Shadow of the Andes - An Interactive Chilean AAR

[yourworstnightm]

This "peace" is nothing but treason from de Conti's side. Doesn't he remember he's the last elected president of Chile? Doesn't he remember his plight to Republicanism? Can't he hear the screams from the Chilean people, the scream for liberation? Any "deal" with the Rosenoists must be considered illegal. I beg the political wing of the Resistance to from now on consider the Panama government Rosenoist collaborators.

[thekinguter]

People please.. we cannot fight Argentina and de Conti at the same time. Remember the disaster a Jujuy? I rather play it safe and learn from history's mistakes than split our military and hope for the best. I know this isn't a permanent solution! One day Chile will be united again and sadly I fear it wont be during my term as caudillo. This day is years away but it will arrive. It might be a peaceful reconciliation or a quick and bloody invasion, but it will arrive as there is only one Chile. Let us hope this truce is seen as the first step for peaceful reconciliation and not just an obstructive truce for a possible innvasiion.

[zagoroth]

Missed a little bit here, what with all me military drills.

I applaud the attempts at diplomacy with the Free State, even if it did not resolve that much.

Also, I congratulate Senor Hidalgo on his new army to run. The National Republic is all the more safer with troops loyal to him.

General de Porto.

[ThunderHawk3]

I thought this had already been announced, but apparently not:

Ministers:
Director of the Secret Police (interior) - Caitan Crazzio ((cavebear3000))
Minister of Armaments (treasury) – Francisco de Santa Rosa ((Riccardo93))
Minister of Foreign Affairs - Escovedo ((OldCleric))
Minister of National Security (defense) – Matteo Saez ((Seek75))
Minister of Re-education (extra) - Ivir Baggins

Generals:
Army of Patagonia ((18 brigades (10inf 6art 2cav))) – General Hidalgo ((MastahCheef))
1st Army of the Republic ((8 brigades (5inf 2art 1cav)) – General Varde ((O'connor))
2nd Army of the Republic ((30 brigades (17 inf 10 art 3cav)) – Colonel de Porto ((Zagoroth))
Metropolitan Army ((20 brigades (15 inf 3art 2cav)) – General Ferrari ((King50000))
Army of Argentina** ((18 brigades (9 inf 6 art 3 cav) )) - General Hidalgo ((MastahCheef))
National Army of Canal Zone** - Adrian Navia ((Lyonessian))
Navy of the Chilean State** - Admiral Fuentes-Tagle ((maxwell))
Presidential Blackshirts ((9 brigades (6 inf 3 dragoons)) - Caudillo Fernandez (?) ((thekinguter))
Capital Guard ((12 brigades (9inf 3art))

Those are the Caudillo's appointments.

If you were intending to declare a coup but didn't get the chance due to the late announcement, PM me.

[MastahCheef117]

As I previously stated, I am honored to lead 108,000 of Chile's finest at the word of El Caudillo. I will do the utmost to secure peace and tranquility for our nation.

- Gen. Sebastian Hidalgo

[ThunderHawk3]

Fernandez 1901-1905: The Third Way

Fernandez had never made a secret of his intention to wipe Argentina, the only Germanist government in continental South America, clean off the map. However, Chile's armies had still not recovered from the grueling battles of the last civil war, and the National Republic was still bound by the Third Republic's 1898 peace treaty with Argentina. Fernandez therefore spent 1901-1903 focusing on military buildup and modernization, a process that was only completed a few weeks before the battle with Argentina began. The industrialization of Chaco and Jujuy, mostly with industries of particular military significance, was also at the forefront of Fernandez's priorities. The Armaments Ministry under De Santa Rosa oversaw the construction of factories for a new type of weapon: the "barrel" - a sort of armored vehicle meant to overcome the machine-guns-and-artillery doctrine that had dominated warfare for twenty years. Saez's National Security ministry, in addition to constituting and organizing dozens of new battalions, regiments, and brigades across the country, also explored new tactics and technologies during the period. In addition to new standards for NCO and officer recruitment and new standards of training, the defense ministry adopting new models of indirect fire artillery and conducted the first experiments with barrel and tank warfare in early 1903. Saez also instituted new mobilization tables and deployment systems, designed to reinforce the Chilean military in the event of emergency.

Chilean culture and prestige underwent a particularly notable boom during the early 1900s. Chile became the first country to reach the south pole on May 27th, 1901 - pictures of the Chilean flag in the far reaches of Anarctica circulated in the major papers and captured the imaginations of the public. With the heavy hand of the government still ever-present despite the free press, Chilean literature and art took a turn towards the Avantgarde and Surrealist, with the wave of new art spilling over into modern design. Fernandez largely applauded the "cultural boom", claiming that national pride should be one of the cornerstones of the state. In the still-independent Chilean Free State in the north, the art instead took a turn towards social realism, seeking to depict the dictatorial yoke of the mainland, a trend that the mainland greeted with considerably less enthusiasm.

Though many of Fernandez's generals clamored for a by-land invasion of the Free State (whose own military had expanded to more than 40,000), Caudillo Fernandez and President De Conti reached a ceasefire agreement in which both states agreed to ban communist parties. The ban unlined the deep divide between the sides of the resistance against the mainland government: the Communist and Socialist agitators heavily elected to remain in mainland Chile, while Republicans and other jacobins and liberals typically chose the Free State. With the issue of the Chilean Free State thusly resolved - or at least postponed - Fernandez turned his attention to Argentina.

The first assignment of Sebastian Hidalgo's newly constituted Army of Argentina was the invasion of the country the force was meant to occupy. When war was declared on April 20th, 1903, Argentina had only a single standing brigade, but quickly mobilized an additional 12,000 soldiers to meet Hidalgo's 54,000. Hidalgo routed the Army of Argentina twice: once at Trenque Lauque in May and again in early June, when he surrounded the Army of Argentina at Junin. Defeated, the government quickly capitulated. Argentina was annexed by Chile on June 27th, 1903, only a little more than two months after the war had started. It was the shortest war in Chilean history, and brought all of South America under Chilean influence. With the addition of Buenos Aires to Chile, Chilean population was finally estimated to have exceeded 30,000,000 total people.

The peace did not last long. A little over a month after Argentina's surrender, an alarmed France declared war on Chile with the intention of containing Chile's ambitions and protecting France's own interests in the Caribbean from Chilean expansionism. Chile's allies quickly declared war on France in retaliation, and thus began the Franco-Chilean War. Ironically, though the war lasted two years, the mainland forces of Chile would never see action in the war; battles during the war would be fought exclusively at sea and Chilean participation was limited to that of the Free State.

The Franco-Chilean War was a naval war, France using its bases in the western hemisphere to attempt to raid South American shipping and blockade ports. It was the most unsuccessful war France would ever fight, with one French paper reporting "We never had a victory." The first battle of the war was fought between a small French flotilla and the combined Colombian and Venezuelan navies on 26th October, 1903, an encounter that ended with France losing two Ironclads while the other forces escaped unscathed. Initially, the Chilean Free State under Maximillien De Conti declared neutrality in the conflict, but after it became clear that France did not discriminate between the mainland and Free State flags, Admiral Alvarez found himself engaging the French more and more frequently in an attempt to stop predation on Free State shipping. The war escalated in a botched French attempt to invade the canal zone in early 1904, which ended abruptly when Alvarez sunk the French fleet before they could reach Panama.

The alarm caused by the attempted invasion prompted President De Conti to authorize the seizure of the French Island of Martinique, which Rivera took uncontested in early 1905. There, amid much more advanced naval facilities than would be found anywhere in Chile, Alvarez and Rivera uncovered plans for a new type of warship unlike any ever before seen: the Dreadnought. Mainland spies would deliver copies of these plans to the National Republic shortly thereafter. As for Martinique itself, a string of French naval defeats, France eventually agreed to cede the island to the Free State authorities in August, 1905 after France had failed to win a single battle against the South American coalition in two years.

At the outset of 1901, France and Britain were seen as the world's two greatest and coequal powers, each roughly as powerful and influential as the other. The United States was largely regarded as the third, and Chile (mostly by virtue of military power) was the fourth. By 1905, the expansion of Chilean prestige, industry, and military might coupled with recent victories against France propelled had allowed it leapfrog the United States in the eyes of the world, becoming the most powerful nation in the Americas. Chile's population had swollen to nearly 35,000,000 and it fielded the most technologically advanced army in the world. However, Chile methods and tactics had also taken a turn towards the darker and more extreme; deploying armor and poison gas on the battlefield against Argentina in 1903. The introduction of the so-called doctrine of mass politics by Minister of Education Severino Miramontes in 1904 and the increasing entanglement of the political and military establishments alarmed the rest of the world.

Increasingly, the Chilean government had become focused on expansionism, revanchism, and nationalism. This change was not lost on Caudillo Fernandez, who in February 1905 gave a famous speech in Santiago, saying, "We have created a new kind of government, one that draws strength from the culture, the state, and the people. Our unity has shown us a new system: neither the failed dichotomy of liberal-conservative politics nor the revolutionary madness of the socialists and communists. This is The Third Way which will lead the Chilean fatherland and its citizens to their destinies, together."

When the executive committee of the Frente Nacional met later that year, they discussed more than just a new Caudillo, but the philosophy of the party itself. Were they to be content to simply rule over Chile or was there, as Fernandez had said, a greater Chilean destiny? Should they embrace The Third Way?

-------------------------


Player Actions Needed:
No individuals are currently disenfranchised due to coup - everyone is re-enfranchised.

I'm sorry for the short cycle, thekinguter, but I kind of couldn't find a convenient stopping place and I know how much everyone was waiting for The Third Way.

Agitators and candidates for Caudillo should declare. Additionally, everyone has to vote yes or no on The Third Way. If the bill passes, the government will become a Fascist Dictatorship.

Sample declarations look like this:
I'm running for Caudillo!
I'm agitating!

Additionally, it's time to vote on becoming fascist!
The Third Way: Yes/No

As a warning, it should go without saying that the topic of fascism should be treated with particular caution. Comply with all forum rules when discussing and playing as fascists. Use your common sense, and remember that most fascist rhetoric and the most extreme ideals of cultural and ethnic supremacy may not be discussed or mimicked on this site.

[yourworstnightm]

I am agitating!

The Rosenoist madness takes us to one war after another. What will they do next? Go to war against Britain? Why must our young men die for their mad pride? And why on Earth did the Panama authorities back the Rosenoists in their mad war with France?

[MastahCheef117]

I, Sebastian Hidalgo, am running for Caudillo!

Chile has entered a true golden age! The old Germanistas, a threat against Chile and peace throughout South America, have been eradicated at the hands of the newly-formed and inexperienced Army of Argentina, which I commanded to the best of my ability and brought about the unification of the Argentinean people and the proud Chilean Nation. Now, all that remains is the true unification of Chile!

The Third Way: Yes

Vive Chile!

- Gen. Sebastian Hidalgo

[WelshDude]

I am agitating!

[Riccardo93]

I support this new Third Way, and suggest we put the new Legionnaire system proposed by Hidalgo up to a vote!

: On a literary note, Chilean Ambassador to Italy, Francisco de Santa Rosa, who had pledged to the Chilean Free State, published his Death of the Republic in 1902, a harsh condemnation of the new, more authoritarian state that had arisen in Chile. It became a best seller throughout the world, and became a required reading in Argentine schools. :

[Seek75]

I'm running for Caudillo!

Third Way: Yes!

We shall make sure that this new century is a Chilean one. We will make sure that the glory of the Fatherland is recognized and respected all throughout the world, from the Americas to Europe to Asia! We will make sure that every Chilean is prosperous, that every Chilean is safe, and that every Chilean is free from the tyranny of the liberal aristocracy or the oppression of the communist rebels! We will make sure that the unity of the Chilean people and the strength of the Fatherland is indisputably proven!

Truly, there is no name for us. We hate the communist left, yet we also despise the reactionary right. Liberals on both sides are just as dangerous. Our thoughts, or beliefs...they are a Third Way. Something akin to the Roman Dictators of old...something akin to what was symbolized by the fasces.

[King50000]

The Third Way: Yes

[Ivir Baggins]

The Third Way: Yes

"I am running for Caudillo! Chile needs an experienced leader at the helm, one who can ensure that Chile is deserving of its place as the third world power. I am that man."

General Severiano Miramontes
Minister for Education

[OldCleric]

I shall support the Third Way doctrine, as it is extremely beneficial and allows the Government to manage and expedite the expansion and growth both figuratively and literally.

Third Way: Yes

Alejandro Ruiz de Escovedo, Minister of Foreign Affairs

[OConner]

The Third Way: Yes

[thekinguter]

I stand down from the office of Caudillo, no longer seeking re-election. I am glad I had the opportunity to lead the nation through this transition and make history. I hope whoever succeeds me does good to Chile.

I vote yes to The Third Way, and being caudillo that means 4 votes.

EDIT: I also congratulate Admiral Alvarez for his defense of South America. And I wish to rename the Frente Nacional to the "Falange Nacional" as frente sounds too socialist.

[zagoroth]

Congratulations Senor Presidente on your succesful rule. You shall be remembered in the annals of history well, for you led the creation of the National Republican state!

I vote yes to The Third Way, it is clearly the best way to describe our Nationalist state.

General de Porto.

[Red Cesar]

Third Way: Yes.

"Chile has truly taken its place in the sun! The Fatherland has proven to reign triumphant once again! Viva La Chile!"

-Crown Prince Daniel Jesus Roseno

[OldCleric]

Upon reflection and proper consideration of the matter, and with all due afterthought and diligence, I have decided that I will be entering the race for Caudillo.

The "Third Way" will be the focal point of any Caudillo reign, including my own should I "get the nod", so to speak. Therefore, it behooves we candidates to cover the controversial topics that dominate the Chilean press and minds. Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, we must address the ever-expanding issue of the Chilean Free State. I thank and congratulate their naval enlisted men for hard-won victories in the face of French adversaries, and I extend this gratitude to our South American satellites. However, it is completely unacceptable to occupy two territories at once as a semi-autonomous state. Therefore, I would propose to actually resolve the matter in this way: the Chilean Free State should vacate the Panama Canal state and re-locate to the island of Martinique, which they dutifully fought for and won. In this way, our legitimate Government would not lay claim to Martinique, and theirs would not lay claim to Panama. Should I be elected, this proposition will become a reality, and we will have a unified Chile once more.

Secondly, we must take action economically by following through with previous propositions by myself and others, and lowering taxes on every strata. This will relieve some of the tremendous burden felt by the citizens of our great nation in this time of rebuilding, increase buying power, and overall provide fuel to our economy. We must also build more factories and encourage craftsmen within the country in order to better engage the international market and become financially liquid. Whenever possible, loans that we have taken out from both our own National Bank and those of other nations must be paid back in full, to relieve any burden that interest and outstanding debt creates for us.

Thirdly, we must expand into the Caribbean to counter the audacity of the French. We can accomplish this goal by utilizing their evident naval weakness and failure to garrison colonies, coupled with our own capable commanders and naval officers. We must first build a new navy, complete with the new dreadnoughts that we have discovered. In order to be victorious in an island battle, we must be able to utilize our navy to the fullest extent. Thus, it would be in our interests to co-operate with the naval forces of the prospective Martinique Government, should the situation arise.

We must also implement moralist policies, as opposed to merely discussing our support for them. In essence, we have only trained soldiers and taken Argentina in the past years. To be sure, these are great accomplishments, but we have done little to nothing of note inside of Chile. Following the internal strife of war, revolution and abandonment by many of our soldiers and allies who we once considered friends, it is time that we truly made strides in rebuilding Chile. This must be accomplished by including introversion in our policies alongside our current and respectable Jingoist policies.

To summarize my platform, I will be running a Jingoist military policy for obvious reasons relating to its astounding success in the past, and our pride and awe-inspiring military forces. I will be, as I have stated, actually implementing moralist policies. Chile is a Catholic nation, and should be classified as such. Additionally, economic policies of Interventionism in our home economy and Free Trade in the international economy are the best courses of action for the prosperity of our lands. Finally, I will be implementing a Limited Citizenship immigration policy, with consideration to the fact that immigration has boosted our position in many a situation.

We must vitalize our internal re-building efforts and economy, resolve the Chilean Free State situation with action as opposed to postponement, expand our naval and land forces to take the helm in the Caribbean, and actually pursue moralist and limited citizenship policies. In essence, we must actually do something to contribute to our situation, as opposed to looking on in disbelief as we realize that we are powerful. I humbly offer myself up as the man to do the job.

Candidate Alejandro Ruiz de Escovedo, Minister of Foreign Affairs

[MastahCheef117]

People of Chile!–

How glorious it is that you may all come to the ballot box yet again this year to vote for El Caudillo of the great Chilean State! For consideration during these times, I shall place my planned policies to implement, should I be elected, for all to see.

Regarding the military, I am taking a Jingoist stance. The Army is the centerpiece of Chilean might, power, and prestige, and helps us to project our power across the continent. I will not only strengthen the values of the military within Chilean society, but I will expand the projection power of the Army the world over. I should refrain from forgetting, in fact, that I have been a man of the military for decades; I have stood with the people against leftist insurrections and rebellions, and the work of the Army of Argentina, under my command, brought the Germanista government to the ground and freed the Argentinians from a repressive, tyrannical government.

When it comes to religion, I have a Moralist stance. Chile was founded by Catholic Christians. With strength and faith in God, we shall not forget our religious heritage and the huge part it has played in the creation, strengthening, and unification of Chile and her people. We shall have no other gods but God!

In regards to the domestic economy and industry, I support Laissez-Faire ideals. Our economy has grown to become one of the strongest in the world, and interference on the government's part will only damage it and lead it down the wrong path of planned economics and common leftist beliefs. The industry has thrived without any "help" from the government, and will continue to do so as long as we refrain from interfering.

In regards to the international economy, I support Protectionism. Our economy, as I have already said, is booming; however, other industries, like that of the United States and United Kingdom, threaten the very stability and strength of our own economy. Protective tariffs and other reassuring measures will buoy our dominance in the world market.

Lastly, when it comes to immigration, I am taking a stance for Limited Citizenship. Though immigrants have, in part, driven our economic boom of the recent years, we must remember that it is the Chileans that have taken residency in this country for decades that have laid the foundations for the immigrants of today to arrive and find their new lives in our nation. Chile para los Chilenos, but not to the point of discrimination.

The last step that remains is your choice. I trust that every free and right-minded Chilean shall choose that is best for the nation. I shall see you at the polls!

- Gen. Sebastian Hidalgo