Join the new world

Canada has been through political turmoil. Besides the constant party PTOing that's become accepted and even expected within our borders, we've also had chaos on an international scale. We've allied with nations that most of us here wouldn't consider allies, and we've abandoned some nations that we've traditionally been good friends with. We need to recapture the brotherhood that we had lost throughout the last few months.

However, while the process we took during the past term was questionable, it brought up an interesting point. Alliances do change, and change rapidly. While I'm very big on staying loyal to allies and keeping friendships, it's also not a bad idea to look for new teammates and friends. There should always be enemies that can be battled for lands and resources, and a general distaste between two nations could and perhaps should result in battles. But if there's no strategic need or personal grudge, we might as well be allies and use their hits on our side, right? So here are some nations that wouldn't be too awful to have as allies.

United Kingdom, Belgium, Czech Republic

Strange group, isn't it? But these nations are great potential allies, at least from a strategic perspective. The most important opportunity out of the three is, of course, the Brits. In fact, you could make the argument that without them on our side, there's no point chasing the other two at all. But first, let me explain my reasoning as to why getting Britain as an ally is not a bad idea at all.

As stated before, I believe that if you can get along with a nation and don't need to take their resources for yourself, you should try to be friends, as allies can be vital. Britain may be our enemy now, but back in the day, they were a very loyal ally who sadly chose a different path than us. However, there are three reasons why they could be a valuable asset, and why we shouldn't fight them.

First off, they've gotten along with Ireland. While they're not exactly best friends, they can cooperate with them, and trust each other enough to have a long-term training war and land swap deal. As the Irish are very good allies with us, they certainly wouldn't mind having the Brits officially being an ally. The greatest disagreements between UK and TEDEN nations are mostly with us, so while it'll be difficult to regain one another's trust and friendship, our cooperation would go a long way into bringing Britain back.

Most of you may consider Britain to be just a Polish puppet, and this judgement is fair to a certain extent. They've chosen to remain buddy-buddy with their powerful neighbor, which makes sense. However, to call them a lost cause would be foolish. Even after FYROM's betrayal of Spoland, when they conquered southern France so that the two Ctrl nations couldn't border, the UK still managed to pass an MPP with the Balkan nation. While I certainly won't claim that an MPP with FYROM means they're planning to jump ship so easily, it does show that they're not simply Poland Jr, and that they are willing to take actions unwanted by the Poles.

Now, many Canadians want the British to remain a long-term enemy. They're a similar size, natural borders, and we speak the same language so it's easier to trash talk. But I'm sure that everyone would prefer to fight meaningful wars, and suffice it to say, Britain will NEVER be a viable target, at least as long as the power structure remains this way. Now, I'm not discounting agreed-upon training wars. But any serious efforts to attack and suppress the UK will fail miserably.

First off, as it stands, Poland borders us because of their French lands. Now, I'm sure we can all agree that Poland could eat us for a morning snack with no effort at all. Thus, if we ever attack the UK while Poland isn't busy, Poland could attack us and not in the derpy TW way they were for the last few weeks. It'd be a massacre, and we'd be begging to have any regions back within a week. They sure as hell won't sign a NAP treaty with us because we're neither good enough friends (far from it) nor are we a great enough threat to somehow intimidate them into eliminating our 'potent' threat.

Alright, so if Poland would attack us if they were free, the smart thing would be to attack the Brits while Poland already have an NE, right? Foolproof plan! Or not...If Poland was simply beating up minors, let's say the Netherlands (no offense Dutch bros but it's just an example), they'd have plenty of extra damage to send the Brits' way and repel our attack, and eventually they'd help Britain wipe us, and that wouldn't be very good, would it? And if Poland was actually unable to send in any extra support (Britain would be a possible target), then that means that they'd be under actual threat of defeat. In such a case, why would we not be attacking Poland alongside our allies to help relieve the other fronts and perhaps even defeat the Poles! We'd be foolish to waste our efforts and attack Britain instead of going after the big fry, which would be both more fun and much more useful.

Britain and France have been enemies for quite a long time, but the fact remains that the Redcoats have a great opportunity to help free the French if they so desired. All they lack is the desire and necessity to help their foes. But if UK can be convinced to swap sides and come out of Poland's control protection, it would make Western Europe an actual place of interest, and last time I checked, any centrality anywhere besides the Balkans would be nice, right?

And quickly some stuff about the other two. Belgium is pro-CoT, but they've also been a British ally for a long time. Belgium has no military options to fight, besides the almighty Netherlands. In fact, one could argue that the only reason for their membership in CoT is to stave off Poland without being directly allied. I'm not saiyan that they're backstabbers, but if Poland fell and Britain swapped sides, the Belgians might at the very least entertain the idea.

And lastly, the Czechs. Sure, they're not a strong nation. They've been in turmoil for quite some time. But what's true is that the Czechs didn't willingly give up their regions to Poland. In fact, they're infuriated at the Poles. Perhaps if Slovakia turned the other way and the Czechs got an opportunity, they might consider refocusing their nation with some new allies.

Yes, what do all three nations have in common? They're all bordering Poland. Am I a dreamer for hoping that they suddenly drop all their MPPs and loyalties and hop on our merry brigade? Perhaps. But it would be foolish not to seek every possibility to ward off Poland, or perhaps even free France. Wouldn't that be a blast?

And yes, you Yankees, I stole your history. Problem?

Until next time, take care!