The Nationalists proclaimed victory in the Spanish Civil War. General Franco and his nationalist movement had overthrown Spain's fragile democracy and ushered in a new order in Spain. Another nation of dubious relations on the continent was not a good thing, but it was hoped that Spain would remain neutral and remain content with its current lands.
Chamberlain met Franco to calm tensions.
Italy had recently signed the treaty of Addis Ababa, cementing their control over Ethiopia.
And now, tensions were rising in East Asia between Japan and China. Worrying signs for the world indeed.
Britain made sure to fortify its Asian holdings, and Chamberlain made it a priority to secure Singapore, and the jewel of Asia, Hong Kong, from assault. The "Burma Road" was also established to aid China and contain Japanese ambitions.
Some more light hearted news. Amelia Earhart had circumnavigated the world. Despite difficulty, this was indeed an historic occasion for aviation, and for women!
(OOC: First major butterfly, Amelia Earhart survives her trip around the world).
Eventually, PM Chamberlain had no choice but to take proactive steps to avoid war in Europe. Military Intelligence was instructed to organize clandestine aid to democratic movements in Germany, Italy, Spain and the USSR. Stalin's purges were of concern, and Mussolini's bold declaration that Yugoslavia belonged to Italy prompted this decision.
WAR! China and Japan were at war, world tensions were boiling over. The SIS was instructed to organize resistance movements in Japan and Manchuria to disrupt the offensive and contain Japanese aggression. Openly, Chamberlain urged peace and flew to Tokyo and to Nanking to alleviate worries of an escalation in the pacific.
The Burma road helped the Chinese in their struggle against Japanese aggression.
As the year drew to a conclusion, Britain announced in an extraordinary statement that they were guaranteeing French independence from continental aggression. Careful to avoid entangling Britain in the alliances that led to the last war, Chamberlain nevertheless made this move to dissuade German aggression and proactively prevent escalation in Europe.
A fascinating year indeed. The first women to circumnavigate the world, the outbreak of war in Asia. Chamberlain remain popular, Britain was recovering quick from the depression and full recovery was anticipated by the end of the decade.
1938 had begun, and Chamberlain's government would face new and unprecedented challenges in the new year...