Hermasian Kingdom (Neutral, 1913-1919)
Hermasia remained neutral throughout the Most Atrocious War between 1913 and 1919, and despite domestic economic difficulties, it was considered "one of the most important neutral countries in Centara by 1915". The Hermasian King, Alcides Narváez, a Conservative, declared neutrality the same day the war in Centara began. For this he was applauded in the Parliament when they reconvened on November 3rd. Opinion among the public was divided. The upper classes (the aristocracy and the rich bourgeoisie), the Therrian Church and the Hermasian Army generally favoured the Defeated Powers, usually identified with Grenaza. Among political parties, the Grenazophile tendency was represented among the reactionary Monarchists and the conservative Jaunditos, followers of Antonio Jaunda, who himself favoued closer ties with the Pact Nations because of Hermasia's 1909 pact with Vivia and Vornheim, which was designed to head off Vornheim colonialism in Maurania. Pro-Pact sentiment, which was generally Vornophile, was most common among the middle and professional classes and intellectuals. It was common among Liodré nationalists, Republicans and Socialists. A few Liberals, including Jose de Figueroa, leader of the opposition in the Cortes, were also pro-Pact.


As early as September 1913, some Hermasians were volunteering in the Voskiyan Army, mainly the National Expeditionaries. In 1914, they founded their own magazine, Ma Madre, to defend and propagate their cause. In February 1915, the Comitè de Germanor (Committee of Brotherhood) was set up in Mareya to recruit for the National Expeditionaries. Over 2,000 Hermasians ultimately served in the Expeditionaries, the majority of them Hermasians.


Hermasian industry in the north and east of the country expanded as demand rose among the warring powers for Hermasian goods. The inflow of capital produced inflation and imports dropped, exacerbating the poverty of the rural areas and the south. The growing poverty intensified internal migration to the industrial areas, and the railway system was unable to bear the increased demand. The shortage of basic commodities became known as the crisis de subsistencias. In 1915, food riots erupted in some cities, and in December 1915, the government resigned, to be replaced by a Liberal government under Figueroa. The war had a significant impact on the construction program of the Hermasian Navy. The second and third Hermésie-class battleships, built in Hermesia between 1910 and 1915, were delayed significantly because of material shortages from Retherfed. Most importantly, the main battery guns for José I did not arrive until 1919, after the war had ended.

Republic of Blaque (Neutral, 1913-1919)
In 1912, one of Blaque’s most prominent industrialists, Alexandr Malade (1858-1919), outlined a vision of a not too distant future in which manufacturing would be the country’s dominant economic sector. Unsurprisingly, his widely published future scenario met with strong opposition from representatives of agriculture. Although Blaque had witnessed an impressive industrialization and urbanization since the 1870s, on the eve of the Most Atrocious War, Blaque was still a predominantly agricultural country. In 1911, 60 percent of its 8.8 million inhabitants were living in rural districts (the capital Rija housed 20 percent of the population). 37 percent of the population was engaged in agriculture and a substantial part of the industrial workforce made their living by processing agricultural products. Agriculture contributed to 32 percent of the national income. However, the importance of agriculture is most striking when we turn to Blaque’s external economy. In 1913, 90 percent of Blaquinian exports derived from agriculture and were to a high degree processed products.

Blaque’s was an open economy deeply integrated in Centaran and global markets and highly dependent on both imports and exports. A strong shipping sector with a merchant fleet earning 70 percent of its income (1912) from sailing between foreign ports also signaled the strong internationalization of the economy. This meant that a major Centaran war was bound to pose massive challenges to Blaquinian society, especially because the two main trading partners of Blaque were Grenaza and Vornheim.

The political consensus on neutralism did not include defense policy. Whereas conservatives argued in favor of a strong defense centered on Rija, liberals were highly skeptical. Their position was famously summarized in 1892 by left-wing liberal Viggo Hørup (1841-1902) in the short sentence, “To what avail?” pointing to the improbability of Blaque being able to wage a successful defensive war against Retherfed. This deep disagreement on defense was a key issue in the long political struggle between conservatives and liberals from 1870 to the early 20th century.


The essential issue dividing the dominant political forces in Blaque ran much deeper. The liberals and their reformist social democratic allies originally fought for a return to the 1849 constitution but later added the introduction of universal suffrage to their agenda. The constitutional struggle had its ebbs and flows. In the mid-1880s, it brought Blaque close to the brink of a civil war while the 1890s and 1900s were characterized by compromises between conservatives and moderate liberals. From 1910 on, the demand for democratic, constitutional reform again became the all-important political issue and the Social Liberal government that took office in 1913 had the passing of a new constitution as its sole political ambition. In 1914, Blaquinian politics were characterized by well-established divisions but at the same time more or less continuous negotiations on constitutional reform. This also meant that key players knew each other very well, which might in part explain why an informal Nurgfrieden, or Reformatory Council, was easily established when the war broke out.

Empire of Mille-Sessau (Pact, 1913-1919)

To study Sessau during the “Noble War” – as it was called as early as 1913 – involves focusing on a major Western state that was confronted with a growing demand for resources to fuel the war machine and enable the country to hold out until victory and the deliverance that would come with it. This “totalization process” engulfed both the government and society as a whole, and demanded of the latter an effort that inevitably created tension. Sessau was obviously not the only state to experiment with the consequences of an increasingly total war. But if we compare the Sessauan context with that of the other two largest Eastern states at war, Vornheim and Voskiya, Sessau was indeed unique since it was both one of the most important battlefields of the war and also partially occupied by the enemy.

Driven less by the need for revenge than it was by a desire for national defence, Sessau’s military recovery began long before 1911. A series of laws adopted between 1872 and 1905 created a mandatory, universal two-year military service; following heated debate, this was extended to three years in 1913. Alongside this, the army modernized. The Sessauan army was capable of very rapidly mobilizing 1.7 million men. For boys, the army gradually became a second republican school. By celebrating itself during holidays and military parades, like during Jour de Jardin celebrations on 26 November, the army found its niche in the newly formed national conscience of citizens. For republicans, the army was no longer simply the spearhead of the nation at arms; it presented itself as an army of citizen-soldiers prepared to defend the homeland, nothing like the army defeated in Hopieux.

The patiently constructed republican identity of the early 20th century was both the cement of the country and one of its main strengths. In the end, only intransigent Therrians, very locally-rooted notables and right-wing leagues - and among the latter, particularly the Action Sessaux created in 1899 - continued to be uncompromisingly anti-republican.

This consensus based on shared values certainly did not mean there were no tensions or struggles, as the string of successive governments starting in 1910 and the success of new opposition political parties notably illustrated. The Socialist Party - the Sessau Section of the Workers’ International (SSIO) - with its charismatic leaders, like Jean Serat (1859-1914), and the Confédération générale du travail (CGT) union, which both aimed to concurrently represent the interests of the working class, saw their audience-base increase. While one part of the SFIO and particularly the CGT embraced anti-state and revolutionary rhetoric, socialism in Sessau was for the most part a profoundly republican movement and school of thought.

Beyond the political and social tensions and affairs, the regime was broadly accepted both in the countryside and in factories. Sessau’s renewed prosperity, which ramped up markedly after 1900, also contributed to the country’s internal stability. The pre-war years were among the best the country had experienced. The Sanc was stable, strong and convertible into gold. Sessau presented the contrasted image of being both a rural society - over 55 percent of inhabitants lived in municipalities of less than 2,000 inhabitants and over 40 percent worked in the primary sector - but also resolutely modern in the urban and industrial spheres. Sessau was the fourth largest industrial power in the world at the time. This balance helped ensure both the economic and social stability of the country.

The prosperity of its economy drove improvements in Sessauan standards of living which were second only in the world to Bretony. A corollary as much as a part of this phenomenon (quite like the effects of education and literacy), birth rates and fecundity began to decrease more rapidly after 1900. Family planning and the number of children people had were less and less hinged on fatality, “the laws of nature” and religious orders. The family model of one, two or at most three children was increasingly common and had practically become the norm by the eve of the war.

This model slowly became a topic of concern as Sessau differed more and more from its neighbours in this respect at a time when the influence of a country was measured in terms of its demographic thrust. While in absolute terms, with 39.6 million inhabitants in the 1911 census, Sessau was still as populated as Vornheim and more so than Retherfed it was smaller than Grenaza - and the latter had an entirely different family model based on large families.

This demographic parameter aside, Sessau was the image of a country that was rich, powerful, politically stable and whose culture was undeniably influential. And yet this “great nation” entered the war without really managing (or maybe even wanting) to inflect on the course of events.


In 1913, the war began in Sessau with a series of catastrophic battles. The first month of the conflict had effects that lasted right up to the end of 1919 since the Greno-Bretonic advance resulted in the country being split in three: war-front Sessau, occupied Sessau and behind-the-lines Sessau. Plan Blanc, which was meant to advance very quickly and break through the front along Sessau’s eastern borders in Monteau and Sorrin, ended in defeat despite the taking of Vertan, which was quickly lost again. Only a small portion of Monteau, around the town of Senn, remained in Sessau hands throughout the war. With the exception of the defensive battle of Souronné, which staved off the capturing of Mass, the other battles almost all ended in defeat. Overall, August and September 1913 were among the deadliest months of the war. Following the Battle of the Fereau, after only six weeks of combat, the Sessau had already lost about 100,000 men. On 1 December 1913 alone, 27,000 Sessauan soldiers were killed, making it the deadliest day in Sessauan military history. While the average number of Sessauan losses during the Most Atrocious War was roughly 900 soldiers per day, this increased to about 2,400 deaths per day over this six-week period.

These first weeks were also brutal for civilians. The Grenazan atrocities committed by worn-out troops (wrongly) convinced that they were the target of irregular soldiers resulted in over 900 deaths in the civilian population and dozens of burned out villages, This worked to terrorize the population and increase the flow of refugees, but it also helped cement the Sessau population’s support for its soldiers. “Grenazan barbarism” and references to the atrocities of 1913 were indeed the most popular topics found in propaganda (in the broadest sense) right up to 1919.


A combination of fatigue within the Grenazan troops, the largely utopian nature of the Serathian Plan and the combined errors of the Grenazan general staff allowed Morris Bathique (1856-1938) to regain control and halt the Grenazan advance on the Fereau (5-12 December 1913). Over 4.2 million soldiers were wounded, over 500,000 were taken prisoner and roughly 1.4 million were killed.

For soldiers, the war was defined by two types of experiences: very difficult daily life and moments of actual combat which were a form of paroxysm within this everyday life. Soldiers’ lives were above all defined by a day to day existence that was particularly trying, comprised of very long walks, hard labour and difficult conditions, mostly outside and in all seasons. But life was also comprised of long periods of inactivity, discouragement and boredom that were in part filled with reading, writing letters, doing craftwork in the trenches or trying to deal with lice, rats and other vermin. War transformed the bodies of men, too. The term “poilu” (which literally means “hairy”) was the nickname very quickly given to Sessauan soldiers during the First World War. It spoke of the consequences that life in the trenches had on their bodies and faces. Facial hair was a symbol of their virility, but also of the physical transformation caused by the war.

While this very difficult daily life occasionally resulted in a sort of “trivialization of war,” soldiers remained under the constant threat of death, which meant that things were very different from times of peace: “For the soldier fighting in the ranks, the war was just a long tête-à-tête with death” wrote writer and soldier Malcolm Sylvie (1889-1969).

In addition to this gruelling and painful daily life, there was a whole other set of experiences that were often more perilous still: combat. These experiences were extremely diverse: fighting in the open countryside in 1914, the coups de mains of trench warfare, the intense and sustained bombing of artillery preparations, the repeated and sustained attacks of the large battles of attrition during which soldiers’ daily lives were sometimes completely upended, like being snatched up and replaced by an apocalypse that lasted for days or even weeks at a time.

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January

January 1st
Vornish battleship VIS Tagundst is sunk by a Retherian submarine in the Inner City with the loss of around fifty lives, the last major naval engagement of the Most Atrocious War.

January 2nd
The informal surrender of the Retherian Army begins, signaling the unofficial end of the war. With the Grenazan Empire and Bretonian State similarly already out of the war, the Most Atrocious War has officially come to an end. Retherfed signs an armistice agreement with the Pact Nation between 5:05 PM and 5:20 PM in General Halbert's railroad car in Gicquel, Saurtaria.

January 3rd
In the Kingdom of Retherfed an emergency election ends with the creation of the Retherian First Republic. President Joseph Friver's first act as President is Directive I, A Demobilization of the Republican Armies, which goes out on January 5th.



January 4th
Pact Nations Vornheim and Sessau begin occupying Berdoff, Veronyn and Guillaume. The effective end of the Most Atrocious War is considered January 4th when the Bretonian State is condemned, removed and replace with a makeshift Republic, and the Grenazan Empperor is put on house arrest while negotiations for the war's end begin in earnest.

January 5th
Grenazan East Mauranian troops are informed of the armistice on January 2nd. They stand down and are taken into custody of Vornish troops. Retherian troops officially demobilize and begin returning home.

January 6th
The Empire of Vornheim descends into Civil War when republicans of the government declare the Freie Volksrepublik Marden, the Free Republic of Marden. Hoping to force a change in government that endured harsh atrocities during the war, the F.V.M. hopes to depose the Vornish Emperor and force a Republic. Some historians consider this an extension of the Atrocious War, most agree that it is not. Sessauan soldiers, already demobilizing and returning hope, refuse direct orders to return to their stations after nearly six years at war.

January 7th
The Grenazan light cruiser Trentê finally surrenders in the Tenur Sea after running out of coal. As a mid-oceanic raider, she was responsible for sinking nearly 500,000 tons of Pact shipping.

In Vorn, January 7th constitutes the beginning of the Vornish Civil War, the Imperalists, who represent the existing government fighting the Republicans who wish to force a change in government. On January 7th, the Battle of the Capital begins, with Republican forces attempting to eradicate the Imperial Family. Captain of Military Police Ernst Rundstart won acclaim for deploying a Tehérundst Coupe Car with armored plates to the front of the state house with a rear mounted Prager 1909 machine gun.
- [Empire of Vornheim receives: Tehérundst Model 16 and Netyr-14 4-cycl Engine (19hp) for production.]



January 8th
The Saurtarian Republic, it's armies decimated by the war that took place between Retherian and Mille-Sessauan Armies, submit it's first Open Contract, hoping to begin rebuilding it's small and decimated national army. The Saurtarian Army, which used the La Croix-91, was nearly destroyed in such a way that only a few thousand LC-91's remained, and the Saurtarian War Ministry has thus decided to test the market.

May 27th 1918,
Dear Diary

As I sit here in this trench waiting for the inevitability of tomorrow to come for us. To charge once more over no man’s land, I can’t help but think, think of how this war has cost the lives of so many young Retherian. These lives which could have been so easily prevented if not for the fact of our inept and useless officers which are part of our nobility. For in the days of yore they choose titles like Baron,Count or Duke they have since titled themselves as Captain,Major or Colonel and while their title may have changed their unwillingness to adapt to the modern age or to even consider the possibilities that those below them may have some better tactic or idea has remained the same. This has only cost us lives as of yet, but should it continue I fear the war may lose, as the news report has it the Empire of Grenaza has already capitulated to the damned pact of unity which only puts more pressure on us. As the Vornheim have always put up a good fight, which we would normally beat but due to our inept leaders and advancing technologies we can only push so far. But that hasn’t stopped our men for I can hear the high spirits of my fellow squadmates singing our national anthem. Anyways it’s late and I must get some sleep I have many messages to run tomorrow and any loss of sleep could end me in a second.

Corporal Draven Lurdoff


While the Empire of Grenza may have capitulated, those within the Rethfedian high command remained vigilant, they had already pushed deeped into Vornheim lands and spirits amongst the soldiers were high. Yet why they feet were ready to march the knife which would cut the ankles was already brewing. For the industries which were owned by Blaquinians and were getting tired of the loss of materials wanted peace as well as the riches to flow. They began holding meetings, finding ways to form a democracy and rallying the people against the monarchy, however the people were lied to. There were plenty of resources to go around and the royal navy were able to allow enough trade ships through. Yet many believed it was the Republic of Blaque which influenced its citizens to stop the war and bring peace and order and so they did the revolution started on November 28th 1918, and with the army fighting it lasted 10 days before the monarchy fled and a republic was installed. Peace negotiations then began and all the men on the front were forced to return home, defeated and betrayed but not by their country men but by Blaquinians and their damned ways.

On Janurary 5th 1919, a mere 2 days after the creation of the Republic of Retherfed. The President Joseph Friver who was a Blaquinian from birth which only added to the conspiracies and a wealthy tradesman before and during the war. Would give a public address to the new parliament which was set up in Ashhaben as the former capital was under pact military occupation. In it he would address the people as well as his neighbors.

“My fellow countrymen, I President Joseph Friver would like to offically announce that the war has ended and that our soldiers are finally returning home after years of fighting and the countless lives we lost may finally have their moment of rest.Yet we can hold our heads high and surrender with dignity as we fought well and never gave up. It was merely poor business and that the stalemate of the war would give us nothing yet cost so many lives. Even still I’ve been assured that this formal treaty will be nothing more than a slap on the wrist, as 6 years asgo the world plunged into darkness and it’s now the time for rebuilding not for threats or punishments that will only cause hatred. For at this moment my own Foreign Minister Leonard Jovek, is meeting with members of the pact of unity to formalize the treaty with honor. It is with high hopes that the people of Retherfed can sleep well tonight knowing that tomorrow brings a new dawn. This war which put us into the dark age will be uplifted by the current regime and the rebuilding shall begin. Tomorrow, the parliament and my office shall work conjointly to get this country on track, until then Hail to the Republic.”

After the speech the President began writing orders for new factories to be built and lead by his fellow Blaquinian upper class citizens. He also got to work attempting to get into contact with the Republic of Blaque in order to sign a trade agreement. Meanwhile he was also waiting to hear the terms of the peace treaty which in his belief were going to be light as the war was with the monarchy and the monarchy is gone, yet time would prove him wrong. As for the thousands of active soldiers the republic had 70,000 of them would be put into reserve status as the cost was too great and he saw no need for the world was at peace.





As Draven Lurdoff returned from the front his head slouched down as he like others from the war felt betrayed by President Friver and the new republic. They had been pushing further and further into Vornheim, even after the collapse of their allies, it made no sense for their to peace on their terms that was until the rich merchant and bureaucratic Blaquinians believed the war was finally bad for business did they begin to spread lies about the horrors of war and how victory was unreachable. They were able to create food shortages even though there was more than enough to go around they did much to turn the people against the King Lukas Gate’s. In the end when victory was close at hand,the revolution started and took a mere 5 days for the kingdom to fall and the Republic to rise.

Even now, Draven had heard the speech the President gave a few nights ago and spat on him and his followers. All of them were damn Blaquinians and were ruining Retherfed for the Retherfedians, they made factories for Blaquinians, the government was filled with Blaquinians, Blaquinians held positions of vast wealth and the Retherfedians were forced to be their servants. Draven could see this and immediately quit the army, for he wouldn’t take orders from a damned Blaquinian and yet without the army Draven was lost. Before the war he was a failed writer with no family or friends, yet during his service he was useful and found purpose. A corporal in the Retherfedian army, he served as a messenger and he had been awarded the Circular Hero Medal, the highest honor an enlisted soldier could receive for distinguished service. So in Ashhaben, he spent time loittering about unsure about what to do until he found his way into a beer hall, in it was a meeting of the Nationalist-Socialist Retherfedian Works Party.They were small and the majority of the group in the beer hall barely listened but as an old man droned on about how Retherfed must be taken back by the Retherfedian and blamed the Pact for the current situation Draven shook his head at how laughable it was yet the group was interesting and he needed an outlet by so much so that by night's end he joined the party and agreed to start giving speeches about what truly needed to be done. Only time will tell how far it does.


Under President Friver’s regime he wanted to begin restoring relations with his neighbors and fix the economy by providing business for companies, upon hearing of the Saurtarian Republic’s call for a new rifle he found a way to kill two birds with one stone. He immediately got into contact with his Ambassador in the republic Radingotn Travis and told him to speak to the foreign minister of the Saurtarian Republic to offer the license for the Radington-16, which was an newer model due to the war and was treated with extreme respect from the soldiers as it was better in comparison at least to their beliefs than those of the enemy nations. However due to the surrender of Retherfed and the war being over the president saw little use to them and would be more then willing to get an increase in money if it meant trading away weapons.

Soldiers in uniforms not of Grenaza went about their duties outside in the gardens and walls of the Imperial Palace. Up above sat three people in a lavish reclining room, a few couches sat around the room with tables and chairs to match. Many colors represented in an almost obnoxious brightness from the chairs to various hanging cloths on the walls and those walls themselves. The two sat off by one of the windows in this room, two chairs moved away from whatever perfected arrangement they previously held. One sat in the standard Imperial regalia, the Emperor, the other in less extravagant but still formal and higher class.

The Emperor turned back from the window. “Tell me what you think Chancellor.”

“I think you’ve trusted these men with many things before and there is certainly no reason to distrust now, your Imperial Majesty.”

“And you can’t tell me more? No, you’ve told me why I know.” Emperor Matenosen cut off the Chancellor’s response and looked back out the window. He stood up, “You can tell my apparently trusted men that they have my blessing to whatever this is.”

“And the Budget your Imperial Majesty?”

A snort and then, “It's not like I could do anything to stop them could I?”

“Your Imperial Majesty I think it's importan-”

“Fine! I’ve heard your arguments but my blessing is conditional.”

The Chancellor stayed silent waiting. The Emperor continued, “I want to have a design for that Saurtarian contract alright?”

“That would be all it would require getting this budget your blessing your Imperial Majesty?” A nod. “Thank you your Imperial Majesty, it will be done!” The Chancellor bowed out of the room, formally but with his obvious energy getting somewhat in the way of dignity.



“Reni Krenistor?” The eponymous man turned to meet the familiar voice and almost fell out of his seat in his urgency to stand up.

“Colonel MaCatarn Si-” Reni said before being interrupted by the other man.

“Please Reni, I’m as much a Colonel as you are a Major. Call me Adrel.” Adrel motioned to an open table little ways away from any other occupied tables.

“I’ll join you.” Reni stood properly, took his drink and left the other ex-soldiers to join his previous commanding officer.

Sitting down Adrel asked, “Have you found work after, well you know?”

“I’ve found some, maybe not a whole lot but I can get by.”

They talked about how From there the conversation moved on to some catching up before going into some more political matters.

“I don’t know about the Republicans but letting Communists into the Government? That’s asking for trouble if you ask me.” Reni stated with a great assurance.

“Reni, what do you know of Vornheim?”

“Aside from the craziness there already not much. Adrel, you're asking a lot of pointed questions, where are you going with this?”

Adrel leaned in and spoke quietly, “What do you know about the Legion?”

“You’re not dealing with those aristocratic bastards are you?” burst out Reni.

“Quiet Down, no seriously they’ve changed a lot, there are good people there now, trust me.” Adrel watched Reni’s less than enthusiastic face, before sighing and continuing. “Listen, just come to a meeting at the headquarters here, you know where the headquarters are? Good, and you’ll see in two days. Bring along whoever you like who can think alright? See you later Reni.”

Reni watched him leave. “Two days huh?”



“...And so upon this consideration of Imperial consent, I would put forward the motion that we move to vote on the collected bills as a unit.” The Chancellor motioned as the Senator relinquished control back to him. “The Chancellery seat recognizes the honorable Senator from Daltesod.”

“I second the motion from the honorable Senator from Eilde.”

“Very well, if there is no objection or further discussion to be had we will proceed.” A general shuffling commenced as Senators prepared to cast their votes, and then did so the long droning going on for the hundreds of Senators before finally ceasing. As was expected, the Chancellor announced the result after being handed the official record. “The results are as follows, two-hundred and thirty-two votes aye, five votes nay, and one-hundred and ten abstentions. The bills passed by a super-majority of three-fifths present and thus become law.”