Alva

The Free State of Alvakalia, (Teutonian: Freistaat Alvak) (Hellenic: ελεύθερη κατάσταση της Alvακ) (Hollansk: Alvakalia Vrijstaat) is a Federal Parliamentary Democracy located in Kesh, bordering Asharistan to the west, Kodeshia to the south, and Beifang to the northeast. It comprises of eight provinces and one special territory in a desert-like climate spanning (insert size here). With 41 million people inside its borders, three quarters of which live no more than 40km from the coast, the country itself is only somewhat of an influence in the affairs of Artemian countries. In the past, its government did not want to interfere with and distanced itself from the politics of Keshitic countries. Today, it is heavily involved in many projects in East Kesh.

Etymology
The name “Alvakalia” originates from the name of the largest bay on its coast, it being Alvak Bay. However, it may also be a corruption of a word from the now extinct native Juiji language “halvak”, meaning hills.

Early Hellenic city-states
In the early 700’s, Hellenic peoples settled down on what is now the coastal regions. These people built up small settlements, dotted around the area. However, the surrounding Arabic and Armenian tribes usually traded, scuttled with, or settled down in the settlements. Constant trade with other Hellenic peoples kept the language from diverging. For several centuries, it would stay that way until the age of colonialism came.

Teuton landings
Teutonic colonizers first set foot on what was then Attiri, now modern-day Attenberg, in 1853. The colony began when Wilhelm Potzdorf, an adventurer who founded the Society for Teuton Colonization, signed treaties with several leaders of the settlements in the area. Expansion of the colony started along the coast, stopping once reaching Tiperyn-held colonies in the southwest and after somewhat intense skirmishes with Bakanese imperial troops in the northeast.

Upon reaching what is now the northeastern border with Beifang, several more treaties were signed with governors of the Bakanese Empire, incorporating some Bakanese villages and towns into the colony. However, upon realizing what the treaties had established, several skirmishes between Bakanese imperial troops and Teuton colonial scouts stopped further expansion northward. Because of these skirmishes, even more land was taken and prompted the Bakanese to push for westernisation and industrialization.

On January 25th, 1861, the Teuton government announced that it had granted an imperial charter, which was then already approved by the Teuton king on January 2nd, 1861. The charter was granted to Wilhelm's company and was intended to establish a protectorate in the region. Wilhelm then recruited specialists who began exploring along the coast and further inland.

By 1874, the Teutons had established a fully-fledged colony, with Wilhelm Potzdorf's son (with the same name) at its head as the governor. Officially called Teuton Alvaland, the borders were settled with the Alzhari, Armani, and Khodesh Treaties, establishing its western and south-eastern borders. However, the northern border lay unclear, as surveyors had not reached it due to a lack of supplies and already existing border conflicts with Beifang.

Hellenic Revolt
In early 1877, the Hellenic Revolt, also known as the Helleno-Arab Insurgency, occurred. In the past years, the Teutonian-majority local government continuously put out reforms that attempted to put down any Hellenic people living inside the borders. On the 8th of May, the infamous Camp Order (Teutonian: Lagerordnung) (Greek: Ταξινόμηση κατασκήνωσης) was passed, which stated that any people of Hellenic ancestry were to be sent to “reintegration camps” down south in the desert. Immediately after the bill was passed, riots popped up across the country. In the country’s capital, Alvastadt, a rogue jezail rifleman fired a shot at the crowd and promptly missed, which made the city militia who was on riot duty to in turn, fire their own shots into the crowd, mistakenly thinking the shot came from there. This sparked the revolt, which lasted for the next two years. To this day, historians still do not know who the rifleman was, or whom their allegiance was to.

Several notable battles happened during the revolt, such as the Battle of Baron, where in August of 1878, Hellenic forces, underequipped and undersupplied, managed to take a Colonial Teuton stronghold, albeit with moderate to heavy casualties, and capture supplies for themselves. Hellenic reinforcements arrived and held the stronghold for the remainder of the war. Another one is the Battle of Akatri Fields, where Colonial Alvak forces encircled and decimated two regiment’s worth of Hellenic and Arab forces. The last major battle of the revolt was the Defense of Alvastadt, where Alvak defenders successfully held off a surprise attack by Hellenic forces and Arab mercenaries while being outnumbered and unprepared. By then, all government officials were moved to Attenberg.

The revolt ended only months after the passing of the Emergency Order (Teutonian: Notfallbestellung) (Hellenic: Εντολή έκτακτης ανάγκης), which stated that the local government would request several Teuton divisions to put down the revolt. In May of 1878, the Teuton 171th Infanterie-Abteilung, 148th Infanterie-Abteilung, and the 204th Infanterie-Abteilung arrived at Attenberg. The Hellenic forces surrendered after the decisive Battle of Korinti Heights. The Arab forces, however, would take yet another month to finally lay down their arms at the Battle of Al Wazir Ridge. In total, at least 45,000 people died on both sides. The highest estimate puts it at more than 90,000 dead.

The Treaty of Alvastadt was signed on July 3rd, 1878 between Governor Potzdorf and the Hellenic insurgents. It assured that no further action would be attempted to diminish, destroy, expel, or relocate the Hellenic peoples of the area by the government. Also, the Hellenic peoples would have to become or stay loyal and pledge allegiance to the Teuton king.

Aftermath and new leadership
What followed after the revolt were several reforms, especially administrative ones. The Hellenic population calmed down quickly after Governor Potzdorf, to them, the instigator of the revolt, died of a stroke while attending a meeting on the 3rd of February, 1879. He was 57 at the time of his death. He was replaced by Oskar Stieglitz, one of the governor-candidates at the time.

Governor Stieglitz implemented more reforms, especially one that allowed Hellenic and Arab peoples to join the newly-founded Alvakischer Kolonialarmee. Another important reform was the Regional Parliament Order (Teutonian: Verordnung des Regionalbundestag) (Greek: Πράξη του Κοινοβουλίου) in 1886, which created the more advanced Alvakische Bundestag, a successor to the Teutonen-Alvakische Kolonialparlement.

Out of the Regional Parliament Order also came the reorganization of territory into the eight provinces and special territory. The nine created were:
 * Atten Province | Provinz Atten
 * Majority population: Teuton
 * Capital city: Attenberg
 * Victoria Province | Provinz Victoria
 * Majority population: Teuton
 * Capital city: Lubach
 * Alva Province | Provinz Alva
 * Majority population: Teuton
 * Capital city: Karlshelm
 * Karissa Province | Provinz Karissa
 * Majority population: Hellenic
 * Capital city: Astrafylios
 * Pyrgos Province | Provinz Pyrgos
 * Majority population: Hellenic
 * Capital city: Kyproi
 * Shoba Province | Provinz Shoba
 * Majority population: Arabic
 * Capital city: Hafir Al Duzem
 * Dulum Province | Provinz Dulum
 * Majority population: Arabic
 * Capital city: Al Duluma
 * Suder Province | Provinz Suder
 * Majority population: Teuton
 * Capital city: Desingen
 * Capital Territory | Hauptstadtgebiet
 * Majority population: Teuton/Hellenic
 * Capital city: Alvastadt

On the 8th of August, 1898, the Beifang Border Treaty was signed, finally establishing the northern border. The mountainous territory in the south was given to Beifang. In return, Beifang would pay 8.3 million Marks (20 million today) and cede over the Gebi Triangle. A later mutual trade pact would be signed between the two in 1918, 2 years before independence.

Independence and Great Campaigns involvement
In the following years, the colony would start to separate itself from Teutonia. At the turn of the century, relations between Teutonia and its colony were becoming tenser and tenser. However, on the 21st of December, 1899, the Teutonian government passed an order to allow Alvaland limited autonomy. It would come into effect on January 1st, 1900.

In the years between 1900 and 1915, several reforms were passed by the Bundestag that attempted to modernize the dominion and keep it up to date with the time. This included the expansion and upgrade of the then meagerly state railways that linked the coastal cities together, the establishment of a Research and Development facility for the Alvakischer Herrschaftarmee, and the approval and expansion of several cities.

By the start of the Grand Campaigns, the Dominion had a sizeable defence force of about 30,000 in active service, and 10,000 in reserve for a total of 40,000 in the army. It comprised of four divisions: 1. Alvakische Division, 2. Hellenische Division, 3. Arabische Division, and 4. Allgemeine Grenzwacht. The first three had participated in active service, and the fourth was for anyone willing to enlist in the reserve forces.

On the 24th of November, 1918, the Grubeck Conference, without the knowledge of the Teutons, was held between all government officials in Alvaland. Plans were made to declare independence from Teutonia and declare neutrality. Unbeknownst to Alvak officials, some civilians, with the help of Kodeshi and Modrovian funding, were also preparing to declare independence, albeit with violence.

As was stated in earlier conferences during the period of early colonization, the colonies would not be involved in any wars the colonizers were part of. However, the guidelines the conference stated were forgotten and Alvaland was pulled into the Grand Campaigns in early 1919. Despite constant urges from Teutonia to send troops, Governor Stieglitz refused on the basis that there was a chance that an enemy fleet in the Eurybian Sea like the AyG navy was in their path. Instead, the troops moved towards the inner borders and prepared for a defence of Alvaland.

Throughout the year, Alvak troops slowly retreated, as the number of troops they had was not sufficient enough to defend all of Alvaland. Lands part of Alvaland that were taken from Beifang during the early years of colonization were given back in return for help, specifically the manufacturing of arms, ammunition, and rations. A substantial amount of land was lost to colonial Tiperyn troops in the southwest, albeit mostly desert.



The Grubeck Plan went into action on the 25th of January, 1920. All communications from Teutonia to Alvaland was cut. There was supposed to be a telegram sent to Tiperyn via Ashari telegram lines, along with neighbouring Beifang and Kodeshia stating that the Dominion had declared independence but was neutral in the war. However, with the odds on Alvakalia's side, the neutrality clause was thrown out. All Teutonic merchant ships had their captains either turn back to Teutonia or take down their flag and replace it if they were loyal to the new Alvak state. Three military ships, the destroyers Von Hippel and Teutonen, and the light cruiser Vereinigte switched from Teuton to Alvak while they were docked. Also, two airports, albeit both very basic, were seized along with 12 Teike M.18 biplanes. However, only one of the pilots remained. Any stragglers or any Teuton soldiers that wanted to stay in Alvakalia were organized and formed into the undermanned 5. Teutonen Division.

Alvak troops accompanied by Kodeshi and Bakanese troops finally held back the advancing Caliphate troops at the Battle of Fráoula Fields, forcing Caliphate units to pull back and retreat. Alvak troops reclaimed lost territory and defended against more Caliphate counterattacks until the 1923 treaties with both Tiperyn and the Caliphate.

Ostkorps and Eastern front involvement
Several brigades and a majority of the 5. Division were combined to form the Ostkorps during mid-1920. The Ostkorps was formed to assist Bakanese and Kodeshi forces fighting on the Eastern front, helping with convoys and supply lines, along with frontline combat, replacing wounded Kodeshi and Bakanese troops with fresh Alvak soldiers.

The Second Battle of Taishan was notable in which all Ostkorps brigades fought in it. After several repeated attempts to retake the town by both Kodeshi, Bakanese, and Alvak forces, one final attempt which included several Kodeshi tanks, the first on the Eastern front, finally broke through Guurdalai defences to recapture the town, albeit with heavy losses. The Ostkorps would continue acquiring supplies sent from Alvakalia until 1923, with the last shipment containing rations, ammunition, and new rifles in massive quantities on October of 1923, a month before the peace treaty that pulled Alvakalia out.

The Ostkorps would remain in Kodeshia as an expeditionary force, taking up roles of support infantry and convoy protection until 1925, when an armistice was signed between Kodeshia, Beifang, and Guurdalai.

By 1926 and up to early 1927, Ostkorps forces took up positions as military police, border protection, and in the case of the 1. Infanterie-Brigade, even the Kodeshi emperor's security detail.

In early 1927, the Kodeshi populace, upset over the emperor's actions against democratization by dismissing the first Kodeshi Parliament, revolted along with the support of the military. On the 8th of February, 1927, all ~5,500 soldiers of the Ostkorps, at the time stationed in the Imperial capital, woke up to a Kodeshia undergoing a civil war.

Escape
The Ostkorps, along with forces from the Imperial Army and Bakanese 6th Field Army, attempted to defend the imperial capital of Songha-ri until all important imperial assets like the treasury and Songha-ri Arsenal were secured and ready to move to Beifang. The Alvak defence held up until mid-1927, with the emptying of the treasury. The Ostkorps eventually left Songha-ri along with elements of the Imperial Army, the 6th Field Army, and the Emperor.

The convoy stopped at Shizuiping due to the rest of the railway being controlled by rebel forces. The Ostkorps fought a rear-guard defence against nearly constant People's Army attacks. The Battle of Shizuiping was indecisive, as Ostkorps forces retreated with allied forces, but left the section of the People's Army that had attacked in shambles.

By September 1927, the convoy was 480 kilometres from the Beifang-Kodeshia border. The Ostkorps performed manoeuvres that distracted enemy forces from the main convoy, especially in the battles of Suwei, Jinguan-Xianrao, Shangshu, and Tsinghai, using guerilla tactics to effectively destroy the 15th and 17th Divisions of the National Revolutionary Army. However, the four battle took a toll on the Ostkorps, as they lost around 2,000 men to Republican forces.

Upon reaching a much larger contingent of rebel forces up north, Generalmajor Jung received orders from the emperor to wreak as much havoc as possible in the area before joining back up with the main convoy. Eagerly complying with the orders, the Ostkorps stole a company's worth of horses, disabled two tanks that had fallen in enemy hands, burnt several enemy ammunition caches, blew up trains supplying Republican forces, basically crippling several battalions in terms of morale and supply. By the time the Ostkorps had left the area, they were given a new nickname by Republican forces: the Blue Ghosts (Yu: Lán guǐ), after the most prominent colour of their insignia and the rapidness of their movements, being unable to be caught even by cavalry. Alternatively, they were also called the Blue Bastards (Yu: Lán sè húndàn).

By late-1927, they were close to reaching the border with Beifang. The Ostkorps continued to fight rear-guard defence until the convoy reached Imperial-held territory.

In January, the convoy had reached Beifang and was now moving between desert towns, finally reaching the coastal border with Alvakalia the next month. The Ostkorps said their goodbyes to the Emperor. In return for their efforts defending the Emperor, most of the remaining 3,200 soldiers of the Ostkorps were all awarded the Imperial Cross, the second-highest-ranking award in Imperial Kodeshia, and the highest a foreigner could get. A final 21-gun salute was held before the Ostkorps crossed the border.

Using rail lines, the Ostkorps reached Alvastadt mid-March. There, they were welcomed back with fanfare. However, some despised the Ostkorps as they had avoided the communist uprising in Alvakalia completely and were fighting in Kodeshia for a lost cause. But with little hesitation, all members of the Ostkorps were all awarded the Iron Cross, 1st Class. Generalmajor Jung, riding a brown Trakehner, led the veterans of the Ostkorps in their tattered uniforms on a victory parade through the city, with city landmarks decorated in their honour.

In 1930, the Ostkorps was disbanded due to Liberal policies and military cutbacks. However, in 1965, the Ostkorps was reformed, now an elite unit. They operated throughout the Yindong Crises and was renamed the Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) in 1991.

Communist uprising and stable democracy
In 1924, Teutonia underwent a communist uprising. Alvak communists attempted to copy the Teuton communists' success and implement it in Alvakalia. At the realization that the communists in Teutonia were winning, the communists in Alvakalia rose up, albeit disorganized. Several members of the communist faction in the Bundestag, the Worker's Party of Alvakalia, attempted to break into the Upper House chambers and into the Chancellor's office but failed to do so. The Alvak People's Republic proclaimed independence on the 28th of February, 1924. However, only Teutonenland recognized its sovereignty.

In previous years, several communist militant groups had stayed underground, hiding from the eyes of authorities, while stockpiling weapons, ammunition, and rations for the uprising, which at the time had no set date. Connections to North Kodeshi revolters were set up, creating a supply line of weapons from Alvakalia's ports to insurgencies dotted around East Kesh.

From early March to May, members of the militant group Alvakische Rotfront (AKR) launched several attacks, claiming the provinces of Alva and Karissa, and held small parts of Victoria, Shoba, and Pyrgos Provinces using equipment from Teutonenland. For a short time, the AKR held Alvastadt. However, garrisoned troops from the 1. Division there drove off the invaders and held the capital for the rest of the uprising.

On the 20th of May, Kriegsplan Spiegel (War Plan Mirror) was put into action. The 1 Division swept northeasterly across Northern Alvakalia and through Victoria Province, and 2 Division swept southwesterly, cleaning through the Hellenic provinces. The 3 Division sent a detachment to deal with communists in the Lake Ko region, while the rest would sweep northeasterly, starting from the western border and making their way up the coast, meeting up with 2 Division. The plan worked with startling success, with the downfall of many communist strongholds in rapid succession, the last being the stronghold at Dera on the 4th of July. The Arab sections of the uprising were stomped out without any difficulty.

By the end of July, the rest of the communist holdouts, mostly small and unorganized by then, were dealt with.

Leaders of the uprising, notably Bruno Schneider, leader of the AKR, and Max Koch, head of the Communist Party of Alvakalia, were either sent to jail for treason or executed.

"Brain drain" from Teutonia
In 1925, a minor influx of Teuton refugees fled to Alvakalia. Most refugees were doctors, engineers, scientists, politicians, non-Teutons who had been stuck in the country, or any other profession that was targeted by the new communist regime in Teutonia. A majority of these refugees fled aboard the cruise liner Imo, which for the past few years had been grounded at the port due to to the war. Others fled on smaller boats like fishing trawlers and sailboats. In the following years, a community of Artemian Teutons would set up around Alvastadt. A notable example is the crew of the Teuton submarine U-23, who, at their location 200km away from the Agranan eastern coast, upon learning that the Teuton loyalists had fallen, immediately plotted a course for the port at Alvastadt. The trip would burn over half of their submarine's fuel, but brought to Alvakalia a starting point for the development for submarines.

Findings of rich oil reserves and ore deposits
In early 1942, then Chancellor Armaan Stahlberg launched gradual industrialization and modernization policies. One included the surveying the Southern Desert for oil reserves.

On the 2nd of April, 1942, one of the surveying groups reported that they had found not only an untapped large underground oil reserve but several rich ore deposits near the base of the mountains that made up the southern border. Immediately, the government signed a contract with Hakken-Holt Stahl GmbH to produce mining and drilling equipment for the thousands of workers that were now headed to the area.

Today, the two southern Arab provinces are the most industrialized out of the eight because of the oil and ore findings.

Great Kesh War and Alvak involvement
On the 21st of September, 1949, the Alvakische Bundestag held an emergency meeting regarding the conflict in Kesh. The Eid-Al-Fitr offensive was still in full force by then, and several ships, primarily Tiperyn, had been sunk near Alvak territory. Plans were made to actively join the war on the side of the Tiperyn and Khorasani forces, but they were nearly shut down due to a close 81-39/6-2 vote.

However, the planned date of the announcement of the 15th of December was pushed to the 20th of November, as the Altis Glacier Skirmish on the 17th of November, 1949, occurred.

Altis Skirmish
The skirmish between Kodeshi forces and the forces of the 3. Division 2. Reg. lasted for several hours.

-First contact | 6:21 AM, Local Time

A large group of uniformed unknowns were spotted crossing the border early in the morning by C Patrol in the area. Nearing the group, the patrol was put under heavy fire by several enemy HMGs. One soldier, Corporal Rohan Al-Bashir, was injured in the retreat back to the FOB.

-Armoured QRF makes contact w/ group | 7:01 AM

Lieutenant Colonel Hammar orders an armoured QRF force to the area. However, the QRF made contact with the group 1KM closer than expected. Fighting ensues. By 9 AM, only 6 Avia K4 Armoured Fighting Vehicles out of 10 in the QRF would return.

-Assault on glacier FOB | 11:42 AM

After no report from B Patrol in 22 minutes, intense gunfire rained down from the ridge above the FOB. Several soldiers were wounded in the fighting, and Gefreiter Abd al-Matin was killed in action after shielding Lieutenant Colonel Hammar and several others from a grenade. Gunfire would continue for 3 more hours until air support arrived in the form of a Blemm A-14 helicopter.

-Air support and end of skirmish | 2:09 PM

Rocket fire from experimental rocket pods from the helicopter dislodged several boulders above the cliff, causing a miniature landslide that broke up and destroyed the enemy position. However, only dust rained down on the FOB underneath, as the cliff structure held up against the weight the boulders put it on. News reached the capital minutes later after communications were reestablished. B Patrol was found not far from the FOB the day after, completely destroyed, apparently ambushed.

Declaration of war
On the 20th of November, 1949, the voice of Chancellor Armaan Stahlberg interrupted the morning news programme on the radio.


 * "My fellow countrymen and women, I am speaking to you from the Cabinet Room at Parliament Hill. This morning the Alvak Ambassador in Kodeshia handed the Kodeshi Government a final note stating that unless we heard from them by 10 o'clock, that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from our borders, a state of war would exist between us.


 * I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently, this country is at war with Kodeshia.


 * Their actions show convincingly that there is no chance of expecting that they will ever give up their practices of using force to gain their will. They can only be stopped by force, and we are today, in fulfilment of our obligations, going to the aid of Tiperyn, Chaldea, Khorasan and Sovena, and Guurdalai, who all so bravely resisting the wicked and unprovoked attacks upon their peoples.


 * The situation in which no word given by Kodeshia’s ruler could be trusted and no people or country could itself feel safe has become intolerable.


 * And now that we have resolved to finish it, I know that you will all play your part with calmness and courage.


 * At such a moment as this, the assurances of support which we have received from our allies are a source of profound encouragement to us.


 * When I have finished speaking certain detailed announcements will be made on behalf of the Government. Give these your close attention.


 * The Government have made plans under which it will be possible to carry on the work of the nation in the days of stress and strain that may be ahead. But these plans need your help.


 * You may be taking your part in the fighting services or as a volunteer in one of the branches of civil defence. If so you will report for duty in accordance with the instructions you receive.


 * You may be engaged in work essential to the prosecution of war for the maintenance of the life of the people – in factories, in transport, in public utility concerns or in the supply of other necessaries of life. If so, it is of vital importance that you should carry on with your jobs.


 * It is evil things that we shall be fighting against – brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and persecution – and against them I am certain that the right will prevail. But no matter what, we Alvaks, whether Teuton, Hellenic, Arab, or any other ethnicity, it may not even matter, but we are united, and we will triumph. Lang lebe Alvakalia! Tahya Alvakalia! Zíste ti Alvakalia!"

Approximately 3 hours after the speech, Beifang declared war on Alvakalia in support of Kodeshia.

Early years of war
The entire 3rd Division relocated its forces to the mountain range to defend from Kodeshi forces, and the 5th Division moved up the coast to defend the northern border from Beifang. The 4th Division was sent upwards to garrison the coast, and the 1st and 2nd Divisions swept around the mountains and joined up with other soldiers on the western frontline. A large trench system was built after the arrival of the 1st and 2nd Divisions, spanning the entire length of the frontline from its easternmost point to the mountains.

Civilians formed the Home Guard (Teuton: Hauptwache) (Greek: Fýlakas spitioú), of which around 20,000 civilians joined, from as young as 16 to as old as 68. Home Guard troops were incredibly undersupplied, sometimes only carrying a baton for self-defence. However, by the end of the war, 1 new division was created out of the Home Guard, the 6. Division, out of those who started out underage but now wanted to join the Bundeswehr directly.

3rd Division engineers constructed the Kebi Line, a line of fortified structures dotted in strategic areas throughout the southeastern border and mountain frontline.

On the northern front, the 5. Division chose to act defensively, with only small gains being made, trading pieces of the desert for more desert with Bakanese troops. Hauptwache troops arrived to help support the 5. Division, with those in it taking roles of what was basically internal security. Casualties were lowest in this front. The frontlines remained stagnant until the end of the war with the Treaty of Astrafylios signed in early 1953.

Naval battles
The Kriegsmarine, then somewhat poorly funded and maintained, first battled the Bakanese navy on the 31st of December, 1949 at the Battle of Kap Adler, where the cruisers Schwalbe and Atlas, along with several patrol boats and the destroyer Freiheit, engaged elements of the Steel Battlegroup, specifically the light cruisers Junghei and Cukdai, along with several escort patrol boats. By battle's end, 7 out of 10 Alvak patrol boats were sunk, the Atlas heavily damaged, the Freiheit miraculously suffering light damage, and the Schwalbe lying at the bottom of the seabed after ramming the Junghei, crippling the superstructures of both ships, which were already damaged by Bakanese torpedoes and 20.3 cm naval guns respectively.

The Kriegsmarine, over the following years, would be pushed back so much that for a while, supplies meant for the Bundeswehr would be forced to be sent over by road instead of by sea, thus limiting the number of supplies that would arrive. The issue would be remedied with the Battle of Kareta Bay on the 17th of February, 1951, where heavy cruisers Kingmou and Gamzung along with missile-equipped destroyers Sam and Hyut, were all either crippled or sunk. In the battle, the destroyer Freiheit, the same ship that escaped the Battle of Kap Adler nearly unscathed, took a shell from Kingmou that landed in its ammunition storage. With all guns inoperable and a large fire onboard, Captain Darius Alessandro ordered everyone abandon ship and turned towards the heavy cruiser Gamzung. Even though the captain of the Gamzung attempted to turn his ship away from the destroyer-turned-fireship, it was not enough and the Freiheit exploded for the last time on contact with the Gamzung, killing Alessandro, the few stragglers still onboard, a majority of the crew of the Gamzung, and severely injuring several crewmen of the nearby Hyut with shrapnel. The Kingmou was boarded by several armed crewmen operating the destroyer Jubelnd, and was subsequently captured with 9 out of the 17 that boarded killed, and 5 injured. The Kingmou would be renamed the Königsmann, and would stay at the Alvastadt Docks for the remainder of the war for inspection. The Königsmann would stay with the Kriegsmarine until 1969, when it was scrapped.

The last significant naval battle of the war while Alvakalia was in the war was the Battle of Alva Bay on New Year's Day 1953, where heavy cruiser Republik, the cruisers Yperifáneia and Atlas (which had been brought back to the docks at Alvastadt and hastily repaired), along with the help of Tipslan destroyers Goliath and Triomfantich and the Joergen coastal batteries on shore defended against the bulk of the Steel Battlegroup, the heavy cruisers, Quảng Châu, and Phong Hòng Tràn, the battleship Wēichou, and the destroyers Sung Wing, and Chēui Sái Ōn. The battle is notable in that Alvak and Tipslan forces were outnumbered in firepower, as the Joergen coastal batteries had not been used since the independence war and had been used as a training facility since then. Because of that, the batteries stationed mostly recruits and a few overaged reserves.

Battle of Alva Bay
The battle started early in the morning, with an unusually dense fog covering the bay area. The first enemy ship was spotted at 5:19 AM, with the silhouette of the Quảng Châu coming into view of the nearby Joergen coastal batteries. The commander of the batteries, Commander Peters Wagner, gave the Main Battery guns the order to fire at the lead ship of the unknown flotilla forcing its way towards the defending fleet, stationed further behind the batteries. Upon giving the command, Peters was questioned. He responded with his now-famous response; "I'll either be awarded or hung, now fire!" Two rounds from the 28 cm (11.0 in) guns Alva and Ketten engaged the Bakanese heavy cruiser Quảng Châu at 1,800 m (2,000 yd) range. The fleet had assumed they were far away (presumably, 7 KM away) from the coast and away from the Joergen batteries, which had been reconned before the attack. However, they were only 2 kilometres out from the coast, and well in the range of the batteries, had it not been heavily foggy.

The first shell hit the Quảng Châu in its starboard-side bow, above the waterline. It caused little damage but helped further exacerbate the damage the second shell would make. The second shell hit below the Quảng Châu's second main gun, almost immediately detonating its ammunition cache and rendering it inoperable. The shell also landed below the waterline, making the Quảng Châu list to the right and towards the path of the nearby destroyer Sung Wing. A fire would also break out on the deck. The second battery fired only one of its shells, as one of its guns were still undergoing repairs. It hit the Quảng Châu in its bow deck, causing another fire to start. By then, the entire bow section of the Quảng Châu was on fire, the first gun's ammunition cache just waiting to go off. Unable to locate where the guns were and unaware of the Sung Wing behind it, the Quảng Châu sped up, attempting to run past the defences.

By 6, the Tipslan destroyers Goliath and Triomfantich were in position, with the heavy cruiser Republik and cruiser Atlas trailing behind. Three of the five ships were spotted, the burning Quảng Châu, the destroyer Sung Wing, and the battleship Wēichou. The two other ships of the enemy fleet were lagging behind and were trying to catch up. The nearby Yperifaneia had heard of the oncoming fleet and set sail to join up with the coalition fleet.

At 6:16 AM, still in heavy fog, the Quảng Châu ran aground at full speed, not knowing it was headed towards the coast instead of towards the Wēichou, where it would link up and receive extra help firefighting there. Parts of the 4. Division, 8. Regiment surrounded the flaming and beached cruiser, not knowing the possibilities of the first main turret's ammunition cache detonating. Some tried to help by calling local Feuerwehr stations to deal with the ship's raging fire.

By then, the destroyer Sung Wing had gone into the Wēichou's path and was headed straight toward the two Tipslan destroyers, who were attempting to perform a flanking manoeuvre and attack the entire fleet from the side. However, that meant they were directly ahead of the destroyer Chēui Sái Ōn and heavy cruiser Phong Hòng Tràn, both of which had not been spotted yet.

Once the last two enemy ships had been spotted, the two Tipslan destroyers did not have enough time to manoeuvre out of the way and instead lined up where the two would trap Chēui Sái Ōn on both sides. However, this left the Goliath in a position where it could be fired upon by the Phong Hòng Tràn.

As they approached each other, the crew on the Chēui Sái Ōn unexpectedly boarded both ships as they lined up. Both boarding parties fought on all three ships, delaying the guns long enough that only one of the guns from the Goliath could be fired directly into the destroyer. However, all of the Triomfantich main guns managed to fire, with one shell managing to hit the nearby Phong Hòng Tràn after being ranged incorrectly.

The Phong Hòng Tràn released a salvo, with all shells hitting the Goliath; all of its ammunition storages ignited, as well as its fuel storage. The ship formed a great fireball, lighting up the entire battlefield for a short time. The blast sunk the Goliath as well as the Chēui Sái Ōn, which was right beside it, and gave severe to moderate burns to most people in the surrounding area.

On the shore, however, the Quảng Châu's fire was under control and being taken down by local Feuerwehr units and whatever was left of their crew that did not jump overboard taken prisoner. The Quảng Châu would be towed back to Alvastadt Docks and scrapped for more resources, finishing in 1954.

Back on the brawl between the crews of the Chēui Sái Ōn and Triomfantich, the explosion of the Goliath forced the Bakanese to give up in their attempts to take over their ship. Both sides retreated back to the Triomfantich as they surrendered and watched the Chēui Sái Ōn sink. The surviving crew were interned at the Alvastadt Docks.

In the confusion, the nearby Kampfgeschwader 4 of Luftflotte 1 launched several Bf 105/Z torpedo bombers to help support the naval battle. Unable to see much through the fog, they dropped their torpedoes at the Phong Hòng Tràn. All but 1 torpedo missed. The one torpedo blew up the bow section of the ship but did not cause much damage overall.

(WIP)

Mountain Offensive
On the 4th of May, 1950, the Alvak Kriegsplan Gelb (War Plan Gold/Yellow) was activated. Troops on the flanking sides of the mountain front were to advance, leaving the safety of the Kebi Line and into enemy territory. The southern flank split into two, with 3. Regiment heading westward to cut off supplies for the enemy, and 1. and 4. Regiments continuing southward to gain a foothold. 3. Regiment managed to temporarily cut off enemy communications, but they were later restored. They were only able to capture a significant amount of land, albeit mountainous.

The general push did not start until the day after because of poor weather conditions and miscommunication. The northern troops, specifically the 9. and 10. Regiments were to link up with Guurdalai forces and relieve the stress put onto them by the large Kodeshi invasion force, but two things prevented this: the distance of which Guurdalai forces were pushed back, and the late attack. However, they did accomplish one objective; disrupt enemy forces. The Kebi Line would continue to upgrade itself, even after the mostly failed attack.

All regiments of the 3rd Division would hold their positions until the Naser River Valley Offensive was put into action in 1952.

Late stages of the war
By 1952, not much had changed on the front lines, other than the usual skirmish here and there due to a lack of commitment by Tiperyn forces and a lack of training and experience with Naseri forces.

In late 1951, Alvak forces launched another counterattack, attempting to take back, or if not able to, disrupt the Mihrani League's food supply. The counter-attack initially went well, with Mihrani soldiers routed and in disarray. However, Alvak forces ran into a 3-division (and later 4-division) strength reserve force behind the frontline. Routed themselves, they pulled a miraculous retreat back to the trenches, with minimal casualties. While they had not reached the farmlands, they had most certainly disrupted the supply of food. However, it would return to normal only months later.

In the early months of 1952, the Alvak Luftwaffe launched several devastating raids on Mihrani supply lines. The raid with the most impact was the Kabruk Fields Raid, where a Messt B.39 bomber accompanied by several Avia M.36/B dive bombers obliterated the main supply route from the farmland to the frontline, rendering it unusable for several months. The raids were in retaliation of Mihrani forces encircling and destroying two Naseri battalions, and bombing the Tiperyn embassy in Naser in mid-1951. The raids would pave the way for Operation Albion Bend, which would take place shortly after.

However, with rising anti-war sentiment within its population, Alvak participation in the latter stages of the war would be limited as the Treaty of Astrafylios would be signed between Alvakalia, Beifang, and Kodeshia.

Separate peace treaty
On the 4th of July, 1953, the Treaty of Astrafylios was signed between representatives of the Alvak, Kodeshi, and Bakanese governments.

The terms stated on the treaty were:


 * 1) Alvakalia was to pay AvM 27,000,000 in war reparations to Kodeshia.
 * 2) Kodeshia was to cede part of the territories of Xiabei, Yueshan, and Shahai to Alvakalia.
 * 3) Alvakalia was to pay AvM 7,500,000 in war reparations to Beifang.
 * 4) The Alvak-Bakanese border was to return to those demarcated by the 1898 Beifang Border Treaty.
 * 5) Both Kodeshia and Alvakalia were to set up a demilitarized zone at their border, 4 km wide on both sides.
 * 6) Both Beifang and Alvakalia were set up a demilitarized zone at their border, 4 km wide on both sides.
 * 7) A "Special Region" was to be set up in the occupied territory.
 * 8) All parties were not able to declare war on each other for 80 years.

Aftermath
By 1958, the DMZ had been completely constructed, spanning the length of Alvakalia's westernmost border with Kodeshia to the northernmost border on the coast with Beifang.

The "Special Region", now the Kodeschien Sektor (Kodeshi Sector) had been established. The newly-formed 6. Division relocated there and acted as military police and internal security. However, the land was completely drained of its resources, along with

The war reparations were supposed to be sent to the two in pieces over the span of two decades, with the last payments to Kodeshia and Beifang in 1969, just before the start of the Yindong Crises.

July Shooting
The assassination attempt on Armaan Stahlberg occurred on July 30, 1974, 60 days after the controversial Immigration Act had passed. Stahlberg was exiting after a press conference at the Bundestag in Alvastadt. As Stahlberg left to enter his car, Johann DuBois fired his gun.

At 2:27 pm Local Time, Stahlberg exited the building through the Eastern Gate exit toward his waiting limousine. DuBois waited within the crowd of civilians. While the Wachbattailon blocked those attending the chancellor's speech, in a "colossal mistake" the battalion allowed an unsearched group to stand within feet of him, behind a rope line.

Stahlberg unexpectedly passed right in front of DuBois. Believing he would never get a better chance, he fired a Böhm R-22 .22 LR blue steel revolver six times in 2.3 seconds.

Four out of the six shots missed the chancellor. The first bullet hit Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgio Annadopolous in the head, killing him instantly. The second bullet grazed Stahlberg himself in his right cheek as he turned to see. DuBois now had a clear shot at the chancellor, but the third bullet overshot him and hit the window of a barracks across the street.

As Hauptmann Niklaus Blaustein quickly pushed the chancellor into the limousine, the fourth bullet hit Leutnant Mohammed Ali in the abdomen as he spread his body over Stahlberg to protect him. The fifth bullet hit the bullet-resistant glass of the window on the open side door of the limousine. The sixth and final bullet ricocheted off the armoured side of the limousine and hit the chancellor in his left underarm, grazing a rib and lodging in his lung, stopping nearly 1 inch (25mm) from his heart. Blaustein's prompt reaction saved Stahlberg from being hit in the head. Stahlberg suffered from a punctured lung and heavy internal bleeding. He received medical attention quickly at the nearby Alvastadt General Hospital.

-trial, found guilty, executed in 1976

-Stahlberg quits re-election campaign due to injuries even though public support is high

Alvakalia and the NSC


-Alvakalia joins NSC in 1963 for defensive and economic reasons

-first outside military exercise for Alvak soldiers held in Northern Tiperyn

Yindong Crises
Because Beifang suffered relatively minimal domestic damage during the Kesh War, their economy was more or less intact. However, because their neighbours were war-torn nations and most of Artemia and Avalonia were avoiding anything in Kesh, Beifang's economy started slumping due to lack of friendly and stable export markets for their industries.

As the years went on as Kodeshia and Alvakalia began to recover, naturally their currencies became stronger, forcing the former strongest Kesh currency, the Yindong, Beifang's currency, to devalue in order to prevent having to cease subsidies to industries. In 1959, then Minister of Economy --- --- implemented policies that pegged the Yindong to the international market. It turned out to be a poor decision, as the international market at the time was heavily unstable due to the many decades of ongoing worldwide conflict, Along with the rebuilding of Kodeshi oil fields, which caused Alvak oil prices to drop down. Due to those events, the Bakanese economy plummeted, causing the Yindong to devalue itself dramatically, resulting in massive inflation. The crash then caused neighbouring Alvakalia, Kodeshia, and Guurdalai and their economies to go down with Beifang's economy, causing the Alvak Mark, Kodeshi Jiaozi, and Guurdalai Nükhoyuu to devalue massively.

Immediate effects
In the first few days of the depression, riots ensued throughout all four countries. Riots in Alvakalia were the worst in the financial district of Alvastadt, where masses of people flooded banks to withdraw their cash. Fights broke out, ending with police arriving on-site and several people sent to hospitals. Most banks closed due to the lack of cash. Like in all economic bust periods before, no one person or single factor was to blame for the bursts of the economies. But whoever or whatever was to blame, it was little consolation for the people severely negatively affected by the disaster.

An economic plan was drawn up by 1960 to rejuvenate the Alvak economy. By then, an extremely large number of miners and oil plant workers, as well as those working in the financial sector were out of work. The Erweckung Plan, as it was called, consisted of a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations. The public work projects would help bring back hundreds and thousands of jobs but at the cost of heavy debt. Financial reforms would create a more regulated and sturdy banking system, as well as abandon the gold standard.

Over AvM 350 billion was pumped into the Erweckung Plan between 1960 and 1967. The projects offered moderate relief but generated huge amounts of debt. The Erweckung Plan went into effect on the 20th of February, 1960. Public works started off with the rebuilding of the Ko Dam, which was not only outdated but damaged by years of bombing. The Rail Campaign helped modernize the outdated rail systems that linked Alvakalia's cities together. The Shelter Program helped build more suitable housing for more people. The effort would end in a success, with around half of the debt repaid due to the public works.

The financial plan would consist of the redistribution of cash between Alvak citizens, the imposing of a higher income tax on millionaires, the implementation of a more liberalized trade policy, the stabilization of the financial sector, and the end of the gold standard.

With the end of the gold standard, the mark was allowed to float freely on foreign exchange markets with no guaranteed price in gold. With the passage of the Gold Cutoff Bill in 1961, the nominal price of gold was changed from AvM 20.67 per troy ounce to AvM 35. The measures enabled the National Reserve to increase the amount of money in circulation to the level the economy needed. Markets responded somewhat well to the suspension in the hope that the decline in prices would finally end.

To help increase the amount of money held in the Reserve, the Flowback Revision was implemented. It provided for a system of reopening well-operating banks under Treasury supervision, with loans available if needed. Three-quarters of the banks in the National Reserve System reopened within the next six days. Billions of marks in hoarded currency and gold flowed back into them within three months, thus stabilizing the banking system. However, it would take several more years for the GDP to recover back to pre-crisis levels.

Ultimately, the governments' stimulus measures worked only moderately well. Rioters in Beifang reached their tipping point. In an attempt to contain the rioting in Beifang, the Heer mobilised on the border. Mistaking it for an act of hostility, the Bakanese government ordered their own troops to mobilise there as well. With a standoff now occurring on the border, Kodeshi troops mobilised as well in support of Beifang, as well as moved troops inside Beifang's major cities to help quell the riots.

Kodeschien Sektor transfer
On the 21st of September, the Burrahnaya Skirmish occurred between Alvak Heer, Kodeshi NDF, and Bakanese Army troops. Although a minor skirmish, it almost brought the three countries to war, although it was forbidden in the 1953 treaty. However, the Minister of Defense Jens Neumayer was willing to break the treaty to take over Beifang and had persuaded the Chancellor to do so too.

In the backdrop, secret negotiations were held.

At 3:00 pm on October 26, Cäsar Goethe of ARA1 had lunch with Wan Bo, the cover name of Wang Zexi, the Kodeshi secret surveillance station chief in Desingen, at Wang's request. Following the instructions of his superiors, Wang noted, "War seems about to break out." He asked Cäsar to use his contacts to talk to his "high-level friends" at the Provincial Department to see if Alvakalia would be interested in a diplomatic solution. He suggested that the language of the deal would contain an assurance from Kodeshia to remove the troops on the border. Alvak officials responded that Alvakalia would be "unlikely to invade" if the troops were removed.

(continued negotiations, Kodeschien Sektor transfer, recession, then New Horizons bill)

Reconciliation Era
With Conservative Chancellor Hannes Tillich, President Kurt Koehne, and Minister of Defense Jens Neumayer pinned for the losses Alvakalia sustained during the war on Kodeshia and the economic recession that followed up, voters in May of 1974 voted for a Liberal-dominated Bundestag. The 1974 election would be the Conservatives' worst ever loss since 1938. However, the Conservatives would win once more in the 2002 elections.

With a new cabinet of ministers, newly-appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs Erika Leitner called for better relations with Kodeshia and Beifang. Her calls were poorly received, as Alvaks did not want to collaborate with people who had caused and openly supported Alvakalia's economic downfall. However, she had her reasons: the separation between the East Keshian countries had caused Alvakalia's downfall, meaning that Alvakalia was also responsible for its own turmoil. With a more coordinated regional economy, Alvakalia would recover even faster and perhaps promote Eastern Kesh as a superhub of trading in the near future. Then Minister of Economy Theodoros Pavlas openly supported the idea of an outreaching foreign policy as well, as help from fellow NSC members would not be enough at the time.

While some critics called her reasons outlandish and extreme, most people started to understand the severity of the situation that was the Yindong Crises. Despite the harsh backlash from ultra-conservatives that followed, the 1975 "New Horizons" bill was passed with a 95-20-5/5-0-1 (approve-deny-abstain) vote.

The first set of trade talks started with the Hochberg Trade Summit in 1976. Topics discussed between Alvak, Bakanese, and Kodeshi diplomats included the importing and exporting of Alvak oil for Bakanese and Kodeshi goods, which was a major topic in all six trade summits. Initially, the talks went cold, as there was still the issue of unresolved tension between the two parties. However, once both sides agreed that disputes would not play a role in the disruption of the talks, they began to warm up. The 1st Hochberg Trade Summit ended up having a large impact in Alvakalia, as the recession disappeared only months after the 6th and last summit.

The 2nd and 3rd summits ended up having made more progress, continually breaking the thaw between the three parties. The 4th and 5th summits took advantage of the thaw and built on top of it to completely shatter it with talks of free trade and joint projects between the three. The 6th and last summit would hammer home the last nail in the coffin of the anti-Asiatic mindset what few people still had.

Through the summits came job opportunities for the unemployed abroad. With the old Ko Dam in need of repairs after several attempted bombings, workers flooded in from not only Alvak cities but Bakanese and Kodeshi cities as well.

Great Storm of 1993
(giant bloody sandstorm, major cities shut down for 2-4 days, no air traffic, recovery takes a few weeks, route of sandstorm goes right past industrial areas, possibly follows along coastline northwards to Beifang?)

Geography
Alvakalia is located on the northeastern part of Kesh. Its southern lands are comprised of the Lion Mountain Range (named after a corrupted version of the Yu word for the range) and Askari Desert Plains. One major river flows from the mountains down through the desert and into the Eurybian through the Alva Bay, named the Alva River. Its tributaries include the Atten River, which splits off at the edge of the desert and into the eastern edge of the Alva Bay, and many small creeks downriver. Alvakalia's coastal regions are not as desertified as the inland region is, and hosts small plots of farmland near the bay area. The largest lake is Lake Ko, formed as a reservoir from the building of Ko Dam in 1932.

Alvakalia's highest point is Kebi Peak, located on its southern border on the Lion Mountain Range. Precipitation is at its heaviest on the coastal regions, with as much as 300mm to 840mm of rainfall annually.

Not many animals live in the desert area, but notable examples include the red-billed falcon, the state animal, the Keshian desert vulture, and the Haaka sandpiper, which resides in the delta region of the bay area. An exception to this is the Lake Ko area, where both flora and fauna have flourished in the abundance of fresh glacier water.

Government
Alvakalia is a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic republic. The Alvak political system operates under a framework laid out in the 1918 constitution drafted in the Grubeck Conference known as the Grundgesetz (Basic Laws). New amendments, bills, and policies generally require a two-thirds majority of both the Bundesrat and the Bundestag; the fundamental principles of the constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the rule of law are valid in perpetuity.

The president, Katerina Katrakis (1st March 2018–present), is the head of state and invested primarily with representative responsibilities and powers. The chancellor, Karl Steiglitz (24th December 2006–present), is the head of government and exercises executive power through their Cabinet, similar to the role of a prime minister in other parliamentary democracies. Federal legislative power is vested in the parliament consisting of the Bundestag (as the lower house) and Bundesrat (as the upper house), which together form the legislative body. The Bundestag is elected through direct elections, by proportional representation (mixed-member). The members of the Bundesrat represent the governments of the eight provinces and are members of the state cabinets.

Political history
Ever since the establishment of the Bundestag, not much has changed except the political parties and their leaders that take part in running the country. The country has mostly shifted between the conservative Die Alvakische Recht party, the liberal Liberale Partei von Alvakalia, and the centrist Neue Demokratische Alvakalia. Other notable political parties include the Hellenic separatist party Ellinikí Anexartisía and the Arab separatist party Alhuriyat Lilearab. However, expressing communist, socialist, or anarchical ideas are frowned upon, as the general populace, as well as a majority of politicians, do not support it.

Military
Alvakalia's military, the Bundeswehr, is organised into Heer (Army and special forces KSK), Marine (Navy), Luftwaffe (Air Force), Bundeswehr Joint Medical Service and Streitkräftebasis (Joint Support Service) branches. In 2015, military spending was at AvM 66.8 billion, about 1.5% of the country's GDP, well below the NSC target of 2%.

As of 2017, the Bundeswehr employed roughly 64,000 service members, including about 14,000 volunteers. Reservists are available to the Armed Forces and participate in defence exercises and deployments abroad. Since 1995 women may serve in all functions of service without restriction. About 9,000 female soldiers are on active duty.

Military history
The original R&D department, today the Alvakische Waffenamt (AWa), had been experimenting with semi-automatic rifles in the '30s and 40s to replace the ageing bolt-actions at the time. In 1946, the ageing G-09 bolt-action rifle was replaced with the K-40, a simple but effective semi-auto rifle. However, production issues flared up, and it was replaced by the improved K-40/A in 1949. It stayed in service until 1963, when it was replaced by the G-4, using a 6.5x55mm cartridge originating from Koryeo. The rifle stayed in service until 1990, when it was replaced by the Alvak-designed StG-1. All rifles used the 8mm cartridge, except the StG-1 and later variants, which used a smaller 7.92×33mm cartridge. In 2004, a modernized version of the StG-1 was put into production and reclassified as the StG-1/A, along with the addition of the bullpup StG-2. Both are still in use to this day by the Alvakische Heer.

Armoured vehicles were first developed in 1929, with the design of the Sd.Kfz. 8, a lightly-armoured personnel carrier that bore an MG-14. Although it performed poorly, it paved the way for future domestically-designed armoured vehicles. The Sd.Kfz. 19 took care of the issues of speed (or a lack of) and the Sd.Kfz. 29 (which was produced in half-track and full-track versions) relieved the pressure for more capacity of personnel. The Sd.Kfz. 34 brought along even better mobility and well-needed firepower in the Kesh War with its 75mm cannon borrowed from a failed tank project. In use from 1949 to 1974, it was replaced by the Sd.Kfz 82, a modernized version of its design. It was again replaced by the Sd.Kfz 100 in 2000, using the same hull design but with added improvements to the suspension, armour, and armament. It is still in use to this day.

Tanks, however, performed only somewhat well in the hot and sandy environment of Alvakalia. Domestic development of tanks started in 1932 with the Panzer I with its 20mm guns. Actual cannons were added on with the development of the Panzer II in the early 40s, and the Panzer III brought heavier firepower than its wheeled counterpart with its 5cm cannon. However, tank development would be stalled past the mid-50s due to economic problems like the Yindong Crisis, and policies cutting the military budget. After two poorly-performing tanks (the Panzer IV and V) came the Panzer VI in the mid-60s, Alvakalia's first well-performing tank. Its design closely resembled the Mero-Curgov tank from the early 50s, although designers had not seen the tank before. However, the tank's service would be short-lived with the introduction of better-built foreign tanks from Tiperyn and other NSC countries in the late 70s.

The original airforce of Alvakalia, the Alvakische Luftwaffe, started off with 12 fighters and 1 dismantled bomber, both biplanes. Over time, engineers developed the Avia M.36 fighter plane and later, its dive bomber variant. By 1968, the Luftwaffe had over 8 squadrons comprised of these planes. In 1940, the Amdt B.39 bomber rolled into production. Twenty years after its end of production in 1948, there were a total of 3 squadrons of bombers in action. Today, the air force uses the Avia 262 jet fighter and Kosse 234 jet bomber, of which there are 7 and 2 squadrons, respectively. Today, the modern-day Luftwaffe uses the three major airbases in Alvakalia are Alvastadt Air Base, Al-Wazir Air Base, and Astrafylios Air Base.

The navy, also known as the Alvakische Kriegsmarine, had started off with only four ships: the light cruiser Vereinigte, the destroyers Teutonen and Von Hippel, and the submarine U-47. In later years, the navy grew slowly with the later additions of the cruisers Atlas, Schwalbe and Entschuldigung sie! (renamed the Yperifáneia in 1945) in 1934, and the Alvastadt-class heavy cruiser Republik the year after. In 1949, the Vereinigte was decommissioned and the Teutonen and Von Hippel upgraded and modernized. Today, the  Vereinigte is now a museum dedicated to displaying the naval battles in the Great Campaigns. In 1965, several new ships would be built to replace the ageing fleet, like the Ketten-class destroyers Nord, Jaeger, Jezail, and Neu Teutonen. Every ship in the old fleet, with the exception of Republik, was scrapped at Kaza Flow to build more modernized ships. Today, there are 8 Ketten-class destroyers, 6 Vereinigte-class light cruisers, and one modern Teuton-class heavy cruiser in action.

Foreign Relations
Alvakalia maintains diplomatic relations with most countries in the world. Its relative power has increased somewhat from when it was a colony prior to the turn of the 20th century, and it maintains status in world affairs. Formal diplomatic relations are primarily maintained by the Ministerium für Auswärtige Angelegenheiten (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Economy
Alvakalia's economy depends mainly on trade, petroleum and other oil-based exports, the export of refined ores, and tourism; there are also more than one million Alvaks working abroad, mainly in Tiperyn and Jungastia.

The oil industry in Alvakalia is staggeringly large, due to the massive oil fields near the mountains. The heavy and rapid industrialization that followed after the discovery of these oil fields has helped boost the economy. However, oil production has shifted from extraction to refinement. The largest buyer for Alvak oil is Jungastia's Petrostado. The trade deal, signed in 1986, has made both Jungastia and Alvakalia a significant amount of profits, especially from the four Gas-to-Liquid plants Petrostado owns and operates located near Al Duluma.

The completion of the Ko Dam in 1932 and the resultant Lake Ko have altered the place of the Alva River in the agriculture and ecology of Alvakalia. Agriculture makes up a tiny and almost insignificant amount of Alvak exports, as most of the country relies on these crops to sustain itself. However, imports of foods from other countries like Agrana y Griegro have helped the situation. Agriculture is found along the Alva River and its major tributaries.

Economic history
The economic boom after the discovery of oil in the Askari Plains and rich ore deposits on the North Kesh Mountain Range provided enough of a boost to Alvakalia that it could sustain its trade, oil, and metal needs for decades or centuries if need be. However, in later years, the economic priorities shifted from oil and ore production to refinement, trade, and tourism. Today, Alvakalia is one of Anterra's top sellers in refined metals, petroleum, other oil-based products, and to add to it, opens its borders to 950,000 tourists per year and growing.

Other advancements
Alvaks in the medical field have been and still are influential in today's practice of modern medicine. An honourable mention is Annika Al-Bashar, who was a highly influential supporter of vaccines in the early 30s and on. Another is Albert Kisling, who along with fellow scientists Asad Amman and Alfred Eliades, discovered a vaccine for influenza in 1933. Today, Alvakalia has earned recognition for its efforts in medicine.

Demographics
As a former Teuton colony, Alvakalia has a significant Teutonic population of around 47%. However, Hellenic and Arab peoples settled the area long before colonization, and represent around 33% and 19% of the population. The remaining 1% of the population either comes from foreigners like the Tiperyn, or the Chaldean peoples who are sparsely settled near the western border with Asharistan.

Ethnic groups and languages
Before colonization by Teutonia, the land was mostly inhabited by Hellenic peoples. In the south, however, Arabic clans lived there. Today, the coastal regions are inhabited by both Hellenic and Teuton peoples. The inland regions are still Arab-dominated, but there is a small Teuton presence there.

As expected, all Hellenic peoples speak Greek, Alvak Teutons speak Teutonian, and Arabs speak Arabic. However, there is a small community of Chaldean speakers in the western areas, and also another community of Hollansk speakers located in Kettenburg.

Religion
Alvakalia has no official church, and the Alvak government is officially committed to religious pluralism. A large amount of Alvaks consider religion to be unimportant in their daily lives.

Around 32% of the population (mostly Teuton) consider themselves to be atheist. The remainder is made up of Greek Orthodox (30%), Shia Muslims (19%), Teuton Christian (18%) and other groups (1%).

Cities

 * Victoria Province | Provinz Victoria
 * Majority population: Teuton
 * Capital city: Lubach
 * Alva Province | Provinz Alva
 * Majority population: Teuton
 * Capital city: Karlshelm
 * Karissa Province | Provinz Karissa
 * Majority population: Hellenic
 * Capital city: Astrafylios
 * Pyrgos Province | Provinz Pyrgos
 * Majority population: Hellenic
 * Capital city: Kyproi
 * Shoba Province | Provinz Shoba
 * Majority population: Arabic
 * Capital city: Hafir Al Duzem
 * Dulum Province | Provinz Dulum
 * Majority population: Arabic
 * Capital city: Al Duluma
 * Suder Province | Provinz Notios
 * Majority population: Hellenic
 * Capital city: Desingen
 * Capital Territory | Hauptstadtgebiet
 * Majority population: Teuton/Hellenic
 * Capital city: Alvastadt

Culture
Much of Alvak culture is formed from parts of mostly Teutonic, Hellenic, and some Chaldean and Arab lifestyles. Alvakalia has placed emphasis on equality and inclusiveness for all its people. Multiculturalism is often cited as one of Alvakalia's significant accomplishments, and a key distinguishing element of Alvak identity. In the Arab regions, cultural identity is strong, and many commentators speak of an Arab culture that is distinct from the more abundant Hellene-Teutonic culture. However, as a whole, Alvakalia is, in theory, a cultural mosaic - a collection of regional ethnic cultures.

Music
From the late '30s to the '50s, jazz was widely popular in Alvakalia. One notable person is Albert Mödel, who was instrumental in spreading the influence of jazz, blues, and many other genres. In 1949, he released his bestselling album, "My Favourite Things". The album went worldwide, with not one million but thirty million copies sold. More recently, an album was released, posthumously in his name, in 2006, named "Workings", selling 46,000,000 copies as of 2019. His grandson, Emil Mödel, still produces jazz music to this day, playing not only his own works but his grandfather's as well. Today, jazz music still makes up a considerable amount of music Alvakalia exports, and it still has an influence on the music modern Alvak musicians, producers, and composers procure today.

Military marches are prominently used in the Alvak military. One notable composer of these marches is Georg Franz Ritter (1869-1940), who originally started composing marching music for the Teuton Army. During his time in Alvakalia, where he fled to in 1925, he composed the Alvak national anthem, the Alvaklied. Notable tunes include the Regimentsgruß, Teutonen Grenadiermarsch, and Teutonens Gloria, all of which are played regularly in ceremonies and parades. Another is Jungastiani-Alvak composer Ronaldo Brechtolt-Almeida (1900-2000), who composed several marches, including the world-famous Marcha do exército #9, also known as the Marsch von Jungastia in Alvakalia. He also co-composed several other tunes, like the Maart van Ambrosia with Tiperyn composer Tobias De Jong.

Pop music in Alvakalia arrived in the early 1980s and became well-known quickly throughout the country. Alvak pop started out as what could be described as a transnational youth subculture. The commercial success started in 1978 with the hit "Die Da" from Die Käfer from Lubach. From there, synth-pop emerged out as one of the many split-off genres. Artists like Johannes Huynh, Andrea Alexandris, and Alec Hahn became stars, pushing synth-pop forward as Alvakalia's #1 produced genre of music. In some ways, the rise of synth-pop helped Alvakalia reach out to their neighbours, creating a sort of "pop peace". In the late 2000s and early '10s, a new subgenre emerged out of synth-pop, forming retro-funk or alternatively, new disko. Artists like Kontinuïteit and Neue Ordnung produced music that was reminiscent of the late '70s and '80s and pulled samples from 80's pop culture with Bakanese movies, Alvak cartoons, Kodeshi imperial-age statues, and even more, being used in music videos. Neue Ordnung's "Englischer Garten" was the first retro-funk song to reach the top 5 played songs on Alvak music streaming app "Ohrwurm" in 2009. Today, the retro-funk movement holds on strong, with the number of songs in the genre being beaten only by jazz and pop music.

Teuton traditional music lives on in Alvakalia by making its way across the Eurybian through Teuton refugees in the 1925 evacuation.

Media
The largest internationally operating media companies in Alvakalia are the Brechtsmann enterprise, BKT SE and ProFunfSat.1 Media. The Alvak Press Agency APA is also significant. Alvakalia's television market is the third-largest in Kesh, with some 40 million TV households. Around 90% of Alvak households have cable or satellite TV, with users spanning from the desert to the coast, with a variety of free-to-view public and commercial channels. There are more than 500 public and private radio stations in Alvakalia, with the public Alvakische Welle being the main Alvak radio and television broadcaster in foreign languages, operating the Hellenic-language ARA2 and Arab-language ARA3. Also, the Teuton-language ARA1 is also run by Alvakische Welle. Alvakalia's national radio network is the AVKRadio. The number of national daily newspapers in Alvakalia was 598 in 1950, whereas it was 375 in 1965. Today, there are 549 newspapers in circulation around Alvakalia, most being daily. Notable newspapers include Die Welt, the most-bought Teuton-language newspaper and Chronos, the most-bought Hellenic-language newspaper.

Film
Alvak cinema dates back to the very early years of the medium with the work of Maxim Marcomir. It was particularly influential during the period of stabilization in the '30s with Alvak expressionists such as Kim Wiene and Wilhelm Berchtold. During the Kesh War, filmmakers produced mostly propaganda films, although the work of Alawi al-Riaz still introduced new aesthetics in film. From the mid-1970s, New Alvak Cinema directors such as Volker Schlöndorff, Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder placed Alvak cinema back onto the international stage with their often provocative films.

More recently, films such as U-23 (1986), In Reis Nei Beifang (A Trip to Beifang) (1990), Flug Nehmen (Taking Flight) (1992), Speichern Kommander Lütz (Saving Commander Lütz) (1995), and Der Untergang (Downfall) (2004) have enjoyed international success. The Alvastadt International Film Festival, held yearly since 1951, is one of the world's foremost film and cinema festivals. Although Der Untergang was only somewhat well-received with its portrayal of an alternate Kesh War with Alvakalia joining sides with Kodeshia and Beifang, it was praised for its ingenious use of new technologies in film.

Health
Healthcare in Alvakalia is delivered through the provincial system of publicly funded health care. It is guided by the provisions of the Alvakalia Health Acts of 1927 and 1978 and is universal. Universal access to publicly funded health services is often considered by Alvaks as a fundamental value that ensures national health care insurance for everyone wherever they live in the country. However, 30% of Alvaks' healthcare is paid for through the private sector. This mostly goes towards services not covered or partially covered by the health care system, such as prescription drugs, dentistry and optometry. Approximately 65% to 75% of Alvaks have some form of supplementary health insurance related to the aforementioned reasons; many receive it through their employers or utilizes secondary social service programs related to extended coverage for families receiving social assistance or vulnerable demographics, such as seniors, minors, and those with disabilities. This, however, is subject to change, as in 2018 the Liberal Party put out a bill to reform the old 1978 bill.

Education
Alvakalia is one of the more educated countries in the world; the country ranks fourth worldwide in the number of adults having tertiary education, with 62% of Alvak adults having attained at least an undergraduate college or university degree. Alvakalia spends about 5.3% of its GDP on education. The country invests heavily in tertiary education (more than CR 20,000 per student). As of 2014, 79% of adults aged 25 to 64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, compared to the worldwide average of 75%.

Since the adoption of section 14 of the 1979 Education Act, education in both Teuton and Greek has been available in most places across Alvakalia. Alvak provinces are responsible for the provision of education. The mandatory school age ranges between 5–7 to 16–18 years, contributing to an adult literacy rate of 97%. In 2002, 43% of Alvaks aged 25 to 64 possessed a post-secondary education; for those aged 25 to 34, the rate of post-secondary education reached 56%.