You know i didn’t make these I just found these through out the internet.@Guy712 Your movie posters are consistently amazing. Wow!
You know i didn’t make these I just found these through out the internet.@Guy712 Your movie posters are consistently amazing. Wow!
They're still good finds.You know i didn’t make these I just found these through out the internet.
A picture showing two of China's 'Paramount Men' of the twentieth century together as cadets at the Whampoa Military Academy: Jiang Jieshi, effective ruler of the Republic of China between 1928 and 1944, interim President of the Federal Republic of China between 1944 and 1946, and elected President of the Federal Republic of China between 1946 and 1952; and Zhou Enlai, founder of the Chinese People's Party, war hero and General during the Second Sino-Japanese War 1932-1937, Foreign Minister under the interim government between 1944 and 1946, and President of the Federal Republic of China between 1958 and 1964.
History notes that Jiang Jieshi would become a particularly driven man - indeed, many of his acquaintances would state that he became 'almost a different person, often knowing things he had no way of knowing' - following what appears to have been a seizure in 1926*. However, he recovered quickly, albeit with some carefully-masked confusion over the following week. Whatever the case, upon becoming leader of China, he would begin to energetically and without rest pursue a number of different policies, namely: the strengthening of the government in Nanjing; the modernisation of China; the end of warlordism; the strengthening of the country's military against potential foreign invasion, in particular securing Manchuria with a large number of troops; and the division of the Chinese Communist movement. This latter would be an apparent motivator in his quiet, careful talks with Zhou Enlai beginning shortly after his seizure, the substance of which would only become apparent when Zhou led a large faction of the Communist Party in breaking away, forming the Chinese People's Party (this coming around the same time as the death of Mao Zedong from food poisoning). The foresight of Jiang's military policy would become apparent in 1931, when Japanese forces invaded Manchuria. Though fighting began at this point, 'official' war is considered to have broken out the following year when, following initial reversals, Japan fully committed to the invasion.
During the war years, Jiang would provide effective leadership to the country on the domestic front, as well as rallying support for China on the international stage - in particular from the United States, where he would quickly approach President Roosevelt upon his election, forming the beginnings of a strong personal friendship between both men as well as developing a strong Sino-American partnership. Indeed, he would use the war and the greater powers at his disposal to begin enacting a number of policies similar to Roosevelt's 'New Deal', which he would widen at war's end.
In 1943, Jiang would hold a Constitutional Convention, wherein the Republic of China would ultimately give way to the modern Federal Republic. He would hold power as interim President until 1946, would win election in his own right, and would serve the single six-year term allowed under the new Constitution before retiring.
*The change many observed is what gave rise to the ridiculous modern conspiracy theory that Jiang's mind was replaced by that of someone from the future.
Peng Dehuai, Marshal of China, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff between 1944 and 1958, and Minister for Defence between 1958 and 1964. Peng was contacted on behalf of Jiang Jieshi by Zhou Enlai, something that led him to ultimately back the KMT over the Communists - though he would later formally align with Zhou and the Chinese People's Party. In return for his service to the central government, he would be further promoted, and given command of a major area army in Manchuria just prior to the Japanese invasion. By war's end, he would have overall command of all forces in Manchuria, and the rank of Marshal of China. He gained particular fame for his coordination of guerrilla fighting inside the occupied portions of Manchuria, and his ability to bleed out Japanese forces in protracted fighting despite (initial) material inferiority.
Though not the most diplomatic of men - indeed, in one famous telephone exchange he told Jiang Jieshi 'unless you have more ammunition, fuck off and let me fight this war' - he would continue to enjoy the support of both Jiang and Zhou Enlai, first in his effective single-handed construction of the post-war Chinese Army, and then in his elevation to Minister for Defence under the Zhou Enlai administration, and is regarded both in China and abroad as one of the most talented soldiers of the 20th century. He would ultimately die in his sleep in his home in Beijing in 1983.
Hazel Ying Lee, the world's first female fighter ace (fifteen confirmed kills over Manchuria) and post-war politician (served as Shanghai's representative to the Federal Yuan between 1948 and 1960). A Chinese-American woman, Hazel travelled to China in 1933, with a desire to aid the ROC Air Force. While in other circumstances this might not have been possible, Jiang Jieshi had used the Japanese invasion to declare the conflict with Japan a 'total war, in which all resources must be mobilised to repel the imperialist invaders'...which included the recruitment of women both as medics and in the following combat roles: pilots; snipers; and tankers. Indeed, in her later autobiography, Lee noted that Jiang 'almost seemed to have been waiting for me', with how he made a point of getting her a chance at proving her ability.
Despite sexism from certain commanders, Lee would rise to the challenge, shooting down a Japanese bomber on her second sortie. Initially flying the Curtiss F11C Goshawk, she would later graduate to the Boeing P-26, and then for the last year of the war she would pilot the domestically-produced Dongfeng J4. During the conflict, she would become somewhat of a celebrity, with both Chinese and American media reporting on her successes (American media veering somewhere between scandalised and intrigued at Chinese women fighting in the war).
Lee would ultimately command her own squadron by war's end, and would retain it until she left the Air Force in 1942, herself and her husband going into business in Shanghai prior to her entering the political arena. She and other women who fought for China would be greatly lauded by the Jiang government, and Jiang would use their successes to carefully push for greater female representation in all walks of life across China. While traditional attitudes weren't always easy to break - and, indeed, some parts of modern China remain more traditional than others - these efforts would bear fruit, with women not only continuing to enter the military, but also being increasingly visible in the workforce and the political arena, and China being for some time lauded by Western feminists as a positive example of progress (though of course, there remains work to do, as seen by the fact China's first female President was only elected in 2008).
A/N: As you clever people might have guessed, the aftermath of an SI
Jiang-SI Aftermath II
FROCS Zheng He, here pictured in 1954. The Chinese Navy's first aircraft carrier, the Zheng He was formerly the HMS Glory, built and launched during the Second Great War. However, the ship was only commissioned a month prior to the end of hostilities, and as such saw no action. While she would be retained for a few years after the conflict, reductions in the Royal Navy would see her being sold to China in 1948, becoming the flagship of the growing FROC Navy.
Though the Zheng He's initial air-group consisted of piston-driven aircraft, by 1952 these had been replaced by an air-group of eight Dongfeng J6 jet fighter-bombers, 3 J5s refit for an AEW role, and four Westland Whirlwind helicopters. She would continue to operate with a similar air-group for the rest of her service life, ultimately being decommissioned in 1972. She saw action once, during the Sarawakian-Indonesian Border Conflict of 1960, wherein she provided support to Sarawakian forces against Indonesian light surface elements.
Since 1961, the FROC Navy has maintained a fleet built around 2-3 carriers, transitioning to domestic-built models in the 1980s, which together with the Air Force allows power projection across the Asia-Pacific region.
Lyuh Woon-hyung, First elected President of the Republic of Korea 1940-1948. While the Second Sino-Japanese War had been primarily concerned with repelling the Japanese invaders, the Chinese government had also worked to supply older weapons - as it gained newer ones from America and others - to Korean resistance groups, the better to stymie the Japanese invasion. This would see the Korean peninsula becoming engulfed in fighting, which in turn forced the Japanese to dedicate units to Korea that should have gone to China, and all the while Japan lost money and support on the world stage. Ultimately, following the attempted coup in 1937 and the outbreak of civil war and major unrest (both leftist and rightist) on the Home Islands, the Japanese were forced to call large portions of their forces home, effectively abandoning Korea. The Republic of Korea would be declared shortly thereafter, though Japan did not recognise it - or officially end their war with China, though a de facto ceasefire prevailed - until 1945.
Despite Japan not initially recognising that they had lost Korea, President Lyuh was able to get a number of other nations to recognise his. China would be their main local supporter, with both ultimately becoming founder-members of the Association of East Asian Nations, while America would also prove to be a reliable trading partner. Gradually, Korea would stabilise, while the seeds for the rapid economic growth that began in the mid-1950s would be lain at this time. While both the hard-right and hard-left would slam President Lyuh for his centre-leftist policies, the moderate approach was what the fledgling nation needed most, while it would also see the foundations for a stable welfare state laid in Korea, mirroring developments in China.
Poster art depicting nightlife in Shanghai. From the 1920s, Shanghai had been a vibrant, alternative city, home to Shidaiqu music and other avant-garde developments. It had also been home to...issues with corruption, especially in the old Shanghai International Settlement, and to less-than-legal enterprises.
Both before and after the war with Japan, Jiang Jieshi had sought to crack down on extralegal activities within Shanghai, in particular to combat the growth of organised crime and the narcotics trade. However, in something that struck many as odd, an effort was made to do so while not losing the alternative character of Shanghai. Much of this, it would later transpire, was because Jiang saw opportunities for new art forms arising - as indeed became the case, with the growth in popularity of Shidaiqu and other offshoots, the firm establishing of the Chinese film industry within Shanghai, and the city becoming somewhat of an 'artist's haven' in general.
Today, while Shanghai is a major financial and manufacturing hub, and home to the world's largest container port, it remains one of the more liberal and alternative cities within the Federal Republic.
Jiang SI Aftermath - III
Potala Palace, Lhasa, Autonomous Province of Tibet. Tibet joined - or re-entered, depending on who one talks to - China in 1950, during Jiang Jieshi's elected term in office. Though publicly, the President was extremely vocal in his desire to see China reunified, interviews with some of his colleagues - as well as certain materials coming to light - indicate that he had been unusually ambivalent about the prospect of including Tibet in this process, and had considered some form of alliance or protectorate arrangement. It was only, in the end, the strategic position occupied by Tibet in relation to China's water supply, together with a fear of more nationalist political opponents using this as a wedge issue, that led him to begin talks with the Dalai Lama aimed at the territory's incorporation.
While China as a whole enjoys a federal system of government, with the day-to-day running of individual provinces being left up to their governors and assemblies, Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia gained a considerable number more concessions than many other provinces, courtesy of Jiang, and their inhabitants are considered part of the 'Many Races Under One Union' ideal that the Federal Republic emphasises (originally Five Races Under One Union, the Jiang administration widened the concept greatly). Additionally, as part of Jiang's efforts to preserve the country's natural life, a major natural reserve was declared over a wide area of the Tibetan Plateau.
While the provinces in question continue to enjoy autonomy, there has been friction of late. In Tibet, for instance, many traditionalists feel that the large numbers of domestic and foreign tourists who come to Tibet every year - and the springing-up of industries to cater for them - is causing an undermining of their culture and that Lhasa in particular is turning into a 'theme park'. As well as this, the development of infrastructural links between the provinces in question and the rest of China have led to a rise in people from other parts of China living and working there, something that some fear is leading to erosion of traditional culture. How true this is, only time will tell.
Ma Bufang, Ma Clique Warlord, Governor of Qinghai (officially) until 1946, 'power behind the throne' of the Governors of Gansu and Ningxia until his death in 1975, Minister for Economic Affairs between 1946 and 1952, KMT Presidential hopeful in the 1951 elections (though did not secure the nomination), and Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Hejaz between 1952 and 1957.
Despite his disagreements with Jiang on several issues - including his working with former Communists, his concessions to Tibet and other areas - General Ma was a close ally of the KMT, providing major support for Jiang and his establishment of a new government in exchange for effective recognition of the Ma family as the official provincial authorities in their territory. This was despite Jiang - as some of his old confidantes would reveal in decades to come - disliking the warlord and seeing him very much as a necessary evil in securing control over China. Indeed, the Ma family and their rule over Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia are seen as highly contentious in modern China. While Ma Bufang was greatly responsible for the modernisation and industrialisation of the provinces run by his family, and for expanding education and literacy widely - especially for girls - his family also effectively ran their territory as a state within a state, with actual democracy in gubernatorial elections being largely a sham and with 'problematic' political elements being quietly suppressed. Likewise, the Mas would ruthlessly suppress Wahabism, impressing their own Yihewani brand of Islam as the 'sanctioned' Islamic faith for the Hui.
Following the death of Ma Bufang, the Ma family would - in a mix of a less competent succeeding generation, more overt corruption and greater government crackdowns on same - gradually lose power over the course of the 1980s, though they continue to cast a long shadow, and have left a contentious legacy.
Nguyễn Thái Học, founded of the Nationalist Party of Vietnam, and first President of Vietnam following the French withdrawal in 1947. Học, initially an advocate of violent revolution, is now known to have been approached by Chinese agents in the late 1920s, who encouraged him to pursue a more careful, moderate approach, aimed at winning hearts and minds among the populace and raising Vietnam's profile abroad.
During the course of the 1930s, Học and his party would gain sufficient support to organise a series of highly damaging labour strikes, costing the French colonial government large sums of money and provoking a thoroughly vicious clampdown...which Chinese and other media sources made a point of publicising abroad, especially in the United States. This led to the movement gaining in support among ordinary Vietnamese...which in turn meant that the desire for armed uprising grew sharply, helped by China slipping captured Japanese weapons and ammunition across the border.
Armed rebellion would break out at the same time as the Second Great War, at a time when France lacked forces to send to put the rebellion down. Likewise, Britain would lack troops to assist, while the mood in India was such that sending Indian troops would have been...inadvisable. As such, by the time the war in Europe had ended, guerrilla forces were in de facto control of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia...and China strongly urged France to negotiate, offering themselves as a neutral intermediary.
Học's time as President was largely indifferent, proving a better revolutionary than leader. However, his government would manage to stabilise Vietnam, and would see the beginnings of modernisation (though it would be subsequent governments who saw this through, with help from China), and he is remembered as one of the principal founders of the modern Vietnamese nation.
A/N: So some evidence that despite the SI's best intentions, some stuff went better than others.
Glad that you enjoyed it!Really good to see both Nazism and Stalinist* Communism butterflyed away. Not that it would stop all their atrocities (The Soviets always intended to get more "pure" economically, regarding the concessions they made in the early 20s as a embarrasment to Socialism and the Ukranian National Movement always needed to be crushed from the Bolshevik point of view and the German Autocratic Right was never going to be pleasant) but still far far less than they could of been...
An Aurora-Borealis-like light show over Iceland in a photo taken by a hiking group, captured during the Transportation.
On December 25th, 2021, on what was seemingly going to be another Christmas Day, the World as everybody knew it would change, as one of, if not, the biggest mystery in the history of the World would occur on that day. 13 countries - Norway, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Iceland, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, and Japan -, with their entire populations, militaries, and governments, would suddenly be engulfed in a light show exactly over their territory, and then, less than an hour after appearing, would disappear with a flash. But after the temporary disorientation of the flash wore off, everybody soon started to realize something was wrong with all radio, television, internet, and radar activity outside of the 13 nations suddenly coming to a stop, with attempts at reconnecting failing, but it would be those living at the borders were the first to discover the truth of what happened.
Those living on the German-French border, for example, would first have multiple traffic accidents, as highways and railways either disappeared or were replaced by much more early, outdated, and unsafe versions. The civilians and border police who crossed the border to go and investigate would come across towns that did not look modern, more of something out of the very early 20th century, then there would be the run-ins with the civilians, who wore and spoke like people used to a hundred years ago, confused and frightened of what just happened, with some of the investigators and explorers ending up being confronted by men dressed in Imperial German uniform, asking them who they were and what had just happened, to which many were unsure how to answer their questions, already confused themselves. Similar reports would come in from Finland and Russia, Ireland and Britain, Canada and America, etc.
When they asked for the current date, the locals, confused, answered December 25th, 1914.
Things would never be the same...
An Aurora-Borealis-like light show over Iceland in a photo taken by a hiking group, captured during the Transportation.
On December 25th, 2021, on what was seemingly going to be another Christmas Day, the World as everybody knew it would change, as one of, if not, the biggest mystery in the history of the World would occur on that day. 13 countries - Norway, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Iceland, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, and Japan -, with their entire populations, militaries, and governments, would suddenly be engulfed in a light show exactly over their territory, and then, less than an hour after appearing, would disappear with a flash. But after the temporary disorientation of the flash wore off, everybody soon started to realize something was wrong with all radio, television, internet, and radar activity outside of the 13 nations suddenly coming to a stop, with attempts at reconnecting failing, but it would be those living at the borders were the first to discover the truth of what happened.
Those living on the German-French border, for example, would first have multiple traffic accidents, as highways and railways either disappeared or were replaced by much more early, outdated, and unsafe versions. The civilians and border police who crossed the border to go and investigate would come across towns that did not look modern, more of something out of the very early 20th century, then there would be the run-ins with the civilians, who wore and spoke like people used to a hundred years ago, confused and frightened of what just happened, with some of the investigators and explorers ending up being confronted by men dressed in Imperial German uniform, asking them who they were and what had just happened, to which many were unsure how to answer their questions, already confused themselves. Similar reports would come in from Finland and Russia, Ireland and Britain, Canada and America, etc.
When they asked for the current date, the locals, confused, answered December 25th, 1914.
Things would never be the same...
German Chancellor Angella Merkel addressing her nation on December 26th, 1914, upon the revelation of Germany, and 12 other nations being sent back in time to the middle of the First World War (1914-1915*), or as it would become known in this world the European War, urging unity and compassion during these uncertain and unprecedented times for everybody.
*While many would consider the peace signed by the Western European nations in early 1915 would bring an end to the war due to the unexpected complications of the Transporation, fighting in Eastern Europe would last abit longer from 1915 to 1917.
American and German soldiers in a meeting before marching into German-owned Alansce-Lorraine in a peacekeeping operation, and to help return some uptime civilians and police who were being held in custody. The operation would be a success, with most soldiers, upon seeing the advanced vehicles and weaponry, would back off, with only a few soldiers admitted to the hospital that day. Many local civilians, both French and German alike, would be amazed by what they saw, with many gathering in crowds to admire the look of the vehicles, soldiers, and their guns. A few incidents involving non-white soldiers and downtimers who didn't know better, did occur, however.
German, British, and French soldiers that partook in the Christmas Rebellion of 1914, greeting uptime reporters and soldiers. Upon hearing of the news of the arrival of several countries from the future, many on the Western Front were shocked and in awe, as they did not know how to react or respond to such news, although some were hopeful that this would mean a sooner end to the war, meaning they could get home sooner. German soldiers, however, were way less happy, as many grieved the loss of their families and homes, a feeling that would be shared by Canadian, Australian, Kiwi, Irish, and Japanese soldiers. As information about the Christmas Truce spread, many of the generals began to get uneasy, believing that the soldiers, who made many friends amongst their "enemies", would refuse to return to the trenches.
Not all soldiers supported this, however, whereas many had fought tooth and nail, blood and sweat, tears and sanity to endure bullet fire and explosions, among other horrors, just wanting it to come to an end, just as many Warhawks and jingoists were outraged at the prospect of just giving up the war just like that, with them agreeing with the generals who demanded they get back to fighting, with some French and British believing it would be an opportune time to subdue the Germans before they attack them.
It would be the Germans, however, that would the first to experience resistance to a possible peace. A particularly ultrapatriotic German soldier would manage to rally his fellow hawks, believing all was not lost, that with their strength they can successfully ambush and push back the British and French who he believed had put their guard down, while also optimistic that these futuristic Germans would be on their side. The putsch began when he and a group of around 20 men would take their commanders hostage, fearing that their recent grieving of their families back home would "weaken" them. Then, the group would go and try and recruit fellow Germans to their cause, hoping to use their emotions to rally them into anger and into a fighting mood, with some being successful, while those who refused were killed, as they used telegraphs to spread their message to other German stations in the hopes of spreading the message. The rebellion actually manage to grow to a decent size, with it becoming a potential threat to the nearby soldiers. That was until one soldier managed to escape, however, and manage to reach the now striking soldiers, were they told them of the coup taking place.
Realizing that the Germans were going to just lead themselves into death for a lost cause, many agreed to go over there and put down the rebellion, with a hundred or so men coming along, especially upon learning some of their friends were among those taken hostage or killed. They soon reached the tenches were the pro-war counter-rebellion was growing. The British and French, along with their German allies, demanded the conspirators give up, saying that they would not have to lose their lives. The rebels refused. What proceeded was a siege, as the soldiers stormed the trenches, risking their lives for the Germans, while also trying to put down a future disaster that would not end well for anyone. Eventually, after an hour of bloody fighting, the counter-rebellion was ended, with most of the conspirators incapacitated. The soldier who started it all would join a charge, managing to take out a handful of soldiers down with him, before being shot in the forehead by a Jewish* British soldier, falling down to the ground. Adolf Hitler was declared dead instantly.
*The fact the soldier was Jewish wouldn't become important until later, when the future infamy of the man he killed would come to light.
A picture showing two of China's 'Paramount Men' of the twentieth century together as cadets at the Whampoa Military Academy: Jiang Jieshi, effective ruler of the Republic of China between 1928 and 1944, interim President of the Federal Republic of China between 1944 and 1946, and elected President of the Federal Republic of China between 1946 and 1952; and Zhou Enlai, founder of the Chinese People's Party, war hero and General during the Second Sino-Japanese War 1932-1937, Foreign Minister under the interim government between 1944 and 1946, and President of the Federal Republic of China between 1958 and 1964.
History notes that Jiang Jieshi would become a particularly driven man - indeed, many of his acquaintances would state that he became 'almost a different person, often knowing things he had no way of knowing' - following what appears to have been a seizure in 1926*. However, he recovered quickly, albeit with some carefully-masked confusion over the following week. Whatever the case, upon becoming leader of China, he would begin to energetically and without rest pursue a number of different policies, namely: the strengthening of the government in Nanjing; the modernisation of China; the end of warlordism; the strengthening of the country's military against potential foreign invasion, in particular securing Manchuria with a large number of troops; and the division of the Chinese Communist movement. This latter would be an apparent motivator in his quiet, careful talks with Zhou Enlai beginning shortly after his seizure, the substance of which would only become apparent when Zhou led a large faction of the Communist Party in breaking away, forming the Chinese People's Party (this coming around the same time as the death of Mao Zedong from food poisoning). The foresight of Jiang's military policy would become apparent in 1931, when Japanese forces invaded Manchuria. Though fighting began at this point, 'official' war is considered to have broken out the following year when, following initial reversals, Japan fully committed to the invasion.
During the war years, Jiang would provide effective leadership to the country on the domestic front, as well as rallying support for China on the international stage - in particular from the United States, where he would quickly approach President Roosevelt upon his election, forming the beginnings of a strong personal friendship between both men as well as developing a strong Sino-American partnership. Indeed, he would use the war and the greater powers at his disposal to begin enacting a number of policies similar to Roosevelt's 'New Deal', which he would widen at war's end.
In 1943, Jiang would hold a Constitutional Convention, wherein the Republic of China would ultimately give way to the modern Federal Republic. He would hold power as interim President until 1946, would win election in his own right, and would serve the single six-year term allowed under the new Constitution before retiring.
*The change many observed is what gave rise to the ridiculous modern conspiracy theory that Jiang's mind was replaced by that of someone from the future.
Peng Dehuai, Marshal of China, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff between 1944 and 1958, and Minister for Defence between 1958 and 1964. Peng was contacted on behalf of Jiang Jieshi by Zhou Enlai, something that led him to ultimately back the KMT over the Communists - though he would later formally align with Zhou and the Chinese People's Party. In return for his service to the central government, he would be further promoted, and given command of a major area army in Manchuria just prior to the Japanese invasion. By war's end, he would have overall command of all forces in Manchuria, and the rank of Marshal of China. He gained particular fame for his coordination of guerrilla fighting inside the occupied portions of Manchuria, and his ability to bleed out Japanese forces in protracted fighting despite (initial) material inferiority.
Though not the most diplomatic of men - indeed, in one famous telephone exchange he told Jiang Jieshi 'unless you have more ammunition, fuck off and let me fight this war' - he would continue to enjoy the support of both Jiang and Zhou Enlai, first in his effective single-handed construction of the post-war Chinese Army, and then in his elevation to Minister for Defence under the Zhou Enlai administration, and is regarded both in China and abroad as one of the most talented soldiers of the 20th century. He would ultimately die in his sleep in his home in Beijing in 1983.
Hazel Ying Lee, the world's first female fighter ace (fifteen confirmed kills over Manchuria) and post-war politician (served as Shanghai's representative to the Federal Yuan between 1948 and 1960). A Chinese-American woman, Hazel travelled to China in 1933, with a desire to aid the ROC Air Force. While in other circumstances this might not have been possible, Jiang Jieshi had used the Japanese invasion to declare the conflict with Japan a 'total war, in which all resources must be mobilised to repel the imperialist invaders'...which included the recruitment of women both as medics and in the following combat roles: pilots; snipers; and tankers. Indeed, in her later autobiography, Lee noted that Jiang 'almost seemed to have been waiting for me', with how he made a point of getting her a chance at proving her ability.
Despite sexism from certain commanders, Lee would rise to the challenge, shooting down a Japanese bomber on her second sortie. Initially flying the Curtiss F11C Goshawk, she would later graduate to the Boeing P-26, and then for the last year of the war she would pilot the domestically-produced Dongfeng J4. During the conflict, she would become somewhat of a celebrity, with both Chinese and American media reporting on her successes (American media veering somewhere between scandalised and intrigued at Chinese women fighting in the war).
Lee would ultimately command her own squadron by war's end, and would retain it until she left the Air Force in 1942, herself and her husband going into business in Shanghai prior to her entering the political arena. She and other women who fought for China would be greatly lauded by the Jiang government, and Jiang would use their successes to carefully push for greater female representation in all walks of life across China. While traditional attitudes weren't always easy to break - and, indeed, some parts of modern China remain more traditional than others - these efforts would bear fruit, with women not only continuing to enter the military, but also being increasingly visible in the workforce and the political arena, and China being for some time lauded by Western feminists as a positive example of progress (though of course, there remains work to do, as seen by the fact China's first female President was only elected in 2008).
A/N: As you clever people might have guessed, the aftermath of an SI
Jiang-SI Aftermath II
FROCS Zheng He, here pictured in 1954. The Chinese Navy's first aircraft carrier, the Zheng He was formerly the HMS Glory, built and launched during the Second Great War. However, the ship was only commissioned a month prior to the end of hostilities, and as such saw no action. While she would be retained for a few years after the conflict, reductions in the Royal Navy would see her being sold to China in 1948, becoming the flagship of the growing FROC Navy.
Though the Zheng He's initial air-group consisted of piston-driven aircraft, by 1952 these had been replaced by an air-group of eight Dongfeng J6 jet fighter-bombers, 3 J5s refit for an AEW role, and four Westland Whirlwind helicopters. She would continue to operate with a similar air-group for the rest of her service life, ultimately being decommissioned in 1972. She saw action once, during the Sarawakian-Indonesian Border Conflict of 1960, wherein she provided support to Sarawakian forces against Indonesian light surface elements.
Since 1961, the FROC Navy has maintained a fleet built around 2-3 carriers, transitioning to domestic-built models in the 1980s, which together with the Air Force allows power projection across the Asia-Pacific region.
Lyuh Woon-hyung, First elected President of the Republic of Korea 1940-1948. While the Second Sino-Japanese War had been primarily concerned with repelling the Japanese invaders, the Chinese government had also worked to supply older weapons - as it gained newer ones from America and others - to Korean resistance groups, the better to stymie the Japanese invasion. This would see the Korean peninsula becoming engulfed in fighting, which in turn forced the Japanese to dedicate units to Korea that should have gone to China, and all the while Japan lost money and support on the world stage. Ultimately, following the attempted coup in 1937 and the outbreak of civil war and major unrest (both leftist and rightist) on the Home Islands, the Japanese were forced to call large portions of their forces home, effectively abandoning Korea. The Republic of Korea would be declared shortly thereafter, though Japan did not recognise it - or officially end their war with China, though a de facto ceasefire prevailed - until 1945.
Despite Japan not initially recognising that they had lost Korea, President Lyuh was able to get a number of other nations to recognise his. China would be their main local supporter, with both ultimately becoming founder-members of the Association of East Asian Nations, while America would also prove to be a reliable trading partner. Gradually, Korea would stabilise, while the seeds for the rapid economic growth that began in the mid-1950s would be lain at this time. While both the hard-right and hard-left would slam President Lyuh for his centre-leftist policies, the moderate approach was what the fledgling nation needed most, while it would also see the foundations for a stable welfare state laid in Korea, mirroring developments in China.
Poster art depicting nightlife in Shanghai. From the 1920s, Shanghai had been a vibrant, alternative city, home to Shidaiqu music and other avant-garde developments. It had also been home to...issues with corruption, especially in the old Shanghai International Settlement, and to less-than-legal enterprises.
Both before and after the war with Japan, Jiang Jieshi had sought to crack down on extralegal activities within Shanghai, in particular to combat the growth of organised crime and the narcotics trade. However, in something that struck many as odd, an effort was made to do so while not losing the alternative character of Shanghai. Much of this, it would later transpire, was because Jiang saw opportunities for new art forms arising - as indeed became the case, with the growth in popularity of Shidaiqu and other offshoots, the firm establishing of the Chinese film industry within Shanghai, and the city becoming somewhat of an 'artist's haven' in general.
Today, while Shanghai is a major financial and manufacturing hub, and home to the world's largest container port, it remains one of the more liberal and alternative cities within the Federal Republic.
Jiang SI Aftermath - III
Potala Palace, Lhasa, Autonomous Province of Tibet. Tibet joined - or re-entered, depending on who one talks to - China in 1950, during Jiang Jieshi's elected term in office. Though publicly, the President was extremely vocal in his desire to see China reunified, interviews with some of his colleagues - as well as certain materials coming to light - indicate that he had been unusually ambivalent about the prospect of including Tibet in this process, and had considered some form of alliance or protectorate arrangement. It was only, in the end, the strategic position occupied by Tibet in relation to China's water supply, together with a fear of more nationalist political opponents using this as a wedge issue, that led him to begin talks with the Dalai Lama aimed at the territory's incorporation.
While China as a whole enjoys a federal system of government, with the day-to-day running of individual provinces being left up to their governors and assemblies, Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia gained a considerable number more concessions than many other provinces, courtesy of Jiang, and their inhabitants are considered part of the 'Many Races Under One Union' ideal that the Federal Republic emphasises (originally Five Races Under One Union, the Jiang administration widened the concept greatly). Additionally, as part of Jiang's efforts to preserve the country's natural life, a major natural reserve was declared over a wide area of the Tibetan Plateau.
While the provinces in question continue to enjoy autonomy, there has been friction of late. In Tibet, for instance, many traditionalists feel that the large numbers of domestic and foreign tourists who come to Tibet every year - and the springing-up of industries to cater for them - is causing an undermining of their culture and that Lhasa in particular is turning into a 'theme park'. As well as this, the development of infrastructural links between the provinces in question and the rest of China have led to a rise in people from other parts of China living and working there, something that some fear is leading to erosion of traditional culture. How true this is, only time will tell.
Ma Bufang, Ma Clique Warlord, Governor of Qinghai (officially) until 1946, 'power behind the throne' of the Governors of Gansu and Ningxia until his death in 1975, Minister for Economic Affairs between 1946 and 1952, KMT Presidential hopeful in the 1951 elections (though did not secure the nomination), and Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Hejaz between 1952 and 1957.
Despite his disagreements with Jiang on several issues - including his working with former Communists, his concessions to Tibet and other areas - General Ma was a close ally of the KMT, providing major support for Jiang and his establishment of a new government in exchange for effective recognition of the Ma family as the official provincial authorities in their territory. This was despite Jiang - as some of his old confidantes would reveal in decades to come - disliking the warlord and seeing him very much as a necessary evil in securing control over China. Indeed, the Ma family and their rule over Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia are seen as highly contentious in modern China. While Ma Bufang was greatly responsible for the modernisation and industrialisation of the provinces run by his family, and for expanding education and literacy widely - especially for girls - his family also effectively ran their territory as a state within a state, with actual democracy in gubernatorial elections being largely a sham and with 'problematic' political elements being quietly suppressed. Likewise, the Mas would ruthlessly suppress Wahabism, impressing their own Yihewani brand of Islam as the 'sanctioned' Islamic faith for the Hui.
Following the death of Ma Bufang, the Ma family would - in a mix of a less competent succeeding generation, more overt corruption and greater government crackdowns on same - gradually lose power over the course of the 1980s, though they continue to cast a long shadow, and have left a contentious legacy.
Nguyễn Thái Học, founded of the Nationalist Party of Vietnam, and first President of Vietnam following the French withdrawal in 1947. Học, initially an advocate of violent revolution, is now known to have been approached by Chinese agents in the late 1920s, who encouraged him to pursue a more careful, moderate approach, aimed at winning hearts and minds among the populace and raising Vietnam's profile abroad.
During the course of the 1930s, Học and his party would gain sufficient support to organise a series of highly damaging labour strikes, costing the French colonial government large sums of money and provoking a thoroughly vicious clampdown...which Chinese and other media sources made a point of publicising abroad, especially in the United States. This led to the movement gaining in support among ordinary Vietnamese...which in turn meant that the desire for armed uprising grew sharply, helped by China slipping captured Japanese weapons and ammunition across the border.
Armed rebellion would break out at the same time as the Second Great War, at a time when France lacked forces to send to put the rebellion down. Likewise, Britain would lack troops to assist, while the mood in India was such that sending Indian troops would have been...inadvisable. As such, by the time the war in Europe had ended, guerrilla forces were in de facto control of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia...and China strongly urged France to negotiate, offering themselves as a neutral intermediary.
Học's time as President was largely indifferent, proving a better revolutionary than leader. However, his government would manage to stabilise Vietnam, and would see the beginnings of modernisation (though it would be subsequent governments who saw this through, with help from China), and he is remembered as one of the principal founders of the modern Vietnamese nation.
A/N: So some evidence that despite the SI's best intentions, some stuff went better than others.
Jiang SI Aftermath - IV*A/N: Not anything to do with the SI - given Stalin had several attempts made on his life IRL, figured that butterflies could lead to one succeeding.
The World Beyond
Hermann Goering, self-proclaimed leader of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, officially Minister of the Interior for Prussia and Aviation Minister, and de facto one of the leaders of Germany until his deposition in 1941 in the July Coup.
Following the death of Adolf Hitler in a traffic collision in 1928*, the NSDAP would suffer a fracture, with Goering leading a major faction - together with a large segment of the Sturmabteilung - as the 'true' Party. Despite difficulties encountered from other NSDAP factions, Goering would manage to gain electoral success, enough to be taken seriously by politicians on the right. Ultimately, he would manage to leverage this to become part of the unofficial 'triumvirate' of General Kurt von Schleicher, Franz von Papen and himself that came to power under President Hindenburg in 1933 (and would dominate the country following Hindenburg's death).
While the triumvirate did manage to attain some success (which they publicised hugely) in both rearmament and reducing unemployment, its achievements were limited thanks to a growing rift between von Schleicher and von Papen. Though Goering would endeavour to act as a mediating figure between the two, his growing dependence on morphine and his efforts to pursue his own various pet projects at national expense limited his success in this area. Moreover, he himself and Ernst Röhm - a figure with increased power in the new government thanks to his friendship with von Schleicher - were barely able to tolerate one another, with only von Schleicher keeping things somewhat civil between them. In addition, those parts of the NSDAP who had broken with Goering were now openly attacking him, with Heinrich Himmler in particular being a trenchant critic. Moreover, anti-Semitic violence by Goering's supporters (and others) would cause further friction between the triumvirate - though no friend of Germany's Jews himself, von Schleicher was increasingly conscious of how such incidents made Germany look...'less than respectable' on the world stage. Concern over Goering's capabilities were enhanced his public musings on unification with Austria, which provoked angry threats from Benito Mussolini.
Ultimately, Goering would encourage von Schleicher in opposition to the Soviet Union following their invasion of disputed lands in Poland, declaring that his new Luftwaffe would 'crush the Reds like ants'. While it is true that in the air Germany held the advantage over the enemy, the fact that the Soviets were able to overrun East Prussia and Poland and came within a very short distance indeed of Berlin rather put the lie to this sentiment. Following von Schleicher's death in an air-raid, a clique of Reichswehr officers - supported by a senior and feared figure within the regime's intelligence service - launched a coup, arresting and imprisoning both Goering and von Papen for 'criminal incompetence in the administration of the Reich during wartime'. The decimation of the SA - including the death of Röhm - and other 'black Reichswehr' paramilitaries in the fighting to date meant that the coup was largely unopposed, and the resulting junta (the 'Government of National Salvation') were able to see the war to a successful conclusion with the help of Britain, Italy and (reluctantly) France, together with other regional allies. Goering himself would be released from prison in 1950, and would retire to Sweden, where he would write a series of angry memoirs before dying in 1955 as a result of overindulgence in a wide battery of vices.
*The death of Adolf Hitler continues to be a subject for conspiracy theories among the German extreme-right, even though Hitler himself has largely become a historical footnote.
Louis Ferdinand, Kaiser of the German Reich from 1942 until his death in 1995. Despite mistrust over his popularity by the 'triumvirate', Louis Ferdinand would volunteer for military service on the outbreak of war with the Soviet Union. Serving in the Luftwaffe as a pilot of the Me-109, he would become a fighter ace, with a confirmed ten kills by the end of his military service. This would see him gaining further - considerable - popularity with the German people, to the point that Goering was actively considering removing him from service and trying to force him out of Germany. However, the Government of National Salvation saw things differently: knowing that their legitimacy was shaky at best, they saw that a restoration of the Kaiserreich could be a powerful rallying symbol.
Louis Ferdinand would - after consultation with his wife - agree to be that symbol, on condition that the junta agree to elections post-war, and publicly commit to the same prior to his coronation. Though there were those who were minded to refuse, an agreement was reached and - despite the objections of his father - Louis Ferdinand was crowned as Kaiser and King of Prussia in early 1942. He would spend the remainder of the war exhorting the German people via radio and public addresses to continue to strive for victory, as well as using his international contacts and personable nature to canvas American financial and material support.
Following the war, he would continue to reach out internationally for support in Germany getting back on its feet, and would use his soft power with the German people to make sure the junta held to their promises of free elections post-war. He would take a leading role in the drafting of the 1947 Constitution, in particular in defining the constitutional role of the monarch, and following its ratification would indeed become a far more 'British-style' monarch than had been the case in the old Kaiserreich, though he would be highly active in international diplomacy - as seen by his ceremonial beginning of the construction of the 'Corridor Tunnel' between the rest of Germany and East Prussia in 1950, following negotiations with the Polish government (at that point still somewhat leery of the Germans, but also grateful for the military aid against the USSR).
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, leader of the Soviet Union from 1934 until its defeat in the Second Great War. Coming to power in the late 1920s following a bitter power struggle - begun following the assassination of Josef Stalin* - Molotov continued and intensified Stalin's policies. However, he lacked the popularity of Stalin, and several obvious failures in his policies coupled with brutal repression and an unwillingness to back down would see the regime beginning to totter by 1939. As such, war was declared on Poland to take back the Byelorussian territory that the Poles had occupied in the 20s. The declaration of support for Poland by Germany - both out of a fear of a growth in Soviet power and a desire to use war as a unifying factor themselves - led to the war widening to encompass an invasion of the rest of Poland, and a brief cementing of Molotov's hold on power as the Soviet populace rallied behind the war effort. However, the Red Army - weakened by purges - was unable to continue to use its numerical advantage to break through to Berlin, while a simultaneous invasion of Finland in 1940 proved both a bridge too far and brought Britain, Italy, France, Austria and Czechoslovakia into the war, all of them fearing Soviet domination of the continent if Germany were defeated. China, meanwhile, would join in 1941, invading the Maritime Province and Communist Mongolia.
While Molotov was able to gain support for continued fighting even after the expulsion of Soviet forces from Poland and an allied invasion of Ukraine and Belarus, the use of the atomic bomb - jointly developed by Britain and Germany - to break through Soviet defences in the Ukraine would convince the Red Army and a large chunk of the Party that the war was unwinnable. As such, Molotov would be ousted from power, while the new regime would immediately seek terms with the allies.
Though spared occupation, the Soviet Union would be forced to withdraw from Byelorussia and the Ukraine, though it would retain its Central Asian republics. In addition, it was forced to recognise the loss of its Mongolian ally, Tannu Tuva and Northern Sakhalin (Japan having joined the war late and redrawn the island border), as well as ceding territory to Finland, and agree to reparation payments. The reparations, together with the 'shrinking peace', would mean that the regime that succeeded Molotov would ultimately be toppled in 1951, an event to be followed by major internal conflict as other constituent republics attempted to break away.
Hope this seems plausible
An Aurora-Borealis-like light show over Iceland in a photo taken by a hiking group, captured during the Transportation.
On December 25th, 2021, on what was seemingly going to be another Christmas Day, the World as everybody knew it would change, as one of, if not, the biggest mystery in the history of the World would occur on that day. 13 countries - Norway, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Iceland, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, and Japan -, with their entire populations, militaries, and governments, would suddenly be engulfed in a light show exactly over their territory, and then, less than an hour after appearing, would disappear with a flash. But after the temporary disorientation of the flash wore off, everybody soon started to realize something was wrong with all radio, television, internet, and radar activity outside of the 13 nations suddenly coming to a stop, with attempts at reconnecting failing, but it would be those living at the borders were the first to discover the truth of what happened.
Those living on the German-French border, for example, would first have multiple traffic accidents, as highways and railways either disappeared or were replaced by much more early, outdated, and unsafe versions. The civilians and border police who crossed the border to go and investigate would come across towns that did not look modern, more of something out of the very early 20th century, then there would be the run-ins with the civilians, who wore and spoke like people used to a hundred years ago, confused and frightened of what just happened, with some of the investigators and explorers ending up being confronted by men dressed in Imperial German uniform, asking them who they were and what had just happened, to which many were unsure how to answer their questions, already confused themselves. Similar reports would come in from Finland and Russia, Ireland and Britain, Canada and America, etc.
When they asked for the current date, the locals, confused, answered December 25th, 1914.
Things would never be the same...
German Chancellor Angella Merkel addressing her nation on December 26th, 1914, upon the revelation of Germany, and 12 other nations being sent back in time to the middle of the First World War (1914-1915*), or as it would become known in this world the European War, urging unity and compassion during these uncertain and unprecedented times for everybody.
*While many would consider the peace signed by the Western European nations in early 1915 would bring an end to the war due to the unexpected complications of the Transporation, fighting in Eastern Europe would last abit longer from 1915 to 1917.
American and German soldiers in a meeting before marching into German-owned Alansce-Lorraine in a peacekeeping operation, and to help return some uptime civilians and police who were being held in custody. The operation would be a success, with most soldiers, upon seeing the advanced vehicles and weaponry, would back off, with only a few soldiers admitted to the hospital that day. Many local civilians, both French and German alike, would be amazed by what they saw, with many gathering in crowds to admire the look of the vehicles, soldiers, and their guns. A few incidents involving non-white soldiers and downtimers who didn't know better, did occur, however.
German, British, and French soldiers that partook in the Christmas Rebellion of 1914, greeting uptime reporters and soldiers. Upon hearing of the news of the arrival of several countries from the future, many on the Western Front were shocked and in awe, as they did not know how to react or respond to such news, although some were hopeful that this would mean a sooner end to the war, meaning they could get home sooner. German soldiers, however, were way less happy, as many grieved the loss of their families and homes, a feeling that would be shared by Canadian, Australian, Kiwi, Irish, and Japanese soldiers. As information about the Christmas Truce spread, many of the generals began to get uneasy, believing that the soldiers, who made many friends amongst their "enemies", would refuse to return to the trenches.
Not all soldiers supported this, however, whereas many had fought tooth and nail, blood and sweat, tears and sanity to endure bullet fire and explosions, among other horrors, just wanting it to come to an end, just as many Warhawks and jingoists were outraged at the prospect of just giving up the war just like that, with them agreeing with the generals who demanded they get back to fighting, with some French and British believing it would be an opportune time to subdue the Germans before they attack them.
It would be the Germans, however, that would the first to experience resistance to a possible peace. A particularly ultrapatriotic German soldier would manage to rally his fellow hawks, believing all was not lost, that with their strength they can successfully ambush and push back the British and French who he believed had put their guard down, while also optimistic that these futuristic Germans would be on their side. The putsch began when he and a group of around 20 men would take their commanders hostage, fearing that their recent grieving of their families back home would "weaken" them. Then, the group would go and try and recruit fellow Germans to their cause, hoping to use their emotions to rally them into anger and into a fighting mood, with some being successful, while those who refused were killed, as they used telegraphs to spread their message to other German stations in the hopes of spreading the message. The rebellion actually manage to grow to a decent size, with it becoming a potential threat to the nearby soldiers. That was until one soldier managed to escape, however, and manage to reach the now striking soldiers, were they told them of the coup taking place.
Realizing that the Germans were going to just lead themselves into death for a lost cause, many agreed to go over there and put down the rebellion, with a hundred or so men coming along, especially upon learning some of their friends were among those taken hostage or killed. They soon reached the tenches were the pro-war counter-rebellion was growing. The British and French, along with their German allies, demanded the conspirators give up, saying that they would not have to lose their lives. The rebels refused. What proceeded was a siege, as the soldiers stormed the trenches, risking their lives for the Germans, while also trying to put down a future disaster that would not end well for anyone. Eventually, after an hour of bloody fighting, the counter-rebellion was ended, with most of the conspirators incapacitated. The soldier who started it all would join a charge, managing to take out a handful of soldiers down with him, before being shot in the forehead by a Jewish* British soldier, falling down to the ground. Adolf Hitler was declared dead instantly.
*The fact the soldier was Jewish wouldn't become important until later, when the future infamy of the man he killed would come to light.
Irish Riot Police in a town near the British-Irish Border, after reports of British troops crossing the border, claiming to be investigating "rebel activity". Later the news of the Transportation would see a rise in pro-Reunification gang and terrorist activity, especially with militias who would then try and cross the border into Ulster, which only caused Irish-British relations to become even sourer.
A Finnish Military helicopter a few hours after the Transportation fling over Karelia. The Finnish would have amongst the most violent of the border incidents in the close aftermath of the Transportation, as quickly assembled Russian troops would be sent to investigate and then end up fighting against who they saw as particularly advanced rebels. Helicopters being sent out to investigate the surrounding region would cause many downtimers to become frightened of the large metal flying machines, especially the peasants, who were usually illiterate and didn't know anything about aircraft.
Canadian Border Police in Ontario not long after the Transportation investigating the appearance and gathering of downtime Americans at border checks, who either were already planning on getting into Canada before the Transportation, or were curious and wondering what had happened. Most encounters were peaceful, although the few non-whites who worked for the border police would not be in for as well of a time for reasons which made themselves quickly clear.
Liberty (OTL Liberia) basically becomes the spoil child of America due to it being a key ally in the region against the reds.So this is an alternate Liberia?
Does the US have more of a hands relationship ittl?
Ah gotcha kinda like (insert random small country that the US invests in)Liberty (OTL Liberia) basically becomes the spoil child of America due to it being a key ally in the region against the reds.
Liberty (OTL Liberia) basically becomes the spoil child of America due to it being a key ally in the region against the reds.
It's depressing how freed slaves just ended up creating their own apartheid state.