Revision of the Timeline, Mark 3
1916:
In the Battle of the Somme, a young man is killed by a piece of shrapnel severing his femoral artery. A young man named Adolf Hitler.
Almost a month after his death, the Battle of the Somme ends indecisively- the Germans are pushed back 40 miles, while the Entente enjoys a favorable tactical and strategic advantage.
Despite the amount of casualties inflicted on both sides, the Germans are not as demoralized as the British High Command originally thought.
1917:
February 1: The German government, suffering from food shortages, restarts their unrestricted submarine warfare against Entente vessels.
April 6: the Unite States formally declares war on the German reich, sending reinforcements and supplies to the weary British and French.
April 9-12: Meanwhile, a joint British-Canadian army attacked the German position at Vimy Ridge. After three brutal days, with almost 4,000 casualties for the British-Canadian divisions, Vimy is taken by the Entente.
The Entente continues to batter the Central Powers, winning in Passchendaele (at a high cost and for a tactical victory only), Cambrai and the taking of Jerusalem.
November 2: The British government issues the Balfour Declaration, and the declaration declares its intention to "view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people."
1918-
March 21- July 18: Despite the German successes, the Spring Offensive remained a strategic German failure and ended unifying the Allied command under Ferdinand Foch. The Germans ended up with exposed positions and severely exhausted with manpower shortages.
The Entente endures through the war, as American forces help the battered British and French (who have endured four years of war), and win the battles at the Marne, Amiens and the Hundred Days Offensive. Following the Hundred Days, the Germans sign an armistice with the Entente powers on the November 11th, 1918.
The Great War was over.
1922- The British government carves off almost 80% of the Palestine Mandate and places it under the rule of the Hashemite clan. The remaining 20% of the Mandate is agreed to be the subject of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the subsequent League of Nations laws.
Jewish immigration to Palestine reaches into the tens of thousands, particularly from Eastern Europe and Germany.
Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck is declared the Army Chief of Staff, Hermann Göring is declared the Air Chief of Staff and Karl Dönitz as the Commander-in-Chief of the Reichsmarine.
1926- The Balfour Declaration of 1926 is approved, affirming the British Dominions (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland and Ireland) as autonomous communities within the British Empire.
1928- The Simon Commission lands in India to study constitutional reform in the Raj.
1929- In October 1929, the collapse of the stock exchange in New York City triggers a worldwide economic collapse, thrusting the world into the Great Depression.
1930- The Imperial Conference in the British Empire decides to begin Imperial Preference, where the Dominions would have free trade with each other but coordinate tariffs against other nations.
1931 to 1934-
Action Francaise and Croix-de-Feu, under the direction of Charles Maurras and Francois de la Rocque, band together into “le Grande Coalition de les patriotes”- the Grand Coalition of the Patriots.
6 February 1934: Various French fascist groups manage to overthrow the French government and establish a fascist dictatorship. Jean, duc de Guise, is proclaimed His Majesty Jean III of the House of Bourbon.
Most of the smaller right-wing parties are absorbed into “le Grande Coalition de les patriotes” to, as de la Rocque puts it, “to unify the far-right under a single ruler, a single ideology, a single hope and a single dream.”
1935- The Grand Coalition of Patriots assumes total control over the French Third Republic and reforms it into the French Corporatist State. Charles Maurras officially declares himself Director-President of the French State, while his partner Francois de la Rocque assumes control over the French State Council and the Senate.
Despite the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, total power lies with the Director-President and the President of the French Senate and Council.
Cabinet and Government of the French Corporatist State:
King of the French Corporatist State- His Majesty Jean III
Director-President: Charles Maurras (GCP)
President of the French Senate and Council: Francois de la Rocque (GCP)
Foreign Minister- Gaston Henry-Haye (GCP)
Minister of National Defence- Philippe Petain (GCP)
Minister of the Interior- Pierre Pucheu (GCP)
Minister of Finance and Commerce- Paul Baudaoin GCP)
Minister of Labour- Eugene Deloncle (GCP)
Minister of Food and Labour- Alexis Carrel (GCP)
Minister of Justice- Joseph Darnard (GCP)
Minister of Merchant and Military Navy- Francois Darlan (I)
Minister of Air- Joseph Vuillemin (I)
Minister of National Education- Abel Bonnard (GCP)
Minister of French Family and Veterans- Paul Touvier (GCP)
Minister of Agriculture and Supply- Henry Coston (GCP)
Minister of Colonies- Jacques Doriot (GCP)
Minister of Corporations- Francois de la Rocque (GCP)
Minister of Education and Propaganda- Marcel Bucard (GCP)
Postal Minister- Henry Coston (GCP)
Minister of Public Works and Transmissions- Pierre Étienne Flandin (I)
1936: The members of the Peel Commission set sail for Mandatory Palestine to propose changes for the British Mandate following a worse outbreak of the Arab Revolt.
11 November 1936: The Peel Commission, headed by the Earl Peel, arrives in Palestine to investigate the reasons behind the uprising.
18 January 1937: The Peel Commission returns to Britain to give the reports of their findings. According to the report, Arab allegations against the Jewish residents and their land purchases in Palestine are unfounded.
Until the independence of Mandatory Palestine, it will remain under direct British rule, Jews and Arabs may purchase land in Palestine without fear or intimidation, the final status of the Mandate will not be decided until 1947. In the eventuality of the independence of Palestine, Jews and Arabs (who voluntarily remain and swear to be loyal citizens in the proposed Jewish state) shall be granted equal citizenship and rights.
Many Arabs in Palestine denounce the news and move to Transjordan, leaving a near-total Jewish majority. The Yishuv, the Jewish leadership, issues a declaration vowing to respect the rights of the Arab residents. Most of the Arabs who choose to immigrate to Transjordan have the transfer overseen by the League of Nations.
1938: The Grand Coalition institutes the “Les lois concernant la santé raciale et politique de l'État corporatiste français” (The laws concerning the racial and political health of the French Corporatist State). Jews, Freemasons, political leftists, métèques (foreigners) and French Huguenots were now deemed “enemies of the state”, and were slowly stripped of their political and religious rights.
Some French Jews begin immigrating to Mandate Palestine to escape the Grand Coalition, while most refuse to believe what is unfolding before their eyes.
Those who do not leave will make the worst mistake of their lives.
1939- After the end of the Arab revolt in Palestine, the Arab residents of Palestine are given the option of staying in the future Jewish state or voluntarily moving to Transjordan.
Camps are being constructed in rural France, under the orders of Charles Maurras. These camps will deal with the internal enemies of the State...permanently.
The world will know the true meaning of "hell on Earth" in a few years.
1944: The Germans and Austrians are now completely overrun on both the east and the west. On 20th of April 1944, the Germans surrender to the Franco-Soviet combined forces. The Austrians surrender a week later. The French establish their control over Germany and Austria (OTL French and British occupation zones as well as the western half of the American occupation zone), brutally cracking down on partisan activity.
Aided by the British Empire and Commonwealth troops (who also escape via Hamburg), the DNVP-Zentrum coalition government flee to Britain, narrowly escaping Soviet forces. They quickly establish a government-in-exile, alongside the Polish.
The Soviets establish their control over eastern and southern Germany and eastern Austria, dividing it into the People's Republic of Prussia and the German Democratic Republic.
Despite the Treaty of St. Petersburg (Franco-Soviet collaboration), the French begin mobilizations of their paramilitaries and military forces near the Soviet occupation border, preparing for Operation Napoléon [2]- the French invasion of the Soviet Union.
1945: French forces breach the Soviet zone, using Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourgian soldiers as cannon fodder. Despite their heavy casualties, the French push the Soviets back and occupy all of former Germany. German partisans begin a war of terror against the French occupiers, killing hundreds and tying up thousands.
While the Soviets still have designs for Eastern and Central Europe, countless thousands of Soviet soldiers conveniently "lose" their weapons and ammo for the Germans to find.
In response to the terror campaign, Francois de la Rocque declares the Germans inferior, “life unworthy of life”, and allows French soldiers to massacre the Germans wholesale.
By the end of the year, the French and their collaborators are in complete control of former Germany and parts of Poland. Nearly 800,000 Germans have been killed by the French regime, with more sent to newly-constructed death camps across occupied Germany.
1946: French forces seize all of Poland, placing it under direct military occupation. Countless Poles (either supporters of the French or opportunists) join up with the French to fight against the Soviets. European Catholics are encouraged to fight alongside the French, but are denounced by the Pope and the Vatican.
The French war machine swells to several million and, on 15 August 1946, begins the second phase of Operation Napoléon- the invasion of the Soviet Union proper. In addition, French colonial militias and armies "liberate" Southern Europe from "tyranny" under France's "benevolent" leadership. By the end of 1946, all of Europe (save Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Switzerland) will be under French control.
The French occupational government establishes the Free Republic of Hanover, the Free Republic of Holstein, German Free State, the Independent State of Bavaria and the Free Republic of Baden. These German states are forced to hand over countless thousands of citizens as cannon fodder for the French armies.
In North Africa, French colonial armies (most of whom are fighting in Europe) begin the massacre of Arab Muslims, led by Xavier Mallet and Jacques Doriot. While the former commands the colonial armies, it is Doriot who gains the title "The Butcher of the Maghreb".
The British accept Japan’s claim on Manchuria (and negotiate an end to the Second Sino-Japanese War) in exchange for Japanese assistance in taking French Indochina and contributing to the war effort against France.
Charles Maurras decries the Soviet invasion, saying that the French’s hated enemy is already beaten and that the need to fight the Soviets is not there. Francois de la Rocque, seduced by the power he commands and delusions of grandeur, murders Maurras and declares himself the new Director-President of the French Corporatist State.
French, (collaborationist) Belgians, Dutch, Luxembourgian, "German" and Polish begin the invasion of the Soviet Union, beating the Soviets back. While in France and the occupied territories, Jews, Muslims, Freemasons, Huguenots, Germans and political leftists are being slaughtered by the tens of thousands.
1947: The French and their collaborators reach the city of Moscow, Leningrad and Stalingrad. Despite their best efforts, the cities refuse to fall. De la Rocque, is now mad with power, refusing to listen to his generals on the ground. As a result, the French and collaborators are forced back by the Soviets across the European plains. Italy declares war on France, partly out of humanitarian efforts to save Jews and Germans in Occupied Europe and Muslims in French Africa.
The British, Italians, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, Indians, and Free German partisans initiate Operation Sealion [1]- the largest naval invasion force the world has ever seen. Landing in Normandy and Provence-Alps-Cote d’Azur (PACA), they push the French back in their own land. Coupled with the Soviet advance and assisted by Polish, German, Hungarian and other European partisans, the French are forced back across Europe.
The Soviets, now furious with rage, massacre thousands of French and collaborators during the “Great Defeat”. De la Rocque, mad with power, demands his generals to keep fighting the war [2].
1948: By the end of the year, the defeat of France is inevitable. Rather than prolong the war, Alphonse Juin, Marshal of France, overthrows the Corporatist State with the approval of His Majesty Jean III and the support of the French Army. De la Rocque, refusing to come quietly, duels Juin in the bombed out ruins of the Elysee Palace [3]. Juin wounds the man and takes him prisoner.
Instantly, Juin issues a communiqué to all French armies in either Occupied Europe and Africa to surrender, as well as France’s formal declaration of surrender to the Allied Powers.
The DNVP-Zentrum coalition government, the legitimate government of Germany, returns to Berlin to assume control of the German state and people. Rather than being welcomed back with open arms, they are literally ripped apart by rabid Germans and Soviet soldiers.
Post War:
The Allied High Command formally occupies the former French state and issue the following orders:
• The former French Corporatist State is disassembled and banned from ever unifying into a united French state.
• The Grande Coalition de les patriots is hereby banned for reforming, as well as the parties of Action Francaise, Croix-de-Feu or any member-party of the Grande Coalition.
• Jacques Doriot, Xavier Mallet, Francois de la Rocque and all other members of the GCP shall be tried for crimes against humanity.
• All collaborators of the French regime shall be prosecuted for crimes against humanity.
• All persons persecuted by the French state and their allies shall be granted immediate medical assistance and aid.
• Any and all Jews who wish transport to Palestine shall be granted that right without delay.
• All French colonies shall be administered by the British Empire and Commonwealth, the Kingdom of Italy or the Spanish State.
• All Arab Muslims in North Africa, who had been under French colonial rule, shall be granted independence no later than 1950.
1949: The Soviet Union establishes the People’s Republic of Alsace, People’s Republic of Picardy and the Democratic Republic of Burgundy out of the ashes of Eastern France.
The Allied powers establish the Republic of Normandy (OTL Lower and Upper Normandy), Free State of Poitou (OTL Poitou-Charentes and Pays-de-la-Loire), Republic of Aquitaine (OTL Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrénées), State of Linioges (OTL Limousin and Central regions), the Republic of Marseilles (OTL Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur) and the Republic of Languedoc (OTL Languedoc-Roussillon).
Despite Soviet pressure, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (BeNeLux) re-establish sovereign rule (with British and Commonwealth military presence in the countries to deter the Soviets). Paris is divided between the British and the Soviets- West Paris to the British, East Paris to the Soviets.
The Jewish survivors of the French genocide flee to Palestine, and are welcomed openly by the British government. The Arab Muslims of North Africa, also brutalized during the French rule, establish friendly relations with Jewish Palestine out a shared sense of pain.
The State of Israel is declared with 2.3 million Jewish citizens (either refugees or sabras[4]). The Soviet Union is the first government to recognize the Jewish state. The Israeli state stretches from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Golan Heights.
The Soviets establish as their puppet states-
• People’s Republic of Poland
• Czechoslovak Republic
• East Prussian People’s Republic [5]
• German Democratic Republic [6]
• People’s Republic of Austria
• People’s Republic of Hungary
• People’s Republic of Bulgaria
• People’s Republic of Romania
• Democratic Federation of Yugoslavia
• People’s Republic of Albania
• People’s Republic of Alsace (the OTL regions of Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comte)
• People’s Republic of Picardy (the OTL regions of Nord-Pas de Calais, Picardy and Champagne-Ardenne)
• Democratic Republic of Burgundy (the OTL regions of Burgundy, Auvergne and Rhone-Alps)
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[1] Yeah, that's right. I made the British initiate Operation Sealion. Fear me!
[2] De la Rocque was seduced by the prospect of unlimited power and went insane. He will make the same mistakes that Hitler made in OTL.
[3] Why a duel? Duels make everything fun.
[4] Native-born Israelis.
[5] OTL East Prussia and Prussia east of the Oder-Neisse Line
[6] OTL Germany
