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  • Hearts of Iron III
Good whatever time of the day you're having there, brothers and sisters. :D
Being a dedicated fan of the HoI since its first version, I've finally managed to get myself a not-localised version and try myself in the AArt of writing.
This AAR is going to take part in the Arab Federation, 1936-1964. The difficulty is set at hard, the enemies agressive. I'm using ARMA, of course. I've tried to stick only to using the real historical persons, however, added a few so that the AAR would seem more detailed and interesting.


PROLOGUE
The aftermath of the First World War gave birth to a relatively stable Middle East. The Faisal-Weizmann Agreement, signed on January 3, 1919, by Emir Faisal (son of the King of Hejaz) and Chaim Weizmann (later President of the World Zionist Organization and Israel) as part of the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 governed Arab-Jewish cooperation on the development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine and an Arab nation in a large part of the Middle East. The victorious British, fearing an Arab uprising, decided not to meddle and let the two nations settle all the disputes on their own. The secret Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 did not come in force.

After a few years of British overseeing, the Independent State of Israel and the Arab Federation were created in 1921. The Arab Federation was given lands from Hejaz to Syria and Iraq, and Israel received the borders slightly modified than those of the 1919 agreement – Golan Heights and the Sinai peninsula were included, due to the large number of Jewish settlers there.
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Weizmann, to the left, and Faisal, to the right, signing the Agreement in 1919.

In 1923, the British gave the Egyptian monarchy of Fuad I full independence, and withdrew their military out of Egypt, staying only in Alexandria, where the Mediterranean Fleet was located, and the Suez Channel zone. The Egyptian regime soon proved to be weak and corrupt, as radical groups of military officers and business tried to grab political power.

The Arab Federation became a monarchy, with Faisal of the Hashemite Dynasty becoming its king and Baghdad its capital. However, in 1924, the rise of the region of Nejd in Arabia, led by Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, spread over to Hejaz and Oman, and Al-Saud managed to proclaim his own state there, calling it Saudi Arabia. The peace treaty signed between Faisal and Saud in 1925 set the borders between the Arab Federation and the Saudia, with the Holy Cities of Islam remaining in Faisal’s hands.
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Coronation of Faisal as the King of Arab Federation, 1921.

Saudi Arabia, however, started engaging in border fights with the nearby Yemen, which evolved into a full scale combat by 1932. The King of Yemen, Yahya Muhammad, and his loyal army captured Jeddah and Riyadh, fully annexing the country and having Al-Saud executed by 1934.
This, of course, made a few people in Baghdad raise their eyebrows. The reputation of King Faisal wasn’t the cleanest one, as cooperation with the British during the Arab Revolt made him look like a traitor to the Islamic principles among the most conservative Islamists, while Yahya Muhammad was known to be a traditionalist and was even proposed as a khalifa by the Islamic scholar Mohammad Rashid Rida.

The political situation in the Arab Federation (I’ll use the abbreviation of the AF later on, and please excuse me for that) was far from stable. Growing popularity of Yemen as a new centre of the Arab world could cause separatism and animosity among the local authorities of the AF, as well as in the Holy Cities, the key to power in the region.

But the spring of ’36 became a little bit too hot.
 
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The Middle East in 1936

On the 7th of March 1936, at noon, a number of soldiers broke into the Royal Palace in Baghdad, killing the guards and a few clerks, unlucky to have been standing in their way. In a few hours, the revolters made themselves known via the radio:
“People of the Arabian Federation! Today, a glorious day for everyone of us has come! The corrupt and foolish reign of Faisal was brought to an end! We, the officers of the Arab Federation, loyal to the Allah, the Qua’ran and the people, will bring the Federation to prosperity that no Arab has ever seen! Not a single criminal or cleptocrat shall avoid our wrath!”

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Street fighting kept breaking out in Baghdad, Damascus and Basrah till April

This message of hate was being broadcasted non-stop for two days, while the Progressive Arab Party, as the revolters called themselves, was establishing its rule over the whole Federation. It seemed that the revolters had thought of everything in long advance, for only a few regions didn’t bow to the Progressists at once. Hashemite Dynasty flag was removed in favor of the Arab revolt banner. The mutilated body of Faisal was hanged out on the flag pole in front of his palace, while the rest of the Royal Family, including his son, went missing. The revolution happened too quickly for London to react appropriately, however a formal complaint was sent to Baghdad, to be answered only a month later, when the Progressist leaders showed themselves to the public. The British military base in Kuwait was called to an alert, but noone seemed to be willing to attack it.

The name of the mastermind behind the revolution was quite well known before. It was Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, a politician who began his career in 1924 in the first government led by Yasin al-Hashimi, who appointed him Minister of Justice. He was known to be an ardent nationalist, opposed to any British involvement in the Federation’s politics. Hungry for power, and unwilling to compromise neither with British nor with the King, he gathered supporters quickly, and formed a coup party, consisting of mostly military and politicians, as well as a few oil developers.

His right hand, Husni al-Za'im, was a member of Syria's Kurdish minority, and used to serve as an officer in the Ottoman Army. He switched sides during the Arab Revolt and after a series of successful operations, was promoted to Colonel.

The spokesman and the foreign minister of the new AF was Sa’adallah al-Jabiri, an influential Syrian politician whose charisma was expected to save the Progressists some shooting.

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Enigmatic Omar Shamal (at the door, with gun slinged) and some of his Company, 1920.

Two officers took their places in the new government as well – Omar Shamal and Hussein al-Razi, both heroes of the Arab Revolt. Omar Shamal made his way from the militia up to becoming the leader of Shamal’s Company, a barely, if at all, official military unit who fought alongside Faisal’s forces against the Ottomans, disrupting their supply and attacking at nights. Omar never gave out his place of birth and even his surname, preferring to be called “Shamal” (sand wind) instead, and as soon as Faisal took effective control of the state, disbanded his Company and joined the Arab Federation Staff. Hussein al-Razi was an Iraqi lieutenant, who also participated in the war against Ottomans, having earned the reputation of a cold-blooded officer who tolerated no rash or uncertainty.
A few less known officers were granted different posts in the government.
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Progressist Party Government - 1936
 
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For a moment there I was hoping the Middle East would go a more peaceful route... :(
 
Great! An Arab Federation AAR, one of the most interesting nations in the game I think.

-Good luck, I'll be reading!
 
Nice Setup here, I´m looking forward for some action in the middle East...

oh, and btw: Maybe there should be some more Territorial claims on your side because the middle East aren´t Ressource/IC rich...
 
Interesting set up, indeed!
 
Aaand the time has come for an update. But first...

trekaddict: Are we playing Hearts of Gold or Hearts of Iron here? ;)

ROMANU and Colonel Bran: In this timeline, the war between Yemen and the House of Saud ( which really happened in 1934, by the way), ended with Yahya's victory for the Yemen, mostly due to the Holy Cities and north of the real life Saudi Arabia staying in Hashemite hands.

Alternatively, you may be satisfied with an answer that I didn't use Oman because their head of state is fat.

Inner Circle: Oh, there'll be quite a lot of territory trade in the nearest future, as well as industrialisation - as the Middle East became independent some thirty years earlier, it gained a little bit more IC then the vanilla HoI. I assure you, however, that I didn't assign loads of IC to every single province.

volksmarschall,Sir Humphrey,Delex: Thank you kindly. I'll do my best to keep this AAR thrilling, unlike some of the previous AF AARs. :D
 
Chapter One: Talking to the Hand


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The Federation Palace, until recently known as the Royal Palace.
2nd May 1936, 14-30.


Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, the President of Arab Federation was discussing the issues of foreign policy with the AF Foreign Minister, Sa’adallah al-Jabiri.
- So how exactly do our...neighbours treat our come to power?
Al-Jabiri drew his trademark smile and shrugged.
- Not well, not well, sir...it is quite logic that overthowing a monarchy in one country causes mistrust and concern among the neighbouring monarchies. Especially among us Arabs, who have been divided into countries with hardly any sense. Take a look at those maps the Foreign Office has drawn.

These are our neighbours....Israel. *al-Jabiri sighed*
Well, it's been 17 years since we've signed the Faisal-Weizmann agreement, and so far, no side ever complained about it. However, the way we, er...asked King Faisal to hand the reins over, shocked the Jews. After all, the agreement bears his name and his signature, and our sources in Israel report that their government is speeding up on constructing a regular army instead of the Haganah militia. Moreover, the Arab minorities (which actually have a chance to become a majority in some regions soon), are growing less and less dependent on the Israeli funds - and therefore, we'll hear the voice of Eilat or Jerusalem Arabs. However, Israel enjoys protection and guarantees from the United Kingdom and France, which is increasing as Adolf Hitler's German regime commits its crimes.
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President al-Gaylani raised his eyebrow.
- Do we really care about that? This is no problem of ours, as long as the Agreement is in force.
Al-Jabiri nodded.
- Yes, but it might be a good idea to take Eilat from Israel via peaceful means...that would help our reputation, and Eilat is a key area, because it became a rather active port as of late, whether our infrastructure in the Red Sea is, er...below average.
- Understood. Now about Yemen...
- Oh, damn Yemen. We've been having a lot of problems with Imam Yahya in the past, but now it got much worse, as he made a speech a week ago, in which he criticised us - for not following the Qur'an - as if he follows it strictly, bah! - and killing a monarch. To be short, we are now considered heretics, and not only by Yahya, but by some of the pro-Yemenese elements in the Holy Cities and neighbouring towns. Quite logical, as we're not imams or even priests, and he is.
- And what do you suggest then? - asked al-Gaylani.
- Me? Oh...well, as a Foreign Minister, I think that we're not going to have any nice relations with them. Ever. In fact, we've been damned, and therefore, it is considered allright by the Yemenese to attack us, and I'm quite certain that Imam Yahya is gearing up for a war to take the Holy Cities.
- Well, let him try! Who'll he throw at us? Camels? Pfah. And Egypt, how's Egypt?
Al-Jabiri's face became even more sad.
- Uhh...well, I can quite definitely say that His Majesty King Fuad is biting his nails. In a few weeks they'll sign a treaty with the British, that will create yet another military base in Egypt. Fuad seems to think that this will save him and his toy kingdom...
The phone at Gaylani's desk rang.
Uh...thank you, Sa’adallah, I'll contact you again soon.
Al-Jabiri smiled and left the cabinet.
 
What is your IC level currently?
 
...the door slammed behind Omar Shamal, as he entered the President's tea room. Shamal was never known for his politeness, but noone had the will to try and correct his behavior, knowing that he has killed more men than any real shamal sandstorm.
- Sir, I have urgent news. - Shamal's voice rumbled.
- Yes, what is it?
- We have caught one of the Hand.
- Of the who? - President al-Galyani raised his eyebrow.
- Oh, but I wrote you in the report, sir!
- I haven't read it.
Shamal grumbled something indistinguishable.
- Right...sir, it's been almost half-a-year since I started to lead the Cobra, our intellegence department. We've been working on find out the number of enemy spies in our country, and managed to decode some of the coded letters from and for the British Embassy in Baghdad, sir.
- And?
- And we've found out, that the espionage activity of the British in the Federation is organised in five branches, each led by a resident agent. That's why it is called "Hand" in the coded reports - the branch leaders are addressed to as Thumb, Fore, Middle, Ring, and the Little. Fingers, damn it.
Al-Gaylani smiled broadly.
- The British have an eccentric sense of humor, don't they?
- I don't know, sir, but the thing is, we've cut off the Thumb.
- Really?
- Yes. We had no information about the looks or occupations of the agents, even whether they are Arab or British. But the Thumb turned out to be a Britishman, who used to work for the Arab Oil during King Faisal's reign, and suddenly disappeared. It seems that London knew what to do, and acted very quickly, planting a net of spies in the Federation.
- How did you get him anyway?
- Oh, quite easily, sir. He let someone photograph him, and it was only a matter of time until we've found a similarly looking Britishman in Medina.
- In Medina?
- Yes, sir. He told us all he knew...that wasn't much, due to an interesting way the Fingers are organised, but what we know now is that every Finger resides in one of the Federation's region. Apparently, that's Baghdad, Damascus, Amman, Beirut, and the Thumb was in Medina - in every Federation state.
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Leonard Cartwright was pictured among beduins in their tent. What a silly mistake...

- What else did you find out?
- Not much, sir... we do know, however, that the leader is the Little finger, but he does NOT reside in Baghdad. Of course we will continue our work...
- Thank you, Omar. Was there something else?
- Yes, sir...we need a higher cut of the budget. I have to pay my men from my own savings - and that's unacceptable. We're working for the Federation, not just for my own pleasure.
Al-Gaylani sighed.
- Alas, Omar, alas...the monarchists who left the country have left us in a poor state. We have to raise our industry and the military, and that's where ALL the money is going for! I'll try to find some financing for you, but I cannot promise anything.
 
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OOOhuhoo! This looks promising.
 
3.
Baghdad. The Holiday of Eid al-Adha, 14 March 1937.
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Various members of the AF government in the traditional Arab clothing, among them the Foreign Minister al-Jabiri (smiling as always, second raw) and President al-Gaylani (first from the right, first row). Interesting, that none of the people pictured with canes actually needed them, but they were given those as gifts.

Al-Jabiri was smiling as never before, accepting his portion of the sacrificed lamb.
- Ahh, the weather today fits perfectly. We are truly blessed by the Almighty, mister President!
The President finished chewing.
- I only hope, Sa’adallah, that such cool weather will last the whole summer. I don't want Shamal executing his operations in 50 degrees or so...he'd be damn angry, and when he's angry, he loses control of himself.
- You are well aware of my opinion on General Shamal, mister President.
- Oh yes, yes I am - smiled al-Gaylani. You've had completely different youth and pre-revolution life, and here's where the difference lays.
- Yes, mister President. While this bandit Shamal was raiding around half the Arabia, I was being chased by first Ottoman, and then Faisal's watchdogs across the other half. And I see no reason to trust people who don't tell where they were born.
- Do your duty, Sa'adallah, and Shamal will do his. And I will make sure neither of you does anything wrong.

The Foreign Minister peered into his plate.
- Well, I'm still very concerned about the war with Yemen, sir.
- Why?
- Because we're not ready for it! Because we do NOT know how the rest of the Muslim word will react! Because we've took control only a year ago!
Waving his hands emotionally, al-Jabiri pushed a plate with labneh to the very edge of the table. The President saved it at the last moment.
- We ARE ready, Sa’adallah. In a month we'll have five divisions - our BEST divisions, all equipped with armored car squadrons that Shamal and al-Razi are so skillful with, at Yemen's border. Are you worried about casus belli? Shouldn't be, my friend - in a week, an explosion would hit several places in Sana'a, and this madman Yahya will declare a holy war. A shame he'll be fighting us with bows..or whatever those Yemenites got.
Al-Jabiri shook his head.
- Sir, this would cost us a year of hard and non-stop diplomatic work.
- No, Sa’adallah, it will cost YOU a year of diplomatic work! And as I've already said, it's your duty. - cackled the President.

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By 1937 the number of solid infantry divisions in the Federation Army reached six, and the decision was made to construct two flotillas of destroyers for the protection of the coasts, as well as to initiate the research of first Arab military aircraft. The latter project was overseen by Shamal, who ordered the prototype to have serious weaponry.
 
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