Friday Flag - Duchy of Djibouti

In 1937 the Duchy of Djibouti was on of two colonies of the Królestwo Zachodnim Afganistanie that gained independence. The KZA's naval power was almost non-existent and the regular military conflicts with China and rebel hunting in the Russian Empire took nearly all of the nation's focus. It was felt that releasing the colonies from the Kingdom would allow them to better develop on their own.

The odd mix of politics and religion from the Królestwo Zachodnim Afganistanie carried over to the Duchy of Djibouti. Duke Cumar Grabowski took over as head from his father, Duke Stanislaw Grabowski. Prime Minister Xasan Aref Geelle controlled many day-to-day operations as the new country made a step towards becoming a constitutional monarchy. During the original colony's founding a large portion of southern Ethiopia was conquered and added to the Duchy.

A war between Djibouti and Ethiopia form 1940 to 1942 helped solidify the new nation and in the end brought Djibouti and Ethiopia on a road to lasting peace. As part of the terms of the Djibouti victory in the conflict, Prince Ismaaciil Grabowski would marry Princess Tsehai Haile Selasasie of Ethiopia. She was the youngest daughter of the Ethiopian emperor.

Seventeen Wars in Twelve Year - update to KZA AAR

It has been some time since I updated by Królestwo Zachodnim Afganistanie AAR for Victoria II. Given how fearful of that nation's future I've been there was no lack of excuses to delay continuing it.

A Polish conquest of portions of central Asia in the mid-19th century created a patchwork kingdom in the region; The Kingdom of Western Afghanistan. It later expanded south to the ocean, colonized a small portion of Africa, and added Mongolia to its territories. Now the Chinese Empire was 'westernizing' and reclaiming regions it considered its territory. The KZA was in growing danger.

From 1894 to 1906 seventeen wars started. One of them was the dreaded Chinese attack on the KZA.

#1: The Great War - December 1894 to April 1896
Germany, Russia, Italy, and the United Kingdom go to war to free Romania from the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the Romanian Crisis. Facing off against the German alliance were Austria-Hungary, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Montenegro, and the Ottoman Empire. In the end Romania gains its independence.

#2: War of the West Moroccan Concession - October 1895 to January 1899
Spain attempts to annex West Morocco but Italy and Morocco manage to fight them off.

#3: Second Chinese Restoration of Order to Yunnan - 12 September 1896 to 15 March 1898
The Chinese Empire vs. Yunnan and Siam. This was the second attempt to annex Yunnan, and this time the Chinese are successful.

#4: Romanian Restoration of Order to Moldavia - 17 June 1898 to 23 August 1898
Romania in its new found freedom wants to annex Moldavia which has a number of Romanian nationals in it. With the help of the German empire they defeat an alliance of Serbia, Poland, and Moldavia and Romania grows in size.

#5:Romanian Liberation of Dobrudja - 20 January 1899 to 24 April 1900
Romania continues its attempts growth, but this time Germany does not come in to do the heavy lifting. Romania clashes with Wallachia, the Ottoman Empire, France, Austria-Hungary, and Switzerland. They quickly surrender and are forced to surrender Moldavia to Austira-Hungary.

#6: Danish Conquest of Ostlandet - 30 January 1899 to 31 May 1899
Denmark, Germany, and Norway vs. communist Sweden. Denmark annexes Ostlandet at the end of the conflict.

#7: German Liberation of Danish Schleswig-Holstein - 28 April 1901 to 8 May 1901
Germany, Belarus, Romania, and Norway vs. Denmark. The size of the German army crossing into Denmark convinces Denmark to surrender quickly before any massive loss of life.

#8: Ottoman Liberation of Thessalia - 12 December 1901 to 5 May 1902
The Ottoman Empire, France, Austria-Hungary, Wallachia, and Switzerland vs. communist Greece. Thessalia is annexed by the Turks.

#9: Italian Liberation of Austro-Hungarian Istria - 28 July 1902 to 31 December 1902
Russia, the UK, Italy, and Slovakia vs. Austria-Hungary and Germany. The war ends in a white peace, neither side gaining any territory.

#10: Second War of West Moroccan Concession - 15 November 1903 to 15 March 1904
Netherlands, Poland, and Luxemburg vs. Morocco. The Netherlands annex West Morocco at the end of this war.

#11: Norwegian Liberation of Nordnorge - 1 June 1904 to 1 February 1905
Norway and Germany vs. communist Sweden. Norway gains a large patch of territory after this war.

#12: War of the Nejdi Hail Concession - 25 July 1904 to 1 February 1905
France, Spain, Netherlands, and the UK vs. Nejd, Oman, and Abu Dhabi. The original plans to gain territory from Nejdi are abandoned and France instead annexes Oman.

#13: Ottoman Liberation of Lebanon - 1 August 1904 to 2 January 1907
Ottoman Empire, France, the UK, and Wallachia vs. Egypt and Russia. A long and bloody war with the eventual annexation of Lebanon by the Ottoman Empire.

#14: Second Ethiopian Liberation of Egyptian Eritrea - 10 October 1904+ into 1907
Ethiopia vs. Egypt and Russia (the United States joins on Egypt's side in 1906). Ethiopia's attempt to gain territory during the chaos of the Ottoman Liberation of Lebanon war did not work out well for Ethiopia.

#15: Chinese Liberation of Inner Mongolia - 27 February 1905 to 11 April 1906
The expected Chinese invasion of the KZA finally takes place. The Chinese Empire faces the Królestwo Zachodnim Afganistanie, Russia, and Poland. The KZA military uses its superior weapons and forts to hold the vast armies of China to a slow advancement. This gives time for Russian and Polish armies to arrive. China fails in its bid to conquer Inner Mongolia, but Poland falls to revolution.

#16: Austro-Hungarian Liberation of Venetia - 29 April 1905 to 8 February 1906
Austria-Hungary and the Netherlands vs. Italy. Italy is forced to surrender Venetia to the Habsburg empire.

#17: Conquest of Boliva - 2 April 1906+ into 1907
Brazil vs. Bolivia, Paraguay, and Chile. Bolivia is quickly conquered and Paraguay is knocked out of the war. Into 1907 skirmishes between Brazil and Chile continue.

This is a pretty bloody period of time. The next decade or decade-and-a-half will feature another clash between China and the KZA as well as two more Great Wars! I'll continue updates in the future.

Money Monday #1 - 100 Zlotych note from the KZA

100 Zlotych note from the Królestwo Zachodnim Afganistanie in 1935

This is a 100 Zlotych bill from the Kingdom of Western Afghanistan. The Polish nobles who rule over a large portion of central Asia in the late 19th and early 20th century created this new currency to facilitate commerce in their domains. Local tribes don't trust this new money, but the King promised it was backed by gold and a safe medium of exchange.

The general poverty of the Kingdom still makes barter the primary means of exchange for many. The currency is of use by businesses that use the nation's growing railroad lines to conduct trade within the KZA. Most international still uses the Russian ruble.

I created this image using images of old Afghan and Polish money. Some cutting, pasting, resizing, and coloring resulted in what you behold here today. The money of imaginary nations can be as interesting as their flags and maps of their territories. It might also be good way for me to begin to explore other areas of alternate timelines besides who fought in which war and who conquered whom.

There are things more important in history than death, destruction, and domination; Science, invention, and prosperity.

Królestwo Zachodnim Afganistanie - AAR part 1

INTRODUCTION
I have a tendency when playing Victoria II to release odd nations from larger powers and play them. For example Australia from the UK, the Cherokee form the USA, Java from the Netherlands. This time I played Poland, releasing it from Russia.

Poland was difficult to play. It was surrounded by three great powers and had no access to the sea. My favorite part of the game, the colonization of Africa, would most likely be missed by my weak, land-locked nation.

I looked for areas to conquer. I had to look far. With military access granted by Russia I moved the entire army of Poland to conquer Khiva. My conquests of central Asia had begun. After a number of successful campaigns and expanding Polish Asia I decided to release my conquests as a new nation; The Kingdom of Western Afghanistan.

1807: Duchy of Warsaw is created thanks in part to the help of Polish on the side of France against the Russians and Austrians during the Napoleonic Wars.

1815: Congress of Vienna brings about an end to the Duchy of Waraw.

29 November 1830: Beginning of November Uprising in Poland. (Divergence Point for this universe is during this uprising)

1 January 1836: Poland is given independence from the Russian Empire.

1836 to 1868: Poland gets permission from the Russian Empire to send most of its army through Russia's territory. They begin to conquer areas of central Asia. Khiva was the first to fall to the Polish army whose leadership was filled with minor nobles attempting to gain influence and favor in the new Polish monarchy.

Afghanistan was conquered during a pair of wars. These wars were long and brutal. The Polish forces were cautious and used the terrain to their advantage and allowed their superior weaponry to decimate the Afghan forces. Rebels will occur on a regular basis for years.

Finally, with the collapse of central authority in the Chinese Empire a friendless and isolated Xinjiang was easily annexed.

17 May 1868: Królestwo Zachodnim Afganistanie is given independence from Poland. With the size of the colonial territory and the growing troubles in Europe it became more efficient to create this new nation in central Asia.

Królestwo Zachodnim Afganistanie at its birth
1868 to 1890: MORE WARS!

The military culture that gave birth to this new nation pushed it to expand towards the sea. Seven wars would be fouth over the next 22 years:
1) Conquest of Kalat - march to the sea
2) Conquest of Makran - coastal territory on the Arabian Sea annexed
3) Sneak attack by Persia - The low number of KZA troops recovering form fighting two wars and charged with defending a large area of land are attacked by the vastly larger Persian army. Defensive fighting in the mountainous terrain and superior weaponry allow for eventual white peace with Persia.
4) War with Oman to annex Mogadishu
5) War with Ethiopia to conquer the southern half of that country
6) Conquest of Mongolia with the aid of the Russian and Ottoman Empires.
7) Aiding Russian Empire in its war with the Ottoman Empire - victory for Russians as they seize some Ottoman territory along the Black Sea


1890: With Mongolia added to its territory the KZA is a major player in Asian politics. It ignores Europe as it strengthens ties with Japan and Guangxi in order to keep expected Chinese agression in check. It is expected that within the next five years China will westernize and with its huge poplulation it will be a powerful rival of the KZA.

KZA and its neighbors in 1890

Future expansion in Asia looks less and less likely. Withe the growing power of China, British influence in India, and ever-increaseing spheres of influence of the Great Powers future expansion may be limited to the Middle-East. Possible future conqusts that would make the most sense in that scenarios are Yemen and Oman, that would allow the entire Kingdom to be better untied geographically.

Access to the coastal areas of the far east would be nice, but very difficult to acquire. Revolution in Manchuria which destorys its existing alliances might provide an opportunity for invasion. An alliance with Japan to take more territory from China could provide some high-value territory as well. It would be nice to have expansions into China be contiguous with my existing territory, but the oceans will make any separte coastal area easily accessible via a navy I'll have to get around to re-building.