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Chapter 12: God Is No Frenchman
Since its inception, France had been a European mainstay. Whether at a peak or valley it was always an important factor. This trend still rang true once the Great War ended, and now was definitely one of its low points. 4 years of destructive fighting on their own territory brought the nation to its knees, the Treaty of Munich leaving a carcass expected to delicately balance keeping the disgruntled populace under control via repairing itself while hamstringing its own efforts by paying a victorious Germany. Unsurprisingly the Third Republic didn't succeed in this endeavor.

Of course violence couldn't resume right away. Time had to be allotted for the exchange of territory, soldiers to return home, grieving. After the aforementioned steps were done however depression towards their misfortune quickly turned to resentment among Frenchmen. National humiliation still fresh in their minds, yet another revolution was afoot in 1922. As one might expect the entire country was in chaos before long. Paris fell again, now to its own citizenry, dragging France further into disorder. Communism and socialism proved enticing among these revolting inhabitants in a land which valued the ideals of the French Revolution. It was this that drew Germany back to their rival.

From across the border it seemed that all the ingredients were there to cook up another Russian Civil War. Given that the Reds were winning that fight the Kaiser wasn't in a gambling mood. Fortunately for the Bolsheviks geographical distance meant they were an exception to the rule. French revolutionaries weren't blessed with such luck. A bitter, communist nation right next to them was a pill much too hard for the German government to swallow, and spit it into the garbage they did. Once armies were readied they moved out. What followed was a hard-fought but not overly-long duel, culminating in the final defeat of French rebels as a 1923 spring came around the corner. In fact many of the men hoping to come back to their homeland for some time found themselves re-summoned for combat as Austria-Hungary dealt with their own revolutions the same year. These foreign uprisings served to keep the Imperial Germany Army on a busy schedule during the pivotal postwar years, and were what allowed the Red Army to successfully takeover Finland despite the obvious risks.

Back in France the debacle had left lasting impacts. Beaten down and internally bleeding, the French people found themselves looking to each other for support and protection. It was these bonds which would come to breed the overwhelming national fervor that defined France through the decade and beyond. From their perspective they had their fellow countrymen and ally Italy, who recently adopted a budding political ideology known as fascism, and one way or another it was possible to rise back to power together and defeat those who wronged them. Said group starring Germany: Emperor of Europe, and Britain: The Great Betrayer. That needed to come later. Nationwide healing was absolutely necessary, not to mention the Third Republic was still in power...

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