Yugoslavia

The Splinters is an existing allied power in Southern Europe. Consisting of various countries, and a combined military force.

Overview
Prewar Yugoslavia was formed after WW I, when the Allies united two vastly different cultures. Slovenia and Croatia (to the north-w& had been part of the Hapsburg Monarchy and had more ties to Austria than to the Balkans. Serbia, on the other hand, was part of the Russian Slavic hegemony. This set the basis for the conflict of the early nineties. General Tito, Yugoslavian dictator since the 1950's, knew the strife colliding ethnics would bring, and instituted an authoritarian dictatorship uniting Yugoslavia under one iron fist When he died, and the government weakened, Slovenia immediately seceded. Wth the most powerful economy of all the Yugoslavian members, it saw its future in the assimilation of Western trade ties. After a brief struggle, other republics followed suit The conflict between Croatia and the remnants of Yugoslavia continues. The reason for this prolonged struggle was set when it all began; the economic situation worsened steadily in the south. Serbia could not allow the breadbaskets to desert it, especially while it remained in poverty. Of course, the destruction caused by civil war has since doomed the entire region's economy.

To further justify the war, Serb and Croat leaders took to hyping the ethnic rivalries. Armed ethnic groups began cleaning their proclaimed home region of other ethnicity.

But the conflict could not continue endlessly. Before long, the finite resources of the area dried up. Trade restrictions by surrounding countries put the final nail into Yugoslavia's coffin. The hundreds of thousands killed directly by war were augmented by an equal number of people killed through poverty. Around the turn of the millennium, the war efforts dribbled down, but steady low-intensity warfare continued. In time, the political leaders of the warring parties stepped down-to be replaced by another generation of stubborn nationalists.

But these new leaders had open eyes. They allowed limit- ed trade between their respective states. This kept the survivors alive in spite of devastated infrastructures. Large parts of the former Yugoslavia had been laid waste. Entire regions were devoid of human life. No improvements were in sight.

Finally Serbs, Croats and Muslims came together for a series of unofficial talks. Their reasons were simple: cooperate or starve. For reasons of practicality, they accepted the current front lines as a working base. From this, they agreed on several important points. Factories were declared demilitarized zones. Furthermore, all commercial transport would travel unhindered, unless it carried arms. Armored units were kept out of the mp fields. These agreements set a situation of armed peace. All parties involved knew that this was temporary.

An interruption occurred in 2018. Greece and Albania answered the pleas of Albanian minorities in Macedonia and invaded. The Serbian defenders were beaten in a month; Macedonian borders were closed by the invaders. Serbia was shocked. Even though Macedonia had been the poorest state within Yugoslavia, it was untoached by the war. The Serbian military had to respond, after all, several important facilities were set in Macedonia. But the army was exhausted after years of war and knew they had no chance against Greece or Albania. At least, not alone.

After heated arguments (and a couple of rolling heads), the Serb government approached the Croats with a deal. In return for Serb territory in the Krajina, the Croats with a deal. In return for Serb territory in the Krajina, the Croats would fight alongside their enemies in an effort to invade Albania. Three months later, a combined Serb-Croat force took parts of northern Albania. This punitive measure soon devolved into a stalemate that remains to this day.

Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina resembles old Lebanon-with Sarajevo the Beirut of the 20s. Various armies have divided the country into enclaves, each with its local lord. Serbs and Croats dominate sixty percent of the country, leaving the rest to the Muslims.

They got some assistance from Muslim states like Iran. That of course, is a thing of the past. After 1997, the Muslim forces were bolstered by refugees which doubled their armed forces, but equally doubled their supply problems. The situation is aggravated by the hordes of refugees fighting to regain their homes in other parts of the country.

The scattered nature of Bosnian society works contrary to any organized economy. The people live from what they scrounge; which isn't much. Some join the marauding soldier bands, while others try to make a living as small time herders.

Recently, major arms manufacturers have begun using Bosnia and Herzegovina as a live testing area. They lend out weapon systems to rival factions. Militech itself has a small base near the Adriatic Sea. They pay for this by supplying old guns, ammo and untested combat drugs to the local Croats. They also sell weapons to Greek smugglers, who in turn, ship them to Albanian and Serb partisans in Macedonia. Arasaka countered this by setting up a small office at Belgrade. Aside from the usual am deals, they also smuggle in agents targeted on the Militech efforts in the area.

Serbia
Serbia's situation has deteriorated so far that the country's economy is based on Eurobucks. The inflation has risen so far that even the state itself works with ea. The black market handles eb, cigarettes, or currencies from neighboring nations. It's the only place people can get important stuff like bread and bullets.

The Serbian government, lead by President Milan Petrovic, tries to steer against this drift, but have so far not succeeded. The Croatian war drained the country. The populace now lives from smuggling via the Serb army. The army uses Wallenstein's old method of feeding war, by war. That means Serb troops revived the practice of territorial conquered territories of their resources. Of course, this practice has only limited use, since major territorial gains are a rarity these last decades. Still, the army feeds its soldiers, which makes it a prime Career for Serbs.

Croatia
Croatia was (in prewar times) a country serving the tourist trade. Back then, the Adriatic coast was dotted with hotels. With the start of the war, tourists stayed away, feared Serbian attacks. A fear was mostly unfounded, since the coastlines were far removed from the conflict Nonetheless, the economy suffered.

But the situation was eventually improved by investors from Austria expanding their business towards the south. They brought goods and money into a country urgently in need of both. Croatian business now concentrates near Zagreb and in several guarded holiday resorts at the north end of the Adriatic.

Slovenia
Of all the former Yugoslavian states, Slovenia was the luckiest. After the brief secession battles, the country quickly found west- em economic links. It is now fully tied into the Austtian economy, which uses the country's cheap workforce. Equally popular are the tourist areas; cheap in relation to the nearby EC. As a result, Slovenia is fully industrialized.

Reference
RAMOS, J. Eurosource Plus. 1st ed. Berkeley CA: R. Talsorian Games, 1995