The Zenith of Power: Gameplay Thread

[Kingpoleon]

A Proclamation from the Ottoman Court

We hereby pledge, in a few years, to formally instate a Constitution establishing the specific relationship between the Emperor of the Ottomans and the various peoples under his rule.

[Continential]

Proclamation from the Parliament of the Netherlands

In all Flemish majority areas, the Dutch military will take control of French areas to ensure the safety of Flemish Dutch in a time of crisis.

[Continential]

Dutch Domestic Situation

The Dutch will allow Scandinavians who want to remain in Groningen to stay in Groningen and the King and the Parliament will grant them a special minority stauts while compentsating Scandinavians who leave Groningen. While not implimenting major reforms due to the intervention in Flanders, the new conservative-liberal coalition shall impliment a minor social insurance system to the disabled and to the poorest of the poor to improve their conditions and to ensure they don't live in squalor along with ending all special privileges of the nobility.

[BGBC]

Anglo-Scandinavian Alliance

The Kingdom of Scandinavia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland and the Americas, hereafter referred to as “The Signatories” agree to the following terms:

I . A mutual defensive pact to come into effect in 1875 which will bind each signatory to come to the defense of the other in the case of offensive action taken by a third state not presently involved in hostilities against either signatory. (this means Scandinavia is not bound to intervene in either the North American or Australian war)
II . Scandinavian arms manufacturers will prioritize shipments to the Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland and the Americas.
III . The signatories agree to a 25% reduction in tariffs between their two states in the interests of restoring international trade, commerce, and prosperity in the North Sea.

xCatherine II, Queen of Scandinavia

x King Henry X

[BGBC]

Source Hyperlinked

Parliament Passes the Publications Act

In the year of 1874, the British Parliament became growingly concerned with the actions of Irish news publications subverting the war effort by instigating Irishmen against the King and spreading libel against the King's proclamations. The body, therefore, sought to authorize wartime censorship measures that would prohibit publications from writing "in such a way which slanders or libels the King and the war effort", which included "by implication or otherwise, asserting that the King is malicious for the defense proclamation, that the American subjects are not of British and Irish kin, or that the war effort is not defensive." These provisions, as MPs reasoned, were precise in scope and practice towards the type of lies that have been circulating in specific papers. The law also prohibited the publication of letters from foreigners, be they nationals or civilians.
Though these restrictions were specific to the kind that have been published by newspaper editors during the course of the war, the law also broadly issued restrictions on the printing of papers which included "false reports with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the Royal Armed Forces, promotion of the success of national enemies, and obstruction towards the recruiting or enlistment service" so as to prevent loopholes and workarounds to the aforementioned restrictions.
The law also established the National Press Bureau, which would be responsible for executing all prescriptions of the act. The Bureau is enumerated with the power to issue censorship notices to publications to inform them of their violation of British law. From there, offenders could be prosecuted under various regulations of the Publications Act and brought to court if they do not comply with the notice. The Bureau is also compelled to accept any articles from editors who seek to avoid problems with the law.
The Publications Act is set to expire in five years if not renewed or repealed by Parliament.

[BGBC]

Armistice of Sydney

The Confederation of New Holland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland and the Americas, hereafter referred to as the "Parties", agree to the following terms:
I. A complete ceasefire and cessation of all hostilities is declared on July 1, 1874. The Parties shall not trespass either nation's current occupational borders.
II. All economic and transport connections in the region shall be unblocked, ensured by both Parties forces.
III. The Parties shall release prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons to the other, including dead bodies.
IV. Negotiations to end the conflict shall ensue upon the Parties both signing onto this armistice.

x King Henry X

[Dereich]

Anglo-Hapsburg Alliance

The Holy Roman Emperor and the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the Americas, in the interests of prosperity and mutual harmony agree to the following terms:

I . A mutual defensive pact to come into effect in 1875 which will bind each signatory to come to the defense of the other in the case of offensive action taken by a third state not presently involved in hostilities against either signatory.
II . The signatories agree that the United Kingdom will commit to a 25% reduction in tariffs on agricultural products while the Hapsburg Empire will agree to a commensurate reduction on the tariffs for silk and flax. Both signatories agree to treat each other as most favored nations as trading partners.

X Charles von Hapsburg-Lothringen

[BGBC]

Anglo-Hapsburg Alliance

The Holy Roman Emperor and the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the Americas, in the interests of prosperity and mutual harmony agree to the following terms:

I . A mutual defensive pact to come into effect in 1875 which will bind each signatory to come to the defense of the other in the case of offensive action taken by a third state not presently involved in hostilities against either signatory.
II . The signatories agree that the United Kingdom will commit to a 25% reduction in tariffs on agricultural products while the Hapsburg Empire will agree to a commensurate reduction on the tariffs for silk and flax. Both signatories agree to treat each other as most favored nations as trading partners.

X Charles von Hapsburg-Lothringen

x King Henry X

[BGBC]

STATEMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
FROM THE BRITISH CROWN

On the French Civil War:
The United Kingdom does not seek to involve itself in the chaos occurring in France. Our interests lie currently in the colonial powers that have struck at the heart and soul of the British people with their vagrantly offensive attacks on our people and our soil. Once an end to the crisis across the Channel has emerged and a single leader of France has solidified themself, the Crown shall surely seek out a cordial and friendly relationship with whmever that person may be.

On the Bombardment of Boston:
To hell with those who have propagated and conducted the shelling of British towns and cities! The Crown shall surely not apologize for the brave members of the Royal Navy who have begun to assault the cities of our enemies, where they have manufactured their ability to wage war on our civilians. The Francophone aggressors are right to fear the capability of our navy, and we shall surely not hesitate in using it to obstruct their ability to viciously attack our people in the Americas.

GOD SAVE THE KING.

[Orwell]

Armistice of Sydney

The Confederation of New Holland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Ireland and the Americas, hereafter referred to as the "Parties", agree to the following terms:
I. A complete ceasefire and cessation of all hostilities is declared on July 1, 1874. The Parties shall not trespass either nation's current occupational borders.
II. All economic and transport connections in the region shall be unblocked, ensured by both Parties forces.
III. The Parties shall release prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons to the other, including dead bodies.
IV. Negotiations to end the conflict shall ensue upon the Parties both signing onto this armistice.

x King Henry X

X Stadtholder Piter Mijer

[Spamage]

1874 News of the World

Singapore Pact Ignites Pacific War; Russia Assaults Korea

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   Alongside India, the rest of Asia too would fall to a wave of warfare. Japan, so inward focused after the domestic intrigue of two years prior, was stunned early in 1874 when a broad alliance of powers launched assaults on several corners of its empire. War has come to the Pacific, the Colombian-led Singapore Pact bringing Colombia, Korea, Vietnam, and Portugal into a close, cooperative arrangement. Their attacks would be widespread, unleashing tensions in some regions that had been building for decades under Japanese dominance. Japan would not be the only target, the vulnerable French colonial territories falling victim to international intervention. Yet, the Singapore Pact would be faced with the surprise Russian assault on Korea in the summer, further expanding the conflict as Emperor Yi Ho called for his allies to fulfill their obligations and aid him in his struggle against Russia. All of this occurred during continued chaos in China proper as the Republicans sought to overturn Korean gains from the previous year.

Vietnam
   With the eruption of the War of the Regency in far-off France, the invasion of Vietnam was put on the backburner. Lacking advice from France, the local commanders instead turned to the French government in India for guidance. Immediate withdrawal was ordered, the Durrani declaration of war having made caution seem more prudent. The Vietnamese were impatient to see them go, turning their fury on the foreign troops that had invaded in a seemingly pointless war. With the French largely gone by the end of February, giving up two years of gains in a matter of months, the Vietnamese would turn their fury on Siam. A concerted push on Bangkok throughout saw the Siamese forces brushed aside in a series of battles. The siege of Bangkok commenced on August 19th, 1874. King Rama V, seeing no French aid forthcoming as the Ottomans invaded Gujarat, surrendered to the Vietnamese, accepting their conditions. All Thai land east of the Mekong River was ceded to Vietnam, further concessions made in the Khorat Plateau. Parts of Thai Malaya would be ceded to Korea, who was rewarded for its ample supply of weapons and military advice to Vietnam in the previous years. With the end of French operations in Southeast Asia, the local powers have triumphed.

Korean Assault
   Korea launched a wave of attacks on French and Japanese positions at the start of the year. Emperor Yi Ho, decrying Japanese atrocities in their concessions against his subjects, announced an immediate declaration of war on the Tokugawa Shogunate. Within hours his men crossed the borders between the two powers or launched obvious pre-planned amphibious assaults on Japanese positions. The government in Edo was caught off-guard, watching in dismay as the Koreans seized Shandong, Lianing, and Shanghai, leaving only the Japanese concessions in the south untouched, sitting out of reach. The limited Chinese Expeditionary Force from Japan has crumbled, those divisions able to escape the fall of Shanghai fleeing to Formosa. An assault by Korea on the Japanese puppet Republic of Formosa was repelled, in large part thanks to the efforts of the former Chinese Expeditionary Force in May.
   Further to the south, with the French withdrawing from Vietnam, Korea assaulted French positions in the East Indies. Coordinating with the Sultan of Aceh, the 3 division French Army of Sumatra was assaulted. Though the French would retreat to the southwest of the island, where they have launched a resistance campaign from Barison Mountains in concert with local loyalists, cities such as Palembang and Jambi have fallen to the invading force. To the north, Aceh snagged much of North Sumatra.
   Secondary operations saw the undermanned French Borneo territories taken with little resistance or notice, events elsewhere overshadowing the Korean reunification of the island. With the sale of East Timor, the loss of Borneo, and Korean gains in Sumatra, the French position in Indonesia has fallen quite a bit within the span of months. While both Charlotte and Xavier would condemn the “barbaric” actions of Korea, neither had any true ability to do anything about it. Only after the War of the Regency is resolved will the French be able to reassess their strength in this theater. Korea’s actions, which opportunistic, have been successful. Still, given the developments in Manchuria, some wonder if Emperor Yi Ho may not have overstretched himself.

Colombian Assault on the Philippines and New Guinea
   In the chaos descending upon East Asia in 1874, the colonial French authorities would largely see the Japanese as nominal allies, having the same enemies. Thus, when a group of desperate French refugees fleeing the Korean invasion of Sumatra arrived in Manila, the Japanese took little note. One in the group identifying himself as a trade official requested an audience with the Japanese Governor, Katsura Tarō. Granted his meeting, he pulled out a pistol when ostensibly presenting his credentials, shooting Katsura in the head, killing him instantly. Manila was placed under lockdown, the Japanese fearing something was afoot. The man was arrested and under torture would admit to being a Catholic Republican ideologue, not French but Colombian.
   Indeed, just hours later Colombian ships appeared in Balayan Bay, disembarking thousands of men into the Philippines. Having waited in the Sunwon Islands in the Pacific for the last several weeks, the Colombian fleet utterly caught the Japanese by surprise. No one had thought that the Catholic Republicans would turn to Asia, especially with the ongoing Spanish Civil War. Portugal too had sent a token force; those men being landed to the north of Manila. The 5 division Japanese Army of the Philippines was surrounded by a combined force of 16 Colombian-Portuguese. Outnumbered three-to-one, and the locals turning increasingly hostile, the Japanese refused to surrender. Any whispers of discontent during the siege of Manila, which commenced in mid-May, were met with harsh Japanese punishment. When the locals finally rose in midsummer, they were joined by an all-out assault by the besiegers. The Japanese could not resist, not possessing enough bullets for the enraged mob storming their positions. To a man the Japanese were killed, their corpses thrown into Manila Bay by the Filipinos.
   The Catholic Republican invaders proclaimed the liberation of the Filipino people from decades of Japanese tyranny. It had not been unusual for the Japanese to engage in group punishment and harsh reprisals over the past few decades in order to keep Filipinos obedient. The harsh occupation policies of Japan were condemned by the Colombian liberators, as was the colonial history of Spain in the region. Instead, Archbishop-President Vicente Arbeláez Gómez promised a new era for the Philippines, where the islands could stand strong and unabashedly Catholic. National liberation, a long-term goal among some Filipinos, achieved seemingly overnight, Catholic Republicanism has spread among the islands’ Catholic population like wildfire, even if there are some indications the locals don’t fully grasp the ideology. Japanese officials have been hunted down and murdered. Mariano Gomez, a mestizo Catholic priest of mixed Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino ancestry has been proclaimed the Supreme Spiritual Protector of the Holy Union of the Philippines, taking the title Archbishop of Manila, which had been left vacant since the start of the Japanese occupation. His first act was to declare eternal friendship between the Philippines, Colombia, and Portugal.
   Only on the South Island, where there’s a substantial population of Muslims, has the “liberation” of the Philippines been met with muted enthusiasm. While Catholic Republican forces have been able to assume control, the locals there seem resistant to any of the religious appeals issued by the new government in Manila on behalf of its puppet masters in Lisbon and Bogota.
   Less successful was the Colombian attack on New Guinea. Though they landed on the south shore of the island and seized the main Japanese settlement, the remoteness and lack of development on that island has not made for an easy transfer of authority. Roughly 30,000 Japanese men have dispersed in the jungle, determined to resist to the last man the invasion of the Colombians. On top of that the already ferocious indigenous population (which itself has fought the Japanese) and the prospect of disease and logistics makes further gains in New Guinea seem to be quite difficult. Still, if Japan was able to conquer the island, some argue, Colombia must be able to do so as well. As it currently stands gains have been minimal.

Russian Invasion of Manchuria
   Russian involvement came with the spring thaw, surprising the Koreans stationed in Manchuria. Although no public declaration of war was given, Moscow’s public aims were clear: nothing less than the cessation of the Transamur region that had been taken by Korea from the collapsing Qing Dynasty in the 1830s. Given the region had been heavily settled by Koreans in the interim, Seoul has not been keen to see it surrendered. 30 Korean divisions in Manchuria faced 60 Russians invading on a broad front. Prioritizing the defense of the Korean peninsula and the Transamur region, the Russians were allowed to run roughshod over western Manchuria and the regions north of Beijing. The forced rapid relocation of troops from Central China would prevent Beijing proper from falling, but Korea’s land connection between the peninsula and China has been shattered, the Russians reaching the Bohai Sea by the end of the year. Further fighting along the Amur River was bloody, the Koreans surprising the Russians by holding back attempts to advance across the river in the initial engagements. Still, Girin sits vulnerable in Korea Manchuria.
   With Korea divided, Russian commanders have broad latitude about how operations will look next year. With the eruption of the Pacific War and the Russian attack, Korea has not been idle, mobilizing more men and making it clear that it will not surrender totally to Russian demands, Emperor Yi Ho gambling that President Suvorin will find the chaotic situation in Europe too tempting to resist. In the meantime he has publicly called for the expansion of the war, urging Asian powers to recognize the imperialist tendencies of the Russian Republic.
 
Chinese Civil War
   Though the Chinese Republicans would avoid direct engagement with the Koreans, the Russian invasion to the north gave them broad space to operate and the chance to reverse some losses from the past few years. Guerilla resistance, increasing throughout the former Xing lands in the north, would make occupation by those Koreans that remained even more difficult. Facing supply difficulties and fearing deteriorating morale, the Korean general’s staff ordered a withdrawal from gains south of the Yangtze in order to regroup and stabilize the situation. Retreating Korean stragglers have been slaughtered by the Chinese civilians, while their response has been one of brutal reprisals. While Li Hongzhang has publicly offered amnesty to those Koreans that surrender, his men have been insubordinate and murdered most captives, a move that has shocked observers and seems to support the arguments made by some that the Chinese Army is not disciplined enough. Still, with Russian intervention and the Korean withdrawal north, the situation for the Chinese Republic seems to be at its most opportune since the Chinese Civil War erupted 7 years ago. Li’s reconciliation with former Xing officials would only further prove that the broad consensus in China has become one of resistance to the Korean invasion, the Han unwilling to fall victim to a foreign power, centuries of Manchu dominance still fresh in memory.

War in the Raj: India Imperiled, Rebellion and Invasion

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   War has come to India. While most officials had expected a degree of instability in the subcontinent given the situation in France, what has transpired has been far greater than first envisioned. The Ottomans are in Gujarat, Mysore seeks independence and a restoration of its realm, and the Durrani have bestirred themselves, taking advantage of Franco-Ottoman hostilities. Still, with most of the invaders and rebels being Muslim, the French have capitalized on general Hindu apathy. Despite the Thenaillon Affair, there are many in India who see the lighter touch of France, especially given recent reforms, as preferable to the Mughal Empire come again. Whether this will remain the case is uncertain. India remains fragile, the existing order having survived the year but looking more brittle than even during the dark days of the Thenaillon Affair.

Ottoman Invasion of India
   In a move that would catch almost everyone off-guard, and would have his advisors debating whether it was a stroke of genius or madness, Sultan Murad V elected to undertake one of the most ambitious operations in the history of the Empire: an invasion of India. France, at its most vulnerable in more than a century, would likely be unable to do anything as its crown jewel fell into chaos. Ottoman officials, placated by the promise of a constitution and seeing merit in the Sultan’s idea, largely went along. More than 600,000 soldiers departed from Aden on February 10th, heading to the Indian coast in several waves. They landed in Guajarat, in northwestern India, and proclaimed an end to French colonial tyranny. The region, largely undefended as colonial soldiers prepared for the expected Durrani invasion, fell swiftly. Locals seemed indifferent and the Muslim princes to the north did not rally to the Ottoman cause. Nevertheless, gains in the early invasion were quite impressive.
   The Ottoman offensive came ahead of the Durrani invasion and the French colonial forces, already bolstered to 50 divisions at the advice of Paris, decided that the Turks were a greater threat. The two sides engaged at the Battle of Deesa on May 20th, the French proving unable to dislodge the Ottomans, retreating in orderly fashion to Indore and Kota, where more soldiers have been raised. Still, the Ottomans, faced with the punishing terrain to the north, were likewise forced back south, setting up provisional governments in Rajkot and Ahmedabad. Some speculate a future offensive in the south could yield Mumbai or Indore, but generals on the ground remain conscious support among the Hindu populace appears quite low.
   Indeed, supply has been a headache for the Ottomans, especially with the destruction of the Suez, as weapons and provisions now have to travel overland far longer than previously. This has tempted some Ottoman commanders to live off the land, though discipline has been maintained so far. What this means for the Ottoman operations in India moving forward is uncertain. Still, with the uprisings in Mysore and the Durrani gains in the north, some believe that these gains will be followed up further in the coming year, the dawn of a new Turkish era in India.

Durrani Invasion and Battle of Sardarpur
   The Durrani descended from the Hindu Kush, following the path of Ahmad Shah Durrani in the 1740s. Then the Pashtuns had faced the tottering Mughal Empire. In a much-changed world, they now faced a French colonial empire far vaster. Their first opponents would not be French though, the main body of the French colonial forces having engaged the Ottomans and ceded the Thar Desert to Islamic control. Instead, the nominal French vassals, the Maharajas of Punjab and Bikaner were left to muster men on their own. Unlike the other princes further from the frontline, these two understood the dire situation they faced, their lands on the frontline of any incoming assault. Despite religious differences, Sikh and Hindu, the two leaders coordinated their forces and united at Bahawalpur. From there they met the Durrani at the Battle of Sardarpur.
   The Battle of Sardarpur on May 11th, 1874 was a decisive victory for the Durrani. The Afghans were surprisingly well-equipped and Russian advisors were observed to be encamped with them. Their weapons and discipline cut through the lines of the Indian soldiers, who had deliberately been left weakened by French colonial overseers for decades in a bid to keep them pliant. The rout was so sudden and decisive that the Maharaja of Bikaner himself fell into Durrani hands in the chaotic retreat. His state collapsed; the principality being occupied in its entirety by the invaders. Here, the Durrani divided, half moving on Jodhpur and the remainder moving north to mop up the remains of Punjab.
   Jodhpur had time to prepare for the Durrani invasion, the Maharaja electing to remain in the capitol as the Durrani placed it under siege on June 10th. Yet, with the arrival of monsoon season, the siege of Jodhpur would turn into a debacle for the Afghans, disease spreading among the ranks and locals proving quite resistant. There would be little change in the situation there until the end of the year, the siege of Jodhpur still in progress 6 months later, neither side willing to give up the fight.
   Gains in Punjab would be more substantial. The backbone of that realm’s military having fallen at the Battle of Sardarpur, the Maharaja was desperate in trying to organize resistance. Indeed, while many remember their grandparents’ horror stories of Durrani invasions, there was little to be done as long as the French colonial officials were distracted with the Ottoman invasion. Lahore fell in late summer rather than endure a Durrani sacking, effectively decapitating the government as yet another leader fell into the hands of the invaders. Ludhiana would fall in December, leaving the path to Delhi open. Yet, by this point, recognizing the growing threat to the north, the French have likewise stationed 30 divisions in the vital city, including soldiers withdrawn from Vietnam.

Mysore Rebellion
   The Kingdom of Mysore had unfinished business with Queen Charlotte. At the start of her era of power way back in 1860 she had embarked on an invasion of that realm in the Franco-Mysore War (1860-1864), forcing the Kingdom to cede most of its territory and become a French vassal in line with the other Indian princes. Within the span of several decades Mysore went from being the largest free Indian state, one engaging in diplomacy with powers as far afield as Korea and Austria, to a beaten-down vassal of Queen Charlotte’s France. Ghulam Muhammad Sultan, the Muslim Sultan of Mysore and son of the famed Tipu Sultan, had been demoralized following the defeat and died in 1866. Sahibzada Ahmad Sultan, his son, succeeded him on the throne of Mysore. With the eruption of the War of the Regency and the Ottoman and Durrani invasions in the north, Mysore finally sought to renew its bid for independence. On August 5th, 1874, the 10-year anniversary of the surrender of Mysore, Ghulam Muhammad Sultan declared the independence of Mysore with its historic borders, encompassing quite a bit of land held by France. Raids were immediately launched, igniting a war in southern India. Now, with invasions from the north and rebellion in the south, French control of the Subcontinent faces its most serious opposition since the collapse of the Mughal Dynasty more than a century ago. With Mysore semi-successful in the latter half of the year, it remains to be seen whether it can maintain its early gains, especially as the colonial officials have started to mobilize.
   More ominous for the French has been the relatively lax attitude of the other princes to talk of secession or rebellion. Though most of the local Indian sovereigns have adopted a wait-and-see approach, they have refused to clamp down on those encouraging dissent towards France. Indeed, many French governors in India have found the aid from the King’s vassals to be lacking, inadequate, and slothful. Should the situation evolve unfavorable for France, it is not impossible that they could seek to bolt from subservience to Paris. Even if they were to do so, they would have to deal with the substantial existing French strength, only serving to expand the misery on the subcontinent.

[Spamage]

Ottoman Crisis
Suez DESTROYED! Balkan Rebellion! Ottomans Return to North Africa!

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Strikes on Prussia and Naples
   Even with the Sultan’s operations in India, Murad V decided that the time was ripe for a reassertion of Turkish authority in North Africa. Seeing a distracted Naples and the smaller level of Prussian troops in Morocco, a massive operation was conducted in the Western Mediterranean, aided by the fact that Naples had refused to close that sea to all foreign military vessels. 40 divisions engaged in various operations. 20 smashed into the largely undefended Tunis, catching the Neapolitan administrators off-guard. That region had been left undermanned, the countryside swiftly falling to the Ottoman advance and a small garrison being left abandoned in Tunis as the rest of the region fell to Ottoman arms. While supplies from Sicily and Malta were forthcoming, many of the Italians in Tunis grew increasingly suspicious of the local populace. These fears were confirmed on the 8th of August, a riot in Tunis seeing the Italian soldiers captured, tortured, and executed in front of a mob that swiftly handed the city over to the Ottomans outside. Neapolitan control of Naples, established for decades, has collapsed in brutal fashion within the span of a year. Only Djerba remains as a remnant of the Neapolitan influence in the region, aided by the fact that it is an island.
   Further to the west, the Ottomans would move from tacit support to the Moroccans to an outright invasion of the regions, targeting both the Prussians and local forces. Prussia was defeated at the Battle of Nador, Governor von Bismarck leading his men in a rapid retreat to Tangiers and Rabat, where the damaged Prussian forces were resupplied from Germany. When the King of Morocco, having fought for his independence for three years by now, refused Turkish demands that he submit. Thus, the Ottomans then attacked him as well. A rolling campaign was conducted throughout the latter half of the year, the Ottomans taking Taza, Fes, and Meknes. At the brutal Battle of Ifran Sultan Hassan I was killed by an Ottoman bombardment, throwing the nationalist cause into chaos. Arafa bin Mohammed, a younger brother to the slain Sultan, has claimed the mantle of resistance and conducted a brutal guerilla fight to the south, leaving the Ottomans at the end of the year in between two smaller forces: the Prussians along the coast and the Moroccans in the Atlas Mountains.

Georgian Suppression
   The Georgians started the year in continued revolt against Ottoman rule, bolstered by further arms shipments from the Russians. Still, they were substantially outnumbered. When Murad V ordered 12 divisions to the regions to suppress the remainder of the uprising, the Georgians could only resist for so long. Amid brutal village to village fighting in the remote Georgian countryside, the region was slowly retaken. The Ottomans deployed vicious, yet effective, methods in dealing with the insurgency. Villages, areas that had supplied the largely rural rebels, were either forcibly relocated, deprived of supplies, or destroyed entirely. Anyone captured under arms was summarily put to death. By the end of the year, with Georgian casualties mounting, the last pockets of resistance, starving and desperate, were forced to surrender to the overwhelming Ottoman forces stationed in the region, only a few bands fleeing into Russian territory. Though the people have ceased to fight, there is no doubt they will never forget the brutality they have endured. Russia, thought of as a savior from the Ottoman menace, has instead been castigated by Georgian nationalists as a do-nothing power that let them be slaughtered while it played the role of empire in East Asia. Indeed, Ottoman claims to protect the Ottoman Christians seem to ring a bit hollow given the atrocities endured by the largely Orthodox Georgians.

Egypt and Suez
   The most crucial development in the region probably belonged to events in Egypt in 1874. What exactly happened here is quite unclear, various reports from the region emerging that vary substantially based on who is telling. Still, the result has been catastrophic. The Suez is destroyed, thousands of Austrian and French soldiers are dead, and blame seems to be pointing in all directions. It will be years, for the damage to be done and the canal able to be navigable again. Even then, there seems to have been steps taken to ensure that may never happen. Built in the early nineteenth century, the canal had already been deemed by some to be too small to deal with the growing tonnage of trade and military vessels.
   Residents of Port Said reported hearing explosions and fighting early in the morning of September 9th, 1874. There was a punishing bombardment on the fortress along the left bank of the Suez. Ottoman soldiers were seen on the outskirts of the city and the ruined fortress had a Turkish crescent waving above. Still, shortly afterwards the fortress exploded, the shockwave shattering windows in the city and igniting fires. Debris, including large amounts of rubble, made the canal too shallow to be navigable at the northern mouth. French soldiers, on the scene shortly afterwards after orders to relocate from Egypt, found carnage. Surveying the wreckage, dead Habsburg, French, and Ottoman soldiers have been found.
   Similar scenes would occur all along the length of the canal. In remote areas dynamite explosions along one bank or the other and shelling have stopped up the waterway, leaving tiny boats able to navigate. Yet even these ships would face perilous circumstances, being blown up by naval mines planted in the water. Austrian garrisons in the south would issue emergency telegrams claiming they were under attack but the survivors that have been found are confused about what exactly occurred, saying the French force on the Suez had warned of an Ottoman attack which commenced as they had said, but the Turkish numbers were too large to repel. French survivors have corroborated this story, yet some have questioned why intelligence sources in Egypt for either power had not noticed such an operation being ordered. Indeed, it appears that both sides have experienced heavy casualties, yet the Turkish force seems mysteriously absent.
   The Ottoman officials in the region, to a man, have denied involvement and blamed the Egyptian kingdom for the assault on the Suez, but many note that power lacks sufficient resources to conduct both such an ambitious attack and to damage the canal so severely. The France Army, relocated from Egypt proper, has blamed the Ottomans, as have the Egyptians. The Habsburg and French survivors from the Suez seem utterly confused. Most believe that the Ottomans are culpable, but the exact circumstances are unclear, as it is uncertain how the various fortresses were able to be so severely destroyed given known Ottoman weaponry unless they were destroyed from the inside. Whoever was responsible, several thousand French and Austrian soldiers lie dead, killed by a far more numerous foe. With the Suez now unnavigable for the medium-term, European trade has ground to a halt. French, Scandinavian, Habsburg, and British access to their distant colonial outposts has now become far more difficult, all these powers now relying on Prussian good graces at the Cape Colony to ensure their passage around Africa.

Balkan Princes
   Disgusted by the Ottoman interventions in North Africa and India, and seeing the Sultan’s realm as substantially overstretched, the new Balkan realms all declared their independence at once, renouncing loyalty to Murad V and declaring their freedom. Bulgaria was the first to do so on July 3rd, King William Henry disgusted that the Turkish were attacking his brother’s men. Serbia under King Maximilian followed within the week and Greece several days after that. Although there’s little indication that any of the Balkan states acted under the advice of their European benefactors, the move nonetheless was met with celebration among those Europeans not too distracted to take notice. To most observers, the initiative of the Balkan states represents a clear assertion by those sovereigns that, despite their foreign ties, they will not be ruled from distant European capitals. On top of this, with the Ottoman suppression of Georgia being seen as an egregious act against all Christians, there is little desire in any of the European states to enforce the provisions of the Treaty of Warsaw that ensured nominal Ottoman control in the Balkans.
   With the Ottomans busy on so many fronts, the states then decided to proactively assault the Turks before any blowback reached their borders. Despite mutual suspicions on all sides, the Greeks, Bulgarians, and Serbians signed the Treaty of Athens, declaring a three-way alliance and refusing to make a separate peace. Princess Pauline of Bulgaria (b. 1862) was engaged to the Serbian heir Crown Prince Joseph (b. 1866). Princess Maria Clara of Serbia (b. 1869) was betrothed to Crown Prince Constantine of Greece (b. 1873), and a future marriage between Greece and Bulgaria was agreed should King Constantine I have any more children. The Treaty also called on Russia or Austria to join the Balkan princes in their crusade against the Ottomans.
   Most significant would be the Illyrian Republic, that century and a half old vassal of the Ottoman state and a relic of the Venetian Republic, likewise declaring its bonds with Istanbul null and void. A loose federation of Croats and Italians, the realm had only been created from the old Venetian provinces in the 1790s when it was clear that the Serene Republic was no more. In Split President Antonio Bajamonti declared that his state would be reorganizing itself in line with the new Balkan consensus, implying the election of a foreign prince as sovereign. On behalf of the Illyrian Republic, he too signed the Treaty of Athens, joining the Balkan Alliance. Istanbul has responded with indignation and demanded the other powers fulfill their commitments to ensure Ottoman control over the region. In the meantime, given the scant Ottoman presence in the region, the Greeks have advanced as far north as Thessalonica and Macedonia, the Bulgarians have seized territory as far south as Xanthi, the Serbians and Croats have embarked on operations in Bosnia. Without rapid aid in the coming year, Ottoman control over the Balkans threatens to crumble completely, only the Muslim populations of Bulgaria, Albania, and Bosnia fighting to remain a part of the Empire. 
   Romania, already independent from Ottoman control but with an obvious interest in Balkan affairs, remained aloof from developments to its south and did not sign the Treaty of Athens. King Augustus was more focused on the War of the Regency back home in France, following developments closely and helping his wife Queen Simplicie flee from Versailles to Romania. The stress was too much for the aged monarch, and he died in Bucharest on June 11th, 1874, leaving the throne to his son King Antoniu, aged 49. Crowned amid the Balkan tensions, it is unclear how he will navigate Romania through this period of tension in Eastern Europe.

American War: A New Level of Depravity

(Source: Scientific American)

Northern Fronts: Ohio and New York
   The northern front in the American War would see some of the most horrific developments in the modern history of warfare, Quebec deploying new chemical weapons in a bid to break the stalemates in Ohio and New York. While great gains would be achieved in the Northeast, the Ohio front quickly reverted back to defensive warfare, crossing the Ohio proving to be a significant difficulty for the Quebecois forces.
   April 3rd, 1874 will go down as a significant date in the history of warfare. It started normal enough on the frontlines near the gutted city of Esperance, New York. British positions endured infrequent artillery fire and lazily responded in kind, occasional skirmishes on the front resulting in the peppering of gunfire. That town, named for the French word for hope, would prove to provide anything but. An exceptionally brutal round of Quebecois shelling on the British positions seemed to have missed, the bombardment falling short of the entrenched positions. This was met with mockery by the British soldiers who had grown increasingly accustomed to the static warfare. Yet, for having struck no-man’s land, the shells emitted a good deal of smoke, a bizarre green color, drifting towards the British positions. As it hit the men some fell to the ground reeling in pain, others noticing instant pain and irritation in their eyes and lungs. Confusion erupted on the lines, some men falling dead to the toxic smoke. Quebec had deployed a new weapon: chlorine gas.
   The gas had hardly cleared when a mass assault emerged on the British lines, the confusion and chaos having absolutely devastated British morale, thousands fleeing or falling in the confusion. Gains that had not been thought possible were achieved in hours, secondary Quebecois bombardments on positions in Rodman in the north and Southbury, Connecticut in the south with the new gas achieving similar successes. The Quebecois-New Englander force, greatly outnumbering the British, turned this static theater back into one of movable warfare through the use of this horrific new weapon. The following months would see the British in retreat. New York City was placed under siege in early June, though has been amply resupplied by the Royal Navy. Utica and Syracuse fell to Quebecois soldiers by midsummer, as further gains in New Jersey saw the British forced to defend Philadelphia around the same time. By this point in time rudimentary defenses to the chlorine attacks had been engineered by the British, many realizing that simple methods could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the shelling. Surrounded on three sides, the British defense of Philadelphia in September 1874 stopped the bleeding in this part of the front, even a few towns such as Reading, Pennsylvania getting retaken. Still, with the sheer strength in allied numbers, Britain’s power in the Northeastern front has been severely weakened.
   Ohio would not see the same degree of success for the Quebecois forces. Bolstered by the arrival of the Mexica Expeditionary forces, they had to contend with likewise reinforced British lines. While the gas attacks of April 1874 likewise brought mobility back to this front, the British losing most of their remaining holdings in Ohio, the Quebecois found themselves frustrated in attempts to cross the Ohio River into Virginia. Likewise, a new network of trenches was established from Lake Erie towards Pennsylvania, preventing further advances there and ensuring a sliver of Ohio remains in British hands. With tens of thousands of dead on the Ohio front, the region remains in a state of stalemate despite nominal Quebecois gains.

Southern Theater
   Along with the fighting in the north, there would be great changes in the southern theater. Quebec engaged in minor raids into Kentucky early in the year, but largely would not be a presence in southern fighting, Louisianan and Mexican forces bearing the brunt of an initial British assault aimed at reversing allied gains in Tennessee. 26 British divisions faced off against 25 Allied (9 Mexican, 16 Louisianan) in a British early spring offensive to stab into the Deep South. Although the allies would be pushed into Henrysland (northern Alabama), this was the point when the Army of Des Moines reentered the fray from the west, crossing back into Tennessee and catching the soft side of the British front. Throughout spring and summer, the British offensive would be forced to retreat to prevent its exposed flank from falling. Louisiana reversed the British gains in the beginning of the year and then some, the British being forced to regroup at Knoxville, most of western Tennessee and Kentucky falling to Louisianan incursions. By the end of the year, as campaigning slowed, the British had taken great territorial losses in the southern theater, though allied gains had come at the cost of thousands of young men.

Naval Bombardments
   Despite allied victories on land, Britain would demonstrate continued naval dominance, the fleets of Louisiana, New England, Quebec, and Mexico making no concerted effort to break the British blockade for yet another year. Seeing themselves as unchallenged on the waves, the Admiralty decided to follow up on the shelling of Boston with aggression in other regions.
   An initial raid was attempted against Quebec in May, a flotilla of ships sailing down the St. Lawrence Channel intended for Quebec City, Trois Rivieres, and Montreal. Yet, the operation was a difficult one, entrenched Quebecois positions on both sides of the fleet preventing the success of the operation, the admirals electing to turn back when it was clear that the combination of torpedoes, artillery, and defensive vessels would make further involvement suicidal. Though the British were embarrassed by the events here, success further to the south would overshadow the failure in Quebec.
   A second offensive was launched in the Gulf of Mexico in mid-June from the Bahamas. Louisiana could only wait in terror once the ships were seen from the Florida Keys, the destination unknown. There where whispers of bombardments on New Bordeaux or Tampa, but nothing came of this. In hindsight there was only one clear target, and everyone knew it. New Orleans. Just as it had been bombarded in the previous Anglo-Louisianan War, Britain sought to yet again chastise the House of Orleans. Indeed, despite heavy damage, the British forced a crossing into Lake Pontchartrain and disabled the forts guarding the Rigolets. As with Boston, New Orleans was left helpless to a British bombardment for the span of several days. A chaotic evacuation ensued, though King Henry-Philippe and the royal family had no trouble relocating to Baton Rouge. Industrial and port areas of the city were targeted with mixed accuracy, shots often straying into civilian and commercial quarters of the city. St. Louis Cathedral, which had only been reconstructed after the first British bombardment in the 1840s, was hit with an explosive shell, being slightly damaged. Although the distance has ensured that New Orleans is not as gutted as Boston had been the prior year, the British bombardment has unsettled the political situation in the capitol. Many Francophone Louisianans have openly begun to wonder why so many men should be send to die in a war that will only see more English-speakers added to the Kingdom.

Ireland
   Louisiana would not be the only power to deal with increased domestic grumbling in 1874. Despite patently obvious British efforts to boost Irish morale and get them emotionally invested in the events across the Atlantic, these were undercut by an influx of foreign propaganda. Though outright revolt was avoided for another year, tensions on the island are running quite high.
   Efforts to encourage recruitments were met with riots in Dublin, Cork, and Limerick, though the British police were able to put down the discontent. More alarming would be the assassination of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland on Christmas Day 1874. Attending Anglican services in Dublin, John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer was blown up inside his carriage by avowed Irish Catholic Republican nationalists belonging to the extremist Sons of Brigid. At the same day bombs were exploded at the gates of Dublin Castle, killing dozens of civilians. While several suspects were apprehended, others have fled for Normandy and the perceived safety of Queen Charlotte’s France. Many in London have been utterly outraged by this move and Queen Charlotte’s perceived sympathy for the Catholic Republican cause. In Ireland proper, the Catholics and Protestants have begun to descend into mutual recrimination and heated debates in the press. It is feared these could get further out of hand. Some in London have called for a crackdown on all Irish nationalist groups, peaceful or not, in response to the acts perpetrated by the Sons of Brigid.

[Spamage]

War of the Regency Expands; Habsburgs Back the Blues

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

War in La Patrie
   The scuffles of 1873 in France, as bloody as they were, could seem positively quaint when compared to the events of 1874. Each side determined to bring a rapid end to the fighting has meant that blood has been spilled in torrents. Brother fights brother in France as Europe dances on the edge of a general war. The Whites can point to successes in relieving the siege of Lyons and in the south overall, even if campaigns into Brittany proved to be a debacle. Xavier, meanwhile, has been saved in Padania by Austria intervention in Italy, let alone the attempt by the Habsburgs to attack France itself.
   Charlotte decreed an all-out push on the south to relieve the siege of Lyon, 80 of her divisions being deployed in that direction. They met the 55 divisions of Xavier in a series of engagements around Lyons, recapturing the city as the Blues were forced south. The lines began to calcify at Saint-Vallier as Xavier sent men from Italy once Austria had relieved the pressure there. Xavier’s men have used the rolling hills to their advantage, slowing the advance of Charlotte’s forces. To the southwest the returning soldiers from Spain have secured the Spanish border for Charlotte, taking advantage of the relocation of Xavier’s Army of Toulouse to the Lyons front.
   In the north the Army of Aquitaine smashed north, ultimately severing the connection between the two halves of Xavier’s France in the process. There Charlotte’s 33 divisions squared off against the combined 45 divisions of Xavier’s Army of Brittany and Army of Anjou. The initial White offensive was beaten back, the Blues securing Limoges and La Rochelle in a counterassault from the north. Still, needing to defend both their east as well as their south, Xavier’s forces have been a bit diluted along the front.
   On the waves, Charlotte’s navy conducted a surprise assault on Marseilles, hoping to topple Xavier’s government in an instant and capture the rival. Indeed, on September 8th that city was stunned by a bombardment and landing. Xavier was not in the city, overseeing operations in the Italian theater from Turin, but his daughter was. Carolina of Bourbon-Savoie (b. 1839) Xavier’s favorite child had been appointed his lieutenant in the city and fell into the hands of Charlotte’s men and was quickly taken back to Bordeaux. Though Marseilles was quickly recaptured, Xavier’s national assembly in nearby Avignon seeing to that, the loss of his child has terrified the aged Prince, who does not trust Charlotte to protect her. Especially after reports emerged that Charlotte had tried to have him poisoned, Xavier’s personal chef coming forward to the Prince after having been approached by White agents.
   Thus, at the end of the first full year of warfare, the War of the Regency continues. Charlotte has united her two halves of France and seized a good deal of Xavier’s territory in the south. With Habsburg intervention, staunch nationalists have rallied to her cause, Xavier more convincingly being painted as a foreign agent.

The Empire Strikes Back
   Alarmed by the success of Naples in Padania, and patently aware that Lombardy would be next on the chopping block, the Court of Vienna at last made a decision. The Habsburg Monarchy would side with Xavier, the Blues, and traditionalism in France. The Habsburg Monarchy, a foe of the Kingdom of France for centuries, has now cast itself as its savior. In a national address given on August 5th, Emperor Charles VIII called Xavier the “legitimate” regent of France and vowed to protect his cause. Two fronts were opened up in the fighting: in Lorraine and Italy as Austria sought to stabilize the situation in Western Europe. There are questions as to how effective they have been in this.
   The attack of the Austrians into Italy stunned the Neapolitan forces, who were forced to give up a good deal of their gains in Padania, much of Modena returning to Xavier’s control. Yet, being such a narrow peninsula, Italy lent itself more than anywhere to the defensive type of warfare increasingly in vogue. Attempts by the Habsburgs to invade northern Tuscany and cut off the existing frontline in the north were bogged down in the Apennines. In Romagna, and much flatter terrain, Austrian gains would be more substantial, Ravenna and Bologna surrendering to the advancing Habsburg forces until the line stabilized at Forli after the initial surprise had worn off.
  A second Austrian invasion was launched against Lorraine, a substantial 45 division Army of the Rhine crossed from the Holy Roman Empire into France. While the Habsburg force was significant, and the region fairly weakly defended, a lack of clear orders among Habsburg officers and disputes over minor issues such as precedence only guaranteed nominal gains by the end of the year. While Strasbourg, Colmar, and Luxembourg are now in Austrian hands, and Habsburg soldiers are on the gate of Nancy, there is a sense that advances here were more muted than they might have been because of vague directions and uncertain aims. Indeed, now that Charlotte is well-aware of Austrian intervention, the element of surprise has been lost. Though Vienna perhaps maintains numerical superiority, there are some who fear potential Prussian involvement may force men to be redirected and change that as well.

Dutch Achieve Minimal Gains in Flanders, German Volunteers Attack
   There was honor in the Dutch announcement that they would be liberating the Flemings to their south, but European politics does not reward honor. Queen Charlotte, too overwhelmed with Xavier and the Austrian Invasion to enact a response of her own, reached out to her Prussian relatives. King Frederick IV, as uncle of Louis XX via his wife Princes Catherine of France, was all too happy to get nominally involved. Berlin professed neutrality even as several hundred thousand “volunteers” crossed the Dutch border into the recently retaken province of Groningen. The Prusso-Dutch alliance, which had so easily battered the Scandinavians just two years prior, shattered. There would be some nominal revolts in Flanders, ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Breda falling to local risings, but much of Flanders remained in Dutch hands due to the attack in the north. The Dutch army proper has been forced to defend the north from yet another foreign incursion. Inspired by the stationary warfare seen in Spain and North America, the Dutch have erected a line of trenches from Zwolle to Lochem. The Prussian “volunteers” have in fact been brought to a halt, but the situation remains uncertain. Flanders now seems naked to any French assault from the south so long as the Netherlands does not make some sort of agreement with Austria. The Dutch realm now stands in a perilous position, any wrong move potentially leading towards collapse.

Corsica
   On Corsica, the civil war continued throughout the early months of the year, those loyal to the Grand Duke facing off the Italian pan-nationalists. Fighting was small-scale though, no large engagements in the early months. The island was largely a sideshow and both sides knew it, the result in Corsica could easily be undone by developments elsewhere. Grand Duke Alexander, demoralized when it became clear that Queen Charlotte and Naples were at least nominally aligned, saw little point in wasting more Corsican lives. This was coupled with a Neapolitan stranglehold on the Mediterranean. In a move that endeared him to the Italian Nationalists, and irritate some of his followers, Alexander officially abdicated as Grand Duke of Corsica, giving the title to Charles VIII of Naples. At the same time, he retained the title of Duke of Corsica for himself, intending to cooperate with the Neapolitans, who assumed control of the island. While his ardent nationalist followers would see this as a betrayal, the loss of such a major figurehead took the air out of the Corsican nationalist sails. By the end of the year, with little fanfare, the island was controlled in its entirety by the Neapolitans.

Spanish Civil War: Serrano on the Back Foot

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   With Austria refusing to involve itself further in Spain, and Naples consumed by events back at home, the Liberal Republicans would be left to face the Catholic onslaught with limited forces. Despite intense Austrian warnings that Portuguese intervention would constitute an act of war, King John VII (with so many Brazilians on his border and Austria involved in France) felt he had little choice but to rejoin the war. His choice was seemingly confirmed as correct when French authorities, coincidentally, handed control of the Indian ports back to Portugal, citing administrative difficulties with the Ottoman and Durrani invasions. France also, conveniently, withdrew from the north of Spain, Charlotte needing her men in the fight with Xavier.
   Thus, Portugal and Brazil joined the side of the Catholic Republicans in full, thousands more men pouring into the region. In the north especially, it was too much for the Liberals to resist. A Portuguese force marched up the Tagus, seizing Toledo. They were dissuaded from seizing Madrid again, mindful of the stain that placed on their image. Instead, the Brazilian-Catholic Republican Army from Asturias poured south, capturing the entirety of the region north of the Sierra de Guadarrama. The Liberal Army of Segovia fled south, avoided even Madrid, to join the Neapolitan forces. Segovia itself held out on its own for a week, taking advantage of local terrain and its position on a hill, but it could not withstand siege indefinitely. By late July it surrendered, the capital of liberalism in the Spanish north now falling into Catholic hands. Any collaborators with the old government were brutally murdered on the orders of Nouvilas, terror reigning in the city. Segovia out of the way, on August 20th, 1874 Madrid changed hands once more, falling back into the Catholic fold. At this point the damaged city seems little more than a ghost town or a hamlet, most locals having relocated due to the strains and horrors of the civil war.
   To the northwest, when news came that Austria had attacked Naples and sided with Prince Xavier, the morale of the expeditionary force melted away, given Serrano remained alongside the Austrian soldiers in Cordoba (evidently showing favor to that side). Frustrated as the situation, and seeing the theater as lost given the growing Brazilian-Portuguese intervention, the generals of the Neapolitan Spanish Expeditionary Force elected to withdraw from the Spanish Civil War so they could fight elsewhere. In an orderly fashion they evacuated Valencia for the Balearic Islands, thousands of liberal Spaniards crowding onto the boats and fleeing as refugees rather than face reprisals. Thus, Nouvilas, who engaged in a new offensive south once the French had withdrawn, made substantial gains in eastern Spain, even Valencia falling by the end of the year.
   The stalemate in the south would be broken as well. With Quebec setting the precedent in North America that chemical warfare was no longer taboo, Brazil decided to deploy its own take on the technology in a bid to seize Cordoba. Unlike Quebec, which had employed the use of chlorine, the Brazilians used mustard gas instead. Reinforced with some men from the north, they launched a desperate assault at Cordoba and the Liberal-Austrian Army. Methods learned from the Americas to prevent the effectiveness of chlorine gas did nothing against the new substance, which saw the defenders incapacitated. The Austrian soldiers in particular were the first to break, likely seeing little reason to die in a far-off land against a terrifying new weapon. The Brazilian push was quite heavy. It took several weeks for the fighting to conclude, but the Austrians forced Francisco Serrano to abandon the city, his government now relocating to Cartagena, the absolute furthest point from the front lines. Cordoba proper fell into anarchy and looting as the enemy advance became clear and the government fled. By the time the Catholics restored order, the Brazilians attending a service of Thanksgiving in the Cathedral of Cordoba, substantial damage had occurred to the city.
   In Spain, the situation has been flipped on its head within under a year. It seems that the victory of the Liberals was perhaps an illusion, the involvement of Brazil and Portugal proving sufficient to undo the fragile hold that they had over most of the Iberian Peninsula. Now, at the end of 1874, the situation is reversed. The liberals are consigned to a southeastern corner of the country. Current Austrian numbers are feared to be insufficient to protect against another year of onslaught. Most major cities are now in the hands of the Catholic Republicans and Francisco Serrano’s forces are increasingly showing collapsing morale and feeling the strain of now four years of continuous fighting. For yet another year Spain seems close to finally ending the fight, but this time it seems the Catholics may come out on top.

Global Economy Shattered; Most Severe Disruptions in History

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   1873 and 1874 combined wrought havoc on the global economic situation. International trade has effectively ceased in vast swathes of the globe. The British blockade in the Atlantic, Japanese and Korean scuffles in the South China Sea, and Neapolitan shutdown of the Mediterranean to Blue ships ensured that only overland trade has been seen as reliable. With factories in Europe shifting to military production, the supply of civilian goods has suddenly been curtailed, driving up prices as inflation erodes the purchasing power of the population in many different markets. Even had the goods been completed, most people understood they could not be delivered. The global market has splintered into regional trade blocs, even the great colonial empires finding themselves largely unable to reliable engage in trade with distant colonial outposts. Some are calling for rationing, in line with British restrictions introduced over the last few months, in a bid to top the panic and runs on goods.
   The destruction of the Suez, making it largely unnavigable, ignited a new round of European economic angst. The powers most damaged by this wretched development were Scandinavia, the Habsburg Monarchy and France, all of who had extensive positions in the Far East. Now, access to the colonies would take far longer, require reliance on Prussian South Africa, and be far more vulnerable. Dozens of trading firms in Trieste, Venice, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Le Havre declared bankruptcy, while Prussia announced increased customs dues on all goods travelling through Cape Town. Riots erupted, the unemployed longshoremen finding their livelihoods evaporating overnight, authorities in Copenhagen being particularly brutal in their suppression of dissent, a sign that even relatively democratic realms were not immune from unrest.
   Beyond civilian goods though, the issue of food production remained acute. Here Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Scandinavia were spared the worst. No, Western Europe and the British-held American territories would experience a “hungry winter” in late 1874. French and Spanish harvests were disrupted by the war, while British grain was insufficient to supply the American colonies cut off from the Midwest by Quebecois trenches. Egypt, another major grain-producing realm, has likewise seen supply undercut by war. It is estimated hundreds of thousands have died from starvation in China over the past several years. In Paris, desperate subjects sold rats as a delicacy, while many have noted the once plump Xavier has shed a good deal of weight, determined to share the same portion in rationing as his men. Should the harvest of coming years prove insufficient, and the trade situation remain so dire, it is likely that further famine may be in store.
   Stocks tumbled yet again on news of the Suez, total financial meltdowns in Vienna, Berlin, and Stockholm being avoided only due to the prospect of extensive government mobilization and wartime production. Still, this is not to understate their significance, overall indices tumbling 30% over the latter half of the year. Matters were helped by existing money in the Austrian treasury and continued Russian aid to Scandinavia. Most investors bet that wartime mobilize would ease the worst of the crisis, as Vienna entered the fray in France and Stockholm would prove to be a likely supplier of weapons for various countries. Indeed, the Rothschild Creditanstalt notably used the financial panic to scoop up shares in Austrian steel and coal firms, a vote of confidence considering how much money that firm had lost elsewhere. Still, unless the global situation stabilizes, long drawn-out economic pain could ultimately prove more fatal than any sort of immediate shock as was experienced in 1872. Among noncombatant powers the economic situation seems far worse. Saxony, the Holy Roman Empire, and Poland in particular have seen foreign investors withdraw their funds to safer havens, such as Switzerland, or seek to recoup their losses in home markets.

Technologies of a Changing World

(Source: America's Library)

   The use of toxic gasses by the Quebecois and Brazil would demonstrate to the world that technology is shaping the state of warfare on a scale never before seen in human history. By the end of the year, it was clear that Britain and France had made substantial advances in the field of chemical warfare themselves, potentially spreading the misery to whole new theaters.
   Indeed, with the dead piling up due to more efficient ways of killing including guns, shells, submarines, torpedoes, the prospect of technological progress has started to inspire dread, not joy, in the hearts of many. Magazine fire and machine guns have made guns all the more deadly. Shells can how shoot further than ever before, demonstrated in the bombardment of New Orleans. Inventions meant for practical purposes, such as barbed wire, have been deployed on the battlefield. Men have been sent into the industrial meatgrinder on the fronts of France, America, Italy, and the Netherlands.
   Yet, amidst all the horror and terror caused by technology, is the prospect of hope. In late December 1874 news would emerge from Louisiana of a stunning new technology: hydroelectricity. Dubbed Project M for years, even at war the Louisianan Monarchy had invested thousands in the project, seeing potential in the development and has turned itself into the clear leader in this field of technology. Though the initial result during the reveal was modest, the power plant as St. Louis able to power several incandescent lamps, the prospects of the new technology are endless. Rather than rely on gas or oil, could this new source of electricity one day conquer the darkness of night and give mankind an illuminated future? Given the prospects for scaling said technology, the news was met with jubilation and served as a welcome respite from constant reporting of losses from the frontlines.
   1874 would also see the introduction of several other novel developments, including cable cars, projectors, speakers, and the phonograph. These marvels go even further than people fifty or even twenty years ago would have thought possible and represent the age of industrial and technological progress quite well. What more would have been possible had the world been at peace?

[Spamage]

The Zenith of Power: Concert of Europe Part IV
Turn 5: 1875

The World in 1875
(Made by Me)

Nations, Leaders, and Players

Kingdom of France: Queen Mother Charlotte von Hohenzollern (X)
Habsburg Monarchy: Emperor Charles VIII von Habsburg-Lothringen (Dereich)
Kingdom of Scandinavia: Queen Catherine II von Oldenburg (YPestis)
Russian Republic: President Aleksey Suvorin (KaiserDave)
British Union: King Henry X of Hanover (joshva)
Ottoman Empire: Sultan Murad V Osmanoğlu (Kingpoleon)
Kingdom of Naples: King Charles VIII Bourbon (GoTfan)
Qajar Iran: Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (PSOL)
Kingdom of Quebec: King Henry II von Hohenzollern (Lumine)
Kingdom of Mexico: King Luis de Bourbon-Orleans (Hijodeagua)
Kingdom of Romania: King Ludovic de Bourbon-Aquitaine (Windjammer)
Chinese Republic: Protector of the Nation Li Hongzhang (HCP & Devout Centrist)
United Provinces of New Holland: Stadtholder Pieter Mijer (Orwell)
Holy Republic of Colombia: Archbishop-President Vicente Arbeláez Gómez (Kuumo)
Confederation of New England: Chairman Henry Wilson (OBD)
Kingdom of the Netherlands: King William IV of Orange (Ishan)
Durrani Empire: Emir Abdul Samad Khan (AverageFoodEnthusiast)

Economic Standings

Divine Republic of Brazil: Moderate-Strong
Holy Republic of Colombia: Moderate-Strong
United Province of New Holland: Moderate-Strong
Kingdom of Prussia: Moderate
Qajar Iran: Moderate
Kingdom of Romania: Moderate
Tokugawa Shogunate: Moderate
Kingdom of Naples: Moderate-Weak
Russian Republic: Moderate-Weak
Ottoman Empire: Moderate-Weak
Habsburg Monarchy: Moderate-Weak
Kingdom of the Netherlands: Moderate-Weak
Durrani Empire: Moderate-Weak
Kingdom of Mexico: Moderate-Weak
British Union: Weak
Chinese Republic: Weak
Confederation of New England: Weak
Kingdom of Scandinavia: Weak
Kingdom of Quebec: Weak
Kingdom of France: Weak
United Kingdom of Louisiana: Weak

Popularity

Archbishop-President Vicente Arbeláez Gómez: Very High
King Luis de Bourbon: Very High
King Henry II von Hohenzollern: High
Archbishop-President Manuel Joaquim da Silveira: High
Stadtholder Peter Mijer: High
Protector of the Nation Li Hongzhang: High
King Frederick IV von Hohenzollern: High
President Aleksey Suvorin: High
Emperor Charles VIII von Habsburg-Lothringen: Moderate
King Henry-Philippe Bourbon: Moderate
King Ludovic de Bourbon-Aquitaine: Moderate
King William IV of Orange: Moderate
Queen Catherine II von Oldenburg: Moderate
Chairman Henry Wilson: Moderate
King Henry X of Hanover: Moderate
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar: Moderate
King Charles VIII Bourbon: Moderate
Emir Abdul Samad Khan: Moderate
Queen Mother Charlotte von Hohenzollern: Low
Sultan Murad V Osmanoğlu: Low

Current Global Conflicts:
War of the Regency: White France, Kingdom of Naples vs. Blue France, Habsburg Monarchy, Kingdom of the Netherlands (1873-)
Prussian Invasion of Morocco: Kingdom of Prussia vs. Kingdom of Morocco (1871-)
Spanish Civil War: Catholic-Republican Spain vs. Spanish Republic, Austrian Expeditionary Force (1871-)
Chinese Civil War: Chinese Republicans vs. Joseon Korea (1867-)
American War: British Union vs. United Kingdom of Louisiana, Kingdom of Quebec, Kingdom of Mexico, Confederation of New England (1872-)
Pacific War: Tokugawa Shogunate, Russian Republic vs. Joseon Korea, Holy Republic of Colombia, Dai Viet, Kingdom of Portugal, Philippine Rebels (1874-)
Ottoman Intervention in North Africa: Ottoman Empire vs. Kingdom of Naples, Kingdom of Prussia (1874-)

Kingdom of France (Whites)

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-The War of the Regency continues into its second full year, France remaining a battleground of Europe. The Habsburgs have broken through Lorraine, Brittany and Anjou remain in Blue hands, and a broad network of trenches has begun to snake through the southeast. Still, there are reasons to be somewhat optimistic. The two halves of your territories have been united due to the campaigns of the previous year. The French Navy has demonstrated its continued strength with your brief seizure of Marseilles, and foreign intervention has pushed many fence-sitters into your camp. How will you prosecute the civil war in 1875?

-Xavier now has the Austrians backing his cause, with the Dutch likewise seeming to do so at least nominally. While Naples seems to have similar goals to you, other than that you currently stand alone. While Prussia is an obvious partner should the war expand, some in Paris urge you to be even more creative in finding friends. Russia could be a major asset should it be made friendly. Brazil and Portugal, though extremists, likewise seem at least willing to cooperate, as events in Iberia showed last year. Ludovic of Romania has also been placed on that throne by your good graces and has ample reasons to despise Vienna. What will you do to ensure that you are not overwhelmed by these wretched foreigners that seek to meddle in French affairs?

-Your capture of Xavier’s daughter Carolina de Bourbon-Savoie underscores a larger question: what is to be done with captives gained during the course of hostilities? Thousands of Xavier’s civilian supporters have been detained by your forces all throughout your territories, to the extent some local prisons have been filled. Some would have them placed on trial; others urge mercy. What about the vast number of captured soldiers? Should they be treated with honor or executed for their treason against young King Louis XX? While French, many of them openly curse your name due to your polarizing image. It is an awkward question, to be sure, but one that must be answered.

Habsburg Monarchy

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Your intervention in the west seems to have, at least temporarily, paid off. Naples’ advance has been halted, even if your men did not achieve their aims in Tuscany. Lorraine has been seized and Xavier has been able to reallocate his men to his southern front. If your intervention is to be continued, there remain other questions that must be answered. Will you align yourself with the vulnerable Dutch, even if that could involve alienating Berlin? How will you guarantee Prussia is kept out of the fight, or should you preemptively strike? What will be done about Naples and the deteriorating situation further afield in Spain? The environment in Western Europe seems quite fragile at the moment.

-Your worst fears seem confirmed in the south, the Balkans demonstrating they are a clear source of instability, though the Ottomans too are not blameless for recent developments. With the various rogue realms (including your brother’s Serbia) up in arms and Russia poised to intervene, there are worries about you being left out of any future regional settlement, given your attention is elsewhere. For that matter, many have come to identify you with the Ottomans, especially in Bulgaria and Greece. While Prussia and Naples are seen as fellow allies against the Ottomans, the Habsburgs are marked as Istanbul’s nominal ally, by virtue of your shared war with Naples. Will you openly take a side in the Balkan War? How will you guarantee that Vienna has a seat at the table in any future regional settlement? Or should steady neutrality be observed, as France is a much larger priority?

-Yet again the economic situation has see-sawed in a negative direction, with the damage to the Suez. Although not an immediate crisis, many recognize the long-term expenses that will be incurred by the loss of that key trade route. In response, most economic ministers are now calling for a total mobilization of state resources for war to get the economy moving. Furthermore, to combat inflation and supply shortages, there are also demands by some for rationing, though this is far more polarizing. While potentially solving issues with unemployment and internal development, economic mobilization will be quite expensive. Many in Vienna are wary of incurring large debts after the Prussian and Russian refusals to repay the debts incurred during the First Great Eastern War. Beyond the economy as a whole, the trading sector is obviously decimated. Thousands in Trieste, Venice, and Rijeka have been left jobless, jobs drying up amid a flurry of bankruptcies. Naples has been able to impose a blockade on the Adriatic, ending all overseas Austrian trade. Even if that were not the case, given Prussian control over South Africa, Berlin now has a card to play against you and your colonial empire.

Kingdom of Scandinavia

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Scandinavia is one of the few global realms still at a state of peace. Indeed, it seems the rest of the world is aflame. While undoubtedly there could be gains to be made from strategic intervention in any theater, there are also growing concerns about the state of the domestic economy, as the riots of the longshoremen in Copenhagen so recently demonstrated. Will you involve yourself in any of the existing conflicts, particularly to aid either Britain or Austria, or will neutrality be maintained? How will you react to growing Prussian assertiveness or the destruction of the Suez, which has imperiled access to some of your colonies? Is it perhaps time to occupy Egypt after all, as a means of restoring order?

-Far afield, your efforts to expand Scandinavian holdings in Africa have continued to progress successfully. A new obstacle has been discovered, however, in the form of the Ugandan, Rwandan, Burundi, and other local tribal groups around Lake Catherine, which have indicated they do not recognize your authority. The prospect of war looms large in the region, though some fear your forces may not fare so well given the foreign environment. How will you handle the defiance of the Africans in this region, your explorers and missionaries even being beaten and removed from their lands? Some would employ the carrot and seek to inform local leaders cooperation is too profitable to be ignored, while others believe force and a show of strength could scare the region into compliance. Regardless, many other African tribes in the region will be watching your actions rather closely.

-Campaigning on economic success proved unsuccessful for Prime Minister de Greer and his liberals, his party being decimated in the 1874 general elections, which have yielded a substantial conservative lead. The destruction of the Suez and ensuing wave of economic uncertainty sunk his chances, which had seemed so solid before. On the left, the destitute have voted for the socialists, who have escaped some of the blame due to being the junior partners in the former government. As sovereign, it is up to you to facilitate a new government. A coalition must be established given the following results: 77 socialists, 37 liberals, 133 conservatives, 40 reactionaries, 11 Baltic Regionalists, 2 German Regionalists. What parties would you see in power and who would you name as Prime Minister now that de Greer is on his way out?

British Union

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-King Henry, your enemies achieved gains in the Americas, though many note that it was only through their use of such terrible, immoral chemical weaponry. Now your men are better prepared to respond to chlorine gas assaults and have even mastered the technology themselves. Will you carry on the fight in North America, especially with your blockade still holding and damaging the economies of Quebec, Mexico, Louisiana, and New England? Or is it time to seek a negotiated settlement, even if it means the humiliation of losing loyal subjects on the frontier of the American colonies?

-While your work to prohibit the publishing of potentially dangerous written works to the war effort has succeeded, particularly cutting down on unpatriotic publications in England proper, the Irish discontent is only further increasing. With the assassination of the Earl of Spencer and the growing violence in Dublin and other cities in response to the American War, some are calling on you to relocate soldiers to restore order to the island before matters spin out of control. Others are wary that the act of sending men to the Emerald Isle could only serve to spark a revolt in and of itself. Perhaps there should be a concerted crackdown on Irish nationalist organizations? To that end, what will you do about the assassins of the Earl of Spencer who fled to Paris and have sought the protection of Queen Charlotte? Ireland is tricky and must be navigated with great caution.

-You have made a ceasefire with New Holland and some are eager for you to sign an official peace treaty before the government in Willemstad gets other ideas. Still, there are questions about how compatible your two demands would be. With the destruction of the Suez, some in London have said that Australia is completely expendable, though undoubtedly the residence of that dominion would say otherwise. Will you formalize the peace process with the New Hollanders? Or will you use the growing chaos to the north, with Russia, Korea, Colombia, and Japan all fighting, as an opportunity to find a powerful set of friends in the region?

Russian Republic

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-The election results have come in and proven a bit anticlimactic. The existing coalition retains a majority, though socialist left as a whole seems to have capitalized on growing weariness of continued extensive mobilization. The seat arrangement is as follows: 23 seats Union for Holy Russia, 36 Fatherland Loyalists, 132 All-Russian Patriotic Alliance, 102 Constitutional Liberals, 74 Party of Popular Socialists, 67 Reform Labor Party, 37 Party of People’s Struggle, 28 Democratic and Workers Party, 67 Ukrainian Duma Association, 12 other nationalist groups. Will you reform the current governing coalition? Should Chicherin be kept as Prime Minister? How will you use the voice of the people to guide the Russian political process? This could be crucial, given the coming presidential vote in 1876.

-The south is in chaos. The Balkan Princes are up in arms, a new sovereign has taken the throne in Romania, the Suez is ruined, and the Ottomans have relocated their men far away from this theater, potentially providing an opening for a Russian response. Given your lack of substantial aid to the Georgians, who now mock the notion you are the defender of the Ottoman Christians, some see intervention as a matter of pride. Yet, given the unpredictability of war, there are others who would have you be cautious in the region. If you’re looking for partners beyond the Balkan kingdoms, it should be noted that both Naples and Prussia have ample reason to be upset with Istanbul, given aggressive Ottoman actions in the last year. What will you do about the Ottoman situation?

-Korea has been bloodied, but is not beaten by any means. With the war in Asia potentially expanding further, given this new “Singapore Pact”, you have a wide variety of potential ways of handling the situation. Friendship with either the Chinese or Japanese is probably possible, though either power seems wary of further Russian territorial expansion in the region. Given the dire circumstances to your south and west, others in government have urged you to withdraw from the fight in Korea under whatever terms are offered, seeing more opportunity in theaters closer to the capitol. You can also move forward with continued military operations in order to bring the Joseon Dynasty to its knees. How will you handle the war in China and Manchuria?

Ottoman Empire

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Those so-called “princes” in the Balkans are up to mischief. This time, they have even won over your longtime vassal, the Republic of Illyria. With your men off in India and North Africa, there are growing concerns that you may have overextended yourself. With only 5 divisions defending Istanbul, the capital seems vulnerable to an enemy advance, especially if the Russians or Iranians were to get any bold ideas. Beyond that, Ottoman control over vast parts of the Balkans is imperiled, only the Muslims of Albania, Bosnia, and Bulgaria actively defending the old order. What is to be done in the region?

-Beyond the Balkans, you have two other theaters to address. Both the Prussians and Moroccans remain up in arms, while Naples also remains nominally at war with you over your conduct in Tunis and Morocco over the past year. Will you continue to leave men in the region to cement your newly regained power? How will you respond to potential counterassaults? In India your men have achieved great gains, but the overall question of your exact intentions in this operation has left many confused. Will you strike north towards Delhi, plunge south towards Mumbai, push into the Deccan Plateau, or should the operation be abandoned given circumstances elsewhere. Are the Durrani and Mysore allies or enemies of the Sublime Porte? What will you do to get the French colonial officials to capitulate?

-The reports coming out of the Suez make no sense. While dead Ottomans have been reported on the scenes, many of your commanders report that no men are unaccounted for. With the Egyptian rebellion on its last legs, many believe the “King” may have gotten desperate and blown the canal, though he undoubtedly would have had foreign help. Whatever the case, without the Suez in operation, your logistical situation has become far more difficult, especially with so many divisions in India. Control of Egypt and Palestine has never been more vital, given those regions’ role as overland alternatives to the Suez. How will you guarantee the stability of Ottoman rule in either? On top of that, what will you do about the increasing issue of logistics in the region? Should you take control of the ruined canal yourself and set about starting the long-term repairs that will be necessary?

[Spamage]

Kingdom of Naples

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-The Austrian dogs have struck at your men, seeking to keep their boot on the throat of Italy. With the war bogging down, and their advance halting, your men have held the line thus far. On the water, the Mediterranean has become a Neapolitan lake, the fall of Corsica confirming the strength of your fleet. As the war continues into another year will you recalibrate your strategy? Some urge a push north, the seizure of Austrian Gibraltar, or even naval landings in France proper. What will Naples do about the French Civil War in 1875?

-The Ottomans are treacherous swine, attacking Tunis like they did. Though matters to the north have primarily consumed the Court's attention, there are those who still cast an angry glance eastwards. Perhaps the unrest in the Balkans in justice for what Istanbul has done. What will be done about the growing waves of discontent in the Balkans, particularly in Illyria, which has a sizable Italian population. Beyond that, what is to be done about the theft of Tunis and murder of the local garrison by those wretched locals? How will you guarantee the Ottomans pay for their actions?


-You have been spared the worst in regards to the economy for the time being, thanks to bountiful agricultural production and the lack of a distant colonial empire cut off by the ruin of the Suez. Still, the situation is gradually worsening. Is it perhaps time to implement economic controls that have never been considered, including rationing and extensive government intervention and direction of the economy? Or should the free market be allowed to function, as it will eventually resolve any short-term issues caused by the war. On top of this, there is the question of government debt. War is expensive. Will you take out loans for military supplies and pay raises to ensure that you come out on top or could increases in expenses be offset by higher taxes? What will you do about the economy?

Kingdom of Romania

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Greetings King Ludovic, you come to the throne of a realm often ignored or maligned by other powers. Your father saw opportunity in Romania though and given proper management of the current situation, it is likely you could achieve his dreams. With Europe in such a dire situation (war to the south and west) Romania has thus far remained above the fray. Is it time for that to change? Or would your subjects best be served by nonalignment and peaceful internal reform? How will you deal with this prickly diplomatic situation? Perhaps finding a wife for yourself would be a good way of creating lasting ties with other European states?

-The Kingdom of Romania is still a new polity and your father never got around to formalizing how he wished the new government to look. Indeed, the process of writing some sort of constitution or charter of government remains ongoing. How will you design the Romanian state? Will it involve a strong or weak monarchy? How will suffrage be determined or will you even hold elections? Romania has been freed, but its new government must be fully established if the state is to endure. What will you do?

-Domestically, your provinces have been mocked relentlessly as a backwards region. Serfdom still reigns on noble estates in Wallachia, infrastructure is severely lacking, and the damage from the Second Great Eastern War has not yet been fully repaired. How will you improve the internal Romanian situation and make sure that your realm can no longer be maligned by other powers? Will you seek a foreign financier to back some ambitious projects?

United Kingdom of Louisiana

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-At long last the British have been expelled from much of Tennessee, the casualties of the past few years not having been in vain. Still, Britain has regrouped its men at Knoxville, holds your former territory of North Carolina, and shelled New Orleans. The war is by no means won and will undoubtedly drag on longer. Chemical weapons, which Louisiana now has access to as well, played a pivotal role over the past few months, will you use them, even if they are morally questionable? Beyond that, what will your military orders consist of for the coming year?

-The bombardment of New Orleans has underscored the growing division in Louisiana. Forced to bear the brunt of the fighting for the first time since the fighting commenced, some Francophone Louisianans have questioned what they have to gain from the prospective annexation of so many English-speakers into their realm. Anglophone subjects retort with opposition and hurt feelings over the Nationality Act, which failed to pass last year. Afro-Louisianans, meanwhile, seem hesitant to condemn their British counterparts to the discrimination they have been forced to endure. Indeed, while the American War remains a popular cause in the American South, it is less so among the Afro-Louisianan and Francophone populations. It has certainly put a snag in new Prime Minister George Graham Vest’s aim to unite the various factions into a coherent bloc in government. How will you bring the broad nationalities of the nation into consensus?

-Limited frontier skirmishes have in fact erupted with some of the native tribes in the west. The Comanche, Apache, and Sioux have seemed impervious to attempts to show force and intimidate them. While your men have responded, perhaps a bit brutally in some instances, the tensions do not seem to be abating. In several instances, some of your subjects have engaged the Native Americans on their own, even murdering lone indigenous travelers. Will you punish these vigilantes? Also, should the government maintain a policy of gradual escalation in response to native infractions? What will you say to those advocating far more radical solutions such as relocation or confinement of native populations?

Qajar Iran

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-To your east and west, wars have erupted. The Durrani and Ottomans seek to overturn more than a century of French dominance in India, while the Balkan principalities have used Ottoman overextension as a chance to bolt. Further afield, the Ottomans have made enemies in Prussia and Naples through their invasion of Tunis and Morocco. Some wonder if the Arabs or Alawites will follow the Balkan leaders in renouncing the overlordship of the Sultan. Will you involve yourself in either conflict? Or is Iran best served by remaining aloof from these petty feuds that only serve to spread misery and confusion across the world?

-The explosion in naval spending has yielded great results and even impressed some foreign observers. Undoubtedly, the Iranian fleet would be able to hold its own in the local region. Still, some in the army have complained that the money ought to be redirected to purchasing and beginning the manufacture of western land weaponry, given they have seen actual combat over the past decade, unlike the fleet. Funding could be split, but that would leave no one happy. The two branches have demonstrated a growing rivalry and it is increasingly becoming accepted that you much make your preference clear. While pivoting to army spending could be wise, given the tensions in the west, that may undermine the newfound effectiveness of your ships. Still, many urge you to remain cautious in crossing your generals, given their role in potentially determining outcomes on the field. How will you handle the internal questions over military funding?

Kingdom of Quebec

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Quebec has made gains, King Henry, thanks to the use of chlorine gas. Still, there remains work to be done. New York City has remained British, even as the frontline has shifted further to the south. The British continue to hold out stubbornly in Ohio and some fear they may withdraw to the Appalachians and use those mountains as a natural barrier to prevent either yourself or Louisiana from invading the remaining colonies from the west. The blockade continues to wear on the economy, as some have grown increasingly tired of the continued costs of war. What will be done about the American War in 1875?

-Maintaining the level of mobilization for the past few years, plus the pressure of the blockade, has been rather expensive and there are talks about how the war is to be financed moving forward. Some believe it is time to implement emergency taxes on wealth and income throughout the Kingdom. Perhaps confiscations in the occupied American regions could be increased? Selling bonds is also an option, as is printing more money. You have a wide variety of options, how will you finance the fight?

-The tensions between the Anglophone and Francophone halves of Louisiana illustrate a growing issue within your borders. Should you emerge victorious in the American War and Quebec achieve substantial gains, the native Francophone population is at risk of being outnumbered by former British subjects, many of whom sympathize with London, as continued low-scale resistance behind occupied lines indicates. Many, both public officials and private citizens, have expressed concern over the democratic balance of power in your realm potentially being upset by so many new potential countrymen. Given the relative democratic structure of your government, perhaps it is a fair question. How will you reassure them and will you make any commitments as to the future of potential American annexations?

United Provinces of New Holland

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-An armistice has been reached with Britain, but now you must decide whether or not this agreement should translate into a full-scale peace treaty. Britain remains bogged down in North America, so renewed campaigning would not be out of the question. Yet, with the explosion of the Pacific War, potentially making the Korean holdings in the East Indies more vulnerable, the situation to your north has greatly changed and some would have you abandon the fight with the British to join the fighting there. As a growing regional power many wait to see what you will decide. Will there be peace with Britain? What will Willemstad’s response to the Pacific War look like?

-While your economic situation is favorable, the effect of the destruction of the Suez will be more problematic in the long-run, as Prussian price-gouging in South Africa is going to make trade with Europe longer and more expensive. To some in your government, this calls for either an Asian or Pacific pivot, to trade interactions with the Americas or India and China. Still, India and China are in civil war and the Americas are rather distant. Will you seek to pivot away from the European markets that have thus far been dominant in New Holland or are the old relationships established for good reason?

Kingdom of Mexico

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Mexico remains an active partner in the American War, your men fighting in both the southern and northern theaters of the war. The last few months have been punishing, particularly for your men in Ohio, but your allies have ensured that gains were achieved. Now, with the war continuing into another year, will you take a more active role in the direction of your soldiers to the north? Will Mexico attempt to break the British blockade before Veracruz turns into another New Orleans or Boston? What will your role in the conflict look like in 1875?

-There are several candidates that have emerged for the role of Prime Minister. Your son, the Crown Prince, has offered himself, though this is perhaps the least feasible. Miguel Miramón, a famed general of French heritage, is quite popular with his men but little known outside of military circles. Teodosio Lares seems to have the support of many bureaucrats and conservative party-men, but likewise is not known by the general public. Juan Almonte is probably the most well-known, but is feared by some to be incompetent. With these candidates, among others, who will you name as your prime minister?

Holy Republic of Colombia

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Colombia has taken up arms and Japanese authority in the Pacific has been dealt a severe blow. Still the war is not yet done. Edo has demonstrated a continued will to resist and the Japanese soldiers have notably shown a tendency to fight to the last. How will you bring the Tokugawa Shogunate to its knees in concert with the Singapore Pact? Furthermore, how will you respond to the Korean demands that you aid them against the Russian assault in Manchuria, given your new alliance? The diplomatic seas are quite rough and must be navigated with caution.

-Election results are in, and they are somewhat unexpected. Results are as follows: Moderate Catholic Republicans 29%, Socialists 22%, Republican-Secular Reformists (Liberals) 18%, Conservative Republicans 15%, Hardline Catholic Republicans 8%, Monarchists 8%. There are two takeaways: the radical Catholic Republicans have performed embarrassingly low, perhaps shining a light on the stability of your fellow regimes, and 63% of the voters picked non-Catholic Republican parties. Still, thanks to the first-past-the-post system, the national assembly is as follows: 36 Moderate Catholic Republicans, 20 Socialists, 12 Liberals, 7 Conservative Republicans. The Moderates will have to make an alliance with one of the various republican groups. With that in mind, which ideological faction will you back? Also, given the newness of the National Assembly, should some sort of prime minister figure be established? Though, not in the constitution, it is typical in similar bodies.

Chinese Republic

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-The tactic of indirect guerilla resistance could not have come at a better time, given the Russian assault on Korea. Now, some of your generals would have you launch a direct campaign north of the Yangtze as a means of expelling the foreigners from their pocket to the north. Still, though battered, the Koreans remain a force to be reckoned with, given their advanced weaponry and years of experience fighting in the Middle Kingdom. Will you shake up your military aims in the coming year or should the same strategy of intense, indirect resistance be maintained at all costs? How will you end this foreign attempt to hoist an alien dynasty on the Chinese people?

-Land reform has commenced, though there has been surprising pushback from existing holders. It is estimated 25% of existing major landholders in Republican-held China have complied with government requests in return for the privileges offered. Other than them, very few have come forward, daring your government to act against them at such a dire time. Some believe the lack of initiative is symptomatic of inefficient administration inherited from the Xing and the Qing before them, arguing that you restructure local government, court, and administrative systems. Will you pursue some degree of administrative reform, perhaps moving away from the older governorships, and what is to be done about the recalcitrant landholders?

Confederation of New England

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Your men have fought alongside the Quebecois, expelling the British dogs from Connecticut and achieving great gains in the Northeast. Though some were shocked by the use of chemical weaponry by your ally, most New Englanders were willing to overlook any moral scruples, given lingering resentment over the shelling of Boston in 1873. Now a new year dawns. How will you conduct the New England war effort in 1875?

-Though war is afoot and your state is damaged, the prospect of elections looms in 1875. New Englanders ought to be going to the polls to decide the future of the Confederation. With the outbreak of war, though, there are some who have argued the elections ought to be postponed until peace is restored. This could be beneficial to you, given your current polarizing image, though it risks undermining democratic norms in your small republic. Regardless, both you as Chairman and Congress as a whole were supposed to face the voters this year. As a member of the liberal Centralist Party, which currently has a slight majority in Congress, you must contend with the conservative Federalist Party, growing Worker’s Union, and radical nativists Sons of Liberty. Will you hold elections and, if so, what will your campaign theme be?

Kingdom of the Netherlands

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Your move was bold, and nominal gains in Flanders were achieved, but the public announcement of your military operation only served to allow Queen Charlotte to sick her Prussian ‘volunteers’ on you. Now the Netherlands sits in a risky position. You must reach out to the Austrians or some other power to ensure that you are not left to face Charlotte’s wrath in the coming year. Or perhaps you ought to try and secure peace with the French Red Queen? What will you do to prevent yet another collapse in the Netherlands caused by foreign invasion? 

Durrani Empire

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Emir Abdul Samad Khan, your men have struck into French India. Delhi sits within reach, though the colonial authorities have finally wised up to your strength. While the two northern principalities have collapsed, and Jaipur sits besieged, it is unclear what your next steps will be. How will you keep the French on the back foot and ensure Islamic liberation in India? Beyond that, how will you respond to fellow Muslim powers in the region, given the rebellion in Mysore and Ottoman invasion of Gujarat?

- The destruction of the Suez will set back European naval strength in the Indian Ocean substantially. With that in mind, there are some in Kabul who would have you work to establish a Durrani fleet, many noting that Iran has invested in a substantial navy in recent years. An active regional fleet could help to protect your coastal territories and prevent other colonial powers from inserting themselves in the region. To be sure, the proposition is somewhat of a novel idea, your realm having been a land-focused polity since its inception. Will you heed the calls to establish a Durrani Navy or is the idea both too fanciful and expensive to consider during a time of such great warfare?

[Spamage]

Army Strength:

Kingdom of France (Whites)
74 division Army of the Southern Front
29 division Army of the Northwest
19 division Army of Montpellier
17 division Army of Toulouse
(139/139 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of France (Blues)
65 division Army of Provence
42 division Army of Brittany
21 division Army of Turin
(128/128 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of France (Neutral India and Colonies)
46 division Army of India
10 division Army of Suez
24 division Army of Orissa
2 division Army of Ceylon
3 division Army of Sumatra
(86/86 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Habsburg Monarchy (Excluding HRE)
55 division Army of Italy
45 division Army of the Rhine
26 division Army of Silesia
20 division Army of Transylvania
10 division Army of Austria
9 division Spanish Expeditionary Force
3 division Army of Madagascar
8 division Chinese Expeditionary Force
1 division Army of the Suez
(182/291 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of Scandinavia
20 division Army of Jutland
10 division Army of Finland
5 division Army of Fujian
5 division Army of Sudan
5 division Army of Cyprus
(45/104 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

British Union
31 division Army of Ohio
24 division Army of the South
20 division Army of New York
5 division Home Guard
(80/125 divisions possible raised, max 6% conscription)

Russian Republic
5 division Army of St. Petersburg
5 division Army of Minsk
15 division Army of Kiev
15 division Army of Romania
20 division Army of the Caucuses
10 division Army of Turkestan
36 division Army of Manchuria
18 division Army of Inner Mongolia
10 division Army of Mongolia
(134/300 divisions possible raised, max 10% conscription)

Ottoman Empire
48 division Army of India
10 division Army of Egypt
9 division Army of the Caucuses/Armenia
5 division Army of Constantinople
38 division Army of North Africa
(110/182 divisions possible raised, max 12% conscription)

Divine Republic of Brazil
13 division Army of Asturias
25 division Army of Cordoba
10 division Army of Brazil
5 division Army of the Congo
2 division Army of Southern Africa
3 division Army of Bahia
(58/69 divisions possible raised, max 22% conscription)

Kingdom of Naples
62 division Army of the North
13 division Army of Sicily
17 division Army of the Balearics
(92/97 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of Prussia
30 division Army of Hanover
30 division Army of the East
28 division Dutch Expeditionary Force
2 division Army of Morocco
5 division Army of Pomerania
3 division Army of Danzig
2 division Army of Bremen-Verden
5 division Army of Berlin
5 division Army of South Africa
(110/123 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Tokugawa Shogunate
60 division Army of Japan
7 division Army of Formosa
30 division Army of Niigata
10 division Executive Guard
7 division Army of Kyoto
3 division Army of New Guinea
(117/177 divisions possible raised, max 10% conscription)

United Kingdom of Louisiana
25 division Army of the South
1 division Army of Bermuda
2 division Army of Jamaica
2 division Army of Cuba
(30/45 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Joseon Korea
35 division Chinese Army
20 division Army of Beijing
24 division Army of Manchuria
25 division Army of Pyeongyang
12 division Army of Incheon
6 division Army of Sumatra
4 division Army of Borneo
7 division Army of Shanghai
(136/136 divisions possible raised, max 10% conscription)

Kingdom of Poland
10 division Army of Warsaw
(10/56 divisions possible raised, max 16% conscription)

Qajar Iran
5 division Army of Erzurum
5 division Army of Syria
5 division Army of Basra
5 division Army of Qatar
8 division Army of Homorzegan
3 division Army of Mashad
3 division Army of Gwadar
1 division Imperial Guard
(35/130 divisions possible raised, max 20% conscription)

Kingdom of Quebec
20 division Army of the West
18 division Army of the East
2 division Foreign Legion
3 division Foreign Legion
(43/44 divisions possible raised, max 16% conscription)

Kingdom of Mexico
7 division Army of the American South
9 division Army of Ohio
5 division Royal Guard
2 division Army of the Yucatan
5 division Army of Guatemala
(28/55 divisions possible raised, max 15% conscription)

Chinese Republic
50 division Army of Hunan
40 division Army of Nanchang
30 division Army of Hubei
20 division Army of Hefei
20 division Army of Guangxi
20 division Army of Fujian
10 division Army of Chengdu
20 division Army of Nanjing
(210/290 divisions possible raised, max 3% conscription)

United Provinces of New Holland
6 division Army of Western Australia
4 division Army of Northern Australia
4 division Army of Southern Australia
(14/40 divisions possible raised, max 8% conscription)

Holy Republic of Colombia
4 division Army of Haiti
2 division Army of Maracaibo
2 division Army of Caracas
4 division Army of the Amazon
9 division Army of Luzon
8 division Army of Guayaquil
4 division Army of Lima
6 division Army of New Guinea
(33/33 divisions possible raised, max 15% conscription)

Confederation of New England
17 division Army of New York
1 division Army of Boston
(18/18 divisions possible raised, max 17% conscription)

Kingdom of Patagonia
3 division Army of Cordoba
3 division Army of Paraguay
(6/22 divisions possible raised, max 15% conscription)

Kingdom of Portugal
13 division Army of Spain
6 division Army of Philippines
3 division Army of Lisbon
(22/22 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of the Netherlands
24 division Dutch Army of the Home Front
(24/24 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Spanish Catholic Republic
2 division Army of the North
11 division Army of Valencia
(13/13 divisions possible raised, max 8% conscription)

Spanish Liberal Republic
11 division Army of Cartagena
(11/11 divisions possible raised, max 8% conscription)

Durrani Empire
15 division Army of Ludhiana
11 division Army of Jaipur
2 division Army of Herat
(28/30 divisions possible raised, max 11% conscription)

Sultanate of Mysore
20 division Army of Bengaluru
20 division Army of Vijayapura
(40/45 divisions possible raised, max 11% conscription)

[KaiserDave]

OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION OF STATE

I hereby name the following members of the 2nd State Duma of the Russian Republic to the Government of the Republic.

Prime Minister, Boris Nikolayevich Chicherin
Foreign Minister, Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov
Finance Minister, Nikolai Karl Paul von Bunge
War Minister, Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov
Interior Minister, Viktor Petrovich Burenin
Labor and Popular Affairs Minister, Nikolay Platonovich Ogarev

The entirety of the government and bureaucratic appointments will consist of members of the Fatherland Loyalist, All-Russian Patriotic Alliance, Constitutional Liberal parties, as well as political independents. The Government will command the confidence of the aforementioned parties, and per my conversations with the Prime Minister (who retains my full confidence) will make overtures to the Ukrainian Deputation and Cossack Deputation to join the government, as well as to moderate socialists to provide confidence. As a gesture of our good faith, I have ordered the creation of the Ministry of Labor and Popular Affairs to make specific effort for the betterment of the conditions of the masses. I have spoken to the Prime Minister, and he has informed me the government will press the following policies forward, with my full support.

1. Continued Provision for the Finance of Public Housing
2. Restrictions on the Employment of Children in the Workplace
3. Provision for a System of Old-Age Pensions
4. A Pragmatic Trade Policy, with neither rigid protectionism or free trade
5. Provision for a System of Social Health Insurance, in which workers and citizens will pay a small fee into a fund based on their wealth, and the fund will be used to finance medicines, treatments, and hospital stays for people
6. Bread for All who require it in these times of trouble
7. A Construction of a new railroad from St. Petersburg to Irktusk

Long live the Russian Republic!

xAlexsey Suvorin, President of the Russian Republic

OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION OF STATE

Brotherly greetings to the Kingdom Serbia, Kingdom of Bulgaria, and Kingdom of Greece! We immediately congratulate our Brother-Christian nations on their independence! It is only right and just that the Slavs and Christians of the Balkans govern themselves, entirely free from the oppression and foreign rule of the House of Osman. Brothers, we have heard your calls for help. When Christians call, Rus' answers! I have ordered the General Staff to immediately draw up plans to march our armies to your cause as soon as possible, to protect your independence, secure and expand upon the gains of your rightly guided revolt, and deter Turkish aggression. Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria will be free! The Ottoman enemy will accept the independence of peoples, or they will be destroyed!

Long live the Brotherhood of Christian peoples! Long live Maksimilijan I of Serbia! Long live Uilyam Khenri I of Bulgaria! Long live Constantine I of Greece! Long live the Russian Republic!

xAlexsey Suvorin, President of the Russian Republic

OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION OF STATE

Attention PEOPLES OF RUSSIA! Our Brothers, the Slavs and Christians of the Balkans and Georgia, are under attack by a brutal and violent horde of Turks. We the Russians have sworn to protect them. We cannot stand idly by as our brothers are slaughtered. Already there is doubt whether the Russian nation is STRONG, or whether it stands by its BROTHERS. Today we must answer these questions without a shadow of a doubt. I ask the Russian people to march to war. This time, for the last time against the Turk. We will secure a generation of peace, and total victory for Slavdom and our Orthodox faith. These are not times of plenty, but together, there is nothing Holy Russia cannot accomplish. I ask you, the Russians, to fight to avenge our martyrs, and to secure freedom and brotherhood for generations to come.

God Save Holy Russia! For Victory!

xAlexsey Suvorin, President of the Russian Republic

[GoTfan]

Special Address to Parliament

"Gentlemen,

I do not deny the magnitude of the task ahead of us. This invasion of our land by the Austrian army is one that we failed to anticipate, and as such, we were forced to rely on the bravery, skill and resolve of our soldiers to halt their advance. There can be no disguising that this has been a colossal disaster for us.

Wars are not won by retreat.

Yet, we can take heart, for now the Austrians have realised what even a handful of Italians, driven to defend their homeland, can do to invaders. They realise that one of our soldiers is equal to ten of theirs. They have suffered grievous losses, and have failed to achieve the majority of their objectives, thanks to the bravery of our soldiers, who fling themselves selflessly before an almighty foe.

Yet, as David felled Goliath, we shall fell Austria.

I am issuing a decree for full mobilisation of our regular forces on land and sea, as well as our National Guard, and for conscription of all able-bodied males between the ages of 18 and 55. Their spots in the factories will be taken by the women of our nation, who are in this fight as much as the men.

This story of ours will not end here, gentlemen, but if it must, then let it end only when each of us lies choking on his blood, screaming defiance at those who would subjugate us!

Avanti Italia!"


Address to Soldiers on the Front Line

"Soldiers! Heroes!

The Austrians have seen the roar of our cannons and the crack of our rifles, and they know now that one Italian is worth ten Austrians!

The task ahead of us is monstrous, brave men, but it is one that must be done. There is no other course open to us but to fight it out! The Austrians will advance until our last city falls, but we will not fall! We will not falter!

Each of us will be defined by our actions in the coming months. Every position must be held to the last bullet; there can be no retirement. With our backs to the wall, courage in our hearts, and belief in the righteousness of our cause, we will prevail!

Stand tall! Stand strong! Stand together!

Avanti Italia!"

[Kuumo]

(Source: u/S-I-B-E-R-I-A-N on r/vexillology)


Official Proclamation from the Office of the Archbishop-President

I hereby name Rafael Núñez of the United Colombia Party (OOC: moderate Catholic Republicans) as the first Prime Minister of the Holy Republic of Colombia. He will lead a coalition government with Juan Montalvo of the Socialist Workers' Party of Colombia. Manuel Murillo Toro of the Colombian Liberal Party will be the Leader of the Loyal Opposition with Mariano Ospina Rodriguez's Colombian Conservative Party joining the Liberals in the minority.

I also name the following new heads of the governmental departments of Colombia:
Secretary of State: José María Rojas Garrido
Secretary of War: Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual
Secretary of Justice: Manuel Teodoro del Valle, Archbishop of Lima
Secretary of the Treasury: Gabriel García Moreno
Secretary of Labor: Valerio Antonio Jimenez, Bishop of Medellín

The legislative priorities for the next year will be:
1. Successful mobilization of the wartime economy
2. Reforms to current labor laws, including a ban on child labor outside the home and restrictions on the number of working hours mandated by employers
3. Construction of new housing in overcrowded areas of cities
4. Continued construction of the trans-Colombian railroad system
5. Nationalization of the domestic railroad industry
6. Research on the development of hydroelectric dams

May God bless the Holy Republic of Colombia.

-Archbishop-President Vicente Arbeláez Gómez

[Lumine]

₁

The Queensbury Address

His Majesty Henry II makes a surprise visit to the Queensbury battlefield,
expresses His thoughts on the ongoing war in North America

(Excerpts)Monsieurs,

It was nine decades ago, that Vaudreuil, King Henry, and the fathers of the nation brought forth, for the first time on this continent, a new Nation, conceived in Liberty, dedicated to that most noble proposition that the people of Québec could rule themselves, and no longer abide by foreign interference or domination in the affairs of this new country, the first truly American nation.

That victorious struggle, ended when our one time oppressors recognized the independence and sovereignty of Québec, soon gave cause to others. Through diplomacy and war, Québec and the other new nations of the North American continent – now our firm and unyielding allies – have slowly but surely rolled back the frontiers of the European empires, giving North America a new birth of freedom. That struggle reaches a climactic point today.

Today, we gather together in this grand battlefield, where the joint action and sacrifice of Québécois and New Englander men shocked an overconfident enemy, pushing them into the walls of Albany and delivering a decisive triumph for the North American alliance. We gather here today to honor them, in this ground they have already consecrated with their blood and toil.

We have been engaged in a great and decisive war, that will test whether the Allied nations and their founding principle of self-government by Americans can long endure and prevail.

We have fought across the Mississippi, in the Caribbean seas, in the remote islands of the Pacific, across the Appalachian Mountains and through the Pennsylvania fields, in the streets of Nashville and Albany, and so forth. At almost every turn we have driven the mighty British armies back, with bravery, ingenuity and unwavering belief in the cause. Despite a criminal blockade aimed at our collective starvation, and the savage bombardment of Boston and New Orleans, we have prevailed, and proved to the world that the fist of the Royal Navy cannot and will not break our spirit.

In the course of three years, we have seized extensions of territory far larger than the size of entire European nations. We have destroyed countless divisions, and wounded, killed or captured dozens of thousands of Britain’s best soldiers. Thus far, London has rejected all diplomatic overtures. But even today, with the prospect of the total annihilation of all British armies, and indeed, of British power itself in the North American continent, we remain willing to find an end to this conflict. It is time for Britain to realize that it cannot and will not crush or divide this North American alliance, and recognize the reality in the ground. If they fail to do so, we are confident the alliance and its peoples will fight until victory is finally secured.

The sacrifices made by the people across North America have been immense. But they have been rewarded with success on the battlefield, and the firm promise of greater prosperity once the peace has been won.

One thing, above all, is clear. The myth of British superiority has been crushed. In doing so, our armies and our peoples have demonstrated and cemented the notion that Government of Americans, by Americans, for Americans, will not perish by the sword.

Vive le Québec!

_____________________________
^{1.) Original Image: Wikimedia Commons}

[DKrol]

Speech by His Majesty the King to the People of Louisiana
Delivered in Baton Rouge

My Fellow Louisianans,

Let me begin first by commemorating those who lost their lives in the savage, brutal British attack on our great City of New Orleans. The standard conventions of war - not engaging with non-combatants, providing care to the sick and wounded, and protecting Holy places - have all been thrashed apart in the Assault on New Orleans. The British Butcher in London has begun a new, dark chapter in the course of human events - a war unlike any seen since the end of the age of barbarism. We will rebuild New Orleans with time, as is only proper, but those who gave their lives defending our city will never be forgotten. Let us move forward to honor and remember their eternal sacrifice.

Despite the devastation in New Orleans, this last year has been more favorable to our cause. Our cousins Quebec and New England have valiantly prevailed in New York, capturing large swathes of territory and further compressing the Bloody British to a rump state in the Mid-Atlantic. Our brother Mexico has provided men, arms, and supplies too valuable to count in all theaters of this Great North American War. For all of our friends and allies we must be perpetually grateful.

Our great United Kingdom was not without great successes of our own in this year past. We now control nearly all of Tennessee and Kentucky, with remarkably little blood shed or loss. We have shown that when you fight for the most noble of causes - freedom and liberty - God looks favorably upon you. In due course North Carolina will be returned to the fold, and Virginia soon thereafter.

Some have questioned the purpose of this war. Let me clear: this is a war of British Aggression, begun when Britain refused my ambassadors and smacked away the hand of friendship without a moment’s hesitation. We have learned, through the repeated refusal of the British Butcher in London to even arrive at the table of peace, that the British seek nothing but war and death and destruction of the free people of North America. A single Briton on the Continent is a threat to the North American people everywhere - white, Black, Francophone, Anglophone, or Spaniard. It does not matter to them. It is even more clear now that our final goal is firmly in sight: the extension of freedom from Pacific to Atlantic, and the vanquishing of the Bloody British from North America forever!

The Great North American War is, sadly, reaching a new phase. A phase where the traditions of gentlemanly war do not apply and whereby any and all men, women, and children are seen as enemy combatants and subjected to the savagery of war. I am disgusted that the human race has reached such a point but the Bloody British have pushed us here. Only a fool, at this point, would sit with a knife as his enemy loads a cannon.

As such, I am submitting to the National Assembly for immediate consideration the War Powers Act of 1875. To complete this war - and assure our victory - we must take unprecedented steps. Pursuant to the War Powers Act, all men of eligible fighting age will be drafted into the new General Army over the next two years. They will be armed, trained, and deployed with all deliberate haste and will provide the tipping point in the balance of this Great North American War. The Bloody British are tired, bruised, and battered. This new infusion of strong Louisianan men will provide the final spark to push them out of North America forever.

The War Powers Act also takes the unprecedented step of commandeering the means of production for the purposes of supporting our men in the front lines. What good is a new broom or washing tub when there’s a man with one bullet and four Hanoverians staring him down? The United Kingdom, with our massive natural bounty, should never leave a man wanting for basic needs when he’s made the ultimate Holy sacrifice of putting on a jacket and defending his country.

We must all do our part and make our sacrifices to the war effort. To that effect myself and my family will be dressing more plainly, eating more simply, and making do with what we’ve got. I know that each and every Louisianan will do their part just the same. Focus on what you can make at home with your own crops or repurpose your old goods into something new - I’m sure the Queen and the Princesses will have their own stories to tell on this front in due time.

Lastly, let us not gloss over the marvelous achievement that our scientists achieved last year. For the first time ever, man has captured on a large scale the ability to generate electricity. Soon we will no longer be subject to the dangers of gas or the poor reliability of candles at night. Soon we will be able to move between home and work or city to city at speeds never before dreamt of. A new age - the electric age - is dawning on the United Kingdom. Let us end this Great North American War with haste so that we can fully enjoy the benefits of this marvelous invention.

The War Powers Act of 1875

The National Assembly finds that the tide of the Great North American War has shifted in the favor of the free people of North America but also finds that the balance of power is not yet set. In order to end the Great North American War and secure a new era of peace, liberty, and freedom, the National Assembly deems it necessary to enact the following.

1. All men between the ages of 16 years and 45 years who were born in an even-numbered month shall be inducted into the General Army of the United Kingdom and must report to their County Commission’s office for processing and assignment within 30 days of the Royal Assent of this act. All men between the ages of 16 years and 45 years who were born in an odd-numbered month shall be inducted into the General Army of the United Kingdom and must report to their County Commission’s office for processing and assignment by January 1, 1876.
2. No man who is injured, lame, mentally incompetent, a criminal, or otherwise physically unfit for service shall be drafted.
3. No man who is a member of the clergy, is studying to join the clergy, or is enrolled in a course of study at King’s College, the National University shall be drafted.
4. No man who is under the age of 25 who has no living siblings shall be drafted nor shall any man over the age of 35 with more than one child under the age of 5.
5. Upon honorable discharge all men shall receive a full pension on their 50th birthday.
6. No factory or tool of industry shall produce non-essential goods for the duration of this Act. All means of production must be employed for the war effort - including but not limited to armaments, munitions, clothing, and canned foods.
7. No person may hoard or overfill their cupboards. Anyone found guilty of taking more than their share shall be guilty of a crime and punished with a fine of no less than $250.
8. All beer, wine, liquor, and spirits will be subject to a 25% tax, paid at the time of sale and remitted to His Majesty’s Banking and Currency Office by the seller on the first of each month.
9. All luxury goods, as determined by the Secretary of State for Mobilization, will be subject to a 25% tax, paid at the time of sale and remitted to His Majesty’s Banking and Currency Office by the seller on the first of each month.
10. There is hereby established the War Office within the Cabinet, led by the Secretary of State for Mobilization, to oversee and manage the provisions of this Act.

[Lumine]

Kingdom of Quebec

Proclamations and Statements from His Majesty

Concerning the need for Recognizing Virtue

His Majesty, convinced of the need to reward civic virtue, bravery and/or acts or personal contributions that are to the benefit of Québec and its peoples, hereby creates a new condecoration for such purposes, hereby known as the "Ordre du Mérite". It shall be granted by royal proclamation at His Majesty's behest. For the year of 1875, we declare that the following individuals, should they accept, will be granted the Québécois Orde du Mérite:

INTERNATIONAL:
-His Majesty Henry-Philippe Bourbon, King of Louisiana
-His Majesty Luis de Bourbon-Orleans, King of Mexico
-His Excellency Henry Wilson, Chairman of the Confederation of New England
-His Excellencies Alexandre Mouton and George Graham Vest, former and incumbent Prime Ministers of Louisiana
-His Royal Highness Felipe de Bourbon-Orleans, Crown Prince of Mexico

NATIONAL:
-His Excelency Georges-Étienne Cartier, Prime Minister of Québec
-All current members of the Québec War Board
-Scientists responsible for recent war-related technological developments
-Leading naval and land commanders in all fronts

Concerning the symbols of the Nation

His Majesty, convinced of the need to standardize and enshrine into law the national symbols of the Kingdom of Québec, will propose to Parliament and the Government the enactment of a National Symbols Act of 1875, to further incite patriotism amongst the citizens of Québec by providing a common framework of symbols - musical, visual and literary - to be shared upon as representative of our national heritage. These symbols will be a key part of future propaganda campaigns designed to bolster the war effort. Among others, His Majesty proposes that the following symbols be adopted:

-NATIONAL MOTTO: "Je me Souviens"
-NATIONAL ANTHEM: “Le Chant des Québécois” (OTL Le Chant des Girondins, with changed lyrics)

Concerning the Economic Situation

As the war moves into a vital and decisive year, and we wait for London to see sense and engage in serious negotiations, it is altogether clear that further action must be taken to complement our Cartier Plan to bolster the Québécois economy. Thus, it is His Majesty's decision to present a plan to raise income and support the war effort to Government and to Parliament through two separate pieces of legislation. Although some of the decisions taken will be far-reaching and experimental in nature, His Majesty stresses that no new taxes will be levied on the people of Québec. Therefore, we propose:

CURRENCY ACT OF 1875:
-The Québec National bank and its provincial branches will be authorized to print temporary war currency in the form of paper money, or "Québec Notes". The Québec notes will receive legal tender status, will be convertible into war bonds, and will be used for domestic operations of all sorts. They will only be forbidden on use to pay custom duties and for repaying government interest on war bonds. The Treasury will create a special department to curb and prevent any attempts at counterfeiting of the new temporary currency, and will ensure new techniques are employed crafting the notes to prevent their sabotage. Québec notes will bear the image of relevant historical figures of Québec depending on their value.

WAR BONDS ACT OF 1875:
-The Government will be authorized to issue "Victory Bonds" to be sold both to investors and the general public as means to raise revenue, to be repaid within a determined timeframe after the war and with the interests being repaid from various resource and financial requisitions in occupied territory. There will be regulated "bond drives" to take place on specific dates, with the War Board making full use of propaganda, famous artists or personalities, and other means to encourage the public to buy Victory Bonds as a sign of patriotism and participation in the war effort.

[Lumine]

[Lumine]

The Russo-Quebecois Treaty of 1875
A Treaty between the Russian Republic and the Kingdom of Québec,

1.-) The Kingdom of Québec formally recognizes the Russian Republic as its primary strategic, economic and diplomatic partner within the European continent. Likewise, the Russian Republic recognizes the Kingdom of Québec as its primary strategic, economic and diplomatic partner within the American continent.

2.-) Both signatories recognize the immense potential associated with trading across the Pacific Ocean, and pledge to expand trading capabilities and access between each other. There will be a general, reciprocal tariff reduction of 15%.

3.-) Their respective arrangements and alliances taking priority, the signatories will provide support to each other in various enterprises as part of their strategic partnership, and will respond to future acts of aggression on either signatory.

4.-) The signatories hereby recognize their present borders, areas of influence and privately agreed upon claims and interests; and pledge not to interfere and/or assist in their pursuit.

x Henry II, King of Quebec

[KaiserDave]

The Russo-Quebecois Treaty of 1875
A Treaty between the Russian Republic and the Kingdom of Québec,

1.-) The Kingdom of Québec formally recognizes the Russian Republic as its primary strategic, economic and diplomatic partner within the European continent. Likewise, the Russian Republic recognizes the Kingdom of Québec as its primary strategic, economic and diplomatic partner within the American continent.

2.-) Both signatories recognize the immense potential associated with trading across the Pacific Ocean, and pledge to expand trading capabilities and access between each other. There will be a general, reciprocal tariff reduction of 15%.

3.-) Their respective arrangements and alliances taking priority, the signatories will provide support to each other in various enterprises as part of their strategic partnership, and will respond to future acts of aggression on either signatory.

4.-) The signatories hereby recognize their present borders, areas of influence and privately agreed upon claims and interests; and pledge not to interfere and/or assist in their pursuit.

x Henry II, King of Quebec

x Alexsey Suvorin, President of the Russian Republic