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History of the Byzantine Empire

History of Byzantine Empire after 1453 wrote:
The Failed Siege of Constantinople and the Aftermath
The failed Siege of Constantinople in 1453 was a disaster for the Turks. Byzantine forces, numbering tens of thousands, rallied at Constantinople. The remnants of the armies that defended Athens and Thessalonika retreated there for a last stand. The mighty walls of Constantinople, aided by the cannon batteries that defended the walls, defeated the Turks and drove them back with great loss. The Turks were forced back from Constantinople, and only 30% of the forces that Mehmed II led returned with him across the Bosphoros. That it was a disaster was an understatement; usurpers within the Turkish nobility rose up and questioned the Sultan's authority and raised their armies against him. So marked the beginning the raging Turkish Civil War. It was during that time that some of the vassal states of the Ottoman Empire rose up in revolt.

The Byzantines seized that moment to retake back all of Greece, and by the end of 1470, eastern Anatolia had returned to Byzantine control, from Nikea, Sophia to Ephesus. Retaking back all of Byzantine territory would take a century, but it was a goal that the state was determined to reach. It would take the country nearly 2 centuries to recover from the centuries of war, but taking back Anatolia, the breadbasket of the Empire, would ensure the Empire's recovery as a Great Power.

In this period, trade with Shroomania was reopened, as the Empire fought back to retake its former position as the premier trading nation in the Mediterranean. State funded companies, Constantinople Shipping and Constantinople Shipyards, were born as the State put its entire force of will behind them. The Emperor vigorously directed a revival of the Byzantine economy and the Byzantines experienced a second Renaissance not seen since the beginning of the millennia.

All of Anatolia was Retaken in 1515
The Byzantine Empire, under Emperor Aeolus II retook all that remained of Turkish Anatolia and restored the Empire to the old extent of Basil II. Some decades or so later the Shadow Republic was born on the western borders of the Empire. Emperor Aeolus II, anxious to avoid potential conflict, given the relative fragile state of the Empire, which was still attempting to consolidate its latest gains and rebuilding the economy and military which was spent after much fighting with the remnants of the Turkish feudal lords, sent greetings to the Shadow Republic and promises of friendship, which was reciprocated.

In the east, the Arabs had taken advantage of the collapse of Turkish rule as well, and formed the Abassad Caliphate. They would be the chief foes of the Byzantine Empire for the next few centuries, but they themselves had wounds to lick after the bloody revolt.

The Byzantine Empire renewed its old friendship with the Russian Princes, in hope of bolstering trade. With PeZookia, there was some wheeling and dealing with the Catholic state, of which the Church of Constantinople was eager to bring the Church there under its influence, and the Byzantine Emperor eager for an ally to guard the north. The Emperor simply was pursuing the old diplomatic tactic of playing off nation against nation, hoping to reap the benefits of their rivalry. With Shroomania, the trade war continued, as both states fought over trade routes and so forth. Some degree of privateer activity occurred, though both Empires tried their best to keep things civil, albeit competitive.

Eruption of War between Shroomania and the Byzantine Empire in 1614
The Trade War finally took an ugly turn when trading vessels on both sides starting attacking each other on sight. By then, the Byzantine Empire had recovered its old strength, with a modern fleet of frigates and many Ships of the Line. The Imperial Byzantine Navy retaliated, leading to a sack of a Shroomanian outpost at Crete. The Emperors always regarded Crete as sovereign Byzantine territory and it burned in their hearts that a hated rival dared to take root near them. The attack was led by the Imperial Byzantine Marines who landed and assaulted the citadel, backed by a fierce artillery siege train. Days of bombardment by the fleet and the artillery batteries finally broke the fortress open and the Marines assaulted and took the citadel, raising the Byzantine flag above it.

The Shroomanian King would have none of it, and sent the Shroomanian fleet to retake the fortress. Both sides were building up their armies near the borders, waiting the right time to strike. The Second Battle of Crete involved both navies and ended in a stalemate. At one major battle near Crete, the Byzantine use of their famed Greek fire loaded into their cannon balls proved decisive, but the collapse of the eastern flank of the fleet forced the main body to reinforce the flank, giving time for the Shroomanian fleet to withdraw. Losses on both sides were even.

On land, the Imperial Byzantine Army met the invading Shroomanian Army on the borders near the Shadow Empire. Fighting was fierce, with the battles going both ways any point of time. Scorch earth tactics were employed on both sides, forcing both armies to resupply constantly to avoid overextending themselves. More naval conflicts were fought as well, with occasional Byzantine as well as Shroomanian defeats.

In the end, a truce was signed, with Shroomania agreeing to Byzantine control of Crete, with Byzantine concessions allowing Shroomanian vessels to trade directly at Constantinople with less tax than before. Previously, they were only allowed to trade at Athens. No vessel was allowed to fire upon each other, and both sides agreed to have a common court of arbitration, to arbitrate future trading disputes.

Arab wars in 1690
The Abassad Caliphate launched a massive assault on Antioch from Damasca. Numbering half a million, the massive army approached Antioch with a large siege train. Mullahs were crying Jihad against the Infidel Empire, and the masses were roused with great fervor.

The Byzantine spies had alerted the Emperor, and 100000 were marched to Antioch to defend the city. What the Arabs lacked was a strong modern navy. The Imperial Byzantine Navy routed the pitiful Arab navy, and the Imperial Byzantine Marines and Army, led by the future Emperor Heraclius II, assailed Acre and Ascalon and made a daring march for Jerusalem, surrounding the city with fortifications and laid siege to the city, pounding the city walls to dust day and night.

The Arab army heading north was now in a difficult position, whereas they were mere kilometers Antioch, the threat down south, on Jerusalem, the sacred city no less, was a threat that none could ignore. Least of all the Sultan, whose religious credibility hinged on the Abassads retaining control of the city. Dividing their army, a proportion laid siege to Antioch, while 20000 marching south to relieve Jerusalem.

But it was too late, the Byzantine Prince retook Jerusalem. Alerted by scouts, the Byzantine armies waited near an oasis. When the tired Arab army marched by, the ambush was sprung; the southern army was routed, and the victorious army marched for Damascus.

Meanwhile, the siege of Antioch was fierce. Byzantine artillery shelled the besieging Arab armies day and night with an endless supply of ammunition, and the morale of the Arab army ebbed due to disease, and the constant bombardment. News of the arrival of the Byzantine Army on the outskirts of Damascus sent the commanders into a panic. They tried to withdraw from the siege, only to be attacked by the besieged who launched a massive sortie to drive out the invaders. The Arabs were routed and most never made it back to their homeland. The Sultan, frightened by the loss of so much men, begged for a truce from the victorious Prince who granted it in return for annual tribute of 10000 gold per annum.

The Prince latter led a victorious Triumph through Constantinople and Jerusalem, placing the Holy Cross on the summit of Jerusalem, the first time in a millennia. The Retaking of Jerusalem marked the first time in hundreds of years that the Byzantines had stepped foot again in Jerusalem, the Holy City. The Patriarch of Jerusalem welcomed the Prince with great Joy, and celebrations erupted across the Empire. In what gave the future Emperor Heraclius II the epithet of "Heraclius II the Just", the Prince, with the authority of the Emperor vested in him, granted the Muslims of the city pardon and amnesty, and full rights of citizenship. This event marked a new beginning for the Catholic-Islam relationship, though it did not mean that the Abassad Caliphate was about to stay silent forever.

Byzantium reasserts itself in the 18th and 19th Century wrote: Long a power in politics on the continent, the Byzantine Empire was reasserting itself in the geopolitical dynamic, establishing key relationships with Russia and PeZookia. Shroomania was still regarded with suspicion. Confidence and Morale had risen ever since the defeat of the Abassad Caliphate and the recapture of Jerusalem. The regaining of strategic control of the Mediterranean strengthened the hand of Byzantine Emperors. The Abassads had more or less ceded control of the Mediterranean, having lagged behind in the technology race. It was around that time that some uses for petroleum was found and Byzantium made a treaty to extract oil in Arabia and in the lands beyond Syria.

When war between PeZookia and Shroomania erupted, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine XX looking wearily at the war and wondered the implications of a Shroomanian victory. Shroomanian encroachment of the north was not welcomed, much less a possible alliance between the Shadow Empire and Shroomania. To that end, secret messages were sent to PeZookia indicating that the Byzantine Empire would possibly intervene. In the mean time, arms would be supplied to the PeZookian Army.

What was clear was that PeZookia needed aid on the naval front and in that it was decided that Byzantium would either intervene, or force the Shroomanian King to come to the table for negotiation. A letter was sent to the Shroomanian king warning him that unless the king was willing to negotiate and cease his attacks on PeZookian soil, the Imperial Byzantine Navy would be forced to "defend the interests of the Empire". The IBN was smaller than the Shroomanian navy, but by no means was it without teeth. It had well trained battle-hardened crews and veteran admirals, and the Imperial Byzantine Marines and Army had already established a fierce reputation. The Emperor awaited the response of the Shroomanian king.

Meanwhile, the fleet set sail with a convoy of arms and supplies for PeZookia and troop ships bearing the Marines and Army. On the border with the Shadow Empire, vigilance was doubled to look out for any sign of stirrings in the Shadow Empire. The Emperor's diplomatic moves had some effect on Shroomania but the PeZookian King was determined to press his advantage, despite the urgings of the Emperor. In the end, both powers, after much bloodshed,

Byzantium and the Industrial Revolution wrote:
The Emperor and the Church both backed the formation of universities and reformed the education system such that more young people could access what was regarded as formerly a privilege for the rich and wealthy. The Byzantine Empire greatly benefited from its pedigree origins; whereas the old Greeks would rather argue and argue over theories, the Italians would engineer and improve on Greek ideas.

The two centuries after the defeat of the Turks saw a revival of Byzantine Science in the great tradition of Hellenic Greece. The University of Constantinople and Athens again flourished with students and scholars engaging in scholarly debate. Much Progress in Mathematics and Physics was achieved, particularly when Newtonius devised the Principia which dealt with the laws of motion. The landmark papers made Byzantium the forefront of Science and progress. Newtonius and his Shroomanian counterpart Leibniz both independently devised Calculus, though the latter's easier to use notation won the day. Another great discovery was accorded to Maxwellikon and Faradyius. Both men were both venerated in the Academy of Science of Byzantium for having discovered and deciphered Electromagnetism, along with the formation of Maxwellian equations for Electromagnetism. Of course, competition between Shroomania and Byzantium was keen of course, but scientists on both sides agreed to keep politics out of the equation, and focus on Science. Joint conferences were organised where both sides met to discuss the latest developments.

In this way, Byzantium entered the Industrial Revolution fairly early, along with their Shrooomanian counterparts. Constantinople was long known for a manufacturer of textiles (like Silk) since the earliest days. The formation of the Steam engine set off a revolution in travel. Steel devised in PeZookia found its way back to Byzantium where ships were armoured with steel for better protection. Trade between the various nations flourished. Though there were of course rivalries, ultimately, the world was making great strides through the 19th century.

The Byzantine Explorer's Guild wrote:
With Shroomania driving to build colonies to exploit local resources from the 18th century, the Byzantines were busy looking to the east. Of particular note was contact established with Cannissia and trade between the two nations thrived with ships regularly plying the trade routes. If there was a reason why Byzantium did not go actively acquiring colonies, was the lack of manpower; it was Byzantine policy not to ever overextend themselves unless there was a real need to. Overextension often led to problems in the future, so the ever cautious general would say.

Nevertheless, some of the retired former military men were interested in some adventured and came forward to form an Explorer's Guild. The Emperor, seeing an opportunity, granted them the rights to explore the world around and to seek out possible areas for colonisation.

Byzantium and the First Great Continental War wrote: In the years that followed the Shroomanian and PeZookian war, peace more or less reigned between the 3 nations. Byzantium pursued a pragmatic policy, and make deals with the Arab Caliphate in the East to control some land in Arabia, drilling oil that would fuel the warships and cargo vessels of the Empire. Science and Engineering leaped forward.

Eventually, some time in the early 1900s, the IBNS Herclius was constructed. The first Dreadnaught in the world, it was a triumph of Byzantine engineering and a product of many hundreds of years of ship designing experience. Exemplary efficiency, and firepower, the ship would be the new flagship of the fleet. The Empire collaborated with other nations such as Cannissia, and produced some interesting weapons, such as tanks etc.

But the Empire was under no illusions that peace would be forever. To the East, the Abassad Caliphate suffered a civil war, and the Egyptian vassal broke away from the Caliphate and formed a rival empire. To the West, the Shadow Empire's antics worried the Emperors, and they warned the nation to be mindful of its actions. The Empire's armies massed on the Eastern and Western borders, with the Byzantine Eastern and Western fleets watching closely, ready to respond when required. The Byzantine Empire, Shroomania and PeZookia signed a mutual defence pact to strengthen their relations, while Shadow Empire signed a pact with the Abassad Caliphate, and the Egyptian Caliphate.

These did not go unnoticed. In response to the pact, the Byzantine Emperor reminded the Caliph of Damascus that he could march to Damascus within 1 day with a full army and obliterate the city should he dare to move to war. To the Egyptians, he threatened to send its fleet of dreadnaughts to shell the city of Alexandria. The Egyptians didn't regard the threat with too much gravity, much to the consternation of Byzantine diplomats. In fact, the diplomats even offered the Caliph of Damascus a chance to retake Egypt should they break with their alliance with Shadow Empire. To this offer, the Caliph said he would "consider it".

When the war between Shroomania and Pezookia, and Shadow Empire finally started, the Byzantine Military raised its alert level and sent out ships to escort convoy vessels. Taskforces of Battleships and Battlecruisers escorted by cruisers and frigates patrolled near the coast of Shadow Empire making sure none of the enemy's warships attacked the convoys. Khitanese warships in general tried to avoid combat, but when a small force of cruisers and destroyers attempted to attack a convoy, the escorting battleships and battlecruisers annihiliated the force through sheer weight of fire.

Attempts were made to coordinate the naval offensive together with Shroomania. However, the Shroomanian Admirals were too head strong and often regarded as too aggressive and lacking in caution. Likewise, their Shroomanian Admirals regarded their Byzantine counterparts as too cautious. Regardless, the Byzantine Admirals performed admirably defending home waters against any incursions, and were extensively involved in the beach landing near Oresta which saw the feared Byzantine Marines assaulting the flanks of the Shadow Army. They were also present in the battle that saw the back of the Shadow Navy broken. Though among themselves, they regarded Fleet Admiral Murderous von Schrom as way too aggressive and heedless of his men's lives, and resulted in too much needless causalties.

To that end, the Byzantine Military performed as well as it ought to, and were relentless in their persecution of the enemy. As for the Arab Caliphates, they held back their military out of fear of the superior Byzantine armies. However, Byzantium had to pay more than double for the rent of the land in Arabia. Active oil drilling was taking place in Arabia, and even the Arab Caliphates wanted to join in the operation. It was then a compromise that the 3 powers would jointly operate the oil fields and share the wealth, in exchange for a non-aggression treaty, and equal sharing of the profits.

Byzantium Between the Wars wrote: After the war, the economies of the continent were ruined. Byzantium bore the brunt of the ruin, given that it had to extend huge loans to other nations to aid in their rebuilding. The collapse of trade on the continent led Byzantium to look elsewhere for trade partners. Among the nations where trade treaties were signed were the Shinra Republic, Cannissia, and the Tian Xia Republic. Trade then blossomed again, along with close collaboration in research. Ties with Russia also improved and the two nations grew closer.

Ties with the Arab Caliphates were tricky however. On one hand, the Abassad Caliphate in Damascus became a bit more forward looking, but the Arab Caliphate in Alexandria grew more insular. Byzantium tried to main amicable relations with Alexandria, though at times, the rulers of Alexandria were erratic at best. Fortunately, the revenue from the oil fields of Arabia helped grease the ties between the Emperor and the Sultan of Alexandria.

It was during that era that a certain revolution in military thinking occurred in the world at large. The idea of mobile warfare was being resurrected with nations experimenting with tank technologies. To the Byzantine Generals, who for which the Marius Strategikon was a required reading, the idea of fast moving combined arms forces came natural to them. The issue was organisation and attempts were made to streamline the processes required to move armies quickly. These ideas and tactics of course, were shared with fellow nations as ties grew closer.

Byzantium and the Rise of Itler wrote: Across the border where the Shadow Empire lay, ominous beginnings of a possible war were brewing. Itler was proclaimed chancellor of the Shadow Empire, and he proclaimed that all who were not of the Slavic race were considered heathens. Whereas Greeks he found to be someone amenable to persuasion, and thus he tried not to irritate the Byzantine Emperor too much, he clearly viewed PeZookia and Shroomania as scum of the Earth and thus he proclaimed a Crusade against the two countries, with the backing of the Orthodox Church of the Shadow Empire. This invited scorn from both the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, and the Red Patriarch who jointly condemned the Patriarch of the Shadow Empire, going as far as calling him a schismatic heretic and declaring him and his diocese anathema. The Emperor was similarly irritated to the point of death, and quite literally. His son, the young Soldier Emperor Konstantin XXIX ordered a mobilisation of the Military got ready for the inevitable war.

Map of The Vineyards

The History of The Kingdom of Vineyards

The Colonial History of the Vineyards

The Vineyards were founded by the Shroomainian Isolationist Colonial Company (SICC) in an attempt to both enrich the great nation of Shroomainia and acquire a place far away from the constantly warring Old Continent. The Continent at the time was gearing up for the Gaymean War.

The Shroomainian Government ceded SICC a small isolated Valley on the Continent of Frequesue in 1777. The Valley that would eventually become the Vineyards is bordered on either side not open to water by mountain ranges, the treacherous Mountains of Valor covering the Northern and Eastern border while the shorter Isolator Highlands act as the border between the Vineyards and the politically unstable nation to the south.

Upon landing, SICC began to work on building a port on the southernmost shore, naming the port, Syl. SICC set-up mining survey teams to look for natural resources to tap. Meanwhile, in the valley, settlers were finding the ground to be very conductive of growing grapes and other fermentable plants. This discovery, along with early problems funding the survey teams, led to the colony becoming dependent on its alcohol production to finance itself. The alcohol production became so great, that a second port willed itself into existence, finally officially becoming Thadon in 1817. Sheoth was founded fourteen years later, on a city sized island in the center of the lake in the center of the valley.

This prosperity would not last, though, as Greek Wines were being chosen time and time again over the “colonial slop,” leading to a collapse of the Vinish economy in 1900. By 1904, a the Shroomainian government found the colony did not meet expectations dictated by the Shroomainian Remobilization Program As such, Shroomainian recognized the Vineyards as an independent state, and withdrew armed support from that corner of the world. So, on October 13, 1904 the Vineyards became an independent nation


The Post-Colonial History of the Vineyards

Independence was not good for the Vineyards, as the only thing that held the Colonial Government in power was the Shroomainian Armed Presence in the major ports and in the fields. As such, many of the families that grew the grapes and such styled themselves as powerful leaders, training people loyal to them into “armies” that began attacking fields around them, and in some cases, attacking towns and villages around them. The Colonial Government was without options, they looted the Treasury, and fled from Sheoth, seeking asylum in Shroomainia. It seems proper that they were attacked by pirates immediately off the coast of the Vineyards, pirates that the Shroomainian Navy had always kept at bay.

With the loss of what could only be considered the voice of sanity amongst the warring families, the Civil War began to take a ridiculous turn. Spies from either Port city were both successful and caught trying to sink competitor’s ships. Offshore, pirates were hired by most families to attack rival merchant vessels, though the pirates usually didn’t care which family they hit, as even if it happened to be one of the ones that was paying them, they could always collect from another family.

One of the most volatile places was the Isle of Sheoth as it had been made Capital of the colony because of its defensible position, a fact which made it a very enticing place for all of the would be warlords that littered the Vineyards. Sheoth found itself under siege, fourteen times over the course of 1925. In ’26 the citizens revolted against the occupying army, destroying that family in the process. After the battle, the citizens of Sheoth declared themselves a free city-state, which would attack any group not flying either a white flag, or one of Sheoth’s allies, thus causing Sheoth to suffer more hardships over the course of the war.

The only semi-stable city was Azzan, high in the Mountains of Valour, it remain untouched from the anarchy below. The most powerful family in Azzan hadn’t stopped trading, even after the war was destroying crops below. Lord of Azzan, Thomas Michael was quick to forge an agreement with San Doradan weapons dealers, securing his city a powerful defense against the Lowlands anarchy. Large machine guns lined the cliff faces staring down the sloping road that led to the Lowlands, rarely did anyone come up the Great Road since the start of the War, but Lord Michael kept his forces ready for anything.

Following the third Sacking of Sheoth in 1929, Lord Michael began to get worried, the noble houses were tearing the country apart. With a new vigor, he began planning a reinvasion of his homeland, using the troops he had on hand, and he hired many experienced mercenaries from the many campaigns to pacify the lands, the Lord of Azzan found that his forces would barely be able to retake Sheoth, let alone the ports of Thadon and Syl. Lord Michael began searching the international landscape, hoping to find a country willing to assist in his bid for the Vineyard Throne, He found an ally in the Shinra Republic. The Shinra Republic was willing to not only perform naval blockades of the two war torn ports, but also land a ‘peacekeeper’ force to assist Lord Michael in his attempt to unify The Vineyards, in exchange, Lord Michael agreed to the building of a Republican Naval base near Syl, along with a favorable trade agreement with the Republic.

Lord Michael’s Agreement with the Shinra Republic sent shockwaves across the Valley, many nobles seeing this as international recognition of Lord Michael as the ruler of The Vineyards, other saw this as an attempt by a foreign country to take over the Vineyards. Many nobles believed both, fearing that Lord Michael was simply a figurehead of the Republican Government. The fears that the Vineyards would become a vassal state of the Shinra Republic were unfounded, as the last of the Republican ‘peacekeeper’ forces left the country in February of 1979.

Lord Michael’s forces stormed the capital in June of 1930, after a short bloody battle Lord Michael was proclaimed King Michael, Ruler of The Vineyards in a ceremony on the tenth of July in 1930. The Republican troops in both Syl and Thadon were quickly joined by detachments of the newly created Vineyard Defense Force. All in all, the transition from anarchic state to single internationally recognized nation was not as strenuous as many had hoped or feared.

Following his ascension to King, King Michael revised the foreign policy of the Vineyards, instead of being a power that remained ignorant of foreign wars, only breaking their silence to sell their wares, the King reopened ties with Shroomainia. He also opened official relations with the Shinra Republic and the Republic of Canissia. By 1970, the Vineyards had trade agreements with all of the stated powers.

In the summer of ’71 disaster struck the Kingdom, as King Thomas Michael died at the age of 83, in the Royal Retreat at Azzan, his son, Crown Prince Jeffery Michael, 44, was immediately sworn in as King of The Vineyards. King Jeffery proved to be quite the step down from King Thomas, as Jeffery attempted to scale back every program meant to bring The Vineyards into the global fold. King Jeffery’s reign was marred with problems, the public had been hopeful of the programs the now dead ruler had put into motion, an isolationist stance was not one that was thought of very highly amongst the higher-ups in the government, and rumors of plans of coup d’états spread like wildfire through the valley. These were so debilitating, the King began living out of the Royal Retreat at Azzan for most of the year, in fear for his life.

By 1998 the people of the Kingdom were very disillusioned with King Jeffery, this was not helped by the fact that a major antagonist of the regime was Jeffery’s cousin, Brandon Michael, 16. Brandon Michael quickly established a rapport with the populace, calling for a Senate to check the King from working against the will of the people. In December of 2007, when the King was in Sheoth giving a speech about the new tariff program, he was arrested by 37 Sheoth police officers on counts of treason and conspiracy to endanger the nation. Brandon approached the deposed monarch with a deal, he would be allowed to live in the Royal Retreat at Azzan, and in exchange he would name Brandon King of the Vineyards, and establish Senate as a check on the King’s power.

King Brandon’s immediate acts as King were to formally request entrance into the Shroomainian Commonwealth, and to reestablish embassies in the Republic of Canissia and in the Shinra Republic. He cut the now deposed king's programs of isolation.

Speaking of which

Brief history of the Constitutional Republic of PeZookia, Part I

MEDIEVAL ERA

Emergence and the early Dark Ages

PeZookia was one of the major players of the Old Continent for much of its history. Originally arising as a national entity around the Xth century, by act of Shroomanian Emperor KitchenMittens II, granting the first PeZookian King - Carl I - lands east of the Empire.

As vassals of Shroomanian royalty, PeZookian rulers set upon expanding their lands towards the East, setting the base of a long standing ethincal hatred between PeZookians and other Slavic people of the region. Nearly two hundred years later, thanks to a marriage-alliance with Byzantium, PeZookia felt strong enough to challenge its Shroomanian senior openly. The Eastern Alliance attacked Shroomania and in a great battle near the village of Fieldia managed to defeat the united army of Emperor Gayus III, finally winning inpendence...and making another long-standing enemy.

Late Dark Ages

By mid 1200s, PeZookia rose to prominence as a relatively modern country, exporting many important resources to other nations of the continent. For a long time, PeZookia's power remained unchallenged, especially since territorial losses of the Shroomanian Empire have crippled the country militarily for the time being.

All of this lasted untill 1276, when PeZookian prince Vladyslaw was granted his own fiefdom in the strongly contested Southern Provinces. These shore regions were populated mostly by uncivilized tribes, and the newly appointed Prince was given the task of fully integrated the area into PeZookia proper.

To aid him in this task, the prince invited a Shroomanian knightly order, the Knights Hospitaller Of The Pink Cross, promising them land in exchange for military aid.

The Order performed admirably, however it had no intention of actually satisfying themselves with land granted them by Vladyslav. His dependence upon the Knight's aid resulted in the Order quickly securing a not-insignificant province for themselves. In fifty years, they have managed to build a powerful country in what was once considered PeZookian territorry.

This had to lead to conflict. Despite calls to end the Great Crusade, the Knights Of The Pink Cross continued raids into surrounding lands, often coming into direct confrontation with PeZookian nobles. Eventually, the King was forced to act. In a series of wars lasting from 1296-1378, the Order was finally defeated by the Eastern Alliance in the Battle Of Brenna, breaking its strenght and forcing their lands into PeZookian vassalage.

Reneissance and the Fall

The end of the Dark Ages has met PeZookia in a state of security: their armies were unmatched, the economy was strong, and scientific discovery promised new opportunities for the people. However, internal trouble would soon bring an end to the golden era.

By the end of the 1500s, the noblemen of PeZookia have started to accumulate disproportionate amount of power. Since the PeZookian army was still based on the feudal model, it was quickly becoming outdated and overdependent on the co-operation of the nobility, who started demanding new priviledges for every war they participated in.

Eventually, the eastern neighbors of PeZookia - a loose coalition of Slavic states - have managed to take advantage of the situation, splintering the country from within with bribes and political brinkmanship. Byzantium, having long ago abandoned PeZookia due to their own problems, did not intervene. The fifty-year Iflantian War (1620-1672) resulted in catastrophe for PeZookia, which was forced to cede much of its territorry to the emerging Slavic state to the East, ruining its economy and leaving it at the mercy of its western neighbor, Shroomania.

Brief history of the Constitutional Republic of PeZookia, Part II

Consequences of the Inflatian War

The Inflatian War left PeZookia in a sorry state: it turned out that her armies, while mighty, did not advance with the rampant march of technology. Feudal-style noble-based forces were no match for relatively modern - thought vastly smaller - musket-and-pike forces of the Eastern Slavs, now united under a single banner - that of the Shadow Republic, borne out of the slavic nations left behind after Byzantines defeated the Turks.

Still, the war lasted for fifty years, with intermittent periods of peace. It eventually ended with a grudging peace between the two nations, PeZookia ceding much territorry to the emergent state - territorry which would later become known as the Great Plains, and turn into unending source of trouble for both countries. The war has also ruined the country's economy and further weakened the nobility's inclination to participate in wars at the King's behest. Soon after the Inflatian War, the nobility forced the King to sign into law a decree forbidding PeZookia from taking part in an armed conflict without unanimous consent of the landed nobles, effectively making the country impotent against outside threats.

PeZookia's neighbors ruthlessly took advantage of this fact - even their former ally, Byzantium, took the opportunity to seize a portion of the vast country for themselves, buying most of the land from the nobility that owned it, who felt little loyalty to the King. Shroomania moved in from the west, aiming to seize territorry it perceived as rightfully theirs, and the newly formed Shadow Republic, born out of the confederacy of eastern Slavic states, creeped in through the eastern borders.

As the years progressed, the once mighty country of PeZookia hbecame more and more weakened. The King's authority waned, superceded by the semi-anarchistic rule of overpriviledged nobility. By the beginning on the XVIIIth century, PeZookia was backwards, poor and torn from all sides by its neighbors, who gradually gobbled up more and more of its territorry, taking advantage of corrupt nobility, powerless rulers and military weakness.

The Spring Of Nations

The year 1722 saw unprecedented changes on the Old Continent. Shroomania, the current superpower, has long been seeing decline, with worsening social conditions for the underpriviledged classes. Furthermore, increasing literacy and the spread of printed newspaper, as well and new philosophical ideas, have sparked widescale grassroots movements aimed at forcing social reforms upon the stale monarchistic orders of the Old Continent. The underclasses were becoming conscious of their own power over their rulers.

The first spark was set upon this powderkeg in Shroomania. Queen Asphixia has long held the country in poverty, spending money on lavish palaces and giant bisexual orgies, rather than her own people. In the spring of 1722, riots in Farbanti runed into a full-fledged revolt as the army joined the rebels and marched against the Queen's summer palace.

The new Shroomanian government has set out to improve the situation of the people, establishing a Constitution and introducing social reforms. All over the Old Continent, the people began to rise against their masters in what was to be named later the "Spring Of Nations".

In PeZookia, it was no different. The nobility, now feeling no loyalty to the King at all, has systematically deprived the people living under their rule from even the most basic rights. When news of the Shroomanian Revolution reached PeZookia, the tensions have finally exploded: numerous uprisings began all over the country, with people storming the noble's palaces.

Seeing the opportunity to save the country from itself, king Stanislaw III published the Declaration of Rights, which granted every citizen basic rights to assembly, religious freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of movement. The Sejm - a governing body composed of nobility - was to be disbanded and elected again, with all PeZookians granted a right to vote. All peasants were to be freed and granted the land they now rented for extravagant fees from their lords ; The nobility would be reimbursed for the loss out of state treasury.

The declaration was a desperate gamble, an attempt to seize power back from the overpriviledged nobility. Amazingly enough, it worked - the people sided with the King, who also won a support of many of the more englightened nobles.

The Conservative Confederacy

Conservative nobles, who didn't want to lose their status, opted to depose the King forcibly. In 1727, they formed the Conservative Confederacy, a movement aimed at deposing the King and implementing the "Golden Freedom Of Nobility", a way of rule where the nobility was priviledged to do whatever it wanted.

King Stanislaw has managed to gather a large army of peasants and cityfolk, armed with modern weapons and trained by Shroomanian Republican officers. He marched against the Confederacy, defeating them in a series of pitched battle in the north of the country.

The civil war laster for four years, devastating much of the country. Trying to seize the opportunity, and end the "PeZookian problem", the Shadow Republic (then Empire) decided to try and annex the country. A massive army, nearly 500-thousand men strong, marched into PeZookia under command of marshall Catherine The Wise. Simultaneously, the Shadow Tzar declared PeZookia a rebel territorry, and called for the citizens to rise against the King in rebellion.

Having defeated the Confederacy, king Stanislaw was faced with a difficult conundrum. His forces were exhausted and depleted from the civil war, and many soldiers desired to return to their homes. The country was threatened with famine if war continued: crops lay unharvested in the fields. Furthermore, he lacked ammunition and arms.

The King decided to retreat to the capital city, erecting mighty fortifications based upon the Great River, which ran through the entire country. He recruited a force of highlanders to aid his troops in the coming battle, and Byzantium supplied him arms, including artillery - the Emperor felt the Shadow Republic was growing too powerful, and decided not to allow them to seize PeZookia.

On the beautiful summer day of June 12, 1732 the stage was set for the Battle Of Orena - where fate of PeZookia would be decided.

Brief history of the Constitutional Republic of PeZookia, Part III

Battle Of Orena

Catherine The Wise led her massive force straight towards the capital city of PeZookia, knowing that King Stanislaw's only chance was to fortify the city. His army could now outmaneuver the Shadow Empire's forces, lacking cavalry, and could not hope to defeat it in a pitched battle in the field.

However, the Shadow advance was slowed down by the need to constantly deal with skirmishers and sharpshooters, poor maps and roads. By the time Catherine reached the vicinity of Orena, the King has finished his preparations for defence of the city and was ready to confront the Shadows.

Alerted by her scouts, Catherine decided to circle the city, fording the Great River north and south from Orena, and then assaulting it from the rear, where fortifications were not as heavy.

However, the local population was strongly on the side of the King, and so Stanislaw III knew every move of the Shadow army. He sallied his cavalry forth from the city, with orders to harass and delay the northern part of the Shadow army, commanded by Catherine herself. Mustering his infantry, the King marched south and intercepted the invaders near the village of Wawer, achieving surprise.

Despite the lower quality of his troops, Stanislaw commanded them agressively, concentrating the infantry attack against center of the Shadow lines. Byzantium-provided muskets of the PeZookians performed admirably, their greater range allowing PeZookian to fire 1.5 volleys for every one of the Shadows.

The Battle Of Wawer lasted for eight hours, culminating in a bayonett charge into musket fire. The highlander regiments broke the backs of Shadow's units, scattering them.

In the north, Catherine has managed to cross the Great River, constantly skirmishing with PeZookian cavalrymen. Knowing nothing about the demise of her southern forces, Catherine deployed her army at the plains west of the city in preparation for her assault. Not knowing that Stanislaw's forces have abandoned it, she commenced operations the next day.

The skeleton crews and militias defending the fortifications on the outskirts of Orena put up a vigorous defence, but were rapidly overwhelmed. As the attackers approached their main target - the Royal Palace - they were surprised by King Stanislaw's forces, who marched overnight to reach the battle in time.

His forces were tired and bloodied from the battle at Wawer, but achieved complete surprise. Bottled inside tight streets of Orena, cut off from her supply lines, Catherine attempted a withdrawal across the river, pressed by advancing PeZookian troops.

The Battle Of Orena concluded eight days later, with the Shadow army routed and in full retreat. Never again would they attempt to annex PeZookia.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Early industrialization

King Stanislaw, having restored power to the Royal Court and beaten back most external threats, he utilized the brief respite for a huge slew of reforms that were supposed to bring the Kingdom into the modern era.

Reforms of financial systems have introduced a decimal monetary system, unifying the varied currency exchange rates and simplifying the use of money in everyday life. This increased efficiency of tax collection and eased trade, and the solution was soon copied by other countries - most notably, Shroomania and Byzantium.

Stanislaw has imported many foreign technical experts and scientists to the country, and charged them with overseeing a campaign of public works. Many of those experts were Byzantine scholars who established schools and universities throughout the country, and aided the development of real science. Despite the shaky relationship with Byzantium (many PeZookians have not forgotten their betrayal not long ago), this aid would prove invaluable later.

To aid the nobles who now lost most of their sources of income to the land reform, laws were introduced regulating private ownership of property and establishment of businesses. Noblemen slowly turned into enterpreneurs, establishing manufacturing workshops and resource-extraction businesses.

These wise economic decisions earned Stanislaw the title Stanislaw The Great, and thus encased him in the annals of PeZookian history forever.

Soon thereafter, PeZookia was on the path to extensive modernization. The forced social reforms were still cause of unrest, with massive migratons occuring between the countryside and cities. Peasants, finally liberated from the ties to the land, moved into cities en masse, attempting to find a better life for themselves. Most ended up in poverty, creating a huge social problem.

Compared to the threat of only a few years past, however, these were minor troubles. The growth of industry and several social programs established by King Stanislaw would pay off in later years, creating a robust, healthy and well-off base of tradesmen, who would become priceless during the later Industrial Revolution.

Colonial ambitions

The country of Khitan, located on the opposite shore of the Inner Southern Sea, had long since been considered a rich source of natural resources, and thus many continental powers have attempted to seize it. PeZookia was no different - after the country stabilized, king Stanislaw sent several expeditions which landed on Khitanese shores and established trade factories, mines and logging enterprises. This quickly led to conflict with the native population, who were often victimized by ruthless policies of PeZookian companies. In the period between 1745-1752, a large-scale colonial war erupted in Khitan, ending with a shaky peace between PeZookia and Khitanese warlords, which confined PeZookian companies to their ports and trading posts, leaving the resource-rich areas for the natives to utilize.

The Gaymean War

By the end of the XVIIIth century, PeZookia was again a country worthy of her place under the sun. While it missed out on the massive colonial gains of Shroomania and did not posess a geogrpahy as favorable for trade as Byzantium, it rapidly caught up to both countries with industrialization and infrastructural investment. PeZookian goods were widely exported throughout the Old Continent, and population grew rapidly.

This naturally led to further tensions between all continental powers ; Ethnically PeZookian lands under Shroomanian control began stirring as their inhabitants demanded to return to the Motherland, beginning a massive campaign of terror against Shroomanian citizens. Repression and Shroomanization followed, with PeZookian language barred from schools and public administration, forced teaching of Shroomanian language and history, and a massive propaganda campaign.


The region of Gaymea/Mazhury

The region which was under dispute the most was the region of Mazhury, known to Shroomanians as Gaymea. Nearly 90% PeZookian by now, it was one of the original lands seized by the Knights Of The Pink Cross, later incorporated into the Motherland after the Order had to swear vassalage to the PeZookian Kings.Seized again by Shroomania during the Fall, Gaymea was considered by both sides to be their territorry by right. War was inevitable.

It began when the PeZookian navy engaged a Shroomanian fleet ferrying additional occupation troops to Gaymea ; This move was undertaken despite warnings of PeZookian government, who was growing more and more alarmed with attempts at forced naturalization of Gaymean PeZookians.

The battle was unresolved, but the convoy was forced to withdraw. At the same time, PeZookian ground forces marched into Gaymea, and the Royal Court declared the province liberated, and that it shall remain a part of the Motherland forever.

Shroomania responded, of course, protecting its prestige and land. A massive naval force, led by Admiral Horatio Shroomson, a famed Shroomanian naval hero, sailed towards Gaymea and engaged the PeZookian blockade in the Battle of Oliwa. After a battle lasting for two days, PeZookian navy was in full retreat, having lost four frigates and a ship of the line. Mushroom Marines, wearing coats dyed in Mushroom Gray, landed behind advancing PeZookian forces and marches to meet them.

Both armies clashed near the city of Ostroleka, tall and proud Shroomcoats squaring off against grim-faced PeZookians. The Shroomcoats took full advantage of difficult and broken terrain, however they lacked cavalry support and were outnumbered artillery wise. As the battle raged on, thick smoke filled the field, with Shroomcoats pouring volley after volley into advancing PeZookian collumns.


Battle of Ostroleka, Orena Museum Of Art

The fiercest fighting took place on the outskirts of Ostroleka itself, however, where farms surrounded by sturdy low walls were used as cover from musket fire by the Shroomcoats. Shooting irregularly from behind cover, and expertly maneuvering, the Mushroom Marines managed to stave off the assault of the numerically superior PeZookian army.

However, PeZookians were relentless and agressive, knowing full well that Shroomania could not easily or quickly replenish their forces, and any casualties they took that day would be multiplied due to this simple fact. Artillery pounded the farms to dust, and massive human wave assaults pushed the Shroomcoats from building after building.

It was due to this relentless advance, paid for in blood, that PeZookians have finally managed to secure a dominant position over the town. Horses soon drew artillery to the ruined farms, and the mighty guns started shelling the Shroomanians, now caught on lower and unfavorable ground. Wisely, count Welsh MacMillan, commander of the Shroomanian force, withdrew, conceding Ostroleka to the PeZookians, but preserving much of his force to fight another day.

This worsened the situation in Gaymea, but the province was by no means lost. Ostroleka was a major road hub, thus allowing PeZookians increased strategic freedom, but every day they spent marching benefitted the Shroomanians, who prepared fortifications and used their naval superiority to ferry more and more soldiers into the province. On the other hand, PeZookians enjoyed shorter supply lines, and pushed to utilize that advantage to the fullest.

The battle which would resolve the Gaymean War was yet to be fought.

Brief History of the Constitutional Republic Of PeZookia, Part IV

Conclusion of the Gaymean War

The Battle Of Ostroleka has improved the situation for PeZookian forces, but not decisively so. Fighting continued in Gaymea, with skirmishes fought for villages and towns along the main tract leading to the largest sea port in the province - Gaymea.

The lines stabilized eight months after Ostroleka, but new strategic considerations altered the balance of power.

First, Byzantium intervened in the war, siding with PeZookia. In the second year, Byzantine troops and modern arms flooded into Gaymea, greatly improving the situation for PeZookians. Second, the Byzantine Navy sailed forth from the Mediterreanean, threatening already strained Shroomanian supply lines.

Seeing a potential catastrophe in the making, Shroomanian commanders decided to withdraw from the province. However, in order to maintain a strong position in the upcoming negotiations, the withdrawal was intentionally slowed down.

This decision turned out to be a costly mistake. PeZookian troops, bolstered by Byzantine arms, launched a massive offensive against the withdrawing Marines. This coincided with uprisings in the still-occupied parts of the province, which quickly spiralled out of control.

Still, Welsh MacMillan was an experienced commander, and maintaned cohesion in his army. His men fell back across the province in a well-organized fighting retreat, making PeZookians pay in blood for every town they liberated.

Byzantine forces did not take part in the fighting itself, instead performing duties in the rear echelons. As the Empire did not want to engage in conflict, but rather intimidate the warring powers into making peace with each other, the Emperor chose to avoid direct combat with Shroomanian forces.

At the same time when the fighting in Gaymea intensified, couriers hastily exchanged messages between Shroomanian and PeZookian royal courts. Smelling blood, however, PeZookia was unwilling to negotiate at this time

This would change with the Siege Of Morski Zamek (Seeschloss, as it was known to Shroomanians) - the bloodiest battle of the war.

Morski Zamek was (and still is) a major trading port on the southwestern tip of PeZookia, and served as a base of operations for Shroomanian forces occupying the province. Welsh MacMillan commanded mighty fortifications to be erected there, with several layers of earthen berms, prepared firing positions, cleared avenues of approach...the city was turned into a gigantic fortress by work of thousands of navy sailors and Marines, resistant to artillery fire and infantry attacks alike.

By summer 1789, it became obvious that the province was lost ; However, Welsh MacMillan was commanded to hold Morski Zamek at all costs, so that the Shroomanian court could negotiate for honorable peace terms.

Therefore, the count withdrew and concentrated all his forces in the city, while admiral Shroomson promised to make sure their supply lines would remain open.

The Siege Of Morski Zamek began with the first units of the Royal PeZookian Army approached the outskirts, and - overconfident from a long and succesfull march through the province - attempted to hastily assault them.

It ended with a massive bloodbath. Shroomcoats had emplaced their artillery well, and PeZookians had to run murderous gauntlets of musket and cannonfire just to get to the outermost fortifications. No avenue of approach was left uncovered and exploitable, and as assaults continued for days on end, piles of PeZookian bodies began to litter the outskirts of the city. As minor bastions fell, at great cost in blood, other positions shelled them and covered them in musket volley after musket volley, then counterattacked and seized them back.

Eventually, the initial assaults were called off. Duke Zabrzycki, commander of the advance force, was relieved of command and replaced with general Hening, who had a more cautious mindset.

Instead of assaulting the city outright, Hening amassed hundreds of thousands of men and dozens of exquisite Byzantine artillery guns and mortars. Byzantine and Russian engineers built firing positions for them, and the Siege Of Morski Zamek began in earnest.

PeZookians approached the fortifications slowly, expanding firing trenches and hauling mortars through them to crack Shroomanian lines open bastion after bastion. Shroomanians, on the other hand, agressively raided PeZookian positions, sabotaged the guns and shelled them with their own artillery.

Disease began to spread on both sides of the lines, and casualties mounted quickly. As the war drew on, both Shroomanian and PeZookian treasuries were beginning to feel the strain - especially since Shroomanian supply ships were being raided by buccaneers, and the Byzantine Navy stalked around them, threatening to attack at any moment.

As the siege dragged on into the summer of 1790, general Hening managed to grind his way through two out of four main layers of defence, expending incredibly amounts of ammunition in the process. However, his government was running out of patience. Hening was ordered to attempt one final assault upon the city. Upon receiving the order, he proceeded to carry it out, though he never believed it would work.

As the dawn rose on August 1st 1790, four hundred thousand PeZookian soldiers formed up outside the range of Shroomanian artillery and musket, fixed bayonetts and began their advance. An incredible sight it was, with regiments filling the horizon, marching to trumpet and drum. Shroomanian runners brought the news to officers and generals, who rode out to the front to watch the attack unfold.

As PeZookians closed to the outer redoubts, artillery shells began falling on weathered, tired and dirty Shroomcoats, their Mushroom Gray uniform bearing marks of the long campaign. They never lost their discipline, though, and loaded their own guns. Soon, thick smoke rose above the battlefield - only growing thicker when muskets joined the fray. Shells exploded amongst advancing soldiers, and musket balls whizzed in huge volleys. Screams of dead and wounded were heard, interrupted by officer's commands as they attempted to maintain cohesion.

Finally, the time came. Whistles blew across PeZookian lines and the command was given "Sound the charge! For Honor and the King, forward!" screamed an officer riding a white horse which, miraculously, has not been hit.

Nearly four hundred thousands throats screamed, and PeZookians charged Shroomanian redoubts, engaging in deadly combat with bayonett, sword, knife and fist. Grenades exploded in the trenches, artillery guns were taken, lost or abandoned. In many places, determined Shroomcoats repelled their attackers, while in others - redoubts fell and formed the fire-points that supported a further advance.

But the forts were prepared well. The fourth - and last - line of Shroomanian defences began pouring fire into PeZookian mass as soon as they could identify targets.

Fierce fighitng lasted for six days, with bayonett charges, counter-charges and constant duels of artillery fire. On August 7th 1790, both sides were unable to continue the fight. A cease-fire was called, which later transformed into peace. Peace won with nearly a million dead on both sides of the conflict.

Gaymean Peace Accords

The Gaymean War brought a paradigm change to the mindset of PeZookian nobility. The horrible death toll did not, in many minds, justify the return of Mazhury to the Motherland. The King was sympathetic to this point of view, and thus opted to negotiate an honorable peace with Shroomania.

According to the Gaymean Peace Accords, the province woul be returned to PeZookian administration. However, PeZookia would pay Shroomania decent compensation, Shroomanian trading ships would be guaranteed the use of Morski Zamek for 99 years, and Shroomcoats still holding the city would be allowed to leave it with their arms and banners.

The Accords have, surprisingly, began a period of warm relations between Shroomania and PeZookia - while the people of Gaymea and families of those killed during the war were not particularly amicable to each other, trade began to flourish.

Industrial Revolution begins

The Gaymean War was a major turning point in the history of the Old Continent. New technologies were invented and disseminated throughout the land due to Army needs ; Most notably, for production of weapons, ammunition, uniforms and medicine.

With the introduction of first practical steam engines imported from overseas, enterpreneuring PeZookians began experimentation with applying those devices to manufacture. In 1788, Jozef Buszynski, a military officer and part-time inventor, has constructed the first ever powered loom, capable of spinning tread by itself, with only minimal supervision. The device was driven bysteam or water-wheel power, and was quickly appied throughout the land.

Gradual improvements to the device shot off into a whole range of textile production devices, from powered looms to entire automated production lines, capable of turning raw wool or cotton into cloth with incredible speed and effciency. First textile factories began springing up in PeZookia, funded mostly by well-regulated credit - the result of King Stanislaw's economic reforms, now beginning to pay for itself.

By the end of the Gaymean War, PeZookian soldiers wore cheaper uniforms of much higher quality than before. The relevant technologies spread quickly around the Old Continent, sparking a rapid technological race by inspiring inventors everywhere to find new applications for steam engines.

By 1810, the Industrial Revolution began in earnest, incresing demand for steel, cement, bricks and other essential materials by orders of magnitude. The PeZookian North began seeing a reneissance, with previously impoverished former peasants now turning to work in mines and factories.

In 1815, early repeating weapons were first imported to PeZookia. It was at this date that the National Arms Factory was established, with machinery bought from Byzantium, to manufacture relatively modern weapons.

The first railroad also came to PeZookia from Byzantium, imported by a young and hot-headed enterpreneur Miroslaw Potocki. Ridiculed as a newfangled invention that had no chance of catching up by some, and outright reviled by many others, the first locomotive began running a short line in the North, between a coal mine and a steel foundry. The line totalled a grand 6 kilometers, and the locomotives used were horribly prone to breakdowns.

Still, this single railway line quickly put classic transport companies out of business in the area. Potocki expanded his infrastructure with the proceeds, quickly forming the base of the first railway company in PeZookia.

The Industrial Revolution began in earnest.

The Second Khitan Colonization Wave

The Industrial Revolution was quickly changing PeZookian society from an agrarian one to a modern, urban model. The side effect of these changes was that disenfranchised peasants formed a huge mass of low-paid workers. Most of them could sustain themselves thanks to Stanislaw The Great's social programs funded by the royal treasury, but many chose to enroll to mercenary life.

PeZookian companies involved in Khitan were greatly dissatisfied with their role in the harsh and mountainous country, but couldn't do much about it without support from PeZookian government and their regular troops. The advent of cheap mercenaries and repeating arms, however, changed this situation.

The companies formed an alliance of sorts and raised their own army of horse mounted mercenaries armed with revolvers and breechloading firearms. In 1817, they launched a massive push against Khitanese warlords, breaking every single pact signed since the First Colonization Wave in the process.

Noticing the success that those ad-hoc cavalry units enjoyed in Khitan, PeZookian royalty pledged their support to the colonization effort. Massive waves of settlers, offered land and chance for a new life, flooded into Khitan protected by the Army, brutally subjugating the natives and forming new communities.

By 1832, most of Khitan was under PeZookian control. A long process of implementing "civilized" adminstrative practices began, with natives being relegated to a secondary role in their own country.

Shroomanian realpolitik of the XIXth century

The Gaymean War has seen a paradigm change in the way Old Continent powers made politics: as technology, both offensive and defensive, advanced steadily, wars were becoming more and more costly. Thus, politicians of the era saw the value in cultivating cordial relations with other continental powers.

The onset of the full-fledged Industrial Revolution cause an incredible increase in trade between all nations, and a corresponsing surge in demand for merchants ships, steel and other materials. Trade served to unify the Continent beyond ideological differences and old slights, forming the basis of later military alliances. Shroomania especially aimed to placate old enemies, since it was far easier to wage war against uncivilized colonial nations and natives than to try and defeat an industrialized opponent.

The era between 1830-1880 was prosperous beyond all imagination. Good previously available only to a selec few became commonplace and cheap ; Construction and engineering projects which previously required immense manpower could now be done cheaply, with standardized parts and mechanized equipment. Inventors all around the continent created more contraptions which aided people everywhere, from Bessemer converters - invented in PeZookia by Karol Bessemer - to steam-driven tractors and huge excavation machines.

With those advances came, as usual, problems and crises. Financial resources gathered in the hands of the enterpreneuring elite began to eclipse riches of kings, while the underclasses saw little of that fantastic wealth. Industrial moguls began leveraging their resources to influence entire governments into action. The urban poor lived in horrible conditions, and had their health ruined quickly by working in gigantic, polluting factories.

In 1850, king Karol IV saw that PeZookia was again in danger of becoming an anarchy, ruled by self-obsessed elite. He undertook several reforms, aimed at reducing the influence of the industrial elite and improving the fate of the downtrodden masses.

Again, unbeknownst to the King, a wise ruler has managed to avoid catastrophe. Just as Communism - a new ideology, preaching the doctrine of communal ownership of all means of production, abolishment of the capitalist class and private property - began to rise its ugly head, king Karol's reforms began to take effect. Amongst other things, the king (Youngest of all PeZookian rulers to this day, in fact) mandated a minimum wage, created a robust (if modest) set of health and safety regulations, shortened the maximum working day to 10 hours and forbid the hiring of children in factories. In addition, his administration was the first to experiment with a progressive income tax, a novel concept which would allow the government to utilize some of the incredible wealth amassed by the new industrial nobility.

Khitan Rebellion

As the Old Continent lived through times of prosperity and relative peace, its colonies did not fare as well. Khitan, conquered ruthlessly by PeZookia around 1832, was one of those countries.

The free-roaming warrior people of Khitan were forced into subservience, and had to begin eking a living by farming fields. Forcible education programs were aimed at brainwashing Khitanese youth into the Old Continent way of cvilized thinking, and taxes were collected ruthlessly, often at gunpoint.

This was seen by the people as abuse and injustice, even despite the benefits that PeZookian investment brought. Still, Khitanese were considered second-class citizens, deemed too primitive and savage to be of much use for a civilized society. Unfortunately for the occupiers, the education which was supposed to turn Khitanese youth against their former way of live, gave rise to a new force in the land: nationalism.

In 1862, the first Khitanese rebellion took place. Led by university educated, well-spoken and read officer caste, and armed with modern weapons, the local forces have managed to inflict heavy casualties on the occupiers. They used the rugged terrain to full advantage, striking quickly an withdrawing, using all technical innovations which allowed PeZookia to conquer their land not 40 years ago.

The uprising has failed, though, swamped by sheer manpower and organization of PeZookian armies. The Khitanese did not forget their dreams of indepencence, though, and came looking for another ally.

The found one around 1870, in the Shadow Empire. The Empire, eager to revenge the humilitating defeat at Orena more than a century ago, began providing the Khitanese with assistance in the form of arms, training and intelligence information.

Thanks to this assistance, Khitan managed to rise once more - and this time, the war involved well-trained and very well equipped rebels fighting the regular PeZookian occupying forces. Uprisings spread quickly, with arms available easily to the civilian populace. After four years of brutal fighting, PeZookia decided to give up on Khitan and withdrew its forces completely.

Resurgence of the Shadow Empire

This humilitation struck PeZookian rulers deeply. They have suspected the rebels were assisted by some outside power, and while suspicions were cast on nearly all Old Continent powers, nothing could confirm them.

Meanwhile, the Shadow Empire, now industrialized and powerful, having sat out most recent conflicts, was looking for its own place amongst the great powers of the world. The current Emperor saw only one way to truly secure that place - the Empire would have to avenge its humilitation at the hands of PeZookia, provving to the world once and for all that Shadows were not to be taken lightly.

But for that, Shadows needed allies - and they found one quickly. Khitan, now prepares for industrialization, was a country of passionate and strong people, capable sailors and horse-riders, and also possessed unimaginable mineral wealth. By complete coincidence, its current rulers also owed the Empire for its role in their war of independence.

The Shadow Empire engaged in a massive campaign of public works in Khitan, constructing factories and infrastructure, drawing on its people and resources in exchange. At the same time, Khitanese pirates began ravaging the shores of Old Continental seas, while well-funded Communist groups sprung up everywhere on the continent, causing chaos and internal trouble.

It was the hope of the Shadow Emperor that Old Continental powers would be weakened by his underhanded moves, and thus would not dispute his claim on lands and glory.

As it turned out, he was quite mistaken.

Brief History of the Constitutional Republic Of PeZookia, Part V

The War To End All Wars

For much of the late XIXth century, rebellions and civic unrest shook the Old Continent. Terrorism, assassinations, incited rioting and outright uprisings were the other of the day, inspired by Communist agitators. They found a fertile ground for their rhethoric, amongst underpriviledged and downtrodden massess of factory workers, tired of living in abject poverty. It wasn't known at this time, but most of this activity was in fact funded and supported by the Shadow Emperor, in order to support his dream of re-establishing the glorious days of the Empire.

As Old Continental countries reeled from the impact of civil unrest, they began to change their approach to worker's rights. Violence led to discussion, discussion gave birth to political movements, and real change begun to happen. Much worse, though, was the fact that by 1900, Shadow Empire's involvement in this massive attempt at destabilization was discovered. Relations worsened practically overnight, and the three great powers of the West - Shroomania, Byzantium and PeZookia - signed a mutual defence pact aimed against the Shadow Empire.

In responde, the Shadow Emperor signed his own pacts, with the emergent state of Khitan and a coalition of southern Arab States. Politicians on both sides considered war inevitable, and thus a massive arms program began in earnest across the Old Continent.

For the first time in history, factories which brought prosperity to the world would be used to make instruments of death en masse, in truly mind-blowing numbers.

July 8th, 1906, would become the date the entire world would remember.

It is still unknown who planted the bomb which killed the Shroomanian Duke Of Whales, prince Bono, but Shroomanian authorities immediately blamed the Shadow Empire. The Shroomanian Home Fleet immediately sortied forth from their base at Capa Scow, while the Army was mobilized for war.

PeZookian authorities - while wary of war and unwilling to join the fight - gave the mobilization orders as well, under the pretense of standing together with their allies. The real reason, however, was the fear that the Shadows would seize the opportunity to destroy undeployed PeZookian armies in order to knock the Kingdom out of the war, even if PeZookia chose to remain neutral.

It all spiralled from there, with country after country mobilizing their industry and resources for total war. The first shots were fired by the Shroomanian dreadnought SNS "Bendover", against a Shadow battlefleet.

With shots from these mighty guns, The War To End All Wars begun.

The War To End All Wars: Initial operations

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, --
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

- Wilfred Owen, Dulce et Decorum Es

The First Great Continental War, also known simply as The Great War or The War To End All Wars, began with a naval engagement between the Shroomanian Home Fleet and the Shadow Grand Fleet. Shroomanian doctrine called for the Home Fleet to engage and destroy the enemy navy in a grand battle in the opening hours of the war, so that Shadow ports would be open to attack. Khitan's navy, much smaller (though modern), was considered less of a threat to Shroomanian control of the seas.

In the Battle of Samarkan Strait, however, the small and "unthreatening" Khitanese navy proved their worth, by joining forces with the Shadows. The engagement forced the Shroomanians to withdraw, having lost two out of five dreadnaughts, half-a-dozen destroyers and an armored cruiser. Historians later would criticize the engagement as ill-prepared, as Shroomanians did not wait for support from the Byzantine Navy.

This loss made land operations by the Shadow Army easier ; Their forces advanced into PeZookia, in an attempt to knock it quickly out of the war with overwhelming force.

PeZookian troops fell back at first, facing well-trained troops sporting superior equipment, untill they reached a network of fortifications based upon the Great River. These were hastily prepared during the initial tensions that led to war, and sported extensive networks of trenches, bunkers and firing positions. There, the advance staggered and ultimately stopped thanks to the Battle Of Modlin - there, the main spearhead of the Shadow armies was drawn into an encirclement and destroyed at great cost in blood - nearly 120 thousand men laid down their lives on the two days of the battle. Despite that, however, PeZookia was unable to go back on the offensive.

For the following years, Eastern PeZookia would be a scene for the bloodiest conflict in human history. A huge battle front, nearly 600km wide, has cut the country in half with trenches and firing positions and barbed wire.

Artillery and the machine gun ruled this cold, industrial battlefield. Huge fire missions turned lush landscapes into a battered, lifeless Hell, as both sides attempted to probe for holes in enemy defences. By the end of 1906, maneuver in PeZookia had ceased, replaced completely by the brutal grindhouse of trench warfare.


One of the hundreds of kilometers of trenches crossing PeZookia, 1907

On the seas,a different war raged - Khitan and the Shadow Empire, having won a temporary naval advantage on the high seas, attempted to enforce a blockade of Shroomania - to strangle its industries and force them out of the war.

A brutal guerre de course began on the high seas, with Shadow and Khitanese cruisers sinking (and, in the case of Khitan, capturing for ransom) merchant ships bound for Shroomania, while the Shroomanian Home Fleet fruitlessly attempted to draw the enemy into another grand battle. The year 1906 saw few engagements between capital ships, except for one notable battle: the SNS Bendover was surprised by three Shadow armored cruisers while returning to port from its patrol: despite being low on coal and unsupported, agressive command of the ship by captain Hugh Anne Spreadem drove the Shadow ships off, destroying one of the cruisers with accurate gunfire.

In the south, Byzantium engaged in a tense standoff with its Arab enemies: the Caliphates did not join the conflict yet, wary of the Emperor's blatant threats ; However, Byzantium had to keep a sizeable army at home to prevent an opportunistic attack. It factories, however, pumped out weapons and supplies which found their way to the fighting armies of the continent.

As winter approached, both sides evaluated their performance and prepared for the operations of 1907 ; It was crucial for the Shadow Empire to break the enemy lines and overrun PeZookia before Shroomania managed to mobilize its Commonwealth and flood the Empire with an unrelenting tide of men.

The War To End All Wars: Mid-War Operations

After the front lines have stabilized for the 1906/1907 winter, the Shadow Empire began making plans for a huge spring offensive, designed to dislodge PeZookian defenders from their positions, seize the capital and force PeZookia to sign a unilateral peace treaty with the Empire. This would free the forces necessary to guarantee a defeat of Byzantium, and finally - force Shroomania to enter negotiations, alone and stripped of all allies.

This offensive would be conducted paralell to the naval guerre de course, waged in an attempt to prevent the mobilization of the Shroomanian Commonwealth for the war.

The Shadow General Staff prepared their plans in detail, carefully considering the situation. The offensive would begin in April 1907 after a period of extensive preparation. It had every chance to suceed.

When spring approached, the Western Allies noticed the tell-tale signs of the upcoming offensive: Shadow railways were clogged by military trains, their factories worked around the clock, and the front-line trenches were expanded and widened. Thus, extensive defence preparations were undertaken across the entire frontline.

The offensive commenced on April 12 1907, using a two-pronged assault against PeZookian lines. Preceded by a six-hour artillery bombardment by nearly four thousand various guns, it was followed by eight hundred thousand men assaulting the defensive lines. The line was breached in several spots, and fast-moving cavalry and bicycle mounted units began to exploit and expand the newly created holes.

The prospects became grim, and the entire allied command-and-control network for the theatre threatened to collapse due to sheer scale of the attack. Units were moved around hastily up and down the lines to plug holes in an ad-hoc fashion ; Local commanders had to take initiative the avoid encirclement and destruction of their forces. In just a few days of fighting, ungodly amounts of ammunition were expended and casualties mounted on both sides in vicious fighting from improvised positions, with Shadow Stormtroopers clearing trench after trench.

The front was saved by a turn of fate: the spring rains rolled across PeZookian plains, and the artillery-ravaged battlefields became thick with viscous mud, making it impossible to conduct assaults against machine gun and artillery fire.

As bodies piled up on the PeZookian Front, Byzantium comitted more and more to the Allied war effort. Seeing their advance falter because of the horrid spring weather, the Shadow Emperor began pressuring his allied Caliphs to declare war on Byzantium. This would take time, however - the Caliphs would wait for the opportune moment, to strike when Byzantium was weakened by the struggle.

Khitan, on the other hand, enjoyed a string of military victories on the high seas. At the start of 1907, their strategy of avoiding a major battle by using their fast cruisers and destroyers to raid Shroomanian merchant shipping seemed to be paying off. Shroomania began experiencing shortages of basic goods, and famine became a real possibility.

However, the Commonwealth was mobilizing to aid the Crown in its war. Men, materiel, ships and resources were continuously flooding into Shroomania with the unattacked convoys, and the Home Fleet commanders decided that if Khitanese would not give them battle, then it would take the battle to them.

In June 1907, a Shroomanian dreadnought squadron shelled one of the main Khitanese naval bases, causing much damage to the coaling and repair facilities. The raid was so succesful, that the Admiratly decided to conduct several more, ravaging the shore with artillery fire. Eventually, Khitan was forced to withdraw its fleet closer to shore in order to protect its own ports. Resource convoys from the Commonwealth began getting through in larger numbers.

The summer of 1907 saw resurgence in offensive operations in PeZookia, as rains subsidied and the ground dried. Many holes in the front lines have not been adequately secured, and thus the Shadows pushed deeper into PeZookian territorry, grinding their way inward with blood and artillery fire. A corps six divisions strong crossed the Great River by the end of June, and managed to destroy the logistics system for a large portion of the front line. Orena became threatened once again.


Indophali Ghurkas going over the top during an attack against Shadow lines

By autumn, however, Shroomanian and Byzantine reinforcements have landed in PeZookia, and these fresh troops were concetrated west of Orena. Forming an ad-hoc expeditionary corps, they engaged the advancing Shadows in another huge battle, which saw the first use of poison gas by the Western Allies in an attempt to stop the enemy advance.

The battle raged for months on end, both sides throwing more and more men into the fray. Massive artillery barrages ravaged the trenches, tearng men apart with shrapnel or burying them alive under dirt. Regiments of soldiers ground their way across the ruined landscape, straight into massed rifle and machinegun fire. They cleared trenches in vicious close quarters fighting, only to be pushed back by pre-planned fire missions and immediate counterattacks.

The battle was unresolved, but the lines began stabilizing again. This time, though, it seemed the Shadows have overextended themselves. 1908 was a year of constant positional warfare, with little to no maneuver. The massive trench lines in PeZookia were expanded even further, and the only gains made throughout the years were made at tremendous cost in lives, counted in thousands of men per mile of ground gained.

The War To End All Wars: Late-war operations

The second half of 1908 has seen a great victory for the Entente: They have finally managed to force Khitan and the Imperial Shadow Navy into a grand battle, destroying both fleets utterly as a fighting force.

It began with initial operations in the spring, where the Shroomanian Home Fleet, bolstered by the Byzantines (who still were not engaged in direct fighting in their theater ; The Arab states have pretty much given up on supporting the Shadow Empire directly), launched a massive offensive against Khitanese naval ports.

It was during these operations that the first (and only) boarding action against a dreadnought ship occured. The SNS "Killyaall" was returning home from a port raid, when it was chased down by a large roving fleet of Khitanese warships. They have overwhelmed the dreadnought's battle group, and managed to cripple and board the dreadnought itself, capturing Fleet Admiral Murderous von Schrom.

The Admiral was taken back to Khitan, and negotiations ensued between Khitanese authorities and the Shroomanian crown. Eventually, the admiral was bought back for a sizeable ransom.

This was enough, however. The Admiralty was ordered by the King to break the back of enemy navies, using all means necessary. An ambitious plan was put together, which involved poison gas, shelling of all coastal cities and an amphibious landing in Khitan.

The Allies' enemies learned of this plan, however. When the Allied Fleet sortied out to begin ravagin Khitan's coast, the united Khitanese and Shadow navies concentrated to face them. If they could not defeat the Allied fleet, they would lose all their bases and effectively concede the seas to the enemy.

Thus, the last naval battle of the war commenced on July 16th 1908. Both fleets met in the early morning hours, and began shelling each other within three hours. Huge dreadnoughts exchanged fire at long distances, with destroyers and cruisers attempting to close the distance and perform torpedo attacks. The weather wasn't very good, so gunnery was made difficult by rain and high waves. Thus, eventually, the distances shortened to as little as one kilometer in some instances. The SNS Bendover at one point exchanged fire with a Shadow dreadnought from 200 meters, which resulted in massive damage to both ships.

Ironically enough, it was Fleet Admiral Murderous von Schrom who won the battle, not six months after he was captured and sold back. His agressive command and effective communications allowed the Allied fleet to gain and maintain a superior position throughout the engagement. Eight hours after first contact was made, the Shadow fleet was forced into full retreat, having lost more than half their heavy ships. They would never recover from this defeat untill the end of the war.

Khitanese forces remained in the fight, however, confident their torpedo-armed cruisers and destroyers would be able to easily destroy the "heavy, ponderous and clumsy" dreadnoughts. Khitanese admiralty was in love with the torpedo, and their doctrine called for total abandonment of dreadnought-styled armored and gun-armed ships in favor of light, fast and nimble torpedo carrying vessels.

This doctrine proved absolutely disastrous. Primitive, unguided torpedoes required the ships launching them to close well within firing rane of the heavy dreadnoughts, and their speed advantage was not sufficient to engage and disengage at will.

Dozens of torpedo boats, destroyers and armored cruisers made their runs after the Shadows have retreated ; All of them suffered heavy damage from well-directed artillery fire by Shroomanian and Byzantine dreadnoughts, which now didn't have to worry about artillery duels with their Shadow counterparts. Twelve hours after initial contact, the Khitanese navy practically ceased to exist, ripped apart by murderous havy artillery fire.

On the ground, the influx of colonial units has changed the balance of power. Shadow attacks became more and more fruitless, as Allied lines strenghtened and grew thicker. On the other hand, economies of both sides became more and more strained by the continuing conflict.



No side could hope to dislodge the other ; Millions of soldiers died already of enemy action and disease. Many more were wounded and mained for life. Revolutionary movements began stirring again on both sides of the frontline, as the people tired of the continuing, pointless conflict.

With total defeat of their joint navy, the Shadow Alliance's leadership began finally considering peace.

The War To End All Wars: Conclusion

The first peace talks began early in 1909. Eventually, after lenghty negotiations, stifled by pride and arrogance, a ceasefire was signed, which llater transformed into a full-fledged peace accord.

PeZookia would recover all the land which was occupied by Shadow invaders during the war ; Furthermore, the Shadow Empire was forced to establish several semi-autonomous "buffer states" on its border, so that any future invasions would be so much more difficult to pull off.

Furthermore, PeZookia instited on huge war reparations, and the forced disarmament of the Shadow Empire. While it was was granted the former, the latter was considered excessive. Only when PeZookia threaneted to shell Shadow coastal cities with gas did they agree to limit the size of their army.

Consequences of the war were severe: economic crisis struck the Old Continent as soon as the conflict ended. Unemployment soared as millions of demobilized soldiers re-entered the work force, crime skyrocketed, and national debts threaneted to bankrupt numerous countries. The Great Depression affected the entire Old Continent - even Byzantium, which did not participate much in the actual fighting, saw financial crisis caused by the collapse of trade. On the other hand, the Arab States began their rise, fuelled by the Black Gold - Oil, demand for which has been steadily increasing for some time now.

The Great Depression

As the Old Continent recovered from the Great War, millions of demobilizied soldiers returned home to rejoin the workforce. All countries were devastated economically by the strain of supporting the war, deep in debt, and their industries had to be painstakingly realigned for civilian production.

Furthermore, financial regulations of the time were not quite robust enough to prevent a massive financial crisis ; Sparked by inflation and unemployment, it quickly spiralled into a full-fledged depression.

This perios lasted for nearly 12 years, giving rise to an entire generation of disenfranchised people. By the 1920s, however, the Depression was ending thanks to good economic policies, and the world seemed back on track towards prosperity.

Social changes in the interwar period, and the rise of Shadow Fascism

The Great War brought much change to the Old Continent: social policies aimed at placating the working classes were implemented en masse, under the pressure of Communist revolutionary movements. It was at this time that PeZookia expanded its existing medical care, job regulation and pension programs, recognizing the need to create a worker class which would be healthy and supportive of the government.

In the Shadow Empire, however, things did not go so well. Burdened by massive war reparations, splintered by the forced establishment of independent "buffer states", and deep in the throes of the Great Depression, the mighty country looked upon the rest of the world with envy.

Veterans returning from the PeZookian Front were mistreated and spent their lives in poverty. The workers could barely scrape by a miserable living. Together, these two groups formed nearly a half of the Shadow Empire's population - which had to leave to catastrophe.

In 1918, the first Society For The Aid To Veterans of the Great War was created by a man named Joe Itler. This talented demagogue preached that the Shadow Citizens should not have to suffer so much at the behest of the Western Powers ; He claimed the Shadow Empire deserved its glory, and painted the last war as justified completely. He promised prosperity to the common man, and to purge the country of the "Corrupt old men who betrayed the people".

The Society, supported massively by veterans and workers, quickly transformed into the National Socialist Party of the Shadow Empire (NSPSE). Deemed dangerous by the government, Itler was arrested for apreading his "Revolutionary agenda". During his stay in prison, he formalized his views in a book he named My Camp - The Thoughts on The Shape And Destiny of the Shadow Empire.

The Empire began ascending from economic crisis a few years after the rest of the Old Continent. This, however, allowed Itler to rise topower via political means. Upon the old Emperor's death, Itler was elected Prime Minister by popular vote, and quickly moved to consolidate and concentrate his power. He launches many social programs, as well as a rampant remilitarization attempt.

For many other nations, this rapid change in the Shadow Empire's attitudes represented a grave threat. They did not know, however, that this would ultimately lead to the Second Great War, in which the political condition of the Old Continent would finally be decided.

The Shadowy Unification

PeZookia first became worried about Itler's ambitions when the Shadow Empire began provoking the "buffer states". Provocations and overtly agressive moves became the order of the day as Itler skillfully played the buffer states against one another.

The buffer states were small, regional and artificial entities, controlled mostly by ethnic minorities - as an attempt to dissuade them from re-joining the Shadow Empire. However, most of the citizens of these countries were actually Shadows, creating a dangerous and unstable situation.

Itler decided to utilize this situation to the fullest. His sly political maneuvering soon caused a splinter amongst the Buffer States, dividing them into two rival blocks.

The PeZookian government became agitated by the apparent attempts at reunification of the Shadow Empire by Itler ; However, the people were unwilling to face another war, still mired by the horrifying images of the Great War, in which millions of PeZookian men lost their lives.

It was obvious, however, that war was growing inevitable. As Shadow forces intervened in the Buffer State War, Old Continent powers were readying themselves for another round of struggle.

They were in for a nasty surprise, however.

Gentlemen, behold:

A Brief History of San Dorado

The Settlement

The city of San Dorado was founded in 1819 as a trading post by the famous Shroomanian gentleman-adventurer Sir Siegfried Schrom. Far removed from the main bulk of the Empire, it was ruled by the Shroomanian Settlement Syndicate, an early joint-stock company that had a monopoly on all trade and in the city. The syndicate however was more interested in making copious amounts of money than in keeping order, and so the newfound settlement rapidly became infamous for its rough and lawless nature. Throughout the early 19th century countless famous pirates, privateers, corsairs and rogue traders operated out of its ports, raiding and looting and pillaging the seven seas without abandon, and bringing their booty back to San Dorado – where, since the corsairs typically made sure to pay off the crooked syndicate governors, no-one was going to ask any questions about where they got that Byzantine or Canissian gold.

This situation endured for decades, and as city continued to grow and prosper (and become increasingly more of a destabilizing nuisance with each passing year) it more and more began to draw the ire of the Great Powers of the time. Shroomanian ships were raided on the high seas for suspicion of privateering, foreign nations refused to trade with San Dorado any longer, and when that all failed to bring the city-state to account a punitive expedition was launched by the Byzantine emperor who decreed he had more than enough of this “hive of scum and villainy”.

It was in 1861 that the famous Byzantine conquistador Makaros II and his expeditionary legion marched on the city, arriving at the outskirts of San Dorado late in the summer. They reached the ill-guarded gates of the city just as there was a gigantic drunken brawl taking place, and the Byzantine forces got all the way to Fifth Street meeting little resistance on the way. There, just as the conquistador was proclaiming the conquest a victory in the name of the Emperor and saying an orthodox prayer, he was shot dead by one of the brawlers who rallied all the combatants by asking them if they were going to let these damn imperialist upstarts interrupt their fight. All the scum of the city rose up against the Byzantines, and the armies of the Emperor were thrown back in an embarrassing defeat. When the city was safe the next day, the pirates went back to brawling again.

A victory it might have been but the governor of San Dorado recognized that if the Byzantine emperor was sufficiently ruffled by his minute city-state that he’d send an army around the world to kick its ass, something needed to be done. Because he saw no way to impose any sense of order on the pirates without suffering a fate as unfortunate as Makaros*, he did what any sensible colonial governor in that time tended to do: he got the hell out of Dodge**. Thus it was that San Dorado effectively seized to be a Shroomanian colony and became an independent city-state, although it took several months for the inhabitants of the city to even notice that the governor was gone. Looting of the governor’s palace ensued, but it would take until 1965 before San Dorado would actually begin to act as a state rather than a lawless cesspool of chaos on the edge of nowhere.

* The remains of Makaros II today are interred in the Neon Cathedral, an orthodox church on Fifth Street located not far from where the conquistador was shot. The Neon Cathedral is one of the ten Super Spectacle Sights of the City, mainly because of the huge neon crucifix on the top dome from which it takes its name, and the unusually eclectic electric lighting pattern that flickers all over the building.

** The Dodgson River that runs through San Dorado takes its name from this saying, actually.

Independence

It was in 1865 that the famous trader/pirate/outlaw/statesman (depending on whom you ask) Funghus MacBluebeard* had an epiphany (likely induced by a drunken stupor). He realized that he was getting old, couldn’t fight as well anymore as he used to, and that he had only eight and a half of his ten fingers and one of his two eyes left. If he continued looting and pillaging, he realized, it was a fair bet he’d get himself shot, hung, quartered or otherwise painfully killed in the pretty darned near future. Not being too attracted to the myriad ways in which a pirate could meet his demise, MacBluebeard decided to settle for an easy life: he was going to claim the governorship of San Dorado, which had by this time been an empty throne for 4 years. Luckily for old Funghus he was also the boss of the biggest mob of pirates in town, so it wasn’t too much difficulty to set himself up in the governor’s mansion and proclaim himself the lord of San Dorado.

Once that proclamation was made however it didn’t go over so well with the other corsairs in town, who keenly remembered that they used to have to pay the old governor in order for him to not sic the Shroomcoats on them (that the city hadn’t seen any Shroomcoats in decades was something no-one had apparently realized). For some time the usual brawling chaos in the streets of San Dorado increased marginally, until MacBluebeard called a parlay for all the Big Kahunas in town.

At the famous Pirate Parlay of 1865** the unusually bright corsair Andreas Cornedguts, infamous for being obsessed with the fruits of the industrial revolution (he was the first with a steam-driven ironclad pirate ship in town), proposed some of the basic principles of what would in due time become San Dorado’s charter of rights: there would no longer be a governor but a President, the pirate leaders were no longer bosses but Directors of the Board, and pirate captains were no longer captains of ships but captains of industry.

To be honest for the first ten years or so the names were just names and preciously little changed, but the ideas of MacBluebeard and Cornedguts slowly trickled down the scummy streets of San Dorado, and slowly but surely the concept of robber baron industrialism began to gain support among the teeming masses of the city. After all, many thought, the only difference between piracy and industrialism was that as a robber baron you didn’t have to shoot people to take their money. Brilliant! And so began San Dorado’s Golden Age of the Robber Baron, which frankly didn’t even last a century but only 50-odd years or so.

* Funghus MacBluebeard became the first President of San Dorado. His bust is seen nearly everywhere, from the steps of the Presidential Palace to the feet of the Statue of Fortune.

** The Parlay is still celebrated today, with people dressing up in period clothing and shooting guns in the air. Usually the celebrations cost no more than a dozen people their life.

Robber Baron Capitalism

San Dorado had grown quickly as a pirate town, but it grew even faster in the period known as the Golden Age. Between 1875 and 1925 the population expanded from 250,000 souls to well over 2 million. Factories shot up like mushrooms, skyscrapers and other mass housing projects followed, and whereas the world was previously flooded by pirate ships and looted goods, now they were being cornered by San Dorado’s industries.

The city embraced the industrial age like no other: there were no limits on immigration, barely any labor laws – hell, barely any laws at all. The Dodgson River turned from blue to murky brown, clouds of pollutants drifted overhead and blotted out the sun. Where tropical birds had sung not fifty years earlier there now sounded the droning of airship engines. Dirt roads were paved over, wood and stone made place for steel and concrete. Horses were eaten and replaced with cars. Sailing ships were replaced with ocean steamers. Art deco skyscrapers were erected in record tempo. Laborers were ruthlessly exploited. But the barons of industry cared not for the plight of the worker, which would prove very, very stupid indeed.

In 1925, the gap between the city-state’s rich and poor was unprecedentedly huge. And worse, ever since their defeat at the hands of the combined forces of loyalists and nationalists Canissian communists* had found refuge in the city, spreading their propaganda throughout the masses of the disenfranchised until finally in 1925 their unhappiness reached a boiling point during the Year of Disaster.

Rising up against their industrialist oppressors, the disenfranchised masses took to the streets with murderous intent, causing an unprecedented amount of chaos. Skyscrapers were toppled. The face of the Statue of Fortune** was blown up. Fires raged unchecked. Riots turned into street wars as hundreds of thousands of people clashed in block wars that cost thousands their lives. For twelve months the streets of San Dorado were swept by anarchy, until in the spring of ’26 the Board of Directors and the leaders of the unwashed masses came to an accord.

* These days, there is no political ideology that is hated as much in San Dorado as communism. Propaganda disseminated by the Board of Directors ensures the populace never forgets that it was the communists who caused the Year of Disaster.

** The Statue of Fortune, one of the ten Super Spectacle Sights of the City, is located on an artificial island in the middle of the Dodgson River that splits San Dorado. The statue represents the Lady Fortuna, personification of luck, fate and riches. She holds the Horn of Plenty (from which sprouts an artificial waterfall) and a short sword, plated in gold.

Reformation and the Corporate Republic

The reformation did not make San Dorado a democracy, but instead a corporate state of which every citizen is a shareholder. Effectively, this means that every citizen holds at least one share of San Dorado stock. At birth, a citizen must receive at least one share from either parent. If the parents have only one share each, then the child is awarded one share from the reserves. Citizens can buy or can be awarded many more shares as bonuses and dividends. They are free to sell their shares to any other citizen or back to the corporation as they please. They may not sell their shares outside the corporation without special permission. This permission is never given.

Among other things, every share entitles the citizen to one vote in San Dorado's many elections and referendums. Since it is obviously impractical for every citizen to vote on every issue, the citizens elect representatives to speak for them on the Board of Directors. This is done every four years.

In the corporate state however there are far more shares than there are voters, and individual citizens are free to sell all but one of their shares. (They are actually free to sell that last share too, but if they do they cease to be citizens.) Because shares can be bought and sold freely this means that political influence is not evenly distributed. Indeed there are electoral districts where 90% of the votes are controlled by a single individual or group of individuals*.

Although officially only citizens are employed by San Dorado's industries, the fact of the matter is that there are teeming masses of immigrants and other non-citizens employed in the city-state. These people form an underclass whose cheap labour profits the corporate state immensely. They are essentially unrepresented and unprotected, and typically toil in sweatshops or on the mechanized farms and mines that provide the cities with the natural resources it needs. In theory they can, through various bureaucratic processes, eventually gain permission to buy San Dorado shares (thus becoming citizen-shareholder), but in practice this remains an unattainable dream for most.

This has been the governmental system of San Dorado since 1926.

* Most of these individuals sit on the Board themselves. So in a way, preciously little has changed since the pirate councils of the 19th century.

Modern Times

Throughout the 20th century the city-state of San Dorado has flourished. Its factories continue to pour out the fruits of industry: corporations such as Universal Motors, Ralston Arms Ltd. and Blues Brothers Steel and Shipping have offices worldwide, and are worth tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars on international stock markets. But although many of these corporations deliver quality, ‘Made in San Dorado’ in many countries today is still synonymous for cheap, disposable, and of dubious safety and quality.

The city of San Dorado itself is a huge metropolis inhabited by over 10 million citizens and an unknown number of non-citizens (estimates range from 2 to 4 million). Although the city-state is often considered synonymous with San Dorado it is actually made up of two cities, but the sprawls and suburbs of San Dorado and La Palma have over the decades crept so close that in many instances it is hard to tell where one city ends and the other begins. Though smaller than San Dorado, La Palma is a formidable city in its own right, counting some 3 million souls among its citizens (and presumably roughly another million or two in non-citizens).

Motto of the city is the immortal words said to have been spoken by Sir Siegfried Schrom himself upon taking up the mantle of the first governor of San Dorado: "The business of San Dorado is business".


SAN DORADO FACTBOX

Did you know that nearly all power supplied to San Dorado and La Palma is produced by the Power Tower? It's true! This active volcano is the worlds' largest geothermal energy station, covered in concrete and dotted with hundreds of turbine houses and pumping stations. The Power Tower is one of the ten Super Spectacle Sights of the City. Be sure to take the theme park ride over the crest of the volcano! It's very safe: each year only a few of the motorcarriages derail and fall into the lava -- and if yours does, the Board guarantees a full refund to your next of kin!

A history of Old Dominion/Shepistan relations: 1960-Present

1962: Surveyor Incident
Since the departure of the Raj, the subcontinent remained divided between Shepistan and the Old Dominion(given such a name due to it's loyalty to the Crown). Shepistan was the larger and more powerful of the two, although it had to struggle to control East Shepistan, and the Old Dominion's entry into the MESS did much to ensure it's security against Shepistan.

On August 12th 1962, the Old Dominion AGI Surveyor was operating off the Northwest coast of West Shepistan, tracking a Shepistani naval exercise. At 1317 a Shepistani frigate opened fired on the Surveyor with both 5 inch guns. After shelling the Surveyor 7 times, the Shepistani Frigate departed the area.

Onboard the Surveyor fires and flooding raged out of control. The crew was forced to abandon ship, and only a handful were able to make it off the vessel(due to confirming the destruction of sensitive material) before it went underwater. The survivors(7 of them) were picked up by a passing Shinra freighter.

The Old Dominion military rapidly mobilized, as did the Shepistani military, and shots were exchanged across the disputed borders. The Shepistani government announced that the Surveyor had entered a live fire exercise, and yes it was very sad they got shot. After a 7 week standoff(during which airborne regiments from various MESS nations were flown in) Shepistan and the Old Dominion agreed on a phased demobilization.


Winter 1965-66: First Shepistani-Old Dominion War
Prelude to War
By October of 1965 the various MESS intelligence agencies had received indications that Shepistan was preparing for an invasion of the Old Dominion.

Tensions had been high, and artillery barrages were exchanged on an almost daily basis along the border. Hardliners had in recent years taken control of the Shep party, and loudly talked of "Cavalier slights!". Indeed, with gloom the Old Dominion leadership looked at the correlation of forces. And they weren't good.

Of the less than 2000 tanks in Dominion inventory, the most modern were the 300 Centurion tanks, followed by 570 AMX-13. The army had over 800 M4 Shermans, but only 430 were upgraded to "Super Sherman" standard. In fact, over 400 still had 75mm guns! Most of the APCs were M3 Halftracks.

The Shepistan army had recently finished a massive and thorough modernization program, with over 1500 M48 MBTs, and 200 M60 MBTs. There APCs consisted of M113s, BTR-50s, and BTR-60s. There sadly was no real comparison between the armies in terms of firepower on the ground(although during the war poor maintenance practices would "ground" over half of the AFVs).

The situation in the air was a little better. The ODAF had over 600 combat aircraft, the oldest and least capable being the F-104 starfighter. F-8 Crusaders and F-4 Phantoms(then entering service with the ODAF) rounding out the rest. Attack aircraft consisted of A-4s, Buccaneer S.2s, and A-7s. In addition, due to the fact that the ODN's sole large carrier was in drydock undergoing an extensive(and expensive!) modernization overhaul, the "homeless" 30 ODN Phantoms and 20 or so Buccaneer S.2s would be able to be put to use.

Shepistan had close to 900 combat aircraft, the vast majority being MiG-21s and MiG-19s.

A naval standpoint is where the OD had clear superiority, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Of the two belligerents, only the OD had aircraft carriers, the small 27,000 ton Victory and the larger Centurion which was unfortunately undergoing an overhaul to "phantomize" it. The ODN had over 50 escorts, most of then new or recently refurbished. 8 SSKs rounded out the force.

The Shepistani navy, on the other hand, had 30 surface combatants, none of them younger than 15 years old. It had had one SSK and 4 LPDs.

Most of the crossing points across the border would be blocked during the winter, with this in mind(and after conversing with MESS allies) the Old Dominion decided to launch a pre-emptive strike.

Operation Rattlesnake

Shepistani LPD Frederick underway during a peacetime exercise


Victory preparing the airstrikes associated with OPERATION RATTLESNAKE

On December 3rd the ODAF and ODN launched over 150 warplanes in one sortie, attacking 8 Shepistani airbases(7 in West Shepistan, 1 in East Shepistan)and destroying 200warplanes on the ground.

Off the coast of East Shepistan the Victory attacked the naval base located in East Shepistan, sinking the Shepistani LPD Frederick, then in the middle of offloading a Naval Infantry battalion. Follow on airstrikes destroyed marine and aviation fuel containers, as well as two minesweepers and inflicted damage to a frigate. The Victory taskforce would effectively blockade East Shepistan for the war's duration.

A second ODAF sortie of 80warplanes in the evening destroyed another 92 Shepistani aircraft, still on the ground. Due to the lack of challenge from the SAF, the Dominion JCS correctly assumed that there was disorder in the Shepistani chain of command, and proceeded to bomb command and control targets, exasperating the problem.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the 5th that SAF fighters began to challenge ODAF planes, and the quality of the SAF pilots proved inferior, on average, to the ODAF pilots.

With air superiority secured, airstrikes began to hit bridges, powerplants,and fuel depots, whenever possible near populated areas. The intent was to galvanize the Shepistani leadership into launching a land offensive before spring, forcing the invading force to enter thought the few routes cleared of snow and ice.

It worked.

Land campaign
The Shepistani 1st Army entered Rogers Pass on 12 December, brushing aside the pickets and guards. On the Dominion side they crashed into the XII Corps. In a three day battle XII Corps held off the onslaught, destroying almost 200 M48 MBTs at the loss of 12 Centurions and 22 AMX-13s. But little by little, the flood of Shepistani armor and infantry pushed the XXII Corps back, and the Dominion forces retreated 15 miles to Wythe Ridge.

There the XII Corps commander used the superior terrain to once again block the 1st Army advance. Progress began to be measured in meters. Even worse, MESS airborne regiments had begun to arrive in theater, bolstering the Dominion forces. Farther North at Lynchburg, the 13th Shinra Infantry(air assault) threwback a probing attack.

By the 20th of December the Shepistani advance had virtually ceased, and the arrival of MESS air units had confirmed the denial of the air to Shepistan. Skirmishing continued until 3 January, when Shepistan agreed to return to the prewar borders.

Aftermath
The Shepistani government decided to end the conflict before a spring campaigning season for several reasons. The first was East Shepistan, isolated under the Dominion Blockade, was on the verge of revolution, and the Shepistani army units couldn't control both the populace and defend the borders.

The second was the rapidly movement in theater of MESS units. 3 armored divisions were on their way and would be in-country before the end of January. More would be arriving shortly there after, bringing fresh troops as their own forces withered from the disrupted supply and chain of command that the MESS control fo the skies entailed.

The third was the distinct lack of international sympathy and support for Shepistan, and in fact many nations outside of the MESS began an embargo against the country.

The borders returned to their pre-war location, and the blockade of East Shepistan was lifted. Internally, much of the officer corps was purged by the Shepistani Interior Ministry, and "The Great Shep" took over the reigns of party leadership. He vowed revenge. He would have it.


Dominion/MESS Deaths:
4,672

Shepistani Deaths:
8,965




1974: Second Shepistani-Dominion War
Prologue
The end of the first Shepistani-Dominion War was unsatisfactory for both sides, Shepistani, while bloodied badly, had not been crippled in it's war making potential by the Old Dominion. Likewise, Shepistan failed to secure any territorial gains(specifically a land corridor to East Shepistan) and returned to the prewar borders.

After the war there was a purge of the officer corps in the Shepistani Military, and a new emphasis was placed on initiative and training. The new leader, the former Minister of Hydroelectric Infrastructure somehow seized the reigns of party leadership and became known as The Great Shep.

By 1968 the rebellion in East Shepistan had grown significantly, galvanized by the inconclusive outcome of the war. More and more troops poured into the region, but in 1972 a battalion-sized battle was fought against the rebels in the salt marshes of East Shepistan.

In 1974 the East Shepistan Assembly declared independence(and took the name The Wheeling Republic). Shepistani forces were on the verge of being overwhelmed by the rebels, and so the Shepistani army was mobilized and rushed to transit points along the border. The Great Shep demanded transit rights to East Shepistan. The Old Dominion refused.

The military situation in 1974 was somewhat better for the Old Dominion than the last time around. 800 Chieftain MBTs had entered service, in addition to the 300 AMX-13s, 200 Centurions with 230 Super Shermans rounding out the force. FV430 series APCs and IFVs rounded out the force, with the M3 Halftracks relegated to motorized regiments(or prime movers for towed artillery).

In the air the fighter force for the ODAF had turned completely over to the F-4 Phantom II. As during the last war A-4s, A-7s, and Buccaneer S.2s made up the attack force, although the ODN was in the process fo acquiring A-6 Intruders.


Centurion underway during a peacetime exercise.

The ODN had an uneven improvement in capabilities. While the Centurion had become fully modernized, the Victory was unable to operate modern aircraft. It had already been decided that in the event of another war the Victory would likely be relegated to convoy duty, due to the obsolescence of it's air wing. The ODN had entered the Joint MESS Common Carrier program, and design was far along, but the keel for the first CVN would not be laid down until 1977.

The Great Shep had pursued a vigorous modernization program for Shepistan.

Although 500 M48s remained, as well as 400 M60A1s, the real punch came from the 1000 T-72s that had entered service. In addition, 400 PT-76 amphibious tanks and 600 BMP-1s had been procured. They would be used to great effect in the crossing of the Potomac River.

Approx. 1200 Fighter jets made up the SAF, 800 MiG-21 in various conditions and variants, 65 F-105s, and 200 MiG-23s. 100 Su-24s had been added for a dedicated attack role.

The SN was as dilapidated as it had been during the previous conflict, with only 22 major surface combatants.

Still, the active Shepistan army was 1.8million men, while the active Dominion army was only 600,000, although another 100,000 MESS servicemen were in country.

The Great Shep decreed that significant amounts of troops would be pulled away from it's Western Borders and used in a broad-front attack on the Old Dominion. Crossing points were carefully registered by Shepistani artillery. The attack commenced April 1st.

The first days
The Old Dominion military had taken note of the rapid transit of forces to the borders, and so was putting the to field when the attack came. Fortunately, this meant that the Shepistani airstrikes failed on the first day, and the Shepistani advances had to move with contested airspace.

The Shepsitani 1st Army plowed through XII Corps at Rogers Pass, and drove it off our Wythe Ridge by the end of the first day. To the North the 409th Special Republican Guard Commando seized Richards Pass and facilitated the ejection of Dominion units deployed in defense of Lynchburg. At Hickman's Crossing 2 Shepistani Divisions routed a defending Division consisting of mixed MESS units. And, at Legion Point, the 19th Special Naval Infantry crossed the broad Potomac river in PT-76s and BMP-1s.

The 4 thrusts achieved their goal of overwhelming the defenders. At the end of the day none of the forces were less than 40 miles withing Old Dominion territory. Indeed, the 19th Special Naval Infantry was nearing Fairfax City, Ancestral Home to the Lord Fairfax.

On the second day the 3rd Naval Air Wing, flying out of East Shepistan, attacked the Victory battle group which was transiting out of Norfolk. The Su-24s had trained over and over the past year specifically with the aim of sinking a Dominion aircraft carrier, and the antiquated Sea Vixens were unable to stop the attack. Of the 20 Su-24s involved in the attack, 3 were shot down by the escorts and 1 by the CAP. During the course of the attack an estimated 15 1,000lbs bombs were dropped on the Victory. The Carrier quickly went down with all hands. A photo of the sinking carrier found it's way into the MESS Media.

On land the 1st Army continued South, by now the Dominion XII Corps had been joined by the 2nd Imperial House Cavalry, led by the Crown Prince Tung. The MESS forces were driving to the town of Leesburg, where they attempted to encircle a Shepistani armored brigade. In the ensuring battled the encirclement failed as the rest of 1st Army caught up, 200 tanks were destroyed total on both sides. MESS forces were forced South of Leesburg.

At Hickman's Crossing the Shepistani 9th Army broke out of the tenuous cordon and seized Ashburn. A Shinra battalion trapped in the city center surrendered en masse.

At Fairfax City a hastily called up Territorial Brigade fought a tenacious defense against the Shepistani forces, but reinforcements arrived too late to prevent the Shepistani 2nd Army from taking the city. A Dominion Division arrived to the West in Burke, and dug in.

Everywhere the Shepistani forces advanced...except in East Shepistan. There, the Dominion VII Corps crushed the chronically undermanned 3rd Army at the Battle of Shepardstown. Dominion and MESS forces were augmented by rebel units as much of the country turned on the Shepistani Army.

On April 3rd the 1st and 9th Shepistani Armies linked up at Sterling, where XII Corps(and 2nd IHC) had been joined by IV Corps. In the Battle of Sterling, which lasted the next 4 days, 15,000 MESS servicemen gave their lives in one of the biggest debacles of the war, and began a headlong retreat towards Spotsslyvania.

The Static War
By now the Shepistani media was mentioning how the extensive mechanizing of the Dominion Army since the last war allowed it to retreat faster than ever! While the Shepistani advances at Burke and outside of Lynchburg had been checked, the combined 1st-9th advance brought them 150 miles into the country. And it was here that the effects of the officer purge began to show.

While the Shepistani General Staff had carefully planned out much of the early war prior, no plan existed for an advance this far into the country, despite the need for a land corridor to East Shepistan. Quality of Shepistani attacks began to to take a precipitous downturn, and gradually the fighting became stalemated, as the arrival of MESS air wings wrested control of the skies from Shepistan. By late May the arrival of more MESS units(and the calling up of Territorial Army units) had allowed Dominion offenses to begin.

Counterattack

MESS carriers steaming towards Shepistan.

The MESS naval task force began OPERATION: RED RUM June 3rd. The three carriers(HMS Centurion, SRS Hercules, Theseus) commenced round -the-clock airstrikes on targets near population centers in West Shepistan. An effective blockade was established, and much of the Shepistan navy was sunk at anchor. Warplanes were recalled from the front to defend the cities, thus ending any pretense of challenging MESS dominance of the air.

XII Corps, IV Corps, and 1st Coalition Army Group launched an attack to dislodge the Shepistani forces in Spotsslyvania. The Shepistani Army, running critically short on supplies due to uninterrupted bombing of convoys, withdrew towards the border. Over the next three weeks coalition forces pushed the Shepistanis back, and in early August sufficient forces had been found to drive them across the border(at the time Imperator Schimmer had began military operations in Asscrackistan, and The Great Shep had had to rush troops back to the Assrackistan border). On August 8th VII Corps drove the Shepistanis out of Fairfax City.

August 10th saw the start of OPERATION: ROUGH CHUCKLES, with IV Corps leading a breakthrough of Rogers Pass. 200,000 Coalition troops poured into Shepistan, and before they could move any deeper(clearing the wya for more troops) The Great Shep offered a ceasefire.

The Old Dominion immediately agreed. The actual border with Shepistan would remain the same, but Shepistan would recognize the independence of East Shepistan. Shepistan agreed, and The Wheeling Republic was created. Thus ended the last major war(although border skirmishes would continue to the present day) between Shepistan and the Old Dominion.



Shepistan/Old Dominion Relations since the 2nd Shepistan-Dominion War

Lion of Shepistan ramming incident
In 1985 the new ODN CVN Bulwark was finally completed, after a long construction and design process that include 8 years of intermittent work on the slipways.

Indeed, despite inter-service cooperation during the two wars, the various Dominion branches were at each other's throats over rapidly shrinking defense budgets, a result of the Liberals taking power in the House of Burgesses. The Bulwark left Occoquan on the 12th of March and went on a 2-week shake down, after which it would return to the Occoquan Navy Yard for the a month, then depart to the Shinra Coast to complete workups, far from prying Shepistani eyes.

On the 14th the Shepistani destroyer Lion of Shepistan began to close and act in an aggressive manner towards the Bulwark, such as maneuvering in between the destroyer screen and the CVN.

At approximately 1920 the Lion of Shepistan began a high speed run towards the Bulwark. Captain Evans of the Bulwark commented "a 97,000 ton vessel always wins" and ordered the carrier to commence a high speed run. The Bulwark collided with the Lion of Shepistan.


Collision damage on the Bulwark.

Onboard the Lion of Shepistan fires broke out, and several vessels of the ODN offered to render aid, but the offers were declined by the Shepistani CO. Eventually the aluminum superstructure began to melt as a Shepistani frigate, Alligator came along side to help with the damage control. All through the night fires raged, and morning brought a terrible sight.



The Lion of Shepistan was escorted back to Shepistani waters by the Alligator, while the Bulwark returned to Occoquan Navy Yard. Captain Evans was relieved on the spot as the Bulwark tied up pierside.



The Sharpsburg War
Shepistan made very little noise regarding the incident, and beside "normal" border skirmishes and artillery exchanges there was no further conflict until April 19th, 1988 on that day a Shepistani and Dominion patrol ran into each other in Sharpsburg county. The Shepistani patrol got the drop on the enemy and wiped out the Dominion patrol.

Although such incidents were(and are) fairly common along the border, the commander of the Dominion patrol happened to be the son-in-law of the Dominion sector commander, Major General William Randolph. Due to the nature of the border, the coalition commanders(that is, Dominion and MESS commanders) were permitted a great deal of latitude in their actions. And so, MG Randolph ordered an airstrike on the Al-Waldorf rail bridge, with 6 F-4Gs in Wild Weasel role hitting air defense sites, and 4 A-7Ds tasked to destroy the bridge.




The mission was a success, but rarely were airstrikes used in the border war, and never on targets beyond the line of control. By the time the Dominion Joint Chiefs had heard what MG Randolph had done, it was too late. Sheptistani retaliation was swift. The 29th Special Commando was ordered to seize Sugarloaf Mountain, were several ODA observation posts were located. On the 21st the attack began, with Shepistani aircraft using PGMs on the 400 or so ODA soldiers manning the Sugarloaf defenses.

The airstrike was remarkably successful, and feed from the Su-25s was disseminated to the global media.



The ODA and ODAF began a counter attack, and the Bulwark strike group left port.

On the 28th ODAF A-4s began a bombing run on Sugarloaf Mountain. Of the 6 tasked for the strike, 2 were shot down by SAF MiG-25s. The ODAF then bombed Arundal Air Field, though only minor damage was inflicted. The Old Dominion formally asked for MESS aide.

The Old Dominion found support lacking. Canissa was loathe to send troops that, in the words of the a statement from the Royal Palace "would turn a minor squabble into a 3rd major war." The Shinra Republic likewise was immobilize, due to a Presidential Scandal involving the 1988 Boy Scout "Klondike" Jamboree(in fact the Shinra 5th Infantry division, stationed in the Old Dominion, remained on post the entire duration of the conflict). Only Byzantium and Tian Xia prepared to send limited aid, although both with caveat that the Old Dominion and Shepistan actively seek a diplomatic solution.

With the Old Dominion military woefully under equipped following over a decade of the Liberals being in power, and lukewarm support from her allies, the Old Dominion announced a unilateral ceasefire, effectively ceding territory to Shepistan. The Liberal government soon fell, and the Whigs began a plan to re-arm the military....

History of the USSR(United Socialist Shadow Republic)

Early History

The USSR(At the time it was known as The Shadow Empire) was formed in 1550 some time after the failed invasion of Constantinople by the Turks. In the Turkish civil war that followed their defeat at the hand of the Byzantine Empire the Shadow Empire was formed. It was the land at the western borders of the Byzantine Empire. The founder of the Empire was the great Shadow King Sarevok who united the people under his banner.

He realized that the Byzantines could not hold the territory and decided to forge his own Empire in blood. Sarevok gathered a large army of mercenaries and regular soldiers who fought with great skill and determination against his enemies. Many skirmishes with the Byzantine Empire followed but a full scale war never erupted. Small scale wars with other warlords were a common thing but with every enemy he defeated he became stronger and more and more people joined him. He established Sarajevo as the Capital City of the Shadow Empire. During his reign the Shadow Empire expanded greatly and it's military might increased as well.

The PeZookian War( The Battle of Orena)

In the years that followed the Shadow Empire grew more powerful and it's rulers constantly expanded their territory. In 1727 PeZookia was engulfed in a Civil War and the Shadows saw this as an opportunity to expand their lands and solve the "PeZookian problem". A massive army 500-thousand men strong, marched into PeZookia under command of Marshall Catherine The Wise with the intent to conquer it.

The massive Shadow Army marched through PeZookia facing very little resistance only to find out that the cowardly PeZookian King and his troops had retreated to the Capital to make their last stand. History would remember this day as the Battle Of Orena, the first military defeat of the Shadow Empire.

With her army defeated and broken Catherine the Wise retreated back to the Empire. On the way they burned and pillaged every village they encountered. She swore that she would some day get her revenge but that never happened because she was stricken by a strange illness and died soon after. Her son Stjepan took over the Empire and lead it to be a better future and into the Industrial Revolution.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

When The Industrial Revolution began it caused major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation that had a profound effect on the socio-economic and cultural conditions in The Shadow Empire. The onset of the Industrial Revolution marked a major turning point in human society; almost every aspect of daily life was eventually influenced in some way. The Empire had begun to change.

Trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved roads and railways. Trade blossomed with the neighbouring countries such as The Byzantine Empire and PeZookia but the greatest trading partner was Russia(or whatever else Stas will call his country). The introduction of steam power (fuelled primarily by coal) and powered machinery underpinned the dramatic increases in production capacity and the economic strength of the Empire. The technological and economic progress gained momentum with the development of steam-powered ships, railways, and the ever increasing trade with other countries.

Khitan Rebellion

The Old Continent was experiencing a time of peace and prosperity and with it The Shadow Empire as well. The Industrial and military strength of the Empire grew and so did it's ambitions. The Shadows had not forgotten the Battle of Orena and as their power grew so did their hatred of PeZookians. In 1870 the Shadow Emperor saw an opportunity for revenge in the oppressed people of Khitan who were fighting the PeZookians in a desperate struggle for Independence. The Empire started smuggling shipments of weapons and equipment to the Khitanese. Secretly the Empire provided the Khitanese with training and Intelligence Information. This move proved to be a success when after four years of fighting the Khitanese won their Independence and the Empire gained an ally.

Preparations for the Great War

The Humiliation that the Empire suffered at the Battle of Orena was not forgotten and the Emperor decided that it must be avenged. They would show the PeZookians and to the World that the Shadows were not to be taken lightly. Military production in the Empire increased greatly. Preparations were made and the Emperor called upon the Khitan to repay their debt to the Empire.

The Emperor gave orders for the Imperial Industries to engage in a massive campaign of public works in Khitan, constructing factories and infrastructure, drawing on its people and resources in exchange. Khitan had to become stronger if it was to be useful in the coming conflict. At the same time, Khitanese pirates began ravaging the shores of Old Continental seas, while well-funded Communist groups sprung up everywhere on the continent, causing chaos and internal trouble. The Old Continent was going up in flames while the Empire and it's allies grew stronger.

The Empire would soon have it's revenge. The PeZookians would pay in blood for their insult.

Everything was ready for The War To End All Wars.

The War To End All Wars

I give up. PeZook writes ten times better than me and he pretty much wrote my history for me. If you're interested you can read his history.

Thanks Mang.

PALEOHISTOLOGY of the SOVEREIGNTY of SHROOMANIA I


The Ancient Times:

During the Age of Obscurity, the land of Shroomania was once known as Gaybion, and the records of antiquity show that it was also called Shroomannica by some others. The Romans would regard it as a mysterious and near-mythological place – west of the Old Continent and beyond a body of water allegedly home to many a sea serpent, the Shroomish Channel.

The Romanic myths were wrong with the sea serpents, and when the Legions arrived to the land, they saw that it was no paradise, but a barbarian-infested shithole instead.

For decades, under the edict of Emperor Nero Caligula, did the Felix Legions of Shroomaximus did battle against the plaid kilt-wearing hordes of Highlanders and other indigenous people who simply did not know when they’ve been conquered. But when General Shroomaximus Decimus Meridius finally slew the Highest of the Highlanders in a manly feat of unclothed combat, it was all for naught – for when news of the General’s victory reached the Empire, the Eternal City was already on fire, and the music of Emperor Nero Caligula’s harpsichord filled the air as he cackled in exquisite glee.

The conquest of Gaybion was forgotten soon after the epic coronation of Emperor Nero Caligula’s horse – and so General Shroomaximus took matters into his own hands.

Not recognizing the sovereignty of the new Equine Emperor’s reign, Shroomaximus declared himself the Emperor of a new nation, no longer Gaybion, but Shroomania!

Thus, as the Empires of old fell, a new one was born from its ashes.



The Old Times:

As the Roman Empire was reborn into Byzantium, the Empire of Shroomania soldiered on. In concordance with Pax Shroomania did the Emperors of Shroom consolidate their territories with their former enemies, the vanquished foes of the First Emperor Shroomaximus.

Chief amongst these new allies would be Clan MacMillan of the Highlands, and Houses Schrom and Von Reagan of the Rhine.

The Emperors allowed them to keep their fiefdoms, which eventually became kingdoms. While the Shroom Emperors would rule for centuries over all of Shroomania, beneath him would the MacMillans and the Schroms and the Von Reagans perpetually battle for their kingships.

However, through these adversities did Shroomania gain the strength it would need to prosper through the dark ages and into the succeeding centuries. The MacMillans, masters of the forge, smelted steel to make their mighty claymore swords – and so too did they make cottons and cloths for their comfortable kilts. The Schroms would be renowned for making their monocles and for building longboats to sail the seven seas, while their rivals in the House Von Reagan would be feared for their deadly cannonry and their fire lances.

In the centuries to come, Shroomania would extend its dominion outwards – to lands beyond its shores. To the east, into the Old Continent and the Slavic states of PeZookia. To the west, to the New World and lands like Frequesue with its many trinkets and beans.

This would be known as Pax Shroomania - the Empire’s loins’ most gracious outpouring.



Pax Shroomania:

At first, Pax Shroomania would cause the Empire’s treasuries to grow strong… but in time would the debts incurred from wars and pacifications swell into profuse prostates.

The Empire’s exploits into the Old Continent were not uncontested, however. Byzantium had not forgotten its Romanic histories, and while the Shroom Emperors were eager to remind those at Constantinople of how their ancestors were once ruled by livestock, the inheritors of the Roman Empire had clearly not forgotten the adulteries of their wayward brethren.

Skirmishes and wars would be the order of the day as knights did battle with one another on the fields of battle, and as intrigue filled the palace courts of Shroomania. Warriors would cleave each other’s faces off with swords and sticks, while so-called noblemen would stab each other in the back with daggers.

As all this happened, the Shroomanian Emperors would follow their Roman predecessors and become fat and decadent – drunk in all the bloodshed they had wrought. They, and the nobles and royalties subservient to them, became as inbred as Nero Caligula – no longer as mighty or as manly as their great forefather Shroomaximus, who stood tall and proud.

Nevertheless, many of the un-inbred nobles in Shroomania saw the sorry state of their once-great nation, and sought to return it to its past glories.



Pax Shroomania 2:

Enter Jose Estalino.

Before Shroomania’s descent to decadence, it had been one of the most prosperous places in the Old World – and thus even foreign nobles fled to Shroomania when their home nations were wrecked by war. One of these former nations was Sapin, and the noble houses of the Sapinyards found a new home in the Empire.

Jose Estalino was one of these men, and he proposed to the easily amused and very in-bred Emperor Krotch V a cunning plan.

Instead of fooling about with the Slavs of the Old Continent, he proposed that Shroomania send its ships Westwards – over the Edge of the Earth, and into a New World. It was a bold plan, and though many feared the wrath of the sea monsters, the Emperor agreed to this audacious attempt.

Clan MacMillan, which had then fallen out of favor with Emperor Krotch, was commanded to aid Jose Estalino’s mad journey to places where there be monsters. Marshall Magellan MacMillan would lead Estalino’s Expedition.

They would be the first men to circumnavigate the world, proving that it was round like an apricot and not flat like a fungus – but then, on a godforsaken island somewhere near the equator, Magellan had his face bitten off by native heathens and died.

Nonetheless, Estalino returned with a great many trinkets and beans – and potatoes. These root crops, hoes and seeds fascinated the entire Empire and, verily, another expedition was sent.

Viscount Virman Vundabar von Reagan would helm this new excursion, and he would discover places like Frequesue – and conquer them in the name of God, Gold and Glory!

The return of Pax Shroomania would bring the Empire to untold greatness.



The Fast Times:

The Emperor and his pet royals would become richer and fatter than ever before, and while they became rich and fat, the oppressed masses would become poor and famished. Disease and depravation stalked the land like two big stalking things, and malcontention spread like the plague. Very much like the plague were the notions of ‘democracy’, ‘freedom’, ‘equality, and other ideals that infected the common man with seditious sentiments.

Intellectuals, considered then (and now) to be the scum of the Earth, rallied the common man – and the ignorant masses were poised to strike back at their justified oppressors.

Just as these things were set into motion, so too was Shroomania consolidating its offshore holdings. It had opened trade relations with the nation of Shepistan, and in return for a not-inconsiderable sum of trinkets and beans, the Shepistani payment was that of a hundred thousand Indians.

These Indians, of the near-extinct Waiapolo Tribe, were placed on a mountain in the Shroomanian Highlands and became sideshows and spectacles for the rich and powerful – who thought them nothing more than circus animals to be trained to perform tricks. But through the efforts of the perfidious intellectuals, the plight of these Indians ended up being heard by the similarly oppressed masses of Shroomania.

To show their solidarity with these enslaved peoples, the proles would take up peace pipes and smoke the Indian herbs. The noblemen gradually took notice of this, and upon realizing that their snuff-boxes were inadequate, they demanded to have the Indian herbs – but they were denied!

To this day, historians debate the exact causes of the Revolution, but while the cause may never be known – the happenings are certainly well-documented.



Revolution:

The oppressed masses rose up like a swelling sea of sobriety, and the uppity well-to-do nobles were overwhelmed by the deluge of deflagration.

Farbanti was on fire.

The so-called Spring of Nations saw entire cities and towns ravaged as the Empire went to war with itself. The Shroomcoats did battle against the Brownshirts, and the Imperialists and the Royalists sought to kill as many of the commoner peasants as they could – but they were, in turn, slaughtered by the thousands.

Men, women and children took up arms – taking up flintlocks and blunderbusses and claymores and rapiers and blowdarts and Indian spears against their oppressors. Allegiances were tried and tested, and betrayal became the staple meal of all factions.

The Noble Houses of Schrom and Von Reagan would turn upon each other, while Clan MacMillan’s Highlanders donned their kilts and smeared blue warpaint on their faces to join the fight for freedom. Celtic warriors in plaid would cleave through formations of Teutonic Knights, and were quickly joined by those knights who flew the banner of the Pink Cross!

The Emperor sat on his throne, senile and decrepit. Like Nero Caligula before him, he started playing a musical instrument.

And Queen Asphixia XIX, who was ruler of all Shroomania in all but name, screamed in womanly fear as her former peons came for her.

She fled. Byzantium, in a rare act of graciousness, offered her asylum. Perhaps the Byzantine Emperor too feared the spread of revolutionarism and so offered sanctum to a kindred, yet much-despised, spirit. Queen Asphixia, on her part, had nowhere else to go and accepted the Byzantine Emperor’s offer with much thanks.

As soon as she arrived in Constantinople, she was taken from her retinue and burnt alive on a stake.



Republic:

After the Revolution came the Republic, in which Shroomania adopted the principles of nationalism, citizenship, and inalienable rights. The Shroomanians invented democracy.

The Emperor, last in a long line of rulers from Shroomaximus himself, would remain a figurehead. When physical illness joined his mental infirmities, it did not take long for him to succumb. He died peacefully in his sleep, his wrinkled and prune-like form surrounded by naked courtesans. His death was largely un-mourned, though his harem took great measures to bury him with dignity.

They would ensure the perpetuation of his legacy.

While the deceased Emperor was being lowered into his casket, countless Shroomanian nobles had their heads lopped off at the guillotine – and when the guillotine’s blade was dulled, the angry mobs resorted to beating condemned men, women and children to death with sticks.

Somehow, Houses Schrom and Von Reagan, and the Clan MacMillan survived this purging. They even used the guillotine against one another – each of them having a stake in the decapitation of their rivals.

The newly founded Republic of Shroomania would prosper in the ensuing post-Revolutionary maladministration. This great success was achieved by the Shroomanian leaders’ gross violation of the very constitution they penned, and by the further usage of the guillotine. However, the Republic was still in a precarious and fragile position – and so they built up the nation’s military strength to outrageous levels.

The Republic of Shroomania would eventually build one of the world’s mightiest navies – to unleash them upon the oceans of the world in a third wave of Pax Shroomania.

While Shroomania’s Revolutionary Republican leaders ended up getting their own heads lopped off at the guillotine, and as the nation underwent another paradigm shift, fleets of warships continued to sail the seven seas as Shroomania became the Sovereignty.



Sovereignty:

The sun would never set on Shroomania’s unending Empire.

After the Revolutionary leaders of the First (and only) Republic of Shroomania finished their date with the guillotines, they were swiftly replaced by a new kind of ruling elite – ruthless men who wanted to return Shroomania to its former greatness during the days of the Emperors.

With the demise of the royals and the Imperial lineage, and the decapitations of the revolutionaries who took their place, the new Sovereigns of Shroomania would consolidate their rule over the Empire and its colonies.

Houses Schrom and Von Reagan, Clan MacMillan, and those left during the fallout of the Revolution – ambitious men from the military, ‘revolutionaries’ who sought only to rule in the new order, sycophants and megalomaniacs alike – moved to stifle and silence the very ideals that brought about the so-called Spring of Nations.

Democracy, freedom, and equality were all fine and good when it came to the mainland. The oppressed masses of Shroomania could have all the democracy, freedom and equality they wanted. But the colonies - should they receive the freedoms taken for granted by real Shroomanians, then the Sovereignty would lose its Empire.

It could not happen – it would not happen.

The Shroomanian Navy was dispatched all over the world, and the Shroomcoats would enforce the Sovereignty’s rule even upon the furthest flung of its colonies. Natives and colonials were alike were pacified, pirates (at least those not given the Letter of Marquee by the Shroomanian authorities) were keel-hauled, and intellectuals were set on fire. The brutal campaign of oppression would ensure the safety of the Sovereignty, and finally – there was peace.

But not for long.

Things were never as easy when it came to matters closer to home. While Shroomania’s reach across the globe was uncontested, affairs within the boundaries of the Old Continent were heavily disputed by the nascent power of PeZookia, and Byzantium – Shroomania’s eternal rival, ever since the days after the Roman Empire.

The Gaymean war raged on, a conflict that would herald the coming of modern warfare. The Shroomanian Navy and the Shroomcoats of the Mushroom Marines did battle in the seas of the Shroomish Channel, and on the lands of Gaymea. The war would be a hard one, and it would be a long one – countless of Shroomanians were lost in the godforsaken battlefields that the PeZookian lands had become.

The PeZookians were aided by Byzantium – and together, they dashed Shroomania’s hopes for dominion over the Old Continent.

As nearly a million corpses littered Gaymea, the Shroomish Channel would see a tense face-off between the proud Shroomanian Navy and the Byzantine Fleet. Challenged by an armada of Byzantine War Galleons, the military men of Shroomania realized that defeating their enemies would entail a cost too high to pay. That in defeating her enemies, Shroomania would also defeat herself.

Thus, they realized that war was not the answer.

The Gaymean Peace Accords were signed by two nations that had both seen enough of war. The PeZookians themselves had faced so much violence on their own soil that they had grown tired and weary of further future conflicts. The Shroomanians, on the other hand, worried that the depletion of their military strength would cause them to lose grip on their considerable colonial holdings elsewhere in the New World.

The saner heads that ruled the Old Continent realized that a new, more profitable way of carrying business had to replace the costly affair of war. The doctrine of realpolitik was conceived by the cooler and less warmongering nobles of Houses Schrom and Von Reagan (much to the charging of the more martial MacMillans).

Realpolitik would thus decree that the primary consideration of Shroomania would be her power and position, practical policies that would eschew ideological notions, as well as morals and principles – all in the name of profit.

Thus did the soldiers set aside their swords, and the politicians picked up their pens.



Good Times:

The ensuing era would be called an Industrial Revolution – a time of stability after centuries of bloody conflict. It would be a welcomed respite for all sides.

The Navy would be replaced by the merchant fleets as the tool of choice for Shroomanian diplomacy. And instead of drowning her enemies in their own blood, Shroomania opted to bury them instead with the produces of her fine factories. PeZookia and Byzantium returned the favor.

Eventually, everyone became content in letting themselves become rich without having to kill people.

Men, women and children who would otherwise have been slaughtered in war were instead exploited in factories of dubious safety standards, much to the profit of all nations. Without conflict to keep the numbers down, cities grew and grew as the populations boomed and made aqueducts and other forms of urban irrigation inadequate – forcing rivers to literally flood with sewage. Smog filled the skies, and the people literally stewed in their own filth. It was a good time.

In this time of untold prosperity, Shroomania was among the leaders of modernization and industry. Invention and innovation were the order of the day as Shroomanians struggled to keep up with and surpass their neighbors and rivals in the fields of science and technology.

Mass production techniques were refined and revised as barons tried to beat the Byzantines in building things. The steam engine was discovered in Shroomania (as well as in several other places at the same time) to the joy of everyone, and all nations raced to forcibly conscript as many children as they could to shovel coal into these marvelous new machineries. Trade relations were opened to strange and exotic countries, like Canissia, which had novel things like balloons.

Electricity was invented, and then there was light. Medicines were also discovered – as great men like Shroomise Pasteur experimented with anthrax and had children bitten by rabid dogs to create cures for disease. Florence Shroomingale, a nurse during the Gaymean war, would be one of the first to create hospitals that weren’t places of horror and human decomposition – and this trend would be followed by the medicine men of PeZookia and Byzantium who were eager to treat illnesses with new techniques such as leeches and enemas.

The Industrial Revolution paved the way for a new century of interesting times. It was the way to the future.

Posting my preliminary history, which is subject to modification as more details and connections to other nation's are added.

History of Indhopal

The lands of Indhopal lie on the continent of Frequesue. Indhopal has a wide variety of terrain types. Starting out at sea, a large number of islands and reefs lead to the lush coastline. Forests rise into the steep Fforde Mountains. The country continues on the other side with a large swath of plains land. The mighty Covington River cuts through the plains and the mountains to empty into an extensive delta system with attendant swamps.

Indhopal was originally colonized by tribes of hunter and gatherers who arrived via small boats. These tribes spread inland, but mainly remained near the coast. The extensive natural resources allowed the native cultures to achieve the greatest degree of sophistication seen by a culture that used the hunter-gatherer subsistence strategy. Later immigrants colonized the interior, whose tribes mainly subsisted by farming in small villages. In the plains, nomadic pastoralism was the rule of the day.

Outside influence came with the first Shroomanian colonies in thee 1600’s. Starting with trading posts, the new colonists quickly made their way inland, drawn by thee rich lands. Disease and war decimated most of the local tribes and many of the remaining people were forced to work on Shroomanian mushroom plantations. By the 1700’s the Shroomanian’s firmly controlled all the territory in Indhopal up to the mountains. In the 1800’s the colonial governor, using the local militias, cowed the plains tribes as well, though intermittent rebellion would remain a problem for decades.

During the colonial period, citizens from all over the old continent came to Indhopal, drawn by its rich lands. Descendants of such immigrants now make up some 40 percent of the populace. For many years, the colonists were fairly happy with the colonial government as the Shroomanian’s often took a hands off approach, letting the local land owners make most of the decisions.

By the early 1900’s though, many were clamoring for more independence from Shroomania, claiming that they were not putting enough investment into the nation and that the country should have true independence. Under pressure, Shroomania granted Indhopal some autonomy as a commonwealth. The new government, under the control of the Independence Party, quickly undertook a campaign to industrialize the nation. Most factories were placed in the large population centers on the coastal side of the mountains; the plains remained a backwater and the native cultures were still ruthlessly exploited.

Eventually, with the general collapse of colonial empires everywhere, Indhopal declared full independence from Shroomania saying that local powers should decide local affairs. This has remained a key tenant of Indhopal’s foreign policy. After full independence, the aptly named Independence Party continued its dominance of the Republic. They undertook many military operations of dubious morality to assert Indhopal’s influence in Frequesue.

When Coilerburg’s ruler decided to carve his own little empire, Indhopal spent a great deal of time, effort, and treasure to check him. Indhopal started by providing covert aid, but eventually Indhopal's air force was providing direct support, and when the coup ousted Coilerburg’s military Indhopal offered the new government assistance and recognition if they would stop the war. The governments have remained close ever since.

As a consequence of such operations, Indhopal's primary intelligence agency, The Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISIA) became very powerful. They have agents and plots in motion all over Frequesue and beyond. They also answer directly to the president, not the legislature. A far more obvious effect of Indhopal’s years of foreign adventurism was the rise of the Movement for Democratic Change party.

The Movement for Democratic Change was the key party which finally ousted the Independence Party from its near stranglehold on power. Its base was the dissatisfied Natives tired of years of exploitation and working class colonist's who were fed up after years of brush wars, corruption, and economic stagnation under the Independence party.

Under the Movement for Democratic Change, Indhopal revitalized its economy and invested heavily in social programs. The military budget was cut, along with official support for many foreign militias and other groups that had been aided by Indhopal in their fight against Coilerburg’s old dictator. The ISIA tried to pick up the slack, but regardless Frequesue entered a new period of widespread chaos.

Now days the ruling party has come to see the military as part of the solution to the problem of Frequesue’s instability, along with economic aid and diplomacy. They see it their duty to “help their Frequesueian brothers” rather than to become the dominant regional power like the Independence party. However, many of the current military interventions and activities by the ISIA look very similar to old way of doing things.

History of Canissia


EARLY PREHISTORY:
Following the last Ice Age, bands of ancient tribal hunter-gatherers known as the Habiru set up in the land of Canissia, where-- mostly isolated by high mountains that seperated them from their neighbors-- they managed to expand more or less peaceably. The climate lended itself well to agriculture, which became increasingly important as the larger game animals were hunted down to extinction in some cases (Mammoths) and near-extinction in other cases (Deer).

The first permanant settlements in Canissia came about the same time as settlement began to spread elsewhere; mostly isolated fishing villages along southern and western coastlines, in the modern provinces of Aerelon, Scorpia and Canceron. Trade and warfare both served to unite populations, and small empires came and went on a regular basis throughout early history, the scant remains of which can still be seen to this day in archaeological museums.


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ANCIENT ERA:
Over 3,000 years ago, the Qalquayyid Empire colonized much of the southern and western desert regions of Canissia, bringing the scattered villages there under the rule of the Pharoah Antenkoph and bringing a network of roads, bridges, and medicine to the early Canissians. The northern provinces, known as the Aeron Kingdom at the time, rebelled against the Qualqayyid Empire but were never able to do much more than provide annoying diversions to the well-trained and organized Pharoanic armies.

The Scorpion town of Thakesh-- now a preserved ruin-- temporarily served as the headquarters of the Qalqayyid Princess Noora Raidaa during the Dynastic Civil War in the Qualquayyid capitol, far over the sea. It was in Thakesh that Raidaa declared herself to be Pharoah after hearing that the rebellious Generals had executed her entire family. She vowed revenge and restoration of the Dynasty, but aside from a few poorly-organized forays to re-invade her homeland, she was largely fruitless in this endeavour. Her armies depleted, and the lack of income from the Dynasty, made Canissia the last seat of Qalquayyid might.

The Aeron Kingdom sacked Thakesh on its way south to it's "rightful lands" (now Aerelon Province), and vast wars were fought between the eroding Qalquayyids (now relying almost entirely on local Canissian mercenaries rather than professional Pharoanic troops) and the growing Aeron Kingdom, led by the warrior-queen Kere. The Qalquayyids eventually collapsed under the weight of Kere's troops and barbarian tribes and turncoat Canissian mercenaries who decided to rob their paymasters rather than serve them.

Statues to the Qualqayyid Middle Dynasty's animal-head gods remain a source of awe to this day, as is the recent unearthing of nearly 8,000 terracotta soldiers in a vast Royal Tomb unearthed in the depths of the harsh Scorpion desert-- believe to be the tomb of Pharoah Raidaa herself.


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MEDIEVAL ERA:
The Medieval era saw a land of numerous small, competing kingdoms-- kingdoms which eventually solidified into the twelve Provinces known today. Attempts to unify into an empire were rarely successful, despite the linking of most of the Kingdoms many intermarriage, common ethnic ancestry and language. Religion was largely relegated to a supporting role for the Nobility, although a few anti-heretical Crusades were had within Canissia to root out spin-off religions that were seen as politically challenging. The dominant religions were, and still are, the traditional Habiru faith of Juidic belief, and the Catoli religion that became popular as the Caprican Merchants fanned out across the world, bringin back profit and new ideas.

Organized overseas adventures were limited, but Canissian troops from the Virgon and Tauron regions were in high demand as mercenaries, and they participated in occassional raids and Crusades with allies. Most notable were Crusades among the Knights of the Pink Cross in actions across Shroomania and PeZookia, where Tauron mercenaries in particular gained a reputation as fierce and dependable Knights.

Medieval Canissian armor and weapons was primarily centered on infantry-- only the vast plains of the Virgon Province could support horse-mounted Knights; the deserts of Canceron and Scorpion were ill-suited to the needs of horses. Loose-fit half-plate armor with helmets and partial face shielding was the norm, and most Canissian combat centered around ranged weapons such as bows, crossbows and longbows. Canissian infantry were typically overwhelmed by mounted Knights of other realms, but provided excellent bowmen until the invEntion of the pike, which once again gave Canissian infantry an advantage.


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RENAISSANCE ERA:
At times, there were wars between the Canissian Kingdoms, particularly as the Caprican Kingdom rose to prominance as a trading and shipbuilding powerhouse. 'Caprican Merchant' was a compliment in Caprica and a curse elsewhere as the Caprican Kingdom grew fat and wealthy, some felt at the detriment of other Kingdoms. Capricans hired Tauron mercenaries as well as skilled soldiers from other nations to defend their realm, and freely gave Letters of Marque to various privateers from other nations-- ostensibly, to protect Caprican ships from "pirates", but also to conduct hit-and-run raids on the ships of fellow Canissian merchants that were proving to be too good at competition.

The influence of the Caprican Merchants Guild cannot be understated, as it was the Capricans that chiefly spread out among the world to establish trade routes. There developed a sense of "trade imperialism" in partnership with the Shinra Republic, where the Shinra Republic would do the dirty work of establish an overseas colony and manageing it, while the Caprican Merchants would settle in to gain hefty trade contracts. When the locals became resistive to the exploitation, the Shinra governors would call in the Merchants Guild to provide suppoort, which would typically arrive in the form of either Canissian warriors or mercenaries who would brutally put down the uprisings for the interests of smooth trade.

This brought the Caprican Merchants Guild into collusion with various governments around the world, primarily including the Old Dominion, the Byzantine Empire, and other future MESS nations. Canissian Merchants hired privateers to put down rebellions and pircay in and around the Vinyard Revolutions, as well as sponsored forays into the Indhopal and Coilurberg revolutions, alway sseeking to carve out a future advantageous trade niche. A turning point in the Vinyard war of independence was achieved when the Merchants Guild decided to support the nascent nation's bid for independence and began supplying them with the latest Canissian firearms, including rifled muskets, in the first combat where such weapons were used, providing a decisive advantage to the Vinlander guerrillas. This put Canissia and Shroomania on a course for a series of one-upmanship brushfire wars that ushered in the Industrial Revolution in Canissia.


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INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION:
The Industrial Revolution hit Canissia at about the same time as it did elsewhere. The first major breakthrough was the discovery of steam powered engines that could be put on ships, which Caprican merchants quickly exploited, as well as breech-loading rifled cannons. When Caprican entrepeneur Mills Hovan put a "ship drive" on rails and used it to link various Caprican cities, a revolution in transportation was begun.

Caprican ships began experimenting with putting iron armor bands around the hulls of their ships, the better to confront Shroomanian Privateers, when Revolution swept the land. The Caprican Merchants Guild, with its overseas adventurism and recklessness, was widely seen as having brought Canissia into a collision course for war with Shroomania, and a wave of anti-Caprican resentment spread throughout the rest of Canissia, a sentiment that was primarily directed at the Caprican King, Leoni Tarsis-III. A nascent anti-Royalist uprising of Communist and Nationalist sentiment swept the land, with many rumors abounding that the Communists were secretly aided by outside powers such as the Shroomanians, Pezookians, and the Shadow Empire.

Byzantine and Shinra Republic forces were called in to help stabilize the situation, and the northern provinces of Caprica, Saggitaron and Picon were Royalist enclaves, populated primarily by the Catoli, Caucasid ethnic group, with the rest of Canissia being fought over by the Communists and Nationalists. The Nationalists were primarily centered in Aerelon Province and mostly made up of the Juidic Habiru ethnic group. The Communists were a mixed back, religiously and ethnically, and centered primarily out of the Tauron Province and seen as pro-Shroomanian.

The Revolution was at its peak in the 1790's when the Caprican King Leoni Tarsis-III's palace was stormed by musket-armed Communist revolutionaries and shot by firing squad in the street. As Shinra Republic (and later Old Dominion) forces blockaded the Tauron Province, starving off the Communists of their outside suppliers.

The three-way war brought Canissia much grief but also much industrial technology (primarily weapons technology) as each side battled for supremacy. Shortly after the storming of the Palace, in a late-night deal brokered by Royalist Prince Joszef Rada, the Nationalists and Loyalists signed a secret pact and combined forces to wipe out the Communists. They then agreed to a power-sharing deal in which the Monarchy remains as the official head of the executive branch of government, with the Nationalist Parliament overseeing the workings of government and providing a series of checks & balances on Royal authority-- an arrangement that remains to this day.


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MODERN ERA:
The Modern Era was a time of relative calm and peace, although Canissia maintained large Army and Navy forces. King Chako Markova became a powerful and respected elder statesman on the world stage, meeting with Shroomanian, Pezookian and Shadow Empire leaders to iron out peace accords and recognise spheres of influence. King Markova also worked hard with traditional Canissian allies such as the Byzantines, Old Dominion, Shinra Republic others to forge what would eventually become the MESS Alliance. While Canissia was recognised as a powerful and capable military power, King Markova felt that power blocs with alliances was the best way to influence world needs, and he sought to integrate Canissia as a successful part of an overall whole rather than to work as a dominant power. Canissian army advisors helped train Shinra Republic troops, while Shinra Republic naval advisors helped train up Canissian Royal Navy crews on new advances such as the aircraft carrier and submarine. A breakthrough was made when Canissian scientists discovered the internal-combustion diesel engine, which, along with Shinra Republic naval hull experiments, was combined to form the first true submarine.

Ever the silent partner in military adventurism, the Republic of Canissia has had its fingers in nearly every major conflict that involved the MESS alliance-- with involvement typically ranging from materiel support up to and including major applications in battle. Canissia had been among the first nations to embrace Ironclads, giving their small navy a decisive edge among those who still used wooden warships, and Canissians were also one of the chief contributors to early development of the Tank, Machine-Gun, and Submarine (although Canissia did not pioneer these developments).

This early devotion to military science made Canissia a nations that clings to the idea of a small, highly professional, technically advanced and initiative-based military power, where the application of smaller forces that are highly skilled and mobile are valued over masses of ill-trained and equipped conscripts.

Canissian military ventures today are typically in the realm of supporting larger, concerted actions by MESS members and other alliances. Overall, Canissia is primarily interested in diplomacy as a means to solve conflict, however, the Canissian military has a reputation for fierce determination in battle.

Canissian military history is preserved in numerous museums throughout the land, with many Provinces having their own military museums, and the coastal cities frequently boasting at least one or two preserve museum ships at their docksides for tourists-- including the first Canissian submarine; the first Canissian Dreadnought, an early Aircraft Carrier (complete with biplanes) saved from scrapping from the Shinra Republic, and the beutifully restored and magnificent Tall Ship, the Caprican Clipper.

History of the Kingdom of Serenity

EARLY PREHISTORY:

An island near the Southern Hemisphere, there has been traces of transitional hominids inhabiting the island in small villages. However, by unknown reasons these people became extinct near 12,000 B.C.E, leaving the island free of human presence for more than ten thousand years.

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ANCIENT ERA:

Ji-Tze's Settlement and the Kingdom of Mangka

Fleeing from the <empire>'s persecution, Ji-Tze and his band of 1000 followers arrived at the island in 312 B.C.E., mistaking it for the legendary "Eastern Lands". After confirming that it was not their intended destination, they named the island "Mangka", which means "serenity" in the Kamalan dialect of the <empire>.

The <empire> became aware of Mangka in 310 B.C.E. and launched its first invasion in 308 B.C.E.. The fleet was totally crushed at the southern shores thanks to early warning and weather. Under persuasion of Ji-Tze, the surviving imperial troops settled at Mangka. News of this battle as well as the new land of Mangka encouraged more people from the Empire to settle in the island.

The <empire> launched many attacks in the following years, with all failing due to various reasons. In 295 B.C.E., Ji-Tze, under support from the settlers, became the first king of the newly born Kingdom of Mangka. Relations between Mangka and the Empire was much more peaceful after the new emperor ascended in 250 B.C.E.

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MEDIEVAL ERA:

Imperial Occupation and the 12 Rebellion Era

Such peace ended in 536 C.E., when the Kingdom of Mangka fell into serious civil war between supporters of different princes. To ensure victory, Prince Jing-Tang of the House of Shih seeked aid from the <empire>. General Leng of the Imperial forces saw this as a good opportunity to expand his own power, and after ending the civil war in Mangka, he massacred most of the royal family and forced Princess Luo-Yen to marry him, claiming himself the rightful heir of Mangka. Under his harsh rule, many people seeked refuge in the deep mountains and forests of Mangka.

In 536 C.E. Leng, using his influence, removed Emperor Fa Suo VIII from his throne and declared himself emperor, starting the 800 year long Leng Dynasty.

Rebels, led by Malai Gumai (Gao Tianlai) were able to drive out the Leng forces in 853 C.E. and establish a provisional government. However, this did not last long as the Empire sent in forces in 900 C.E. and re-established Mangka as an imperial province. The process of rebelling, provisional government, and being defeated by Empire repeated for 12 times until near the end of the Leng Dynasty.

Unrest in the <empire> caused it to fall into civil war at 1307 C.E. Imperial troops stationing in Mangka were called back to support one of the factions. Fortunately for Mangka, the Imperial Civil War lasted for more than 50 years. With lack of imperial influence in Mangka, local imperial magistrates were eventually subsituted or overthrown by the Mangkans, and in 1342, Mangka declared itself independence once again.

Council of Nine

Independence was declared in 1342 C.E. by the Council of Nine. The new Magistrates of the 9 Sectors of Mangka gathered at the capital, Wuhan, where they agreed to rule Mangka as one, with a "Supreme Leader" appointed on a 5 year basis as well as appointing their succeedors.

Between the founding of the Council of Nine and 1632 C.E. Sea trade between the Northern nations and Mangka also began to establish and people immigrated to the Kingdom for various reasons from different nations, the population grew rapidly and despite efforts of the government, discrimination became a big problem between people of different origins. Power struggle also began in the Council of Nine since magistrates of various ethnicities were appointed and the appointing of the Supreme Leader became more like a fight for the "dominant group".

Sector War Era

In 1632 C.E., after the assassination of Supreme Leader Luo Shuimu (AKA Semu Ganro, Ro Mizuki, Samuel Roe, Samantha Rose), the Sector of Zhen (Thunder), in which Luo originally was magistrate, blamed the Sector of Gen (Mountains). Luo's son Luo Wei (AKA Wema Ganro, Ro Wai, Wes Roe, Wess Rose) succeeded his father and immediately declared war on the Mounties. Due to connections of ethnicity and religion, the war between two sectors upscaled into all 9 sectors participating. Also due to the variety of the nation, it was a very confusing civil war, with battles fought between conflicting counties, cities, townships, ethnicities, religions...etc Chaos ensued.

It was not until the 18th Century when dominating powers began to unify the lesser forces and major Sectors began to form/reform. Of these powers, the Sector of Kan (Water), led by the military genius Xiang Shaolong (AKA Sian Koryu, Shalon Shawn, Sharon Song), effectively took over most of the northern half of Mangka while the surviving forces from those sectors fled and gathered at the south, under the leadership of the Sector of Li (Fire), led by the magistrate Zhao Mu.

Rebirth of Serenity

In 1745 C.E., Xiang's forces dealt a final blow to southern forces at the Battle of Wuhan, finally unifying the Kingdom. Xiang and his Kannite Army marched to Wudang City, located in the mountains of the Sector of Zongong (Middle Hall), and announced the unification of the nation and the coming of the new era. The Kingdom was renamed "Ningjing" or "Serenity" as due to the majority of language in the nation. Xiang established a new Constitution and laws ensuring peace and tolerance between the various groups in the Kingdom. The Council of Nine remained but is modified.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION:

The Industrial Revolution brought serious impact to the Kingdom. With the introduction of steam technology, the nation bloomed with new factories, new machines, railways, and steam powered ships. It was during these times when the Kingdom began to have formal diplomacy with the eastern nations. Kings routinely funded students to study the technology as well as political and social systems in the east. This accelerated the modernization of Serenity.

Southern Sea War

The <empire>, eager to expand after their own era of progress, launched an attack to the Kingdom at 1854 C.E. The Imperial Armada and the Kingdom Navy first encountered at the Southern Sea, with both sides suffering heavy losses. However, the Empire had more resources, and immediately launched a second fleet which reached Serenity with no more opposition.

Imperial Forces met serious casualties attempting to land at the south coast of Serenity. The King's Naval Ground Corps, led by Admiral Teng Chang, pushed back 4 attempts of Imperial landing operations. They held the south coast for another 10 days before being totally decimated. Ground battle followed, with men and women in the whole Kingdom fighting in conventional and guerilla warfare.

It was during this time the eastern states realized the threat of the <empire>. A joint task force was sent out by various nations to help defend the Kingdom. After 6 months of battle, the Imperial Army retreated back to the <empire>, limping on its wounds. The Southern Sea War ensured peace in the Southern Seas for another 50 more years, with the <empire> preparing and refining its military. This war also influenced various future policies of the Throne as well as the Council of Nine.


MODERN ERA:

The early 20th Century the Kingdom of Serenity was quite uneventful compared to the past. However, the military did not cease to develop in fear of another invasion from the Empire. The Kingdom still maintained good ties with the eastern nations, resulting in the assistance from the East fighting the <empire> in one final war around WWII and joining the MESS around the late '70s.

In the '80s the <empire> suffered a catastrophic disaster followed by rebellion of various minorities, causing it to rapidly fall into a state of chaos and genocidal wars. Not much has been heard from the <empire> ever since, besides bits and pieces of reports from refugees whom successfully fled from the fallen <empire>.

History of Incorporated Republic of Tonkin

The IRT is a prosperous island nation due south of the American continent, separated by the Straits of Panama. The IRT has become one of the world's largest economies by virtue of her location, a history of colonialism (or as critics might note, economic exploitation), pragmatic government and above all, virtual worship of the Tonkin Pound Sterling.

As befitting of its name, the IRT is a nation organized along the lines of a modern joint-stock corporation. Domestically, it concentrates primarily on high-technology exports and services but IRT corporations conduct heavy industry and mining operations overseas. In recent years, indigenous defense firms have begun major exports of military material to any interested party. In all cases, the economic strength of the IRT depends on the ability to hold open its sea lanes to commerce.

Defense-wise, the IRT is primarily concerned with ensuring opposing nations or alliances never reach the shores of the Republic. To that goal, the IRT retains a strong naval, air and air-defense arm, but the Army is relatively weak, standing at two heavy corp with previous-generation armored vehicles. The IRT also has a sizable Marine Corp, with four ESGs and six regiments. While officially for peacekeeping efforts, most defense commentators have noted that these forces have often been used in "hostile corporate takeovers," most commonly in the so-called Pineapple Wars.

Not-quite Brief History of the Constitutional Republic of PeZookia: Second Great War and modern times


The Second Great War, initial operations

They won't hear no surms nor listen to hymns
Only death awaits them
In the first line, they go to fight
Infantry, that gray infantry

They march in their drab uniforms
Rifles glinting in the sun
And the roadside trees salute them
Because they go to fight for our PeZookia!

- Infantry, that Gray Infantry - a PeZookian soldier's song

The Buffer State War has served its purpose - it gave ample warning time to Old Continental nations, who began building up their militaries in anticipation of another conflict against the Shadows.

This war would be different from the last, however. Technology has advanced significantly, allowing for new fighting tools such as armored vehicles and air power, which completely changed the nature of warfare - huge trench lines and static fighting became a thing of the past. Most nations, however, did not anticipate this.

By the 1930s, the Shadow Empire has unilaterally re-incorporated the Buffer States into its national organism, and began massing forces at the borders, while simultaneously stepping up the rhethoric. As tensions rose, the Old Continent saw more and more incidents between PeZookians and Shadow citizens, fuelled by their longstanding animosity and nasty propaganda from both sides. In 1935, rather than wait for Itler to engage PeZookian troops on his own terms, the PeZookian government issued an ultimatum: Either the Shadow Empire would back down and withdraw the massed forces from the border, or a state of war would exist between the two countries.

Itler chose war. On September 1st, 1935, masses of Shadow armor and infantry crossed the border, thus starting the Second Great War.

The border battle raged from September 1st through 9th, with well-entrenched PeZookian units attempting to stop the Shadows from breaking through. The PeZookian defence plan was simple: fall back gradually towards the Great River, delaying the Shadows untill allies could mobilize and come to the aid of the Kingdom.

As it turned out, the superior strategic mobility of the Empire's mechanized units resulted in a wide-scale "race to the capital" as soon as the initial breakthrough was achieved. Tank-supported PeZookian infantry could not outrace the armored and mechanized units of the Imperial Shadow Army, and thus were systematically encircled and destroyed. Many pitched engagements were fought at this stage of the campaign.

The second major battle of the PeZookian Campaign was fought from September 25th to August 18th for the capital city of Orena. Unlike the last time such a battle occured, the Shadows managed to take the city, though with heavy casualties. The government fled, and triumphant Joe Itler declared PeZookia shall forever remain a part of the Empire Reborn.

As Shadow forces began their occupation, the world was still trying to come to terms with the lightning-quick defeat of a major continental nation. Itler, now calling himself the Great Leader, took advantage of this fact by attempting to dissuade them from declaring war on the Shadow Empire. Byzantium, as it would seem, once again decided to stay away from the major fighting, opting to support Shroomania diplomatically.

Shroomania, though, would have none of it. In a brilliant speech, Prime Minister Winston Shroom The 772nd, declared the intent of the Sovereignty to:

...fight on the seas and the oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and strenght in the air, we shall defend out island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!

And even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the Sovereign Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

- Winston Shroom The 772nd, in a Parliamentary Speech

As the conflict raged on, Shroomania became the only bastion standing against the Shadow Tide. Itler's hope for a quick victory, sealed in peace treaties with other continental powers, were shattered in an instant.

This, however, only enraged the Great Leader more. If Shroomania would not submit to the new world order, she would pay in blood for her insolence.

It was time for the epic Showdown For Shroomania.

PeZookians on all fronts: Introduction

With the fall of the last PeZookian city, a mass of civilians, fleeing soldiers and other refugess flooded across the borders, with many finding their way to Shroomania. The famous Dunkopf Evacuation has managed to ship more than 150 thousand soldiers, for example, who would be priceless during the later phases of the war. Pilots, sailors and combat-worthy young men also fled to the Sovereignty,and most would immediately volunteer to join the PeZookian Foreign Army.

The government in Orena has managed to flee the city, and establish a temporary capital further west ; As Shadow forces closed in on them, in the hope of capturing the officials and forcing them to sign a peace treaty, the government dissolved itself, after nominating general Henryk Swierczewski, commander of the Evacuation, as the new Prime Minister and entrusting him with the task of forming a new government-in-exile.

When Shadow Stormtroopers busted down the door of the small country manor in the village of Siemianowice and arrested the assembled politicians, they found out, much to their surprise, that they were no longer the ruling body of PeZookia.

Their commanding officer was not amused.

PeZookians on all fronts: Shroomania

There goes the siren that warns of the air raid
Here comes the sound of the guns sending flak
Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne
Got to get up for the coming attack!

Jump in the cockpits and start up the engines
Remove all the wheelblocks there's no time to waste
Gathering speed as we head down the runway
We've got to get airborne before it's too late!

- Aces High, a Shroommetal song

As the Showdown For Shroomania began in earnest, Great Leader Itler commanded his military officers:

...we must crush the Shroomanian will to fight. Utterly destroy the spirit of their people, and any capability they may have to wage war. We will not let them sleep, we will not let them rest one moment from our mighty airfleets, as they crush everything they ever held dear.

This prompted the Shadow Air Force to begin a massive air campaign aimed at subduing Shroomania and knocking it out of the war. The island nation, surrounded and alone, needed fighters and pilots to oppose the tide - and found them, in PeZookian refugees, who dreamed of revenge.

They were given bicycles at first, to train "flying" in formation and attack tactics. As warplanes clashed in Shroomanian skies, well-trained PeZookian pilots were pedalling vehemently along green fields, making shooty noises as they "attacked" their opponents. For months on end, they could only watch from the ground as Shroomanian pilots would attack gigantic bomber formations, while they played around.

It was after a Shroomanian officer was viciously beaten up for criticizing the "Lack of Elan and proper discipline" of the frustrated pilots, that certain high-placed officers in the Sovereignty's chain of command decided to maybe let those funny foreigners try flying real fighters.

Two weeks later, they enthusiastically formed four entirely PeZookian fighter squadrons and began desperately looking for more.

Maybe it was the long period of bicycle-training, but PeZookian squadrons 303, 304, 305 and 306 performed above expectations. Agressive and well trained, they accounted for more than 30% of all Royal Shroomanian Air Force kills during the Showdown.

The stories of heroism and battle under the skies of Shroomania did not involve just PeZookians, of course. Shroomanian pilots fought and died facing the Shadow Tide, screaming profanities and taunting them in the best Shroomanian fashion - passionate, non-stoic and very, very gay.

The Showdown For Shroomania lasted for a full year. It ended when in March 1937, Shadow High Command tallied their losses, compared them to inflicted damage and concluded that aircraft used in the campaign would be better suited on one of the other theatres of the war. Joseph Itler, after all, had great ambitions.

Thus, by April 1937, most air attacks against Shroomania ceased. Winston Shroom had won the Showdown.

PeZookians on all fronts: The Middle East

Some of us came from Khitan
Some from the Balkans, some from Greece
Now we all go to Alexandria
All together, to fight once more

- The Carpatian Brigade, a PeZookian soldier's song

While pilots and sailors mostly fled to Shroomania, many PeZookian soldiers crossed the land borders and made their way into the Byzantine Empire.

While initially interred, so as not to provoke the Shadows into outright hostilities, they were soon released and formed into all-PeZookian units. Trained quickly, and equipped with modern Byzantine equipment, those units charged with Varangian Guards and the Kathapraktoi against the Shadow's campaign of extermination of the Arab Caliphates.

Fighting in the desert was fierce and unforgiving ; But even there, the PeZookian soldier proved his worth during the massive tank battles and combined arms battles of Operation Ouranos. Opting to take revenge for their homeland, PeZookians fought tenaciously and hard, often being assigned the worst parts of the front. The common saying amongst those wanderer-soldiers was: "It doesn't matter that we have to march in rainstorms: after all, it rained far worse near Damascus".

As Operation Ouranos came to a succesfull conclusion and the Arab Corps of the Shadow Army was destroyed, PeZookians were moved to Shroomania, in preparation for the amphibious landings on the mainland.

PeZookians on all fronts: PeZookia

While the country itself fell, it never surrendered. Immediately after the disastrous Shadow invasion, military officers began organizing a resistance movement.

Not significant untill well into 1937, the Home Army nevertheless turned out to be a massive, well-organized and disciplined guerilla force of the war. Numbering as many as 200 thousand armed men at its peak, the Army managed to carry out several high-profile operations on occupied PeZookian soil.

By blowing up trains and aircraft on the ground, the Home Army managed to aid in the Showdown For Shroomania. By assassinating top Shadow officials in the occupied lands, it instilled paranoia and fear throughout the ranks. In fact, it was so prevalent and everpresent, that many collaborators and informants have ceased to co-operate with Shadow authorities, fearing for their lives.

The Home Army was also the one to execute a co-ordinated Orena Uprising, freeing the capital city on the eve of Allied advance.

The Second Great War: Mid-war operations

After the MESS joined the war, with Byzantine intervention in the Middle East and later on the Old Dominion engaging Shepnukistani forces, the balance of forces began to shift.

Shroomania was able to secure shipments of arms and fuel. Operation Ouranos destroyed the Shadow's amphibious forces in the Middle East with a crushing victory, and the Arab Caliphates were saved from total destruction.

As the lines stabilized, the war shifted to the seas. Shadow submarines, operating from bases in occupied PeZookia, attempted to strangle the Shroomanian Islands, cutting them off from their colonies. The Battle of The Great Ocean would be decided eventually by superior allied technology, allowing for easy destruction of Shadow Submarines.

The Far East was a different matter, however. Brutal island fighting and opressive heat, bugs and tropical disease all struck at the Allied soldiers as much as the enemy. It here that the aircraft carrier truly showed its worth, taking part in huge pitched battles between the MESS and Shepnukistan.

The War Ends: Russian involvement and the Massive Cuntpunch

Through 1938 and 1939, the Allies have pursued a strategy to open the Second Front on the east, negotiating with the communist country of the Red Technocracy. This gigantic nation declared comittment to peace, but in reality, feared the growing military power of the Shadow Empire. Furthermore, it had extensive trade contacts with Byzantium, and the growing involvement of the Roman Empire in the war pretty much guaranteed the Technocracy would eventually participate. Thus, plans were made, and a co-ordinated effort began to open two fronts simultaneously.

In summer 1940, it finally happened. Weakened by years of sea warfare, the loss of most of its best divisions in the Middle Eastern distaster and a massive MESS-Shroomanian strategic bombing campaign, the Shadow Empire suddendly found itself facing a war on two fronts: a massive Technocracy invasion, and a gigantic amphibious landing codenamned Operation Massive Cuntpunch

The two offensive smashed through Shadow defences, doing to them what they did to PeZookia five years ago. Now it were the Shadows who had to contend with armored spearheads and truly obscene amounts of mobile artillery the Technocracy brought to bear. Total Allied air dominance didn't help much, either.

Eventually, the allied advance into PeZookia liberated the country, with a final episode in the Orena Uprising - where partisan fighters striking at just the right moment allowed the city to be taken with minimal loss of life.

The Technocracy, on the other hand, completely smashed the Shadow heartland, its armored divisions crushing all opposition beneath their treads. The Red Banner was planted on the top of the Shadow Assembly, and a new, socialist government would be installed. All dreams of Shadow greatness ceased that day, ground into dust by the massive Gears Of War (available now in stores across Shroomania!).

MODERN TIMES

The Second Great War left the world pretty much as it is today. The Shadow's defeat left the country broken, a mere shadow of its formed Shadow self. Some of the border regions, now inhabitated by ethnic minorities (ethnic Shadows were displaced during the great Allied counter-offensive), broke off from the Empire, forming a large nad unruly "buffer zone" between the Republic and PeZookia. Much of the industry which allowed the Empire to challenge the world (twice) was destroyed utterly or pillaged. Thus, the USSR (United Shadow Socialist Republic) is now nowhere near the economic powerhouse it once was.

The Old Continent was traumatized by the Great Wars. War-weary and deep in debt, the continental powers nevertheless began their struggle towards full recovery.

PeZookia rebuilt her industries, and slowly rose to re-take its old place amongst the industrial powers of the world. Its steel mills, some with tradition tracing back almost 200 years, began racing with Byzantine industries for the lead in innovation.

Throughout the XXth century, the Old Continent grew even closer together, including the USSR and even the Red Technocracy. Trade borders were slowly abolished, and many hi-tech industries rose across the lands.

The Big Troubles - Years of terror, and founding of the GROM

By the start of the 1960s, PeZookia was practically rebuilt from years of warfare. Doomed forever to trail its larger compatriots because of war devastation, the Republic nevertheless enjoyed the period of peace and stabilization, which even today is looked back upon with nostalgy by many older PeZookians.

The world, however, was still a dangerous place. The so-called Border States between PeZookia and the USSR were slowly turning out to be costly mistakes in postwar planning by the Allies: rather than providing a useful warning of an impeding Shadow advance, they quickly became havens for terrorists, drug smugglers and criminals.

The eastern PeZookian border was far from secure. From 1955, criminals from the Border Regions constantly raided PeZookian soil, smuggling illegal wares. Several times, well-armed and funded bands even engaged in open combat with the PeZookian military, killing several soldiers. Villages and towns on the border were far from secure, and plenty of small towns decided to pay off the brigands rather than depend on the authorities to protect them.

This state of affairs couldn't last, however. Recognizing the situation as a national security danger, PeZookia began a massive military buildup on the eastern border. In 1960, six divisions, including armor and air power, crossed the border into the anarchic areas and began systematically eradicating the criminals and terrorists there.

In response, a warlord named Karic began a campaign of terror in PeZookia proper. His operatives began targetting civilians and public officials in an attempt to sway public opinion against military operations in the Border States. After several humilitating screw-ups during hostage hold-ups, especially in situations where PeZookian citizens were abudcted and held abroad, the police and military saw the need for a new formation to counter the growing crisis.

Two major measures were taken to combat the terrorist threat: one - political - was to establish a pan-continental police force, that would chase down criminals over international borders, assist in interrogations and otherwise help resolve issues flowing from international barriers.

The second was the establishment in PeZookia of special police anti-terrorist teams. Trained along military lines, equipped with specialized gear, agresssive and swift, those units would fight especially dangerous criminals who did not balk at killing police officers.

The military, on the other hand, already has a special forces unit which could be easily adapted to an anti-terrorist role.



The GROM would take the fight to the enemy.

Ultimately, the terror campaign was succesfull, and the PeZookians withdrew. However the, Border State warlords would have a much more difficult time operating within their neighboring countries.

Creation of the FUN

In 1964, the first foundations of the modern FUN arose, in the form of the Continental Agreement On Coal and Steel. This economic alliance would regulate the flow of important raw resources, and regulated prices to avoid crises on the world market. Quickly, modern FUN structures evolved out of this simple agreement.

Modern PeZookia is a valued member of the FUN, a country proud of its traditions, but not afraid of the future. Participating fully in scientific endeavours of the Union, PeZookia was one of the first to come up with the idea of launching a manned mission to the Moons, and has been pushing the idea ever since.

Other major PeZookian goals include internal and external security, improvement in quality of life, stabilization of the neighboring Shadow Border States and promoting the International Charter Of Human Rights.

The Second World War: The New World Front

Initial Operations

The First Battle of the Solomons

Shroom and Shadow naval forces played a game of cat-and-mouse in New World waters, while the Old Dominion Navy maintained a Neutrality Patrol, it was countered by Shepistani giving basing rights to Shadow vessels, in violation of international law. In addition, Shepistani naval tenders hid in the hundreds of off-coast Islands providing supplies to Shadow assets.

By 1937 the war had been raging in the Old World for 2 years, while the MESS alliance was bending over backwards to avoid entry into the war. Then, December 10th, 1937, Shepistan landed troops and announced and annexation of the Eastern Shore Archipelago, in violation of the Ancient and Most Noble Treaty of Vernon.

Taskforce "D" of the Old Dominion Navy, Consisting of the carrier Eagle, the battleships Resolute, Vanguard, Lord Fairfax, Lord Sterling and the Battlecruiser Cheetah, as well as 7 Light cruisers and 30 destroyers, departed on a show of force to the Eastern Shore.

The First Battle of the Solomons began when the Shepistani Navy and Army Air Force laid a trap in Wallops' channel. The 12th and 3rd Dive Bombing wings appeared from hidden airfields, and in a one hour battle they managed to sink 2 destroyers and the Eagle. The wall of flak the Battlewagons put up managed thrash the attacking aircraft, and the destroyers maneuvered to pick up survivors from the Eagle.



Unknown to TF D, the show of Force was about to turn into a major action. 3 Shepistani battleships and 12 light crusiers were closing into the North entrance of the channel. Rushing around Wallop's Island to the west was a taskforce of 2 Shepistani Battlecruisers and 1 Shadow "pocket Battleship" Shadowwind.

Once Admiral Sir Robin Smitson realized what was occurring, he ordered a break out towards the Old Dominion coast. The Lord Sterling fired her Mk1 15inch/42 broadside, and managed to score a "lucky hit" on the Shadowwind's "B" turret. The poor anti-flash protection caused the vessel to explode in a rather spectacular fashion.

At this point the Shepistani admiral ordered a destroyer-torpedo attack. 20 destroyers began a high speed run on the Dominion battleline and launched over 80 torpedoes. Admiral Smitson had already ordered his screen to engage the Shepistani destroyers, but to no avail. 3 Torpedos struck the Resolute, slowing her down. The Shepistani Admiral(by now joined by the Shepistani battleships making their way down the channel)ordered his two Battlecruisers to concentrate on the wounded Resolute.

Admiral Sir Robin Smitson was now faced with a decision: Turned and battle the Shepistani squadron, or leave the Resolute to it's fate. Not knowing the size of the Shepistani force(in fact, Task Force "D", even was larger and more capable) he opted to make a highspeed run to Old Dominion waters. He signaled the Resoulte his intention to depart, and left the battleship on it's own. Over the course of the next hour the Resolute was pounded relentless by the Shepistani navy(who did NOT give chase due to the superior size of TF D), eventually sinking with less than a hundred survivors.

Upon return Sir Robin Smitson, "who bravely ran away" was courtmartialed for cowardice and imprisoned. The Old Dominion government demanded an explanation and withdrawl from the Eastern Shore. Instead the Shepistani Ambassador presented them with a bill for the downed divebombers and various damage the Shepistani naval vessels had recieved.

Outraged, the Old Dominion declared war. WW2 had expanded to the New World.

Byzantium enters the war

The Soldier Emperor Konstantin XXIX was already marshalling the country for war for 6 years before the conflict erupted. Working together with Russia, the T-34 tank and other weapons was developed and deployed and readied for war. The Navy began a massive expansion program that saw the fleet double in size, with carriers and battleships the center pieces of the navy.

The conflict began with Itler proclaiming that the Muslims were heathens and desired to simply exterminate them from the face of the Earth 1 year after the war began with PeZookia and Shroomania. The Caliphates reacted with alarm and immediately began raising their armies and preparing for the eventual conflict. They sent pleas to Constantinople for military assistance against the Shadow Empire. The Emperor himself had cause to worry; the oil fields in Arabia were a jewel that was much sought for.

The Shadow Empire and their Allies soon readied a massive fleet of landing craft and warships and sailed for Alexandria, the first target of their Crusade. The Byzantine Navy was ready. Led by Admiral Agamemnon, a fleet consisting of 3 carriers of the Yorktown design (design obtained through the MESS alliance), 5 battleships, 7 battlecruisers and 14 heavy cruisers and several other destroyers and other escorts clashed with the Shadow Empire navy consisting of several pocket battleships, battleships, heavy cruisers and what not. They represented a good portion of the allied enemy fleet. The battle was fierce. It was that day that demonstrated the worth of the carrier as an offensive weapon. Aircraft from the 3 carriers, IBN Constantine, Justinian and Heraclius bombed the enemy fleet with bombs and torpedoes and sunk many battleships. The Byzantine Navy might have been outnumbered, but the fight was going to be brutal. 2 Byzantine Battleships and 3 Battlecruisers were shelled to pieces by concentrated fire from the enemy navy, as the fight developed into a brawl with those ships surrounded by enemy cruisers and lost with all hands. 1 carrier was lost through enemy submarine torpedo attack, along with numerous other losses. Nevertheless, the enemy fleet suffered grevious losses, with all battleships and battlecruisers destroyed, and a number of other ships including heavy cruisers were destroyed and the enemy ships were driven off. Victory won at great cost.

However, the Shadow Empire landing craft made it to the shores and engaged in brutal urban warfare with the inhabitants of Alexandria. The Muslim battle cry "Allahu Ackbar" rang through the streets, even as the Shadow Empire infantry yelled "Christ has risen!" Blood flowed the streets as enemy artillery shelled the city and infantry engaged in skirmishes running throughout the city. Shadow infantry would remember the tenacity of the enemy well. The joke went that the Shadow Infantry would have won the living room, but still fighting in the kitchen. The slums throughout the city further bogged down the enemy. The enemy resorted to indiscriminate shelling, destroying much of the city.

Then came the response from the Byzantine Army. Dubbed Operation Ouranos, General Belisamos led the Army at Jerusalem and had spent the last week or so marching for Alexandria under the cover of night, and struck the Shadow army and their allies on the outskirts of the city. In a brutal battle in the deserts that saw over a thousand tanks clashing head on, the battle lasted over a day. Shadow forces were routed, but the Byzantines bled a good portion of their military as the Shadow military proved dogged even in the face of defeat. PeZookian forces that served during Operation Ouranos served with great distinction, fighting along side fellow Byzantine forces. Tens of thousands died in that battle alone, with millions of civilian casualties, one of the bloodiest in the war.


Byzantine forces charging head on against the Shadow Army.

General Assault on the Shadow Empire

With the destruction and routing of the Shadow army and navy at Alexandria, a massive bombing campaign was launched from Byzantium towards the Shadow Empire. Targeting enemy factories, strategic targets, the bombers came from various MESS nations and was the largest bombing offensive in history. On the high seas, a combined Byzantine and Cannissian fleet hunted down and destroyed the remaining Shadow fleet units before finally laying down a blockade on all Shadow Empire ports.

Meanwhile, talks with Red Technocracy about possible assistance against the Shadow Empire were underway. Whereas Red Technocracy diplomatic relations with the rest of the MESS was at best chilly, the General Secretary was swayed by the personal pleas of the Byzantine Emperor, who had traveled personally to the Red Technocracy capital. The two men were old friends, having served together in the Red Technocracy military as part of the age old liaison program between the two nations. Agreeing to commit his forces into the fight, the Red Army mobilised for war.

Dubbed Operation CuntPunch, a massive amphibious landing was planned on the shores of PeZookia facing Shroomania. Combined MESS and Shroomanian troops practiced together in one of the largest amphibious invasions in history. The landing was wildly successful, and a massive armoured fist fought its way through PeZookia, liberating one city after another. Red Army troops bashed its way through the border and stormed the capital, thus ending the war.

History of Cascadia


Pre-Republic History

The first humans to move into the area of Cascadia were hunter-gatherer natives of Asiatic background, filtering into modern Jieshi and Columbia by 5,000 B.C. along the tracks of the upper Jieshi River. The local populace remained fairly static over the years, living on fishing from the river valleys and plentiful hunting in the forested Cascades. Following South and North branches of the Jieshi, the nomadic natives soon began to settle along the banks of the larger Cascade and Columbia rivers from which they eventually spread into the rest of Columbia and into Oregon and Grant.

The Natives were paganistic in religion, worshipping various spirits fixed to aspects of Nature, with a tribalistic society in which the Jieshu and Tacoma tribes were the most numerous. There is ample evidence of occasional inter-tribal warfare over hunting grounds, conflicts fought mostly with weapons of stone and wood as metal-working was beyond their skill and would not be developed independently.

Only in the extreme south of modern Cascadia was there pre-Caucasian settlement. The Asiatic populations of the Rosario and southern Oregon regions came from further south in the continent and tended to monarchial or oligarchial government. Cuithepil, near modern San Magdalena, became the most prosperous of these Rosarian statelets, which traded heavily with tribes further up the course of the Nevada River.


The first Caucasian settlers moved into the Puget Sound area in the first milennium AD, coming from the early republics of the east of the American continent due to the discovery of the natural canal between Wilkonia and Tonkin. The two populations remained aloof from each other save for trade given the Caucasians' preference for settling and town-building. However, their development of agriculture appealed to some of the larger tribes and prompted them to accept the idea of settling, leading to the establishment of the Jieshi state on the upper reaches of the Jieshi river where the Jieshi built the cities of Shanxi and Guoting, now respectively the administrative centers for the Jieshi Province of Cascadia and the East Jieshi Prefecture of Tian Xia.

This "First Wave" of Caucasian settlers led to the founding of modern Seattle, Vancouver, and Victoria. Oligarchic republics were the preferred method of governance, borrowing heavily from proto-Midgardian influences, with the region mostly divided into city-states. An ocean trade with the Rosarian city-states thrived during this period and Cuithepil particularly did well in drawing Caucasian settlers, which mingled with the local population to produce the modern Rosario ethnic group.

Despite some attempts, the Caucasian population never fully penetrated the interior of the country, remaining along the western foothills of the Cascades for the next millennium while settling Victoria Island and off-shore islands northward toward Alaska (forging the first trade links with the peoples there). Portland was settled near the end of the "First Wave" period.


The Second Wave began in the 1500s with the arrival of more immigrants, primarily of old Continent origin as well as those leaving the consolidation of the eastern and southern regions under Wilkonia and Shinra. This swell of population increased the manpower abilities of the local cities exponentionally but also led to a great deal of instability as newer mentalities of government clashed with the rigid social structures of the old oligarchs. To make matters worse for them, the newcomers were often even more friendly to the natives, marrying them and forming communities with them. Though many native tribes insisted on maintaining traditional ways the pressures for settlement by an energetic people making use of the land to build new towns and to exploit the natural resources of the region whittled down the numbers to a defiant few.

Another element of the Second Wave was the spread of Christianity, brought to America from its birthplace to the east in the Old Continent. The religion's promises of equality before God further divided the paganistic oligarchs from the people they presumed to rule, increasing social tensions between the conservative factions and the newcomer-supportive ones.

The tide of progress was not held back for long. By 1614 only Tacoma and small communities along the western foothills of the Cascades stubbornly persisted in maintaining the old city constitution. By 1700 they would be in the fold and the Confederacy of Cascadian Cities formed a decade later to provide common protection.


To the south the arrival of Christianity undid the Rosarian political structure even more violently. The Rosarian elite attempted violence and coercion to hold back the tide of conversion and only succeeded in turning their people against them. In 1659 an enigmatic Canissian friar, Father Marcos, oversaw a successful revolt that overcame the ruler of Cuithepil. In the fighting fires were started and the city ended up burned to the ground. Undeterred, Father Marcos directed his converts to build a new city on the nearby plain and christened it "San Magdalena" before leaving to continue a reported cross-continental missionary journey (nothing was ever heard of the man again, and Church records of the period have not adequately pinpointed the origins and identity of Father Marcos).


Further north, the undergoing settlement of the Cascades proper and their eastern foothills provoked conflict with the natives and, more disasterously, a battle with the organized Asiatic republic in Jieshi. Conflict over resources in the mountains and river navigation rights soon spilled over into a war with Jieshi from 1720 to 1726, when after much loss of life and the destruction of many towns the Confederacy and Jieshi agreed to delineate their borders.

Eastward settlement from the Cascades was soon blocked by the larger Rockies, channeling settlement north into Columbia and south into Oregon and modern Grant, where rumors of immense lumber wealth, minerals in the southern Cascades, and gold in the northern Cascades fueled immigration to those regions and eventual Cascadian penetration into modern Yukon. The Mackenzie River was easily forded and Fort Sherman erected along the southern bank while small communities began to filter north as the century wore on, eventually extending Cascadian claim to the Yukon River, where Cascadia stopped due to the territory beyond being under a confederacy of statelets led by Inuvik. The lone exception was a stretch of rugged land just north of the mouth of the Yukon, where the Inuvik Confederacy had no settlements. A band of Cascadians set up fur-trapping posts in what they dubbed the O'Neill Territory which prompted Inuvik warriors to sweep into the area to drive them out, starting a short war that ended when Cascadia offered to permit Inuvik joint claim to the region and to allow the tribe a portion of the profit from the local trading post. The Confederacy's agreement, reached in 1745, proved somewhat unpopular among the small Yukon population, which believed it had the stronger claim to the O'Neill Territory. The local militia began construction of a fort on the northern bank of the Yukon that they named Fort O'Neill.

During the 1720s to 1750s the settling of modern Yukon, Oregon, Grant, and northern Columbia proceeded apace. News was spreading from the east that powers in those directions, the Shinra Republic and Tian Xia, were moving westwards to occupy the continent, prompting a final push of colonization that moved east enough that it would settle the modern Cascadian eastern border in the extreme western foothills of the Rockies' western edge.

The arrival of Shinra in the West prompted San Magdalena and the surrounding Rosarian countryside to look to the Cascadian Confederacy, who welcomed the Rosarians into the Confederacy as equal partners with only some discontent. This provided Cascadia with a solid southern frontier at the Nevada River, though there was consideration of staking claim further south that was shuffled aside due to interest in the Yukon and the islands off its shore.


Foundation and Consolidation of the Republic

The stresses of expansion, bickering between city governments, and the approaching great powers soon created the perfect storm of political discontent to give rise to a movement to reform the Confederacy into a Federal Republic. The spearhead was provided by Quincy-born lawyer John Adams, dubbed the "Atlas of Federalism", who made convincing arguments that led to the old Confederacy, in 1770, voluntarily dissolving itself and forming the Republic of Cascadia. The old city-based organizations were replaced by solid geographical lines, with the core of the Republic in the province of Olympia. The unicameral Confederal Council was replaced by the Congress, the lower house democratically elected and with seats proportioned by population (and thus advantageous to Olympia, Rosario, and Columbia) while Oregon, Grant, and Yukon were satisfied by the Senate being direct representation with only four Senators per province, elected by newly-formed provincial governments.

In 1780, the newborn Republic, with John Adams in his final term as President, made formal diplomatic contact with the Shinra. Though the Shinra had strength and time on their side, there was little desire on their part to encroach upon Cascadia. After some deliberation the two nations signed the Treaty of San Magdalena in 1786 which has remained in force for two hundred years, drawing the nations' border along the Nevada River and then north to Shinra's northern border agreed upon with Tian Xia.

Tian Xia provided a more difficult matter. The loose nature of government control there permitted local rulers to hold wide latitude in how they employed troops, even government troops assigned to them for the empire's westward expansion. In 1804 Guoting fell and East Jeishi was absorbed into the Empire. West Jieshi, which had begun to enjoy economic links with the Cascadians down-river, opted to throw in with the fledgling republic. An alliance treaty was signed that effectively turned the remaining part of Jieshi into a Cascadian satellite.

The hostility of the border dukes of Tia Xia prompted the Republic to redouble efforts at military preperation. Already possessing a suitable industrial base, advisors spent the final decade of the 18th Century and the first decade of the 19th visiting other nations as far as PeZookia to examine the battlefields of the Old Continent and to examine modern military technology. These lessons were applied to improving Cascadian military technology... which would be needed very soon.

The Yukon War



The invigoration of the Cascadian Army came just in time. In 1807, just three years after East Jieshi fell, Inuvik fell to Tian Xia. Cascadian settlers, wary of losing newly discovered mineral sources in the disputed territory, moved further into the O'Neill Territory and established a chain of settlements to reinforce the Cascadian claim. Tian Xia refused to accept the Cascadian claim, citing that newly subjugated Inuvik had signed a treaty granting its lands to the Emperor, including the Territory. For the next several years there were infrequent clashes between Cascadian and Tian Xia settlers while diplomatic avenues were pursued.

What happened next remains a strongly-debated point. Though the Emperor of Tian Xia had chosen to try diplomatic means to either win Cascadian withdrawal to the southern bank of the Yukon or concessions in other areas in exchange for the disputed land, the local border dukes remained hostile to anything but a military solution. In April 1815, with campaigning season set to begin, one of these dukes - an aggressive young commander named Xie Jia - took the initiative by launching an invasion of both the O'Neill Territory and Yukon Province. Reports conflict on whether Duke Xie was intending the eastern thrust to be a diversion or a plan to conquer the entire province, but the effect of the attack was quite clear. A force of 8,000 Tian Xia troops, soon augmented to 15,000 from extra troops and local levies, marched down the Mackenzie River. A brief siege of Fort Carter resulted but the older fortification, meant for fighting natives, was no match for the modern cannon of the Imperial Army. The Fort's walls were battered down and the defenders forced to surrender. The survivors were forced into hard labor, used to rebuild damaged walls to provide winter quartering should it be necessary for the army, while the civilian dependants were taken as hostages to secure their good behavior. Content with his success, Duke Xie marched onward to Fort Sherman.

To the west, one of the Duke's subordinates, Count Ling, led a force of 2,000 men augmented by 4,000 conscripted Inuvik auxiliaries in an invasion of the O'Neill Territory. Every Cascadian settlement was torched as their occupants fled to Fort O'Neill. Ling countermanded Xie's orders to prevent the settlers from seeking refuge in the small fort, confident his cannon could deal with it. But Fort O'Neill, unlike Fort Carter, had been reinforced during the prior years. When the Tian Xia cannons fired upon the fort walls, they failed to do sufficient damage to allow a storming of the fort. Though the whole of the Territory had taken by Ling's troops, Fort O'Neill still flew the Cascadian Tricolor.

Fort Sherman had likewise been fortified and the local militia mobilized. Militias from across the province poured in, those from the Mackenzie bringing word of Xie's troops burning settlements and posts along the river and encouraging natives to loot and attack Cascadians. A force of 2,000 militia gathered on the southern bank of the river and on 17 June 1815 engaged the vanguard of Xie's troops near a mountain creek, Settler's Creek. The Battle of Settler's Creek lasted six hours and saw the militia, after initial successes against the tightly packed Imperial troops, defeated and scattered by Imperial cannon. The victory against the militia reinforced Xie's opinion that Cascadia's army posed no threat and he continued his march. On 21 June he arrived at Fort Sherman and demanded its capitulation. Leland Hall, the Governor of Yukon, personally turned down the demand. An attempt by Xie to seize Fort Sherman by immediate storming failed and he turned to a siege, leaving 2,000 auxiliaries and 10 guns to bombard the fort while preparing his army to seize the mountain trails to the south that linked Fort Sherman with distant Monroe.

Xie's maneuver was his undoing. Although the Columbia militia was marshalling to march north upon word of the invasion arriving in May 1815, the Cascadian Regular Army had chosen to be transported by river directly to the two forts. In July the two forces sailed from Seattle, making brief stops at Port Weir before heading on. A Brigade of 2,500 Cascadian regulars augmented by another 500 militiamen from the offshore islands was sailed up the Yukon River for Fort O'Neill while two brigades of regulars and another battalion of Olympian Militia came up the Mackenzie.

The first Brigade, under General Anthony Tanner, disembarked and made camp ten miles downstream from Fort O'Neill. Count Ling received report from Inuvik scouts of their arrival but refused to believe the numbers and discounted the native scouts' account of the Cascadian position.

The result was that on 15 August 1815, Tanner's Brigade was able to march right up to the Tian Xia camp. Ling had time to begin forming his troops up to fight and marched them forward in the manner he was accustomed to; that is, driving native levies before him with a wave of grim musket-bearing infantry in black with white accoutrement. But these were troops accustomed to fighting local semi-civilized armies that, at best, had primitive flintlocks. The modern muskets of the Cascadian Greencoats and their artillery were an enemy that these troops had not been used to. The Cascadian fire was terribly effective on the attacking Tian Xia troops and the artillery proved capable as well, if their gunners lacked the raw experience of their Tian Xia counterparts. Count Ling, seeing the Cascadian lines holding steady and his own forces being depleted, attempted flanking maneuvers with his remaining Inuvik levies.
The native troops, however, were not up to being thrown into cannon and musket fire. After a couple faint-hearted charges they crumbled as well and refused to advance. Surprised at the effectiveness of his enemies, Ling panicked and called for the troops to regroup on more favorable ground to the north. Just as the Tian Xia lines began to fall back to commence the regrouping, Major Luis Vamos of the 1st Rosarian Infantry ordered his battalion to charge. The Rosarians surged forward and carried nearby battalions and then regiments with them. The Tian Xia force, already demoralized, crumbled under the bayonet charge and was utterly routed. Count Ling was found dead in his command tent, having ordered one of his aides to behead him out of shame.
The survivors of the Tian Xia force that were not captured fled north and returned to Inuvik, from which news of the defeat spread to the rest of the Empire over the coming months. As they fled, Tanner's troops reclaimed the rest of the O'Neill territory and briefly occupied a village in Tian Xia territory before the decision was made to set up winter quarters outside of the settlement of Garnetville.


Further south General Enrique Roya of San Magdalena was facing a less auspicious start. The Mackenzie River proved too shallow for the largest sailing transports to enter, forcing him to spend two weeks waiting for enough ships that could navigate the river so he could move his whole force. In the end he dispatched one brigade ahead after notification came from Governor Hall that Fort Sherman's overcrowding was beginning to eat away at the fort's supplies. A couple of ships made runs up-river to deliver supplies, but only one made it through the cannon watching the fort and it was in turn forced to return to the fort when damaged by cannon fire after trying to head downstream.
Finally, in 25 August 1815, Roya's force set out to the interior. As the last ship began to sail down the river a transport vessel from Tanner's force returned to Port Weir with a load of wounded and the news of the victory at Fort O'Neill, which buoyed the spirits of the seven thousand Cascadian troops.
As they sailed upriver, Duke Xie was busy along the mountain trail. Shortly after besieging Fort Sherman, his army began throwing impediments down to try and restrain the marching of what he presumed would be the main force coming up the road from Monroe. A force of Columbia Militia, 3,500 strong, arrived from the south on 18 July but fell back rather than fight the 6,000 prepared Imperial troops. Xie chose to pursue and ordered his army forward. After three days he stopped and set up a new base camp on favorable terrain, using hills that overlooked the main route through the mountains from which his force could easily repulse any major attack.
While Xie waited with the bulk of his force for a main attack that never came, General Roya's troops were forced to disembark on the 29th of August twenty-six miles downstream of Fort Sherman due to the lower river depth at Mackensen Crossing. He assembled his brigades and dispatched a small ship downstream to inform Governor Hall he was just a couple days' march away. Spending a day getting his force in order for the march, Roya's army used the extra room created by the Mackenzie valley to make decent time.

Xie's besieging force of 2,000 native auxiliaries and 10 guns, bolstered by the recent arrival of 1,000 Imperial troops, was surprised when on the 2nd of September their scouts reported the approach of a marching army in battle line. The local commander, Baron Kant, ordered his forces to prepare to fight and pulled them out of their siege lines.

On the open farmland west of Ft. Sherman Kant's troops prepared defensive positions as the Cascadian Greencoats marched up. His troops opened up first and began to inflict losses upon the Cascadian force. One of the early casualties was General Roya, who was trying to rally a faltering battalion when a musket bullet struck him in the neck and threw him from his horse.
The numbers alone were in Cascadia's favor, but it was Governor Hall who fully salvaged the situation. He ordered a sortie from the fort of the remaining healthy militiamen, who charged out 500 strong and opened up on the rear of the Imperial force. The risk of leaving his fort open to counterattack paid off. Caught suddenly between two fires, the native auxiliaries panicked and fell apart. The Imperial troops, led by Baron Kant, held their ground and continued to inflict casualties on the attacking Cascadians until sunset, when a handful of survivors retreated southward into the wilderness. Baron Kant was not among them, having fallen in rallying his men on the defense. He died instantly on the battlefield and would be joined in death the next day by General Roya, who's wound proved fatal.
As a result of the battle, the siege of Fort Sherman was lifted.
Opportunity now presented itself to march south and pin Duke Xie's troops in on the mountain road, or to leave a screening force at Sherman while a brigade marched north to retake Fort Carter. But Roya's replacement, General Davis Lawrence, quarreled with Governor Hall over strategy. The two brigades remained stationary.

It was not until the 7th that Xie found out about what had happened. Not one to panic, he abandoned his defensive position and moved his army north. On the 13th he ran into the screening force of Cascadian regulars, the 5th Regulars Regiment, in strong defensive positions. While using pioneers to try and find a path around, Xie launched four direct attacks on the Regulars' position that were repulsed with heavy losses. His artillery proved ineffective against the strong defense of their position. In the end, he was saved by the fact that the 5th Regulars had run out of ammunition. After holding past sunset, the regiment slipped off in the dark of night, leaving Xie's army an open path back to Fort Sherman.
There the approach of the Tian Xia Army prompted a temporary truce between the bickering Hall and Lawrence. Their forces were arranged to prevent Xie from getting past the Fort. Xie, upon seeing the size of the Cascadian Army and considering his losses, decided that there was no point in continuing the campaign in Central Yukon and that he should retire his army to Fort Carter and winter quarters. He did not, at this moment, realize that Count Ling's force had already been destroyed and that Cascadia had resumed control of the O'Neill Territory.
On the 14th Xie's army moved along the flank of the Cascadian brigade of General Walters, assigned to watch the eastern road. Lawrence directed the other Brigade to move up in an attempt to trap the Imperial force but was unable to do more than catch a straggling regiment as Xie's forces cleverly slipped around the Walters brigade. Though they lost another four hundred men on top of the regiment that got caught and torn apart, the Cascadian Army failed to win the decisive battle it had hoped to force on Xie.

As Xie marched upriver to return to Fort Carter, a further reinforcement brigade of 2,000 regulars sent from Port Weir arrived on the 21st of September commanded by General Michael Sheppard. Sheppard's seniority in the army and his orders to become Roya's second-in-command effectively gave him the seniority to overrule Lawrence and take command of the unified regulars force, now up to 6,500 when accounting for losses in the prior weeks' battles.
Sheppard made one of the crucial decisions of the war at this point. So long as Xie held even Fort Carter, Tian Xia had a diplomatic advantage and a position with which to threaten the whole province. He had to be dislodged, but with late September already here it would not be long before winter set in; a winter siege would bring with it sickness and a sapping of energy that could destroy the army without Duke Xie firing a shot. Nevertheless, with Hall's reluctant acceptance, Sheppard ordered the army forward, augmenting it further with 2,000 of the Columbian militia that had marched north to bring his force up to 8,500 troops.

Xie had not expected a pursuit and was settling his troops into their planned winter quarters. By all reports he was stunned when, on the early morning of the 2nd of November, scouts dispatched to watch the roads informed him of the arrival of a large body of enemy troops. Already the weather was turning dreadfully cold and a snowfall was beginning. The idea of the Cascadians attacking seemed ludicrous.
Xie's men were ordered to get their weapons and form up, a process that took time as they had been scattered in their camps. As his army jumbled up, not even in full formation, skirmishers from the Columbia militia - hardy men hand-picked by their regimental commander for their skill in moving through the terrain - began sniping on the Tian Xia camp. A bullet narrowly missed Duke Xie and several of his officers, including four regimental commanders, were shot down before the snipers were forced to retreat.
Only a few hours remained until dusk when the Cascadian battle lines came up and were met by the Duke's prepared army. The ranks of black/white Imperial soldiers versus the Greencoats - the Cascadian citizen-soldiers - was an image soon to be made legend, with this battle - despite it's not fully decisive result - being almost as immortalized as the smaller but more pivotal, in the end, Battle of Fort O'Neill.

The Cascadians again were the ones who attacked to commence the Battle of Fort Carter. Sheppard, having been one of the military officers sent overseas to study PeZookian and Canissian artillery practices, had better placed and positioned his artillery to support the advance. The Tian Xia artillery was successfully suppressed enough for the Greencoats to fully engage their opponents.
And then the snow picked up.
To this day it is a matter of debate if the Cascadian troops would have won if not for the snowstorm. Some eyewitness accounts indicate that their attack had already ebbed and that that the veteran Tian Xia infantry were holding too-strongly, others report that it was the Tian Xia, not the Cascadians, that were buckling under attack. Either way, the snowstorm that came in turned the battle into a chaotic mess with both armies gradually pulling back to regroup. Darkness fell long before the snow let up, condemning many poor wounded men to death by exposure as they were buried alive underneath snow.
During the night, Duke Xie reached the painful decision that he could not hope to survive the next day's battling. The Cascadians' march had rattled him, striking at the very core of his belief that their army was backward and not a match for Imperial arms. Though his men had been given little rest, Xie ordered his army break up camp and retreat. Though he ultimately refused plans to torch Fort Carter or put his prisoners and hostages to death, Xie did strip the homes of Fort Carter of all food and heavy clothing before his army marched back up the Mackenzie.
On the 3rd of November, with the snow having completely ceased, the Cascadian Army prepared for another day of fighting to find their enemy had retreated. For all intents and purposes, the Yukon War had ended.

At least the fighting did. The killing was not quite over. The Emperor had first gotten wind of Duke Xie's attack in early July, despite the Duke's best efforts to mask his offensive. But it was on the 29th of September that a courier delivered news from the governor of Inuvik that the Cascadian Army had virtually annihilated an army of 2,000 Imperial troops and 4,000 native auxiliaries. The defeat enraged the Emperor, who ordered a courier sent forward to order Duke Xie back to the capitol to receive the full measure of "Imperial displeasure" his costly adventure had made him due. Even following news about Xie's victories, and his successful retreat to Fort Carter, did not alleviate the Emperor's sour mood on the man.
Duke Xie's attack had already taken many lives, and would fittingly so claim his own. Upon returning to the prefecture capital of Bear Lake on the 21st of November, the Emperor's order to come to the capitol was waiting for him, as was a newer one stripping him of Imperial command and awarding it to the governor of Inuvik. Knowing that his life was forfeit, Duke Xie had a favored aide behead him in his private quarters with explicit instructions for his head to be delivered to the Emperor as apologies for his failure.


Duke Xie's rash action had far-reaching consequences for both states. While before the Emperor might have gotten firm concessions from Cascadia in exchange for relinquishing the Inuvik claim on the O'Neill Territory, his army's blatant attack and embarrassing defeat against the "untried" Cascadian Army made it unlikely that the Republic would any longer brook recognizing Imperial claims on the O'Neill Territory. Recognizing what Xie's failure meant, the Emperor offered peace talks and a permanent border treaty deliberation, which was hosted on Shinra territory. In February of 1818 the Tian Xia and Cascadia signed the Treaty of Lockhart in which the O'Neill Territory was delineated and the Cascadian-Tian Xia border guaranteed and recognized. Cascadia's price tag, aside from the human costs of the war and the damage to the Yukon Province, was to agree not to support any Jieshi recidivism and to agree to recognize the rest of the Emperor's claims on old Inuvik territory. The treaty, and the following induction of West Jieshi into the Republic as the Province of Jieshi, brought an end to the decade of border intrigues and permanently solidifed the frontiers of Cascadia to the present day.
As a result of Duke Xie's actions and their consequences, the Imperial Court was able to force through changes in the command structure of their army that gradually ensured that command of armies even out on the frontier was not given to nobility but to men handpicked by the Emperor and his advisors, a key evolution in the military structure of the Tian Xia state.

For Cascadia the war provided a source of common pride for the common denizens of the mountainous country. Cascadians of all ethnicities and cultures had stood together in battle line, dressed as "Republic Greencoats", and fought and died as brother-citizens. Paintings of all the war's battles were commissioned, the best treated almost as national treasures. On the matter of military affairs, on 15 August 1816, the first anniversary of the Battle of Fort O'Neill, the Congress approved the creation of the Republic Guards, an elite brigade of regiments with the best officers and men the Army had to offer, all veterans of the war. Luis Vamos, the hero of Fort O'Neill who led the bayonet charge that broke the Tian Xia, was granted command of the 1st Guards Regiment and a promotion to Colonel (he had briefly been a Lt. Colonel after an earlier promotion near the end of the war). The Republic Guard has since remained as the fine spearpoint of the Cascadian military.

Cascadian-Tian Xia relations have, since the Yukon War, had periods of cooling and warming. Though economic involvement between the two nations has improved, there remains an undercurrent of discontent. Some Tian Xia leaders has since voiced laments not that Xie attacked Cascadia out of the blue, but that he failed to accomplish his objective. In Cascadia, there are many who believe the Emperor silently approved of Xie's bold attack and only condemned it when he found out that Xie's forces were being pushed back. Nearly two hundred years has allowed the wounds to heal, but it may take longer for the ghosts of Duke Xie and Enrique Roya to be lifted from the ties between Cascadia and Tian Xia.

The First Son of the Republic


The Cascadian negotiating team that traveled to Midgar in 1816 to negotiate the eventual Treaty of Lockhart was led by the Secretary of State for the Chiles Administration. John Quincy Adams was the son of the Atlas of Federalism and grew up in a household that was overflowing with the high Republican ideals of his parents. He accompanied his father in the 1780s, after Adams' Presidency, when the elder Adams toured the American and Old Continents and their capitals. In those cities John Quincy was at times schooled in the most prestigious schools of Midgar, Orena, and Neve Tikveh. At age 15 he was voluntarily detached from his father and sent with the Cascadian mission to Stasograd to serve as a diplomatic translator given his proficiency in French, which the Cascadian minister did not speak but which was widely in vogue among the Stasovites.
Upon returning home at age 18 John Quincy was enrolled in Hentley University where he graduated with high honors in the practice of law. He was serving as a junior partner in the law firm of a family friend when the Jefferson Administration tapped the young man to be Cascadia's minister to Neve Tikveh, starting John Quincy on a diplomatic career of fifteen years that would see him a minister to several Old Continent capitals, culminating with a short appointment as diplomatic minister in Midgar before being brought home by President Chiles in 1812 to serve as Secretary of State.

After negotiating the Treaty Adams continued on as Secretary of State until 1822, when he ran for the Presidency. His opponent was Leland Hall, the famed Governor of Yukon, who ran as "the people's choice" by emphasizing his humble backgrounds and his war service against Adams' mostly unnoticed service to the Republic as a diplomat. Though Hall successfully won votes from the frontiersmen who adored him and the Jieshi voters who opposed the Lockhart Treaty's recognition of Tian Xia's annexation of the eastern portion of their homeland, Adams triumphed in the other provinces on the strength of his reputation and his father's name, as well as support for his government policies.

As a President John Quincy was a scholarly head of state who used the patronage of his office and his influence to advance the causes of scientific study and learning in the Republic. He commissioned public work projects to improve the national infrastructure and served his administration in dedication to improving the lot of the Republic.

But for all his accomplishments there was a growing discontent with Adams. The frontier folk and the Jieshi resented his peaceful overtures to Tian Xia as the memories of fighting them still burned hotly. Governor Hall spent the six years of Adams' presidency working to improve his support in the provinces that did not support him in the first election. His campaign proclaimed himself a "man of the people", the ally of the common Cascadian unlike the scholarly, intellectual Adams, an elitist old man who had squandered the victories over Tian Xia and who wasted government money on meaningless and stupid expenditures like his proposal for "lighthouses in the sky" (a mocking reference that some took literally referring to Adams' push for observatories to study the stars, which he referred to colorfully as "lighthouses of the sky"). In 1828 the new election was held. Though Olympia and Rosaria proved solidly supportive of Adams once more, Hall's campaign worked and he managed to win extra counties in Columbia, Oregon, and Grant as Hall appealed to the rural voters who disliked government spending and distrusted the scholarly, town-born Adams. In a close election, Hall unseated John Quincy Adams from the Cascadian Presidency and his supporters hailed it as the victory of common Cascadians over the urban elites of the Republic.

However, in the long run, it was Adams, not Hall, that would be celebrated. Hall's brash frontier spirit served him well in the Yukon, but as the President of the Republic he came off as vain, overbearing, and obstinate. He did not work well with Congress at all, his attitude toward the Bank of the Republic was denounced as blatantly illegal, he tolerated a violation of native rights along the frontier regions such as the practice of seizing fertile lands from natives and forcing them to relocate to less-suitable lands, and diplomatically he strained relations with both Tian Xia and Shinra over Cascadian settlers in the border areas and turning a blind eye to Jieshi recidivism in blatant violation of the Treaty of Lockhart. He remained popular enough in the rural areas to barely win re-election in 1834, but the newly-formed Whig Party - the ancestors of the modern Federalist-Republicans - won enough seats that they and anti-Hall Democrats created an even more hostile Congress. Hall's last six years in the Presidency were tied up with brutal interbranch fighting as Hall tried to force his policies through by brute force of will despite the opposition of the two branches.

To make matters worse, Hall refused to act against his supporters from the Yukon when Cascadian settlers that had moved over the border and settled Rogertown in Tian Xia territory drove an Imperial tax collector out of town. The supporters armed the Rogertown settlers and openly talked of bringing the town and its environs on the Mackenzie River into the province, to the extent that the Governor, Miles Clayton, mobilized the Militia and sent it to Fort Carter, as if to march to Rogertown. At the last minute it was Clayton, not Hall, who pulled Cascadia back from the brink of another war by ordering the militia to disperse after arranging a local agreement with the Imperial Governor of Bear Lake to stand down their forces. Hall threatened to respond anyway and made threats of sending the Regular Army to the region but Congress firmly stood against him, threatening to cut military funding if the expedition was sent. In the end the last four years of Hall's Presidency were spent with a continual threat of frontier war with the powerful Tian Xia which forced higher army spending and further drained the economy. When the Emperor authorized a ban on Cascadian goods in the frontier regions, the resulting loss of customers plunged Yukon and Jieshi into an economic spiral that in turn caused a bank crash in Seattle and spiraled into the Depression of 1837.

By the end of his twelve year Presidency Hall's war hero reputation had been tarnished by his brawls with the government, his abuse of Presidential powers and flagrant defiance of court rulings on behalf of his frontier supporters against the natives they were disposessing, and his bellicose behavior toward Tian Xia with the resulting war scare and econmically-devastating boycott. Even his rural support withered away, save his diehard frontier supporters in the Yukon. Nevertheless the aggressive man refused to be daunted, continuing to insist that he represented the common Cascadian, and ran for a then-unprecedented third term as President. The country resoundingly rejected him in 1840, electing in his place the first Whig President, Kyle Taylor.

By this time John Quincy had returned to politics in an different fashion. In 1830 he ran for the House seat of his local community in Quincy at their explicit request. It was even reported that when a friend had assured him that accepting the town's nomination for Congress was not degrading for him as a former President, Adams had proclaimed that it would not be degrading for an ex-president to "serve as a selectman of his town, if the people elected him." Winning overwhelmingly against a token opposition, John Quincy soon became a thorn in Hall's side in Congress. Knowledgable in parliamentary practice and in law, the old man proved himself a feisty parliamentarian and an unshakable opponent to the "Hall Democrats" that attempted to defend their hero in the House no matter what he pulled. Adams denounced eloquently the mistreatment of natives in the frontier provinces, Hall's refusal to obey court rulings, and his bellicose policies toward Tian Xia. A founding influence of the Whig Party, Adams would briefly serve as Speaker of the House in 1834 before relinquishing that position in time for the Rogertown war scare to bring a new avalanche of denunciations against Hall as "the violator of oathes, a calamitous mischief-maker who knows nothing of law but his own tyrannical will". At one point an enraged Hall talked about storming into Congress and shooting Adams for his constant opposition and insults, a threat that Adams supposedly cackled in amusement at.

Early on Hall still retained some popularity outside of Yukon, in rural areas that still believed him, if anything, one of "them". Adams' popularity would grow stronger later in history as he handed the torch of the Whig Party and his personal ideals to his son, Charles Francis, and proteges in Congress like Julio Ortiz of San Magdalena and Michael Cunningham of Monroe. Unlike Hall, who lived another ten years after his loss of the Presidency, Adams would pass away in 1848, collapsing at his desk on the floor of the House and passing away two days later.

When he died the bitter Hall proclaimed that "in twenty years nobody will know that this high-minded idiot ever existed", and one of his supporters anonymously remarked in the Fort Sherman Chronicle that "while an intelligent man with a long service of history to the Republic, John Quincy Adams was at heart an elitist who never took the side of humanity against privilege and the people have thankfully refused to honor him for that" (some sources believe this to have been an early writing of obscure poet Wilt Waltman), the author apparently not considering Adams' defense of the dispossessed natives and his years of arguing against the practice of forcing Asiatic immigrants into indentured servitude to be opposing privilege.

Both Hall and the writer were proven wrong by history. After Hall died in September of 1850 due to catching pneumonia while celebrating the 35th anniversary of the lifting of the Siege of Fort Sherman, the Yukon Province built a statue to honor him, engraved with his defiant refusal of Duke Xie's order to surrender the city and fort. When a new Provincial Government complex was completed, the massive structure was named the Leland Hall Building. But outside of the Yukon Hall, while remembered as a war hero, was also remembered as a mostly bad President.

John Quincy Adams, however, was held up as the standard for public men in the Republic. Senator Leonard Arthur made his name in part for his stirring eulogy of Adams in 1848, referring to the recently-passed man as "the First Son of the Republic". "Death found him at the post of duty. Where else would it have found him?" became the signature quote of the eulogy that would be engraved over Adams' tomb. Adams would soon become the bar by which Presidents and other leaders of the Republic were judged, and though the electorate would not always agree, men of intellectual capability (if not devoted scholars) and unflinching devotion to the public interest and duty to the Republic would be seen as the proper holders of public office in Cascadia. Forty years after Adams' passing a statue of him was placed in the South Lawn of the Presidential Mansion, facing the President's Office, with his quote to Julio Ortiz engraved in the direction of the Mansion: "The cause of all public men is to do their duty."

The Arab Caliphates

The Abassad Caliphate emerged from the ashes of the Turkish civil war. Kurdish in nature, Faradyn Abassad and his men shook off the shackles of Ottoman control and took control of Damascus and the surrounding areas. Together with his armies, he marched out and forced into compliance all the lands up to Egypt. He was proclaimed the Caliph, the defender of Islam. Knowing that the bloody wars had depleted much of his manpower and his empire too weak to attack the Byzantines, the Abassad Caliphate licked its wounds and recovered.

In 1690, the current Caliph, Sultan Osman Abassad, gathered his armies and assailed the Byzantine Empire, intent on conquering Anatolia and hopefully Constantinople itself. His fleets set up to besiege the enemy navy at Antioch and Constantinople. Unfortunately for him, the fleet at Constantinople and Antioch was soundly defeated, and the Byzantine Crown Prince himself took to the field and assaulted Jerusalem, taking the city itself. The armies besieging Antioch, and Damascus was itself threatened. The Sultan rushed to sign a peace treaty with the Byzantines to prevent the destruction of the empire. The Caliphate lost a great number of men, and it will take decades to recover.

In the 1905, the discovery of oil in Arabia led the Byzantine Emperor to request for the lease of the land in Arabia. The Sultan agreed, in exchange for a tithe of the profits. However, rumblings of corruption in the Empire, led to an open rebellion in Egypt. A general, under the name of Ephraim Seljuk, apparently a Turk, led the rebellion which was successful and the Seljuk Caliphate was formed. The two Caliphates warred occasionally for years, until Byzantium forced both to the negotiating table after the Great War and agreed to give both a tithe of the profits in oil from Arabia, in exchange for joint operation of the oil field.

As a whole, the Abassad Caliphate evolved into a more secular caliphate, and more accepting of technology. It was still a third world country, but to an extent, it was slowly heading towards a second world economy. The Seljuk Caliphate instead regressed, and for years accused the Abassads for failing in their duties to protect Islam and roused fanatics against the Byzantines who still held Jerusalem.

For the moment, Mecca, the holiest of Holy cities, remained in the joint control of both Caliphates under the watchful eye of the Byzantines. However, it was clear that the Seljuks were determined to have Mecca for themselves, along with Jerusalem. At the moment, oil money feeding the Seljuks kept them from getting too aggressive, especially when the Byzantines threatened to withhold the profits should he dare to do anything aggressive.

The Industrial Age


By the 1850s the world was beginning to change. Advancements in steam engines permitted the creation of the railroad among other advancements while the capability for refined manufacturing improved the quality and quantity of goods. Cascadia did not go untouched by this development, the first railroad being laid in the 1830s between Seattle and Adams District. In the 1850s several companies, supported by the Whig Party, began laying track across the Republic, though it would be 1870 before every provincial capital in the country was thoroughly connected to an interlinked national rail system. Along the south two rail lines were eventually built to connect Cascadia with the growing Shinra rail system to promote trade with the larger Republic; in 1876 the first rail line from Shanxi to Guoting connected Cascadia to the Tian Xia national railway as well.
The flow of goods continued at a rapid pace, Cascadia's primary export being the plentiful stores of lumber made by improving logging operations throughout the Cascades region. Industrial factories began to pop up in Seattle, San Magdalena, and Vancouver, providing the Republic with a meaningful industrial capability. The plentiful waterways and ports permitted the founding of expansive shipyard complexes all along Puget Sound, centering in Bremerton, as well as a smaller facility in Victoria. The Republic also maintained a viable and capable armaments industry as part of the mentality of self-sufficient national defense started under the Madison Administration in the first decade of the 19th Century. Cascadia did lag behind somewhat in naval advancements, though by 1890 the first protected cruisers were starting to be produced to protect Cascadian trade with the islands in the Pacific, including trade with New Olympia on Velaria.

The shift to industry did provide black spots. Early on the drive to increase industrial output was such that large factories were produced without consideration for their effect on the environment. But soon enough there was a strong push to prevent the spread of the industrial zones to limit their impact as well as limits upon logging, so quickly becoming vital to the Cascadian economy in those days. The Government brokered a compromise between conservationists and the logging industry in 1880 with the Evergreen Act which required logging companies to plant trees in fields they cleared.
Labor disputes also begin to form as workers grew tired of poor working conditions and low pay. In 1881 the Socialist Party of Cascadia was formed by a circle of intellectuals who had attended the first International Socialist Conference the prior year in Portlandia. Though the Whigs were initially resistant to support labor over property-owners, they came around after the General Strike of 1885 following the Kalvin Textiles Fire in which two hundred women were burned alive and crushed by a collapsing building due to the owner disregarding fire risks and padlocking most of the exits to prevent workers from leaving without being seen. President Gerald Patterson, a Whig, toured the spot of the fire and paid strong attention to the investigation, resulting in his decision to change his party's line into being more supportive of Labor interests and signing into law the Workplace Safety and Accident Prevention Act of 1887. Though Patterson and a strong number of Whigs did move closer to a moderate position between business and labor, the Whig Party would for many years be considered pro-business more than pro-labor and the result would Labor looking to the Democrats (though radical Labor would be split between Socialists and non-Socialists who adhered to the Socialist and Labor parties respectively).
Ultimately Labor and Business managed a private compromise with only slight government encouragement when, in 1894, businesses recognized the establishment of the first Union in Cascadia, the Industrial Workers of Cascadia, and offered to negotiate on worker benefits with them. By 1900 the Labor problems of Cascadia would, with some exceptions in extreme circumstances (such as the 1905 Bank Crash or the 1916 anti-war General Strike), be quiet compared to other nations in the world.

Early History

The first human settlers came in 1103 small fleet of Norse Longboats led by one Olaf the Short arrives on what is now known as Viking Island off the northern shore. According to ledged Odin sent a vision to Olaf telling him that there was a fertile land to the east where his rather poor people could thrive. The group of around five hundred colonists have a hard time establishing themselves, settling on an island that while fertile surrounded by rich fishing grounds, was also home a largely covered by disease ridden swamps that limited population growth for the first hundred years. Expansion onto began in 1212 as several norse agricultural communities were established on the Northern coastline, and began to push inland around 1275, moving into the Northern mountains, although they were severely limited by a lack of any livestock besides geese, chickens and pigs (Supplemented by the mid 14th century with a few Domesticated local Marsupials including Kangaroos and Giant Wombats (A smaller version of the Diprotodon maxing out at one tonne).

In between 1417 and 1420, a minor colonization event occurred via Japanese settlers. The movement was spurred after a team of sailors managed to discover the southern coast of the island (unclaimed by the Norsemen which were established in minor settlements on the northern coastline and numbered less than 35,000). Upon returning to their home nation, they had come to find that its rivals in a long blood feud had gained the upper hand in the war. Upon Reporting this news, the local lord gathered up himself and various groups of the population and over a period of a year and a half evacuated 7,000 (not including some 2,000 that died en route from a myriad of problems) people across, establish a minor settlement in Tiger Shark bay. After the final ship arrived, the local lord ordered the ships burned and the maps used to navigate to the island burned to prevent their numerous rivals from following them. The settlement thrived, having access to livestock and horses and settling in a fertile river delta on what is now Nagijima.

The Japanese settlement managed to grow and expand, with new settlements slowly pushing inward and along the coast as well as trading and making contact with the Norse Civilizations. By 1500, there were an estimated 150,000 people (110,000 Vikings and 40,000 Shinto) living on the island. Initially the Japanese settlements were united, although this scenarion quickly changed. As a large number of new towns were founded, there was no means to properly administrate them while various feuds emerged. The end result was that by 1550, a period of waring city states emerged. The Norse were regarded as little more than a troublesome annoyance that launched the occasional raid on new settlements and minor trading partners that, due to a lack of Cavalry and disorganization were rarely considered to be much of a threat and several of Norse settlements were conquered. Never-the-less, through various means including mercenary bands, studied tactics and alliances, eventually managed to make up the disadvantage. The initial advantage of the Shinto states eventually gave way by 1600, although the populations of the two groups were more or less matched at this point. The result was that Zoria was divided into nearly fifty feuding Principalities, the northern half being primarily Norse with the southern half being Shinto with a few mixed cultures along the loosely defined boarders of these two ethnic groups, although a few cultural traditions were generally exchanged across the board.

Colonization

In 1712, Zoria was discovered by the Shroomanian Explorer Sir Horatio Zorston. After exploring the coastlines and making people of the Islands with his three ship fleet for two years, he discovered that the natives had begun to cultivate several rather tasty local plants for spices as well as a few other notable trade goods. Upon his return to Shroomania, he manages to entice the Shroomanian Settlement Syndicate (SSS) to send an expedition to secure the Island. Using a small force of 700 Mercenaries, 100 employees and gifts of muskets, he manages to make an alliance between three of the (at that time) 46 principalities on the north, South and east Coasts of Zoria and gained control of three port cities which he named Pacifica, New Atlantis and Victorium. To bolster these new settlements, the SSS brought in colonists from wherever he could find them. Among these colonists were the mercenaries they hired and their families, religious minorities, penal colonists, indentured servents and even a few thousand voluntary colonists simply seeking a better life. By 1775, The SSS’s Zorian Branch had established a population of 65,000 persons in its cities and not including some 125,000 in three vassal states, out of a population of 2.5 million people and had established local industries, including shipbuilding as well as establishing thriving ports. The (now five) allied Principalities of the SSS also prospered, making short work of their rivals and becoming significantly powerful players on the island. At the same time they took to using foreign goods, technologies and methods, as well, via a casual exchange of ideas and ideologies via a benign but persistent trade of literature led a few Principalities to adopt a few traditions, including the establishment of Lower houses of non noble landowners, veterans and wealthy merchants by three principalities. Shroomanian Control of Zoria was, all and all, fairly loose, a few light pieces of legislation were sent out, a few small military bases were maintained with a few Hundred Shroomcoats and the SSS paid an annual 10% off all profits to the company and an additional 5% to the Shroomanian Throne, but effectively the Zorian Branch of the SSS ruled it’s territory independently for nearly a century.

Independance

Eventually however, a change of heart hit the powers of be, and in 1790, the Shroomanian Government ordered a massive reshapement of the Zorian Colonies. All of Zoria was to become a Shroomanian Crown Colony ruled by Crown appointed governors. The acting Magistrate Michael Zorston of the SSS was placed in a hard position, it would mean completely obliterating decades of good relations with his allied and generally friendly principalities, which could muster far more soldiers armed with comparable weaponry than he could while the some 135,000 people who lived his formal territory would in general have mixed feelings about it. As well as removing the SSS Zorian Branch’s near sovereignty and power in the colonies. As such, he secretly made deals with the PeZookian and called a meeting of 22 Allied and Generally friendly principalities of Zoria of the fact that Shroomania was planning on bringing all of Zoria under the rule of Shroomania and announced that the only way to fend off Shroomanian conquest of Zoria was to fend off the aggressors together. That night they signed the Article of Zorian Independence and White ordered a force of 500 of his Zorian SSS troops to seize the six Shroomanian Frigates docked at Pacifica Harbor while sending messages to the forces in New Atlantis and Victorium to attack and destroy the various garrisons. The Next Two weeks saw grizzly defeats as the thirteen hundred Shroomanian Soldiers at the hands of Zorian Soldiers and the various principalities, who mustered over fifty thousand soldiers for the coming war while a fleet of fast ships was built.

The Shroomanian response was quick, an armada fifty ships strong including eight ships of the line was dispatched and an army of Twenty Six thousand ground soldiers was sent to the island to engage. The Rag-tag Zorian Navy of Frigates and sloops was Unable to do more than raid and within few principalities on the northern coast fell to the Shroomcoats who recruited mercenaries to bolster their ranks with an additional 20,000 men. Seeking to gain the upper hand over their rival, PeZookia offered Naval Aid. Never the less, they faced a well armed and equipped forces that had the experience of dozens of campaigns amongst themselves. The Shroomcoats faced down not only settler Forces, but well disciplined Ashigaru Musketeers and the Pagan Norse God worshiping Viking cavalry, renowned for their savage charges. Meanwhile the Colonial Rivals, seeking to deprive Shroomania from a valuable colony meet the Demands and off. The Result was a three year long and protracted War between the Zorian Allied Forces and Foreign Powers (most notably PeZookia) and the Shroomanians with a few allied Principalities. Despite a few military Victories, the Shroomanians were eventually defeated and the leader of the Shroomanian expedition General Arthur Mangson was forced to surrender at the Treaty of Ericssonia in 1796 who vowed to (then General) Zorston after the treaty that some day, Zoria would bow again before the Shroomanian Throne.

After the War, the Islands was again divided into its various principalities as the alliance that held them together reverted to its pre-war mess of Squabbling Principalities with the one real change being the conversion of the former Shroomanian Colonies (and its vassals) into a Independent Parliamentary Monarchy, known as the Kingdom of the Zoria ruled by King Michael-I. Over the next three decades, the Kingdom began to industrialize as a new financial class began to invest in increasingly mechanized industry. The process had started during the war when the Inventor Douglas Roff developed a system of interchangeable Parts for firearms and with some financial assistance managed to establish a factory that produced between 1804 and 1806 some 10,000 muskets, expanded slowly from their and by the 1830 the Industrial Revolution was in full swing in the former Colonies. Outside, industrialization happened, but at a comparatively slower rate from a variety of reasons, most notably conservatism among the ruling classes and lower urban population.

Industrialization and Unification

In 1834, King Michael-I died and was succeeded by his son, King Stephen-I. Soon after his ascension to the throne, the Grudges that several Principalities had For the SSS that were suspended due to King Michael’s rebellion against Shroomania resurfaced, bolstered by Grudges by the Marginal number of Principalities that allied in support of Shroomania against their rivals, only to face penalties when their side lost. Zoria and her Allied Principalities soon found themselves caught in Wars with the intentions of reclaiming lost glory and Face alongside gaining an economic advantage through regaining land and re-arranging treaties to serve their needs in a period between 1835 and 1839 known as the Age of Chaos. The alliance of the Kingdom of Zoria and her allied principalities were collectively outnumbered nearly two to one by their foes, who were for the most part willing to leave aside their old hatreds against this common enemy, but Zoria offered its own advantages. Zorian Soldiers (and the allies) were supplied with superior weaponry including percussion cap muskets and latter rifles with the introduction of the Watson ball (Minie ball) and revolvers. Also, the Age of Chaos was not a single war, but a series of wars against various principalities that lasted a few months. Never the less, the threat was big enough for the Diet of Port Victory in 1839, in which the allied principalities, connected via bloodline and military alliances signed a treaty, creating a new state known as the United Kingdom of Zoria, in which they gained a seat in a upper house of Parliament (while their subjects gained seats in the lower house) under King Stephen-I, while retaining most of their power in their lands and benefiting mutual defense and free trade between them as well as gaining control of all the newly claimed territory gained in the wars.

King Stephen lived for eleven more years, and saw the introduction of many things, including the establishment of rail-lines, expansion of the Navy and the establishment of an nationwide Public School System (such a system was employed Port Victory in 1831 and across the rest of the former colonies and vassals a year latter). But unfortunately his legendary bouts of Drinking led to an early death in 1850. He was succeeded by his only child who became Queen Adria-I. Queen Adria-I was crowned at age 27 and at first and was not taken very seriously. Never the less, she proved herself a capable leader in 1853, when a trade dispute led her to declare war on three different principalities, not to uncommon an affair in Zorian History, although she controlled the largest and most powerful nation on the island, with over two million people and nearly 100,000 soldiers armed with superior breach loading rifles and shell firing artillery and quickly dispatched them within six months. However, unlike most other wars on this type in Zorian History, she completely annexed these three principalities, dividing them up among her nobility to satisfy them. Thus, with the assistance of her War Minister, Dietrich Stein began their unification of Zoria. Principality by Principality, she began to bring in new territories. A few came in voluntarily, joining for social, strategic and economic advantages that Adria ordered to stress while others were brought in by the sword as an increasingly large and well armed military destroyed all opposition. The Queen made sure to appease the nobility by offering them land of conquered foes while appeasing the common people, bringing in a new Pan-Zorian ideology in her book “For the Age of Peace”. Often this was seen as liberation, a few principalities still had serfdom, an aspect of society which Adria ended unilaterally in newly conquered territories. Shroomania, attempting to sabotage Adria’s plans had at several times supplied principalities with cut rate up to date weaponry and artillery and even offered assistance in setting up modern arms industries, but ultimately could not match the size of the Royal Zorian Army, which reached a maximum mobilization of 800,000 men by 1876 (out of a population of 12 million). The final War between a unified alliance of the Remaining seven independent principalities and the United Kingdom ran from 1875 to early 1877. The allied principalities struck first and won a few initial victories, but in the end the Zorian Military, equipped with bolt action breach loading rifles, gating guns, superior artillery and trench warfare won the day. as such May 20th is known as Unification Day across the Kingdom and Queen Adria-I was to be known as the Great Unifier.

Consolidation

Adria-I lived another 25 years before dying peacefully in her bed at age 75. During those years, the Zorian Army dwindled to six Legions by 1890 as the need for land based military power diminished while the navy and Marine Corps came to prominence. Arms factories deprived of a massive military constantly buying new guns and ammunition had to seek out new sources of income. A few turned to exporting weapons, while others turned to producing civilian goods for growing middle classes. Zorian Industries flourished, both in the cities and in conquered territories, where captains of industry came in to conquered territories lured by new natural resources, cheap labor and government aid to development. Meanwhile, several government acts and constitutional amendments gradually relegated the upper house and gave more power to the people. In 1878, all property requirements for voting were dropped, enfranchising the entire male population and by 1900, the once powerful nobility, while still somewhat influential were now subordinate politically to the upper house. Zoria became a profitable and generally non interventionist power and benefited massively from international trade. By 1900, the benefits of industrialization were clearly apparent across Zorian Society.

Despite this, there was some discontent among the population at large. Acts of Terrorism by various independence movements seeking to restore independence plagued Zoria, as bomb attacks and assassinations become rampant in several conquered territories. This led to the creation of the Paramilitary Royal Zorian Mounted Police (often abbreviated to Mounties) in late 1877 as well as the Firearm Control Act of 1888, forbidding the private ownership of pistols, the preferred weapons of Terrorist Assassins that plagued cities as well as the registration of all private fire-arms. However, the most effective means at suppressing these movements was eventually prosperity. While wealth discrepancies between the Original seven Zorian States and the newly conquered territories did exist, the elimination of trade barriers, improved infrastructure including trains and latter automobiles and airships, industry and a well funded and run public education system greatly considerably raised the standard of living of the conquered after the final conquest, a fact that Zorian propaganda campaigns ruthlessly pointed to and Localist Terrorism dwindled away by 1910, although a few Brownfoots (A Zorian term for the Nation’s Rural Low Income/low information people analogical to Rednecks and Bogans) to this day claim that eventually they will rise up and regain their independence.

The Twentieth Century

After the Death of Queen Adria-I, she was succeeded by her son King Michael-II, who, under his rulership, saw the kingdom through a few decades of peace and relative isolation. Zoria had no land boarders which an enemy could storm across and a navy quite respectable for her size. King Michael-II stayed out of the first Great War, although many Zorian manufacturing firms, including the crown owned Royal Zorian Ordinance Company (Informally refered to as Royal Zordinance quite frequently until 1936, when a referendum via became its official title) eagerly supplied equipment, including plenty of weaponry and ammunition to the PeZookians, Byzantines and Shroomanians, which the United Kingdom passively favored. Zorian Military Technology was kept up to date as Shroomania lisenced Zorian Automobile companies to produce tanks, aircraft and other such equipment. Zoria’s Navy was top notch for the kingdom’s size and enough of a deterrent to dissuade serious offences against Zorian Commerce, although a few ships fell to submarine warfare (and a few Submarines fell to Depth Charges deployed by Zorian Destroyers). After the war, Zoria remained relatively untouched and on good terms with the Victors, despite a few claiming that Zorian Government was nothing more than a pack of uncaring war profiteers. King Michael-II lived until 1928, dying of a Heart Attack, leaving the crown to King Stephen-II.

King Stephen-II’s rule had a rough start, as two years into his rule, Zoria lapsed into an economic depression. In response, he (and the social democratic party) instituted a massive campaign of public works, including the creation of several prominent hydro-electric dams on the northern coast and the institution of a myriad of new social programs, a few people objected to this but and he was lampooned by dozens of newspapers for socialist leanings and was given the nickname “Red Steve” for his actions, but never the less remained quite popular. When the Second Great War began, Zoria remained out for the first seven months, until a Zorian Destroyer was torpedoed by a Shadow Submarine. Despite some conservative whining, Zoria Entered the War, providing the full force of the Royal Zorian Navy, Royal Zorian Air Force and Royal Zorian Army against the Shadows. Zorian Equipment lagged in many fields during the beginning of the War. Zorian armor was in particular sub-par, the Vanquisher Medium Tanks still had side sponsons, low caliber turret guns and an underpowered engine while Vanguard Light tanks had only machine guns. Zoria also lacked any self propelled artillery or Sub Machine guns although Zorian airpower did not lag as much and some Zorian Small arms and most Cannon Artillery were top notch. In a few (and fairly minor) early battles, Zorian Expeditionary forces faced major loses. In response, King Stephen-II ordered crash R&D projects Zorian Forces bought and salvaged whatever they could from friend and foe for shameless reverse engineering. From this project in a few years came a top notch and up to date arsenal, including the Famed Zorian Vindicator Medium Tank, a powerful 33 tonne vehicle carrying either a 75mm or (latter) a 90mm cannon, with latter still in service today in a few minor nations, while Zorian ZF-5 Naginata Fighters and ZB-3 Mjolnir Medium Bombers helped clear the skies while Admiral Isoroku Nimitz led the Royal Zorian Navy to numerous victories using carrier and submarine Warfare while the RZA provided 1.5 million soldiers to the fray during the war. Postwar, Zorian industrialists made a killing off of reconstruction contracts while Zorian Diplomats re-established contact with Shroomania.

Post War

After the War, Zoria downsized the army once again, but still maintained a fair sized Navy against any threat that might have emerged. Zoria’s prosperity continued as time went on. Zoria’s ethnic community was augmented by various immigrants in a immigration spike in the 1960s and 70s while the Zorian Animation Industry really took off. Meanwhile, Zoria was rulled by King John-I (Reigned 1963 to 2001) and now by King Leighton-I.