Name:
The Dingo
Dingo Hegemony

Territory:
None

Cities:
None

History:

(Much of the background for the Dingo can be found under the History of the Echidna)

Little is known of the dingo prior to their initial contact, and conflicts with, the Echidna in the land that is now Downunda. Genetic and linguistic studies have proven that they are more closely related to the continental canine breeds than to the Wolf Packs; the common theory being that they were then not a parallel offshoot of that ancient breed, but a nomadic people, descendants of canine "short haired" migrants to eastern Mobius, and native to the arid regions of the Southeast peninsula.

Even in the heyday of the First Mogulian Republic, when they area was brought under the jurisdiction of the Despotate Tiberius the Minor, little success was made in transforming the local nomadic proto-dingo into settled peoples. Rather, the Republic preferred to recruit the hardy warriors as mercenaries. This was to change around 500 MC, when the First Republic fell to a coalition of rogue Despotates under the overall command of Proconsul Parandmus Bahndar, a half dingo canine who had originally been a mercenary in the Army. During this time, dingo raiders took a heavy and unopposed toll on the meticulously built irrigation networks that had slowly transformed much of the Southeastern Peninsula from arid scrubland to cultivated field.

As a result of this pillage, and irreparable damage done to canals, dykes, and underground water channels, the land reverted to arid steppe and desert. The dingo had 'won back' their land from the foreign settlers, but their own population (now higher than it had ever been before) was about to pay the price for it. Without the farmlands and Mogulian towns to trade with, the dingo found themselves short on food and water. Several years of unseasonable drought compounded the problem, and large numbers of dingo fled to the north and east.

In the north, the dingo nomads managed to overrun thousands of square miles of still rich farmland in the Great Plains, establishing the short lived Dingo Empire in the "wood capitol" of Dingora. For a time, this entity stretched the entire length of coast from the southernmost tip of the Southeast peninsula, all the way up to the Clanlands of the Frozen North, and from the Tranquil Sea to the Felix Mountains. At the same time, other groups of dingo built (or acquired through plunder) many Mogulian triremes, and with these craft braved the Straits of White beyond the Chalk Cliffs, landing in western Downunda. Within a few decades, the First Republic had been replaced by the Second, which immediately began to put pressure on the Dingo Empire. By the time the northern dingo began to feel the assault of the Second Mogulian Republic, they had become more accustomed to a civilized existence. When the Empire collapsed, the leaders fled south, and then across the Straits of White into Downunda.

Thus laying the foundations of the Dingo Hegemony.

The well-documented conflicts between the Dingo and Echidna continued well into the present. In part, this was the Dingo commitment to a Downunda civilization, instead of a continental one. No doubt the rich mineral resources of Downunda, and its relative isolation, were substantial motivators in light of a still hostile Second Republic on the main continent. By the mid second millennium, (around 2500 MC), the dingo population of the Southeastern Peninsula was negligible, and composed of an elite that ruled over other mobian breeds that had resettled the region. In fact, for virtually a millennium, the region was a vassal of both the Dingo Hegemony and the Second Republic.

Dingo presence in the Southeastern Peninsula disappeared altogether in 2480 MC, when the Kingdom of Acorn under the rule of Charon the Great annexed the Southeastern Peninsula, decisively defeating the Tappenden (dingo for 'warrior') Despotates that had administered to the region for the last eight hundred years (long after the fall of the Mogulian Republics, themselves). The last Tappenden Despotate of Dingoland (the Southeastern Peninsula) fled with his followers to Downunda, where the title survived in ceremonial form for another fifty years. Eventually, it was given to the King of the Acorn Dynasty, Xerxes II Braccius, as a diplomatic gesture of recognition.

As was mentioned previously, the Dingo Hegemony reached a pinnacle of power in the years after the Fall of the Third Republic, and the Sacking of Echidnapolis during the Carnivore (or 'Two Hundred Years') War, an event engineered by the legendary General Hernando von Danz. For almost four hundred years, the Dingo Hegemony was the most powerful entity on the planet, controlling the entirety of Downunda, large tracts of the Great Plains, Cat Country and the Southwest Continent of Mobius Minor. Lands from all across Mobius paid homage and vassalage to the Hegemony: the Tappenden in Dingoland, for example, and a great many of the Warring States that occupied the lands of the former Third Republic (including Houses Vorn and Acre, which would later form the Kingdom of Acorn). The dingo decline, in large part due to a number of foreign diseases striking Downunda, and cemented by the arrival of the Kayla-Dann Comet in 2814, broke the back of the Hegemony.

Still, after several generations of de-facto servitude to the echidna, the dingo reformed the Hegemony under the indomitable Director-General Ulrich von Graff, under the pretext of fighting off the Kitsune Incursions of 2850 to 2910. Shortly after, they dingo again attempted to retake the Floating Island (which, as a part of Downunda, they considered theirs), and reassert control over their rivals the echidna. The greatest opportunity came following the Edmund-Dimitri feud, and the Echidna Luddite Movement. The dingo efforts were foiled, however, by the steadfast commitment of the Echidna Guardians, prompting the Dingo Director-General of that time, Ludwig von Essel, to make an alliance with the Human Octavian Kintobor, whose grandfather had led a failed expedition to the Floating Island in 2960. The Fallout of 3050 removed both echidna and dingo from the island for almost two hundred years.

Having been displaced into a parallel zone by the Guardian Hawking, the dingo of Dingo City continued their plans for a resurgence and re-conquest of the Floating Island, fighting on and off with the echidna of Echidnapolis when their Zones permitted contact. Both also worked independently towards a solution to their imprisonment, but before it could be achieved, the use of the Ultimate Annihilator by Robotnick Prime on Mobius sent the two Zones reintegrating onto the Floating Island. During the process, only one could be saved, and in the end that was Echidnapolis. Abandoning Dingo City, and its vast munitions and weapons facilities, the remaining dingo found themselves again at the mercy of the echidna, without weapons, government, or even a home.

Under the leadership of General Vicktor von Stryker the dingo participated in several major events, including the Mogul Crisis, and most recently the Battle(s) of Knothole. For this last engagement, the dingo organized substantial resources that had been taken out of Dingo City prior to its destruction, and which had been hidden to avoid echidna confiscation. Seeking political equality with the echidna, with no success, Stryker has organized numerous protests and mock-uprisings, but has had no success influencing the echidna political leadership. With the patronage of Miles "Tails" Prower and the construction of War Machine Factories under dingo control, he was assured a new homeland in the continent of Mobius Minor, where the General could formally re-create the Hegemony.

Advantages and Disadvantages:


Dingoes are large mobians, and are physically very hardy. Dingo society revolves around service to the State and a charismatic leader, military or otherwise. They prize efficiency, productivity, and honor above all else. The dingo, however, are without a state of their own, leaving a bitter taste in their collective mouths. The Dingo have no say in echidna politics, and contribute little to the economy beyond menial service jobs. This changed, only recently, with the construction of armament factories to be operated by Dingo, employing Dingo. This empowerment led to the Dingoes close relationship with the Kingdom of Acorn through Miles Prower (who funded the construction of the factories). Despite heavy losses in the Battle of Knothole, the dingo can still field a very formidable military presence, and their demands for a new homeland are getting harder and harder to ignore.

Other Notes:

Characters:
General Viktor von Stryker

Details on Characters:

Military:

It has been said, and not unjustly, that the dingo are not a subtle people. Nuance is not prized in their society, and their doctrines for war fighting reflect this. Dingo weapons are designed not simply to kill, but to reduce to as many pieces as possible, as efficiently as possible. The dingo invented the effective use of field artillery, sometime around 2000 MC, and continued to be at the forefront of its development. Most dingo infantry weapons are extremely efficient and effective, though heavy – they are designed for large bodied dingo to use, not normal mobians. High explosives and projectiles are the dingo's preferred fare, and they generally eschew the ostentatious-ness of energy weapons (the exact opposite of the echidna). The dingo have, however, been developing the promising technology of Ion Weapons as of 3237, but to its successful implementation in the Cyclone type War Machines.

The dingo military is organized along conventional lines, the basic unit of which is a squad of 8 dingoes. Unlike other Mobians, however, dingo war fighting doctrines employ twice as many heavy weapons at the squad level, taking advantage of the greater strength of the average dingo. Above that, there are four Squads in a Platoon plus two Platoon Sergeants and the Platoon Leader. There are four Platoons in a Company, plus a Company HQ and a 60mm & 80mm mortar battery; Companies are typically designated Wanderer (A), Hunter (B), Prowler (C) and Stalker (D). All four Companies together with a Regimental HQ and assigned Regimental Artillery batteries (of 105mm and High Energy field guns) makes a full Regiment, around 600 strong. The Regiment that fought in the Defense of Knothole in 3237 was the combined 63rd and 56th Infantry. Two other Regiments (the combined 22nd, 12th and 6th, and the combined 31st, 45th, and 48th) fought as the core of the Allied (Mobian) Expeditionary Force. Some additional assets were committed to that great battle: including limited Divisional and Corps Artillery, some rebuilt Divisional Armor and Robot assets and Divisional fixed, hover, and rotary wing commitments.

In its heyday, the Dingo Hegemony fielded nine full Armies (Eighteen operational Corps.) of 64 Regiments, each. Prior to the destruction of the Second Dingo City, the Dingo maintained only one standing Army (and one in Reserve). Despite the decimation suffered over the years, the Dingo have maintained their strict military hierarchy, in name and official rank if not in function (with no standing Divisions or Corps, multiple Generals are unnecessary). The current highest-ranking General (Four Stars) is Viktor von Stryker.