Usonia, AKA the American Union of Usonia or the Federal Union of Usonia, is a nation located in North America and a faction in the 1920+ universe. The first DLC Faction to be added to Iron Harvest, they are coming to Iron Harvest in the Operation Eagle Expansion.
Overview[]
Usonia exists as an independent nation, far removed from Europa across the Atlantic Ocean. Although their government system is not specifically mentioned, they likely live under a constitutional republic. It consists of a major portion of the North American continent. Their symbol is the head of an eagle surrounded by stars, which is featured prominently on the chest of their Military Uniform. Some of their units, though, fly battle flags of one single, large white star.
Based on "Peace Party" conversation between American guests, it is known that Usonia fought in Europa during the Great War though domestic issues seemed to brew at home with talks of a potential second Civil War. Fenris has a very active presence in Usonia, manipulating its government from the inside much in the same way it does in Europa.
What is known about their tactics or weapons is that they seem to have the industrial and military capability to match the European powers. Usonia possesses large, armed Airship(s) similar to mechs which do not exist among currently revealed factions from Europa. Usonian units emphasize heavy burst firepower - having units that can unleash devastating initial area-of-effect volleys. Their bunkers can be upgraded to drop infantry (although at a high unit cost) directly to the battlefield, improving their emphasis on rapid reaction tactics. Despite these advantages, Usonian tactics tend to neglect staying power; they lack any units with the Heavy armor type and their reliance on burst damage can sometimes place them in vulnerable situations. Seemingly aware of this weakness, they can somewhat mitigate this with rapid front-line field repair via Ward exosuits.
An early mech depicted in one of Rozalski's paintings is massive, bipedal, and heavily armed and armored, it heavily resembles the PZM-24 "Tur." However, instead of a large forward viewing dome, the cockpit appears more protected behind slit-like windows, they have a top mounted turret, and they mount pairs of smaller-bore cannons. Operation Eagle related artwork and screenshots indicate three additional mech designs fielded by the Usonian Army, with auto-machine technology likely having found its way into the Americas.
Templin Institute video[]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcJ5tPvKxUk
Templin Institute Information[]
Since the first navigators spied its shores from the decks of their sailing ships, the affairs of the New World have been considered at most, ancillary to those of Europa. As the Age of Discovery gave way to the Era of Colonialism, the American continents were viewed merely as prizes to be won or obstacles to be overcome on the path to the far grander territories of the Orient.
Even when Europa's greatest colonial holdings in the New World were lost to the fires of revolution, the declaration of a new sovereign Republic in their place was dismissed as a charming experiment. "What has taken place in America" one of the famous philosophers of Saxony declared "is but an emanation of Europa. The New World is only an echo of the Old".
But within the greatest state of that New World, a different narrative has formed. Its citizens see in themselves a nation where the sacred rights of mankind are not bestowed by old parchments or musty records, but won through costly sacrifices on the altar of freedom. They work not for the betterment of those born with noble title, but to build a land where every man might be a king. Perhaps more so than any other nation across the world, the Federal Union of Usonia has been carved from its philosophy, not its history. And if the words of its founding fathers are to be believed, then like some majestic river which enlarges and widens as it approaches its parent ocean, Usonia is destined to become greater and greater through every age and outlive the ruins of the world itself.
Usonia stretches across the breadth of the American Continent, bordered to the east and west by the largest oceans of the world and to the north and south by the Dominion of Laurentia and the United States of Aztlan respectively. Its overseas territories extend to the Poniente Archipelago, the Hawaiian Islands, and many other small atolls across the Pacific, to the Grand Canal and Coabana Islands in the Caribbean. It is a vast nation, third only to the Rusviet Union and its northern rival. Within its borders can be found every manner of natural wonder, towering mountain ranges and river valleys giving way to vast plains, tan deserts and verdant tropics. The Usonian people are as diverse as the landscapes they inhabit. A nation of immigrants, the concept of Usonian nationality is not linked to any race or ethnic group but rather their shared history and cherished values.
Foreign expatriation is seen as an integral right and once a person has taken the Usonian Oath of Allegience, they enjoy all the rights of citizenship, no matter their ethnicity, creed or culture. They may even retain their former citizenship and every bond of fellowship with their home country, so long as their loyalty to Usonia is paramount.
Binding the lands and peoples of Usonia together, are 48 constituent states. The first 19 of these can trace their history to Europan colonies that fought for independence during the Revolutionary Wars, while the remainder were federal territories or sovereign states absorbed into the greater Usonian Union. Each state is allotted various levels of power according to their individual constitutions, but all are grounded in republican principles and are bound to federal law. While each state was initially responsible for managing most of their internal affairs such as infrastructure, law enforcement, public education and public health, these services have been increasingly centralized under the federal government, leading to continued tensions and debate over the nature of state's rights.
The Usonian federal government is based in the capital city of Washington, itself located within the District of Columbia. Here the office of the Usonian President, the Usonian Congress and the Supreme Court of Usonia hold authority over the nation's executive department, legislature and judicial system. The power and duties of these branches, as well as their relationship with state governments, are vested by the Usonian Constitution and further defined by acts of Congress. While major offices, including those of the President, Congressmen and State Governors are elected by popular vote, many others are held political appointees. Nearly all elected officials are members of either the Democratic-Republican Party or the Federalist Party. While other smaller political parties exist, Usonia exists in practical terms, under a two-party system.
Armed Forces[]
First among the many issues that will decide Usonian elections is the role of the armed forces in foreign affairs. With the nation's accent to one of the world's largest industrial powers, has come an extensive rearmament campaign. The four major branches of the Usonian Armed Forces are the Usonian Army, Usonian Navy, Usonian Marine Corps, and the Usonian Coast Guard. Each has been modernized in the previous decade to include the mechanized walkers and exosuits prevalent in Europan Armies since the height of the Great War.
Usonian Army[]
An all volunteer force, the Usonian Army is comparatively tiny next to the vast formations mobilized in Europa. It is not even the largest armed group in Usonia, outnumbered by the private security personnel within the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. When asked how the Empire would respond should a Usonian Expeditionary Force land on its shores, the Emperor of Saxony is said to have remarked that he would simply have them arrested. Yet such mockery overlooks the extraordinary esprit de corps presents across the Usonian military. Its soldiers have developed an international reputation for sheer nerve, and bravery bordering on recklessness. During the Great War, a Usonian volunteer regiment was ordered by its Frankish attache to retreat, and the response "Retreat? Hell we just got here" has become a rallying cry across the entire Usonian Army. The Army is also extraordinarily well equipped and highly mechanized. The M-29 "Salem" is not entirely dissimilar from its Europan counterparts, but contains several novel design choices, while the M-19 "Knox" can go toe to toe with even the largest walkers operated by Saxony or the Rusviet Union.
The Nation's extraordinary innovations in walker design can be attributed in part to the prominent Usonian industrialists whose enormous corporations have made them celebrities in their own right. The Henry Ford Motor Company, General Motors and many other Usonian manufacturing firms have gained renown for their improvements over Europan designs and become major suppliers of the Usonian Armed Forces, but it is the Edison Electric Company that single handedly transformed the nature of warfare.
While critics and even Tesla himself have claimed that the EEC merely stole designs from his legendary Europan Factory, Thomas Edison's work has produced some of the most groundbreaking machines of the last decade. Enormous airships, many the size of the battleships that ply the world's oceans, spearhead the advance of the Usonian Army, escorted by fleets of smaller craft. Completely immune to the river crossings, mountain passes, and other traditional impediments of land campaigns, they have in the span of just a few years, rendered entire armies obsolete.
While the various classes of Flying Gunships, Airlifts and Skybikes have made their way into every modern army, only the Usonian Air Mobile Corps currently fields what might be classified a flying aircraft carrier. The ZR-25 "Samson" has no equal across the world, capable of deploying an armada of automated drones to drop ordnance onto distant targets. These enormous airships are frequently escorted by the ZR-3 "Revere", which can provide fire support against both enemy walkers and rival airships.
While Edison's craft were not the first of such vessels to take the sky, with scattered Europan prototypes developed in the first few years of the 20th century, their ubiquity within Usonian service, and in particular, the journey of the Great White Fleet, has made them synonymous with the New World. Yet their increasing presence above Usonian cities, together with the nation's growing militarization have created a widening political rift in the country. There are those who wish to use these vessels to acquire the colonies and prestige that mark the other great powers of the world, and there are others who proclaim that such actions are un-Usonian, a terrible betrayal of the nation's founding values.
A revolutionary state, Usonian society has always had a complex relationship with militarism, colonialism and imperialism.
Usonian Revolutionary Wars[]
The nation was born from a series of conflicts spanning a thirty year period that began in the late 18th century. What became known as the Usonian Revolutionary Wars pitted colonial states in both modern Usonia and Laurentia against the powers of Europa. The belligerents on either side and the motives behind the wars shifted as the conflict evolved and expanded, but generally stemmed from strict taxation polices, and a lack of colonial representation. By the time the last Europan colonial possession in Usonia had capitulated to revolutionary armies, hundreds of thousands lay dead on both sides, with many more lost to disease and famine.
The wars led to the centralization of Usonian republics into what would become the modern Federal Union, but also brought about rapid socioeconomic change. The destruction of the traditional Usonian upper class system during the wars against Europa, the growing concentration of wealth into urban areas, the integration of historically marginalized or disenfranchised groups into army units, and the high profile exploits of those soldiers led to the collapse of Usonian slavery with a generation of the wars end,
While racial and ethnic tensions would persist, full suffrage was afforded to every citizen. This social change at times threatened to destabilize the still fragile Usonian Union, but the nation became increasingly expansionistic. In the belief that Usonia was destined to expand across North America, one given form in the concept of "manifest destiny", Usonian settlers pressed relentlessly westwards, coming into conflict with both the local indigenous tribes and the secessionist state governments.
Usonian Civil War[]
The major causes behind the Usonian Civil War were complex and have been controversial ever since, but pitted the so-called "Federal States" against those on the Pacific Coast. The Federal victory in 1875 came only after 4 years of brutal fighting, which remains to this day the deadliest war in Usonian history.
The Usonian Frontier was declared closed and the continent fully settled in 1890, which proved to be a psychological blow to a nation which had always defined itself by its struggle against the wilderness. The idea of Usonian Exceptionalism flourished in its stead, culminating in the first circumnavigation of airships, known as the Great White Fleet in 1907 to 1908.
Hispanian-Usonian war[]
A year later, the plight of Coabanan Revolutionaries in their own war of independence against Hispania, swayed the Usonian public to their cause. Tensions with Hispania were aggravated by Usonian newspaper moguls, but it was the destruction of the UAS Maine over Havana that ignited the Hispanian-Usonian war. The brief conflict exposed the fatal design flaws of the first-generation airships of the era, briefly ending their widespread use, but also brought to Usonia a wealth of overseas colonies in the aftermath of their victory.
Great War[]
Burdened by ongoing insurgencies in their newly acquired colonies, Usonia stayed out of the Great War in Europa. It initially financed both sides, before siding against Saxony and its allies with a suspension of all trade. Several Usonian volunteer divisions fought under Frankish, Albionion or Polanian command, seeing limited action before the end of the war.
Spared the devastation that befell Europa, Usonia entered the modern era as the single largest industrial and economic superpower. Initially dismissed by foreign governments as a backwater nation of cowboys and philanderers, its shocking victory over Hispania and its emergence as a world power has forced Europa to acknowledge Usonia as a growing rival for worldwide influence.
Its citizens and politicians claim that the 20th century will be Usonia's century, for as Europa struggles to rebuild, the innovation and industry of the New World has never ceased. The fragile airships of the Great White Fleet have been replaced with a modern airborne armada, and a journey that would have taken months in 1908, can now be achieved in mere weeks. A growing fear of the "Usonian Peril" has spread across Europa, for the vast ocean separating these continents is no longer the formidable obstacle it once was.
Within Usonia itself, there is a growing sense that the next decades, years or even months might present the opportunity for the nation to find its place in the world. Since its founding, the nation has been guided by its almost utopian philosophy, a philosophy that states Usonia's glory is not in dominion, but in liberty, that she does not go abroad in search of foreign monsters to destroy. In newspapers, the fiery critic Samuel Clemons has rallied millions against the nation's descent into Imperialism, with the words "we have invited clean young men, to shoulder a discredited musket and do bandit's work, under a flag which bandits have accustomed to fear, not to follow; we have debauched Usonia".
Yet the relentless drive westwards, the easy conquest against Hispania and its own rising status have convinced a growing segment of its citizens that within the nation a new form of Imperialism is in the air. It's advocates claim it has new definitions and better inventions. It is republicanism writ large, it is imperialism not for domination but for civilization, not for absolutism but for self-government. Usonian imperialism, it is said, is enthusiastic, optimistic and beneficial republicanism. Within the halls of congress, senators and statesmen eagerly pin flags on world maps, demanding new colonies, new territories and that wherever the Usonian banner is raised, never must it come down.
Seldom mentioned is the terrible price Usonia has already paid to keep what it has claimed. The fiery speeches and calls to action ignore the massacres of Wounded Knee or the Trail of Tears. It gives no admission to the thousands of deaths among civilians on Coabana or the Poniente Archipelago, nor the Usonian-backed revolution that ended the rule of the last Hawaiian Kings. It ignores the fact that the weapons used to destroy the UAS Maine were well beyond those of the Hispanian nationalists, and that the entire war might have been built upon a lie.
Usonia has entered a crossroads, forced to choose between its national ideals and its national interest, and the fate of the Usonian soul, the fate of the world might depend upon the outcome of that choice.
Rusviet Campaign "Peace and Prosperity"[]
An American Guest: "I'll tell you, we'll be facing a second civil war within the next ten years."
Another American Guest: "We should be fulfilling our destiny and taking the rest of Mexico, and the land up north too!"
Operation Eagle Expansion[]
The American Union of Usonia stayed out of the Great War and became an economic and military powerhouse, unnoticed by Europe’s old elites. Usonia could become a beacon of hope for the oppressed, bringing freedom and justice to everyone, or it could succumb to the temptations of power and become a new empire, ruling with an iron first. The addition features the new faction “Usonia”, the 1920+ version of the USA as well as more than 30 new infantry units, mechs and buildings for this faction and the others. Usonian mechs place a an emphasis on burst damage, thanks to large amounts of rockets and flamethrower defense weapons.
Usiona currently has interests beyond its borders in the Iron Harvest universe, largely focusing on acquiring more oil reserves to fuel its military. This seems to include intervening in Arabia's power struggle in opposition to the Saxony Empire and seizing Rusviet-owned oil refineries in Alaska. This is thought to be fueled by a proto military industrial complex, with industrialists funding military ventures to acquire further wealth and resources, justifying larger military budgeting in an endless cycle.
Heroes[]
| Icon | Hero | Short-Description |
|---|---|---|
  |
Admiral Mason | Admiral of a colossal floating battleship, he can traverse any terrain and sends death from above. |
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William Mason | A brave leader that charges into battle wearing an American exo-suit. |
  |
Princess Sita | Leader of the Arabian Bedouins, armed with a Jezail and her hawk. |
Infantry[]
| Icon | Infantry | Short-Description |
|---|---|---|
| Usonian Engineers | Usonian capable of constructing fortifications and bases as well as repairing mechs. | |
  |
Usonian Volunteers | Usonian infantry wielding semi-automatic battle rifles. |
  |
Usonian Grenadiers | Usonian Riflemen equipped with grenades to obliterate unaware or hunkered-down infantry squads |
| Usonian Gunners | Usonian troops given heavy cannons for anti-mech duties. Effective in numbers and when flanking, but vulnerable to infantry | |
| Usonian Medics | Medical officers able to reinforce and heal a squad on-site. Can become a stationary reinforcement point upon hitting veterancy. | |
| Usonian Machine Gunners | Usonian soldiers given LMGs to shred apart other infantry squads and suppress them. | |
  |
Usonian Flamethrowers | Deals short-ranged but heavy area of effect damage against infantry and ignores cover. Cannot be produced in Multiplayer. |
Exo-Skeletons[]
| Icon | Exo-Skeleton | Short-Description |
|---|---|---|
  |
S3-55 "Ward" | Field technicians wielding exosuits capable of rapidly repairing armor and structures, as well as dismantling enemies, with their blow torches. |
Mechs[]
| Icon | Mech | Short-Description |
|---|---|---|
  |
M-29 "Salem" | A multigunner mech capable of targeting multiple threats at once with its machine guns. |
  |
M-8 "Attucks" | A stealth artillery mech using the element of surprise to inflict heavy damage. |
  |
M-19 "Knox" | A powerful mech destroyer that unleashes a hailstorm of weaponry upon its enemies. |
  |
M-22 "Stark" | A large melee-focused mech that becomes more powerful as it comes under fire. |
Aircraft[]
| Icon | Aircraft | Short-Description |
|---|---|---|
| Skybike | A small flyer built for air superiority. Effective against other airships. | |
  |
Dropship | Transport aircraft that can fly infantry squads across the battlefield. |
| Gunship | Aerial support platforms that are effective against armor. | |
  |
ZR-3 "Revere" | A light airship that fires unguided rockets at both ground and air targets. |
  |
ZR-25 "Samson" | One of Usonia's massive flying carriers, launching autonomous drone to strike its targets |
Buildings[]
| Icon | Building | Short-Description |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | ||
| Barracks | ||
| Advanced Barracks | ||
| Workshop | ||
| Advanced Workshop | ||
| Bunker | ||
| Flame Bunker | ||
| Paratrooper Bunker | ||
| Aid Station | ||
| Usonian Iron Mine | ||
| Usonian Big Iron Mine | ||
| Usonian Oil Pump | ||
| Usonian Big Oil Pump |
Trivia[]
- This faction is based on the United States of America as it existed in the 1920's.
- "Usonia" is a term used to describe the country and its people in general, thought to be coined in 1903 by an American writer named James Duff Law. Since the American continent is shared with the Mexicans and Canadians, he saw "Usonia" as a better specific term to describe just the United States itself instead of "America."
- One painting by Jakub Różalski depicts American Mechs, specifically ones in the Polish 7th Air Escadrille or "Kościuszko Squadron."
- This parallels a real Polish Air Force unit of the same name that was reformed in 1919 with American volunteers, to whom the painting is dedicated. This squadron flew 400 missions during the Polish-Soviet War in 1920.
- Interestingly, Usonia has been shown to have an emphasis on air units.
- This possibly indicates that America allied itself with Polania during the war.
- In the description for the painting, Rozalski hints at the possibility of a playable American faction in Scythe, although this painting dates back to 2015.
- This parallels a real Polish Air Force unit of the same name that was reformed in 1919 with American volunteers, to whom the painting is dedicated. This squadron flew 400 missions during the Polish-Soviet War in 1920.
- The comment made by the American guest may be a reference to the idea of "Manifest Destiny" developed in the nineteenth century in the United States, except that instead of referring to the westward expansion of the American nation this idea seems rather to refer to the domination of the North American continent at the time of Iron Harvest.
- The presence of a country dominating the North American continent raises questions about the impact of regime change in England on the wider world; it was mainly England that participated in the creation of the thirteen colonies which would become the United States of America. By comparison, in the world of Iron Harvest it is left entirely to speculation: if Clan Albion, which replaces the British Empire, was not so expansionist, one wonders if the foundational history of this American nation is very different from that of our reality.
- This raises an interesting point: if "the land up north too" is taken to mean Canada, then it was never founded as a country yet America and Mexico were.
- Curiously, despite Clan Albion's ambivalent role in relation to the creation of America in Iron Harvest, Its history seems to diverge the least from that of our timeline; a Civil War occurred before 1920.
- The teaser trailer for Usonia features Mason's flagship playing the 1917 song "Over There" by George M. Cohan on loudspeakers, the lyrics of which say "Yanks" or "Yankees" which other names for Americans, and, assumedly, Usonians as well.
- A feature done by the Templin Institute with the approval of King Art Games details more of Usonia's history, implying that the Revolutionary War was actually multiple conflicts against several Europan colonial powers, Canada is now the Dominion of Laurentia, Mexico is now Aztlan and the fight over the Caribbean against Spain (Hispania according to the video) still occurred when the airship Maine was shot down by "more advanced weapons than what the Hispanian nationalists possessed" (possibly Fenris), though this take has yet to be officially confirmed by the developers or in game.
- Usonia was originally composed of 19 rebelling states from several different European colonial powers.
- This implies that the real-life Seven Years War or an equilivant conflict did not take place until after Usonia's independence, and that original 19 colonies of Usonia included the Thirteen Colonies, Florida and Louisiana, controlled by Albion, Hispania and Frankia respectively.
- In the world of 1920+, Usonia is made-up of 48 states - controlling similar overseas territories to the real-world United States of America in the 1920s: the Poniente Archipelago (real-life Philippines), the Hawaiian Islands, many small atolls in the Pacific, the Grand Union Canal (real-life Panama Canal) and the Coabana Islands in the Caribbean (real-life Puerto Rico/US Virgin Islands).
- Usonia controls territory in northern Mexico, however Alaska is controlled by the Rusviet Union.
Gallery[]
Codex[]
Artwork[]
| Lore | ||||||||||
| General | Factions | The Factory | ||||||||
| World of 1920+ Airship |
Playable Polania Republic Saxony Empire Rusviet Tsardom Federal Union of Usonia Featured(Non-Playable) The Factory Fenris Arabia Clan Albion Togawa Shogunate Frankish Italy Mentioned Only Nordic Kingdoms Crimean Khanate United States of Aztlan Dominion of Laurentia Hispania |
Nikola Tesla Vesna Tesla | ||||||||
| Polanian Characters | Saxon Characters | Rusviet Characters | ||||||||
| Anna Kos Wojtek Piotr Kos Lech Kos Janek Kos Michal Sikorski |
Gunter von Duisburg Nacht and Tag Prince Wilhelm of Saxony Frieda Ruete Kaiser Friedrich of Saxony Heinrich Steinmetz General Sturmm
|
Olga Romanova Changa Grigori Rasputin Tsar Nicholas Viktor Popov Lev Alekseevich Zubov Viktor
|
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