Our Fair Country: The Commonwealth of New England
- Thread starter CosmicAsh
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Imagine the Weimar Republic slapped together with the Westminster system. A Frankenstein of that nature
Very interesting, and damn, fascism is a bigger force than it is today.
War in Burma
The War in Burma is part of the ongoing anti-Communist operations in the country, often called the Commonwealth's "Greatest Quagmire." Combat operations have been ongoing for over 24 years, mainly between forces of the National Democratic Burmese government, the British Armed Forces, and the Communist guerrillas operating across Burma. More recently, partisans against both the Communists and the British-backed National Democratic government have risen to try and install a popular democracy in the country, which they have found support from the United States, China, and Vietnam, much to the ire of the United Kingdom, which maintains that they remain in Burma at the full request of the National Democratic government. Ethnic minorities in Burma have also risen in a bid for their own independence, with the Shan expressing a desire for entrance into China for protection, and other minorities seeking their own state. Despite Burma being described as an indivisible country, the British have given near recognition to the Islamic Republic of Arakan, which had driven its Buddhist minority out and has welcomed in hundreds of thousands of Muslims from India, despite Burma still claiming it as Arakan State.
The War began with the Communist overthrow of the democratically elected government of the Commonwealth of Burma in September of 1993, triggering the fallen government to call in support from the Commonwealth of Nations. The first combat operations began with the Royal Navy's bombardment of Rangoon using short-range missiles, followed up by a "shock and awe" areal bombardment of all Communist military installations with planes launched from the HMS Horatio Nelson and the HMS Empress of India, the two aircraft carriers operating in the Indian Ocean. The initial bombardments destroyed much of the military infrastructure the Communists inherited, but also greatly hampered the anti-Communist response. The Communist government fell apart shortly after the invasion in January, which saw a coalition of forces from most Commonwealth countries launch a ground invasion of all of Burma. The official resistance was over by June, and it quickly devolved into guerrilla warfare which continues to this day.
The pro-British Burmese government dissolved itself and passed a new constitution, withdrew from the Commonwealth of Nations, and signed a defence pact with the United Kingdom in an attempt to shore up its popularity at home. The Union of Burma has never been accepted as the legitimate government of the country, due to the rule of the National Democratic government which some European observes parrot a phrase attributed to the Holy Roman Empire, that the National Democratic government is neither national, democratic, or a government. It exists only as far as the Burmese (or more recently, the British) government extends its control to. The country was under relative stability outside of the jungle territory, with the British drawing up plans to withdraw from the country in a few years, when there was a flare up of Communist activity in cells in several cities, as well as the Shan State uprising, which forced the United Kingdom to trigger an article in the Commonwealth constitution for countries to contribute more soldiers to the fight, this time only in auxiliary positions so the British Army could take to the front lines. Only the United Kingdom and Australia still had forces on the ground when the British enacted this clause, and it was so fiercely resisted by Canada and Nigeria that the two announced their withdrawal from the Commonwealth if the British did not rescind their declaration, which they did not.
The so-called "Shan Surge" began in 2008 and involved an increase of 70,000 men (35,000 from Australia, New Zealand, and New England) to the country. Heavy fighting saw the loss of nearly a thousand British soldiers during 2009-2010 period, the deadliest portion of the war since the initial invasion. Since then, communist recruitment has picked up and pro-Democracy fighters have caused trouble for the Commonwealth forces. The United States and Vietnam actively provide aid and support for the pro-Democracy forces, with the United States leading the case at the United Nations. China supports both the Shan rebels and the pro-Democracy forces to maintain favour with the United States and to advance their own strategic goals, another source of tension between China and the United Kingdom. While there remains no possibility of Chinese, American, or Vietnamese intervention into Burma, they continue to provide some non-military aide to them along with international credibility. Many across the Commonwealth view the war as having no easy outcome, and many expect it to continue well into the future. It is a topic heavily debated in the Commonwealth Parliament, but the British Government has a number of methods to stall and block discussion on it, and have exercised that option liberally.
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I'm really terrible at wars. I might just leave it at this, but I really wanna expand it in the future. Hopefully it's not too bad!
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So the War in Burma is TTL's version of the Afghanistan War, with hints of Vietnam.
Yeah. Since Hitler never rose to power and the Nazis simply never existed logically fascism never became taboo. Now I'm literally the farthest thing from a fascist possible but that's how I logically see the world shaping up. Italy itself never really lost its fascist roots, but it moderated quite a bit since the 1920s and 1930s, becoming the mainstream "right-wing" party in Italy. Fascist parties in general are "big" across the world and are considered mainstream, just like say the Communist parties prior to the end of the Cold War were. So most places have many options in politics, as communism is still viable as well with the Soviet Union managing to limp along and not collapse (much like how everyone believed it would go).
I'll try. I don't get back from holiday until Friday... Still trying to enjoy the warm before I go back to frigid New England!
Kinda. I didn't want to set it up that way, but that's how it ended up I guess lol. It's more Burma's actual internal struggle, but add in three superpowers messing around in it and it becomes a quagmire.
I can see Suffolk County being a sort of "cultural" thing for Bostonians, like how Middlesex was for some Londoners.
hey wait a minute i've seen that gif before when i was looking up maps of new england on google images last month.
While today they have little meaning in most provinces, counties used to be the main form of government for many New England provinces prior to the organisation of a stronger provincial government.
I'm afraid I'm not sure what that is. Boston does mirror London more than it does say, Ottawa in this timeline due to its large expansion and annexations, while some places still retain their identities, e.g. Brookline is still a neighbourhood and it has a lot of self control.
It's a pretty old gif, I can admit. I just never posted it here and I wanted to try and get something out during this period of getting back into the swing of things... updates should commence this weekend
umm okayI'm afraid I'm not sure what that is. Boston does mirror London more than it does say, Ottawa in this timeline due to its large expansion and annexations, while some places still retain their identities, e.g. Brookline is still a neighbourhood and it has a lot of self control.
It's a pretty old gif, I can admit. I just never posted it here and I wanted to try and get something out during this period of getting back into the swing of things... updates should commence this weekend
I believe I posted it on reddit before, otherwise it might have come up through imgur.
Oh it was you then, because I think I saw it on reddit or imgur.
How many times has New England had a referendum nationally? Will the one in this July be the first?
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