Red Sun Rising: The Reverse-Russo-Japanese War

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Miguel Carlos, Spanish History 6th Edition, 2013, pp. 123-126.

With an alliance with Germany formed and a resurgent France slowly on the rise, The Spanish Kingdom was hard pressed to keep up diplomatic appearances. The victories of the Great War and downfall of competitors created much economic prosperity and prestige. Many felt the wrongs of the Spanish-American war had been corrected. No one seriously believed that Spain could hope to take back the former colonies, but they were investing more in their remaining ones, and that was enough. The autonomy granted to Catalonia and Euskadi helped seperatists in those regions quiet, though groups in the rest of Spain began to become more restless, demanding their own autonomy. Spain's development requires further change.

Ideas for a federation had been around for a while, but it wasn't until 1930 that the idea was finally realised to its full potential. In the meantime, Spain dealt with consolidations in Morroco bringing Hispanic culture and language to the region, something which went to remind many Morrocans of the the Reconquistadors finishing off what they had started long ago. Still, the decision was made to make sure the Morrocans received decent treatment compared to other colonial subjects, as they were the one who would be the most dangerous should colonial rebellions occur like those in France's African possessions. The former principality of Andorra was another point of contest. In June 1925, the former prince the Bishop of Urgell protested regarding the substantial leftist presence in the rest of Catalonia seeping its way into his former territory. The government from Madrid responded by granting aid to the local Catholic churches to continue their missions and involvement in their communities. This improved the situation briefly, but unrest among the radical left was not unheard of. Communists influenced by those in France and Japan were among those dissatisfied by conservative efforts to suppress growing socialist and liberal influence in the former small kingdom. Urgel became a conservative bastion in an otherwise socialist sympathising region of Catalonia. This made any chances of some kind of rebellion problematic, as any socialist rebels would have a thorn in their side, as the pro-German government, while liberalising, was not interested in giving in to socialist demands, especially for radicals.

Further south in Madrid itself, something different was happening. Bread and other foods had reduced in price as a result of the increased amount of food the capital was now able to buy due to the French loans, and so a population boom occurred in Madrid and much of central Spain. With a baby boom and increased migration from the country and around the world, Madrid required growth both externally and internally. This was done via the construction of new modernised suburbs that would house the additional populations, while in the cities, the emphasis on tall buildings capable of housing many individuals became a significant priority. A more densely populated city meant more of a labour force for jobs, and so despite the general moves towards federalisation nationally, Madrid was becoming more important than ever to those living in Castille, as the expanding city was proving to be something that could one day rival Paris or Berlin. In the years 1925-1930, a 17% increase in population came excluding local growth rates, with this surplus being migrations from the countryside to find opportunities in the growing city. The new immigrants would come to influence the political system there as well.

While the conservative party lead by Antonio Maura Montaner and supported by King Alfonso XIII had held the majority of seats for a long time following the Great War and Spanish victory, the influx caused a turn towards the more liberal left. This along with Montaner's declining physical health left many believing that a change in leadership was necessary to lead Spain into the future. Some of the urban workers were republicans who desired the end of the Spanish monarchy and its replacement with a democratic republic of socialist leanings. While they would eventually get what they wanted, it would be many years before this would finally be realised. In the meantime, the liberal party and the socialist party gained seats within the middle and working classes. Among the poorest and most radical members of society grew radical revolutionaries such as anarchists and communists, who wished to not only abolish the monarchy, but completely change the fabric of Spanish society. Moderate liberals and socialists who were willing to compromise with the monarchy were the most accepted however, and so managed to keep the minority groups in check. In the 1928 election, in the wake of the economic crisis in the rest of Europe, a liberal-moderate socialist coalition ousted the conservatives from power and began a more left-leaning era for the Spanish people.

With the rise of the coalition, the powers given to the old nobility were reduced further, and the King's role in the country was pushed toward a ceremonial one, something which angered many conservatives, resulting in a tie between the two spectrums of society. Alfonso naturally opposed the reduction of his influence in the country, and so ultimately the move to reduce royal power was relented by the government. The prime minister was humiliated but continued his work elsewhere. The autonomy acts were soon to build on compensation for the cultural and political divides within the country. Fears of civil war over the increased liberal bias needed to be compensated after all, and so ultimately a decision was made in 1930. In June 1930, the act of Autonomy went through parliament successfully after multiple failed attempts, and so on August that same year, the Spanish Federation was born. Still under a constitutional monarchy in Madrid, the autonomous communities often voted into republics or principalities. Leon, Andorra, Aragon and Galicia were granted principality status while Catalonia, Euskadi, Morroco, Asturias, Cantabria, Valencia and Andalusia were given autonomous republics. This strange mix of monarchism and republicanism regionally intrigued the other powers. Spain's ally Germany was naturally appealed towards the more conservative elements of society, while remaining on somewhat friendly terms with Madrid, at least at the front of diplomacy. The Spanish liberalisation did provide a model for other countries in the Mitteleuropa Pact to follow though, something that would prove of use in the wars to come and their aftermath.

The Spanish Federation therefore struggled through the first couple of years of the 1930s, but did better than many other nations at this point in the economic crisis, doing considerably better than its northern neighbour, at least until Croix's 'Social Action' regime gathered power and control in 1931, whose aims involved regathering lost territories, which would include now Spanish land. When it did, the Spanish Federation felt more and more isolated. Without borders to Germany and Mitteleuropa, a seige mentality began to develop amongst the Spanish people. While Portugal was free to trade with other European powers substantially, and itself slid towards military rule in the collapse of the monarchy before the Great War, it became a crutch to Spain, who tried to remain a bastion of Democracy in Western Europe. Refusal to abdicate Gibraltar from the British further pushed Spain to isolation, though how long this isolation would last would be another question.

 

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Carlos Kennedy, Revolution, Evolution and Struggle, A History of the United States of America, 2013, pp.213-215

While the rest of the world was a mixed bag following the Great War, the United States had remained neutral, and so never suffered the way other nations did from economic shortages. Nevertheless, America went through major difficulties of its own during this time, primarily economic or influential in concerns. With there former colony of the Phillipines independent, American imperialism had certainly lowered thanks to Bryan's presidency, but this would be temporary indeed. The need to restore American influence in Latin America was important too. When Bryan needed to leave the White House, a new political situation began to arise.

In the Deep South, racial tensions were as high as ever. African Americans living in the region continued to suffer at the hands of Klansmen and other racist groups. In addition to traditional racists, groups influenced by Paraguay and France were starting to gain track. In Louisiana, Social Action inspired groups began to appear, hoping to merge American nationalist values and such with the authoritarian economics and a strong leadership that democracy was not providing. Even here though, such groups remained a minority, though a very vocal one. Though Jim Crow laws were still in effect, even among the White populace there was growing opposition here. Protesters such as the progressively political youth Huey Long and African American Jazz player John Wickham [1] brought about considerable influence in their respective ethnic neighbourhoods hoping to repeal segregation and improve financial distributions within the areas. Communist parties were naturally very small, as the ideology that had taken over Japan was certainly at odds with what the American people saw as their way of life. While not as common in the Deep South as on the west coast, increased xenophobia and suspicion was drawn on people from Asia, arguing that their egalitarian philosophy could cause a revolution in the USA. Despite the actual unlikely hood of such aims, for many different reasons, this era frequently promoted such views in unofficial terms.

Further up north, in the mid-west, problems arose from the reduction of trade with Western Europe, as it was increasingly difficult to be involved wit the French, who were resentful of the US not intervening in the Great War, even if by that point the French were already on the losing sife. Perhaps in a world where the French had performed better, the USA could have desired to intervene more and prevent German victory. But regardless, the lack of ability to sell crops led to inflation.

The return of the legendary 'Teddy' Roosevelt to the political stage was one of the defining moments of the early twentieth century, leaning the Republican Party towards more progressive viewpoints and away from Bryan's conservatism.

The 1924 election saw the Republicans ultimately take the main position of power, lead by a former sworn in president, Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt[2]. With progressive but right-orientated politics, the Republican party made headway in organising the nation towards a new direction, one more open to trade with the new orders of Europe and Asia. Despite the president's substantial age, he was in a physically healthy position and hoped that this would not undermine his career, while not wishing to simply copy opportunities he had gotten in the past. Roosevelt's experienced helped him deal with the existent bureaucracy that was present in Washington and prepare the global financial sphere for what was to come.

With somewhat deteriorating relationships with the Japanese following Bryan's descension from the Presidency, Roosevelt instead turned his head to the physically largest power in East Asia, the Republic of China. With Sun's declining health, the mentality of a fledgling democracy in Asia provided American interests with a major ace in the hole, to compensate the loss of the unstable Philippines to the south. Direct colonialism was not an option, particularly with an aggressive Russia to the north and west, but business interests were a definite possibility. The Shanghai Company was being set up in by young businessman Harold Harding in 1927 with permission from president Roosevelt for corporate interests. Goods would be gathered for resources from China and be manufactured around the world, which helped the USA become one of hte world's top manufacturers at this time, while allowing Chinese money to flow as well.

In Latin America, the rise of fascism in Paraguay in 1925 and later, French backed juntas in Chile, Colombia and Peru led to a destabilisation of power in the region as American influence became increasingly marginalised. The otherwise isolationist USA came to see this as a threat to their interests in the region, hoping to compensate by funding the rival governments in Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina, all in the name of preserving the American model of democracy in the region. The militaries were given funding, but the embassies decided it was best to keep the democratically elected government in a position of real power rather than allow governments resembling fascism to take power. Reluctantly, this sometimes involved funding socialist groups in the population who happened to be anti-fascist, which was met with significant resistance back home, even if these groups were not communist. Japanese attempts at promoting local communist parties also fell through in the democratic nations due to fears of dictatorship, though many of the poor did indeed sympathise with the message. Surprisingly, the anarchism ideology that had been present for years in Nauru, now under the leadership of Sakae Osugi following the death of founder Kotuko in 1926 [3], was spreading within the populations of certain countries. The deep jungles of the Amazon began to be breeding ground for anarchist idealists hoping to set up free territories under a utopian ideal, while similar ideas spread into the destabilising Bolivia, which was stuck between pro-French and pro-American factions, along with multiple smaller ones who desired neither. The situation in Bolivia would be one of the main points of contention in the Second Great War to come, but for now, the US focused their attention elsewhere, unaware of the problem.

The American navy particularly needed upgrading in its equipment, once President Roosevelt realised that without a war to prompt technological progress, that American naval ships were significantly behind their pears in the British, French and German Empires. President Roosevelt significantly increased the military's budget in order to protect American neutrality from the increasingly ambitious Alliance and Entente, while upholding influence in Latin America. With the USS Washington commissioned in 1928, the most largest and most heavily armed battleship in history up to that point, it was certainly a point indicating the rise of the USA as a major global power, were it not clear enough already. The British ships passing from Canada and the Bahamas seemed weaker following the advent of Washington, and Britain felt intimidated by this new weapon, hoping to construct an even more impressive naval ship of its own, the HMS Churchill, named after late politician Randolph Churchill. Neither nation had any intention of creating political tensions between the other though, so interests were made sure to remain relatively stable.

The 1928 election saw Roosevelt lose the election to Democrat Al Smith over Smith's promises to improve regulation of substances such as alcohol, which had neared being prohibited by many conservative politicians. Smith's Catholicism however found controversy within many of America's evangelical protestants, who feared a Papist takeover, and some of these offended Italian Americans present. One particularly disastrous impact of this was the 4th of July 1929 bombing of the Italian embassy in Washington, leading to the deaths of four and injuries to thirteen others. Smith did what he could in his 'Homecoming' speech three days later to mend relations with the Italian government, and made investigations to find and incarcerate those responsible. Only three out of the five responsible were caught though, and all were given the death sentence for treason, with their sentences being carried out over the next three years. Catholic Americans on the other hand found themselves prosperous under Smith's presidency, as did those who feared the overly conservative elements of society, such as many African Americans.

As a new decade began, the United States was positioning itself as a major global power, despite not being involved in the Great War of Europe. This showed that it did not take great armies and brute force to dominate the economy, but diplomacy and prosperity as well. Thus the United States did not suffer the way much of Europe did during the late 1920s.
[1] born after the POD and so a new person.

[2] managed to avoid his otl decline in health here and managed to beat Warren G. Harding as the Republican nominee as a result.

[3] This resulted in the previously atheistic anarchism evolving towards a spiritualist, even deist direction. Due to a lack of central organisation, the influence of religious anarchist groups such as Tolstoyists became noted, particularly in Latin American communes.

 

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Here's the beginning of 1932 in Map form.

The descriptions describe much of the changes, but theres some more minor ones too.

• Order is collapsing in Bolivia as the undemocratic Rodriguez government, a military dictatorship faces a coalition of opponents hoping for reforms, or at the very least the end of his regime. However, it is clear many of those in this coalition merely want a change in management in their favour.
• Along with these rebels come generic warlords out for simple power, and also radical socialists. Anarchists in particular thrive towards the north of the country, where something resembling agrarian Tolstoyism is taking root, under influence from the Free Territory of Nauru.
• Cesar uses the Bolivian Civil War as an oppurtunity to occupy the coveted lands he held claims on. None of the other South American nations, bar Peru and Colombia recognise this.
• The Hashemites, with heavy British funding, finally triumph over the unbacked Saudis. Arabia is now a British protectorate in all but name, its independence a mere rubber stamp.
• Italy maintains its claims on Jugoslavian Dalmatia, though the latter's radical Pan-Slavic nationalists, under Russian funding, wish to turn the tables on the Italians.
• The Phillipinos crush the Mindanaon insurrection, unfortunately resulting in pogroms against Muslims living in the north of the country. Drained by the war, their military is left weaker, and so the imperialistic eyes of a certain European nation is starting to turn their way.
• Talks of unification between Poland, Slovakia and Ruthenia into a federation similar to Jugoslavia are considered, though the Germans are very reluctant about allowing this, given the risks it may bring.

 

[Forbiddenparadise64]

Larry Baldwin, The French Gamble, 2011

With Rocque's Social Action regime in full swing, France's reascension as a global power seemed inevitable. The campaign to take back the lands that had been taken from France was one of propaganda to begin with, but it would not remain this way forever. Increased agitation by French-speaking peoples across Europe provided an indirect call to arms for the French people. Rocque argued that Germany's repeated crushing of French spirit would need to be readdressed once and for all, to make sure Germany could never again oppress the French peoples of Alsace-Lorraine, Nancy and Luxembourg. The new French Empire would take back all the lands that Napoleon had once acquired, and perhaps even more.

Unlike the Napoleon of old, Rocque did not have any desire for war with Russia, given that Wrangel's regime was similar both ideologically and in ambitions, with neither of their goals known to have overlapped with one another. While some in Croix's cabinet such as the notorious Jacques Doriot desired all of non-Russian Europe, including places as far as Poland and the Ukraine to be within the French sphere of influence, Rocque was able to guide the rest of Social Action into a conhesive order. Doriot's more radical take on fascism, more akin to the Turkomen regime than to Rocque's leadership became a problematic element, and so the Croix, the Social Action regime's secret police, ultimately took action. In September 1932, a wave of attacks and arrests were made around Paris, with hundreds arrested or outright killed. Among those arrested were Doriot himself, Xavier Vallat
, who had been proving increasingly restless in his own attempts for power (1), and over 200 others who were suspected of being 'those out to undermine the peace'. Mock trials were held and executions were taken place, with the worst traitors being given public deaths in Paris square, in an ironic homage to the French Revolution.

Emperor Louis Napoleon held little power over the French nation, but his influence was certainly profound. As a descendent of Napoleon Bonaparte himself, the founder of the First French Empire, he granted Social Action the legitimacy it needed to be secured as a significant government. The minister of propaganda Francois Coty claimed often in public speeches that Louis was bringing the nation under the unity of his ancestors, but the truth of these claims is at best dubious. Under force from Rocque's advisers, he signed approvals for whichever actions Rocque chose to implement over the nation. Following the regime's dismantling, the former emperor told us "I was hardly an emperor at all. Just a puppet, with Francois [Rocque] pulling the strings. It was honestly some of the worst days of my life." But to take a risk for the French nation, Rocque played God over him. Even his fellow monarchists found such behaviour repulsive. The action that would need to be taken for the new empire was to continue purges of disloyal elements, and increase propaganda production to rally fears of the nation upon the Germans, and soon the British as ties with them became increasingly severed as Britain went towards isolation.

The spring of 1933 proved to be an eventful and helpful year for the regime. With the situation in the eastern satellites of Germany deteriorating, France pressed its advantage with the already reduced demilitarised zone. With German forces repressing rebellion in Poland and the Ukraine (who also started to fight each other), Rocque seized his chance and marched east. The zone was fully reoccurred in a week, with only minor resistance present. For the Germans did not allow demilitarised French to participate in elections, they were at the mercy of the German military. Now though, the French military moved in right up to the German border, with Rocque and Social Action setting his eyes upon the lost provinces of Nancy, Alsace Lorraine and Luxembourg, as well as the industrially developed Saarland. With order restored here, the unification of the French people there with their motherland proved a great boost of morale. Yet there remained French speaking peoples outside the motherland too-not just in Germany and Spain, but also in such places as Belgium and Switzerland. These places too would require 'liberation' in Rocque's eyes, and the non-Francophone living there would be vassalised and granted chances to convert to French language, culture and even racial characteristics. This would certainly be carried on in France's North African colonies such as Algeria and Tunisia, as increased amounts of settlers poured into the regions. The living space for French people needed to grow, after all. At least in Rocque's eyes.

With militarisation under way, France's new economy was once again on the rise. The military was an area particulary emphasised under the regime, with the building of a new, technologically up to date air force was considered essential. The army and navy were already quite sizeable, so the only necessary changes were purging the officer corps to ensure loyalty to Social Action and its principles. As the year progresses, the Rocque dictatorship begin its preparations for the Second Great War. The French military was not ready to wage war against the nation's of Germany and Spain, who took its land, or even against the smaller Belgians and Swiss, so they needed a weaker target to start with and learn from.

The Recolonisation that occurred was the first major step in France's territorial expansion. With Cambodia disorganised and outside Japan's new sattelites states, it was left vulnerable to attack. In an era where colonialism was a significant element, Rocque's regime set apart the first step in reclaiming the lost Indochina. Mobilising a fleet in the thousands, Social Action began the reclamation of Cambodia- it's own Reconquista in the eyes of the world.

In December 1933, the first landings were made. While outnumbered by natives, the French possessed superior technology, discipline and training to the villagers and local feudal armies present. The events mirrored the first colonisation of Cambodia, only these were more intense in their form. The local communities quickly bent their knees in submission to their old overlords, only these were more aggressive and less tolerant of rebellion, not wishing to repeat the mistakes of their ancestors. Little Vietnam became annexed by its larger neighbour. The Free territory to the south-east once again geared itself as its imperialist neighbour fell, with thousands preparing to flee once more to a new land. The anarchists of Nauru as well began to prepare fleeing as the Japanese went to reclaim their islands. Within ten weeks, Cambodia had fallen once more to the new French military. Tens of thousands of anarchists fled these free territories once again. A new anarchic zone was developing within the failed state of Bolivia, and so this was the destination of the anarchist experiment. In the meantime, the French reclamation of Indochina had begun. It would be years before the second phase began, with the other nations as Japanese satellites, but it would begin again.

Around 1934, the la Croix government went into negotiations regarding a period of instability in Switzerland. With the economic declines across the world, Switzerland was hit particularly hard during the beginning of the 1930s, with many investments in that nation being withdrawn, their sources of income declined alongside the nations they supplied, and so living standards and wages started to decrease. In this new unstable era, old tensions rose again.

Following the assassination on the 3rd of November 1932 of Geneva's Président du Conseil administratif, Gustav Ador by a German-speaking nationalist of a local fringe protestant Pan-German group, there were increasing tensions between the different cultural groups within Switzerland. After this, tensions that had been dormant since the Sonderbund of the 19th century rose once more between German and French populations, as well as between Catholics and Protestants. With this happening, the country's political climate began to polarise away from the standard party models which had dominated before. With the government in Bern favouring the German majority a few too many times, Pan-French groups in Geneva and it's respective area campaigned increasingly to separate from Switzerland, also hoping to get past the government's seperation of Church and State. Rocque welcomed such ideas, and soon began incorporating and encouraging such separatist movements in the country. His creation of a "Pan-romantic" identity for the French people would help glue the French race together against the oppressive Germanics who had repeatedly put them down for centuries in Germany and in England. With a stagnating economy and racial tensions, the previously stable democracy in that nation began to deteriorate.

Germany and the United Kingdom both independently backed the Swiss government, for despite the hardships, many still had significant investments in that country, as a neutral area and place of stability within an increasingly hostile continent. While both normally at odds with one another, the fires stoked by the fascist French and Russians were driving them closer together, something that would eventually spell the downfall of this ideology and both empires. Along with the Turkish, Paraguay, Peru and Colombia, the move towards extreme nationalism was set to change the course of history.

But Swiss partisans soon put an end to this, as the Christmas Massacre took place. A group of French-speaking protesters spoke out against the German favouritism and cultural supremacy present in the neutral nation. Though peaceful, the conservative, unstable Federal Council had none of it, and due to miscommunication, opened fire on the protesters. Riots broke out, and even many international benefactors condemned the act. Seitzerland's status of neutrality was now compromised.

The French members of te council fell out from this, and the council faced major upheaval as a result of the disaster. To make matters worse, French nationalists grew in power and influence, using the massacre to justify rebellion and soon secession. In January 1935, the French parts of Switzerland finally broke off from the main republic, forming the short-lived National Republic of Greater Geneva, focussed on the French speaking majority there. Quick diplomacy by Croix and his followers brought this fledgling nation under sway, and on the 3rd of February 1935, Geneva was once more annexed into France as in the days of Napoleon. The rump Swiss government could do little but protest in response. Britain, Germany and the United States, repelled by Swiss behaviour, ultimately turned a blind eye on an international level.

The first territorial victory the Empire had, the acquiring of Geneva resonated throughout the realm as a sign that the Croix regime was successfully taking back land. But this simply wasn't enough. The lands that had been taken from the Fourth Republic remained, those being Alsace Lorraine, Nancy, and the French regions of Catalonia and Navarre. These were lands held under German and Spanish thumbs, respectively, and they were not all. The French once held Catalonia as a whole and the Rhineland, and the French speaking Wallonians of Belgium were no exception either. The Spanish Federation showed the most vocal international resistance to the acquiring of Geneva, but not as many listened.

Also on Croix's list of ambitions was the rebuilding of the French army and navy. With the authoritarian regime facing less economic burdens than most of the rest of the world during this part of history, it was not hard for them to find increased funding for their military, while other countries were forced to make budget cuts, particularly the Spanish to their south. This would soon have a major impact in the war to come. Following the Swiss cessetion, the rest of the country struggled to remain as a coherent nation.

Contemplations by Mitteleuropa throughout 1935 and early 1936 were made to divide Switzerland among ethnic lines, with most of the country going to Germany, and some token regions to Italy, with the Romansh being an autonomous province. International support for this was not particularly great, however, and so in April 1936, Mitteleuropa negotiations for an ethnic partition began to collapse.

Incapacitated by the loss of Geneva, the Swiss government started rejecting its foreign investments, returning them to their mother nations. With this, they bailed themselves out in August 1936, and so the Croix army moved into the country, once again mirroring the days of Napoleon where Switzerland had been the Helvetic Republic.

The nations of the world, who had previously been hesitant regarding the rise of Social Action, as well as the Wrangel and Turkoman regimes, were now turned against the French nation. The end of appeasment to Rocque took place in the Conference of Budapest, where the leaders of Mitteleuropa, the British Empire and Italy, came and wrote condemnation of the French occupation, calling it illegal, and ceasing all toleration for military aggression from Rocque's totalitarian state. In te meantime, he mobilised his army, airforce and navy to the best France could offer.

Tensions in Mexico against the unpopular secularised Redshirt government and the clerical members of Mexican society continued to boil within the country over this period of time. A vaguely socialist country was certainly not within the best interests of France, and so Social Action provided funding to radical opposition to the government.

Within the rightist movement, the charismatic excommunicated bishop "Father" Julien Rodriguez, declared a 'cult leader' by many across the seas, grew in popularity with his claims of miracles, his attitude to the poor and his aim to rid Mexico of all "godlessness", whether it be socialism, secularity, the Sexual Revolution or the corruption in the higher ranks of government.

Not all nationalist forces supported him, but increasing numbers saw him as being at least a valid alternative to the socialist leaning junta in Mexico City. America nominally backed the government, but many showed sympathy to the rightists, though not trusting Rodriguez.

As the situation deteriorated between the two parts of Mexican society, there was also an element among native groups who wished to preserve their heritage, with many feeling neither of the two main political camps satisfied their goals. Following an attempted coup by General Olivier Fernandez[2] in the 13th of January 1937, he was quickly ousted out of the presidential suite by forces loyal to the socialist president. This caused the central government to declare war on his rebellion, and those like it across the country, and so war began.

The Mexican Civil War was a brutal affair for certain. Divisions within both of the main factions became problematic in terms of organisation, especially for those whose only common goal was overthrowing the government. Fernandez was given support by France and Russia, and vocal support from Paraguay and Chile too. The Germans offered support for more moderate nationalist factions, with particular insistence from their Catholic subjects, though Rodriguez's rise over the course of the war infuriated them, with Germany soon withdrawing when moderate nationalist elements were thrown under the bus politically.

France was not particularly on the best terms with the southern seperatist groups such as the successful Yucatan and unsuccessful Tarascans. They funded Rodriguez only as a 'lesser of two evils" arrangement as the lines of the fragmented Mexican republic were drawn, resulting in the split. Rodriguez' new 'Holy State of Mexico', was only reluctantly funded by France, and drifted more towards internal affairs than organisation within the Pact of Steel. Even so, the training of French units during the war would teach them valuable lessons in their future campaigns in Europe.

By August of the same year, Mexico was partitioned forever, and France had its role in its downfall. While hoping to get Rodriguez's regime into his Pact to distract the United States and ther British Carribbean during the Second Great War, these plans were ultimately failures, and so the 'Holy State' would drift further and further into isolationism.

Ironically, the catalyst for war was not in Europe or Mexico, but in Asia. The fragile republic of the Phillipines had been facing Islamist insurrections in Mindanao as well as a corrupt military government which refused to open elections for democracy. The poor in that nation certainly did not seem particularly suppotive of the regime. Thus sympathy to both the extreme right and the extreme left within the country was strong. Whatever way the country was inclined though, it was unprepared for the first step in France's political career.

Knowing the fledgling nation was unstable and with two hungry neighbours to the north and west, the Phillipines was guaranteed independence by the Germans and the Spanish, their former colonial masters ironically. The ambivalent Americans also made friendly gestures, but isolationism ensured that no efforts of reintegration were taken, despite considerations. Before Bryan's presidency, a move against the Philippines was a move against the USA. But those days were over.

In the 8th of September 1937, large fleets leaving from newly French Cambodia made their way into The Proletarian Republic of Japan. Now under the leadership of Kanson Arahata, the former minister of propaganda under Sakai's time as shogun, the two countries had secret negotiations for something that would shock the world. Five days later, the Kamakawi-Doriot Non-aggression Pact was announced to the world. This move was controversial even among France's allies. Wrangel, strongly both anticommunist and anti-Japanese, almost resigned from the Pact of Steel upon hearing the news, while Turkomen was said to have given dozens of calls to Paris to express his outrage at the news.

The plans behind this pact were soon shown to the world after an alleged assault on French ships by Mindahoa resistance fighters. Complaining to the Filipino government regarding this, Rocque demanded that they pay the fine for this massacre of troops themselves. When they inevitably refused to pay on behalf of an armed rebel group, France declared war on the 18th of October. Military landings were made in Mindanao, fighting both the insurgents and the Filipino government forces. German diplomats issued an ultimatum demanding France withdraw from the unlawful occupation of Filipino land and cease the occupation of the Second Helvetic Republic. With no answer after four days, the Mitteleuropa pact declared war on France and Russia. Despite this, no German forces were sent to the Pacific to assist the Phillipines, particularly as Japanese troops invaded from the north in early November, with the plan to partition the archipelago. Regardless, it was clear to everyone. The Second Great War had begun.

(1) Vallat argued instead for a republican form of fascism without the compromise of a monarchy, as well as the establishment of a Latin block along with Italy and the Iberian countries, with no desires of replicating the old Napoleonic monarchy. His increased ambition for leadership of the country over Rocque led to the latter growing paranoid about him and taking action.

[2] As you can tell, he was born after the point of divergence and so is a new person, having a temperament quite like that of General MacArthur of otl, only in a more extreme form adapted to his context. Virulently anticommunist and a bit racist at the sides too.

 

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Jonathan London, The Twentieth Century and It's Course, 2012, pp.67-70

Sakai's death in 1929 had led to the brief period of council rule, but even the most optimistic politians in the Proletarian Republic knew this was only a temporary arrangement. A new People's Shogun needed to be elected to provide a figurehead for the people and the nation.

Kazua attempted a coup in July 1932 to take over the nation, wishing to create a more authoritarian Japanese economy[1] with total control over all aspects of life, designed to be optimised for the benefit of the people. He gained support from Yamakawa, who wished a greater focus on the rural peasant's rights, forming a rival coup-attempt to Kazua. Despite support from some of the military, Both coups proved ultimately a failure and within a week, Kazua was executed and Yamakawa was imprisoned without trial and exiled. Though he died in 1935 from unknown diseases in Indonesia, some of both of their ideas would live on and have significant implications in the development of twentieth century communism, particularly the rise of the Pembebasan Revolusioner Rakyat developing from Marxist-Kotoism[2]. Meanwhile in Japan; the council's elections resumed in October that year.

The process was long and intense, but ultimately led to fruition the following year in June 1933. Following the discrediting of opposition through the efficient position of being the former minister of propaganda, Kanson Arahata managed to manoeuvre himself into the position to being considered the best hope for the Republic, and was soon ushered in as 'People's Shogun'. With the rise of his regime, he prided himself as being Sakai's successor, establishing his position as founder of the republic with statues and even holidays named in his honour[3]. Despite his position, he played an image of false humility to prevent other members of the People's Council from deeming him a threat and removing him from power. The main changes he made from Sakai's leadership was an increase in the size of the army and navy, which he argued would help protect the republic and its allies in Indochina from 'Imperialist aggression'. It was certainly true that Sakai's spending on military concerns was underwhelming in the eyes of many in the party, especially given the risk of the hard-line anticommunist Chiang Shek coming to power in China. Even when this didn't happen, many understood Arahata's emphasis on militarisation. The wish to spread socialism globally was pressured by the council, though Arahata did put emphasis on suppressing this movement within the party, wishing to quitely secure his own grip on power rather than export the Revolution, at least not directly.

The Rice Boom of 1934 was one of the big success' of Arahata's early rulership as People's Shogun. The decent harvest was a result of an unusually long summer and decent rains beforehand, as well as foreign policy gaining beneficiaries among non-communist nations wishing to gain rice exports, including China and the United States. Arahata was thus praised for this development of the food situation, something that was to be essential as the continuations of the revitalisation plans from Sakai continued. Japan already had industry and a modernised military before the revolution, unlike neighbouring nations such as Russia and China, but nevertheless the need to keep militarily and economically up to date was considered paramount. With a modernised nation itself, Japan now started to serve as a benefactor towards the Indochinese regimes it had befriended. Many in his council considered his aid sent over insufficient, given the contemporary French reclamation of Cambodia, demanding that Japan directly administrate these regions to ensure the locals were trained, defensible and with a solid source of industry to use, even suggesting to cut down yet vast forests of the region. However, Arahata spun this off as a remnant of colonialism; directly intervening would make Japan no different to the imperialist nations around it. Without this source, the council backed down for now. However, behind Arahata's nose, signs of discontent were building. This would only further be amplified by other decisions the 'People's Shogun' made.

The former People's Shogun, well over a decade after he was deposed, and only a few short months before his mysterious death, believed by many to have been an assassination.

The year of 1935 was a somewhat tense year diplomatically for the Proletarian Republic, as increased Russian activity in China led to armament building up, finally spilling into war in October as the Russians launched a full scale assault from Qinghai in the west and Manchuria in the north. Tokyo, despite differences between the the two regimes, funded its mainland neighbour, led by the friendly Jingwei, who had ousted Shichang in the previous year's election, against the imperialists. The success of the French acquiring of Geneva shocked almost all in the Japanese council, and so desires to mobilise and prevent the French from strengthening their toehold in Asia were built up. The funding of arms, tactics and even volunteer divisions in exchange for food and natural resources was greatly profitable for Japan, which lacked a great deal of its own natural resources. The support of the left wing parties within China's suspended democracy spread hopes that a socialist revolution would arise there in the long term, at least temporarily. The need to contain Russian expansion was also considered of paramount importance to the Japanese at this point, as Wrangel's regime was openly anti-communist, and clearly wished to further eliminate the Japanese communists. Arahata made condemnations of the French takeover of Switzerland alongside the other nations of the world, and in September of that year, began conscription within his country, making it compulsory for all men and women between the ages of 18 and 40 to have at least 3 years of military service under their belt. This would play a significant role in the wars to come.

As the next two years rolled along, the country experienced relative prosperity, growing rich off trade and arming with China, Germany and the United States. The former anarchist fortress in Nauru was retaken and communist rule restored. The former emperor died and his son was proclaimed regent, though he would never sit the throne of Japan. Politically, the situation was quite stable, and the development of local authorities started despite the move towards a wartime economy. However, the hostility with Russia put its people on edge, and this prosperity was certainly a fragile one. Japan seemed ready for war from an economic perspective, but the people living in Japan certainly did not feel that way. Nevertheless, the People's Shogun felt his buildup would be wasted if his newly developed military was not put to use, especially to use resources that he felt were needed. With no opportunities coming to conduct war with the French in Indochina, or against Thailand after attempts to fund local socialist groups fell flat, his jingoism felt less and less satisfied. Within 1937, a building up of military presence in the southernmost islands led to complaints and militarisation from the Manilla government in the Philippines, who saw this as encroaching on their territory. Arahata saw the great resources of the Philippines as being of great potential use, both directly to Japan and to fund the economy in a war against Russia, which he regarded as inevitable. He also had support from some of the council, particularly foreign minister Kamakawi, who saw this as a way to expand the Revolution and establish another Proletarian Republic in the world. Many wanted a casus-belli against the Filippinos to be carried out as soon as possible, regardless of international condemnation. Many more in the counsel opposed such a move as imperialistic, instead seeing ripe territory within the colonies of Europe, and in the oppressed Koreans, Mongolians and Manchu under Russian rule. Arahata's more pragmatic ideals however, made him see friendship in the most unlikely of places.

The Non-Aggression Pact between Fascist France and Communist Japan on the 13th of October 1937 shocked many, both internationally and within the cabinet. Foreign Minister Marcel Déat had promised Japan the oppurtunity to spread the Revolution throughout East Asia, even offering to divide China with the Russians, and attack British and Dutch colonies nearby. This was clearly a ruse by Social Action to distract Japan with a major war, which fortunately Arahata refused to listen to. Nevertheless, it led to enormous criticism against his policies and personality[4].

It was in fact considered such an outrage among the counsel that many began to plot to have Arahata removed, for betraying Sakai's memory and Marx's ideals. The conspirators gathered round the figurehead of Fukomoto, who also wished to remove the privileges of the former royal family on Okinawa, as a final remnant of the pre-war regime. Another conspirator with his own agenda was Sen Katayama, the formerly disgraced second in command of Sakai, who had found himself pardoned in late 1934 by Arahata's judges. Katayama repayed him with treachery, being involved in the conspiracy to remove him from power and prevent a great war that would cause the collapse of the regime he had worked so hard to create. However, it would take months for the plans to start to mobilise, and more than one attempt was made to remove Arahata.

The first came just before the invasion of the northern Philippines began, on the 3rd of November 1937, under the pretense of a drunken brawl between different members of the military. This soon escalated into a shoot-out, with the conspirators charging parliament and attempting Arahata's life. Three members of the People's Council and more than twenty civilians were killed in this attack, and dozens were injured. However, the secret police, mostly answering directly to Arahata soon dealt with the conspirators and had them all hanged, though they didn't manage to find out who had started the fights in the first place. This 'Night of the Broken Glass', named for the first bottle of whiskey that had been thrown during the initial brawl, would go down in history as the start of the Troubles, a difficult time for the leadership of the Proletarian Republic. No more attempts were made on Atahama's leadership that year, even while subduing the Filipinos, but more would come the following year.

The State of the Filipino War of Resistance on the 1st of January 1938.

[1] somewhat more like OTL's Leninism or Gramsciism, whereas Sakai's model of communism is a bit like a rough cross between Menshevism and Luxembourgism.

[2] With an agrarian focus and aims to liberate the peasants and such, this branch of communism is like a somewhat tamer version of Maoism with Syndicalist, Narodnik and even Islamic influence.

[3] Sound familiar? Granted this is more sincere than a certain OTL socialist leader's pandering.

[4] Even his own allies such as his foreign minister Kamakawi privately showed protest to this diplomatic move, warning that the fascist regime, with a powerful navy and desire to restore control in the Pacific, would not tolerate a communist Japan for long, if at all. Perhaps if Arahata hadn't ignored these warnings, Japan may not have suffered the early blunders it had during Operation Leapfrog.

 

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As the international situation deteriorated, the world had been nearing war for years before the French invasion of the Philippines. But with this invasion and the soon declaration of war from the Mitteleuropa pact, Germany found itself once again at war with France, though this France was far more hostile and fanatical than the one it had faced. For the first time since Napoleon, France was in a militaristic state, and this time it had an ally in the form of Wrangel's National Salvation Russia, with the Ottomans waiting at the sides for the right moment to strike the unstable situation of the Balkans. While it would be a year or so before the South American theatre of the war began, the end of 1937 was the start of the most deadly theatres in Europe and Africa, as the Entente and Alliance once again came for each other.

In the meantime, Britain increasingly distanced itself from its now fascist allies, retreating toward "splendid isolationism" alongside the United States, while privately reconciling its differences with the German Empire, who dominated continental Europe, albeit with difficulty. The humiliation of the Fourth Balkan War was still fresh in German minds, and the rise of Russia in the east caused uncertainty among the ranks of its satellite nations. It had certainly been rumoured that Hungarian nationalists wished to betray Germany to the Russians once the time was right. With Russian funding, there is definitely substantial evidence that they had wished to betray their German overlords. With the Germany declaring war on France on the 22nd of October 1937, the Russians began to mobilise as Germany faced a dramatically reinforced Maginot Line. The Russians soon declared war themselves on the Germans on Halloween. The Germans, while hoping to quickly acquire victory as Schlieffen had tried in the First World War, once again found themselves disappointing in their military plans, as Russian forces advanced across the border into their satellite states in Poland, Ruthenia and Lithuania. At the same time, the Turkish mobilised their forces, not formally entering the European conflict, but preparing their own against the nation of Mesopotamia, centred around Baghdad, and consisting mainly of Shia Muslims. Independent, but under British protection, this nation remained vulnerable to the ambitions of Turkomen's fascist regime.

As well as these main catalysts for the Second Great War, a number of other profound occurances took place in this time period in the five years leading up to the War.

• The Portuguese military government is deposed in a military coup in February 1935, almost leading to a civil war, though the old regime is quickly disposed of, leading to a transition towards democracy.
• The assassination of Republican presidential candidate Herbert Peters in December 1936 while attending a local counsel meeting in his home town of Colarado Springs is linked with his grandparents being of allegedly Jewish descent.
• Mexico, now partitioned as of August 1937, forever altered the appearance of Central America. 'Father Rodriguez's' Holy State began to expand influence south into Guatemala, as client supporters living in that region also began to stir trouble, hoping to remove American influence from their country, while also remaining fervently religious and anti-communist. The more independent-minded Yucatan regime meanwhile established itself as a more stable power, despite the initial economic issues. US occupation of Baja California was also done on orders of the US miiltary, allegedly to prop up the rump Mexican regime.
• The collapse of the Bolivian regime is almost in full swing, as Paraguay has secured its occupation and is gearing up with its allies of Peru and Colombia to settle other borders against Argentina, Chile and Brazil.
• After a lengthy battle throughout December, the Chinese repel a Russian attack on Beijing, with the seige finishing around the 23rd of December. The Russians go on to focus other campaigns around the western interior.
• Ethiopia goes to war with Italy in the Autumn by holding claims in Somalia and Eritea, hoping to gain a coastline and secure control in the region as a local power. This does not go as well as Addis Ababa hoped, and the Italians are grinding them to a hault by the end of 1937.

Next time we will be looking at the status of the theatres of the Second Great War.

 

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Donald Murphy, A Blink of an Eye; the history of the world in a nutshell, 2013, pp.234-237

As France attacked positions in southern Germany and Belgium, it was the Russians under Wrangel who attacked Germany’s far eastern border, and those of its allies in Mitteleuropa. Now modernised and no longer suffering the various issues it has previously, the Russian military made up for its relatively lesser equipment with fanatical determination to restore the old lands of the Russian Empire, and to even go beyond, demanding vengeance and blood from Germany. This would be earned with the deaths of millions.

The first assault, led by general Andrey Anderyevich Vlaslov, took place in the Eastern half of Poland, as the vassal state of Germany was distracted by internal strife regarding its German overlords. The significant Russian minority in the region were cited as a justification for the invasion to take place. Around January 1938, a number of rebellions by Russian speaking Polish occured in the eastern part of the country, put down by the government. As the war with France in the west escalated, Russia took its chance to launch a simultaneous invasion of Poland, the Baltic States and Romania. Already bogged down in a costly invasion of China, the Russian military was not at an optimal state of being, but nevertheless made substantial gains within the first half of 1938. These gains slowed down once they reached the centre of the nation. Here, a Polish counter-offensive slowed down Vlaslov's forces and pushed them back from a frontal assault on Krakow. German reinforcements coming in from the west further impaired this attempt to take German satellite states in one fell swoop, though this wasn’t the case elsewhere.

Further north, the Estonian resistance was fiercer but ultimately futile. The fanatical Russian soldiers, wanting to reclaim the rightful motherland’s territory and then more, wished to crush the Baltic people’s under their control once more, this time wishing to permanently settle the region with Russians. The small republic fell completely by March. Massive deportations of Estonians were made in occupied territory east to Siberia on their great train stations. Resistance continued though in terms of espionage of the supply lines. The other Baltic states faired little better, with Latvia lasting into May and Lithuania into July.

Romanian troops in Bessarabia marching to defend their homeland from the Social Action Russians. Facing the possibility of subjugation or even ethnicide, the Romanians fought fervently and valiantly against the fascists, regardless of their own political affiliations.

Further to the south, general Zhukov had been called from the Chinese front to launch an artillery based invasion of Ruthenia and Romania. Using the newly Wrangel-30 tank, he developed a strong foothold as the small puppet state was quickly overrun and annexed by the Russian Empire. In order to ‘make Russia great again’, the acquiring of not just Bessarabia but also the Romanian oil fields was necessary to fuel further Russian advances. Desiring the liberation of the south-Slavic people’s of Serbia and Bulgaria, they hoped to bolster these fronts as well. Their ally in the Ottoman Empire also was dealing in this area though, so tensions between the nominal allies were inevitable.

Moldavia was the first to fall to the Russians in the southern front. The fighting here was relentless as the terrain made it more difficult than just Bessarabia. The Russians did not intend to annex Romania as a whole, merely establish a friendly military regime that would fit their interests and give them oil to fuel their war against Germany. Relentlessly fighting on, the Romanian people did not wish to fall under the yoke of Russian tyranny, especially with regards to its pan-Slavic racism, which would no doubt disregard them as a boundary toward that goal. Walachia was better equipped to hold the line against the Russian advance, but not by much, and soon they would face another threat. The Hungarians has invaded!

It was well known that the Kingdom of Hungary desired to retake Transylvania from the Romanians, and the Germans had punished them for previously trying to take the rest of the region. The old king’s young nephew had been put in power following the German intervention, but in the days following the start of the Russian invasion, the Budapest Coup put the Green Arrows in charge, a clerically fascist party desiring to ally with Russia, though adapted to the Hungarian context and appealing to their common asiatic heritage. Soon they too joined in on the invasion, in August 1938, much to Germany’s dismay. With a war on two fronts, Germany was put in a very precarious situation. The first war had been a close one precisely because of having to fight two enemies simultaneously, and these two were now more dangerous than ever.

Bulgaria was sympathetic to the Croix regime in France and to Wrangel’s Russia, but they were wary of the Turkomen regime in the Ottoman Empire, so joining was not an option for them. Fearful for its survival, Bulgaria preemptively declared war on the Ottomans and on Russia, hoping to secure its borders and aid from Germany and Britain. It would come, though not immediately. The Serbians and other south-Slavic nations joined in, as did the Greeks. The eastern front became far more complicated in the space of September.

As bloody as the eastern front was, however, it paled compared to the front in China. As the most intense front, the predominant part of the Russian military was raging through central China, making it difficult to focus power elsewhere. This was perhaps their biggest mistake, for the warlords were gone and now the full night of the Chinese republic was up against them. We shall investigate their situation in the next chapter.

 

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Sergei Ivanov, The Fall of a Dynasty

As Russian forces pushed further into Chinese territory, it was clear even among the army that Wrangel’s great army for Russian restoration was overreaching itself. Even while larger in landmass than China and with a great population, Russia still didn’t have the military capacity that a properly mobilised China did, especially as the latter did not fall into the predicted warlordism that many in Russia had hoped. My own grandfather, Alexandr Ivanov, was one of the officers fighting this war, and he knew that it was a lost cause. Wrangel and his administration however had no such caution, and both nations suffered greatly for it.

It was now the year 1939. As Russian forces advanced into Ningxia and Gansu, resistance grew ever more bitter and determined from local forces, desperate to avoid subjugation. It is now known from NA archives that the plan Wrangel had in mind to subdue China was to promote local cultures and subcultures to divide China into local groups, all subservient to Russian interests. The spirit of unity that the republic had created, however, made this a near impossibility in practise. On the frontier, general Chiang Shek, for all his issues, excelled in the defence of Sichuan from the Russians attacking, making them bleed for every inch they took. Scorched earth policies were also put into practise by some other generals, ensuring that their resources didn’t fall into Russian hands. This led plans by the NA army for another path.

General Anton Denikin had been deprived of a chance to fight communists in Japan or Russia itself, and was a known former rival of Vohd Wrangel, but was happy to provide for the motherland by gathering the vast resources of China under Saint Petersburg’s wings.

It was now March. General Anton Denikin led a path from the north to encircle Chiang’s force to prevent them from reinforcing the main coastal cities. Denikin went through the mountains, desiring the western corridor to be secured as it once had by the Mongols, securing the downfall of China as a whole. The offensive would encircle much of the Chinese army and force the republican government into some sort of armistice. Or at least that is what Denikin hoped.

Jingwei, now seen as a hero among the Chinese left, managed to break the Russian advance into southern China, starting the downfall of the Russian advance in the East.

In reality, General Jingwei, who leaned further left than many of the other members of the Chinese government, rallied the local Chinese against Denikin forces, waiting in the mountains for the Russian forces. According to my grandfather’s account, the Russian army marched through the mountains, with little air support as the majority of the Empire’s planes were focussed on the western front. As a result, they were easily ambushed by China’s own airforce, dropping bombs on the Russians from above, killing thousands even initially. This was a part of Jingwei’s plan to throw the Russians into chaos and then ambush them from the forests on the mountains. Casualties were thus heavy on the Russian side, though the battle was changed when the forces of general Pyotr Krasnov showed up to assist Denikin. A proud supporter of the tsarist system, Krasnov was not as enthusiastic about the fascist ideals of racial supremacism, but was wishing to promote Russia’s interests on the gloval sphere. The Russians won another battle in the end. The fifth till the twenty-third of March 1939 will forever be remembered as one of the bloodiest battles of the entire war.

With news of the French occupation of the Netherlands came French bases in newly conquered Cambodia to send out expeditions into Indonesia, though these were generally failures, and caused the Dutch colonial government to crack down on dissent. This would sow the seeds for further conflict, for the iconic political philosopher, revolutionary and leader Kompyang Bijiuan, first became active in antigovernment activity, while still opposing the French fascists. In Java, this three-way conflict between the groups further complicated the situation.

As April 1939 arrived, Bijuan was now openly preaching Marxist ideals of liberation rather than the more general nationalistic ideas that were common among local resistance movements. In particular, Bijuan referenced Yamakawa’s more centralised and agrarian interpretation of communism as an inspiration, forming Marxist-Kotoism. He formed the Pembebasan Revolusioner Rakyat to organise his militia as a resistance group. Money began to flow in from Japan, for it while it did not support the capitalist Dutch, resentment was strong in Tokyo for the Kamakawi-Déat Non-Aggression Pact (named after French foreign minister Marcel Déat, and Japan’s own foreign minister Kamakawi), and the People’s Shogun, the newly appointed Fukumoto Kazuo, who had deposed the corrupt Kanson Arahata in December’s ‘Second Revolution’, where Arahata, who had signed the Pact, was exiled. This is all relevant, because as Russia’s main ally, the French were already preparing for conflict with Japan. Which meant that sooner or later, Russia too would be drawn in.

Yet another assault would be attempted on Beijing in the Spring of 1939, this one using aerial bombardment and artillery to weaken the city’s defenders, instead of purely infantry. The use of Russian Wrangel tanks was also of note here, though the Chinese’s own tanks, the Yao-Guai, proved its equal in every way except firepower, where it excelled. China’s capital continued to resort in whatever way it could. As the empire was overextending itself, the Republic’s ability to resist became easier. China did have a numbers advantage over Russia even with Manchuria and the northern territories away. I can only imagine how powerful a United China would be in manpower and economically. The Great Wall was once again damaged in the conflict, but the Chinese army did not care at this point, and merely used it for more cover from fire and to launch counterattacks and guerrilla warfare. With the fate of a United China at stake, it was not a luxury the people could afford. Leader Duan of the Unity Party had mobilised the retreat of many of the civilian population, but he continued to remain in the capital, personally commanding soldiers into action against the advancing Russians, until eventually dying in battle against the invaders. The aging Duan may have wanted to become a martyr for the Chinese cause in doing this, and such a risk proved successful. By the middle of the year, the seige was lifted.

An aging politician of the Republic, Duan knew that his rivalries with Yin Bao (of the New Republicans) and Jingwei were irrelevant compared to the fate of China. Opting to personally lead an assault on a Russian caravan, Duan was one of the last Chinese to go down in such a blaze of glory.

In the Russian protectorate of Manchuria, uprisings commenced against the colonial government, even before the latter siege on Beijing. Starting in October 1938, operations funded by both Jingwei and the Japanese were launched, hoping to remove supply lines used in the protectorate that sent resources back to Saint Petersburg and Moscow. One of the rebel leaders, a man named Xi, became a popular bandit undermining Russian influence around Harbin. Whereas many wanted Manchuria to reunite with China as a whole, Xi argued for maintaining Manchuria’s independence from both them and Russia, desiring a nation of their own. Undermining supply lines proved useful in the grand schemes of things as it was likely the reason the Russians didn’t manage to take Beijing.

As we have seen, the Russian army’s performance in late 1938 and early 1939 put them at the peak of the Chinese invasion. From this point onwards, it would be a slow and steady decline.