Massive Offensive on the Ural Front:
The World War effectively ended on 1945, when German nuclear detonations crippled the Royal Navy and destroyed the city of Moscow, causing the implosion of the Soviet defense. The Wehrmacht pursued the retreating Red Army until the Urals, the outermost limits of the European continent, and there they settled in, constructing fortifications and pursuing a low level war against a still defiant USSR. Not as an enemy to be destroyed, but as a whetstone upon which the German army and the race at large is to be honed against to maintain their martial spirit. This was the plan, enshrined in Nazi designs and ideology since long before the War, and how the status quo stood on May 8th, 1950.
The illusion of a shattered, meek Soviet Union was utterly destroyed on that foggy morning, despite all the adversities and challenges thrown against it. Fierce, desperate fighting ensued as the Wehrmacht and SS units fought for their survival against waves of Red Army soldiers, which almost pierced through entirely, leaving the way wide open to all Europe. We thereafter have reports, confirmed reports, of atomic detonations beyond the Urals, with stations in Japan confirmed increased levels of radiation following the Ural Offensive, indicating up to four nuclear explosions. For the folks at home, this would be the first use of atomic weapons since the War. From thereafter it appears the character of the campaign changed entirely, with German news reporting the desperation of Soviet pilots resorting to one-way suicide missions in the German dominated skies.
The end of the campaign season left the two sides staring each other down, with the Soviets in control of the northern Urals and all territory north of the Pechora River, and the Germans retaining control of the Central Urals and the rest of the Line to the South. While the two nations have clearly exhausted their offensive potential, the situation remains very critical, and we cannot rule out the possibility of further nuclear activity in the German East.
-German soldat looks over the burning ruins of a German homestead in wartorn Eastern Reichskommissariat Moskovien
Fall of Hanoi:
Following the propagation of French policy stressing the French identity amongst its Imperial subjects, a nationalist revolt under the Viet Minh became a conflagration in the already restive Northern province of Tonkin in French Indochina. Quickly seizing the countryside and sending the capital of Hanoi into chaos, the Viet Minh under General Giap waited to draw in more metropolitan units from France, as well as their Japanese co-rulers of Indochina, into the city before springing the trap closed. Heavy anti-aircraft installations accumulated around the city knocked Japanese attempts at reinforcement out of the sky, while the French took the Route Coloniale 5 into the city, only to be encircled inside. Giap then blew the dams and dikes that controlled the turbulent Red River, already swollen in the monsoon season, and inundated the city and the defenses around it, before launching a general offensive. With the city rendered untenable, the French Foreign Legion evacuated who they could before breaking out through the enemy lines, conducting a harrowing fighting retreat to Haiphong where half their number were killed or captured.
With the fall of the regional capital, much of Indochina has been thrown into chaos. The capture of the north has immensely strengthened the position of the Viet Minh as anti-colonial liberators, and is sure to escalate the situation in Indochina dramatically for both French and Japanese occupiers.
-Waves of Viet Minh overrun French and Japanese defenses on the Hanoi perimeter
Arab Revolution!
Arabia, having chafed under the traditional, stagnant rule of the Saudi royals for the last twenty years in a rapidly progressing world, has recently risen up in revolution under the charismatic General Muhammed Malouf, who stormed the Royal Palace in Riyadh in a swift coup d'etat, and just as quickly executed the former King. Eager to bring Arabia and its vast oil wealth firmly into the modern world, the newly styled Grand Marshal underwent a dizzying wave of reforms that swept the old aristocracy out, confiscating their wealth to donate to the poor and reinvest in the infrastructure of a largely undeveloped desert nation. Such is his successful marriage of progressive reform and religious championship, that he has drawn comparison to the first and the greatest of the Arabian conquerors and the Prophet of the Faith, in his perfection. His ideology, a combination of Arab nationalism and Islamism has not only electrified the nation, but the region at large, including Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, and Jordan in the immediate vicinity.
Having reformed the royals' army into the Army of Arab Liberation, and just shook up the entire country of Arabia, Grand Marshal Malouf led the revolutionary forces in a swift annexation of the British protectorate of Kuwait. Unopposed by Imperial British forces on the ground, the British Navy could only trade a few shots with the Arab Army before the battle was over. Not one to rest on his laurels, the Grand Marshal rallied his forces West and seized the better part of Jordan with hardly a fight and to the acclaim of locals, before encircling and forcing the better part of the Jordanian Army to surrender at Amman, with the Jordanian King fleeing into the wadi with the Arab Legion. In the space of a short year, we have seen one government overturned, and two nations swept out of existence. What is next for this miracle man of Arabia?
-Jordan's Arab Legion retreats from positions around Amman to take refuge in the wadis
The Atomic Future:
American scientists have jumped considerably ahead of the rest of the world in discoveries of Atomic technology this year under the lavish government support of the Truman administration, announcing the discovery of the H-Bomb. Whereas all previous atomic bombs relied upon nuclear fission for their explosive energy, the hydrogen bomb utilizes nuclear fusion to achieve a level of destruction orders of magnitude higher than their predecessors, leaving the United States of America with the most powerful atomic weapon in the world. In a matter of hours they could have a bomber in the skies and drop a weapon capable of wiping out most large cities with a single detonation!
The American atomic science institution, however, has produced another side to the coin of nuclear energy. Under the newly formed Atomic Energy Commission, American scientists have harnessed the power of nuclear energy for peace, and have created the first functional nuclear power plant on the outskirts of Las Vegas. The energy output is enormous, clean, and sustainable, and in conjunction with the Hoover Dam, has resulted in making Las Vegas the first coal and gas power free city in the world, with further promises of smaller, even miniaturized nuclear technology. The Atomic Revolution has begun!
-Canadian manufactured Electric Canberra under the USAF surveys the first hydrogen bomb detonation in the Pacific Ocean
Imperial Coronation:
The former King Victor Emmanuel III recently was recoronated in a grand ceremony in the style of a Roman triumph in Rome this year, taking the title of Emperor Victor Augustus Emmanuel I, Emperor of Italy and the New Rome. In a cultural blitz, the capital of the newly rebranded Italian Empire has been torn apart and rebuilt in its ancient splendor, beginning with the renovation of the Colosseum, long left in ruins since the fall of the old Empire. Hardly any expense was spared in its reconstruction, and the completion inaugurated with mock gladiator fights for the amusement of the Emperor and all Rome. Even the Colossus, for which the arena was named, has been recast and erected in the plaza before it, though in the spirit of the New Rome its visage has been made in the likeness of the current ruler of the Empire, Il Duce himself, cast in heroic splendor as restorer of Rome.
France Reborn:
Despite setbacks during the War and recent troubles in the colonies, France has begun its path to recovery this year as it negotiates the end of the long and troubled military occupation zone in the North under Germany. Using this opportunity, the officials of the French State are promoting the celebration of the French people and culture, whether in the metropole or abroad in its colonies, as it begins its triumphant return to Paris. Advertisement campaigns directed abroad have increased demand for its consumer goods immensely, with French goods after recent research and development taking its rightful place as the best in the world. And no single person is more emblematic of the rebirth of French culture and spirit than the rising star of Edith Piaf, who's renown rises only higher, with performances from Tokyo to Germania to New York City, spreading the fame of France with every concert. The world has much recovery left to go after years of devastating warfare, but the flame has at last been rekindled in the City of Lights.
Crackdown in Brazil:
Getulio Vargas, the contradictory yet popular Fascist dictator of a formerly democratically friendly country, has begun a crackdown on opposition in recent months in light of an unveiled conspiracy by agents with international links to overthrow the regime. Having maintained a balancing act between Fascism, Democracy, and Socialist leanings for the past twenty years of his reign, this is a major departure from previous policy suggesting the severity of covert threats to his position, which official sources allege come from the perennial bogeyman of the Communists. Despite this, the government has taken the opportunity to repress democratic elements in society as well, leading to increasingly tense relations with the US, and on the flip side increasingly courting the Axis Tripartite.
Philippe Petain celebrated his 94th Birthday
Nuclear Detonations so far: 4
PS.
I'll be posting updated CC's tomorrow, reports themselves will be posted in short order. I don't think any new questions popped up lately, but in regards to the utility of custom consumer goods, it is assumed that they function at one level higher than your currently producible consumer goods, thus if you produce enough of them, or import enough (an arbitrary number, that is
roughly around a 10th of your annual consumer good consumption) it will positively impact your public happiness according to the elevated level. They will be more expensive to produce, however, and only one nation can specialize in a certain good, so for example, America is the only one who can produce flying cars. Other examples will produce themselves as the game goes on.
