What's happening in Asia? With China, Japan and even Persia? I hope you write a segment on that sometime, Zach.
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Napoleon's Victory [LONG]
- Thread starter Zach
- Start date
Very good TL, Zack! I just spent the last coupla days going through it. Wonderfully detailed.
I'm looking forward to this Zach. Especially in epic, globe-spanning TL's like this one, it is always interesting to see how culture, art, science and technology evolved. Questions like who were the great artistic geniuses and great scientific minds of TTL's 19th Century? Who replaced Darwin, Edison, Dickens, Twain, Tolstoy, Austen, Wagner, van Gogh, Pasteur, Nietzsche, etc? What are the great books, plays, philosophies and inventions that entered TTL in that century?
All I know so far as an answer to the above questions is Marxism being replaced by Putzkammer's own version of Communism.
Another thing, I know Africa ITTL much like our own, is European-dominated but are there any interesting episodes from that continent that we should know about like an analogue to say the Anglo-Zulu War or the Boer Wars? Also, still looking forward to that bit about Asia.
Keep up all the great work, Zach! I can't wait for more of this brilliant TL!
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Of course I will post segments on Asia. I've tried to be as comprehensible as possible in certain segments and Asia will certainly play a large role in the years to come.
Hamburger said:
I foresee certain difficulty in trying to distance myself from OTL without seeming too ridiculous. It will also be difficult to make up composers of music without adding their own music. I certainly can, but I can't provide examples of their music. I definitely look forward to writing this!
Ah, yes, I have failed to mention Africa very extensively. It is basically the same as OTL, with petty colonial wars between various tribes and European powers and the Europeans always winning.
As for the Boers, it is important to note that the Netherlands ceased to exist as an independent nation in 1810 with Napoleon's annexation of that nation. So, the Boers in Africa are really without a true mother country. They enjoy stronger ties with Britain because of their mutual dislike with the French, but tensions exist between the two groups. I really need to do a more detailed segment on that.
COMING VERY SOON: Morchenko's Zavtra Russia
Zavtra Russia and the End of the Second Pax Gallicana
Further Political Consolidation
Further Political Consolidation
In 1912 the Czarist armies under General Anton Morchenko crushed remaining Equalitarian resistance as well as various nationalist movements that had erupted in Ukraine, the Baltic region and the Caucuses. By 1915, Morchenko had forced the drafting of a new constitution to replace the 1912 version. The new document gave considerable power to the man who was officially Commander of the Army, First Minister of the Crown, Chairman of the State Duma and leader of the Party for Mother Russia. In 1915, it was clear who was in charge of the government. Czar Alexis II possessed a very warm and trusting relationship to his First Minister Morchenko and delegated much authority to him. Officially the Czar still possessed supreme power but Alexis II was disinterested in government, agreed with Morchenko on all issues and thus allowed him to do the work.
Morchenko himself was firmly in power but in the late 1910s moved to gain higher positions for men loyal to him and the ideals of his Party for Mother Russia, better known as the Zavtra Party. Through cajoling, threatening, arm-pulling, trickery, bribery and even a little violence, Morchenko gained very high positions in government for Zavtra men. In addition, Morchenko moved to make his Zavtra Party the only political party in Russia. Admittedly, political parties enjoyed very few rights and were only in existence to fill the seats of the State Duma, an institution already dominated by the Zavtras. Nevertheless, Morchenko viewed that total consolidation could only be achieved by outlawing other parties and in 1916, Russia was declared a single-party monarchy with the Party for Mother Russia the only legal party. There were brief cries of resistance from vocal members of opposition parties and in the coming months, the leaders and top-ranking members of every non-Zavtra political party were persecuted.
In 1916, the jails of Russia were teeming with political prisoners whose only crime was belonging to a party that was not the Party for Mother Russia. Jail cells were overcrowded and even the distant camps in Siberia were overburdened with an abundance of political prisoners. This led to the need for special camps especially for political prisoners to be build, many of which began to appear in the Russian Far East starting in 1918. These new camps were larger and more advanced than its predecessors, which were little more than wooden barracks and chicken wire. The government invested a lot of money in the new prisoners and soon sprawling camps dotted the Siberian landscape, filled to the brim with political prisoners of all colors. Most were generally innocent of sedition but back east, Morchenko was ruthless in his grab for political consolidation and thousands of men were caught up. It was an extremely effective measure, however. By 1918 his Zavtra Party was the only party left in Russia, thus completing six years of political consolidation that began first with himself and then ended with his followers.
The close proximity of thousands of prisoners coupled with the general apathy of prison guards led to the a prison uprising at Olyokna on August 6th 1918. The outbreak quickly overwhelmed the guards and soon the nearby village. For a week, the political prisoners became common criminals and wrecked havoc upon the area. It is said that no female was left inviolated. Government troops were relatively few in number in the area due to the limitations of Copenhagen that Russia had promised to follow after Morchenko’s power grab (and the subsequent disbandment of millions of soldiers that had fought for him in the Civil War). However, by late September a sufficient number of soldiers were on the scene and the uprising was quickly put down brutally. In what later became known as the Olyokna Massacre, all political prisoners in the area were executed at gunpoint or by the bayonet and buried in mass graves. Many were later caught and tortured and it is not unreasonable to assume that the government soldiers executed even innocent civilians in the area. Across Siberia, thousands of political prisoners were put to death as a result of the uprising. Guards were no longer apathetic and security was strengthened in all the camps, old and new.
Upon his 1912 ascension and further consolidation, Morchenko had promised France that it would abide by the laws of the Congress of Copenhagen. This included a dramatic reduction of the military to 170,000 as France and Russia decided in the Sevestapol Accords in 1913. It was a farce of a conference since Russia’s actual imperial army still lay in the millions due to its recent victory in the civil war. Still, France demanded that the Russian military reduce within the next year. Morchenko honestly and thoroughly did this, though in a 1914 treaty had the army size increased to 250,000 men. This 250,000 strong group, he figured, would form the professional core of the vast military he eventually planned for Russia to have once he renounced Copenhagen. For now, he knew he had to rebuild the country after years of disastrous rule and war.
Morchenko formed a paramilitary group, outside the bounds of the Congress of Copenhagen, in 1915, which coincided with the new constitution that gave him vast powers. It was known as the Zavtra Guard and comprised millions of members, many of them veterans of the Great War and/or the civil war. In Russian, it was a clever play on words, meaning “Guards of Tomorrow”. This symbolized the forward-thinking of Morchenko’s Russia as well as the futuristic soldiers that Morchenko hoped to create. The Zavtra Guard was independent of the army and was answerable only to the State Duma (little more than the Zavtra Party meeting hall) or Morchenko himself. The army was under the control of Morchenko too and in the upper echelons of both the military and the guard it was clear that the two forces would eventually be merged.
The aftermath of Olyokna was a mixture of death and destruction
The events at Olyokna symbolized the brutality of Morchenko’s regime. However, he was highly successful at consolidating power for both himself and his Zavtra Party and never were their authority questioned, even by the Czar. Indeed the relationship between Czar Alexis II and Morchenko was described as “like a father and son in which the father enjoys retirement so much, he allows the son to head the estate and run all household duties, as well as pick the servants, preen the garden, and write out congratulatory notes to distant relatives.” Alexis II died in 1922 and was succeeded by his son, Michael III, who was Morchenko’s junior by three years. Thus, in 1922 Russia was truly led by two young men: Morchenko turned forty that year and Michael III was a spry thirty-seven. Michael was far more active in government affairs than his father and was less malleable to frivolous activities. In a way, Michael resented the power of Morchenko but knew that he ever dismissed the charismatic leader he would have a palace coup. Michael came of age during the tumultuous years of the Great War and the Russian Civil War and agreed with Morchenko on a lot of issues. For many years, the two men worked well together and even developed a close relationship.
Refined Ideology, Domestic Agenda and Growth of the Church
The ideology of Zavtra Russia was very well defined by Morchenko’s 1915 full takeover. During the civil war it was anti-communist above all other issues but the defeat of the People’s Republic of Russia and subsequent persecution of its followers ended its strong anti-communist rhetoric since it was no longer a threat. Morchenko and his core group of followers had remained loyal to the monarchy through its darkest time in the Russian Far East and thus retained very traditional, monarchist sentiments. Zavtra Russia was an extreme right-wing regime that was a large proponent of central state power. That power would originate in the monarchy to whom the country owed complete loyalty. The monarch’s instrument – as later defined in the 1915 constitution – would be the First Minister to the Crown. Zavtra Russia appealed to nationalist sentiments, proclaiming that Russia would rise again as a great power despite its defeats. It blamed the defeats of the Great War on the “backstabbing” of left-wing groups (though in actuality, many defeats were caused by the Czar Michael II or Czarist generals’ ineptitude). The regime was highly statist and exerted a strong, central control on the entire country.
Economically, Russia fully rejected the collectivization of communism and advocated full property rights for everyone. It rejected any intervention into private economy. From 1912-1915 when Morchenko was not yet in full control, Russia moved toward total free trade and capitalism. Laissez-faire economics were supported until Morchenko took control who made friends among the top business leaders in the country by renouncing laissez-faire for a system of protectionism and government intervention. Internal competition was supported and subsidies were given to insulate domestic businesses from international competition. Increasingly, there grew a stronger relationship between big businesses and the government of Morchenko. A special National Economic Council was created in which representatives of the government and large corporations sat and manipulated prices and wages to satisfy the wishes of the government and the corporations. This partnership became known as corporatism and by the 1920s, Russia boasted significant tariffs as part of its protectionist economy. Overall, the Zavtra regime believed that economic self-sufficiency was vital to progress and growth and thus favored an economic model that achieved protectionist policies and internal growth. Corporate power grew tremendously in the 1920s but they enjoyed a good relationship with the government. Russia by the 1920s was an autarky of sorts, although it still traded with neighboring countries.
In the early days of the Czarist revival and the very beginning of Morchenko’s rule, Russia was an economic mess. Years of communist rule and its programs of forced collectivization and rapid industrialization had produced very little tangible result. Instead, local leaders, who were all eventually crushed in 1912-1913, controlled vast parcels of land by the Czarist forces which returned control of the land to the huge masses of peasants. This gained the new government enthusiastic support from the war-weary peasantry, even despite the absolute hatred the peasants felt toward the Czar in 1904-1906. Corporations prospered under Morchenko’s rule and great economic progress was made in the late 1910s and 1920s as the country recovered from the damages of war and communism. As part of its progress, great public work projects were created. This included a massive new rail system with the latest railroad technology, as well as new highways. It was during this era that the Moscow and St. Petersburg subway system was built. They quickly gained a reputation for cleanliness and efficiency. The improved infrastructure was a massive undertaking for the large nation but it proved to be mostly beneficial; the creation of these railroads and highways created jobs for many peasants and gave them certain skills they would otherwise have not learned from agricultural work. It also improved transportation throughout the country, thus benefiting the economic model of internal trade that the government advocated.
Another aspect of Zavtra Russia was its belief in Pan-Slavism. This would play out heavily in their foreign affairs. It was not a racial doctrine but simply a belief that all Slavs in Europe should live under a Slavic government, preferably the Russian government. Indeed, Russia was long considered the leader of the Slavic peoples, mainly because for many years it was the sole independent Slavic nation. Zavtra leaders put out many pieces of propaganda that advocated ‘Unity with our Brothers’, ‘Liberation for the Slavs’ and other such themes, targeted at the South Slavs under Ottoman and Austrian rule. As a Pan-Slav state, Russia automatically had very negative diplomatic ties with the Ottoman Empire, but this was nothing new as the two nations had been bitter enemies for many years. Poland was a sore spot to Morchenko and his government. Although a Slavic nation, it was highly pro-French and remained a French ally. Russia condemned this, of course, and set its imperial eye on the former Duchy of Warsaw as part of the “liberating” war that would inevitably be fought.
One of the more drastic changes in the early years of Zavtra rule was its massive sponsorship and support for the Russian Orthodox Church. Russia had always been a religious country with Russian Orthodox Christianity being the state religion since the days of Peter the Great. However, in the Moscow Decree of Religion, issued on June 1st, 1919 the only religion of Russia was to be Orthodox Christianity. Anyone not of the Orthodox faith would be heavily taxed. Heavier taxes would be placed on Muslims and Jews, who together numbered fourteen million and fifty thousand respectively. The extremely low number of Jews in Russia was a result of the great pogroms of 1894-1896 and the subsequent years in which hundreds of thousands of Jews left Russia for the religious freedom of France. Even before the 1890s, many people of the Jewish faith had emigrated. By 1900, there were fewer than 8,000 Jews in Russia but the secularism and lack of anti-Semitism of the Equalitarian regime of 1906-1912 brought thousands of Jews back to their homeland. Thus, in the 1916 census (the first of its kind in the twentieth century), 53,827 Jews were recorded.
The pogroms of the 1890s drastically reduced the Jewish population in Russia.
In the 1924 census, that number was shrunk to zero. In between 1916 and 1924, and especially after 1919 with the Moscow Decree of Religion, Russia had experienced a wave of anti-Semetism. It was by no means independent of the government and Morchenko’s personal anti-Semitism was no secret. They were, he claimed, a tiny minority within the empire that held tremendous, dangerous power. Indeed, many high-profile jobs in the private sector were held by men of the Jewish faith but their power was by no means as extensive as Morchenko claimed. Between 1921 and 1923, the Zavtra government sponsored a program “Orthodoxization of Russia’s Jewish Population”, better known as the Russian Inquisition. It was not a racial program aimed at eliminating a certain segment of society, rather, it was a religious based movement conducted almost entirely by the Orthodox Church. Its goal was to convert, expel or “liquidate” the nation’s Jews. Exact numbers are unknown but in many cities, the program erupted into full-scale pogroms, oftentimes backed by the local Zavtra Guard. Thousands of Jews died and many more fled the country. Very few converted as very few of them wished to live in a country where their friends and relatives lived in fear of persecution. The West, particularly France, the United States and the Confederate States who took special pride in their freedom of religion ideals, vehemently condemned Russia.
There were more extensive persecutions of Russia’s Muslim population. Although the recent Decree of Religion did not outlaw Islam, it was highly condemned, partly because inherent Russian hatred of the Muslim Ottomans. Russia, however, had a large Muslim population, as it was the second largest religion in the country. They were geographically centered, as well, mainly in central Asia and along the Caspian and Black Sea. It was agreed at high levels of government that the “Orthodoxization of Russia’s Muslim Population” could not be quite as thorough as the campaign against the Jews was simply due to the large numbers of Muslims. Nevertheless, the Church enjoyed the full support of the government in its attempts to convert millions of Muslim. It was oftentimes a brutal affair and on more than one occasion Muslims resisted with violence. This in turn led to even more brutal crackdowns in some areas which led to even more conversions. In many cases they were willing conversions because Christians had so many more opportunities than Muslims.
In the vast areas of Russian Central Asia where Muslims accounted for over half of the population, the Orthodoxization of the local Muslims did not even occur. They were more centered on Western Russia and were fairly successful in converting about a two and a half Muslims from 1919-1925. The remaining Muslims were shoved into a second-class created in 1923 in a law which stated that all non-Christians and all non-Slavs were to be part of a lower class that enjoyed less rights and opportunities as everyone else. This was greeted heartily by the vast majority of white, Christian Russian peasants who were no longer at the bottom of the totem pole. The new laws greeted other ethnic groups such as Central Asians, Altaics and even a few Far Easterners as “compatriots” or “brothers of the State”. The general lack of enthusiasm and progress for Orthodoxization east of the Urals made it necessary for these groups to be left alone to ensure their loyalty (indeed, overall the program of Orthodoxization was essentially limited to Slavs). Non-Slavic minorities were guaranteed the right to live on their land in exchange for loyalty to the state, regardless of religion.
The Zavtras during their initial rise to power began to view Russia as the heir to the Roman Empire. Morchenko himself believed that Moscow was the Third Rome, with Constantinople being the Second Rome. He felt it his duty to liberate the Second Rome from the “yoke of the infidel”. As such, by the mid-1920s he felt that Russia had come a long way toward military greatness once again. The Congress of Copenhagen was still strictly controlled by the former Continental Alliance powers but Morchenko did not mind. “The Congress is a useful tool in giving France a false sense of placation. We will continue to go great again right under their noses.” The dictator was indeed quite pleased at the progress of the economy. The private corporations churned products for mass consumption, heavy industry boomed thanks to the foundation ironically laid down by Viktor Ilyukhin, and farmers turned out favorable crop yields year after year without government intervention. Not only the economy caused Anton Morchenko pleasure. He was in total control and no underling even came close to rivaling him. He enjoyed the confidence and trust of the young Czar and his Zavtra Party dominated Russian politics, police and paramilitary forces. The people (unless they were Muslim or Jewish) were generally content at this peace and prosperity. The future of Russia looked bright.
Anton Morchenko
Excellent update Zach! I find myself having a morbid fascination with Morchenko and the Zavtras...
Keep up the great work!
Keep up the great work!
Zach, what is Russia's stance on Catholics in the more Western parts of Russia.
Are they basically ignored or are they another focused on group by the Russian inquisition.
I know their probably isn't that many of them but I'm still curious, especially once Russia invades Poland (I view this as an inevitable occurence).
Morchenko is also a scarily competent villain, which in my opinion, makes him awesome. Smart villains are always alot better then stupid ones.
I fear for the future.
What is Russian Alaska like?
Are they basically ignored or are they another focused on group by the Russian inquisition.
I know their probably isn't that many of them but I'm still curious, especially once Russia invades Poland (I view this as an inevitable occurence).
Morchenko is also a scarily competent villain, which in my opinion, makes him awesome. Smart villains are always alot better then stupid ones.
I fear for the future.
What is Russian Alaska like?
dreadnaught jenkins said:
They were targeted in the Orthodoxization campaign of the 1910s and 1920s. Really, though, there weren't that many considering the following: 1) many of the Catholics were Poles who were either annexed into Poland or moved to Poland 2) fairly subtle anti-Catholic movements that sort of went hand-in-hand with the Jewish pogroms in the 1890s. By no means were they extensive, they were just a little discouraging for the Catholics. Overall, there are still Catholics in Russia, but they are taxed and treated with a little less respect. They are actively being courted by Orthodox leaders. Eventually, Zavtra leaders want to stamp them out.
dreadnaught jenkins said:
Sold to the United States. See page 10 under the section on the United States.
Which reminds me, I need to correct and update all the world maps I've made (or not made in the last couple years)
Does everyone like Morchenko a little more because of his lack of funny facial hair? Or lack of hair in general?
Titus_Pullo
Banned
This evil regime must be destroyed. Western Christendom must unite to rid the world of this man and this regime.
*hint* US involvement in TTL WWII?
*hint* US involvement in TTL WWII?
Hmm, not like Hitler really, he is not talking about Muslims with telepathy, or the need to destroy groups. More an exceptionally profiient tyrant wth nationalistic views.
Okay. The last update wasn't terribly exciting, I know. But hopefully the next section will be good:
The steady remolding of Russia and Prussia into even more reactionary states was not against the laws set forth by the countries of the world at the Congress of Copenhagen and the Treaty of Amalienborg. Twenty years under the Congress, Europe lay in peace and Russia and Prussia were still relatively weak states, as their countries did not possess large official armies. They had, after all, abided by the military restriction clauses stated in the Congress of Copenhagen: 250,000 for Russia and a scant 35,000 for Prussia. In a 1919 treaty with France, Prussia was allowed to double the size of its military to 70,000, still one-tenth the size of the French peacetime force. Nevertheless, despite progress both nations made in recovery, economic growth and expansion they were still discounted by France as weak and defeated states. On the contrary, by 1925 Russia and Prussia were resurgent and looking for avengement for their defeat twenty years prior.
Both countries took very patient and slow routes to achieve their planned avengement. Slowly and effectively, they built up large propaganda machines that spewed out hatred for Western Europe, spouted the superiority of the respective state, spurted the glory and power of their respective leaders, ideologies and military capabilities and swanked of their great progress and overall superiority. In addition, both countries built up massive paramilitary forces to supplement the small regular core. Beginning in 1928, the Zavtra ‘Guards of Tomorrow’ were issued with live rifles and even some submachine guns. This was all done in secret so France would not know of Russian re-armament. In addition, various tractor and automobile factories began to churn out armored cars and rudimentary TACs (Tracked Armored Car). There was no doubt that by 1930, the arms restrictions of the Congress of Copenhagen were thrown off, though France was not able to confirm it. Even if the French knew, there was little it could do to forcibly halt Russia especially economically; Russia was near completely self-sufficient.
On July 10th, 1929 Russia and Prussia signed a mutual defensive pact that became known as the Bond of Trust. The two monarchs, Prussian King William II and Russian Czar Michael III, signed it personally. Morchenko was also present and his signature was featured prominently on the document. The agreement called for each country to aid each other if attacked by a third power, never to engage each other in hostilities and to never ally with another nation without the others consent. It became known as the Bond of Trust because of a speech Morchenko gave praising it. He said “we and our Prussian friends are now forever bonded with trust and comradeship.” The Bond of Trust effectively countered the French-dominated balance of power in Europe by setting up a rival system. To further that alliance, the Japanese officially joined on January 22nd, 1931 making it a triple member alliance and a formidable force in international affairs. For the first time in almost three decades, France was being rivaled as the world’s superpower by another nation (discounting the introverted United States whose stance on international issues carried far less weight than France’s despite American economic prowess).
Until 1933, Europe was much the same as it had been since 1912. There had been little sudden change besides the death of monarchs. Western Europe had slowly moved to a more liberal ideology while Eastern Europe slowly moved to the right toward authoritarianism. In theory the two camps were not forced to clash and they could have lived in peace. However, hegemonic French foreign policy – aimed at forever dominating the European continent – coupled with the vengeful and extremist policies of Russia and Prussia were bound to clash.
It seems unlikely that the first clash between east and west would occur in Sweden. Since the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1813, Sweden remained a quiet, neutral nation that was officially allied to France but abstained from fighting the Great War. It was ruled by the Bernadotte family, the descendents of a French marshal that became the king in 1818 and promptly led it into a tradition of neutrality. In 1933 the king was Gustav VI who ascended to the throne in 1928 after the death of his father, Gustav V. Sweden by this time was a fairly prosperous country and still highly monarchical, with the King still granted numerous powers.
That changed on October 4th, 1933 in what became known as the Högvakten Coup. In a brilliantly executed plan funded by Russia, members of the extreme right-wing Swedish group, Framtidspartiet (Future Party) seized Gustav VI and forced him to relinquish most of his power to a new position to be created, Chancellor. Essentially, the new government of Sweden would look like the Zavtra government of Russia with the position of First Minister of the Crown to be called Chancellor. The coup had long been in the making in Russia and millions had been spent in its preparation and implementation.
The Högvakten Coup took place at the Stockholm Palace by the Royal Guard of Sweden, also known as Högvakten.
On the night of October 3rd, palace guards loyal to the Framtidspartiet (but mainly the group’s massive treasury) took their places at the palace. It was no coincidence that the palace guards that night were loyal to the Framtidspartiet. For over a year, these men had been contacted and bribed with massive sums of money (which originated in Russia) in order to launch the coup. The guards near midnight launched their coup, awakening Gustav VI and explaining the situation with him. His captors threatened his life and the life of his family and given little choice, Gustav VI signed the document that limited his own power and basically transferred all power to the new position of Chancellor. The name Högvakten Coup originates from the name of the royal guards of Sweden, who carried out the coup. It was a very sudden affair and Swedes were shocked and somewhat horrified as they found out the news late in the day on October 4th. In a staged affair, Gustav VI and the new Chancellor appeared side by side at the palace in which both men read prepared speeches. The King claimed that due to health problems and the ‘delicate’ condition of the health of his family, he was prepared to create a position that would help him with the day-to-day affairs of state, if that were agreeable to the man. The new Chancellor graciously accepted and he prepared to further the aims of the Framtidspartiet.
Sven Lund
The new Chancellor was a charismatic and handsome man by the name of Sven Lund, who had founded the Framtidspartiet in 1917. It was modeled after the Zavtra Party in Russia and for many years remained a minor party in Swedish politics. Political parties had little power in monarchist Sweden anyway, so Lund began to turn to other means to secure his aims. He first met with Morchenko in 1925 and in a spirited conversation, convinced the Russian leader to support his Future Party. Morchenko saw the benefits in this: it would be one less front to fight in another European war (assuming Sweden joined the French side) and it would increase his power internationally. Morchenko agreed and the two men became allies. Lund returned home with high hopes, though it would take eight years for those hopes to be realized. Nevertheless, on October 5th 1933, Sven Lund was in control of Sweden in a sudden and shocking coup.
The inevitable counter coup was crushed by the Framtidspartiet military wing, the Framtidsarmen, a large group that was armed with Russian weapons. On the whole, the Swedish people at first accepted the change. As far as many of them knew, the Chancellor was merely another bureaucratic official and Gustav VI was still in charge. On the contrary, the Swedish royal family was under house arrest. Many Swedes agreed with Lund that the country needed a change and supported his ambitious industrialization program. Many, however, did not notice his subtle anti-French attitude but for those that did notice, it caused little concern since the average Swede had little use for the French.
In February 1934, Sweden officially joined the Bond of Trust. Buoyed by its success in international affairs, Russia looked elsewhere to spread its influence. It did not have to look far. To the southwest was the new nation Romania, created from Russian land at the Congress of Copenhagen as a buffer state between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. It was ruled under a weak monarchy, a landowning family that had large power in Romania known as the House of Cozadini. In 1934, King John II, a nineteen year old who had succeeded the year before after the death of his father, John I, ruled Romania. During the Great War, Romanians had fought with the Ottomans and French against the Russians in return for their own country after the war. The creation of Romanian was thus seen as an ultimate insult to Russia.
It took little deliberation among Morchenko and his advisers to decide on their course of action. Romania would be invaded, conquered and annexed by Zavtra Army that summer. It would be a short, overwhelming campaign and before France could even react, Romania would cease to exist as an independent nation. They hoped for a quick campaign that would make diplomatic efforts for France negligible since Romania would already be occupied. Morchenko also hoped that the overwhelmingly rapid conquest would cow France into accepting the conquest. In addition, the conquest of Romania would mean a new border with the Ottoman Empire, the target of a future war. Russia was confident that its first military venture in over two decades would be s startling success.
The invasion of Romania began on June 15th, 1933 and quickly became an even more remarkable success than Morchenko would ever dream of. The Romanian forces melted in the face of the 200,000 Russian regulars, all armed with the latest weapons, over 600,000 Zavtra Guard, 1,200 armored cars and 20,000 horses. Romania was a poor state and leaned heavily on Western support for its military. In recent years, support had lagged and most of the small Romanian army was stuck with third-rate French weapons, relics of the Great War. The Russians rushed into the country supported by cavalry and armored cars, the latter a blatant violation of Copenhagen. They overwhelmed the border defenses and took thousands of prisoners in the first few days. On the 23rd, the capital, Iaşi, was captured after a brief battle. On the 25th, King John II decided to sue for peace and the Russians accepted. By the 28th, the government of Romania capitulated and King John II fled to the Ottoman Empire. The Russians began to pacify the unoccupied parts of the country.
Meanwhile, in Paris, Emperor Napoleon IV was furious. Indeed, so were the leaders of most of the rest of the world. Napoleon was especially angry that the Russians had gotten away at violating the Congress of Copenhagen so blatantly with no detection, namely in the form of armored cars. There was no doubt of France’s intention: stop Russia from its conquest. After the initial shock, the French ambassador to Russia, Michel Vitoux, asked for the Russians to immediately withdraw from Romania. However, before he was able to ask this he was made to wait for a long time in order to stall the confrontation with the French. Unable to wait any longer, the hot-headed Vitoux stormed into the Russian Foreign Minister’s office and all but shouted his demand. The Russian minister responded that the Romanians had already capitulated, which was more or less the truth.
Perturbed and rejected, Vitoux, backed with orders from Paris, threatened war. By this time, Romania had surrendered, though its monarch was currently in Turkey. Russia did not expect France to threaten with war but called the French bluff and declared Romania annexed on July 1st, just sixteen days after the initial invasion. This was to show that the issue was done. However, Napoleon IV was determined to restore Romanian independence and keep Russia at bay. In a strong statement, he denounced Morchenko as “another conquering mongrel with no regard to the self-determination of a country”. On July 2nd, he ordered the French military to mobilize and contacted his allies in Spain, Portugal, Naples, Southern Lusitania and Germany to begin to mobilize. Back in Russia, Vitoux and the Russian Foreign Minister, Vladimir Voloshin, were engaged in what the press popularly called “The Battle of the Vs”. In intense negotiations, Vitoux and Voloshin attempted to stall the onset of war. Morchenko was personally horrified at the thought of war, knowing well that he would be unable to stand up to the full might of a mobilized Europe even with his modern army. At the same time, he could not appear weak and back away from Romania, which had already been annexed. He was equally furious at Napoleon IV for “suddenly taking an interest in this backwater”.
The Battle of the Vs continued as French, Spanish and Neapolitan forces continued to mobilize. Other nations were on standby. For a time, it seemed as if Europe would enter another great war. For nearly forty-eight straight hours, Vitoux and Voloshin negotiated while remaining in close contact with their immediate superiors. The world held its breath for the final result.
On July 4th, the world took a sigh of relief as a photograph was released to the hungry international press of Vitoux and Voloshin smiling and shaking hands. Headlines across the world shouted “PEACE!” though in Russia the headlines screamed “FRANCE BACKS DOWN!” while in France the headlines proclaimed “RUSSIA BACKS DOWN!” The intense negotiations brought about concessions from both sides. Technically, it was a French diplomatic victory since the July 4th agreement called for Russia to withdraw from Romania and allow their king to return. In addition, Russia promised to guarantee Romania its independence. In exchange, France allowed Russia to keep its military at its current size, naively mistaking the irregular Zavtra Guard as regular. In exchange, Russia would pay three million francs for violating the Congress of Copenhagen. Russia milked everything it could from the agreement and ended up with an army limitation of 1.2 million men with no mention of airships or naval vessels with only armored cars featured prominently in the talks. Those were limited to 1,000.
The Romanian crisis brought the world to a standstill for a few days in which war seemed like a very real possibility. Instead, war was avoided, Romania kept its independence but Russia’s military was essentially made legal. Through loopholes in the agreement, Russia began to look at aircraft as a feasible military weapon. To its public, Zavtra leaders boasted of their agreement with France and effectively ignored the entire Romanian aspect of the crisis. In a highly censored society, it was easy to do this and the public bought the “French weakness”. Meanwhile, in France, Morchenko was effectively portrayed as a terrible boogeyman and his popularity in France dropped to near hatred. The Romanian Crisis, as it became to be known as, brought Europe nearly to war and dropped once and for all the era of good feelings the Congress of Copenhagen created. In effect, the second Pax Gallicana was over.
The ‘Bond of Trust’, Sweden and the Romanian Crisis
The steady remolding of Russia and Prussia into even more reactionary states was not against the laws set forth by the countries of the world at the Congress of Copenhagen and the Treaty of Amalienborg. Twenty years under the Congress, Europe lay in peace and Russia and Prussia were still relatively weak states, as their countries did not possess large official armies. They had, after all, abided by the military restriction clauses stated in the Congress of Copenhagen: 250,000 for Russia and a scant 35,000 for Prussia. In a 1919 treaty with France, Prussia was allowed to double the size of its military to 70,000, still one-tenth the size of the French peacetime force. Nevertheless, despite progress both nations made in recovery, economic growth and expansion they were still discounted by France as weak and defeated states. On the contrary, by 1925 Russia and Prussia were resurgent and looking for avengement for their defeat twenty years prior.
Both countries took very patient and slow routes to achieve their planned avengement. Slowly and effectively, they built up large propaganda machines that spewed out hatred for Western Europe, spouted the superiority of the respective state, spurted the glory and power of their respective leaders, ideologies and military capabilities and swanked of their great progress and overall superiority. In addition, both countries built up massive paramilitary forces to supplement the small regular core. Beginning in 1928, the Zavtra ‘Guards of Tomorrow’ were issued with live rifles and even some submachine guns. This was all done in secret so France would not know of Russian re-armament. In addition, various tractor and automobile factories began to churn out armored cars and rudimentary TACs (Tracked Armored Car). There was no doubt that by 1930, the arms restrictions of the Congress of Copenhagen were thrown off, though France was not able to confirm it. Even if the French knew, there was little it could do to forcibly halt Russia especially economically; Russia was near completely self-sufficient.
On July 10th, 1929 Russia and Prussia signed a mutual defensive pact that became known as the Bond of Trust. The two monarchs, Prussian King William II and Russian Czar Michael III, signed it personally. Morchenko was also present and his signature was featured prominently on the document. The agreement called for each country to aid each other if attacked by a third power, never to engage each other in hostilities and to never ally with another nation without the others consent. It became known as the Bond of Trust because of a speech Morchenko gave praising it. He said “we and our Prussian friends are now forever bonded with trust and comradeship.” The Bond of Trust effectively countered the French-dominated balance of power in Europe by setting up a rival system. To further that alliance, the Japanese officially joined on January 22nd, 1931 making it a triple member alliance and a formidable force in international affairs. For the first time in almost three decades, France was being rivaled as the world’s superpower by another nation (discounting the introverted United States whose stance on international issues carried far less weight than France’s despite American economic prowess).
Until 1933, Europe was much the same as it had been since 1912. There had been little sudden change besides the death of monarchs. Western Europe had slowly moved to a more liberal ideology while Eastern Europe slowly moved to the right toward authoritarianism. In theory the two camps were not forced to clash and they could have lived in peace. However, hegemonic French foreign policy – aimed at forever dominating the European continent – coupled with the vengeful and extremist policies of Russia and Prussia were bound to clash.
It seems unlikely that the first clash between east and west would occur in Sweden. Since the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1813, Sweden remained a quiet, neutral nation that was officially allied to France but abstained from fighting the Great War. It was ruled by the Bernadotte family, the descendents of a French marshal that became the king in 1818 and promptly led it into a tradition of neutrality. In 1933 the king was Gustav VI who ascended to the throne in 1928 after the death of his father, Gustav V. Sweden by this time was a fairly prosperous country and still highly monarchical, with the King still granted numerous powers.
That changed on October 4th, 1933 in what became known as the Högvakten Coup. In a brilliantly executed plan funded by Russia, members of the extreme right-wing Swedish group, Framtidspartiet (Future Party) seized Gustav VI and forced him to relinquish most of his power to a new position to be created, Chancellor. Essentially, the new government of Sweden would look like the Zavtra government of Russia with the position of First Minister of the Crown to be called Chancellor. The coup had long been in the making in Russia and millions had been spent in its preparation and implementation.
The Högvakten Coup took place at the Stockholm Palace by the Royal Guard of Sweden, also known as Högvakten.
On the night of October 3rd, palace guards loyal to the Framtidspartiet (but mainly the group’s massive treasury) took their places at the palace. It was no coincidence that the palace guards that night were loyal to the Framtidspartiet. For over a year, these men had been contacted and bribed with massive sums of money (which originated in Russia) in order to launch the coup. The guards near midnight launched their coup, awakening Gustav VI and explaining the situation with him. His captors threatened his life and the life of his family and given little choice, Gustav VI signed the document that limited his own power and basically transferred all power to the new position of Chancellor. The name Högvakten Coup originates from the name of the royal guards of Sweden, who carried out the coup. It was a very sudden affair and Swedes were shocked and somewhat horrified as they found out the news late in the day on October 4th. In a staged affair, Gustav VI and the new Chancellor appeared side by side at the palace in which both men read prepared speeches. The King claimed that due to health problems and the ‘delicate’ condition of the health of his family, he was prepared to create a position that would help him with the day-to-day affairs of state, if that were agreeable to the man. The new Chancellor graciously accepted and he prepared to further the aims of the Framtidspartiet.
Sven Lund
The new Chancellor was a charismatic and handsome man by the name of Sven Lund, who had founded the Framtidspartiet in 1917. It was modeled after the Zavtra Party in Russia and for many years remained a minor party in Swedish politics. Political parties had little power in monarchist Sweden anyway, so Lund began to turn to other means to secure his aims. He first met with Morchenko in 1925 and in a spirited conversation, convinced the Russian leader to support his Future Party. Morchenko saw the benefits in this: it would be one less front to fight in another European war (assuming Sweden joined the French side) and it would increase his power internationally. Morchenko agreed and the two men became allies. Lund returned home with high hopes, though it would take eight years for those hopes to be realized. Nevertheless, on October 5th 1933, Sven Lund was in control of Sweden in a sudden and shocking coup.
The inevitable counter coup was crushed by the Framtidspartiet military wing, the Framtidsarmen, a large group that was armed with Russian weapons. On the whole, the Swedish people at first accepted the change. As far as many of them knew, the Chancellor was merely another bureaucratic official and Gustav VI was still in charge. On the contrary, the Swedish royal family was under house arrest. Many Swedes agreed with Lund that the country needed a change and supported his ambitious industrialization program. Many, however, did not notice his subtle anti-French attitude but for those that did notice, it caused little concern since the average Swede had little use for the French.
In February 1934, Sweden officially joined the Bond of Trust. Buoyed by its success in international affairs, Russia looked elsewhere to spread its influence. It did not have to look far. To the southwest was the new nation Romania, created from Russian land at the Congress of Copenhagen as a buffer state between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. It was ruled under a weak monarchy, a landowning family that had large power in Romania known as the House of Cozadini. In 1934, King John II, a nineteen year old who had succeeded the year before after the death of his father, John I, ruled Romania. During the Great War, Romanians had fought with the Ottomans and French against the Russians in return for their own country after the war. The creation of Romanian was thus seen as an ultimate insult to Russia.
It took little deliberation among Morchenko and his advisers to decide on their course of action. Romania would be invaded, conquered and annexed by Zavtra Army that summer. It would be a short, overwhelming campaign and before France could even react, Romania would cease to exist as an independent nation. They hoped for a quick campaign that would make diplomatic efforts for France negligible since Romania would already be occupied. Morchenko also hoped that the overwhelmingly rapid conquest would cow France into accepting the conquest. In addition, the conquest of Romania would mean a new border with the Ottoman Empire, the target of a future war. Russia was confident that its first military venture in over two decades would be s startling success.
The invasion of Romania began on June 15th, 1933 and quickly became an even more remarkable success than Morchenko would ever dream of. The Romanian forces melted in the face of the 200,000 Russian regulars, all armed with the latest weapons, over 600,000 Zavtra Guard, 1,200 armored cars and 20,000 horses. Romania was a poor state and leaned heavily on Western support for its military. In recent years, support had lagged and most of the small Romanian army was stuck with third-rate French weapons, relics of the Great War. The Russians rushed into the country supported by cavalry and armored cars, the latter a blatant violation of Copenhagen. They overwhelmed the border defenses and took thousands of prisoners in the first few days. On the 23rd, the capital, Iaşi, was captured after a brief battle. On the 25th, King John II decided to sue for peace and the Russians accepted. By the 28th, the government of Romania capitulated and King John II fled to the Ottoman Empire. The Russians began to pacify the unoccupied parts of the country.
Meanwhile, in Paris, Emperor Napoleon IV was furious. Indeed, so were the leaders of most of the rest of the world. Napoleon was especially angry that the Russians had gotten away at violating the Congress of Copenhagen so blatantly with no detection, namely in the form of armored cars. There was no doubt of France’s intention: stop Russia from its conquest. After the initial shock, the French ambassador to Russia, Michel Vitoux, asked for the Russians to immediately withdraw from Romania. However, before he was able to ask this he was made to wait for a long time in order to stall the confrontation with the French. Unable to wait any longer, the hot-headed Vitoux stormed into the Russian Foreign Minister’s office and all but shouted his demand. The Russian minister responded that the Romanians had already capitulated, which was more or less the truth.
Perturbed and rejected, Vitoux, backed with orders from Paris, threatened war. By this time, Romania had surrendered, though its monarch was currently in Turkey. Russia did not expect France to threaten with war but called the French bluff and declared Romania annexed on July 1st, just sixteen days after the initial invasion. This was to show that the issue was done. However, Napoleon IV was determined to restore Romanian independence and keep Russia at bay. In a strong statement, he denounced Morchenko as “another conquering mongrel with no regard to the self-determination of a country”. On July 2nd, he ordered the French military to mobilize and contacted his allies in Spain, Portugal, Naples, Southern Lusitania and Germany to begin to mobilize. Back in Russia, Vitoux and the Russian Foreign Minister, Vladimir Voloshin, were engaged in what the press popularly called “The Battle of the Vs”. In intense negotiations, Vitoux and Voloshin attempted to stall the onset of war. Morchenko was personally horrified at the thought of war, knowing well that he would be unable to stand up to the full might of a mobilized Europe even with his modern army. At the same time, he could not appear weak and back away from Romania, which had already been annexed. He was equally furious at Napoleon IV for “suddenly taking an interest in this backwater”.
The Battle of the Vs continued as French, Spanish and Neapolitan forces continued to mobilize. Other nations were on standby. For a time, it seemed as if Europe would enter another great war. For nearly forty-eight straight hours, Vitoux and Voloshin negotiated while remaining in close contact with their immediate superiors. The world held its breath for the final result.
On July 4th, the world took a sigh of relief as a photograph was released to the hungry international press of Vitoux and Voloshin smiling and shaking hands. Headlines across the world shouted “PEACE!” though in Russia the headlines screamed “FRANCE BACKS DOWN!” while in France the headlines proclaimed “RUSSIA BACKS DOWN!” The intense negotiations brought about concessions from both sides. Technically, it was a French diplomatic victory since the July 4th agreement called for Russia to withdraw from Romania and allow their king to return. In addition, Russia promised to guarantee Romania its independence. In exchange, France allowed Russia to keep its military at its current size, naively mistaking the irregular Zavtra Guard as regular. In exchange, Russia would pay three million francs for violating the Congress of Copenhagen. Russia milked everything it could from the agreement and ended up with an army limitation of 1.2 million men with no mention of airships or naval vessels with only armored cars featured prominently in the talks. Those were limited to 1,000.
The Romanian crisis brought the world to a standstill for a few days in which war seemed like a very real possibility. Instead, war was avoided, Romania kept its independence but Russia’s military was essentially made legal. Through loopholes in the agreement, Russia began to look at aircraft as a feasible military weapon. To its public, Zavtra leaders boasted of their agreement with France and effectively ignored the entire Romanian aspect of the crisis. In a highly censored society, it was easy to do this and the public bought the “French weakness”. Meanwhile, in France, Morchenko was effectively portrayed as a terrible boogeyman and his popularity in France dropped to near hatred. The Romanian Crisis, as it became to be known as, brought Europe nearly to war and dropped once and for all the era of good feelings the Congress of Copenhagen created. In effect, the second Pax Gallicana was over.
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Evil has a face and a name...Lund. He looks like he could kill anyone, of any age, for any twisted reason at any time, and do it with cruelty, gaining pleasure from it.
Nikephoros
Banned
Just one question-- Will this new war be more like WW1 or WW2? or will it die down after a few months?
Excellent last two updates Zach! It's nice to see Russia getting back on its feet and the world finally gearing up for another war.
Maybe because his face was probably taken from a real-life SS officer or some other kind of Fascist.
Maybe because his face was probably taken from a real-life SS officer or some other kind of Fascist.