TL-191.5 The Sun Rises

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

1975:
January-March:
Asia: January: Prime Minister Katayama continues at work, despite the personal loss he suffered. The populace are much impressed by his stoic resolve.
Construction continues on what has been named Izanami-no-Mikoto Station, made [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] like Roosevelt Station [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] of second-stage fuel tanks. Japan[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s leaders hope to be ready for a lunar launch by the mid-1980s, though realistically they are aware that America[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s presence on the Moon may lead to the US being[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]uneasy about any Japanese lunar/circumlunar missions. There has been talk of a potential Mars mission, but this is running up against the problem that chemical engines will not carry a ship to Mars. Alternative sources of propulsion [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] including an atomic booster [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] are being looked into, but these are all long-term projects in the extreme. In the meantime, the main goal is completion of the orbital station.
Release of the epic film Demon Warlord, chronicling the rise to power of Oda Nobunaga. Employing over a thousand extras from the Imperial Japanese Army, it is one of the largest films produced by a Japanese film company.
A general election in the Empire of Vietnam leads to the rise of the Vietnam Democratic Left Party, a party that fissioned from the Socialist Party of Vietnam in 1949. This marks the first time that the Imperial Party of Vietnam has lost an election since the foundation of the state, something that unnerves Japan somewhat. However, the handover of power progresses smoothly, as Prime Minister Nguyen Doan is given permission to form a government by the Emperor of Vietnam.
General Tsao visits Lhasa, capital of the Autonomous Province of Tibet (and a popular destination for Han tourists), where he meets with the Dalai Lama. Officially this is a meeting between the President of the Republic and a Provincial Governor. However, the two have a private meeting [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] though no details are leaked at the time, later generations will learn that General Tsao was at the time suffering from severe guilt over the superbombing of Novosibirsk, something he talked at great length to the Dalai Lama about. The meeting would later become the subject of the critically acclaimed film The Monk and the General.
Unemployment remains high in the Republic of Australia. However, the government receives some small cash injections as Argentina buys Canberra and the Empire of Brazil buys Melbourne. Both nations also buy six of Australia[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s remaining destroyers.

February: Minor scandal in Japan over the admission of Mongolian refugees in Siberia into sumo schools [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the right wing wants to keep the traditional sport Japanese.
Showa Oil Corporation is working to access new oil and gas deposits on and around Karafuto Prefecture. At the same time, construction begins on the Showa Tunnel between Sapporo and Karafuto.
Prime Minister Doan of Vietnam passes legislation allowing the growth of trade unions [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] something hitherto limited under Vietnamese law. However, he manages to quiet establishment fears by expanding the military budget.
Indonesian and Japanese oil companies are taking over formerly Australian-owned drilling and refining facilities on New Guinea.
General Tsao and the Chinese Navy have a major dispute over the General[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s rejection of the Zheng He Plan, a Navy request for a major budget increase to cover expansion of the (small) Chinese navy, including the construction of capital ships. The General turns the plan down, claiming that China is a [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]land animal[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT], and that the Army and the Air Force will be of far greater utility in winning wars. He also hopes [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] though this isn[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t for public consumption [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] that a lack of naval expansion will quiet tensions. After all, there[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s only one target that a large Chinese Navy would really have.
Construction of [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]City of Harmonious Accord[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] begins, near what used to be Nanking.

March: First pre-recorded Magnotape films hit the shelves in Korea. The youth of Korea (those whose parents can afford Magnomax players, at least) have also been avidly taping Interstellar Warship Matsushima [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] a state of affairs that leads Korean National Farseer to decide to try making their own science-fiction show, as a matter of national pride. And also profit.
Park Avionics are beginning to work on a supersonic airliner.
The Scandinavian countries are quickly becoming major markets for Chinese raw materials.
Omar Hamad begins preaching in the North-West Frontier region, along the tribal border with Afghanistan. He quickly gains a large, angry and enthusiastic audience.

Americas: January: Vice President de Vere begins holding meetings with a number of Powell House staff movers and shakers, behind closed doors. He[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s working to try to extend Republican influence within the Powell House, in as much as the limited office of Vice President allows him.
Ford unveils the Whisper, a prototype electric car using a lithium battery. The American automobile industry has been largely geared towards fuel-efficient cars, so this is a natural progression. Though Germany is still popular for the luxury/sports car market, American and English manufacturers have gained a major presence in Western Europe.
President Kennedy authorises arms shipments to the Russian Socialists, both to further the advancement of leftist democracy on a global level and in the hope that a Red victory will drive any surviving Confederate refugees from their safe haven.
John Mallard completes his conscription term [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] a term he served with the 11th Armoured Cavalry, during which he fought in the West African War [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and begins college in New York. He will go on to major in history, which will play into his later, unexpected career[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]
Philippe Talon is elected President of the Republic of Quebec. Head of the Christian Democrats, he continues to follow pro-US, conservative policies.
Argentina and Brazil take delivery of their first aircraft carriers. They are already in discussions with the United States regarding the purchase of Reapers to operate from them once they[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]ve been refit satisfactorily.
Drew Smithson, a member of Family of the Confederacy, begins writing Soldiers[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] Voices: The Men who followed the Bonnie Blue Flag.

4th February: Custer Station[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]extension[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] opens. In a major press conference, President Kennedy and Director Andrew Jansen of the United States Rocket and Space Administration announce that the new construction will allow Custer Station to house an additional hundred scientists. Fifty of these scientists will be from the United States, while the other fifty will be drawn from [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]high achievers[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] from the scientific communities of other nations.
February: Protests in Kentucky by younger Southerners, who identify themselves as loyal to the United States and demand representation in their country. The protests are viewed with concern by the government[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]and by older Southerners, who see in them the final victory of the damnyankees, that their grandchildren are finally starting to see themselves as Yankees. Southerners in the military are especially vocal about wanting their loyalty to be recognised.
The fifteen-episode Farseer miniseries, Dukes of Dangerfield, airs on FBC-1. The programme, which will go on to win several awards, tells the story of the Duke brothers, Bob and Luke, a failed racing driver and a college dropout, from fictional Dangerfield County, Georgia. Bob, an adrenaline junkie and Luke, who finds himself directionless and who has always felt himself to be a disappointment to his Confederate veteran father, are both drawn into a neo-Freedomite group run by the sinister [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Uncle[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] Jessie. Episodes frequently intercut between the Duke brothers[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] present, surrounding their joining and carrying out assignments for the neo-Freedomites, and memories of the happier past, in which their uncle J.D. Coltrane, Sheriff of Dangerfield County, features heavily as their [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]good angel[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] and counterpart to [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Uncle[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] Jessie. A secondary plot involves Daisy Quincannon, Southern belle, local waitress and childhood friend and love interest for both brothers[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]who is also an FPB agent. Three episodes in particular deal with the conflict between her loathing of the brothers[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] current crimes, and her love of how she remembers them before things went bad. In the final episode, Luke is shot by Daisy following a raid on [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Uncle[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] Jessie[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s compound, and Bob [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] trying to drive his dying brother to safety in their restored stock car [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Stonewall[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] dies at the hands of the FPB. The series is considered a harrowing look into how deprived or disenfranchised young people in the South can be lured into terrorism by cynical leaders.

March: Continued infighting between Socialists and Republicans, this time over tax [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the Socialist Party taxes the wealthy heavily, something that some Republicans disapprove of.
Scientists from England, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, China and Germany begin arriving in the United States, for training for the conditions they[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]ll eventually encounter in space.
Further [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]loyal Southerner[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] protests in Kentucky.
19th March: A [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]loyal Southerner[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] rally ends in tragedy as a nail-bomb is set off by the Single Stars, killing ten and wounding twelve. The Single Stars later release a statement, labelling the marchers as traitors to the South.

Europe: January: The Reichstag passes a motion granting wide autonomy to Mittelafrika, though the German Governor remains in ultimate control [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] something seen as necessary given the large numbers of settlers living there.
Disputes arise in the Royal Union of the Trans-Danube over the wording of oaths of allegiance to the Emperor.
A pirate radio station begins broadcasting in the Sultanate of Turkey. The station identifies itself as [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]The Voice of the Caliphate[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT], and launches verbal attacks on the military junta who [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]betrayed the Caliph and forced him to renounce his sacred duty[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].
The destroyer ENS Fairfax, now renamed ENS Ireton after the loss of the original vessel, is launched.
Trials begin of ULF suspects in Ireland.
14th-27th January: Red forces take Sochi and Anapa, aim to link up with other Socialist factions in Rostov for an attack on Kazan. Elsewhere, Yekatarinburg falls to White forces. Air units loyal to the Federal government begin bombing the city heavily.
Construction of oil rigs in the Bight of Biafra.
The Nigerian Civil War begins in earnest as the government orders the Army to disarm Yoruba and Christian militias. Large numbers of the Army desert as different factions resist bitterly.

February: Construction begins on the new Kiel-class battlecruiser. The new ship was approved by the Reichstag after rumblings of discontent among the Navy.
In England, construction begins on ENS Albion, the first airplane carrier built by England since the Second Great War. The Albion, in keeping with the defensive nature of England[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s fleet, is a small vessel, only displacing 27,000 tonnes. It is a [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]defensive carrier[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT], to carry aircraft to defend the fleet from aerial attack.
Russian air units defect to the Socialists [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] in particular three squadrons of American-built Raptors. They[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]re quickly pressed into service against Federal barrels around Samara. Southern Samara Oblast is in Red hands currently, along with Rostov Oblast and Krasnodar Krai.
Trade deals signed between Japan, China and the Arab Republic of Phoenicia lead to a rapid infusion of money into the nation[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s coffers. President Qabbani will use this [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and further [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] money to begin a major policy of national development.
Formation of the Saviour[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s Army in Nigeria, a fusion of several Christian militia forces led by [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]General[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] Joseph.

March: Homosexuality is decriminalised in Germany [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] something that provides considerable grist for Otto Streicher[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s right-wing mill, as he denounces it as a [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]vile Socialist-Jewish plot[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] to rob the nation of its future generations.
Though both nations are allies [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] of the United States, at least [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] Ireland is somewhat leery of England building an airplane carrier. The Military high command begins drawing up plans for defending Irish airspace against carrier strikes.
Fresh Red uprisings in Archangelsk Oblast. All of Samara Oblast is now in Red hands.
Heavy fighting around Lagos as the capital is besieged by the Saviour[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s Army.




Screenplay of Dukes of Dangerfield
Episode 20: [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Judgement Day[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]
The setting is a country road in Dangerfield County, at night. We see the STONEWALL, red with a Confederate Battle Flag on the roof, roaring through the night, then cut to the interior. BOB DUKE is driving, while his brother, LUKE DUKE, sits in the passenger seat, both hands pressed to a bloody wound in his stomach.

LUKE:
Cold[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]so cold[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

BOB:
Just hold on, OK? Hold on, little brother. Keep pressin[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] there, I[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]ll get us clear. Ain[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t a thing can catch ol[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] Stonewall once she gets goin[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].

LUKE:
She[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]shot me. Can[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t believe[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]l[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]il Daisy shot me[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

BOB (Smiling through tears):
Well, y[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]all did have a way with women, ain[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t that right?

LUKE (Laughs, then grimaces):
Even now[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]ya gotta[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]make fun of me.

BOB:
Well, that[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s what big[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT](voice falters) what big brothers do, right? (Looks ahead). Got everything else wrong, may at least get that right.

LUKE:
Ain[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]your fault.

BOB (Openly crying):
Hell it ain[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t! I coulda kept you out! Hellfire, I only joined because I couldn[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t race no more, because[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]because I wanted to put my life on the line again. My life, not yours!
LUKE:
I[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]I wanted to. Well[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]thought I did[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT] (Coughs, blood runs from his mouth).

BOB:
Goddamn it, you stay with me, you hear? Stay with me!

LUKE (Reaches out):
Bob[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]please[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]don[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t let me die alone. Not all alone[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]all alone in the dark.

BOB looks out the windscreen, sees what his brother doesn[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the roadblock, the armed deputies and FPB agents. Takes LUKE[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s hand.

BOB:
I promise. You ain[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t gonna die alone.

Gunfire erupts from the roadblock. STONEWALL is shredded under the weight of bullets.

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

April-June:
Asia: April: The Japanese government is looking into potential construction of a larger supercarrier, to succeed its current generation. However, Prime Minister Katayama [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] despite being a former Naval officer [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] is leery of the proposed project. He argues that one of Japan[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s current supercarriers, plus escort vessels, would be enough to utterly annihilate the Chinese Navy, and the Royal Australian Navy has ceased to exist. While he agrees that Japan should maintain its large fleet, for prestige purposes, any major expansion would be pointless: the only other power that could be a potential naval rival for Japan is the United States, and a)relations with them are currently amicable, b) the United States could easily outproduce Japan, and trying to match them would bankrupt the Empire, and c) realistically, Japan does not need anything more in the remote event of a war with the United States. While the US Navy is much bigger than the IJN, the US Navy could not bring all its force to bear, while the entire IJN is concentrated in the Pacific. Thus, if the IJN stood on the defensive, between its carriers, its Isonade turbo-bombers and its anti-ship rocket units on the Pacific islands, it would inflict terrible damage on the US Navy. Ultimately, though, there is no real reason for any conflict between America and Japan [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] neither side has territory the other wants, after all.
Japanese youth are following reports of the Japanese scientists on Custer Station with great interest, as well as news about Japan[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s own space programme. The nation, as journalists report, has caught [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]space-fever[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].
Defence Tunnel network in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Burma reaches its greatest extent. In addition, major minefields stretch across the border regions.
First flight of the Fenghuang turbo-bomber. The aircraft, a joint project between Zhao Aviation and Saab, is a supersonic naval strike aircraft, China[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s answer to the Isonade. While General Tsao is resisting any effort to expand the navy, he does want something that can prove an effective countermeasure to the IJN in the event of a Japanese attack on the homeland. China, he argues, can act as a giant aircraft carrier.
As a result of Chinese membership of the Neutrality Bloc, Scandinavian corporations are beginning to establish branches across the Republic.
Release of Mulan Cong Jun. The film, based on the historical legend of Hua Mulan, is an intensely triumphalistic project. It shows China suffering great hardship before ultimately triumphing over foreign invaders [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] a clear analogy for modern China[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s emergence onto the world stage.
Heavy fighting in Punjab, as Muslim guerrillas take on Indian occupation troops.
An attempt by Pakistani police forces to arrest Omar Hamad for inciting rebellion turns violent as tribal leaders turn on the police. This marks the beginning of a major uprising throughout the region of Waziristan.
Drug-inspired crime is becoming a major problem in Australia, as many turn to drugs as a result of the ongoing economic recession.


May: Japan begins increased arms shipments to India, to assist the Republic[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s government in securing Punjab. Japanese zaibatsu form a major prop of the Indian economy [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] in fact, they[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]re the single biggest driver for Indian industrialisation. Unfortunately, because the Indian government is so eager for external investment, Japanese industrial concerns are allowed operate without any restrictions whatsoever.
Across the Stars: The Codex comes to Japanese cinemas. It proves a gigantic hit with Japan[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s young people.
Prime Minister Doan introduces the idea of a National Health Service for Vietnam. The idea is met with mixed reactions [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] Vietnam has followed a Japanese economic model, with workers taking assistance for things such as healthcare from their employers rather than from the government. At the same time, though, there are many in the rural areas of Vietnam who would benefit from such a scheme.
Elections in the Kingdom of Thailand see the centre-right government returned to power, though they see gains made by leftist parties.
Ongoing fighting in Waziristan. Omar Hamad declares that the government has lost any mandate to govern, calls for all [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]true Muslims[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] to join together to overthrow the government.

June: Prime Minister Katayama tours South-East Asia, from Indonesia to Burma. He also visits the Malay Protectorate and the Prefecture of Singapore. It is believed that the visit was partially a reaction to the Democratic Left victory in Vietnam [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] to ensure that Vietnam and the other nations in the region remain on-side.
Singapore is now Japanese-majority, though there continues to be a significant expat population in the city. The Malay territories remain fractious, though Japan continues occupying them [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] largely for lack of knowledge as to what to do with Southern Malaya. Any grant of independence would likely lead to trouble in Thailand[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s Malay territories[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]
Japanese forces at the Siberian border turn back huge numbers of would-be Russian refugees, fleeing the fighting further West. The Japanese colonial administration [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and the government in Tokyo [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] is of the opinion that they spent a great deal of effort getting most of the Russians out of Siberia after the Second Great War, and they don[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t want any coming in.
Magnomax and Korean Farseers are outselling Japanese Farseer models across GEATO [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and are becoming popular in China.
The science-fiction work The Star Ark sells widely in Japan, marking the beginning of the International Manhwa Boom. The Korean comic books will become popular across GEATO and, eventually, further afield.
Violence in Pakistan spreads across the North-West Frontier, as Afghan Pashtun tribesmen come to join the fight.
Expulsions of Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab begin, as an effort to prevent ongoing resistance.

Americas:
April: Protests in Kentucky intensify, spreading to Virginia. Southern youth are increasingly calling for representation in the democratic process of the United States. Unfortunately, the protests are increasingly becoming targets for neo-Confederate attacks. Gun and bomb attacks on protests will result in over sixty deaths and two hundred injuries by the end of the month. On the other hand, FPB and military security manage to prevent a number of attacks and are able to kill or capture over sixty terrorists over the course of the month.
A number of politicians, from all three parties, favour a gradual normalisation of the South. However, President Kennedy makes it known that he will veto any such measure. Partly, he knows that the admission of the Southern states now likely would bring in a large influx of Democrat voters. However, the main reason for his opposition comes from the end result of the Lovhaug administration[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s policies in the South: the Years of Hate and the attack on New York that killed his father and brother. Kennedy is firmly of the opinion that loosening the government[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s hold on the South would just lead to another major revolt, and several on both sides of the floor agree with him.
Joyeuse syndicates are gradually penetrating the North-Eastern states. However, syndicate [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]beau-pere[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]Jean-Michel Adamsberg has bigger plans. Plans involving spreading his operation to Virginia.
Premiere of The Multiverse on FBC-1, a Farseer series about a group of people who travel between parallel universes where history turned out differently. The series, which attracts [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]counter-factual history[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] writers from across the country to write scripts, does not enjoy the same success as Across the Stars but is nevertheless a popular production.
The new President of Argentina, Bernardo Perez, oversees the completion of a new atomic power plant. Between its atomic plants and the hydroelectric network, Argentina is largely self-sufficient in energy production.
Socialism continues to be well-entrenched across the Latin American nations of Bloc America, with the exception of Brazil.
Elections in the Republic of Texas see Andrew Cummings of the Texan Whig Party confirmed [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the TWP has been in power since the state[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s foundation. Cummings[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] main voter platform is the religious right [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] his brother is the President of the United Baptist Church, a major force in Texas, and his tenure as Mayor of Austin saw him banning the sale of contraceptives in the city. Cummings will inherit the Republic[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s atomic programme.

May: Carlton Ford and his organisation throw their support behind the protests.
19th May: President Kennedy commends the patriotism of the protesters, but at the same time orders a ban on further protests, citing the terrorist attacks as proof that [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]conditions in the South are not such that regular government may be returned[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. Few, alas, can argue with that.
21st May: Several French nationals are found in a warehouse in Richmond, shot execution-style. The FPB, after some delay, learns that the men were known Joyeuse [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Apaches[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].
23rd May: Four men are shot dead in Alexandria, Virginia, coming out of a bar that[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s a known haunt of neo-Confederate types. All four are members of the Lightnings, a neo-Freedomite group with a big share in the illegal drug trade in Virginia.
President-Elect Cummings and his brother appear on Tonight with the Reverend, an evangelical talk-show hosted by Reverend Roy Foltrigg, a singularly right-wing individual. They discuss, among other things, the president-elect[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s intent to [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]keep Texas clean of the godless immorality of our Northern neighbours[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. Some, of course, note the incongruity of this statement given that Cummings is also committed to continued Bloc America membership[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]but then again, alliance with the US was the price Texas paid for staying independent post-war.

June: A number of tit-for-tat killings across Virginia, along with theft or destruction of illegal narcotic stashes, mark the beginning of the Virginia Drug Wars, as the Joyeuses come into conflict with the neo-Confederate/neo-Freedomite paramilitaries, who are the drug trade in the South.
Vice-President de Vere and President Kennedy clash over Southern policy [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the Vice-President, as a Canadian, points to how any state can be rehabilitated, while Kennedy states that he doesn[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t believe the South can be rehabilitated until [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]the last person who remembers the Confederacy is dead, along with his children[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. A somewhat shortened and softened version of this reaches the media [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and causes uproar across the South. Although he can[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t prove it, Kennedy knows that de Vere leaked this.
19th June: Neo-Freedomite cell arrested by FPB agents in Philadelphia. Three men and two women, all in their thirties, are arrested, and bomb-making equipment is seized. The President[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s words become somewhat prophetic.
23rd June: Kennedy embarks on a tour of West Africa, visiting the United States[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] WACoN allies.

Europe: April: The Reichstag unveils its plan for universal healthcare in Germany. However, the right-dominated Bavarian government [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] with the full support of King Ruprecht [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] come out in opposition to the plan, declaring that they will not [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]encourage a culture of entitlement[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] in Bavaria. The popularity of the royal family in Bavaria means that the bulk of the population is on the state government[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s side. The government is forced into an embarrassing climbdown.
Otto Streicher congratulates Bavaria on [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]taking a stand for the German Volk[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].
Italy finally pacifies Abyssinia fully. In addition, Uganda and Kenya remain allied firmly [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and are a major source of troops for the Royal African Legion [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] despite Italy[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s reversals against the United States.
Massimo Avionics have come up with a plan for a new carrier fighter, one that can hold its own against the US Reaper even if it isn[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t fully a match for it. This will [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] eventually [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] become the Massimo F-1 Tigre.
The Saviour[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s Army takes Lagos. However, a sizeable faction of the old National Army, now re-named the Army of Free Nigeria under Colonel Winston Baiyewu, has managed to take control of Kogi and Benue, and is readying for a counter-attack. In the North of the country, several different Islamic factions are coalescing.
Heavy fighting in Russia as White forces take Smolensk. Government forces drive rebels out of the Urals, and Siberia (the part that still is Russian) is good, safe government territory. However, Red forces control the Volga North of the capital [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the capital is effectively cut off from the rest of the country [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and those parts of the Northern Caucasus still in Russia.
The Russian government appeals to the Cossacks of the Don-Kuban for assistance.

May: German centrist and moderate-right parties are beginning to coalesce for a comeback.
The Italian government renews its alliance with Spain, expands it to include Portugal. In addition, Italian[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]unofficial diplomats are talking to German politicians, regarding a possible expansion of Germany[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s new European system.
The Republic of Scotland, fearing that England [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] having fought in a war recently [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] is becoming less peaceful, and may want to try bringing Britain back together. They reaffirm their commitment to their alliance with Germany.
England is continuing to invest in France, and the north of the country is seeing some economic improvement as a result.
12th May: The Don-Kuban officially declares its support for the Russian federal government. Cossack troops launch a major attack on Red positions, driving North.
The North-West is split between White and Federal forces, but the Whites have momentum and are forcing the Federal troops back, especially as a lot of Bogatyr joined them.
The Army of Free Nigeria launches a major attack on Lagos. Heavy fighting devastates the city.

June: Italy begins construction of the Italia, their newest airplane carrier [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] this vessel will mass 100,000 tons, the same as USS Fisk.
Although the country has recovered from the turbulent 1960s, Germany is still a sluggish nation, economically speaking. The leftist government is coming under heavy fire for not doing more to encourage private enterprise.
Growth of Islamic fundamentalist sentiment in Turkey.
Cossack troops have punched into the Volga region, but their advance has stalled at Ryazan. Red forces are fighting hard. The government has evacuated Volgograd thanks to Red terrorism.
White forces are, by and large, in control of the North-West, though things on the ground remain fluid.
Beginning of Phoenician Oil Boom.
Tanzania is developing rapidly, thanks to Scandinavian and Chinese investment. However, as a neutral nation next to Italian-aligned Kenya, it is rotten with American and Italian spies.
The Army of Free Nigeria manages to secure Lagos, but it[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s a hollow victory. The city is in ruins, and the Saviour[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s Army continues to hold much of the South. In addition, Islamic-aligned tribal militias under the loose banner of the [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Sword of God[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] have managed to secure the North between Sokoto and Jigawa, and as far South as Kaduna.
23rd June: Bulawayo Massacre: Volkstaat troops shoot dead over a hundred black protestors in Bulawayo, Occupied Rhodesia.

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

July-September:
Asia: July: The Imperial Japanese Army is lobbying the government to re-introduce conscription, which they suggest rebranding as [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]National Service[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. This is not a universally popular move among the Army high command [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] for every General who argues for large numbers of troops, there[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s another who points to the high standard of training and equipment that the Army enjoys currently and that they don[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t want to [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]dilute[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] it with unwilling conscripts. The government is also opposed to it, citing the already-high military budget.
Japan is experiencing somewhat of an economic slowdown currently. The economy remains strong, certainly, and ready supplies of oil, metal and rubber allow for a high industrial output. On the other hand, while Japan is still the Asian leader for production of ground vehicles, ships and heavy machinery, Korea has overtaken them in the electronics and aircraft market, and Indonesia is also a major electronics producer[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]
Bombing in a music bar in Kuala Lumpur kills four Japanese servicemen and twelve Malayan Special Police, a force officered by ethnic Japanese and manned by Malays.
Increased security measures in Singapore: those passing from Malaya to the city must submit to intensive searches.
In Burma, General Aung San continues to hold power as President of the Democratic Republic. As the General is now over 60, and has held power continuously since the foundation of the Republic, many are starting to feel that he should step down. The General does not agree, and neither does Japan.
Chinese forces depart the United Turkic Republic. However, Chinese security and intelligence operatives will remain in the Central Asian nation.
Series of major bombings in Lahore claim the lives of over a hundred Indian soldiers and collaborators. Large numbers of Muslims have been displaced by Indian forces.
An [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Islamic Emirate[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] is declared in the North-West Frontier region of Pakistan. By now, the government has largely lost control of the region. Omar Hamad is, essentially, an uncrowned king in the region.

August: Japan deploys additional troops into Malaya. In addition, Prime Minister Katayama meets with moderate Malay leaders for discussions as to the region[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s future. He points to the Autonomous Islamic Republic of Mindanao as an instance of how a region can be part of the Empire and yet enjoy self-rule. The idea of an autonomous Malay republic is appealing, but many Malay leaders want Thailand[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s territories to be included in this.
Prime Minister Doan is having major problems getting his policy on trade unions to work in Vietnam. The main obstacle is the position of Japanese zaibatsu within the nation. Japanese industrial and oil concerns provide employment to over a third of Vietnamese citizens, while Japanese corporations also have a stake in Vietnam[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s banking infrastructure. Although Japanese corporations treat loyal workers well, they are absolutely opposed to organised labour, and have made it known to their Vietnamese work force that anyone who joins a labour union will quickly find themselves without a job.
The Imperial Japanese Navy grudgingly gives up on any planned expansion of the surface fleet. For the moment [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] obviously, there will come a time when the current generation of supercarriers needs to be replaced.
In a surprise announcement, General Tsao announces that he will retire as President of China in exactly two years[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] time, provided that the different political parties will be ready to hold a general election by then. He states that [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]The world has changed since the end of the March War. The time has come for the Republic of China to be a true republic, with a government chosen by the will of the people[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. In the meantime, he will spend the next two years working to ensure that democratic institutions take root across the nation [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] real democratic institutions, not rubber-stamps for everything that the General says.
Having noted this, General Tsao also orders the military [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] which is unambiguously under his command [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] to resume weapons shipments to Pakistan, and to begin airstrikes over Waziristan. He also orders the deployment of a number of troops to the border, ready for a possible ground intervention. It will be noted that many of China[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s airstrikes spill over the border into Afghanistan[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

September: Negotiations between Japan and Malay leaders continue.
Chinese airstrikes continue in Waziristan and along the Afghan border. Omar Hamad condemns China as [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]infidels[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] and labels the official Pakistani government as puppets of China.
Insurrection spreads to Baluchistan.

Americas: July: President Kennedy returns from his tour of Africa.
The Drug War escalates as Joyeuse gangsters shoot dead Waylon Andrews, one of the [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Army Council[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] of the Single Stars, in a restaurant in Richmond. The Single Stars swear vengeance.
Following the death of Andrews, the tit-for-tat killings increase.
24th July: A warehouse district in Roanoake, Virginia burns down as a result of Joyeuse men setting fire to a stash of cocaine belonging to the Lightnings. Twelve innocent people end up dying.
President Kennedy orders the FPB to [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]shut this problem down[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. Gives them an effective free hand in dealing with the Joyeuses andthe paramilitary drug trade.
Development work begins on an atomic booster, for an eventual Mars shot. Planning is also underway for construction of a second station on the Moon.
President Cummings is sworn in in Texas.

August: FPB agents begin major series of raids across Virginia. Multiple arrests, largely of paramilitary suspects, take place.
Violence continues as the paramilitaries and the Joyeuses intensify their feud.
The first soldiers of the new Biafran Army, armed and trained by America, parade through the capital Enugu. Enugu is already seeing some of the benefits of American and English investment, with new construction everywhere.
Further inter-party strife in the coalition government as the Republican Party clashes over a projected budget surplus [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the Socialists want to invest the money in the country, the Republicans want a tax rebate.
President Kennedy welcomes the announcement from General Tsao, praising him for his commitment to full democracy for China.
President Cummings[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] new Cabinet is largely composed of evangelical Christians. The new Secretary of Education, in particular, is working on [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]keeping God in the classroom[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].

9th September: After a half-hour fire-fight, FPB agents manage to arrest eight (and kill six) Joyeuse men, seizing a large stash of heroin in the process.
14th September: FPB STAW teams raid an isolated farm-house in Muscogee County. Four Apaches are killed, sixteen arrested[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]and a beau-fils, one of Adamsberg[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s lieutenants, is also grabbed. Whispers abound of [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]intense[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] interrogation practices by FPB agents.
Protests in the State of Houston [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] not pro-Union or neo-Confederate. These ones are demanding union with the Republic of Texas.

Europe: July: German general elections see a coalition of centre-right parties taking charge in Berlin, under Chancellor Gerhard Braun. Although not one of the Prussian military aristocracy (he[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s from the Rhineland), Braun [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] a former pilot in the Luftstreitskrafte [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] is a rightist, particularly regarding economic policies.
The Italian government sends a message of congratulation to the new Chancellor.
Ireland takes delivery of a new Nike-class destroyer from America, the new LE Eithne. The Irish Navy is built around three destroyers and six frigates, all American-built.
19th July: Wave of bombings in Belfast, Derry and Armagh. At the same time, gunmen attack the President[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s motorcade as it approaches Leinster House. The President survives, though a nationwide death toll of a hundred and twenty will ultimately be reached.
20th July: Bomb attack on University of Ireland, Belfast (formerly Queens[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] University, Belfast [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] now part of the University of Ireland together with Trinity College). Aimed at visiting students from Africa and Asia. Twenty die.
Irish troops are re-deployed to the North. President Ross Ormond declares martial law, suspends the Provincial Government in Ulster for the duration of the Emergency.
Cossack forces in Russia are stymied by heavy Red resistance, and by the large numbers of aircraft that have fallen into Red hands. White forces are unable to advance into the Urals.
The Sword of God and the Army of Free Nigeria clash across Niger state. By the end of the month, the Sword of God has managed to drive the AFN from the state.

August: Chancellor Braun begins a policy of financial deregulation in the German Reich.
Negotiations begin between the Reich and the Kingdom of Italy, regarding previous plans about a change in the nature of Mitteleuropa. As time goes on, Germany[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s allies will also join in the negotiations.
England produces the new Merlin TOV fighter, an updated model of the Australian Wirraway, based on schematics and fighters purchased from Australia. The Merlin will form the Albion[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s air-wing.
Release of the English war film The Dogs, a horrifically graphic depiction of Great War trench warfare. Surrounding a group of friends who go off to war, the film ends with the last one dying.
Fresh attacks in Ulster.
15th August: UFL paramilitaries occupy the old Harlan and Wolff shipyards [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] nationalised in the 1950s, taking hostages.
19th August: Irish troops, supported by Drachen and armour, retake the yards in a day-long firefight. All forty of the paramilitaries are killed, along with eight hostages and fifteen Irish soldiers.
Stalemate in Russia. Heavy fighting inside territory that the factions have occupied, as partisans of all sides try to undermine the others, and along the loose frontiers.
The Saviour[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s Army retakes Lagos, drives as far as Benin City. The Army of Free Nigeria is hard-pressed on both sides.

September: Financial sector begins major expansion in Germany. Short term, this leads to a wide number of new jobs being generated, and to the beginnings of new construction.
Announcement of the planned formation of the European Free Trade Alliance. This will be an economic and military alliance, made up of Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Britanny, Scotland, the Trans-Danube states and the United Baltic Duchy. Much looser than Mitteleuropa. However, the alliance[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s senior partners will be Germany and Italy.
As well as HMS Albion, England orders four new destroyers [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] partly in reaction to this announcement.
Heavy fighting in Belfast and Armagh. Despite their small numbers, the UFL are able to cause major problems thanks to their fanaticism.
18th September: UFL begin attacks on Catholic farmers in Country Tyrone, in an attempt to force Catholics to [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]go South[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] out of danger.
Cossack forces launch a major drive on Krasnodar. However, the Cossacks[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] air forces are woefully underequipped compared to the aircraft that the Reds are using.
Army of Free Nigeria forms new defensive lines in Kwara, ready for the coming Sword of God offensive. The Sword of God is currently engaged in [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]pacification[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] operations in the territory it[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s occupied[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

 

[Lateknight]

I just caught up all you updates nice job. There's a lot interesting stuff going on like the the much increased American involvement in Africa I wonder if people countries would start miagrating to America. The pro USA southerns is also a cool idea it makes the United States for not letting them be involved in politics but at the same time states like Kentucky betrayed the union two or three times so there a element of gray to that conflict. Its kinda funny that Japan's Asia for Asiaians philosophy is sort of becoming geniue. Do you ever plan on a map for this.

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

I just caught up all you updates nice job. There's a lot interesting stuff going on like the the much increased American involvement in Africa I wonder if people countries would start miagrating to America. The pro USA southerns is also a cool idea it makes the United States for not letting them be involved in politics but at the same time states like Kentucky betrayed the union two or three times so there a element of gray to that conflict. Its kinda funny that Japan's Asia for Asiaians philosophy is sort of becoming geniue. Do you ever plan on a map for this.

Thank you kindly

Oh, there'll definitely be migration to America - both temporary (students, military officers, etc.) and permanent. And to the Caribbean. Though I've got it in mind that West Africa, long-term, is going to be a wealthier, more stable place than OTL (Nigeria being the colossal exception...), but short-term there will be migration.

The situation in the Southern US is interesting. The younger generation has only ever known United States leadership, and a majority of the older population just want to live their lives without military rule and the attendant problems... Plus, any popular support there might have been for neo-Confederate movements has dwindled since said movements got involved in the illegal drug trade (which isn't to say there's no support, just that it's becoming increasingly marginalised, and associated with the fringe). On the other hand, the US has been burned several times in its history regarding the South... And of course there's the current President's personal grievance. So there's decidedly mixed feelings about new professions of loyalty...

Well, ITTL Japan were a much more reasonable country. This doesn't necessarily translate to 'nice', of course (as with their subsuming of the Philippines and the fact that there's very few ethnic Russians in Siberia anymore, most having been evicted across the frontier...) But they realised early on that economic hegemony and alliance was a more workable proposition than direct rule. I mean, Japan's still the main driver behind GEATO, and they have big stakes in SE Asia particularly, but it is becoming more equal - as seen by the rise of Korea and Indonesia.

Bear in mind, this is in no way whitewashing what historical Japan did. This Japan is one where sane leadership managed to prevail, since sane leadership was seen to deliver results and so no-one listened to the blood knight types. And one where genuine political evolution has happened Slowly, of course...

I'd like to do a map if people would like it. Though bear in mind: it'd be a very basic one. I'm not an artist like some of the other denizens of this site

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

October-December
Asia: October: Japanese negotiations with moderate Malay leaders continue, with some friction. After some back-and-forthing, the Malay moderates agree provisionally to an autonomous republic that takes in the Japanese-occupied provinces of the peninsula. However, they refuse to renounce their claim to the North. Thailand is unhappy with this[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

TriStar Electronics opens new factories in California, in a major new move for the Korean electronics giant. Their Farseer Tennis game is commanding large sales in North America.

Burmese internal security forces arrest four senior Tadmataw officers [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] Bogyoke Thura Myint, senior officer of the Burmese Republican Air Force, among them [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] on charges of conspiracy against the President. It will be gradually revealed that they had planned a military coup, placing Bogyoke Thura Myint in the Presidential office. President Aung San orders deep-ranging investigations into the military.

Under President Tsao[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s auspices, major work begins in building up provincial democratic structures across China. The General is determined that his hard work will not be undone by populists who win an election then become self-serving tyrants. Rather, he will use his last years in office to ensure that China matures democratically.

Continued airstrikes on rebel targets in Waziristan and Baluchistan.

19th October: In a major propaganda coup for the Pakistani rebels, eight government turbo-fighter pilots defect to the rebels, bringing their aircraft with them. Omar Hamad welcomes them as [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]men who have seen the true light of Islam[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].

20th October: The Autonomous Malay Republic is founded [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] no mention of [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Malaya[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] in the name, this is simply [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]a nation for Malays[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. It remains a part of the Empire of Japan. Japanese forces will retain basing rights in the country, though will [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] as in Mindanao [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] remain [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]unobtrusive[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].

Prime Minister Katayama is reviewing intelligence regarding the ongoing Chinese military action in Pakistan. Notes the potential for a long, drawn-out conflict.

The Japanese government is working to improve relations with Phoenicia. In addition, Japanese diplomats are working to facilitate better relations between Phoenicia and the Kingdom of Egypt, which is moving away from its old relationship with Germany. Both nations have a great deal of potential [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] both have a lot of oil, both have industrious populations, and both are eager to gain a place in the world. And if Japan can help them gain that place, then they[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]re willing to do business with Japan.

Release of The Star Fortress, an epic Japanese sci-fi movie. This film firmly establishes Japanese cinema as a force equal to the German or Italian film industries.

Large numbers of military officers are arrested in Burma, as probes continue into the attempt to remove President Aung San. Things are not helped by a number of student newspapers calling for elections.

Opening of Hatta Consumer Electronics in Aceh. From small beginnings, this corporation will eventually rise to challenge TriStar. Their first creation is a [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Farseer game[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] like Farseer Tennis [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] Interstellar Invaders.

Rebels in Pakistan force government troops out of most of the North-West Frontier. Things are not helped by defections to the rebel side, as Omar Hamad[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s preaching and promises for vengeance against India tap into the post-war shame and rage of the Pakistani people.

After negotiations with China, India begins shipping weapons to the Pakistani government via China [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the Pakistani government is an enemy, but Omar Hamad promises to be a far worse one.

9th December: Prime Minister Katayama becomes the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit mainland China in decades. However, this journey is a secret one [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the Prime Minister and General Tsao meet in the Forbidden City to discuss the ongoing situation in Pakistan. After long negotiation, Japan agrees to provide money and weaponry for the Pakistani government, to be transported via China.

Japanese diplomats observe the signing of the Treaty of Cairo. Under this, Phoenicia, Palestine and Egypt form the Arab Alliance, a defensive and economic alliance. All three also sign deals with the Empire of Japan and the Showa Oil Corporation.

Student protests calling for full democracy in Burma begin, as more military officers are implicated. General Aung San labels the calls for his resignation a [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]plot by foreign enemies against the very foundations of the Burmese state[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].

Fighting in Pakistan spirals further out of control, as fundamentalists responding to Omar Hamad[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s call to arms rise up across the country. Chinese airstrikes continue. The North-West Frontier and the tribal border with Afghanistan are heavily pounded. Indian and Chinese generals, despite the long tradition of hostility between their nations, are drawing up plans for a possible partition of Pakistan between them in the event that Omar Hamad takes power.

Americas: October: Major FPB raids launched across Virginia. Named [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Operation Cold Turkey[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT], the raids strike drug production and distribution facilities, both paramilitary and Joyeuse-operated. However, the raids are far more damaging to the paramilitaries, who are losing high-ranking members to arrest or FPB shooting, than they are to the Joyeuses, who at the moment are only losing les Apaches.

Owing to Chancellor Braun[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s new economic policies in Germany, President Kennedy is coming under increased pressure to move towards financial deregulation. Vice-President de Vere, in particular, is leading the charge.

In response to increased Japanese involvement in the Middle East, the American government is courting Persia.

7th-15th October: Arrests of four beau-fils across Virginia.

17th October: A fertiliser bomb takes out a neo-Confederate bar in Norfolk, Virginia, killing twenty [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] including several recruiters for the Lightnings. The Joyeuses are still determined to force the paramilitaries out of the illegal drug market. At the same time, they want to get the FPB off their backs. Planning begins[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

24th October: Director Andrew Weiss of the Federal Police Bureau dies in Philadelphia when a bomb attached to his car[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s engine detonates.

In the aftermath of the bombing, a little-known neo-Confederate group, Thunderfront, claims responsibility. In a rambling statement, in which they blame the FPB for driving the neo-Confederate movement to crime in order to support its noble cause, they promise further attacks.
Agrippa Clay is chosen as the new Director. He immediately sets about organising a comprehensive response to the bombing.

29th October: Caribbean intelligence services inform President Agricola Garvey that they have located the notorious Confederate war-criminal Doctor Dwight Masters. Doctor Masters, as historians have observed, was a man so truly vile even Jefferson Pinkard and Jake Featherston found him disturbing. He worked at a Population Reduction Camp in the Florida Everglades, where he used the black prisoner population in medical experiments. This was tolerated by the Freedom Party as a) He was a good Party man who truly believed in the [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]supremacy of the white race[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT], and b) His experiments included testing of biological and chemical weapons, and provided information on time of death and human survival that were of great interest to Confederate police forces. However, the greater part of his experiments were for his own [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]interest[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. Apparently, the doctor has been granted a heavily-fortified compound in an isolated part of the Zambesi Delta[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]with a [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]prison hospital[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] attached to it, along with elite South African troops guarding him.

2nd November: The United States and the Caribbean reach out to Tanzania. They request that the country permit an American submarine to moor there, for the purpose of transporting Caribbean commandos to and from the Zambesi Delta[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

4th November: Tanzania agrees. Though technically a part of the Neutrality Bloc, they have no love for the regime in the Volkstaat Suid-Afrika.

American and Caribbean troops will work rigorously to prepare for the upcoming mission. In addition, the Sword of Vengeance and African resistance groups prepare to provide on-the-ground assistance.

November: The Federal Police Bureau launches Operation Heaven[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s Vengeance. Under this, major raids are launched on every known neo-Confederate hotspot across Virginia, from bars to underground bookstores to newspapers. Though the Constitutional validity of these raids will be severely questioned, they do uncover phenomenal amounts of information on paramilitary groups, enabling scores of arrests. Across November, the effective neo-Confederate network in Virginia is dealt a blow that will not be easy to recover from.

This, however, gives the Joyeuses a major advantage, as with their rivals dealt a knockout blow, the French organised crime syndicates are able to fade into the background. They lie low for a while, but will ultimately establish themselves in the Southern criminal hierarchy[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]for a while.

Heaven[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s Vengeance gives pro-Union youth in Virginia confidence to take to the streets, praising the Union[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]steadfast action[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] but at the same time declaring their own loyalty and demanding [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] or pleading for [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] full voting rights.

A measure to legalise contraception in the Republic of Quebec passes.

December:

19th December: Operation Delayed Justice [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] referred to by many in both the American and Caribbean militaries as [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Operation Payback[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s a Bitch[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT][FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] is launched. The atomic submarine USS Sand Tiger lands men of the Caribbean Special Boat Regiment in the Zambesi Delta. A diversionary attack by the Sword of Vengeance allows the SBR to penetrate Doctor Masters[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] compound [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] revealed to have also housed a major bio-weapon development complex [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and, after an intense firefight, the Devil Doctor is captured. Then, a cruise rocket strike from USS Sand Tiger takes out the facility.

The raid provokes mixed reactions. In America, the Caribbean, and in America[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s sphere, it[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s treated as a major victory, and a cause for rejoicing. In Europe, on the other hand, it[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s seen as a major transgression [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the more so as America and Volkstaat Suid-Afrika were not in a state of war. America and the Caribbean are harshly condemned by Germany and Italy.

Trial of Doctor Masters begins in Port of Spain.

Further protests in Virginia, and more in Kentucky and Florida.

President Cummings of the Republic of Texas passes a series of anti-immigration measures. He also makes it a penal offence to employ illegal immigrants, police are empowered to conduct intense searches and investigations of business.

Over the coming months, thousands of Mexicans will be deported (though improved conditions in Mexico help reconcile them to this).

Europe: October: Continued rollout of [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Braunomics[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] in Germany. The Tax Reform Act, increasing taxes on lower earners, is signed into law, and windfall taxes are ended.

Germany and Italy begin developing trade links with the Kingdom of Arabia, Oman and Yemen.

Construction is underway in Italy on Giulio Caesare, the Kingdom[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s new supercarrier.

In Ireland, Belfast is largely pacified. However, Armagh is still a major hotbed of UFL rebellion.

Red sympathisers rise up inside the Don-Kuban Union.

The Army of Free Nigeria manages to beat back the first attacks of the Sword of God.

Opening of the West African Superrailroad, a massive railroad network connecting Ain ben Tili, Mauritania, and Porto-Novo, Benin.

November: Rapid growth of the financial sector begins in Germany.

Ukraine agrees [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] provisionally [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] to joining the European Free Trade Alliance.

14th November: Anti-government uprising in Uganda. Rebels take up arms against the pro-Italian military junta.

Cossack forces take Krasnodar. Reports of massacres on a gigantic scale soon filter out of the region.

Russian government forces manage to take back Vologda Oblast from the Whites. However, they continue to suffer massive White and Red terrorist attacks inside their territory.

Irish forces have placed Armagh under full military occupation, including curfew. However, violence continues.

Increased pro-Caliphate rhetoric in Eastern Turkey, in the less-developed parts of the nation.

The Saviour[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s Army has taken control of Southern Nigeria up to the Biafran border. Large numbers of refugees are fleeing from their territory into Benin (Biafra won[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t take anyone from Nigeria, neither will Cameroon). Ongoing heavy fighting between the Sword of God and the Army of Free Nigeria.

December: Heavy pressure is being brought to bear on trade unions inside Germany.

German weapons are making their way into White Russian territory from the Ukraine.

Hungarian representatives in the Trans-Danube Diet walk out in protest over the [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]enduring imperialist mentality[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] of the Austrian government. They are joined by Slovakia.

The other leaders of the Neutrality Bloc take Tanzania to task for its actions in helping the United States and the Caribbean.

Germany and Italy both work to support the Kingdom of Arabia as an alternative regional power to the Arab Alliance and Persia.

28th December: Uprising in Eastern Turkey, led by the [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Soldiers of the Universal Caliphate[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

As requested, the map. The shoddy, awful map...

Map key:

Yellow: Empire of Japan
Gold: Greater East Asia Treaty Organisation (Japanese allies)

Light blue: United States of America
Indigo: American allies/satellites: Bloc America, West African Community of Nations, England, Ireland

Dark Grey: German Reich
Light Grey: European nations allied with Germany and Italy

Purple: Kingdom of Italy
Light purple: Italian satellites in Africa

Brown: Arab Alliance

Dark Red: Persia

Orange: Volkstaat Suid-Afrika

Blue-Grey: Neutrality Bloc (China's satellites joined too).

White: Non-aligned.

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

Told you I wasn't an artist

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

1976
January-March:
Asia: January: Japan continues to despatch weaponry for transport into Pakistan.


Showa Oil Corporation has heavily expanded its operations in Karafuto, as new offshore fields are becoming accessible. The island had always been a draw for immigration, thanks to the oil industry, but increased numbers of citizens are moving there from the Home Islands. As are a lot of ethnic Koreans.

Prime Minister Katayama issues a statement defending President Aung San of Burma, and criticising sharply those who [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]plot against the father of their modern country[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. This leads to[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]mixed reactions among the Burmese populace.


Increased difficulties for the Democratic Left regime in Vietnam, as Japanese [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and Korean [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] corporations operating in the country continue policies of exclusion for any employees who join unions. Prime Minister Doan criticises them sharply, while the CEOs reply that they cannot have [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]divided loyalties[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] among their workers. The Prime Minister cannot do much more than criticise, for now, as Vietnam would suffer major economic hardship if the foreign corporations pulled out.


Protests continue in Burma.


The Pakistani government is increasingly fighting a losing battle, as fundamentalist rebels [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and those who simply want vengeance [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] rise up across the nation. Large numbers of Army and Air Force personnel defect, while tribesmen from Afghanistan flood across the border.


February: The Japanese First Air Fleet sails for Sri Lanka, while Raijin-3 bombers land in bases in the Republic of India.

9th February: President Khan of Pakistan is killed by a people bomber.

14th February: Indian and Chinese forces invade Pakistan, while Japanese carrier air and Raijins provide air and rocket support.

15th February: Persian forces unexpectedly cross the border into Baluchistan.

14th February-16th March: [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Pakistani Pacification[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] (or, as Indian Nationalists refer to it, the Unification War[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. The death of President Khan caused the fracturing of the Pakistani Armed Forces, allowing rapid advances by Indian and Chinese forces. However, the anti-government rebels resist bitterly, and tribal fighters from Afghanistan flock to the fight. Omar Hamad relocates to Afghanistan.

One point of interest to many social historians about this war is the reaction of Pashtun insurgents to the presence of female soldiers in the Chinese Army. In many cases, insurgents who might otherwise have surrendered fight to the death because they don[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t want to surrender to women. The Chinese oblige them in their wish for death. Of particular note is Major Nieh Wenjiao, 4th Cavalry, who is awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of Loyalty and Valour for her outstanding leadership and courage during the Battle of the Swat Valley.

17th March: Pakistan is divided between India, Persia and China, as all three nations nations hold everything up to the Afghan border. China occupies the North-West Frontier, while India takes Sind and Persia occupies Baluchistan. Although they have occupied ground, however, violent resistance continues as Omar Hamad calls for a jihad to sweep the invaders out. Officially, China and India [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and Persia, though they weren[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t asked [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] are there to [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]save the nation of Pakistan from dangerous radicals[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. Unofficially, however, they have decided that Pakistan will not exist after this. India and Persia are determined to keep hold of the territory they[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]ve taken, while the Chinese are negotiating with the official Afghan government regarding turning over the North-West Frontier region. The Afghan government agrees, as the majority of the inhabitants of the region are Pashtun; and this will save China the cost of a long, grinding occupation. Moreover, in exchange for this territory, the Afghan government will agree to greater economic and political ties with China.


March: Japanese air and naval forces retire from the region.

TriStar Electronics release Hammer Man, a Farseer interactive game. A simple game with four levels, it surrounds the titular [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Hammer Man[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] as he navigates platforms and destroys obstacles with his hammer to get to the top of the level. The game quickly breaks into North American markets.

Riot police in Burmese cities crack down on the protests, as further military officers are arrested. General Aung San promotes a number of talented Karen officers, as the Karen have a vested interest in his retaining power[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

Indian and Persian forces confront major insurgency across Sind and Baluchistan. People and car bombings are becoming a regular occurrence.

23rd March: China and Afghanistan officially sign the Treaty of Kabul. Under this, Afghanistan will take over the Pakistani North-West Frontier. Chinese troops begin withdrawing as Afghan forces move in.

This has the effect of quelling much of the resistance in the region [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the tribal Pashtun majority feels that an Afghan administration will do right by them, better than the weak Pakistani government did. Those whose allegiance was to nation rather than tribe, however, are unhappy.

Omar Hamad remains in Afghanistan, along the porous former border. Though unhappy with this turn of events, he does think it can be turned to his advantage. Indeed, the idea of a unified Islamic Pashtun state encompassing both Afghanistan and Pakistan, on reflection, is an appealing one[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT] He manages, over the following month, to get his followers in the region to end resistance, and to switch their focus to Indian and Persian-occupied territory.

America: January: Pro-Federal protests continue in the South. Carlton Ford becomes a prominent spokesman at the protests, demanding that [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]men and women who grew up under the Stars and Stripes be allowed to show their loyalty[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. However, President Kennedy shows no sign whatsoever of ending the occupation.

Joyeuses syndicates solidify their position in Virginia. However, West Virginian law enforcement [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and the citizens[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] groups who fought against the Circle Brotherhood during the [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Years of Hate[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT][FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] have managed to keep them out of the small state.

17th January: The Masters trial, televised and watched by millions, concludes. Doctor Dwight Masters is found guilty, and sentenced to hang.

19th January: The sentence is carried out.

The United States, the Caribbean and WACoN are running guns to South Africa.

February: The Democratic Party is beginning to gain traction by highlighting the issue in the South. John Kennedy in particular is gaining attention for his purported plan for a gradual relaxation of the military occupation [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] something that, his Socialist opponents point out, is cogged from President Arn Lovhaug[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s policy regarding the South. A policy that backfired horribly[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

Fresh protests in Houston, demanding union with Texas. Leading the charge are the religious right, who have been severely dissatisfied with the secular Socialist government and its policies [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] in particular the legislation that was imposed after the assassination of Flora Blackford.

The Cummings administration in Texas has been encouraging the protests [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] not openly, but the Cummings family had been large donors to right-wing churches in Houston even before the Presidential election.

Texas creates its first superbomb. However, owing to the omnipresence of US satellites, they refrain from testing it[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

Negotiations begin with Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, regarding their joining Bloc America. If the negotiations work out, then Bloc America will unite all the Americas. The negotiations are helped by the major economic and industrial strides that various Latin American nations have made since joining the Bloc. This will be an especially auspicious year as the 1976 Olympics are to be held in Buenos Aires.

March: John Kennedy visits Kentucky, where he meets with Carlton Ford and a number of young protestors. Makes a speech in Covington, where he states that the new patriotism seen in the South is [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]heartening[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT], and that it is clear the people of the South today are not the same ones who killed his father. This leads to many comparing him and his brother the President, who seems to universally loathe all Southerners. On the other hand, New Yorkers have the same problem.

More protests.

The Rocket and Space Administration unveils the Columbia, a re-usable orbiter for missions to Roosevelt Station.

19th March: Paraguay joins Bloc America.

Europe: January: Rapid growth of the Goldberg-Ramme group, Berlin, a mortgage provider. They are one of the many financial sector beneficiaries of the Braun chancellorship.

19th January: Death of the octogenarian Kaiser Wilhelm III. His granddaughter, the forty-two year old Princess Felicitas of Prussia is crowned Kaiserin Felicitas I. Kaiserin and Chancellor will develop a close working relationship, known to later generations as the [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Eisenherzen[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].

Italian census records note that Libya is now an Italian-majority [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] or, at least, an Italianophone-majority [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] territory. In addition, Albania has been largely assimilated. East Africa is less clear-cut, but there is a sizable settler population, and the redistribution of pro-Italian African groups has led to the colony being largely pacified.

This is also noticed in German Mittelafrika[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

The Trans-Danube begins a series of extremely acrimonious negotiations on the extent of royal power.

Irish forces, after heavy resistance, secure Armagh.

Violence in Uganda grows in intensity as Freikorps-Siegfried troops are deployed against the rebels. Rumours of major atrocities filter out, especially in areas where Muslim Freikorps troops (mostly former Ottoman Arab soldiers who found things too[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]problematic to return home) are deployed against Christian groups.

Rebels in Ottoman Turkey have occupied the East of the country as far as Malatya. The [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Caliphate[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] has established its capital at Diyarbakir [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] as the [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Caliph[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] (the Sultan) is still in Istanbul, things are run by a council of clerics until the Caliph is [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]liberated[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. Attempts at resistance have failed thus far [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the Ottoman military is still in an utter shambles after the wars of the 1960s. Germany is sending weaponry to the junta, but defections among Ottoman forces mean that a lot of it is working its way into rebel hands, and Braun is not yet so secure in his position that he can commit German troops (especially not after the utter mess that was the attempt to hold together the old Ottoman Empire). He is, however, discussing options with Freikorps-Siegfried and with the Italian government. However, the Italians demand Cyprus as a quid pro quo for any military action on their part (occupied by Ottoman forces after the Great War).

Rise of a new faction in the Nigerian Civil War: the Army of New Nigeria, a force made up of groups displaced by the Sword of God and a large number of former soldiers. The group expels the Sword of God from North-East Nigeria, establishing a power base in Borno and Yobe. The Saviour[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s Army is [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]making sure[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] of its control of the South[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]. Large numbers of refugees flee them.

Construction booms are taking off across WACoN as oil money flows into the countries.

Beginning of oil boom in the Arab Alliance, as money and investment from Greater East Asia flows in. Egypt and Phoenicia see themselves as the natural leaders of the Arab world, and are working to spread this view [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] talks are underway with the leaders of Algeria and Morocco.

White forces, buttressed by German guns, manage to counter-attack against the federal government. They[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]re also rallying for a push South. This is a source of great unease to the federal government, who aren[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t sure if the Cossacks might not prefer to support the Whites[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

February: The Ottoman government agrees to a contract with Freikorps-Siegfried [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT]driving the nation even further into debt. However, as the Freikorps are closely linked to many in the resource extraction line of business, cash payment can be deferred in favour of certain[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]considerations. They also agree to hand Cyprus over to Italy in exchange for military support. Prime Minister Carlotto sees this as the perfect opportunity to exorcise bad memories regarding the poor performance of the Italian military against the United States.

15th February: Italian forces take possession of Cyprus, to harsh protestations from the Greek government.

19th February: Freikorps-Siegfried and Italian forces are deployed in Eastern Turkey. They are met with fierce resistance.

Fierce three-way fighting between the Army of Free Nigeria, the Army of New Nigeria, and the Sword of God. Thousands are killed, while the deaths and destruction are leading to a growing famine situation.

Rumours of further Freikorps-Siegfried atrocities in Uganda.

March: Rebels are pushed back across Eastern Turkey.

9th March: People bombings in Rome. Over fifty are killed. The [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Caliphate[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] promises further such attacks if Italy does not withdraw its forces.

Italy responds with massive air-strikes on rebel positions, while their forces drive hard into rebel territory. The Royal African Legion is at the forefront of the offensive. Diyarbakir is bombed heavily.

Negotiations in the Trans-Danube continue. The Hungarians, in particular, are working to prune away everything but ceremonial royal power.

Anti-capitalist protests in Germany.

English companies continue expanding in France, though Germany is trying [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and failing [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] to block them. The Avignon government is cautiously optimistic regarding rising employment levels.

English Dark Tide publishing company founded. The company is established by Andrew Wyatt, a speculative fiction writer inspired by Myth and Magic to break into the role-playing market. The first book published by Dark Tide is Age of Heresy, a space-opera game set in a galaxy-spanning theocratic human empire. The game proves a major success among English youth.

The Army of New Nigeria shoves westward, occupying Gombe.

20th March: White forces launch a major offensive South, aiming at destroying the Red strongholds.

April-June:
Asia: April: Prime Minister Katayama begins a tour of the wider Empire: Karafuto, Japanese Siberia, the Philippines, Formosa, Hainan and Singapore. The tour has a dual purpose: of demonstrating the importance to the Empire of colonists and the descendants of colonists; and to remind China that even though Japan and China cooperated regarding Pakistan, Formosa and Hainan are Japanese.

PCBRs are leading many Japanese military planners to consider retiring the Raijin-3 fleet: after all, gravity superbombs aren[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t as important as they once were, and against anti-air rocketry the Raijins would suffer heavily. Plus, it would lead to a decent saving.

Though Africa is divided between the Europeans and Americans, effectively, Japan continues to reach out in friendship, allowing African students to study in Japan. They also do the same for students from the Arab nations [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] particularly in the fields of engineering and medicine [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] though Japanese universities are having to compete with Indonesia now. Many young men [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and some young women [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] from Phoenicia, Egypt and Palestine travel to Japan and to Indonesia.

Japan is selling a great deal of material in the Arab Alliance, in particular military equipment and aircraft. Also, Air Phoenicia and EgyptAir are purchasing large numbers of the Korean PA-25 airliner.

Interstellar Invaders and Hammer Man are proving popular in Japan.

TriStar Magnomax sales in North America are increasing rapidly.

Korean science-fiction serial Amen Osa premieres. The series, set in a human interstellar empire reminiscent (socially) of ancient Korea, surrounds a group of Amen Osa, agents of the Emperor of Space, who wander the frontier where the Imperial government[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s reach is weaker, working to maintain Imperial law and protect the people from greedy provincial governors, pirates and outlaws. It is well-received by Korean science-fiction fans, but doesn[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t have the same appeal as Interstellar Warship Matsushima.

Unrest in Vietnam as government supporters take to the streets, demanding that foreign corporations operating in Vietnam change their no-unions policies. They are met by counter-protesters [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] people who don[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t want to lose their jobs, people paid for by the foreign corporations, and people paid for by Vietnamese capitalists who hate the idea of unions as much as their foreign counterparts do. The Buddhist sangha urges peace and reconciliation on both sides.

Violence in Yangon as the Burmese government clamps down on further protests.

Ongoing violence in Sind and Punjab as rebels [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] backed by Afghan volunteers [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] continue to target Indian occupation troops. They mete out brutal [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]justice[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] against collaborators.

Australia is beginning to recover, thanks to American financial aid. They remain demilitarised.

18th May: Japan, Korea and Indonesia hold a series of major naval exercises north of Timor, in which their carriers feature prominently. Japanese pilots emerge severely impressed by the skill of their Korean and Indonesian counterparts. The exercises are also preparation for the larger ones in June and July, hosted by the Americans[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

Completion of the Three Gorges Dam in China. Designed and helped in construction by the Swedish Sandahlsbolagen corporation, the dam is a symbol of China[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s growing economic and industrial prowess.

General Aung San states that [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]as long as Burma needs me, I will remain at my post[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].

Shah Teymour Mirza Qajar of Persia holds a great celebration of the Persian monarchy, proclaiming that his reign (1960-present) has seen the restoration of Aryan glory, with the conquests of Southern Iraq, Kuwait and Baluchistan. At the same time, he encourages the Shi[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]ite Hazaras of central Afghanistan to emigrate to Persia, where they will find shelter and work. Those who do come find work, certainly. A lot of it. Mostly of a kind that the Persians would prefer not to do.

June: Pacific Maritime Peace Exercises are a great success [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the IJN, IKN and Indonesian Navy make an exceptionally good showing. American pilots look enviously at the Daitengu/Kumiho.

Mass internments of civilians in Sind as the Indian government intensifies its efforts to bring the insurgency under control.

People bombings in Delhi and Kolkatta.

Omar Hamad is gaining the support of a number of influential men in Afghanistan. Mostly in the border regions, but one or two have friends in Kabul. Nothing concrete yet, but[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]one day maybe[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

Americas: April: President Kennedy and his government work to develop ties to Persia [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and to its oil, more precisely. Though supporting a monarchy doesn[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t sit well with the Socialists, the Republicans don[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t have any such problem.

The ground-breaking documentary The South: For Good and Ill premieres on FBS-1. Presented by Carlton Ford, the documentary is a history of the Confederate States of America from the War of Secession up until the end of the Second Great War. The documentary purports to be, and is, an honest description of the Confederacy. It doesn[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t shy away from the evils of slavery, or the atrocities committed by the Freedom Party, but it also shines a spotlight on the CSA[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s contributions to the world, in the fields of science and the arts. It ultimately ends by saying [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]The Confederacy is a part of American history, for both good and ill. And history, ultimately, is where it will remain.[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] Reactions are mixed [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] no-one can accuse it of glorifying the Confederacy, not with the unflinching, brutal portrayals of all the Confederacy did wrong, but at the same time[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

Riots break out in the State of Houston as pro-Texas protests grow out of hand.

May: FPB and Army personnel put down the Houston riots, provoking protests from Texas [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and outcry from churches that get funding from Texas.

10th May: A Say-Rights information centre in Birmingham, Alabama [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] run by a group of lawyers, who worked to inform Southern Says about their rights regarding employment (the Equal Employment Act said that the only employers who were allowed to discriminate based on sexual orientation were religious institutions and the military) [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] is firebombed three months after it opens, having made some powerful local enemies when it forced local businesses to hire or desist from firing certain individuals. An FPB investigation begins[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]and while many FPB personnel have mixed feelings about this kind of thing, the FPB leadership is not about to stand for attacks on Federal law, especially not in the South.

20th May: Seven men, all with links to the Alabama Freedom Fighters, are arrested[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]and they lead the FPB to arrest Daniel Sloss, a prominent local businessman (owner of a fast-food restaurant chain) and member of the local Baptist church who was singularly upset when the lawyers forced him to re-hire one Ms Cynthia Davis and contacted some less-than-savoury friends of his to exact revenge. He will ultimately be sentenced to seven years in Federal prison.

June: Pacific Maritime Peace Exercises are held.

Buenos Aires Olympics. The Games are a major success for Argentina, establishing it as a modern, developed nation with a capital to be proud of.

Colombia and Ecuador join Bloc America.

Religious-led protests in Birmingham over Daniel Sloss[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] arrest, with church leaders claiming he was [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]persecuted for following the Christian faith[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. Condemnation follows from Texas [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] not official, but President Cummings[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] clerical brother makes a great deal about it in his sermons and his weekly radio show [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and since his brother has pulled strings to get him a slot on national Farseer, he[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]ll likely have a great deal more to say on the subject. President Kennedy[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s response is not one guaranteed to unruffled feathers: [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Jesus said, render unto Caesar. Well in this case, Philadelphia is Caesar, and Mr Sloss did not render to laws passed by Congress[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. This infuriates the protestors, who point out that the Equal Employment bill probably wouldn[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t have passed Congress if the South was represented.

The Socialists and Republicans have decided not to renew their alliance for the elections [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the constant fighting over fiscal policy has demonstrated why America doesn[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t go for coalition governments. Alan Kelly, the Governor of New York state is the Socialist candidate, while the Republicans are sticking with Vice-President de Vere. The Democrats, meanwhile, are putting forward John Fitzgerald Kennedy as their Presidential candidate, with Robert Vogeler, the Democratic Governor of Wisconsin, as his running mate. Vogeler represents the Democrat old guard, while John Kennedy is being [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] shamelessly [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] used in the hope that his name will attract voters from across the divide who[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]ll think him [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Socialist-lite[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. Despite this, the Kennedy brothers remain close, often visiting one another for family get-togethers. Indeed, John Kennedy often jokes that [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Brother Paddy better hope I win [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] I don[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t think any of the other candidates would let him stay in the Powel House if they won[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].

24th June: Across the Stars: Revenge of the Raptor is released. The film, carrying on from the end of the previous one, details the evil Erl-King[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s quest to locate and capture the Bokamba twins and destroy ISS Remembrance. The film is noted particularly for the battle of the ice-world Darvan, in which Adler forces attack Universal Alliance defences using the now-widely recognised [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Juggernaut[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT] attack vehicles while ISS Remembrance takes on an entire fleet of Adler vessels in orbit, and the internment of Captain Hunt in an Adler POW camp[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]as well as the surprising twist[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]25th June: Columbia's first mission proceeds perfectly.
[/FONT]
Europe: April: Ongoing heavy fighting in Turkey.

18th-28th April: Battle of Diyarbakir ends with Italian and Freikorps-Siegfried troops taking the gutted city from the rebels. Over a third of the population is dead or has fled the fighting.

Italian aircraft heavily pound rebel positions.

An attempted bombing in Florence is thwarted.

White offensive in Russia has carried them to Krasnodar, where White forces link up with the Cossacks. However, Red partisans remain active.

Fighting continues in Nigeria.

May: First flight of the prototype Massimo F-1 Tigre.

Italian forces conduct amphibious landings in North-Eastern Turkey at Trabizon, allowing a two-pronged advance into what remains of the rebel strongholds.

People bombings tear through Istanbul and Ankara, as the Caliphate vows not to go down without a fight.

24th May: Phoenicia takes advantage of the situation to quietly pinch off Antakya and Iskenderun, to [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]protect Phoenician citizens in the region[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT].

Nigerian famine begins.

June: Final offensive against Caliphate positions. The fighting lasts through the entire month, and is brutally hard [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and Caliphate troops operate a policy of scorched earth, so the Italians and mercenaries are forced to rely on supplies brought in from outside.

White-Cossack forces launch an assault on the Urals, where the federal government has relocated.

31st June: The last Caliphate positions are overrun. However, Eastern Turkey is gutted, refugees are flooding parts of the country, food production has collapsed [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] to the point of famine [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and the nation is heavily in debt, facing massive financial and humanitarian crises. Also, while stand-up resistance has collapsed, ongoing insurgent activity continues across the nation...and the Ottoman army is in an even worse state than it was before this happened, something most observers didn't think possible.

 

[Dragun]

Dwight Masters = Adolf Eichmann

Daniel Sloss = Dan T. Cathy

I have trouble to accept that Texas is able to get a nuke. How? Something like North Korea has been doing?

I have to ask you are a Japanophile because you are trying to paint Japan in a brighter tone, but really from my perspective they were total assholes in the last century. Especially with the issues of their government's infamous WW2 revisionism, and I fault them for being hypocrites for culturally speaking of "honor" and "values".

 

[Nivek]

Dwight Masters = Adolf Eichmann

I have trouble to accept that Texas is able to get a nuke. How? Something like North Korea has been doing?

I have to ask you are a Japanophile because you are trying to paint Japan in a brighter tone, but really from my perspective they were total assholes in the last century. Especially with the issues of their government's infamous WW2 revisionism, and I fault them for being hypocrites for culturally speaking of "honor" and "values".

I think that would be closer to Israel, an state in a big power orbit who share nuclear secret with common langugage(souther and american scientifics in contrast jewish scientific otl) so is possible to pull it.

Well Japan is a nation, yeah i fell was washed-up, but still better that turtledove implied 'free reign'(who make a lot os sense, USA care little as have the dixie south of the border and problems with Canadians north, plus germany change this focus to africa and europe) who leave in nothing, nation are dinamic, butterflies can change everything, playing too close to otl is playing determinism who play a lot unfortunate implications....

Still, Japan is not different OTL usa and britain, just they keep a velvet touch rather a iron grip like otl, they still are high in power just less assholish that otl.

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

I have to ask you are a Japanophile because you are trying to paint Japan in a brighter tone, but really from my perspective they were total assholes in the last century. Especially with the issues of their government's infamous WW2 revisionism, and I fault them for being hypocrites for culturally speaking of "honor" and "values".

OK. This is a question I'd hoped I'd headed off, but it deserves an answer. I am interested in Japanese history and popular culture - samurai movies and anime particularly - but I'm not in any way an apologist or a denier of what Japan did OTL (and I'm pretty sure I'm not what you think of when you say 'Japanophile' ). What the military government did to the Korean people and the Chinese people - and the various peoples of SE Asia, though maltreatment of Korea and China went on longer - was truly awful, and it's criminal that it receives so little attention or understanding in the West. However, I don't think that this was inevitable - to suggest that is like saying that savagery and cruelty are somehow indemic to the Japanese people, and I don't accept that about any people. TTL's premise was that, rather than the horde of psychopaths who took over the nation OTL, Japan in the TL-191-verse was led by more realistic, moderate leaders. Even then, I've made sure that they aren't portrayed as suddenly acquiring the friendship bug - ITTL, Japan has still basically assimilated/absorbed the Philippines, their corporations dominate East Asia, they support Aung San over democracy in Burma, and they expelled ethnic Russians from Siberia, plus they've made use of their superbomb arsenal - but the viciousness of OTL hasn't been paralleled, because Japan was able to gradually democratise (to a degree). Also, Japan's leadership in East Asia isn't set in stone - both Korea and Indonesia ITTL are growing rapidly.

Bottom line: this isn't whitewashing what Japan did OTL. This is - perhaps optimistically - suggesting that in a different world, it could have gone differently.

I have trouble to accept that Texas is able to get a nuke. How? Something like North Korea has been doing?

They bought materials and borrowed experts from South Africa. And this is a small nuke, more like the ones OTL South Africa built.

 

[Dragun]

Unfortunately, for me I really felt that 191 Japan seems to get the karma, the no bad things that is happening to them. Unless of course that their empire is being slowly fracturing at the seams with Korea being the rising dominant market in entertainment, and of course maybe facing a financial bubble burst just like in OTL 1990's. It's the question is how long empires will last and that the concept of empires is becoming irrelevant because they ruled by old toadies that were raised to 19th century mindsets that are more violent than in our world.

As reminder that in the last book of 191, some character hazarded that the American German alliance won't last and speculated that both nations would go to war with each other just because they are too powerful. Apparently with how you are writing with Germany falling into right wing conservatisim, it may be possible that Germany would suffer more social unrest much like how the Soviet Union in its last years.

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

Unfortunately, for me I really felt that 191 Japan seems to get the karma, the no bad things that is happening to them. Unless of course that their empire is being slowly fracturing at the seams with Korea being the rising dominant market in entertainment, and of course maybe facing a financial bubble burst just like in OTL 1990's. It's the question is how long empires will last and that the concept of empires is becoming irrelevant because they ruled by old toadies that were raised to 19th century mindsets that are more violent than in our world.

Funny you should mention that - that really, to me, gets to the core of how TL-191 - whether the original, or the slightly altered version that I've been writing - is different to OTL. For us, after WWII the idea of conquest and imperialism became unpopular, because the expansionist Germany and Japan were defeated by democratic nations and because the war led to changing conditions in colonies, meaning the colonial system was no longer supportable or desirable. In TL-191, though... America conquered and incorporated Canada, then went on to do the same thing the the CSA. So far from undoing this after the war was over, they conducted reprisal killings for resistance - something that's apparently accepted practice in this world. Germany took colonial territory from the Entente after Great War I. Thus, conquest and enjoying the fruits thereof would be legitimised ITTL, with the occupation - and assimilation - of territory accepted internationally. This is why, ITTL, no-one's pointing fingers at Japan, China or Italy for occupying territory - how can they, when the United States holds what used to be two sovereign countries within their borders?

In TL-191, all the major powers are openly imperialistic to one degree or another...

As to Japan being a Karma Houdini - I totally agree with that regarding vanilla TL-191. Considering they seemed to do everything they did OTL and get away with it...In this variant TL, though, while they've annexed land and filled it with settlers, there's been no Unit 731, no Rape of Nanking, no vicious war in China, and in SE Asia, while Japan holds a great deal of influence over states, there's never been any occupation or atrocities. Plus, while many in the GEATO nations aren't happy with Japanese influence over their governments, Japan and its superbomb arsenal are felt to be necessary in case China tries to come after them (especially in Vietnam).

Again, obviously, this doesn't mean that TTL Japan is a 'good' nation, or out for anyone's interests beyond their own - and as I say, the backstory has them assimilating the Philippines (given Turtledove's dating of the Hispano-Japanese War, I sadly think this would be inevitable - a thread on this site observed that the population disparity between 1890s Japan and the 1890s Philippines would most likely lead to the islands becoming solidly Nipponicised in such an event), something I do not think would be a good thing. But, ITTL... well, isn't that what America's trying to do to the Confederacy, along with Canada?

Of course, I do agree that Japan's got off relatively lightly compared to America (Years of Hate) and Germany (what amounted to multiple Vietnams across multiple continents), but...it is only 1975, a lot can happen before the 21st century, and a lot is going to happen before then. While I don't think Japan will ever not be a powerful nation ITTL...well, no spoilers, but by the time this is done they are not going to be the sole arbiter of Asian affairs...

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Funny you should mention that - that really, to me, gets to the core of how TL-191 - whether the original, or the slightly altered version that I've been writing - is different to OTL. For us, after WWII the idea of conquest and imperialism became unpopular, because the expansionist Germany and Japan were defeated by democratic nations and because the war led to changing conditions in colonies, meaning the colonial system was no longer supportable or desirable. In TL-191, though... America conquered and incorporated Canada, then went on to do the same thing the the CSA. So far from undoing this after the war was over, they conducted reprisal killings for resistance - something that's apparently accepted practice in this world. Germany took colonial territory from the Entente after Great War I. Thus, conquest and enjoying the fruits thereof would be legitimised ITTL, with the occupation - and assimilation - of territory accepted internationally. This is why, ITTL, no-one's pointing fingers at Japan, China or Italy for occupying territory - how can they, when the United States holds what used to be two sovereign countries within their borders?

In TL-191, all the major powers are openly imperialistic to one degree or another...

Actually that's a pretty spot on analysis of the breaks between TL-191 and our world. The openly advocated imperial seizure of land and annexation of nations by even democratic powers in TTL is pretty obvious to anyone who wants to see it. The fact that it was the territorial ambitions of Germany and Japan OTL which caused a stigma (or at least in the West) against the seizure of territory and the general disruption of the status-quo isn't really played out here. Instead history 'proves' that the only way to ensure peace is by totally crushing and conquering (or at least carving off bits) of your enemies territory.

In TL-191 the US can't object to Japan seizing an empire since they've been doing basically the same thing at home. Germany neither has the interest, nor the ability to do so, and it has been steadily expanding its empire in Europe and Africa.

This does much to discredit the idea of compromise and negotiation with the enemy, and the lack of a proper Cold War analogue (coupled with it being a multi-polar world) changes basic attitudes about military power and the use of nuclear weapons.

 

[Dragun]

You know with all this talks of hypocrisy and imperialism, is there any wonder WHY the 191 world need a World Summit? I understand its only a lite version of the United Nations and that so far I seen was shit throwing each between Germany & co and Japan & co. in that assembly scene. On the other hand it only serves to act as a 'civil' buffer to settle temporary disputes without going into another world war (like in our world but only more tense).

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

Actually that's a pretty spot on analysis of the breaks between TL-191 and our world. The openly advocated imperial seizure of land and annexation of nations by even democratic powers in TTL is pretty obvious to anyone who wants to see it. The fact that it was the territorial ambitions of Germany and Japan OTL which caused a stigma (or at least in the West) against the seizure of territory and the general disruption of the status-quo isn't really played out here. Instead history 'proves' that the only way to ensure peace is by totally crushing and conquering (or at least carving off bits) of your enemies territory.

Exactly. Heck, in In At the Death the Socialist, anti-war Flora Blackford applauds the annexation of the CSA. Now, obviously, the CSA is so appalling that, by this stage, the audience is applauding it too...but it illustrates my point about this world. And as you say, attitudes to nuclear weapons are inevitably different - their heavy use in Great War II would lead to that.

Now, in my TL, I have made exceptions to this rule. The English Commonwealth, for instance, has renounced imperialism and aggressive warfare utterly, because imperialism, jingoism and revanchism got three cities destroyed by nuclear weapons (and they can't even claim the moral high ground, because they used them first). And I don't think even the different attitudes to war and conquest could save the Ottomans and Austria-Hungary from break-up. However, across most of the world, you keep what you conquer, and if someone goes to war with you you hit them hard. Even Ireland continues to hold a hostile Ulster and the Isle of Man...Now I'm not saying this'll last forever. But certainly, the imperial mode of thinking will last a lot longer than OTL.

You know with all this talks of hypocrisy and imperialism, is there any wonder WHY the 191 world need a World Summit? I understand its only a lite version of the United Nations and that so far I seen was shit throwing each between Germany & co and Japan & co. in that assembly scene. On the other hand it only serves to act as a 'civil' buffer to settle temporary disputes without going into another world war (like in our world but only more tense).

Well, I figured that some kind of UN/League of Nations type organisation was inevitable, after two global wars. And to be fair to it, while I've mostly recorded its abysmal failures (the March War, the wars in Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire...), it has also had its successes. They just tend not to be as spectacular

That said, the Neutrality Bloc is also a force for peace in this world. OK, China's intervention in Pakistan was a blip, but they will try harder in future

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

Republic of China


Head of State: General Tsao Yibo, President of the Republic of China
Head of Government: As above [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the Chinese office of President is like the American one.
Capital: Beijing
Currency: Yuan


It has been observed that, when histories are written covering the entire sweep of Chinese history in the 20th century, it can best be described as the [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Era of Great Change[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. China began the century as a nation still caught in the web of the Western colonial powers. While the defeat of the Entente powers in Great War I led to the weakening of the French and British positions in China, German economic influence began to grow strongly, while Japanese support for the Manchu warlords seemed to be leading inexorably to Manchuria becoming a satellite of the Dai-Nihon Teikoku. In addition, while the Kuomintang government officially ruled the nation, warlordism dominated much of the interior.


Then Great War II descended on the world, and as the major powers fought amongst one another, China found the chance to finally settle its own affairs. A three-year military campaign succeeded in toppling or forcing the warlords to vassalage to the central government. Then, as the war turned irretrievably against the Entente, China struck. Veteran troops of the National Army struck North and East, occupying Manchuria, Mongolia and Tuva, while the Ma warlords [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] now fighting for the government [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] struck into Central Asia. As the Russian army was in total retreat [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and given growing Central Asian hostility to the Russian occupation [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] the resulting campaign was not an overly arduous one. More importantly, war against an external power [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] a power with a history of enmity to China [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] served to unify the people of the Middle Kingdom. The occupation of Tibet that followed the war was the proverbial icing on the cake, and the Republic officially moved its government back to Beijing.


Further great change followed as the years progressed. The government worked to modernise China, to diversify industry beyond the coastal cities, though the nascent democratic government moved slowly at the best of times. The influx of oil from the United Turkic Republic helped greatly in China[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s development. In order to encourage foreign investment, the government also worked to develop ties with Germany, even agreeing to deploy troops to assist in the pacification of Northern India.


This proved to be a mistake, leading directly into the March War and the [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] inevitable, as some believed [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] confrontation with China[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s great rival, Japan. Though the Chinese military re-took Hong Kong for the Middle Kingdom, and acquitted itself well in Manchuria-Siberia and in South-East Asia, the collapse of the Indian Federation[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s military and the resistance of the populace led to Chinese forces in India being overwhelmed. In addition, while the National Army was able to fight Viet, Lao, Thai and Burmese forces in stand-up battles, guerrilla tactics used by the enemy bled the Chinese white, and Korean resistance around Mount Baekdu proved impossible to break. The use of fuel-air weapons to try to force a surrender proved[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]unwise, as Japan responded with an atomic strike on Nanking. Over 200,000 died in the initial blast, while the death toll would ultimately rise to over half a million from radiation poisoning [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] fortunately, the Japanese atomic programme was still in its early stages, and the bomb used was not as powerful as an American or German weapon of the same era would have been. Also, Nanking[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s industry was lost, representing a sizeable portion of financial investment.


The aftermath of the war, and the peace treaty that saw China paying reparations for its attempted invasion of South-East Asia, caused huge amounts of public anger (particularly from Nanking survivors), while the Army command felt betrayed, let down by the civilian leadership. The coup attempt that resulted could have plunged China back into civil war[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]if not for the rapid actions of General Tsao Yibo, a veteran of the Great Unification and the Manchurian Campaign. General Tsao Yibo, who having thwarted the coup and secured the loyalty of the Army, would quickly become ruler of China.


China today, after seven years of leadership by the man who many refer to as the [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Emperor in Uniform[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT], has succeeded in recovering both physically and spiritually from the March War. General Tsao continued industrial development [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] at a far quicker pace, as he was able to cut through the red tape of democracy. While much of this was initially geared towards military development, the civilian sector has also benefited greatly. The courting of investment by the Scandinavian nations has helped particularly [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] even before China officially joined the Neutrality Bloc, corporations such as Saab were being encouraged to open factories and other facilities inside China, while Chinese students were sent to Scandinavia. General Tsao encouraged the relationship with Scandinavia, of all places, because he saw that Germany was entering[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]difficult times, and that closer ties with America could be misinterpreted by Japan, leading to a premature conflict. Today, while there is still much to do, China[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s industry and infrastructure have grown quickly, and look set to continue growing. In addition, Chinese resource-extraction companies are spreading to Tanzania. Spiritually, Chinese development of the superbomb and its defeat of Russia and the successful intervention in Pakistan have restored the people[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s faith in Chinese strength[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]


Culturally, China is somewhat of a mixture. Though traditional culture is valued, there has been a conscious effort to cultivate the revolutionary spirit of the early Republic, in particular the Wuchang Uprising and the Xinhai Revolution. In addition, the drive to modernise has led to the government encouraging a move away from the people of China [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]being shackled by tradition[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. The operative catchphrase here is [FONT=&quot]‘[/FONT]Honour the Old, but Embrace the New[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]. Thus, in China[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s cities, Western fashions and education are much in vogue, and there is a deliberate air of conscious modernity.


Though officially a Republic, since General Tsao came to power democracy has been[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]a thing of form but not substance. Elections for provincial governors and assemblies are still held, and the people[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s choice gets in[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]but every person who holds power anywhere in China knows that disobeying the General is not an option. And, some observe darkly, it probably won[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]t be an option even when he officially steps down[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT] Having noted this, work is underway to strengthen democratic institutions, and to educate the populace [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] young and old [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] in the democratic process.


Women[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s rights in modern China have advanced considerably. Women hold paid jobs, even joining the police of the military [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] many Air Force pilots are women. It must be noted, however, that conditions differ across the nation [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] something that may be easy for an educated young woman from Shanghai or Beijing or Guangdong would be a lot harder for a farmer[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s daughter from the interior.

The rights of China[FONT=&quot]’[/FONT]s minorities are[FONT=&quot]…[/FONT]more complex. The hand of government is light in Tibet, which is largely allowed to govern its own affairs as long as the central government is obeyed in matters relating to national defence and development. Mongolia, on the other hand, is under military rule, and sedition is punished ruthlessly [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] to the point that many Mongolians have fled to Japanese Siberia. Xinjiang, home of the Uyghur people, also feels the heavy hand of the central government, as Han settlers are shipped into the province. Overall, minority groups are considered Chinese citizens by law...but outside their home provinces, they are advised not to involve themselves in politics.


Overall, while China has a long way to go, it has achieved a great deal in a short time. Great strides are being made in industry and in infrastructural development, the Chinese military is stronger than ever before [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and has the added deterrence of a superbomb arsenal [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] and trade with the rest of the world grows thanks to membership of the Neutrality Bloc. China is a Great Power, now [FONT=&quot]–[/FONT] a new one, and with much room for growth, but a Great Power nonetheless.

 

[Dragun]

It still leave poor taste how Nanking was nuked compare to being raped. Can you seeing the jarring parallels?

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

It still leave poor taste how Nanking was nuked compare to being raped. Can you seeing the jarring parallels?

Yes. Yes I can. That was a bad mistake on my part, early in the piece - and at this point I can't retcon it, since I can't edit the original post. In truth, I didn't pick it at the time for that reason - I simply picked an important industrial city that would have been a logical target for a nuclear strike.