Draft:The New Order: Last Days of Europe

The New Order: Last Days of Europe, also known as TNO is a mod for the game Hearts of Iron IV that depicts what would have happened if the Axis powers won World War 2. The New Order is a narrative-driven mod that focuses on the fallout of the Axis victory and its effects on the world, leading to a three-way Cold War in the 1960s. The mod is known for being incredibly ambitious in its scale and features many new mechanics and large amounts of events, paths and characters. TNO has also received praise for its rich storytelling and the dark and esoteric atmosphere that is present within the mod.

In addition, there is a spin-off called The Red Order: First Days of Eurasia in development, where the Allies win World War Two but turn on each other in a three-way Cold War between the United States, Bukharin's USSR, and the French and British Empires.

Setting and plot
This mod starts in the year 1962 after an Axis victory in World War II in which most of the world has different borders and governments. The world is caught in an alternate three way Cold War between the American-led Organization of Free Nations, German-led Unity-pakt and Japanese-led Co-Prosperity Sphere.

Russia
In the Soviet Union after Lenin's death, a power struggle was brewing for his succession. Rather than Joseph Stalin, Nicolai Bukharin was the one to inherit Lenin's regime, consolidating dictatorial power. Bukharin's continuation of the new economic policy was a complete failure, however. The Soviet Union was only able to begin industrialising in the late 1930's, which was far too late. Once the Nazis invaded, the Soviet Union would collapse in just six months, much of its western territories falling to the Germans. What remains of Russia is split between frantic rump states, all trying to reunite Russia, and eventually the Reichskommissariat Moskowien itself.

Western Europe
Nazi Germany, after just a few years of war, had finally made itself the master of Europe. But cracks were beginning to form as soon as the Soviet Union collapsed. The German economy, reliant upon looting other nations to stay afloat, collapsed in the 1950's, resulting in southern Europe breaking their alliance with the Reich. The West Russian Revolutionary Front (a collection of former Red Army units loyal to Georgy Zhukov) began the West Russian War with the Reich, which the Germans only won due to the WRRF fracturing in on itself, and in which the Reich lost vast amounts of territory in the east. To stabilise the economy, Germany enslaved millions of Eastern Europeans to work as menial labour in farms and factories. Germany has now become very dependent on slavery, with a few Rüstungswichtiger Betrieb (Megacorporations) controlling the vast majority of the German economy, in close collaboration with the NSDAP.

The United Kingdom was split between the "Nothern Counties Special Zone" (NCSZ) a part of northern Ireland contolled by the IRA, and the former under a German-aligned illiberal democracy, the latter two as independent democracies. The port and city of Plymouth is given to the Germans as a port under control of a German Garrison. France is headed by the French State. The Netherlands was reorganised into a German puppet regime. Denmark and Norway are puppet states in similar fashion to the Netherlands. Both Sweden and Switzerland are neutral independent states, and remain democracies. Finland has expanded to Karelia and the Kola Peninsula, but remains a democracy.

Belgium and much of northeast France is under the control of the Order-State of Burgundy, A breakaway state of the Schutzstaffel (SS)  under the rule of Heinrich Himmler. It came into being during the West Russian War, when Heinrich Himmler tried and failed to perform a coup on the German government. Usually, this would have warranted execution, but given that he had the support of the SS, he was given Burgundy as his fiefdom for the sake of stability. The state is extremely secretive, as its leadership has become extremely radical, even by the standards of National Socialism. Their ideology -- deemed the Burgundian system -- is ultra-authoritarian, strictly enforces eugenics even among "Aryans", and actively practices slavery to a greater extent than Germany itself. The state's sole purpose is to be the vehicle by which the SS carry out their vision, which under Himmler is to start a nuclear war among the great powers, which the SS believes will eradicate all "non-Aryans" on Earth, leaving the world solely in the hands of the "master race" in the post-apocalypse.

Mediterranean
Italy, having been on the winning side of the second world war (and being a much more competent military power during the war) remained the dominant power of the Mediterranean Sea, expanding its colonial empire to Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, East Africa and the levant. Greece, Croatia, Albania and Montenegro remain puppet states of Italy.

The Iberian Peninsula is controlled by the fascist Spanish-led Iberian Union headed by Francisco Franco. Spain and Portugal peacefully unified following the second world war. Gibraltar and French Morocco were transferred to the Iberian Union, after it opportunistically joined the Axis near the end of the war. The Turkish Republic expanded into much of Syria and Northern Iraq, as well as Armenia, joining the Axis in the closing days of the war to take advantage of the collapsing Soviet Union, British Empire, and French Empire.

After the war, Italy established a new alliance called Triumvirate to counter German influence in Europe, consisting of Italy, its puppet states and colonies, as well as the Iberian Union and Turkish Republic. The Triumvirate alliance collapses in 1963.

Eastern Europe
After the German victory in World War 2, western Poland was annexed directly into Germany, and the east reorganised into the General Government under the rule of Hans Frank. Czechia too was annexed by Germany, whilst an puppet Slovak Republic was created. The Baltic states along with Belarus are under control of Reichskommissariat Ostland. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was reorganised into Reichskommissariat Ukraine.

All of these Reichskommissariats are German colonies, Germanic settlers ruling over the non-Germanic populations with near-absolute power, in accordance with Nazi theory on superior "Übermenschen" and inferior "Untermenschen". Jewish and Gypsy populations were entirely expelled or exterminated by German forces prior to 1962. Slavic populations are subjugated, with few rights granted to them by the Nazi regime, and many being kept in a state of de facto (and often de jure) slavery, their menial labour used in factories and farms to provide goods and resources for Germany. Native cultures and languages are repressed, as the Nazi regime actively tries to assimilate "Aryan" members of the native population into German culture (a policy that has achieved partial success in Reichskommissariat Ostland, but has almost completely failed in the General Government).

Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia are all officially independent states, though their actual sovereignty varies. Slovakia and Serbia are German puppet states, whose administrations are both increasingly unpopular, with partisan movements being quite strong in both nations. Bulgaria is independent, but is still allied to Germany (with a small German garrison in the country). Hungary and Romania are both neutral states between the Germans and Italians, becoming so after Romania reseized northern Transylvania, with Germany doing nothing.

East Asia
With the Japanese victory in China, collapse of the British Empire due to German conquest and the American defeat at the hands of the Japanese navy, almost the entire Asia-Pacific Region came under Japanese domination. Korea remained a Japanese colony, and Manchukuo expanded into part of the Russian Far East. China did not reunify, as Chiang Kai-Shek's government fell, and the Red Army was routed. In their place a puppet regime was established, controlling most of central China. The many warlords of China's interior were never militarily conquered, and simply declared loyalty to the new collaborationist Chinese government, whilst retaining de facto power in their own provinces.

In Guangdong, a different regime was established. Completely independent of China, it is a state ruled by several Zaibatsu, with the only government being a legislative council of representatives of various zaibatsu. Being a society run by corporations, the elite of Guangdong are almost entirely wealthy Japanese expats, and the impoverished are mainly native Chinese factory workers who live poor lives with few prospects of upward mobility.

Caucasus
Georgia and Azerbaijan and the North Caucasus are ruled by the Reichskommissariat Kaukasien. This Reichskommissariat is slightly less strict in its enforcement of racial laws in comparison to other German colonies. Some native ethnicities are given far more opportunities in employment and governance than what their ethnicity would usually allow for, though some are more repressed than others, such as the Armenians. The region primarily focused on large-scale oil and mineral extraction.

Sub-Saharan Africa
After Britain was defeated, most of central and south Africa came under German rule, with the Reichskommissariats of Zentral-Afrika, Ost-Afrika, and Sudwest-Afrika all being established. To their south is the rump Union of South Africa. In West Africa, a series of states have emerged. The French Republic exists in exile in the Ivory Coast, aligned with a Francophillic Burkina Faso. Opposing both the French Republic and German colonies is Cameroon, encompassing former British Nigeria and French Equatorial Africa. This government is determined to get rid of colonial influence in West Africa at all costs, whether European, American, or Japanese.

United States
The United States signed the Akigi Accords with Japan in which Hawaii, Some outer Islands of the Aleutian Islands were ceded to Japan along with all of the United States Oversees territories. This accord also ceded a port at San Francisco, and Los Angeles to Japan.

German Civil War
In 1963 Hitler will die and the dispute of his succession will cause the German civil war between supporters of Albert Speer (reformists), Martin Bormann (conservatives), Hermann Göring (militarists), and Reinhard Heydrich (proponents of the Burgundian system).

This causes a collapse in the established order of the Einheitspakt. Eastern European Reichskommissariats often completely dissolve as native populations take back control, although the German authorities can sometimes remain in power. Burgundy takes advantage of Germany's distraction and invades France for territorial concessions, which Burgundy almost always wins due to France's weakened military.

English Civil War
At the start of the game, the United Kingdom is under a dominant-party system, where the collaborationist "British People's Party" a Fascist party who controls the nation, trying to manage popular discontent with German demands of loyalty and the split between the "Pragmatists" a more Reformist brach and the Ideologists. Once Germany begins its civil war, England too collapses into a civil war between the collaborationist government and an underground resistance called HMMLR (Her Majesty's Most Loyal Resistance), an alliance of socialist, moderately conservative and nationalist English insurgents, which is funded by the United States.

The player can change the power balance of the civil war and the HMMLR's factions if they play as England. After the civil war ends, both factions will attempt to enter his old alliance system, the German-aligned Einheitspakt or the US-aligned Organization of free nations (OFN)

United States
In 1964, two years after the mod starts, incumbent president Richard Nixon resigns allowing Democratic vice president John F. Kennedy to become president, In summer of 1964 however, president Kennedy is assassinated allowing for speaker of the house John W. McCormack to become president until the inauguration of the newly elected president.

South African War
In 1964, The Reichskommisariats of ZentralAfrika, OstAfrika and SüdwestAfrika, alongside the break away state of Boer republics declare war on South Africa. The remaining South African state must now defend itself from a full-scale invasion, whilst also balancing the interests of the White elite with those of the ANC, and most often trying to invite the OFN to help in their cause. If South Africa lacks American support, the war effort will be greatly hampered. If South Africa denies the ANC's demands, the war effort is almost certainly lost.

Should the Afrika-Schild emerge victorious, most of South Africa will come under the control of the Boers. Should South Africa win, South Africa will most often expand to Namibia, Zimbabwe, and southern Mozambique, whilst the remaining reichskomissariats will become South African puppet states ruled by the native populations.

West African War
From 1964-1966 the West African War starts. The French Republic and Cameroon have a final show-down here, where only one can survive. Should France win, French West Africa will be re-established for an eventual retaking of the mainland, and Cameroon will find itself dealing with secessionists. Should Cameroon win, it will press for a united West Africa, with no colonists in power, and the French Republic will be isolated to a few far-flung tropical islands.

Yasuda Crisis
In 1964 the Yasuda crisis starts in the Japanese stock exchange, a result of a major corruption scandal becoming public. This crash ruins the economy of Japan and the broader Co-Prosperity Sphere.

Great Asian War
An anti-Japanese coup in Yunnan results in a war of some warlords against the Japanese-aligned Republic of China. Should the Republic fail to quell the uprising (as is most likely due to its restricted military), Japan will eventually intervene, sparking the Great Asian War in 1966.

Thermonuclear War
If one nation with extensive nuclear capabilities launches nuclear weapons at another nation with extensive nuclear capabilities, the player can no longer select anything, all nations disappear from the map, the GUI is disabled, and a message reading "thermonuclear war" is displayed in the centre of the screen. The game is now over, simulating nuclear holocaust. This is usually considered a bad ending for the player (unless a player is controlling Burgundy).

Superevents
The New Order: Last days of Europe is known for its use of "Superevents" where as a notable event has occurred, music will play along with a placard of the event along with a quote and a relevant image. We have as examples the Russian Unification, or the German Civil War.

Music
The New Order: Last days of Europe is also known for its original soundtrack which helps contribute to its dark and melancholy tone. Most tracks have heavy influence from the synthwave genre.

Economy
Unlike the base game of Hearts of Iron IV, The New Order has an economy built into the mod. This feature allows you to view your country's inflation, gross domestic product, and poverty. Taxation and spending on both military and civilian matters can be manipulated by the player. Policies on welfare programs, and whether to privatise or nationalise can be enacted by the player (all of which have certain requirements to carry out, and probabilities of success). The player can even directly control the flow of capital towards specific financial entities by paying debt or investing. The player must keep careful watch of the economy, and must be able to respond to financial challenges in-game. Some nations also have unique economic modifiers, such as the colonies and puppet states of Japan and Germany being required to send some of their nation's produce to their overlord states.