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Before diving into the third installment of The Week That Was (TWTW), first of 2010, I want to say that the war is seriously heating up! In a week that included Christmas and New Year's, and a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on eRepublik, this week was the busiest yet. Let’s get started.

Asia

Hungary Halts EDEN in China, Korea
After a region swapping blunder which prevented the eUSA from approaching Heilongjiang last week (see last week’s TWTW), eHungary seized initiative in the China/Korea theater of war. Phoenix very nearly succeeded in a fierce battle with intense propaganda to keep Liaoning in eUSA hands and allow Phoenix to continue an offensive on eUSA positions in China. The eUSA successfully returned the region to eChina and blocked off further Phoenix advance as a result. However, between the eUSA’s successful return of Liaoning to eChina and eHungary’s ability to return several regions to eNorth Korea, Phoenix effectively dominated this front for much of the week.

eNK has also positioned itself to be a region swapping gateway for attacking eUSA’s positions in China as eNK has conquered a sizable portion of eSouth Korea and now borders Kyushu. Any possible attack on Kyushu would be heavily contested, but any Phoenix success there would not only put the alliance within striking distance of California, but it would also allow Phoenix to threaten the eUSA line in China at Zhejiang. Were eUSA positions in China to come under physical attack and not just sporadic resistance wars, the eUSA and EDEN would need to choose when to reverse Phoenix’s advance in order to keep the alliance in China and to keep any attack on Heilongjiang a possibility.

EDEN Makes a Second Move to Heilongjiang
On New Years Eve, following EDEN’s victories from earlier in the week in the Indian subcontinent and Europe, it appears that the eUSA and EDEN may be setting the stage for an attack on Hello Kitty. eUS Marine and patriot, Joe DaSmoe, spearheaded the resistance war which led to the return of Jillin to eChina from eNorth Korea. The buffer zone eHungary built around Heilongjiang has become a bit more vulnerable and set the stage for the epic battle that would put Liaoning and other major battles to shame. Heilongjiang was attacked late on Day 773, but the outcome will be discussed in a future article and covered in TWTW for Week 4.

The eRussian Bear has been caught leaderless and looking confused

Russia Remains Paralyzed
eRussia’s motion to impeach their permabanned president failed for a second time between Christmas and 26 December, keeping eRussia from being able to initiate any blocking or counterattacks on the eUSA. Reasons floated in the press have included disapproval of the presidential successor, possible foul play, or a resource conspiracy, but the fact remains that eRussia has been unable to be a relevant force in the war. The eRussians could have blocked in eIndia, raised the heat in eChina, or marched down eNK’s line and threatened the eUSA’s position in China, but their inactivity has been detrimental for Phoenix. A third impeachment might be attempted, but we should see eRussia return to relevance after the presidential elections at the latest.


EDEN Surprises Phoenix in India, Topples Fortresses
EDEN military brass showed innovative planning by using eChina’s active war with eIndia to region swap, and let the eUSA into the country without provoking Phoenix by having to declare its own war on eIndia. Jharkhand and Karnataka were indeed targeted, and were toppled by EDEN. The attack on Karnataka was part of a simultaneous double whammy which included eChina attacking and nearly succeeding in Madhya-Pradesh. Karnataka and Jharkhand both seemed to be overwhelmed, and the eUSA took advantage of Phoenix’s preoccupations in Europe (below) in order to make Karnataka a decided outcome early enough that eIndonesia’s president retreated the region. As a result, both eIran and eIndonesia lost staple regions for their economies, as eIran is now without high wood and the eIndonesians now lack iron. The eUSA has established infrastructure in Karnataka, indicating that the country will be staying in eIndia; the reason was mentioned in a previous article, that the return of Karnataka to eIndia would start a war with eIndonesia as violation of their non-aggression pact (NAP).


Indonesia Moves on Malaysia, Seizes Sarawak
eIndonesia retreated Karnataka in order to focus on other objectives, and may also anticipate being able to return to power there in a short time. Meanwhile, the eIndonesians won an impressive victory in Sarawak behind the efforts of extensive tanking which would not have been possible while also fighting in Karnataka. eIndonesia now holds a high wood region and tried to compound their success by attacking Sabah.
Victory in Sabah would have frustrated Sol’s notoriously irrelevant battle games, but the battle failed regardless; eIndonesia summarily changed focus and attacked eMalaysia’s Q5 hospital region of Peninsula Malaysia, which now shapes up to be a pivotal battle. Were eMalaysia to fall, its extensive network of mutual protection pacts (MPPs) would vanish and would hinder Sol’s operability-- not to mention, eIndonesia would be able to operate in South Asia with impunity.

Pakistan Swaps to Serbia's Doorstep, Shows Phoenix the Way to India

ePakistan’s land bridge (bright green) conveniently ends at the eSerbian border in Eastern Europe

A curious development on the day Europe exploded in all-out war (below), ePakistan completed a series of region swaps through eIran, eTurkey, and to the doorstep of eSerbia. A series of reporting from El Diario del Norte indicated that the intent was clearly to give eSerbia a chance to move towards India and give Phoenix a renewed presence in the subcontinent. The region swapping was extremely costly, between the costs of declaring war and invading, destroying extensive infrastructure including numerous Q5 hospitals, and in signaling to EDEN where a major point of contention will be.

eSerbia (blue-grey) moving through eTurkey via ePakistan's land bridge

eSerbia and ePakistan began the region swapping campaign earlier in Day 773, and eSerbia had moved steadily towards eIran along the bridge. The region swapping only has 7 more regions to go before eSerbia could enter the Indian subcontinent. EDEN’s best two options would be either to try and block the way to India by conquering either Sistan-Baluchistan or Balochistan, which act as natural bottlenecks on the Phoenix advance towards India. If nothing is done, then eSerbia will undoubtedly be carrying Phoenix's flag back to the region in the upcoming days.

Asia Minor

Turkey Gobbles Up Greek, Israeli Regions
In the middle of the week, eTurkey was able to break its stalemate with eGreece, thanks to a blocking attack eBulgaria launched which kept the EDEN ally from attacking again. Consequently, eTurkey had the first success in the region in several days, as it was able to conquer the Aegean Islands and eIsrael’s Haifa District within an hour of each other. eTurkey continued its success against eIsrael by occupying the Nazareth District, although eGreece received extensive EDEN backing at the eGreek fortress of Central Greece, which withstood eTurkey and Phoenix’s onslaught in a battle which spanned 2009 and 2010. eTurkey maintained initiative by launching an attack on Crete, which was well into the underground at this article's publication time.

eIsrael’s fate looks bleak, as its small population and one MPP is nowhere near enough to ensure its survival. A series of resistance wars in the country could help EDEN to nag eTurkey and distract some citizens, but the small Mediterranean country seems to be beyond saving while the rest of EDEN is occupied in other battles elsewhere.


Europe
Simply put, Europe blew up this week, shortly after order was restored following the DDoS. My article on “The Day Europe Exploded” is a good supplement for background on the information which this section covers.

Croatia Conquers Slovenia in 2 Days
During the day Europe burst into conflict, eCroatia started four simultaneous attacks across the border in eSlovenia, leaving only Prekmurje and Upper Carniola free from invasion. The two remaining regions fell the following day, after an eSerbian-backed tanking effort in the closing minutes at Prekmurje was not enough to save eSlovenia. eCroatia was successful in eliminating a mild annoyance which had long been a Phoenix tool at blocking the eCroats; it served as one of the three countries to invade eCroatia two months ago, so the conquest of eSlovenia most likely gave eCroatia a feeling of gratification and satisfied urges of revenge.


Spain Advances Deeper Into France, Sacks Paris Despite Counterattack
The eSpanish reinitiated their foray into eFrance with increased vigor, conquering Loire Valley and Franche-comte after the DDoS lifted. From Loire Valley, eSpain conquered the eFrench capital and remaining fortress of Paris, and destroyed the Q5 hospital there while opening four other attacks on Alsace, Lorraine, Provens Alps Azur, and Burgundy which did not succeed. At this point, eFrance is defeated and is being driven by tireless determination, but their future is bleak as the economy has been ransacked; eFrance only has two medium iron regions and a single high grain region, while much of its economy and all of its high wood resources have fallen to the eSpanish.

eSpain’s further advancement on eFrance is not a foregone conclusion, as moving adjacent to the eUK could invite blocking attacks from the Phoenix member. Also noteworthy is that eFrance is seeking to rebuild a network of MPPs which would be activated in the event that eSpain pushed any further. Interestingly, these MPPs would NOT be activated if eFrance counterattacked eSpanish-occupied regions. But for as long as eFrance refuses to surrender, eSpanish President Durruti may see no other alternatives than continuing to push deeper into eFrance and seeking a favorable peace afterwards. Were eFrance to receive extensive MPP support, their fate could look more favorable and they could fight the eSpanish back across the Pyrenees.

eItaly teamed up with the eUkraine and eIndonesia to help eFrance regain some of its regions. eSpain, however, struck first and has kept the initiative on this front, conquering the Piedmont region on 30 December. eSpain has followed its success on this front by attacking Sardinia, which if conquered, would allow eSpain to surround eItaly and might cause eItaly to consider its own existence above that of eFrance’s. Either way, eSpanish success in Sardinia would call into question the purpose of the Entente, and the other members of that alliance would need to consider whether or not to protect eItaly’s existence on top of trying to regain eFrench regions. Clearly, as long as eSpain can keep initiative, the Entente’s efforts to raise the heat on eSpain will be for nought.

eHungarian elites parade through a conquered region and honor their own fallen

Hungary, Bulgaria Attack Romania
Two attacks by eHungary and eBulgaria targeted eRomania while the rest of Europe exploded, with Phoenix winning one and narrowly losing the other. Crisana and Transilvania were both flattened by the eHungarian juggernaut while eHungary easily suppressed eRomanian resistance wars in Crisana. Just in time for Election Day, eHungarian President Feherlofia Koppany seems to be making good on his promise to occupy 4 eRomanian territories by 5 January, and upcoming attacks on Maramures and Banat should be expected if eHungary keeps up their momentum. eBulgaria’s attacks on Dobrogea, meanwhile, have helped to keep eRomania from getting any chance to launch its own attacks and divert additional damage which could be used to fighting off the eHuns. eRomanian pleas for EDEN assistance are growing louder, and it is beginning to appear difficult to envision eRomania surviving without help. Unfortunately for eRomania, the rest of this article shows how busy EDEN is.


Poland Pushes in Germany
The ePolish, riding the momentum from their baby boom, have pushed harder into eGermany following unsuccessful attempts by eGermany to retake their regions. ePoland succeeded in taking three small eGerman regions of Thuringia, Lower Saxony and Bremen, and Saxony-Anhalt simultaneously. Attacks on Hesse, which holds a Q5 hospital, and North-Rhine Westphalia were also launched, but are still standing with eUK and eRussian assistance. Should ePoland move on Bavaria and Saarland, eGermany could find itself in a similar predicament as eFrance and crack without significant Phoenix support. Even then, eGermany risks the fate of being a walking wounded country which is basically incapable of defending itself and only serves to sap Phoenix's strength and resources keeping it afloat.

Southern Hemisphere

South Africa Attacks Brazilian-held Territories
eSouth Africa gave the Southern Hemisphere something to write about a few hours ago when it attacked 2 of the 3 eBrazilian-held provinces in eSA, North-West Province and Mpumalanga (try saying that 5 times). Both regions are sparsely populated and offer eSA nothing in terms of resources, but the action is likely intended to give eSA more Congress seats following the political takeover (PTO) drama from the past month. The third eBrazilian-held region of Gauteng has not come under fire and most likely will not, as it is a well-fortified eBrazilian region with dual Q5s and high diamonds. No sources indicate that Gauteng will be targeted.

Resistance Wars in Venezuela
The Venezuelan Capital was taken back from eBrazil after some eRomanian tanks assisted in turing the outcome to the resistance force. eVenezuela is still remarkably weak and has no infrastructure, and it is unclear if or when eBrazil will relinquish control of the remaining regions, as none of the occupied regions gives eBrazil anything they do not already have.


Militaries of all allegiances are covering nearly every inch of the New World

Final Take
With the second major pillar fallen and Heilongjiang very recently coming under attack, the eUSA seems to have gained the upper hand in Asia. However, the battle for Heilongjiang will be fiercely contested and Phoenix will have the advantage there, as the challenge lies on the eUSA and any deployed EDEN elements to outhit eHungary and Phoenix military personnel.
EDEN is performing strong in Europe, as eCroatia, eSpain, and ePoland all noted significant advances in their respective objectives. eSlovenia is no more, eFrance is on the ropes, and eGermany is unable to stand without substantial Phoenix backing. The Heilongjiang campaign may also benefit eRomania as it fights for its existence, by diverting eHungarian resources to Hello Kitty.

This is not to say that the war is over or that EDEN is destined for victory, far from it. ePakistan’s movements and the tumultuous situation in eThailand, along with eIndonesia’s successes against eMalaysia, signal that Phoenix is still in position to make gains in the coming week-- or at the very least, will likely have the initiative and can call the shots in these critical theaters. Along with the probable return of active eRussian leadership, these developments show that Phoenix will have the potential to seriously alter the war as we have now seen it. Most importantly, much of next week's developments will hinge on the outcome in Heilongjiang, which was attacked after this article was published. The fourth week’s edition of TWTW could be even longer and more complex than this edition turned out to be.

God Bless America,

Lt. Scheisskopf

If you are taking my Journalism course at North American University, the first class date will be 20 Jan at 16:00 eRep time. The IRC channel will be announced later. For foreign students, I encourage you all to log into the IRC channel we will be using for the class, so you can see what happened in case the course time is inconvenient for you. I will also work on copying notes that I can provide to anyone interested