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mdc01957 — Liberation 1944: RDNA-verse

Published: 2010-10-17 15:14:15 +0000 UTC; Views: 4402; Favourites: 21; Downloads: 35
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Description Here's the last part of the British Invasion map series, though I plan to make a fic on the last weeks of the war.

By the time the Liberation Campaign went underway in mid 1943, the British were slowly being withered down. Despite the supplies, resources and manpower grew steadily scarce. The Government found it increasingly difficult to cope with the chaos. Even the Valiant Soldier was reported to have grown increasingly weak. Allied leaders knew too well that they couldn’t hold out indefinitely; as several officials commented, “it was now or never.”

The first to arrive were squads of agents, spearheaded by those of the RDNA’s infamous Evidenzbureau; their expertise was crucial in revealing (and sabotaging) Red movements. It was followed on the tenth of July by simultaneous landings in Plymouth (RDNA), Belfast (AF) and Edinburgh (Loyalist Canada), or at least what remained of them. Despite casualties, within less than two days, the Allies succeeded in establishing a foothold.

As it soon became clear, however, fighting only intensified. Even with intelligence and espionage activities, freeing the British Isles proved to be a difficult task. The fact that the British forces were by then stretched too thin to provide any considerable backup only made it harder. Nonetheless they persevered. Land was reclaimed and people were freed, at the cost of many lives and significant collateral damage from both sides; battles (for the Allies) soon became a matter of reducing death counts. From that point, records of the conflict grew mired in rumors and conflicting information. Some of the more reliable sources came from the likes of General Quentin Roosevelt (AF Field Commander) and the enigmatic Col. Matthew Williams (Royal Canadian Army).

In any case, it became undisputed fact that the worst of the “Scorched Earth” incidents came from a surprising source: the RDNA. It remains a mystery why the New Austrians reverted to such a feral “zeal,” symbolized in editorials as a shadowy red woman. There were those who considered the revelation that many of the Red commanders were veterans of the Terror, more specifically those from the Central European purges. Others suggested attempted subversions by sleeper agents in the front lines. Others still believed that it may have been a combination of both, along with other reasons. Regardless, the war quickly became a bloody vendetta. Whatever control there was among the soldiers (for the most part) quickly broke down; indeed, it seemed as though they were tearing the landscape as much as the Reds. Only more level-headed minds (and Allied “intervention”) prevented even worse acts from taking place; some officers even suggested the use of then-experimental nuclear technology as bombs to “drive them back once and for all.”

Eventually, most of the Collectivist forces were driven back to Southeastern England. Faced with defeat, their leaders soon concentrated their efforts into breaking the British resistance around London, in the hopes of stemming the advance. This resulted in the Battle of London, one of the last and most costly in the war as joint Canadian-RDNA soldiers pushed back the relentless masses. It ended in a decisive, if bloodied, victory and the final breaking point of the Invasion.

The Collectivist Retreat on 23 May 1944 marked the end of the conflict. It was a Pyrrhic victory. Barely anything functioned within the United Kingdom by war’s end; its people, industry and infrastructure were in shambles. With the Government and Crown effectively transferred to Montreal, the islands were placed under protectorate status to facilitate rehabilitation efforts. As time went on, however, difficulties in managing the damage –both physical and psychological – rendered the clause “indefinite;” the British never fully recovered.

Of the Allied forces, only the Americans considered the conflict something approaching a “heroic” triumph. In any case, they sought to make the most of it, given the circumstances. “V-B Day” (Victory in Britain) became synonymous with moral victory, serving as morale-boosting propaganda for years after. It was an additional moral high ground that of the countries that participated, they claimed “restrained involvement.”

The actions of the RDNA forces meanwhile rendered that country a virtual pariah on the world stage. This notoriety characterized a period of simmering tensions across most of the Free Nations, which lasted through the rest of the decade; Canada was the first to restore normal relations, in 1949. The humiliation and subsequent efforts to restore a proper standing took longer to achieve.

The Liberation helped keep the Collectivist tide in check. But in a sense, the Reds succeeded.

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And yes, the Quentin Roosevelt mentioned is that son of Theodore Roosevelt. In this timeline, he decided to follow his father's footsteps in the army...

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Comments: 27

ScarletMarine [2013-10-22 10:26:28 +0000 UTC]

What does RDNA means?

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mdc01957 In reply to ScarletMarine [2013-10-22 11:59:51 +0000 UTC]

Royal Dominion of New Austria. ^^

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ScarletMarine In reply to mdc01957 [2013-10-23 10:46:27 +0000 UTC]

Oh.

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GigoXXIII [2013-06-29 05:58:34 +0000 UTC]

The Collectivist of the cross over are going to be in for a surprise when I get round to the Old World

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mdc01957 In reply to GigoXXIII [2013-06-29 06:36:51 +0000 UTC]

I'll be looking forward to it.

Also, if you need additional info, the "Liberation" is also known to the Brits in the RDNA-verse as New Austria's "psychotic episode."

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GigoXXIII In reply to mdc01957 [2013-06-29 08:32:45 +0000 UTC]

How does the reunification of Italy sound ? is it plausible while the Collectivist leadership is paralysed with panic and confusion or pushing things to far ?

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mdc01957 In reply to GigoXXIII [2013-06-29 08:34:12 +0000 UTC]

Sounds plausible to a point. Depends on how far the South Italians and their allies push before the Reds decide to hold them back.

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GigoXXIII In reply to mdc01957 [2013-06-29 09:47:46 +0000 UTC]

Well the Danubian Federation owns Venice and near by areas and South Italy is to the south so I figured a combined push would reach the alpine borders and the RL border with France. It would be part of the panicked and hastily organised Collectivist offensive into the Danube and it's disastrous aftermath where the South Italians decide the enemy of my enemy is my friend although Tunisia is lost just before peace is enforced once again

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mdc01957 In reply to GigoXXIII [2013-06-29 09:59:13 +0000 UTC]

Perhaps not losing Tunisia wholesale. By 2014, the area's largely been integrated into South Italy, although the locals Arabs tend to speak an Arabic/Italian pidgin.

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GigoXXIII In reply to mdc01957 [2013-06-29 12:55:19 +0000 UTC]

How fortified is the region ?

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mdc01957 In reply to GigoXXIII [2013-06-29 13:39:31 +0000 UTC]

Well, most of the frontiers are heavily fortified. The Italian borders in particular a sort of cross between the Korean DMZ and the Berlin Wall in OTL: a series of bases, trenches and fortifications dotting a ruined, largely abandoned countryside.

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GigoXXIII In reply to mdc01957 [2013-06-29 15:23:53 +0000 UTC]

Would a strong military offensive put a stop to most of the red insurgency in Italy ?

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mdc01957 In reply to GigoXXIII [2013-06-29 15:53:03 +0000 UTC]

Most likely. Even several decades after the Terror, there are still a good deal of "unperson" dissidents, along with a quiet if vaguely resentful majority that could be galvanized.

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GigoXXIII In reply to mdc01957 [2013-06-29 17:15:21 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for the information it will help me a great deal.

Before I forget I don't know if you'v seen this AHTL before but if not you might like it. It's one of the first major AH I read and one of the few I'v finished reading to completion more then once. [link]

Ancient Egypt Survives Until the Present Day. Unfortunately the author died last year however his site is still running and has many AHTLs on it

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mdc01957 In reply to GigoXXIII [2013-06-29 17:30:14 +0000 UTC]

I remember coming across that very site a long time ago. If memory serves me right, there's also a version involving the Inca and Romans.

And you're very welcome!

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GigoXXIII In reply to mdc01957 [2013-06-30 00:14:23 +0000 UTC]

Yes one with the Inca and one where Rome was destroyed and one involving the Hittites

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mdc01957 In reply to GigoXXIII [2013-06-30 03:30:25 +0000 UTC]

Ah, that takes me back.

Anyhoo, what do you like to see from me this time?

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GigoXXIII In reply to mdc01957 [2013-06-30 04:02:46 +0000 UTC]

I'm not sure, surprise me

I do have a question however. Have you ever considered doing your on take on Harry Turtledoves World War aka that series where reptillian aliens called the Race invade during WWII and they have had 1990's-2000's technology for thousands of years without change due to their culture and biology ?

Etc either them invading an alternate timeline such as RDNA for example or your own take on how the books invasion would have gone etc.

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mdc01957 In reply to GigoXXIII [2013-06-30 04:13:39 +0000 UTC]

One of my earliest works involved something akin to that. Only those involved Chimera-like beings invading Victorian/Edwardian Earth.

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GigoXXIII In reply to mdc01957 [2013-06-30 04:20:48 +0000 UTC]

Humm I have no checked that out yet I better get on it

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mdc01957 In reply to GigoXXIII [2013-06-30 04:25:18 +0000 UTC]

As a warning though, it's pretty old and very basic. Not to mention the AH.com influences being most evident.

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GigoXXIII In reply to mdc01957 [2013-06-30 04:36:26 +0000 UTC]

Old and basic can be cool in a retro sort of way . Whats wrong with AH.com influences ?, I don't go there all that often but ot seems to have a mixed reputation among some of the AH map makers on here that I'v spoken to

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mdc01957 In reply to GigoXXIII [2013-06-30 05:02:10 +0000 UTC]

I've got no regrets on AH.com to be honest, though I'm no longer a card-carrying member of the forum. Long story that one, though it involved staying on the threads a bit too long.

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Rarayn [2011-08-10 19:17:03 +0000 UTC]

This one was awesome too. Seems like Fransesca's mental state applied to her soldiers this time too, huh?

Kind of sad to see the UK reduced to such an extent, but I guess it was inevitable given the situation.

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mdc01957 In reply to Rarayn [2011-08-10 23:52:57 +0000 UTC]

Indeed. Call it pent-up anger, if you want, gone horribly wrong.

And the irony of the whole thing is that from that time (until 2024 at least), it's become a benevolent, peaceful "sort-of Airstrip One to the remnants of the British Empire. Aka Canada.

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XcombatX [2010-10-18 20:46:02 +0000 UTC]

I've seen a lot of these "RDNA" maps now via the Cartography Guild and I must say, they're awesome. Got a link to this TL or is it a personal project?

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mdc01957 In reply to XcombatX [2010-10-19 00:17:57 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. It's more of both, really.

Though if you like to see where it came from, here it is: [link]

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