Forum:Global and regional issues/Great War

Forums → Global and regional issues → Global and regional issues/Great War

I decided to compile some thoughts from the past wiki (detailed in an archived thread here) and various discussions on the unofficial OGFC discord. The aim is not coming together for a "decisive" world war (which is impossible given how spread out OGF activity generally is), but at least some consensus of how it can play out and line out the potential parties involved.--Zhenkang (talk) 04:43, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

These are the five assumptions (by Zekiel) I believe are already commonly assumed regarding the Great War.

1. The name of the war is the Great War.
2. There was only one war of such nature.
3. The war happened between 1930 and 1950 (cannot be past or within X years of 1960, since the Pax Nova games, which are now canon, defined that they were held in celebration of the war's end).
4. The singlular war lasted a significant amount of time (10+ years).
5. The war took place as a collection of different theatres rather than a coordinated "Allies vs Axis"-style single or dual theatre grand-battle war.

Further thoughts:

• I thought that more likely there would be a series of proxy wars at major flashpoints around the world (including Mecyna and the Lycene Region). Proxy wars can be via civil wars in former colonies or just wars between countries. Conventional war can be through regional expansionism as well.

• It is quite likely the conflicts may have come about due to a rise of nationalism as a possible result of an emerging leftist movement, whether communist, socialist or any other form, leading to a series of independence wars. The general theme could be the end of the old colonial order and the rise of new emerging powers, like Suria and the Federal States.

• The war can be in two main phases. The first can be the wave of rebellions by colonies (independence wars), after which the colonial powers were humiliated. In the second, the colonial powers have to tackle the leftist threat and try to influence its former colonies in a series of proxy wars (like civil wars and regional wars). This war can be longer in the 30s and 50s, though of course the timeline can vary by region.

• There probably isn't even a clear-cut group of belligerents, and nations/parties can be on different sides depending on the nature of the conflict. (e.g. see supporting groups of the Nigerian Civil War)

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I think it's important to include Alessa's thoughts/points from the time that detailed more clearly what we need to be thinking about here:

"To everyone, regarding the Great War idea:

• There are a ton of factors that need to be considered for any Great War that we have on OGF. First, in the 1940s (lead-up to the war), we have a ton of different countries in a ton of areas that would be developed enough to engaged in a global war but really separated by distances that are not easily overcome by 1940s technology. It cannot be that a simple conflict between two countries in Uletha started it, or it wouldn't logically involve a random country in Antarephia… why would they want to send troops (even to an "ally") *that far away*? Another point to consider is that allies are usually countries of common goals and within reach of the other to be of assistance *defensively*. Alliances are a big deal, but allies are rarely obligated in their treaties to help an aggressor.
• What works a lot better is to consider how these larger-scale wars typically evolved in human history. One of the major ways that wars evolved were that a lot of smaller conflicts took place concurrently, and with similar goals or means, leading to a huge inter-tangling of conflicts that created a broader mess. As humans, we like to compartmentalize into what effected us immensely, but historians acknowledge the continuum and the fact that nothing happens in a vacuum. For a "great war" to work, there need to be a ton of tinderboxes that all get lit at the same time, creating a run on resources, inflaming existing strife. Religion, ideology, etc. can all be a factor, but they aren't the definitive. There are plenty of times where countries aligned with another of different religion or ideology in a war." -Alessa

--Ernestpkirby (talk) 08:17, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

Possible "fronts" (or wars taking place in the 30s to 50s)

(Feel free to include)

• North Archanta:
  • War of Fellow Brothers (Fascist Bai against Kaosha, Grinzez and other smaller countries]
  • Mecynan Canal Crisis (between CCA and FSA)
• Uletha

Discussion

If you want to add your own country and discuss its potential involvement and role, or just its history between the 30s to 50s, add under the respective continents with a new subheader to keep track.

Archanta

Bai Empire (Fascist Bai)

Bai during this period was under the Fascist regime. Fascist Bai was an aggressor trying to expand into its neighbours, notably Kaosha and neighbouring Kanglapo. It had an alliance with Cinasia.--Zhenkang (talk) 12:11, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

Federal States

While the FSA may have been a participant in a Mecyna Canal crisis, the FSA mainland would not have been subject to any battlegrounds. The FSA nominally may have only been directly involved with the Mecyna Canal crisis, but the country's distance from other belligerents combined with its high levels of industrialization would've made the FSA a stable, important production location for materiel to resupply allies on other fronts, leading to a sizeable boom in domestic manufacturing and production. (Other FSA stateowners are encouraged to add to this section and/or offer alternatives for discussion.) --TheMayor (talk) 02:18, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

I guess for FSA involvement there might need to be a larger thread (e.g. Forum:Global and regional issues/Great War/Federal States or a corresponding thread in the FS subforum) if it goes on for longer. But I agree the FSA wouldn't be the subject to any battlegrounds, much like our real-world USA. That said, perhaps some of its overseas colonies (like Arecales) might still be military targets (like how Japan attacked Pearl Harbour but not the US mainland directly). I guess the FSA might gain some islands (like Nahuwal Atoll) during the War.--Zhenkang (talk) 02:35, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

Piscipula

Piscipula would have nominally received its independence just before the Great War began, but was kept under an FSA military governorship and used as a forward staging area for a Mecyna Canal crisis. As a result, in modern times the FSA continues to maintain a sizeable military presence in Piscipula, although the nation diplomatically has far more autonomy. --TheMayor (talk) 02:18, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

Tarephia

Freedemia

I'll just reiterate here that through various discussions with other Lycene area territories I had planned for some degree of Lycene stability and Freedemia's relative non-involvement. I think I talk about it in the history on the Freedemia wiki page, but notably Freedemia's comparative stability was part of what attracted a lot of migrants and draft-dodgers from other countries around the world impacted more directly, influencing the population boom of the time. --Ernestpkirby (talk) 08:08, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

Teotiyolcan

I don't know how this would fit with what Ernest has in mind, but I was thinking that the Great War could have been a point where Teotiyolcan might have had a conflict with one of its neighbors over its somewhat disputed border territories (Valaga, probably) - so perhaps there was a small theater in the northern Lyc. Alternatively, neutrality would have also been a realistic option, but I think I agree with most of the lycene area being relatively stable, although I don't think I would rule out the possibility of former/current colonies sending troops to a theater in the Mediterranean or elsewhere. --Lithium-Ion (talk) 22:04, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

Uletha

Arion

I'm not sure if Arion would have been involved at all in any theater, since its religiosity might have promoted neutrality, but if it was, it would probably fight against Mazan+allies (or possibly Kalm...). It really depends what the thoughts of the other mappers in the Ghetorian region are about their countries involvement in the war. --Lithium-Ion (talk) 22:04, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

Demirhan Empire/Demirhan Tarephia

It's probably the only of my countries which is large enough to be significant player in the war theatre so let's go. As of now Demirhan Empire doesn't have set history during Great War period but I think it could participate. However I must say there are no countries which are supposed to start invasion on the empire which can be reasonably explained except for Suria where Suria mappers weren't interested in such event. Additionally I don't think the empire could be aggressor itself because in case of that and loosing the war, it would realistically be partitioned into nation states so I guess Great War will remain silent period for the empire.Rustem Pasha (talk) 15:22, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

Kara (United Republic of Kara)

So Kara is not big enough to have any significant role in the war; however, it may tie in with the war being the catalyst for the formation of the country (which started as a union of several bordering states in the mid-30s). And the war might induce the countries to unite into one state. -- Anonymous21 (talk) 17:11, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

Iscu

I've written in that the Federal States (and Gobrassanya, to a lesser extent) used Iscu as a point for air and naval operations - of course, exactly who the FSA was fighting is unclear, but perhaps if there was an aggressor in the Mediterranean, a country allied with the FSA could have called on it for aid and resulted in Iscu being used? Alternatively, Suvuma/Goytankana is a good stand-in for a possible theater where the FSA and Gobras could have gotten involved. --Lithium-Ion (talk) 22:04, 23 March 2023 (UTC)

Izaland

Izaland nowadays is a peaceful country, basically neutral (but has a strong self defense army). In the modern history Izaland has also been a relatively pacific country, so I don't aim to depict it as the war time imperialist Japan. But I can see that there is a strong cultural contrast between the south-eastern East Uletha (Eastern Asian culture) and the North (Germanic/Scandinavian culture). Assuming that the "western" powers tried to invade or colonize the "Asian" sector, some clash must have happened. So I can glimpse a pan-"Asian" alliance for a self defense purpose, maybe Izaland with Nuen, Moyontawi, Pyokchin, the soon to be Japanese language country.

Also, the shift to republic might have happened before or around this timing. --Izaland Terramorphing Committee (talk) 00:15, 24 March 2023 (UTC)

Semanya

When starting Semanya, I had wanted to work on a country that had been born out of relatively recent conflict. In what I have written so far, the modern Semanish state was formed from war in 1957, which lines up with the Great War timeline, albeit on the later end – this is discussed in the next paragraph. More recently, I had been playing around with the idea of a "one people, two states" scenario, where the majority of ethnic Semanish people live in either Semanya or the southern two-thirds of UL28a. The northern third of UL28a, in an ideal scenario, would be occupied by Germanic groups. I had written that the conflict fractured the Semanish people due to conflicting interests of the Germanic countries and Axian powers (Kojo, Izaland, etc.) indirectly fighting for geopolitical dominance in the interior of the East Ulethan continent.

Given the lateness in timing, the formation of the Semanish state in April of 1957 could be considered as somewhat of a "return to peace" as opposed to a "ceasefire", which may have come at the tail end of the Great War conflict period. However, it might be worth noting that the Great War may not have to be the only war, since in the real world the Korean War started five years after the end of War 2. If the timing of Semanya's conflict and formation ended up being framed around a Korean War-esque scenario as opposed to one where the country is founded towards the end of the Great War, my contributions can be disregarded. I did think it would be worth bringing up as an option, however. —Geoboi (talk) 01:42, 24 March 2023 (UTC)