...continuing from page 8
Also, note, I should be writing about Interkommunaali, but for these story lore elements, the Evo have sort of taken over as the protagonist nation, as so much of the worldbuilding elements in this universum project are related to it. Also, Im mostly just inventing stuff out from writing so, In order to make the Interkommunaali stuff to work, I first need to write about Evo and create the world and its history
The smaller units of the Evoan fleet followed the older trends of affordability and purposefulness. The Evoan technological edge on submarine construction was maintained, yet by late 1930s most Navies had outbuild Evo, alarmingly even, but the actual danger of unrestricted submarine warfare still went rather unnoticed and Evo had no strategical farsight to predict the need of cross Keskimeri -ocean convoys that were to come. Nevertheless, the sloop type was continued in slow scale building, although mostly intended for Colonial patrol than escort roles. These designs, while diminutive in numbers, gave base for the wartime mass production of Escort ships that eventually decided a lot from the outcome.
For proper Destroyers, Evoan suite continued the pre 1914 philosophies of quantitative rather than qualitative end, and were Constantly forced to check their design principalities as foreign torpedo crafts rose towards small cruiser size. The 1930 Saraste Naval treaty tried to cut down the growth of Destroyer sizes and overall quatas, but it allowed 17 % of the maximum tonnage to be of larger flotilla leader type, to which Evoans also jumped in, only to ruin their changes of balanced multipurpose ships with failed high-pressure steam plants. Later Evoan Destroyers were focused on single mass production-friendly flush deckers, which were hampered by lack of proper AA armament for most of their career.
The International situation began to go into a downward spiral from 1936 onwards when Ondore invaded Oipaal in the Central Archipelago.This was followed in 1937 by Laburdak at the tip of the Rovintael, bringing the Ondorean Excursion dangerously close to Evoan holdings in the region. In Far East, Marlannon had already made her first annexations of former Ellardaëan Colonies in 1931, and in 1933 Marlannon left the Internationaali. 1936 also saw the beginning of the Brecian war in Southern Ellardae, When Wambrec begun its offense to invade Cimbrec that had declared independence aftermath of the 1st Class war. Nomidaens and other Vaskists factions supported Wambrec, while Evo and Interkommunaali gave clandestine assistance to Cimbrec. As in case with Ondores invasion of Oipaal, Wambrec was expelled from Internationaali, to further decrease its importance. The downfall of collective security during 1936 was finalized when Marlannon and Nomidaë left the Naval treaties system, and the 1936 2nd Saraste’s Naval Treaty was a blunt affair to ensure at least Evo, Interkommunaali and Rim Sach would still follow its clauses. It gave up on the total tonnage limits for each navies, only focusing on the qualitative limits of each individual warship class and introduced escalation clauses that allowed these limits to be raised if the non-signatory nations would impose threat by commissioning larger ships.
Evoans began their official rearmament programs in 1933 After the Shasike II’s ascension, but it was not until 1938, before the defense budgets got increased substantially as by then the start of the War was becoming imminent. Most of the Evoan strategic considerations were focused against Nomidaë, as its former and traditional Enemy, The Ondoreanss were somewhat oversighted by Evoan strategists based on the Nauri Incident, there were general consensus, that similar show of force from the Evoan Fleet would be enough to deter Ondoreans to attempt to join into a war if such would break down between Evo and Nomidaë. The Far East was seen predominantly as expendable in case of the worst possible three front war scenario, but Evoans falsely thought that the Marlannonian and Nomidaëan intresses over the colonial empires would eventually clash and that Marlannon could still be seen as a potential ally. Evo was duly unaware of the 1936 Secret pact between those nations that divided the world by the 75 degree meridian, thus Nomidaë had officially renounced its claims over its former colonies in the region.
The most immedient Nomidaëan Colonial ambitions laid in Tesupar, which became apparent by 1938, when a series of provocations conducted by clandestine operators caused uproar in Ispor to act against its former Colony. Both Evo and Interkommunaali tried to impose defensive guarantees over the Island nation, but these came to nothing when Interkommunaali possessed no attempt to intervene into a military conflict against Nomidaë. As this policy became clear for Shasike via third party diplomats, Nomidaëans made a bold move in February 1939 and Invaded the island while Evoan Fleet stood on the pier watching the events unfold without clear response from Saraste to how to act. This caused Prime Minister Haapamäki’s government to fall and the Mustasaari government to replace it without a general election.
By now Evo began to realize it was in a situation where it might face the Nomidaë in war by itself, without any powerful allies on its side. Mustasaari made efforts to gather a defense pact with Balc, Antoquë, Mitchedaë and smaller nations, but these guarantees just ment that Evo had to intervene into a next annexation that Shasike II was planning. Evoans tried to get the Great Khan of the Rim’s Appura XII and his Chancellor Mattubarda into joining these guarantees of the Central Ellardaëan nations, but soon realized that the Rimians were after the Eastern Ellarchallian nations themselves. Thurnodak and Alkurulaë had for long been more sympathetic to the Nomidaëan cause and also unwilling to commit to any possible pact that would lead them to war in their western borders.
In August 1939, Shasike II paid a spectacular visit in Icca Belur to sign an open non-aggression pact with the Khan and thus seal the fate of Ellardaë. The agreement gave the eastern nations for Rimians to pick and assured that no powerful front in the continental Ellardaë would join Evoan attempts to Defend the remaining free nations.
A month Later Nomidaë Invaded Sulkai, Cvundu and Sagordaë to pursue its claim to the Historical Ellarchall, activating the Evoan guarantees to intervene and Evo was once again at war with Nomidaë. Shasike had counted Evoans to bluff with their guarantees and was somewhat surprised of this escalation, but In turn felt that the fight against Northmen was in the core of his pseudo-mythological ideology, as well in the very basis of the nationalistic revanchism, as Evo and the historical connection to the Interkommunaali was seen as conspiracy to strip Nomidaë of its fortunes in the war. And in the beginning of December, Rim Sach begun its large scale invasion against Alkurulaë and Thunordak in the East.
Initial Evoan participation in the war came in the sea and air fronts, as the Swift Nomidaëan invasion force overran the small central Ellardaëan nations before the Evoan Expedition Force or Evon Siirtoarmeija, EsA was fully mobilized. During the winter months, Evo transferred a force of 400,000 soldiers in 13 divisions to the Mitchedaë and Sulraiven.The Sea war begun with disaster for Evoans, as the Aircraft carrier Pekko Aikamiehenpoika was sunk at the 2nd week of the war by Nomidaëan submarine, strongly highlighting the advances that the type have gained during the interwar years and was now to be one of the most fearsome of the Evoan foes in upcoming years.
First actual major naval engagement came when Nomidaëan Battleship Karache together with her escort made a daring dash towards Kouru in the Westsea and further incursion into Sulraiven’s territorial waters who was still nominally neutral (despite housing large force of Evoans, already at war with Nomidaë). In the Cvott bay Karache ran aground after escaping
harassing Evoan cruisers. Nomidaëans miscalculated how the ship was to be interned, and were caught off guard by the Evoan cruisers who bombarded the ship to receive superficial but severe enough damage that made her stern sunk lot deeper in the shallow water, rendering all hopes of her crew to set her loose by their own means. As the Nomidaëan captain was fully aware, the arrival of larger Evoan force would be immedient, so he chose to sink her ship rather than surrender, or give Evo, an easy practice run. Just a few weeks later, Nomidaë got their revenge, when a single submarine spotted the old Evoan battleship Varpamies on a training cruise and sunk it with a precise torpedo hit, giving the Evoans another devastating blow from under.
During the winter 39/40, the land war raged mostly on the east, as the Rimian forces were stopped by the East-Ellardaëans which turned Nomidaës intereses slowly away from supporting Rim Sach via their Royal Alignment, instead, Shasikes goal was eventually drive the Rimians away from the Great plains and their reap lands full of natural richess. In South, Nomidaë took advantage of Initial Evoan carefulness by launching attacks against Deivochin, in the Central Archipelago as well as occupying the remote Island of Scholl from Balc, to which at Evoan great frustration did not immediately arise strong military intervention from Balc, who was still neutral and under severe internal duress over the local Vaskist fractions. These moves further alarmed Evo over the possibility of the Nomidaëans to attack Evoan positions in the Archipelago. A strong Naval force under command of Vice-Admiral Hyvärinen and centered around the Battlecruiser Aallokas and Aircraft carrier Ajattar was assembled in the Helmisaaret, at Päärinlinna.
Nomidaëan invasion of Irutal and Tesupar finally broke the slumber peace in aprill of 1940, and while the larger Nomidaän capital ships were giving a chase for the Force Hyvärinen
and Homefleet, the invasion was only partially successful, as its most strongest force that tried to capture the Fortified Evoan port of Teesatama in Irutali, was first repelled and the coastal artillery sunk a brand new heavy cruiser in the process. Nomidaëans however managed to capture some foothold in other parts of the island. Nomidaëans managed to get enough troops ashore that were eventually able to Occupy the town, but their advances were halted at the edge of the mountains by the Evoan Colonial troops, which managed to hold on before larger forces were sent from the Northern Rovintaël to relieve them. During the supply of these troops, Nomidaëan battlecruisers managed to spot Pertteus Pasakoski, an Evoan aircraft carrier almost unguarded and sank her with heavy loss of life. But more devastating blow came from the South as Ondore joined the Nomidaän alliance and quickly crossed the Naksi Desert to approach Mikkolanvala, the main naval base of the Evoan Golden Sea fleet, which was forced to retreat to Nauri, far to the East around the channel, leaving the besieged city behind, soon to surrender to the Stronger Ondoreans. Remaining Evoan forces in northern Rovintael were mustered into the Erusem and Niego, and after initial lackluster advantages of the Ondoreans, Nomidaëan reinforcements began to slowly push Evoans towards the channel. At the beginning of may, Nomidaë launched its invasion of Mitchedaë and Sulraiven in Ellardae proper, which was soon joined by Ondore and swift take over of Balc in the South. Ondorean joining to the war meant that the southern theater around Centrall Archipelago and Rovintaël suddenly become crucial for the entire Evoan commonwealth, while the technically superior Nomidaëan army had no problems crossing the Surosmore mountains and drive the EsA away from its fortified positions along its ridges. Quick to realize their defeat, the Evoans retreated north and launched a massive evacuation campaign that managed to bring most of the Evoan soldiers home, but with heavy loss of equipment. As Alkurulaë and Thunordak later joined the Nomidaän lead alliance, the entire mainland Ellardaë was effectively under occupation of the Vaskists.
These setbacks caused Mustajärvi to resign and a national coalition Government under Veijo Räyskä took over. Räyskä had rosen as key player in the SDP, particularly in its“right-wing” faction and despite featuring strong personality, he was stout pragmatist and capable of getting various rivalind sides working together, including improving ties across the Keskimeri Ocean.
In June, Nirupaal was forced to be evacuated at the center of the Archipelago, pushing Evoans even more to the corner. The lifeline of the Commonwealth laid in the Helmisaaret, cutting the Golden Sea from the Keskimeri Ocean, and In the Nauri channel, which was regarded as utmost important position to be held, and most of Evoan Reinforcements to the region where send to the Erusam deserts. Only a blink of hope came from a rather daring air raid to the Turintoc port in Ondore, when Alli Kaunokki launched a successful airstrike that sank an Ondorean battleship and damaged several other major combatants in October 1940.
The end of 1940 saw the Ondorean and Nomidaëans slowly advancing in Northern Rovintael And in Coin Mucra, south to Ondore, in trying to encircle the Nauri Channel region.
Already Shasike has decided to invade Rim Sach in summer, and was in hurry to secure the southern underbelly of Ellardaë and keep the Ondoreans happy, as their forces were needed against the Rimians, and great proportion of them were spread around in the Rovintael and Central Archipelago. The Isles of Asarav, at the peak of Central Archipelago, middle of strait separating them from the Rovintael, held strong foothold for Evo, that together with Päärinlinna and Nauri Channel were the key strongholds to support Evoan Defense efforts, And the Golden Sea Fleet and Force Hyvärinen escorted large amount of shipping to support these bases as well as Evoan commonwealth trade to the home Island via waters threatened by enemy submarines and surface raiders.
Since mid 1940s, the Nomidaëan Submarine warfare had increased into levels that Evoans begun to suffer serious losses in shipping, in a rate that was unfeasible them to maintain. By this time Evo had already begun serious diplomacy over Interkommunaali’s aid, as Rim Sach kept the non-intervention alliance standing with Shasike and refused to support Evo even with civilian products. The raging war in the old world had begun to swift the power balance in Interkommunaali away from the isolationists to the interventionists, and in Late 1940, Evo begun to receive first loads of the Interkommunaali’s aid, including old destroyers for convoy escort roles.
Major Nomidaëan's push to Evoan Golden Sea holdings began in the spring of 1941, in April, Ondorean cruiser squardon was maneuvering around Armag Isles, north of Asarav. The Evoan Golden Sea Fleet was deployed in the region as the Ondorean capital ships were also spotted in the region, anticipating a large-scale offensive against the Evoan islands. In a night engagement, The Evoan Fleet spotted the Ondorean cruisers almost point blank range, and destroyed 3 heavy cruisers in a single engagement. This success did not stop the Nomidaëans to attack in the North, and landing enough troops to over take northern Tesupar in swift operation introducing larger scale paratrooper invasion at the first time. Two Evoan cruisers were sunk during the evacuation of the defenders. It was not long after that A strong Nomidaëan and Ondorean Naval force begun to sail against Päärinlinna in attempts to engage the Force Hyvärinen, that was down to just Aallokas and the newly commissioned Ilmari Ilmarinta as their aircraft carrier component were sent home for repairs. V-adm. Hyvärinen decided to engage the Enemy force of 3 Ondorean Older Battleships, led by modern Nomidaëan battleship Dukan III and a heavy cruiser in the 1st Battle of the Helmisaaret. The Evoan ships used their speed advantage to split the invasion fleet into two, as the older Ondorean ships could not pursue them, leaving just Dukan III and her cruiser mate to engage, but the odds soon turned for the Nomidaëan favor as Ilmari Ilmarinta’s main guns dysfunctioned at crucial point and he had to retreat from the battle. Aallokas engaged Dukan III, but suffered several hits from her 380mm battery that penetrated Aallokas after magazines, blowing the ship up and she sank within a few minutes. The Victorious Dukan III then rejoined the Ondorean Battleships to bombard Päärinlinna, but the heavy coastal artillery and Evoan Aircrafts managed to chase them off. For next week, Large scale Nomidaëan air attacks were directed from North Tesupar and Ondorean held parts of the island chain against Päärinlinna, but the defenses held, and No amphibious operation was launched.
Meanwhile the Evoan Home Fleet sailed south, with Väinö Puhuri and the two powerful Päättäväinen class ships, supported by two aircraft carriers. The Evoan Carrier planes were able to locate the Enemy battleships and after unsuccessful air raids, the Enemy battleships scattered and the Ondorean Ships turned east towards Ellarchall, where as Dukan III Set her sails with her cruiser companion towards Irutali and West-Tesupar. For Some reason, the Nomidaëan Captain did not enter the Irutali Strait but kept sailing far away in the open sea towards
Deivochin, where Nomidaëan support ships were anchored. The northern coast of Tesupari was deprived of ports large enough to fully resupply, and the Nomidaëans were unaware of the presence of Evoan Home fleet, miscalculating the air raid launched from Päärilinna itself.
Although Evoans first sought Dukan III from the Southern side of the Irutali, a covert operatives among the local native insurgents spotted the large Battleships sailing westward along the Northern coast, and the Aircraft from Akka Reulikki located the ship and managed to score torpedo hits to slow her considerably down. The Evoan battleships were then able to get into a range and after hours of heavy engagement, Päättäväisyys scored the final hits that silenced Dukan IIIs last turret and the ship sank slowly in blazes.
Few weeks Later the Nomidaëan honor was once again somewhat restored as its two modern Battlecruisers and a Heavy cruiser managed to dash through the strait of Kouru and enter into Raiven, for much of Evoan dislike.
After this, the Vaskists push against Central Arcipelago and Helmisaaret islands cooled down significantly, but for a reasons to be abruptly clear for Evoans, as within a Month Shasike renounced his pact with the Rim Shac and mustered the largest army ever assembled together with Thunordak, Alkurulaë and Ondore and began invasion against the Giant nation. Although this relieved some pressure from the Central Archipelago, a new set of Disaster broke in the Far East as Marlannon surprisingly joined the Shasikes pact and begun offensive against Evoan and Interkommunaali’s positions in june of 1941.
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