A Yellow Lys on Azure Main
- Thread starter Wings
- Start date
It will happen soon, I'm preparing a background on the U.K !
Yep, with Africa falling into chaos during the World War, and with European superpowers, decolonisation was not only slower but more painful than in OTL.
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Sports: Overwatch League
In the meantime, have an esports nerd moment.
The Overwatch League was established in 2018 with 15 teams participating. The format was expanded to 24 teams in 2019 with the addition of representatives from Madrid, Vienna, Boston, Toronto, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, San Francisco and Vancouver.
London Spitfire defeated Hong Kong Victorious during the 2018 Grand Finals 2-0 but failed to defend their title in 2019 as they were defeated in the Quarter-Finals by Berlin Vanguard, the future winners, who toppled San Francisco Shock 4-1.
The Overwatch League was established in 2018 with 15 teams participating. The format was expanded to 24 teams in 2019 with the addition of representatives from Madrid, Vienna, Boston, Toronto, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, San Francisco and Vancouver.
London Spitfire defeated Hong Kong Victorious during the 2018 Grand Finals 2-0 but failed to defend their title in 2019 as they were defeated in the Quarter-Finals by Berlin Vanguard, the future winners, who toppled San Francisco Shock 4-1.
Looks cool
WHat is the rhineland’s relations with its french and north german neighbors?
The Republic of the Rhine has been dependent on financial aid from France for a long time, so they are quite close. Germany never really had any influence in the region until the 20th century, although the Unification party is very much active in the Rhineland, but similarly to the Risorgimento Party in Italy or the Unification party in Provence, they never got more than 20% of the vote at once. The Rhineland and Germany do enjoy friendly relations with each other though, especially after the World War and the creation of the ETU.
Europe: United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a rough last century. However, the British Empire was at the height of its meight only two hundred years ago, having successfully quarantined Napoleonic France after the Napoleonic Wars thanks to the existence of the Duchy of Provence and defeated the United States during the War of 1812, where the U.K forced the U.S to abandon its claims onto the Oregon Territory. These two decisions would eventually come back to haunt them.
The U.K first faced internal turmoil during the Revolutions of 1848, where several uprising occured, notably in the north of the country, but nothing comparable to the French and Austrian situations. However, the U.K experienced a golden age during the Industrialization of the country, and with the expansion of the British Empire into Africa. The scramble for Africa would nearly kick off the World War early, if not for the Conference of Berlin that partitionned the continent.
Things would start to turn sour for the U.K in the early 1910s with the Troubles in Ireland. With a more and more active IRA, the Irish became such a big problem that the British resolved to send in the army in 1926, kicking off the First Irish Uprising. For two years the Irish struggled, and finally won their independence, except for the northern half of their country. However, this wouldn't be enough as both protestants and catholics continued butting heads in Ireland, prompting the Second Irish Uprising in 1934. This one would result with a massive British crackdown on the protests, which only ignited the conflict even more. A referendum was agreed upon, and the "Join Ireland" option won by eight votes. A recount was made, with "stay with Britain" this time winning by 23 votes. This would prompt the British government to deny the Irish reunification and Stanley Baldwin, the British PM, resigned soon after the decision. Soon after, the Third Irish Uprising commenced, which would be as deadly as the first, with Irishmen united against the occupying British Army, that was supposed to "maintain order in the autonomous province". This would prove disastrous for Britain with more than 3000 dead in three months. Finally, Ulster was given back to Ireland, prompting backlash of the British public onto the government, who was once more forced to resign. The people went with Winston Churchill, who wanted action instead of what he saw as inaction by the government.
Churchill soon renewed the London Accords, bringing in both the Empires of Russia and Japan, despite their differences, to block the Alliance expansion with Persia and Poland. And it would prove to be one of the many catalysts of the World War, with increasing tensions between the two blocks. It would finally be in Nigeria that the final spark would be made. A disagreement over the Franco-British border would spark a reaction, with British and French soldiers exchanging shots. Tension builds, and soon, the World is set ablaze. The U.K soon found the upper hand, invading via the Low Countries, but would finally be pushed out after an eight-month campaign. From then on, and with the U.S intervention on the side of the Alliance, Britain would collapse under the pressure. Russia would fall first, before Operation Constellation would seal the fate of Britain. Japan would be the last to fall, three days after the British capitulation.
The British Empire was in shambles, as was Africa, but got to keep the colonies it still had control over, notably Hong Kong, Aden or several Caribbean Islands the French and Americans retroceded in good faith. However, the Alliance would not allow Britain to stay united, and established the SOZ (Scottish Occupation Zone). With vivid opposition, the Scots eventually got huge economic aid from both the newly-founded ETU and the US, and found itself in a much better position than Britain. With no desire to reunite, despite referendums in 1985 and 2006, Scotland stood independent from the U.K, and eventually joined the ETU in 2000.
Britain would come back into world affairs but remains staunchly anti-ETU, and remains close with their Commonwealth Allies, most notably Canada and New Zealand, and other ex-colonies such as India and Jordan. Today, it remains economically fragile, but remains a strong economical power, despite falling behind Germany, France and even Sweden. Its navy is still limited in size, and it is not allowed to have nuclear weapons, but the UNSC lifted the air force and ground forces restrictions in 2011.
Britain has also kept Hong Kong due to fears of Chinese involvment and expansionism, like Portugal, Japan or France, and incorporated the territory into a constituent country in 1994. It still claims ownership of Scotland, and doesn't have an embassy in Edinburgh, but rather a High Comission.
The U.K first faced internal turmoil during the Revolutions of 1848, where several uprising occured, notably in the north of the country, but nothing comparable to the French and Austrian situations. However, the U.K experienced a golden age during the Industrialization of the country, and with the expansion of the British Empire into Africa. The scramble for Africa would nearly kick off the World War early, if not for the Conference of Berlin that partitionned the continent.
Things would start to turn sour for the U.K in the early 1910s with the Troubles in Ireland. With a more and more active IRA, the Irish became such a big problem that the British resolved to send in the army in 1926, kicking off the First Irish Uprising. For two years the Irish struggled, and finally won their independence, except for the northern half of their country. However, this wouldn't be enough as both protestants and catholics continued butting heads in Ireland, prompting the Second Irish Uprising in 1934. This one would result with a massive British crackdown on the protests, which only ignited the conflict even more. A referendum was agreed upon, and the "Join Ireland" option won by eight votes. A recount was made, with "stay with Britain" this time winning by 23 votes. This would prompt the British government to deny the Irish reunification and Stanley Baldwin, the British PM, resigned soon after the decision. Soon after, the Third Irish Uprising commenced, which would be as deadly as the first, with Irishmen united against the occupying British Army, that was supposed to "maintain order in the autonomous province". This would prove disastrous for Britain with more than 3000 dead in three months. Finally, Ulster was given back to Ireland, prompting backlash of the British public onto the government, who was once more forced to resign. The people went with Winston Churchill, who wanted action instead of what he saw as inaction by the government.
Churchill soon renewed the London Accords, bringing in both the Empires of Russia and Japan, despite their differences, to block the Alliance expansion with Persia and Poland. And it would prove to be one of the many catalysts of the World War, with increasing tensions between the two blocks. It would finally be in Nigeria that the final spark would be made. A disagreement over the Franco-British border would spark a reaction, with British and French soldiers exchanging shots. Tension builds, and soon, the World is set ablaze. The U.K soon found the upper hand, invading via the Low Countries, but would finally be pushed out after an eight-month campaign. From then on, and with the U.S intervention on the side of the Alliance, Britain would collapse under the pressure. Russia would fall first, before Operation Constellation would seal the fate of Britain. Japan would be the last to fall, three days after the British capitulation.
The British Empire was in shambles, as was Africa, but got to keep the colonies it still had control over, notably Hong Kong, Aden or several Caribbean Islands the French and Americans retroceded in good faith. However, the Alliance would not allow Britain to stay united, and established the SOZ (Scottish Occupation Zone). With vivid opposition, the Scots eventually got huge economic aid from both the newly-founded ETU and the US, and found itself in a much better position than Britain. With no desire to reunite, despite referendums in 1985 and 2006, Scotland stood independent from the U.K, and eventually joined the ETU in 2000.
Britain would come back into world affairs but remains staunchly anti-ETU, and remains close with their Commonwealth Allies, most notably Canada and New Zealand, and other ex-colonies such as India and Jordan. Today, it remains economically fragile, but remains a strong economical power, despite falling behind Germany, France and even Sweden. Its navy is still limited in size, and it is not allowed to have nuclear weapons, but the UNSC lifted the air force and ground forces restrictions in 2011.
Britain has also kept Hong Kong due to fears of Chinese involvment and expansionism, like Portugal, Japan or France, and incorporated the territory into a constituent country in 1994. It still claims ownership of Scotland, and doesn't have an embassy in Edinburgh, but rather a High Comission.
Let’s just say that although it’s a complicated matter, they don’t recognise the Scottish government as legitimate.
Ah. Nice.
Now, while I absolutely adore this TL, I have one qualm. Why are some borders in the Balkans so convergent? Keep in mind, I ain't trying to roast you, so I'll just mention areas I think are too convergent, give some suggestions, and leave it to you to decide what to do with your TL (I mean, hey, you've done a great job of running this so far, it's not my place to tell you how to do things, just gonna leave suggestions).
First of all, a question, Did Austria lose a war that caused it to break up? Were the Hungaians considered equally to blame?
Like, you do a great job of avoiding convergent borders in many places, having some things stay the same and some different. A really good balance (for example, your Indochinese states have a good balance, Moldova is very interesting , most of Europe and the middle east are very nicely done). However, then I see the Balkans and Central Asia, and i get a bit sad. The Serbo-Croatian border in Bosnia makes perfect sense, that was the border between Austria and the ottomans, and the Ottoman border with Austria and Venice before that, so its well established even by the POD, however, Romania's western border (with Serbia and Hungary), Slovakia's border with Hungary and Serbia and Croatia's borders with Hungary are exactly as they were made by the treaty of Trianon IOTL, one which came long after the POD and was considered harsh even at the time.
[edit: Hungary’s OTL borders within Austria before the dual monarchy are very similar to modern Hungary if you take out Slovakia, but not quite the same, so if that’s what you’re going for, it’s an idea]
While these borders were based on ethnic boundaries, the key word is based on, and even if it was perfect, history doesn't always lead to perfect borders, so I'd expect a bit of difference from OTL. I'm not saying wank Hungary or Serbia or Romania, I'd just advise you to consider various borders, and decide which one to use (either based on which makes the most sense for your TL or which appeals to you the most visually).
The Serbian-Macedonian border is also awfully convergent, but the Greco-Albanian border and Bulgaria add a nice bit of spice.
Here are a few potential sources of inspiration for borders: Banat, Vojvodina, this one shows Banat but you can also see how far beyond the historical region of Transylvania the Romanian-Hungarian border extends, An ethnic map of Slovakia might help (red is Hungarian majority), IDK what this is, some Nazi proposal I think, but it shows possible borders for an even smaller hungary if that's what you want, ethnic map of pre-ww1 hungary might help, not sure about the source, but somebody's claims about the territorial evolution of Croatia, some of the borders seem about right but regardless, it should be useful inspiration should you chose to change the border.
That's all I got. If these borders give you any ideas, great. If you want to change things but these don't help, try mountains and rivers.
Sorry for the nitpick, it's just that I'm getting a little tired of seeing near-identical Balkan borders in every TL. It's like Europe's South America. Your TL just happened to be the latest place where I noticed it and I happened to drop the comment.
Just to reiterate, I love your work, don't take this as an insult.
Thanks for reading my ramblings. Can't wait to see what comes next.
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Hey, thanks for the return. Most of your concerns come from the Austro-Hungarian Civil War in the late 1920s. With no WW1, there is no Trianon and A-H lives, but ethnic conflicts finally spell the doom of A-H, which completely collapses. From then it becomes kind of a free for all (think Russian Revolution), with several nations intervening to take what they can, Serbia and Romania most notably, while Germany and Poland wanted a buffer with Hungary, creating Bohemia and Moravia. The lines are not necessarily designed to follow ethnic lines, but are more comparable to OTL mostly because the big regional powers mostly swooped in and took what they could. As for Macedonia, it was a Bulgarian Protectorate until the late 90s, I hesitated for a while to give them the strip to the Northeast (part of Serbia) but went against it in the end, maybe I'll retcon it at some point...
German Battleship Bismarck
Hello, short update this time around due to a lot of work I had to get done. Hope you like it as a preise to the World War infobox coming soon !
The German Battleship Bismarck, named after chancellor Otto von Bismarck, was a German Super-Battleship, one of three constructed before the World War, along with Tirpitz and Friedrich der GroBe, both of which did not survive the war. Constructed in response to the growing presence of the Royal Navy in German waters, it was designed with a quasi-impenetrable armor, and would go on to be one of the "Three Unsinkable Killers" along with the French battleship Richelieu and the American aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, due to the number of ships they have directly and indirectly sunk, and the number of battles they participated in.
Completed a year before the start of the World War, Bismarck was transferred to Casablanca along with the rest of the Afrikaflotte based in Windhoek as well as an escort consisting of the Battleship Gneisenau, the Heavy Cruisers Prinz Eugen and Deutschland, the Light Cruisers Emden, Leipzig and Frankfurt, as well as several smaller destroyers. They would be the last ships able to leave port before the declaration of war, and the British naval blockade of Germany. While Gneisenau was assigned to the Mediterranean, Bismarck stayed with the Afrikaflotte, before being assigned to Battleship Task Force 1, assigned with raiding shipping between Canada and Britain, as well as sinking lone RN ships.
Bismarck would go on to leave a trail of destruction in its path, sinking six ships, including the carrier HMS Argus and the pride of the British fleet, HMS Hood. It was soon the prime target of every British ship in the area, and was slowly hunted down. After sinking HMS Anson off Ireland, Bismarck was intercepted along with the Cruiser Prinz Eugen by aircraft from HMS Courageous and most of Home Fleet. However, while Prinz Eugen was sunk, Bismarck held and managed to limp back to the french naval base of Brest, escorted by the battleship Strasbourg. From then on, Bismarck was out of action for a year and a half, undergoing repairs, until she saw action with the US and French fleets at Ushant. Although her role was only supportive, she managed to sink several British Light Cruisers, opening the path for Operation Constellation.
After the Battle of Ushant, Bismarck saw only limited engagement, and was finally recalled to Germany, as the first ship entering Wilhelmshaven from the Channel in four years. Bismarck underwent several refits and served as flagship of the German navies for about twenty years after the war ended, being deployed to several conflicts, notably the Crises in East Asia. She was finally decommissioned in 1971, and now serves as a museum ship at Wilhelmshaven's National Maritime Museum.
Other German Battleships deployed in the World War:
Scharnhorst-class
SMS Scharnhorst, assigned to Baltischerflotte, survived the war, saw limited action against Russia and Denmark-Norway, decom. 1955.
SMS Gneisenau, assigned to Afrikaflotte, then Task Force 24 (Med). Sunk at the Battle of Cape Bon, 1943.
SMS Wilhelm I, assigned to the Pasificherflotte, sunk during the Naval Battle of Okinawa, 1944.
Bismarck-class
SMS Bismarck, assigned to Afrikaflotte, then Battleship Task Force 1, survived the war, decom. 1971
SMS Tirpitz, assigned to Deutschesflotte, sunk 1942 in British air raid on Wilhelmshaven.
SMS Friedrich der GroBe, assigned to Deutschesflotte, sunk at the Battle of the Norwegian Sea, 1941 .
The German Battleship Bismarck, named after chancellor Otto von Bismarck, was a German Super-Battleship, one of three constructed before the World War, along with Tirpitz and Friedrich der GroBe, both of which did not survive the war. Constructed in response to the growing presence of the Royal Navy in German waters, it was designed with a quasi-impenetrable armor, and would go on to be one of the "Three Unsinkable Killers" along with the French battleship Richelieu and the American aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, due to the number of ships they have directly and indirectly sunk, and the number of battles they participated in.
Completed a year before the start of the World War, Bismarck was transferred to Casablanca along with the rest of the Afrikaflotte based in Windhoek as well as an escort consisting of the Battleship Gneisenau, the Heavy Cruisers Prinz Eugen and Deutschland, the Light Cruisers Emden, Leipzig and Frankfurt, as well as several smaller destroyers. They would be the last ships able to leave port before the declaration of war, and the British naval blockade of Germany. While Gneisenau was assigned to the Mediterranean, Bismarck stayed with the Afrikaflotte, before being assigned to Battleship Task Force 1, assigned with raiding shipping between Canada and Britain, as well as sinking lone RN ships.
Bismarck would go on to leave a trail of destruction in its path, sinking six ships, including the carrier HMS Argus and the pride of the British fleet, HMS Hood. It was soon the prime target of every British ship in the area, and was slowly hunted down. After sinking HMS Anson off Ireland, Bismarck was intercepted along with the Cruiser Prinz Eugen by aircraft from HMS Courageous and most of Home Fleet. However, while Prinz Eugen was sunk, Bismarck held and managed to limp back to the french naval base of Brest, escorted by the battleship Strasbourg. From then on, Bismarck was out of action for a year and a half, undergoing repairs, until she saw action with the US and French fleets at Ushant. Although her role was only supportive, she managed to sink several British Light Cruisers, opening the path for Operation Constellation.
After the Battle of Ushant, Bismarck saw only limited engagement, and was finally recalled to Germany, as the first ship entering Wilhelmshaven from the Channel in four years. Bismarck underwent several refits and served as flagship of the German navies for about twenty years after the war ended, being deployed to several conflicts, notably the Crises in East Asia. She was finally decommissioned in 1971, and now serves as a museum ship at Wilhelmshaven's National Maritime Museum.
Other German Battleships deployed in the World War:
Scharnhorst-class
SMS Scharnhorst, assigned to Baltischerflotte, survived the war, saw limited action against Russia and Denmark-Norway, decom. 1955.
SMS Gneisenau, assigned to Afrikaflotte, then Task Force 24 (Med). Sunk at the Battle of Cape Bon, 1943.
SMS Wilhelm I, assigned to the Pasificherflotte, sunk during the Naval Battle of Okinawa, 1944.
Bismarck-class
SMS Bismarck, assigned to Afrikaflotte, then Battleship Task Force 1, survived the war, decom. 1971
SMS Tirpitz, assigned to Deutschesflotte, sunk 1942 in British air raid on Wilhelmshaven.
SMS Friedrich der GroBe, assigned to Deutschesflotte, sunk at the Battle of the Norwegian Sea, 1941 .
World War
The World War was the final conflict of the European Crisis. Also called the Last Colonial War, this conflict was the deadliest in human history, and raged on every continent.
It found its roots after a border disagreement between France and Britain in Nigeria turned violent, with casualties on both sides. Tensions between the two colonial powers had by then reached a critical point due to their different interests during the European Crisis, and rivalry since the Napoleonic Wars. War soon followed, and just like that, the Accords and the Allies found themselves at war.
For Japan, it wouldn't change much. The Japanese had been at war with the Republic of China since 1938, and made good progress. With Russian intervention, Japan soon controlled half of the country, with the PRC making its own advances in the south of the country against the ROC, who had also been in the middle of a civil war. However, the alliance to the Netherlands would shelve plans to invade, but not their plans to invade the Philippines, which they did in mid-1941. With that, the US intervened, but did not declare war on Britain or Russia.
That would have to wait for early 1942, where the U.S had finally mobilized its full force on the Canadian border. The North American front was a formality for the U.S, who ran over Canada in six months, and contributed to the Quebecan Uprising. The quick invasion also isolated the U.K even more, who was losing steam after their European Campaign ran out of steam after the failed Siege of Verdun and the Ruhr Offensive. With the Russians also failing to take Krakow and link up with the British in Berlin, and with the fall of Piedmont to the Allies, the U.K had to be on the backfoot from then on.
Even more worrying, although the Royal Navy had protected the British Isles (except for the Channel Islands), they had been badly beaten in the Mediterranean, where French, Provencal and German troops had managed to push all the way to the Suez Canal by 1943, and isolated Malta and Gibraltar. Despite this, the two strongholds would not fall until 1945, and Britain would be permitted to keep them along with the city of Suez, which all held for two years.
In subsaharan Africa however, the situation was much more chaotic. Apart from South Africa, Djibouti and everything west of the Huntziger Line, everything else fell into chaos, with most troops being pulled back for more important duties. Thanks to harsh colonization, order quickly broke down and several countries declared independence and soon fell into civil war (one notable example being Nigeria, for which the war was fought in the first place).
In the Middle East and South-East Asia, the U.S intervention made Persia and Siam's position even clearer. France had already promised Siam territories in Cambodia in exchange for their intervention in the War, which they entered in late 1942 with the Allies. Persia would follow suit on the side of the Allies in 1943, pincering the Raj. The Indian Coalition, made of Hyderabad, Mysore, Tamil, Pakistan and Bengal would also rise up, although Pakistan would be crushed and later divided between Persia, Afghanistan and India. The Raj never fell, but did have to capitulate with the U.K.
Indeed, in Europe the situation had become dire, with the Accords being forced out of mainland Europe by mid-1943, with the fall of both Amsterdam and Copenhagen, as well as the failed Normandy Landings. In the East, Russia had been pushed back to Smolensk and Kiev, as Bulgaria forced back Greek and Romanian offensives, reclaiming Dobrudja by 1944. The U.S intervention also helped speed up the invasion of Britain, as although the Royal Navy had been beaten, it still had superiority over the British Isles, which the U.S Navy helped remove at the Battle of Ushant. Operation Constellation then began, marking the beginning of a two-year campaign in Britain. Britain didn't capitulate first though, as Moscow fell in June 1945, 5 months before the fall of Liverpool.
The last to fall was Tokyo. After a gruelling war in the Pacific, where Australia had managed to render easier by defecting to the Allies in 1942. Despite the defection, there were battles on a great number of islands, with Batavia falling only two months before Tokyo, while both Hong Kong and Singapore never fell despite Siamese intervention. Manila was reclaimed in late 1944, while the Japanese lost Okinawa and Formosa by 1945. Not wanting to put American lives at risk, the U.S put their nuclear plan into action, wiping Hiroshima and Kure off of the map and forcing the Japanese to surrender.
Two seperate treaties were needed to end the war, one in Versailles for the European powers, and one in Darwin for the Pacific and Asian fronts. Africa on the other hand never got an official treaty due to the ongoing conflicts, the only issue needing to be settled being that of Egypt. The War directly led to the collapse of both the Japanese and British Empires, although both were allowed to keep their gains in China (although Japan had to abandon Korea and transfer it to U.S hands), as the PRC had nearly overtaken the Republic by that point, triggering the First Chinese Crisis, which resulted in Chinese Isolation and the need of International powers to keep positions on Chinese soil in case the PRC started to become a little too confident.
It found its roots after a border disagreement between France and Britain in Nigeria turned violent, with casualties on both sides. Tensions between the two colonial powers had by then reached a critical point due to their different interests during the European Crisis, and rivalry since the Napoleonic Wars. War soon followed, and just like that, the Accords and the Allies found themselves at war.
For Japan, it wouldn't change much. The Japanese had been at war with the Republic of China since 1938, and made good progress. With Russian intervention, Japan soon controlled half of the country, with the PRC making its own advances in the south of the country against the ROC, who had also been in the middle of a civil war. However, the alliance to the Netherlands would shelve plans to invade, but not their plans to invade the Philippines, which they did in mid-1941. With that, the US intervened, but did not declare war on Britain or Russia.
That would have to wait for early 1942, where the U.S had finally mobilized its full force on the Canadian border. The North American front was a formality for the U.S, who ran over Canada in six months, and contributed to the Quebecan Uprising. The quick invasion also isolated the U.K even more, who was losing steam after their European Campaign ran out of steam after the failed Siege of Verdun and the Ruhr Offensive. With the Russians also failing to take Krakow and link up with the British in Berlin, and with the fall of Piedmont to the Allies, the U.K had to be on the backfoot from then on.
Even more worrying, although the Royal Navy had protected the British Isles (except for the Channel Islands), they had been badly beaten in the Mediterranean, where French, Provencal and German troops had managed to push all the way to the Suez Canal by 1943, and isolated Malta and Gibraltar. Despite this, the two strongholds would not fall until 1945, and Britain would be permitted to keep them along with the city of Suez, which all held for two years.
In subsaharan Africa however, the situation was much more chaotic. Apart from South Africa, Djibouti and everything west of the Huntziger Line, everything else fell into chaos, with most troops being pulled back for more important duties. Thanks to harsh colonization, order quickly broke down and several countries declared independence and soon fell into civil war (one notable example being Nigeria, for which the war was fought in the first place).
In the Middle East and South-East Asia, the U.S intervention made Persia and Siam's position even clearer. France had already promised Siam territories in Cambodia in exchange for their intervention in the War, which they entered in late 1942 with the Allies. Persia would follow suit on the side of the Allies in 1943, pincering the Raj. The Indian Coalition, made of Hyderabad, Mysore, Tamil, Pakistan and Bengal would also rise up, although Pakistan would be crushed and later divided between Persia, Afghanistan and India. The Raj never fell, but did have to capitulate with the U.K.
Indeed, in Europe the situation had become dire, with the Accords being forced out of mainland Europe by mid-1943, with the fall of both Amsterdam and Copenhagen, as well as the failed Normandy Landings. In the East, Russia had been pushed back to Smolensk and Kiev, as Bulgaria forced back Greek and Romanian offensives, reclaiming Dobrudja by 1944. The U.S intervention also helped speed up the invasion of Britain, as although the Royal Navy had been beaten, it still had superiority over the British Isles, which the U.S Navy helped remove at the Battle of Ushant. Operation Constellation then began, marking the beginning of a two-year campaign in Britain. Britain didn't capitulate first though, as Moscow fell in June 1945, 5 months before the fall of Liverpool.
The last to fall was Tokyo. After a gruelling war in the Pacific, where Australia had managed to render easier by defecting to the Allies in 1942. Despite the defection, there were battles on a great number of islands, with Batavia falling only two months before Tokyo, while both Hong Kong and Singapore never fell despite Siamese intervention. Manila was reclaimed in late 1944, while the Japanese lost Okinawa and Formosa by 1945. Not wanting to put American lives at risk, the U.S put their nuclear plan into action, wiping Hiroshima and Kure off of the map and forcing the Japanese to surrender.
Two seperate treaties were needed to end the war, one in Versailles for the European powers, and one in Darwin for the Pacific and Asian fronts. Africa on the other hand never got an official treaty due to the ongoing conflicts, the only issue needing to be settled being that of Egypt. The War directly led to the collapse of both the Japanese and British Empires, although both were allowed to keep their gains in China (although Japan had to abandon Korea and transfer it to U.S hands), as the PRC had nearly overtaken the Republic by that point, triggering the First Chinese Crisis, which resulted in Chinese Isolation and the need of International powers to keep positions on Chinese soil in case the PRC started to become a little too confident.
War of 1812
For this week-end, we will focus on the United States, with particular attention to the love-hate relationship between the U.S and U.K and why it tends to go towards the latter, with one old and one recent example. We will also have the 2016 US election infobox on Sunday. In the meantime, let's go back to where it all started...
The War of 1812 was fought between the United Kingdom and their Indian and Canadian allies and the United States and its Indian allies. Despite the European continent being at peace, the U.K still enforced a naval blockade around France, and needed to man its ships, impressing U.S sailors into service. The U.S on the other hand, eyed the lightly defended Canadian colonies, and with support from the War Hawks in Congress, pursued an aggressive policy towards the United Kingdom.
On June 18th 1812, the U.S declared war on the U.K and entered Canada. However, this decision would prove to be disastrious, as the U.S got repeatedly beaten in Canada, and forced back towards the border by the end of the year. By then reinforcements had come in from the U.K, who landed in Maryland, burning Washington D.C down to the ground, and pushing towards Philadelphia, which fell in the beginning of 1815. Another British contingent landed in Louisiana, led by Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington. There he met Andrew Jackson, who he severely beat at the Battle of New Orleans. According to folklore, Jackson, seeing his army being encircled, tried to disguise himself as a beggar, but was recognized by one of his slave aids who had defected to the British during Wellesley's march on Baton Rouge. "Beggar Jackson"'s reputation would be tarnished forever, and he would spend the rest of his career on far away postings on the western frontier.
By 1816, the Treaty of London was signed with France, which ended the European Blockade as well as the Continental System, bringing the decades long staredown to an end. With that, the U.K focused on the U.S, who found themselves at a loss. With the British pushing in Maine, holding to Maryland and Philadelphia, and despite Harrison's heroic stand at Vicksburg, on their way to securing the Mississippi. The U.S had some success, at the Battle of Princeton (1816), the British advance was halted, while Harrison held Vicksburg, delaying Wellington's advance hugely, and Tecumseh's Confederacy had been crushed.
Despite this, the U.S were forced to sue for peace. On June 17th, 1817, the Treaty of Liverpool was signed, with the British emerging as clear victors. Not only did the U.S have to pay hefty reparations (which included much of their navy being seized), the U.S also had to abandon any claims on the Oregon Territory, and lost Northern Maine and the Red River Basin.
The U.S would look west for its expansion, towards Spain and Mexico, while the U.K took their revenge for the American War of Independence and established a position of power on the American continent. The U.S would not forget about their loss though...
The War of 1812 was fought between the United Kingdom and their Indian and Canadian allies and the United States and its Indian allies. Despite the European continent being at peace, the U.K still enforced a naval blockade around France, and needed to man its ships, impressing U.S sailors into service. The U.S on the other hand, eyed the lightly defended Canadian colonies, and with support from the War Hawks in Congress, pursued an aggressive policy towards the United Kingdom.
On June 18th 1812, the U.S declared war on the U.K and entered Canada. However, this decision would prove to be disastrious, as the U.S got repeatedly beaten in Canada, and forced back towards the border by the end of the year. By then reinforcements had come in from the U.K, who landed in Maryland, burning Washington D.C down to the ground, and pushing towards Philadelphia, which fell in the beginning of 1815. Another British contingent landed in Louisiana, led by Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington. There he met Andrew Jackson, who he severely beat at the Battle of New Orleans. According to folklore, Jackson, seeing his army being encircled, tried to disguise himself as a beggar, but was recognized by one of his slave aids who had defected to the British during Wellesley's march on Baton Rouge. "Beggar Jackson"'s reputation would be tarnished forever, and he would spend the rest of his career on far away postings on the western frontier.
By 1816, the Treaty of London was signed with France, which ended the European Blockade as well as the Continental System, bringing the decades long staredown to an end. With that, the U.K focused on the U.S, who found themselves at a loss. With the British pushing in Maine, holding to Maryland and Philadelphia, and despite Harrison's heroic stand at Vicksburg, on their way to securing the Mississippi. The U.S had some success, at the Battle of Princeton (1816), the British advance was halted, while Harrison held Vicksburg, delaying Wellington's advance hugely, and Tecumseh's Confederacy had been crushed.
Despite this, the U.S were forced to sue for peace. On June 17th, 1817, the Treaty of Liverpool was signed, with the British emerging as clear victors. Not only did the U.S have to pay hefty reparations (which included much of their navy being seized), the U.S also had to abandon any claims on the Oregon Territory, and lost Northern Maine and the Red River Basin.
The U.S would look west for its expansion, towards Spain and Mexico, while the U.K took their revenge for the American War of Independence and established a position of power on the American continent. The U.S would not forget about their loss though...
Pan American Flight 007
Pan American Flight 007 or Pan Am Flight 7 was a scheduled civilian flight from Chennai, Tamil Lanka to New York-JFK, U.S.A, with a stopover in Copenhagen, Denmark-Norway. The flight was a red-eye during the Copenhagen to New York sector, which took them over the Dominion of Newfoundland & Labrador. When it entered Newfoundland airspace, the airliner did not respond to calls from RAF Gander ATC and was intercepted by a pair of de Havilland Phantom-7s. Despite three attempts to come into contact with the aircraft in foggy and rainy weather, the P-7s never came into contact with the plane and were ordered to shoot it down, misidentifying the aircraft as a Saint Pierre and Miquelon-launched EDF Dassault D-505 "Firefly" bomber/spy plane.
The Pan Am aircraft spiraled out of control, crashing just west of Goose Bay. The Newfoundland Army found the wreckage at daybreak on an isolated hill. As expected, none of the 235 passengers survived. They included 115 Americans, 36 Dano-Norwegians and 27 Tamil-Lankans, including ex-Tamil Minister of Agriculture and Mayor of Chennai Habibullah Baig (the rest being 14 Mysoreans, 11 Hyderabadi, 8 Indians, 6 Persians, 3 Japanese, 2 Israelis, 2 British, 2 Swedes, 2 Quebecans, 1 Mexican, 1 Korean, 1 Insulindian, 1 Hejazi, 1 Pole and 1 Cambodian). The U.K immediately admitted shooting down the aircraft, creating a wave of Anti-British sentiment in the U.S, despite the AAIB allowing NTSB investigators to take part in the investigation.
The incident was blamed on a radio problem in the cockpit which didn't allow pilots to contact Gander ATC, despite hearing the Halifax ATC clearly, as well as the inability for the British pilots to find the frequency the aircraft was using. Finally, foggy weather and a lapse in judgement by the ground command were blamed for the misidentification of the aircraft.
This incident not only soured up relations between the U.K and the U.S yet again, but also between the U.K and Denmark-Norway, who lost 36 of their citizens on that flight. This prompted the U.K to demobilize part of their interceptor squadrons in Newfoundland and revise their interception tactics during peacetime.
The Pan Am aircraft spiraled out of control, crashing just west of Goose Bay. The Newfoundland Army found the wreckage at daybreak on an isolated hill. As expected, none of the 235 passengers survived. They included 115 Americans, 36 Dano-Norwegians and 27 Tamil-Lankans, including ex-Tamil Minister of Agriculture and Mayor of Chennai Habibullah Baig (the rest being 14 Mysoreans, 11 Hyderabadi, 8 Indians, 6 Persians, 3 Japanese, 2 Israelis, 2 British, 2 Swedes, 2 Quebecans, 1 Mexican, 1 Korean, 1 Insulindian, 1 Hejazi, 1 Pole and 1 Cambodian). The U.K immediately admitted shooting down the aircraft, creating a wave of Anti-British sentiment in the U.S, despite the AAIB allowing NTSB investigators to take part in the investigation.
The incident was blamed on a radio problem in the cockpit which didn't allow pilots to contact Gander ATC, despite hearing the Halifax ATC clearly, as well as the inability for the British pilots to find the frequency the aircraft was using. Finally, foggy weather and a lapse in judgement by the ground command were blamed for the misidentification of the aircraft.
This incident not only soured up relations between the U.K and the U.S yet again, but also between the U.K and Denmark-Norway, who lost 36 of their citizens on that flight. This prompted the U.K to demobilize part of their interceptor squadrons in Newfoundland and revise their interception tactics during peacetime.
2016 United States Presidential Election
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 57th U.S election. For the first time in 12 years, it saw the Social-Liberal party lost the White House to the Liberty Party, with Rubio/Kasich's ticket defeating the Sanders/Castro one handily, while the Radical McCain/Bush ticket managed to take back 2 states from the Social-Liberals, the first time they win back states since 2004. The election was marked by a low turnout, albeit not the all-time low, and turned around both internal issues, with healtcare reforms and the debates over the nationalisation of U.S high-speed rail, as well as exterior issues with the stance of the U.S on the EDF intervention in Subasaharan Africa as well as the recent Chinese developments, including their space program and the launch of Shanghai-2, the first Chinese probe to land on the Moon.
Marco Rubio managed to win the election, winning back both California and Ohio from the Social-Liberals, a great feat, despite California only being acquired by Rubio by 0.7%. Bernie Sanders lost much of the Obama gains in 2008 and 2012, but still managed to keep most of the core Social-Liberal states around the Rust Belt and in the Maritimes. However, ineffective campaining and a weak stance on the Chinese and Japanese issues probably sunk the campaign, as well as successive corruption scandals inside the party right before the election.
Major U.S Parties:
SocL (Social-Liberal): Pro-Isolation, More interested in internal issues rather than intervention abroad, pro-social government spending (see OTL left-wing democrats, socialists, greens)
Liberty: Middle ground between SocL and Radicals, pro-intervention but also favor the development of key U.S allies and U.S intervention in areas where these allies are menaced (see OTL radical Democrats/measured Republicans)
Radical: Pro-intervention, anti-government spending (except on the Army, Navy, NSA etc), focused on U.S intervention where interests and economic/political gain are to be made (see center/right wing of the Republican party OTL)
Marco Rubio managed to win the election, winning back both California and Ohio from the Social-Liberals, a great feat, despite California only being acquired by Rubio by 0.7%. Bernie Sanders lost much of the Obama gains in 2008 and 2012, but still managed to keep most of the core Social-Liberal states around the Rust Belt and in the Maritimes. However, ineffective campaining and a weak stance on the Chinese and Japanese issues probably sunk the campaign, as well as successive corruption scandals inside the party right before the election.
SocL (Social-Liberal): Pro-Isolation, More interested in internal issues rather than intervention abroad, pro-social government spending (see OTL left-wing democrats, socialists, greens)
Liberty: Middle ground between SocL and Radicals, pro-intervention but also favor the development of key U.S allies and U.S intervention in areas where these allies are menaced (see OTL radical Democrats/measured Republicans)
Radical: Pro-intervention, anti-government spending (except on the Army, Navy, NSA etc), focused on U.S intervention where interests and economic/political gain are to be made (see center/right wing of the Republican party OTL)
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Map of the United States High Speed Rail System
Los Angeles - Las Vegas - Salt Lake City - Denver - Chicago - Columbus - Baltimore - Philadelphia - Newark - New York-Central - Boston
Chicago - Columbus - Baltimore - Philadelphia - New York
Los Angeles - Santa Barbara - Santa Maria - Monterey - San Jose - San Francisco
Chicago - Kansas City - Wichita - Denver - Salt Lake City - Las Vegas - Los Angeles
Miami - Ft.Lauderdale - Orlando - Atlanta - Charlotte - Washington DC - Philadelphia - New York-Penn
Atlanta - Knoxville - Cinncinati - Indianapolis - Chicago
Chicago - Milwaukee - Madison - Minneapolis
Atlanta - Charlotte - Washington DC - Philadelphia - New York-Penn
Atlanta - Daytona Beach - Orlando
Chicago - Columbus - Baltimore - Washington DC
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