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Northeim
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday

OTL equivalent: Northeim
Flag Coat of Arms
Flag Coat of Arms
Location and area controlled by Northeim
Location of Northeim
Capital Northeim
Largest city Northeim
Language German
Government Military Republic
  Legislature High Council
High Councillor
Population Approx. 730,000 
Currency Deutschmark

Northeim is a city-state centered around the city of Northeim in the former West German state of Lower Saxony.

History[]

Post Doomsday[]

When the cities of Hannover, Braunschweig and Kassel were hit on Doomsday, it threw the region into chaos. Refugees from the struck cities fled to neighboring towns and cities breaking down social order and straining supplies. The city of Northeim was far enough from the devastation that warning of the chaos caused by the refugees and fallout from the nuclear weapons reached them far before any refugees did. The mayor of Northeim declared a state of emergency and began drafting citizens into work crews to begin erecting a barrier around the city in order to regulate refugees and to begin stockpiling resources. The local police began collecting volunteers to secure orchards and farms to ensure a future food supply and form a militia to guard against any possible violent or extremely desperate refugees or citizens

Militarization[]

As time passed and resources became more scarce the militia was granted more and more power over the citizenry to keep order. When a raiding group managed to get through the north gate and set fire to several buildings the mayor of Northeim decided that his expertise was not suited for these times and he handed power over to the commander of the militia. The mayor was kept on as an advisor and to handle the day to day administration of the city, but all executive decisions were now in the hands of the militia. The commander decided that a militia was not sufficient for the defense of the city and keeping order and together with the remains of the police established the Northeim Municipal Defence Force, and began training a professional military force. Machine shops were retooled to build firearms and some lower tech weapons such as compound bows. With unemployment so high, volunteers for the defence force were not hard to come by, and within two years the NMDF numbered at 1500 men and women. With the NMDF established and most of the militia members joining, the militia was disbanded, and the Mayor/Commander established an advisory council of NMDF officers and civilian administrators to run the city.

Expansion - Göttingen[]

With Northeim's defences fully established and a populace in need of a vision beyond survival, the High Council began planning a campaign to pacify the surrounding lands, bringing order to the countryside ravaged by raiders and bandits. With reports of Gottingen surviving, the university was deemed a high priority target, to secure the knowledge held within its walls. If the lab facilities and any professors had survived or remained, it could also be an important resource for the future. Two forces of 500 NMDF soldiers marched on Göttingen with orders to secure the city. When they arrived they found the city in chaos, some neighborhoods had been walled off and many buildings and parking lots had been converted to farms for the local inhabitants. Gang warfare raged across the city with neighborhood fighting neighborhood for resources. The Northeim soldiers were ill equipped and far too few to pacify an area so large with a population estimated at nearly 65 thousand. A plan was enacted to begin scouting the local gangs and begin forging alliances with gangs who's goals were that of establishing and defending pockets of civilization within the city rather than acquiring power or notoriety. Within a year the NMDF forces had united a force of nearly 8000 Göttingen civilians willing to begin pacifying the more violent anarchistic gangs. By 1995 the city had been unified under the Northeim banner and more weapons and NMDF volunteers began flooding in.

Expansion - Northward[]

Runners were sent northward to the populated areas bringing word of Northeim's successes in reuniting Gottingen and bringing a degree of order. This brought some hope to some of the smaller towns which came to Northeim to request annexation by the city in exchange for protection and aid. The Northeim High Council drafted the Treaty of Northeim. It was a treaty in which all signers agree to submit to Northeim rule, and provide volunteers for the NMDF, and in exchange Northeim engineers would begin re-establishing infrastructure. Word of this spread northward as well and representatives from many of the smaller towns began flooding to Northeim to sign the treaty. By 1999 Northeim influence had spread north nearly to the cities of Hildesheim and Salzgitter. At this point the Northeim council deemed further expansion unrealistic until the infrastructure reconstruction in the treaty signatories had advanced. Adding such a large area of land to the city's jurisdiction was also taking a toll on the NMDF, with most of the members putting down raiders and small uprisings almost daily.

Weimar Conflict[]

In 2002, advance scouts for the Northeim Municipal Defence Force encountered a group of Weimar engineers in Nordhausen attempting to build defensive fortifications in the city. These defensive structures were meant to aid the people of Nordhausen against the raider bands that had been plaguing the area, but the NMDF commander mistook them as a sign of overt resistance to Northeim. He ordered his troops to take the fortifications and eliminate resistance so that Nordhausen could be brought to heel for the greater glory of Northeim. When word of the incident reached the Weimar council, they took it as a declaration of war and mobilized troops to repel the Northeim invaders. While the Northeim troops were better trained and more numerous, because of the emphasis the state had put on research and development and engineering, their equipment was far superior. Fighting was fierce for several months, with both sides pushing the other back at different periods. Near the end of 2003, morale dismal, and both sides exhausted, a stalemate had been reached and a ceasefire declared. Representatives for Weimar and Northeim met in Nordhausen in January of 2004 to discuss a peace agreement. The borders of the respective territory was agreed on January 17th when the Treaty of Nordhausen was signed, setting the border between the two city-states at the old East/West German border.

Northern Campaign[]

In 2007 the High Council began efforts to bring Hildesheim and Salzgitter under Northeim control. With the swelling population of Northeim's lands, the ranks of the NMDF grew and now nearly numbered 30,000 troops. (more to come)

In May of 2010 a scouting party sent to Wolfsburg intent of discovering whether or not the city was worth bringing under Northeim control encountered the Prussian troops stationed there overseeing work crews rebuilding some of the major manufacturing centers. After the conflict with Weimar, it was deemed more prudent to establish diplomatic ties with the nation.

Government[]

The government of Northeim is split into two parts, the High Council, and the Municipal Council.

Municipal Council[]

The Municipal Council is an elected government body made up of elected representatives from each of the towns and cities within Northeim's territory. Its main responsibility is for determining social policy and handling the economic affairs of the state.

High Council[]

The High Council is an unelected body made up of seven members, five military and two civilian who oversee the foreign policy, military matters, and overall direction of Northeim. Any legislation drafted or decisions made by the Municipal Council must be approved by the High Council before becoming law. When a member dies, retires, or resigns, a new member is appointed by the remaining high councilors.

Military[]

Economy[]

Agriculture is the most dominant industry within Northeim's lands, employing nearly 50% of the working population. The Northeim Municipal Defence Force is the single largest employer in the state, but only employs approx. 8% of the working population.

Foreign Relations[]

Until recently, Northeim hasn't had any contact with any established states. The closest they had come to until contact with the Prussian military in Wolfsburg in May 2010 was brief conflict with an influential city state based out of the city of Weimar to the south.

See Also[]

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