Hello, I'm just another useless lump of meat wandering aimlessly through life until something happens to end it.

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Long-time SPRP member and administrator, heading up the Saltee RP nation

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Reached platinum: 07.10.20

Current Status: Active.

Link to SPVA server

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Saltwater Navy composition:

1st Naval Strike Task Force (homeported in Shidabad):
- x1 Charlemagne-class aircraft carrier (SWS Upholder)
- x1 Shidabad-class battlecruiser (SWS Cardinal Bay)
- x3 Campbeltown-class destroyers (SWS Campbeltown, SWS Yaverland, SWS Jawadesh)
- x2 Rift-class frigates (SWS Coral Sea, SWS Exterminator)
- x1 Supply-class replenishment ship (SWS Supply)
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

2nd Naval Strike Task Force (homeported in Shidabad):
- x1 Charlemagne-class aircraft carrier (SWS Retribution)
- x1 Shidabad-class battlecruiser (SWS Shidabad)
- x3 Campbeltown-class destroyers (SWS Sheriton, SWS Ploinebad, SWS Kalvinn)
- x2 Rift-class frigates (SWS Furious, SWS Ferocious)
- x1 Supply-class replenishment ship (SWS Conveyor)
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

3rd Naval Strike Task Force (homeported Halifax):
- x1 Charlemagne-class aircraft carrier (SWS Agamemnon)
- x1 Shidabad-class battlecruiser (SWS First Supreme Grand Admiral of the Second Command Squadron of the Naval Forces of the Glorious Greater Principality of Saltwater Dame Valerie de Vendetta of Faro)
- x3 Campbeltown-class destroyers (SWS Hydrabad, SWS Herome, SWS New Hermit)
- x2 Rift-class frigates (SWS Tenacious, SWS Glorious)
- x1 Supply-class replenishment ship (SWS Bermuda)
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

4th Naval Strike Task Force (homeported in Shidabad):
- x1 Charlemagne-class aircraft carrier (SWS Indefatigable)
- x1 Shidabad-class battlecruiser (SWS Port Jellicoe)
- x3 Campbeltown-class destroyers (SWS Cunningham, SWS Cape of Good Hope, SWS Straits of Gibraltar)
- x2 Rift-class frigates (SWS Protector, SWS *Persuader)
- x1 Supply-class replenishment ship (SWS Loyalist)
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

5th Naval Strike Task Force (homeported in Shidabad):
- x1 Charlemagne-class aircraft carrier (SWS Implacable)
- x1 Shidabad-class battlecruiser (SWS Vancouver)
- x3 Campbeltown-class destroyers (SWS Anchorage, SWS Corner Brook, SWS San Marino)
- x2 Rift-class frigates (SWS Defender, SWS Daring)
- x1 Supply-class replenishment ship (SWS Unbreakable)
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

6th Naval Strike Task Force (homeported in Shidabad):
- x1 Charlemagne-class aircraft carrier (SWS Fortitude)
- x1 Shidabad-class battlecruiser (SWS Intrepid)
- x3 Campbeltown-class destroyers (SWS Milan, SWS Turin, SWS Naples)
- x2 Rift-class frigates (SWS Fearless, SWS Roma)
- x1 Supply-class replenishment ship (SWS Unshaken)
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

1st Amphibious Assault Squadron (homeported in Port Jellicoe):
- x1 Carlos-class landing helicopter dock (SWS Illustrious)
- x1 Galicia-class landing dock ship (SWS Forlorn Point)
- x4 Royalist-class destroyers (SWS Kestrel, SWS Merlin, SWS Willow, SWS Thunderer)
- x4 Lapwing-class sloops (SWS A10, SWS A11, SWS A12, SWS A13)
- x1 Chevallier-class replenishment ship (SWS Wave Ruler)

2nd Amphibious Assault Squadron (homeported in Port Jellicoe):
- x1 Carlos-class landing helicopter dock (SWS Victorious)
- x1 Galicia-class landing dock ship (SWS Carisbrooke)
- x4 Royalist-class destroyers (SWS *Peregrine, SWS Vulture, SWS Sussex, SWS Astute)
- x4 Lapwing-class sloops (SWS A14, SWS A15, SWS A16, SWS A17)
- x1 Chevallier-class replenishment ship (SWS Wave Knight)

3rd Amphibious Assault Squadron (homeported in Halifax):
- x1 Carlos-class landing helicopter dock (SWS Invincible)
- x1 Galicia-class landing dock ship (SWS Hammerwood)
- x4 Royalist-class destroyers (SWS Eagle, SWS Sparrowhawk, SWS Privateer, SWS Tireless)
- x4 Lapwing-class sloops (SWS A18, SWS A19, SWS A20, SWS A21)
- x1 Chevallier-class replenishment ship (SWS Wave Emperor)

4th Amphibious Assault Squadron (homeported in Port Jellicoe):
- x1 Carlos-class landing helicopter dock (SWS Repulse)
- x1 Galicia-class landing dock ship (SWS Yarborough)
- x4 Royalist-class destroyers (SWS Shrike, SWS Sterling, SWS Thunderbolt, SWS Vulcan)
- x4 Lapwing-class sloops (SWS A22, SWS A23, SWS A24, SWS A25)
- x1 Chevallier-class replenishment ship (SWS Wave Commander)

1st Naval Patrol Squadron (homeported in NovrdLisch City):
- x1 Cavour-class light carrier (SWS Bembridge)
- x1 Campbeltown-class destroyer (SWS NovrdLisch City)
- x2 Royalist-class destroyers (SWS Invincible, SWS Bastion)
- x2 Rift-class frigates (SWS Hendaye, SWS Lisbon)
- x1 Chevallier-class replenishment ship (SWS Wave Conqueror)
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

2nd Naval Patrol Squadron (homeported in NovrdLisch City):
- x1 Cavour-class light carrier (SWS Sandown)
- x1 Campbeltown-class destroyer (SWS Hamalia)
- x2 Royalist-class destroyers (SWS Courageous, SWS Echo)
- x2 Rift-class frigates (SWS Porto, SWS Ferrol)
- x1 Chevallier-class replenishment ship (SWS Wave Liberator)
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

3rd Naval Patrol Squadron (homeported in Shidabad):
- x1 Cavour-class light carrier (SWS Euryalus)
- x1 Campbeltown-class destroyer (SWS Conegsreich)
- x2 Royalist-class destroyers (SWS Enterprise, SWS Avenger)
- x2 Rift-class frigates (SWS Liberator, SWS Indomitable)
- x1 Chevallier-class replenishment ship (SWS Wave Protector)
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

4th Naval Patrol Squadron (homeported in Shidabad):
- x1 Cavour-class light carrier (SWS Swiftsure)
- x1 Campbeltown-class destroyer (SWS Ashdown)
- x2 Royalist-class destroyers (SWS Challenger, SWS Maseru)
- x2 Rift-class frigates (SWS Meteor, SWS Dreadnought)
- x1 Chevallier-class replenishment ship (SWS Wave Regent)
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

5th Naval Patrol Squadron (homeported in Halifax):
- x1 Cavour-class light carrier (SWS Renown)
- x1 Campbeltown-class destroyer (SWS Juneau)
- x2 Royalist-class destroyers (SWS Myabane, SWS Mahikeng)
- x2 Rift-class frigates (SWS Harrier, SWS Defence)
- x1 Chevallier-class replenishment ship (SWS Wave Sovereign)
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

6th Naval Patrol Squadron (homeported in Halifax):
- x1 Cavour-class light carrier (SWS Geropian Sea)
- x1 Campbeltown-class destroyer (SWS John C. Wilcox)
- x2 Royalist-class destroyers (SWS Pietermaritzburg, SWS Springbok)
- x2 Rift-class frigates (SWS Dragon, SWS Defiance)
- x1 Chevallier-class replenishment ship (SWS Wave Prince)
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

1st Home Defence Flotilla (homeported in NovrdLisch City):
- x4 Merlin-class corvettes (SWS Whimbrel, SWS Woodpecker, SWS Black Swan, SWS Egret)
- x3 Meteoro-class patrol ships (SWS Mallorca, SWS Newfoundland, SWS Menorca)
- x2 D'Entrecasteaux-class patrol ships (SWS Relief, SWS Resurgence)
- x6 Flamant-class patrol vessels (SWS P31, SWS P32, SWS P33, SWS P34, SWS P35, SWS P36)
- x2 Lapwing-class sloops (SWS A26, SWS A27)

2nd Home Defence Flotilla (homeported in Shidabad):
- x4 Merlin-class corvettes (SWS Ibis, SWS Cygnet, SWS Magpie, SWS Raven)
- x3 Meteoro-class patrol ships (SWS Jan Mayen SWS Panama City, SWS Okinawa)
- x2 D'Entrecasteaux-class patrol ships (SWS Haven, SWS Comfort)
- x6 Flamant-class patrol vessels (SWS P37, SWS P38, SWS P39, SWS P40, SWS P41, SWS P42)
- x2 Lapwing-class sloops (SWS A28, SWS A29)

3rd Home Defence Flotilla (homeported in the Galapagos):
- x2 D'Entrecasteaux-class patrol ships (SWS Mercy, SWS Tranquillity)
- x4 Lapwing-class sloops (SWS A32, SWS A33, SWS A34, SWS A35)

4th Home Defence Flotilla (homeported in Newfoundland):
- x4 Merlin-class corvettes (SWS Alberta, SWS Colombia, SWS Ontario, SWS Quebec)
- x3 Meteoro-class patrol ships (SWS Ottawa SWS Hurricane, SWS Montreal)
- x2 D'Entrecasteaux-class patrol ships (SWS Labrador, SWS Hudson)
- x6 Flamant-class patrol vessels (SWS P43, SWS P44, SWS P45, SWS P46, SWS P47, SWS P48)
- x2 Lapwing-class sloops (SWS A30, SWS A31)

1st Auxiliary Strike Squadron (homeported in Juneau):
- x2 Royalist-class frigates (SWS Culver, SWS Dauntless)
- x1 Chevallier-class replenishment ship (SWS Wave Chief)

2nd Auxiliary Strike Squadron (homeported in Juneau):
- x2 Royalist-class frigates (SWS Buccaneer, SWS Tyrrhenian Sea)
- x1 Chevallier-class replenishment ship (SWS Wave Baron)

Submarine Squadrons (x60) (homeported in Halifax/Shidabad/Port Jellicoe/Newfoundland/NovrdLisch City):
- x2 Triton-class attack submarines

1st Strategic Strike Squadron (homeported in Shidabad):
- x4 Triumphant-class ballistic missile submarines (SWS Warspite, SWS Ursa, SWS Albacore, SWS Steadfast)

2nd Strategic Strike Squadron (homeported in Shidabad):
- x4 Triumphant-class ballistic missile submarines (SWS Conqueror, SWS Supreme, SWS Vendetta, SWS Redoubtable)

1st Arctic Patrol Squadron (homeported in NovrdLisch City):
- x4 Northern-class icebreakers (SWS Northern Lights, SWS Amber Spyglass, SWS Subtle Knife, SWS Serpentine)
- x1 L'Astrolabe-class icebreaker (SWS Belle Sauvage)

2nd Arctic Patrol Squadron (homeported in Halifax/Newfoundland):
- x4 Northern-class icebreakers (SWS Bolvangar, SWS Cittàgazze, SWS Spectre, SWS Aurora Borealis)
- x1 L'Astrolabe-class icebreaker (SWS Golden Compass)

3rd Arctic Patrol Squadron (homeported in Severomorsk):
- x4 Northern-class icebreakers (SWS Secret Commonwealth, SWS Panzerbjørn, SWS Svalbard, SWS Novaya Zemlya)

1st Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in Taranto):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Windhound)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Leander)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

2nd Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in the Galapagos):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Penelope)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Ajax)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

3rd Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in St Lawrence Island):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Naiad)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Arethusa)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

4th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in Newfoundland):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Phoebe)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Sirius)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

5th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in Newfoundland):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Juno)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Argonaut)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

6th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in Taranto):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Danae)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Charybdis)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

7th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in Taranto):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Jupiter)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Bacchante)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

8th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in Sri Lanka):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Andromeda)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Scylla)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

9th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in NovrdLisch City):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Achilles)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Diomede)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

10th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in NovrdLisch City):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Apollo)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Ariadne)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

11th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in NovrdLisch City):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Poseidon)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Demeter)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

12th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in Juneau):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Artemis)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Mars)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

13th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in Juneau):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Hermes)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Mercury)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

14th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in Juneau):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Battleaxe)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS *Broadsword)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

15th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in Juneau):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Royalist)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Imperium)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

16th Independent Strike Squadron (homeported in Juneau):
x1 Royalist-class destroyer (SWS Blackgang)
x1 Cantabria-class replenishment ship (SWS Inflexible)
x6 Minerva-class frigates
x2 BATRAL transport ships

Unassigned:
x2 Admiral-class cruisers (SWS Admiral F. Fisher, SWS Admiral G. Saxonville)

1st Service Squadron (homeported in Port Jellicoe):
x2 Dupey de Lôme-class ELINT ships (SWS Taranto, SWS La Spezia)
x2 Meteoro-class submarine rescue ships (SWS Gulf of Aden, SWS Tequila Dog Beach)
x1 Quest-class survey ship (SWS NovrdLisch Bay)

2nd Service Squadron:
x2 Argus-class aviation support ships (SWS Imperator, SWS Centurion)
x6 Watson-class vehicle cargo ships (SWS Tunis, SWS Genoa, SWS Vienna, SWS *Winnipeg, SWS Calgary, SWS Edmonton)

Joint Submarine Task Group:
x4 Oberon-class submarines (SWS Orpheus, SWS Oracle, SWS Onyx, SWS Onslaught

History:

The Saltwater Carrier Nation was founded in the year 2003 by the billionaire and entrepreneur John Wilcox. Originally intended as a large cruise line, he purchased a pair of surplus aircraft carriers to be converted to luxury mobile airports/hotels for his richer visitors. However, the large influx of permanent residents resulted in a sizable movement for independence. After a vote among the ten largest investors, Saltwater Cruise Lines became the Saltwater Carrier Nation in August 2007.

At the time the new country was not recognised by any other sovereign state, but in 2012 Wilcox purchased a small rocky outcrop from the Conegsreich Republic, allowing the SCN to meet the requirements for a sovereign nation. For the next eight years the Saltwater Carrier Nation sailed freely around the world, relying on close ties with the Conegsreich government to secure ports and dry docks when needed. The nation had a population of 11,000 at its peak, spread across a carrier fleet of almost thirty ships, including two AACs gifted to the nation by United Asia.

Then, on a short visit to the Diamond Archipelago, where the Conegsreich Republic was located, the SCN came under cruise missile fire from a terrorist group known as the "Algorithm". For the next year the SCN fought alongside the Conegsreich and various other allies in order to bring peace to the archipelago. The Saltwater Navy participated in invasions of Algorithm-held fortifications and islands, distinguishing itself as a well-trained combat unit.

During this war the country of Halcyon began invading foreign states beyond the archipelago, prompting the Saltwater government to send forces to intervene. Several bombing raids were launched against the Halcyon capital by SCN carrier groups, dealing some damage to the industrial centres. The short war drew to a close soon afterwards, but prompted international awareness and condemnation of the actions of the Halcyon government. Notably, one F-112 Falcon strike aircraft returned with an advanced Halcyon missile system embedded in its fuselage, allowing Saltee technicians to reverse-engineer it.

Operations against the Algorithm continued and succeeded in its almost complete destruction, but unfortunately, shortly after the Saltwater fleet regrouped from various counter-terrorist and humanitarian operations, a dozen anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched torwards the country by an Algorithm submarine. Nine of the missiles were nuclear-tipped, and all but four of the Saltwater vessels were sunk by the subsequent detonations, although fortunately the government was able to remain intact within the operations rooms of the surviving warships. The survivors were given the virtually uninhabited island of NovrdLisch by the Conegsreich government, and collaborated together to form a defence company known as SMC Industries.

For the next five years SMC Industries expanded to dominate the archipelago defence industry, and eventually formed its own paramilitary wing, which was contracted to fight alongside the Warburg Army during the Warburg War of Independence, where its naval arm was responsible for the destruction of an enemy warship. Soon after this war, it took part in a joint operation with the Warburg Navy, which saw the last remaining Algorithm submarine sunk. Soon after this event, the Saltwater government reformed on the island of NovrdLisch.

The Saltwater Carrier Nation, in this second iteration, was much like the first in its interventionist foreign policies, elected monarchy and militaristic culture, but this time the country remained much more static, with NovrdLisch as its permanent home. During this time the Algorithm was soundly defeated by the combined fleets of the SCN, Conegsreich Republic and United States of Warburg. However, faced with a rebellious civilian population, the close ally Warburg collapsed into chaos soon afterwards. Despite this, the economy continued to expand and interconnectivity between archipelago nations increased significantly.

A period of several years passed without incident, but then a new terror group, the BoC, began launching raids on the allies in revenge for the fall of the Algorithm. Worryingly, they appeared to be developing nuclear weapons.

An expeditionary force from the Deutschland, a large starship which had passed through the Rift from the universe now known as Dimension D001, stumbled across the small island state of Hamalia. This country was supplying the BoC with uranium for their bombs. The allies launched a relatively bloodless invasion, but this caused a fresh wave of terrorist assaults. What followed was a fierce and bloody decade of conflict as the allies, with new ally Parsha alongside, fought in a vicious struggle against multiple rouge states, terrorist groups formed by former Algorithm operatives and civil wars. Twice NovrdLisch was almost overrun by foreign invaders. In the end, however, the allied forces prevailed.

Saltee naval personnel onboard spacecraft Agamemnon undertook the greatest expedition known to humanity during this time, on a joint voyage with members of the Deutschland to locate resources in the outer solar system. On Earth, Saltwater scientists and expedition personnel made some of the first detailed surveys of the archipelago, including the colonisation of Geropia, which along with East Hamalia became a Saltwater colony. The government also invested heavily in assisting foreign nations with their own internal security, including both peacekeeping missions and the removal of corrupt or oppressive regimes.

By this time, however, the Saltwater economy was in ruins due to cuts in foreign investment by Parsha and high amounts of military spending. After years of serving as peacekeepers and protectors in the Diamond Archipelago, the future of Saltwater as a nation was uncertain. The Saltwater Parliamentary Committee, angered by the monarch's apparent refusal to do anything about the crisis, tore up the Saltwater Constitution and began to enforce an increasing number of restrictions on the population. This caused huge numbers of people to emigrate to other nations, with the population falling for the first time in its history, the King ordered the parliament to dissolve.

At this point a referendum was held to determine the future of the SCN. In a close vote 52.3% of the public voted to dissolve the nation and rejoin the Conegsreich Republic.

A small group of loyalists were permitted to form a paramilitary guard for the United Nations complex in SimpleLandia, and for a few months operated under the moniker of "Saltwater United Guard Corps". However, the archipelago faced a new threat as the news came in that an earthquake in the Antarctic region had caused an entire glacial valley to collapse into the sea. A colossal tsunami swept across the Pacific and the low-lying archipelago caught the full force of the surge. Over 90% of the islands were flooded, and virtually all the inhabitants, some 87 million people, were killed or became refugees. The rising sea levels resulted in the complete collapse of human civilisation in the archipelago.

A large number of ex-Saltwater citizens, some 35,000, found their way to Italy. Here a political party was founded by loyalist Christopher Langford, based around Saltwater values and policies. Eighteen months after its founding the party was elected into office, and Langford was crowned as elected monarch after enstating the elected monarchy system.

Under his rule, the United Kingdom of Saltwater expanded from Italy through central Europe to Poland, into Africa and the Caribbean and with territory in the Pacific and Alaska. Military spending increased threefold, and the country became a regional superpower. The UKS aligned itself with the Athens Pact, an organisation dedicated to protecting the interests of its members, and fought several wars in support of the Pact. The Saltwater Navy served with great distinction during a conflict with the Republic of Japan, sinking the guided missile battleship Yamato.

The "Third Iteration" was not without its problems, however. The pressure on the military grew after the annexation of Ukraine when the Deutsche Demokratische Republik cut economic ties and banned the licenced production of the San Marino-class attack submarines which formed the backbone of the fleet. The military resorted to reverse-engineered spares for the submarines, and they became increasingly unserviceable. Despite this, the United Kingdom of Saltwater managed to keep its place on the world stage for the remainder of its tenure.

After thirty years Langford died of heart disease and elections were held for a new government. Three main parties arose - the Loyalists, who respected the traditional form of government; the Saltwater Liberals, who wanted a more democratic and peaceful country whilst upholding most Saltwater values, and the Independence Party, which wanted to do away with the Saltwater government and pass independence to annexed territories. The Independence Party won a majority vote, and the United Kingdom of Saltwater broke up two months later.

Meanwhile, the Loyalists and the Liberals merged to form the New Saltwater Party, and set up their renewed political career in the United Kingdom. Elected in the next general election by a narrow vote, the party united the UK and Ireland under the moniker of "New Saltwater Republic". The Republic, although possessing a strong military force, was considerably less militaristic than its predecessors in its first years of existence, with only one other territory added in five years - Denmark.

This peaceful existence was interrupted when the Saltwater Armed Forces were sent to assist those of the Republic of YK in the Invasions of Spain and Portugal, in an effort to secure a European base of operations for the YK. With control of the Straits of Gibraltar secured, Morocco elected to join the Republic as its fourth territory. Four years later Saltwater forces launched a blitzkrieg offensive through the Sahara Desert, seizing control of North Africa and the Red Sea. Significant territory was also acquired in Alaska from a four-way invasion of the territory.

After a short period of peace, the Republic became embroiled in warfare once more when the Deutsche Demokratische Republik declared war on the close ally Turkey, after that country annexed Austria. After conducting multiple missile strikes, the Saltwater Navy launched an offensive through the Alps from Monaco, in cooperation with the Turkish Army. After a risky landing the Army grinded through German territory and linked up with the Turks in Austria. Shortly after the positions were secured, the Saltwater government withdrew from the conflict after pressure from the civilian population.

Soon afterwards, the political turmoil came to a head after that year's general election, when the "Empire Liberationists" were elected to power, on the premise of disbanding the Republic. This was resisted by the Saltwater government then in power, the Saltwater Patriotic Front, with the armed forces siding with the SPF. Liberationist militas and SAF defectors forced a withdrawal from the UK to North Africa, where the Saltwater Armed Forces were able to regroup. A month later, the civil war began as the loyalists crossed the Moroccan border to swiftly overwhelm the Liberationist forces based there. A week later, forward-based in the Republic of YK, the Saltwater Army crossed into Liberationist Spain, capturing the territory after several failed assaults. One day after the surrender of the Liberationists in Spain and Portugal, the Prime Minister was assassinated, and in his absence the Liberationists voted to concede defeat, drawing the short civil war to a close.

Several years of relative peace followed, with the Saltwater economy booming. However, this changed after the Viceorian Federation launched an invasion of Australia. Tensions between Saltwater and Viceorian increased dramatically when a Viceorian missile battery launched surface-to-air missiles at a Saltwater reconnaissance aircraft, which was flying off the Australian coast monitoring for any human rights abuses. The missiles were aborted, but later on the Viceorian forces began to order the neutral Saltwater forces from the vicinity, including those on duty rescuing refugees. The Saltwater government ordered a retaliatory strike by a cruise missile flotilla sailing off Madagascar. Ten missiles were fired against Viceorian positions, achieving one strike. In the following days, the two nations came increasingly close to war, with tensions at their greatest after the Saltwater annexation of Belize. Fortunately, however, a peace deal was eventually reached and relations were restored.

Four years later the Liberationist movement rose up again, and this time they were far more successful. The majority of the Saltwater Armed Forces, which had previously been loyal to the SPF, staged a coup, and deposed the Saltwater government with little resistance. The loyalist forces fled the country, with SWS Chieftain and four frigates also joining them and heading for the flooded Diamond Archipelago. Once there, it was found that the island of Geropia was habitable, and over the next ten years refugees from the former New Saltwater Republic flocked to the new country. Built upon the foundations of the old republic and the ideals of the original founders, the Loyalist Principality of Saltwater rose to become a centre of economic prosperity, defended by the tight-nit Royal Saltwater Defence Force.

Three years after the reformation the country found itself at war once more, this time skermishing with the Commonwealth of Australia after that country began making aggressive actions against Saltwater and its allies. The Saltwater Navy launched an invasion force towards Melbourne, but it took heavy casualties during the voyage in, with two sloops and a landing craft being sunk. Shortly afterwards a peace agreement was reached and the war came to an end.

The peace was short-lived, however, and five years on the Australian government sent an invasion force towards Geropia, declaring a blockade around the island. The Saltwater Defence Force made a series of massive missile strikes on the enemy battle group, beating it away from Geropia and eventually sinking it in its entirety. Australian submarine attacks caused the sinking of several Saltwater warships, but the navy continued to hold the upper hand in the northern Pacific.

At this point, the Australian military launched ballistic missiles upon Saltwater military installations on Geropia, destroying two LHDs and causing major damage. A Saltwater counterstrike failed to produce results and caused the loss of multiple submarines, which had been leased from the Republic of YK.

A new peace agreement was reached, which reduced the size of the Saltwater Navy by around twenty vessels, but prevented the Australian government from making further ventures into the northern Pacific.

Following this came a period of peace, with the Principality rebuilding Geropian infrastructure and the Saltwater Defence Force expanding the Air Force and Marine Corps. The Navy also began re-equipping after the large-scale cuts following the Second Saltwater-Australian War, with three new cruisers and new submarines.

Fresh tensions arose with the Republic of Korea after the Saltwater annexation of Ascension Island and subsequent military intervention in Gabon. Despite this, a treaty was reached in which the Saltwater government annexed Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and in return ceded Ascension and Saint Helena to Korea. During this period the Korean government permitted Saltwater vessels to freely transit the Panama Canal, giving a great boost to the economy.

Within two years, however, the Republic of Korea, responsible for governing Panama, collapsed. A dictatorship seized power in the Central American nation, placing heavy taxes on international shipping passing through the canal and threatening the economies of dozens of countries reliant on the trade route. The United Sakurian Empire, a Japanese nation allied with Saltwater, launched an invasion of Panama to liberate the trade routes. The Saltwater monarch dispatched a naval task group to the country, and a small group of the Saltwater special forces unit Al-Bèit landed in the capital and seized control. A democratic government was installed to govern the nation, with a council with representatives from Saltwater, the USE and the Republic of Halsenwal responsible for the state's foreign affairs.

Although the invasion was welcomed by much of the international community, the Commonwealth of Australia, which had been routinely hateful of the Saltwater people in the years previous, reacted aggressively, placing heavy sanctions on Saltwater, and ignoring the actions of the Sakurian Empire and Halsenwal, despite their greater presence in the invasion. The Saltwater Navy despatched two submarines to the Australian coast to monitor shipping, not wanting a repeat of the blockade suffered in the previous war. These submarines, although abiding by the Australian territorial waters, were hounded by Australian surface ships and forced to retreat.

The Saltwater Navy launched one of the largest operations in its history, deploying two naval task groups, almost 2/3 of its surface fleet, to the Australian coast, and it wasn't long until the first combat engagements took place, with Retribution cruise missiles fired against Australian ports. In the subsequent battles against the Royal Australian Navy, the 3rd Naval Task Group took severe casualties, lossing the majority of its surface ships, with the 2nd Destroyer Squadron suffering similarly. In an intense war of attrition, thousands of missiles were expended and hundreds of torpedoes fired by both sides. Eventually, the 1st Destroyer Squadron, supported by the 1st Naval Task Group, managed to penetrate the Australian defences as their ships ran out of missiles, sinking an Australian carrier and twenty escort ships.

Spurred on by the success, the Greater Indian Union, the Republic of Halsenwal and the Loyalist Principality of Saltwater all launched missile strikes on the Australian ports, destroying the remaining Australian ships. The population of the country rebelled against their over-confident and now sorely-defeated government, with the Australian military throwing down their arms at the loss of the naval forces. Indian and Saltwater forces landed on the Australian coastline, and seized control within days as the remaining government forces were rounded up.

The Loyalist Principality of Saltwater gained partial stewardship of both Panama and Australia during these two years, and along with the invasion of Alaska helped propel the economy to previously un-seen levels. The Geropian Sea Defence Association, a Pacific-wide pact originally dedicated to preserving the sovereignty of Geropian Sea nations, had ended up with total control of the Pacific Ocean and a new period of peace flourished, with the people of Saltwater enjoying great security and comfort.

As the years passed, Saltwater assisted its new Australian vassal state in securing New Zealand, and also helped the Federal Republic of YK to capture Spain, with Portugal also being captured. With this, the GSDA became a global power, with member states around the world. A few years after the annexation of Spain, however, German forces began an assault on YK. The Saltwater Navy succeeded in destroying much of the German military infrastructure, but eventually YK capitulated and France fell to Germany. Tensions between Saltwater and Germany were high, but eventually, with time, calmed.

Shortly afterwards, a new threat arose as the People's Republic of China invaded Egypt with the intent to capture the Suez Canal. An international GSDA coalition was formed to oppose China, but as soon as the allied fleet began strikes the German Armed Forces began supporting the Chinese, heavily damaging a Saltwater Navy battlecruiser and forcing a premature peace treaty. In the aftermath of the short war, the GSDA collapsed and a new alliance, the Consortium, arose in its place. The PRC joined the alliance, significantly reducing tensions.

The following three years saw simmering tensions with China over control of the Suez Canal, until this was eventually resolved with China granting access. However, a short war was experienced when Italy began threatening to destroy Republic of Halsenwal vessels operating in the Mediterranean Sea. As part of an international coalition, the Saltwater government declared a state of war. The Saltwater Navy deployed a battle group to the region, but before any blows could be dealt the Italian government was overthrown and the war came to an abrupt conclusion. During this period the navy assisted Australia in setting up a base on the island of Socotra, and the government focused on improving international relations as the nations of the world began to settle down into a period of peace.

Whilst this was on-going, a few annexations took place, performed by allied nations. Saltwater did not get involved extensively in these conflicts, with its contributions limited to a round of missile strikes in aid of the Invasion of Tanzania by Monarchist South Africa. A squadron of F-15EA Eagles from the SWAF was also sent to Angola to support rebel forces during the Angolan Civil War, crushing the opposing forces with hundreds of strike sorties.

Portugal, which had been under Saltwater control for a number of years, held a referendum and voted for independence, and this was implemented a few months later. A year later, Saltwater forces took control of Fiji, and the island became a global economic centre with the founding of the New Economic Support Organisation's Fijian headquarters.

A year later, the Principality held a referendum, and voted to join the Federation of Trinity, becoming the Royal State of Saltwater. As part of the Federation, the Saltwater Defence Force participated in invasions of China, the central US powers and various other nations, as the Federation became the preeminent world power.

After a period of several years the Federation, which had conquered all but four of the world's nations, broke apart catastrophically as dozens of states revolted against the government. The world broke down into hundreds of small nation-states, but the Saltwater government held together, with a new monarch elected but with law and order intact. Contact was made with the Italian government, and a deal was struck granting the Saltwater defence industry access to the majority of Italian military equipment.

However, the new monarch led the nation into a series of violent wars in the Western US and Hawaii, leading to global condemnation and widespread uprisings. The Imperial Guard, following orders laid down by the founder, remove the monarch in a peaceful coup, with elections held the next week to restore democracy. Nonetheless, the reputation of the nation was tarnished. Wishing to move on, the new government invested in a number of icebreakers to open the Northwest Passage to commercial vessels, boosting the economy. The new monarch was a descendant of founder John C. Wilcox, and made efforts to return Saltwater to the original constitution, evidenced by the Saltwater oversight of a treaty between Eastern Australia and Burma.

However, the regrowth was stunted by the return of the Commonwealth of Australia, risen out of the ashes of the global chaos. An international coalition arose to defend against the new threat, but corruption threatened to break apart the alliance. Finally, the betrayal of one member saw the battlegroup massing to take on Australia handed over to the enemy, and then the forces turned on Saltwater. Faced with a three-way war, with enemy forces just miles from Saltwater Alaska, Wilcox ordered all available ships to load up with civilians and evacuated them offshore whilst negotiations took place.

The negotiations ended with the Saltwater government accepting punishing terms, but the days of the Fifth Iteration were numbered. Anarchy broke out as military factions rebelled against the peace treaty, and Geropia fell into disarray. The evacuated population sailed to Portugal to establish a new state, but the ideals of the founders lay in taters.

Joining a new federation, the European Federation, the new Saltwater grew in strength, eventually conducting several military campaigns on behalf of the organisation.

Then, inexplicably, the nation was thrust into an unexpected war. Federation leaders had arrived in Helsinki for negotiations with Finnish leaders, but were imprisoned and executed by the Finnish government. Immediately following international condemnation, Australia allied itself with Finland and sent a large task force into European waters, making an amphibious assault on southern Portugal, seizing the city of Faro after stubborn resistance by the Saltwater defenders. The Saltwater Navy deployed almost every available asset, including one of two surviving battlecruisers, but achieved only two hits on Australian ships after launching thousands of anti-surface missiles. In return, the Saltwater force was demolished by Australian submarines, with only two badly damaged attack submarines reaching friendly Morocco. In the weeks that followed, Australian, Korean, Finnish and Russian forces pushed through Portugal against frenzied Saltwater resistance. However, increasingly outnumbered, the Saltwater Defence Force and a large part of the civilian population was evacuated to Germany.

In response, Federation forces launched an invasion into Finland, but took severe casualties from land mines and entrenchments, eventually being entirely defeated by Finnish and Australian forces. Immediately afterwards, Russian forces blitzkrieged into Germany, forcing another withdrawal, this time to Cyprus. The Saltwater government, based offshore on battlecruiser Chieftain, sought refuge in Turkey, until, after almost five years of occupation, the Australian Empire was forced to withdraw from Europe as Chinese forces came to the aid of the Federation. With Europe in turmoil, the remaining Saltwater population rose up and retook control of most of their nation, with Australian nationals retreating to Faro and southern Spain. The shattered Saltwater battle fleet finally returned to Lisbon after five years of exile, and the government set about rebuilding the state.

Four years after the return of the government, and with the economy returning to normality, the Defence Force was slowly rebuilt, taking part in a war in West Africa, helping to liberate the Gabonese Confederation from the Nigerian Federation. A military and economic alliance was made with neighbouring Spain and Aurum, which was the successor state to the German Democratic Republic, and the Saltwater Navy was reformed to fight in the new age, where nations were smaller size and larger in number, with many low intensity conflicts.

Over the next few years, the Saltwater Defence Force participated in a number of international military interventions, notably deploying large naval forces against government forces during the Ocanaian Civil War, an Australian splinter-state. The SWDF also participated in the military intervention in Somalia, assisting Somaland forces in defeating an invading Somalian army.

Around a year later, the anti-Saltwater insurgent group known as Avst’rasia seized power in the neighbouring state of the Commonwealth of Faro, and began launching rocket attacks on Saltwater population centres, killing hundreds. The SWDF began an invasion of the rouge state, and assisted by defecting Farose troops that were formed into their own paramilitary, eventually succeeded in defeating the insurgents and restoring government in Faro. Around the same time, the Saltwater Navy headed off the Calombian Navy, which was attempting to breach the Saltwater blockade of Faro.

Global tensions rose as nations began to compete for territory, with Saltwater forces taking control of the neighbouring Kingdom of Spain, after that nation's military launched airstrikes on Saltwater soil. The conflict came to a swift conclusion with the Principality taking de facto control of the entire Iberian Peninsula. Perzovia attempted to invade Bigolia, but this was fiercely opposed by the Saltwater government, with the Perzovian actions threatening the Arctic sealanes. After combined strikes by Syrian and Saltwater forces, Perzovia, along with the New Soviet Union, agreed to be annexed by the Republic of Indonesia.

As Saltwater became stronger, with Spain now contributing to the nation, the military expanded, participating in the International Intervention in St John's, with Saltwater forces landing in Newfoundland to route St John's forces and rescue civilians from a genocide in the country, setting up a Saltwater base on the island.

Then, after an extended period of seismic activity, the Diamond Archipelago islands rose above the sea in a huge earthquake, that devastated the west coast of North America. The Saltwater Navy sent a flotilla to take back the islands, but this was vehemently opposed by the Pacific states. In the end, Syria claimed NovrdLisch, Geropia and Hamalia, passing them to Saltwater for governance, and returning the Saltwater people to their adopted homeland.

A few years later, the Saltwater Defence Force participated in an invasion of China, after that nation seized a number of territories in the Pacific, resulting in the destruction of several enemy warships and the annexation of the Shandong province by Saltwater.

After the Moroccan government invited Saltwater to retake control of the country, the military led a forceful coup. The Saltwater government ordered an invasion of Moroccan territory to aid their Moroccan counterparts, with a massive air campaign systematically dismantling the air defence network. Saltwater air defences fended off desperate raids by the Moroccan Air Force, with around fifty aircraft shot down for no Saltwater losses. The Saltwater Marine Corps fought against a large and determined enemy, but eventually succeeded to routing the Moroccan Army units and taking control.

After a period of growing tensions, Aurusea, successor state to Australia, launched an invasion of Panama, taking over the state in just a few days. Bulgudarest, successor state to Brazil, launched a counter-invasion, with the Saltwater Navy successfully supporting the operation with a number of small skirmishes and strikes against the Aurusean forces. At the same time, an invasion force from Aurusean ally the Acean Federation arrived off Saltwater shores, but soon proved its inadequacy after being devastated by a single strike from the Saltwater Air Force. The Federation surrendered, but to Mongolia rather than Saltwater, with Saltwater forces forced to cease hostilities before they could counterattack. Nonetheless, the Republic of Mongolia collapsed shortly afterwards and the Acean Federation fell into the hands of the Saltwater government, being divided up between Saltwater and its allies. The Republic of Petrova, as hostilities with Aurusea were still ongoing, threatened to close off Arctic waters, prompting a multinational coalition to form, which rapidly embarrassed the Petrovian military with a series of quick victories. Petrova surrendered soon afterwards.

However, after Petrova was released from its peace agreement, it soon began volatile military actions once more. A Saltwater Air Force reconnaissance aircraft flying off the coast was intercepted by Taiwanese fighters flying for Petrova and piloted by Aurusean Air Force personnel. The insuing maneuvering saw the loss of one Petrovan fighter and one Saltwater reconnaissance aircraft. Petrovan and Aurusean terrorists infiltrated the Port of Lisbon and detonated around twenty suitcase nuclear weapons, destroying large parts of the city and wiping out the government. Only frantic negotiations managed to prevent a wider nuclear war between Aurusea and Saltwater.

The nation recovered quickly with support from allied nations, and expanded its influence over the European continent, taking control of the Italian peninsula once more. However, a mere five years later, the reigning monarch died and was replaced by a far-right monarch by the name of Archibald T. Harris. A decolonisation program saw the state withdraw from many territories on the African continent and Italian Peninsula, and downsized the military. The nation fell into recession, recovering only due to the monarch's talent for building strong international relations.

Under Harris, the nation began to establish new relations with foreign powers, expanding to control much of Western Europe and with bases across the globe. The Trade Defence Alliance slowly secured trade routes throughout the Arctic, Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Shortly after the founding of the TDA, Harris died of heart failure, succeeded by a fellow party member, Arnold von Dolfen. However, Von Dolfen stood at odds with the rest of the government, and after a series of questionable internal policies the government ordered him removed from power. A short civil war broke out as Von Dolfen resisted the move, but his loyalists were defeated in less than 48 hours and democracy restored. Under a new monarch, the expansion of Saltwater influence continued, with GDP rocketing to almost $12 trillion after invasions of Britain and France.

After claiming the South China Sea, the People's Republic of China faced a fierce international reaction. After the Principality sent a submarine force through the South China Sea, China retaliated with an attempted nuclear strike on Lisbon. The incoming ballistic missiles were downed by the city's air defences, and a Saltwater-NSU counterstrike saw the destruction of Beijing and Shanghai. The PRC surrendered to the Principality after little further resistance.

A couple of years later a fresh conflict broke out as New Zealand, supported by an international coalition, invaded and took over the Snow Republic. This war between TDA members saw Saltwater expand its influence in North America, although not without controversy with other nations in the region.

The TDA expanded to secure the Suez Canal, but came into conflict with Aurusea over Somalia and Yemen. Although peace was thought to have been secured in a rapidly negotiated peace deal, it was soon torn up by Aurusea as they disputed Saltwater sovereignty over Yemen. After a short series of skirmishes, Saltwater forces withdrew from the country to prevent wider conflict, retaining a foothold in Aden.

After the conflict, the Saltwater nation focused on protecting what they had. However, a series of cross-border terror attacks saw the government enforce increasingly tyrannical measures in an effort to curb the problem. The provincial governments rebelled against the decisions, and one by one declared independence. The Saltwater Marine Corps and Air Force remained loyal to the monarch, but the heads of the navy considered the nation to have drifted too far from its founding principles, and began to plot a revolt. However, the monarch ordered the marines to storm flagship Cardinal Bay whilst she was at anchor in Lisbon, along with other rebellious vessels, forcing the admirals to make a hasty flight for the open sea.

Making it into the mid-Atlantic Ocean, Cardinal Bay formed up as the centre of "Battlegroup Freedom", a task force of rebellious warships consisting largely of smaller corvettes and frigates. Screening a flotilla of political refugees, the Battlegroup repelled repeated air attacks by the Saltwater Air Force, which had remained loyal to the Crown. By the time they moved out of range, only Cardinal Bay, a badly damaged corvette and a replenishment ship remained. As the Principality broke up around him, the Monarch was targeted and killed by cruise missiles fired by more rebelling warships that lay within his own ports. "Battlegroup Freedom" put in at Cape Town, where a charter for a new state began to be drawn up.

The Democratic Union of Prieska was founded in the town of Prieska, South Africa, and exists based upon anarchist principles. The state was divided into small populations known as wards. Each ward of 150 people randomly selected one or two members to send to a commune council, which oversaw around seventy wards.

Although the nation was to first exist peacefully, aggression by the UCFRH caused the Prieskan Territorial Defence Forces to be sent to oppose them. Although at first the otherwise poorly-equipped Prieskan forces were to see success against the UCFRH Navy thanks to the dominance of the Cardinal Bay, the elderly battlecruiser blundered into range of shore-based anti-ship missile launchers and suffered at least a dozen hits after facing almost 1,000 incoming threats. The battlecruiser sank with the loss of 154 men.

After the sinking, the fleet was confined to local waters, before a raid on Portsmouth in the United Kingdom was launched under the guise of an "aid deliverance operation", recovering documents and parts that allowed Cardinal Bay and other ex-Saltwater equipment to be restored to active service. More operations off UCFRH enabled other nations to bring in forces.

What followed was an extended period of peace, however this was ended when a large earthquake struck Haiti. The people decided to send aid to the island, however the Cuban Armed Forces had imposed a blockade on the island, as a prelude to an invasion. The newly-restored Saltwater Navy fought through the blockade to deliver the aid, and imposed its own blockade on Cuba. Saltee forces then launched a counter-invasion of Cuba, taking control after several weeks of fighting across the Caribbean.

Then, within weeks, an existential threat turned its sights on Saltwater. The Brazilian government decided to invade in order to enslave the population, causing the Defence Council to put the nation onto a full war footing. A naval task group led by the freshly refitted Cardinal Bay put to sea. The Argentine government came out in support of Saltwater, greatly simplifying the war to come. The combined fleets struck the Brazilian Navy in port, disabling it, but a fleet of submarines escaped, sinking three Saltwater warships off the South African coast and damaging a fourth. Eventually, however, the Saltwater and Argentine navies hunted down and sank all twelve of the enemy SSBNs, without a single SLBM landing on Saltwater soil.

Another fleet of six submarines was intercepted in the Straits of Gibraltar by just two Saltwater submarines and two ASW ships, which fought a desperate action that saw the loss of one Saltwater submarine, for the destruction of four of the enemy submarines and capture of another, forcing the remaining boat to flee back into the Mediterranean where it was hunted down and destroyed. A small Saltwater amphibious group later recaptured the Balearic Islands from Brazilian forces in a bloody land invasion.

Cardinal Bay and her battle group came under sustained attack from Brazilian aircraft, but managed to fend off the attacks with the help of Brazilian combat air patrols. With their air force and navy destroyed and their nation facing heavy bombardment, the Brazilian government soon capitulated and surrendered unconditionally to the Saltwater and Argentine forces.

Exactly one year after the war was concluded, remnant forces gained support in Namibia and launched a direct land invasion of Saltwater territory. The enemy armoured columns advanced across the desert in close formation, allowing Saltwater artillery to demolish them before they could get close to any major population centres. Namibian warships attempted to penetrate Saltwater waters, but were caught and sunk by Saltwater warships. Argentine nuclear weapons struck the Namibian capital, forcing them to surrender to Saltwater, under which they became a vassal state until they were completely incorporated into the Union.

A period of peace, lasting nearly ten years, saw great technological strides as the nation solidified itself in its new territory. However, ethnic tension between internal factions, predominantly between Saltee refugees from the Iberian Peninsula and the indigenous population, caused many communes to break away from the Union for short periods of time, just to rejoin again once they found themselves unable to sustain their population on their own. A large tsunami struck the east coast of the nation, causing some damage and death, but the country recovered quickly. Just two years later, however, a freak meteorite struck the Johannesburg region, devastating the city and causing nearly four million casualties. With the nation's internal relations breaking down, the catastrophy threatened the refugee population with a second mass exodus in less than twenty years. The eastern communes around Johannesburg began to cede from the Union, holding ethnically Saltee people responsible for the disasters and leading to widespread persecution. The Saltwater Territorial Defence Forces led an evacuation of the region, with violent skirmishes with local militias occurring.

With the east of the country now totally independent and with hatred of the Saltee population spreading, the remainder of the nation was divided. Among the remaining Union communes, two factions formed - those that wanted to retake Portugal as their homeland, and those that wanted to relocate the Saltee population to Geropia, which had fallen out of Syrian control but that had now become the territory of the New Californian Republic. The NCR had been considering giving the islands their independence, but widespread crime and problems with warlords prevented this, with the NCR military needed to keep the peace. The Saltee government offered to take over the issue, with the council eventually deciding that a full return to the Diamond Archipelago was required. The fleet, under the flagship Chieftain, sailed to the islands soon afterwards, announcing its return with a barrage of 16" naval shells fired against predetermined warlord positions. Marines stormed the islands with the blessing of the NCR, and rapidly overran the local militias. The South African territory gradually broke apart once the government relocated to NovrdLisch, thus leaving the Saltwater government in sole control of the Diamond Archipelago.

After an official absence of over 120 years, and de facto absence of sixty, the return of an ethnically Saltee government to Geropia brought great upheaval to the islands. Never before had the entire population been united under one flag, indeed even under NCR control the islands had been divided under various warlords. The Saltwater heroes, including those who had previously been buried in Portugal and South Africa, were finally able to be reinterred into home soil. What followed was known as the Great Peace, a twenty-year period of almost total peace, with the Saltwater Defence Force deployed only on humanitarian missions and with technical and cultural advances being made in great leaps.

The Saltwater Defence Force undertook many operations during this time, including humanitarian relief, an intervention in the Australian Civil War and an invasion of Juneau.

Later, the Saltee forces took Canada and Alaska in Operation Arctic Phoenix, restoring former trade routes to the Atlantic. Whilst Alaska joined the Union peacefully, the Canadian government resisted against the will of the people, leading to military intervention. Saltwater supported the Akoyan Federation during its conquest of the Caribbean, and later secured Panama, which had been falling towards Aurusean control.

However, within weeks of the conclusion of the operation, the Italian government sent a large naval force to threaten Panama. The Republic of Italy had recently seized part of Morocco from the Iberian Republic, the remnants of the former Principality, and sought to consolidate its control over global trade. As Saltwater forces tailed the Italian battlegroup, a declaration of war was received by the government. Invoking the London Treaty defence pact, Saltwater and British forces immediately deployed to reinforce Iberia. The Italian Navy put out to sea in response, but was massacred by squadrons of Saltee attack submarines. Morocco was quickly retaken by the Saltwater Marine Corps, and Sardinia fell soon after. What followed was a relentless bombardment of the Italian war machine, which succeeded in destroying much of the air defence network. After an abortive attempt to land on Sicily, the main force of marines landed on Tequila Dog Beach, forming a bridgehead from which coalition forces could come ashore. The large Italian military fought viciously, but eventually surrendered to the coalition after months of heavy fighting. The Italian Navy attempted a final sortie from Taranto to oppose the invasion, but was forced to surrender at sea after a surface engagement with a Saltwater battlegroup. Severe penalties were placed upon the Italian nation, which became a vassal state of Saltwater.

Shortly afterwards, the Lost Causes Republic, a tiny state in Hawaii, launched a military campaign into the Pacific. Saltee forces opposed the Invasions, with the LCR agreeing to a duel between warships to settle the war. The Saltwater-nominated warship, a lone frigate, easily defeated the LCR combatants, leading to control being established over the LCR, which fled to Texas where it was rounded up and destroyed by British forces.

As a vassal, Italy took control of chokepoints such as the Gulf of Aden, to be handed to the Republic of Aurum to keep it free from invasion by aggressive foreign powers. However, with increasing threats of revolt, Saltwater soon took full control over the state. Around the same time, the Commonwealth of Aurusea reared its head, striking Vancouver with a nuclear-tipped torpedo, killing tens of thousands. Saltee forces deployed to face down the threat.

The nation recovered quickly from the disaster in Vancouver, deterring the Aurusean government from making further action. The armed forces participated in military interventions in India and Pakistan, and conducted patrols off Panama after that nation declared war on various foreign powers including Saltwater. A few years following the bombing, Iberian forces bombed a cathedral being built in the shattered remains of Vancouver, leading to a skirmish during which one Iberian frigate was scuttled and five more frigates captured, plus a single Iberian aircraft carrier.

During a humanitarian aid mission to the island of Bougainville, a group of Saltwater Air Force C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft were attacked by New Zealand aircraft. In the engagements that followed, multiple aircraft on both sides were destroyed, with a ceasefire coming into effect after two days of combat. Saltwater forces took control of Bougainville and reinforced their position as the New Zealand forces prepared to attempt to remove Saltwater from the region.

Soon afterwards, a series of border skirmishes took place between German and Saltee forces along the Italian/Austrian border, causing heavy casualties on the German side as their Panzer IX main battle tanks proved vulnerable to Saltee mechanised and reconnaissance units armed with Akeron and Sledgehammer-ER anti-tank guided missiles. The German Air Force attempted a false flag operation, shooting down an unpiloted MiG-29 Fulcrum that they flew over the border and blaming Saltwater for the shoot-down. Two German F-35As also crossed the border, attacking two intercepting Saltee Tornado F.5s, downing one and damaging another for the loss of one F-35A Lightning in a close-quarters encounter. With Iraqi forces also moving through Europe, Saltee forces returned to independent Italy to guarantee the security of the peninsula.

Meanwhile, the LTDO was dissolved by the GBR, leading Saltwater to form new alliances with fellow American nations Sosevea and Akoya. Taking advantage of this, Iraqi forces, from a base in Sosevea, who had betrayed the new alliance, made a massive missile strike against Saltee forces in Canada, gaining air superiority and taking some territory before being halted by the Marine Corps. Negotiations saw Iraqi withdrawal from Europe, with Saltwater reciprocating and also withdrawing from Bougainville.

Six months later, a large asteroid was detected heading for Earth. Nations of the world fell into chaos, with nuclear warfare breaking out as factions scrambled to eliminate threats to their supply chains in their efforts to prepare. When the asteroid hit, striking the north-west Pacific, the Asian and American coasts were obliterated, with the tectonic upheaval causing sea levels to fall. Saltwater was already at sea, with around 300,000 inhabitants of the home islands leaving on cruise ships and SWN warships. The monarch, onboard Cardinal Bay, guided her people away from the danger. Twenty years of pain and famine found the Saltwater nation inhabiting a large island dubbed "South Geropia". The nation had managed to retained much of its identity, unlike many others, and was reasonably well-equipped, with strong public infrastructure and a growing economy. However, as new nations organised around them, this unique strength was not to last.

The Commonwealth of Bressia took up an aggressive neo-imperialist policy of expansion, leading to Saltwater assisting Lakhosia and Volnoslavia in blockading the nation of Kerkisk to prevent further Bressian influence. Following the collapse of the Bressian government following a short civil war, Saltwater forces were deployed as peacekeepers, effectively deterring a Turkanian invasion.

Saltee forces were deployed to take control of Cherniiv Oblast after that nation blamed Saltwater for terror attacks on its ports, with Cherniiv capitulating after a short skirmish. Following the conflict, Cherniiv terror groups launched attacks against the Saltwater capital of New NovrdLisch City, with the Speaker of the House of Representatives betraying the nation and leading them against the city. The horde of militants was beaten back by the Marine Corps, yet civilian casualties were heavy. The monarch at this time had been poisoned by a would-be assassin, and although they recovered from this they were killed by a suicide bombing as they returned to the Imperial Palace. Cherniiv militants, numbering some 25 million, surrounded and annihilated the 3rd Expeditionary Corps that was deployed to Cherniiv, leading to a Saltee withdrawal. Following this, Saltwater and its allies launched a series of airstrikes against Cherniiv, including the use of chemical weapons, which effectively eliminated all militants after nine months of warfare.

Later, the Saltwater Defence Forces were called upon to liberate the nation of Padstowces from a Tasaltshian invasion. This was accomplished by a textbook assault by all elements of the SWDF, along with the monarch's private corps, known as La Légion Noire. However, battlecruiser Cardinal Bay suffered some severe damage from torpedo strikes.

From the new bases in Tasaltshia, alongside the armed forces of the Kingdom of Lakhosia, Saltee forces attempted to liberate the Kerkisk Commonwealth from its oppressive government. The SWN effectively cleared the Kerkiskan Navy from the Seas, however a small cadre of attack submarines managed to breach the Task Force's protective screen, leading to the destruction of carrier Upholder and extreme damage to Cardinal Bay. The SWAF managed to eliminate much of the Kerkiskan Air Force, but took heavy losses in the process and covert foreign support allowed the Kerkisk air defences to continue operating. After a year of intense combat, a peace agreement was signed that ended the hostilities, with Kerkiskan strength severely depleted but none of the Saltwater objectives achieved, with severe loss.

Shortly afterwards, the Marine Corps supported a coup by the Bressian Armed Forces that deposed the government in favour of Saltwater rule. The Navy began a major expansion program that greatly increased its strength.

However, with limited resources in the archipelago, the nation gradually migrated back to their second homeland in Portugal. Here, a new government was established along the lines of the archipelago government, and the nation grew to encompass parts of Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia as well. The state military was given large amounts of funding, as their position in Europe and Africa was considered unstable, with the Netherlands being particularly hostile to Saltwater presence.

Saltwater forces were deployed to the North Sea during a Norwegian invasion of Sweden, although saw no combat. They also undertook an invasion of the remaining Spanish territories, including a brief stand-off with Dutch forces in the country. Further operations included peacekeeping in Crete, which ended with a coup that deposed the government and installed a pro-Saltwater regime, as well as evacuation of civilians from Beijing when Imperial Chinese forces took various foreign diplomats hostage. A small amphibious force took control of Iceland, increasing Saltwater military presence in the strategically important GIUK gap.

Dutch and Saltee forces came to blows when the Dutch armed forces launched a series of unprovoked strikes against Iraq. A fleet of Triton-class attack submarines decimated the Dutch expeditionary force in a series of attack runs in the Indian Ocean, and Saltwater assets in the English Channel, North Sea and Saxony then conducted an aerial bombardment campaign against Dutch mainland assets, concluding with near-total annihilation of the Dutch navy and air force. The Dutch surrendered after a Saltwater Marine Corps Expeditionary Corps successfully seized the east of the country after launching an invasion from Saxony, beginning an international Saltwater-led occupation of the country.

Following the conflict the Netherlands were returned to a state of independence, and a period of peace took hold. However, a global pandemic, originating from Canada, took hold across the country and resulted in significant numbers of civilian deaths before vaccines could be rolled out, following widespread international cooperation. Around this time, the Saltwater state was partitioned into two nations, following tension in government over the power given to the officially constitutional monarchy. Most of the nation formed into a republic under a president, following the Prieskan form of government, whilst the Portuguese territory became a full principality under the monarch, with the two nations united into one state by a joint committee that controlled cross-border travel and standards, as well as being responsible for the defence of both nations. This new system was put to the test when both nations decided to send the jointly-controlled military to undertake intervention operations in Yemen.

The Dutch Armed Forces led the intervention, aimed at eliminating the MS terrorist organisation, forcing Saltee elements onto the sidelines as the Dutch excluded Saltwater from the coalition forces. However, following a disastrous operation that resulted in the destruction of a large part of their forces, the Dutch abandoned the operation and the coalition, with Saltwater then conducting strikes that removed chemical and biological weapons from Yemani control, and degrading the fighting capabilities of MS, allowing the Yemani government forces to gradually overrun the terrorists.

The Saltwater Navy was later deployed off Tantoro as various Pacific states made ready to assault the territory after their announcement of nuclear weapons readiness. Following a successful nine-month deterrence operation, the fleet crossed the Panama Canal and began its return to Saltwater territory.

Three years later a great disaster befell the nation, as a nuclear strike by a unknown foreign actor decimated the port of Algiers, killing half a million citizens and wiping out the Saltwater Navy's capital ships. Whilst various nations, including close allies, came under suspicion, it was Austro-Hungary who claimed responsibility. A blockade was swiftly imposed, with skirmishes occurring as the opposing sides fought for control of the Adriatic Sea.

During this, however, the delicate political arrangement within the nation was beginning to fray, as communes within the Prieskan region of the country began to merge to increase their control over other communes, eventually fracturing the state into multiple effectively independent nations. Facing with defending and holding together dozens of uncooperative states, the Portugese region was eventually forced to declare its autonomy from the Union. At this, Prieskan loyalist forces within the military began to openly rebel against the government, forcing the monarch to flee to his homeland of Israel, soon followed by a large number of loyalists to the Saltee crown.

The Saltee government-in-exile was well-received within Israel, forming its own political party within the government and eventually rising to power, where the former Prince of Saltwater was able to reform the state into a new Saltwater state, by this time the twelfth of its kind following the founding of the first Saltwater Nation by John C. Wilcox. An absolute hereditary monarchy, the new state was a far cry from the free and fair nation first envisioned, but the majority of the populous saw it as the only way to retain some stability in an increasingly fractured society.

The new Royal Saltwater Armed Forces saw their first action in support of the Spanish Crown, controlled by a Prieskan president fighting against communist rebels within the military of south of his country. The Saltee fleet met the rebel fleet at sea, and emerged victorious, sinking all enemy combatants with no losses to themselves. The RSAF went on to eliminate rebel air defences, ground forces, airbases and even recaptured the island of Ibiza, greatly expanding the coalition's ability to forward-deploy air power to support the Spanish. Limited by their reduced military capabilities, Saltwater was unable to provide support to the land element of the intervention, but nonetheless played a critical role at sea and in the air, leading the early to middling stages of the intervention.

Saltee forces later took part in an operation to seize control of Malta, allowing the RSWN to effectively defend the length of the Mediterranean. Later, a skirmish broke out between Saltwater and the Eastern European Confederation, as EEC aircraft attacked Saltee UCAVs operating near Sevastopol. The resulting conflict resulted in the loss of a single Saltee Akinci UCAV, for the loss of five EEC aircraft engaged in aerial combat by patrolling RSAF Mirages and Akincis. EEC forces attempted to bombard Tel Aviv with Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles, however all incoming missiles were destroyed by Saltee air defence. As the Royal Saltwater Navy moved into the Black Sea, the EEC naval forces made an attack against the fleet, which bore no results other than expending Saltee surface-to-air missiles. The engagement was followed by the destruction of the bulk of the EEC fleet at the hands of the RSAF, followed by the capitulation of the EEC government, which collapsed shortly afterwards under the weight of the limitations imposed by the peace treaty.

Shortly afterwards the Pacific Federation, agitated by Saltwater support for a Panamanian invasion of Moresby Island, deployed a carrier strike group into the eastern Mediterranean. After firing on monitoring Saltwater aircraft, the RSAF deployed submarine and air assets that eventually sunk a Nimitz-class carrier, four Arliegh Burke-class destroyers and two Virginia-class attack submarines for the loss of a single Doha-class corvette and two Gür-class attack submarines. A Ticonderoga-class cruiser was also sunk shortly afterwards off Moresby, and the Pacific Federation sued for peace, which was granted under the terms of a limiting treaty. Panama, Akoya, Saltwater and the Pacific Federation then joined together in the Allied International Defensive States pact.

Two years later, the Royal Saltwater Armed Forces were deployed to retake Panama from rebel forces following a military coup in the country that deposed the government. In cooperation with the Akoyan Federation, Saltee forces eliminated the Panamanian military and retook control of the territory for AIDS, taking minimal casualties themselves.

Later, Saltee forces took over from Sosevean assets in stemming a Melanesian invasion of Indonesia, with the two navies engaging Melanesian forces at sea. After around a week of intensive combat, the small Saltee carrier group emerged unscathed, having destroyed the Melanesian surface navy in its entirety without losses of their own. Following this decisive total victory, the Melanesian advance was halted and the nation forced to take a less aggressive approach to foreign policy. This feat in the Indo-Pacific was to be repeated only a year later, when Australian forces launched a nuclear strike against ally the Pacific Federation. Saltee forces, having made it ashore in the west without interference from Australian forces, reeling from nuclear counterstrikes, proceeded to cross 2,000km of desert, supported by RSWN helicopters, and seize Brisbane without casualties, demonstrating the professionalism and skill of the Royal Saltwater Armed Forces even when they lacked a large budget or overly modern equipment.

Despite an incident with Iraq where a pair of intruding F-14 Tomcats were destroyed over Jordan by the RSAF, which was followed by a skirmish during Iraqi CSAR efforts, with a Saltee air defence radar destroyed and an Iraqi helicopter shot down, the next few years remained relatively peaceful. However, tensions would begin to stir following Sosevean withdrawal from the TDEEM defence framework in the Eastern Mediterranean.

At the outbreak of hostilities, Saltee forces launched strikes against Sosevean air defences in Sicily, however Sosevea rapidly surrendered to Iraqi forces, resulting in Saltwater redirecting its attentions to France, destroying aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. The conflict was to last for years, with forces standing off opposing each other yet making little to no further moves. Economic growth in the Mediterranean ground to a halt, with both the Suez Canal and Straits of Gibraltar shut off.

After years of sitting and waiting, Iraqi forces, having turned to support the Axis forces, smashed into Saltee defensive lines in Jordan. Many times the size of the Saltee assets available, once the lines broke the Iraqis rapidly routed the 2nd Expeditionary Corps holding Jordan. A counterattack by the 3rd Expeditionary Corps succeeded in delaying the Iraqi advance, but shear numbers eventually overcame the Saltee defenders, forcing an ad-hoc withdrawal of government to the island of Cyprus.

The Saltee government-in-exile in Cyprus was soon integrated into the local power structure, becoming a party within the newly independent Republic of Cyprus government. For the first time in almost 500 years, Saltwater ceased to exist in any form or another.

The Cypriot military during that time, united with allies in the Mediterranean sphere, instituted a zero-expansionism policy in the region, but was forced to take action to enforce this against Italy and Persia, achieving feats far beyond its power, including the defeat of much of the Italian Navy in a series of skirmishes in the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Seas, sinking over a dozen enemy warships and capturing an aircraft carrier without losses. Against Persia, the Cypriot Naval Command defeated a surface action group off Kerkennah Island, seizing the territory, and ambushed a force heading through the Red Sea, inflicting heavy casualties on Persian air and naval assets at the cost of a single frigate heavily damaged by airstrikes. Following these skirmishes, the zero-expansionism policy was widely obeyed, with the Cypriot National Guard holding high acclaim in spite of its relatively miniscule size.

The Saltee diaspora in that time had begun to form a powerful political faction, which eventually gained support from various religious factions on the island, and finally running for the presidency, which it attained three years after the Cypriot naval victory off Mayyun Island. Reforms to the constitution saw the presidency reformed into solely the head of government, with the head of state being vested in an elected monarch as-per tradition. This Emir became a key uniting figure among the various Cypriot factions, running for ten years in a term whilst the president ran for just five. The Saltee Emirate of Cyprus eventually reinforced its military position with an extensive modernisation program to all branches of the National Guard.

The Cypriot people continued to operate as a force for freedom in the region, lending support for the Seychelles during a period of Tanzanian aggression that saw a series of atrocities committed by the Tanzanian military against the Seychelles people. However, this position was soon brought under threat by a coalition of Arab nations that sought to constrain and restrict Cypriot access to the world outside of a small area of the eastern Mediterranean. This eventually culminated in an attack on a Cypriot convoy by the armed forces of the Federation of Lusitania, triggering the Great Mediterranean War. Surrounded on all sides and subjected to extensive aerial bombardment, Cypriot forces were forced to pull back from exclaves on the Anatolian mainland. The Cypriot National Guard was able to resist several waves of attack from Turkey, Levant, Iraq, Lusitania, Egypt and Italy. However, overwhelming numbers eventually overcame the Cypriot air defences, and following a failed strike at the Turkish invasion fleet in Antalya the Arab League eventually achieved air superiority. Cypriot submarines and ballistic missile forces had a number of successes in spite of this, destroying numerous Lusitanian and Iraqi warships in the Mediterranean and Red Sea.

The Lusitanian government then took the decision that Cypriot resistance was intolerable to last longer, and resorted to a nuclear bombardment of all major cities on the island, leading to nearly one million casualties from a pre-war population of just 1.6 million people. Still, the National Guard remained combat-capable on its own territory, and it took further Egyptian and Turkish bombardment to totally remove the Cypriot ability to strike back.

Following these strikes, the Cypriot government gave in to a peace treaty that saw a five-year period of Arab occupation, in exchange for increased freedom of action on the international stage and rebuilding of its cities, infrastructure and military. However, both the Levantine and Turkish governments had no intention of returning their zones of occupation. The Levantine troops eventually had to pull back due to internal unrest within their own borders, however 50,000 Turkish troops remained on Cypriot territory past the deadline, resulting in the National Guard undertaking a brief operation that captured and later expelled them.

Freed from the limitations of Arab will, the Cypriot National Guard was deployed to undertake operations against the Socialist Republic of Mongolia, which was undertaking a randomised bombardment of foreign nations with intercontinental ballistic missiles and rocketry. Alongside the Volnoslavian Defence Force, the CNG was able to largely remove the threat posed by Mongolian naval and strategic rocket forces, and a peace treaty subsequently settled the matter with Mongol nuclear weapons interred in Cyprus and their coastal territories surrendered to the Chinese government.

However, this would not prevent the Mongolian government from attempting to seize the Seychelles. Coming to their aid, a Cypriot task group managed to destroy multiple Mongol vessels without loss to themselves and force them to withdraw. Later, the Cypriot National Guard would participate in an intervention in the Moroccan Civil War, with the 2nd Armoured Brigade conducting a swift amphibious assault and subsequent desert offensive, routing SADR forces and, in cooperation with Panamanian and Volnoslavian forces, defeating the rebel forces facing the Republican revolutionaries.

As the Moroccan Civil War was being brought to a rapid close by the allied intervention, a Turkish governmental crisis, following the death of the incumbent dictator, saw joint Hellenic and Cypriot intervention that, in cooperation with revolutionary elements within the Turkish Armed Forces, resulted in the unification of the three states, nominally under a joint government in Istanbul. This government would be superseded within a few years when the Cypriot Emir would be elected as president, transforming the state into a constitutional and eventually absolute monarchy under the self-proclaimed Emperor, taking on the Saltee motif once more as the Imperial Confederation of Saltwater.

The Confederation would soon embark on a "crusade" across Eastern Europe, rapidly bringing many of the Balkan states under Confederal rule, paying an annual tithe in exchange for military protection. The Italian people and government would also elect to be annexed by the state, although this decision would result in a military rebellion that required large-scale Saltee intervention to defeat. Further conquests would soon follow, culminating in the re-establishment of the Knights Hospitaller in Malta and a significant military expansion. The Saltee military would also be deployed outside of the Mediterranean, but would not see further major combat for a number of years, with only a military intervention in Haiti being notable.

When tensions began to develop between Norway and Sweden, the Saltwater Navy sailed to intervene. This was perceived as a threat by the Germans, who went to war against a coalition. Whilst they achieved an initial success in destroying multiple coalition squadrons on the ground in Patavania, a large counterstrike by the allies devastated German air defence and industry. A squadron of Saltee frigates pushed up the River Elbe in a successful raid on Hamburg, whilst a task group led by battlecruiser Cardinal Bay destroyed the German North Atlantic Fleet at Wilhelmshaven. An attempted German invasion of Saltee Austria was thwarted by coalition airpower and Saltee ground forces, and following a landing at Cuxhaven the coalition rapidly defeated the German military, leading to a surrender and the independence of Ukraine and Poland from German rule. Saltwater obtained southern Germany, Crimea, as well as the port of Cuxhaven, in the peace treaty, having established its status as a military superpower in the region.

The Saltwater Defence Forces were next deployed to liberate Iceland from Irish rule, following their annexation of the country after an attempted Norwegian takeover. Although successful in removing Irish presence from the area and installing an Icelandic government, the Saltee forces were later forced to withdraw due to mounting support for the Irish cause, leaving Iceland in the hands of an international peacekeeping force.

With separatist elements of the French Republic defecting to Saltwater rule, the Imperium continued to grow. However, ethnic separatism in the eastern reaches grew, eventually forcing withdrawal from those regions, with power consolidated in Italy and France, before Imperial forces moved into Spain before recapturing the old capital of Lisbon. Thus, the Saltee people had completed a decades-long journey from their exile in the Middle-East to a reconquest of their former second homeland.

Further conflict followed, with Saltee forces retaking Morocco before shadow-boxing with TASA forces over control of the Atlantic Ocean.

[First recorded action - ??.04.19]
[Last updated - 13.08.24]