World War One

Before the Archdukes death, ethnic tensions in the balkans and hostility between Austria and Russia had already created the sparks needed to set off a major conflict. When the Arch Duke died, Austria began making demands of Russia who had allied against Serbia. Enraged by the crazy demands, Russia declared war. Austria (who was quite weak militarily) quickly got its ally Germany involved. But Otto von Bismarck, at 76, was reluctant to help, so waited to attack. France and Britain declared their secret alliance with Russia and declared war on the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria, Italy). Though Bismarck's plans had succeeded in the past his reluctance, and later his death at 77, was Germany's mortal wound. France, still bitter about previous wars, quickly rushed to wipe out most of Germany. Survivors fled to the north and east hoping to avoid the war around them.

A basic Walker Tank V.II

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But the war was not in anyone's favor. Through the early gains by France their ally Russia was not fairing as well. The newly crowned Tsar Nicholas I, who was followed by so many omens, insisted on taking command of the military. With a war with Japan, Russia's forces were split. Nicholas' tactics were weak and he only focused on Austria. Soon his forces came to a stale mate. France's forces also were slowed and eventually dug in half way across Germany. The German troops made a last ditch effort to defend their country, while refugees cut out a small area in the north east. But the trenches wouldn't hold for ever. France and now Britain began using better technology on the field. Inspired by the Austrian units use of the Steam Horse to carry supplies and munitions to the front, Britain began to design its own armored transportation. Two especially important creations came out of this. The All-terrain Troop Walker (ATW) and the Walker Tank. Both were only early and still simple designs. But the use of them was revolutionary. The German lines were pushed back until the German resistance could only keep the French out of the northern part of Germany. In September of 1917 Germany signed a cease fire and relinquished all rights to the occupied lands. After an armistice was created, New Prussia was formed. By then, the surviving Germans who had remained would have no problem filling the small area they still had.

The last surviving Walker Tank on
display

Russia was faring far worse. New communist ideas were spreading with the influx of German immigrants who had fled their country before the war started, and several politicians were vying for a change. Many areas and factories began to go on strike. When Nicholas dissolved the Duma (a section of Russian government) he helped unite the protesters and their political parties. The socialists, in particular the radical Bolsheviks, now had huge support. When, on February 25, 1917, during the Petrograd General Strike, stries saw soldier and police sympathies for the socialist cause, and crowds attacked prisons, courts, armories, and other symbols of the Tsar's power. Frightened Tsar Nicholas I abdicated as the last Tsar of Russia. The Bolsheviks, under Vladmir Lenin, saw an opportunity and took control. But they hadn't planned on what would happen next. The French and British as well as small American forces saw the Bolshevik take over as a threat to their own governments. Germany, already defeated, and its other allies soon to follow, Britain, France, and America were free to send it's forces against Russia.

The All-terrain Troop Walker
 accompanied by two officers

Now the ambling tanks were far bigger and more powerful. And by this time the steam engine's had been streamlined and redesigned so they could be used in aircraft. Huge walking air platforms behind the troops were able to cause crushing blows to the Russian forces. The allied troops attacked quickly and surely in a lightning attack. But supplies couldn't always keep up. Combined with the never ending Russian forces the allies soon began questioning their decision to continue an already futile war. The Allies withdrew in the winter of 1922 though never officially acknowledging the end of the war. Troops remained in certain areas but Russia, who still had no central government, began to build around these areas.


The war had left the world itself defeated. Most of central Europe was in ruins and soon the allies redrew the national boundaries in the treaty of Versailles. Germany was split into three areas, one being New Prussia. Austria-Hungary was divided close to its ethnic boundaries. The occupied territories of eastern Russia were carved out into a new country. A puppet government was formed by the allies to control it but when Russian and German revolutionaries threatened to fight back, the allies withdrew control and soon a new government took over.

Rome

The Creation of a Republic

Rome was one of the most powerful empires of the world. But it wasn't just from it's military might. Rome had any influences from the powerful greek civilizations before it and the Etruscans who had a advanced civilization in the Italian peninsula before the Romans. The Romans took much of its technological and architectural genius from the Etruscans, they used their arch and many other methods, including one which let them drain the swamps where Rome would be built.

There are many myths and legends about the founding of Rome, about the Romolus and Remus twins, who would have lived 6th century B.C.E. having founded Rome in 753 B.C.E. There are legends about how they fought over who would be king, and any how they founded the city. Whatever happened the kings of Rome were eventually pushed out, and a republic was formed. During the kingships Rome had been expanded. The kings fought often with its neighbors and quickly controlled much of the peninsula.

A republic was formed after Tarquin the Proud was chased out of Rome. The republic was ruled by two Consuls who effectively had the power of the old kings, except they could veto each other. The Senate had greater power than before because it controlled the funds. The social order was soon to change as well. The aristocracy, the patricians, began to be challenged by the rest of the population, the plebeians. The plebeians forced the creation of a new office the tribunes and the codification of law.

By 265 B.C.E. Rome controlled most of the peninsula. There struggles began to extend out of the peninsula. One of the most important conflicts was with Carthage. The Punic Wars lasted slightly more than one hundred years but eventually the City of Carthage was destroyed. Though the new Roman territories in North Africa were important the most important thing gained fro the war was the discovery of a new piece of technology. It was a rudimentary steam engine. Though there were versions of it before the one found in Africa was much more powerful. A captured Greek engineer was enlisted to study it. Within ten years he had designed a mechanical legionary: the Miles Ambulator.

The mechanical soldiers took the rest of the Mediterranean and Europe by storm. Rome expanded north and east as fast as the walking statues could walk and there mechanics could walk. By 45 B.C.E. they controlled half of Germania, most of Phrygia, Acedonia, parts of North Africa, Gaul, and Spain.

The Empire

Though Rome was nearly all powerful it wasn't invincible to itself. Constant social and political troubles plagued it. The last consul who had made himself the sole ruler Julius Caesar, was assassinated and his adopted son Octavian, now Augusts Caesar, had an inheritance to take. He allied with Mark Antony and Lepidus. With them he crushed the republicans, the only thing left were his own allies. Mark Antony claimed the east along with Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, as his bride. Octavian used this as an excuse to attack him. Using advanced but simple steam powered rowing vessels from Rome he crushed Mark Antony.

Octaivan became a consul and ruled for four years when the Senate gave him the honorary title of iperator. Though little changed it became the standard government as an empire. Rome began to prosper.

The Decline

But all empires fall. One cause was the political corruption and failings of the emperors after Augustus. Another reason was economic problems because of its reliance on slave labor (It is unclear why they didn't adapt their machines to do labor, but they only used it in combat). One major reason was a plague that wiped out half of the Exercitus Molius Romanorum (the Roman Army of Engineers). The Miles depended on the engineers to keep them working. With limited supplies of engineers some legions fell into disarray or got stuck. This let several Germanic tribes that previously had been controlled easily to break through the line of defense and move towards Rome. The tribes managed to actually sack the city causing mass panic. Another cause of decline connected with the miles was the rise of the Christian religion. The Christian church began calling the machines "instruments of the devil," because of its ability to kill nearly instantly. When one of the Emperors converted to Christianity he attempted to replace some of the units with human soldiers, though he faced some resistance. To do it he tried to take men out of the Army of Engineers. This increased the rate of decay for the Miles. By the time the germanic tribes began to attack Rome there were barley any soldiers left. Rome would remain a power, but it had nearly collapsed and its legacy would remain.