The Zenith of Power: Gameplay Thread

[Spamage]

Army Strength:

Kingdom of France
15 division Army of the North
16 division Army of the South
10 division Army of India
13 division Army of South Vietnam
10 division Army of North Vietnam
5 division Army of Ceylon
5 division Army of Sumatra
(71/394 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Habsburg Monarchy (Excluding HRE)
25 division Army of Bohemia
10 division Army of Austria
10 division Army of Lombardy
10 division Army of Silesia
12 division Spanish Expeditionary Force
5 division Army of Madagascar
7 division Chinese Expeditionary Force
1 division Ethiopian Army
(80/300 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of Scandinavia
19 division Army of Suez
15 division Army of Finland
15 division Army of the Baltic
18 division Army of the Nile
10 division Army of Denmark
5 division Army of Fujian
5 division Army of Cyprus
(90/107 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

British Union
30 division Army of the Chesapeake
18 division Army of Tennessee
16 division Army of New York (Albany)
7 division Army of Michigan
5 division Army of Virginia
5 division Army of Ireland
5 division Home Guard
(95/136 divisions possible raised, max 4% conscription)

Russian Republic
20 division Army of St. Petersburg
5 division Army of Moscow
67 division Army of the Danube
17 division Army of Azov
20 division Army of Syria
38 division Army of Vitebsk
14 division Army of Manchuria
10 division Army of Mongolia
58 division Army of Crimea
7 division Army of Turkestan
3 division Army of Astrakhan
4 division Army of Inner Mongolia
(263/304 divisions possible raised, max 10% conscription)

Ottoman Empire
35 division Army of the Danube
8 division Army of Southern Poland
14 division Army of Poland
47 division Army of the Caucuses
18 division Army of Dagestan
5 division Army of Constantinople
5 division Army of Algeria
(132/187 divisions possible raised, max 12% conscription)

Divine Republic of Brazil
10 division Army of Brazil
5 division Army of the Congo
2 division Army of Southern Africa
3 division Army of Bahia
(20/75 divisions possible raised, max 22% conscription)

Kingdom of Naples
10 division Army of Florence
10 division Army of Sicily
7 division Spanish Expeditionary Force
5 division Army of the Po
5 division Army of Tunis
(37/102 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of Prussia
30 division Army of Hanover
30 division Army of the East
6 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
(86/129 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Tokugawa Shogunate
10 division Chinese Expeditionary Force
10 division Army of Niigata
10 division Executive Guard
7 division Army of Kyoto
5 division Army of the Philippines
3 division Army of New Guinea
(45/185 divisions possible raised, max 10% conscription)

United Kingdom of Louisiana
15 division Army of Des Moines
12 division Army of Charleston
7 division Army of Texas
1 division Army of Bermuda
2 division Army of Jamaica
2 division Army of Cuba
(39/52 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Joseon Korea
35 division Chinese Army
15 division Army of Busan
10 division Army of Pyongyang
15 division Army of Taiyuan
10 division Army of Heze
10 division Army of Borneo
5 division Army of Malaya
(100/140 divisions possible raised, max 10% conscription)

Kingdom of Poland
33 division Army of Bialystok
(33/53 divisions possible raised, max 16% conscription)

Qajar Iran
14 division Army of Kars
13 division Army of Syria
5 division Army of Homorzegan
3 division Army of Gwadar
3 division Army of Mashad
1 division Imperial Guard
(43/128 divisions possible raised, max 20% conscription)

Kingdom of Quebec
10 division Army of the West
10 division Army of Michigan
9 division Army of New York
5 division Army of the Interior
2 division Foreign Legion
(36/52 divisions possible raised, max 16% conscription)

Kingdom of Mexico
5 division Army of Mexico
5 division Army of Belize
5 division Army of Guatemala
3 division Army of the North
(25/58 divisions possible raised, max 15% conscription)

United Provinces of New Holland
2 division Army of Java
2 division Army of New Holland
(4/38 divisions possible raised, max 8% conscription)

Holy Republic of Colombia
17 division Army of La Paz
3 division Army of Venezuela
(20/35 divisions possible raised, max 15% conscription)

Confederation of New England
15 division Army of New York
1 division Army of Boston
(16/22 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
17 division Army of Lisbon
3 division Army of Porto
(22/23 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of the Netherlands
5 division Army of Groningen
5 division Army of Amsterdam
(10/24 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Spanish Catholic Republic
22 division Army of Madrid
(22/22 divisions possible raised, max 8% conscription)

Spanish Liberal Republic
17 division Army of Cordoba
3 division Army of Segovia
(20/20 divisions possible raised, max 8% conscription)

Durrani Empire
2 division Royal Guard
4 division Army of Karachi
2 division Army of Herat
(8/30 divisions possible raised, max 11% conscription)

[Spamage]

1873 Midturn Update

The Post-Warsaw Order
New Age in the Balkans

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   Conscious of the crisis facing Europe, 1873 saw the Habsburg Monarchy, France, and Prussia enter into talks in order to end the Second Great Eastern War and resolve the crisis at the Suez. It was only after extensive negotiations, occasional saber-rattling, and complex dealings that a final settlement was agreed. The Treaty of Warsaw, signed February 2nd, 1873, would witness a wholesale reorganization of the Ottoman world, the Sultan being left friendless as the European powers forced extensive concessions. What had started over questions about Romanian autonomy evolved into wholesale independence for that region, alongside autonomy for the Serbs, Greeks, Bulgars, Alawites, and Rashidis. Ukraine, Crimea, and a portion of eastern Poland were also unilaterally ceded to Russia, another development in the centuries-long struggle between the two powers for dominance in the Black Sea. Iran too would take concessions, gaining the eastern coast of Arabia and control of the eastern bank of the entire Euphrates.
   The great powers wasted no time in organizing the new autonomous regions of the Ottoman Empire. Granted the right to name the new princes, the royal families of France, Scandinavia, Prussia, and the Habsburg Monarchy scoured their ranks in order to place kin on these newly-minted realms.
   Augustus Francis de Bourbon-Aquitaine, a member of one of the cadet branches of the French Royal family and the first cousin twice removed of King Louis XX, was named King of Romania. Although the title had been offered to Prince Xavier, he had refused, remarking he had no interest of ruling “a backwards, alien land awash with uneducated serfs and a barbaric tongue.” Augustus, the 67-year-old second son of the late Duke of Aquitaine had expected to inherit little. With the offer of a crown, he shared none of his cousin’s derision for the new realm. Welcomed by cheering throngs in Bucharest, he was crowned King Augustin I of Romania on May 6th, 1873. He was welcomed into the Romanian Orthodox faith, though his wife Queen Simplicie refused to convert and remained at Versailles rather than making the journey to Bucharest. Many noted the extravagant ceremonies of the new monarch, who seemed set on enjoying that prestige and wealth that he had been denied by family circumstance.
   The Crown of Serbia was left to the Habsburgs to fill. Emperor Charles VIII did not have to look far to find a relative, naming his brother Archduke Maximilian von Habsburg-Lothringen as the King Maksimilijan I. Maxmilian and his wife Infanta Maria de Bourbon of Spain entered Belgrade on April 15th. Baptized into the Serbian Orthodox Church, the new King and Queen were crowned on April 22nd, 1872. Maximilian would be immediately popular, making an effort to learn the language of his subjects and having his young children watched by Serbian nursemaids.
   Prussia was given the right to name the new King of Bulgaria. Like Emperor Charles, King Frederick IV chose to keep the title in his close family. Prince William Henry of Prussia, the King’s younger brother and veteran of the Prussian Army, was named King Uilyam Khenri I of Bulgaria. With no established government, historic Tarnovo was chosen as the capital of the new kingdom. King William Henry immediately made common-cause with the Bulgarian nationalists, pledging at his coronation to uphold the “natural and historic supremacy of the Bulgars in the Balkans.”
   Finally, in historic Greece, the title of King was left to the choice of Queen Catherine II. As the last surviving member of the House of Oldenburg, and with a Hanoverian heir, the Queen was left in a bit of a bind, unable to name a close relative like the other powers. Yet, the Scandinavian Queen was crafty in her own right. An educated and well-known Scandinavian nobleman Henrik Jørgen Huitfeldt-Kaas was offered the title King of Greece, under the condition he marry Queen Catherine’s cousin Josepha of Hesse-Darmstadt (excluded from the line of Scandinavian inheritance due to her mother’s illegal marriage). Huitfeldt-Kaas, an avid historian, was enthusiastic about ruling such a historic realm. He agreed to Catherine’s conditions, marrying Josepha, who was nine years his junior. Huitfeldt-Kaas arrived to Athens in May 1873. Unlike the other sovereigns, he would take a new regnal name, being crowned King Constantine I of Greece in Athens alongside his wife. The royal couple would welcome a son, also named Constantine, in November of 1873.
   Whereas the newfound autonomy of the Balkan principalities was celebrated by those groups that received autonomy, the mood in Istanbul was far more somber. The Ottomans had been one of the preeminent great powers, any whispers of decline in the eighteenth century silenced by their triumph in the First Great Eastern War. Yet, with the Treaty of Warsaw, the state found itself humiliated. Great despair and anger filled the capital. While there was frustration directed at Sultan Murad V and his cabal of advisors, true hatred was directed at Prussia, France, and Austria, who had so outrageously intervened in Ottoman domestic policy without cause. It was one thing to make concessions to the Russians, who at least had the courage to stand in the field and fight, another thing entirely to have to satisfy the demands of the noncombatant vultures to the north and west. Austria, in particular, was seen as having betrayed its historic cooperation with the Ottomans during the First Great Eastern War. Cooperation by the government with France, in the aftermath of the treaty, has grown quite unpopular among the Sultan’s subjects.
   While the Sultan retains his authority, there was new calls for representative government or some sort of internal reforms. Even democracy has been openly broached. With the treachery of the various minorities, some in Istanbul have called for the jettisoning of any pretense of representation for other minority groups, demanding the Empire reform into a Turkish-Arabian federation. The military, which had so mismanaged the invasion, has been viewed with public ire, a series of Ottoman generals falling to the assassin’s bullet when news of the Treaty became public. Some fear the Sultan may be next should there not be serious moves undertaken to stabilize the Empire. The ongoing headache in Egypt has not helped matters.
   While the Treaty of Warsaw demanded the return of Egypt to Ottoman rule, and the Scandinavians duly complied by evacuating the region, King Ahmed Urabi refused to allow himself to fall prey to reprisals. Even when the Scandinavians had left the region, he vowed to fight on in the name of the Egyptian people, garnering the support of the region. He took advantage of the power-vacuum to set up government in Asyut, as the northern cities of Cairo and Alexandria were deemed to be too vulnerable.
   5 French and 5 Ottoman divisions arrived to restore order and found the situation far more deteriorated than expected. Alexandria held out rather than surrender to the incoming French fleet, a secondary bombardment not yielding the surrender of that city. An all-out French offensive was necessary to seize it, but even then, the rate of attrition due to domestic resistance has been quite substantial. The Ottomans, who resecured the Nile Delta and Cairo proper have been met with similar local obstinance. As the halfway point of the year approaches, the French and Ottomans reentering Egypt are facing substantial local resistance as King Ahmed has called on the various European powers, especially Scandinavia, to live up to the promises to his people.
   Still, with the Scandinavian evacuation and the Treaty of Warsaw, the Suez has been reoccupied with little incident. Despite fears that renegades would seek to blow the canal, nothing has materialized. By May 20th, ships have begun to cross the Suez once more. Even with the resumption of trade, the extensive economic damage wrought on Europe will not be undone overnight. The financial headache and ensuing strain have brought great misery to that continent. It is no wonder France and Austria have cooperated in its administration moving forward.

Tensions Down Under
Scuffles on the New Holland-Australia Border

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   Ever since the establishment of New Holland and Australia in the 1750s, the two polities have been serious rivals. Both see one another as intruders on their properly held continent. The two sides clashed when the mother countries went to war in the late 1700s. Later, the British took New Zealand, so the Dutch took Australia. The Dutch became independent, so the British clung to the mother country. In short, the culture of both regions has been as much about opposition to one another as it is about any sort of inherent group identity.
   Although the British were able to settle the far more hospitable west, a lack of true engagement has meant Australia proper has only seen growth in fits and spurts. It has a population of roughly 950 thousand, most British migrants preferring the American colonies to a distant desert outpost entirely across the world. New Holland, on the contrary, has a population of 1.2 million on the continent alone, excluding Java. The Dutch settlements are far denser, clustered in the arable regions of the less habitable west. Willemstad, the capital of New Holland, alone possesses a significant portion of the region’s population.
   Oftentimes incidents in this region pass without notice by the wider world, but the happenings of early 1873, given the geopolitical situation, would take on an outsized significance. Hercules Robinson, the governor of the colony of New South Wales, was assassinated in Sydney on April 3rd, 1873. Gunned down as he was leaving the office; his assailant was apprehended by his valet and the authorities incarcerated him. The man, seemingly mad, was a Dutchman Nils van der Lubbe. In his residence numerous pro-New Holland pieces of literature were discovered, including those espousing the “Unionist” ideology, which called for the conquest and unification of the whole continent. Needless to say, this outraged local British opinion. Local papers have raged against Peter Mijer and his government, branding it a racist, unjust, authoritarian regime.
   With tensions running so high, perhaps it was no surprise when a group of British settlers in the small community of Timber Creek, already apparently rivals with a New Hollander village nearby, crossed the border and engaged in a firefight with the Dutch villagers. The immediate cause was the alleged theft of some horses, though undoubtedly broader tensions played a role. Several local men were injured and one local elder was killed, causing outrage among the New Hollanders. One British corpse was found at the scene as well.
   Naturally the population of Willemstad has been outraged by the developments, even if it means overlooking the assassination of Hercules Robinson. The British too have been shocked, but they instead blame New Holland for amplifying tensions, ignoring that it was apparently the Australian settlers who started the fighting along the border. Although at the present peace has held, many have looked forward with unease about the rest of the year. Given London’s focus on the Atlantic, there is concern among some Australians that they very well could be on their own…

[Spamage]

1873 News of the World

The Red Queen
Charlotte Ignites War of the Regency

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   Following elections in 1872, Queen Regent Charlotte decided to take an unprecedented step in the history of France: the inclusion of socialists in the government. To be more specific, the Queen sought to unite the reactionaries and the socialists into a new governing coalition. After weeks of secret negotiations, the resulting agreement was not natural and did not come easy, but Charlotte managed to win over the two skeptical parties by wedding a socialist economic program to a reactionary, monarchist message. The Queen wrapped herself in nationalism, turning towards the extremes of the political spectrum at the expense of the usual liberal-conservative mainstream parties. She pledged that a benevolent Crown steeped in history and tradition would embark on a new wave of social support for the King’s vast brood of subjects. The reactionaries, traditional nemeses of the socialists, were won over by promises of power and influence, traditionalism and French nationalism. The new government, consisting of Georges Clemenceau (a socialist) as Chancellor and Georges Boulanger (nationalist reactionary) as Vice Chancellor, was utterly unexpected and shook the political scene in France to the core. Most had expected the Queen to continue her usual Conservative-Reactionary program.
   The first program proposed by this new government, which was seated in Paris in March 1873, was the introduction of estate and progressive income taxes in order to stabilize government revenue in the midst of the economic crisis. The Queen ordered the measures in order to nationalize numerous floundering firms, expand infrastructure, and embark on a significant ship-building campaign. It was her goal to employ the numerous out of work Frenchmen into ways that would improve the realm over the long-term. Even labor unions, a widely controversial subject, were to be allowed by the Queen.
   High on her success in helping negotiate an end to the Second Great Eastern War, it is likely Charlotte underestimated the opposition to her new moves. In particular, she had alienated many powerful subjects and classes with the new government, seemingly validating their worst fears by following up the declaration of a socialist government with substantial tax increases and supporting labor unions. Certainly, France was no longer the feudal state of the past centuries, but it remained a stratified one. On top of her existing polarizing reputation, she was now challenging the very wealth of the nobility and burgeoning industrialist class. This was coupled with lingering hostility and suspicion towards socialism from the rural poor. France was the epitome of political stability and moderation, for the government to suddenly veer in such a radical direction had utterly stunned most classes of society.
   No one felt anxiety over Charlotte’s moves more acutely than Prince Xavier. Many note the death of his wife Elizabeth Alexandrine von Wurttemberg-Urbino on February 20th, 1873 as playing a significant role in his decisions over the rest of the year. Reminded of his mortality by the loss of a beloved spouse, Xavier felt anxiety over the path his homeland was embarking on under Charlotte. Now in his sixties, he only had a few years to right the ship of state. Out of favor at Versailles since 1860, Xavier had stood aside as the new queen mustered France’s military strength for numerous foreign adventures, undermined the sanctity of the dynasty with the suspicious circumstances of Louis XX’s birth, and now sought to challenge the existing social order as it had long been understood. The inclusion of the socialists, the same group that had so brutally been repressed for their treason in the Red Friday rising of 1838 in Paris, was a bridge too far. He would stand aside as a passive opponent of Charlotte’s regime no longer. He would not be alone.
   As France intervened in the Spanish Civil War, the opposition saw a chance to act. Padania proved to be the initial spark. Charlotte had only won her title as regent in 1870 through an extremely narrow majority, in large part due to the conservatives giving her the benefit of the doubt. With her move to bring the socialists into government, these conservatives regretted their decision. After weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the Padanian Assembly declared Charlotte incapable of serving as a regent on June 5th, 1873 due to her “evident hysteria, inability to govern, and blatant foreign allegiances.” In an overwhelming majority, Padania instead named Xavier as Prince Regent of Padania on behalf of his grandnephew. Xavier, as Duke of Savoy, was met with overwhelming praise in northern Italy, thousands rallying in Genoa and Turin.
   Word spread fast, thanks in part to the new technologies of the late nineteenth century. Xavier, accepting the title of regent, declared his intent to “govern in the spirit of Louis XVIII.” He played upon the nostalgia of the French people, reminding them of his father’s 40-year reign, his mother’s stable regency, and the steady-handed leadership he claimed France now lacked. Xavier praised the liberals and conservatives as the mainstream French leadership, arguing the socialist-reactionary regime in Paris was unnatural and ill-intentioned. He called on good Catholics and faithful servants of the Crown to rise up against the corrupting influence of the Queen Regent and put an end to her radical reformist order before it could get off the ground.
   France divided in on itself. The pent-up anger of a three decades long rivalry has cleaved society half. Xavier’s call was heeded by many. The liberals and conservatives, who combined received nearly half of the votes in the prior year’s elections, backed his regency and denounced Queen Charlotte, vacating their seats in the French National Assembly. They moved to historic Avignon, setting up an emergency government there. Most of the nobility and wealthy landowners backed Xavier, as did much southern and northwestern France, the rural poor rising to arms to oppose socialism and support the established order, even if they had been harmed by it. Most Bourbon cadet branches, including the Houses of Bourbon-Genoa, Bourbon-Brittany, and Bourbon-Modena backed Xavier.
   Charlotte would not be friendless though. Nor would she allow Xavier’s statements to go unchallenged. Declaring Xavier a tyrant in the spirit of Caesar and an Italian intriguer like Catherine de Medici, she called on the new France to answer her call against “conservative hesitancy and backwards-looking policies”. Charlotte called on the socialists and reactionaries to prevent their beloved homeland from being oppressed by the stagnant liberal-conservative stranglehold on power. Her support swelled in industrialized cities, the people of Paris, Marseilles, Lyon, Bordeaux, and the northeast of France backing her regency. Aquitaine remained broadly loyal as well. She was joined by the Houses of Bourbon-Aquitaine (grateful for the Crown of Romania) and Bourbon-Conti.
   Thus, the worst domestic infighting in France since the Fronde over 220 years ago has exploded onto the scene, shocking an already tense Europe. It is utterly unthinkable. French society has split, the army collapsing in on itself, the general staff picking sides as their men melted into two opposing armies, each aiming to pacify the whole of France and Padania. While the Navy has backed Charlotte, much of the French bureaucracy has sided with Xavier. The French Church likewise has been riven with division, leadership dividing into Xavier and Charlotte’s very different camps. Xavier’s faction has been dubbed the “Blues,” the prince using the traditional French royal standard with a blue instead of white background to avoid confusion, while Charlotte’s supporters are known as the “Whites,” for their use of the traditional white royal standard.
   The two groups have very different aims should they triumph. A victory for the Blues would likely indicate the brutal suppression of the political extremes, a reassertion of the traditional strength of the nobility and wealthy, limits to foreign expeditions, property protections, and an enforced moderate consensus, even if it infringes on free expression. Victory for the Whites could mean substantial social reform (perhaps even land redistribution?), a curtailing to the influence of the nobility, an assertion of the growing working class, and Charlotte having a totally free hand in both domestic and foreign affairs. What is clear, though, is that the stolid, stable period of French consensus since the eighteenth century has been shattered. The only question now is what will replace it.
   The first fighting began almost at once, though it would initially remain at a small-scale as the various towns, cities, and regions of France staked their side in the growing fight. Operations in Spain, which had initially yielded success, collapsed into chaos as the bid to establish a restored Bourbon realm in the north was put on hold, a development the Catholic Republicans took advantage of. Attempts to declare for Charlotte by the city council of Nantes on June 20th were halted by a mob storming the assembly and demanding the city back Xavier. In Paris, Xavier’s palaces and apartments were burned down on July 5th by angry workers. Charlotte was burned in effigy as a godless socialist in Toulouse in August, while the people of Amiens vowed to never recognize Xavier as regent just weeks later. The anarchy taking hold was underlined further by the eruption of a terror campaign throughout both Blue and White cities in southern France by the Catholic-Republicans, who bombed public squares and assassinated several local officials on both sides of the conflict. In Flanders, locals have gone on strike, demanding Charlotte grant them autonomous status if she hopes to keep their support.
   Larger clashes erupted in the late summer. A bid by the Blues to march on Versailles and end the war at once on August 10th-12th was defeated at the Battle of Chartres, the Whites eliminating any immediate threat to Paris with thousands of dead on both sides. In the south, Xavier crossed the Alps with a substantial force and placed Lyon and Marseilles under siege as the summer wound to a close. Marseilles surrendered on November 2nd. Catholic-Republicans, crossing from Spain, declared their own movement in France, securing extremely limited gains in the Pyrenees as far north as Lourdes, a site they have vowed to defend.
   With thousands of Frenchmen under arms, the fall harvest was hindered and has only further served to exacerbate the poor economic situation. Though the eruption of the French Civil War has served to employ thousands of the jobless, it has also begun to tear French society and infrastructure to pieces. Roads and railways have been destroyed by both sides to prevent the enemy faction from gaining superiority. The financial markets in Paris, already beaten down in 1872, have utterly collapsed amid the turmoil. What foreign capital remains has fled to much safer exchanges in Vienna, Berlin, and London.
   The eruption of the French Civil War has utterly stunned Europe. “It is a Seventeenth Century war being fought with Nineteenth Century weapons,” one newspaper in Vienna observed in late summer, commenting on the dynastic feud that is far more violent than anything seen in that realm before. Indeed, the “War of the Regency,” as the fight has become known in France proper, has potentially created a power vacuum in Europe’s west, perhaps even further afield. While French India and Indonesia remained relatively stable in 1873, local administrators maintaining basic neutrality, how long will this continue if the fighting continues to ravage the French homeland? How will the Indian vassals react to the apparent instability in France, let alone the Durrani in the north? Will the Ottomans use France’s internal chaos to undermine the provisions forced on them in the Treaty of Warsaw? What about Austrian, Prussian, and Neapolitan actions? Europe faces one if its most severe challenges in the past century as a cornerstone of the old order finds itself cracked.

Corsica Votes for Independence
Narrow Result Amid Allegations of Fraud

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   During the first half of the year France and Naples finally set about settling the status of Corsica and Sardinia. Spain, the owner of those islands since 1792, was excluded from any of the discussions. The history of Corsica was complicated. The island had once been owned by Genoa, transferring to a Prussian protectorate in the 1750s for several decades before the Hohenzollern administration was expelled and independence declared contemporaneously with the Catholic Republican chaos in the Italian War (1785-1787). Corsica was then subdued by Madrid, who abolished local autonomy and forced it into its centralized system of government. Though the local language was largely related to Italian, and there were nationalist pockets in favor of Italian unification, just as many Corsicans were nominally in favor of independence or autonomy. The mainland was associated just as much with Genoese oppression as with romantic notions of national unity. Sardinia, part of the heartland of Verri’s Italy had a much more straightforward history, being taken by the Spanish following the collapse of the first Catholic-Republican regime. Italian nationalism was far stronger in this region, which had historical links with the peninsula in a far more positive light.
   The agreement between Paris and Naples involved the two sides each proposing an alternative future path for the region and then allowing the locals to decide. The Neapolitan proposal was straightforward, union within the kingdom by electing King Charles VIII as ruler of both territories. Paris, understanding the poor reputation of Padania in the rest of Italy and aware union with France would lose, chose instead to put forward the offer of independence, the sole condition being the election of Alexander de Bourbon-Genoa, a younger son of the Duke of Genoa, as sovereign. Both sides promised liberalization, either through absorption into the existing Neapolitan political system or a French-backed constitutional government.
    The next few months, even with the growing discord in France proper, would see fierce barnstorming and campaigning by the two sides on the islands. It was ugly, the gravity of the moment meaning operatives on either side were more than willing to stretch the truth. French-supporters called the King of Naples a Spaniard, highlighting the Neapolitan Bourbons’ ties to Madrid. The Neapolitans portrayed France as a dissolute and snobbish kingdom, one which would suppress the true identity of the region as it deemed Italian to be inferior. In their words Alexander was merely a stooge being used by his cousins in Paris to deny the people their Italian brotherhood.
   The voting was concluded on June 18th, 1873, as the true scale of disaster befalling France became clear. In Sardinia, joining with Naples won overwhelmingly (85.4% to 14.6% in favor of the French option), while Corsica remained too close to call. When the final results were certified by June 23rd, independence with a Bourbon Duke beat union with Naples narrowly (50.02% to 49.98%). Support for the French option had cratered when the Civil War erupted. From the announcement of the results, dozens of Corsicans would come forward an allege fraud, claiming they had been pressured by brigands to cast their ballot for France or face public retribution. Still, despite these protests, Alexander of Bourbon-Genoa arrived in Ajaccio and was proclaimed Grand Duke of Corsica by a broad coalition of local leaders. As France exploded into chaos in the north, and many in Naples remained upset about alleged fraud to the south, he declared the neutrality and independence of Corsica. His small realm would look inwards, forging a constitution and reforming itself along democratic lines.

American War Expands
New Holland, Mexico Intervene Further Against London

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   The American War expanded further in 1873, Mexico doubling down on its involvement, while in distant Australia, New Holland took advantage of British distraction to enter the fray. Results have been mixed, both sides able to claim victory on various points. Military analysts have noted that, unlike the Second Great Eastern War, the military situation in North America has resulted in innovation and new tactics being employed in warfare. In short, war has become more terrible and impersonal, being conducted on an industrial scale. Entrenchments now dominate the Northeast and Western theaters, the British seeking to go on the defense and prevent advances into their core regions on the Atlantic Seaboard.

Shelling of Boston
   Expanding the blockade, Britain became far more aggressive with naval operations in 1873. Rather than merely sail off the coast and intercept trade vessels seeking to break out to Europe, instead London ordered active bombardment and disruption to allied naval operations and coastal facilities. Savannah, Biloxi, Havana, and Charleston were damaged, their ports falling victim to British bombardment. London claimed the assaults were retribution for the relentless shelling of the besieged Army of Albany. Nowhere experienced as severe trauma as Boston, however.
   The small New Englander fleet was brushed aside at a series of battles off the coast of Rhode Island in July 1873, British dominance of the seas continuing. Providence and New Haven experienced slight damage over the coming days. The worst would be thrown at the capital of New England. Boston, that famed city and one of the industrial centers of the allied war effort, faced extreme shelling commencing on July 15th. For the next two weeks, New England was helpless as its fleet at port, capital city, and industrial zones were exposed to steady and damaging bombardment at the hands of their former colonial masters. The strike on an ammunition depot on July 20th caused a massive explosion, killing dozens in the surrounding buildings. Henry Wilson narrowly escaped death when his offices were hit, he being home at the time. Fires erupted in the residential districts, thousands fleeing the city. By the time sufficient deterrence was mustered onshore, the damage had been done. Boston, the crown jewel of New England, has been gutted. The government has relocated to Worcester, well away from British bombardment, as morale in the Confederation was severely damaged. Likewise, the industrial capacity of the region has been placed under strain. Boston is merely one symptom of evident British capability to target most coastal cities. The people of New Orleans and Montreal would do well to keep this in mind.
   Attempts at blockade running have only enjoyed sporadic success, oftentimes the Quebecois who made it through to Europe being intercepted by the British on their way back. Although intrigue would yield minor damage to the Royal Navy in 1873, it hardly proved sufficient for the time being to end Britain’s stranglehold on Atlantic trade.

Cape Verde Incident
   Naples, long friendly with the North American powers, determined to challenge the British blockade, sending a substantial flotilla of ships laden with supplies across the Atlantic. This was a deliberate effort to undermine the prestige and effectiveness of the Royal Navy. It would not go unpunished. The Neapolitan ships were surrounded by a far more numerous British fleet under Admiral Michael Seymour, who demanded the they cease their attempt to violate the British blockade in August 1873. Severely outgunned, and unwilling to see their ships sank, the Neapolitan commanders hesitated. Not waiting  for a response, British sailors seized control of a good portion of the Italian vessels in the brief standoff, proving their mettle at sea. The supplies were confiscated and, humiliated, the Neapolitan ships were forced to return home.
   Naturally the Court in Naples has been enraged by the move, calls growing for Naples to punish the British for their haughty behavior. Still, this has been overshadowed in Italy by developments in Corsica and France. It remains to be seen whether Charles VIII will get involved further in the American War.

[Spamage]

War in New York
   Though besieged in Albany, the British forces did not give up hope. Even as thousands more Quebecois and New Englander soldiers poured into the region and a numerous labyrinthine network of trenches was dug, the British held their composure. After all, they were fighting for the survival of the Transatlantic Monarchy. Americans could not be left to Francophone subjugation, a sentiment seemingly reaffirmed with each Quebecois shell that exploded in the town as General John Wimburn Laurie ordered a relentless bombardment.
   The British Army of Ireland and reinforcements from the Army of the Chesapeake moved north from New York City, hoping to break the siege. They ran headfirst into a feint by the enemy seeking to move south, engaging in the Battle of Middletown. Neither force had been aware of the other, so Quebecois orders to act in a defensive manner were disregarded in the confusion. In a chaotic and bloody engagement, the British beat back the Amy of the East, forcing it to flee north with heavy casualties. Still, with the forces sieging Albany far larger than the potential relief force, they were forced to disregard any attempts to relieve the siege. Instead, British General Charles van Straubenzee ordered light cavalry raids into Connecticut, further disrupting the already chaotic state of New England, while keeping the rest of his army in defensive formations. Bristol, Torrington, and Waterbury were all significantly damaged due to a substantial lack of defenses. Raids extended as far east as the outskirts of Hartford, further reminding the New Englanders they were the most vulnerable to British retribution of all the allies.
    Desperate to break the siege of Albany, attacks from within the city commenced on the Quebecois-New England lines on June 25th in the Battle of Albany. Fighting was brutal. The Allied forces had dug trenches around the city, preparing for the likelihood of a desperate chance to break out. While they inflicted intense casualties on the British, several holes were punched through, a sign of the sheer desperation with which the British soldiers were fighting. Though these would be patched up, thousands of British forces managed to extricate themselves from the brutal siege. Still, more than half of the army remained. Seeing no other alternative, and running low on food, General William Codrington formally surrendered on July 7th. The siege of Albany had been an ugly affair, the city left in ruins and thousands of dead from disease and combat on both sides. While the Quebecois Army would seek to follow up with continued operations later in the year, they found morale and discipline lacking in the ranks after months of a tedious siege.
   Further maneuvering by the Army of the Chesapeake and the Army of the East brought a new concept into the war: trench warfare. Attempts to seize the Delaware River bogged down into shelling and extended combat, the British under Straubenzee using the defensive lines as a means of defending the vital cities of Philadelphia and New York. Further gains by Quebec in the latter half of the year would be limited to western operations, the death toll in the east becoming a steady race to bleed the other side white.

Western Campaign
   With only limited reinforcements, the Western Theater would prove to be the most successful for the Quebecois. The Army of Michigan fled east, avoiding battle until it could link back up with allied troops from the Army of the Chesapeake. In the chaos, thousands of square kilometers were ceded to the invaders, most of the Midwest changing hands throughout the spring, an embarrassing development for the British as incredulous subjects found their towns on the frontline overnight and seized in a week. The British forces, reinforced with 10 divisions in Cambridge Ohio, the result here too has been the emergence of a stalemate. Determined to prevent any Quebec crossing over the Appalachians, trenches have been dug intermittently throughout eastern Ohio, slowing the Quebecois advance and bringing the campaign to a halt. Despite all the plans not being conducted to completion, many in Montreal have celebrated the tremendous advances of Henry II’s men. “It seems the Hohenzollern martial spirit is alive and well,” one newspaper declared. Although the hoped-for push into New York and Pennsylvania from the west has been scrapped for the time, Quebecois numerical superiority means it could be resumed in the future.  Even so, some Quebecois commanders have found crossing the Ohio into Kentucky a more enticing prospect moving forward…

Southern Theater
   The southern theater would remain one of the bright spots in the brutal war for the British. Repeated attempts by the Louisianans to seize Knoxville and limit British power in the region were frustrated. The Army of Tennessee enjoyed the advantage of being in the middle of all the forces sent to either dislodge or besiege it.
   Louisiana opened the campaign early, the Army of Des Moines sweeping east into Tennessee and seeking to capture the city of Nashville in mid-February, expecting their opponents to be caught flat-footed. They were utterly halted at the Battle of Hurricane Mills. Fighting raging from February 15th-17th left thousands of dead, including Prime Minister Mouton’s son General Alfred Mouton. The loss of the Louisianan general shocked New Orleans and demoralized the Army of Des Moines, which was forced to give up the gains made in the prior year, fleeing back across the Mississippi and causing headaches for the overall Louisianan campaign in 1873.
   Another portion of the Army of the Chesapeake not sent to aid operations in New York combined with the Army of Virginia and pushed south against the Louisianan Army of Charleston, which was busy digging siege lines and organizing a defense. The Battle of Charlotte saw the Louisianans pushed back south, preventing any attempt to move on Tennessee from the east.
   Only in the south, were the Mexican Expeditionary Force arrived was headway able to be made, that force crossing into Tennessee and securing nominal gains. Still, with North Carolina now almost fully in British hands and Tennessee holding out, most of the Louisianan goals in the southern theater remained elusive. The prospect of a British offensive into the Deep South seems remote, at least for the time being, though, given the relocation of the Army of Texas to Atlanta, where it has united with the remnants of the Army of Charleston.

Australian-Pacific War
   The growing tensions between the Australian colony and New Holland came to a head, the New Hollanders launching a several-pronged assault on the British colony, one which achieved rapid gains, though local resistance would begin to well up throughout the year. With war never formally declared, the New Hollander fleet was able to surprise and trounce the localized British fleet of Oceania. Initial moves were made in the west, though there were little proper settlements to be taken in this region. What followed was two landings, one in the south and the other from the north, each sweeping through vast swathes of the sparsely-populated dominion. While this ensured territorial gains were substantial, it also left ample room for local resistance. Diehard British patriots have fled in small bands to the Outback, where they've launched a stubborn resistance against the invaders. Although it has mostly been limited to raids on supply convoys and the murder of stragglers, stories of the Australian resistance have bolstered the Australian spirit. So distant from Britain proper, most residents of British Australia accept that, for the time being at least, they are on their own. The question is whether or not they will be able to hold out long enough for aid to arrive.
   Quebec, meanwhile, continued to ensure gains in the Pacific, launching the Army of the Pacific against the scattered British outposts remaining in London’s control in the aftermath of the Treaty of Southampton. Unceremoniously the islands of New Caledonia and the Solomons have been taken with little notice, the attention of the world being focused on developments in North America.

Intrigue in the Islamic World
Russia, Ottomans Use Proxies to Continue Old Battles

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   1873 would be the year of intrigue and deception in the Caucuses, both the Russians and Ottomans seeking to undermine the other's position in the aftermath of the Treaty of Warsaw. Though both sides claimed to be not encouraging or fomenting unrest in the highly complicated region, it is apparent to everyone they have both been actively providing supplies and encouraging resistance to the other power. This has already begun to destabilize the tenuous peace and there are fears that yet another conflict between the two perennial foes could erupt as a result.
   Ottoman intelligence discovered a Russian operation to distribute arms, weapons, and supplies to ultranationalist Georgians. Indeed, proving fears well-founded, upon discovery several thousands Georgians have taken up arms against Ottoman rule, employing guerrilla tactics and extensive resistance in the Caucuses in a bid to restore their region's independence. While Turkish forces have maintained control over the cities, the rural countryside has grown increasingly perilous.
   The Ottomans would not be so innocent themselves in the game of intrigue, however. Many noted that the reconstituted Dagestani rebels were employing Ottoman arms against the Russian force sent to finally pacify the region once and for all. Like the Georgians, the Dagestani rebels have found themselves unable to beat the Russians on the field of battle, so instead have turned towards active resistance. The government of Dagestan hides in the Caucuses, while villages serve as staging-posts and hiding areas for the most convicted zealots. Moscow would be infuriated to learn of the death of the promising General Mikhail Skobelev, the young man's career cut short by an Ottoman-supplied rifle.
   Farther afield, signs of Ottoman empowerment of resistance groups has emerged in Morocco, where several thousand volunteers have joined the embattled King in continued resistance to the Prussian advance. Operations in that theater seem far more bleak though, rumors swirling the Moroccan leader may seek a compromise peace with Governor von Bismarck.

Spanish Civil War Turns Decisively
Is an End Finally in Sight?

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   With Portugal steadfastly refusing to bestir itself, and Brazilian aid not appearing evident, the Spanish Civil War took a decisive turn in 1873. The Austrian and Liberal Spanish forces would push north across the Tagus, meeting Nouvilas and his men at the Battle of Mostoles on April 14th, 1873. The result was a rout of the fanatics, the Catholic Republicans crumbling as they came under increasing pressure. Abandoning the absolutely destitute ruined city of Madrid, Nouvilas and what remained of his men fled west, seeking friendlier territory and hoping to limit French gains as that realm finally bestirred itself in Iberia.
   With the Liberal victory at the Battle of Mostoles, Madrid was returned to the liberal cause two years after the utter sacking of the city by the Portuguese. Francisco Serrano formally restored the title of the city as the Spanish capital, even if most Liberal governance remains conducted from Cordoba. With the fall of Madrid, and the flight of the Catholic Republicans to the west, the north finally stood open. Left undefended and undersupplied, the Catholic Republican forces here crumbled like a house of cards. Valladolid, Salamanca, and Medina del Campo all fell throughout the late summer. By the end of the year, Catholic Republican strength in the old Kingdom of Castile was limited to Galicia and pockets in the north.
   Queen Charlotte announced intervention in Spain on April 20th, 1873, declaring her intention to restore Henry V as the legitimate sovereign of a reconstituted Bourbon realm. French soldiers poured into Navarre, Catalonia, and Aragon. Indeed, initial developments were promising. Nouvilas and his weakened army, fresh from defeat at Mostoles, seemed doomed in the face of 30 French divisions. Neapolitan and French forces united at Zaragoza by late June, Bilbao and Pamplona in Navarre surrendering after substantial bombardments. Indeed, this momentum seemed to presage a royalist triumph, that movement emerging from the shadows in both Liberal and French-controlled Spain, substantial numbers of Spaniards suddenly pining for the very monarchy they had so willingly toppled just half a decade before.
   Yet, the eruption of the French Civil War, the disintegration of the chain-of-command, and a massive wave of desertions brought French operations to a complete halt, giving the Catholic Republicans breathing-room they needed. Nouvilas, who had scrupulously avoided battle, engaged the now largely-abandoned Neapolitans at the Battle of Zuera. A surprise victory turned the tide in the Aragonese-Catalonian theater. The Neapolitans retreated to Molina, with Zaragoza falling back into Nouvilas’ hands. A wave of popular enthusiasm in Catalonia has seen the abandoned French forces now besieged at Tortosa and Pamplona, Barcelona likewise being returned to the Catholic-Republican fold. Some of Nouvilas’ lieutenants embarked on a campaign into France itself, pushing into the anarchic civil war in that realm. In short, though the Catholic Republican cause may be on the verge of collapse in Asturias and Castile, it remains very much alive in Navarre, Aragon, and Catalonia. Still, with the numbers in his enemy’s favor, Nouvilas’ situation looks far more dire than even a year ago. Some have questioned his commitment to the cause…

Collapse of the Xing Dynasty
Koreans Capture Renci Emperor, Make Push South

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

 
   The Xing Dynasty, which had come to power on a wave of nativist sentiment in in the late 1830s, was on its last legs by 1873. Indeed, many who had helped the Xing expel the Manchu oppressors remained alive to see the Réncí Emperor besieged in Xian by yet another wave of barbarians. The siege of the Xing capital continued throughout most of 1873, stretching well over a year as defenders beat back several Korean assaults in May and June. Still, with victories for the Joseon against the Xing at the battles of Bengbu and Guyuan, there was little prospect of the siege being lifted. Watching his inheritance disintegrate, and seeing the wretched conditions in Xi’an, the Emperor finally announced his decision to surrender the city on August 3rd, 1873. The Réncí Emperor was forced to sign an immediate peace with Korea, formally recognizing himself as a subject of Yi Ho, commanding all of his followers to join the Koreans, and ceding all worldly possessions to the government in Seoul. He was renamed Xing Yong and forcibly relocated to Seoul, where the former emperor was imprisoned.
   Korean successes on the battlefield were followed with major diplomatic wins. With the fall of Xi’an France and Austria, the two preeminent European powers, agreed to recognize Emperor Yi Ho as the sovereign of China, providing Joseon Korea with a substantial degree of legitimacy in their invasion on the international scene. In China proper though, the willingness of foreign powers to recognize a Korean-led China helped to reconcile many former Xing-backers with the Republican cause. Indeed, a series of riots in southern China would see dozens of westerners murdered shortly after they had thrown their lot in with the Koreans. The Habsburgs, in particular, are viewed as an invasive, imperialist menace.
   With the collapse of the Xing, the conflict took on a different tone. No longer was the fight one over the future of China, but whether or not China would exist as a sovereign state at all. A substantial group of former Xing officials arrived in Nanjing and prostrated themselves in from of Li Hongzhang, pledging their loyalty to the Chinese Republic. Nearly every Xing outpost in the south wasted no time in changing sides, the Xing supporters utterly aghast at the treatment of the Renci Emperor. It was too late for most Xing garrisons in the north, most of that half of the country being overrun in the late summer and early fall. Still, many remember the ethnic risings of southern China in the Qing-Xing transition and wonder if the loyalty to the Republic might remain shallow among many of these groups.
   Thus, in the sixth year of the Chinese Civil War, the Republicans triumphed over the Xing. Their victory came not through any act of their own, but the sheer brute strength of Joseon Korea in shattering the Xing Dynasty. Now begins the true final battle for the fate of this extremely important region. Will the Chinese Republicans triumph and shatter an internal order that has governed the region for millennia or will the Koreans succeed, placing the Han under foreign dominance once more?

The Uneven Recovery
Economic Rebound in Parts of Europe a Brief Respite or Turning-Point?

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   Of the four primary causes of the Panic of 1872, two were resolved by 1873. With the Suez placed under Austrian and French guardianship, and the Prussian-Scandinavian rapprochement, trade from Asia resumed uneasily. Still, North America remained under an increasingly harsh British naval blockade and grain from the Americas was unable to be transported. This last issue would remain increasingly relevant with the eruption of the War of the Regency. France, one of the agricultural powerhouses of Europe, suddenly found itself in a civil war, further driving up the cost of grain as the supply became ever-smaller. Naturally, the established food-producers of the Habsburg Monarchy, Poland, and Russia were able to benefit from this.
   Indeed, of the continental powers, 1873 would perhaps prove best economically for Emperor Charles VIII’s domain. Extensive foreign credit was secured, the liberal Swiss Republic lending to Vienna after hearing news of the Brünnerisch Decrees, excited about the first tepid signs of liberal concessions in the autocratic monarchy. Likewise, further advances were gained from New Holland and Korea, both who saw merit in cultivating good relations with the Habsburgs. Thus, by using tax revenue, foreign credit, and profits from Suez trade, the emperor was able to offer a substantial bailout package to the various princes and minor nobles of the Holy Roman Empire. Naturally, the conditions of the bailout were adoption of the Brünnerisch Decrees within the Empire proper, a historic development as feudal power was severely curtailed in the Holy Roman Empire for the first time in its history. Desperate for aid, there was little objection among the weak vassals. With the Empire’s economic situation stabilized, the arrival of foreign credit from France, and a booming harvest, Vienna’s economic condition soared. “The longer France burns, the more the world looks to Austria,” said one domestic observer. Only debt servicing and extensive mobilization remain significant costs for the Habsburg Monarchy’s now growing economy.
  

[Spamage]

Scandinavia and Britain would likewise see limited improvement in their respective economic conditions, though it would not be as sizable as the rebound experienced by Austria. Russian credit would stabilize the freefall in the Scandinavian economy. The efforts of Queen Catherine to retool the Scandinavian banking system and embark on public works reassured investors spooked about the various financial issues of the previous year. Dismissing Prime Minister Monrad, and replacing him with Louis Gerhard de Geer, resulted in a secondary influx of capital from private investors in the Netherlands and Prussia, a vote of confidence in the move. Still, Scandinavia remains an importer of food, the growing cost of essentials looming in the background while Russian economic aid has only been guaranteed throughout the conclusion of 1873. Without broader global economic stabilization, there remains the risk of backsliding.
   In Britain, the economy would recover from rock-bottom due to the relatively greater chaos in France, the growing wartime industry, efforts by the Crown to embark on rationing, and the demonstrated continued dominance of the British navy in the Atlantic. Money received from Colombia in exchange for the sale of distant colonial outposts likewise helped the situation. Henry X’s call to aid the nation and defend against the invasion was answered in both Britain proper and the Americas. By all signs, the people of the British Union have proven willing to endure sacrifices in order to ensure that the Transatlantic bond remains unbroken. Some believe the government could even capitalize further with the sale of war bonds.
   Yet, despite the relative improve of these nations’ economic condition, the overall state of the global economic can best be described as poor. Fighting in the Americas, Western Europe, and Asia has continued to weigh on speculation. Economic conditions in the Netherlands, Prussia, and the Holy Roman Empire are middling. Despite efforts to integrate their economies and pivot to Pacific trade, the North American allies continue to struggle with the blockade. While Iran and the Durrani Empire have continued to demonstrate growth unabated, their economies have not yet matured to a point where they can fully offset global economic headwinds.

[Spamage]

The Zenith of Power: Concert of Europe Part IV
Turn 4: 1874

The World in 1874
(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)
Kingdom of Prussia: King Frederick IV von Hohenzollern (X)
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)
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

Holy Republic of Colombia: Strong
Divine Republic of Brazil: Moderate-Strong
Qajar Iran: Moderate-Strong
United Province of New Holland: Moderate-Strong
Ottoman Empire: Moderate
Habsburg Monarchy: Moderate
Kingdom of the Netherlands: Moderate
Kingdom of Prussia: Moderate
Russian Republic: Moderate
Tokugawa Shogunate: Moderate
Kingdom of Naples: Moderate-Weak
Kingdom of Scandinavia: Moderate-Weak
Confederation of New England: Moderate-Weak
Durrani Empire: Moderate-Weak
Kingdom of Quebec: Moderate-Weak
Kingdom of Mexico: Moderate-Weak
British Union: Weak
Chinese Republic: 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
King Charles VIII Bourbon: High
Archbishop-President Manuel Joaquim da Silveira: High
Stadtholder Peter Mijer: High
King William IV of Orange: High
Protector of the Nation Li Hongzhang: High
King Frederick IV von Hohenzollern: High
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar: High
President Aleksey Suvorin: High
Emperor Charles VIII von Habsburg-Lothringen: Moderate
King Henry-Philippe Bourbon: Moderate
King Henry X of Hanover: Moderate
Queen Catherine II von Oldenburg: Moderate
Emir Abdul Samad Khan: Moderate
Chairman Henry Wilson: Low
Queen Mother Charlotte von Hohenzollern: Low
Sultan Murad V Osmanoğlu: Low

Current Global Conflicts:
War of the Regency: White France vs. Blue France (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, Neapolitan 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-)

Kingdom of France (Whites)

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-War it is, Queen Charlotte. Xavier and his cowards, too blind to see the true potential in your recent actions, have plunged France into the worst domestic chaos since the Fronde. Though Padania is undoubtedly one of the heartlands of rebel sentiment, a good deal of France is up in arms. While much of the Northeast remains loyal, and Paris is secure for the time being, the Blues have made substantial gains throughout the south and west. With the War of the Regency now in full-swing, your son’s reign potentially hangs in the balance. How will you ensure that the war is one and the traitors receive their just punishments?

-Many believe now is more crucial than ever to secure foreign backing. Although the sight of foreign troops on French soil may be too much for your supporters to bear for the time being, undoubtedly cultivating solid relationships with some of the other European powers could prove beneficial. Xavier, whose daughter is married to the Habsburg heir, will undoubtedly be doing the same. While Prussia has been a fairly reliable ally, there are growing questions about their commitment to your pact, given their erratic dealings with Scandinavia over the past year without consulting you. Will you secure some sort of foreign backing, either direct or indirect, or should the French Civil War be won by French men with French weapons? How will you guarantee that foreign powers don’t take advantage of the vacuum in Western Europe?

-With the conservatives and liberals vacating the National Assembly in Paris and fleeing to their emergency government in Avignon, you have been left in total control of the legislature. You now have extremely limited opposition within the socialist-reactionary rump body. This gives you a good deal of freedom in drafting emergency orders, enacting overdue domestic policies, and pushing through your agenda. Although war has broken out, undoubtedly the work of the legislature must not cease. What policies will you adopt for the Kingdom of France in 1874?

Habsburg Monarchy

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Vienna seems to stand alone as the sole source of relative stability in Europe. There are crises everywhere. France has exploded, the tensions of thirty years being let out in an orgy of violence. Spain smolders, the fight seeming to drag on endlessly. To the east, the Ottomans and Russians each seem to be undermining key assumptions in the Treaty of Warsaw. Prussia remains an enigma, though continued brutality in Morocco makes many wary of Berlin as a potentially vicious rival. Naples is upset over the events in Corsica and could prove unpredictable in the Mediterranean. While you have recently reconciled with Scandinavia, many remember how quick they were to turn to Russia in the past. In such times, many have looked to your government for leadership, Emperor Charles. How will you handle the diplomatic disorder?

-Reforms to the feudal order were impressive to both foreign and domestic observers. Although there was some grumbling from the nobility, most were gratified that the Brünnerisch Decrees did not include substantial tax hikes like those enacted by Queen Charlotte of France. Among those celebrating the move were a group of nobles who formally married their morganatic partners, putting an end to the farce that had long prevented the legality of such unions. Still, the opening of the door to reform has caused some to demand that you go further.

-The economic situation has rebounded to great effect, helped in part by the soaring costs of grain and food for much of Europe. Sometimes it pays to be an agricultural powerhouse. Numerous firms have fled the chaos in France for Vienna, setting up emergency operations in the city. Questions over Austrian credit seem to be on the backburner for the time being. Should current conditions be maintained, your government may even run a surplus this year. There are questions as what ought to be done with that money. Some would have you pay down existing debts, eliminating the need for reliance on foreign credit. Others believe that you should use the money to stay mobilized in the face of so much uncertainty. Your son, Archduke Louis-Henry has proposed that you fund reforms he is pursuing to the Polish army. There is also the prospect of internal infrastructure or aid to domestic businesses. Perhaps some of the money could go to breaking up of feudal estates? What will you do?

Kingdom of Scandinavia

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-1874 will be an election year, the actions of the liberal-socialist coalition government coming up for a vote. Given the economic chaos of the past few years and shifts in foreign policy, there are some voters looking for a change. Mostly, the consensus leans towards a conservative victory. Still, some royal advisors believe it would be wise to show royal support for the incumbent coalition, given the uncertainty a change in government could mean for recent economic reforms in addition to the erratic foreign situation. Of course, this risks embarrassment if the people did not respond to such a measure. What will royal policy be towards the election of 1874?

-Russian credit has stabilized the domestic economic situation and seemingly averted the worst of the crisis. Domestic reforms have likewise generated a good deal of confidence in your government’s ability to weather the worst. Moscow has stipulated that it would be limited to only a year though, leaving them the option of either renewing or cancelling it moving forward. Thus far President Suvorin has said little about what his government will do, but should he refuse, you may still require some degree of foreign aid, given the soaring costs of food and uncertainty over trade. Will you request an extension from Russia? Or should other economic partners be sought out, either in Vienna, Naples, or even Amsterdam?

-Prince Charles of Hanover, the heir to the throne, is now a strapping lad of 15 and many believe it is time to either betroth or wed the young man in order to guarantee the survival of your proposed line of succession. Though there were whispers of a Prussian match with Princess Dorothea, the agreement never came to pass. Your husband Archduke Friedrich of Austria has proposed his niece Archduchess Maria Vittoria of Austria (b. 1860), daughter of the heir to the Habsburg throne. Your mother and grandmother back Princess Caroline of the Netherlands (b. 1863) given dynastic connections. The exiled Ivan VII of Russia also has a daughter of an age with Charles, Grand Duchess Charlotte Ivanovna of Russia (b. 1859). Beyond these clear choices, there is no shortage of candidates. Will you find a bride for Prince Charles?

British Union

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-King Henry X, the military situation in North America seems to have not deteriorated for the time being, but some question whether the American colonies will be able to survive yet another Francophone onslaught in the coming year. London is divided on the matter, as many point to growing strains evident in New England and Louisiana as signs that victory against the invaders may be closer than believed. The bombardment of Boston, while harsh, has underscored that Britain’s presence on the seas ought not to be underestimated. Still, between the war and the blockade, the costs of the fight are mounting. Will you continue the war, potentially reversing any of the enemy gains and toppling the weakened American governments, or it is time to seek some sort of peace?

-The disturbing spike in Irish nationalism and demands for home rule has not gone unnoticed. There have been reports of both Catholic Republican and other sorts of rabble-rousers making their rounds on the Emerald Isle. There are even reports of Irish immigrants in Quebec and Louisiana writing to kin back home and decrying the British war-effort. Some degree of dissent has even been published in local newspapers, Irish nationalists inquiring why events in far-off America ought to be their concern. Some in London have called for limited wartime censorship of Irish publications given the dire state of global affairs in addition to a crackdown on separatism. There are others in London who view this as counterproductive. Which approach will you adopt? How will you handle the growing reports of Irish dissatisfaction?

-More alarming than the Americas has been the Pacific theater. While your moves to aid the Australians and encourage local resistance have helped, the situation remains dire. Without boots on the ground, it is likely that the invading New Hollanders will achieve their gains. The damage to your fleet here has also raised alarm bells.  Many have called for the relocation of ships and soldiers to the region to bolster the defense, though this could weaken your hereto far successful blockade of the American realms. Quebec’s occupation of New Caledonia seems to be a nuisance, but these scattered islands seem not to currently warrant a response with Australia itself under theat. Will you relocate men and resources to Australia? Or should they be left to fend for themselves for the time being, you coming to rescue them only when victory in North America has been secured? Perhaps you could turn to Japan or Korea for limited aid against New Holland if your resources are too stretched, though either power would likely made demands for concessions…

Russian Republic

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-President Suvorin, with France in disarray, there is a power vacuum in a global scale. Russia has options in every direction. The collapse of the Xing Dynasty and recognition of Korea as possessing the Mandate of Heaven by Vienna and Paris practically begs for a Russian response. Poland sits weakened and seemingly vulnerable. Scandinavia has been economically dependent on you for the past few months and this could give you a potential influence in the policies of that realm. There are others who would have you follow up on the collapse of the Turkic revolts to assault the Durrani and push into India. How will you handle the new and shifting global order?

-1874 will see a parliamentary election, the second since the abolition of the old military-dictatorship under Menshikov and Gorchakov. Prime Minister Chicherin and his coalition must go face the voters, who could perhaps be itching for a change. Early indications show a decline in reactionary sentiment, the aura of the Czars not possessing its former allure, but matters are truly up in the air. Though you have been identified with right-wing parties, most mainstream political groups would likely be willing to work with you given your recent diplomatic victories. Will you get involved in the campaign, perhaps even show a preference for a specific ideology or movement? Some question as well whether you ought not to use your tremendous state power to gain a result suitable to your sensibilities. How will you handle the Russian 1874 Parliamentary Election?

-Ottoman arms have somehow been given to the Dagestani, making many in Moscow quite irate with the Sublime Porte. Though that nationalist, separatist movement seems to be on its last legs once more, developments in Georgia are quite concerning. Given Russia’s role as protector of Christians in the Ottoman Empire, the image of Turkish soldiers combing through the Caucuses in order to hunt rebellious Georgians is particularly nasty. Still, too belligerent a tone risks reviving the Great Eastern Wars, an uncertain prospect given the instability already present in Europe proper. Your militaristic advisors believe that the developments in the west are not a curse, but an opportunity, forcing Vienna to look west while you deal with the Sultan. How will you deal with Georgia and Dagestan?

Ottoman Empire

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Given the setbacks of the past year, perhaps demands for reform were inevitable. Still, whispers of constitutional demands have remained rumors for decades. Only in December 1873 have the conspirators made themselves known. A petition for constitutional reform, signed by a bevy of local officials, generals, average subjects, admirals, and even some notable imams has been published in Istanbul. The document demands the immediate establishment of a constitution or constitutional assembly, protection of Turkish dominance, and limits to your domestic authority. Naturally many have been insulted, viewing such treasonous talk at a time of potential war as both seditious and unproductive. Should you make concessions, there are some at Court who believe you ought to promise a constitution at some point in the future, either indefinite or a specific date, in order to satisfy the malcontents and buy yourself some time. Issuing a constitution by yourself could be an option, as it allows you to really shape the government however you see fit, even if it means the reforms are quite hollow. There’s also the ability to purely ignore the demands and hope they are overshadowed by broader developments elsewhere. What will you do about this annoyance?

-The wretched Russians have stirred up disorder in Georgia, using weapons and promises of liberation to succor the nationalists in that region. While they point to the ongoing Dagestani conflict as your doing, it is a wholly different matter, given that region had already been in revolt. Though the total number of Georgians at arms is quite small, it is an annoyance and there are legitimate arguments that it is meant as a prelude by Moscow towards war. Although some believe that one-on-one the fight could be more balanced than the Second Great Eastern War, many are alarmed that the events in France may leave the other powers distracted and unable to aid you should the worst occur. Furthermore, trust towards your new ‘vassals’ in the Balkans is quite scant in Istanbul. How will you respond to these Russian provocations and what will you do about events in the Caucuses?

-Fighting continues in Egypt and there are fears that a French withdrawal could leave your men outgunned unless you funnel more men into the region. Given diplomatic tensions elsewhere, this may not be ideal. King Ahmed Urabi has offered a compromise, one where he assumes a similar status to the Balkan Kingdoms (under your authority, but with a good deal of domestic power), which could end the fighting instantly but leave Egypt the most independent it has been since the rebellion in the 1830s was crushed. How will you respond to his proposal and the larger conflict in Egypt as a whole?

[Spamage]

Kingdom of Naples

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Diplomatically, Naples potentially finds itself as a kingmaker in global affairs. The outrages committed by the British at Cape Verde have given your realm a just cause for war in the eyes of many Italian subjects. France has imploded, given you potential room to maneuver in regards to the Padanian Question. In Spain, your realm has committed a good deal of troops and could secure a potential victory, though with the French establishment of a “Royalist” faction, there are questions as to whether you should switch from backing the liberals to restoring Henry V, who has remained in Quebec for yet another year. How will your realm deal with so much diplomatic uncertainty, King Charles?

-Those treacherous French have violated the spirit of your agreement for Corsica, using deceit to propose independence to that isle. Needless to say, many at Court were quite angered by the events and have encouraged you to strike at the vulnerable state while France plunges into civil war. Still, that small island has a proud history of independence, and could prove a pain to seize. What will your government’s response be to the recent vote there and will you recognize Alexander of Bourbon-Corsica as Grand Duke? Perhaps he could be incorporated as a vassal to your realm, just as Tuscany was around a decade ago? Others have raised the prospect of punishing Queen Regent Charlotte for her deceit by closing the Mediterranean to French shipping, a provocative proposal, but one that could see French access to India severely limited all the while allowing Habsburg shipping to continue unmolested.

-Your government has been quite progressive in its reforms, enacting broad labor laws, allowing the government to continue to function under your broad coalition, funding a bank, and implementing a grain dole. With so many reforms proposed, the Habsburg Brünnerisch Decrees have been watched with a great deal of interest. While the Neapolitan nobility has been a bit more curtailed compared to their Austrian counterparts, they still maintain a good deal of influence in society and vested privileges on the books from centuries ago. Nobility is as much a marker of status as it is hereditary, the elites having the option to purchase titles for more than a century. The socialists and Catholic Republicans have called on you to follow the example of Emperor Charles and implement your own reforms to not only prevent the creation of more nobles, but kneecap any power of existing nobles already through estate taxes and forcing them into equal status. France could serve as a warning of what would happen should you go too far though, many noting that your brother Prince Alfonso could be Naples’ very own Prince Xavier. How will you handle the issue of the nobility?

United Kingdom of Louisiana

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-King Henry-Philippe, the last year has been somewhat of a disappointment for Louisiana. As Quebec scored victories in Albany and the Midwest, the campaigns in Tennessee and North Carolina have turned into somewhat of a debacle. Though limited territorial gains were possible in the south due to the Mexican expeditionary force, these have been offset by deteriorating conditions elsewhere. As the American War drags on into yet another year, people look for results. Will you continue the struggle or should the growing dovish faction at Court be entertained? What will Louisiana’s military policy look like in 1874?

-Sensing weakness, the Native American tribes to the west have grown restive. In addition to the remnants of the Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and other indigenous groups that feel they have been mistreated have repeatedly shown signs of challenging your control over the vast sparsely populated west. Raids on caravans, trespassing on private Louisianan territory, and refusal to negotiate have all popped up throughout the region. Given the historic British relationship with the Native Americans of Louisiana in addition to the already simmering racial tensions around Liberia, some in New Orleans urge you to get this under control, perhaps through the expansion of the network of forts in the region, a show of force or aggression, or economic punishment. There are others that remain afraid about potential warfare and collateral civilian damage should the worst come to pass. This is not even to mention the growing movements sympathetic to the native cause, particularly within the socialist camp. How will New Orleans deal with increased agitation among the native population?

-The “M Project” has achieved significant breakthroughs, including demonstrating the capability to generate electricity. With government backing this technology could prove world-changing and facilities operation within the next couple of years, but the issue of funding remains quite significant. Given the ongoing conflict, blockade, and domestic economic malaise, spending government funds on such a project at present could be quite divisive. Still, the potential of such an advancement in a realm such as yours could be immeasurable. How will you respond to the scientific breakthrough achieved within your borders in the past year?

Qajar Iran

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-With Ottoman-Russian tensions flaring yet again and France divided by internal conflicts, should you wish, you could strike in almost any direction or play any power against another. Iran sits in the unique position of being one area not beset by rebellion, internal economic malaise, or effective isolation. How will you capitalize on this unique situation? Some would have you strike into India alongside the Durrani and undermine the colonial oppressors. Further hostilities with the Ottomans are not a remote possibility either, Egypt potentially being a tantalizing partner should you wish to move against Istanbul indirectly. There is also the remote possibility of teaming up with the Turk to reverse Russian pressure in the Caucuses, as there are some in Tehran that are wary of Russian efforts to encroach in that region yet again by taking out Dagestan and encouraging rebellions in Georgia. What will Iranian diplomacy look like in 1874?

-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)

-King Henry, though the war in New York and Ohio has bogged down into stationary warfare, many in Montreal note the success of Quebecois soldiers in the past year. Major gains have been secured across the western theater and thousands of British soldiers that did not escape Albany are now safely in your custody. Still, your allies are in worse conditions, in large part due to the blockade and active British operations targeting them. Will the war be continued? If so, what is to be done to stabilize the alliance in order to guarantee New England and Louisiana do not bow out early? Will you build on the gains of last year, if so, how?

-Many have been intrigued by the numerous inventions deployed against the Royal Navy over the last year, “torpedoes” in particular showing great promise. There are also reports of research breakthroughs with some “unnatural” land weaponry that could aid combat in the entrenched lines. The Quebecois Admiralty, itching for glory like the Army, has quietly begun to lobby for an attempt to be made to break the blockade and put an end to the British-imposed suffering in North America. This could be risky, given the historic prestige and experience of the British fleet, but also has a high upside. Will you seek to break the blockade through naval action, or is losing the navy too much of a potential disaster?

-Your efforts to decrease resistance have divided the local population, those favoring your offer of land redistribution and better working conditions facing off against loyalists to London. Collaborators in many cities have been murdered outright and it is clear the vast majority of the populace sits somewhere from ambivalent to hostile. Some military analysts believe that more people would support your movement if future retribution from London after the war could be prevented. Indeed, the stubborn resistance of British Imperial strength has left many in the occupied territories still thinking that a reversal may be possible at some point. Some have argued for harsher punishment for resistance. If damaging towns is unpopular, perhaps the wealth of the regions could be looted. Some in your economic camp have argued for confiscation of land, goods, or equipment from those caught in the act of resisting, though this could potentially engender more hatred. How will you handle the continued resistance from the British-Americans?

United Provinces of New Holland

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Your boldness in assaulting Australia has achieved great gains and most military advisors see that colony as eventually falling under your total control if you are given time to consolidate your gains and assault further. Still, it must be noted you are facing a somewhat undermanned region, most of London’s power concentrated in North America. You are not a formal ally of the American powers and there are some concerned they could very well leave you out to dry. How will you prosecute the war in 1874 and what will you do to make sure you are not left out of any potential peace settlement?

-Following your loan to Vienna, foreign traders have begun to take note. As a remote, stable power, there has been an increased interest among bankers and traders in Europe to expand operations in both Willemstad and Batavia, viewing them as potential economic hubs in East Asia and Oceania. Given turmoil in France, Eastern Europe, Spain, and the British Europe, this window seems wide open. The closure of the Suez caused great instability in the financial system as well as trade, so it is hoped that by having a matured market in your realm, the potential global ripples of such a disruption could be lessened. In order to expand operations in your realm though, these companies are requesting generous tax breaks, government subsidies, and a light touch in regards to regulation. While some view this as a no-brainer, there are many New Hollanders who are wary of the precedent and fear an influx of foreign wealth could deprive your own citizens of ownership of the economy. Still, this is also a tantalizing potential for advancing the economy to the next stage. What do you think of this economic proposal?

Kingdom of Mexico

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Adept handling of the recent election has resulted in a sizable conservative majority. Given this is the first government under the new constitutional system, there are many issues that must now be addressed. Who will you name as Prime Minister? What policies should the new government focus on, keeping in mind its right-wing bent. How will you direct the new government to deal with the ongoing war? People look to you for direction, King Luis.

-Some advisors have come forward with evidence that Brazil has begun funding an aggressive outreach effort to the native Mayans in the Yucatan and Guatemala, pushing Catholic-Republican ideology and preaching the merit to separation from Mexico. Several priests have been arrested and relocated to the capitol. Needless to say, these reports are alarming. Brazil has always been viewed as an untrustworthy partner, unlike Colombia, but the encouragement of sedition is a next level entirely. Rio maintains its innocence, claiming these reports are an effort by conservatives in your realm to distract national attention. How will you handle this provocative act? Some would launch a preemptive strike into Brazilian Central America, Colombia be damned, in order to protect your national sovereignty. There’s also the prospect of encouraging separatism in Brazil’s newly acquired provinces as well, those that chafe under the rule of Catholic Republicans. Not responding could be seen as a sign of weakness, but also may be the most prudent path. Still, should a revolt ultimately erupt in this region it could leave you embarrassed and discredited. What will you do?

Holy Republic of Colombia

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-At long last the Holy Republic will experience its first true test of the new constitution, with elections to be held in 1874. The ideologies abound and there is excitement in the air. There is a myriad of political groups and ideologies that are seeking office. Hardcore Catholic Republicans seek to limit any further reform and roll back what are seen as the excesses of your past few years. A more grassroots, pro-worker faction has emerged within Catholic-Republicanism as well. Moderates, generally seen as your camp, argue for the continued opening of society under the current model. There are republicans calling the past thirty years a mistake, secular liberals proposing internal economic reform, radical socialists calling for the workers to rise up, and reactionaries who still pine for the brief Kingdom of Colombia or Henry V and Spanish rule. With the voting system untried, and your popularity quite high, you could probably get a result of your choosing should you make your opinion known, though some feel that undermines allowing votes in the first place. What will you do about the 1874 Colombian general election?

-You have played both sides quite well in the American war. Indeed, Colombia seems to be on cordial terms with everyone, but reports of a Brazilian-led effort to foster Catholic Republicanism in Mexico's south may force your hand. Perhaps it is at long last time to cut the strings of affection to Brazil, that state being seen more and more as a source of unnecessary instability? Many are wary of this, though, fearing diplomatic isolation and used to friendly ties with Rio. On top of all of this, there have also been vocal complaints in the London press that your continued trade with states such as Mexico is only serving to undermine the British blockade and undermine their efforts. What will Colombian diplomacy look like amid such uncertainty?

Chinese Republic

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Greetings Protector of the Nation Li Hongzhang. Under your leadership the Chinese Republican movement has endured. With the Xing Dynasty collapsing once and for all to your north, you stand alone as the sole ethnic Han state in the midst of the Korean invasion. Indeed, Joseon Korea has proven to be a formidable opponent, conquering much of the north, aided by their largely westernized economic and military systems, cooperation with France and Austria, and Japan’s sluggishness. As your struggle to unite China under a republican system continues into yet another year, what will you do to leave yourself victorious? How will you handle the military situation and guarantee victory over foreign oppression?

-While the Xing were largely nominal allies with Scandinavia, and France and the Habsburgs have cooperated with the Koreans, you have largely stood alone on the global stage. Some in your government believe that it is time for this to change. Foreign backing could deter further intervention in the internal Chinese situation, provide valuable supplies, and turn the tide in the conflict. Will you seek out potential allies? The Russians seem to have a similarly authoritarian republican system to yourself, while Japan undoubtedly has an interest in deterring Korean expansion in East Asia. There are also other options, such as Britain, New Holland, or even those powers that have sided with the Koreans. What will be your approach to the diplomatic situation?

-Your movement has largely been one of reform, seeking to shatter the old Chinese customs and implement a newer, more westernized model of governance and internal affairs. This, naturally, has experience significant blowback from those attached to Confucianism, Taoism, the old imperial order, and Chinese folk customs. Not a major issue when the Xing served as the pole for traditionalism, but with the dynasty’s collapse there has been an influx of ex-Xing officials and soldiers into your movement. Will you moderate your reformist tendencies in order to appease them, or should the cause of Chinese internal reform continue unabated?

Confederation of New England

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Chairman Wilson, your nation has borne the brunt of the British assault. Boston has burned, Connecticut been raided, and thousands dislocated amidst the chaos. Though your men achieved victory alongside Quebec in the siege of Albany, the move on New York City proper has descended into brutal trench warfare, the prospect of advance undermined by efforts on both sides to defend the land they currently hold. Many prayed for more results by now. How will you prosecute the war in the coming year?

-The damage to Boston has haunted your government, but even worse was the damage to the domestic industry. Still, New England does have factories all around the region. Given the emergency and dire military situation, some in your government are calling for an emergency nationalization of all factories and repurposing them for wartime purposes, given the loss of production in Boston. While this is feasible and could offset the shortage in weapons and ammunition production, it could alienate the owners of said factories in addition to the workers. Without nationalization, others believe that the losses could also be offset by Quebecois and Louisianan trade, though this would have the potential of damaging your economic competitiveness long-term. How will you approach the remaining factories and firms in New England in cities besides Boston that have thus far been unharmed?

[Spamage]

Kingdom of the Netherlands

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Election returns are in, your majesty, and with the popularity of your rule, have yielded a conservative-liberal alliance in government, loyal to the Crown. With this victory comes the question of what domestic policy ought to be pursued, events in the rest of Europe meaning there are many tantalizing possibilities. France and Naples have pursued labor laws and taxation reforms, though this ultimately led to the War of the Regency. The Netherlands still has vestiges of the old nobility, though not as powerful as it once was. Some would have you go further than Austria and abolish the significance of nobility outside of the Royal Family entirely. There is also the prospect of changes to tariffs, handling the ethnic Scandinavians who moved into Groningen, and reforms to the Dutch Church. With so much potential, what will you focus on?

-The Flemish, seeing the French Civil War as an opportunity, have organized into pan-nationalist organizations, gone on strike, and demanded more autonomy from Paris. Some believe this could be the opening for a Dutch intervention in the fight, just as you did in Groningen two years ago. Still, this could be risky, as the Flemish issue was the cause of the most recent French invasion of the Netherlands. Perhaps the offer of military support in return for the transfer of the Dutch-speaking provinces would be appropriate? Or maybe even the Low Countries as a whole? Hawks would have you strike first and dare either Charlotte or Xavier to take the land back. Of course, you could maintain a status of noninvolvement, though this could be embarrassing in the Flemings face consequences from Paris. What is to be done?

Durrani Empire

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-With the eruption of civil war in France, the situation in French India has never seemed more uncertain. Colonial officials, unsure of who to back between the Blues and Whites, have largely remained neutral and focused on keeping stability in France’s vast colonial holdings. Without the backing of the metropole, and hundreds of thousands of locals outnumbering them, there are legitimate feelings that now could be the time to strike, either on your own or with Persian aid, making a blow on French colonial rule for the first time in a century. Still, the prospect is risky given uncertainty over what will happen in Paris. Will you adopt an aggressive posture and take advantage of chaos in Europe to reverse colonial gains, or should you wait and see?

-Your dynasty is Punjabi, but the regions controlled by your Empire contain a wide array of ethnic groups including Turkmen, Uzbek, Baloch, Punjabi, Hazara, and Shina. It is not secret that, especially with recent engagement with the modern world and reform, that these groups have growing increasingly resentful of your authority and the dominance of Pashtuns in your Court. While some degree of reform is feasible, your generals war that emboldening the various ethnic groups could undermine cohesiveness and have extended consequences. Indeed, among the Pashtun there is little desire to compromise with those that have been deemed to have been subjugated. How will you handle this complicated and potentially quite troublesome situation?


Army Strength:

Kingdom of France (Whites)
45 division Army of the North
33 division Army of Aquitaine
20 division Army of Belgium
15 division Army of Lorraine
6 division Army of Pamplona
4 division Army of Navarre
7 division Army of Tarragona
(130/149 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of France (Blues)
30 division Army of Lyon
25 division Army of Toulouse
25 division Army of Brittany
20 division Army of Anjou
20 division Army of Padania
(120/140 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of France (Neutral India and Colonies)
10 division Army of India
10 division Army of Egypt
9 division Army of South Vietnam
9 division Army of North Vietnam
2 division Army of Ceylon
3 division Army of Sumatra
1 division  Garrison of Suez
(46/93 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Habsburg Monarchy (Excluding HRE)
20 division Army of Transylvania
10 division Army of Austria
10 division Army of Lombardy
15 division Army of Silesia
12 division Spanish Expeditionary Force
5 division Army of Madagascar
6 division Chinese Expeditionary Force
1 division Ethiopian Army
(79/299 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

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

British Union
20 division Army of Britain
16 division Army of Tennessee
15 division Army of Ohio
10 division Army of Virginia
26 division Army of New York
5 division Home Guard
(92/121 divisions possible raised, max 4% conscription)

Russian Republic
10 division Army of St. Petersburg
30 division Army of Minsk
35 division Army of Kiev
15 division Army of Romania
40 division Army of the Caucuses
10 division Army of Turkestan
30 division Army of Manchuria
10 division Army of Inner Mongolia
10 division Army of Mongolia
(190/306 divisions possible raised, max 10% conscription)

Ottoman Empire
52 division Army of the Danube
5 division Army of Egypt
65 division Army of the Caucuses/Armenia
5 division Army of Constantinople
5 division Army of Algeria
(132/187 divisions possible raised, max 12% conscription)

Divine Republic of Brazil
10 division Army of Brazil
5 division Army of the Congo
2 division Army of Southern Africa
3 division Army of Bahia
(20/75 divisions possible raised, max 22% conscription)

Kingdom of Naples
10 division Army of Florence
10 division Army of Sicily
17 division Spanish Expeditionary Force
5 division Army of the Po
5 division Army of Tunis
(47/102 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of Prussia
30 division Army of Hanover
30 division Army of the East
6 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
(86/129 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Tokugawa Shogunate
10 division Chinese Expeditionary Force
10 division Army of Niigata
10 division Executive Guard
7 division Army of Kyoto
5 division Army of the Philippines
3 division Army of New Guinea
(45/185 divisions possible raised, max 10% conscription)

United Kingdom of Louisiana
13 division Army of Des Moines
16 division Army of Atlanta
1 division Army of Bermuda
2 division Army of Jamaica
2 division Army of Cuba
(34/49 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Joseon Korea
35 division Chinese Army
20 division Army of Central China
30 division Army of Manchuria
15 division Army of Taiyuan
10 division Army of Heze
10 division Army of Borneo
(120/140 divisions possible raised, max 10% conscription)

Kingdom of Poland
10 division Army of Warsaw
(10/55 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
18 division Army of Ohio
14 division Army of New York
5 division Army of Champlain
5 division Army of the Interior
2 division Foreign Legion
3 division Army of the Pacific
(47/48 divisions possible raised, max 16% conscription)

Kingdom of Mexico
9 division Louisianan Expeditionary Force
5 division Royal Guard
2 division Army of the Yucatan
5 division Army of Guatemala
(21/56 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
(190/250 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
(14/39 divisions possible raised, max 8% conscription)

Holy Republic of Colombia
4 division Army of Haiti
1 division Army of Trinidad
1 division Army of Panama
3 division Army of Cartagena
4 division Army of Maracaibo
2 division Army of Caracas
1 division Army of Venezuela
1 division Army of the Interior
2 division Army of Bogota
2 division Army of Guayaquil
2 division Army of Trujillo
4 division Army of Lima
(27/35 divisions possible raised, max 15% conscription)

Confederation of New England
18 division Army of New York
1 division Army of Boston
(19/19 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
17 division Army of Lisbon
3 division Army of Porto
(22/23 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of the Netherlands
2 division Army of Groningen
5 division Army of Amsterdam
(7/26 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Spanish Catholic Republic
2 division Army of Galicia
12 division Army of Aragon
(14/14 divisions possible raised, max 8% conscription)

Spanish Liberal Republic
17 division Army of Cordoba
3 division Army of Segovia
(20/20 divisions possible raised, max 8% conscription)

Durrani Empire
2 division Royal Guard
4 division Army of Karachi
2 division Army of Herat
(8/30 divisions possible raised, max 11% conscription)

[Spamage]

1874 Midturn Update

Brazil Enters the Fray
Spanish Civil War, Thought Decided, Expands Further

(Made by Me)

   Just when most observers believed the Spanish Civil War was largely decided, Brazil finally bestirred itself, mobilizing dozens of divisions and throwing them into the fray. The conflict has been flipped on its head overnight, the weakened Catholic Republicans suddenly securing substantial gains in the north and south as the Liberal Republicans find themselves surrounded.
   It was reportedly after securing assurances from Colombia and Patagonia (in order to ensure Brazil proper would be protected in South America) that Archbishop-President Manuel Joaquim da Silveira decided to act. With France divided in on itself to the north, he gambled that both the Habsburg and Neapolitan armies would be left without further reinforcements. The Brazilian forces, those proud Catholic legions, were sent across the Atlantic in two substantial fleets, each making a separate landing and commencing with military operations.
   The first army, consisting of roughly 14 divisions, disembarked at Coruna and set about restoring the situation in the north, working in concert with the existing 2 division Catholic Republican Army. The Liberal Army of Segovia found itself unable to respond at the Catholic Republicans set about reversing the losses in the north and restoring the region to their control. Valencia, Medina del Campo, and Saldana all fell in this new offensive, the Liberals regrouping. Still, the more dire news would emerge in the south.
   A far larger force was deposited on the beaches of Huelva, reigniting the war in the south in an instant. Most had thought the region fully secured after the campaigns of the previous year, so it took time for the news to spread and be believed. Taking advantage of growing confusion and panic, Seville fell within a week, Catholic Republican agents in the city helping betray the municipal government. With 30 Brazilian divisions present, the Liberals felt their roughly 29 division Army (17 Spanish, 12 Habsburg) could withstand the fight. President Serrano personally led his troops into the Battle of Carmona, in a bid to retake Seville before the Brazilians could fully establish themselves. From April 1st-4th, maneuvering and fighting raged around the city, neither side able to fully secure their objectives. After four days of fighting, the Liberals were forced to retreat back to their erstwhile capital, but the result was no triumph for the Brazilians, who were forced to regroup and pause operations while the leadership considered what to do next. Though some have argued for an offensive north from Seville, bypassing Cordoba entirely, most believe that the city must be taken before any further Catholic Republican offensives are launched in the south. Many look on with terror at the prospect of yet another engagement in the region later in the year, the dead from the Battle of Carmona not yet buried.
   Brazil’s intervention is a dare to the other European powers. With Vienna and Naples seemingly more preoccupied by the events in France, it is expected that they will acquiesce to the collapse of their Liberal Spanish allies, who suddenly find themselves on the defensive just when the end had been in sight. Meanwhile, as Nouvilas and his men see the success of their counterparts in the northwest, and with the opening of a new front in southern Spain, many also believe there will be a renewed offensive in the direction of Madrid or the Neapolitan expeditionary force from the direction of Aragon. There are now questions whether Portugal, seeing the Brazilians on the border, will reenter the fray for the Catholic-Republicans. Blood continues to flow in Spain as the conflict looks uncertain once more, one of many fires raging in a chaotic world.

War in Italy Once More
Naples Acts, Seeking to Supplant Padania

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   King Charles VIII saw his chance in the French chaos, electing to involve Naples and extract what he deemed to be essential concessions. Assailing Padania as an insult to the very dignity of the Italian people, and attacking Xavier as representative of the old autocratic order, an invasion was ordered. Announcing a declaration of war, Charles VIII was greeted with raucous applause, only the Catholic Republicans remaining seated as Italian nationalism surged. From Rome of Syracuse rallies were held in favor of the intervention, thousands of young men being mobilized to unite the Italian people once more. For the first time since the chaotic Italian risings 40 years ago, war has returned to Italy.
   Xavier would respond with fury. Giving a speech alongside the Dukes of Genoa and Modena, Charles VIII was branded a dynastic traitor and an opportunist, one willing to spill Italian blood for his own personal glory rather than support the true cause of justice. While this was meant for the local audience, in France Xavier has also argued that Charlotte is allowing France’s vast possessions to fall to the hands of enemies because of her mismanagement. The Padanian identity, one separate from that of Italy, has again been emphasized by the Blue government, especially in the face of growing agitation in some cities by pan-nationalists.
   Initial results would be promising for Naples, the French Blues allowing Modena to fall, seeing it as too vulnerable and difficult to defend. Instead, Xavier’s forces fell back, establishing defensive lines from the coast to Borgonovo in the Apennines. Indeed, here the relatively swift advance of the Neapolitans came to a halt, several thousand being killed by the entrenched French positions before the Neapolitan generals likewise ordered similar defensive fortifications. While they were able to beat back an attempted counter-assault by Xavier’s men, the initial prospects of a Neapolitan Turin by June has begun to seem quite remote. Mountain warfare has commenced, many noting similarities to the rough fighting occurring in far-off Ohio and New York. Yet, with the winter conditions in the mountains, some believe fighting in Italy is a far more hellish experience.
   On Corsica, the newly established government would find itself in a difficult position. Grand Duke Alexander repeatedly rebuffed attempts by Neapolitan negotiators to see the newly-independent island annexed into the Kingdom of Naples as Tuscany had been. The Grand Duke and his supporters were not the only faction on the island though, as the referendum had shown. Those who had supported joining the rest of the Italians under King Charles VIII attempted to topple the government, acting well-beyond what Naples had considered. Ajaccio was seized on the night of March 5th, a new government declared by pro-Neapolitan forces who argued that Grand Duke Alexander had been elected by fraud and named King Charles VIII as Duke of Corsica. Alexander was unable to regain control of the city and forced to flee to Corte, the Corsican nationalists mobilizing there in order to regain control of the island. With Corsica now descending into civil war between the pro-French and Neapolitan factions, the future of the Western Mediterranean has grown even more uncertain.
   On the water, Naples closed the Mediterranean to Xavier’s ships, a series of small engagements seeing the small fleet that had deserted to Xavier being forced into port. With the water clearly under the control of Neapolitan ships, and the war in the Apennines grinding to a halt, Charles VIII ordered an amphibious assault against Genoa, hoping to surround Xavier’s forces in the rear. After a solid bombardment, one which saw extensive damage to the city, a landing by Neapolitan marines was repulsed before they could even establish a beachhead. Several other landings conducted in the next few weeks would likewise prove unsuccessful, some in Naples arguing the Crown ought to invest more resources if they hoped to achieve this. Still, Xavier’s men have wised up to the development and begun to establish defensive artillery positions in Genoa and several other cities to dissuade future landings.
   Naples is now involved in the War of the Regency, potentially imperiling the uneasy three-way balance that has existed on the peninsula for decades. Arguably the division of Italy into French, Austrian, and Neapolitan spheres dates back even further, to the end of the Italian War in the 1700s. Though Xavier’s men have held their defensive line, there are many who feel like Padania could be under threat if fighting breaks out of the mountains. This has caused great angst in Vienna, the court of Emperor Charles VIII finding itself unsure of whether to cheer or condemn the invasion of Padania as rich Lombardy sits as another territory claimed by vehement pan-nationalists.

[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)

[Spamage]

1875 Midturn Update

The Great War!
Prussia Dragged into European Conflict

(Source: Made by Me)

   It was no surprise, given Prussian nominal aid to the Netherlands, that Scandinavia and the Habsburg Monarchy would lash out against a resurgent Berlin. Indeed, when the secretly planned “Operation Gustav Adolphus” was launched against the Kingdom of Prussia at the beginning of the year, Berlin had likewise already been mobilizing, likely for its own surprise attack on the Scandinavian-Austrian alliance (though the government used war with the Ottomans as its primary excuse).
   Attacks commenced on all sides. Prussia remembered how its men had been encircled in the west during the First Great Eastern War and was not fooled by Dutch probing attacks ahead of news of a rapid assault down the Elbe. Leaving behind a small rearguard to be overwhelmed by the Dutch forces, most of the Prussian “volunteers” made a dash back towards Hanover with all due haste. Much of Groningen was retaken by the Dutch, the entrenched war once again turning mobile in almost an instant. Instead, the Prussian “volunteers”, soon rechristened the Army of Oldenburg, attacked the Scandinavian forces that had been aiming to engage the Army of Hanover. They proved unsuccessful in reversing the advance, only in slowing it. The Army of Hanover, meanwhile, had already fled the region to defend the largely undermanned Berlin at the start of the fight. Though they would slow the Scandinavian assault, much of the old Kingdom of Hanover was occupied by the invaders.
   The main Scandinavian assault was directed down the Elbe, aiming to cut Prussia in half and allow for both the Armies of Hanover and the Dutch volunteers to be surrounded in the east. Hamburg held out in a state of siege, the Scandinavians bypassing that city in their dash south. It was on the Elbe the horrors of the Americas entered the European conflict, Queen Charlotte’s men or the Hohenzollerns of Quebec having given Berlin knowledge of chemical weapons. At the Battle of Magdeburg mustard gas caught the Scandinavians off-guard and forced them into a temporary retreat amid heavy casualties. Still, by midyear, Scandinavia seems poised to complete its division of Prussia with a summer campaign down the Elbe seeming inevitable. Most agree that the Prussian Army of Oldenburg has at least been confined to the west, even if the Army of Hanover was moved to defend the capitol.
   Although it has not been publicly stated, it was clear from events in the south that Prussia had already been planning an assault on the Habsburg Monarchy in Silesia, having massed 43 divisions along that front. At the first news of the Scandinavian assault, the Prussian generals ordered an immediate commencement of operations, dubbing the campaign “Operation Friedrich der Groβ” in a deliberate mockery of the Scandinavians. It is obvious that supplies had already been allocated, the Habsburg defenders being overwhelmed by a Prussian push into Silesia. The Habsburgs were routed at the Battle of Glogau, which left the flat region open to Prussian assault. Silesia, that rich province, had been Prussian for roughly a century between the War of the Austrian Succession to the Great Eastern War. It was partially back in Berlin’s hands once more. While some locals praised the return of Prussian rule, many lamented that yet again they were caught up in the power politics of Berlin and Vienna. Still, with Breslau falling to the Prussian assault, the Habsburgs lost a key city to their north as the frontline in that area became vulnerable.
   Smaller engagements would occur elsewhere. As fighting commenced, the Prussian fleet in the Baltic Sea was swept into port by aggressive Scandinavian naval maneuvering. Pomerania fell to Prussian occupation, having been left largely undefended by Stockholm. Further afield, the Prussian Cape Colony immediately seized all Scandinavian and Austrian ships at port, the Prussian African fleet bringing trade to both Berlin and Stockholm to a complete halt and leaving their colonies extremely vulnerable.
   Fighting has been brutal and nasty. Both the Scandinavians and Prussians have destroyed infrastructure, the Prussians aiming to halt the march down the Elbe. In Schleswig-Holstein, the Scandinavian supply depots have been damaged by German and pro-Prussian saboteurs. The Prussian civilian population, meanwhile, shows definite signs it has been indoctrinated after 30 years under the autocratic Frederick IV, many of the young men fanatically loyal to the King and his military regime, willing to sacrifice themselves in his name. The fact that Stockholm can be painted to have conducted the attack "unprovoked", as Frederick IV stated in an emergency speech to the nation, has only emboldened the morale of the defenders. Suicide bombers have killed several low-ranking Scandinavian officers. The Dutch have found parts of Groningen either spoiled or booby trapped by the retreating Prussians.
   Saxony, which had seriously considered intervention on the side of the Austrian alliance was terrified by the rapid Prussian gains in Silesia and instead reaffirmed its neutrality in this new war. King Albert of Saxony declared that no foreign soldiers would be welcome on Saxon soil and that he would only intervene if attacked. This undercut Scandinavian hopes of completely encircling the Prussians, Saxony now a barrier preventing the linking of Habsburg and Scandinavian soldiers.
   When Scandinavian soldiers crossed into Prussia in late February, the French War of the Regency expanded into a broader Great War. White France, Prussia, and Naples stand against Blue France, the Habsburg Monarchy, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands. Some have made broader links between Britain and Scandinavia, Naples and the Francophone powers, and the Ottoman assault on Prussia/Naples to argue that all of these various conflicts are in fact linked in one massive war on a scale never before seen. Regardless, fighting erupted almost immediately and would spread throughout the globe, Berlin not taking kindly to the aggressive actions of Stockholm.

Triumph of the Catholic Cause
Liberal Government in Spain Collapses, Civil War Finally At an End

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   By 1875 the situation of the Liberals in Spain was increasingly dire. Save for Cartagena, most major cities in Iberia were under the control of Nouvilas and his Catholic Republican backers. Still, Francisco Serrano and his men were determined to fight on. 20 Liberal divisions (11 Spanish and 9 Austrian) stood against a combined 51 divisions (13 Spanish, 25 Brazilian, and 13 Portuguese). Despite their devotion to the cause, the Liberals were increasingly doomed by sheer numbers. As the situation worsened, so too did desertions from Serrano’s forces. A March offensive by Nouvilas saw Jaen fall by March 12th, Granada by March 20th, and Chincilla by April 1st. Serrano and the Liberals were simply unable to fill all the holes that had been poked in the front. With Murcia and Cartagena itself under threat, morale in the Liberal forces collapsed, Serrano’s army deteriorating, only the Habsburg soldiers remaining in defense of his cause.
   The Austrians had limits too though, many soldiers openly grumbling about being left to die in a foreign land. Serrano, recognizing the situation as hopeless, had the Austrians evacuate to Gibraltar. A proud Spaniard, he announced he would never leave the country for exile and would share the fate of his followers. Still, many of his ministers and loyalists would join the flight of the Austrians from Cartagena to Gibraltar, the Catholic Republicans only too happy to see these poles of opposition preemptively removed. Murcia fell on April 10th, leaving Cartagena as the sole remaining outpost of the Liberal republic that had been declared 6 years prior.
   There was not even an attempt to defend the city, the region collapsing into anarchy as Nouvilas personally oversaw the final offensive on April 21st. In the chaos much of the town was damaged. Serrano, rather than face execution, shot himself in his office, his body being found by his own men. What little fighting that took place was over within 48 hours. The remnants of Serrano’s general staff were largely rounded up over the next few days as the dust settled, as were those in his regime that had stayed until the end. After 4 wretched years of fighting, the Spanish Civil War at last seems to have concluded. Now, the Catholic Republican cause victorious, the realm must be rebuilt, order restored, and (no doubt) a new ideology imposed upon the Spanish nation.
   In victory Nouvilas has shown no desire to compromise or moderate himself. Those officials loyal to the old regime were condemned by him in his victory speech as traitors and executed shortly thereafter. Still, given his military supremacy, foreign backing, and the conflagration in the rest of Europe, the world can only watch as Spain enters a new era. In less than a decade much of the lands of the old Spanish Empire (Spain proper, Peru, Chile) have been utterly conquered by the Catholic Republican cause and for the first time since just after the First Great Eastern War a Catholic Republican state sits unchallenged in Europe proper.

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1875 News of the World

The Great War: Death Stalks Europe

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Death of a Titan
   Prince Xavier was a marked man. It would become evident throughout the first months of the new year that someone, or several individuals, wanted him dead. An Italian nationalist fired upon the prince in Turin on January 5th, his gun jamming. He was arrested and swiftly executed, not naming his benefactor. A woman carrying explosive devices within the prince’s staff was arrested on January 20th, professing Catholic Republican sympathies under torture. A banker from New Holland met with the Xavier regarding a loan on February 15th, pulling a pistol out of his hollowed-out ledger before being subdued by the prince’s guards. An eastern European migrant threw an explosive device when the prince was touring Genoa on March 3rd. All of these attempts took a toll on the prince, his health declining as he became despondent over his fate. Increasingly, Xavier refused to be seen in public, for fear of being shot at. Even as his men made gains in France, paranoia over what would be coming next preoccupied the prince.
   It would all be resolved on April 5th, a massive explosion destroying the residence of Xavier in the middle of the night, instantly killing the prince, twenty guards, and his servants. No human remains were uncovered in the carnage, save for Xavier’s right arm, his rings still on his fingers. The lodging was completely levelled by a gunpowder explosion, persons unknown having used the tunnel system dating back to the French siege of 1706 to transport the weapon clandestinely throughout the city.
   Xavier’s death represents the end of an era. The last surviving child of King Louis XVIII and the beloved Queen Marie Fernandina, he earned his fame early with his refusal to evacuate his holdings in Italy during the Year of Revolutions in 1837. For the next 40 years he was a titan in French politics, governing the Kingdom on behalf of his nephew from the death of his mother in 1852. The years of his reign were ones of growth and recovery, King Louis XIX demonstrating his favor towards his uncle by creating the cadet branch of Bourbon-Savoie. Still, with scandal bringing down his allies in government, Xavier could only step aside as Charlotte seized the reins of power beginning in 1859. Even as the unofficial leader of the opposition though, he attracted respect and commanded authority as the senior male of the Royal Family. Named godfather to Louis XX, his devotion to duty and the dynasty ultimately led him to ignite the War of the Regency in 1873, fed up with Charlotte’s antics at long last. With his death, a vacuum was evident in the Liberal-Conservative cause.
   Within hours of Xavier’s death, his 38-year-old son Prince Amadeus of Bourbon-Savoie declared himself as his father’s heir and claimed the regency for himself. While the rump Liberal-Conservative National Assembly declared their loyalty to Amadeus, as did the Blue Army, both institutions showed less deference to their new leader than they had his father. Among the common men, the situation was even worse. Confusion erupted in the ranks, the reason for fighting suddenly seeming more muddled. While Charlotte was absolutely detested by most, Amadeus lacked the personal appeal and charisma of his father. Could a first cousin-once removed really have more of a claim to the regency than the mother of the King? Desertions ticked up, some finding the situation increasingly hopeless. Still, though, Amadeus vowed to fight on, even as Padania itself, the supposed heartland of the Blue cause, was riven by infighting. Confidence in Amadeus’ regime would only be further shaken when it was revealed that the prince had evacuated his wife Antonia of Spain and his three children to his sister’s protection in Vienna (wife of the Habsburg Crown Prince). 

The Fight for France
   France, the onetime hegemon of Europe, would remain immersed in violence in 1875. Fighting would be particularly brutal in the north of the country, but with the employment of chemical weapons by the Whites, nasty scuffles have occurred on every front. As the year ends the Blues seem off-balance and potentially weak, while the Habsburg invasion has been forced back, events in the Rhineland forcing the Austrians to reconsider their next moves. All the same, the damage to the infrastructure, economy, and national bonds of France over the past few years have been incalculable. Famine stalks the land, particularly in the south and east of the country, which have become battlefields in the larger war.
   Seeing the west as fatally exposed to an Austrian offensive, Charlotte ordered a near abandonment of the south in a bid to protect Paris and her powerbase. 75 White divisions were relocated from the south, rushing to intercept an Austrian attempt to seize the capital in a bold spring offensive. The Habsburg forces made it as far west as Troyes on June 15th before White forces had gathered sufficient strength to bring the advance to a standstill. White defense was hampered by an attempt from the remains of Xavier’s forces in Brittany to make one more bid for Paris from the west, some of the 74 divisions being required to repel that assault.
   Once the Austrian offensive had stalled though, the Whites began a brutal counteroffensive. A noxious mix of chlorine and mustard gas was blown into the Habsburg positions, presaging an assault by the much larger white forces commencing in early July. Indeed, gas and numbers would be Charlotte’s two trump cards throughout the summer. By late July they were at Chaumont. In August, with the reignition of Rhenish chaos to the northeast, Charlotte’s men bearing down from the west, and severely outnumbered, the Austrian commanders elected on a defensive positioning, using natural barriers and entrenchment on the western front to prevent any flanking. The Moselle Line has been established, from the Swiss border arcing northeast to Colbenz and Siegen. With ample experience facing gas attacks, their effectiveness against the Habsburg Army has diminished, countermeasures being invented to alleviate the worst of results.
   Charlotte’s withdrawal of so many men from the southern front would be a boon for the ailing Blue cause. Desperate for a victory given the collapsing situation in Padania, failure to capture Paris from Brittany, and mass desertions, Amadeus and his men regained some ground in the region. Yet, the win was somewhat hollow. Most Blue soldiers seemed preoccupied by their families and situations at home, desertions continuing apace as the year reached its close. The optics of a Habsburg march on Paris, given the lack of other foreign troops in France proper, have not helped matters. Pamphlets circulated blood-libeling Austrian soldiers as drinking the blood of French children and branding the Habsburg Emperor as “The Sodomite of Salzburg”: a godless heathen who has been known to have young boys abducted so he can sodomize them and then have them discreetly murdered afterward.
 While the gain of territory is a hopeful sign that there remains some fighting spirit among the Blues, Southern France is far from Paris and Charlotte has greatly consolidated her position in the north. With supply lines to Vienna under threat, Charlotte’s ships controlling the seas, and Xavier now dead, there are concerns about the longevity of the Blue movement without aid from Austria or some other power.

War in Silesia
   Vienna’s decision to relocate the Army of Austria to the frontline was wise, the Prussian advance stalling in the late summer and even being pushed back in some places. Though the two forces were at numerical parity, and the Prussians would seek to counter the Habsburgs with chemical assaults, Oppeln was restored to Austrian control. Fighting has grown stationary, stretching from the Saxon to the Polish border in a line just south of Breslau. While the Prussians seem determined to protect Brandenburg and the homeland at all costs, the Habsburgs demand revenge and the elimination of the Prussian menace once and for all.

Padanian Civil War
   With the death of Xavier, a man beloved in Padania for his long devotion to that realm, northern Italy found itself divided. Whatever his pedigree, Amadeus of Bourbon-Savoie did not inspire the same kind of devotion as his father. The other Bourbon branches in Genoa and Modena likewise lacked a leader with charisma and popular support. These families, despite ruling over Genoa, Piedmont, and Modena for almost a whole century still remained culturally French and largely indifferent to their subjects. Xavier had been the one exception.
   The Italian pan-nationalists, who had largely been quiet since the start of the War of the Regency, finally saw their chance to strike. Thus far in the war they had nominally backed Xavier, recognizing the prince’s personal popularity as too big an obstacle to be overcome. Now, the situation was markedly different. Well supplied by the Neapolitans, all they needed was the proper moment.
   A series of riots in Genoa in May, ostensibly to protest supply shortages and poor living conditions due to the civil war, escalated until the Duke of Genoa and his family were forced to flee the city on May 22nd. The standard of Luigi II was torn down, the Padanian flag itself being desecrated. In Turin, Italian nationalists vacated the Padanian Assembly on May 30th, arguing that the body ought to dissolve itself. While the majority loyal to Amadeus refused to do so, the nationalists renounced their oath to Luigi II and declared Charles of Naples as the sovereign of Padania. Legions and garrisons all throughout the kingdom, largely resistant to orders by Amadeus to relocate to the frontlines in France proper, joined the rising. The City Council of Genoa, which established itself within hours, called on the people of Padania to throw off French shackles and unite with their Italian brethren. Thus, a new wave of violence erupted, a civil war within a civil war. Padania, loyal to Xavier, collapsed in on itself over what to do after his passing. Amadeus and his men secured Turin, brutally slaughtering a mob stirred up by nationalist sentiments, even deploying gas. The pro-Neapolitan forces won Genoa, Alba, Asti, and Marengo. To the north, exiled Italian nationalists crossed from Switzerland via the Alps and began risings in those remote regions.
   A clear class divide emerged, the poor in both urban and rural areas backing Italian nationalism, while the nobles and bourgeoise (each class with extensive ties to France for different reasons) backed the established state. The middle classes are divided, their French education clashing with lingering Italian heritage and nationalism. Still, not wanting to risk the collapse of his cause due to betrayal, Amadeus has relocated his Court to Avignon, alongside his national assembly.
   This chaos in Savoy left the Austrian frontlines a bit exposed and the Habsburg General’s staff, unwilling to allow their foes to attack from the rear, cautiously withdrew along the front in good order, allowing Neapolitan soldiers to punch north on the western half of the front, linking up with the rebel-held territories. Habsburg officers have argued it would have been imprudent to maintain the frontline with enemy rebel units active in the rear. Further to the east, fighting once more surrounded Bologna and Ravenna, Naples making slight gains along this front as well. Although the crisis in Padania has been frustrating for the Austrians, it has not instilled a sense of panic, most generals confident that, should the worst come to pass, the Po will serve as a key means of defense against any Neapolitan counter-offensive.

Dutch Revolution
   Queen Charlotte was not a woman to take kindly to betrayal. Infuriated by Dutch involvement in the Great War, and sensing a narrow window to seize naval control over the North Sea, the French fleet was deployed against the Dutch. Relying on existing naval doctrine, in addition to information gleaned from the British bombardments of North America, Charlotte’s ships brushed aside the newly completed Dutch vessels off the coast of Zeeland in May 1875. They would be joined by Prussian ships operating out of Oldenburg and Wilhelmshaven. Within days the Dutch fleet had either been put to flight (taking refuge in Norway) or sunk. The coast of the Netherlands was left vulnerable to indiscriminate bombardment moving forward. With White landing parties seizing Texel as a home base, even the Markemeer would become a French lake.
   French shelling has been extremely targeted, blasting the dikes and historic coastal defenses the Dutch have employed for centuries to keep back the tides. Newly constructed spillways and canals, constructed due to the growing field of hydrology, were not spared. Floodwaters have poured into Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland, the North Sea relentlessly reclaiming the land taken over previous centuries. Tens of thousands of acres of agricultural land have been devastated, thousands dislocated or drowned, and economic devastation taken hold. Thousands starved throughout the second half of 1875, the roads into Gelderland and North Brabant swelling with refugees fleeing to higher ground. Holland in particular has been greatly submerged, centuries-old dikes falling prey to modern weaponry. Though not an invasion by land, as the Dutch have already experienced thrice within the past century and a half, the French bombardment may have been something even more devastating.
    Nor would the cities be spared. The Hague, Leiden, Haarlem, and Amsterdam itself proving tempting targets for French guns. Thousands of Dutch refugees, fleeing the damage in the countryside, had crowded the streets of the urban areas, the roads westward either flooding or filled with other civilians. Thus, the French and Prussian shells fell upon crowded urban areas, inflicting tremendous damage. The Dutch fighting spirit began to rapidly evaporate, the misery compounding as Amsterdam itself saw its dikes and water defenses damaged, floodwaters slowly creeping into the city. Evacuation from these wretched cities looked borderline impossible. Civilian vessels attempting to flee were shelled. Misery was the order of the day.
   King William IV himself was killed on July 8th, 1875 when one of the shells struck the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. William IV had refused to evacuate, his death throwing the Dutch government into chaos. Ostensibly his heir would be his 12-year-old son William-Frederick, but the question of the regency remained open. The new king’s mother, Princess Elena of Prussia, was a nonstarter given her brother’s role in the suffering of the Dutch people. Thus, Carolina of Scandinavia, the child’s paternal grandmother, was named regent. One of her first acts was to ferry the young king out of Amsterdam under the cover of darkness, King William IV having not yet even been buried.
   The food supply had already been precarious. With the loss of so much farmland and mass dislocations, famine began to spread throughout the Low Countries. While supplies from occupied Flanders would be redirected northwards, it was insufficient. Access to seafood or resupply over the water, were obviously limited, given the presence of the enemy. Thus, matters began to rapidly evolve, hungry people no longer willing to abide by the status quo. With the government possessing little in the way of legitimacy, and the people hungry, it only took weeks for things to spiral out of control.
   Rumors of hoarding in Arnhem caused consternation among the starving masses in September 1875 as it became clear the harvest had been utterly insufficient and a hard winter was in store. There was a secondary dimension to this, many of the Calvinist refugees resenting the Catholics of Arnhem and the other inland provinces that had been spared the worst. As for the hoarding, stories spread that food was being sent to the Dutch Army rather than the starving people in the Netherlands,. It was not a wholly untrue suspicion, though the degree was overstated. A mob of refugee mothers flooded the Arnhem city center and demanded an increase in rations, which had been cut to 500 calories a day. Dispersed by the police, the next day saw an even greater mob, demands growing even more strident.
   Calls were made to end the war, further limit the powers of the monarchy, and for the government to immediately seize the harvest from private farmers. On September 16th similar risings erupted among the refugees in Zwolle, followed even then by disturbances throughout the south in the recently conquered Breda and ‘s-Hertogenbosch. People’s anger was not helped by news that Dutch allies had employed chemical weapons against civilians. The growing Dutch socialist movement, sensing an opportunity, joined the cause. Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis, a former pastor turned Marxist atheist, led calls for the people to rise up and seize their destiny. Only through direct action could the establishment be pressured into granting concessions. Nieuwenhuis lambasted the monarchy as sympathetic to Prussia, even in face of the recent assault, attacking Queen Mother Elena with great vehemence. Socialist-backed strikes erupted in the factories, workers demanding pay raises to meet the rising costs of food.
   As regent, Queen Dowager Carolina of Scandinavia refused to yield. 73-years-old and a member of the Dutch royal family for more than 40 years, she believed that the Dutch people would never resort to such radical moves. Besides, on the military front, the Dutch had not done half bad in 1875. With Charlotte throwing the kitchen sink at the Habsburgs and Xavier’s northern forces, the Dutch Army had been able to advance as far south as Brussels, liberating most of the Flemish areas so long coveted by the Netherlands. Indeed, in her view, it seemed that a bunch of radical ideologues were seeking to undermine Dutch goals on the cusp of victory. Still, the fact that the new King was a nephew to the Prussian king did no favors for royal popularity.
   She was blind to the true suffering of the people however, ensconced as she was with the rest of the royal family in the safety of Nijmegen. Several divisions sent to restore order to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gelderland and North Brabant did seek to crack down on the protests. Dutch soldiers opened fire on what the government termed “seditionists and traitors” in Zutphen. Yet, the dead from this instance were hailed as martyrs and the soldiers, often seeing people of their same social class dislocated and starving, didn’t have the heart to keep up the pressure. Matters came to a head on October 2nd, 1875 when several divisions in Arnhem turned on the high command, to the applause of the crowd. From there, what had been a trickle of defection became a flood. Nieuwenhuis and the socialists declared a new Dutch Republic, one based on socialist principles, to thunderous applause on October 7th. In his announcement, he called for a just peace, redistribution of food to the needy, and the end of the old order. Proclaiming the Dutch Revolution, he has argued that elections must be suspended until the nation can be made ready for the return of proper democracy. In the battered provinces of Holland, Friesland, and Zeeland, the rebel flag was waved instantly, the people desperate for any sort of relief from bombardment. When Queen Carolina was advised by her generals that they could no longer guarantee the personal safety of the King, given the clearly mixed loyalty of the troops, she saw the writing on the wall. With the Rhineland aflame, France still hostile, the Dutch people up in arms, the only place to flee would be to Scandinavia via occupied Prussia. Although young King William-Frederick would not formally abdicate, the Dutch royal family fled the nation on October 16th, 1875, followed by many ministers, generals, and elites.
   The army would have a mixed reaction the events back home. While most soldiers sided with the Dutch Revolution, having received mortifying letters of dislocation and famine from their relatives, the generals were more suspicious. Still, as the soldiers began to refuse to engage in offensive operations, began organizing soldier’s unions, and actively defied orders, most officers meekly submitted. For the people, the Dutch Revolution has not alleviated the rough winter. Tens of thousands have starved, even as the socialist government promised relief. While food stores have been raided and reallocated, much to the consternation of the farmers and merchants, it has proven insufficient.
   The declaration of the Dutch Republic is a watershed moment in Europe. Socialism, so recently first included in the government of Queen Charlotte, has utterly taken control over its first European state. Given the dire situation in much of the continent, there are fears it could spread. Already left-wing newspapers in Naples, Vienna, Stockholm, and Paris have been seen hailing the “bravery” of Niewenhuis and his new government. Karl Marx, a political philosopher in London and inspiration for the Dutch Republic, was been effusive in his praise, calling it the first sign of the Proletariat Rising. 

[Spamage]

Scandinavian Invasion of Prussia
   Scandinavian commanders would keep up the pressure on the Prussians in the latter half of the year. With the Prussian Army of Oldenburg retreating into the Holy Roman Empire, the Army of Bremen was able to make great gains across the west. Indeed, the Prussians largely left Hanover and Brunswick to their fate, the government focusing on defending Brandenburg proper. Thus, the continued push down the Elbe of the Armies of Jutland and Schleswig went largely unchallenged, those forces turning west to occupy more of the region.
   The siege of Hamburg would be a black mark on Scandinavia. The Prussians were determined to die for their king, refusing to yield even after the degree of Scandinavian success in North Germany became evident. Frustrated with continued resistance, and seeing a potential means of breaking German stubbornness, General Max Müller ordered the use of poison gas on the besieged city. This occurred on September 10th, 1875, the first indiscriminate use of poison gas in Europe on civilians. Thousands of innocents were killed in the bombardments over the next few days, soldiers alongside numerous innocents in the wrong place at the wrong time. The awful weapon did the trick though, the resistance beginning to stutter, the last pockets being beaten by September 24th. Scandinavia’s actions would be widely condemned among neutral powers (Saxony, Switzerland, and Poland in particular), while even the Austrians would privately express distaste for the move. In Prussia, meanwhile, Frederick IV and his cadre of followers used it as evidence that Queen Catherine II and her bloodthirsty Vikings would stop at nothing in their pillaging of Germany.
   Indeed, the atrocity at Hamburg would embolden the growing resistance to Scandinavian occupation. Northern Germany’s geography was less than ideal for any sort of active insurgency. Instead, loyalists to Berlin would engage in subterfuge. General Muller, for his role in the use of gas in Hamburg, was murdered on November 20th in Lubeck. Prussians behind enemy lines have destroyed bridges and overturned railway tracks in a bid to hamper the occupation. In cities, soldiers have been murdered by prostitutes, food has been poisoned, and snipers using the anonymity of the crowd to often escape capture. This, naturally, has infuriated the Scandinavians, who have been less than generous with the locals as a response, using brutality, terror, and threats of chemical weapons to enforce compliance. In short, the war in Prussia is a wretched affair for defender and attacker alike.

The Baltic Offensive
   Whatever the losses it had incurred in the west, the Prussians were determined to bring the fight to the Scandinavians as well. Despite all of the clashes going on in Hanover and the west, the Baltic states remained vulnerable and lightly defended. A region already prone to separatism, as evidenced by the election of nationalists to the Riksdag, Frederick IV saw opportunity there, ordering 5 divisions from the former Army of Pomerania into Lithuania. The Prussians faced little resistance from the locals, who were upset with Stockholm over recruitment drives. Meanwhile the established Baltic German nobility were positively enraptured, rising up in favor of their Prussian brethren. Riga fell on July 20th, traitors within the walls betraying the city. Prussian operations would conclude for the year with the fall of Dorpat on September 20th, the Scandinavians having been evicted from all of the Baltic states save for Estonia. 
   In October 1875 King Frederick IV declared the establishment of the autonomous duchies of Lithuania, Courland, and Livonia. Though the titles have been left deliberately vacant until the war is concluded, this blatant bid to curry favor with the Balts has seen some success, volunteers from the various national groups joining the occupiers to fight against Stockholm. Though many have naturally remained wary of the institution of Prussian authoritarianism, especially given years under the democratic Scandinavian system, thus far the occupiers have demonstrated a light touch.

War on the Rhine
   The Holy Roman Empire may have been at peace for a quarter century, but the people had not forgotten. The Rhineland, where King William of Wurttemberg and his men had struggled to forge a third path for the German people, nursed nostalgia its brief moment in the sun. Though the revolutionary Kingdom of the Rhine had collapsed to a Habsburg offensive in 1849, the memories remained. In the aftermath of that war, during the Great Remediatization of the Empire in 1849, Emperor Francis II had completely neutered any opposition to Habsburg control among the political class, establishing a loyal cadre of minor knights, nobles and free cities by dividing much of the Empire into microstates. The bond between the Emperor and the Imperial smallholders was reaffirmed as recently as 1873, when Vienna bailed out the bankrupt princes and stabilized the economic situation of the elites.
   The common people did not necessarily the same, however. While the past 40 years had brought great advances to the once ruined Rhineland, the region beginning to teem once more with industry and economic growth, politically, it was left as a minor backwater. The Rhineland held none of the Six Major Principalities (Palatinate, Hesse, Ansbach, Bayreuth, Wurzburg, and Baden). Instead, any representation in the still autocratic Holy Roman Empire occurred on the local level, through minor princes and knights who were largely absent in the day-to-day governance of their holdings, the allure of Vienna and Imperial glory leading many to treat their territories like distant rental properties. Even so, under normal circumstances most people were content with the status-quo, not seeing active opposition as worth it in the long run. 1875 was not normal circumstances. France was aflame, the economy in shambles, and the old order under threat. Thus, with the Prussian advance into the region, there was ample tinder for unrest.
   28 divisions from the Prussian Army of Oldenburg, seeing they were soon to be cut off, embarked on a bold strike south into the Holy Roman Empire in the second half of 1875. While this allowed for the Scandinavians to overrun much of what remained of Hanover, it kept the Prussian forces from being surrounded and eliminated. Charlotte, meanwhile, ordered Charles of Wurttemberg to be smuggled into the region. Charles, the son and heir of the late exiled King William of the Rhine who had so valiantly fought against the Austrians, was to be a legitimizing source. He proclaimed the rebirth of his father’s revolution and vowed that the Rhenish people would stand tall once more.
   Since the Remediatization of 1849, the Holy Roman Empire had been largely left demilitarized, only the Six Major Principalities possessing any sort of small defense force. Needless to say, the smallholdings could do little in the face of 300,000 Prussian soldiers pouring into the region. Of the few knights and minor princes present in their own holdings, most fled to the relative safety of Munich or Vienna. Recklinghausen and Dusseldorf fell in September, Cologne falling to the Prussian troops in early October, where Charles was crowned King Charles of the Rhine on October 7th, 1875 in the cathedral. As the Prussians occupied the region, frustrated locals lashed out against the nobles and imperial bureaucracy. Manors and country estates, often abandoned in haste, were looted. Young men, eager to win glory for themselves and their homeland, joined the ranks of the skeletal Army of the Rhineland.
   Although the new Rhenish rebellion caused alarm in Vienna and along the French front, no wave of popular unrest like in 1836 has been observed further east or south as of yet. Wurttemberg, the ancestral home of King Charles of the Rhine, remains stable. Furthermore, though the Rhenish rising will likely be a headache for the Austrians, the success of the Scandinavians in Hanover has at least ensured that the French and Prussians have largely been cut off from each other. The Six Major Principalities and Imperial officials have all condemned the invasion of the Rhineland and treason by those joining the Prussians, but have proven largely powerless to do anything about it themselves, especially with the situation in the Netherlands now making many of these rulers suspicious of their own soldiers.

Great Turkish War: An Empire on the Brink

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   Seeing weakness, the various foes of the Ottoman Empire pounced. From Tangiers to Tiflis, the Ottoman Empire would be placed on the defense, attempting to salvage a desperate situation as enemy soldiers poured across the border. By the end of the year, despite successes in Africa, the Ottomans have been utterly routed in the Balkans and Anatolia, pent-up political chaos erupting to topple the established government. Sultan Murad is dead. Istanbul, Mecca, and Jerusalem are lost. Traitors have risen within the borders.

Balkan War
   Though the Balkan Princes had all launched operations with their newly-created military forces, it was obvious to most observers that the theater would only truly be decided by the number of men and weapons Istanbul and Moscow were willing to devote to the front. Tremendous resources were expended by both sides. With the Battle of Novi Pazar in the west, the Ottomans would find themselves confined to Albania while the sheer weight of allied numbers, coupled with flagging Turkish morale, would see Istanbul itself under threat in the late summer.
   The Turks opened the campaign with three aggressive assaults, aiming to knock out Bulgaria and Serbia before Russia could provide suitable aid. The Bulgarians in particular fell victim to a punishing assault, their meager forces collapsing and the Ottomans making substantial gains in the western half of that realm, where there was a substantial Turkish population. King William Henry of Bulgaria fell into Ottoman captivity following the brief Battle of Haskovo, paralyzing his infant government as his ministers fled towards the Danube. Due to his capture, Bulgaria’s contribution to the latter phase of the 1875 campaign would be quite limited.
   Yet, the closer the Ottomans got to the Danube, the more difficult the advance got. More than 70 Russian divisions were mobilized, transiting across Romania with the permission of that government and entering the frontlines on the side of the Bulgarians. By June the situation began to turn. The combined Russo-Bulgarian Army retook Shumen in late June. Burgas fell by July, the Ottoman situation becoming increasingly perilous. Determined to defend Istanbul at all costs, the Ottomans organized a defensive line stretching from Feret to Vasiliko, attempting to keep Istanbul out of the hands of the Russians. It was clearly Suvorin’s target, demonstrated when an attempted naval assault by the Russians against the city was halted by the Ottoman Black Sea fleet. Yet, the need to relocate men to protect the Turkish heartland increasingly weakened the frontlines.
   Further to the west, a secondary Ottoman operation was launched against Greece and Serbia, but it was evident from the outset that the Turks had underestimated the size of the enemy forces, which would soon be bolstered further by 30 Russian divisions. The Greeks held back an initial Ottoman assault, but found themselves too weak to launch any sort of counteroffensive. Instead, the government of King Constantine I was forced to make due with the capture of numerous Aegean islands, the Greek locals either rising up or being liberated in large part due to the deterring presence of the Scandinavian fleet.
   The Serbs were almost caught unawares as well, having devoted ample resources to Bosnia instead of their south. They were saved solely by the arrival of the Russians. At the brutal Battle of Novi Pazar, the Ottoman invasion of Serbian territory was reversed and then some. King Maximilian was aided by tacit support from most Austrians, who desired to see the Habsburg secure his realm. Though unsanctioned by the Austrian government, several dozen retired Habsburg generals and soldiers have made their way to Belgrade to advise the new king. With the Ottomans on the retreat after Novi Pazar, Montenegro and Kosovo fell into Serbian hands.
   In Bosnia, the Illyrians focused their efforts of freeing the predominantly Catholic regions, while the Serbs likewise sought to free their Orthodox brethren. The Muslim Bosnians, well-aware that the collapse of Ottoman influence could pose a grave threat, have not stood idly by, arming themselves and repelling several attempts at Sarajevo. Though they carry the banner of the Sultan, these Bosnian soldiers have demanded a far greater role in the Ottoman state moving forward, should the Christian upstarts be chastened.

Iranian Invasion and the Caucuses
   When Sultan Murad ordered the assault on Neapolitan and Prussian positions in North Africa, he had been unaware that Iran and Prussia had signed a defensive pact the year prior, obliging either side to come to the aid of the other if attacked. Bound by his agreement, and determined to finish the Ottoman Sultanate once and for all, Naser al-Din Shah declared war. The Turks were caught totally unprepared as a massive threat emerged from their east, that front utterly exposed. Disaster after disaster would strike the Ottomans as the Qajars poured into Anatolia and the Levant. While Ottoman reinforcements from the Balkans would slow their advance, it would not be enough to offset Iranian gains.
   The Iranian invasion coincided with an aggressive Russian push into Georgia. 40 divisions of Suvorin’s men crossed the border into Caucasia, facing 20 entrenched Ottomans. The locals were hesitant to aid Russia, given the perceived betrayal, but hostility towards the Turks was more than evident. Defeated by the Russians at the Battle of Abasha, the Ottomans intended to wage a fierce resistance in the mountains. Indeed, they initially inflicted heavy casualties upon the far more numerous Russians before local opposition became too strong to endure. Fearing the collapse of Anatolia and being cut off from the capital, the Ottoman commanders in Georgia had not choice but to withdraw by early summer. They would attempt unsuccessfully to slow the Iranian gains in Anatolia over the remainder of the year.
   The coup de gras for Sultan Murad’s regime came when 30 Iranian divisions struck towards Ankara. The Turkish heartland of the empire, such an essential pillar of stability for the Ottoman state for the past four centuries, was helpless in the face of the enemy advance. Sivas fell after a brief siege in June, Adana and Kayseri falling in July. Ankara itself held out until the end of August. Despite a valiant effort by what was left of the Army of Georgia and scraped together emergency recruits, the Iranians could simply not be stopped. While the city was not a major one, its fall was symbolic of the utter collapse of the Ottoman position in Anatolia. How could the war be won when the heartland of the empire was in enemy hands? Even more disastrous was the fact that many Turkish forces now found themselves cut off from their allies.

Arabia and the Levant
   The second and third directions of the Iranian invasion would be into the Levant and Arabia. When news arrived that the Qajars had declared war on the Ottomans once more, both the Alawites in Syria and the Arabs of Jabbal Shammar declared their independence from Sultan Murad V and aided an aggressive Iranian incursion. 30 divisions pushed from eastern Syria at Deir al-zour into the largely undermanned Levant. The Syrian Arabs, already having been skeptical of Ottoman control, did nothing to slow the enemy advance. Aleppo and Homs fell in the early spring. Damascus, the historic center of the Umayyad Caliphate was taken by the Iranians on May 30th. From there they pressed unopposed into Palestine. At this point, with news of Arab revolts in the peninsula and the perilous position of Mecca and Medina, Arab risings occurred here as well. Promised independence and autonomy by none other than the distant French Queen Charlotte, thousands rose in the Holy Land, ejecting the Ottoman garrisons in advance of the Iranian invasion. Jerusalem raised the flag of rebellion by July 5th, its capture by enemies of the Sultan igniting doubts of Murad’s authority as Caliph. Although there are now numerous different Arab factions at arms, it is unclear whether a unified Arab state will be assembled in the region or if factionalism will cause them to keep one another at arm’s length.
   In Arabia itself, the Iranians aimed for Riyadh, aided by their Rashidi allies from the north. Local garrisons proved unable to defend the desert city, it falling to the Iranians on June 10th. The success of the Shi’ites, especially with the aid of the Rashidi dynasty, was too much for the Saudis in the south to bear. Emir Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Saud of Nejd saw an opening. Declaring the independence of his people from Ottoman rule, the power of the Empire seeming remote, he called the Sunni Wahhabis to arms in order to expel the heretics. The Arab tribes answered his call, some even defecting from the Rashidi’s in the north, and a concerted campaign against Iranian rule throughout the central Arabian desert has erupted. Even so, it would not be enough to prevent fateful events in Hejaz.
   Mecca and Medina, two of the holiest cities in Islam, were in Iranian sights. While two armies plunged into the Arab peninsula from El-Hasa, a third crossed the desert with great haste, aiming from those two sacred cities. Given careful orders not to cause damage, the Iranians found the sites defended only by local Hashemite troops. While the Sharif of Mecca put up an admirable fight, taking hundreds of Iranians down in his defense of the holy city, it was clear he was outmatched. The Hashemites have been forced from Mecca, fleeing to the north where they too have raised the banner of rebellion, calling on the Arabs to oppose both the Iranians and the Ottomans and seize their own destiny. Indeed, the fall of Mecca on October 12th, coming just days after the Russians had seized Istanbul, was seen as the death knell for Ottoman claims to the caliphate.

Egypt and North Africa
   Despite the disasters befalling the north, Africa would be a bright spot for the Ottoman Empire in 1875. With 20 Ottoman divisions remaining in Morrocco, the Prussians were forced to surrender, Governor Von Bismarck himself falling into Ottoman custody on June 11th. With the northern part of the region secured, the Ottomans turned south. At the Battle of Marrakesh on August 3rd the Moroccan Sultan and the best of his men fell to a Turkish assault, that city and the nationalist cause collapsing shortly thereafter. Even as worrisome stories reached the Moroccan Army from other fronts, General Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha could look with satisfaction on his gains and the elimination of both the Prussian and Moroccan nationalist threats. A loyalist to Murad V, when word reached Abdülkerim Nadir of the September Revolution, he would declare himself and his men for the old regime and the captured Sultan Mehmed V.
   In Egypt, the rebellion was on its last legs in 1875. With a concerted push, promises of pardons, and a lack of rebel supplies, King Ahmed I was forced to flee across the border into Scandinavian Sudan on August 2nd, 1875 as the last organized forces of the Egyptian rebels collapsed following defeat at the Battle of Esna. Even as the rest of the Ottoman lands fell to external threats, Egypt had been at long last subdued. Yet, given the instability of the Empire as a whole, and the fact that King Ahmed remains at large, the prospect of continued upheaval in the country does remain a very real possibility.

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September Revolution and Collapse
   When word reached Istanbul of the fall of Ankara, which symbolized the loss of much of the Turkish heartland, the generals at long last stepped in. With Anatolia looking lost, the Russians in total control of Georgia, the Indian Army in mutiny, and the Balkan situation seemingly dire, the situation demanded action. Sultan Murad V was found strangled by some sort of wire in his chambers on the morning of September 14th, a struggle having evidently taken place. No culprit was found. Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin, the Murad V’s 14-year-old son, was declared as Sultan Mehmed V by the palace officials within the day.   
   Yet, a cabal of generals led by Süleyman Hüsnü Pasha, challenged the succession, declaring themselves the Executive Regency Council. In addition to the support of the military, this reformist coup was backed by much of the remaining Ottoman civil society. Murad V’s moves had just alienated too many people. Young Sultan Mehmed V was placed under house arrest in Istanbul on September 18th. The new government declared a desire for peace, promised a constitution within the year, and released those imprisoned for sedition against the previous sultan. Any remaining vigor in the Ottoman war effort deflated, most people resigning themselves to defeat. Meanwhile, Algiers declared the new government illegitimate and renounced its status as nominal vassal to the Sultan, seeing it as a convenient way to exit the war.
 Sultan Murad V had been a man with vision and ambition, as had been evidenced the prior year by his involvement in North Africa and India. Yet, this boldness had left the realm vulnerable, allowing the Iranians and Russians to pounce on his overextended state. The Ottoman Empire had been placed in an unenviable position during his rule, all because of matters outside of his control. Machinations of the Russians, Scandinavian betrayal, and western indifference had combined to leave the Empire vulnerable and isolated. The concessions forced upon Murad V at the Treaty of Warsaw only had served to embolden the Ottoman Empire’s foes, who had wasted no time in following up their aggression once the guarantors (Austria and France) were distracted by developments elsewhere. With his death the Ottoman Empire sits on life support, prostrated before its enemies.
   The Russians achieved their long-desired breakthrough on the Balkan front on October 5th in the immediate aftermath of Murad’s death, Turkish will to fight flagging severely with the losses in Anatolia and disorder in Istanbul. A concerted push under the orders of Russian Field Marshal Dmitry Alekseyevich Milyutin at last seized the hollowed-out shell of Kirklareli. The months-old stationary front became mobile again in a matter of hours. Within hours it was clear Istanbul would fall. A chaotic mood took hold of the city, Süleyman Hüsnü Pasha ordering the government to reconvene in Smyrna. In fits of rage, Turkish mobs roamed the streets, slaughtering the Greek minority in droves as traitors, the Patriarch himself falling victim to the violence. The Russians reached the outskirts of Istanbul on October 8th, fighting commencing in the streets as nationalists sought to slow the advance by any means. Young Sultan Mehmed V was lost in the chaos, falling into Russian hands alongside the city as he made a bid to escape his captivity. King Willliam Henry of Bulgaria, meanwhile, was relocated to Smyrna. After two days of a cautious advance, Istanbul fell to Russian men it totality on October 10th.
   422 years after Sultan Mehmed II had won the city from the Byzantines, inaugurating an Ottoman golden age, the Fall of Constantinople had been avenged. In a deliberate move, one humiliating the largely Islamic Turkish onlookers, the first act of the occupiers was to hold a service of Thanksgiving in the Hagia Sophia. Russian propagandists have had a field day with the fall of Constantinople, some proclaiming Alexei Suvorin is the prophesized return of Emperor Constantine XI. Any concerns about the Third Great Eastern War in Russia proper have evaporated, the sheer glory of retaking Istanbul leading to a wave of nationalist and Orthodox fervor. Milyutin too has been praised, some openly wondering if he could potentially be a major Russian political figure moving forward.
    Beyond the symbolic importance, the fall of Istanbul to the Russians presents a major geopolitical development, Russia having largely taken control of the Straights of Dardanelles and guaranteed itself access to the Mediterranean. What would have undoubtedly caused great consternation in Europe before, and perhaps could again at some time in the future, passed with barely a notice, the upheaval throughout the world overshadowing this major occurrence.
   

A New Spain

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   On June 10th, 1875 Ramon Nouvilas declared the establishment of the Spanish Union. Here the Catholic Republican leader was able to wed his Catalan nationalism to the larger ideology for which he had fought. The historic Kingdom of Spain has been divided into a series of autonomous realms within a larger union. A central government, headed by Nouvilas a President of Spain, leads the nation from Barcelona, until a permanent capitol can be decided. Many have questioned whether it is worth rebuilding Madrid, that bastion of liberal sentiment and ill-located former royal capital.
   Nouvilas establish a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Deputies and the Cortes. Neither body would have elections. The House of Deputies consists of men appointed by the President, while the Cortes consists of 21 priests and bishops chosen by the respective regional governments (3 apiece). The presidency, Nouvilas’ role, has been given extensive powers. In addition to a lifetime appointment, the role has unlimited veto power, the ability to name judges, sole control over the military and diplomacy, as well as the right to fill clerical vacancies. Looking forward, Nouvilas has declared that the Cortes will elect his successor should he die or retire.
   Regional governments (dubbed republics) have been established, each headed by an archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, or bishop where no suitable archbishopric exists. The republics and their respective bishop are as follows: Catalonia (Barcelona), Aragon (Zaragoza), Navarre (Pamplona), Galicia (Santiago de Compostela), Andalusia (Cordoba), Castile-Leon (Burgos), and New Castile (Toledo).
   The first actions of the new government have been radical. Land reform has been declared, the largely liberal and royalist bourgeoise and magnates having their holdings confiscated and handed to the poor or regional powerbrokers. Nouvilas has declared mandatory conscription, bolstering the potential number of men to be called to arms. Emigres have been stripped of their citizenship and forbidden from returning to Spain. Education reform has seen greater involvement of the Church in education, curriculum for a new national school system mandating republican values and anti-noble sentiment. Trade unions have been permitted, another jab at the economic elites.
   Diplomatically, in a bid to restore peace as fast as possible, the Treaty of Valencia was signed with Naples, recognizing the loss of Sardinia and Corsica in exchange for the return of the Balaeric Islands. The Austrians at Gibraltar have been placed under a nominal siege, though the government shows little appetite for continued engagement against Vienna. Still, with little in the way of naval resupply, the Austrian situation has grown increasingly desperate. Andorra, the tiny state in the Pyrenees, has been declared an integral part of the Catalan Republic and annexed into the Spanish Union.

The War in India

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   The invaders would make continued progress in India during 1875, though the situation has changed markedly over the course of the year. Orders deemed suicidal from Istanbul have led to dissent in the Ottoman ranks, Mysore continues to grow largely unchallenged, and the Durrani have secured a significant propaganda victory with the fall of Delhi, even if it came at a major cost of manpower.

Turkish Mutiny
   India had proven to be a bright spot for the Ottoman government in 1874, this would not be the case in the following year. Matters came to a head early, Istanbul ordering 40 of the divisions that it had sent into India to march north, through the Durrani Empire and launch a strike at Russia from Central Asia. While the idea had merit in that it could potentially lead to a general Islamic rising among the Turkic groups, it was utterly impractical and local commanders rejected it out of hand. With the Suez shut, and the Scandinavians closing the Red Sea to Ottoman shipping, supply would be borderline impossible. Weapons would have to be shipped overland from Anatolia through the Levant to Yemen, where they would be embarked for Gujarat, unloaded, and then sent via the Hindu Kush into the Central Asian desert. Even supplying such a force via India proper would be difficult. This did not even take into consideration the fact that the Durrani Empire had not been consulted, lacked suitable infrastructure to transport so many men, and Central Asia was one of Russia’s most sparsely populated regions. In short, it was deemed madness by most observers.
   Major-General Osman Nuri Pasha, the head of the Ottoman Army of India, had been somewhat skeptical of the decision to invade India in the first place. The new orders to assault Central Asia, especially with communication and supply lines with Turkey utterly shattered, were impossible to follow. With news of the increasing chaos befalling the homeland, Osman declared that he would be disobeying the sultan’s ordered in India and would continue to fight alongside the Durrani until such time as a clear way home became evident. In a passionate speech, one where he professed loyalty to the Ottoman Empire proper at the same time stating he would ignore the sultan’s orders, he won the backing of his men. Few had appetite to die on the fields of Central Asia, whatever the ancestral connection that region held for most Turks, especially when plunder and riches remained ripe for the taking in India. There would be no Central Asian campaign.
   The Turkish Mutineers, dubbing themselves the Legions of Ap Arslan, would aid the Durrani in their struggle over the coming months, proving crucial in the Battle of Bundi. Still, with the authority of Sultan Murad no longer holding sway, the mutineers would begin to live off the land, increasing the misery of the Indian people who now found themselves at the mercy of the rogue Turkish force. Promises on Indian liberation, still shouted by the Turkish commanders, would begin to ring increasingly hollow. Likewise, discipline among the Turks seems to be on the wane as well, even the fairly lax Durrani growing alarmed by the declining order in the Legions of Ap Arslan in the latter half of the year.

War in the South
   Mysore would continue its struggle in southern India throughout 1875. With the French colonial forces focusing on the Durrani threat in the north, the 40 divisions under Ghulam Sultan had free reign in the south. His men conquered Pondicherry and Madurai, erasing the French presence in the south. Indeed, by the end of 1875 most of the land once held by the old Sultanate of Mysore would be back in Ghulam Sultan’s hands. Boasting of his recognition by the Durrani and the Portuguese, Ghulam Sultan has proclaimed a new era in Southern India, vowing to never let colonial oppression be restored against his subjects.
   Still, colonial forces under the command of Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot in the Army of Orissa engaged 20 Mysorean divisions sent northwest at the Battle of Machilipatnam. Here the inexperienced Mysorean soldiers were no match for the better trained and prepared French soldiers. The 24 division French force showed that colonial soldiers remain a force to be reckoned with, pushing Mysore’s forces back across the Krishna River with heavy casualties. Though many concede without further aid the situation in the south looks hopeless, Ducrot and his men have proven that, whatever the strains of war, the French colonial divisions stand ready and disciplined.

Battle of Bundi and Fall of Delhi
   The primary site of military operations in India for 1875 would be the north. Under the advice of Paris, the French would shift most of their resources against the Durrani, launching a major counteroffensive early in the year with most of the divisions in Northern India. Objectives would be twofold: relief of the siege of Jodhpur and the defense of Delhi. Initial results were promising, the northern Durrani forces being repelled from Delhi at the Battle of Hansi, demonstrating that they were not the invincible foes some had feared.
   Yet, disaster would strike in the south, the Turkish Mutineers rushing northwards after the French had marched on Jodhpur. Finding themselves caught between foes that outnumbered them and their supply lines disrupted, the French retreated eastwards, losing organization in the process. When they met the enemy at the Battle of Bundi, the Ottoman-Durrani forces utterly routed them, forcing the army to split in a chaotic retreat, some men fleeing south towards the central provinces, others heading northeast towards Agra. It was evidently a combination of Ottoman weaponry and Durrani fierceness that broke the French-Indian brigades, many throwing down their weapons and fleeing. When word reached besieged Jodhpur that no aid would be coming, the local garrison at last surrendered to the Durrani, yet more territory falling to the Afghans.
   With the loss of Bundi, most of Rajastan was under the control of the invaders. The French colonial government in Delhi recognized the direness of the situation, that city now vulnerable to being surrounded and cut off from the rest of the country. Louis Henri de Gueydon, the Governor of India, ordered his administration to relocate to Calcutta, in the largely pacified west. Indeed, a chaotic retreat from Delhi occurred in August 1875, the city being left to fend for itself. The French colonial government instead has focused on establishing a defensive line from Indore to Guna, Gwalior, and Agra aimed at preventing the Durrani from entering the heart of India.
   The Durrani occupation of Delhi was a solemn affair. The last time the Afghans had entered the city in the 1750s, they had looted it. Indeed, many of the civilians, especially the Hindus and Jains, waited with dread for the approaching host. Yet, the occupation would prove anticlimactic. Determined not to rile up opposition, Abdul Samad Khan himself entered the city, promising it would be spared. Delhi, the old capitol of the Mughal Empire and a tremendous symbol, has been occupied by the Durrani, the French being evicted for the first time since they occupied the city more than a century ago.
   Besides relocating from Delhi, Governor Louis Henri de Gueydon would make a second important decision in 1875. Upon hearing of the death of Xavier and continued developments in the Great War, he formally recognized Charlotte as the regent of France. To his men Gueydon stated that, whatever the radical nature of her government, Charlotte represented France’s best hope of retaining its Indian colony. Thus, the colonial forces of France have thrown in their lot with the Whites. Although distance and a lack of clear communication means that Gueydon and not Charlotte will continue to oversee the situation in India and the East for the time being, Charlotte’s hand has undoubtedly been strengthened by the winning over of colonial officials. Between this and the Prussian presence in the Cape Colony, the Habsburg and Scandinavian colonies in the Far East have never looked so vulnerable.

North American Carnage

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

   War in North America has continued. While the Allies have closed much of the west to British control, the Anglo-American forces have achieved substantial breakthroughs in the north and south, elongating their position along the Atlantic coast, while using the Appalachian Mountains as a defensive line. War has at last erupted on the water, Quebec and New England able to liberate their fleets from the blockade, even as Louisianan and Mexican efforts have been frustrated. Still, Quebec would not be immune from tragedy, Henry II falling victim to the bullet of a disgruntled American. With Liberia revolting, the first crack in any of the combatants, there are growing concerns the unrest may spread to other powers.

Northern Front
   The entrenched war on the Ohio River would become mobile once more in 1875, a Quebecois maneuver to redeploy men around Lake Erie to attack British positions from Upstate New York breaking the stalemate. Indeed, western Pennsylvania became increasingly vulnerable, matters not helped when Louisianan soldiers pushed across the Ohio River (albeit taking heavy casualties) and into Virginia. The aim of the Allies was to see the British forces trapped on the western side of the Appalachians and eliminate them, but the move was obvious to British high command. With reinforcements from Britain proper (half of those sent across the Atlantic) being directed to this front, the British had the numbers to ensure an orderly withdrawal. Though fighting would be fierce, Quebec deploying its first capsules of mustard gas and being met with British toxic gas attacks in reply. By the end of the year the Quebecois forces achieved their aim of uniting their two fronts, the British being pushed east and out of Pittsburg. Still, it was not the front-breaking victory that had been sought.
   Indeed, the British themselves would engage in a counteroffensive in mid-1875. Though the initial intent was to relieve the siege of New York City, after the Battle of New York the goal instead shifted to the recapture of occupied territory. Indeed, the Allied Quebecois-New Englander forces found themselves on the receiving end of a brutal onslaught, the British out for revenge. Two could play at the use of toxic gas, Quebecois soldiers finding themselves on the receiving end of their own technology. The push north would be swift and brutal, most of New Jersey and northern Pennsylvania changing hands. With the rapid gains of the British counteroffensive, New York City looks like it could easily fall back into British hands in 1876, potentially even leading the way to operations inside New England. Still, that city’s value has undoubtedly diminished, the devastating battle seeing to that.

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Southern War
   Louisiana opened the campaign early, sending 10 divisions alongside the 7 of the Mexican Expeditionary Force in a campaign to dislodge the British from Knoxville. The entrenched British positions proved stubborn, beating back several attempts to take the city throughout the early spring. Still, Henry-Philippe had insisted that the city be taken. Thus, the previously unthinkable was agreed upon: chemical weapons would be used against the British positions, even though numerous civilians were in the proximity. The results were as terrible as feared, the clouds of death unleashing horror and chaos among the common people as the British held out for several weeks longer. Still, with news of the Louisianan offensive across the Ohio into Virginia, it was deemed prudent to withdraw and use the Appalachians as a shield.
   A second Louisianan offensive aimed at retaking North Carolina was launched roughly simultaneously, but New Orleans had underestimated the level of reinforcements London had sent to this front. In addition to the existing 14 divisions defending North Carolina, 15 new British divisions fresh across the Atlantic had been sent to aid the struggle. As the Louisianans pushed north, this new British force place itself to the west, pushing south toward Georgia and leaving the left wing of the Louisianan Army exposed. This became even more evident as the British in North Carolina followed up their colleagues’ movements with deliberate offensives to tie down the Louisianan forces. Seeing themselves as outmaneuvered, Louisianan General Alfred Cumming was forced to flee south before he could be encircled. The next few months would be disastrous for the Louisianans in South Carolina, that region falling into the hands of the British in its entirety. Indeed, the British Army of North Carolina swept like a door south into South Carolina and then turning west while the 15 division reinforcements from Britain remained stationary in western North Carolina. Atlanta Georgia fell on November 23rd, a blow to Louisianan morale in what had been a fairly disappointing year. Though Kentucky and Tennessee fell, and the advance into Virginia had helped break the stalemate along the Ohio, the British had seized South Carolina, Liberia was in rebellion, and attempts to break out of the blockade in the south had been unsuccessful, inflicting heavy damage on the Louisianan fleet.

Battle of New York and New English Election
   The British position in New York was untenable. Although naval resupply meant that starvation was not a fear, it was largely seen by many as a matter of time before the allies tried to storm the city. These fears were confirmed in May 1875 when the Quebecois-New Englander positions inaugurated a brutal shelling from positions in New Jersey. This was followed by a concerted push from the north. The local garrison was unable to effectively resist, being forced down into Manhattan where fighting erupted on the streets of the city. Civilians erected barricades in an effort to slow the fall of New York, while the Quebecois did not hesitate to use chlorine gas, hundreds of innocents being caught in the crossfire. Yet, the fighting in New York City was untenable. British troops withdrew to Brooklyn and Long Island within hours while the brave civilian resistance continued to struggle on. Someone light fires, black smoke filling the skies as the city erupted into flames, slowing the Quebecois offensive.
   Outnumbered and desperate, the remains of the British garrison fled across Long Island. Hopes of a rescue by the Royal Navy proved misguided, the admiralty too cautious of sailing into the Long Island Sound. Thus, the remnants of the British garrison of New York City surrendered to the Allies on May 23rd, 1875. Although this was a major political and cultural victory, it was also quite hollow. New York had been gutted in the fighting; thousands of former residents now left destitute.
   The Fall of New York was the miracle that led to Henry Wilson’s reelection in July 1875. New Englander pride swelled with the capture of that important city, erasing some of the government’s unpopularity. Chairman Wilson defeated James English of Connecticut with 53.2% of the vote to English’ 45.4%. Indeed, Wilson’s arguments for retaining stable leadership during such tense wartime were likely critical in the victory of his Centralist Party overall. The Federalists, while upset, have recognized his victory and continued in the role of opposition.

War on the Seas
   The Allies were determined to break the British blockade in 1875, each trying in earnest to release its ships onto the high seas where havoc could be wrought against the Royal Navy. Despite attempts to deploy a decoy fleet ahead of the Quebecois Navy’s escape, the British were able to dispatch the weaker vessels before engaging the Quebecois fleet in the Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. For the first time modern warfare, ironclad barbette ships have engaged one another, the results being devastating. A horrific storm was brewing on March 10th as the two sides inaugurated a new era in naval warfare. Torpedoes, a novel invention by Quebec, were deployed against the British ships, piercing the ironclad hulls in several instances. Shells rang out for hours but after heavy fighting and significant damage to each side, the Quebecois forced the British ships to retreat. At long last a chink had been created in the heretofore impenetrable British blockade on North America.
   Quebec would waste no time, implementing superficial repairs over the next week before sending the fleet south towards New England, where the Quebecois ships joined their New English allies in engaging the British blockade fleet off the coast of Cape Cod. “Remember Boston!” was the cry heard from the New English vessels, the British being caught between the two fleets. Here, again, significant damage was done to the Royal Navy, who had not yet shown itself capable of resisting the more numerous Allied surprise assault.
   London would enjoy more success in the Gulf of Mexico. As the Mexican fleet left harbor in Veracruz, seeking to join the allied effort to break the blockade, it was intercepted by a sizable British squadron patrolling the Gulf of Mexico. At the Battle of Campeche, the Mexican fleet was utterly mauled, completely hampering any future operations by that realm in this part of the ocean for the near future. Indeed, eager to redeem itself, the British Navy had ordered its commanders to be particularly ruthless against enemy vessels. Many of the Mexican ships that did survive, limping back into Veracruz just days after their triumphant departure, were ultimately either scrapped or scuttled as the navy was forced to ask why it had failed.
      In Florida a Louisianan fleet attempted to break out in a move against the Bahamas, one of the key ports for the British blockade. Despite the use of torpedoes against the British vessels, this Louisianan fleet found itself outmatched, being bloodied and forced back into port. While trickery off the coast of New Orleans, including the use of exploding vessels, would damage several British ships, the absence of the Mexican Navy meant this could not be followed up on.
   Several reasons for New Englander and Quebecois success in breaking part of the blockade have been given, though most in London have argued that the Admiralty has spread itself too thin, seeking to blockade all of North America. Still, despite the end of the immediate blockade, London has been reassured by the fact that Allied access to the global market is quite limited. Though Quebecois ships can transit the North Atlantic for now, British positions in Ireland and the Azores are suitable to prevent any sort of consistent trade with Continental Europe. It remains unclear if London will seek to engage the newly freed fleets from Quebec and New England, or if doing so is seen as unnecessary, given most observers would still argue Britannia rules the waves.

Ireland
   London responded quickly and resolutely to the growing instability in Ireland, redeploying 6 divisions to the island in order to root out resistance and restore order. While met with boos and jeering upon their disembarkation in Dublin by restive locals, the show of force reminded the Irish of their longshot odds in achieving independence. A brutal crackdown on nationalist radicals was ordered, those still in the country connected to the prior year’s assassinations being arrested. The Publications Act was enforced, soldiers raiding publishing houses and destroying materials deemed to be seditious. In short, though this would further radicalize the extremists, most Irish were made to believe that unrest at the current moment would simply not succeed.
   That did not mean Irish nationalists were idle, though. A terrorist assault on Paddington Tube Station in London deployed chlorine gas during peak travel time, killing dozens as anti-war and pro-Irish pamphlets were dropped amid the chaos. This would not have the result intended though. Alongside Henry X’s inspiring speeches, Irish terrorist attacks only served to unite the English people under a siege mentality. The world may be standing against them, but they knew in their hearts that their cause was just.
 
The American Resistance
   King Henry X’s ‘Not One Single Briton’ speech roused the English and American people into a wave of pro-war fervor. The degree to which the Transatlantic Monarchy was fighting for survival had become evident, allied victory likely meaning the gradual erasure of the English language and culture from the region. Attempts by the Labour Party to instigate resistance in Britain proper were smacked down by the pro-war majority. Louisianan and Quebec promises, both public and private, to mandate French education in the schools was pointed to as evidence the conflict was a fight for survival. Indeed, how could the realm function if half of the King’s subjects were abandoned to foreign tyranny? No, the prospect was unthinkable. A renewed wave of resistance to Quebecois occupation has swept through the American Midwest. Small-scale militias have started to operate out of the forests of the province of Green Bay (Wisconsin), skirmishing with Quebecois occupation forces. While both greatly outmatched and far from the action, nevertheless, the very presence of rebel militias indicates that many will not take occupation sitting down.
   The clearest evidence of the American resistance would emerge on June 7th, 1875 in Montreal. News of the use of poison gas and extensive civilian casualties in the Battle of New York was the last straw for Isaac Schuyler. Both in Ohio, his home had been utterly devastated by the Quebecois offensive in 1873. His parents, already poor, had been reduced to penury. His countrymen were being slaughtered by aggressive invaders, intent on erasing his whole way of life. This could not stand. Schuyler held Henry II, who was increasingly known by Americans as the “Prussian Butcher” as personally responsible for the carnage and misery in his life. As the King departed his palace for a meeting with the government he was shot thrice in the chest, Schuyler then turning the gun on himself.
   Henry II did not die instantly, the wounds actually seeming to heal somewhat. His major organs had been missed. Still, his physicians were concerned about the bullets in his body, conducting surgery to have them removed. It would be the surgery, and not Schuyler’s attempt on the King, that would lead to his death. Sepsis set in as the wounds were healing, Henry II writhing in pain and agony, taking several weeks to die. Henry II of Louisiana passed away on July 1st, 1875. His son has been named King Philip of Quebec, vowing to avenge his father and holding the British personally responsible for his killing. In the Francophone world Henry II has been greatly mourned as one of the key leaders of the allied cause. Even his daughter Queen Charlotte of France ordered Versailles to enter mourning for her late father. 

Liberian Rebellion
   The American War had never been particularly popular among Louisiana’s large Black community. Many saw the conflict as a white man’s war, indifferent if not outright opposed to the fighting. Indeed, Britain has been seen far more enlightened on racial issues than Louisiana, where memories of the massacres of New Marseilles in 1871 still lingered. Though Blacks were drafted into the armed forces, many of those staunchly opposed to fighting for King Henry-Philippe clandestinely poured west towards Liberia. That territory remained largely free from anti-Black discrimination, only having nominal oversight on the part of royal officials. A haven for the oppressed, Liberia had seen tremendous population growth over the past decade. As the economic and political situation in the east became increasingly desperate, the Afro-Louisianans saw their chance at long last to force concessions. There certainly were warning signs. Demands for higher wages from predominantly Black sharecroppers in the American South were crushed by local racist police forces throughout early 1875. Efforts to use the war to expand Black suffrage was met with brutal crackdowns by private white citizens in Louisiana proper.
   Liberian Governor Frederick Douglass had long been a staunch advocate for conciliation and dialogue with the Louisianan government. It had been his personal negotiations with the King that had won the region special representation in the national assembly. Yet, although many of the early Liberian settlers shared his views, most of the recent immigrants did not. With the brutal gassing of Knoxville, as well as the much higher rate of Black casualties in the Louisianan Army, Douglass found himself outflanked by radicals, who fed on the growing anger over the prolonged. Seeing Henry-Philippe’s government as the most vulnerable, and still seething over the refusal to name Liberia a coequal kingdom, a mob stormed Douglass’ residence at Freetown on the Salt Lake and forced the leader to agree to step down as Governor of Liberia. Weeping as he was forced to sign his resignation, Douglass warned the crowd against violence and the potential suffering it could cause the Black community. His pleas went unheeded.
   Shields Green, formerly enslaved and radically opposed to Louisiana, was chosen as the new governor by the mob, his first move to declare the independence of the People’s Republic of Liberia. Although he professed no hatred to the white man, he demanded that the Black people of the Americas have a homeland free from their rule. He intended to give it to them. Rebel divisions have been organized, while advance parties destroyed the transcontinental railroad stops both to the east and west of Liberia, effectively severing California from the rest of Louisiana. Raids have been made into the desert, the American west suddenly becoming an active theater in the broader conflict. The Liberians would not be alone however, many of the Native Americans using the unrest to likewise push back against continued Louisianan and Liberian encroachment. The Comanche, Lakota, and Navajo all have fought both Black and white settlers in the region.
   With the declaration of Liberia in the west, backlash naturally erupted against the remaining Black population in the east. Indeed, somewhat ironically, the Liberian Revolution has caused the Anglophone and Francophone whites to band together, terrified about the prospect of a race war in their midst. Mobs have wrought misery in many cities, destroying black businesses and neighborhoods, forcing the residents to either flee westwards or into labor conditions that are eerily reminiscent of the slavery they had been liberated from almost two decades ago. Many look to the Crown to handle the growing spiral of racial violence.

The Pacific War

Russo-Korean Front
   With Russia refusing Korea's peace offering, and the Korean position in China proper clearly quite vulnerable, Emperor Yi Ho would order a radical about-face in his policy in 1875. Instead of defending its inland gains, Korea would pivot to keeping a presence in major coastal cities, freeing up more men to respond to Russian incursions. With Russia bearing down on Beijing proper, as well as secondary operations pressuring the Koreans along the northern front in Manchuria, Korean high command was forced to get creative. Taking advantage of its naval superiority, and Russia's two front vulnerability, a host of Koreans were landed behind Russian lines at Panjin when word of a Russian push towards Jehol was announced. In a stunning development, the Army of Pyongyang coordinating with the newly-landed Army of Yingkuo, the Russians in southern Manchuria were encircled, trapped in Port Arthur and placed under siege by the Koreans. Of the 20 divisions that had set our in the southern campaign, 15 were caught in the city while 5 had managed to escape prior to encirclement.
   Port Arthur, having been seized twice in the past few years, was poorly supplied to withstand a siege and Russia could only watch in horror as its emaciated men surrendered to the Koreans on December 15th. Although treated with respect by the Koreans, these divisions are now captive and have been shipped into the peninsula. Further to the north operations in the Transamur likewise did not yield the success hoped for by Russia.
   In northern China the Russians embarked on a siege of Beijing, specifically hoping to pair the capture of the Chinese capitol with the fall of Istanbul in the west. This was not to be. With Korea's new strategy of defensive entrenchment along the coast, they were determined to keep the symbolic capitol of China at all costs. Several Russian assaults on the city did inflict heavy damage, including extensive wreckage of the famed Forbidden City, but the Koreans managed to hold the line. Yet, with the Chinese making gains in the south and the Russians continuing their siege into 1876, it remains to be seen how durable Korean control of Beijing will be. Still, with the defeat of the Russians at Port Arthur, some observers have noted that it would not be infeasible for the Koreans to attempt to relieve the city from the north.

China
   With the Koreans rapidly drawing down their forces in Northern China, the Republicans would continue to make great gains in the region. Indeed, it seemed as though Li Hongzhang, now calling himself president, had been granted his wishes. Henan and much of north-central China has been won by the Republicans. Indeed, the victories have been like a snowball, the more land regained, the greater the enthusiasm for pushing out the Koreans (and perhaps the other foreigners who have made themselves too comfortable on the Chinese coast). With the reclamation of so much Chinese territory, Li would be tasked with finding men to govern his new provinces, preparing through the extensive hiring of bureaucrats and civil servants. Yet, in a move endearing him to many locals, small councils have been staged throughout the realm, town leaders and local citizens getting a chance to have their voices heard by their government, a major development in the Republic.
   Tibet, a nominal French vassal, would find itself in an uncomfortable position in the latter half of the year. With Indian officials preoccupied with the Durrani-Turkish Invasion and France in a civil war, Lhasa was uncertain of how to respond to Chinese demands that Tibet submit itself as a nominal vassal. Greatly outnumbered, and still reeling from the Tibetan Civil War, the government felt it had little choice but to accept, though it has reassured French officials that the young Dalai Lama retains his affection and loyalty to Paris. Indeed, Tibet has promised to satisfy both the Chinese Republicans and the French, so long as their interests do not collide and force Lhasa into a difficult decision.

Island Hopping
   With the Philippines secured and Japan remaining hostile, the Singapore Pact shifted to island-hopping in 1875, seeking to tear away the Japanese colonial empire one possession at a time. Iwo Jima, Formosa, Sumatra, Okinawa, and even some of the sparsely populated Kiril Islands have fallen to coordinated attacks by the Singapore Pact. Japan may be placed under blockade, but at home many in the Shogunate have expressed confidence that their fleet will be able to outmaneuver the vessels of the Singapore Pact.
   Brazil, Portugal, and Colombia cooperated in a coordinated assault on the Japanese-backed Republic of Formosa once more in 1875, this time their landings succeeding in establishing a beachhead and destabilizing the island’s government. The Taiwanese officials were forced to flee to Japan, finding their situation too unstable.
   New Holland entered the fray in 1875 as well, joining the Colombian invasion of Papua New Guinea. Korea, embattled elsewhere, was pressured by Colombia to accept the nominal sale of West Timor and Sulawesi to Willemstad. While limited progress was made by the newly-minted allies in Papua New Guinea, the Japanese on the island’s interior continue to resist efforts to bring them to heel.  Still, recent contact between Colombia and many of the island’s natives have helped turn them against the Japanese. Indeed, with native Papuans targeting the Japanese soldiers, they have begun to be killed in surprise raids and night attacks. Morale among the soldiers on the island is evidently flagging.

[Spamage]

The Zenith of Power: Concert of Europe Part IV
Turn 6: 1876

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)
Divine Republic of Brazil: Archbishop-President Manuel Joaquim da Silveira (Ishan)
Kingdom of Naples: King Charles VIII Bourbon (GoTfan)
Qajar Iran: Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (PSOL)
Kingdom of Quebec: King Philip 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)
Ottoman Morocco: General Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha (Kingpoleon)
Holy Republic of Colombia: Archbishop-President Vicente Arbeláez Gómez (Kuumo)
Confederation of New England: Chairman Henry Wilson (OBD)
Durrani Empire: Emir Abdul Samad Khan (AverageFoodEnthusiast)

Economic Standings

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

Popularity

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

Current Global Conflicts:
Great War: White France, Kingdom of Naples, Kingdom of Prussia vs. Blue France, Habsburg Monarchy, Kingdom of Scandinavia(1873-)
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, New Holland (1874-)

Kingdom of France (Whites)

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Xavier is dead. Versailles erupted into celebration at the news, spontaneous glee also being demonstrated on the streets of Paris. Indeed, despite debacles in the south and the loss of Flanders, 1875 was overall a favorable year for the White faction. While Prince Amadeus has taken up the rebel cause, many note his support is falling, especially due to internal upheaval in Padania proper. Yet, the civil war is not over. Enemies of your regime remain under arms in France, while the Austrians too hold a fair bit of French soil at the start of the year. Will you continue the struggle or is it time to consider some sort of peaceful compromise? What will you do about your allies and their respective struggles in Naples and Prussia?

-Whatever the domestic situation, the recent gain of recognition as regent by the officials throughout the French colonial empire has been a significant boon. Indeed, the colonial dream never ceases. With the Ottomans in disarray, will you get France involved in the divvying up of that vast realm? Many believe that you have rights to Tunisia, the Suez, and the Holy Land for various historical and pseudohistorical reasons. Further afield, what will you suggest to embattled French commanders in India and Southeast Asia, who are currently far too remote to be aided directly in their struggle? How will France respond to the Chinese vassalization of Tibet during the recent power vacuum?

-Reaction to the Dutch Revolution has underscored the very real divisions that exist in your reactionary-socialist government. The socialists see the Dutch Revolution as a source of inspiration and the potential turning of that realm towards pro-France policy. Opponents of colonialism, they argue that Flanders has been nothing but trouble since it was annexed to France and you ought to cede the region and make peace with the Dutch. They would even probably be willing to see Padania erased as well. The reactionaries, on the other hand, see the Dutch Revolution as a source of terror and dismay. While not opposed to greater aid for the poor working classes, the prospect of rebellions outside of the social order are intolerable to them and they are loathe to see a fraction of the old French holdings handed out. How you respond to events in the Netherlands could be pivotal in how the White faction looks moving forward…

Habsburg Monarchy

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-The Great War tears Europe asunder. To your north, south, and west, your men have been engaged in fighting against relentless foes. Naples pushes north as Padania collapses into civil war, Prussia has held its ground in Silesia all the while slamming into the Baltic states, the Rhineland is on fire, and Charlotte has gained the upper hand in France proper. Your realms look to you for leadership, Emperor Charles, as the continent burns. What will you do about the war in 1876? Should the fighting continue, or is it perhaps time to seek some sort of understanding with the various other combatants?

-Local leaders on the ground in Lombardy have expressed fears about growing Italian pan-nationalism. Indeed, it is feared that the civil war in Padania could very easily spill into your own holdings if the situation is not handled with great care. Several nationalist pieces of literature have been obtained by local bureaucrats. More disturbing, though, has been the arrest of several Italian Catholic Republican nationalist clerics within your borders. Intelligence does not currently know which foreign power has been providing funding for them, but most suspect either one of the Catholic Republican powers in South America, Spain, or even the radical Catholic faction within Naples. Whatever the case, these monks have been caught spreading their venomous lies in Venice, Verona, and Mantua before they were apprehended. How will you deal with them, now that they sit safely in custody in far-off Linz? Beyond that, what measures will you take to ensure that Lombardy remains a stable and loyal part of the Habsburg Monarchy?

-The Ottoman state, your neighbor to the south, has collapsed into anarchy. The Balkan states seem poised to expand their borders significantly, while Russian influence in the region could very well overshadow your own. Indeed, the prospect of the Habsburg Monarchy being surrounded both to the east and south by Russian lickspittles in an unattractive one. As Holy Roman Emperor and a nearby ruler, there are many who would have you step in to ensure a just and decent agreement in the Balkans. Habsburg interests in the Suez, which your men have begun to dredge and clear, also require protection. What is your view of the current situation to the south and how will you achieve a settlement that does not leave you on the outside looking in?

Kingdom of Scandinavia

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-The fight continues. While Prussia has been damaged, and much of the old Kingdom of Hanover has fallen into your hands, the Baltic States have collapsed into anarchy and resistance from your enemy remains strong. For the time being Austria seems unable to provide further aid while the Netherlands has gone full-blown revolutionary. How will you handle the military situation during the coming year?

-Outside of Europe, a wide variety of colonial issues require resolution. The former King of Egypt has fled into Scandinavian Sudan, precipitating a diplomatic crisis with the new Ottoman government, who was already infuriated by efforts to block them from the Red Sea. Yet, with the Ottomans in a state of utter chaos, perhaps you could take a piece of the pie. Your war in Europe has ramifications in the colonial theater as well. Prussia has not attacked from South Africa for the time being, despite fears of the worst. In East Asia your colonial holdings in China have been surrounded by ongoing chaos, the various factions in the Pacific War operating too close to you for comfort. This all occurs as locals in the interior of Africa have used your pause on expansion as a chance to pushback against your newly-established and somewhat fragile authority. How will you handle these numerous colonial matters?

-Domestically, there was a good deal of backlash to what has been perceived as a war of aggression by the civilian population, especially in such times of economic malaise. While much of the public has been swayed by the cause, rallying around the Crown and the Flag, there remains numerous malcontents on the political left. Workers in Gothenburg, Copenhagen, and Malmo have begun to form worker’s cooperatives and neighborhood associations in 1875, using these collective bodies to organize strikes and resist conscription demands. They claim firms are forcing them into too long of shifts in too poor of conditions due to the ramping up of production with the war. Inspired by the Netherlands, they demand wage increases, better conditions, and protection from conscription. The conservative government seems to want to crack some skulls to teach these upstarts a lesson, but others have urged for a more moderate response. Some in the government have also proposed a degree of wartime censorship in order to curb the spread of unpatriotic thought, though there are many who counter that this would be a blatant infringement on civil liberties.

British Union

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-King Henry, your speech to the British people about the aggression of the Francophone powers has been deemed one of the great moments in British history. On both sides of the Atlantic a wave of patriotism for the struggle has emerged, the true stakes of the American War becoming clear to the masses. The war has remained frustrating. The loss of New York City was a significant blow, to be sure, but your men have made up for it on other fronts, most notably in the Carolinas and Pennsylvania. Will the war be continued for another year, perhaps leading to the collapse of your foes from within, or is it time for a just peace? If you do seek peace, especially on unfavorable terms, how will you sell it to the newly agitated British populace?

-New Holland, despite having a truce with your realm, has engaged in the purchase of various Pacific islands once held by Britain from their Quebecois occupiers. Indeed, many in London have been insulted by Willemstad’s insolence on the matter, seeing it as a flagrant violation of your supposed agreement. Indeed, it is time to resolve the situation in Oceania one way or another. A formal peace deal could cement new borders and put an end to the ambiguous situation, while a renewal of hostilities, especially with New Holland joining wars to the north, could allow for a reversal of your fortunes here. What will you do about the awkward situation with your neighbors in Australia?

-The Dutch Revolution across the Channel has caused great fear among the upper classes of Britain. Indeed, with the growing power of the Labour Party in England over the past few years, and that organization's anti-war stance, the prospect of British Socialists seeking to emulate their Dutch counterparts no longer seems laughable. Indeed, some left-wing leaders have openly praised Niewenhuis and his new government. Many conservatives want the Crown and Parliament to engage in a brutal crackdown on the Labour movement, socialism in general, and anti-war defeatism within the home island. Of course, such drastic action could just radicalize the largely thus-far docile movement. What will your official response be to the Dutch Revolution and how will you guarantee the contagion does not spread within your own borders?

Russian Republic

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-President Suvorin, you have achieved what the Orthodox faithful have dreamed of for centuries: the reconquest of Istanbul. The Czars may be gone, but never before has Russia looked more fitting as the Third Rome. Nevertheless, with the Turks in retreat and their regime shattered, it is perhaps now time to consider what the world will look like after the war. What are you aims for the peace? How will the Balkans, Anatolia, and Levant be reshaped in the aftermath of an Ottoman defeat?

-Further to the east the situation has been less exciting, the Koreans proving adept at countering your campaign over the previous year. Thousands of men were lost to enemy imprisonment after the debacle on the Dalian Peninsula. Korea likewise has clung to its major possessions in China proper, frustrating attempts to pair the conquest of Beijing with the seizure of Istanbul. Will you continue the war or have Korean propositions begun to look more attractive? What will you do about Colombian and other Singapore Pact nations providing aid to their Korean allies?

-Domestically, the Russian economy tires from years of war and increased domestic spending. Your debt has begun to grow over the past year, the costs of mobilization and supplying two fronts in a war outweighing any foreign credit received from New Holland or Colombia. Internal financial advisors warn that some sort of taxation reform may be required in order to guarantee adequate revenue in the years to come. Income taxes are among the solutions proposed, though many in your government are wary (past attempts at increased taxation having caused headaches regimes in France and Spain over the past few years). While demobilization could ease up the problem, doing so risks seeing your gains unravel in either theater. Bonds, tariffs, reparations, and confiscations in Ottoman lands have been proposed as alternative remedies, though each carry risks of their own. Perhaps your domestic program could be pared back for the time being, though this could enflame your political base. Liberals in government would have you hold off on any drastic intervention in the economy. What will you do about the gloomier economic outlook emerging from the financial system?

Divine Republic of Brazil

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Archbishop-President Manuel Joaquim da Silveira, Brazil remains one of the foremost global powers. Despite what may seem to be a less than massive population, recent gains in Africa and Peru seem to bode well for the long-term demographic health of the realm. Ever since the Spanish Royalists collapsed in South America and you acquired Upper Peru, your soldiers have maintained an uneasy peace in the region. The populace here is seen as at best marginally loyal to your new government, though most seem to privately yearn for the restoration of Henry V. The hardline Catholic Republicans in your government would prefer to see brutal crackdowns on royalists, redistribution of property, and forced vows of loyalty to your government. While moderates concur that the new subjects do need to be educated in the ways of Catholic Republicanism and are a risk for revolt, they believe that too much antagonism could make unrest a self-fulfilling prophecy. The matter remains for you to decide. There is also the question of how much autonomy, if any at all, the region should be granted by your government. How will you deal with Upper Peru and your gains from the former Spanish colonial empire?

-Colonially, the last few years have seen significant expansion in the Congo and the Kalahari. Still, pushback from local African leaders has become increasingly evident. The Marota Empire, led by the Pedi people of Transvaal, have utterly ignored demands to submit, murdered Brazilian missionaries, and steadily refused to recognize your authority as stipulated in the Stockholm Conference of 1871. The Ndebele Kingdom to their north have largely concurred and declared their intent to defend Marota should you attack. Your colonial officials call for a relocation of troops and the commencement of military operations in southwest Africa, but some fear sending too many men far from Brazil proper during such dire global times. How will you deal with stubborn native resistance and colonial policy more generally?

-Diplomatically you find yourself in an interesting position. Brazil has long cooperated with Colombia, as a show of solidarity to fellow Catholic Republicans. Yet, with the liberalization of Colombia and that realm’s constant military intervention in theaters deemed unimportant to Brazil, there are some calling for you to reconsider your relationship with Bogota. The new Spanish government and Patagonia lean towards you in the Catholic Republican faction while the Philippines, Haiti, and Portugal are seen as more pro-Colombian, so any discord between you two could shatter that broader Catholic faction. What will you do about your diplomatic situation in 1876?

[Spamage]

Kingdom of Naples

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Padania falls into disarray, your fellow compatriots rising against more than a century of French oppression. Indeed, Amadeus has stooped to using chemical weapons against civilians in a desperate bid to cling to power in the region. Overall, the Habsburgs have been forced back thanks to the use of your shock troops, while the Blue faction in France looks weaker than ever before. War in Italy seems likely to continue in 1876. What will your operations look like? How will you guarantee that the Italians in Padania are welcomed into the Neapolitan fold?

-As the Ottoman Empire has imploded, many believe your role on the water should not go unrewarded. In addition to the return of Tunis, many in Naples see merit to be gained from a Neapolitan Illyria. After all, doesn’t the region already possess a significant number of Italians? Indeed, many have floated offering the Croatian government yourself as a potential prince of that realm, though that could risk further expanding the war with Vienna, who undoubtedly has designs of its own on the Balkans. Tripoli and Cyrenaica could also be suitable recompense for the Ottoman assault on your holdings two years ago, having the added benefit of protecting against any future surprise attacks. Will you engage in the settlement with the Ottoman Empire and, if so, what will your demands look like? How will you ensure that the other powers do not sideline your goals?

-Naples has long been plagued by a degree of local corruption, officials throughout the kingdom engaging in bribery, kickbacks, and siphoning from tax revenue for decades now. With the outbreak of war, and the extreme situation, some (in particular the liberals) in your government have proposed an extrajudicial crackdown on the bureaucracy to purge it of any wrongdoing and create a more efficient state apparatus. Indeed, the prospect is attractive, but at the same time could lead to a shortage of capable mayors, administrators, and other day-to-day functionaries. Will you purge the corrupt parts of your government, or should any potential internal strife be avoided at such a crucial time for the Neapolitan cause?

Kingdom of Romania

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-The birth of a son, during the same year as your marriage, caused widespread celebration in Romania in 1875. Named in honor of yourself, little Prince Ludovic seems a healthy child and to many his birth symbolizes the birth of the Romanian state. Your reforms of the past year were ambitious, freeing the serfs all the while simplifying the complex legal system you inherited. Yet, there remain further issues to address. With the serfs freed, many remain landless and destitute, unscrupulous landlords forcing them to sign covenant agreements tying them into periods of extended servitude in exchange for land usage rights. Liberal reformists want to see you crack down on this abuse of the system and perhaps even break up the larger estates. How will you balance the demands of the still-powerful nobility, who have now even started to desire a voice in government, with the interests of the lower classes?

-Romania may not have been an active participant in the Ottoman War, but your realm's permitting of Russian troops to pass through was crucial in leading to the collapse of Murad V's regime. With the Ottomans in disorder, many in Bucharest believe you ought to be compensated for the risk you took last year. As a peace conference seems in the offing, what will you aims be? How will you guarantee your new state is treated as an equal partner by the various other powers?

United Kingdom of Louisiana

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-The past year has been frustrating for Louisiana, to be sure. The fleet was brushed aside by the Royal Navy, South Carolina and much of Georgia were lost, and operations in Pennsylvania-Kentucky failed to completely destroy the British defense, even if they resulted in territorial gains. Your allies still stand, no one having sought a separate peace, but there are serious questions about the commitment of your subjects to the struggle, especially given the domestic instability in the west. What will you do about the American War in 1876?

-The Liberians have risen, challenging your right as rule and making a clear bid for independence. With moderate Black leaders silenced, Shields Green and his followers have embarked on several successful campaigns in the west. Given the isolated nature of this theater, many in Baton Rouge express concern about the prospect of Liberian victory, especially with the war in the east as well. The destruction of the Transcontinental Railroad and the prospect of being cut off from California are both nonstarters. What will you do about the Liberian Revolution? Should a final attempt at compromise be made or should these rebels receive their just punishments?

-Since Liberia declared independence, there has been mob attacks against Black residents of the eastern states. Whole neighborhoods have been looted, businesses and communities destroyed by white mobs out for revenge. Blacks have been forced into coerced labor by some local officials which many have compared to slavery. What will you do in regards to the substantial Black population in the American South? Should these harsh practices be continued, in order to prevent the spread of organized resistance, or should the Crown step in and try to restore some semblance of racial peace. Beyond that, what will you do in order to maintain stability in other predominantly Black holdings, such as occupied Jamaica, where many locals have looked at Liberia as a source of inspiration, not dread?

Qajar Iran

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Success! The Ottomans are imploding in on themselves as Iranian soldiers have conquered Mecca, Medina, Damascus, Ankara and countless other historic cities. Yet, with the erosion of Turkish power, various other opportunists have risen. Arabs are in revolt, some at Court fearing the turmoil could spread into your own Arabian provinces. The Turks still possess forces operating in Anatolia and the self-righteous Europeans seem poised to sideline you as soon as it is convenient for them. How will you guarantee the post-Ottoman region is dominated by your realm, one that has given so much to defeat the Turk?

-The collapse of Ottoman rule in Arabia and your capture of the holy cities has brought new religious questions to the fore. Can the Turkish Sultans truly claim to be the Caliph without the possession of the most important sites in Islam? Indeed, the Ummah is quite divided. Beyond Sunni and Shia factionalism, there are numerous subgroups and schools of Islamic thought, all potentially having different conclusions about developments in regards to the Caliphate over the past few years. Most at Court believe that you should take the title of Caliph for yourself, but the Muslim cause is riven with division and this could just cause backlash in other corners. Indeed, the Wahhabi are already at arms and other Sunni groups could rise in opposition within your own borders. Still, current circumstances mean there may never again be a situation so favorable. What will you do?

Kingdom of Quebec

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-The American War has seen your father fall victim to an assassin’s bullet, King Philip. You come to the throne at a dire time. While New York has fallen and the immediate blockade has been broken on your own shores, your allies find themselves on the brink. Racial revolution brews in Louisiana, New England has only narrowly avoided an electoral exit from the war, and the Gulf and southern Atlantic coast remain under British blockade. Will the war be continued or is it time to seek a just and fair peace? If so, how will you guarantee that Quebec is adequately compensated for its sacrifices over the past several years? If not, what will you do to break the infernal British hold on the American colonies once and for all?

-The unrest in Liberia and Louisiana’s west has not been ignored by the Native Americans within your own borders. Small-scale skirmishes have erupted between the native tribes and Quebecois settlers in Vaudreuil and Montcalm. Chief Crowfoot and Mountain Chief of the Blackfoot Confederacy, while both maintaining neutrality and claiming cooperation with your government, have both been lax towards aggressive young warriors breaching the peace. The Cree, traditional rivals of the Blackfoot, likewise have used the war in the east as a chance to reverse Quebecois encroachment on their lands. There are fears that the insolence could erupt into rebellion without immediate aid. Yet, sending men to the west, given the precarious situation in the east, could undermine operations in the British colonies. The tribes seek redress, the return of lands they claim have been illegally seized in the last few decades, and clearly delineated status in Quebec. What will you do about the native resistance in the west?

-With your naval success against the British, and the breathing-room it has provided your coastline, there are questions about what is to be done next. With British outposts in the Canaries, Azores, and Ireland, many merchants are still hesitant to engage in Transatlantic commerce. Scandinavian Iceland could be a potential way around this extended blockade, though Stockholm is quite close with London. Some would have you reach out to your sister, Charlotte of France, in order to coordinate joint naval operations against the British, given her sizable fleet that demonstrated its power on the poor Dutch people. Of course, you could also send your ships down the coast and seek to break the rest of the American blockade, though this may leave your own coastal regions defenseless. The immediate stranglehold has lessened, but the situation on the water still remains less than ideal…

United Provinces of New Holland

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-New Holland has joined the Singapore Pact, nabbing yet more territories from the Koreans for a relative bargain. Still, you now find yourself engaged in outright hostilities with Japan and nominal tensions with the Russians. This on top of the fragile truce with Britain, Prussia’s growing annoyance with your threats to close trade, and a potentially resurging France as the Civil War may have turned. There is also the chaos in the Netherlands proper to address, some in Willemstad calling for you to welcome the young Dutch King to the realm as a symbolic sovereign. Needless to say, the diplomatic situation for New Holland is rather complex. What will be your main actions in regards to foreign affairs for 1876?

-The annexation of Sulawesi, West Timor, and various small islands in the East Indies was celebrated in Willemstad, part of the former Dutch colonial holdings being return to their supposed rightful owners. Yet, the islands are not the same as those ceded to the Koreans more than 30 years ago. Korean governance over the islands was extremely lax, allowing the local elites a great deal of autonomy. Indeed, the traditional leaders of the various indigenous groups regained a good deal of authority that had been suppressed under previous Dutch administration. The Sultan of Gowa, on the island of Sulawesi, has in particular proven himself a substantial regional player. He, and many other local leaders, have expressed dismay over the return of Dutch rule, fearing they will face a second-class status similar to many Javans. How will you assuage their concerns? Furthermore, what degree of autonomy, if any, should be granted to the newly-annexed islands? How, if at all, will the New Dutch desire for outright control and investment in the region be balanced with local demands for noninterference?

Kingdom of Mexico

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Mexican involvement in the American War has continued to grow. Indeed, you realm's young men have fought and died on both the northern and southern fronts of the British colonies, tales of their bravery making their way back home. Yet, the conflict remains frustrating. Your fleet was humiliated in an attempted breakout from Veracruz and there are growing concerns of some Mexicans that your nation will not be adequately compensated in any potential peace treaty. What is your take on the conflict heading into 1876?

-The offer of the sale of public lands at a discount in return for surveying has created an absolute frenzy domestically, dozens of local firms being established seemingly overnight to take advantage of the deal. Indeed, some in your government have questioned the quality of the work being done, as many firms seem to be in such a hurry that the results are quite shoddy. On top of this, the move has had the potential to exacerbate the extensive wealth inequality in Mexico. Many noble families have funneled a good deal of their wealth into establishing their own surveying companies, using their own capital to then purchase the remainder of the land, before turning around and selling it to the public for a significant markup, pricing many peasants and lower class Mexicans out of the newly available lands. Some call for the government to step in and put an end to this rapidly growing bubble, though intervention could spur opposition from those gaining from the system. How will you balance the intent of the program with its abuse?

Ottoman Morocco

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-General Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha, you find yourself in a unique situation. The Ottoman heartland has fallen to revolution and invasion, the old Sultan being murdered and his heir falling into Russian custody. You and your men, largely monarchist in persuasion, have found yourselves sidelined as the homeland falls into chaos. How will you respond to developments in Anatolia? Will you continue to recognize the young sultan and seek to return home or remain in Morocco where the situation has been far more stable? What will you do about Algeria’s recent declaration of independence from Ottoman suzerainty?

-Having beaten both the Prussian colonizers and the Moroccan armies, you must now decide what is to be done with the various captive leaders and soldiers. Governor von Bismarck and his soldiers have remained in holding camps near Tangiers, while the alleged King Hassan I sits imprisoned in Rabat, his officers being scattered in various prisons throughout the realm. What will you do to the leaders of these various factions? Beyond that, how will you establish government in the region? Will you declare yourself leader of Morocco or establish the province as an outpost of the increasingly sidelined Ottoman Empire?

Holy Republic of Colombia

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-The Singapore Pact continued the struggle in 1875, island hopping yielding gains against the Japanese, despite intense resistance from those loyal to the Tokugawa government. Edo remains stubbornly insistent on continuing the fight, vowing the recovery of its colonial holdings. Indeed, despite your vast array of allies and gains in the region, the Japanese Navy undoubtedly remains a force to be reckoned with.

-Your military intervention has been expensive, despite substantial successes across the Pacific. While domestic financing has sufficed thus far, there are concerns about the Colombian treasury’s ability to withstand a more prolonged conflict. A wide variety of possible solutions have been proposed. The Socialist Workers’ Party, in coalition with your government, looks upon the vast holdings of the Church in Colombia and sees a potential solution, proposing either a partial nationalization or taxation of the powerful clerical estates. Naturally, the hardline Catholic Republicans in opposition have been vociferous in their opposition to this proposal, deeming it sacrilegious and insulting. Some moderates seem to feel similarly. Some of the more conservative-minded ministers have proposed cuts to your infrastructure or social welfare programs recently implemented. Taxes or tariffs could always be raised, though each bring their own controversies. Conclusion of the hostilities is another option, though that could offend national pride.

Chinese Republic

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Korea’s withdrawal to the coast meant that there were great gains to be had in 1875. Yet, in the coming year the situation seems less easy. Entrenchment and fortification of their defensible holdings has turned the remnants of Korean China into a stronghold, one some of your military advisors are wary of assaulting, especially with many of your men less than adequately trained. Still, aggressive militarists believe that a decisive strike and the weight of numbers could nonetheless overcome any defensive positions. Among some of the war-weary populace, there are whispers that you should use the Russian invasion of Korea as a chance to get generous concessions from Seoul in a peace agreement. What will your aims be for the coming year?

-As the leader of a nominal republic, and with most of China restored from Korean occupation, the question of what shape your government will take looms large. Since the start of your rebellion against the Xing almost a decade ago, a small clique of advisors and yourself have governed occupied territories with in theory absolute control (even if local conditions on the ground have meant this was seldom actually the case). Many now wonder if the Chinese Republic will allow for elections, given your recent outreach and consensus-building on the level of local communities. Beyond that, there are also questions about what system of government you will adopt, if you will enact a constitution, and how exactly your government will be structured. While some have urged that such matters be set aside until the complete annihilation of the Korean threat, others note that a clear and organized system of government could attract more Han people to your cause and provide for a seamless transition should hostilities be concluded. What kind of government do you envision for the Chinese Republic? Should a Russian model be approved or is something a bit more autocratic desirable? How will you respond to those who deem the many Chinese peasants as unprepared for democracy or republicanism?

[Spamage]

Confederation of New England

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Alone of your allies, there seems to have been little that went poorly for New England over the past year. New York was captured, albeit in a damaged state, and your vessels were able to break the immediate British blockade off your coast. These wins allowed you to secure reelection. While the military campaign of 1875 did close with a British counteroffensive into Pennsylvania and trade with Europe still seems rather precarious of a proposition, there are reasons to believe that any domestic threat to your government has been blunted. With the war still ongoing in 1876, what will your aims for the coming year be? Furthermore, with the new government inaugurated, what domestic actions will you pursue in the coming year?

Durrani Empire

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

-Delhi, the crown jewel of India, is in your hands, undamaged no less. Indeed, the Durrani Empire has stunned the world with its gains over the past two years, but there are signs of growing French pushback. With the French Civil War beginning to turn, and colonial officials recognizing Charlotte and the Whites, it seems Paris would be the one to negotiate any potential settlement with, should you be so inclined. If the fighting is to continue, you have a wide variety of options, but must make decisions about how closely to cooperate with the Turks and Mysore. Will you make further efforts to win over the heretofore indifferent Hindu populace?

-French agents have been apprehended within your borders, seeking to stir up tribal unrest among the Pashtun and Baloch leaders. Under torture, they have confessed to having been sent from Queen Charlotte herself in Paris, an alarming proposition. In exchange for revolt, they evidently offered a supply of weapons and tacit guarantees of independence. Local leaders were not swayed, in large part due to your engagement over previous years and success on the field. Still, Charlotte’s meddling has caused great consternation in Kabul. What is to be done with these foreign agents? Beyond that, how will you ensure that domestic discord remains a remote possibility? There are also whispers that Tibet, still coveting Kashmir, may act against you with the backing of both Paris and Nanjing. What is to be done so this threat does not materialize?

Army Strength:

Kingdom of France (Whites)
69 division Army of the Moselle
28 division Army of the Northwest
33 division Army of the South
10 division Army of Bordeaux
(142/152 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of France (Blues)
50 division Army of Provence
28 division Army of Brittany
8 division Army of Turin
(86/86 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of France (Neutral India and Colonies)
38 division Army of India
22 division Army of Orissa
5 division Army of Ceylon
(65/65 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Habsburg Monarchy (Excluding HRE)
52 division Army of Italy
40 division Army of the Rhine
42 division Army of Silesia
20 division Army of Transylvania
9 division Spanish Expeditionary Force
3 division Army of Madagascar
8 division Chinese Expeditionary Force
1 division Army of the Suez
(175/281 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of Scandinavia
20 division Army of Jutland
19 division Army of Schleswig
20 division Army of Bremen
20 division Army of Holstein
20 division Army of Kiel
10 division Army of Sudan
5 division Army of Cyprus
(114/128 divisions possible raised, max 18% conscription)

British Union
28 division Army of Ohio
27 division Army of the South
33 division Army of New York
5 division Army of Ireland
5 division Home Guard
(98/118 divisions possible raised, max 6% conscription)

Russian Republic
5 division Army of St. Petersburg
5 division Army of Moscow
10 division Army of Crimea
37 division Army of Trebizond
64 division Army of Konstantingrad
30 division Army of the Balkans
29 division Army of Shanxi
28 division Army of Manchuria
5 division Army of Turkestan
(215/275 divisions possible raised, max 10% conscription)

Ottoman State
47 division Army of the Dardanelles
25 division Army of Anatolia
8 division Army of Egypt
16 division Army of Albania
(96/96 divisions possible raised, max 12% conscription)

Ottoman India
45 division Legions of Alp Arslan

Ottoman Morocco
22 division Army of Morocco

Divine Republic of Brazil
5 division Army of Spain
10 division Army of Brazil
5 division Army of Taipei
5 division Army of the Congo
2 division Army of Southern Africa
3 division Army of Bahia
(30/70 divisions possible raised, max 22% conscription)

Kingdom of Naples
58 division Army of the North
13 division Army of Sicily
17 division Army of the Balearics
5 division Padanian Rebels
(93/98 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of Prussia
66 division Army of Brandenburg
40 division Army of Silesia
25 division Rhenish Army
5 division Army of the Baltic States
5 division Army of South Africa
(130/130 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Tokugawa Shogunate
60 division Army of Japan
30 division Army of Niigata
10 division Executive Guard
7 division Army of Kyoto
2 division Army of New Guinea
(109/169 divisions possible raised, max 10% conscription)

United Kingdom of Louisiana
12 division Army of the South
9 division Army of Knoxville
1 division Army of Bermuda
2 division Army of Jamaica
2 division Army of Cuba
(27/42 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Joseon Korea
38 division Army of Beijing
27 division Army of Manchuria
35 division Army of Pyeongyang
12 division Army of Incheon
5 division Army of Sumatra
4 division Army of Borneo
7 division Army of Shanghai
(128/128 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 Homorzegan
4 division Army of Gwadar
4 division Army of Mashad
5 division Army of Qatar
18 division Army of Riyadh
29 division Army of Damascus
28 division Army of Ankara
9 division Army of Mecca
(102/124 divisions possible raised, max 20% conscription)

Kingdom of Quebec
18 division Army of the West
16 division Army of the East
5 division Foreign Legion
(39/40 divisions possible raised, max 16% conscription)

Kingdom of Mexico
6 division Army of the American South
27 division Army of Ohio
5 division Royal Guard
2 division Army of the Yucatan
5 division Army of Veracruz
5 division Army of Guatemala
(50/52 divisions possible raised, max 15% conscription)

Chinese Republic
45 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
(204/286 divisions possible raised, max 3% conscription)

United Provinces of New Holland
6 division Army of Western Australia
4 division Army of Northern Australia
3 division Army of Papua New Guinea
4 division Army of Southern Australia
(17/40 divisions possible raised, max 8% conscription)

Holy Republic of Colombia
11 division Army of Iwo Jima
1 division Army of Haiti
2 division Army of Maracaibo
2 division Army of Caracas
3 division Army of Luzon
11 division Army off Taipei
4 division Army of Lima
4 division Army of New Guinea
(38/39 divisions possible raised, max 18% conscription)

Confederation of New England
15 division Army of New York
1 division Army of Boston
(16/16 divisions possible raised, max 17% conscription)

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

Kingdom of Romania
5 division Army of Bucharest
(5/30 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Kingdom of Portugal
5 division Army of Lisbon
5 division Army of Formosa
(10/22 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Dutch Republic
18 division Red Guard
(18/18 divisions possible raised, max 14% conscription)

Spanish Catholic Republic
10 division Army of Castile
(10/30 divisions possible raised, max 8% conscription)

Durrani Empire
24 division Army of Delhi
2 division Army of Herat
(26/28 divisions possible raised, max 11% conscription)

Sultanate of Mysore
22 division Army of the North
20 division Army of Mysore
(42/42 divisions possible raised, max 11% conscription)

[Spamage]

Iranian-Portuguese Treaty of 1876

The Sublime State of Iran and Portuguese kingdom shall sign a defense treaty against a foreign attack if either party at war did not strike first

X NQS

X- King John VII of Portugal

[Spamage]

Treaty of Harbin

• Hostilities will immediately cease and peace and normal relations will commence between the Russian Republic and Joseon
• Both parties will immediately return captured prisoners of war to their native homelands
• Joseon and Russia will agree to the following map as the new boundary:

xAlexsey Suvorin, President of the Russian Republic

X- Emperor Yi Ho