Vanhoover Commune



A secessionist state that appears during the Lunar civil war, the communists of Vanhoover have rallied under Admiral Dust Hoover, breaking away from Equestria to proclaim their own commune. Held together by the sailors of Equestria, it has a strong navy for its size from defections. However, how long this dream of the Vanhoover workers lasts, remains to be seen.

Lore
While Stalliongrad was the first socialist state to break away from  Equestria, it was certainly not the only place with communist support. When Caramel Marks' new radical ideology spread throughout Equestria, it found a lot of supporters within the poorly treated workers of Vanhoover. While many had sympathized with the communists of Stalliongrad and their ideas, most were content, enjoying the eternal peace of Equestria, and their status as an important harbor and a center of trade with the deer of  Kingdom of Olenia, also being in close proximity to the   Changeling Lands.

But now, with the sudden appearance of Nightmare Moon and the spark of the civil war, Equestrian troops have left for the front, and disgruntled citizens are left behind supporting a war they did not want. Admiral Hoover and his supporters saw this as an excellent opportunity to take over the region seizing power by force and proclaiming the Vanhoover Commune. Now starts the march to the Mayor's office in Vanhoover, to deal with the last of the loyalist forces within the commune.

Surrounded with enemies on all sides, small and weak, Vanhoover stands alone. And they will either bring forth their very own paradise of the workers, or perish.

Starting Situation
Vanhoover starts in a weak position. They have no possible paths for expansion at the start, and only start with a small army of 5 fully equipped divisions of three 10 width militia, two 12 width pegasi militia and 1 armored division. However, you also have decisions to spawn two more 6 width divisions from every state you control, including ones you can gain later. Their armed forces uses a total of 41K ponypower, with a reserve ponypower of 19.61K. Vanhoover only has a small stockpile of 20 convoys at the start.

Threats and Opportunities
Equestria - Your former overlord, Equestria, is more powerful than you in every way. Fortunately Vanhoover can expand via border wars, which are much more winnable. AI Equestria will always offer puppeting instead of annexation, so that overwhelming Equestrian force does not need to be the end.

Lunar Empire - If the Lunar Empire wins, it will always attempt to annex you after it deals with its internal issues. An Equestrian victory is preferable.

Changeling Lands - An inevitable threat, who will declare upon you alongside Equestria when the war comes. You will need a strong defense to hold them back, even with Equestria or the Lunar Empire's indirect aid.

Kingdom of Olenia - While they do not pose any direct threat to you, they can still be invaded for more land should you wish. Usually, attacking Olenia same time as the Changeling Lands might allow you to grab some of the eastern land from Olenia, provided you have sufficient war score.

Fortress Vanhoover
Vanhoover is a fortification oriented nation, needing to hold against both the Changelings and Equestria. To this end it has decisions for fort construction. At the end of the chain both Vanhoover's states will have level 2 forts and the two cities will have level 6 forts.

Forts, in conjunction with the development focuses on the industrial tree, will also allow decisions to construct off map factories - 2 military factories in Vanhoover, 1 military and 2 civil in Arcadia.

Expansion
Vanhoover receives mechanics to allow it to expand. Unfortunately, there is little industry available for the taking, however the most important regions are.


 * Tall Tale - 1 military factory, 2 civilian
 * Upper Unicorn Range - 18 steel
 * Unicorn Range - 12 steel, 6 chromium

Expansion proceeds via border wars after a political focus tree is completed, and will immediately give claims on all possible territory. If you win the border wars for them, they turn into cores.

National Focus
As the Commune raises it's head, the workers must decide upon the future of this newly formed nation.

Starting Focuses
The first focus will grant Vanhoover a core on the state of Vanhoover, steal part of the fleet of both Equestria and the Lunar Empire, spawn your divisions and create your generals. Fate of the Mayor will deal with the former Mayor, offering mercy for stability, or a harsher punishment for political power. Capture the Countryside will core your remaining starting territory, and Ban Non-Socialist Parties gives some political power.

This leads to the Vanhoover elections and the three possible candidates: Dust Hoover, Strawberry Snowflake and Winter Turnip. The elections will matter based on the choices in events and the decisions taken in the menu, with certain options increasing the influence of different factions. Once the 35 day limit is up, you will be able to elect whoever has the most influence of the groups.

Warning: Electing Winter Turnip will result in you becoming a puppet of Stalliongrad and has no content politics-wise in the focus tree.

Empower The Communes
The first candidate is Strawberry, who desires a peaceful Vanhoover, preferring a step towards a more democratic institution than before, where the workers will be able to decide upon the matters of the commune themselves.

Her policies involves such things as: inviting the trade unions into the government, guaranteeing the worker's rights, and giving them better living standards than before. This will guarantee the loyalty of the workers, the backbone of the commune. These policies will lead the commune into a more peaceful and neutral nation, where every worker, with enough hard work, will be able to succeed. It will also force you onto the Free Trade law.

The last focus allows you to start border wars for the surrounding territory you gain claims on.

All Power To The Admiral
The second candidate is the current leader of the revolution, Admiral Dust Hoover. As a former leader of the navy, he believes that the commune is threatened by all sides, and that only a firm hoof and a strong will guarantee it's safety and continued existence. As such, he will gather more power unto himself, eventually becoming a dictator with undisputed power in the commune.

To ensure the safety of the commune, he will create various state-driven organizations, such as the National Communist Platform and promote various admirals to better organize and control the different branches of the military effectively. He will also proceed to form a well-regulated militia loyal only to the state, with high amounts of conscription.

Through extensive use of propaganda, he will eventually manage to convince the populace the commune has rightful territory beyond its current borders, giving Vanhoover claims to all its neighboring Equestrian states and unlocking the border wars.

A special decision unlocked upon his election is Operation Vacation Spot. It will allow you to seize control of and core the Spa Islands, as long as Equestria does not have a division stationed there. However, the Dragon Isles may be able to take them first, robbing you of your opportunity.

Industrial Path
After any leader for Vanhoover is elected, including Winter Turnip, the economic tree will unlock. The first step is to begin collectivization, which will temporary increase your economy at the cost of some recruitable population and stability. Once that focus is finished, you will have three options: Internal Security, which will increase all aspects of your industry, Technocratic Development, which in particular will give you an extra research slot, and Military Buildup which will focus almost entirely on military factories. While the right path may give more factories in total, the left has more positive permanent effects, so choose wisely based on how you want to play.

Army Path
The army tree will at first give a free increase to your conscription and economy law, as well as unlocking the Fortress Vanhoover decisions that will build forts all around your starting territory. Afterwards, you will be able to choose between a defensive Grand Battleplan or an offensive Mobile Warfare doctrine path. Both have a few shared focuses, such as Partisan Tactics which will increase your defense on core territory but decrease your attack on it as well.

Navy Path
This tree is fairly small, giving some naval dockyards and one-off research bonuses to most ship types as well as the Fleet in Being doctrine.

Air Force Path
The air force tree is also fairly small, with a few research bonuses for planes and some free fighters and bombers.

Technology
The technologies available at the beginning of the civil war are the same as Equestria. See Equestria