Before the Storm – Europe
Germany
During the chancellorship of von Papen, the German military modified its defensive fortifications on its border with France. Known as the Ludendorff Line, it stretched from the Swiss border, through Alsace Lorraine and Luxembourg all the way to the Meuse River. Consisting of bunkers, pillboxes, obstacles, tunnels, and tank traps, the Ludendorff line was designed to slow down a hypothetical French invasion for the army to mobilize. There had been plans to extend the fortifications beyond the Meuse but were scrapped due to budget costs although construction had begun on building fortifications along the Rhine.
A bunker along the Ludendorff Line, 1940
Italy
In 1940, Italy was at the top of her game. Under Mussolini, the country acquired new territory and became a respected regional power. Though it lost the war in Spain, it learned some valuable lessons from its volunteers sent there. Having lost 2 wars previously in 1896 and 1918, il Duce knew that his military needed a complete rehaul. By 1940, the army reforms were still underway although changes have been made.
Danubian Federation
As the continuation of the Hapsburg Empire in all but name, the federation continued in its drive of establishing a union of equals for all the ethnicities within it. Separate states were created according to ethnic boundaries while the federal government in Vienna maintained control over national affairs. Despite its lofty goals, the states became a blueprint for nationalist groups in their attempt to take power while being hampered by the security services.
Romania
Ever since its defeat in the Great War, Romania was a country in chaos. Widespread revanchism and anger at the failure of the government to achieve the national dream, combined with an economic slump due to the failed war effort coupled with failing cereal prices and a worsening rural situation led to a widespread feeling of ennui combined with anger, eventually leading to a meteoric rise in support for previously-fringe ultranationalist parties and movements. Initially, the first among these seemed to be the LANC (National-Christian Defense League), but a defector, the young and charismatic Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, started to gain more and more adepts, managing to more efficiently channel the desire for union and vengeance towards a greater desire for national rebirth, embodied within his movement: The Legion of the Archangel Michael, also known popularly as the Legionary Movement.
The Legion’s popularity steadily rose over the years until King Carol II was eventually forced to appoint Codreanu as the new PM. Once the Legion was in power, they began enacting their policies which included anti-Semitic and anti-Hungarian laws designed to force them out of the country.
Corneliu Codreanu, Căpitanul of Romania
Greece
Having been humiliated in the war, Greece lost blood, land, and treasure from the Central Powers. Venizelos was forced out and the deposed king restored to the throne. Aside from the territorial loss, Austria and Germany both put high war debts upon Greece. King Alexander would try to negotiate these debts by allowing German and Austrian companies to unrestrained access to the Greek economy. When this only made things worse, he fled the country as the Second Hellenic Republic was declared.
Alas, this new government was not to be, as years of failed governments and endless successions of coups plagued the nation. This would continue until General Georgios Kondylis would seize control of the country and declare himself the regent of Greece in 1926. He intended his regency to be permanent, as both former King Alexander and Prince George (King Constantine had died in exile in 1923) were still exiled. Kondylis would be overthrown and executed in 1931, and the Third Hellenic Republic was declared. The first elections of the new republic would see the center-left New Liberal Union as the most dominant political party in the coalition government under the new Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou.
This government would soon be short-lived as it was forced to hand over the island of Corfu and the Ionian islands to Italy. For the next few days, riots broke out in Athens over this humiliation. This undoubtedly fueled the rise of nationalist movements that had the potential of overthrowing the government.
Serbia
Having been blamed for starting the Great War, the Serbs suffered the most under the Austrian yoke. The Obrenovic dynasty was brought back to power with Mirko Dimitri Petrovic-Njegos becoming Mirko I of Serbia. Compared to 1914, Serbia had shrunken considerably and Austrian troops occupied the country. That changed with the Great Depression as they were forced to pull their troops back home.
Throughout the years of Mirko and the regency of Mihailo I, Serbia was an unstable country under an authoritarian and autocratic regime. In time, nationalist and communist groups were gaining traction and would regularly challenge the government. One of the biggest groups were the Chetniks, a nationalist organization that had been called a terrorist group by the government.