I haven't read the Decades of Darkness TL. I'll give it a read. Thanks.
Fenians, Brits, Mexicans, Canucks and Frenchies....OH, MY! An alternate American Civil War
- Thread starter Alt History Buff
- Start date
I haven't read the Decades of Darkness TL. I'll give it a read. Thanks.
Chapter 353
November, 1911
Staten Island, New Jersey (seceded from New York years earlier to join New Jersey).
The battle of Malta three years prior had been a terrible defeat for Great Britain. The Italian submersibles had sunk three British ships including the HMS Dreadnought without even being seen. There had, however, been another secret weapon utilized. The new Marconi Radio system had given the Italian Navy adequate preparation time to set up the ambush.
In 1911, the first commercial radio station would be emitted from Staten Island to the first few thousand commercial radios. The number would increase drastically.
Luanda
The African Continental Congress would incorporate for oversight of the regional Councils of the Co-Protectorate in 1911. Over 70% of the Congress would be African-born, roughly 20% North American or British born blacks, 4% white and 6% representatives from the other nations of Africa (Egypt, Morocco, Ethiopia and Madagascar.
This Congress possessed limited powers but still would regulate laws and audit the Administration of the regional Councils. Power was expected to be gradually ceded to this body over the next decade.
Madrid
Horrified by the situation in France, King Alphonso XIII would welcome as many refugees as could make his borders. Prince Victor of Italy would do the same. Both would gradually improve their relations with Germany and Britain for fear of the French madness corrupting the entire continent again as it had in the 1790's.
Shanghai
Like the port of Dalian up north, Shanghai's shipyards were laboriously upgraded to produce modern vessels with the aid of American and British naval architects. The Emperor's MInisters (including his son, the defacto Regent) would vigorously work to improve their shipbuilding facilities knowing that Japan was no doubt working hard to to the same.
Detroit
Chevrolet would be established in late 1911 as a competitor for the thriving Ford Motor Company. Dozens of companies now produced automobiles but most would not survive their first few years.
France
Yet another purge would take place as the Commune arrested thousands of high-ranking Socialist Party leaders. The Socialist Party would be formally "annexed" by the Marxists and all other Parties abolished.
The Secretary of War, on the other hand, would have other priorities. Like the Revolutionaries of the late 18th century, the counter-revolutionary neighbors were already slowly forming a coalition against France. Something must be done to protect the borders.
Several engineers within the French army responsible for the new fleet of trucks (produced in France, of course, without overly many of the crude personal automobiles now clogging up Europe's roads) to support the Army would request an audience for they had something to show him.
Throughout the last war, the trenches, machine guns and the like would prevent either side from a significant breakthrough. The engineers had thought about this and realized that the men needed better protection, armor against bullets. The would take several examples of a heavy truck and adapt it (with four engines) into a machine-gun covered armored tortoise.
They pointed out that, if France had a few dozen of these, would not the trenches prove less of an impediment to global Marxism?
The Secretary of War agreed and ordered them to improve the design and orders several dozen for experimental purposes.
He would then be approached by a scientist recently graduated from University. A chemist, the man had been ordered to design a tool against counterrevolutionary insurgents. He would provide a formulae for a gas which notoriously caused tearing up to the point that a man was helpless. The Chemist had taken the liberty of speaking to the manager of a local munitions factory and inquired of the gas could be affixed to a mortar or cannon shell.
Washington
Theodore Roosevelt would pass a new "National Parks Act" Amendment which would set aside a massive portion of the Amazon for national parkland and Indian reservations. Given that Roosevelt wanted to defend the Amazon from Brazil, this was a bit confusing for some.
But Roosevelt had seen the region and realized that the land defended itself. It was almost impossible to march through that god-awful forest even WITHOUT any form of resistance. Perhaps the best way to protect the border.....was to intentionally keep the region unsettled and unbroken.
After that, one only needed control over the Amazon River itself to ensure its dominance.
Staten Island, New Jersey (seceded from New York years earlier to join New Jersey).
The battle of Malta three years prior had been a terrible defeat for Great Britain. The Italian submersibles had sunk three British ships including the HMS Dreadnought without even being seen. There had, however, been another secret weapon utilized. The new Marconi Radio system had given the Italian Navy adequate preparation time to set up the ambush.
In 1911, the first commercial radio station would be emitted from Staten Island to the first few thousand commercial radios. The number would increase drastically.
Luanda
The African Continental Congress would incorporate for oversight of the regional Councils of the Co-Protectorate in 1911. Over 70% of the Congress would be African-born, roughly 20% North American or British born blacks, 4% white and 6% representatives from the other nations of Africa (Egypt, Morocco, Ethiopia and Madagascar.
This Congress possessed limited powers but still would regulate laws and audit the Administration of the regional Councils. Power was expected to be gradually ceded to this body over the next decade.
Madrid
Horrified by the situation in France, King Alphonso XIII would welcome as many refugees as could make his borders. Prince Victor of Italy would do the same. Both would gradually improve their relations with Germany and Britain for fear of the French madness corrupting the entire continent again as it had in the 1790's.
Shanghai
Like the port of Dalian up north, Shanghai's shipyards were laboriously upgraded to produce modern vessels with the aid of American and British naval architects. The Emperor's MInisters (including his son, the defacto Regent) would vigorously work to improve their shipbuilding facilities knowing that Japan was no doubt working hard to to the same.
Detroit
Chevrolet would be established in late 1911 as a competitor for the thriving Ford Motor Company. Dozens of companies now produced automobiles but most would not survive their first few years.
France
Yet another purge would take place as the Commune arrested thousands of high-ranking Socialist Party leaders. The Socialist Party would be formally "annexed" by the Marxists and all other Parties abolished.
The Secretary of War, on the other hand, would have other priorities. Like the Revolutionaries of the late 18th century, the counter-revolutionary neighbors were already slowly forming a coalition against France. Something must be done to protect the borders.
Several engineers within the French army responsible for the new fleet of trucks (produced in France, of course, without overly many of the crude personal automobiles now clogging up Europe's roads) to support the Army would request an audience for they had something to show him.
Throughout the last war, the trenches, machine guns and the like would prevent either side from a significant breakthrough. The engineers had thought about this and realized that the men needed better protection, armor against bullets. The would take several examples of a heavy truck and adapt it (with four engines) into a machine-gun covered armored tortoise.
They pointed out that, if France had a few dozen of these, would not the trenches prove less of an impediment to global Marxism?
The Secretary of War agreed and ordered them to improve the design and orders several dozen for experimental purposes.
He would then be approached by a scientist recently graduated from University. A chemist, the man had been ordered to design a tool against counterrevolutionary insurgents. He would provide a formulae for a gas which notoriously caused tearing up to the point that a man was helpless. The Chemist had taken the liberty of speaking to the manager of a local munitions factory and inquired of the gas could be affixed to a mortar or cannon shell.
Washington
Theodore Roosevelt would pass a new "National Parks Act" Amendment which would set aside a massive portion of the Amazon for national parkland and Indian reservations. Given that Roosevelt wanted to defend the Amazon from Brazil, this was a bit confusing for some.
But Roosevelt had seen the region and realized that the land defended itself. It was almost impossible to march through that god-awful forest even WITHOUT any form of resistance. Perhaps the best way to protect the border.....was to intentionally keep the region unsettled and unbroken.
After that, one only needed control over the Amazon River itself to ensure its dominance.
I was wondering when National Parks would come into play.
I was thinking the US could just declare the region 1 giant national park for preservation, and to prevent ever having to cede it back to Brazil, just declare it some kind of international wildlife/nature reserve nobody can claim which is enforced by the USA (whenever TTL equivalent to the LoN/UN comes into existence) like America "cedes the Northern Amazon to the international community for the common heritage of mankind" or something.
This would also be an extra FU to Brazil since it would be international territory and Brazil could never get it back.
I was thinking the US could just declare the region 1 giant national park for preservation, and to prevent ever having to cede it back to Brazil, just declare it some kind of international wildlife/nature reserve nobody can claim which is enforced by the USA (whenever TTL equivalent to the LoN/UN comes into existence) like America "cedes the Northern Amazon to the international community for the common heritage of mankind" or something.
This would also be an extra FU to Brazil since it would be international territory and Brazil could never get it back.
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Chapter 354
March, 1912
Chicago
The Republican Convention would go relatively smoothly. Roosevelt was largely unchallenged by serious candidates despite some Party resistance to elements of his 3 years of office including aggressive trust-busting (particularly rail, steel and oil), higher regulation of food standards, government & military pensions, etc. Roosevelt was publicly popular. That was all the Republicans needed to maintain unity. Few people liked to argue to victory.
Baltimore
The Democratic Convention would be more problematic as House Minority Leader Champ Clark of Missouri would duel with New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson. The Convention was soon deadlocked as neither had enough support to gain the majority of delegates. Tammany Hall would nearly throw its support to one or the other but was repudiated.
Eventually, the deadlock was broken when Judson Harmon, governor of Ohio, would be chosen as a compromise candidate.
It was a poor show of unity.
In the meantime, the radicals of the Party were starting to defect to Eugene V. Debs' Socialist Party. Many Democrats were pleased with this given that the Socialists were being tarred by the insanity ongoing in France and the Hindu Socialist Republic.
July, 1912
Boston
Harriet Quimby would become the first female to gain a pilot's license. She became quite the celebrity locally.
Beijing
The Chinese Nationalist Party was born in Beijing in 1912. While overtly supportive of the Emperor, political reform remained stagnant. The NP would endorse much of the Mandarin's foreign and economic policies but could not stomach the near absolutism still rampant among the Imperial Bureaucracy despite repeated attempts to improve efficiency and reduce corruption.
Not a Revolutionary organizations.....not yet, anyway.....but certainly agitators. The organization would soon rapidly gain thousands of supporters among the business and intellectual classes.
London
Amateur Archeologist Charles Dawson would present his "Piltdown Man" as the Missing Link between ape and man. It would be 40 years before it was proven to be a hoax.
Egypt, the Levant and Mesopotamia
The "ancient world" would see huge interest among the Paleontologists. Digs would become the new standard throughout the region. The Khedive, in particularly, was eager to show off his country's culture to the world.
Central Asia
Over the course of the past years, an estimated 2,000,000 Turkic (almost entirely Muslim) had been wiped out and nearly a million more forced into neighboring regions.
In a particularly savage irony, many sought sanctuary in Xinxiang, the same region which only decades before had seen their Turkic peoples native to the region nearly wiped out by the Chinese.
The Chinese would, once again, brutally force the tribesmen out and even add tens of thousands of their own Muslim minorities as well, this time back into the teeth of the Russian Army.
Chicago
The Republican Convention would go relatively smoothly. Roosevelt was largely unchallenged by serious candidates despite some Party resistance to elements of his 3 years of office including aggressive trust-busting (particularly rail, steel and oil), higher regulation of food standards, government & military pensions, etc. Roosevelt was publicly popular. That was all the Republicans needed to maintain unity. Few people liked to argue to victory.
Baltimore
The Democratic Convention would be more problematic as House Minority Leader Champ Clark of Missouri would duel with New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson. The Convention was soon deadlocked as neither had enough support to gain the majority of delegates. Tammany Hall would nearly throw its support to one or the other but was repudiated.
Eventually, the deadlock was broken when Judson Harmon, governor of Ohio, would be chosen as a compromise candidate.
It was a poor show of unity.
In the meantime, the radicals of the Party were starting to defect to Eugene V. Debs' Socialist Party. Many Democrats were pleased with this given that the Socialists were being tarred by the insanity ongoing in France and the Hindu Socialist Republic.
July, 1912
Boston
Harriet Quimby would become the first female to gain a pilot's license. She became quite the celebrity locally.
Beijing
The Chinese Nationalist Party was born in Beijing in 1912. While overtly supportive of the Emperor, political reform remained stagnant. The NP would endorse much of the Mandarin's foreign and economic policies but could not stomach the near absolutism still rampant among the Imperial Bureaucracy despite repeated attempts to improve efficiency and reduce corruption.
Not a Revolutionary organizations.....not yet, anyway.....but certainly agitators. The organization would soon rapidly gain thousands of supporters among the business and intellectual classes.
London
Amateur Archeologist Charles Dawson would present his "Piltdown Man" as the Missing Link between ape and man. It would be 40 years before it was proven to be a hoax.
Egypt, the Levant and Mesopotamia
The "ancient world" would see huge interest among the Paleontologists. Digs would become the new standard throughout the region. The Khedive, in particularly, was eager to show off his country's culture to the world.
Central Asia
Over the course of the past years, an estimated 2,000,000 Turkic (almost entirely Muslim) had been wiped out and nearly a million more forced into neighboring regions.
In a particularly savage irony, many sought sanctuary in Xinxiang, the same region which only decades before had seen their Turkic peoples native to the region nearly wiped out by the Chinese.
The Chinese would, once again, brutally force the tribesmen out and even add tens of thousands of their own Muslim minorities as well, this time back into the teeth of the Russian Army.
Chapter 355
November, 1912
Washington
By nearly a two to one margin in the electoral college, Roosevelt would win the 1912 election. He was greatly aided by the 4% of mostly Democratic votes which were sapped by the Socialists.
Worse, the Southern Democrats, already irritated by lack of attention to their requirements, would see a depressed turnout which cost several Congressional positions.
With the victory, Roosevelt was even less beholden to the Republican power structure and happily relieved several of his Cabinet Secretaries that had originally been approved via Party agreement. Now, the President had no inclination to put up with any hindrances.
Among his new Cabinet members was the new Secretary of Territorial Affairs, his old friend Winston Churchill. Now past his mid-thirties, the English-born soldier had served as Roosevelt's major domo for almost a decade and a half. Roosevelt thought the man was more than ready for a Cabinet position. Flexible in thought, Roosevelt was certain Churchill's energy would prove a boon to the nation. However, having never served in Congress or other elected office, the nomination received a great deal of resistance in Congress. Fortunately, Roosevelt managed to gain enough support (by one vote) to put Churchill in the position.
In the meantime, the main trustbuster in the legal department, William Jennings Bryan, would be promoted to Attorney General. The man's politics would be somewhat controversial given his often radical political stances but Roosevelt trusted him. What was more, the President would put him in charge of the Administration's answer to the proposed 17th Amendment: direct election of Senators.
Roosevelt had come around to the idea while Bryan was a passionate advocate. He would work with Congress to arrange the requisite support as well as prepare the states for ratification.
It would also be Bryan who would bring Eugene Debs into direct contact with President Roosevelt. Here Debs' latest crusade was against the meatpacking industry. Roosevelt would be horrified by what he found and publicly denounced the unsafe conditions and sanitation of the industry. Bryan was ordered to enact a public investigation and ensure the entire country was aware of the matter. Soon, the Clean Foods Act of 1913 would be passed, greatly expanding upon prior legislation and creating a bureaucracy capable of actually administering it.
Bryan would also lead the Justice Department in cracking down on the Coaling Companies which had been mistreating workers. Debs was surprised but pleased. His Socialist Party had done poorly in the last election and was painted with the brush of French Radicalism and dismissed as European extremists.
In the meantime, the multiple-year investigation of the disappearance of Mohandas Gandhi. The prime suspect was a Georgian labor boss Gandhi had been investigating for corruption but no real evidence had been found and the investigation closed. The drama made for excellent Yellow Journalism and also spurred several unions to review their own internal procedures for auditing Union locals.
Sikh Empire
The Hindu Socialist Republic would dispatch over 80,000 troops across the border of the Sikh Empire in 1912. A mix of Sikh, Muslim and Hindus, the Sikh Empire was viewed as an easy target for the HSR to defeat in battle and "liberate" the local Hindus....and put the Muslims and Sikh's in their place.
However, the HSR would severely underestimate the Sikh military capacity as the Empire had been allied with Baluchistan and the other western subcontinent powers and was able to gain significant modern weaponry. This allowed the Sikh Empire to push the HSR back across the borders within months.
HSR agent provocateurs would nevertheless encourage many native Hindus to revolt against the Sikhs. This was largely put down but would severely weaken the Empire.
Washington
By nearly a two to one margin in the electoral college, Roosevelt would win the 1912 election. He was greatly aided by the 4% of mostly Democratic votes which were sapped by the Socialists.
Worse, the Southern Democrats, already irritated by lack of attention to their requirements, would see a depressed turnout which cost several Congressional positions.
With the victory, Roosevelt was even less beholden to the Republican power structure and happily relieved several of his Cabinet Secretaries that had originally been approved via Party agreement. Now, the President had no inclination to put up with any hindrances.
Among his new Cabinet members was the new Secretary of Territorial Affairs, his old friend Winston Churchill. Now past his mid-thirties, the English-born soldier had served as Roosevelt's major domo for almost a decade and a half. Roosevelt thought the man was more than ready for a Cabinet position. Flexible in thought, Roosevelt was certain Churchill's energy would prove a boon to the nation. However, having never served in Congress or other elected office, the nomination received a great deal of resistance in Congress. Fortunately, Roosevelt managed to gain enough support (by one vote) to put Churchill in the position.
In the meantime, the main trustbuster in the legal department, William Jennings Bryan, would be promoted to Attorney General. The man's politics would be somewhat controversial given his often radical political stances but Roosevelt trusted him. What was more, the President would put him in charge of the Administration's answer to the proposed 17th Amendment: direct election of Senators.
Roosevelt had come around to the idea while Bryan was a passionate advocate. He would work with Congress to arrange the requisite support as well as prepare the states for ratification.
It would also be Bryan who would bring Eugene Debs into direct contact with President Roosevelt. Here Debs' latest crusade was against the meatpacking industry. Roosevelt would be horrified by what he found and publicly denounced the unsafe conditions and sanitation of the industry. Bryan was ordered to enact a public investigation and ensure the entire country was aware of the matter. Soon, the Clean Foods Act of 1913 would be passed, greatly expanding upon prior legislation and creating a bureaucracy capable of actually administering it.
Bryan would also lead the Justice Department in cracking down on the Coaling Companies which had been mistreating workers. Debs was surprised but pleased. His Socialist Party had done poorly in the last election and was painted with the brush of French Radicalism and dismissed as European extremists.
In the meantime, the multiple-year investigation of the disappearance of Mohandas Gandhi. The prime suspect was a Georgian labor boss Gandhi had been investigating for corruption but no real evidence had been found and the investigation closed. The drama made for excellent Yellow Journalism and also spurred several unions to review their own internal procedures for auditing Union locals.
Sikh Empire
The Hindu Socialist Republic would dispatch over 80,000 troops across the border of the Sikh Empire in 1912. A mix of Sikh, Muslim and Hindus, the Sikh Empire was viewed as an easy target for the HSR to defeat in battle and "liberate" the local Hindus....and put the Muslims and Sikh's in their place.
However, the HSR would severely underestimate the Sikh military capacity as the Empire had been allied with Baluchistan and the other western subcontinent powers and was able to gain significant modern weaponry. This allowed the Sikh Empire to push the HSR back across the borders within months.
HSR agent provocateurs would nevertheless encourage many native Hindus to revolt against the Sikhs. This was largely put down but would severely weaken the Empire.
Chapter 356
July, 1913
Paris
Having grown to like the idea of a chemical weapon crippling huge portions of an enemy line, the French Defense Ministry would investigate other potential chemicals to kill soldiers en masse.
What was more, the degenerate Spanish Monarchy was facing considerable domestic discontent. The Marxists would quietly offer money and support to their oppressed "Spanish Kin". Unlike Germany and Italy, which possessed stronger and more competent governments, the Spanish support for Marxists would rapidly expand.
Moscow
Czarina Anna would spend several days that summer witnessing the newly reorganized Russian Army on maneuver. Though not trained in the military arts, Anna was smarter than many of her generals and swiftly realized the improvement that she witnessed. In the prior war, Russian Regiments were unruly, cumbersome units and there had been horrific coordination among larger armies.
The Russian General Staff was reorganized, a priority put on supply and medical planning, new emphasis put on modern tactics (oddly, it was the French who had been making some strides in this) and massing munitions and other military necessities at the front. New factories would be established to produce arms in large numbers so the nation need not be dependent upon foreigners for aid.
Rio de Janeiro
After the dismal performance of the Brazilian Army and Navy in the past conflict, the Emperor demanded to know how the Americans may be pushed back into the Caribbean. The acceptance of Orinoco as a state effectively ensured the United States intended to permanently remain in South America. Already Venezuela and Chile (partially) had been dismembered by the Americans, either directly or indirectly. Peru and Ecuador had fallen apart largely on their own.....not that America had done anything help.
Was it no likely that America intended the same for Brazil?
The Emperor imagined every state of Brazil "liberated" by Americans and forged into helpless, petty nations under American control.
Unfortunately, most of the problems of the previous war had not been overcome. There were few roads or railroads into the Amazon Basin as the large number of river tributaries would demand expansive (and expensive) bridges to be built by the dozen. As the Amazon had few exploitable natural resources (gold had been discovered here or there but not in adequate quantities to sustain a population) and the soil was poor for agriculture, the verdant basis of the world's mightiest river largely remained the kingdom of animals and the odd tribe.
As America had shut off Brazilian traffic through the river mouth, this eliminated nearly 95% of the already poor economic opportunities of the region. Brazilians along the river system were flowing OUT, not IN.
Even the rubber plantations were struggling as the admittedly heinous practice of forced Indian labor was slowly ending due to large-scale escapes, a heavy death toll, reduced access to the already waning Indian population of the basin and the added expenses of transport would hamper the still profitable rubber industry deep in the interior along the Andes mountain slopes (though there were some fears that these new synthetic rubbers being introduced in America and Britain would someday supercede natural rubber).
Still, doing nothing was unacceptable. A plan to regain the Amazon and at least push the Americans back to the Guyana Plateau was necessary.
The Generals shrugged and stated that proximity was Brazil's greatest weapon....that and determination. The Americans saw the Amazon as a place on the map. Brazil saw it as intrinsically tied to their nation, culture and history.
Thus, a battle plan was drawn up for raising large numbers of volunteers on short notice (augmented by key experienced professionals like artillerymen, etc), supplies stored in advance locations and, effectively, throw more numbers than the Americans were ever likely to able to match (or want to).
It was BRAZIL's destiny to reign supreme over South America, not the United States. Giving up this principle was to end any semblance of hope for Brazil becoming a world power.
Paris
Having grown to like the idea of a chemical weapon crippling huge portions of an enemy line, the French Defense Ministry would investigate other potential chemicals to kill soldiers en masse.
What was more, the degenerate Spanish Monarchy was facing considerable domestic discontent. The Marxists would quietly offer money and support to their oppressed "Spanish Kin". Unlike Germany and Italy, which possessed stronger and more competent governments, the Spanish support for Marxists would rapidly expand.
Moscow
Czarina Anna would spend several days that summer witnessing the newly reorganized Russian Army on maneuver. Though not trained in the military arts, Anna was smarter than many of her generals and swiftly realized the improvement that she witnessed. In the prior war, Russian Regiments were unruly, cumbersome units and there had been horrific coordination among larger armies.
The Russian General Staff was reorganized, a priority put on supply and medical planning, new emphasis put on modern tactics (oddly, it was the French who had been making some strides in this) and massing munitions and other military necessities at the front. New factories would be established to produce arms in large numbers so the nation need not be dependent upon foreigners for aid.
Rio de Janeiro
After the dismal performance of the Brazilian Army and Navy in the past conflict, the Emperor demanded to know how the Americans may be pushed back into the Caribbean. The acceptance of Orinoco as a state effectively ensured the United States intended to permanently remain in South America. Already Venezuela and Chile (partially) had been dismembered by the Americans, either directly or indirectly. Peru and Ecuador had fallen apart largely on their own.....not that America had done anything help.
Was it no likely that America intended the same for Brazil?
The Emperor imagined every state of Brazil "liberated" by Americans and forged into helpless, petty nations under American control.
Unfortunately, most of the problems of the previous war had not been overcome. There were few roads or railroads into the Amazon Basin as the large number of river tributaries would demand expansive (and expensive) bridges to be built by the dozen. As the Amazon had few exploitable natural resources (gold had been discovered here or there but not in adequate quantities to sustain a population) and the soil was poor for agriculture, the verdant basis of the world's mightiest river largely remained the kingdom of animals and the odd tribe.
As America had shut off Brazilian traffic through the river mouth, this eliminated nearly 95% of the already poor economic opportunities of the region. Brazilians along the river system were flowing OUT, not IN.
Even the rubber plantations were struggling as the admittedly heinous practice of forced Indian labor was slowly ending due to large-scale escapes, a heavy death toll, reduced access to the already waning Indian population of the basin and the added expenses of transport would hamper the still profitable rubber industry deep in the interior along the Andes mountain slopes (though there were some fears that these new synthetic rubbers being introduced in America and Britain would someday supercede natural rubber).
Still, doing nothing was unacceptable. A plan to regain the Amazon and at least push the Americans back to the Guyana Plateau was necessary.
The Generals shrugged and stated that proximity was Brazil's greatest weapon....that and determination. The Americans saw the Amazon as a place on the map. Brazil saw it as intrinsically tied to their nation, culture and history.
Thus, a battle plan was drawn up for raising large numbers of volunteers on short notice (augmented by key experienced professionals like artillerymen, etc), supplies stored in advance locations and, effectively, throw more numbers than the Americans were ever likely to able to match (or want to).
It was BRAZIL's destiny to reign supreme over South America, not the United States. Giving up this principle was to end any semblance of hope for Brazil becoming a world power.
I don't expect much from there to show up here. The US is taking pieces of the world almost more out of "look, that's interesting" and country X in particular annoyed us and well, no one wants it situation. In DoD, the slave owning USA (minus New England) more or less decided on conquest of the Americas as a National goal in the 1830s.
It's funny in most TL where modern Argentina didn't form, Brazil would already view itself as reigning supreme over South America.
Chapter 357
October, 1913
Portsmouth
The HMS Queen Elizabeth would launch in October, 1913. It would be the first Oil-fired warship in the world. The British had already been at the forefront of naval design for years and this would ensure the Royal Navy remained as such.
November, 1913
Dublin
Edward Carson had never been an extreme Orangeist akin to the Radicals but would soon realize that the potential for future Home Rule.....was still in existence despite the current government. Parliament was obviously fatigued with the "Irish Question" after centuries of resistance. He began to realize that the British government could not be trusted long term to keep Ireland attached to Britain.
In November, he would create the Irish Volunteers and begin importing large numbers of weapons into Ireland. The Fenians were doing the same. It would only even the balance.
Detroit
Henry Ford's moving assembly line would revolutionize automotive production, reducing construction time by over 80%. The quantity of automobiles on the road exploded over the following years as prices were driven down to levels even common people could afford.
Two months later, Ford would announce a $5.00 wage, revolutionary for the time.
December, 1913
Belfast
The HMHS Britannic would be launched out of Belfast. It would be a remarkable vessel. Her sister ship Titanic had launched the previous year.
February, 1914
Baltimore Shipyard
Secretary of the Navy Winston Churchill would personally inspect two new ships preparing for launch out of Baltimore. The new fast Cruisers were being built in Brooklyn while the new Heavy Battleships were produced in Norfolk. But the more important vessels in Churchill's mind were the new torpedo boats, submersibles and fast destroyers produced in Baltimore (as well as San Diego and Seattle). Churchill was convinced that the torpedo would make most capital ships obsolete.
For the price of one battleship, he could build a small fleet of these torpedo-laden lighter ships. He imagined a lumbering battleship facing a dozen vessels with torpedoes approaching from all angles. Good luck.
However, Mahan continued to preach that the battleship was not done. Instead, he proposed a mixed fleet. Heavy ships with big guns were protected from destroyers by fast cruisers with medium guns which were protected by destroyers from submersibles with new depth charges.
If anything, the six decade long naval arms race was getting even more complex.
New Jersey
"Tess of the Storm Century" starring the first true movie starlet, Mary Pickford, would be released to great acclaim. The "girl with the curls" would play opposite a sadistic local aristocrat portrayed by Benito Mussolini.
Paris
With all manufacturing effectively nationalized, the French Commune would order unemployed Urban workers into the factory floor. Dismayed by the poor wages, several dozen attempted to strike. Within the hour, Secret Police arrived and the twelve men would never be heard from again beyond a vague statement of "treason".
No further strikes were to be held.
Production would, in fact, increase over the course of the past several years and the coming ones but actual productivity and quality stayed stubbornly low.
Portsmouth
The HMS Queen Elizabeth would launch in October, 1913. It would be the first Oil-fired warship in the world. The British had already been at the forefront of naval design for years and this would ensure the Royal Navy remained as such.
November, 1913
Dublin
Edward Carson had never been an extreme Orangeist akin to the Radicals but would soon realize that the potential for future Home Rule.....was still in existence despite the current government. Parliament was obviously fatigued with the "Irish Question" after centuries of resistance. He began to realize that the British government could not be trusted long term to keep Ireland attached to Britain.
In November, he would create the Irish Volunteers and begin importing large numbers of weapons into Ireland. The Fenians were doing the same. It would only even the balance.
Detroit
Henry Ford's moving assembly line would revolutionize automotive production, reducing construction time by over 80%. The quantity of automobiles on the road exploded over the following years as prices were driven down to levels even common people could afford.
Two months later, Ford would announce a $5.00 wage, revolutionary for the time.
December, 1913
Belfast
The HMHS Britannic would be launched out of Belfast. It would be a remarkable vessel. Her sister ship Titanic had launched the previous year.
February, 1914
Baltimore Shipyard
Secretary of the Navy Winston Churchill would personally inspect two new ships preparing for launch out of Baltimore. The new fast Cruisers were being built in Brooklyn while the new Heavy Battleships were produced in Norfolk. But the more important vessels in Churchill's mind were the new torpedo boats, submersibles and fast destroyers produced in Baltimore (as well as San Diego and Seattle). Churchill was convinced that the torpedo would make most capital ships obsolete.
For the price of one battleship, he could build a small fleet of these torpedo-laden lighter ships. He imagined a lumbering battleship facing a dozen vessels with torpedoes approaching from all angles. Good luck.
However, Mahan continued to preach that the battleship was not done. Instead, he proposed a mixed fleet. Heavy ships with big guns were protected from destroyers by fast cruisers with medium guns which were protected by destroyers from submersibles with new depth charges.
If anything, the six decade long naval arms race was getting even more complex.
New Jersey
"Tess of the Storm Century" starring the first true movie starlet, Mary Pickford, would be released to great acclaim. The "girl with the curls" would play opposite a sadistic local aristocrat portrayed by Benito Mussolini.
Paris
With all manufacturing effectively nationalized, the French Commune would order unemployed Urban workers into the factory floor. Dismayed by the poor wages, several dozen attempted to strike. Within the hour, Secret Police arrived and the twelve men would never be heard from again beyond a vague statement of "treason".
No further strikes were to be held.
Production would, in fact, increase over the course of the past several years and the coming ones but actual productivity and quality stayed stubbornly low.
Guess we don't have anything in terms of aircraft development. I did notice hot air ballons, so dirigibles could be a thing by now, but apparently, no heavier than air flight mentioned. Given the US' commitment in the Amazon and heavily forested areas with little infrastructure, would there be the possibility that helicopter development proceeds ahead of airplane development ITTL?
Chapter 358
May, 1914
St. Lawrence
The RMS Empress of Ireland would be struck by a commercial ship in May, list so badly that even the lifeboats could not be deployed and over a thousand lives were lost.
The competing White Star Line would brag about the safety record of their new Titanic and Britannic.
Sarajevo
The young Serbian-Bosnian Gavrilo Princip would enter the Bosnian Military Academy after his brother managed to get him a position. The Princip's were Serbs but remained quite loyal to the Kingdom of Bosnia and worked well with the Bosniaks.....once the oppressive laws allowing Bosnian landlords to take a third of their tenant's incomes were reformed.
Though Serbia and Bosnia had experienced tensions over the past years, these had been skillfully downplayed by diplomats. The chaos and insanity of the previous war was too recent in memory to want any of this to touch the Balkans.
Central Asia
As the Steppe was "cleared" of Turkic tribesmen, the Czarina's ministers would offer large land grants to Russian settlers with the intention of permanently occupying the region.
Large numbers began pouring into lands once ruled by Kazaks, Uzbeks,, etc.....and commence large-scale cotton farming, etc.
Washington
Roosevelt would sign the National Forests Act, intended to reclaim many of the denuded forests of the country and regulate future woodcutting.
He would also make modifications to various consumer safety Acts while setting aside a number of offshore islands for bird preservation.
The Buffalo had been reintroduced to three national parts and the herds were back into the thousands.
On the whole, some of the more Conservative Republicans were irritated by the sheer scale of his reforms but few of Roosevelt's directives were actively blocked. Mostly, this tended to occur when some major Corporation was hit by the Justice Department. Already, the Secretary of the Interior had been ordered to prevent any single oil company from gaining more than 10% of the Orinoco deposits....lest an Anti-Trust suit be born.
In the meantime, Guyana, Trinidad, Bolivar and Para were starting to discuss a request for statehood. Native born "Americans" still remained a minority....though this was rapidly changing. Most of there regions under Venezuela and Brazil had been VERY lightly populated and recent migrants were nearly in the majority.
But several of these regions remained immensely poor relative to the American mainland.
For nearly 5 years, the President had reformed and reformed. Many of these were generally popular, others not.
St. Lawrence
The RMS Empress of Ireland would be struck by a commercial ship in May, list so badly that even the lifeboats could not be deployed and over a thousand lives were lost.
The competing White Star Line would brag about the safety record of their new Titanic and Britannic.
Sarajevo
The young Serbian-Bosnian Gavrilo Princip would enter the Bosnian Military Academy after his brother managed to get him a position. The Princip's were Serbs but remained quite loyal to the Kingdom of Bosnia and worked well with the Bosniaks.....once the oppressive laws allowing Bosnian landlords to take a third of their tenant's incomes were reformed.
Though Serbia and Bosnia had experienced tensions over the past years, these had been skillfully downplayed by diplomats. The chaos and insanity of the previous war was too recent in memory to want any of this to touch the Balkans.
Central Asia
As the Steppe was "cleared" of Turkic tribesmen, the Czarina's ministers would offer large land grants to Russian settlers with the intention of permanently occupying the region.
Large numbers began pouring into lands once ruled by Kazaks, Uzbeks,, etc.....and commence large-scale cotton farming, etc.
Washington
Roosevelt would sign the National Forests Act, intended to reclaim many of the denuded forests of the country and regulate future woodcutting.
He would also make modifications to various consumer safety Acts while setting aside a number of offshore islands for bird preservation.
The Buffalo had been reintroduced to three national parts and the herds were back into the thousands.
On the whole, some of the more Conservative Republicans were irritated by the sheer scale of his reforms but few of Roosevelt's directives were actively blocked. Mostly, this tended to occur when some major Corporation was hit by the Justice Department. Already, the Secretary of the Interior had been ordered to prevent any single oil company from gaining more than 10% of the Orinoco deposits....lest an Anti-Trust suit be born.
In the meantime, Guyana, Trinidad, Bolivar and Para were starting to discuss a request for statehood. Native born "Americans" still remained a minority....though this was rapidly changing. Most of there regions under Venezuela and Brazil had been VERY lightly populated and recent migrants were nearly in the majority.
But several of these regions remained immensely poor relative to the American mainland.
For nearly 5 years, the President had reformed and reformed. Many of these were generally popular, others not.
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I think that there is a incomplete sentence because the last line doesn’t make sense. I think it should end with something like one steel price of laws allowing the landowners to take a third of their tenants income were removed or replaced.
I believe I mentioned a couple of times that the American Army was buying planes from the Wright Company and that several women were getting licenses. But the planes were too new to take part in the recent war.
I am hoping some good news in india. There is no ups and down in that country only freefall.
Chapter 359
July, 1914
Baluchistan, Sind, Gujarat, the Sikh Empire
With the Sikh Empire facing aggression from the HSR, the slow gears of war would bring into focus the regional allies. While there was no shortage of border conflicts and religious rivalries here, any of these nations could look at the regional map and realize exactly who they should fear. It was only a matter of time until the HSR turned their attention further west.
The HSR was already preparing for another strike at the Sikh Empire. Only poor preparation and execution had prevented a victory.
The alliance would prepare for war as one thing was clear: if one fell, they all would.
However, it would be in the west that the HSR would have its first major success.
West Bengal
West (Hindu) and East (Muslim) Bengal had long been united relatively peacefully under one ruler. Split at independence into two halves, Bengal, once the wealthiest region of the British Raj, was wracked in Civil War and split into two nations. Millions of Bengalis would die of direct warfare or forced expulsion from their homes. The incident would make West Bengal's population easy prey for the Hindu Socialist Republics Agents Provocateurs.
A rebellion against the government would see chaos develop and the HSR would dispatch troops across the border, easily taking Kolkata.
The HSR would wait only a few months to consolidate before looking for additional expansion.
Lyon
The first of the Model III armored vehicles (often called "Tanks") would delivered to a military facility. While the decadent German capitalist swine were building private automobiles for their bourgeois ruling classes, the French were preparing for the next war.
And there WOULD be a next war. And soon.
But this would not be about petty nationalism or minor border disputes. The French Commune would soon spread the length of the world.
It was already spreading south.
Madrid
Spanish Marxists found fertile recruiting ground in the dysfunctional and conservative Kingdom of Spain. The modest reforms of the past fifty years had accomplished little to improve the lives of the Spanish peasant. Political representation remained limited and indirect at best. The gentry, the church and the army remained in command of Spain.
This, with Spanish resistance to Unionism, would encourage workers to rebel in the cities where the unprepared Spanish Army proved less than capable of quickly repressing....especially when the Commune started providing "advisors" and weapons.
Baluchistan, Sind, Gujarat, the Sikh Empire
With the Sikh Empire facing aggression from the HSR, the slow gears of war would bring into focus the regional allies. While there was no shortage of border conflicts and religious rivalries here, any of these nations could look at the regional map and realize exactly who they should fear. It was only a matter of time until the HSR turned their attention further west.
The HSR was already preparing for another strike at the Sikh Empire. Only poor preparation and execution had prevented a victory.
The alliance would prepare for war as one thing was clear: if one fell, they all would.
However, it would be in the west that the HSR would have its first major success.
West Bengal
West (Hindu) and East (Muslim) Bengal had long been united relatively peacefully under one ruler. Split at independence into two halves, Bengal, once the wealthiest region of the British Raj, was wracked in Civil War and split into two nations. Millions of Bengalis would die of direct warfare or forced expulsion from their homes. The incident would make West Bengal's population easy prey for the Hindu Socialist Republics Agents Provocateurs.
A rebellion against the government would see chaos develop and the HSR would dispatch troops across the border, easily taking Kolkata.
The HSR would wait only a few months to consolidate before looking for additional expansion.
Lyon
The first of the Model III armored vehicles (often called "Tanks") would delivered to a military facility. While the decadent German capitalist swine were building private automobiles for their bourgeois ruling classes, the French were preparing for the next war.
And there WOULD be a next war. And soon.
But this would not be about petty nationalism or minor border disputes. The French Commune would soon spread the length of the world.
It was already spreading south.
Madrid
Spanish Marxists found fertile recruiting ground in the dysfunctional and conservative Kingdom of Spain. The modest reforms of the past fifty years had accomplished little to improve the lives of the Spanish peasant. Political representation remained limited and indirect at best. The gentry, the church and the army remained in command of Spain.
This, with Spanish resistance to Unionism, would encourage workers to rebel in the cities where the unprepared Spanish Army proved less than capable of quickly repressing....especially when the Commune started providing "advisors" and weapons.
Chapter 360
October, 1914
Beijing
Over the past decades, the Mandarin Government under Dowager-Empress Cixi had quietly reformed nearly all facets of life in China. The bloated, inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy had seen numerous reforms and purges. The education system had vastly expanded for peasants while universities were funded with an emphasis on subsidizing vital modern skills (as opposed to calligraphy and philosophy).
Railroads expanded omnidirectionally, bridges were built, dams were constructed to prevent the semi-regular (and devastating) floods of the major rivers, shipyards modernized, telephone service inaugurated......
But political reform remained slow. With the Crown Prince now effectively ruling China, he would continue her policies.
To his view, the Mandarin had been generous to peasants. Taxes were lowered. Avenues for land acquisition eased. The old commercial guilds were largely abolished and ambitious Chinese able to enter any field they desired.
The worst abuses of remote territorial governors were brought to heel.
So why was there so much disharmony?
Did the foreigners really have THAT much of an effect on China's people with their spouting of "Democracy"?
Japan had nominal democracy but the nation remained, in fact, as autocratic as ever. The military merely replaced the Shoguns of the past.
No, China would not follow THAT route. The Middle Kingdom was the richest and most important nation on Earth....and had been for 2000 years. Let the rest of the world learn from THEM.
Dublin, Belfast, Cork
Bombs exploded in Protestant pubs.
Mobs of Orangists attacked seized suspected Fenian militants and hanged them from lampposts.
Men and women simply....disappeared into the night. Whole families vanished.
The British Army, dispatched to prevent a Fenian uprisings, would spend almost as much time repressing Orangists as Fenians.
Even the Conservative/Liberal Unionist Coalition was getting sick of the Orangists. Ireland was becoming a bleeding ulcer.
Beijing
Over the past decades, the Mandarin Government under Dowager-Empress Cixi had quietly reformed nearly all facets of life in China. The bloated, inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy had seen numerous reforms and purges. The education system had vastly expanded for peasants while universities were funded with an emphasis on subsidizing vital modern skills (as opposed to calligraphy and philosophy).
Railroads expanded omnidirectionally, bridges were built, dams were constructed to prevent the semi-regular (and devastating) floods of the major rivers, shipyards modernized, telephone service inaugurated......
But political reform remained slow. With the Crown Prince now effectively ruling China, he would continue her policies.
To his view, the Mandarin had been generous to peasants. Taxes were lowered. Avenues for land acquisition eased. The old commercial guilds were largely abolished and ambitious Chinese able to enter any field they desired.
The worst abuses of remote territorial governors were brought to heel.
So why was there so much disharmony?
Did the foreigners really have THAT much of an effect on China's people with their spouting of "Democracy"?
Japan had nominal democracy but the nation remained, in fact, as autocratic as ever. The military merely replaced the Shoguns of the past.
No, China would not follow THAT route. The Middle Kingdom was the richest and most important nation on Earth....and had been for 2000 years. Let the rest of the world learn from THEM.
Dublin, Belfast, Cork
Bombs exploded in Protestant pubs.
Mobs of Orangists attacked seized suspected Fenian militants and hanged them from lampposts.
Men and women simply....disappeared into the night. Whole families vanished.
The British Army, dispatched to prevent a Fenian uprisings, would spend almost as much time repressing Orangists as Fenians.
Even the Conservative/Liberal Unionist Coalition was getting sick of the Orangists. Ireland was becoming a bleeding ulcer.
Chapter 361
December, 1914
Kyoto
The Japanese Army had largely taken the reins of government and instilled a cult-like worship of the Emperor. More importantly, they prevented the Navy from exerting any significant influence upon the nation.
Ironically, the devotion of the Emperor and intention to unify all segments of society would be eerily similar to Russia.
Seoul, Joseon Kingdom
For the past few years, the Joseon Kingdom had sought to rapidly advance after centuries of the "Hermit Kingdom". The Joseon King would....begrudgingly....open up the nation to foreign trade.
The last thing the Joseon Kingdom needed was to fall even further behind the Japanese, American, Russians and Chinese.
Beijing
Popular revolts would appear almost out of nowhere (from the government perspective). The Army was called in to restore order....then revolts popped up elsewhere.
The Chinese Government, flush with confidence after the victory in the preceding war, would find themselves overwhelmed by the crisis. Ever city now spawned "civic associations" and the like to promote democracy....or Marxism (on occasion)....or anarchy....or this, that or the other thing.
Madrid
The insurgency in Spain would, by the end of 1914, grow into a full-blown Civil War. Monarchists, Republicans, Marxists and assorted other factions would commence fighting, often with shifting alliances.
The Marxists would prove the most effective early on due to French support and "advisors". Within months, King Alphonso would seek support wherever he could and found it with the Prince Victor of Italy. Large amounts of supply began flowing into Spain to aid the Monarchists.
Washington
While the mid-term elections had not gone....poorly....for Roosevelt's party, he was hardly pleased to see the opposition gain six Senate seats and eleven Congressional seats. As the Republicans had a substantial majority prior to the election, this wasn't crippling....but hardly helped. What was more, the Conservative faction of the Party were considering his Progressive reforms as having gone too far already.
But Roosevelt was not to be deterred. He would continue ahead, blocking off large swathes of land for posterity in National Parks, expanding Consumer Safety and the like. Still, Roosevelt wished he had a partner in Congress worthy of the name.
Moscow
Czarina Anna would witness the Christmas Parade in Moscow. It was barely freezing, uncommonly warm for this time of year. Her eldest son, Ivan, was now 22 (born in the first year of her marriage to Michael of Bulgaria) and ready to assume some responsibility. Having been forbidden to join the Russian Air Corps (the death rate in those infernal contraptions were simply too high), the Czarevitch instead put in command of reviewing readiness of Russian troops in the West. He would report that the soldiers were well trained and well armed.
The supply situation was still a question when or if (let's face it, it was always going to be "when") war were to erupt in the west. Yes, the Russian Empire had GREATLY expanded rail transport to the western cities like St. Petersburg, Smolensk, Donetsk, Rostov, Kursk etc, vital for fighting in the modern age. Large quantities of various weapons and war-making materials had been consolidated. A fleet of modern trucks for supply requirements had also been ordered by the army from the Ford Motor Company Assembly plants in Tula and Novgorod.
When (not IF) Russia renewed her claim to the ungrateful breakaway nations of the west (Finland, Poland, White Russia, Little Russia, the Baltic petty states), the Czarina would NOT be so easily defeated.
What was more, the virtual extermination of the Turkic tribes of the Steppe would ensure no threat from THAT area again as it had in the previous war....and Russian semi-deliberate near abandonment of further Siberia. Russia was NOT ready to challenge China from such a distance....and certainly not prepared to fight on two fronts.
Russian focus was on the west, not the east.
For now.
Kyoto
The Japanese Army had largely taken the reins of government and instilled a cult-like worship of the Emperor. More importantly, they prevented the Navy from exerting any significant influence upon the nation.
Ironically, the devotion of the Emperor and intention to unify all segments of society would be eerily similar to Russia.
Seoul, Joseon Kingdom
For the past few years, the Joseon Kingdom had sought to rapidly advance after centuries of the "Hermit Kingdom". The Joseon King would....begrudgingly....open up the nation to foreign trade.
The last thing the Joseon Kingdom needed was to fall even further behind the Japanese, American, Russians and Chinese.
Beijing
Popular revolts would appear almost out of nowhere (from the government perspective). The Army was called in to restore order....then revolts popped up elsewhere.
The Chinese Government, flush with confidence after the victory in the preceding war, would find themselves overwhelmed by the crisis. Ever city now spawned "civic associations" and the like to promote democracy....or Marxism (on occasion)....or anarchy....or this, that or the other thing.
Madrid
The insurgency in Spain would, by the end of 1914, grow into a full-blown Civil War. Monarchists, Republicans, Marxists and assorted other factions would commence fighting, often with shifting alliances.
The Marxists would prove the most effective early on due to French support and "advisors". Within months, King Alphonso would seek support wherever he could and found it with the Prince Victor of Italy. Large amounts of supply began flowing into Spain to aid the Monarchists.
Washington
While the mid-term elections had not gone....poorly....for Roosevelt's party, he was hardly pleased to see the opposition gain six Senate seats and eleven Congressional seats. As the Republicans had a substantial majority prior to the election, this wasn't crippling....but hardly helped. What was more, the Conservative faction of the Party were considering his Progressive reforms as having gone too far already.
But Roosevelt was not to be deterred. He would continue ahead, blocking off large swathes of land for posterity in National Parks, expanding Consumer Safety and the like. Still, Roosevelt wished he had a partner in Congress worthy of the name.
Moscow
Czarina Anna would witness the Christmas Parade in Moscow. It was barely freezing, uncommonly warm for this time of year. Her eldest son, Ivan, was now 22 (born in the first year of her marriage to Michael of Bulgaria) and ready to assume some responsibility. Having been forbidden to join the Russian Air Corps (the death rate in those infernal contraptions were simply too high), the Czarevitch instead put in command of reviewing readiness of Russian troops in the West. He would report that the soldiers were well trained and well armed.
The supply situation was still a question when or if (let's face it, it was always going to be "when") war were to erupt in the west. Yes, the Russian Empire had GREATLY expanded rail transport to the western cities like St. Petersburg, Smolensk, Donetsk, Rostov, Kursk etc, vital for fighting in the modern age. Large quantities of various weapons and war-making materials had been consolidated. A fleet of modern trucks for supply requirements had also been ordered by the army from the Ford Motor Company Assembly plants in Tula and Novgorod.
When (not IF) Russia renewed her claim to the ungrateful breakaway nations of the west (Finland, Poland, White Russia, Little Russia, the Baltic petty states), the Czarina would NOT be so easily defeated.
What was more, the virtual extermination of the Turkic tribes of the Steppe would ensure no threat from THAT area again as it had in the previous war....and Russian semi-deliberate near abandonment of further Siberia. Russia was NOT ready to challenge China from such a distance....and certainly not prepared to fight on two fronts.
Russian focus was on the west, not the east.
For now.
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