Across the territory of the former Balkan Federation, an illegal referendum has been held by the Balkan Liberation Army. Voters were blockaded from the voting stations by the Italian authorities, and many were brutally beaten; many ballot boxes were stolen from the stations by the authorities directly, and some were ripped out of beaten volunteer's hands as they carried them into vans to be transported to the relevant counting facilities. Nevertheless, the BLA managed to get a count. 62% voted to secede from the Italian Empire, while just 38% voted to remain. Dragoje Aleksič proclaimed the independent state of the Balkan Federation at the Old Royal Palace of Athens, which is now the country's Senate. He is serving as its acting Prime Minister and President. He humbly requests that the combines of the world formally acknowledge the independence of the Balkan Federation. He also warns Italy that, if they refuse to leave the relevant territories, the people will respond with force. At the Old Royal Palace, the country's hopeful political parties are also forming. Aleksič himself leads Stamodos, a social democrat party committing to enacting all aspects of the Vivlío Ideón; the communist parties have banded together to form the Communist Alliance (CA), and the socialists have done the same (SA); the right-wing parties have formed the Alliance of Conservatives and Democrats (ACD); and the nationalist/far-right parties have formed the Alliance of Nationalists (AN). The seats of the Senate are allocated as follows: Greece: 78 seats Serbia: 71 seats Croatia: 39 seats Bosnia: 28 seats Slovenia: 15 seats Macedonia: 13 seats Albania: 13 seats Montenegro: 4 seats Total: 261 seats For every 100,000 people, there is 1 parliamentary seat, subject to review every ten years.
SEU knows that the Italian Empire still retains much of its Western Territories (Franco's Spain is frankly a Client State and exists by being propped up by Mussolini) and that the Italian Empire possess a Nuclear Arsenal, however primitive that consists of 30-50 Uranium Weapons (in context, that's like Gen0 Nuclear Weapons. Gen1 is normal fission, Gen2 is boosted fission, Gen3 is Hydrogen, Gen4 is Adjustable-Yield Hydrogen). The Balkan Federation is no match for the Italian Empire, and SNE is on the side of the Italians providing them with advanced military technology. Even if the Italians have none of the Gen2 Fighters or fancy tech, the Balkan Federation certainly does not. This will end in blood, and SEU wants no part of it. Their control over the Soviet Union is challenged by the introduction of new actors (Venezuela, South Africa have both applied and been accepted into the Union). SEU maintains a non-committal stance by refusing to recognize both the claims by the Italians and Balkan Federation.
Once again, rather illegally and with intense aggression displayed from the Italian authorities still present in the area, the first Balkan election has been hosted. It has returned the following result. Greece - 78 seats Stamados: 32 seats Alliance of Nationalists: 23 Alliance of Conservatives & Democrats: 16 Alliance of Communists: 6 Alliance of Liberals & Democrats: 1 Serbia - 71 seats Stamados: 21 Alliance of Nationalists: 20 Alliance of Communists: 14 Alliance of Conservatives & Democrats: 13 Alliance of Liberals & Democrats: 3 Croatia - 39 seats Alliance of Nationalists: 11 Stamados: 8 Alliance of Communists: 8 Alliance of Liberals & Democrats: 7 Alliance of Conservatives & Democrats: 5 Bosnia - 28 seats Muslim Alliance: 15 Alliance of Orthodox Serbs: 9 Stamados: 3 Alliance of Communists: 1 Slovenia - 15 seats Stamados: 7 Alliance of Conservatives & Democrats: 3 Alliance of Liberals & Democrats: 3 Alliance of Communists: 1 Alliance of Nationalists: 1 Macedonia - 13 seats Stamados: 6 Alliance of Conservatives & Democrats: 3 Alliance of Liberals & Democrats: 3 Alliance of Communists: 1 Albania - 13 seats Muslim Alliance: 8 Alliance of Nationalists: 4 Alliance of Communists: 1 Montenegro - 4 seats Stamados: 2 Alliance of Nationalists: 1 Alliance of Communists: 1 THE FIRST SENATE OF THE BALKAN FEDERATION1954(don't ask me where the other seats went, doesn't matter) Stamados (Red): 79 Alliance of Nationalists (Grey): 60 Alliance of Conservatives & Democrats (Blue): 40 Alliance of Communists (Maroon): 33 Muslim Alliance (Green): 23 Alliance of Liberals & Democrats (Yellow): 17 Alliance of Orthodox Serbs (Purple): 9 For a majority, a party would need 115 seats. Evidently, no party here is even close. A coalition is needed. With Stamados in the lead, Dragoje Aleksič will continue as Prime Minister and, for the time being, as President. The Alliance of Nationalists and the Muslim Alliance refuse to work with Stamados in government, seeing them as an exclusively Greek/Serb/Christian organisation, ruling both of them out as coalition partners. The Alliance of Conservatives & Democrats have agreed to be junior partners, with their leader, Apostolis Sarkotis, becoming the Deputy Prime Minister. 119 seats is a majority, but it is wafer thin; as such, in exchange for specific policy terms, the Alliance of Liberals & Democrats has been accepted into the Grand Coalition - the Alliance of Orthodox Serbs, despite being useful puppets, were passed over as it was feared it would grant legitimacy to the Muslim Alliance and the Nationalist's greatest fears. The Communists, despite their being ignored, will also generally vote for Stamados policies as some kind of chess game to get closer to communism, and so they are de facto junior partners. The Government: President: Dragoje Aleksič Prime Minister: Dragoje Aleksič Deputy Prime Minister: Apostolis Sarkotis Parties of Government: Stamados, Alliance of Conservatives & Democrats, and the Alliance of Liberals & Democrats Government Seats: 136 Despite these divisions, the ability to form a coalition is being paraded as a show of strength and unity, and indeed, the Nationalists, Communists, and the Muslim Alliance - right now - are still getting along and functioning perfectly fine under the united banner of the Balkan Liberation Army.
The 1,200 strong People's Congress is being increasingly dominated by the New Socialists, a Right-Wing party. Keep in mind that the Right-to-Left split in SEU is over Social Issues; SEU generally agrees that the "Socialist" (COUGH COUGH) Model of Economics and Government is ideal and there is very little the mainstream parties would like to change about it. LGBTQ+ peoples are being restricted welfare benefits and while LGBTQ+ activities remain legal, there is a feeling that the more Eastern Orthodox Christian Elements would like to restrict that too. The SEU continues to restrict certain religions from activity (Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, certain extremist Islamic groups, Church of the Broken God) and puts restrictions on a few more religions, because they can.
The only thing keeping the Italian Empire from the Caliphate is the TBF. As is such, the Caliphate offers a mutual defense pact with the Balkan Federation in the case of a war between TBF and the New Roman Empire. This is good for the Balkan Federation, as the SEU is a lot more on the side of the Italians, meaning in any war the Balkan Federation will be completely totaled, even without the SEU, the Italians can sweep them up. The Caliphate is one of the biggest powers in the Mediterranean, if not the most powerful naval power. Having an alliance with a nation whom also would assist with tons of military equipment, tanks, gears, vehicles, and planes is very beneficial. However, it would also mean a greater power with the Muslim Resistance in Albania, and the guaranteed protection of them and their cause, which is ultimately to defend from Muslim prosecution. The Albanian Muslim Resistance is not a terrorist organization, but an armed organization with the goal to protect all mosques, Muslim artifacts and organizations, and the people. This is a direct fight against the Italians and the Vatican who have persecuted Muslims for a long time.
Aleksič and Sarkotis have flown into Tirana, the capital of Albania, and delivered a joint statement to the Albanian populace. In the statement, they have pledged their support to the protection and support of followers of Islam, Albanians in particular, as well as a full apology for the last iteration of the Balkan Federation's actions to them. They have promised to give the Albanian people the same state powers as Greece and Serbia, and have promised devolution to both Albania and Kosovo. The move has angered Serbs across Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia, but has won the support of the Albanians and Bosnians. As well, they promised to put the Caliphate's offer to a vote in the Senate. The Alliance of Nationalists have voted against the offer on the basis of some dislike of Islam and foreign support, bringing the votes against to 60. The Alliance of Communists have voted against the offer, bringing the votes against to 93. The Alliance of Orthodox Serbs votes against too, bringing the tally up to 102 against. However, Stamados, the Alliance of Conservatives, the Alliance of Liberals, and the Muslim Alliance have voted for the offer. This passes the resolution with 159 votes in favour. The Balkan Federation has formally accepted the Caliphate's offer of a mutual defence pact.
The Guianas are now under control of the UBR. A few parties aren't very fond of the invasion, but they aren't doing much to stop it. The annexation will be finished by 1451.
South Africa has applied to get a few MiG-21s. SEU provides them with an inferior variant known as the MiG-21K, which is roughly slightly superior to the Caliphate AI-5. The MiG-21K has been made the standard export variant of the MiG-21, and the rest of the Soviet Union (except UBR and DRC) is told that if they want the real thing they can go actually be productive to the Socialist Cause, because the MiG-21 is not cheap and using Old Radar and tech makes it affordable. In any case, SEU throws the Army a bone and tells them to go get a few new T-55s and to museum-ize the T-34s that are still left, because the T-34 is virtually useless in this day and age due to its crappy engines and make crap tons of them they don't need to last mentality. The Navy is getting a budget increase, so now they can actually operate two of their five Supercarriers (they are still looking for a buyer for Admiral Kuznetsov and Jang Bo Go. No one wants to buy the giant Supercarriers, it seems despite the extensive modifications made to make it economical, including the replacement of the CATOBAR with STOBAR.) as it should be. Tang is finished ahead of schedule, and is currently in service. Socialistik Qazaqstan has been deployed to the Black Sea with the newly acquired Su-12Voys to defend SEU interests there. Despite the fact that SEU has around 80 or so Guided Missile Destroyers as well as 20 or so Guided Missile Conversion Cruisers (which exceeds the Caliphate by a fair margin), SEU can't actually operate many of them. In theory they exist, but SEU does not have the money to operate all of them and just maintains them so they sit in port and do nothing. However, SEU has bothered to give them money so that they can scrape together a Carrier Task Force. There is nothing more scary in the Sea than a SEU Carrier task force, except maybe a Caliphate Carrier Task Force. If you are Aircraft, you will be shot down by many ships and constantly harassed by Sukhoi Naval Fighters, which SEU has great experience in operating. If you are a surface ship, you will be bombarded by Anti-Ship Missiles and attacked by Aircraft in all angles. The Sukhoi Naval Fighter series are good multirole Jets, even better than Mikoyan-Gurevich's Land-Based Fighter series. If you are a submarine, you will be hunted by the excellent Sonar and ASW Capabilities of the SEU Destroyers, and hounded by Mi-8 Helicopters to no end. Basically, the only way to defeat a SEU Carrier Task Force is to throw massive numbers of Ships or Aircraft at it. Surprise Surprise, the only way that you can do that is another Carrier Task Force. SEU has little desire to fight with the Caliphate, and just tells their ships to stay in the Black Sea and to bombard the hell out of anyone disrupting maritime trade.
SEU shipbuilding: SEU likes to use Titanium in their ships, especially Titanium Alloys that provide great strength in vital areas for armor. Only SEU has the massive amounts of Titanium needed to "Cheaply" produce it (as in it's not prohibitively expensive). Titanium saves weight, does not corrode, and is very strong which means basically no maintenance. The SEUN always shows the long-term costs to the Congress. This is because if they show short-term costs, they will look really expensive. The SEU uses very little Aluminum. They hate it because it causes Galvanic Corrosion and melts in fire, skyrocketing maintenance costs. While Aluminum is cheap short-term, the SEUN likes long-term Weapons. The SEUN is very good at damage control. Their whole shipbuilding idea is that their ships should survive all the encounters and come back, be repaired and fight again while being reasonably easy to produce. This is not easy and often comes at the cost of performance, which is partially remedied by the SEU Technological Advancements. SEU Lore: The SEU Government does what needs to be done, to hell with casualties. The SEU Government must approve any protests with a number of participants higher than 50. SEU often vetoes overly Political Protests regardless of position. NIMBY protests are 100% vetoed. The SEU Government does not tolerate NIMBY. It goes in your backyard, the Government does not care. The SEU Government dislikes extreme brutality and makes a point of avoiding it if not needed. Brutality never works over the long term, and SEU knows this. The SEU Government thinks giving political freedom to its citizens is less important than feeding its citizens. The Han Chinese Agree, although the SEU Government is kind of afraid of the Russians rebelling. The SEU Government is extremely effective at keeping its citizens complacent and fed. It is very savvy at Economics and Environmentalism. The SEU Government is extremely brutal when it needs to be. It could and would stuff minorities into concentration camps if it meant defending the majority from constant terrorist attack. The SEU Government's most central parts do not care about the individual. The collective is the priority. The SEU Government is regularly criticized. It makes sure to hear the criticism, lest they be overthrown. It always tolerates reasonable criticism of the local governments. It mostly tolerates reasonable criticism of the middle-level governments. It sometimes tolerates reasonable criticism of the central government. They never tolerate any sort of "OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT/SOCIALIST PARTY!" The SEU Government is responsible for the high levels of Economic Growth in SEU, and also responsible for leading SEU out of the depression quickly. The SEU Government will use whatever means necessary to preserve the happiness and prosperity of the general population. The SEU Government is Authoritarian, not Totalitarian. It could not care less about what people talk about behind closed doors. If they literally wish hell on the Socialist Party, the SEU government does not care as long as they keep it behind closed doors. Lastly, and most importantly: the SEU Government is the most goddamn paranoid government on Earth. It is afraid of being overthrown on a daily basis. It is terrified of its own citizens, and tries its best to make them fed and complacent lest they be overthrown. The SEU holds elections for the People's Congress, but all the candidates have hoops to jump through. They must have experience as a Public Servant. They must have a near-0 record of corruption. They must have been a member of the Socialist Party. They must not be a bumbling idiot. Only then can one run for People's Congressperson. The PL needs to have been a People's Congressperson. Basically, the Socialist Party is the Government, but there is so much infighting that the Government is often left to its own devices.
SEU is selling 300 T-54A tanks 2 STOBAR Supercarriers 16 Sydney-Class Destroyers 40 MiG-21s 120 MiG-21Ks License for AK-47 Production (GIVES ABILITY TO PRODUCE WEAPONS) License for Marakov Pistol Production (GIVES ABILITY TO PRODUCE WEAPONS) Only SEU could formerly produce Weapons for the Soviet Socialists.
We'll take them. The annexation of the Guianas is complete. Next order of business is political divisions. Two plans were put to a vote; one large Guiana country and three separate West-, Central-, and East-Guiana (modern Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana). The three country plan was approved. Infrastructure is next. Highway and rail line networks are in planning phases, along with an air route from Cayenne to København.
Across the territories of the disputed state of the Balkan Federation, tensions between the natives and the Italian authorities are heating up immensely. Previously, this was displayed to its greatest extent in Athens, where the Italian presence is now non-existent and the Balkan Liberation Army hosts the Senate and acts like it's a fully fledged nation state. The people of Belgrade wished to do the same - nonviolent protests against the Italian presence in the city turned sour after Italian police shot into the crowd. The crowd responded with force back, storming the Italian embassy and throwing the Italians out - a civil servant was accidentally killed. The New Roman Empire has responded with intense hostility, promising to 'root out' the scourge of the BLA, and have essentially declared war on it without acknowledging it as an independent nation state. Aleksič has put the declaration of war to a vote in the Senate. The entirety of Stamodos, the Nationalists, the Conservatives, the Communists, the Muslim Alliance, and the Alliance of Orthodox Serbs have voted in favour of declaring a defensive war against Italy. Aleksič, in his capacity as President/Commander-in-Chief, gave the all-clear to the declaration. Those who are already members of the BLA have been mobilised already, but volunteers are being taken in all throughout the major cities of the Balkan peninsula.
The Caliphate's Council and Ashqar are very happy to hear the acceptance of their offer to the Balkan Federation, and actually offer a meeting with TBF and the Caliphate's leaders and ministers of defense, trade, and transportation. The meeting will take place in Constantinople (to avoid angry people in TBF attempting to bomb anyone), and be accompanied by a large dinner, mainly of traditional Turkish and Arabic cuisine, (Kebabs). (Of course, due to Ashqar's vow to humbleness, he will skip on the grand delicacies) The Transportation sector of Turkey offers to strengthen an international road, leading from Constantinople all the way through TBF. It will also double as a way to boost economy and expand trade within the SNE. The WCA and their allies are receiving a large number of equipment all from the Caliphate, most notably tanks. The Tanks of choice are Post-War Modified M4 Saladins, and the MBT-5 Omega. The Super Saladin is a great choice of a weapon, chosen from the best variant of the Saladin and made better. So far, only 4,000 were built, and 2,500 previous M4A3E8 Saladins were given kits to upgrade to the Super Saladin. Although, the SS tanks originally built from the factory are better but lack experience. The NAE is getting a LOT of these, to directly set a force against the DRC. Shipped to NAE: 900 Super Saladins (FACTORY), 300 Super Saladins (UPGRADED FROM KIT) In Total amount of tanks: 1,200 Super Saladins, 540 M4 Saladins, 7 MBT-5 Omega's, (four with 84mm rifle, 3 with 105mm.) Pakistan has received many to defend themselves from India: Shipped to Pakistan: 600 Super Saladins (FACTORY), 100 Super Saladins (UPGRADED FROM KIT) In Total amount of tanks: 700 Super Saladins, 1,000 M4 Saladins, 10 MBT-5 Omega's (All with 105mm) 400 S. Saladins were shipped to Brazil, however, they required blueprints instead, allowing their own industry to produce them. IN TOTAL: 400 S. Saladins, 100 M4 Saladins, rest are tanks from The Federations days, however, the blueprints aquired from Cal. allow them to produce these vehicles rapidly. They have also ordered 70 MBT-5 Omega's, 40 with the 85mm, and 30 with the 75mm, and their wishes were granted. Canada has also received 200 S. Saladins and 20 MBT-5 Omega tanks, which they are made into variants. Bulgaria has 80 S. Saladins Mexico ordered only 600 of every other Saladin variant other than the Super model. They also have 1 MBT-5 Omega. This leaves the Caliphate with nearly, 1,420 Super Saladins left. However... TBF is in need of some, and as is such, the Caliphate gives them 20 Super Saladins, 80 LEASED Super Saladins, and offers to sell them nearly 200 Super Saladins. Once TBF grows an actual military, they are open to receive many more ground vehicles. Luckily for the SCAF (Sunayyad Caliphate Armed Forces), the MBT-5 Omega and 5.5 Omega are superior to the S. Saladin, meaning the ease of the SCAF just letting them be sold without carrying. The M4 Saladin is no longer in SCAF service, however, it is a fantastic import weapon to allies that need it. All other Saladin variants are out of war service, but most of them are in for civillian and paramilitary uses, the S. Saladin especially. The MBT-7 Omega (Basically the British Chieftan) is in design and will be entered into service in 1961. Upcoming models: MBT-7 Omega: 1961 LBT-7 Tiger (Light reconnaissance vehicle, used for scouting and fast speeds, as well as amphibious assaults): 1957 Ultimately, the Caliphate has the greatest tanks in the world, besides the most mass producable to the SEU. The MBT-7 will be undoubtely the greatest tank in the current era, and it will be decades before its surpassed. The M6-S Assault Rifle is being produced, and will enter service in 20 posts. Although, the M5-S (Sakhra, shortened to S) will stay in service for quite some time as a main and reliable weapon, the M6-S is set to slowly outclass it. The M6-S is nothing short by cheap, advanced, reliable, and effective. Nothing of SNE gun quality which is engineered to literally perfection, but the fact that it can even keep firing in rough Sunayyad terrain is outstanding, and leaves this gun to what it is good for, a weapon for the desert. The Caliphate has perfected Desert Defense so much that if any other nation would bring in their own rifles they could be instantly outclassed if they didn't know what they were doing. The rest of the WCA currently uses the M4-S, and M5-S models. The M4-S is not bad at all however, it is quite good in fact, but it is outclassed by the M5-S. M3-S and below are virtually non-existent in any military service. The Navy has called to produce a few more Guided missile cruisers and destroyers, giving them nearly 12 guided missile cruisers and 68 guided missile destroyers. They need to keep producing however, to avoid being outmatched. They do excel in submarines however, and optimize in being hidden. The Caliphate's navy has quite advanced radar as well, and meeting a fleet or possibly a future carrier task force would mean an inevitable death. All in all though, the Caliphate's main goal is defense, which also means that they have a massive navy in the Arabian Sea, not even India matches them. In the Black Sea, it's questionable, both the SEU have such high numbers which grow so fast that by any day you could keep switching on who had a superior force. Caspian Sea is a dud. The Mediterranean is a daze, in actuality, the Caliphate has the most, but that's only near their own borders. Italy and SNE Are just crammed in there. The Atlantic ocean is a mix up, but obvious northern superiority of the SNE.
In an instant, the Caliphate jumps in to the call of the Defense Pact, and has stationed nearly 20 Destroyers, 10 Cruisers, 10 Submarines and 2 Aircraft Carriers on alert, they are set sail to the Balkan's coast to protect supply lines and engage in naval warfare if Italy chooses. The Caliphate has over 80,000 soldiers ready to enter the Balkans if the Liberation Army accepts. Without the help of the Caliphate, Italy with a large and professional army will destroy TBF easily. (In this game Italy was basically not crap, unlike irl)
Aleksič has accepted the Caliphate's offer of a meeting. He is accompanied to Constantinople by Deputy Prime Minister Sarkotis, Foreign Secretary Nikola Nassatos (widely seen as Aleksič's protege - important for later), and the Secretary of State for Transport Veselko Volf. The meeting proceeds as planned. Aleksič and Ashqar get along very well, and pictures of the historic meeting are also a massive propaganda win for the Balkan Liberation Army. Nassatos is also allowed more than his fair share of the limelight; he is charismatic, relatively young, and... yeah basically, he's a Balkan JFK, and he gets along very well with everyone he meets. Volf signs off on the international road, while Aleksič, Sarkotis, and Nassatos agree to allow the movement of the Caliphate's 80,000 soldiers through the Balkan peninsula. Meanwhile, the Italian Army marches through the Slovenian border. Border towns are burned and looted, and unspeakable things are done to the population. Bombs and street ambushes are pulled on them by the BLA, with minimal Balkan casualties thanks to hit and run tactics, but they don't do much to the Italian force.
The Caliphate Force of 80,000 meets with the BLA in Sarajevo in Bosnia. A supply route is created, going from Turkish Ships to Albanian ports, which lead in a frenzy of roads and trail systems throughout the entire Peninsula, it's used as a main land supply route for the BLA, supplying the M5-S gun, tanks, infantry vehicles, towed artillery, along with gear and medical supplies and food and water. The Adriatic Sea is blockaded by Italy at the 40 degree parallel. The Caliphate's first attempt at the counter-defense was minimal, and a new attempt is being made, hopefully they can break through to full fill a faster supply route to the BLA. The SCLAF (Sunayyad Caliphate Loyal Air Force) sends the A44 attack aircraft from the Fatima II Supercarrier to land in Balkan airports and conduct attack and bombing missions on the Italian offense. It works, but the BLA is holding by a near thread. Mass land reinforcements by the SCAF wont arrive within 2 days, all they have to work with is SCLAF paratroopers dropped from transport planes (which is minimal) and a plethora of supplies being dropped and supplied to them.
The SEU Military has the best Radar in the World, exceeding all opponents by a mile. This is a necessity. The MiG-21 would be demolished by opponents if it didn't have the excellent Radar; the MiG-21's only real advantages are good Radar, maneuverability, and cheapness. SEU fighters do not have many real strengths, but one of them is Radar. Really good Radar. This applies to theirs ships as well; they have frankly not-that-good performance, but they have really good Radar. SEU makes a very secret deal with the New Italian Empire to sell them MiG-21s, SEUN Anti-Ship Missiles and advanced Radar Technology (downgraded. Not quite as good as Soviet ones and the ones SEU gives out to UBR and DRC, but still better than everyone else's), in exchange for lots of money and especially stop killing civilians, because selling weapons to murderers is ethically reprehensible and looks bad. The Caliphate will probably find out, so SEU makes sure to put a bit of close-enough information that will mislead them about the exact specs of the Radar. SEU Anti-Ship Missiles: 9/10 SEU Antiaircraft Missiles: 7/10 SEU Radar: 11/10 (broke the rating scale) SEU Small Arms: Ease of manufacture: 10/10 Performance: 5/10 Reliability: 10/10 Ease of Use/Resupply/Repair: 6/10 SEU Tanks: Ease of Manufacture: 10/10 Performance: 6/10 Reliability: 8/10 Ease of Use/Resupply/Repair: 8/10 SEU Aircraft: Ease of Manufacture: 8/10 Performance: 7/10 Reliability: 8/10 Ease of Use/Resupply/Repair: 9/10 The SEU doctrine emphasizes ease of manufacture, repair, and reliability before any sort of performance. The T-55 would lose against the MBT-6 all other conditions being equal because of its inferior all-around strength. However, the T-55 can be produced in larger numbers, is more reliable, and easier to supply.
The first goal of the SCN is to control the Mediterranean, and that was easier done than said. Within a few hours key routes were locked by the SCN and put under heavy control. The SEU can never supply the Italians through the sea, unless they want to have a war with the Caliphate, the only way is by getting through land, and that is a little more challenging. OOC: When the world finds out about the SEU supplying the Italians after their atrocities towards the Balkans people in Slovenia, you bet they are going to get an awful image... They can't hide it, supplying ammo is easier to conceal, but full blown aircraft which is noticeably non-Italian is going to boost a lot of concerns towards the SEU.
The takeover/annexation if Argentina is complete. Though strong military force was used, almost no one was hurt. With Argentina the SNE now has more resources, man power, and a new country in South America to join the SNE. The SNE upgrades the model for there Naval Guns. Guns now have a higher caliber and are firing faster. Also, a new model has a new model entirely for their guns, the 57mm gun. It's a huge advancement for the SNE but will take a while to complete. It's not sure if it will be used a lot or if it will just exist with minimal use.
The SEU outright tells the Italians that dude, the atrocities have to stop. SEU secretly tells them that SEU hasn't delivered those MiG-21K yet, and that those MiG-21Ks can still be turned against their intended recipients. SEU knows that if they aid the Italians while they committed atrocities in the Balkan Federation, SEU will get lots of bad press. Therefore, SEU also adds something new to the deal. "Humanitarian Aid". SEU will only trade them weapons against the Balkan Federation soldiers if they don't treat the Balkan Federation civilians like crap. SEU agrees to be their industrial powerhouse and to sell them all the weapons they need (at a very low price so SEU can extract more profit in the long run) only if they fight this war in accordance with the SEU rules of war. SEU has already made licensed copies of Italian Rifles and 5.56x45mm ammo. (they even have AK-47s chambered in that Caliber, because getting the 7.62mmx39mm is a hassle in SNE). SEU is playing a dangerous game here. This will probably worsen relations over the long run because SEU is effectively threatening the Italians, but for now Italy gets small arms and ammo without having to strain its relatively weak industry.
