The Broseph Leaks

The Broseph Leaks were a mass uncovering of secret documents and intelligence after the removal of General Broseph from command of the SIA Armed Forces. The leaks revealed multiple plans for new technologies, and plans for the Shopper military after the war.

Background

 * See 2015 Shopper Economic Crisis and Liberation of Planet 1984 for more information.

In the beginning of 2015, Shops' economic situation took a turn for the worse. The Military Industrial Complex, which was responsible for much of Shops' economic capacity, had declared bankruptcy, and had brought many industries down with it. Meanwhile, Shops Island had discovered Planet 1984, and it became obvious that it would have to be liberated. Half way through the conflict, General Broseph decided to start carpet bombing civilian and military targets, an act that president Lavender had specifically forbidden before the conflict broke out. General Broseph was reprimanded severely, and was dishonorably discharged from his position as Grand General of the Shopper Armed Forces. His cousin Baron von Broseef assumed this position.

After Broseph's discharge, the SIA poured through many personal files of Broseph and his closest partners to check for anything that could harm Shopper security. While searching through Broseph's files, they made one shocking discovery after another. The rest of this article outlines what was discovered, and the ramifications of these artifacts' intentions.

New Technologies
After the war, Broseph and his cohorts had planned to invent many new technologies for the SIA, which would help Shops grow into Antarctica's foremost military power. To achieve Broseph's daunting military ambitions, he would need to make the Shopper military even bigger and better than it was before.

Battleships
One of the first ideas on the block was a new type of warship. Broseph believed that, for his purposes after the war on Planet 1984 was done, dreadnoughts would no longer suffice in keeping Shops Island as Antarctica's foremost naval power. This new battleship would be the largest and most powerful Antarctica had ever seen. In fact, one of these battleships had already been confirmed for construction by Broseph, and had already been put under construction in a South Joseonean shipyard.

Nuclear Technologies
Broseph and his colleagues had also planned to build a devastating new device which would change the face of nuclear warfare. It was not a nuclear weapon itself, but it was definitely a weapon of great terror. They theorized a device which could devastate other countries in a new way, from the safety of home. They called it the "Dead Bomb". This device would be capable of detonating the nuclear weapons of other countries from the safe vantage point of Shops Island. This would be used in preparation for a Shopper Squarium attack and subsequent invasion. Luckily, only the blueprints of these devices were uncovered, and they were promptly destroyed before anyone could get their flippers on them.

Soldiers
It was also obvious that invading a nuclear nation where all their weapons were just detonated would pose problems, notably radiation. New soldier squadrons, mainly made of those who lived in Planet 1984, would be equipped with special radiation-proof uniforms, complete with things like gas masks and oxygen tanks.

Shopper Political Landscape
As a result of Lavender's half-step approach to fixing the 2015 Economic Crisis, and his reluctant attitude to the Liberation of Planet 1984, Broseph planned to lobby a vote of non-confidence through the Common Legislature, which would then cause an election to be held. Broseph planned to win the ballot, and if not, he would take the office by force.

After ascending to the role of president, he wrote that he planned to invoke the "War Measures Act". The War Measures Act was an amendment to the Shopper constitution that was added not long after Lavender took office in 2013. It entailed that in times of total war, or great crisis, the president would be able to invoke the act. The War Measures Act revoked the Shopper Bill of Rights and effectively eliminated any civil rights held by the citizens, giving the president absolute power in the case of a dire situation. Broseph planned to enact it to put away those who would dissent to his next move.

His next move was to greatly expand the military, starting with drafting citizens from the occupied Planet 1984. Broseph wanted to create a Shopper army of 100,000,000 strong, a number ten times greater than mainland Shops' population at the time.

Under the War Measures Act, Broseph also planned to effectively dissolve the Common Legislature, and abolish the government of Shops Island as it currently exists, as well as the office of the presidency, and start from scratch. He wrote that he planned to rename "The Democratic Industrial Island of Shops" into the "Greater Shopper Empire", an allusion to his next daunting move.

Military Plans for Shops Island
General Broseph and his colleagues also created a detailed plot for taking over all of Antarctica, starting with the USA, and then moving on to the Ninja Archipelago, Asiapelago, and other places. It was a plan that would have killed over 150,000,000 people, according to estimates. This part of the article details the plans laid out by Broseph and his cohorts.

Preparation
Many of the new technological ideas and innovations were key in preparing for an invasion of the USA, most notably the "Dead Bomb", which was capable of remotely detonating a country's nuclear weapons. They planned to remotely detonate the entirety of the USA's nuclear arsenal, as to eliminate the threat of a nuclear strike in retaliation of an invasion. Any other nuclear states that posed a threat would also have their weapons detonated. This action, according to estimates, would kill millions even before the invasion.

Broseph wanted to attack the USA from as many fronts as possible. Many troops would be put in the territories of the Frosian Islands, New Delphis, and Cheeseland. Broseph expected the government of Ed Island to allow Shopper troops to use the island as a launch point as well, but if not, Ed Island would be steamrolled and summarily occupied. After seeing what happened during the Great Snowzerland War VI, Broseph thought that the country of Polaris would let Shopper troops use their nation as a launching point as well.

But, Broseph wanted another launching point located on the Antarctic mainland. To gain this, he would provoke a conflict with Shops' oldest enemy, East Pengolia. After setting off a confrontation, Broseph would use the Frosian Islands as a launching point to invade East Pengolia from. He expected that there would be no action taken on the behalf of other nations to help East Pengolia. Now the path was clear for the invasion of the USA.

Invasion of the USA

 * To get a better idea, take a look at the map in the infobox above.

Broseph and his colleagues estimated that at least 100,000,000 troops would be needed for the initial invasion of the USA. The invasion would officially be called Operation: Mars. Broseph expected Antarctica troops to get suspicious when Shopper troops started lining up along the USA border, so instead, Broseph planned for the first attack to come from New Delphis, catching the Antarctic troops completely off guard. The New Delphis column would split in three directions. The first column would blitzkrieg westwards along the northern border of the USA with Freezeland and Polaris, and stop around Região Lisboaguesa to meet up with another group. The second column would make a beeline for South Pole City, starting a heavy attack early in the invasion. The third column would swing south along the USA's coast, cutting off some of the USA's most important sea ports.

Now that Antarctic troops would be distracted, tens of millions of Shopper troops would simultaneously invade from East Pengolia, Ed Island, and Cheeseland. The East Pengolia Group would split four ways. The first column would head north along the east coast of the USA, meeting up with the other column from the New Delphis Invasion Group. The second column would also make a beeline for South Pole City. The third column would race along the southern coast of the USA, cutting off almost all of the rest of the USA's ports, meeting up with another column eventually. The fourth and final column would make a pincer movement, and cut off West Pengolia from the rest of Antarctica, and summarily occupy it.

Troops invading from Ed Island would split into three columns, just like those invading from New Delphis. The first column of the Ed Island Invasion Group would speed up north, up the Antarctic Peninsula, and to capture the strategic island of Club Penguin, which held great significance to the USA. The second column would head towards the border of Região Lisboaguesa to meet up with one of the columns from New Delphis. The third column would race along the USA's southern coast, meeting up with the East Pengolia Group also pushing down the coast. These actions would effectively rob the USA of almost all its sea ports, allowing Shops Island to have complete dominance of the seas.

Two columns would also invade from Cheeseland, one invading Club Penguin directly, and one invading the last of the USA's ports on the Antarctic Peninsula.

There were also rumors of an invasion of Freezeland via the northern USA, Cheeseland, and Polaris, but this was unconfirmed.

After the initial invasion, and the borders of the USA were encircled, it was time to push in. Many invasion columns would merge into larger ones, and begin a push into South Pole City. It was predicted that it may have taken up to a month to secure the USA's capital.

During the invasions, countless bombing raids would be conducted against military and civilian targets in the USA, to kill their morale and their capability to wage war. If any region got too troublesome, Broseph wrote that he had no qualms with using Squarium weapons in many situations. South Pole City, however, would be preserved from a Squarium bombing. Broseph also predicted that the Shopper Air Force would be able to quickly establish air superiority over the skies of the USA.

Immediately after the fall of the USA, Shopper troops would probably invade Polaris, Freezeland, and Archet, establishing almost full dominance over the USA. Região Lisboaguesa would be passed until later.

After the Invasion of the USA
After South Pole City fell, Broseph knew that there would be consequences. Shops would have to make its next move fast before other nations could arm themselves. Broseph expected that there would be many citizens of the USA sympathetic to the Shopper cause, and so Broseph planned to actively recruit new soldiers to fight for the Greater Shopper Empire.

Broseph had made it clear that the next target would be the Ninja Archipelago, as that was where the other great military powers of Antarctica resided. However, plans for invading the Ninja Archipelago were vague at best, and there weren't many detailed plans for battle in the documents uncovered, as opposed to that of the USA invasion. Broseph planned to attack before these nations could adequately prepare for battle. Broseph planned to invade the Ninja Archipelago in the following order of countries: Castilla, Snowzerland, Rusca, Puffle'and, Frankterre, Lisboagal (and Região Lisboaguesa), Liguria, and then to mop up the rest of the AU countries. By this point, The Shopper army, navy, and air force would all be almost unstoppable.

However, invading the Ninja Archipelago was much less certain than invading the USA. Many of Broseph's colleagues expected that the AU countries might form an alliance, and create something of a "super army". It made the Shopper advance seem hopeless. However, Broseph was prepared to use his "Dead bomb" once again, followed by swift Squarium attacks to level the countries of the Ninja Archipelago. After this, their colonies would also be seized.

After the defeat of the Ninja Archipelago, Broseph predicted that the last of his great challengers would be defeated. He would then split Shopper forces, to invade the Sub-Antarctic Islands, the Asiapelago, UnitedTerra, and all other nations and territories. After this, Shops would be in total control of all of Antarctica. The "Greater Shopper Empire"'s blitzkrieg across Antarctica would be swift and crushing.

However, there was also the risk of attack from enemy nations. To prepare for this, Shopper colonies and the homeland would be locked down and fortified heavily. On the Shopper mainland, defenses would be put up in the air and on the sea to make penetration of Shops Island absolutely impossible, in turn creating "Fortress: Shops".

Even if mainland Shops Island was attacked, it was expected that the attack would be fought off easily. Shops Island would rule Antarctica in the end, but at a great cost. The death toll was estimated to be around 200,000,000 by the time Shops' imperial ambitions were satiated.

Practicality
Despite its grandiose scale and complexity, many military strategists, upon seeing the plans, said that Broseph's war plans probably would have worked, albeit at great cost. Broseph's plan involved swift invasion, a crippling of countries' most important defenses (nuclear weapons), and sheer force. Military strategists eventually agreed that Broseph's plans might not have worked exactly the way he wanted them to, but they almost definitely would have worked, one way or another.

Another risk that was not addressed was the risk of citizens of other countries fleeing. The idea of defectors was overlooked in Broseph's plan, but, according to previous experience, it was clear that a small number of defectors would have no affect on Shops' total domination of Antarctica.

Purpose
Broseph, after settling down to live in Sunset City, was bombarded with questions about his plans that were revealed in the leaks. Broseph stated that he only had the best intentions of his nation in mind, and that he was only going to undertake the conquest of Antarctica because he believed that Shops Island was the superior nation, and that it would be the best for the creatures of Antarctica to be united under Shopper rule. Broseph also stated that the plot would restore Shopper pride, which he thought had been usurped during the economic crisis, and during early 2015, as Lavender seemed to have lost his nerve in office.

Reactions

 * ShopsIslandFlag2013.png Shops Island - President Lavender stated that he was "shocked and outraged" when he heard of the details of the plan. He severely scorned General Broseph for planning to overthrow Lavender's government and establish what Lavender called a dictatorial rule on Shops Island. Lavender, in response to learning that Broseph planned to use the War Measures Act to über-militarize Shops Island and invade Antarctica, decided to repeal the War Measures Act from the constitution. It passed a vote in the Common Legislature almost unanimously. Lavender also stated that these leaks were a "great shame" to Shoppers everywhere.
 * USA flag.PNG United States of Antarctica - President Spike Hike was also shocked at the news of Shopper betrayal. Many expected him to wildly overreact and cut all ties with Shops Island, or even declare war on Shops in retaliation. However, Spike kept his cool and understood that the plans of one Shopper was not representative of all those living in Shops Island. Spike Hike said that he did not feel any differently about Shops Island as a whole or Lavender after hearing about the plans. However, Spike did put forward a massive increase in defense spending, mainly targeted at making sure an invasion like this would not be possible.
 * Flag of Castilla.png Castilla - King Carlos reacted with shock and anger when he heard about Broseph's plans to invade the USA and subsequently the Ninja Archipelago. He stated that General Broseph was a "disgrace to the Shopper people", and that this was a stain on Shops Island's international reputation. In response to hearing about the plans, King Carlos ordered an increase in defense spending.
 * Snozerland Flag 2 edited-1.png Snowzerland - Kaiser Swiss Ninja was furious at Shops Island, whom he already despised, for "conspiring to oppress Antarctica". His statement was heavily critiqued by other politicians and political experts, calling Swiss "hypocritical", regarding his feelings that Broseph's plans were "oppressive".
 * Frankterre Flag.png Frankterre - President Francois Batavia seemed rather indifferent at the idea of Broseph's plans, saying that he had faith that Lavender and the Shopper people as a whole would prevent something like that from happening.
 * Culldromeislesflag.png Culldrome Isles - Supreme Leader Steven Snowen was saddened by the news of Broseph's plans, stating that he felt "betrayed" by General Broseph, whom he had saw as an honorable figure that was supportive of the Culldrome Isles.
 * Munijochempire.png Munijoch - Leader Isaac Juggernaut was one of the few leaders to not respond negatively to the leaks. He stated that Broseph's plans were "bold, courageous and innovative", and he was jealous that Munijoch hadn't thought of something like it first.
 * Ed_Island_Flag.png Ed Island - Hierarch EDFan12345 responded with anger towards the documents, despite being similar to a secret, scrapped doctrine created by his own military.
 * FlagROSn.png Snowiny - Robert Smith was furious with the plans Broseph had for Antarctica. In response, Snowiny denounced Broseph, and showed Lavender that "Snowiny shall stand with them" and fight terror and evil at all costs. Robert Smith also called Broseph "a monster with deep psychological problems".
 * Flag of the Seal Islands.svg Seal Islands - Sealien president Christina van Guilera voiced great disappointment in General Broseph and his plans to destroy Antarctica. Many other prominent politicians of the Seal Islands spoke up against General Broseph as well, some even going as far as to threaten cutting ties with Shops Island. "We shall not cut ties because of one person's crazy warmongering plan," stated the president, "I can guarantee you that the Shoppers are valuable allies and do not threaten our country."

Aftermath and Impact
The Broseph Leaks were a shock to Antarctica as a whole. Many felt that their trust in Shops Island, who had always been a symbol of hope and righteousness, was betrayed. International approval ratings of Shops Island dropped considerably, all because of Broseph's overly ambitious plans.

Many new laws and policies were introduced in Shops Island and abroad to prevent such an event from ever becoming possible. President Lavender and Baron von Broseef personally apologized on behalf of General Broseph's "destructive" ideas. In the USA, a new "Antarctic Wall" was constructed to prevent an invasion, such as outlined in Broseph's plans from becoming possible.

General Broseph himself was disgraced all around Antarctica, and became an international figure of scorn because of his actions, along with the colleagues that cooperated in the plots. There were plots to imprison, or even execute Broseph, but Lavender refused on the grounds of "free speech". Broseph would live out the rest of his life in disgrace, aside from brief involvement in the Shops Civil War. Broseph would eventually apologize for drawing up such plans, and planning to commit such terrible acts to Shops' allies, citing it as the "worst decision [he] ever made". However, Broseph's reputation would never fully recover.