• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.

robou

Hijo de Santiago
10 Badges
May 19, 2007
3.584
0
www.ww2italianreenactment.com
  • Hearts of Iron II: Armageddon
  • Deus Vult
  • Europa Universalis III
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
  • Europa Universalis III Complete
  • Victoria: Revolutions
  • Europa Universalis: Rome
  • Victoria 2
  • 500k Club
  • Hearts of Iron IV Sign-up



guernica_picasso_1937.png



"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Edmund Burke​


To look at Spain in Nineteen-Thirty-Six and not feel the slightest amount of pity would be a most trying accomplishment. To drag your eyes across her beautiful lands, the craggy hills and slopes of Castile, the mountains of Galicia or perhaps the plains of Catalonia; to meet her people, businessmen and workers from Barcelona and Madrid, miners from Asturias, peasant farmers from all over the countryside; to look into their eyes, to parry their smile, to take their hand and shake it; or to wander the cities, gasp in awe at the architecture, the castles of Castile, cathedrals dating back hundreds if not thousands of years and then see her present state of affairs without a tear in your eye would be an impossibility. For Spain in Nineteen-Thirty-Six was not a happy country.

Years of neglect had led to a dreadful period of civil strife, misery and woe. Spain had fallen from grace more than a century ago, but now, when hope had finally seemed to have conquered ill-wishes, things fell apart and Spain went into a descent that made the ‘fall from grace’ seem like a mere hop. Spain was a nation troubled by an economy in ruins, politics replaced by war and a population bursting with the rage to cause an earthquake; imagine an aeroplane dropping height to try and escape a serious bought of turbulence. She had attempted to please the many, but suceeded only in victimising all. This slowly ripped the nation to pieces; torn apart, if not with Spain’s own tender hands, with those of whom she had angered.

If certain events had fanned out differently, if different people had been in different places at different times, then something might have been altered. For example, had certain leaders not been put in place, or had not been so corrupt and self-centred; or if certain monarchs had been without faults which, eventually became their downfall; or maybe if good men had stood in the way of the bad, an act which could have saved Spain at so many moments in during this decent to evil, then just maybe things might have not come to a head as they did.

However, it is folly to try and tell a history that has not happened; there are so many possibilities, all leading from the impossbility of telling how people may act under unusual circumstances, even the most incorruptible of individuals. Perhaps what is more interesting and useful is to find out what may happen after such sorrows come to pass, as everything must. What happens after the plane flies through the air-pockets and breaks into clearer skies; when, finally, a good man does stand up and combat the evil he sees before him, with the support of all the peoples of Spain rallying behind the banner of good... that is the more interesting question. But any man who may want to aspire to this quest, his own sacred duty to save Spain, must know what has gone wrong in the past if he wishes to understand what he must do to restore his nation to somewhat of its former glory.

That is, however, a story for another day. For now, a study of the present seems more fitting. If we consider Burke’s earlier statement in relation to Spain, we see that it shows much about why Spanish history proceeded as it did, but Spain itself can pick holes in Burke’s famous quote. As said before, and as we will discover in more detail later, there were various times between important dates in Spain’s decent to evil that history could have been reversed had certain good men, as Burke suggests, stood up against that evil. Those men, though, did not stand up, and in such rare cases as when they did, usually ended in failure and, normally, the death of those who tried to prevent the spread of evil. And so Burke was, to the greater extent at least, correct. Spain failed to stand up to those men, men who would take it down a path that would lead to the present situation, that being a condition that could be summed up in one single word: evil.

It is an intriguing word to use. ‘Evil’ could mean many things. The Spanish themselves used the word throughout their history to be understood as many things. In Nineteen-Thirty-Six, it is primarily a statement to explain thoughts on a situation, object or person of wrong-doing, malice and opposition on a gargantuan level. For example, the Spanish Church of the times understood ‘evil’ as a force which wishes to supplant God; in a traditional sense this is Satan. However, to the Spanish Church at this time, this force tended to be the Anarchists, Socialists and Communists who represented the large portion of the country who was atheist, and wished to rid Spain of their own ‘evils’: the Church and the Fascists/Conservatives. So, for Spain in Nineteen-Thirty-Six, we have a vicious circle of ‘evil’ that revolves around condemning a force you wish to destroy. But, as has been stated, there tends to be only one single ‘evil’ that all can agree on; the whole damn sorry situation Spain had somehow got itself into. And how did that happen? Well, prepare yourself. This is the story of the Triumph of Evil, and it is not a friendly tale to tell.






 
Last edited:
Quite an engaging opening post. It certainly has made me very interested in where things will go from here.

Not very many Spanish AARs as far as I know, so it's interesting from that standpoint as well.
 
Guernica! Nice opening piece, and it's a Spanish AAR! A nation in Vicky that's in decay but still has the potential to be great once again... the title is very catching as well.

But will this have any implications on the West II?
 
To All: Now I am afraid I have misled you a little bit, perhaps. I am not actually starting this AAR yet. Indeed, with some of my most important exams in less than a month I can't afford to be doing 2 AARs let alone 3. I merely put this up so I could garner some early intrest and it would be there for me when I continue it in the summer holidays (which, to be fair aren't that far away now). I have an extra longer summer this year (12 weeks as a pose to the normal 9) so I will have a lot of time to kill and I intend this to be my summer project. As for the West II, that is also stalling out at the moment, and will wait until the summer unless I am very lucky to get some extra time between now and the end of June. CAF will be continuing, though updates are likely to be a lot slower. So, don't worry about this AAR for a while, just be here when it comes back ;)

Thank you everyone who has said hello so far, and hoping to see more in the coming months. :)
 
On board and ready when you are :)
 
Yet another one? That's surprising, and good! I hope to see this AAR up and running in a couple of months. I'll be waiting!
 
I can has exams in a month or so too! lol, I don't have a big enough attention span to revise much though, so It's not bothering me too much... Besides I can do that history exam already anyway. Well, almost.

Your AARs are always top-notch, so Ill be waiting. Btw, you going to fill us in a bit more on the general setting, or will we have to wait and guess? I'm just a little off kilter by what looks like a SCW AAR, 'cept it's on Vicky.
 
Wonderfully professional writing. It's unusual that you choose to begin by describing the country 100 years after the beginning of the GC. Let's see where this leads.

Good luck with those exams btw :rofl:
 
Ready when you are.:)
 
To All: Once again, thank you for so many people coming in already and waiting for this to begin. As I have a bit of spare time today, among updating CAF, I also endeavour to answer the question that is on everyones lips: How is this a vicky AAR? Indeed, in may seem a mysterious place to be talking about the Spanish Civil War, but I shall explain. Though this will not constitute a formal update telling you anything about the game I will be playing, it should give you an idea on how I intend to set this AAR out, and I will then present to you some house rules for the game. Should have that out by this evening. :)
 
Well, than I can't wait for later on in the day!
 
Acknowledgements, Purpose and House Rules



Acknowledgements, Purpose and House Rules​


Firstly, I would like to deal out some preliminary thanks. My primary thanks go, most probably unheard, to Professor Hugh Thomas, Baron of Swynnerton, whose endless efforts to capture the history of Spain have been the greater part of the influence that has driven me to write of Spain, especially during the 19th and 20th Centuries. His masterpiece (and also his first book), entitled ‘The Spanish Civil War’ [Penguin, (1961); 2nd Revised edition, (1977); 4th Revised edition, (2003)], has opened my eyes as to the trauma Spain suffered during, not only 1936-39, but also the preceding century. Indeed, it is in his opening section to the gargantuan study of Spain’s final fall, ‘The Origins of the War’ that I was most intrigued by; the rise of Socialism, Anarchism and Fascism; the decreasing role of the Church in Spanish politics and society; the separatism of certain regions of Spain. As such, I can hardly stop myself going throughout this AAR without repeating something that Baron Thomas has already stated, even though our Spain will take a somewhat different route. So, despite the fact the Baron is unlikely to ever come across this work, I give him my thanks anyway. Added to that, such forumites as Hardraade, Director, ComradeOm, comagoosie, Capibara to name but a few, who have been in support of me from day one of any project I have started, and I have no doubt will also follow me into this story too. Thank you, anyone who has commented, given advice or a slice of commitment to me; that is always warmly welcomed.

However, my main reason for writing this is to present to you a preliminary outline of the structure of this After-Action-Report. Many people may be perplexed that I have started the story over one-hundred-and-twenty years after the date I set out for the start of the story in the title, that being 1808. However, while I do intend to describe the events of 1936 and the following years, this terrible turn of events leading to the Civil War, albeit a civil war slightly different to the one Professor Thomas describes, have their history set well back in history, and to properly formulate your ideas about what is going on in 1936, we must study the events of the past. I will explain later why I chose 1808 to start this story.

This is what I describe as ‘Indirect History’. I am trying to convey the history of a history. Every event throughout time is preceded by another event which, in some way, triggers it. Be it a reaction, a consequence or a result, unforeseen or not matters little. So for most historians, they may brush over certain points with ease, giving only slight descriptions of previous events so as to facilitate at least a basic level of understanding for the time-period they wish to study. Even Professor Thomas, though going into a fair sight more detail than most about surrounding events, falls victim to this. However, do not think of it as a bad thing, for it is anything but. If every historian brought forward every point that could possibly be connect to what they wish to talk about, they would have to tell a history consisting of most the known facts about the world. This is simply not practical or interesting. Even I will make no attempt to do so; I will simply etch out a slightly different path.

I feel the history of the Spanish Civil War has its roots deep inside the 19th C. just like Professor Thomas, and have chosen to pick a date where I feel the descent to the ‘evil’ of the Spanish Civil War truly began. For this purpose, I have chosen 1808; a year we will meet in the next chapter of the AAR. From then on, I will chart the full history of Spain so we get a true idea of a country falling apart, even if certain events might not be directly linked to the Spanish Civil War. This should make us better understand some of the hardships and problems faced by Spain and the Spanish in 1936, and therefore, hopefully, better understand why a civil war broke out. I hope this has bettered you ideas on how this AAR will fan out, although it is a hard idea to get across and I feel I have not described it to the best of my abilities. If you do not understand where I am going with this, I am afraid you will simply have to read the first few chapters and try to formulate your own ideas.

Thank you for reading
Robou


House Rules

To make the game more interesting (i.e. more difficult but also more accessible), I am laying down some house rules by which I will play and edit the game. If there is a serious concern about something while the game is in progress, I will consult the readers and take their opinion as to whether something is fair or not. These are the rules I have laid down so far.

1. I cannot freely change my political options (including social reforms), except by event, by popular revolution or by a vote of the readers as to storyline value, until 11th November 1918. However, I can, if in the position to do so (In a Constiutional Monarchy, Monarchy, Presidential/Proletarian Dictatorship), change the ruling party at will and have no obligation to hold elections unless in a democracy (in which case election times will be decided by the storyline).

2. The VIP 0.2 mod which I am using has grouped together some regions which were historically not so, for the purpose of making industrialisation easier. These will be ungrouped so as to follow, as closely as possible, historical borders. Changes are as follows:
a. Castilla La Neuva – split to New Castile and Estremadura
b. Valencia y Murcia – split to Valencia and Murcia
c. Aragon y Navarra – split to Aragon, Navarre and Basque Country
d. Asturias y Galicia – split to Galicia and Asturias


3. To slightly balance out Industrialisation and also to better represent historical industrialisation, I will allow myself to move certain amounts of POPs, but only within their native states as such:
a. In New Castile 50% of Industrial Workers (clerks and craftsmen) must be moved into Madrid and 25% into Toledo.
b. In Catalonia, 75% of Industrial Workers must be in Barcelona.
c. I cannot depopulate an entire region. There must be at least one POP of >5000 left in each RGO.


4. If I do conquer any areas that were once part of the Spanish Empire (South and Central America), I am entitled to convert 30% of the people in those regions to Spanish, to represent re-Hispanification of areas populated by ethnically similar peoples. These converted peoples will also be converted to Catholicism if they are not already. In a colony (speaking in terms of a place not yet classified a state) this number will be reduced to 20%. The rest of the peoples of that area will have their militancy increased by a minimum of 4, depending on the circumstances, to represent retaliation to re-colonisation.

5. Tech trading is banned until January 1st 1890.

6. I must take care in assessing the Storyline before making an in-game decision, so as not to do something that does not fit in, which could have unforeseen consequences later on.

… that’s all for now, but open to suggestions…



 
Last edited:
I will certainly be following this AAR once it gets started, it's already sounding very interesting :)