The Co-Prosperity Sphere

Co-Prosperity Sphere Imperial Guards:

The Japanese Imperial Guard (近衛師団 Konoe Shidan) was dedicated to the protection of the Emperor of Japan and his family, palaces and other imperial properties. It was a quasi-independent branch of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Guard Headquarters (皇宮警察本部 Kōgū-Keisatsu Honbu), was also a civilian Imperial Guard formed as part of the National Police Agency of Japan. At the start of the Second Great War, it's Division consisted of the 1st and 2nd Guards Brigades. The 1st Guards Brigade, which contained the 1st and 2nd Guards Infantry Regiments, the cavalry regiment, and half of the support units, was transferred to the Wang Jingwei Shanghai/ Nanjing Government as part of the Japanese Expedition Army. There it became known as the Mixed Guards Brigade. In October 1940, it joined other Japanese units that liberated French Indochina into the Kingdoms of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. In April 1941 the Mixed Guards Brigade returned to Tokyo to rejoin the Imperial Guards Division. The 2nd Guards Brigade, which contained 3rd and 4th Guards Regiments, also went to China. In 1940, it went to Shanghai before being posted to Hainan Island. In May 1941, the 5th Guards Infantry Regiment joined the 2nd Guards Brigade becoming the Imperial Guard Division. It later saw action in the Battles of Malaya and Singapore with Tomoyuki Yamashita's 25th Army. Later all designated Imperial Guard units were renamed again. The Mixed Guards Brigade in Tokyo became the 1st Guards Division (which now consisted of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Guard Regiments) and the Imperial Guard Division became the 2nd Guards Division (with the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Guard Regiments) The 3rd Guards Division, which never left Japan, was formed later in 1943. It consisted of the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Guards Regiments.

With the Creation of Japanese vasalls and puppe regimes inside the Co-Prosperity Sphere, the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy expanded their branches to these new member states supporting the build up of their own armies and navies with Japanese help. This included the Japanese Imperial Guard, who under the Emperors of Chosen and Manchukuo established the Chosen Imperial Guard and the Manchu Imperial Guard respectively. With the expansion of the Co-Prosperity Sphere, this system was expandet to all member states. In the Mangjiang Khanate (with the Kheshig devided into two groups; the day guard Kheshig and the night guard Khevtuul) as the Imperial Guard of the Khan, his family, palaces and other imperial properties. In the Empire of Yankoku they were known as the Yan Imperial Guard, in the State of National Han China, they were known as the National Han Imperial Guard and so on. Some newly liberated states like Manchukuo, Chosen, Mengjiang, Burma, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia revived their old guards, modernized and prepared them for a modern war. Others, like Siam/ Thailand or Brunei and those liberated out of the former Dutch East Indies and South East Asia would either recreate and renewe their own Imperial Guards, or even form their own versions for the firs time, since they themselves were only just liberated again, or even created for the first time in their existence, even if nearly all of them claimed some former kingdom, empire or dinasty of one region as their legitimation and ancestors. In some chases this meant that the Imperial Guards of several mamber states even fought alongside the regular armed forces of the Co-Prosperity Sphere against the United Chinese Front, the Western Allies and the Soviet Union during some campaigns and battles. Because they received the best and latest equipments, best weapons and training of most of the armed forces, they were often a elite force within, or alongside the regular army forces. This naturally only increased their legendary status, beside regular propaganda use of the Imperial Guards and further cemented their myth as elite, unbeatable superior forces, even if in reality, this wasn't always the chase.

 

Axis Central Powers Europakomission and Zollverein (Customs Union):

In their attempt to secure and direct the ressources and money of Europe and it's colonies. To do so the German Empire reintroduced a Idea known as the Zollverein, formerly a German Customs Union. The Imperial German High Command had established the Europakomission (Europe Comission) to direct the money and ressources, to unify the indipendent Axis Central Power States in a full economic union. Therefore the German Empire forced the Axis Central Powers under his direct controll and influence to join their German Mitteleuropa Zollverein (German Middle Europe Customs Union), also known as the Rhein Zollverein or German Zollverein. It included the German Empire, the Kingdom of the United Netherlands, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Kingdom of Finnland, the United Baltic Duchy, the Kindom of Poland and the Kingdom of White Ruthenia. To do so the Imperial German Reichsmark was commanded as the unifying currency for all of them, while railroad tracks were unified for a common Customs Union and Trade Block.

However most of the major Axis Central Powers planned something similar for their own zones of influence, including the Austrian-Hungarian Empire that included the Balkan Peninsula. Therefore it was known as the Balkan Zollverein, even if it's official name was the Donau Zollverein (Danube Customs Union). Just like Germany with their ethnic German puppets and vassal states, the Austrian-Hungarians planned to turn this Custom Unions into a full federation, slowly turning the economic union into a political federation and later a full union. The Austrian-Hungarians Krone was the currency ordered to use in the Donau Zollverein. It included the Austrian-Hungarian Kingdom, the Greek Kingdom, the Bulgarian Kingdom, the Romanian Kingdom and the Kingdom of Ukrainia. Unknown to most however, it also included the Italian region of Albania, because of some political, economical, ideological reasons and rivalry between the new Roman Empire and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The Austrian-Hungarians hoped to once gain the whole Balkan and therefor forbit direct trade relations between each country, or even trought Austrian-Hungary, only allowing them under huge taxes and tarifs.

On the other hand the French Kingdom/ Empire tried to withsthand the German Zollverein with their own Customs Union, so did the Roman Empire and the Spanish Kingdom. However since they had no true weight in military and economic terms inside the Axis Central Powers Italy/ Rome and Spain quickly formed their own Customs Union to counter the German and Austrian-Hungarian ones, the Latin Block thereby grew from a internal Axis Central Powers alliance and cultural union to a true customs union, with plans to include Latin America in the future, no matter if as colonies or free Faro and Namo member states. The French Empire meanwhile became a observer member in the Latin Customs Union as well as the German Zollverein, unsure wich side to lean towards in 1942 and so the French partly joined both and had a huge economic benefitt from doing so. Quickly the German Empire realised that this internal rivalries, were roblematic for their war effort, trade, supplies and even the transport of ressources and troops. To counter this problem, the Axis Central Powers under leadership of Germany and therefore the Imperial German High Command's Europakomission established the Europarat (Council of Europe) as a plattform for debate and coordination of their various Custom Unions. It agreed to not limit or tax any ressources goods and movement of civilians and solidiers that were a) vital for continuing and winning the Second great War in economic and military terms, as well as b)vital to uplift the national unity, spirit and war support of the overall population of each member state of the Axis Central Powers. In the end this Axis Central Powers and the Fascist Royalist/ National Monarchist European Block formed their own ACP Supreme Custom Union that stood above the loose and local network of their various smaller ones. Only a few critics openly opposed this or the massive use of Prisoners of War and conquered people as slave labor and saw the dawning of a German Empire led and controlled Continent, as the Imperial German Reichsmark became the dominant and all across the Axis Central Powers accepted currency.

 

The Pa-O National Army:

Supported by British Officer Reginald Clark and located beween the southern Karen and northeastern Shan (Tai) region, right along the border between the Kingdom of Burma and the Kingdom of Siam/ Thailand, the so called Pa-O National Organisation (PNO), as their own political party aiming for independence. It's military wing was the Pa-O National Army, because the Burmese Kingdom under Ba Maw while allowing for minority political parties, did not grand them any form of internal authonomy or self-administered independence, as they feared this would undermine the central authority in Rangoon and later Mandalay. While the British Empire and the Commonwealth Dominion of the British Raj tried to parashoot further supplies and weapons as air drops, the majority for this guerrilla rebellion had to be smuggled trought the jungles of Burma. To pay for these smuggling and supplies, the Pa-O National Organisation and the Pa-O National Army allied itself with the Karenni Army and the Burmese Democratic Army (BDA), spreading drugs like Opium together and smuggling supplies and weapons for their united cause against the monarchic, central government in Rangoon. The main goal of the Pa-O National Organisation, that the Pa-O National Army was fighting for either true independence, or a self-administered zone, that included the townships of Hopong, Hsi Hseng and Pinlaung. To establish this goal, the Pa-O Nationalists trained under their British Officers and Instructors, between 400 to 800 armed guerrillas fought openly against the area against the Royal Burmese Army, the Imperial Japanese Army and the Royal Siamese/ Thai Army.

The overall situation changed however, when the Imperial Japanese Army convoy in the area was about to be raided by the rebels. The British Officer Reginald Clark was surprised when the Pa-O Nationalists brought Japanese soldiers along with them, prisoners as he thought first, until the Pa-O National rebells suddenly pointed their weapons towards him and the other British training there forces here.

“What is the meaning of this?” questioned Officer Clark with a unpleased look on his face, only now realizing that the Japanese soldiers all still had their weapons as well, unlike him, who was now disarmed.

“It is quiet easy, the Pa-O people prefer to survive and be a part of a brotherly Co-Prosperity Sphere.” said the Japanese Officer Yagami Okura. He had proposed the Idea to the Pa-O National Organisation, that their small ethnic group and their townships could better survive, if they remained a part of the bigger Co-Prosperity Sphere and the Kingdom of Burma. While not truly independent or authonomous, they were red the new constitution of Prime Minister Ba Maw, that allowed many towns, cities and to a extend even provinces to chose and elect their own regional leader any way they pleased. Not in total what the Pa-O National Organisation had been aiming for, but it was better then fighting a whole Imperial Japanese Army Division with their three small townships.

“I see.” declared the British Reginald disappointed, but this was nothing new for Allied and British Agents in the region. After all alliances and factions within Burma changed rapidly back and forth, since the Western Allies as well as the Japanese led Co-Prosperity Sphere and even Ba Maw's own Royal Burmese government tried their best to convince people to join their sides, with either promises, presents or threats, whatever worked best in the particilar situation at hand.

 

The Fascist French Empire's high-altitude medium bomber Breguet 480:

Originally ordered and specified during the prewar time, a four-engine, four-man bomber with a range of at least a 2500km radius was requested and Breguet replied with the 482. In December 1936 the French Air Ministry issued a specification for a four-seat, twin-engined medium bomber, with Breguet's initial design, the Breguet 480 (or Bre. 480) to be powered with the specified 1,225 hp (914 kW) Gnome et Rhône 14L radial engines, intended to carry 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of bombs over a 2,500 km (1,600 mi) radius. Gnome et Rhône abandoned the 14L however, so, after considering a version powered by two Hispano-Suiza 12Y V12 engines, Breguet reworked the design as the Breguet 482, with four 1,350 hp (1007 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Z engines, with an order for two prototypes placed by the French Air Ministry on 12 May 1938. The Breguet 482 was a mid-winged monoplane of all-metal construction, with a clean, low-drag, oval section monocoque fuselage, twin tails and a retractable tailwheel undercarriage. The planned defensive armament was a 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon in a power-operated dorsal position, with a 7.5mm machine gun in the nose and a further two machine guns in ventral mountings. Up to 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) of bombs could be carried.

Construction of the two prototypes was well progressed when Germany invaded France in 1940, and as they came closer, it was decided to evacuate the near complete prototypes from Villacoublay near Paris, with the first prototype being sent to Bône in Algeria and the second to the Breguet factory at Anglet, near Bayonne in the far south-west of France. With the establishment of the Fascist French State, leading to the Fascist French Kingdom and the later Fascist French Empire, the prototypes in southern France and Algieria were suddenly in Axis Central Power direct hands. Under the Fascist French they were completed by the new government after the Allies started to heavily bomb the French Mainland alongside Germany from Britain to cripple the Axis Central Powers war economy and industry. As a response the Axis Central Power of the French Empire further completed and tested the prototypes for the Hispano-Suiza 12Z-89 12-cylinder inline engine, which was ultimately unsuccessful at first. Defensive armament of the Breguet 482 was heavy; a single 20mm HS.404 cannon in a dorsal turret, a pair of 7.5mm MAC-1934 machine guns in a ventral position, and a 7.5mm nose gun. With some help of the German Empire (for military and propaganda purpose to further use the former Frensh Allies in a Axis Central Powers unified Europe, against a lonely British Empire) the Breguet 482 was completed during the End of 1942.

Once finished production began in southern France away from most Allied bombings of the time and once the first Breguet 480 were finished they joined Imperial German, Austrian-Hungarian, Roman and even Royal Spanish Air Force fighters and bombers, alongside their other, older Fascist French models from the time of the French Third Republic to join the Battle of Britain, getting revenge for the British and later American Bombings of Mainland France from there. While not the best bomber of the Axis Central Powers, the Bre. 480 was still ordered by minor members, like the Spanish Kingdom, the Italian Kingdom/ Roman Empire, the Kingdom of the United Netherlands, as well as the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Finnish Kingdom, the United Baltig Duchy and the Kingdoms of Bulgaria, Romania and Greece in limited numbers. Never the less, the Bre. 480 became a famous Fascist French Bomber, especially when the French Empire started to introduce their dark colored night bomber versions, as a result the British Royal Air Force and the US Air Force fighters managed to shoot down many Axis Central Powers bombers at day.

 

The Sichuan Clique under the Warlords Liu Wenhui, Liu Xiang, Yang Sen, Deng Xihou and Tian Songyao:

When parts of the Kuomintang rebelled against Chiang Kai-shek's alliance with Mao Zedong's Communists the Xikang (also Sikang or Hsikang) Army at the western border towards Tibet rebelled and declared their independence alongside the Hunan Clique in the East as well as five southern Warlords in Sichuan (formerly romanized Szechuan). These Warlords were Liu Wenhui, Liu Xiang, Yang Sen, Deng Xihou, and Tian Songyao, but none of them had enough power to take on all the others at once, so many small battles occurred, pitting one warlord against another. Large conflicts seldom developed, plotting and skirmishing characterized the Sichuanese political scene, and ephemeral coalitions and counter coalitions emerged and vanished with equal rapidity. One the Japanese, Taikoku and National Han Chinese Co-Prosperity Sphere Hubei-Hunan Campaign had managed to destroy and annex the eastern Hunan Clique, the warlords realized that they could be quickly overrun and annexed by the Japanese and their Co-Prosperity Sphere member states to the south and east, so the five warlords, despite much rivalry, plotting and skirmishing amongst each other formed the Sichuan Clique as a unified alliance and political entity of warlords in the Sichuan region. This meant that the former Sichuan-Xikang Defence Force now had not only separated itself from the Chinese United Front, but split into two Cliques of their own. The western Xikang/ Sikang/ Hsikang Clique also faced the problem, that the Co-Prosperity Sphere member state of the Tibetan Empire wanted to annex parts of their region, as it had a mixed population of Tibetans and Han Chinese. Even before in 1932 the Tbetans had tried to annex the region by force, but were stopped by the Hui (Mohammedan) Qinghai Warlord Ma Bufang, driving the Tibetans back west over theYangtze River and later even the Jinsha River and signed a ceasefire with them. The split-off however came not surprising for Chiang Kai-shek, ad his relationship with these warlords had always been as unstable as the provinces they governed. Still it was of great concern for Chiang and Mao as the Chinese United Front had already heavy internal problems. Not only had the Kuomintang been split between Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei, but even before a warlord, one of the Hui (Mohammedan) members of the Ma Clique had left Chiang, because of the growing influence of the Communists and their attitude towards religions and Chinese traditions of all kind.

Like most Cliques and warlords, the Sichuan Clique was self-preservation and self-enrichment like so many others, getting rich from opium trade and used their troops as little as possible to not pay to much for their forces. Still the warlords of Sichuan had even before realized that they needed a modern infrastructure to support their remote province. Until 1938 it's transport was primitive and it had no industry to speak of. Large projects such as the planned hydroelectric plant promised to bring the area into the modern world. The Sichuan Clique also promoted education as a way to improve their overall power base and general situation for all of the around 60 million people living in the area controlled and ruled by them. Before 1940 they had tiptoed around in alliances and tried not to arouse the full wrath of Chiang Kai-shek, and thereby continued to reap the benefits of wearing the Nationalist mantle. However with Chiang's losses against Wang Jingwei and the increasing Japanese led Co-Prosperity Sphere nearby conquests and bomber raids, the warlords half-hearted alignment with the Kuomintang ended, they feared the Chinese United Front attacking them if they too openly and quick allied with the Japanese, switching sides to the Co-Prosperity Sphere. Therefore they as well as the western Xikang (also Sikang or Hsikang) Army/ Clique remained open diplomatic relations with both major factions in the Chinese Civil War and focussed on their development and modernisation attempts. Their goal was to establish a modern province and gave the area solid basis for development. Triving cities and towns so they believed would prevent the Chinese Unied Front, as well as the Co-Prosperity Sphere from attacking and destroying their Clique and region, instead encouraging them to diplomatic talks of merging with either side on their own terms, instead of destroying Sichuan by conquest, at least that was what the Warlords hoped for.

 

Eugène Deloncle and the Fascist Royalist Social Revolutionary Movement:

Eugène Deloncle (born 20 June 1890, Brest) was a French engineer and Fascist leader. He had been a graduate of the École Polytechnique, Deloncle worked for the French Navy, and served as an artillery officer during the First Great War. Wounded on the Champagne frontline, he was awarded the Legion of Honor. Initially supportive of the integralist Action Française, he left the movement in 1935, in order to found his own group, the Comité Secret d'Action Révolutionnaire (CSAR), usually known as La Cagoule (a name given by the press). Cagoule kept the Orleanist and strongly anti-republican line of the Action Française, but added the rhetoric of Fascism. This later naturally blendet into the rising Fascist Monarchy that rose in Germany as well as Austria-Hungary and the rest of Europe between 1938 and 1942.

With the Second Great War and the Fall of France and the creation of a French Regime close to the German Empire state and ideology, gave rise to Deloncle's own group, when he created a movement backing the new Fascist Royalist French Regime, the Mouvement Royalist Social Révolutionnaire (MRSR, Royal Social Revolutionary Movement) and joined forces with others along the Rassemblement National Populaire (RNP). MRSR, a more radical form of the Cagoule, strongly supported the new Fascist French traditionalism, as well as the new political experiment engineered in Mainland France. Afterwards, he approached the National Monarchist Popular Rally (RMNP) of Marcel Déat, but conflicts with the latter got him expelled in April 1942, when he was succeeded as leader by Jean Fontenoy. Still advocating a close relationship between Germany and French and stressed how Britain only helped out France or other o keep them smaller for their own Empire to rise and stay dominant. Deloncle argued that from the times of Napolen to the Hundred Years War the British had done so troughtout all of France's history, including in the First Great War, when their true goal was not to defend France, but to stop Germany from surpassing them.

Because of this Deloncle and other Fascis French adopted their own anti-British Propaganda. They stated that France and Germany were ethnic and historical brothers, ever since the times on Kaiser/Emperor Karl/Charles/Charlemagne the Great. They claimed that Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins (often known in English, as the Twelve Peers) were the true ancestors of modern European (French, German, Ialian and partly even Spanish) Nations Knight Orders, Knighthood, Honor, Militarys as well as Fascist Royalist and National Monarchist Governments. That on the other hand meant, that the idea King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table as the archetypal heroes of medieval Europe was rejected as purely British and part of the Englich conspiracy and their Balance-of-Power politics that tried to play the continental European Powers against one another.

His close ties to the German Empire and the Imperial German Army, the German Military Intelligence and the German Police Intelligence however led to misstrust and an assassination attempt on Deloncle's life. As he and his son Louis had been shot and seriously wounded, the leadership of his party went to Jean Fontoney. Some of his enemies claimed that it had been the Germans themselves to misscredit his Fascist Royalist opponents in the Fascist Royalist French Empire itself, while most major authorities unwilling to compromise the French – German relations as well as the Imperial French internal union and stability, claimed socialist and communist Allied spies were responsible for the attempted assassination. As Deloncle and his son recovered, his party MRSR continued their pro-German stance and remained a stabil but important political movement and party inside the French Kingdom, even if the after the accident crippled and wheelchaired Deloncle lost some of his charisma and popularity. He would continue to lead his party until his healt problems worsened in 1958, with Deloncle dying a few years later in Januar 17, 1964 in the Imperial capital of Paris.

 

Dogfight in the Himalaya:

One of the most important missions of the American fighters, bombers and even transport planes in all of Asia was their mission betweem India and China. Their main mission from northeast India was to supply the nearby United Chinese Front under Chiang and Mao. To do so the Allied planes had to cross the Himalayan Mountains over enemy Co-Prosperity Sphere territory, like the Empire of Tibet in the North and the Kingdom of Yikoku in the East of British India/ Raj. With the ongoing Civil War in China and the British and American transports had their hands full sending as much supply as possible, but because Yikoku had cut off the Burma Road from Mandalay over Kunming to Chongking over land, the so called Burma Air Road starting in Myitkyina in northern Burma had been established (called the Hump Airlifts, because of the Eastern End of the Himalayan Mountains). Now years later, the Japanese and the Co-Prosperity Sphere had taken northern Burma and established the Burmese Kingdom in the former British Colony. Because of that the Hump Airlifts were relocated to northeast India. There they faced heavy Japanese and Co-Prosperity Sphere Bombings on their airfields and during the Hump Airlifts they were constantly in danger by the terrain, weather and enemy fighters attacking their transport airplanes. This growing losses during the much needed supply transports and airlifts for the Chinese United Front proved to be so deadly, that Allied fighters with adittional longe-range fueltanks had to cover their airroutes against mostly Japanese Fighers, as well as the airbases they started from, against mostly Japanese Bombers raids. This lead to growing dogfights over the Himalayan Mountains between the Allies and the Co-Prosperity Sphere and soon the Allied High Command faced serious problems.

To counter this problems, the Americans and British tried to distract the Co-Prosperity Sphere member states and the Japanese Air Force, the Allies decided to redirect some of their bomber squadrons to the Area. They then used the Japanese Propaganda of liberating and protecting the members of the Co-Prosperity Sphere against them, by targeting the member States capitals in the region amongs other big cities, including the Tibetan Empire's capital Lhasa, the Kingdom of Yikoku's capital of Kunming and the Kingdom of Burma's capital of Rangoon, alongside some bridges, roads, railways and even burmese oil fields. Even the British Carrier HMS Indomitable, that had returned to the Far East/ India from it's Operation in Madagascar was involved and started a bombing raid on Rangoon in Burma from the Bay of Bengal. In response the Japanese and Co-Prosperity Sphere fighters tried to intercept these Allied bombers primerely and in return bombed the Allied British Raj oil field of Digboi in Northeast India, that produced close to 7,000 barrels per day (1,100 m3/d) of crude oil at its peak, during the Second Great War. A move the Japanese ultimately regretted, when nearly a year later they would encircle and cut off a part of the Allied Indian Border Armies in the region. While the Allies could not greatly use the oilfield for their then encircled troop in the Assam pocked, during the Japanese push from Chittagong over Agarfala to Silchar and the Brahmaputra River later in 1943. River Barges, roads and even railways, with the exeption of the northen part of the Bengal and Assam line were then cut off by the Japanese and the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army), that threatened to completely cut off this Assam pocked and threatened march westwards onto Calcutta. Luckily for the Allies the hills, rainforests, marshes and rivers of Bengal slowed down the Imperial Japanese and Indian National Armies, allowing the Allies to prepare the defences of Calcutta.

 

Rommel's and Cavallero's Offensive into Egypt:

In Egypt the Allies were in full panic, as the Axis Central Power Forces had pushed past El Alamein, while the British Eight Army had retreated to Alexandria, the Western Desert Campaign was suddenly over. Hasty the British High Command in Cairo brurned and destroyed important papers, plans and everything else that should not fall into enemy hands, while their forses prepared for the defense of Alexandria and Cairo the best they could. Forces from the Middle East, mainly the Kingdom of Iraq and the Mandate of Palestine were redirected to Egypt to help with the defense of the colony and the Suez Canal in a attempt to stop Rommel. While many Egyptians wished not to fight, Cairo was declared a open city, but the British refused to leave without a fight. Maher Pasha was once again King Farouk I's favorit Prime Minister, despite British Protests.

The British had before pressed for Nahas Pasha as Prime Minister, but Farouk believed him to be a Bolshevik shemer. The British then had the Wafd-coalition government replace Hussein Sirri Pasha's government and appoint Nahas Pasha as Prime Minister. The British even threatened to make Prince Mohammad Ali the new King, should Farouk no comply and rolled a tank up to the palace. This moves where greatly unpopular in Egypt and the Egyptians were growing tired of British interference in their internal affairs. The Axis Central Powers vicory at El Alamein then led to open anti-British protests and some people even showing their open sympathy for the ACP. Most believed that Rommel would be in Cairo after only a month and panic was rising amoungst the British authorities and forces in Egypt.

The major problem for General Fieldmarshall Rommel and Marshall of Italy Ugo Cavallero was that despite some captured, left over British equipment, they still waited for major Axis Central Power reinforcements from Benghazi and Tobruk, as the British Navy still controlled the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. While the Axis Central Powers by now had Malta, Crete and Cyprus under their control to attack british convoys and Naval Fleets as well as British Positions in Egypt and Palesine directly. To speed up his supply lines Rommel even had the German High Command fly in equipment, vehicles and weapons by airlift as best as possible. Not only that it stretched the Axis Central Power Supply lines, but Rommel knew that the British could try to hold out in Alexandria and supply the city by sea like Tobrik before, remaining a threat to his flank and backwards supply lines on his was towards Cairo. This forced Rommel to deal with Alexandria first, before he even could think about pushing deeper into the Rest of Egypt. Rommel hoped that his enemy, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery would once again simply retread out of Alexandria, once the Axis Central Powers threatened to encircle it like El Alamain before. While this would leave more British Forces to defend the rest of Egypt, with Alexandria in his hand Rommel would suddenly have much closer Air support and supply lines.

That was the reson why Field Marshal Rommel along with the German and Austrian-Hungarian Forces intendet to push north onto Alexandria and the Nile Delta along the coast and northern center of Egypt, directly pushing towards Cairo. The Italians meanwhile under Marshal of Italy, Ugo Cavallero would turn south with the majority of their forces and capture as much of the south of Egypt as possible, were only minor British Garrisons were stationed. However over 2 Million Allied forces from Britain, Australia, India and New Zealand had arrived in Egypt because of it's massive strategic importance of Egypt and the Middle East. They had set off a massive bout of inflation that destabilised the Egyptian economy, making the war years a period of hardship and suffering for ordinary Egyptians, only further increasing anti-British, anti-Allied and pro-Axis Central Powers sentiments in the ordinary Egyptians. The Italian Fieldmarshall Ugo Cavallero meanwhile who rivaled with German Fieldmarshall Rommel for victories, fame and glory, whose forces had put up a good fight and who himself had a good grasp on the problems inheren to the war in the Mediterranean that the Italian Kingdom, the new Roman Empire had to fight, both agreed on one thing; more Axis Central Power ressources had to be delivered to Africa, not only for the Eastern Crusade instead. But both knew this would led to a fatal dispersion of Italy's meager resources and so both argued that Austria-Hungary and it's Balkan Peninsula puppets as well as the French, Spanish and even the Germans should send much more forces and equipment too.

 

The Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere Lottery, Bonds and Bills:

The Japanese liberation of the new member states of the Co-Prosperity Sphere led to some interesting concepts and ideas to finance their new Empire and ambitions. Beside normal taxes, slave labor and even the payment of Japanese forces stationed inside their borders with Ressources in exchange. Despite this an the constant use of propaganda and other encouragement, that told the general Co-Prosperity Sphere population to work had and overhours for their liberty, independence, wealth and co-prosperity. One of this concepts was Konan Saiken and other related Lotteries in the various member states, that promised a top prize of $50,000 for a ticket prise of only $1 for each one. However despite heavy advertisement for the Lottery and overall high income thanks to most member states working literally for free for the Japanese Empire during the Second Great War for their Liberation, all civil employees of the Co-Prosperity Sphere and their overall military projects were required to buy at least one each Lottery. Alongside civilians who hoped to win the Grand Prize, this increased the ammount of Tickets sold immensely.

However taxes and these Lotteries were not the only way for Japan and the Co-Prosperity Sphere to have revenue for their militaries and newly established administrations. The Japanese also printed money, at first new one resembling at least partly the old, or former money for a fixed exchange rate, to stop the use of Imperialist Colonial Money, therefore called Liberation Money inside the Co-Prosperity Sphere. Slowly but steady over the years this money was then exchanged for local versions of the Yen, to copple the currency of the whole Co-Prosperity Sphere and Yen Block directly to the Japanese economy, industry and umbrella banks. Within the second year of the Japanese invasion, the use and ownership of colonial time money, was banned and ownership often was seen as being tied to Allied and Imperial Colonialist smuggler rings. The same bann was later true for th early Japanese Liberation money as well, that was changed in the rate 1:1 for the new member state Yen currencies. This Military Yen helped the Japanese quickly dominate local economies, while at the same time backing their own Yen with a gold standart from inflation while the Second Great War continued, alongside robbin most riches from the liberated or conquered regiond.

Another method of creating money for the Japanese and the Co-Prosperity Sphere, was the issuing of three types of bonds, the so called War Bonds, the Liberation Bonds and the Co-Prosperity Bonds, each type was issued and intended for different occassions, similar to promissory notes or note payables. War Bonds, as debt securities were issued by the Japanese and other new Co-Prosperity Sphere governments to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war, like the Japanese and other Co-Prosperity Sphere Armies and Navies that provided liberation and afterwards security and protection for the newly liberated member states. Liberation Bonds, were issued by the Japanese and other new Co-Prosperity Sphere governments to finance for items, clothes, houses and other possessions ousted from Colonial Imperialist (meaning in Co-Prosperity Sphere propaganda that they were European, or their organisations and churches, as well as anyone believed to have conspired or supported the former colonial government and colony administrations) before for nothing in exchange. The last version were the so called Co-Prosperity Bonds, these were issued by the Japanese and other new Co-Prosperity Sphere governments to finance military operations and other expenditure for the further industrialisation, modernisation of the Co-Prosperity Sphere member states, including a modern infrastrusture and repairing war damages, so that every citizen profited from buying some of these.

Another but similar methods were so called Military Bills, were different companies and enterprises or conglomerates were for their work, produced goods and ressourced not payed directly by the individual Co-Prosperity Sphere militaries or governments, but promised to be paid once the war was over. This was seen as a patriotic duty in harsh times and gave time before paying even huge sums off. As a exchange this and other similar bills could also be used by company owners to lower the taxes they had to pay in a special exchange system for taking part in the Military Bill financiation system. For every ten and later hundrets of so payed deals and transactions, the owner of one bill was allowed to pay one-hundredth of one percent of the sum less in taxes he had to pay overall. In eschange and collective all this systems helped Japan finance parts of it's military operation during the Second Great War. If the Japanese Empire would win, it controlled enough ressources and population to dominate not only Asia but the global trade-network in the near future and had no worries to care about repaying such a system, if the Japanese Empire lost and was beaten and broken, they could not do so either way, so in the eyes of the Japanese Military it ws a fool-proved plan.

 

Marcel Bucard and the Hunt for the Anti-Fascist French Resistance:

Marcel Bucard (born 7 December 1895, Saint-Clair-sur-Epte) was a French Fascist politician. A decorated soldier who earned a reputation for bravery in the First Great War. Bucard became active in politics after 1918, initially as a member of Action Française (an Integralist Fascist Royalist group) and then as a member of the overtly fascist and antisemitic Faisceau of Georges Valois. In September 1933, Bucard founded his own group, the Mouvement Franciste, arguably the most extreme group of the time, and one financed by Benito Mussolini's government. On 6 February 1934 the Francistes joined the other right-wing parties in the riots in front of the Palais Bourbon, originally a protest provoked by the Stavisky Affair, and possibly intended as a coup d'état. Subsequently, the Popular Front government banned his movement (as well as other all other right wing 'leagues', fascist, national monarchists or otherwise) upon its emergence in 1936; Bucard was imprisoned briefly. His attempt to recreate the movement as the Parti Franciste, a political party in 1938 was without lasting success, as it too was outlawed. After the Fall of France in the Second Great War, and the start of the creation of a collaboration Fascist French government in Mainland France, Bucard's Parti was again active from 1941 onwards, this time as a collaborationist.

Bucard called upon his Francists to give whatever support they could to the new Fascist French Kingdom and the Germans, including military intelligence and information concerning the Resistance. His role in the period was, however, limited, as he was usually absent due to suffering caused by old wounds; nonetheless, he was the co-founder of the Légion des volontaires français contre le bolchevisme and heavily supported recruiting volunteers for the Eastern Crusade and even create Propaganda for it. At the same time he supported the Burgundian Order and argued that Francists should join it in support of the new Fascist Royalists/ National Monarchists New Oder in Europe, as well as the German National Monarchist Kraftfahrer Korps (National Monarchist Motor Corps) or the German High Sea Fleet or their French versions in support of the Axis Central Powers. While his support managed to gain volunteers for the Axis Central Powers, his role in military and political affairs of the French Kingdom and later the Third French Empire never became a major one. Still French Resistance members, Allied and French combatants behind the actually Frontlines would argue otherwise, as Vassart and his groups managed to reveal and kill quiet a huge amount of them either directly, or by encouraging people to join the Fascist French Milice and new regime Soldiers in the Army and Orders. Marcel Bucard died on March 13, 1976 in Strasbourg (Straßburg) Alsace-Lorraine in Germany.

 

Robert Brasillach, Cinema, the Fascist Royalist French – National Monarchist German Relations and the Jewish Question:

Robert Brasillach (born 31 March 1909) was a French author and journalist. Brasillach is best known as the editor of Je suis partout, a nationalist newspaper which came to advocate various fascist movements and supported the Fascist French Kingdom and later Fascist French Empire. Born in Perpignan, he studied at the École normale supérieure, at the time a school of the University of Paris, and then became a novelist and literary critic for the Action française of Charles Maurras. After the 6 February 1934 crisis in the Place de la Concorde, Brasillach openly supported fascism. His politics are shared by several of the protagonists in his literary works, notably the two male main characters in The Seven Colours. Brasillach wrote both fiction and non-fiction. While his fiction dealt with love, life and politics in his era, his non-fiction dealt with a great variety of themes, ranging from drama, great literary figures and contemporary world events. His work in the realm of cinema history was particularly influential. Brasillach was fascinated by the cinema and in 1935 co-wrote a detailed critical history of that medium, Histoire du cinéma (re-edited in 1943), with his brother-in-law, Maurice Bardèche. This work remained the "most prominent aesthetic history of film for at least a decade", and a work that exerted considerable influence, via its impact until the 1970s. Unlike several other authors and critics of the time, Brasillach did not see cinema through an overtly political lens, although the 1943 re-edition of his work did contain certain anti-Semitic comments not included in the original. Despite being fervent nationalists and personally believing that each nation and people had a unique cinema, the authors instead focussed on international trends rather than local particularities. Brasillach frequented Henri Langlois' Cercle du cinéma (Cinema Circle). His personal tastes are detailed in his major work on cinema and in numerous articles of the period. These tastes ranged from Russian cinema (Battleship Potemkin and Alexander Nevski) to classics such as Charlie Chaplin, Georg Wilhelm Pabst, René Clair and Jean Renoir and to certain Hollywood films, such as those of John Ford, Frank Borzage and King Vidor. Brasillach was drawn to originality and explored foreign cinema, and became the first major critic in France to address Japanese cinema, namely Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi and Heinosuke Gosho. While in prison, he worked on a third edition of his work on cinema and started to adapt a work on Falstaff which he hoped to film with Raimu.

Brasillach became an editor of Je suis partout, a fascist paper founded by dissidents from the Action Française and led by Pierre Gaxotte. Brasillach was attracted to the fascistic Rexist movement in Belgium, and wrote an article and later a book about the leader of the movement, Leon Degrelle. Brasillach admired what he perceived to be Degrelle's youth and charisma and Degrelle's insistence on being neither left nor right, supporting striking workers, encouraging love of God, the King and family and desiring to see the establishment of an anti-Communist and anti-capitalist, Christian-influenced corporate state. Brasillach was also greatly impressed by José Antonio Primo de Rivera and his Falangist movement. By contrast, he described Mein Kampf as a "masterpiece of cretinism" in which Hitler appeared to be "a sort of enraged teacher." From Fascism he therefore started to get influenced by the new Fascist Monarchist Movements. A soldier in 1940, Brasillach was captured by the Germans and held prisoner for several months after the fall of France. At his trial the prosecution alleged that his release was due to pro-German articles written while in captivity. He was freed in early 1941 and returned to his editorial duties at Je suis partout. He wrote in favor of the new Fascist French regime and Kingdom, but later embraced a more wholehearted germanophile policy of collaboration and German Imperial politics, while criticizing the Fascist French Empire and French state. He joined a group of French authors and artists in a trip to meet with German counterparts in Weimar and he supported the German militarisation and occupation of the Atlantic Coast and the eastern French Border Provinces. However he opposed the Burgundian Order, as he believed it's intention was to rip France apart for a German vassall state. He toured the Eastern Front, saw former Soviet Union Gulags, visited French volunteers and wrote, on his return to France, that he had gone from embracing a collaboration due to reason and rationality to being a collaborator for reasons of the heart ("De collaborationiste de raison, je suis devenu collaborationiste de coeur.") After his return, he called for the death of left-wing (socialist, communist and other) politicians and in the summer of 1944 signed the call for the summary execution of all members of the French Resistance. He was a member of the Groupe Collaboration, an initiative that encouraged close cultural ties between France and Germany. He went on to work for various journals, including Révolution nationale and le Petit Parisien.

As a mild anti-Semite, Brasillach often joked about Jews and supported their resettling and relocation into the East once the Eastern Crusade was won, or even to Africa in the South. Like many anti-Semite Fascist Royalist or National Monarchists he did not care where Jews lived and served the Emperor, as long as it was far away from his own home. The Kingdom of White Ruthenia, the Kingdom of Ukrainia, the Russian Empire, the Neo-Ottoman Empire Province of Yehudah/ Yehud/ Judea/ Judah, or Yehud, (the authonomous province of the Kingdom of Judea), or even the planned Franco-German-Polish Madagascar Plan, that would ultimately led to the German-French Protectorate of the Kingdom of Israel in Madagascar (similar to the former Malagasy Protectorate). However the Madagascar Plan did not work out as originally planned as the hard working Jewish Colonists supported by Jewish Communities from Eastern Europe or the Kingdom of Judea quickly cultivated the land, build new modern cities, attrackting even more Jewish settlers and soon nearly 3,000,000 (2,872,500) Jews lived on the Island, by a native population of 3,900,000 Malagasy. Over time the Jews became the majority, even if there were a few racial tensions. Brasillach meanwhile sought to cement his own legacy as his life drew to a close when he grew older. He composed several works during and after the Second Great War, but never got rid of his anti-Semitism, even claiming that the independent Jewish States in the Middle East (Judea) and Madagascar (Israel) were jus working so well, because the Jews were earning the fruits of the local Arab or Malagasy workers and labor. This views however grew more and more unpopular among the Fascist French Royalist and National Monarchist in Europe troughtout the 1950s and 1960s, when Jews in all three majorly Jewish States, as well as inside the Rest of the Axis Central Powers and the Co-Prosperity Sphere were seen as hard working and loyal subjects of the Empires they lived inside. After Brasillach's death on June 2, 1977, the Association des Amis de Robert Brasillach was formed, to celebrates the author's work and legacy.

 

Hokushin-Ron - Part 8: The Mengjiang-Mongolian Civil War:

The Hokushin-ron, the Great Siverian War, or North Asian War between the Co-Prosperity Sphere and the Soviet Union, was viewed as something else inside the Mengjiang Khanate and the Mongolian People's Republic. For both nations, the Mengjiang Mongolian Frontline of the War was much more personal, for them it was a Ideological Civil War. For Gonchigiin Bumtsend, the Chairman of the Presidium of the State Little Khural (titular head of state) of the Mongolian People's Republic it was a war of Japanese Imperial aggression, for Khan/ Khagan Demchugdongrub it was part of his so called Khalkha Campaign, the War of Reunification of all Mongol tribes and people, named after the largest tribe/ clan that the new Khan tried to use to create a united, homogeneous new Coprospist Mengjiang Nation State.

While better prepared for the conflict then the Mongolian People's Army, then Mengjiang Khanate Army was mostly stopped by the 17th Army of the Soviet-Mongolian Front and the Mongolian desert, hills and mountains, when they reached the northern Kherlen River and Lake Hulun. The new Khan had originally hoped to easily defeat and capture the much more primitive Mongolian People's Republic with his own forces, just like Benito Mussolini had done in Abessinia before. However the new Khan and Mengjiang failed to recognized that the Soviets had not only stationed their own forces in the Mongolian People's Republic, but that they also had equipped and trained the Mongolian People's Army.

Instead of invading a primitive brother nation that literally defended itself with swords, speers and horses against his rifles, armored cars, tanks and planes, Khan Demchugdongrub faced a equally equipped and skilled enemy that knew the terrain and used it against the invading Mengjiang Army. The lack of infrastructure and mountainous, frozen terrain prevented any further push onto the Yablonoviy Range, were the Mongols and their Red Army allied had established defensive positions with trenches, anti-tank, anti-air and artillery positions. This meant that they prevented a direkt northern push for the Khanate's forces to capture Chita, Ulan-Ude or the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar and quickly end the Mengjiang-Mongolican Civil War.

What was worse in this situation, was that Khan Demchugdongrub felt betrayed by the Japanese for starting the northern war against the Soviet Union, as he believet he could have taken out Mongolia if it had been a sole Mengjiang-Mongolian Civil War again, without any Russian involvement. While he was right that the Japanese prioritiesed more on other newly created and liberated Co-Prosperity Sphere member nations and states, the Khan failed to recognize how much they still had modernised his Outer Mengjiang/ Mongolian Empire, build infrastructure and industry like before in Chosen, Manchukuo and Yankoku. Not only that, but the much more modern Japanese Mengjiang Expedition Army directly supported his 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Mengjiang Khanate Armies in their northern push and liberation/ conquest from the very beginning, often facing the Soviet Red Army in the Area directly, lifting the most heaviest pressure and fights from their Mengjiang allies.

At the moment however, Khan Demchugdongrub requested further Japanese assistance and help to break trought the heavy Soviet-Mongolian defences, push onto the Mongolian capital and archive glory and victory as the new Khan. The Japanese however had already very thin supply lines and reinforcements in the area, therefore they were unable to support the Mengjiang Khanate like it wished, or they themselves wished to do, as even their own plans saw them pushing deep into Central Siberia and Central Asia. At the moments however these plans were not much more but dreams, as the Japanese and even the remaining Co-Prosperity Sphere lacked enough motorized, mechanized or even mounted forces for such a immense offensive deep into the enemy territory.

At the same time the Soviet Union's Red Army also lacked the supplies and reinforcements in Mongolia and the Far East for any major offensive of their own, because Stalin claimed nearly all of it for the European Front of thie Great Patriotic War against the Axis Central Powers and rightfully so. Because of that they mostly used their own Cavallry and that of their Mongolian allies for small, local skirmishes against the Japanese and Mengjiang forces in the south-west, where the front was not fully covered by either side and had huge gaps, were fast and mobile forces could easily slip trought. The original idea of this tactic came from Khan/ Khagan Demchugdongrub during his so called Suiyuan Campaign. Now both sides used this tactic whenever possible to raid their enemies supply lines as well as camps, tent cities, small farm estates and sometimes even towns behind the Mengjian-Mongolian frontline.

To still show at least a little bit of support for the Mengjiang Khanate, the Japanese, as well as even the Empires of Manchukuo and Yankoku send their own small reinforcements in form of a single division they could spare for this part of the Hokushin-ron front. Much more important for Mengjiang however, was the fact that the Japanese were sending some of their fighters and bombers (mostly older captured or bought models from the European States, including the Axis Central Powers) together with their own pilots to the Mengjiang Khanate. While not very few fighters and bombers, the fact that the Red Army used the majority of theirs either in Europe or in the Soviet Unions own Far East, gave the Japanese a local superiority over Mongolian airspace. But even with this going for them the Japanese and the Co-Prosperity Sphere soon faced another problem in Mongolia, the lack of good targets. Many roads were nothing more then paths and dirt roads, while bridges were often primitive wooden constructs, if there were bridges at all, not only that but the most settlements were nothing more then tents, also known as yurts and Ger/ Gher. Because of that even the most primitive or outdated Imperial Japanese Army Air Force reconnaissance fighters and bombers often had nothing to bomb directly, as every bomb used was much more expensive and costly than anything it could destroy in the Mongolian People's Republic. This meant that Japanese fighters using their machine-guns often had better targets and more kills or destructions among the Mongolians, then their fighters and bombers had with regulair bombs.

Khan Demchugdongrub who had hoped for a bigger support and a final breaktrought was suddenly the one tuning his rethorics down once he heard that his Japanese advisers and the Japanese Mengjiang Expedition Army with their fighters and bombers were thinking about using biological and chemical bombs to finally push trought the Soviet-Mongolian defence lines in Mongolia in hopes to break the western frontline between the Co-Prosperity Sphere and the Soviet Union led Comintern at the northern front. Now however Khan Demchugdongrub protested harsh, even wrote a letter to the Japanese Emperor Hirohito, when the local Japanese Commanders did not listen to him. The Khan knew one thing for sure and that was, that Mengjiang/ Mongolia lacked most things, including ressources or even truly fertile land. This meant that the only viable ressource he truly had in the region, were the Mengjiang People itself. The Imperial Japanese High Command agreed, mostly because they saw the lack of fertile land and ressources as a reason, why no Japanese settler would be truly interested in Mengjiang and the same was true for Manchu, Yankoku and Han Chinese either. That was the reason the Japanese agreed with the Khan in this decision and did not use biological or chemical weapons to break the Soviet-Mongolian Frontline defenses in Mongolia.