Map Thread XIX

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For twenty five years, two tigers ruled in Asia: Bayinnaung of Burma, and Akbar of India. But if there's one thing to know about Tigers is, they've very territorial. When one encroaches on another's territory, war break out.

In the 1570's, Akbar of India expanded into the Bengal region in one of his final acts to purge the treacherous Suri dynasty. However, in doing so, he approached the borders of Burma, led by the Therevada Cakkavatti Bayinnaung, whom was wary of his expansionist neighbor. In 1582, he launched an invasion of the Kingdom of Mrauk U, or the Kingdom of Arakan, and the next year, he went on a diplomatic tour of north-eastern Indian Subcontinent in search of allies, which he (followed by a fierce army built from men across his empire) found plenty of. In turn, it was Akbar who now felt threatened. In 1584, in the hills of Nepal, the armies of India and Burma, led by the two tigers themselves, stood opposite of one another. However, on this day, no blood would be shed, as Bayinnaung turned to return home. Lan Xang had rebelled again, and he would need to put them down, again. But both Akbar and Bayinnaung knew that Dumre would not be the last time they would face another.

In 1586, Akbar led a short expedition on east side of the Ganges Delta, swiftly conquering some of the allies of his Burmese counterpart. This would incur Bayinnaung's wrath, and in 1588, he would launch his own expedition to the opposite side of the Ganges Delta. But this wasn't just land of some allies, no. This was considered core territory of the Mughal Empire, launching the first phase of the Tiger Wars. At the battle of Siriya, Bayinnaung was able to inflict a defeat upon Akbar's army, but not without some serious losses of his own. Not wanting to give the expedition too soon, his army would turn south and look for more allies, to look for kings who felt threatened by Akbar's India. Bayinnaung found an ally in Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah of the Golcanda Sultanate. Despite their difference in faiths. Muhammad saw a greater threat in the empire on his borders, and joined forces with the Cakkavatti, and together, returned for another fight against Akbar. However, for this second fight, Akbar was ready, and in the Battle of Kolabira, Akbar's mighty Gunpowder Artillery was able to smash the army of the Toungoo. Bayinnaung quickly fled home to lick his wounds and prepare for the next battle.

Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah was left alone to face the wrath of Akbar, and in 1592, faced defeat after the Battle of Samsthan. He was humiliated, forced to pay tribute to Akbar, and to break all alliances with Bayinnaung, but was otherwise left alone, with his kingdom in one piece. On the other side of the Bay of Bengal, Bayinnaung was putting down yet another Lan Xang rebelling, hopefully this time for good. He also sent a fleet to go gather the military of his tributaries on the island of Ceylon, and potentially work with Portugal to weaken Akbar. In 1593, the Burmese Fleet landed in Goa and looked to get an agreement from governor on behalf of the Portuguese Crown. However, said governor was also still under the assumption that Burma and Portuguese India were at war. Confusion in diplomacy led to a breakdown of the agreement, and the Burmese swiftly fled north when a Portuguese relief force approached.

The Toungoo Army would land on the west coast of the Mughal Empire, far from any friend besides, possibly, the Golcondans. They marched Eastwards in hopes of linking up with them, burning and pillaging everything in their path there. On their way there, an army of Indians caught them at Lasura, and the Burmese march turned into a route, fleeing into the territory of the Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah. The sultan was merciful to the Burmese army who had abandoned him four years prior and provided them a ride home, but otherwise gave no further aid. This act alone, for the people who left him and his people to fend for themselves, was already much to ask, and if Akbar the Great found out about it, it very well might cost him his kingdom. And, five years later, that's precisely what happened.

Akbar grew tired of Bayinnaung's continued aggression, despite his continued failures. It became obvious to him that Bayinnaung was growing too old too properly command an army, and his empire would be shattered by simply a defeat on his own soil. And so, Akbar decided to take the fight to him, and in 1596, he led an army across the Purvanchal mountains into Upper Burma. However, the 80 year old Bayinnaung was not without fight left in him, and in early 1597 he was able to jump on an unsuspecting Akbar at Kaduma, forcing the Indian Emperor to give up the expedition and flee back west. The Toungoo Empire would cheer merrily, for the Cakkavatti was to inflict a devastating defeat upon the Indians and their Muslim Emperor, shaming him as the Cakkavatti had been shamed at Kolabira. But the war was far from over yet.

As Akbar headed south to defeat the treacherous Muhammad Quli Qutb Shar, Bayinnaung traveled north into Tibet. Although they followed two different paths of Buddhism, he hoped that could still get the Tibetans to recognize him as the true Cakkavatti, or at least to recognize the threat posed by Akbar's India. He failed in the former, but succeed in the later, and with his successful, he returned home in preparation for another invasion of India. It wouldn't take long for Akbar to hear of the alliance, though, in not long after, an army of Muslims would invade Tibet and defeat them. Akbar's demands for them were the same that Muhammad Shah first received: Pay tribute and break off the alliance with Bayinnaung. Not wanting to receive the same fate that Golconda received, the Kingdom of U-Tsang humbly agreed.

In 1602, the penultimate battle would begin with the second invasion of India personally led by Bayinnaung. His army of Burmese, Thai, Lao, Shan Arakanese, Sinhalese, and many more raged across the Ganges Plain, only halting their wrath for prayer in the Buddhist holy sites around the Ganges plain, such as Bodh Gaya. For the Toungoo Army, this was not just a war, but a mass, armed pilgrimage, relatable to the Christian Crusades of the early part of the millennium. Their final stop was designated to be the Mughal capital of Agra, but they would not make it there. In 1603, the armies of Akbar were finally able to cease their advance at the battle of Faizabad. The Toungoo armies retreated back east once more.

But Akbar was not to leave such an insult unpunished. By the start of the next year, his army landed in Mrauk U, taken by Bayinnaung so many years prior, and returned the Arakanese King to the throne. From there, he launched another expedition south and landed in the Irrawaddy Delta. Bayinnaung tried and failed to march on his capital, and Akbar would do the same, confident that he would succeed. This was not to be, for Bayinnaung and Akbar would face each other one final time in the Irrawaddy Delta, with Bayinnaung defeating the Mughal Emperor. Akbar would would have to return home without capturing the Burmese capital.

Not long after, the ancient Cakkavatti would finally succumb to his age, at 89 years old. Akbar, he caught an illness in the Lower Burma campaign, wouldn't live to celebrate long, dying a short few months later at 63 years old. But it would be Akbar's empire that would have the final laugh, for without their great Cakkavatti, the Toungoo Empire disintegrated, while the Mughal Empire would live on.
 
the_tiger_wars__akbar_and_bayinnaung_by_spiritswriter123_ddv90rp-fullview.jpg

For twenty five years, two tigers ruled in Asia: Bayinnaung of Burma, and Akbar of India. But if there's one thing to know about Tigers is, they've very territorial. When one encroaches on another's territory, war break out.

In the 1570's, Akbar of India expanded into the Bengal region in one of his final acts to purge the treacherous Suri dynasty. However, in doing so, he approached the borders of Burma, led by the Therevada Cakkavatti Bayinnaung, whom was wary of his expansionist neighbor. In 1582, he launched an invasion of the Kingdom of Mrauk U, or the Kingdom of Arakan, and the next year, he went on a diplomatic tour of north-eastern Indian Subcontinent in search of allies, which he (followed by a fierce army built from men across his empire) found plenty of. In turn, it was Akbar who now felt threatened. In 1584, in the hills of Nepal, the armies of India and Burma, led by the two tigers themselves, stood opposite of one another. However, on this day, no blood would be shed, as Bayinnaung turned to return home. Lan Xang had rebelled again, and he would need to put them down, again. But both Akbar and Bayinnaung knew that Dumre would not be the last time they would face another.

In 1586, Akbar led a short expedition on east side of the Ganges Delta, swiftly conquering some of the allies of his Burmese counterpart. This would incur Bayinnaung's wrath, and in 1588, he would launch his own expedition to the opposite side of the Ganges Delta. But this wasn't just land of some allies, no. This was considered core territory of the Mughal Empire, launching the first phase of the Tiger Wars. At the battle of Siriya, Bayinnaung was able to inflict a defeat upon Akbar's army, but not without some serious losses of his own. Not wanting to give the expedition too soon, his army would turn south and look for more allies, to look for kings who felt threatened by Akbar's India. Bayinnaung found an ally in Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah of the Golcanda Sultanate. Despite their difference in faiths. Muhammad saw a greater threat in the empire on his borders, and joined forces with the Cakkavatti, and together, returned for another fight against Akbar. However, for this second fight, Akbar was ready, and in the Battle of Kolabira, Akbar's mighty Gunpowder Artillery was able to smash the army of the Toungoo. Bayinnaung quickly fled home to lick his wounds and prepare for the next battle.

Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah was left alone to face the wrath of Akbar, and in 1592, faced defeat after the Battle of Samsthan. He was humiliated, forced to pay tribute to Akbar, and to break all alliances with Bayinnaung, but was otherwise left alone, with his kingdom in one piece. On the other side of the Bay of Bengal, Bayinnaung was putting down yet another Lan Xang rebelling, hopefully this time for good. He also sent a fleet to go gather the military of his tributaries on the island of Ceylon, and potentially work with Portugal to weaken Akbar. In 1593, the Burmese Fleet landed in Goa and looked to get an agreement from governor on behalf of the Portuguese Crown. However, said governor was also still under the assumption that Burma and Portuguese India were at war. Confusion in diplomacy led to a breakdown of the agreement, and the Burmese swiftly fled north when a Portuguese relief force approached.

The Toungoo Army would land on the west coast of the Mughal Empire, far from any friend besides, possibly, the Golcondans. They marched Eastwards in hopes of linking up with them, burning and pillaging everything in their path there. On their way there, an army of Indians caught them at Lasura, and the Burmese march turned into a route, fleeing into the territory of the Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah. The sultan was merciful to the Burmese army who had abandoned him four years prior and provided them a ride home, but otherwise gave no further aid. This act alone, for the people who left him and his people to fend for themselves, was already much to ask, and if Akbar the Great found out about it, it very well might cost him his kingdom. And, five years later, that's precisely what happened.

Akbar grew tired of Bayinnaung's continued aggression, despite his continued failures. It became obvious to him that Bayinnaung was growing too old too properly command an army, and his empire would be shattered by simply a defeat on his own soil. And so, Akbar decided to take the fight to him, and in 1596, he led an army across the Purvanchal mountains into Upper Burma. However, the 80 year old Bayinnaung was not without fight left in him, and in early 1597 he was able to jump on an unsuspecting Akbar at Kaduma, forcing the Indian Emperor to give up the expedition and flee back west. The Toungoo Empire would cheer merrily, for the Cakkavatti was to inflict a devastating defeat upon the Indians and their Muslim Emperor, shaming him as the Cakkavatti had been shamed at Kolabira. But the war was far from over yet.

As Akbar headed south to defeat the treacherous Muhammad Quli Qutb Shar, Bayinnaung traveled north into Tibet. Although they followed two different paths of Buddhism, he hoped that could still get the Tibetans to recognize him as the true Cakkavatti, or at least to recognize the threat posed by Akbar's India. He failed in the former, but succeed in the later, and with his successful, he returned home in preparation for another invasion of India. It wouldn't take long for Akbar to hear of the alliance, though, in not long after, an army of Muslims would invade Tibet and defeat them. Akbar's demands for them were the same that Muhammad Shah first received: Pay tribute and break off the alliance with Bayinnaung. Not wanting to receive the same fate that Golconda received, the Kingdom of U-Tsang humbly agreed.

In 1602, the penultimate battle would begin with the second invasion of India personally led by Bayinnaung. His army of Burmese, Thai, Lao, Shan Arakanese, Sinhalese, and many more raged across the Ganges Plain, only halting their wrath for prayer in the Buddhist holy sites around the Ganges plain, such as Bodh Gaya. For the Toungoo Army, this was not just a war, but a mass, armed pilgrimage, relatable to the Christian Crusades of the early part of the millennium. Their final stop was designated to be the Mughal capital of Agra, but they would not make it there. In 1603, the armies of Akbar were finally able to cease their advance at the battle of Faizabad. The Toungoo armies retreated back east once more.

But Akbar was not to leave such an insult unpunished. By the start of the next year, his army landed in Mrauk U, taken by Bayinnaung so many years prior, and returned the Arakanese King to the throne. From there, he launched another expedition south and landed in the Irrawaddy Delta. Bayinnaung tried and failed to march on his capital, and Akbar would do the same, confident that he would succeed. This was not to be, for Bayinnaung and Akbar would face each other one final time in the Irrawaddy Delta, with Bayinnaung defeating the Mughal Emperor. Akbar would would have to return home without capturing the Burmese capital.

Not long after, the ancient Cakkavatti would finally succumb to his age, at 89 years old. Akbar, he caught an illness in the Lower Burma campaign, wouldn't live to celebrate long, dying a short few months later at 63 years old. But it would be Akbar's empire that would have the final laugh, for without their great Cakkavatti, the Toungoo Empire disintegrated, while the Mughal Empire would live on.

I remember doing a somewhat similar thing in a map game I was in.

All in all, great map. I love these military movements maps and as someone else said, it's always nice to see an India map.
 
Been awhile since I've done a oneshot, so I decided to return with a personal favorite type of scenario of mine. Back when I first got interested in alternate history a few years back, I'd always find myself making TLs that were somehow related to the Napoleonic Wars. Even if I didn't know a lot about the time period back then, I always loved making scenarios that involved the Napoleonic Wars, and after watching a handful of AlternateHistoryHub videos awhile back during quarantine, I decided to return to alternate history revolving around Napoleon by creating a map depicting the 1930s over a century after Napoleon emerges victorious in the conquest of Russia.

The scenario and overall aesthetic of this map is pretty simple enough, with there only really being two "neutral" states and everything else either being a regional power or within the sphere of influence of a regional power, but I ended up really enjoying creating this casual map while listening to electropunk (I'm actually listening to more as I write this!) to get myself into the mood of the Roaring 20s-esque culture and society that I imagined this world generally having.

_l7IpvXN1TAYRVyuuKfdt7p9SMPI9Fh-VBqFH2Tr6XQfeXitKaXASsDl7eSbTMLzBIsnA6R7xxmLVTqkpQ-902ZZ7zRWWbUAKZHS7mXaLOZ7dzM09xSMLZkBuMdHFsd72rnS2YU_

Like any recurring figure found throughout the multiverse, Napoleon Bonaparte is a man whose variations have differing degrees of historical significance. To some timelines, he is a forgotten military officer who was killed in a brash and overly-ambitious failed expedition to Egypt. To other timelines, including our very own TL-OTL-005, he was once one of the most influential individuals in modern history whose grip on power was removed only by long and grueling defeat. But to other timelines, Napoleon Bonaparte is known only as Emperor Napoleon I, the man who single-handedly permanently reshaped the entirety of the European continent and whose legacy defined the entirety of world history well after his death. Timeline-NBV-812 is one of those timelines.

TL-NBV-812 (which I will from this point on refer to as NBV throughout this report for the sake of simplicity) first diverged from TL-OTL-005 (OTL) circa August 15th, 1812 in which Napoleon Bonaparte chooses to pursue an offensive upon the city of Smolensk without calling for the twenty-four hour halt that historically occurred in OTL. This ultimately leads to a much more decisive victory for the Grande Armée at NBV's Battle of Smolensk in which, just as Napoleon Bonaparte had planned, the Russian army at Smolensk is completely enveloped and annihilated. This left the Russian Empire without any sufficient defense against Bonaparte's invasion and allowed for the Grande Armée to quickly push through Russia with minimal resistance, as scorched earth tactics are not employed by the Russians in the Reactionary Wars (NBV's common name for what OTL would call the Napoleonic Wars). Tsar Alexander I amassed an army that he personally led against Bonaparte at the Battle of Moscow on September 1st, 1812, where the Tsar was decisively defeated by the Empereur and subsequently capitulated to the French Empire.

In the aftermath of the successful French offensive into Russia, Napoleon Bonaparte would force Tsar Alexander I to accept an unconditional surrender that forced the Russian Empire back into the Continental System within the Treaty of Gorkiy. Alongside the re-integration of Russia into the French sphere of influence against the British, the Treaty of Gorkiy would cede territory to the Duchy of Warsaw, hand Finland back to the Kingdom of Sweden, establish the Kingdom of Lithuania and the restored Duchy of Courland as a French client state, annex Estonia and Livonia as the French Baltic Provinces, and, perhaps most importantly, hand the tsardom of Russia to Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich as Tsar Constantine I, with Michel Ney being declared "Protector of All Russias" as a sort of French-appointed regent and advisor to the Russian monarchy. With Russia defeated by Emperor Napoleon I, the British were isolated yet again and, as domestic war weariness reached new heights and the true effects of the Continental System upon Great Britain began to set in the United Kingdom sued for peace in December 1812, thus concluding both the War of the Sixth Coalition and the Reactionary Wars.

Following the Reactionary Wars, Europe settled into a period of uneasy peace in which the French effectively regulated continental (and sometimes global) affairs as the reigning superpower, with the Continental System evolving into a sort of European equivalent to OTL's Monroe Doctrine. Speaking of which, the severe weakening of British military capabilities following the War of the Sixth Coalition leads to an eventual American victory in NBV's War of 1812, with Emperor Napoleon I insisting on peace negotiations in 1815 following a series of decisive American victories. British North America is effectively partitioned between the United States and Denmark-Norway, and Minister to France William H Crawford returns from the Treaty of Antwerp as a popular figure within the Republican Party for negotiating a very favorable treaty for the US, thus becoming president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. With cordial relations with the European empires being seen as beneficial by the Crawford administration, no equivalent to the Monroe Doctrine ever comes into existence within NBV, therefore meaning that the United States often involves itself in Old World affairs and vice versa throughout this timeline's 19th Century.

As the French consolidated control over the Iberian Peninsula in the form of client states, Spanish colonies would seize the opportunity to secede, as was the case in OTL. In NBV, however, what OTL would refer to manages to integrate Peru and stay intact as the Republic of Colombia, thus becoming a regional power. The United Provinces of the Río de La Plata also stays together, however, a series of wars and periods of instability throughout the 19th Century causes La Plata to lose its northernmost territories to secessionist states. The Empire of Brazil also existed in NBV, however, began as a Portuguese government-in-exile following the installation of Louis Bonaparte as Portugal's new monarch. The Mexican Empire would also exist in NBV, as would the Federal Republic of Central America, with both states often falling victim to British influence and incursion. In the case of Mexico, the United Kingdom would back the independence of Tejas and seize the Philippines in the process, whereas in the case of Central America, the British would take advantage of internal disputes to establish client states and reinforce their control over British Honduras and the Mosquito Coast.

With the death of Emperor Napoleon I in 1821, the mighty emperor was succeeded by his son, Napoleon II, at the age of ten. It was by this point in history that the reign of the Continental System had become the new status quo for Europe, as the United Kingdom had effectively been cut out of the European continental power dynamic and served as the dominant French rival in colonial affairs instead. As the leaders of the days of the Reactionary Wars began to die off and Napoleon II's regency began to loosen their grip on former client states, the direct French control over much of Europe as effective puppet states would gradually evaporate, however, the dominance of France over Europe via the Continental System would never go away within the 19th Century, as France became the predominant force backing Greek and Serbian secessionist rebels against the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, the French Empire would outright invade and annex Switzerland in 1831 due to a civil war breaking out between the internal cantons, with Emperor Napoleon II deciding that Switzerland was inherently too unstable to exist as a sovereign state and opting to completely seize the cantons as the Helvetic Provinces instead.

Only two years later, Napoleon II would further consolidate control over his holdings by using his title as the Emperor of the French, King of Italy, and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine to unite the three states into one federal constitutionally absolute monarchy, the Gallic Empire, which was named after the antiquity region of Gaul that the empire's territory vaguely corresponded with. The political system of Gaul is essentially a copy of the Constitution of the Year XII, with a legislative assembly whose more powerful upper house is appointed by the emperor and whose monarchy serves as the executive whose authority reigns over the proposal and implementation of laws, the appointment of cabinet officials, and the actions of all armed forces. Speaking of the monarchy, Napoleon Bonaparte was posthumously awarded the title Emperor Napoleon I of the Gallic Empire, thus meaning his son would hold the title Emperor Napoleon II of Gaul up until his death in 1872.

The mid-19th Century was dominated by wars of imperialism, as the British consolidated control over the Indian Subcontinent while the Gaulish sought to establish their own dominance in Asia by invading China. Starting in 1843, the Gallic Empire began an invasion of the Qing Dynasty after Napoleon II declared Gaul the protector of all Christians within China. A series of wars, referred to as the Oriental Wars, would see the Gaulish gradually consolidate control over Qing provinces, first as client states and later as colonies. The opening of the Joseon Dynasty to trade with Gaul in the 1850s and the subsequent Westernization of the kingdom into the Empire of Great Corea that sought to establish a tributary system called the Order of Hanseong out of China and Japan would further accelerate the Oriental Wars, as would the Russian invasion of northern China, and final Fourth Oriental War came to an end in 1867, with Gallic Sina becoming the jewel of the Gallic Empire, much in the same way that the British Raj was the jewel of the British Empire.

It is also worth noting that the colonization of Africa was very different in NBV in comparison to OTL. While direct colonization (much like in OTL) was still a common tactic, informal imperialism was much more utilized, with alliances between European and African empires being a common means of establishing spheres of influence, as was the creation of protectorates. The two most prominent of these alliances were the Anglo-Bamana Alliance and the Gallic-Kongolese Alliance, and both Bamana and Kongo would industrialize and build up tributary systems. Ethiopia (referred to as Ityopia in NBV) would also interact with the Europeans and industrialize, however, it chose to play off of European powers in an entanglement of agreements between imperialist forces throughout the mid-19th Century and forged alliances with emerging states within Central Africa.

The Continental System would be first tested in 1869 when, much like in OTL, the American Civil War breaks out over the issue of slavery when abolitionist Federalist Senator Hannibal Hamlin was elected president in 1868, thus causing the secession of the southern Republican slaveholding states as the Republic of American States (RAS). Hoping to assert more influence over the New World, the United Kingdom would declare war on the United States on behalf of the RAS, which caused retaliation from the Gallic Empire in defense of their longtime alliance with the United States. This would cause the Prussians and Austrians, which were allies of the British, to declare war on Gaul, which caused the entire Gallic sphere of influence to intervene in what became referred to as the First Grand War (FGW).

Lasting for six gruesome years, the FGW would be fought on every continent except for Antarctica and would divide the planet into two factions, the Gallic-aligned Transcontinental Alliance and the British-aligned Vienna Pact, and the Russian Empire, which had since become a constitutional monarchy as the protector became a sort of prime minister position, was one of the few great powers and definitely the largest to remain neutral. Eventually, Colombia and Brazil would be pulled into the FGW on the side of the Transcontinental Alliance and the Vienna Pact respectively, thus causing fronts to be fought in both the Amazon Rainforest and Andes Mountains. As the United States defeated the Republic of American States, Colombia made gradual advances against Brazil, and trench warfare was fought in Eastern Europe, the Prussians, Austrians, and Brazilians were gradually defeated by the Transcontinental Alliance while the British would sue for a peace agreement in 1875 that only forced the United Kingdom to relinquish authority in Central America to new Colombian-allied regimes. Prussia, on the other hand, was partitioned between Gaul and Warsaw while Austria was forced to grant independence to the Kingdom of Hungary.

The Continental System was preserved.

Over time, however, the Duchy of Warsaw would emerge into a new threat to continental peace by invading Lithuania and Courland while the Warsaw monarch declared himself Emperor Augustus I of the Polish Empire in 1895. The rise of Poland as a hostile power in Eastern Europe ultimately threatened the Continental System yet again when Poland invaded Austria and Hungary in a joint invasion with the Ottoman Empire in 1906, thus causing the Gallic Empire to subsequently declare war and initiate the Second Great War. Lasting from 1906 to 1913, the SGW was far bloodier than its predecessor and would be much more wide-reaching conflict, with Sweden's entry into the war on behalf of Poland's Zrozumienie alliance and against Denmark-Norway extending the SGW into both Scandinavia and the East African colonies of Sweden and Denmark-Norway. The British and Brazilians would both eventually enter the SGW on behalf of the Zrozumienie whereas Colombia and the United States would enter the SGW on behalf of the Gallic Brussels Pact.

The Brussels Pact would eventually win the SGW, but not in the way that was expected. The Polish Empire proved to be a much more effective fighting force than anticipated, even managing to conquer Berlin, and was ultimately brought down by a brash Polish-Swedish-Ottoman offensive into the neutral Russian Empire in 1910 that initially worked but ultimately just detracted forces from the Western Front and allowed for the Brussels Pact to reconsolidate its forces in a push into the Zrozumienie. The British, on the other hand, succumbed to revolutionaries that adhered to the ideology of chartism, which in NBV is a socialist system that advocates for a confederation of public regional councils to manage the means of production (the closest ideologies in OTL would be libertarian municipalism or anarcho-communism). The Imperial Civil War would first begin in the British Raj, however, as the Second Grand War raged on, chartist rebels would emerge throughout the British Empire, with the breakout of rebellions in the British Isles forcing the United Kingdom to sue for peace with the Brussels Pact in 1912 and cede some colonial territory to the French. A year later, Russian forces occupied Warsaw and the Treaty of Budapest was signed, thus partitioning Europe between Gallic and Russian spheres of influence whereas both Sweden and Brazil were forced to give up territory to neighboring victorious Brussel Pact members.

That brings us to the 1930s of NBV. The Gallic Empire remains the global superpower, however, the age of dominance from the 19th Century is long gone. In the immediate aftermath of the Second Great War, the chartist People's Army emerged victorious against the Royal Army and established the Commonwealth of Chartist Republics (CCR), with its capital in Cape Town (a city conveniently between Europe and India), which was renamed to Ergatopolis, the city of the workers. Brazil, Sweden, Portugal, and Banama have all faced the wave of the chartist revolution in the years since the SGW, with the latter even integrating its remaining tributary states into the chartist Commonwealth of Mali. These revolutionary states have entered into a global alliance called the Chartist Society in order to protect and spread their revolutionary ideals, and the heavily populated CCR remains the Society's de facto leader.

In the east, Russia's days as a participant in the Continental System are but a footnote in the past. As Gaul remains a highly authoritarian monarchy that has flirted with elements of military juntas from time to time, the Russian Empire has continued to liberalize and rules over Eastern Europe via the Bratislava Treaty. Russo-Gallic relations since the end of the SGW have always been awkward due to Russia consolidating control over territory previously within the Gallic sphere of influence and Russia's de facto rejection of the Continental System, however, the rise of the populist Imperial Party and its ambitious leader, Protector Ivan Medvedev, to the top of the Russian government, has caused the Russian Empire to vocally oppose Gallic authority over Europe and call on the end of Gallic rule throughout parts of Eastern Europe. All the while, the United States and Colombia look on from the west as the defenders of the New World via the Maracaibo Alliance mutual defense agreement, hoping to stay out of the next major conflict across the Atlantic Ocean, while the Arabian Empire (formed by the Omanis) preserves peace in the Middle East via the Damascus Treaty since the decisive defeat and partition of the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Budapest.

That leaves Gaul in an interesting situation. The Congress of Nations was formed shortly after the conclusion of the Second Grand War as a mutual defense and economic alliance utilized by Paris to consolidate control over its European puppet states, but even this is far smaller than the glory days of the aftermath of the Reactionary Wars. Sina continues to be heavily militarized in the face of a potential invasion from India, armored vehicles patrol Gallic protectorates in Africa following the failed chartist revolution within the Sokoto Caliphate from 1927 to 1932, and the Imperial Navy enters the Red Sea as Ityopia forfeits neutrality in favor of a recent free trade and non-aggression pact signed with Russia. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, the Gallic Empire remains the authoritarian defender of the status quo established over a century ago. The world continues to be defined by the legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte, but whether or not his great-grandson, Emperor Napoleon IV of Gaul, will uphold this legacy remains to be seen.

The world of NBV circa 1936 is extremely different from OTL from the same time period. The ultranationalist totalitarianism that plagued OTL is only reserved to the Turkish State, which adheres to the national populist ideology called autarkism, and the highly democratic and egalitarian Chartist Society is a far cry from the authoritarianism of the Soviet Union of OTL. But the Gallic Empire and its allies are far more authoritarian, militant, and oppressive than the major powers of OTL, thus meaning that the potential Third Grand War may be fought for the liberation of the victims of Gaulish colonialism and brutal working conditions. And a Third Grand War looks likely, as the Commonwealth of Chartist Republics and Russian Empire secretly sign a non-aggression pact behind the scenes of a mobilizing international stage. But this makes no difference to the elite of the Gallic Empire, who dance the stress of 20th Century society away in the extravagant palaces of the Bonaparte nobility while airships hover overhead and the masses stay up late into the night, listening to reports of Russian soldiers amassing up in Silesia over the radio.

Soon the dancing of the elite may stop, for when Europe is set aflame by war yet again, it is likely that the Roaring Thirties may fall alongside the Continental System.
 
Regionsofusa3.png

Light Blue: New England, the birthplace of America.
Dark Blue: The Northeast, the core of America.
Ice Blue: Appalachia, the legends of America.
Green: The Midwest, the heart of America.
Red: The South, the faith of America.
Light Red: The Upper South, the rivers of America.
Purple: Florida, the vacation spot of America.
Yellow: The Great Plains, the breadbasket of America.
Brown: The West, the frontier of America.
Pink: The Southwest, the future of America.
Hot Pink: SoCal, the entertainment of America.
Orange: NorCal, the brainpower of America.
Dark Green: The Pacific Northwest, the nature of America.

All in all, 13 cultural regions of the continental United States. I'm actually really proud of this, what do you guys think?
 
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Well, things could be much worse...and well they are, at least on the North American front, with the Cybermens second invasion of North America from the artics catching the Canadian and American divisions off guard and pushing us into full-blown retreat. Things are quite dire here in America, there are more and more children on the front lines, and the breeding zones only grow. It's sickening

But elsewhere in the world the opposite could be said, you see for whatever reason, the cybermens technological advances have almost entirely ceased, letting us catch up in a lot of areas, especially with the help of this Doctor whos now on his fourth Incarnation?! (Huh who knew aliens could regenerate). With a partially failed Cyber offensive into Russia, and widespread counter-offensives from the French, Russians, Germans and Italians, we pushed the cybers back with a brand new strategy, of encirclement and extermination.

With the Cybermen having a weakness of Gold, what we have done is coordinate with other armies to encircle areas of cyber territory, established anti-aircraft guns across the encircled areas and begin gold bombing runs on the territory, heavily wounding and killing many cybers in the process, though it seems to be less effective on older models.

South Africans have made their own pushes into Africa, capturing much of the continent back from the Cybermen, leaving few areas still occupied. South America has been consistent as ever and has actually been sending soldiers out across the world to help in many fronts, their probably why America is still standing after three decades of war. thirty years...

Anyway's, another reason for our success has been the assistance of the Doctor and his odd police box. He's used it to get us close to prominent Cyber Strategists in Siberia like the Cyber planner and prominent Cyber figures like the Cyber leader in Belgium, taking out both leaving Cyber forces on earth crippled. There have been talks about sending a strike force into Mondas and taking out the Cyber Controller, but its only been talks and only the bravest of soldiers are being possibly considered.

So once I again I pray to God on high that we may finally finish this war and end the Cyberthreat on earth once and for all.
 
View attachment 540663
Light Blue: New England, the birthplace of America.
Dark Blue: The Northeast, the core of America.
Green: The Midwest, the heart of America.
Red: The South, the past of America.
Purple: Florida, the vacation spot of America.
Yellow: The Great Plains, the breadbasket of America.
Brown: The West, the frontier of America.
Pink: The Southwest, the future of America.
Hot Pink: SoCal, the entertainment of America.
Orange: NorCal, the brainpower of America.
Dark Green: The Pacific Northwest, the nature of America.
Additional regions not pictured: Hawaii and Alaska.

All in all, 13 cultural regions of the United States. I'm actually really proud of this, what do you guys think?
I'd argue that the Pacific Northwest covers all of Washington and Oregon along with at least Northern Idaho and all of Northern California (e.g. the proposed state of Jefferson.)
 
Ok but which dynasty is the Emperor? German Empire (Kaiserreich) of OTL was also a state but that didn't stop Prussia from being the dominant state and the emperor.


EDIT: also "Ottomans and the Caliphate"? Ottomans were the Caliphate! Granted you might have an explanation about that since there is room for that stuff the change from the base map to the current one you posted.
The emperor was Prussia and the Ottomans let the caliphate go before this
 
The emperor was Prussia and the Ottomans let the caliphate go before this
Let the Caliphate go where? The Ottomans couldn't let the Caliphate go any more than the Pope could let apostolic succession go.

EDIT: I just wanted to add that I love the map. It looks great and the borders are really fun and unique. But it does raise a lot of questions about the Islamic world.
 
This is my first finished map in a while. It was hard for me to keep going with stuff I'd started before, well, *gestures at everything*, but as the weeks have gone on it's gotten easier, and I found myself hungry to return to Crumpleverse stuff and Making Map things. This is the first of a four part series on each of the Galilean moons in the Crumpleverse, I hope you enjoy. Herein follows some context:

By the 2130s humanity’s interstellar efforts had started to snowball. 4D travel, via the Crumple Drive, had rewritten the rules about what planets were within easy touching distance of the Solar system. It had also rewritten the economics of the FTL journey. Now most interstellar transits could be completed within days, and far less of a given FTL-capable ship was dedicated to fuel storage. Genuine interstellar trade and commerce was now an option. The demand for new starships was growing exponentially.

However, this starship construction boom also massively taxed the Solar system’s existing infrastructure and production. Helium-3 needs had, until now, been easily satisfied by mass-sifting on Luna. But this isotope was vital for 22nd century electromagnetic shielding and fusion reactors, and more starships meant more shielding and more reactors. A helium-3 crunch was inevitable, and with it would come a massive halt to the interstellar growth of humanity.

One of the obvious solutions to this was expansion into the outer planets of the Solar system, with the prime target for helium-3 extraction being Saturn. Jupiter was closer, but a far deadlier prospect for any kind of atmospheric dipping thanks to its radiation belts. But Jupiter would still be a vital waystation on the way out to Saturn, and humanity’s first real steps outside of the asteroid belt. A presence on Saturn was almost impossible without a presence in the Jovian system. And, despite Jupiter’s enormous magnetosphere, not all of Jupiter’s immediate orbit was so dangerous. Its radiation belts only extended out so far, and comfortably outside of their reach orbited the moon that would be humanity’s next outpost in the Solar system- Callisto.

Callisto, as well as being safely outside Jupiter’s ire, was also home to its own important resources; a vast amount of water, both liquid and ice, along with minerals and organic compounds. It also provided access to the resources of Jupiter’s rings. This more than justified Callisto’s worth beyond being a gas station on an Earth-Saturn run. The first assemblers and engineers arrived in Callistoan orbit in 2149, and immediately set to work.

By 2153 Piraeus 1, a dock and refuelling depot, had been completed, and in 2156 the core modules of Arcadia Orbital Habitat had been completed as well. It’s from the completion of the latter that Callisto dates its political existence. The year afterwards Callisto’s space elevator was ready to go, thanks to the efforts of a separate team of space elevator specialists, and it was this that opened up Callisto’s surface due to the relative ease of exporting materials to orbit. Callisto was now the first Jovian body with a permanent population, albeit less than a thousand people by 2157. By the present date there are over four million Callistoans.

Callisto’s subsequent culture has been strongly influenced by the individuals who moved there in the 22nd and 23rd centuries. These were predominantly Louisiana Creoles, Xicanos from the United States of America, and Bambara from Mali. Many spoken languages on Callisto descend from mixtures of Louisiana French, Mexican Spanish, New Mexican Spanish, Xicano English, and Bambara. Gavlistom is the most widely spoken of these languages, and effectively the lingua franca of Callisto’s overall culture. There are also significant migrant communities of Martians, Europans, and Enceledeans on Callisto, originally connected to surface extraction work but now firmly established as part of Callistoan society as a whole.

Callistoan culture has also firmly held onto the idea of hospitality and generosity, particularly in the face of constant isolation Callistoan surface inhabitants experience. This also extends to its cuisine. It is almost impossible to eat poorly in or around Callisto. Even its synthesised food has a high reputation in the rest of the Solar system. This is partially because farmed seafood is easily available from specialised facilities, but also because food is an act of care on Callisto. The crawfish boil is alive and well on Callisto, though the word craw itself has gone on a journey in various Callistoan languages, not always immediately connected to a type of shellfish.

Callisto does also have wider significance in the Solar system. As the oldest and most populated of the Galilean Republics it’s the Jovian seat of government, with a number of governmental institutions located in orbit. It’s also a key location in considerations of Solar system-wide defense, both for its strategic resources and for being the gateway to the inner planets. And it remains, as it was in the beginning, a key refuelling stop in the journey between the Solar system’s inner and outer planets, even with the proliferation of magsail starships for interplanetary travel in the Solar system. Callisto does not have the truly interstellar impact of Earth or Mars, but it remains one of the key locations in the Solar system as a whole. It also remains a predominantly orbital society dedicated to making that lifestyle feel homely and welcoming, acting as an inspiration for myriad other orbital human communities across the stars.

ddvaowg-bdc9f07c-c770-44c8-bda8-cb2c692d249a.png

If there's any kind of quality drop on this from the size, which there very well might, the original can be seen here.
 
I was sent a meme about abolishing France, so I made a map animation depicting a series of French Partitions. Not much more story behind it, really.

View attachment 540395
*Angry Baguettes* :mad:
More seriously I would be interested to know which map you used (I am ready to mention you), moreover which software do you use to redesign your map and its borders? Finally how did you make the animation?
Thank you in advance for your answer. :)
 
This is my first finished map in a while. It was hard for me to keep going with stuff I'd started before, well, *gestures at everything*, but as the weeks have gone on it's gotten easier, and I found myself hungry to return to Crumpleverse stuff and Making Map things. This is the first of a four part series on each of the Galilean moons in the Crumpleverse, I hope you enjoy. Herein follows some context:

More Crumpleverse! Another beautiful map with an engaging backstory.
 
Aftermath (2050).png

My map for Aftermath, a post-apocalypse world. This map is the pre-war map. Set in an alternate world in which the sino-soviet split never occurred (POD occurred sometime in the 1950s), and a Sino-Soviet union was formed. In response, The US, Canada, Mexico, and the Philippines would unite into the United Commonwealth of America. Meanwhile, most of western Europe would unite into one nation to protect itself against the eastern bloc. The world is now in an international crisis with Oil and Coal reserve running out and States joining the eastern or western block. The world may and will soon see war unlike ever seen before
 
*Angry Baguettes* :mad:
More seriously I would be interested to know which map you used (I am ready to mention you), moreover which software do you use to redesign your map and its borders? Finally how did you make the animation?
Thank you in advance for your answer. :)

Thank you very much!

On the map, I just looked for a topographic map of France on Wikipedia.

For making the different maps, I used Inkscape. There are a lot of tutorials on making maps in it on this website and others ( https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/illustration-tutorials-and-advice-superthread.283049/ ) that will help you more than I can.

For the animation, I edited the map in Inkscape, saved each separate map as an image file, then put them all together as layers in GIMP. GIMP has built-in animation tools and documentation on how to use them.
 
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