The Red Crowns: An Imperial Tale
- Thread starter Major Crimson
- Start date
Chapter Thirty Seven and a Half
From A History of the Chinese Peoples
By Citizen SYH 020398 #56, Republished by the Central Executive Library
Whilst Europe began to rip itself to pieces, China had just about finished. Republican Blue forces had been pushing north for months now, will much greater support, training and organisation, the Marxians were crushed, man by man and battle by battle. It is estimated that the First Chinese Civil War resulted in the deaths of some one point nine million people, despite only lasting six months. Colossal destruction of farmland led to food shortages the the rampaging warlords were reported to burn villages to the ground. The great irony was that the safest citizens of china seemed unlikely to be citizens of China for much longer; the three great empires in the east, Japan, Britain and Russia had been carving out their own spheres of influence and regions of direct control. The British mostly used proxies to fight the war; Burmese rebels in Western Yunnan, Cantonese Militias in the South and Tibetan Warriors in the West helped to bring the south of China firmly under British hegemony. The British-supported Federal Kingdom of Canton was one the most stable and wealthy nations to emerge from the conflict; this is believed to be due primarily to two factors; British trade and economic support, as well as the (unofficial and never acknowledged) support provided by the Royal Navy in securing Canton’s ports. The Kingdom had been pro-British since it’s inception and relations were warm. The Burmese rebels were less successful than their Cantonese counterparts but nevertheless were able to claw a sizeable chunk of territory away from the central Chinese government. The area of control was much larger than what was eventually annexed into Burma but mostly consisted on ethnic Chinese who would never submit to Burmese or British rule. The rest of the territory was organised into the artificial but surprisingly stable Protectorate of West Yunnan. West Yunnan was quite sparsely inhabited and the British saw it as a useful buffer state between their own East Asian holdings and the Chinese Republic. British rule was lax at best and local people were able to have genuine democratic representation on a local level (which would later be extended to participation in all areas of government during the 1920s). Tibet meanwhile, had little army of its own to speak of and relied almost entirely on British support. Whilst Anglo-Tibetan relations had been strained in the past, they were vastly improved by the British Defence of Tibetan villages from Mongolian and Xing raiders, which painted the British as genuine liberators in the eyes of the Tibetan people. Britain gained 3 loyal new areas under their thumb and whilst they weren’t quite colonies, their wealth had been opened up to Britain.
Hong Kong would always be the heart and head of British China and Canton extended the lease over the city indefinitely, in exchange for only £15 million.
Russia and Japan did not have time for the same frivolities as the British and dove into China, carving out their areas-of-control with rifle and sword. Japanese and Russian soldiers met in Manchuria several times and despite the odd skirmish, there was a vague gentleman’s agreement that the two would remain at peace, lest the wrath of Britain again be unleashed on the Russian bear. This did not stop the Russians from scrambling for every scrap of territory they could take however; their plunge into Mongolia was soon helped by the Mongolians themselves; promised not only Inner but also Outer Mongolia, independence from China (as a protectorate of the Russian Empire of course). When Russian cavalrymen stormed southwards alongside their new Mongolian allies they were able to capture large swathes of territory; the odd chinese force that even dared to resistance was mown down in a hail of horses and gunfire. The Mongolian Empire was finally established and its borders set, once Russia, now fighting an intense war in the west, felt that no more troops could be expended on this expensive and distant invasion. Though some of Outer Mongolia remained in Chinese hands, the territory controlled by the new empire was large (if sparse) and full of essential natural resources. As Russian Forces flocked West, Mongolia was large and powerful, a useful vassal for the Tsar in St Petersburg.
Many Mongolians were willing to take up arms for the new, Russian Backed Government
Japan, meanwhile, was another case entirely. Russia was completely opposed but not in a place to stop its expansion, whilst Britain; Japan’s closest ally and friend, was nervous about the rising empire becoming too powerful. Nevertheless, a Japanese Manchuria was better than a Russian one and the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was firm, backed with genuine warmth. Japan’s client state of Manshu was headed by a distant relative of the old (now largely deceased) Qing Emperors, ordained as Emperor Koshu. Koshu had a surprisingly level of democratic support as did the entirety of his government; the Japanese had taken a deliberately light hand in their dealings with the Manchurians and focused on fighting communist insurgents that had been raiding local villages. Japanese Soldiers brought British Chocolate and other foreign luxuries with them and distributed them among the locals whilst refusing to destroy or steal from local villages. All this was planned by the new Liberal Japanese Government as a way of establishing a new government with local and international support and despite some local rebellion and the odd international complaint the policy was largely successful.
As for China Prime the slow march north by Republican Forces was aided by their solid military support and the lack of local knowledge about Marxian ideology and ideals. The Second Battle of Beijing was shorter and easier than the first as despite the week long siege from Republican forces it was the arrival of Japanese support that sealed the deal. Japan had been constant in its support of anti-Communist forces and the intervention helped to raise public opinion of Japan in China. After 9 days of shelling the Marxian government collapsed completely and Republican Rule was established over China.
Soldiers from a pro-Japanese militia pose for a photographer from The Times
On July 17th all parties involved met in Shanghai to work out a treaty on the future of China. The new Republican Government was jaded by the swathes of land lost to foreign intervention but could do little about it; as insurgency continued across the nation the economy flatlined and the government’s funds for military and civilian administration were completely nonexistent. In the Treaty of Shanghai the Government acknowledged the governments of Mongolia, Manshu, Tibet, Canton, and Xinjiang. In addition, the city of Shanghai itself would be ceded to Great Britain (who had gained the French concession following the Short War), whilst Japan would receive the city of Suzhou. Both of these cities came in exchange for a £90 million loan, to be paid ⅔ by Great Britain, ¼ by Japan and the remainder by Russia. In addition Anglo-Japanese forces would assist in anti-Marxian operations across China and Britain would produce 6 naval screens as well as providing military advisors for a period of no less than 5 years to grow the army of the budding republic. The Japanese Annexation of the Shandong Peninsula was the cause of great controversy and the Chinese Demanded its return which the Japanese of course refused. Britain intervened, promising a further £10 million down the line should the Chinese let the issue drop. Beijing relented but the issue would remain contentious for many years. China would remain at war with (East) Yunnan and the status of the rebellious Gansu Kingdom was left open. Nevertheless, the First Chinese Civil war is said to have ended with the Treaty.
China’s accepting of these grand concessions may seem odd, particularly given the fact that their opponents were almost entirely broken and yet the threat from Communist insurgency was still high as was the need for funding and military training. The Chinese Government were more interested in modernisation and development than they were territory. To them it seemed that all these lands would be given away temporarily, in time all of the Middle Kingdom would return to Beijing’s fold. They were half right.
A Map of the World on July 18th 1909:
From A History of the Chinese Peoples
By Citizen SYH 020398 #56, Republished by the Central Executive Library
Whilst Europe began to rip itself to pieces, China had just about finished. Republican Blue forces had been pushing north for months now, will much greater support, training and organisation, the Marxians were crushed, man by man and battle by battle. It is estimated that the First Chinese Civil War resulted in the deaths of some one point nine million people, despite only lasting six months. Colossal destruction of farmland led to food shortages the the rampaging warlords were reported to burn villages to the ground. The great irony was that the safest citizens of china seemed unlikely to be citizens of China for much longer; the three great empires in the east, Japan, Britain and Russia had been carving out their own spheres of influence and regions of direct control. The British mostly used proxies to fight the war; Burmese rebels in Western Yunnan, Cantonese Militias in the South and Tibetan Warriors in the West helped to bring the south of China firmly under British hegemony. The British-supported Federal Kingdom of Canton was one the most stable and wealthy nations to emerge from the conflict; this is believed to be due primarily to two factors; British trade and economic support, as well as the (unofficial and never acknowledged) support provided by the Royal Navy in securing Canton’s ports. The Kingdom had been pro-British since it’s inception and relations were warm. The Burmese rebels were less successful than their Cantonese counterparts but nevertheless were able to claw a sizeable chunk of territory away from the central Chinese government. The area of control was much larger than what was eventually annexed into Burma but mostly consisted on ethnic Chinese who would never submit to Burmese or British rule. The rest of the territory was organised into the artificial but surprisingly stable Protectorate of West Yunnan. West Yunnan was quite sparsely inhabited and the British saw it as a useful buffer state between their own East Asian holdings and the Chinese Republic. British rule was lax at best and local people were able to have genuine democratic representation on a local level (which would later be extended to participation in all areas of government during the 1920s). Tibet meanwhile, had little army of its own to speak of and relied almost entirely on British support. Whilst Anglo-Tibetan relations had been strained in the past, they were vastly improved by the British Defence of Tibetan villages from Mongolian and Xing raiders, which painted the British as genuine liberators in the eyes of the Tibetan people. Britain gained 3 loyal new areas under their thumb and whilst they weren’t quite colonies, their wealth had been opened up to Britain.
Hong Kong would always be the heart and head of British China and Canton extended the lease over the city indefinitely, in exchange for only £15 million.
Russia and Japan did not have time for the same frivolities as the British and dove into China, carving out their areas-of-control with rifle and sword. Japanese and Russian soldiers met in Manchuria several times and despite the odd skirmish, there was a vague gentleman’s agreement that the two would remain at peace, lest the wrath of Britain again be unleashed on the Russian bear. This did not stop the Russians from scrambling for every scrap of territory they could take however; their plunge into Mongolia was soon helped by the Mongolians themselves; promised not only Inner but also Outer Mongolia, independence from China (as a protectorate of the Russian Empire of course). When Russian cavalrymen stormed southwards alongside their new Mongolian allies they were able to capture large swathes of territory; the odd chinese force that even dared to resistance was mown down in a hail of horses and gunfire. The Mongolian Empire was finally established and its borders set, once Russia, now fighting an intense war in the west, felt that no more troops could be expended on this expensive and distant invasion. Though some of Outer Mongolia remained in Chinese hands, the territory controlled by the new empire was large (if sparse) and full of essential natural resources. As Russian Forces flocked West, Mongolia was large and powerful, a useful vassal for the Tsar in St Petersburg.
Many Mongolians were willing to take up arms for the new, Russian Backed Government
Japan, meanwhile, was another case entirely. Russia was completely opposed but not in a place to stop its expansion, whilst Britain; Japan’s closest ally and friend, was nervous about the rising empire becoming too powerful. Nevertheless, a Japanese Manchuria was better than a Russian one and the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was firm, backed with genuine warmth. Japan’s client state of Manshu was headed by a distant relative of the old (now largely deceased) Qing Emperors, ordained as Emperor Koshu. Koshu had a surprisingly level of democratic support as did the entirety of his government; the Japanese had taken a deliberately light hand in their dealings with the Manchurians and focused on fighting communist insurgents that had been raiding local villages. Japanese Soldiers brought British Chocolate and other foreign luxuries with them and distributed them among the locals whilst refusing to destroy or steal from local villages. All this was planned by the new Liberal Japanese Government as a way of establishing a new government with local and international support and despite some local rebellion and the odd international complaint the policy was largely successful.
As for China Prime the slow march north by Republican Forces was aided by their solid military support and the lack of local knowledge about Marxian ideology and ideals. The Second Battle of Beijing was shorter and easier than the first as despite the week long siege from Republican forces it was the arrival of Japanese support that sealed the deal. Japan had been constant in its support of anti-Communist forces and the intervention helped to raise public opinion of Japan in China. After 9 days of shelling the Marxian government collapsed completely and Republican Rule was established over China.
Soldiers from a pro-Japanese militia pose for a photographer from The Times
On July 17th all parties involved met in Shanghai to work out a treaty on the future of China. The new Republican Government was jaded by the swathes of land lost to foreign intervention but could do little about it; as insurgency continued across the nation the economy flatlined and the government’s funds for military and civilian administration were completely nonexistent. In the Treaty of Shanghai the Government acknowledged the governments of Mongolia, Manshu, Tibet, Canton, and Xinjiang. In addition, the city of Shanghai itself would be ceded to Great Britain (who had gained the French concession following the Short War), whilst Japan would receive the city of Suzhou. Both of these cities came in exchange for a £90 million loan, to be paid ⅔ by Great Britain, ¼ by Japan and the remainder by Russia. In addition Anglo-Japanese forces would assist in anti-Marxian operations across China and Britain would produce 6 naval screens as well as providing military advisors for a period of no less than 5 years to grow the army of the budding republic. The Japanese Annexation of the Shandong Peninsula was the cause of great controversy and the Chinese Demanded its return which the Japanese of course refused. Britain intervened, promising a further £10 million down the line should the Chinese let the issue drop. Beijing relented but the issue would remain contentious for many years. China would remain at war with (East) Yunnan and the status of the rebellious Gansu Kingdom was left open. Nevertheless, the First Chinese Civil war is said to have ended with the Treaty.
China’s accepting of these grand concessions may seem odd, particularly given the fact that their opponents were almost entirely broken and yet the threat from Communist insurgency was still high as was the need for funding and military training. The Chinese Government were more interested in modernisation and development than they were territory. To them it seemed that all these lands would be given away temporarily, in time all of the Middle Kingdom would return to Beijing’s fold. They were half right.
A Map of the World on July 18th 1909:
Thanks! I love to hear that people are actually enjoying it so I hope you continue to do so!
As for your question I've hinted at such things in the past and I shouldn't want to reveal too much, spoilers and all, but I will say this; there is no nation called the United Kingdom as of 1924.
Yes sadly it;ll be pretty bloody, not that real life's war was a cheery one. As said above, I do love to tease some things!
And thanks for the wish of luck, I'll need it!
Hello! First update in far too long, exams haven't even bloody started yet and I'm already bloody stressed out. Yeah I know, I could post if there's still two weeks before they even begin but ecgh, I'm bad enough at revising without such grand distractions. This was going to be part of a bigger update that included the War but it go so long I thought I'd just post it as is, though you might see some interesting things on the map!
Anyway hope we enjoy, I'll try and be a little more consistent in my updates from now on but don't expect too much. Any issues/comments/critiques/gave-insults-I-have-dealt to-your-people feel free to point out and I'll do my best to resolve them. Anyway, enjoy!
Actually, considering the casualty rates of other Chinese Civil Wars, 1.9 million is actually pretty light. At least it's over and China can refocus now with some new parts of the region able to perhaps form a democratic element to them. Potential strains between Britain, Japan and Russia, along with Chinese wishes to regain their lost lands could get very ugly before too long though.
Jeez, with nationalism being all the rage in that period, surely the people living in Republic China (that is if they're not yet starved to death by all the devastation wrought) would probably go apeshit at the perceived surrendering of all these lands by their government to the "imperialist invaders". Would the Republic regime even last as a result?
Sun Yat-sen's years of travelling around have instilled the loose concept of "China Proper" to the Chinese diaspora, that is, everything south of the Great Wall, and east of Tibet and Xinjiang towards the coast. Taiwan may or may not be optional, though Hainan is considered part of "China Proper" (though if Japan holds onto Hainan long enough, we may see Hainanese develop their own separatist identity eventually).
Canton/Guangdong has more or less a distinct language and culture from China Proper, if they can hold onto their independence long enough, we might see the birth of another national identity. Ditto the Shanghai/Suzhou region.
That said, there will always be people in Canton, Shanghai and Manshu agitating for reunification, despite being better off than those living in the Republic hinterland, and despite the "imperialists" ITL being more humane and democratic than OTL.
Sun Yat-sen's years of travelling around have instilled the loose concept of "China Proper" to the Chinese diaspora, that is, everything south of the Great Wall, and east of Tibet and Xinjiang towards the coast. Taiwan may or may not be optional, though Hainan is considered part of "China Proper" (though if Japan holds onto Hainan long enough, we may see Hainanese develop their own separatist identity eventually).
Canton/Guangdong has more or less a distinct language and culture from China Proper, if they can hold onto their independence long enough, we might see the birth of another national identity. Ditto the Shanghai/Suzhou region.
That said, there will always be people in Canton, Shanghai and Manshu agitating for reunification, despite being better off than those living in the Republic hinterland, and despite the "imperialists" ITL being more humane and democratic than OTL.
I suppose in the grand scheme it wasn't that bad, short at least. But yeah there's a lot of angry people in China who feel cheated (mostly rightly) by the Empires. Everyone else in the region will always hate Russia but now Britain is beginning to realise that Japan might be getting a bit big for its britches.
Yeah there'l be lots of bad sentiment within both China Proper and the outlying states, Canton are already pretty distinct so few worries there and the Japanese are already implementing soft Japanification so we'll see...
I might give this a read, once I finish reading the timeline I'm focused on now.
Thanks! It's far from perfect and probably not to everyone's tastes (and I am of the opinion that it gets better as it goes on and I get more comfortable with the story and the style) but I hope you enjoy!
Any questions feel free to ask.Update (hopefully) should be out tomorrow so there should be something to look forward to!
Chapter Thirty Eight: The Blood Dimmed Tide is Loosed
Extract from Before the End: Europe's Long War
By Peter Simpson, Published by Damien Books, 2023
As the first three months of the Long War fell into the history books, things did not look good for the Central Bloc. The Italians were shattered at sea and only barely holding on to their mountain passes, whilst a large, combined Franco-Belgian Army had made a startling push into west Germany as the Russians stormed in the east. The only successes were found around the Baltic Rim; either at sea or through the luck and tenacity of Scandinavian Armed forces. The German Military Command realised the need for a genuine change in doctrine; they had started the war with three main advantages, speed of mobilisation, industrial might and technological superiority. They had lost the first in the early days of combat and the last with the rapid modernisations of Entente Forces in the last ten years. As a result of this, they determined that the way to win the wars was to pin down Russian and French forces, before using their powerful industry and economy to give their armies the ability to overpower the enemy with modern weaponry. The first side of this weaponry was improved machine guns; the British Maxim Gun had started a revolution and soon every nation was using some variation or another. The Germans already outdid their foes in terms of numbers and were finally beginning to use these guns to full effect in the Western Trenches. Next came Nubenautics, the use of Cloudskiffs and Zeppelins accelerated rapidly, as German High Command set up the Wolkekraft, literally Cloud Force, as the world’s first devoted Skyfleet. Consisting of just 34 Cloudskiffs and 15 Zeppelins at its inception, the Wolkekraft nevertheless was able to turn a few key battles in the West. Initially only used for scouting procedures, it was Lieutenant Manfred von Richthofen, a young Zeppelin Pilot, who developed the idea of bombing the enemy from their. Largely acting on his own authority (though with some support from General Herman Thomsen, who had taken command of the Wolkekraft) and using improvised explosives made from artillery shells Richtofen orchestrated the bombing of French forces in the Battle of Metz.
Zeppelins formed the Heart of the early Wolkekraft
Metz constituted one of the first major Bloc Counter-offensives of the war, as the Wolkekraft began bombing French positions around the city, causing panic and a great loss of morale. The French Seventh Army had been positioned at Metz, numbering 170,000 it was to spearhead an offensive into Hannover to force the Germans to an early negotiating table. Defences had not been prepared as French scouts had largely missed the advance of the German Second Army, under General von Moltke’s command, due to a disastrous communication disaster. The larger French First army actually lay further to the east, in Saarbrucken, and had seen the German advance. The First Army attempting to communicate the advance to their Western comrades but communications were deliberately hindered by German Cavalry and Civilians alike. The advance would nevertheless have been suicidal if not the for the engagement of the French First Army by the German Third, who tied down the larger force in a series of faux assaults. Meanwhile the German Fourth pushed in the North, to prevent a Belgian counterattack. The pieces all fell into place on July 19th and despite all of this the German Second was outnumbered going into battle, 43,000 men short of what their foes could muster. Nevertheless, these men were veterans of Straßburg, hardened soldiers armed to the teeth with modern machine guns and even the odd armoured car, they crashed into the disoriented French. A half hearted attempt to dig a trench line had been made but failed entirely to stop the German advance. German cavalry moved under cover of artillery fire and Dragoons were able to capture seemingly random portions of the city, allowing them to monitor and harass French movements. Von Moltke made a large central push with weaker, smaller wings, hoping to force the French into a directional withdrawal that would either split them or push them into full retreat. The Germans attacked the city from the south, which forced the French to either move east, into German territory, north towards the surprisingly successful aerial bombardment of Richtofen, or west and abandon the line between France and Saarbrucken, where a large French force was still stationed. In the end, the French chose east, hoping to meet up with the First Army and continue their attacks or force a way back west. The actual fighting lasted less than six hours, with little direct fighting even taking place. The only direct conflicts of note involve the now famous (as Characterised in the 1910 French Film Heroes and Sons) Central Charge, wherein a French Cavalry regiment, in order to buy time for the escape of French General Ferdinand Foch, charged a German Machine Gun emplacement. The Charge is said to symbolise the death of Cavalry, though both sides would continue to use it in limited capacities in the west and to great effect on the eastern front. Not one Frenchman of the 600 involved in the charge survived though the act of Major Bertrand Depois reaching the German Line, leaping from his wounded horse and killing three German Gunmen with his sabre alone, has become an event of great French pride, symbolising the fighting spirit and determination the French are so known for.
The Central Charge will likely never slip form French or European Minds
Despite limited heroics, the French suffered abysmal casualties, around 29,000 in a single day, largely due to the fires caused by the German bombing and relentless artillery strikes that harried the French retreat. General Foch’s famous line; “I doubt I shall ever see a day of more bloodshed.” are regarded as some of the most ironic in history, particularly given his command of French Forces in the Battle of Liege. Nevertheless, the Battle of Metz was a windfall for the Germans; isolating a large portion of the French Army within their territory and winning back much of their lost prestige on the world stage. Whilst the Italian Front has remained practically motionless for months and would continue to do so, the Battle of Metz is regarded to be one of the last battles of the mobile war in the West, before the Push to the Sea and the full implimentation of trench warfare.
In Africa the war truly began as the German advance into Belgian Congo took full swing. Having promised local leaders various things, from increased autonomy to outright independence, the Germans won over many who had suffered at the hands of the Belgian Monarchy and was able to capture the Congolese Coast before moving steadily inwards. Resistance was limited at best and Belgium made few attempts to change the situation, hampered by what was verging on complete blockade in Europe, they hoped on a victory at home to end the war. In the North French Colonial Forces tore into Italian Libya, aided by naval support they were able to capture almost half of the territory in a matter of months, whilst the Italian Navy was unable to resupply local forces and the Government in Rome put more and more emphasis on the Alpine Front.
Meanwhile the back and forth in Poland continued, as Von Ludendorff was able to claw back Silesia over the course of the Summer and, in mid July, General Hindenburg scored a decisive victory against Brusilov and the Russian army at the Third Battle of Konigsberg, prompting a surprising push into Lithuania by the German Seventh Army which threw off the Russian defensive line. This was to be the start of the give-and-take territorial swaps of the Polish Front.
Scandinavia continued their advance South, though hampered by increased Russian numbers they were able to continue the push due to the Finnish Revolt. For many years Finns had struggled under the Russian Empire and despite their autonomy many young Finns pined for either independence or Union with Scandinavia (which had been helped by distribution of Scandinavian Propaganda by Swedes living in Helsinki and other population centres both before and during the war). The Revolt had popped up in late March and what had started as a student takeover of Helsinki escalated and gained members en masse. Originally peaceful and mostly involving non-violent protest, Russian Police firing on a crowd on March 19th led to Russian Officials being driven from the city after a week of conflict. From their things spread and whilst what had once been the Swedish (1st) and Norwegian (3rd) Armies led the brunt of the Northern Offensive, the Danish (2nd) and New (4th) landed in Southern Finland after a brief occupation of the Aaland Islands. In both cases they were met with cheers and parades and locals took up army. The new Finnish Government, called the Revolutionary National Congress declared the Duchy of Finland to be an independant state of Russia, though they had no titular Duke for the early years of the War. Those 180,000 Scandinavians and approximately same amount of Finns put the startlingly small 90,000 man Russian Garrison in the South into complete flight. With South-Western Finland free by the start of August and the North under Scandinavian control, Russia had lost almost complete control of Finland. This left St Petersburg threateningly open, which led to the Tsar George’s decision to move some 800,000 men north, largely new recruits and conscripts. The move of almost a million men into a comparatively small front has been criticised as an overreaction by many but the Tsar absolutely refused to surrender St Petersberg and believed that if the Scandinavians could be defeated in the field, their national unity would crumble and they could be brought to the negotiating table; allowing him to turn his focus to Germany and score a victory. The Tsar, however, failed to anticipate the speed of the Scandinavians and soon would find himself enduring one of the longest and most grueling sieges in modern Military history.
Map of The World, August 9th 1909
Extract from: Flight and Freedom: A History of the Jewish People
By Richard Fogleman, Published by Oxford University Press, 1971
...and so Britain grew tired of a war rapidly becoming boring, the opinion of the government was one of contentedness; by destroying each other the Europeans had ensured British hegemony for years to come whilst the public’s attention was drawn by more imperial matters, such as China. One section of British Society who remained disturbed by the war were the nation’s Jewish contingent. As pogroms rose against Jews in Russia (an issue widely forgotten today) a permanent solution fo rthe Jewish population was sought after. Revanchism in France and Russia fuelled the fires of hatred and the Trial of Dreyfus in France showed that the new, right wing government had little time for Jews. As a result the Grand Zionist Conference was held in London in June 1905. Polish, French and Russian Jews had fled the continent in startling numbers and were welcomed to Britain first by the Cunninghame-Graham Administration and later by Lloyd George’s liberals. Almost 1.2 million Jews came to Britain (or it’s colonies) between 1895 and 1910 and it was decided that a permanent homeland was needed. Obviously Jerusalem and Israel was considered perfect though the Ottomans had becoming increasingly xenophobic since their embarrassment at the hands of Italy. Zones in Australasia and Canada were also considered; though neither Dominion could provide a stretch of land deemed suitable. In the end, it was the rather unusual suggestion of Kenya that caught on. The northern shore of Lake Victoria was surprisingly fertile and a small area of largely uninhabited but suitably fertile. The lake was full of fish and local minerals were abundant. The British Cape-to-Cairo railway was already under construction and the East-West Railroad was in the planning stages, both would run through the area either directly or through offshoots. The area was presented to the Grand Conference in 1905 and approved by both the British Government and Zionist Conference in 1909. The move had been spearheaded by Theodore Herzel, a man who would come to be seen as the founder of the nation and take office as its First Prime Minister. The planned Dominion of New Judea was to be established between Lake Victoria, Lake Albert and Lake Turkana with the possibility of later expansion if needed. Many ultra-religious elements of the congress were angered, which led to a split in leadership; the new, ultra-orthodox People’s Front of Judea refused to cooperate with the mainstream Judean People’s Front and demanded a homeland in Palestine. Nevertheless, the Dominion was signed into being as an independent but pro-British state on July 3rd 1909. The capital, somewhat uncreatively called New Jerusalem, was founded on the northern shore that same month. The move was heralded as one of Britain's great triumphs of human rights as a supporter of freedom, though many ignore the displacement of many native peoples in order to found the new nation, it remains a popular move.
The Now Distinctive Flag of New Judea
Extract from Before the End: Europe's Long War
By Peter Simpson, Published by Damien Books, 2023
As the first three months of the Long War fell into the history books, things did not look good for the Central Bloc. The Italians were shattered at sea and only barely holding on to their mountain passes, whilst a large, combined Franco-Belgian Army had made a startling push into west Germany as the Russians stormed in the east. The only successes were found around the Baltic Rim; either at sea or through the luck and tenacity of Scandinavian Armed forces. The German Military Command realised the need for a genuine change in doctrine; they had started the war with three main advantages, speed of mobilisation, industrial might and technological superiority. They had lost the first in the early days of combat and the last with the rapid modernisations of Entente Forces in the last ten years. As a result of this, they determined that the way to win the wars was to pin down Russian and French forces, before using their powerful industry and economy to give their armies the ability to overpower the enemy with modern weaponry. The first side of this weaponry was improved machine guns; the British Maxim Gun had started a revolution and soon every nation was using some variation or another. The Germans already outdid their foes in terms of numbers and were finally beginning to use these guns to full effect in the Western Trenches. Next came Nubenautics, the use of Cloudskiffs and Zeppelins accelerated rapidly, as German High Command set up the Wolkekraft, literally Cloud Force, as the world’s first devoted Skyfleet. Consisting of just 34 Cloudskiffs and 15 Zeppelins at its inception, the Wolkekraft nevertheless was able to turn a few key battles in the West. Initially only used for scouting procedures, it was Lieutenant Manfred von Richthofen, a young Zeppelin Pilot, who developed the idea of bombing the enemy from their. Largely acting on his own authority (though with some support from General Herman Thomsen, who had taken command of the Wolkekraft) and using improvised explosives made from artillery shells Richtofen orchestrated the bombing of French forces in the Battle of Metz.
Zeppelins formed the Heart of the early Wolkekraft
The Central Charge will likely never slip form French or European Minds
Despite limited heroics, the French suffered abysmal casualties, around 29,000 in a single day, largely due to the fires caused by the German bombing and relentless artillery strikes that harried the French retreat. General Foch’s famous line; “I doubt I shall ever see a day of more bloodshed.” are regarded as some of the most ironic in history, particularly given his command of French Forces in the Battle of Liege. Nevertheless, the Battle of Metz was a windfall for the Germans; isolating a large portion of the French Army within their territory and winning back much of their lost prestige on the world stage. Whilst the Italian Front has remained practically motionless for months and would continue to do so, the Battle of Metz is regarded to be one of the last battles of the mobile war in the West, before the Push to the Sea and the full implimentation of trench warfare.
In Africa the war truly began as the German advance into Belgian Congo took full swing. Having promised local leaders various things, from increased autonomy to outright independence, the Germans won over many who had suffered at the hands of the Belgian Monarchy and was able to capture the Congolese Coast before moving steadily inwards. Resistance was limited at best and Belgium made few attempts to change the situation, hampered by what was verging on complete blockade in Europe, they hoped on a victory at home to end the war. In the North French Colonial Forces tore into Italian Libya, aided by naval support they were able to capture almost half of the territory in a matter of months, whilst the Italian Navy was unable to resupply local forces and the Government in Rome put more and more emphasis on the Alpine Front.
Meanwhile the back and forth in Poland continued, as Von Ludendorff was able to claw back Silesia over the course of the Summer and, in mid July, General Hindenburg scored a decisive victory against Brusilov and the Russian army at the Third Battle of Konigsberg, prompting a surprising push into Lithuania by the German Seventh Army which threw off the Russian defensive line. This was to be the start of the give-and-take territorial swaps of the Polish Front.
Scandinavia continued their advance South, though hampered by increased Russian numbers they were able to continue the push due to the Finnish Revolt. For many years Finns had struggled under the Russian Empire and despite their autonomy many young Finns pined for either independence or Union with Scandinavia (which had been helped by distribution of Scandinavian Propaganda by Swedes living in Helsinki and other population centres both before and during the war). The Revolt had popped up in late March and what had started as a student takeover of Helsinki escalated and gained members en masse. Originally peaceful and mostly involving non-violent protest, Russian Police firing on a crowd on March 19th led to Russian Officials being driven from the city after a week of conflict. From their things spread and whilst what had once been the Swedish (1st) and Norwegian (3rd) Armies led the brunt of the Northern Offensive, the Danish (2nd) and New (4th) landed in Southern Finland after a brief occupation of the Aaland Islands. In both cases they were met with cheers and parades and locals took up army. The new Finnish Government, called the Revolutionary National Congress declared the Duchy of Finland to be an independant state of Russia, though they had no titular Duke for the early years of the War. Those 180,000 Scandinavians and approximately same amount of Finns put the startlingly small 90,000 man Russian Garrison in the South into complete flight. With South-Western Finland free by the start of August and the North under Scandinavian control, Russia had lost almost complete control of Finland. This left St Petersburg threateningly open, which led to the Tsar George’s decision to move some 800,000 men north, largely new recruits and conscripts. The move of almost a million men into a comparatively small front has been criticised as an overreaction by many but the Tsar absolutely refused to surrender St Petersberg and believed that if the Scandinavians could be defeated in the field, their national unity would crumble and they could be brought to the negotiating table; allowing him to turn his focus to Germany and score a victory. The Tsar, however, failed to anticipate the speed of the Scandinavians and soon would find himself enduring one of the longest and most grueling sieges in modern Military history.
Map of The World, August 9th 1909
Extract from: Flight and Freedom: A History of the Jewish People
By Richard Fogleman, Published by Oxford University Press, 1971
...and so Britain grew tired of a war rapidly becoming boring, the opinion of the government was one of contentedness; by destroying each other the Europeans had ensured British hegemony for years to come whilst the public’s attention was drawn by more imperial matters, such as China. One section of British Society who remained disturbed by the war were the nation’s Jewish contingent. As pogroms rose against Jews in Russia (an issue widely forgotten today) a permanent solution fo rthe Jewish population was sought after. Revanchism in France and Russia fuelled the fires of hatred and the Trial of Dreyfus in France showed that the new, right wing government had little time for Jews. As a result the Grand Zionist Conference was held in London in June 1905. Polish, French and Russian Jews had fled the continent in startling numbers and were welcomed to Britain first by the Cunninghame-Graham Administration and later by Lloyd George’s liberals. Almost 1.2 million Jews came to Britain (or it’s colonies) between 1895 and 1910 and it was decided that a permanent homeland was needed. Obviously Jerusalem and Israel was considered perfect though the Ottomans had becoming increasingly xenophobic since their embarrassment at the hands of Italy. Zones in Australasia and Canada were also considered; though neither Dominion could provide a stretch of land deemed suitable. In the end, it was the rather unusual suggestion of Kenya that caught on. The northern shore of Lake Victoria was surprisingly fertile and a small area of largely uninhabited but suitably fertile. The lake was full of fish and local minerals were abundant. The British Cape-to-Cairo railway was already under construction and the East-West Railroad was in the planning stages, both would run through the area either directly or through offshoots. The area was presented to the Grand Conference in 1905 and approved by both the British Government and Zionist Conference in 1909. The move had been spearheaded by Theodore Herzel, a man who would come to be seen as the founder of the nation and take office as its First Prime Minister. The planned Dominion of New Judea was to be established between Lake Victoria, Lake Albert and Lake Turkana with the possibility of later expansion if needed. Many ultra-religious elements of the congress were angered, which led to a split in leadership; the new, ultra-orthodox People’s Front of Judea refused to cooperate with the mainstream Judean People’s Front and demanded a homeland in Palestine. Nevertheless, the Dominion was signed into being as an independent but pro-British state on July 3rd 1909. The capital, somewhat uncreatively called New Jerusalem, was founded on the northern shore that same month. The move was heralded as one of Britain's great triumphs of human rights as a supporter of freedom, though many ignore the displacement of many native peoples in order to found the new nation, it remains a popular move.
The Now Distinctive Flag of New Judea
I guess the even more radical Popular Front of Judea consists only a handful of people, no? Their ideology would no doubt comprise of converting the entire world into Judaism or something like that on top of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
But what of the Ugandans TTL then? Then again, Africans TTL would be much more better educated and wealthier than OTL. Plus being believers of non-Abrahamic polytheistic religions means they're less inclined to wage destructive Holy Wars against the Jewish occupiers, resulting in a more stable outcome.
(The population displacement probably also means Mr and Mrs Amin don't meet, resulting in one of the most brutal megalomaniacs ever born. )
But what of the Ugandans TTL then? Then again, Africans TTL would be much more better educated and wealthier than OTL. Plus being believers of non-Abrahamic polytheistic religions means they're less inclined to wage destructive Holy Wars against the Jewish occupiers, resulting in a more stable outcome.
(The population displacement probably also means Mr and Mrs Amin don't meet, resulting in one of the most brutal megalomaniacs ever born. )
Chapter Thirty Nine: The Ceremony of Innocence is Drowned
Extract from a 1922 Pamphlet, The Return of the Autorace
The automotive industry grew rapidly during the early 20th century and though somewhat hindered by the Short and Long Wars, in Britain and America it reached truly grand heights. The Auto was of course a German invention, developed by Mr Benz, who would go on to set up one of the largest manufacturers of Automobiles in the world. Benz Autocars was the world’s first Autocar company and was set up in 1895 and produced Autocars (which he called Motorwagens) on an industrial scale for the first time. In 1897 he would find his first international competitors as Victory Autocars was set up in Manchester and Winton Motors was established in New York and soon other Europeans began entering the market. By 1905 the production of Autocars had gone from 0 a year to 100,000. Almost every nation had their own company or companies, from the Japanese Nintendo (who had started as manufacturers of Children’s Toys) to the Dutch Spijker and French Bouton. The World’s first Autorace took place in Monaco in the July of 1907, the Monaco Race set the precedent of one company from each nation being selected to compete. Whilst this year there are to be national competitions for entrant companies, in ‘05 it was merely dependant on who applied first. In this First Grand Prix there were Ten Competitors, who were as follows; British Victory, Japanese Nintendo, German Benz, American Ford, Dutch Spijker, French Renault, Belgian Vincke, Scandinavian Vabis, Swiss Egg and Austrian Edelweiss. The race resulted in a Swiss win, followed into second by Scandinavia and Third by the British. The race captured the hearts and minds of Europe and with astonishing speeds of up to 22 miles per hour it led to a boom in the industry. Of course, nine of those ten competitors would be killed during the Long War but nevertheless, the Races have become a popular feature within nations. We hope that the races will return for the first time post-war next year and wait in anticipation to see who shall emerge victorious!
This Dashing Auto was driven to victory by the Swiss in the 1905 Race, shall we see a return of Egg Motors next year?
Extract from Before the End: Europe's Long War
By Peter Simpson, Published by Damien Books, 2023
The Great Siege is aptly named, a slog that lasted many years it consumed over four and a half million lives before the end of the war and nearly broke three great Empires. The Russians, who had been planning for a northward push had completely failed to anticipate a sweeping advance from their Scandinavian foes who, in the month of August alone, were able to push the Russians completely out of Finland. With anti-Russian partisans causing issues for defenders, nearly half a million Scandinavians pouring into the country and even a German Expeditionary force of some 40,000, the march south was one of those great many moves meant to end the war in a single blow. It was believed by Scandinavian High Command that a march on St Petersberg would knock the Russians out of the war and so, with a great reliance on cavalry, the push was made. A sterling success for the Scandinavians, those few Russian recruits able to get north in time were ill equiped for the Autumnal Snows and found themselves cold, outnumbered and outgunned. In late August the 2nd and 4th Scandinavian Armies shot across the south to surround the Russian capital and were joined at the border by the 1st from the North. Tsar George found himself staring down a large advance and began to panic. He ordered a million men to be summoned to the defence of the city, including some 300,000 who came directly from the Polish Front. These men would take almost two months to arrive and in the mean time the hastily assembled Russian Ninth Army, not quite reaching its desired size of 800,000 proved entirely unable to defeat the better armed Scandinavian foes. The First Battle for Ingria was an absolutely crushing blow for the Russians. As only 480,000 Finno-Scandinavian men made the move past the Finnish border and towards the Capital, the Ninth Army Rushed to meet them. The battle front was long and Russian forces repeatedly tried to outmaneuver the Scandinavians but the disastrous Battle of Lahti, wherein the Russians attempted to hug the coast and flank the Scandinavians, only to be shelled to oblivion by the Scandinavian Navy and mopped up by the 1st Army led to almost 100,000 casualties on its own. With this the Russians decided to hunker down and formed a trench line some twenty miles north of the City, right the way from the Baltic Sea to the Neva Bay. The line was completed on September 9th and was able to repel three assaults over the course of its first week, with only token casualties on either side. The Tsar breathed a breath of relief, the advance had been stopped and once his new million-man-army arrived he would be able to counter. On the 17th though he realised how wrong he was as the Scandinavian 4th Army were spotted advancing around the East of the Neva. A large chunk of the Russian Army was pulled from the trench line to block them but the Scandinavian 1st and 3rd, as well as the Finnish Army, made their advance that same day and, with aerial support from the new Molnkaren (Skyfleet) broke the thinly stretched Russian line and scattered the Russian Ninth Army. By the 22nd Scandinavian forces had reached the Neva River and the walls of St Petersburg. Addressing his people from the Winter Palace, Tsar George promised to never abandon the city and never abandon the war. A deep, advanced trenchline some two miles out surrounded the city and it was there that the Russian Imperial Guard, combined with what remained of the 9th Army were able to hold off the Scandinavians. However as Naval, Aerial and Artillery bombardment began the siege had begun in earnest. Attacks were constant and resulted in more than 50,000 deaths on both side by the end of September. It seemed like the Bloc had struck back and struck back hard.
The Defence of St Petersburg had to be assembled rapidly but was put together with such ferocity and panic that it formed was of the strongest, deepest and most secure trench lines of the entire war.
This success continued in the South as, on the 3rd of September, the French Seventh and First Armies, trapped in the city of Saarbrucken and surrounded on all sides by Germans, made their desperate push west, trying to escape their encirclement and return to the main line of battle. The Battle of Nancy was a tactical win for the French but a strategic one for the Germans. Only the small German Third directly attacked the French as they tried to leave and the French rearguard found themselves absolutely decimated by the frenzied attacks of an army who just weeks before had seemed miniscule in comparison. The Wolkekraft saw their second great engagement here as the retreating French were bombed all the way back across the border. Attempting to engage as little as possible, French troops literally ran the majority of the three day slog and lost in excess of 20% of their original 200,000. By the time the German Third Army had been escaped the French realised that not only had the battle line with Germany moved a long way west, it had in fact gone beyond German territory and more than five miles over the French border. At the Battle of Verdun the German Second Army, fresh off of their victory in Metz, were forced to pull north as French Armies came in from the East and West, though General Foch’s desire to return to the main line meant that any lost ground was almost immediately recovered. When the chaos was over, the line had returned to some form of order and soon the Race to the Sea would begin.
The Push West was both embarrassing and damaging for General Foch and the French Army
Though the battle had moved from German to French territory, the fighting continued to be heavy and costly to the German Empire. Hoping to decisively hurt the French and hopefully knock out the Belgians they began the Belgian Offensive in late September, despite the awful weather the Germans made an advance starting on the 19th, as the German First and Third Armies confronted the Belgian Third at the decisive Battles of Sittard and Genk the line was again removed from German territory and into Belgium. It was here that Belgium tried to outflank the Germans by moving around their northern flank, only to be countered by a German movement at Bree, even more to the North they tried again, only to be again countered by the Germans. This continued until both sides reached the Dutch border and, having gained the advantage at the last minute, Germany were able to ever so slightly outflank the Belgians. More and more frenchmen had been pouring into the country to try and hold the line and by September 25th there were 211,200 Frenchmen in Belgium. By the 26th, things had grown so desperate that Belgian High Command was convinced that they would be routed from the line within a week unless drastic action was taken. Panicking somewhat, the French made the biggest mistake of the early war, a Franco-Belgian force marched across the Dutch border and attacked the Germans from the North. Anticipating the move, the Germans had fortified in that direction as well, much to the surprise of the French. Soon, the French found themselves digging trenches in an officially neutral country. The Dutch government was outraged and declared war on France and Belgium on the 27th as the Dutch First and Second Armies (who had been mobilised for almost a month as the Dutch government become wary of both German and French movements), 315,000 men, moved south. The Franco-Belgians were caught in between the Germanic Armies and routed. 200,000 French and Belgian soldiers were killed or taken captive that same day. As a new front opened up and the French advance failed completely there were celebrations across Germany, in Berlin the Kaiser is said to have begun writing up conditions for the French surrender and Britain even considered intervening to help the Dutch, though it was decided to be unnecessary. At a dinner honouring the strength of the Central Bloc, teh Kaiser entertained the Dutch Queen Wilhemina, Scandinavian High King Hakon (as well as the Kings of Sweden, Denmark and Norway) and Italian King Victor Emmanuel, as well as a host of noblemen from across the Bloc. In his toast he spoke of “Good will for the people of central and northern Europe, defence of Democratic and Imperial values and justice for those killed”. It seemed that the Bloc was victorious and a last minuite breakthrough in Poland meant that German had removed occupiers from every front as General Hindenburg was pleased to announce “Germany is Free of Russians, Free of Frenchmen and Free of Tyranny”. Russian forces rushing to the defence of a the capital left their main front dangerously undermanned and a quick reaction from Hindenburg meant that tide of the front was entirely changed. Everything was coming up Germany, what could possibly go wrong?
The German Advance came as a surprise to many but bore great success for the Central Bloc
The Balkan front is rarely taught in western schools but was vital to the motivations of many in the war and it was this front that led to the development of such strange alliances throughout the conflict. In the first few months of battle it was quite a one sided front, the well drilled and veteran Serbian and Bulgarian Armies (the latter of whom contained an air corps, based on the German model) decimated the Romanian forces who had been given only token support by the distracted Russian Empire. Only trench warfare allowed the Romanians to hold on to any real territory. In fact it was this front where fuelled by desperation and defeat, trench warfare first really took a hold. Nevertheless it would not be nearly as effective as it would prove to be on the Western and Northern fronts, the length of the line of battle was simply too long to be defended. In late September the point of no return was reached and the five month long Battle for Romania was won by Balkan League forces (the League now being mostly incorporated into the Bloc) on the cusp of Autumn as the Grand September Offensive tore through Romanian lines. Almost 200,000 League soldiers were killed during the month long assault but by the end of it more than half of Romania was occupied by Central Bloc forces. The swift advance terrified the Russians who, already distracted by the Great Siege, began looking for any ally they could find in the region. It didn’t take long before talks were opened up with Austria, a nation spurned by the Germans who had a major hatred of the Balkan League and a not-so-secret desire to expand into Italy. (The Austrians of course would also be a great boon on the Polish Front and would perhaps even be able to advance into Germany proper, changing the entire course of the war). To Tsar George it seemed like the rekindling of the League of Three Emperors (though of course, the hated Bismarck had developed that alliance) and would save Absolutism in Europe. The Austrians were somewhat surprised by the approach but immediately receptive, it made a great deal of sense for them to join the Entente; they shared foes both ideological and cultural and now more than ever, the Balkans seemed a treat to their Slavic holdings. After barely two weeks of secret talks it was decided that the Austrians would enter the war on the 10th of October and that, post war, the Russian sphere of influence would include Bulgaria and Romania whilst the rest of the Balkans would be Austrian. The plans were made carefully and deliberately and it seemed that the shaken Entente had regained composure. However before the Austrians could declare war themselves something rather odd happened.
Emperor Franz Joseph, a Reactionary and Rash leader of Austria
On October 2nd, 1909, the Ottoman Empire, Europe’s Sick Man scorned one too many times, threw the limitations set upon them by the London Accords in the dirt and declared war on Bulgaria. With the majority of the Bulgarian Army deployed in Romania the Ottomans were able to capture “Constantinople” quite a lot faster than they had lost it just a few years ago. The Ottoman First Army tore into southern Thrace and began their effort to restore the Ottoman Empire. The move was met with outrage across the world as Germany, Britain and America all decried the move as a violation of a treaty that wasn’t even a decade old but none felt the need to intervene, in the words of Prime Minister Lloyd George “Better Turkish Lies than Russian Straits.” The Entente reaction was more confused, unsure whether to be happy or upset at the intervention the Russians shrugged and carried on whilst the Austrians moved their invasion plans forward to the 8th. The were caught out again however as Greece, looking to recover long lost land, declared war on the Central Bloc on October 5th. Russia were happy with this; the smaller the powers taking land the better. By the time the Austrians did declare war the panic in the Bloc was so grand that many Serbs, Bulgarians and Italians (even one or two Germans) considered calling for terms. It was only the consistent victories at sea and of Germany and Scandinavia that kept the Bloc going at all. From September the war had left its early days and despite what analysts and generals at the time would say, the chance to win the war quickly had been lost. As Sieges began and trenches were dug, the war had taken a new turn. The quick victory to establish dominance was as dead as the Million Europeans who had already lost their lives. The Long War would live up to its name and it was only just beginning...
Extract from a 1922 Pamphlet, The Return of the Autorace
The automotive industry grew rapidly during the early 20th century and though somewhat hindered by the Short and Long Wars, in Britain and America it reached truly grand heights. The Auto was of course a German invention, developed by Mr Benz, who would go on to set up one of the largest manufacturers of Automobiles in the world. Benz Autocars was the world’s first Autocar company and was set up in 1895 and produced Autocars (which he called Motorwagens) on an industrial scale for the first time. In 1897 he would find his first international competitors as Victory Autocars was set up in Manchester and Winton Motors was established in New York and soon other Europeans began entering the market. By 1905 the production of Autocars had gone from 0 a year to 100,000. Almost every nation had their own company or companies, from the Japanese Nintendo (who had started as manufacturers of Children’s Toys) to the Dutch Spijker and French Bouton. The World’s first Autorace took place in Monaco in the July of 1907, the Monaco Race set the precedent of one company from each nation being selected to compete. Whilst this year there are to be national competitions for entrant companies, in ‘05 it was merely dependant on who applied first. In this First Grand Prix there were Ten Competitors, who were as follows; British Victory, Japanese Nintendo, German Benz, American Ford, Dutch Spijker, French Renault, Belgian Vincke, Scandinavian Vabis, Swiss Egg and Austrian Edelweiss. The race resulted in a Swiss win, followed into second by Scandinavia and Third by the British. The race captured the hearts and minds of Europe and with astonishing speeds of up to 22 miles per hour it led to a boom in the industry. Of course, nine of those ten competitors would be killed during the Long War but nevertheless, the Races have become a popular feature within nations. We hope that the races will return for the first time post-war next year and wait in anticipation to see who shall emerge victorious!
This Dashing Auto was driven to victory by the Swiss in the 1905 Race, shall we see a return of Egg Motors next year?
Extract from Before the End: Europe's Long War
By Peter Simpson, Published by Damien Books, 2023
The Great Siege is aptly named, a slog that lasted many years it consumed over four and a half million lives before the end of the war and nearly broke three great Empires. The Russians, who had been planning for a northward push had completely failed to anticipate a sweeping advance from their Scandinavian foes who, in the month of August alone, were able to push the Russians completely out of Finland. With anti-Russian partisans causing issues for defenders, nearly half a million Scandinavians pouring into the country and even a German Expeditionary force of some 40,000, the march south was one of those great many moves meant to end the war in a single blow. It was believed by Scandinavian High Command that a march on St Petersberg would knock the Russians out of the war and so, with a great reliance on cavalry, the push was made. A sterling success for the Scandinavians, those few Russian recruits able to get north in time were ill equiped for the Autumnal Snows and found themselves cold, outnumbered and outgunned. In late August the 2nd and 4th Scandinavian Armies shot across the south to surround the Russian capital and were joined at the border by the 1st from the North. Tsar George found himself staring down a large advance and began to panic. He ordered a million men to be summoned to the defence of the city, including some 300,000 who came directly from the Polish Front. These men would take almost two months to arrive and in the mean time the hastily assembled Russian Ninth Army, not quite reaching its desired size of 800,000 proved entirely unable to defeat the better armed Scandinavian foes. The First Battle for Ingria was an absolutely crushing blow for the Russians. As only 480,000 Finno-Scandinavian men made the move past the Finnish border and towards the Capital, the Ninth Army Rushed to meet them. The battle front was long and Russian forces repeatedly tried to outmaneuver the Scandinavians but the disastrous Battle of Lahti, wherein the Russians attempted to hug the coast and flank the Scandinavians, only to be shelled to oblivion by the Scandinavian Navy and mopped up by the 1st Army led to almost 100,000 casualties on its own. With this the Russians decided to hunker down and formed a trench line some twenty miles north of the City, right the way from the Baltic Sea to the Neva Bay. The line was completed on September 9th and was able to repel three assaults over the course of its first week, with only token casualties on either side. The Tsar breathed a breath of relief, the advance had been stopped and once his new million-man-army arrived he would be able to counter. On the 17th though he realised how wrong he was as the Scandinavian 4th Army were spotted advancing around the East of the Neva. A large chunk of the Russian Army was pulled from the trench line to block them but the Scandinavian 1st and 3rd, as well as the Finnish Army, made their advance that same day and, with aerial support from the new Molnkaren (Skyfleet) broke the thinly stretched Russian line and scattered the Russian Ninth Army. By the 22nd Scandinavian forces had reached the Neva River and the walls of St Petersburg. Addressing his people from the Winter Palace, Tsar George promised to never abandon the city and never abandon the war. A deep, advanced trenchline some two miles out surrounded the city and it was there that the Russian Imperial Guard, combined with what remained of the 9th Army were able to hold off the Scandinavians. However as Naval, Aerial and Artillery bombardment began the siege had begun in earnest. Attacks were constant and resulted in more than 50,000 deaths on both side by the end of September. It seemed like the Bloc had struck back and struck back hard.
The Defence of St Petersburg had to be assembled rapidly but was put together with such ferocity and panic that it formed was of the strongest, deepest and most secure trench lines of the entire war.
This success continued in the South as, on the 3rd of September, the French Seventh and First Armies, trapped in the city of Saarbrucken and surrounded on all sides by Germans, made their desperate push west, trying to escape their encirclement and return to the main line of battle. The Battle of Nancy was a tactical win for the French but a strategic one for the Germans. Only the small German Third directly attacked the French as they tried to leave and the French rearguard found themselves absolutely decimated by the frenzied attacks of an army who just weeks before had seemed miniscule in comparison. The Wolkekraft saw their second great engagement here as the retreating French were bombed all the way back across the border. Attempting to engage as little as possible, French troops literally ran the majority of the three day slog and lost in excess of 20% of their original 200,000. By the time the German Third Army had been escaped the French realised that not only had the battle line with Germany moved a long way west, it had in fact gone beyond German territory and more than five miles over the French border. At the Battle of Verdun the German Second Army, fresh off of their victory in Metz, were forced to pull north as French Armies came in from the East and West, though General Foch’s desire to return to the main line meant that any lost ground was almost immediately recovered. When the chaos was over, the line had returned to some form of order and soon the Race to the Sea would begin.
The Push West was both embarrassing and damaging for General Foch and the French Army
Though the battle had moved from German to French territory, the fighting continued to be heavy and costly to the German Empire. Hoping to decisively hurt the French and hopefully knock out the Belgians they began the Belgian Offensive in late September, despite the awful weather the Germans made an advance starting on the 19th, as the German First and Third Armies confronted the Belgian Third at the decisive Battles of Sittard and Genk the line was again removed from German territory and into Belgium. It was here that Belgium tried to outflank the Germans by moving around their northern flank, only to be countered by a German movement at Bree, even more to the North they tried again, only to be again countered by the Germans. This continued until both sides reached the Dutch border and, having gained the advantage at the last minute, Germany were able to ever so slightly outflank the Belgians. More and more frenchmen had been pouring into the country to try and hold the line and by September 25th there were 211,200 Frenchmen in Belgium. By the 26th, things had grown so desperate that Belgian High Command was convinced that they would be routed from the line within a week unless drastic action was taken. Panicking somewhat, the French made the biggest mistake of the early war, a Franco-Belgian force marched across the Dutch border and attacked the Germans from the North. Anticipating the move, the Germans had fortified in that direction as well, much to the surprise of the French. Soon, the French found themselves digging trenches in an officially neutral country. The Dutch government was outraged and declared war on France and Belgium on the 27th as the Dutch First and Second Armies (who had been mobilised for almost a month as the Dutch government become wary of both German and French movements), 315,000 men, moved south. The Franco-Belgians were caught in between the Germanic Armies and routed. 200,000 French and Belgian soldiers were killed or taken captive that same day. As a new front opened up and the French advance failed completely there were celebrations across Germany, in Berlin the Kaiser is said to have begun writing up conditions for the French surrender and Britain even considered intervening to help the Dutch, though it was decided to be unnecessary. At a dinner honouring the strength of the Central Bloc, teh Kaiser entertained the Dutch Queen Wilhemina, Scandinavian High King Hakon (as well as the Kings of Sweden, Denmark and Norway) and Italian King Victor Emmanuel, as well as a host of noblemen from across the Bloc. In his toast he spoke of “Good will for the people of central and northern Europe, defence of Democratic and Imperial values and justice for those killed”. It seemed that the Bloc was victorious and a last minuite breakthrough in Poland meant that German had removed occupiers from every front as General Hindenburg was pleased to announce “Germany is Free of Russians, Free of Frenchmen and Free of Tyranny”. Russian forces rushing to the defence of a the capital left their main front dangerously undermanned and a quick reaction from Hindenburg meant that tide of the front was entirely changed. Everything was coming up Germany, what could possibly go wrong?
The German Advance came as a surprise to many but bore great success for the Central Bloc
The Balkan front is rarely taught in western schools but was vital to the motivations of many in the war and it was this front that led to the development of such strange alliances throughout the conflict. In the first few months of battle it was quite a one sided front, the well drilled and veteran Serbian and Bulgarian Armies (the latter of whom contained an air corps, based on the German model) decimated the Romanian forces who had been given only token support by the distracted Russian Empire. Only trench warfare allowed the Romanians to hold on to any real territory. In fact it was this front where fuelled by desperation and defeat, trench warfare first really took a hold. Nevertheless it would not be nearly as effective as it would prove to be on the Western and Northern fronts, the length of the line of battle was simply too long to be defended. In late September the point of no return was reached and the five month long Battle for Romania was won by Balkan League forces (the League now being mostly incorporated into the Bloc) on the cusp of Autumn as the Grand September Offensive tore through Romanian lines. Almost 200,000 League soldiers were killed during the month long assault but by the end of it more than half of Romania was occupied by Central Bloc forces. The swift advance terrified the Russians who, already distracted by the Great Siege, began looking for any ally they could find in the region. It didn’t take long before talks were opened up with Austria, a nation spurned by the Germans who had a major hatred of the Balkan League and a not-so-secret desire to expand into Italy. (The Austrians of course would also be a great boon on the Polish Front and would perhaps even be able to advance into Germany proper, changing the entire course of the war). To Tsar George it seemed like the rekindling of the League of Three Emperors (though of course, the hated Bismarck had developed that alliance) and would save Absolutism in Europe. The Austrians were somewhat surprised by the approach but immediately receptive, it made a great deal of sense for them to join the Entente; they shared foes both ideological and cultural and now more than ever, the Balkans seemed a treat to their Slavic holdings. After barely two weeks of secret talks it was decided that the Austrians would enter the war on the 10th of October and that, post war, the Russian sphere of influence would include Bulgaria and Romania whilst the rest of the Balkans would be Austrian. The plans were made carefully and deliberately and it seemed that the shaken Entente had regained composure. However before the Austrians could declare war themselves something rather odd happened.
Emperor Franz Joseph, a Reactionary and Rash leader of Austria
It was just too obvious, I'd never forgive myself if I didn't make the joke. But both the People's Front of Judea and the Judean People's Front will make an appearance later, sadly the Popular Judean Front couldn't make it, he's got a cold Less messy than OTL and no war means less tension, Britain will compensate those being moved and yeah, butterflies mean that a dictator or two are definitely not going to be born. These people are well (comparatively) educated, increasingly welathy and will genuinely benfit by the wealth and influence brought in by the new Jewish citizens, honestly this is probably quite good for all. There will of course be tensions and people are beign forcibly moved so there is still a lot of tension but no historical conflict between the Jews and locals, combined with a better economic deal all round makes this a lot less messy than Israel OTL....
For now
Cheers and good call, not only is it going to be a big siege its going to be central to the course of the war...
And cheers!
I remember the British out played the Americans for it, I think it might be a protectorate.
This, American Coup in the 1880s went tits up and the British stepped in ot restore order. A protectorate but quite independent; all the British use it for is a naval base and refuelling station.
It's going to drag and its going to be bloody. Not cheery for anyone I'm afraid, hopefully it should be interesting though. And sadly yes, the clue is in the name. :/
Anyone, I want to thank everyone for kind words and readership so far, I hope people like where things are going and that the TL is still entertaining people. For now I'll be departing for two weeks, exams are getting to me a wee bit and I need to be able to focus. Last update was a nice big one so hopefully that should keep people satisfied for now. So yeah, thanks for everything so far and I'll see you in two weeks!
Aha, an alternate Pearl Harbour (spelled with a "u" TTL) in a possible future.
Hey everyone, we're back in business!
Yes, exams are finally over and I have more free-time than I know what to do with! I'm working on the new update as we speak and you can expect that to be out today or tomorrow and we'll be moving to a 4 updates a week schedule wherever possible.
I know I have had to skim over to ignore a few things so if there's any aspect of culture, the War, tech or a certain country you'd like me to go over in more detail, just leave a reply and I'll get on it.
Anyway thanks for reading so far and I hope you all enjoy what's to come, tara!
Yes, exams are finally over and I have more free-time than I know what to do with! I'm working on the new update as we speak and you can expect that to be out today or tomorrow and we'll be moving to a 4 updates a week schedule wherever possible.
I know I have had to skim over to ignore a few things so if there's any aspect of culture, the War, tech or a certain country you'd like me to go over in more detail, just leave a reply and I'll get on it.
Anyway thanks for reading so far and I hope you all enjoy what's to come, tara!
Hurrah! Huzzah!
Not likely at this point. The UK, USA and Japan seem to have neatly divided up the Pacific Amongst themselves.