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With the eUSA’s recent victory in Jharkhand and a few region swaps from eHungary back to eNorth Korea, Asia has quieted and taken a backseat in international affairs to the flurry of battles which unfolded in Europe. The last few days have given the impression that EDEN’s advance in Asia may have run into an “impenetrable object” in ambitions of trying to topple eHungary in Heilongjiang. As a result, the primary Asian theater in eChina seems to have been put on hold for the time being.
If this article looks like it will be too long, just take this with you: everyone is fighting everyone, and there is now a path for eSerbia to enter the Indian subcontinent.

For those who are unaware of what’s been going on, here is the latest activity in short bullet points:
- eCroatia attacked four eSlovenian regions bordering the country: Slovenian Littoral, Inner Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Styria Carinthia.
- eSpain attacked eFrance at Loire Valley and Franche-comte and followed that with a successful fight in Paris.
- eItaly declared war on eSpain before the DDoS hit, and eSpain subsequently attacked at Sardinia and Piedmont.
- eGermany has attempted to retake Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony from ePoland
- eHungary and eBulgaria have attacked eRomania at Crisana and Dobrogea, respectively
- eTurkey has turned the tables on eGreece and eIsrael
- ePakistan (yes, PAKISTAN) attacked eIran and eTurkey to open a swapping path for eSerbia



Croatia Attacks Slovenia
Around 04:30 eRep time, eCroatia launched four near-simultaneous strikes on eSlovenian border regions, leaving tiny Prekmurje as the only bordering eSlovenian region free from invasion. Prejmurje and Upper Carniola, eSlovenia's remaining regions, were attacked after the previous four battles ended in favor of eCroatia. eCroatia’s larger and stronger population, coupled with a 12-5 advantage in mutual protection pacts (MPPs) between the two sides, allowed the EDEN member to push all 4 battles into the underground and emerge victorious. None of eSlovenia offers more than medium grain, but the eCroats may be looking to remove eSlovenia’s MPPs while taking advantage of eSlovenia’s vulnerability, given that their allies are attacking and defending elsewhere. A final motive could be revenge, as eSlovenia was one of the three countries who launched simultaneous invasions of eCroatia about a month ago.



Italy-Spain-France
The eSpanish have resumed their offensive against eFrance, launching two simultaneous attacks on Loire Valley and Franche-comte at approximately 23:45 eRep time on Day 769. As previously reported, eSpain does not intend to occupy eFrance indefinitely, but has had success so far in occupying eFrance while also giving the country payback for its occupation of eSpain during the summer war. Loire Valley is currently in the underground, and Franche-comte is being waged in Suburbia. Neither region is particularly significant for its resources, although a victory against Loire Valley put eSpanish within distance of the eFrench fortress and capital of Paris and have attacked it.

Were eSpain to win in Loire Valley and then successfully sack the eFrench capital, a Q2 hospital in Picardy would be the only remaining eFrench infrastructure. Efrance’s chances of holding off the eSpanish would be crippled, and heavy assistance from one of their MPPs would be necessary. But in the mean time, eFrance has a handful of grain regions and two medium iron regions (Lorraine and Lower Normandy) and is reeling economically. eSpain has succeeded in embarrassing and crippling the eFrench, but it could get ugly in the coming days. We may see some renewed efforts at resistance wars (RW) against the eSpanish-occupied regions, as eFrance’s ability to launch conventional counterattacks will greatly diminish if Paris were to fall.

eItaly declared war on eSpain shortly before the DDoS hit eRepublik. Durruti, the President of eSpain, launched an unsuccessful attack on Piedmont immediately after, and along with Sardinia, is now attacking two eItalian regions. Nominally neutral nations of eUkraine and eFrance are MPPed with eItaly, as well as eIndonesia; the participants involved in this war, along with Durruti's 'fear' of the war (in Spanish) suggest that the countries have banded together to try and remove eSpain from eFrench regions, although their combined strength is not too menacing at the moment. President Durruti may be concerned about a two-front war coming to eSpain, but the EDEN member seems to be in fine shape so far.

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Germany Looks to Regain its Eastern Regions
The eGermans deserve kudos for valiantly attempting to remove a much larger ePolish force from their territories, and launched simultaneous attacks shortly after the DDoS lifted. Unfortunately for eGermany, ePoland’s two-clickers provide more than enough force to repel any one-on-one attack. Phoenix's commitment to eGermany is fairly low at the moment, and more effort would need to be directed to eGermany to retake the region; however, this effort will likely not come since ePoland could easily retake any regions won by the eGermans.

Dual Attacks on Romania
The most significant of Europe’s new developments concerns the invasion of eRomania by eHungary and eBulgaria. After weeks of saber-rattling, eHungary attacked Crisana following the restoration of eRepublik and pushed the battle over 1 million points into the underground; eBulgaria, with Phoenix backing, attacked Dobrogea but could not conquer, and since attacked Oltenia. The entirety of eRomania is covered in dual Q5 hospital and defense systems, but the two-pronged attack which includes eHungary’s full backing could prove serious for EDEN. Defense of eRomania is further compounded by the eUSA war with eChina, which has nullified the eRomania-eUSA MPP and makes eUSA civilian support of the country impossible.

Apart from a traditional in-game rivalry, eHungarian political goals laid out by president Feherlofia Koppany included the conquest of 4 eRomanian regions. Success in Crisana not only puts eHungary on the way to achieving that goal, but a large victory may embolden President Koppany to attack multiple regions next. eRomania will not be letting eHungary achieve its goals easily, a a new resistance war in Crisana began and would need to be secured by the eHungarians before advancing. EDEN may be forced to temporarily suspend its objectives in Asia and elsewhere to defend eRomania, which would give Phoenix a victory and turn Phoenix into the initiative-wielding group. eCroatia may be able to block eHungary and open its own attack on an eHungarian region, as well, in order to delay Phoenix’s inroads against the eRomanians.



Turkey Attacks Greece, Israel
eTurkey turned the tables on eGreece and eIsrael and launched its own offensive against the two countries. Both of which are progressing in Phoenix’s favor, as the walls in the Aegean Islands and Haifa are well into the underground. A successful eTurkish campaign against the Aegean Islands could threaten eGreece’s Central Greece region, its fortress and one of EDEN’s two most reliable high iron regions. This campaign has broken the stalemate of the past week in Asia Minor, and could put a damper on any EDEN ambition of marching through eTurkey and eIran into Asia.

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Pakistan Jumps In
The ePakistanis broke their neutrality and have entered the hullaballoo (yes, hullaballoo). A declaration of war on eIran was followed by a series of region swaps across the country, allowing ePakistan to reach eTurkey and start a blocking battle in Eastern Anatolia and the Black Coast of Turkey. This latest battle will stop eTurkish initiative against the eGreeks and eIsraelis, although eTurkey retreated both regions, possibly in order to prevent ePakistan from blocking. ePakistan’s end could be eBulgaria, with whom the ePakistanis have an active war. After quickly conquering Marmara from the eBulgarians, a resistance war broke out, suggesting that ePakistan's advance may have been to secure a region swap returning Marmara to eTurkey. Of course, the renewed war with eIran gives the eIranians a chance to reinvade eIndia.

EDIT: Farsi and Turkish-language articles seem to indicate that the reason for ePakistan's advance is to give eSerbia an unhindered trail to eIndia. Since eSerbia is a growing country but resource-strapped, and since Phoenix seems likely to be removed, this move is not surprising. Sparks will be sure to fly on this front. Stay tuned for more.

Parting Shots
Well, everyone is making 2009 and this election cycle close with a bang. eSpain and ePoland will likely keep their forward progress against smaller enemies, but eRomania could be in danger; whether ePakistan’s involvement will allow EDEN some breathing room and a chance to regain initiative against the eTurks remains to be seen.

Be sure to subscribe, so that you’ll be able to see my third installment of The Week That Was, which I will probably release on Saturday-- probably my first article of 2010. I am hoping that the loose ends from this article may be tied off by then, or at least made more apparent. In a week that included a DDoS, two large battles, and the European explosion, there will be no shortage of ground to cover. To be sure, it will be a gratuitously long article.

God Bless America,

Lt. Scheisskopf
Q1 Company Lottery for the Welcoming Committee