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Nation: Poland/Slavic Union
Leader: President Anatol Plawgo
History: After having spent decades split apart by hostile foreign powers, during the Great War, Poland was finally able to break away and become independent in the ensuing chaos. Poland, during the great war, was infrequently fought over compared to the territory of the nations that controlled it. While the nations that formerly controlled it (particularly Austria-Hungary, Prussia, and the Russian Empire) were largely crippled, struggling to keep themselves afloat, Poland was able to declare its own independent without much fighting, and relatively few causalities. In addition, thanks to the increasingly weakened state the aforementioned nations were in, the newly-formed Polish government was also able to reclaim much of its territory, though Prussia maintained control of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The next move for Poland, in addition to rapid military buildup, was to stimulate the Polish economy using its recently reclaimed ports and national resources. Largely thanks to the speed with which the Polish government moved towards economic recovery, it was able to establish itself as a major European trading power, so much so that it quickly came to even economically rival many of the nations that formally controlled it.
The economic growth that Poland experienced allowed it to fuel military buildup, and thusly secure its position. For the first time in decades, being both a major conduit of trade and a technologically advanced nation, Poland was able to exert its influence both domestically and internationally. The Polish government and its people clung to their newfound freedom, and took drastic steps to ensure that their position remained secure, especially beginning in the 1970s. Possessing of advanced rocketry, small-arms, and armor, the Polish government was able to incite and encourage the rebellions in the Austrian territory of the Czech Republic, and eventually absorbed the formerly Austrian territory. Austria, unable to exert sufficient force against Poland, lost the territory to the Republic of Poland, which soon afterwards adopted the name of "the Slavic Union", in an effort to appear more welcoming to the citizens of the Czech Republic.
Only five years later, though, eastern Europe would be embroiled in conflict once again. Poland's relations with the Ukraine, at the time, were largely neutral, but still quite strained, largely due to Poland's evident attempts to increase its base of power. But a few weeks into the Hungarian invasion, the Polish military had mobilized, and, after an agreement had been reached with the Ukrainian government, crossed the border into the Ukraine. Despite initial successes, the Polish military encountered several obstacles along the way. In particular, Ukrainian civilians often attempted to slow the progress of Polish troops in rural areas, due to the fact that modern communication in the area was extremely sparse and many rural communities still held animosity towards Poland. In particular, though, the fact that large portions of the Polish military hadn't seen combat in several years resulted in heavy losses against the Hungarian forces in the first few battles of the war, though they were largely successful.
Polish Forces, despite initially heavy losses, were able to force the Hungarian forces out of the Ukraine in short order, gaining both valuable military experience (which, for the most part, they lacked) and a third member of the Slavic Union in the process.
One year later, in 1976, the Polish government deployed forces in Moscow as part of a peacekeeping operation. Violence in Moscow was reaching an incredible high, and came to threaten the stability of Eastern Europe as a whole -- especially the weakened, recently invaded Ukraine. Thankfully, Polish forces were able to quell the ongoing violence, and, soon afterwards, occupied Moscow and the surrounding area. President Anatol was quick to pull forces out of the region and replace them with mercenaries, a move that was widely opposed by his political enemies.
Despite the generally unified state that Poland is in, there are several notable people with political stances largely contrary to that of the current government. This is especially true in the military and the arms industry, where a more aggressive Poland is encouraged. Perhaps most notably, Mateusz Wyrzyk, CEO of Poznan Engineering Works (Poznań Zakłady Inżynieryjne), has frequently pushed for a more aggressive and independent stance to be adopted by the Polish government. PZI was and remains one of the largest manufacturing corporations in Poland, in both military and civilian sectors. Despite what the name may imply, the company also oftentimes funds research into various technologies, and maintains strong relations with major Polish universities like the Warsaw University of Technology, Jagiellonian University, and the University of Wroclaw.