Erusea

Erusea (Erusean: Élise), officially the Federal Republic of Erusea (Erusean: République Fédérale d'Élise), is a sovereign state spanning western Usea. Erusea borders Amber and San Salvacion to the east.

Contemporary History
Throughout the twentieth century, the Kingdom of Erusea expanded eastward from its core territories on Usea's west coast, annexing several countries including the Grand Duchy of Shilage and the Republic of Voslage. Though it retained many of these conquered territories, the kingdom eventually suffered a crushing defeat, and the king abdicated under international and domestic pressure. The Federal Republic of Erusea was formed in his wake.

The new republic proved to be no less militaristic than its predecessor. In 1996, it was engaged in a military standoff against its chief geopolitical rival, the Federation of Central Usea, on the border of Amber and Ugellas. Following Central Usea's public announcement of the impending Ulysses planetfall and its plan to counter the asteroid by building politically divisive anti-ballistic missile railguns, Central Usea withdrew its forces to decrease tensions and focus on domestic stability.

The improved relations did not survive the 1999 Ulysses Impact, however, as Erusea was hit particularly hard when the Ryker Fragment struck its capital city, Farbanti. The Central Usea Treaty Organization, widely perceived as a vehicle for promoting Central Usean interests, insisted that Erusea accept refugees from other impacted areas. This was wildly unpopular with the Erusean public, and in the April of 2000, Erusea closed its borders. Other Usean nations and humanitarian non-governmental organizations continued to ship refugees to Erusea's outskirts, where approximately six hundred thousand displaced people suffered from disease, crime, and neglect while Erusea tended to its own wounds from Ulysses.

Erusea's alleged mishandling of the refugee crisis drew sharp condemnation from the international community; Erusea found itself subject to boycotts and Central Usean Treaty Organization sanctions. With its economy faltering under the weight of the world’s resentment and the damage to infrastructure resulting from Ulysses, Erusea invaded the Republic of Amber and took control of the railguns, the Spaceguard Turret Network, in the August of 2003. Erusea ignored demands to withdraw and relinquish control of the railguns, and when the Independent State Allied Forces declared war a month later, Erusea won many victories by using Stonehenge as an anti-aircraft weapon. With complete air dominance, Erusea pushed the ISAF off of the mainland by the summer of 2004.

Geography
Erusea occupies the Usean continent's western coast, forming a strait with the Osean continent, separating the Spring Sea and Cascade Ocean. Its geography is dominated by the Lambert Mountains in the north and the Amber Mountains in the south, with an arid desert between them. Erusea also claims a number of islands southwest of the continent. The country is marred by several craters from the 1999 Ulysses Impact, including one in its capital city, Farbanti.

Politics
As a kingdom, Erusea integrated the governments of its annexed territories into the nobility. However, the ruling family remained ethnically Erusean. Its failure to adequately quell separatism among its ethnic minorities would lead to independence movements such as the secession of Delarus after the Continental War.

During the republican period, Erusea had a parliamentary legislature, but the military played a strong role in domestic affairs; its head of state was a military official with the title Supreme Commander. ISAF member states and civilians in Erusean-occupied territory generally regarded the Erusean regime as a fascist dictatorship.

Military
Main article: Federal Erusean Armed Forces

In the leadup to the Continental War, Erusea boasted a numerically strong military approximately equal to every other country on the continent combined. Erusea's relative might promoted collaboration between the Federation of Central Usea and it allies in the 1990s, directly leading to the formation of the Independent State Allied Forces in 2003.

Erusea's military aviation assets operated free of significant air-to-air threats after the capture of Stonehenge, but were generally unable to win tactical victories outside of its protective umbrella. Furthermore, the overwhelming success of Stonehenge in 2003 prompted Erusea to neglect its tactical air assets, cancelling development of the indigenous fifth generation X-02 Wyvern. As the war dragged on, high attrition rates among its elite units noticeably degraded their combat performance.

Erusea's navy played a minor role in its conquest of the continent, but appeared to retain competent surface warfare and amphibious landing capabilities. They were, however, unable to prevent ISAF carriers from operating off of the east coast even at the height of Erusea's territorial control. Following the destruction of the Aegir Fleet and the ISAF's successful landing operations, the navy's role in the war was negligible.