Let The Eagle Scream Version 2: Star-Spangled-Boogaloo
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The Molotov-Matsuoka Pact
The Molotov-Matsuoka Pact
Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka signs the Pact (1934)
Geopolitics makes strange bedfellows out of sworn enemies. Whether it's Greek city-states, medieval kingdoms, or modern Entente alliances, the common interests of powers can bridge any divide. Perhaps no alliance is a greater example of this principle than the Japanese-Soviet Alliance. Both of these powers were natural enemies: competing for influence in the same region, with diametrically opposed ideologies and a history of conflict. Nonetheless, as China collapsed into Civil War, representatives of the two nations met in Vladivostok to discuss a secret alliance. Before we delve into the actual alliance, let us first evaluate the driving factors behind it on each side.
Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka signs the Pact (1934)
From the Soviet side, reasons both ideological and practical came into play. Ideologically speaking, the Soviet Union was increasingly going down an unexpected path. Stalin had become increasingly enamored with Eurasianist literature, which was technically illegal until he decided to lift restrictions in 1928. Although there were many different interpretations of Eurasianism, the basic premise was that as an empire on both the European and Asian continents, Russian civilization represented a "Third Path" for civilization, combining Christianity and classical virtue with Asian collectivism and order. Stalin excised Christianity from the equation and replaced it with rationalism and Marxism, but otherwise stuck to the formula. Even more than this, he began to develop his own Eurasian worldview. Russia would become the core of a new civilization formed on the Eurasian continent, educating and uplifting the non-Russian masses in the arts of civilization. Elements from native cultures could be included if beneficial. In his mind this was not a class project, or a national project, but a civilizational project. The Soviet government would reengineer the human soul and create an entirely new Marxist-Eurasian civilization that would bring order and egalitarianism to the world. It would take time and careful planning, but this great mission would be achieved. Naturally, for such a civilization to emerge, Moscow would need to gain control of Eurasia. Acquiring Chinese territories wasn't the worst solution to that conundrum. From a geopolitical standpoint, there were two important reasons to annex parts of China. Firstly, a unified, modernized, large China was an immense threat to Soviet interests. They would be able to project power across Asia and stifle Soviet designs, and should things come to blows, any war would be immensely bloody. Making matters worse, China's friendliness with Washington gave them a powerful ally who was a short and icy boat trip from Russian territories. Breaking up the country while it was divided was an easy way to mitigate that. Another important incentive for Soviet planners was the fact that Chinese lands could be used to compensate for the loss of the Eastern European empire. As much as they might have fantasized about reclaiming the European territories, as a practical matter that was a non-starter. The Germans had built industry in the countries that could easily be turned to war making and had equipped their puppets with fairly advanced weapons. The Crimean Tatars even managed to secure a surprisingly large stockpile of poison gas. Native resistance would be fierce because while German domination wasn't exactly popular, it was much preferred to having national cultures sublimated by Russian dominance again. Any war there would be expensive, bloody, and end in a stalemate at best. No, that would have to wait. However, rich Chinese lands, ripe to grow crops and supply raw materials and labor could serve as an adequate compensation for the Soviets. Yes, Chinese expansion would suit them just fine.
The Japanese also had ideological and geopolitical reasons for an alliance. Ideologically, the Japanese had begun to see themselves as the strongest race in Asia, who were tasked to lead the continent into the future. Once they had secured leadership of Asia, they could repel the Western barbarians and create a beautiful new world order, where the Japanese race could be the "father" of happy international family. If China outstripped them in power, both the justifications for this worldview (Japanese dominance and industry) and any hope of achieving said program would be destroyed. However, successfully subjugating China and breaking Han dominance forever would be a massive show of force, and might incline other Asian races to align with them in their struggle against the West. Geopolitically, China was useful as, in the words of some Japanese officials "Our India." Specifically, a large, heavily populated territory with immense natural wealth that could feed, clothe, and house ethnic Japanese to such a level that their standard of living rivaled Germany and America's, while also providing huge quantities of resources for the war machine and nigh endless labor for industry and agriculture. If Japan secured these resources in China, they would become a real world power.
It was with these interests in mind that negotiations took place throughout 1933 after China collapsed into civil war. Both governments were amenable to the idea of teaming up to claim part of the Chinese pie. There were intensive negotiations about who should get what, but eventually, a general agreement was struck upon. Japan would claim the lion's share of Manchuria, and annex most of China's Eastern and Southern regions, especially along the coast. The Soviets would get part of Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and some more northern territories. Beyond that, Tibet, long part of China's sphere of influence, was to be set up as a Soviet puppet state. Between the two nations, there was to be a neutral Chinese buffer state that both could freely exploit, but neither could station forces in. Finding this agreeable, Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka flew to Moscow to meet Stalin and Molotov to officially sign a "non-aggression pact and binding statement of friendly neutrality" on December 19th, 1933. The more imperialistic designs were put in secret clauses hidden from the world. Arrangements were made to begin campaigning in the Spring of 1934. At approximately 6AM, March 8th, 1934, a telegram was sent to Soviet and Japanese forces on the border with China. "The Dragon's Wings Have Been Clipped." Within the hour, Japanese and Soviet forces were marching into a divided China. Although no one knew at the time, the largest war in human history had just begun.
Japanese forces mobilize to invade Manchuria
Soviet troops shortly before meeting their Japanese allies in Manchuria
The approximate division of China as laid out in the Pact.
Finally back at it! The next chapter is going to cover the war in China, including foreign involvement and how the Japanese and Soviets govern their new territories.
Marxist-Eurasianism eh? Also I'm sure turning China into super-Poland will definitely go off without a hitch!
Chaos in China
Chaos in China
Enraged Chinese-Americans call for war against Japan (March, 1934)
The Chinese Civil War and ensuing Soviet-Japanese Invasion sparked a massive scramble both in China and outside of it. As wave after wave of Soviet and Japanese troops swarmed China's borders, the various warlords formed an alliance with the forces of Xu Shichang to resist the foreign invaders. Sun Yat-Sen on the other hand, unofficially aligned with the Japanese in return for the promise of a larger Chinese buffer state and free reign to deal with ethnic minorities as he saw fit. The Soviets attracted support from ethnic Mongols in Inner Mongolia, who were tempted by the prospect of reuniting with their ethnic countrymen and getting back at the Chinese for years of cultural oppression. Making matters even more confused, the United States, Germany, the Tripartite Empire, Britain, and France soon all got involved in varying capacities.
Enraged Chinese-Americans call for war against Japan (March, 1934)
When the Japanese and Soviets invaded at the same time, the world at first thought that it was just a bizarre coincidence, or perhaps an aggressive reaction on the part of one side towards the imperialism of the other. Instead, on March 22nd, two weeks after the invasion, the world was stunned to see pictures and newsreels of Soviets and Japanese shaking hands on the border between Soviet Manchuria and Japanese Manchuria. Military bands honored their co-belligerents, and friendly contests and toasts abounded. The world was stunned: the Japanese and the Soviets had teamed up to carve China apart. Then, reactions poured in. The Germans and the Tripartite Empire offered measured denouncements and announced that troops from German Indochina would be sent to European concessions to protect the lives and property of their citizens and their allies'. Britain and France had the opposite reaction, publicly praising the Japanese for "doing what is necessary to restore order on the Yellow Continent." Shortly afterwards, negotiations between the three powers would begin. The Americans were by far the most furious. WTR took to the airwaves to denounce in the strongest possible terms "the violent and aggressive expansionism of Imperial Japan and the Soviet Union, whose sick fantasies of dominance will kill millions of innocent Chinese." On March 23rd, both houses of Congress unanimously passed resolutions condemning Japan and the USSR. In the streets of American Hong Kong and the West Coast, tens of thousands of Chinese-Americans would take to the streets calling for war against Japan and the Soviets. In San Francisco, mounted police had to break up large scuffles between Japanese and Chinese Americans on the 24th, and the Governor threatened to send in the National Guard. After a few weeks of deliberation, the United States announced embargoes against Japan and the Soviet Union. These were very limited in the beginning, but as horror stories continued to emerge out of China, they would gradually grow. That being said, there would be no official military action. The bulk of the American people might have been disgusted by the events in China, but most were much more focused on getting help to end the Depression rather than waging an expensive crusade on a foreign continent. WTR was himself ready and willing, but he obeyed the will of the people. However, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them....
By May of 1934, grizzled veterans of the Second Mexican War had begun showing up in the camps of Republican forces. They brought with them years of experience, and crates of surplus weapons and supplies. Although it wasn't enough to train and equip a large number of the truly huge Republican Army, it was enough to create three crack divisions of Chinese Minutemen, as they became known. These elite forces were led by American commanders, and became the terror of the Japanese and Soviets. Supplementing these crack units, some 5,000 Chinese-Americans who somehow acquired military training and weapons appeared to bolster the Republican forces. These men were invaluable to the Chinese cause, and slowed down a once lightning quick Soviet and Japanese advance. They were also useful in maintaining discipline when the ancient Xu Shichang died in July, to soon be replaced by renowned general and Republican Chiang Kai-Shek. Beyond this, many starving Chinese were kept from dying by huge Red Cross donations by the American people, many of whom donated in spite of their own personal hardships. The Americans did everything short of actually fighting a war to help the Chinese, and their efforts would never be forgotten by the Chinese people, especially when compared to the apathy of the rest of the world.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to halt the invaders, especially given the treachery of Sun Yat-Sen. While a number of his men defected to the Republic over his cooperation with the Japanese, he still commanded the second largest force of armed Chinese in the country. When the Japanese annexed most of Manchuria, they let the fanatic Han supremacists stay behind while others marched ahead aiding the Japanese. The fanatics in Manchuria were given free reign, and many took the opportunity to vent their rage at centuries of Manchu domination on the locals. Tens of thousands of Manchurians were killed, tortured, or displaced, and thousands more were enslaved by the invaders and their puppets. A few thousand were able to escape to the relative safety of Soviet Manchuria, where they were often conscripted as cannon fodder against the Chinese. Given how many of them were radicalized by the violence they had endured, this was a fairly easy sell, and the "Manchurian Brigade" would be one of the most fanatical units fielded by the Soviets in their war against China. With such violence and concentrated military might being brought to the fore, nothing short of direct American intervention would turn the tide. Since this was not yet forthcoming, the Japanese and Soviets had a relative field day.
Once Manchuria was secured, the co-belligrents continued to cooperate. The 98,000 Soviet troops in Manchuria swung West alongside their Japanese allies and marched into Inner Mongolia, joined by a separate Soviet army of 177,000 from the North. Inner Mongolia, along with Xinjiang, were lightly defended and fairly primitive. While the native people put up a fierce resistance, in the face of a relatively modernized and utterly ruthless enemy, they stood no chance. Inner Mongolia fell in December of 1934, with intermittent resistance into mid 1935. Xinjiang fell in February, 1935, with resistance continuing into 1936. Starting in June of 1935, the Soviets waged war in Tibet to establish a puppet state. Native resistance was unusually fierce, and the mountainous terrain difficult, but the Soviets soldiered on. The new Red Airforce began deploying airships and planes to scout and bomb mountain hideouts, and Moscow began a strategy of food warfare. They seized most of the nation's food, and would control distribution. This would have the effect of starving disloyal areas, and it's estimated some 178,000 people starved due to this policy. Despite the fearsome effort put up by the Soviets, Tibet wouldn't be truly pacified until 1941. Further North, Soviet forces were slowed down as they punched into Gansu and Qinghai. Being more centrally located, Republican forces had more of a presence in these regions as opposed to the fringes. The presence of half a division of Chinese Minutemen in the region didn't help things. However, as the Chinese were increasingly absorbed by the genocidal Japanese offensive along the much more densely populated coast, resources began to be recalled from the region as the Soviets continued to hammer away. By Christmas of 1937, resistance in these regions began to collapse. The Soviets would take full control by March of 1938, at which point they stopped their offensive outside of the ongoing war in Tibet. They were content to sit back and consolidate control over their Pact promised lands while selling Japan the oil and steel she desperately needed.
Japan's offensive against the rich and highly populated coast was much more slow-going. In response, the Japanese got ugly. Thousands of gas shells were deployed against Beijing in December of 1934, after the Japanese advance stalled outside the city. When the Japanese did finally break through in January, the Rape of Beijing occurred as angry soldiers inflicted unimaginable atrocities on the city. The foreign legations remained the only safe areas in the whole city. A squad of Japanese soldiers was shot and killed by two American businessmen after they wandered into the American Concession pursuing a young woman they intended to rape. The incident inflamed both sides, but did not result in concrete action by either. In March of 1935, all foreigners and their servants were ordered to leave Beijing or lose legal protection. Ships loaded up the Westerners and their "servants" many of whom were Chinese that had Western families sponsor their escape. Many of these refugees would wind up in Hong Kong or California, although a surprisingly large number also fled to Budapest. The Japanese continued their relentless advance along the Eastern provinces, arriving in Nanjing by February, 1938. Atrocities similar, but not as large, as what occurred in Beijing became par for the course, outraging the world. Despite fearsome resistance, the fanatical Japanese war machine, kept fairly well supplied by the Soviets, ground the country down. It wasn't until the larger Second World War broke out that the Japanese advance would be slowed, then gradually reversed.
Now seems as good a time as any to discuss the methods by which the Soviets and Japanese ruled their Chinese empires. The Japanese quickly established a brutal variety of colonial rule in their provinces. Farms, mines, and other valuable assets were seized and sold at fire sale prices to Japanese zaibatsu. They would then modernize these assets and scale them up for the most extraction possible, send over Japanese managers and their families, and essentially enslave the Chinese to work in them. The lives of workers were of little import, as even with the destruction caused by war and genocide, there were enough Chinese that workers were easily replaceable. Japanese colonists and officers quickly formed a ruling class in these areas, and instituted a variety of racist laws. All Chinese were compelled to kowtow to any Japanese they encountered, regardless of age or sex. Segregated living areas were established. Chinese men were forbidden from interacting with Japanese women, even as Chinese women were rounded up like cattle for use as military sex slaves. Chinese children were compelled to learn Japanese, and could be beaten for speaking Chinese in public. Chinese artifacts were pillaged en masse and sent to Japan. It was a remarkably brutal and efficient machine of plunder and destruction. The Soviets took a somewhat different route. All farms and mines were nationalized, and in the case of farms, collectivized. After a couple years of disruption, these regions were integrated fairly well into the Soviet system. Many anticipated the creation of new SSRs, or perhaps the absorption of some territories into existing SSRs. This did not happen, as China remained under military rule until the conclusion of the Second World War, at which point Stalin created a new governing arrangement for the Union as a whole. Although Soviet rule was totalitarian, it was thankfully not as racist. Race based genocide didn't really occur aside from isolated incidents in China perpetrated by the Manchurian Brigade. However, Soviet rule was not racially egalitarian. In Soviet Europe, there were thousands of unmarried Russian men who had been recently deported from Poland, Ukraine, Crimea, Finland, and the United Baltic Duchy in a fit of anti-Soviet hysteria. Stalin sent them to the recently annexed Chinese territories as managers and policemen, supplemented by Russian party members. The authorities began a propaganda campaign alleging that "So-called ethnic purity is an invention of the capitalist bourgeoisie." These unmarried male colonists were encouraged to marry native women. Female colonists, on the other hand, were generally forbidden from marrying native men, although exceptions occured. Russian culture was generally pushed onto the natives with the notable exception of cuisine. In this realm, China influenced the Soviets more than vice versa. All in all, Soviet rule was less brutal, and would prove much more durable.
Piled up corpses from the Ravaging of Nanking, the second deadliest atrocity committed by Japan in China (1938)
Newsreel footage of the Japanese advance (1937)
A Soviet soldier in Inner Mongolia (1935)
Soviet soldiers pose in Gansu (1936)
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India will be getting coverage pretty soon
This Soviet monstrosity is going to be a unique thing, that's for sure. And this will in no way cause Japan to crumble, no siree.
Upcoming updates:
A look at the new British Empire, complete with Britannianist takeovers in the Dominions, a branch of the Sons in India, and a war in Africa.
WTR's *New Deal, and an America veering towards war
A look at Croixist France and the Empire
A look at Germany and the Tripartite Empire in the 30's
Outbreak of War
American Intervention
Additions to this list might occur, especially regarding the outbreak.
A look at the new British Empire, complete with Britannianist takeovers in the Dominions, a branch of the Sons in India, and a war in Africa.
WTR's *New Deal, and an America veering towards war
A look at Croixist France and the Empire
A look at Germany and the Tripartite Empire in the 30's
Outbreak of War
American Intervention
Additions to this list might occur, especially regarding the outbreak.
Why do I have a feeling one Lev Gumilyov will be big in TTL's USSR in the post-Stalin political order considering the Eurasianist ideas present in TTL's USSR?
Britannia Rules the Waves
Britannia Rules the Waves
British planes en route to gas Ethiopian soldiers (1936)
British planes en route to gas Ethiopian soldiers (1936)
The British Empire under Mosley took on it's final, and most inhuman form. The ideology of Britannianism was exported to the White Dominions under different names, and would mutate into different forms in each Dominion. India would also embrace the ideology of their imperial master, forming the largest branch of the Party by number. The Empire would rearm in a few short years on his watch, and would engage in a short war of conquest against Ethiopia. All the while, plans were being laid for a global conflagration.
Shortly after taking power, Mosley discreetly pushed the Dominions into having snap elections. They dutifully complied, not in the least because Britannian inspired parties had skyrocketed into popularity. There were elections in each Dominion in 1930, and without fail, pro-Mosley parties won. In Canada, Richard Newcastle and his Sons of the Maple Leaf took power. Australia saw the rise of Charles Griffiths and the Anglo-Saxon Australia Party. Neighboring New Zealand witnessed the election of Harold Brown and the Kiwi Party with a walloping 68% of the popular vote. Rounding out the assortment, Martin Aaronson and the White Africa Party (WAP) took power in South Africa. All of these parties were aligned with the Britannianist movement. However, they were not mere clones of Mosley's party. They each had a unique flavor to them that distinguished them from the others and from the SofB. Examining these differences in detail is important to understanding future events.
The Sons of the Maple Leaf, Anglo-Saxon Australia Party, and Kiwi Party are all immediately distinguishable for their rejection of Evolian thought and a general refutation of aristocracy. Being overwhelmingly White British and possessed of a relatively egalitarian class structure, the aristocracy was neither relevant nor popular. Furthermore, Evola's ideas were seen as too strange and Italian. Instead, each party adopted a unique ethos and aesthetic according to region. In Canada, the Sons of the Maple Leaf idolized the still fairly recent conquest of the frontier, with propaganda lionizing the "bearded, tough, patriotic, Protestant, and pure-blooded Canuck, trapping, logging, farming, and maple tapping on a frontier he and his fellows won with their hands and rifles." They wanted to bring back that feeling of national purpose and adventure, with many hoping that if the Yankees were defeated in a war they might win Alaska to recreate the frontier. Aside from that, the Sons were aggressively natalist, stating that Canadians should have large families as a matter of national security, for "we occupy a large country, and if we do not people her, the Yankees will." The Sons of the Maple Leaf were also the most ardently anti-American of the various Britannianist parties, feeding on already extant anti-American sentiment in Canada. From 1930-1935, the Canadians deported most of their Asian population to Japan or the United States (Chinese-Canadians opted for America instead of China) and began a mass sterilization campaign against the First Nations peoples, as outright genocide was viewed as too expensive and risky given how close they were to the world's largest media producer. In Quebec, Anglicization programs began, and would be fiercely resisted until the fall of the Canadian regime.
Down under, Australia was busy rewriting history. Their nation's sordid origins among the criminals of Britain was rewritten to be something much more heroic. The criminality of the founding stock was downplayed, and instead early Australia was painted as a "racial laboratory" where the major (Welsh, Scotch, and English strains) of the Anglo-Saxon race melded and blended to form a new Australian Race who had the best qualities of all of them, and developed a very pure Anglo-Saxon culture uniquely suited to colonization. Despite being loyal imperial subjects, the Australians began laying groundwork for a negotiated independence from the Empire "once our racial enemies are defeated" and building their own Empire encompassing Indonesia, New Zealand (peacefully annexed), New Guinea, and Malaysia. On a more practical (and depressing) note, in 1936 the Australians began the process of rounding up their Aboriginal population and putting them into the concentration camps, where many would perish. Next door in New Zealand, the Kiwi Party was perhaps the most traditionally Britannianist party, but one that leaned much more heavily into the Merrie England style agrarianism of the ideology. They too would begin rounding up Aboriginal people, actually starting before the Australians in 1935.
In South Africa, the WAP actually took an opposite tack to their fellow Dominions and leaned much more heavily on the aristocratic and Evolian themes present in Britannianism. This is because the WAP, composed predominantly of British South Africans, saw the Whites and Honorary Whites (a designation they gave to mid-high caste Hindus in the country) as the seed of a new aristocracy in Africa, with the Africans being the eternal Telluric serfs/slaves. An even harsher racial caste system formed in the country, dedicated to this ideology. Furthermore, the South Africans began theorizing about recreating the Olympian Race. To this end, Prime Minister Aaronson founded the Lion Regiment under General William MacQuoid, which had extremely strict physical (6ft height, good vision, blue or green eyes, fit) and ideological requirements for membership. These men became a feared elite force, who behind closed doors increasingly embraced Anglo-Saxon and Roman paganism as they marched towards the recreation of the Olympic Race. Towards this end, the Lion Regiment participated in a eugenics program with willing White and high caste Hindu Indian women to "improve the stock." The South African government theorized that these programs would elevate the general genetic standing of the population. Rounding out the insanity of the Party, South African planners began drawing up war plans to create "A new Dominion encompassing the entire African continent." That such a plan was utterly absurd except perhaps on a 500 year time frame, if not more, was never mentioned.
The White Dominions didn't have a monopoly on insanity. In India, one Mahatma Gandhi founded the Aryan Empire League (AEL), a movement combining Britannianism, Hindu supremacism, and British imperial patriotism. The AEL never achieved quite the same level of power as the other branches due to the enduring reign of the British officials. However, they did form an increasing percentage of native government officers, as the Mosley government willingly turned over power to them. The Mosley government issued a plan to have India become an "Aryan Dominion" by 1955 at the absolute latest. This bolstered the ranks of the AEL immensely, who numbered some 80 million at their peak. Once India was an Aryan Dominion, the plan of the AEL was going to thrust all the Muslims into a new Untouchable caste, and "forever undo the damage wrought by the Mogul barbarians." The AEL also supported the institution of a modified caste system to accommodate Europeans and Anglo-Indians as co-rulers alongside the high caste Indians. The AEL would have the longest lifespan of any Britannianist movement, as we shall see.
Political upheavals aside, the British and their Dominions quickly remilitarized under the Britannianist governments, reclaiming British naval dominance, rebuilding the Aeroforce, and strengthening the Army with new troops, guns, and tanks. In the deserts of Sudan, the newly forned Royal Experimental Corps built 5 secretive research facilities where new weapons were tested on hapless colonial subjects. This militarization, expensive as it was, helped give the economy a temporary boost. A massive public works program, including the world's first high-speed rail system being built in the UK, helped boost things further. With a seeming economic recovery, a powerful military, and a restless population, it was a matter of time before the Mosley government turned its aggression on the world. On April 3rd, 1936, they did just that. Ethiopia, long one of Africa's two independent states, was shocked to learn that British troops were pouring across their borders, while planes dropped bombs and chemical weapons from the sky. The still fairly primitive Ethiopian armed forces were bulldozed in time for the end of summer. While the world issued halting condemnations, the majority of nations were still too focused on the ongoing wars in China to offer much.
The final project of the Mosley government before the outbreak of World War Two was the creation of the Grand Imperial Alliance. The GIA, signed in 1937, created a military and economic alliance between Britain, France, and Japan, with Greece, Spain, Brazil, and Portugal signed on as non-binding observers. When war did break out, all of the observers except Greece would break their commitment to the GIA. Nonetheless, the Alliance would be a powerful force, and represented the solidification of one of the two blocs that would be represented in the coming conflict.
The Banner of the Sons of the Maple Leaf
Picture of Mahatma Gandhi during his time at Oxford, in which he became an ardent Empire Patriot
Lion Regiment members in Sudan (1938)
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And now post-war Canada would need to create a new flag because the maple leaf flag is going to be poisoned by its association with the Sons of the Maple Leaf.
It seems the Draka are spreading to new timelines.
There's one thing I didn't expect. Things are really going off the rails now.
We both know post-war Canada is going to use the stars and stripes 😂
*Laughs in Anglo-Afrikaans SS*
Glad you enjoyed it!
I figured that since I was giving each Dominion a unique flavor of crazy, might as well.
I figured the Gandhi twist would shock people. It's not even super unrealistic, he was educated in Britain and favored Dominion status for India before eventually going to independence.
I think something that would be really fun to do once we get through the war is a chapter on an alt history that's like a blend of Man in the High Castle and the Draka depicting a world where Mosleyite Britain, the Croixist powers, Brazil, Japan, and the Soviets win and dominate the world.
That would be fun! I remember an alternate Man in the High Castle where the "bad side" that wins the World War II analogue is political Malthusianism, with the alternate US divided between France and India.
I'm incredibly curious and might have to look that up. Do you happen to remember the name?
Speculative history had been popular since the 19th century and was a mainstay of gaming and kinees in the late 19th and the 20th centuries. Just as the Global War had inspired multiple 'Korsgaardians Victorious' stories, so too did the Post-Population War World have its share of speculative works spawned by the premise of the Malthusian Manifesto forces winning the Population War. The most famous and critically acclaimed of these works was "The Man in the Watch Tower," by Beau Orwell. In the novel (later made into a role playing game, kinee, and kinetovision series) set several years after the Malthusians had defeated their opponents, the USA is occupied by Sartreist France and the Dominion of Southern America has been incorporated into a globe spanning United Nationalities of India. Controversial portions of the story include the way minorities are depicted as collaborators with the Malthusian powers (Southron Hindoos in the former DSA and Francophone Americans in occupied USA) though with strong exceptions being shown as working against the Malthusian regime. India and France are the two major powers in this Malthusian future, and are aggressively culling the excess population still through multiple means including 'Control Camps' and execution for even minor offenses, but they also are depicted in a struggle against each other for domination of the Malthusian world (with Thuggie agents planning a mass assassination to decapitate the French state along with poisoning French Republic water supplies with Jovium from Elatomic power stations). The protagonists of the novel become fascinated with a speculative history novel written in this speculative world called 'The Elephant's Broken Tusk' in which the Malthusian forces are defeated (as actually happened in real history) and as a result the USA and DSA remain free but with the British Empire adopting more ethnic discrimination under a still serving Prime Minister Thomas (The Bloody PM) and battles to thwart an increasingly reactionary Russia while both sides seek to pull an increasingly introspective and uninvolved USA out of its self imposed isolation. The author of 'The Elephant's Broken Tusk' is an enigmatic man named Phillip Karter who lives in a watchtower overlooking the Grand Canyon on the border between French Occupied America and the Indian Dominated South, and the protagonists strive to seek him out and discover the deeper meaning of his speculative history.
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