Alexandretta
Alexandretta, officialy the Free Arab State of Alexandretta is a nationalistic statelet, recently breaking free from British occupation. Having joined the fray of the Syrian Civil War, Alexandretta is at war with the Syrian Republic, the Kingdom of Syria, and Yishuv.
Historical Background
OTL History
Starting it's life as one of the many, many cities Alexander the Great named after himself, the city was located near the Syrian Gates, making it strategically important for who ever wanted to move an army fron Anatolia to Syria. The land surrounding the city would be seized by the Ottoman Empire in the 1515. Located in such a strategic area, the infrastructure of the area would advance with the times, as well as be home to various European merchants, including the British Levant Company, though that would fail in the early 1800's. Eventually the city along with Syria would come under the French sphere of influence.
RFTL History
With the entry of the Ottoman State into the Great War, the Entente, namely the United Kingdom and France, discussed how to split the Levant among themsleves, before France collapsed in on itself in 1917. After which most of Syria would go the British ally, the Hashemite Prince Faisal bin Al-Hussein, with the exception of Alexandretta, which was directly occupied by the British.
This left a bad taste in the mouth of many Arab natinalists, including Zaki al-Arsuzi. While difficult to understand at times, the Professor slowly formed a group of like minded individuals, the Club of Arabism, wishing to unite the Arab people in a single nation. There chance would come in 1935 with the death of King Faisal, the Kingdom began to fracture on ethnic and political lines. Meanwhile, the British presence in Alexandretta, weakend after the collpase of the Raj was ejected after a succesful uprising by the Club. This new free state would join the fray as an independent third party into what has become known as the Syrian Civil War.
Content
Currently it only has skeleton content, largely based on winning the Syrian Civil War and knocking out the the minority breakaway states.
Starter Spirits
The Bells of Jerusalem
When Damascus was liberated from Ottoman rule, it was not Allenby or the men in London who shattered the chains, but the proud armies of the Hashemite Arab forces. Thus when time came to carve up the dying empire, who else would be better fit to rule the lands of Syria than those who conquered it? Yet some things are simply too good to be true, and through decades of mismanagement and the death of King Faisal, in 1935 the bonds so-long established beneath the rule of the Viziers had rotted through. Brother took up arms against brother, and as Ghazi was crowned King of Sand, his domain turned to dust beneath his very feet. Now, amidst the disintegration of the United Kingdom of Greater Syria into a multitude of ethnic realms, imams from Jerusalem to Aleppo lead the faithful in a prayer for peace and end to war.
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National Focus Tree
Generic Focus Tree
Events
Shared Syrian Civil War Events
Politics
Important Parties
| Party Name | Leader | Ideology | Details | Country Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nadi al-'Uruba NU (Club of Arabism) |
 Zaki al-Arsuzi
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 Social Republicanism
Popularity: 39.00% |
Composed of Intellectuals and Nationalists, the NU hopes to one day liberate and unify all Arabs, creating a strong Arab Nation, especially through Professor Zaki's love of the Arabic Language. | Initially: Alexandretta (the Free Arab State of Alexandretta) After Victory in Syrian Civil War: Free Arab State of Shaam |
Laws
| Conscription Law |
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|---|---|---|
| Trade Law |
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| Economic Law |
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Diplomacy
At Game start they are involved in the Syrian Civil War against the Hashemite Kingdom of Syria and the French-backed Syrian Republic, as well as against the revolting Zionists. They have a tense relationship with the minority states on the Mediterranean coast (Lebanon and Lataika), who they claim as their own.
They are backed by the Rotfront and if victorious they will become an observer of the alliance. They have tearse relationship with the Turks to the north, as they view the state of Alexandretta specifically as their land, as well as with the United Kingdom, for imperialism in general, but also for their occupation of Alexandretta after the Great War specifically.
Geography and Industry
Geography
Alexandretta is located on the North Eastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea and is neighbours with the Ottoman Empire (through the Anatolian Vilayets), the Syrian Republic and Lataika. The State is mountainaous with the northern border being marked with the Ceyhan River. It has a single settlement with 10 victory points. At game start, the country has no natural resources.
Industry
Alexandretta starts with a small industry though it can conquer more from your immediate adversaries in the Syrian civil war, as well as from going through the Generic Focus Tree.
Alexandretta starts off with 3 research slots.
| Mil. Factory | Civ. Factory | Naval Dockyard |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 0 |
Military
Army
Alexandretta starts with a 6 division army consisting of 2 Infantry, Mountaineer and Militia divisions, as well as having the option to train cavalry divisions. The starting army is mostly, but not fully, equipped both in equipment and manpower. The Milita and Mountaineer divisions are made of 6 regiments of their respective units, while the Infantry and Cavalry divisions are made of 4 regiments.
Technology
- Basic Eq.
- Weapons I
- Early Truck
- Truck
- Support Equipment
- Engineer Company 1
- Recon Company 1
- Artillery
Air Force
Technology
Without the 'By Blood Alone' DLC enabled
- Interwar Fighter
- Close Air Support I
With the 'By Blood Alone' DLC enabled
- Inter-War Small airframe
- Light MG
- Cannon 1
- Bombs
- Engine 1
Strategies and guides
This may vary based on player skill and AI action but here's a basic guide of how to play Alexandretta:
- Homefront: You are lacking both Guns and men, with your starting army not being fully equipped in either. Equipment can be an easy fix, rush down the Focus Tree to get 3 Military Factories, and trade away your 1 Civ for steel, but manpower is what your early game depends on. You can either horde up your PP to boost up your conscription law or...
- Knock out the Republic: The capital Halab is right next door to Alexandretta. If your lucky the AI might shift divisions around and give you an opening, or baring that, you have force your way to surround Halab to defeat the troops inside. This along with whatever the status of the Republic-Kingdom front looks like, might leave a hole in the front lines to snipe the rest of the Victory points. With the capitulation of the Republic, not only do you have one less enemy to deal with, you also gain cores on the republic, giving you both the manpower to fill your ranks and more industry to produce guns.
- Carefully beating the Kingdom: So the Yishuv wins it's revolt if it fully controls the state of Bir Seb'a, peacing out with all the Syrian tags. Preferably you don't want this to happen, so when fighting with Syria, you need to try and not capitulate it until you're in a position to deny the Zionists Bir Seb'a, then you can capitulate the Kingdom, which in turn would remove the starting national spirit.
- The minority states: So now that the Syrian Civil War is over, the situation is thus: you should be at war with the Yishuv, in 2 months time (60 days) Lataika will get an event to either be annexed willingly or go to war and in 2 months time (60 days) Shaam will declare war with Lebanon (only if Yishuv doesn't exist and hasn't won the inital revolt). With most of Syria in your hands, the path forward is pretty easy build up your forces, beat the Yishuv as quickly as you can and brace yourself for some mountain combat against Lebanon. If your lucky Lataika submits to you (60% chance per game code) and you get their troops as well. If not they're more of a speed bump than a threat. If Yishuv wins their inital war, than you would need to manually justify against the Yishuv and Lebanon.
And with that you have acquired all of your cores. Congratulation Syria and the eastern Mediterranean is your.
