Duchy of Rook

The Duchy of Rook is a small landlocked country in Western Europe, it borders France, Germany, and Switzerland, it's capital and most populous city is Rook Castle, it is the smallest nation in Europe not considered a microstate with a mere 674 square km (419.7 square mi) wide, it is the last remaining independent Duchy in the world.

Founding
The Duchy of Rook's history dates back to the Napoleonic Wars when Rook Castle was built during the War of the Second Coalition in 1800 during the Napoleonic Wars by France, following the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, when the new borders were drawn up, there was an error as a small territory was not given to any nation, this was seemingly not noticed as this stayed the way it was for 60 years until 1875 when the error was finally noticed, however France, Germany, and Switzerland all claimed the territory, however through an election through self-determination in the territory, many wanted to become independent as they grew disillusioned with all of the nation's trying to claim it, despite 2 years of negotiating, the Duchy of Rook was officially created on July 16, 1877, with support from countries like Great Britain and the United States, the nation became a Duchy governed by Duke Charles Cabot however with the Duke being advised by a group of eight governors and a Prime Minister.

1877-1918
The Duchy of Rook slowly grew over the next 20 years with the country advancing however with technology being that of the early Industrial Revolution, by 1914, the country had smoothed over tensions with its neighbors until the spark of the First World War, since it was allied with Germany and France, who were on opposing sides, it did not have a clear ally and until 1916, stayed out of WW1, however in May of 1916, 1,000 German soldiers lead a surprise invasion launching east, despite capturing New Burgundy, the German advancement stalled and would be pushed back by late 1917 with the help of French and American soldiers, despite their victory, the Duchy of Rook was didn't have a say in the Treaty of Versailles.

1919-1939
Following WW1, the Duchy of Rook quickly grew in numbers, with its population first reaching 100,000 in 1921, it would be recognized by the League of Nations the following year, in 1925, the role of Duke was passed to Louis Cabot, by 1936, with the rise of Nazi Germany and its invasion of Czechoslovakia, Duke Louis decided that they were next to fall, he commissioned a secret program known as Project Défenseur which secretly built ten 16 inch size howitzers surrounding Rook Castle nicknamed "The Big Ten" which would destroy any advancements made by the Nazi's into the Duchy.

World War II
On September 3rd, 1939, along with Great Britain; France, and many other nations, the Duchy of Rook declared war on Nazi Germany following its invasion of Poland, despite this, the German invasion of the Duchy of Rook would not occur until May 12th, 1940, two days after the beginning of the invasion of France, a combined force of 20,000 German soldiers were sent into the Duchy of Rook coming from the east and captured about nine kilometers into the Duchy until being blown up by shells coming from 'The Big Ten' approximately 14,000 were killed and about 5,000 retreated with 1,000 being marked M.I.A. following the fall of France in late 1940, the Duchy of Rook was now surrounded by the Axis, despite this, the Big Ten continued firing shells at German positions along its border between 1940-1942, on February 7, 1942, a second invasion was launched into the Duchy from the north and east, the combined 22,000 Axis soldiers stormed the small nation, taking the key city of New Burgundy within a day, Rook Castle was shelled for the next three days until by infantry units, despite this, the Duke and Duchess stayed in Rook Castle for the time being, soon however the small base camps set up by the invaders were being destroyed by cannon fire, and slowly, were pushed back out of the small nation by November 13, 1942, for the remainder of the war, the small nation would continue shelling enemy territory and even helped invade parts of Vichy France during the Normandy landings.

1945-Present
The Duchy of Rook ended up gaining two more kilometers of territory into France during peace talks in 1945, along with the Germans gifting the uninhabited Haus Islands in the North Sea as reparations for the war, the Duchy of Rook also became one of the founding members of the United Nations in June of 1945, during the Cold War, the Duchy of Rook sided with the Western Bloc due to its history with the United Kingdom and United States, however on July 6, 1960, a communist coup d'état led by Maximillian Robern and funded by the Soviet Union, successfully infiltrated Rook Castle and captured the Prime Minister and the eight governors inside of it (the Duke and Duchess were outside the castle at this time) they proclaimed the Sovereign People's Republic of Rook later that day and claimed the entire nation as theirs, despite this proclamation, a combined force of British, French, and Rook soldiers recaptured the castle the following day and arrested Maximillian Robern without any deaths, following this, anti-communist opinion was strengthened within the nation, an opinion which would remain for the rest of the Cold War.

Government
The Duchy of Rook is considered a "full democracy" with a parliamentary system with the duke being considered a constitutional monarch, the small nation is the only existing independent Duchy in the world.

Military
The Duchy of Rook's army is made up of 27,000 men and women across the Duchy and are commanded by the duke, the nation's navy is small with only a fleet of seven patrol boats, all of which are stationed in Mächtig Lake, its air force is small with only a squadron of four upgraded Harrier jump jets which were acquired in the 1980's and operate out of Mächtig airfield.

Geography
The geography of the Duchy of Rook is mountainous with forests also dotting the landscape, these forests also provide the nation with a massive logging industry.

Economy
The economy of the Duchy of Rook is small but very successful with it having the 2nd largest highest per capita gross domestic product in the world, second only to Luxembourg, its biggest industry is logging due to the massive forests in the nation, it provides for 43% of the country's income.