The German Century

[Joriz Castillo]

A Place in the Sun ​

It was over. The carnage was finally over.

The German Empire and its allies had come out on top against some of the most powerful nations in the world. Despite having large empires behind their back, the British and French were beaten into seeking negotiations while their Russian ally collapsed into civil war. It was clear to everyone that size doesn’t matter.

Across Germany, people celebrated their victory with fireworks and ticker tape. Military parades were conducted and the marching bands played iconic songs. At the royal palace, the Kaiser and his family waived in front of a gigantic crowd. All across the frontlines, Germans, Austro-Hungarians, Swedes, Bulgarians, and Turks celebrated with joy with the end of the fighting and dying. Everyone was just lucky they were alive.

German soldiers parading in Berlin, 1919​

In the other victorious nations of the Central Powers, the same story was repeating. For the Ottomans, they no longer felt they were the sick man any longer. For the Swedes, their country had come out of its neutrality bubble and took revenge against its old enemy. For the Bulgarians, their country had achieved national glory and were confident they would regain its lost territories from the Balkan wars. Finally, for Austria, victory had strengthened the unity of the various ethnic groups under the Hapsburg crown.
With victory finally realized, the German government decides that the peace negotiations should take place in Berlin with Central Powers dictating terms. To make sure this succeeds, the Germans decide to make separate peace treaties with each Allied nation.

As Wilhelm looked on to the fireworks lighting up the dark sky, he knew that his father would've been proud of him.

***​

Munich, Bavaria

With the war over, Adolf Hitler now thought of what he should do next. Should he continue his architectural job? Perhaps follow his interest in politics? Only in the beer halls was where he could find his future. When he went there, he drank and chilled. For now, he must continue his life just as before. But he and many veterans would soon find out that was easier said and done.

The only thing he needed to do right now was to find a job.

 

[Joriz Castillo]

The Potsdam Peace Conference
​

With the war finally over, the Central Powers’ representatives gathered together in Berlin. Their goal was to create a new world order in which they were the masters. Fortunately, the Germans had already planned their terms since the beginning. Using the listed goals of the Septemberprogramm, the Germans were ready to present their terms to the Allied delegates. Austria, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman empire also drew up their terms, for they had desired territorial ambitions and settling old scores.

In June 1919, the Allied delegates arrived. They were housed in various hotels across the city. Once they settled down, negotiations started. Unlike the other delegates, the French weren’t allowed to negotiate directly. They were only allowed to respond in writing. For the delegates themselves, they started fearing the worst.

Romania
The first country that was to be dealt with was Romania. While it had already signed a treaty in 1918 where they both lost and gained land, there were a few loose ends that needed to be tied up. This time, around the issue of northern Dobruja. While the southern part had been annexed by Bulgaria, the rest were administered in a condominium by the Central Powers. Now was the time to settle the issue once and for all.

In the resulting treaty of Charlottenburg, the territory of Northern Dobruja was to be annexed by Bulgaria. She was also required to pay war reparations to each of the victorious nations. The passes of the Carpathian Mountains would be assigned to Austria-Hungary, allowing for an invasion to be easier should the two be at war in the future.

Though it wouldn’t be a puppet state, Germany would have considerable political influence over the country. German civil servants would be stationed in Romania and be given the power to veto any decisions made by the Romanian cabinet. They’d also be able to fire Romanian civil servants at will and would oversee every Romanian ministry allowing Germany to keep a close watch on the political situation within the country. Despite this, the country would be part of the Austro-Hungarian sphere as long as German economic and material interests were guaranteed.

But more importantly for Berlin, the Romanians would also be forced to lease their oil wells to Germany for 90 years through 2 companies. This would give Germany access to Romanian oil until 2008, To secure transport, Romanian shipyards were put under German control. Austria-Hungary and Germany also signed a law of control of navigation on the Danube River which flowed from Alsace-Lorraine to the Black Sea.

Despite all this, the Romanians did gain territory even though they lost. As part of the treaty, the Central Powers accepted Romanian right to control the former Russian territory of Bessarabia. However, they would provide no military support forcing Romania to stake its territorial claims on its own. This would prevent Romania from becoming landlocked by Bulgaria by giving it access to the Black Sea.

The treaty was signed by Alexandru Marghiloman, a pro-German Prime Minister appointed by King Ferdinand.

Northern Dobruja (Beige) would later be ceded to Bulgaria​

Serbia
The second nation to be dealt with, was the country that started this whole mess: Serbia. For Austria and Bulgaria, they wanted revenge for whatever injustices the country had inflicted upon them from assassinating heir to the thrones or taking rightful territory.

In the resulting treaty, Serbia was to cede Vardar Macedonia and all lands east of the Morava river, including the city of Nis, to Bulgaria. Whatever was left of the shrunken country would be turned into an Austrian puppet with the Obrenovic dynasty back on the throne.

Greece
The third country to suffer a similar fate is Greece. As punishment for joining the Entente, Greek Macedonia was ceded to Bulgaria while the Eastern Sporades and Eastern Aegean islands were handed over to the Ottomans. Among the annexed areas was the city of Thessaloniki, now renamed Salun. The island of Crete was to be leased to Germany as they desired a naval base in the Mediterranean.

The Greek army and navy were severely curtailed and its air force was dissolved. Whatever large ships the Greeks had were to be turned over to the Bulgarians.

Italy
With the 3 smaller nations dealt with, the Central Powers were preparing to present terms to the Italians. Even though it was part of the Triple Alliance at the beginning, Italy had switched sides to gain more Italian lands. For the Austrians and Germans, the announcement was seen as a backstabbing betrayal for which there must be punishment. And a huge punishment was what they were about to get.

In the peace treaty, Italy’s army was to be reduced to just 75,000 men. They were banned from having an air force and all their dreadnoughts were to be handed over to Austria. Also, the provinces of Lombardy and Venetia were declared demilitarized zones where Italian troops were forbidden from being stationed there except the Austrians. In the Aegean, the Dodecanese islands were handed over to the Ottomans. They were to also pay huge war reparations which would be used for paying off debts and allocating veterans’ pensions.

But there was one thing the Central Powers couldn't decide on: What to do with their colonies?

For starters, the Italians had only held on to the coastal cities while the rest of the land was controlled by the Senussi tribes. Despite that, the leader of the Senussi had signed a peace treaty with the Entente and never resumed fighting again. Thus, the idea of an independent Libya was not on the table. But on the other hand, the Ottomans didn’t have the capabilities to take over Libya at this time.

In East Africa, nobody wanted Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. While there had been hopes of Abyssinia joining the war against Italy, it didn’t materialize due to empress Zewditu’s coup. Therefore, the Central Powers had no options but to let Italy retain her African colonies.

France
It was now France's turn to take the blows. As it was previously mentioned, the French weren't allowed to negotiate verbally and could only reply through writing a response. With that disadvantage, the Germana drew up hard terms designed to cripple France's war-making capabilities.

In the treaty of Potsdam, France was to cede the western slopes of the Vosges region, the iron mines of Briey-Longwy & the land of Arlon. All fortresses on its western frontiers were to be destroyed. Calais would become a German naval base putting them within only 32 kilometers of striking distance on Britain.

Its army was reduced to 100,000 men, the navy was to be reduced in tonnage and personnel and were banned from having an air force. It was to pay 10 billion German marks as a war indemnity, with further payments to cover veteran’s funds and to pay off all of Germany’s existing national debt as well as sign a trade agreement putting France in economic dependence on Germany. All of this was to prevent French rearmament and make the French economy dependent on Germany, and end trade with the British Empire thus ending a continental European threat towards the Reich.

In the colonial game, France was to cede the following colonies:

• Guangzhouwan
• Indochina
• Ivory Coast
• French Dahomey
• Gabon
• French Congo
• Ubangi-Shari
• French Somaliland
• Madagascar
• The Comoros Islands
• Reunion Island
• French Pondicherry
• Wallis and Futuna
• New Hebrides Islands
• New Caledonia
• French Polynesia

In the case of Morocco, the French protectorate status was to end and the country becoming independent again. This time, the Germans would help the Moroccans in modernizing the country up to western standards.

An Artificial End
Belgium was completely at the mercy of the Germans. It had refused to let their troops through their territory, forcing an invasion. Now it was going to pay a heavy price for rejection.

Belgium would hand over control over all Belgian railways, military and naval bases and Belgium would not be allowed to have a standing army. The cities of Liège and Verviers would be annexed into Prussia with Antwerp and the Flemish coast being put under German administration giving it a better outlet into the Atlantic. The Belgian province of Luxembourg, as mentioned, would be reintegrated into Luxembourg and thus into Germany. Belgium would be territorially compensated through the France cession of a strip of territory running from Dunkirk to Boulogne-sur-Mer.

To make things worse, Belgium was forced to hand over the Congo colony to Germany. The two ports of Oostende and Zeebrugge were to become German naval bases.

Plans for Belgium would be guided by German Flamenpolitik “Flemish Policy”. The Flemish policy was used to exploit the linguistic divisions of Belgium between the Dutch-speaking Flemish in the West and the French-speaking Walloons in the East by discriminating towards the Flemish. Under this policy, the Germans supported various Flemish autonomist movements, sponsored the Dutchification of the University of Ghent and intensified relations with the neighboring Netherlands.

By March of 1917, Belgium had been split into two administrative areas: Flanders and Wallonia with capitols in Brussels and Namur respectively. By decree of January 3, 1915, the French city of Fumay and the surrounding region which had a Walloon minority was annexed into Wallonia. Under the leadership of the Raad van Vlaanderen “Council of Flanders” a German puppet parliament, these administrative areas further kept contact between Flemings and Walloons to a minimum.

The 2 states were to be tied together in the same as Austria-Hungary with a Hohenzollern on the throne. Prince Adalbert of Prussia would take the former Belgian throne and become King of the newly-named 'Flanders-Wallonia'. The new state would become a single but federal kingdom, Adalbert would renounce all rights to the German throne and convert to Catholicism, and the states of Flanders and Wallonia would have a high degree of autonomy.

Adalbert I of Flanders & Wallonia

​

The King of the Ashes
Out of all the major Entente nations, Britain was the only one that didn’t face humiliating terms. While the island was secure, the had lost control of the Suez Canal. Even though they could carry on fighting, the strikes and protests clamoring for peace by 1919 were too great to ignore. Thus, they prepared for what the Germans would demand.

Surprisingly, they were presented with light demands. They were to accept all the previous treaties Germany made with each nation, hand over Kuwait and Cyprus to the Ottomans in exchange for getting the canal back, and were to restore all German colonies to Germany.

Some nations weren’t appreciative of the last part. Japan, South Africa, and Australia had captured some of the German colonies and didn’t like having to give them up. It only took Britain signing the treaty that convinced them to follow suit.

One by one, the Dominions and Allies of Britain signed the treaty. With the peace conference over, hostilities came to an end in November 1919. The war was now officially over.

 

[Joriz Castillo]

The New Order
​

With most nations of the Entente having been dealt with, the Germans now turned their gaze towards Eastern Europe. While the French were fighting their civil war, a bigger and bloodier one was raging across Russia. While the Whites and the Reds tore each other apart, there had been no word as to the whereabouts of the Romanov family. Some speculated they had either fled deep into Siberia or were trying to hide somewhere.

While all of this was going on, a power vacuum was underway across the non-Russian lands. Ukraine, the Baltics, the Caucasus, and Central Asia all rose in rebellion against the dying empire, forming their states. Amongst this chaos, the Germans crafted plans for their sphere of influence in the east.

Poland

In Poland, negotiations were already underway for an independent state. While a provisional government had been set up and a monarchy proclaimed in 1918, a king hadn’t been chosen by 1919. Fearing the whole process was going to take forever, the Germans and Austrians backed their preferred respective candidate: Friedrich Christian of Saxony & Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria.

Ultimately, Charles Stephen won due to him able to speak fluent Polish and two of his daughters were married to Polish princes belonging to the noble houses of Radziwill and Czartoryski. He had gained permission from Kaiser Karl to take the throne and all was set. In 1920, Charles Stephen was crowned as Karol Stefan I of Poland. The Polish nation was back on the map of Europe after more than a century of nonexistence.

Karol Stefan I, King of Poland (1920-1933)
(1860-1933)​

The German Empire, while giving nominal independence to Poland promised to them in exchange for joining the German side against the Russians, would integrate the country into their economic block. The Polish economy was to be dominated by the Germans with Berlin controlling the Polish railway system, shipping on the Vistula, and industrial areas in Dąbrowa basin, Radom and Kielce.

Lithuania

Lithuania was to become an independent monarchy. Originally, it was hoped that the German Kaiser or even his youngest son Joachim would take the crown creating a personal union between Prussia and Lithuania. However, this proposal was blocked by the houses of Saxony and Bavaria who feared further Prussian dominance of the empire. Saxony instead proposed its candidate for the throne.

However, the crown was eventually elected to be given to Wilhelm Karl, the Duke of Urach. Wilhelm seemed to be the perfect candidate due to the fact he was Catholic, not an heir to the throne of Württemberg, had no connections to Poland, and had no close relations to the house of Hohenzollern. He would take the name of Mindaugas II after the first Grand Duke of Lithuania, Mindaugas I.

Mindaugas II, King of Lithuania (1920-1928)
(1864-1928)​

The Kingdom of Lithuania was to include all Lithuania majority territories excluding those in Prussia. As well, it would include the Vilnius region which had a Polish minority in the countryside but a city full of Lithuanians.

The Baltic Region

In the Baltics, the region would be split into 3 puppet states: The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia in western Latvia, In the central region between Northern Latvia and Southern Estonia, Livonia was established. And in the North a smaller Estonia.

However, shortly after the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk, a group of 35 Baltic Germans, 13 Estonians, and 10 Latvians proposed the unification of the 3 states. The United Baltic Duchy would be made up of 7 cantons: Kurland (Courland), Riga, Lettgallen (Latgale), Südlivland (South Livonia), Nordlivland (North Livonia), Ösel (Saaremaa), and Estland (Estonia). The capitol would be Riga.

Duke Adolf Freidrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the former governor of German Togoland in exile since its occupation by the British and French was to be the Duke. However, he wouldn’t be a sovereign monarch but a subordinate to the German Kaiser, similar to other princes of the German Empire.

Adolf Friedrich, Duke of the Baltics (1919-1969)
(1873-1969)​

In most cases, representatives from almost every ideology in Germany demanded the integration of Lithuania and Courland. This was for two reasons. The first was that these territories were directly adjacent to the Reich and the second was that they did not have Russian populations and even enjoyed a local Baltic- German minority. Indeed the Baltic-Germans made up most of the aristocracy and upper class of the region when it was under Russia. As well, Germany had a valid claim to it on historical grounds as the Baltics had once been dominated by the Teutonic Order the predecessor of Prussia.

By favoring the Baltic-Germans and Russian-German colonizers, and displacing local Latvians and Lithuania, the territories of Courland and Lithuania were to be incorporated within the coming decades. After that, the rest of the Duchy would be absorbed.

This process of 'Germanization' would later be enacted only to meet resistance from the local Latvian and Estonian populations who didn't like the idea of being kicked out of their homes and be replaced by German colonists. The plan would eventually fail and the whole process was stopped.

Finland

In Finland, Germany wouldn’t as much have a puppet as it would have a closely aligned nation. In a Friendship Treaty signed between the two nations, Finland was prevented from making any alliances without German consent, could not raise tariffs on German imports, and had to provide military and naval bases for German use. In the case of territory, the country would maintain its old grand duchy borders but would hand over the Aland Islands to Sweden.

Finland would become a monarchy ruled by Prince Carl, Duke of Vastergotland. He would later be crowned in Helsinki as Karl I of Finland with a government led by Juho Kusti Paasikivi.

Karl I, King of Finland (1918-1951)
(1861-1951)
​

White Ruthenia

Belarus was intended to remain a part of Russia under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. However, the Belorussian People’s Republic did end up declaring its independence. Though the Germans refused to recognize it out of fear of reigniting the conflict with the Russians, they saw it as part of the implementation plan of buffer states within Mitteleuropa and started bringing it into its fold.

The Germans pressured the Byelorussians into becoming a monarchy. Once that was done, a regency council was set up where they quickly picked Prince Henry of Prussia. To prepare for his new role, Henry learned Russian and converted to Orthodoxy. He later arrived in Minsk and was crowned Genrikh I of White Ruthenia.

Genrikh I, King of White Ruthenia (1919-1929)
(1862-1929)​

Ukraine

Ukraine had been the site of chaos during the Great War with Anarchists, Bolsheviks, White Russians, Cossacks, and Germans all fighting for control. Each side wanted control of one of the region’s most valuable assets. Grain. Yes, Ukraine was the breadbasket of Europe supplying vital grain to the Central Powers who were suffering under the Entente blockade. This was one of the main reasons why Ukraine was also the site of a quiet internal struggle between the two allies Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Fearing too much German control, Vienna wanted Ukraine to be an independent ally of Austria-Hungary. Thus, they supported Archduke Wilhelm Franz von Habsburg in his effort to become king of Ukraine by helping his efforts to claim popularity among the Ukrainian people and claim the throne under his Ukrainian name ‘Vasyl Vyshyvani’. Vienna was so desperate to get Ukraine on their side and import the vital grain it had that they offered Eastern Galicia in exchange for it.

Vasyl I, King of Ukraine (1919-1948)
(1895-1948)​

Unfortunately for the Austro-Hungarians, though Wilhelm cultivated support from the peasantry he was sidelined by his German-backed competitor who barred him from even entering Kyiv out of fear it would cause a coup. Ukraine would not be under Vienna’s thumb.

Instead, as with most things, Germany would prevail. The Germans supported Pavlo Skoropdskyi who had toppled the Ukrainian People’s Republic in a German-backed coup in 1918 proclaiming Ukraine to be a Hetmanate under his rule though he spoke little Ukranian himself.

Pavlo Skoropadskyi, Hetman of Ukraine (1918-1960)
(1873-1960)​

Unlike other states carved out of Russia which would become German vassals, Ukraine, while being a puppet state, would have higher leeway and independence simply due to its size and resources. With Germany in control of it, Ukraine would become the breadbasket of Mitteleuropa.

Fearing a fallout in relations, the Germans proposed a compromise. Wilhelm would take the throne and become king of Ukraine, but with the support of the German-allied Hetman who would hold incredible civilian and military powers. Thus, Vasyl I was crowned but would rule as a figurehead.

Every Man for Himself

According to the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Russia was to return the territories of Ardahan, Kars, and Batumi which the Ottoman Empire had ceded after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877.

Though Brest-Litovsk ended the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, the battle in the Caucasus would continue between the various factions vying for control of the region. With Russia pulling out of the war and no real power in control of the Caucasus, local politicians opted to proclaim independence as the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic which compromised the territories of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

But with no agreement with Constantinople made, a state of war thus began between Transcaucasia and the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans pushed past the border demarcated in Brest-Litovsk and continued their invasion of the region in a bid to secure it for themselves. This, coupled with the weak foundation of the republic and disunity amongst its peoples caused Transcaucasia to quickly collapse a month after its proclamation. Georgia would declare its independence first followed by Armenia and Azerbaijan.

This did not stop the Ottoman advance, however. As their troops pushed through Georgian and Armenian lines, their territorial claims stretched past the Brest-Litovsk line to include Eastern Georgia and Armenia including Batumi and Alexandropol.

The Caucasus was now in complete disarray as the newly independent Georgia and Armenia fought the Ottoman Empire, Azerbaijan and each other over territorial disputes while Bolshevik forces seized Baku.

Things were further complicated when the Germans entered the fray. Upon declaring independence, Georgia proclaimed itself to be a protectorate of the German Empire causing tension between Berlin and Constantinople as the Ottoman Empire was now technically at war with its allies ally. With a foothold in the Caucasus, Berlin began to formulate plans to seize the precious oil in the region particularly setting their sights on Baku under Bolshevik control since April.

The situation became a race between the two allies to get to Baku first with Germany and Georgia on one side and the Ottoman Empire and Azerbaijan on the other with Armenia caught in the middle. Tensions became critical when German and Ottoman troops shot at each other with Germany threatening to remove its entire military mission from the Ottoman Empire.

The result of this chaos was the Treaty of Batum in June between the Ottoman Empire, Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. Georgia agreed to cede Batum and the area around it to the Ottomans while Armenia ceded parts of Yerevan provinces around Alexandropol. The Ottomans also wanted a railroad to be built to connect Kars and Julfa with Baku. The new Armenian state, through which the transport corridor would run, was to give free right of passage. Over a million and a quarter of Armenians in the ceded territories would be purged in the Armenian genocide.

By the war’s conclusion, the Ottomans would have Azerbaijan under their sphere of influence while the Germans would have Georgia and advantageous rights to the Baku oil fields. Armenia, unfortunately, would have the short end of the stick. Left with no support, the Armenian rump state that would survive would control little more than the region around the capital of Yerevan.

Delusions of Freedom

During the Russian Civil War, Central Asia had become a middle ground between clashing White and Red forces as they attempted to overcome each other and the various independence movements of the region.

In what is now Kazakhstan but was then the Governor-Generalship of the Steppes, pro-White politicians known as the Alash Orda proclaimed the Alash Autonomy in December of 1917. With a capital in Semey, then known as Alash-Kala, the Alash Orda created a Kazakh state which would a brief moment of independence before being consumed by the Soviet armies.

Further South in Turkestan we have the Basmachi Movement. Following the Soviet invasion of Central Asia, the Ulema Jamiati a clerical Muslim group convened the Third Congress of Central Asian Muslims on November 12, 1917. They offered to form a regional council under the Soviets whose seats would be split 50/50 between Muslims and non-Muslims. However, the Soviets rejected this proposal and instead planned to set up a rival government.

So, on November 25, the Ulema Jamiatia called the Fourth Congress of Central Asian Muslims in the city of Kokand. They declared a new Turkestan government independent of Bolshevik Russia and later White Russia. This was the start of the Basmachi movement.

The former Russian Empire protectorates in the Khanate of Khiva and the Emirate of Bukhara would join the Basmachi Movement when their governments were overthrown by the Soviets. The Emir of Bukhara, Mohammed Alim Khan, would take control of the Bukharan Basmachi movement from exile in Afghanistan. He was the last direct descendant of Genghis Khan to lead a nation.

Mohammed Alim Khan, the last Emir of Bukhara
(1880-1944)​

After the conquest of Central Asia was complete, the Basmachi turned towards guerrilla tactics with guns smuggled from the Ottomans through Persia. This went on until the early 1920s when the last of the Basmachi's were crushed by the Soviets.

 

[Joriz Castillo]

The West is Red ​

When France sought an armistice, its army was in disarray. Across the frontlines, vast numbers of men had either simply deserted or mutinied in the name of peace and revolution. Not to mention the fact that the socialist trade unions of the CGT went on strike to force the government to do the inevitable, end the war.

The French Civil War
As France's war with Germany neared its end, a situation arose just like Russia between the 2 revolutions: On one hand, a Soviet-style council based in Toulouse headed by communists and trade unionists, and on the other, the provisional government consisting of Liberals and Socialists based in Lyon. While the French communists gathered whatever disgruntled soldiers, sailors, and workers they found and recruited them for the cause, the same couldn't be said for the government. Whatever guns and vehicles they had stored in their armories were now being broken into and looted by everyone, giving the revolutionaries adequate firepower.

As an armistice was still in effect from November 1918 to October 1919, France was still in a state of war with the central powers and couldn't move their troops from the frontlines for fear of the Germans taking more ground. As a result, the French units that hadn't deserted were still in place instead of being redeployed to fight the rebels. This helps explain why the French revolutionaries were able to take so much ground throughout this brief period.

When a peace treaty was finally signed in October, things came to a head when the Provisional Government attempted to disarm and demobilize the French Army following the conclusion of a truce with the Germans. Fearing the government was attempting to stifle the revolution (the Army was largely supportive of the Left) the Socialist Party began a boycott of the Parliament and declared itself an ally of the CGT, followed thereafter by a number of the more radical Liberals.

With this increase of support, the socialists took more and more territory over a year, even when the French army was finally deployed after signing the peace treaty. By then, it was already too late as the socialists were now armed to the teeth from looting all the armories. Across unoccupied France, socialists battled the government in which there was no mercy for either side.

In the midst of a civil war, gangs of working men and army units sympathetic to the Communist cause began to attack and loot the property of the aristocracy and upper middle classes - seizing land by force and holding the Establishment to account in revolutionary "courts".

The Fall of the Republic
With the Red forces having the upper hand all across the country, the government fell back down towards the Mediterranean coast. As they retreated, they took the country’s entire gold reserves with them. Government officials, senior generals, right-wing politicians, and everybody else who were a potential target for the communists fled as well to the port city of Marseille. From there, they took a boat ride to Algeria with Field Marshall Petain among them.

With nearly all of France had fallen to the communists, the Germans thought of invading the rest of the country to put out the fire. But before that could happen, the revolutionary government recognized the Potsdam treaty, accepting the annexation of the rest of Lorraine, the legitimacy of the new state of Flanders-Wallonia, and agreeing to pay a heavy burden of reparations.

This had saved the revolution from getting crushed by the German boots and allowed the socialists to begin what they had always wanted to do; build a socialist France free from the bourgeoisie.

There now 2 socialist states in the world, both east and west. And the Germans are left with a dilemma: Do they go east or west?

 

[Joriz Castillo]

The Dark Knights ​

Just like her neighbor across the Alps, Italy fell into chaos at the end of the Great War. In a similar fate, a combination of labor strikes and disintegration of the army forced the government to sue for peace. The entry into the war was unpopular in the first place and defeat made things much worse.

The House of Savoy, fearing a possible civil war, went into action. King Emmanuel went to the north of the country and visited both soldiers and civilians, greatly fixing his image among the people. He had come to despise what he called an 'inefficient political bourgeoisie' for the disorganized war effort, the huge loss of life suffered by the army, and ultimately the great defeat the country had too suffered.

Victor Emmanuel III (1900-1947)
(1869-1947)​

Nationalists were pissed at the peace treaty’s terms which they saw as a humiliation of the highest order. On the other hand, the Socialists were delighted that such humiliation could help them rally the working class to the cause, especially with disillusioned veterans who felt they were misled.

Not long after, Communist and nationalist gangs started going at each other across the country. Beatings, shootings, kidnappings, and assassinations were commonplace for the next couple of years in Italy. As the monarchy was tainted with defeat and disaster, the republic was tainted with the humiliating treaty.

Enter, Benito Mussolini.

Once a former socialist expelled from the party for being pro-war, he came back from the frontlines bitter and disappointed at the nation's leaders for mismanaging the war.

Once it was over, however, he began organizing his political party and paramilitary force. Unlike the communists, liberals, and conservatives, his party was to revolve around a set of ideas that no one had experimented with before. Mussolini and his followers would reject both capitalism and socialism, bringing their economic ideas called the 'Third Way'.

This set of ideas Mussolini had through all these years would become known to the world as 'Fascism'. His paramilitary force would be called the 'Blackshirts' and the party becomes the 'National Fascist Party'.

Emblem of the National Fascist Party​

Over 2 years, Mussolini's influence over the nationalist camp would spread until he was the central figure of the movement. Along the way, he recruited the likes of Emilio de Bono and a young and energetic blackshirt, Italo Balbo.

On October 28, 1922, Mussolini and his Fascist went into action. He and his Blackshirts took over important cities in the north, after that they converged on Rome and demanded that the government resign, paving the way for the Fascists to gain power.

Mussolini and his Blackshirts on the way to Rome, 1922​

The plan was grandiose if naïve. The military in Rome far out-numbered the Fascists who were poorly armed. Many Fascists only had tools brought with them from farms. Many had even the wrong clothing for a party that was trying to seize power. However, Mussolini gambled on one thing. He believed that the Italian government lead by Luigi Facta and the King did not want any form of conflict especially as Italy had suffered so much in the Great War and the ongoing civil strife. Mussolini miscalculated with Facta – he wanted to make a firm stand against Mussolini. But Mussolini was correct with regards to the King. Victor Emmanuel was convinced that any form of conflict would lead to a civil war and he was not willing to contemplate that, fearing that the communists would have no rival left to stand in their way.

On October 29, 1922, Mussolini was summoned to meet the King in Rome. He arrived on October 30th, was formally appointed Prime Minister, and asked to form a government. Only then were the Fascists who had gathered outside of Rome allowed to march in triumph through Rome. Despite that, everybody thought he wouldn’t last long enough like all the other Prime Ministers before him.

How wrong they were. As soon as he attained power, Mussolini went to work to solidify his hold on the country. Laws were changed that enabled the Fascists to grow ever stronger, all opposition was silenced and the country turned into a totalitarian state. In 1925, he would create a new title for himself 'il Duce'.

Benito Mussolini, Duce of Italy
(1922-1960)

​

 

[Joriz Castillo]

The Age of Rage: Ireland​

Even though the Easter Rising was crushed, the Irish nationalists weren’t down for the count. The execution of most of the ringleaders drew considerable outrage, galvanizing support for the radical Sinn Fein party. When France dropped out of the war, the blockade was nullified and this meant that German arms shipments could now pass more closer to Ireland.

In the 4 months between November and February, German ships smuggled arms, ammunition, and explosions to the IRB. During that time, the organization conducted some notable bombings and shootings of British military and governmental personnel.

When the war ended, a general election took place a month later. While the Liberals were wiped out in Britain for the huge losses from the war, a similar result was showing in Ireland. On the Emerald Isle, Sinn Fein won by a Landslide as it took almost all of the Irish seats. With their newfound confidence, the Irish MPs convened their own parliament called the 'Dail'. In its first session, the Dail declared Ireland's independence from Britain.

But the British weren't going to let this happen. Ireland had been under English and later British rule for 700 years. It wasn't a mere outpost of the empire, but an integral part of the United Kingdom. Once independence was declared, British troops were transported from France into Ireland to put down what had now become an active insurgency.

British troops face off a crowd in Dublin, 1919​

In the span of 2 years, chaos would engulf most of Ireland. British forces fought a very different war against the newly named Irish Republican Army (IRA). To combat this enemy, the British created an auxiliary force that would hunt them down. The men recruited were former veterans and would become notorious for their brutality, earning the name 'Black and Tans'.

The Black and Tans​

But in those 2 years, the British government was already war-weary and trying to find a solution for Ireland. The only that could be achieved was to negotiate with the breakaway government, headed by Michael Collins. Collins had worked for the British before WW1 and knew the inner workings and mindset of the British during his time in London.

Eventually, both sides agreed to negotiate. A major sticking point concerned the areas in north-eastern Ireland with a concentration of the Protestant Unionist population, which was staunchly opposed to the Irish rebellion and wished to remain part of the United Kingdom. British negotiators argued that their wishes should be respected and several counties with a Protestant Unionist majority should be given the right to "opt-out" of being part of independent Ireland.

In other circumstances, the British might have strongly insisted on this point. However, in late 1921, their negotiating position was weak. Michael Collins, personally heading the Irish negotiating team, could credibly threaten to continue the war, backed by Germany unless the British gave up their rule in "all of Ireland, all thirty-two counties without exception" and "let the Irish deal with each other as brothers".

The British finally gave in on this cardinal point, and under the peace treaty, all of Ireland was ceded to the rebels. As could have been predicted, the Ulster Unionists reacted with outrage, accusing the British government of "gross betrayal" and vowing to continue the struggle by themselves – their position echoed by some British public figures such as the poet Rudyard Kipling. Thus, even with the British ceding power, asserting actual authority in Ulster would be far from easy for the new Irish government.

To mollify the British, Collins was ready to be flexible on a second major issue – the new country to be established and named the "Irish Free State" would remain formally part of the British Empire, and the British King would be its the Head of State. Neither Collins himself, not his followers liked this provision. However, he pointed out that "for the first time in seven hundred years, there would remain not a single English soldier anywhere on the soil of Ireland" and that "ending that last immaterial vestige of their domination" could be left for later.

After the signing of the treaty in December by Collins, Griffith, and the rest of the treaty delegation, the Free State was established on 1 January 1922. Michael Collins became Taoiseach and leader of the Irish Free State.

Michael Collins (1890-)
First Taoiseach of Ireland

 

[Joriz Castillo]

The Age of Rage: Egypt
​

Ever since 1882, Egypt had been under de facto British occupation despite being nominally part of the Ottoman Empire. Its strategic importance was based on the Suez Canal, a vital route connecting Britain to its vast empire in the east. When the Ottomans joined the war in November 1914, the British felt it necessary to change the status of their occupation. On December 18, Britain declared Egypt a protectorate of the British Empire, deposed the pro-Ottoman Khedive Abbas Hilmi, and replaced him with a relative.
The British authorities imposed martial law on the country, which became a frontline state in the war when Ottoman forces crossed the Sinai Peninsula to try – and fail – to take the Suez Canal during the first try. Egypt became an enormous military base for Allied forces, serving as the rear area for the disastrous Gallipoli campaign, and the more successful Allied invasions of Palestine and Syria by the British imperial Egyptian Expeditionary Force.

ANZACs training in Egypt​

The presence of thousands of Allied troops had a whole series of knock-on effects on Egypt. Many soldiers, especially ANZAC troops from Australia and New Zealand, got into fights with Egyptians in cities such as Cairo, often fueled by alcohol, and often damaged property. So many soldiers created a boom in prostitution, created many (badly-paid) employment opportunities for Egyptians, and contributed to widespread inflation in the Egyptian economy. Thousands of Egyptian men, especially peasants were recruited, often forcibly, into the Egyptian Labour Corps, an organization that received little recognition for its vital role in supporting the Allied armies in Egypt, and on military operations in Palestine and Syria. The laborers were often treated appallingly, and the removal of men from the countryside exacerbated the hardship there caused by
wartime inflation, unemployment, and the shortage of goods and foodstuffs.

Britain had ‘squeezed’ Egypt during the war, but what would Egyptians receive in return for their contribution to the war effort once the fighting had stopped?

That question became moot when the British were being pushed back from the Middle East by the Central Powers. By early 1919, things had changed. The Ottomans were once again at the banks of the canal, their presence fueling tensions in Egypt. When the canal was crossed, a strike occurred in Cairo that escalated into a citywide protest. The British, thinking the strikers were in cahoots with the Ottomans, cracked down hard by shooting them. Unsurprisingly, this fueled the fire as more and more people came out into demonstrations against British rule.

A demonstration in Cairo, 1919​

Egyptian nationalists, led by Saad Zaghlul, took the opportunity and presented their demands to High Commissioner Reginald Wingate. They wanted permission to travel to London to press their case and to be included as a delegation at the Peace Conference being planned in Berlin. These politicians were drawing from both Egyptian nationalism and the dire situation Britain was in, being the only one left and facing massive problems at home. The British rejected Zaghlul’s demands and questioned how far he represented the Egyptian people. As far as Wingate was concerned, he considered the delegation had no official capacity and made it clear he was only having a friendly chat.

To prove their seriousness, the nationalists drew up a petition and collected signatures of Egyptians from all walks of life. Despite that, the British simply arrested the delegation and exiled them to Malta. This metaphorically broke the camel’s back, as Egyptians from all religions and classes united against the British. Student demonstrations led to strikes by transport workers supported by trade unions and morphed into a national general strike that paralyzed the country. Rioting broke out in Cairo and other places such as Tanta. British forces opened fire on these demonstrations and killed many people. March 15 1919 saw a massive demonstration in support of the Revolution in Cairo, when thousands of Egyptians marched on Abdin Palace. The next day, an even more historic event occurred when several hundred Egyptian women gathered to protest against the British occupation. Led by the wives of the exiled Egyptian nationalist politicians, Safia Zaghlul, Mana Fahmi Wissa, and Huda Sha‘rawi, the women refused to obey British orders to disperse. Sha‘rawi made history again later when she stopped wearing the veil (niqab) in public after her husband’s death in 1922. Egyptian nationalist women played a vital role in organizing strikes and boycotts of British goods.

Egyptian women demonstrating during the revolution​

In the Egyptian countryside, the Revolution was very violent. Peasant resentment against the British, especially concerning the hardships of the war, exploded into violent actions. Railway tracks and telegraph lines were sabotaged. British soldiers and civilians were killed, along with Egyptian officials and others who collaborated with the British regime. The British effectively lost control of most of Egypt during March 1919. This situation was reversed by General Bulfin, who organized ‘flying columns’ that brutally suppressed the Revolution in the countryside and regained control over Egyptian towns in a campaign of terror. Wingate was replaced by General Allenby as High Commissioner, who realized that negotiations were necessary as Egypt could not be held by military means indefinitely; he swiftly released the Egyptian nationalist politicians. Their release, and British permission for them to travel to Berlin for the Peace Conference, led the politicians to sign a letter calling off the demonstrations.

Over the next 6 years, strikes and insurrections would pop up once in a while, forcing the British to invest heavily in securing their control in Egypt. In 1925, the Egyptian Revolution would finally succeed when the protectorate was abolished and Egypt became independent. The country became a Kingdom with Fuad I as its King and Saad Zaghlul as the first Prime Minister. It would include not only Egypt but Sudan as well.

Fuad I, King of Egypt (1925-1936)
(1868-1936)

Saad Zaghloul, Prime Minister of Egypt (1925-1927)
(1859-1927)

​

 

[Joriz Castillo]

I'm curious as to the 1920 Presidential Election in the US. I bet the Democrats came out on top

Good question. Speaking of elections...

Back from the Cold ​

In 1920, America went into election mania. Having won a war against Mexico, the GOP expected an easy win like as they always had. But this time, things were different. The public had grown war-weary and had become fed up from 24 years of Republican rule.

In San Francisco, the Democrats elected James Cox, the Governor of Ohio, as the presidential candidate. Cox, in turn, chose his running mate. He decided on a young man who was Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 38-year-old Franklin D. Roosevelt. Together, they traveled across the country advocating a ‘return to normalcy’ from the progressive reforms by the Republicans. This became effective at getting the people’s ear.

A Democratic election poster, 1920​

Meanwhile in Chicago, Warren G. Harding was nominated for President with Calvin Coolidge as his VP running mate. Although both had expected to win, they would be sorely mistaken.

On November 8, the nation’s people made their choice. A blue landslide was unleashed as the Dem’s secured both houses of Congress and the Presidency. For the first time since 1897, a Democrat was going to be President.

Franklin Roosevelt (VP) & James Cox (President)
(1921-)​

 

[Joriz Castillo]

A Posh Hangover​

The United Kingdom was in a peculiar position. Despite being largely unscathed from the war, it was the most worn-out country in the Entente. Despite having the largest empire in the world with all of its resources, it was drowning in a sea of debt. During the war, the British hoped to use their allied countries’ money to pay off all the loans it borrowed from the US. But with the defeat of Italy and the fall of both France and Russia to communism, it became clear that wasn’t going to happen. It was time to look for different ways.

Even though the war ended, that didn’t mean the fighting was still over. Ireland was in an open insurgency, while a revolution in Egypt had forced the government to send troops to those places to restore order. Not to mention, the masses of returning troops coming home bitter from the war. The Britain they returned in 1919 was vastly different from 1914. Women had taken the place of men in the factories and there weren’t a lot of jobs to go around. As a result, mass unemployment became a huge issue coupled with the rising discontent among the unions. The political left blamed the defeat on the establishment that brought the country into war in the first place, while the political right blamed the socialists and trade unions for 'propagating defeatism' while victory was in sight. In simpler terms, they were stabbed in the back by a variety of scapegoats; Marxists, trade unionists, the Irish, the French, Jews, etc.

A British soldier about to be stabbed in the back by a railroad worker, 1918​

After having won a general election a few months after the armistice, the Conservatives, in coalition with the National Party, under PM Bonar Law went to work. The troops were demobilized and the economy was transitioning back into a civilian one. What had once been churning out tanks, shells, and weapons was now switching back into the production of civilian goods. This came with the inevitable headaches as the production had to be switched.

Bonar Law
Prime Minister 1919-1923​

On trade, the British government set up trade tariffs and embarked on a policy known as ‘Imperial Preference’. This meant trading less with Europe and trading more with its Empire, including the dominions. Wool from Australia, butter from New Zealand, steel from Canada, tea from India, cotton from the Americas, sugar from the Caribbean, gold from South Africa, and other stuff became the main imports into the UK.

An 'Imperial Preference' Poster​

On the domestic side, the situation could only be described as ‘utter chaos’. In Glasgow & Edinburgh, sailors and soldiers had mutinied and set up a Bolshevik-style council. They took control of the entire of both cities and had proclaimed a ‘Scottish Soviet Republic’. Over the next few days, armories were raided and hundreds of workers were now armed to the teeth. To deal with this, Home Secretary Winston Churchill sent in a unit of Black and Tans into the cities. Once they were deployed, it took 20 days for the Black and Tans to retake the cities despite the help of loyal army units, artillery, and tanks. Churchill had even traveled to Glasgow to take a close look at the action unfolding in the city. Once the fighting had ended, some of them committed summary executions killings on anyone that had fired at them. This radicalized the socialists even further as they started harboring distrust of the authorities. Churchill, in particular, would earn the nickname 'The Glasgow Butcher'.

Winston Churchill observes the fighting in Glasgow through his binoculars, 1920

A street in Glasgow after the uprising was crushed, 1920​

On Finance, the Treasury wasn’t looking good. All of the country's debt was being repaid with collateral and the government was running out of money. Left with no choice, the government decided to default on its loans. This prompted the US to seize all British assets in America. To make for this, the government embarked on strict austerity measures. This meant lowering spending and raising taxes. This didn't fit well with the populace who were already living through hard times. Another way of increasing revenue was one idea nobody thought possible. The UK would try selling some of its colonies to help raise some money.

There was only one potential buyer: America. In 1922, Bonar Law met with President James Cox to discuss a possible deal. The Americans had always had a desire to expand their new 'empire' as a special form of Manifest Destiny. The territories in negotiation were Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas. Later in the year, the so-called 'West Indies Purchase' was finalized for a hefty price tag of 500 million dollars (7.4 billion in 2020 dollars) and ratified by both countries. Throughout 1924, Bermuda, the BVI, and the Turks and Caicos Islands were transferred over to the United States. In 1925, the Bahamas was the last to be transferred to US control. By then, events in India would spiral out of control that would have drastic consequences in Britain.

A handover ceremony in Bermuda, 1924​

 

[Joriz Castillo]

The Age of Rage: India ​

During the Great War, India supplied men and resources to the war effort. Millions of Indian soldiers had fought in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East with the whole Raj sending supplies of food, money, and ammunition. Despite this, there were Indian nationalists determined to end British rule in India. Throughout the war, there were several plots to start an uprising supported by the Central Powers. None of them came to fruition however, as the British authorities quickly acted on these threats and arrested the ringleaders.

With the war over, the Indian nationalists felt the empire was finally weakened. Activists in Bengal and Punjab went to work, sparking revolutionary activity to the point where the regional administrations were nearly paralyzed. This became significant to the point where the British government refused to pass the Government of India bill in late 1919. To the British administrators, this was a foolish mistake that would soon prove them right.

A Place of No Return
On April 13, 1919, the subcontinent’s destiny would change forever. In Amritsar, a traditional festival was going on where people gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh square to celebrate. Among the crowd were simple men, women, and children going about their day. During the festivities, a few nationalists were making speeches on soapboxes. In the previous months, an order had been issued banning large meetings in the open.

When General Reginald Dyer heard of this, he immediately sprang into action. He went to the location with a force of Gurkha and Sikh troops along with an armored car (though he couldn’t get the car through the narrow entrance). Once the troops had lined up, he ordered them to aim their rifles on the crowd. When a younger officer asked if they should give a short warning, Dyer simply replied “They had their warning, no meetings.”.

Shortly after that, the General ordered the men to open fire. For ten bloody minutes, the troops fired on the thickest part of the crowd. When the shooting was directed at the center, people ran to the sides. When they ran to the sides, the firing was then directed to the sides. Many people threw themselves to the ground, but it was futile as the firing was then directed to the ground. The firing continued until their ammunition was nearly exhausted. When the dust cleared, 379 people lay dead on the field.

A painting of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre​

When news of the massacre spread, many moderate Indians abandoned any loyalty they had to the Raj and became members of the independence movement. Even many Brits were horrified at the massacre except those who saw Dyer as a hero for restoring law and order in Punjab.

To prove his point further, Dyer decided to teach the Indians a harsh lesson. On a street where an Englishwoman had recently been attacked, the general ordered those wishing to cross that particular street must crawl on their belly. Anyone who defied this order was tied to a pole and whipped.

An Indian crawling in the lane in front of British soldiers, 1919​

Enough is Enough
Over the next few years, anger by Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims reach a boiling point. The violence continued with troops opening fire on the protestors. In Dhaka, 1922, a mutiny breaks out among the troops after refusing to fire on civilians, engulfing the whole of Bengal. The same thing happens in Punjab province where rebellious soldiers raided the armory and handed out guns to those who volunteered. Across northern India, British troops are attacked and European civilians murdered as the authorities lose control over whole areas.

During this chaos, 2 leaders rose to lead the struggle. Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose. Together, they joined forces and captured more areas from the British until the whole of northern India was theirs. Both men were members of the Indian National Congress, the main political party in India.

Fearing a collapse of their jewel in the crown, the British request their Dominions to send troops to India. They all answered the call as the Dominions send men and equipment to India. The Empire was determined to maintain control over India while the rebels were equally determined to free the sub-continent. In 1924, the continent’s fate would be decided in a small valley somewhere in the Central Provinces.

The Indian Revolution, 1924​

 

[Joriz Castillo]

What a milestone we have here: 100K views, 50 story thread marks & 666 posts. Magnificient numbers, indeed. In celebration of this, here's a vignette from the battle that would be featured soon in the next update. Enjoy!

***

The Tiger's Teeth​

April 20, 1924

Sergeant Major Jordan Pritchard, a Canadian, could look in the distance and see a wave of Indians charging towards their positions. Sitting in their foxholes amid the rain and dwindling supplies, the men ready their weapons. This was the 4th attack this week, as the Indians kept throwing more and more men at them, and every time they were beaten back.

It's been god knows how long since the battle started, but the British and Imperial troops had been slogging out with the Indians in these hills across a valley. Ever since the start, the hospital beds were full while supplies and ammunition dwindled for each passing day. Not to mention the starvation many of them were bitterly feeling in their stomachs.

"Where the fuck's our artillery?!" Pritchard shouted. Ammunition was getting scarce to the point where every bullet had to count and artillery was rarely used in fire support.

"You're the artillery!" a Brit replied. The soldiers dug in on this hill had come from all across the British commonwealth. Anzacs, Brits, Canadians, and loyal Indians were all fighting together as one as everybody faced the same situation.

When the Indian rebels got closer, it was time for the cannons to say hello. An officer gave the order to fire and every soldier in the small trenches opened fire. Pritchard could hear the raging war cry of an Aussie as he unloads his machine gun on them. It was no surprise as everyone was clinging on to dear life.

Pritchard kept firing his Enfield rifle, shooting at anyone who didn't look white charging towards them. As he kept firing, some men beside him went down after having been hit. Eventually, the Indians reached their trench and went into full melee with the Imperial troops. While they were armed with machetes or other large blades, Pritchard fought mainly with his shovel he had previously used for digging trenches. Passchendaele had thought the Staff sergeant a lot about fighting with a shovel if the enemy gets too close to you.

While in melee, the Aussie was still screaming like a madman firing away from his machine gun. If a group was coming, some men used grenades to blow them into bits. Unfortunately, the Indians too had grenades. One of them threw one into an MG position, knocking it out for good. When they tried to use the machine gun on them, the British mowed the Indians down before they could even try.

Feeling the desperation setting in, one of the Canadian soldiers snapped. "J'en ai eu assez!" the man shouts as he throws away his helmet and rifle, trying to climb out of the trench. He was only restrained by others beside him saying "Pull yourself together!". The Quebecker still resisted, shouting repeatedly "Laisse moi partir!".

As the fighting continued, more and more men were getting shot and bayonet. Pritchard continued fighting for his life even when the enemy blades were nearly on his eyes. By now, the attack had lost steam all the Indian rebels retreated back to their lines. Dazed and tired, the Imperial troops counted their dead and surveyed the destruction. The attack may have been over, but the battle was still ongoing until it ended on May 7.

Jordan Pritchard would ultimately survive the battle and the horrific captivity he and his fellow men went through. 2 years later, Pritchard and other Canadian POWs would be repatriated home. He would later publish a memoir of his account in the Battle of Satpura. In 1974, Pritchard would take part in the official commemoration of the battle in India. He died in 1989.

 

[Joriz Castillo]

55 Days in Hell
​

At the beginning of 1924, the Imperial High Command was at a crossroads. Should it stay on the defensive and hold back the rebel armies or go on the offensive and reclaim Delhi? While some had recommended that they stay put and defend, others weren’t so keen such as Sir Ian Hamilton. He proposed they go on the offensive and build a forward base from where they could spread out across the areas.

Ultimately, the High Command was swayed by this and gave Ian Hamilton the green light for his operation. In February, British forces would advance to the city of Bhopal. Once the area was secured, Hamilton ordered the construction of a forward operating base near the Satpura hills.

A series of outposts were built on a series of hills straddling across a valley. The outposts were given female names with names such as Elisabeth, Beatrice, Patricia, Marianne, Victoria, etc. An airfield was also set up for planes to ferry in supplies. The British were confident that if the enemy tries taking their base, they would be slaughtered with all the firepower at their disposal. Even the artillery commander proudly boasted that Indians didn’t know much about artillery guns compared to Europeans.

Little did they realize, that the Indian rebels (Azad Hind) were getting help from the Germans and the Ottomans. Weapons and supplies were being smuggled by sea and through Persia, with German advisors training the Indians into being a formidable force. While the British were setting up their base in Satpura, the Indians were dragging their artillery guns to the top of the mountains overlooking the valley.

On March 13, 1924, the Indian artillery roared to life. Shells rained down on all the major outposts with the British artillery unable to return fire. Having been embarrassed, the British artillery commander who once boasted that his guns would make quick work of the enemy, committed suicide by pulling a grenade pin.

By the end of the 1st day of the battle, the outpost of ‘Patricia’ was taken by the Azad Hind forces. Over the next several days, the main airfield would be lost and the British positions would get smaller and smaller. Despite this, the Indians received heavy casualties forcing the commanders to order a halt. They then switched tactics, conducting human wave attacks where they slowly gain ground similar to the trench warfare of WW1. This culminated in the detonation of the command post by the Indians who had dug a tunnel underneath the main outpost ‘Victoria’.

Once General Hamilton was captured, all effective resistance had ended. On the 7th of May, 1924, the garrison of Satpura surrendered. The last radio message to Bombay from the fortress read “We are blowing everything up. Cheerio”. When news spread of the surrender, the Indian revolutionaries were ecstatic while the British were greatly demoralized. The force at Satpura constituted 1/5 of the total Commonwealth manpower in India and the defeat weakened the prestige of the British empire. 2200 British and Imperial troops were dead while 11,700 were captured. For the Indians, they lost 4,000 dead and 9,000 wounded.

This left a huge gap which the Azad Hind exploited, breaking through the front lines. With the success in the north, the southern half of India rose in rebellion. With their positions threatened, the various Princely states switched sides in a bid to save their thrones and heads. Eventually, the British would have no choice but to negotiate with the Azad Hind government which would end the war.

Across the world, the world was shocked that a superpower had just been beaten in the field by a ragtag army of rebels in their crown jewel. In Britain, the people were outraged that their boys were being sacrificed for a giant colony in Asia. The anger from the war would boil over a year later, changing the world entirely.

 

[Joriz Castillo]

Sunshine and Stahlhelms
​

With the war over, the quasi-military dictatorship that had ruled Germany came to an end. Elections were called, culminating with a landslide victory for the SDP. With such huge electoral support, the Kaiser had no choice but to Friedrich Ebert as the first Social Democratic Chancellor in the country’s history. The SDP, in coalition with Zentrum and Liberals, had promised to make ‘homes fit for heroes’ and reorganize the economy back into a peacetime footing.

Friedrich Ebert, German Chancellor
(1919-1925)​

The government started off by instituting social welfare reforms and expanding labor rights. Benefits were given to veterans, workers, and lower-class people in general. Governmental reform was also pursued, as promised by the Kaiser in Christmas 1917. The Prussian 3-class franchise was abolished and a new democratic system was introduced with full suffrage including voting rights for women.

The electoral map was also changed. Districts that were drawn up to favor rural voters were drawn that balanced things out and gave more power to the urban districts.

A Union of Business
After Germany’s victory in the Great War, it had established several vassal states in both east and west. Determined to solidify their control over most of Europe, the Germans enacted one central part of their Septemberprogramm. That idea was called ‘Mitteleuropa’.

In 1921, a conference was called in Lubeck as all the German client states were invited. The location was symbolic as the city had been the capital of the old Hanseatic League. Heading the conference was future Chancellor Gustav Stresemann. Negotiations went on for weeks, ultimately carving out a set of agreements between the states in regard to finance, economics, and trade. All nations had agreed to reduce trade barriers between member states and to raise tariffs on non-member states. German business would also dominate eastern Europe and in Flanders-Wallonia. By the time the conference ended, the foundations had been set for a European organization.

Out of the Hanseatic capital, the ‘Central European Economic Agency’ or ‘Mitteleuropa’ as everybody called it, was born. The founding members were:

1. Germany
2. Flanders-Wallonia
3. Poland
4. Lithuania
5. United Baltic Duchy
6. White Ruthenia
7. Ukraine
8. Finland

Over the next several years, more countries would join the organization to further trade with the other European countries.

Germania Rule the Waves
After the war, the German navy went out to reclaim its colonies from the Allies. Togoland, Cameroon, South-West Africa, Tanganyika, and New Guinea were retaken. In the meantime, they gained control of new colonies in Africa and Asia. This significantly increased the size of Germany’s colonial empire, bringing vast riches while straining costs further.

Having experienced fighting the British Royal Navy, the Germans used this experience to build better ships in the future. Some had come up with blueprints of large ships where planes could take off at sea.

The crew of the East Asia squadron that ended up in Austria returned home as heroes. In the decades to come, many books and movies would be made about their extraordinary journey and escape across the world.

An Ancient Sport
In 1920, the Summer Olympics were held in Berlin. It was supposed to be held in 1916 but it was canceled due to the war. The aftermath of the war and the Berlin Peace Conference in 1919 affected the Olympic Games not only due to new states being created but also by sanctions against the nations that lost the war and were blamed for starting it. The UK, France, Italy, Romania, Serbia, Portugal, and Japan were banned from participating. This ban also extended to the colonies and dominions of the British empire. Thus the only nations who participated were: Argentina, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, United Baltic Duchy, Finland, Ukraine, White Ruthenia, Poland, Lithuania Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.

 

[Joriz Castillo]

The People’s Flag
​

In 1923, Bonar Law died while in office from a throat infection. He was replaced with Lord Curzon, former viceroy of India. With the war still raging in India, people were getting angry and fed up with their situation. Most people were struggling to stay afloat amid a recession. Wages were lowered and people’s savings were being dried up all for an arms race and a totally avoidable war. Britain was like a room filled with barrels of gunpowder; all it needs is something to spark it.

George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
Prime Minister 1923-1925​

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
The origins of the British Workers Republic can be traced to the unanimous vote by the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) in favor of industrial action on 28 February 1925. The main cause of what was to become the General Strike of 1925 was the tariffs introduced by the Conservative-National coalition government led by Prime Minister Bonar Law. While the policies levied against Germany and the nascent Mitteleuropa bloc initially triggered a brief revival in British manufacturing, the German Empire was quick to find ways to bypass British tariffs with various other nations servings as intermediaries for trade deals.

Germany was quick to place their own tariffs on British goods while pressuring others to adopt similar measures. British exports became limited, consumer prices in the United Kingdom soared, and foreign imports became unreasonably expensive. The coal industry was hit far harder than any other single sector in Britain, with British coal priced off the global market, replaced by cheaper exports from Germany and the United States.

The decision by the TUC to take industrial action was spurred on by a rousing speech from A.J. Cook, the General Secretary of the Miner's Federation of Great Britain, a man previously denounced by the TUC as a "raving Communist". On 6 March 1925, a general strike came into effect after all negotiations with the government had fallen through. The Conservative, National, and Liberal parties were quick to denounce the strikes as counterproductive, claiming the ringleaders were simply taking advantage of a national crisis to further their own careers. Home Secretary Winston Churchill was quick to make the decision to partially mobilize the Armed Forces to continue production and to attempt to keep the peace during the strike.

Protestors during the 1925 General Strike​

The Labour Party under Ramsay MacDonald remained uncharacteristically silent on the matter, a dividing issue for the party. While those on the left of the party including the leadership of the Independent Labour Party were ready to announce their support for the strikers and their cause, MacDonald and his cabinet remained cautious, the leader of the opposition feared that endorsing the strike would be seen as endorsing revolutionary socialism and the violence associated with the Red Clyde side and Glasgow Soviet period, something the Conservatives would be quick to capitalize on while denouncing the strike would alienate much of the Labour Party's voting base. In the end, the party opted for a vague statement hoping that a compromise could be made between the government and the strikers.

First Shot of the Revolution
The definitive cause of the British Revolution, and the violent insurrection that triggered it is one shrouded in mystery and disinformation. All that is known for sure is that the primary catalyst was the series of events that took place at Tarenni Colliery in South Wales. Following the declaration of the General Strike, government forces were deployed to keep the peace and to undertake any jobs seen to be of national importance. The deployment to Tarenni was met with open hostility from the striking miners and the local community, with protesters refusing to allow government forces access to the pits and machinery of the Colliery, as a result, a standoff developed between the local protesters and the government forces.

What followed next is a source of continuous debate, accounts from those present and other revolutionary elements suggest government forces opened fire on the protesters without any provocation, while government accounts report that warning shots were fired in self-defense following assaults from protesters, with some deliberately misinterpreting the shots as attempts to kill. Most historians are of the belief that a single shot was fired, which was enough to turn the scene into chaos.

The men deployed to keep order were a largely inexperienced division of the Territorial Army drafted from the North of Wales, totally unprepared to combat a general strike. It is believed a single shot may have accidentally been fired into the waves of agitated strikers from a rifle with an improperly used safety. No matter the cause, violence soon broke out between the two groups following the initial exchange, with impassioned and enraged strikers charging government lines.

News quickly spread across the country, with the Daily Herald picking up on rumors that the government ordered the forces present at Tarenni to open fire on the strikers, the news was to spread like wildfire throughout working-class communities, and as a result, sporadic violence began to break out in other high-tension locations across the country, with the violence spreading further as more news of conflict across the country began to spread.

The Fires of Revolution Spread
On 15 March 1925, Scottish Revolutionary Socialist John Maclean was to give a speech in George Square that would change the very future of Great Britain. At first, the speech was nothing more than a denouncement of government action, but as the speech progressed the language used became more aggressive, passionate, and violent. Maclean ended his speech referencing the French Revolution of 1919, urging the workers of Britain to arise, to take arms, and to combat the tyranny of the old reactionary order which Curzon's government embodied.

John Maclean, Scottish Socialist
(1879-1929)​

Those who witnessed the speech passed on its message to all those they knew, while the TUC republished the message repeatedly through the Daily Herald. With the conduct of the government thrown into question following the events which took place at Tarenni, units of the Territorial army began to voluntarily stand down, with many turning themselves over to the side of the strikers and the revolutionaries, seizing key industry and local government in the name of the General Strike. Despite attempts from the Labour Party to avoid the issue completely, on 18 March 1925, a grouping of Labour MPs in the Commons led by James Maxton, John Wheatley, and David Kirkwood gave successive speeches in support of the uprisings taking place throughout the country, echoing calls for revolution, and the removal of the government by force. The men were promptly ejected from the House of Commons.

Although Birmingham may have been seen as a staunchly Conservative city, serving as the home territory of the Chamberlain political dynasty, that was by no means the case.
The peoples of Birmingham were swiftly swayed to the revolutionary cause, overrunning a city for generations dominated by the Conservative Party. Much credit is given to the actions of the young Labour MP Sir Oswald Mosley, who captivated crowds with his oratory skills, bringing the unsure to the revolutionary cause through his own personal story of leaving the Conservative Party for the Labour Movement and his conversion to the cause and creed of Socialism. Soon many of Britain's largest cities were to fall under revolutionary control, government control was effectively limited to the City of London, cut off from much of the country by the revolutionary elements controlling the larger metropolitan area.

Government troops being mobilized in London, 1925​

Prime Minister George Curzon, the 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, died on 20 March 1925, following a serve hemorrhage of the bladder. For some time, the Prime Minister had been in ill health. but had managed to successfully prevent any rumors reaching the public that may have damaged his position as Prime Minister, as a result, the death of the Prime Minister came as a shock to the nation. Many believe that the revolution engulfing Britain was simply too much for the aging Curzon to cope with, the stress of the situation aggravating the Prime Minister's existing health issues. The Influential former Chancellor of the Exchequer Stanley Baldwin was quick to take charge of the situation following Curzon's unexpected death, there was, however, no time available to formally declare Baldwin Prime Minister amid the chaos that was slowly consuming Britain.

Despite promises to restore order, the situation appeared worse with each passing day, and on 22 March 1925, Baldwin was to effectively admit defeat by taking the unprecedented action of evacuating himself and what remained of the government to Canada. Those who could quickly followed suit, making use of loyal elements of the Royal Navy to transport as many men, and as much material as possible across the Atlantic. The Royal Family had already been temporarily evacuated seven days earlier under the guise of a royal visit, the temporary arrangement, however, was soon to become a permanent one.

King George V going into exile on route for Canada, 1925​

The Inaugural Congress
The British Workers Republic was officially proclaimed on 3 June 1925. With the majority of MPs having fled the country in the chaos, the few remaining radicals of the Labour party took the unprecedented act of passing the final legislation produced by the United Kingdom, legislation that would abolish both houses of Parliament, and the United Kingdom itself. In its a place, a new government was to be established, based around the long-standing Trades Union Congress which had helped coordinate the actions of the General Strike, membership of the TUC was to be expanded to the entire adult population of Great Britain, creating a new representative government, for a new Britain.

The inaugural congress of the Workers Republic was held in a single day on 4 June 1925. Owing to the rapid establishment of the Republic and the chaos still engulfing much of the country, turnout was largely limited to active members of the TUC, and longstanding members of revolutionary circles. After a brief period of ballot counting, the composition of the first National Trade Unions Congress (NTUC) was announced.

Unsurprisingly, John Maclean was voted Chairman of the Trades Union Congress with an overwhelming majority, owing to his tireless campaigning during the war and his role in bringing on the revolution which brought this new Congress into existence. The veteran Trade Unionist and Communist Thomas Mann was also elected General Secretary with a sizable majority, owing to long commitment to the Trade Union movement as far back as 1884, and his expert organizational skills. Further bolstering the Trade Unionist ranks in the Congress were Walter Citrine a leading figure in International Trade Unionist circles, and Arthur James Cook - largely regarded as the architect of the General Strike, the two men were appointed as Commissary for Foreign Affairs, and Commissary for the Exchequer respectively.

Thomas Mann, General Secretary of the TUC
(1856-1941)

Walter Citrine, Commissary of Foreign Affairs
(1887-1983)

Arthur James Cook, Commissary for the Exchequer
(1883-1931)​

A more moderate voice in the TUC came in the form of Sidney Webb, founder of the London School of Economics, and the leading voice of the Fabian Society since its foundation in 1884, Webb was to be elected to the office of Commissary for the Home Department with the backing of the more moderate Trade Unions. Meanwhile Maclean's close associate Emanuel 'Manny' Shinwell was elected as Head of the Secret Service Bureau for his tireless work in securing the Central Belt on the outbreak of the revolution. With the majority of the United Kingdom's General Staff remaining loyal to the crown even as their forces dispersed, the young officer Tom Wintringham was quickly appointed as Chief of General Staff, and Commander-in-Chief of the Republican militias, with the positions of Commander-in-Chief of the Republican Navy and Airforce remaining temporarily vacant.

Sidney Webb, Commissary of the Home Department
(1859-1947)

Emanuel 'Manuel' Shinwell, Head of the Secret Service Bureau
(1884-1986)

Tom Wintringham, Chief of General Staff & Commander-in-Chief of the Republican Militias
(1898-1949)
​

Outsiders in the New Britain
Notable absences from the Congress included any representatives from the Communist Party of Great Britain, and the so-called "Hero of Birmingham", Oswald Mosley. The leadership of the CPGB refused outright to attend the Congress owing to the presence of Sidney Webb and his Fabian allies, decrying them as members of the petit-bourgeois with nothing to offer International Socialism.

If his actions in Birmingham marked the high point of his career, then only weeks later Mosley's speech to the TUC was to mark the low point. Addressing the TUC Mosley was quick to denounce the entire structure of the new national organization as flawed, arguing that a system of decentralization and co-operatives had no place in a truly Socialist society and that such institutions were nothing more than the relics of the old Liberal Democracy which had failed the people of Britain. Unable to sense the mood of the Congress, Mosley expressed his belief that only a strong centralized government under a TUC free to act whatever policy it sees necessary could bring Socialism to the British Isles, at the same time announcing his candidacy for Commissary for the Home Department. With his speech and aristocratic background held against him, Mosley polled last. When the position was ultimately assigned to Sidney Webb; Mosley is said to have left the building in disgust. The events of the British revolution in the end only served to push Mosley to the fringes of British politics once more.

​

A Setting Sun
It wasn't just the Royal family that fled. The mass of British refugees consisted of aristocrats and nobles, soldiers fighting for the official government, and a handful of people who’s political beliefs, whether Tory or Liberal or independent, were strong enough to warrant a flight from Britain out of self-preservation. All in all, an estimated 4.43 million people fled Britain for the Dominions. Most of the 'exiles' fled for Canada while others headed to Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Among those fleeing the country was Winston Churchill. He knew that with Britain falling to revolution, the empire was ripe for the taking by ambitious powers. It was only a matter of time before the whole structure collapsed like a house of cards.

 

[Joriz Castillo]

Eyes on the Prize​

Like a snake without its head, the British Empire began to crumble in just a matter of months. The first to act is the French Republic based in Algeria, where they quickly secured both the Gambia and Sierra Leone. The same couldn't be said for Malta as the Italians managed to get there first and plant their flag on the islands.

In Spain, an army detachment marched into Gibraltar and secured from the demoralized garrison, all without firing a shot. The dream of Spanish nationalists had finally come true as the Rock was now reunited with Spain after 200 years.

Africa
In Egypt, the country threw off the last shackles of British control and declared themselves as the Kingdom of Egypt. The whole of Sudan was incorporated but they weren't quick enough to gain Suez Canal as the Germans had secured in the nick of time.

In East Africa, the Italians marched into British Somaliland and into Jubaland in the south of the colony. The island of Socotra off the coast was also gained.

In the rest of Sub Saharan Africa, German troops moved into the Gold Coast, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland. Portugal tried in vain to enact their ambitious pink map plan but was threatened by Germany not to try at the risk of war. Thus, for the 2nd time, Portugal backed down.

South Africa, having recently incorporated Southern Rhodesia into the union, quickly joined in on the scramble. The colony of Bechuanaland was secured, along with the protectorates of Swaziland and Basutoland.

Asia
In the Middle East, the Ottomans moved quickly by securing Bahrain, Qatar, and the Trucial States. Oman quickly came under the Ottomans sphere while North Yemen invaded the British controlled area of Yemen including the city of Aden.

In the Indian Ocean, the island territories were brought under German control after having been invited to help maintain order. This played out in Mauritius, the Maldives, Ceylon, and the Andaman islands.

In Southeast Asia, the German fleet took control of Malaya, Singapore, Brunei, and North Borneo.

In the Pacific, Germany took the islands of Nauru, the Solomon Islands, New Hebrides, Niue, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Kiribati, and the Pitcairn Islands.

The Americas
Not even the new world was safe from this global calamity. Argentina finally captured the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands.

Guatemala marched its forces into British Honduras and Venezuela marched its troops into British Guyana. The United States wasn't immune to this once in a lifetime chance and took the opportunity to grab oil-rich Trinidad and Tobago.

In the Guyanas, a crisis arose. Venezuela wanted Guyana Essequibo. To satiate their claims, the US gave Venezuela the desired territory. As for the rest of the colony, it was given to Dutch Suriname.

In the rest of the Caribbean, what remained of the British fleet secured the remaining west Indian islands under their control.

In a span of several months, the British Empire ceased to exist. Germany was now a true world power.

 

[Joriz Castillo]

New Grounds
​

Adolf Hitler at first struggled with finding a job. He and many veterans like him were out in the streets working menial jobs and trying to repair their lives. Fortunately, he was able to sustain himself by selling paintings and working odd jobs. Fortunately, he got a job at another architectural firm, designing buildings and monuments. The money was enough for Hitler to buy a house outside Munich.

During his architectural career, his style leaned towards the traditional style with the monumental neoclassical Art Deco as his style in particular. This was the kind of style more suitable for impressive-looking corporate headquarter, monuments, and the like. Another style that was his favorite, was to design houses in the style known as ‘Heimatschutzarchitektur’. To Hitler, it was everything that reminded him of the home which was traditional and based on local building practices and materials. He also took influences from Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque architecture and incorporated them into his designs. If there was one style he did hate though, it was the Bauhaus style championed Walther Gropius and Le Corbusier. Hitler considered Bauhaus atrocious to the naked eye’ and said that it lacked any elegance and history in them.

In 1924, Hitler the architect would take part in the design of one grand area of Vienna. Visiting the city that shaped his life, Hitler helped design some of the buildings of the Kaiserforum. Using all the styles and skills he learned, Hitler made sure the buildings looked beautiful to signify the beauty of Vienna. The grand area would soon be complete by 1926, with a grand ceremony taking place attended by both the mayor and the Kaiser, Karl I. Hitler even got to shake hands with Kaiser who thanked all the architects for doing their part in designing the Kaiserforum.

The Kaiserforum would later rank as one of Vienna's famous landmarks, all due to the contribution of Hitler.​

One day in 1927, one of his coworkers introduces him back into the world of politics. While Hitler was no stranger to politics, he had taken a break from it after the war. After some soul searching, he joined the Catholic Center Party since Bavaria was one of its main areas of support. From the start, he supports the conservative wing of the party. Because of this, he gets into contact with other likeminded men such as Franz von Papen and Heinrich Bruning. Over time, Hitler shifts his focus from Architecture to Politics as he eyes a seat in his local county.

In the late 1920s, Adolf Hitler met a young woman named Maria Reiter. The couple would go on numerous dates over the years, as it was a romantic relationship. The couple
would eventually marry in 1931 and have 3 children.

Adolf Hitler, during his days as an architect in the 1920s

Maria Reiter, Hitler's wife​

 

[Joriz Castillo]

Giants of the Orient
​

In the 1920s, a new political force in China was taking center stage. Known as the ‘Kuomintang’, their aim was to reunify China after much of the country had descended into being ruled by a patchwork of warlords due to the chaotic rule of the Beiyang Government. In 1926, the KMT launched their most ambitious military operation yet. From their base in Guangdong, they marched north to destroy the Beiyang republic and all the warlords that were opposed to them. Everywhere they went, the warlords were either crushed or switched sides in order to save their skin. One of those that switched sides to the KMT was the infamous ‘Dogmeat General’, Zhang Zongchang of Shandong province.

Zhang Zhonchang, the Dogmeat General
Warlord of Shandong​

By the end of the campaign in 1928, all of China was under the control of the KMT. The face of that victory was the protégé of Sun Yat-sen, Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek.
After their victory however, Chiang turned his guns on the Communists who were his allies. Thousands of them were slaughtered all across China but some members escaped to form an army against Chiang and the KMT. This act of betrayal kicked off the Chinese Civil War.

Chiang Kai Shek, Generalissimo of China

Flag of the new Republic of China​

Slicing the Pie
As the British Empire imploded, Japan and Germany scrambled to secure whatever British concessions they could capture first. Germany rushed to secure Hong Kong, Weihaiwei and other concessions while Japan seized the rest. The Americans got worried as this would undermine their Open-Door Policy and called for mediation. A conference was called in Shanghai led by the American delegate Quentin Roosevelt, the foreign powers hammered out an agreement. With most of China nearly under KMT control, it was accepted to hand most concessions back to the nationalists except Hong Kong, Weihaiwei, and the Shanghai settlements. Thus, a war between Germany and Japan was avoided while the Chinese gained something from the conference.

A New Hope
While the British were being pushed out of the subcontinent, the leaders of a free India gathered to lay the foundations of a new government. At a conference at New Delhi in 1928, leaders of the various factions debated on the creation of a constitution and what the country should look like. On one side were the Nationalists and Socialists, led by Nehru and Bose, who favored a strong and centralized federal state while the other were the traditionalists, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who advocated a confederation of Indian states. This confederacy would have the reservation of seats for Muslims and other minority groups such as Jains, Sikhs, and the depressed castes. Jinnah’s proposal was resoundingly rejected by the INC, and in 1929 Free India instead proposed a constitution that was strongly federal and centrist as well as calling for the complete abolition of the Indian monarchies. It was soon ratified, much to the disappointment of Jinnah.

Other aspects agreed upon were the issues of religion, language, and governance. The constitution proclaimed that English and Hindi were to be the official languages while other regional languages were recognized. The Indian state was to be a secular republic were no religion would be the official one endorsed by the state. In governance, the Indian parliament would be organized into bicameral legislature with lower house becoming the ‘House of the People’ (Lok Sabha) and the upper house as the ‘Council of States’ (Rajya Sabha). The executive would be organized into a parliamentary system with the Prime Minister as the leader of the nation, followed with the office of President becoming a ceremonial role.

Sardar Patel, first Prime Minister of India

Flag of India, 1929​

 

[Joriz Castillo]

A National Salvation​

The retreat from France was a humiliating one. If losing twice against the Germans was bad enough, then the civil war destroyed any little credibility the Thrid Republic had left. As towns and cities fell to the communists, the government ordered a withdrawal to the city of Nice. But as the reds crept closer and closer, the Republic was left with no choice but to evacuate across the sea to Algeria.

With most of the navy on their side, millions of people went aboard on the journey to safety. Businessmen, politicians, officers, the elites, the civil service, most of the middle class, soldiers, sailors, and their families joined those who would've become potential targets and would rather flee than suffer under the red flag.

French refugees fleeing south for Nice, hoping to get on the boats.​

In one particular example, a young officer named Charles de Gaulle looked back at the docks from a steamboat as he could see the rising smoke and hear the distant shelling. He knew it was the communists and they were not far from the city. Here he was, along with his wife riding the same boat as Philippe Petain as he too saw the chaos playing out on the docks.

While the navy transported as many refugees as they could load, others were fleeing by foot towards the neighboring countries. Most refugees crossed mountains into Italy, Spain, and Switzerland which had seized the province of Haute-Savoie in accordance with an ancient treaty. Others simply snake their way into German-occupied Nancy and Flanders-Wallonia.

As the ships arrived at Algiers, they were met by the curious crowds of Europeans and Mohammedans. This was a strange land for most people. They had heard for years how Algeria was as French as Corsica and Brittany, yet feel as if the whole place was too foreign to them. Nevertheless, North Africa would become their new home as most of the 3 million French refugees settled in the coastal areas of Algeria and Tunisia.

The port of Algiers​

In 1920, the government gathered together to declare the end of the 3rd republic. In its place, a 4th republic was proclaimed although it meant little. This was due to the fact that most of the politicians were made up of conservatives and nationalists. When the parliamentary government proved inept in dealing with issues such as colonial interests and other things, the military launched a coup and took over the government. The constitution was suspended and the country now under the control of a military junta.

Harkening back to the days of the revolution, the junta set up a new government called the 'Committee of National Salvation' (Comite de Salut National). The leader of this Committee was the infamous Marshal Ferdinand Foch who was proclaimed as President. Using his dictatorial powers and with the help of the gold reserve, Foch laid the first steps into developing Algeria and the other French territories in Africa for the planning of reclaiming the mainland one day.

Ferdinand Foch, President of the 4th Republic​

In the late 1920s, a revolt sprang out from the Sahara desert by the nomadic Tuaregs. Feeling threatened by this insurgency, the French army ruthlessly crushed the Tuaregs using heavy-handed tactics. While most were content that a rebellion had been nipped in the bud, some Frenchmen began asking themselves "Isn't this the same methods that led to the revolution in the first place?". They soon began demanding that social reforms should also be prioritized just as economic development. The one-man leading this cause none other than Resident-General of Morocco, Hubert Lyautey.

The major issue in this part was the debate over the integration of native Algerians into becoming French citizens. While there was a pathway to citizenship open to the Muslims, it required having to abandon Islamic law and adopting the French legal code. This was seen as apostasy by many, so it was unsurprising to have very few people willing to take that path.

While the liberals were in favor of granting citizenship to all the Algerians, the pied noirs were dead set against any reforms that could embolden the bougnoules (wogs). After countless days of debate, the bill was moderated into giving citizenship to war veterans and their families, college graduates, and those who had proven themselves loyal to France. It passed after a narrow vote by the committee, strengthening the loyalty of the Algerians.

In later years, including the 1930s, the French military recruited natives with the promises of better rights and citizenship in exchange for military service. This was summed up with the motto "Service guarantees citizenship".

In addition to social reforms, the military junta set out to build up the infrastructure of the African territories. Roads, factories, and railways were built. One project that was of huge importance was the Transsaharan railway connecting Dakar to Northwestern Algeria. It would take several years before the constructions were finally complete by 1938. Another project that also saw the light of day was the establishment of an air corridor also between Dakar and Algiers.

In March 1929, having led the development of Algeria and the other colonies, Marshal Foch passed away. He was soon succeeded by another Marshal, Philippe Petain who was elected by the junta as the new President. With this new job, Petain chose his longtime ally Maurice Janin as his Prime Minister. The Junta would continue with its plans with developing its military and building up the infrastructure in the hopes of one day reclaiming the homeland.

Philippe Petain, President of France​

 

[Joriz Castillo]

A State for Everybody ​

In 1927, the decennial Ausgleich negotiations commenced. It had been going on since 1867 as a compromise between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. Every ten years compromises would be made and Hungary becoming a teeny-bit more independent. But 1927 was going to be different this time, oh no.

When Franz Ferdinand was still alive, a group of scholars had presented to him a plan that would satisfy all the ethnic groups within the empire. The plan called for creating a number of ethnically and linguistically dominated states that would be semi-autonomous. The government would be reorganized into a federal system and the country would be called the ‘United States of Greater Austria’.

During the talks, the Austrian side began pressing the Hungarians about the minorities in its areas. They outright refused to grant autonomy as this would undermine the Hungarian position. And so, days went on until the Hungarians walked out of the talks. For the Austrians though, this was a perfect time.

When the Hungarian parliament declared its independence, the various minorities inside the kingdom rose up in revolt. But this time, they were waving Austrian flags and carrying Kaiser Karl’s portrait. The Hungarian Honved was forced to deal with the unrest in both the cities and the countryside. All the while, the Austrian Landwehr were mobilizing on Hungary’s borders. Although the Magyar elites were prepared to fight, the common populace wasn’t enthused with fighting their fellow neighbors. Left with no choice, the Hungarian government acceded to the Austrian demands.

With the crisis over, both sides began talks of reforming the entire country. A new constitution was drawn and laws were passed, changing the empire from a Dual Monarchy into a true federation of equals. All in all, 17 states were created which reflected the ethnic and linguistic boundaries. The Croats, Slovaks, Romanians, and others finally had their own little state.

The age of Austria-Hungary was over. The age of the Danube Federation had begun. The Kaiser would soon become known as ‘Blessed Karl’.

Flag of the Danube Federation

Map of the new Federation​

 

[Joriz Castillo]

A Very Splendid Exile​

This was a defining moment in their lives. Their 'visit' to Canada had now taken a turn for the worst. The United Kingdom had fallen to revolutionary fervor just like France and Russia. In Ottawa, King George V couldn't believe what he was reading in the papers. Ireland declaring a republic, Egypt declaring its independence, the empire falling apart as the Germans & Ottomans, etc. gobbled up whatever they could get their hands on.

To the king's horror, the empire in which the sun had never set was ceasing to exist. George could hardly conceal his rage at everything that was happening around him, yet he knew it wouldn't do anything. For now, he could just sit back and watch as Britain's empire crumbled all around him.

Yet all was not lost, though. The Royal family had managed to bring some of their belongings with them to Canada and everyone that had made it out arrived in one piece. Even conservative and liberal politicians arrived in Canada, bringing with them some much needed political experience. Feeling safe in the Great White North, King George and the British elites would form a new government-in-exile headed this time by Stanley Baldwin, the Prime Minister who didn't have enough time to be sworn in.

In the Canadian government, William Mackenzie King helped the British exiles get accommodated to their new home. In the meantime, King would negotiate with the king on the matter of self-government. As a compromise, the office of Governor-General was abolished and the government in exile would act as a sort of Privy council while Canada would continue to exercise her self government like before. The deal was accepted and ratified in the Canadian Parliament and business got back to usual.

If there was only one thing consuming the minds of the exiles, it was one question. How are we going to go home?