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Chapter 7: "Balance" of Power
Before the Great War began many a European felt that the constant continental conflicts had concluded for good. Surely the Great Powers would recognize that the relative peace which had been intact since 1815 was a positive for all? Over the course of 4 years that myth was so thoroughly smashed as to be unrecognizable. Europe was not done with war, hardly close. Central Powered-victory reshaped the face of the area and the world. Powerful empires were turned to ruin, leaving room in the future for the rise of certain minor states.
The first nation to declare war, Austria-Hungary, was more than a little regretful of their decision. Victory had been achieved yes, however it came at such a cost it remained up in the air just how many more decades the country could last in its current state. Tripping over the finish line had cost the Hapsburg's the loss of much of their able-bodied workforce, basically the destruction of the economy, and civil unrest on nearly unmanageable proportions. All this for seemingly little net gain. Puppet states in the Balkans and a small slice of land on the Romanian border were included as some of the prizes Austria-Hungary had fought tooth and nail for. Perhaps the greatest, and most controversial, haul was the territory taken from northeast Italy, part of which being the region of Veneto and with it the city of Venice. Postwar gains were modest for a reason, mainly being that the already divided empire would surely fracture if much more stress was laid on top of it. Despite this Germany remained an ally, meaning the situation might just be salvageable still.
Their northern neighbor received far more spoils. The Kaiser had successfully acquired a subservient and smaller Belgium, Central African colonies from both France and Belgium, and the cherry on top, domination of Eastern Europe. New states forged by Brest-Litovsk were under German influence even when not directly controlled, often requiring the support of the Imperial German Army to convince the Bolsheviks to back off. Germany was less broken however still felt the scars of battle. The war had not been a waste, but it did teach an important lesson, being that the nation was much too vulnerable at sea. Unrestricted submarine warfare had failed to bring Britain to the table, in fact if anything the Central Powers were the ones who starved. Austria-Hungary had become so famished that an exchange of land for grain was being arranged with newly born Ukraine. Germany never grew quite so desperate, however the inability of the expensive Imperial Navy to break the blockade was a serious issue. Attempts to solve this conundrum involved the production of vessels in the following years, an action the Royal Navy was always quick to follow up on.
The United Kingdom remained the one stable and powerful European member of what was the Entente nation, a fact which inspired rage from France and Italy. While their capitals had fallen in May of '18, London had not only escaped the fighting, but managed to carve up the slain Ottoman Empire. New lands(technically promised to the Arabs) were gained in the Middle East, leaving behind a rump state in Anatolia. Yet diplomatically the war was a defeat for the Commonwealth. The classic British strategy of allying with the European silver medal holder to contain the gold was no longer viable. Germany held first place, yet every classic great power was a non option. Russia was fractured, France and Italy did not trust the Isles as far as they could throw them, and Austria-Hungary was aligned with the Kaiser. Therefore the British were forced to be a little more creative with their blocs. They got started right away. British actions in the Balkans spared Greece from ceding territory to Central-aligned Bulgaria. On top of this they granted Greece control of much of Asia Minor's Aegean coastline including the city of Constantinople, an action for which the Greeks were ever grateful.
Postwar France was a broken shell of yesteryear. Though ceding only a small portion of its colonies to Germany the fact remained that Paris had been captured by a government in Berlin for the second time within 50 years. The Treaty of Munich, ratified in late-1918, proved quite harsh. Outside of the expected occupation and military cut downs, the agreement put major reparations on the nation, a fate Britain was not resigned to, for they left before the death knell sounded. Italy fared little better, for the war had set the rising nation more than a few years back. Fortunately for them Libya remained their property, granting what was the new Entente control over the majority of North Africa along with their already extensive Northern Mediterranean holdings. Back stabbed and beaten, the two had little choice but to look to themselves and the rest of Western Europe if they wanted to keep in this ever more deadly game of power.
Russia was still locked to civil war, a conflict which the hated-Bolsheviks were currently winning. As much as Germany loathed the idea of a large communist state to their east, actually sending soldiers who otherwise would be finished with service back to fighting in Russia was a hard move to justify. A rescue mission for the Kaiser's cousin Nicholas was accomplished in the summer, however outside of that example official German intervention kept on the low. Besides, the new loyal nations which had been produced would serve as good buffers to the red menace. If the situation got truly out of hand it was thought that troops could and would be used to smash Lenin and his ilk, but this was not viewed as necessary yet, allowing the Bolsheviks the quiet they needed to continue fighting against the White Army.