The Eastern Turkish Wastelands are a region of Eastern Turkey that collapsed into civil war and insurgency following Doomsday. Due to the high level of violence in the area, no single nation was able to arise. Various warlords competed for dominance in the area until 2009 when it was divided between three major powers: Second Empire of Trabzon, Republic of Greater Patnos, and New Erzurum.
Pre-Doomsday[]
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ([1] Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north.
Separating Anatolia and Thrace are the Sea of Marmara and the Turkish Straits (the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles), which are commonly reckoned to delineate the boundary between Europe and Asia,[4] thereby making Turkey a country of significant geostrategic importance.[5][6] Ethnic Turks form the majority of the population, followed by the Kurds. The predominant religion in The Republic of Turkey is Islam and its official language is Turkish. The Turks began migrating into the area now called Turkey in the eleventh century. The process was greatly accelerated by the Seljuk victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert. Several small emirates and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum ruled Anatolia, until the Mongol Empire's invasion. Starting in the thirteenth century, the Ottomans emirate united Anatolia and created an empire encompassing much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. After the Ottoman Empire collapsed following its defeat in World War I, parts of it were occupied by the victorious Allies. A cadre of young military officers, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, organized a successful resistance to the Allies; in 1923, they would found the modern republic of Turkey with Atatürk as its first president.
Pre-Doomsday Turkey was a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic, with an ancient and historical cultural heritage. As a member of NATO, Turkey was involved in the Cold War. Due to their closeness to the USSR, they hosted a major NATO military apparatus, including nuclear missiles, until they were removed after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Turkish control of the Turkish Straits also kept the Soviets envious and greatly restricted their access to the Meditterrean Sea, especially during wartime.
Turkey has also had a long running rivalry with Greece, another NATO country. This rivalry stemmed from the Turkish control of Greece for several centuries under the Ottoman Empire. Later, Greece fought Turkey in several wars, including the Balkan Wars, World War I, and the Greco-Turkish War of 1922. While overtures for peace were made, tensions remained high. The main source of tensions was the island of Cyprus, which almost brought Greece and Turkey to war several times. In 1974, Turkey invaded the island of Cyprus after a Greek military coup took control of the island. This lead to the collapse of the Greek ruling junta at the time. Turkey continued to occupy the northern portions of the island and nine years later, in 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The situation remained the same up until Doomsday.
In southwestern Turkey, the long oppressed Kurdish minority was also creating problems for Turkey. In 1984, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) began an armed insurgency to gain independence for the Kurds of Turkey. This began when the PKK announced a Kurdish uprising. The death toll soon began to climb and this conflict would be forever altered by Doomsday.
Doomsday[]
As for the rest of the world, Doomsday came suddenly for Turkey and enacted a devastating toll. Due to their membership in NATO, Turkey was a target of the Soviet nuclear barrage. The capital, Ankara, and their largest city and cultural heart of Turkey, Istanbul, were both destroyed by nuclear blasts. In addition, the cities of Erzurum, Izmir, Bursa, Adana, and Alanya were also destroyed. These areas were all major military bases or command posts in Turkey. The infernos quickly subsumed the surrounding area. This destroyed much of the Turkish government and military leadership, which plunged the country into chaos. With the destruction of Istanbul, the Turkish Straits were rendered impassable due to the intense radiation. Weather patterns pushed the radiation cloud mostly to the north and east of the country, which was devastated by the fallout. However, this left the south and west of the country still struggling and suffering from the radiation, but to a much lesser degree than other areas of the country.
The Soviets also attempted to destroy several other cities, including Bodrum, Kusadasi, Pamukkale, Antalya, Marmaris, and Konya. However, early warning was received from NATO radar sites in the northern regions of the country. With only a few hours, or less, advance warning, all NATO air forces in the country were scrambled. Several waves of bombers also set off north to attack the Soviet Union. Fighter aircraft were able to intercept many of the missiles, saving many thousands of lives. One or two warheads failed to detonate and crashed into the ground causing minimal local damage. Also, Turkish land forces were mobilized in the east and began attacking Soviet forces in the Caucasus. However, these battles quickly dispersed due to the high concentration of firepower used in the battles, the collapse of communications, and the fear of impending radiation from the nuclear blasts. With most of the military mobilized, much of the Turkish air force was preserved, but much of the army and navy was destroyed at their bases. Because of this, the military soon began to fracture and collapse as their communications and command centers were destroyed. As a result, the entire country was thrown into chaos. Across much of the country, the social order quickly collapsed and many Turks doubted the survival of their nation.
Turkish-Soviet War[]
During the chaos of Doomsday and the following months, the Soviet Union launched an invasion of eastern Turkey. As soon as the Soviet Union detecting incoming, missiles orders were dispatched to all Soviet military forces, which immediately mobilized against NATO countries. A primary target was Turkey due to its control of the Turkish straits, which prevented Soviet access to the Mediterranean. The Soviet army, based in Georgia and Armenia, immediately invaded eastern Turkey. Within twenty minutes, Turkish, and other NATO, forces mobilized to counter the invasion and the war had begun.
With the destruction of all the involved nations as a result of the nuclear strikes, the war was short and brutal. The initial Soviet advance was quickly met and a stalemate soon ensued only a few miles within the Turkish border. Throughout the early hours of the battle, bombers were flying across both sides of the border to hit their targets. To stop them, huge dogfights broke out above the skies of Eastern Turkey and the Soviet Caucasus. Within 72 hours, most of the bombers and fighters had either been shot down, crashed, or returned to their bases. As supply lines broke down, aircraft could no longer launch for repeated strikes, tanks could no longer target enemy positions, and artillery no longer thundered across the battlefield. Nonetheless, the opposing armies continued to fight. After two weeks of constant fighting, the battle lines had been shifted back beyond the Soviet border, thanks to the superior Turkish supplies in the east. However, casualties were high and the remaining soldiers were running out of ammunition. Across the front, soldiers were deserting in the face of the surrounding destruction. Several generals simply rebelled and withdrew all together. Three weeks after Doomsday, the entire front had collapsed. Soldiers and Generals on all sides were retreating towards regional cities and towns, where they would soon become warlords. Some generals even cooperated with those on the opposite side to form joint Turkish-Soviet states along the Turkish-Soviet border. Soon, survival became the number one priority and the war was soon forgotten.
Age of Warlords[]
Survival[]
After the post-Doomsday warfare ceased, the generals of eastern Turkey quickly attempted to establish some resemblance of government and ensure their own survival. Using their remaining forces, they seized controls of whatever territory they could and quickly set up eastern command centers. Sometimes, they would cooperate with the existing civilian government. Other times, they would simply overthrow it. Either way, states soon began appearing across the area. Also, in a few isolated cases, refugee communities banded together to establish a stronger government, which then went on to become stable in the post-Doomsday Wasteland.
Wars[]
Less than 12 months after Doomsday, wars broke out between the various warlords. Some fought over precious resources, while others fought for conquest or a goal of reunification. Regardless of the reasoning, these wars were large, numerous, and vicious due to the proliferation of weaponry and war materials in the area. Many of the smaller warlords quickly fell. Others banded together to establish larger nations or allied coalitions to withstand invasion. Many communities within the warzone erected walls to keep out invaders and heavily policed their territories. Clashes would break out daily as bandits, warlords, and nomads would fight across the area. The constant state of warfare devastated the area, but slowly some resemblance of order was re-established.
Reconstruction[]
In 1992, after separate small incursions into the area were made by the Republic of Hatay, Sultanate of Turkey, and the Republic of Kurdistan, most of the wars came to a halt as the warring states realized others had survived and prospered. The majority of the weaker warlords had been defeated or joined forces with others for survival. Before 1992, hundreds of small statelets had existed throughout the Wasteland. Now, only a few dozen remained. Now that there was some resemblance of calm, the reconstruction efforts began. Many small border wars waged during this period, but most of these conflicts were localized and contained. However, several large-scale wars did break out and it was during this period when several of the largest Wasteland states emerged. Most nations focused on preparing their military for future wars and their nations for future survival.
Consolidation[]
Beginning in 2005, the Sultanate of Turkey triggered a series of vicious wars that resulted in the unification of the Wasteland between three powers: the Second Empire of Trabzon, the Republic of Greater Patnos, and New Erzurum. First, the Sultanate launched a blitzkrieg-style invasion of the State of Elazig, which was conquered within 6 months. Seeing the devastation wrought by the Sultanate, many smaller wasteland states merged or were annexed by those more favored by the Sultanate, namely the Republic of Greater Patnos and New Erzurum. Others, who were willing to continue fighting, were annexed by the Empire of Trabzon. This series of wars and annexations ended in 2009, when only three nations remained in the Wasteland. New Erzurum and Greater Patnos became steadfast allies of the Sultanate of Turkey, while the Empire of Trabzon became its sworn enemy and moved closer to Georgia and Armenia.
Nations of the Wasteland[]
The Eastern Turkish Wasteland is a greatly varied region. Due to its mountainous nature and relative seclusion, they were greatly isolated from the outside world. Because of this, a series of states were formed that varied greatly in government type, population, ideology, and strength.
Second Empire of Trabzon[]
- Main article: Second Empire of Trabzon
The Second Empire of Trabzon claims descent from the first Empire of Trebizond, which was a Greek state, though Trabzon is a thoroughly Turkish state. It is one of the largest and most powerful states in the Wasteland and is the last to oppose unification with the Sultanate.
Republic of Greater Patnos[]
- Main article: Republic of Greater Patnos
The Republic of Greater Patnos is one of the last democracies in the Wasteland. Through cooperating with Turkish generals and a strong militaristic tendency, it has developed into one of the strongest states in the Wasteland. It has had several skirmishes with the neighboring Republic of Kurdistan and jockeys with Trabzon for domination in the area. After several years of warfare and the fall of Elazig, Patnos allied with the Sultanate and expanded to become a powerful regional state.
New Erzurum[]
- Main article: New Erzurum
New Erzurum is a small, post-Doomsday survivor state around the old city of Erzurum. Unlike other states in the Wasteland, New Erzurum was founded by the refugee community living outside the nuclear remnants of Erzurum, rather than a military general. They managed to organize themselves into a small, municipal confederation that has expanded into nearby territory, though the central leadership is essentially an oligarchy. While they are not a very powerful state, they are well defended and were one of the first to side with the Sultanate after the fall of Elazig.
State of Elazig[]
- Main article: State of Elazig
The State of Elazig was a powerful post-Doomsday state on the southwest edge of the Wasteland. They successfully maneuvered themselves into a political position where no one in the Wasteland would challenge them. They also stopped the Hatayan expansion into the area and maintained a mutually beneficial peace with them. However, in part due to their previous relations with the Hatayans, Elazig was the first Wasteland states to be directly conquered by the Sultanate. The surprise attack caught the Elazigi offguard and they were defeated within 6 months.
Competing Foreign Powers[]
Sultanate of Turkey
- Influences:
- Republic of Greater Patnos
- New Erzurum
Republic of Hatay (Defunct)
- Influences:
- State of Elazig
Georgia
- Influences:
- Second Empire of Trabzon
Armenia
- Influences:
- Second Empire of Trabzon
Republic of Kurdistan
- Influences:
- State of Elazig (defunct)
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