A Lusophone World

[Lusitania]

1960 – 1969

World (cont.)

Americas and the Communist Revolution(s)​

In 1960 the seizure of Cuba by Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries had left Cuba as the only Soviet Aligned country in the Americans with the rest of the American states either democratic or right-wing dictatorship. Poverty, corruption and repression made the Americas a prime location for the rise of communism and over the decade more than a dozen countries were affected in some ways by communist insurrections. Against the communists stood the USA who saw itself as the defender of free world against the communist threat. At the beginning of the decade its first priority was the containment and elimination of Fidel Castro and the Communists on the island of Cuba but by 1969 it was locked into a continental wide battle with communist rebels.

The Major Players ​

The US was the Americas foremost political, and military power, it dominated the other countries in the Americas and with an economy that dwarfed all the Latin American countries together. The USA GDP was over 2 trillion while all 50+ Latin American and Caribbean countries was just over 800 million. While it was more evenly matched by population 174 million vs 218 million due to the disparity in economic power the GDP per capita was 11,328 vs 3,029. Another major hurdle hindering Latin American development was the simple fact that the US was for most part able to dominate the Latin American and Caribbean countries. The US viewed the Americas as their back yard and took dim view of countries from other regions meddling in their region. While European countries including Portuguese Federation traded in region the Americans always made point of flexing their economic, political and military power to demonstrate their power in the Americas.

In late 1950s the American resolve and determination had been shaken by fall of Fulgenio Batista military junta government of Cuba by Fidel Castro and his “movement”. While at first Fidel Castro was ambiguous about his political leanings his subsequent declaration of alignment with USSR both angered the US government and set the two countries as political and military antagonists.

With the election of John F Kennedy as President of the USA in 1960 it was thought that relations between the two countries would improve, while President Kennedy administration advocated calm publicly behind the scenes the American government worked to isolate the Cuban government from other American states and maintained the American embargo. During the winter of 1960-1961 the American CIA provided funding and training to ex-patriot Cubans for both the elimination of Fidel Castro government and liberation of Cuba.

Operation “Liberdade” ​

On 5 March 1961, the Cuban leader Fidel Castro barely survived an assassination attempt, but was incapacitated for several months in the hospital. Cuban and Soviet doctors operated for six hours and removed four bullets from Castro who remained in coma from 5th of March to 7th of April.

On 1st of April, ex-patriot Cubans who had fled Castro’s takeover of Cuba landed on the southern Cuban coast. The 2,100 paramilitary Cubans member of the Cuban DRF supplied and trained by the US CIA met little resistance at first. The commandos surprised the local militia and moved inland without alerting Cuban communist government. American transport ships brought supplies and additional commandos during the night. On 2nd of April news of the DRF invasion finally reached Havana and José Ramón Fernández Álvarez leader of the militia led the Cuban militia and military response to the invasion. As the Communist government readied the island’s military and militia to move against the invaders news of additional invasions throughout the island kept the units spread out ready to deal with additional invasion and unable to move in larger numbers against the DFR forces. At 16:00 General Álvarez and 8,000 troops and militia attacked the Cuban DRF troops who with support from American military stopped the Cuban counterattack. News of the invasion was greeted with joy by the expat Cuban population in Miami and thousands of Cubans rushed to volunteer. The Cubans on the island teetered in fear of invasion while at same time anticipating a quick resolution to the invasion as the government continually promised in hourly news updates on Cuban radio. For over a week while the communists and DFR continued to battle without major movement on the front the US military transported thousands of Cubans and American volunteers from Florida to Bay of Pigs area held by DRF troops.[1] On 6th of April, communist Cuban forces which now numbering over 20,000 launched a new offensive. For two days, the Communist forces tried to break through the DFR lines but were unable as American aircraft joined in the repulsing the communist forces.

On 16th of April, the DRF launched their own offensive breaking the communist lines to the east. The communists were caught by surprise by the DRF offensive which included tanks and rocket artillery. By 16th the DRF had over 25,000 troops in Cuba of which about ¼ were American regular troops or veterans (all volunteers). On 15 April 1961, the Cuban Nationalists established their capital in the city of Cienfuegos and requested assistance from USA. President Kennedy immediately recognized the Cuban Nationalists as the legitimate government of Cuba and ordered the US Navy to establish a naval and air blockade around the island of Cuba. All ships travelling to Cuba would be stopped and searched, no military equipment or fighters were to be allowed to the communist “rebels” areas including Havana. Included in the blockade was an air blockade and all planes flying to Cuba were forced by American fighters to divert to American airports in Texas or Florida for inspection before being allowed to continue to fly to Cuba.

On 1st of May, the city of Santa Clara was liberated, which was the first major city liberated on the island but just as important the Nationalist now threatened to cut the island in two. The news of the city falling to Nationalist forces was a shock to the Cubans who for most part believed the government’s account of continued advances against the imperialistic invaders. On 3rd of May, the Nationalists own radio station “Cuba Livre” began broadcasting throughout the island providing an alternative to the communist reporting of the “liberation” of Cuba. The communists reacted with rhetoric and Fidel Castro finally came on the radio appealing for the Cuban people not to give up and loose the revolution and to fight back. The problem for the communists is that while they had marshalled an army of 50,000 troops and 500,000 militia almost half were situated in the north of the island and around Havana due to risk of invasion from Florida as reports of American and Imperialistic sightings along the coast overwhelmed the defense. Raids and attacks against remote villages kept the communist believing an attack from north was imminent and they requested assistance from Soviet Union and other communist countries. Due to fears of further invasions less than 50,000 troops and militia were involved in attack on the Nationalist forces on the island.

The fall of Santa Clara finally forced the communists to recommit their forces to fighting the Nationalist invasion and during the 2nd battle of Santa Clara over 100,000 troops were involved. For two weeks, the Nationalist forces repulsed the communist attacks from north and south while also trying to cut the island in two. Then on 5th of May news of simultaneous large-scale nationalist/American invasion east of Havana and around Santa Cruz forced the communist forces to divert over half their attacking forces to the new invasions. On 6th of May, the Nationalists responded to the reduced communist strength by launching an attack along the southern front, which was the weakest front, and by 10th of May they were able to take all land south of Santa Clara including the city of Trinidad. The invasions in the north and south proved to be false reports instigated by saboteurs and nationalist sympathizers within the government and military. The communists responded by launching a ruthless purge of any military and government person with any perceived Nationalist inclinations. Listing to “Cuba Livre” became a treasonable crime. On 11th of May, the communists launched the “Sancti Spiritus counterattack” and by 15th of May had pushed the nationalists back 15 kilometers. Once again communists spoke of driving the invading imperialist forces back to the sea but on the 16th the nationalist broke the communist front line around Santa Clara and were able to cut the island in half. By the 20th the city of Sancti Spiritus was liberated and the communists on the southern part of island were cut off from Havana and on the defensive. The communists in the north launched several attacks on the nationalist northern front without success. By 25th of May the nationalist forces numbered over 100,000 troops on the island with locals now accounting for about 40% of the nationalist forces. By 4th of June Ciego de Avilo was liberated and the communist forces in southern Cuba were in disarray.

On 5th of June, the USA and Soviet Union almost came to war as a Soviet naval taskforce with military weapons and two divisions on way to Havana were blocked by the US navy. For the next four days, the world waiting in suspense as the two major powers navies faced each other north of the Bahamas. The US, British and French armed forces including nuclear weapons waited for the Soviet reaction to the American blockade. On 10th of June, the Soviet Union leader Khrushchev conceded to the American demands and ordered the Soviet Navy ships to return to Black Sea port.[2]

During the remainder of June, the communists lost half the remainder of southern Cuba including the cities Las Tunas and Holguin while Nationalist northern forces still were unable to break through the communist lines in the north.

The Liberation of Cuba 1 April – 30 June 1961​

The Expanding Communist Threat ​

For the remainder of 1961 the island of Cuba remained divided between the Nationalist and Communist and many felt it was just a matter of time for the remainder of the island to be liberated. The civil war in Cuba had a profound impact to the rest of Latin America and the fledging communist rebels in Guatemala, Nicaragua grew stronger and belligerent in their attacks on government and military targets. In 1962 the countries of El Salvador, and Honduras were also rocked by communist rebel movements. The US responded to the communist threats by increasing military aid and providing military advisors but the conditions that caused the emergence of rebels did not improve, the opposite was true as military reprisals and abuses of civilians strengthened the rebels. By 1964 both Columbia and Peru were also rocked by communist rebel attacks. The countries of Columbia and Peru were not only rocked by communists supported by Soviet Union but also communists supported by China. The two communist groups fought not only the right-wing governments but also each other.

In 1965 the USA not only continued to send these countries and other American nations military support and military advisors but deployed thousands of US troops which by 1965 numbered over 120,000 troops in Central and South America. The US also put in place a continental blockade trying to stop any and all weapons and support from reaching the communists.

On the island of Cuba, the nationalists and Communists continued to fight but without any major movement in the front in the north or South. This all changed in 1964 when the Cuban Nationalist forces with the assistance of USA launched their long anticipated renewed liberation. The US Navy provided naval and amphibious support to Nationalist forces east of the USA Naval base of Guantanamo Bay. This occurred at same time the Nationalist forces attacked the Communist front lines both in the north and south. The communist forces in Southern Cuba tried vehemently to stop the Nationalist forces landing but were slowly pushed back. From 1st – 15th of August the communists in the south of the island slowly lost the war and by 15th had retreated to the Sierra Maestra Mountains. For the remainder of the year and into the next two years the Nationalist forces slowly cleared the mountain range. On 1 May 1967, the last communist rebels in the south surrendered to the Nationalist forces.

While progress was visible in Cuba the same could not be said in the rest of Latin America as rebel insurgents appeared in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia. The most dangerous was the communist attacks on the American Pan Canal Zone. In 1965 several locks in the canal were sabotaged causing the Panama Canal to be out of service for six months. The US responded by increasing military presence in the Canal Zone to 50,000, and by 1968 the US had over 400,000 troops in Latin America.[3] The US troops were involved alongside government troops in fighting communist rebels throughout the Americas. By 1969 the US was struggling to support over 1 million combat troops in both South-East Asia and Latin America. In 1967 the US government of President Humphrey realizing they were losing the war in Latin America and began a major reversal of US policy in Latin America by starting to resolve the root causes of the poor’s anger and support for the communists. On 5 October 1967, the Guatemala government of Julio César Méndez Montenegro was overthrown and in a shocking development Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán the former Guatemala president from 1951 – 1955 was installed with US support. He negotiated the purchase of large portion of United Fruit Company plantations and re-launched his agrarian reforms providing land to thousands of landless peasants. He reformed the 20,000 Guatemala army forcing many soldiers and leaders to resign and leave Guatemala else face prosecution. Support for the rebels decreased drastically and they responded to the abandonment by the poor and natives by attacking them thus turning them against the communists. Within two years the communist threat that threatened to topple the previous government had weakened greatly.[4]

In 1968 the governments of Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras either “changed” on their own or with American help and began their own agrarian, military and government reforms in an attempt to counter the rebel insurgencies. By the end of 1969 the communists were beginning to lose territory and more importantly support from poor for the first time in the decade. In 1969 Richard Nixon became the US president and his administration did not support the previous administration policies or reforms. While the US support to the reformed Central American governments continued, they refused to implement such policies in Panama, Columbia and Peru. At same time, the governments of Panama, Peru and Columbia also had no appetite to implement any reforms and believed the only way to defeat the communists was through military means. The US increased its financial and military support to the three countries, but the communist forces continued to make advances. The only reason they were not able to defeat the Americans and Right-Wing governments was due to them fighting each as much as the Americans/Right Wing opposition.

In Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Bolivia the governments also followed the new American policy of using military as only means to deal with the rebel insurgency. Columbia and Peru which bordered, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia were the primary source of weapons and supplies to the communist rebels in those countries, so the USA provided them with support in an attempting to secure their borders and prevent movement of rebels and weapons between the countries. In Mexico, the communists who were mostly natives from the southern states became stronger and more active than the much-diminished communists in Guatemala and most of Guatemala army was stationed along the Mexico border in an attempt to stop the flow of Mexican communist rebels and weapons from reaching Guatemala. In Venezuela the 2nd largest oil producer in the Americas behind the US and a key US oil source, suffered several major attacks on its oil installations by communist rebels. This coupled with embargo by Arab oil producing countries against western countries caused oil prices to climb to over 6USD a barrel. The US pressured the Venezuelan government to request American military support and troops and by end of the decade over 50,000 US troops along with 75,000 Venezuelan troops fought communist insurgents along with protecting Venezuelan oil installations. The huge spike in oil prices led to increased search for new sources of oil in the Americas with both Mexico and Ecuador, two countries with known oil reserves, granting new oil exploration and extracting concession to international oil companies while both countries were also at risk of communist insurgency attacks.

The other South American country also facing a communist rebel movement was Brazil. The “Araguaia Guerrilla War” pitted both Soviet and Chinese Communist rebels against the Brazilian government of Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira or as he was better known JK. The rebels were based in the state of Goias and from 1965 to 1967 they expanded into states of Bahia and Mato Grosso. In 1968 the Brazilian military offensive started pushing the rebels from both Bahia and Goias and by 1969 the communists had retreated deeper into the Amazon and to their bases in Mato Grosso.

Map of Latin America in 1969 with presence of communist rebels as indicated
Countries not colored indicate no armed communist rebels​

​

[1] Over the month of April American Naval seals carried out hit and run attacks on Cuban coastal villages and installations. Withdrawing before Cuban forces could respond, leaving destruction and panicking Cubans behind. While the Cuban government continually accused the Americans of the incursions there never was any proof and the American goal was accomplished with Cuban government forced to maintain over 200,000 troops and militia arrayed along the northern coast as rumors of American invasion abound. Over 100 American Naval ships patrolled just outside the Cuban 12-mile sea limit and their presence fed the Cuban government’s fear of American invasion.

[2] Less than two months after the Cuban Blockade the Soviet Politburo removed Khrushchev as leader of the Soviet Union and appointed Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev as leader. For the next decade, the Soviet Union upped its military support to communist rebels in dozen countries in Africa, Americas and Asia against the capitalists and Chinese.

[3] In 1965 as the US was forced to greatly increase its military forces in Central American and South America two other western countries became involved in the fight against communists. Former British commonwealth countries in the Caribbean and Latin America became rocked by communist insurgencies and communist attacks. The British forces were attacked in British Honduras (Belize) and was by 1966 had over 20,000 troops in the region fighting or supporting British Commonwealth troops in their fight with Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago as two countries it had the most troops. Starting in 1965 Canada was the other country that slowly got sucked into the fight against insurgencies. It sent over 2,000 soldiers to help train the commonwealth troops and its navy joined the British navy in patrolling the Caribbean and Mid Atlantic Ocean. By 1967 the Canadian forces in the region had grown to over 5,000 with half of them fighting the communist insurgency in Guiana.

[4] The Cuban Nationalist government had allowed American companies to return to the island but to the surprise of many had preserved many of the worker rights and benefits instituted by the communists. This coupled with increased economic activity in the Nationalist areas led to increased satisfaction and support for the Nationalists. By 1966 many Americans wrote and spoke about the Cuban Nationalist alternative as the answer to the continued Latin America communist rebel problems.


The situation in the Americas had a profound affect on the Portuguese Federation and the environment it found itself in during the 1960s. The humiliation the USSR had felt in face of the US blockade and threat to attack the Soviet Union if their forces attempted to bypass the American blockade had resulted in the Soviets choosing a new target for their expansion which included both the rest of the Americas but more importantly for the Portuguese Africa, Middle East and South East Asia. This was partly to blame for the reckless manner in which the Soviet sent their best and most advanced hardware plus thousands of advisors to Africa. We will discuss both the Middle East and South East Asia in the next posts. What is also important is the Soviet - Chinese animosity which translated to border wars along their mutual border as well as between rival communist groups.

The near collapse of communist Cuba had the opposite affect in rest of Latin America and Caribbean. With both Canada and Britain being drawn in to fight both insurgencies and rebels in various newly independent British Commonwealth countries in Caribbean, British Honduras and Guiana. These military actions and increased USA involvement in Americas along with South East Asia had the affect of limiting both American and British Commonwealth ability to respond to SA crises or Civil War.

We will be detailing Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay situation in a more detailed posts soon.

Questions/ Comments?

Return in 2 weeks on October 25 as we move to Asia and talk about Israel and its struggles against Arab neighbors and the clash of the communists.

 

[mapuche lautarino]

Ethiopia ?

 

[Lusitania]

Ethiopia ?

Ethiopia has aligned itself with China while it was not communist it had done so as way to counter Soviet support to communist rebel groups in Eritrea.

In the early 1960s Eritrean rebels started fighting Ethiopian forces in Eritrea which had been given to Ethiopia after WW2. It had enjoyed autonomy from Ethiopia and had its own parliament but in 1960 Ethiopian government stripped it of its autonomy and attempted to integrate into Ethiopia. This had resulted in Eritreans taking up arms against Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian government after WW2 had aligned itself with the US and had American advisors helping it. The US was also its main military supplier. But in 1965 Egyptian backed Somalia attacked Ethiopia trying to capture the Somali speaking eastern part of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian military was beaten back by Somalian invasion while at same time trying to suppress Eritrean rebels. During the conflict China saw an opportunity to gain influence in part of world it had not previously been present and to counter both Soviet and American influence in area. It basically offered the Ethiopians three times the support the Americans were offering at almost the same cost. During 1965-1966 it received substantial military hardware and Chinese advisors and the Ethiopian kicked the Americans out.

In 1966-1967 it pushed Somalian forces out of Ethiopia and as Portuguese launched their attack on SA, Somalia requested a cease fire. Ethiopia needing to regain lost ground against Eritrean rebels agreed. To its surprise thousands of Sudanese troops began arriving in Somalia after the cease fire. Luckily for Ethiopia their target along with Somalian forces was French territory between the Somalia Ethiopia border.

The French army aided by French navy defeated the Somalians and their Sudanese allies and occupied northern Somalia. Following a cease fire with France Somalia requested Egyptian and Sudanese support and Sudan announced it would send tens of thousands of troops to Somalia to protect it. Ethiopia afraid of being surrounded by enemies on both sides decided to launch a preemptive attack on Somalia before the Sudanese forces arrived. It’s forces defeated the remaining Somalian forces, meanwhile Ethiopia neighbor to the south, Kenya, who had stayed out of the African wars till then also participated and occupied southern Somalia while Ethiopia occupied the central part of the country. Somalia ceased to exist with French occupying the northern part, Ethiopia the center and Kenya the south.

Both Sudan and Egypt along with most members of the UN condemned the Ethiopian and Kenyan actions but China used its veto to block any UN actions Ethiopia while Kenya a staunch American ally (Americas only ally in region) also escaped any UN sanctions with their help. Following the invasion of Somalia by Ethiopia there were some border clashes between Ethiopia and Sudan but no full war.

Sudan had been battling two small rebellions in south prior to the African wars but following the Sudanese - Ethiopia conflict these two groups received substancial support from Ethiopia and China and stepped up their attacks on Sudanese forces.

Unfortunately for Ethiopia it was fighting two rebel groups within its own borders at same time. The insurgency in Eritrea intensified as rebels there receiving both Soviet and Egyptian/Sudanese support and also stepped up their fight against Ethiopia while Somalian rebels also fought Ethiopian occupation forces.

In 1969 Ethiopian prime minister Aklilu Habte-Wold visited China and under his leadership initiated several socialist reforms with Chinas help. The reforms assisted Ethiopia but its social, economic and political problems were many.

The clear winners in all this were the Chinese who gained an ally and ability to project power and influence much further than before and away from South East Asia.

 

[Boneheaded_Bookkeeper]

Huh the US wins in Cuba this time around. After the debacle with Africa, I'm sure this is a small relief - if you ignore that all of South America is struggling with a major communist infestation at the same time. I wonder if Portugal has the courage to take advantage of this chaos since America is distracted. I wonder what support Portugal will give Brazil to handle the situation in the Amazon.

 

[Lusitania]

Huh the US wins in Cuba this time around. After the debacle with Africa, I'm sure this is a small relief - if you ignore that all of South America is struggling with a major communist infestation at the same time. I wonder if Portugal has the courage to take advantage of this chaos since America is distracted. I wonder what support Portugal will give Brazil to handle the situation in the Amazon.

The interesting part of this is that If we actually looked at this in chronological order the Cuban War with dual American victories both on the island and face off against the Soviets led to the Soviet regime change and the decision of the new leadership to extensively fund regimes and insurgencies around the world.

The Americas suffered much greater communist insurgencies due a combination of things. 1) exodus of Cuban guerrilla into Latin America. Castro faced with the loss huge part of Cuba thought exporting Revolution to rest of Caribbean and Latin America as best way to relieve pressure on communist Cuba. 2) the insurgents tactic of hitting government, security and military installations while hiding within the local population. Thus tricking the local governments to retaliate against the people and driving them to be supporters of the communist insurgents. As the government actions drove more and more people to support the communists the beleaguered governments for most part called fir American support and troops. Alongside the Americans both a British and Canadian forces were present in area.

Therefore by 1966-1967 when African wars occurred both America, Britain and Canada were struggling to contain the communist insurgency in the Americas. (Both US and Britain were also fighting different insurgencies in South east Asia also. ) Hence the reason the Americans and British Commonwealth had so little to provide to the SA civil war.

Upto the African Wars the Federation main objective was defeating the Pan African and Arab African alliances. The support it provided Brazil was more moral than actually military. Brazil also felt that it was strong enough to deal with the communist insurgency in its own. But while it was true that Brazilian armed forces were strong it was not setup or trained to fight a two front war.

In 1966 just as Portuguese geared up to fight its foes Brazil found itself fighting communist/leftist/anarchists in its cities and growing communist insurgency in the states along Peru and Bolivia. How Brazil handles that and what Federation does in response after the African Wars will be a topic we will delve in when the Brazil section is posted in few months.

 

[mapuche lautarino]

communist south america 🤔
America instead of Africa be the troubled state

 

[Lusitania]

communist south America 🤔
America instead of Africa be the troubled state

The Soviet Union felt completely betrayed by the west at end of WW2 with the denial of occupation zone of Germany. This was followed by the losses in Czech Republic and post war Europe which hardened the Soviet resolve more than IOTL. In the 1950s the communists saw much hope in the spreading of revolution with insurgencies spreading throughout the world. While the only new communist country to appear during the 1950s was Travancore in the Indian Subcontinent communist insurgencies and Soviet influence increased throughout the world. Although the west was able to repulse the communist Korea’s attempt to unite the Korean peninsula. As the 1950s came to a close the Soviets gained an important strategic communist country right beside the USA (Cuba) but at same time communism suffered a greater schism than iOTL. The death of Mao and the insult the Chinese felt at the Soviet involvement/response to Mao injuries and death resulted in a much greater animosity growing between communist countries. (We will cover this soon)

The two communist countries became military and political adversaries vying for influence in many of the same regions as a result many more groups in more regions received support in weapons and even training from the two communist countries.

The Americas were no different than iOTL and Cuba tried to export its communist revolution throughout the region but iTTL the successful American sponsored "liberation" of 2/3 Cuba resulted in a greater exodus of revolutionaries to the Caribbean and Latin America hoping to both establish more communist countries. While IOTL communism insurgencies continued throughout the region well into the 1980s and beyond, here it is more intense and more wide spread. We have an increase in communist insurgencies in southern Mexico, Panama, Columbia, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela and Brazil. In a surprise we also have several other countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua who take lessons learned from re-established nationalist Cuba and are able to turn situation around in their counties and start winning the people support and weaken the communist problem in their country.

By the end of the 1960s the British commonwealth also had either pushed the communists out of their respective countries with British and Canadian or had gained the upper hand. The two countries in the Caribbean that had the most problem was Haiti and Dominican Republic. These two countries dire economic situation made them prime sites for growing communist problem.

The two countries with the largest problems was Columbia and Peru which iOTL also had a communist insurgencies problem. In these countries the Communists used a combination of drugs $$ and sponsorship from either Soviets or Chinese to grow and gain control over significant part of the country. The countries of Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela were also impacted as they too witnessed increased communist insurgencies. Brazil with its extensive border with Peru and Columbia had a growing problem with communism and they along Chile, and Argentina struggles will be detailed in the future South America - Luso Posts.

Now for Africa, IOTL the communists without a major war continued to be a major force and influence in the continent well into the 1980s. Here the manner in which the Soviet backed Pan African and Africa-Arab alliances were defeated resulted in the Soviets loosing much influence and power in the region. How they manage and "help" what is left of the Pan African Alliance will also have a great impact on their influence in the region. Here a more ambitious and powerful France also re-establishes influence and control over its former colonies and the French Community is much more aligned to France both economically, politically and militarily. Leaving Morocco under Islamic government as the sole former French colony/protectorate siding with Soviets. This leaves us with Egypt, Libya and Sudan as the other countries aligned with Soviets but their relationship was different than Pan African as they were able to maintain more independence of their affairs from Soviets.

As for South East Asia it too is a major area of conflict during the 1960s and we will post a comprehensive information soon.

 

[Lusitania]

1960 – 1969

World (cont.)

Israel and Middle East​

In 1964, Egypt, Jordan and Syria developed a unified military command. In 1961 with Portuguese assistance Israel completed work on a national water carrier, a huge engineering project designed to transfer Israel's allocation of the Jordan river's waters towards the south of the country in realization of Ben-Gurion's dream of mass Jewish settlement of the Negev desert. The Arabs protested the Israeli action with Syria trying to divert water from the Yarmuk River a tributary of the Jordan River which led to growing conflict between Israel and Syria.

In Israel Mapai and Labour parties united for the 1965 elections, winning the most seats and Mapai leader Levi Eshkol remained Prime Minister. In 1963 the new French government announced that it would no longer be supplying Israel with arms. In 1964 the Portuguese Federation and Israel announced the sale of 300 Rino IV Portuguese tanks and 150 Chaimite III armored cars and 100 Besoiro IV halftrack trucks to Israel. The sale of Portuguese hardware surprised many military officials in the west especially the US who began viewing Portuguese Federation as adversary for influence and military sales. In 1963 the Israelis sold the Portuguese 250 LAR-82 rocket artillery vehicles. In October 1964, the US agreed to provide A-4 Skyhawk tactical aircraft to Israel which was similar in functionality to the Portuguese CACC 205.2 jet fighter but had more advanced electronics and Israel wished to have as diverse relationship as possible.

In 1966 security restrictions placed on Arab-Israelis were eased and efforts made to integrate them into Israeli life. Israeli television also debuted in 1964 with the first transmission of Black and white TV broadcasts.

In 1966 – 1967 Israel and the world’s attention were fixated on the South African civil war and its wider implications to both Israel and the Portuguese Federation. On 26 May 1967, the Portuguese Federation entered the civil war which now comprised of four countries and was on the verge on becoming a humanitarian disaster with Nationalist White Forces attacking unarmed civilians and expelling them out of South Africa into Portuguese Federation with the hope of destabilizing it. The speed in which the Portuguese forces crushed both Nationalist and Communist forces both surprised and alarmed many countries. On 9th of June at the height of the Portuguese – South Africa War the Pan-African Alliance launched an attack on the Portuguese Federation along all the Federations border provinces in Africa.

The Egyptians and their Arab League Alliance also made preparation to attack both the French and Portuguese Federation in Africa while at same time it ordered UNEF to leave Sinai and the United Arab Republic (UAR)[1] and Jordan amassed troops along the Israeli borders and closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. Israel considered the Straits of Tiran closure Casus belli. Israel responded by calling up its civilian reserves, bringing much of the Israeli economy to a halt. The Israelis set up a national unity coalition.

On the morning of 11 June 1967, the same day the Arab League Alliance launched its attack on France and Portuguese Federation in Africa, the Israeli air force launched pre-emptive attacks destroying first the UAR air force in Egypt, and then later the same day destroying the air force of Jordan and the remaining UAR Airforce in Syria. Israel then defeated (almost successively) Southern UAR forces in Egypt, Jordan and Northern UAR forces in Syria. By 16th of June the Arab forces were routed, and all parties had accepted the cease-fire called for by UN Security Council Resolutions 259 and 260. Israel gained control of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and the formerly Jordanian-controlled West Bank of the Jordan River. Over the next three months tens of thousands of Palestinians fled the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Much to the chagrin of Israel’s neighbors who struggled to manage the thousands of new refugees in addition to the hundreds of thousands who already resided there since the 1948 war.

On 22 November 1967, the Security Council adopted Resolution 265, the "land for peace" formula, which called for the establishment of a just and lasting peace based on Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967 in return for the end of all states of belligerency, respect for the sovereignty of all states in the area, and the right to live in peace within secure, recognized boundaries. The resolution was accepted by both sides, though with different interpretations, and has been the basis of all subsequent peace negotiations. After 1967 the Soviet bloc (except Romania) broke off relations with Israel. Anti-Semitic purges led to the final migration of the last Polish Jews to Israel.

For the first time since the end of the British Mandate Jews gained access to the Cave of the Patriarchs (the second most holy site in Judaism) for the first time since the 14th century (previously Jews were only allowed to pray at the entrance) in Hebron. A third Jewish holy site, Rachel's Tomb, in Bethlehem, also became accessible. Sinai oil fields made Israel self-sufficient in energy. Starting in 1968 Moshe Levinger led a group of Religious Zionists who created the first Jewish settlement near Hebron called Kiryat Arba.

In March 1968, Israeli forces attacked the Palestinian militia, Fatah, at its base in the Jordanian town of Karameh. The attack was in response to land mines placed on Israeli roads. The Israelis retreated after destroying the camp. Despite heavy casualties, Palestinians claimed victory, while Fatah and the PLO (of which it formed part) became famous across the Arab world. In early 1969, fighting broke out between Egypt and Israel along the Suez Canal. In retaliation for repeated Egyptian shelling of Israeli positions along the Suez Canal, Israeli planes made deep strikes into Egypt in the 1969–1970 "War of Attrition".


[1] United Arab Republic was comprised of Egypt, Syria and Yemen (see Arab Union)


A few special notes for those not familiar with the Israel situation post 1948. Israel had received support both troops and military equipment during its war of independence and as a result of that support and extra troops it had captured all of Jerusalem and had made it its capital. It had also been able to push the Syrians further east of the Sea of Galilea. During the 1950s Israel had tried to have normal relationship with its neighbors but instead had been attacked. It had participated in the Suez Crises which it saw as a test run for the 1967 War. The Israel had finally given up on peace with the Arab and openly collaborated with Portuguese in its defense industry and Israel defense industry also grew larger than iOTL. The Portuguese Falcon rocket program had received much support from the Israelis and they had used them extensively in its war. Destroying runways and building at air force bases just before Israeli jets attacked the planes. Before the war Israel had received a squadron of Portuguese bombers and when the Portuguese had drooped their nuclear bomb the western countries received confirmation that the Israelis also had the bomb.

Another major note was the survival of the United Arab Republic till war of 1967. IOTL Syria was already independent.

Questions/ Comments?

Return in in few minutes as we post Arab Union.

 

[Lusitania]

1960 – 1969

World (cont.)

Arab Union​

The enthusiasm for the United Arab Republic began dissipating in 1960 as Nasser and the Egyptians were unable to resolve the economic problems the Syrians were facing at the beginning of 1960s. Nasser instituted a socialist approach in an attempt to reform Syria and fix its problems. Like in Egypt, heavy industry, banks and the production of materials vital to the economy were nationalized and a socialist economy proclaimed. The reforms were not very popular with several members of the Syrian elites and in 1961 units of the Syrian army launched a coup against Nasser and the UAR but were defeated. Nasser responded by launching a crackdown on dissidents but at same time he reformed his government to provide additional say in government and economy to Syrians. In 1962 the United Arab States suffered fresh attack with armed revolt in Yemen. Nasser responded by sending 70,000 Egyptian and Syrian troops into Yemen to fight the insurgents. In 1964 the insurgency in Yemen crossed the South Yemen border and fighting between North Yemen with the assistance of UAR and South Yemen supported by Saudi Arabia began.

In February 1963 the Iraqi Prime Minister, Abd al-Karim Qasim government was overthrown in a coup by the Ba'ath Party's Iraqi-wing which opposed closer relationship with UAR. Then on 10 November 1963 Ba’ath Party's Iraqi-wing government was overthrown by Nasserist elements of the military. For the next two years Iraq aligned itself with the UAR, but the Iraqi Arab Socialist Union party resisted joining the UAR. In January 1967 President Abdul Salam Arif government suffered an unsuccessful coup and Iraqi Arab Socialist Union party came under increasing pressure. In March, while discussions between the UAR and Iraq were occurring the Ba'ath Party led by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, overthrew President Abdul Salam Arif in a bloodless coup, thus ending all negotiations regarding Iraq joining UAR.

In 1965 Nasser led the formation Arab League Alliance with African Arab countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan and Somalia) to combat the continuing colonial presence of France and Portuguese Federation. UAR moved the 5th infantry division to Tunisia and provided Algeria with support for its struggle with France. On 11 June 1967 with the Portuguese Federation fighting for its existence against Pan-African Alliance countries the Arab league Alliance countries of Morocco and Algeria launched an attack on the Portuguese provinces in North Africa. That same day both Israel and France launched their own preemptive strike against both the Arab League Alliance and UAR. By 15 June, the Arab League Alliance had suffered catastrophic losses in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Somalia resulting in Algeria, Tunisia and Somalia leaving the Alliance. Meanwhile in the 6-day war with Israel the UAR forces in Egypt and Syria were almost wiped out with the UAR air force losing 90% of its planes while the army lost 70% of its tanks to the Israeli offensive. In 6 days, the UAR suffered over 21,000 casualties and 15,000 soldiers were captured by Israel. On 16 June when the cease fire came into effect the UAR suffered major hemorrhage when the remaining Syrian forces staged a coup d'état with the support of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party thus ending the UAR. The military loses to Israel and Alliance defeat in Africa was a huge shock to both Nasser, Egypt and the Arab world. The Egyptians who had looked up with admiration to Nasser lost confidence in his government and on 15 August Nasser announced his resignation and died within 2 weeks at his home. On 15 August 1967 Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat succeed Nasser as President of Egypt. He withdrew the remaining Egyptian troops from Yemen and recognized Syria. He did continue Egypt support for the Arab League Alliance and the governments of Morocco and Sudan.

The collapse of the UAR ended the last Arab Nationalist political movement even though the idea continued to be supported by majority of Arabs. On 1 September 1969 President Sadat and Egypt supported the coup d'état led by Muammar Gaddafi against the Kingdom of Libya in retaliation for King Idris of Libya failure in supporting the Arab League Alliance. Muammar Gaddafi established the Libyan Arab Republic and joined the Arab League Alliance.

Israel and its neighbors at end of 6 Day War. ​

The war with Israel was only 6 days due to Egypt being involved in too many alliances and trying to fight so many adversaries. While Egyptian forces had been able to defeat the revolt in Syria, Nasser was not able to convince neither Iraq and Jordan to join in the union. Egypt's security forces continued fighting Syrian separatists after the failed revolt, while the war in Yemen tied up a large number of troops and resources. The Arab African Alliance was a dream of Nasser and while it seemed to increase Egypt influence it put a great strain on its economy and military. Soviet Union supplied it with large amount of weapons but the cost which Egypt had to pay was putting a huge strain on its economy and government. Dissatisfaction even in Egypt was growing day by day as people lives were not getting better. The triple defeat (Federation, France and Israel) plus occupation of Sinai and closure of the Suez Canal finally brought UAR down and Egypt's influence along with Nasser was a mere shadow from before the war. The Egyptians and Nasser reserved special hatred to France for what they considered the principle enemy in North Africa. While Egypt ability to support Morocco war against the Federation was also greatly reduced and Morocco while still part of the Arab African Alliance was sort of left on its own to deal with the Federation as Egypt attention became completely centered on countering Israel, supporting Sudan in its growing civil war while at same time suppressing growing internal discontent over the economic conditions Egyptians found themselves after the war.

Questions/ Comments?

Return on October 30 as we move to Asia and talk about the clash of the communists.

 

[Boneheaded_Bookkeeper]

Nice overview on the situation in the Middle East. So far not so different from OTL.

 

[Lusitania]

Nice overview on the situation in the Middle East. So far not so different from OTL.

You are right, Israel a little stronger and Egypt due to overstretched with trying to form an Arab Republic and leading an Arab Alliance. Nasser had seen himself as the natural and chosen leader to unite the Arabs and to drive the European colonist from Middle East and Africa. With the defeat and expulsion of Jews from Palestine as his crowning achievement.

The UAR dream was to unite all Arabs around Israel into one country and to drive the Jews from Palestine, liberate Jerusalem which would then be the springboard to uniting the rest of Arabs under Egypt leadership.

The creation of the Pan African Alliance was seen by Nasser as challenge to Egypt’s role as leader in Africa thus he created the Arab - African Alliance to counter Pan African Alliance snd to defeats both the Federation and France.

The shock defeat of the Alliance to the Federation and France resulting in 3 members (Algeria, Tunísia and Somalia ) leaving the Alliance plus the defeat to Israel and occupation of Egyptian territory destroyed any hope of uniting Arabs and greatly damaged both Nasser and Egypt prestige. Nasser who had built up his whole leadership on winnipeg the wars was so devastated by the failure that he was forced to resign and died a few weeks later. Leaving Egypt under Sadat to continue the war against imperialism and Israel.

Therefore as summary:
1) Egypt place in Arab world is about the same iotl although its debt to soviets for military equipment was higher.
2) Sudan was embroiled in a more vicious civil war with two groups supplied by China and other sources being much stronger and active than iotl.
3) Ethiopia aligned to China and fighting two insurgencies Eritrean and Somalia.
4) Israel victorious in 6 day war. Occupying West Bank, Sinai and Golan heights. Economically stronger than iotl.
5) Palestinians fled the Israeli occupation of Gaza and West Bank and their numbers are about 50% less than iotl by 1969.
6) Syria is a newly independent country after the 6 day war and along with Jordan having to deal with huge Palestinians refugee problem which the Syrian government hopes to use against its neighbors.
7) Jordan is more unstable with a much larger Palestinian refugees than iotl. The next decade will be defined as a power struggle between Jordan’s government and Palestinians hoping to create their own country to use as base to attack Israel.
8) rest of Middle East about same as iotl.

 

[Lusitania]

1960 – 1969

World (cont.)

Battle of the Communists

The Soviet – Chinese Fallout​

Following the collapse of diplomatic relationship between the Soviet Union and China in 1958 due to the perceived Russian involvement in Chairman Mao’s death all economic and scientific cooperation between the two communist countries stopped. At same time border clashes along the 4,380 km (2,738 mi.) border escalated with each side blaming the other. As these clashes were occurring the rhetoric between the two countries also increased. China prevented the remaining Russian and Eastern European Scientists and technicians from leaving including the Russian nuclear physicists helping the Chinese build an atomic bomb. Chinese nuclear program suffered several setbacks with China blaming Russia of sabotaging the program. As the border war between the two countries intensified the Chinese program was seen by the Chinese government as crucial in its defense but the program continued to be plagued by delays culminating in a massive explosion at the nuclear research facility killing most of the Chinese and captive Soviet scientist.

Zhou Enlai the Chairman of the Communist party and Premier of China blamed Soviets for the attack and explosions and increase the level of troops along the border with the Soviet Union but more importantly set China on a diplomatic and economic confrontation with not only the west but also the Soviets. China from then on sought out to not only spread communism but also counter Soviet influence at time having competing insurgents in same country or region who fought one another as much as capitalists.[1]

The Chinese - Russia Border War​

During 1960 both countries moved hundreds of thousands of troops along the 4,380 km (2,738 mi.) border between the two countries. Militarily, by end of 1960, the USSR had 525,000 men and 1,350 airplanes and 105 medium-range missiles to which the Chinese countered with 1.1 million men stationed along the border. The Chinese strategy was to use its superior numbers to counter Soviet superior weapons.

From 1961 to 1969 there were a total of 15 border clashes with the longest lasting 12 weeks. Neither country truly wished to invade the other with Soviet leaders believing that it would be impossible to occupy China and its millions of people while China was afraid an invasion of Soviet Union would lead to a Soviet nuclear attack on it. Mongolia the only country stuck between Soviet Union and China became a strategic pawn for both countries. In 1964 Mongolia announced its intention of joining the Soviet Union. This caused the Chinese to launch a major offensive against Mongolia to stop it from joining the Soviet Union. The Soviets responded in similar fashion and from 2 October to 25 November 1964 the two countries fought for control of Mongolia. The Chinese offensive of 15 divisions was stopped 13 kilometers south of the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. By middle of November the Chinese forcers had been pushed back to the Chinese border. For the remainder of next three years sporadic border clashes continued but the two countries did not fight another major military battle. On 7 October 1968, the Chinese were finally able to detonate their first atomic weapon and the possibility of Nuclear War became a reality. On 5 December 1969, a cease fire was negotiated between the two communist countries. Over the next two years, troops and military hardware along the Chinese-Soviet border was gradually reduced.

The Chinese Growing Strength and Russia Disorder​

During the 1960s Chairman Zhou Enlai was able to guide China as it industrialized and developed its economy along communist philosophy. Early in his premiership he had tempered Mao’s Great Leap forward with more realistic and achievable targets, but many challenges continued especially with hundreds of millions of Chinese peasants who had not seen any improvements in their standard of living under communism. Collective agricultural policies instituted under communism had not achieved the desired great growth in agricultural output and the countryside continued to suffer from lack of infrastructure, fertilizers, pesticides and mechanization.

Chinese industry on the other hand continued to grow with steel, coal production growing enough to meet many of the country’s military needs. Hampering Chinese development was the ongoing military rivalry with Soviets along its northern border and its competing military support for communist rebels and insurrections in South East Asia, Africa and Americas which diverted needed resources from its own development.

On the other side the Soviet leader Khrushchev which had started relaxing Soviet suppression of its people and European allies after Stalin’s reign of terror was himself deposed in a coup for his failure in confronting American aggression in Cuba. After the humiliating Soviet retreat from US navy off the coast of Cuba Khrushchev lost all support within the Soviet politburo and Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev became the new Soviet leader. Under his leadership the Soviets refused to back down on confrontation with China and became increasingly aggressive in their support of rebels and insurgents throughout the world. From 1963 Soviet Union provided weapons to groups in Central America and South America while also increasing its support of North Vietnam, Republic of Riau and Malaysian communist insurgents.

While Soviet support to the rebel groups in South East Asia and the Americas was very successful with Soviets using submarines and clandestine ships to deliver weapons through the American naval patrols their strongest support though was in Middle East and Africa which Brezhnev promised to make it a Soviet bastion of support and strength. From 1964 – 1967 it looked like the Soviets were about realize their goal with both the Pan-African Alliance and the Arab League Alliance under the Soviet influence. More importantly many African countries such as Tanzania, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda instituted socialist economic policies nationalizing industries and following communist ideals. Thousands of Soviet and East European advisors were sent to Africa to assist the governments and military of the various countries. At the height of the Soviet influence over 50,000 communist advisors were stationed in over a dozen African countries.

The primary target of the Soviets and both the Africa and Arab countries was the Portuguese Federation. While a regionally strong country it was dispersed over several parts on the African continent along with provinces in both Europe and Asia. The Soviet government of Brezhnev believing that NATO would only intervene if the European part of the country was attacked and saw it as an easy target. The Soviets poured money, weapons not only older weapons but the latest Soviet military hardware along with thousands of Soviet military personnel to train the African troops of the Soviet aligned African nations. In addition the Soviets setup bases in Tanzania, Zambia, and DRC to provide the backbone for the Pan African forces arrayed against the Portuguese.

The Portuguese involvement in the South African Civil War was the trigger for both the Pan African and Arab League Alliances to launch their attacks on the Portuguese Federation. The Pan African and Arab League armed forces met stiff resistance, but all were expecting the Portuguese forces to buckle under the combined weight of three wars, but the surprise Portuguese counter offensive reversed the African and Arab advances and, after a few days, had troops from both alliances in full retreat. Country after country was defeated and both Alliances disintegrated under the Portuguese advance. More shocking was the capture of several soviet bases in Zambia and Tanzania as well as destruction of the bases in DRC along with capture of most Soviet weapons and military advisors. The magnitude of the defeat and capture of soviet bases left the Soviets and the Pan-African Alliance in complete shock. Brezhnev’s warning to the Portuguese Federation it would feel the full force of Soviet might if it did not withdraw to its borders was met by the Portuguese own nuclear deterrence. Suddenly the cold war in Africa had the potential to become very hot. The entry of France in the war against the Arab League Alliance increased the probability of Nuclear War. When the Israeli’s launched their own war against its Arab neighbors the world waited anxiously to see how Soviets would respond. The announcement by both Great Britain and USA that an attack on Israel or any NATO country would be met by British and American response shocked the Soviets to forced it to limit Soviet support to non-Nuclear only.

Following the African wars the Pan African Alliance collapsed with only Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire (formerly DRC) remaining in the alliance and the only communist governments on the continent. The Arab League Alliance also suffered major defections with Algeria, Tunisia and Somalia leaving the Alliance. Brezhnev and his allies in the politburo who after the Cuban incident had built their strategy on not directly confronting the USA but to fight a proxy war had been defeated by the unlikeliest of countries and they lost support of the politburo and were ousted in a coup. A power struggle within the top echelons of the Soviet Communist party arose as various factions struggled for power. By spring of 1968 Vladimir Semichastny had become leader of the Soviet Union. On 1 May 1968, the world watched as less than third of Brezhnev supporters in the politburo stood with Semichastny in Red Square watching the Soviet military parade.

In 1969 the Soviet Union suffered a major financial incident as the new governments of the former Pan-African countries either refused to honor any debt to the Soviets as in the case of (Zambia, Malawi, Republic of Congo, Guinea and Malawi) or were unable to pay their debts such as (Tanzania, Uganda or Zaire). The billions of dollars that was owed to it by both the African countries for the weapons and support it had provided them went uncollected and the Soviet’s ability to simply support every rebel movement in the world was hurt and the Soviet government was forced to reassess its support for various countries and causes. At same time it was facing a major challenge by China, who in 1968 had also managed to detonate their own atomic weapon, for influence of communist movements worldwide.

The two communist countries also became major adversaries on the world stage supporting at times rival communist rebel movements in same country such as in Columbia and Peru. In Asia, the Soviets supported the North Vietnam Communist government in its attempt to unite North and South Vietnam, while China provided the communist rebels in Laos and the government in Cambodia with support and weapons. In 1967 – 1969 the Vietnamese Communist forces fought not only the south Vietnamese and US forces but also Laotian communist rebels and Cambodian government. In 1968 the clashes between Laos/Cambodian and North Vietnam communists became major war and the North Vietnamese lost their ability to use Laos and Cambodia as bases for attacks on the South Vietnamese and US forces. In 1969 for the first time the South Vietnamese and US forces were finally able to push the North Vietnamese forces and put them on the defensive.

Map of Indochina and the countries involved in the Indochina communist insurrection ​

In Africa, China became Ethiopia’s sponsor and supporter, while Zaire, Uganda and Tanzania were aligned with the Soviets. In Sudan, the Soviets supported the government while the Chinese and Ethiopia supported the two Sudanese rebel movements. In Europe Albania’s Communist leader Enver Halil Hoxha rejected Khrushchev’s communist reforms and aligned himself with China.


[1] In 1960 Zhou Enlai began a program of dismantling Mao “Great Leap Forward” and started a program of industrialization similar to the one that communist in Soviet Union had used to industrialize the Soviet Union. At same time Maoism was proclaimed as a perfection on Leninism and as true form of communism and the only true path to social equality and power to the people.


The death of Mao during Soviet leader Khrushchev official visit had not only caused major repercussions in China but due to Soviet leader's initial reaction resulted in political, economic and military rift between China and Soviet Union. (Khrushchev exhausted and tired of being humiliated by Mao in a swimming pool let out s short but loud laugh when Mao had slipped om the pool deck and hit his head on the hard ground. While he tried to apologize and was very sorry the Chinese had taken great offense at his initial attitude).

Relations between China and Soviet Union was damaged and China withdrew its ambassador from Soviet Union and most of the Warsaw Pack countries till 1965 when following the largest Chinese- Soviet battle over the admission of Mongolia to the Soviet Union the two countries had agreed to re-establish relations even though periodic border clashes continued for remainder of the decade. This rift was most evident in China backing anti-Soviet Communist forces in Americas and attacking Vietnam forcing it to be loose access to the Ho Chi Minh trail thus blocking its ability to attack South Vietnam.

In 1966 as part of the normalization of relations between Soviet Union and China was Soviet's support for transferring of Nationalist China's UN seat to Communist China. In 1967 the UN voted with US and rest of other permanent members of the council to transfer the UN seat to communist China. While a visit by US president Humphry to Beijing was secretly negotiated it never took place due to continued Republican attacks against the American support. Ironically the most vocal opponent of President Humphry's China policy would be the person who in 1970 would visit Communist China. Questions/ Comments?

Return on November 8 as we discuss South East Asia.

 

[Boneheaded_Bookkeeper]

Another nice chapter.

Wow the US might actually win the Vietnam war if all this infighting between the reds continue. That would be a major difference from OTL.

 

[Lusitania]

Another nice chapter.

Wow the US might actually win the Vietnam war if all this infighting between the reds continue. That would be a major difference from OTL.

Thank you, while the fighting between Reds does lead to unexpected positive outcome for the South Vietnamese and America the same could not be said for them in the Americas.

 

[Lusitania]

1960 – 1969

World (cont.)

South East Asia​

South East Asia during the 1960s was a region in turmoil with civil wars and insurrections. The region was also a battleground for thousands of foreign troops and advisors as the world’s major powers all viewed for influence and projection of power in the region. During the 1960s the major flash points in the Indo-China region with communist insurrections was Cambodia, Laos, and South Vietnam. This was followed by the Malaysian Peninsula and the islands of Borneo and Sumatra as they too became major battle grounds as various communist groups attempted to topple regions governments. In 1966 the former Dutch East Indies and Malaya Federation were rocked by Islamic Fundamental groups who sought to unite the various island nations and establish an Islamic State.

Many people of the region blamed the legacy of European colonialism as the precept cause of the diplomatic and military conflicts that afflicted the region during the 1960s.

Republic of Riau
In 1960 Colonel Ahmad Husein overthrew the Republic of Riau government of Prime Minister Syafrudding Prawiranegara and established the Revolutionary Government of Riau. Colonel Ahmad Husein overthrew the Riau government due to what he and his followers stated were the government’s unconstitutional actions and ignoring the development and welfare of the people of Riau. Over the next few years he aligned himself with the Soviet Union and began to institute a socialist ideology, nationalizing most major companies and forming collective farms. He also began to persecute all religions, closing all religious schools and restricting or closing all temples, churches and mosques. Kolonel Ahmad Husein (lahir di Padang , Sumatera Barat , 1 April 1925 – meninggal di Padang, 28 November 1998 pada umur 73 tahun) adalah seorang pejuang kemerdekaan Indonesia dan pemimpin militer PRRI .Pada tanggal 15 Februari 1958 di Padang dia membentuk Pemerintahan Revolusioner Republik Indonesia (PRRI) di bawah pimpinan Syafruddin Prawiranegara sebagai Perdana Menteri dengan tujuan mengoreksi pemerintahan otoriter Soekarno yang dianggap inkonstitusional dan mengabaikan pembangunan dan kesejahteraan masyarakat di daerah.Tindakan koreksinya itu ternyata mendapat sambutan berupa aksi militer dari pemerintah pusat di Jakarta sehingga menimbulkan perang saudara di Sumatera Barat.With the military and economic support of the Soviet Union, Colonel Husein began spreading the communist message to neighboring countries; the Islamic Republic of Aceh to the north, Republic of Indonesia to the South and the Federation of Malaya to the east. Riua actions became very alarming to its neighbors and the region teetered on war. Riau’s support for Communist insurrections and their persecution of Islamic Faith soon saw the country being besieged by military forces from both north and south while the communist forces in the Federation of Malaya were besieged by both Islamic and Malayan forces. By the end of the decade the combined military actions from its neighbors and western powers were able to isolate Riau and its borders were breached by both Aceh and Indonesian forces. Colonel Husein government requested help from the UN which brokered a peace treaty in which all countries agreed to withdraw to their borders and Riau agreed to stop all support for communist insurrections in other countries.

Islamic Republic of Aceh
Following independence Teungku Daud Beureueh as his Darul Islam party set about to make Aceh an Islamic state. He introduced Sharia law and banned all other religions in the country. This led many of the country’ religious minorities to flee south to Riau. In the 1960s when Republic of Riau government was overthrown by Ahmad Husein tension rose on the island. President Husein communist government persecution of Islam and destruction of mosque caused much anger in Aceh. In 1964 Aceh government offices and military installation started coming under attack from the Aceh Communist Liberation Army (ACLA) which was being supported by the government of Riau. For the next three years Aceh armed forces battled ACLA slowly pushing them further into the jungle and mountains. In 1968 Aceh in conjunction with Indonesia which was suffering the similar fate launched a simultaneous assault on Republic of Riau in retaliation for its support of the communist insurgents. After six months of fighting along the border Aceh forces captured several villages and towns along the border and Riau asked for UN intervention. Following the cease fire Aceh forces pulled back into Aceh but continued fighting ACLA guerrillas for remainder of decade.

Republic of East Indonesia
Following the resignation of Tjokorda Gde Raka Soekawati as president of East Indonesia one of the country’s most famous military leaders Jahja Daniel Dharma was proclaimed president. President Dharma task was complicated by rival tensions both within the country as well as tensions with its neighbors. Its relationship with the Republic of South Moluccas was difficult as East Indonesia still claimed the lands of South Moluccas. Tensions between the two countries remained high and both navies engaged in several clashes along their long marine border against locals as well against each other. The people in both countries so used to traversing between the hundreds of islands that made up both countries were not inclined to pay attention to new laws, borders and especially taxes. As the clashes between the two countries intensified trade between the two countries decreased and in 1965 the two countries finally sat down in Singapore and negotiated trade, movement of people and joint defense as political and religious tensions in region brought the two countries around to the need to cooperate and get along.

East Indonesia relations with its two other major neighbors the Dayak Federation and Republic of Indonesia was also strained but for different reasons. The Dayak Federation on the island of Borneo had a strained relation with most of its neighbors as its people resentful of Indonesian long invasion and plunder of its resources held all foreigners in contempt. The invasion of Dayak lands by East Indonesia was still fresh in the Dayak’s memory and the two countries continued ignoring one other. Meanwhile the Republic of Indonesia continued to claim all former Dutch territory and even British territory. It was only due to continued internal security issues on the island of Java and Indonesia’s ongoing border clashes with the communist of Riau that limited the Republic of Indonesia’s contempt and interference in East Indonesia internal affairs.

During the 1960s President Dharma with the assistance of the IMF and support of USA and other western countries began several economic reforms that by end of decade made its economy the fastest growing in the region.

Since its independence, the Republic of East Indonesia had followed the other signatories of the Indonesia independence movement and either ignored or limited its interaction with the Portuguese Federation and its two dependencies the Republic of Lombok and Republic of Bali. It refused to recognize Portuguese control of the southern Sunda Islands but as the economies of these islands continued to surge and the standard of living increased many people of East Indonesia attempted to migrate there in search of better life. The apprehension and detention of thousands of illegal East Indonesian immigrants in the Federation and their forced repatriation forced the two countries to have some diplomatic interaction. In addition, many Portuguese goods were being smuggled into the country depriving the government of much needed tax revenue and undermining local businessmen. Attempts to police the hundreds of kilometers of marine border proved difficult and in 1965 following the success of South Moluccas own accord with the Portuguese Federation in combating smuggling, piracy and regulating emigration the Republic of East Indonesia established diplomatic relations with the Portuguese Federation and signed a similar treaty with the Portuguese. Trade between the Lusitania Commonwealth and East Indonesia was opened up and the Federation helped East Indonesia patrol their joint border and fight both smuggling and piracy. Portuguese immigration from both East Indonesia and South Moluccas was set at 20,000 a year and processes were established to properly send back any illegal immigrants caught in the Federation.

Republic of South Moluccas
The establishment of the Republic of South Moluccas under the leadership of President Chris Soumokil was the republic in which the Portuguese had the biggest involvement in the former Dutch East Indies. Portuguese DGS had provided Chris Soumokil and his struggling movement with weapons, cash, and support. Portuguese naval support was also involved in the clandestine sinking and destruction of several Indonesian naval ships belonging to a naval task force about to depart for South Malocas capital of Ambon from the island Java during the independence struggle thus allowing for the republic to survive.

While the Portuguese had worked hard to establish the Republic of South Moluccas and unofficial diplomatic channels existed between the two countries the Federation’s relationship with the Republic of South Moluccas was like other countries in the region. It continued to provide clandestine support when possible including against its larger neighbor the Republic of East Indonesia.

In 1962 President Soumokil visited USA and several European countries including the Netherlands where he signed several agreements on trade and defense. While in Europe he became the first President of an East Indies country to visit the Portuguese Federation. While in Lisbon he opened the South Moluccas embassy and signed several agreements with not only the Federation but also the Lusitania Commonwealth. When he returned home there was some discontentment about the agreements but over the next few years many of the major issued being faced by the republic regarding piracy, smuggling and emigration with the Federation got better and the economy and security improved.

In 1965 relations between South Moluccas and East Indonesia began improving with the signing of several agreements between the two countries. As well as diplomatic recognition of each other the regulating of trade and movement of people between the two countries allowed for the two to develop and present a united front against continued harassment from Republic of Indonesia and the growing communist and Islamic Fundamentalist movements in the region.

Pontianak Sultanate
The Pontianak Sultanate had suffered greatly during the Japanese occupation during WWII. The sultan, Muhammad Ibrahim Shafi ud-din II, survived the brutal Japanese occupation which included the execution of almost half of the Sultanate’s elites and most foreigners. After the war, the Sultan was adamant to not let the country come under the same result in the future. Pontianak locals took all the Japanese weapons and worked at building an independent army and government. The Pontianak Sultanate was small enough and far enough removed from the major areas of fighting that when UN supported peace negotiations started, they along with the Dayak Federation were able to assert their demand for independence.

During the 1950s the Pontianak Sultanate remained relative free from many of the political and military issues plaguing many of the other east indies countries and it was able to develop its resources and economy. In the 1950s they along with the Dayak Federation signed several trade and investment agreements with Portuguese Federation oil / gas companies as well as mining companies. The generous royalties provided by the Portuguese were far greater than what other European and American companies were willing to offer, and it allowed the government to investment in education, health, and infrastructure. While trade between the two countries remained strong politically due to Pontianak Sultanate’s Islamic majority relations remained low key.

Dayak Federation
Like Pontianak Sultanate the Dayak Federation was very leery of foreigners, its people had been suppressed and invaded by most of its neighbors and colonial powers for centuries. The revolt of the Dayak people against both the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of East Indonesia arose from a popular movement of those two countries using the Dayak’s land as a battlefield for their nationalistic purposes. The revolt also had the effect of expelling almost all foreigners including all people from the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi. Expelled were also many of the skilled laborers and technicians who had formed the backbone of the Dutch East Indies government and the oil and mining industry on the island.

Following the revolt many leading Dayak intellectuals met and formed the Dayak Unity Party and Oevaang Oeray was elected as its leader and became the country’s first President. His government task was immense as the government lacked administrators and qualified people for many of the posts. For many years Dutch government provided consultants and administrators to run and train Dayaks for many government positions.

Regarding the Oil / Gas and mining industry like Pontianak Sultanate the Portuguese companies gained a competitive advantage with their high royalties and guarantees to train one Dayak for every three foreigners working in the field during the 1st 10 years and one to one after that. The Portuguese own oil and gas industry provided the Dayak government with a real-life example of how important it was to transfer skills and training to local people.

Free from the religious, political and military threats the Dayak Federation was able invest great amount of taxes and royalties into education and health as well as infrastructure. By the middle of the 1960s both the oil/gas and mining industries in the Dayak Federation had doubled in size since independence. Taking their que from the Portuguese first European and then some American companies also began operating in the Dayak Federation by offering similar deals and assurances. Employment growth in the Federation remained very strong during this time.

In 1962 the communist insurrection against the British and the government of Sarawak spilled over into the Dayak Federation. The Dayak Federation was forced to increase its military spending and triple its armed forces. It formed an alliance with the Pontianak Sultanate to fight the communist incursions and in 1964 and together with Pontianak Sultanate supported the independence of both Sarawak and Brunei from Britain and opposed the union of the two British protectorates with the Federation of Malaya.

Republic of Indonesia
Following the independence of Indonesia from the Dutch along with eight other countries in the former Dutch East Indies the government of Indonesia spent the following decade verbally attacking all its neighbors and attempting to meddle in their internal affairs. The government did not recognize any of the other countries and continued to claim sovereignty over all the former Dutch East Indies. While the Indonesian government was a thorn in most of its neighbors it reserved special hatred for the Portuguese Federation and its two allies the Republic of Bali and Republic of Lombok. The Portuguese spent the 1950s and early 1960s repulsing continued Javanese attacks disguised as fishermen or smugglers from Indonesia. Meanwhile the government did little to develop the economy.

In 1960 the insurgent Negara Islam Indonesia (Indonesian Islamic State) formed in Java by Kartosuwirjo with the goal of establishing an Islamic State similar to the Islamic State of Aceh. They attacked Nationalistic Indonesian forces and non-Muslims in Indonesia. The government response to the Islamic insurgency was hampered by the communist insurgency that erupted on the island of Sumatra. In 1965 the USA increased its aid to the Indonesians and began providing military advisors and weapons for use in their battle against the communist and Islamic Insurgents. The government of Indonesia attacks against the two insurgencies and their supporters left tens of thousands of Indonesians dead. While the attacks against Republic of Riau and the communist insurgents proved to be successful and peace descended on the island of Sumatra the battle against the Islamic insurgents proved to be much more difficult. Attacks against Christians and non-Indonesians including the Summer 1966 Jakarta massacres that claimed more than 500 lives left the remaining Christians and non-Indonesians scared and most left Indonesia. Majority settled in either East Indonesia or the newly independent Malacca Federation.

Republic of Bali and Republic of Lombok
The two republics were very dependent both militarily and economically on the Portuguese Federation. During the war of independence from the Dutch and Indonesia the two republics had used Portuguese escudo to pay government workers and it soon became the unofficial currency used by most merchants in the two republics. After independence attempts by the two governments to introduce their own currencies was resisted by both merchants and government workers who feared depreciation and loss of purchasing power as had happened in about half the other independent countries in the East Indies. During the 1950s support from the Portuguese Federation increased but more importantly investment by Portuguese companies provided economic boost to the two countries. When talk of forming the Lusitania Commonwealth was brought up both governments wholeheartedly supported the idea.

During the negotiations, the role of the escudo became an important topic. The Portuguese government refused to share control of the escudo with the other four countries (Lombok, Bali, Guinea Boke and Galicia). Of the four only Galicia continued using its own currency, and in 1960 it was established at 1.5 Galician Reals to 1 Portuguese Escudo by 1969 the amount had decreased to 1.79 to 1.

Continued Indonesian attacks resulted in the two republics requiring a large military and security presence on the islands and they relied heavily on Portuguese army and navy for support. In addition, DGS/SIS agents and support staff were present in both republics assisting the republics’ own intelligence and security forces in apprehending insurgents and government opponents.

Kingdom of Sarawak
In April 1946 following the end of WWII Rajah Vyner of Sarawak the ruler Sarawak returned to his country following the withdrawal of the Japanese occupying forces. The country had suffered greatly during the Japanese occupation and needed a great amount of work to rebuild. The 71-year-old Rajah felt the task was too great for him and entered into negotiations with the British government to cede Sarawak as a crown colony. It was during these negotiations that he received amongst many visitors two that changed his mind. First was his nephew Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke the Rajah Muda of Sarawak (heir apparent) who requested his uncle not to cede Sarawak but to maintain the country as independent country although like Brunei as protectorate under the British Empire. The second and much more influential Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah who was a passionate leader and had great influence in the State Supreme Council. On 2 October 1946 Rajah Vyner of Sarawak died in his sleep and what was said between Rajah and Abdillah is not known but Sarawak suspended the negotiations with the British government. Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke became the 4th Rajah of Sarawak. In 1947 he met with Sultan Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddien III of Brunei to form a common plan in achieving independence from Great Britain.

Negotiations were often difficult with British attempting to pressure Sarawak and Brunei in joining the Federation of Malaya to which Rajah Dayrell was opposed. In the 1950s the Federation of Malaya was besieged by communist rebels and Sarawak sent part of its forces to the Peninsula to help fight the communists. This led to many left-wing people Sarawak angry and in 1955 the Sarawak United Peoples’ Party was formed. It opposed Sarawak intervention in Federation and demanded Rajah expel all British from the country. In 1956 the militant wing of the party angry at the government’s inaction began its own insurrection movement trying to topple the Rajah and establish a communist government. In 1957 the Sarawak government withdrew its forces from Malaya to fight the communists.

In 1962 the war against the communists expanded with the communists attacking government installations and using the Dayak Federation territory as base to launch attacks against Sarawak and British forces. In 1965 just as the Sarawak, Brunei, Dayak Federation, Pontianak and British forces were able to push the communists out of several areas the Federation of Malaya was rocked by a renewed communist insurrection forcing the British to reduce their forces in Sarawak.

During the 1960s the British resisted Sarawak and Brunei attempt at independence and instead attempted to sway them to join the Federation of Malaya. It was the British belief that a larger and more powerful Malaysian country would be better able to deal with the ongoing economical and communist insurrection. The plunging of the Federation of Malaya into a communist and subsequently Islamic fundamental insurrection halted all British talks of unification. From 1966 – 1968 the area controlled by the communist shrank as the communists continued to lose ground to government forces and lost support amongst the population including the Chinese minority.

In 1968 with the splintering of the Federation of Malaya into two separate countries; one under Islamic Fundamentalist control and the remaining under Christian/Non-Islamic control all attempts by the British to unite their East Indies colonies into a single country disappeared and the British finally agreed to a timeline for Sarawak and Brunei independence. On 1 January 1970 the Kingdom of Sarawak took off its last vestiges of colonial rule and became an independent country.

Brunei Sultanate
In 1946 the crown colony of North Borneo was created and together with British Protectorate of Brunei and Sarawak made up the British part of the island of Borneo. From 1946 to 1960 both North Borneo and the Protectorate of Brunei were administered independently, that year the British eager to unite its last colonies in the East Indies supported the idea of unification of British Borneo with the Federation of Malaya. The Protectorate of Brunei joined together with Sarawak in opposing the merger. Sultan Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddien III of Brunei worked together with groups opposed to the merger in North Borneo and together Sarawak presented a united front. In North Brunei support for unification with Malaya slowly fell especially after it was rocked by renewed fighting by communists and then Islamic Fundamentalists.

During the 1950s Sultan Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddien III revised the country’s constitution, modernized its government, and used the vast oil wealth, which was Brunei major export, to build up the country education, health and infrastructure. By the time of his abdication in 1968 in favor of his eldest son the country’s development was one of the major attracting aspects for many in North Borneo in merging with Brunei.

In 1966 Sultan Sir Muda Omar Ali Saifuddien III began a campaign to join the crown colony of North Borneo and Protectorate of Brunei into a single country based on the historical inclusion of North Borneo as part of Brunei and shared goal of independence. In 1968 with the dream of uniting British colonies together the British consented to the crown colony and Brunei uniting. In 1969 a new Brunei protectorate agreement was established. The enlarged Brunei Sultanate was established in British northern part of island of Borneo with Kingdom of Sarawak occupying the remaining British portion in the south. Brunei Sultanate became an independent country on 1 January 1970. The British continued to have both naval, and military bases in the country as part of the protectorate agreement and subsequently friendship agreement.

Malaya Federation - Malacca Federation
The Malaya Federation was created in 1948 by the British combining all the British colonies on the Malaysian Peninsula. The Malaya Federation allowed for the various states local leaders to remain in power. In 1957 the Malaya Federation became independent country within the British Commonwealth. During this time the country was rocked by insurgents, communist rebels inspired by success of communism in China sought to overthrow the traditional Malaya Federation local and national governments and establish a communist government. The 10-year struggle became known as the Malaya Emergency with British and other commonwealth countries providing major portion of the military forces fighting the communists. In the late 1950s the communist threat had been greatly reduced and when the country became independent its leaders and British began planning for a greater federation including the British colonies and protectorates on the island of Borneo.

In early 1960s the Federation was negatively impacted by the emergence of Islamic Fundamental state of Aceh and the Communist takeover of the Republic of Riau on the island of Sumatra. These two competing states were soon fighting each other bringing instability to the region but more detrimental exporting their ideology throughout the region. The communist rebellion in the Federation received significant support and supplies from Riau and communists began waging a guerrilla war not only in the rural areas but also in many of the country’s cities. Political assassinations began occurring regularly. Many Malaysians lost faith the government and its allies would be able to resolve the communist threat and instead turned to Islam. Islamic hardliners inspired by Aceh success against the communists in their country also advocated an Islamic State. Soon a three-way war was being fought on the Peninsula with communist, Nationalist and Islamic forces fighting each other. The British and commonwealth provided troops, supplies and weapons to fight both the communists and Islamic rebels. The exclusion of the Australians though hampered the Nationalist/Commonwealth side though as they had committed substantial forces supporting the South Vietnamese from communist attacks alongside the Americans. The surprise offer by the Portuguese Federation to provide an infantry division along with naval and air support was quickly accepted by the desperation National Malaya government.

From 1963 – 1966 progress was made in fighting the communists who slowly lost support amongst the population and its areas under control was gradually reduced. At same time though the reliance on the Nationalist side on the Commonwealth and Portuguese forces only seemed to strengthen the Islamic side and they continually gained ground especially at the communist’s expense. In 1966 the state of Johor was seized by the Islamic forces and the sultan was deposed and his oldest son who had become a supporter of the Islamic state became Johor’s new sultan. Sultan Tunku Mahmood Iskandar gave the Islamic forces legitimacy and over the following year several additional states came under their control. When the state of Pahang fell to the Islamic forces Sultan Abu Bakar refused to support them and he along with his whole family including all children were executed. His younger brother Tengku Baharuddin became the new Sultan of Pahang. When the states of Terengganu and Kelantan fell both of its Sultans publicly supported the Islamists. The fall of the four states to the Islamic forces had left them in control of over half the Malaya Federation. In 1967 fighting in the states of Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka was more successful for the Nationalist forces and its allies as they were able to either hold their positions in the State of Perak or push the Islamic forces out of the other states but in the north the states of Kenda, Perlis and Penang all fell to the Islamists.

In 1968 the Islamic states of Malaya Federation elected Sultan Tunku Mahmood Iskandar as leader of the state and called for jihad war against remaining foreign troops and unbelievers in the country. The British continued to provide support as well as several of the Indian Commonwealth states with troops in the Malaya Federation. The surprise was the Portuguese for some feared they would abandon the fight especially after witnessing African Wars and its troops involved in either occupying several African states, but the Portuguese continued to surprise everyone with the announcement of deploying three additional divisions into the Peninsula as well as moving its Indic Naval fleet into the region. The announcement sent shockwaves through the Malaya Federation and many within the region feared an escalation of the war. The Islamic government of Malaya through the government of Thailand stated it was willing to end military action on the Peninsula and split the country along the lines of control. The remaining nationalist government which was led by Abdul Ghafar bin Baba from Melaka agreed to hold talks in Bangkok. The Malaya Federation peace talks were held 15 - 25 May 1968 between the two sides of the Malaya war, the inclusion of the British and Portuguese representatives on the Nationalist side angered the Islamic government but over the 10 days of on and off meetings an agreement was reached.

The Islamic government with its capital in Johor Bahru would retain the Malaya Federation name and continue controlling the states of Johor, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan Kenda, Perlis and Penang as well as northern part of Perak. While the Nationalist areas now called Malacca Federation would encompass Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and southern Perak and its capital remained Kuala Lumpur. As part of the agreement any non-Muslim in the Malaya Federation could sell his possessions and emigrate to the Malacca Federation while any Muslim who wished to live under Islamic law could similarly emigrate to the Malaya Federation till 31 December 1968. During the remainder of 1968 almost all Christians, Chinese and foreigners left the Malaya Federation without any problem although most got less than half the value for their property. Meanwhile less than 50,000 Malaysian Muslims within the Federation of Malacca left for the Malaya. When thousands of Muslims attempted to emigrate from Malaya to Malacca the government in Johor Bahru was enraged that Muslim would wish to live in a non-Muslim country and closed the border to Muslims emigrating from Malaya.

As part of the agreement, the Malacca Federation was barred from joining the British Commonwealth, so instead they joined the Lusitania Commonwealth. While British and Commonwealth troops were withdrawn from the Peninsula the Portuguese responded by signing mutual defense agreement and leasing military and naval base from the Malacca Federation much to the anger of the Malaya Federation thus allowing it to maintain a substantial troop presence in area providing protection to Malacca Federation and also patrolling the vital shipping lanes against piracy.

Cambodia and Laos
In 1953 the Kingdom of Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his father to participate in politics and was elected prime minister. Upon his father's death in 1960, Sihanouk again became head of state, taking the title of prince. As the Vietnam War progressed, Sihanouk initially adopted an official policy of neutrality in the Cold War. But as the split between the Soviets and Chinese became more pronounced Sihanouk alignment with the Chinese caused problems with the Soviet backed Vietnamese communists who were using parts of eastern Cambodia as a sanctuary and a supply route for their arms and other aid to their armed forces fighting in South Vietnam. China provided kingdom of Cambodia with weapons and training and in 1968 the Cambodians launched attacks on the Vietnamese Communist bases within Cambodia. It was huge blow to the North Vietnamese who were also being attacked by the Laos communist rebels. The Cambodians did not move into South Vietnam and it remained neutral in regard to both South Vietnamese and US fighting the North Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam.

Meanwhile in the country of Cambodia Prince Sihanouk alignment with China caused members of the government and army to became resentful of Sihanouk's ruling style as well as his tilt away from the United States. In 1965 several military officers attempted a coup but after several days of fighting they were defeated by forces loyal to the government. During the 1960s the government of Cambodia implemented several agrarian and economic reforms in favor of the peasants and nationalized several large companies much to the anger of the landowners and business owners.

To the north of Cambodia, the Kingdom of Laos which had gained independence from France at same time as Cambodia suffered repeated from communist forces attacks. In the early years fighting was between the Royal Lao Army and the communist North Vietnam-backed, and Soviet Union-backed Pathet Lao guerillas. A second Provisional Government of National Unity formed by Prince Souvanna Phouma in 1962 proved to be unsuccessful, and the situation steadily deteriorated into large scale civil war between the Royal Laotian government and the Pathet Lao. The Pathet Lao were backed militarily by the NVA and Vietcong. Laos was a key part of the Vietnam War since parts of Laos were invaded and occupied by North Vietnam for use as a supply route for its war against the South. In 1965 a new Laos rebel group appeared in the north along the Chinese border, the Mekong Communist Army backed by China attacked not only the Royal Lao Army but also the NVA, Vietcong and Pathet Lao Guerillas. By 1966 the Royal Lao Army facing multiple armies suffered mass desertion and loses it could not recover from. Meanwhile the Mekong force continued to grow, and Pathet Lao Guerillas joined them fighting the remnants of the Kingdom of Laos forces but mostly fighting the NVA and Vietcong. The NVA invaded Laos and the United States initiated a bombing campaign against the North Vietnamese positions.

In 1968 the North Vietnamese Army launched a multi-division attack on the Mekong Army which by 1968 had captured the Laos capital. The attack proceeded well at first but the combined USA bombing on the invading army and Mekong guerrilla tactics severely weakened NVA and it was forced to withdraw from Laos at end of 1968 and NVA and Vietcong lost the use of Laos as means to attack South Vietnam. This coupled with Cambodian attack on Vietcong bases in eastern Cambodia provided the US and South Vietnam forces with opportunity to go on offensive against the Vietcong and weaken it.

Singapore
The British colony of Singapore gained self-government in 1959 and became independent in 1964. The main political party was People Action Party (PAP) as the main political party and Lee Kuan Yew and Yusof bin Ishak as the first prime minister and president respectively. The country struggled during the 1960s with trying to keep the Malayan fighting from spilling over into the island. In 1965 as fighting between communist, Islamic and National Malayan forces in Malaya Federation raged on the city witnessed its own internal fighting between Muslim minority and Chinese majority resulting on over 32 deaths, 250 injured and over 1,450 arrested. The British government which still had naval base in Singapore provided PAP with support.

During the first half of the 1960s there was concern PAP would align Singapore with Communist China and the British plan was to integrate Singapore with an expanded Malaysia. The British pushed for Singapore to join the negotiations between Malaya Federation, Kingdom of Sarawak and Brunei but both pushback from Brunei and Sarawak but more importantly the civil war in Malaya put a stop to these talks.

The threat of Communism in Malaya was slowly dispelled by the Islamic threat and Singapore along with Malacca Federation received thousands of refugees from Islamic Malaya.

In 1965 PAP embarked on a free market and capitalist growth and signed several military agreements with the British that provided the country with security against an Islamic Malaya and Communist Riau states. In 1968 it established diplomatic relations with both Malacca Federation and Portuguese Federation as it sought out both economic and diplomatic support in a very volatile South East Asia.

South East Asia 1969​

We have introduced the completely revamped South East Asia. This was an opportunity to discuss several new countries that came into being in the mid 1950s. The substitution of a Indonesia that encompassed all former Dutch East Indies by nine (9) separate states. These countries straddled a variety political ideologies with communist, Islamic, and capitalist countries. Some tried to be non-aligned, while others were aligned with the Federation or the USA. The presence of the Federation in the region cannot be understated and its attempt to normalize relations with its neighbors. Its success in establishing political and economic with East Indonesia and South Mollucas were great accomplishments. While its low key relations with Pontianak Sultanate and Dayak Federation continued its approach of prioritizing improving relations over profits and the close relations between Portuguese government and Portuguese companies which hoped providing generous trade and economic would result in continued Portuguese increase influence and trade.

The shock alignment of Malacca Federation with Portuguese Federation made world realize that Portuguese influence was not only limited Africa and South America. This was followed by other countries also increasing their trade with the Federation foremost amongst these countries was Nationalist China which became an associated member of the Portuguese Federation political, economic and military organization called the Lusitania Commonwealth. Questions/ Comments?

Return on November 22 as we discuss Brazil in the 1960s.

 

[Sceonn]

While the Indonesian government was a thorn in most of its neighbors it reserved special hatred for the Portuguese Federation and its two allies the Republic of Mali and Republic of Lombok.

Should be Bali.

With such a diverse ideologies it'd certainly be interesting to see some systems economically fall behind while others prosper.

 

[Boneheaded_Bookkeeper]

Wow Indonesia is such a mess in this universe lol. I understand that this confusion allows Portugal to expand their influence in the region, but holy crap is it a mess.

 

[5000 Cows]

That is one of the more original Indonesian balkanizations I've seen

 

[EvilJam]

Why do you do threadmarking in the way you do.

 

[Lusitania]

Should be Bali.

With such a diverse ideologies it'd certainly be interesting to see some systems economically fall behind while others prosper.

Hi there, thanks I have update the post.

Yes we will see a much more diverse economic future taking shape and in our 1970s world section will revisit the area and discuss the economic of the region. But right now here is a little recap:

• Aceh - Islamic state and lack of resources and investment due to political situation will limit its development. The government will also be forced to continue to spend large portion of its revenue to combat the communist insurrection which will continue to receive continued clandestine support from its neighbor to the south.
• Riau - Communist and surrounded by what it sees as enemies, primary focus will be on defense and while publicly adhering to peace with its neighbor will continue to be a source of both weapons and training for communist insurrections in the region.
• Indonesia - the right wing government is beset by both communist and Islamic rebels while at same time its economy is controlled by limited number of people, American and British companies operate in the country mostly in Oil/Gas and mining. Main military backer is the US which has had negative implications to American foreign policy in region. Indonesia has demanded that US not support both politically or military any of its neighbor whom it still not recognize and claims all of former Dutch East Indies, former British colonies and of course Portuguese provinces. Economically very similar to Indonesia IOTL but weaker and beset by greater enemies (internally) while its neighbors are growing both militarily and economically while it is economy is not able to keep up with the increasing population.
• Dayak Federation and Pontianak Sultanate - these two countries located on the island of Borneo are for most part free of any insurrection and both countries have been investing heavily in developing their economies. They both had a large number of Dutch officials consultants helping in the transition after independence and both countries have welcomed foreign investment. Both countries have a very large Portuguese economic presence with Portuguese companies operating in country at much lower return than companies from west were prepared to accept. By the late 1960s we are seeing a increased presence of western companies from other countries who have followed Portuguese example and provided improved royalties and development of country. As indicated before Portuguese political presence especially in Pontianak which majority are Islamic is low key but cordial.
• East Indonesia and South Moluccas are democratic countries (only one in former Dutch East Indies) while at time of independence they were rivals and fought border skirmishes they have established economic, military and political treaties between themselves and Portuguese. The American refusal to provide them with military support had forced them to turn to the Federation. They also have good relations with Australia and Britain and France whom also compete with the Federation to arm the two countries. The biggest rival is Indonesia who does not recognize the two countries. Economically they are the two of the most advanced economies in region.
• Bali and Lombok are politically and militarily aligned with the Federation and since the creation of the Lusitania Commonwealth economically tied to the Federation. The standard of living is higher than East Indonesia and South Moluccas but those two countries are growing very fast.
• Malaya Federation is just recovering from civil war but at same time establishing itself as Islamic State and during the late 1960s it efforts have been on transforming itself to Islamic state. Economically it will have hard time developing with limited natural resources.
• Kingdom of Sarawak and Brunei Sultanate - will become independent in 1970 and have potential for greater economic prosperity. Brunei with its oil reserves will see a major influx of income with increase in oil revenue.
• Malacca Federation is the breakaway region from the Islamic Malaya State and has religious freedom enshrined in its constitution which means no special laws for Muslims. Market driven economy that has decided to join the Lusitania Federation which will mean great opportunities for them.

Wow Indonesia is such a mess in this universe lol. I understand that this confusion allows Portugal to expand their influence in the region, but holy crap is it a mess.

I actually looked at the players involved in the aftermath of the Indonesia Independence movement and saw how a much weaker Indonesia movement in Java that was limited in suppressing the other regions could result in the emergence of these countries. The communist and Islamic movements were also historical, therefore an Islamic Aceh and communist Riau are very much in keeping with possibilities. Dutch had the idea of multiple countries not only one.

Malaya had a communist insurrection and Islamic pressure which with two extreme countries next to it exporting their ideology resulted in splitting of the country into two one Islamic and one non Islamic.

That is one of the more original Indonesian balkanizations I've seen

Yes in reading the Indonesia war of Independence I realized how much different the war and independence could of gone. I guess I took it to the max.

Why do you do threadmarking in the way you do.

Hi thanks for the question. Can you please elaborate what you mean. Thanks