Socialist Republics of Gladel

The Socialist Republics of Gladel is an alliance of republics that are situated primarily in Southeast Montana.

History
Officially formed in 2602 in response to growing fears among Southern Montanans of the rapid expansion of the Federal Union of Columbia, Gladel's member-states had existed for decades prior. While historical knowledge of the 21st Century is largely gone, it is known that Southern Montana had a strong socialist presence.

The alliance owes its name to 21st Century socialist Johnathan Glade, who later went on to be Montana's final governor while under American control and the first governor of the independent State of Montana. While his reign is lost to time, Glade came to symbolize freedom, liberty, and democracy during the years of the Elkhorn Empire due to his apparent opposition to imperialism and fascism.

The initial years of the alliance proved difficult with many of the member-states bickering amongst one another over their future. Of note, both Butte and Anaconda were not socialist but were social democracies.

By 2625, the bickering between the member-states had largely ceased with the alliance putting all of its efforts towards the training of an army strong enough to defend against Columbia. When the Glade War broke in 2627, Gladel proved to be a far stronger enemy than Columbia had anticipated.

Under the leadership of now-controversial Auric Wingsteed, Gladel successfully managed to secure its independence after seven-years of fierce warfare. The treaty that followed the war gave full control of Butte and Anaconda to Columbia and stipulated that the two powers would be unable to legally wage war against one another for the next thirty years.

Since the conclusion of the Glade War, Gladel's economy has stabilized, a strong national identity has formed, and its army has grown to be highly formidable. To this day, Gladel and Columbia continue to have tense relations with one another, mostly due to the large presence of anti-Glade sentiments in Eastern Columbia, but trade remains strong between the two.