Europe --Posting of Countries

[DuQuense]

Name
History
Present Government [ie pres/PM & main Ministers
Economic Development
Military Development
Flag?

[perdedor99]

Kingdom of Italy
Consist of: EU 6
Population: 32 Million in Metropolitan Italy (Area being ISOT)
Government: Constitutional Monarchy, Prime Minister Antonio Gramsci, Foreign Minister Federico Sforza,
Minister of the Interior Benito Mussolini
History: Italy 1914-1939

Same Italy as the other one, only in 1939. The Two Year War was a time of change for the Italian nation. The conditions in Italy at the time, political and economic, were accordingly far from assuring. She was the poorest of the Great Powers and she was very dependent economically on other nations. Her grains, cotton, oil, steel and meat was imported largely from the Americas; her coal she got from England and Germany. She was thus dependent on the good will of other nations, but especially she was dependent on Germany, which controlled in many fields both the commerce and the finance.

The political alliance between Italy and the other Central Powers suffered because of her decision of staying neutral. On Aug 3 1914 Italy announced officially her determination to remain neutral in the conflict. It was based on the reasons that her treaty obligations only required her to support her allies defensively; and further that she had not been consulted by Austria-Hungary before taking the steps to attack Serbia. The government of Prime Minister Antonio Salandra and his Foreign Minister Sonnino was pro-allied, but because of apprehension that Albania might fall completely under Austrian influence, the Regio Esercito sent units to Albania and even sided openly with Austrians in the Balkans. A protectorate over Albania was the reward given to Italy for their tacit support of Austria in the Balkans.

During the late 1910's and the 1920's Italian industries-concentrated in the northern areas of the country-enjoyed a remarkable boom almost doubling their output and transforming such cities as Turin, Milan and Milan into world class industrial centers. Italian culture also enjoyed a golden age, as avant-garde artists and writers (know as Futurists) brought new ideas and progress to the arts. The social reforms and public works projects of Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti (1924-to 1928) helped to raise the standard of living in the south, but the incredible industrial success in the north only accentuated the mind-numbing poverty and illiteracy that still existed in the southern part of the country.

On 1922 Italy joined the Anglo-Turkish War as an Italian expeditionary force under the command of General Luigi Cardona landed in the Bodrum peninsula and started to march inland. While the advance west was stop in the mountains by ferocious Turkish resistance, the troops following the coastal road captured the city of Izmir on February 20 1923 after a terrible bloodshed. But the ends results of the war left the Italian people disappointed and forced the Prime Minister Salandra and his Foreign Minister to resign after the terms of the Treaty of Prague were made public. Calls of "Austrian jackals" achieving territorial gains with Italian blood were heard everywhere, especially in the north and action against this "jackals" were pursued by some politicians (especially from the senator from Milan, Benito Mussolini). Luckily cooler heads prevailed and Giovanni Giolitti was elected Prime Minister to replace Salandra.

The socialist Giolitti tried a conciliatory policy with his Triple Alliance partners but at the same time any available funds were funneled into the military. The failure of the naval arms race conferences sponsored by the United States was caused in part by the ensuing Italian and Austrian naval race. On 1926 the Regia Marina began studying the rebuilding of the 4 battleships of the Conte di Cavour class and these overhauls were completed by early 1933. On March 1930 the contract for a new class of battleship, the Littorios, was approved and completion of the first 2 units was expected by late 1936 and the last 2 units by early 1940. The naval high command decided against building a new type of ship, the aircraft carrier, because lack of funds and the geographical configuration of Italy were considered a natural aircraft carrier.

The Regio Esercito also had some changes. While the infantry continued to be organized in the square type division, the cavalry suffered a extreme change. 2 new divisions (called "Celere") were created on April 1930 as an effort was made to build mounted units capable to operate in the new possible battlefields of Europe. This mix of cavalry, bicycle infantry, artillery and tanks was seen as the future of the cavalry branch by the Italians tacticians. The Italian tank in the early 1930's was the Fiat 3000, a licensed copy of a French design never build during the Two Year War. A new design based in the British Carden-Lloyd tankette was to begin production in early 1932. Production of the Fiat 3000 began on 1926;by 1930 there was enough vehicles to fill the needs of the new Celere divisions but not much else because the naval branch was getting the lion share of the military budget.

The due to the sudden dead of Giolitti in 1928, a series of ineffective Prime Ministers ruled thru the early 1930’s until the election of the far-left Socialist Antonio Gramsci in 1935. Under his guidance the Italian government began to lean closer to the Russian Nafobar regime and a secret alliance wasn’t being ruled out by early 1939.

Military:
Regio Esercito: The Italian Army in 1935 recognized the need to expand, but with their limited resources the only way was through a reestructuration of the infantry divisions. After the Military Reform of 1936-37 the old quadruple structure was changed for a three regiment infantry division making possible the increase of the numbers of infantry divisions from 25 to 33, the Alpini Divisions from 3 to 4 and the Lybian Colonial Divisions from 2 to 3(1). Only the Granatieri di Savoia Division and the Bersaglieri Division kept the quadruple structure. The bulk of the army was infantry, but it included 3 Celere Divisions, 4 Alpini Divisions, and the Bersaglieri Division. The infantry of the Celere Divisions was provided by 3 Bersaglieri regiments. Formations above divisions were corps and armies.


Regia Marina: 10 Battleships, 10 Heavy Cruiser, 20 Light Cruisers, 62 Destroyers. 89 submarines and 50 small ships.

Regia Aeronautica: 240 CR-34 fighters, 112 Ba-65 dive bomber, 36 S-77 dive bomber (2), 144 S-79 bombers, 48 S-81 bombers and 86 BR-20 heavy bombers



(1) Not being ISOT

(2) Russian dive bomber build under license since 1937.Single engine twin seats dive bombers/ground attacker. It looked like a combination of OTL Douglas SBD Dauntless and Ilyushin-2 Shturmovik. In addition to usual bomb load (one 250kg and four 30kg bombs for early model), S-77 also had two 12.7mm machinegun and two 20mm cannon. Since it was using air-cooled radial engine (instead of water-cooled inline piston engine like OTL Il-2), it was even much harder to shot down than OTL Shturmovik (no radiator weak spot). It was the symbol of Russian terror from the sky.

[WngMasterD]

Baltic Confederation
Government: A Confederation between Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. Each has a parliment and elects bembers to the Confederation Curia. The Confederation is responsible for defence and forign affairs only
Leaders: Cheif Commisioner Hiiu
Military: 25000 persons in uniform. 2 year conscription with alternatives for objectors. Has One Air force with 3 80-plane fighter wings, 2 50-palne bomber wings, and 1 support wing. Navy is 100 patrol craft and 25 frigates, 3 air craft carriers. Three fleets
Econ: engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile, machinery, agricultural products
History: In the 1920's The USSR attempted to Annex the Baltics as well as some other boardering Nations. This arragement lasted for about 5 months, during which time the invaded states all revolted simultainously, errupting into a 5 year war. The USSR decided that the fight was not worth it and withdrew. This war used many gurrilla and terrosim tactics. After that the nations of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia formed a confederation which has lasted very well so far.
Flag:

[DominusNovus]

Name
The Imperial Roman Union
Government
The government is a hereditary monarchy (don't tell the Romans that, unless you feel like a fight), ruled by the Imperator. The various provinces of the Union are represented in the Imperial Senate, seated in Roma, headed, of course, by the consuls (who generally represent the two dominant political parties).
Current Imperator: Artorius Julianus, also known as Artorius VII
Current Consuls: Gregorius Nicator and Alexander Scottius.
History
After Augustus' legions secured the Elbe river in AD 12, the Roman Empire continued to gradually expand into Europe. The Oder was reached in AD 26. By AD 100, the Roman frontier in Europe was the Dniester and the Vistula. A century later, it would be expanded to the West Dvina and the Dnieper. The Romans eventually conquered up to the Volga, but would fall back to the Dvina and Don by AD 600. The Don would be abandoned by AD 800, leaving the Dnieper as the frontier. Though the Romans would expand further in the area from time to time, no foreign power ever established a permanent presence west of the Dnieper.
The various tribes to the east would be consolidated under the Bulgars in the 11th century. They would prove a dangerous enemy, and took Scandinavia from the Romans, while threatening the other outer provinces. Meanwhile, the Persians had taken many of Rome's eastern provinces. However, just as things seemed there darkest (well, moderately dim), the Mongols appeared on the scene, crushing Persia and Bulgaria. Rome would retake Scandinavia and Mesopotamia to the Zagros, but did not expand into any other territories in the Old World. The Americas were discovered in the late 13th century by Roman merchants trying to circumvent Bulgarian, Persian, and Indian control of the trade with the east.
The modern Imperial Roman Union is separated from the Empire of Augustus by no less than 12 revolutions. As the modern state has existed the mid 15th century, without any major attempts at revolution, the Union has an air of Divine Legitimacy.
Technologically, it is a few years behind OTL in most respects. Heavier than air flying craft are only about 20 years old. However, the Union possesses a fleet of Airships that would be the envy of the nations of OTL. Automobiles are also more primitive, having only been popular since the mid 20s. The only other major difference is that computers are slightly ahead of OTL. Analytical Engines were developed more fully, and computers about equal to OTL's Colossus are the state of the art.
Zone Information
Territory
The region transported to the Mosaic Earth includes most of the province Burgunida (between the Oder and Vistula), the entirety of Gothia (between the Dniester and Dnieper), most of Venedia Interior (between the Niemen and Vistula), about half of Venedia Exterior (between the Niemen and West Dvina), and a sliver of Dacia, just south of the Dniester (up to the OTL 1939 border of Slovakia and Hungary).
Government
Current Governor of Burgundia: Brutus Rabirius
Current Governor of Gothia: Aurelia Lupus
Current Governor of Venedia Interior: Athalus Sidonius
Current Governor of Venedia Exterior: Ricardus Velius
Current Governor of Dacia: Carus Livius (outside of transported zone)
Population
approx. 42 mil (compared to somewhere around 35 mil for 1939 poland)



More will come, but its late right now.

[Grey Wolf]

I'm basing this on OTL flags, the following excerpts from 'Flags of The World' :-

From about 1350 Iceland's arms were on a red field a silver stockfish (a split and dried cod) with a golden crown

In 1903, the same year as Iceland got home rule, the Icelanders had the stockfish replaced with new arms. They felt that the stockfish was a humiliating symbol that the ruling Danes had invented for them. The new arms (adopted 11 December 1903) had a blue field with a silver falcon. The colours and the falcon were regarded as more ancient symbols of the country than the stockfish (this is not the case however).

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/i/is-r1920.gif

I've plumped for an early modern replacing of the dead fish by the falcon. There is probably an initial version that has a red field, but later this gets changed to blue (which looks better) , thus :-

[Grey Wolf]

I am thinking that the flag of Spitzbergen is an amalgam of a couple of OTL sources. From FOTW :-

- Between 1896 and 1913, private post stamps were released, one of them showing the "first blazon of Svalbard". The shield is azure with a polar bear, a white star in chief and another, tilted white star in point. A scroll above the shield reads SPITSBERGEN.

However, Spitzbergen in the ATL it is ISOT'ed from is settled by Scots, and its first family are the Hamiltons. Whilst a republic, Spitzbergen is an aristocratic republic and the national flag incorporates an element of the Hamilton coat of arms that was imported in the first settlement.

From the clan Hamilton website :-

The Crest of this ancient Coat of Arms is an Oak Tree growing from a Ducal crown. Across the tree is a saw, above in a scroll is the word "Throu." This device commemorates the escape into Scotland of Sir Gilbert Hamilton in 1323. At the court of King Edward II, Sir Hamilton expressed admiration for Robert Bruce, upon which he was struck by one Dispenser. A duel followed and Dispenser fell. Hamilton fled from England, hotly pursued. Near the border, Hamilton and his esquire donned the dress of wood cutters and began working. As the soldiers passed, his esquire hesitated, and Hamilton called out "Throu" [equivalent to "Timber"]. They were not recognized, and Hamilton's life was saved.

I include a screenshot of the full coat of arms for the Hamiltons at the bottom.

The Spitzbergen flag in the ATL is thus described :-
The field is azure with a sawn-through oak tree and a white star in chief and another, tilted white star in point

Unfortunately, as its made up, no picture exists !

Grey Wolf

[WngMasterD]

Baltic Navy

3 Fleets (One for each nation)

12 Destroyers
3 Cruisers
3 Coastal defence ships
60 Patrol craft
---------

50 Lifesaving craft

[General_Paul]

Name: Nazi Germany (Fmr. Weirmar Republic)

Government: Dictatorship/One Party Democracy

HistoryRise and fall of the Third Reich [Abridged version], published:1966, and much of my own commentary) By the year 1870, the german republics were united under a common rule, the rule of the Kaiser. Kaiser Wilhelm the First brought the United German Republics (More commonly known as the German Monarchy), into the colonial race. As a whole, the germans had their colonial endeavors in Africa, and the Pacific islands. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the growing separation of european states, mirrored only by their common colonial interests, had small flare-ups. The First and Second Baltic Wars of 1909, and 1913 respectively, involved mainly the Russian Empire and her Baltic neighbors, such as the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and the newly freed state of Bulgaria.

By July, 1914, both the political and economic problems of europe reached a headway. A great precipice lay between the free states of europe, and total annhialation, this precipice was known as the first world war. Throughout the late 19th century, alliance building was brought down to a fine art. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was known for its extensive alliances and treaties throughout the European Continent. By 1890 however, the two major alliances were solidified. Known as the Triple entente: England, France, and Russia, they were opposed by the Central Powers: Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman-Turkish Empire. The beginnings of this war had been laid ever since the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, when France lost Alcaise-Lorraine to the rampaging Prussian Armies of Wilhelm I.

In June, 1914, the powder keg of europe exploded. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was taking a tour of the Balkans, more precicely, a tour of the nation of Serbia, which was under the Austro-Hungarian crown. When, a clandestine group known as the "Black Hand" was able to kill the archduke, and his wife. This infuriated the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and on August 5, 1914, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia. This direct declaration brought the Triple Entente and the Central Powers to blows, which, on the 20th of August, 1914, the powers officially declared war.

Four Years of Hell...

By September of 1914, the German Army was armed to the teeth, and had enough aggresive tendencies to fill the void. September 3, 1914 marked the full beginnings of the ground war in europe. The invasion of the Empire of Belgium marked the violation of Belgian Neutrality, thus forcing the hand of England. The english, fresh from their war in the transvaal (Known largely as South Africa), thought that their victories, spurred on by public support, brough the british expeditionary forces to french ports on September the fifth, nineteen fourteen. The Schliffen plan was brought into effect. A swing through belgium, and the final thrust at the french capital of Paris, would bring the french to their knees. Instead, the Schliffen plan was bogged down in the eastern provinces, and, in the final thrust, ground to a hault just thirteen miles outside the capital of Paris. The fortified cities of St. Mihel, Paris, and Verdun ground the german war machine to a crashing hault. In this critical time, the first battle of the Somme was fought. The battle was known as the first large scale use of chemical weapons on the front. For weeks the nations of Britain, France, and Germany squared off in an apocalyptic show of military prowess and strength. Although but 300 yards were won for the german armed forces, the French and British thought it an outrage.

Throughout much of 1914, 1915, and 1916, the armed forces of the german, austro-hungarian, and french/british combined armies fought nail and tooth for the prowess of military power, and for the final victory. Through sheer luck, in 1917, on the allied side, an intercepted coded message to the mexican leadership in Mexico City, was intercepted by american intelligence officers. The germans promised the mexicans back the american southwest if they joined the war. The americans, having been in a political debate in congress over a declaration of war, decided that was that. In April, 1917, the americans declared war on the Central Powers. Through the final two years of conflict, the american armed forces did little to help in the war, besides add tremendous manpower to this large conflict. Over one million american army and marine corps officers served on and off throughout the war. By the time that the peace treaty was signed, the german military had lost over two million men in the trenches along both the western and eastern fronts. The germans had lost...

Depression, and a new hope for the german workers...

The 1920's saw a jump in inflation in the german mark. Workers had been loosing their money fast, and wages dropped to an all time high. It was time for a change...and adolf hitler was there for them. After the disasterous failure of the "Beer Hall Putch" in 1923, hitler spent seven months in jail, serving along with Rudolf Hess, his deputy Prime Minister in 1934, taking dictations for Mein Kamph, or My Struggle . This lead to the German National Socialist Workers Party, or the NDSP. The NDSP grew in support throughout the twenties, and into 1930, when it controled approximately 40 seats out of the 300 seat parliment. This was not good for the NDSP, or now known, as Nazis for short. The Nazis had what was known as the SA and the SS, or Sturmtruppen, who were used for terror tactics in the streets of Berlin throughout the twenties, to gain votes. By 1932, the nazis had enough. The beginnings of the takeover were founded. By 1932, the german workers party gained in support, and hitler knew it was prime time to take charge. Hitler ran for the chancellor's seat in 1933, and won by a small margin. His first act, was a clandestine one, it was one of the Reichstag Fire Act. The nazis planted a sleeper cell to set fire to the reichstag in 1933, to gain public support. This worked to their advantage. Due to a small article in the Weirmar's Constitution, and a vote in the parliment on the enabeling acts of 1933, Hitler declared himself Fuhrer, or "leader" of germany. By 1936, he had passed the nurmeburg laws, declaring that the jewish population had few rights, if any. By 1939, the germans were ready for war...

Flag: The swastika - hakenkreuz

Military Power: All OTL Standings (Three million man standing army, 7,000 aircraft, 20,000 tanks, very small surface navy, extensive Unterseeboat (U-Boat)

Leader: Adolf Hitler: Fuhrer of Germany, Austria, the Sudetenland, and East Prussia.

Economy: Extensive arms works in the ruhr valley. Massive re-militarization plans to bring the german army up to the level that the United States reached at the end of the first world War. Massive industrialization in the Ruhr valley, and in Alcaise-Lorraine.

Flag: The

[DominusNovus]

Imperial Roman Union continued...
Military(in the transported zone)
Imperial Roman Army:
approx. 1.8 million men, mostly stationed on the Bulgar border
approx. 13,000 armored vehicles (mostly light tanks and self propelled artillery)
Imperial Roman Navy:
1 Battleship (CIR Valentinian) and support fleet stationed on the Baltic Sea
2 Battleships (CIR Tiberius, CIR Titus) and support fleets stationed on the Black Sea
Imperial Roman Airfleet:
8 transport airships
5 carrier airships
5 destroyer airships
3000 airplanes
Flag
Crimson, with "SPQR" in gold in the center.

[Grey Wolf]

Given that the OTL population of Iceland is 270,000 it is clearly not very likely to have exceeded that even in an ATL where its relative importance was massively higher. I will thus adopt a figure of around 200,000 for 1939, which includes a significant Scottish immigrant community. OTL it was around 143,000 for 1950, so 200,000 does not seem excessive. OTL Iceland's industires have been based on fishing, whaling and fish processing. In the ATL it has also sat astride the major trade routes during the centuries of Ottoman domination of the mid Atlantic. The North-Western American seaboard in the ATL was made up of a patchwork of monarchies and principalities, some of them Nordic-descended, others Scottish, English and French, all with an aristocratic foundation. The ATL also saw a larger settlement of Greenland, and a larger role for the North - Norway, Finmark, Finland, Russia in the White Sea etc. The ATL Iceland thus continues to sit astride vibrant trading routes, and also has developed a large merchant navy of its own to take advantage of this. Mercantile princes with their own trading houses dominate a lot of the Icelandic economy, though fishing, processing etc is an important secondary industry. Because Iceland's entire economy depends on the sea a relatively large navy has developed (see below).

Iceland is a monarchy, a prince of Denmark having established the first royal house, but intermarriage with the ATL royal houses of Scotland, England and the American monarchies has led to a dynasty with a definite identity of its own. King Alexander II is in his early 30s (well, why not, lol) and has married a young princess of the ATL Valois royal family of France. They have a couple of young children, and are popular with their subjects and the political establishment both. Princes of the royal family tend to dominate the upper echelons of the military and civil service, whilst members of the mercantile princely houses tend to dominate the operational commands in the navy.

A Prime Minister and cabinet have day-to-day authority but strong residual powers remain with the king. Several government departments are virtual independent fiefdoms, ruled by the civil service and the court with only nominal cabinet oversight. These include the diplomatic corps, the trade ministries and the finance ministry. Overall policy may be set by the Prime Minister and the cabinet ministers but the details are not their preserve, and a lot of the recurring business goes on beneath the surface, run efficiently by the professional, highly-paid and semi-aristocratic civil service. Icelandic politics tend to be consensual, with no fixed parties, and the Prime Minister chosen from amongst the elder statesmen in the assembly.

Grey Wolf

[Imajin]

EU9
The Kingdom of Hungary and the Archduchy of Austria (Hungary-Austria)
Capital: (post ISOT) Sarajevo
Population: 10 million
History:
In this timeline, the Austrian Hapsburgs failed in their attempts to create a personal union between their Archduchy and Hungary, as though a marriage took place, the child only inherited Austria. In 1689, the Austrian Habsburgs were left heirless, and the Hungarian Royal Family took control. The Hungarian Dynasty, in hopes of gaining acceptance from the HRE, took the name "House of Arpad-Habsburg", however, no member of the Hungarian Royal House would gain the throne after that.
In 1799, after the death of Charles IX of Bavaria, the HRE disintegrated after the electors could not elect an Emperor. The Hungarian kings formed the Kingdom of Hungary encompassing all thier lands within the HRE and out of it, but tensions between the Germans and the Hungarians resulted in the Compromise of 1824, which established the present dual monarchy. Later, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Hungary-Austria recieved control of the ISOTed area. Today, the main problem in the Kingdom is the other minorities, who wish to have more political control.
During the ISOT, King-Archduke Stephen was in Sarajevo.
Present Government
A Constitutional Monarchy under King-Archduke Stephen V, of the house of Habsburg-Arpad. Both Hungary and Austria also have parliaments of thier own.
Economic Development
The ISOTed area's economy is a conbination of agricultural products, cattle animals, and some manufactured goods. The area is heavily based off agriculture, however.
Military Development
A large, well-armed military of about 450,000 men was stationed in the area at the time of the event, and the military ports have many ships, though ship technology is behind OTL.
Flag
Austria uses Red-White-Red,
Hungary-Austria flag is in attachment
Hungary flag is like Hungary-Austria, but has the red and white striped instead of the red-white-red.

[Midgard]

Name
History
Present Government [ie pres/PM & main Ministers
Economic Development
Military Development

The Roman Empire (a.k.a. Byzantium)
Territory: EU13
Population: 70 million (in the area being ISOTed)
Government: Absolute monarchy with theocratic tendencies
Head of state: Emperor Basileios VIII Vataces

History:

In 1071, responding to the Seljuk incursions into the Eastern regions of the Empire, Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes met them in battle at Manzikert. The battle resulted in a complete defeat for the Seljuks, and eventual subjugation of the Sultan to the Emperor as his vassal. In the following century, after Romanus was eventually assassinated several years after the battle, the dynasty of the Komneni assumed the throne, where it was to reign until the XVIth century. Thanks in part to succession of the strong Emperors, and to the reforms that strengthened the military under Romanus that were continued by his successors, by the end of the XIIth century the Empire spread as far south as Jerusalem, and was within striking distance of Baghdad in the east. While the Norman opposition in Southern Italy prevented much advances, the Byzantines were able to recapture several key cities that were to serve as their strongholds.

Although the guerilla warfare continued for centuries thereafter, in XIIIth century the Byzantine troops finally captured Egypt. By mid XIIIth century, however, the Empire was in crisis, as religious contoversy threatened to split it apart in the civil war. During this time, Bulgarian rebellion almost succeeded in winning their independence, and the Mongol invasion was turned back only with harrowing losses, however, with the ascension of Patriarch Macarius III as a strong regent for the minor Emperor Alexius IV, the troubles were quelled, and the largest single undertaking of the reign begun - the reconquest of Italy.

Using dissention among the Norman lords of the Sicilian kingdom as an excuse, the Imperial army swept as far north as Rome before reestablishing the Exarchate of Italy. The following centuries saw the reincorporation of Italy into the Empire, with a number of merchant republics being absorbed, some peacefully, some violently. By the XVth century, Italians (and in particular, Venetians) were generally accepted as equals of the Greeks in social status, wealth, and political power, with much of the developing merchants and bankers being Italian in origin.

By the early XVIth century, the Komnenian line came to an end, replaced on the throne by the Palaiologi, who reigned until the XVIIIth century. During that period, the Empire consisted of Italy, Dalmatia/Istria, the Middle East, Asia Minor, Greece, and North Africa as far west as Carthage. In a meanwhile, the rest of Europe developed on its own, with Germany staying broken up and the title of the Holy Roman Emperor wrestled from the Kings of Germany; the French kingdom retook its English lands, and eventually discovered Americas by the 1700s, where they established a tenuous hold. The Emirate of Granada survived and prosperred, eventually engulfing all of Spain, in many ways thanks to the immigration from the Middle East of thousands of Moslems escaping Byzantine occupation.

By the early 2000s, the military technology is still at the level of American Civil War for the most part, although huge zeppelins are now the primary means of air transport; horse is still the main method of movement, while the internal combustion engine, though invented, is used only to power the airships. There has been no need to develop major industrial or military innovations since the Empire has been at relative peace with its neighbors for most of the century, secure in its presumed military and political superiority.

Economy: The Empire is largely self-sufficient, and its control over the trade routes to the East has always been a source of much wealth. With the maritime trade outside the Empire still at a relatively low level, the Empire has prosperred due to lack of outside competition. While oil has not been as major a resource as in OTL, control over the Middle-Eastern oil fields gave the Empire a major leverage over its enemies, and a major source of fuel for its magnificient airship fleet. (note - much of the oil has not been transported).

More info to be coming soon...

[Cockroach]

By the early 2000s, the military technology is still at the level of American Civil War for the most part, although huge zeppelins are now the primary means of air transport; horse is still the main method of movement

Note: unlike SME, DME is set in the 1940s, please edit to correct

[Midgard]

Edited information - please ignore the previous post

The Roman Empire (a.k.a. Byzantium)
Territory: EU12
Population: 8 million (in the area being ISOTed)
Government: Absolute monarchy with theocratic tendencies
Head of state: Emperor Basileios VIII Vataces (before the Event)
Dux Constantine Vataces (governor of the ISOTed area) - after the Event

History:

In 1071, responding to the Seljuk incursions into the Eastern regions of the Empire, Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes met them in battle at Manzikert. The battle resulted in a complete defeat for the Seljuks, and eventual subjugation of the Sultan to the Emperor as his vassal. In the following century, after Romanus was eventually assassinated several years after the battle, the dynasty of the Komneni assumed the throne, where it was to reign until the XVIth century. Thanks in part to succession of the strong Emperors, and to the reforms that strengthened the military under Romanus that were continued by his successors, by the end of the XIIth century the Empire spread as far south as Jerusalem, and was within striking distance of Baghdad in the east. While the Norman opposition in Southern Italy prevented much advances, the Byzantines were able to recapture several key cities that were to serve as their strongholds.

Although the guerilla warfare continued for centuries thereafter, in XIIIth century the Byzantine troops finally captured Egypt. By mid XIIIth century, however, the Empire was in crisis, as religious contoversy threatened to split it apart in the civil war. During this time, Bulgarian rebellion almost succeeded in winning their independence, and the Mongol invasion was turned back only with harrowing losses, however, with the ascension of Patriarch Macarius III as a strong regent for the minor Emperor Alexius IV, the troubles were quelled, and the largest single undertaking of the reign begun - the reconquest of Italy.

Using dissention among the Norman lords of the Sicilian kingdom as an excuse, the Imperial army swept as far north as Rome before reestablishing the Exarchate of Italy. The following centuries saw the reincorporation of Italy into the Empire, with a number of merchant republics being absorbed, some peacefully, some violently. By the XVth century, Italians (and in particular, Venetians) were generally accepted as equals of the Greeks in social status, wealth, and political power, with much of the developing merchants and bankers being Italian in origin.

By the early XVIth century, the Komnenian line came to an end, replaced on the throne by the Palaiologi, who reigned until the XVIIIth century. During that period, the Empire consisted of Italy, Dalmatia/Istria, the Middle East, Asia Minor, Greece, and North Africa as far west as Carthage. In a meanwhile, the rest of Europe developed on its own, with Germany staying broken up and the title of the Holy Roman Emperor wrestled from the Kings of Germany; the French kingdom retook its English lands, and eventually discovered Americas by the 1700s, where they established a tenuous hold. The Emirate of Granada survived and prosperred, eventually engulfing all of Spain, in many ways thanks to the immigration from the Middle East of thousands of Moslems escaping Byzantine occupation.

By 1940, the military technology is still at the level of American Civil War for the most part, although huge zeppelins are now the primary means of air transport; horse is still the main method of movement, while the internal combustion engine, though invented, is used only to power the airships. There has been no need to develop major industrial or military innovations since the Empire has been at relative peace with its neighbors for most of the century, secure in its presumed military and political superiority.

Economy: The Empire is largely self-sufficient, and its control over the trade routes to the East has always been a source of much wealth. With the maritime trade outside the Empire still at a relatively low level, the Empire has prosperred due to lack of outside competition. While oil has not been as major a resource as in OTL, control over the Middle-Eastern oil fields gave the Empire a major leverage over its enemies, and a major source of fuel for its magnificient airship fleet (note - these territories have not been ISOTed).

In the area being ISOTed (roughly parts of the Bulgarian province, as well as parts of the Empire's transdanubian conquests), the rule of Constantinople has always been somewhat shaky, and rebellions tend to flare spontaneously only to be quelled by what used to be a superior Imperial army. As a result, there is heavy military presense in the area, under the command of military Strategos - usually someone trusted with much authority and very frequently a member of the Emperor's immediate family. In fact, in the last century or so governorship of Bulgaria and immediate surroundings was usually used as a proving grounds for the Emperor's chosen successor where he could prove his abilities to rule before ascending to the throne.

In the ISOTed area main economic activities included some of the grain production, and rather heavy industry, including much of the Imperial manufacturing facilities - mostly centered around production of weapons to supply the Western armies of the Empire.

Military: At the time of the event, a force of approximately 250,000 troops was stationed throughout the province. Major portion of the force are the infantry, both native and Greek, with about 50,000 or so of the Imperial Kataphraktoi (cavalry). The military technology at this point is at the level of roughly OTL 1860s, with cavalry still playing a major role as a shock force (think "Charge of the Light Brigade"), and the infantry serving as cheap source of manpower. The one point of distinction is the invention of the machine guns and automatic weapons, which are at this point still somewhat cumbersome, and require horse or airship transport. While the motorized ground vehicles were not thought of as of yet, the Empire does possess the necessary technology - it is mostly a matter of seeing the need to utilize its internal combustion engines for the means other than propelling its airships.

The Imperial airforce is rather impressive in size, however, only a small portion of it was ISOTed. The airships, which are generally fixed-frame (with few blimps being the cheaper, smaller versions still in service), usually serve as flying fortresses, covered in machine guns, and relatively heavily armored - due to the Empire's stranglehold on the European/Middle Eastern oil reserves, no other nation had sufficient fleet to match them - which can change very quickly. On an interesting note, airplanes, or heavier-than-air aircraft of any kind have not been invented.

The Imperial Navy in the Black Sea is not extremely large, and is much outdated, with the sail ships still used frequently in addition to ironclads and steamers. The ports on the Black Sea shores are home to a small fleet, some of which is civilian, and some is battle-worthy.

Flag: Golden two-headed eagle over the red field.

[DominusNovus]

Methinks my Romans might have to give yours a crash course in modern technology...

[Midgard]

It would definitely be interesting, to say the least... heavily militarized area that has technologically and socially stagnated for a very long time, that, ironically, finds itself in the world decades ahead of it in terms of social development and technological prowess. I would imagine that given at least some time to itself, my version of Romania could retool its factories and upgrade its military and civilian tech, however, it is very likely it will find itself in a race against time to do so - not to mention the "local" population (Bulgars and Vlachs) that is not quite happy with the Greek rule, and might make the Empire's survival problematic at best.

Not to mention that the TL it comes from never had its Enlightenment era, never had the Age of Revolutions equivalent, and never developed even a slightest idea of socialism/communism... when some slightly-brighter-than-average Joe stumbles upon the works from the TLs where such concepts HAVE been invented, the consequences could be very major indeed.

Not to mention that the nationalistic/royalist element of the society, probably with at least some military backing, WILL want to take their shot at taking over Thrace and Constantinople, no matter who claims rulership over it and for however many years; I expect the reactionary element in the society to be very strong even after the Event.

Should be an interesting RP, at the very least though :-)

Originally Posted by DominusNovus

Methinks my Romans might have to give yours a crash course in modern technology...

[Grey Wolf]

By the early 2000s, the military technology is still at the level of American Civil War for the most part, although huge zeppelins are now the primary means of air transport; horse is still the main method of movement

I think his idea is excellent - what's wrong with it ?

It is insane to assume that every ATL arriving at 1940 will have the same level of technology

In fact if the equivalent level of technology was REQUIRED you would need to ISOT some from the 1900s who were more advanced and some from the 1990s who were less advanced etc

Having a MAXIMUM level of technology does not imply that everyone should be there

Grey Wolf

[DominusNovus]

Originally Posted by Grey Wolf

I think his idea is excellent - what's wrong with it ?

It is insane to assume that every ATL arriving at 1940 will have the same level of technology

His tech is still pretty far behind the rest of us. Airships are on par with OTL, everything else is behind.

Originally Posted by midgardmetal

Should be an interesting RP, at the very least though :-)

Hey, how developed are your Rumanian oil field? Cuz I'm thinking I'm gonna need some oil from somewhere...

[Grey Wolf]

Whats wrong with being pretty far behind but industrialised ? We're not trying to create a wargame here, but an interesting inter-action of ruled states run by players.

Grey Wolf

[Landshark]

GW it's not the tech that needs editing it's the date. You can have any technology level that's lower than September 1939 but your nation has to come from September 1939 or it's ATL equivilent. You can't ISOT nations from the future.