Russia has got to be close to surrender, how far has it progressed? Will Delhi move against the Chinese or the Russians? I expect if the Russians could be knocked out of the war, the presidents popularity might get a big boost.
Even if Russia surrenders, I think Eternien and his presidency are still going to be screwed. There are hundreds of thousands of Americans protesting and rioting in the streets, demanding his resignation or impeachment. His approval ratings are abysmal. There's no way he makes it out of this with his career intact.Russia has got to be close to surrender, how far has it progressed? Will Delhi move against the Chinese or the Russians? I expect if the Russians could be knocked out of the war, the presidents popularity might get a big boost.
Speaking of, maybe it's time for a civil war to give the Stali Pact a chance to land in America by allying the rebels. Fingers crossed!Even if Russia surrenders, I think Eternien and his presidency are still going to be screwed. There are hundreds of thousands of Americans protesting and rioting in the streets, demanding his resignation or impeachment. His approval ratings are abysmal. There's no way he makes it out of this with his career intact.
Will Delhi move against the Chinese or the Russians?
I think Eternien and his presidency are still going to be screwed. There are hundreds of thousands of Americans protesting and rioting in the streets, demanding his resignation or impeachment.
Speaking of, maybe it's time for a civil war to give the Stali Pact a chance to land in America by allying the rebels. Fingers crossed!
It's a shame nukes happened this late as China/Russia won't get the chance to return them to Britain or the US. Still, fiery nuclear annihilation will be fun to watch.
Well, what can I say? I like the glorious...wait, what?
What?! Who is this psychopath (in universe)? I mean, maybe the communist rebel leader but even then, not sure why anyone wants more countries to be nuked.
Russia is spent but it must have six or so nukes left based on general production levels, which they may decided just to drop out of spite or give to China etc. etc.
######## EXCEPTION: 0xC0000005 at address: 0x01534CA5: ACCESS VIOLATION read attempt to address 0x00000B9C
Version: Unknown Version
It's sad when that happens, but it does happen. At least you're near the end and should be able to wrap it up purely narratively.
Bummer. Did you query the mod forum?
Just a note to jump in... I've binge-read all 4 AAR's in the past 3 days... This is amazing... and enough for me to shake the dust off a few of these games again to start rattling around. Truly an amazing feat... Kudos to all involved... the participatory nature of the narrative kept it fresh throughout...
Regards,
Chas
In other news, in all the chaos, Persia expeditiously invades and annexes Iraq, expanding their empire slightly. Relations between Persia and Delhi have been growing tenser in recent months, due in most part to Delhi's 'occupation' of Baluchistan, which Persia claims should be a part of their growing Caliphate.
Election day arrives, and the country sees the biggest turnout ever, at nearly 75% of the eligible population voting.
An anonymous source from the Republican party leaks to the media mountains of evidence of vote manipulation committed by the party. The news hits on the 10th of July, despite fierce censorship attempts by the government, and the US breaks. The Democratic Coalition declares the President a tyrant who has held on to power through scheming and deception. Sancronis, who is an honorable man, says the victor should have been Forster and proposes a cooperative alliance between the Democratic Coalition and the Democratic Party to impeach the President, and Forster and his men accept.
All throughout the US the riots begin again, this time worse than last. As people call for justice, Eternien gives a speech calling the accusations alleged against him lies meant to bring him down, and calling the Democratic Coalition and the Democratic Party enemies of the state. His speech is given behind a glass barrier in front of the White House, the riots in Dover being just several hundred yards from him.
The worst happens on July 15th. Governor Sancronis declares California an independent state and sends terms to Eternien of returning to the Union: Eternien must retire as president, the vote must be retaken without his interference, and he must be brought to trial for his crimes. Of course, the terms are immediately rejected. Eternien, thinking that Sancronis' claims will easily be rejected by the rest of the Union, decides his opponent is bluffing. He could not be more wrong.
Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, New Mexico, and Texas join California in independence, and together they form the Republic of Deseret. This new republic, still headed by Sancronis, resends the demands to Eternien, promising that more states will secede if the demands are not met. Eternien's entire administration urges him to accept, or to flee and avoid arrest. Instead, he rejects once again, locking himself in the White House with his most loyal secret service members as security. Colorado, Washington, and Oklahoma secede after the second rejection.
A speech given by Eternien, from behind the closed gates of the White House, denounces Sancronis and the secessionist states. All around America, Americans watch the speech on their televisions (a relatively new invention). Eternien promises swift justice for the rebels, but offers pardons
Overseas, the troops are put in a precarious situation. Loyalty to the nation and loyalty to their states clash, and units from the seceded states begin ignoring orders, making their way instead to ports to sail home. It will be a while before any of them make it back, but until then, conscription in the rebel states begin and state militia are formed.
Thus far, no shots have been fired, but this is surely the beginning of the Second American Civil War. With America at odds within, the World War will likely turn to the Stali Pact's advantage.
Titus TBC returned to his family after his pardon by President Eternien. Since then, he has stayed out of politics, opting instead to focus on family and relaxation. It hasn't been easy, what with the president acting like a rabid dog about the War, but he is determined not to do anything, at least until the election this July. Several candidates have approached him asking for endorsements, but all were turned away. Even more political activists and campaigners were turned away after offering to help him run for office. Perhaps in '50 he will run.
Protests against the war, and against the way Eternien was handling the war, continues throughout the country. There are still demonstrations outside the White House in Dover that draw crowds of over 50 thousand, while other cities, like Chicago and San Francisco, see tens of thousands march, declaring the president a war criminal and calling for impeachment. No president has ever been impeached, but the possibility remains for a first very soon.
The first of the Chinese garrison in Indochina is encountered on the 4th of April. Though fighting through intense terrain, the locals are quick to rally to the Americans' side. Their intelligence ensures quick movement through the jungles and mountains and easier combat with the Chinese.
The first stage of the invasion will be grabbing a sizable part of Burma as a staging ground, bringing in more troops, and constructing air fields. So far, the plan is working out, but the US is yet to experience true combat in China.
Reinforcements arrive and start doing their thing, pushing back the Chinese troops. Soon, most of Burma is under US control.
The prospective runner up against President Eternien is Maximus Forster, an extremely intelligent man, currently the governor of Florida. He promises, if he wins, an end to the use of nuclear weapons "by both sides" and a speedy victory for the Anglo Americans. He also promises an extensive reconstruction of the world and 'rehabilitation' for the Stali Pact, when the war does end.
The first troops reach the homeland of China before too long, and much of it is unguarded. The foolish Chinese obviously thought their highest priority was aiding Russia to the West. They never expected a landing in Indochina. General Zen urges the men onward, and haste is given the highest priority by the President; if China could fall before the election, perhaps he would have a chance.
The pro surrender movement, which was gaining ground very quickly in America, has been stalling lately, but another political faction in America has been growing to take its place. This one calls itself the Democratic Coalition. Among them are many state governors, senators, and representatives, primarily from western states. Their main goals are the removing of President Eternien from office, the end of nuclear weapons, and the reconstruction of the world. At their head is Luke Sancronis, the governor of California, a radically opposing force to President Eternien.
The real Chinese army finally reinforces the garrison at the beginning of June, and the push into China slows down. The closer the troops get to Wu China, the harder it will be.
The panic sets in for the Chinese mid June as US lines begin reaching their homeland from the west. The US push through Central Asia has been a huge success, and thousands of miles of land have been gained in just months.
Election day arrives, and the country sees the biggest turnout ever, at nearly 75% of the eligible population voting. It is a tense day in Dover. The candidates with a chance to win are the republican party's Eternien (15% estimated support), the Democratic Party's Forster (62% estimated support), and the Democratic Coalition's Sancronis (21% estimated support). The newspapers the day of confidently report that this will be an easy victory for the Democratic Party. But, as the votes come in and counting begins, things look less bright for Forster. The last of the votes come in the evening of the 7th, and the counting is finished the next day. Eternien wins a second term.
Outrage fills the nation, and no one believes the results. A recount is called, and, as it begins, Eternien declares himself victorious, calling the recount an unnecessary distraction. The recount yields the exact same results. Eternien remains the president of the United States.
An anonymous source from the Republican party leaks to the media mountains of evidence of vote manipulation committed by the party. The news hits on the 10th of July, despite fierce censorship attempts by the government, and the US breaks. The Democratic Coalition declares the President a tyrant who has held on to power through scheming and deception. Sancronis, who is an honorable man, says the victor should have been Forster and proposes a cooperative alliance between the Democratic Coalition and the Democratic Party to impeach the President, and Forster and his men accept.
All throughout the US the riots begin again, this time worse than last. As people call for justice, Eternien gives a speech calling the accusations alleged against him lies meant to bring him down, and calling the Democratic Coalition and the Democratic Party enemies of the state. His speech is given behind a glass barrier in front of the White House, the riots in Dover being just several hundred yards from him.
The worst happens on July 15th. Governor Sancronis declares California an independent state and sends terms to Eternien of returning to the Union: Eternien must retire as president, the vote must be retaken without his interference, and he must be brought to trial for his crimes. Of course, the terms are immediately rejected. Eternien, thinking that Sancronis' claims will easily be rejected by the rest of the Union, decides his opponent is bluffing. He could not be more wrong.
Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, New Mexico, and Texas join California in independence, and together they form the Republic of Deseret. This new republic, still headed by Sancronis, resends the demands to Eternien, promising that more states will secede if the demands are not met. Eternien's entire administration urges him to accept, or to flee and avoid arrest. Instead, he rejects once again, locking himself in the White House with his most loyal secret service members as security. Colorado, Washington, and Oklahoma secede after the second rejection.
A speech given by Eternien, from behind the closed gates of the White House, denounces Sancronis and the secessionist states. All around America, Americans watch the speech on their televisions (a relatively new invention). Eternien promises swift justice for the rebels, but offers pardons for any state that rejoins the union.
Today saw a nation-wide television broadcast by the former US five star general TBC. It was simultaneously transmitted by radio and recieved in millions of homes across the former and current United States. The viewing public were capticated by the young and vibrant speaker, a far cry from the decades older polticans dominating the newscycles, dressed not in his usual military uniform but as an unassuming civillian. In his address he expressed great sorrow over the state of the union, and shared in the public's fears of what the future might bring with a present so uncertain not merely because of foriegn war but insidious conflict within the nation. He spoke of his newly born son, his hopes and his fears for him as the world turned ever more chaotic and violent:
'Ours is a world not fit for newly born babes. My son, just born, misses his father due to dishonest men selfishly hoarding power at the expence of a great nation, a nation that rightly or wrongly holds the keys to a brighter future for the whole world. We are the ones who can and will rebuild Europe. We are the ones who must, despite hardship and difficulty ahead, despite anger and hatred on both sides, draw the line underneath nuclear weapons and their devastating impact upon our enemies and ourselves. In the coming years, this could be our moment to shine and have liberty light the world in a bright and golden time of freedom and plenty for all. But in taking that future we must be wise today. We must by necessity put aside what seperates and divides to reach across aisles both poltical and economic. We must recognise the good in each other and work to stoke the fires of love in men's hearts for the sake not only for this generation but for all generations to come.
So I come before you all now and ask, beg and plead: this country of ours is in peril. Imperilled by the tyrannical and the closeminded, the evil and weakhearted men of Dover. But it need not be so. I hope and I know that no man or woman or child in these United States wishes to fight one another over such foolish and selfish men. We as one must rise up as one nation under God and create a more perfect Union together, both on earth and in our souls.
Today, I ask for peace and justice to reign once more across the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Join us, and together with our mighty strength we shall go forward together and build a better world for tomorrow.'
Ah...not good for post war peace to have another mega war inbetween Europe, Russia and China.
This is a catastrophic turn of events and no mistake. Didn't see it coming either. No idea how it's going to turn out but...well, we'll see right?
Just as the World War was looking like things might snowball into a victory. The Republic of Deseret is a huge surprise, I really didn't see that coming. I feared before America may need to prioritize itself over helping in the World Wars, and now the problem has reached a head.
Phoenix’s men constantly urged him to run for president, but he reminded them they still had a war to fight, and he was going to win it before considering a campaign.
In addition to writing more columns in the national newspapers, Ellie and her children continued leading protests in major cities on the eastern seaboard, calling for Eternien to step down. She stopped short of calling him a war criminal, instead emphasizing he needed to be thoroughly investigated by both Congress and the courts. The protests under her leadership were to be civil and peaceful demonstrations, not the kind of mob violence seen elsewhere in the country. If anybody acted violently, they were turned over to law enforcement and expelled from the protest.
Back in Asia, Phoenix’s troops finally encountered their first Chinese opponents. Despite his initial concerns the enemy might make use of the harsh terrain to hamper his progress, intelligence from both his operatives and sympathetic locals helped balance it out, putting him on equal footing with his Chinese counterpart, General Zhen Fenghuang. Zhen might have had more recent battlefield experience in the civil war several years ago, but Phoenix had decades to analyze every strategy thrown his way, and he knew just how to counter it.
Phoenix divided his troops into two offensives: one going along the coast, to secure important ports such as Yangon to establish supply lines, and the other into the interior to draw Zhen’s forces away from the coast and fragment their supply lines. This would buy him time to bring in airplanes from India with which to establish air superiority. Since the mountainous and jungle terrain was ill-suited for tanks, he kept his armored divisions along the coast, while he worked closely with sympathetic locals in the interior to supplement his troops.
Phoenix’s strategy paid off. Zhen didn’t know what hit him until it was over. Despite the Chinese likely having numerical superiority, with their supply lines cut, their troops fragmented, and the locals withdrawing their support, all he could do was retreat to the east. Burma was now in Phoenix’s hands. Now he had to move into Siam. From there he would need to secure the Malay archipelago and the cities of central Siam to establish a foothold in the South China Sea, from which he could attack Vietnam and move into southern China. Another offensive would go north from central Burma into Yunnan, linking up with the first in Hong Kong.
Phoenix liked what Forster had to say, though he was in no position to share his ideas right now. In any event, Ellie shared Phoenix’s views, and in one of her columns she offered an endorsement to his campaign.
Progress in Indochina went by much faster than Phoenix expected. Siam and the rest of the Malay archipelago fell quickly, giving the Americans total control over the Straits of Malacca and helping Phoenix establish new supply lines. He pushed north and east into Vietnam, which fell rather quickly as well. His two offensives didn’t even need to get to Hong Kong to link up, instead linking up in eastern Yunnan and western Guangxi. Even the heartland’s defenses folded as fast as those in Indochina. Zhen’s forces seemed to be weaker and smaller now, although Phoenix hadn’t inflicted that many casualties on them. He concluded the rest of the Chinese army had been deployed to prop up Russia. It was very fortunate for him. The sooner he got this war over with, the sooner he could get back home and join TBC and the others.
Phoenix didn’t focus much on the Democratic Coalition, initially dismissing them as yet another anti-Eternien faction yet to be united under Forster’s leadership. However, he did understand where they were coming from, and he liked what Governor Sancronis had did for California.
By June, Zhen’s troops had been reinforced, and the Chinese began mounting even greater resistance to the Americans. Phoenix was glad he could now have a fair battle with Zhen, but he was also dismayed his progress was slowed. He knew the Chinese would fight tooth and nail for their heartland, so he prepared for even greater resistance. He and his men were now fighting deep in enemy territory, even with the occupied Guangxi and Guangdong ports bringing in as many supplies as they could, so he had to conserve his ammunition and manpower accordingly.
At least his colleagues in Central Asia were doing very well. He hoped it would put pressure on the Chinese military leadership and lead them to make bad plays in the heartland.
Ellie cast her vote on Election Day, for Forster of course. She and her friends watched the results come in later that day, all predicting Forster’s victory. When she heard angry shouts and breaking glass coming from outside, she knew something had gone wrong. She gathered her family and immediately sent them away to Britain, staying behind to continue her work.
The recount ended, and her suspicions were confirmed. Eternien had won. It was impossible for him to have won. There was no way. Ellie published a column as usual, denouncing Eternien’s win as illegitimate.
The leak on July 10 only reaffirmed her suspicions. Ellie reached out to both Sancronis and Forster and convinced them to join forces against Eternien, though Sancronis had already wanted to throw his support behind Forster. She wrote another column calling on Eternien to step down immediately or for Congress to impeach him, as there was now damning evidence which justified such radical steps.
Riots escalated across America, and despite Ellie’s best efforts, they only intensified. She ramped up her calls for justice and for the end of Eternien’s administration. Eternien responded by labeling Forster, Sancronis, and their supporters enemies of the state, even publishing a rival column directly denouncing Ellie’s “yellow journalism,” leading to major newspapers being inundated by letters from readers denouncing Eternien’s column.
Just five days later, chaos engulfed the west. There were conflicting reports of what happened. Some said Sancronis had declared California an independent nation, while others thought he had established a rival government led by him and Forster. Whatever the case, California was now in open rebellion, and most of its National Guard units had gone with it. Many in the east had taken to calling the new faction the Republic of Deseret.
When she heard the other western states had joined California, taking their National Guard Units with them, Ellie knew this was no stunt. She quickly made her way to California, which was apparently easier than she expected, as the “border” between the two factions was ill-defined and the east was in a state of disorder and panic following the secessions.
Ellie didn’t listen to Eternien’s speech. That man had gone mad.
Following TBC’s address to the people, Ellie made her own TV appearance, buying half an hour on all major news networks. Her speech would also be transmitted over radio and transcribed by major newspapers to reach the biggest audience. It was similar to TBC’s in content: a strong stance against nuclear weapons and a call for Eternien to step down, for the sake of the nation and its people. Following her address, she settled into her temporary home in San Francisco and waited for the next shot to be fired.