This TL got its own equivalent of Zapp Brannigan
And as for why I recognized that similarity,it is because I also watched Futurama.
A Second Sunrise: Taiwan of 2020 Sent Back to 1911
- Thread starter ChrisProvidence
- Start date
- Original Modern Post-1900
And as for why I recognized that similarity,it is because I also watched Futurama.
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission."
-Lt.
Actually, that Futurama quote is why I gave him that name.
Lt. Brannigan will do a fine job living up to his namesake.
Guys cmon I'm always carrying the team please stop dying
Chapter 57: Homefront
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Seelow Heights, Brandenburg, Prussia, German Empire, 2 February 1924
"Georgy Konstantinovich," he said to his fellow tanker. "Thought you'd be indoors."
"The cold air helps me think, Vasily Ivanovich. Not that there is much else for us to do, these days."
Which, if the two of them were being honest, wasn't completely fair. The fact that they were on the west bank of the Oder was a testament to that.
"All this blood spilled for so little land," Zhukov said to him. "Their blood, of course."
It was no secret that the Eastern Front had been slow. Not when they needed two years to get within striking distance of Berlin.
That wasn't the whole truth, though.
Stalemates would be continued until they were not, because the next offensive was always-coming… until it finally arrived.
They, along with countless other tankers from Russia and China knew that too-well, as their armored spearheads kept paving the way for the rapid encirclements that wiped out thousands of German and Austro-Hungarian, and British troops at a time.
And it kept happening, again and again, as the combined NA forces crept towards Germany, minimizing their own losses all the way.
Sure, they would like nothing more than to blitzkrieg the Alliance in a couple months, but supply lines took time to build, and Russia wasn't exactly the most-developed country in the world.
The fact that they made it past the Oder and up to the Carpathians with what they had was a damned miracle.
But that would all change this year. Because this time, they had the infrastructure and the logistics they could've only dreamt of a few years ago.
A third of the Accord was massed on the Eastern Front now, and they could bring their full weight to bear on the Alliance.
6th Marine Division Headquarters, Nis, Occupied Serbia, 13 March 1924
There is a joke in the Chinese military that the Marines actually like getting shot at.
Which wasn't entirely false. The Marines went first, but they struck first with tanks, APCs, and any other armor they could get their hands on.
This would be no exception, and Michael knew his men wouldn't have it any other way.
If not us, then somebody else. And if it's somebody else, they might fuck up.
That was how he ended up here, looking at a screen, a dozen miles behind the frontline.
The vanguard elements of the 6th had already punched through the hole Dragon Squadron made, and Shannon always made sure to destroy anything that could leave more than a scratch on his tanks.
It was an old trick, but he wasn't about to fix what wasn't broken. Not when vehicles began flooding through the frontline and started encircling Alliance troops.
"Tiger Actual, this is Command," he said into his headset. "Status Report?"
"Just a few WIAs, boss. Anything on the UAV?"
"Nothing much. Keep buttoned up, though. Bolt-action or not, I don't want anyone taking potshots at you guys."
"Copy, boss," Chiu told him, "Tiger Actual out."
"So, Mike." A familiar voice greeted him. "Everything good?"
"Jesus Ch- Oh, hey Marty. Yeah, it's all good so far. I've got scouts going ahead to find the rest of the Serbian Army, but they've all turned up empty."
"That was the rest of the Serbian Army," the section head told him. "And a good chunk of the Habsburgs as well."
Outskirts of Austria, Austro-Hungarian Empire, 29 March 1924
This was humiliating.
Sure, he knew why he and his family had to disguise their convoy out of Vienna, but the humiliation was all the same.
He was the Kaiser, damn it!
He was supposed to be there, setting an example. Not fleeing under the cover of darkness because the Chinese planes would strafe him during the day.
The Kaiser sighed, them saw his wife and daughter peacefully asleep across from him.
Humiliating as this may be, he would do this a thousand times over if it meant his family's safety.
Rome, Kingdom of Italy, 30 April 1924
The Eternal City had earned its reputation a thousand times over. After all, it and its people had endured almost everything humanity could have thrown at them.
And if that meant an invasion from Sicily and Venice, then so be it.
That said, aerial bombardment was not what any of the locals had expected.
The strikes came every night, with strange airplanes roaring over the skies before explosions echoing in the distance.
Come morning, and the damage was laid bare for all to see.
It varied, from day to day. Sometimes, it was a barracks. At other times, it was a factory.
Yet the fact remained that the attackers would come again the next night to attack with pinpoint precision.
Vienna, Occupied Austria, 5 May 1924
Shannon Wu wasn't much for history. Sure, she thought it was interesting and all that, but she didn't really care about it outside of the art.
That said, she remembered enough to know that the Ottomans marching through Vienna was something the locals were proud of.
Which probably explained the sheer shock of seeing Ottoman soldiers marching through Vienna as part of a victory parade.
That and the enlisted Chinese soldiers who traveled across the entire world, but she'd gotten used to that at this point.
The Chinese Armed Forces were an oddity in this world, and it wasn't just their modern technology or sheer manufacturing capacity. It wasn't even how they also allowed women to serve.
No, it was the fact that the Chinese Armed Forces were, as far as she could tell, an entirely-volunteer force. It was an oddity in these days, but most places didn't have four hundred million people worth of manpower.
But that was enough about the Chinese Armed Forces
Shannon looked to see the Ottoman soldiers enjoying themselves.
Sure, they were well-behaved outside of a few incidents, but the soldiers on parade were simply excited to have done what even Suleiman The Magnificent could not accomplish.
As long as they didn't do anything stupid, she didn't care too much.
She'd been in their shoes a decade ago in Beijing.
Skies Above the Strait of Gibraltar, 24 June 1924
"Comms check," Crimson 1 called over the radio. "Crimsom 1, Junzhu reporting."
"Crimson 2, Dashi reporting."
"Crimson 3, Xiaochou reporting."
"Crimson 4," Jin announced over the radio, "Zongtong reporting."
"Everyone's here, Qilin," Junzhu said to the AWACS, "What's the plan?"
"Link up with Azure, Jade, Saffron, Ruby, Pewter, Amber, and Grey Squadrons and intercept the relief force heading out of Gibraltar."
"Wait, you're telling us we have to fight the British Mediterranean fleet?!" Dashi practically shouted, "We don't have enough missiles!"
"That's why we're sending every squadron we can spare, Crimson 2," Qilin told him. He sounded a bit too calm for Jin's tastes, but the plan was solid enough. "Besides, you'll be mopping up what the Navy's missed."
"Got it," Dashi relented, before switching channels. "Remind me to thank the Brits when we get back, Junzhu. We couldn't have done this if they hadn't expanded the Suez."
"Tell them yourself," Qilin told him, "And cut the chatter. Qilin out."
"Are we close?" Xiaochou asked them, only for her to shut up. "Wait, is that smoke?"
"That's not us, right?"
"No, we're over our fleet right now," Junzhu told her wingman, "That's the British."
"Are they burning, or do all ships leave giant plumes of smoke?"
"Not sure," Junzhu said, before switching to an open channel, "Crimson 1 to Qilin: We have eyes on the enemy fleet. Requesting permission to engage."
"You're clear to engage," said the AWACS, "Happy hunting."
Trafalgar Square, London, British Empire, 1 September 1924
London was seen as a metropolitan city, with peoples from all over the world.
Normally, this meant different peoples of the British Empire, travelers, and Europeans.
Not the remnants of the German, Belgian, and Dutch Armies.
Yet here they were, evacuated from the mainland and ferried across by the Home Fleet while their comrades were either captured or chased down by the rapidly-advancing French, Russians, and Chinese.
The people in London were less than enthusiastic, to say the least.
Sure, they welcomed their allies, and they weren't about to run out of food or oil anytime soon. Not when they still had access to Canadian grain and sympathetic American interests.
But there was no denying that the British Empire had been humiliated on every front.
It didn't matter if it was in India, Australia, Africa, or even Gibraltar, of all places.
They were pushed back on every front. And if rumors were to be believed, the Accord was at the gates of Cape Town after snaking their way down the East African coast at this very moment.
There was an air of fear in the British Isles.
Fear of an enemy who might want nothing more than revenge for decades of humiliation.
Analysis of the Summer Offensives and the Fall of Europe, By Chen Akira, 11 October 1924
While it is more than clear that the Spring and Summer Offensives have been an overwhelming success, it is important that we understand the sheer magnitude of these operations.
We need to begin at the end of 1923, with the Nanjing Accord digging in for the winter across the European Front.
This was a time to replenish losses, consolidate gains, and truly expand supply lines so that a full-on offensive could be supported. This was done in the proceeding months, with roads, airbases, and supply lines built across a still-frozen Europe.
Of course, one must not forget the African Theater, as the Southern Hemisphere's more-favorable climate allowed for more continued operations along the East African Coast and Madagascar, culminating in the Fall of Johannesburg in February 1924, as well as the end of the Malagasy Revolt in March.
The Spring Offensive finally began in Early March of 1924, with a push on the Eastern Front by Russo-Chinese forces and a push on the Southern Front by Sino-Ottoman forces.
Superior firepower, coupled with superior mobility, allowed the Nanjing Accord forces to break through the Alliance lines and annihilate the largely-infantry forces.
This in turn allowed for rapid advancements by the Accord forces, with armored and motorized forces stopping only to resupply and wait for the rest of the armed forces to arrive and besiege the cities.
Budapest fell on 12 April, with Vienna falling on the 20th, and Prague falling on the 30th.
Meanwhile, the Battle of the Gibraltar Strait paved the way for the Sicilian and Venetian campaigns, during which the 10th Marines landed in Sicily while the 6th Marines pushed south into Venice with the Ottomans.
Rome would fall on the 16th of July, followed by Munich on the 20th, and Berlin finally falling on the 23rd.
After that, the entire European Front basically collapsed.
While the monarchs were able to flee to either Denmark, Switzerland, or Britain, the bulk of the Alliance forces were overrun by the end of August.
Hamburg, the de-facto German capital, fell on 14 August, while Amsterdam and Belgium soon surrendered to the French two weeks later, having bought enough time for the Royal Navy to evacuate the royal families and a good number of infantry.
They would fight another day, but their countries were quickly liberated and occupied by Accord Forces from Russia, China, and France.
For their part, the Alliance was left with little more than the British Isles, Western Africa, and their American holdings. The Royal Navy, as well as the Kaiserliche Marine, would continue to patrol the sea lanes to the Americas.
As we approach the end of 1924, it is clear that the Alliance is on its last legs. While they do have access to (continental) American manpower and resources, the fact remains that they are on their last legs.
There have been calls for peace, but the Conservative-Liberal government has vowed to fight on and to never surrender, invoking the same rhetoric that Churchill once said in the Lost History.
The Nanjing Accord is currently in control of almost the entirety of Europe (besides Spain and Switzerland).
While it is outside of my expertise, I have taken the liberty of compiling several relevant sources regarding the various occupied nations in the attached files.
In short, the 1924 Campaigns were nothing short of an outstanding success for the Nanjing Accord in terms of morale, propaganda, and sheer territorial control.
That said, the Alliance's refusal to surrender is likely linked to their continued access to the Americas.
This in turn necessitates that the Nanjing Accord either cut off Alliance access to the Americas, outright invade the British Isles, or find some other way to force them to submit.
Given historical precedent, the Accord would be at a steep disadvantage in all three scenarios.
Further analyses will likely be necessary.
Montreal, Quebec, British Canada, 1 December 1924
Pierre Delaporte just wanted to live his life in peace.
He just wanted to spend time with his Amelie and continue his studies, not be shipped off to a war he didn't care for.
And why should he? The British, for all their talk of Democracy, were more than willing to conscript countless Quebecois and Canadians for the war effort.
That, and continuously agitate for American intervention in the Great War that would never come.
No, Britain would stand alone as the "Last Light of Civilization" against the coming darkness. Or at least that was what the propaganda had said.
Britain would stand alone against the Nanjing Pact… along with half a million Canadian conscripts, if they went through with what his cousin warned him of.
"Go to America," Christophe had told him, "I have friends in Vermont who can help you."
Truth be told, part of him really wanted to do just that and flee with Amelie over the border.
It was almost romantic, now that he thought about it. Fleeing in the night with his beloved from a tyrannical government sounded more like the plot of an epic than anything else.
But he couldn't. Not in good conscience, anyways.
Pierre couldn't put his finger on it, but it just didn't feel right to leave. Not when some other poor guy would get sent in his place.
I'm staying.
He looked at the lit rag in the bottle of oil. It wasn't much, but Canada wasn't running out anytime soon.
Part of him wanted to stop, to extinguish the flame and submit to conscription.
But most of him? Most of him wanted to make sure that nobody would suffer as his cousin did.
Most of him was who threw that flaming bottle of oil into the records office.
I'm staying, damn it. And I'm not finished yet.
Chen Residence, Ishigaki, Taiwan, Republic of China, 24 December 1924
Despite pulling double duty with the kids and her job, Aki needed all the help she could get. Thankfully, their children were now five, which made them more than old enough.
Not that Morgan cared, though.
No, she was only eager to clean as fast as possible because that meant more time to spend time with Baba.
It was a nightly ritual at this point. She, Li, and their mother would finish dinner, clean up, then call their father.
He'd pick up the phone and talk with them as long as he could.
It was, without a doubt, her favorite part of the day. Sure, she'd rather have him around, but this was the next best thing.
"I'll get it!" she shouted, before rushing towards the door. Every second saved here would be another with her father.
Morgan got on her tiptoes and peered through the peephole, only to be taken aback by her father on the other side.
"B-Baba? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me Morgan," her father promised. "Merry Christmas, sweetie."
"Georgy Konstantinovich," he said to his fellow tanker. "Thought you'd be indoors."
"The cold air helps me think, Vasily Ivanovich. Not that there is much else for us to do, these days."
Which, if the two of them were being honest, wasn't completely fair. The fact that they were on the west bank of the Oder was a testament to that.
"All this blood spilled for so little land," Zhukov said to him. "Their blood, of course."
It was no secret that the Eastern Front had been slow. Not when they needed two years to get within striking distance of Berlin.
That wasn't the whole truth, though.
Stalemates would be continued until they were not, because the next offensive was always-coming… until it finally arrived.
They, along with countless other tankers from Russia and China knew that too-well, as their armored spearheads kept paving the way for the rapid encirclements that wiped out thousands of German and Austro-Hungarian, and British troops at a time.
And it kept happening, again and again, as the combined NA forces crept towards Germany, minimizing their own losses all the way.
Sure, they would like nothing more than to blitzkrieg the Alliance in a couple months, but supply lines took time to build, and Russia wasn't exactly the most-developed country in the world.
The fact that they made it past the Oder and up to the Carpathians with what they had was a damned miracle.
But that would all change this year. Because this time, they had the infrastructure and the logistics they could've only dreamt of a few years ago.
A third of the Accord was massed on the Eastern Front now, and they could bring their full weight to bear on the Alliance.
6th Marine Division Headquarters, Nis, Occupied Serbia, 13 March 1924
There is a joke in the Chinese military that the Marines actually like getting shot at.
Which wasn't entirely false. The Marines went first, but they struck first with tanks, APCs, and any other armor they could get their hands on.
This would be no exception, and Michael knew his men wouldn't have it any other way.
If not us, then somebody else. And if it's somebody else, they might fuck up.
That was how he ended up here, looking at a screen, a dozen miles behind the frontline.
The vanguard elements of the 6th had already punched through the hole Dragon Squadron made, and Shannon always made sure to destroy anything that could leave more than a scratch on his tanks.
It was an old trick, but he wasn't about to fix what wasn't broken. Not when vehicles began flooding through the frontline and started encircling Alliance troops.
"Tiger Actual, this is Command," he said into his headset. "Status Report?"
"Just a few WIAs, boss. Anything on the UAV?"
"Nothing much. Keep buttoned up, though. Bolt-action or not, I don't want anyone taking potshots at you guys."
"Copy, boss," Chiu told him, "Tiger Actual out."
"So, Mike." A familiar voice greeted him. "Everything good?"
"Jesus Ch- Oh, hey Marty. Yeah, it's all good so far. I've got scouts going ahead to find the rest of the Serbian Army, but they've all turned up empty."
"That was the rest of the Serbian Army," the section head told him. "And a good chunk of the Habsburgs as well."
Outskirts of Austria, Austro-Hungarian Empire, 29 March 1924
This was humiliating.
Sure, he knew why he and his family had to disguise their convoy out of Vienna, but the humiliation was all the same.
He was the Kaiser, damn it!
He was supposed to be there, setting an example. Not fleeing under the cover of darkness because the Chinese planes would strafe him during the day.
The Kaiser sighed, them saw his wife and daughter peacefully asleep across from him.
Humiliating as this may be, he would do this a thousand times over if it meant his family's safety.
Rome, Kingdom of Italy, 30 April 1924
The Eternal City had earned its reputation a thousand times over. After all, it and its people had endured almost everything humanity could have thrown at them.
And if that meant an invasion from Sicily and Venice, then so be it.
That said, aerial bombardment was not what any of the locals had expected.
The strikes came every night, with strange airplanes roaring over the skies before explosions echoing in the distance.
Come morning, and the damage was laid bare for all to see.
It varied, from day to day. Sometimes, it was a barracks. At other times, it was a factory.
Yet the fact remained that the attackers would come again the next night to attack with pinpoint precision.
Vienna, Occupied Austria, 5 May 1924
Shannon Wu wasn't much for history. Sure, she thought it was interesting and all that, but she didn't really care about it outside of the art.
That said, she remembered enough to know that the Ottomans marching through Vienna was something the locals were proud of.
Which probably explained the sheer shock of seeing Ottoman soldiers marching through Vienna as part of a victory parade.
That and the enlisted Chinese soldiers who traveled across the entire world, but she'd gotten used to that at this point.
The Chinese Armed Forces were an oddity in this world, and it wasn't just their modern technology or sheer manufacturing capacity. It wasn't even how they also allowed women to serve.
No, it was the fact that the Chinese Armed Forces were, as far as she could tell, an entirely-volunteer force. It was an oddity in these days, but most places didn't have four hundred million people worth of manpower.
But that was enough about the Chinese Armed Forces
Shannon looked to see the Ottoman soldiers enjoying themselves.
Sure, they were well-behaved outside of a few incidents, but the soldiers on parade were simply excited to have done what even Suleiman The Magnificent could not accomplish.
As long as they didn't do anything stupid, she didn't care too much.
She'd been in their shoes a decade ago in Beijing.
Skies Above the Strait of Gibraltar, 24 June 1924
"Comms check," Crimson 1 called over the radio. "Crimsom 1, Junzhu reporting."
"Crimson 2, Dashi reporting."
"Crimson 3, Xiaochou reporting."
"Crimson 4," Jin announced over the radio, "Zongtong reporting."
"Everyone's here, Qilin," Junzhu said to the AWACS, "What's the plan?"
"Link up with Azure, Jade, Saffron, Ruby, Pewter, Amber, and Grey Squadrons and intercept the relief force heading out of Gibraltar."
"Wait, you're telling us we have to fight the British Mediterranean fleet?!" Dashi practically shouted, "We don't have enough missiles!"
"That's why we're sending every squadron we can spare, Crimson 2," Qilin told him. He sounded a bit too calm for Jin's tastes, but the plan was solid enough. "Besides, you'll be mopping up what the Navy's missed."
"Got it," Dashi relented, before switching channels. "Remind me to thank the Brits when we get back, Junzhu. We couldn't have done this if they hadn't expanded the Suez."
"Tell them yourself," Qilin told him, "And cut the chatter. Qilin out."
"Are we close?" Xiaochou asked them, only for her to shut up. "Wait, is that smoke?"
"That's not us, right?"
"No, we're over our fleet right now," Junzhu told her wingman, "That's the British."
"Are they burning, or do all ships leave giant plumes of smoke?"
"Not sure," Junzhu said, before switching to an open channel, "Crimson 1 to Qilin: We have eyes on the enemy fleet. Requesting permission to engage."
"You're clear to engage," said the AWACS, "Happy hunting."
Trafalgar Square, London, British Empire, 1 September 1924
London was seen as a metropolitan city, with peoples from all over the world.
Normally, this meant different peoples of the British Empire, travelers, and Europeans.
Not the remnants of the German, Belgian, and Dutch Armies.
Yet here they were, evacuated from the mainland and ferried across by the Home Fleet while their comrades were either captured or chased down by the rapidly-advancing French, Russians, and Chinese.
The people in London were less than enthusiastic, to say the least.
Sure, they welcomed their allies, and they weren't about to run out of food or oil anytime soon. Not when they still had access to Canadian grain and sympathetic American interests.
But there was no denying that the British Empire had been humiliated on every front.
It didn't matter if it was in India, Australia, Africa, or even Gibraltar, of all places.
They were pushed back on every front. And if rumors were to be believed, the Accord was at the gates of Cape Town after snaking their way down the East African coast at this very moment.
There was an air of fear in the British Isles.
Fear of an enemy who might want nothing more than revenge for decades of humiliation.
Analysis of the Summer Offensives and the Fall of Europe, By Chen Akira, 11 October 1924
While it is more than clear that the Spring and Summer Offensives have been an overwhelming success, it is important that we understand the sheer magnitude of these operations.
We need to begin at the end of 1923, with the Nanjing Accord digging in for the winter across the European Front.
This was a time to replenish losses, consolidate gains, and truly expand supply lines so that a full-on offensive could be supported. This was done in the proceeding months, with roads, airbases, and supply lines built across a still-frozen Europe.
Of course, one must not forget the African Theater, as the Southern Hemisphere's more-favorable climate allowed for more continued operations along the East African Coast and Madagascar, culminating in the Fall of Johannesburg in February 1924, as well as the end of the Malagasy Revolt in March.
The Spring Offensive finally began in Early March of 1924, with a push on the Eastern Front by Russo-Chinese forces and a push on the Southern Front by Sino-Ottoman forces.
Superior firepower, coupled with superior mobility, allowed the Nanjing Accord forces to break through the Alliance lines and annihilate the largely-infantry forces.
This in turn allowed for rapid advancements by the Accord forces, with armored and motorized forces stopping only to resupply and wait for the rest of the armed forces to arrive and besiege the cities.
Budapest fell on 12 April, with Vienna falling on the 20th, and Prague falling on the 30th.
Meanwhile, the Battle of the Gibraltar Strait paved the way for the Sicilian and Venetian campaigns, during which the 10th Marines landed in Sicily while the 6th Marines pushed south into Venice with the Ottomans.
Rome would fall on the 16th of July, followed by Munich on the 20th, and Berlin finally falling on the 23rd.
After that, the entire European Front basically collapsed.
While the monarchs were able to flee to either Denmark, Switzerland, or Britain, the bulk of the Alliance forces were overrun by the end of August.
Hamburg, the de-facto German capital, fell on 14 August, while Amsterdam and Belgium soon surrendered to the French two weeks later, having bought enough time for the Royal Navy to evacuate the royal families and a good number of infantry.
They would fight another day, but their countries were quickly liberated and occupied by Accord Forces from Russia, China, and France.
For their part, the Alliance was left with little more than the British Isles, Western Africa, and their American holdings. The Royal Navy, as well as the Kaiserliche Marine, would continue to patrol the sea lanes to the Americas.
As we approach the end of 1924, it is clear that the Alliance is on its last legs. While they do have access to (continental) American manpower and resources, the fact remains that they are on their last legs.
There have been calls for peace, but the Conservative-Liberal government has vowed to fight on and to never surrender, invoking the same rhetoric that Churchill once said in the Lost History.
The Nanjing Accord is currently in control of almost the entirety of Europe (besides Spain and Switzerland).
While it is outside of my expertise, I have taken the liberty of compiling several relevant sources regarding the various occupied nations in the attached files.
In short, the 1924 Campaigns were nothing short of an outstanding success for the Nanjing Accord in terms of morale, propaganda, and sheer territorial control.
That said, the Alliance's refusal to surrender is likely linked to their continued access to the Americas.
This in turn necessitates that the Nanjing Accord either cut off Alliance access to the Americas, outright invade the British Isles, or find some other way to force them to submit.
Given historical precedent, the Accord would be at a steep disadvantage in all three scenarios.
Further analyses will likely be necessary.
Montreal, Quebec, British Canada, 1 December 1924
Pierre Delaporte just wanted to live his life in peace.
He just wanted to spend time with his Amelie and continue his studies, not be shipped off to a war he didn't care for.
And why should he? The British, for all their talk of Democracy, were more than willing to conscript countless Quebecois and Canadians for the war effort.
That, and continuously agitate for American intervention in the Great War that would never come.
No, Britain would stand alone as the "Last Light of Civilization" against the coming darkness. Or at least that was what the propaganda had said.
Britain would stand alone against the Nanjing Pact… along with half a million Canadian conscripts, if they went through with what his cousin warned him of.
"Go to America," Christophe had told him, "I have friends in Vermont who can help you."
Truth be told, part of him really wanted to do just that and flee with Amelie over the border.
It was almost romantic, now that he thought about it. Fleeing in the night with his beloved from a tyrannical government sounded more like the plot of an epic than anything else.
But he couldn't. Not in good conscience, anyways.
Pierre couldn't put his finger on it, but it just didn't feel right to leave. Not when some other poor guy would get sent in his place.
I'm staying.
He looked at the lit rag in the bottle of oil. It wasn't much, but Canada wasn't running out anytime soon.
Part of him wanted to stop, to extinguish the flame and submit to conscription.
But most of him? Most of him wanted to make sure that nobody would suffer as his cousin did.
Most of him was who threw that flaming bottle of oil into the records office.
I'm staying, damn it. And I'm not finished yet.
Chen Residence, Ishigaki, Taiwan, Republic of China, 24 December 1924
Despite pulling double duty with the kids and her job, Aki needed all the help she could get. Thankfully, their children were now five, which made them more than old enough.
Not that Morgan cared, though.
No, she was only eager to clean as fast as possible because that meant more time to spend time with Baba.
It was a nightly ritual at this point. She, Li, and their mother would finish dinner, clean up, then call their father.
He'd pick up the phone and talk with them as long as he could.
It was, without a doubt, her favorite part of the day. Sure, she'd rather have him around, but this was the next best thing.
"I'll get it!" she shouted, before rushing towards the door. Every second saved here would be another with her father.
Morgan got on her tiptoes and peered through the peephole, only to be taken aback by her father on the other side.
"B-Baba? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me Morgan," her father promised. "Merry Christmas, sweetie."
Last edited:
America’s Fastest-Growing Import
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
"Canadian Men of Military Age America's Fastest-Growing Import," The Onion, January 1925
Washington, DC
Today, the office of President James M. Cox has given the Q4 1924 Economic Report. While the White House is quick to highlight the historically-low unemployment rate, critics have noted a sharp trade imbalance over the last quarter.
While some have speculated this is due to continued Chinese imports of machinery, further inspection reveals that Canadian men of military age has surpassed Chinese-built machinery as America's number-one import.
Economists are baffled at the recent developments, but Secretary of Commerce William Alexander explained that this trade imbalance is due to the increased demand for American resources as the Canadian government begins conscription.
"With the war effort as it is, coupled with American neutrality, it is no surprise that the British Canadian supply of hard currency is at dangerously low levels," says Secretary Alexander. "To that end, it seems that Ottawa has come unilaterally switched to a barter system in which American goods head north while Canadian men of military age head south."
In response, Ottawa has argued that the export of Canadian men of military age is one big misunderstanding, and they have requested that the United States immediately stop importing Canadian men of military age at once.
In other news, northern hardware stores along the Canadian border have seen a sharp increase in revenue in the wake of multiple arson attacks against conscription centers across Canada.
Washington, DC
Today, the office of President James M. Cox has given the Q4 1924 Economic Report. While the White House is quick to highlight the historically-low unemployment rate, critics have noted a sharp trade imbalance over the last quarter.
While some have speculated this is due to continued Chinese imports of machinery, further inspection reveals that Canadian men of military age has surpassed Chinese-built machinery as America's number-one import.
Economists are baffled at the recent developments, but Secretary of Commerce William Alexander explained that this trade imbalance is due to the increased demand for American resources as the Canadian government begins conscription.
"With the war effort as it is, coupled with American neutrality, it is no surprise that the British Canadian supply of hard currency is at dangerously low levels," says Secretary Alexander. "To that end, it seems that Ottawa has come unilaterally switched to a barter system in which American goods head north while Canadian men of military age head south."
In response, Ottawa has argued that the export of Canadian men of military age is one big misunderstanding, and they have requested that the United States immediately stop importing Canadian men of military age at once.
In other news, northern hardware stores along the Canadian border have seen a sharp increase in revenue in the wake of multiple arson attacks against conscription centers across Canada.
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It would probably feel even worse for the French Canadians. To them it would feel like being conscripted into the oppositions army. Also they'd be pretty pissed considering this whole thing started because Italy decided to take a bite of France
- Location
- Most likely California
I'll be honest. This WWI arc kinda feels like its missing something. There wasn't really any buildup to it, and there isn't any suspense about the outcome. Its just the Accord repeatably curbstomping their enemies in a checklist of nations. It feels so paint-by-the-numbers that I'm wondering if the author is just trying to get it out of the way.
Some possible ideas for retroactive scenes that could flesh things out:
Some possible ideas for retroactive scenes that could flesh things out:
- A scene that shows the mindset of the European Alliance Pre-war or at the Start. Not just a usual, "oh, the Chinese are Inferior, Europe Strong!" arrogant racism, something that shows how they actually thought the war would go, and what they would get out of it
- A EA strategy meeting: Once again, the real problem is that its just the Accord delivering Curbstomp after Curbstomp, with the EA forces just being a bunch of cardboard targets. The only real adaption they've show was the German Tank. It's been several years, surely every state has had their military pouring over historical records and analyzing how the Chinese beat the Russian and Japanese. What tactics did they try to come up with? How did they plan to counter a possible Chinese Invasion armed with jets and missiles?
- How is the occupation going? The Accord just managed to invade most of Europe, but how are they keeping control? What is the civilian reaction? Who is keeping things running? Have there been any resistance? Are any groups (left, secessionist, etc) trying to take advantage of the old government disappearing overnight?
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'll probably do a few flashback chapters in between where the conflict is fleshed-out from the other perspective.
Things like technological advancements as well as the attempted offensives into France, Rumelia, North Africa, and European Alliance strategy.
Small arms development, small unit tactics, and all that should probably take two or three parts, so it'll take some time.
Things like technological advancements as well as the attempted offensives into France, Rumelia, North Africa, and European Alliance strategy.
Small arms development, small unit tactics, and all that should probably take two or three parts, so it'll take some time.
Every country can make small arms and small arms work even if low tech. Planes on the other hand is just something not possible to catch up on. Those thing require multiple industries to happen. You need advanced metallurgy, chip manufacturing, precise machining capabilities, etc. There's just no counter to it unfortunately. It is just not possible to catch up even given a decade. Even 3rd gen fighters will wipe the floor vs anything EA can come up with. There's only so much doctrine can do.
- Location
- Most likely California
True, but I don't mean them trying to fight them in the air, but rather trying to find ways to mitigate the fact that the RoC can pretty much airstrike them with impunity. Like implementing camouflage or creating decoy, that sort of thing. Just something to show the EA is aware of how outmatched they are, and desperately trying to come up with some sort of counter, rather than just acting like it is still 1910.
Jessie Darwin vs America: Part 2
Community side story: Jessie Darwin vs America: Part 2
New York City - September 1st 1917 (3 months later from part 1)
Things were finally coming together for Jessie. With the help of his business partner/lawyer Craig, and his healthy bank account, they had been able to purchase a small building in Manhattan a few blocks away from what would become billionaires' row in the future. It was close to central park and had an empty lot behind it, leaving room for further expansion. Craig had been disappointed he couldn't snag the best blocks available, apparently the Americans had realised how valuable the property would become in the future, driving up prices beyond what they already were.
Nevertheless, Jessie was happy. It was reasonably safe, largely because of the area's affluence, but there was considerable commercial traffic which would be good for business.
The only downside was how haughty some of the local rich pricks could be, often deriding Craig and himself because they completed the renovations by themselves.
The tried to find workers of course, though there weren't that many people in NYC experienced in solar panel and battery installation. Jessie had called out to a few of his friends who had engineering experience, but they were all tied up in more lucrative projects all over China. Luckily Craig had some home renovation experience, and they were able to get by without dying.
Thank the lord for old men and their ability to do anything that could be described as 'manly'.
And so the days went by as the two of them worked to set up the club. While Craig handled all the material procurement and supervising duties, Jessie did most of the grunt work himself.
Craig for all his wonderful abilities, unfortunately suffered from the curse of all elderly folk.
Terrible backs.
They had decided to make the venue as versatile as possible, with configurable lights strategically placed around the building to change the mood of the venue depending on the music.
A stage took up the back of the first floor, with a large open dance floor in the middle. Red leather lounges lined the right, while a long bar with stools took the left. A new bathroom was in the works and the two of them had insisted Bidet's were to be fitted. Those fancy asian toilets were just too incredible after all.
For the Bar, a glass liquor display with white LED's for backlighting. The design was borrowed from an upscale casino bar he had seen while visiting Vegas with his parents.
Jessie was proud It only took him four attempts, a couple of glass shelves and almost losing a few fingers to get right.
Jessie was nothing if not committed to the project he had returned home to pursue. One thing he didn't like about clubs in the 21st century was they excluded so many demographics. Not everyone likes pop and house music. Jessie had proposed nightly themes for different groups. From Monday to Thursday, it would be more akin to a jazz club, less intense to ease these silent generation folk into some new sounds. Come Friday to Sunday however, and things would get more exciting, focusing on the younger and more progressive crowds.
Well, progressive for 1917 at least...
One evening Jessie was testing out the sound system, Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest playing in the background.
After nodding in satisfaction at his work, he noticed someone was peering in through the front door that was kept open for fresh air.
"Hello? Can I help you?" Jessie called out to the interloper.
A young black woman gently pressed the door open and looked around. "Oh, no, I was just wondering what was going on in here for the last few months, seemed like a lot of work going on but I haven't seen any workers! And then I heard this interesting music. I'm sorry I didn't mean to trespass Mr…" She trailed off.
Jessie smiled and got up off the floor where he was squatting and waved away her concerns. "Oh that's no problem. I'm Jessie and uhh, well I'm one of those people from the future, and this is my club, soon to be open for business. Come in, come in, what do you think of the bar?
Her eyes flicked in the direction of the bar. "Oh my it's rather charming isn't it? I'm Annalise Williams by the way", she said with a curtsey. "Aren't the people from the future supposed to be Chinese?" She asked, tilting her head to look around while walking inside.
"Well, I was in Taiwan for business organising my uncle's property, and was stuck here when everyone got sent back in time. I'm originally from New York, only a few blocks and 100 years away." Jessie said with a shrug. "Hasn't been all bad I suppose", he said as he waved to his surroundings.
Annalise smiled and flicked her hair. "Well that's certainly a story. I wonder if you'll bump into your great grandparents or something."
"Hmm potentially, though I wouldn't really know if it's them unless they share my last name. Not like I know much about them, didn't exactly bring a copy of the family tree with me." Jessie returned with a wry smile.
Annalise sent a glance at the stage. "Hmm it's certainly a nice place. Too bad I won't be able to come by when it's open." She smiled weakly.
Jessie stood there, momentarily confused. "You can't come? Oh are you underage? Well maybe in a few years."
"No no I'm 24. I just figured… with such a nice place…" She trailed off.
Realising what she meant Jessie felt a brief flush of panic come over him. "Wait! You're mistaken, I have no plans of allowing any segregation in my establishment. You can be of any race, sex, religion, or orientation. As long as you treat others with kindness and respect you're welcome here. That sort of thing is long gone in my time... for the most part."
Annalise stood there for a second perplexed, before chuckling to herself. "Orientation too? Are you expecting people to walk around upside down in such a fine establishment?"
Jessie let out a snort of laughter at the joke. "Oh well I hadn't planned on having stand-up acts but I may have to reassess my options. I like you Ms Annalise."
"Well you're not too bad yourself Mr Jessie. But I'm a singer actually, or trying to become one. That song you were playing was… nice." Annalise said as she walked up to touch the stage.
"You think that's nice? Wait until you here ABBA. You'll love it." Jessie said with a goofy smile plastered on his face.
"Is that a promise?" Annalise shot back.
"I suppose it is now." Jessie said as he dug through a box and pulled out a record with the faces of a certain Swedish supergroup on the cover.
New York City - September 1st 1917 (3 months later from part 1)
Things were finally coming together for Jessie. With the help of his business partner/lawyer Craig, and his healthy bank account, they had been able to purchase a small building in Manhattan a few blocks away from what would become billionaires' row in the future. It was close to central park and had an empty lot behind it, leaving room for further expansion. Craig had been disappointed he couldn't snag the best blocks available, apparently the Americans had realised how valuable the property would become in the future, driving up prices beyond what they already were.
Nevertheless, Jessie was happy. It was reasonably safe, largely because of the area's affluence, but there was considerable commercial traffic which would be good for business.
The only downside was how haughty some of the local rich pricks could be, often deriding Craig and himself because they completed the renovations by themselves.
The tried to find workers of course, though there weren't that many people in NYC experienced in solar panel and battery installation. Jessie had called out to a few of his friends who had engineering experience, but they were all tied up in more lucrative projects all over China. Luckily Craig had some home renovation experience, and they were able to get by without dying.
Thank the lord for old men and their ability to do anything that could be described as 'manly'.
And so the days went by as the two of them worked to set up the club. While Craig handled all the material procurement and supervising duties, Jessie did most of the grunt work himself.
Craig for all his wonderful abilities, unfortunately suffered from the curse of all elderly folk.
Terrible backs.
They had decided to make the venue as versatile as possible, with configurable lights strategically placed around the building to change the mood of the venue depending on the music.
A stage took up the back of the first floor, with a large open dance floor in the middle. Red leather lounges lined the right, while a long bar with stools took the left. A new bathroom was in the works and the two of them had insisted Bidet's were to be fitted. Those fancy asian toilets were just too incredible after all.
For the Bar, a glass liquor display with white LED's for backlighting. The design was borrowed from an upscale casino bar he had seen while visiting Vegas with his parents.
Jessie was proud It only took him four attempts, a couple of glass shelves and almost losing a few fingers to get right.
Jessie was nothing if not committed to the project he had returned home to pursue. One thing he didn't like about clubs in the 21st century was they excluded so many demographics. Not everyone likes pop and house music. Jessie had proposed nightly themes for different groups. From Monday to Thursday, it would be more akin to a jazz club, less intense to ease these silent generation folk into some new sounds. Come Friday to Sunday however, and things would get more exciting, focusing on the younger and more progressive crowds.
Well, progressive for 1917 at least...
One evening Jessie was testing out the sound system, Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest playing in the background.
After nodding in satisfaction at his work, he noticed someone was peering in through the front door that was kept open for fresh air.
"Hello? Can I help you?" Jessie called out to the interloper.
A young black woman gently pressed the door open and looked around. "Oh, no, I was just wondering what was going on in here for the last few months, seemed like a lot of work going on but I haven't seen any workers! And then I heard this interesting music. I'm sorry I didn't mean to trespass Mr…" She trailed off.
Jessie smiled and got up off the floor where he was squatting and waved away her concerns. "Oh that's no problem. I'm Jessie and uhh, well I'm one of those people from the future, and this is my club, soon to be open for business. Come in, come in, what do you think of the bar?
Her eyes flicked in the direction of the bar. "Oh my it's rather charming isn't it? I'm Annalise Williams by the way", she said with a curtsey. "Aren't the people from the future supposed to be Chinese?" She asked, tilting her head to look around while walking inside.
"Well, I was in Taiwan for business organising my uncle's property, and was stuck here when everyone got sent back in time. I'm originally from New York, only a few blocks and 100 years away." Jessie said with a shrug. "Hasn't been all bad I suppose", he said as he waved to his surroundings.
Annalise smiled and flicked her hair. "Well that's certainly a story. I wonder if you'll bump into your great grandparents or something."
"Hmm potentially, though I wouldn't really know if it's them unless they share my last name. Not like I know much about them, didn't exactly bring a copy of the family tree with me." Jessie returned with a wry smile.
Annalise sent a glance at the stage. "Hmm it's certainly a nice place. Too bad I won't be able to come by when it's open." She smiled weakly.
Jessie stood there, momentarily confused. "You can't come? Oh are you underage? Well maybe in a few years."
"No no I'm 24. I just figured… with such a nice place…" She trailed off.
Realising what she meant Jessie felt a brief flush of panic come over him. "Wait! You're mistaken, I have no plans of allowing any segregation in my establishment. You can be of any race, sex, religion, or orientation. As long as you treat others with kindness and respect you're welcome here. That sort of thing is long gone in my time... for the most part."
Annalise stood there for a second perplexed, before chuckling to herself. "Orientation too? Are you expecting people to walk around upside down in such a fine establishment?"
Jessie let out a snort of laughter at the joke. "Oh well I hadn't planned on having stand-up acts but I may have to reassess my options. I like you Ms Annalise."
"Well you're not too bad yourself Mr Jessie. But I'm a singer actually, or trying to become one. That song you were playing was… nice." Annalise said as she walked up to touch the stage.
"You think that's nice? Wait until you here ABBA. You'll love it." Jessie said with a goofy smile plastered on his face.
"Is that a promise?" Annalise shot back.
"I suppose it is now." Jessie said as he dug through a box and pulled out a record with the faces of a certain Swedish supergroup on the cover.
So they make the road good enough that you can hold C-17 even AN-24, have you aware of this ?
The Secret Airfield on German AUTOBAHN
The Secret Airfield on German AUTOBAHN
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That's not really a new thing. Highways being used as runways have been a thing for a while.
Ukraine has been using them to launch aircraft since last year.
Chapter 55a: The Other Side (Part I)
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Against All Odds: A History of the European Alliance During the Great War by General James Horner, Cambridge University Press (1951)
Chapter 5: The Haig-von Falkenhayn Plan
While the European Alliance controlled the vast majority of the world's territory, the Alliance knew full well that they would be outgunned and out-produced by the Nanjing Accord once the war started.
Knowing this, Alliance leadership met in Brussels in December of 1920 to discuss a global strategy to utilize their territorial advantage to its full extent. While the European Alliance was nominally an alliance of equals, the German and British delegations, led by Generals Erich von Falkenhayn and Douglas Haig respectively, spearheaded the discussions.
While it is primarily a global strategy, the Haig-von Falkenhayn plan was divided into several Theaters: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, The Mediterranean, The Balkans, West Africa, East Africa, South Asia, Malaya, and Australasia. As such, they will be discussed in that order.
Just as the Alliance had done, we will also begin with the European Theater, given France's relative isolation compared to the rest of the Nanjing Accord. This, coupled with it being surrounded on all sides by the Alliance (sans the Kingdom of Spain), made the increasingly-socialized republic the primary focus of Alliance efforts.
Given these circumstances, Haig and von Falkenhayn decided upon a land and sea-based campaign in which the British Royal Navy, the German Kaiserliche Marine, and the Italian Regia Marina would blockade the French coastline. Concurrently, the German, Dutch, and Belgian Armies, as well as the British Expeditionary Force, would push towards France from the north while the Italian Army would push into Southeast France.
Both Haig and von Falkenhayn intended to encircle the French on all fronts, with the Alliance naval forces cutting the French off from their colonies and foreign trade, while the combined Alliance armed forces overwhelmed the French defenders in a rapid offensive of motorized soldiers, artillery, armored vehicles, and aircraft.
Bitter lessons of the First World War had reminded the Alliance that a two-front war would be inevitable, and the two generals worked with Austro-Hungarian General Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf to develop a similar plan for the Eastern European Theater.
The Kaiserliche Marine would spearhead the blockade of the Baltic Sea, while the Norwegian Sea would be covered by a combined Anglo-German task force. That said, the humiliation of the Russian Navy in the Russo-Japanese War had made such efforts largely an afterthought.
The primary focus of the Eastern Front would be on the large land border the Germans, Austrians, and Romanians shared with the Russian Empire, whom the Alliance expected would be reinforced by a sizable Chinese expeditionary force.
Recently-released firsthand accounts indicate a conflict between the three generals in which von Hotzendorf favored an initial offensive action to seize Congress Poland. Haig and von Hotzendorf insisted on a defensive-focused strategy with limited offensive gains to seize more-defensible terrain and hold the Accord forces off until the French government had capitulated.
Once Alliance forces had successfully conquered and occupied France, all non-essential forces would be transferred to the Eastern Front to bolster the defenses and, if possible, participate in a renewed offensive against the Sino-Russian forces in Poland, Moldavia, and the Ukraine until the Nanjing Accord agreed to a ceasefire and negotiations.
The Mediterranean Front would be a much more straightforward affair . British and Italian Naval forces would blockade the Southern French coast and support a naval invasion in Corsica. Another detachment of British and Italian ships would blockade the North African Coast and support an Anglo-Italian offensive into French North Africa through Italian Libya.
Finally, the remainder of the British Mediterranean Fleet and Italian forces would be consolidated under the command of the Austro-Hungarian Kriegsmarine and primarily-tasked with defending the Suez Canal and preparing a holding action in the Aegean Sea against the Ottoman Navy and Russian Black Sea Fleet until Western Mediterranean naval forces arrive to reinforce them.
Some elements of the combined Western-Mediterranean forces will be tasked with seizing both Crete and Cyprus from Ottoman control, though these were largely seen as secondary objectives. The defense of the Suez and bottlenecking the Russo-Ottoman fleets in the Aegean would be of the utmost priority, and British-Egyptian forces would be moved into the Sinai to keep the Ottomans and the allied Chinese Air Force out of striking distance.
The Balkan Theater itself would see a more offensive-based strategy, with Italian, Austro-Hungarian, Serbian, Greek, Romanian, Bulgarian, and some British forces aggressively-attacking the Ottomans with a strategy that mirrored the Balkan Wars of the Lost History. Ottoman forces would be quickly overrun and Rumelia would be divided amongst the victorious Alliance forces.
The West African Theater would be seen as a secondary-front by the European Alliance. Elements of the Royal Navy and the Portuguese Navy would eliminate what few French ships there were in the Theater. This rapid naval action would be followed by a combined attack by British, German, and Portuguese colonial forces that would overrun the cut-off French colonial garrisons.
East Africa would be even more of a sideshow, with the Portuguese and British navies ferrying the Portuguese Expeditionary Force and South African troops to Madagascar and seizing the isolated French colony.
South Asia would be a primarily-British effort, given the relative lack of any presence outside of Portuguese Goa. Ongoing rebellions by the Ghadar Party and strikes by combined Ghadar-INC organizers had turned the Crown Jewel of the British Empire into a hotbed of insurrection that the Chinese were almost certainly stoking.
While some in the Alliance had insisted on the British cutting their losses, Haig had been steadfast in his insistence that India was of vital importance for the war effort.
"If India falls, then the Chinese will reach the Ottomans by the Sea," one officer recalled Haig saying. "India must be held, and we will hold it."
Haig's insistence led to the formation of a relief force of colonial forces from New Zealand, Australia, and East Africa, though the bulk of the force would consist of South African forces. These forces would land at Karachi and relieve their allies in the Princely States. The relief of the Princely States would bolster the expeditionary force's numbers with loyalist Indians, and they would sweep across the continent, relieving more Princely States and bolstering their numbers even further until they reached the border with Siam.
Although one would think that India was the primary focus of the British in Asia, it was in fact the vital Strait of Malacca. Indochina would almost-certainly be a lost cause, but the Alliance planners believed that a strong defense of Malaya and Indonesia would bottleneck the Chinese forces into the South China Sea.
This was the one bottleneck that prevented the technologically-superior Chinese Navy from attacking India and eventually reaching the Ottoman Empire and the Suez Canal. While much could be said of the importance of the Western European Theater, one could argue that the war would be won or lost at the Strait of Malacca.
It was an argument that the Alliance leadership knew too well, and they acted accordingly. Malaya would be fortified along the Siamese border, and Singapore would be fortified into a "Gibraltar of the East."
Sumatra would see similar defensive fortifications, though a combined Dutch-British fleet would be the main force holding the Strait. In terms of manpower, the Malaya and Indonesia would be held by a combined force of Dutchmen, Dutch East Indians, loyalist Malayans, German colonial forces, South Africans, Australians, and New Zealanders.
Australasia itself served a dual-purpose for the Alliance. On one hand, it would be a vital supply hub and naval base for Alliance logistics and shipping. On the other hand, the vast majority of Australian and New Zealander forces would be dedicated to the defense of Indonesia and Malaya.
In the dreaded scenario that the Nanjing Accord was able to conquer Indonesia, Alliance leadership and persons of interest would be evacuated to South Africa and stay-behind operations would be initiated to tie up as many Accord forces as possible.
The European Alliance knew that the Nanjing Accord almost-certainly had them outmanned and outgunned, but the Haig-von Falkenhayn Plan was a viable strategy to bring the conflict to a stalemate and force the Nanjing Accord to the negotiating table in Europe.
While there would be no Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as there in the Lost History, the successful execution of the Haig-von Falkenhayn Plan would allow for the end of socialism in Europe, the seizure of French colonies in Africa and the Americas, and the seizure of the Ottoman Empire's Balkan territories (and possibly the Levant, should the former Sick Man of Europe collapse).
However, the primary focus of the Haig-von Falkenhayn Plan would be the containment of Chinese influence to Asia. In doing so, the European powers would be able to reassert their position on the global scale and form a united front to check the Nanjing Accord's rapid soft power expansion.
That would be enough of a victory for them.
"L1, G19, M20, StG19" by Arms Ahoy, YouTube, 1936
Weapons built for war. A weapon that is obsolete is only better than nothing at all. The Great Journey brought back weapons a century ahead of us, and the rest of the world wanted to build their own.
The L1. The G19. The M20. The StG19. All the names for the same rifle. A weapon brought back from the future and built in the past.
So, how did the European Alliance adapt the same rifle from the future? And how was such a weapon adapted so quickly?
The year is 1916. China has finished its revolution and defeated three empires in a matter of months. Their weapons are the envy of a world that is still using bolt-action rifles.
It was a time of new alliances, with nations banding together into blocs to deal with this nation from the future that had upended the global balance of power.
The foundation of the European Alliance was laid in the wake of the Treaty of San Francisco: An agreement that would transfer the remaining European legations to the Chinese in exchange for ending a trade war that the latter had started by accident.
Russia and France would soon align themselves with this new Asiatic power, as would Japan and the Ottomans.
Fearing this threat of an Asiatic horde against their colonial empires, the nations of Britain, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Portugal, and the Benelux countries formed a treaty of mutual defense.
Old rivalries and territorial ambitions would be put aside in the face of the Chinese-led behemoth that rivaled their own empires in size and dwarfed them in manpower.
The formation of the European Alliance split the world into two blocs, with the promise of mutual defense between their members.
Yet the Europeans were the technologically-backwards nation, not their Asian counterparts. Something needed to be done.
Enter the British Foreign Office. While ostensibly a diplomatic organization, it also provided a cover for intelligence agents to travel to China and gather information.
There, they would research publicly-available blueprints and send them back to Europe to be developed by FN Herstal.
It was an ironic set of circumstances. FN Herstal had been asked to reverse-engineer their own weapon from the Lost History.
The research took over a year, but the Light Automatic Rifle had been re-developed by the legendary John Browning, along with the 7.62 mm round.
The Light Automatic Rifle's select-fire capability, removable magazines, and reliable self-loading mechanism made it the "Rifle of the Future," and the weapon that every Alliance nation would eagerly adopt, 7.62 round and all.
It was the European Alliance equivalent of the Nanjing Accord's T91 rifle, and it would also be produced in the millions.
It is "primitive" by Nanjing Accord standards. There is no picatinny rail, just as there is no room for attachments on the foregrip.
The rifle itself carries the heavier wood furniture instead of the futuristic plastic. Its recoil is only matched by the bolt-action rifles it was meant to replace.
It is heavy. It is long. It is even obsolete, depending on who you asked.
But it was the first Downtimer assault rifle, and it would serve throughout the Great War.
"Return to Rumelia," The Great War: A PBS Documentary, 1946
[An aged woman in a colonel's uniform walks across a monument on the Great War battlefield]
Shannon Wu: "I still remember this place. We flew ops over here, day in and day out to keep the Alliance at bay while the Ottomans retreated from Bosnia and reinforcements were pulled in."
Interviewer: "Were you ever in any danger?"
SW: "Yeah. See, we hadn't really done much fighting since the Revolution. Back then, we were fighting against the Qing, and the only thing they had that could shoot us down were machine guns. Same with the Russians and the Japanese."
I: "Did the Alliance have anything that they could use?"
SW: "Plenty of weapons. Mostly cannons, but they were slow enough that we could evade them. And that was assuming the jets didn't just bomb them."
I: "Was that a regular occurrence?"
SW: "Definitely. Think about it: If you were fighting an enemy that had slow anti-air guns, wouldn't you try to blow them up with bombs from far away? That's what the Air Force did."
I: "What about aircraft? Fokkers, Junkers, and Spitfires had the speed and maneuverability advantage against attack helicopters, didn't they?"
SW: "Yeah, they did. I remember seeing one of them take off from an airbase we were attacking. We tried shooting them down with our chain guns, but the Apaches aren't designed for air-to-air combat."
I: "How did you deal with it?"
SW: "Deal with it? [Wu laughs] Once it turned out we couldn't hit it, I gave the order to RTB and radioed for support, but the Fokker kept chasing us to our lines until one of the Ottomans shot a Stinger at them."
I: "The shoulder-mounted anti-air missile?"
SW: "Yup. Most units had one or two laying around, just in case an aircraft got through their lines and they needed to shoot it down. After that, the Air Force did all of the attacks on the airfields."
I: "Was that the closest your squadron had ever gotten to being shot down?"
SW: "Not even close. [Wu walks over to a rebuilt M2 emplacement. The weapon consists of four heavy-caliber machine guns all attached to a trigger system.] Not when these existed."
I: "Could you tell us what this is?"
SW: "This [She pats the anti-air emplacement] is an M2 Browning. Originally developed by John Moses Browning in 1918 in the Lost History, this was developed in 1915 by John Moses Browning for Fabrique Nationale de Herstale in Belgium."
I: "The same John Browning? [Wu nods.] And this weapon was developed as an anti-air weapon?"
SW: "Not exactly. Sure, there are autocannons and flak guns. Y'know, dedicated anti-air weapons. But those are pretty easy to spot with drones and blow up with airstrikes or pigeon bombs."
I: "Pigeon bombs?"
SW: "It's a nickname we had for the loitering munitions. Most people call them 'Kamikaze Drones' these days."
I: "I see… So jet aircraft and drones were used to suppress and destroy dedicated anti-air emplacements?"
SW: "Basically. [Wu shrugs] Sure, you can shoot down a jet with flak or an autocannon, but you'd be lucky to even hit it in the first place. Plus, it's kinda hard to hide an anti-air gun."
I: "Which led us to the introduction of the M2 as an anti-air weapon."
SW: "Yeah, basically. Originally, the M2 was designed to be mounted on tanks and used against infantry and light vehicles. It just happened to also be very effective against aircraft as well."
I: "How does that happen?"
SW: "When you see a helicopter coming at you, and your dedicated anti-air is an exploded pile of scrap, 'Shoot it with everything we have' is the best solution. And it turns out .50 cal is pretty good against aircraft."
I: "Are you saying that from experience?"
SW: "Yeah. I remember flying around here in late 1921. We were tasked with holding off the Allies while the Ottoman rear guard pulled back. Then out of nowhere, I hear multiple thuds against my fuselage."
[A reenactment plays of an Apache pilot noticing the impacts]
SW: "Next thing I know, the warnings are going off about some system malfunctioning. Next thing I know, Zhu in Dragon 4 is having the same problem, and then Peng in Dragon 6 starts shouting about enemy AAA hitting her. That was all I needed to give the order to RTB. Barely got back before the hydraulics completely stopped working."
I: "The M2 emplacements were effective, then."
SW: "You could say that. You have to remember that before this, our Apaches mainly fought poorly-equipped Qing soldiers with bolt-action rifles, not HMGs."
I: "How did you counter these?"
SW: "Night ops, mostly. The M2 emplacements are deadly, especially when they're all strapped together. [Wu pats the barrel of one of the machine guns.] But we had night vision and they didn't."
I: "So you mainly attacked at night from then on?"
SW: "Against trenches? Yes. That, or we just used the pigeon bombs against them."
I: "Were the loitering munitions more-effective than your helicopters?"
SW: "They were cheaper and easier to build. So we started using them as bait to lure M2 emplacements into firing on them, then we'd send a whole swarm to strike anywhere that fired on them."
I: "Did the Alliance soldiers ever find out what you were doing?"
SW: "Probably, but we never gave them the option. Sure, they could let one go by and not reveal their positions, but that meant letting a drone go by and blow up a supply dump or the general's tent a few miles behind the line."
I: "This sounds like an expensive tactic."
SW: [Wu shrugs once more.] "Probably. But we could always make more of them. Drones are cheaper to build than attack helicopters, and you don't have to worry about losing a trained pilot."
Chapter 5: The Haig-von Falkenhayn Plan
While the European Alliance controlled the vast majority of the world's territory, the Alliance knew full well that they would be outgunned and out-produced by the Nanjing Accord once the war started.
Knowing this, Alliance leadership met in Brussels in December of 1920 to discuss a global strategy to utilize their territorial advantage to its full extent. While the European Alliance was nominally an alliance of equals, the German and British delegations, led by Generals Erich von Falkenhayn and Douglas Haig respectively, spearheaded the discussions.
While it is primarily a global strategy, the Haig-von Falkenhayn plan was divided into several Theaters: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, The Mediterranean, The Balkans, West Africa, East Africa, South Asia, Malaya, and Australasia. As such, they will be discussed in that order.
Just as the Alliance had done, we will also begin with the European Theater, given France's relative isolation compared to the rest of the Nanjing Accord. This, coupled with it being surrounded on all sides by the Alliance (sans the Kingdom of Spain), made the increasingly-socialized republic the primary focus of Alliance efforts.
Given these circumstances, Haig and von Falkenhayn decided upon a land and sea-based campaign in which the British Royal Navy, the German Kaiserliche Marine, and the Italian Regia Marina would blockade the French coastline. Concurrently, the German, Dutch, and Belgian Armies, as well as the British Expeditionary Force, would push towards France from the north while the Italian Army would push into Southeast France.
Both Haig and von Falkenhayn intended to encircle the French on all fronts, with the Alliance naval forces cutting the French off from their colonies and foreign trade, while the combined Alliance armed forces overwhelmed the French defenders in a rapid offensive of motorized soldiers, artillery, armored vehicles, and aircraft.
Bitter lessons of the First World War had reminded the Alliance that a two-front war would be inevitable, and the two generals worked with Austro-Hungarian General Franz Conrad von Hotzendorf to develop a similar plan for the Eastern European Theater.
The Kaiserliche Marine would spearhead the blockade of the Baltic Sea, while the Norwegian Sea would be covered by a combined Anglo-German task force. That said, the humiliation of the Russian Navy in the Russo-Japanese War had made such efforts largely an afterthought.
The primary focus of the Eastern Front would be on the large land border the Germans, Austrians, and Romanians shared with the Russian Empire, whom the Alliance expected would be reinforced by a sizable Chinese expeditionary force.
Recently-released firsthand accounts indicate a conflict between the three generals in which von Hotzendorf favored an initial offensive action to seize Congress Poland. Haig and von Hotzendorf insisted on a defensive-focused strategy with limited offensive gains to seize more-defensible terrain and hold the Accord forces off until the French government had capitulated.
Once Alliance forces had successfully conquered and occupied France, all non-essential forces would be transferred to the Eastern Front to bolster the defenses and, if possible, participate in a renewed offensive against the Sino-Russian forces in Poland, Moldavia, and the Ukraine until the Nanjing Accord agreed to a ceasefire and negotiations.
The Mediterranean Front would be a much more straightforward affair . British and Italian Naval forces would blockade the Southern French coast and support a naval invasion in Corsica. Another detachment of British and Italian ships would blockade the North African Coast and support an Anglo-Italian offensive into French North Africa through Italian Libya.
Finally, the remainder of the British Mediterranean Fleet and Italian forces would be consolidated under the command of the Austro-Hungarian Kriegsmarine and primarily-tasked with defending the Suez Canal and preparing a holding action in the Aegean Sea against the Ottoman Navy and Russian Black Sea Fleet until Western Mediterranean naval forces arrive to reinforce them.
Some elements of the combined Western-Mediterranean forces will be tasked with seizing both Crete and Cyprus from Ottoman control, though these were largely seen as secondary objectives. The defense of the Suez and bottlenecking the Russo-Ottoman fleets in the Aegean would be of the utmost priority, and British-Egyptian forces would be moved into the Sinai to keep the Ottomans and the allied Chinese Air Force out of striking distance.
The Balkan Theater itself would see a more offensive-based strategy, with Italian, Austro-Hungarian, Serbian, Greek, Romanian, Bulgarian, and some British forces aggressively-attacking the Ottomans with a strategy that mirrored the Balkan Wars of the Lost History. Ottoman forces would be quickly overrun and Rumelia would be divided amongst the victorious Alliance forces.
The West African Theater would be seen as a secondary-front by the European Alliance. Elements of the Royal Navy and the Portuguese Navy would eliminate what few French ships there were in the Theater. This rapid naval action would be followed by a combined attack by British, German, and Portuguese colonial forces that would overrun the cut-off French colonial garrisons.
East Africa would be even more of a sideshow, with the Portuguese and British navies ferrying the Portuguese Expeditionary Force and South African troops to Madagascar and seizing the isolated French colony.
South Asia would be a primarily-British effort, given the relative lack of any presence outside of Portuguese Goa. Ongoing rebellions by the Ghadar Party and strikes by combined Ghadar-INC organizers had turned the Crown Jewel of the British Empire into a hotbed of insurrection that the Chinese were almost certainly stoking.
While some in the Alliance had insisted on the British cutting their losses, Haig had been steadfast in his insistence that India was of vital importance for the war effort.
"If India falls, then the Chinese will reach the Ottomans by the Sea," one officer recalled Haig saying. "India must be held, and we will hold it."
Haig's insistence led to the formation of a relief force of colonial forces from New Zealand, Australia, and East Africa, though the bulk of the force would consist of South African forces. These forces would land at Karachi and relieve their allies in the Princely States. The relief of the Princely States would bolster the expeditionary force's numbers with loyalist Indians, and they would sweep across the continent, relieving more Princely States and bolstering their numbers even further until they reached the border with Siam.
Although one would think that India was the primary focus of the British in Asia, it was in fact the vital Strait of Malacca. Indochina would almost-certainly be a lost cause, but the Alliance planners believed that a strong defense of Malaya and Indonesia would bottleneck the Chinese forces into the South China Sea.
This was the one bottleneck that prevented the technologically-superior Chinese Navy from attacking India and eventually reaching the Ottoman Empire and the Suez Canal. While much could be said of the importance of the Western European Theater, one could argue that the war would be won or lost at the Strait of Malacca.
It was an argument that the Alliance leadership knew too well, and they acted accordingly. Malaya would be fortified along the Siamese border, and Singapore would be fortified into a "Gibraltar of the East."
Sumatra would see similar defensive fortifications, though a combined Dutch-British fleet would be the main force holding the Strait. In terms of manpower, the Malaya and Indonesia would be held by a combined force of Dutchmen, Dutch East Indians, loyalist Malayans, German colonial forces, South Africans, Australians, and New Zealanders.
Australasia itself served a dual-purpose for the Alliance. On one hand, it would be a vital supply hub and naval base for Alliance logistics and shipping. On the other hand, the vast majority of Australian and New Zealander forces would be dedicated to the defense of Indonesia and Malaya.
In the dreaded scenario that the Nanjing Accord was able to conquer Indonesia, Alliance leadership and persons of interest would be evacuated to South Africa and stay-behind operations would be initiated to tie up as many Accord forces as possible.
The European Alliance knew that the Nanjing Accord almost-certainly had them outmanned and outgunned, but the Haig-von Falkenhayn Plan was a viable strategy to bring the conflict to a stalemate and force the Nanjing Accord to the negotiating table in Europe.
While there would be no Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as there in the Lost History, the successful execution of the Haig-von Falkenhayn Plan would allow for the end of socialism in Europe, the seizure of French colonies in Africa and the Americas, and the seizure of the Ottoman Empire's Balkan territories (and possibly the Levant, should the former Sick Man of Europe collapse).
However, the primary focus of the Haig-von Falkenhayn Plan would be the containment of Chinese influence to Asia. In doing so, the European powers would be able to reassert their position on the global scale and form a united front to check the Nanjing Accord's rapid soft power expansion.
That would be enough of a victory for them.
"L1, G19, M20, StG19" by Arms Ahoy, YouTube, 1936
Weapons built for war. A weapon that is obsolete is only better than nothing at all. The Great Journey brought back weapons a century ahead of us, and the rest of the world wanted to build their own.
The L1. The G19. The M20. The StG19. All the names for the same rifle. A weapon brought back from the future and built in the past.
So, how did the European Alliance adapt the same rifle from the future? And how was such a weapon adapted so quickly?
The year is 1916. China has finished its revolution and defeated three empires in a matter of months. Their weapons are the envy of a world that is still using bolt-action rifles.
It was a time of new alliances, with nations banding together into blocs to deal with this nation from the future that had upended the global balance of power.
The foundation of the European Alliance was laid in the wake of the Treaty of San Francisco: An agreement that would transfer the remaining European legations to the Chinese in exchange for ending a trade war that the latter had started by accident.
Russia and France would soon align themselves with this new Asiatic power, as would Japan and the Ottomans.
Fearing this threat of an Asiatic horde against their colonial empires, the nations of Britain, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Portugal, and the Benelux countries formed a treaty of mutual defense.
Old rivalries and territorial ambitions would be put aside in the face of the Chinese-led behemoth that rivaled their own empires in size and dwarfed them in manpower.
The formation of the European Alliance split the world into two blocs, with the promise of mutual defense between their members.
Yet the Europeans were the technologically-backwards nation, not their Asian counterparts. Something needed to be done.
Enter the British Foreign Office. While ostensibly a diplomatic organization, it also provided a cover for intelligence agents to travel to China and gather information.
There, they would research publicly-available blueprints and send them back to Europe to be developed by FN Herstal.
It was an ironic set of circumstances. FN Herstal had been asked to reverse-engineer their own weapon from the Lost History.
The research took over a year, but the Light Automatic Rifle had been re-developed by the legendary John Browning, along with the 7.62 mm round.
The Light Automatic Rifle's select-fire capability, removable magazines, and reliable self-loading mechanism made it the "Rifle of the Future," and the weapon that every Alliance nation would eagerly adopt, 7.62 round and all.
It was the European Alliance equivalent of the Nanjing Accord's T91 rifle, and it would also be produced in the millions.
It is "primitive" by Nanjing Accord standards. There is no picatinny rail, just as there is no room for attachments on the foregrip.
The rifle itself carries the heavier wood furniture instead of the futuristic plastic. Its recoil is only matched by the bolt-action rifles it was meant to replace.
It is heavy. It is long. It is even obsolete, depending on who you asked.
But it was the first Downtimer assault rifle, and it would serve throughout the Great War.
"Return to Rumelia," The Great War: A PBS Documentary, 1946
[An aged woman in a colonel's uniform walks across a monument on the Great War battlefield]
Shannon Wu: "I still remember this place. We flew ops over here, day in and day out to keep the Alliance at bay while the Ottomans retreated from Bosnia and reinforcements were pulled in."
Interviewer: "Were you ever in any danger?"
SW: "Yeah. See, we hadn't really done much fighting since the Revolution. Back then, we were fighting against the Qing, and the only thing they had that could shoot us down were machine guns. Same with the Russians and the Japanese."
I: "Did the Alliance have anything that they could use?"
SW: "Plenty of weapons. Mostly cannons, but they were slow enough that we could evade them. And that was assuming the jets didn't just bomb them."
I: "Was that a regular occurrence?"
SW: "Definitely. Think about it: If you were fighting an enemy that had slow anti-air guns, wouldn't you try to blow them up with bombs from far away? That's what the Air Force did."
I: "What about aircraft? Fokkers, Junkers, and Spitfires had the speed and maneuverability advantage against attack helicopters, didn't they?"
SW: "Yeah, they did. I remember seeing one of them take off from an airbase we were attacking. We tried shooting them down with our chain guns, but the Apaches aren't designed for air-to-air combat."
I: "How did you deal with it?"
SW: "Deal with it? [Wu laughs] Once it turned out we couldn't hit it, I gave the order to RTB and radioed for support, but the Fokker kept chasing us to our lines until one of the Ottomans shot a Stinger at them."
I: "The shoulder-mounted anti-air missile?"
SW: "Yup. Most units had one or two laying around, just in case an aircraft got through their lines and they needed to shoot it down. After that, the Air Force did all of the attacks on the airfields."
I: "Was that the closest your squadron had ever gotten to being shot down?"
SW: "Not even close. [Wu walks over to a rebuilt M2 emplacement. The weapon consists of four heavy-caliber machine guns all attached to a trigger system.] Not when these existed."
I: "Could you tell us what this is?"
SW: "This [She pats the anti-air emplacement] is an M2 Browning. Originally developed by John Moses Browning in 1918 in the Lost History, this was developed in 1915 by John Moses Browning for Fabrique Nationale de Herstale in Belgium."
I: "The same John Browning? [Wu nods.] And this weapon was developed as an anti-air weapon?"
SW: "Not exactly. Sure, there are autocannons and flak guns. Y'know, dedicated anti-air weapons. But those are pretty easy to spot with drones and blow up with airstrikes or pigeon bombs."
I: "Pigeon bombs?"
SW: "It's a nickname we had for the loitering munitions. Most people call them 'Kamikaze Drones' these days."
I: "I see… So jet aircraft and drones were used to suppress and destroy dedicated anti-air emplacements?"
SW: "Basically. [Wu shrugs] Sure, you can shoot down a jet with flak or an autocannon, but you'd be lucky to even hit it in the first place. Plus, it's kinda hard to hide an anti-air gun."
I: "Which led us to the introduction of the M2 as an anti-air weapon."
SW: "Yeah, basically. Originally, the M2 was designed to be mounted on tanks and used against infantry and light vehicles. It just happened to also be very effective against aircraft as well."
I: "How does that happen?"
SW: "When you see a helicopter coming at you, and your dedicated anti-air is an exploded pile of scrap, 'Shoot it with everything we have' is the best solution. And it turns out .50 cal is pretty good against aircraft."
I: "Are you saying that from experience?"
SW: "Yeah. I remember flying around here in late 1921. We were tasked with holding off the Allies while the Ottoman rear guard pulled back. Then out of nowhere, I hear multiple thuds against my fuselage."
[A reenactment plays of an Apache pilot noticing the impacts]
SW: "Next thing I know, the warnings are going off about some system malfunctioning. Next thing I know, Zhu in Dragon 4 is having the same problem, and then Peng in Dragon 6 starts shouting about enemy AAA hitting her. That was all I needed to give the order to RTB. Barely got back before the hydraulics completely stopped working."
I: "The M2 emplacements were effective, then."
SW: "You could say that. You have to remember that before this, our Apaches mainly fought poorly-equipped Qing soldiers with bolt-action rifles, not HMGs."
I: "How did you counter these?"
SW: "Night ops, mostly. The M2 emplacements are deadly, especially when they're all strapped together. [Wu pats the barrel of one of the machine guns.] But we had night vision and they didn't."
I: "So you mainly attacked at night from then on?"
SW: "Against trenches? Yes. That, or we just used the pigeon bombs against them."
I: "Were the loitering munitions more-effective than your helicopters?"
SW: "They were cheaper and easier to build. So we started using them as bait to lure M2 emplacements into firing on them, then we'd send a whole swarm to strike anywhere that fired on them."
I: "Did the Alliance soldiers ever find out what you were doing?"
SW: "Probably, but we never gave them the option. Sure, they could let one go by and not reveal their positions, but that meant letting a drone go by and blow up a supply dump or the general's tent a few miles behind the line."
I: "This sounds like an expensive tactic."
SW: [Wu shrugs once more.] "Probably. But we could always make more of them. Drones are cheaper to build than attack helicopters, and you don't have to worry about losing a trained pilot."
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ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
So to make it up to you guys for the (admittedly-rushed) Great War chapters, I'll be doing a few flashback chapters to show the European Alliance's side of the conflict.
Things like small arms, how they try to shoot down attack helicopters, and their overall strategy to bring the Nanjing Accord to the negotiating table by conquering France and holding the line through sheer numbers.
Next section will probably cover things like camouflage, armored warfare, conscription, people being pissed off about conscription, and why downtimer Bosnians really don't want to be part of Serbia.
Things like small arms, how they try to shoot down attack helicopters, and their overall strategy to bring the Nanjing Accord to the negotiating table by conquering France and holding the line through sheer numbers.
Next section will probably cover things like camouflage, armored warfare, conscription, people being pissed off about conscription, and why downtimer Bosnians really don't want to be part of Serbia.
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ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The closest you'd get to that is uptimer Chinese soldiers painting "Loss" all over the place, solely for the purpose of fucking with people.
Eventually other Chinese soldiers and NA personnel decide to copy these uptimers' symbol and it becomes this setting's version of "Kilroy was here."
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that's incredible and I support this wholeheartedly
Chapter 56a: The Other Side (Part II)
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Camouflage and You: A Soldier's Primer
As a soldier in the British Army, you are the King and Country's first line of defense. Yours is a tradition of determination and intuition the likes of which the world has never seen.
It is this intuition that will save you, should you be attacked by enemy aircraft. While these aircraft are several decades advanced, there are several ways to protect yourselves and your equipment through the use of camouflage.
The first and most-important is direct camouflage, in which you and your equipment can be concealed from enemy surveillance through the clever use of foliage, paints, and tarpaulins.
In doing so, the enemy aircraft will be none the wiser about your location, allowing you to fight another day or even ambush them, should you have the courage.
The second use of camouflage is through the use of decoys. Whether it be a carpenter building fake cannons made of logs and paint or an entire fake army made of mannequins and uniforms, the possibilities are endless.
Know this, soldier: You are the heir to a legacy of creativity and indefatigable British spirit. Use it well, as it may be the difference between life and death, or victory and defeat.
An Analysis of the Fall of India, by Dr. Thomas Lawrence, Oxford University Press (1942)
Chapter 24: The Long Road to Karachi
While the Haig-von Falkenhayn Plan had accounted for the possibility of an Indian revolt, the European Alliance had not accounted for the possibility that said revolt would have the advantage in terms of mobility as well as firepower.
While the days of war continued to go on in the hot Indian sun, the revolts were commonplace. Rebels and deserters were one and the same, and both were dispersed throughout the subcontinent so that the British-led forces were forced to fight a war on a hundred separate fronts.
In Eastern India it was only slightly more straightforward. There were two sides of the conflict: The British to the west and the Chinese-led steamroller to the east. It is perhaps the greatest irony that the Chinese-backed forces performed a campaign that almost-perfectly mirrored that which the British had planned. Rather than a campaign eastwards to relieve various princes and their armies, the Chinese fought a rapid campaign westwards to relieve various rebellions that had seized villages or even cities.
This conflict would eventually come to the gates of Delhi and force the Viceroy and the rest of the leadership to flee further westwards. Leaders such as Maharaja Ganga Singh would travel northwest to Afghanistan while the Viceroy himself would lead an exodus to Karachi.
It was a long journey that would be harried by the constant guerrilla attacks by Indian rebels. A single shot would be fired at the marching men, who would then disperse themselves and attempt to search for the shooter. This would have the desired effect of slowing the evacuation to a crawl as wounded men were left by the wayside.
This would all be for nought once they reached Karachi, where the scouts were horrified to see the Indian tricolour flying over the now-liberated city. Some men argued to return to the countryside and fight as bandits, while others proposed moving to Afghanistan.
Yet it was General Rawlinson who would make the final call, and it would be General Rawlinson who surrendered the Crown Jewel of the British Empire on 24 March 1923.
Diary of Captain James Smith, Egyptian Expeditionary Force, 3 April 1923
We are headed southwards to meet the Chinese in battle. It will be many of the men's first time facing the enemy, and I do not blame them.
These men are not soldiers. Not yet, anyways.
They are boys from London, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh, Cairo, Alexandria, Rome, and Florence.
They are Italians, Arabs, Englishmen, Irish, Welsh, and Scots who had been pulled from the rear echelons.
They are all we could scrape together and bring to Cairo on such short notice. Veterans are few and far between, but we have been able to scrape together enough sergeants and officers to maintain command.
And we are all that stands between the Asiatics and the fall of Cairo.
r/ShitTeaboosSay Thread: "How to deal with the talk about Asiatic Hordes?" 26 May 1938
Posted by u/JohnJohnsonGuy
I've been hearing this a lot from the more right-wing voices over at r/Monarchism about how the Chinese and their allies were only capable of defeating the European Alliance in India and Africa because of their superior numbers.
That and how they "oNLy WoN WiTh MoDeRn WeApONs."
I swear, they never will shut up about "muh Leopards" and "muh Fuck-1s."
I know it's mostly revisionism, but I can never find the right words to debunk this stuff.
Any ideas?
u/EgaliteFraternite
There is no way you can reason with these guys, friend. Teaboos aren't known for their basis in reality.
u/NedKellysGhost
Way I see it, they're technically right. Which is the worst kind of right.
Sure, the Chinese, Russians, Ottomans, and friends all had more people in the field at any one time, but you need to remember that most of those people are either in logistics or garrison troops.
I'm doing back of the napkin math rn, but your average Accord soldier is probably some Chinese dude who spent most of the war occupying some British territory they'd taken.
If you look at the number of frontline forces in the field, you can see that Alliance soldiers outnumbered the Accord on the Western, Eastern, and North African Theaters from the start of the war until at least 1923. You only see the numerical advantage after the Fall of India and the Fall of Egypt.
As for the complaints about how the Accord had superior planes, tanks, and artillery… Yeah, of course they did. War's not supposed to be a fair fight, and anyone who tells you otherwise is a mouth-breathing moron.
Hell yeah they were going to use every force multiplier they had. When you're technically-outnumbered and fighting on the other side of the country, you will use every advantage you can get your hands on.
You know what's the funniest thing?
Sure, the Chinese went back in time with their modern weapons, but they were damn good at making more and training their soldiers how to use them.
Sydney, Federation of Australia, 1 June 1923
Alexander Cartwright looked at the paper to see what he'd already known. Brisbane had fallen, and the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans were about a hundred miles away at the most.
It was inevitable, once Papua and the rest of Indonesia had fallen. Even if the press had said otherwise.
"That's everyone, Alex," his brother told him, once they did one last check of the house. "Are you sure you want to stay?"
"Arthur, I-" Alex looked around the now-spartan house. All the pictures, toys, and clothes had been packed, with only a few pieces of furniture left. "I can't. You know that."
"Bollocks. When Mum died, she told me to look after you, yet here you are about to get yourself killed!"
"Somebody has to stay behind to delay them, Arty."
"Winter."
"What?"
"Did you ever wonder why the Chinese aren't attacking right now? They have ten times the men we have, but they're camped out a hundred miles away. Do you know why?"
"...They know."
"They aren't pursuing us because it's the middle of fucking winter! This is our chance to leave, Alex. And the offer is still on the table, little brother."
"I-" Alex looked at his rifle on the counter, then back to his brother. "You know what? Fuck it. I'm coming with you."
Arthur looked at him and did something Alex had never seen in years.
He hugged him.
Not a friendly hug. No, this was a hug for family and family only.
"Little Bess is going to be so happy," his older brother breathed. "God knows she wouldn't have forgiven me if you stayed behind."
"True. So, we're headed to New Zealand, yes?"
"Invercargill, then Dunedin, Christchurch, and off to Hawaii."
"Hawaii?" Arthur nodded. "Do we have enough supplies?"
"With the American Red Cross? More than enough."
Diary of Captain James Smith, Egyptian Expeditionary Force, 24 June 1923
There is an irony in the life of a prisoner of war. In our capture, we are freed of our duty to fight in practice, if not in theory as well.
These Asiatics, the Chinese in particular, have been accommodating, to say the least. There are three meals a day with more than enough water for us all. I have brought up the issue of Muslim and Jewish dietary concerns, and the guards have found them agreeable.
If anything, the men and I have been better-fed than when we were sent south. That is not to say that the food is luxurious, of course, but that we need not ration our food and water as we had during our march south.
It is not the most comfortable life. We are prisoners, after all. But at the bare minimum, they acknowledge our humanity and treat us as such.
Were our circumstances reversed, I would have shown them similar respect and dignity.
Bucharest, Romania, 16 October 1923
Some would call them collaborators, but Ion Dragu would beg to differ. As far as he was concerned, he and his comrades here were the true Romanian patriots, not the king who had fled.
That was why they were here, weren't they?
This meeting would be the foundation of the true Romanian Republic, in every sense of the word. That was why all the important people were here.
There was General Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor, who had returned from exile at the head of the Romanian Legion. If the stories Ion heard were to be believed, Bujor's forces were mostly former prisoners of war who had volunteered in exchange for their freedom, though the core of his officer corps were exiled militants.
Then there was Constantin Titel Petrescu, the leader of the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the de-facto head of the Provisional Government in Bucharest. This entire gathering had been his brainchild, and he had been the one who submitted the proposal to the occupying Russian, Turkish, and Chinese forces.that occupied the city.
For all intents and purposes, he was the effective government at this point, with several members of the PSD serving as de-facto ministers now that the king and his cabinet had fled.
It was rough at first, but the occupiers were more than willing to supply this fledgling de-facto government. This, coupled with the Romanian Legion's successes on the battlefield, had given the Provisional Government at least some credibility among the Romanian people.
That was why the representatives of the Social Democratic Party of Transylvania, the Banat Social Democratic Party, and the Social Democratic Party of Bukovina had come here in the first place. This was to be a Romanian nation, and they intended to liberate all three regions from the Habsburgs.
The fact that the Chinese, Russians, and Ottomans also wanted to liberate all three regions from the Habsburgs was the reason there were representatives from those three nations as well.
After all, somebody had to recognize them as the legitimate government of Romania.
Ion looked over at the sheer number of people gathered here in the palace. It was brilliant, chaotic, and the most-hopeful he had ever been in years.
All that was left was to get it all in writing. A constitution would need to be written, as would a formal declaration of independence for the territories that were still held by the Habsburgs.
Then there was the issue of governance, which was a whole other problem. While yes, the vast majority of the people here were socialists who sought to emulate the French, there was a sizable contingent of Radical Liberals as well, and they made up a large contingent of the defected soldiers.
It would be chaotic, angry, and tenuous, yes. There would almost-certainly be fights and arguments between the various factions.
But Ion had a feeling that a new Romania would be born today. Once that was done, all the arguments and dealings, and spilled blood would set the foundation for a new Romanian republic by and for the people.
The Oder Line
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Oder Line, known in German as the Ostwall, was a German fortification built in 1923 along the Oder river. It stretched from Stettin and the Bay of Pomerania in the north, through German Silesia, until it ended in the Sudeten city of Ostrava.
From 1923 to 1924, the Oder Line was subject to several attacks and incursions by a combined Sino-Russian force that utilized combined arms to eliminate defensive structures and weapons along the fortification.
History
The Oder Line was originally envisioned as a line of last resort during the Brussels Conference of 1920. Although the Haig-von Falkenhayn Plan would incorporate strong initial thrusts into Russian territory so as to seize defensible terrain, several contingencies were created in the event of a Sino-Russian breakthrough.
After the initial thrust into Congress Poland was pushed back by the Sino-Russian forces in 1922, the German Army and the British Expeditionary Force were on the backfoot. This, coupled with continued Sino-Russian advances into Memel, Prussia, and Pomerania had led to an emergency meeting in Hamburg between Haig and von Falkenhayn.
While the exact words of the meeting are still classified, it is clear that the result was the conscription of hundreds of thousands of men and the redirection of supplies to the Oder. These men, many of them civilians unfit for military service, would be tasked with building the Oder Line while the German forces fought a fighting retreat.
By mid-1923, the Oder-Memel line had been fully dug, with trenches, battlements, and pillboxes lining the west side of the river. Concrete and rebar were largely scarce necessitated the use of wood in the trenchworks, though the secondary and tertiary lines would incorporate what concrete and rebar that could be spared.
Incursions
The first incursions occurred on 31 October 1923, in which a reconnaissance drone of the Republic of China Air Force fired several hellfire missiles at suspected anti-aircraft emplacements during a night raid.
This was later followed by several daytime "Flying Pigeon" attacks, during which the Nanjing Accord forces would probe the German defenses with loitering munitions and target any and all anti-air emplacements. While these attacks proved to be somewhat-effective, the fortifications would continue to be reinforced over the coming winter.
Additional attacks by Chinese F-CK-1s and AH-64 Apaches would occur over this period, though German casualties are largely-unknown.
Dublin, Dominion of Ireland, 6 November 1923
Ireland had always been in a precarious position.
On one hand, the British had been willing to grant the Irish Home Rule in the 1910s in an attempt to preempt any Irish nationalism. This was further reinforced by London granting a special exemption for the Irish with regards to conscription.
On the other hand, the British still saw Ireland as their territory, no different than that of Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, or Newfoundland. When war came, the call would go out to the Irish to enlist, just as their counterparts in England and Scotland had.
There were those who answered the call. To nobody's surprise, the vast majority of the enlistees had been Protestant Irishmen, given their more-positive view of the British Empire. The Catholics, for their part, were largely content with sitting this war out and ignoring the propaganda campaigns against the "Godless Asiatic Hordes."
The failure to conquer France, as well as the slow-but-steady Sino-Russian campaign had bloodied British forces in Europe, while the Accord's North African campaign had all but annihilated the bulk of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.
Then there was the Fall of India, the Evacuation of Australasia, and the Fall of Singapore.
Britain and her colonies were losing men at an alarming rate, and something needed to be done if they were to combat the loss of entire field armies at a time.
And so on 1 December 1923, Prime Minister Austen Chamberlain passed the Irish Conscription Act. The Act, which explicitly allowed London to conscript Irish men for their war effort, had been a contentious issue that was opposed by the bulk of the Irish MPs.
Even Prime Minister Chamberlain himself was reluctant to have it introduced, though he also insisted that, "As subjects, the Irish people are called to serve alongside their English, Scottish, Welsh, Australian, New Zealander, Canadian, and South African brothers, as was expected of all men of fighting age in the British Empire.
One could say that the Irish begged to differ, but that would be an understatement. No, the Irish people were furious.
First there were the nationalists, and they were the most-straightforward. They simply opposed the war on the grounds that this was London's fight, not theirs, and the Irish people ought to stay out of it.
Next there was the clergy, who opposed the war on political grounds as well as moral grounds. For them, the war was not only not Ireland's fight, but they also cited Saint Augustine's Just War Theory to argue that it would be against their deeply-held religious beliefs.
Last were the laborers, whose motives were much more nuanced. There were those who echoed the socialist rhetoric of "No war but the class war." Others would argue that the Great War was not a Just War, though they would cite economics and imperialism, rather than the theological rhetoric of the Catholics. The bulk of the laborers, however, were simply incensed that they would be conscripted into the military despite them already contributing their labor to the war effort.
It was this unlikely alliance that would meet in Dublin and agree to oppose conscription as a united front, albeit in their own ways.
Nationalists of different stripes would share the stage at rallies when they weren't leading protests.
Priests and bishops would give fiery sermons decrying conscription, while the most-daring of them would outright offer sanctuary to those whose numbers had been called.
Finally, the workers would engage in a campaign of strikes that brought the Irish factories and infrastructure to a screeching halt.
It would happen again and again. Rallies would be held. Sermons would be preached. Sanctuary would be granted. Strikes would be held.
Something had to be done, but London had few people they could trust. Priests were actively committing sedition, politicians were encouraging it, and the workers were steadfast in their picket lines.
London was out of options, and they were out of manpower outside of paramilitaries and the Royal Irish Constabulary.
The RIC wasn't his first choice, but they were Chamberlain's only option to do anything at all.
As a soldier in the British Army, you are the King and Country's first line of defense. Yours is a tradition of determination and intuition the likes of which the world has never seen.
It is this intuition that will save you, should you be attacked by enemy aircraft. While these aircraft are several decades advanced, there are several ways to protect yourselves and your equipment through the use of camouflage.
The first and most-important is direct camouflage, in which you and your equipment can be concealed from enemy surveillance through the clever use of foliage, paints, and tarpaulins.
In doing so, the enemy aircraft will be none the wiser about your location, allowing you to fight another day or even ambush them, should you have the courage.
The second use of camouflage is through the use of decoys. Whether it be a carpenter building fake cannons made of logs and paint or an entire fake army made of mannequins and uniforms, the possibilities are endless.
Know this, soldier: You are the heir to a legacy of creativity and indefatigable British spirit. Use it well, as it may be the difference between life and death, or victory and defeat.
An Analysis of the Fall of India, by Dr. Thomas Lawrence, Oxford University Press (1942)
Chapter 24: The Long Road to Karachi
While the Haig-von Falkenhayn Plan had accounted for the possibility of an Indian revolt, the European Alliance had not accounted for the possibility that said revolt would have the advantage in terms of mobility as well as firepower.
While the days of war continued to go on in the hot Indian sun, the revolts were commonplace. Rebels and deserters were one and the same, and both were dispersed throughout the subcontinent so that the British-led forces were forced to fight a war on a hundred separate fronts.
In Eastern India it was only slightly more straightforward. There were two sides of the conflict: The British to the west and the Chinese-led steamroller to the east. It is perhaps the greatest irony that the Chinese-backed forces performed a campaign that almost-perfectly mirrored that which the British had planned. Rather than a campaign eastwards to relieve various princes and their armies, the Chinese fought a rapid campaign westwards to relieve various rebellions that had seized villages or even cities.
This conflict would eventually come to the gates of Delhi and force the Viceroy and the rest of the leadership to flee further westwards. Leaders such as Maharaja Ganga Singh would travel northwest to Afghanistan while the Viceroy himself would lead an exodus to Karachi.
It was a long journey that would be harried by the constant guerrilla attacks by Indian rebels. A single shot would be fired at the marching men, who would then disperse themselves and attempt to search for the shooter. This would have the desired effect of slowing the evacuation to a crawl as wounded men were left by the wayside.
This would all be for nought once they reached Karachi, where the scouts were horrified to see the Indian tricolour flying over the now-liberated city. Some men argued to return to the countryside and fight as bandits, while others proposed moving to Afghanistan.
Yet it was General Rawlinson who would make the final call, and it would be General Rawlinson who surrendered the Crown Jewel of the British Empire on 24 March 1923.
Diary of Captain James Smith, Egyptian Expeditionary Force, 3 April 1923
We are headed southwards to meet the Chinese in battle. It will be many of the men's first time facing the enemy, and I do not blame them.
These men are not soldiers. Not yet, anyways.
They are boys from London, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh, Cairo, Alexandria, Rome, and Florence.
They are Italians, Arabs, Englishmen, Irish, Welsh, and Scots who had been pulled from the rear echelons.
They are all we could scrape together and bring to Cairo on such short notice. Veterans are few and far between, but we have been able to scrape together enough sergeants and officers to maintain command.
And we are all that stands between the Asiatics and the fall of Cairo.
r/ShitTeaboosSay Thread: "How to deal with the talk about Asiatic Hordes?" 26 May 1938
Posted by u/JohnJohnsonGuy
I've been hearing this a lot from the more right-wing voices over at r/Monarchism about how the Chinese and their allies were only capable of defeating the European Alliance in India and Africa because of their superior numbers.
That and how they "oNLy WoN WiTh MoDeRn WeApONs."
I swear, they never will shut up about "muh Leopards" and "muh Fuck-1s."
I know it's mostly revisionism, but I can never find the right words to debunk this stuff.
Any ideas?
u/EgaliteFraternite
There is no way you can reason with these guys, friend. Teaboos aren't known for their basis in reality.
u/NedKellysGhost
Way I see it, they're technically right. Which is the worst kind of right.
Sure, the Chinese, Russians, Ottomans, and friends all had more people in the field at any one time, but you need to remember that most of those people are either in logistics or garrison troops.
I'm doing back of the napkin math rn, but your average Accord soldier is probably some Chinese dude who spent most of the war occupying some British territory they'd taken.
If you look at the number of frontline forces in the field, you can see that Alliance soldiers outnumbered the Accord on the Western, Eastern, and North African Theaters from the start of the war until at least 1923. You only see the numerical advantage after the Fall of India and the Fall of Egypt.
As for the complaints about how the Accord had superior planes, tanks, and artillery… Yeah, of course they did. War's not supposed to be a fair fight, and anyone who tells you otherwise is a mouth-breathing moron.
Hell yeah they were going to use every force multiplier they had. When you're technically-outnumbered and fighting on the other side of the country, you will use every advantage you can get your hands on.
You know what's the funniest thing?
Sure, the Chinese went back in time with their modern weapons, but they were damn good at making more and training their soldiers how to use them.
Sydney, Federation of Australia, 1 June 1923
Alexander Cartwright looked at the paper to see what he'd already known. Brisbane had fallen, and the Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans were about a hundred miles away at the most.
It was inevitable, once Papua and the rest of Indonesia had fallen. Even if the press had said otherwise.
"That's everyone, Alex," his brother told him, once they did one last check of the house. "Are you sure you want to stay?"
"Arthur, I-" Alex looked around the now-spartan house. All the pictures, toys, and clothes had been packed, with only a few pieces of furniture left. "I can't. You know that."
"Bollocks. When Mum died, she told me to look after you, yet here you are about to get yourself killed!"
"Somebody has to stay behind to delay them, Arty."
"Winter."
"What?"
"Did you ever wonder why the Chinese aren't attacking right now? They have ten times the men we have, but they're camped out a hundred miles away. Do you know why?"
"...They know."
"They aren't pursuing us because it's the middle of fucking winter! This is our chance to leave, Alex. And the offer is still on the table, little brother."
"I-" Alex looked at his rifle on the counter, then back to his brother. "You know what? Fuck it. I'm coming with you."
Arthur looked at him and did something Alex had never seen in years.
He hugged him.
Not a friendly hug. No, this was a hug for family and family only.
"Little Bess is going to be so happy," his older brother breathed. "God knows she wouldn't have forgiven me if you stayed behind."
"True. So, we're headed to New Zealand, yes?"
"Invercargill, then Dunedin, Christchurch, and off to Hawaii."
"Hawaii?" Arthur nodded. "Do we have enough supplies?"
"With the American Red Cross? More than enough."
Diary of Captain James Smith, Egyptian Expeditionary Force, 24 June 1923
There is an irony in the life of a prisoner of war. In our capture, we are freed of our duty to fight in practice, if not in theory as well.
These Asiatics, the Chinese in particular, have been accommodating, to say the least. There are three meals a day with more than enough water for us all. I have brought up the issue of Muslim and Jewish dietary concerns, and the guards have found them agreeable.
If anything, the men and I have been better-fed than when we were sent south. That is not to say that the food is luxurious, of course, but that we need not ration our food and water as we had during our march south.
It is not the most comfortable life. We are prisoners, after all. But at the bare minimum, they acknowledge our humanity and treat us as such.
Were our circumstances reversed, I would have shown them similar respect and dignity.
Bucharest, Romania, 16 October 1923
Some would call them collaborators, but Ion Dragu would beg to differ. As far as he was concerned, he and his comrades here were the true Romanian patriots, not the king who had fled.
That was why they were here, weren't they?
This meeting would be the foundation of the true Romanian Republic, in every sense of the word. That was why all the important people were here.
There was General Mihail Gheorghiu Bujor, who had returned from exile at the head of the Romanian Legion. If the stories Ion heard were to be believed, Bujor's forces were mostly former prisoners of war who had volunteered in exchange for their freedom, though the core of his officer corps were exiled militants.
Then there was Constantin Titel Petrescu, the leader of the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the de-facto head of the Provisional Government in Bucharest. This entire gathering had been his brainchild, and he had been the one who submitted the proposal to the occupying Russian, Turkish, and Chinese forces.that occupied the city.
For all intents and purposes, he was the effective government at this point, with several members of the PSD serving as de-facto ministers now that the king and his cabinet had fled.
It was rough at first, but the occupiers were more than willing to supply this fledgling de-facto government. This, coupled with the Romanian Legion's successes on the battlefield, had given the Provisional Government at least some credibility among the Romanian people.
That was why the representatives of the Social Democratic Party of Transylvania, the Banat Social Democratic Party, and the Social Democratic Party of Bukovina had come here in the first place. This was to be a Romanian nation, and they intended to liberate all three regions from the Habsburgs.
The fact that the Chinese, Russians, and Ottomans also wanted to liberate all three regions from the Habsburgs was the reason there were representatives from those three nations as well.
After all, somebody had to recognize them as the legitimate government of Romania.
Ion looked over at the sheer number of people gathered here in the palace. It was brilliant, chaotic, and the most-hopeful he had ever been in years.
All that was left was to get it all in writing. A constitution would need to be written, as would a formal declaration of independence for the territories that were still held by the Habsburgs.
Then there was the issue of governance, which was a whole other problem. While yes, the vast majority of the people here were socialists who sought to emulate the French, there was a sizable contingent of Radical Liberals as well, and they made up a large contingent of the defected soldiers.
It would be chaotic, angry, and tenuous, yes. There would almost-certainly be fights and arguments between the various factions.
But Ion had a feeling that a new Romania would be born today. Once that was done, all the arguments and dealings, and spilled blood would set the foundation for a new Romanian republic by and for the people.
The Oder Line
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Oder Line, known in German as the Ostwall, was a German fortification built in 1923 along the Oder river. It stretched from Stettin and the Bay of Pomerania in the north, through German Silesia, until it ended in the Sudeten city of Ostrava.
From 1923 to 1924, the Oder Line was subject to several attacks and incursions by a combined Sino-Russian force that utilized combined arms to eliminate defensive structures and weapons along the fortification.
History
The Oder Line was originally envisioned as a line of last resort during the Brussels Conference of 1920. Although the Haig-von Falkenhayn Plan would incorporate strong initial thrusts into Russian territory so as to seize defensible terrain, several contingencies were created in the event of a Sino-Russian breakthrough.
After the initial thrust into Congress Poland was pushed back by the Sino-Russian forces in 1922, the German Army and the British Expeditionary Force were on the backfoot. This, coupled with continued Sino-Russian advances into Memel, Prussia, and Pomerania had led to an emergency meeting in Hamburg between Haig and von Falkenhayn.
While the exact words of the meeting are still classified, it is clear that the result was the conscription of hundreds of thousands of men and the redirection of supplies to the Oder. These men, many of them civilians unfit for military service, would be tasked with building the Oder Line while the German forces fought a fighting retreat.
By mid-1923, the Oder-Memel line had been fully dug, with trenches, battlements, and pillboxes lining the west side of the river. Concrete and rebar were largely scarce necessitated the use of wood in the trenchworks, though the secondary and tertiary lines would incorporate what concrete and rebar that could be spared.
Incursions
The first incursions occurred on 31 October 1923, in which a reconnaissance drone of the Republic of China Air Force fired several hellfire missiles at suspected anti-aircraft emplacements during a night raid.
This was later followed by several daytime "Flying Pigeon" attacks, during which the Nanjing Accord forces would probe the German defenses with loitering munitions and target any and all anti-air emplacements. While these attacks proved to be somewhat-effective, the fortifications would continue to be reinforced over the coming winter.
Additional attacks by Chinese F-CK-1s and AH-64 Apaches would occur over this period, though German casualties are largely-unknown.
Dublin, Dominion of Ireland, 6 November 1923
Ireland had always been in a precarious position.
On one hand, the British had been willing to grant the Irish Home Rule in the 1910s in an attempt to preempt any Irish nationalism. This was further reinforced by London granting a special exemption for the Irish with regards to conscription.
On the other hand, the British still saw Ireland as their territory, no different than that of Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, or Newfoundland. When war came, the call would go out to the Irish to enlist, just as their counterparts in England and Scotland had.
There were those who answered the call. To nobody's surprise, the vast majority of the enlistees had been Protestant Irishmen, given their more-positive view of the British Empire. The Catholics, for their part, were largely content with sitting this war out and ignoring the propaganda campaigns against the "Godless Asiatic Hordes."
The failure to conquer France, as well as the slow-but-steady Sino-Russian campaign had bloodied British forces in Europe, while the Accord's North African campaign had all but annihilated the bulk of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.
Then there was the Fall of India, the Evacuation of Australasia, and the Fall of Singapore.
Britain and her colonies were losing men at an alarming rate, and something needed to be done if they were to combat the loss of entire field armies at a time.
And so on 1 December 1923, Prime Minister Austen Chamberlain passed the Irish Conscription Act. The Act, which explicitly allowed London to conscript Irish men for their war effort, had been a contentious issue that was opposed by the bulk of the Irish MPs.
Even Prime Minister Chamberlain himself was reluctant to have it introduced, though he also insisted that, "As subjects, the Irish people are called to serve alongside their English, Scottish, Welsh, Australian, New Zealander, Canadian, and South African brothers, as was expected of all men of fighting age in the British Empire.
One could say that the Irish begged to differ, but that would be an understatement. No, the Irish people were furious.
First there were the nationalists, and they were the most-straightforward. They simply opposed the war on the grounds that this was London's fight, not theirs, and the Irish people ought to stay out of it.
Next there was the clergy, who opposed the war on political grounds as well as moral grounds. For them, the war was not only not Ireland's fight, but they also cited Saint Augustine's Just War Theory to argue that it would be against their deeply-held religious beliefs.
Last were the laborers, whose motives were much more nuanced. There were those who echoed the socialist rhetoric of "No war but the class war." Others would argue that the Great War was not a Just War, though they would cite economics and imperialism, rather than the theological rhetoric of the Catholics. The bulk of the laborers, however, were simply incensed that they would be conscripted into the military despite them already contributing their labor to the war effort.
It was this unlikely alliance that would meet in Dublin and agree to oppose conscription as a united front, albeit in their own ways.
Nationalists of different stripes would share the stage at rallies when they weren't leading protests.
Priests and bishops would give fiery sermons decrying conscription, while the most-daring of them would outright offer sanctuary to those whose numbers had been called.
Finally, the workers would engage in a campaign of strikes that brought the Irish factories and infrastructure to a screeching halt.
It would happen again and again. Rallies would be held. Sermons would be preached. Sanctuary would be granted. Strikes would be held.
Something had to be done, but London had few people they could trust. Priests were actively committing sedition, politicians were encouraging it, and the workers were steadfast in their picket lines.
London was out of options, and they were out of manpower outside of paramilitaries and the Royal Irish Constabulary.
The RIC wasn't his first choice, but they were Chamberlain's only option to do anything at all.
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- Location
- Omniverse #1345
The answer here, really, is a "Well duh, you just need to look at the Lost History to see what would have happened if the playing field had been more level. Aka a disasterous slog where no one meaningfully accomplished shit besides getting an insane number of people killed. Who gives a shit they won because they had all the advantages? That was on the Alliance for picking a fight it should have been obvious they could never win."
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That's the thing I never got about the Wehraboos I based this on. They always have this notion of a "fair fight."
But war isn't a trial by champion.
It's policy by other means, and policy includes economics, technology, education, agriculture, industry, demographics, and the kitchen sink.
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(food for thought)
Anyone remember the Corner gun ? now we finally know why it don't appear as oftent anymore due to practical reason (check the comment for extra idea)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hISekZ2EjjM&lc=Ugy4ltaCmaJXrYvUc6J4AaABAg.9oVHNLkkRkk9oV_lZbNWUl
Anyone remember the Corner gun ? now we finally know why it don't appear as oftent anymore due to practical reason (check the comment for extra idea)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hISekZ2EjjM&lc=Ugy4ltaCmaJXrYvUc6J4AaABAg.9oVHNLkkRkk9oV_lZbNWUl
- Location
- Remscheid
Did you mean Niš? To my knowledge there is no City of Nie.
I think it should just be the leaders having a fist fight. At the end of the day it's all about the ego's of the upper crust.
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Short answer: Pretty lopsided with the Nanjing Accord taking a fraction of the European Alliance's casualties.
Long answer (KIA):
Accord:
<100k: Japan, Korea
~100-200k: China, Russia, Ottomans + Rashidi Arabia, Siam, Indochina
~300-400k: France, India
Alliance:
<50k: Greece, Montenegro
50k-100k: Bulgaria, Benelux (Combined)
100k-500k: Romania, Serbia
500k-1 Million: Italy
1-2 Million: Austria-Hungary, British Empire
2-3 Million: German Empire
So about 1.7 million KIA for the Nanjing Accord and about 7 million KIA for the European Alliance, not accounting for POWs from the latter.
Of course, these are all military KIAs, and we'll have to add the thousands of French who starved to death, all the Indian and Indonesian civilians caught in the crossfire of their civil wars, and all the Germans, Austro-Hungarians, Italians, and Brits who would be killed during the invasion of their countries.
In terms of WIAs, the Nanjing Accord's more modern medicine and CASEVAC would probably be at a 2:1 WIA to KIA ratio, while the European Alliance would have a 3:2 WIA to KIA ratio.
(Remember that it's better to have a higher WIA to KIA ratio, since it means fewer dead people.)
Not to mention all the people displaced, as a sizable chunk of the population Australia and New Zealand left for America and are not coming back.
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