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The World Turned Upside Down - A 20th Century Nation Game (HIATUS?)

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Heavy W. Guy said:
To: India

From: Nepal

Hrm, in theory we aren't opposed to greater trade, but lifting tariffs might have detrimental effects upon us both. After all, in some areas, India's production is massively superior to our own, whereas the opposite is true in certain industries. We fear that such a drastic action would leave many industries displaced and many honest people out of work.

We can agree to a simplified or even abolished visa. India offers many opportunities for Nepali people and thus we see no reason to inhibit this flow of people to the benefit of both countries.

To: India

From: Bangladesh

We can agree to simplifying or even abolishing the need for travel visas between our nations, but we must admit that we share the same reservations about lowering tariffs.

Also, between our nations exist several enclaves of territory that are not clearly part of one nation or the other. There are tens of thousands of them in existence: though more Bangladeshi enclaves exist in India than Indian enclaves in Bangladesh. They contain some 50,000+ inhabitants as per the most recent census.

We have always had good relations with India, thus we wish to resolve this matter fairly and sensibly. So our proposal is simple: we establish a commission administered and staffed jointly between our two nations and survey the inhabitants of these enclaves: giving them the choice to either join India or join Bangladesh.

Is this acceptable to New Delhi?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

We agree to the nepali proposal to simplify visas between our countries.

We agree to the Bangladeshi proposal for a joint border commission and the simplification of Visa between our countries.
 
From: Ukraine
To: Turkey @Korona

Greetings, as part of our ongoing efforts to establish trade and diplomatic links with our neighbors, the Ukrainian State would like to forge a trade agreement with you.

We understand Turkey Imports Various Processed and Unprocessed Metals. We export lots of processed and unprocessed metals.

At the same time, Turkey Exports lots of textiles, whereas we import lots of textiles.

What we are looking to do is lower tarrifs on Turkish Textile Imports and for you to lower tarrifs on Ukrainian Metals, in order to stimulate trade between us over the Black Sea. This would cause our respective economies to become more robust.

What doe you say?
 
KnightofTempest said:
From: Ukraine
To: Turkey @Korona

Greetings, as part of our ongoing efforts to establish trade and diplomatic links with our neighbors, the Ukrainian State would like to forge a trade agreement with you.

We understand Turkey Imports Various Processed and Unprocessed Metals. We export lots of processed and unprocessed metals.

At the same time, Turkey Exports lots of textiles, whereas we import lots of textiles.

What we are looking to do is lower tarrifs on Turkish Textile Imports and for you to lower tarrifs on Ukrainian Metals, in order to stimulate trade between us over the Black Sea. This would cause our respective economies to become more robust.

What doe you say?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The Republic of Turkey is open to this proposal, and welcomes the Ukrainian State as a valued trading partner of our great Republic. God willing, our two nations can grow closer together through this deal.
 
To Australia
We in India would like to encourage more trade and investment between our countries. We also want to simplify the Visa process between us.
 
Leader Profile: Prime Minister Padma Korrapati (1935-)

Early Life
Padma Narmada Gupta was born in Calcutta, West Bengal in 1935, the third child of Navin (1900-1969) and Amandeep (1910-1980) Gupta. Navin was a railway engineer and Amandeep a seamstress. Both parents were active in the Indian independence movement with Navin smuggling messages and materials along his routes and Amandeep organizing aid for families with members in British jails. Padma would travel with her father and brothers and became fascinated with trains from an early age. She would perform well in Primary school, especially in Mathematics. After a famine in 1943 and a harsh crackdown by the colonial government, India would erupt in revolt and Calcutta would become one of the hubs of resistance. Both brothers would enlist in the Army and her father avoid a draft since he was involved in a 'critical industry'. Padma and her mother would continue to assist families while Padma attended Primary and Secondary school.

Work and Higher Education
Despite having high marks and graduating at the top of her class, Padma would not be able to attend University due to wartime shortages. Instead she would start working at the Ministry of Railways in 1953 at the age of eighteen as a Dispatcher. Her father would be severely wounded when his train was bombed by British aircraft so Padma's income was necessary for her family to survive. Tragedy would strike again with the death of her brothers Gopal (1930-1955) and Ravi (1932-1955) while fighting near New Delhi. With the end of the war in 1958 and with recommendations from her superiors, Padma would be admitted to the University of Kolkata, where she would earn a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering in 1963. During this time she would meet a fellow engineering student Sanjit Korrapati, whom she would marry in 1963. She would return to the Ministry of Railways, where she soon became popular with other women engineers and staff for her fairness and no-nonsense approach to harassment or corruption. By 1968, the Ministry of Railways became one of the most popular Ministries for women of all ages in the post-war Indian government. Padma would also became a mother, giving birth to daughter Deepa in 1965 and son Rishi in 1967.

With the election of Harshad Nanda and the REP in 1967 and the Reorganization in 1970 the Ministry of Railways would become the Ministry of Transportation, covering all forms of transportation and receiving a massive increase in funds. Plans that had been neglected for years were started and Padma would travel the nation supervising the various projects. The government would publish several articles and interviews of Padma as 'The New Indian Woman' combining traditional and modernity. By Nanda's death in 1979, Padma would be a Deputy Minister of Transportation, one of the highest women serving in the government.

Life in Politics
Despite the massive press coverage, Padma would remain politically neutral as Deputy Minister despite offers from several parties. However, by 1982 she would become a member of the Hindu People's Party (HPP) and would be posted to the Women's Section of the party after receiving a free hand from the party leadership. As leader of the section, she would launch a massive reorganization and removal of men who were known for their harsh treatment of party workers, especially women staffers and volunteers. Padma would gain the name of Durga, the warrior goddess, whose mythology centres around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity and dharma of the good. By 1988, over twenty five percent of HPP candidates in various races, would be women, all due to the influence of Padma. Padma herself would be repeatedly elected from her constituency in North Kolkata in 1984, 1988 and 1992. With her support of President Gadhavi's Invest in India program and series of reforms, she would be nominated for Prime Minister by her party in 1992.

Personal Life
Padma retains her interests in transportation. She is an avid driver and motorcyclist along with being a fan of the cinema. Both children are attending University. She is fluent in bengali, English, and hindi with some knowledge of Russian.
 
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Name: Dominion of West India
Type of Government: Head of State: HRH Queen Elizabeth II Windsor
Head of Government: Prime Minister Aminah Scharif Pakistan Peoples Party
Type of Government: Parliamentary Democracy (The Queen is legally sovereign, but is bound by centuries of tradition and confined to a largely ceremonial and diplomatic role)
Official Languages:English, Urdu, Gujarati, Hindiand Kashmiri
Population: 142.16 millions
Capital: Karachi
Largest City: Karachi
Other Major Cities:Ahmadabad ,Lyallpur,Jodhpur ,Lahore ,Rawalpindi

Internal events:
A victory for TRUTH!


Aminah Scharif PM of the PPP was reinstated into her position as prime minister after she has been cleared of the accusation of accepting bribes after a investigation cleared her of all accusations , even if it did offer a formal reprimend towards her behaviour which she accepted now that she has returned to her old position.


All are equal before the law !
The High Court in Lahore in a groundbreaking case decided to enshrine the protection of the khawaja sara subgroup in a move that grants them equal protection in case of discrimination and acess to medical support on acount of there unique situation.


Diplomacy :
@Traveller76
There is a surprising amount of diplomatic travel between the Two Indias in recent Months , and while the gouverment did not talk about the topic of these one statement that was given out of 12th Vishandas street was that " We are not concerned with our Neighbors plans in regards to the modernisation of there armies."

Further Information shall be forthcomming.

The Fertile crescent , fertile with chaos.
In regards to the chaos beyond its borders , West india has offered humaniterian aid and peace keping as a neutral party in the conflict.


America, land of conflict.
In a note Mrs Scharifs Gouverment urged all parties to stop the use of weapons of such devastation and said that the continued crisis must abede , while also noting there support for the UKs defense of world peace.


Pan Aryian Commonality route
@ManusDomini

Another lane of the Karachi-Teheran Highway has been unveiled under thunderous applaus and chosen members of the diplomatic corps also noted that the united cooperation for the peacefull use of Nuclear energy would continue.



Economic Status:
-Great
- The second strongest economy inside the commonwealth continues to increase its mission to diversify its economic base with a recent series of grands for Technological enterprises so that the new developments in the technological area of the internet will not be ignored.
-Plans Continue to diversify national economic interests and while it is assumed that the economy will take a small dip in the next two years , it is assumed that in the following years the increased amount of funding for higher education and reducing raw good exports will ensure that the long term projections about the stability of the West Indian economy should hopefully provide themself to be true.

-In light of the recent CFCs scandals, a initative has been created to continue climate research based on the state of the himalaya ice , and the preperation of a satelite to do research into the earths climate, which will only be send of next year after technical problems with the sensor suite.

Military
-(need to redo my numbers)
 
The Great Southron War
​
The Situation in 1992-



-Members of the Cuban National Guard posing for a photograph at an unidentified location in Alabama, circa 1992​

Strangely, although the Great Southron War was shaping up to be the largest conflict in North American history, it was surprisingly under-reported in the international press. The conflict in Mesopotamia had occupied much of the world's press and the escalation of the conflict to very possibly a general Middle Eastern war was seen as of far more immediate concern to Europe than affairs in distant North America. Yet this lack of attention coupled with general inaction from the international community did nothing to avert the major storm that was brewing in North America. In 1992, the Great Southron War would be joined in full force between the Southron Social Republic and the Confederacy of Southron America. For the two belligerents, this was not simply a skirmish over disputed territory, it was an absolute war of survival. The Southron Confederacy's leadership saw peace as impossible and inconceivable to co-exist with the SSR. Thusly, the battle was set: two sides squared off in a war that had been coming for a long while.

One year of fighting since 1991 had revealed the relative standing of the two combatants: the supply situation of both the Confederate successors was difficult, but for different reasons. The Southron Social Republic had a large military, but most of the best military equipment was in the hands of the Southron Confederacy: nearly all of the navy had remained loyal to the Confederacy, as had much of the airforce. However, while the Southron Confederacy maintained a distinct advantage in heavy equipment and vehicles, this advantage brought problems. The simple fact was that by 1992, the Southron Confederacy was fighting an extremely costly war that required the mobilisation of its entire populace to support. And while it had taken the lion's share of CSA military equipment, there were still crucial shortages of many materials, made worse by the intensive nature of the conflict and the fact that Southron troops were attacking in force on every front. Artillery shells had to be carefully rationed to preserve the ammo supply for as long as possible. Moreover, many aeroplanes and tanks had to be cannibalised for spare parts. There was also the not-inconsiderable problem of foreign currency: the Confederate Dollar used by the Southron Confederacy was near-worthless and most of its purchases of supplies and petroleum had to be made with the Confederacy's stock of British Pounds. The Department of the Treasury in a secret memorandum to the Confederate leadership had issued a dire warning in January of 1992: the Southron Confederacy had stocks of British Pounds and other currencies needed to pay for necessary imports for the war effort until 1993, but after that, the situation would become... difficult.

The Alabama Campaign-



-Prewar Montgomery, Alabama: claimed capital of the Southron Confederacy and the actual capital of the SSR​

The largest prong of the Southron offensive struck directly northward at the SSR capital at Montgomery. The SSR had of course anticipated this and evacuated several key government officials from the city, moving them northward to avoid the brunt of the Confederate attack. The Confederates surged northward, their best-equipped and most elite units faced off against those of the SSR. The SSR had considerable provision to defend the capital, as to fail to do so would have certainly been bad for morale, but ultimately, the SSR realised that it could only do so much to hold back the Southron tide. The SSR's defense emphasised a Fabian defense to damage irreplaceable Confederate equipment and draw them into a costly battle against lesser-armed but more numerous SSR forces. The speed of the Confederate advance was swift, the whole of southern Alabama was secured within a period of months but it was a painful victory. Military losses were higher than anticipated among the invading Southrons and large amounts of heavy equipment and vehicles dedicated to the attack were destroyed. The SSR had relatively weak capabilities against heavy armour, aircraft, and artillery, but the Confederate advantage here was less considerable than it appeared. Shortages of fuel and spare parts meant that such vehicles and aircraft were used sparingly, moreover, unit commanders frequently argued over whose troops should receive artillery, aircraft, or armoured support, and many who had command of such forces held them back for the most vital of battles to preserve them.

This phase of the war also quickly demonstrated the brutality with which this conflict would be fought. The Southron Confederacy had made some consideration for minimising civilian casualties but these considerations often simply fell by the wayside. From the very beginning, there was significant civilian resistance to the Confederate invasion, resistance which became near-universal when Confederate troops began to enter predominantly Afro-Confederate areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and other predominantly black regions of the Deep South. Moreover, the rhetoric of the Southron leadership had for years talked about the glorious reclamation of the mainland from the "leftist traitors" and left little room for distinction between friend and foe. Their troops were riled up for a major fight and were repeatedly told by their superior officers that they could trust nobody. Anyone, even a child or elderly person, could be a part of the resistance. Many civilians did fight against the occupation as they viewed the Southrons as little more than bandits fighting for the flag of a state that had long since died. But the reprisals against civilians, especially Afro-Confederates, were vicious. The Southrons neither gave nor requested quarter. For this was not a mere skirmish, but a war to decide the fate of their nation.

Compounding this problem was the use of irregular citizens' militias. While the discipline of Southron troops was often higher, they frequently had to rely upon the militias to keep the peace in occupied areas. And inevitably, this resulted in many atrocities. The mere rumour of sniper fire originating from an Afro-Confederate neighbourhood would result in drive-by shootings, arson attacks, and other reprisals perpetrated by militias. Confederate troops were not always an improvement: supply shortages for ground troops meant that grocery stores and private homes often presented a tempting target. The capture of major towns and urban areas was often slowed by acts of looting and pillage by Confederate troops. The supply situation was so dire that local commanders effectively had to acquiesce to this or risk discontent from their subordinates. Civilians in occupied areas, even those who cooperated, were typically regarded with suspicion (as it was not known who collaborated out of genuine support for the CSA and who did so under coercion) and lived under martial law. Moreover, requisitions and "volunteer" labour became a fact of life for many. The SSR's forces generally attempted to conduct themselves more humanely but this was sometimes more an ideal than a reality. News inevitably spread of Southron atrocities, especially by militia groups allied to the Confederacy, and often SSR troops took out their frustrations where they could: namely on Confederate POWs. Several SSR commanders were court-martialed for such acts, but the needs of the war often dictated that men simply be reassigned elsewhere rather than relieved of command. But the simple fact was that for the SSR this was a war of survival.

The advance on the SSR capital at Montgomery was rapid. The SSR waged a fighting retreat up to the literal city limits and beyond: inflicting considerable losses on the Southron Confederacy. The Battle of Montgomery also led to some of the most intense urban fighting that had yet happened in the war. Confederate superiority in terms of tanks, artillery and aeroplanes was less pronounced as much of the fighting was intensely close-quarters: Confederate troops could only bomb buildings if they had no troops present. And even leveling a whole city block with artillery or aerial bombardment didn't always make things easier: SSR troops could still use rubble and facades for cover. The battle was long and hard-fought, with the Southron military often having to simply take the city block-by-block until they had finally pushed on to the state capitol and raised the Stars and Bars over the defeated city.

The Battle of Montgomery took roughly three months: from early February of 1992 to April of that same year. Southron forces numbered roughly 60,000 with opposing SSR forces totaling some 25,000 and a considerable number of irregulars fighting for the SSR. The Confederacy suffered slightly over 13,000 casualties (counting both wounded and deceased) and considerable losses to its vehicles. The simple nature of urban warfare negated many elements of the Confederate technological advantage, and the heavy losses in vehicles and equipment coupled with the not-inconsiderable casualties caused many to regard the Battle of Montgomery as a Pyrrhic victory. Estimates for the SSR were harder to verify as a great number of Montgomery's defenders were drawn from the ranks of local citizens, but estimates in the high thousands or tens of thousands were seen as generally accurate. In addition to the steep military cost of the battle, some 40,000 civilians died, particularly in the last month of the battle as the battle entered its final and most deadly phase.

The fall of Montgomery effectively ceded much of Alabama to Confederate military superiority. Birmingham, Alabama's largest city, was merely surrounded rather than attacked as the Southron Confederacy felt it could afford to wait on a siege rather than storm the city and repeat the heavy casualties of the Battle for Montgomery. In a strategic sense, the Confederacy had succeeded in taking the SSR capital and the city which the Southron Confederacy claimed as its capital. However, this victory was largely a symbolic one: much of the city had been destroyed in the fighting and large numbers of troops were still deployed in the city to contain the not-inconsiderable insurgency that was still resisting Confederate rule. Consequently, the Confederate military largely had to continue its use of the city of Pensacola as a base of operations on the mainland. It would be some time before the city was safe enough to serve as a seat of government.

For the SSR, the fall of Montgomery was a blow to morale, but it did little to change the overall determination to fight on as best as possible. The simple fact was, the SSR had no reason to expect any manner of mercy or amnesty from the Southrons. It was one of the SSR's most prominent generals, "Atomic Billy" Chandler, who would state in a broadcast to the SSR public and North America as a whole: "The fall of one city is not the fall of our nation. We are a vast land and every loyal citizen who yearns for freedom is part of our army. We can only fight on."

Results:
  • The CSA pushes northward in an all-out assault on Alabama, aimed at seizing the national capital at Montgomery
  • Bloody urban warfare ensues in which the Confederacy takes roughly 13,000 casualties and loses many of its heavy vehicles and equipment
  • The city of Montgomery suffers greatly: large parts of the city are devastated or damaged in the fighting and over 40,000 civilians die, disproportionately in Afro-Confederate neighbourhoods
  • Use of pro-Confederate militias proves to be a strategy with mixed results: paramilitaries are helpful in holding territory and providing local knowledge, but the atrocities they commit also spur resistance
  • Ultimately a Pyrrhic victory: high losses of military and civilian lives mar the capture of the SSR's capital, and the devastation of the city means that it will not be suitable as a capital for the immediate future
  • The SSR's government flees northward to Birmingham

The Louisiana Campaign-


​
-The Jefferson Davis Bridge in Louisiana: a vital infrastructure target for the Confederate military. However, "Ol' Jeff Davis" was blown up by a concerted sabotage campaign enacted to deny and destroy infrastructure of invading Confederate forces. Thus forcing large parts of the Confederate army to cross the Mississippi by ferry.

In the West, Confederate advances had been slowed somewhat by the difficult terrain of Louisiana, but by 1992, the tide was beginning to turn in conventional terms. Despite many logistical problems, the Confederate military was ready to push on Baton Rouge and secure the state. However, for the Confederates, Louisiana was a relatively peripheral front, outside of the strategic port of New Orleans, the capture of Louisiana was viewed as secondary to the more important campaigns to the east. The most elite troops with the best equipment were all diverted eastward, with the Army of the Mississippi under General John Cunningham receiving largely the poorest. Still, Cunningham was regarded as a resourceful commander who made do with a difficult situation. Initially, his campaigns were quite successful: with his forces pushing forward and taking considerable territory in Louisiana. Cunningham was cautious and opted to surround Baton Rouge rather than risk heavy casualties from a prolonged urban combat. He had specifically recommended against attacking Montgomery in this manner but other members of the Confederate high command had overruled him. Still, Cunningham's approach appeared to be paying off. Many of his men were tied up with Baton Rouge and surrounding areas, with light infantry pressing westward to tentatively secure a buffer space. One of Cunningham's objectives was to cut off any potential invasion route from Texas, but this was secondary to his mandate to capture the state capital and preferably its government.

Inexplicably, into the middle of 1992, Cunningham's casualties began to increase dramatically. Patrols in occupied territories would return mauled from combat and reporting enemies armed with sophisticated equipment: anti-tank missiles, mines, and plastic explosives far in excess of the typical armament of an SSR soldier. SSR partisans killed in combat were intensively searched and this quickly revealed evidence of their equipment. They were being equipped in massive numbers with British military surplus. Britain was by far the world's largest producer and exporter of arms, so many nations in the Americas and throughout the world had bought British equipment. The SSR had inherited a fair amount of it, but there seemed to be a new supplier of weapons. Southron ships traversing the Mississippi and other bodies of water in Louisiana were hitting limpet mines and other explosives designed to attack ships. But what was by far the most dramatic were repeated attacks on Confederate military aircraft. SAM batteries concealed in thick underbrush were a constant threat throughout the SSR, but there were a large number of reported attacks by projectiles believed to have been fired by man-portable air defense (MANPAD) rockets. Cunningham lost several helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to MANPAD attacks. Subsequently, Cunningham ordered all helicopter flights to switch to high-altitude flights wherever possible, but the fact remained that Cunningham had taken steep losses and, as with the other fronts, every aircraft shot down was near-irreplaceable.

The presence of advanced equipment wasn't all that worried Cunningham, he was also facing extremely sophisticated and well-trained foes with advanced protocols for resistance and communication. They effectively blended into the surrounding population, which Cunningham strongly suspected was providing at least some support to the rebels. They used frequency-hopping radios and demonstrated a sophisticated knowledge of Confederate military protocols: often able to exploit the Confederate military's own tactics to their own ends such as by stealing Confederate weapons and firing them in order to divert other units away. The extent of rebel activity was such that Cunningham had to consolidate his hold east of the Mississippi and tentatively secure the coast along with the Texan border to prevent either Texas or Mexico from supplying arms to the rebels. Baton Rouge was surrounded, as troubling as partisan activity was, thus far, it clearly did not have the strength to actively contest the Confederate Army in large numbers. But it did cause Cunningham to shift his priorities: as he was quite certain that weapons and troops were pouring into Louisiana from an unknown source. The problem was: Louisiana bordered Texas and the US, and either nation could have served as a conduit for supplies from elsewhere. Thusly, while the Confederate high command's priority was to take Baton Rouge, Cunningham was increasingly chafing under this approach and began to urgently request reinforcements: he needed more men to close the border with Texas and the US and strangle the flow of arms across the border.

Results:
  • Louisiana is a more peripheral front for all sides, but Confederate attempts to secure the state are stymied by heavy partisan activity
  • The use of sophisticated insurgency tactics and equipment suggests foreign involvement
  • The city of Baton Rouge is surrounded, with the Confederate commander opting to avoid a costly urban battle
  • However, he insists that there is a greater need to close off the border with Texas and the US and is requesting reinforcements

The Atlantic Campaign-


​
-The Alexander Stephens Bridge across the Brunswick River, it was destroyed while at near-full capacity with a large column of Confederate tanks crossing the bridge, causing countless vehicles and their experienced crews to be lost as the bridge collapsed.

The offensive to capture Mobile would result in the largest urban battle of the war thus far, but the largest battles of the war would be fought further to the east along the SSR's east coast. It was in this area that the SSR put its greatest hopes of defeating the Confederacy. It was not seen as merely militarily or symbolically important, but integral to a strategy of defeating the Southron Confederacy by undermining its will to fight. In the eyes of the SSR, the Southrons would keep fighting so long as they were winning, but that a major defeat or even a reversal might be enough to force them to sue for peace, or to bring them down altogether. For the Confederacy, the stakes were equally high but for distinct reasons. The Confederate economy was pushed to its limit supporting its military campaigns, and the capture of wealthy port cities such as Savannah and Charleston would, in the eyes of the Confederate leadership, dramatically expand the warmaking abilities of their state. The SSR had devoted its best troops. The Southron Confederacy had sent its most elite units to capture Alabama, but the forces invading along the East Coast were by no means ill-prepared.

As a frontline state, Georgia was a divided state with strong bases of support for both the SSR and the Southron Confederacy. Georgia's large Afro-Confederate population almost to the last man sided with the SSR, as did many liberal whites in urban areas and many rural poor who had been directly disadvantaged and disenfranchised by Confederate rule. However, among the ranks of impoverished whites was a considerable number of former Confederates who had been targeted for land expropriation during the period of the SSR. Georgia had been seen as a hotbed of Confederate support and consequently the state had been impacted heavily by a strong campaign to undermine the economic base of Georgia's pro-Confederate elites. When the Confederacy invaded, people quickly chose a side: former Confederates welcomed Southron troops whereas those oppressed by the former CSA quickly took up arms in opposition.

The SSR had devoted large amounts of equipment to halting the Confederate advance on the coast and it showed. Whereas elsewhere, the Confederacy had advanced rapidly, encountering modest conventional resistance and considerable irregular resistance, here, there were actual pitched battles fought between both forces. The SSR's troop strength actually considerably outnumbered that of the Confederacy, which had heavy equipment, vehicles and airpower as a force-multiplier to try and offset the SSR's numerical advantage. The coastal lowlands of Eastern Georgia made for ideal tank country, though much of the land was forested and served to slow advances. Moreover, many roads aside from those connecting major cities were poorly maintained and even good roads were typically covered in mines. Southron troops were hideously vulnerable to ambush as they cleared mines or other obstructions from major roadways.

The largest confrontation of the initial Georgia Campaign would be the Battle of Brunswick. The port of Brunswick in Southeastern Georgia was seen as integral to the Confederate war effort and would directly enable a push further northward to Savannah while also allowing the Confederate Navy to bring in supplies by sea, but the SSR defenders made every effort to stymie this desire. The city's port facilities were destroyed early in the war, as the city was regarded as impossible to hold against a sustained Confederate attack. Still, even sabotaged, Brunswick would be a vital base of operations, and a ruined port would not be ruined forever. The SSR committed to defending the city: even though it was common knowledge that Brunswick could not be held against a sustained attack, a defense was ordered nonetheless to draw in as many Confederate troops as possible. In a moment that would be forever immortalised in the annals of SSR military history: the city's garrison, many of whom were local recruits, urged their superiors to pull out the best troops and heavy equipment to save them for future battles. The city garrison with the help of an SSR Special Operations Command detachment then strategically placed shaped charges on various major infrastructure points throughout the city, no small feat at the height of a prolonged urban battle and detonated them all simultaneously. These included two of the largest bridges in the city, and some 50 Confederate tanks with their crews were lost when the bridges carrying them collapsed and plunged into the Brunswick River. The "Brunswick River Disaster" nearly killed the commander of Confederate forces in Georgia: General William Arnold Pike, who only narrowly escaped death by virtue of deciding to delay a drive in his personal car across the bridge to instead visit a local historical landmark. One of Pike's sons, Colonel William Arnold Pike Jr. was not so fortunate and was killed when the bridge collapsed as the tank he was riding crossed the river. General Pike was extremely distraught by the event and temporarily resigned his command for several months, leaving a trusted fellow, General Edward Abney, to take charge in his stead.

Although the Battle of Brunswick was a strategic Confederate victory, tactically it was a defeat: large numbers of Confederate troops were trapped either in the city or on the opposite side of the Brunswick River and the hopes of seizing the city's port intact had been completely dashed. The city's small airport had also been sabotaged: with the air traffic control tower blown up and any remaining passenger planes that could not be taken had their landing gear smashed and the wreckage of the planes was strewn liberally across the runway, making the airport effectively useless until the wreckage could be cleared and a system of air traffic restored.

The Battle of Brunswick was representative of the unique challenges that the Confederacy would face in the Atlantic Campaign: a numerically-superior foe with fierce determination and an extremely effective strategy designed to maximise losses of equipment and vehicles by the Southrons. It also highlighted that, for all their conventional superiority, the Southron Confederacy was badly outmatched in raw manpower, and thus it was advantageous for the SSR to draw their opponents into long, costly sieges and battles where the superior equipment of the Southrons was less important.

The small Southron People's Navy played a considerable role in the Atlantic Campaign: never engaging the much-larger Confederate Navy in a pitched battle, but acting as area denial and attacking Confederate supply ships to force the CSN to divert ships to guard its supply vessels. The Southron Navy was also distinguished for its borderline-suicidal bravery in attacks by small ships: usually small attack boats and patrol craft, against much larger Confederate vessels. The Confederate Navy employed several outdated ships, some of which had been slated for decommission but were kept in service to maintain as many ships as possible. These attacks were actually shockingly successful. An attack largely comprised of attack boats and patrol boats with modest support from Brunswick's coastal gun emplacements was successful in sinking two Confederate frigates: the CSS Havana and Tallahassee respectively.

After the fall of Brunswick, the primary thrust of the Confederate advance was towards the major port of Savannah. Overall command now defaulted to General Edward Abney, who had a reputation as a gambler relative to General Pike who was typically more cautious. The events at Brunswick, moreover, meant that Abney was under considerable pressure to win a victory. The Atlantic Campaign had had an inauspicious start and his superiors insisted that Abney bring him a proud victory to boost morale at home and destroy that of the SSR. Moreover, the problems at Brunswick were still affected Abney's army: considerable parts of the heavy equipment dedicated to the offensive was still trapped in Brunswick, painstakingly being moved out by boat or along the one serviceable highway that connected the city to the rest of Georgia. General Pike had previously ordered his troops to hold position until their equipment could be brought out of the city, but Abney regarded this as folly. Even without the equipment from Brunswick, he still had a decisive advantage in tanks, artillery, and aeroplanes. A great general was able to succeed in difficult conditions, and so, Abney pressed on. Time was of the essence: the longer he waited, the more chance the SSR had to fortify or sabotage Savannah.

As Abney advanced, he would meet the forces of his opponent, General Thomas Jones who commanded the SSR's 3rd Army tasked with the defense of Georgia. Abney made a move to initially take the crossings at the Savannah River. Controlling access to the river would dictate control of the city itself, and for either side to hold the river would deny reinforcement and resupply to their foe. Both sides met near the south bank of the Savannah River. Abney sent out several aerial sorties to scout and potentially attack SSR forces, but after losing several planes to SAM batteries in the area, Abney had to restrict his planes to high-altitude missions above SAM range, thus making them effectively unusable in combat. The ensuing battle would thus mostly be decided by armour. Both sides were operating old Confederate equipment supplemented liberally by British imports. Roughly 600 tanks took part in the major armoured clash, with 200 belonging to the SSR and 400 belonging to the Confederacy. Most of the tanks were old Confederate Liberty tanks that had been produced en masse in the 1970's. Abney had a few more modern British Imperator tanks with reinforced armour and computerised aiming systems, but for the most part, 1992's war was being fought with the weapons of yesteryear.

Where Abney differed most sharply from his SSR foe was in the field of doctrine. Abney strongly believed that the wars of the present age would be won by armoured spearheads carving through every foe in their path and allowing the chance for infantry to advance and take advantage of an opening in enemy defenses. General Jones, meanwhile, took a more broad approach of integrating infantry into tank formations, believing infantry were necessary to cover the inherent shortcomings of tanks which were powerful, but also slow and vulnerable. Moreover, it reflected practical realities: Jones had more infantry than Abney, whereas Abney had more tanks than Jones. Thus, both commanders embraced a doctrine which seemed to reinforce their advantages.

However, as Abney ordered the initial attack, it quickly became abundantly clear that he had gravely underestimated the threat posed by infantry in modern tank warfare. The SSR's troops had rocket-propelled grenades which could sometimes be of reasonable effectiveness against Liberty tanks (though were near-negligible against the Imperator) but what inflicted true devastation was the large number of anti-tank guided missiles employed by SSR infantry units against tanks. The simple fact was that the SSR had been preparing for a conflict with the Confederacy for years, and these preparations involved considerable planning to neutralise the superior armoured capabilities of the Confederacy. SSR infantry were lightly-equipped and fast-moving: able to strike and quickly retreat before large formations of Confederate troops could be summoned. They paid particular attention to destroying the Imperator tanks, which was largely successful: 8 out of every 10 Imperator tanks committed at the Battle of Savannah was either heavily-damaged or destroyed. Abney only avoided losing all of his Imperator tanks by adopting new tactics to use them sparingly and only with abundant support from the more expendable Liberty tanks. Finally, when Abney had lost roughly 200 tanks to the 70 lost by the SSR, he cut his losses and ordered a temporary withdrawal of his forces from Savannah. The primary Confederate offensive along the coast had been blunted and the SSR had won a much-needed victory after the fall of Montgomery.

The overall ramifications of the victory at Savannah were unclear and hotly-disputed. SSR sources and sympathetic US newspapers labeled Savannah "The Confederate Waterloo" and urged the Confederate regime to make peace. Whereas Confederate sources downplayed the importance of the loss and insisted that this was merely a minor setback. They also were buoyed by the fall of Montgomery and insisted that setbacks on the Atlantic were of no consequence.

Results:
  • The Southron Confederacy launches a major offensive along the Confederate coast
  • Primary targets are major ports such as Savannah and Charleston though much of the fighting takes place in Georgia
  • The SSR wins considerable successes: sabotaging the port of Brunswick as strategic denial and then culminates with a major victory outside of Savannah
  • However, Southron forces are bloodied but not fully beaten, the halt to their offensive is not permanent
  • Southron casualties are nonetheless high and losses in armour are considerable

The Central America Campaign-



-Female guerrillas in El Salvador

​

The Confederate counterinsurgency in Central America, often referred to as "The Nicaraguan War" by Confederate soldiers, was a massive conflict spread out across a vast series of territories. Although Confederate troops ostensibly ruled the region, the simple practical reality was that most of the fighting was done by pro-Confederate regimes and the forces they had raised. Various "National Guard" units modeled off of their Confederate counterparts accounted for the majority of Confederate forces. Yet spread out across vast territories and facing considerable unrest from oppressed peoples, it was very difficult to effectively police the region. The Confederates had devoted over 120,000 troops to the region but this number was less impressive than it seemed. The troops sent to Central America were typically of the poorest-quality: with the best troops sent northward to fight in North America. Moreover, 120,000 meant far less when spread across vast distances and charged with containing a myriad of local and national insurgencies. Indigenous populations in Guatemala chafed at brutal military rule, peasants in El Salvador fought against the corrupt pro-Confederate government in San Salvador, and leftist rebels organised themselves to topple Confederate rule in Nicaragua. The Confederates worked with local conservatives who depended upon them for support, but Central America was a vastly expensive commitment with no clear end in sight. Privately, most Confederate commanders in the region believed that Central America would only be pacified "when our men shoot the last guerrilla on the last hill," but there were many guerrillas yet.

Against them were a series of insurgencies, many of whom were allies against their common foe and often ideologically-aligned as well. Although many were ultimately rooted in local movements with their own grievances, the shared threat of the Confederates had forced them to work together. Moreover, it was all but undeniable that the various Central American insurgents were receiving a considerable amount of support from the Empire of Mexico. Although a conservative regime which ostensibly had little common cause with predominantly leftist rebels, it was clear that this was simply a matter of realpolitik: some elements of Mexico's government saw Central America as an ideal and low-cost way to weaken the Southrons without actually provoking a war.

In 1992, every nation in Central America had a different status. The insurgency in El Salvador was within shelling distance of San Salvador, and Salvadoran National Guard units were said to be engaged in pitched combat with the guerrillas there. In Costa Rica, Confederate troops had largely contained the insurgency and cut off the border with Colombian Panama for fear of the Colombian government providing support to the rebels. Nicaragua and Guatemala were more challenging: Confederate troops and their local allies held strongly in urban areas and were in the process of brutally pacifying elements of the countryside. Honduras remained surprisingly quiet: an island of peace in a sea of conflict. Yet throughout the region, there was a certain air of tension. Many Confederate commanders in the region feared that local insurgencies were simply buying time: waiting for the more intensive conflict in North America to force the diversion of Confederate troops.

Only time will tell.

Results:

  • Confederate troops remain bogged down in Central America
  • Major insurgencies continue throughout most of the region
  • The insurgencies vary in organisation and strength: guerrillas in El Salvador are at the outskirts of the capital, but relatively contained in Costa Rica
  • Nicaragua and Guatemala are hotly-contested and draw in huge numbers of Confederate soldiers
  • All in all, this front is a costly money sink: Confederate commanders in North America are constantly demanding the redeployment of Confederate forces to reinforce them in North America

Consequences-



-Protests in Chicago demanding peace in North America. The peace movement in the USA was considerable and drew the support of a wide variety of student movements. Though the proposals for how to achieve peace were actually widely varied. ​

The Confederate invasion hit North America like a bombshell. Rumours had swirled throughout the major capitals of the Americas: Mexico City, Ontario, and Chicago all debated responses both in public and in private to the Confederate threat. Some even believed that the Confederacy did not intend to escalate the war, but rather was looking to improve its negotiating position vis-a-vis the SSR. But the all-out Confederate invasion dashed all that. There had been all manner of speculation throughout the Americas of punitive measures or even military intervention. Yet, for all their talk against the Confederacy, not one of the major North American states or Britain imposed any concrete measures against the Confederacy. The poor state of the Confederate economy saw to it that the CSA could only pay for the bare minimum of imported arms and fuel, but not a step was taken to stymie the flow of goods or even weapons to the CSA. A considerable amount of focus was still on the conflict in Mesopotamia, yet the international response to the conflict in the Middle East had been vastly greater, with the "Southron War" as some called it often being seen as an exclusively North American issue. In Britain, Canada, Mexico, and Texas, there was a growing consensus that something needed to be done about the conflict. Of course, to openly provoke a nuclear-armed nation gave pause to even the most staunch foes of the Confederacy, but this was also a political matter. It was very easy for opposition politicians sitting in the backbenches and outside of power to lambast the supposed inaction of ruling governments and insisting that, if they were instead elected, that they would take decisive action. The British, Texan, Mexican, Canadian, and US legislatures all passed varying bills to impose economic sanctions on the Confederacy, but these were ill-coordinated and modest efforts, not particularly effective unless done on a far greater scale and in unison.

All in all, it was a delicate situation: too bold a response could provoke the Southron Confederacy into unleashing the so-called "Four Horsemen Contingency" but the present response of near-total inaction had proven to be utterly ineffective.

There was also the situation of the so-called "Border States", unrecognised governments that existed somewhere between the former CSA and the USA: Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Commonwealths of Virginia, in these regions, the response was more mixed. Kentucky condemned the CSA and encouraged "an immediate end to the war of Confederate aggression", Tennesse simply called for "peace and Christian fellowship between all North Americans" and Virginia reiterated its call for a peace conference in Richmond to finally bring about an end to the conflict in North America. However, beneath these various diplomatic platitudes lay different agendas: Virginia was isolated from the world stage and seeking diplomatic engagement as a way of achieving recognition as a sovereign state, primarily from the United States. Kentucky was preparing to join the US and thus was clearly following Chicago's lead on the matter, and Tennessee was as of yet undecided in the split between North American states.

Results:
  • The international response to the North American conflict is near nonexistent
  • Even states in North America have thus far been generally inactive: national legislatures typically propose and pass various forms of sanctions against the Confederacy, but these are of mild consequence at best
  • The various "Border States" of Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Commonwealths all attempt to remain generally uninvolved in the war. But as unrecognised states with an uncertain future, it's almost certain that they will not be able to remain neutral forever.
 
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The Other Border State


​
The State of Tennessee circa 1992 was much like neighbouring Kentucky: a former Confederate State that had been left to its own devices after the withdrawal of Confederate troops. A pro-Confederate insurrection had seized power and prevented Tennessee from joining the SSR. Yet this enclave of the former Confederacy was plagued by a persistently strong Unionist sentiment in eastern Tennesse. Moreover, the legitimacy of Tennessee's pro-Confederate regime was extremely tenuous. The government's leadership were far too conservative to ever consider joining the SSR, but the Southron Confederacy was seen as little better. Thusly, Tennessee attempted to veer more towards the Commonwealth of Virginia, not openly requesting annexation but generally attempting to maintain good relations in the hopes of eventual annexation. But at the same time, it was feared that joining the Commonwealths would provoke a military response from the US, thusly Tennessee was in a grey area: dangerously ambiguous in its future and determination.

Because of its status as a repressive, exclusionary regime, the State of Tennessee also had significant problems with popular legitimacy even outside of the historically-Unionist east. These problems of popular unrest only worsened after the revolution in neighbouring Kentucky. Suddenly, it was demonstrated that supposedly all-powerful regimes could be toppled through popular mobilisation. Perhaps in a bid to head off a similar occurrence, the Governor of Tennessee abruptly announced a series of moderate reforms: political prisoners would be released unconditionally, the widely-hated "Committee for State Sovereignty" which served as an apparatus for censorship and press control by the Tennessee government would be disbanded, and elections would be scheduled for 1993. Of course, under the indirect election system employed by many current and former Confederate states, the odds were always in favour of incumbents or candidates favoured by the political establishment. Initially, this move actually seemed to pay off: many Tennessee residents were grateful for the improved freedoms and lessening of the most repressive aspects of Confederate rule.

But in mid-1992, a cadre of pro-Confederate extremists issued a manifesto on state radio denouncing Governor Richard Thornton's reforms and calling for "decisive action" to end Thornton's betrayal of the Confederate legacy. The denunciation was obviously an attempt to rally support against Governor Thornton, but it was also a signal. Across the state, pro-Confederate militias, aided by elements of the Tennessee National Guard, seized control and did the same in the state capital of Nashville. Governor Thornton was forced to sign an instrument of resignation and hand over power to Lieutenant Colonel Paul Rutherford of the Tennessee National Guard, who promptly assumed the office of Governor and reversed all of Thorntorn's reforms.

However, what its supporters the "Nashville Insurrection" and opponents derided as a coup, ultimately only contributed to a further decline of state authority and legitimacy in Tennessee, and while this whirlwind of events took place primarily in the west, in East Tennessee, the so-called "Union Army in Tennessee": a longstanding rebel group with ties to the US, seized control of the city of Knoxville and declared the formation of the State of East Tennessee and immediately petitioned the United States for annexation.

The situation was delicate: the Rutherford government quickly began massing troops to crush the insurrection in East Tennessee, but his government was severely unpopular and widely-regarded as illegitimate even by his own people. Rutherford's removal of Governor Thornton was regarded as a criminal act. Even many elites in Tennessee were shocked by the blatant usurpation of civilian governance by a military official, and very few people believed the official story that Thornton had voluntarily signed over power.

Regardless, the situation in Tennessee was delicate, and only a prompt resolution would avert major bloodshed in the former Confederate state.

--------------------------------------

@Arthur Frayn @Secretariat @Arrow @Shynka
 
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El Gran Apagon: The 1992 Colombian Energy Crisis​


The blackened streets of Bogota, Colombia in May of 1992, with a particularly devastating bout of droughts across most of the country brought about by El Niño, a natural phenomenon which causes significant variations in marine climates and droughts and floods, the country's principal hydroelectric dams have dramatically lowered reservoir levels, leading to nationwide black and brownouts
​
Since the 1930s, the state utility companies were typically upheld by conservatives and liberals alike as institutions which demonstrated the efficacy of certain kinds of state control and intervention in the economy, Colombia was a fairly large country that, until recently, had a fairly small and far-flung population, often times topographic features such as mountain ranges, deserts, rivers, and miles and miles of jungle made it difficult connect everyone within the country's borders to a national power grid, for example. The state-owned Interconexión Eléctrica, S.A. (I.S.A.), while never perfect, managed to do the job well, connecting the many towns, villages, cities and fincas of the elite, to the national power grid, doing the necessary maintenance as antiquated systems ran their life expectancy. Of course, there were complaints, while ISA didn't charge directly, energy fees were taken out annually during tax filing, and often times the poor in the slums would take issue that the infrastructure in their neighborhoods and towns were not maintained appropriately, leading to more frequent brownouts, yet they were still charged as much as the middle and upper class who had much better maintained systems in their neighborhoods.

Come the 1970s, the industrious Liberal Party, seeking to best represent their core supporters, fiscally liberal businessmen and merchants, led a major charge to privatize the state energy sector, ranging from the state petroleum company to its utilities. A spree of liberalization, supported by conservative elites in the countryside in a rare, yet obvious, extension of bipartisan support, ensures, as the state oil company, utility corporation and a whole litany of other state owned sectors are promptly "liberalized", and effectively privatized to varying degrees. I.S.A. was the worst recipients of this bout of privatization, effectively being disbanded and replaced by over a dozen different private energy companies. At first, it worked like a charm, pursuing the cheapest overhead and seeking to provide effective service at the lowest prices, the different companies effectively delivered good service at much cheaper prices than the previously nationalized utility sector.

Flash-forward to the late 80s and early 90s, the system has begun to break down. While at first government regulations attempt to keep a monopoly from forming, the nature of the utility and energy sectors make themselves obvious: natural, regional monopolies begin to form as companies with less access to capital and government subsidies (by way of favoritism and personal collections) begin to go bankrupt and be bought out by those that do. The companies that were awarded the best markets and neighborhoods to power (often times thanks to their connections to the Ministry of Energy) flourished while those that were given markets in poor regions or in areas that were harder to connect to the power grids went under much faster by comparison, usually leading to a buy out or a hostile takeover by companies that covered departments that were much more profitable, such as Electrocaribe, which powered the Atlantic coast, or Utilidades Cundinamarca, which powered Bogota and the surrounding province of Cundinamarca. Once the market share was cornered by a handful of companies, often with ties to the government and the regional elites that acted as investors, price gouging ensured, a general disinterest with maintenance began, and innovation was stymied.

1992 would be a landmark year as a particularly strong El Niño led to harsh droughts across the country, culminating in decreasing water reservoirs which powered the nation's many hydroelectric dams, and as the strain on the national energy infrastructure wore on, the entire system began to collapse. Brownouts gave way to blackouts, spreading across the country within a matter of hours in May of 1992. First the poor are affected, but the rolling blackouts begin hitting neighborhoods and cities across the country, leading to accidents, lost wages, diminished productivity and crisis as some hospitals and airports lost power, losing their backup generators and fail-safes. The general public demands action, and once again President Escobar is only happy to acquiesce, does so by coming down hard on the privately owned energy companies, accusing them of "defrauding the public" and handling the crisis incompetently after they are unable to effectively bring power back to the country.

Escobar accuses the owners of the energy companies of all sorts of crimes and unethical behavior, going so far as to declare that this is all a plot to put pressure on the government for more subsidies and a relaxation of the few regulations that remain in the industry. Even when the legislative inquiry into the matter declares that, while there are certainly significant faults to be laid at the feet of the companies' leadership, the singular reason why the energy crisis began was because of El Niño, President Escobar insists on attacking the energy company executives and board members, suddenly calling for nationalization of numerous, important utility companies across the country. With entire cities and regions of the nation without power, and the public's anger at the energy companies rising (especially thanks to the companies' insistence at collecting monthly utilities bills even when there are rolling brownouts and outright blackouts for significant periods of time), this suggestion quickly catches fire among the Colombian people, many of which just want to be able to watch their favorite novellas on TV and be able to go to work a full eight hours a day without being sent home thanks to a random blackout.

The Escobar Administration invokes an emergency decree, calling forward a special National Assembly session while the legislative body was on recess, declaring that, while the nation was in crisis, no one would have time off, would prove to be a remarkably popular and lasting image of Escobar before the Colombian people, as Assemblymen are essentially dragged back into the National Capitol, kicking and screaming, to address the crisis. "If there is no agreement, you're not going home" is the typical refrain from the President, pushing the three relevant parties in the Assembly to work to come to some sort of solution to the problem. Naturally, nationalization of the country's utilities companies is put in play by several of the President's legislative allies, which includes many liberals, conservatives and member of the Union Patriotica, despite their ideological differences.

The Energy Responsibility Act is passed nearly unanimously, no doubt thanks to the significant display of support by the country's poor, in the depths of their supportive zeal for the president, who, while typically being a maligned and ignored demographic in the country's political sphere, nevertheless flex their muscle by producing a significant amount of political pressure in the way of mass protest and strikes to make their desires unable to ignore. The act would nationalize significant portions of the country's energy industry once again, and pave the way for eventual intervention in the coveted petroleum sector, which has put many in the Colombian stock exchange and the Venezuelan petroleum-exportation elite extremely nervous. Despite the rolling blackouts continuing for several months after the passing of the act, the public sees the massive, historic shakeup of several key industries, including nationalization of once vital energy corporations, which gives the appearance of "something being done", further cementing President Escobar's reputation as someone who "gets things done" and cuts through bureaucratic red tape, as well as priming the general public for future state take overs of key industries.​
 
The foreign ministry of democratic republic of India confirms that we have had various discussions with the Dominion of West India regarding cross border crime and trade. We will be a process of Visa simplification between our states. We also will expand our diplomatic presence in Karachi with West Indian permission.
 
For a Greater Poland



-The Coat of Arms of Wilno, considered by many Poles to be occupied territory
​
In the 19th-century, the notion of a historical Polish Question was a significant factor in the politics of Central and Eastern Europe. For Poland had once been a divided nation, split between three separate empires and effectively wiped from the European map as a state. But since the rebirth of an independent Polish state, there was a new Polish Question in much of Central and Eastern Europe. Large Polish-speaking communities existed outside of Poland, and many of these communities were territorially contiguous with Poland itself. These communities existed primarily east of the Polish state: in western Belarus, in western Ukraine, and in the Wilno region of Lithuania (claimed by Lithuania as Vilnius). Despite being the capital of the Lithuanian state, the city of Vilnius actually had a massive Polish population. Imperial Russian policies to dilute the city's Polish population had succeeded in reducing the size of the Polish community, but it had never destroyed it altogether. The Lithuanian state had deliberately refused to hold a census in its own capital for over a decade, as it was feared that anything from 30-40% of the city's population were Polish. In Poland itself, the notion of a "Greater Poland" held considerable appeal among large parts of the Polish population. An expanded Polish state bolstered with new territories would at once become one of the most populous nations in Central and Eastern Europe and would effectively cement Poland as one of the most powerful nations to emerge from the ashes of the old Russian Empire.

Lithuania was a focal point for Polish nationalist movements operating outside of Poland, but Polish communities elsewhere were also politically-organised. Belarus, formally known as the Belarusian Democratic Republic, was ruled over by a quarrelsome legislature, the Rada, but one which had a shockingly long political history as a longstanding government-in-exile. Upon the independence of Belarus from the Russian Empire, the Rada effectively became the foundation for a new Belarusian state. The Belarusian Rada was an experiment in political pluralism arguably unparalleled elsewhere in the post-Imperial sphere. The most preeminent Polish party in the Rada was the Congress of Polish Communities, which advocated for stronger linguistic autonomy and protections for Polish Catholics in the predominantly-Orthodox Belarus. It was this party that predominantly advanced the interests of Belarus' Polish community which was small, but highly-concentrated: allowing it to form a decisive hold in Polish-majority districts and trade its votes for concessions. So far, it appeared to be working.

Ukraine-

By far the largest organisations of Polish people outside of Poland, however, were those which existed in western Ukraine. The Hetmanate's democratic tradition was perhaps not so venerable as that of Belarus, but it was nonetheless a far more democratic state than many nations to emerge after the end of the Tsardom. Whereas Polish nationalist parties were banned under Lithuania's strict party registration laws which were often used to harass members of the opposition and dissidents, in Ukraine, they actually flourished. Large Polish communities in Western Ukraine formed parties primarily concerned with linguistic rights, defending the position of the Catholic Church, and seeking greater regional autonomy for Polish speakers. Far-left movements such as socialism and anarchism were represented, as were ideologies of the nationalist far-right. The question of unification of Polish-inhabited lands with the Polish state was more divisive: far-right movements overwhelmingly backed reunification, moderate nationalists sought the formation of a sort of greater federation of Central and Eastern European nations (which would naturally be led by Poland) to counterbalance against a potentially resurgent Russia. The far-left typically opposed unification in the traditional sense: socialist and communist movements only accepted such notions on the condition of the implementation of communist ideology. What was widely-supported by many Poles in Ukraine, however, was the notion of instituting a federal system of government. The replacement of Ukraine's unitary government system would grant greater powers and autonomy to its regions, which would in turn benefit certain minorities who formed the majority of the population in some areas. Thusly, this notion was primarily supported by members of Ukraine's Polish and Russian minority respectively, with each seeing federalisation as a path to improve their status. For now at least, those advocating secession from Ukraine to join either Poland or Russia (or independence in the case of some parts of the Crimean Tatar population) were in the minority and existing political movements were generally willing to work within the system.

The Ukrainian government noted a massive increase in voter registration and general activity by Polish political parties in the Rada. They were already showing results in various local elections, but it was clear that their real goal was to make major gains in the Rada where they already held a considerable portion of seats: not enough to form a majority, but enough to use the size of their voting bloc to shape politics and demand concessions in return for support. There were suspicions about this, however. A sudden surge in activity might just indicate a growing political consciousness among the Polish minority, but it also might represent foreign involvement. Equally alarming was a certain tendency of Polish and Russian minorities to support each other on the position of federalisation. Although separated by language, religion, and a troubled mutual history, the fact remained that these two large minorities commanded a significant amount of votes and share of the population. If the two united, demands for a federalised government system could very possibly become reality.

In 1993, to bring attention to Polish issues, a prominent centre-left party, the Polish People's Congress, would openly post an official manifesto outlining several changes that they sought to make in Ukraine:

I. The abolition of Orthodox Christianity as the state religion and reformation of religious policy to distribute state funding equally to non-Orthodox religions in Ukraine

II. The printing of state documents and official proclamations in Polish (in theory, this already existed but in practise, navigating the Ukrainian government system required knowledge of Russian, Ukrainian, or both)

III. State support for Polish-language media

IV. The abolition of visa requirements for Poles traveling to Ukraine

V. Greater Polish representation in the national government with guaranteed seats in the cabinet

VI. A commitment to hold a referendum on the issue of federalisation within 5 years

The Lithuanian Citizenship Act of 1993-

In Lithuania, where Polish nationalist organisation was strictly prohibited under draconian laws against ethnic separatism, things were more difficult. Lithuania was not a wholly authoritarian state, but its system was such that a great many parties deemed to have "radical" or "separatist" tendencies were banned or otherwise subjected to considerable pressure and harassment from the state. Despite being a large minority within Lithuania, Poles in the country had no actual political parties registered specifically to cater to the needs of the population. Those politicians of Polish descent who were in the legislature made do by joining existing political parties such as the Liberal Party: widely-regarded as a moderate party with a democratic vision that was allowed by the state. However, even those who cooperated were always viewed with suspicion and mistrust.

Growing political activism by Polish people in neighbouring Ukraine and Belarus was greatly alarming to Lithuania, and it came to the point that by 1993, nationalist voices in the government successfully pressured the Lithuanian government to adopt a strict new citizenship law: first passed by the legislature and swiftly adopted as a constitutional amendment. Lithuania hereby proposed to make Lithuanian citizenship contingent strictly upon proficiency in the Lithuanian language. As large numbers of Polish Lithuanians had at best modest competence in Lithuanian, this was effectively an act which would declare much of Lithuania's Polish minority stateless. The reaction in Warsaw was utter rage and indignation, with some more outspoken voices going so far as to call for military action. However, these were the calls of an extreme minority. But the fact remained, Lithuania had nakedly attacked the rights of its Polish minority, and many Poles within Poland and beyond looked to Warsaw to see what the government's response would be. The other factor in the matter was the reaction of Russia and Northern Germany: powerful regional nations which could influence the matter. A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry carefully avoided taking a side in the matter but reminded that the Russian government was paying "its utmost attention" to the situation in Lithuania and that it would deplore the outbreak of hostilities over the matter.

Lithuania, for its part, was at a crossroads: it had just given a major provocation to a powerful neighbour, but there was also a certain air of paranoia. Some in Warsaw believed that Lithuania would never have taken such a rash action had it not received certain assurances: guarantees of support from Northern Germany, Russia, or both. Time would tell how the situation would pan out.

--------------------------------------------------------

@bigseb31213 @KnightofTempest @Cybandeath
 
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From: Grand Hetman Casimir Andreievich Razumovsky
To: Polish Petitioners @Heavy W. Guy

Let it not be said that the Grand Hetman does not heed the words of his people and instruct his government accordingly.

Over the next few years, I pledge to put a number of votes to the Rada.

Vote 1: That Polish Language be used alongside Ukrainian in official Documents in Lviv Oblast and any area of at least polish plurality. Officially these areas will be dual lingual.

Vote 2: The Introduction of a State Policy of Religious Tolerance in accordance with modern attitudes on the subject of Religion.

Vote 3: pending negotiations with the Polish Kingdom, a relaxing of visa requirements for both Polish and Ukrainian Citizens wishing to cross the borders to find work and live in preparation for a framework where dual citizenship may be possible.

Finally Vote 4: The Vote on Potential Federalization on the German Model.

We have put a lot of effort in investment in the West to match that of the East it would be a shame for this to be undone due to certain holdover policies from our former Russian Overlords. Expect me to present the first vote to the Rada this year
 
KnightofTempest said:
From: Grand Hetman Casimir Andreievich Razumovsky
To: Polish Petitioners @Heavy W. Guy

Let it not be said that the Grand Hetman does not heed the words of his people and instruct his government accordingly.

Over the next few years, I pledge to put a number of votes to the Rada.

Vote 1: That Polish Language be used alongside Ukrainian in official Documents in Lviv Oblast and any area of at least polish plurality. Officially these areas will be dual lingual.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

*The Polish People's Congress and others accept this so long as official documents in Polish are provided on request in other areas.*

KnightofTempest said:
Vote 2: The Introduction of a State Policy of Religious Tolerance in accordance with modern attitudes on the subject of Religion.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

*Many Poles see this as a step in the right direction, however, there are questions of specifics. Will this mean that the Orthodox Church will continue to receive state funding? Will the Catholic Church receive any state support? Does this mean that Ukraine will become an officially secular state with no official state religion? Specific policies are needed to reassure concerns from Ukraine's historically-persecuted Catholic community: primarily Poles but also Eastern Rite Catholics elsewhere in Ukraine. Moreover, not everyone agrees on the ideal religious policy: with some believing the state should have no role in religious matters, others believing it should explicitly favour the Orthodox Church, and others still seeing the state as an arbiter of different religious traditions.

**The Orthodox Church has clear reservations about this policy, worrying that it might mean an abrupt loss of funds or a secularisation of Ukraine. Ultimately, however, their concerns are rooted mostly in financial matters with the spiritual primacy of the Orthodox Church also seen as important.**

***Ukrainian Jews and the predominantly-Muslim Crimean Tatars welcome any move towards religious tolerance and campaign for further repeals of discriminatory laws that unduly disadvantage Jews and Muslims in Ukraine***

KnightofTempest said:
Vote 3: pending negotiations with the Polish Kingdom, a relaxing of visa requirements for both Polish and Ukrainian Citizens wishing to cross the borders to find work and live in preparation for a framework where dual citizenship may be possible.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

KnightofTempest said:
Finally Vote 4: The Vote on Potential Federalization on the German Model.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

*South Germany is seen by many as an ideal model for Ukraine's situation so there is considerable enthusiasm for this*
 
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Heavy W. Guy said:
*The Polish People's Congress and others accept this so long as official documents in Polish are provided on request in other areas.*



*Many Poles see this as a step in the right direction, however, there are questions of specifics. Will this mean that the Orthodox Church will continue to receive state funding? Will the Catholic Church receive any state support? Does this mean that Ukraine will become an officially secular state with no official state religion? Specific policies are needed to reassure concerns from Ukraine's historically-persecuted Catholic community: primarily Poles but also Eastern Rite Catholics elsewhere in Ukraine. Moreover, not everyone agrees on the ideal religious policy: with some believing the state should have no role in religious matters, others believing it should explicitly favour the Orthodox Church, and others still seeing the state as an arbiter of different religious traditions.

**The Orthodox Church has clear reservations about this policy, worrying that it might mean an abrupt loss of funds or a secularisation of Ukraine. Ultimately, however, their concerns are rooted mostly in financial matters with the spiritual primacy of the Orthodox Church also seen as important.**

***Ukrainian Jews and the predominantly-Muslim Crimean Tatars welcome any move towards religious tolerance and campaign for further repeals of discriminatory laws that unduly disadvantage Jews and Muslims in Ukraine***





*South Germany is seen by many as an ideal model for Ukraine's situation so there is considerable enthusiasm for this*
Click to expand...
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As it seems that the sticking point to this plan is the Religious Tolerance Edict, and then mostly from a financial point of view, the Grand Hetman agrees that while cutting budgetary support for the Orthadox Church is not currently viable, there is no reason why a similar subsidy cannot be given to areas with large Catholic populations.

Since figuring out what percentage of the religious budget should go to what religion will require records, a Census shall be undertaken no later than 1995 to accomodate this. Hopefully this compromise will allow our dispirate peoples to find some common ground. The Grand Hetman Urges church leaders from all faiths to come together with his duly elected representatives to help work this out.

As to what role that religion will have, we believe that the various religious Authorities should handle spiritual matters rather than seek Temporal Power, the time of such things is past. However the state will set subsidies for legitimate Religious Institutions so as to promote good will between church and state. Hence the need for the census.
 
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