W4E IPDI version

**Dev. Status** | Conceptual

*"I've got me a sweetheart and I love her, too*

*We want to make big plans but what can we do?*

*When a mushroom cloud has changed every rule*

*It's deepened our thinking at home and at school*

*Peace, peace, peace where did you go?"*

- *"A Mushroom Cloud" by Sammy Salvo.*
The Indo-Pacific Defense Initiative is a major faction in Red Alert Paradox; Echoes. Founded by the Kingdom of Thailand and later spreading to Burma and Cambodia, the IPDI is meant to protect South-east Asia from the threat of the Empire and China and the Communists. The group is a regional ally of the wider Allied Nations but is noted for being more fanatic in its fight against the green chinese and more concerned with the security of its own member states than is is for the rest of the world, even its own Allies.

## At a Glance

 **Basic Look** | Modernized late-WWII designs with significant Cold War influences. Over sized and bulky vehicles.

## Background

### Seeds of Destruction

A single flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a hurricane halfway across the globe. A few shifts in the events of the 1800s, followed immediately by the Western power play played a role in the region's growth no one could have anticipated. Yet even as the Shogunate desperately clung to power, their neighbors got the message. Beware of the colonials. Countries hoping to retain their sovereignty had to act fast, to build up a sufficiently powerful military and political influence in the region to be able to resist the land-grabbing Westerners. Siam was no exception, already on edge after heavy British expansion into their region, King Chulalongkorn took drastic and immediate measures to alleviate the situation. The modernisation of Siam began in 1889, as King Chulalongkorn drafted a plan to fully industrialize Siam by 1900. However, his plans relied heavily on being able to obtain supplies and equipment from the West, which unfortunately, was not very cooperative in helping one of their potential conquests get away from them. The French in particular reacted negatively to the plans, and applied pressure on Siamese borders to force Siam to cede territory to them. With the British controlling Burma and also eyeing the rich fields of Thailand, support from them was deemed impossible.

As hope faded away, King Chulalongkorn was prepared to make a desperate political gamble and buy his country's freedom with land. However, before that plan came to fruition, the last call for help was answered by an unexpected source. Prussia, long a bystander on the Asian political chess match, made its first and decisive move. The ever growing power of her neighbors was beginning to worry Prussia, as they thrived on the income and resources generated by their colonies. Emperor Wilhelm II, long wishing to spread the German empire's influence and interests took advantage of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck's slipping influence and pushed through a movement to assist the Siamese. He hoped that having an ally in the far east would enable them to weaken their competitor's hold on the region, as well as potentially disrupt their supply lines if required. Despite Bismarck's protests that such a move would bring out increased tensions with the other nations and potentially lead to a war, the bill passed through parliament with an overwhelming majority.

November 5th 1889, the letter from Prussia arrived in King Chulalongkorn's office via the SMS Baden. The message was simple, yet would change the face of the region forever. The nation of Prussia would support Siam's industrialization efforts and supply them with the required equipment and technology for the Siamese in exchange for natural resources scarcely found in Prussia, Prussia will not be involved in the politics and everyday running of Siam, and only requested that Siam maintained friendly relations with them. Not wishing to look a gift horse in the mouth, Siam jumped on the opportunity, and the modernization efforts kicked into high gear.

Then, in 1893, the Franco-Siamese War begun as France sought to extract as many concessions from Siam as possible before they could build their might. The sneak attack started off well, France was able to make a rapid sweeping advance across Laos, where industrialization was minimal and troop concentrations were scarce. They did not expect, however, to run into a full fledged military force. Running headlong into modern Maxim machine guns, the French advance quickly ground to a halt halfway up Laos, and the 5 day land grab predicted by the French turned into a bloody and protracted war. Eventually, the French had to call for British back up to flank Laos from the North through Burma and through their combined efforts they were able to extract a concession from the Siamese to give up Laos to the French. The war however, took a massive toll on French forces in the region and forced the French to make concessions to the British. This would play an important role for events to come.

### Worldfire

When WWI began, Siam, already on rocky terms with France and Britain, joined in the Central Powers and took up arms against Allied Powers controlled territory in the region. Similar to the war in the West, the borders between Burma-Thailand and Malaysia-Thailand quickly descended into trench warfare. However, the French had no such luck, and were unable to get a foothold. Due to their reduced strength in the region, they lost battle after battle as Laos slipped further and further from their grasp. WWI saw the French influence in the region shatter, as they were beaten back time and time again by the superior and better equipped Thai force. With reinforcements tied up in the Western front, and British supply convoys being intercepted by Siamese frigates, the French found themselves in dire straits.

Then, on January 3rd 1915, the HMS Eclipse was sunk by Thai frigates Thongkaeo and Mannok during an escort mission to bring in vital supplies and reinforcements to French positions in Cambodia. This sinking caused the British to step up their naval campaign, and the Blockade of Bangkok was initiated. Expecting to have naval supremacy, the British went in with no less than 12 ships, including the battleship HMS Exmouth. The blockade was initially met with little resistance, and the British began setting up for a naval bombardment of Bangkok. However, two weeks into the campaign a Thai sloop slipped through the defensive perimeter under the cover of night. It intercepted the armoured cruiser Falmouth on the fringe of the British fleet, and the company of Thai soldiers boarded the Falmouth in an attempt for a hostile take over. The British were immediately alerted, and steamed to assist the stricken vessel. However, this left a massive blindspot, allowing the Thai to move numerous sloops into position behind the British fleet. The sloops sailed into the British navy at full steam, blowing up on contact with British vessels, causing massive damage and covering the ships with burning oil and tar. In that assault, the British had three ships severely damaged. In addition, the Falmouth was successfully captured by Thai forces, and its guns disabled the Exmouth's engines during the British retreat and forced its crew to scuttle it in fear of it being captured by the Thai. Overnight, the balance of naval power in the region changed, as the British were forced to return to their bases and lick their wounds.

Without the British navy to support, the French began losing ground at an alarming pace. Throughout 1915 to 1917, the French lost battle after battle as Laos was slowly conquered by the Thai. Far better equipped and supplied than the French, by 1918 they had driven French troops all the way back to Cambodia, and were poised for a final assault. In addition, Thai forces made several key breakthroughs in Burma, putting Great Britain's forces on the back foot. When the war finally ended on 11 November, the Allied Powers were in bad shape, with the British unsteady and the French all but shattered. However, with all their Allies defeated or having already ducked out of the war, and the United States already landing soldiers in Indochina, Siam knew that it was best to come to talks before the Allies could shift focus onto them. Focused on extracting concessions from Germany, the Allied Powers were unable to secure anything more from the Thais apart from a ceasefire and an agreement to return borders to pre-WWI condition.

### Ruins of War

The days past WWII saw a massive change in Allied doctrine in the region, as Cambodia, Laos and Burma all made massive improvements and upgrades to their military to bring it up to scratch against the Thais. In the following years, Western military presence in the region tripled, as the Allies sought to contain the renegade Thais. It was widely believed that with Germany crippled by the Treaty of Versailles, the Thais would remain technologically and militarily stagnant for an extended period of time. This however, was not the case. Due to the Treaty of Versailles prohibiting Germany from developing armoured vehicles and tanks, all of their projects had to be kept secret and away from prying eyes. This made field testing the tanks exceptionally difficult, and live firing almost impossible. As a result, Thailand became a testing ground for German tank designs. Prototype German vehicles were painted in Thai colors, then covertly shipped back to Thailand on oil tankers. In exchange for their assistance, both in their military development and cleanup efforts after the war, the Germans left the Thais with the plans for many armoured vehicles as well as numerous prototypes, kick starting their tank projects.

Despite the best efforts of the Allies, it was clear by 1943 the Thais were not slowing down. Plans were made by the Allies for a preemptive strike against Thailand to incapacitate it before it could take over the region. The idea fell through however, when the USA pointedly refused to deploy its troops and transports in a region where it has no interests in. Without support from the Pacific, the West could not afford to run its overextended supply lines through the vulnerable Indian Ocean. Then, in 1944 and 1945, France and Great Britain slammed Thailand with a massive embargo, and forbid Thai vessels from passing through their waters. Tensions rose to a sky high level when not four days later, a Thai submarine was detected just 100km offshore of Singapore. The naval posturing continued well into the late 1940s, with the naval presence getting ever larger. On land, trenches were dug and fortifications erected, a war seemed inevitable.

Then, the Red Army attacked. Overnight, alliances changed. Friends became enemies, enemies became friends. With Germany on the side of the allies, Thailand pledged its allegiance to the Allied Nations as well and began supporting them as best as they could. The military buildup had developed the infrastructure of the region to Western standards, and soon factories were churning out war machines to be delivered to the frontlines for the Allied cause. The Thais also involved themselves in the Chinese Civil War, not only providing material, but also participating in a few assaults against Red Chinese positions close to home. Due to the sheer distance however, the flames of war never truly reached the region, and they were able to escape WWII unscathed.

### Solar Flare

The independence of Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia shortly after WWII was unexpected and saw a massive power shift in the region. Suddenly the withdrawal of British and French national armies left a huge power vacuum which the Peacekeeper reinforcements could not fill. Myanmar in particular looked on the verge of economic and social collapse as corruption rose. It wasn't until the late 1950s, when the Thais realised the regional instability and the constant barrage of mortars was going to be a major issue, when it decided to step in and sort the issue out. Serving as a medium for the Allied Nations to involve itself, their combined efforts was able to stabilize the unrest, and reconstruction efforts begun.

By 1965, the region appeared to be back to normal. However, Cambodia and Myanmar's militaries were still weak and inexperienced, having been trained hurriedly and were ill prepared for war. The Empire hit Cambodia like a sledgehammer, decimating it and conquering it in weeks. They then ran into the Thais, which served as a very effective roadblock. The Empire advance stalled, and the war became a grindy attrition battle. Despite their best efforts, the Thais could never hope to match the manufacturing output of the Empire, and tanks were ill-suited to deal with the fast moving, highly agile mecha that dominated the jungles of Southeast Asia. Thailand took 1 year and 8 months to fall, and the reminants of the Thai forces fell back into Myanmar. By now, Myanmar had repaired and brought its old defensive line back into action, and had upgraded it to modern standards. The retreating Thais also brought along their own equipment, further reinforcing the line. The Indians, seeing the Empire on their doorstep, also sent several armies into Myanmar to fend off the Empire. When the Empire finally hit the Myanmar border, they broke like waves against the shore. Already weary from the attrition warfare against the Thais, they were not prepared to fight another siege WWI style battle. Lacking heavy equipment and Waveforce artillery (due to the difficulty of moving them through the jungle), the Empire failed to break the Myanmar defensive line. The tide slowly began to turn, and in 1967, the Myanmar army broke through. The resulting counteroffensive put the Empire on the back foot, as the push managed to take back half of Thailand before it finally ran out of steam. The lines stayed relatively stationary after that until the end of the war, where Japan was forced to relinquish its control over the region back to its original owners.

### Forming of the Initiative

 File:IPDI logo.jpg
WWIII came as a massive shocker to the region, and demonstrated clearly that they could not rely on the Allied Nations for help all the time, especially during a World War. With the Chinese Civil War collapsing in the north, and the emergence of the Atomic Kingdom, as well as the rise of Communism in Laos and North Vietnam in the east, the Guild presence in the south and the hyperexpansion Indian Commonwealth in the west, it was clear to the leaders of the region that their survival was at stake. On March 4, 1969 the leaders of Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia gathered together for a meeting that would reshape the face of the region forever. When they left the meeting room, it was official, the IPDI was born. The Initiative was an endeavor to create an overarching military power that served to protect the entire region from outside threats. It would serve as the first line of defense, and be able to move freely between borders. The Initiative would have its own Taskforce, filled with the best trained soldiers and equipment the IPDI could afford to sustain. The Initiative saw a massive change in government expenditure, with military growing to a massive 60% of the region's budget. The economy changed to cope with this sudden rise in demand, as factories sprouted everywhere. The introduction of military service for all citizens, as well as the introduction of 2-week rapid indoctrination courses to train the average civilian on the basics of weapon handling resulted in a heavily militarized population, ready for war.

Then, in May 1969, the Syndicate attempted an economic takeover of the region, buying up huge plots of land in Thailand. This move was quickly spotted by government agents working in Thailand. The IPDI enacted emergency laws, giving it the power to nationalise the entire economy of the region to counteract the attempt from the unknown source. Over the next few months, the IPDI pruned the economy, streamlining it and readying it for a global war. The cities were turned into fortifications, with new buildings going downwards into the ground rather than upwards. An entirely new code of laws was drafted in response to the increasing threat to their survival. The Intelligence Matrix went online in June 1969, sped up considerably by research into equipment left behind by the Empire during their hurried withdrawal from the region.

September, 1969. The IPDI primes itself for a war of epic proportions, a war, it believes, is inevitable.

## Unique Faction Mechanics

**Construction:** Building IPDI Structures (apart from the Extractor) involve laying down Foundations. These Foundations are cheap but take a while to build. Foundations can then be upgraded into any IPDI building you have unlocked. Similarly, defenses are built by laying down Hardpoints, then upgrading them into the desired turret.

**Weaponry Enhancement:** Many IPDI units can be upgraded with improved weaponry. These weapons are built from the Assembly Line, and then transported across the battlefield on uncontrollable unarmored transports spawned by the building. Selecting the upgrades and right-clicking on the unit you wish to upgrade will cause the transport to drive over and automatically begin the upgrade process. During the upgrade process, both the transport and the target unit are unable to move or attack. Destroying either unit will immediately stop the upgrade process. The time taken to upgrade a unit depends on the weapon. For instance, upgrading an Infantry squad with SCR-21s will take a few seconds. But upgrading a Striker with a 12.8cm gun might take a minute or more. Similarly, the speed and number of weapons carried onboard the transport varies with the weapon in question.

**Unbreakable Spirit:** IPDI units are extremely resilient to Morale Loss, and many common morale loss systems will have severely reduced effects (or even outright immunity) on IPDI units. In fact, an event that triggers an enormous Morale loss (in excess of 30 in under a second) in most other factions will result in a temporary Morale Boost (100% of the Morale loss), which decays rapidly over time (10% of the boost per second). However, IPDI units recover Morale very very slowly, and have zero Morale boosting units.

**Go to Ground:** IPDI units are easily suppressed, having a much lower threshold for suppression than most other factions. However, due to their training in such matters, they do not suffer penalties while suppressed (except of course, to movement) and will fire back with full effectiveness. In addition, they do not suffer Morale loss while suppressed. Do note, IPDI units can still be locked down, and they will suffer full penalties, including Morale loss when locked down.