“No! This alliance must not become reality! It is of utter strategic importance that France does not ally with the Russian Tsar!”

- Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany

It was these words that were the first step on the path that brought the world to where it is today – bitter, angered and merciless. With these words, Kaiser Wilhelm II sponsored the revolutionary movement Narodnaya Volya, with the sole goal of toppling the Russian Empire, thus unknowingly condemning hundreds of thousands from both sides to death.

In place of the Russian Empire came the Soviet Union – a nation centered on the belief that communism is the only way to world peace and equality. A nation that saw the European states and empires as decadent, decayed - a complete antithesis to everything that communism stood for. A society that was an affront which could no longer be tolerated and had to be shown the true way.

Thus, under the pretext that the Soviet Union had an obligation to all proletariat in the world did the Red Army invade Europe. On the night of August 1935, hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers and vehicles, grouped in three armies, crossed the border between the recently founded European Alliance and the Soviet Union. The now combined European armies, though unsurprised as they had been preparing for this inevitable clash, were none the less ill-equipped to handle a war on this scale. This war shattered the idea of gentleman’s combat in the battle of Budapest.

<a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Alliance-moodshot1_small1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-6886" title="MountyBlog" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Alliance-moodshot1_small1.jpg" alt="" width="543" height= /></a>

The Red Army was pressing hard for the capitals of the eastern countries in the European alliance, sweeping aside all opposition in its path. The Europeans had been on the defensive, falling back before the unchecked might of the Red Tide. The world was changing for them; the colonies in Latin America and Africa had rebelled and seceded, former allies had abandoned them. European High Command was determined to make a stand at Budapest. Should the Soviets carry the day, Austria, Italy and South Eastern Europe could be cut off.

With roughly two million soldiers on both sides, the Battle of Budapest turned into carnage of unimaginable proportions. The Soviet soldiers were hurling themselves into the battle with their European counterparts who were responding to the assaults with grim determination. The sky was darkened from flak and burning zeppelins and aircraft were seen falling from the sky in great balls of fire. Soviet armored divisions were closing around the city ready to encircle the defenders. This would have been a disaster for the European forces, and it was only with the introduction of the still experimental Siege Tanks that the crisis was averted. An entire armored division of the “Earth Shaker” Siege Tanks were hastily dispatched to the battle and managed to inflict such heavy casualties on Soviet armor and morale that the Red Army was forced to retreat. Victory was achieved… but at a terrible price – roughly 500,000 soldiers had lost their lives in the three month long battle. The “Pearl of the Danube” was shattered and devastated beyond recognition.

And for all that, this was only the first great battle of many more to come!

Hello, Everyone! Hope everybody is looking forward to a nice weekend. Just to get you on your way ,we've prepared a special video for you! ISOTX CEO Vincent van Geel shares what he loves about the game and gaming in general. Check it out and have an awesome weekend!

http://store.steampowered.com

Have a great weekend !

If you've been paying close attention to our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/isotx" target="_blank">YouTube Channel</a> and Blog, you've probably noticed that we've been adding a lot of speed painting videos. We decided to make a recap for you so you can take a look at all of them! Keep a close eye on our Channel for more awesome art and content!

The United Republic is readying its advanced aircraft and experimental weaponry in its pursuit of freedom and profit! For Liberty!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/9YlTz71poyc

From the jungles of South America, the Latin Junta is preparing to throw its highly skilled guerrilla soldiers and toxic weapons into the fray for World Domination. Viva la Revolucion!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/xsnZxEayCnk

To the East, Asia's armies march to challenge the Old Superpowers and bring the rule of the Emperor of the Shogun Empire to rest of the world! Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/yhE-G9a4uXE

The endless tides of soldiers and heavy weapon platforms of the Red Army are marching to war, ready to spread the benefits of Communism! За Родину! За коммунистическое будущее!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/v0_zd-5er9M

The world is on the brink of a war the likes of which has never been seen. A war of frightening weaponry and epic proportions! Are you ready to lead ? Are you ready to march to war ?
http://www.youtube.com/embed/D4kbhufKhGU

Special thanks to Jay Productions and our very own Michal Kus for the great videos and art!

We are looking for a kickass Canadian accent for a voice-over! As you all know March of War will be released pretty soon, and the Canadian Mounties are still without a voice. They are United Republic infantry and are similar to the G.I.s, but are more focused on fast movement around the battlefield.<p>

At any case we still need a good voice-over for this unit and that’s where you come in. The rules of this competition are simple:
<ul>
<li>Record the following line “Those hosers won't know what hit them!”</li>
<li>And send it to us! The winner will be asked to record the whole script (14 short lines) and will be the voice of the Canadian Mounties!</li>
<li>The deadline of the competition is July 2nd. Submissions that are sent after that date will not be eligible.</li>
</ul>
<div><a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/MountyBlog.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-6886" title="MountyBlog" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/MountyBlog.jpg" alt="" width="543" height="768" /></a></div><p>
<span style="color: #cccccc;"><strong>How to record</strong></span><br>
Make sure you are in a quiet area with no background noise. If you’ve got a separate microphone, use that as it will limit the noise and static in the recording. However, be careful not to use the microphone close to your speakers. You won’t need to download a recording program, you can simply go to Soundcloud, make an account, and when you click on upload you will get the option to record something. Once your recording is done, you can easily share your voice-over with us by e-mailing the link to community@isotx.com, or contact MechanicalAngel or SneakySoundz.<p>

<span style="color: #cccccc;"><strong>The Republican Mounties</strong></span><br>
The day the Canadian prime minister announced that Canada was breaking its bonds with the United Kingdom was the day the country erupted in flames. The Royalists, mostly consisting of the Mounties, protested this break with the Crown of England, arguing that they had sworn an oath the serve the Queen, not the prime minister. Without a police force, Canada almost spiralled into a civil war. The Royalists had taken up arms and were pursuing those who supported the Republic.<p>

After a particularly violent act of terrorism, where over a hundred civilians were killed after a bomb exploded in a market square in Vancouver, the United States decided, after many pleas from the prime minister, to intervene. This resulted in the quickest and dirtiest solution money can buy; targeted air raids to root out the rebels. The tired, starving, Royalists were no match for the planes and flying soldiers of the Republican forces.<p>

The United States brought down the Royalists and reinstated the Mounties as a division in the Republican army. With civil war avoided, Canada joined the United States, together forming the United Republic; the name chosen to emphasize that Royalists will not be tolerated.

Commander, I need your help! Over 5,000 people have already liked our Facebook page, but the war can’t start until we reach 100,000 likes! Will you help me? Soldiers who lend me a hand can win March of War posters, T-shirts, and other goodies.<p>

“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country!” John F. Kennedy<p>

<span style="color: #cccccc;"><strong>Here is what you can do to join the war effort:</strong></span><br>
- <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MarchofWar">Like our page</a><br>
- Share this image on you own page and ask your friends to like us as well<p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MarchofWar"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6869" title="ThisPersonWillMarchToWar01" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ThisPersonWillMarchToWar01.jpg" alt="" width="398" height="281" /></a></p>
<em>The line in front of the recruitment office was astronomical, going all the way around the corner. Joe had been waiting for an hour and only now saw the front door. He had dreamed of joining the army for years and today he’d turned eighteen.</em><p>

<em>His mother cried this morning; his father was proud though he didn’t say it. He would be out there, fighting for freedom. Joe didn’t care about the rumors of corruption and human experiments in the army. Starting today he would make his country proud!</em><p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MarchofWar"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-6870" title="Union_MTW" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Union_MTW.jpg" alt="" width="531" height="254" /></a></p>

Legends and fairy tales are not unknown among the Marauders. Stories of bravery, of fearsome monsters, of impossible feats are still told around the campfires and during the feasts when the loot is divided!  One story is famous above all else - "The dream of Captain Jacky". It tells the tale of a drunk marauder captain waking up in an enchanted forest filled with monsters and enemies alike. He had to fight his way out of the dream and that was no easy matter. The only thing that could save him was a blue pill, on top of a mountain that was in the middle of the forest filled monsters and his enemies!

<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Midsummer_Nighmares.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-6856" title="Midsummer_Nighmares" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Midsummer_Nighmares.jpg" alt="" width="543" height="225" /></a></p>

Are you ready to relive Captain Jacky's dream? Enter the enchanted forest. Don't stop moving! Keep going! Only a blue pill can make you wake up! Beware, others are trapped in the dream too, but there is only one blue pill! Good luck, Marauder!

The tribes of Africa would never stand strong, they said. The tribes of Africa are savages, no more than the beasts they claim to master. While the world was looking at the European Alliance and the Soviet Union, the Warlords united to reclaim <em>their</em> lands. It was not unheard of for the tribes of Africa to stand together when it suited the need of all the tribes. To <em>stay</em> united, that was the surprise Africa had for the world. And that surprise came in the form of a dark diamond, Hanifa.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/African-beastmaster.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-6830" title="African-beastmaster" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/African-beastmaster.jpg" alt="" width="543" height="427" /></a></p>
“Her eyes shone like twin stars the night before the attack,” they said. Half of Africa is in love with her. Hanifa smiled at the serenades and the gifts. The men went to war for love, but she knew they won because she inspired something more in them. Among the beastmasters of the forgotten continent she was without peer. Her elephant Bin nuzzled his trunk in her neck. She fed him a papaya.</p>

She gazed over the plain filled with the warriors of Africa. Beside her the war elephant grazed peacefully. At times like this it was hard to imagine that the gentle elephant would gore the enemy at her command. That was a mistake her adversaries often made. The white men thought her soft. But they mistook her care and love for animals with compassion. Her brothers respected her, because she respected the spirit of the animal. Her animals respected her, because she cared for the spirit of the animal. Her enemies would be mistaken not to respect her, because she would never hesitate to harness the spirit of the animal.</p>

Her reverie was roughly interrupted by screaming. Looking to check where the noise came from, she saw that one of the baragumu had gotten out of control and was stampeding through the camp. Fortunately, it was close by and Hanifa hurried over to lend a hand, loading her tranquilizer gun as she sprinted to the camp. She took aim; there was only one spot on a baragumu’s thick hide that could be penetrated by the dart. Her aim was true, and the behemoth sunk to the ground, crushing tents and men in the process. That was the risk of these beasts, nothing could ensure complete control. She would sit with the baragumu to make sure he would be calm when he woke, and then lead him back to the herd.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/African-Overlord.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-6831" title="African-Overlord" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/African-Overlord.jpg" alt="" width="543" height="508" /></a></p>
During colonial times the baragumu became almost extinct. Hunted down, like the rhino and the elephant, for their ivory and thick, strong hides. Despite her years of experience, it still amazed Hanifa that this king of beasts, the largest land animal in the world, had enough respect for her to follow her commands.

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/MarchofWar">The pilot episode of March of War will launch when we reach 100,000 likes on our Facebook page!</a> Keep an eye on our page for give-aways of March of War merchandise and competitions.

<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MarchofWar"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-6807" title="100k_LikeCampagne_design01_marchToWar" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/100k_LikeCampagne_design01_marchToWar1.jpg" alt="" width="506" height="242" /></a></p>

<em>Havana 1944 - Compañeros, the eyes of the world are upon you. Fellow revolutionaries, the colonial oppressor was surprised when we took up arms and liberated ourselves! Not twenty years ago, the Brigadas Revoluciónarias started to build an America for the people, a Latin Junta.

We fought a bloody war. Many of us have given their lives, but many more or our enemies have fallen!

How different it is when people are free. How different it is when the people rule! I see thousands of compadres de revolución gather here on Plaza de la Revolución de Cuba, and I know that millions more support our cause! Today we will take up arms and show the world what it’s like when the people rule.

People of Havana, we march to war when 100,000 gather here tomorrow!

Hasta la victoria siempre!</em>

The Black Market has the Baron Rocket Tank on sale this Sunday. Time to revisit the Barons of Kathos. It is a well-known fact the most Barons are swimming in money and with no actually political influence or positions, the Barons tend to spend their money of frivolous things.

The Baron Rocket Tank didn’t actually start life as a war-machine. Former military commander Baron Varinus Namea was well known for his extravagant garden parties, which often featured impressive fireworks displays. One day he decided to hold a simulated battle, and ordered the creation of a series of tanks specially designed to launch fireworks instead of shells, at great speed.

<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/FireworksImage_01.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-6796" title="FireworksImage_01" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/FireworksImage_01.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="364" /></a></p>
However, when a crew of marauders crashed his party and overwhelmed the guards, Namea took command and rallied the last of his men around the firework tanks. Picking out the largest rockets, Namea found that with some careful aim, they were more than capable of breaking up infantry formations and even stunning light vehicles and tanks – not to mention that the enormous explosions of colored sparks and flames made the rockets seem much more impressive than they actually were.

<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/specialDeal_Banner_BaronRocketTank.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6794" title="specialDeal_Banner_BaronRocketTank" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/specialDeal_Banner_BaronRocketTank.jpg" alt="" width="520" height="229" /></a></p>

The marauders still got away with plenty of loot, but Baron Namea managed to save himself from being kidnapped – and it put his mind towards thoughts of rocket based weapons. In the end, the tank itself needed few alterations from the initial firework launching model; a bit more armor and a better engine were enough. The rockets themselves took longer and producing munitions with enough firepower and accuracy which were still small enough to be launched from the Rocket Tanks proved challenging. Baron Namea had to compromise the power of the rockets in the end, but he did manage to maintain the rapid rate of fire. Rocket Tanks are now a common sight in Baron armies.

The world is in a constant state of change. It is like a ripple in a pond, it starts small but its waves reach all ends and change everything in small or large measure. When Kaiser Wilhelm II sent the communist dissidents of the “Narodnaya Volya” to the Russian empire, he didn’t know that his small stone would create such a ripple that the pond would never remain the same.

This small stone, thrown so casually, would topple the mighty Russian tzardom and change a way of life. But then again, change is one of the two constant things in Russia. Change and cold. Russia became the Soviet Union. What belonged to the well-off few, now belonged to all. What were once the estates of royalty and glamorous nobility now became collectivist farmsteads and industrial centers working day and night for the progress of the new nation. Everything that was old was cast down, everything that was new – embraced! Individualism was vilified, collectivism was admired. An ideal was wholeheartedly brought to life!

Cyril Ilarionovitch was lost in his thoughts as he was staring blankly in his glass. Not long ago he was homeschooling the young heirs to a vast estate that belonged to a Kniaz. He was teaching them French, Geometry, Etiquette and other subjects that were privy to the nobility only. Now he, a man of learning, was working in a tractor factory like many others. He was happy with that, for he had been close to the now despised nobility and anti-revolutionaries. He had been teaching their children, and people were shot for much less. But he missed the little ones, and their little faces full of curiosity.

<a href="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/MarchOfWar_UnionStory01.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6783" title="MarchOfWar_UnionStory01" src="http://www.isotx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/MarchOfWar_UnionStory01.jpg" alt="" width="603" height="388" /></a>

Across the room in the run down inn sat Dmitry Suvorov. He had been a small peasant boy, a little over seven, when he and his class were told that their teacher had to change schools. A new teacher would come to tell stories of even more interesting and fun things! Now Dmitry was twenty-seven, a young man. He was overseer at the tractor factory near Volgograd. He had finished high school and had achieved much, all thanks to his hard work. Him - the son of a peasant. Now everything is within his grasp, there are no limits to what a person of low-birth can achieve. Now, there is no such thing as low-birth for all are equal, all are entitled to the same and all were working to fill their quotas and help bring about a bright socialist future for their children. He was brought up with the belief that the proletariat of the world are brothers. His teacher told him that he had a duty to all workers around the world and he firmly believed in that duty. He would teach his own son that duty as well.

Both Cyril and Dmitry stood up, and picked up their coats. It was time to head home, for tomorrow there were quotas to fill. Once they noticed each other, Cyril saluted his overseer with Dmitry responding with a salute as well – “Good evening, comrade”.