The Imperium/Situation

## Politics

### Overview

The Imperium itself is greatly divided. To its core, the ideology of the Imperium is in question as Josef Behrmann flipped The Imperium to Germanic Imperiumism, causing a collapse of The Imperial Economy and the Fall of the Imperium at large. The Party is fractured into 4 Camps - The Traditional Imperiumists, The Germanic Imperiumists, The Reformed Imperiumists and the Radical Imperiumists. These differing factions have left the Imperiumist Party vulnerable to other factions growing in the Imperium.

The NDSAP under Jorg Meuthen have seen a steady rise once again. However democratic parties have begun growing as well, in the case of Angela Merkel's German Conservative Front. The GDF are seeking to align the smaller German Socialist Worker's Party and the Imperian Reaction Party together in order to present a united front for a democratic Germany. The Hohenzollern Restoration Party has also seen a growth. All these parties have one common goal - German Independence.

### Civil War

After Behrmann's Military Relaxation Act and the subsequent independence of Poland, breakup of the Imperial Alliance of Nations and independence of France, The Imperian Civil War begins. It starts with a Military Coup by Eberhard Zorn representing the Hard-line and Traditionalist Imperiumists fighting Behrmann's Germanic Imperiumists and elements of the Reformist Movement. Eventually the German Far Right Parties secede and Meuthen forms the Free German State. Merkel and the other democratically aligned nations band together and form the German Democratic Front. The Kingdom of Prussia then secedes as well.

## Military

The Imperial Military has seen major changes in recent years. For nearly 6 Decades, the Imperial Military was the most dominant fighting force in the world and was rivalled by none. The Imperial Military swept across Russia, reached the coast of China and it's Imperial Air Force dominated the skies. However, in recent years under Behrmann's Rule, the Imperial Military took a major hit in both funding and effective organisation.

### Imperial Army

The Imperial Army was the most effective fighting force in the world and it's officer corps produced the finest leaders in the world. The Modern Imperial Army is similar to the old army in the fact it is still volunteer based but the major change has been with the Infantry Corps.

In Behrmann's reorganisation, he reduced the role of Imperial Guard Divisions , which were the main Infantry Force of the Imperium and were highly trained volunteer Infantry and fanatically devoted to the Emperor and the Imperial Cause. Behrmann instead made these Imperial Guard Divisions into a smaller Elite Force consisting of only 15 Divisions. He instead introduced the Imperial Infantry Divisions which would replace the Imperial Guards as the main Infantry Force. These new divisions were cheaper to train and took a lot less time to train them , which made them inferior to their predecessor. Behrmann also made sure not to fanaticise them with Imperial Beliefs in order to allow him to germanise The Imperium.

Behrmann would disband the Imperial Storm Corps as well, stating that they are no longer needed. Behrmann would also drastically change the Imperial Army's doctrine. He changed it from Combined Arms to Defence in Depth. He cut down the Armoured Corps and the Close Air Support Wings as he believed they were no longer needed due to The Imperium no longer fighting in offensive wars and instead introduced Defence in Depth which is a military strategy that seeks to delay rather than prevent the advance of an attacker, buying time and causing additional casualties by yielding space.

The Theory behind it is rather than defeating an attacker with a single, strong defensive line, defence in depth relies on the tendency of an attack to lose momentum over time or as it covers a larger area. A defender can thus yield lightly defended territory in an effort to stress an attacker's logistics or spread out a numerically superior attacking force. Once an attacker has lost momentum or is forced to spread out to pacify a large area, defensive counter-attacks can be mounted on the attacker's weak points, with the goal being to cause attrition or drive the attacker back to its original starting position. This new tactic relies on two elements, the Imperial Infantry Divisions for Defence and the Light Mechanised Divisions to be used as counter-attacking Force. This Doctrine works better for the Imperium in their position.

### Imperial Navy

The Imperial Navy has become a shadow of its former self. Since the late 60s and early 70s, the Imperial Navy began to fall short. The Imperial Navy received very little funding before the 60s because the Imperial High Command perceived that the next war would be fought on Land in Asia. They were correct as the Last Great War broke out in 1963. The Imperial Navy's reluctance to switch from Battleship Primacy to Aircraft Carrier Primacy was what really set it behind.

The Imperial Navy formerly had to use smaller Task Forces operating around a Capital Ship ,such as a Battleship, in order to secure their large Imperium which reaches from Europe, to Africa and Asia. Now, the Imperial Navy is tasked with using two fleets; Imperial North Atlantic Command and Imperial Mediterranean Command. A major boost was given to the Navy in 1975 as they began switching to Aircraft Carriers and scrapping their battleships, before then the Imperial Navy only had 5 Aircraft Carriers. However, the Atlantean Imperial Navy was already a growing force and was beginning to surpass the Imperial Navy. By 1982, the AIN was a far superior force.

The 1993 Air Dominance Program was introduced which saw the Imperium build 10 New Aircraft Carriers of the "Goliath-Class" variant, 7 of these were completed by 1998. The INS Goliath became the new flagship of the Imperial Navy. But in the British War of Independence, the Imperial Navy was crushed. The Battle of the Dover Strait was the biggest defeat the Imperial Navy had ever taken. 2 Goliath-Class Carriers were sunk ,including the INS Goliath, and 1 "Aerial Defender-Class" Aircraft Carrier from the 40s which had been repurposed was sunk. The Battle saw 21 Escort Ships sunk, 52 Troopships sunk and 2 other Aircraft Carriers were withdrawn for major repairs.

The Navy has not been the same since the Dover Straits. They are scared by the Memories of The Dover Strait.

### Imperial Air Force

The Imperial Airforce was always the weaker branch of the Imperial Military. However, Behrmann has still heavily damaged the Airforce's fighting capacity. The Imperial Airforce was primarily a close-support focused branch, preferring to use the Air Force to assist the ground units. As Behrmann changed the Land Doctrine of the Army, he also cut down the air force as he stated they were no longer needed. The Imperial Air Force once had a great Bombing Force which was still very effective up to The Gulf War with Operation Determined Resolve.

This elite bomber force has suffered in different ways. The Bomber Command has seen a lack of attention and their aircraft are becoming rapidly old and are in need of a modernisation. They have also lost Airbases to fly from due to The Imperial Withdrawal , hindering their operations.

The Imperial Naval Air Force has suffered the same fate as the Imperial Navy due to the Dover Straits. The INAF lost 383 Aircraft in the Battle, 67% of their forces in the Battle. A majority of these aircraft couldn't even deploy from the aircraft carriers. Those who did were at the mercy of the superior British Pilots. The Imperial Airforce was crushed by the 11th, leaving the Imperial Evacuation Column completely defenceless from the air. The Royal Navy only lost 24 Aircraft, only 5% of their forces in the Battle.