Balance of Power (Gameplay Thread) - Epilogue and Game Over

[Dr. Cynic]

France welcomes the news of peace between Russia and the British Empire being made.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Italy welcomes peace into our time.

[Lumine]

Italy welcomes peace into our time.

OOC: I can't help but to think of Chamberlain with that phrase, xD

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful


We, His Sacred and Imperial Majesty Sultan Abdul Hamid II,

Padishah,
Sovereign of the House of Osman,
Sultan of Sultans,
Khan of Khans,
Commander of the Faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe,
Custodian of the Holy Sanctuaries,
Emperor of Rome,
Emperor of The Three Cities of Constantinople, Adrianople and Bursa,
etc. etc.,

do hereby proclaim:


Azeri Brothers!


You have been delivered from long and brutal Russian misrule, and reunited with your long lost Muslim brothers!

No longer subjects of any foreign power, you are once again citizens equal under the God Almighty.


x Abdul Hamid II


Once the transfer is fully completed, the Azeri people shall be entitled to be represented by ten Senators, as stipulated for leading nations of the Empire.


x Abdul Hamid II


(OOC: no offense, Russia, but I need to say hello to my new subjects )

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I hereby appoint Mr. Bülow as chancellor of Austria-Hungary for the duration of our war efforts.

His Imperial Majesty, Kaiser Franz Ferdinand I

[windjammer]

I thank Kaiser Franz Ferdinand I for this appointement and I promise to serve the Austria-Hungary's interests well.

xVon Bülow, chancellor of the German Empire and of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

...did Germany just annex Austria?

[Spamage]

...did Germany just annex Austria?

Mitteleuropa is born at last

[windjammer]

...did Germany just annex Austria?

No, it's until the end of the war.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

The strong and valiant Slavic people will beat back the Teutonic barbarians from our lands.

To remove association with Germanic naming systems, I hereby order St. Petersburg to be renamed to Petrograd.
 
X Tsar Nicholas II

[windjammer]

The strong and valiant Slavic people will beat back the Teutonic barbarians from our lands.

To remove association with Germanic naming systems, I hereby order St. Petersburg to be renamed to Petrograd.
 
X Tsar Nicholas II

LOOOOOOOL

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

The strong and valiant Slavic people will beat back the Teutonic barbarians from our lands.

To remove association with Germanic naming systems, I hereby order St. Petersburg to be renamed to Petrograd.
 
X Tsar Nicholas II

LOOOOOOOL

Well, the city was indeed known as Petrograd OTL.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

The strong and valiant Slavic people will beat back the Teutonic barbarians from our lands.

To remove association with Germanic naming systems, I hereby order St. Petersburg to be renamed to Petrograd.
 
X Tsar Nicholas II

LOOOOOOOL

Well, the city was indeed known as Petrograd OTL.

And that's also why the city was renamed Petrograd at the beginning of WWI.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

To: Pope Albert I
From: Kingdom of Italy

The Kingdom of Italy is extremely offended by the current papal remarks, and we call for Pope Albert's immediate resignation. A true man of God would never openly call one of his Catholic brothers "lost from the church".

[Lumine]

Seems the war goes on between "Mitteleuropa" and Russia, and I think I have all the answers, so turn Seven and 1904 will begin tomorrow or Tuesday.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

To: Pope Albert I
From: Kingdom of Italy

The Kingdom of Italy is extremely offended by the current papal remarks, and we call for Pope Albert's immediate resignation. A true man of God would never openly call one of his Catholic brothers "lost from the church".

OOC: Have I missed something cool?

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

To: Pope Albert I
From: Kingdom of Italy

The Kingdom of Italy is extremely offended by the current papal remarks, and we call for Pope Albert's immediate resignation. A true man of God would never openly call one of his Catholic brothers "lost from the church".

OOC: Have I missed something cool?

Yes. The pope has decided to abuse his position as a head of religion to speak out against a Catholic nation. Italy firmly believes that the Pope should be an apolitical figure purely concerned with religion, and it believes that by insulting the Kingdom, he has insulted the city of Rome, and by proxy the church.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

The Ottoman Empire is not interested in recovering our lost territories in the Balkans. The past is past and no other country has to fear anything from us.

However, Bulgaria poses a clear and present danger to us, especially our ancient and mighty capital. With Bulgaria being a base for foreign aggression twice in recent history, we simply cannot tolerate this state of affairs. Restoring our borders before the Second Great Turkish War is not only a strategic necessity, but simply a historical justice.

So far we have committed only minor troops, hoping that Sofia will realize the inevitable. Now, as we have no other fronts to attend to, we declare that unless the old borders are restored and Bulgaria agrees to enter an exclusive alliance with us, we will unleash the full might and fury of the Ottoman Empire upon them.   

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

While Bulgaria is not technically a Russian ally, we are nevertheless Slavic and Orthodox brothers. Turkey did violate Bulgaria's neutrality before Russia sent troops to defend it, and we believe the Turks see fit to treat the Bulgarians more fairly than they are now. We will not restart the war with Turkey, of course, unless Bulgaria's very existence (and the safety of Serbia, Romania, and/or Montenegro) is at stake. If necessary, we can negotiate a compromise between Sofia and Constantinople.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

We consider this a matter exclusively between Constantinopole and Sofia. Bulgaria is not a Russian ally nor a member of the Orthodox League.

We have no interest in threathing the Orthodox League in any manner and we ask Russia, that just made a peace with us, to respect our right to settle our issues with neighbour that poses a constant threat.

We would like to remind most kindly we gave up any demands that would affect the Orthodox League in order to make lasting peace with Petrograd. Therefore, we ask Russians not to get involved in this limited issue.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

We extend an olive branch one more time, by proposing modified terms. This is our last offer.


1. The Tsardom of Bulgaria cedes a part of its southern territory to the Ottoman Empire, as shown on the map.



2. The Tsardom of Bulgaria enters an exclusive military and diplomatic alliance with the Ottoman Empire.

3. The Ottoman Empire pledges to fully respect Bulgaria's domestic independence and to provide an economic and military aid, when requesed.

4. The Ottoman Empire renounces any future territorial claims in the Balkans and pledges to conduct no agressive moves toward the Orthodox League.

5. The Orthodox League and the Russian Empire pledges not to interfere in Ottoman-Bulgarian relations.

[Lumine]

End of Late 1903:

In one of the most strange events of the past decades, an alliance was born between Germany, Austria-Hungary, Japan, United States, the Ottoman Empire and Britain, and it seemed the Russian Bear would be eventually destroyed, perhaps even before the year ended. Dissapointment, financial complications, internal unrest and thousands of men dead in complicated naval and land battles, it was definetly not the war the world was expecting. Russia lost almost its entire fleet and faced a potential loss, but a series of quickly arranged treaties managed to bring peace to almost all the involved nations, but at the cost of pretty much ending the Russian Empire across the Asian continent.

But even if war formed a key part of the past six months, there is something more, something that will stay for quite a long time troubling the world powerd, for it seems they are facing a case of overextendance. Partisan, guerrilla and independence movements have appeared everywhere, putting many powers into all-out wars to control the land. The British Empire has to face the insurgency of the Senussi in Western Egypt, the Palestinian revolt, an ongoing war against the Afghans, and now they also have to face a potential war with their new subjects: the peoples of Turkmenistan, who have declared independence from the British Empire. The Ottomans have all but defeated the Turks, but with some minorities still resented, peace will require some time. Japan has managed to sort out the challenges in the Philippines and Formosa, but long term policies are required to succeed and consolidate the Japanese Empire. And finally, the United States of America seems to have reached a boiling point, with President McKinley's harsh treatment of pacifists and isolationalists almost provocking impeachment (saving himself after a quick compromise and putting the 1904 race in jeopardy).

The Venezuela crisis is over, and it seems the Great Russian War will be over soon a well, but the shift in the balance of power is unlikely to stay stable for a long time...

Alliances, Wars and Popularity:

-Ongoing Wars:
  
-Great Russian War.
  -All-out war between Austria-Hungary and Germany vs Russia in the Eastern Front.
  -Limited war between Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire.

-Senoussi War:
  -Full rebel control of the desert, British and French control of the Libyan coastline.

-Third Afghan War:
  -Full rebel control of Afghanistan.

-Turkmen War of Independence:
  -Independence just declared, no action yet.

-Popularity Ratings:
(From Early 1903, to be updated at the end of next turn)

-Tsar Nicholas II: High.
-President William McKinley: High.
-Kaiser Wilhelm III: Medium.
-Kaiser Franz Ferdinand I: Medium.
-Prime Minister Waldeck-Rousseau: Medium.
-Prime Minister Balfour: High.
-Emperor Mutsuhito: Very High.
-Sultan Abdul Hamid II: Medium.
-King Vittorio Emmanuele III: High.

Current Alliances:

Three Power Alliance (USA, UK and Japan)
Quadruple Alliance (Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary and Japan) (Likely to be damaged)
Franco-Russian Alliance (France and Russia)
Franco-American Alliance (France and USA)
Franco-British Alliance (France and the UK)
Turkish-American Alliance (Ottoman Empire and USA)
Turkish-German Alliance (Turkey and the German Empire)
Orthodox League (Russia, Serbia, Montenegro and Romania)
Adriatic League (Greece and Italy)

The Map:

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

The Ottoman Empire is indeed disturbed with the unrests in Palestine, as we do not wish to see the Middle East destabilized.

If our British friends are interested, we are prepeared to offer our service in negotiating with tribal leaders, given we have centuries-long experience of dealing with them.

[CLARENCE 2015!]

The US Navy's Mediterranean Task Force is ordered to- as always- support our Ottoman allies

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

(This was being prepeared for some time, but, with the Russian War over for us, I might as well announce now)

In recognition of our enduring and mutually beneficial alliance with the United States of America, the Sultan had decided to bestow the  knightly Order of the Medjidie to His Excellency President William McKinley (first class), and to His Excellency Secretary John Hay and Commander of the Mediterranean Naval Task Force (second class).


First class