History of Krakozhia (1983: Doomsday) (Birth of Krakozhia)

The following is the history of in the 1983: Doomsday timeline.

Doomsday
The nation of Bulgaria was crippled by nuclear strikes on the following cities:


 * Burgas, a major city and the largest port in Bulgaria, along with a minor naval base.


 * Plovdiv,the second largest city in Bulgaria and a center of heavy industry.


 * Rousse, the location of the only Danube bridge along the Romania-Bulgaria border and the largest port along the river in this region.


 * Sofia, the capital.


 * Varna, the headquarters of the Bulgarian Navy, a major port and city, and a minor soviet naval base.


 * Yambol, destroyed in a strike on the nearby large airbase.

It was also effected by the strikes on Edirne in Turkey, Thessaloniki in Greece, and the cities of Bucharest and Constanta in Romania.

Post-Doomsday
Karoshan Territory was left mostly unaffected by the nuclear attacks, although the nearby strikes on Ruse and Varna cast some fears that the radiation would envelop their area. By some kind of impossible fluke, the founding fathers of the real-life Republic of Krakozhia, including Galdar Umayev, were gathered together in Pretoska when the attacks came.

When the Pretoska government learned that Governor Lachezar Milkov and his vice governor had not made it out of Ruse before it was struck by American nukes, they were shocked and saddened, even though Milkov had made it clear during his rule that he considered the native Kravs "lesser folk" than Bulgarians like him. Vice Governor Ignat Babachakai became the new Governor. His first act was to name Galdar Umayev his Vice Governor and then resign from his position, leaving Umayev the Governor.

Umayev called for an emergency meeting between the government officials and the Krav nationalists at the Pretoska State Library on 1 October 1983, almost a week after Doomsday. After a lengthy debate, the Communists and the nationalists agreed to work together to bring about a stable government to lead the Krav people through this most challenging time. The day after that, the Republic of Krakozhia was declared, with Galdar Umayev as the President.

The Dark Period
The Dark Period is a term generally used in Krakozhia to describe the length of time between late December 1987 to February 1988 when they fought a war against renegade Soviet army units, who have already destroyed the Islamic Republic of Gerlovo, a Bulgarian survivor state located just south of Krakozhia.

The Dark Period began on the first day of December 1987. On that day, Krakozhian border guards reported large numbers of people approaching the border line in almost every way imaginable. Although most were held back by the guards, a chosen few were allowed through the border and into Krakozhia, where they were questioned by the officials. They revealed that they had come from the Islamic Republic of Gerlovo, a small survivor state located just south of them. Rogue Soviet troops had been attacking them for months now, ever since they stumbled upon the Gerlovan city of Razgrad, very close to the Krakozhian border. Right now, the rogue Soviets were attacking their capital of Targovishte, and their leaders had ordered the citizens to flee while they could. After learning of this information, Umayev let the Gerlovo refugees to enter Krakozhia.

Meanwhile, Umayev pondered on whether to assist Gerlovo in their fight against the Soviet renegades. General Turmaryan Muktarbariyev, commander-in-chief of the Krakozhian Army, volunteered to lead an armored division to Targovishte and assist the besieged Gerlovans. Umayev accepted this proposal. Unfortunately, just as the division was to embark on the journey, they encountered a Gerlovo militiaman running barefoot. As he fell before Colonel Karl Stoichkov, Muktarbariyev's deputy, he mumbled, "Targovishte has fallen. Gerlovo is no more," and then he dropped dead. The colonel advised the general, who agreed that they should turn back.

While the Congress of People's Deputies debated on whether to meet the renegade threat or shore up their defenses, Umayev ordered General Muktarbariyev to establish a defensive line along the border. Within a month, all roads leading out of the country have been roadblocked and turned into Army checkpoints.

The first signs of the coming renegade Soviet force came in the form of an infantry column surrounding a single T-55 tank. Army snipers took out the troops quickly, and an anti-tank team knocked out the T-55 before it could fire its main gun. While they were celebrating this very minor victory, however, they learned that the main body of the renegades had broken through the border regions near what used to be Razgrad. Pretoska and Malug, the two largest cities in Krakozhia, immediately came under siege. Reports of pillaging and looting reached the government, which had relocated to the relatively safer city of Brekonav. Umayev ordered all available army units to converge on the besieged cities and relieve the defenders.

A motley squadron of Krakozhian Air Force jets converged on the enemy formation just south of Malug and firebombed it, killing most of its senior commanders and a good number of their troops and armor. Some of those that survived surrendered to the Krakozhians, while many others fled southward. The captured renegades were interrogated, and those deemed to be "hardline communists," which numbered at about two hundred, were executed by firing squad. A few renegades remained behind in Malug, looting and pillaging the parts of the city that they had conquered until, one by one, they were eliminated by Krakozhian forces.

The situation in Pretoska was a little different. The renegades there, led by a cunning Soviet major, made use of guerrilla tactics to delay and demoralize the Krakozhians. He even ordered the killing of innocent children, mass executions, and unrestricted pillaging, thinking that his deplorable actions would make the Krakozhians weak and give up the fight. But what he didn't know was that Krakozhians took such actions as personal attacks on each and every one of them and their honor, and that they would fight to the death if it meant stopping those actions. On the night of 25 Feburary 1988, a combined land-river-air assault struck the main body of the renegade force, annihilating all defenses and reducing it to a shadow of its former self. As the Krakozhians went deeper into the camp, the Soviet renegades began collapsing like a house of cards, until what remained of their force surrendered. Some of the troops dragged the major out of his tent, and General Muktarbariyev took the pleasure of executing him personally.

Thus, the Dark Period finally ended.

Reestablishing Gerlovo
In the wake of the Dark Period, Krakozhia became more paranoid as a state, and the barest hint of banditry would send the government ordering the immediate shutdown of all roads leading out to the borderlands and the implementation of army checkpoints. But they also knew that if they kept this paranoid behavior up for too long, the time will come when the people would no longer believe them if they ever cried wolf for real. So the decision was made to create a buffer state between Krakozhia and the unexplored borderlands, and Gerlovo was seen as the best candidate for the buffer state. Engineers and construction equipment were sent down to the ruins of Targovishte, Shumen, and Razgrad, after the three cities had been cleared of bandits by advance scouting parties and patrols. Former refugees were invited to come down to newly constructed apartment buildings that had been built over ruined buildings, and a few historical sites were rebuilt for posterity. Contact with towns formerly under Gerlovo's control were also reestablished via former officials who were given permission to fly the Gerlovo banner.

Finally, on 28 August 1997, the Islamic Republic of Gerlovo was reestablished in Davidovo. Zivko Kardalev was named President, and Rosen Binevski the Prime Minister until elections could make their positions permanent.

Outside contact
While most of Krakozhia's forces were concentrated upon rebuilding and training Gerlovo's forces, small groups of scouts were sent out to explore the areas north and west of Krakozhia, into the land that was once Romania. After a few weeks searching the land and encountering villages that told them of a larger, more powerful country to their west, the Krakozhian scouts encountered another scouting party, this one much larger and speaking Romanian. After a few shots were exchanged, mostly from the Krakozhian scouts, the commanders called for a truce and agreed to meet. They learned that the Romanians were from a nation-state called Transylvania, which had declared itself the successor to Romania. The Krakozhian commander apologized for his men's actions, stating that they had just been through a war and were reasonably jumpy of anyone who spoke a different language from them, and they agreed to have more talks between their two states. A few months later, Krakozhia and Transylvania exchanged ambassadors and declared their recognition of each other.

In the summer of 1995, a year after establishing contact with Transylvania, a Krakozhian Army scout battalion set out for the western regions of former Bulgaria. After a harrowing journey across an irradiated landscape, the Krakozhians came upon a heavily fortified town manned by Bulgarian-speaking soldiers wearing Communist symbols. After the now-customary exchange of shots, the Krakozhians raised a white flag and asked for a parley, despite being the ones to fire first. Their commander, a Captain Oleg Dallutev, was allowed to speak with the opposing commander, who revealed that they were from a nation-state based in the city of Vidin. This Vidin, the Vidinite commander continued, was a Communist state, with Soviet soldiers running the government through their Bulgarian puppets. Although the Vidinite commander seemed saddened that the Soviets were running his nation, he made it clear to Dallutev that he was prepared to defend it and even die for it, if it came to that. Meanwhile, Dallutev told the Vidinite commander all about Krakozhia, down to the battles with the Soviet renegades, the reestablishment of Gerlovo, and the discovery of Transylvania. The Vidinite commander allowed Dallutev and his scouts to return to Krakozhia, with the promise that he would tell his leaders of the wonderful land that is the Soviet Republic of Vidin.

Dallutev and his men returned to Pretoska and informed President Yelena Nekazanka of his encounter with the Vidinites. He made a recommendation that while in talks with Vidin, Krakozhia should present itself as a fellow Communist state, as he had been informed that the Vidinites didn't take democratic countries seriously at the very least. That turned out to be an easy matter, as many of Krakozhia's government officials had been former Bulgarian officials or at the very least involved with the Bulgarian government.

Rhodope
In 2000, the Vidinite ambassador delivered a note to the Krakozhian Foreign Ministry informing them that Vidin had encountered a rival Bulgarian successor state named Rhodope, that Vidin was considering preparing for war with Rhodope, and that the Vidinite governmwnt was wondering whether the Krakozhians could support their fraternal socialist allies in Vidin. President Dmitri Prikopy consulted the matter with his cabinet, and they decided to tell the Vidinites that they would deliberate on the matter. Meanwhile, the Krakozhian Army ordered its scouts to search for the Rhodope survivor state and, if possible, consult with their leaders on the Vidin affair. However, these efforts would be in vain as by the time the Krakozhians encountered the Rhodope state, they had already conquered the Vidinites and incorporated it into their territory.

Krakozhia encountered Rhodope when scouts from the two states encountered each other in the small hamlet of Smyadovo, where a tiny remnant of former Gerlovans had sought refuge from the Soviet marauders. As always, the Krakozhians fired first, but the Rhodopians, having heard of the rumors of the Krakozhians, did not return fire. With the truce coming quick, the Krakozhians offered information to the Rhodopians in exchange for their information. They exchanged notes on their expeditions throughout Bulgaria, and they agreed to host more permanent talks soon. Meanwhile, all traces of Krakozhia's recognition of Vidin was swiftly erased before the Rhodopian delegations arrived. However, this did not prevent Rhodopian officials from discovering Krakozhia's duplicity in June 2012, and relations between the two countries soured somewhat.

Coup in Gerlovo

 * See main article: 

In Gerlovo, there was growing dissatisfaction as Zivko Kardalev and Rosen Binevski switched positions in the new elections, with Binevski the new president and Kardalev as prime minister, in an attempt to continue ruling over Gerlovo indefinitely through a loophole in the country's constitution. A group of officers in the Gerlovo Defense Forces, led by Lieutenant General Yoan Minchev, decided to overthrow the government and reintroduce democracy to Gerlovo.

The Krakozhian Committee for State Security, led by Timofey Andropov, learned of the plan to oust Kardalev and Binevski, and presented it to President Arkady Zorkin. Surprisingly, Zorkin told Andropov not to interfere with the coup and even provide support to the coup plotters. It was then that Zorkin revealed that the Kardalev administration had asked for increasing concessions from the government, at the detriment of the Krakozhian-Gerlovan balance. Zorkin gave Andropov orders to negotiate with the rebels, and that the key point for Krakozhia's support was that the new regime would withdraw Gerlovo's demands for concessions in exchange for Krakozhian support of the coup.

On the night of 10 January 2012, Minchev and his co-conspirators quietly removed Kardalev and Binevski from office and assumed their positions. There were rumors that the Krakozhian soldiers guarding the presidential residences left their posts just before the Minchevists came to arrest Kardalev and Binevski, but these remained unsubstantiated. The coup was condemned by nations in the area, mainly Rhodope, Transylvania, and Macedonia, and because of Krakozhia's eager support of the new regime, the League of Nations "officially delayed" the country's application for membership.

On 19 November, Minchev released photos of Kardalev and Binevski watching over executions of political prisoners. He also revealed that this had been going on for some time in Gerlovo, and that he had personally attended some of the executions himself. He claimed that Kardalev had practically eliminated every semblance of opposition to his administration that the Minchevist junta was even lucky that they were able to put their plan into motion before Kardalev could do anything against them. Soon after the release of the controversial photos, Minchev announced that Gerlovo would hold general elections in January 2013, after the junta had come to an agreement with LoN mediators.

The Constanța Coalition

 * See main article: 

Krakozhia first learned of the Constanța Coalition when bandits claiming to be loyal to this organization were captured after fierce firefights in the city of Mangalia, in Călărași Province. The Constanța Coalition, army interrogators later learned, was a loose grouping of five towns beyond Călărași's borders, namely Pecineaga, Costineşti, Amzacea, Tuzla, and Topraisar, who were against foreigners trying to impose their rule over Romania. They believed that only fellow Romanians should be ruling over Romania, and that any and foreigners had no business in interfering with Romanian affairs. Intelligence from deep-cover scouts also revealed that the Constanța Coalition had been staging raids since 2002, when Călărași was first organized. The Army had paid little attention to these so-called "Romanian bandits" and only very recently acknowledged their threat to "the integrity of the Krakozhian Republic," and decided to take action against them. As of 20 August 2012, troops were being mobilized to Romanian Territory, for further deployment deeper into what was once Constanța County.

On 1 October, Krakozhian artillery rained down on Pecineaga, marking the start of the. Troops based in Mangalia moved in and captured the towns of Olimp and Vânători with little bloodshed. Artillery continued to pound Pecineaga, Dulceşti, and 23 August to keep the Constanța rebels preoccupied and prevent their rallying a counterattack on Călărași. Two days later, covered by artillery and what few tanks and armored vehicles the Krakozhians still have working, Krakozhian soldiers entered Pecineaga. In three days they had control of Roads 392 and 394, cutting off Pecineaga from reinforcements coming from Dulceşti and 23 August. Finally, on 7 October, the Krakozhians had driven out the Coalition from Pecineaga. The way to Amzacea, another important city for the Coalition, was clear.

For four days, Krakozhia massed troops in Pecineaga for a three-pronged attack on known Coalition-held cities; namely, Dulceşti, Moşneni, and Amzacea. Krakozhian forces occupied the hamlet of Pelinu and moved short-range artillery tubes there in preparation for the attack on Amzacea. Shells rained down on the three cities on 12 October, but the bombardment lasted for only an hour to preserve ammunition. Expecting only light resistance in Moşneni, the Krakozhians were caught unawares and ambushed by Coalition forces lying in wait. Three hundred soldiers were killed, and hundreds more wounded. The invasion force retreated and regrouped, and planned on attacking Moşneni's flanks, which recent intelligence said was relatively undefended.

Krakozhia fared better in Amzacea and Dulceşti. Backed up by tanks newly acquired from Rhodope, Macedonia, and Transylvania, the forces tasked to capture the two cities overran the Coalition's first lines of defense. In merely five hours, the Krakozhians had taken half of the cities. Another day of artillery strikes and house-to-house combat finally booted the Coalition out of the two cities. Another key city had been removed from the Coalition's influence.

But despite the victories in Amzacea and Dulceşti, Krakozhia was still bogged down in Moşneni. The three-pronged attack on the city's defenders had succeeded in breaking the Coalition fighters, but reinforcements from 23 August, Costineşti, and Biruința kept the Krakozhians from tipping the battle to their favor. Finally, in a desperate effort, squads of sappers established themselves along roads that were supposedly being used by the Coalition to ferry reinforcements in Moşneni and prepared to ambush them. At the same time, the main body of the Krakozhian invasion force prepared for a final push against the entrenched defenders. Artillery tubes were also moved so that the city was within their range. On 20 October, at 0900 hours, shells rained down on Moşneni. The Krakozhian forces moved in on the defenders at the same time, risking life and limb just to end what was turning into an "embarrassment" for the Republic. Three more days of brutal hand-to-hand combat finally saw the end of the Battle of Moşneni.

While the Krakozhians consolidated their hold on Moşneni, their comrades in Amzacea and Dulceşti were already besieging Topraisar and 23 August, respectively. 23 August surprisingly fell without a fight, after reinforcements from the town had caused more than a few headaches in Moşneni. Topraisar made a more determined effort, however. Fighting in the town took two days, but eventually the Krakozhians took the town with little loss of life. The small number of enemy dead led them to believe that the main body of defenders had retreated to the suspected Coalition capital of Tuzla, but in reality there was really only just a small garrison to defend Topraisar.

Krakozhia prepared to strike Costineşti and Biruința at the same time. Unfortunately, some exchanges were muddled up by unreliable communications and the inevitable fog of war, and Krakozhian forces based in Moşneni attacked Biruința a full day before the attackers from Topraisar. The attack was a disaster for the Krakozhians, as soldiers who had spent almost a whole week on the attack and had only spent a single day recuperating became sloppy and attacked objectives haphazardly. Many Krakozhian soldiers were killed, and it would take a second attack from Krakozhian forces in Topraisar to save the day. Biruința fell on 23 October.

After the debacle in Biruința, the Krakozhian top brass decided not to attack Costineşti immediately, but wait while the soldiers recuperated. The attack was tentatively scheduled to begin on 31 October, but this was later moved to 2 November. For the meantime, artillery rained down on the communes of Costineşti and Schitu. A day before the start of the attack, a rare sight greeted the Krakozhians: a flying airplane. It was an ancient Antonov An-2, operated by the Coalition as a spy plane. It had taken off from the previously abandoned aerodrome in Tuzla, and because the Krakozhians were taken by surprise, no one attempted to shoot it down. It flew off into the sunset, presumably to report the large enemy formation surrounding Costineşti to the Coalition forces.

Krakozhia unleashed a heavy barrage on Costineşti and Schitu on 3 November, with as much as two hundred rounds flying through the air at any given minute. Most of Costineşti's picturesque seaside houses were destroyed by the barrage, displacing almost the whole civilian population. Schitu fared little better, and the town was almost unrecognizable. The defenders took advantage of the rubble to create defensible positions for the coming attack. 5,000 soldiers moved in on the two towns, relentlessly attacking the Romanian defenders. The Romanians fought tenaciously, but eventually they were defeated by the sheer number of attackers. The Krakozhian flag flew above Costineşti on 10 November.

There was only one more obstacle left before Krakozhia could finally occupy the Constanța Coalition: the city of Tuzla, de facto capital of the Coalition. A thousand troops fresh from Krakozhia arrived at the frontlines to relieve the original invasion force. At the same time, a crack unit of Krakozhian Spetsnaz soldiers were dropped at the Tuzla Aerodrome, their objectives being to capture both the airfield and whatever aircraft was there, preferably intact and in working condition.

The Krakozhians were very surprised to learn that the Coalition had decided to not protect the Tuzla aerodrome, instead only stationing a small force of untrained fighters to fend off an attack. These security forces proved inadequate against the Krakozhian Spetsnaz troopers, and they decided that surrender would be better than death. When fresh regulars finally arrive to secure the aerodrome, they were surprised to see the Spetsnaz troopers just lounging around, protecting the prisoners and the hangars with their valuable planes. Two aircraft, the Antonov An-2 that buzzed them a few days ago and a Yakovlev Yak-18 trainer that once belonged to the Romanian Air Force, were deemed airworthy and flown back to Dapoteska.

The Battle of Tuzla, the last battle of the Krakozhia-Constanța War, began on 13 November. It began with a combined air and artillery bombardment, although the Air Force could only stay up for an hour. One thousand soldiers charged into the city, while the Coalition forces mounted the strongest defense they could. Eventually, though, the Krakozhians were just too overwhelming, and the Coalition's leaders finally sued for peace on 22 November. The Krakozhia-Constanța War had left almost the entire territory of the Constanța Coalition in ruins due to urban warfare, but the Krakozhians were benevolent and forgiving enough to begin repairs almost as soon as the Coalition submitted to Krakozhian rule. In exchange, Krakozhia allowed the Coalition's leaders to remain in power, although they were now under the watchful eye of the Republic of Krakozhia's Occupation Force in Constanța.