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1935-Hitler reveals his military Programs to the World. Alarmed, France begins trying to mend fences in Central Europe to form a counterweight to German Expansion. With French Oversight, the Cieszyn-Zaolzie issue is settled between Poland and Czechoslovakia via Plebiscite. 135,000+ Poles vote to rejoin Poland in the territory, along with parts of Zaolzie that had a Polish Majority. In exchange, Poland Agrees to Grant the Czechs most favored nation status for trade purposes.

Edvard Benes and Ignacy Mościcki meet after the plebiscite to discuss the future of their nations relationships. Mościcki, on Pilsudski's Urging, is to seek an alliance with the Czechs. Pilsudski's Health may be failing, but he is still a powerful force in Polish Politics and if he says to seek an alliance with the Czechs, then an alliance must be sought. It is well known that Pilsudski does not trust the Germans, and the new policies of military rearmament enacted by Hitler prove him right in the minds of many politicians.

After two months of on again, off again talks, Czechoslovakia and Poland agree to several things, officer exchange, joint tank and aircraft development programs, trade agreements, Czech aid with Poland's Industrialization programs, but no alliance. It is said that the news caused Pilsudski's Health to take a turn for the worse. Jozef Pilsudski, de facto leader of Poland since Independence, died in Fall of 1935.

All was not lost however, for the Czech experts that had been lent to the Polish Industrialization Program began a policy of Industrial Optimization, by cutting down on waste and increasing efficiency, it was hoped that Poland's Industry would grow faster over the next three years. This Plan, approved by Mościcki, became known as the 3-year Optimization Plan, and would serve as a base from which further Industrialization could grow.

At the Same Time the Polish Designs for the 7TP Light Tank, and the Czech Designs for the LT vz 38 were merged together to create the new Hussar Joint Tank. The Hussar would have the improved 25mm armor of the Czech Tank, the Diesel Engine and rugged suspension of the Polish Tank, and have a Czech 3.7 cm anti-tank Gun. For both countries it would be their first true medium tank, having produced mostly light tanks before. Both nations would continue to produce their own light tanks of course, but the Hussar would be the medium tank for both countries.

In the Aircraft Field, the Poles were lacking. PZL had been a major innovator throughout the 20's and into the 30's, but the march of time had passed them by. They showed the Czechs the designs for their PZL Karas Dive Bomber and the Czech design team had to stop from laughing, as the engine selected would cause the aircraft to vastly underperform. The Czechs meanwhile showed the designs for the Avia B-135 and impressed the Poles, who were still using the now quickly becoming Obsolete PZL 11, which was cutting edge in 1931, but had since lost out to more modern designs. However the B-135 too had engine problems, though of a different sort than the Karas had.

Together both teams put their heads together and came up with the Avia-PZL B-235 which was a modern, All Metal, Cantilever Monoplane. Both teams discovered that each had the answer to the other's engine problems, and the new and improved Avia-PZL 12Y-45 Engine would allow both the B-235 and the PZL Karas to perform at Specifications. Though the B-235 was intended to go up against the German Bf-109 unveiled that May, it was not quite that machine's equal. It would take good pilots to get the better of the Germans in a dogfight.

Meanwhile elsewhere, Mussolini had decided to invade Ethiopia, which had proven a thorn in his side during his attempt to conquer the Horn of Africa. While this colonial conflict would ordinarily go unremarked, the use of poison gas by Blackshirt Paramilitaries had drawn the eye of Britain and France, who condemned the Invasion. Surprisingly Germany stood behind Italy in Support, a move that was intended to shore up relations between Germany and Italy which had been cold ever since Hitler and Mussolini had a falling out over their respective plans for Austria. It had the intended consequence and Rome and Berlin began to cozy up to each other once again.

This unnerved Yugoslavia, who knew that an Italy with a Powerful Ally would want Dalmatia and possibly more from them. They began looking for benefactors and found one in France, who gave them aid and encouraged them to get close with Poland and Czechoslovakia, hoping to create a Little Entente in the east that could balance out Italy and Germany.

As things shifted into 1936, however, another shock was about to hit Europe, for Spain was about to tear itself apart. . .
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