The Union Forever: A TL

[Zoidberg12]

Excellent articles Zoidberg12! Consider them canon. I hope to see more from you soon. Cheers!

Thanks! Heres another one.

Henry Morgenthau Sr. (1856-1948)

Henry Morgenthau Sr. was born on April 26, 1856 to an Ashkenazi Jewish family in the town of Mannheim in the Grand Duchy of Baden. His family emigrated to the United States of America in 1866, when Henry was only ten years-old. Morgenthau attended City College of New York from 1874 until 1877 when the twenty-one year-old student was drafted into the United States Army and sent to an army training camp in Tampa, Florida. Morgenthau served in the 7th U.S. Infantry Regiment as a part of 1st Brigade under Brigadier-General James Longstreet and took part in the seaborne invasion of Cuba. At one point during the Siege of Santiago de Cuba in March of 1878, Morgenthau was shot in the hip by a Spanish infantryman and was sent to a nearby US Army hospital. It was here that Morgenthau was treated for his hip wound, as well as for malaria that he caught while in the interior of Cuba. He would have died had it not been for the quick action of the US Army doctors, as well as for the quick action of Spanish and Cuban doctors who defected to the US and had knowledge of tropical diseases. He was later invalidated home to New York City in June of 1878 and resumed his studies at City College of New York from late 1878 to 1879. He attended Columbia Law School from 1879 to 1883.

In September of 1883, soon after he finished law school, Morgenthau set up a small law-firm in New York City and began investing in real-estate in New York state and New Jersey and also began investing in railroads and the stock-market. On Saturday, October 4, 1884, he married his wife Josephine Sykes (1863-1952). The couple would have six children; Elizabeth (August 9, 1885-September 1, 1978), Martha (September 3, 1887-January 6, 1960), Herbert (October 9, 1891-June 9, 1964), Solomon (February 15, 1894-June 2, 1996), Henry Jr. (December 29, 1895-June 22, 1963) and Benjamin (June 8, 1900-July 30, 1978).

Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, Morgenthau gained a reputation as a successful and well-respected lawyer and a prominent leader of the Reform Jewish community of New York City. In his spare time, Morgenthau began reading up on foreign policy and global affairs, this being knowledge which would serve him well later in life. In 1894, Morgenthau successfully ran for a seat in the New York Senate under the banner of the Republican Party. In 1900, Morgenthau ran for Governor of New York and, in spite the rather large amount of antisemitism that accompanied the campaign, defeated his 37 year-old Democratic opponent William Curtis Hennessy. Morgenthau served as Governor of New York from January 1, 1901 to December 31, 1909, and he proved to be a popular and effective governor. When the United States entered the Great War in 1909, he actively toured New York state and attended numerous recruitment rallies in support of the war effort. This was very personal to him, as his two daughters were severing as nurses and his son Herbert was serving in the infantry, all in Europe and against the Second French Empire. It was at one of these rallies, at Buffalo, New York on October 16, 1909, that Morgenthau meet President Robert Todd Lincoln for the first time. The two men got along quite well and discussed a wide array of things in regards to the war. After his term as governor ended on December 31, 1909, Morgenthau continued to serve in the New York senate and continued to be active in his support of the war effort and attended many rallies.

After the signing of the Treaty of Brussels on October 12, 1911, Morgenthau was appointed by President Lincoln to be the first American ambassador to the new French Republic under President Marcel Ames. Morgenthau served well in this capacity and got along well with President Ames, calling him "the man France both needs and deserves at this moment in history to rebuild from the ruins of its autocratic and chauvinist past." On June 24, 1915, Morgenthau survived an assassination attempt outside of the American embassy in Paris by Ferdinand Pierre Camus, a twenty-seven year-old veteran of the Great War and a die-hard Bonapartist. Morgenthau was shot in the chest but was saved thanks to a watch that he kept in his pocket. Camus was executed by guillotine by the French government on August 1, 1915. Whether or not antisemitism ever played a part in the assassination attempt has never been conclusively proven. Morgenthau served as Ambassador to France until 1916 when he was recalled to Washington D.C by President Roosevelt.

In 1917, Morgenthau was appointed by President Roosevelt to be ambassador to the Kingdom of Bohemia. Since Morgenthau could speak fluent German, the job was somewhat easier that it would have been otherwise, although he had to learn the Czech language, a language that he found "somewhat difficult to learn." He served in this capacity until 1921, when he was appointed by President Doner to be the ambassador to Hungary. He served in this capacity until 1925 when he was politely dismissed by the Democratic President Abercrombie. Morgenthau then returned to New York City, bought a small brownstone apartment with the help of his sons and returned to practicing law. He retired from practicing law in 1930.

In 1937, at the age of eighty-one, Morgenthau was appointed by President Daniel E. Warburton to be Ambassador to the German Empire. Since Morgenthau could speak fluent German and since this was his ancestral homeland, he found the posting both easy and enjoyable. The elderly Morgenthau was particularly popular amongst the Jewish community of Germany, a community that his family was a part of. In spite of this, Morgenthau personally disliked Kaiser Wilhelm II, calling him in a letter to his wife "a pig-headed, unpleasant and insecure man." As a result of his old age and the election of the Democratic Vernon M. Kirkman to the Presidency, Morgenthau was dismissed from his post and recalled to Washington D.C. by President Warburton in December of 1940. Morgenthau then moved back into his brownstone in New York City and retired from public life. He spent the rest of his life living out a quiet retirement. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage on May 25, 1948 at the age of 92.

 

[Zoidberg12]

I spruced up and added a little more to my Morgenthau article because I wasn't 100% satisfied with it. Now I can happily say that I am.

Anyways, heres another bio.

King Victor (1864-1953)

Prince Victor, aged 32 in 1896

King Victor, aged 76 in 1940

King Victor was born on May 4, 1864 in Buckingham Palace in London, the eldest son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) and Queen Alexandra of Denmark. Prince Victor was educated at Trinity College in Cambridge University from 1882 to 1886. He joined the British military in 1890 and severed in the infantry reserves for a number of years. Prince Victor married Princess Charlotte in St. Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle on November 25, 1895.

Prince Victor became Victor, Prince of Wales after the death of his grandmother Queen Victoria on January 3, 1902. Victor, Prince of Wales served as an infantry officer during the Second Boer War (1905-1908) and was even wounded in the left arm during the Battle of Elands River in September of 1906. Luckily for him, the wound proved minor and did not effect the movement of his left arm in any way. After Great Britain entered the Great War in 1909, the Prince of Wales continued to serve as an infantry officer and was stationed on the Western Front, fighting with the Germans against the forces of the Second French Empire.

After the death of King Edward VII at the age of 72 on November 22, 1913, Victor, Prince of Wales became King Victor at the age of 49. His long, almost forty-year reign would see numerous important events of modern British history, such as the immense growth in the wealth and prosperity of the new and enlarged British Empire, Britain's participation in the Olympic Games, the establishment of the Dominion of Ireland on September 17, 1919, the rise of socialism and syndicalism in Great Britain, the London Olympics of 1922, the sudden death of Prime Minister Curzon in 1925, the Ottoman Civil War, the Malta Summit of 1938, the Silver Jubilee of 1938, the full independence of Egypt in 1941, the full independence of Mesopotamia in 1942, the break up of the Indochinese Federation in 1947, the 1951 Centennial World’s Fair, the Indian War of Independence and the numerous events that surrounded it, among other events.

After a long and eventful reign, King Victor, much beloved by this people, died of natural causes at the ripe-old age of 89 on the night of June 24, 1953. On his deathbed, he was surrounded by numerous friends and family. His funeral, one of the largest in all of British history, was held throughout London and in St. Paul's Cathedral on July 1, 1953, and many heads of state and heads of government from around the world attended.

The body of King Victor being carried out of St. Paul's Cathedral, July 1, 1953

 

[Zoidberg12]

Emmett Scott Drager (1887-1921)

One of the only known photographs of Emmett Scott Drager, who is the man towards the right with the hands of his co-workers on his arm, taken at a Dock-Workers Union strike in July of 1920.

Born on November 17, 1887 in Portsmouth, Virginia, Emmett Scott Drager grew up in abject poverty. His mother died of consumption when he was two years old and his father, an on-and-off alcoholic, worked all of his life as a fisherman. Emmett began working as a fisherman with his father when he was only nine years-old. Emmett continued working as a fisherman with his father well into his teenage years. His father, when he was an alcoholic, would often hit his son if he did not do enough work. He taught himself to read and to write when he was in his teenage years, much to his father's displeasure. It was in his later teenage years that Drager began experiencing his first fits of schizophrenia. It would only get worse as time went on.

After his father committed suicide in 1908, Drager stopped working as a fisherman and began to work as a dock hand in Portsmouth, Virginia. In 1909, he tried to enlist for service in the Great War, but he was turned down because of his flat feet and "the instability of his mental state." Throughout the 1910s, Drager continued working as a dock-hand in Portsmouth. Towards the end of the decade, his friends began to notice that his behavior became "more and more erratic." Drager would often talk about killing the President, upset at the Republican Party for in his mind "not helping us poor folk" and "not letting me go and fight in the war." Drager's mental health problems only got worse and worse. He was fired from his job as a dock-hand in March of 1920 after attempting to stab one of his co-workers for unknown reasons. He then lived the live of a vagrant and vagabond and begged for money in the streets of numerous Virginian cities, such as Portsmouth, Alexandria, Norfolk and Richmond. Drager also lived and begged for money in the streets of Baltimore for a few weeks in September of 1920.

Drager's anger at the Republican Party and their recent Presidents, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Wood, only grew more and more over time. Finally, on August 27, 1921, his chance for revenge came when President Leonard Wood arrived in Portsmouth, Virginia to give a speech at the Norfolk Naval Yard. After hearing about this in the morning, Drager made up his mind on what he was going to do. That afternoon, as President Wood was giving his speech, Drager ran up to him and shot and killed him at point-blank range. Drager was quickly apprehended by men of the US Coast Guard. President Wood, aged only 60, became the first US President to be assassinated. The country was in a state of deep shock and horror.

The authorities quickly ascertained that Drager was mentally ill. At his trial, his lawyers tried to argue that he should not be executed on account of his mental state, and that he should spend the rest of his life imprisoned in a local lunatic asylum in Bethesda, Maryland. However, this was the first time that an American President was been assassinated, and right or wrong, the American people wanted blood. The judge ruled that Drager should be executed. In the minds of so many, killing the man who occupied the highest office in the nation deserved no other punishment. Drager was executed by hanging in Richmond, Virginia on November 29, 1921.

 

[Zoidberg12]

George V (1896-1968)

King George V was born on February 5, 1896 in Buckingham Palace in London, the eldest son of Prince Victor and Princess Charlotte. Some months after his birth, Queen Victoria described her first great-grandchild as "a bright eyed and happy young infant." In September, 1909, the young Prince George began attending Eton College. It was during his time at Eton that Prince George, aged only seventeen, became the Prince of Wales after the death of his grandfather Edward VIII on November 22, 1913. He graduated from Eton in 1915 and in October of that year began attending Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge University, a college which he would continue to attend until 1919. In 1920, he followed in his father the King's footstep's and voluntarily signed up for service in the British Army. Over the next decade and a half, the Prince of Wales served in the infantry and was stationed in numerous locations both in Great Britain and throughout the empire, such as Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ceylon, the North-West Frontier, Mesopotamia, Gordonia and British West Africa. All the while, the Prince of Wales was beginning to become a prominent and very popular public figure. His first major public appearance was at the opening ceremony of the 1922 Olympics in London. On May 22, 1920, he married his wife Queen Mary at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle. In 1935, he was honorably discharged from the British military after fifteen years of service.

As a result of his travels throughout the empire during his years of military service, the Prince of Wales began to sympathize more and more with the many denizens of his father's vast empire. In the coming years, he would see many reasons for a gradual devolution of the massive British Empire, so that the people of the dominions and colonies alike could have more say over their own affairs, and so that the dominions could also have more say over their own places in the world. This perspective would serve the future king well and would help with the foundation of the British Commonwealth on November 26, 1961.

After the death of King Victor on June 24, 1953, George, Prince of Wales finally became King George V. His coronation was held in London on October 6, 1954, and it was one of the largest and most festive coronations of a British monarch in living memory. His reign, although less than fifteen years long, would see a number of important events, first and foremost being the Indian War of Independence. Privately, King George V believed that the British government should seek, as he wrote to his private secretary Herbert Newton-John, "a negotiated peace with honor in regards to the Indian troubles. It pains me that our nation would have to negotiate with insurrectionists, but it is not a question of if Britain ends total control over India, but when." In public however, King George supported the war effort, thought not too boisterously. After the war finally ended in 1958, the King was very much relieved, and was glad that many possessions in India were transformed into dominions. Other events included the civil unrest that took place in Britain during the war in India, the 50th anniversary of the start of the Great War, the first transatlantic telecommunications cable, which was inaugurated by a call from Canadian Prime Minister Joshua Holden, the creation of the British Commonwealth in 1961, the election of Liberal PM Cyril Atkinson in 1962, the granting of dominion status to Malta, Cyprus, Malaya, and Jamaica in 1963, the independence of Kuwait in 1964, among other events.

The King's health began to decline around September, 1965, when he underwent heart surgery at Royal London Hospital. His years of heavy eating and smoking had finally taken their toll on him. In April, 1967 he suffered from a fall at Buckingham Palace, but he made a quick recovery. King George V finally died of a heart attack while staying in Balmoral Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland on April 12, 1968 at the age of 72. His funeral was held in London on April 20, 1968, and was the first funeral of a British monarch to be shown live on television. King George V is remembered for being a kind, empathetic, lively, out-going and forward-thinking monarch. His reign is remembered for being a time of both the decreasing in size and the evolution in structure of the British Empire. As Scottish historian Hugh Crosbie put it; "Under King George V, the British Empire decreased in both size and power, but it did not necessarily decline in a traditional sense. To put it simply, under George V the empire evolved with the times and became more a pragmatic entity for the modern world."

 

[Zoidberg12]

Friedrich IV (1895-1988)

Official Photograph of Friedrich IV, 1945

Friedrich IV with a portrait of his father Wilhelm II, 1980

Born on July 29, 1895 at the Marmorpalais in Potsdam, Prince Friedrich was the eldest son of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (the future Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany) and Princess Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein. It was during the prince's preteen and teenage years that the Great War raged on throughout Europe. The young prince made one of his first public appearances when he was only sixteen years old and attended the singing of the Treaty of Brussels with his parents and grandparents on October 12, 1911. When his Grandfather Kaiser Friedrich III of Germany died at the age of 82 on June 28, 1914, the nineteen year-old Prince Friedrich become Crown Prince Friedrich and the heir to the throne of the German Empire, the new great power on the European continent. Throughout his years as Crown Prince, Crown Prince Friedrich became a well-known and popular figure in both the German Empire and in Europe as a whole, and would often be seen at events such as movie premiers, memorial dedications and diplomatic meetings. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, he went on many goodwill visits to other European countries. He even went on a goodwill trip to the United States in the summer of 1934, visiting New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, St. Louis, Denver and San Francisco. When he was in Washington D.C., he even personally met and had dinner with President Zachary T. McKinnis.

When Kaiser Wilhelm II died of a blood clot on June 4, 1941, Crown Prince Friedrich became Kaiser Friedrich IV of Germany. The coronation ceremony took place in Berlin just a few months later on September 1, 1941. In many ways, the new Kaiser was more like his grandfather than his father. Unlike his father, Kaiser Friedrich IV was somewhat more progressive and forward-thinking than his father. He was more than happy to abide by the liberal constitution of Germany and let democracy flourish within his kingdom. He was also more charismatic and amiable than his boisterous and often tactless father. His reign is principally remembered for its seeing Germany becoming a greater power on both the European and world stages. His reign was marked by numerous events, such as the construction of the Friedrichburg Imperial Air Force base in German Cameroon, the Kruger Affiar in 1957 and brief rift in relations with France and Italy, the foundation of the Association of European States in October of 1963, Maximilian Schwiezer becoming the first man to journey into outer space, the grand coalition government of 1970, German involvement in the guerrilla wars in the Belgian Congo and the Dutch East Indies, the German moon landing of 1976, German involvement in the civil wars in Spain and Portugal, among other important events. Throughout his long and storied reign, Kaiser Friedrich IV continued to remain a popular, charismatic and much-loved figure both at home and abroad, and he continued to make public appearances well into his eighties and early nineties. He was affectionately nicknamed in much of the English-speaking world "Old Kaiser Fred." In spite of suffering a major heart-attack on April 29, 1968, just weeks after the death of the British King George V, the Kaiser made a full-recovery and continued to remain active, both physically and publically, into his old age. His 90th birthday celebration in 1985 was marked by parades throughout Berlin, celebrations throughout Germany and a cake-cutting ceremony for the Kaiser at Potsdam, all broadcast live on television.

In late 1986, the elderly Kaiser began suffering another series of heart attacks, and his health began to decline as a direct result. His last public appearance was made on October 3, 1987 for the dedication of a war memorial in Berlin for the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Great War. In January of 1988, he suffered from a debilitating stroke. Just as he seemed to be recovering, he suffered another heart attack and died in Potsdam Palace on February 24, 1988 at the age of 92. As of 2016, his almost forty-seven-yearlong reign is the longest in German history. His funeral was held in Berlin on March 4, 1988 and was attended by numerous leaders from around the world.

 

[Kaiser Chris]

Benjamin Harrison (1833-1916)

Born on August 20th, 1833, Benjamin Harrison was born in Indiana as the grandson to then future President William Henry Harrison. In the early years of his adulthood Harrison would graduate from Miami University and would then start to practice law within Indianapolis, Indiana; becoming one of the cities top attorney's. In 1853 Harrison married Caroline Scott, a close friend from college who he knew as a daughter of his science professor. They would remain married for the next 40 years until Caroline's death in 1893. Together having three children; Russel Harrison, Mary Harrison, and Grover Harrison. Due to the heavy Whig Politics of his family, Harrison would join the Republican Party in its infancy and actively campaigned for Republican candidate John C. Fremont in the 1856 election. In 1862 Harrison would go on a tour within Northern Indiana in order to raise a company of volunteers for the ongoing civil war, for his successful efforts at recruitment Governor Morton gave Harrison the rank of Colonel and command of the 70th Indiana, a reconnaissance and auxiliary regiment that mainly fought within the central theater of the war. For the next year of the war Harrison would serve directly under General Grant in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. When Sherman marched into Arkansas, the 70th Indiana played a key role in being one of the main regiments in charge of enforcing the emancipation of Confederate slaves. Harrison would come into national prominence for the 70th Indiana's role in the Battle of Jackson by acting as the vanguard for the Union army and later one of the main regiments to take part in the "Great Dixie Derby" for his role in leading the men in the battle Harrison was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.

After the Civil War Harrison would serve in the Union Army for two more years until retiring in 1865. His status as a war hero along with connections in the Republican Party made Harrison the party's nominee for Governor of Indiana in 1866 which he won in a landslide vote. Harrison would serve two terms until 1875 where he was elected by the State Senate as Senator of Indiana, completing two senatorial terms from 1875-1887. During his time as Governor Harrison main policies were support for Civil War veterans, growth of the state's industry, infrastructure development, and support for the free black community. As Senator, Harrison was a full supporter of the Spanish-American War and voted in favor of Cuba's status as a protectorate of the United States. He was well known within the Senate for his support on African-American education, infrastructure buildup, and opposition to the Chinese Exclusion Bill, with Harrison playing a key role in preventing from passing. Harrison stepped down from his senate seat in 1887 in order to run for the Presidency, where he was expected to be a leading candidate in the party. Unfortunately Harrison came in second place to John Sherman in the primaries. This would not be the end for William Harrison however as he was nominated by President Samuel J. Randall for the position of Supreme Court Justice in 1889 to replace Stanley Matthews. Harrison was chosen as a concession to the Republicans and because he was a candidate both parties could agree with for his liberal policies and non-bias towards the South.

For the next twelve years Harrison took part in multiple national court cases, primarily dealing with the rights of laborers and the corruption of various corporations and monopolies that had sprung up after the Civil War. Harrison took the side of the people and ruled heavily in support of worker's rights and the elimination of monopolies along with regulation of the Corporate state. Harrison however was not entirely in support of Labor Unions and strikes as he saw them as detrimental to national activities such as railroad and post office strikes. In 1901 with the passing of Supreme Court Chief Mellvile Fuller, Harrison was chosen as Chief Supreme Court Justice. For the rest of his time in the office of Chief Justice, Harrison fought for Civil Rights and would represent many cases of the growing civil rights movement in the Supreme Court, where he mostly voted in favor of the civil rights activists and against state laws or politicians that fought in favor of segregation. After the passage of the 15th amendment, Harrison used the power of the Supreme Court to protect the newfound citizenship for both blacks and women throughout the United States. On April 1st, 1916, Benjamin Harrison contracted influenza and would die four days later on April 4th, approximately 75 years after the death of his grandfather President Harrison. Benjamin Harrison was buried in his hometown of Indianapolis where a crowd of 25,000, including President Roosevelt, gathered to pay their respects. Benjamin would leave behind a legacy of integrity and honor within the Supreme Court and is well praised by historians for his role in protecting worker's and civil rights. He is greatly remembered by the state of Indiana who built the Benjamin Harrison Museum in his honor within the capitol.

 

[Zoidberg12]

Nicholas II (1843-1919)

Born on September 20, 1843, Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsesarevich of Russia was the firstborn son of the reformist Tsar Alexander II of Russia. In the summer of 1864, Tsesarevich Nicholas became engaged to Princess Dagmar of Denmark. The two married in St. Petersburg on Saturday, August 25, 1866, and Princess Dagmar of Denmark changed and russified her name to Princess Maria Feodorovna. The couple had five children together, inducing the future Tsar Alexander III.

Tsesarevich Nicholas became Tsar Nicholas II of Russia after the death of his father Tsar Alexander II on March 27, 1895. His coronation took place in St. Petersburg almost seven months later on October 15, 1895. Much like his father, the new Tsar Nicholas II was a liberal and a reformist at heart. He was determined to modernize and reform the Russian Empire to, in his words, "bring our glorious empire up to standard with the rest of the world and to prevent the takover of Mother Russia by Marxists, Anarchists, Nihilists and all other manner of deplorable and radical political groups." On the day of his coronation, the new Tsar became the first Russian ruler to drop the word “Autocrat” from his title.

Throughout his reign, Tsar Nicholas II continued in his father's footsteps and like his father continued to modernize and reform Russian society. He encouraged the Duma, ordered the building of the Trans-Siberian Railway, modernized the infrastructure of several Russian cities, reformed the Russian bureaucracy, initiated several military reforms, reformed Stavka, the Russian military high command, passed laws that respected regional languages, established schools that taught solely in regional languages, passed laws that protected the Jewish population of the empire and also encouraged Russian arts and culture through the building of new museums, opera houses and the sponsorship of many different cultural events. Most historians agree that it was these reforms, among others, that prevented a large-scale revolution from breaking out in Russia. In spite of this, aside from the accommodations that he made to local languages, Tsar Nicholas II did next to nothing to increase the autonomy in or give any self-determination to the non-Russian regions of the Empire.

The most important events of Nicholas II's reign were the Russo-Japanese War (1906-1909), the Great War (1907-1910) and the subsequent expansion of Russian power on the world stage. When the Empire of Japan declared war on the Russian Empire on October 10, 1906, Nicholas II, although very much shocked, quickly mobilized the Russian armies in preparation for war. He also sent the Baltic fleet from the Baltic Sea and to the seas around Manchuria and Japan. Almost a year later, on October 3, 1907, Nicholas II was also distressed when he heard of the news of the French declaration of war on Prussia. Nevertheless, Nicholas II knew all too well that Russia had to come to the defense of her Prussian ally against French aggression in a direct effort to also prevent French hegemony over Europe. To that effect, on October 5, 1907, the Russian Empire declared war on the Second French Empire and the Austro-Hungrian Empire. Russia was now fighting two wars at the same time.

Four years later, the Russian Empire came out of the war on the victorious side of the Coalition. Russian power greatly expanded on the world stage as a direct result. Russia annexed many of the Slavic regions of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, some of the Armenian regions of Anatolia and Manchuria. Russia also found new satellite states in Kurdistan, Uyghurstan, Mongolia and Tuva. As Halford Mackinder said in his 1903 essay "The Potential of the Russian Empire"; "He who controls Eurasia controls the world." Although the Russian Empire did not "control the world" in the years after the Great War, its power on the world stage was still greatly expanded. Russia's new sphere-of-influence also bordered on a number of nations within the British sphere-of-influence, such as the British client states of Mesopotamia and Afghanistan. His reign also saw the continuation of the Great Game against Great Britain in Central Asia and the increasing friendship between Russia and Persia.

Tsar Nicholas II died of a cerebral hemorrhage in his bedroom in Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg on the night of November 19, 1919. He was 76 years old. His funeral, a massive event with hundreds of attendees saying goodbye to the Tsar who had won for Mother Russia the Great War, was held in St. Petersburg on November 30, 1919.

 

[Zoidberg12]

This bio was based on a bio of Portforio Diaz by Lalli, which was then retconned by a subsequent Diaz bio by Mac Gregor. Here is a link to the original article.

https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/the-union-forever-a-tl.159784/page-129#post-7449129

I liked the idea of a "Mexican Custer", so I decided to write my own bio based on that idea. Credit to this idea and the original article goes to Lalli.

Leonardo Márquez (1820-1874)

Born on January 8, 1820 in Mexico City, Leonardo Márquez was a Mexican general. Marquez joined the Mexican Army in 1830 at the age of ten. He fought in both the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the Reform War (1857-1861) as a supporter of the Conservative faction against Benito Juarez. He was also a prominent supporter of Antonio López de Santa Anna in the revolutionary movement of 1849.

During the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1864), Leonardo Márquez had the rank of Major-General. After the fall of Mexico City to the French in June of 1863, Major-General Márquez surrendered himself and his forces to the French. He supported Emperor Napoleon III's plan to install the Austrian Archduke Maximilian (the future Emperor Maximilian of Austria-Hungary) as Emperor of Mexico, a plan which never came into fruition due to the United States of America's involvement in the war in October of 1863. After the war ended in January of 1864, Major-General Márquez remained in the Mexican Army. As his support of Napoleon III was never made public, he was able to retain his rank and his career was able to remain largely intact. To make sure his career could remain intact, Major-General Márquez, a well-known conservative, swore an oath of allegiance to the Mexican government of President Benito Juarez in March of 1864.

In 1872, Márquez was promoted to the rank of general. Not long after that, General Márquez ordered his troops to go to northern Mexico where the Apache chief Geronimo had been causing a lot of problems with his periodic and often destructive raids. General Márquez chased Geronimo down for many years, when finally on July 6, 1874, the two men and their armies met near the US border. A bloody battle, the Battle of Cuidad Márquez, ensued, and during said battle Geronimo and his men killed the 54 year-old General Márquez and almost all his men. His body, riddled with bullets, was discovered by a search party of the Mexican Army some days later. Then body was then buried in a cemetery in Mexico City.

In 1883, on the site of the aforementioned battle a city was founded that was named after Márquez as Cuidad Márquez (OTL Agua Prieta, Sonora), hence the name that was then given to the battle itself. In the coming decades, Mexicans would come to see Márquez as something of a national hero, this being in spite of his earlier support of Napoleon III. The Mexican Navy destroyer Leonardo Márquez, which was launched and commissioned in 1906 and which served in the Great War, was also named after him.

 

[Zoidberg12]

Albert I (1894-1963)

Born in Brussels on September 29, 1894, Prince Albert was the first-born son of King Leopold III of Belgium (June 12, 1859-May 10, 1940) and Queen Angela of Bavaria (July 16, 1865-December 2, 1961). Growing up and into his adolescence, he admired his father King Leopold III for his piety, amiability, compassion and his humanitarian efforts during the Great War. He also admired the Prussians and their armies for their defeating the French and for their winning of the Great War, as well as the British for their coming to the defense of the Coalition, the vast size of their armies and the vast size of their empire. After the Great War, inspired in part by the British Empire's new expansion in power, King Leopold III decided to send his teenaged son to Christ Church at Oxford University. He attended Christ Church in Oxford from 1912 to 1916. It was here that the young Prince Albert, Duke of Brabant learned to speak fluent English, as well as Latin and Greek. He then attended Heidelberg University in the German Empire from 1916 to 1918. It was here that the young Prince Albert grew to appreciate even more the new European power that was the German Empire. It was also here that he learned to speak fluent German. He attended the Royal Military Academy in Brussels from 1918 to 1922. He then served in the Belgian infantry from 1922 to 1929. As Belgium was a diplomatically neutral nation and since the Great War had been over for several years, the young Prince Albert's time in the Belgian infantry was relatively uneventful. He was stationed all across the Belgian Congo from 1923-1926, in cities such as Leopoldville, Costermansville and Angelaville (OTL's Lisala). During his time in the Belgian Congo, he became appalled at the utter level of squalor and poverty that so many of the people lived in, as well as the poor and neglected state of the Force Publique and the increasing anti-Belgian sentiment among a lot of the native populace.

After the abdication of his father King Leopold III on the centennial of Belgium's independence on October 4, 1930, the 36 year-old Prince Albert, Duke of Brabant became King Albert I of Belgium. One of his first acts as King was to resupply the Force Publique in the Belgian Congo with new weapons, new uniforms, refurnished barracks and new instruction centers. One of his next acts as King was to encourage the building of numerous new schools in the Belgian Congo, in effort to have more of the populace educated and therefore less poor in the future. He also encouraged the improvement of the overall infrastructure of the Belgian Congo. This was all done mainly in an effort to prevent a rebellion by the native Congolese. King Albert I did indeed care about the plight of the people of the Belgian Congo, but it always came from a sense of paternalism. In the end, these measures worked in the short term, but could not prevent the outbreak of the Congo War in 1970.

The reign of King Albert I is principally remembered for the increasing of relations, ties and friendliness between the Kingdom of Belgium and the German Empire. King Albert I was a great admirer of the German Empire and its system of government and he also felt that Germany could offer Belgium necessary military and necessary economic protection. King Albert I also felt that Belgium could not find its own way on the world stage for very much longer, and he much preferred to ally his nation to the constitutionally monarchist and more conservative Germany than to to the recently defeated and republican France or the British Empire, the latter of which he felt would not be compelled to seriously ally with any continental European nation. King Albert I made his first state visit to Germany on June 1, 1933. He visited and dined with Kaiser Wilhelm II and called him "a proud, admirable and brave man." Relations continued to grow between the two nations for the next three decades, even though Belgium was still officially a diplomatically neutral nation.

In late 1961, King Albert I of Belgium and the Belgian nation as a whole suffered a double tragedy. First came the death of his eldest son and the heir-apparent to the Belgian throne Prince Charles, Duke of Brabant in a car-crash outside of Antwerp on September 23, 1961. The Prince was only thirty-eight years-old, and his driver, twenty-nine year-old Phillipe LaPonte, was also killed. This left the King's second-born son, the thirty-seven year-old Prince Leopold, as the new heir to the Belgian throne and Duke of Brabant. When hearing of his son's death, the King is reported by his private secretary to have laid on his bed and cried for at least an hour. Then came the death of the ninety-six year-old Dowager Queen Angela on December 2, 1961. Although her health had been in decline for a number of years, the King claimed that her death was accelerated by "a broken heart" over the death of her grandson.

Two years later, one of King Albert I's proudest moments came when Belgium became one the original ten members of the German-led Association of European States (AES) on October 16, 1963. He was in Berlin and personally attended the signing of the AES charter. The King continued to stay in Berlin and even played a few rounds of golf in the surrounding German countryside with his good friend Kaiser Friedrich IV. On the afternoon of October 23, 1963, during one of these games of golf, the King complained of pains in his chest. He was then quickly taken to a hospital in Berlin. After over a day of pain, at 5:05 PM on October 24, 1963, King Albert I of Belgium died of a sudden heart attack in said Berlin hospital at the age of 69. The nation of Belgium was once again sent into a state of mourning. His body was promptly flown back to Brussels. His funeral was held in Brussels on November 6, 1963.

 

[Lalli]

Two first kings of modern Norway:

Magnus VIII of Norway (1875 - 1961)

Magnus VIII, originally prince Knud, born to future king of Denmark Frederick VIII on 1875. He studied in Danish Naval Academy and later served in navy and advanced always to rank of captain. He too helped develope the navy. During Great War he was patrolling Danish coast and helping to secure Danish neutrality.

On 1922 parliament of Norway offered crown of Norway to prince Knud. He accepted the offer and took as regnal name Magnus VIII. Magnus became soon quiet popular king. He supported parliamentarism and rarely intervened to politics. He was too quiet liberal and supported many important reforms. One of most important events during his reign was annexation of Svalbard on 1941 which gave strong base on Arctic region and several rich mines. Under his reign economy of Norway boosted thanks of mines and oil of North Sea. He too helped to create good relationships with many European nations and United States.

On his last years Magnus' health begun decline and he died from stroke in Bergen on 1961.

Harald V of Norway (1899 - 1991)

Harald, originally prince Valdemar, born to future king Magnus VIII in Copenhagen. Like his father he too studied in Danish Naval Academy. On 1922 him became crown prince of Norway and took name Harald. On 1923 he married princess Ingrid of Sweden (1901 - 1996). During Magnus' last years Harald took several his father's duties. Harald ascend to Norweigian throne on 1961 after his father's death. During his early years on throne Norway joined to AES on 1963 and there held Oslo Winter Olympics on 1964. Like his father Harald V didn't intervene to poltiics often. Harald tried keep good relationships with other nations and was quiet succesful on this and he was pretty popular in foreign nations and Norway. During Harald's reign Maud Hansen (1930 - 2021) became first female prime minister of Norway on 1982. Harald V died from pneumonia on 1991 at age of 92 in Oslo.

 

[Lalli]

Robi Vencel Ignacz (1873 - 1916)

Ignacz was born to mid-class worker family in small town of Márlapócs, Austro-Hungarian empire, near modern border of Hungary and Romania. He was able to get studying to Budapest University as lawyer. There he met several left wingers and later he radicalised. In 1898 he joined to Austro-Hungarian Communist Party. During Great War party tried promote revolution against Habsburgs but they weren't succesful. Police raided head quarter of the party in Budapest but Ignacz was able to escape. During the war years Ignacz wandered around Europe and tried promote revolutions. But he wasn't succesful altough he managed get some allies.

In 1911 Ignacz returned to newly independent Hungary and settled to Budapest. There he founded Hungarian Communist Party. Ignacz demanded overthrown of monarchy and nobility power and reforms to the country. On November 1915 HCP was victor of general election but king Francis II didn't allowed Communists to government. During next months Ignacz and other Communist leaders called people to revolution against oppresive regime. Finally on February 7, 1916 begun Hungarian Revolution and royal family had flee to Vienna, Germany. Two days later Highest Council of Hungarian Communists declared Hungarian Socialist Republic but it wasn't ever recognised by any other nation. Communists created new constitution which rip off all power of nobility and Catholic Church. It too prohibited all religions. Ignacz stated that this is first really atheist nation. There will not be odd cults like in France on 1790's. Ignacz wanted too spread revolution around Europe and he even planned united socialist European state and giving independent to all colonies.

Monarhists still continued fight against Communists. And Communists percecuted noble, clergymen and all potential enemies of revolution. Ignacz argued that succesful revolution and socialist state need harsh methods. Atrocities alienated moderate left wingers and they begun oppose Ignacz's regime on Autumn. Germans and Russians too took more active role on fighting against Communists. Finally on end of November Hungarian monarchists, Russians and Germans entered to Budapest and there begun bitter battle which lasted several days. On December 10 Ignacz tried flee city but mob captured and lynched him. Ignacz's corpse was burned and remnants threw to Danube.

Ignacz's acts discredited Communism and many of Communists joined to more moderate movements and parties. In Hungary and many other countries Communist parties were prohibited by government. And many countries took even more reactionary politics.

 

[Mac Gregor]

View attachment 296103

Harshad Nanda (1912 - 1979)

View attachment 294056 QUOTE] .

Sorry for the delayed response. Lalli, great start to the Nanda article. I made some changes and edits on one of the TL's most important people. I also changed the picture as Sam Manekshaw might be to well known. Enjoy.

Harshad Nanda (1912 - 1979)

Nanda circa 1937


Harshad Nanda was born on May 5, 1912 in Dehradun, British India to local official Rahul Nanda (1884 - 1951) and Kiran Nanda (1887 - 1964). Most historians describe Nanda’s childhood as unhappy due to his father’s alcoholism, probably brought on by his service and the loss of his two brothers during the Great War. From 1927 to 1932, Nanda attended the Kitchener Academy, a military prep school in Delhi, and was one of only a dozen Indians selected to attend the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. Nanda had a tough time as a cadet and was often mocked and ridiculed by his white comrades. Despite these hardships, Nanda commissioned as a second lieutenant of artillery in the predominantly British led Indian Army.

Posted at a remote garrison near the Afghan border, Nanda was involved in several skirmishes with bandits and rebellious tribesmen. Although eventually promoted to captain, Nanda’s military career came to a screeching halt after a violent altercation with his commanding officer, a cruel martinet named Lieutenant Colonel Sebastian Dodd. Dodd had wrongly accused Nanda of pilfering the garrison’s supply of brandy. Nanda knew that Dodd, a heavy drinker, had likely stolen the liquor himself, flatly denied the charges, and accused Dodd in return. Accounts differ as to who struck first but the end result was that Nanda gave Dodd a “proper thrashing.” Nanda was duly arrested, court-martialed, and cashiered from service. Sentenced to three years in a detestable Karachi jail, Nanda made contact with a number of Indian dissidents of various stripes and forged his own beliefs for a strong and united India free of British influence.

After being released from prison in 1941, Nanda quickly got involved in politics, joining the Indian Independence Party (IIP) working first as an enforcer in Calcutta but rising soon as a leader in the party’s nascent paramilitary. In 1944, Nanda married Priyanka Gowalad the daughter of local wealthy businessman. The unlikely marriage would prove a significant boost to Nanda’s career as his father-in-law’s business contacts proved crucial to his rise to power. The couple had three children, Pranab, Rajiv, and Indira although Nanda is often described as an indifferent father,.

On April 5, 1949 Nanda narrowly escaped being arrested at the IIP’s annual congress when the gathering was crashed by the police. Nanda was present when three days later a group of IIP radicals issued a declaration of independence for India and formed the United Front for the Liberation of India (UFLI). Nanda joined and soon became a trusted confidant to UFLI leader Shivraj Yadav. During the war for independence, Nanda led several operations against British and loyalists forces becoming a well-known rebel commander. In 1955, Nanda was wounded during the attack on Jaipur which killed Yadav and several other UFLI leaders. After Yadav’s death, the UFLI fractured into several factions with Nada leading one of the larger corporatist elements.

When the war finally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Geneva in 1958, the former British Raj was divided to several nations with Burma, Ceylon, Madras, Travancore, Mysore and Hyderabad remaining in or allied to the British Empire. Nanda was furious over the terms and considered it a grave betrayal. Nanda's served briefly in the new Indian Republican Army but soon retired to focus on politics.

On February 18, 1959 Nanda along with several other former UFLI members founded the National Unity Party Rastriya Ekata Parti (REP) which espoused corporatism and pan-Indian nationalism. It opposed European imperialism and wanted to reunite all the territory of the former Raj. During the 1959 general election, the REP gained several seats in parliament but was only one of many small opposition parties. In 1960 Nanda published his political manifesto "The Indian Nation" in which he advocated ultra-nationalism, corporatism, and eradicating British imperialism from Asia. The book’s massive popularity surprised even Nanda himself and helped lead the party to success in the 1963 general election with the REP becoming the single biggest opposition party.

The REP continued to grow over the next four years decrying the Indian government as hopelessly ineffective and often violently clashing with their opponents in the streets. In 1967, the REP and its allies won over half the seats in parliament in a jaw-dropping landslide. As the new premier, Nanda quickly began remaking the country. His government ran through a new constitution ushering in the second republic under the title the United Republic of India with Nanda as its powerful president. The depth and breadth of Nanda’s reforms are hard to overstress. India’s provincial borders were redrawn to form 34 states and the once sleepy centrally located townofNagpur was rechristened as Ekata Sahara “Unity City” to serve as the new capital. Discrimination against women and lower castes were curbed and a myriad of social programs created. Nanda’s India had a dark side as well with freedom of the press sharply curtailed and rival political groups ruthlessly persecuted by the Internal Security Commission Antarika Suraksa Ayoga (ASA). The military was modernized and enlarged dramatically. In 1973, Nanda cemented an alliance with Japan and other corporatist nations by signing the Calcutta Compact.

In August 1974 Nanda began his long awaited plan to unite the subcontinent, by invading the State of Islamic Bengal. It was a stunning success and the country fell in less than two months. Arguably no single person was more instrumental to the start of what would become the Asia-Pacific War than Nanda. In 1976, Nanda seized on what he believed to be a great opportunity by invading Hyderabad. The conflict soon escalated, spreading from South America to the Pacific. At first, India scored some impressive successes but Indian forces were soon stopped by stiffening resistance. As the war dragged on, China and Persia joined forcing the United Republic of India to fight on three fronts. As the odds swung decidedly against Nanda, the resolve of his soldiers and civilians declined and riots and eventually rebellions against his rule erupted across his would-be empire.

Nanda was killed on June 18, 1979 as a Commonwealth bomb destroyed his command post in Ekata Sahara. The war ended a few days later. In the years since his death, Nanda remains a polarizing figure. Some in India continue to view him as a hero of the revolution and a modernizer, while others believe that he callously led his nation to ruin. Outside of India, Nanda is usually considered an ambitious military strongman who, although gifted, plunged the world into one of the deadliest conflicts in human history.

 

[Mac Gregor]

Smoke over the Steppe
The IEF Civil War
April – October 2002

Reformer Soldier during the Battle of Minsk​

With the coming of spring, the Conservatives renewed the offensive once again hoping to finally bring the Reformers to heel. The proper strategy was hotly debated in Moscow with many favoring a renewed push towards St. Petersburg. However, the strength of the Reformer defenses and previous failures on that front eventually dissuaded Kuznetsov and the Imperial General Staff on that course of action. Eventually the Conservatives agreed on a massive drive into the Byelorussia region in what became known as Operation Nosorog. Starting in late April, nearly a million Conservative troops surged westward. One of the largest clashes of catephracts in history occurred around Vitebsk. The beleaguered city would trade hands no less than three times before the Conservatives managed a sweeping flanking movement to the south that succeeded in breaking the Reformers lines. It was widely rumored that when the Conservatives finally retook Vitebsk that a large number of the city's sizable Jewish population was massacred by Conservative militias and mercenaries. By the end of summer, the Conservatives had captured Minsk which suffered horribly due to aerial bombardment and later house to house fighting. In the following weeks, the Conservatives reached the Polish border. Exhaustion and the presence of the German backed Polish Army prevented the Conservatives from advancing any further. Reformer counterattacks and advances on other fronts failed to achieve the desired results only adding to the horrendous casualties.

The loss of Byelorussia proved a devastating blow to the Reformers. By October, the territory controlled by Pasternak’s government was reduced to three large but disparate pockets. These included the area around St. Petersburg and the Baltic regions, most of the Ukraine, and the western half of the Caucuses. With the Conservatives gaining air superiority there was little that these three zones could do to support each other. Hopes that foreign nations would come to their rescue had all but evaporated. Still Pasternak and other Reformer leaders in St. Petersburg held out the hope that the heavy-handed repression and persistent food shortages would topple the Conservative regime in Moscow. Needless to say, the continuing slaughter convinced thousands to flee to the relative safety of Poland, Finland, or the refugee camps in Central and Western Europe.

In Manchuria, the technocrats succeeded in defeating the other factions during the mad scramble for power that occurred after the Russian withdrawal months earlier. Unsurprisingly, the Technate of China was the first nation to officially recognize the Technate of Manchuria as an independent nation on September 2. The rest of the Technocratic Union swiftly followed. Na Gengxin, known for his close ties to China, was installed as the Techanate’s first executive in Mukden. In Central Asia and the eastern Caucuses, rebel controlled areas were operating as if their independence was already won. Turkey officially recognized the Azeri Republic and Ismail Fitrat’s massive Democratic Union of Turkic Republics. Wishing to curry favor in these new nations Persia did likewise and also took the bold step and recognized Dagestan and Chechenia. Kuznetsov’s government in Moscow, could do little but file a formal diplomatic protest and decry the acts as “provocative and illegal.”

 

[Mac Gregor]

2002

Foreign and Domestic Developments ​

Young Christians demonstrating as part of the "Rainbow Revival"​

Throughout the year, the Dutch evangelist Arend Beulens held several Christian revivals in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom attracting crowds in the tens of thousands. Besides the personal appearances, Beulens was developing a worldwide following through sermons and videos posted on the globtrix in English, Dutch, and German. Increasingly, supporters of Beulens message of renewed piety, anti-materialism, and compassion adopted the rainbow flag as their symbol. The flag represented not only the rainbow covenant of the Great Flood but was also used by revolting German peasants during the 1500s. Beulens advocacy for greater support for IEF refugees regardless of their political affiliation, amongst other stances, put him at odds with many European governments some of which even banned him from the entering the country.

The XXII Summer Olympiad was held in Cape Town, South Africa the first African city to host the games. Both the IEF Conservatives and Reformers tried to send athletes to the games but were politely refused by the Olympic Committee stating that their “credentials were not in order.”

In July, the Turin Pact’s European Space Research Organization (ORSE) became the first to successfully land a spacecraft on an asteroid. The probe Giuseppe Asclepi orbited Pegasus, the largest of the near earth asteroids, several times before gently touching down on its surface. The achievement proved a refreshing highlight for ORSE which over the previous decades had often been overshadowed by its American, German, and IEF counterparts.

At the third Geneva summit, the various delegations continued their deliberations regarding the IEF Civil War. One of the top issues was the German recognition of the Polish and Finnish governments earlier that year. While some nations objected on the grounds that it effectively constituted intervention, the Germans countered that they were merely “acknowledging an established fact” and that failure to do so would subject those areas to the violent wrath of civil war. This third summit was also notable for the presence of some new powers such as Portugal, Syria, Japan, and India.

During the summer, King Safiuallah Khan of Afghanistan launched a well-publicized effort to increase tourism to his country. Chief attractions included the Buddhas of Bamiyan and the tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani in Kandahar. In addition, two major sky resorts were opened north of Kabul. New roads and rail links from Persia, Punjab, and Baluchistan made accessing this once isolated nation easier than ever. While certain conservative elements were concerned about the influx of foreigners, few resented the increased revenue.

On October 23, China’s Directorate of Infrastructure officially opened the Grand Technocratic Viaduct finishing the high-speed railway between Nanking and Shanghai. Commemorating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Technate of China, and at over 166 km, it was the longest bridge yet constructed.

During the midterm elections, the Republicans captured the House of Representatives. In the Senate the Republicans and Democrats each held 59 seats making Vice President Bridget Torres the tie breaker. Many interpreted the Republican gains as a referendum on President Zaal’s foreign policy and the sluggish economic recovery.

 

[Mac Gregor]

Dissolving the Ties that Bind

The IEF Civil War
November 2002 – February 2003​

On November 2, the Conservatives stunned the Reformers by launching an offensive into the Ukraine. Many thought that the Conservatives would rest for the winter having only recently finished the grueling campaign to recapture Byelorussia. Marshal Kirill Volkov ordered two massive pincers to converge on Kiev. One moved south from Minsk while the other pushed west from the Donbas. Thick snow and a determined populace slowed the Conservative advance. Ukrainian Jews put up some of the stiffest resistance infuriated by reports of the massacre at Vitebsk. Throughout most of December, the Reformers under General Sasha Gavrilyuk put up a valiant defense of Ekaterinoslav on the Dnieper River. Conservative rocket artillery levelled most of the city causing tens of thousands of civilian casualties before it finally surrendered. Odessa fell to a surprise amphibious assault, as the Reformers were busy deflecting an overland attack by Conservative forces from Bessarabia. Although the Reformers did score some victories, Kiev soon fell under siege as Conservatives ringed the city.

With the Ukraine in flames, German Chancellor Ernst Osterloh decided that it was only a matter of time before the Reformers lost the war. Osterloh, desiring to create as much of a buffer zone between the German Empire and the IEF as possible prompted the three Baltic governments to declare independence. Wishing to avoid failing into the hands of the vengeful Conservatives, the Baltic regions of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia dissolved their last connections with Pasternak’s Reformer government in St. Petersburg. Germany and the rest of the AES recognized the three new nations immediately. Tensions in Europe during these chaotic weeks were fever pitch. Germany announced a partial mobilization to cover its actions in the Baltic in case the Reformers or Conservatives intervened. The Turin Pact likewise mobilized their own forces. While there was some sporadic fighting between the separatists and the Reformers, Pasternak was in no position to try and keep the Baltic in the IEF by force. By the New Year, the independence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Latvian Republic, and State of Estonia was a fait accompli.

During the early months of 2003, the war continued to wage as the Conservatives gained ground in the snow covered Ukraine. An uprising by Ruthenian separatists who desired a separate peace complicated matters but failed to attract outside support. In the Caucuses, the Georgians and Armenians, still technically loyal to Pastenak’s government, performed well and checked the Conservatives at a costly battle along banks of the Psou River. Around St. Petersburg, the Reformers prepared for a final Conservative assault in the spring, and prayed for a miracle to reverse the tide of war.

 

[RyderWest]

A British Army Madensen XL103A1 assault rifle, with a full length gun rail, extendable stock and 30 round magazine. This particular one was the prototype used during the evaluation and testing trials at RSAF Enfield.

Name: Madensen XL103A1 assault rifle

Designer: Madensen Armaments

Type: Long-stroke gas piston rotating bolt automatic rifle

Caliber: .280 British (7.2x43mm ComNat)

Feed system: 30 round box magazine

Adopted: N/A, currently undergoing testing and evaluation trials as of June 2002

Users: Commonwealth of Nations and associates, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Madras, Malaya, Sarawak, Brunei (intended users)

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A Royal Singaporean Infantry Rifle Regiment SCLTSE XSCR-25 bullpup assault rifle. This particular early model has a scope, right-sided firing port, custom seethrough magazine and ambidexterous charging handle.

Name: SCLTSE XSCR-25 bullpup assault rifle

Designer: Singaporean Commonwealth Laboratories of Technology, Science and Engineering (SCLTSE)

Type: Gas operating rotating bolt bullpup automatic rifle

Caliber: .280 British (7.2x43mm ComNat)

Feed system: 30 round box magazine

Adopted: N/A, currently undergoing testing and evaluation trials as of June 2002

Users: Commonwealth of Nations and associates, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Madras, Malaya, Sarawak, Brunei (intended users)

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An Royal Australian Army ADAC XF105S-A1 assault rifle. This model has coverings for the rail mountings, a extendable stock, a full top rail for attachments, removable iron sights, and a standard 30 round magazine.

Name: ADAC XF105S-A1 assault rifle

Designer: Australian Defence Armaments Corporation

Type: Long-stroke gas piston rotating bolt automatic rifle

Caliber: 6.5×47mm ComNat (.264 Australian) [1]

Feed system: 30 round box magazine

Adopted: N/A, currently undergoing testing and evaluation trials as of June 2002

Users: Commonwealth of Nations and associates, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Madras, Malaya, Sarawak, Brunei (intended users)

[1] OTL 6.5×47mm Lapua round

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A Canadian Army OSAAF XCDR-44 assault rifle. This rifle is unique as in that it has a ambidexterous firing port, meaning that it could both be used by left handed and right handed soldiers. It also has flip down sights, a extendable stock, custom magazine and is made out of highly resistant polymer.

Name: OSAAF XCDR-44 assault rifle

Designer: Ontario Small Arms and Armaments Factories (OSAAF)

Type: Short-stroke gas piston operated rotating bolt automatic rifle

Caliber: .243 Ontarian (6.2x45mm ComNat) [1]

Feed system: 30 round box magazine

Adopted: N/A, currently undergoing testing and evaluation trials as of June 2002

Users: Commonwealth of Nations and associates, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Madras, Malaya, Sarawak, Brunei (intended users)

[1] OTL 6mm SAW round

 

[Mac Gregor]

A Desert Called Peace
The IEF Civil War
April – November 2003​

Conservative bombardment of St. Petersburg​

The Ukraine

As spring melted the winter snows, fighting intensified as the Conservatives attempted to isolate and destroy stubborn pockets of Reformer resistance. An attempt in late April to finish the siege of Kiev caused heavy Conservative casualties but managed only to reduce the Reformers’ perimeter. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fled the slaughter into neighboring Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia further straining the already taxed system of refugee camps. During the fighting, the Conservatives attempted to plant crops in order to alieve the ongoing food shortages in the IEF but results fell far short of expectations. By late summer, nearly all major Ukrainian cities had fallen to Marshal Volkov’s forces. Kiev finally capitulated on September 13 when the Conservatives captured the former Orthodox Council headquarters complex that the Reformers had turned into their last redoubt. Despite the loss of Kiev, scattered Reformer partisans continued the struggle in rural districts while sabotage was not uncommon in urban areas.

Central Asia

As fighting continued in the Ukraine, Kuznetsov’s Conservative government diverted forces to advance on their former Central Asian territories, a front that had been largely quiet since the Conservatives withdrawal in the spring of 2001. With two years to prepare, the Democratic Union of Turkic Republics, with the support of Turkey and Persia, was able to mount a serious defense of its territory. Although the Conservatives had a large numerical advantage in cataphracts and aircraft, it proved to be painfully slow going. After months of brutal fighting, the Conservatives had captured a swath of territory in norther Kazahkiya where there were still a sizable number of ethnic Russians and the Pavlodar coalfields. Near the northern shores of the Caspian Sea, the Conservatives secured the Tengiz and Karachaganak gas and oil fields. They also managed to retake their main spaceport, the Empress Elizabeth II Cosmodrome, near Makat that had surprisingly suffered only minor damage. Attempts to push further into Central Asia however failed due to stiffening Turkic resistance and the need of Conservative forces on the Western Front.

Battle of St. Petersburg

With winter approaching, Kuznetsov and the Conservative leadership convened another war council in Moscow. It was clear to most that the war needed to be brought to a swift conclusion. Near famine conditions persisted throughout much of the IEF and the government was bankrupt. Understanding that Pasternak’s government in St. Petersburg would have to be destroyed before a satisfactory settlement could be reached, the Conservatives agreed for a final push to retake the imperial capital. Gathering all available forces that were not tied down in the Ukraine, Central Asia, or Caucasus fronts, Operation Konechnyy began on October 28. The fighting proved to be especially fierce, but the end result was never in doubt. With the Conservatives approaching the edge of the city, Pastenak and several other government ministers boarded a small jet and fled, first to Norway ,then the United Kingdom, and finally to Brazil where they were granted asylum. On November 22, the last Reformer defenders in the city surrendered. Two days later, Emperor Alexander IV delivered a televised address from the battered Winter Palace declaring that the “unlawful, unpatriotic, and unchristian insurrection” had been put down.

 

[Mac Gregor]

The Geneva Accords
December 2003 ​

With the collapse of the Reformer government, the long stalled peace negotiations in Geneva finally made progress. Some Conservative hardliners wished to resume the fighting to recapture all of the lost territory but after nearly four years of conflict, the Conservatives simply did not have the strength to continue. Kuznetsov and his government were desperate for financial support and the people of the IEF faced starvation if large shipments of food did not arrive. Over several weeks in December, at a speed that amazed many observers, an agreement was hammered out between the various powers. Some of the chief terms included...

· A ceasefire between the Conservatives, Reformers, and various separatist groups would go into effect January 1, 2004.

· Reformer and separatist combatants and refuges who took an oath of loyalty to the IEF would be granted amnesty and allowed to return to their homes.

· Kuznetsov’s Regime would be recognized as the legitimate government of the IEF.

· All IEF assets frozen during the war would be unfrozen.

· All sanctions and embargoes against Kuznetsov’s government would be lifted.

· An international aid package of food and medical supplies worth $85,000,000,000 would be supplied to needed areas of the IEF and the newly independent states over the next four years.

· Reformer nuclear weapons and vessels that had defected to other nations would be returned to the IEF.

· Refugees who could not return to their homes would be allowed to settle in nations willing to allow immigration.

· To oversee the peaceful implementation of this agreement a Fellowship of Nations was to be established in Geneva. This organization was to be a formal continuation of the annual international summits that had met there during the civil war.

The most controversial article involved the twelve new nations that had been carved out of the IEF. While most foreign nations agreed that they had in effect achieved their independence, Kusnetsov’s government refused to grant them all recognition on account of a myriad of territorial, legal, and other disputes. In the end, the various powers agreed that the new nations and Kuznetsov’s government would “peacefully resolve their differences at a later time.” Unsurprisingly this agreement, known as the Geneva Accords, failed to satisfy everyone but it did preserve a rocky peace and allow much needed supplies to start reaching the beleaguered people of Eurasia.

 

[Mac Gregor]

2003

Foreign and Domestic Developments

Telesurgery Demonstration​

In January, the first telesurgery was conducted by Dr. Isidore Euguene Bloxham operating from Quebec City on a patient in Christchurch, New Zealand. Although the procedure was a standard appendectomy, it served as a proof of concept for the communication, computer, and automantonic technology needed to conduct remote surgery.

On February 18, Tariku Birra and his All-African People’s Party staged a coup seizing control in the Empire of Abyssinia. A staunch African nationalist, Birra reduced the aged Emperor Menelik III to a mere figurehead and spent much of the rest of the year violently consolidating his power.

While the 2003 World’s Fair was originally planned for St. Petersburg to celebrate that city’s tricentennial, the IEF Civil War made that decidedly impossible . Tunisi, Italy the runner-up was able to put on a highly praised exposition by the time visitors arrived. Having grown into an extremely cosmopolitan city over the past century, Tunisi provided an exotic mix of Italian, Arab, French, and Berber cultures. One of the biggest announcements at the fair occurred when Popsonic, the musical division of Vantage Industries, unveiled Vox a digital audio player that would revolutionize the music industry.

On September 28, Zambezia became an independent republic inside the Commonwealth of Nations. Henry Miyanda, who had served as prime minister when Zambezia gained dominion status in 1977, was sworn in as the nation’s first president.

During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the Muslim Hui minority in the Technate of China faced widespread discrimination as the Directorate of Health tried to enforce mandatory breaking of the ritual fast. While done officially for health reasons nearly all understood it to be a crackdown on a religion that disagreed with the state sponsored creed of Techno-Confucianism. While only partially successful, news of the repression of a small peaceful religious minority further sullied China’s reputation on human rights, even drawing an official condemnation from Pope Gregory XVIII.

On November 21, a reactor in a nuclear power plant near Breslau, Germany suffered a partial meltdown. The accident resulted in the unauthorized release of radioactive gases and iodine into the surrounding area. While the German government downplayed the incident as “a minor accident caused by the unlikely combination of human and mechanical errrors” it emboldened ecoists and anti-nuclear activist around the world like the Better World Society and Anti-Atomic Alliance. Needless to say, the German government's spotty handling of the situation led to a drop in public support for Chancelor Osterloh.

In December, the Tsugaru Strait Tunnel opened. At nearly 54 km, half of which lay beneath the ocean floor, it slightly surpassed the Cook Strait Tunnel making it the longest undersea tunnel yet constructed. Connecting the Japanese islands of Hokkaido and Honshu, the newly enthroned Emperor Takahiro presided over the ribbon cutting ceremony after his father’s unexpected death earlier that year. While the emperor no longer wielded any real political power in Japan, Takahiro’s youthfulness symbolized to many the vigor and energy of the post war generation that increasingly dominated the country.

 

[Mac Gregor]

I know its been a minute since an update. Here is the world as of 31 December 2003. Cheers!