TL-191.5 The Sun Rises
- Thread starter theg*ddam*hoi2fan
- Start date
Do one about Russia. I know from the last book that there were communist remnants of the Russian Civil War making a resurgence.
So far you're doing an incredible job on expanding Timeline-191. In compare to the massive fan sequel, you have good points on what the world would be like if the 19th century of imperialism were to survive through the 20th century.
So far you're doing an incredible job on expanding Timeline-191. In compare to the massive fan sequel, you have good points on what the world would be like if the 19th century of imperialism were to survive through the 20th century.
High praise indeed! Thanks - hope I keep earning it, but I do accept criticism too
When necessary. Yeah, Russia's the next one. It's not going to be as...tidy as England. I figured that England would recover after initial turmoil, since they're the most likely to receive external aid - even rich, they wouldn't be a threat to America or Germany, since they lost the Empire (they're more than capable of self-defence, but external power projection is a thing of the past) . France, though, is a threat simply by proximity, and Russia is still massive, so Germany ain't likely to be trying to help either of them get overly strong... And won't make it easy for America to do so, either...
Federal Republic of Russia
Head of State: President of Russia (Alexandr Sergeyevich Khrushchev)
Head of Government: Prime Minister
Capital: Volgograd
Currency: New Rouble
In the aftermath of the Second Great War and the superbombing of Petrograd, the Russian state effectively collapsed. Tsar Michael was removed from power by a cabal of Army officers who hoped to seize power for themselves while using the Tsar as a figurehead, but the massive loss of life and the disillusionment with the government resulting from the war had brought the Social Revolutionary and the hard-left political organisations (long thought suppressed) back to the fore. Meanwhile, ethnic violence flared up in those parts of the Caucasus that remained under Russian control, with many Muslim groups (encouraged by the establishment of the United Turkic Republic) seeing an opportunity to be free of Russian rule.
The Second Russian Civil War was actually more of a series of conflicts than a single overarching war. Yet in many ways, it was even bloodier than the Second Great War. Revolutionary groups occupied entire cities, and what remained of the Tsarist government took ever-more drastic measures to try to hold power. The Cossack hosts were unleashed across the Caucasus in a campaign of ethnic cleansing that rivalled the Black Holocaust, sweeping across Dagestan, Chechnya and other rebellious areas…until the assassination of Tsar Michael in 1950, at which point the Cossack leaders declared independence and created the independent Don-Kuban Union in the Northern Caucasus.
It was not until 1953 that peace finally came to Russia, and it was not a peace that any expected. The death of the last Tsar had fractured what was left of the political establishment, and the right lacked a clear leader. Though many talked of reuniting Holy Mother Russia, this was not a time for idealists. It was, instead, a time for master pragmatists. And so, Alexandr Khrushchev emerged. A former Army Major, who had seen action in Korea and Siberia, he was able to win support from certain rightist and centrist groups, and from what was left of the Army. But, as a former member of the Social Revolutionaries who had managed to lose himself in the chaotic aftermath of the First Civil War, he was able to reach out to the left as well. Thus, with a comparatively broad support base, he was able to entrench himself in the Western Russian heartland, particularly in the Volgograd region, in 1952. By the following year, he had managed either to crush or come to terms with the other factions fighting for control of Russia. Thus, the Federal Republic was born.
Compromise has been the cornerstone of Khrushchev’s rule over Mother Russia. Lacking any strong political ideology of his own beyond strengthening Russia, he has managed thus far to placate both the far left and the far right while at the same time manoeuvring people who are loyal specifically to him into positions of power. Even the Orthodox Church supports him – in return for the Patriarch agreeing not to engage openly in politics, Khrushchev gets the more moderate Church-backed legislation passed under his own name. He works a similar deal with the Social Revolutionaries, and for better or worse has managed to keep it up for nearly the last two decades. By balancing the extremes, he has had a degree of freedom in which to pursue his own agendas and legislation, all of which focuses on industrial and economic development. Of course, extremists on both sides remain a threat, and fighting periodically flares up again in the more isolated regions of the nation while the State Security Authorities work within the cities to crack down on hard-left organisations.
In the aftermath of the Second Great War, Russia was a nation in tatters, and it was in the interests of both Germany and Japan that it remain so. Thus, neither of these nations have given much (if any) economic or development aid to the new Republic. Most of what Russia gets comes from the United States and (over the last few years) England. However, America doesn’t always have much to spare given other commitments, and Germany throws up every obstacle it can. Having said this, Russia has managed to claw its way back from the abyss somewhat. Cities (particularly the new capital of Volgograd) have modernised a great deal over the last ten years, and have seen a rise in the standard of living, while after some truly abysmal years, the rural peasantry (aided by land grants from the estates of nobility who opposed Khrushchev) have flourished and are producing enough food that the nation is definitely not starving. Outside the cities, though, Russia is still a nation that lags severely behind the rest of the world – in Volgograd, buildings have central heating and Farseers, in the countryside, most villages don’t even have electricity. The economy hasn’t been helped by a mass exodus of Jews, either to Japanese Siberia or to Germany...or, in the case of some of the young, to Palestine, to join the Jewish Legion fighting alongside the Arabs against the Ottoman Empire. After pre-war pogroms by the Black Hundreds, and post-war blame falling on the Jewish population, most decided to vote with their feet (which made things harder for those who stayed, as the exodus was seen as proof of ‘Jewish treachery’ by the fanatically right-wing).
The new Federal Army of Russia only numbers 150,000 men. However, it’s a lot more effective than the creaking, unwieldy behemoth that the nation had under the Tsars. Khrushchev purchases the best equipment that he can, and each individual soldier is highly trained, after an exacting selection process.* That said, it’s still behind the armies of Mitteleuropa, and will remain so for some considerable time. Germany realised that they could never enforce demilitarisation on Russia (too much land to hide things in), so they do what they can to limit the Republic’s ability to build a meaningful military force. Also, the treaty that ended the war allows German surveillance aircraft to fly into European Russian airspace…and it’s an article of faith that if Germany sees something that even looks like an atomic research centre, they’ll bomb it. Rumours abound of a young, inexperienced German pilot calling in an air-strike on a grain silo because he thought it was a cooling tower… Untrue, of course. Probably.
Many wonder can the Republic last long. So much of what makes it work as a state is tied up in the person of Alexandr Khrushchev, and without him to mediate, the left and right would immediately begin fighting again. He is, of course, well aware of this, and chooses as his Prime Ministers individuals whose loyalty is specifically to Khrushchev, hoping that should the worst happen, they will be seen as the same neutral figure that Khrushchev himself is. Of course, Khrushchev doesn’t plan to relinquish power until he has to – something that adds to the inherent instability of the Russian state.
Russia enjoys distant, but cordial relations with the United State and England. Germany, China and Japan, by contrast, are loathed by the general population and the national leadership alike. The idea of regaining lost lands is a prominent one in Russian political rhetoric, though even the most die-hard patriot recognises that won’t be happening for some considerable time.
Khrushchev’s United Motherland party is the dominant force in Russian politics, though it’s been described as an ideological vacuum, lacking any ideology beyond making Russia strong in the most expedient manner. Within the party, views embrace a wide variety of spectra – and like the country, the party is only held together by Alexandr Khrushchev.
*AN - Like OTL Weimar-era Reichswehr.
Head of State: President of Russia (Alexandr Sergeyevich Khrushchev)
Head of Government: Prime Minister
Capital: Volgograd
Currency: New Rouble
In the aftermath of the Second Great War and the superbombing of Petrograd, the Russian state effectively collapsed. Tsar Michael was removed from power by a cabal of Army officers who hoped to seize power for themselves while using the Tsar as a figurehead, but the massive loss of life and the disillusionment with the government resulting from the war had brought the Social Revolutionary and the hard-left political organisations (long thought suppressed) back to the fore. Meanwhile, ethnic violence flared up in those parts of the Caucasus that remained under Russian control, with many Muslim groups (encouraged by the establishment of the United Turkic Republic) seeing an opportunity to be free of Russian rule.
The Second Russian Civil War was actually more of a series of conflicts than a single overarching war. Yet in many ways, it was even bloodier than the Second Great War. Revolutionary groups occupied entire cities, and what remained of the Tsarist government took ever-more drastic measures to try to hold power. The Cossack hosts were unleashed across the Caucasus in a campaign of ethnic cleansing that rivalled the Black Holocaust, sweeping across Dagestan, Chechnya and other rebellious areas…until the assassination of Tsar Michael in 1950, at which point the Cossack leaders declared independence and created the independent Don-Kuban Union in the Northern Caucasus.
It was not until 1953 that peace finally came to Russia, and it was not a peace that any expected. The death of the last Tsar had fractured what was left of the political establishment, and the right lacked a clear leader. Though many talked of reuniting Holy Mother Russia, this was not a time for idealists. It was, instead, a time for master pragmatists. And so, Alexandr Khrushchev emerged. A former Army Major, who had seen action in Korea and Siberia, he was able to win support from certain rightist and centrist groups, and from what was left of the Army. But, as a former member of the Social Revolutionaries who had managed to lose himself in the chaotic aftermath of the First Civil War, he was able to reach out to the left as well. Thus, with a comparatively broad support base, he was able to entrench himself in the Western Russian heartland, particularly in the Volgograd region, in 1952. By the following year, he had managed either to crush or come to terms with the other factions fighting for control of Russia. Thus, the Federal Republic was born.
Compromise has been the cornerstone of Khrushchev’s rule over Mother Russia. Lacking any strong political ideology of his own beyond strengthening Russia, he has managed thus far to placate both the far left and the far right while at the same time manoeuvring people who are loyal specifically to him into positions of power. Even the Orthodox Church supports him – in return for the Patriarch agreeing not to engage openly in politics, Khrushchev gets the more moderate Church-backed legislation passed under his own name. He works a similar deal with the Social Revolutionaries, and for better or worse has managed to keep it up for nearly the last two decades. By balancing the extremes, he has had a degree of freedom in which to pursue his own agendas and legislation, all of which focuses on industrial and economic development. Of course, extremists on both sides remain a threat, and fighting periodically flares up again in the more isolated regions of the nation while the State Security Authorities work within the cities to crack down on hard-left organisations.
In the aftermath of the Second Great War, Russia was a nation in tatters, and it was in the interests of both Germany and Japan that it remain so. Thus, neither of these nations have given much (if any) economic or development aid to the new Republic. Most of what Russia gets comes from the United States and (over the last few years) England. However, America doesn’t always have much to spare given other commitments, and Germany throws up every obstacle it can. Having said this, Russia has managed to claw its way back from the abyss somewhat. Cities (particularly the new capital of Volgograd) have modernised a great deal over the last ten years, and have seen a rise in the standard of living, while after some truly abysmal years, the rural peasantry (aided by land grants from the estates of nobility who opposed Khrushchev) have flourished and are producing enough food that the nation is definitely not starving. Outside the cities, though, Russia is still a nation that lags severely behind the rest of the world – in Volgograd, buildings have central heating and Farseers, in the countryside, most villages don’t even have electricity. The economy hasn’t been helped by a mass exodus of Jews, either to Japanese Siberia or to Germany...or, in the case of some of the young, to Palestine, to join the Jewish Legion fighting alongside the Arabs against the Ottoman Empire. After pre-war pogroms by the Black Hundreds, and post-war blame falling on the Jewish population, most decided to vote with their feet (which made things harder for those who stayed, as the exodus was seen as proof of ‘Jewish treachery’ by the fanatically right-wing).
The new Federal Army of Russia only numbers 150,000 men. However, it’s a lot more effective than the creaking, unwieldy behemoth that the nation had under the Tsars. Khrushchev purchases the best equipment that he can, and each individual soldier is highly trained, after an exacting selection process.* That said, it’s still behind the armies of Mitteleuropa, and will remain so for some considerable time. Germany realised that they could never enforce demilitarisation on Russia (too much land to hide things in), so they do what they can to limit the Republic’s ability to build a meaningful military force. Also, the treaty that ended the war allows German surveillance aircraft to fly into European Russian airspace…and it’s an article of faith that if Germany sees something that even looks like an atomic research centre, they’ll bomb it. Rumours abound of a young, inexperienced German pilot calling in an air-strike on a grain silo because he thought it was a cooling tower… Untrue, of course. Probably.
Many wonder can the Republic last long. So much of what makes it work as a state is tied up in the person of Alexandr Khrushchev, and without him to mediate, the left and right would immediately begin fighting again. He is, of course, well aware of this, and chooses as his Prime Ministers individuals whose loyalty is specifically to Khrushchev, hoping that should the worst happen, they will be seen as the same neutral figure that Khrushchev himself is. Of course, Khrushchev doesn’t plan to relinquish power until he has to – something that adds to the inherent instability of the Russian state.
Russia enjoys distant, but cordial relations with the United State and England. Germany, China and Japan, by contrast, are loathed by the general population and the national leadership alike. The idea of regaining lost lands is a prominent one in Russian political rhetoric, though even the most die-hard patriot recognises that won’t be happening for some considerable time.
Khrushchev’s United Motherland party is the dominant force in Russian politics, though it’s been described as an ideological vacuum, lacking any ideology beyond making Russia strong in the most expedient manner. Within the party, views embrace a wide variety of spectra – and like the country, the party is only held together by Alexandr Khrushchev.
*AN - Like OTL Weimar-era Reichswehr.
bguy
Donor
Good update. Just three questions/comments.
1) Why is the Russian capital in Volgagrad rather than Moscow? Moscow is more centrally located than Volgagrad, and since it was historically Russia's capital for centuries it would seem to fit with Khruschev's ideology of making Russia strong again (while still constituting a break from the previous regime.)
2) Why are the Chinese loathed by the Russian people and government? I would have thought the Russians would see them as useful potential allies against Japan.
3) 150,000 men seems a little small for the Russian Army. Forget fighting the Germans or Japanese, with an army that tiny, Russia would be hopelessly outclassed if it had to fight Poland. (And if the country is the powder-keg you describe, 150,000 men wouldn't be nearly enough to maintain internal security if there was an uprising.)
Do you plan on doing any of the neutral nations from TL-191? (I'm curious about what Italy has been up to.)
1) Why is the Russian capital in Volgagrad rather than Moscow? Moscow is more centrally located than Volgagrad, and since it was historically Russia's capital for centuries it would seem to fit with Khruschev's ideology of making Russia strong again (while still constituting a break from the previous regime.)
2) Why are the Chinese loathed by the Russian people and government? I would have thought the Russians would see them as useful potential allies against Japan.
3) 150,000 men seems a little small for the Russian Army. Forget fighting the Germans or Japanese, with an army that tiny, Russia would be hopelessly outclassed if it had to fight Poland. (And if the country is the powder-keg you describe, 150,000 men wouldn't be nearly enough to maintain internal security if there was an uprising.)
Do you plan on doing any of the neutral nations from TL-191? (I'm curious about what Italy has been up to.)
Yo. Good questions, which I'll try to answer. If my explanations make little sense...then I'll set about making changes ;-)
1) I picked Volgograd because it seemed a good place for an interim capital - Petrograd was superbombed, and I figured Moscow would have been hit with conventional weaponry, whereas Volgograd likely wouldn't have been hit so hard. So they set up there temporarily, while trying to pacify the nation, then the new regime got entrenched and decided to remain. And yeah, distancing themselves from the old regime was a big part of that decision. If this seems implausible, though...
2) This one's the easiest to answer. The Russians hate Japan because they took Siberia. They loathe China because, while Russia was in the thick of things with Japan, the Chinese took advantage of their distraction to attack them in the rear in Manchuria, and then went on to grab Mongolia and Tuva (and then sidle Central Asia out of the Russian fold). So while there's dislike for Japan, there's a feeling of 'well at least they fought us head-on, not like those backstabbing thieves'. Now admittedly some of the more level-headed political figures want to get past this, but Ivan Public is still fairly bitter about the whole thing...and since Khrushchev fought on the Eastern Front, he feels much the same way.
3) Yeah, I think I erred here. See, I wanted to make it clear that Russia really wasn't in a position to go picking fights with anyone else, because I thought after two losing wars, two civil wars and a failure to modernise meaningfully in any way between the wars, Russia would have to focus on ploughing its own furrow for a while yet. But yeah, I might increase that...
Also, neutral nations... I plan to do France to round out the defeated nations, and I'm definitely going to do Italy at some point (it's still very much a work in progress at this moment, and RL work is an issue too). Beyond that... thing about TL-191 is, there's a lot less neutral countries than OTL, or at least there were a lot less during the Second Great War (heck, even Ireland got pulled in). Though I will do something on the Second Irish Republic.
Of course, I also need to get European and American events caught up to the end of the March War - and then there's the reason this little exercise is called the Sun Rises
Of course, I also need to get European and American events caught up to the end of the March War - and then there's the reason this little exercise is called the Sun Rises
bguy
Donor
It's not story breaking or anything. It just kind of surprised me, so I figured I would ask about it. (And while we're on the subject of national capitals, where is the US capital now? Is it still in Philadelphia or was it moved back to D.C.?)
Ahhh, I forgot the Chinese had jumped on the Russians at the end of the SGW.
Yeah, I've always wondered why Italy didn't jump in at the tail end of the First or Second Great Wars. I would have though the temptation to grab at least Nice, Savoy, Corsica, and Tunisia would have been irresistible once it was clear France was going to lose. (Conversely, I've never really understood why Brazil did come in at the end of the First Great War. What were they hoping to get?)
Yeah, I've always wondered why Italy didn't jump in at the tail end of the First or Second Great Wars. I would have though the temptation to grab at least Nice, Savoy, Corsica, and Tunisia would have been irresistible once it was clear France was going to lose. (Conversely, I've never really understood why Brazil did come in at the end of the First Great War. What were they hoping to get?)[/QUOTE]
Yeah, that bugged me too. Italy was technically in the Triple Alliance - and the war going Germany's way would have probably got them to make good on the alliance. I suppose, really, I should have widened the scope, but what inspired this was really how illogical Japan's war-record was, so that was the only change I made. The only explanation I can come up with is that the war in Europe was still up in the air till the nukes started flying, at which point it was too late for any change in Italian policy (the only story explanation, that is - there is of course the other explanation that Turtledove just decided 'ah feck it' and left them out). Brazil...maybe they wanted to take land from British-aligned Argentina? Mind you, the Latin American stuff sometimes seemed to be thrown in to show how much worse things would have been without the Monroe Doctrine to keep European wars and alliances away from countries like Brazil.
Yeah, that bugged me too. Italy was technically in the Triple Alliance - and the war going Germany's way would have probably got them to make good on the alliance. I suppose, really, I should have widened the scope, but what inspired this was really how illogical Japan's war-record was, so that was the only change I made. The only explanation I can come up with is that the war in Europe was still up in the air till the nukes started flying, at which point it was too late for any change in Italian policy (the only story explanation, that is - there is of course the other explanation that Turtledove just decided 'ah feck it' and left them out). Brazil...maybe they wanted to take land from British-aligned Argentina?
Mind you, the Latin American stuff sometimes seemed to be thrown in to show how much worse things would have been without the Monroe Doctrine to keep European wars and alliances away from countries like Brazil.State of France (or simply ‘France’)
Head of State: President of France
Head of Government: Prime Minister of France
Capital: Avignon
Currency: Franc
It was not merely the prestige of the Action Francaise movement and the King of France that was tied up in the Second Great War. It was France’s very identity as a world power and a nation that was at stake, as even before the rise of Action Francaise governments and demagogues had harped on the theme of ‘France’s humiliation’, to the point where the entire population of France was willing to wager everything on the chance to restore their nation’s prestige through victory over Germany. And they failed…
The Occupation of France after the war was by no means gentle. Already damaged by repeated aerial attacks, what remained of France’s industrial infrastructure was looted wholesale by the German Reich, while large amounts of food produce from the rural South were taken back to Germany. Though there was never a full-fledged famine, the nation came perilously close, particularly as French colonists made their way back to the mainland from North Africa. Many, though, chose not to return to France, instead making for better prospects in the Republic of Quebec under that nation’s ‘Francophone Refugee Programme’. They would have granted the French royal family asylum too, but Germany would not permit it.
It was not until 1952, following war crimes trials (and executions, including of most of the adult males of the royal family), a lengthy occupation, the total removal of all military equipment and the total demobilisation of French forces, that the Germans saw fit to allow France to establish an independent government. So it was that the State of France was established, under a coalition of extreme centrist politicians. The new nation was required to utterly forswear war or the maintenance of military forces in its Constitution, and discussions on the new capital threatened to derail things – Germany refused to allow them to establish the capital anywhere with a long and traditional link to any former French government. Eventually, the French suggested Avignon, which Germany accepted. They later regretted it, as the choice was so telling that many believe the French chose it deliberately – as the Popes were captives in Avignon, so too would be the new government of France. A last piece of resistance… Government is headquartered in the Palais des Papes.
German forces have largely withdrawn from independent France, save for bases in Normandy and near the ruins of Paris. However, they have occupied the Pas-de-Calais, annexing it to Germany proper, and they also established an independent Republic of Brittany, in which a military presence is maintained.
The State of France is a poor one – so poor that in 1957, the government accepted an offer from the Kingdom of Italy to buy the island of Corsica, in an attempt to establish their economy on a secure footing. They were left having to rebuild their industrial and economic base from the ground up in the aftermath of the war, and between Germany’s attempts to maintain their Empire and rebuild the homeland, as well as German Francophobia, mean that the Reich didn’t give them much assistance. Nor were they overly keen on letting anyone else penetrate French markets. The only substantial foreign aid has come since 1960, from newly-rich England and Quebec. As such, rebuilding and reindustrialisation have been slow, and are still ongoing. Urban poverty is still a major problem, as are associated criminal issues. Things are better in the rural South, and food production is up heavily – France is once more an exporter of agricultural produce.
The biggest problem afflicting the State of France is not economic, though. It’s a lot worse than that. Since the defeat, to quote Shakespeare’s Constable d’Albret, France’s older generation suffers ‘Shame, and eternal shame…Nothing but shame’. Many have decamped for Quebec, wishing to live in a nation where the stigma of defeat no longer touches them. For those who remain in France… Alcoholism rates are through the roof, while the illegal drug trade rivals many legitimate enterprises. Organised crime is becoming a major issue, particularly in Marseilles. The young, meanwhile, are intensely bitter towards the old political establishment, seeing them as the reason for a nation where prospects are few and hope for the future is limited. This has manifested into a rising tide of leftism, pacifism and anti-establishment beliefs among the young, particularly among university students.*
France has no military whatsoever. Even law enforcement has been radically changed – the gendarmerie was disbanded, while the new Police Nationale are carefully non-military (even their uniforms and insignia are deliberately non-militaristic). German weapons inspectors regularly enter the country, while high-level surveillance aircraft make sure nothing’s being hidden in the mountains and forests.
*AN - Yeah, the Hippy movement is born in France ITTL. Well, I say the Hippy movement...the aesthetics are way different, in particular the music and other culture surrounding it (American Hispanic-influenced music is popular among French youth - Hispanic, thanks to Sonora, Chihuahua and Cuba being annexed by the US, their music is heavily in vogue with American youth, and so gets exported), but the basics (sexual liberation, leftism and pacifism) are the same.
Head of State: President of France
Head of Government: Prime Minister of France
Capital: Avignon
Currency: Franc
It was not merely the prestige of the Action Francaise movement and the King of France that was tied up in the Second Great War. It was France’s very identity as a world power and a nation that was at stake, as even before the rise of Action Francaise governments and demagogues had harped on the theme of ‘France’s humiliation’, to the point where the entire population of France was willing to wager everything on the chance to restore their nation’s prestige through victory over Germany. And they failed…
The Occupation of France after the war was by no means gentle. Already damaged by repeated aerial attacks, what remained of France’s industrial infrastructure was looted wholesale by the German Reich, while large amounts of food produce from the rural South were taken back to Germany. Though there was never a full-fledged famine, the nation came perilously close, particularly as French colonists made their way back to the mainland from North Africa. Many, though, chose not to return to France, instead making for better prospects in the Republic of Quebec under that nation’s ‘Francophone Refugee Programme’. They would have granted the French royal family asylum too, but Germany would not permit it.
It was not until 1952, following war crimes trials (and executions, including of most of the adult males of the royal family), a lengthy occupation, the total removal of all military equipment and the total demobilisation of French forces, that the Germans saw fit to allow France to establish an independent government. So it was that the State of France was established, under a coalition of extreme centrist politicians. The new nation was required to utterly forswear war or the maintenance of military forces in its Constitution, and discussions on the new capital threatened to derail things – Germany refused to allow them to establish the capital anywhere with a long and traditional link to any former French government. Eventually, the French suggested Avignon, which Germany accepted. They later regretted it, as the choice was so telling that many believe the French chose it deliberately – as the Popes were captives in Avignon, so too would be the new government of France. A last piece of resistance… Government is headquartered in the Palais des Papes.
German forces have largely withdrawn from independent France, save for bases in Normandy and near the ruins of Paris. However, they have occupied the Pas-de-Calais, annexing it to Germany proper, and they also established an independent Republic of Brittany, in which a military presence is maintained.
The State of France is a poor one – so poor that in 1957, the government accepted an offer from the Kingdom of Italy to buy the island of Corsica, in an attempt to establish their economy on a secure footing. They were left having to rebuild their industrial and economic base from the ground up in the aftermath of the war, and between Germany’s attempts to maintain their Empire and rebuild the homeland, as well as German Francophobia, mean that the Reich didn’t give them much assistance. Nor were they overly keen on letting anyone else penetrate French markets. The only substantial foreign aid has come since 1960, from newly-rich England and Quebec. As such, rebuilding and reindustrialisation have been slow, and are still ongoing. Urban poverty is still a major problem, as are associated criminal issues. Things are better in the rural South, and food production is up heavily – France is once more an exporter of agricultural produce.
The biggest problem afflicting the State of France is not economic, though. It’s a lot worse than that. Since the defeat, to quote Shakespeare’s Constable d’Albret, France’s older generation suffers ‘Shame, and eternal shame…Nothing but shame’. Many have decamped for Quebec, wishing to live in a nation where the stigma of defeat no longer touches them. For those who remain in France… Alcoholism rates are through the roof, while the illegal drug trade rivals many legitimate enterprises. Organised crime is becoming a major issue, particularly in Marseilles. The young, meanwhile, are intensely bitter towards the old political establishment, seeing them as the reason for a nation where prospects are few and hope for the future is limited. This has manifested into a rising tide of leftism, pacifism and anti-establishment beliefs among the young, particularly among university students.*
France has no military whatsoever. Even law enforcement has been radically changed – the gendarmerie was disbanded, while the new Police Nationale are carefully non-military (even their uniforms and insignia are deliberately non-militaristic). German weapons inspectors regularly enter the country, while high-level surveillance aircraft make sure nothing’s being hidden in the mountains and forests.
*AN - Yeah, the Hippy movement is born in France ITTL. Well, I say the Hippy movement...the aesthetics are way different, in particular the music and other culture surrounding it (American Hispanic-influenced music is popular among French youth - Hispanic, thanks to Sonora, Chihuahua and Cuba being annexed by the US, their music is heavily in vogue with American youth, and so gets exported), but the basics (sexual liberation, leftism and pacifism) are the same.
bguy
Donor
With Corsica seperated from France that pretty much guarantees Laetitia Casta will never be born. As if TL-191 wasn't dystopic enough already...
What's the status of Algeria? Your update mention French colonists returning from Africa which kind of surprised me. Given what a mess metropolitan France is, I would have expected the opposite to occur with more French settlers moving into Algeria. Germany might even have supported increased French settlement in Algeria since it would make metropolitan France easier to hold down (and the Germans probably don't want to see the native Algerians drive out the French since that could inspire similar rebellions in German colonies.)
As if TL-191 wasn't dystopic enough already...What's the status of Algeria? Your update mention French colonists returning from Africa which kind of surprised me. Given what a mess metropolitan France is, I would have expected the opposite to occur with more French settlers moving into Algeria. Germany might even have supported increased French settlement in Algeria since it would make metropolitan France easier to hold down (and the Germans probably don't want to see the native Algerians drive out the French since that could inspire similar rebellions in German colonies.)
With Corsica seperated from France that pretty much guarantees Laetitia Casta will never be born.
What's the status of Algeria? Your update mention French colonists returning from Africa which kind of surprised me. Given what a mess metropolitan France is, I would have expected the opposite to occur with more French settlers moving into Algeria. Germany might even have supported increased French settlement in Algeria since it would make metropolitan France easier to hold down (and the Germans probably don't want to see the native Algerians drive out the French since that could inspire similar rebellions in German colonies.)
Oh what a world I have wrought (well, Harry Turtledove, then me)... Oh well, maybe another hot model will be born on the island, and go on to wow the Italian fashion scene.
The French African colonies came under Global Summit administration, pending a gradual move toward independence. Germany recognised that they likely didn't have the manpower to take on those colonies formally as well as their own, so they set up the Mandate system (planning on using it as a means of informal colonisation). Mitteleuropa took on the British colonies, Italian 'peacekeepers' moved into Tunisia, and American and Quebecois forces took over in the rest of French Africa. Those territories have become independent republics, though with strong economic ties to North America.
As to why the colonies were removed from French administration... The way I figured it, Germany really doesn't want another European war. Their logic was, colonies mean resources, resources mean military-industrial complex and auxiliary forces, so take colonies away. I do get the logic of your suggestion, and I thought long and hard about the way I set things up at the beginning. As you say, independence for parts of Africa would lead to problems for Germany's own colonies. But then again, after the death and destruction of the Second Great War, Germany couldn't have occupied former French and British colonies alone, so they tried to do things informally and with (friendly) international participation. But because those territories fell under temporary American administration, the road to independence was a much smoother and faster one (mix American democratic tendencies with a disinclination to have too many troops stuck overseas while tryig to pacify the South...)
Sorry if this seems a long, rambling explanation. But yeah - former French Africa is independent (or in Italian hands). And in any case, without the French military to protect them, the settlers wouldn't have been inclined to stay...
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Basically, what Germany was hoping was that, under the banner of the Global Summit, they'd be able to turn French and British colonies in Africa (and India) into an informal empire: independent nations, but captive markets for German goods, sources of raw materials for German industry, and with basing rights for German and allied forces. This, in theory, would need far smaller day-to-day commitment of troops than a formal empire.
Yeah, it didn't work... As seen from all the aside mentions earlier
Yeah, it didn't work... As seen from all the aside mentions earlier
England
England reminds me of OTL Japan. What is the situation between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the war?
England reminds me of OTL Japan. What is the situation between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the war?
Well, the economic miracle was deliberately reminiscent of OTL Japan and a Western Germany, though I wanted to give England a totally new, original character. And their approach to their past is different - OTL Japan alternates between nostalgia and denial, TTL England says yes, Britain made mistakes, but we changed so profoundly (we became a new nation) that they don't apply anymore.
I'll be addressing this soon. Basically... The Republic of India claims the entire subcontinent. Pakistan is happier with the situation - their control over the Muslim-majority areas is much more secure than the old Federation was - but they fear India.
Just a heads-up: I'm going away for a few days, for a combination family occasion and having a meeting with my thesis supervisor. So please no-one think this is abandoned, it's just a short interruption
That's the whole deliberate point of this world. History goes into a kind of reverse-role playing:
- The U.S. is parallel to Soviet Russia, and the CSA is to Nazi Germany.
- Russia, France, and Britain filled in the role of the Axis Powers in some ways, but not the same despite sharing militarism and rightest ideology.
- Imperial Germany can somewhat act like the Soviet Union, i.e. being questionable allies with the U.S. in WW2 and then becoming a expansionist world power.
And I'm back!
Last two country snapshots, then back to the main attraction.
Second Republic of Ireland
Head of State: President of the Irish Republic
Head of Government: Taoiseach
Capital: Dublin
Currency: Irish Dollar
After the First Great War, the victorious Central Powers forced the United Kingdom to recognise the independence of Ireland, after the Irish Revolution (supplied by the United States) had succeeded in tying down large numbers of British soldiers. Though most Irish greeted the rise of the Republic gladly, there were those who were more reserved. The Unionist population of Northern Ireland were openly hostile to the Republic from the start, with Sir Edward Carson and Sir James Craig going underground to organise resistance among the Northern population. However, while Orange-inspired violence would be a major threat to the stability of the new nation, the longer-term, more insidious threat would come from an unexpected source. Or so the history books would inform one.
Prior to the Great War, Home Rule for Ireland had been moving closer to a reality, thanks to the ceaseless work of the Irish Parliamentary Party. However, while the Party had been identified with the nationalist cause, many of its membership – largely from the Catholic upper middle classes in Dublin, in particular those whose status and wealth had derived from British enterprises – had not been nationalists. Though they had campaigned for Home Rule, they had still wished for Ireland to be politically aligned with the British Empire. As such, when Ireland suddenly found itself to be a republic, a large number of old Home Rulers were hostile towards the new regime. This would ultimately be labelled as contributing towards the collapse of the Irish Republic during the Second Great War, as in the interwar years the disaffected Home Rulers coalesced into the (predominantly Catholic) Centrist Party. The Centrists would constantly agitate for a mending of fences with Britain and a move away from alignment with the Central Powers, and would do everything in their power to obstruct the ruling Sinn Féin administration, even arguing against increased military spending.
The effect that the Centrists actually had on military preparedness was negligible – the Irish military was as well-prepared as the military of any small country could possibly have been on the eve of the Second Great War. And, indeed, any other nation of comparable size would have been overrun by Britain just as swiftly as Ireland was – in fact, Irish conventional forces put up a much stiffer fight than the British had expected, particularly in the Battle of Dublin and the two-week long Battle of Mount Gabriel in West Cork. However, to those who fought on after the British occupation began, and suffered through the circle of reprisals, Centrist pre-war activities came to be seen as treasonous. This was not helped by the fact that particular Centrist politicians (though by no means all) collaborated with British occupying authorities in the South In the North, meanwhile, Carson and Craig re-emerged from hiding and took charge of Ulster on behalf of Britain. When Britain collapsed and Ireland regained her independence, the regime that took charge in Dublin was one composed largely of new blood. The pre-war government, and all members of Sinn Féin that the British managed to catch, had been executed during the occupation. The only prominent leader who had survived was General Sean Collins, a veteran of the Revolution and the commander of the Mount Gabriel defence that kept British forces from advancing out of West Cork towards Kerry. Together with a cabal of hard-line former guerrillas, he took power and declared the Second Irish Republic…and as his first act in power began a series of show trials and executions of collaborators. This had the effect of removing much of Ireland’s moderate political establishment (some were tried as collaborators, and the majority who hadn’t been were tainted by association) and securing power for hard-line nationalists.
The Second Republic is a Federal Republic, with regional governments administering Munster, Leinster, Ulster, Connaught and the Isle of Man. Sinn Féin remains in power, though somewhat changed from the pre-war party it was. Party membership is largely made up of former military officers, and the Irish voters tend to choose Generals as their national leaders – in particular since the nation practices universal male conscription.
The Republic is officially a secular nation, though the majority of the population is Catholic. However, the Catholic Church does not have the same power in the nation as it did before the war – during the Occupation, the British authorities not only ruthlessly purged the Irish hierarchy to try to quell rebellion, but they also carried out highly-publicised investigations of the Catholic Church’s institutions within Ireland. What they turned up had a profound impact on Irish society. Revelations about the Magdalene Laundries, about religious-run schools and orphanages… Sinn Féin used the revelations to establish the nation as a secular one, and remove any untoward influence that the Church had in the nation. In addition, they ensured that any Irish clergy involved in criminal activities were punished to the full extent of the law, and their places were filled by Catholic clergy from outside Ireland. Maynooth Seminary was also swept clean, with new faculty being brought in from other Catholic nations like Spain, Italy and Quebec. As such, Irish Catholicism has become less insular and more cosmopolitan in nature. However, the Catholic faith is still strong in the nation…and remains a factor that divides the majority population from the people of Ulster.
Ulster remains fractious. With the collapse of Britain, Unionism is dead. What the non-Catholic population of the North want now is independence, and since the mid-1950s, they’ve been fighting a bloody terrorist campaign in pursuit of that aim. In response, the Irish military is engaged in an ongoing occupation, the Garda Síochána Bureau of National Security engages in highly questionable practices (wiretapping, detention without charge, enhanced interrogation techniques), and settlers from the South are being imported into the North to try to shift the regional demographics. Auto bombings and gun attacks are commonplace across the North, and the ‘Liberation’ movements fund their activities through multiple criminal enterprises.
Culturally, Ireland harks back to its ‘rebel’ roots. Contemporary music follows traditional styles (though with more modern instruments), and common themes involve English war-crimes or Irish resistance to the English. Since everyone from the age of thirty has very clear memories of the Occupation, this is not likely to change any time soon.
Ireland enjoys good relations with Scotland and Brittany, its ‘fellow Celtic’ nations. They also have strong economic links with the United States, and recently have been growing closer to America than to their formal military ally Germany (Ireland joined Mitteleuropa after the Second Great War). However, even after the British collapse, England is loathed…and since Scotland and Brittany are independent, Ireland now has alternative trading partners. The nation enjoys average wealth, though things would be better if not for the (comparatively, given Ireland’s size) large military budget.
The Republic maintains a universal male draft, along with an Army of 60,000 men, an Air Force that includes a squadron of German-provided strike aircraft and Drache gunships, and a small but sufficient Navy. The ongoing occupation in the North, as well as the fear of England rising again and wanting the Isle of Man back, will likely keep Ireland spending heavily on her military for some time yet…
Kingdom of Italy
Head of State: HM Umberto II, King of Italy, King of Albania, Emperor of Ethiopia.
Head of Government: Prime Minister of Italy
Capital: Rome
Currency: Lire
Of all the Great Powers, Italy was the only nation that was able to remain neutral in both Great Wars. It was also the European nation that came out best from the Second Great War.
In the aftermath of the First Great War, Italy was easily the poorest and weakest of the Great Powers. A hotbed of Socialists and rightists, a nation severely handicapped by the ongoing intransigence of the papacy, the brief popularity of a politician who claimed he could make the trains run on time seemed to characterise the comic-opera instability of the Kingdom. However, according to many historians, the Second Great War allowed Italy to grow. Certainly, the invasion of Abyssinia in 1942 and the 1944 occupation of Albania would have been difficult in an era of European peace, but while the Central Powers fought for their very survival no-one raised any objections to Italy’s colonial adventures. More importantly, however, by staying neutral Italy was able to trade with nations on both sides of the conflict: Germany and Austria-Hungary were willing to pay extravagant amounts for Italian produce during the initial stages of the war, while France was willing to pay even more extravagant sums when the war turned against them…and lacking Mediterranean ports, Germany could hardly interdict such trade. As a result, prosperity gradually came to Italy, and neutrality meant that the nation came out of the war with an undamaged, intact industrial base. In the aftermath of the war, Italy was able to expand further as the Global Summit gave the Kingdom a Mandate over Tunisia, and they purchased Corsica from the State of France.
For the last twenty years, the centrist government has focused on continued industrialisation at home, and tackling unemployment. On paper, they have been successful, with unemployment rates falling to an all-time low of 8% in 1964. However, this has come about as a result of the Grande Italia initiative, whereby poor Italians (mostly from the South) have been offered land in Albania and Africa. Since the war’s end, over two million Italians have been settled in Abyssinia, a million in Libya, and another million in Albania. With the colonies to act as a safety-valve, unemployment in mainland Italy can be kept at a low rate.
Life in the colonies, on the other hand, is not easy. While native resistance in Abyssinia has died down (thanks to Italian willingness to use poison gas in suppressing revolts), Albania continues to be a problem. Libya has also experienced flare-ups, though currently it is fairly quiet (the Italian government bribes certain tribes to sit on other tribes. It works so far). The oil industry has become a major employer within Libya, and has allowed Italy to gain increased political clout in Europe.
Officially, Italy is a member of Mitteleuropa. And the Kingdom has no wish to rock the boat overmuch – they’re happy with their position of strength. That said, the government continues to invest in strengthening the nation, and they’re cautiously beginning to flex their diplomatic muscles as Germany faces colonial problems and Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire disintegrate. Opportunities are emerging for Grande Italia, provided that they can keep order within their own colonies.
The papacy remains an issue. The Pope continues to consider himself a ‘prisoner in the Vatican’, which has led some in the government of the Kingdom to mutter darkly about ‘suggesting’ the papacy relocate to Avignon… However, most Italians support the government and participate in the running of the state. Their faith may be important to them, but so are employment prospects and three square meals a day.
The Italian military is large, modern and powerful. In Europe, the Regia Marina is second-only to the German Hochsees Flotte, operating three modern fleet airplane carriers: Giuseppe Garibaldi, Cavour and Giulio Cesare; and four light carriers (the battleship fleet has been largely deactivated).
Last two country snapshots, then back to the main attraction.
Second Republic of Ireland
Head of State: President of the Irish Republic
Head of Government: Taoiseach
Capital: Dublin
Currency: Irish Dollar
After the First Great War, the victorious Central Powers forced the United Kingdom to recognise the independence of Ireland, after the Irish Revolution (supplied by the United States) had succeeded in tying down large numbers of British soldiers. Though most Irish greeted the rise of the Republic gladly, there were those who were more reserved. The Unionist population of Northern Ireland were openly hostile to the Republic from the start, with Sir Edward Carson and Sir James Craig going underground to organise resistance among the Northern population. However, while Orange-inspired violence would be a major threat to the stability of the new nation, the longer-term, more insidious threat would come from an unexpected source. Or so the history books would inform one.
Prior to the Great War, Home Rule for Ireland had been moving closer to a reality, thanks to the ceaseless work of the Irish Parliamentary Party. However, while the Party had been identified with the nationalist cause, many of its membership – largely from the Catholic upper middle classes in Dublin, in particular those whose status and wealth had derived from British enterprises – had not been nationalists. Though they had campaigned for Home Rule, they had still wished for Ireland to be politically aligned with the British Empire. As such, when Ireland suddenly found itself to be a republic, a large number of old Home Rulers were hostile towards the new regime. This would ultimately be labelled as contributing towards the collapse of the Irish Republic during the Second Great War, as in the interwar years the disaffected Home Rulers coalesced into the (predominantly Catholic) Centrist Party. The Centrists would constantly agitate for a mending of fences with Britain and a move away from alignment with the Central Powers, and would do everything in their power to obstruct the ruling Sinn Féin administration, even arguing against increased military spending.
The effect that the Centrists actually had on military preparedness was negligible – the Irish military was as well-prepared as the military of any small country could possibly have been on the eve of the Second Great War. And, indeed, any other nation of comparable size would have been overrun by Britain just as swiftly as Ireland was – in fact, Irish conventional forces put up a much stiffer fight than the British had expected, particularly in the Battle of Dublin and the two-week long Battle of Mount Gabriel in West Cork. However, to those who fought on after the British occupation began, and suffered through the circle of reprisals, Centrist pre-war activities came to be seen as treasonous. This was not helped by the fact that particular Centrist politicians (though by no means all) collaborated with British occupying authorities in the South In the North, meanwhile, Carson and Craig re-emerged from hiding and took charge of Ulster on behalf of Britain. When Britain collapsed and Ireland regained her independence, the regime that took charge in Dublin was one composed largely of new blood. The pre-war government, and all members of Sinn Féin that the British managed to catch, had been executed during the occupation. The only prominent leader who had survived was General Sean Collins, a veteran of the Revolution and the commander of the Mount Gabriel defence that kept British forces from advancing out of West Cork towards Kerry. Together with a cabal of hard-line former guerrillas, he took power and declared the Second Irish Republic…and as his first act in power began a series of show trials and executions of collaborators. This had the effect of removing much of Ireland’s moderate political establishment (some were tried as collaborators, and the majority who hadn’t been were tainted by association) and securing power for hard-line nationalists.
The Second Republic is a Federal Republic, with regional governments administering Munster, Leinster, Ulster, Connaught and the Isle of Man. Sinn Féin remains in power, though somewhat changed from the pre-war party it was. Party membership is largely made up of former military officers, and the Irish voters tend to choose Generals as their national leaders – in particular since the nation practices universal male conscription.
The Republic is officially a secular nation, though the majority of the population is Catholic. However, the Catholic Church does not have the same power in the nation as it did before the war – during the Occupation, the British authorities not only ruthlessly purged the Irish hierarchy to try to quell rebellion, but they also carried out highly-publicised investigations of the Catholic Church’s institutions within Ireland. What they turned up had a profound impact on Irish society. Revelations about the Magdalene Laundries, about religious-run schools and orphanages… Sinn Féin used the revelations to establish the nation as a secular one, and remove any untoward influence that the Church had in the nation. In addition, they ensured that any Irish clergy involved in criminal activities were punished to the full extent of the law, and their places were filled by Catholic clergy from outside Ireland. Maynooth Seminary was also swept clean, with new faculty being brought in from other Catholic nations like Spain, Italy and Quebec. As such, Irish Catholicism has become less insular and more cosmopolitan in nature. However, the Catholic faith is still strong in the nation…and remains a factor that divides the majority population from the people of Ulster.
Ulster remains fractious. With the collapse of Britain, Unionism is dead. What the non-Catholic population of the North want now is independence, and since the mid-1950s, they’ve been fighting a bloody terrorist campaign in pursuit of that aim. In response, the Irish military is engaged in an ongoing occupation, the Garda Síochána Bureau of National Security engages in highly questionable practices (wiretapping, detention without charge, enhanced interrogation techniques), and settlers from the South are being imported into the North to try to shift the regional demographics. Auto bombings and gun attacks are commonplace across the North, and the ‘Liberation’ movements fund their activities through multiple criminal enterprises.
Culturally, Ireland harks back to its ‘rebel’ roots. Contemporary music follows traditional styles (though with more modern instruments), and common themes involve English war-crimes or Irish resistance to the English. Since everyone from the age of thirty has very clear memories of the Occupation, this is not likely to change any time soon.
Ireland enjoys good relations with Scotland and Brittany, its ‘fellow Celtic’ nations. They also have strong economic links with the United States, and recently have been growing closer to America than to their formal military ally Germany (Ireland joined Mitteleuropa after the Second Great War). However, even after the British collapse, England is loathed…and since Scotland and Brittany are independent, Ireland now has alternative trading partners. The nation enjoys average wealth, though things would be better if not for the (comparatively, given Ireland’s size) large military budget.
The Republic maintains a universal male draft, along with an Army of 60,000 men, an Air Force that includes a squadron of German-provided strike aircraft and Drache gunships, and a small but sufficient Navy. The ongoing occupation in the North, as well as the fear of England rising again and wanting the Isle of Man back, will likely keep Ireland spending heavily on her military for some time yet…
Kingdom of Italy
Head of State: HM Umberto II, King of Italy, King of Albania, Emperor of Ethiopia.
Head of Government: Prime Minister of Italy
Capital: Rome
Currency: Lire
Of all the Great Powers, Italy was the only nation that was able to remain neutral in both Great Wars. It was also the European nation that came out best from the Second Great War.
In the aftermath of the First Great War, Italy was easily the poorest and weakest of the Great Powers. A hotbed of Socialists and rightists, a nation severely handicapped by the ongoing intransigence of the papacy, the brief popularity of a politician who claimed he could make the trains run on time seemed to characterise the comic-opera instability of the Kingdom. However, according to many historians, the Second Great War allowed Italy to grow. Certainly, the invasion of Abyssinia in 1942 and the 1944 occupation of Albania would have been difficult in an era of European peace, but while the Central Powers fought for their very survival no-one raised any objections to Italy’s colonial adventures. More importantly, however, by staying neutral Italy was able to trade with nations on both sides of the conflict: Germany and Austria-Hungary were willing to pay extravagant amounts for Italian produce during the initial stages of the war, while France was willing to pay even more extravagant sums when the war turned against them…and lacking Mediterranean ports, Germany could hardly interdict such trade. As a result, prosperity gradually came to Italy, and neutrality meant that the nation came out of the war with an undamaged, intact industrial base. In the aftermath of the war, Italy was able to expand further as the Global Summit gave the Kingdom a Mandate over Tunisia, and they purchased Corsica from the State of France.
For the last twenty years, the centrist government has focused on continued industrialisation at home, and tackling unemployment. On paper, they have been successful, with unemployment rates falling to an all-time low of 8% in 1964. However, this has come about as a result of the Grande Italia initiative, whereby poor Italians (mostly from the South) have been offered land in Albania and Africa. Since the war’s end, over two million Italians have been settled in Abyssinia, a million in Libya, and another million in Albania. With the colonies to act as a safety-valve, unemployment in mainland Italy can be kept at a low rate.
Life in the colonies, on the other hand, is not easy. While native resistance in Abyssinia has died down (thanks to Italian willingness to use poison gas in suppressing revolts), Albania continues to be a problem. Libya has also experienced flare-ups, though currently it is fairly quiet (the Italian government bribes certain tribes to sit on other tribes. It works so far). The oil industry has become a major employer within Libya, and has allowed Italy to gain increased political clout in Europe.
Officially, Italy is a member of Mitteleuropa. And the Kingdom has no wish to rock the boat overmuch – they’re happy with their position of strength. That said, the government continues to invest in strengthening the nation, and they’re cautiously beginning to flex their diplomatic muscles as Germany faces colonial problems and Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire disintegrate. Opportunities are emerging for Grande Italia, provided that they can keep order within their own colonies.
The papacy remains an issue. The Pope continues to consider himself a ‘prisoner in the Vatican’, which has led some in the government of the Kingdom to mutter darkly about ‘suggesting’ the papacy relocate to Avignon… However, most Italians support the government and participate in the running of the state. Their faith may be important to them, but so are employment prospects and three square meals a day.
The Italian military is large, modern and powerful. In Europe, the Regia Marina is second-only to the German Hochsees Flotte, operating three modern fleet airplane carriers: Giuseppe Garibaldi, Cavour and Giulio Cesare; and four light carriers (the battleship fleet has been largely deactivated).
I don't know...OK, a lot of stuff was a direct mirror, but the Freedom Party weren't really Nazis. Yes, they were racist to the point of genocide, but their thing was more about upholding the Confederacy and the Confederate way of life. The Freedom Party always seemed to me to be more like Francoist Spain - God, Country, Tradition, etc. - whereas Fascism is a revolutionary innovation in its own vile way.
I made a conscious effort in writing this to avoid having the defeated nations just be carbon copies of our world's defeated nations. Yes, England's economic boom is similar, but the very character of the nation ended up changed far more than those of either Japan or Germany. And thankfully, none of the Big Three former Axis nations ended up in the doldrums that Russia and France are in, or the twentieth century might have ended up being even more volatile than it was OTL.
In case people are wondering, by the way, Italy's growth in power was my way of explaining their otherwise odd neutrality in GW2. I figured, the only reason they wouldn't be taking advantage of the opportunities offered in Europe would be if they were already using the war's chaos as cover for an expansionist programme elsewhere.
I blame the whole reverse-history thing as Turtledove's doing, maybe intentionally or not, based on his decision of offing American Hitler wannabe McSweeney.
I have to guess by some point in time when HT wrote the Great War series, his bosses who published his books, who were uncomfortable of the idea that the United States would become a Nazi version and that the reverse would be the same for the Confederacy to be depicted as the "good guys", basically told him to turn the Confederacy into that Nazi Germany-analogue and having the U.S. winning the war as the traditional "good guys".
I have to guess by some point in time when HT wrote the Great War series, his bosses who published his books, who were uncomfortable of the idea that the United States would become a Nazi version and that the reverse would be the same for the Confederacy to be depicted as the "good guys", basically told him to turn the Confederacy into that Nazi Germany-analogue and having the U.S. winning the war as the traditional "good guys".