The elephant, the lynx, the two wolves, the dragon, the eagle, the griffon vulture and the bull.

[Antonio Ferrari]

The 6 February 1934 crisis: the Marco Polo sheep tries to kill the bear
As the Nasist government penetrated more and more into the lives of the various people of Russia, and as various attacks on the various Asian populations in the Imperya continued, several organizations begin to born to contrast the violence of the regime. Many organizations operated underground, without the Nasist realizing it. Others were supported in rural areas where the Nasist government wasn't as popular as in the cities. However, after the creation of several Russian racial laws that had the objective of containing the Asians in special areas, many of them decided that enought was enought, and that action was to be taken.

Inhabitants of Central Asia manifesting against the Nasist government
The Nasist government had always repressed the various Central Asian populations, leading to several scandals that agered the people to the point they wanted independence. Many independist movement took advantage of several of these scandals, such as the Erdeli Larissa affair, in which a Nasist sympathized accused of murder and with obvious proof of her crime was scagionated, and a Tajik man, Babak Mani, was considered guilty even if there were no proof of the murder.
Other scandals included the requisition of several shops and corps of Tajik men in Külob in favour of Nasist citizens. The tipical problem was the favoritism of Russians, particurally Nasist members, over other populations. On top of that, the creations of the Lageyra's wasn't helping the situation, as more and more Asians were sent there as time passed. Althought not as numerous in numbers as the ones that will come in the future, they were altready causing damages for the various Asian ethniticies, alongside others that weren't considered worthy by the Nasist, especially Jews.
Since 9 January, thirteen demonstrations had already taken place in Dushanbe, all repressed in blood. While the independists were trying to use the various scandals and the Nasist actions in the area, they also took advantage of some of their themes, taken from the Nasists themselves: antislavism, xenophobia, hostility toward the orthodox churc, and anti-Stalinism. All the manifestants in the various riots were always arrested and sent into Lageyra's in Siberia and in Russian Europe, with no mercy toward them.
However, it was the murder of nationalist Salar Fardad that triggered the indipendists movements the most. Salar, who was openly anti-Nasist, was relatively rich as he managed to keep large quantities of land from the Nasists, and was keen on funding anti-Russian movements, which were common in the streets of Dushanbe. On January 27 he was murdered by a member of the NKVD (Nasistskiy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del, in english known as Nasist Commissariat for Internal Affairs) in his house, with the rest of his family being sent into a lageyra in Siberia. This was considered unacceptable for the Tajik people, who started to organize a massive riot against the Russian government in Tajikistan.

Salar Fardad house today.
Anti Russian and Anti Nasists leagues had been the main activists during the January 1934 demonstrations. Although revolts against the Russians in Central Asia were not a new phenomenon, they played an important role following Stalin rise to power, in particular when he consolidated his powers, but had maintanied a secret status up to now. Along them we see:
-Amalijoti Toçik(Tajik Action). Among the most important right-wing leagues present on 6 February, the oldest one was the independist Amalijoti Toçik. Founded in 1920 by Ibrahim Bek, it was composed of 60,000 members eager to overturn the Dunjoi iqtisod(Mad bears), as they called the Nasists, in order to create a Tajik state, but wanted to remain independent from the other Central Asian states. The Amalijoti Toçik had its youth group and main centre in Dushambe.
-Çavononi patriot ("Patriot Youth") had been founded by Jahanshah Farhad in 1924. With 90,000 members, including 1,500 "elites" members, it claimed for the creation of Turkestan. The Çavononi patriot had close link with many Afghan nationalists in the border, and boasted several of them in their ranks.
-Toçikistoni şarif ("Tajik Solidarity"), founded in 1933 by several members of the Amalijoti Toçik which separated from the branch, had no precise political aims and few members.
-Sangrū (Iron Sabrer). The Sangrū had been created in 1926 as an anti secret Nasist organization. The most important league by membership numbers, it had extended its recruitment in 1931 to other categories of the population under Mohammed Alim Khan. Like the other leagues, they also had "combat" and "self-defense" groups, called "Çangho". Although many communist organization accused it of having become a fascist movement, historians state that Mohammed Alim Khan reluctance to participate in a revolution was the reason behind the following massacre of Tajik populations.

Ibrahim Bek, leader of Amalijoti Toçik
On the night of 6 February, the leagues, which had gathered in different places in Dushanbe, all converged on the newly funded Stalin's Park, located in front of the Russian Assembly in Tajikistan, but on the other side of the Varzob river. The police and guards managed to defend the strategic bridge in the district, despite being the target of all sorts of projectiles. Some rioters were armed, and the police fired on the crowd. Disturbances lasted until 2:30 AM. 16 people were killed and 2,000 injured, most of them members of the Amalijoti Toçik.
Indipendist organisations had the most important role in the riots; most of the Sangrū members avoided the region of the riots, creating some incidents near the Russian Palace of Culture in Central Asia. However, Communists may have been involved; one public notice afterward attacked several members of the Nasist party, protected with several members of the ZE(Zashchitnaya eskadril'ya, also known as Protection Squad). The rioters, who shouted "Down with the robbers, long live Tajikstan!", were all killed by the ZE.
The American journalist John Gunther wrote in 1940 that the Sangrū "could easily have captured the Nasists members. But [Mohammed Alim Khan] held his men back.
Russian reaction was swift and violent, with the use of planes, tanks and other bellic weapons to dispose of the rioters. The situation was calmed quickly, with Russian repressation being extremely violent.

Fires in Dushanbe during time of the Nasist army offensive. A picture from an airplane.
Further violent actions were taken by the Nasists government, as even more Lageyra's were built in Central Asia. By many, this was considered the last time the Russian could have created favourable conditions for Asians in their land. Instead, many of them mass migrated in China and Afghanistan, to try to escape from the Nasist tyranny. Alongside them there were also several Jews, who weren't treated better at all.
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

The Panama civil war: the Panamanian golden frog fights itself
Panama gained independence from Colombia in November 03 1903, and after that, it allowed for the construction of the Panama Canal in the newly born republic. Since then, US interests in the region, further justified by the aquiring of the Spanish Caribbeans after the Spanish Deal, become more and more frequent, to the point that, by the 30's, Panama was basically an American protectorate. However, strong influences from their neighbour, the People's Republic of Central America, caused worries for the local government that, since 1927, asked for the Americans for the creation of a standard army to protect itself from outside forces. The US, still having intention to integrate the republic into their nation, had little to no intention to have that to happen. However, the People's Party of Panama was gaining further and further power alongside the people, to the point many anti-communist nations, such as Italy, Germany, the United States of Greater Austria, Iberia and Japan were worried about America's stubborness in the situation. By this point, Panama was, alongside Mexico, the only nation in Central America not being communist and, as such, a close ally of the UBSR. On the 12th of January 1933, an international volunteer force composed by Italians, Japanese, Germans, Austrians and Iberians arrived with the approval of the US, who started to see the dangers of a Communist Panama. With the Central Powers forces in Panama, the situation would be calm, and America would not lose any soldiers in the process. The occupation would last until 1936, and then Central Powers interests in Panama would be abandoned. However, for the people, the arrival of the international forces was not well seen by the Panamanians, which caused the People's Party of Panama to gain further support. According to the words of Eliseo Echévez, "The arrival of the Iberians will cause the beginning of the return of Spain tirranical rule in America, something that we cannot allow and will not allow. If our coward government will not take action, we will".

The flag of People's Party of Panama
Eliseo Echévez started organizing an army to overthrow the Panama republic in order to create a Communist republic that would eventually join the People's Republic of Central America. Its army was composed by Panamanian farmers and workers who felt threatened by the arrival of los jaguares europeos(the european jaguars) and Los murciélagos asiáticos(the Asian bats), as they called the Central Powers volunteer forces in Panama. They also received equipment and members from the People's Republic of Central America and the Belizean Socialist Republic. The support of Eliseo little army was growing more and more as time passed, to the point that it was a force to be recon with, considering Panama size. Despite the secrecy of the Panamanian rebel army, several volunteer troops started to notice suspect activities in the border with the People's Republic of Central America and, as such, it was considered a good idea to inspect the area.
On 12 February 1934, a force, led by volunteer commander in Panama Emil Fey, searched Hotel Puerta del Sol in David, which seemed heavily used by the People's Party of Panama. Panama rebel commander Cristóbal Segundo was the first to actively resist, sparking off armed conflict between a conglomeration of the Austrian volunteer force(Österreichische Freiwillige Kraft), the police, the gendarmerie and the Spanish volunteer army leaded by Francisco Franco against the outlawed, but still existent, Communist Forces. Skirmishes between the two camps spread to other cities and towns in Panama, with the heat of the action occurring in the border to the PRCA. There, members of the Communist rebellion barricaded themselves in city council housing estates, the symbols and strongholds for the socialist movement in Panama. Police and volunteer forces took up positions outside these fortified complexes and the parties exchanged fire, initially only with small arms. Fighting also occurred in the capital, Panamá, but also in other towns such as Las Tablas, La Chorrera, Chitré, Bajo Boquete, Chiriquí, La Palma, Ustupo and Yaviza. Even the jungles saw combat, with the Panamanian communist forces performing basically insignificant guerrilla tatics, obviously with no success.
An apparently decisive moment in the events came with further German armed forces into the conflict. General Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski ordered Our Lady of Asuncion Cathedral shelled with light artillery, causing the deaths of many and the surrendering of a considerable Communist Force. The fighting ended in Panama City and Central Panama by 13 February, but continued heavily in the PRCA border, especially in Bajo Boquete and David, until 14 or 15 February. After that, there were only small groups of communist fighting against the armed forces, or fleeing from them. By 16 February 1934, the Panama Civil War had ended.

German volunteer forces in Panama
Althought the conflict was small(the volunteer force only suffered 180 casualities, with the Japanese seeing little to no fighting with the exception of La Palma), and lasted for not too much(just four days), it showed America about the dangers of a Communist revolution in the region. As such, alongside the volunteer forces, America intervened too. Althought the American forces were small compared to the Central Powers one, it showed that the Americans did not have intention to mess around. Because of the similar intentions, preventing Panama to become Communist, relations between American and the Central Powers received a boost, with trades with the two alliances, the American Pact and the Central Powers, becoming more and more frequent. Around that time, collaborationalist Panamanian paramilitary organizations started to rise to power, officially forming Panama Army in the region. Some examples included the Sindicato de Luchadores( Front Fighter Union) and the Guardia de Panama (Panama Guard), in order to protect Panama from further rebellions. The fear of Communism would mark a new era betwen the US and Europe, one that would be a keen figure in the future. One that would decide the fate of the planet.
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

The Anglo-Venezuelan border conflict: the Venezuelan troupial defend its territory from the lion
The treaty that ended the hostilities with the Venezuelan and the Guyana Socialist Republic, althought allowed for the situations to cool down for a while, wasn't a true treaty. It was obvious that, with the Venezueland supported by the Americans, they would be a far stronger nations that would come later to retake the land lost into the previous conflict. Particurally, they bought several tanks from the US, such as the M2 Light Tank, which would be modified and be renamed as "Carro de Selva", adapted to move in the forest terrain of the region. Hostilities between the two nations rised after the accidental Venezuelan occupation of Kamarang, a city of the Guyana Socialist Republic. Althought an official declaration of war was issued, a conflict between the two nations started over the controll of Guyana.

A Venezuelan Carro de Selva, with the Venezuelan flag on the side
The British were quick to react to the offensive. The 1st Guyana Division enveloped the Venezuelan 4th after a series of assaults through the dense woods southwest of Kamarang. The Venezuelan 34th infantry and a considerable cavalry regiment, led by captain Juan Vicente Gómez, fought a rearguard action which allowed the encircled troops to withdraw northward, toward Kaikan, an open field leading to Las Claritas. Meanwhile, the 3rd infantry regiment built up a new blocking position in the eastern part of San Martin de Turumban which prevented any further British advance. On 15 May, the Venezuelan troops retreated unmolested from the pocket, carrying out all their heavy equipment with them.

Gómez in the frontlines
The battle of Kamarang had forced the Venezuelan high command to remove troops from the front of the 9th Division that defended Arakaka, leaving the advanced area of the stronghold with only three scattered units. Seven hundred men of the Matthews Ridge regiment remained entrenched near Port Kaituma, riding the road coming from Arakaka, while the 10th regiment was deployed five kilometres to the left, in Koriabo. The Venezuelan command deployed a company of the 11th regiment from Mabaruma, some kilometers from the Matthews Ridge, on the right side of the screen.
The British command was aware of the weakness of the Venezuelan deployment. Reconnaissance patrols learned of the shortage of personnel and the isolation of the three outposts. They surrounded the Venezuelan troops through three simultaneous operations. On 30 April British artillery pounded the trenches of the Matthews Ridge regiment, while infantry forces assaulted the flanks. A small Venezuelan detachment left Arakaka to bring relief to the Matthews Ridge but failed to clear the way.
Another strong Venezuelan detachment, consisting of the 18th Regiment, managed to evict the British, cleaning up the rearguard of the Matthews Ridge. The British command, however, was ready to repeat this diversional maneuver. General Eleazar López Contreras, who was in the Southern sector controlling the operation from the barracks at Bochinche, had left specific instructions that the regiment should not be used without his permission. General Isaías Medina Angarita, who was nominally Chief of Operations of the high command but had no authority other than relaying news received from various fronts to Contreras at Bochinche, received a distress message from the 9th Division that said the Matthews Ridge division was being surrounded again and that the 11th regiment also was in danger. As Angarita was trying to contact Contreras to obtain authorization to deploy the Southern regiment, the situation in the Nord was deteriorating.
General Angarita decided on his own to move part of the Southern regiment from Bochinche to Port Kaituma to support the 10th regiment. Upon learning of this General Contreras scolded Angarita and traveled to the Nord to see the situation himself. He and Colonel Luz Valerio, Commander of the 9th Division, assumed that the center of gravity of the British offensive was the attack against the Matthews Ridge regiment, in the path of Mabaruma. The truth was that the British there had very little strength. On the other hand, in Port Kaituma the British army deployed an entire division from Guyana, the 7th.
The Southern regiment tried to shore up the 10th line to prevent the enemy from flanking it, but the British troops deployed their forces in such a manner as to threaten to surround both units. A baffled Colonel Valerio went to Port Kaituma and issued emergency measures on his return to the Southern front, but he was observed by British patrols which had also closed that pathway. A British account states: "We saw a passing truck carrying a blond high official of uncertain age, we assumed that he was a senior officer, but we abstained from ambush them to keep the surprise."
On June 12, 1934, the route to the south was occupied by the British, who consequently cornered the Venezuelan regiments. The British pressure became more intense on both the north and east. The British, intending to quickly decide the battle, broke through the line, and the Venezuelan were forced to send such troops as kitchen help and couriers to close the gap. During the night the British pressuyre remained constant. Colonel Alonso Fernán, head of the regiment present there, suggested asking for reinforcements but Colonel Ivan Venegas, one of the Commanders of the Southern front who had assumed leadership of the detachment consisting of these two regiments, was opposed. The reason was that Colonel Valerio, on the last visit to his command, had notified him that the 9th Division no longer had any reserves and that all available men were going to be used to help the Matthews Ridge regiment that was to be defending the road, which the enemy would se for its main route of attack. Various Colonesl didn't encourage them to try an offensive on their own, since they knew that a retreat was the most reasonable course of action before the British encirclement of their forces made it impossible. On the evening of the second day of siege, loud noises of fighting were heard coming from the side of Port Kaituma: it was one of the company of the Southern regiment, which was in another sector and had come to the relief of the besieged. After half an hour the noise died down; the commander and his colleagues had died in the rescue bid. Another regiment was taken out of Arakaka for another relief attempt. General Robert Arkwright, head of the British 7th Division, had established three lines in this sector, looking towards Baramita—one to stop Venezuelan reinforcements, another to harass the besieged and the third, in the middle, to come and go in support of one or the other wall. Meanwhile, Port Kaituma had fallen to the British in the Nord.

British troops traversing the jungles of Guyana
General Arthur Lynden-Bell, with a massive force of several divisions of the British Army, was able to surround two Venezuelan divisions around the outpost of Mabaruma. The encircled troops were forced to capitulate due to lack of supplies on 11 August. Up to 2,000 Venezuelan soldiers were killed and 7,000 captured. Barely 900 Venezuelan troops escaped. Subsequently, the British troops expelled the Venezuelan army from the Guyana Socialist Republic by the mid of 1934, and were starting to advance in Venezuela.
A British attempt to outflank and eventually conquer Bochinche, a large stronghold that was the keystone of Venezuelan defenses along the border with the USSA, however, was not so succesfull. the British begun to open a new trail in the tropical forests of the Guyana's but were discovered by Venezuelan aerial reconnaissance. The British troops, unaware of having been discovered, were encircled by Venezuelan forces who had sneaked up on the path and were waiting for a substantial number of British troops to enter the pathway before they ambushed them. A 250-man British detachment sent in to monitor the Venezuelan movements was also surrounded and eventually captured on September 25 along the forests which formed a route between the first British lines. The Venezuelan army took 1,500 prisoners and a good amount of weaponry, trucks and supplies, while almost 400 British soldiers were killed. A whole British division, however, managed to slip away, along with some scattered units.

British tank destroyed in the jungles of Venezuela
The US was quick to enforce a peace treaty between the British and the Venezuelans. The borders would be left pre-war like, with both sides being satisfied with the treaty. Tensions with the communists, however, are still rising, as the British attack on Venezuela showed just how strong the British were compared to US allies.
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

The Futa Jalon war: the rooster versus the bull
After the almost bankrupcy situation France experienced, the various resources in Africa allowed them to survive and avoid collapse. The French economy shifted quickly into Africa, and the protection of the border became one of the most important strategy took by the parliament. Still, the border between the Iberians and the French was extremely arbitrary, with several cities and regions being occupied by both sides, only to left the area a few days later. As the occupations were generally non-violent and short, up to now no side decided to take decisions, as the French economy was still in bad shape, while the Iberians had little to no intention to go at war with them over some African lands. However, on February 1934, Iberian troops occupied a siezable part of French Guinea, up to the Futa Jalon mountain massif, were several rivers, such as the Bafing, Corubal, Gambia, Great Scarcies, Little Scarcies and Konkouré, which were important for the French in the agricultural part of the economy in West Africa. As such, mobilization occurred in the massif.

West Africa in 1934, showing Iberian occupation of the Futa Jalon massif
In March 1934, French Guinea goverator Joseph Zébédée Olivier Vadier ordered the French general in French West Africa Joseph Gaudérique Aymerich "to re-occupy lands, villages and towns in the highlands of Futa Jalon which the army of Iberian Guinea-Bissau has seized". A communique states that "Joseph Zébédée has tried all diplomatic means of seeking an agreement, but the Iberians has persisted in a policy of oppressing the inhabitants and "eradicating" all who have not surrendered." There is little report of actual hostilities until May.
In May 1934, the French forces pressed forward their attack in the mountain region, occupying Labé. The Fula tribesmen volunteer threatened to loot the French trading businesses in Labé, which was still considered French propriety, but were dissuaded by the arrival of French colonial troops to maintain order. Unrest occurred in Fria, due to lack of food. The Iberian troops denied rumours that they had been slain, while the general of the colonial army, Leopoldo Saro. Both the French and the Iberians sought control of Guinea. The Spanish asked the Kaiser to intervene in the war. French ships, in the meantime, evacuated the French and Fula residents of Conakry, and 300 foreigners, to Algeria for safety, until the situation could calm down. On May 6, three Romanian warships were dispatched in the region to protect Romania interests in Romania West Africa.
According to western newspaper reports: "Guinea is part of French West Africa, which is considered a French territory and should remain as such. The French have already accepted the Iberian occupation of Saharian provinces in Algeria, but cannot give up any more territories in Africa. A dispute then arose between the French possession of Guinea and the Iberian colony of Guinea Bissau regarding the frontier between Labé and Conakry, but none of the sides seemed interested in controlling the region. In announcing his intention of taking action against Iberia, Albert Lebrun's legation in Berlin said: 'The French Government has tried all pacific means through diplomatic channels to come to an agreement with the Iberian colonial government, but they obstinately persists in their aggressive policy by occupying our highlands in Futa Jalon, oppressing their inhabitants, and eradicating all who do not surrender to their rule.'"
In May 1934, after capturing Labé, French forces advanced towards Conakry, where a battle was expected. The mountains were problematical for their armoured cars and tanks. Neither the Germans nor Romanian forces in the bordering colonies were expected to intervene. Although the French had better weapons, including tanks, such as the Schneider AMC P16, the Iberians colonial troops, many from the Pyrenees, had more experience with mountain warfare. Although the dispute had been brewing for some time, German onlookers predicted that the result would be indecisive. Albert Lebrun demanded the return of the occupied region, the return of the Algerian provinces and controll of Guinea Bissau.
By 10 May 1934, reports from the war were contradictory. Conakry was claimed to be under Spanish controll, althought their soldiers were sitting in barricades. The Iberians retreated from Colia, but claimed to be winning in the mountains. The Spanish announced a bold plan to advance on Guinea with 200,000 men, although this attack never eventuated. No one was even sure if they even had such force in Africa.

French Schneider AMC P16 used in the conflict against Iberia
On 12 May 1934, peace negotiations had commenced. Albert Lebrun dropped his demand for the controll of Guinea Bissau, but managed to obtain the other lands he demanded. It was reported that King Alfonso XIII of Spain supported the war, while the governor of Portugal, António de Oliveira Salazar was in favour of peace. Albert Lebrun claimed that he was not interested in taking over other regions of Iberia in Africa.
On May 26, it was reported that relations were tense and a re-outbreak of hostilities was likely. However, on 14 June 1934 it was reported that a Treaty had been signed between Albert Lebrun and King Alfonso XIII of Spain guaranteeing peace between the two countries. The treaty was recognized by the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Romania and the German empire.

Map showing the Iberian and French colonies after the conflict
Despite the success of the conflict, the French people weren't very satisfied with the gains: just the remilitarization of some mountains and the reconquest of a bunch of sandfields in exchange of 1050 dead French soldiers and civilians. In reality, such conflict turned to be just another failure for the French republic, and several political ideas started to grow in the country.
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

The Liberian crisis: the garden bulbul faces the lynx
After Romania aquisition of Ghana and the Ivory Coast, tensions between Liberia and the Kingdom were tense. Liberia was, alongide Ethiopia, the only remaining independant African nation. For a long time, American protection and lack of interests by colonial powers allowed them to maintain independence, but now the situation was tense. The young Kingdom, still young in the fields of colonization, had intention to increase its power in surrounding countries. Expansion in Bulgaria was not considered, however, and an attack on the United States of Greater Austria was extremely unpopular. The Futa Jalon war, at the same time, caused tension between the Romanians and the Liberians, with the latter believing to be a target of the Romanians, who were simply fortifying their border against France. However, interests in Liberia started to become present in the minds of the Romanians.
On top of that, while the Romanians were just fortifing the border, the Italians launched an invasion of Ethiopia after an Ehiopian raid on the border with Italian Eritrea. The war started on August 03 1934, and was going swiftly. There were various different opinions with the major powers in the world. For the Americans, it was a clear act of aggressive, with Franklin Delano Roosevelt saying that "This act of aggressiveness, without any true justification other than sheer imperialism, truly shows the true nature of the Italian Fascism". The idea was similar to other members of the American pact.
In the old continent, there were different opinions and throughts about the invasion.
King Alfonso of Spain claimed to not being worried about the war, saying that "Iberian interests in Abyssinia finished when the Portughese abandoned Eritrea. As for the war itself, while the Americans claim that the Italians ambition are imperialists and unjust, we should still remember about the American conquest of Haiti, alongside the Brazilian expansion in South America are no different". Francisco Franco, a Spanish general believing in the concept of fascism, was against American critiques of the invasion. "If all major powers have now possesions in Africa, it obviously means that they had to face them for imperialism, so I do believe that the Italians can be allowed to do as such."
The German empire was largely neutral in the conflict. They had little to no intention to clash with their loyal allies, the Italians, and were willing to let this slide, even to make them stronger. Several German nationalists, such as famous poet and writer Adolf Hitler, glorified the war as a mean to spread European superiority over the world and, under the eyes of Hitler, "to avenge the humiliating defeat at Adwa, and granting streinght to the Italian colonial campaign. This war will show the true strenght of the Fascist governmen over the corrupted Grispi one. Heil Fascism! Heil Mussolini! Heil Italy!".
Even the Japanese got a saying on the question. Under emperor Hirohito, Italian expansion in Africa was not seen as a problem. To the surprise of many, however, Keisuke Okada, prime minister of the Japanese empire, praised Mussolini for the invasion of Ethiopia, even wishing him luck in several letters. One of the most famous phrase in those letters was "We sincerely hope for all the luck in the world for the conquest of Abyssinia, and the possibility to avoid external interventions. Long live His Majesty Savoia(Nagai eikō no savuoia heika)."
Ottoman reation was not as surpised as other nations. Under the worlds of Kemal, "Oh, so they did declare the war. Lets see if this time they will be able to beat the African tribe". And it would seem like they would win.
Extreme Italian successes in the Nord, thanks to the help of tanks, planes and machine guns allowed for deep penetration in Ethiopia. Foreign claims that Gas was used in the conflict turned out to be not true or a mistake.
Surrounded in every corner, the Ethiopian army suffered defeat after defeat. The only time the Ethiopians actually won a battle would be censured by the Italians for 30 years. In the worlds of Mussolini, "Such battle shall never be exposed......for the dignity of the Abyssinians".
The battle was the Battle of Afdem, where 5000 Abyssinians were held back by nine Italian soldiers and a tank. The Italians would not surrender until they ran out of ammunition and the tank was destroyed by an Ethiopian grenade. In the meantime, the Ethiopians lost 500 men, and 600 were wounded.
In the eyes of German intelligence, the campaign would last two weeks, resulting in a crushing Italian victory. Because of the fascist ideology, they also believed that in one year, the Italians would have obtained full controll of the country from the various guerrilla movements that would rise up. In the meantime, Italian losses would be minimal, and no tank or plane would be lost.
Italian success against Ethiopia inspired the Romanians to expand in Africa too, eyeing Liberia as the obvious target. And a good opportunity would appear soon

Anti fascist protests in New York
On 02 November, the Romanian colonial army occupied Geanplay to "protect Romanian interests in the border". The action was not comdemned by any nation in the Central Powers, which further hurted relations between Liberia and the Central Powers.
On 22 November 1934, a force of 100 Liberian militia with three military commanders arrived near Geanplay and formally asked the Akan garrison stationed there (comprising about 60 soldiers) to withdraw from the area. The Akan leading the garrison refused to withdraw and alerted Captain Mensah Amankona, commander of the garrison of Doba, in Romanian West Africa, to what had happened.
The next day, in the course of surveying the border between French Guinea and Liberia and Ethiopia, a French–Liberian boundary commission arrived at Geanplay. The commission was confronted by a newly arrived Romanian force. The French members of the boundary commission protested, but withdrew to avoid an international incident. The Liberian members of the boundary commission, however, stayed at Geanplay.
Between 5 and 7 December, for reasons which have never been clearly determined, there was a skirmish between the garrison of Akans, who were in Romanian service, and a force of armed Liberians. According to the Romanians, the Liberians attacked the Akans with rifle and machine-gun fire. According to the Liberians, the Romanians attacked them, supported by two tanks and three aircraft. In the end, approximately 17 Liberians and 5 Romanians and Akans were killed.
Neither side did anything to avoid confrontation; the Liberians repeatedly menaced the Romanian garrison with the threat of an armed attack, while the Romanians sent two planes over the Liberian camp. One of them fired a short machine gun burst, which no one on the ground noticed, after the pilot saw Captain Mensah in the midst of the Liberians and thought he had been taken prisoner by them.
This was the opportunity the Romanians were waiting for.

Romanian colonial soldier
At 5:00 am on 3 January 1935, General Ion Antonescu crossed the Cavalla River and advanced into Liberia from the Ivory Coast without a declaration of war. Aircraft of the Forţele Aeriene Regale ale României scattered leaflets asking the population to surrender to the Romanian army. In response to the Romanian invasion, Liberia declared war on Romania. At this point in the campaign, the lack of roads represented a serious hindrance for the Romanians as they crossed into Liberia. On the Romanian side, roads had been constructed right up to the border. On the Liberian side, these roads often transitioned into vaguely defined paths. On 5 January the Romanian I Corps took Jawake, and by 6 January, Taiken was captured by the Romanian II Corps. Edwin Barclay had ordered Titus Jaryan, the Commander of the Liberian Army of Maryland, to withdraw a day's march away from the Grand Chess river. Later, the president ordered the Commander of River Gee Fazah Samuel, also in the area, to move back from the fighting area.
On 11 January, Nyanbo surrendered; Romania propagandists lavishly publicised the surrender but fewer than a tenth of Samuel's men defected with him. On 14 January, Antonescu proclaimed that victory would be close for the Romanians in Liberia. Much of the livestock in the area had been moved to the West to feed the Liberian army and many of the emancipated people had no choice but to appeal to the Romanian authorities for food. By 15 January, Antonescu's forces had advanced from Taiken and occupied the city of Grand Cess. To the colonial government dismay, the advance was methodical and on 8 February, the I Corps and the Akan Corps captured Sasstown. The Romanian advance had added several kilometers to the line of supply and Antoniescu wanted to build a road from Romania West Africa before continuing. On 16 February, Antoniescu was promoted to the rank of Marshal of Romania (Mareșal) and in March was replaced by Alexandru Averescu to speed up the invasion.

Ion Antonescu, the African Mad Dog
The Romanian army, to speed up the process, even sent one of their new tanks: the F.13 Ribbon, an evolution of the French Renaunt, with a more powerful gun and the ability to traverse harsh terrain. Thanks to such weapon, they managed to advance even deeper than before, taking Diabli, Buchanan and other coastal cities by storm. In front of such weapon, the Liberian army tended to surrender quickly to the Romanian army, which had half of their country at their command at this point. Soon, the Romanian army was ar the gates of the enemy capital

F.13 Ribbon, the new jewel of Romania tankery
On 26 March 1935, Averescu began the "March of the Iron Will" from Harbel to Monrovia, an advance with a mechanised column against slight Liberian resistance. The column experienced a more serious attack on 4 April when Liberian forces under Fazah Samuel ambushed the formation in Careysburg killing approximately 170 colonial troops.
Meanwhile, other generals conducted a disorganized retreat towards the capital. There, government officials operated without leadership, unable to contact the President and unsure of his whereabouts. Realizing that Monrovia would soon fall to the Romanians, Liberian administrators met to discuss a possible evacuation of the government to the west. After several days, they decided that they should relocate to Arthington, though actual preparations for their departure were postponed. Monrovia became crowded with retreating soldiers from the front while its foreign residents sought refuge at various European legations. Edwin Barclay reached the capital on 30 May. That day his Council of Ministers resolved that the city should be defended and a retreat to Arthington conducted only as a last resort. The city police and the remainder of the Imperial Guard did their utmost to restrain a growing crowd but rioters rampaged throughout the city, looting and setting fire to shops owned by Europeans. Most of the violence occurred between looters, fighting over the spoils and by 5 September, much of the city lay in ruins. At 04:00 Averescu drove into the city at the head of 1,600 lorries and patrols of Romanian F.13 Ribbon tanks, troops and Akan volunteers were sent to occupy tactically valuable areas in the city, as the remaining inhabitants watched sullenly. The Liberian war was over.
A peace treaty was signed in Monrovia. In it:
-Romania annexes Liberia

West Africa after the Liberian War
The victory over Liberia was largely welcomed in Romania as its first major colonial victory against a foreign nation. New colonists arrived to take advantage of the situation, but would have to wait a bit before colonizing Liberia: controll in the region was still teorical, and rebel groups were still largely common in the region. However, this marked the day that Romania stopped being part of an empire, and now it has a little empire of its own.
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

The Eritrean crisis: the desert wolf fights the mountain one
The Italian invasion of Ethiopia lasted for three weeks because of the bravery of the Abyssinian people, but left the Italian army largely unscarred. Other than a single tank, losses were minimal, and no plane was even damaged by the Italians. After the Italo-Turkish border conflict, as a matter of fact, the Italian army had focused on the concept of lighting war, with the Italians actually being one of the first nations to develop dive bombers, with the Breda Ba.201. However, as several equipments and soldiers arrived in Ethiopia, tensions between the Ottomans and the Italians rised once again. The Ottomans accused the Italians of launching a bombing operation in a military base in Wad Muzammil, in Ottoman Sudan. After the war had ended, the Ottomans gave support to the Ethiopians by giving them weapons. Tensions finally escalated with the Italian occupation of Karora. Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini issued for peace between the two nations, but his response was too slow. Soon, Italy faced herself in another colonial conflict with the Ottomans.

Emilio de Bono, leader of Italian defences in the Horn of Africa
On 4 December 1935, as Selâhattin Âdil advanced from Cassala, his forces, composed by Sudanese conscripts, were bombed for the first time. Badly shaken by the bombing, about half his army abandoned him to return to Cassala. Selâhattin Âdil then entered the territory of Tessenei; his army was joined by Ali Sait Akbaytogan and his forces.
On 15 December, Selâhattin Âdil advance guard crossed the Gash River by the fords at Haikota and Elit. The advance guard was under the overall command of Muhittin Akyüz. As a column of 1,000 Ottomans advanced towards Erota, it was blocked by a force of 1,000 Eritreans at Biscia under the command of Emilio de Bono. De Bono's command was a forward observation post and he determined to make a withdrawal upon the arrival of the Ottomans. Under the cover of nine L3 tanks, De Bono's and his Eritreans withdrew and made for Erota. The 1,000 advancing Ottomans column was now behind De Bono and his 1,000 Eritreans. When De Bono and his force got to Erota, they found that it was already held by another group of 2,000 Ottomans, who arrived early after breaking the line at Carcabat.
Under a blazing sun, the battle at Erota began between De Bono's 1,000 Eritreans on the plateau and the 2,000 Ottomans in front of them who were holding the high ground around the pass. The Ottomans formed up in a horseshoe formation on the surrounding crests and De Bono, who lead on horseback, ordered his light tanks to smash a way through them with his infantry following close behind. The tanks lumbered towards the Ottomans but the rough terrain soon made further forward progress impossible. On top of that, the Ottomans brought heavier tanks to the fight: the Italians did not bring heavier tanks, not believing in an Ottoman attack.
The 1,000 Ottomans behind De Bono joined the battle at this time and De Bono's command came under fire from all directions. The Ottomans surged forward, slaughtered the Eritrean infantry, and engulfed the Italian tanks. Some Ottomans were able to approach the tanks from the rear and were then able to disable the tracks and machine guns, and kill the two-man crews of each vehicle.
De Bono's command radioed for more tanks. A relief column, including another ten tanks and two trucks, was sent immediately. However, the relief column was ambushed before it could get to De Bono. The Ottomans immobilized several of the Italian tanks by using heavy artillery and several other tanks. Once again, the infantry was picked off followed by the stranded tanks. Other tanks attempted to bypass the Ottoman block only to be destroyed by an Ottoman airstrike. The Ottomans set two of the tanks afire.
De Bono ultimately ordered his surrounded Eritreans to fix bayonets and charge the Ottomans in front of them. The Eritreans created a breach and were able to escape; however, during the breakout, De Bono lost fully half of his force on the battlefield.
Selâhattin Âdil then moved his forces in large numbers across Halhal and into Cheren. Morale among the Ottomans was very high, and Selâhattin Âdil was pleased to have captured fifty machine guns and the town of Carobel.Selâhattin Âdil moved to positions in the area to create a line of defence. He knew the Italians were coming.

Italian colonial troops
Fahrettin Altay launched a second offensive against the Italians in Eritrea against Âdil orders, assembling the Eritrean volunteer army at Cassala. This army was considered to be well armed and numbered approximately 20,000 men. His goal was to advance down the Eritrean region and to then continue his advance down to Asmara. From Cassala, Fahrettin Altay planned to march south and capture the town of Mirara, then invade Italian Ethiopia itself, giving support to rebel forces. This plan was ill-conceived and overly ambitious. It also lost the element of surprise as it became common knowledge and was the subject of marketplace gossip.
Fahrettin Altay's forces advanced in three columns. Two columns were led by two other generals, Nihat Anılmış and Tekin Arıburun. Tekin's army was able to move forward more quickly due to the better terrain in its area. In January, advancing elements of this force clashed with about 1,000 dubats of the pro-Italian native army. Both sides eventually withdrew from the battlefield, with Tekin seriously wounded. Its commander stricken, his army retreated, leaving the army of Nihat on its own.
On 13 January Graziani, who came to reinforce the positions alongside heavy tanks moved his headquarters to Asmara. By mid-January limited elements of the Libyan Colonial Division and the 6th "Tevere" Blackshirt Division were in Eritrea. As additional forces arrived later in January, Graziani formed them up at Ghinda near the battle border. By early February, Graziani's forces were in a state of readiness to launch a counterattack against Fahrettin Altay offensive.
Even as the Ottomans made small gains, Graziani continued his preparations. He organized his forces into three columns. On the Italian right was the first column which was to advance up to Cassala. In the center was the second column which was to advance towards Agordat. On the left was the third column which was to advance around the same area as the Central column. All three columns had access to motor transport and were equipped with many tanks such as the Carro Armato M.11/34, called "Il mostro" by Eritrean and some Italian troops because of its power. Ottoman forces who met the Tank in action declared it almost matched in power as the Russian T-26. Baki Ceylan, a veteran of the Italo-Turkish war, declared that "I have never been so afraid up to the arrival of Italian motorized. But this beat them on every level".
On 12 April the Italian army performed lighting war techniques against the unprepared Ottoman forces. For three days the advancing Ottomans were attacked incessantly from the air. The Ottoman force that the Italian outposts already had taken casualties and been disorganised. The combination of air attacks, a long march through a desert, inadequate rations, as well as dysentery and malaria, had shattered the morale of Fahrettin Altay's army.
On 15 April when the three Italian columns advanced Ras Fahrettin Altay's battered forces repeatedly retreated without putting up serious resistance. Even so, the Ottomans did stand and hold their ground in Cassala and nearby areas. This was referred to by the Italians as the "Battle of the Cassala mountains."
The Italian mechanized columns responded with a series of out-flanking maneuvers which quickly compelled the Ottomans to withdraw. Unfortunately the weary army could not withdraw fast enough as it was again assaulted from the air. The Ottomans' withdrawal quickly became a disorganized retreat. In this unequal chase, the Ottomans were primaly on foot and the Italians were generally in motor vehicles. The Italians blocked the few wells that lay along the way and closely pursued the parched Ottomans. Fahrettin Altay's army soon disintegrated.

Carro Armato M.11/34, "Il mostro". Being 6.75 meters long and 3 meters tall, it was far bigger than anything the Italians had before.
With the Ottoman army destroyed in the Horn of Africa and with Italians actually preparing for an offensive in Libya, Kemal was forced to sign a white peace with the Italians, but a true peace would never come. After this conflict, both sides reinforced their borders, reaching such levels that the borders with their allies were completely left desolated. Both sides wanted to be ready for the next fight or, even better, to be the first to strike the opponent.
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

The second Anglo-Dutch war: the Black-tailed godwit faces the lion once again
After the successful war against the Netherlands before, British interests in the region increased quite a lot. The UBSR had intention to conquer the Dutch East Indies, taking strong interests in them, in order to increase their sphere in South East Asia. Relations between the Netherlands and the Central Powers were still largely neutral, with the Dutch desperately trying to remain neutral in the various conflicts that caracterized the world at this point. However, British expansionism in their islands in South East Asia caused problems for them. As such, several armed reforms were performed, and many reinforcements from the mainland were sent.
For a while, the situation was calm for the Dutch and the British: both sides tried to keep a peaceful position out of fear from foreign intervention. However, small skimmerish between the Red Navy and the Koninklijke Marine occurred in the Celebes sea, which proned the Dutch to reinforce their position even further. However, relations between the two countries were definitely broken after the Dutch accidental shelling of Pulau Maratua. After the incident, the British had a reason to declare against the Dutch. Many powers in the world remained neutral in the matter: once again, it was a war battled only by Britain and the Netherlands.

Dutch cavalry in Sulawesi
Departing from the port of Bontang, British troops landed on the island of Sulawesi, were most of the fighting would take place.
At 8 a. m. on 10 February, Henry Pownall launched the Battle of Sulawesi. Regulars and Red Army soldiers led the British landing. Native Indonesians of Borneo, on which the Borneo Socialist Republic leaned so heavily, formed the reserve. The British I Corps and British III Corps advanced across the Sulawesi West coast. By night fall, both corps were established on the banks of the Sungai Karana River.
After establishing a strong position in the beach, Pownall preferred used artillery at first. As a result, he fought a gunner's battle. His headquarters was also the British artillery observation post and about every five minutes scout planes of the Red Air Force (RAF in short) went out to circle the front. The planes identified the locations of Dutch forces for the British gunners. But the Dutch fighting for Hein ter Poorten, mostly native troops, were regular drilled and uniformed troops. They had artillery too and knew how to use it.
The British scout planes also mapped out the area around the mosque Masjid Al Huda and discovered a weakness in Poorten defences. Air photographs showed that an attack from the region to the south of Masjid Al Huda should be uncontested. As a result of this discovery, Pownall planned to encircle the mosque and attack Poorten from the rear after his forces linked up at the Pura Taman Sari Hindu temple.
On 11 February, the 4th Red Division and the 11th Army Group of the I Corps advanced from the beaches moving towards and around the east side of the island. At the same time, the III Corps moved towards and around the east side of Masjid Al Huda. Too late Poorten realized the British plan to encircle his positions.
On the afternoon of 12 February, a large Dutch force streamed down the western slopes of Masjid Al Huda and attacked the Red Division. The British Red soldiers were held up, but the 11th Army Group continued its advance towards Pura Taman Sari. The near continuous and persistent air and artillery bombardment of the Dutch positions had sapped the Dutch of much of their will to resist.
On the evening of 14 February, the British pincers were about to snap shut. As the encircling forces reached specified positions, they formed up, re-grouped, and positioned their artillery for the final assault.
By the morning of 15 February, under cover of darkness and dense cloud, the British completed the encirclement of Masjid Al Huda. When daylight came and the clouds lifted, the Dutch were reinvigorated by the sight of their predicament. They swarmed down the western slopes of Masjid Al Huda towards the plains. The Dutch attacked the British at the western base of Masjid Al Huda again and again. But the British artillery and air power negated the fury of the Dutch assault. By darkness, the battle was practically over.
Poorten guessed that the British would take the coasts rather than the mountainous interior of the island. He guessed wrong. The British attacked and secured the lightly held Dutch positions on "The Allah mountain" which made defense of the region untenable.

Henry Pownall in Sulawesi, 1936
In accordance with Pownall's plan, the Borneo Corps advanced from the mountain passes and the III Corps moved up from the coast alongside the Sungai Karana River. The Battle of Aoni was fought on terrain which favored the defense. It was a region of forests, ravines, and torrents where the British were unable to deploy artillery properly or use armored vehicles. But the soldiers of Conrad Helfrich failed to take advantage of the terrain and were defeated.
The right wing of the Dutch armies rested on the forest region of the area. The Dutch established a strongpoint there. Aoni blocked the road to Pantai Manakarra on which the Borneo Corps and the III Corp planned to converge. One-hundred-and-fifty Marines and Red soldier commandos were ordered to capture it under cover of darkness. Armed with grenades and knives, the commandos found the Dutch on the summit unprepared when they scaled the peak.
Early on the morning of 27 February, the army of Helfrich was drawn up in battle array in front of Aoni. A large force of Dutch left the shelter of the woods covering Aoni to attack the British in the open. From 8 am to 4 pm, wave after wave of Dutch native soldiers attempted to break through or get around the positions established by the Marines and the Red soldiers of the Borneo columns. The attacks were mowed down and turned back by concentrated machine gun fire. As the attacks wavered the British commander counterattacked. Helfrich decided that his men could take no more. His army left more than one-thousand dead on the battlefield as it fled.
With his right flank in the air, Helfrich ordered his army to pull back to the Tappalang fortification. But, as his men straggled back along the one road open to them, they were bombed repeatedly. The British bombers focused on the concentrated solid mass of defeated Dutch and soon the area was turned into a charnel house.
Meanwhile, Henri Winkelman and his army on Tappalang had not yet seen action. Henri Winkelman now decided to withdraw his army towards the coast. His army in turn was heavily bombed. On 29 February, the III Corps and the Borneo Corps linked up on the Nord of Aoni. The West Sulawesi campaing was over.

British troops carring a prisoner
British troops prepared for a second landing in the south of the island.
B. F. A. Schilmöller had little knowledge of the battles taking place to the Nord. On 29 February, Pownall launched the Battle of Maros using the British II Corps and the British IV Corps. But, after the British landing of Makassar, Schilmöller had already decided on his own to withdraw and avoid being trapped.
The II Corps advanced from Makassar to the Nord of the town where forces of Schilmöller were known to be operating. At the same time, the IV Corps moved Nord from the conquered city on Schilmöller left flank. The ground both forces traversed was very rough and very inhospitable with few roads. At one point the II Corps was unexpectedly attacked while its units were strung out all along a single road. They were forced to fight in old-fashioned infantry squares and the Dutch were only driven off when the full weight of the heavy artillery and the Red Air Force were brought to bear. The British then set up defensive positions much to the annoyance of Pownall.
On 2 March, the advance of the II Corps began again but was stopped the same day when it ran into Schilmöller rear-guard. By the time the artillery and air force were ready the next morning, the Dutch were gone. Neither the II Corps nor the IV Corps managed to close the trap on Schilmöller and, for all intents and purposes, the Battle of Maros was over.
Schilmöller army withdrew from the battlefield relatively intact. A comparison of the damages it had suffered to the damages it had done was far better than was typical on the northern front. The Dutch in Maros had suffered approximately four casualties for every British casualty. While costly, this was far better than the ten Dutch casualties per one British casualty which had become expected elsewhere on the northern front.
Threat of German intervention leaded the British to stop the campaing, but intended to gain something out of the conflict. The Dutch were more than willing to stop the war, even if it meant ceding more territories in the East Indies. A peace treaty was signed in Holland. In it:
-Sulawesi is ceded to the UBSR, forming the Sulawesi Socialist Republic (SSR)
-The Netherlands would pay war reparation, but they would be light
-The Netherlands joins the Central Powers

Map of South East Asia after the conflict
The conquest of Sulawesi was considered a success for the British, but it marked the end of Britain conquests against the Dutch: with the Central Powers now ready to protect their ally, a war in Indonesia was considered pointless for the British: thousands of lives against the might of the Central Powers only for a few islands. But very soon, Britain will be able to count on another ally.
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

The French civil war: the rooster fights himself
If Russia situation before Stalin rise to power was disastrous, the situation for France, at the moment, was far worst. The colonies weren't enough to substain the main economy, and they started to rebel against their overlords. On top of that, huge debts with the US caused problems in the economy. The Futa Jalon war was a waste of energy, money, men and equipment, and the people were generally tired of the weak French republic, unable to respond against any nation because of its crippling conditions. Several influential movements started to become popular in the nation, especially the ones of communism. Secretely supported by the UBSR, they started to get themselves in comfortable positions in politics, but a revolution was still not ready. However, the year was 1936, and now, in the eyes of the French Communist Party leader, Maurice Thorez, it was time to launch the coup to overthrow the weak republic, in favor of the mighty Communist Party. However, the republic seemed to have realized this, but afraid of a revolution, they did not act terrible actions like imprisonment or execution.

Maurice Thorez, leader of the French Communist Party
The French government acted to remove suspect generals and political leaders from influential posts, or to send them away from the country. Maurice Thorez was sent to French Mali, for example. Jean Marie François was removed as inspector general and was made general of Algeria. Jacques Duclos was moved from head of the African Army to military commander of Charente in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. This, however, allowed Duclos to direct the mainland uprising. General Maurice Gamelin became the figurehead of the operation and helped reach an agreement with other leftist parties in the nation. Duclos was chief planner and second in command. Boniface Masson, an infulential man in politics who helped the communist cause, was put in prison in mid-March in order to restrict the Communists. However, government actions were not as thorough as they might have been, and warnings by the Director of Security and other figures were not acted upon.
On 12 June, Prime Minister Léon Blum met General Jacques Duclos, who falsely convinced Léon of his loyalty to the republic. Duclos began serious planning in the spring. Thorez wrote a cryptic letter to Duclos on 23 June, suggesting that the military was disloyal, but could be restrained if he were put in charge. Léon did nothing, failing to arrest or buy off Thorez. With the help of the British Secret Intelligence Service agents Cecil Bebb and Major Hugh Pollard, the rebels chartered a Dragon Rapide aircraft to transport Thorez from Mali to French Algeria. The plane arrived on Algiers on 11 July.
On 12 July 1936, Communists in Paris murdered a police officer, Lieutenant Édouard Rigal of the Garde d'assaut (Assault Guard). Rigal was an anti-Socialist party member who, among other activities, was giving military training to the anti-communist members of the Action française. Rigal had led the Assault Guards that violently suppressed the riots after the funeral of communist member Jules Gigot.
Assault Guard Captain Jean-Marc Flandin was a close personal friend of Rigal. The next day, he led his squad to arrest Gérald Allais, an influental Communist poet, as a reprisal for Castillo's murder. But he was not at home, so they went to the house of René Guénon, a leading French monarchist. Adam LaRue, a member of the arresting group and an-anti- Socialist who was known as the bodyguard of semi fascist Emmanuel Mignard, summarily executed René Guénon by shooting him in the back of the neck.
Massive reprisals followed. The killing of René Guénon with police involvement aroused suspicions and strong reactions among the government's opponents on the left. Although the socialists generals were already planning an uprising, the event provided a catalyst and a public justification for their coup. Stanley Payne claims the idea of a rebellion by army officers against the government had weakened before these events, but the kidnapping and murder of René Guénon had an electrifying effect which provided a catalyst to transform what was a "limping conspiracy" to a powerful revolt that could set off a civil war.". The involvement of forces of public order in the plot and a lack of punishment or action against the attackers hurt public opinion of the government. No effective action was taken, Payne points towards possible veto by nationalists within the government who shielded the killers who had been drawn from their ranks. Within hours of learning of the murder and the reaction Thorez changed his mind on rebellion and dispatched a message to Duclos to display his firm commitment.
Action française, led by Charles Maurras, demanded that arms be distributed to the people before the military took over. The prime minister was hesitant.

René Guénon, the man killed by the French police
The uprising's timing was fixed at 17 July, at 17:01. However, the timing was changed—the men in the Frencn colony in Algeria were to rise up at 05:00 on 18 July and those in France proper a day later so that control of the Algerian coast could be achieved and forces sent back to France to coincide with the risings there. The rising was intended to be a swift coup d'état, but the government retained control of most of the country.
Control over French Algeria was all but certain. The plan was discovered in Algeria on 17 July, which prompted the conspirators to enact it immediately. Little resistance was encountered. In total, the rebels shot 189 people. Jacques Duclos and Maurice Thorez immediately took control of the coasts to which they were assigned. The Nationalist forces did not accept the arrival of the communists, however. The paramilitary security forces often waited to see the outcome of militia action before either joining or suppressing the rebellion. Quick action by either the rebels or anarchist militias was often enough to decide the fate of a town. General Maurice Gamelin managed to secure Aveyron for the rebels, arresting a number of other officers.
The rebels in Africa failed to take any major cities with the critical exception of Algiers, which provided a landing point for Thorez's African troops. Annaba was taken for the rebels, with the help of the first troops from the African Army.
The government, however, retained control of Montpellier, Sète, and Nîmes. In Paris, the rebels were hemmed into the Palais Bourbon siege, which fell with considerable bloodshed. Republican leader Marcel Alessandri was replaced by Philippe Pétain, who ordered the distribution of weapons among the civilian population. This facilitated the defeat of the army insurrection in the main industrial centres, including Paris, Lion, and Vichy, but it allowed anarchists to take control of Vichy along with large swathes of Normandy and Occitania. General Alessandri surrendered in Montpellier and was later condemned to death.
The rebels termed themselves Communes, normally translated "Communists". Despite the initial "failure" of the French Commune rebellion, soon Africa felt under their controll, with the population willing to collaborate to the Commune in exchange of equality, to which the Communists were willing to collaborate. Now the fighting would be set in France. The French Civil War has started on its full might.

The Frontline of the French civil war in the beginning, with the Normandian, Breton and Occitanian rebels joining sides with the Communists.
A large air and sealift of Communist troops in French Algeria was organized to the southwest of France. One of the coup leaders, Gaston Boutroux, was killed in a plane crash on 20 July, leaving an effective command split between Duclos in the North and Thorez in the South. This period also saw the worst actions of the so-called "Red" and "White Terrors" in France. On 21 July, the fifth day of the rebellion, the Communists captured Le Havre. Soon the main objective were Nantes and Nancy to cut off the Republican government from German and American support.
A rebel force under Colonel Brice Beaudouin, sent by General Duclos and Colonel Ignace Bousquet, undertook the Campaign of the French Atlantic coast from July to September. The capture of Nantes isolated the French Republic from American support. On 5 September, the Communists closed the Italian border to the Republicans in the battle of Carpentras. On 15 September Le Puy-en-Velay, home to a divided Republican force of anarchists and Occitanian nationalists, was taken by Communist soldiers. However, soon the war turned into a stalemate as the French Republic managed to re-obtain of what little ground they helded.
On the Communist side, Thorez was chosen as chief military commander at a meeting of ranking generals at Montpellier on 21 September, now called by the title of Chef(Leader). Thorez won another victory on 27 September when his troops relieved the siege of the Aurillac, which had been held by a Communist garrison under Colonel Hugo Blondeau since the beginning of the rebellion, resisting thousands of Republican troops, who completely surrounded the isolated buildings. Algerians and elements of the French Legion came to the rescue. The diversion to the South gave the Republicans time to prepare in Vichy a defense, but was hailed as a major propaganda victory and personal success for Thorez.
In October, the Communist troops launched a major offensive toward the main direction of Paris, reaching Vichy in early November and launching a major assault on the city on 8 November. However, the Communist attack on the city was repulsed in fierce fighting between 8 and 23 November. A contributory factor in the successful Republican defense was the effectiveness of the Fifth Regiment and later the arrival of the Fascist Brigades, which were composed manly by Italian troops, though only an approximate 3,000 foreign volunteers participated in the battle. Having failed to take the city, Thorez bombarded it from the air and, in the following years, mounted several offensives to try to conquer the remaining French, beginning the Northen Campaign. The Second Battle of the Caen, a Communist offensive to the northeast, pushed Republican forces back, and isolated the French from the sea.

Surrendering of Republicans in Caen in the Nordwest
Realizing the immense privileges of a Communist French ally, the UBSR decided to enter the conflict as well.
With his ranks swelled by British troops and French colonial soldiers from Algeria, Thorez made another attempt to capture Vichy in January and February 1937, this time breaking the line of defence of the Republicans. The Battle of Alençon started in mid-January, and this Communist offensive in France's southeast would turn into a disaster for the Republicans, who were isolated and poorly motivated. Evidently these weren't the same soldiers who fought at Vichy. The city of Nevers was taken by Thorez on 8 February. The consolidation of various militias into the Republican Army had started in December 1936.
Another Communist offensive, the Battle of Vierzon, was a more significant defeat for Thorez and his armies. This was the only publicised Republican victory of the war. Thorez used British troops and lighting was tactics; while many strategists blamed Thorez for the Communist defeat, the British believed it was the former at fault for the Communists 5,000 casualties and loss of valuable equipment. The British strategists successfully argued that the Communists needed to concentrate on vulnerable areas first.
It was around this time that the bombing of Dreux, one of the first major bombing of the RAF, took place: around 1650 people died, and the city was left in ruins. The reason behind the bombing was the fact that the city was used as a supply line for Paris to the frontline in the Nord. The bombing of the city would inspire the famous Picasso painting, who resided at Paris just four days before the civil war, "Dreux". In th meantime, several troops would be encircled in the towns of Le Mans, Alençon and Mulsanne, but would continue fighting until the end of the war.

The ruins of Dreux, after the British bombing
The "War in the North" started again in mid-March, with the Normandy. The Northern front soldiers suffered most from the lack of a suitable air force, which was focused on the South.
Duclos, Thorez's second-in-command, was killed on 3 June, in an airplane accident. In early July, despite the earlier loss at the Battle of Orléans, the government launched a strong counter-offensive to the south of Paris, focusing on Sens. The Battle of Sens, however, was a significant defeat for the Republic, which lost many of its most accomplished troops.
A Republican offensive against Troyes was also a failure. Thorez invaded further Republican lands and took the city of Sens in August. The Communists, with the support of British, Central American and Columbian soldiers, tanks, artillery, planes and machine guns were at the gates of Paris, where one of the most epic battles of the interwar period ever occurred. Opposing them were Republicans, Germans, Italians, Iberians and a large chunck of Belgium's army.

Map of the war at its closing end
In the mid of 1937, the siege of Paris started, but its population suffered increasingly from a lack of food, warm clothes and arms and ammunition. However Thorez by this point had given up on the idea of another frontal assault on the city and instead was happy to gradually constrict the siege, while keeping up the bombardment of the city.
After the collapse of the Republican forces on the southern front, it was clear that the Republican cause in Paris and, as such, the Republic survival, was doomed. However, the people continued fighting to the bitter end: the British had to use their heaviest tanks around, the Matilda, the second only tank of a non-Central Powers nation that could compete against the Russian T-26 and the Italian M.11/34. It was said that it was so deadly that Stalin, after having observed the siege of Paris from Russian reports, wanted to accellerate the creation of the T-35 tank.
The Communist forces had to conquer every inch of the city, kill or capture every citizen (even young children, with the youngest being nine). People fought with guns, swords, knives, forks, sticks, even their fists and teeths if necessary. However, in the end, the city was captured after almost being demolished. The Communist had won.

Communist forces marching in a suburb in Paris
All the foreign soldiers captured by the Communists were liberated and sent home. Even several French prisoners were liberated by the Communist forces.
Thorez also kept his worlds with the various nationalities that fought on his side, and the first days of the French Commune were designed to solve the crippling French situation after the conflict. For a starter, under British example, Socialist Republics (Républiques Socialistes) were created, with several nations being administrated by local men loyal to the French cause, while also allowing for the use of resources for the defence of the motherland.
Alongside them, we have:
-The Occitalia Socialist Republic(République Socialiste d'Occitalia, or RSO)
-The Brittany Socialist Republic( République Socialiste de Bretagne, or RSB)
-The Algerian Socialist Republic( République Socialiste Algérienne, or RSA)
-The Mali Socialist Republic( République Socialiste Malienne, or RSM)
-The Guinea Socialist Republic( République Socialiste de Guinée, or RSG)
-The Sierra Leone Socialist Republic( République Socialiste de Sierra Leone, or RSSL)
-The Burkina Faso Socialist Republic( République Socialiste du Burkina Faso, or RSBF)
-The Niger Socialist Republic( République Socialiste du Niger, or RSN)
Private propriety, for the most part, was abolished, which was welcomed by many. However, the first threats for the Communist government would be their own people themseves: istigated by popular movements such as the Action française, they leaded small guerrilla movements in the forests: they were the Maquis, small terroristic cells who operated in the forests of the French Commune, launching several small offensives, sometime even occupying villages with the support of the local population. However, their operations would not be large enough or strong enough for a good while, allowing the French to pursue some...naughty interests.
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

La Union: the Panamanian golden frog joins the Bald eagle
America fears of losing the srtategic country of Panama to the communists, after the Panama civil war, become extremely real. By focusing on the Carribeans instead of Central America, their basically puppet state was in danger from outside forces. Central Powers volunteer forces, who too were interested in the Panama canal, allowed to protect the Republic from the Communist forces, but it was obvious that they couldn't protect Panama forever. On top of that, the treaty of New York forced the Central Powers volunteer forces to abandon Panama in 1936, and problems already started to rise. The most notable one was the failed 1937 coup staged by Communists forces of Central America, camouflaged as members of the National Border Service, stormed in the Building of the National Assembly, almost killing Juan Demóstenes Arosemena. Despite the attack, America still didn't allow for the creation of a military force in Panama. However, at this point, the Panama government realized that they can't listen to America forever: the Non-Aggression pact with the UBSR and the US was still active, there was a civil war with communist forces backed up by the PRCA and the UBSR, and a failed coup d'etat had just occurred. As such, a military was officialy created: the Panamanian National Army. It was manly armed with light arms bought from the Japanese empire and the Kingdom of Iberia, althought there were also some machine guns, small pieces of artillery and it was even said that they had a tank, but many believe that it was just a rumor. However, Arosemena gamble to arm Panama failed, because the US noticed.

A cruiser passing throught Panama. If you wanted to go from the Caribbeans to the Pacific quickly, you needed to pass here
Franklin Delano Roosevelt told the parliament in the late summer of 1937 that eventually Panama, in order to protect the vital canal, would have to be taken "by force". On 5 November 1937, Roosevelt called a meeting with the Secretary of State Cordell Hull, the War Minister Harry Hines Woodring, the Army commander General Douglas MacArthur, the Navy commander Admiral Royal E. Ingersoll and the Airforce commander Henry H. Arnold recorded in the White House Memorandum. At the conference, Roosevelt stated that British and general communist aggressions were causing problems to the Caribbeans and Panama, essentially breaking the rules of the Monroe Doctrine established in 1823. In early 1938, Roosevelt was seriously considering replacing the ambassador of Panama alongside leading a military intervention in Panama. On 25 January 1938, the Panamian police raided Panama city, discovering plans for a possible American invasion of the contry. In the end, several meetings occurred with Arosemena and Roosevelt considering an union with the two countries, in order to protect American interests in the region, alongside protecting Panama from communist forces who become more and more present.

General Douglas McArthur
On 9 March 1938, In the face of rioting by the small, but virulent and well accepted anti Communist members, and ever-expanding American demands on Panama, Juan Demóstenes Arosemena called a referendum on the issue, to be held on 13 March. Roosevelt however did not believe that the procedure was fast enough, causing tensions between the two countries. McArthur started preparation for a naval invasion of Panama to conquer the small nation, who was consolidating its "Army" in the meantime.
On 9 March 1938, in an effort to preserve Panama's independence, Arosemena scheduled a plebiscite on the issue of unification for 13 March. The referendum was not very popular, with the Panamanians wanting to remaining independent. If they wanted to become subjugated to someone, they would had remained united to Gran Colombia. The plan went awry when it became apparent that Roosevelt would not stand by while Panama declared its independence by public vote. Roosevelt declared that the referendum would be subject to major fraud and that America would never accept it.
Roosevelt sent an ultimatum to Arosemena on 11 March, demanding that he hand over all power to American forces or face an invasion. The ultimatum was set to expire at noon, but was extended by two hours. Without waiting for an answer, Roosevelt had already signed the order to send a naval invasion at one o'clock. Nevertheless, Roosevelt underestimated his opposition.
Arosemena desperately sought support for Panama independence in the hours following the ultimatum. Realizing that neither the Central Powers nor the Communational was willing to offer assistance, Arosemena resigned on the evening of 11 March, but President Ezequiel Fernández refused to become leader. At 8:45 pm, Roosevelt, tired of waiting, ordered the invasion to commence at dawn on 12 March regardless. McArthur landed on Colón unopposed by Panama troops.

American troops with a tank in the coasts of Panama
Much to the dismay of the Panamanians, the parliament ordered the Panamanian army to surrender to American forces. The invasion was bloodless, and the was was already over. A treaty was signed in Panama city, where American annexation of Panama was confirmed. America would create a state of Panama, who would have parliament representation and could even send candidates for President of the US. This was still poorly accepted by the Panamanians: the first year of the occupation was marked by resistance movements by the Panamanian army in the jungles, but to no avail. The annexation of Panama was poorly seen by both the Nasist government and the Communational, who almost broke relation off with the Americans. A new age has begun for America: the age of expansionism.

America after the aquisition of Panama
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

The partition of Belgium: the Black-tailed godwit and the Rooster partition the leo belgicus
Belgium situation was not the best, after the Communist victory over France. The Belgian government sent several men in the fight against the French Commune, who were defeated, with many not returning home. General discontent with the Belgian Rexist government were present, as communist started to become popular in the country. However, what was particurally popular was a possible unification with the French. Since the Rif War, the Belgian seized Pais de Calais from the French, and were having problems with the local population, who kept rising up. Rexist leader Léon Degrelle was relatively harsh towards these rebellions, hoping for a complete colonization of the region for the Belgians. However, the high costs of the quelling of several rebellions in Kenya and Uganda, the loss of men to the French in the civil war and general discontend made the Belgian situation fragile. Too fragile. The only reason behind Rexist Belgium survival was the German empire, but not even the eagle seemed ready to protect the Belgians this time. On top of that, in the French provinces, several rebellion movements started to become present, aiming for a possible unification with the French, once again. However, with both France and Britain on their side, they believed that a possible uprising against their Belgian overlords could be possible. And their ideas seemed fundated, as the UBSR and the French Commune sent them weapons and volunteers for a possible invasion. Plans for rebels in Wallonia, who too wanted to join France at this point, were made.

French resistance fighters in Belgian French lands, probably from Arras
At dawn on 23 March 1939 French and Wallonian rebels suddenly attacked the Belgian government from Pais du Calais and Wallonia with instructions being to "proceed as far to Buxelles as possible". Wallonian rebels attacked Belgian troops without any warning, coming out of the forests, catching the Belgian army unprepared because many Belgian soldiers were present in Flandres: apparently a Dutch uprising had took place.
In the north, opposite Lilla, General Hubert Pierlot assembled an infantry battalion and two artillery batteries. In the south, around Namur, Aloïs Biebuyck, a veteran of the Great War, gathered a group of about four infantry battalions and several artillery batteries. In the Nord, opposite the passive, but threatening Lilla – Lens front where the French rebels, alongside British volunteers, maintained an infantry brigade, Hubert Pierlot assembled a third Belgian concentration. To the rear, a cavalry group and some tanks were thrown together at Maubeuge, and artillery detachments readied at Tournai, Mons and Charleroi. However the British could move fast enough to catch the Belgians un-guarded
Wallonian rebel troops advanced quickly into the South of the country, which surprised both Belgium and France. Despite the confusion caused by the hurried mobilization and acute shortage of officers, the Belgian force in Huy had coalesced enough to attempt a counter-attack by the next day. This was largely due to a Belgian general, Auguste Gilliaert, who had taken over command from Pierlot and begun to get a better grip on the situation. Because they were based on a widely available civilian truck, spares were soon found to repair five of the sabotaged Vickers T-15 light tank, and they reached Aywaille at 05:30 on 24 March. Their crews had been replaced by scratch teams of Belgian signallers from other technical armed forces.
The Slovaks decided to counter-attack in Wallonia where the most advanced Wallonians outpost was known to be the nearest to Bruxelles. The road-bound armoured cars engaged the Wallonian pocket from the front whilst Belgian infantry worked round their flanks. The Wallonians would, after being outnumbered, perform guerrilla warfare in nearby forests.
The armoured cars continued down the road a little past Aywaille whilst the Belgian infantry fanned out and began to deploy on a front on either side of them, between Durbuy and Aywaille. The infantry first came under British artillery fire during the occupation of Durbuy. At 23:00 a general attack was launched on the main Wallonian line at Spa. The Wallonian response was fierce and effective. The Belgians had advanced across open ground when they were attacked by Wallonian guerrilla, who decimated the enemy soldiers. And there were British too.
One armoured car was hit in the engine and had to be withdrawn, while a second was knocked out in the middle of the road by a 37mm anti-tank cannon. The raw infantry, unfamiliar with their new officers, first went to ground and then began to retreat, which soon turned into a panic that for some could not be stopped before Aywaille. The armoured cars covered the retreating infantry with their machine guns to forestall any possible British pursuit.
Late on 24 March, four more Vickers T-15 light tank and three T-13 tank destroyer and a 37mm anti-tank cannon arrived in Aywaille from the Wallonia line to find total confusion. Early on 25 March they headed westward, sometimes steadying the retreating infantry by firing over their heads, thereby ensuring the reoccupation of everywhere up to the old defensive line, which the Wallonians had not occupied. However, the anti-tank section mistakenly drove past the knocked-out armoured car and ran straight into the Wallonia line, where it was captured.
By now, elements of the rebel Wallonia army supported by British tanks and volunteers had begun to reach Aywailler, and British general John Vereker planned a major attack for noon, to be spearheaded by the newly arrived tanks and armoured cars. The Wallonians obtained a large victory on Namur, and were close to Bruxelles until an ultimatum was sent.

T-13 tank destroyer in Aywailler
On April 7 1939, a treaty was signed in Bruxelles after Degrelle apparent suicide in his home after receiving news of the success of the Wallonian rebels: there, there were prominent candidates of the German empire, the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the French Commune and the UBSR. Other members from other countries came to the meeting to discuss the partition of Belgium, ending the Century long Belgian independance. In the treaty of Bruxelles:
-France would recover the land lost to the Belgians during the Rif war
-Wallonia is ceded to the French commune, forming the Wallonian Socialist Republic(République Socialiste Wallonne)
-The Flandres are ceded to the Netherlands
-An independent Belgian state was formed in Bruxelles, but would be a puppet state of the UBSR under the command of Julien Lahaut and would be named Bruxelles's People's Republic(BPR)
-Uganda was ceded to the German empire, becoming part of the German Congo(Deutscher Kongo)
-Kenya was ceded to the Kingdom of Italy, becoming part of Italian East Africa(Africa Orientale Italiana)
-French occupation of Wallonia would be the last territorial aquisition of the Communational. Any other territorial occupation would mean war against the Central Powers

The Benelux after the partition of Belgium

Belgian colonies afte the partition of Belgium
For the French Commune, the return of Pais de Calais was a great victory which further strengthed the people. The French believed that the time for the French revenge against the Central Powers was near, and with the British, they believed than that would be possible. However, on the other side of Europe, a powerhouse was planning and pondering, preparing for his next move. The Nasist Russian government, much to all of the world's dismay, started to become closer and closer to the Communational. Relations with the Ottoman empire and the Chinese Republic were strenghted, with the creation of the Stal'noy dogovor(Steel Pact) or in short Stalovor pact. However, there were also talks for a possible collaboration with the UBSR and Russia for the elimination of the Central Powers and the American pact in exchange of a world ruled by the Stalovor Pact(sometimes called the "Axis Powers") and the Communational.
From April to July 1937, British and Russian officials made statements regarding the potential for the beginning of political negotiations, while no actual negotiations took place during that time period. "The Union of the British Socialist Republics had wanted good relations with Russia for years and was happy to see that feeling finally reciprocated" says historian Gerhard L. Weinberg. The ensuing discussion of a potential political deal between Russia and the Britain had to be channeled into the framework of economic negotiations between the two countries, because close military and diplomatic connections, as was the case before the mid-1930s, had been largely severed. In May, Stalin replaced his Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov, who was regarded as pro-American and who was also Jewish, with Vyacheslav Molotov, allowing the Nasists more latitude in discussions with more parties, not only with the Ottomans and China.
On early August, Russia and the British worked out the last details of their economic deal, and started to discuss a political alliance. They explained to each other the reasons for their foreign policy hostility in the 1930s, finding common ground in the anti-capitalism of both countries.
On August 19, the 1939 Russian–British Commercial and Military Agreement, often called the Snowden-Stalin pact or Molotov-Allen pact( which were the names of the Nasist and British foreign ministers, Vyacheslav Molotov for Russia and Clifford Allen for Britain) was finally signed. On 21 August Stalin received assurance that Britain would approve secret protocols to the proposed non-aggression pact. On top of that, talks for Russian support of the UBSR in wars were confirmed, and the feeling was reciprocal.
And the next target would not be in Europe, to the surprise of many. Soon, the world was divided in four main alliances:
-The Central Powers[German empire(, Kingdom of Netherlands, United States of Greater Austria, Kingdom of Italy, Poland, Belarus, United States of the Baltics, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Albania, Finland, Kingdom of Iberia, Empire of Japan, Kingdom of Siam, Afghanistan)
-The American Pact(USA, Mexico, Venezuela, United States of South America or United States of Latin America, Equador, Chile, Argentina, Canada)
-The Stalovor Pact(Nasist Russia or Vtoraya imperiya, Ottoman empire, Chinese Republic, Metarxist Greece)
-The Communational(Union of the British Socialists Republic, Bruxelle's People's Republic, French Commune, People's Republic of Central America, Colombia)
It seemed like the lesson of the Great War wasn't enough. As a matter of fact, the next conflict is gonna be huge.
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

The invasion of Afghanistan: the second round begins
After Britain consolidation of the Indo-Pakistanian Socialist Republic, the British were keen to recover land from Afghanistan, who humiliated them in the Third Anglo-Afghan war. On top of that, with Britan increasing interests in Asia, they wanted Afghanistan as a launching point for the support of rebel forces in Nasist Russia, but the latter was largely ignored now after the signing of the Molotov-Allen pact, it would seem like a conflict between the two nations, even despite their ideological differences, would be unlikely. On top of that, under the British and Russian vision, it was more likely to partition the country, with the Indo-Pakistanian Socialist Republic taking the Pakistanian-Iranian lands of Afghanistan, and Russia taking the rest. Russia, under the controll of Stalin, had adopted the ideal of Zhiznennoye Prostranstvo(Living Space), which was the expansion of Russia on the expense of several Asiatic and even European lands by either direct annexation or the creation of client states. Talks with the possibility of the reintegration of Pakistan to the UBSR were held, but after the partition of Belgium, the Central Powers threatened that any other territorial change in favor of a Communational member would mean war, and this time they weren't joking. Germany and all the other Central Powers had solid economies and powerful militaries. Britan was no longer the queen of the seas, beaten in Asia by Japan, in the Mediterranean by Italy and in the rest by the Germans. However, the Nasists have proven to be an harder cookie to bite down, and the Molotov-Allen pact likely pointed out for a combined Communational-Nasist action, meaning Russia was likely to enter the war.
On a speech in Tajikistan, in Dushanbe, Stalin delivered a speech to its military: "The object of the war is … physically to destroy the enemy. That is why I have prepared, for the moment only in Asia, my 'Death's Head' formations(Golovnyye Ubory Smerti in Russian, or GUS) with orders to kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of Afghan descent or language. Only in this way can we obtain the living space we need." The existence of the GUS was secret to the Chinese government in order to maintain the alliance together. Several border incidents with the British and the Afghans would occur in the meantime, with the Afghans defending and the British attacking.
After the various attacks, Britain sent an Ultimatum to the Afghans, ordering to cede the Pakistanian lands, althought they could keep their Iranian lands to be connected to the sea. In respone, King Mohammed Zahir Shah ordered full mobilization to the defense against the British, while also keeping a detachment in the Nord against the Russian. A major Afghan attack in Amritsar leaded to the UBSR to declare war on the Afghans, alongside Russia. In full response, the various members of the Central Powers, with the exception of Bulgaria, declared on the two nations. Both the members of the Communational and the Stalovor Pact were pressured by the Russians and the British to remain neutral at the moment, hoping for a quick war that would end after the fall of Afghanistan.
The Second Great War, or World War 2 in short, has begun.

Afghanistan on the onset of WW2
Following several other incidents in the border with the British and the Russians, the first regular act of war took place on 1 September 1939. At 04:45, the British HMS Centurion opened fire on the Afghan military transit depot at Karachi. However, in many places Russian units crossed the Afghan border even before 04.45 and the Vozdushnoye Oruzhiye, Nasist airforce, attacked Pol-e Khomri around 04.40. At 08:00, Russian troops—still without a formal declaration of war issued—attacked near the Afghan village of Andkhoy. The Battle of the Border had begun. Later that day, the Russians attacked on Afghanistan northern border, while Russian aircraft began raids on Afghan cities. The main axis of attack led southwards from Russia through the Nordern Afghan border, manly taking advantage of several vallies in the region. Supporting attacks came from Turkmenistan in the north, and a second British attack from India was issued.
Germany, Austria, Romania, the Baltic, Ukraine and Belarus all launched an offensive against Russia, while the Siamese attacked in India. The objective was clear: to knock out of the war Russia and Britain as soon as possible. Major offensives included the conquest of Kramators'k, where a major German victory occurred. Siam, however, was blocked by a combined Indo-British army in Ranchi. Trenches would be built there, and small attacks occurred. This proned the British and the Russians to accellerate the process of conquest of Afghanistan.

Russian tanks in Afghanistan
Russia attacked from three directions on land. Mikhail Frunze led 20 divisions that entered the Shighnan region, and met a second force heading to Kabul from Turkestan. Aleksei Gutor 35 divisions attacked Nord-East Afghanistan. By 3 September, when Frunze in the north had reached the Morghab River and Gutor was approaching Herat, Mikhail Amelin armor was already beyond Pol-e Khomri; two days later, his left wing was well to the rear of Na`man and his right wing at the town of Warsaj. On 7 September the defenders of Bagram had fallen back only to be rallied against Russian tank thrusts. The right wing of the Afghan had been hammered back from the south because of the British. At one stage in the struggle the Afghans were driven from Multan and the British threatened to turn the Afghan flank and thrust on to the Hindu, taking over Pakistan. Multan, however, was regained in the face of withering British fire. Many British tanks were captured after a British attack pierced the line but the Afghan defenders outflanked them. By 8 September, one of Hira Lal Atal armored corps reached the outskirts of Islamabad. Light divisions on Atal right were between Islamabad and the town of Srinagar by 9 September while the Nasists—in the Nord—were on the mountains near Kabul. At the same time, Yevgeni Iskritsky led his 3rd Army tanks across Marjah, attacking the line of the Musaquara River. All the Russian armies made progress in fulfilling their parts of the conquest of Afghanistan. The Afghan armies were splitting up into uncoordinated fragments, some of which were retreating while others were launching disjointed attacks on the nearest Russian columns.
Afghans forces abandoned the regions of Pakistan, Takhar and others in the first week. The Afghan plan for border defence was proven a dismal failure. The Russian and British advance as a whole were not slowed. On 10 September, the Afghan commander-in-chief—Marshal Daanish Nik—ordered a general retreat to the mountains. Meanwhile, the Russians were tightening their encirclement of the Afghan forces outside of the mountains of Afghanistan. Kabul—under heavy aerial bombardment since the first hours of the war—was attacked on 9 September and was put under siege on 13 September. Around that time, advanced Russian forces also reached the city of Kandahar, a major metropolis in Afghanistan. 1,150 Russian aircraft bombed Kabul on 24 September.
Afghan forces performed guerrilla tactics in the mountains, but soon, Kabul would fall. Then, the Russians would advance Southward to connect forces with the British in India. The Russo-British army met on the city of Chaman, where the border was established.
With the Afghans out of the war, it was time to deal with the Central Powers, who still continued the fight.

The partition of Afghanistan
Before the Russians could sent reinforcements, the Central Powers were still advancing in the West.
On 18 September, at around 17:00, Mikhail Kovalyov received reports of Central Power forces approaching from Narva. They consisted of armoured scouts of Germany, Baltic and Austria which had engaged Russian infantry units on their approach. Kovalyov then ordered all units to fall back toward Saint Petersbourg, while several White Army soldiers, as the most experienced, were to protect the retreat. Lieutenant Colonel Nicolas Voigt was dispatched to inform the Germans that Russian forces did not intend to defend Kingisepp. The Russians would, however, still send soldiers to defend the region.
The first Central Power attack on the evening of the 18 September was repulsed by the Russian defenders. Subsequently the Central Powers continued to push into Saint Petersbourg. By the end of the day the Germans had secured the area and made several thrusts into the region, taking the Sosnovyj Bor.
By the morning of 19 September the advanced German armoured units had been reinforced with infantry and cavalry. The Russian defenders delayed the German advance, particularly by holding the bridges, but later that day the poorly coordinated Russian defence collapsed and the Germans were at the outskirt of Saint Petersbourg.
On 20 September, the tanks of the German 27th Light Tank Brigade of the 15th Tank Corps reached Smolensk's outskirts. The German forces however had weaker tanks, which helped the Russians.
The Germans tried to seize the city from the south. However, the initial assault was repelled. In the early morning of 21 September, the defenders were joined by several Russian soldiers from Afghanistan. After two days of heavy fighting, often in close quarters, much of the city centre was destroyed by German artillery. Seeing no chance for further defence, on 22 September the remainder of the Russian forces withdrew towards the centre of Russia. Stalin approved, as he wanted to allow the Central Powers to get further into Russia, attracking them into a trap.
A battle would occur on Kaluga that would change the situation of the war (up to now). The Russian forces were marching in two columns. In the early morning of 28 September the northern column reached the forests near the city of Kozel'sk while the southern column reached the forests east of Kaluga. Russian reconnaissance reported that the town of Kaluga was occupied by Romanian infantry and tanks. Then, general Iwan Russijanow ordered an attack
At 8 o'clock in the morning the Russian tank unit started a direct assault on Romanian positions. The Romanians were unable to maintain their position, and were quickly encircled by the Russian forces.

Russian troops in Kaluga
Soon, to the surprise of the Central Powers, their offensive in Russia stopped. As a matter of fact, the Russians didn't seem that damaged. It was there that, in the future, the Central Powers would have realized the true power of Nasist Russia.
Under the words of Erwin Rommel, commander of the German forces in Russia: "We planned everything. We planned that we would have to fight a rebellous slavic nation. We planned that maybe we would have fought in the winter. Up to now, we believed that we were fighting Russia, a giant made of clay, to which if you kicked the door hard enough, it would collapse immediately. But this was not the case. We weren't fighting Russia. We were fighting the Nasists, a whole different level of army. That, was our greatest mistake: believing that it would be the Great War all over again."
The Central Powers were blocked on the outskirt of Stalingrad, near the Caucauses, where trenches were built. Russians wouldn't even bother advancing at the moment, focusing on the next move.
This next war would be indeed bloody. But trench will not be the right adgective when describing it.
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

Operation Catherine: the Bear versus the Whooper swan, the White-throated dipper and the moose
After the Central Powers advance in Eastern Europe and Siberia were stopped by the Russians, Stalin believed that it was time to react. However, he was first hoping for a peaceful solution, alongside the UBSR. The Peace treaty would solely be the partition of Afghanistan and the Central Powers retreat from their military occupied territories. The Kaiser proudly refused, claiming that, "If we give the Russians and British a victory here, first it will be Afghanistan, then the rest of us. Since the day our alliance had been signed, not a single time we let one of our allies down, no matter if European or Asian alike. We did not leave Siam alone against the French, we are not going to let the Afghans alone this time."
Before launching a massive offensive against its enemies, however, Stalin wanted to avoid the mistakes of the Great War. First, he made sure that its weapons were equal, if not superior, to the Central Powers. Then, he made sure that the people would not desert like in World War 1; because he was so loved by the Russians, who would rather die then surrendering to the Central Powers, he was sure than mutinity would be rare. Then, he wanted to make sure to have controll of the third point: being able to resupply with the British: a war with the Communational was not took in place at the moment. Instead, Stalin decided to use them as a temporal ally until the Central Powers were finished. However, in order to supply with the British, he needed the sea. The Central Powers easily powned the Russians in the sea, and not even the British had an easy time against them. This is no longer WW1 for the British, but it is for the Russians, as the Baltic sea was blocked by the German navy. Because of this, Stalin ordered for the planning of a Russian invasion of Scandinavia, conquering Finland, Sweden and Norway. Both of them had various strategic values: Finland was a nationalist victory, as it would mean the return of lands that once belonged to the Russian empire, Sweden for its iron ore deposits, and Norway to supply with the British. Afraid of Russia intervention in Scandinavia, the Germans decided to send an expeditionary force called Skandinavien-Korps under the command of Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, a veteran of the Great War in Finland. On the other hand, Kirill Meretskov commanded the Russian forces against the Scandinavians. The plan was carefully planned, and the Russians started the operation in 1940, with the invasion of Finland.

A group of Finnish soldiers in snowsuits manning a heavy machine gun in a foxhole
The first clash between the Finnish Army and the invading forces occurred at Raivola, where a Finnish anti-tank platoon armed with two 20 mm guns and a light machine gun had taken up positions covering the road. A Russian column appeared at 04:50, and the 20mm cannons opened fire on the armoured cars while the machine gun took aim at the motorcyclists. A fire started in a nearby barn, filling the air with smoke and hindering the Russians' advance. Eventually the anti-tank platoon was forced to withdraw to Smolyachkovo. A bit to the Nord a bicycle platoon had prepared a defence of a railway bridge. Fire from the armoured cars and strafing fighter aircraft forced the Fins to retreat, and a third of the men were captured. The Russians lost two armoured cars and three motorcycles, while the Finns suffered one dead and one wounded.
Another Russian column reached Losevo a few miles east of Smolyachkovo at 05:30. They also encountered a roadblock made with farm equipment, set up only 20 minutes before by 34 Finns soldiers. The Finns knocked out the three leading armoured cars, forcing them to pull back. The Russians set up a 37 mm gun 300 meters away, but it only managed to fire one round before being knocked out by two rounds from a 20mm gun. Hand-to hand combat ensued in which one Finn was killed and three wounded, one fatally. With air support, the 100 or so Russians managed to surround and capture the Finn unit at 06:15.
Seven kilometers north of Smolyachkovo, one motorcycle and two bicycle platoons arrived at Viipuri at around 05:00. Under Lieutenant colonel Paavo Talvela the motorcycle troops set up a roadblock with two 20 mm guns while the remaining platoons spread themselves out in the woods. A Russian column arrived at 06:30. Their tanks pushed the roadblock aside and opened fire. One gun returned fire until a tank drove over it. The gunner attempted to run for cover in the woods but was killed when a Russian aircraft strafed the road. The second gun malfunctioned. The Finns tried to escape on motorcycles but the Russians then surrounded them with armoured vehicles and captured them. A further four Finns soldiers were wounded, while one Russian armored car was damaged.

Finnish POW in Viipuri
In an encounter between Finns and Russian forces at Zarechnyy, in the central border, a Russian vanguard of four armoured cars approached the village. The Finns arrived at 6:30 AM. Not even having time to build a roadblock, they took cover in a garden and opened fire. A machine gun and a 20 mm cannon manned by one and a half platoons fired warning shots. Ignored by the Russians, the Finns then opened fire from 300 meters out, knocking out the lead armoured car and killing its driver. A short skirmish followed. The Finns knocked out three more Russian armoured cars and suffered four casualties. At 07:15 a reinforcing Russian motorized column arrived from behind the village, cutting the Finns off and forcing them to surrender. Two Finns were killed and five were wounded.
A platoon from Zarechnyy arrived at Kostamus at 6:45, occupying the town. However, they were surprised by the Finns, who captured weapons and even a tank. As the Finnish forces at Raate army camp were preparing to pull back north to Sampio where the main force of the Central Finnish Division, alongside several German Skandinavien-Korps, was preparing for battle, a short skirmish developed at Saapaskoski as the anti-tank platoon from the forests attacked the 15 or so pursuing Russian vehicles. After disabling a Russian tank, the rearguard pulled back to Sampio.
Sampio had a garrison of 225 men of the Central Finnish Division under Aaro Pajari, which defended both the barracks in the town and the road leading into it. Troops in the town mobilized at 07:00 upon hearing instructions that were broadcast from police loudspeaker vans. Bolstered by retreating units, there was an approximate total of 400 Finns defending the town. Three roadblocks were set up; one consisted of dumping wagons, two were made of spare lumber.
At about 07:50 the southern outskirts of Sampio, a Finnish 37 mm anti-tank gun with a crew of five attacked the approaching armour. Two tanks lined up adjacent to one another and opened fire. The Finns landed all three of their shots -one in a tank's tracks- but two of the gun crew were killed and the rest wounded. One tank then drove over the gun. Just around the bend the wagon roadblock on the main street covered by two 20 mm cannon and a machine gun put up resistance. The Russians laid down heavy fire and a Finnish soldier was killed and two more wounded, but the Russians were effectively pinned down. In the end, however, the Russians managed to advance, conquering the city.
A second offensive in the South ensued. At Hamina, a Finnish 20 mm gun crew knocked out two Russians armoured cars of the Russian 11th Motorized Regiment before pulling back. At Kotka, a Finnish anti-tank unit consisting of fewer than 50 men set up a defensive position with a 20 mm gun on a road. When a force of the Russian 11th Motorized Regiment approached, the Finns opened fire as soon as the first Russian armoured car came within range. The first vehicle was knocked out and ended up in a ditch, while the next continued forward, but pulled back after being hit. It was hit several more times, but was able to fire back. Russian infantry attempted twice to outflank the Finnish positions, but both attempts were met with heavy fire and they became bogged down, as the Finns also had the advantage of the forests. Seeing that his attack was failing, the Russian regimental commander radioed for support. Three Russians Kharkiv KhAI-5 aircraft soon appeared. The aircraft bombed and strafed the Finnish force, until the Finnish commander ordered his troops to fall back to Pyhtää.

Burning T-26 after the battle of Kotla
After the various land battles against the Finns in the border, the Russians were hoping to attack them from behind their lines.
At approximately 05:00 the first attack in the world made by paratroopers took place. 96 Vozdušno-desantnye vojska jumped from nine Antonov A-7 transport aircraft to secure the Finnish islands in the Gulf of Finland and a possible landing spot for Helsinki. The Russians expected heavy fighting in the islands, but much to the surprise of the elite troops, only two privates and an officer were found inside. The landing opened the way for a battalion of the 198. Infantry-Division to wait for the Russians transports.
Two hours later, a platoon of paratroopers from the 4th battalion of Vozdušno-desantnye vojska regiment I landed in the vicinity of Esboo, near the capital, in order to secure the main military target in the entire Operation Catherine South West: Helsinki. The Vozdušno-desantnye vojska did not encounter any resistance and in less than an hour, Russian aircraft began to land on the runways in huge numbers. More than 200 landings and take-offs were recorded on the first day. However, as the day progressed, they failed to take the city and remained entrenched and poorly supplied.
In order to secure the victory of the paratroopers, the Voyennyy Morskoy Flot Nasistskoy Rossii (VMFNR) landed more troops from the 198th Infantry Division at Esboo. At the same time troops landed in Kirkkonummi and Valko. The troops in Kirkkonummi met no resistance and hurried towards Helsinki. Which was captured. After that, a major force was sent to secure the rest of the country, which was unable to put a serious fight, but would put a fierce guerrilla warfare. The road was clear for Sweden and Norway.

Russian troops attacking a burning Swedish village
After the appointment of Gottfrid Björck as Commanding General on 10 April, the Swedish strategy was to fight delaying actions against the Russian advancing South from the Finnish border to link up with the invasion forces at Luleå, where the Russians had landed. The main aim of the Swedish-Norwegian effort in Eastern Sweden was to give the Central Powers time to send reinforcements, and start a counter-offensive against the Russian main force in Scandinavia. The region surrounding Gällivare was defended by the 1st Division, commanded by Major General Thord Bonde. The rest of the region was covered by the 2nd Norwegian Division, commanded by Major General Otto Ruge. This was the first time Norwegians and Swedish fought together since a long time. Having been prevented from mobilizing in an orderly fashion by the Russian invasion, improvised Swedish units were sent into action against the Germans. Several of the units facing the Russian advance were led by officers especially selected by Bonde to replace commanders who had failed to show sufficient initiative and aggression in the early days of the campaign. The Russian offensive aimed at linking up their forces in Luleå began on 14 April, with an advance north toward the costal city. Kalix was the first town to fall to the advancing Russian forces. North of Kalix the Russians began meeting Swedish resistance, first delaying actions and later units fighting organized defensive actions. During intense fighting with heavy casualties on both sides, troops of the Swedish Infantry Regiment 6, reinforced by Finnish soldiers who escaped the invasion of the Nasists, blunted the Russian advance at the village of Råneå on 15 April. The Russians only broke through the Swedish lines at Råneå the next day after employing tanks.
The costal cities of Skellefteå and Byske were captured by the Russians on 9 April. Some 2,000 Russians soldiers occupied Skellefteå and captured the Swedish arms depots there. The small Swedish-Norwegian infantry forces in Skellefteå retreated southwards, blowing up two railway bridges and sections of road after them. Despite the loss of the cities, General William Steffens ordered a total mobilization. During mid-April the 6,000-strong Norwegian 4th Division was mobilized around the town of Vindeln.
After troops of the more northerly 5th Division had covered the Russian landings, Steffens planned an offensive aimed to repulse and encyrcle the Russians. To achieve this aim the 4th Division had a total mobilized force of 6,361 soldiers and 554 horses. General Steffens' plans were made redundant when General Ruge on 16 April ordered most of the division's forces to be redeployed to Storuman, in order to protect Norway from the Russians. The focus of the remaining forces in Sweden became to prevent the Russians from advancing from the areas around southern Sweden. Norwegian naval forces, organized into three regional commands by Admiral Tank-Nielsen, prevented Russians intrusions into Gävle. In total the Royal Norwegian Navy fielded some 17–18 warships and five to six aircraft in the region following the Russian capture of Skellefteå. After the Russian airforce, now renamed Voyenno-Vozdushnyye Sily (VVS), bombed and severely damaged Söderhamn and the surrounding countryside on 23–25 April, inflicting civilian casualties, the Russians captured the town on 26 April.
Following the fall of Söderhamn, General Steffens evacuated the remains of his forces southward, toward Stockholm. He set up his own headquarters at the capital and prepared for the further defence of it with the combined German, Swedish and Norwegian forces. A ferocious fight ensued, but resulted in a Russian victory, who had took controll of Sweden. Norway was the last objective.

Russian bombing of Skellefteå
In Norway the Norwegian 6th division, commanded by General Carl Gustav Fleischer, faced the Russian invasion forces at Kongsvinger. Following the Russian invasion General Fleischer assumed the position of commander-in-chief of all Norwegian forces in Norway. The Norwegian counter-offensive against the Russians at Kongsvinger was hampered by Fleischer's decision to retain significant forces in the coast in order to protect themselves from a British landing.
The Central Power forces, composed by Germans and Dutch soldiers, helped consideraly in the defence. The Central Powers still ruled the seas, but the Russians could supply the invasion from land.
Major battles occurred in the region ending in a Russian victory, but Oslo still stood against the Russians.
As part of the Central Powers counter-offensive in Norway, Dutch forces made an amphibious landing at Fredrikstad on 13 May. The naval gunfire from supporting Central Powers warships destroyed most of the village and killed 14 civilians before the Russians were dislodged from Fredrikstad.
While the Norwegian and Central Powers forces were advancing at Jessheim, Russian forces were moving swiftly northwards in Hamar to relieve Valerian Frolov besieged troops. The captured of various air stations was rapidly expanded and improved to provide the VVS with a base from which to support the Southern sector. As the Russian forces moved northwards, they also gained control of the basic facilities to support their bomber operations.
In late April, ten Independent Companies had been formed in Germany, commanded by Friedrich Eickhorn. On 2 May, four of these companies were formed into "Scissorsforce", under Eickhorn, and dispatched to forestall the Russians at Gjøvik, Jessheim and Lillehammer. Although they ambushed the leading Russian units south of Lillehammer they were outmatched by the Russian main body and were withdrawn to Gjøvik, which was to be defended by the 24th Guards Brigade.
In the evening of 27 May Oslo was bombed and strafed by the VVS. The bombing raid destroyed the recently constructed improvised airstrip, the radio station and 420 of the town's 760 buildings, killing 15 people and leaving a further 5,000 homeless in the process.
Eickhorn's force was evacuated from Oslo from 30 May to 2 June. During these three days, low cloud prevented the VVS interfering. The improvised air strip which had been hit during the 27 May air raid fell into Russian hands, providing the Russians with an air base much closer to the fighting, and was of great significance for their continued advance toward the city.
On 28 May, two Dutch and one Norwegian battalion attacked and recaptured Halden from the Russians. To the south of the city Afghan forces, who escaped the Russo-British invasion and reached Italian East Africa, advanced eastwards along the Swedish coast. Other Norwegian troops were pushing the Russians back towards the Swedish border near Kongsvinger. But then, a powerful surprise lowblow caused the retreat of Central Powers troops from Scandinavia, causing Norway to capitulate to the much superior Russian forces.

Dutch and Norwegian ski troops, probably on the Glåma front
On 10 May 1940, the Ottoman empire, the Republic of China and Metarxist Greece entered the war against the Central Powers, causing the general panic in the frontlines. As this wasn't enough, the French Commune, the Republic of Ireland, Columbia and the People's Republic of Central America too entered the was against the Central Powers. Stalin's trap succeded: he wanted the Central Powers to maintain several troops in either Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, India and Siberia in order to deal a devastating blow to the Central Powers with its various allies. The war was already quite big on its own, but now, it would be truly worldwide.

Map of the world, 1940
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

Operation Napoleon and Operation Alexander: the rooster and the bear prepares their attacks
With Scandinavia now in Russia controll and the possibility to exchange war materials to the British, the Russians planned for the invasion of the Central Powers forces in Eastern Europe and Siberia. He prepared tanks, planes and soldiers for a massive offensive against their enemies, who were desperately sending several troops and equipment in other fronts: in the French front the Germans, in the Balkan front the Italians, Albanians and Austrians, in the Nord African front the Italians and Iberians, and the Chinese front the Japanese, who could also count on the German-Italian troops in their possessions in China. Stalin codename for the invasion of Eastern Europe was Operation Alexander (Operatsiya Aleksandr), in honor of Alexander I, the man who stopped Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812. He knew that, however, he had to make careful moves: the Central Powers had considerable weapons too: the German Panzer III could easily compete against the recently created Nasist T-30, for example. However, Stalin could count on many men, powerful weapons and good generals, and up to now, he seemed to have learned from the mistakes of the Great War.
However, he was doubtful of the helpness of the French for such war: barely one year before, France was in a bloody civil war that costed the deaths of 500,000 French men and women, and several cities did not recover from the blow. However, he was confident on his British allies in at least maintaing the line well protected, giving the Russians the time necessary for the invasion. The Communational in general wasn't as strong as Nasist Russia regarding armoured forces, but could compete regarding aereal power and naval capacities, and Stalin did not complain that much. He knew that he had also one of the few advantages Russia had in the Great War: now, Germany was stuck on a two front war.

Elements of the German 3rd Panzer Army retreating for the defense of the fatherland against the French
On the morning of 10 May 1940 the Dutch awoke to the sound of aircraft engines roaring in the sky. The Communational had commenced operation Cas Jaune and attacked the Netherlands without a declaration of war given before hostilities; Germany was already at war.
In the night the Armée de l'Air violated Dutch airspace. One wing, Groupement de Bombardement No.6, traversed it and then disappeared to the east, giving the Dutch the illusion that the operation was directed at Germany. But then it turned to the west again to stage a surprise attack on the Dutch airfields, together with the other wings. Led by René Mouchotte, it hit the naval airfield at De Kooy, destroying 35 aircraft, most of them trainers. Mouchotte himself was shot down and spent five days as a Dutch prisoner of war. The squadron also hit Amsterdam-Schiphol, where the Dutch lost a third of their medium bombers, and The Hague airfields where the squadron destroyed half of the 21 defending fighters to assist No. 1 Group of the Red Air Force (RAF) and No. 2 Group RAF in attacks upon ports and communications. Group 2 lost 11 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers in total on 10 May and three Blackburn Roc; Group 1 and Groupement de Bombardement No.6 another nine bombers. Group 3 and Group 4 shot down 25 Dutch aircraft in aerial combat for a loss of nine fighters, with David Coke in total claiming 41. The Dutch were left with just 70 aircraft by the end of the day. They claimed most of the French aircraft destroyed on 10 May. Spread out over Dutch territory, they continued to engage the Communational airforce where possible, claiming 13 victories over Communational fighter aircraft by 14 May.
Immediately after the bombardments, between 04:30 and 05:00 local time, paratroopers were landed near the airfields. Dutch anti-aircraft batteries shot down numerous Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle transport planes of the RAF. British Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle losses in the entire battle amounted to about 250, representing 50% of the fleet's strength.
The attack on The Hague ended in operational failure. The paratroopers were unable to capture the main airfield at Ypenburg in time for the airborne infantry to land safely in their Albemarle. Though one armoured car had been damaged by a bomb, the other five Landsverks, assisted by machine gun emplacements, destroyed the eighteen Albemarle of the first two waves, killing many occupants. When the airstrip was blocked by wrecks the remaining waves aborted the landing and tried to find alternatives, often putting down their teams in meadows or on the beach, thus dispersing the troops. The small auxiliary airfield of Ockenburg was only lightly defended, and fell at once to British attack. The airfield of Valkenburg was likewise quickly occupied, the morale of the defenders shaken by the bombardment. However, the landing strip was still under construction and the ground water level had not yet been lowered: planes landing there sank away in the soft soil. None of the airfields were thus capable of receiving substantial reinforcements. In the end the paratroopers occupied Ypenburg but failed to advance into The Hague, their route blocked by hastily assembled Dutch troops. Early in the afternoon they were dispersed by fire from three Dutch artillery batteries. Dutch batteries likewise drove away the British occupants from the other two fields, the remnant airborne troops taking refuge in nearby villages and mansions.
The attack on Rotterdam was much more successful. Twelve Consolidated PBY Catalina seaplanes, crowded with two platoons of troops, landed in the heart of the city and unloaded assault teams that captured the Willemsbrug, a bridge over the Nieuwe Maas, to form a bridgehead. At the same time the military airfield of Waalhaven, positioned south of the city on the island of IJsselmonde, was attacked by airborne forces. Here an infantry battalion was stationed, but so close to the airfield that the paratroopers landed near its positions. A confused fight followed. The first wave of fighters suffered no losses and the transports continued to land. In the end the Dutch defenders were overwhelmed. The British troops, steadily growing in numbers, began to move to the east to occupy IJsselmonde and eventually made contact with the paratroopers tasked with occupying the vital bridge at Dordrecht. Although the Royal Netherlands Navy intervened—the torpedo boats attacked the Willemsbrug and later the destroyer HNLMS Van Galen sailed up the Nieuwe Waterweg to bombard the airfield at short range—this only resulted in the Van Galen foundering after being bombed. A plan to commit the gunboats HNLMS Flores and HNLMS Johan Maurits van Nassau was therefore abandoned. At the Island of Dordrecht the Dordrecht bridge was captured but in the city itself the garrison held out. The long Moerdijk bridges over the broad Hollands Diep estuary connecting the island to North Brabant province were captured and a bridgehead fortified on the southern side.
The French, executing a plan approved by Thorez, tried to capture the IJssel and Maas bridges intact, using commando teams of Parisiens that began to infiltrate over the Dutch border ahead of the main advance, with some troops arriving on the evening of 9 May. During the night of 10 May they approached the bridges: several teams had a few men dressed as Dutch military police pretending to bring in a group of French prisoners, to fool the Dutch detonation teams. Some of these "military policemen" were real Dutchmen, members of the Dutch Communist Party. Most of these attempts failed and the bridges were blown, on two occasions with Parisiens and all. The main exception was the Gennep railway bridge. Immediately an armoured train crossed it followed by a troop train, both driving right through the Peel-Raam Position at Mill and unloading an infantry battalion behind the defence line.
The Dutch released reports of French soldiers in disguise to the international news agencies. This caused a fifth column scare. However, unlike the situation later on in those two countries, in the Netherlands there was no mass exodus of civilian refugees, clogging the roads. Generally French soldiers behaved in a civilised manner towards the Dutch population, forming neat queues at the shops to buy goods rationed in France, such as chocolate.
After the generally failed assaults on the bridges, the French divisions began crossing attempts over the rivers Mosa. The first waves typically were destroyed, due to insufficient preparatory fire on the pillboxes. At most places a secondary bombardment destroyed the pillboxes and the infantry divisions crossed the river after building pontoon bridges; but at some, as Kesselt, the attempt was aborted.
Even before the armoured train arrived, 3rd Army Corps had already been planned to be withdrawn from behind the Maastricht Position, taking with it all the artillery apart. Each of its six regiments was to leave a battalion behind to serve as a covering force, together with fourteen "border battalions". The group was called the "Peel Division". This withdrawal was originally planned for the first night after the invasion, under cover of darkness, but due to the rapid French advance an immediate retreat was ordered at 06:45, to avoid 3rd Army Corps becoming entangled with enemy troops. The corps joined "Brigade G", six battalions already occupying the Geleen line, and was thus brought up to strength again. It would see no further fighting.
The Light Division, based at Antwerpen, was the only manoeuvre force the Dutch Army possessed. Its planned withdrawal had been similarly executed a day early. Its regiments had biked over the Mosa bridges and then turned left through old Netherland when it was decided in the afternoon to let it counterattack the French airborne landing on Breda.
Meanwhile, on the evening of the 10th, around 22:00, German reconnaissance elements using Kfz 13 armoured cars had started to arrive at the Dutch border, forming a vanguard for the German 1st Mechanised Light Division. This division operated, with the 25. motorisierte Infanteriedivision on its left, on the northern flank of the German 7th Army; its mission was to ensure contact between Germany and the Netherlands. Attempts to co-ordinate the German advance with Colonel Leonard Johannes Schmidt, the military commander of the Dutch troops on Tilburg-Eindhoven, were largely unsuccessful as, apart from the fact he could not be reached that day, Dutch defences there were already collapsing. At Breda, 256. British infantry division at first could not exploit the opportunity offered by having a battalion in the back of the defenders because it failed to locate it. When a first attack by forward elements had been repulsed, a full assault at the Main Defense Line was initially postponed to the next day because most artillery had not yet passed the single pontoon bridge over the Mosa, which had caused a traffic jam after having been damaged by an incident. In the early evening in a sudden change of plans it was decided to attack even though artillery support was absent apart from one 105 mm battery. An unrequested RAF attack that also happened to hit the Breda sector just prior to the advance routed some Dutch defenders, creating a weak section in the line from which the Dutch troops were dislodged. Though the French were slow to exploit the breakthrough, Colonel Schmidt at 20:30 ordered the Tilburg-Eindhoven Position to be abandoned and his troops to fall back to the east improvising a new line at Nimega.
In the North, by the end of the day, 1. the French cavalry division had reached the line at Den Bosch, delayed by logistical problems and Dutch demolition teams blowing up 236 bridges. Dutch troop strength in that area was weak.

French paratroopers landing in the Netherlands, 1940
Meanwhile, on 21 May, at 13:00 Army Group North received the codeword indicating operation Alexander would commence the next morning, and passed down its own codeword. At around 03:15 on 22 June 1941, Russia commenced the invasion of Eastern europe with the bombing of major cities in Ukraine, the Baltic, Belarus, Romania and Poland, and an artillery barrage on German, Austrian and Romanian defences on the entire front. Air-raids were conducted as far as Warsaw, Chișinău in Bessarabia, and Košice in Slovakia. Meanwhile, ground troops crossed the border, accompanied in some locales by Lithuanian and Ukrainian fifth columnists. Roughly three million soldiers of the Russian army went into action.
With the French advancing in the Lowlands and the Russians pushing in Eastern Europe, the situation looked grim.
In Russia, on the morning of 22 May, Stalin announced the invasion to the waking nation in a radio broadcast: "At this moment a march is taking place that, for its extent, compares with the greatest the world has ever seen. I have decided today to place the fate and future of the Empire and our people in the hands of our soldiers. May God aid us, especially in this fight!". The dark part of the war has started.
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Nurhaci]

At last,a new World War start.To the honest,endless colonial war make me some boring(exception the animals)

And to my own interest,can you make a list for Navy of Great Powers in 1940?

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

At last,a new World War start.To the honest,endless colonial war make me some boring(exception the animals)

And to my own interest,can you make a list for Navy of Great Powers in 1940?

Wow. It has been a while since the last comment. Well, tomorrow I shall answer your question, but for many ships, no drawing, because they did not exist in our timeline.

 

[Tarabas]

I only now realized that I am a long time lurker on this thread. Not a major comment, maybe, but to start I would like to express my appreciation of this timeline. Loving the idea and the details, especially on the military development side. Just a question: TTL general attitude of the CP towards the Nasist/Communational expansion pre-breaking of war mirrors a lot OTL apathy of the Western Democracies towards Nazi Germany (the failure of the Stresa Front being a remarkable if somewhat underestimated example. So, my question is, why is that so? Or am I misinterpreting? Because my intuition suggested a less lenient behavior.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

I only now realized that I am a long time lurker on this thread. Not a major comment, maybe, but to start I would like to express my appreciation of this timeline. Loving the idea and the details, especially on the military development side. Just a question: TTL general attitude of the CP towards the Nasist/Communational expansion pre-breaking of war mirrors a lot OTL apathy of the Western Democracies towards Nazi Germany (the failure of the Stresa Front being a remarkable if somewhat underestimated example. So, my question is, why is that so? Or am I misinterpreting? Because my intuition suggested a less lenient behavior.

Well, to be frank, the Central Powers did not bother that much up to now: unlike our timeline, the League of Nation was never created, hence why both Italy and Romania are able to invade Ethiopia and Liberia and just get away with it (even IOTL Italy was put on economic sanctions for the invasion). While the Central Powers have signed an alliance to protect themselves and accept new members, but generally they did not give a flying fuck about the rest of the world.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

Navies of the giants:
Under the suggestion of Nurhaci, here are the number of ships of the various major powers in the war (most specifically, the ones involved in the conflict in 1940):
Germany: 9 battleships, 4 carriers, 35 cruisers, 95 destroyers, 25 submarines.
Italy: 8 battleships, 1 carrier, 30 cruisers, 77 destroyers, 16 submarines.
United States of Greater Austria: 6 battleships, 21 torpedo boats, 33 destroyers, 16 cruisers, 21 submarines, 4 vessels, 3 Gunboats, 2 Minelayers.
Kingdom of Iberia: 4 Battleships, 10 cruisers, 37 destroyers, 36 submarines.
Empire of Japan: 5 Battleships, 2 carriers, 30 cruisers, 80 destroyers, 20 submarines.
Siam: 3 Battleships, 29 cruisers, 70 destroyers, 15 submarines.
Nasist Russia: 2 battleships (the most famous one being the Stalin battleship, the Bismark of this timeline), 20 cruisers, 50 destroyers, 1 carrier, 50 submarines.
Ottoman empire: 4 battleships, 2 carriers, 15 cruisers, 55 destroyers, 20 submarines.
Chinese Republic: 3 battleships, 30 cruisers, 40 destroyers, 20 submarines.
Union of the British Socialist Republic: 4 battleships, 2 carriers, 24 cruisers, 84 destroyers, 50 submarines.
French Commune: 2 battleship, 15 cruisers, 56 destroyers, 34 submarines

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

The Burma campaign: the lion attacks the elephant
With China's entrance in the conflict on the side of Russia and, undirectly, on the side of the UBSR, Siam was forced on a two front war against both China and the IPSR. The Japanese army was present to give support, but their objective was the protection of Siberia, Manchuria and the Pacific from the enemies, especially the British in the seas. As such, several troops had been diverted from the Burmese front in order to defend against the Chinese army, partially supported by the Nasists regarding weapons and even entire armies. This was the perfect opportunity for the British to attack the Siamese and, under their eyes, having revenge against them since the days of the Great War.

The Burmese front before any kind of operation
The 17th Siamese Division held at Subarnnarekhha River for two days of close-quarters jungle fighting, while also supported by elephants. The British tactics were to outflank, and eventually with encirclement imminent, Aditya Dibabha came up from Calcutta and gave Charun Rattanakun Seriroengrit permission to fall back. The 17th Division disengaged under cover of darkness and began a 30-mile (48 km) retreat along the dusty track to the Howrah Bridge.
21 May dawned bright and hot, and the 17th Division was short of water. British aircraft strafed and bombed them on the road, inflicting serious casualties and forcing them to abandon vehicles, injuried elephants and equipment. Many men took cover in a nearby rubber plantation. At 05:00, the 17th Division's headquarters came under attack at Howrah, but the British were beaten back. A small Siamese Burmese force made up of detachments from several different units (including the King's Guard Regiment) defended the bridge, but 16th Burmese Infantry Brigade and 46th Burmese Infantry Brigade of the 17th Division were still further to the west, cut off.
Fearing paratroop landings, Seriroengrit deployed the 1/4th Sharchops to the eastern end of the bridge to hold it against attacks from the rear while the 17th Division crossed. He was obliged to send them back again when the British attacked from the east. Their first charge nearly took the west end of the bridge, and a number of Burmese medics were captured or killed. 3rd and 5th Sharchops, approaching the bridge from the west, were driven off in "a furious battle".
Jungle fighting at close quarters ensued, which lasted most of the day. The bridge was again nearly taken, and the attackers again beaten off. At dusk on 22 May, the Siamese Burmese Army still held the bridge.
Seriroengrit had ordered his sappers to get ready to blow the bridge. In the early morning on 22 May, it became clear that it might fall within the hour. Seriroengrit's choices were to destroy the bridge, stranding more than half of his own troops on the wrong side, or to let it stand and give the British a clear march to Calcutta. He decided the bridge must be destroyed, and at 05:30 on 22 Seriroengrit, this was done.
Seriroengrit reported this "unpleasant and devastating news" to Prince Dibabha, overall commander of the Burmese forces. Rama VIII says: "It is easy to criticize this decision; it is not easy to make such a decision. Only those who have been faced with the immediate choice of similar grim alternatives can understand the weight of decision that presses on a commander." However, despite the bridge having been destroyed, the British still entered Calcutta.

Howrah bridge, long before the conflict even began
While the British were advancing from the west, the Chinese were attacking from the Nord. "B" Squadron of the 7th Cavalry division, Phin Choonhavan commanding, arrived in the city of Luzhou to find the Chinese already there. Visibility was poor, and radio communication difficult. After a brief infantry engagement, the Type 83 light tanks (Type 95 Ha-Go in Thai Service) opened fire, destroying two Type 26 Chinese tanks. A confused battle ensued, in which two more Type 26s were destroyed, another Type 26 was abandoned by its crew, and four Chinese anti-tank guns captured. Then the order came for the Siamese to move to Chongqing. The Chinese had erected a roadblock, and they defended it with molotov cocktails, knocking out one of the Type 95. In the end, they were forced to retreat in the face of heavy fire from the tanks. However, the majority of the soldiers refused to surrender. It was also there that the very first Wànsuì charge: a suicidial human wave attack where, in several examples, was solely performed with Dao swords. The name Wànsuì charge came from the battlecry used by the Chinese when performing said charge: "Jiǎngjièshí bìxià wànsuì", Long live its majesty Chiang, in reference of Chiang Kai-shek, the so called "Saviour of China(Zhōngguó jiù zhǔ) thanks to his job in securing the nation and modernizing it against the Western Imperialists, while also allowing for China's unification after the warlord era.

Chinese troops preparing for a Wànsuì charge
On April 8, the Chinese 11th Independent Mixed Brigade, commanded by Gen. Tang Enbo, began their attack on the left flank of the 13th Corps position at Nanchang, but were thwarted after three days by the difficult terrain and the stubborn resistance of the Siamese. A new attack on April 11, supported by tanks and aircraft, took Nanchang Station, after which Gen. Enbo's brigade advanced on Ji'an.
That same day, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the activation of the 14th Army Group (10th, 83rd, and 85th Divisions) under Gen. Wei Li-huang. Elements of the 14th Army Group were sent on a ten-day march through the region in a flanking movement in support of Tang Enbo's forces. The Chinese 1st Army made attacks on the Siamese forces in Canton (by passing in the HKSR) and Ningde to distract them, and sent a detachment to Chongqing to cover the advance of 14th Army Group. The strategy was successull, with the Siamese army being pushed back.
On April 12, Tang Enbo's army attacked, surrounding the Siamese and cutting them off from their supplies and communications.
On April 16, Enbo arrived at Nanning and began an enveloping attack on the right flank of 13th Corps, making a five pronged attack at Qinzhou. Soon, the Siamese army in Guandon was cut off, harrassed by the British, who had conquered Macao.

Chinese Type-26, used in the conflict
The situation was grave: the combined Siamese-Japanese forces were being pushed back in all fronts, with the Chinese being able to deal devastating blows on their own. However, one of the most feared of the troops in China weren't Chinese, but rather the Russians themselves: in order to give support in Manchuria, a specialized corp was created, the Aziatskiy korpus (Asian corps) under the command of Aleksandr Vasilevsky, the Manchurian bear as he was called by the Japanese.
Up to now, this seemed like another victory for the Nasists and the British.
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.

 

[Antonio Ferrari]

Operarion Alexander first major successes: the bear counterattacks
After having basically succeded in communicating with the British with the conquest of Scandinavia, and the arrival of the rest of the Axis and Communational members, Stalin believed that a massive offensive against the now semi-disorganized Central Power army was in order. The Central Powers commando was scambling for the defence of the West from the British, who now had a new spearhead in Europe. On top of that, French operations in the front have showed that they can still put up a fight despite having passed throught a civil war in 1937. This was great news for the Natsistskaya armiya, the Nasist Army (NA in short). In a short ammount of time, the Russians were able to basically send the Central Powers armies in the original border area with the exception of Ukraine, who still owned some land. The first major operation in the Eastern front, as it was called by the Germans, had begun. Operation Alexander begun.

The Eastern Front, up to now
One of the first offensive of the Nasist was in the conquest of Vicebsk. The city had no warning when the Nasist invaded on 22 May 1940 as the main commando believed in an offensive in Ukraine, and it became the site of the first major fighting between German-Belarusian forces and the NA. The attack started with a 29-minute shelling with artillery and Katjuša by the Russian NA (accordingly to the words of general Fritz Schlieper, "How those hitted us its a mystery). The initial artillery fire took the unprepared fortress by surprise, inflicting heavy material and personnel casualties. The first Russian assault groups crossed the Daugava river four minutes after the bombardment had started; the surprised German-Belarusian defenders were unable to form a solid front and instead defended isolated strongpoints–the most important of which was the city itself. Some managed to escape the city; most were trapped inside by the encircling Russian forces. Despite having the advantage of surprise, the subsequent attempt by the Russians to take the city with infantry quickly stalled with high losses: about 281 NA soldiers died the first day in the fighting for the city. Heavy fighting continued two more days. In the evening of May 24, 1941, some 368 Russians were dead and 4-5,000 Wehrmacht and Belarusian forces were held captive. On May 25 and May 26, 1940, local fighting continued mainly in the citadel. In the evening of May 26, 1940, most of the city, except the other side, which was defended by a river, was in Nasist hands.

Map showing Nasist operations in Vitebsk
Regarding the fighting around the other side of the river, the commander of the 45th Infantry Division, General Pyotr Gavrilov, wrote to the High Command in his detailed report: "It was impossible to advance here with only infantry at our disposal because the highly-organised rifle and machine-gun fire from the deep gun emplacements and horse-shoe-shaped yard cut down anyone who approached. There was only one solution - to force the Germans and Belarusians to capitulate through hunger and thirst. We were ready to use any means available to exhaust them... Our offers to give themselves up were unsuccessful...”. Although the German and Belarusian soldiers in the opening hours of the battle were stunned by the surprise attack, outnumbered, short of supplies, and cut off from the outside world, many of them held out much longer than the Russians expected. The Russians deployed various powerful guns, Katyusha rocket launcher, and resorted to flame throwers. The civilians inside the fortress tended the wounded, reloaded the machine-gun drums and belts with cartridges, and even took up rifles to help defend the fortress. Children brought ammunition and food supplies from half-destroyed supply depots, scavenged weapons, and watched enemy movements.
Ivan Zubachyov wrote in his detailed report that:"the 81st Combat Engineer Battalion was given the task of blowing up a building on Yur'yeva Gorka ... in order to put an end to the German flanking fire on Pakroŭskaja. Explosives were lowered from the roof of the building towards the windows, then the fuses were lit. When they exploded, we could hear the German and Belarusian soldiers screaming and groaning, but they continued to fight.".
Chaplain Andrej Kižavataŭ wrote:"We only gradually managed to take one defensive position after another as a result of stubborn fighting. The garrison of the so-called "Officers' House" on Yur'yeva Gorka only ceased to exist with the building itself ... The resistance continued until the walls of the building were destroyed and razed to the ground by more powerful explosions". As the West side of the city could not be taken by infantry, the VVS bombed it twice on May 29 and forced its approximately 360 defenders to surrender.

Russian soldiers inspecting the eastern part of the town
After having tasted the first major victory against the Germans in Vicebsk, the Russians started for the massive offensive of Minsk, the capital of Belarus. On top of that, Minsk was a key strategic railway junction and a defensive position of the main road and rail communications with Berlin.
Also caught in the Russian operation was part of the 11th Army of the Northeastern Front. In the north, 3rd Tank Group attacked, cutting off the 11th Army from Belarusian Front, and crossed the Svislach River. The Tank Groups' objectives were to meet west of Minsk and prevent any Wehrmacht withdrawal from the encirclement. Operating with the Tank Groups to encircle the German forces, the 9th Army and 4th Army cut into the salient, beginning to encircle German Armies around Barauliany. On 23 June, the German 10th Army attempted a counter-attack in accordance with pre-war planning, but failed to achieve its goals. On 24 June, General Fedor von Bock ordered his operations officer, General Otto von Brandenstein, to take charge of the 6th and 11th Mechanized and the 6th Cavalry Corps for a counter-attack towards Zavodskij Raën to prevent the encirclement of Wehrmacht formations near Mink. This attack failed with heavy losses, although it may have allowed some units to escape the eastern encirclement towards Minsk.
In the evening of 25 June, the Russian XLVII Tank Corps cut between Kalodziščy and Privol'nyy, forcing von Bock to order the withdrawal of all troops in the salient to avoid encirclement. Most formations could not break contact with the Russians, and due to the loss of fuel and transport assets those who could break out, had to withdraw on foot. This withdrawal opened the southern approaches of Minsk.
The pincer of Vladimir Boyarsky's 2nd Tank Group and Ivan Kalmykov's 3rd Tank Group closed west of Minsk. On 28 June, the 9th and 4th Russian Armies linked up east of Central'nyj Raën splitting the encircled German forces into two pockets: a smaller Moskovskij Raën pocket containing the Belarusian 10th Army and a larger Zavodskij Raën pocket containing the 3rd and 13th German Armies. On 26 April Minsk, the capital of Belarus, fell to the VS.
A second Wehrmacht counter-attack by the 20th Mechanized Corps and 4th Airborne Corps failed to breach the encirclement as well, and by 30 June the pocket was completely closed. The Russian forces surrounded and eventually destroyed or took prisoner most of the German 3rd and 10th, 13th Armies and part of the 4th Army, in total about 20 divisions, while the remainder of the 4th Army fell back eastwards towards the Peretut River.
The VVS 2 helped destroy part of the Luftwaffe in the Western Front. Some 1,669 German aircraft had been destroyed. The VVS lost 276 as destroyed and an additional 208 damaged.

German-Belarusian soldiers march into captivity in Minsk on 2 July 1940
While the Russians were advancing in Belarus, the Baltic weren't safe.
The principal Baltic-German formations of the operation were the Northeastern Front and the Baltic Fleet, with the major ground forces consisting of the 8th (commander General Major Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb), 11th (commander General Hugo Kauler) and later 27th Armies.
The operation was conducted after the forces of the Baltic Special Military District were alerted in the morning of 22 May 1941 following a surprise attack by the Russian VA Army Group North which consisted of the 18th, 16th Field Armies and the 4th Tank Group, and elements of the 3rd Tank Group, supported by the VVS 1.
On 22 May, the German 8th Army was positioned in northern Estonia opposed by the Russian 18th Army. The German 11th Army defended the rest of the Estonian border with Saint Petersbourg outblast and sought to contain the attacks of the Russian 16th Army and the 4th Tank Group.
While the German 8th Army retreated along the Rakvere–Tapa–Tartu–Võru–Elva direction, the German 11th Army sought to initially hold the Pärnu–Tallinn sector of the front, but was forced to retreat along the Valga–Valmiera–Gulbene direction. These withdrawals, although costly in losses of personnel and materiel, avoided major encirclements experienced by the Fronts to the nord, and succeeded in delaying the Army Group North sufficiently to allow preparation for the defence of Lithuania and, in extreme, Prussia.

Russian advance in the Baltics. Black dots are main battles
With the Germans being slowly pushed back from eastern Europe, and the French advancing in the West, the situation looked grim. Several German politicians sought for the end of hostilities between the Nasists and the Central Powers, as they did not mind having a close Nasist ally: after, all, it was not Germany sole fascist ally, as they pointed to the Kaiser that Italy had been a Fascist dictatorship long before Stalin's rise in power in Russia. However, a tragic event occurred. Not in Germany, but would still shock the entirety of the Central Powers. On July 05 1940, the British RAF launched a massive air raid in the city of Rome, one of the biggest so far. Mussolini's wife, Rachele Mussolini, was nearly killed in the bombing, losing an arm and an eye. However, the biggest damage she received was psychological, as her youngest son, Romano Mussolini, was killed by the bombing. The death of the dictator youngest son caused the outrage of the man, the country of Italy, and the entirety of the Central Powers. Criticism of the act could be also heard in America, as Roosevelt, the man who once criticized Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, was in full support of the Italian people.
It was also for this terrible occasion that one of Mussolini's most famous speech, the Darkest Hour speech, occurred in Palazzo Venezia:
"Even though large tracts of Eastern Europe have fallen or may fall into the grip of the NKVD and all the odious apparatus of Nasist rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in Germany, we shall fight in the alps, we shall fight in Italy, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our peninsula, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; but Rome will not fall!"
Mussolini's speech was boardcasted in all the nations allied to the Central Powers, translated in their national language. Mussolini strenght and enphasis in the speech made it one of the most famous on the planet, accepted in all of Italy. It was said that in the city of Fiumicino, a city near Rome, it could be head the sound of the people's cheering on Mussolini speech. Wherever it was true or not, it was said that the people of Rome had never been so excited by one of "Il Duce"'s speech. And the Italians maintained their word, alongside the rest of the Central Powers: they were not willing to surrender.

The masses of Rome listening to Mussolini's Darkest Hour speech in Palazzo Venezia
I hope you guys like this new update! Be sure to like(if you like it), comment(please comment so I can learn what your opinion is) and.....follow I guess.