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[CENTER][B]THE GREAT WAR: JUNE-DECEMBER 1915[/B][/CENTER]

With the autumn setting in, the Russian Empire was serious about reversing its earlier losses. The Tsar had personally dismissed many Generals within his army, and urged for an overwhelming improvement the army’s performance. It was agreed that Galicia was to take priority, in order to assist in a swift capture of Poland and to overwhelm the weaker of the Central Powers. General Brusilov masterminded the June Offence, and before the Austrians could prepare for their own offence had the massive but brief artillery barrage began. Unlike previous barrages, this ended before the Austrians could reinforce their lines. This would prove decisive for the next phase. Departing from human wave tactics, Brusilov instead opted for the use of small but specialised units to crack open weaknesses within the Austro-Hungarian lines, where the remainder of the large Russian army could pour into. Due to sheer shock, the Austrian army was unable to resist effectively against the Russian assault. The bloodbath that followed saw the fleeing Austrian army take up lines against the safety of the Carpathian Basin.
[-199 regulars and 125,444 conscripts to Russia, -373 regulars and 188,768 conscripts to Austria]

[CENTER][IMG=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Defenders_NGM-v31-p369-A.jpg/640px-Defenders_NGM-v31-p369-A.jpg]
[i]Russian infantry during what was termed the 'Brusilov Offence.'[/i][/center]

As the June Offence had progressed, another army in command of Grand Duke Nicholas was to support the advance by attacking the Austrian-occupied Lublin. This served two purposes – not only would it avoid the formation of a salient for Brusilov’s army, but it would be the beginning of Poland’s liberation. The 2nd Battle for Poland began, expecting an easy victory as they outnumbered the Austrian garrison. But the Austrians fought bravely knowing the town was vital to their entire eastern campaign. As casualties on both sides began to pile up, relief for the Austrians came in the form of the Germans. Keen to push into the heartland of Russia, General Mackensen had advanced forward from Warsaw which led to the battle swinging into the Central Power’s favour. Without the fast-paced tactics of Brusilov to turn the tides back, the Russian army fell back allowing the Germans to move into Belorussia. 
[- 281 regulars and 154,368 conscripts to Russia, -295 regulars and 29,770 conscripts to Austria, -1074 regulars and 55,259 conscripts to Germany]

The Russians had anticipated a further German advanced into their mighty empire with their victory in Poland, and had taken measures for a retreat. Away from the German borders, the mass conscript army of the Russians got to work digging in alongside the entirety of the north-eastern front. With the winter fast approaching, the Russian High Command felt to the effects could only be devastating to the Germans. It wasn’t long before two German armies came into view with the aim of conquering the Baltics. Hindenburg pressed on regardless of the worsening weather, defences be damned. Despite being hindered by the deteriorating weather and the vast numbers of the Russian army, the Germans prevailed as a result of concentrating their armies. Unable to withstand the modern weaponry of the German assault, the Russian lines shattered. The two German armies quickly advanced, devastating all retreating armies. From the Russian point of view, entire divisions simply disappeared in the midst of the onslaught. Successfully splitting as they reached the cities of Riga and Daugavpils, the German armies united once again as they attacked the barely regrouped Russian army once again. Despite the cold of winter all the more devastating as they fell back, the Russians were unable to use this to their advantage and failed to withstand the second assault. With them fleeing to Estonia, the road to St. Petersburg now lay open for Hindenburg. 
[-2043 regulars and 145,683 conscripts to Germany, -1462 regulars and 256,344 conscripts to Russia]

[CENTER][IMG=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/PSM_V88_D072_German_soldiers_pulling_trucks_through_mud_in_the_eastern_front_1916.png/1024px-PSM_V88_D072_German_soldiers_pulling_trucks_through_mud_in_the_eastern_front_1916.png]
[i]The German army trekking across the Eastern Front.[/i][/CENTER]

The recent successes faced by France in assaulting Alsace-Lorraine had worried the German High Command. What was expected to be a silent front had instead resulted in embarrassment for Germany, with their fortifications failing to defend against the patriotic men of France. It was decided that this could go on for no longer. They were determined to keep Alsace-Lorraine German, and they were determined to undo French successes. Optimistic officers even imagined an idealistic world where new grounds were to be captured. With a heavy resolution adopted by the Germans, their recently bolstered armies marched onwards. Despite being under attack by superior numbers, General Joffre called upon all Frenchman to rally around the tricolour as they resisted the assault. Wary of General Foch marching to relieve the initial attack, a second battle began at Colmar. With both French armies pinned down the entire western front was ablaze with gunfire and blood. Ultimately the Revanchist attitude of the French, brewing within them since birth, led the path to victory as not only one but both German attacks were repulsed. With the German line crippled, Foch led the way for the 2nd Battle of Strasbourg. It may have been a short battle, but it became known as one of the bloodiest in the west. Annihilating the German defence the French rushed to the fortress, with the reconquest of Alsace-Lorraine complete. Although the Germans had taken steps to implement a scorched earth policy, their line lay completely shattered with the French already devising their next step. 
[-73,445 regulars and 135,116 conscripts to Germany, -54,476 regulars and 137,425 conscripts to France]

The Sultan of the Ottomans was furious over the Russian incursion into Rhodes, and the Young Turks latched upon the opportunity to show the world that the sick man of Europe had healed. Forced to grant independence to Armenia under accusations of genocide and the threat of a Russian invasion, the Ottoman Empire acted quickly to reoccupy the old territory. It was not destined to be easy. Wary of the Turks ever since the declaration of war, Russia had taken steps to leave the Caucasus with enough men to defend should the Ottomans fulfil their alliance with Germany. Now that this was the case, the Cossacks rode into Armenia to provide defence against the Ottoman occupation. It wasn’t long until the age-old enemies met in the battlefield in what was their 13th war. A fearsome assault began, with nationalist Ottomans bravely assaulting the army before them. Not possessing the usual manpower advantage they would have in their battles, the Russians instead opted to use the mountainous terrain to their advantage. However the Ottoman army was one experienced in mountain warfare, and although the superior weaponry of the Russians may have led to widespread devastation, it alone was not enough to stop the Ottomans from pushing them out of Armenia. Far from the widespread stories circulating in Armenia prior to the Ottoman occupation, no further genocides occurred as the formation of a war council successfully kept war crimes to a minimum.
[-355 regulars and 24,821 conscripts to the Ottomans, -16,599 conscripts to Russia]

[CENTER][img=http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000bO3NfvJHWeY/s/900/720/WW1-Great-War-Cartoons-Punch-Magazine-Raven-Hill-1914-11-11-391.jpg][I]
A British cartoonist's view of the Ottoman entry to the Great War.[/I][/CENTER]

The vital sea-route of the Dardanelles was closed by the Ottoman Empire to any and all Russian shipping. This had the effect of not only trapping the Black Sea Fleet in the Mediterranean, but of cutting off the Russian Empire from any trade routes with its ally, France. This blockade of Russia was pushed further yet still, as a perfect adherence to the British ultimatum caused the U-Boat commanders of Germany to abandon their fruitless campaign against France and instead devote all of their effort to Russia. With the Baltic Sea and Barents Sea swarmed with German submarines, Russia had increasingly become isolated to the rest of the world. In response, the Northern Fleet mobilised its destroyers in an attempt to hunt for the U-boats. Sailing as far as the Norwegian sea in some instances, several scores of submarines were hit – but at a price, and it certainly wasn’t enough to completely alleviate the blockade. 
[Russia is blockaded, -4 destroyers to Russia, -19 submarines to Germany]

Under Habsburg occupation ever since spring, Serbia found itself with 30,000 veterans of the invasion on a peacekeeping mission, determined to stamp out any and all dissent within the Balkan nation. There were well-grounded worries within the Austrian High Command that a revolt could break out, and it was certainly the last thing Austria needed in the Great War. Contrary to initial Serbian fears, massacres were avoided as instead the Austrians sought to pacify the nation through co-operation. Collaborationist Serbs found themselves working in tandem with the Austrians, and together they ensured that all Serbian men were to work in munitions factories to provide vital supplies for the K.u.k forces. A policy was enacted where all Serbians were made to work in humane conditions, and with a salary – but with the war placing a tremendous demand on the Austro-Hungarian economy as it was, the salaries were minuscule.

Although they were nominally allies, deep-rooted suspicions plagued the relations between Italy and Austria-Hungary. As late as 1911 had von Hötzendorf suggested a pre-emptive strike upon Italy to counteract the forces of Italian nationalism. Forts lined the border between the two nations, and ever since the outbreak of war had Austrian soldiers been stationed across from Italy. It was thus of no real surprise to the Austrians when Italy declared war against them. Mobilising a vast army, Italy quickly flung both its veterans and newcomers to the impressive fortifications. The Austrian commanders felt confident within their artificial defences, but that turned out to be their key weakness. Too overconfident to realise a successful Italian penetration into the lines, the Austrians were slow to act. With the seemingly unstoppable Italian army pushing in, the Austrians mustered what they could but nonetheless faced a despairing defeat after a lengthy battle. Italians within Trentino chased out the retreating Austrians as they welcome their brothers in arms in hot pursuit of the fleeing army.
[-916 regulars and 129,153 conscripts to Italy, -113 regulars and 137,294 conscripts to Austria]

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[i]Victorious in the Alps, the Italians march onwards.[/i][/CENTER]

War with the Central Powers allowed Italy to take action against not only the Austrians, but also the Ottomans. With eyes upon the farflung land of Libya, the Italians decided upon incorporating a new territory to their burgeoning colonial empire. Accompanied by the largest of Italian ships, transports sailed across the Mediterranean where they lay siege to the port of Tripoli. Italy had banked their hopes upon Tripoli being undermanned and too isolated for reinforcement, and they were right. With the culmination of a short battle the first Italian soldiers laid foot into Libya. The second assault was planned upon Benghazi, with which the colony would effectively be Italian. Demanding the town’s immediate surrender lest they be bombarded, the Ottomans instead opted to resist from the countryside. Benghazi was bombarded and Italian soldiers too began to occupy the city. But resisting forces under the command of local Omar Al-Mukhtar were knowledgeable in local geography and desert warfare, and used this to their advantage as they began to conduct a series of short and swift raids that led to the retreat of the Italians. Although Libyan security was compromised, Cyrenaica remained safe. 
[-357 regulars to Italy, -567 regulars to the Ottomans]

Casualties

Russia: 2,433,864
Austria: 1,851,524
Germany: 1,025,482 
Poland: 521,782
France: 337,492
Serbia: 272,367
Italy: 130,426
Albania: 69,796
Montenegro: 29,205
Ottoman Empire: 28,952

Entente Casualties: 3,725,136
Central Power Casualties: 3,036,366
Total Casualties: 6,761,502

[CENTER][B]EVENTS OF THE WORLD[/B][/CENTER]
In the Netherlands, a bill to expand the military was struck down by parliament as the government aimed to improve the defense of Indonesia. Instead, a large part of the fleet and 5,000 troops were sent over, and a small number of forts were made on Java.
[Eleven pre-dreadnoughts and four ACs are in Indonesia, 5,000 troops go there, medium fortifications appear in Batavia, -2,500,000]

The ongoing war came down hard on Russia, but to keep the homefront happy was one of the most important things in the war. Petrograd decided to do this through guaranteeing the holdings of private individuals. The action came very late and many people falsified their bank accounts, claiming more money than they had. It became an expensive joke, but one that benefit the economy in the long run.
[+2 economic stability, - 488,454,171 ]

The Imperial Russian Army goes on another recruitment drive, claiming that the conditions of a regular soldier is better than that of a conscript. While this was true, draft dodging was better still and the turnout remained low.
[+50,000 regulars, -90,600,000]

Spain utilises the pool of labour it has due to the enormous unemployment problem and begins an infrastructural development program. For three months a year they perform paid labour and work on roads and railroads across the country, and it turns into success at a modest cost.
[+2 infrastructure in 3 turns, -45,285,764]

Redoubling its efforts to crush Russia, the German Empire works to increase coordination between air and land forces. An ingenious idea is the result, as coloured smoke from artillery shells is used to mark where the planes are needed, as well as improving the planes and bombs themselves. The recruitment campaign is continued and brings more German men to the front in regular service.
[+3 air level, +10,000 regulars, -372,999,856]

To the south, Greece felt threatened by victories scored by the Central Powers. Fearing that after the war the Austrians would reign free and take Southern Epirus for Albania, they decided to remove any grounds for doing this and arrested the entire Albanian community as spies and interned them in poorly-supplied prisoner camps, thinking of what exactly would be done with them.

An economic approach similar to Russia's was also taken this year in Italy, where the government tried to ensure the populace kept their money. The state threw a lot of money at the banking system and insured private bank accounts, which paid off well.
[+1 economic stability, -83,568,690]

To alleviate the unemployment problem, the government started constructing a series of railroads, utilising unemployed labour which allowed them to pay the workers less than usual. Soon enough, a new series of railroads were made.
[+2 infrastructure in 3 turns, -49,550,518]

[center][IMG=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/Railwayworkerswithtietongs.jpg]
[i]Italian railroad workers[/i][/center]

Afghanistan, trying to organise its youth, started the 'Muslim Youth Programme'. It worked towards training them in combat and survival, as well as instilling a pan-Islamist sentiment. While the plan itself worked, the problem with Afghanistan's government not having any major reach beyond the capital saw that turnout was incredibly low. Apparently going on an Islamist path, the Afghan government sponsors the building of mosques in tribal areas, where it was already full of them. People rumour about how the Amir is going to build a mosque for every Afghan, as the 'Kabul Games', a large Buzkashi tournament kicks off.
[+1 public opinion, -56,185]

In China a railway link is being constructed throughout Mongolia, and the government orders that roads an railroads should be made branching from it to better connect the Mongolian banners' mines, farms and towns. It works out well, but takes a while because the terrain is difficult to conquer despite the low amount of economic activity.
[+2% infrastructure spread in 2 turns, -23,000,000]

Efforts to arm the NRA like a proper army continue, with licensed production of Japanese weapons continuing kicking off. The starting of production is hampered by the lack of transport and skilled labourers, but they learn quickly.
[+10% equipment in 2 turns, -8,800,883]

Modernising even further, China examined the plane designs of the father of Chinese aviation, Feng Ru. Learning from them, the school of Chinese aviation started working on aircraft and soon came up with many designs and prototypes.
[+2 air level in 3 turns, -106,275,113]

The Republic's territories were vast, and spread from the Pacific Ocean to Central Asia. In the war west of China lay Xinjiang, or Uyghuristan, and it was full of natural resources yet not tapped into. Aiming to change this, a small rail link was made to Urumqi and work started on creating mines in the vincinity.
[+1538 resource base in 2 turns, +15,380,000]

In Daito, the government started purging the military for extreme elements, that still harboured Japanese nationalism. The ensuing show trial and declined appeal saw generals Sadao Araki and Jinzaburō Masaki shot by a firing squad. While this gave a sense of safety to the population, the army felt itself alienated from the government.

The government also aimed to save agriculture in the empire through Prefectural Agriculturam Committees. Their job was to inspect and advise farmers in land use, and organise plots of land by the efficiency of their use. It was a counterproductive, as the tsunamis of paperwork did not help one bit and put many farmers off from doing more than subsistence agriculture.

More succesful was a drive by the empire to spread infrastructure in its holdings. Working to build railroads in both the Japanese islands and the Korean peninsula, a spectacular result was achieved as in Korea, the amount of railroads nearly doubled, and a steady increase in the number of railroads was also present in Japan.
[+20% infrastructure spread in Japan and Korea in 1 turn, -439,793,280]

In New Zealand the economy was experiencing a slight revival. Capitalising on this, the government subsidised the modest industry so it could grow stronger than it was before the crisis. This, in combination with an influx of migrants from Spain, saw this revival continuing.
[29,836 people from Spain, +3 industry in 2 turns, -1,018,776]

The situation in South Africa looked even greater. The boer guerilla ended, the economy was recovering, and the government was beginning work. The first order of business was improving the state of education in the country. A large programme began to modernise the curriculum, which included Afrikaans, and saw an influx in the amount of teachers.
[Education set to good in one turn, -6,003,568]

A great deal of money was also invested in resource extraction, which saw a remarkable increase in output despite the countryside being wrecked.
[+614 resource base in 2 turns, -6,137,597]

The South African government also worked to increase the size of the standing army. Many of the bittereinders, who had fought for the last fifteen years, joined up in the officer corps as many young men looking for adventure from both South Africa and other parts of the Empire joined the army.
[+10,000 regulars in 1 turn, -24,997,500]

[CENTER][IMG=http://vre2.upei.ca/cap/sites/vre2.upei.ca.cap/files/06group.jpg]
[i]New South African recruits[/i][/center]

The United States of America was also recovering, and to capitalise on this it bailed out major banks so that the savings of many normal people wouldn't be lost, but on a scale much lower than in Europe.
[+1 economic condition, -1,224,559,421]

The US army was also due for a refit. It was ordered that the army get new weapons and incentives given for the development of these, but interest was low and development arduous. This was not the case with the navy as congress passed a bill calling for the production of 18 light cruisers, to be finished by 1918. 
[+18 light cruisers in 2 turns, +1 army level in 4 turns, -219,540,200]

The hurricane season of 1915 was especially harsh, with many major hurricanes devastating the countryside of the southern US. Washington responded by sending large amounts of relief aid so that the worst-hit areas could recover faster.
[+2662 goods/service base in 2 turns, -26,623,363]

Everything that was of even remote importance in Brazil was on the east coast. In an attempt to attach importance to the hinterland, ports on cities on the Amazon, especially Manaus, were improved and expanded so that all economic activity in the region could expand and shift away from the rubber monoculture.
[+1 infrastructure in 4 turns, -28,327,509]

A move towards industrialisation was made once again, but due to the lack of foreign investment and willingness of the landed elites to cooperate it failed to materialise, with only a limited improvement coming from the government's direct investment. These industries were all made to process agricultural goods from the landlords, and quickly fell under their grasp.
[+1 industry in 2 turns, -276,144]

Laws were passed to protect farmers in Canada, and the government promoted labour-intensive agriculture in light of the unemployment crisis. In combination with the fields growing immensely it worked to increase Canada's agricultural output considerably.
[+1300 agriculture base in 1 turn, -13,004,268]

Canadian industry also received government aid, and through subsidies and more effective methods industrial output increased notably, which was welcomed after it took massive blows during the crisis.
[+58 industry in 2 turns, -28,565,893]

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[i]Brick factory in Canada[/i][/center]