NationStates Jolt Archive

This is a Roleplay set in the 1950s. But not just any 1950s RP. The Second World War is over. The Fascists won, and now control Europe. Walmington-on-Sea and Iansisle invaded the United States of America to put a more democratic government in power. This entailed for some reason the nuking of many major cities, such as New York.

Vast colonial empires spread across much of the world, and each power attempts to add to them as often as possible. Right now, the Divine Imperium of Novar Ohan's African Empire extends only to Somalia and Madagascar. Not surprising when you consider that it lies on the far end of Russia from Africa.

But that will all be in the past soon... the Anglo-Saxon powers are distracted by their own politicking and petty minor-struggles. The reigning Sheik of Mogadishu, Divine Governor of the Tsar's African Territories, has an express charge to expand his mandate. And petty, primitive, slave-trading Abyssinia offers the best pickings...

This is a closed roleplay. If any of the above events surprised you... no posty. If you're roleplayed with either of them before, in similar RP structure, than feel free to enter. If you think you can rp reasonably in the circumstances up above, then go right ahead.

But remember, the Legions never fight fair...

It was dawn, on the 5th of March 1959. And a garbled radio-message filtered out from a lonely radio station on the Somali-Abysinnian border. First in Somali, than in heavily accented Russian.

The horn belongs to the God-Emperor, Haile Sellasie! Death to the infidels! Death to the heretics from beyond the seas! By the grace of God and the Holy Abysinnian Church, we will destroy them and bring the true faith to the survivors!

~~

And in an office in Mogadishu, a man in uniform studied his papers, whistling tunelessly. The door slid soundlessly open, and another Legionnaire entered. Clasping hand to left-breast, he bowed. "Lord Captain Commander Andropoff!"

Sergei Andropoff looked up, idly. "Is it done?"

"Yes sir! But we will never fool the international community. It's too strange. I don't even think the Abysinnians know how to use radios."

"We don't need to. We don't even need to trick the Sheikh or the Parliament. We just need to make the locals believe." The LCC rose from his chair and thumped his own hand to his heart. "With fealty and worship, Lord Captain."

"With fealty and worship, Lord Captain Commander."

"His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, King of Kings of Ethiopia," The herald took a deep breath before continuing, "welcomes the representative of his cousin, His Divine Majesty, Tsar Daniel II, Heir to the Drakharns, Defender of the Faith, and Master of One-Fifteenth the World. The Divine Minister to the court of His Imperial Majesty is hereby permitted to speak."

Baron Txczhon gave a stiff bow at the waist as he stepped forward. "Your Imperial Majesty, it is my solemn and sad duty on this day to inform you that your acts of provocation against the Divine Territories in Africa will no longer go unpunished." He threw forward a scroll with the seal of Sheikh Abdullahkassim of Mogadishu on the centre, flanked by the arms of the Divine Imperium and the Divine Legion. "As of ten o'clock this evening, unless your soldiers have withdrawn from the village of Dolo Odo and your side of the border is demilitarised, then the Divine Imperium of Novar Ohan and its Empire, and the Empire of Ethiopia, will be at war. His Lordship the Sheikh will await with anticipation your decision."

Leaving the stunned God-Emperor behind, Txczhon rudely turned his back on the Imperial Presence and stalked outside to his waiting armoured car to be taken out of Ethiopia.

~~

Haile Selassie's advisors were deeply troubled by this turn of events. Not sure how to advise the Emperor, they also knew that they were likely to go down defending an anachronism. Abysinnia was a vast empire, but poor. Its military might have once been considered strong, but its brief occupation and lengthy rebuilding had rendered it almost useless even at this late date.

The nation still had practicing slavers and the tiny air-force came from the First World War. Neither would be of any use against the jets and tanks of the Divine Legion and its Somali Auxilaries. Sighing, they decided to draft a speech for their Emperor to give, hoping to transmit it to the other powers of the world.


http://www.imperialethiopia.org/selassie2.gif
The Lion of Judah

(OOC: Don't have time to get anything together just now, but I'll be back. More importantly just now, Madagascar is a Walmingtonian stronghold... WoS, Britain, Calarca, and Iansisle co-operated on the Antananarivo Project, id est the atomic weapons programme that doomed the US, and as such Madagascar was under especially heavy guard. Any hostile action there would have been as good as suicide given the strength of allied fleets in the Indian Ocean and the proximity of Waynesia and the Walmingtonian Cape Colonies. I think that Ercolana controlled most of the Horn of Africa, too, but then -after a brief revival- they seem to have faded again. They would have been very much cut-off after the Walmingtonians and the British won-out in North Africa and Operation Minos liberated Sicily before the peace, and could quite easily have been picked-off, I'd imagine. In truth, to say that the fascists won is something of a stretch... in the short term, the Germans did well, as in reality, steamrolling the low countries, Balkans, much of Scandinavia, France, and the BEF, but in the later war months they suffered defeat after defeat, never really threatening Britain, losing North Africa, and then Sicily too, and I think suffering a bit of a drubbing in South Asia, too. Anyhoo, the British -so far as I'm aware- would be very much up and running in Egypt and the Sudan, WoS is stronger than ever in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Madagascar as well as Mauritania, Western Sahara, Sao Tome and Principe, and supposedly in Togo (though there's significant disorder there). The Free French have a government in exile and control French colonies in Africa (and around the world I suppose, but one would assume their grip is far from strong far afield), and a Free Italian government was set up by WoS, based on Sicily and with theoretical control of Libya, though really full of Walmingtonian (or more specifically Chaspot Inc) hand-picked shirt stuffers. Yay, long winded- I haven't slept or eaten properly in three days, though I have drunk. My main concern is for The Viceroyal Walmingtonian Province of Madagascar, a territory claimed (under different titles) by WoS since landfall in 1617, and in its modern form since the 1702 risings were put-down. Ah, tag.)

My main concern is for The Viceroyal Walmingtonian Province of Madagascar, a territory claimed (under different titles) by WoS since landfall in 1617, and in its modern form since the 1702 risings were put-down.)

(Ooh...*jumps up and down* does that mean I can conquer Walmingtonian Ceyloba? ;)

I wouldn't really say that we 'drubbed' Chiang Maï - sort of a stalemate. They pushed very quickly through Burma all the way to the Ganges, but we held them at Nusheld and then pushed them most of the way back in a series of counter offensives. I'm assuming the the navy kept them fairly well bottled up in the Gulf of Siam, but I don't really know. In the end we gave them Iansislean Galla-China in return for peace and a few commercial advantages. The biggest victory for us in the Pacific was the diplomatic coup in Japan - in return for breaking the American embargo and turning a blind eye to Japanese actions in China, Iansisle both made safe its south-east Asian colonies and gained not a few economic favors in China.

We've really no interests in Africa - big enough hassle keeping tabs on Gallaga - but I will tag anyway.))

(Oh, yeah, well, more west in South Asia, then! I think that things went poorly for the Fascists when Calarca attacked and the UK/WoS had the region cut-off by sea.
Heh, and damn it, the Ians! I mean my main concern with regards to what had previously been said here [shakes fist] :) Ceyloba may well be Walmington's most prized possession. You know, tea and all that.
Okay, sorry about all this OOC stuff, Roania, I'll, ah, start thinking about Walmington's position on the matter, now.)

((Argh. Crossed wires up there, got confused with an Age of Imperialism Roleplay I did when I conquered Madagascar just to hear the sound the natives make when you char-grill their houses. Alexander Black wasn't the nicest of men. Oh, and Ian? Cession of hostilities means that I point my Nuclear Rockets at places besides your major coastal cities, yes?

Well, one of them's pointed at Addis Ababa...))

The deadline had been and gone for over an hour now. So far, there had been no sign of either Legionnaires, or Somali Warriors. Instead, what looked like a caravan was crossing the desert. The guards in Dolo Odo nodded as the camels entered the city, hooded figures riding them.

Then the Somalis leapt from them, curved swords flashing in the moonlight, cutting the Ethiopian guards down before they could move their cumbersome spears. One of the warriors fumbled with a signal flare for a few seconds, before a giant flame burst up and over. The warriors retreated to a sufficient distance, and watched as Andropoff's bombers flew overhead...

within a matter of seconds, Dolo Odo was no more.

~~

Sheikh Abdullahkassim looked at the map. All along the borders, Ethiopian cities were either being annexed or destroyed. He gave a harsh desert laugh, one the Roanian beside him happily reciprocated. "And now, my friend... I think it might be time for us to turn sand into glass, no?"

Andropoff scanned the map, and then shook his head. "The Grand Marshal hasn't authorised the destruction of Addis Ababa. As well, that might lead to the Allies suddenly realising that it was us who wasted Oahu, not the Anglo-Saxons. We need to keep our trump card hidden until we can use it on Cairo... the seat of the heretics and Anglo-saxons."

Haile Sellasie, Emperor of Ethiopia, stood in front of the assembled cameras of the international press. He adjusted his tie, and started to speak. "People of Earth... I come to you today not as a Prince or Emperor, but as a fellow human being. I speak on behalf of the thousands of my subjects, my people, who are even now being captured to sate the Imperial Aims of a Governor that hates even the word Ethiopia, acting on behalf of a distant Imperium that pays no heed to what its servant does."


He wiped his brow. "Make no mistakes. This is a war. A war of aggression, launched by Sheikh Abdullahkassim of Mogadishu for no more reason than to kill Christians. And what is most horrifying is that this heathen acts with the support of other Christians, and is a servant of the so-called Divine Imperium."

"Hoping to enlarge their Empire, Sheikh Abdullahkassim and his comrade, the military spokesperson from that distant Imperium, have accused my army of provoking them, have accused me of tyranny. Why would we provoke the Somalis or their masters? We are but a simple nation. We have no tanks. No large air-force. These are lies! And I will call them out as lies!"

"Today it is Ethiopia. Tomorrow, who knows where the Divine Imperium or its proxies might strike? I appeal to the civilised peoples of the world to aid us now, before it is too late for us."

Andropoff and his staff stood around a large table, examining a map of Ethiopia. Ethiopian defence positions were marked out in grey, and Somali and Imperial forces in handsome blue arrows with numbers and regimental names on them. A radio operator repeatedly ran in and out of the room, communicating with the Lord Captains and Colonial Officers at the front. Andropoff tapped a variety of grey dots with his baton. "I want the 7th and 8th Armoured Brigades to go along the borders and secure the fortifications on the Soudanese and Kenyan borders. We might have Walmies and Britishers interfering if we don't."

The Emperor's sudden broadcast came through on the room's radio. Everyone in the room froze. And then came rather unwelcome news. "Sir?" The Radio-operator said, silently walking into the room, "I've just recieved word from Captain Kazinsky. He's suffered a major rout at the gates of Jiiga. Shiekh Abdullahkassim, though, has said he's made contact with Somali rebels in the area, and he's certain that he can..."


Andropoff swept past him, coldly. "Get me Abdullahkassim."

Admiral Andrei Karmenev ended radio-silence with a direct order to Kapitan 1-go Ranga Kyutin of the Repulse-class Pocket Battleship Novaya Moskva. "Direct your subordinate captains to begin heading in a northerly direction. We've passed the Horn, and are now back in completely international waters."

The silence once again became total. The 5th Fleet of the Divine Imperial Navy had left Micronesia almost four months ago, and had been relying on semaphore ever since. Except for a quick stop-over in Yemen to recieve reports from the 4th Fleet's Admiral, neither the sailors or the Aguan Marines had been on dry land since they had left Koror. None of the officers were worried, though.

Their men were loyal. Were brave. And they knew that they were acting in the greater interests of the Imperium as a whole.

FAITH AND DUTY!

Silently, the fleet slowly sailed to its ultimate goal on the west coast of Africa.

Nouakchott, Territory of Walmingtonian Mauritania and Western Saharaland

Admiral (Ret.) Viirgil Tempest Pollock groaned and cracked as had the first ancient ship of his command back when Walmington saw artificial propulsion much as its modern navy saw under-water operation. He was getting up, and the Queen Mavis oak and leather chair in which he’d spent the vast majority of his tenure as Governor of Mauritania and Saharaland was reluctant to part with its almost fused occupant. The old man’s agonising stir was brought-on by sketchy reports from Abyssinia, via the embassies in Cairo and then in Tripoli, that seemed to indicate, “a doings afoot”. In the rust-locked mind of the decrepit seaman, “that whole show over there” was a prize worth having, and his standing duty as a servant of the empire was to pursue any opportunity to spread Walmingtonian influence there. It would be well for WoS to have a more secure grasp on the Red Sea, the Horn, yes, “that whole show”, so went the standard doctrine of Tempest-Pollock’s heyday. With the terrible affix of his otherworldly gaze the governor grabbed the first bowler-mover that he encountered in the halls, and had it carry its respectable hat to Egypt.

By the afternoon, Baron Alan Thunder-ten-tronckh, professional bowler-mover, was crammed aboard a rickety little Acorn and flown east to British Egypt, whereupon he would, “keep an eye on that little native realm beyond the Sudan". Apparently. Tempest-Pollock was easily confused, taking his regional administration with him in backwards-looking ignorance, and Great Walmington hadn’t much cause to worry about the Dark Continent since the end of the Anti-Fascist war say Libya freed, and was much more interested in the Americas. One only hoped that the British were more in tune with what was going on.

OOC: To be nitpickey, it would be Le Conquest D'Afrique. Conjugation, and I dunno how you got that ' between Le and Conquest.

The British were, of course, very likely to have a complete understanding of what was happening in Ethiopia. But both Andropoff and the Sheikh considered them unlikely to intervene, if only because Imperial Action could completely cut off the Red Sea, thus eliminating Suez as a supply route until the British navy could destroy the blockade.

Still... Somali's borders had been quickly fortified with Legionnaires transferred from the Imperium's mainland, and naval vessels were patrolling the waters of the Arden sea 'just in case'. The Imperium, as always, was perfectly willing to abandon some of its stated aim in the hope of seizing most of it. Here, it's stated aim was the total conquest of Ethiopia and the death of every member of Haile Sellasies's immediate family.

They would, just as a matter of politeness, be willing to compromise, and kill *half* the Tafaris and give up some of the worthless land on the Sudanese border. Very generous, no?

~~

Kazinsky put down his binoculars, and nodded. The Somali garrison of Jiiga was willing to throw in the towel and allow the city to be annexed to a Greater Somalia. They just needed a bit of help in getting rid of the other garrisons... the Captain snapped his fingers and gesticulated toward the gate which 'someone' had carelessly left open.

His motorcycle corps spun their wheels and drove forward, aiming to take the gate and hold it so that the Somali Auxilaries on camel, and the Legionnaires on foot, would be able to enter.

At the same time, the immense artillery in the distant desert opened fire upon the opposite side of the city. He would redeem himself. "FAITH AND DUTY!" Kazinsky roared, waving more of his men into position, the cry being taken up along the ranks of Legionnaires.

His Somali adjutant raised his scimitar. "ALLAHU AKBAR! DEATH TO THE INFIDELS!"

~~

Andrei Karmenev pointed to the distant city. "There. That's Monrovia, the Liberian capitol. We've made contact with some of the interior tribes, and they've 'invited' us to come in and rescue them from the freedmen."

His captains all leaned over, and one of them shook her head. "Sir, permission to speak?"

"Permission granted, Captain Katarina."

"Rather todgy place... and are we sure the Walmies won't try to interfere?"

"They won't have time. Gentlemen? Lady? Return to your ships, and prime your cannons..."