[Forum Game] World in Revolution: 1900 Mk. II

[oxfordroyale]

The Revolutionary Doctor
​

Somewhere in Manchuria, far from the island where a revolution rages in his name, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen is hard at work on an early draft of a book that will likely not be released for years to come. News from his comrades on Taiwan is infrequent and scarce – an unfortunate consequence of the ongoing British blockade – but he remains optimistic that soon their words and deeds shall spread far and wide across Asia. He yearns for the day when he can join them in their struggle, in the meantime preoccupying himself with what will soon become known across Asia as the political philosophy of Tridemism.

Sun Yat-Sen sipped from a cup of tea that had long grown cold, taking a moment to compose his thoughts before touching his quill to the blank page.

“The Three Principles of the People which I believe are central to the inevitable Chinese revolution are in some cases copied from our traditional ideals, in other cases modeled on European theory and experience and in still others formulated according to original and self-developed theories. They are described as follows:

“I. The Principle of Nationalism

“Revelations of Chinese history prove that the Chinese as a people are independent in spirit and in conduct. Upon this legacy is based my principle of nationalism, and where necessary, I have developed it and amplified and improved upon it. This is intended to be an ideal model for our future nationalistic policy toward races within our national boundaries. Externally, we should strive to maintain independence in the family of nations, and to spread our indigenous civilization as well as to enrich it by absorbing what is best in world civilization, with the hope that we may forge ahead with other nations towards the goal of ideal brotherhood. Unlike the Japanese and Europeans with whom we currently fight for self-determination, we should endeavor to avoid seeing our nationalism through the lens of bigotry, for the belief that certain breeds of man are inferior or superior to others is an illogical construct, born out of a cynical desire for an excuse to subjugate and exploit the weak. Internally, our nationalism must be just that – a patriotic sense of unity towards our nation – and clearly differentiated from race and ethnocentrism so as to unite all those groups within our borders, whether they be Han, Mongol, Tibetan, Manchu or Muslim. A cohesive and inclusive national consciousness must be developed if China is to thrive in the face of imperialist aggression.

“II. The Principle of Democracy

“Since we have had only ideas about popular rights in the past, and no democratic system has yet been evolved in China, we revolutionaries must turn to Europe and America to find a suitably republican form of government. There some countries have become republics and others have adopted constitutional monarchism, under which royal power has shrunk in the face of the rising demand for popular rights.

“All through my revolutionary career I have held the view that China must be made a republic. There are three reasons. First, from a theoretical point of view, there is no ground for preserving a monarchical form of government, since it is widely recognized that the people constitute the foundation of a nation and they are all equal in their own country. In the second place, under Manchu occupation the Chinese were forced into the position of the vanquished, and suffered oppression for more than two hundred and sixty years. While a constitutional monarchy may not arouse deep resentment in other countries and can maintain itself for the time being, it will be an impossibility in China. This is from a historical point of view. A third reason may be advanced with an eye on the future of the nation. That in China prolonged periods of disorder usually followed a revolution was due to the desire of every insurgent to be a king and to his subsequent contention for the throne. If a republican government is adopted, there will be no contention. For these three reasons, I have decided for the republican form of government in order to realize the principle of democracy.

"My second decision is that a constitution must be adopted to ensure good government. The true meaning of constitutionalism was discovered by Montesquieu. The threefold separation of the legislative, judicial, and executive powers as advocated by him was accepted in every constitutional country in Europe. On a tour of Europe and America I made a close study of their governments and laws and took note of their shortcomings as well as their advantages. The shortcomings of election, for instance, are not incurable. In the past China had two significant systems of examination and censoring and they can be of avail where the Western system of government and law falls short. I therefore advocate that the examinative and censorial powers should be placed on the same level with legislative, judicial and executive, thereby resulting in the five-fold separation of powers. On top of that, the system if the people's direct political powers should be adopted in order that the provision that the sovereign power is vested in the people may become a reality. In this way my principle of democracy may be carried out satisfactorily.

“III. The Principle of Livelihood

“With the invention of modern machines, the phenomenon of uneven distribution of wealth in the West has become all the more marked. On my tour of Europe and America, I saw with my own eyes the instability of their economic structure and the deep concern of their leaders in groping for a solution. I felt that, although the disparity of wealth under our economic organisation is not as great as in the West, the difference is only in degree, not in character.

“The situation will become more acute when the West extends its economic influence to China. We must form plans beforehand in order to cope with the situation. After comparing various schools of economic thought, I have come to the realization that the principle of state ownership is most profound, reliable and practical. Moreover, it will forestall in China difficulties which have already caused much anxiety in the West. I have therefore decided to enforce the principle of the people’s livelihood simultaneously with the principles of nationalism and democracy, with the hope to achieve our political objective and nip economic unrest in the bud. Take note that I am dividing the concept of livelihood into four distinct areas, those being clothing, food, housing and transportation. It shall be among the highest duties of the Chinese state to ensure that these areas are met by all citizens to a reasonable degree.

"In light of this, I propose that China establish a land value tax, for the only means of supporting the government is an infinitely just, reasonable, and equitably distributed tax. This will be the foundation upon which we shall build our new system. Furthermore, we …”​

 

[TJDS]

​

Koninkrijk der Nederlanden​

Kingdom of the Netherlands​

Wien Neêrlands bloed
​

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is of course saddened by the beginning of an armed struggle between the highly respected nations of Europe and the effects it may entail for the wider European Continent. The Kingdom of the Netherlands shall continue to embrace the policy of Armed Neutrality, being ready and able to withstand any threat to the national sovereignty of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but continuing diplomatic and economic discourse as normal with all nations, no matter their current conflicts. It is the hope of this Government and indeed the Dutch People that the conflicts in the Balkan and Europe as a whole are resolved as quickly as possible without the entanglement of other nations and the needless destruction of human life and capital.

Minister-President Abraham Kuyper​

 

[tyriet]

A curious request: ​

A letter written by Louis Bonaparte was published in the French right-wing newspapers, adressed at the Government

Louis Napoléon in Russian Parade Uniform​

People of France, Citizens, i write from you in exile, and it hurts me deeply, to have to do so. The Government of the Republic, allows me not to serve France and her people - my brothers and sisters. Meanwhile, the ancient home of the House of Bonaparte, the Island of Corsica has come under occupation by the Italians.
What insult they dare give to us, as French, and what slight is it, to me personally, that i can not defend my honor and home, as Louis Bonaparte and what insult is it, to me and France, that although Napoléon III made possible a home and nation for the Italian People, they attack us along with the Germans?
Already, i fight for the cause of France. As Officer of the Russian Army, i have seen, and overseen battle with the enemies of our proud Nation, and i am willing to give my life, and my soul for France and her people.
I ask not of the Government recognition of my Imperial and Royal perogative, i ask not of the Government to reinstate the House of Bonaparte or the Monarchy, but i ask:
Let me defend my honor, my home and nation, and let me fight with my people, where i belong.
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité,
“A la bataille”

The Government had a problem, on one side the Center and the Left Wing it represented, especially the Radical-Republicans were unlikely to accept the return of someone, especially as popular as Louis Bonaparte, into the ranks of the French Army, on the other hand he might prove a useful tool to rally the French around the cause of war - a Bonaparte leading the forces to battle. Furthermore, even if he tried to expand support behind a Bonapartist cause, his claim to the throne was shaky, at best, with his elder brother Victor Prince Napoléon.
The Government was undecided, but would have to adress this issue, or risk being seen as weak in times of war.

​

 

[MastahCheef117]

1907​

Europe

With an election to occur later in the year, the Prime Minister made it his mission to push hard on the issue of the federalization of the Empire. While the Currency Harmonisation Act 1907 passed the Commons with relative ease – which sought to begin a process of exchange rate standardization between the Isles and the various colonies and dominions – a second proposed Imperial Defense Fund, which would have increased government revenue in London while simultaneously improving defenses in various “at-threat colonies” (India and British possessions in Southeast Asia, among other places) was met with staunch opposition by most colonial governments and populations, especially in India, which already owed a huge portion of its wealth and income to the British government. As the election drew closer and resistance (both in the Commons and abroad) continued to stiffen, Primrose abandoned his project for now in what turned out to be the first great wave of resistance against federalization since the formal introduction of the proposal in government. [-2% political support to UK, colonies more weary of federalization efforts]

As war broke out all over Europe, British arms manufacturers went to work. Montenegro received a small shipment of British weapons, though the largest benefactor of British arms was perhaps the Ottoman Empire, whose own arms industry struggled to supply its mobilizing army. The French also received large shipments of modern Lee-Enfields. Arms were also sold to neutral powers, particularly the Scandinavian nations and Portugal, and while shipments were not cause for celebration in Britain, they were enough to turn a pretty penny for a fair number of executives. A cleanup of the Royal Navy also took place, with four of the seven-ship Royal Sovereign-class battleships, the first “modern” pre-dreadnought battleships ever built, being decommissioned and sold for scrap. A further two were quickly retrofitted, to make them slightly-less obsolete, and then sold to Italy to serve in the Regia Marina. This tonnage offset was tackled by orders for the St. Vincent-class battleships, a new set of dreadnoughts that boasted superior range and a stronger secondary armament to their predecessors. [UK selling guns to Scandinavia, Portugal, France, and the Ottomans, -6 pre-dreadnoughts to UK, +2 pre-dreadnoughts to Italy, - $ 110 m. to Italy, + $ 110 m. to UK, 1904 army tech to Portugal, 1904 army tech to Ottomans]

HMS Royal Sovereign, the first model pre-dreadnought in the world, was sold to scrap to make way for larger and more modern vessels.​

Primrose's last-minute failure to implement further federalization reforms damaged his outlook at the polls to a certain degree. His People's Budget and various welfare reforms were immensely popular on the left, but left his popularity wanting on the right. There was speculation that the Liberal Unionists would be forced to dissolve entirely after the election due to fracturing after the departure of Joseph Chamberlain and the conflicts between the classical and social liberals in government. Conservative support swelled, picking up 29 seats, mostly at the expense of the Liberal Unionists. Labour's share of the Commons increased by 200%, and Primrose now maintained a majority coalition with just four seats. [-5% political support to UK, Primrose re-elected, Liberal Unionists weakened]

The House of Commons after the election of 1907.​

With a sharply-reduced majority, and realizing just how steep anti-federalization sentiment in India had become due to the failure of the Imperial Defense Fund, Primrose made the cautious decision to encourage industrialization efforts in the subcontinent to produce modern farming and general agricultural equipment. As these factories were built and equipment was sold, Primrose pushed forward initiatives to supply various Indian communities and farmers with subsidies so as to enable them to afford this new equipment. For the first time, Indian farmers were allowed, in certain circumstances, to plant an increased number of food crops; this had the simultaneous effect of decreasing the volume of cash crops planted in the region. [+2% political support to UK, increasing diversification of food crops in India]

In an effort to very rapidly modernize the arms of the military as war tore Europe apart, the French government shifted a great number of industries to produce the new modern weaponry recently designed for the Army. Coupled with great shipments of new rifles from the United Kingdom and the development of new longer-range light field guns, the French Army was quickly brought up to speed in the department of modernity. [1906 army tech to France]

After witnessing the use of German Zeppelins in both the West and East, the French contracted their own airships for “naval reconnaissance” purposes. The beginnings of airbases for these new weapons of war were constructed along the French Atlantic coast and in the south, in preparation for operations both in the North Sea and the Mediterranean. [+7 airships in 1 turn to France]

French airships constructed and put into service for La Royale.​

The Christian Dutch government spent most of the year debating and passing laws regarding welfare and employee rights as the rest of the continent tore itself apart to war. Kuyper's conservative coalition, ed by the Anti-Revolutionary Party, was almost offended by Kuyper's insistence on passage of a bill that would standardize and expand the rights of workers joining trade unions nationwide, and after a brief tussle the bill was abandoned. Kuyper was far more successful, however, in proposing and securing the passage of the Laws of Mercy, a series of bills aimed at providing care for the destitute and ill of the Netherlands. The bills mandated the creation of the Ministry of Public Health and Welfare – which necessitated increases in taxes – which would receive a broad hand and many funds in tackling urban poverty. The bills were passed, and it would be a while before the reforms fully took effect, but they looked promising. [+1 health & welfare in 3 turns to Netherlands, +1 health & welfare in 5 turns to Netherlands, +1% political support to Netherlands]

The German war machine continued its unending march towards total mobilization, and as the conflict escalated and grew in scope, changes were made from lessons learned on the battlefield. Small modifications to the Gewehr 98 included a simplified bolt mechanism and improved sights. Other minor modifications were made to other Army equipment, including howitzers, field guns, entrenchment tools, and medical equipment. Improvements to the uniform of the standard infantryman of the Imperial Army were also made, most striking of which were new uniform colors to assist in helping to hide soldiers on the battlefield – camouflage. [1907 army tech to Germany]

Chancellor von Boetticher announced his resignation from the office due to ill health and age as battles raged in east and west; he died one week later in his sleep, thus laying to rest the last vestiges of the days of Bismarck's conservative government. The Emperor quickly appointed Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner, former Secretary of the Treasury and sitting Secretary of the Interior, to replace Boetticher. [+2% political support to Germany, Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner appointed Chancellor, conservative government strengthened]

The primary domestic political adventure of the Russian government when war broke out was to secure the political support of the Polish intellectual elite and intelligentsia. Sergei Witte assured Tsar Nicholas that the way to achieve such support was to guarantee certain concessions to them with regards to Polish autonomy in a postwar setting. Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Lamsdorf met with the most influential Polish leaders and suggested and supported the formation of what soon became the Polish National Committee. However, problems immediately arose between two chief Polish leaders, Roman Dmowski and Józef Piłsudski; the former believed that Polish independence could best be achieved by supporting the Russians, while the latter wished for a swift defeat of Russia at the hands of the Germans, and then for the Germans to crack under the strain of fighting a war against France. Piłsudski and a protege, Józef Haller (a soldier who previously served in the Austro-Hungarian Common Army), defected from the National Committee and sought assistance from the Germans. Dmowski was certain the Germans would never liberate Poland, and that any Polish state formed in the wake of the Imperial Army would be indebted to Berlin; only by helping the faltering Russian Army gain victory would the Poles gain the independence they so desperately craved. As more and more of Poland became a battleground, Polish soldiers quickly found themselves on both sides of the conflict. With Poles now essentially split on the issue of who to support, Witte received a dressing-down by the Tsar. [+2 Polish Legions to Germany, +3 Polish Legions to Russia, Polish National Committee formed, Witte on thin ice]

The propaganda machine of the Empire similarly began to pick up. The popularity of war correspondents and the newspaper reporting from the Russo-Japanese War carried over into the new European war, with fantastical stories of Russian (and Ukrainian and Polish and, yes, even Finnish) heroism in the face of the terrible barbarism of the Romanians and their German slavemasters. Touring orchestras, choirs, and bands made their rounds among the rear echelons, playing Russian folk hymns, church music, and the famous 1812 Overture – a century on, the enemy was different, but the stakes on the victor of the conflict were just the same. [+13% political support to Russia]

An unreasonably small yet conveniently illegible newspaper, the likes of which were printed and read all over Russia – by the literate, anyway.​

Realizing the Regia Marina was wholly unprepared to go to battle against the strength of virtually the entirety of the French Navy, the Italian government secured contracts with British shipbuilders to build two new modern dreadnoughts for Italian service. A further expansion of the navy via domestically-built warships was shrunk, as more and more funds were requisition to support and supply the rapidly-expanding and mobilizing army. The explosive planned expansion of the Regia Marina came alongside a series of patriotic speeches given by King Umberto, becoming known as “Umberto the Good” or “Uncle Umberto” (Zio Umberto). Though many Italian boys were volunteering or being conscripted, national elections returned an enormous conservative majority. Luigi Pelloux stepped down after years in office, despite enjoy bipartisan support, allowing Sidney Sonnino to ascend to the office of premier. The popular Pelloux returned to service in the Army, taking on an advisory role to Chief of Staff of the Army Albert Pollio. [+2 dreadnoughts in 3 turns to Italy (UK), +4 light cruisers in 2 turns to Italy (UK), +6 destroyers in 1 turn to Italy, +4 submarines in 1 turn to Italy, +1 light cruiser in 2 turns to Italy, - $ 325 m. to Italy, + $ 325 m. to UK, +2% political support to Italy, Sidney Sonnino made Prime Minister]

With Spanish industries continuing their boom, and the war in Europe already claiming many thousands of lives, many Spanish businessowners figured they could profit off of the death and destruction. War materiel, like steel and canned food, were shipped in great number (by Spanish standards) through the English Channel to Germany, helping to feed many Germans whose economic prospects were somewhat poor as the national economy worked itself up into a war fervor. Small tax breaks were offered to businesses that shipped certain goods to the warring countries, of which Germany was the primary recipient, creating a mad-dash of Spanish companies exporting what they could to foreign markets. [Spanish exports increased]

Two men, Juan Esperanza and Pedro Unceta, founded the Astra-Unceta y Cia arms company, which very quickly became renowned for high-quality pistols and hunting rifles. After various visits by army and government officials, the company received a charter and subsidy by the royal government, and were commissioned to produce a new official sidearm and rifle for the Spanish Army. This they did in no time at all, and the weapons were rated of such quality as to compare to other modern weapons of the great powers. By the end of the year, preliminary designs for light field guns and howitzers were accepted by the Army, and the first units of production entered official Army service. Other equipment, including helmets for certain units and other parts of uniforms, were produced en-masse by various other companies. The government's efforts to strengthen the army upset the left but pleased the right. Many of PSOE persuasion called for the dissolution of the government and new elections, taking a decidedly anti-military stance in the whole affair. Conservatives and National Renewal claimed that the government efforts did not go far enough to rejuvenate the Spanish military. [1905 army tech to Spain, -4% political support to Spain]

The Astra 400, a highly-regarded pistol developed by Astra-Unceta. Though heavy and somewhat clunky, it was highly accurate, and surprisingly powerful despite its 9mm cartridge.​

Tensions and confrontations between the Spanish and Portuguese governments continued into 1907 regarding the controversial Treaty of Lisbon. Continued high unemployment in Portugal was coupled with extremely low prices for consumers, while both Spanish and Portuguese GDP exploded (as compared with pre-Treaty years). The Portuguese government hinged its own popularity on its chances of subverting the treaty and forcing the Spanish to come to the negotiating table. Massive subsidies were provided to those Portuguese industries that had managed somewhat of a comeback, to open operations in Spain itself and compete with local Spanish industries by driving prices lower. These few Portuguese heavy industries began to flourish domestically, and their presence sprung up in parts of Spain and even elsewhere. The tax breaks passed the previous year did not carry over to Spanish industries in Portugal, giving the latter an automatic advantage in terms of profit margins and prices. [Portuguese heavy industry slowly making a “comeback”, prices lower in Spain]

With the Regenerator Party having come to power with promises of military modernization – the one major sector of government affairs that Arriaga had neglected during his ministry – Prime Minister Ribeiro directed a team of officers to be attached to the French Army in Alsace-Lorraine, who observed maneuvers and operations there and formulated a more modern doctrine for the Royal Portuguese Army. [+1 army level in 2 turns, +1 army level in 3 turns to Portugal]

The military occupation of Novi Pazar was considered brutal by many foreign observers. Responsibility for the territory fell squarely in the lap of the Transleithanian government – dominated by the Hungarians – and it spared no time nor expense in forcing its preferred language and religion on the local populace. Bureaucrats from Budapest were shipped in to administer to the territory as Honved troops vacated the region for other places. A local gendarmerie was established with support from the Honved, composed of the few locals willing to pledge loyalty to the Austro-Hungarian government. Islam became something of a repressed religion, and new Catholic chapels and churches were built in the major settlements. The Germans – and other ethnic groups – disapproved of the Hungarians' treatment of the locals, but mostly kept their mouths shut about the whole affair. It was not a fun time to be a Turk or a Muslim – or, really, any non-Catholic non-Hungarians – in Novi Pazar. [-1% political support to Austria-Hungary, Novi Pazar being forcefully integrated into Transleithania]

With the Hungarians taking a leadership role in the war – which most Germans did not want to be a part of anyway – the forceful imposition of the Hungarian national identity in Novi Pazar, and the Emperor's refusal to commit to the war against Russia, the undercurrent of pan-German nationalists in Austria-Hungary stirred and shouted their voices loudly for all to hear. Civil war threatened to break the Christian Social Party apart after one incident in which a CSU delegate in the House of Deputies, called Minister-President von Koeber's government one of “spineless and disdainful disposition” an announced he was retiring from the party to form his own party, which he named the National German Union Party, a center-to-right catch-all conservative party whose main goal was to achieve unification of the German-speaking parts of the Dual Monarchy with the German Empire. While he was the sole member of this party in the government, it gained traction among a fair number of people in Cisleithania. Koerber suffered under intense pressure due to his failure to “contain the traitorous threat”, and Georg Ritter von Schönerer, noted German nationalist, very loudly gave him his full-throated support. If Koerber did not handle the situation well – which was tenuous as it was – his government could collapse or, worse yet, the Dual Monarchy itself could dissolve entirely. [-8% political support to Austria-Hungary]

The highly-influential Georg Ritter von Schönerer, whose support to the NDUP delegate lent him much credence in the eyes of German nationalists.​

The announcement of the Greco-Ottoman Treaty to the wider world sent Greece into a state of shock. While the nationalist Prime Minister Theotokis tried to reassure the public that avoiding war would be good for the country, and that further territories would be ceded in the near future. However, after years of reforming the military, the Greek people had been led to believe that a war between the Greeks and Turks was inevitable. Public support for Theotokis plummeted, and he was soon forced to resign. The election in the Hellenic Parliament selected Dimitrios Gounaris, leader of the Nationalist Party and successor to previous Nationalist leader Theodoros Diligiannis, as the new Prime Minister in a landslide. [-10% political support to Greece, Gounaris elected]

The new Greek Prime Minister, Dimitrios Gounaris.​

The Magyarization of Novi Pazar and the increasing power and influence of the Hungarians in the Austro-Hungarian government was capitalized upon by the Sublime Porte most extensively. Tens of thousands of Ottoman subjects volunteered to serve almost purely out of fear of being Magyarized by “the Hun”; an Ottoman victory would be continued prosperity for all Ottomans, while an enemy victory would mean the destruction of all groups in the Empire, whether they be Serbian, Greek, Arab, or even Turkish. As controversy stirred further west in the Balkans, the rest of the Empire rallied 'round the red banner of the Empire. [+6% political support to Ottomans, everyone hates Hungarians]

A part of the Greco-Ottoman Treaty stipulated an immediate referendum in the Cretan State as to whether or not to immediately rejoin Greece. The treaty was ostensibly a sign of goodwill between both countries, but most everyone knew it was a desperate (and successful) attempt by the Sublime Porte to keep the Greeks out of the war. The referendum was held in late July, with 98.2% of voters – some 74,300 people – voting in favor of joining Greece. The process of transferring power was completed by the end of the year. [Crete restored to Greek rule]

Realizing the mistake he had made after seeing how underprepared Serbian troops were to fight the Ottomans, King Milan ordered a complete mobilization of the Serbian economy to support the war effort and to greatly increase efforts to recruit soldiers (and conscript them, too). Field Marshal Putkin, his numbers swelling, ordered a push south toward Skopje. General Shevket Pasha, responsible for the defense (and later the burning) of Pristina, had since been reinforced with freshly-mobilized troops and was ordered to hold Skopje against enemy forces at all cost. His army in the west formed the furthest-west properly-organized Ottoman force, and its survival was critical to the Ottoman war effort. Montenegrin and Serbian commanders were aware of this, and intended on launching a two-pronged attack on Shevket Pasha's positions. As Putnik, Lieutenant Generals Janković and Stepanović, and Montenegrin Crown Prince Danilo (accompanied by his younger brother Prince Peter) pressed in from the north and northwest, Austro-Hungarian Lieutenant General Baron Boroëvić von Bojna, born in Hungarian-controlled Croatia, led twenty-thousand Honved volunteer infantry through Montenegrin-occupied territory and into the relatively undefended Albania. Field Marshal Edhem Pasha ordered Shevket Pasha to swing left around Montenegrin forces and quickly lock down Albania from Austro-Hungarian control, but it was too late. Most of Shevket Pasha's troops were already embroiled in the fighting while thousands of Albanians cheered their liberators as they marched in the streets of Tirana. Ottoman casualties were high in the Skopje campaign, but as time wore on they managed to out-bleed their Serbian and Montenegrin enemies. A determined defense along the banks of the Vardar River had potentially saved the western Ottoman Balkans from falling. Shevket Pasha was hailed as a hero throughout the Empire for his resolute and determined defense of the area. By the end of the year, he was completely spent – in arms and in manpower – and thus unable to participate in the other activities going on in Bulgaria, due mostly to a sudden uprising of Bulgarians in Macedonia which threatened to encircle him in both the north and the south. Captured insurgents were discovered with Russian weapons, though the origin of these guns was unknown. [-2% political support to Ottomans, -990 soldiers to Austria-Hungary, -21,583 soldiers to Ottomans, -17,331 soldiers to Serbia]

Serbian soldiers preparing to attack Ottoman forces near Skopje. ​

Plans were drawn up for a Bulgarian offensive into Ottoman Macedonia in late June, to coincide with the joint Serbo-Montenegrin push toward Skopje, but these plans were quickly scuppered with the advent of a series of Turk offensives against Bulgarian lines. Lieutenant General Kutinchev's 4th Corps was almost overwhelmed by a combined attack of the soldiers under Generals Nazim Pasha and Muhtar Pasha, including the crack modern troops which featured so prominently in the battles for Plovdiv earlier in the year. Despite high Ottoman casualties, the attacks were launched with such vigor that Kutinchev, having taken heavy casualties just several weeks prior, was unable to sustain his position with the losses he was suffering. An entire Bulgarian division was left behind to sacrifice itself in defending the city, and after being surrounded when Ottoman troops crossed the Maritsa River upstream, the remains of the division dissolved and surrendered. At the same time, Greeks both from that country and from Ottoman Greece made themselves to Bulgaria in the thousands to take up arms against the Turk, many of them frustrated by the Greco-Ottoman Treaty. [-1 infantry division to Bulgaria, +1 Greek Legion to Bulgaria, -4% political support to Bulgaria, -12,482 soldiers to Bulgaria, -14,859 soldiers to Ottomans]

The redeployment of new soldiers north to push the Romanians out of Southern Dobrudja led to Bulgarian troops being outnumbered in the south. The Ottoman drive was fierce and at some times disjointed, but more often than not successful to some degree. Nazim and Muhtar Pasha, without the support of Shevket Pasha from Skopje, had to make a very difficult push towards Sofia itself without support from the southwest. The troops fighting in Bulgaria were the first to receive the new British arms, and while only the elite troops had familiarized themselves enough with the weapons to display any marked improvement, it certainly gave the Turks an edge in the fighting. General Kutinchev, desperate to halt the Ottoman advance, threw almost his entire force, including tens of thousands of fresh conscripts, into what became a meatgrinder at the Battle of Pazardzhik on the road to Sofia. Prince Ferdinand came to witness the battle unfold; on the fourth day he left, saying, “God grant us eternal peace when this is ended.” The bloodbath continued for another eleven days of back-and-forth in what became the bloodiest battle of the Balkan War. Kutinchev was forced from the battle after a council of war in which his generals unanimously ruled against him, thus ending the fight. [-26,385 soldiers to Bulgaria, -20,132 soldiers to Ottomans, -7% political support to Bulgaria]

A Bulgarian soldier charges Ottoman lines – facing certain death – at the Battle of Pazardzhik. ​

Another separate Ottoman offensive ran along the Black Sea coast, where opposition was comparatively minimal. General Fichev struggled hard with smaller forces against General Hasan Tahsin Pasha, an ethnic Albanian who pained over the occupation of his homeland. Burgas was seized after Fichev's force was mostly spent in mid-September, and his wounded forces were hounded north until he made one final stand just south of Varna. Off the coast, the many ships of the Ottoman Navy caught the Bulgarians by surprise and sank both its flagship and a destroyer before forcing them into port. After a comparatively bloodless battle, Varna was taken by Ottoman troops. Commodore Adamov, commander of the Bulgarian Navy, ordered the last two destroyers scuttled in harbor before committing suicide. Fichev's tattered force withdrew west, the general correctly assuming that Hasan Tahsin was going to push in that direction with the intent of pressuring Sofia from the north. [-1 light cruiser, -3 destroyers to Bulgaria, -1 destroyer to Ottomans, -6,122 soldiers to Bulgaria, -4,106 soldiers to Ottomans, -7% political support to Bulgaria]

With the Ottoman Navy operating in the Black Sea, the bulk of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, sent out with the goal of sinking the entirety of the Turk fleet, was facing the prospect of going back to Trieste empty-handed. Instead, Grand Admiral Rudolf Montecuccoli sailed to the city of Bodrum and shelled it, killing over one-hundred civilians and damaging both the local hospital and radio station. The fleet returned to Austria-Hungary proclaiming a great naval victory over enemy ships in harbor. [Bodrum shelled, nothing else happens]

The Romanian war effort against the Bulgarians was almost as successful. After having been almost chased out of Southern Dobrudja by concerted troops under Lieutenant General Todorov, General Averescu was reinforced with newly-mobilized divisions and pushed south once again. Todorov initially held strong, but news of the various defeats in the south sapped sapped the morale of his men and resulted in increased casualties as several more battles were fought throughout the region. Increasing pressure from the south from Hasan Tahsin's advance weakened the Bulgarian defense against Averescu's own army, and by the end of the year the entirety of Southern Dobrudja was again in Romanian hands. Averescu refused to push deeper into Bulgarian territory as early as October, however, as events in the north dissuaded him from extending the Army's supply lines too much. [-14,267 soldiers to Bulgaria, -8,333 soldiers to Romania, -4% political support to Bulgaria, +2% political support to Romania]

General Ioan Culcer was in a precarious situation. The survival of his command depended entirely on General Prezan to the west, who had the opportunity to strike at General Brusilov and halt his encirclement of the Carol Line. Brusilov continued his advance, however, as Culcer was forced to pull men off the line to defend his flank. Brusilov was reinforced with more soldiers pouring through the lines at Galati, which only increased the pressure in Culcer. Prezan was embroiled in a bloody battle to retake Liesti from across the Siret River, and found himself unable to scrape together any spare units to send his way. Culcer's 34th Infantry Division was the first to break, surrendering on 9 October after being surrounded and beaten to a pulp; one week later the 6th also surrendered, leaving Culcer with the increasingly isolated 8th. By this point, however, Prezan had secured victory at Liesti, temporarily forcing Sakharov's 15th and 18th Armies (the latter under the command of Mikhail Alekseyev, who personally oversaw the defense of Liesti) to disengage, and quickly sent the majority of his own command east to attack Brusilov's rear. It came as a surprise, as Brusilov had been counting on Sakharov holding his position. Two battles fought around Cataloi and two more near Greci and Macin forced Brusilov to withdraw the bulk of his forces, thus failing in his mission to destroy the Carol Line. Still, he had dissolved two of its divisions, forcing the Romanians to come forward with green conscripts and put them in the fortifications. Many Romanians died in this grand counteroffensive – was it to be their Pyyrhic victory? [-2 infantry divisions, -72,483 soldiers to Romania, -58,221 soldiers to Russia, +3% political support to Romania]

Romanian generals inspecting their troops before the counterattack against Brusilov.​

Kuropatkin continued his plan of strategic withdrawal toward the Vistula, leading German troops deeper and deeper into Congress Poland. The summer mobilization period saw even greater numbers of soldiers fighting in the heat and fields. Smirnov's 3rd Army, despite being pressured greatly by Prittwitz's 8th Army from the west, proceeded to march south, with the intent of packing a great number of troops in the Warsaw salient – enough, it was guessed, that would prevent a German capture of the city. The Vistula was made an integral part of the Russian defensive network, with great fortifications, including a series of well-built forts, being erected along its banks. As Russian troops bled and suffered and were pushed further into central Poland, Kuropatkin directly oversaw the fortification of Warsaw, with a great series of trenches and interconnected defensive regions being constructed. A reporter from the New York Times called it “the most well-defended place on Earth”, and rightfully so. It would take one of the best armies in the world to crack these fortifications. The German Army took up this challenge.

Rennenkampf, who stayed in command of the 1st Army through the good graces of the Tsar alone, was reluctantly put under the direct command of the defense of Warsaw as German troops drew closer and closer. Italian troops under the Duke of Aosta, backed up by General von Fabeck's 6th Army to the north, fought for three weeks at Ivangorod with General Nikolay Ivanov's 5th Army. Rennenkampf sent reinforcements to assist Ivanov, but it was too little too late; Russian lines around the city began to fail on 12 August, with the famous Ivangorod Fortress falling three days later after being surrounded and its garrison wiped out. The Vistula was penetrated, and Kuropatkin and his staff, panicking that the fall of the city would result in a chain reaction with the fall of Warsaw and the rest of Poland, committed further troops to central Poland, in the form of the 4th and 19th Armies under Generals Kaledin and Shcherbachev, respectively. Rennenkampf was put in overall command of the 1st, 4th, and 19th Armies, along with elements of the 6th and 11th that were being railroaded in from the east. The Lomza forts fell on 19 August, forcing Smirnov's 3rd Army down towards Warsaw. Hindenburg, intent on separating Smirnov from Warsaw and preventing any further concentration of Russian troops, ordered Fabeck and the Duke of Aosta to cross the Vistula and travel north along its eastern bank, threatening to both encircle Warsaw and approach from the weaker-held southeast. Ivanov did what he could to harass the Germans here, but his greater degree of casualties prevented any meaningful progress. [-136,838 soldiers to Germany, -214,385 soldiers to Russia, -8,372 soldiers to Italy]

Russian troops retreating across the Vistula near Ivangorod after the defeat there. ​

As Ivanov's army began to fold and German progress up the Vistula sped up, Hindenburg ordered a full-out offensive to take Warsaw itself. Newly-promoted General August von Mackensen, commander of the new 12th Army, engaged the disoriented Smirnov in a series of battles around Ostrow, dealing him heavy casualties and heading him off in the advance to reinforce Warsaw. The same day, Prittwitz won a decisive – if bloody – victory at Novo Georgievsk, setting the stage for the German attack on Warsaw. With Smirnov and Ivanov separated from the city in the north and south respectively, Rennenkampf was left to hold Warsaw with some 300,000 soldiers. Kuropatkin began planning a counterattack by the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 11th Armies, but by the time everything was set in stone it was too late. Mackensen's heavily-reinforced army launched the first attacks from the north on the Russian side of the Vistula, followed by repeated attacks from the west and southeast by Fabeck and others. The Russian fortifications built over the course of the year caused atrocious casualties among the Germans, but Rennenkampf's own men suffered severely, as he gave the controversial order to not surrender. After hearing that two forts to the west fell in the same day and that Fabeck's and the Duke's soldiers had advanced two miles, Rennenkampf suffered a nervous breakdown and was relieved from command. By this point, elements of the 3rd and 5th Armies were the only thing keeping a line of communication and supply to Warsaw, thus allowing Rennenkampf to escape and be replaced on Kuropatkin's orders by General Thadeus von Sievers. By 20 September this gap had been closed and Warsaw was effectively surrounded. On 18 October reports reached Kuropatkin that fighting had begun in the city proper as the last of the outer forts had succumbed to the German onslaught. By this point his plans for a counteroffensive to relieve the city were complete and he gave the order for the offensive to begin on 1 November. Bitter cold and several snowstorms had slowed the German efforts, but it did not much matter: the eyes of the world were on the hundreds of thousands fighting and dying for the city of Warsaw. On 1 November the offensive began from Sokolov and Sedletz, with feigning attacks from Lublin in the south. After a week of fighting, modest ground had been retaken, but then Kuropatkin received the news that the last Russian soldiers in Warsaw had surrendered or been killed on 9 November. General von Sievers had committed suicide after the order to surrender was given. The city lay in absolute ruins and three Russian armies had been destroyed. Little else happened on the front during and after the Battle of Warsaw – and little else had to happen. The fighting in Warsaw also prove to be a great boon to medical science, as Austro-Hungarian efforts to treat wounded German soldiers lent great insights into the fields of science and, more specifically, biology and anatomy. [+1% political support to Germany, -8% political support to Russia, -176,399 soldiers to Germany, -24 infantry divisions, -4 cavalry divisions to Russia, -201,570 soldiers to Russia, +1 army level in 1 turn to Austria-Hungary, -10,581 soldiers to Italy]

At the same time as the first German offensives in the summer in Poland, Joffre ordered his own offensive against the Germans. General de Castelnau again headed this offensive along the same corridor of the offensive in May. Prince Leopold, however, was ready, and de Castelnau pleaded with Joffre to call off the minor action as his men died to gain no ground. Two days after the action began, Generals Lanrezac and Dubail, commanding the 5th and 1st Armies respectively, made a push on the German left into the Vosges, which had received less attention and were defended with less-extensive fortifications than elsewhere. Colonel General von Kluck was taken by surprise, as bad weather had prevented Zeppelins from scouting French lines the past several days, and his 1st Army was dealt several severe defeats before being forced to give up the city of Mülhausen. Leopold responded by again bringing Falkenhayn's 5th Army into the fray, attacking Dubail's left flank and forcing him to halt and prevent the Germans from rolling along his line. Lanrezac continued on to Freiburg, where von Kluck, reinforced with fresh troops and accompanied by two divisions of Colonel General von Heeringen's 7th Army, stood in his way. Fighting here was bloodier than at Mülhausen, and after several weeks of on-and-off fighting the French were forced to retire, allowing Castelnau to finally call off his attack on German lines to the north. Minor skirmishes and fighting continued to occur elsewhere throughout the rest of the year as Prince Leopold continued to draw up plans to evict the French occupiers from Elsaß-Lothringen. [+2% political support to France, -3% political support to Germany, -133,584 soldiers to France, -97,274 soldiers to Germany]

French soldiers of Lanrezac's 1st Army moving into position to assault the German lines at Freiburg. ​

Hoping now to take advantage of the absolute lack of major French warships along the Atlantic Coast, the High Seas Fleet undertook several raiding operations to strike fear into the heart of France. A naval bombardment at Cherbourg took place before the fleet was scared off by several destroyers, and a group of submarines sank several merchant vessels leaving the port of Brest. Other minor bombardments of towns and smaller cities along the coast took place, though it added little to the war effort, if only emboldening the French population. [+1% political support to France]

Fighting in the Alps and along the Mediterranean coast flared up – but only just – later in the year. Minor Italian attacks across the border, ostensibly to probe enemy defenses and provoke a counterattack that would prove to be a folly, were unsuccessful, and the French continued to sit and do mostly nothing, to the chagrin of the French public. [-832 soldiers to France, -1,286 soldiers to Italy, -4% political support to France]

An attempt to counteract the fall of Corsica with a counter-invasion of Sardinia proved, in the end, to be a disaster. Tens of thousands of soldiers were embarked on their transports, and the entirety of the French Navy in Europe set sail for Sardinia. While a smaller detachment of troops were sent on toward Tunisia and Libya, the bulk headed for the mine-infested waters of the Italian island and suffered dearly. Many thousands died, and various warships were damaged and sunk, including the battleship Massêna. Amid this catastrophe, rumors reached the Admiralty from Spain that a portion of the Kaiserliche Marine had been sent into the Mediterranean to operate alongside the Regia Marina. These rumors were confirmed when the German battleship Kaiser Barbarossa was spotted in harbor at Taranto along with various assorted smaller vessels. With the disaster at Sardinia, this assuredly would guarantee near-parity between the French and Italian navies in the Mediterranean. [-2 infantry divisions, -6,395 soldiers to France, -1 pre-dreadnought, -1 light-cruiser, -2 destroyers to France, -1 submarine to Italy]

Asia

The Qing government, coming under increasing stress as more and more territory was lost to the Yuanists, and with the Empress Dowager no longer restraining the modernist visions of the Guangxu Emperor, embarked on a highly-ambitious campaign to improve the fortunes of the army on the frontline and to stave off the total collapse of the dynasty. The Emperor ordered large sums of money dumped into a program, assisted with advice from resident Chilean army officers, for a large reform of both the army logistics system and efforts to create new uniform designs and restructuring the command hierarchy. General Estanislao del Canto, a veteran of the War of the Pacific and the most esteemed of all Chilean generals, led a much larger detachment of Chilean officers to China. While some progress was certainly made, many Chileans were upset that a huge portion of the army senior officer corps was sent to a faraway place – a barbaric place, at that – and were not in Chile defending the country. [Morale of semi-modern and modern Qing army improved significantly, +4 modern infantry, 1 modern cavalry in 2 turns to Qing, +1 army level to Qing in 3 turns, 1902 tech to Qing, -6% political support to Chile, +1 army level to Chile (wargames)]

1907 would prove to be one of the most important years in Chinese history as the Qing army high command, realizing the gravity of their situation, resolved to holding the lines at all cost and not allowing Yuanist troops to break through once again. Prince Chun continued rushing modernized troops to the front, equipped with Mausers and other licensed weapons purchased from the Chileans, though his personal ability to command was certainly poor, and he left most operations in this regard to Generals Shen Hongying and Chen Bingkun. Field Marshal Li focused all his efforts and resources on breaking any Yuanist offensives before they snowballed and had the chance of collapsing Qing lines altogether. Yuan, meanwhile, spent the first several months giving speeches and conferring peerages and awards on his most successful and decorated soldiers and generals. While it was largely successful in shoring up morale, there were rumors among the lowest ranks that most awards were reserved for Yuan's inner circle and his closest allies and friends. What food could be spared in Peking, the area still suffering from the last vestiges of widespread drought and famine, were sent off to areas dearly affected by the conflict. Little food was given to those that needed it, and it did little to help his cause. [Yuanist morale improved slightly]

As the Qing prepared for the coming Yuanist offensives, however, new problems sprung up. On 23 March Sun Yat-sen, residing in Russian-occupied Manchuria, received news through his courier that the Tongmenghui had successfully declared a Republic of China on Taiwan, and that he was made Provisional President of China. He immediately went into motion, giving the order to dozens of cells across China to begin the revolution. On 4 April, the Shuangsi (double four) Revolution began.

Fighting immediately broke out in the cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou, which harbored the strongest Republican sentiment of any cities in the country. Guangzhou fell within a matter of days, with Republican militia and militants swept into controlling the city at the head of tens of thousands of bitter armed Chinese. Fighting persisted for much longer in Shanghai, until 16 April; by 14 April militants had also risen in Xuzhou, Wuhu, Changsha, Chenzhou, and elsewhere. Qing troops in these regions were certainly scarce, and Qing resistance was minimal save for at Nanking, where two-thousand Qing soldiers holding the Gate of China and various surrounding fortifications held off Republican soldiers for seven days, before falling to a massed assault after midnight on the eighth day. [-3,588 soldiers to Republic of China, -7,829 soldiers to Qing, -1 infantry division to Qing]

Republican troops, brandishing the flags of both the Republic and the Orchid Revolution, assaulting the Gate of China outside Nanking. ​

As dozens of cities fell into chaos in southern and eastern China, Yuan decided to press home the attack, and on 1 May launched the Grand Offensive, with the goal of securing Shandong, capturing the imperial court at Luoyang, and effecting the destruction of the Qing Army. Generals Zhou and Wu attacked from Cangzhou, striking General Zhang's Army of Shandong in the front and dealing it heavy casualties. Zhang was continually pushed southeast until he found himself in Weifang, with Yuanist troops threatening to cut him off. At the last moment, realizing he would be useless were he to lose his command in Shandong, he extricated himself and what troops he could from the area, letting the city – the only place outside of Peking to initially revolt in support of Yuan's rebellion – fall to Yuan once more. Inside of two weeks, the peninsula folded to his forces. [-3 infantry divisions, -1 cavalry division to Qing, -18,930 soldiers to Qing, -12,005 soldiers to Empire of China, -1% political support to Qing]

To the west, Luoyang was under direct threat from the Imperial Guards Army under Yuan's nominal command (led in actuality by General Duan Qirui). Here General Jiang and Prince Chun, gathering what troops they could in the region, erected defenses at Kaifeng and Zhengzhou. General Duan, intent on taking Luoyang before the end of autumn, launched several concerted offensives at both Kaifeng and Zhengzhou, from the northern and southern banks of the Huang He. Qing resistance was stiff – a large proportion of Qing troops here were modern or semi-modern in nature – and Kaifeng fell on 18 June, only to quickly be retaken on the 22nd. Duan went further west and attempted to attack Luoyang directly, and when asked if he wanted to be evacuated, the Guangxu Emperor stated, “I will suffer and die with my loyal subjects.” The Luoyang defenses held, and Duan was pushed off. [-13,992 soldiers to Qing, -22,013 soldiers to Empire of China, +2% political support to Qing]

News to the east remained grim, however. Zhang's withdrawal from Shandong seemed to precipitate General Feng Guozhang's own Army of Peking crushing Qing troops at Jining, driving surviving Qing soldiers into Nanyang Lake and massacring them to a man. Li found himself under enormous pressure by this point, as Republican revolts in the south threatened to hem his forces in. General Zhang, again being threatened with an encirclement, fought hard to retain the city of Linyi, which, too, fell after almost one straight month of brutal combat. He swept west, racing Feng to Xuzhou. His battered forces ran through Republican forces, quieting them long enough for him to squeeze most of his forces out of the pocket. [-19,472 soldiers to Empire of China, -5,299 soldiers to Republic of China, -26,028 soldiers to Qing, -3 infantry divisions to Qing]

Yuanist troops at the Battle of Linyi.​

Efforts by Field Marshal Dong in the north to retake Jinxian proved mostly fruitless, as local Yuanist troops, led by the skilled General Cao Kun, easily brushed off the messy attacks of the disoriented and dejected Qing troops in the region. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Cao, taking a page out of the Hongxian Emperor's book, made a show of risking himself personally in battle, steeling his troop's morale even after he suffered a gunshot wound to the hand. Against several repeated attacks throughout the year, Cao was able to secure Peking's north and prevent Qing troops from gaining ground on the coast of the Bohai Sea. [-5,923 soldiers to Qing, -2,184 soldiers to Empire of China]

Off the coast of Tientsin, the Yuanist fleet – essentially ships stolen from the Qing – launched a surprise attack on the Jiangsu Fleet in late August. The inferior size and quality of the Yuanist crews was almost negated by how disorganized the Qing fleet initially seemed, but over time Admiral Zhang Peilun rallied his ships, effectively annihilating Yuan's Imperial Fleet – at a step cost, however. One famous scene had the Yuanist flagship, Yuan Keding (named after the Crown Prince), out of ammo, steam ahead, ram, and sink the Qing cruiser Hai Chou. [-2 armored cruisers, -1 light cruiser, -2 destroyers to Empire of China, -1 armored cruiser, -2 light cruisers, -1 destroyer to Qing Empire]

Cao Kun, instrumental in commanding Yuanist forces in the north.​

By October more cities were falling to Republican revolutionaries, and while Luoyang and the Zhengzhou-Kaifeng lines were holding, Qing troops were repeatedly beaten back almost every time they engaged their enemy. Further rebellions by Republican cells in more southern cities severely weakened Qing control in these regions. There was a strange unofficial ceasefire on Yuanist-Republican lines, though combat could break out at any time; with the city essentially secured from the threat of attack, Sun Yat-sen traveled to Shanghai via Port Arthur and landed amid great crowds of cheering people, free, for the first time, from the shackles of absolute monarchy. News of the disaster on Taiwan had reached the mainland only recently, and a mass memorial service was held in the city. With the fate of Huang Xing and the other Tongmenghui leaders on Taiwan unknown, the seriousness of the situation resulted in the appointment of Lin Sen as Premier of the Republic. Sun chose Hu Hanmin as his Vice President. The Republic of China was officially inaugurated on the mainland, and Shanghai was now its capital. Revolution had come to China.

Qing anti-rebel efforts in Qinghai and Sinkiang were certainly a mixed bag. General Lu Rongting rode at the head of an expedition to crush the Muslim revolts that now centered around Xining and Kashgar. General Lu Rongting, placed in command of a mix of Han and Hui troops, set out from X'ian with the objective of crushing the Ma-led revolt around Qinghai Lake and to restore order to Xining and the surrounding region. Lu encountered strong resistance around Lanzhou, where rebels from the mountains to the south continually raided his supply lines and attacked his left and rear. A smaller detachment he sent south managed to take Hezhou, but the local commander refused to advance further toward Xining – out of pure disobedience or incompetence, or both – and decided instead to loot the countryside. Progress against the Muslims around Qinghai Lake was slow, and Lu was losing hope that he could secure victory. [-6,244 soldiers to Qing]

In Sinkiang, local Qing detachments were ordered to converge on the city of Urumqi and defend it at all costs. This pullback from cities further to the west allowed Governor Yang and his chief general, Ma Fuxing, to capture the ancient city of Aksu and press on toward Urumqi. Qing resistance here stiffened, with local commanders sharing command, but the city suffered as the Qing occupation forced them to seize food from the locals and conscript many younger men into army service. Yang's domain grew. [-4,637 soldiers to Qing]

All of these revolts drove much of the Qing army to the brink of collapse. Aside from the elite corps – most of which was under the command of Prince Chun – and those that had some partial degree of modernity about them, many troops fled and went home; many others joined the enemy; and some fled to entirely different countries altogether. [-8 infantry divisions, -2 cavalry divisions to Qing]

Some preferred to smoke and enjoy the simpler things of life than to continue enduring service to the Qing – and others.​

The popularity of the Japanese government had suffered severely since the outbreak of the Orchid Revolution, due in very large part to the struggles of the IJA and the Tainan-Kagi pocket disaster of 1906. Working-class sentiment was turning against Prime Minister Saionji's government, and to restore faith in his ailing popular support he had his party introduce a bill to the Diet to introduce the first modern and wide-reaching welfare reform bill in Japanese history. Modeled very strongly on the recent efforts of the Liberal coalition government in the United Kingdom, Saionji took a page out of the book of Rikken Seiyūkai – the party which he had previously been a major player in – in general and open support of creating a welfare state to bind tightly together the nation. Insurance for illness and accidents incurred on the job, coupled with old age and disability retirement benefits, were passed through the legislature with relative ease. The law excepted imperial subjects in a variety of circumstances, thus limiting government expenses, and in other cases only lowered people's expenses by a fraction of the initial cost, but in general reaffirmed the ruling government's commitment to the working poor and workers in general. [+1 health & welfare in 1 turn, +2 health & welfare in 4 turns, +7% political support to Japan]

As the country's debt-to-GDP ratio rapidly approached 100%, the Diet immediately recommended that the loan from British creditors taken out during the Russo-Japanese War be repaid in full immediately. Saionji, having virtually completely forgotten the “loan” altogether – he was never a man for financial affairs – was thoroughly embarrassed, and arranged for the large payment to be paid back in full. While this sent the debt-to-GDP ratio over the 100% threshold, it guaranteed that there would be no major threat to Imperial financial solvency for some time to come. [Stupid loan repaid in full, -4% political support to Japan]

The financially-illiterate Saionji cared more for the survival of his Emperor's nation and military affairs than loans from British creditors.​

Fighting on the island of Taiwan climaxed in 1907 as Taiwanese rebels committed their all to the evicting the last remnants of the IJA from their defenses around Taipei and effecting the final liberation of the island from a foreign power. General Liu launched several bold attacks against Japanese forces now inferior in number, but the Japanese were well-entrenched behind a large network of defenses that had been constructed over years of fighting. Mustard gas attacks were repeatedly launched on areas suspected of harboring Republican rebels, in many cases incapacitating or wiping out whole units or forcing them to either relocate or attack nearby Japanese positions. Japanese lines were so well-defended that, after just three months of various offensives, Liu was forced to call off his efforts to recuperate and plan his next move. However, his next move had already been planned by someone else – and he wasn't Japanese.

Admiral Sir Arthur Moore, a distinguished British naval officer and commander of the vast China Station effecting a blockade of the island of Taiwan in the name of the Japanese Empire, had been instructed by the Prime Minister himself to aid the wounded IJA in its efforts to extinguish the revolt on the island. Troops had been brought from various theaters to Hong Kong, which were then embarked on various transport vessels and brought across the Taiwan Strait. Royal Marines were then sent ashore at Tainan and Taichu, and their landing craft were fired upon by the Republican artillery and units that defended the cities from those angles. British casualties were high due to their not being acquainted with both the terrain and amphibious landings in general; they further had expected initial resistance to melt away as the presence of the Royal Marines, and later Gurkhas and other troops, became felt, but Taiwanese resistance only stiffened as more troops came ashore. Offshore fire support caused grave casualties among the defenders, but they refused to break or give ground. Logistics issues exacerbated the problems associated with the landings, but by 7 July – just three days after the initial landings – Taichu had fallen, and with British troops entering the western areas of Tainan, the official capital of the Republic of China, the government officials on the island, led by Acting Provisional President and elected Vice President Huang Xing, fled east to the mountains. General Liu stayed behind to oversee the desperate defense of the city.

By 25 July most of the city had fallen after extremely bitter fighting, and the Royal Marines were then rotated out and the Gurkha Rifles, mounted dragoons, and standard infantry units were brought forward to carry out the next phase of the operation. Engineer battalions were brought ashore to construct artificial harbors – the first of their kind – at Tainan, to help sustain the efforts of the many British units now fighting on the island. While crude and not entirely one-hundred percent effective, they got the job done. The superior morale of the Royal Army surprised the rebels, as they were used to the sagging morale of the more embittered IJA, as ambushes and other guerrilla tactics rarely resulted in the British breaking, retreating, or collapsing altogether. Over the course of the late summer Republican forces in the south experienced a general collapse, to the point that, in early September, Japanese forces under General Nozu were, for the first time, able to advance and secure ground without later losing it. By December, fighting had ceased on Taiwan. The last rebel units had been utterly destroyed, surrendered, or dispersed across the island to save themselves. The Japanese, though grateful the British had come to their aid to end the headache of the Taiwan rebellion, were embarrassed that they had to be saved by a white foreign power. Huang Xing, Premier Qiu Fingjia, and their ministers and advisers, plus General Liu, de jure leader of the Republic of China Armed Forces, were all captured by British troops. After a brief deliberation between Admiral Moore and his staff, the captured rebel leaders were handed over to the Japanese. Their fate now lay in the hands of the troubled Japanese government, whose people, bitter and dejected after half a decade of brutal and disastrous war, were thirsty for blood. [Japanese rule restored on Taiwan, -2,648 soldiers to UK, -7 infantry divisions to Republic of China, -161,850 soldiers to Republic of China (manpower on island no longer accessible; 14,599 to combat), -3,117 soldiers to Japan, -1% political support to Japan]

Republican Taiwanese “dissidents” of both genders being inspected by Japanese troops after facing the firing squad – and other unspeakable brutalities.​

Americas

Affairs in the United States, when taking into account the great wars engulfing most of Europe and Asia, were peaceful and, by some people's accounts, rather boring. As hundreds of thousands were killed or maimed in the “Great Folly” of Europe, President Roosevelt made it a point to dedicate a huge portion of his time and energy to continually carrying out his promise of a Square Deal for all Americans. Pensions were guaranteed, by a unanimous vote in both the House and Senate, for Civil War veterans from both the North and South, regardless of their previous pension status; further laws were ushered through the Congress with strong bipartisan support regarding federal funding for schools (mostly in the South) to hire educators to teach agriculture- and mechanics-based courses, as well as increasing the sizes of homesteads to increase the amount of cultivated and irrigated land on the Great Plains. All of these proved to be successes for the Roosevelt administration, which saw its popularity continue to increase due to the President's commitment to pursuing his domestic initiatives. [+3% political support to US, +1 education in 3 turns to US]

The President's foreign policy received even greater attention, however. A continued expansion of the Navy saw the creation of a new class of faster and more heavily-armed light cruisers to serve as screens for the main battleship squadrons of the nation's fleets, while half a dozen new submarines were larger, heavier, and more sophisticated than any subs previously developed in the US, boasting two forward-facing torpedo tubes instead of the typical one. On top of this naval expansion came the President's announcement of the creation of the Great White Fleet, a collection of the US Navy's finest warships that were to tour the world in a show of power and goodwill to all nations. The most powerful ships in service were collected together and, amid a grand ceremony, departed Norfolk. The trip was to take up to a year and a half to complete, as dozens of major ports worldwide were to be hosts to some of the greatest ships in the world. After stops in Cadíz and Lisbon, the bulk of the fleet traveled to Portsmouth in the UK. Controversy erupted when half a dozen American sailors became involved in a drunken brawl with several of their British counterparts. The fight escalated until dozens of American and British sailors became involved. Though no one ended up dying, it proved an embarrassment for both the American and British navies, and most people were none too pleased over the affair – especially after the great Taiwan controversy of several years previous, thus inflaming tensions and anti-Anglo sentiment. The Great White Fleet departed several days later, continuing its tour of the world. [+6 light cruisers in 2 turns to US, +6 submarines in 1 turn to US, -7% political support to US, -3% political support to UK, -10 pre-dreadnoughts, -2 armored cruisers, -5 light cruisers to US for 2 turns]

The Great White Fleet departing Norfolk to see the world – and send a message. ​

President Díaz' increasing interest in the general welfare of the country led him to order a review of Mexican tax laws across the country. The government report found that corporate and excise taxes were too low to provide stable economic growth while also damaging the welfare of Mexican urban workers. The seventy-seven year old President recommended to the Congress of the Union an increased corporate tax as well as both increased and new excise taxes on new goods that were manufactured in Mexico. Many businesses – European and American, though primarily the latter – howled at the proposition, with many corrupt members of the Congress shouting down the bill due to the chances of their losing money from the various corporations active in the country. Short of an enormous political purge – or a bribery campaign that would be astronomical in its costs – the President was unlikely to get such a proposal passed and made law. [Tax reform bill shelved]

With the intense hatred of the previous year's land reform bill due to its ignoring the abuses of the various local oligarchs, President Peçanha urged a bill into the legislature to allow the new Ministry of Agriculture the power to form a new commission that would have the authority to inspect “large personal estates” and seize them if parts of them were not being used or were severely undeveloped and neglected. The bill was made law after strong support from the National Republicans and Democrats – with strong opposition from the Conservative League – and efforts to seize oligarch land began almost immediately. Efforts to resist these government seizures would find themselves with no government subsidy to farm crops and, if they resisted violently, would find themselves dealing with the full force of the reformed Federal Police or even the Army. Several smaller minor battles were fought in the more lawless areas, and the government won them all. Though many were scared that the increasing power of the central government – and, more specifically, the Ministry of Agriculture – could pose a problem in the near future, many were content that the oligarchs were having their power and wealth drastically reduced. [+1 administration to Brazil, +8% political support to Brazil, large portions of oligarch land being seized and sold]

The Argentine government, yet again intent on taking use of foreign wars, sent several more teams of observers to tag along with the French and German armies in the campaigns in Europe. Another small team of officers was sent to observe Imperial Russian troops and maneuvers in mountainous Romania. The fighting in terrain other than flag plains helped the Army to glean some information about the way in which modern armies conducted operations in more exotic terrain, like forests, mountains, and dense hills. It would be a while, however, before this new knowledge could be molded into an improvement to be attached to the Argentine Army's doctrine. [+1 army level in 3 turns to Argentina]

Africa

The extra French division shipped to Libya was not alone; they arrived alongside two more Italian divisions sent across the sea. The Italian reinforcements did little to ensure a decisive victory here – the only place where Italian and French troops were viciously engaged in combat – and an Italian offensive to cross the border into Tunisia stalled. The French counterattack was not kind to the exhausted Italians, who were driven back after repeated defeats to the city of Tripoli. After two days of combat, Italian General Pietro Frugoni deemed the city indefensible and any excessive casualties suffered in its defense unjustifiable, ceding it to the French. The French were complacent in this victory, fortifying their position and doing little much else in the theater. The Italians were too busy reorganizing their forces in the logistics-unfriendly desert to launch another major offensive for the remainder of the year. [-5,396 soldiers to Italy, -3,121 soldiers to France]

Italian troops entrenched outside of Tripoli before its fall. ​

Other events

Ray Milland, Pierre Mendès France, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, Manfred von Ardenne, Hideki Yukawa, Cesar Julio Romero Jr., Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, William Walters Sargant, Alfred Zinnemann, Kartharine Houghton Hepburn, Mohammed Ayub Khan, U Nu, Marion Robert Morrison, Rachel Louise Carson, Frank Whittle, Catherine Rosalind Russell, James Edward Meade, Johannes Hans Daniel Jensen, Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón, Robert Anson Heinlein, Ruby Catherine Stevens, Evelyn Gentry Hooker, Vina Fay Wray, Warren Earl Burger, Edwin Mattison McMillan, Lewis F. Powell Jr., Anthony Frederick Blunt, Orvon Grover Autry, Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk, Lin Biao, James Roosevelt II, and Cabell Calloway III are born.
An earthquake strikes Kingston, the largest city in Jamaica, and kills over 1,000 people.
The Diamond Sutra, the oldest extant and complete woodlock scripture and an influential object of worship in Zen Buddhism (dated 868 AD), is found in Gansu Province, China.
What soon develop into modern-day taxis are used for the first time in London.
Bolshevik members conduct a bank robbery in the city of Tiflis in Georgia and kill forty people.
Guglielmo Marconi, rapidly becoming more well-known because of his experiments with long-range communication, initiates commercial radio traffic between two telegraph stations in Ireland and Nova Scotia.
A mining disaster, which ends up killing 362 people in Monongah, West Virginia, takes place; another large explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania later in the year kills almost 240.
A strike by miners in Chile is put down with force by the Chilean Army, resulting in over two-thousand people killed.
The Peking to Vladivostok motor race – originally the Peking to Paris race before the civil war in China disrupted plans – is conducted and won by Prince Scipione Borghese.
Timothy Eaton, founder of the famous Eaton's department store; Dmitri Mendeleev, creator of the Periodic Table of Elements; Ida Saxton McKinley, widow of President William McKinley; Edward Grieg, composer and nationalist symbol of Norway; Robert I, the last ruling Duke of Parma (r. 1854 – 1859); Oscar II, last ruler of a unified Sweden-Norway; and Klara Hitler, mother of Adolf Hitler; die.

 

[MastahCheef117]

1908

​

Airforces in 1 turn.

Argentine Republic
Politics & Economy
Government: Federal constitutional republic
Leader(s): President José Figueroa Alcorta
Ideology: Conservative
Alignment: Uspallatan Alliance
Capital: Buenos Aires
Political stability: 79%
Population: 7.778 m. (3.7% growth)
GDP: $ 19,818 m. (3.1% growth)
Economic status: Agrarian, boom, market economy, $ 2,563 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 583 m.
Expenditures: $ 856 m.
Balance: $ - 273 m.
Treasury: $ - 11,051 m.
Infrastructure: (1/5) Average [+1 in 1 turn]
Administration: (4/5) Poor
Education: (3/5) Poor
Health & Welfare: (4/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 123,511
Army: (4/5) Average, 1895 technology [war games every odd year w/Chile] [+1 in 3 turns]
7 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry division, 0 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions
Navy: (1/5) Average, 1898 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 2 pre-dreadnoughts, 4 armored cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 7 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Arrowfiend

Austro-Hungarian Empire
Politics & Economy
Government: Dual constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): King-Emperor Franz Josef/Minister-President Ernest von Koerber/Prime Minister Albert Apponyi de Nagyappony
Ideology: Conservative populist & Austrian nationalist/Classical liberal & Hungarian nationalist
Alignment: Central Powers (uncommitted)
Capital: Wien
Political stability: 55%
Population: 59.293 m. (1.9% growth)
GDP: $ 117,637 m. (2.2% growth) [partial mobilization: Transleithania]
Economic status: Semi-industrial, expansion, market economy, $ 1,984 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 4,129 m.
Expenditures: $ 5,405 m.
Balance: $ - 1,276 m.
Treasury: $ - 52,438 m.
Infrastructure: (1/5) Good
Administration: (1/5) Average
Education: (3/5) Average
Health & Welfare: (3/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 462,241
Army: (3/5) Average, 1903 technology [+1 in 3 turns]
45 infantry divisions, 10 cavalry divisions, 0 marine divisions, 4 mountain divisions [5 infantry, 1 cavalry mobilized]
Navy: (4/5) Poor, 1900 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 9 pre-dreadnoughts, 3 armored cruisers, 10 light cruisers, 21 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Dadarian

United States of Brazil
Politics & Economy
Government: Federal constitutional republic
Leader(s): President Nilo Peçanha
Ideology: Radical republicanism & social liberalism/centrist liberalism
Alignment: None
Capital: Rio de Janeiro
Political stability: 58%
Population: 21.976 m. (2.5% growth)
GDP: $ 16,780 m. (3.8% growth) [settlement & development of interior]
Economic status: Agrarian, boom, market economy, $ 764 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 414 m.
Expenditures: $ 1,280 m.
Balance: $ - 866 m.
Treasury: $ - 10,306 m.
Infrastructure: (3/5) Poor
Administration: (2/5) Poor
Education: (3/5) Poor
Health & Welfare: (3/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 192,010
Army: (1/5) Poor, 1898 technology
6 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry division, 0 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions
Navy: (3/5) Poor, 1897 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 4 pre-dreadnoughts, 0 armored cruisers, 5 light cruisers, 11 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: luc124

Principality of Bulgaria
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): Prince Ferdinand/Prime Minister Petko Karavelov
Ideology: Social liberalism
Alignment: Allied Powers, Balkan League
Capital: Sofiya
Political stability: 62%
Population: 3.538 m. (0.1% growth)
GDP: $ 5,334 m. (-2.1% growth) [full mobilization]
Economic status: Agrarian, depression, market economy, $ 1,507 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 160 m.
Expenditures: $ 382 m.
Balance: $ - 222 m.
Treasury: $ - 2,858 m.
Infrastructure: (3/5) Poor
Administration: (1/5) Average
Education: (3/5) Average [+1 in 3 turns]
Health & Welfare: (4/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 90,374
Army: (4/5) Poor, 1897 technology
8 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry divisions, 0 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions, 1 Greek Legion [5 infantry, 1 cavalry mobilized]
Navy: (1/5) Average, 1900 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 0 armored cruisers, 0 light cruisers, 0 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: sealy300

Chilean Republic
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional republic
Leader(s): President Pedro Elías Pablo Montt Montt
Ideology: Classical liberalism & nationalism
Alignment: Uspallatan Alliance
Capital: Santiago
Political stability: 64%
Population: 3.263 m. (1.5% growth)
GDP: $ 8,131 m. (2.0% growth)
Economic status: Agrarian, expansion, market economy, $ 2,491 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 308 m.
Expenditures: $ 613 m.
Balance: $ - 305 m.
Treasury: $ - 3,056 m.
Infrastructure: (2/5) Average [+1 in 1 turn]
Administration: (2/5) Average
Education: (3/5) Poor
Health & Welfare: (3/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 70,015
Army: (2/5) Average, 1902 technology [war games every odd year w/Argentina]
3 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry division, 0 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions
Navy: (3/5) Poor, 1897 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 4 armored cruisers, 4 light cruisers, 6 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Julius Maximus

Empire of the Great Qing
Politics & Economy
Government: Absolute monarchy
Leader(s): Guangxu Emperor
Ideology: Modernization
Alignment: None
Capital: Luoyang
Political stability: 37%
Population: 348.131 m. (0.1% growth)
GDP: $ 170,038 m. (-4.7% growth) [full mobilization]
Economic status: Agrarian, depression, mixed economy, $ 488 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 4,017 m.
Expenditures: $ 6,824 m.
Balance: $ - 2,807 m.
Treasury: $ - 20,878 m.
Infrastructure: (2/5) Poor [+2 in 1 turn, +2 in 3 turns]
Administration: (1/5) Poor
Education: (3/5) Failing
Health & Welfare: (1/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 3,490,458
Army: (4/5) Failing, 1902 technology [+3 in 2 turns, +1 in 3 turns]
53 infantry divisions, 14 cavalry divisions, 0 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions [5 infantry, 1 cavalry modern; 11 infantry, 2 cavalry semi-modern] [17 infantry, 3 cavalry mobilized] [+1 modern infantry, +1 modern cavalry in 2 turns]
Navy: (4/5) Failing, 1895 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 5 armored cruisers, 4 light cruisers, 6 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Rolman99

Empire of China
Politics & Economy
Government: Constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): Hongxian Emperor/Chancellor Tang Shaoyi
Ideology: Conservative nationalism & modernization
Alignment: None
Capital: Peking
Political stability: 50%
Population: 71.382 m. (0.2% growth)
GDP: $ 46,913 m. (-9.8% growth) [full mobilization]
Economic status: Agrarian, depression, mixed economy, $ 657 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 1,578 m.
Expenditures: $ 2,993 m.
Balance: $ - 1,415 m.
Treasury: $ - 5,836 m.
Infrastructure: (2/5) Poor
Administration: (4/5) Failing
Education: (2/5) Failing
Health & Welfare: (1/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 599,173
Army: (4/5) Poor, 1898 technology
30 infantry divisions, 6 cavalry divisions, 0 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions [5 infantry, 1 cavalry modern; 3 infantry semi-modern] [17 infantry, 4 cavalry mobilized]
Navy: (3/5) Failing, 1895 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 0 armored cruisers, 0 light cruisers, 0 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Korona

French Republic
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional republic
Leader(s): President Émile Loubet/President of the Council of Ministers Émile Justin Louis Combes
Ideology: Classical liberalism/social liberalism
Alignment: Allied Powers
Capital: Paris
Political stability: 72%
Population: 45.869 m. (0.8% growth)
GDP: $ 132,181 m. (1.2% growth) [full mobilization] [colonial infrastructure project in2 turns]
Economic status: Industrial, expansion market economy, $ 2,870 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 6,991 m.
Expenditures: $ 11,283 m.
Balance: $ - 4,292 m.
Treasury: $ - 49,621 m.
Infrastructure: (3/5) Good
Administration: (3/5) Good
Education: (3/5) Good
Health & Welfare: (4/5) Poor
National Defense
Manpower: 1,218,390
Army: (2/5) Good, 1906 technology
62 infantry divisions, 14 cavalry divisions, 1 marine division, 3 mountain divisions [33 infantry, 6 cavalry mobilized]
Navy: (1/5) Good, 1904 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 11 pre-dreadnoughts, 12 armored cruisers, 26 light cruisers, 48 destroyers, 11 submarines [+2 dreadnoughts in 2 turns, +2 dreadnoughts in 3 turns, +7 airships in 1 turn]
Player: tyriet

German Empire
Politics & Economy
Government: Federal constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): King-Emperor Wilhelm II/Chancellor Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner
Ideology: Conservatism & nationalism
Alignment: Central Powers
Capital: Berlin
Political stability: 72%
Population: 61.278 m. (1.0% growth)
GDP: $ 200,547 m. (1.3% growth) [full mobilization]
Economic status: Industrial, expansion, market economy, $ 3,272 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 6,418 m.
Expenditures: $ 10,285 m.
Balance: $ - 3,867 m.
Treasury: $ - 96,132 m.
Infrastructure: (1/5) Excellent
Administration: (1/5) Excellent [+1 in 1 turn]
Education: (1/5) Excellent
Health & Welfare: (3/5) Average
National Defense
Manpower: 1,628,003
Army: (2/5) Excellent, 1907 technology
95 infantry divisions, 20 cavalry divisions, 1 marine division, 3 mountain divisions, 2 Polish Legions, 10 Zeppelins [53 infantry, 10 cavalry mobilized]
Navy: (3/5) Average, 1904 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 12 pre-dreadnoughts, 8 armored cruisers, 20 light cruisers, 50 destroyers, 30 submarines [+2 armored cruisers in 1 turn, +2 light cruisers in 1 turn]
Player: Sneakyflaps

Kingdom of Greece
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional monarchy
Leaders(s): King George/Prime Minister Dimitrios Gounaris
Ideology: National conservatism
Alignment: Balkan League (uncommitted)
Capital: Athína
Political stability: 58%
Population: 6.104 m. (1.8% growth)
GDP: $ 7,917 m. (5.6% growth)
Economic status: Agrarian, expansion, market economy, $ 1,297 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 265 m.
Expenditures: $ 565 m.
Balance: $ - 300 m.
Treasury: $ - 3,875 m.
Infrastructure: (4/5) Poor
Administration: (3/5) Poor
Education: (1/5) Poor [+1 in 3 turns]
Health & Welfare: (3/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 56,388
Army: (4/5) Average, 1897 technology
5 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry division, 0 marine divisions, 1 mountain division
Navy: (1/5) Average, 1898 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 3 armored cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 10 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Mikkel Glahder

Sublime State of Iran
Politics & Economy
Government: Absolute monarchy
Leader(s): Shāhanshāh Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar
Ideology: Conservatism
Alignment: None
Capital: Tehrān
Political stability: 58%
Population: 11.148 m. (1.3% growth)
GDP: $ 11,343 m. (1.6% growth)
Economic status: Agrarian, expansion, mixed economy, $ 1,017 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 259 m.
Expenditures: $ 309 m.
Balance: $ - 49 m.
Treasury: $ - 655 m.
Infrastructure: (3/5) Poor
Administration: (1/5) Poor [+1 in 1 turn, +1 in 3 turns, +1 in 5 turns, +1 in 7 turns] [corruption campaign in 4 turns]
Education: (3/5) Failing
Health & Welfare: (1/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 55,523
Army: (3/5) Poor, 1892 technology
2 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry division, 0 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions [1 cavalry modern]
Navy: (2/5) Failing, 1885 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 0 armored cruisers, 0 light cruisers, 0 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Slayzer92

Kingdom of Italy
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): King Umberto/Prime Minister Sidney Sonnino
Ideology: Conservatism
Alignment: Central Powers
Capital: Roma
Political stability: 70%
Population: 38.415 m. (1.3% growth)
GDP: $ 71,107 m. (1.0% growth) [full mobilization]
Economic status: Semi-industrial, expansion, market economy, $ 1,851 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 2,980 m.
Expenditures: $ 5,396 m.
Balance: $ - 2,416 m.
Treasury: $ - 38,038 m.
Infrastructure: (3/5) Good
Administration: (4/5) Average
Education: (3/5) Average
Health & Welfare: (1/5) Poor
National Defense
Manpower: 1,295,034
Army: (4/5) Average, 1905 technology
56 infantry divisions, 11 cavalry divisions, 2 marine divisions, 4 mountain divisions [30 infantry, 6 cavalry mobilized]
Navy: (4/5) Average, 1905 technology [+1 in 3 turns]
0 dreadnoughts, 11 pre-dreadnoughts, 8 armored cruisers, 9 light cruisers, 31 destroyers, 9 submarines [+2 dreadnoughts in 2 turns, +2 dreadnoughts in 3 turns (UK), +4 light cruisers in 2 turns (UK), +1 light cruiser in 2 turns, +6 destroyers in 1 turn, +4 submarines in 1 turn]
Player: jacob-Lundgren

Greater Japanese Empire
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): Emperor Meiji/Prime Minister Saionji Kinmochi
Ideology: Liberalism & nationalism
Alignment: None
Capital: Tōkyō
Political stability: 55%
Population: 48.088 m. (1.4% growth)
GDP: $ 62,238 m. (1.7% growth)
Economic status: Semi-industrial, expansion, market economy, $ 1,294 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 2,212 m.
Expenditures: $ 5,320 m. [+ $ 1,200 m. reparations to Russia until 1914]
Balance: $ - 3,108 m.
Treasury: $ - 70,663 m.
Infrastructure: (4/5) Average
Administration: (1/5) Good
Education: (2/5) Average [+1 in 1 turn, +1 in 3 turns]
Health & Welfare: (2/5) Poor [+1 in 1 turn, +2 in 4 turns]
National Defense
Manpower: 300,064
Army: (4/5) Average, 1900 technology
16 infantry divisions, 4 cavalry divisions, 1 marine division, 0 mountain divisions
Navy: (1/5) Good, 1899 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 0 armored cruisers, 5 light cruisers, 9 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Harpsichord

Great Korean Empire
Politics & Economy
Government: Absolute monarchy
Leader(s): Gwangmu Emperor
Ideology: Liberalism
Alignment: None
Capital: Seoul
Political stability: 69%
Population: 13.727 m. (1.4% growth)
GDP: $ 11,338 m. (1.8% growth)
Economic status: Agrarian, expansion, market economy, $ 825 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 236 m.
Expenditures: $ 150 m.
Balance: $ 86 m.
Treasury: $ - 459 m.
Infrastructure: (2/5) Poor
Administration: (4/5) Poor
Education: (4/5) Poor [+1 in 1 turn, +1 in 2 turns]
Health & Welfare: (1/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 267,092
Army: (4/5) Poor, 1891 technology
3 infantry divisions, 0 cavalry divisions, 0 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions
Navy: (1/5) Failing, 1895 technology [semi-modern ports in 2 turns]
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 0 armored cruisers, 0 light cruisers, 0 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Duke Dan “the Man”

United Mexican States
Politics & Economy
Government: Authoritarian constitutional republic
Leader(s): President Porfirio Díaz
Ideology: Laissez-faire conservatism & “Mexican” nationalism
Alignment: None
Capital: Ciudad de México
Political stability: 47%
Population: 15.086 m. (1.2% growth)
GDP: $ 22,885 m. (2.3% growth)
Economic status: Agrarian, expansion, market economy, $ 1,517 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 410 m.
Expenditures: $ 296 m.
Balance: $ 114 m.
Treasury: $ - 1,712 m.
Infrastructure: (4/5) Poor
Administration: (3/5) Poor
Education: (1/5) Poor
Health & Welfare: (3/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 175,583
Army: (3/5) Poor, 1896 technology
1 infantry division, 1 cavalry division, 0 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions
Navy: (4/5) Failing, 1895 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 0 armored cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 2 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Keinwyn

Kingdom of the Netherlands
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): Queen Wilhelmina/Minister-President Abraham Kuyper
Ideology: Christian conservatism & nationalism
Alignment: None
Capital: Amsterdam
Political stability: 71%
Population: 5.900 m. (1.9% growth)
GDP: $ 20,620 m. (2.6% growth)
Economic status: Semi-industrial, expansion, market economy, $ 3,495 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 1,227 m.
Expenditures: $ 1,249 m.
Balance: $ - 22 m.
Treasury: $ 1,542 m.
Infrastructure: (3/5) Good
Administration: (2/5) Good
Education: (4/5) Average [+1 in 2 turns]
Health & Welfare: (3/5) Poor [+1 in 3 turns, +1 in 5 turns]
National Defense
Manpower: 134,875
Army: (2/5) Average, 1895 technology
11 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry division, 1 marine division, 0 mountain divisions
Navy: (4/5) Average, 1897 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 6 armored cruisers, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: TJDS

Ottoman Empire
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): Padişahları Mehmed V/Grand Vizier Damat Ferid Pasha
Ideology: National liberalism
Alignment: None (anti-Balkan League)
Capital: Qustantiniyye
Political stability: 71%
Population: 35.137 m. (1.4% growth)
GDP: $ 42,936 m. (0.6% growth) [full mobilization]
Economic status: Semi-industrial, stagnation, market economy, $ 1,221 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 1,385 m.
Expenditures: $ 1,930 m.
Balance: $ - 545 m.
Treasury: $ - 31,087 m.
Infrastructure: (3/5) Average [+1 in 1 turn, +2 in 8 turns]
Administration: (4/5) Poor [language committee proposal in 2 turns]
Education: (4/5) Poor [+1 in 2 turns]
Health & Welfare: (3/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 719,037
Army: (3/5) Average, 1904 technology
35 infantry divisions, 7cavalry divisions, 0 marine divisions, 2 mountain divisions [4 infantry, 1 cavalry modern] [17 infantry, 3 cavalry mobilized]
Navy: (4/5) Poor, 1897 technology [+1 in 1 turn, +2 in 2 turns]
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 1 armored cruiser, 8 light cruisers, 25 destroyers, 0 submarines [+1 pre-dreadnought in 2 turns, +1 pre-dreadnought in 3 turns, +1 armored cruiser in 1 turn, +1 armored cruiser in 2 turns]
Player: Haresus

Kingdom of Portugal
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): King Carlos/Prime Minister Ernesto Hintze Ribeiro
Ideology: Conservatism
Alignment: None
Capital: Lisboa
Political stability: 63%
Population: 6.253 m. (1.8% growth)
GDP: $ 8,129 m. (2.9% growth)
Economic status: Semi-industrial, expansion, market economy, $ 1,300 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 304 m.
Expenditures: $ 463 m.
Balance: $ - 159 m.
Treasury: $ - 2,353 m.
Infrastructure: (3/5) Average
Administration: (1/5) Average
Education: (3/5) Poor
Health & Welfare: (2/5) Poor
National Defense
Manpower: 144,567
Army: (3/5) Poor, 1904 technology [+1 in 2 turns, +1 in 3 turns]
4 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry division, 2 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions
Navy: (2/5) Poor, 1898 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 1 armored cruiser, 4 light cruisers, 5 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: naxhi24

Kingdom of Romania
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): King Carol/Prime Minister Dimitrie Sturdza
Ideology: Conservatism
Alignment: Central Powers
Capital: București
Political stability: 79%
Population: 7.414 m. (-0.4% growth)
GDP: $ 17,948 m. (-0.2% growth) [full mobilization]
Economic status: Agrarian, recession, market economy, $ 2,440 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 501 m.
Expenditures: $ 673 m.
Balance: $ - 172 m.
Treasury: $ 484 m.
Infrastructure: (1/5) Average
Administration: (1/5) Average
Education: (3/5) Poor [+1 in 2 turns, +1 in 5 turns]
Health & Welfare: (3/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 313,385
Army: (4/5) Poor, 1895 technology
14 infantry divisions, 4 cavalry divisions, 0 marine divisions, 1 mountain division [9 infantry, 2 cavalry mobilized]
Navy: (3/5) Poor, 1898 technology [+1 in 1 turn]
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 0 armored cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 0 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: aedan777

Russian Empire
Politics & Economy
Government: Absolute monarchy
Leader(s): Tsar Nicholas II
Ideology: National conservatism
Alignment: Allied Powers
Capital: Sankt-Peterburg
Political stability: 90%
Population: 144.134 m. (1.0% growth)
GDP: $ 178,094 m. (1.0% growth) [full mobilization] [moderate economic development in Far East]
Economic status: Semi-industrial, expansion, market economy, $ 1,298 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 8,346 m. [+ $ 1,200 m. reparations from Japan until 1914]
Expenditures: $ 11,003 m.
Balance: $ -2,657 m.
Treasury: $ - 86,256 m.
Infrastructure: (4/5) Average
Administration: (4/5) Average
Education: (1/5) Average [+1 in 1 turn]
Health & Welfare: (2/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 2,299,011
Army: (4/5) Average, 1906 technology
78 infantry divisions, 18 cavalry divisions, 1 marine division, 2 mountain divisions, 3 Polish Legions [29 infantry, 10 cavalry mobilized]
Navy: (1/5) Good, 1899 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 16 pre-dreadnoughts, 4 armored cruisers, 5 light cruisers, 20 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Noco19

Kingdom of Serbia
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): King Milan II/Prime Minister Konstantin Novaković
Ideology: Classical liberalism
Alignment: Balkan League
Capital: Beograd
Political stability: 62%
Population: 3.125 m. (1.7% growth)
GDP: $ 3,660 m. (1.3% growth) [full mobilization]
Economic status: Agrarian, expansion, market economy, $ 1,171 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 114 m.
Expenditures: $ 163 m.
Balance: $ - 49 m.
Treasury: $ - 271 m.
Infrastructure: (4/5) Poor
Administration: (3/5) Poor
Education: (3/5) Poor
Health & Welfare: (2/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 98,040
Army: (3/5) Poor, 1903 technology [+1 in 2 turns]
6 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry division, 0 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions [4 infantry, 1 cavalry mobilized]
Navy: (1/5) Failing, 1880 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 0 armored cruisers, 0 light cruisers, 0 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Corman50

Kingdom of Spain
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): King Alfonso XIII/Minister of State Melquíades Álvarez
Ideology: Social liberalism
Alignment: None
Capital: Madrid
Political stability: 66%
Population: 24.074 m. (1.8% growth)
GDP: $ 39,799 m. (3.2% growth)
Economic status: Semi-industrial, boom, market economy, $ 1,653 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 1,291 m.
Expenditures: $ 1,672 m.
Balance: $ - 381 m.
Treasury: $ - 28,671 m.
Infrastructure: (1/5) Average
Administration: (1/5) Average
Education: (1/5) Average
Health & Welfare: (4/5) Failing
National Defense
Manpower: 266,832
Army: (1/5) Poor, 1905 technology
6 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry division, 2 marine divisions, 1 mountain division
Navy: (3/5) Poor, 1897 technology [modest naval yards in 1 turn]
0 dreadnoughts, 1 pre-dreadnought, 2 armored cruisers, 6 light cruisers, 16 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: Olligarchy

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Politics & Economy
Government: Unitary constitutional monarchy
Leader(s): King George V/Prime Minister Archibald Primrose
Ideology: Social liberalism
Alignment: None
Capital: London
Political stability: 66%
Population: 48.080 m. (1.9% growth)
GDP: $ 207,055 m. (2.2% growth) [Colonial infrastructure project in 1 turn]
Economic status: Industrial, expansion, market economy, $ 4,307 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 15,665 m.
Expenditures: $ 17,561 m.
Balance: $ - 1,896 m.
Treasury: $ - 81,001 m.
Infrastructure: (1/5) Excellent
Administration: (1/5) Excellent
Education: (2/5) Excellent
Health & Welfare: (1/5) Average [+3 in 2 turns]
National Defense
Manpower: 570,294
Army: (3/5) Good, 1904 technology [+1 in 1 turn]
42 infantry divisions, 10 cavalry divisions, 3 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions
Navy: (2/5) Excellent, 1905 technology
1 dreadnought, 35 pre-dreadnoughts, 23 armored cruisers, 33 light cruisers, 100 destroyers, 6 submarines [+4 dreadnoughts in 1 turn, +2 dreadnoughts in 2 turns, +4 dreadnoughts in 3 turns, +5 light cruisers in 1 turn]
Player: von_Roundstedt

United States of America
Politics & Economy
Government: Federal constitutional republic
Leader(s): President Theodore Roosevelt
Ideology: Social liberalism
Alignment: None
Capital: Washington, DC
Political stability: 70%
Population: 89.856 m. (2.7% growth)
GDP: $ 431,487 m. (1.3% growth)
Economic status: Industrial, expansion, market economy, $ 4,802 GDP/capita
Government Spending & Services
Receipts: $ 13,692 m. [Panama Canal in 7 turns]
Expenditures: $ 14,073 m.
Balance: $ - 381 m.
Treasury: $ - 24,984 m.
Infrastructure: (3/5) Excellent
Administration: (3/5) Good
Education: (4/5) Good [+1 in 1 turn, +1 in 3 turns]
Health & Welfare: (4/5) Poor [+1 in 1 turn]
National Defense
Manpower: 489,114
Army: (3/5) Average, 1903 technology
14 infantry divisions, 3 cavalry divisions, 1 marine division, 0 mountain divisions
Navy: (2/5) Good, 1904 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 27 pre-dreadnoughts, 12 armored cruisers, 18 light cruisers, 35 destroyers, 8 submarines [+4 dreadnoughts in 2 turns, +6 light cruisers in 2 turns, +6 submarines in 1 turn] [-10 pre-dreadnoughts, -2 armored cruisers, -5 light cruisers for 2 turns]
Player: etranger01

Republic of China
Government: Provisional constitutional republic
Leader(s): Provisional President Sun Yat-sen/Premier Lin Sen
Ideology: Socialist nationalism & republicanism
Capital: Shanghai
Manpower: 428,100 [full mobilization]
Army: (2/5) Poor, 1898 technology
15 infantry divisions, 2 cavalry divisions, 0 marine divisions, 0 mountain divisions [13 infantry mobilized]
Navy: (1/5) Failing, 1880 technology
0 dreadnoughts, 0 pre-dreadnoughts, 0 armored cruisers, 0 light cruisers, 0 destroyers, 0 submarines
Player: oxfordroyale

 

[MastahCheef117]

National Republic of Macedonia
Народна Република Македонија​

Brothers and sisters of Macedonia!

Today the sun shines on a new world, which bears witness to the first freedom for man!

The oppression of the Turk is well-known to all. The war that has erupted now in the Balkans brings to light once and for all the terrible crimes of the Turk against the people of the region. No longer!

We claim this day as our own – this land as our own. We claim our destiny for ourselves. The fate of the nation shall not be guided and shaped by the slavemaster, but by the freedman.

We declare the total and irrevocable sovereignty and independence of the National Republic of Macedonia, and accord to it all rights, privileges, and powers that all nation-states in the world today bear; we declare the inviolable equality and liberty of all Macedonian brethren; we declare our enemy to be those that would take away our sovereignty, including those that oppress the poor and the ill; we declare that we shall defend our own borders, make our own laws, recognize our own treaties, and govern our own lands; we declare that we will not rest nor put down our arms until the dream and necessity of total national liberation is realized. To God we have proclaimed our wishes, and, being a most righteous and loving God, He has granted us that which we have longed for for so long!

The will of the nation and of God cannot be denied. We demand that the Turk govenment in their capital recognize the total sovereignty of the Macedonian people and come to the negotiating table to settle our qualms and establish a lasting peace. If this just and noble request is denied, then we shall never rest until the final victory has been achieved.

In Christ and the most great Macedonian people: long live Macedonia!

The Honorable Damyan Yovanov Gruev, Provisional President of the National Committee of the National Republic of Macedonia​

 

[aedan777]

As 1907 draws to a close and the year of 1908 lies before us, you have great reason to be proud Romania! In a war that we did not desire, but had to fight, many from across Europe said we were doomed. That the Romanian people would be swept aside by the Russian army in a matter of weeks, and the Russian Imperial standard would fly over Bucharest. Yet here we are nearly a year later, and the Russian army was not only halted, but driven back. The Carol Line on the border still holds, and Russian attempts to flank it were foiled by the bravery and sacrifice of our courageous soldiers. The quick thinking and careful planning of Generals Culcer and Prezlan saved tens of thousands of Romanian lives and forced the Russians to withdraw despite being outnumbered. Such is the spirit of Romania that was doubted by many internationally, and let them now despair at the folly of their beliefs.

And it was not only against Russia that our armies secured victory. In the south the war mongering Bulgarians were driven entirely out of Southern Dobrudja by General Averescu and his First Army. Combined with offences by the Ottoman Empire further south, the Bulgarians are collapsing on all fronts. The brave soldiers of Romania even met with Ottoman forces in Bulgarian territory, and friendly relations were had by all, emphasizing the solidarity of our nations against the Bulgarian menace. The Bulgarian navy, which spent much of the year blockading Constanta was sent to the bottom of the Black sea by the Ottomans as well, a relieving notion to all Romanians. Bulgaria has been near entirely defeated, and their ability to continue the war is almost exhausted, a wondrous victory for all peace-loving peoples in the Balkans.

But even victory in war carries a heavy cost. A cost that need not be paid. As Romanian army stand victorious, as do the armies of our allies in Germany and Italy, I ask the Allied powers to come to the negotiation table to bring an end to this war, rather than drag out a war that has a side clearly pulling ahead. We do not desire a punitive peace, merely a fair peace that fulfills the intentions that started this war. I earnestly hope that peace can be secured through negotiations now where they failed a year ago.

-Carol, King of Romania, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

 

[Korona]

A New Chinese State​

The dreams of a democratic China were finally realized, to some extent, in 1908, the fourth year of Emperor Hongxian’s reign. The May Offensive of 1907 heralded a victory for the burgeoning Empire of China over the Qing Empire. At long last, Hongxian's vision of defeating the Manchu was realized, and he was hailed as the glorious victor of a civil war that had ravaged North China. With the rise of the Republican cliques under the hand of Sun Yat-sen, the Emperor was spurred to make good on his promises of modernization, through the introduction of a China's first (or second, depending on how you look at it) constitution. The Peking Constitution, as it came to be called, was a great leap forward for the Empire of China, in terms of democracy, liberty, and modernization. Giving way to the ideals of a limited democracy, the Emperor commissioned his Imperial Cabinet to draft a constitution and submit it to him for review. Thus began China's first step forward.

The Peking Constitution itself was chiefly written by Sun Baoqi and Tang Shaoyi, the two most influential and successful members of Hongxian’s Imperial Cabinet who weren’t members of the military. Sun Baoqi was one of the most educated men in China, being the son of the Xianfeng Emperor's tutor. After holding a myriad of administrative positions, Sun traveled to Vienna, Berlin, and eventually Paris, where he was the Qing representative in that Court. Upon the beginning of Yuan Shikai's rebellion against the Qing, Sun was recalled to China to help the Qing court in securing dominance over their unruly general. However, Sun, extremely dissatisfied with the corruption and backwardness that reigned within the Court, turned tail and joined Yuan in Peking. Upon the fall of the Qing, and the subsequent establishment of the Empire of China, Sun was appointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Emperor's, and China's, first Imperial Cabinet. Securing international recognition from the United States, Spain, Germany, and various other states, Sun was made a Marquess of the 1st Rank by order of the Emperor, in recognition for his duty to the Empire.

Tang Shaoyi was the driving force of Hongxian's government, and a extremely skilled administrator. A personal friend of Hongxian, Tang was a graduate of Columbia University, where he studied politics and history at that fabled institution. Graduating with honors, Tang returned to China where he immediately joined Yuan Shikai in his rebellion against the Qing. Serving as the de facto Emperor when Hongxian was on the offensive, Tang coordinated a number of successful policies and negotiated with the various factions of Peking to ensure stability at home for his Emperor. For this, he was made a Count of the 1st Rank. Upon the victory of the May Offensive, Tang was overjoyed to receive Hongxian's commission to draft a constitution, and along with the assistance of Sun Baoqi, he eagerly set off to work.

The Peking Constitution is unique for it borrows heavily from the Meiji Constitution, yet still is imbued with unique touches put in by the authors. The Emperor is given power over all branches of government, and serves as a national figure, with it being explicitly stated the "the person of the Emperor shall exercise the Sovereignty of the Empire of China and her People". With the Emperor given power over most governmental functions, the Peking Constitution is a reflection of Hongxian's autocratic and micro-managerial nature. However, the Peking Constitution is notable for it's establishment of the Legislative Yuan, the 870-seat strong lower house of the Imperial Assembly. Although the Empire of China didn't control every constituency in China when the first session was called, it was still full to the brim, thanks to cleverly-placed bribes and corruption. The Peking Constitution also outlined the various provinces of China, with each having a fair degree of autonomy from the Imperial Capital in order to sway would-be warlords and governors to the Yuanist side, and away from the Republicans. When it was said and done, the Peking Constitution offered China a step forward, under the benevolent and almost dictatorial hand of the Emperor. It was signed in the Forbidden City on March 12th, 1908, and the first Chinese election were to be held on July 1st, 1908.

​

The Empire of China
中華帝國
Zhōnghuá Dìguó

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE EMPIRE OF CHINA
Written and Passed on Hongxian 5, Bing-Wu, Ding Wei​

​

Spoiler: Article I: The Emperor

1. 
   
   • The Empire of China is a constitutional monarchy, consisting of the Chinese people under the leadership of His Imperial Majesty, the Great Emperor of China.​
   • The Dragon Throne in the Person of His Imperial Majesty shall be the vested sovereign of the nation with the consent of all Chinese people​
   • Succession shall be preserved in the male line of Great Emperor Hongxian.​
   • The territory of the Empire of China consists of the 22 Provinces, Inner and Outer Mongolia, Tibet, Sinkiang, and Chinghai.​
   • The Emperor can pardon criminals, and commute sentences.​
   • The Sovereignty of the Empire of China is exercised with the person of the Emperor, with assistance from the Imperial Assembly and the Imperial Cabinet.​
   • The Emperor opens the Imperial Assembly, closes it, prorogues it, and can dissolve the Legislative Yuan.​
   • The Great Emperor of China is the Supreme Commander of the Army and Navy, and decides the organization and standing of both forces.​
   • The Emperor declares war, makes peace, and signs treaties with the advice of the Imperial Assembly and Imperial Cabinet.​
   • The Emperor shall have the ability to confer ranks and titles of nobility upon the people of China.​
   • The Emperor's full title in all legal documents and in formal reference is as follows: His Imperial Majesty the Great Emperor of China, Son of Heaven, Lord of Ten Thousand Years.​

Spoiler: Article II: The Rights of the People

1. 
   
   • The People of China shall enjoy freedom of belief and religion.​
   • The People of China shall enjoy freedom of speech.​
   • The People of China shall enjoy freedom of press.​
   • The People of China shall enjoy freedom of association, and right to public meetings.​
   • The People of China have the right to be free of search and seizure unless mandated by a judicial executive in accordance with the law.​
   • No Chinese person shall be deprived of their right to trial by jury.​
   • Citizens have the right to petition the Imperial Assembly.​
   • Citizens have the right to petition the Great Emperor.​
   • All Chinese male citizens who have reached the age of 21 have the right to vote.​
   • Citizens have the right to vote in elections.​
   • The People of China have the duty of paying taxes to the Imperial Government.​
   • The People of China have the duty of being called to serve in the Imperial Army or Navy.​

Spoiler: Article III: The Imperial Assembly

1. 
   
   • Legislative power is to be vested in the bicameral Imperial Assembly of China.​
   • The Imperial Assembly is consist of the Legislative Yuan as the lower house of government, and the Assembly of Peers, the upper house of government.​
   • The Assembly of Peers, is to consist of the male members of the Imperial House, the Peers as appointed by the Emperor, one (1) representative from each of the 22 Regular Provinces of China, Sinkiang, and Chinghai.​
     1. Members of the Assembly of Peers are to be referred to by their respective title.​
   • The most senior peer sitting the Assembly of Peers is to preside over that house.​
   • The Legislative Yuan is to consist of members elected by the people.​
     1. Said members are to be referred to as Deputy, or Deputies plural.​
   • The Legislative Yuan shall elect a deserving Deputy to be the President of the Legislative Yuan.​
   • A National Budget must originate in the Legislative Yuan, and it must pass both houses in the Imperial Assembly to be implemented within the Empire of China.​
   • No one man can be in both houses simultaneously.​
   • Both houses may initiate legislation.​
     1. For any bill to be presented to the Emperor, both houses must pass it.​
   • The Imperial Assembly shall convene yearly.​
     1. The date in which the Assembly shall convene shall be exactly one (1) week after the celebration of New Years.​
   • If such an event arises, a extraordinary session of the Imperial Assembly shall be called.​
   • Votes shall be cast in the form of a secret ballot.​
     1. The secret ballot pertains to general elections, legislative deliberations, and such.​
   • The Emperor shall receive addresses by both houses.​
   • Both houses shall, and must, receive petitions from the people of China.​
   • When the Legislative Yuan is dissolved, either by general decree, or by Imperial Edict from the Emperor, general elections shall be held one month from the date of dissolution, and the Yuan shall reconvene three months after said election.​

Spoiler: Article IV: The Imperial Cabinet

1. 
   
   • The Imperial Cabinet shall be the advisory council to His Imperial Majesty on all matters of law and governance.​
   • The Emperor of China shall have the sole prerogative to appoint the Chancellor of the Empire of China, who shall then appoint the remaining members of the Imperial Cabinet from among his peers in the Imperial Assembly, or outside of said body.​
     1. If an appointee is not a sitting member of the Imperial Assembly, he must be confirmed by the Emperor.​
     2. Any prospective appointee to the Imperial Cabinet must be confirmed by the Emperor of China before taking their post within the Cabinet.​

Spoiler: Article V: The Imperial Courts

1. 
   
   • In the name of the Emperor, the Imperial Courts of China shall exercise their judicial purview and reveiw among the people of China.​
   • The Imperial Cabinet of China must confirm any nominee to any national court.​
   • All Trials shall be conducted publicly.​
   • The High Imperial Court shall be the supreme court of the land, and shall consist of 11 Judges, to be nominated by the Emperor with the advice and consent of the Imperial Assembly.​

Spoiler: Article VI: The Provinces of China

1. 
   
   • China is to be divided into 22 Provinces, Inner and Outer Mongolia, Tibet, Sinkiang, and Chinghai.​
   • The 22 Regular Provinces of China are hereby given the following rights:​
     1. The ability to establish a regional capital.​
     2. Establish a regional flag.​
     3. Elect a Governor, with the consent of the Emperor.​
        1. The Emperor has the right to reject a Governor.​
     4. Draft and pass regional laws.​
        1. Any and all laws must be approved by the Governor.​
     5. Appoint regional courts.​
     6. Regulate regional commerce.​
     7. Send a representative to the Assembly of Peers, to be chosen by the regional governor​
        1. If a non-peer is to be chosen as a representative, it will fall under the purview of His Imperial Majesty to accept or decline the appointment of said representative.​
   • Inner, and Outer Mongolia, Sinkiang and Chinghai are to be established as special regions under the Heavenly Guidance of the Emperor.​
     1. They have the rights to:​
     2. Draft a regional constitution.​
     3. Adjudicate themselves.​
        1. If conflict comes into place between the Regional Constitution and the National Constitution then the National Constitution takes precedence.​
     4. Establish a unicameral regional legislature.​
     5. Appoint their own Vice Chancellor, to be the executive of the region and representative of His Imperial Majesty.​
     6. Establish their own official language, given their ethnic heritage.​
     7. Regulate commerce.​
     8. Send a representative to the Assembly of Peers.​
        1. If a non-peer is to be chosen as a representative, it will fall under the purview of His Imperial Majesty to accept or decline the appointment of said representative.​

Spoiler: Article VII: Supplementary Clauses

1. 
   
   • If it becomes mandatory to amend the constitution, said project must originate in the Legislative Yuan and must pass with a supermajority in both houses. Any amendment must be approved by the Emperor of China.​
   • The passage and ratification of this Constitution is done by the consent and will of His Imperial Majesty, Hongxian, Great Emperor of China, Son of Heaven, Lord of Ten Thousand Years.​
   • The first Imperial Assembly shall convene upon the cessation of hostilities in China. Until such a time, the Imperial Diet as of Hongxian 1 shall serve as the de facto government of the Empire of China.​
   • The Capital of China is in the Imperial Capital of Peking.​

 

[Mikkel Glahder]

The fall of Theotokis, the rise of Venizelos and the Liberal Party ​

After the Greek-Ottoman treaty, the subsequent resignation of Theotokis and the following election that saw the New Party lose all the seats and more that they had won in the 1904 elections, the party was in total dissaray. After many years under the strong leadership of the former prime minister and no clear line of sucession there was an ungoing power struggle internally. While the new prime minister, Dimitrios Gounaris, was meeting King George and presenting the government, Eleftherios Venizelos had landed in Athens met by a crowd of people who cheered him. As he was prime minister of the Cretan State from 1905 until the unification he was seen by some as the man who brought many Greeks back into the fold. As the New Party was holding a convention to determine party leadership, Venizelos made his entry and in an almost hour long speech he convinced the members that he could bring the dishonored party new life so that they could regain power once more. The day after, he renamed the party and called it the Liberal Party and choose the anchor as its symbol. The new party favoured imperialistic liberalism and national liberation and as all Greeks, supporters of the megali idea. While some of the more conservatives in the party were critical of this new line, they were quickly silenced by the supporters of Venizelos and rallied around him as a bastion of Greek liberation and it is rumored that Crown Prince Constantine likes the man and his ideas.

Seat alocation in the Vouli following the 1907 elections
From left to right: New Party/Liberal Party (92 seats), Nationalist Party (143 seats)
Independents (18 seats)
​

 

[jacobweller]

((Might be too late, but can I join as the colonial administration of Australia?))

 

[Sneakyflaps]

Treaty of Warsaw​

Article I: Peace
1: A general armistice and truce will occur between the warring parties as of the 12th of January 1908, upon which all troops from their respective nations shall return to their country of origin and vacate any occupied land unless otherwise specified.

Article II: Reparations
1. The Russian Empire will pay 11,760m (stat-money) in war reparations to the German Empire. These reparations will be paid in yearly installments with 1,470m over the course of 8 years.
2. The Russian Empire will pay 240m (stat-money) in war reparations to the Kingdom of Romania. These will be paid with yearly installments of 30m over the course of 8 years.

Article III: Territorial exchanges
1. The Principality of Bulgaria shall cede the province of Southern Dobruja to the Kingdom of Romania.
2. The Kingdom of Italy shall cede the Majeerteen Sultanate to the French Republic.
3. The French Republic shall cede the Protectorate of Tunisia to the Kingdom of Italy, the new protectorate shall henceforth be referred to as the Italian Protectorate of Tunisia.

Article IV: The Status of the Italian Protectorate of Tunisia
1. The Kingdom of Italy shall not deploy more than 15,000 soldiers during peace times, the number may be increased during war time or civil unrest in the protectorate.
2. The Kingdom of Italy shall not be allowed to station warships in the Protectorate of Tunisia.

Article V: Prisoners of war
1. Each signatory government shall guarantee the safety and transport of prisoners of war to the closest border of the soldiers’ origin.


[X] Bernhard von Bülow, Minister of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the German Empire
[] Representative on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy
[] Representative on behalf of the Russian Empire
[] Representative on behalf of the French Republic
[] Representative on behalf of the Kingdom of Romania
[] Representative on behalf of the Principality of Bulgaria

 

[sealy300]

Treaty of Warsaw​

Article I: Peace
1: A general armistice and truce will occur between the warring parties as of the 12th of January 1908, upon which all troops from their respective nations shall return to their country of origin and vacate any occupied land unless otherwise specified.

Article II: Reparations
1. The Russian Empire will pay 11,760m (stat-money) in war reparations to the German Empire. These reparations will be paid in yearly installments with 1,470m over the course of 8 years.
2. The Russian Empire will pay 240m (stat-money) in war reparations to the Kingdom of Romania. These will be paid with yearly installments of 30m over the course of 8 years.

Article III: Territorial exchanges
1. The Principality of Bulgaria shall cede the province of Southern Dobruja to the Kingdom of Romania.
2. The Kingdom of Italy shall cede the Majeerteen Sultanate to the French Republic.
3. The French Republic shall cede the Protectorate of Tunisia to the Kingdom of Italy, the new protectorate shall henceforth be referred to as the Italian Protectorate of Tunisia.

Article IV: The Status of the Italian Protectorate of Tunisia
1. The Kingdom of Italy shall not deploy more than 15,000 soldiers during peace times, the number may be increased during war time or civil unrest in the protectorate.
2. The Kingdom of Italy shall not be allowed to station warships in the Protectorate of Tunisia.

Article V: Prisoners of war
1. Each signatory government shall guarantee the safety and transport of prisoners of war to the closest border of the soldiers’ origin.


[X] Bernhard von Bülow, Minister of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the German Empire
[] Representative on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy
[] Representative on behalf of the Russian Empire
[] Representative on behalf of the French Republic
[] Representative on behalf of the Kingdom of Romania
[] Representative on behalf of the Principality of Bulgaria

[X] Foreign Minister Dimitar Stanchov on behalf of Bulgaria.

 

[Noco19]

[X] - Vladimir Lamsdorf, Foreign Minister for the Russian Empire

 

[tyriet]

[x] - Stephen Jean-Marie Pichon, Foreign Minister of the French Republic

 

[oxfordroyale]

The Nanking Agreement
南京协议
​

In the interest of ending the hold that the Aisin Gioro Clan has exercised over the Chinese populace, the following parties do hereby resolve the following.

Article I​

I. A military ceasefire shall be enacted between the signatories in order to ensure domestic tranquility and stability.
II. The signatories resolve not to engage in any military engagement with one another for a period of one (1) year.
III. Violation of said ceasefire is expressly prohibited and both parties are actively encouraged not to engage in any activities that shall break the ceasefire.
​

Article II​

I. In order to facilitate cooperation between the two signatories, both signatories are to establish a temporary consulate in Shanghai and Peking for the duration of the ceasefire.
​

[X] Sun Yat-sen, Provisional President of the Republic of China
[] Representative of the Empire of the China

 

[aedan777]

Treaty of Warsaw

[X] Ion I. C. Brătianu, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Romania

 

[Nax24]

A snippet of a socialist paper

O Terrível Tratado
​

The Treaty of Lisbon is flawed and disadvantageous to the people of Portugal. Spanish businesses constantly fight over our resources as our economy lies in ruin and good Portuguese citizens roam the street looking for work. Our industry lacks development compared to the world, and our people remain out of work as Spanish businesses buy up our industry and lay off multitudes of workers. The government thinks they can manipulate the treaty to better suit them, that there is a way for them to get out on top somehow, but they are more foolish than the Spanish capitalists that gobble up our market. The Treaty of Lisbon shows the ineptitude of the Progressive government in thinking that a free trade agreement with Spain would be beneficial to Portugal and her people.

I call upon the government, upon the Prime Minister and King Carlos, to remove Portugal from the Treaty of Lisbon, expel the Spanish, and allow us to regain control over our own economy. As of now, we are the subject of an economic-based imperialistic campaign by the Spanish to strangle our industry so that our only source of trade and wealth shall be to them[...]

 

[jacob-Lundgren]

[Treaty of Warsaw]

[X] ~ Tommaso Tittonim ~ Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Italy

 

[Korona]

The Empire of China
中華帝國
Zhōnghuá Dìguó​

On behalf of the rightful ruler of all China, Hongxian, I do gladly and joyfully affix my signature to the Nanking Agreement. It came as a pleasant surprise when the Imperial Cabinet heard of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's arrival to his senses, with his recognition of the Empire of China as the preeminent power in China, and his understanding that a cessation of hostilities between Dr. Sun Yat-Sen His Imperial Majesty Hongxian will ensure peace and prosperity throughout the Empire of China. The removal of the vile Aisin Gioro from rightful territory that does so belong to the Empire of China is at the forefront of His Imperial Majesty's mind, and only through cooperation and friendship will China be united under our banner. May the Heavens Bless His Imperial Majesty Hongxian, Son of Heaven, Lord of Ten Thousand Years, Great Emperor of China.

~ Sun Baoqi

Nanking Agreement​

[X] ~ Foreign Minister Sun Baoqi on behalf of the Hongxian Emperor

 

[jacobweller]

((can i join or not?))