Bavaria (1983: Doomsday)

The Free State of Bavaria (Freistaat Bayern) is the reconstituted successor to the former West German state of the same name. It is currently a self-governing protectorate of the Alpine Confederation.

Pre-Doomsday
One of the oldest states of Europe, it was established as a duchy in the sixth century. In the 17th century, the Duke of Bavaria became a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. When the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, Bavaria became an independent kingdom. The Kingdom of Bavaria existed until Germany's defeat in the First World War in 1918, and Bavaria became a Free State (Republic).

By 1983, Bavaria was the largest state in West Germany in terms of area, and the second largest (after North Rhine-Westphalia) in population. It was one of the largest economies in Western Europe. Numerous corporations had its headquarters in Bavaria, including BMW, Seimens, Audi, PUMA AG, and Adidas AG.

Post-Doomsday
Although it was spared of the worst devastation that fell the rest of West Germany, Bavaria did not go through Doomsday unscathed. Besides the destruction of its two largest cities, Munich and Nuremberg, several NATO bases were also hit. The destruction effectively cut off the various regions of Bavaria from one another, and the survivors had to deal with the radioactive fallout as well as refugees from other parts of the country. Bavaria's agricultural base spared the survivors from complete starvation, at least for the first few years. However, as food stocks and other essential supplies began to dwindle, the various democratic governments that were set up after Doomsday began to collapse. In most of Bavaria between 1985 and 2005, the conditions varied between brutual despotism and complete anarchy.

Some communities, however, managed to maintain a semblence of civiliation. One of those was the town of Rosenheim, located near the Austrian border. Since 1985, the town had been besieged by various militant groups. The town avoided destruction mainly by offering tribute, which included adolescent children. The population of Rosenheim grew more desperate to end the tribute, but were powerless to stop the warlords.

One event in 1998 changed all of that.

Contact with the Alpine Confederation
On March 12, 1998, horsemen gave with frightening news: a group of armed personnel in motor vehicles were approaching the city from the border with Austria. The soldiers came in Austrian uniforms with peculiar symbols. For years rumors had persisted that Austria had survived the nuclear holocaust.

The soldiers entered the town with a white flag of truce, and requested to meet with whoever was in charge. They revealed themeslves to be from the Alpine Confederation, a recently established nation from the merger of Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Their mission was to explore and secure the area for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction.

More to come...

Liberation of Regensburg
More to come...