On the Backs of Broken Men

On the Backs of Broken Men
	; Logo
Game Master	Zillamaster55;
Total turns	40 + Epilogues;
Start date	January 1st, 1930;
Creation date	2nd of July, 2015;
Status	Finished;
Link	Here

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On the Backs of Broken Men is an RP made by Facepunch user Zillamaster55, continuing their tenure as GM onward from the success of The Shifting Sands. It is an RP set in 1930, during the interwar period. It is not only currently the single longest RP in FPRP history, having beat Empires & Revolutions V1 and Colonialisation's 4 year record, but also the single longest continuous RP, having beat Empires & Revolutions V1 & V2's 4 year record. The musical representation of the RP can be found here or here.

OnTheBacksofBrokenMenMap — The starting map.

With the end of the RP, there are plans to make epilogues of sorts, depicting the world of the RP by decade to the 2000s. Following in its footsteps, a spiritual sequel came in the form of The Great War.

If you want to see any of the turns without going to Facepunch, use this link.

Mechanics[]

The RP itself is very in depth and flavorful. Localized party names are used instead of anglicized variants, for example. Nuclear technology became researchable by Turn 13. Info boards were introduced in Turn 14 to remove the text clutter and for aesthetic reasons. From Turn 20 onward, everyone was able to research 2 techs at once (excluding 2 nuke techs at once, for obvious reasons).

These include; The Rules stated in the Original Post Military Size, Experience & Equipment (as well as further explanations for experience), Government Labels & Alliance Scaling (with proper maps being introduced for the former and latter later on), Infantry, Armor/Artillery, Aircraft, Navy, Fuel Reserves, Supply Reserves & Industrial Strength, Economy Grades & Unity Grades, Multinational Alliances/Agreements, Skipped/Removed Nations, Nuclear Research (with graphics, as well as rules for switching branches and whether one can research nuclear carriers & submarines), Info Boards (including one for Insurgencies, Rebellions & Civil Wars), A Preemptive Post-Turn GM Messaging Time Out, Player-to-Player Joint Research, Manpower, Organization & Supplies (as well as a slight explanation regarding manpower), Resting Points, Nuclear Weapon Usage (as well as its results, albeit this wouldn't happen anytime soon) and Rough National Composition Guestimates.

Awards Ceremony[]

Every once in a while, the GM holds an Awards Ceremony and hands out superficial awards to the players based on what they've done.

The first Ceremony was announced after the 9th turn and held after the 10th turn. The second Ceremony was announced after the 16th turn, and soon after, the achievements were revealed (which were later moved into various categories with a few new ones). After explaining the army composition achievements, the Ceremony was finally held before the 17th turn came out.

Fiction[]

The Great, but Different, Dictator: 1940[]

In 1939, roughly a month before the Austrian capitulation against the Germans, Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will was released in an attempt to convince more young Austrians to fight in the war. It chronicled the 1938 Fatherland Party Congress in Graz, which was attended by many Fatherland supporters, specifically Hitlerites, which happened a few weeks before the German invasion of Austria. The film's overriding theme was the return of Austria as a great power, with Hitler as the leader who would bring glory to the nation. Shortly after its release, the film became a prominent example of propaganda in film history. Riefenstahl's techniques had earned Triumph of the Will recognition as one of the greatest propaganda films in history.

At a showing of the film at the New York Museum of Modern Art, English comic actor Charlie Chaplin and French film maker René Clair attended the showing. Film maker Luis Buñuel reported that Clair was horrified by the power of the film, crying out that this should never be shown or the West was lost. Chaplin, on the other hand, laughed uproariously at the film. Having seen the film, Chaplin was inspired. The absurdity of the Hitlerite policies had to be made fun of. Chaplin decided to proceed with writing, producing and directing a political satire.

The result was the late 1940 film "The Great Dictator". Within the film, Chaplin wanted to address the escalating violence and repression of Jews by the Hitlerites in Austria, the magnitude of which was conveyed to him personally by his European Jewish friends and fellow artists. Filming began in late 1939 and finished in early 1940.

Hollywood, at the time, did not prove supportive of the movie. The Production Code Administration prohibited the depiction of another country's "institutions [and] prominent people in an unfavorable light" under the policies of the Motion Picture Production Code. However, Pelikona, or Gorawood as it was known in the West, did not have such a code, which presented it as a much more favorable place for those who wanted to make anti-political movies, especially foreigners. So, it is not surprising that Chaplin found it easier to work on his home continent. This decision also managed to make the film connect with European comedians and satirists more as they were closer to home.

The film was very well received in Montenegro, becoming popular with audiences there. The film was also popular in the United Kingdom, despite Chaplin's fears that wartime audiences would dislike a comedy about a dictator. Its popularity and, arguably, the fact that the government the film was spoofing no longer existed, would eventually convince the PCA to allow the film to be shown to American audiences. In the United States, it was well received at the time of its release, and was popular with the American public, eventually becoming the second-most popular movie in the country of the year. In France and Germany, it became the most popular movie of the year. The film was banned in most United Liberal Entente states, including Iberia and Italy, for its fascist condemnation, as well as several Latin American countries, including Patagonia, where there were active movements of Hitlerite sympathizers.

The film is relatively the same as it was in OTL, only with a few changes. Osterlich is now the location of the story, the nation to which the Jews escape to and the nation Osterlich invades is Salonia, Tomainia and Bacteria are mentioned in name only, and the country that Osterlich is trying to ally with is called Kanolia, ruled by King Alzeno Maltier. A short documentary was played before the feature film, discussing and explaining who the Hitlerites were, what they did and what they could've done. It is noteworthy for being the first major piece of media to use the crutch cross depicted on the flag of Hitlerite Austria as the symbol of Hitlerism rather than the swastika depicted on the flag of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, as to not only get rid of the connection between the ancient symbol and the ideology, but to also differentiate National Socialism from Hitlerism, which had become a form of Austrofascism affected by the rightist views Hitler held since his time in the NSDAP.

With the success of the film, United Artists, the studio Chaplin co-founded with Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith, and Mary Pickford, entered a good relationship with Gorawood.

A Speech to his Volk: 1940[]

"When I was but a man with a camera, I traveled Europe, visiting the most sacrosanct and secretive bases with only the blessings of their rulers to protect me. I have been places where no man could possibly imagine what could lie within, lest they be called a spy and executed.

I have witnessed soviet prisoners, some as stately as a tank be turned into the remnants found in an ashtray as they lay in the mercy of tyrants. I have witnessed the latest generations of families, who have lived in their lands for eons upon eons be evicted from one empire into the next, as their overlords deemed them unfit. I have witnessed the power to expunge cities before the blink of an eye can occur, and to fail to blink when beholding its terror to be irrevocably blinded by a mighty glow. And you know what I saw?

Hell.

The past is over, my dear compatriots. The age of empires and revolutions has gone, and we now must face the question all nations are facing; what are we?

Will we become a state of purity and zeal? Why? So that our own lust for the past numbs us to the future? I say no.

Will we become a state where the people are the leaders, and all is shared equally? For what? So that we may become disorganized, conflicting over petty flaws? I reject it. I’ll tell you what we are and will forever be.

We are the Republic of Greater Germany, and we will last a thousand years!

Ein reich!

Germans are no longer defined by race. The enduring Poles, those loyal to the grand ideals of democracy, are they not deserving to be called Germans? But of course! As such, we are logically no longer bound by the scourges of forced labels from arbitrary conditions.

We are all Germans! We are humanity!

Ein volk!

But now, if we’ve answered that question, what are we to do now? Are we to stagnate in our own glory until it fades away without us even noticing? No! This nation was born out of ambition; out of idea; out of dreams! And we must forever pursue our destiny. Ein ziel!

Grossdeutschland uber alles!"

~ The Chairman of the Deutschnationale Arbeiterpartei and its representative in the upcoming 1941 German presidential election, Joseph Goebbels.

The "Staphylococcus asiaticus" bacteria: 1943[]

Health Pamphlet Regarding S — "Warning! Be on the lookout for these signs...
*Reddened eyes...
*Flushed complexion...
*Swollen throat...
*Difficulty breathing...
Do not approach! Call a doctor immediately!"

"The disease initially begins by entering the bloodstream through physical contact with an infected person. Usually through open wounds or fluid transmission such as mucus or saliva, the bacteria migrate to the tissues of the lungs, where it quickly multiplies in the alveoli. After a period of days, the bacteria clog the alveoli with fluid and break through the tissue into the surrounding area, causing pneumonic symptoms. If not treated, the lower portions of the lungs will act as a breeding ground for the bacteria, where it then begins to move up into the throat and soft tissues of the upper respiratory system.

After eleven days, the rapid spread of the bacteria will cause inflammation around the entire body and will rapidly raise the production of red blood cells to counteract the loss of oxygen. This in turn creates an extremely flushed appearance, alongside pooling blood in areas such as the eyes, throat and cheeks.

Once the period of major inflammation takes place, after a few days, the infected individual either dies from a lack of oxygen to the brain or septic shock of the blood. Corpses of the infected remain virulent for up to a week.

Survivors of the disease can be crippled, as much of their lower extremities have necrotized due to the lack of oxygen, and their lungs work at minimal capacity. Strict observation and months of therapy is required for a survivor to maintain some semblance of normalcy in their daily lives, though their life expectancy has plummeted. If caught and treated early, however, survivors can live a somewhat normal life, though they may be lethargic and lack the energy they once had."

~ Doctor Salvadore Hernandez Samora, National University of Colombia, 1943

One of Zhukov's Fireside Chats: March 29th 1945[]

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of the Motherland. On tonight’s chat, I will be discussing with you, the people of Russia, the current goings-on of politics around the world.

Since the fall of the accursed regime of Marx that we once so loved, the world has become a much colder and darker place. In a time before the Great Wars, when we were prosperous and happy, the world seemed to respect us; perhaps even fear us. But they turned against us, and one by one, they sunk their teeth into our beloved country, tearing apart the very fabric of our nation.

However today, after many years of hard work and labor by we, great and industrious peoples, the world is locked in strife. In Europe, another Great War, the likes of which has not been seen in decades, threatens to emerge from the machinations of the Spanish and Germans, those who took our eastern lands from us.

To the south, we find the Pahlavi Empire continuing to mock us by flaunting the loss of Baku and Baluchistan in our faces. However, this is not the only concern to our southern door. A great plague has begun to spread in India, Staphylococcus asiaticus, and it risks killing tens perhaps hundreds of millions of people if it is not contained and eradicated quickly and efficiently.

However, it is our neighbors in Europe that we must direct our greatest attention to now, as the clock draws closer to midnight. It is now, brothers and sisters, that I say arm yourselves; arm yourselves not only with guns and bullets, but with knowledge and technology. The tools we need to surpass this dark day in the history of the world so that some day in the future, when our grandchildren and their grandchildren look back at us, they will say that this was the Motherland’s finest hour in the fight against the coming darkness.”

~ Russian Head of State Georgy Zhukov, March 29th 1945

Salazar's Party Rally Speech: January 1945[]

"We are the descendants of the Romans who fought the German barbarians. We are descendants of the Aragonese who fought off the Saracens infidels. We are descendants of those who conquered continents overseas, from the Americas and Africas, to Arab heartland and the Indias.

The Hispanic people is a proud race, a prosperous race, a race of people destined to rule and grow. From the shores of the Indias to the Andes mountains; from the bottom of the world to the Rio Grande and Pyrenees, the Hispanic people have spread across the globe in success. Though not unified in one nation, we are one in our blood and our belief in holy God.

We share this blood with our neighbors to the north, the French whom are always vigilante against the Germanic hordes, and with our cousins across the sea the Italians whom are currently under the threat of foreign communism and apostasy. It is our duty to our blood and God to aid them in their plight and guide them away from those evils. The communists believe all people to be equal, but the spread of our nation across the globe is living proof of their lies!

Viva Hispania, Viva Falangism, Viva King & God!"

~ Portuguese Minister António de Oliveira Salazar at a Party Rally, January 1945

The Beginning of a new World War: 1945[]

What would start being known as the “4th Great War”, or “World War 2” was given a variety of names as it soon enveloped the entirety of Europe. To the Iberians, it was “La Nueva Cruzada”, the Germans “Die Dämmerung Krieg”, the Poles “Wojna Agresji Niemieckiej”, so on and so forth. The war that started not with the crackling of a tipped candle that turned into a house fire like in 1914, but instead started with thunder and lightning. To many, it would be called “armageddon”

Within the first few weeks of the war, German and Iberian divisions played a deadly game of tug-of-war in the Alpine regions of a shattered Italy. Along the Pyrenees, the French found themselves overwhelmed and unprepared for the fight against the Iberians, expecting to face a Russia-like enemy made up of untrained soldiers with unwilling commanders, but instead met some of the most ferocious fighters since the Prussians of 1870.

In the east, German soldiers spilled over the Polish border in hostility, the great “Blitzkrieg” being put into effect in full force. Along the Danube in the Carpathian Plain, Hungarian national guard tried desperately to hold their ground against oncoming European Cooperative troops to little avail.

In the Balkans, Serbia continued to wage its war against Croatia despite being ripped apart from the inside out by a wide variety of rebel groups seeking the creation of new borders and new countries. In the rebelling territories of Italy, strange alliances and friendships are formed between armed dissenters. In Scotland, a large detachment of Irish marines manage to sneak across the Irish Sea and seize the city of Dumfries in a blitz-like attack. In doing so, thousands of protestant civilians are dragged from their homes and executed in the streets, their houses burned to the ground.

The Atlantic became a warzone as shipping was driven to a halt, both the United Liberal Entente and the European Cooperative trying desperately to choke the other out by raiding commerce and sinking merchantmen. Africa, considered nothing more than a colonial playground, is set alight by sporadic fighting between EC marine groups and Iberian colonial defense brigades.

Within the first six months, tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers alike are struck down in the fighting as both sides throw away any form of civility and prepare to drag the enemy face-first into the dirt. It is unknown who would be the first to launch the inevitable nuclear warhead that would careen into a major population center. It is unknown when the war would end, who would be the victor, what the peace deal would entail.

But everyone was aware that this war would change the world forever.

Daily Life In 1946: The Commonwealth of England[]

Daily life in the Commonwealth of England is an interesting one to say the least. Since the coup in the previous years and the seizure of power by autocratic figures, the society and vision of “England” has changed significantly.

For starters, many news publications, television broadcasts and radio stations are either heavily monitored or outright banned. These restrictions are put in place to “protect the decency of English life” and “keep the children of England’s future free from the harm of socialism”. Those caught distributing banned information are usually fined ridiculous sums or imprisoned outright. These individuals can, however, receive freedom by revealing information on where/how they received said publications.

The official language of the country, English, is put in full force. Local dialects are forcefully squeezed out by a standardized pronunciation guide that has more in line with the Londoner/Southeastern accents. These guides are distributed to schools, alongside revised history textbooks. Minority languages such as Welsh or Cornish are outright banned, and schools using said languages are forcefully closed and their teachers arrested. These languages are allowed only conversationally “in the household, away from our English public”. Welsh/Cornish publications are put to the torch in massed bonfires nicknamed “Purification Pyres” by the English government. Those caught speaking Scots Gaelic or having a Scottish accent are arrested, their families deported and their property seized.

Religion sees an interesting dichotomy of treatment from the English government. Officially, there is to be but one “official” church that receives tax exemptions and property benefits, which is of course the Church of England. All other churches are taxed heavily, and synagogues receive even higher penalties. However, this does not mean that religious teachings or practices are allowed publicly, as any instance of public prayer is cracked down upon harshly, and religious schools are closed. This move is taken to “preserve the heritage but open the minds of the English people”, which proves only to confuse many agnostic and atheist individuals in England.

England’s internal borders are re-drawn (somewhat arbitrarily) into much larger, more centralized “states”. These states receive some autonomy and ability to govern themselves, but respect the supreme authority of the Lord Protector who resides in the city of London and oversees the state of the Southeast. However, the two northernmost provinces are highly militarized, and named “National Districts”. Here, laborers are sent to work in massive mills producing the goods for the rebuilding of the English military. A majority of England’s ground troops are stationed in the northern provinces, staring across the ever-fortifying Demilitarized Zone between Scotland and England.

Economically, the market is entirely in control of large conglomerated companies that have little oversight by the British government. Huge swathes of the economic sector, including food, alcohol, automobiles, paper, farm tools and even electronics are gobbled up and sold by only a few key companies. Foreign businesses are closed, as well as Jewish stores, which tend to have all assets seized before insultingly closed by “Order of the Cultural Protection Agency”. The income tax remains a flat 45% across the board, including the richer companies. Though this hurts conglomerate owners, they could be hurt much more by failing to provide the state with much needed money. Property taxes are extremely low, however, as the English government tries to artificially keep housing prices down in northern England/Wales to “spread southern ideals across England”.

Politically, the nation is a truly autocratic regime, overseen by the Lord Protector. Beneath him is a self-appointed Council of England, which has roughly 400 party loyalists. The Council oversees the governance of the smaller states, who have their own Councils (such as Council of East Wales, Council of the Southwest, Council of West Wales, etc.). Votes of the public are not taken into account outside of mayoral elections, and even then, the title of mayor has largely been neutered in favor of the ever growing National Police, who are the fingers of the fist that rules England.

The National Police are given free reign in order to receive information from prisoners, as well as provide death warrants on sight for those deemed a “Danger to the English Public”. Of course, the Lord Protector and the Council of England oversee the National Police Agency and how it operates, but in areas such as Wales and Cornwall, these police have no leash.

Daily life in the Commonwealth of England varies from person to person, but the average adult male between 17-35 is given a job by the state and receives a fixed salary. In this short look into English life, we will follow the life of Weston Gamble, a 22 year old former college student who works at a paper mill in the State of the Southeast, in the region formerly known as Kent:

---

0500 - Wake up, shower, eat a small breakfast+have coffee. Breakfast usually consists of eggs and canned meat, and the coffee is “produced” locally (see: ersatz)
0530 - Ride public transport (usually train) to work with other workers. Trains are reserved for “National Industry” workers from 0430 to 0700. They ride free, and the trains arrive on-time
0600 - Begin shift. Weston works in areas regarding pulping, and his job is relatively safe, as he does not have to work with larger, more dangerous machinery. Healthcare is non-existent for NI workers
0900 - Morning break. Weston usually takes this time to grab another cup of coffee and read one of the government printed newspapers. Others have smokes, grab another bite to eat, or do some other activity to rest.
0945 - Shift continues
1230 - Lunch break. Lunch is paid for and distributed by the company where he works. It’s a canned meat and cheese sandwich on rye, with either an apple or pear, alongside a carton of highly enriched whole milk. A pack of cigarettes and box of matches are distributed at lunch on Monday shifts
1300 - Shift continues
1600 - Shift ends. Workers clock out and head home via public transport. At this time, the night shift begins. Weston, however, takes his chance as any other man would to visit the pub and relax after a long day’s work
1630 - Weston hangs out with his friends, drinking and generally complaining about the days shift, price changes, the weather, or any other usual conversation had hunched over a bar with a pint in hand
1900 - Weston returns to his government-owned flat and prepares a small dinner. Again, these meals are cheap and easy to make, and it's simple meats with bread alongside some after-dinner whisky
1930 - Weston changes out of his clothes and heads to bed. His nights start and end early, as his company would let him go at the drop of a hat.

--

SUN - Day Off
MON - Work
TUE - Work
WED - Work
THU - Work
FRI - Work
SAT - Half Shift

---

The Commonwealth of England, once the home province of the mighty victor of the Great War, and owner of an empire that stretched across the globe, is but a husk of its former self. Life is hard, unfair and dull for the average citizen. Many wonder if there will be a coming thaw after the war in Europe ends, or if the people of England will take to the streets and rise up against their oppressors, or if outside forces will take it upon themselves to free England from her Lord Protector. But these hopes and thoughts dwindle day by day, as people slip into the normality of it all.

Young Hand: February 2, 1947[]

Translated transcript between newscaster Petar Kovac and observer Ninoslav Vlahović on February 2, 1947 in Belgrade

P: What do you see Ninoslav?

N: The motorcade with most of the congressional members is moving down the roadway, the crowd is pretty large, hard to make out who's in front.

P: About how many cars?

N: At least six (Ninoslav is cut off by sound of explosions, screaming)

P: Ninoslav!? What the hell happened?

(Long Pause)

N: Oh God....oh God

P: Ninoslav, what's going on?

N: Bombs, they threw bombs, oh God, oh God they're dead

P: Who threw bombs, what happened?

N: Someone threw bombs into the motorcade of the congress, there's blood everywhere, people are trying to get away, I don't know who threw it and (Ninoslav cut off again, this time gunfire)

(Long pauses with gunfire, screaming, microphone being dropped)

P (shouting to others of radio broadcasting) Turn it off, turn it off! Get off it!

--end--

---

Not too long after securing power, much of the congress of the Pro-Alexanderist government was killed in a massacre perpetrated by a mysterious underground political group known as the 'Young Hand'. In response to the deaths, Tito and his Partizani attempted to seize control of the left-leaning Yugoslav government, but were forced away, thus igniting yet another stage in the civil war. The Chetniks, fascists, fundamentalists and nationalists would take the chance to rise up again, and the whole situation spiraled out of control once more.

To the Alexanderists, the event would be known as "Крвави терор", or the Bloody Terror. To the Titoists, the event would be known as "Дан револуције", or the Day of the Revolution. To observers, the event would be known as "Some Damned Silly Thing in the Balkans".

The Aftermath of War: 1947-1948[]

World War 2, formerly known as the 4th Great War, did its damage on the countries involved in it, despite its short length, especially compared to the previous World War, the original Great War.

The total casualties of the Eastern Front are 1,591,000, though this number only includes war-dead soldiers, not wounded nor civilians.

OnTheBacksofBrokenMenWW2EasternFrontMilitaryCasualties — Casualties of the Eastern Front, rounded to the nearest thousand.

Despite this, many expected the numbers to be larger than this. The short explanation for this is that the two major fighters, Russia and Germany, had combined large front doctrine with squad-focused tactics. Not only this, but the sheer mobility of the two forces allowed for soldiers to move in and out of dangerous situations with ease, rather than having to go on foot and risk getting shredded by, well, anything. Alongside mobility and the idea of man-to-man as opposed to army-to-army, medical advances in the recent years have allowed for battlefield casualties to plummet, and the training for both sides proved that even the most basic medical practices from a single person would save dozens of lives. Regardless, the numbers are still staggeringly high, even without including the wounded and civilians.

The total casualties for the Allied side are 5,077,000, as of currently assumed to include both soldier and civilian.

OnTheBacksofBrokenMenWW2AlliesCasualties — Casualties of the Allied Forces.

Below are the numbers for each respective country:

Germany - 887,000
USA - 49,000
France - 1,205,000
Belgium - 50,000
Netherlands - 38,000
Scotland - 144,000
Canada - 47,000
Australia - 55,000
New Zealand - 12,000
Algeria - 518,000
UAR - 1,884,000
Mali - 10,000
Chad - 8,000
Djibouti - 1,000
Colombia - 32,000
Brazil - 40,000
Slovenia - 18,000
Czechoslovakia - 61,000
Romania - 18,000

OnTheBacksofBrokenMenUNCCJVote — A simplified graphic, displaying the choices voted on and which one won out.

With the end of the war, then Colombian President Alfonso Pumarejo called for the creation and application of a United Nations Court of Criminal Justice, or the UNCCJ. With this, the United Nations General Assembly got together to vote on the kind of punishment those sentenced under the UNCCJ, whether it be Harsh, Just or Lenient.

Extra Information: 1948 onwards[]

The timeline's Holocaust is far more deadlier, known to the world also as the Lavation (referring to how the Latin Imperium tried to "wash itself clean"), and to the Muslims as the "Nakbah", the catastrophe. Estimated numbers by what the Iberians did in Morocco and central Africa puts it at roughly 11 million Arabs and Muslims, 3-4 million Africans, millions of captured prisoners and political adversaries. Not to mention the roughly 22-30 million dead from S. asiaticus, this puts Iberia at like, 2.8 Hitlers.

To say more people died in this war would be wrong, but a larger "variety" of people did. The lack of deaths came from improved medical technology and the changes in tactics. However, more people died in general, this being a far more deadly era than WW2 thanks to the Lavation and the S. asiaticus outbreak.

The length of our World War II was 3 years (6 turns; 31 to 37), half of what WW2 was OTL (6 years). The First Soviet War lasted 3 and a half years (Turns 7 to 14), while the Second lasted one and a half years (Turns 20 to 23). Combined, the intrawar Soviet Wars lasted 5 years, and with our WW2, that is a total of 8 years spent fighting, 8 out of the 19 years this RP has lasted. And that's not counting the smaller, but still gigantic wars we had, like the one Iberia and China had.