History of Urcea (1902-1955)

The History of Urcea from 1902 to 1955, sometimes called the Restoration Period consists of the time period between the restoration of House de Weluta in 1902 and the formation of the League of Nations in 1955 specifically but more generally the end of the Second Great War and beginning of the Occidental Cold War. This period was characterized by Urcea's participation in Levantine affairs for the first time since the end of the Second Caroline War, culminating in its participation in the Second Great War from 1927 to 1953. During this period, Urcea became a globally recognized superpower. The first several decades of this period saw Urcea in a period of reconstruction following the Red Interregnum, while the remainder of it was consumed with the nation's involvement in the Second Great War.

Restoration

King Patrick III assumed command over a broken nation; the organs of the Constitution of Urcea were non-functioning (the "Concilium Daoni" convened at gunpoint was of dubious legality), the landscape was torn apart, and the national economy was disrupted. The King ruled over the Kingdom with an absolute level of authority not seen before or since by an Apostolic King of Urcea; the functions of government on every level were controlled by an occupying army that had spent the last half decade fighting to put him in the Julian Palace. The King, taking lessons from his father, decided to make his first priority the restoration of government with reasonable reforms included. The very first act the King made was to declare that the Urcean Republic was never legal and that the Concilium Daoni had no authority to dissolve the Apostolic Kingdom and, further, that no power on earth had the authority to abrogate the Golden Bull of 1098. The King, controversially, decided to accept the results of the 1900 Daoni election. Despite giving legitimacy to a controversial election, many of the socialists who had been elected had since been killed, and in the ensuing by-elections the National Pact filled the vacant seats and were compelled by the King to form a temporary unity government with the remaining Commonwealth Union delegates in the Daoni. Having restored some semblance of organized government under the Constitution, the King turned to unpacking the reforms of the Crown Regency and deciding what to do with the last decade of laws while also considering new reforms that would prevent such a seizure of power from occurring again.

The King decided to consult with the leadership of the Concilium Daoni to determine the fate of the last near-decade and a half of laws, and the solution reached was considered novel by contemporaries. Every action taken by the Government of Urcea since December 21st, 1889 (the date of the death of King Aedanicus VIII), besides the election of 1900, was considered illegitimate and void, and instead, the Daoni would pass an omnibus bill containing all of the reforms that the King and Daoni leadership wanted to retain. The Concilium Daoni then, on December 4th, 1902, considered and passed the "Constitutional Settlement Act of 1902", including an extremely broad array of legislative initiatives codifying what had occurred in the last decade and a half. Questions regarding the power and status of the office of Procurator were left to be settled at a later time. King Patrick III also began to reform the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea, recalling dismissed or deserted officers and soldiers from the past years back into service and issuing wide-reaching pardons to all but the highest commanders of the Regal Army, restoring normalcy in the armed forces. The pardon was particularly necessary for the reestablishment of the Royal Navy, as the experience of former Regal Navy officers and sailors would be critical for maintaining a navy going forward. The Daoni, on a request of the King, passed a law compensating large landowners who had lost their land during the war, especially under the Urcean Republic, but instead opened the land settlement and residency for the widowed families of soldiers - both Legitimist and Regal forces - in the last large scale Ómestaderoi program. The final major act of 1902 was by the King himself, upon prompting by the Concilium Daoni, issued his reform for Social class in Urcea. Rather than using FitzRex's system which lowered property requirement for optimates to nothing, the King decided to use his authority to completely abolish the optimate class, elevating the entire citizen body to the rank of privilegiata, thereby making it coterminous with citizenship in Urcea. Despite having been in the deepest throes of civil war just the month before, the war-weary populace received the various reforms and post-war expeidents well, and the 1902 Nativity season was characterized by a sense of cautious optimism and renewed trust in national kinship; it was recorded in many papers at the time that Christmas in 1902 saw many exemplary (and sometimes outlandish) acts of public charity, an event which would be remembered by the nation for years to come.

In addiiton to domestic reforms, Patrick III also formally recognized the independence of New Archduchy, which had declared independence in the early years of the Regency in 1890. The King's proclamation indicated that the rift between the nations was "regrettable" but that the more-than-decade of independence made any Urcean claims to the colony a dead letter. This decision enabled Urcean interests to begin trading in southeastern Crona once again, as privateers from New Archduchy had been causing a significant disruption in the twelve years of low level hostilities between the two countries.

Entering his first full year on the throne in 1903, the King next turned to the permanent status of the office of Procurator. Some in the Concilium Daoni advocated abolishing the position and dividing its authority between the King and Chancellor. The King, however, saw the value in a non-Royal executive and decided to retain the position. Prior to the Regency, the office was appointed by the King with approval from the Daoni, which allowed for some abuse - especially given that FitzRex was functionally able to force his own appointment. Taking cues from the Collegial Electorate, the King decided to adopt a new system, the Procuratorial College. The Procuratorial College would meet every five years following regularly scheduled Concilium Daoni and local elections. Its membership would consist of the Governor from each province, the senior-most delegate of the Concilium Daoni from each province, and from each Royal Hold and State, five specifically elected designees. The Procuratorial College, with 83 members, would meet in December following the election for the Daoni and elect a Procurator, sometimes from among their ranks and sometimes not. This Procuratorial settlement also saw the King confirm the Procurator retaining the rank of Magister Militum that had been given to it during the Regency period, and the authorizing law for the changes also included more clear delineation of the Procurator's powers, replacing earlier precedents. The King decided the first election for Procurator would occur on schedule in December 1905; until then, the King would continue to exercise broad executive authority in order to ensure the security of the transition. This was confirmed by the "Enabling Act of 1903", which, among other provisions, gave the King broad latitude over economic programs and expenditures within the Royal Budget and also gave the King the ability to directly implement new economic law until the next election in 1905. The passage of the Act led to a two year long political controversy known as The Enabling, as National Pact delegates split decisively on the matter, creating the Julian Party. The Enabling Act would allow the King to bypass a Censorial veto on allowing loans at interest later in 1903; this action was later considered to be the foundation for the later Great Depression in Levantia.

With the various constitutional issues finally settled by the early summer of 1903, the King's focus turned to other matters. While the Constitutional Settlement Act of 1902 had invalidated all actions taken by FitzRex and the various Daonis under his administration, the King nevertheless issued a formal statement of commitment to the Holy Levantine Empire and fealty to the Emperor of the Levantines, known popularly as the Patrick Confessional, and formally rebuked the 1905 secession deadline set by FitzRex, stating that the Gildertach could not have lawfully approved the decision to leave the Empire (and thus its trade system) on the basis that there was no Apostolic King to preside over the meeting of the Gildertach. This statement is widely considered to be the formal end of the Recess of the Julii which had began nearly a century prior. The relationship between House de Weluta and the Empire had been mended by the Empire's support for the Legitimist cause during the Red Interregnum, but the formal acknowledgement set the tone for Urcea's involvement in the Empire going forward. Consequently, with Urcea restoring its relationship with the Empire, Urceopolis sought to strengthen trade ties with Burgundie. The relationship with Burgundie also saw increased joint military exercises and exchange of military technology and intelligence, strengthening the commitment between the two that would form the basis of the later Levantine Union. Beginning in January of 1903, representative from Urcea sat in the Imperial Diet - the first time they had done so since 1816. In 1911, King Patrick III would sit Collegial Electorate as Elector of Canaery, the first time the Apostolic King of Urcea exercised his electoral rights since the 1790s. The King's diplomatic overtures were not entirely friendly, however; Urcea began to strengthen its ties to Veltorina in an effort to isolate and threaten Caphiria, given the latter's intervention in the Red Interregnum.

As 1903 came to a close and 1904 dawned, the King began to prepare for the 1905 election and subsequent transition of power to elected officials as well as a new, full Concilium Daoni. He decided to set forth a handful of policies in order to finish the restoration work he had began in 1902. Namely, the King began an extremely extensive infrastructure project which would not only rebuild the nation's wartorn railways, bridges, and buildings, but also construct many new ones. The King also took an interest in the construction of airfields and hangars for airships. His continued interest in the emergent technology of airships and, to a lesser extent, airplanes, led to his creation of the Royal Air Fleet in 1904, the precursor of the modern Urcean Royal Air Force. The King's interest in military affairs did not end with experimental air technology, however. The complete failure of the Regal Navy during the Red Interregnum allowed for successful operations for the Legitimists including the noteworthy Fall of Cana. King Patrick III was deeply influenced by the effect of sea power on the outcome of the war. Like his father, the King proposed a major renovation of the navy. Integrating Regal Navy personnel, the King began construction of a modern fleet of ships. Uniquely for the time, the King decided to invite foreign military advisers to Urcea. Many radical naval thinkers from Burgundie came to Urceopolis in the period between 1904 and 1910, giving significant input on how a new and modern navy should look, how it should operate, and how it should be made up. Many of these advisers, like the King, had the lived experience of the Red Interregnum to provide key lessons. The King's naval reconstruction effort provided a major boost to the reconstructing economy, and the industrial base of the nation was up to the task. By 1912, the navy that the King had called for was largely in place, and most contemporaries noted that it was large enough and advanced enough to give Urcea the ability to project power on a nearly global basis and certainly in the Sea of Canete. Part of this effort saw the design and construction of the very first dreadnought in Levantia - the HMCMS Royal Hound - launched in 1909. The naval reconstruction effort centered around the Royal Hound and its sister ships in the Archduchy-class as well as the general-use Coria-class, among many other ship classes. From that point onward, the Navy overtook the Royal Army as the area of special focus for the Government of Urcea. King Patrick III has been considered by some historians to be the father of the modern Royal Navy, and an architect of Urcea's coming naval dominance in the Second Great War two decades later.

In 1905, the Commonwealth Union won a landslide victory over the National Pact, creating the first non-Pact government in decades and ending the temporary unity government established by King Patrick III. While his various infrastructure and military reform efforts would continue unabated, the King handed over primary governing responsibility to the elected government, earning him the admiration of leaders on both sides of the political aisle for his commitment to the Constitution of Urcea. Although the second half of the King's reign would not see as much vigorous activity in reshaping the nation, it nonetheless saw the continuation of development and advancement in most fields, including the economy, political stability, military technology, and social cohesion. In most ways, Urcea emerged from the crucible of the Red Interregnum stronger than it had been than any time since the 18th century. King Patrick III decided to use this strength in 1908, when he deployed parts of the rebuilt Royal Navy to New Harren in an effort to expand the colony there. His father's effort to do so in 1881 had led to the colony being considered a discredited vanity project. The technological advances of the Army combined with the Navy's strength were no match for the overwhelmed Confederates, who believed Urcea a paper tiger; Urcea successfully annexed Schoharie, a tribe of the Northern Confederation, and secured an equal trading rights agreement with the Confederation. The demonstration led to many in the Occident taking notice; the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea were equally as up to the task of displaying Urcean might as its political, social, and economic sectors were.

The Urcean economy became increasingly unstable due to the loosened restrictions on usury proclaimed by the King several years earlier. In 1908, the Royal Bank of Urcea informed the Concilium Purpaidá that received interest on its excessive lending was insufficient and that the Bank may face an insolvency issue by the late 1910s. This fact became public in February 1909, leading to major concerns of debts being called in. On 12 February 1909, a massive market sell off began as speculators sought to have enough liquid capital to cover a debt recall. This sell-off led to a chain reaction beginning the Great Depression in Urcea and Levantia as a whole. The Commonwealth Union-lead Concilium Daoni passed the "National Banking Act" on 12 March 1909, which reinforced pre-Interregnum anti-usury laws and ordered the Royal Bank to restructure by changing from an interest-based to a non-interest based system. These moves stabilized the economy for the time being, but the country was plagued with some political turmoil for a decade to come. While the country remained more stable than it had been in the period of the Regency, a low-level war began between the Agency for the Preservation of the Restoration and the insurgent National Republican Army, whose ranks swelled with unemployed, especially unemployed veterans.

Imperial resurgence

With Urcea as a fully integrated member of the Holy Levantine Empire once again and a seat in the Collegial Electorate, King Patrick III fully committed the Kingdom to supporting the cause of Emperor and Empire. In 1911 he cast his vote for the election of August I of Burgundie, both because he sincerely believed in his capacity to rule but also as part of a larger effort to continue courting Burgundie as a close ally. The Collegial Electorate believed that Burgundie, as the relatively-new premier power in Levantia (given Urcea's isolation since 1889), could be trusted to lead the Empire back to stability. Derian nationalists, already in revolt or planning revolt in some principalities in Dericania, severely resented the notion of a Bergendii ruling over them. For most Derian nationalists, the memory of the First Fratricide - and the effect it had on the possibility of a unified Deric Republic - was an open wound, and resentment against an Emperor from Burgundie worsened the situation "on the ground" in most Deric principalities.

In 1911, the Derian state of Anivania in Dericania declared itself a Serene Republic, creating the inference of its own independence; Emperor August had already committed Burgundie and some Imperial states to the War of Faskano Strait, precluding any intervention. Many of the princes of the Kingdom of Dericania decided to take matters into their own hands only to find themselves in danger of being overthrown by their own subjects once military mobilization began. The Emperor's diplomatic efforts precluded the outbreak of war, but low-level domestic violence began to occur throughout Dericania and between the various principalities within it. Though his confidence in the Emperor was deeply shaken with Burgundie's failure in the War of Faskano Strait, he nonetheless committed Urcea to the Emperor's program of connecting railroads and constructing a telegraphy network. King Patrick III died in 1917 and was succeeded by his 57-year old son, Niall, who became King Niall VI. King Niall kept Urcea committed to the Emperor's infrastructure efforts, which strengthened the physical connection between Urcea and Burgundie even if the efforts were a failure in some other parts of the Empire.

Despite King Patrick's support for the Emperor and the importance of the relationship between Urcea and Burgundie, it became clear by 1919 that Emperor August was no longer capable of serving as Emperor of the Levantines with any sense of legitimacy. King Niall nonetheless remained a silent critic of the Emperor and made no public call for his abdication, but the King made it clear in private channels that he had no confidence in the Emperor's ability to remedy the deteriorating situation in Dericania. In December of 1919, Emperor August proposed a compromise with the Derian liberal nationalist faction: he would divest himself of the title of King of Dericania, granting it to a reform-minded Derian prince, with Dericania being modeled on Fiannria's position within the Empire. This move, which would transform the Holy Levantine Empire into something resembling a loose alliance between Urcea, Fiannria, Dericania, and Burgundie, was viewed as completely unacceptable by a majority of representatives of the Imperial Diet, who voted to reject it in December. Though the King-Elector maintained public silence, the Emperor asked him for his support and confidence in late January 1920, and King Niall sent no reply. Without Urcean support and facing increasing opposition in Burgundie for accommodation with the hated Derian people, Emperor August announced on January 29th, 1920, that he would abdicate the throne on the 8th of February, and the Collegial Electorate immediately met in Corcra to ensure that the Imperial Throne did not sit vacant at such a critical hour. The Collegial Electorate met for the entire week prior to Emperor August's abdication, unable to choose a candidate. Eventually, the compromise notion of electing King Niall of Urcea as Emperor of the Levantines - completely unthinkable a few decades prior - became a real possibility. He was not Bergendii, and the wounds of the Third Caroline War were not as deeply felt in the Kingdom of Dericania as the First Fratricide was. Further, the Collegial Electorate believed the Royal Army was strong enough to intervene and ensure that the Deric princes could retain their thrones in the face of revolutionaries. It was also believed that Urcea leading the Empire would command supreme respect, not only among the subjects of the Empire, but also abroad; evidence of Caphirian intervention became more and more evident by the year, and the Electors believed only Urcea could prevent Caphiria stoking the fires of Latinic, Derian nationalism. On February 7th, despite the misgivings of nearly every member of the Collegial Electorate, including King Niall himself, the Collegial Electorate elected King Niall VI of Urcea as King of the Levantines. The next day, Niall was given the traditional coronation ceremony by the Pope in the Imperial Palace in Corcra, becoming Emperor Niall II. He was the first Urcean and the first member of the House de Weluta to sit on the Imperial Throne since 1798, more than 120 years prior.

Preparing for the next war

Urcea's performance in the '97 Rising and First Great War was noted by most observers to be relatively poor, with both factions fighting using lackluster equipment with poor logistical support and antiquated tactics. King Patrick III spent a considerable amount of time during the early restoration rebuilding the Royal Navy such that by the 1920s the Navy was among the world's finest and also the most modern branch of the Urcean military. The Royal Air Fleet also remained relatively state of the art, but the newly rechristened Royal and Imperial Army was woefully unequipped for another Great War, and most observers and policymakers in Urcea were extremely aware of these shortcomings. The newly elected Emperor Niall II knew that Urcea's ground forces would be called into some kind of action in Dericania, and when - not if - that conflict came, he sought a significant reform to the Army to ensure it was ready for the next war. Consequently, the Government of Urcea spent considerable funds and effort bringing about army reform during the early 1920s.

The Burgundie-designed SAV-1 tank was the first armored ground vehicle in Urcean service. It would see almost no service during the Second Great War.

Urcea had been an early pioneer in the area of military planning, logistics, and supply, building a major supply hub in the 18th century. The Royal and Imperial Army was still largely reliant on the 18th century model of supply, one intended to provide for the nation's defense rather than power projection beyond its borders. The existing supply hub also only barely made use of railroads, instead primarily basing itself around the nation's rivers. A new series of depots and forts began construction in the early 1920s along commercial rail lines, including in the region of Transionia, where the Army would likely be heavily deployed in the years to come. Many accomodations would need to be made for developments and technology and the requisite doctrinal changes that come with new technology. The Government provided for the hiring of many military experts from Burgundie and Yonderre who had fought in various overseas colonial conflicts for the Imperial War College - these experts would prove extremely influential on the officers that would emerge during the Second Great War. These experts collaborated with leading thinkers in the Army to help drive doctrinal developments going forward. Many senior officers from the First Great War were also quietly forced into retirement or reassigned to foreign colonial duty in the early 1920s in order to prevent calcification of the military.

During the '97 Rising, forces on both sides were still largely using mid-19th century artillery pieces, and no pieces with hydro-pneumatic short recoil systems would enter standard usage until after the Rising. Accordingly, the interwar Royal and Imperial Army had almost no experience with modern warfare centered around heavy artillery and had to relearn tactics and basic military engineering from foreign experts. Since the last military experience had lacked the heavy artillery that led to trench warfare, the Royal and Imperial Army had almost no experience with armor to speak of as of 1920 and no armored vehicles in service. Urcea began to license early tanks from Burgundie beginning in 1922, but many of these were already antiquated by the time a large number had been amassed, making them largely only suitable for training and doctrinal developments.

Yonderian revolution

Benno de Caryale (third from right) with fellow YDF officers observing the Royal and Imperial Army's 1928 Lariana amphibious exercise

By 1923, it was clear to the new experts of the Imperial War College that the Royal and Imperial Army was, in the words of Yonderian general Benno de Caryale, "totally unsuited for modern warfare...completely unable to implement or execute combined arms tactics", not only including the various armored forces but incorporating any element of the Royal Air Fleet in either a combat or logistics capacity. Between 1923 and 1926, from his position at the War College, Benno de Caryale gained increasing influence and authority over the armed forces, competing with and eventually surpassing the other foreign experts brought in to help revitalize the army. Initially, de Caryale held inlfuence in an unofficial capacity, finally receiving official authority in 1926. Being named "Deputy Lord Marshal for the Renovation of His Most Christian Majesty's Forces", Benno de Caryale would institute major reforms and implement doctrinal changes between 1926 and 1930, when he returned to Yonderre. For his role in this effort, de Caryale has sometimes been called the "father of the modern Royal and Imperial Army." Many historians have noted that the lasting Yonderian influence on the Urcean armed forces likely played a major role in Urcea's support for Yonderre joining the Levantine Union following the upcoming Second Great War. Following Urcean victory in the Second Great War, de Caryale was conferred the honor of Imperial Knight in the Imperial Order of the Holy Cross in 1944 in recognition of his important contributions to Urcea.

Under de Caryale's supervision, the Army specifically and military generally not only took on younger officers, but underwent several major field exercises in a variety of terrains including in Northgate in 1926 (with 150,000 participants), Afoncord (200,000 participants) and Callan (225,000 participants) in 1927, and major amphibious style exercises at Halfway and Lariana in 1928. The Royal and Imperial Army performed very poorly in the Northgate exercises, leading to significant press and political pressure for improvements to the Army, although a minority believed that the "foreign" influence of de Caryale was creating unrealistic or incorrect performance standards.

The "new army"

Between 1923 and 1930, the Royal and Imperial Army was transformed from a fundamentally 19th century force into a rudimentary 20th century force that would be well positioned to learn and develop throughout the earliest years of the Second Great War.

Doctrinal developments would proceed apace during the late 1920s.

The Army began to dramatically increase the size of its regular forces in 1927. A significant debate had occurred throughout most of the 1920s regarding the adequacy of quickly mobilizing the Royal Army Volunteers in the event of another Great War.

Controversially, the Royal Army Cavalry was functionally disbanded as a combat unit during the 1920s and any further development of mobile warfare was done in tandem with the traditional leadership of the infantry: an armored brigade was organized for the first time in 1925, and the first Urcean armored division was created in 1929 following the various exercises that occurred between 1926 and 1928. The Royal Army Cavalry had never been an especially large or prestigious branch of the Royal Army and, accordingly, had very little influence to stop its own sidelining. Champions of the Cavalry in the Concilium Daoni ensured that the horse-based combat unit would remain in existance until 1935, but by that time the Cavalry had been largely destroyed during the early battles of the Second Great War and no horsemen were trained and available to replace the losses.

Besides doctrinal developments, new equipment would come into common use throughout the armed forces. Despite a push for the adoption of a self-loading rifle, the dependable SR-9 was modified for modern warfare by shortening it significantly; the resulting SR-9C carbine entered standard use in the Army by 1929. The SAV-5, the first ever Urcean domestically manufactured tank, would enter service beginning in 1930 following doctrine-based procurement competitions held in 1929. Although in some ways outdated by the time the Second Great War began, the SAV-5 would perform dependably throughout the early conflict.

Motorization

While major doctrinal and theoretical changes were revolutionizing the Royal and Imperial Army in the late 1920s, the Concilium Daoni passed the State Motorization Act in 1925, an act which appropriated significant amount of funds to provide for automobiles and trucks for government functions, including but not exclusive to the military. While the Army had been procuring trucks to replace horse-based logistics for several years, the Act provided the monetary resources to begin the transition in earnest.

The Second Great War

Main article: Second Great War