Outrun my Gun: The Presidency of Douglas MacArthur

Exert taken from “Victory was never an Option: A history of the Fifth Republic

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One can never discuss the Fifth French Republic without consulting and discussing
the Forth Republic…

…As the drum beat of war began to engulf Europe for the third time in fifty years
chaos and rioting spread through the Fourth Republic Prime Minister René Mayer
attempted to maintain order. As word that American troops had begun to cross
into rebel controlled portions of Germany and that Soviet forces were moving
westwards spread the feeling amongst the French military elite that the government
had lost all ability to govern so to spread. Protests had become riots and riots had
become melees in the street. After the death of French Communist leader Benoît
Frachon, called a political assassination by some, the riots in Paris only grew
worst. The perceived threat of the Radical government falling to the communists
was too great to General Salan and his fellow plotters. On July 5th French
paratroopers from the Algerian corps landed on Corsica, taking the French island
in a bloodless action. As word of the fall of Corsica spread the René Mayer
government fell. The 10th airborne division parachuted into Paris amid the anarchy
crushing the rioters with brute violence. By July 6th the government was under the
control of Le Mandarin. The constitution was abolished and a new one was
ratified; Salan was made President of the Fifth Republic. With Paris fallen and the
military firmly behind Salan the military junta had almost complete control of
France. Salan pledged his support for the United States and his support for the
liberation of Eastern Europe; he knew that if Molotov pushed across Germany
French neutrality would not be enough to save it from being overrun by the Soviet
juggernaut. Salan and his military advisors hoped that the addition of the French
army would be enough to slow the Soviets until the Americans could pull their
troops from Asia to defend Europe, for if they weren’t the consequences would
be a Red Europe…


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Even if the Soviets don't yet have the ability to launch nuclear attacks on the United States, they can still retaliate against Western Europe. No matter how weak the Soviet Union is they can't lose Eastern Europe without a fight.
 
Even if the Soviets don't yet have the ability to launch nuclear attacks on the United States, they can still retaliate against Western Europe. No matter how weak the Soviet Union is they can't lose Eastern Europe without a fight.
This is true. But who says MacArthur cares so much about Western Europe?
 
This was a great TL. I really wish it would come back

I'm working on a couple of pre-1900 TL, but based on the fact that this was actually one of my most viewed and commented on TLs. I think I might pick this TL back up. I'll have to check out a few books (which means returning the massive number of WWI books that I've been using for my other TL) and I'll need to pull some articles from JSTOR and Encyclopedia Britannica, so there won't be an update for almost a week, but I will pick up were I left off in October.
 
I'm working on a couple of pre-1900 TL, but based on the fact that this was actually one of my most viewed and commented on TLs. I think I might pick this TL back up. I'll have to check out a few books (which means returning the massive number of WWI books that I've been using for my other TL) and I'll need to pull some articles from JSTOR and Encyclopedia Britannica, so there won't be an update for almost a week, but I will pick up were I left off in October.
Well there go my ideas for a reboot. :(







:p
 
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