World at War: Multi-Theater Overview

Day 754, 21:49 • Published in USA USA • by Lieutenant Scheisskopf

Now that the New World has exploded and everyone is fighting everyone, it seems appropriate to lay out, as simply as possible, all the storylines to follow in the upcoming weeks. Each of these stories will be full of ebbs and flows for EDEN and Phoenix as each side wrangles for momentum. Although everyone knows that the battle over Phoenix-held Asia will be the main focus and its outcome the war's climax, any number of side stories could be just as interesting and worth following. The complexity of this war and the number of variables involved will make focusing just on one region dangerously shortsighted.

Asia: The Headliner

Of course, EDEN’s assault on Phoenix territories in eChina and eIndia will dominate both sides’ scheming and will determine the overall relevance of the other battles. The main question to answer during the course of this war is whether or not Phoenix will be able to maintain eHungary’s presence in Heilongjiang, eIranian control on Liaoning, and eIndoneisan occupation of Karnataka. Even though eRussia recently declared war against eChina, eHungary and eIran would have a helluva time getting back to their fortress regions if EDEN managed to ouster them. The loss of these high resource regions would be significant on eHungary and eIran’s economies, respectively. eIndonesia, were they to lose Karnataka, would at least be able to attempt to return by re-invading eIndia through eThailand.

The second major question worth pondering in Asia is one which Phoenix members have frequently raise😛 should a country be ‘entitled’ to all their regions if they are unable to sufficiently use them and control them? This logic is often eIndonesia’s justification for staying in Karnataka, because eIndia is too small and too weak to control the region and make the most of it. Of course, this question could just as easily be seen as a ‘chicken or the egg’ debate, as eIndia has yet to control it long enough to see if they can control it, and has not been able to prosper without its richest natural region. eIndia and eChina would both like to be free, and EDEN has offered to help-- although the chance to strike at Phoenix is likely EDEN's motivating factor in playing "liberator" and their real driving force.

eSpain and eFrance
A Spanish-language article I read about a week ago summed up the eSpain-eFrance issue better than any I have seen: in the words of the author (who I have unfortunately forgotten), the eSpanish campaign was intended for little more than to ‘stick it’ to their neighbors who overran their country during WW3. The eSpanish populace seems to realize that it is foolish to think that they could conquer all of eFrance and keep the country subjugated indefinitely. Far from the most noble of intentions, though, the eSpanish played the revenge card and have ransacked eFrance’s main fortress region while also wreaking havoc on their economy. If eFrance (solo, or with their allies) were to get the upper hand on eSpain, the New World may see another instance of “what goes around, comes around” in the Iberian Peninsula.

eGreece and eTurkey

In a battle full of real life (RL) and in-game tensions, eGreece and eRomania have joined up to go after the eTurks, primarily to blaze a trail to Asia, but also to teach the eTurks a lesson. For months, eTurkey has attacked eGreece both as blocking attacks for other battles, as well as main objectives against their EDEN neighbor. eGreece will only need to take three eTurkish regions before reaching eIran, but if the eGreeks start attacking indirect regions, it will be clear that revenge is a motivating factor. Also noteworthy would be the fact that by eliminating eTurkey from the map (by no means an easy task), all the MPPs between each country would be erased.

Were the eTurks to establish too much momentum or continue to keep the EDEN countries from advancing, it would be interesting to see if eIsrael entered the fray and attacked eTurkey to keep them occupied. For the Asian plot to develop any further, EDEN must advance through eTurkey; failure to do so could turn the outcome of the war into Phoenix's favor.

Southern Hemisphere Drama

The Southern Hemisphere issues have caught many people by surprise. To summarize what happened down there, eAustralia and eIndonesia have held a NAP for months. It has been said that eAustralia might attack eIndonesian possessions in eSouth Africa as a blocking campaign that upon further research and reading the NAP, does not violate its terms after all. Meanwhile, eBrazil was called into eSouth Africa to eat up a few regions, so that fewer Congressional seats would be available in eSA while the eSA population fights off a non-Ajay Bruno challenge to the ruling party's power. As eBrazil was going to be in eSA anyways, eBrazil also declared war against eAustralia to go after them for fighting fellow Phoenix member, eIndonesia.

After the Congressional elections on Christmas Day in eSA, the country will likely receive their regions back from eBrazil. Between eBrazil and eIndonesia, eAustralia will probably face a two-war front; whether or not EDEN rallies to the eAussies’ aid, and in what capacity, will remain to be seen. What is certain, though, is that eAntarctica will remain untouched.

eBrazilian Empire

For the less historically-inclined, Brazil was once a monarchy in real life.
Look at South America, and you see that eBrazil has swollen in size after absorbing eVenezuela and taking a bite out of ePeru, following political turmoil which has been well-documented in other articles. It is obvious that eBrazil’s current size cannot be maintained, but whether or not South America becomes its own hotspot remains to be seen. ePoland, however, will be hard-pressed to support their ePeruvian proxy state while also fighting eGermany (below) and the rest of Phoenix. At the moment, South America is the most homogeneous region in terms of alliances, so it may be the least impacted by this current world war. eBrazil could peacefully relinquish its new regions, but it may take a series of resistance wars (RW) or an eSpanish invasion to undercut this Phoenix member's strength and to take its eye off eAustralia.

ePoland and eGermany Reverse Roles

Recently, ePoland declared war on eGermany, a disproportionately small Phoenix member considering its RL size and economic power, and will likely reverse its historical precedent and become the invader. The battle does not have much strategic purpose as far as attacking Phoenix in Asia goes, but ePolish momentum against their RL neighbors could help maintain their large baby boom and increase interest for eRepublik within the country. Of course, the same could work in eGermany’s favor if eGerman players appealed to newcomers for help protecting their country. eGermany is in prime position for a baby boom, although whether or not it is able will depend-- it amazes me that eGermany has not realized its RL potential thus far in the New World. The main concern EDEN members should have about this battle is that the ePolish two-clickers don’t waste too much damage there and that the military does not get too carried away with fighting their neighbor, especially if and when other battles will require every hit for or against a wall elsewhere.

Balkan Blowups

The trio of eCroatia, eRomania, and eSerbia (along with eBulgaria, eSlovenia and maybe also eHungary, depending on how busy they are elsewhere) need little excuse to attack each other. Territories could change hands here any number of times before all is said and done; one dangerous area of concern, though, would be whether any of these states allow these side battles against regional foes to overshadow the other conflicts between Phoenix and EDEN elsewhere (eCroatia's recent wall size of 1,000,000+ underscores this concern). Both sides realize that the other might get carried away in the Balkans, and could use this to their advantage as a blocking tactic while they achieve objectives elsewhere.

Given the region's hostility, any developments in the Balkans could lead to a spillover effect that caused battles in Europe or in Turkey to sharply intensify. Phoenix successes against EDEN in the Balkans would also likely prompt an eIsraeli attack on eTurkey as a blocking tactic or a chance to reestablish momentum in the region for EDEN. Given the region’s volatility and the parity between the Phoenix and EDEN factions in the region, your guess is as good as mine in trying to anticipate what will happen here.

eRussia’s Unique Role

The eRussian Bear gets its own section because, in my mind, eRussia is in the best position of any country, considering its size and its location, to be the war’s x-factor. Of course, eRussia holds a large and motivated population, and a powerful military. But eRussia will also benefit from its physical ability to bridge the Eastern European and Asian theaters; for this reason, eRussia could tip the scales in a close battle based on where they deploy their military and order their armed forces. Especially in battles which have fewer MPPs involved, eRussia could play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of battles based on where they choose to (or not to) actively engage.

Earlier on Sunday, eRussia declared war on eChina. This action allows the eRussians to preemptively cut off any prospects of region swapping between eChina and the eUSA, and also gives Phoenix a feasible launching point to counterattack in the event that eChina and EDEN achieve success in Asia. On this same level, it would be interesting to see if eRussia declared war on either eIran or eIndonesia, and allowed them to region swap into eRussia so that they still had a chance to attack eChina if they were removed from their holdings in the country. This is unlikely, given that eRussia’s infrastructure in the East is well-established, with Q5s in all their eastern regions.

Finally, eRussia holds the blocking trump card by its proximity to Alaska. The eUK blocking tactic against the eUSA could remain effective enough to draw away some two-clickers, but if eRussia were to attack Alaska, it would be a threat too large to ignore. Along with their active war with eCanada, it is possible that eRussia may look to invade North America if Phoenix found that EDEN had too much momentum in the other major theaters of war.

Cleaning Up
Clearly, this is a true “world war” in every sense of the term, and keeping track of everything is going to get messy. No country (except maybe ePakistan) is untouched by the battles that are unfolding, and no outcome is a foregone conclusion. Troops and gold will be thrown headlong into battle, and when the dust clears, we could see a New World transformed almost beyond recognition.

God Bless America,

Lt. Scheisskopf