[OOC] Precipice of War - We Write Under The Sign Of The Goat

[Meiyuuhi]

Misspelled. Every time.

[Isotope]

Yeah, funny thing is you're the only one of the few who didn't change their name when thy moved forums too.

But srsly tho, pm's

[Chapatrap]

Misspelled. Every time.

@Mihndar

Shut up, Mindur.

[Vilageidiotx]

Chill out, Chapinlap.

[Jeddaven]

I've made some extensive edits to my app. I removed most of the references to extremely advanced technology, remade the whole first half of the history to include serious issues post-independence, and a few more things.

Nation: Poland/Slavic Union
Leader: President Anatol Plawgo
History:

Hider

During the Great War, tension amongst the Polish population rose to a boiling point. Polish men were being conscripted en-masse by both sides of the conflict, and much of the countryside had been turned into wastelands pockmarked with craters and littered with corpses. In 1921, a large portion of the Royal Polish Army revolted against their Germany commanders in response to the continued deportation of Polish citizens to labor camps in Germany. They were quickly followed by the Polish Legions under Jozef Piludski's successor, Lechoslaw Sikorski, who collectively refused to continue to allow deportation of Polish citizens. The rebelling Polish forces experienced heavy casualties during the early days of the revolution, although the distraction they provided only served to worsen the course of the war, further drawing each side into a quagmire. Largely due to the fact that the Russian Empire had long since withdrawn to deal with Bolshevik rebels, the Polish rebels were able to focus almost entirely on Austria and Germany, and had pressured both nations into granting Polish independence as the war continued to worsen. In 1922, Poland was independent once again.

Despite the incredible victory that Poland had just achieved, economic troubles were close behind. In the initial years, with much of its farmland still in the process of being prepared for cultivation, the Polish government was forced to turn to trade in order to survive. Many surplus weapons were sold off to various bidders in return for food, and ports such as Gdansk were rapidly remade into the trading capitals they had been centuries ago in an effort to provide the country with a much-needed lifeline. Initially, casualties due to famine and disease were high, although a renewed focus on technology allowed Poland to eventually recover and reach a state of economic growth.The economic growth that Poland experienced allowed it to fuel military buildup, and thusly secure its position. Poland was quick to replenish its armed forces, and began a decades-long campaign of urbanization in hopes of helping their industry recover. 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. 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. Now composed of three nations, though, the government of the Slavic Union was quick to pour funding into military research and logistics in order to relieve its already badly stretched forces.

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.

[Isotope]

Ok @Mihndar, sent a pm back with my first draft.

:)

[Chapatrap]

Chill out, Chapinlap.

@Vilageidiotx

Okay, Villajidoit.

[Meiyuuhi]

Ok @Mihndar, sent a pm back with my first draft.

:)

@Isotope

I responded, Istoope.

[Isotope]

Coolio, i should finish up the app and post today.

[Isotope]

Ok, double post but whatevar, edits are hard.

The app!


Nation:
Chile

Leader:
Luis Sepulveda.

History:
Coming out of the 1891 Civil War Chile had established a system closely resembling that of a parliamentary democracy, but with a weakened President. The years preceding the Great War would be spent in a naval arms race with Argentina and eventually Brazil that ended at the onset of the War due to the reality that most manufacturers of vessels were focused on their own fleets.

Neutral in WW1 Chile decided to take position as economic support, however in practice the large German minority in Chile influenced things to the point that almost all business was done with Germany and the Central Powers. By the end of the Great War Chile had benefited from its exports, particularly the abundant Nitrate deposits that had been vital for decades. While the end of the war brought about a period of depression profits kept in reserve helped keep the nation afloat in the crisis, though only the elite were able to weather it without worry. Indeed in 1926 while the elite who largely controlled the parliament gorged themselves on the nations wealth even in rough times an increasingly powerful working class founded a Marxist party that to the surprise of many gained massive popularity among young officers in the military. Seeing the older military command having been bribed into submission much of the enlisted followed suit. With the new Marxist party gaining rapid support across the nation and in the military the Chilean parliament was panicked. Fearful of violent revolution, which many were convinced was going to happen, parliament attempted to bribe Marxist politicians and even the candidate many favoured for president. In 1928 with these bribed Marxists now in both the parliament and the presidency the old elite felt assured that under false representation the public would be content.

That decision would prove disastrous. With supposedly docile Marxists in their ranks the old elite continued their normal behaviour for another two years before enough information was gained to signal a coup. Led by the president that was thought to be a puppet by parliament the coup was rapid and effective, dismantling the old parliament and military command in three days. As a result President Jose Baer set up the first truly Socialist Chilean government in 1930. A new constitution followed and a sort of Socialist Republic was born after a process in which opinions were gained from most prominent individuals to determine how the nation should be run. Following elections held immediately after Jose Baer retained the presidency with little contest.

Sweeping reforms would follow through the 1930’s and 40’s that focused on building infrastructure and improving education, the economy, and working conditions. In this time many candidates would run against the Socialist candidates and gain significant representation. This balance was generally approved of and kept private interest alive in Chile, though usually under strict government supervision. Ties were strengthened with neighbouring South American nations regardless of political affiliation but rather on the basis of continental solidarity and exports continued much as they did before the coup, with both local and distant international partners keeping the Chilean economy strong and versatile with and the government alongside private industry trading abroad.

With a reliably strong economy Chile continued to develop in much the same way with huge investments in infrastructure and other amenities gradually changing many impoverished areas for the better. This state of affairs proved stabilizing and where many other states would see unrest, Chile would remain secure. However this emphasis on the public would only continue until the 1970’s. Seeing a strong destabilization of global affairs in the decade along with instability in nearby Brazil which despite historical political differences had remained an ally a public shift led to the election of Luis Sepulveda in 1973. Leading a campaign based on increased national security Sepulveda brought about a revival of the military purchasing equipment from various international sources and starting numerous programs to expand industrial centers for the arms industry. In the period Sepulveda brought about little in the form of political change but did place a strong emphasis on South American unity, reinforcing ties with the SAC and looking to local industry before going elsewhere in almost every case. Re-elected in 1979 Sepulveda presides over a strong Chilean economy with a rejuvenated military, however not all are pleased with his methods and for the first time in decades there are stirrings of instability with many groups stating the expansion of the military risks the degradation of Chilean society.

Military:

The Chilean military has historically taken second place to domestic spending however in recent times has experienced sweeping reforms and rearmament. Focusing on with the navy Chile has sought to command its sector of the Pacific and has refurbished Easter Island with a substantial offshore naval base. In addition efforts have been made to reequip the air force with a variety of high endurance bomber and fighter aircraft to protect the Chilean coast. Comparatively army expenditures have been less, but the upgrades have still been significant. Working to have all soldiers well trained has been the highest priority and new equipment has been gradually coming in to replace an aging base of arms.

EDIT: Reworded a few things.

[Space Communist]

<Snipped quote by zombieaccount>

Something like this.

@Vilageidiotx

They respond by killing a bunch of Vietnamese citizens? Yeah, that's actually what we'd probably do. Something something they possess weapons of mass destruction.

[Dinh AaronMk]

Iso - I'll speak my mind on your app tomorrow or something when I'm not feeling lazy.

Jed/Cheesy - I got some issues from Hugs over your app so I took them and met with Googer on the issue. I would have met with Vilage but he wasn't on. But the three of us concluded that you're still rather persistent on pushing the tech boundaries more than need be. Poland is a semi-glorified arms dealer, not a military think tank. You also forgot to mention or bring up that Poland is pretty much using Armenia as their market testing ground for their guns and similar equipment, which is something that needs to be said because it's honestly pretty major.

But beyond admitting to national troubles during the Great War (that I can tell anyways, and hope you implied) you do skirt around and don't mention the issue of any unrestful bodies from Ukraine or Czechoslovakia being members of this Polish-lead political union. The only area this comes up is Polish military presences, which isn't a way to enforce security and we're afraid you're going to game around the issue of Czech and Ukrainian nationalism with the cheap "Military Presence" card and expect them to be stable and subservient members to Polish hegemony.

[Isotope]

Mmmmmkay.

Well, now to try and guess whats wrong with it... Hmmm..

:P

[Jeddaven]

-snippy-

@Dinh AaronMk

Where exactly do I push being technologically advanced? I honestly missed that. I'm also not sure about where I supposedly said military presence solved the issue. I remember mentioning that their forces were stretched thin in general, but I don't recall saying that was why people dislikes them.

[Pepperm1nts]

I'll single out quotes that are worrisome.

On technology:

although a renewed focus on technology allowed Poland to eventually recover and reach a state of economic growth

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.

As for military build-up - The issue is that you still made no mention of the problems Czechoslovakia and Ukraine's annexation should be giving you. Not just economically straining, but in terms of nationalism and the dissent that is probably prevalent from some groups there, who want independence or more autonomy. Some of these groups will try to gain those things politically, and some will be violent. Either way, it would be a big problem for Poland that is worth mentioning. You didn't mention it, and the closest thing to it is your mentioning of a military build-up to "strengthen Poland's position". While it's arguable that Poland would want to build-up its military out of fear of Germany and the instability in Russia, it sort of comes off as you using the unrest within Poland itself to justify a military build-up. It would sound less like that if you addressed the problem in the sheet and mentioned what Poland has been doing to quell it, not just militarily but politically.

[Isotope]

Letting you know my main comp just died, something shorted hard and made a bad noise before it all went poof.

Anyway, I'm on my tablet for the time being, thank god for surface pro keyboards.

[Vilageidiotx]

You should definitely mention how tenuous Poland's grasp on its non-Polish territories, especially the Ukraine. That's the only glaring thing about the later part of the app for me. One thing you could do to help yourself out is make more out of the dissonance between the government and the industry, but that will depend on what you are wanting to rp.

The early part of the app isn't ideal, however. I think the way you describe the rise of Poland needs work. For one, tech isn't the field that an economy starts with. Tech means education, and education means a functioning middle class. One thing you could pose Poland as in the thirties and forties is a place that Russia bought from because they were cheap that way. Polish machinists make replacement parts for Russia and the Ottoman Empire. They rebuild their military through a universal draft where draftees are divided between military service and public. From their, they are able to form the middle class necessary for a bureaucracy.

[Jeddaven]

Thanks for pointing those issues out. I'll get on correcting those as soon as I can.

[Pepperm1nts]

This week started off slow.

[Dinh AaronMk]

I should read Iso's app now.

Also Hugs, you haven't posted IC in almost a year. Go post, you had plenty of time.