A Tale of Two Empires - Graphics, Maps and Flags
The Republic of Japan in 2009
The Republic of Japan in 2009
Japan was invaded numerous times by Russia. The first war took Korea (which had been subjugated by Japan in the Imjin War), the second took Ezochi, and the third stopped an attempt at modernization and restoration of the Emperor. Japan has since modernized, but in the shadow of Russia. The Third Russo-Japanese War was accompanied by a mass invasion of Honshu and the Japanese homeland. The invasion, also known as 大洪水 or "Daikouzui" ("The Flood"), led to the pillaging and mass destruction of Tohoku and the former capital of Edo, which was burnt to the ground. In a desperate attempt to save the Japanese Empire and make a last call to the supposed divinity of the Emperor, the young Emperor Meiji led an army from the temporary capital of Nara and met the Russian army. Unfortunately, the Emperor was killed and his army decimated. The Russian army moved on to Nara and sacked it, destroying ancient monuments and slaughtering the Imperial Family.
Japan was slow to recover, but eventually began to drift into the arms of the French. The Ryukyu Islands, which never really submitted to mainland Japan, were traded to French Canton in exchange for trade agreements and economic support from France. With a source of revenue secured, Japan needed to reorganize itself. The Imperial Family was completely gone, so the Japanese Empire became simply Japan (or the Republic of Japan). The familiar words of "Kimigayo" were forgotten as the Imperial Majesty's Reign had ended. New words for the song were written, and the new name, "Jidai no Owari", was learned by all. The new words mourned the Imperial Family and made a call for peace and stability. Also, with the country in ruins and warlords beginning to appear, a strong executive branch was conceived and the country became a Presidential Republic (Though today it is fairly democratic).
Nagasaki is the largest port, serving connections to former French Canton, and Hiroshima is the largest city due to its strategic position as a hub for all of south Japan.
edit: fixed map to have correct borders for China
Japan was invaded numerous times by Russia. The first war took Korea (which had been subjugated by Japan in the Imjin War), the second took Ezochi, and the third stopped an attempt at modernization and restoration of the Emperor. Japan has since modernized, but in the shadow of Russia. The Third Russo-Japanese War was accompanied by a mass invasion of Honshu and the Japanese homeland. The invasion, also known as 大洪水 or "Daikouzui" ("The Flood"), led to the pillaging and mass destruction of Tohoku and the former capital of Edo, which was burnt to the ground. In a desperate attempt to save the Japanese Empire and make a last call to the supposed divinity of the Emperor, the young Emperor Meiji led an army from the temporary capital of Nara and met the Russian army. Unfortunately, the Emperor was killed and his army decimated. The Russian army moved on to Nara and sacked it, destroying ancient monuments and slaughtering the Imperial Family.
Japan was slow to recover, but eventually began to drift into the arms of the French. The Ryukyu Islands, which never really submitted to mainland Japan, were traded to French Canton in exchange for trade agreements and economic support from France. With a source of revenue secured, Japan needed to reorganize itself. The Imperial Family was completely gone, so the Japanese Empire became simply Japan (or the Republic of Japan). The familiar words of "Kimigayo" were forgotten as the Imperial Majesty's Reign had ended. New words for the song were written, and the new name, "Jidai no Owari", was learned by all. The new words mourned the Imperial Family and made a call for peace and stability. Also, with the country in ruins and warlords beginning to appear, a strong executive branch was conceived and the country became a Presidential Republic (Though today it is fairly democratic).
Nagasaki is the largest port, serving connections to former French Canton, and Hiroshima is the largest city due to its strategic position as a hub for all of south Japan.
edit: fixed map to have correct borders for China
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I'm really enjoying this TL, so don't take this the wrong way, but some of the borders are very convergent considering the early POD. Germany for example is smaller than it would have been in a Europe ruled by Napoleonic France. The Rhine border is good, and the French not keeping East Frisia is something that is realistic but rarely done in Napoleonic TLs. The problem is the Oder-Niesse line being the border with Poland. Napoleon left Prussia's western border intact, and his successors intended to. Even without France keeping it that way, I don't see the area's large German population choosing to be part of Poland. I feel like western Pomerania would largely stay German/Prussian and maybe parts of Silesia. I can see west Prussia going to Poland but I could also see it staying German/Prussian.
I also feel like Hungary would be bigger, Romania and Slovakia smaller (maybe even, unfortunately, no Slovakia) their borders are totally unchanged and there's no real reason for that if history is so different.
I feel like if you took the parts of Romania that are Russian on your map, those would work, with Hungary keeping most of Transylvania and maybe some or all of Slovakia.
The Czech border is good, it's a pretty old border and is partly based off natural barriers and defensibility, Serbia's border being at the Danube is fairly likely considering when this diverges, the slight change I see on the Bosnian border seems good, the Drina is a natural border that was used historically, but not always entirely, so the slight difference works well.
I know this isn't meant to be the most realistic TL, and none of this detracts from my enjoyment, I just thought I'd tell you that Poland, Hungary and Romania generally look a little convergent.
I also feel like Hungary would be bigger, Romania and Slovakia smaller (maybe even, unfortunately, no Slovakia) their borders are totally unchanged and there's no real reason for that if history is so different.
I feel like if you took the parts of Romania that are Russian on your map, those would work, with Hungary keeping most of Transylvania and maybe some or all of Slovakia.
The Czech border is good, it's a pretty old border and is partly based off natural barriers and defensibility, Serbia's border being at the Danube is fairly likely considering when this diverges, the slight change I see on the Bosnian border seems good, the Drina is a natural border that was used historically, but not always entirely, so the slight difference works well.
I know this isn't meant to be the most realistic TL, and none of this detracts from my enjoyment, I just thought I'd tell you that Poland, Hungary and Romania generally look a little convergent.
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Thanks. And before I respond to your criticisms, thank you so much for giving me feedback, it means a lot.
It hasn't been touched on yet, but WW2 ITTL is essentially a war against communism, which includes communist Germany, UK, and USSR. Poland is shifted west to punish Germany and to console Poland after losing the east to Russia. I will concede it was a little lazy to have it be *exactly* the Oder-Neisse border of OTL.
Okay this is something I didn't think about hard enough. My plan, though admittedly shallow, was that Austria-Hungary loses a war to France and is punished by being carved up. An array of French puppets is created, and to keep the Habsburgs out for good Hungary and Austria are to be left weak. This involved carving out Bohemia (which quickly becomes Czechia), Slovakia, and Roumania (which only includes Transylvania, as Wallachia and Moldavia are held by Russia). The state of Roumania is part of France's ever-continuing effort to insult Russia. Much later, after WW2, Roumania is given pieces of the USSR that were shaved off.
So basically I thought about it, and there's a reason Hungary isn't big, but the borders I chose are indeed lazy.
I should stress that WW2 does not end in decisive French/Communaute victory. The war is won in Germany and the UK but fought to a stalemate in the East, which is why Poland's eastern border is roughly where it is OTL.
Oh my lord thank you for noticing. I always thought the river border was a great alternate border for the region.
I'm really glad you didn't take offense.
Well, if there's a reason for the border being there, it doesn't come off as that lazy, of course a little change would be good but that depends on whether you get the chance to fix it.
Again, more or less the same as above. This clarification helps, and I mean, you definitely seem to understand the issue.
I'm always happy to see someone thinking about the Balkans rather than just slapping OTL changes into a heavily divergent ATL. You're right about the danube. It has historically been the border between Serbia (and later the Ottoman territories there) and Hungary (sometimes more roughly but for the longest time exactly) and the Serbian population north of the Danube has changed a lot over time so given any number of historical changes it is a very likely border. If I'm gonna be honest, I thought you just went "oh, well it was the border for the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina OTL, so why not split Serbia there ITTL" so I'm pleasantly surprised.
Keep up the good work. These wikiboxes, social media posts (something I haven't seen a lot of, least of all with so many alternate platforms) and maps are great.
Tsardom of Bulgaria in 2009
The Tsardom of Bulgaria in 2009
Tourism graphic of modern Bulgaria
Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria
Bulgaria is one of the former "administrative nations" of the Russian Empire and later the Republic. While not an autonomous military governate like Turkestan, it was governed as a single entity with the belief that slavs should be ruled locally but subordinate to the Russian Tsar (and briefly the Vysshiy Tsar / Most High Emperor). This backfired to an extent during the Brothers' War and subsequent Republican Revolution of Rykov, when Bulgaria broke off from Russia as a single unity entity with its own army and government. Though independence was gained, there was nothing to gain from leaving the Russian Bloc. The Prince of Bulgaria, though immediately crowned as Tsar Boris III, quickly sent word to Moscow that he would respect Russian interests in the Balkans. Rykov and the Russian Republic respected Bulgarian "independence" in return for unquestioning loyalty.
Unfortunately, the Second World War in the late 1950s led to a loss of territory and prestige. Boris III was forced to abdicate in favor of his son Simeon III, reparations were to be paid, and all ties to Russia were to be cut. France quickly lost interest in enforcing those terms, having exhausted themselves and their alliance with the war, and son allowed Bulgaria to restore trade with Russia but not a military alliance. Bulgaria subsequently declared itself neutral and joined the Non-Aligned Movement.
Territorial Evolution of Bulgaria (1912-1956):
The Treaty of Bucuresti (1955) stipulated reparations, transfer of territory, and establishment of Bulgaria as a buffer against Russia. The treaty was deemed as too harsh by Bulgarians and many French politicians, who argued Bulgaria could not pay reparations without causing social unrest and reverting to pro-Russian government.
The Treaty of Cross-Balkan Commerce and Goodwill (1956) was a concession that the 1955 Treaty had been too harsh. Its declared intent was to create trade and good will between the various updated and new Balkan nations. As it was promoting trade, it abolished tariffs between Bulgaria and the French Bloc as well as the rest of the bloc. Trade with Russia was to be allowed but highly taxed.
Tourism graphic of modern Bulgaria
Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria
Bulgaria is one of the former "administrative nations" of the Russian Empire and later the Republic. While not an autonomous military governate like Turkestan, it was governed as a single entity with the belief that slavs should be ruled locally but subordinate to the Russian Tsar (and briefly the Vysshiy Tsar / Most High Emperor). This backfired to an extent during the Brothers' War and subsequent Republican Revolution of Rykov, when Bulgaria broke off from Russia as a single unity entity with its own army and government. Though independence was gained, there was nothing to gain from leaving the Russian Bloc. The Prince of Bulgaria, though immediately crowned as Tsar Boris III, quickly sent word to Moscow that he would respect Russian interests in the Balkans. Rykov and the Russian Republic respected Bulgarian "independence" in return for unquestioning loyalty.
Unfortunately, the Second World War in the late 1950s led to a loss of territory and prestige. Boris III was forced to abdicate in favor of his son Simeon III, reparations were to be paid, and all ties to Russia were to be cut. France quickly lost interest in enforcing those terms, having exhausted themselves and their alliance with the war, and son allowed Bulgaria to restore trade with Russia but not a military alliance. Bulgaria subsequently declared itself neutral and joined the Non-Aligned Movement.
Territorial Evolution of Bulgaria (1912-1956):
- Green: Bulgaria as per the Treaty of Bucuresti (1955)
- Yellow: Ceded to Roumania as per the Treaty of Bucuresti (1955)
- Beige: Ceded back to Bulgaria in the Treaty of Cross-Balkan Commerce and Goodwill (1956)
- Purple: Ceded to Montenegro as per the Treaty of Bucuresti (1955)
- Pink: Granted to independent Albania as per the Treaty of Bucuresti (1955)
- Blue: Ceded to Greece as per the Treaty of Bucuresti (1955)
The Treaty of Bucuresti (1955) stipulated reparations, transfer of territory, and establishment of Bulgaria as a buffer against Russia. The treaty was deemed as too harsh by Bulgarians and many French politicians, who argued Bulgaria could not pay reparations without causing social unrest and reverting to pro-Russian government.
The Treaty of Cross-Balkan Commerce and Goodwill (1956) was a concession that the 1955 Treaty had been too harsh. Its declared intent was to create trade and good will between the various updated and new Balkan nations. As it was promoting trade, it abolished tariffs between Bulgaria and the French Bloc as well as the rest of the bloc. Trade with Russia was to be allowed but highly taxed.
Yun Republic (云民国) / Yun (云国) in 2009
The "Three Chinas" - Yun Republic in green, North China in red, South China in blue
The Yun Republic first existed as the Yunnan Clique, a loose assemblage of warlords in the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and early Chinese Republic. As time went on, the Yunnan Clique sought to exit the Chinese Civil war and saw an opportunity in the growing independence of the British Raj. Becoming essentially a buffer state between India and China, as well as between India and French Indochina, Yunnan prospered as a safe haven for refugees and rich merchants who moved their operations out of communist North China. Nation-building was the next step, and a non-Kuomintang flag was decided: the Yunnan camellia was the perfect symbol, and the colors of the flag were changed to suit the region's identity. The name "Yunnan" ("South Yun) was altered to "Yunguo" (Yun Nation) as the former implied a region within a larger China, and the latter promoted "Yun" as a new identity and state.
National flag.
Naval ensign and war flag
The British Raj no longer exists, but the new India has maintained the same style of relationship with Yun. It remains an effective buffer state between India and her more powerful would-be neighbors, though it is still a source of tension as the territory is claimed by both North and South China.
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