Rhienland Timeline

800s: 800AS - 810 AS

800 AS

• The Rheinland Northern Fleet advances into the Sigmas, brushing the Gas Miner's Guild (GMG) aside and driving straight into Kusari. Meanwhile, the Western Fleet clashes with Liberty in Bering and Hudson, and the Southern Fleet with Bretonia in the Omegas.
• The Kusari Naval Forces are decisively routed in the Battle of Honshu, with Rheinland taking control of the system. The bulk of the fleet advances on New Tokyo, where Shogun Edo himself begins to draw together reinforcements for the defense.
• The Nomad-controlled Chancellor Florian Niemann is killed in Liberty by The Order, while attempting to infect President Jacobi in Alaska.
• The Rheinland Military destroys the remnants of the Kusari Naval Forces in Planet New Tokyo's orbit, and demand Edo's unconditional surrender to avoid a devastating bombardment of the capital's cities.
• The Order appears to successfully defeat the Nomads in the Omicrons, causing the collapse of their control over the Rheinland Military and governmentThe Rheinland Military's expeditionary fleets are thrown into chaos as many admirals suddenly drop dead or appear to go mad. The majority of serving crews report immediate symptoms of disorientation and amnesia. The fleets fragment with most beginning to retreat towards Rheinland.
• Kusari militias, the Blood Dragons and GMG attack retreating Rheinland units in the Second Battle of Honshu.
• The CEO of Daumann Heavy Construction, Wolfgang Daumann, goes into seclusion. His office advises this is due to health concerns. Republican CEO Klaus Schulze also disappears, in light of "threats to his security".
• The Provisional Rheinland Government (PRG) is formed from surviving, non-infected opposition politicians. They immediately recall Rheinland's forces from Kusari and all other theatres.
• The Nomad-infected Military vessels from the Second Battle of Honshu desert, disappearing into the Sigmas. Thousands of ships vanish, including all surviving battleships. These ships would later come to be known as 'The Wild' for the ferocity of their indiscriminate attacks on targets across Rheinland and the Omegas. Desertions from the Western and Southern Fleets are less pronounced, and in several cases, crew mutinies result in the death of Nomad-controlled officers.
• Liberty announces its backing for the PRG following intense negotiations, with the PRG confirming its intention to decommission the surviving elements of the Colony Wars invasion fleet in order to access interest-free Liberty lifeline financing and avoid immediate bankruptcy. An exception is agreed for the Battleship Westfalen, which was in too poor a state to participate in the invasions and will remain in Hamburg to uphold Rheinland's security obligations in the Independent Worlds.

801 AS

• Bretonia agrees to withdraw its demands for reparations following a personal meeting between President Jacobi, Prime Minister Fairfax and Queen Carina, citing "truly exceptional circumstances". Shogun Edo declines to meet Jacobi, claiming poor health following the war.
• Liberty Security Force and Bretonia Intelligence Service agents are welcomed into Rheinland by the PRG to assist with "identifying and suppressing treasonous elements" associated with the Neimann regime.
• The Rheinland Military High Command and many other senior government officials are found to have disappeared as arrest warrants are executed. Bounties are issued across all four Houses amid accusations of intentional war crimes committed in Kusari.
• Liberty-hosted mediation between Kusari and Rheinland catastrophically fails. Kusari imposes a trade embargo on Rheinland, demanding harsh reparations and the prosecution of war criminals before normalisation of relations will be considered. The PRG commits to "restoring the faith" of its neighbors, but is unable to reach a satisfactory deal with Kusari.
• Rheinland's economy is in freefall. Pre-war estimates showing dropping unemployment and improving investment sharply reverse on Planet Hamburg. Looking to insulate themselves from the gloomy forecast, Republican Shipping shutter their local corporate headquarters and relocate a number of executives to Ingolstadt Station in Munich.
• The PRG cuts the Rheinland Military's roster by over 80%, leaving tens of thousands of pilots, crew and support staff unemployed. Hundreds of capital ships are parked in Pottsdam's orbit to await decommissioning at Rheinland shipyards. The sudden culling of the Military sparks outrage, however the PRG claim this was an absolute condition of both Bretonia and Liberty to avoid punitive action, and to access relief funding.

802 AS

• The first post-war elections are organised, with the newly seated Reichstag nominating Alfred Steller as Chancellor - a senior PRG official. His government focuses on rebuilding diplomatic and trade links with the other Houses and continuing to purge Rheinland institutions of high-profile individuals associated with Chancellor Niemann's regime.
• Rheinland officially enters a steep recession. As the Steller administration continues to audit the state's finances, one official describes Chancellor Neimann's last years in office as "akin to deliberate sabotage". Neimann has left Rheinland with the heaviest debt burden in its history.
• The MND are formed to provide an autonomous counter-infiltration and espionage capability. The new agency is equipped with ships and materiel from the so-called "Potsdam Armory". The Chancellor instructs the MND to secretly cooperate with The Order in their mandate, while dismissing the LSF and BIS taskforces that had previously been stationed in Rheinland. The MND's first director is Von Claussen, once a Rheinland Military hero.
• The MND are ordered to investigate Chancellor Neimann's activities in Thuringia, a long abandoned 80-Years War stronghold of the Rheinland Imperial Navy. Upon entering the system, the Order and MND meet heavy resistance from Nomad-controlled rearguard units of Northern Fleet. This struggle would come to be known as 'The Purge of Thuringia' and remains a state secret to this day.

803 AS

• Liberty attempts to reopen negotiations with Rheinland about the potential purchase and annexation of the Hudson system. The Neimann administration had abruptly terminated the previous talks after appearing to come close to issuing its consent. Chancellor Steller declines the talks, advising that he would not be comfortable making territorial concessions during a time of crisis.
• Daumann CEO Wolfgang Daumann is assassinated on Planet Baden Baden by operatives of the Bundschuh, allegedly with support from The Order.
• Several wrecked components from the Schatten Research Facility in Frankfurt are salvaged by the Rheinland Military and brought back into service. Schatten is initially used as a staging post for the Purge of Thuringia.
• Liberty begins to taper off its "lifeline financing" as the Steller administration establishes itself and begins to implement spending controls. Relations sour as Rheinland interprets this as punishment for rebuffing Hudson negotiations.
• The Purge of Thuringia sees the Osiris push Nomad forces away from Planet Weimar, allowing the MND and Order to secure its orbit. Marine regiments from Hamburg begin their invasion, which involves clearing heavily fortified and trapped positions in old 80-Years War era bunkers and warrens of unmapped tunnels.
• The Battleship Westfalen has its active service life extended for another 10 years. The ancient vessel is the last remaining active duty Rheinland battleship, having been deemed unfit for deployment during the invasions of 800 AS. Military whistleblowers warn that the Westfalen's state is critical, and poor maintenance poses a deadly threat to servicemen aboard.
• Attacks are recorded across the deep Omegas, with unknown ships indiscriminately pillaging supplies and kidnapping pilots. The moniker ‘Wilde Jagd’ (Wild Hunt) is first applied by Hessian patrols on account of their sudden and ferocious raids, although commonly shortened to The Wild. The ships attack without warning with cloaking devices, rarely leaving survivors.

804 AS

• Rising unemployment and large numbers of unemployed and destitute Military pilots force many to turn to crime. Membership of the Bundschuh, Red Hessians and Unioners surge. Some seek membership with the Junkers of Kreuzberg, but are turned away.
• The Stellar administration faces a major controversy after the families of soldiers killed in fighting on Planet Weimar file a petition demanding withheld bodies be returned to them for burial. The official position is that the troops were killed in counter-terrorism operations against Red Hessian pirates.
• The MND arrests Republican CEO Klaus Schulze on Planet Nuremberg on charges of treason. The Armored Transport prisoner convoy carrying him is intercepted by the Bundschuh in Frankfurt and destroyed. Schulze and the full security complement escorting him are killed. It is rumored that the attack was enabled by an Order asset in the MND.
• Documents are leaked revealing the extent of public funds paid to DHC and Republican as a part of Niemann's fleet construction drive in the 790s. There are calls for corporate executives to be prosecuted as war criminals and the profits from the awarded contracts clawed back. The government is eventually forced to commission an inquiry by public outrage, led by senior prosecutor Otto Schweizer.
• Wuppertal Refinery is constructed in Cologne, as a joint project between Kruger Minerals and ALG Waste Disposal.
• The Second Treaty of Honshu is formally signed by Chancellor Steller, normalising diplomatic relations and trade between Rheinland and Kusari. A 20 year reparations plan is agreed that provides Kusari modest financial compensation, direct access to Rheinland markets, and steep discounts on military goods used to reconstruct the Kusari Naval Forces.

805 AS

• Hamburg University teeters on bankruptcy following the withdrawal of both Federal and System funding. Republican Shipping steps in as a "corporate guardian", providing extensive funding in exchange for exclusive rights to commercially exploit IP resulting from funded programmes.
• Following decades of delays due to funding cuts and project freezes, the Ausburg Orbital Colony is completed in Munich using government investment stimulus funds. The station was intended to trial large scale orbital habitats, with the objective of relieving crowding on Planet New Berlin. Due to enormous cost overruns, the complex is marketed as luxury accommodation, to widespread criticism.
• Chancellor Steller attends Denver Convention, which upholds the Sirius-wide ban on the Artifact trade, establishes additional prohibitions on the research of live Artifacts, and sets annual limits on military shipbuilding.

806 AS

• The MND and The Order successfully purge the last Nomad remnants from Planet Weimar, which had fortified themselves in an ancient alien ruin, deep below Weimar's surface. A live Artifact in the newly discovered ruins was the focus of Nomad attention. The Order and MND's partnership collapses over a dispute on the Artifact's custody. Order operatives ultimately kill several MND agents to seize it before retreating with the Osiris.
• Von Claussen is dismissed as the director of the MND, likely owing to his relationship with The Order.
• Jena Station is constructed in Thuringia to act as a quarantine lab for further sensitive discoveries made on Planet Weimar.
• Kruger Minerals narrowly avoids a hostile takeover by ALG Waste Disposal, who had planned to asset-strip and then liquidate the venerable corporation after becoming disillusioned with the prospects for their partnership. Kruger's CEO is ousted by a newly appointed investor-chairman, who begins a process of radical downsizing to restore profitability. ALG and Kruger are embroiled in several major lawsuits, with each alleging various breaches of contract.

807 AS

• The demilitarization initiated by the PRG is completed with the deconstruction of the Battleship Goethe. Government auditors release a damning report describing ships that had been built en-mass to cheap, obsolete, 80-Years War standards, rather than the modernised classes that were billed for. The auditors refer significant amounts of evidence to the Schwizer Commission, describing potentially fraudulent activity.
• Liberty files a complaint with New Berlin over rampant piracy in Hudson, Bering and Hamburg, stating that Rheinland is not meeting its obligations to adequately patrol its space. Liberty offers to provide reduced-interest funding for extended RFP patrols, which Rheinland declines.

808 AS

• Chancellor Steller is re-elected for a 2nd term.
• The Battleship Rio Grande deploys forces to Hudson to carry out a campaign against Liberty Rogues and Xenos in the region. Rheinland reacts with alarm, realising that the largely decommissioned Rheinland Military would be unable to respond to any move by Liberty contesting the border. A defence strategy review is commissioned on the reconstruction of the Military.
• Otto Schweizer delivers the damning findings of the Schweizer Commission to the Reichstag. The report describes "inexplicable" and "self-destructive" financial decisions made by senior politicians across the late 790s, in apparent collusion with senior officers of Daumann Heavy Construction and Republican Shipping to defraud the state. Charges are filed against several senior corporate executives, although both CEOs responsible for the period in question are dead.
• Hamburg University announces that it will no longer publicly publish academic papers, instead making papers available through a paid commercial affiliates scheme managed by Republican Shipping. Objections are raised by a number of prominent institutions, including Cambridge and New Berlin, over the chilling effect this will have on academic discourse.
• The Reichstag tables legislation to begin clawing back funds from both Daumann and Republican, however both corporations sue the government in an attempt to block the move.

809 AS

• The Rheinland Military's defence strategy review is delivered to the Reichstag. The Military fails on all graded metrics, having deteriorated significantly from under-investment in the aftermath of the post-Colony Wars cuts. It recommends a gradual rearmament process, starting with the commissioning of two new hulls to replace the decrepit Battleship Westfalen.
• In an unexpected move, the MND moves to classify large swathes of evidence in the Daumann / Republican executive fraud trials on "House security" grounds. The withheld documents include forensically reconstructed transaction records and communications with the Niemann regime.
• Altona Station is renovated as an orbital manufacturing facility, exploiting a production process for Nanotubes developed by Hamburg University.
• The "Next Generation Bismarck" program is approved funding by the Reichstag, with contract bidding opened. This is largely modelled on the previously discontinued Bremen project.

810 AS

• Following popular unrest about the cutting of social programs, the Reichstag halves the Next Generation Bismarck's funding allocation, reducing the project to one hull.
• The Next Generation Bismarck contract is awarded to Daumann. The government is sued by ALG, with the project grinding to a halt while the procurement slowly works its way through the courts.

810s: 811 AS - 820 AS

811 AS

• Kaiserslautern Depot is restored by the LWB and utilized as a staging point for attacks on Synth Foods convoys headed to Frankfurt, and Fertilizer shipments headed to Stuttgart.
• Daumann and Republican exhaust their final appeal in their battle against the so-called Schweizer Act. The Rheinland Supreme Court finds in favor of the government, allowing the revised tax code comes into effect. This imposes an additional levy on both corporations' income from mineral extraction, ship sales, and government contracts.
• RFP commanders from each of the local system forces sign an open letter to the Reichstag , desperately calling for increased funding for police budgets. Soaring rates of piracy have left the force at breaking point, with Dresden and Omega-7 potentially facing what is described as "lawless anarchy".

812 AS

• The Wild re-emerge from the Omegas and begin conducting raids on the peripheries of Rheinland's core systems. These brutal attacks rarely leave survivors, and regularly target industrial transports carrying Construction Machinery and other fabrication materials. The MND issues a public statement advising that they are a gang of Colony War era deserters who turned pirate.
• Rheinland Supreme Court finds that Daumann were lawfully awarded the contract for the Next Generation Bismarck project. Construction on Westfalen's replacement begins. ALG denounces the findings as "rewarding criminal conduct", pointing to the Schweizer Commission's findings and recent prosecutions.

813 AS

• A Rheinland delegation attends the Los Angeles Summit on the escalating tensions between Bretonia and Kusari in the Taus. The Rheinland delegates condemn Bretonia for allegedly instigating the hostilities, and call for the IMG's rights to be upheld as a neutral party.
• During campaigning for the upcoming Federal elections, Chancellor Stellar announces a "Plan for Peace" to try and find common ground between the two Tau powers, offering Rheinland as a venue for mediation. Bretonia declines, calling Rheinland a "prejudiced venue".
• The Battleship Westfalen is finally decommissioned. Outcry over plans for the venerable vessel to be broken up results in a public fundraiser to have the ship converted into an orbital museum moored to The Ring. The campaign is spearheaded by Reichstag opposition leader, Nikolaus Reinhardt. Rheinland now has no active-duty battleships.
• Daumann announces a large investment package for Planet Holstein, with joint financing by Synth Foods. The mineral salt extraction operation is expanded into the creation of chemical Fertilizers.

814 AS

• Chancellor Nikolaus Rheinhardt is elected. His traditionalist government focuses on harsh economic and social reforms to manage state debt, and the revitalisation of the Military.
• The new government passes an emergency measure to expand the Daumann battleship award to 3 hulls. The nearly-complete lead ship is dubbed the Westfalen in honor of its predecessor, with the Karlsruhe and Koblenz being laid down later that year.
• The Battleship Westfalen is deployed and takes up its namesake's position in Hamburg.
• The Reichstag issues a statement condemning Bretonia's use of concealed mines around Planet Harris, and calls for Bretonia to withdraw from Tau-31. Chancellor Rheinhardt's office refuses to endorse the motion. A draft copy of the statement is later leaked which reveals criticism of the Kusari Naval Forces' attacks on neutral civilian shipping in the region were removed.
• Battleship Koblenz is stationed at Schatten Research Facility to provide enhanced security to the base and the Jump Hole to Thuringia.
• ALG reports that the Yanagi Debris Field in Sigma-13 has been completely cleared of salvageable wrecks, with the remaining uneconomic material and human remains expected to be fully recovered by 824 AS.
• Saalberg Depot is mined out of an asteroid in Frankfurt's Hausenfeld by the LWB. It targets Synth Foods shipments bound for Kusari, and Fertilizers returning to Stuttgart.
• The Battleship Karlsruhe is deployed. Initial plans to dispatch the ship to Dresden to deal with spiralling lawlessness are abandoned after Synth lobbyists persuade the government to station it in Stuttgart instead.

815 AS

• Stuttgart reports a record harvest, armaments factories on Planet Neuremberg reap the windfall of Kusari exports, and Kruger prospecting reveals the presence of additional Diamond pockets in Dresden. The combined effect is a season of record profits, resulting in the so-called "Berlin Renaissance".
• A bomb on Ingolstadt Station in Munich attacks a Republican board meeting, killing over 100. The Unioners claim responsibility, claiming to have targeted CEO Andrea Kirsch. Kirsch was not in attendance at the time. Republican raises a complaint with New Berlin over a lack of RFP patrols in Munich.
• The Ehrengarde Movement is outlawed after a failed terrorist attack in Stuttgart. The fringe conspiracy theory believes Chancellor Florian Niemann remains in hiding and will soon return to restore Rheinland's "legitimacy". The MND cracks down on members after discovering they had attempted to collaborate with the Wild, who they believe are "Niemann restorationists".
• Hundreds of Corsair vessels breach Frankfurt and advance south towards the Hausenfeld. Rheinland Military squadrons from the Battleship Koblenz intercept, and drive the Corsairs back. Several more failed Corsair break-throughs are attempted over the following weeks, with an elevated Corsair presence remaining for several months after.
• The Battleship Strausberg is deployed from Oder Shipyard and assigned to guard New Berlin. Ultimately positioned outside Bonn Station, the Strausberg is responsible for coordinating patrols to suppress local pirates and monitor Interspace for unscrupulous behaviour.

816 AS

• Liberty's newly elected President Powell demands Rheinland enter "good faith" negotiations over the status of Hudson. Chancellor Rheinhardt responds furiously, announcing that Rheinland will "never countenance" auctioning away the system. The dispute escalates, with Powell claiming Liberty is "owed" the Colony Wars reparations President Jacobi controversially waived.
• Synth Foods announces its intent to make Holstein the primary supplier of Fertilizers for Planet Stuttgart, citing reduced travel time and security costs. The change is expected to cause significant economic disruption and hardship on Planet Houston, the current majority supplier.
• Wild forces intensify their raids across the Omegas, hitting civilian traffic especially hard in Omega-3. Bretonian media accuse the Wild of being Rheinland-backed privateers, pointing Rheinland's political belligerence over the ongoing Tau War. Rheinland stringently denies the claims. The BIS and MND begin covert collaboration to tackle the rising threat across the Omega passage.
• The Hamburg-based investigative outlet WahrheitsBericht issues an explosive report claiming the Liberty Security Force carries out illegal human experimentation and Artifact research in the classified Alaska system. Liberty denies the claims as "lurid conspiracy theories". WahrheitsBericht promises to publish further claims in a full-length documentary.
• A gunman enters the WahrheitsBericht office, killing many staff before setting fire to the building. Upon being cornered in an abandoned hab-block by RFP counter-terrorism officers, the assailant detonates an explosive belt. Chancellor Rheinhardt issues a statement calling the attack "state sponsored terrorism".
• The Battleship Altenburg is deployed as a first in class, using lessons learned from the Westfalen generation's construction. It is dispatched to Dresden to tackle the rapidly deteriorating security situation.
• Rheinland issues an ultimatum to Liberty after detecting the construction of Planetform's Cold Bay Depot in Hudson. Fearing Liberty will annex the region to protect the terraforming project, posturing by Military and Naval patrols brings both Houses to the verge of bloodshed. Some commentators have described the deteriorating situation as a "personal confrontation" between Powell and Rheinhardt.
• Daumann announces its intention to resume the failed Imperial terraforming project on Planet Holstein. The Rheinland government blocks Planetform's involvement in the project in protest of the Atka scheme in Hudson.

817 AS - Hudson War begins

• The Battleship Regensburg is deployed, taking up garrison duty in Munich to repel frequent Corsair and Unioner attacks.
• Rheinland reacts with shock to reports emerging from Bretonia and Kusari of the discovery of Gallia. Despite assertions made by the rebel group known as The Council, Rheinland advocates for establishing diplomatic contact with the Gallic Kingdom itself.
• A Planetform freighter is destroyed in a bomb attack at a Houston spaceport. Liberty authorities blame the MND for the attack, while Rheinland accuses the Xenos, who they say Liberty Police, Inc are failing to control.
• The Battleship Westphalia is deployed and dispatched to Hamburg to bolster local defenses as tensions with Liberty escalate. Rheinland reactivates its reserves due an increasing shortage of trained capital ship crews. The Westphalia is primarily crewed by Colony War era veterans who have been pressed back into service.
• President Powell orders the Libery Navy into Bering and Hudson in full force, to create a "Border Security Zone". All shipping through the zone is to be stopped and meticulously searched. Rheinland condemns the move as a breach of Liberty's obligations under the Boorman Treaty and deploys the Rheinland Military to "protect Rheinland's interests".
• A strike force of cloaked Liberty ships breach Thuringia from the Hamburg Jump Hole and launch a raid on Jena Station. Priceless Artifact research is stolen and several critical Scientists kidnapped. A bomb is detonated aboard as the force departs, killing many of the survivors. Chancellor Rheinhardt orders an immediate retaliatory strike. Post-war, intelligence remains divided on whether this was an unsanctioned LSF operation, or false-flag Wild attack.
• Hudson War begins. Liberty declares a formal state of war, claiming Rheinland Military squadrons had attacked the Border Security Zone without provocation. Rheinland contends that it was retaliating against a serious attack on its core territories.

818 AS

• The Reichstag passes legislation to expel Liberty corporations from Rheinland for the duration of the conflict. The Chancellor's office applies a veto to block this, warning that it would have severe consequences for Rheinland's infrastructure and economy.
• An alternate package of wartime laws are passed that place heavy restrictions on Liberty corporations and impose a trade embargo on goods headed directly to Liberty. Synth Foods is largely exempt from most of the new restrictions.
• Daumann completes the Elbe, a self-funded prototype carrier, at Schatten Research Facility. Intended only as a technical demonstrator model, the Elbe is greenlit for serial production, with the prototype cannibalized to expedite the production of the Carrier Soltau at Oder Shipyard.
• Both Liberty and Rheinland become bogged down in fighting across Bering and Hamburg, with both sides making extensive use of minefields to control territory.