When We Stand Divided - A Story of the Second American Civil War
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  When We Stand Divided - A Story of the Second American Civil War
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Author Topic: When We Stand Divided - A Story of the Second American Civil War  (Read 6331 times)
OBD
Junior Chimp
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« Reply #25 on: November 11, 2020, 06:03:11 PM »

Foreign Interlude

The sudden collapse of America into civil war blindsided, basically, every other country in the world. For years, nations had made political calculations based on the presence of the powerful Eagle, and with that influence removed, the global stage had been fundamentally altered, and not for the better.

The immediate implications of the Civil War was that nations held in check by American power, most notably Russia and China, were now free to do (largely) as they pleased. For Russia, this would rapidly manifest into far more aggressive foreign policy. Ever since an allegedly rigged election in October, the nation of Belarus had suffered from much unrest, with Russian ally President Lukashenko under assault from pro-democracy activists. Until this point, Putin's actions had been limited to words, but with America out of the picture, he was free to pursue a more bellicose response. In early March, operating with the permission of Lukashenko, Russian forces marched into Belarus to "keep the peace", but effectively served as reinforcements for the Belorussian police in their mission to stamp out all anti-Lukashenko sentiment. Concurrently, Putin began pressuring Lukashenko to officially cement the status of the Union State by surrendering sovereignty to Russia, and while initially reluctant, Lukashenko would ultimately acquiesce to Putin's demands. May 1, over the objections of European parties, was set as the date for unification.

East Asia, meanwhile, was occupied by a ticking time bomb - North Korea. With America now effectively out of the picture, Kim Jong Un and his goons believed South Korea to be ripe for the picking. China was largely occupied with attempting to restrain their ally in an attempt to avoid another economic blow. However, the situation in South Korea was far more dire. Without American support (besides the 28,000 US troops who decided to stay in and defend South Korea), it was unclear if they could survive a sustained North Korean assault, and it was unclear if Japan could assist (and due to the fraught relations between Japan and her neighbors, if such assistance would even be a net benefit). Fear of nuclear fallout further complicated matters - many panicked South Koreans fled into the countryside as their government futilely attempted to calm unrest.
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Blackacre
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« Reply #26 on: November 12, 2020, 03:12:02 PM »

This is really interesting!! I'm looking forward to seeing what the aftermath is like -- best case scenario the New York government wins and we basically get a second crack at reconstruction. Worst case scenario is the Mar a Lago government wins and the united states falls to fascism Smiley
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« Reply #27 on: November 12, 2020, 04:16:45 PM »

Two other things I am wondering about:

1) Covid is still raging? Presumably the conflict is not going to help with the response to that situation...

2) What is the situation on the US-Mexico border? I would wonder if the Mexican drug cartels would get involved, if nothing else with smuggling arms and the like. Although Texas as a whole is with the Trumpists, perhaps there might be some resistance along the border in particular (due to the geography), perhaps in places like El Paso/South Texas/Laredo.
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OBD
Junior Chimp
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« Reply #28 on: November 12, 2020, 04:20:20 PM »

Two other things I am wondering about:

1) Covid is still raging? Presumably the conflict is not going to help with the response to that situation...

2) What is the situation on the US-Mexico border? I would wonder if the Mexican drug cartels would get involved, if nothing else with smuggling arms and the like. Although Texas as a whole is with the Trumpists, perhaps there might be some resistance along the border in particular (due to the geography), perhaps in places like El Paso/South Texas/Laredo.
Yeah, COVID is still an issue, though it's basically not even a news story at this point. I'll address it in the next update.

El Paso and South Texas are basically going along with the Trumpists for now - as in the other Texas cities, there is unrest, but it's not enough to tip over into revolt. As for Mexico, they're largely uninvolved - the government is populist and thus leans towards Trump, but the populace leans heavily towards Biden. And as neither side really wants to work with the cartels yet, they are thus far uninvolved.
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Junior Chimp
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« Reply #29 on: November 12, 2020, 04:58:24 PM »

April 2021

Following the Battle of Hope, Blue forces won another crucial victory - this time in the Pennsylvanian town of Reading. Aided by air power based in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania National Guard pushed back a Red attempt to take Reading, ending Republican hopes of capturing Philadelphia for the time being. President Trump, predictably, was furious - however, the Mar-a-Lago government, despite having an edge in ground forces, had a severe disadvantage in air power and was thus unable to retaliate against the Blue bases in the Northeast and West. However, the besieged city of Atlanta, which the Blue air force would be harder-pressed to defend, was a perfect target.

On April 5, using artillery units from Alabama, the bombardment of Atlanta began. The wealthy suburban communities on the frontline were the first to get hit - in a matter of days, Marietta, Roswell, Douglasville, and Conyers were effectively leveled. Blue attempts to send aerial reinforcement, meanwhile, ran into a wall in South Carolina, as Air Force units loyal to Trump forced the planes meant to guard Atlanta into costly dogfights over the Palmetto State. However, while the Blue situation in Atlanta would seem tenuous on paper, they were in a better position than one might think - nearly all of the pro-Biden military force from the Trumpist southern states (plus their supplies) had congregated in Atlanta, and were bolstered by growing radical groups determined to protect Atlanta from what they saw as fascists. The Atlanta Freedom Brigades, as they were officially known, had strong leftist, even communist leanings, but Mayor-declared-Interim Governor Keisha Lance Bottoms needed as much manpower as possible to defend Atlanta and quickly allied with them. These units, supplied with surplus from the Southern national guard units, proved their mettle early on - escorting civilians to safe zones while fighting fiercely against the oncoming Red forces. By late April, the Atlantans had stabilized a defensive line along I-285 - and with semi-regular air drops from the North (at least, the ones that made it through the South Carolina gauntlet), they were reasonably well-supplied. The Siege of Atlanta would go on.

Meanwhile in the Northeast, Blue momentum from the battles of Hope and Reading would eventually stall out. While the New York National Guard successfully linked up with dissendents in Northeast Ohio at the Battle of Ashtabula, at the Battle of Ephrata, Trumpist militiamen utilized their numerical advantage to turn back a Blue attempt to retake the land east of the Susquehanna River. And, a push to retake Scranton was similarly thwarted as Red forces improved their tactics against the Blues’s still-clumsy drone warfare. While Blue efforts in the West would have more success - the remainder of the Nevada militias were routed at Elko, and the State of Lincoln under Loren Culp had been forced back to Ontario, Oregon, signs of trouble still abounded - it was unclear if troops from Oregon and Washington could take Idaho without Californian assistance, and Texan troops had quietly occupied much of rural New Mexico. As winter turned to spring, an initial flurry of activity seemed poised to turn to stalemate.

It was around this time, accordingly, that military moves gave way to more political ones. Both the New York and Mar-a-Lago governments began recruiting drives in their loyal territories. These generally had moderate success - enough young Americans were passionate enough their cause to take up arms - however, as the year went on, both governments began to consider implementing a draft. Both Biden and Trump also pivoted to foreign policy, however, the battle on this front was largely one-sided. Thanks to the efforts of Biden and Secretary of State Rice, and due to Trump’s general international unpopularity, most countries had chose the New York government to do business with - selling food and limited amounts of weapons. Perhaps most importantly, Canada aligned itself with the Blues, allowing Blue airplanes and humanitarian supply free passage - a huge boon for resupply operations in the Midwest.

COVID Update

In April 2021, the COVID pandemic was still raging across the United States and the world. After dropping a dud in January, Pfizer is reportedly close to a vaccine, but the ongoing war has hampered research and will almost certainly hamper production and distribution. Interestingly, COVID is one of the few areas (besides a mutual agreement to not use nuclear weapons) where the Mar-a-Lago and New York government have cooperated - there are agreements in place to help ensure the peaceful delivery of a vaccine.

Meanwhile, the two governments have taken drastically different approaches to COVID - in February, Mar-a-Lago effectively lifted all COVID restrictions, while the New York government is still taking a cautious approach to the virus. After an ebb in new cases after Christmas, though, the frenzied refugee crisis caused another nationwide spike in cases, and the coronavirus crisis appears to have no end in sight - at least until the vaccine is made.

Strategic Situation in United States, May 1, 2021

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Junior Chimp
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« Reply #30 on: November 14, 2020, 07:51:41 PM »

I have a major personal event in the coming days with significant bearing on my future, so this probably won't be updated till after Wednesday.
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Captain Chaos
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« Reply #31 on: November 22, 2020, 01:35:12 PM »

Is this TL dead?
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« Reply #32 on: November 28, 2020, 03:27:54 AM »

I have a major personal event in the coming days with significant bearing on my future, so this probably won't be updated till after Wednesday.

I hope that whatever it is went well, and hopefully if you get a chance when more important things are dealt with you can do some more updates. Cheesy
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Gass3268
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« Reply #33 on: November 29, 2020, 04:01:29 AM »

Given how hotheaded Trump is, I could see him declaring war on Canada after they provided support for New York.

I'm guessing the Navy largely supports the New York government?
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« Reply #34 on: November 29, 2020, 05:26:13 PM »

I have a major personal event in the coming days with significant bearing on my future, so this probably won't be updated till after Wednesday.

I hope that whatever it is went well, and hopefully if you get a chance when more important things are dealt with you can do some more updates. Cheesy
I've had some writer's block, but I guess I can try.
Given how hotheaded Trump is, I could see him declaring war on Canada after they provided support for New York.

I'm guessing the Navy largely supports the New York government?
Yeah the Navy is mostly behind the Biden government. That said, I doubt Trump declares on Canada without reason as he isn't really in a position to successfully attack them.
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BigVic
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« Reply #35 on: December 10, 2020, 11:49:17 PM »

A realistic TL which is plausible
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« Reply #36 on: January 09, 2021, 10:17:18 PM »

This sounds familiar. Another TL predicting the future
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Junior Chimp
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« Reply #37 on: January 12, 2021, 10:19:11 PM »

Strongly considering reviving this (after Biden's inauguration, though). Thoughts?
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« Reply #38 on: January 13, 2021, 02:13:29 PM »

Strongly considering reviving this (after Biden's inauguration, though). Thoughts?

YES PLEASE. This was fantastic
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« Reply #39 on: January 13, 2021, 06:44:09 PM »

Strongly considering reviving this (after Biden's inauguration, though). Thoughts?

YES PLEASE. This was fantastic

Yes
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Junior Chimp
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« Reply #40 on: January 13, 2021, 10:30:40 PM »

Glad to see the continued interest!

I'm not sure if I can commit to finishing this, but I do have some drafts for future updates in the works. The first one should go up after inauguration (to not mainfest anything bad).
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« Reply #41 on: January 22, 2021, 05:36:45 PM »

Well thought out but most of the military would side with Trump. Even the high brass.
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Junior Chimp
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« Reply #42 on: November 05, 2021, 12:18:30 PM »

Summer 2021

As spring gave way to summer, the frontlines quieted as both sides were generally more occupied with counterinsurgency measures and distributing the COVID vaccine - Blue holdouts St. Louis and Louisville both fell to Red forces after being allowed to fester for two months, while the Blues struggled to respond to multiple terror attacks by far-right groups in the cities of Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. Consequently, the main frontlines moved little during the months of May, June, and July, though the brutal Siege of Atlanta continued and scattered offenses occurred along the Northeastern Front, where both sides were rapidly entrenching.

However, in August, military activity began to pick up once again, as both sides hoped to exact victories before winter set in. In the Southeast, fighting picked up along the Fayetteville-Wilmington axis. Due to the military largely declaring loyalty to the New York government, these two cities had become key defense points for the Blues in the contested state of North Carolina - as much of the region west of I-95 and south of I-40 fell into chaos, troops from Fort Bragg and naval units operating out of Wilmington pacified southeastern North Carolina and established a defensive line shielding the Blue southern flank. In an attempt to take these strategic goldmines (where supply operations for Atlanta were being run out of), a mix of Trump state guardsmen and irregular militias launched an offensive into the Tar Heel State. On August 16, they clashed with a mix of Blue units in Hope Mills, Roseboro, and Burgaw - towns positioned on key supply lines linking Fayetteville and Wilmington to the remainder of the state - with mixed results. While Burgaw and Hope Mills were defended, Roseboro fell, allowing Trumpist forces to successfully penetrate the Blue defensive line in eastern North Carolina. Ignoring heavily-defended Fayetteville, Red forces surged forward. On August 19, Interstate 40 - a key supply line for Wilmington - was breached near Faison, as Blue forces in the area scrambled to prevent a rout. And their efforts were ultimately successful. While Goldsboro fell on the 21st and Jacksonville three days later, by the month’s end a successful defensive line had been established along US 70 and I-95, containing the Red advance. However, Wilmington was now isolated (though still easily suppliable by sea, with the Navy largely loyal to New York), and Fayetteville became an awkward salient surrounded on three sides by enemy territory.

While the Eastern fronts remained largely in stalemate, more activity occurred in the West. After months of preparation, the western Blue forces were ready for a concerted offensive. While the military might of Texas made an attack via New Mexico difficult (this front would remain stagnant for the time being, with both sides digging in a la Northeastern Front), Red forces defending the northwest front in Idaho were relatively weak. On August 28, the Blues struck - amid sweltering weather in the High Desert, a hybrid force of Oregonians and Californians routed the Idaho National Guard and the remnants of the [State of] Jefferson Army at Nampa, before advancing rapidly to the capital of Boise. In the north, the Washington National Guard quickly and surgically pacified Moscow and Coeur D’Alene, only meeting resistance from ‘skinhead’ militias as the Montana contingent retreated to defend their home state. The Idaho state government was forced to flee to Pocatello, and the Western Blues had once again emerged victorious - though the rugged Rocky Mountains and wide empty spaces stood between them and further advances. Additionally, several rogue groups would continue to plague the occupying forces - far-right, often white supremacist militias would serve as a thorn in the side of the Western Blues for the duration of the war.

Political activity on both sides was also rife. As it became clear that the Second American Civil War would be a drawn-out affair, politicians in both New York and Mar-a-Lago pushed to reorganize both their ‘federal’ governments and state governments under their control. Both sides had been left with legislative bodies that had overwhelming majorities for one party, and both sides had significantly-sized ‘in-exile’ delegations from states controlled by the other government. And, while still a year away, running free and fair elections would be difficult during an all-out war.

The New York Government took a more ‘democratic’ approach to the issue. In a series of emergency bills passed by the Democratic supermajority in Congress, New York established representation for all regions under its jurisdiction, with elections to be held as normally as possible in areas under its control. Additionally, representatives-in-exile would be allowed to keep their seats until Blue-run elections could be held in their districts. With many Republican legislators abdictating for Mar-a-Lago, the first round of special elections was scheduled for November - including state legislative elections in the newly-established District of Erie (Blue-controlled Ohio) and District of Boise (Blue-controlled Idaho). And, backed by strong wartime unity and conservative boycotts, the Democratic Party had the inside track for nearly every seat - though a newly-formed People’s Party (which surprisingly received support from multiple sitting Justice Democrats) aimed to exact legislative gains on a platform of left-wing dissent.

Meanwhile in Mar-a-Lago, the Republican Party that Trump had united for his previous four-year tenure had begun to fracture. On one side stood the moderates - made up of older, more traditional conservatives (and the remnants of Trump state Democratic Parties), this faction was inclined against the war but had been dragged along by their Trumpist constituents. Led by the still-powerful Mitch McConnell, the moderates were advocates for maintaining democratic institutions and a modicum of opposition in areas under Trump control. On the other end of the ideological spectrum stood the hardliners - led by the President himself. This group of politicians were completely loyal to the President, and made their primary goal suppressing dissent in Mar-a-Lago-controlled America. Separated from the liberal opposition, Trump’s authoritarian instincts were now on full display - as demonstrated by his orders to brutally suppress protests in Houston, Miami, and other left-leaning enclaves. Growing divides between Trump loyalists led the President to found a new party - the “American Party” - as both a wartime unity banner and as a personal brand to increase his political power. For the remainder of 2021, though, this divide would remain largely symbolic - Trump still worked closely with the members of his administration, including Pence and McConnell, who remained Republicans.

On the international front, the New York government continued to have a monopoly over diplomatic recognition, though no country was willing to commit military supplies or forces to aid in their battle against the Trumpists. However, one nation came close to the brink. Canada, under the government of Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, leaned naturally towards the Blues - Canada was ideologically similar, and traded frequently with areas loyal to Biden. Resultantly, Trudeau and Canada frequently granted Blue forces favors, from open borders, trade, and airspace to freezing Trump-controlled assets in Canada. These perceived slights meant that relations between Mar-a-Lago and Ottawa were extremely cold - both sides placed significant military assets on their long shared border. On September 4, the tense border standoff erupted into conflict in North Dakota. Due to North Dakota National Guard units getting called up to stem the Blue onslaught in Idaho, a far-right North Dakotan militia group was stationed at the Pembina border crossing (where Interstate 29, a major artery, crossed into Canada). Early on the 4th, these units got into a verbal altercation with their Canadian counterparts over a refugee couple from Grand Forks attempting to cross the border, and just before noon, a shot was fired. In an impromptu skirmish that lasted until sundown, the Trumpist militiamen attempted to cross into Canada to “teach the Canucks a lesson”, but were beaten back by the superior Canadian force. The Battle of Pembina triggered a diplomatic firestorm, as an enraged Trudeau demanded an apology from Mar-a-Lago - which, after 48 hours of delaying and posturing by Trump, was delivered reluctantly under pressure from moderate advisers. The Reds had narrowly avoided drawing Canada into the war, but the antics of untrained, erratic militia groups would continue to be an irritant in Mar-a-Lago for the duration of the war.
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America Needs R'hllor
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« Reply #43 on: November 05, 2021, 06:21:49 PM »

VERY interesting read!
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« Reply #44 on: November 05, 2021, 10:29:59 PM »

This is nuts, glad to see it back!
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Asenath Waite
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« Reply #45 on: November 06, 2021, 02:13:33 PM »

Excellent timeline and one which upon reading feels disturbingly more plausible then I originally imagined.
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« Reply #46 on: November 07, 2021, 09:00:37 PM »

Great to see this back! I noticed this bit of foreshadowing (upon a re-reading) in an earlier post:

Quote
In that respect, the time for Biden’s brand of politics had passed, and the Cabinet’s overruling of his prohibition of drone warfare was likely the first political blow that led to his eventual resignation.

Biden has only been president maybe seven months at this point. I wonder, what's the state of his health, both physically and politically? What are his approval ratings? Is there already pressure on Biden to resign? What is Harris's role in all of this? Are there any negotiators on resolving the conflict, or is this headed to keep getting worse? What about Trump's approval ratings? I guess in a time of war, there might not be much polling, especially with the mass migration.
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Junior Chimp
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« Reply #47 on: April 24, 2023, 05:48:54 PM »

Fall 2021

Late September was dominated by campaigns historians collectively refer to as the Battle of the 90s. While part of this name was based on the heat wave that ravaged the Midwest during an unexpectedly intense Indian summer, this nickname primarily referred to the major arteries - Interstates 90, 94, and 96 - that fighting centered along. After being largely dormant through the summer (with both sides focusing on fortifying other lines and/or consolidating territory under their control), the Midwestern fronts re-erupted as both New York and Mar-a-Lago attempted to disrupt the other’s supply lines.

Blue forces based in the cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, and Detroit had successfully carved out robust enclaves surrounded by Red areas, but the road connections - and rural regions - that linked them were precariously held. While airlifts through Canadian territory meant that controlling the Interstates wasn’t essential, Blue leaders feared that losing them would be both a blow to morale and ground resupply operations. They also hoped to launch an offensive across central Michigan to link up with Chicago - code-named Operation Breadbasket.

Amid sweltering weather, New York made its move. On September 26, a mix of Michigan and Northeastern National Guard units left their garrisons in Ann Arbor and Lansing, attacking west along Interstates 94 and 96. Their initial advance was highly successful - Jackson, a key base of operation for Michigan’s Republican government, was overrun on the 29th, and by October 1 Interstate 96 from Grand Rapids to the Canadian border was under Blue control (breaking the siege of the western Michigan city). However, this move also opened up a broad east-west flank for Trumpist forces to harry - after the initial surprise wore off, effective and repeated pinprick attacks, as well as the successful Red defense of Muskegon, forced Biden to call off the offensive.

A similar battle with reversed roles was playing out along Interstate 94 - a key link between Blue-held Minnesota and Chicago. After early skirmishes, Blue forces had successfully secured a corridor of Driftless land between I-94 and the Mississippi, allowing them to supply the Twin Cities by ground while also cutting off the Trumpist Wisconsin government from their southern allies. Resultantly, retaking the Driftless was a priority for the Reds’s Midwestern division. As Michigan state troopers linked up with National Guard members from Massachusetts east of Grand Rapids, the Trumpist governments of Iowa and Wisconsin launched a pincer attack on the Driftless region, hoping to cut off Minneapolis from the rest of Blue territory while ending the isolation of Wisconsin and Michigan’s Republican governments the Driftless salient imposed. And this attack was largely successful - while Blue forces guarding the highway were well-trained and competent, they simply couldn’t defend such a long front. On October 4, Iowa National Guard units attacking from across the Mississippi linked up with north Wisconsin militiamen in Tomah, and a day later Blue military command ordered a general retreat. The region between St. Paul and Madison was now under Trumpist control - a major victory for Mar-a-Lago and a counter to their half-defeat in Michigan.

Meanwhile in the American West, the war continued to heat up. For months, Californian and Texan forces in New Mexico had remained in an uneasy stalemate - much of eastern New Mexico’s rural areas were under Texan occupation, but the state’s population centers and seat of government remained in Blue hands. Most battles, if any, occurred in the air - while the Air Force was largely loyal to New York, Texas was home to a significant Trumpist air contingent, preventing the Western Blues from dominating the skies. Most of the Texan air units were based in the liberal border town of El Paso (where riots in July were brutally suppressed by Trumpist authorities) - so, Californian military command began drawing up a plan to take the city and deal a blow to both the Texan military and Texan morale. Over the objection of President Biden and his allies, they made drone warfare an integral part of their planned offensive into the Lone Star state, calling upon combat drones to be used liberally against the Texan defense force. And this approach proved successful - drones exacted significant casualties in the Battle of Anthony, where Blue forces won in a rout, and allowed them to push deep into El Paso before Mar-a-Lago could send reinforcements. However, the brutality of this strategy shocked even observers loyal to New York - in addition to military casualties, much of El Paso was slowly burnt to the ground as Blue forces advanced block-by-block against fierce Texan resistance. In a particularly jarring incident, mistaken orders from Californian military command led to the death by drone of 45 university students sheltering near UT El Paso.

The failures in the Midwest and the carnage in Texas weighed heavily on President Biden. Biden was already 78 years old, and the stress of managing a domestic war effort combined with advisers frequently overruling him to use more aggressive tactics rapidly compounded. As summer turned to fall, reports emerged from New York City that the president was disillusioned and in poor health, upset at the increasing brutality of the war while barely powerful enough to overrule bellicose elements in his own War Cabinet. And following the UT El Paso incident, the President had had enough. On October 26, Biden officially submitted his resignation, becoming the shortest-serving president since William Henry Harrison. Historians remember Biden today as an idealistic, well-meaning president thrown into an incredibly unfavorable situation, and a combination of age and ideology meant he was ultimately unsuited for the demands of a multiyear civil war. With Biden’s home state deemed too close to enemy lines, the now-former President was convinced to retire to a classified location in Vermont, under constant Secret Service protection, as Vice President Harris took the oath of office.

While Biden stepping down was stunning to much of the public, most New York government insiders saw it coming for months - and Blue leaders had contingency plans lined up. Harris was sworn in as the 47th President promptly, and quickly tapped Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey Jr. as her Vice President. Casey Jr., a veteran politician from a frontline state, was seen as an experienced, moderate hand whose selection would both please Biden (who was born in Pennsylvania) and keep a senior official in the White House. With Casey resigning his seat to accept the post, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf appointed his Lieutenant Governor, Democrat John Fetterman, to the seat. Now-President Harris also reshuffled White House staff, with some Biden loyalists who shared the 46th President’s view on a more ‘limited’ war getting replaced by more bellicose alternatives - a move that angered some in the remnants of Bidenworld.

With Harris at the helm, the full might of Blue drone warfare was unleashed. While one of Biden’s last acts in office was to institute a moratorium on the usage of drones, Harris reversed this decision within hours, granting the Californian army permission to resume droning El Paso with increased fervor. This new strategy immediately paid dividends - on November 4, the California National Guard routed the Texans at the Battle of Franklin Mountain, seizing the key military installation of Fort Bliss three days later. With the El Paso Airport falling on the 9th, the last Texan supply line to their crucial western outpost was severed. Soon after, the Texans began a general retreat from the city, falling back to Odessa-Midland across the vast Texan desert - an obstacle that now hindered the Blues, who were unable to give pursuit without taxing their supply lines. Meanwhile in New Mexico, a joint force of Nevadan and New Mexican units defeated an auxiliary Texan force at Alamogordo after a pitched two-week battle, forcing the Red garrison there to retreat to Roswell. The victories in the West, most notably the fall of El Paso, gave Harris crucial victories in the infancy of her presidency, setting a tone that her supporters hoped could carry throughout her tenure.

On the international front, the drama of the Russian annexation of Belarus had largely dissipated into a tense stability. Without American support, the remnants of NATO scrambled to prepare for mobilization if the Russian Bear turned its eyes further west, but Putin’s apparent halt bought them more time while also allowing for diplomatic efforts to negotiate a more stable peace with Russia. The nation of Ukraine remained a flashpoint - Putin indicated that Russia would soon officially move into the contested Donbass region, while the angered Ukrainians attempted to receive NATO aid against this threat. It appeared that, soon, an international conflict would distract from the spectacle of the Second American Civil War.

November 2021 Elections

Virginia Gubernatorial
Mark Herring (D) 57.81%
Barbara Comstock (I) 38.94%
Princess Blanding (P) 3.25%

New Jersey Gubernatorial
Phil Murphy (D) 58.39%
Tom Kean Jr. (I) 34.73%
Generic P (P) 6.88%

Erie Gubernatorial (Special)
Tim Ryan (NP/D) 67.96%
Anthony Gonzalez (NP/I) 19.35%
Nina Turner (NP/P) 11.62%
Other 1.07%

Idaho Gubernatorial (Special)
Paulette Jordan (NP/D) 69.00%
Other 31.00%
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Junior Chimp
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« Reply #48 on: April 24, 2023, 05:50:36 PM »

Winter 2021

As the winter set in, bringing with it a historically severe cold snap, activity on the northern fronts largely ceased. In a situation reminiscent of World War I, troops on the Pennsylvanian and Midwestern fronts were dug into trenches, with concerted attacks few and far between. Especially in regions closer to the frontlines, food supply had become a major issue - America’s production of essential items had been greatly hampered by the war, and the bitter winter of 2021 exacerbated these problems. Additionally, COVID-19 continued to run amok among unvaccinated soldiers and civilians alike, though this overwhelmingly affected the Reds (who had to deal with a significant population that refused vaccinations).

While troops in the northeast had to contend with abysmal weather, disease, and food shortage, conditions were worst in the Southern city of Atlanta. Unlike its fellow besieged metropolises that were a stone’s throw from friendly Canada - Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago - Atlanta could not be reliably supplied without fighting through the hostile South Carolina airspace. As a result, supplies slowly began running low, and near-constant artillery shelling that destroyed food, water, and shelter alike compounded the problems. Rationing had been implemented in October, but by December the homeless population - which had swelled due to the siege - began to starve. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the Red Cross pleaded for Mar-a-Lago to end the air embargo and allow essential food and medical supplies to be airlifted in, and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also reportedly advocated for this option. However, Trump remained intransigent, ruthlessly ordering the barricade to remain in place. Atlanta would continue to starve into the New Year, and politically, fissures began to open between the Trump hardliners and the Georgia state government.

The southwestern front, where the desert sun kept temperatures in the mid-60s, was far more active during the winter period. Hoping to press their advantage, the Western Blues aimed to combine their forces and make a push into Texas - however, the geography that had forced the Reds into retreat following the loss of El Paso was now a factor against them. San Antonio was still over 500 miles away, and while Amarillo and Lubbock were slightly closer they were also highly unfavorable territory (staunchly Republican, with significant gun ownership). With these constraints in mind, the Californians (with aid directly from New York City) made their plans to puncture deep into Texas. Their plan was a mix of a push east along I-10 and an attempt to take rural population centers - sending increasingly large forces to take forward bases on the road to San Antonio, while also launching a broad-front attack through New Mexico into the Texan Panhandle. On December 10, this plan was launched, with an armored Californian convoy setting out from El Paso to establish a base in Van Horn while the other state National Guards (supported by drones operating out of Las Vegas) secured Eastern New Mexico. The results were mixed - while drone support had largely exorcized the Reds from New Mexico by Christmas, it took the Californians three attempts to take Van Horn (a combination of fierce Texan defense and a severe geographical disadvantage), and it appeared that further incursion into Texas would cost even more life and resources while yielding minimal gain. With the Oregon and Washington National Guards stalemated in the mountains of Montana, significant success in the West had seemingly morphed to another stalemate.

The North Carolina front also saw more activity, as Blue forces attempted to secure the area around Fayetteville while the Trumpists aimed to push their gains into Raleigh. In early September, Mar-a-Lago tried another offensive - the Blue enclave of Charlotte had surrendered just days earlier, freeing up more troops - but Fayetteville was once again defended successfully. Through October and November, back-and-forth fighting east of I-95 between Wilson, Greenville and Jacksonville continued, with neither side able to permanently gain the upper hand.

It was during the winter month that the refugee situation reached a nadir. Since the onset of the conflict, many Americans sought to cross the battle lines - whether seeking friendly political territory, attempting to reunite with family, or in some cases, escaping the harsh realities of living on the warfront. Historians estimate that the total interstate movement in the first months of the Second Civil War was the highest in American history. With flights largely canceled, millions of Americans took to the highways, mostly Interstates. And it was along these freeways that some of the worst events of the war occured. In Red territory, wandering bands of American Party vigilantes harassed (and occasionally even imprisoned or killed) anyone who appeared to be fleeing to Blue or Gray controlled regions. On December 2, a group of Wyoming militiamen detonated a bomb near an Interstate 80 pass, killing many refugee families fleeing to neutral Utah while closing off the most direct route from Red-controlled America to a neutral zone. Blue areas weren’t spared from the turmoil either. Fed up with far-right groups agitating in major cities, Governor Newsom and other western-state leaders ordered a massive crackdown on so-called ‘domestic insurgents’, resulting in hundreds of arrests and several violent encounters that caused multiple law enforcement deaths. Those who escaped the ‘December Purge’ wreaked havoc on Blue transit lines, often running into and terrorizing refugees headed in the other direction. And, both sides were ill-prepared to support their existing populations with the destruction of many transcontinental trade routes, let alone millions of hungry, homeless refugees. Between highway violence, the bitter cold, and brutally spartan refugee camps, thousands of Americans would die during what many consider to be the darkest winter in the nation’s history thus far.

Winter 2022

On January 1, the sun rose on a new year in America - but from the cold trench lines in Pennsylvania to the tortured remains of Atlanta to the lawless desert of West Texas, few were celebrating. While the conflict ebbed and flowed, hundreds died every day - whether to a bullet or to nature. Across the Atlantic and Pacific, tension continued to build. Russian forces amassed at the edge of the Donbass region while the remnants of NATO oscillated from posturing threateningly to outright panicking. South Korea remained in a state of high alert as the threat from the North remained high, while China switched from threatening Taiwan to attempting to restrain their allies in the Hermit Kingdom.

In America, though, the war continued. On January 3, Blue forces launched an offensive across the frozen plains of northern Michigan, with the goal of securing the area from the local militias that played a major role in blunting their fall attack. Sweeping north from the I-96 line and Flint, Saginaw and Midland fell quickly, while a combination of taxing search-and-destroy combat and ruthless drone bombings allowed the Blues to gain firm control of much of Central Michigan, as well as the intransigent Thumb region. By the end of the month, the northern Michigan militias had been relegated to the remote northern third of the state, and effectively became a strategic nonfactor.

With the success in the North, Blue commanders once again made plans to probe south, hoping to at long last establish a continuous supply line from Chicago to their core Northeastern territories. Like the northern initiative, this strategy led to initial gains - on January 27, the relatively underdefended city of Toledo fell to an offensive from Detroit, and after three days of pitched fighting the Blues also emerged victorious in the Second Battle of Kalamazoo - leaving their advance forces just 90 minutes from Michigan City, which their Chicago counterparts had recently taken. With these victories on the bag, they set their sights on a trio of cities on the Lake Michigan shore - Muskegon, Holland, and Benton Harbor. The anchors of the remnants of Red forces in Michigan, the Blues had failed to break through during the Battle of the 90s due to the stiff defenses mounted here. While it was possible to establish a link to Chicago by taking Benton Harbor alone, Harris and other top military brass realized that without taking the other two cities, their hold on the region would be tenuous. Thus, rather than rushing forward to Chicago, the Blue armies (consisting primarily of Michigan National Guard and defectors from Trump-controlled Midwestern states) turned west towards Holland, aiming to cut off and starve Muskegon while paving the way for the establishment of a stable link to the Windy City. On February 7, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and New York National Guard units marched westwards from the Grand Rapids defensive lines, intent on stamping out the remainder of Red resistance in western Michigan, aided by elite drone squadrons. Opposing them was a ragtag group of National Guard defectors and Midwest militiamen, many of whom had participated in the past autumn’s Defense of Muskegon. Over the next few days, pitched battle took place along Interstate 196 in freezing weather, with Blue forces taking Hudsonville on the 10th and Zeeland on the 12th. By the 14th, the Michigan Trumpists had their backs against the wall (or in this case, Lake Michigan), and just a two-mile strip of land separated the Blue spearhead from reaching water and slicing the Red defensive line in two.

Thus, the Midwestern Red command was forced to gamble. Drawing troops back from the siege of Chicago, they ordered a last-ditch attack in central Michigan. National Guard units from Indiana, Kentucky, and Arkansas were thrown into the assault, which targeted the Central Michigan town of Marshall. A key transportation hub, Marshall was fairly well-defended, but many troops there had been pulled out for the Blue push westward. And, when elite Red forces attacked in the dead of night on February 16, the Blues were caught by surprise. Utilizing the friendly countryside to their advantage, the Red advance was quiet and deadly - by sunrise, all of Marshall had fallen into their hands, and the defending Blues had been pushed back to Interstate 94.

However, rather than retreating to deal with this major threat to their supply lines, the Blue forces fighting for Holland doubled down. Just hours after the fall of Marshall, the first Michigan National Guard units entered the Holland city limits, and on February 22, after four days of siege, Holland fell. As the Red diversionary offensive approached Battle Creek, New York government forces stood on the east bank of Lake Michigan for the first time.

Out west, though, neither side was able to gain the upper hand. The Washington National Guard successfully captured Missoula on January 10 while Blue forces to their south secured remaining holdouts by ‘skinheads’ in Idaho, expanding the influence of the New York government to neutral Utah’s northern border. However, bad weather and extremely difficult terrain made further advance nigh on impossible - attempts to break into Kalispell or advance east to Butte were either thwarted or dismissed due to a combination of stiff local defense or snowy conditions. Further south, the warmer Texas weather was equally inconductive to victory on either side. After largely sitting on their hands, local Blue units in Colorado moved to capture Cheyenne, the capital of Mar-a-Lago-supporting Wyoming, on January 19. While resistance was initially heavy, Trump’s commanders concluded that holding Wyoming was strategically nonessential (reasoning that an offense across the Plains states would be a disaster for New York), and diverted forces there to more critical fronts. Cheyenne and Laramie turned from Red strongholds to open cities, and were promptly occupied by Blue troops from Colorado - on February 1, Representative Liz Cheney (one of a handful of Republican politicians who remained loyal to the New York government) was appointed military governor of Blue-held Wyoming. However, the vast majority of the state’s land area remained in de facto Red hands - corralling such a vast, unpopulated area was deemed a waste of resources, allowing Trump loyalists in the state to continue a loosely organized resistance.

The main theater of the war at the time though, unquestionably, was the South. After months of siege, Atlanta was on her last legs. Despite humanitarian complaints ranging from the New York government to Georgia GOP officials to vast international outcry, Trump refused to allow aid to pass through Red lines - and, with frustration high among the loose coalition of state guards and militias besieging the metropolis, the probability of reprisals against both combatants and civilians was high. With frequent inclement weather and taxed supply lines decreasing the frequency of successful airlifts from the North, Mayor Bottoms had few cards to play - and military intelligence on both sides suggested Atlanta would fall by March, if not earlier.

It was in this fraught environment that a seemingly (relatively) minor incident would spiral into  dramatic political reprisals that rocked the Mar-a-Lago government to its core. On January 28, at roughly 11:50 AM, a supply plane departed Raleigh, bound for Atlanta. This routine flight was frequently accompanied by Blue fighters to guide it across the perilous South Carolina airspace. However, on the 28th, this wasn’t the case - a Red offense just south of Hartsfield-Jackson forced the escorts earmarked for the supply flight to deter this attack, leaving it to journey to Atlanta alone. And while Blue command believed the likelihood that the flight would be caught was low (especially as it detoured from the typical flight path for these supply routes), they were not that lucky. At 12:27 PM, just south of Anderson, South Carolina, the plane was spotted by a militia on the ground, and with a Red squadron patrolling the area nearby, it was shot down quickly. While the Blue government offices in Raleigh and Atlanta quickly condemned the attack, it was merely one downed plane out of many that failed to run the Southern supply gauntlet - until the identity of one of the crash’s victims came to light.

As conditions in Atlanta deteriorated, so did relations between the Georgia state government and Mar-a-Lago. Governor Kemp, while a Trump loyalist, was at heart a moderate, and while he and other Georgia state leaders went along with secession, the increasingly evident lack of concern Mar-a-Lago held for lives and property in his state’s most prominent city alarmed him. In late January, with the fall of the city seemingly imminent, Kemp made his move, sending Secretary of State Raffensburger (another relative moderate) secretly to negotiate an armistice with Blue leadership in Atlanta, hoping that they would stand down in exchange for Mar-a-Lago sparing the city from further retribution and starvation. On January 25, after secret talks with Blue military leaders in Wilmington, Raffensburger was snuck across the porous Atlantic lines, before being flown back to Georgia.

While the records of these top-secret negotiations have unfortunately been lost to time (likely destroyed in the aftermath of the Fall of Atlanta), they ultimately proved to be irrelevant. Georgia’s Secretary of State, who was on an unauthorized diplomatic trip to the primary enemy of the Mar-a-Lago government (particularly one that had been a thorn in their side since the onset of the war), was found in the wreckage of a crashed Blue plane at a time of increasingly fraught relations between his Governor and President Trump himself. And the consequences would be severe.

When Trump learned of Raffensburger’s death, he was incensed. In his eyes, Kemp’s attempts to negotiate a peace with Bottoms behind his back was an unforgivable attempt to undermine his authority - in other words, treason. He had already recruited an American Party candidate - David Perdue - to challenge Kemp, but now, the mercurial 45th President was unable to wait any longer to remove Georgia’s governor from office. In the wee hours of January 31, as details of the crash emerged, units of the FBI loyal to Trump broke into Red Georgia’s interim government offices in Savannah, arresting Kemp and several of his subordinates for treason and flying them out to Mar-a-Lago under cover of night to stand trial. On the Atlanta front, confusion reigned as Trumpist commanders sought to verify the loyalty of their underlings. Amid the chaos, the defenders of the city launched a sudden offensive to pillage Trumpist supply caches - while this operation led to little territorial gain, it secured a significant amount of valuable resources for the besieged city.

   Despite waves of paranoia washing across Red Georgia, Kemp and his loyalists were completely caught off guard - the now-former Governor had not expected Trump to act so decisively against him. As a result, the vast majority of his inner circle was neutralized on January 31, and the Georgia National Guard remained by-and-large loyal to the state’s new military governor, David Perdue. However, the implications of these events occurred primarily outside the Peach State. Naturally, the New York Government - as well as the neutral governments in Utah and Alaska - condemned Trump’s actions, but the ‘Georgia Coup’ also unnerved some of Trump’s closest allies. Governors of some of the largest Red states - notably Greg Abbott in Texas and Ron DeSantis in Florida - saw the action against Kemp as possible precursors to their own downfalls should they step out of line, and consequently, began to take precautions and lay plans for possible breaks from their increasingly unstable President.

   The most immediate effects were felt in Georgia’s northern neighbor. Taking advantage of the temporary confusion in the Red lines, Blue forces in North Carolina launched an offensive to relieve the siege of Wilmington. Moving quickly south from Raleigh, the focal point of the offensive was the Georgian garrison in Goldsboro. With commanders there still focused on stabilizing their force following the coup, they were caught off guard when a large Blue force launched a direct assault on their city. On February 5, Goldsboro had fallen after a mere 24 hour siege, and the Blues raced east to New Bern, cutting off the Reds sieging Wilson and Greenville - who were then brutally shredded by crack Blue drone units, freshly updated with the latest Silicon Valley technology. With the assistance of auxiliary offensives from Wilmington and Fayetteville, plus Blue naval power pounding the Red garrison at Jacksonville into submission, the New York government had their Carolina breakthrough. With the cream of the Red North Carolina force devastated at the wrong end of the most intense drone strike seen thus far in the war, the road southwards was open, and by February 11 Blue forces had recaptured almost the entirety of southeastern North Carolina. Despite some in the White House calling for a continued offensive into South Carolina, cooler military heads prevailed, with Blue forces consolidating defensive positions along the border, as well as facing west towards Red-held Charlotte. However, naval forces began shelling Red defensive positions in Myrtle Beach, devastating the resort area - a possible precursor to a broader offensive into the Palmetto State, perhaps to even relieve Atlanta.
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BigVic
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« Reply #49 on: April 26, 2023, 09:16:55 PM »

Great update. Started in 2020
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