Kingdom of Lille-Wallonia (1962: The Apocalypse)

History
The Kingdom of Lille-Wallonia\ Royaume de Lille et de Flamande is a kingdom located in Western Europe and is one of the most economically and politically successful nations to exist in the region. It is a close ally of Kentshire and East Anglia.

Doomsday 1962
Nuclear weapons hit on Chièvres Air Base (2x 1kt), Oostmalle (1x 1kt), Zorersell AFB (1x 10kt), Brasschaat AFB (1x 10kt), Utrecht (1x 1kt), Weelde AFB (1x 10kt), Charbonnage de Beringen coal mine in Belgium (1x 1kt), Paris (5x 1kt, 2x 10kt and 1 x 20kt), Strasburg (1x 10kt and 1 x 20kt), Aachen (1x 1kt), MOD Osnabrück (2x 1kt, but they did not explode), Bitburg Air Base AFB (1x 10kt), Bitburg (1x 10kt), Prüm (1x 1kt), Bastogne (1x 1kt), Calais harbour (1x 1kt), Paris (5x 1kt, 2x 10kt and 1 x 20kt), Brussels airport (1x 1kt), Antwerp docks 1x 10kt, Antwerp 1x 1kt and Dunkirk (1x 1kt).

Hainaut, Namur, Picardy and Nord- Pas-de-Calais provinces would get of relatively lightly on Doomsday. Most of the 1kt and 10kt devises were delivered by Soviet bombers and not ICBMs, unlike the 20kt devices that hit Paris and Strasburg. Contact with the Congo Free State ceased as of Doomsday.

Survival
As the inevitable chaos insured, surviving troops, Gendarmes and police to help retain order in the early years. The regional governments of Hainaut, Namur, Picardy and Nord - Pas-de-Calais coordinated their efforts to help the victims of the nuclear bombings as best as they could, but electricity supplies failed with in a few hours and water supplies stopped after a week. As Dutch, German and French refugees flooded in the provinces found it impossible to cope, annexed the servivour community at Oostende and closed the border in the January of 1963.

By the time of famine and cholera epidemic of mid-1963 to mid-1964 things had turned for the worse and about 40% of the 75% who had survived the attacks died. Martial law and heavy food rationing was declared in the March of 1964 and would last until the May of 1974.

The mayor of Hainault, Philippe De Lyon, who was the emergency committee’s de facto leader and his ad hoc Franco-Walloon militia, became the only source of stability in the land. This was even more so with the growing raids by the numerous desperate tribesmen of the bombed out Bitburg-Prüm region of Germany in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Philippe De Lyon later declared himself ‘King’ of a unified on May 1st, 1964, in order try to stabilise the decaying political climate. Harsh laws were enacted, so the repair work continued and the living standards slowly rose.

The Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), also known among farmers as 'blue-ear pig disease' also killed some pigs in late 1964.

1965-1982
The town of Liège and Luxembourg were contacted in 1968 and the prior assimilated in 1978. The Charbonnage de Courcelles Nord coal mine was reopened in 1972, using a mixture of penal labour and captured tribesmen from Bitburg. The Charbonnage du Gouffre coal mine was reopened in 1974, using a mixture of free labour and ferther captured tribesmen from Bitburg. Sadly, the abuses of human rights in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s were cruel and atrocious, but necessary!

Both the act of martial law and the heavy food rationing that was declared in the March of 1964 were scrapped in the May of 1974.

Light industry started to occur around Namur, Mons, Arras and Lille in the late 1970's and Wallonian coal was readily avlibal trough out the nation from 1980, but rationed un till 1982, Both the independent villages of Eupen and Bastogne were successfully invited in to the union in 1979.

First contact

 * While fishermen from Kentshire and Lille-Wallonia had often met informally at sea since the fleets were officially reached in the summer of 1969, but official fist contact was made by ambassadors in 1972.
 * First contact was accidentally made with Frisian Republic when fishermen docked on one of the islands during a bad gale in 1973.
 * East Anglia would also start relations in 1973. Kentshire, East Anglia and Lille-Wallonia would become close allies as time passed.
 * First contact was made with the Republic of Alsace-Lorraine on January the 5th 1982.

1983-1997
The monarchy would pass to the slightly less ruthless King Stefan Marten De Lyon between 1983 and 1985. He began to promote adult schooling and better farming, but was just as ruthless as his predecessor in other respects.

Stefan's more democratic and humane son, Anton Marc De Lyon, would inherit the throne in 1985, after his farther resigned office as a result of the 1985 general strike. The new King banned cock fighting in 1986 and legalised trades unions in 1987. The left wing union leader, Andrew Le Vior, was sacked by his mine manager after being found out as the driving force behind the less than successfully 6 month long Walloon coalminers’ pay strike of 1989. He also opposed the unequal economic development, which favoured the Walloons over Picards. As the economy grew in the 1990's, pay and investments rose sharply, thus pay had increased by a total of 60% between 1989 and 1997.

1998 to present date
The first freely elected parliament met in 2000. Elections are held every 4 years by the first parts the post method, by any nationals over the age of 17.

The King's far-reaching reforms changed the formerly unitary state into a federal state, ending a long period of political instability that had occurred beaten Walloons and Picards over years of unequal economic development, which favoured the Walloons.

The Oudegracht, or "Old Canal" was cleared and the historic Dom Tower of Utrecht repaired between 1999 and 2005.

The earthquake, Tornado and deaths due to cold weather

 * Richter scale 6.2 earthquake caused major damage and 3 deaths in Oostende in 2008.
 * The winter of 2009-10 was the worst in 50 years killing 60 people.
 * A tornado ripped through Namur killing 22 people in the spring of 2001.
 * The rainstorms of early in the June of 2012 killed 1 prson on Lille and Mons.

Former refugee camps

 * 1) Namur
 * 2) Arras
 * 3) Hainault

Military
The armed forces discontinued the use of bows and swords in favour of rifles and pistols in 1985. The army is a volunteer force of 20,000.

 They own the following alcohol and parole fuelled vehicles- 


 * 1) 2x T15 Tank
 * 2) 2x FT-17 Tank
 * 3) 12x Chevrolet RD 4x2 (USA) - Truck
 * 4) 5x T17E1 Staghound (USA) - Armoured Car
 * 5) 5x AMC 35 Tank
 * 6) 5x The Renault R35 (an abbreviation of Char léger Modèle 1935 R or R-35) Tank
 * 7) 4x Leopard 1 Tank

Battles

 * 1) With the tribes north of Liège (1983-4)
 * 2) With the tribes east of Liège (1989)
 * 3) With the tribes in Aachen (1990)
 * 4) Helping Kentshire against the tribes of east Surrey (1992)
 * 5) With the tribes in Bitburg with Kentish help (1995)

Flanders in 1978
Berlaar, Grobbendonk, Lille (Flanders), Nijlen, Zandhoven and Ranst were all villages of about 300-350 people of Fleming decent in each. The villages were assimilated by 1981. The overgrown, partly flooded and radioactive ruins of Antwerp docks are only inhabited by a few tribesmen.

Utrecht in 1979


Whilst a village of some 1,000 people of mixed Fleming and Dutch decent was found and assimilated by 1982, the surrounding land was a swamp infested with hostile tribesmen and raiders from the nearby fortifyed vilages of Amersfoort, Veenendaal, Houten, and Zeist.

After the 1968 Dutch floods, the Kromme Rijn (originally the main bed of the Rhine river), the Vaartse Rijn (The medieval canal reconnecting Utrecht to the newer main stream of the Rhine, the Lek), the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, the Lek River and the Merwede Canal became badly blocked in several places and regularly spilled over their banks turning much of the district in to a swamp.

The Oudegracht, or "old canal" in Utrecht, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal were cleared and the historic Dom Tower of Utrecht repired between 1999 and 2005.

Zorersell AFB 1989
The overgrown and radioactive ruins and the surrounding land was a swamp was, and still is, partially under the control of hostile tribesmen.

Aachen, Prüm and Bitburg in 1989
The local tribes had formed in to minor farming union for protection against barbarian groups around Aachen, Prüm and Bitburg.

Ardennes department 1989
Many friendly independent farming and forest communities of French and Luxembourgers were discovered and were assimilated by 2004. Most of France south of the region lies in ruins due to a series of localised atomic bombings during Doomsday.

Government and politics
King Anton Marc De Lyon holds a near monopoly on power, but is a caring and benevolent leader, who puts the interests of his people first. He had started to democratise the country as of 2000.

Party Alignment

 * 1) Rexists- Far fight, ultra conservative
 * 2) Christian Democrats- centre together right
 * 3) Liberals- Centre, liberalist.
 * 4) Socialists- Centre left
 * 5) Picardy Party- Right wing, Picardy nationalism
 * 6) Wallonia Party- Right, Walloon nationalism

Local government
The democratic systems that existed befor Doomsday were restored in 2004.

2012 Parliamentary Election

 * 1) Christian Democrats- 63%
 * 2) Socialists- 22%
 * 3) Liberals- 12%
 * 4) Picardy Party- 1%.
 * 5) Wallonia Party- 1%
 * 6) Rexists- 1%

Economy
The economy of the nation dependent on coal mining, agriculture and forestry. However, since the economic reforms 1998, the economy has become more diversified. Trade with Kentshire, involved trading Kentish steam trains for Lille-Wallonia coal in the 1970's and 1980's.

Transport
Due to the high number of electric trains, most of the remaining railways were ruined by the EMP pulse on Doomsday and both horses, bicycles and canal boats became the transport norm until more steam trains were made in 1977. Alcohol and petrol cars started to return in the 1980’s and 1990’s respectively, but are still scares. The railways now own (as of 2008)-


 * 18 x Maldegem stoom 3 steam locomotive
 * 15x CFV3V-MF33 steam locomotive
 * 16x Steamtram SNCV steam trams
 * 2x Belpaere type steam locomotive
 * 32x passenger carriages
 * 12x freight carriages
 * 23x coal trucks

Healthcare
Thyroid cancer is still a major problem, but became much lower since 1974.

Waterworks
The network of rivers and canals provide the nation with most of its water supply.

Media
The right wing La Libre Belgique newspaper has been in decline since 1984 due to the increasing sales of the non-political Kentish newspaper, the Dover Supernova (Founded 1980, Walloon and Picard supplements issued 1999).

The national radio station started up in 1994 in Arras, Mons, Namur, Liège and Utrecht. It broadcasts for 6 hours a day on 2 medium wave frequencies.

Wine
Picard wine went back on sale in 1989 and was exported to Kentshire, East Anglia and Southern England ever since the trade deal of 2004.

Sport
Croquet, Pertonk, Boule and football are all major sports in the nation. The National soccer team have reguley play matches with the Luxembourg and Kentshire teams as of 1998.

The arts
The Belgian surrealist artist, René François Ghislain Magritte (21 November 1898 – 14 May 1968) has fallen out of favour in recent years, while The [French] impressionist artist Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec for short (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) has gained much popularity since the 1980's and is regarded as a master painter.

The Death Penalty

 * Murderers,
 * Sex predators, (like rapists, and child molesters),
 * Traitors and enemy spies are executed with the hangman’s rope.

The death penalty was scraped in 1982 and replaced with life without the possibility of parole.

Also see

 * 1) 1962: Doomsday
 * 2) List of surviving nations (1962: Doomsday)
 * 3) Editorial Guidelines- (1962: Doomsday)