/Social Democrats and Socialists in-gen would say "You have nothing to lose, but your chains," but you were never chained under Spring Liberalism.

You were a freeman. Free to vote, sleep around, be lazy, game, sport, learn what you want, and et cetera.

And now, Technocracy; the Sleeping Giant of the other ideologies. Already, Aimesland had a culture that made good fodder or leaned towards it. They were proud of their youth, they gamed and played sports, they were proud intellects and educators, they were eaters and foodies.

It was kinda hedonistic, but already, Technocracy was in the Material. Aimesland was already industrialized, and very progressive, even for their time, but Technocracy would ensure it. The machinists of long ago dreamt of a society in the technological, instead of merely the mechanical. The technical side of things, instead of the astral or immaterial or spiritual.

Yes, Aimesland was Technoenvironmentalist, but Technocrats made their own environment. Their own spire. They conquered Mother Nature instead of letting the woman enslave them. The legacy of Anarcho-Environmentalist Aimesland is made to rot; for now, they are a civil, democratic people, society, nation, nationstate, culture, and realm.

The world was civil, long ago, but now, has lost its civility and kindness. Now, they kill people with rusted guns and artillery instead of killing them w/ Kindness, or hugging it out; an Aimeslandish concept of being a Hippie, or Hipster.

Embracing Modernity and not destroying it, not regressing into an ancient time.

Now, it was time for Liberty. It was time for Aristonia to become a Preacher and preach Honesty, Tolerance, Respect, and other Humanistic and Democratic, or Spring Liberalist ideals onto the masses; onto the "proles" and "bourgeoisles," onto the Serfs and the Lords, onto the Theocrats, onto the Fuhrer and his Reichs-whatevers. Onto the rest of the world; Aimesland shall conquer! We shall never be enslaved, by no man or Being! Aimesland Advances!

---

The only thing the Slavocrats, Fascists, Commies, and Monarchists progressed was Human Suffering; while Aristonia minimized it, and was a healer or soothsayer to the wounded.

ARISE, AIMESLANDISH TECHNATE! WE SHALL NEVER FALL TO THE REGRESSIVIST HANDS! AVE HUMANA!

---

Code: Select all


Message sent to Wargloria:

We are open to your wishes and desires of an Unholy Alliance. We're surrounded by the menaces that wish to slaughter us; while seem to be disturbed, or bothered by this. We have noted how advanced your technologies and machinery are, and we'd like a slice of this Pizza Pie. We'd want to engage - Engage in a new future or a land anew, without stereotypes or mockery of our Republic.

Yes, you are Fascistic, and yes, our ideologies mix like Oil and Water, but it is time for a Pact. An Iron-&-Steel Pact, or a Pact of Liberty. This is an axis, a vertex, a triangle, a geometric device that will bash the heathens that have mocked and slandered our Respective Nations.

This ensures Liberty, and... what the DemSocs call, "Solidarity" amongst both of our Mother Nations.

The Aimeslandish gov't, engaging in Realpolitik, would send this to the "Warglorian Reich," after a long discussion in Senate about Modernity, the Cultural Revolutions, Mechanizing, and Technocratic Thought.

Already being Futuristic, it made sense to jump into the pool of Technocracy, and embracing all Technocratic, Scientific, and Technological ideologies. The Horse was a good-and-cool instrument, but maybe, there'd be a time of robotic horses...

And advanced swords, instead of blades of steel and iron, but blades of... Light? Energy?

So much pondering, and fiction had to happen.

The Warglorians had this idea of Supermen, and Aristonia had this concept of Transhumanism, of being more than just a Human, but a thinking entity, a processing entity - maybe this Unholy Alliance wasn't so farfetched. Take their Superhumanism and Transhumanism, and make a Venn Diagram, or a cocktail of both concepts. Already, they sounded technocratic.

Upbuilding Humanity, and making it stronger, then reaching-up to its Peak Performance and making them Super, or Hyper, or more capable.

Then, Aimesland wouldn't need to be enslaved to the concept of the Youth, when Age itself would be considered backward and barbaric...

A world w/o Aging, or wrinkles, though Aimeslandish did age gracefully, but this was still a neat and fascinating concept.

[TENNOHEIKA BANZAI NIHON]

Gokyo, Nihon
Imperial Army General Headquarters
January 15, 1935

"How is the naval landing practice going?" General Minami paced around the war room, studying the map. "I want the men ready for when the Hoosiers arrive."

Terauchi chuckled. "Do not worry about that. The drills have been so far successful and in coordination with the Navy's elite Special Naval Landing Forces. I would leave the most of the planning for now to the Navy."

Minami nodded. "This is going to be a very big operation. The plans are solid and are being guarded with the utmost secrecy. I expect my men will be ready. I do not underestimate the Aimeslandish, but they are another easy target for us. Defeat is improbable from a numerical standpoint alone."

Terauchi motioned to the pieces on the map, representing the planned Warglorian-trained divisions. "Yes our new divisions have extensive combat experience. And they are very well equipped. Today I signed the official order to produce 10,000 more Warglorian MG 34s, in accordance with our technology sharing agreement."

"For the new divisions?"

Terauchi nodded. "Yes. If they turn out just as good as the Warglorian made ones, I will order a few thousand more to outfit our entire army. They are being made in the Koishikawa Arsenal. I also ordered Arisaka to start making 7.92×57mm rounds so we can stop buying them."

Minami turned to face the lists of divisions. "Make sure to order some MP 18s from one of the Arsenals. I think our men will need it and we can now but our technology sharing agreement with Wargloria to better use."

"War is near, and while it is our belief there will be no intervention, the limits of the 1928 treaty are showing through. We might need more men and most importantly, more pilots. The pilots we have are well trained, but we will need replacements depending on the capabilities of the Aimeslandish air forces."

Terauchi paused before saying, "Sir, I am confident they will not be needed, but I think there is a way we can get some trained pilots without having to make them officially a part of the military and thus limited in number by the treaty."

"Air travel is becoming a booming business, look at the companies that are being created. We already have agreements with some of them, but what if we were to train all the pilots? Have them trained, and in war call them up. They can then take over the roles of our military pilots domestically which in war would free up some of our active pilots to serve on the front-lines."

Minami simply nodded toward Terauchi before replying, "I will see what I can do."

With that led to the Diet authorizing the creation of the Imperial Nihonese Army Pilot Scholarship Program and Imperial Nihonese Navy Scholarship Program. Trainees would be given free pilot training, but in return they would have to agree after completion of the course to join the Imperial Volunteer Ready Reserve, and be a member for at least 12 years, where they could be called up for service, and once called up would have to serve a minimum of 3 years, although any remaining time in the Ready Reserve would be waived.

The trainees would undergo the courses: Basic Training (8 months); Primary Training (9 months); and then Advanced Training (6 months); requiring trainees to complete 400 flight hours.

While this was long, it would make for good pilots, and the trainees had the incentive of in addition to the lodging and food provided on the bases, they we given small amounts of pay and promised jobs with the Nihon Air Transport Company, the Manchuko Aviation Company, or others.

In addition to the new program, an order has been given for 100 mechanics and 170 ground crew to begin to train as pilots in order to help prepare for the looming war.

[Norcourt]

Forward the Armored Brigade!

---

In 1932 the Norcourtian Military Board of Armour & Motor Vehicles, had commissioned Arciero once again, to begin the designing of a heavy tank, In response to the lack of a heavy tank being fielded by the Army. The result of the commission, became known as the Arciero AM34-A1(P) "Titano" Heavy Tank, an 11 foot tall, 32 ton behemoth of 60mm thick steel, armed with a 47mm Pontus AT-Gun (as seen on the AM31-A1(L) and a Pontus 75mm Howitzer offset in the hull. The AM34-A1(P) was adopted immediately after trial in late 1933, and Arciero received an initial order of 600 Titanos, to be assembled by early 1935.

Whilst the Titano was in production, Arciero had already begun development on a new set of two different tank classes. Despite the Titano being relatively cost effective, it was still slow, somewhat cramped, and a big target. Though the Titano would work wonders against the tanks of other nations across the globe, Arciero saw an opportunity, and did not hesitate to take it. The heavy suspension of the Titano would be used for the newer more optimized dedicated heavy tank class, which would solely focus on keeping the 75mm howitzer in a turret form, disregarding the 47mm, the Arciero AM35-A1(P) "Sovrano" Heavy Tank.

To fill the in between role, was actually not a tank design fulfilled by Arciero, but a newcomer to military tank design, The Vozza motor company, who had designed the Vozza VM.35(M) "Deciter" Medium Tank. Fitted with a modern turret design, a lighter chassis, a well balanced amount of power, and armor, The Deciter is capable of engaging most, if not all, tanks in other nation's service.

[TENNOHEIKA BANZAI NIHON]

Gokyo, Nihon
Outside the Prime Minister's Residence
January 16, 1935

The plans for war against Aimesland involved finding a justification for war, and turning the populace against Aimesland, which the civilian government was center to. They would capitalize on a small, peaceful recent protest in the Takeshima Islands over the lack of police forces in the area and a small but rising crime rate. A crowd of reporters and listeners gathered as a member of the House of Councillors, young Baron Tetsuo Yoshimura spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen I have just gotten word of a massive riot in our glorious colony, the Takeshima Islands. Our brave soldiers and police forces deployed on the islands were quick to quell the violence and restore order, but it points to a more serious problem; Aimesland. The country of Aimesland and its political leadership have for too long spread harsh and aggressive rhetoric against foreign nations including our own divine Empire. Their public policies are that of an aggressive nature, using slogans such as 'Aimesland shall conquer!' They support violence as well. Just the other day I heard of laws being passed to allow for swords and firearms to be carried in public! The very thought of this is primitive, and a form of regression on the highest level. It is still in living memory of our elders, of the times drunk and self-important ronin would wander around the streets, with their swords, with the right to kill anyone they thought to have disrespected them. Their dangerous ideas are spreading in the form of propaganda to destabilize our glorious Empire and the entirety of the Orient."

"They are inciting rebellion in our colonial possessions, causing a very grave threat to our Empire. We have already lost Shishiri and most of Manchuko to the 1928 Peace Deal, imagine if we were to lose the rest of Manchuko and the Takeshima to their dangerous ideas!? We cannot stand this radical support for anarchy, and that is why I am putting forward a bill with assistance from the Rikken Seiyūkai Party to call for the condemnation of Aimesland, and to put forth an ultimatum demanding them step away from these aggressive measures, or face the consequences of their inciting actions. I don't know about you, but as for me, if it were my choice, I would send in our Navy to teach them a lesson."

The baron continued on, but the main point was clear to the populace of Nihon. Within hours, his words would be in every evening newspaper and played across the radio, to rally the populace against the Aimeslandish, pushing forward in the path for war on Aimesland.