General History

The general history of the island dates back as far as the 1878, during the Benjamin Disraeli years of the British Empire, and underwent several major and constitutional changes before becoming the Roessen Republic officially in 1919. This is the general history until the start date of the simulation.

Integration of Port George
Before and during the premiership of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Benjamin Disraeli, the island which had been called Port George acted as a military and naval base not only for the British, but also for the Prussian and the French. However, an executive decision had been made by Benjamin Disraeli to integrate Port George officially into the British Empire as an annexed territory, due to the strongly British imperial majority. The naval might of the British Empire meant that both Otto von Bismarck and Patrice de MacMahon refused to stand in Britain's way, and allowed the nation to annex the island freely as core British territory. However, treaties that followed ensured that the island would still be used for allied military cooperation.

Nevertheless the island, despite its magnificent size, had never actually been used for habitation. The British government under Disraeli deemed Port George too necessary as a military island rather than a zone of habitation, but did allow for important military officers to live on the island, establish military colonies and raise families there. The stigma of Port George to the other European powers was that Britain was amassing an imperial and military foundation, to be used as a failsafe for potential war between the European powers. The seizure of Port George as a vital British imperial island was credited amongst Disraeli's strengthening of the British Empire.

After Disraeli and the First War of Port George
Disraeli lost power in 1880 and died shortly after. Without such a vocal voice in European politics, other European leaders, including Otto von Bismarck, began to take interest in Port George. A brief war between Prussia and Britain from 1883 to 1884, called the First War of Port George rested in a successful Prussian capture of the island. It was heralded as an absolute success for Bismarck, and the surrender of the British from the island established the port city of Bismarck to become the capital of the island.

Establishing the Dominion
The Germans had made it clear that they owned Port George, and sought to integrating it similarly to the British. From 1884 to 1891, the British daren't return, though popular Conservative politician Lord Salisbury stated his intentions to "wait and look on" for an opportunity to reclaim what they still recognised to be Port George. Ideas of Irish Home Rule meddled with the need to reclaim Port George, and both became important aspects for domestic and foreign affairs in British Parliament throughout the remainder of the 19th century. Germany now began to integrate Port George as a German dominion, one of its first major investments to colonialism. This soon became short-lived, when Otto von Bismarck lost power in 1890. Replacing him as Chancellor was Leo von Caprivi, who had every intention of maintaining the dominion. The Prime Minister at the time, now Lord Salisbury, saw this as the moment to attack.

Second War of Port George
The Second War of Port George was a lot longer than the first. Where the first only lasted a year, this one lasted three. From 1891 to 1894, a combination of naval warfare amalgamated with guerrilla warfare from the new German inhabitants of the island. However, it became clear that Lord Salisbury was not one to back down from a fight, and sought to claim his Port George as soon as possible.

Victory became assured for the British in 1894, and soon Leo von Caprivi became exceptionally unpopular. He lost power in 1894, and the new Chancellor, Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, signed the German agreement for Port George to be reclaimed as a British military base and colony. This boosted morale not only in Britain but in the Conservative Party, who became heralded as the protectors of the Empire. The lives lost in the battle for Port George, however, came back to haunt them.

H. H. Asquith and the July 9th Massacre
The Labour and Liberal Parties in the early stages of the 20th century began to capitalise on the large loss of life as a result of the wars of Port George. The failure of Arthur Balfour and the Conservative unpopularity ushered in a new period of Liberal control under Herbert Henry Asquith, who began to promote ideas of female suffrage, Irish Home Rule, and more negotiations over Port George.

The German population on Port George had been repeatedly harassed, beaten and abused by the British occupiers. By 1909, tensions between the British and the Germans over the island had become exceptionally palpable. What followed was the July 9th Massacre, in which British soldiers opened fire on a crowd of German protesters in the city of Bismarck. Eleven were killed and twenty-four were injured. It was a PR disaster for the British, and amends had to be made. In an attempt to prevent a war with Germany, negotiations over the island were made. Following a debate in Parliament, it was concluded that Port George would return to Germany.

Dominion of Bismarck
The Dominion of Bismarck was established in 1910 following a series of peace treaties between the Kaiser and the Prime Minister. What had first been seen as a way to maintain peace, was soon being seen as the Kaiser asserting his newfound European dominance. By 1914, the Kaiser was ready to show the new naval and military might of the German Empire. The Dominion of Bismarck had become a new important naval base.

The 1917 Invasion - Operation Lionheart
World War One in general started and dragged as it normally did, but by 1916, British officials knew that an attempt to end the war had to start with a successful capture of Bismarck. The new British Secretary of State for War in 1916, Edward Stanley, gave the go ahead for Operation Lionheart, a British naval invasion of the island. 76,235 British soldiers underwent the perilous naval journey to capture the port city of Bismarck, a battle that lasted for almost two months. The British received good news, however, when it was announced in the early stages of 1917, that the city of Bismarck had been taken. It was now time to take the rest of it.

The 1917 Invasion as part of Operation Lionheart was an overwhelming success for the British, due to the cooperation of both conventional and guerrilla operations, especially the operations conducted by later Chief of Staff of the Army, Henri Tocqueville. By August of that year, Bismarck had been taken, and the remaining German naval staff had returned to the mainland, to help protect the country from a northern naval invasion. No such call for an invasion was made, however, as the British became aware of German naval superiority in the area. Edward Stanley, despite recommendation from the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, refused to conduct the naval invasion into the north of the country, feeling as though it would compromise what has already been gained, and a counter-operation would be disastrous.

In 1918, the November Armistice came. There was still civil unrest from the German population in the area, and it was now crucial for the British to decide what to do with the colony.

The Treaty of Versailles
Britain knew that if they were to annex Bismarck as Port George once again, they would face resistance after resistance, rebellion after rebellion, and they feared a potential repeat of the July 9th Massacre. David Lloyd George therefore saw it best to start negotiating with the more influential of the population for possible independence. The chosen representative for independence talks on behalf of the Dominion was a popular businessman and independence politician by the name of Dominik Schrek. Schrek had campaigned for Bismarck independence for the majority of his life on the island, and now saw it fit to act upon those ideals. His manifesto, which he entitled Roessen Governance, soon became a popular best-seller on the island, and the British were ready to accept its ideals to form a constitution in the city of Roessen. The British selected Schrek to be the first official President of the newly formed island, which had been called the Roessen Republic.

The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28th, 1919, and with it, an agreement for both the Allied Powers and the Central Powers to formally and officially recognise the Roessen Republic as an independent state, and with Dominik Schrek as its first President.

The Schrek Years
President Schrek admired the newly formed Weimar Republic and set about reforming the Roessen Republic similarly. He stated that the President would have foreign and military command, while domestic powers would be devolved to the position of Chancellor and Vice Chancellor. Despite this, Schrek stated he would not pick a Chancellor for his presidency.

In late 1919, David Lloyd George grew paranoid that Schrek would push the Roessen Republic back to German authority. He sent envoys to Schrek, and the two agreed for a mass migration program. Many British men and Irish men were sent to the new Republic to counteract the major German, Swiss and Scandinavian populace. This produced a very mixed reception: to some, the new immigrants were welcomed with open arms to help fund the new Republic; to others, it was a sign of British invasion, and a spur of nationalism grew. These mixed populations and ideas eventually carved what Schrek would call the "Province Scheme", which he used to found the electorate and seat positions for the Congress. From this, seven distinct provinces were made, and colour coded through flags: Königsland (Red), Wolfszing (Grey), Großer Klee (Blue), Anderlaas (Green), Sarmont (Orange), Dornhal (Purple) and Freinau (Yellow). New government positions were made to represent the provinces and the three largest cities within them.

Schrek then had to decide how the military would be structured. He used to be soldier, but did not fight in the First World War. Instead, he delegated the power of Chief of Staff of the Army, effectively the role of Generalissimo, to Henri Tocqueville. Tocqueville went on to mastermind the organisation and construction of the new military, but stayed largely out of politics. Schrek praised Tocqueville's efforts in shaping the military, and the two shared the utmost respect for each other's positions.

Schrek furthermore installed 250 seats into the new Congress. The New Government Party, under Schrek, occupied all 250. He called for a "Blooming of Political Thought" in January 1920, before announcing in March that he would step down as President and to allow for an election.

Schrek's reforms have become pivotal and fundamental to the formation of the Republic, and he amassed his image to become a national icon, but during his radio address to the nation, announced he would live his life in private with his family, and allow politics to continue as it should, however he stated that he would "not ignore any cries for help" should the political system devolve into chaos.