Entry 1:
War Flag of the Free German Army
The faillure of Operation Overlord had been not only a grave tactical setback bu had proven highly costly in terms of men and material. The only positive aspect for the Allies was the fact that the high casualty rate was shared by the Axis in western europe and during the liberation of southern Italy.
Both sides tried to replenish its pool of manpower by calling men that would have formely been considered unsuitable or generaly excused and when this failed to reach the desired numbers, the german resorted to recruiting more and more amongst foreign collaborators.
Taking its cue from the German backed Russian People Liberation Army, The Soviet authorities began a propaganda campaign amongst its thousands of POW to enticed them to join their side.
What would become the Free German Army first began as a POW anti-nazi organisation called the League of German Officer under General der Infantrie Seydlitz. From the begining, the Soviets tried to attract as many officers as possible, including the ultra- conservative ones shaffed by the nazis, by avoiding any overt communist symbolism. Even the black-white-red triband (though not the old warflag) could be seen used in posters and at meetings.
Once the Free German Army was up to strength, uniforms began to be issued to them made up mostly of british battledress with some
locally made insignias.
To avoid any chances of a member of the FGA being confused by their allies with a 3rd reich soldier, no insignias that bore resemblance with current ones, even if they predated the nazi take over, were to be worn. For this reason, The eagle and circular cockade worn of the visor cap were replaced with a specialy designed insignia being a 5 pointed star having branches in black, white and red.
A flag was presented to the assembled troops by General Seydlitz that was based on the imperial War Flag but modified to avoid any chance of being mistaken for the nazi version. The black-white-red colours were kept to apeal to the conservative officers but as many volunteers were republicans, a plain black eagle was used representing "the german spirit throughout the ages"
Entry 2:
Falkland Islands' Government in Exile - The Crown Dependency of Albionesia
The Anglo-Argentine War of 1982 ended in in stalemate, after the loss of British aircraft carrier capability to Argentine Exocets, and the retaliatory bombardment of Ushuaia by British tomahawk missiles. A cease fire was instigated, and the Falkland Islands came under UN peacekeeping administration. In 1984 the United Nations, under protest from both the British (who were dismissed from the Security Council for the vote) and the Argentine governments, voted that the Falklands be both demilitarised and depopulated. The entire archipelago was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and nature reserve, to be administered by the United States National Park Service on behalf of the UN.
In Argentina the military junta collapsed, and a delicate democracy was restored. Whilst in the UK, the crisis consolidated the Thatcher government's power, despite (and perhaps because of) hostility abroad, and terror threats at home. The accusation of Neo-Imperialism by the international community was taken up as policy by the Conservative government, vowing to unflinchingly protect British interests at home and abroad. This proved popular in the UK, and informed the foreign policy of British governments, across parties, into the early 21st century.
By 1988, the British evacuees from the Falklands had either been repatriated to the UK, in the majority, or relocated to South Georgia, in the minority, where two settlements were reestablished, one martial and one civilian. Stromness and Shackleton, former Grytviken, respectively.
In 1990 British territorial claims in the South Atlantic were consolidated into a single Crown Dependency called Albionesia. Some of those repatriated to the UK from the Falklands have returned to South Georgia, while settlers from Shetland and Iceland have been encouraged to emigrate with HMG assistance. Westminster recognised the administration at Shackleton as the rightful government of the depopulated Falkland Islands. It was at this point the flag attached was adopted*.
*In 2010, following the formal reopening of relations between the UK and UNASUR nations, Westminster voted to change the motto on the badge from 'Return' to 'Resolute'. Agreement to this from Shackleton has not been forthcoming.
Entry 3:
PRINCIPALITY OF CRIMEA GOVERNMENT-IN-EXILE
Crimea became a Principality within the Kingdom of Ukraine as a result of the Great Eastern War. Over the period of a decade or so, the existing ethnically Russian majority within the Principality soon became a minority (albeit a significant minority of some 35%) due the exodus of many of the ‘Russians’ and the Ukrainian policy of assisted immigration into Crimea of ethnic Ukrainians. But the defeat of the Ukraine in the brief but bloody war with the fascist Union of All the Russias (UAR) led to the annexation of Crimea by the UAR.
The terms of the peace treaty required that the Ukraine recognised the transfer of Crimea but it did not prevent them from covertly supporting the creation and existence of a ‘government-in-exile’ of the Principality of Crimea. This organisation had its headquarters in Berlin, despite repeated protests from the Union of All the Russias.
(The emblem is taken from the Coat-of-Arms from Our Timeline's Crimea)
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