Portugal (1983: Doomsday)

Territory
The Interim Government of the Portuguese Islands (IGPI) is primarily an island nation. It is comprised of three Setores, or administrative sectors: The three sectors are the Açores, comprised of the Azores Island, Madeira, comprised of the island of Madeira, and Cabo Verde, comprised of the Cape Verde Islands. Each of these sectors is further divided into concelhos, or municipalities. There are usually no more than three concelhos on each island, and in many cases each island consists of a single municipality. The capital of Portugal is Ponta Delgada, located in the Azores Islands.

Portugal also lays claim to the entirety of Pre-Doomsday mainland Portugal. This claim is recognized by most of the world, however the Sicily Republic does not, which continues to be a source of tension between the two nations. The actual control that Portugal extends over the mainland is limited, however, to three military bases on the western coast, located near the ruins of Lisboa, Porto, and Portimão. These bases were established in 2002, 2005, and 2006, respectively. The base near Lisboa has particular importance, as the Portuguese government declared the ruins of the formal capital a cultural memorial site on 26 September 2007.

Portugal is also currently engaged in a military campaign to scout out the remains of the former mainland. The investigations have stretched nearly to the eastern border. Most of the country is destroyed, and many former towns and cities are abandoned, bombed out shells. The areas around the cities of Lisboa and Porto, in particular, are completely abandoned, and still dangerous irradiated. Several towns around the countryside are relatively intact, including notably Faro, Guarda, and Évora, however they are mostly abandoned, as most mainland survivors encountered in the 2001-2008 expeditions were evacuated to the islands.

Flag
The flag used by the Interim Government represents a varied Portuguese flag. All traditional elements and colours have been kept while elements of the islands flags have been integrated. The ocean blue stripe represents the now ocean-based territory of Portugal. This colour is also integral part of both the Azores and the Madeiran original flag.

The white-red cross represents Madeira while the nine yellow stars drawing a half -circle represent the nine main geographical groups of the Azores Archipelago.

Economy
Apart from the European mainland (which remains extremely improvised) Portugal has a rather large and prosperous economy for its size. Portugal's economy is based primarily around its relatively big (by post doomsday standards) manufacturing industry. A vast array of goods are manufactured here and shipped off to surviving European nations such as the Nordic Union, Pais del Oro, Celtic Alliance, among others. The country also serves as a major transportation hub for all ships or aircraft trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean. With travel between nations becoming less dangerous and more common a small tourism industry has recently developed in the past decade.

Military
The Portuguese military mainly consists of Naval Forces and naval infantry units.

The operating ships and the main part of the material are still the remainders of the Portuguese navy.

The frigate "Comandante João Belo" is still the flagship and - along with two submarines - forms the core of the surviving Portuguese Navy. Additionally, most of the remaining civilian freighters - including those who were in ports of Madeira and the Azores on Doomsday and and those reporting later to Funchal and Ponta Delgada, have been put under military order and integrated into the Naval Fleet. The main task of the naval forces is to organize and protect the supply convoys heading to and coming from the neighbouring states against occasional pirate and foreign aggressor's attack.

A crucial point is the defense of the Port of Punta Delgada as it has become the main HUB for all transports between the surviving NATO - States Canada, Pais del Oro, Nordic Union, Portugal and the humanitarian aid convoys from Brazil, SAC and ANZC. For this purpose, the largest portion of military personnel is assigned to three civilian infantry carriers which are stationed in Ponta Delgada.

A similar situation is the protection of the International Airport at Punta Delgada. Having been the crossing point for all transatlantic airplane traffic until the mid-70's, it still has large facilities for aircraft as big as a Boeing 747. Surprisingly, the airport suffered no direct Nuclear attack. Today this is believed to be primarily due to the airport's importance steady decline through the 1970's. Still present in the memory of the population are the impressing efforts of the airport personnel on Doomsday to secure emergency landings of 12 passenger airplanes - all suffering from EMP interferences- in Ponta Delgada, saving hundreds.

Today it is one of the largest surviving airports in the northern hemisphere. Though air traffic is nearly almost limited to military and supply transports, the Airport has become quite frequented since 1998, especially due to re-initiated Norwegian Oil production activity.

The Portuguese units commonly operate together with units of the neigbouring nations, continuing the NATO-experienced cooperation.

The 2000's and current situation, Problems and Conflicts
Ponta Delgada became the seat of the Northern WCRB Office in 2004.

An offer from 2000 of Brazil to formally join as a federate state has initiated a political dispute within the Interim Government whether to remain independent or take the offer. Until a solution is found, the government decided to stay out of the.

There are also first signs of a Portuguese-speaking community - compromising what remains of Portugal, Brazil, Guinea-Bissau and Angola will be proclaimed, but negotiations prove extremely difficult on the matter. Since 2001, relations to the "Mafia" Republic on Sicily have cooled down significantly. Small military clashes between the aggressive Sicily and the Portuguese ally País del Oro in the Mediterranean Sea have led to increasing hostilities and even stronger ties to the direct neighbours.

An increasing problem is the refugee issue as more and more desperate West Europeans try to flee the Old Continent reach Portuguese, País del Oro, Nordic Union and Sicily territory. Though Portugal tries to help as many people as possible, passage to the Islands is only granted to Portuguese nationals and their families. This has led to rising aggressions along the refugees and even first clashes between them and Portuguese military.

Currently Portugal is consulting with Sicily, - despite all hostilities - the Spanish Republic, and the Nordic Union about how to solve this problem.

Starting in November of 2009, as per their membership in the ADC, Portuguese military forces fought in the Second Sicily War until its close in December of 2010. They also, in concert with Galicia, launched an invasion of a mainland region of Portugal near Galicia in October of 2010, establishing their first stable settlement on their mainland territories under the safety of their ally.

Pre-Doomsday Situation
The Pre - DO Portugal was still a young nascent republic and member of the NATO just recovered from the colonial wars and the April 1974 Carnation Revolution. President António Ramalho Eanes has just been re-elected in 1983 to become President a second time.

Overall, Portugal was doing well although economically slightly behind larger European states. But good signs for the future were expected from the probably intensifying (West) European Integration.

Doomsday
As a steadfast NATO member, the Portuguese Mainland was a first - strike target of Warsaw Pact Nuclear Missiles ever since. Although strategical missiles only hit the capital Lisbon and the vital port city of Porto, the secondary full scale attacks by tactical missiles from Eastern Europe devastated military bases and vast parts of mainland territory.

Immediate Response
Losses and destruction were only marginally less then e.g. in Germany, UK and France.

Emergency plans were enacted, but proved largely ineffective, even with quickly combined Portuguese and Spanish local security forces. All mid - or even long-term plans appeared senseless as the massive fallout spread over Continental Europe.

The only remaining mainland governmental body was a small parliamentary delegation which at the time of the detonations was aboard the Portuguese frigate "Comandante João Belo" (F-480) to observe a demonstration of amphibious landing operation.

Upon incoming news of the attacks and no contact to Lisbon was possible the maneuver was canceled and an emergency session of the few surviving parliament members (headed by a Vice Parliament President) along with a handful of navy generals took place.

In order to maintain a functioning government, it was immediately decided to set course for the Portuguese Islands of Madeira and Azores as no hits were reported from local authorities. So the Comandante João Belo and the small accompanying convoy - namely the Submarine "Albacora" and a small supply ship- headed first for Funchal, Madeira then to Punta Delgada on the Azores Islands.

En route, all naval and air force units that could be reached were ordered to relocate to Madeira and Azores. A few aircraft and several navy ships - mainly a second submarine arrived later in Funchal.

After consultations with the local authorities and governments it was decided to officially relocate the capital and government to the intact Azores Islands provincial capital Ponta Delgada. The Vice Parliament President was named provisional head of state.

In the face of the dire situation, no thoughts of separatism or revolution took root on the islands. Instead, public order surprisingly held and the local forces were able to organize the rationing of food and especially portable water quite smoothly.

The focus within the first aftermath was laid on securing sustainable resources to feed the population and avoid as many deaths as possible. Naval units and the few available civilian freighters organized supply convoys between Madeira and the Azores sharing all supplies.

Strategical response
After regrouping of available forces and supply of the population has been successfully established, the Interim Government decided to at least try to help the mainland survivors and establish contact to any surviving foreign authorities.

The first to respond were the Spanish Canary Islands which were in a quite similar situation as Spanish Navy remains and fledglings reassembling there. Also a untouched Icelandic Government responded very quickly. Mutual help in form of supply exchanges was immediately set up and become vitally important for all the archipels.

Africa and Continental Europe fruited no contact except a few radio amateurs transmitting devastation everywhere.

1984 - 1993
It took 4 years of great effort to establish the first permanent base back on Portuguese mainland as the conditions were horrifying.

So instead of realizing risky operations like this the government focused on the neighbour states and intensifying cooperation.

In 1986, official contact to the Canada Remainder Government in St. John's was established. Meanwhile the relations to the newly formed "Nordic Union" (Iceland, Norway + parts of Greenland) and the strange "Pais del Oro" (Canary Islands + Western Sahara) proved continuously friendly and intensified, though they were officially recognized in 1993.

In 1989, the former Portuguese Cape Verde Islands became associated to the Portuguese territory.

In February 1990 finally contact to Brazil was established. This brought a incredible relief as though being ravaged by famine and diseases itself the first official aid transport arrived from the former Portuguese colony by June.

A remarkable event was the sudden and surprising contact with the reconnaissance submarine "Benjamin Franklin" arriving from Australia in spring 1991. Little news of the outer world have reached the Interim Government until then. Officially, diplomatic relations to Australia and New Zealand were reestablished August 17th.

Quickly, the "Albacora" was ordered to accompany the Franklin for the European part of his recon mission.

Contact was made with the in 1992.