The Union Forever: A TL
- Thread starter Mac Gregor
- Start date
Lalli's design it is. Should have the Serbia update done later today.
Country Profile: Serbia
Finally done. Here is a quick update on Serbia. Big thanks to Lalli for the flag. Let me know what you think.
Name: Kingdom of Serbia
Capital and Largest City: Belgrade
Population: 17,291,000 (1980)
Official Language: Serbian
Official Religion: Serbian Orthodox Church
Demonym: Serbian
Government: Authoritarian Monarchy
Head of State: King Milos I
Head of Government: Prime Minister Dusko Kasun
Formation: June 9, 1883
Currency: Serbian Dinar
Brief History of Serbia 1860-1985
Serbia achieved de facto independence from the Ottoman Empire following a bloody revolution in 1815 but was not officially recognized as independent until after the Russo-Turkish War of 1879. The Kingdom of Serbia came into existence on June 9, 1883 when Milan Obrenovic, the Prince of Serbia, was elevated to king. King Milan I ruled Serbia for the next 17 years, during which tensions between the surrounding powers of Turkey, Russia, and Austria-Hungary threatened to consume the tiny kingdom. After his death, Milan’s son and successor Alexander led Serbia into the Great War by declaring war on the Ottoman Empire on October 23, 1907. During the Great War, Serbia suffered greatly at the hands of the Imperial Entente being wedged between Austria-Hungary and Turkey. At the Battle of Pristina the Serbs lost 38,000 men over the course of two days. Belgrade even came under siege by the Turks in December of 1908 undergoing serious damage until Russian forces arrived to relieve the city in May of 1909. Emerging victorious with the rest of the Coalition of Free Nations, Serbia’s territory more than tripled by the time the ink was dry on the peace treaties. Serbia now encompassed a sizable swath of territory including the former Austrian provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as lands gained from the Ottomans such as the Kosovo Vilayet. These new additions made Serbia the most populous nation in the Balkans. King Alexander strove to unify his country by promoting a strong Serbian/Orthodox identity. While this worked well with the majority Serb population, the nation’s minority communities of Bosniaks, Albanians, Macedonians, and Croats often chaffed at their marginalization. In 1920, King Alexander’s only surviving child Princes Katarina married Prince Mirko the eldest son of Nicholas I of Montenegro. In the decades following the war, significant progress was made with a growing economy and one of the best electrification programs in Europe thanks to inventor and later Minister of Science Nikola Tesla. In 1947, King Alexander I died and was succeeded by his son-in-law Prince Mirko thus establishing a personal union between Montenegro and Serbia under the new house of Petrovic-Njegos-Obrenovic. Once on the Serbian throne, King Mirko I pushed a Pan-Slavic ideology on his country. He cemented close ties to Russia becoming a founding member of the Orthodox Council in 1963. While still technically independent Montenegro became little more than a Serbian province. King Mirko died in 1968 and was succeeded by his eldest son Milos. During the 1970s, Milos ordered an ambitious naval buildup including the missile frigate St. Sava. In recent years, King Milos and the ruling National Serbian People’s Party that supports him have stepped up persecution of political dissidents and ethnic and religious minorities souring relations with neighboring Albania, Croatia, and the other members of the German led Association of European States. In 1983, King Milos officially merged Montenegro with Serbia. The title "Prince of Montenegro" was bestowed on his heir Nickolas.
Name: Kingdom of Serbia
Capital and Largest City: Belgrade
Population: 17,291,000 (1980)
Official Language: Serbian
Official Religion: Serbian Orthodox Church
Demonym: Serbian
Government: Authoritarian Monarchy
Head of State: King Milos I
Head of Government: Prime Minister Dusko Kasun
Formation: June 9, 1883
Currency: Serbian Dinar
Brief History of Serbia 1860-1985
Serbia achieved de facto independence from the Ottoman Empire following a bloody revolution in 1815 but was not officially recognized as independent until after the Russo-Turkish War of 1879. The Kingdom of Serbia came into existence on June 9, 1883 when Milan Obrenovic, the Prince of Serbia, was elevated to king. King Milan I ruled Serbia for the next 17 years, during which tensions between the surrounding powers of Turkey, Russia, and Austria-Hungary threatened to consume the tiny kingdom. After his death, Milan’s son and successor Alexander led Serbia into the Great War by declaring war on the Ottoman Empire on October 23, 1907. During the Great War, Serbia suffered greatly at the hands of the Imperial Entente being wedged between Austria-Hungary and Turkey. At the Battle of Pristina the Serbs lost 38,000 men over the course of two days. Belgrade even came under siege by the Turks in December of 1908 undergoing serious damage until Russian forces arrived to relieve the city in May of 1909. Emerging victorious with the rest of the Coalition of Free Nations, Serbia’s territory more than tripled by the time the ink was dry on the peace treaties. Serbia now encompassed a sizable swath of territory including the former Austrian provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as lands gained from the Ottomans such as the Kosovo Vilayet. These new additions made Serbia the most populous nation in the Balkans. King Alexander strove to unify his country by promoting a strong Serbian/Orthodox identity. While this worked well with the majority Serb population, the nation’s minority communities of Bosniaks, Albanians, Macedonians, and Croats often chaffed at their marginalization. In 1920, King Alexander’s only surviving child Princes Katarina married Prince Mirko the eldest son of Nicholas I of Montenegro. In the decades following the war, significant progress was made with a growing economy and one of the best electrification programs in Europe thanks to inventor and later Minister of Science Nikola Tesla. In 1947, King Alexander I died and was succeeded by his son-in-law Prince Mirko thus establishing a personal union between Montenegro and Serbia under the new house of Petrovic-Njegos-Obrenovic. Once on the Serbian throne, King Mirko I pushed a Pan-Slavic ideology on his country. He cemented close ties to Russia becoming a founding member of the Orthodox Council in 1963. While still technically independent Montenegro became little more than a Serbian province. King Mirko died in 1968 and was succeeded by his eldest son Milos. During the 1970s, Milos ordered an ambitious naval buildup including the missile frigate St. Sava. In recent years, King Milos and the ruling National Serbian People’s Party that supports him have stepped up persecution of political dissidents and ethnic and religious minorities souring relations with neighboring Albania, Croatia, and the other members of the German led Association of European States. In 1983, King Milos officially merged Montenegro with Serbia. The title "Prince of Montenegro" was bestowed on his heir Nickolas.
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Alright, Tesla!
Anyway sounds like trouble might be building to a boil in the region with the minority persecution.
Anyway sounds like trouble might be building to a boil in the region with the minority persecution.
It has become pretty heated. Usually Germany and the IEF step in the quiet down their allies, but even Russo-German relations have worsened over last several years.
Excellent question. The short answer is Germany.
The long answer is a little more complicated. As in OTL, Vojvodina's population is roughly 34% Serb, 28% Hungarian, and 22% German in 1910. While in OTL Vojvodina gets annexed into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, ITTL due to Prussia/Germany being a victor it is able to lobby for most of Vojvodina to remain in Hungary where it thinks it will fare better than in a Serb dominated state. Serbia did get a chunk of Vojvodina to provide some breathing room for Belgrade. In the decades following the Great War, a large number of Serbs emigrate from the Hungarian portion of Vojvodina but there is still a Serb minority. As you can imagine Vojvodina remains a potential flashpoint between Hungary and Serbia to this day.
Iberian Crisis: Jan-Mar 1983
The Iberian Crisis
January – March 1983
Flag of the Kingdom of Portugal
January – March 1983
Flag of the Kingdom of Portugal
Portugal
After fleeing to the Azores in November of 1982, the royalist government of Premier Miguelito Luiz Fernades sought to mount a counter attack as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this meant pulling troops out of ongoing operations in Portugal’s colonies reversing any gains that had been made against African rebels over the past three years. By late February, a hastily assembled armada of 25,000 men and three dozen ships formed in the Azores and Madeira. Command was given to the 41 year old Prince Fernando who had considerable military experience leading troops in India during the Asia-Pacific War. Fernando wished to strike back as soon as possible to prevent the rebels from consolidating their position. On March 5, the ad hoc task force landed in southern Portugal near Portimao. The choice of landing in southern Portugal was fiercely debated by the royalists due to the south being a hotbed of rebel sentiment. Eventually, it was the fact that landing in the south allowed for better air cover from royalist pilots flying out of Madeira that carried the day. The speed of the royalist return caught the rebel forces by surprise. Prince Fernando was able to quickly head inland and in the span of a few weeks was within 40 miles of Lisbon. However, his advance quickly ground to halt after rebels put up a valiant defense at the Battle of Montemor-o-Novo. The front line soon began to stabilize, but both sides were plagued by guerrillas operating behind their lines. In a letter to his father King Manuel III, Prince Fernando regretfully stated that it might take months or even years to recapture the entire country.
Foreign Reaction
The Iberian Crisis forced many governments to choose sides. Below is quick rundown of the major players.
Pro-Rebels: The Turin Pact, consisting of France and Italy, was without a doubt the biggest supporters of the Portuguese and Spanish rebels. While some of this was due to ideology as France and Italy were both outspoken supporters of republicanism and liberal democracy, a larger factor was probably geo-politics. If Spain and Portugal could be democratized they would make valuable additions in a Western European block to rival the more conservative German dominated Association of European States (AES). While neither France nor Italy recognized the new governments in Madrid and Lisbon yet, both turned a blind eye to funds, supplies, and volunteers going towards the rebels. In early March, France and Italy froze billions of dollars of Spanish and Portuguese assets in order to constrain the cash flow aiding the royalist regimes. Outside of Europe, the left wing government of Brazilian President Nereu Pinto openly sympathized with the rebels and acquiesced for several companies of volunteers to begin training for service overseas.
Neutral: With the notable exception of Brazil, most of the nations in the League of American Republics officially took a neutral stance on the conflict in Europe. While public opinion largely favored the rebels, few wished to become involved in another conflagration so soon after the Asia-Pacific War. American President Margaret Stewart offered her services to mediate an end to the conflict but was rejected. The British Commonwealth took a similar stance and despite their long-standing alliance with Portugal would not aid either side in the conflict.
Pro-Royalists: Unsurprisingly, royalist forces in Spain and Portugal were supported by the worlds’ more conservative monarchies. The German government of Chancellor von Ritter painted the rebels as a reincarnation of the bloody Hungarian communist revolt of 1916 and vowed to help “the legitimate governments regain control of their rightful territory.” The IEF also favored the royalists but limited their aid to subsidized petroleum and discounted weapon sales.
After fleeing to the Azores in November of 1982, the royalist government of Premier Miguelito Luiz Fernades sought to mount a counter attack as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this meant pulling troops out of ongoing operations in Portugal’s colonies reversing any gains that had been made against African rebels over the past three years. By late February, a hastily assembled armada of 25,000 men and three dozen ships formed in the Azores and Madeira. Command was given to the 41 year old Prince Fernando who had considerable military experience leading troops in India during the Asia-Pacific War. Fernando wished to strike back as soon as possible to prevent the rebels from consolidating their position. On March 5, the ad hoc task force landed in southern Portugal near Portimao. The choice of landing in southern Portugal was fiercely debated by the royalists due to the south being a hotbed of rebel sentiment. Eventually, it was the fact that landing in the south allowed for better air cover from royalist pilots flying out of Madeira that carried the day. The speed of the royalist return caught the rebel forces by surprise. Prince Fernando was able to quickly head inland and in the span of a few weeks was within 40 miles of Lisbon. However, his advance quickly ground to halt after rebels put up a valiant defense at the Battle of Montemor-o-Novo. The front line soon began to stabilize, but both sides were plagued by guerrillas operating behind their lines. In a letter to his father King Manuel III, Prince Fernando regretfully stated that it might take months or even years to recapture the entire country.
Foreign Reaction
The Iberian Crisis forced many governments to choose sides. Below is quick rundown of the major players.
Pro-Rebels: The Turin Pact, consisting of France and Italy, was without a doubt the biggest supporters of the Portuguese and Spanish rebels. While some of this was due to ideology as France and Italy were both outspoken supporters of republicanism and liberal democracy, a larger factor was probably geo-politics. If Spain and Portugal could be democratized they would make valuable additions in a Western European block to rival the more conservative German dominated Association of European States (AES). While neither France nor Italy recognized the new governments in Madrid and Lisbon yet, both turned a blind eye to funds, supplies, and volunteers going towards the rebels. In early March, France and Italy froze billions of dollars of Spanish and Portuguese assets in order to constrain the cash flow aiding the royalist regimes. Outside of Europe, the left wing government of Brazilian President Nereu Pinto openly sympathized with the rebels and acquiesced for several companies of volunteers to begin training for service overseas.
Neutral: With the notable exception of Brazil, most of the nations in the League of American Republics officially took a neutral stance on the conflict in Europe. While public opinion largely favored the rebels, few wished to become involved in another conflagration so soon after the Asia-Pacific War. American President Margaret Stewart offered her services to mediate an end to the conflict but was rejected. The British Commonwealth took a similar stance and despite their long-standing alliance with Portugal would not aid either side in the conflict.
Pro-Royalists: Unsurprisingly, royalist forces in Spain and Portugal were supported by the worlds’ more conservative monarchies. The German government of Chancellor von Ritter painted the rebels as a reincarnation of the bloody Hungarian communist revolt of 1916 and vowed to help “the legitimate governments regain control of their rightful territory.” The IEF also favored the royalists but limited their aid to subsidized petroleum and discounted weapon sales.
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