America's Silver Era, The Story of William Jennings Bryan

[CELTICEMPIRE]

By 1931 it was clear. Frank Hanly and his administration tried and failed to fix the depression. According to conventional wisdom, this meant that Democrats should win in a landslide. But the Democrats only picked up a relatively small number of seats in the 1930 midterms. The Democratic Party was still seen as responsible for the depression by many. The Socialist Party received over a quarter of votes cast, but they had the disadvantage of being seen as too radical for a majority of Americans. Indeed, Socialists relied on Republicans and Democrats splitting the majority of the vote. It almost seemed, if this is even impossible, that all three parties were facing an uphill battle.

-Excerpt from America's Silver Age, Edward S. Scott, Patriot Publishers, 2017.

As the 72nd Congress convened, the economy still showed little sign of recovery. The Speaker of the House would be Al Smith (D-NY) and the Senate majority leader would be Joseph T. Robinson (D-AR). There were also shakeups in the presidential cabinet. Secretary of War John J. Pershing, Secretary of the Treasury Calvin Coolidge, and Secretary of Agriculture Herbert Hoover resigned their posts early into 1931. It is theorized that they all did this because they had presidential ambitions and no longer wanted association with a failing administration. Hanly filled these positions with obscure Republican politicians from reliably Republican districts. In April 1931, Vice President Thomas C. Du Pont died, and he was replaced by General Joseph Stilwell of New York.

(Vice President Joseph Stilwell)​

Hanly asked Congress for increased funding for prohibition enforcement. Congress was not excited. Hanly then pled with Congress to do something to counter the growing threat from Los Pasos and Chuy Iñiguez. Democrat Morris Sheppard agreed with the president, arguing that the federal spending was inadequate to thoroughly enforce the 21st Amendments. Then, a Republican, John J. Blaine, spoke against increased funding. On the Senate floor he claimed that he had a foolproof plan to dry up Los Pasos’ source of income. “If we had just let Americans legally make alcohol and sell it to other Americans, no one outside Juarez would have ever heard of Chuy.” The Senate rejected increased funding 52-46. Blaine proposed a repeal of the 21st Amendment in July, but it was rejected.

The Mexican government was at a crossroads. Few were particularly eager to start a war with Los Pasos, which had a sizable “army” of sorts. But it was determined that it was necessary to “do something” in order to keep the Yankees away. So the Mexican Army occupied parts of the border with America. Iñiguez was given a warning and was given time to retreat his gangsters from areas where the military was coming. This made it look like the Mexican Army had the gang on the run. At the same time, Los Pasos went on a murder spree against rival gangs in Tijuana. Los Pasos seemed unstoppable, because by this point they were at least as strong if not stronger than all the other gangs combined.

In 1930, Congress approved a referendum for the following year. Question 3 would ask Americans if they wanted to abolish the Rural Relief Bureau. The agency had become extremely corrupt in recent years. A large percentage of the population saw it as a waste of money. There was an urban/rural divide, with those who opposed the agency general living in cities. People in small towns had a bigger incentive to vote in the low turnout election, however. The vote would be close, but in the end it was rejected. It was a wakeup call for some. The age of rural America’s dominance of politics was coming to an end, but Question 3 made it clear that America’s farmers still had some fight left in them.

Shall the Rural Relief Bureau be abolished?
No: 14472999 votes (50.10%)
Yes: 14415223 (40.90%)​

Hanly was still unpopular going into the Republican National Convention at New York. John J. Blaine, Calvin Coolidge, and Robert A. Taft had all been drafted into presidential runs. Ultimately, conservatives were divided between these three candidates so Hanly was able to win. But the delegates at the convention rejected much of the president’s agenda. The 1932 GOP platform called for limited government, deregulation, emphasized civil rights, and offered only tepid support for prohibition enforcement. There was also a plank in the platform that called for a national referendum on the Gold Standard. Only ten years earlier, the Gold Standard was seen as a lost cause even by most Republicans. Still, many Republicans would refuse to vote for the nominee and instead supported various minor conservative candidates in November.

William Randolph Hearst was the first to announce his intentions to run for President. Democratic Party leaders were unsure if Hearst was still even eligible to run considering his impeachment and removal from office in 1926. The other two living former Democratic Presidents, David Walsh and Milford Howard, considered running but had ruled it out by the time of the convention at San Francisco. Former Senator and Secretary of War John J. Pershing decided to make a run on a moderately conservative platform. Senator Henrik Shipstead of Minnesota ran on a very progressive platform, but was sure to distance himself from Socialism. And finally, Charles W. Bryan ran on a moderately progressive platform. He rallied the farmers to his cause.

(Left: Charles W. Bryan, Right: Henrik Shipstead)​

The delegates at the Democratic National Convention were convinced that Bryan was the most electable candidate. He was the one who could unite both Western farmers and East city dwellers to the Democratic ticket. He was nominated on the first ballot. His running mate would be Henrik Shipstead. Bryan only campaigned slightly to Hanly’s left. He campaigned as a moderate and sometimes criticized the Hanly administration for using too much government intervention. Some conservatives actually voted for the Bryan/Shipstead ticket. The issue of prohibition was to be avoided as much as possible on the campaign trail. Bryan gave dozens of speeches during the campaign, mostly in the Midwest. Political analysts believed the race was going to be decided by razor-thin margins.

The aging Bill Haywood ran for what he claimed would be his last presidential campaign. His running mate would be Representative William Z. Foster of Florida. Haywood was viewed with suspicion by a growing faction within the Socialist Labor Party. Some SLP members thought that the party should be more like a European Social Democratic Party. They were becoming disillusioned with Socialism as seen in France and Spain. Some were morally opposed to the authoritarianism, racism, and anti-Semitism in those countries while others were more concerned with electability. These people were still a small minority within the party in 1932. Haywood, for his part, proudly supported France and Spain.

While Hanly was seen as taking an already bad situation and making it worse, Democrats still hadn’t been absolved of responsibility for the great depression yet. The depression would continue to haunt the Democratic Party years after it ended. But Bryan ran a great campaign and won by a comfortable margin due to high rural and depressed urban turnout. His victory did not have much effect on the congressional races, with Democrats experiencing a net-loss of 1 Senate seat and a net gain of only 3 House seats. 1932 is one of the earliest instances of ticket-splitting. Republicans were disappointed in the results, but not overly so. One observer commented that much of Bryan’s base was elderly. Some commented, quite insensitively, that a large portion of those who voted Democrat that year would be dead in 1936.

Charles W. Bryan (D-NE)/Henrik Shipstead (D-MN), 13,042,962 votes (37.74%), 402 Electoral Votes
Frank Hanly (R-IN)/Joseph Stilwell (R-NY), 11,400,342 votes (32.99%), 167 Electoral Votes
Bill Haywood (S-UT)/William Z. Foster (S-FL), 8,607,029 votes (24.91%), 30 Electoral Votes
Others[1], 1,505,682 votes (4.36%), 0 Electoral Votes

1: Prohibition Party and various Conservative write-ins.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

-Charles W. Bryan received the highest percentage of the vote in the state of Nevada (88.7%). His worst state was Vermont (27%).

-Frank Hanly's best state was Vermont (61%). His worst state was South Carolina (6.9%).

-Bill Haywood's best state was Oklahoma (40.5%). His worst state was South Carolina (3.9%).

-The best state for "Other" was Massachusetts (12.5%).

Northeast:


This was Hanly's strongest region. He won over 60% of the vote in Vermont. The large states of Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey were very close while Pennsylvania was won by comfortable margins. The rural areas and smaller cities largely voted Republican while the bigger cities voted Democrat or Socialist. Conservative write-in campaigns, specifically that of Calvin Coolidge.


Frank Hanly won 3,966,191 votes (36.45%).
Charles W. Bryan won 3,525,559 votes (32.40%).
Bill Haywood won 2,660,561 votes (24.45%).
Other candidates won 727,876 votes (6.69%).

Spoiler: Northeast Sub-regions

New England:


Frank Hanly won 980,858 votes (38.36%).
Charles W. Bryan won 818,967 votes (32.03%).
Bill Haywood won 517,240 votes (20.23%).
Other candidates won 239,596 votes (9.37%).


Mid-Atlantic:


Frank Hanly won 2,985,333 votes (35.87%).
Charles W Bryan won 2,706,592 votes (32.52%).
Bill Haywood won 2,143,321 votes (25.75%).
Other candidates won 488,280 votes (5.87%).

Midwest:

The Midwest was a very close region. The upper Midwest went narrowly for Hanly while the lower Midwest went narrowly for Bryan. Support for Haywood was slightly higher than his overall support nationwide. All states were close with the exceptions of Michigan, Missouri, and Iowa. There was moderate support for write-in candidates.


Charles W. Bryan won 4,493,750 votes (35.51%).
Frank Hanly won 4,488,178 votes (35.46%).
Bill Haywood won 3,177,894 votes (25.11%).
Other candidates won 495,426 votes, (3.91%).

Spoiler: Midwest Sub-regions

Upper Midwest:


Frank Hanly won 1,552,295 votes (36.53%).
Charles W. Bryan won 1,417,441 votes (33.36%).
Bill Haywood won 1,114,746 votes (26.33%).
Other candidates won 164,786 votes (3.88%).


Lower Midwest:


Charles W. Bryan won 3,076,309 votes (36.60%).
Frank Hanly won 2,935,883 votes (34.93%).
Bill Haywood won 2,063,148 votes (24.54%).
Other candidates won 330,640 votes (3.93%).

South:


Charles W. Bryan won every state in this region, as is to be expected of a Democrat. However, his performance was a little underwhelming compared to previous Democratic nominees. The Socialists came in second place in many this typically conservative region.

Charles W. Bryan won 2,114,950 votes (56.83%).
Frank Hanly won 1,000,824 votes (26,89%).
Bill Haywood won 529,728 votes (14.23%).
Other candidates won 76,194 (2.05%).

Spoiler: South Sub-regions

Upper South:

Charles W. Bryan won 1,386,476 votes (53.44%).
Frank Hanly won 803,025 votes (30.95%).
Bill Haywood won 353,029 votes (13.61%).
Other candidates won 51,890 votes (2.00%).

Deep South:

Charles W. Bryan won 728,474 votes (64.67%).
Frank Hanly won 197,799 votes (17.56%).
Bill Haywood won 176,699 votes (15.69%).
Other candidates won 24,304 votes (2.06%).

West:

The West was mostly fought between Bryan and Haywood. The exception was the West Coast and Utah where Hanly was competitive. This region was Haywood's best. He was denied many of the electoral votes in the West due to recent laws requiring the electors to vote for the popular vote winners.

Charles W. Bryan won 2,908,703 votes (39.85%).
Bill Haywood won 2,238,846 votes (30.67%).
Frank Hanly won 1,946,096 votes (26.66%).
Other candidates won 206,186 votes (2.82%).

Spoiler: West Sub-regions

Great Plains:

Charles W. Bryan won 889,889 votes (46.42%).
Frank Hanly won 528,643 votes (27.58%).
Bill Haywood won 449,124 votes (23.43%).
Other candidates won 49,300 votes (2.57%).

Mountain West:

Charles W. Bryan won 464,505 votes (40.41%).
Bill Haywood won 366,211 votes (25.23%).
Frank Hanly won 289,941 votes (25.23%).
Other candidates won 28,685 votes (2.50%).

Southwest:

Charles W. Bryan won 708,688 votes (45.46%).
Bill Haywood won 505,824 votes (32.45%).
Frank Hanly won 308,062 votes (19.76%).
Other candidates won 36,242 votes (2.32%).

West Coast:

Bill Haywood won 917,687 votes (34.31%).
Charles W. Bryan won 845,621 votes (31.62%).
Frank Hanly won 819,450 votes (30.66%).
Other candidates won 91,959 votes (3.41%).

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

The United Kingdom was on the losing side of the Great War. Compared to France and Russia, however, Britain was doing well. Britain lost Gibraltar, a few of its smaller colonies in Africa and the Middle East, and some of its ownership of the Suez and Panama Canals. But most of Britain’s power was retained. Britain’s influence in world affairs, though significantly weakened, remained strong. Britain was still able to effectively project its power across the world. Britain’s massive empire was still the envy of lesser powers. Across the vast British Empire, the seeds of discontent had already been sown. The people of the colonies were beginning to oppose British rule.

-Excerpt from The Sun Never Sets, Jack Lucas, Oxford, 2000.

The British public was predictably upset by the defeat in the Great War. The people’s response was to vote out the Liberal Party and vote in the Conservative Party. There was also a growth in the popularity of the British Communist Party, though they only elected a small number of MPs. The British Communist Party took away a lot of support from the Labour Party, further weakening the left in the United Kingdom. Ireland was no longer part of the United Kingdom, though it was a Commonwealth realm. Ireland’s government quickly became dominated by left-wing anti-British politicians and eventually complete independence was declared. Ireland pursued close ties with France until the early 1930s.

Canada was certainly affected by the loss of the war. Many Canadians felt that thousands of their fellow countrymen had died for nothing. Canadians threw out their liberal government for a Conservative one during the war instead of after. Wilfrid Laurier had Prime Minister for two decades, from 1896 to 1916. In 1899 the Silver Party of Canada was formed, based off of the American Populist movement and inspired by US President William Jennings Bryan. Only a small number of Liberal Party members defected (there was a significant pro-Silver minority within the Liberal Party, however). After 1915, the Silver Party began to see an increase in popularity due to their opposition to the war. In 1916 Silverites, led by Thomas Crerar, took enough support from Liberals to put the Conservative Party in power.

(Wilfrid Laurier)​

In 1920 the Silver Party won over one-fourth of seats in the Canadian Parliament. They partnered with the Liberal Party and the Socialist Party to form a narrow majority. The Silver Party demanded a referendum on the establishment of a Silver Standard. In 1922 their wish was granted. Canada gave Free Silver a resounding “no” with 54.4% opposed. Ontario and Quebec both voted no by over 60%. In 1923 a new election was held and the Silverites lost almost half of their seats. The Conservative Party dominated Canadian politics for the rest of the decade. Canada saw economic growth until 1927, when it was affected by the Great Depression as was most of the rest of the world.

Australia and New Zealand saw many of its young men killed in a war that was fought far away from home. The years following the war saw an uptick in national identity in both British dominions. An anti-Monarchist movement arose in both countries but especially Australia, with Irish-Australians being its base of support. Some began to argue that Australia look towards America rather than Britain for the future. In 1928 about a dozen leftists shot police officers in Sidney, hoping to incite a revolution. The majority of them had recently been to France. This led to worry that France was supporting revolution not only in Latin America but in the British Empire as well. It was eventually discovered that there was no connection between these revolutionaries and the French government.

While Australia wasn’t on the list of places where France was causing trouble, another British possession was. The Indian Student Socialist Alliance was founded in 1925 and advocated for complete independence from Britain. The organization was thoroughly secular and was often as antagonistic against Hindu or Muslim nationalists as they were to the British. A 1932 raid on the organization’s headquarters proved that the French were behind the movement. Fortunately for Britain, opposition to colonial rule was divided. A 1929 rebellion in Bengal was put down without great difficulty. Many of the soldiers who helped put down the revolt were Indians serving in the British Army.

In the 1920s most Indians were sympathetic to at least one of the many pro-independence groups. But at the same time they had little hope of defeating Britain militarily. Small-scale uprisings took place after news reached the subcontinent of Britain’s defeat in the war. But these were relatively insignificant. Less than 1000 British soldiers were killed suppressing local revolts from 1918 to 1920. What concerned Britain was the possibility of China supporting anti-British revolution sometime in the future. Many Indians were inspired by the fall of French Indochina, and hoped that something similar might happen one day in India.

After the end of the war, Britain was still facing an Islamic rebellion in Sudan led by Osman Digna. The peace treaty ended any hopes on the part of the Sudanese rebels that the Ottoman Empire would give them any aid. Digna was killed in battle with the British in December 1918 at El Fasher. His rebellion quickly disintegrated. Elsewhere, Africa was at peace. In South Africa there was strong anti-Boer sentiment as the Boer Republics took land from both Britain and South Africa. Some Africans became nationalists during the 20s, especially those few who had the opportunity to study in Europe. The general consensus among the nationalists from Nigeria to Rhodesia was to support peaceful and gradual decolonization. African decolonization would become a fashionable cause in the United States, Russia, and China during the 1930s.

Britain’s economy was building itself back to pre-war levels and beyond in the decade following the war. This all ended when Britain was hit by the Great Depression in 1927. British voters responded by voting out the Conservative government. There was also widespread discontentment with the Conservative Party’s establishment of closer ties with Germany and its hostility towards France. A Labour-Liberal coalition led by Ramsay MacDonald ruled Britain for the next few years. From 1928 to 1934, British military spending was only a fraction of what it had been in the past. While military spending was down, a series of social programs were enacted in 1929. The government provided employment and enacted some price controls. Conservatives saw these new programs and thought they were eerily similar to what was going on in France. Others opposed MacDonald’s reforms because they required massive tax hikes.

(Ramsay MacDonald)​

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Though the 19th century saw the rise of nationalism, some multi-ethnic empires remained. The Russian Tsar, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor, and the Ottoman Sultan all continued to reign over populations divided by language, ethnicity, and religion. By 1920 things had changed in Russia; the Tsar increasingly became a figurehead while the Finns, Lithuanians, Poles, and Ukrainians were no longer part of the empire. But Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire expanded their domains. Both empires were increasingly seen as anachronistic in the 20th century. Both empires suffered from internal unrest and separatism which sometimes took a violent and revolutionary form. While both empires faced similar challenges, their paths diverged when it came to how they dealt with the challenges they faced.

-Excerpt from Nationalism in the 20th Century, Samil Gunay, Harvard, 2009.

The Ottoman Empire gained territory at the expense of Britain, Russia, Serbia, and Greece. It also gained partial ownership of the Suez Canal. A new era of Ottoman glory was proclaimed and many believed that the days of decline were over. But before peace was signed, Sultan Abdul Hamid II died at the age of 75 in November of 1917. He was succeeded by Şehzade Mehmed Selim. His death made little difference as the son governed like the father. Şehzade was an authoritarian opponent of both democracy and nationalism. The first nationalities to cause trouble for the new sultan were the Armenians and Georgians, who both rebelled against the empire in 1919. The Ottoman response was swift and brutal. Hundreds of thousands were estimated to have been killed in only a few months.

(Şehzade Mehmed Selim)​

The Ottoman Empire experienced an economic boom during the 1920s as even more sources of oil were discovered within her southern lands. Much of this new wealth went to German oil companies, however. Nevertheless, the standard of living for Turks in the Empire increased. But as the 20s went on, the government had to spend an increasing portion of its budget on the military. Opposition to Ottoman rule was apparent everywhere. Try as it might, the Ottomans could not stop the tide of nationalism that was sweeping through its empire. Hussein bin Ali (Emir of Mecca) was viewed with suspicion for his lack of cooperation with Şehzade’s father. During the Great War, Hussein had privately hoped for an Ottoman defeat so the empire’s authority could be weakened. When Hussein caught wind of a plot hatched in Constantinople to remove him from power, he decided that he wasn’t going down without a fight. In 1923 the Great Arab Revolt began.

(Hussein bin Ali)​

By 1924 the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, and Tabuk had broken free of Ottoman control. On March 31, Ottoman forces tried and failed to retake Tabuk. After the Arab victory at Tabuk, Britain and Italy both recognized Hussein’s Kingdom of Hejaz. The Arab rebels advanced north but were stopped in Palestine. Meanwhile, Bulgaria stopped paying the tribute to the Ottoman Empire mandated by the 1918 peace treaty. Bulgaria also began building up its army beyond the 50,000 allowed by the treaty. Ottoman armies invaded the Kingdom of Bulgaria on August 2. One army marched along the coast of the Black Sea while the other advanced towards Sofia. The first army ran into some trouble along the way but wasn’t badly battered. The second encountered fierce resistance at Plovdiv. The city fell in December but the defenders inflicted high casualties. The Ottomans offensive halted there. They would need reinforcements before attacking again.

Those reinforcements wouldn’t be coming. In 1925 violence broke out once again in the Caucasus. Arabs in Mesopotamia began to rebel as well. The Hejaz rebels were now being supplied by Britain. Russians were travelling to Bulgaria to volunteer in the army. Josef Stalin, writing from prison, urged young Russian men to fight for the freedom of their Slavic brothers. The Ottomans would stay on the defensive. 1925 was a stalemate on all fronts. The Bulgarians built up their forces that year and in 1926 went on the attack. Bulgarian troops recaptured Plovdiv in April. The Ottomans were now losing on that front but they could not spare soldiers from Mesopotamia and the Levant. The Ottoman strategy had relied on a swift occupation before Bulgaria could train a large army. This had failed and now the Ottomans were now greatly outnumbered. Bulgaria was slowly being liberated.

By 1927 the Ottomans had largely pacified Mesopotamia. But now they had to defend against a renewed Hejaz offensive in Palestine. On January 4, Jerusalem fell. The Ottomans transferred troops from Mesopotamia to Palestine and placed the city back under siege. In May the Ottomans recaptured the city, but not before taking over 200,000 casualties. In September the last Ottoman forces in Bulgaria surrendered and the Bulgarian Army invaded Ottoman territory. There was a fear that the Bulgarians might capture Constantinople. For the next few months the two sides fought a series of mostly inconclusive battles. Bulgaria was able to capture some border towns and in 1928 signed a peace treaty with the Ottomans. Bulgaria was now completely independent of Ottoman rule and annexed a small amount of Ottoman Territory.

The war in the Middle East was largely inconclusive until 1931. In that year Italy declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was no match for the Italian forces. Libya, Albania, and several Islands including Cyprus fell within six months. The Ottoman Navy, which was already weak, was decimated. This was the impetus for Italian ejection from the Alliance of Nations the following year. The Hejaz rebels took Jerusalem again in July 1931 and continued advancing through the Levant. Arab soldiers in the Ottoman Army were defecting to Hejaz. The Ottoman Empire was in freefall. By 1932 most of Syria had fallen to the Arab rebels. Greece then declared war and rapidly advanced through the remaining Ottoman territory in Europe.

(Italian infantry)​

On May 29, 1932, 479 years after the Ottoman conquest to the day, Constantinople fell to Greek and Italian troops. A few days later, the Ottoman Empire surrendered to Italy and Greece. The Kurds were in revolt. The Armenians, Georgians, and Azerbaijani had kicked out the Turks. The Arab lands were slipping out of the sultan’s hands. 100,000 Ottoman soldiers made a brave last stand in Baghdad. But on November 1, the city fell to Arab rebels and the remaining Ottomans in Mesopotamia surrendered. The Ottoman Sultan now only ruled over lands with a Turkish majority, and not even all of those. The Ottoman Empire went from being a third-rate power to being irrelevant on the world stage within a decade.

After the Great War ended, Austria-Hungary began to allow for greater regional autonomy. Emperor Franz Ferdinand saw the precarious position his empire was in and determined to do something about it. Thus the government was able to reduce internal ethnic tension. This allowed for the empire to survive the 20s and 30s. Of course, this time was not without its hardships. Separatists were still active and they were not always peaceful. But what happened to the Ottoman Empire did not happen to Austria-Hungary. In fact, Austria-Hungary face more threats from foreign powers than from within during this time. Austria-Hungary would continue to play an important role in global politics, at least for the foreseeable future.

Austria-Hungary continued to have friendly relations with its ally Germany. Closer relations were also established with the Ottoman Empire. But Austria-Hungary was never able to get along well with one of its Great War allies. The Italians were not held in particularly high esteem during the war. Italy was supposed to have joined the war against the Entente, but instead elected to remain neutral until the moment it was obvious that the Alliance was going to win. Had Italy joined the war during the early phase France would probably have capitulated much sooner. Though Franz Ferdinand and Kaiser Wilhelm publicly praised the Italian soldiers for their role in the war, but in both of their countries Italy was seen as opportunistic. Italy also coveted Italian-majority lands in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

When Italy began to carve up the Ottoman Empire with Greece, Austria-Hungary led a campaign to expel the two nations from the Alliance of Nations. With Germany’s help, they were successful. This led to a growing perception that the AON was a German and Austrian-dominated organization. In Britain, where many were already skeptical of cooperation with Germany, there was increased pressure to leave the Alliance of Nations. And in 1932 Ramsay MacDonald was on board and the United Kingdom was out. Austria-Hungary went further and tried to get other nations to place trade embargoes on Italy. The reasoning behind this was not just Italian aggression against the Ottomans, but Italy’s alleged support for separatists inside the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Tensions were rising.

On March 3, 1933, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary. Italy struck at this time because there was some instability within the empire, with riots in Budapest and other cities. Italian forces quickly overran the outnumbered defenders on the border. Italy called upon Ferdinand to give up the Italian-speaking regions of the empire in exchange for peace. The emperor refused and instead asked Germany to help its ally. Germany declared war on the 9th and the tide soon turned. German and Austro-Hungarian troops pushed back the Italians and captured Venice in July. In August, a status-quo antebellum peace was signed where Italy simply agreed to pay reparations. Another nation was ready to take advantage of Italian weakness, however.

France had lost territory to Italy with the peace treaty of 1918. Not just colonies, but towns on the border as well as Corsica. And many in France were eager for a chance to get these territories back. On September 1, France declared war and attacked from three points. One army invaded Northern Italy. Another Army invaded Tunis. And French marines invaded Corsica. Italy lost every major battle in the war. On November 30, the French captured Genoa. In February 1934 France was on the attack once more. As French troops closed in on Bologna, the Italian government called for a ceasefire. France accepted and a peace was signed. Italy gave away all land taken during the Great War along with Libya and Cyprus.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

The Guangxu Emperor was widely popular during most his reign, especially after the victory over France in the Indochina War. Then, on February 28, 1930, he died at the age of 58. His death was followed by a period of great morning by all Chinese. He was succeeded by his 26 year old son Zhao Zheng. During his 55 year reign, the Guangxu Emperor had won a civil war, instituted major reforms, and even helped establish Democracy in China. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was to defeat a European power (France) in a war. The Guangxu Emperor and his great achievements will never be forgotten.

-Excerpt from Guangxu, Jiang Jieshi, Beijing Books, 1933.

Zhao Zheng had served in the Chinese Army as a general, a position he obtained solely by being the son of the emperor. His record in the war was mediocre. People like Song Jiaoren, leader of the People’s Party since the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1929, saw opportunity in the midst of tragedy. He, and many others, hoped that the power of the monarchy would be weakened with the arrival of a less popular emperor. But Zhao Zheng was extremely resistant to any attempts to reduce his power. He clashed with congress many times when he tried to appoint unqualified friends and family to important positions within the government and military. This, combined with a famine that hit parts of China in 1930, greatly hurt his popularity.

(Song Jiaoren)​

Peasant revolts broke out in multiple provinces, but these were more of nuisances than legitimate threats to the Qing Dynasty. There was, however, concern about Communist infiltration of peasant rebels (though this is unsubstantiated). A much larger threat would come from a rebellious Qing general. In December 1930 Zhu De led a rebellion against the central government in Sichuan and attracted the support of some of the rebellious peasants. Zhu De’s forces began to gain ground. Emperor Zhao Zheng and Prime Minister Song Jiaoren requested Japanese aid in putting down the rebellion. Japan sent over 50,000 soldiers to China. Many in China didn’t want Japanese troops in their country, however.

(Zhu De)​

There were still many Japanese troops stationed in Dai Nam. Some of these soldiers, on their way to Sichuan, encountered a Zhu-affiliated peasant army in Guangxi. The peasants were easily routed. After the battle, the Japanese soldiers killed hundreds of civilians suspected of opposing the government. This led to an outpouring of anti-Japanese sentiment. There were riots in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong. Some Japanese businessmen were killed in Shanghai in March 1931. Zhao Zheng immediately condemned the murders and the anti-Japanese sentiment in general. But it seemed like the emperor was alone. The Gold Party and the Reform Party were solidly anti-Japan. The Qing Party was mostly anti-Japan. Anti-Japanese People’s Party members like Yip Man and Mao Zedong were gaining support. Even Song Jiaoren began to distance himself from his earlier pro-Japanese positions.

Meanwhile, the Qing Army was losing ground to rebel forces. In 1932, over a year after the riots, Zhao Zheng requested additional Japanese troops. Song Jiaoren announced that he would resist the emperor on this. Then, on April 7, protests erupted in Beijing. People called Zhao Zheng a Japanese puppet and demanded his abdication. The protests became increasingly violent and the emperor escaped with his family on the 10th. They fled from the capital to Tianjin where they were under Japanese protection. Song Jiaoren acted as the head of state in the emperor’s absence and China became an empire without an emperor. Some tried to take advantage of this by getting Congress to officially abolish the monarchy. But it was rejected. Elections were held in June, and Prime Minister Song Jiaoren’s People’s Party was defeated by Admiral Sa Zhenbing. Sa was hated by the Japanese, who were plotting to restore Zhao Zheng to the throne.

The Japanese gathered together pro-Imperial forces in Manchuria and Mongolia. Mongols, Uighurs, Tibetans, and others supported Zhao Zheng as the emperor opposed Han nationalism and supported their autonomy within China. These people formed the 黑龙军 [1] (Black Dragon Army). The Black Dragon Army would be assisted by the Imperial Japanese Army as they sought to retake Beijing. Sa Zhenbing then surprised everyone when he had Zhao Zheng’s younger brother, Mergen, crowned emperor in July. Mergen was much more popular than his brother, however, and most of China accepted him. In August, pro-Zhao Zheng forces crossed into Hebei and threatened Beijing. On September 2 they placed the capital under siege.

(Fighting in Beijing)​

Sa Zhenbing wanted the government to relocate to Shanghai, but Mergen refused. The 20 year old new emperor rallied the people of Beijing to defend the city to the end if necessary. Japanese artillery bombarded the surrounded city. But then, on November 9, Chinese soldiers from the South broke through the encirclement. The besieging forces would be pushed back over the next few months. Japan began aerial bombardment of Chinese cities, using both airplanes and zeppelins. Japan also landed troops near Shanghai. In February 1933, Russia declared war on Japan, determining to gain back the lands it lost in the Great War. The Japanese attack on Shanghai failed. The Black Dragon Army was pushed back into Manchuria.

Chinese forces went on the offensive against Zhu De in Sichuan and Guangxi. The Qing Imperial Army won a victory at Nanning on October 1. The Southern front was beginning to stabilize. Russia was winning against Japan. On the 10th Russian troops captured Vladivostok. Russia largely ignored the fighting in China but there were clashed between the Black Dragon Army and the Imperial Russian Army in Mongolia. The war was turning out poorly for Japan. A ceasefire was agreed to in December 1933 and the two sides met in San Francisco in April 1934 to discuss the terms of peace. Japan would give back all the land it took from Russia in the Great War back with the exception of the Sakhalin Islands. Zhao Zheng would rule over Manchuria while Mergen would rule over the rest of China.

But China was not really at peace. Zhu De’s armies would continue to be a problem. Right after the Treaty of San Francisco was signed, the Guizhou Pacification Campaign began. Over 100,000 Qing soldiers would die during the next 6 months but Zhu De lost just as many troops. It was all downhill for the warlord after that. In 1935 the government reestablished control of Chongqing. Chengdu fell in 1936. All of Sichuan was under Mergen’s control by the end of that year. In 1937 Zhu De took a plane and fled to Xinjiang, which had gained its independence the previous year. Mongolia had revolted and became independent in 1935. For the rest of the ‘30s, Mergen would attempt to bring Mongolia and Xinjiang back under his rule, all of which failed. By 1940 he finally accepted that they were lost.

1: Heilongjun

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Charles Wayland Bryan was inaugurated on March 4, 1933. He was elected in what some called a wave of nostalgia. People felt that things were better during his brother’s presidency, the economy certainly was. Bryan’s goals were to stand up for the interests of rural America, pursue a non-interventionist foreign policy, and bring an end to the hard economic times. This was easier said than done. Though Democrats technically controlled both houses of Congress, they had a majority in neither. It was going to be a struggle to get his agenda passed. The biggest challenge facing the Bryan Administration, by far, was the Great Depression, which had already taken the presidencies of both Milford Howard and Frank Hanly as victims.

-Excerpt from The Guide to the Executive Mansion, an in Depth Look at America's Presidents by Benjamin Buckley, Harvard Press, 1999.

(Charles Wayland Bryan)​

Most of William Jennings Bryan’s old cabinet was either dead or not on very good terms with the new President (like Milford Howard). His Secretary of State would be Senator Cordell Hull of Tennessee. Edwin T. Meredith was one of the members of William’s second cabinet and got his old job of Secretary of the Treasury back. John Pershing was brought back once again for Secretary of War. His Attorney General would be former House Speaker Oscar Underwood of Alabama. For Postmaster General, Carter Harrison of Illinois from William’s second cabinet was brought back. His Secretary of the Navy would be Claire Chennault of Louisiana. Former Ohio Governor James Cox was selected for Secretary of the Interior. His Secretary of Agriculture was Harry Truman of Missouri. His Secretary of Public Welfare was Representative Henry Steagall of Alabama.

The 73rd Congress was had a Democratic plurality in both chambers. The Senate had 43 Democrats, 40 Republicans, and 15 Socialists. The House of Representatives had 231 Democrats, 80 Socialists, and 180 Republicans. Congress would be very busy in 1933. Several amendments were being proposed. The first was abolition of the Electoral College. Popularized by the late Senator Robert La Follette, abolition of the Electoral College had been slowly gaining steam since his failed presidential run in 1904. Support rapidly increased after 1928 and many states were passing laws requiring their electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote. The second was another thing popularized by La Follette, runoff elections. The third was an amendment to reduce the length of lame duck administrations by moving the presidential inauguration from March to January. The fourth was an amendment to ban poll taxes.

Abolition of the Electoral College would have to wait until the results of a referendum scheduled for 1934 to gauge public support. The same was true for the presidential runoff. Congress decided to pass the lame duck amendment without bothering with a referendum. And abolition of poll taxes was blocked by Southern Senators. Voters in the midterm election would also get to vote on a referendum on whether or not to repeal the 1929 tariffs signed by Hanly. Western Democrats filibustered and blocked an attempt to put a referendum on reestablishing the Gold Standard on the ballot. Supporters of the Gold Standard were convinced that public opinion was on their side. Republicans and Eastern Democrats were now determined to kill the filibuster at the next opportunity.

-Excerpt from America's Silver Age, Edward S. Scott, Patriot Publishers, 2017.

In September 1933 Congress did two things to severely weaken prohibition. First, beer was legalized. Second, funding for prohibition enforcement was cut by over 50%. It would be almost entirely up to the states to enforce prohibition now. Another policy issue was civil rights. The Democrats controlled Congress and thus any civil rights legislation would be hard to pass. But some were hopeful that the new President would be different, considering his brother’s support in the passage of the Lodge-Wheeler Bill. Though some Democrats were still angry over that bill, the mainstream Democratic position was that it was a good thing. And because of the Lodge-Wheeler Bill, no further civil rights legislation was needed. That was the position espoused in the 1924, 1928, and 1932 Democratic platforms.

In 1934 Bryan helped make peace in Asia by mediating between the warring parties in San Francisco. Both Zhao Zheng and Mergen respected Charles W. Bryan because their father was friends with William. Charles told the warring brothers that their father would be deeply disappointed in them for fighting each other. Their sister, who was between them in age, was also present and begged them to end the war. The peace deals were a success and the two brothers remained at peace until Zhao Zheng’s death in 1977. Qing Emperor Mergen and Russian Prime Minister Alexander Protopopov joined Bryan later that year to declare their support for decolonization of Asia.

(Alexander Protopopov)​

Decolonization was becoming a very fashionable cause in the United States. The American Decolonization Society was formed in 1930. Its members wanted the US government to support the independence of the colonies of the various imperial powers. For domestic policy, the group called for independence or statehood for Hawaii. The group was supported by many in the (at the time quite small) black middle class. The organization supported Charles W. Bryan’s declaration of support for Asian decolonization in 1934 and African decolonization in 1935. America would support the peaceful and gradual decolonization of Africa and Asia and the establishment of governments that respect freedom of their citizens. Britain, France, and Germany were all unhappy, but not overly so as there was little America could do at the time.

Democrats lost seats in both Houses in 1934. The Socialist Party lost seats in the West but gained seats in the East. The House and Senate now had Republican pluralities. The Senate would be led by Frederick Hale of Maine and had 42 Republicans, 41 Democrats, and 13 Socialists. The House would be led by Speaker Charles Dawes and had 211 Republicans, 202 Democrats, and 87 Socialists. Question 4, abolition of the Electoral College, won in a landslide, gaining over 60% support required for it to be binding. Question 5 (presidential runoff elections) and Question 6 (repeal of the 1930 tariffs) passed but were not binding.

Shall the Constitution be amended as to abolish the Electoral College?
Yes: 20,018,175 votes (62.36%)
No: 12,082,811 (37.64%)​

The new Republican Senate killed the filibuster. Senate Majority Leader Frederick Hale announced that the filibuster was temporarily dead. Their motivation was to allow a vote on the Gold Standard to go through. A referendum was set for 1936. Another referendum was to be held that year, repeal of prohibition. Many felt that after a decade of failure, it was time to repeal the 21st Amendment. It was expected to easily gain a majority, but it the vote was below 60% supporters of prohibition could fight a repeal amendment in the state legislatures. The Gold Standard referendum would make sure that Republican turnout was high for the presidential election.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Shall the Constitution be amended as to allow for a runoff election between the two presidential candidates with the most votes in the case that no candidate receives a majority of votes cast?
Yes: 17,388,357 votes (54.49%)
No: 14,522,740 votes (45.51%)

Shall the 1929 Tariff Act be repealed?
Yes: 19,278,024 votes (59.60%)
No: 13,067,654 votes (40.40%)​

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

It is easy to forget the reasons why the average Frenchman in the 1930s hated Germany. Today the two nations generally have good relations. France had suffered two humiliating defeats against Germany, the first in the Franco-Prussian War and the second in the Great War. In the years following the latter, there was no shortage of anti-German propaganda in France, especially in film. Germany was portrayed as a nation devoid of any common decency, and German soldiers would have been compared to demons, had France not become an officially atheist state. Tensions between the two nations would eventually come to a head in the small country of Belgium.

-Excerpt from A History of anti-German Sentiment, Sigmund Althaus, Vienna Publishing House, 2009.

The French government funded organizations around the world to undermine various governments. One such group was the Belgian Freedom Movement, which sought to overthrow the Belgian monarchy and remove German troops from Belgium. During the late ‘20s and early ‘30s, the group launched dozens of terrorist attacks on Belgian government officials and German citizens in the country. French involvement was widely suspected, and it was confirmed without any doubt in 1932 when French statesman Louis Barthas defected to Brazil while ostensibly on a diplomatic mission. Barthas, himself a socialist, spoke on the increasing authoritarianism in France and eventually settled in New Orleans. International opinion, which was already turning against France, was now doing so more quickly.

(Louis Barthas during the Great War)​

German leadership was increasingly convinced that France must be taught a lesson. The new German Chancellor, Wilhelm Groener, believed that this lesson must be taught by the German Army. In 1935, he spoke before the Reichstag condemning France as the “greatest threat to world peace at the present time.” In January 1936, there was a massive wave of terror attacks against Germans in not only Belgium, but also in Poland, Lithuania, and Finland. On February 10, the Reichstag voted to declare war on France. The next day, Austria-Hungary, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, and Lithuania declared war on France while Spain declared war on Germany. On the 12th the Kingdom of Spain officially entered the war. Argentina declared war on Germany on the 18th. Russia mobilized its troops, but ultimately decided to not join the war. The possibility of Russian involvement did force Germany to keep a significant number of soldiers in Poland and Lithuania that could have been used against France, however.

(Wilhelm Groener)​

Kaiser Wilhelm, Chancellor Groener, the German military, and the German people were confident that the war would be a swift German victory. Even though France was rapidly catching up, Germany still had the largest army in Europe. France only had a slight advantage when it came to the war on water. But this didn’t tell the whole story. French troops were equipped with more modern weapons and were more prepared for war. On March 3, German and other allied troops attacked the weaker points in the French defenses on the border with Belgium. On the 17th, after taking high losses, the Germans and their allies broke through. The fighting was now mobile. The strategy now would be to rush towards Paris. On the 22nd, German, Austrian, Hungarian, and Polish cavalry were massacred by French infantry. After this battle, cavalry was rarely used again in European warfare.

The incident involving horsemen mowed down by machine guns has been overplayed in years following the war. But it does align with the reality that the French Army was technologically superior to the German Army, which had hardly updated its weapons since the end of the Great War. The Germans were gaining ground, but their casualties were much higher than that of the French. Then, in April, over 300,000 German troops were cut off and surrounded in Northern France. The German advance was stopped and France began to push back. In April and May, French and Spanish troops removed all enemy forces from France and advanced into Belgium. They claimed to be liberators and many Belgian soldiers defected.

(Germany underestimated the French soldier)​

The war in the skies was going particularly poorly for Germany. France had spent more money on aircraft before the war and it showed. Germany’s large Zeppelin fleet became easy targets for the more modern French planes. By June France was bombing German industrial areas. On June 1, French and Spanish forces laid siege to Brussels. To the South, French troops launched an offensive into Alsace-Lorraine, a place most people in France believed to be rightfully part of their own country. The French advance was slow and the fighting was costly for both sides. The Belgian government fled Brussels and went into exile in Hamburg on the 15th and the city fell on the 18th. By mid-July Liege had fallen and Germany only controlled the Eastern edge of the country. In August Germany launched a counterattack, pushing into Southeastern Belgium. On August 4, Bastogne was captured and Arlon was taken on the 8th.

(German Zeppelins were much less effective in this war)​

French air superiority meant that the German offensive was vulnerable from the very beginning. Yet the Germans continued. A second force comprised mainly of the remnants of the Belgian Army attempted to retake Liege. The original offensive forces were soon aware that they could not advance much further and begun to dig in, convinced that a Great War-style defensive strategy was needed. But things had changed over the last two decades. Improved motor-guns and bomber planes meant that the defender didn’t have nearly the same advantage as in the past. As the German soldiers were settling into their trenches, they were mercilessly attacked from the air. On the 22nd, French ground troops attacked and overran German positions. The Germans were pushed out of Belgium back into Germany on September 5. That same day, French planes conducted a bombing raid on Berlin, demoralizing the city’s inhabitants.

While Spain sent part of its army to help France, it was mainly focused on destroying the old Spanish government. Spanish and French ships attacked the Royal Spanish Navy in the Canary Islands. The Imperial German Navy sent ships to help the Kingdom of Spain. On July 3, 2 German cruisers and other smaller vessels were sent to the bottom of the sea at the battle of La Gomera. During the next few months, most of the Canary Islands would fall to French and Spanish marines. The French Navy also fought with the Kingdom of Spain in the Caribbean. Argentina was to provide soldiers for an invasion of Puerto Rico to end the Spanish Monarchy once and for all. The French Navy effectively cut Germany off from her colonies in Africa, but was unable to fully blockade the Germany proper the same way Britain was able to do 20 years earlier. French and German Navies were both weak in the Pacific and thus neither side gained a clear advantage in that theater of the war.

Germany was bearing almost all of the costs of the war. Its allies were not providing as much support as was anticipated. Poland and Lithuania had declared war on France but the people in both countries had no desire to fight. Germany also needed to station troops there in case Russia decided to attack. Denmark was helping in every way it could, but its small size meant that it would only play a minor role in the war. Austria-Hungary was the biggest disappointment for Germany. Early on in the war, Franz Ferdinand made sure that there would be no conscription. He feared that conscription would only provide an opportunity for unrest within his empire he was working so hard to preserve. He didn’t even request the help of his puppet states, Serbia and Ukraine. Austria-Hungary kept a large portion of its army at home to prevent insurrection and also stationed troops in Ukraine to counter Slavic nationalist revolutionaries. Austria-Hungary would only send a token force to help Germany during the early phases of the war.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Charles W. Bryan was, by 1935, in a not-so-enviable position. Republicans controlled Congress once again and they had also killed the filibuster, something that would have long-lasting ramifications. The economy was finally showing signs of growth, but it was not doing so quickly enough. Democrats were seen as responsible for the Great Depression and even though the party was given a second chance with the election of Bryan, it looked like the party wasn’t doing enough to prove their naysayers wrong. President Bryan was aware that he was not going to accomplish much during the remainder of his term. He was simply determined to do what was right when he had the chance, and hope that America would give him four more years next November.

-Excerpt from The Guide to the Executive Mansion, an in Depth Look at America's Presidents by Benjamin Buckley, Harvard Press, 1999.

In addition to Bryan’s own campaign for reelection, America would vote on two other things in 1936. One was the repeal of prohibition and the other was the reinstatement of the Gold Standard. Bryan opposed both proposals but decided to focus his energy against the Gold Standard. Many Americans had become convinced that the Gold Standard would help their economic situation; this was especially true in urban areas. Opposition to free silver never truly died out, pro-Gold politicians, media magnates, and regular citizens had simply become convinced that it wasn’t worth fighting by the 1910s. The rise of the conservative movement in the ‘20s reopened the debate within the Republican Party, but it was the stock market crash in 1927 that made the Gold Standard mainstream once more. Now, even many Democrats were turning against silver.

-Excerpt from America's Silver Age, Edward S. Scott, Patriot Publishers, 2017.

Bryan let in thousands of refugees from France (and to a lesser extent, Spain) during his time in office. Most were sent to Louisiana because of the state’s French heritage while the nearby states received some French refugees as well. Many of the refugees were Jewish and some of them went to Alaska. Black, Asian, and mixed race refugees were also allowed in against the objections of some. They were mostly sent to Hawaii and California. Many of the refugees were well-educated professionals; doctors, engineers, and scientists. This is seen in the beloved 1970s television show Dixieville. The show was set in the fictional eponymous town in Mississippi during the late ‘30s and was about a Frenchman who solves crimes.

The death of the filibuster allowed for a vote on the Gold Standard but it also opened the way for other opportunities. Now that the Electoral College was gone, getting as many votes from every part of the country became extremely important. Now the Republican Party in particular had every motivation to increase their share of the vote in the South, even though they probably wouldn’t win any states in that region. The Civil Rights Act of 1935 passed in the Senate as there was no filibuster. The bill made guarantees to protect voting rights in the South. Charles W. Bryan did not sign it into law, but he neglected to use his veto power. This infuriated many within his own party and guaranteed that he would face a challenge at the 1936 convention.

(Senate Majority Leader Frederick Hale would be influential in passing multiple civil rights bills during the '30s and '40s)​

The 1930s saw increased civil rights protests. At first they were confined to Northern cities, but they slowly spread to the upper South. They were generally met with a violent reaction by the authorities. Dozens of people were killed at a protest in Virginia in July. The next month the president, along with the Virginian Secretary of War John Pershing, travelled to Richmond. Bryan did not speak about civil rights, but he did speak forcefully on freedom of assembly and condemned the violence in no uncertain terms. It was Pershing who spoke about the lack of respect that black people were receiving in the South and how it was a stain on the legacy of the state of Virginia. As the two spoke people yelled loudly in an attempt to drown out their speeches. Armed guards stopped a potential tragedy as someone pulled a gun, planning to shoot the President and the Secretary of War.

Bryan went on a tour of the country to speak to voters about various issues. The main issue was defending the cause of free silver that his brother had championed four decades earlier. He also criticized Communism and Socialism. In California, he spoke out against the eugenics movement and named dozens of laws throughout the country that he deemed unjust. But in March of 1936, America would be confronted with a foreign crisis, another war in Europe. Bryan favored neutrality. His personal sympathies were with Germany, though he believed it was foolish for them to attack France. Vice President Shipstead was even more opposed to any American involvement in the war. Public opinion was divided, and both parties had pro and anti-war camps. Former Democratic presidents William Randolph Hearst and Milford Howard called for war.

Hearst announced that he would challenge Bryan for the Democratic nomination. His main criticism was the president’s overly dovish foreign policy. Bryan also received a challenge from Senator Ellison Smith of South Carolina. Smith declared Bryan a traitor to the Democratic Party and was reported to have said “I always knew you could never trust a Yankee Republican but now I know that you can never a Yankee Democrat either.” Bryan still won comfortably on the first ballot, but he knew that he would not have the whole party behind him. While the president called for neutrality, he didn’t “do nothing” as he commonly accused of. He got the hawks and doves to compromise, military spending would be increased but at the same time the hawks agreed to keep conscription off the table.

(Ellison Smith)​

There were three major candidates for the Republican nomination; Herbert Hoover, Robert Taft, and Joseph Stilwell. There were also two minor candidate, Kansas Governor Alf Landon and the progressive former Postmaster General Robert La Follette Jr. Stilwell, former general and vice president, was the most hawkish candidate. But his hardline positions made him unpopular with many Republicans. Taft was the most dovish, and Hoover was halfway between Taft and Stilwell. On the first ballot, Hoover came relatively close to a majority, and was far ahead of Taft and Stilwell. On the second ballot, Landon’s delegates switched to Hoover and he won the nomination. Hoover then chose Landon as his running mate. The Republican Platform of 1936 called for the implementation of the Gold Standard, civil rights, military preparedness, and limited government. It took a neutral stance on prohibition.

(Left: Herbert Hoover, Right: Alf Landon)​

Bill Haywood had announced that he was not seeking the Socialist Labor Party nomination. Moderates within the party nominated former basketball star and Idaho Governor Gilbert “Gil” Corey for President and Representative Norman Thomas of New York for Vice President. The two were critical of the French and Spanish governments, infuriating radicals like Haywood. Radicals were further enraged by Corey’s habit of calling the SLP the “Labor Party,” in an attempt to avoid having to use the word “Socialism” as much as possible for a Socialist. Many state SLP organizations refused to put Corey on the ballot. Disgruntled elements of the party met in New York and nominated Bill Haywood to run on the new Communist Party ticket. Haywood’s running mate was William Z. Foster of Florida once again.

Another third party candidate was none other than former President William Randolph Hearst. His supporters had issues with ballot access because many states considered him ineligible to be elected president due to his impeachment in 1926. He was on the ballot in many Southern states and performed well in that region. His success in the South has been attributed to dissatisfaction with Bryan’s handling of racial violence. However, there was also foreign policy at play. The South, especially the Gulf States, was more favorable to intervention than other regions partially due to economic ties with Puerto Rico. His candidacy mostly took votes from Bryan. And with the abolition of the Electoral College, every vote counted.

Some Americans who wanted to vote were unable to. Though the Civil Rights Act of 1935 theoretically removed obstacles to voting such as literacy tests, it wasn’t being enforced everywhere. The number of black voters only slightly increased from 1932. Segregationists trusted neither Bryan nor Hoover, but the majority of them voted Democratic out of tradition. Corey and Haywood courted black voters wherever possible, but the vast majority backed the Hoover/Landon ticket. Native Americans, on the other hand, overwhelmingly backed Bryan, as his brother had helped grant citizenship for all American Indians. The most important demographic in the 1936 presidential election was German-Americans. This demographic swung heavily Republican as they believed Hoover would be more likely to help Germany against France.

German-Americans and urban voters both switched from Democrat to Republican in large numbers. There was massive turnout in the Northeast because the Gold Standard was on the ballot. These two factors were responsible for making 1936 a Republican landslide. 1936 also saw the collapse of the Socialist Labor Party. The majority of Socialist voters abandoned the party ticket for Haywood, though Corey did was more popular in parts of the West and South. The party lost almost half of its elected officials. Democrats were humiliated by the loss of the Upper South along with Kansas and the Dakotas. Republicans gained outright majorities in both Houses. The Senate now had 51 Republicans, 38 Democrats, and 7 Socialists, and 2 Communists. The House had 265 Republicans, 193 Democrats, and 28 Socialists, and 15 Communists.

​

Herbert Hoover (R-CA)/Alf Landon (R-KS), 20,292,617 votes (45.15%)
Charles W. Bryan (D-NE)/Henrik Shipstead (D-MN), 16,225,105 votes (36.10%)
Bill Haywood (C-UT)/William Z. Foster (C-FL), 4,054,028 votes (9.02%)
Gilbert Corey (S-ID)/Norman Thomas (S-NY), 2,242,750 (4.99%)
William Randolph Hearst (I-NY)/Various candidates, 1,415,764 (3.15%)
Others[1], 714,624 votes (1.59%)

America voted over 60% to end prohibition. This meant that that it was binding. Thus ended America 12 year experiment with nationwide prohibition. There were celebrations in every city across the nation. South of the border, Los Pasos leader Chuy Iñiguez dreaded the news and this began the decline of his gang (though Los Pasos continued to exist until 1942). Thousands of new jobs were created. It also meant that more revenue was coming in to the federal government. It can certainly be said that alcohol played a role in bringing the depression to an end. America also voted to bring back the Gold Standard, but it was not enough to be binding. Bryan, along with many others who remembered the 1890s, were saddened to see states like Kansas and Texas come close to voting for Gold. The new Congress was eager to have the majority on their side in reestablishing the Gold Standard, but that would have to wait.

Right after the election, French and Spanish ships sunk the majority of the Royal Spanish fleet at San Juan. France was also preparing for an amphibious assault on Puerto Rico to put an end to the Kingdom of Spain’s existence. France and Spain were aware of the “McClellan Doctrine,” named after the Secretary of State under the Hearst and Howard administrations. It said that the United States would protect Puerto Rico from invasion. But they ignored because they didn’t believe Bryan would enforce it and they weren’t particularly impressed with the American military anyway. There were growing calls for action. Even the president began to reconsider his views on the war. On December 3, the lame duck session of Congress declared war on France, Spain, and Argentina. Charles Bryan spoke to the nation on the radio the next day saying “We go to war, not as conquerors, but defenders of peace. We harbor no hatred towards the people of France or any other nation, but in a war that is truly between good and evil let it be known that we will fight for what is good and righteous.”

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

https://uselectionatlas.org/TOOLS/g...A=3;12;5&WA=3;9;6&WV=3;8;5&WI=3;12;6&WY=3;3;6

Shall the 21st Amendment be repealed?
Yes: 28,276,851 votes (63.01%)
No: 16,599,916 votes (36.99%)


https://uselectionatlas.org/TOOLS/g...A=3;12;5&WA=3;9;5&WV=3;8;5&WI=3;12;6&WY=1;3;6

Shall the United States implement a Gold Standard?
Yes: 24,657,364 votes (55.04%)
No: 20,141,625 votes (46.96%)​

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Herbert Hoover had presidential ambitions since the 1920s. He never planned on being a wartime president, however. Now it was apparent that his presidency, in part or in whole, would be consumed by a war that started in Europe. Because of the war, Hoover and most Republicans agreed that changing America’s monetary system would have to be put on the backburner. Thus, reinstatement of the Gold Standard would have to wait. Despite the fact that there was significant opposition to the war, the majority of the public rallied around the president. By the time Hoover was inaugurated in January 1937, over three quarters of the American people were in favor of the war.

-Excerpt from The Guide to the Executive Mansion, an in Depth Look at America's Presidents by Benjamin Buckley, Harvard Press, 1999.

Hoover decided to retain two of Bryan’s cabinet members: Secretary of War John Pershing and Secretary of the Navy Claire Chennault. For Secretary of State he chose Senator Wendell Willkie of New York. Former Senator Frederick Steiwer of Oregon was chosen for Secretary of the Treasury. Former Illinois Governor and 1920 Vice Presidential Nominee Frank Lowden was selected for Attorney General. The new Postmaster General would be Frank Knox. Senator George Norris of Nebraska was chosen for Secretary of the Interior, in order to placate the remaining progressives in the party. Senator Lester Dickinson of Iowa would become the new Secretary of Agriculture. Conservative Representative James W. Wadsworth was chosen as Secretary of Public Welfare.

The President decided to call the other presidents to the Executive Mansion to get their advice on how to prosecute the war. Walsh, Hearst, Howard, Hanly, and Bryan all met in Washington on February 2, 1937. The four Democrats were not on particularly good terms, to say the least. But over the next few days, they began to patch up their relationships with each other. Howard died soon afterwards, he was the last surviving member of William Jennings Bryan’s original cabinet. Charles W. Bryan had the most influence over Hoover during the duration of the war. He helped convince Hoover to support decolonization in any African territory captured by American forces. He also argued that people like Bill Haywood, despite their affinity for the French government, should be given constitutional rights such as due process. Some in the government advocated the suspension of Habeus Corpus in order to arrest Communists, but their proposals were rejected. Hoover said in March that “We will not defeat France by becoming France.”

Shortly after taking office, Hoover pushed for desegregation of the armed forces. He spoke before Congress saying, “France will use every conceivable opportunity to exploit racial divisions in the country. We should give them as few opportunities as possible.” Desegregation of the American military was passed 271-222 in the House and 52-44 in the Senate. Though some angrily protested, the majority of the country accepted it. Hawaii was also admitted as a state. This increased the Republican majority in the Senate to 53. Another controversial domestic policy was the privatization of the Rural Relief Bureau in June. Charles W. Bryan criticized Hoover, telling him that he was dividing the country when he needs to be uniting. The former President continued to advise the new president of the war, however.

French President Adolphe Cartier was not concerned about America in the slightest. On December 4, the day after the US declared war, he declared “We do not have much to worry about with regards to the United States. Their navy is weak and their army is pathetic. The last time they fought a major power was in 1812!” A few days later, Emperor Franz Ferdinand told Kaiser Wilhelm that America would save Europe from Communism; Wilhelm told Franz he was being delusional. The first American engagements of the war took place at the end of Bryan’s term. The US Navy, while behind the French Navy technologically, had a numerical advantage in the Caribbean. Several French ships were sunk, though just as many American ships met the same fate. The American Pacific Squadron would have a much easier time, winning most engagements in that theater with German support.

America was able, after a few months, to gain the upper hand in the Caribbean. Puerto Rico was safe. America would spend the next few months capturing French islands in the Caribbean. At Guadeloupe, thousands of French, Spanish, and Argentine troops were stationed in preparation for the now cancelled invasion of Puerto Rico. After a few days of naval and aerial bombardment they surrendered. American high command was largely in agreement that the next course of action was to invade West Africa. Some generals hoped that Portugal could somehow be convinced to join the war so American troops could invade Spain from there. In the meantime, America would continue to use its industrial power to mass produce weapons, ships, and planes. This is where America’s advantage lay; France could not keep up with the United States in production. But France did not take this into account. Cartier along with most of the French government and military didn’t think that the Americans would even make it across the Atlantic.

(There was no competing against American industry)​

In Africa, France was winning. In many ways it was like the Great War all over again. Togo fell within months, as did Spanish Guinea (which had remained loyal to Alfonso). French troops also pushed into German Cameroon and Central Africa. From the very beginning, France was plagued by revolts by native Africans. The French government accused Liberia of supporting anti-colonial rebellions and used that as an excuse to invade and occupy the country (the real reason was a concern that Liberia would allow American troops to enter the country and attack French possessions in Africa). Liberia put up a brave but ultimately futile resistance. France claimed that it had liberated the Liberians from being a puppet of the United States, but most Liberians refused to collaborate with the French.

In Europe, France continued to slowly push against Germany. French troops did not go far into Germany itself, but there was constant bombing. The French Navy sought to tighten the noose around Germany in the North. The idea was not to conquer Germany, but to force it to sign a favorable peace treaty. Time was certainly not on Germany’s side. In a war of attrition, France would be victorious. On the home front, there was a crackdown on dissent. All remaining opposition parties, including socialist ones, were banned as Cartier declared them to be “disloyal.” Germany was less severe, but there were still people who became political prisoners. Rosa Luxemburg was arrested on suspicions of working for the enemy. She pled not guilty before a court in Berlin but was sentenced to ten years in prison (though her sentence was commuted in 1939).

The United States helped bring Latin America into the war effort. Cuba (along with the Philippines) joined the war shortly after America due to their alliance. France and Spain were simply not very popular in this part of the world. It was only a decade earlier that those nations were funding revolutionaries all throughout Latin America. Most nations didn’t want to officially join the war, but they helped the war effort in other ways. Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Chile all allowed American and German ships to use their ports. Many of these nations also grew food to feed American soldiers. Argentina was furious over the situation and had several border clashes with Chile throughout 1937 and 1938.

On November 30, 1937, American, Cuban, Danish, and Royal Spanish forces landed in Africa. French positions near Dakar were bombarded in preparation for an assault. On December 5, the city fell. France had now lost territory to the United States in the Eastern Hemisphere. America promised to grant independence to the places it liberated it West Africa. Tens of thousands of native Africans were organized into armies by the United States. Over the next few months America would send more and more troops into Africa. French forces were unable to push them out of the continent. As America and other allied forces advanced through French West Africa, they were aided by locals. The allies advanced along the Niger River, where they met up with Malian rebels. Back in the States, these rebels would be compared to the American colonists during the Revolutionary War. They would play an important role during the course of the war.

(African soldiers played a pivotal role in this war)​

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Timbuktu was once a city of great importance. By the 20th century, however, its glory days were far in the past. But in 1938, the whole world would pay attention to Timbuktu once more. The United States began its Niger River Campaign earlier in the year, and Timbuktu was the objective of the campaign. France had been on the run since American troops landed on the West African coast the previous year. At Timbuktu, the French were going to stand and fight. A battle would be fought not only to determine if France could hold West Africa, but to determine the fate of colonized people in the region.

-Excerpt from The 20th Century, an African Perspective, Dakarai Babatunde, Lion Press, 2003.

On New Year’s Day 1938, the US Navy sunk five French vessels at Monrovia. US Marines soon stormed the city. The Liberians cheered the arrival of US troops. Americans, along with Danes and Royal Spanish, landed at other ports across French West Africa as well. French troops were greatly outnumbered and began to retreat. America and its allies began to advance along the Niger River, making extensive use of motor-guns and other vehicles. France tried to avoid most engagements on land, though French and American planes did clash above the Saharan Desert. Fortifications were being constructed in the city of Timbuktu under the orders of Henri Dentz, Commander of French forces in West Africa. French troops were pulled from the front line with Germany in Central Africa to defend the city.

(Africa saw the extensive use of motor-guns by the United States)​

In Europe, the war was still going in France’s favor. Germany was now in a defensive position, and was making France pay for every inch in blood, but was still losing ground. In the North, French troops were slowly advancing, and in some areas the front line was close to the Rhine. In the South, French artillery were in range of Stuttgart. From November 1937 to February 1938, over 250,000 Germans died in a heroic, but ultimately futile defense of Ulm. France could now advance into Bavaria. French planes would fly over Austria-Hungary, sometimes dropping bombs, other times dropping leaflets. One of the most famous of these leaflets contained a picture of a gallant French soldier with an outstretched hand toward a downtrodden Eastern European family. It read “France has no quarrel with you,” in Hungarian, Czech, Polish, Slovenian, and Croat.

On May 2, American guns bombarded French defenses at Timbuktu. On May 17, all the necessary Allied forces had made it and an assault was ordered. American General George Patton estimated that the numerous French defenders would hold out until June, possibly longer with reinforcements. He was surprised when France began to withdraw on the 25th. On the 29th, the city had been evacuated and its citizens rejoiced to see their liberators. The Malian rebels were especially celebrated as they entered the city. The Americans made sure that there weren’t any reprisals against the French citizens who remained in Timbuktu. On June 5, there was more good news for the Allies when the United Kingdom declared war on France. Britain was on the fence about joining the war and the collapse of French West Africa convinced them that they would be joining the winning side.

Adolphe Cartier announced that French troops had inflicted high casualties on the Americans and their allies (an overexageration) and were strategically retreating. In their retreat to North Africa, French troops employed scorched earth tactics. Cartier bragged that “now the Americans will die in the desert.” Unbeknownst at the time, Commander Dentz was given orders to retreat if it became obvious that the Americans were going to win the battle of Timbuktu. Some of these troops would be sent to Europe where it was determined they were more needed. France and Spain would now pursue the “Continental Strategy.” They were determined to turn Western Europe into an impregnable fortress while they broke Germany’s will to fight.

Back in Africa, the independent State of Mali was established, with its capital at Timbuktu. Over the next few years, there would be many arguments about what the new country would look like. The Americans made sure that there would be freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and some sort of representative government. Hoover wanted Mali to be a Republic, but a popular independence leader and general had crowned himself Emperor Sundiata. It was not yet established just how much power Sundiata would have in the new country. Sundiata also claimed considerably more land than the allies planned on giving him. But these issues would now be given less priority as there was a war to fight, and hopefully win.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

Despite Britain’s entry into the war, Adolphe Cartier was still confident in victory (Spanish leadership largely agreed while Argentine leadership was growing skeptical). He did, however, give up any hope of winning the naval war. It was also a major deterrent to the hawkish faction in the Russian Duma. France and Spain were going to hold Western Europe, repelling any American or British invasion, while France sought to finish off Germany. If this was successful, Cartier and much of the French high command theorized, the United States and the United Kingdom would grow tired of fighting and make peace with France. On June 6, the day after the British declaration of war, Cartier stated “Our enemies have increased in number, we will still be victorious, and our victory shall be even greater.”

-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.

On June 8, Stuttgart finally fell to the French. Germany was prepared for an offensive into Bavaria, where General Erwin Rommel was convinced the next French assault would come. But for the rest of the summer, the French only advanced a few miles into Bavaria. For the rest of June and July, there was relatively little action on the German front. France had been increasing conscription for two new offensives, none of which would take place in South Germany. The new recruits would not be ready for combat until August. Germany used this lull in fighting to deploy more anti-aircraft weapons (which Austria-Hungary began to mass-produce in 1937). Germany also continued to fight France on the seas.

In 1936 the French had an advantage at sea, in 1937 the Americans and Germans had an advantage over the French. When Britain entered the war, time was running out for the French Navy. In June, July, and August, Britain and Germany hunted down and destroyed the French Indian Ocean Fleet. Britain would also help in mopping up the remaining French warships in the Pacific. British and German ships also clashed with the French on the coast of Northern coast of Germany. By the end of August, the way was open for Britain to transport troops to Denmark and from there they could enter Germany. The only major body of water still controlled by the French and Spanish was the Mediterranean.

(The Royal Navy was not to be trifled with)​

Former Vice President Joseph Stilwell was Commander of all American forces in the Pacific. He saw this as a slight by Hoover seeing as Eisenhower, MacArthur, and Patton were all in Africa where there was glory to be won. Stilwell had slowly been conducting an island-hopping campaign in the Pacific. He had relatively few troops at his disposal and there were only minor engagements in this theater. With Britain in the war, he could speed things up. On September 14, American, Philippine, and ANZAC forces stormed the city of Port Vila on the French-controlled Island of Efate. For the next few months, the rest of the French forces in the New Hebrides and New Caledonia were cleared out. It seemed insignificant at the time, but the campaign was important as France was no longer able to conduct bombing raids on New Guinea.

Britain was on the offensive elsewhere, too. British troops in Egypt launched an invasion of Libya. On June 24 they captured Tobruk without much resistance. On July 16, they captured the city of Benghazi, this time taking relatively high losses. They continued to advance along the coast, though they were bombed by French warplanes along the way. In August, they were repelled outside of Homs, and were ordered to stop until reinforcements from India and German African colonies could arrive. Back in Europe, British bombers raided the French city of Caen on July 30. Little was accomplished by the raid and many British pilots lost their lives, but it certainly had an effect on French morale. It was the first time that France had been on the receiving end of an air raid since 1936.

(British troops in North Africa)​

The French Navy was, as Hoover wrote in his memoirs, “A mortally wounded beast that was nonetheless still able to bite.” In August the British lost five cruisers in an attempt to sink a French battleship off the Coast of Egypt. Two Portuguese ships, ostensibly carrying wine but mostly loaded with ammunition set sail from Lisbon with Swansea as its destination. They were both sunk by French submarines on September 2 (France had learned the power of submarines from the Great War). In a conversion with Prime Minister Halifax in October 1938, British MP Winston Churchill lamented that the French Navy was still strong enough to prevent any sort of invasion of Northern France. That was the only easy way to knock France out of the war.

Among the leaders of the major nations of the Grand Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary Britain, and the United States) there was disagreement about what to do next. German Commanders Erwin Rommel and Gerd von Rundstedt, along with Austro-Hungarian Field Marshall Géza Lakatos, argued for British troops to come to the German front through Denmark while the Americans and British Colonial troops enter through Austria-Hungary after the Mediterranean was mostly cleared of French ships. Eisenhower was open to the idea, but Patton and MacArthur rejected America’s role in the plan. Patton and British Commander Harold Alexander continued to push for the Portugal strategy, arguing that Spain would quickly collapse. Others suggested an invasion into Southern France. Soon enough, actions by the enemy would make clear what path to take.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

After the fall of Timbuktu in May 1938, France was fully committed to its Continental strategy. But Adolphe Cartier had some concerns about creating the impregnable fortress of Western Europe. In his mind, everything was going to work exactly according to plan. That is, unless the allies find enter the fortress through an open door. And the “open doors” Cartier was concerned about were the neutral nations which bordered France and Spain. He became even more worried about this in June when French intelligence reported that American soldiers were going to invade Spain through Portugal (French intelligence was unaware that invasion through Portugal was just a suggestion at this point). France was going to launch a preemptive strike.

-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.

Spain and Portugal had been on bad terms with each other since the Great War. After the war, Portugal had given aid to the anti-Communists. Spanish dissidents fled to Portugal in large numbers and young Spanish men escaped over the border to dodge the draft once war broke out. Spanish President Alejandro Lerroux considered an invasion Portugal back in 1936, but Cartier strongly urged him not to, out of fear that Britain would intervene. With Britain already in the war, that argument no longer held any sway. By July, the decision to invade Portugal had already been made. The invasion would begin in September when French troops from Africa were scheduled to arrive in Southern Spain.

(Though French troops helped, the majority of the soldiers who invaded Portugal were Spanish)​

On September 8, French and Spanish bombers flew over major Portuguese naval bases and bombed the ships docked there. Armies attacked from multiple points on the border. The main attacks were the Spanish from the North and the Franco-Spanish combined force from the East. Faro fell on the 13th, Braga on the 15th, and Porto on the 18th. The Portuguese Army made two final attempts at Alcácer do Sal and Setubal to stop the French and Spanish before they made it to Lisbon. They were routed within less than 24 hours. On the 29th, Lisbon was under siege. The defenders of Lisbon did everything they could, killing two attackers for every one defender lost. But on October 9, the city fell and the government fled. Over the next few days, Spanish troops executed over 15,000 Spanish dissidents and draft-dodgers.

But Portugal did not surrender. It was determined to continue the fight from Macau, from Africa, from Goa, and from the Azores. Portuguese soldiers in the mainland refused to lay down their arms and began guerilla warfare. Weapons were distributed to Portuguese civilians in the countryside who wished to resist. Some of the Spanish draft dodgers who were not discovered proved that they were not cowards by fighting alongside their Portuguese friends. While history remembers the Portuguese resistance, there were also collaborators. The Spanish and French found people to run local governments. These people were selected for ideological reasons, and usually had few qualifications. The new mayor of Alcobaça was a prisoner (convicted of rape) who was released and given the job of Mayor after claiming he was a member of the Portuguese Communist Party. He declared the police who arrested him and the judge who sentenced him “counter-revolutionaries” and had them publically executed.

(The Portuguese Army would fight to the end)​

The puppet government in Portugal was run by fanatics. Fúlvio Gaspar was the most fanatical of the lot. He organized a group of like-minded radicals dressed in red called the Vanguarda Vermelha (red vanguard). They set monthly quotas for executions of “enemies of the people.” They also destroyed churches, monasteries, and cathedrals. The Vanguarda Vermelha would fill churches and other buildings full of people and then burn them. They went into the Portuguese countryside and used flamethrowers on the houses of those suspected of supporting the resistance. They committed acts of cruelty that even the Spanish soldiers, who had been indoctrinated to hate Portugal among many other nations their entire lives, were horrified by. In late November, 60 members of the VV accompanied Spanish troops on a mission to pacify the Trás-os-Montes region in the Northeast. The Spanish clashed with local resistance in a small town. The resisters were defeated; dozens were killed while others were taken prisoner. The VV was then given the task of interrogating the townsfolk (as they knew Portuguese).

No one in the town admitted to aiding the resistance. The VV changed tactics, killing people until someone spoke. Soon, an elderly man came forward and said he had helped the resistance. After he was tortured for information it was clear that he had no connection to the resistance at all. The leader of the VV group then determined that it was a waste of time to try getting any further information. An anonymous Spanish soldier describes what happened next. “After the Vanguards stole food from the townspeople and ate dinner, they brought everyone up to the biggest house in the town. They gave a young man a knife and told him that they would spare his life if he killed someone he knew and joined the Vanguards. He refused and was shot. The Vanguards then began killing everyone. Some ran into the woods but they were chased down and murdered. This lasted until sunset. But the terror did not end. Vanguards armed with flamethrowers burned houses and then I heard the screams of those who thought they were safely hidden. The scenes of people covered in red walking around fire and death was like a vision into hell.”

When Cartier heard about Fúlvio Gaspar and the VV, he was impressed. He proclaimed that “Gaspar is the Portuguese Robespierre.” In 1939, Gaspar would even travel to Paris to receive a medal for his actions. Cartier created the “Order of Robespierre” just for Gaspar. But the rest of the world saw things very differently. In 1939, the world would become aware of what was going on in Portugal. But even in 1938, most people in the neutral countries were aghast that France and Spain would invade a neutral nation. Brazil declared war on Spain, France, and Argentina on September 10th. Abyssinia, Vietnam, and China (Beijing government) joined Brazil later in the month. Emperor Mergen told Portuguese King Manuel II that “I can’t contribute much, but I promise that China will do as much as it can to see this threat to world peace eliminated.”

In the United States, House Minority leader Al Smith introduced a motion praising the Portuguese resistance, calling them the “Defenders of Liberty.” It passed with only the Communists voting no. The invasion of Portugal meant that the United States was now committed to fighting in that country. A planned invasion of Argentina was to be redirected for this amphibious assault as well. Before, the plan advocated by some generals involved the cooperation of the Portuguese government. Now, it would involve the liberation of Portugal before moving into Spain. But the troops for an invasion would not be ready until next year. In the meantime, France would advance in Central Europe while retreating in North Africa.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

In addition to the invasion of Portugal, France had recently trained over one million soldiers for a new offensive against Germany. The objective was to damage Germany as much as possible. France also hoped that by weakening Germany even further, Russia would join the war. And September was the perfect time. Minor rebellions had broken out in Poland as well as the Polish and Czech regions of Austria-Hungary and Germany. And while British troops had arrived in Germany already, they were still few in number. There would be no better time to strike. And thus on September 11, 1938 French, Belgian, and Spanish soldiers would advance in their biggest offensive of the war.

(French soldiers preparing for the 1938 offensive)​

On the 12th, German defenses at Bonn were overrun by a horde of men and vehicles. Further South, Koblenz fell on the 14th. France had now crossed the Rhine in the North. Soon, Cologne was surrounded. Cologne was more heavily fortified, but it too fell on the 22nd. Meanwhile, France was advancing into Westfalen and Hessen-Nassau. German Commanders Rommel and von Rundstedt were at a loss as to how France was gaining ground so quickly. They couldn’t figure out how they were deploying so many troops. French forces in Southern Germany were reduced, but that couldn’t explain all of it. In reality, France and its allies had already begun increasing the maximum and decreasing the minimum age for conscription well before the spring of 1939, contrary to popular belief.

-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.

The German forces that remained west of the Rhine were systematically destroyed over the next four weeks. East of the Rhine, Germany tried to regroup at Wetzlar, but was pushed back once again on the 30th. The same French soldiers went south and captured Frankfurt on October 13. French and pro-French Belgian forces captured Essen, Dortmund, and Muenster. In late October, the front line began to stabilize. Germany held firm at Münster and Darmstadt, and the French offensive ran out of steam. French troops then dug in and focused on making the ground they conquered as difficult for Germany to win back as possible. French Commander Henri Giraud summed up the view among French military leadership at the time that the war could be won if France held its position in Germany. France from this point forward would let their enemies throw men at their fortified positions until they gave up. Time would tell if that strategy would work.

(German soldiers eventually stopped the French advance)​

As France was winning in Germany, it was losing in North Africa. In October, American, ANZAC, and Indian troops, along with German African soldiers under the command of Lettow-Vorbeck, went on the offensive in Libya. On the 15th, Homs fell. French forces retreated all the way to Tunis. They were ordered to defend Tunis for as long as possible. France had written off North Africa already and was trying to transfer as many of its troops (as well as many of its civilians) as it could to Europe. But over 200,000 still remained in North Africa, compared to half a million opposing them in the region. The US Navy and the Royal Navy had now entered the Mediterranean, attempting to cut off the French North African Army from escape.

The allies rolled over the French at Tunis on November 5. By this point, the majority of those still in Africa were the sick or the wounded. A few days later, the British and their allies advanced into Algeria. Morocco declared war on the 8th and invaded Algeria from the other side. The token French garrisons that remained surrendered without a fight with a few exceptions. They felt like they were being abandoned by their own government and did not want to needlessly throw their lives away. Algiers put up a fight for the better part of a day, and then surrendered. By the end of the month, the French presence in Africa was limited to Djibouti (under attack from Abyssinia) and Gabon (under attack from Germany and Royal Spain.

Britain stepped up its bombing campaign in Northern France. France retaliated by bombing London. Cartier hoped that by relentless bombing the British will lose the will to fight, especially considering that they were fighting to defend their former enemy. Though France was stronger than Britain in the air, man of France’s pilots were in Germany or Spain. By late 1938 the French only had a slight advantage on the air. And now American bombers were being transported to Southern England. They would be able to participate in the bombing of France by January. It was fully expected that their sheer numbers would flip the balance of power in the skies. Nevertheless, Cartier was still fully confident in his ability to gain victory.

French agents in Moscow tried to stir up anti-German sentiment, hoping to get the country into the war. If Russia entered the war, there would be little stopping it from defeating Germany and its allies. Germany was already doing poorly against France, its industry was devastated by French bombs and many of its soldiers were still using equipment from 20 years ago. Its air force was barely capable of doing anything, leaving its troops vulnerable to French attacks. And many Russians wanted revenge for what happened in the Great War; the creation of German and Austro-Hungarian puppet states from Russian territory. The most prominent pro-war figure was Joseph Stalin, former Communist and Pan-Slavic Nationalist. Many Russians were involved in smuggling weapons to Slavic groups opposed to Germany and Austria-Hungary and some even joined anti-government cells in Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine.

Though Russia had many opportunities to join the war, the government had opted to remain neutral. Tsar Nicholas II, after being mostly quiet for the last 15 years, condemned the hawks in the Russian Duma. The ruling Liberal Party opposed war with Germany as well as the Popular Alliance (a party popular among rural and Eastern voters). The Nationalist Party called for war, but they were a minority in government. Opponents of war pointed out that France and its allies were harboring the people responsible for the Russian Civil War, like Trotsky in Argentina. The invasion of Portugal and scattered reports of French and Spanish atrocities also weakened the pro-war movement. Stalin and others claimed that the atrocities were fabrications. The Russian Orthodox Church opposed war against Germany as it meant Russia would make common cause with Communists. Ultimately, Russia would not declare war on Germany, and when what the Red Vanguard was doing in Portugal was confirmed without a shadow of doubt in 1939, support for France in Russia became a position that was almost as fringe as it was in the United States.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

The home front was vital for both sides in the Second Great War. The situation on the home front varied drastically depending on the country in question. A German had a very different experience than someone in France, Britain, or the United States. But some commonalities were present. Each country became gripped by fear that fifth columnists were trying to undermine the war effort. There was also rationing, which was applied to every major nation involved in the war. The citizenry of each nation was subjected to an overwhelming amount of propaganda. Sometimes propaganda encouraged the citizen to support the war effort while at other times enemy propaganda was disseminated.

-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.

In Germany, things were bleak for most of the war. Prewar German military leadership watched the earlier war in Asia with interest. When they saw Japan, which had air superiority and used motor-guns in large numbers, lose to Russia and China they concluded that air power and motor-guns were less important than a strong infantry. They turned out to be very wrong and Germany had to go through the embarrassment of having to go on the defensive despite having numerical superiority over France. Much of Germany was occupied. In the parts that were still unoccupied, there was a crackdown on people suspected of being pro-French. In total, 1,552 Germans were arrested on suspicions of aiding France or otherwise undermining the war effort. A few were actually French agents but the rest were released shortly after the war ended.

Much of German industry was in ruins by the end of 1937 due to French bombings. The situation would have been hopeless if it wasn’t for Austria-Hungary. Austro-Hungarian industry was mostly intact and thus the country was able to supply Germany with weapons and supplies. Austria-Hungary didn’t use conscription until 1938, meaning that there were more people to work in the factories. The empire did suffer from problems back home, however. The different nationalities in the empire were subject to French propaganda encouraging them to revolt. And the Poles and Czech did revolt in September 1938. The rebellion had less popular support than anticipated and was put down with few casualties. Austria-Hungary was subject to censorship. Writer Adolph Hitler was jailed after accusing Franz-Ferdinand of being weak and criticizing the Austro-Hungarian general staff.

(Austro-Hungarian industry helped Germany stay in the war)​

Britain joined the war over two years after it began. The British economy was affected by the war, but its industry and infrastructure was still intact. This changed somewhat with French air raids, but Britain was never nearly as damaged by enemy bombs as Germany was. There were many British people who were unhappy to see their government join the war. Many were thrilled to see France wreck Germany and some even joined the Robin Hood Battalion, a French Army unit made up of volunteers from the English-speaking world. Britain, despite being in the war shorter than Germany, made more politically-motivated arrests, cracking down on the British Communist Party and other far-left groups. Cartier was compared to Napoleon in the media and the public was led to believe that Britain was going to save Europe from French aggression once more. Within a few months of the declaration of war, most people were in favor of the war effort.

French agents working across the British Empire stirred up trouble. Though the local authorities cracked down on the Indian Student Socialist Alliance in 1932, members of the group had gone underground. Shortly after Britain declared war on France they attacked British officials and took over areas of New Delhi, declaring a revolution on June 12th. The revolution spread to other cities and many, including Kaiser Wilhelm, were worried that India would break away from Britain, severely hampering the war effort. But the majority of Indians opposed the ISSA and helped the British put down the rebellion. Within a few weeks it was clear that the revolution had failed. Communists in Canada, Australia, and South Africa attempted to inspire revolution in their respective countries, but were even less successful.

The United States was in a unique situation. The closest the war came to home was off the coast of Florida in late 1936 through early 1937. There were also less than 20 people arrested on espionage charges. The Communist Party did not face any restrictions (though it was closely monitored and many leaders in the party had their phones tapped). America did not use conscription, though there was some public shaming involved in getting young men to join the army. The war made President Hoover extremely popular. The Republican Party made large gains in the midterms, which was unusual for an incumbent party. The Socialist Labor Party saw many of its elected officials defect to the Democrats. Communist candidates lost every election they participated in. The Senate would have 60 Republicans, 35 Democrats, 4 Socialists, and 1 Communist. The House of Representatives would have 301 Republicans, 198 Democrats, and 3 Socialists. It looked like the two party system was reestablishing itself.

In Spain, everyone was either fighting or involved in the production of weapons and other materials for the war. Tens of thousands of rural Spaniards went to the cities to work in the factories. That was until 1937 when Spain had another food shortage and sent people back to the farms. Lerroux had a rocky relationship with Cartier. Cartier always accused Lerroux of not doing enough for the war effort and for dragging the United States into the war through Puerto Rico. As the war dragged on, Lerroux thought that Cartier was too extreme, possibly even insane. When the French President publically endorsed the actions of the Red Vanguard, his suspicions were confirmed. The Spanish populace supported the war effort, but not enthusiastically, seeing it as a French war.

In France, the war was used an excuse for a further crackdown on dissent. Tens of thousands of French citizens had become political prisoners by the time the war ended. Many of them were used as forced labor, especially in building ships, planes, and coastal defenses. Prisoners of war were used for the same purpose. Over one hundred thousand German POWs built fortifications in Portugal, Spain, and Normandy. Portuguese POWs were sent to Germany to help in the construction of defenses during the winter of 1938 and 1939 in anticipation of an upcoming Anglo-German offensive. Common domestic targets included conservatives, liberals, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim (when France still controlled North Africa) clergy, and intellectuals. The military was spared from ideological purges, meaning that there were quite a few leaders in the Army and Navy that had no love for Cartier. The higher ranking generals and admirals were well aware that they were being monitored for possible disloyalty.

(German POWs)​

Nowhere did propaganda permeate daily life more than in France. While Cartier was compared to Napoleon in a negative light in Britain, the comparison was welcomed and embraced across the channel from the outset of the war. As soon as the war began, production began on the film, Jena. It followed the historical battle of Jena in 1806, in which France defeated Prussia. The movie was funded mostly through taxes, and cost over six million USD. It was significant for being one of the first ten movies filmed in full color. When it was released on October 14, 1937 (the 131st anniversary of the battle) all schools and universities were ordered to close so as many people could watch the movie as possible. There was no shortage of anti-German (and later anti-American and anti-British films during the war. But as the war dragged on, they were increasingly low budget.

French propaganda implicated Jews in controlling the German and American governments. Later in the war, the Roman Catholic Church was said to control the various world governments. Adolphe Cartier, who had spent time in the US, sought to educate his countrymen on America’s ways. He mocked the notion of America as the “land of the free.” He claimed that “Every four years America is given a choice between two capitalist factions, the Republicans and the Democrats. The Republicans have the support of the big corporations while the Democrats have the support of the smaller corporations. Americans are so brainwashed that they believe this is freedom. They believe that the freedom to choose between two masters is true liberation. The people of France, Spain, and Argentina see through their lies.”

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

25 And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.
26 This is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
27 Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
28 Peres; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

-The Bible, Daniel 5:25-31

Adolphe Cartier was an avid reader, and continued to read regularly during the war. And though the French government was quite fond of banning books that opposed the ruling ideology, Cartier read whatever he wanted. His personal library contained the Wealth of Nations, If Christ Came to Congress (Milford Howard’s book), the works of John Locke, and even the Bible and the Quran. He did this, ostensibly, to understand his enemies better. On March 1, 1939, his secretary reported that he was reading the Bible, the book of Daniel in particular. The president was visibly shaken while reading the account of the Feast of Belshazzar. The secretary heard Cartier whispering the words “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.” The next day, Dwight Eisenhower’s troops invaded Europe.

-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.

The winter of 1938 and 1939 saw little action on land. During this time, however, the American, British, Royal Spanish, German, Portuguese, Danish, and Brazilian navies were busy sinking French and Spanish ships and paving the way for an invasion of Spain and Portugal. A mile from Porto, a French battleship was sunk on January 4. Another battleship was destroyed at Gibraltar on February 3. Meanwhile, on January 30, Juan Peron led a coup against the Argentine government, and made peace with the allies the next day. Then, in a move that was at the time inexplicable, Admiral François Darlan removed all French ships from the area around the Strait of Gibraltar. This opened the path for an invasion of Southern Spain. On March 2, 1939, the invasion began.

(François Darlan_​

Over 100,000 American, British African, Indian, ANZAC, German, Moroccan, Liberian, and Malian troops overran Spanish positions at Tarifa. Over the next few weeks, more troops would be transported from Africa to Spain. Eisenhower was concerned about a possible counterattack, but other than a few Spanish bombers, no one attacked. That was because American, British, Royal Spanish, Danish, and Portuguese African troops landed in Portugal on the 23rd. Of the 125,000 soldiers that landed on the beaches near Póvoa de Varzim, less than 5,000 were killed by the defending Spanish forces. Though German POWs had been building defenses, they had relatively little time to complete them. For the next few weeks they advanced south, aided by the Portuguese resistance along the way. As towns were liberated, the citizens cheered the allied soldiers and hung the hated collaborators.

(The Americans and their allies were a welcome presence in Portugal)​

In late April, Spain began a counteroffensive in Northern and Central Portugal designed to push the invaders back to the sea. French troops would play a very minor role. About half of Spanish aircraft and 90% of Spanish motor-guns, along with a good portion of Spanish artillery were used in the offensive. The allied forces controlled the coast (as well as some inland territory) from Póvoa de Varzim to Ovar. On April 20, the Spanish took Penafiel. The real goal, Porto, was within reach. Though reinforcements had been pouring in, the Spanish still outnumbered the allies. But the city’s American defenders held strong. Another Spanish force sought to cut the allied line in half by taking Espinho. There, the defenders were mostly Portuguese and Royal Spanish. They were heavily outnumbered but held for two days until American and British motor-gun divisions came to their rescue on the 24th.

The allied advance in Portugal resumed as more reinforcements arrived. Throughout the country, the Portuguese resistance was liberating towns on its own. The Vanguarda Vermelha continued to terrorize the Portuguese and on April 30 carried out 60 public executions, hoping to strike fear into the hearts of those who opposed the puppet government. Julio Gaspar came to city after receiving the Order of Robespierre medal in Paris. He had just been installed as President of Portugal by France. Spain was not consulted. Many Spanish soldiers, after witnessing the cruelty of the VV, wondered if they were fighting on the wrong side of the war. By April, the VV’s reign of terror was known to the whole world, destroying the last remnants of sympathy any nation felt towards France. Ireland (which once was friendly to France), Ukraine, Serbia, Sweden, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Uruguay, Hejaz, Japan, and China (Mukden government) declared war on France between January and the beginning of April. On April 2, Russia shocked the world by declaring war on France. It was followed by Italy, Norway, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, the Ottoman Empire, Persia, the Orange Free State, Transvaal, Haiti, and Xinjiang.

In late March, France faced offensives from the east as well as the west. Germany was on the attack for the first time in over two years. General Erwin Rommel had advocated a German and Austro-Hungarian offensive since late 1938. His plan was approved by early 1939. In March Rommel would lead German troops in an attack on French positions in Southern Germany. Austria-Hungary had begun conscription the year before, so over 100,000 Austro-Hungarian troops would aid in the offensive. French positions in the region were weaker than in 1938 as troops had been diverted to the north. There was fierce fighting at Ulm, with 150,000 casualties on both sides in one week. The city fell on April 4. Germany had now broken through the French defenses and was moving rapidly through Württemberg.

(Erwin Rommel in a picture from the first Great War)
​

The French and Spanish governments were in a state of panic. Even if it was possible to defend against the might of Europe, Africa, and the Americas, it would now have to contend with the might of Asia as well. Now, Chinese and Japanese troops could be transported relatively quickly on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Most of the French military leadership believed that the war would be over within a year. The more optimistic generals believed that France might last until 1942. Meanwhile, Cartier learned that Admiral Darlan had defected to the British on the 29th and that the movement of ships from the Strait of Gibraltar was intentional. Cartier became increasingly paranoid. Generals de Gaulle and Giraud would soon give him a good reason for paranoia.

On May 2, a bomb was placed in Cartier’s car. However, it did not detonate. On the 3rd, an assassin narrowly missed the president, killing one of his bodyguards instead. The assassin was detained and tortured into revealing who had hired him, Commander Henri Giraud. A lower-ranking general, Charles de Gaulle, was also involved in the plot. The two generals were soon arrested. Giraud had long been suspected of anti-government views, and the agents assigned to him were executed for failing to prevent his betrayal. At his trial, Giraud claimed that he did what he had to save France from destruction. His only regret is that he was unsuccessful in his mission. De Gaulle took the stand and said “I know the outcome of this trial is predetermined. I have accepted that I shall die as a patriot who gave his life for France. I also know the day is soon approaching that the president shall die. But his death will not be that of a man who brought his own country to ruin.” The two men were publically executed in Paris on May 9, 1939.

(Left: Henri Giraud, Right: Charles de Gaulle)​

Dozens of other French generals were purged during the month of May. Cartier took full control over the French Army and Navy. On May 10 he announced through the radio that “The work of purging counter-revolutionary elements in French society is finally complete. Now France shall fight unencumbered by reactionary forces from within. The combined power of six continents cannot and shall not prevail over those who fight for a noble and just cause. The soldiers of our enemy are fed lies about our great nation. Once they see the worker’s paradise that we have constructed, they will turn their weapons on their own generals. The red flag of revolution will be raised not only in Paris and Madrid, but in Berlin, in London, in Moscow, and in New York City. It is inevitable!”

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

By May 1939 France and Spain were retreating everywhere. Less than a year earlier the outcome of the war was still in doubt but by now everyone besides the most pessimistic Ally or the most optimistic Frenchman or Spaniard saw the writing on the wall. In a normal situation, France would sue for peace in order to save itself from utter desolation. But a large portion of the leadership of France (and to a lesser extent, Spain) knew that surrender would mean the end of their regimes and most likely their lives. So even while the generals wanted a way out of the war, the political leadership was willing to fight to the last man.

-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.

Cartier, now in full and direct control over military operations, outlined the new French strategy. Essentially, France would defend on land and sea, only attacking by air. France would continue to dig in on the Eastern Front and try to stop the loss of territory in Southern Germany. France would also continue to fight in Iberia, while also being prepared for a retreat to the Pyrenees if necessary. The French government had also been testing out a variety of new chemical weapons, including some to be dropped on British and German farms. The government also began to work overtime to come up with new propaganda to keep the people motivated to continue the fight. Increasingly, French propaganda featured the Germanic tribes of old that plundered the Roman Empire. The French soldier was depicted as the defender of civilization against Germanic barbarism. Cartier said in June that “The German can be civilized only through decades of French rule.” Africans, Asians, and others were spoken of in similar terms.

(Germans were portrayed as uncivilized brutes)​

During May and June French, Spanish, and Portuguese collaborationist forces would try to repel an Allied attack on Lisbon. They faced heavy naval bombardment as the Allies had a clear advantage on the sea by this point. For more than a month the occupying forces fought on. But on June 30, Spanish forces pulled out of the city before the Allies surrounded the city. They were followed by the French as well as Julio Gaspar, who brought 100 VVs with him. Spain lost over one tenth of all its remaining forces in that one battle. On July 2, King Manuel entered the city, returning to his old residence only to find it ransacked. France and Spain had both written off Portugal, and 50,000 Spanish troops in the Southern part of the country began to evacuate. On the 3rd, American General MacArthur gave a speech in Lisbon praising the heroic spirit of the Portuguese people and stating that American and Allied troops would soon be in Madrid.

Spain’s other forces had spent the last few months trying to contain Eisenhower’s troops in the south. But on June 7, they made a breakthrough. On the 13th they captured Cádiz. Their next target was Seville. On the 21st the numerically superior Spanish forces led by Carlos Romero Giménez attempted to stop them before they could enter the city. After four days of fighting, they pushed back Eisenhower’s Army but at the same time taking high casualties, much higher than Spain could afford at this point in the war. Eisenhower only needed to wait for reinforcements to strike again. Meanwhile, Spanish men were wounding themselves to avoid being drafted. Gaspar set up the Vanguardia Roja, the Spanish version of the Vanguarda Vermelha, when he arrived in Madrid.

(American soldiers in Southern Spain)​

In July, the Allied forces in Portugal began their advance into Spain. King Alphonso XIII was the first to cross the border into Extremadura, along with Emilio Mola, the Commander of the Royal Spanish forces. For many of the Royal Spanish soldiers, there was no great significance in the crossing into Spain as the majority of them were born in Puerto Rico. The Spanish government used the return of the king as a propaganda tool, urging all Spaniards to unite against the imposition of the monarchy. The inquisition was commonly alluded to. Artist Pablo Picasso was among those who had been forced to create propaganda throughout the war. Allied planes would drop leaflets urging Spanish soldiers to defect. The new VR and remnants of the VV imposed a reign of terror in Madrid, killing deserters, draft dodgers, and suspected monarchists. Gaspar travelled to Versailles where he would head the Portuguese Communist government in exile.

On July 22, the Allies smashed through the Spanish forces at Mérida. Spain was collapsing. Government forces were defecting the royalists. And it wasn’t just the enlisted men. Generals Francisco Franco and Juan Hernández Saravia defected in August. Further North, the Spanish garrison at Valladolid surrendered within less than 24 hours on August 4. Spanish Vice President Francisco Caballero led a faction within the Spanish government that supported an end to the conflict, even if it meant surrender. They came into contact with General Franco shortly after his defection. But they were betrayed by a turncoat and the French forces in the city detained any Spanish politician suspected of “defeatism.” Lerroux was incensed at the disrespect for Spanish sovereignty, but there was nothing he could do. From this point forward he was a figurehead. The “defeatist” politicians were handed over to the VR for interrogation and punishment, with predictable results.

After heavy artillery bombardment, Eisenhower ordered another attack on Seville as some of Giménez’s soldiers were ordered to move north to defend Madrid. From the 10th to the 14th, Spanish troops in the city resisted the Allies. But the city fell and Giménez surrendered instead of retreating to Madrid as he was ordered. By now the Spanish government’s military chain of command had been completely interrupted. By late August, MacArthur’s troops were only miles away from Madrid, and the city’s defenses were constantly being hit by bombs and artillery. Inside the city, the VR made examples of those who tried to run from the oncoming battle or anyone caught reading Allied leaflets. Over 700,000 soldiers were defending Madrid, almost 150,000 of them French. In order to encourage those in the city, President Lerroux said on radio that “While we have temporarily lost ground, we have inflicted devastating losses on the Americans, British, Portuguese, and Spanish traitors. Madrid is where we turn them back.” But his voice had no confidence in it. When Eisenhower’s troops arrived from the South in the middle of October, the battle began.

(Spanish soldiers trying to stop Eisenhower's advance)​

On October 16, the Allies attacked Madrid from the west and the south. They were clearly winning the battle but desperate Spanish soldiers made their advance slow. The Spanish troops had orders to fight to the last man, but most wanted some way out of the battle. The dreaded the VR and VV. In the chaos of battle, some Spanish soldiers forced Vanguards to fight on the front line, where they were slaughtered. Then, on the evening of the 22nd, a 16 year old conscript named Edmundo Antúnez took matter into his own hands. A little bit away from the front line, he shot a flamethrower-carrying VV in the back, killing three vanguards. When other soldiers pointed their weapons at him, Antúnez calmly said “We can die for a man in Paris or we can have a chance to live.” A few seconds later he exclaimed “No tenéis nada que perder excepto vuestros cadenas!” [1] The other soldiers agreed, and refused to shoot Antúnez. Over the next few hours, more and more soldiers began to mutiny. All vanguards in the nearby area immediately tried to put down the mutiny, but there weren’t enough of them.

Lerroux heard that the sounds of the battle were coming from a closer distance than before. He called an officer and yelled “How are the Americans already this close?” The officer responded by saying “Our troops are shooting each other!” Lerroux and several other loyal Spanish political leaders proceeded to have a feast at midnight at his residence, and then drank poisoned wine. He died at 1:32 AM on October 23, 1939. Cartier had attempted to contact Lerroux in order to get him and the rest of the Spanish government to evacuate the city to Pamplona. French soldiers discovered his dead body at 3:01. Lerroux had increasingly come to hate France for its meddling in Spanish affairs, and blamed French brutality and the vanguards for world opinion turning to the enemy. His suicide meant that he no longer had to answer to Cartier.

During the morning of the 23rd, Spanish soldiers surrendered en masse while the French tried to escape the city. By the end of the day the city was almost entirely in Allied hands. Instead of finding a city of people resentful of a foreign occupation, the men and women of Madrid were grateful that the carnage was coming to an end. People who had supported revolution against the King of Spain now rejoiced to see his return to Madrid. The Vanguards who had not escaped Madrid tried to go underground and begin a resistance movement. But the citizens of Madrid helped the allied soldiers find the troublemakers. Cartier scrambled to find anyone to lead the Spanish government in Pamplona, but none of those he sought out wanted the job. Finally, the elderly mayor of Zaragoza, Ildefonso Álvarez, was given the job.

The rest of Communist Spain was collapsing. Even the Northeast wasn’t fully secure. The Catalonians and Basques were in revolt. In December, Royal Spanish forces, bolstered by defections, captured the city of Zaragoza. As 1939 came to a close, only Pamplona and parts of the border with France remained loyal to the Communist government. The French military was confident, however, that the Allies would not be able to cross the Pyrenees. The focus was turned towards other fronts. France had suffered some crushing defeats in Southern Germany, even losing Stuttgart in May, but by July the front had stabilized. German cities were still being bombed by French planes, but the situation was much better than the year before. France also began to bomb major Italian cities.

In Rome, Pope Pius XI [2] spoke in June that the war was a “Holy Crusade.” He encouraged Catholics all over the world to pray for Allied victory and do anything in their power to help the war against France and Spain. He also called upon Catholics in France and Spain to not cooperate with their governments. Italy had been weakened after fighting three wars over the last decade and losing two, but it was determined to get revenge for what France did, even if it meant aligning itself with its old enemies. Still, there wasn’t much Italy could do against France just yet. Commanders Patton, Alexander, and von Lettow-Vorbeck would move into Italy with their African troops in preparation for an offensive into Southern France the next year. In addition, millions of troops from Eastern Europe and Asia were coming to fight in Northern Germany. On New Year’s Eve, Secretary of War John Pershing stated “1940 will be the year of our victory.”

1: Spanish translation of "You have nothing to lose but your chains."
2: Not the OTL Pius XI

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

When 1939 began, France was in a bad situation, but still had allies in the war. Now, France was essentially alone. Back in Paris, Adolphe Cartier was becoming increasingly delusional. As his secretary would report in 1960, “The last time I remember him being fully in his right mind was on his 64th birthday party on November 1, 1939. The next day he told me that France was going to win the war by building a superweapon and launching it by artillery at Berlin and London. It slowly went downhill from there. Later that month he told me that French scientists were going to invent a new disease and infect all of England with it. By 1940 he was claiming that revolution was coming to Europe and the Americas as if he actually believed his own propaganda.”

-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.

In January, Russian, German, Danish, Swedish, and Polish pilots took to the sky to wrest control of the air from France. France still had superior planes at this time, though barely. More than three allied planes were shot down for every one French plane. But part of the reason for the French victory was that Russia and Sweden were using outdated aircraft. The Allies could replace their losses much more easily than France anyway. The French media hailed it as a massive victory that was a serious setback to the Allied war effort. In February, Cartier would visit the front lines in Germany, posing with the soldiers. The president decided to fill even more government positions with friends and family. His son, Julian, was promoted to governor of all of occupied Germany. His daughter, Françoise, was appointed ambassador to the Belgian puppet government.

(French planes were still some of the best in the world)​

The first major offensive came in February as American, British, German, and Italian forces invaded Southeastern France, smashing through the defenders on the border. Once the border was crossed, General Patton told his soldiers that they had “entered the beast’s lair.” The city of Nice fell on the 20th. Over in Spain, Pamplona fell on the 21st, and with it the Spanish puppet government. The French were still too well fortified in the Pyrenees for an assault across the border at that time, though. Meanwhile, Greece invaded Crete, which France had gained from Italy only a few years earlier. Crete would come under Greek control in early March. Cyprus would remain under French control for the duration of the war. Madagascar would not be invaded either, though British, Boer, and Portuguese planes conducted an air raid on the island in the previous December.

(General George S. Patton)​

In March, the Allies began to bombard French positions in the Pyrenees, softening them up for a future attack. To the east, Toulon fell on the 6th. From that point forward the Allies encountered heavier resistance and the advance was slowed down. The French tried desperately to hold Marseilles, but it too fell on March 31st. The next day, Cartier ordered the expansion of conscription. Since 1938 all men between 16 and 50 had been required to serve. Now, the age range would be between 13 and 65, and included women from 18 to 30. The French Worker’s Republic might die, but it was going to take as many enemy soldiers down with it. French planes began using poisonous chemicals against farmland in Germany and to a lesser extent Britain and Italy.

On April 4, the North German offensive began. German, British, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, Chinese, Uighur, Japanese, and Vietnamese soldiers faced off against the French soldiers in Northern Germany. Despite French conscription policy, the Allies outnumbered the French more than five to one. The Allies would attack at over a dozen points on the front. The front line cities of Dortmund and Muenster fell within a day. Then, on the 8th, the Netherlands declared war on France. The Netherlands had been mobilizing troops for war over the last few months and attacked some of the more exposed areas along the border with Belgium and what was once Germany. On the 11th the defenders of Essen were sandwiched between the Dutch and the eastern Allies. On the 12th the city fell. Meanwhile, Wetzlar was liberated further south.

(Dutch soldiers)​

Occupied Germany’s new ruler, Julian Cartier desperately tried to think of a way to keep the flagging French morale under control. From his new residence in Freiburg he told the troops by radio that they must “Continue fighting because the Germans will show no mercy.” This did not seem to deter very many French troops from surrendering. French forces in Northern Germany were collapsing. Dusseldorf, Cologne, Bonn, Mainz, Wiesbaden, and Frankfurt had all been liberated before the month was over. The fighting came to Belgium, too. The token French garrisons in the country were quickly overrun. France was defeated at Liège, Hasselt, and Antwerp. Brussels would stay under the control of the French puppet government for the time.

By May it was clear that France was running out of fuel for its ships, planes, and motor-guns. But there was enough fuel to do a lot of damage. On the 4th, French planes bombed the polders and dikes in the Netherlands, causing floods that killed hundreds of thousands. Deadly biological agents, as well as traditional bombs, were unleashed on London, Reading, Birmingham, Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich, Innsbruck, Vienna, Turin, Milan, Rome, Zaragoza, Pamplona, Barcelona, and various other minor targets. Over one million people died as a result. French Naval ships were ordered into suicidal engagements with the British, American, and German Navies. Cartier then declared to the world that France would continue these attacks until the world made peace with France. In reality, France had little capacity to continue carrying out chemical attacks by air.

(Devastation of a British city)​

The Allies didn’t catch a break. They continued attacking on every front. By the end of May there was nothing left of French occupied Northern Germany. Over two million French soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured. Rommel’s advance in Southern Germany resumed, and though it was slower, the French were still losing ground. On June 1, Julian Cartier and other French officials fled Freiburg. Julian’s father apologized to him, telling his son that he thought the defenses in occupied Germany were stronger. The city of Freiburg fell on the 11th. The Germans then pushed into Alsace-Lorraine and captured Strasburg on the 16th. And with that city the liberation of Germany was complete. Further west, the allies broke through the Pyrenees and the British launched an amphibious invasion of Brittany.

The big battle in June would be for Brussels. One million French and 450,000 Belgian collaborationist soldiers faced off against a force of over three million Allied troops. The Allied attackers were mostly British, German, Russian, and Dutch. Bernard Montgomery, Gerd von Rundstedt, Georgy Zhukov, and Henri Winkelman led their respective forces at the battle. The defenders of Brussels had seen public executions of deserters in May so they would know their fate if they tried to do the same. Likewise, anyone who retreated would be shot. The battle raged from the 2nd to the 23rd, and by its end more than half a million soldiers lay dead. After the fall of Brussels, the rest of Belgium fell within a week. Luxembourg had been liberated on the 12th. By the end of June France controlled no territory in Europe outside of France proper.

Cartier’s grandson was five years old in 1940. Years after the war he described one of his first memories: being with his grandfather as he went fishing on a boat in a lake in Central France. In 1975 he said, “All I remember was a bitter old man who was nonetheless trying to be nice to me. I had no idea at the time that he was responsible for the deaths of millions. When his boat came back to shore he was greeted by men in uniform, most likely high-ranking army officers. They talked to him about Brussels. They also mentioned that aunt Françoise had safely escaped. After this, Adolphe went into a fit of rage for several minutes. Afterwards he began to cry. In his misery I heard him repeatedly say ‘I thought I had more time.’”

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

​

Everything Cartier had worked for since his entry into politics over three decades earlier was being undone. What he spent decades building up was being torn down in only a few years. The old leader of France for over 20 years didn’t know what to do. France was being invaded from five directions and losing on every front. As French leadership wallowed in misery, Wilhelm Groener, Lord Halifax, and Herbert Hoover met in Helsinki to discuss the future of Europe and the world. Allied planes dropped leaflets telling the French soldiers to surrender to save their lives. But at least 2.5 million people were still serving in the French military. Many if not most of them wanted a way out but feared they wouldn’t get one.

-Excerpt from The Second Great War, Ludwig Faerber, Globe Books, 2016.

Though France under Cartier was officially an atheist state, Cartier was no atheist. In 1940 he began to seek supernatural help. He concluded if the Christian, Jewish, or Muslim God existed, he had done too much to offend them anyway and thus made no attempt to get their help. He appealed to Shiva and Yama, the destroyer and the god of death in Hinduism. But France was still losing. Cartier then pledged himself to the Greco-Roman Pantheon. His secretary heard him praying in Latin, saying that if Mars intervened on his side he would destroy the Vatican and bring back paganism to Rome. On July 1, France won a minor battle against Britain at Saint-Malo. In the French media, this victory was overplayed of course. But to Cartier it seemed as if Mars was on his side.

(French soldiers in Paris participating in the final military parade)​

Mars wasn’t able to save Bordeaux and Toulouse from falling to the Americans during the next few days, however. French troops in the east had fallen back to the pre-war defenses on the Belgian border, but now that France no longer had air superiority, much of the defenses were bombed into oblivion. On July 7, a Swedish division broke through. Further south, Rommel’s men were rapidly advancing towards Châlons-sur-Marne. France was faced with two armies closing in on Paris, and time was running out. With Mars seeming to fail him, Cartier in his most desperate moment appealed to Satan. On July 12, he conducted satanic rituals in the Notre Dame. Then, he had over 100 German prisoners of war, along with French deserters, packed into the building as Fúlvio Gaspar and the surviving VV killed them as human sacrifices. When Prime Minister Hubert Lagardelle said “we’ll surely hang for this” Cartier had him arrested for defeatism.

Though France had won a victory at Saint-Malo, French forces in Brittany soon learned they were being abandoned as that front was not deemed important enough. Paris was everything. Cartier completely ignored the almost daily reports of French defeats in the South. His strategy for dealing with the Americans in Southern France was to leave behind propaganda encouraging them to switch sides. Even in July, Cartier addressed the French people by radio claiming that “When they see the worker’s paradise and how our men fight for the far nobler cause of liberation they will turn on their own generals.” On July 20th the meager French garrison at Châlons-sur-Marne surrendered, leaving nothing between Rommel and Paris. Likewise French forces in the Northeast melted away at the German, British, and Russian advance. Before July was over Paris was under siege.

On July 15, Hoover, Halifax, and Groener met in Helsinki. They discussed what to do about France and its former colonies. Britain would occupy Brittany and Normandy along with anything North of Paris. America would occupy Western and Southwestern France. Germany would occupy Paris and Eastern France. Corsica would be returned to Italy. Crete would be annexed by Greece while Cyprus would be given back to Britain. Western Africa would be split into independent states, the largest of which being Mali. German Togo would be expanded and Madagascar would be given to Germany. French North Africa would be given mostly to Britain but also a little to Morocco. French Caribbean and Pacific colonies would be under American occupation. French Guiana would be split between Brazil and the Netherlands. Though punitive measures against France were suggested, Hoover made sure that they would not be part of Allied policy.

While Paris was being bombarded in preparation for an assault, the Allies were moving quickly through Southern France. By the end of August all of France below the Rhone and most of France below the Loire had fallen. On the 9th, the British captured Rennes and continued their advance. In early September the final French cities south of the Loire, Nantes and Tours, fell to Eisenhower and MacArthur respectively. Then the Americans crossed the river and helped the British capture Angers. On August 29th, an Italian invasion of Corsica began. In addition, the last French battleship was sunk off the coast of Ireland on September 1. By this point, as his secretary explains, Cartier had “lost almost all connection with reality.” As British planes rained destruction on Paris and France was barely able to put any planes in the sky, Cartier asked if he could go to Saint-Georges. When his generals explained that French Guiana had been under American and Brazilian occupation for over a year, he refused to believe it.

(British warplanes. The United Kingdom now controlled the skies in Northern France)​

The assault on Paris began on August 30. The doomed defenders of the city were nevertheless able to inflict serious casualties on their attackers. Many of them were armed with anti-motor-gun weapons. The Allies reported that other defenders, however, were armed with knives and spears, anything they could get their hands on. As the battle raged on there were ammunition shortages and French bayonet charges were common. Radios in Paris were all tuned to Cartier’s increasingly delusional ranting. On September 1 Parisians heard him speak against “The Germans, rapists and destroyers of civilization.” On the 2nd he said “Brave defenders of Paris, we have no option but to stand and fight. If we kill enough of our enemies they surely retreat. They fight for gold and silver while we fight to keep the flame of revolution from being extinguished.” His propaganda became even more ridiculous as time went on, finally claiming that Austro-Hungarian soldiers ate the flesh of their prisoners on the 14th.

(French soldiers defending Paris)​

The French were consistently losing ground. As the Allied soldiers continued to advance through the streets of Paris they saw hundreds of men and women hung for desertion or defeatism. When Russian soldiers made it to the Notre Dame on the 19th they found the bodies of German POWs. They saw that a guillotine had been installed in the cathedral. It was soon learned that Cartier had ordered the execution of every last enemy prisoner, though many disobeyed. On the 23rd, the Arc de Triomphe was taken by a British battalion. Fighting would continue in the south and southwest of the city. The parts of the city still under French control were quickly being cut off from what little support was left. On 23:45 on October 1, Chinese general Jiang Jieshi engaged with a small group of French soldiers in the Southwestern Parisian suburb of Vanves. When the outnumbered French soldiers surrendered, it was discovered that not all the men with them were soldiers.

(British soldiers in Paris)​

One soldier in the group, fed up ith the regime, proudly announced that both Adolphe Cartier and Fúlvio Gaspar were among the group. He explained that they were going to Orleans to continue the resistance. And it was soon confirmed that what he was saying was true. On October 4, 1940, Paris fell. Cartier had left behind orders for remaining French forces to fight to the last man. One French general in Dijon and another in Madagascar would continue fighting for as long as possible. A general in Caen tried to rally his troops for a last stand, but they refused. Though Cartier refused to sign a ceasefire, other representatives of the French government were more than happy to do so. Julian Cartier, Adolphe’s intended successor, was nowhere to be seen. It was soon discovered that he had escaped Paris days before his father and was hiding somewhere in Orleans. He was found by a group of French civilians on November 3 and subsequently stabbed to death. His killers were never prosecuted.

On October 10, the city of Dijon was liberated. The last French defenders on Madagascar would surrender to Portuguese and Boer troops on December 21. The war was over and France was in ruins. It would take decades to build France back up to its former glory. Even Spain and Portugal would have stronger economies than France all the way through the 1970s. Fúlvio Gaspar and 33 VVs were extradited to Portugal where they would be tried for the murder of thousands. Gaspar, a man who had killed people he accused of cowardice, begged the court for mercy. They were all killed by firing squad on December 31, 1940. A handful of VRs were extradited to Spain and met the same fate. Some Vanguards hid themselves well and were not discovered for years. The last Vanguard in Portugal was executed in 1992 (this was the last execution in Portugal). Vanguards would continue to be found and jailed into the 2000s.

Cartier and other French government officials would be tried for war crimes and mass murder in the summer of 1941. One of the lawyers was Ruth Bryan, daughter of one President and niece of another. Testimonies were heard in French, German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Vietnamese, and various African languages. Cartier was accused of perpetrating atrocities all the way back to 1922. The prosecution also brought up the use of chemical and biological weapons against civilians. Cartier had recovered some of his sanity, but he was not the charismatic speaker that he was in the 1910s. He did not deny anything; he simply said that he had done what needed to be done for the sake of France and the world. He said “No one who was killed on my orders was innocent. My only regret is that I was too trusting. Many of the men who I had trusted to lead my army and navy betrayed me. Many of the officers and generals were no doubt of partial German or Jewish ancestry, and thus they had every reason to sabotage the war effort from within. France’s allies were worthless; Lerroux may as well have been on the other side. Let the world know that it was neither I nor the French soldier that lost the war.” He was executed by guillotine on August 30, 1941.

Rebuilding France would prove a difficult task. In 1941 François Darlan, the admiral who defected, was made President of France. There was a real fear that Cartierism would make a comeback in post-war France. The far-left was suppressed in France and Cartier was remembered negatively by most in France anyway. In the 2000s there was a resurgence in Cartierist thought throughout France, but the far-left would never take control of France. Many Communist parties around the world began to distance themselves from the French regime. Though all of France’s colonies were lost, some of the smaller Caribbean and Pacific islands under American occupation were returned in 1956. The French people who survived the war were malnourished and suffered from a lack of access to healthcare. French cities and infrastructure lay in ruins. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the French economy could compete with Britain and Germany.