Infinite Powers

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Siege
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Re: Infinite Powers

Post by Siege »

A few more points: first, during WW2 Stalin didn't just prepare to move his government east across the Urals, he moved pretty much the entire industry of Western Russia there.

Furthermore:
1) First of all, how the hell does Stalin manage to launch a war in 1940 at all? The Red Army was recovering from Stalin's purges of his officer cadre, they were in no shape whatsoever to launch an offensive. It's pretty well known what happened to the Red Army during Barbarossa, if they were launching an offensive into enemy-held territory it'd be worse. The Germans weren't actually that much either in the 40's but there's little doubt in my mind that they'd absolutely slaughter Stalin.

2) Also, an invasion of Scandinavia? Sweden falls within weeks? Did we forget a little nation called Finland that's kind of in the way? You know, the nation that held the Soviets off in the Winter War and did pretty well in the Continuation War as well? So how did the Soviets get past the Fins, exactly?

3) It is preposterous that the Soviet army would be held back by two infantry divisions for six months. To hopefully give you a proper sense of scale, between 1939 and 1945 close to 16 million Germans served in the army, of whom 7 million perished. In 1944-1945 the Wehrmacht was composed of 240-260 divisions. Nazi germany's Army Group A, during the Battle of France responsible for the breakthrough of the Ardennes, consisted of 45 and a half divisions; during the Battle of Kursk they committed 50 divisions, and even during the Battle of the Bulge, when the Nazis were on their last legs, they could throw 38 divisions at the Allies. And as we know the Russians have more manpower than the Germans, not less. Two German infantry divisions -- infantry, meaning they cannot quickly redeploy and have not much in the way of armoured support -- would get steamrolled.

4) Stalin wears the Germans down with strategic bombing? With what strategic bombers?

5) What was the rest of the world doing whilst Stalin goes on his world domination bend? Were the Americans and the British just sitting around with their thumbs up their asses?

6) Italians, of all people, taking Constantinople even though they should be facing the full might of the Soviets bearing down from both through Romania and through Soviet-occupied Anatolia, is hilarious.

The issues with a German invasion of Russia Malchus already addressed so I won't repeat him, suffice it to say the idea of Germany conquering Russia somehow is pretty funny. It's jut not doable.
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Czernobog
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Re: Infinite Powers

Post by Czernobog »

Military of the New Roman Empire

The Imperial Legion

The Imperial Legion (Legione Imperiale) has a long history, dating back to the bloody days of the First Great War, Italy standing together with the Central Powers against the might of the Triple Entente. Italy fought long, and in the end it received Eritrea, Somaliland, Nice-Savoy and Egypt as a result of the Berlin Conference of Christmas Day 1920. From those days on, the Imperial Legion, then known as the Esercito Regale, loyally held its own against the attempted Fascist coup carried out by Alessio Celestino in 1923, and then annexed the war-torn regions of Illyria, Greece, Abyssinia and Romania/Bulgaria, as those powers were in a deeply weakened state and were considered unimportant by the wider international community.

In the Second Great War, they served with honour and discipline against Stalin's hordes, driving him back in Anatolia and Palestine. With the foundation of the New Roman Empire, the Esercito Regale was renamed the Legione Imperiale, the Imperial Legion that would fight against Italy's foes with their skill at arms and the sheer discipline of their forces.

The Imperial Legion was at the forefront when humanity expanded into space, and met the bio-monstrosities of the Stygius Dominate and the insectoid hordes of the Setrezad hives with cleansing firepower that laid waste to the alien foe.

In the First Great Interstellar War, the weaknesses of the Imperial Legion were brought to the fore - rigidity and conservativeness amongst the officers, lack of mobility on the ground, too much reliance on the starships of the Aeronautica Regale to ferry and support the troops. Efforts were made to counteract this in the interbellum period, but thus far the Imperial Legion has thus far not performed that well in the Second Great Interstellar War, despite the efforts made to change its doctrine.

The Aeronautica Regale

The Aeronautica Regale is the fleet arm of the New Roman military, from the Europa-class Superheavy Star Battleships to the Roma-class Superheavy Carriers and the strike-craft, the Valerio-type fighter-bombers and the Marino-type strategic bombers. The Aeronautica Regale is also the aerospace arm of the New Roman Empire's military, commanding its immense amounts of multi-role fighter-bombers, its legions of close-air support gunships, and its heavy amounts of FTL-capable strategic bombers.

The Aeronautica Regale is also the most liberal branch of the New Roman military, somewhat surprisingly, and has a great rivalry and dislike of the more conservative Imperial Legion.

The Protezione Civile

The Protezione Civile is the military arm that is concerned with para-military action and policing duties, and is considered an arm of the military, thus being allowed military-grade weapons such as light armour and military power-armour. They have a broad remit, from counter-terrorism to busting organised crime, and they make a habit of always being better-equipped than whatever foe they face.
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Magister Militum
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Re: Infinite Powers

Post by Magister Militum »

Kamin997 wrote:In the First Great Interstellar War, the weaknesses of the Imperial Legion were brought to the fore - rigidity and conservativeness amongst the officers, lack of mobility on the ground, too much reliance on the starships of the Aeronautica Regale to ferry and support the troops. Efforts were made to counteract this in the interbellum period, but thus far the Imperial Legion has thus far not performed that well in the Second Great Interstellar War, despite the efforts made to change its doctrine.
Does this mean that the Imperial Legions have developed their own spacelift capabilities independent of the Aeronautica Regale? If so, how does the Aeronautica Regale react to the Legions muscling in on their area of responsibility?
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Czernobog
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Re: Infinite Powers

Post by Czernobog »

Magister Militum wrote:
Kamin997 wrote:In the First Great Interstellar War, the weaknesses of the Imperial Legion were brought to the fore - rigidity and conservativeness amongst the officers, lack of mobility on the ground, too much reliance on the starships of the Aeronautica Regale to ferry and support the troops. Efforts were made to counteract this in the interbellum period, but thus far the Imperial Legion has thus far not performed that well in the Second Great Interstellar War, despite the efforts made to change its doctrine.
Does this mean that the Imperial Legions have developed their own spacelift capabilities independent of the Aeronautica Regale? If so, how does the Aeronautica Regale react to the Legions muscling in on their area of responsibility?
The Imperial Legion has developed its own space-lift capabilities, but its spacecraft tend to be troop transports and small in-system craft, not gigantic Superheavy Star Battleships or Superheavy Carriers. The Aeronautica Regale still controls space combat, but isn't too pleased about the new developments, and is constantly trying to sabotage the funding for these projects.
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Re: Infinite Powers

Post by Czernobog »

On Ground Warfare

Ground warfare is the art of defeating the enemy on the ground, and the twin theatres of ground and space are inextricably linked. Whoever controls one has an advantage in the other, an advantage that can be fought against, say by anti-orbital artillery or orbital bombardment. The basic strategies of ground warfare are listed here, as are the size of military groups.

The Basics

Ground warfare exists for one reason - to capture and hold planets. Planets are a rare, non-replenishable (except in rare cases) resource, and thus the objective of the battle is not to destroy the planet, but to drive the enemy off it. 'Slagging' or melting the crust off planets, is banned by several interstellar treaties, and is generally viewed as both an unspeakably barbaric act and a waste of valuable resources.

Modern armies have adapted well to the age of orbital bombardment - anti-orbital artillery, ECM, cloaks and jamming fields, theatre and planetary shielding, all are common tactics to stave off orbital bombardment. This means that all armies and forts with common sense will deploy most of these measures, similar to the use of interdictor-fields to slow down fleets and force them to exit at the border of a star system.

Space battles generally occur close to areas of vital strategic presence, mostly planets, and the main duty of the invader's ships is to provide cover for the troop-ships about to descend. The troop-ships, by slowing down, are able to enter planetary atmospheres and breach planetary shields, and have specialised equipment enabling them to land on enemy planets.

Then, the real fight begins.

A beach-head is formed,the most critical part of the invasion procedure. If the beach-head is defeated, so is the invasion. However, if it is secured and reinforced before being crushed, the invasion proceeds as normal.

Blitzkrieg attacks begin in all directions from the initial landing site, testing and probing the enemy defences. If they break, then more beach-heads can begin.

If heavy resistance is met, then reinforcements are requested.

If they do not arrive, then the landings are abandoned. A planetary invasion needs to be swift and quick, not a long slog.

To be continued...
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
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Order. Unity. Obedience.
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Re: Infinite Powers

Post by Shroom Man 777 »

If infantry combat is rated at kilotons and troop transports are designed to turn mountains into airstrips, I'd hate/love/fear to see what orbital fire support would be like. It could involve vaporizing an ocean to provide smoke cover for landing ships!
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Re: Infinite Powers

Post by Czernobog »

Religions and Ideologies of the Galaxy

This article generally focuses on religions and ideologies that evolved since the evolution of the FTL drive, as most of the old standbys still exist and are very popular.


Abrahamic Religions


Anti-Christianity is a fringe faith, with only a few billion adherents, worshipping Lucifer, in what the Church of Anti-Christianity claims is the original mythological aspect of him, without much evidence and taking much inspiration from gnosticism. In essence, it is a maltheist religion, claiming that the False God who created the universe and sapient life, was the very first tyrant, and was associated with fire. However, Lucifer the Highest rebelled against him, casting him down into the darkness of the Inferno (the Anti-Christian term for Hell) and bringing forth the Primordial Light to enlighten sapients. Controversially, the Anti-Christian Church considers Christianity, Islam, etc. to be religions actually worshipping the False God, although in some interpretations Jesus is considered a prophet of Lucifer.

Anti-Christians are supposed to fight for the downtrodden and oppressed, but few actually live this ideal. Lucifer is worshipped as a kind of underdog-type hero, and his Heralds (roughly equivalent to Angels in the Judeo-Christian tradition) are revered and venerated along with the Sons of Light (roughly equivalent to Saints in the Christian tradition).

The Church of Anti-Christianity is filled with a dizzying number of sects and interpretations, and the general view of the lay worshippers is somewhat liberal, leading to Anti-Christianity being considered a 'left-wing' religion in some circles.

The Holy Church of New Jerusalem is a religion that developed in the United Stellar States following the disastrous loss of Earth. It called for a return to simpler times, and thus its adherence largely shun advanced technology, preferring to live in a romanticised view of the early digital era. Controversially, New Jerusalemites shun technological augmentation, believing that it is 'the Mark of the Beast'.

New Rite Catholicism is the primary faith in the New Roman Empire, created as a reaction to the loss of Earth and the Papacy. It is a conservative faith, and its adherents are often caricatured as old fashioned. Its primary religious work is the Final Testament, a book of sermons reportedly said by the prophet Saint Alessio of Nova Roma.

Non-Abrahamic Religions and Philosophies

Monetarism is essentially the worship of wealth, and is thus a favourite religion among capitalists, heads of large corporations, and other such people. It essentially believes that the best thing in life is to accumulate money, and doing so will get you rewards in the next life - in essence, God wants you to be rich. However, many converts find that it lacks a soul and quickly leave, aside from the capitalists that form the main part of its followers. It lacks an organised clergy or gospel, and seniority is denoted by being the richest person in the room.

Veritism

Veritism is the philosophy that an 'objective' view of the world is a good thing. However, what qualifies as an 'objective' view is only vaguely discussed, aside that it involves selfishness, looking out for number one (yourself), and other such traits. Veritism is a fringe philosophy, and has said by some to be soundly debunked - however, as long as people keep following it, it never probably will be.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Heretic
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Re: Infinite Powers

Post by Heretic »

Anti-Christianity
Isn't that what Theistic Satanism (not the whole sacrifice and soul-bargaining myth stuff) is about? I can't recall, being for some reason uber-lazy to research it up, on the internet (yes, I'm currently that lazy)
Monetarism is essentially the worship of wealth, and is thus a favourite religion among capitalists, heads of large corporations, and other such people. It essentially believes that the best thing in life is to accumulate money, and doing so will get you rewards in the next life - in essence, God wants you to be rich. However, many converts find that it lacks a soul and quickly leave, aside from the capitalists that form the main part of its followers. It lacks an organised clergy or gospel, and seniority is denoted by being the richest person in the room.
:P My type of religion.
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Blackwing
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Re: Infinite Powers

Post by Blackwing »

Heretic wrote:
Isn't that what Theistic Satanism (not the whole sacrifice and soul-bargaining myth stuff) is about? I can't recall, being for some reason uber-lazy to research it up, on the internet (yes, I'm currently that lazy)
Actually it's straight up Gnosticism (except of course that there is no Lucifer in Gnosticism, since in Gnosticism, the opponent of the Demagogue (God as an Evil Tyrant) is humanity). As written by someone who doesn't understand Christianity. (Hint: 'Christianity' doesn't have saints, Catholicism does. Also, Catholicism includes more than just the Roman Catholic Church.)

Also Veritism is a pretty weak stab at Objectivism (honestly, there's better ways to thumb your nose at Ayn Rand and her waterfall of bullshit).
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Re: Infinite Powers

Post by Kingmaker »

Leon Trotsky, returned from exile
By 1944, Trotters was dead, man. In light of how Stalin seems even more paranoid in some respects in this TL, I can't see him passing up an opportunity to bump off his main rival.
Planets are a rare, non-replenishable (except in rare cases) resource
What is of value on planetary surfaces?
Monetarism
Zombie Milton Friedman called. He's coming for your brains. Seriously though, what's the origin story behind this religion?
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