Southern Glory, American Fury

Well, when it comes to update, Grey Wolf, you really are second to no one!
Not one, but two world wars :eek:! Good gracious me! None the less, I've got a couple of questions :D.

OTL Russia had three line of expansion: the Balkans, India and the Pacific. In your timeline, you've adressed the latter and I suppose the russians have abandoned the whole thrust to India in exchange of better relations with Britain, but seems to me that your Russia has been quite passive in the whole Balkan region. I was thinking that there would have been several frictions with the ottomans and the hungarians over the region.

In the second world war I don't quite understand why Germany stay neutral. Given the fairly recent defeat, Germany should have been eager to get revenge over the french and regain part of her lost prestige. After all a strong Germany would act as counterweight to France, so it would be an asset for Britain.

Added to this is a French attack on the remains of the British-led Neutrality Patrol, sinking both the British vessels and the Italian and Belgian ones which had remained with it.

Belgium and Italy declare war on France, neither having much choice in the matter after the sinking of their Far Eastern Naval forces

Since escalating the war is hardly in France favour, could the french try to avoid the war with the neighbouring countries? They could blame the whole incident over the fleet admiral, saying that "he has gone too far" and "abused his power". Unless Belgium and Italy are already Britain's clients, but it didn't seem so, they could pretend to accept the explanation (and an hefty compesation, of course).
Italy could go to war anyway, hoping to conquer Rome, but the italian goverment could also be tempted to get Sicily back, so I guess that there would be a sort of "bidding war" to get Italy as ally.

whilst Germany officially declares her independence.

Guess it's a typo for neutrality, isn'it?

Austria took the opportunity to sue for peace, and was allowed to keep its conquests in the S Tyrol

Austria paying compensation for damage caused in her campaign

Why? It's hardly in austrian interest to keep South Tyrol and later paying compensation to Italy. It would have been more logic to use the Tyrol card to get scott free of economic payments, since the latter can crush an economy and Tyrol, while being a wonderful region, was also quite poor at the turn of century.


Finally, I'm afraid I find the whole third war chapter a bit...rushed.

Britain seems quite devoided of reliables allies, without a good explanation and this is in stark contrast to OTL, where Britain was in a similar situation.
The USA, in my opinion, falls a it too easily. Even if they aren't a powerhouse like OTL, they should have resisted more to the CSA. Besides I'm not bought to the incorporation act. After nearly a century from the civil war, both nations should have developed a distinct personality. I can perfectly see a puppet goverment in the USA, and several fanatics both in CSA and USA claiming to "rejoin what was once divided", but I doubt that these position could become dominantin the CSA. After all the CSA finds his own foundation, his raison d'être, in the separation from the USA.

A part from these points, I find your update great. Keep up with the good job.

Cornelius
 
LOL, thanks

I can address what is sitting at the top of my head right now

-1- Belgium and Italy have been supported by Britain in the colonial theatre, and Belgium especially looks to Britain as a friend after 1874. Whilst there is no DEFINITE need for a declaration following the sinking of their ships by France, there would be a very difficult balancing act trying to wriggle out of it, as it would be definitely expected in London. Italy certainly has a huge motive of her own, since Rome has become her primary focus

-2- Regarding the S Tyrol, its more a sop to Austrian pride so that they don't exit the war with nothing, and that they can force Italy to this agreement. As for the compensation, its not going to be on a huge scale, and is again more of a token, looking for future reconciliation

-3- German neutrality is more closely tied to uncertainty over what Russia's position is. Britain has supported the independent German states against Berlin for a quarter of a century and built up a rival economic powerbase, whilst France has supported Bavaria and Austria, partly as a balance against the German-Italian alliance.

-4- The USA is not only split socially and economically but also ideologically with a strong groundswell from its own Progressive Party. This party is supported by Richmond and looks to a new unified future.

Best regards
Grey Wolf
 
Oh, regarding Britain being devoid of allies, it doesn't want war nor does it expect war. It thinks it is just putting its point across

Richmond however has been angling for an advantage and the Progressives in power want a final ultimate showdown with the British Empire

It should also not be forgotten that some of the dominions in this timeline are stronger and more populated than in OTL, especially the S African Confederation and Canada.

In addition, Britain does not expect India to declare neutrality, India having furnished vitally important units in both previous world wars. Indian Neutrality is a massive body blow to the British cause, and brings great fury in London

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Regarding Russia, in OTL it pretty much ignored the Balkans during the late 1890s, early 1900s when it was pursuing its Far Eastern strategy. Here, this latter strategy is a resounding success, and Russia has far more focus and energy committed in that direction

In addition, the Balkan situation is somewhat transformed by the existence of independent Bosnia, and by Hungary as an independent state with its own policies and actions on the scene

Russia ends up dragged deeper into China than it wants to go, and has difficulty extracting itself. OTL before 1904, Russian companies and banks were involved in joint ventures with Chinese counterparts, and I've just built on this. Manchuria was definitely going to fall within the Russian sphere of influence, and Chinese resentment grows when Russia begins to treat it as some sort of colony

In addition, the Ottoman Empire is stronger, reformed and more of an obstacle on the one hand, and a block for action on the other

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Post-War
1944 +


Britain's eclipse from the global scene is felt in different ways around the world

The FRC (Federal Republic of Canada) comes to rely on the CSA for aid in rebuilding and repairing the devastation of the war

The Confederation of South Africa absorbs Madagascar as a federal state and whilst still professing loyalty to Britain, strikes out on her own on the global scene

Australia and New Zealand also remain as loyal dominions, but increasingly their foreign and domestic policy diverges substantially from that in Britain

With the demise of the Imperial Council, more colonies push for self-governing status, and by 1950 East Africa, Nigeria and Malaya are all dominions

India descends once more into chaos, this time a vicious civil war that sees no British involvement, and the forces of the princes' defeated by the People's Army of Congress, sweeping aside millennia of tradition and instituting a federal republic on purely popular terms. Britain only finally agrees to recognise the independent republic in 1959 at the time of the China War Scare

- - -

Napoleon V abdicates in 1949 in favour of his eldest son, Napoleon VI, who institutes a period of personal rule after the death of the Popular Front leader in 1955.

France increasingly integrates its N African, Senegal and Saharan possessions into an imperial polity

Carlos VIII (or VII ?) of Spain continues along the way, as do Italy, Belgium and Portugal, developing the infrastructure of their colonies

The British dominion of Nigeria fights a fierce border war with the Sokoto Caliphate and its allies and vassals to the East. The war degenerates into a bloody tribal affair, dragging in generations and peoples in a bloody genocidal conflict

- - -

The CSA takes until the 1960s to properly integrate the US states, the Progressive Party remaining in complete control, controlling lives and the national agenda. Civil disturbance, socialism, Unionism, and urban riots distrub the decades. But the Progressive Guard, the militant wing of the Party/government works freelance in the trouble spots

Progressives from the USA slowly begin to be integrated into the main CSA party, and in 1969 one of them is elected Vice President.

The CSA becomes even more of an economic powerhouse during the 1960s and 1970s, a fact reflected also in the build-up of its armed forces, based around battlegroups each with 2 huge battleships, a fleet carrier and a light carrier, and stationed in the Atlantic, the Caribbean, the pacific and at strategic points

- - -

Britain is nothing during the 1950s, the shattered cities and ruined economy proving too much even for the National Government formed under Field Marshal Hough by King-Emperor William V

By 1960 things are beginning to look up a little, with an elected government back in power, albeit with a tightly controlled constitution. Lord Devereux takes power with a NG majority

During the 1960s, Devereux's Britain begins the slow climb back to global relevance, dispatching forces to aid Nigeria in the war with Sokoto and ravaging the capital of the caliphate, and annexing it and surrounding states, much to the annoyance of Egypt and the Ottoman Empire

1969 and he retires after a referndum to bring in a somewhat looser constitution that allows for more democratic governance. Randolph Hayes, the Social Democrat leader is the first Prime Minister elected under this system, but his ambitious plans are thwarted by government interests, too careful to protect their position than to let loose a potential revolutionary

1974 and Sir Edward Kyle becomes Prime Minister for the king-emperor's party, instituting armed forces reforms, and involving Britain in the suppression of uprisings in the dominions of East Africa and Malaya, and in Borneo where revolutionaries fighting the Dutch authorities are making strikes across the colony

- - -

By 1955 China has finally emerged from its long civil war, a rebel prince of the Imperial dynasty having united several discordant factions among the rebels into an Alliance and eventually becoming strong enough to march on Peking and overthrow his cousin, declaring himself the first Emperor of a new Era

1958 sees the crushing of the Tibetan theocracy, in co-operation with Modernist forces within the nation, and this is followed in 1959 by a border dispute with India over the Ladakh region, something which almost blows up into full-scale war

The war scare has the effect of mending broken relations between London and Delhi, as Indian representatives agree concessions that Britain demanded years before in return for recognition and a Non-Aggression Pact. These concessions include the dropping of all Indian claims for compensation, whilst in turn compensating British-born nationals who lost lands in India during the civil war - the qualification of British-born is to exclude the exiled Indian princes, which would be a step too far for Delhi, and not a major concern of Britain at this time.

This 1959 reconciliation, followed in 1960 by the election of Lord Devereux's government marks the turning point for post-Third World War Britain. The negotiation of trade agreements with India also send a strong signal to Peking, and the Emperor agrees to let the matter of Ladakh go to arbitration with the Dutch, Swiss and Mexicans providing the arbitors (colonial power, European power, American power).

As are most compromises the result does not please anyone. Ladakh was historically a vassal of Tibet, and through them a vassal of China. The eradication of its ruling elite and its recreation as a republic within the federal Indian structure has made this an anachronism. But Peking's historic rights, now backed up by their forceful absorption of the historic rights of Lhasa, cannot simply be wiped off the board. It is agreed that China will relinquish all residual rights in return for financial compensation equal to the purchase price of Ladakh. An independent commission is set up to establish just what this is

The new Emperor's government is always short of funds, so he presses the commission for an early result, whilst also agreeing to compromise on the value since some money now beats more money a lot later. The final figure is survivable for India, and useful for Peking and a final treaty is signed between the two nations in 1961

- - -

The Kingdom of the Netherlands develops its holdings in the East Indies, making of them a mixture of modern, vibrant state and at least a survivable level of existence raised out of poverty. The literally hundreds of islands are reorganised in the mid 1960s into new Governments, whilst the commercial centres on Java, Sumatra and Flores begin to generate huge amounts of their own income as trade and tourism flourish. It is said of Jakarta that it is the Confederate aristocrat's destination of choice.

Things turn sour in the early 1970s, a wave of revolutionary fervour stretching across SE Asia, bringing about serious risings by revolutionary radicals in Malaya and Siam, and infecting much of East Indies youth. Part of the source for all this is to be found in Japan where decades of existence as a second class state has finally seen the logical result in a popular revolution overthrowing the Supreme Leader, and constituting revolutionary populism, still formally in the name of the Emperor

Tokyo makes no secret of its support for like-minded movements across SE Asia, and faces a serious test when French battleships enter Tokyo Bay after the government had evinced support for the small but growing band of Vietnamese revolutionary radicals. The matter is solved only just short of a bombardment when the Japanese leader agrees to suggest that for Vietnam, the best policy for its people is to work with the colonial authorities rather than to risk the return of an oppressive imperial system

Japan loses much of its influence in this enforced volte-face, but the movements are already underway and revolution is bubbling under the surface of many a nation. Whilst Sir Edward Kyle's British government supports Kuala Lumpur's suppression of the Malayan revolt, and continues overseeing efforts across Borneo to put down the small, fast and deadly rebel bands, it is in Siam that the most severe uprising occurs, with the murder of the king and the terrorisation of Bangkok as revolutionary radicals seize control

With unrest spreading across the East Indies and a series of terrorist bombings in Jakarta and Surabaya driving away tourism and trade alike, the Dutch are mired deep in a colonial war that soon begins to drain the finances of the homelands.

But it is Siam which is causing the most serious international concern. Even the CSA, where Progressivism as an ideology is not far from that of the revolutionary radicals, does not wish to see the collapse of the existing world order, which it dominates, and the growth of potential rivals to its inflluence upon the seas of the world

Siamese revolutionary radicals eventually go too far when they begin to stir up passions in Burma and Cambodia, the first a British protectorate, the latter a French colonial protectorate. 1976 sees the first co-operation between the two empires in living memory and an expeditionary force which soon contains Dutch, Indian, Belgian and Italian contingents lands at Phuket.

Confederate naval forces join the mission, but Richmond is divided over land involvement, with radical Progressives claiming that to actually fight the revolutionary radicals would be to fight their own kind. More conservative elements prevail in the involvement of the navy, claiming that non-involvement would put the CSA on the wrong side in the global fight

Alliance forces back a cousin of the late king from out of exile in Luang Prabang and by 1978 have crushed the revolutionaries, in so doing also ending the wars in Burma, Malaya and Cambodia

But Richmond sees a coup by the radical Progressives and a brief bloody purge ended after a couple of months by a compromise with Moderates, resulting only in the execution of leading conservatives within the Party, and the enforced retirement of several generals and admirals no longer considered reliable, including the admiral in charge of the blockade force off Siam, who chooses to go into exile in India, rather than return home to a remaining life of shame

Best regards
Grey Wolf
 
Russia saw gradual reform under Tsars Georgi I and Georgi II, by the 1960s having standards of living equal to the best in other parts of the world

Formosa, Okinawa, the Marianas, Carolines and Guam had become completely integrated into the empire as much so as S Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands

Poland and Finland with moderate governors have become reintegrated into the Russian Empire after the civil wars and disorder, and by the 1960s they are if not reconciled to Russian rule, at least working towards a common future

The experience of the China War, ended only after tortuous manoevres in the 1930s, for quite some while affected Russian global policy. Up until the accession of Georgi II in 1966, Russia's primary goal was as much to avoid foreign entanglements as it was to develop internally and become a modern industrial state

Georgi II's accession coincided with the beginning of the rise of revolutionary radicalism, and by the late 1960s Russia was as concerned as the other great powers, most especially given her geographical position with events in Japan

After France's forcing of Japan to back down over Indo-China in the early 1970s, most of the world turns away from Japan to confront the spectre more directly within SE Asia, but Russian attention focuses upon stabilising a Tokyo regime that had come to power with revolution, and now looked likely to be swept aside itself by a yet more radical revolution (something which was soon to have a parallel within the CSA).

Despite their distaste for the existing regime, its clear to Russian strategists that the potential for a conservative counter-revolution does not adequately exist within Japan, and that making the best of a bad job is the most sensible way forward. Japan's economy, long a poor relation to its neighbours, both colonial and imperial (Korea and China) is shaky, and easily prone to disastrous fluctuation. Russia offers a measure of stability by providing direct loans, and by guaranteeing those by Russian companies, and some joint-ventures with British, Confederate and Italian industry.

The new alignment is sealed the more symbolically when the Tsar's brother, Grand Duke Mikhail visits Tokyo and is received with due ceremony. In his speech he makes much of the fact that the Emperor remains titular head of the Japanese state, and draws somewhat shaky parallels between the two empires. The success of the visit is followed by the beginning of construction on a new port and dockyard complex at Hiroshima.

- - -

By blending the Caliphate with economic power derived from the vast oil fields under its direct control, and its influence in those of neighbouring states, the Ottoman Empire is able to both develop at a fast rate in the second half of the century, and maintain a stability which comes to be seen, often in retrospect, as the envy of the other powers

In political terms, the sole event to disturb this equanimity is the outcome of the Sokoto War, bringing that so-called caliphate and its central African vassals under the direct control of the British dominion of Nigeria. Istanbul responds by increasing its presence in Wadai, Darfur and Chad, and making a great ceremony of stationing airforce and mobile units there, and of receiving the submission of these vassal rulers to the imperial court

Relations with Britain remain strained into the 1970s, exacerbated by a conflict of interest over the Persian oil fields where the Ottoman empire is slowly expanding its commercial presence, and where British interests, decimated by the Third World War, have been fighting a losing battle for influence ever since.

The European provinces of Thrace, Macedonia and Albania have been developed in a distinct Euro-Ottoman style, and the city of Salonika thrives as a centre of Ottoman culture and power

The Khedive in Cairo and the Bey in Tunis both continue to rule their lands acknowledging Ottoman suzerainty and allowing themselves to be used as weapons in the hands of Istanbul as need arises. The Egyptian Navy has continued to keep pace with modern developments, and by 1970 can boast a modern aircraft carrier, albeit built in Alexandria with French assistance.

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
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