Blade and Musket: 19th Century RP (OOC) (Open)

[Madmunch]

Also, RL history has Britain and Spain at war in 1800 as part of the War of the Second Coalition. Were you intending to keep to that part of RL history? I'm fine with it, but I would prefer peace.

I'm fine with anything tbh. I purposely left any mention of that out cuz I wasn't sure of Spain's side. But if it's peace u want you won't fine me complaining

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Nation Application

NS Name: Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States
Nation Name: Kingdom of Piedmont
Government: Piedmont is an absolutist kingdom in the style of the ancien regime. An absolutist king, crowned by God, sits upon the throne in Turin and wields absolute executive authority. The king is mostly concerned with keeping the power of the landed aristocracy and the church, at the expense of that of the 'common class', including the up-and-coming capitalist class. Systems are antiquated and the kingdom is ruled by conservatism as much as despotism.

At least, that was how it was until 1796. In the last four years, chancellor di Buonaparte, marshal of the Kingdom, has changed the kingdom. His tireless devotion to governance and rationalisation has shaken up the kingdom. While not to the delight of the landed gentry and ghe clergy, these changes have made king Charles Emmanuel IV loved by the people and the monied class alike. The king now commands a strong, loyal army, as well as the loyalty of his subjects, and sits on large coffers to boot, fed by taxes levied on the aristocracy, the clergy, as well as traders, who have exchanged their money for privilege and the ear of chancellor di Buonoparte.

Territory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_o ... a_1848.png
Including Corsica and Genoa
Population: 3.0 million

Military: The army sits at 15.000 strong, divided up into six regiments in two divisions. The army consists of 10.000 infantry, 4.000 cavalry (both heavy and light) and 1.000 artillerymen across a few batteries. The army follows a doctrine of defeat-in-detail, and to achieve this is highly mobile. The royal army is trained to forage while on campaign and all regiments have light horsemen attached to it to aid in this. The reforms of the Count of Corsica have made the regiment its own tactical unit with supportive cavalry and artillery, as well as some independence in terms of command, so regiments can act independently while on campaign, aiding in the mobility of the army.

History: The history of Piedmont is roughly the same, barring externalities, until 1795. That was when lieutenant-general Napoleon Bonaparte, a native of the island of Corsica, was sent there to expel the invading British from the island. Napoleon was a known Corsican nationalist, and popular on the island, and France hoped to levy public support in favour of Paris. However, Napoleon had also been snubbed before due to his questionable political allegiance, and besides receiving an education in France, held no love for the country. It was the kingdom of Piedmont which recognised this. During the succesful Corsican campaign, the Piedmontese managed to convince Napoleon to abandon the French cause in favour of the Corsican cause, declaring its independence. Corsica would remain largely independent under nominal Piedmontese rule, with Napoleon serving as its de facto leader, in exchange for Napoleon's service to the Piedmontese crown. Napoleon, requiring the international recognition that the Crown commanded, switched allegiances together with his small army, and was welcomed to the Piedmontese court as a hero.

Using his experience and knowledge gained in the French Ecole Militaire, Napoleon set out to modernise and rationalise the Piedmontese army, over which he was given control. He threw out many aristocratic officers and replaced them with tarpaulins. He formalised the military structure too. And in 1797, he took the army of Piedmont to war against the Genoese. This new model army crushed the Geonese defenders and even a small coalition of Italian states that came to its aid, ensuring Napoleon returned to Turin with all the glory of a conquering hero. This boost in popularity, as well as his personal coffers grown off the back of Genoese merchants, made him a powerful man in court, and it was nog long before he was made the official chancellor of the kingdom, akin to a prime minister and factual ruler of the kingdom, even if his rule required constant royal supervision.

The political situation in Piedmont has grown dire, however. Piedmontese nationalists, as well as a new sort of 'Italian' nationalist, have risen to the fore, especially among the merchant class who are sick of the landed Italian gentry. Napoleone, count of Corsica, has become the de facto ruler of Old Genoa too, with the merchants there owing their allegiance to him. The king, happy to bask in a shiver of Napoleone's glory, does not notice that his support base is slowly being eroded from under him, replaced by the power of Buonaparte. The cries in the streets are for him to take charge, to unite Italy, to throw out the Pope and the foreigners, to re-establish ancient Rome under an Italian banner. And whether Napoleone di Buonaparte will listen, that will be up to the marshal himself...

Any further info:
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules: Oui!

BladeAndMusket (Do not remove)

[Tysoania]

Also, RL history has Britain and Spain at war in 1800 as part of the War of the Second Coalition. Were you intending to keep to that part of RL history? I'm fine with it, but I would prefer peace.

I'm fine with anything tbh. I purposely left any mention of that out cuz I wasn't sure of Spain's side. But if it's peace u want you won't fine me complaining

Since Napoleonic France is not a nation at the moment, I guess there's no reason for Spain to declare war to help France, so peace is good.

[Cetacea]

Tag - Reserve Malacca Sultanate (Claims - Malay Peninsula (to Arakan), Singapura, Sumatra, Jawa)

[Danubian Peoples]

[snip]

Update: This application I now consider finished. Once again sorry if its not up to speed.

[American Pere Housh]

Nation Application

NS Name:American Pere Housh
Nation Name:The Russian Empire
Government (Name leader, political system, etc):Czar Paul the First

Territory:All territory Russia held in 1800
Population:40,000,000

Military (Numbers, equipment, etc):950,000 regular soldiers and 250,000 irregulars (mostly Cossacks)
Weapons are same as RL and Imperial Russian Military are better trained than IRL.

History:Same as IRL except Serfdom was abolished in the first year of Peter the Great's reign.

Any further info:Paul survives his assassination attempt in 1801 and the Czar is neutral towards France but is weary of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules:yes

BladeAndMusket (Do not remove)

[Hanovereich]

Nation Application

NS Name:American Pere Housh
Nation Name:The Russian Empire
Government (Name leader, political system, etc):Czar Paul the First

Territory:All territory Russia held in 1800
Population:40,000,000

Military (Numbers, equipment, etc):950,000 regular soldiers and 250,000 irregulars (mostly Cossacks)
Weapons are same as RL and Imperial Russian Military are better trained than IRL.

History:Same as IRL except Serfdom was abolished in the first year of Peter the Great's reign.

Any further info:Paul survives his assassination attempt in 1801 and the Czar is neutral towards France but is weary of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules:yes

BladeAndMusket (Do not remove)

Unfortunately there's also a Republic of the Rus, which has taken most of European Russia. You can still take the rest (including Alaska).

[Hanovereich]

Here's my application. It is no longer a work-in-progress, I think. Apologies if what I've written so far goes against the rules. Also apologies if this application is not historically sound, I know I put a disclaimer about that in my signature but I'd still like to say it I guess.

Nation Application

NS Name:Danubian Peoples
Nation Name:Republic of Rus

Government (Name leader, political system, etc):The government of the Republic of Rus, is at the moment, in flux. The current leader of the young republic is General Konstantin Ivanovich Petrov, head of the Provisional Council, a government of army officers as well as select administrators, political thinkers and local leaders set up during the war to run the state. So far attempts at setting up a proper non-provisional government have been stymied by the urgency of the war effort and factionalism among revolutionaries. However, with the war's intensity winding down in 1797, and the new century bringing an apparent end to even the most stubborn pockets of resistance, many have been hard at work drafting a proper constitution and setting up a new legislative assembly as well as an executive. Petrov is supportive of these efforts, him being on record stating he wishes to step down from government and hand over control to someone else, having never been the greatest at running the country. Many of his peers in the Provisionary Council disagree with his position and are either aiming to participate in post-provisional politics or even maintain the power of the Council. Both the Council and its developing successor government are based in the old city of Novgorod, once the capital of the so-called 'sham republic,' a pragmatic choice made due to its status as the former hegemon's capital meaning a significant portion of the pre-existing infrastructure is centered on Novgorod, and also to placate select revolutionaries.

A number of local governments have been set up below the national level, to fill the void left behind by the old principalities. Some are military regimes while others are more democratic. Still others are remnants of the old princedoms attempting to maintain their ways in this changed landscape. These local governments all report to the Provisional Council, and many are in the process of transitioning themselves into the developing post-provisional bureaucracy, though some do remain apprehensive for one reason or the other. Overall, these local governments have divided the nation along regional lines, each one run by a different breed of Rus from that particular place. These regional identities, formed from centuries of decentralization akin to the Holy Roman Empire are indeed very strong, and some, along with a few non-East Slavic minority groups have broken off and formed their own independent polities in the chaos. Tensions between them are high, and any new government will have to unite the Rus, whatever that might mean, if they want the country to survive. The question of the breakaway regions is also one that factors into this.

The factions of the revolutionary movement divide themselves chiefly along the lines of the nation's future governance, a most pertinent question. There are those for instance, whose idea for a post-provisional government is a military one, staffed by generals and officers whose hearts lie closest to the country's interests, for they are the ones who fight its battles after all. This position is almost universally panned by everyone else, but nonetheless those military officers believing themselves fit to build a new Rus organize themselves under the Militarist faction. So far they have staunchly opposed the current direction the in-progress constitution and its associated government branches is taking, finding it all too civilian for their tastes. Other policies include a great patriotism, hyper-centralization in the hands of the army, and a military solution to the breakaway states problem. In theory they are a radical fringe, though their command of a significant sector of the army makes many wish to see them removed for the security of the republic.

Of the civilian-minded, some politicians, especially those from the territories of the former Novgorod 'Sham Republic' have grouped themselves under the Centralist faction, committed to the supremacy to central government and an assimilation of all peoples of the nation into Novgorodian Rus, which they wish to implement as a national standard for language and culture. While they would prefer a peaceful resolution to the breakaway states issue, their assimilatory and unitary state policies are unlikely to make for conducive negotiations and a government run by them will likely have to resort to war. They are received negatively by other factions, many of which comprise of regional identities opposed to the policy of assimilation and the view from non-East Slavic peoples is especially dismal. That the Novgorod Republic grew to dominate the old Kyivan Rus however means that much of the country's politics is centered to the north, and therefore the Centralists hold a disproportionate political influence despite their relative lack of total popular support. Their origins in the 'sham republic' also mark them as particularly suspect to many, some decrying them as counterrevolutionaries masquerading their oligarchic and dynastic tendencies under republican paint, just as old Novgorod once did.

Other politicians instead flock to the Federalist banner, seen as a faction of relative decentralization. As the name suggests, they seek to implement a federal system among the Rus, giving its regions a degree of the autonomy with individual elected governments and the right to maintain their own cultures. A bit of a big-tent faction, the exact details of the Federalist vision vary depending on who one asks, with differences ranging from to what powers these state governments should have and how they relate to the central government, to whether or not non-Rus local governments ought to have special privileges, and if so what kind. In theory they perhaps have the best shot at a peaceful resolution to the problem of breakaway states. A common, and perhaps justified criticism of the Federalists however, is that their decentralized proposal will simply be a rehash of the weak and feudal Kyivan Rus, and without proper oversight, the local governments will inevitably restore the still-present and still-influential princely dynasties to power.

Of course, there are other issues than the system of governance, but these are generally filed as secondary in importance. And besides, for many of these problems, there exists a general agreement among the other factions. Religion for instances is quite a non-issue among them, most having agreed in some sort of a pluralist or secular republic, free from the shackles of the Church. Those who wish to retain the Church are generally sidelined from the other factions. There are also certain takes for the big issues being debated that most simply do not support, be it esoteric philosophy involving a great synthesis of the varying regional identities, or a full decentralization and dissolution of the republic in its entirety. These and other positions form two factions, the Spirituals and Radicals. The Spirituals comprise mostly of religiously-minded revolutionaries who rebelled against what they perceived to be a decadent gaggle of principalities which have strayed from God, while the Radicals comprise of extra-ardent decentralists whose positions veer to the point of full-on dissolution of the republic into independent states and 'high-concept' thinkers dreaming up eccentric and so far untested policies. Both of these factions are relatively minor players in the political game, though the Spirituals do have an edge against the Radicals and other factions in their support from more traditionally Christian places apprehensive about the republic's secular direction.

Territory:Here is a map of controlled territory, as well as other territory that is relevant. A color key is below.
(Image)
This color denotes controlled territory, administered by the republic, however tenuously.
(Image)
This color denotes territories that seceded or were otherwise lost from the Kyivan Rus during the revolution. Feel free to mark these as controlled by other countries, or apply as the listed patches themselves. The four patches of green color I envision to correspond, clockwise starting in the westernmost patch, to a regional culture of Rus analogous to Belarusians, Karelians, a messy place of Rus colonists and natives, and Circassians, though feel free to veer from that if you wish.
(Image)
This color denotes the Free State of Ukraine. Here is a link to a reservation for the territory. I have chosen to highlight it in a different color than all the other lost territories since they were a reservation made by another player. Apologies to Countesia by the way, I may have taken serious creative liberties with the Russia alluded to in your reservation.

Population: The population numbers at approximately 30,000,000, and is is largely concentrated in major cities around rivers like the Dnieper, as well as occasional settler cities founded in the eastern frontier.

Military (Numbers, equipment, etc): The armed forces of the republic number at a staggering 450,000. This however, is not the whole story. A significant portion of this 400,000-man army is predominantly fighting militia set up during the revolutionary war, about 100,000 in fact. These regiments of farmers and peasants alike are in the process of demobilizing, started the previous year, returning to fields left fallow during the long revolution in an effort to bolster a food situation left dangerously close to famine during the last 6 years.

The remaining 350,000 soldiers are further divided into 300,000 'regulars' and about 50,000 'irregulars.' The regulars are split into groups of regiments organized primarily around regional boundaries. There are Novgorodian regiments, Vladimiran regiments, et cetera. Until the Army Reform Proclamation of 1797, these regiments were also fighting under radically different doctrines descended from those of the myriad pre-revolutionary principalities and had difficulties working together. Since 1797 significant work has been put into standardizing and modernizing them, as well as breaking up regionalist tensions by integrating Rus from various places into regiments of mixed descent. The revolutionary officer corps is undergoing a similar transformation. Such army modernization efforts are stymied in part by a staunch divide between revolutionary forces and the aristocratic class that has historically held military positions, and is therefore host to experienced officers that were either killed by revolutionaries during the war or refuse to participate in the new armed forces.

The 50,000 irregulars consist primarily of ethnic regiments from non-Rus groups as well as Cossack cavalry. Their fate lies uncertain as the new revolutionary army modernizes and standardizes. Petrov has made overtures to these forces, asking to integrate their practices and their fighting men into his vision for their army. Others prefer their talent remain separate from the standardized army, fearing that integrating them would dilute their expertise, especially that of the Cossacks.

With regards to naval power, the republic, it is not. The revolutionary forces did manage to construct a few very small warships, and indeed the pre-revolutionary state of Novgorod in particular boasted a comparatively sizeable fleet, much of which was transferred to the new republic in the aftermath of the revolution, but much of it was also damaged in the fighting or scuttled by the enemy. Never one for water, the Rus will have to invest heavily if they mean to dominate the waves.

History: The relevant history of the republic begins far back, in the days of the Mongol Invasions. The Kyivan Rus of the 1200s was a decentralized mess that existed in name only. When the Mongol invaders smashed into their eastern flank, even the squabbling principalities could not ignore the threat, and so they banded together into a massive multinational effort to repel the invaders. Though significant territories were lost, and indeed the Mongol armies made inroads as far as Kiev, by the beginning of the 1300s, their forces had been repulsed entirely, and so the Rus returned to a somewhat antebellum situation, albeit with some principalities destroyed, others weakened, still others on the rise, and a couple of post-Mongol polities joining the Rus milieu.

This effort however, did not alleviate the divisions between the princedoms, and without the threat of the Mongols, they almost immediately returned to their old ways, albeit with a new spin. Power became more centralized, but at a local level, and so the principalities would consolidate, the Kyivan Rus taking a shape similar to that of the Holy Roman Empire to the west. The war of the 1200s did change something significant however, it elevated a number of Rus polities into regional power status, namely, Novgorod.

The Novgorod Republic was an unusual sort. It was not democratic in the way the modern crop of revolutionaries believe themselves to be, though perhaps in the deep past it might've once been. Its rule was concentrated predominantly around noble houses of predominantly Rurikid lineage. Sometimes they would even elect outsider candidates from another principality, perhaps in an effort to bolster an alliance. This aristocratic form of governance was nonetheless republican in a sense, and so Novgorod chugged along. Perhaps it was this governance that made it prosperous. Perhaps it was a lack of organized foes to its south. Perhaps it was the riches of the fur trade it benefitted from. Whatever the case, Novgorod grew influential in the 1400s onwards, and would on multiple occasions often in a row, take the coveted title of Grand Prince, a position made them the quasi-leader of all the polities. For control of the Kyivan Rus, Novgorod would often battle with the other empowered princedoms, with the 1600s especially marked by an uptick of league warfare. Despite resistance, by the 1700s Novgorodian dominance seemed increasingly uncontested, and some claimed that Novgorod would be on track to unite the Rus at long last.

The Mongol and post-Mongol years of course also brought about territorial change. During the invasion, a few of the western polities would fall into the orbits of outside powers, and some would intermittently be ruled by foreign non-Rus princes in the centuries after. The centuries after were also marked by southward and eastward expansion, into the Caucasus and Siberia, respectively. Such efforts proved difficult to organize however, as the colonization process was marked by a principal level of organization, the constituent polities themselves being the ones to send out expeditions, oftentimes warring with other expeditions similarly on frontier missions. Their are some instances or concerted Rus-wide colonization efforts, but these are few and far between. Overall, this expansion is generally considered to have been ineffective compared to similar efforts undertaken by more consolidated powers. Perhaps if a stronger power were in charge, these efforts might take the Rus all the way to the edge of Asia. But alas. This 'weak' colonization also meant the Kyivan Rus had a difficulty in 'digesting' its foreign constituents, even after their subjugation, many of which continued their independent non-Rus practices, but still being treated as lesser, their lands parceled out among the principalities while the populace remained steadfast.

And of course, Cossacks, also. Descended from the chaos that the Mongol invasions managed to the inflict upon the south to some extent, these Cossack hosts while, still technically Rus-speaking, are generally considered a different breed, their hosts acting more as somewhat nomadic and democratic military communes than anything comparable to the principalities and republics. They were perhaps the most efficient at colonizing the frontier due to their familiarity with the environment, and many princedoms and even the hegemon Novgorod paying handsomely for their services in colonizing the frontier for their polity. Despite their differences with the other polities, they overtime became integrated into the autonomous milieu of the other princedoms.

Nowhere is the result of this more obvious than in the Siberian frontier. Due to the haphazard nature of colonization, the Rus settlers here formed a distinct settler identity, separate from their mother principalities, and they themselves became organized into their own principalities with their own rulers, while others copied the Novgorod model and became republics in their own right. There were also the remnants of the old polities and peoples that the settlers had conquered.

The 1700s would bring about the enlightenment, and how it began to flow down the rivers that crisscrossed the many principalities, followed suit by the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. Even as republican Novgorod established itself as the sovereign of all Rus, many felt dissatisfied with the state of affairs. Even during its most democratic of days Novgorod was still dominated by noble houses and the monarchies of the princedoms too became increasingly disliked. The conflict that had often come to the Rus states it turned out, was conducive to the rise of thinkers and innovators, and so many became to philosophize about alternatives to the current system, while the living standards of the populace rose enough for people to begin digesting their works. An energy would begin to be stored in the great battery of the people. Pan-Rusianism would begin to take shape.

This energy would find an outlet in the 1770s and 1780s, where the American Revolution, a demonstration that old orders could indeed be overthrown, coincided with a poor harvest in the Kyivan Rus proper. The combination of food insecurity and successful revolution elsewhere inspired a band of disgruntled folk to first rally around, then storm the government buildings in Novgorod. The resulting military action made them into martyrs in the matter of days if not hours. This event, later termed the Martyrdom of 1788, further fueled the fires of popular discontent. It also served to further define the revolutionary narrative, with the events of '88 decrying the republic of Novgorod as a sham institution, and also serving as a rallying cry for regionalist forces, who for the past few decades have found themselves increasingly worried by the hegemony of Novgorod, the events only serving as validation for their views.

The Martyrdom would also inspire a reaction in non-revolutionary groups. After an investigation revealed the ancestries of the protestors lay all over the Kyivan Rus, Novgorod saw fit to expedite its centralization, and to also purge itself of unwanted elements. Reform-minded politicians would be expelled from its political machine, and they would join with the revolutionaries. These expelled reformers are considered by many to have formed the bedrock of the Centralist faction currently participating in the new republic's government. The centralization also had the opposite effect. Initially expected to clamp down on dissenting sentiments, it only served to further inflame them, and also made the princedoms more apprehensive of Novgorod's rule than ever. Certain principalities in fact, seeing where the wind was blowing, would buckle to reformist pressure and begin trying to curry favor with the growing movement, in the hopes of prolonging their existence in the face of mounting pressure.

The revolutionary war is said to have begun in the year 1794, when the city of Vladimir, seat of the Vladimir Principality was attacked by a mutinous group of its soldiers, its ranks including none other than Konstantin Ivanovich Petrov, at the time a relatively lowly career officer within Vladimir's officer corps. Vladimir, historically a rival to Novgorod and one of the other empowered princedoms had, in recent years, become increasingly subservient to the hegemonic republic, inspiring dissent among the populace, and especially its military, which historically held an anti-Novgorod stance. The city would be captured, causing a large portion of the Vladimir military to defect to the mutinous upstarts. Within the halls of the now-occupied city, they would declare revolution.

The Vladimir mutiny would quickly domino into other insurrections across the Kyivan Rus. An attempt was made at storming Novgorod anew, but it was repulsed by a readied army. Rebels of all sorts would have more success elsewhere, as some principalities' governments chose to secede while others were overran by revolutionaries. Also joining the cavalcade of revolts were a number of ethnic risings by oppressed groups that, while afforded a degree of autonomy in the decentralized environment, were ultimately subservient and second or third-class to Novgorod, moreso than the average non-Novgorodian Rus.

A number of these rebellious movements would quickly consolidate themselves under the banner of the Provisional Council, a coalition of military leaders, politicians and administrators from each of the various insurrectionary enclaves. Of course, many of the insurrectionaries refused, almost always because their goals were in opposition to the distinctly Rus uniting ideals of the Council and its constituents. Perhaps they were the aforementioned ethnic risings, or maybe they were firm regionalists. These insurrectionaries would conduct their own rebellions and tenuously ally with the Council against the enemy, but they were all ultimately on track for independence. These independence movements had varying degrees of success, some successfully consolidating while others were swallowed up by outside powers or crushed by Novgorod and their allies.

Meanwhile, counterrevolutionary forces would begin formulating a response. Rallying under the current Novgorodian Grand Prince, one Alexander V, under which the forces of the remaining loyal principalities would organize. Despite their collective apprehension of Novgorod's hegemony, they all agreed that they were the superior alternative to the riotous revolutionaries. Despite their divided nature, they nonetheless put up a fight, especially since they were armed with a significant portion of the Kyivan Rus' officer corps. The war was a long affair, six years long, and it propelled many names, like the aforementioned Konstantin Ivanonich Petrov to prominence, while at the same time burying thousands more beneath Eastern European soil. A degree of foreign intervention likely also occurred during the time, some swallowing up the aforementioned independence movements while others took sides in the war, backing either the forces of Alexander V or the Provisional Council.

With the implementation of the Army Reform Proclamation in 1797, the forces of the Provisional Council would gain a slight edge over their foes, enough to bring the end of the war to the horizon. Novgorod was captured in late 1798, which signaled the beginning of the end for Alexander's forces. Upon the city's occupation, the now General Konstantin Ivanovich Petrov is said to have entered the halls of the old Novgorod Veche, now emptied of its representatives but filled with revolutionaries, and held a speech avenging the martyrs that had died in the city a decade earlier. By mid 1799, the last of the enemy forces had surrendered, leaving the Provisional Council free to declare the Republic of Rus. Resistance continues into the following year, largely underground and based in far-off rural lands, but for the most part, the fighting is over. Now the revolutionaries turn outward, seeking to reclaim lost lands, and unite the Rus as they set out to do so. They also turn inwards, to hash out their governance and rebuild the nation.

Any further info:Probably not? I'm not sure exactly, if I feel the need to I may return to this application and add material here.
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules:I read the rules, and I'm pretty sure I understand them.

BladeAndMusket (Do not remove)

I'm pretty sure it's fine, but I'll double check later.

Nation Application

NS Name: Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States
Nation Name: Kingdom of Piedmont
Government: Piedmont is an absolutist kingdom in the style of the ancien regime. An absolutist king, crowned by God, sits upon the throne in Turin and wields absolute executive authority. The king is mostly concerned with keeping the power of the landed aristocracy and the church, at the expense of that of the 'common class', including the up-and-coming capitalist class. Systems are antiquated and the kingdom is ruled by conservatism as much as despotism.

At least, that was how it was until 1796. In the last four years, chancellor di Buonaparte, marshal of the Kingdom, has changed the kingdom. His tireless devotion to governance and rationalisation has shaken up the kingdom. While not to the delight of the landed gentry and ghe clergy, these changes have made king Charles Emmanuel IV loved by the people and the monied class alike. The king now commands a strong, loyal army, as well as the loyalty of his subjects, and sits on large coffers to boot, fed by taxes levied on the aristocracy, the clergy, as well as traders, who have exchanged their money for privilege and the ear of chancellor di Buonoparte.

Territory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_o ... a_1848.png
Including Corsica and Genoa
Population: 3.0 million

Military: The army sits at 15.000 strong, divided up into six regiments in two divisions. The army consists of 10.000 infantry, 4.000 cavalry (both heavy and light) and 1.000 artillerymen across a few batteries. The army follows a doctrine of defeat-in-detail, and to achieve this is highly mobile. The royal army is trained to forage while on campaign and all regiments have light horsemen attached to it to aid in this. The reforms of the Count of Corsica have made the regiment its own tactical unit with supportive cavalry and artillery, as well as some independence in terms of command, so regiments can act independently while on campaign, aiding in the mobility of the army.

History: The history of Piedmont is roughly the same, barring externalities, until 1795. That was when lieutenant-general Napoleon Bonaparte, a native of the island of Corsica, was sent there to expel the invading British from the island. Napoleon was a known Corsican nationalist, and popular on the island, and France hoped to levy public support in favour of Paris. However, Napoleon had also been snubbed before due to his questionable political allegiance, and besides receiving an education in France, held no love for the country. It was the kingdom of Piedmont which recognised this. During the succesful Corsican campaign, the Piedmontese managed to convince Napoleon to abandon the French cause in favour of the Corsican cause, declaring its independence. Corsica would remain largely independent under nominal Piedmontese rule, with Napoleon serving as its de facto leader, in exchange for Napoleon's service to the Piedmontese crown. Napoleon, requiring the international recognition that the Crown commanded, switched allegiances together with his small army, and was welcomed to the Piedmontese court as a hero.

Using his experience and knowledge gained in the French Ecole Militaire, Napoleon set out to modernise and rationalise the Piedmontese army, over which he was given control. He threw out many aristocratic officers and replaced them with tarpaulins. He formalised the military structure too. And in 1797, he took the army of Piedmont to war against the Genoese. This new model army crushed the Geonese defenders and even a small coalition of Italian states that came to its aid, ensuring Napoleon returned to Turin with all the glory of a conquering hero. This boost in popularity, as well as his personal coffers grown off the back of Genoese merchants, made him a powerful man in court, and it was nog long before he was made the official chancellor of the kingdom, akin to a prime minister and factual ruler of the kingdom, even if his rule required constant royal supervision.

The political situation in Piedmont has grown dire, however. Piedmontese nationalists, as well as a new sort of 'Italian' nationalist, have risen to the fore, especially among the merchant class who are sick of the landed Italian gentry. Napoleone, count of Corsica, has become the de facto ruler of Old Genoa too, with the merchants there owing their allegiance to him. The king, happy to bask in a shiver of Napoleone's glory, does not notice that his support base is slowly being eroded from under him, replaced by the power of Buonaparte. The cries in the streets are for him to take charge, to unite Italy, to throw out the Pope and the foreigners, to re-establish ancient Rome under an Italian banner. And whether Napoleone di Buonaparte will listen, that will be up to the marshal himself...

Any further info:
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules: Oui!

BladeAndMusket (Do not remove)

Accepted. Map will be updated soon.

[Hanovereich]

Here is my application. It is WIP, still need to fill in history and military.

Nation Application

NS Name: New Kowloon Bay
Nation Name: The Great Qing Dynasty
Government (Name leader, political system, etc):

The ruler of this troubled period of China is currently Yongyan, the Jiaqing Emperor. He is only getting to know the enjoyment of power, as the last three years were still controlled by his abdicated father. Even beyond the throne, he still watches. The Qing Emperor controls all six ministries of the government, with only the top scholars entering after rigorous state exams with quotas for Muslims, Han and Manchu people. Each board is headed by two presidents and four vice-presidents.

The main decision-making insitutions of the Qing Dynasty are Outer Court, located on the southside of the Forbidden City, and the Inner Court, located in the northern part. The Outer Court handles routine matters and is mostly run by Han people with the exception of some Manchu people being the top brass of the Outer Court. The Inner Court's core power lies at the hands of the Grand Council. Ithandles more important matters such as military affairs and administratice affairs, and is run by a 1:5 ratio of Han to Manchu. The Grand Council centralises authority under the crown, and serves as an advisory body to the Emperor.

Most civil positions are recruited via imperial examinations, which divide a successful candidate into nine positions, ranging from civil to military. Civil appointments ranged from an attendant to the emperor or a Grand Secretary in the Forbidden City (highest) to being a prefectural tax collector, deputy jail warden, deputy police commissioner, or tax examiner. Military appointments ranged from being a field marshal or chamberlain of the imperial bodyguard to a third class sergeant, corporal or a first or second class private.

Every position requires two people to work it, a Han and a Manchu. The Han appointee does all the substantive work whilst the Manchu ensures the Han breaks no rules. If the Han does break rules, both will be punished.

The body that serves as an Interior Relations office is the Imperial Household Department. It manages relations with traders and outlying provinces like Tibet and Mongolia, and manages activities of nearly 60 subagencies. Many traders call for an end to the dual duties of the Imperial Household Department, and the setting up of a new Imperial Trading Department for the regulation of traders and the high taxes they are forced to pay. Of course, their cries are deemed as a secondary issue in the face of foreign powers looming in for one slip-up, and thus the traders grow angrier by the day.

Territory: All of the yellow and lighter-yellow parts.
Population: 400 million

Military (Numbers, equipment, etc):

History:

Any further info:
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules:Yes

BladeAndMusket (Do not remove)

Cool, remember there is still a White Lotus Rebellion, as stated in the OP.

[Mifan]

Reservation

NS Name: Mifan
Nation Name: Kingdom of Prussia
Territory: Prussia

Any further info: N/A
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules: Yes

BladeAndMusket (do not remove)

[Danubian Peoples]

Hey Hanovereich, I'm a little worried about my application as-is. Currently, the point where events diverge from the historical record is set at about the 1200s-ish, with a superior defense against the Mongol Invasion than was the case historically. Judging by what I'm seeing from the other accepted applications, should I cut back on the date of divergence? Generally PoDs for these sorts of roleplays I find to be placed well into the past as I have, but considering the nature of most reservations and applications I feel a bit like I'm the odd one out. Is this okay? There was nothing in the rules section clarifying much besides the existence of certain countries (some kind of Revolutionary France and a Qing Empire for example) so I presumed it was alright.

[New Kowloon Bay]

Here is my application. It is WIP, still need to fill in history and military.

Nation Application

NS Name: New Kowloon Bay
Nation Name: The Great Qing Dynasty
Government (Name leader, political system, etc):

The ruler of this troubled period of China is currently Yongyan, the Jiaqing Emperor. He is only getting to know the enjoyment of power, as the last three years were still controlled by his abdicated father. Even beyond the throne, he still watches. The Qing Emperor controls all six ministries of the government, with only the top scholars entering after rigorous state exams with quotas for Muslims, Han and Manchu people. Each board is headed by two presidents and four vice-presidents.

The main decision-making insitutions of the Qing Dynasty are Outer Court, located on the southside of the Forbidden City, and the Inner Court, located in the northern part. The Outer Court handles routine matters and is mostly run by Han people with the exception of some Manchu people being the top brass of the Outer Court. The Inner Court's core power lies at the hands of the Grand Council. Ithandles more important matters such as military affairs and administratice affairs, and is run by a 1:5 ratio of Han to Manchu. The Grand Council centralises authority under the crown, and serves as an advisory body to the Emperor.

Most civil positions are recruited via imperial examinations, which divide a successful candidate into nine positions, ranging from civil to military. Civil appointments ranged from an attendant to the emperor or a Grand Secretary in the Forbidden City (highest) to being a prefectural tax collector, deputy jail warden, deputy police commissioner, or tax examiner. Military appointments ranged from being a field marshal or chamberlain of the imperial bodyguard to a third class sergeant, corporal or a first or second class private.

Every position requires two people to work it, a Han and a Manchu. The Han appointee does all the substantive work whilst the Manchu ensures the Han breaks no rules. If the Han does break rules, both will be punished.

The body that serves as an Interior Relations office is the Imperial Household Department. It manages relations with traders and outlying provinces like Tibet and Mongolia, and manages activities of nearly 60 subagencies. Many traders call for an end to the dual duties of the Imperial Household Department, and the setting up of a new Imperial Trading Department for the regulation of traders and the high taxes they are forced to pay. Of course, their cries are deemed as a secondary issue in the face of foreign powers looming in for one slip-up, and thus the traders grow angrier by the day.

Territory: All of the yellow and lighter-yellow parts.
Population: 400 million

Military (Numbers, equipment, etc):

History:

Any further info:
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules:Yes

BladeAndMusket (Do not remove)

Cool, remember there is still a White Lotus Rebellion, as stated in the OP.

Yep, I will write about that in the history part.

[American Pere Housh]

Nation Application

NS Name:American Pere Housh
Nation Name:The United States of America
Government (Name leader, political system, etc):President John Adams

Territory:All US territory held in 1800
Population:9.5 million

Military (Numbers, equipment, etc):250,000 in the U.S. Army, 35,000 in The U.S. Marine Corp, and 10,000 in the U.S. Navy; The United States chose to create a professional volunteer military after witnessing how effective the British Army was during the Revolutionary War and how fortunate they were when the French got involved.

History:Same as IRL except a professional military force was established right after the ratification of the Bill of Rights and the United Constitution. While the U.S. is generally Pro French, President Adams declared that they will be neutral in any future European war. The United States has decided to negotiate buying both the Louisiana territory and Florida as a way to fund Spain's war against the UK.

Any further info:The United States takes a far tougher stance against the Barbary Pirates of North Africa.
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules:Yes

BladeAndMusket (Do not remove)

[Deblar]

I see a portion of Canada is unclaimed. Is that intentional?

Yea. Most is under British control but the rest should be contested by Spain and Russia if RL is to be followed.

Alright, but I more meant areas near Lake Ontario and Lake Eire

[Madmunch]

Yea. Most is under British control but the rest should be contested by Spain and Russia if RL is to be followed.

Alright, but I more meant areas near Lake Ontario and Lake Eire

Areas south of those great lakes should be part of the Indiana and Northwest territories under U.S.A. I could be wrong though so you might wanna double check that

[New Kowloon Bay]

snip

My application is now complete. Could the OP please look over it and tell me if I need to change anything?

[Hanovereich]

Hey Hanovereich, I'm a little worried about my application as-is. Currently, the point where events diverge from the historical record is set at about the 1200s-ish, with a superior defense against the Mongol Invasion than was the case historically. Judging by what I'm seeing from the other accepted applications, should I cut back on the date of divergence? Generally PoDs for these sorts of roleplays I find to be placed well into the past as I have, but considering the nature of most reservations and applications I feel a bit like I'm the odd one out. Is this okay? There was nothing in the rules section clarifying much besides the existence of certain countries (some kind of Revolutionary France and a Qing Empire for example) so I presumed it was alright.

Whatever you want. If you want you can keep the POD, but summarise some of the points to cut it down. I don't mind as long as it makes sense.

[Hanovereich]

This nation application is now complete.

Nation Application

NS Name: New Kowloon Bay
Nation Name: The Great Qing Dynasty
Government (Name leader, political system, etc):

The ruler of this troubled period of China is currently Yongyan, the Jiaqing Emperor. He is only getting to know the enjoyment of power, as the last three years were still controlled by his abdicated father. Even beyond the throne, he still watches. The Qing Emperor controls all six ministries of the government, with only the top scholars entering after rigorous state exams with quotas for Muslims, Han and Manchu people. Each board is headed by two presidents and four vice-presidents.

The main decision-making insitutions of the Qing Dynasty are Outer Court, located on the southside of the Forbidden City, and the Inner Court, located in the northern part. The Outer Court handles routine matters and is mostly run by Han people with the exception of some Manchu people being the top brass of the Outer Court. The Inner Court's core power lies at the hands of the Grand Council. Ithandles more important matters such as military affairs and administratice affairs, and is run by a 1:5 ratio of Han to Manchu. The Grand Council centralises authority under the crown, and serves as an advisory body to the Emperor.

Most civil positions are recruited via imperial examinations, which divide a successful candidate into nine positions, ranging from civil to military. Civil appointments ranged from an attendant to the emperor or a Grand Secretary in the Forbidden City (highest) to being a prefectural tax collector, deputy jail warden, deputy police commissioner, or tax examiner. Military appointments ranged from being a field marshal or chamberlain of the imperial bodyguard to a third class sergeant, corporal or a first or second class private.

Every position requires two people to work it, a Han and a Manchu. The Han appointee does all the substantive work whilst the Manchu ensures the Han breaks no rules. If the Han does break rules, both will be punished.

The body that serves as an Interior Relations office is the Imperial Household Department. It manages relations with traders and outlying provinces like Tibet and Mongolia, and manages activities of nearly 60 subagencies. Many traders call for an end to the dual duties of the Imperial Household Department, and the setting up of a new Imperial Trading Department for the regulation of traders and the high taxes they are forced to pay. Of course, their cries are deemed as a secondary issue in the face of foreign powers looming in for one slip-up, and thus the traders grow angrier by the day.

Territory: All of the yellow and lighter-yellow parts.
Population: 300 million

Military (Numbers, equipment, etc):
The Qing Dynasty's military, once proclaimed as 'unbeatable', has tried to stay with this proclamation for years. But it's military, in need of an update desperately, has been put back until the suppression of the White Lotus Rebellion. The once unbeatable army has declined over the 1790s, and now the White Lotus Rebellion has made the Qing find out that the Army now struggles to put down rebellions.

The military forces sit at a comfortable 1.904 million, split into the Eight Banners and the Green Standard. Within the Eight Banners, there are the Upper Three, which are commanded by the Emperor himself, and the Lower Five, commanded by hereditary Manchu princes. These Banners are mainly Manchu fighters and assorted tribes, although some Han troop divisions who undergo rigorous training until their archery skills were up on par with the best Manchu fighters. The Eight Banners are more suited to fighting in long flatlands where their cavalries can perform the best. The Green Standard is a mainly-Han division of the army, which absorbed the Ming forces that surrendered to the Qing. They outnumber the Eight Banners around 3:1, and are best suited to fighting in the southern parts of China where their are jungles and forests, and the cavalries are not as effective. The Green Standard is split so that the best and strongest divisions are led by the best and strongest generals, but it is always made sure that these units are outnumbered by lower ranking units so none of them can revolt against the Qing. In addition to the main force, regional and city-level governors also maintain small militias for policing and disaster relief, and can be called on by Manchus, although only in the most desperate times as the Manchu believe 'One hundred common men armed with swords could not kill a Manchu with a bow.'

Qing armies currently may not be as technologically advanced as their Western partners, but they have proven capable of quickly adapting new technology and innovating under high pressure from the government.

In terms of a navy, the Qing have a well-funded navy which is relatively new, as the 'sea ban' policy only ended in the 1750's. The Qing have followed the Ming's strategy to attempt to dominate the open ocean, or at least the seas surrounding China using its Eight Banner Navy but most of it is stuck trying to battle the White Lotus Rebellion who are sieging the coastal bombardments which are a supplement to the navy.


History:

The formation of the Manchu state is relatively unchanged from actual history, with Nurhaci founding the Qing state and proclaiming Jianzhou as the founding base of the Great Jin in the the early-middle 17th century.

At this point, it reverts back to normal history, with Hong Taji renaming the state to Great Qing and successfully invading Korea, and the Ming being finally wiped out by the short-lived Shun Dynasty after a peasant uprising, fiscal collapse and infighting. When the Second Sack of Beijing came with the Qing-Shun War, the Shun were defeated many times in battle by the superior Qing cavalry and created the Southern Shun Dynasty with its capital in Jiankang. The new emperor Dorgon immediately claimed throne and set the new capital of the Great Qing dynasty to be in Beijing.

The new north-south divide along the Yangtze River stretched down to the southern borders of India, and would last for a little less than one hundred years. In that time, the Qing Dynasty outlawed the binding of women's feet and removed the eunuchs. After the death of Horgon's son Shunzhi, the Southern Shun Dynasty attempted to cross the Yangtze River, and the new Kangxi Emperor sent Han Bannermen to fight against Koxinga's Ming loyalists in Fujian. A later poem refers to the soldiers carrying out massacres in Fujian as "barbarians".

In the end, the Qing forces won against the Southern Shun, with a small band of Shun loyalists escaping to Taiwan and conspiring with the exiled Ming forces who hadn't defected there to plot against the Qing. They would soon be wiped out by the Qing navy in 1745, but for a few years, they were a thorn in the Qing Empire's ruling.

In the years following the ultimate destruction of the last bastions of the Shun and the Ming, the newly crowned Qianlong Emperor launched several ambitious cultural projects, including the compilation of the Siku Quanshu, or Complete Repository of the Four Branches of Literature, the largest collection of books in Chinese history. The Qing also fought many conquests in Tibet and Mongolia and put down the Dzungar after three costly wars. Unfortunately, beneath outward prosperity and imperial confidence, the later years of Qianlong's reign were marked by rampant corruption and neglect. Heshen, the emperor's handsome young favorite, took advantage of the emperor's indulgence to become one of the most corrupt officials in the history of the dynasty. Qianlong's son, the Jiaqing Emperor (r. 1796–1820), eventually executed Heshen, but not after the White Lotus Rebellion started.

In order to fill the Qing Dynasty's coffers after the three costly Dzungar-Qing wars, taxes were raised to an all-time high, and many traders barely got enough to live by, with even the richest sometimes unable to afford the cost of a home. These calls for the lowering of taxes fell on deaf ears as it was filed as a secondary issue, and a movement began to form in the mountainous region that separated Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces in central China, initially as a tax protest. When the increasing calls of protest kept being ignored by the Qing government, the White Lotus led impoverished settlers into rebellion, promising personal salvation in return for their loyalty. Beginning as tax protests, the eventual rebellion gained growing support and sympathy from many ordinary people. The rebellion grew in number and power and eventually, into a serious concern for the government.

The Qianlong Emperor sent Manchu commanders Helin and Fuk'anggan to quell the uprising. Surprisingly, the ill-organized rebels managed to defeat the inadequate and inefficient Qing imperial forces. After both commanders died in battle in 1796, the Qing government sent new officials, but none were successful. This caused great shockwaves up and down the Qing government, and the 'unbeatable' Qing military was found not to be beatable, and its place on the world stage is dropping slightly but steadily. Unless the Qing can put down the White Lotus Rebellion, it may spell the end for this dynasty. It also has to look out for the foreign powers looking for any slip-up to snatch some Oriental land.

Currently, the White Lotus movement is in full swing, with the rebels moving towards the large towns of Chengdu and Chongqing. Luckily, the Qing government has a trick up its sleeve. It is currently adpoting new tactics to form local militias to block the rebel movement towards the two towns.

Any further info:None
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules:Yes

BladeAndMusket (Do not remove)

Seems good. Accepted, welcome to Blade and Musket!

[Hanovereich]

Reservation

NS Name: Mifan
Nation Name: Kingdom of Prussia
Territory: Prussia

Any further info: N/A
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules: Yes

BladeAndMusket (do not remove)

Noted.

[Countesia]

Nation Application

NS Name: Countesia
Nation Name: Free State of Ukraine
Government (Name leader, political system, etc): The Free State of Ukraine is in practice a unitary republic, however owing to the nations newly acquired independence the acting government, known simply as the Provisional Government, is entirely unelected and consists of former leaders of the Ukrainian Revolution. its parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada, is led by President Anton Vasily and is centred in in the port city of Odessa as opposed to Ukraine's largest city, Kyiv, as it was deemed unsuitable to serve as the capital as it laid on a major crossing of the Dnieper River, which left it vulnerable to capture.

Territory: https://i.imgur.com/mwiV1VK.png
Population: 6,400,000

Military (Numbers, equipment, etc): the Armed Forces of the Free State of Ukraine is currently split into two fighting forces, one professional and one reserve. The Ukrainian State Guard is the Provisional Governments main fighting force. It currently consists of 120,000 soldiers split into eleven infantry divisions and four cavalry divisions, which is roughly two percent of the nations population. It maintains this large fighting force primarily stationed along the boundaries of the Dnieper river in the likely scenario the Republic of Rus returns to claim their former territory. It is equipped with mostly captured Russian weaponry and artillery from the revolution. Despite being in its infancy, the State Guard is considerably well drilled as many of its officers and key leadership once served in the ranks of the Rus's armies, and have trained their forces in a near identical fashion to the tactics of the Russians.

The Ukrainian Home Guard is the reserve force of Ukraine, consisting of revolutionaries who laid down their arms and returned to their home but not before pledging to return to service should they be needed. The Ukrainian Home Guard stands at approximately 300,000 reservists. Whilst they have not undergone the training that the State Guard have, they are all veterans of the revolution that split Ukraine from Russia.

The the Ukranian Navy does exist at some capacity, assembled from what little ships the Kyivan Rus kept to defend their ports. Most were scuttled by their crews and some escaped to Rus held ports, but a small collection of four vessels remained as their crews had defected to the rebellion.

History: The Kyivan Rus was traditionally the utmost power amongst the principalities of Rus. Although a policy of localised rule saw that their power was decentralised to the point its direct leadership was limited mostly to its immediate territories, it still wielded considerable influence for several centuries. However a mixture of Mongolian incursions and the rise of The Republic of Novgorod as a rival saw the once proud namesake of the region take a backseat in the grand scheme of Rus politics. As Ukraine was linguistically and ethnically distinct from the rest of its northern neighbours, this would begin sow the first seeds of independence.

The Kyivan Rus remained a middling power for several centuries, submitting entirely to Novgorod as the state began to consolidate and centralise its control over the principalities during this time. Many Ukrainians did not consider themselves Russian, however the populace were content to exist under the heel of aristocratic rule as the nation enjoyed great wealth due to its prosperous agrarian industry. The Industrial Revolution did not hit the lands of the Rus as hard as it did the rest of Europe, although some heavy Industry did exist in the Ural Mountains, it was at a comparatively small scale compared to the rest of the European powers. Little of what industrialisation did occur ever materialised inside the boundaries of Ukraine, whose fertile valleys made the region a breadbasket for Southeast Europe.

Ukrainian nationalism wouldn't come into existence until almost two years into the Revolutionary War of 1794 between various insurgent groups and the counterrevolutionary forces of Novgorodian Grand Prince Alexander V. Although Kyiv committed a majority of its troops to the cause of Alexander V in the opening stages of the Revolutionary War, many citizens who did not wish to drag Ukraine into the conflict began to congregate to the very first nationalist groups. Emboldened by the success of the thirteen colonies against the British, many of these groups took to the streets to protest their disapproval of their nations involvement in what they considered to be a foreign war. The aristocracy of Kyiv, utterly astonished that the peasantry would speak up against them would suppress these protests with incredible brutality believing that a show of force would suppress any notions of unrest. This would have the opposite effect, as those who did not originally see fit to involve themselves with the protests began to take to the streets in protest against the killings of their own people. This would spark another round of violent suppressions ordered by the aristocracy which in turn gave the fledgling nationalist movements an influx of radicalised men and women. With hundreds of thousands of followers flocking to their causes, protests would turn into full scale rebellion, retaliating with the same violence committed against them.

With a most of its fighting forces east of the Dnieper river the remaining soldiers of the Kyivan Rus left to keep the peace were vastly outnumbered by the ever swelling ranks of rioters. To add to their problems, many of their own forces began to defect to the rebel cause, taking with entire arsenals of weaponry with them. After six months of violent clashes between loyalist soldiers and rebels forces, Odessa and the entirety of southwest Ukraine were the first part of the country to fall, as the government in Kyiv had ordered a mass retreated north in response to news from Alexander V himself that the bulk of the Kyivan army was marching south to help retake their home. This hasty retreat left dozens of military outposts vacant yet still partially stocked, leaving even more military equipment in the hands of the rebels. The loyalists were able to retreat largely unharassed, as the nationalist rebels had also caught wind of the impending return of the army, and began fortifying Odessa and other rebel held cities against invasion from forces loyal to the Grand Prince.

The Kyivan Army, led by future Ukrainian President General Anton Vasily, arrived in Kiev six weeks later. Another smaller force split from the main army ahead of their destination and was ordered to to march north against the rebel held city Odessa. The exhausted forces of the loyalists prepared to welcome Anton Vasily with open arms, but were instead dealt their killing blow. Anton, in secret a staunch Ukrainian nationalist, had had secretly met with many of his officers and planned to defect the rebels as soon as they reached Kyiv. The forces he had sent to march against Odessa consisted of the forces that he knew would not defect, leaving them in a position where they would not be able to reinforce Kyiv in time.

The army of Anton Vasily quickly broke through the pathetic resistance the Loyalists had assembled, capturing Kiev within half a day. Securing the city, he would send divisions out to wipe out the remaining loyalist forces that remained in the north. Within eight months of the initial revolt all Ukrainian territory east of the Dnieper was now split between the forces of the nationalist rioters and the forces of Anton Vasily, who would send messengers inviting all the nationalist leaders to a summit in the small city of Smila in the central portion of the now free land of Ukraine. in a summit known as the Declaration of Freedom Summit, Anton Vasily and the nationalist leaders would meet and after days of negotiation would go on to declare the establishment of the Provisional Government as the legitimate government of an now independent Ukraine. As the man heralded as the hero of a free Ukraine, the Provisional Government of Ukraine officially offered Anton Vasily the position of president, which he would go on to accept as he had largely assumed the role unofficially.

At this present, Ukraine is still in the process of rebuilding the cities hit hardest by the rebellion, but was able to bounce back economically as its farms were relatively unscathed during the fighting. It was acknowledged early on after declaring independence that Kyiv was located at a vital crossing of the Dnieper River, which left it incredibly vulnerable to attack. It was decided for the time being that all the branches government and parliament would be relocated to the city of Odessa.

Any further info: None.
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules: Yes.

BladeAndMusket (Do not remove)

[Hanovereich]

IC is up!

[Hanovereich]

Nation Application

NS Name: Countesia
Nation Name: Free State of Ukraine
Government (Name leader, political system, etc): The Free State of Ukraine is in practice a unitary republic, however owing to the nations newly acquired independence the acting government, known simply as the Provisional Government, is entirely unelected and consists of former leaders of the Ukrainian Revolution. its parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada, is led by President Anton Vasily and is centred in in the port city of Odessa as opposed to Ukraine's largest city, Kyiv, as it was deemed unsuitable to serve as the capital as it laid on a major crossing of the Dnieper River, which left it vulnerable to capture.

Territory: https://i.imgur.com/mwiV1VK.png
Population: 6,400,000

Military (Numbers, equipment, etc): the Armed Forces of the Free State of Ukraine is currently split into two fighting forces, one professional and one reserve. The Ukrainian State Guard is the Provisional Governments main fighting force. It currently consists of 120,000 soldiers split into eleven infantry divisions and four cavalry divisions, which is roughly two percent of the nations population. It maintains this large fighting force primarily stationed along the boundaries of the Dnieper river in the likely scenario the Republic of Rus returns to claim their former territory. It is equipped with mostly captured Russian weaponry and artillery from the revolution. Despite being in its infancy, the State Guard is considerably well drilled as many of its officers and key leadership once served in the ranks of the Rus's armies, and have trained their forces in a near identical fashion to the tactics of the Russians.

The Ukrainian Home Guard is the reserve force of Ukraine, consisting of revolutionaries who laid down their arms and returned to their home but not before pledging to return to service should they be needed. The Ukrainian Home Guard stands at approximately 300,000 reservists. Whilst they have not undergone the training that the State Guard have, they are all veterans of the revolution that split Ukraine from Russia.

The the Ukranian Navy does exist at some capacity, assembled from what little ships the Kyivan Rus kept to defend their ports. Most were scuttled by their crews and some escaped to Rus held ports, but a small collection of four vessels remained as their crews had defected to the rebellion.

History: The Kyivan Rus was traditionally the utmost power amongst the principalities of Rus, although local rule saw that their power was decentralised to the point its direct leadership was limited mostly to its immediate territories, it still wielded considerable influence for several centuries. However a mixture of Mongolian incursions and the rise of The Republic of Novgorod as a rival saw the once proud namesake of the region take a backseat in the grand scheme of Rus politics. As Ukraine was linguistically and ethnically distinct from the rest of its northern neighbours, this would begin sow the first seeds of independence.

The Kyivan Rus remained a middling power for several centuries, submitting entirely to Novgorod as the state began to consolidate and centralise its control over the principalities during this time. Many Ukrainians did not consider themselves Russian, however the populace were content to exist under the heel of aristocratic rule as the nation enjoyed great wealth due to its prosperous agrarian industry. The Industrial Revolution did not hit the lands of the Rus as hard as it did the rest of Europe, although some heavy Industry did exist in the Ural Mountains, it was at a comparatively small scale compared to the rest of the European powers. Little of what industrialisation did occur ever materialised inside the boundaries of Ukraine, whose fertile valleys made the region a breadbasket for Southeast Europe.

Ukrainian nationalism wouldn't come into existence until almost two years into the Revolutionary War of 1794 between various insurgent groups and the counterrevolutionary forces of Novgorodian Grand Prince Alexander V. Although Kyiv committed a majority of its troops to the cause of Alexander V in the opening stages of the Revolutionary War, many citizens who did not wish to drag Ukraine into the conflict began to congregate to the very first nationalist groups. Emboldened by the success of the thirteen colonies against the British, many of these groups took to the streets to protest their disapproval of their nations involvement in what they considered to be a foreign war. The aristocracy of Kyiv, utterly astonished that the peasantry would speak up against them would suppress these protests with incredible brutality believing that a show of force would suppress any notions of unrest. This would have the opposite effect, as those who did not originally see fit to involve themselves with the protests began to take to the streets in protest against the killings of their own people. This would spark another round of violent suppressions ordered by the aristocracy which in turn gave the fledgling nationalist movements an influx of radicalised men and women. With hundreds of thousands of followers flocking to their causes, protests would turn into full scale rebellion, retaliating with the same violence committed against them.

With a most of its fighting forces east of the Dnieper river the remaining soldiers of the Kyivan Rus left to keep the peace were vastly outnumbered by the ever swelling ranks of rioters. To add to their problems, many of their own forces began to defect to the rebel cause, taking with entire arsenals of weaponry with them. After six months of violent clashes between loyalist soldiers and rebels forces, Odessa and the entirety of southwest Ukraine were the first part of the country to fall, as the government in Kyiv had ordered a mass retreated north in response to news from Alexander V himself that the bulk of the Kyivan army was marching south to help retake their home. This hasty retreat left dozens of military outposts vacant yet still partially stocked, leaving even more military equipment in the hands of the rebels. The loyalists were able to retreat largely unharassed, as the nationalist rebels had also caught wind of the impending return of the army, and began fortifying Odessa and other rebel held cities against invasion from forces loyal to the Grand Prince.

The Kyivan Army, led by future Ukrainian President General Anton Vasily, arrived in Kiev six weeks later. Another smaller force split from the main army ahead of their destination and was ordered to to march north against the rebel held city Odessa. The exhausted forces of the loyalists prepared to welcome Anton Vasily with open arms, but were instead dealt their killing blow. Anton, in secret a staunch Ukrainian nationalist, had had secretly met with many of his officers and planned to defect the rebels as soon as they reached Kyiv. The forces he had sent to march against Odessa consisted of the forces that he knew would not defect, leaving them in a position where they would not be able to reinforce Kyiv in time.

The army of Anton Vasily quickly broke through the pathetic resistance the Loyalists had assembled, capturing Kiev within half a day. Securing the city, he would send divisions out to wipe out the remaining loyalist forces that remained in the north. Within eight months of the initial revolt all Ukrainian territory east of the Dnieper was now split between the forces of the nationalist rioters and the forces of Anton Vasily, who would send messengers inviting all the nationalist leaders to a summit in the small city of Smila in the central portion of the now free land of Ukraine. in a summit known as the Declaration of Freedom Summit, Anton Vasily and the nationalist leaders would meet and after days of negotiation would go on to declare the establishment of the Provisional Government as the legitimate government of an now independent Ukraine. As the man heralded as the hero of a free Ukraine, the Provisional Government of Ukraine officially offered Anton Vasily the position of president, which he would go on to accept as he had largely assumed the role unofficially.

At this present, Ukraine is still in the process of rebuilding the cities hit hardest by the rebellion, but was able to bounce back economically as its farms were relatively unscathed during the fighting. It was acknowledged early on after declaring independence that Kyiv was located at a vital crossing of the Dnieper River, which left it incredibly vulnerable to attack. It was decided for the time being that all the branches government and parliament would be relocated to the city of Odessa.

Any further info: None.
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules: Yes.

BladeAndMusket (Do not remove)

Accepted.

[Hanovereich]

.

[Countesia]

Sorry to be really nitpicky but you missed one territory in the west of Ukraine right where it's border with Romania would be. Don't feel rushed or anything to fix it right now obviously when you get the chance

[The Imperial Warglorian Empire]

Reservation

NS Name: The Imperial Warglorian Empire
Nation Name: Royaume de France
Territory: Remaining French territory, Tunisian Coast, Algeria northern coast, East Madgascar Coast, Timor island

Any further info: The French monarchy survives and reformed into a Constitutional Monarchy in the aftermath of a Civil War.
Do you acknowledge and understand the rules: Yes

BladeAndMusket (do not remove)