The State of Serbia's Land Bridge

Day 783, 17:29 • Published in USA USA • by Lieutenant Scheisskopf

Recent events in Europe have overshadowed the gradual erosion of eSerbia’s land bridge to Asia, a development which holds substantial implications for both Phoenix and EDEN. Over the course of a few days, a bridge which once spanned eBulgaria, eTurkey, eIran, and ePakistan has several links missing while an EDEN power has severed eSerbia from the rest of the trail.

Background
On the same day as Europe exploded (Day 770), ePakistan began a curious trail through eTurkey and eIran, eventually stopping their region swapping after carving through eBulgaria and settling with the occupation of then-eBulgarian region of Vidin. This region conveniently bordered eSerbia, and on Day 773, eSerbia began to traverse the ePakistani land bridge towards Asia. By Day 776, eSerbia reached its current point of farthest advance at Balochistan, and has since come to a stop. The eIranian region of Northwestern-Iran was returned because of its high resources and value to the eIranian economy, and the rest of the bridge was otherwise unaffected.

At its peak, the bridge covered the eBulgarian regions of Vidin, Ruse, and Plodiv (all now controlled by eRomania); eTurkey’s Marmara region, the Black-Coast-of-Turkey, and Eastern Anatolia; the eIranian regions of Northwestern Iran, Semnan, South Khorasan, and Sistan Baluchistan; and ePakistan’s Balochistan region. At the time of this article's publication, only the Black-Coast-of-Turkey, Sistan Baluchistan, and Balochistan remain in eSerbian control; ePakistan swapped for Marmara, and the other regions have been returned to their original owners.


The land bridge when ePakistan finished land swapping on Day 770


The land bridge on Day 773, as eSerbia started to advance

Recent Developments
After eSerbia reached Balochistan, I observed that the eSerbs and Phoenix had reached a fork in the road, as moving towards Northwest Pakistan would suggest that eSerbia wanted to contend for control of Liaoning, while moving south to Sindh could indicate that Phoenix wanted to fight for control of currently eUSA-occupied Karnataka. Shortly after reaching Balochistan, the resistance wars for Northwestern Iran and Semnan were started by native eIranians to return their regions per a deal with eSerbia. A few days of inactivity along the land bridge also exposed the bridge to resistance wars (RW) and other attacks, as on Day 779, eRomania separated eSerbia by conquering the previously mentioned Vidin region.


Day 779, with eSerbia controlling much of the bridge except for
Northwestern-Iran, even though the bridge was not connected to eSerbia proper

Other resistance wars have undermined the land bridge in the past few days. eIranian South Khorasan was taken by a resistance force, while Balochistan was secured by eSerbia just minutes earlier on Day 781. Interestingly, the same eLatvian citizen with a Polish flag avatar started these RWs, and the same eGreek citizen won the resistance’s battle hero medals, suggesting that some EDEN elements may be looking to erase eSerbia’s land bridge while the Phoenix power is fighting on other fronts and not advancing in Asia.


eSerbia’s land bridge disappearing in total regions, but still holding its important eastern positions

Even more recently was the RW for Eastern Anatolia, started by and featuring an eTurkish tank and ardent Phoenix supporter fighting for the resistance. Similarly, ePakistan’s Day 783 region swap for the eTurkish region of Marmara may also suggest that Marmara will be swapped back to eTurkey at a later date. This wrinkle in explaining the land bridge’s status suggests that eSerbia may, in fact, be willing to erase the rest of the land bridge.

Implications
With EDEN’s recent string of successes in Europe, it is possible that some EDEN elements simply wanted to undermine eSerbia’s links to Asia; however, since eSerbia holds Sistan-Baluchistan and Balochistan, and showed that it would not lose Balochistan, it is unlikely that eSerbia would forfeit its position on India and China’s doorsteps. I mentioned in my most recent The Week That Was that eSerbia may be waiting for more favorable circumstances to advance either on Liaoning (after eRussia could conquer the Chinese reigon of Xinjiang, to complete a Phoenix bridge to Liaoning), or against Karnataka (either a friendly eIndian government or more Phoenix support for an assault on eUSA-controlled Karnataka).

Because ePakistan is still in control of a naturally eBulgarian region, it would be possible for Phoenix to rebuild the bridge. ePakistan could region swap eSerbia back towards eRomania and attack the eRomanian-controlled Bulgarian regions, in order to reestablish the bridge. This would only be necessary if eSerbia were to lose control of all other regions in eIran and ePakistan, though.

Finally, eSerbia and Phoenix may be getting rid of the land bridge (or are not too concerned about losing it) because eSerbia might be preparing to advance in Asia. eSerbia has sat still in Balochistan for nearly a week while attempting to fight against EDEN in Europe and protect its allies. An eSerbian attack in Asia could turn the tables and the focus of the war, and put Phoenix back in the driver’s seat. Especially if EDEN becomes bogged down in resistance wars in eSpanish-occupied France, a Phoenix move in Asia could catch their adversaries off guard and lead to victories for the alliance.

Final Words
The past few days since the fall of eGermany and eBulgaria have been relatively quiet overall, as resistance wars have dominated international combat. However, Phoenix could seize initiative in Asia by starting an offensive, and may in doing so, lighten the burden on Phoenix forces in Europe. By severing the land bridge, Phoenix could prevent any EDEN countries from following behind eSerbia’s footsteps, which may explain a few of the recent resistance wars. Either way, this front is a front worth continuing to monitor for both sides.
eSerbia is a strong, but resource-strapped, Phoenix member, and may look to capitalize on EDEN’s preoccupation in Europe to move on valuable iron regions. An eSerbian presence in China would also further tilt the balance of power in China for Phoenix’s favor, as eSerbia combined with eHungary and eRussia would greatly outnumber and outhit their EDEN counterparts, and could drive them from the continent altogether.

God Bless America,

Lt. Scheisskopf

Stars and Stripes Journal in Other Languages
The Panda Horn does a fantastic job translating my and others' war and diplomatic articles into Chinese.
Ljudislav II's Trobojka will be translating my "The Week That Was" articles into Serbian.
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