Difference between revisions of "Skinny87"

Revision as of 10:15, 31 March 2006

The Sovereign Nation of Skinny87

Flag of Skinny87
Freedom Is Sacrosanct.
Official Languages	English, French, German.
Capital	Dowland City
King	Alexander I
Prime Minister	N/A
Area  - Land  - Water	900,630 km&sup2 1,800 km&sup2
Population  - Total (January 2006)  - Density	2.1 billion 280,90/km²
Foundation	1800, Succession of Yarmouth.
Government Type	Constitutional Monarchy
Nation Type	Kingdom
National Animal	Lesser-Spotted Eagle
GDP (2006)   - Total   - GDP/capita	74 Trillion Dowlands D$D$74,252,755,212,543.61
Currency	1 Dowland (D$) = NS$1.7415
Time Zone  - in summer	GMT +1 GMT +1
International Abbreviations  - sport  - government	S87 Skinny87
International Power Ranking	12.900 (T-135th)
National Anthem	Bittersweet Symphony, The Verves
Internet TLD	.Ski
Calling Code	+95

General Information

Skinny87

The Sovereign Nation of Skinny87 is a large and prosperous nation in Haven. It is now a Kingdom under the Constitutional Monarch, King Alexander I.

The nation is one of the larger nations within Haven, primarily due to the large tract of land that the Sovereign Nation took under its control after the demise of the nation of Neo-Soviet Russia and subsequent negotiations with the neighbouring nation of Hallad. Although the land from the former Neo-Soviet Russia is technically part of Skinny87, it is counted only in elections and other governmental duties, and is not part of the main nation; it is more akin to an extremely close colony than anything else. The climate of Skinny87 is generally mild, with bouts of weather and climate changes that are reminiscent of Britain to all visitors coming into the nation. The north of Skinny87 is generally the colder and less mild part of the country, with an average rainfall of nearly twice that than of the most extreme southern part of Skinny87. The south of the nation has far less rainfall, although it is vulnerable far more to the icy cold winds blowing in from the south of Haven. It is a generally internationalist country, although it is now in a period of semi-isolationism.

Overview of the Nation

The People and Culture of Skinny87

The population of Skinny87 are racially and culturally diverse; most are descendants of British origin, as well as a minority of German and French descendants who emigrated to the country over hundreds of years. The current population of the country is just over 2.1 Billion, and is steadily increasing in rate after the aftermath of the devestating Civil War. Skinny87 has one of the largest life expectancy ratios in Haven, with citizens often living to see their 100th and even 110th birthdays; the average life expectancy of males is 97 years of age, and that of females 94 years. The fully subsidised health system that operates alongside a small and heavily-regulated privatised system is often quoted as the reason for such high rates of living, as well as the general good health of all citizens of the country.

The culture of Skinny87 and its citizens is often extremely similar to that of many Western countries. The arts, opera and other upper and middle-class ventures thrive in many areas of the country, whilst more mainstream entertainment and cultural options exist alongside them without conflict; there are hundreds of television companies and thousands of channels in Skinny87, and the film and computer industries are two industries that always top the governments list of most rapidly-expanding industries in the country.

The nation and its people are often seen as reserved and semi-formal, especially government officials and law enforcement and military personnel. However, this is often a stereotype that many have tried to dispel, often in vain, by showing their true nature as a warm and friendly people that are only reserved at a distance, becoming open when known.

The Economy

The economy of Skinny87 is a mixture of laisse-faire economics combined with key industries, such as the health and educational ones, being subsidised by the usually socialist-leaning government to ensure the populations health and safety. The rest of the free market economy is built around the Defense Industrial Complex and the military, with a defense budget often approaching a third of the national GPD every year. The main non-military industry of Skinny87 is the white-collar Information Technology industry, responsible for many famous computer games, such as Pyramid Attacker and the trillion-copy selling, multi-award winning computer game Pegasus: Attack of the Cute Unicorns and its sequel Pegasus: Cute and Dangerous. However, the main and dominant industry in Skinny87 is the Defense Industry, led by Republican Incorporated Systems and State Defense Inc. The military, as the average visitor and tourist will attest to, is a fundamental part of the nation, partly due to the past history of Skinny87. The Defense Industries generate hundreds of Trillions of Dowlands every year, and the military receives the largest proportion of funding from the government, usually in the 30-40 percentile range.The major imports and exports of Skinny87 are listed in the table below:

Laws and Politics

The laws and politics of Skinny87 are very much that of Britain, with a few political changes that have occured throughout the history of the nation, especially since the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the Monarchy. Before the Civil War, the system in Skinny87 was that of a liberal democracy. A President was elected one every five years in a General Election, and there were By-Elections in the country every two years to ensure a balance in government. Below the President came Parliament, acting in much the same way as the Prime Minister and Parliament do of ancient Britain, creating a system of checks and balances between the two powers. However, with the end of the Civil War and the abuse of the Presidential System, the system was scrapped and replaced by a Constitutional Monarchy, one that reigns over the country and essentially acts as President, but is advised by Parliament far more thoroughly than before. Parliament also has the power of veto over the Monarch. At any time, Parliament may vote on dethroning the Monarch; if more than 50% of those present agree, the King will be arrested by the Parliamentarian Security Council and be replaced by either another Monarch or a Parliamentarian Candidate; ultimately the decision will be put to the public in a General Vote of Confidence, to decide as to whether to keep the dethroned Monarch, the new Monarch or the Parliamentarian Candidate.

Constitutional Form

Electoral System

Current Political Landscape

The Military

The armed forces of Skinny87 are divided into five seperate and equally important groups. The Royal Army, the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Royal Air Force and finally the Royal Space Force. All five groups act interdependantly within the military hierarchy, and complete and utter coordination and effiency are trademarks that the Royal forces are proud to have, whether as a Republican military or as a Royalist one.

=== The Royal Army === - Since the end of the Civil War and the triumph of the Parliamentarian forces, the armed forces of Skinny87 have been renamed, adding the Royal prefix to show the change to a Constitutional Monarchy instead of a Republic. However the core essentials of the Army remain unchanged, as is the case with all arms of the military. The current number of personnel in the Royal Army is roughly 7 Million, of which 2 Million are Reservists. Troops in the Royal Army use the latest weapons and vehicles, including the M8 Infantry Rifle and the Champion MBT. The Royal Army is the largest arm of the armed forces of Skinny87, and is one of the proudest branches. It was the first branch of the military to support the Parliamentarian forces in the Civil War, and took most of the losses during the bloody conflict. The Special Forces of the RA are some of the best troops in the Skinny87 armed forces, and are deployed in the 95th Special Operations Regiment.

=== The Royal Navy === - The Royal Navy is historically one of the weaker branches of the armed forces, used more for transportation and convoy guarding duties than actual battle. The reason for this has never been fully explained, although many historians theorise that it is because Skinny87 has never seen any large naval battles, nor needed any particular naval protection in Haven. Consisting of around five to six hundred vessels, the Royal Navy has around 3 million active personnel, and is armed with the latest Questerian, Praetonian and Sarzonian vessels and arms. The recent purchase of five Superdreadnoughts from Questers has significantrly bolstered the firepower of the RN.

=== The Royal Marines === - A small but powerful part of the armed forces, the Royal Marines are akin to the US Marine Corp in their actions and have around 1 million personnel . They generally have better equipment and training than the average trooper in the Royal Army, and are trained to be rapidly deployed to military or humanitarian situations around the globe. The government often uses them as a rapid strike force, mobilising Rapid Strike Forces stationed onboard RN Carriers or in military bases in foreign countries. The RM have been in several notable conflicts, including the Czardian Conflict and the defense of Tyriandor.

=== The Royal Air Force === - The smallest and perhaps weakest branch of the armed forces, the Royal Air Force is a small and well-equipped branch, having an estimated 3 million active personnel in its ranks. Funding has often been limited to the RAF compared to other branches, although this is in the process of being rectified.

=== The Royal Space Force === - The Royal Space Force, the renamed Republican Space Force, is the newest arm of the military of Skinny87. Developed under the personal tutelage of President Martin and his protege, Major-General Warner, the RSF was designed to give Skinny87 a powerful presence in the 'Fourth Dimension of Warfare', space. Beginning with the creation of the Republicana-Class Space Interception Vehicle as a crude prototype for exploration of the space around Terra, the RSF has rapidly expanded, encompassing many new designs to strengthen its flexibility, such as the Wellington-Class Battleship and the Rorke's Drift-Class Fighter. The current number of personnel in the RSF is 1.5 Million. Under Warner, the RSF has conducted several vicious space battles, including conflicts with Chronosia, and there have been several victories. Space exploration has also been a secondary objective of the RSF, which has conducted surveys of Terran space and several sectors outside Sector 001; it has been rumoured that the RSF has acquired an FTL engine for exploration purposes, although this has not been officially confirmed. To this date, only one RSF vessel has been lost in combat, the RSS Trafalgar, a Centurion-Class Destroyer; the Trafalgar was engaged by multiple ground-based ASAT weapon arrays and was crippled, taking heavy losses. The surviving crew was rescued, but the Trafalgar was too damaged to salvage; after destroying all vital and secret equipment, the vessel was launched into the atmopshere of Terra, where it burnt up.

A Brief History of Skinny87

Main Article: The History of Skinny87

Beginnings

The history of Skinny87 should be like the history of all other nation states on Terra. It should be full of dashing heroes, and skulking villains; of brave politicians, evil politicians as well, and their actions. It should be full of the military history of Skinny87, telling tales of the wars that Skinny87 was involved in during the past; of the riots and rebellions it faced and survived, of the Civil Wars it may have had; of the international conflicts the country was embroiled in during its rich and vibrant history. There should be volumes of books that tell of the nations cultural history, of its people and culture and traditions that stretch back as far as anyone can remember. In short, all that every other nation on the face of Terra has in their own books and memories.

Historians throughout Skinny87 are sure that the nation has such a long and interesting history; unfortunately, nobody knows what it is. In the late nineteen sixties, whilst Skinny87 was still a fledgling and developing nation, something dreadful occurred. What many historians throughout Terra believe to be some sort of alien experimentation, or experimental weapons technology, was used on the nation and its population. Long-term memories were wiped out by the incident, and the resulting panic as people tried to regain their memories led to large-scale rioting and destruction that lasted for a long period of time. Eventually a mysterious entity known only as Skinny87 gained control over the remnants of the country and formed a provisional government. Rebuilding took a long time, but eventually the entire nation recovered from the attack and its aftermath. After nominating several leaders and calling for a democratic system of government, Skinny87 was never seen again; the citizens of the country voted to name the country after this mysterious figure. The democratic government under President Woodrow Martin began to explore the nations status and geographical position, eventually contacing the other countries of the Haven region in which Skinny87 was in fact situated.

Internationalism and Conflict

This period of Skinny87's history can be characterised by its involvement in international affairs, and the government under President Xavier Martin aggressively expanding its power in the international community. The procurement of several colonies is also a notable part of this period. The first significant event in the period is with the nations involvement with Hitlerreich; after this nation uses force to try and annex its neighbouring country Ostland via rigged elections, President Martin joins a coalition to stop Hitlerreich from continuing these actions, first with diplomacy and then with military intervention. Notable for the first use of the nations military overseas, the conflict was brief but intense, resulting in several thousands casualties but an allied victory and the division of Hitlerreich between Skinny87 and her allies. The colony of North-Western Hitlerreich was created in the wake of the conflict and is still occupied to this day.

After Hitlerreich came the creation of the Republican Space Force and its first engagement in space, known as the Calypso Incident. The crew of the RSS Calypso, the first space vessel of Skinny87, boarded an unknown and adrift alien vessel in search of survivors and salvage. Instead, the crew found a hostile group of xenophobic aliens that engaged and killed the majority of the vessels Marine complement, before forcing the surviving Marines and crew to retreat back to Terra. At the same time that the Calypso was limping back to Terra, the nations first major conflict began to unfold. Aiding new-found ally Camewot in a diplomatic incident with the national socialist government of Nerotika, the Republic soon became embroiled in a blitzkrieg military conflict. The Nerotikan government killed several Camewottian citizens accused of spying, and Camewot retaliated. In order to stop the Nerotikan government from fleeing, a coalition of nations headed by Camewot and Skinny87 invaded Nerotika.

Surrender by the Nerotikan government ended the initial invasion, and Nerotika was occupied. However, very soon the local population became restless, seeing the allied nations as invaders, not liberators as the first believed. Uprisings occured all over the nation, led by Nerotikan rebels and the remnants of their military, and war broke out. It would take several months and tens of thousands of casualties before the conflict was over, and the Republic withdrew from Nerotika in exchange for reparations in the form of money and land. Only a few mon ths later would come the nations greatest challenge they had ever faced, coming in the form of a missile strike against Dowland City by the nation of Guffingford. Retaliating against Skinny87 after the Republic sent a Peacekeeping force into a nation allied with Guffingford, twelve missiles hit Dowland City despite the best efforts of the military to stop them. More than 200,000 people were killed in the attack, and the city virtually destroyed.

Shocked at the attack, and devestated at the death of his daughter in the initial bombings, President Martin authorised a retaliatory airstrike against Guffingford. The result was a massacre of the Republican Air Forces Strategic Bomber arm, and much of its Fighter arm; the Guffingford air defenses destroyed the majority of the armada before it reached Guffingford, and the remnants either limped home or ditched in the ocean. More than 5,000 personnel died in the attack, and the public turned on both Martin and the military in response. It was in the aftermath of the attack that Parliament passed a number of military reform acts, and the military defense budget was tripled in the next two years at Presidential Order. The nation had been hurt badly by the attack, and President Martin was never quite the same.

Two final incidents can be seen to end the period of Internationalism on the part of Skinny87. The first came with the expansion of the Republican Space Force and the creation of the Centurion-Class and eventually Wellington-Class spaceships by the RSF. When the Kriegorgrad government launched its own space force, it soon came into conflict with Chronos, a nation it had had previous encounters with. The initial Kriegorgradian vessel was engaged by a Chronosian vessel, and the RSS Centurion came to its aid in orbit over Terra. When first diplomacy and then firepower failed to stop the Chronosian vessel, Republican Marines boarded the Kriegorgradian vessel to protect it from Chronosian boarders. A firefight ensued between the two sides, broekn only by the involvement of first Halladian troops and then a mysterious race of aliens known only as The Angels by the Republican crew. Losses were heavy on all sides, and the Chronosian vessel eventually retreated. However, the incident had shown the neccessity of a strong space force, and also its effectiveness.

The second incident came with the botched operation against the Guffingford-controlled territory of Theohuancu. Whilst the planning and reasoning behind the conflict have never been fully explained, data collected over several years suggests that President Martin decided the time was right for a retaliatory raid against Guffingford. With the Republic's armed forces stretched with peace-keeping duties and several small conflicts in other nations, a covert operation was instead authorised. Two regiments of the Republic's finest special forces troops, the 95th Special Operations Force, were landed in the jungles of Theohuancu, authorised to attack Guffingford troops and military installations. Commanded by the now infamous Colonel Hal Briggs, the operation was a disaster. Native trackers located the Republican troops and allowed them to be ambushed by superior Guffingford forces. In the close quarters slaughter that followed the ambush, only Briggs and his second in command escaped the deathtrap and fled back to Republican territory. The incident was never revealed to the public, and the loss of the two regiments explained away as a 'freak accident' involving a naval accident.

Civil War and Isolationism

The Civil War was the most devestating conflict ever to involve the Grand Republic; lasting more than three years and causing more than a million casualties on both sides, the majority of which were innocent civilians, the Civil War would fundamentally change the political and social landscape of the entire country. The Republic would fall, and in its place a Constitutional Monarchy would rise, elected in a strange twist by the people themselves.

The conflict began not with an internal event, but with an external one. A political schism occured in Praetonia, with the Liberal Imperialist Party splitting into two distinct parties. One, headed by long-time ally of the Republic, the Rt. Hon. Sir Tiberius Polax MP, became of interest to President Martin. Wishing to see his erstwhile ally win the forthcoming Praetonia election, the President authorised the release of public funds to the Tory Party. When the misuse of public funds came to the attention of the Republican Parliament, Martin argued fiercely in Parliament for several hours before shocking the entire assembly by dissolving them and having all 500 MPs arrested and detained indefinately. As word of the dissolution filtered out of offical channels into public domain, Martin declared Martial Law throughout the Grand Republic, renaming it the 'Authoritarian Republic' and making himself President for Life.

It took less than a day before the first signs of resistance to Martin's autocratic rule began to apppear. Riots broke out in more than a dozen cities as people took to the streets to protest the siezure of power, and several military units refused to obey the orders of their new President. Although most of the riots were ended by use of military force, it was too late. News of the protests spread throughout the nation and this, combined with a plea for help from a group of MPs held in Fort Sparrin that was made public caused the Civil War to officially begin. In Port Stanley, the largest naval port in the country, the infantry battalion stationed there refused to obey orders to fire on rioters and arrested several pro-Martin officers. Rallying forces together from the naval and air force units stationed at the Port, the newly-christened Parliamentarian forces declared the Port a free city under the control of Parliament. Several more units loyal to the imprisoned MPs joined the small group, and together with citizens from nearby Portsmouth City, sealed off the area around Portsmouth City and Port Stanley.

As military units belonging to President Martin were ordered to move into Portsmouth City and the Port itself and destroy all resistance, a daring raid by a small group of Special Forces operatives loyal to Parliament was made on Fort Sparrin itself. With the aid of a sympathetic National Guard unit in the area, these members of the 95th SFO Regiment freed all but eight of the captured MPs and escorted them to Port Stanley itself. Now given a real leadership, the Parliamentarian forces repulsed the attack made on the Port and counter-attacked, driving the self-named Loyalist forces back from the area. With the MPs now in control of the Parliamentarian forces, the battle-lines were drawn. Military units all over the country either stayed loyal to the President or sided with Parliament, causing a number of bitter battles as entire units literally tore themselves apart with infighting. After a week of infighting and purging, the Loyalist forces found themselves controlling the Western and Northern half of the country, whilst the Parliamentarians controlled the rest. Two weeks after his ascension to power, President Martin declared war upon the Parliamentarian forces and launched an attack on Port Stanley itself.

What followed was more than eight months of bitter, savage fighting between the two sides. Port Stanley was besieged for four and a half months by Loyalist forces, whilst Portsmouth City was razed to the ground by largescale bombing raids and urban warfare. As Parliamentarian reinforcements gathered to the south, being rushed in from colonies abroad by naval units, Martin personally authorised the use of chemical weapons against the defenders of Port Stanley. Although the Sarin gas released by Loyalist forces took their toll on the defenders, and an armoured division loyal to Martin breached several sectors of the besieged Ports defensive line, it was too late. More than a dozen Parliamentarian divisions launched an offensive against Loyalist foces, moving towards Dowland City itself, and two Mechanised Battalions landed at Port Stanley and repelled the armoured attack with heavy losses on both sides. Five months into the conflict, the Loyalist forces were retreating, and rapidly. The air force, the one arm that had remained almost entirely faithful to Martin, was swept from the sky as Parliamentarian Carriers launched an all-out air offensive at the same time as the land war raged, and less than a week later, the Parliamentarian forces were just eighteen miles from Dowland City.

Despite heavy losses from battles, attrition and large-scale desertion, the Loyalist forces were still powerful enough to dig in around the battered capital. More than eighty thousand troops were inside what became known as the Capital Pocket, and had heavy concentrations of armour with them. To launch an all out assault on the capital would be almost suicidal, and would certainly take several months to complete. Instead, a desperate plan was unfolded by the Parliamentarian leadership. As President Martin prepared to make his final speech to the nation and launch a slavo of nuclear weapons against key Parliamentarian military forces, Operation Husky was enacted. A small force of Special Forces operatives, disguised as Loyalist soldiers, landed in Dowland City via a captured Loyalist transport. They then assaulted the Grey House and captured President Martin and many of his Ministers alive; under heavy fire, they then took them back to Parliamentarian controlled territory. With news of the Presidents capture broadcast over every available media outlet, the majority of the remaining Loyalist forces surrendered. Remaining diehards were eliminated in mop-up operations in the next few weeks.

With the arrest of Martin and the remnants of his Cabinet, the conflict ended. As the shattered nation began to rebuild itself and bury the more than two million dead, further changes would come about. Fearing the abuse of another Presidential system, key officials and public figures began demanding the election of a Constitutional Monarch to lead the nation through its difficult times and into a new period. Private Antony Franklin, a former Loyalist conscript turned Parliamentarian volunteer, was found to have royal blood linked to the Praetonian Royal Family. Two months after the end of the conflict, Alexander I was elected Constitutional Monarch of Skinny87. He led the country into a period of loose international isolationism as the country rebuilt itself from the wreckage of the Civil War.