Ostlund
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| Flag of Ostlund | |
| Motto: Only for Ostlund | |
| [Map URL], or No Map Available | |
| Region | Andasreth |
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| Capital | Koenigstadt |
| Official Language(s) | Ostlundian |
| Leader | King Andrus Corvinus I |
| Population | 1.605 B |
| Currency | Osmark |
| NS Sunset XML | |
The Baronial Confederacy of Ostlund is a massive, safe nation, known for its highly moralistic and fiercely conservative population.
Contents
HISTORY
Ancient Times
The word Ostlund in native Ostlundian means East Land. The peoople who became known as Ostlundians came from the central forests of the continent. They soon found that the meager resources of the forest were incapable of supporting a rapidly growing population. As they migrated east, the settled along the fertile coastal plains of the continent and over the period of a thousand years, established large city states. Another Germanic tribe, the Norderlaanders, with a similar political organization of disunited city states, language, and culture subsisted on the narrow northern plains. To the south of the Osterlunders various lesser tribes collectively known as the Romani inhabited the dry Solta plain and foothills of Pytheneum.
It was to the west of the great forest that the Osterlunders faced their greatest challenge. There lay the Corpusian Empire, a vast, technologically advanced state that ruled the continent mercilessly, forcing all non-Corpusian states into proto-vassalage.
For over two hundred years, the tribes to the east (Ostlunders) and to the north (Norderlaanders) served at the leisure of the Corpusian emperors, growing grain for the empire and paying a sizeable annual tribute to ensure the survival of their city-states because they Ostlunders and Norderlaanders feared the size, wealth, and advanced weaponry of the Corpusians. The Romani tribes, however, maintained an active state of rebellion against the Corpusians. They implored the city-states of the east and north to unite and defeat the empire. Those calls fell upon deaf ears, as the disunited baronial city states failed to reach a common plan of action.
The urgings of the Romani did not go unnoticed in the west, however. In the year 1334, a great Corpusian army lead by Warlord Neptunius Dominus invaded the lands of the Romani, thereby commencing a series of battles that came to be known as the Great Southern War. As the technologically inferior Romani faced the organized forces of the imperial army, they had no choice but to fall back as they lost battle after battle and the Corpusians razed city after city. In 1336, at the Battle of the Golden Eagle, the Corpusians delivered a smashing victory and destroyed the leadership of the Romani. Soon after the Battle of the Golden Eagle, the Corpusians razed the greatest Romani city, Halass. The destruction of Halass prompted the Romani to surrender to the Corpusians, thus concluding the war. Romani territory and people became incorporated into the empire but the Romani were not allowed to become citizens. At the decree of the Corpusian emperor, Solis Junae, the Romani became permenantly enslaved to the Corpusians for perpetuity.
Union and War With the North
The First Great Southern War fermented political change amongst the elite nobility that ruled the city states of Ostlund as news spread of the fate of the Romani. Representaties of the great city states, Vostok, Rosenburg, Wiehl, Mastinger, and Ahltving, met in 342 to decide how to respond to the Corpusians should they ever try to annex Ostlundian territory.
The decision was made at the conference that should Corpusian eyes become greedy and look to the east, that they nobles ruling the great cities would rally behind a single peer of their choosing and would act in concert to resist such an invasion attempt.
Despite this agreement, underlying tensions continued to undermine attempts to comprehensively unite the cities of the east. Further complicating manners was the issue of the Norderlaanders, culturally and linguistically similar people that chose to distinguish themselves to their brothers to the east. Ostlund nobles continued to question whether any sort of collective security efforts should include their brothers tot he north.
Still, in 1345, the Barons of Rosenburg, Mastinger, and Ahltving signed the "small charter", and chose Baron Matthias Verkirk as their leader should a common enemy ever threatened them. Under the aegis of a quasi-central government, they also established a system from which they gathered industrial espionage. They sent spies deep into the west, into the blacksmiths and foundries of the Carpusian empire. Sympathetic Carpusians living in the east helped, by enlisting into the Carpusian military and learning how they strategize and employ technology foreign tot he Ostlunders.
In 1349, a border skirmish between the Barony of Mastinger and the Norderlaandian Duchy of Dachau erupted into full-scale conflict. The Baron of Mastinger activated the allied defense clause of the "small charter" and called upon a coalition force armed with Carpusian style weapons and using Carpusian style techniques and routed the Duchy of Dachau in three weeks. The Barony of Mastinger absorbed the territory of Dachau and served notice to Norderlaand of the rise of a new continental power. It also convinced the remaining major Ostlund baronies of Vostock and Wiehl, that joining the new Ostlundian Union served their best interests.
The turn of the century
Near the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, Constantinopolis joined in the fever of colonialism. Although it could by no means compare with great colonial powers like Britain and France, it carved out a sizable colonial empire of its own, mostly in Africa. The Constantian Navy had been the dominant branch of the military of Constantinopolis for some 100 years, ever since the last of Constantinopolis's land enemies had been conquered.
In terms of culture, the ascension of the predominantly Russian-speaking bourgeoisie and the fall of the predominantly Greek-speaking aristocracy over the course of the 19th century resulted in the elimination of the language barrier between the ruling class and the common people that had stood for hundreds of years. By the turn of the century, nearly all the ruling class could speak Russian at least as well as Greek, and large numbers of ordinary people could speak Greek in addition to Russian.
In the early 1900's, capitalism in Constantinopolis was at the height of its power and development. Few would have guessed that it had less than 20 years left to live.
World War One and its aftermath
Constantinopolis was a major military power by the time World War One broke out. However, unlike most other great powers, it had no historical conflicts with any of its neighbors. The only land enemies Constantinopolis ever had were primitive tribes and small feudal kingdoms, which had been defeated and conquered centuries earlier. Overseas, Constantinopolis had successfully avoided making any enemies among the other great powers, preferring instead to trade with all of them and occasionally try to play some of them against the others. As such, there was no reason for Constantinopolis to join any side in WW1 when it broke out. From 1914 to 1916, Constantinopolis remained neutral and had more or less friendly relations with both the Entente and the Central Powers. Constantian companies made huge profits from the war, benefitting from their ability to trade with both sides. However, as early as 1915, it was clear that this situation could not last forever. The governments of all warring nations began to express their disapproval of Constantinopolis's policy of trading with their enemies. In 1916, both sides issued an ultimatum: Constantinopolis was to cease trading with the opposite side, or "face the consequences". While the capitalist oligarchy of Constantinopolis and their puppets in government discussed what their next move should be, the Entente countries announced that their patience had run out, and expelled all Constantian diplomatic missions from their territories. At the same time, they banned all Constantian companies from doing business on their soil. Outraged, Constantinopolis declared war on the Entente, and formally joined the Central Powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.
Constantinopolis's involvement in the war consisted mainly of using its powerful navy against the even more powerful naval forces of the British Empire, in an attempt to open up the North Sea for Germany. The attempt failed. However, Constantinopolis also committed a significant number of ground troops in the war against Russia. These troops were present on the Russian front during the events of the year 1917, and many of them carried the ideals of the Russian Revolution back home after the war.
World War One ended in 1918 with the defeat of the Central Powers. Constantinopolis was forced to pay some light war reparations to the Entente, but, most importantly, it was stripped of all its overseas colonies (which were turned into mandates of the League of Nations). This dealt a heavy blow to the Constantian ruling class, although it was by no means fatal at that point in time.
Also in 1918, the Communist Party of Constantinopolis was founded. It was founded in secret and functioned illegally, of course - just like all other left-wing organizations - since the Conservatives and the Liberals were the only legal political parties in Constantinopolis (and left-wing parties were specifically banned). The Communist Party was based on the principles of Leninism and joined the Communist International (Comintern) in 1919 as a founding member. Beginning in late 1919, the General Secretary of the Communist Party was Rosa Krupskaya, who would later become the leader of the Great September Revolution.
From 1919 to 1921, Constantinopolis was marked by economic recession and increasing political instability. The ruling oligarchy tried to pick up the pieces following the defeat in WW1 and the loss of the overseas colonies, while social unrest was growing in the cities and socialist and communist ideas gained more and more popularity (despite frequent brutal crackdowns by the imperial secret police). Also, in the provinces (territories that had been conquered by Constantinopolis in the 18th and 19th centuries), the calls for independence were growing louder.
The Great September Revolution
In May 1921, a stock market crash devastated the already fragile Constantian economy. Unemployment and inflation soared, bringing with them extreme poverty for huge numbers of people. Workers' protests and riots became commonplace, and socialist groups (especially the Communist Party) intensified their activity.
Attempts by the capitalist oligarchy to defuse the explosive situation in the summer of 1921 failed. They made many concessions to the working class, including more freedom of speech (but without going as far as legalizing socialist parties), a minimum wage and laws to regulate work conditions (greatly reducing the brutality of sweatshops). But these reforms proved to be far too little far too late.
On September 3, partly due to the work of the Communist Party, crowds gathered for the largest protest marches Constantinopolis had ever seen. The protests were peaceful and the police kept a respectful distance. But the government was shocked when, in the evening, the protesters did not go home.
The massive protests continued through September 4, and the entire Constantian ruling class - the government, parliament, and big business representatives - gathered for an emergency meeting. They resolved to call in the army for the purpose of intimidating the crowds, but did not authorize military commanders to use force against the protesters. It was hoped that military presence alone would be enough to calm the situation. However, as the day came to an end, the protests showed no sign of losing strength. In fact, people were growing increasingly restless.
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| The communist flag being planted on the roof of the Imperial Palace |
On September 5, the third consecutive day of street protests, the government ordered the army to open fire on the protesters in the capital city of Byzantium (where the largest protests were taking place). Some commanders refused to follow the order, but others did not. Hundreds of people were slaughtered. But far from dispersing the crowds and terrorizing the people into submission, as the government had hoped, this action had the effect of a spark touching a lake of gasoline. The crowds were inflamed with anger, and thousands more people poured onto the streets. They weren't just asking for higher wages, decent working conditions or freedom of speech any more. Now they were determined to bring down the government, big business, and the entire capitalist system. The Communist Party, who was already very involved in the protests, saw the revolutionary potential of the situation and decided to live up to its role as the vanguard of the proletariat. The communists had been stockpiling weapons at various secret locations around the city of Byzantium for years. Now they opened those stockpiles and armed the people. They also tried to organize the crowds, with varying degrees of success. Rosa Krupskaya led one group of a few thousand revolutionaries in a massive assault of the Imperial Palace. It was heavily defended, but the revolutionaries overwhelmed the defences and stormed the palace after several hours of bitter fighting. Basileus Andronicus II and most of his advisors - as well as the majority of government ministers - were captured. Once the palace had been secured and red flags were flying from all its towers, Rosa Krupskaya came out on the balcony that was usually reserved for the Basileus and the highest aristocracy, and began to speak to the people assembled outside. This speech, held in the evening of September 5, 1921, quickly grew famous as the "Socialism shines in our future" speech (named after its most memorable phrase).
The following night was a restless one for the people of Byzantium. Many gathered in the halls of the Imperial Palace - or on the streets outside it - to debate what to do next. Elsewhere in the city, the newly formed People's Militia was still fighting against what remained of the army and police (most of the army and police had evacuated the city after the fall of the Imperial Palace; royalist army commanders were now debating their next move). The People's Militia included many soldiers who had deserted from the army in order to fight for the revolution. They assumed to role of instructors and began to train their comrades in the art of warfare.
By the morning of September 6, both the revolutionaries and the royalists had decided on a plan of action. The royalists resolved to lay siege on the city of Byzantium and starve it into submission. The revolutionaries came to the conclusion that their only hope for victory was to contact their comrades in other cities across the country, and act as a spark for a wider revolution. And that was exactly what they did. Most of the other large population centers were already on the brink of an armed uprising, and the news of the events in Byzantium was all that was needed to trigger such uprisings all across Constantinopolis. Within one week, the royalist army commanders had a nationwide revolution on their hands, and their soldiers deserted in droves. To avoid immediate defeat, they had to call upon the considerable military forces that were stationed in the outlying provinces of the Holy Empire of Constantinopolis. However, once those provinces no longer had large army units stationed on their soil, their native populations rose up in revolutions of their own - revolutions directed not just against capitalist oppression in general, but against the imperial oppression of Constantinopolis in particular. The royalists now found themselves sandwiched between the communist revolution in the Constantian heartland and the revolutions of national liberation (which were also very socialist in nature) in the outlying provinces. The revolutionaries wasted no time in declaring their full support for each other, and the royalists responded to this growing threat by organizing themselves into a single, unified military hierarchy. The stage was set for a civil war.
The Civil War
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| War flag of the communists |
By early November 1921, both the revolutionaries and the royalists had become well organized fighting forces, with a coherent leadership. The communist revolutionaries created the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, following the successful model of the Russian red army. The royalist generals united their various armies into the Legion for the Defense of the Throne. There is no clear date that can be considered the beginning of the Constantian Civil War, but most historians consider the civil war to have begun in mid-November, when the fighting moved away from the big cities (which had experienced uprisings and revolutions throughout the autumn of 1921), and turned into more conventional warfare.
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| War flag of the royalists |
The last months of 1921 saw a number of important victories for the communists. The revolution had triumphed across the central and southern regions of Constantinopolis, leaving the communists in charge of the entire coastline of the Hellenic Sea, including the strategic ports of Athenaegrad and Krossos (today Marxgrad and Engelsgrad), which were (and are) the second and third largest cities in Constantinopolis, respectively. Meanwhile, the royalists controlled most of the country's northern and eastern regions, especially around the borders between Constantinopolis proper and the conquered provinces (which had achieved de facto independence by this time). In mid-November, the communists launched an offensive in the East, where royalist forces were weaker than in the north, hoping to push the royalists into the Andurodan river - and thereby force them to either surrender or cross the river into the jungles of Watfordshire, where they would not survive for long. The offensive began well, and royalist forces were soon in full retreat, but the communists were not making as much progress as they had initially hoped.
On December 16, after a month-long trial, the former Basileus, Andronicus II, who had been captured by the communists during the Great September Revolution, was found guilty on 8,952 counts of first degree murder (innocent people whose executions he had personally ordered), as well as a number of other crimes against humanity, and high treason. He was sentenced to death and executed the next day (December 17, 1921). Former imperial ministers and other members of the old Constantian ruling class received life sentences. This was a massive blow to the morale of royalist forces, and the communist offensive in the east gained much ground during the following weeks and months.
