History 376 - Persia During and After the Crimean War

I did not read everything yet, but I find this TL a bit weird (even though its topic is a very interesting one!). For example, while would the Persians be welcomed with open arms by the Armenians and Georgians, which were OTL quite pro-Russian? (And by scrolling to the last map, what kind of monstruosity is this Austroczechia? also, why would GB & France, which were not exactly bankrupt, sell parts of their colonies to Siam?).
 
Siam had quite a bit of money as a payout from a prior war with Russia. They are not buying whole colonies save French Indochina (they had claims on Laos and Cambodia anyway), only small parts of the Kra peninsula, burma, and later Vietnam. France in this WWI is more desperate as the war literally reached the suburbs, if not city limits, of Paris itself. Russia here will not exude the same strength as OTL in the middle east and the Persians make a point of allowing religious freedom. Armenian loyalties are reinforced after Ottoman aggression towards their population, Georgians would rather be free than submit to *anyone* and this may come into play later.

There was a proposal to break apart Austria with the Czech Republic as a combined rump state with the borders as listed, the super-Hungary leftover serves a specific purpose for later.
 
Last edited:
Mandates, Oil, and Spheres of Influence

Persia had decided to exchange its options for territory after the treaty in exchange for technology. They received U-139, U-140, U-155, U-156, and three later-made Mittel U boats. Persian engineers also obtained the Zepplin-Lindau Rs.IV, a Gotha Gs.X, several Junkers aircraft of various types, and three Zeppelins of varying sizes. There was a fascination with aircrafts and submarines, particularly with engines, and development of the engines went so fast as to bewilder even the engineers at Junkers. With their development of new submarine types following the model of eels and fish, speed increased significantly, despite the laughs of design consultants from around the world. Only Japan took the Persian engineers seriously, the resulting Fish-class and later 'Eel'-class taking significant inspiration from the German long-range cargo-based U-boats. With the further development of aircraft engine technology, airframe technology lagged somewhat though the Persian aeronautical community remained fixated on pusher propellers for their primary designs. As the 1920s continued, the Persian aeronautical community eventually began buying second-hand American models and first-run civilian aircraft simply for the engines. Their ultimate pre-war fighter 'Fireball VI' was, in fact, a previously failed design using a 7-cylinder engine. Their solution was simply to place four 9-cylinder engines into place and expand the engine itself into a 36-cylinder device that, by 1935, was producing over 2000 horsepower. Their development of the 54-cylinder (six alternating rows of 9 cylinders each) would only finish testing in the early part of the war, yielding both the 'Swallow' fighter and 'Xerxes' bomber. The export version of the 'Hummingbird', as it came to be known in Sweden after the war started, can bee seen here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_21). The export version had literally half the engine, its slightly lighter weight was also a minor advantage but the speed reduction and reduction of horsepower by over 60% was also noticeable.

Spheres of influence became gradually redefined as the French contingency in Syria and Lebanon came under fire, literally and figuratively. The failure of France to gain more given her lives lost caused an internal revolt and focus on maintaining the security in France itself led to Paris offering Persia the chance to take over the French Mandate in the Middle East - which they gladly accepted. For the first time in a millennium, the Persian Empire held a port on the Mediterranean with a pair of navy bases developed at Iskendrun and Latakia in earnest. British and Persian envoys settled their boundaries on land while discussing the use of Cyprus by each side, and forcing Greece to withdraw from her claims to the Dardanelles. With the reclamation of much of the Anatolian plateau, Turkish officials reorganized at Ankara to develop a fairly pro-Russian republic. Soviet forces won their civil war in late 1923 but failed to capture the Grand Duke or Empress. Czar Mikhail gave the rousing, 'Better dead than Red'! speech to a large crowd...of Communist sympathizers. He looked into the eyes of the new Party Secretary Iosef 'Stalin' shortly before he was hung, shot, burned, drawn, quartered, cremated, and scattered at a random site in northern Siberia.

Most importantly, Persia developed her oil industry with the help of international interests and financiers. Help was the key word, for no individual investor or group was allowed to own more than 5% of any Persian industry. Pipelines began to emerge in different parts of the nation while refineries also emerged. Ships for the next two decades would be largely of foreign ownership and design, the supertankers bearing the Lion emblem were still over two decades away. Tehran became home to one of the premier engineering departments in the world as the chemistry group there recruited from around the world as well. By 1935 three of the twenty best chemistry research departments and two of the top fifteen engineering schools were on Imperial soil. Persian engineers also sought new ways to patent and license artificial oil development simply to prevent others from doing so first. They also focused on synthetics, developing neoprene rubber in 1932 and coincidentally developing nylon fibers in 1935. With the failure of an attempt to develop a truly synthetic rubber that resulted in an internationally acclaimed children's toy in less than five years, it would become the first in a series of key breakthroughs that would help to define the new interwar and postwar world.
 
World War II - 'The Cousin's Spat'

It was in the fall of 1935 that the unthinkable had happened. For years discontent loomed not only among the monarchies and tribal leaderships displaced by the Qajar dynasty but also from those within the family itself that wished to see themselves upon the Sun Throne. The map above represents the regions loyal to the Shah in lighter green and those in rebellion in darker green, a triad of rebellions coordinating together that nearly cost the Empire its existence. Most of the families that led the governments of the time were related by marriage or blood, hence how it came to be known as, 'The Cousin's Spat', in many circles. From the steppes of Central Asia, Kokand rose again and declared independence, sweeping through the regions and even reaching the Aral Sea. From the tip of Arabia, the exiled leader of Oman returned from Zanzibar to reclaim his kingdom having spent his personal fortune and those of many of his relatives on weaponry. And in the Levant, a United Arab Republic was declared inclusive of rebellious Turks (who had their own plans to take over the government as soon as the Persians were 'neutralized') running into the Arabian desert and inclusive of the al-Saud tribe which thought itself as the masters of the entire peninsula. Had they and the half-dozen other smaller factions stayed united and not fought amongst themselves there was a strong chance at least one would have gained independence, if only as a satellite of another nation. But as it was the opportunity proved decisive for the Shah who pulled together not only himself but the core of the Persian nation in the process. Rebellious Georgia was all but lost to the Soviets, they became the first priority in the war as the Soviet leadership would be anxious to have them back. The exile and displacement of so many of its people after the war remains highly controversial and is not taught there to this day - any Georgian not willing to swear loyalty to the Empire and any who had publically been involved in the declaration of independence itself were exiled to either the Soviet Union or any other country that would have them. Over 80% would go to the United States or Soviet Union by war's end in early 1938, most having been forced out with the initial invasions in later 1935 before winter truly hit and before the Soviets could establish a foothold there.

Soviet interference in Kokand proved more troublesome, but certainly educational for the Persians. Soviet 'mini-tanks' made a spectacle of destroying the Persian cavalry forces in the area, but Persian snipers learned to pinpoint messengers between the 'mini-tanks' while learning about their engineering from prisoners of war. Soviet advances in other areas were also studied carefully, the capture of Soviet general Mikhail Tukachevsky in early 1937 likely saved his life while his Soviet comrades declared him a 'Traitor to the Revolutionary Cause'. Wisely his life was spared, his apathy and ignominy quickly transformed into a burning desire for revenge against those who 'tarnished (his) honor for their own personal advancement'. The painting of General Kitchner 'Junior' holding his hand out to refuse the sword of the surrendering of General Tukachevsky by Picasso sits in the New York Museum of Modern Art to this day. Their lifelong friendship began at this surrender, combined with the later marriage of Tukachevsky's daughter to Kitchner's youngest son, meant that the 'International Legacy' of Persian military command being influenced by British and Russian thinking, especially following the evacuation of Tukachevsky's wife and brothers.

Of the rebels the most dangerous was undoubtedly Reza Shah Pahlavi, military commander of the United Arab Republic and father-in-law to the daughter of its President, Abd al-Iah of the Hashemite family. The Hashemite family treated the combined Arabian Peninsula and Levant as a personal kingdom under their control, permitting the 'Republic' adage in order to placate the West which wanted to see 'Democracy spread far and wide'. In reality, although a parliament existed there, the main power was controlled by the families closest to the 'President' and his immediate allies. What made Pahlavi so dangerous was not only his family ties to the Hashemites but his knowledge of the Persian military structure - he was previously among the top-ranking Persian generals in the Imperial Army. Rumor was that he was displeased not being given the top rank after Kitchner 'Junior' beat him in the examinations deemed necessary as a prerequisite for the post. Ultimately the Tehran government also retained almost all of the talented foreign consultants it paid for as well, including the Finance Minister Arthur Millspaugh who would ultimately launch the 'Economic Miracle' that allowed Persia to contribute more than oil to the coming war in Europe and Asia. While Georgia fell in late 1935 and Kokand in early 1936, it would take much longer to drive the Hashemites first out of Arabia then out of Syria then out of Anatolia into the Georgian Pocket. Sochi was the site of the final event and later the execution of many of the leaders of the rebellions, not only that of Pahlavi and many among the Hashemite leadership but also most of the males above the age of 25 in the al-Saud family, the former Omani and Kuwaiti royal families, and the utter impoverishment of most of the rest. Perhaps the worst was that leveled on Abd al-Iah himself - stripped of his wealth and most of his clothing on a frigid November morning, he was let out of a car about 700 feet from the well-guarded Soviet border and simply told, "your choice, sir, their bullets or ours". Surprisingly, the Soviets did not fire but instead welcomed him with literally open arms, and Persia would later regret the decision to spare his life.

Qajar Civil War 1935.png
 
World War II - Opening Salvos

Following the Cousin's Spat and its resolution, Persian forces had begun testing a new generation of military weaponry including strategic bombers, fighters, and heavy aircraft built in conjunction with Japan and in a series of separate projects with Germany. New engines were developed quietly with the help of a Hungarian immigrant named George Yendrasich, whose work into new aircraft engines would prove revolutionary as would the designs derived from various American firms including Northrup and Lockheed where Persian interns took inspiration or, occasionally, blueprints. With the rise of the NSDAP in Germany following the First World War and the myth of 'Stabbed in the Back' for not having dominance over the continent of Europe the Great Depression only fueled the fires of desperation and development of further fascist tendencies. Persian money had allured support from the United Kingdom for development of the Power Jets concept under Frank Whittle, though his interest in a purely-jet driven engine was deemed secondary to the 'turboprop' concept. Revenue from oil proceeds allowed for development of very advanced technologies that began to benefit everyday Persians across the Empire, material satiation permitted some degree of political dissatisfaction that was narrowing with each passing year. Submarines were built with Japanese 'assistance' while larger cargo aircraft and passenger aircraft from the United States were purchased in quantities of one or two dozen. Perhaps the two single most impressive advances were the Persian development of the 54-cylinder 'Architect' engine (literally six 9-cylinder Pratt and Whitney engines put together and later built as a single unit) and the 'Manager' engine (a quartet of turbo-charged Allison V-1710s copied verbatim from P-38 specifications that was later determined to have been stolen from a Lockheed engineer's office). The designs built around these engines were of only four types: fighters (one engine), heavy fighters (two engines), tactical bombers (four engines) and heavy bombers (six or more engines). By using the similar engine specifications for every craft, it simplified the organization and production of the Persian war machine, especially with the introduction of the 'Hammer' and 'Sickle' aircraft.

Persia watched nervously as the Germans invaded nation after nation, first Poland, then the Low countries, France, Sweden, and finally Russia. Their technological progress and the stubborn refusal of President Wilkie to intervene made certain that ever-increasing German resources were tested against increasingly desperate odds. A Belgian refugee named Dieudonne Saive brought with him blueprints of a prototype semi-automatic battle rifle that his government was paid handsomely for, later known as the 'Shortbow'. This rifle made in the standard Persian 7mm cartridge would prove decisive later in the war. With the fall of St. Petersburg/Leningrad in October of 1941, Persia knew her oil resources would be targeted and worked to stockpile as much war material as possible. Even the United States began to do so as Japan ran amok across Asia, leaving the Philippines alone but making clear that they could take the island chain at any time. Germany's declaration of war on Persia on December 31, 1941 along with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 30, 1941 meant the world was now at war. Persia promptly joined the Allies as did the United States, though only the former suffered a German invasion.

Map of the Axis advance near the end of 1941:

Qajar 1941.png
 
Following the Cousin's Spat and its resolution, Persian forces had begun testing a new generation of military weaponry including strategic bombers, fighters, and heavy aircraft built in conjunction with Japan and in a series of separate projects with Germany. New engines were developed quietly with the help of a Hungarian immigrant named George Yendrasich, whose work into new aircraft engines would prove revolutionary as would the designs derived from various American firms including Northrup and Lockheed where Persian interns took inspiration or, occasionally, blueprints. With the rise of the NSDAP in Germany following the First World War and the myth of 'Stabbed in the Back' for not having dominance over the continent of Europe the Great Depression only fueled the fires of desperation and development of further fascist tendencies. Persian money had allured support from the United Kingdom for development of the Power Jets concept under Frank Whittle, though his interest in a purely-jet driven engine was deemed secondary to the 'turboprop' concept. Revenue from oil proceeds allowed for development of very advanced technologies that began to benefit everyday Persians across the Empire, material satiation permitted some degree of political dissatisfaction that was narrowing with each passing year. Submarines were built with Japanese 'assistance' while larger cargo aircraft and passenger aircraft from the United States were purchased in quantities of one or two dozen. Perhaps the two single most impressive advances were the Persian development of the 54-cylinder 'Architect' engine (literally six 9-cylinder Pratt and Whitney engines put together and later built as a single unit) and the 'Manager' engine (a quartet of turbo-charged Allison V-1710s copied verbatim from P-38 specifications that was later determined to have been stolen from a Lockheed engineer's office). The designs built around these engines were of only four types: fighters (one engine), heavy fighters (two engines), tactical bombers (four engines) and heavy bombers (six or more engines). By using the similar engine specifications for every craft, it simplified the organization and production of the Persian war machine, especially with the introduction of the 'Hammer' and 'Sickle' aircraft.

Persia watched nervously as the Germans invaded nation after nation, first Poland, then the Low countries, France, Sweden, and finally Russia. Their technological progress and the stubborn refusal of President Wilkie to intervene made certain that ever-increasing German resources were tested against increasingly desperate odds. A Belgian refugee named Dieudonne Saive brought with him blueprints of a prototype semi-automatic battle rifle that his government was paid handsomely for, later known as the 'Shortbow'. This rifle made in the standard Persian 7mm cartridge would prove decisive later in the war. With the fall of St. Petersburg/Leningrad in October of 1941, Persia knew her oil resources would be targeted and worked to stockpile as much war material as possible. Even the United States began to do so as Japan ran amok across Asia, leaving the Philippines alone but making clear that they could take the island chain at any time. Germany's declaration of war on Persia on December 31, 1941 along with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 30, 1941 meant the world was now at war. Persia promptly joined the Allies as did the United States, though only the former suffered a German invasion.

Map of the Axis advance near the end of 1941:

Why is China under Japanese rule???????

??????? :confused::confused::confused:

:mad::mad::mad:
 
That will be covered in the next update...as will why Sweden remains 'unoccupied' in the map as shown.
 
World War II - The Darkest Hour

With the declaration of war by the Axis of Germany and Japan along with their minor allies of Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Vichy France, Persia braced herself for the storm to come. Russia was on the ropes following the death of Georgi Zhukov and the disastrous leadership of Klement Voroshilov as head of the Red Army. After the fall of Leningrad in December 1941, the encirclement of Moscow in early 1942 led to the desperate siege we now know as the Years of Death. Japan, whose march into China began in earnest with the manipulation of warlords against one another in 1936, entered the country in full force after the Kuomintang united the warlords at the Guangzhou Conference of 1938. With her industrial capacity underdeveloped and in disarray, the gradual takeover of China by Japan moved rapidly as the warlord armies had exhausted each other during the two years before. Shanghai, Nanking, and Beijing fell quickly, the push into Wuhan was the first place where a combined Chinese army put up a considerable fight. Operation Sun-Go by the Imperial Army of Japan was able to push up the Yellow River to approach Chungking, last refuge of the Chinese nationalist government, and it was near Yichang that desperate Chinese forces were able to push IAJ forces back with human wave tactics. Partisan activity behind the lines was rare but still notable, Japan was never able to control the whole of the countryside so much as the key cities and critical infrastructure at any given time. Sweden, whose independence and neutrality were initially taken for granted, was given an ultimatum after the fall of Leningrad - join the Axis or be made to join. Surrounded by a greedy Finland and Quisling-run Norway, her monarchy fled to London as a 'loyal' government took over. Saab was able to sneak out designs for their new J-21 aircraft as part of the monarchy's departure, acquisition of these plans by Persia would begin the long run of (Persia's) Osprey Motors-Saab technological coordination. Japan also pushed into Siberia with smaller Marine forces to gain control of Magadan, Kharbarovsk, and other areas to take as much territory after the war as possible. They figured if mineral wealth was easily available there why not open it up for Japanese exploitation as well as wealth. Images of new Japanese cities danced in the minds of their leadership, built on Japanese soil from Japanese materials and populated by Japanese subjects if not Japanese themselves, by blood, assimilation, or both. This foray into Russia distracted from the push into Chongqing, preventing the fall of the city in late 1942 and is still debated as a war-losing move by some historians.

Meanwhile, Persia fielded aircraft with the same ideologies that carried them into the air after World War I, their use of pusher propeller designs meant that their early fighters were laughed at until seen in combat. German Bf 109s made quite the impression but fell quickly to Persian-designed 'Machete' fighters (Names of aircraft for Persia followed a unique formula, fighters were named for farm implements and bombers for industrial tools). Yet the Fw 190s proved much more difficult to kill, and lessons learned early in the war would see Persia prototype three extraordinary aircraft in early 1942. Imperial authorities decided early on to focus on development of the turboprop engine and heavier 54-cylinder 'Spade' engine (heavier propeller engines named for playing cards in this case) and lighter 36-cylinder 'Club' engines upgraded by turbo-superchargers "borrowed" from Allison and GE via the former's 1710 engine. These early variants, known as 'Jacks', would be further upgraded by development of aluminum casting techniques to lighten the engines to the 'Queen' variants and soon thereafter in coordination with American and British scientists to create the first Titanium-laden engines using the Kroll process to make the 'King' versions of the same engines. Early prototypes of the engines themselves would run with 'Jack' engines, early mass-production versions ran with 'Queen' engines, and the mid-war mass production versions would run 'King' engines. Although 'Ace' versions did exist using the greatest lightening techniques possible, this category was typically reserved for post-war engines optimized by crude and later less crude computers. Turboprop engines, called 'Diamond' in the lighter version and 'Hearts' in the heavier version, would become not only the first two mass-produced turboprop engines, but also the 'Hearts' engine would be the longest continuously-made aircraft engine in history. Starting with the 'Jack' variant, these engines would reach 'Ace' level by war's end using refined materials in both compressor blades and aircraft frame construction. German fanaticism in obtaining any material from the wreckage proved frustrating as by war's end the resulting aircraft were rarely able to be downed by German technology outside of Wasserfall missile systems.

Persia would prototype its first two revolutionary aircraft in early 1942, the 'Hammer' and 'Sickle'. Named as an inside joke since they were designed with Russia as the primary opponent, research had begun into long-range strategic bomber and extreme-range fighter aircraft in the mid-1930s. Using the Junkers G.38 as a basis for an airframe, the idea to eliminate as much drag as possible from the design meant that the tail would be removed and a true flying wing design evolved. The engines to power the behemoth, whose initial specifications included a top speed of 700 KPH with a combat radius of 1800 km. Persian testing before the war solved several problems, most notably the use of unleaded very high octane fuel to prevent spark plug fouling and new casting techniques to push the engine components as far as possible. With the 'Jack of Spade' engines, the service ceiling proved excellent at 12 km. With some lightening of the frame via newer aluminum alloys and the 'Queen of Spades' engine, the speed increased to 785 KPH and combat range increased to 2400 km. Total bomb load remained constant at 20,000 kg in both cases, the burgeoning Persian munitions industry took advantage of oil sales to expand its industries in the pre-war years to expand her overall industrial capacity between 1920 and 1940 almost five-fold. For fighter aircraft the woefully under-gunned 'Bucket' fighter was also underpowered and fell quickly to German fighters pushing with the Turkish army. Its pusher prop and heavier airframe could overtake Bf 109s but were unable to keep up with the nimble Fw 190 fighters. Persia's solution of using brute force to overcome the engine deficit combined with the new tailless air frame would result in the one-engine 'Sickle' aircraft and soon after the two-engine 'Scythe' heavy fighter. Using 'Queen of Club' engines, these aircraft hurl through the sky at over 750 KPH with a quartet of Hispano 20mm cannons each. The 'Scythe' also uses armor such that the aircraft is very tough to shoot down, its appearance in late 1943 marks the beginning of the end for potential Luftwaffe air supremacy.

German chemists, American steelmakers, British financiers, Japanese naval designers, and Russian engineers had brought the best of the world to Persia's doorstep and they intended to take full advantage of the situation. Persian naval vessels incorporated a few unique designs, early in their research into submersibles they found that vessels designed to operate underwater performed best by mimicking creatures that lived underwater, hence they followed hydrodynamic designs earlier and advanced them farther. Diesel engines were pushed to absolute limits, then enlarged, then pushed again with newer components whenever able. Titanium was preserved for aircraft only until very late in the war, but use of high-strength steel alloys and double-hull designs allowed the Persians to push the boundaries of submarine construction. Their early war 'Fish' design was soon eclipsed by the mid-war 'Eel' design, this class of submarines made over 25 knots submerged due to the fruition of the Persian-Japanese designs of super-steam-turbines, the Japanese 'Shimakaze' class of destroyers was their use of the same technology. Persian destroyers would use a variant of this engine to achieve over 40 knots on a regular basis, their lack of battleships and carriers meant that the Persian navy operated in a very different set of parameters. Convoy groups used oxygen-based torpedoes much like those of the Japanese long-lance though not quite as powerful nor with quite the same range. Allied interest in these would give Persia some edge in technology transfer in other areas, including explosives and rockets (where Persia would still be sorely lacking for half a decade afterwards).

Persia initially reeled from the massive Turkish-Bulgarian-German invasion of its western frontier as that force headed east into the Caucasus then south to take the Levant then split to head for Mecca and the Suez canal. A separate German Army Group landed in Tunisia controlled by Vichy France to push first into unoccupied Libya then farther east into Egypt itself. After the Battle of the Suez Canal in mid-1943, its capture by German commando forces meant that Persian counterattacks would have to be made over land. Persian dominance of the Red Sea was held by her submarines and cruisers, though the surface fleet took disproportionate casualties due to very accurate German naval bombing. Turkish forces pushed deep into the Arabian peninsula, and in battle after battle the Axis forces gained. Kitchner 'Junior' was holding the Axis forces in the Caucasus, though the arrival of German forces after the fall of first Volgograd/Stalingrad then the monumental Battle of Astrakhan meant that the Germans invaded the north Cossack territories then the Caucasus itself. Baku was clearly the target, the Germans and Turks seeking the oil-laden lands for their own purposes. Turkish forces had pushed south of Baghdad and were 'watering their horses within sight of the Persian Gulf' with photgraphs as proof. A map of the 'Post-war Divide' was later found by counterattacking forces and agents of the Three Hundred 'Special Operations' Group, Axis division of the world between themselves was noted at the Indus River, Ural Mountains, Rocky Mountains, and Andes Mountains with satellites and grovelling Quisling allies controlling pieces in between. At its darkest hour, the world map below shows the farthest Axis advance shortly before the Battle of Medina and the corresponding Battle of Baghdad led by Tukachevsky himself. By October 18, 1943 the victor of this conflict and world's fate was very much undecided in the minds of many, for despite the logistical challenges the German war machine had achieved its two primary aims while Moscow remained encircled and seemed ever-ready to fall. Persian forces, though increasingly able to stall the Turko-Bulgar-German advance, continued to flag. American entry into the war had yet to produce a tangible victory, their failure at the Coral Sea had allowed for Japan to not only capture New Guinea but establish two beachheads on Australian soil - one at Darwin, one at the York Peninsula. And Japanese pushes elsewhere had begun to tell as well with entry into easternmost India itself and the capture of Sri Lanka in early 1943 made the Indian Ocean all but a Japanese lake. Scant Persian victories did emerge, as did their acquisition of Djibouti and Somaliland from the British and Italians. Ethiopia, liberated from Italian rule shortly after the war began, was also to be allied with the Persians, and in a twist of fate the Greek ambassador to Persia asked the Shah for his help to liberate the country that once stopped its former rulers in their tracks.

Darkest Hour - October 18, 1943.png
 
Handout - Persian aircraft and other weaponry

This is the American variant of the 'Hammer' as studied by Lockheed that failed to reach production, this aircraft is smaller and underpowered using only four smaller propeller engines instead of six and is only about 80% of the size.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_YB-35

This is the Japanese attempt to reverse-engineer the 'Sickle' fighter, again using an underpowered engine and an airframe only about 35% that of the Persian fighter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyushu_J7W

And this is a German attempt to replicate the 'Scythe' heavy fighter, again quite underpowered given the disparity in engines.

http://www.luft46.com/henschel/hsp75.html

Sweden provided Persia with the airframe for their Saab-21 fighter, here is a recreation of the prototype as originally engineered and a link to the later jet-powered version, among the last of the completely Swedish-built fighter aircraft.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_21

Finally here is a link to the Belgian-designed and Persian-built 'Shortbow' semi-automatic battle rifle that made its first appearance in mid-1943

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_Model_1949

I will include a handout of the 'Longbow' when we discuss the conclusion of the war. Persian tank development was particularly retarded at this point, but they learned quickly. Until Baghdad they fielded home-built M4 Shermans with a few variants, mostly up-gunning them to 80mm cannons while preparing their own new 'Lion of Babylon' tank for deployment, shown here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IS_tank_family#IS-3

The resemblance is uncanny, probably because its plans were stolen from the desk of someone in the Russian engineering bureau working on the project to upgrade the KV-1 heavy tank. Plans for the T-34 were also stolen, which Persia also used and would improve on before mass production, coincidentally the Persians upgraded the gun to the 105mm artillery pieces they already made under license from the United States before deployment. Russia would keep its knowledge of the theft quiet for decades, only after a spy turned in the late 1980s did the effort become public knowledge. These 'Lions of Babylon' were to prove quite menacing for the German tank corps which proved the backbone of the Turko-Bulgar-German offensive into the Caucasus, Levant, and Nile.
 
Japan, whose march into China began in earnest with the manipulation of warlords against one another in 1936, entered the country in full force after the Kuomintang united the warlords at the Guangzhou Conference of 1938.
1. This manipulation must cost tons of money, money that distracts from their army-building efforts-> Less success for Japan.
2. Sounds contradictory. If the KMT has united the warlords, HOW are the Japanese able to do this?
3. WTF happened to the Communists? The warlords were united with the KMT for more than a decade to kill the Communists.
4. If you're assuming no Communists, the KMT never liked the warlords anyways, and planned to get rid of them after they killed the Communists. Thus, warlords are completely irrelevant.
5. How come butterflies haven't affected China yet? With the loss of Xinjiang, the Beiyang government is further discredited, and the Northern Expedition will be a wilder success than in OTL. It's the end of both the warlords and the Beiyang.
6. By the way, they DID try this in OTL. It worked well enough for them to fail. Doing this action should NOT lead to them being more successful, since we can see from OTL that it didn't work.

Seriously, this sounds like a great deal of handwaving concerning China, if only to increase genocide in China or wank Japan massively.

With her industrial capacity underdeveloped and in disarray, the gradual takeover of China by Japan moved rapidly as the warlord armies had exhausted each other during the two years before. Shanghai, Nanking, and Beijing fell quickly, the push into Wuhan was the first place where a combined Chinese army put up a considerable fight. Operation Sun-Go by the Imperial Army of Japan was able to push up the Yellow River to approach Chungking, last refuge of the Chinese nationalist government, and it was near Yichang that desperate Chinese forces were able to push IAJ forces back with human wave tactics.

1. WHOA WHOA WHOA, hold back one second. The 'gradual' takeover of China...moved 'rapidly'. WTF?
2. Two years will overstretch the Japanese like _____. Not saying any bad words...
3. The Japanese were brutal. WTF happened to partisan tactics? You CANNOT butterfly them away!
4. The warlord armies were NOT significant in the war! Seriously, they were total wrecks, and the KMT's armies were better.
5. The infrastructure in China is just NOT developed enough to allow for a quick, easy, and massive invasion by a hostile force!

Partisan activity behind the lines was rare but still notable, Japan was never able to control the whole of the countryside so much as the key cities and critical infrastructure at any given time...

1. What happened to the Communists???
2. The Japanese were SUPER brutal! They CAN'T control the infrastructure! They barely held the railroads (the railroads that existed in China, anyways).
3. They were SUPER brutal! They can't control the cities, either.
4. Why is there so little partisan activity? They were SUPER brutal!
5. You haven't explained what government the Japanese set up. If it's Wang Jingwei again, expect PARTISANS!
6. If the Japanese use military rule, expect PARTISANS!

Japan also pushed into Siberia with smaller Marine forces to gain control of Magadan, Kharbarovsk, and other areas to take as much territory after the war as possible.

1. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Is the occupation force from the Navy or Army? There's a conflict in itself.
2. How do they have the manpower for both CHINA and SIBERIA!?
3. Occupation is almost impossible. They should be losing ground in China, not losing battles, if they try this.
4. This is just a bunch of empty land that will SUCK THEIR RESOURCES! Hence, they should be pushed back to Wuhan as a result of this idiocy.

They figured if mineral wealth was easily available there why not open it up for Japanese exploitation as well as wealth.
1. At this time, it's neigh impossible to exploit Siberia.
2. It's gonna suck their resources. They should be losing ground in China, as a result!

Images of new Japanese cities danced in the minds of their leadership, built on Japanese soil from Japanese materials and populated by Japanese subjects if not Japanese themselves, by blood, assimilation, or both.
Honestly, this is so crazy that it fits the Japanese high command. :)

This foray into Russia distracted from the push into Chongqing, preventing the fall of the city in late 1942 and is still debated as a war-losing move by some historians.

1. Okay, this foray from Russia doesn't distract from the push into Chongqing. It completely eliminates the possibility to push into China ANYWHERE. You think Japan has enough manpower to occupy more of China, much less Siberia???
2. Once again, how does Japan have enough manpower to sustain its occupation force of China itself?
3. Nice to know they lose the war, at least. But try for less overt Japanese wank by handwaving important factors.

Seriously, I really like this timeline. It's just...sometimes, the butterfly effect isn't working. And when it does, it's because of a matter of ignorance, like forgetting that the CPC existed back then. It also involves a lot of handwaving.
 
1. This manipulation must cost tons of money, money that distracts from their army-building efforts-> Less success for Japan.
2. Sounds contradictory. If the KMT has united the warlords, HOW are the Japanese able to do this?
3. WTF happened to the Communists? The warlords were united with the KMT for more than a decade to kill the Communists.
4. If you're assuming no Communists, the KMT never liked the warlords anyways, and planned to get rid of them after they killed the Communists. Thus, warlords are completely irrelevant.
5. How come butterflies haven't affected China yet? With the loss of Xinjiang, the Beiyang government is further discredited, and the Northern Expedition will be a wilder success than in OTL. It's the end of both the warlords and the Beiyang.
6. By the way, they DID try this in OTL. It worked well enough for them to fail. Doing this action should NOT lead to them being more successful, since we can see from OTL that it didn't work.

1. Siberia at that point in time north and east of Kharbarovsk is not that much to take. A few dozen outposts, a few cities/larger encampments, and not much else. Possession of Kharbarovsk, Vladivostok, northern Sakhalin, the Kurile Islands, and the Kamchatka Peninsula would be not terribly far off of the Siberian gains at that point. Once the Siberian armies are shifted to cover Moscow (which is done later in this TL), there is less resistance available to oppose Japanese troops.

2. Japan was manipulating warlords into 1936, China unified in 1938. The war here flowed differently than in our TL.

3. I have not forgotten the Communists but they will be covered in the next update tomorrow. Covering Mao's position could take up one post alone, and the sweep of mainland China will not go the same way as in OTL.

4. Who says most or even all of the warlords will live to see the war's end?

5. Xinjiang was lost much earlier than WWII in this TL, its more Muslim population becomes a consideration for reconquest but one that the future Chinese government(s) will keep in mind.

6. This TL is not our TL. The Japanese were very reluctant to share technology or research but do so here only because they were earlier allies with the Persians and have a positive view of them, or at least as much as possible under the circumstances. Germany is more successful as well, meaning fewer supplies are reaching the Chinese armies and morale is notably lower.

Seriously, this sounds like a great deal of handwaving concerning China, if only to increase genocide in China or wank Japan massively.

I will update on that in the next post too. It still happens, but not to the same degree for a few very specific reasons.

1. WHOA WHOA WHOA, hold back one second. The 'gradual' takeover of China...moved 'rapidly'. WTF?
2. Two years will overstretch the Japanese like _____. Not saying any bad words...
3. The Japanese were brutal. WTF happened to partisan tactics? You CANNOT butterfly them away!
4. The warlord armies were NOT significant in the war! Seriously, they were total wrecks, and the KMT's armies were better.
5. The infrastructure in China is just NOT developed enough to allow for a quick, easy, and massive invasion by a hostile force!

1. Moving rapidly even within China does not mean the entire country is to be overrun in a week or two. Note that the difference in the graphs is two years. I should have been more clear, the invasion forces continue to roll forward with minimal effective resistance early in the conflict.
2. I understand your premise, and like OTL they are more in control of cities and key transportation networks, everything else in between simply does not offer substantial resistance at that time.
3. How many rifles were available to the average Chinese citizen in 1941? Now cut off the Burma Road...
4. Indeed the KMT armies were better, but the greater wearing down of warlord forces against each other has exhausted many of the resources available in OTL to fight Japan are used up.
5. Nor is it quick or easy. What movement there is tends to follow the railways and rivers while staying closer to the coasts, there is not a great deal of inland movement immediately. Again, note that the two maps I have put up so far cover a difference of two years, not two months.

1. What happened to the Communists???
2. The Japanese were SUPER brutal! They CAN'T control the infrastructure! They barely held the railroads (the railroads that existed in China, anyways).
3. They were SUPER brutal! They can't control the cities, either.
4. Why is there so little partisan activity? They were SUPER brutal!
5. You haven't explained what government the Japanese set up. If it's Wang Jingwei again, expect PARTISANS!
6. If the Japanese use military rule, expect PARTISANS!

1. Again, please wait for the next post.

2. Yes they were. And yes they did.

3. Yes they can. And yes they did, at least until the very end of the war even in OTL.

4. Because there is not a lot of equipment available to them as yet. More to come.

5. You have considered I have not covered that yet for a reason, right? And no, it's not the RoC-N this time.

6. What is China's namesake famous for doing and why is the country named for him?

1. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Is the occupation force from the Navy or Army? There's a conflict in itself.
2. How do they have the manpower for both CHINA and SIBERIA!?
3. Occupation is almost impossible. They should be losing ground in China, not losing battles, if they try this.
4. This is just a bunch of empty land that will SUCK THEIR RESOURCES! Hence, they should be pushed back to Wuhan as a result of this idiocy.

1. Depends on the area in question. They do not overlap much save in a few key locations.

2. Siberia is also loosely held, but manned largely by Soviet prisoners, some of whom will actually volunteer for a chance at payback. To Japan they are fodder, to the Soviets they are traitors, to Hollywood they are a godsend later known as 'Barbarian Division'

3. Patience, please. All will be explained in good time. I do thank you for the attention to detail.

4. Do they have boots on the ground everywhere in orange? Not entirely. But then neither did the USSR at the time.

1. At this time, it's neigh impossible to exploit Siberia.
2. It's gonna suck their resources. They should be losing ground in China, as a result!

1. Unless Siberia takes care of itself?
2. Please await the next post.

Honestly, this is so crazy that it fits the Japanese high command. :)

Indeed, rote copying is easy, I wanted to try to make plausible alternate decisions that fit their level of outlook.

1. Okay, this foray from Russia doesn't distract from the push into Chongqing. It completely eliminates the possibility to push into China ANYWHERE. You think Japan has enough manpower to occupy more of China, much less Siberia???
2. Once again, how does Japan have enough manpower to sustain its occupation force of China itself?
3. Nice to know they lose the war, at least. But try for less overt Japanese wank by handwaving important factors.

(see above responses.)

Seriously, I really like this timeline. It's just...sometimes, the butterfly effect isn't working. And when it does, it's because of a matter of ignorance, like forgetting that the CPC existed back then. It also involves a lot of handwaving.

The point is to see how far one nation under the right circumstances could go given just about everything going its way. Again, please await the next post. Xia-xia!
 
1. Siberia at that point in time north and east of Kharbarovsk is not that much to take. A few dozen outposts, a few cities/larger encampments, and not much else. Possession of Kharbarovsk, Vladivostok, northern Sakhalin, the Kurile Islands, and the Kamchatka Peninsula would be not terribly far off of the Siberian gains at that point. Once the Siberian armies are shifted to cover Moscow (which is done later in this TL), there is less resistance available to oppose Japanese troops.

Wait, so they DON'T control Siberia? They can't really 'occupy' it if they only control coastal areas and not much else.

2. Japan was manipulating warlords into 1936, China unified in 1938. The war here flowed differently than in our TL.

How? This reeks of handwaving.

3. I have not forgotten the Communists but they will be covered in the next update tomorrow. Covering Mao's position could take up one post alone, and the sweep of mainland China will not go the same way as in OTL.

If the Communists and Mao exist, then why isn't China unified earlier? The warlords united back in the 1920's just to defeat the Communists! That's how big a threat the Communists are to their 'way of life'.

4. Who says most or even all of the warlords will live to see the war's end?
They shouldn't have lived so long if the Communists were marginal.

Also, they wouldn't exist if the KMT succeeded.


5. Xinjiang was lost much earlier than WWII in this TL, its more Muslim population becomes a consideration for reconquest but one that the future Chinese government(s) will keep in mind.

I wasn't talking about WWII. You give Xinjiang to Persia during WWI, a time where the Beiyang regime ruled, assuming no butterflies.

6. This TL is not our TL. The Japanese were very reluctant to share technology or research but do so here only because they were earlier allies with the Persians and have a positive view of them, or at least as much as possible under the circumstances. Germany is more successful as well, meaning fewer supplies are reaching the Chinese armies and morale is notably lower.

No, I was just saying that supporting warlords won't lead to any significant difference in the war, since warlords were irrelevant.

1. Moving rapidly even within China does not mean the entire country is to be overrun in a week or two. Note that the difference in the graphs is two years. I should have been more clear, the invasion forces continue to roll forward with minimal effective resistance early in the conflict.

It took EIGHT years for Japan to take over the parts of China that it did, already fairly expansive. Then you give all of this, plus MORE to Japan in only TWO YEARS. If this isn't ASB wanking, there's no such thing as ASB wanks.

2. I understand your premise, and like OTL they are more in control of cities and key transportation networks, everything else in between simply does not offer substantial resistance at that time.

1. Why isn't there resistance? Everyone hates the Japanese!
2. PARTISANS.
3. HOW ARE THEY IN CONTROL? Wang Jingwei will lead to more problems. Military rule leads to more problems.


3. How many rifles were available to the average Chinese citizen in 1941? Now cut off the Burma Road...

1. Just a reminder that partisans don't need guns to strip railroads and sabotage the Japanese.
2. Burma Road was cut off OTL. China survived :O
3. How many rifles were available to the National Army?


4. Indeed the KMT armies were better, but the greater wearing down of warlord forces against each other has exhausted many of the resources available in OTL to fight Japan are used up.
HOW? Once again, if the KMT armies were better, the warlords don't get the resources to fight each other!

5. Nor is it quick or easy. What movement there is tends to follow the railways and rivers while staying closer to the coasts, there is not a great deal of inland movement immediately. Again, note that the two maps I have put up so far cover a difference of two years, not two months.
Two years is not a lot, considering it took 8 years for Japan to take less territory.


1. Again, please wait for the next post.

2. Yes they were. And yes they did.

3. Yes they can. And yes they did, at least until the very end of the war even in OTL.


1. No, they didn't. Haven't you heard about Communist guerrillas stripping the infrastructure - and the Japanese being unable to stop it?
2. Looking at maps to determine "how far control extended" is faulty in China. Japanese troops were seriously overstretched and barely controlled OTL territory.
3. Japanese troops didn't control the cities. Wang Jingwei's regime did. And as we know, they were more incompetent than the KMT, so Japan's Chinese empire is screwed even more.


4. Because there is not a lot of equipment available to them as yet. More to come.
You don't need 'equipment' to strip railroads, as I've said before.

5. You have considered I have not covered that yet for a reason, right? And no, it's not the RoC-N this time.

6. What is China's namesake famous for doing and why is the country named for him?

Zhongguo means Middle Kingdom.

1. Depends on the area in question. They do not overlap much save in a few key locations.

I'm guessing that it's the army, then. That means that Japan should be losing more territory in China.

2. Siberia is also loosely held, but manned largely by Soviet prisoners, some of whom will actually volunteer for a chance at payback. To Japan they are fodder, to the Soviets they are traitors, to Hollywood they are a godsend later known as 'Barbarian Division'

1. What makes Soviet prisoners willing to work for Japan instead of their own country (a White Russia, perhaps)?
2. I think we're underestimating the nationalism of the Soviet people.


3. Patience, please. All will be explained in good time. I do thank you for the attention to detail.

4. Do they have boots on the ground everywhere in orange? Not entirely. But then neither did the USSR at the time.

The USSR wasn't a hostile force trying to occupy territory. If they don't occupy it, they DON'T control it, so it shouldn't look that way on the map.

1. Unless Siberia takes care of itself?
It's a money drain.
2. Please await the next post.

The point is to see how far one nation under the right circumstances could go given just about everything going its way. Again, please await the next post. Xia-xia!

...one nation? I'm assuming you're talking about Persia, but the thing is, you're massively wanking the Japanese without due reason.

Normally, I'm fine with wanks, but I severely dislike it when such wanks will lead to genocide. (I don't like the Nazi!wank either, but since I'm less knowledgeable about that area, I just won't talk about it)

Please, just change the story to be more plausible. If it's necessary, you can PM me for details (or somebody else who's more knowledgeable about China and stuffs)
 
On China, Japan, and the Provisional Republic of Siberia

So let us elucidate the circumstances of the Sino-Japanese conflict that some consider the beginning of the Second World War and that others believe to be a parallel conflict that later merged with it.

By 1920 the failure of the Qing Dynasty to maintain its place and the failed attempt by another to assert itself by abolishing the province system led to the shattering of China into various warlord states. These petty governments warred with one another, attempted to kill each other, and ran the spectrum from fully Communist republics to new dynasties of various would-be Emperors. Chiang Kai-Shek, emerging as a leader from within the Republic of China and its Kuomintang party, began a drive to unite the nation by ending the warlord rule of peripheral (and some central) provinces. After encountering difficulties in doing this, he seemed poised to unify the nation in late 1927, but a counteroffensive by an alliance of warlords ended his dreams of unification. He achieved three major goals that year though. First ending the Communist uprising in Fujian and literally decapitating the leadership (the very public torture of the Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army, one Mao Tze-Dong, caused the remainder of the Communists in China to consolidate in Jiangxi under Zhu De, who would be the 'Great Leader' of the Chinese Communist Party until his death). Second, he was able to improve local infrastructure in the 'Heart' of China with development of some industry with Persian assistance and expansion of the local railway system. Third and foremost, he managed to bring together the warlords into a quarterly Congress where issues could be discussed with minimal bloodshed. International recognition was not forthcoming to the other warlords so long as they did not control the central part of the country though 'diplomatic missions' and back-door deals abounded.

Without a central authority definitively able to unite the country, six primary warlord states emerged. In the South, The 'Guangxi Clique' ruled over the southernmost coasts and Hainan Island. In the center of the nation, the Kuomingtang ruled an area along the coast from the Yellow River to just inside Fujian and along the Yangtze River from Yichang to the coast with its capital at Nanking. In the South-Central part of the country out of Chongking emerged the 'Spicers' named for their taste in hot food, export of drugs, and interest in automobile racing. In the western central part of the nation out of X'ian was another warlord faction but its leader believed himself to be Emperor, the firearms made here were of top quality and would later prove useful in the coming war. In the north Jiangxi was a Communist pocket surrounded by hostile forces, initially the only thing the warlords agreed on was that the Communists needed containment. Finally, Manchuria endured the unpopular rule of Zhang Zuolin. his own people tired of him by 1932 and gave almost no resistance to the Japanese foray into the country that resulted in its takeover by Tokyo in 1933.

In late 1935 the Empire of Japan had manipulated the various warlord factions of China such that the nation was still thoroughly divided as they eyed the remainder of China greedily. Many generals had died, the X'ian fiefdom had split in two, and KMT efforts to unite the country again in 1934 had failed. While six primary warlord factions remained, dozens of minor states emerged, including one in charge of Beijing holding out against a KMT offensive to reclaim the traditional capital. Witnesses do not agree as to who fired first, but at the Marco Polo Bridge a series of shots allegedly rang out from the Chinese side of the bridge, possibly from a Communist sympathizer acting of his own accord who wanted to unite the nation against the Japanese threat. Regardless of who started firing, within an hour Japanese infantry moved south quickly with tanks and artillery in support. Tokyo was furious on hearing of the incident, but the very rapid movement of their forces early in the conflict suggested the possibility of winning a significant amount of territory if not most of central coastal China. Their initial broadcasts to the other warlords described the incident in ways favorable to the Japanese perspective, as a result only the Guanxi Clique initially supported the KMT and then only with supplies.

Japanese forces moved quickly for the first two months, amphibious landings at the Liaodong Peninsula and Shanghai caught the KMT off guard and opened up additional theaters. Japanese naval forces made the difference at the coastline but farther inland a different story began to unfold. With the beginnings of the 'Provisional Republic of Central China', Japan began to incorporate ever-larger numbers of collaborationists to its puppet's armed forces. Using bolt-action Arisaka rifles the limited partisan activity initially began its opposition with weapons ranging from lever-action Winchesters to black-powder rifles to even bows and arrows in some cases. Firearms were of limited quantity in the countryside, most having been confiscated for use by whichever warring party happened to lay claim to the area at the time. Yet with the testing of Japanese logistics and the Battle of the Suzhou Bridges a large portion of the KMT was able to withdraw and reorganize. Slowly Guanxi was also chipped away until its main centers of Guangzhou and Nanning were in Japanese hands. Li Lejun, having taken over from Lu Rongting following the latter's death, made a decision along with his 'clique' partners to unify outright with the KMT in early 1938. Lejun's military prowess and voice as a warlord became a catalyst for the slow but increasing accommodations, later unifications, of all but the Communists who would join the KMT as a united front against Japan.

Zhu De had continued to fight for most of the 1930s and into the late 1940s, first against the Kuomintang then against Japan the against the reborn Republic of China. His 'fortress province' of Jiangxi was considered too difficult to enter by the Japanese and they were merely 'contained' at almost the boundaries Chiang's forces left them with in the later part of 1935. Resolved not to cooperate with either side, Zhu began serving as the easternmost lifeline to a series of brave 'Independent Merchant' shipping movements that would enter the waters near Liaodong or as part of otherwise neutral trade vessels in nearby ports to import arms and materials (including an entire F2A Buffalo that, in various forms and improvements, would become the backbone of the Chinese Communist People's Revolutionary Army Air Force). His involvement and durability earned him the monicker 'Iron Mountain' from his comrades and 'Iron Devil' from his Japanese enemies.

Siberia proved an interesting theater of the conflict when Japan decided to invade in late 1941 at the behest of the Germans. Following the decision to move much of the Soviet Far Eastern Army to Moscow to aid in its defense, the very lucky timing of the Japanese military caught many of them on trains before they fully deployed to Siberia towards Moscow itself. The local Soviet Red Army commander in Irkutsk tried to establish a line at Khabarovsk along the Amur River but to no avail, the Japanese landings to the north only meant the local bridges could be dynamited although one survived due to a faulty blasting cap and permitted significant Japanese reinforcements. With the recent purges, Japan encountered dozens of different gulags of varying sizes, offering 'freedom' and a chance for payback against the hated Soviets in exchange for an oath of loyalty. While taking the Kamchatka peninsula for itself along with the Amur River valley and northern Sakhalin, a provisional Republic of Siberia was established at Khabarovsk though a 'claimed capital' at Irkutsk was noted in 'official' literature. The Generalissimo in charge of the whole affair, a Dmitri Bystrolyotov, was a former NKVD agent who swore revenge on the regime after losing his mother and sister to suicide following his own conviction. Literally hundreds of thousands of Russian and other Gulag prisoners joined the 'Barbarian Division' led by the now-famous Estonian general Herbert Brede, whose sympathies with the Russian monarchy were well known after his incorporation into the Republic of Siberia army. Not all of the 'Revolutionaries' were in fact loyal to Japan, many simply sought payback and vengeance, but their ability to endure very harsh conditions and knowledge of other camp facilities due to transfers enabled Japanese agents and small detachments to move through Siberia and 'liberate' the only settlements for perhaps a hundred miles in any direction. One Japanese army contingency certainly got as far west as the Lena River, where a timber-cutting party from Tiksi found the frozen bodies complete with Type 25 pistols, 'occupational' currency, and preserved ammunition in 1952. Rumors of half a dozen others are still waiting to be verified, the recent acknowledgement that at least three men of Japanese ancestry fathered children in the area and two of them lived among 'native' villagers until their deaths in the late 1960s and mid 1970s respectively is also proof of just how far the Japanese were able to penetrate. With sparse populations and natural barriers making the area largely uninhabited, 'secret' Soviet railways already connected key areas like Magadan to some of the Siberian wilderness. Dissent was tolerated but only to a point, the ruthlessly puny Head of Information Control, Isaiah Oggins, though the economic exploitation of mineral wealth under Nikolai Urvantsev meant the beginnings of what would make for a very interesting history for this area of the world in the later part and after the War.

Russian and Soviet manpower played a key part in Japanese abilities to not only deceive locals in many areas into believing an alliance existed, in a few cases Soviet garrisons surrendered under false pretenses thinking that the two nations had now allied against Germany. It was in fact the 'Barbarian Division', or Third Infantry Division of the Provisional Republic of Siberia, that approached Irkutsk in the early winter months of 1943. Their armament, sometimes derived from the memory of Bystrolyotov himself, included MP28 replicas, a Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistol (both readily copied by the Japanese as soon as they realized what they had), and the SVT-40. Japan would copy the SVT-40 itself as the infamous Type 77 using the 12-round and later 24-round detachable box magazines and pistol grips. The later Type 79 version included the three-round burst option that earned it the lasting nickname, "Taifun" or "Typhoon", its global popularity and ease of maintenance is perhaps the sole reason the 7.7mm Arisaka round exists today. Gold derived from Siberian mines was paid into Japanese coffers and made for an easy way to buy materials on the international market, never mind that lab and research facilities could be well hidden and Chinese prisoners sent north en masse to work the mines, timber yards, and so forth. It was some of the mass deportations from central China into Siberia and the tens of millions of deaths that resulted which forever stained the burgeoning Republic of Siberia and was one of a dozen reasons why Japan would be tried internationally for its crimes in the Pyongyang Trials after the war. Pyongyang, Republic of Korea only became the legal center of note it is today after the war, its reputation as the "Most neutral judicial center in the world" under one of the camp survivors, Chief Justice Kim Il-Sung, who later claimed his then-newly-found Protestant faith saved him from death as it gave him a reason to live.

I have included a lecture for further address of the horrors of the war but bid warning that it is frightening in its scope and breadth. I will send it out upon request, and the university administration would probably be against my giving the entire lecture here.

***OOC: Mods, I want to respect the rules, if such a posting would be against house law I will not post it even if asked to do so. Please PM me and let me know where the specific boundaries are if it becomes a question.***
 
World War II - Battle of Baghdad to the Treaty of Constantinople

There are textbooks written about the fall of the Germans, the Japanese, and their minor allies. I will attempt to cover the Persian perspective here as best I can given the limitations, but do seek additional references if the material interests you. The situation at the end of summer 1943 was dire indeed, the German 'Himmelfarshtkommando' raids against British port facilities at Portsmouth and London was a total shock to the beleaguered island nation. Highly motivated SS officers were given basic commando and special operations training then released en masse by submarine at various designated points. Most often these units landed in groups of four at isolated shorelines then gathered together at places designated before the missions began, but in the case of the Portsmouth and Southampton raids three obsolete destroyers in each case were simply packed with explosives and flammable materials and run into the respective harbors. The infamous late 1941 raid on Dover after the siege of Moscow began that year already shook the populace, the failure of any portion of the Home Fleet to arrive for half an hour combined with the effectiveness of Otto Skorzeny's Kommando forces in what later was deemed 'Fall Seelowe' to cause near-panic among the British populace. A second dramatic raid on the Isle of Wight was only broken apart with the arrival of two Royal Navy cruisers and a battleship, sending over a quarter of the Zerstroyer surface force to the bottom of the ocean though taking one of the cruisers in exchange. British reluctance to divert naval forces from her home islands and the closure of the Suez canal made the material situation very difficult. Combined with ferocious American neutrality after the 'Willkie Gamble', where he let his own infidelity with Irita Van Doren be made public alongside the letters acknowledging the adherence of Vice President Henry Wallace to a Russian mystic by Wallace's own handwriting, the failure of Franklin Delano Roosevelt to win a third term resulted in much less American intervention or preparation than might have occurred otherwise. Willkie had three very influential and very isolationist members of his cabinet, the Attorney General Thomas Dewey, Vice President Robert Taft, and Secretary of War Arthur Vandenburg. This 'First Republican Triumvirate' had enough power in the party to override anything newcomer Willkie would try to do, although his initiatives into equality and championing of what became the landmark Ossend v Board of Education ruling of 1942 that ended segregation in the school system and workplace alongside the abortive attempt to pass the then-highly-divisive Workers Equality Act that would have seen wages equalized and minimum wages standardized for all working men with payment in cash or check regardless of color. His own party reeled at the prospect, his endearment with the labor unions would have probably led to "impeachement as a Red sympathizer or at best an abortive one term tenure" per John Nance Garner who ironically supported many of Willkie's more original initatives. Had it not been for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 28, 1941 plans for possible impeachment, ironically organized by an overly ambitious Taft.

With the conclusion of the Battle of Medina a near-defeat for the Bulgarians, Turks, and Germans only meant they would not advance down the Hejaz to walk into Mecca as originally planned. Their allies in the tribes of Al-Saud had already secured the central part of the Arabian peninsula, but the valuable coastal areas remained outside of Axis control. They might be stymied now, but the German general leading the forces, a ruthless pragmatist named Georg von Kuchler, nicknamed 'Cooking General' given the widespread mispronunciation by the Persians and the similarity to the English word 'cooker' and the fate of his troops in the western Iraqi desert after the battle. His soldiers exhausted from a solid three days transit through the desert, with reconnaissance forces reporting few nearby adversaries, and a desperation to rest by the edge of the Tigris River. With almost all of his forces across the Euphrates River, the very sudden onslaught of Persian forces under General Tukachevsky began a ten day fight that more often than not degenerated into hand-to-hand fighting. Stories of rape, in some cases for the very young and very old, were common and not without evidence. No quarter was expected - and virtually none was given. Turkish, Bulgarian, and German forces combined with quisling Italian, French, Czechloaustrian, and even Hungarian units to converge on the Persian 'Jewel of the Western Empire'. The Main Building of the reborn House of Wisdom was the city's beacon, its main minaret stood almost sixty stories tall and was modeled directly after the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. From almost anywhere in the city, the polished golden roof was not only a compass but a symbol of the city's burgeoning wealth. Oil made it wealthy, farms kept it healthy, industry and academics kept it busy, while world-class nightlife kept it lively. With the approach of the German Fifth Panzer division along with the Bulgarian First and Second Armies alongside the bulk of the Turkish army, the Persian response rallied soldiers from across the Empire who swore to stop the invaders here or die trying. Medina itself had only just escaped a worse fate a month before,

Much of the city was damaged, perhaps a third of the buildings destroyed, though unlike Moscow the devastation was not total. Persian use of their trademark Qard bayonet knives, made from Burat steel with 11 inch blades, made a significant impact. The rivers were said to run red for a week after the fight, a lucky artillery shot from across the river would kill most of Kuchler's staff while sparing the Field Marshal himself as the first Persian mass tank attack of the war began. Bloodied and literally being crushed by tanks in the street, German panzerfausts were few in number and often unable to completely stop the Persian 'Lion of Babylon' tanks. It was in the ensuing retreat that the Axis would lose so many to drowning as the few bridges were quickly overcrowded on the tenth day as Hammer bombers, free to destroy German supply lines thanks to aerial dominance from Sickle fighters, began relentlessly destroying German trucks and caravans. Over half a million Axis forces entered Fallujah and Baghdad, altogether it is thought less than 100,000 were left alive after the battle. Those not drowned in the Euphrates found themselves without food or water in the Western Desert with a three-day trek to the nearest Turkish supply base.

Although this was one of the largest assemblies of military force in the Middle East by that point in the war, ultimately the counterattacks proved relentless thought painfully slow. While a moderate-sized Persian detachment worked with the local forces of Yemeni, Omani, and Pearl Bay provinces focused their efforts on the rogue House of Saud and their Wahabi allies, the main Persian force split into two armies. One pushed west to Damascus and Latakia, reclaiming those cities and then heading south first to retake and reopen the Suez canal before moving farther west to greet the German Afrika Corps as it was literally breaking the British fortifications at Abu Qir and Kafr El-Dawar just east of Alexandria. Together the Persian Sixth Armored Division (there were in fact only three and they were numbered evenly, but the Shah figured Axis forces had no way of knowing otherwise) and British Eighth Army, whose commander Lieutenant General William Gott would soon be relieved and replaced by Claude Aulinchek, pushed German general Hans Spiedel back slowly all the way to Tunisia just as fresh American troops landed in Morocco and Algeria. The final German surrender in North Africa in early 1944 was later found to have been led more by disgust with German racial policies than the actual military situation. Spiedel would later work with the Allies as a translator and intelligence officer, recruiting many who worked on 'Fall Riesigermorder' which would play a pivotal part in the end of the war.

With the additional victories over Axis forces by the Russians at Yambirno (permitting Moscow the first consistent rail-based shipments of food, fresh soldiers, and material in almost two years and preventing the city's surrender in a mere four days), the Americans at Johnson Island (where Japanese carriers tried to secure the island and cut off supply lines to New Zealand and Australia to try to force them out of the war), and the British at Benghazi before the end of 1943, morale for the Allied Powers got a much-needed boost. Although an offensive into Europe was not yet viable, American and British operatives were given the task of preparing one. Their decision was to capture as many of the islands of the central and western Mediterranean as possible while plotting for the opportunity to actually invade via the south of France, bypassing the vaunted Atlantic Wall entirely. While thousands of soldiers would land at Normandy, they would only do so after the beaches were secured form the other direction in spring of 1945.

In the Occidental theater, Persian forces formed one side of the largest military engagement in history at the Battle of Aksaray. The city itself became a wasteland as over four million soldiers drawn from in excess of a dozen nations reduced it to ash and rubble over most of late 1944 and early 1945. As it formed the backbone of the Ataturk Line through mountains, a central desert, and coastal plateaus defended by artillery pillboxes and machine gun fortifications, the city had to be take nto open the road first to Ankara then to Istanbul itself. Greek forces had landed in the Peloponnesus in mid-1944 to begin a partisan campaign followed by liberation via the Combined Greek National Army (of Monarchists, Republicans, and Communists). Their push into Thessaloniki in late 1944 heralded the beginnings of the modern Greek nation and led to the decision that the final treaty should be signed in the same location once deemed the City of Men's Dreams - as the Allies (reportedly) all dreamt of a lasting peace. With its fall in early 1945 to Greek forces as they pushed into Greater Bulgaria, Persian forces forced the surrender of the first Axis nation with the capture of Sofia on April 21, 1945. Bulgaria would ultimately be split into three pieces, one to Greece, one to Romania, and one that of its own accord decided it would be ground into poverty and joined Greece under the most favorable terms it could muster as an 'autonomous area' with some self-government.

Italy under Benito Mussolini's Government-in-exile found itself wanting as it had to make peace with the 'broken' Mafia clans to permit landings in Sicily in early 1944. With only some concessions due to the thorough and brutal purge of 'competing or unfavorable influences of a cultural, political, or commercial nature' during German occupation under Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Italian forces rapidly moved into Sicily and later Calabria. They formed a line north of Naples to permit the expansive bases at Foggia and Taranto to serve the Allied cause, Bari becoming an important smuggling port into the beleaguered Balkan peninsula during the final year of the war. Movement into Rome on June 4, 1945 celebrated yet another free nation's return to power, the running joke for decades afterwards was that 'France fell hard and rose slowly, Italy fell softly and rose stronger than before' is somewhat true as Italian forces were given Allied and Persian weaponry with officer training to create a formidable fighting force. Their own jet testing early in the war and covert development of the Macchi C.207 using the Tornado engine and the Reggiane Re.2007 and Re.2015 using the British Nene turbojet engine and Persian 'Jack of Clubs' piston engine respectively proved equal if not slightly superior competitors in the skies, the Piaggio P. 108 and later P.133 and P.135 bombers also proved rather useful in the latter days of the war.

With Persian forces moving into the occupied Russian territories the Soviet leadership, focused on liberating Moscow and allowing Stalin a means of communicating and receiving supplies/material/etc. that did not involve the secret underground railway to Ryazan and later Saransk. Stalin's 'miraculous' ability to survive was no miracle at all, he stayed in Moscow to ensure that the city did not fall but could easily have left at any time and secretly did so at least twice to conference with this commanders near the Ural Mountains. With the liberation of Moscow in early summer of 1944 came the Great Summer Offensive under Field Marshal Chuikov who bitterly fought against the best the Axis could throw at him for two years. Russian developments in tanks, semi-automatic weapons, and the effectiveness of their espionage networks were offset only by the surprising declaration of Ukraine and area south of the Don and Dnieper rivers in favor of joining Persia. While the Provisional Republic of Siberia was distant, this threat was literally at their doorstep, but Stalin played coy until his own lands could be 'liberated' later on. For now the Ukrainian border as well as the old Polish Congress borders served as demarcation points for the advance between the Persian forces and Russian ones.

By early 1946 the map below illustrates the progress of both sides. American involvement in the 'Manhattan Project' as well as their own rocketry program under Robert Goddard proved decisive with the atomic bombing of Dresden in early 1946. Bombings of Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Kokura, Nuremberg, Hamburg, and Budapest made it clear that the war would be over shortly. German determination to fight on withered with each additional bomb, the enhanced tritium device detonated over Budapest had a yield of over 65 kilo-ton equivalent of TNT, this forced the surrender of the remaining Axis governments as more and more cities found themselves memories. On June 17, 1946, the final surrender of the German government under the leadership of Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk following the failed suicide of Adolf Hitler (merely four hours after the Japanese surrender), the Allied powers divided Germany into occupational zones. White indicates French occupational territory, Pink indicates British occupational territory, Sea Foam indicates Persian occupational territory (which was in accordance with what they actually occupied at the time), light grey is American territory, and orange is Soviet occupied territory. Dark grey indicates the lines of German occupation at war's end, the brown indicates the newly formed Kingdom of Scandinavia based out of self-liberated Stockholm formed merely weeks before the German surrender. Its new southern border would include not only the whole of old Holstein but be made to push south to the Danemark earthen wall itself. Purple indicates the Provisional Republic of Siberia borders at war's end with claimed territory in lighter purple. Dark orange represents the 'core holdings' and 'official annexations' with lighter orange representing those areas still under its control when the surrender was announced by the Empire of Japan. While the Thai government (in dark brown for pre-war territories and lighter brown for wartime 'purchases' of mostly British controlled territory that it would keep after the war) stayed neutral, never asking nor expecting anything from either side despite being offered plenty by both. Persian provinces, including the Arabian Tribal Domains, are also outlined (blue for tribal boundaries, black for Provincial boundaries). I will cover the technological marvels developed in Germany and Japan that were acquired by the Allied powers as part of the next chapter, including the Wasserfall SAM system, the A9 'Extended Range' IRBM, and Type XXI 'Elektroboot' and XXX 'Schnellboot' submarines among other developments. At Constantinople the world powers met in late June 1946 to decide the fate and tempo of the post-war world.

Qajar Postwar November 1946.png
 
Alliance of the Crescent

Almost as soon as the war was over the Soviet Union demanded the return of its territory occupied by Persia when the Germans invaded. Ukraine was designated a Persian occupation zone as was everything south of the 19-mile division point between the Volga and Don Rivers by the Casablanca Accords as it was in the best position to actually occupy those territories at the time. Persia 'severely insulted the honor and pride of the Soviet Union' by asking for the areas to have a vote on their future, Moscow knew the Ukraine would certainly vote for independence and refused to allow the Persian interference to continue. For ten days the spectre of war loomed over much of Eastern Europe, including the Persian occupation zone of Bavaria, Hungary, Ukraine, and Romania along with the Russian zone of Poland, Eastern Germany, and the Baltic States which it subsequently annexed. Stalin pushed but realized the Persians would fight as relentlessly as anyone he had ever had to face, war was only averted after the Ukrainians themselves were 'convinced' to allow a vote for independence using Soviet observers as the ultimate arbiters. This allowed for the sparsely populated northern Caucasus to be populated by refugees from the Ukraine fleeing Communism, many of whom were willing to fight the odds but accepted the offer of 'internal relocation' warmly. Not surprisingly, the Ukrainians voted for secession by 70-30, but the Soviets simply reversed the numbers for the sake of expediency. Just over a million Ukrainians would move into the Caucasus prior to the handover on July 19, 1948.

Internally, the years following World War II saw the provinces in the map as previously given became more integrated into the Persian Empire as a whole. These provinces maintained a significant degree of internal autonomy, especially in Afghani, Pashtun, and many territories of the Arabian Peninsula where tribal chieftains maintained a marked degree over the local populace. While Wahabi-ism was stamped out in the years following the war, the rise of a new flavor of Islam began to sour that part of the world. Apocalyptic followers of Mahmud Siddiqi Saud al-Hussein, believing him to be the revered figure of 'Madhi', preached that the world could be made pure with the hottest of fires available. With Persian interest in rocketry and atomic sciences piqued, this became especially dangerous, resulting in the first of the 'Secret Cities' being built on a large island in the Aral Sea, the entire island being declared a place where only 'authorized and specialized' personnel were permitted. As the Shahshahnah began making his own preparations for a line of succession he also began to push a like of realpolitik with cementing of internal trade routes and governments. There was very little action taken against the powers in Tehran though electrification, irrigation, and educational progress moved with a furious pace. By 1954 Persia was manufacturing crude second-generation jets, replicated the A4 rocket system using domestically-made parts, and had designed her own counterpart to the A10 - a true satellite launching system. The launch of the 'Shahab' missile was a warning to the Allied and Soviet blocs that a power projection system now existed which could defy bombers, fighters, and hurl atomic devices at speeds impossible to detect until they could not be stopped.
 
Modern Persia - final summation

Although the Second World War is only sixty-five years behind us, we have now witnessed the third nation to land on the Moon as of last week with the Russians now landing near the Sea of Tranquility behind the American lunar base and the Persian lunar outpost. Persia's landing on Mars in 1999 was upstaged by the simultaneous American landings on Venus and Europa in 2014. While a lunar hotel is now functional at the American colony, Persia launched the first 'Space Cruiser' with room for 250 luxury guests to make two round trips from Earth to the dark side of the moon and back. With the cost of orbital launches down to a mere $500/pound, an entire industry of satellite recovery is in place and ensuring that the notion of Keppler Syndrome remains a science fiction concept.

Persia and Russia fought the 'Five Hour War' in 1979 with devastating results, especially for the latter. Persian dedication to ABM systems and precision-guided 'mini-missiles' proved telling as the Russian ICBMs launched in a surprise attack after months of hostility only achieved a handful of breakthroughs, most notably against northern Afghanistan and Pakistan which were secondary targets. Persian retaliation was swift and complete, the destruction of Moscow, Volgograd, and Leningrad/St. Petersburg led to the fall of the Soviet Union in early 1980 with the new capital at Omsk. Leningrad and Volgograd are now largely rebuilt, Moscow inside the central and southern parts of the old Circle Line railway around the city is left as a permanent memorial under the engineering marvel known as the Red Shroud. Today the enmity between the two nations is cooled somewhat though the Russians have never forgiven the Persians entirely.

American interests have done well in the tri-polar world, the Cold War between Tehran and Washington is easing as Russia returns to the world stage stronger than before and with a desire to rebuild, redact, and reinvigorate itself. While the subject of the eastern and southern Ukraine as a Russian province kept Tehran and Omsk at odds, the Russians ultimately backed off, thought many dream of its return to Russian domination. Ultimately Shah Iskander the Persians continue to advance in many areas though are behind in electronics, naval technology, and 'soft power' via entertainment and cultural perfusion. They excel in chemical engineering and physics, working hard to achieving break-even fusion by decade's end after nearly doing so two months ago. Their lead in aeronautical engineering has grown such that 'windsurfing' using large fabric 'wingboards' has become a popular past-time both for competition in distance and duration. Only the Persian 'Lion's Breath' transports allow for direct ascendancy to the Mount Everest Landing platform, still requiring a 550 foot climb to the top, but with far less risk or effort if you can foot the $1500 per seat bill.

Any questions?
 
Top