Hans Gruber, Why the World is the Way It Is, Darmstadt University Press, 2005.
Chapter 1.
To understand the world today one has to understand the past. The world is on the brink of the abyss, everywhere the wars and rumours of war. Austria wages a war of words with Slovenia while Brandenburg threatens Saxony. It has always been so and with a major war more likely than anytime since the end of 12 years war in 1979, it more important than ever to understand why humanity seems to be doomed to live forever in armed camps awaiting that final diplomatic faux pas. The World is quad-polar, with a mess of tiny states in between the Great Powers, kept alive because to unify or destroy them would upset the balance of power. The Powers loudly proclaim the differences but to one caught in the middle they all seem the same. However while they have their similarities, endless armies, legions of spies, hordes of ships and oceans of hate, they have great differences.
All have the advantages and the weakness, the United Kingdom is richer than all the rest, but her armies are small and her population tired from centuries of keeping the peace, she needs to be supreme at sea to protect her Empire from Russia and America but needs to be strong on land to fight in Central Europe against the Russians and Frenish. She is Giant, but she is pulled in every direction and can’t be strong everywhere as has been proved 4 times so far.
The United Kingdom is a federal state of England, Ireland, Scotland, Hanover, Holland, India, Australia, and the Caribbean. With additional colonial territories in the Middle East, Africa and Guyana in South America, the United Kingdom in the largest Power of them all. The United Kingdom is the least authoritarian of all Powers with limited habeas corpus and a reasonably lenient penal system mainly fines for minor crimes or death for more major crimes. The Political system is similar to the one we have here in Darmstadt, with a self-appointed legislative body the House of Lords and Generals which contains the Lord President more than is common elsewhere. Her navy boasts 20 carrier battle groups and over 400 smaller ships. Uniquely she has two armies, the Territorial Army a conscript army of 4 million men deployed mainly in Holland, and Hanover and Northern India to fight the Russians and the Frenish on the dense plains of Central Europe and the deserts and mountains of Asia, though it is also responsible for internal security and has some deployments in Africa and South America. The elite force is the Royal Army a mere 300,000 men strong, a completely volunteer force with a strong light infantry component, trained to fight the jungle war against the Americans in Southern America and against the French in Africa. The Royal Air Force is stronger than the Russians and Frenish air forces but like the army has two roles. One tactical and air superiority in Europe and near the battle lines and the Strategic Bomber Command tasked to carry a potential war to the Russian and American heartlands.
The Frenish can excel all in a hate, contained by the United Kingdom to North-East and in Africa, and by Russia in Central Europe. She may rule the Mediterranean but she is penned into it, as her navy can never equal the American’s or the United Kingdoms. Russia forever threatens are allies in Central Europe so she must stay strong their while defending her coasts.
Consisting of the France, the Iberian and Italian peninsula’s and her much of North Africa the Divine Empire of the Franco-Spanish lands is a moderately wealthy, semi-federal state similar to the United Kingdom and America. Unlike the other powers she is ruled by the Imperial council consisting of the Prime Minister, the head of the civil service, the Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs and the Emperor as non-voting chairman. The government in Lyon is strong and can overrule the local government on any issue. The French Army while small in comparison to the Russians at a 3 million men is much better equipped than them and normally acquits itself well against them. However against the United Kingdom, Frenish élan can only do some much against the Lowland line a continuously updated 40 mile thick chain dating back to the 1600’s. The French Navy is a coastal defence force designed to limit the United Kingdoms raids on coast with a large corsair force to interdict the United Kingdom’s sea trade. She only has 3 carrier battle groups but with total control of the Mediterranean thanks to the three chokepoints of Suez, the Bosporus and Gibraltar, she has little need of them.
Russia stretches from Gora Golaya in far Northern Pacific to Kabul on the borders of India; from Warsaw to Burgas, on the shores of the Black. She is faced like the United Kingdom and France with a mosaic of tiny states in Central Europe which are protected by numerous, conflicting treaties with all the Powers. In South she reaches Baghdad before once more facing a mosaic of tiny states that made up the Ottoman Empire, all of the states are protected by treaty like in Central Europe. Further east she runs into British India and then China a mess of warlord states, tens of whom disappear or a born every year. While these are not protected by treaty no one will allow Russia to expand her already considerable holdings in China. Finally in east Russia faces the menacing American outpost of Japan, many of whom have long memories of the brief Russian occupation in the 5 years war.
Her system of government can best be described as organised anarchy at the top as the army Checka and nobility constantly plot to place their candidate on the throne while the only limit on the powers on state are the incompetence of the state. However if a strong Tsar massacres his way to the throne he can turn Russia in to an unstoppable steamroller as Tsar Zhukov proved. Her enormous population when coupled with her Chinese territories allows her to deploy vast armies that can overwhelm France or the United Kingdom if she can get them there. Her standing army is difficult to for an outsider to estimate as not even the Tsar knows how many souls he commands. However it is at least 8 million men though many of these are needed to maintain law and order. She is poorest of the four powers, poorer even than the wrecked and war states of Central Europe, but she has proved that 700 million peasants can overwhelm Western technology. Her navy can be politely described as a collection of scrap metal that occasionally drifts out to sea.
The final Great power is America, the second English speaking power. Born during the 11 years war when Pitt the Younger was faced with the choice of Holland and Hanover or America and he chose to hold on to his foothold in Europe. The oceans of blood spilt since then to hold Holland and Hanover against the Russians and French and the 4 wars fought between the United Kingdom and the Empire of America have caused millions to question Pitt’s judgement. America is undeniably the premier power in the Americas extending down past Panama to Medellin. To her South she has the Confederation of American States, made of the former Frenish provinces liberated by America and the United Kingdom in the 6 years war. The Caribbean islands remain under the rule of the United Kingdom, thus posing a thorn in America’s side and the perfect jumping off point for raids along America’s long and indefensible coastline. While America has made numerous attempts to conquer them the United Kingdom as held on thus far, though every Lord President since Jefferson the First has made repeated pledges to remove all European influence from the America’s.
Economically a powerhouse that almost matches the United Kingdom the Empire of America is relatively liberal politically with a strong focus on free trade. However the vast power of the military council and the Secret Service means that despite some local elections it could never be regarded as true democracy like Sweden. While it is less of a police state than France or Russia it is incredibly paranoid about spies after the scandal of President Arnold, who was revealed after four years in office as a United Kingdom spy. The American Navy is the equal of the Royal Navy in some respects, with much more of a focus on littoral operations in the Caribbean and less emphasis on trade protection. Though the need to keep the supply lines open to the Philippines and Japan against possible United Kingdom interdiction based from Australia means that it is nearly as capable.
The remaining states can be divided into three, Puppets like many of the Middle Eastern and Central European states. Warlord realms like China where everyone claims everything, but no one really rules anything. And the Confederation of American States, which has strong central government and true independence, guaranteed by both America and the United Kingdom. The Confederation has the potential to be a fifth power but is held back by its poverty and small population base.
