Zed.
Cannon Fodder
We're just larping Wilhelm at this point are we?
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Springtime of Nations II: A European Republic Quest
- Thread starter Etranger
- Start date
- Original Alt. History
We're just larping Wilhelm at this point are we?
Wouldn't that be kinda hypocritical allying with the US who's currently slaughtering native americans to fight against the very imperialist France and British empires and I'm prertty sutre that at this point there are South American countries with fleets larger than the american one
- Location
- UTC+0
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- He/Him/They
It is, and we are not very attractive as an ally either, not to mention the US is pretty weak at this point and isolationist. Hell, Spain and Italy would be a more useful ally, though I really doubt they would tilt the odds in our favor, and that again raises the question of why would they ally with us. To create a continental hegemon that would be threatening to them no less.
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- Location
- Germany
Yeah, even if friendly relations with the BRits and French aren´t possible because of idieological differences (which I still consider pretty defeatist thinking), I´d take a detente/non-aggression pact to buy us time and breathing space against the Austro-Hungarian-Russian alliance.
Barring that, couldn´t we maybe still sway the Nordics away from the Eastern Bloc? After all, the Schleswig issue has been settled for now and other than that, we don´t really have any beef with them.
Other than those two, I´ll also not mind tying the Spaniards and Italians (as well as maybe the Ottomans) to us.
The US is quite literally *on the other side of the planet*, so an alliance with them isn´t that important or desirable
Zed.
Cannon Fodder
War fever will be the death of us, as I find the idea that we'd be able to defeat the grand army of capitol with a smattering of allies somewhat absurd. We might've pulled off victories before, but if we want to test our luck and pull even more powers against us…well, that won't end with world revolution. Frankly, the absolute earliest we can entertain the idea of war is 1905, maybe? And hell, try pitching a grand war to the wounded German populace! How much war, how much strife has the country endured in the under-half-a-decade it's existed?
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I don't object to a world revolutionary war. I object to a world revolutionary war waged by the still-smoldering ashes of a civil war that saw the country nearly starved by only indirect intervention of capital. You can't just lie and Elan your way unto defeating the entire continent of Europe. It's been tried.
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
Austria, France, Russia, Britain.
All of you are wrong.
Our first target
The first nation we should declare war on
The first nation we should destroy and wipe off the face of the earth
is
BELGIUM!!!
I just want to guillotine Leopold II, the fucking butcher! It'll be like THE GOOD OLD DAYS DURING THE FIVE WEEK WAR!!!
All of you are wrong.
Our first target
The first nation we should declare war on
The first nation we should destroy and wipe off the face of the earth
is
BELGIUM!!!
I just want to guillotine Leopold II, the fucking butcher! It'll be like THE GOOD OLD DAYS DURING THE FIVE WEEK WAR!!!
don't know what happened then but memes aside Belgium is a logical place to attack considering we can use to to upgrade our industrial base and we can use it as a springboard for any assaults on france.
Brightflame
Lord of the Dance
- Location
- Inkopolis
Ignore my last comment...for some reason I thought I was in another thread
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- She/They
As usual, the only reason Belgium still exists is because the British say so.
- Location
- the Republic
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- He/They
Unfortunately, the construct known as 'Belgium' exists only due to British meddling, and an attack on a creation of theirs would be seen as a grave insult to the Englishman's shallow, venal and jealous mind. The annihilation of this mistake of history will have to wait until the workers of France and the Netherlands are liberated, and B*lgium can be divided into its respective countries and/or turned into the capital of a new
Seriously, unless we want to replicate old Willy II's greatest (worse) hits, it's a really bad idea in the first place. Not only would we be invading a country that would probably be quite hostile to us, but we'd strongly alienate the Entente, particularly the British ,who's yellow press is probably already trying to find ways to hate us. We'd, quite literally, be walking in the footsteps of Wilhem the II's German Empire, considering that it was exactly this 'breach of Belgian neutrality' that brought the British into the First World War in the first place.
- Location
- France
- Pronouns
- She/They
If you read my posts it should be pretty obvious I am not opposed to temporary detente to enable a focus against Austria and Russia. I'm speaking of the long term incentives that motivate the states, and will become even more obvious if we keep getting stronger by defeating the emperors to the east.
That part is silly, I agree. We're never going to catch up to Britain without revealing our hand, because naval build up is both slow and obvious.
Not the Dutch?
- Location
- Lake Wobegon
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- He/Him/His
The Dutch don't get the courtesy of a declaration of war, as they are outside the law of nations.
- Location
- Lake Wobegon
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- He/Him/His
We were trying that in Austria before the Civil War screwed it up. Gotta start over from the beginning.
- Location
- France
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Probably should focus on Austria and Russia's backyards for now so we don't make too many enemies at once, but yes.
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Coward talk smh, I will simply Elan so hard I walk across water and into London
Embrace this thought, the Marcobin cause will help us destroy the tyranny of distance.
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- United States
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- He/She/They
Idealistic wrecker! You must instead grab hold of materialism and create the material conditions for walking across water into London as a true Marxist would.
IamtooSleepy
I came here to be an ant
The revolution is unfinished until it abolish all unjust laws, whatever it is made by man or by nature.
1884-1885 in the German Republic
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
1884-1885 in the German Republic
Having concluded a legislative term considered broadly successful by most metrics, the Red-Gold Coalition enters the 1883 election with confidence. Unfortunately, wartime unity has begun to fade and a desire for "normalcy" has seemingly afflicted the voters of the Republic; rather than remain enchanted with preparations for a future war, the goal instead is to secure the present peace. This push for a speedy return to peacetime has a profound impact on both voter turnout, which is at record levels, and on the voting intentions of the electorate, which have begun to moderate.
Indeed, the splintering of the Radical Republicans into distinctly socialist and republican factions, a split foreshadowed by the contentious internal maneuvers of the prior term, serves as the general cue for a stampede to the right. These voters' chosen delegates reside within the amalgamated Progressive Independent faction, a technocratic-moderate group that aims to execute leftist policy along more market-based lines, with an emphasis on foreign trade.
The Progressives secure the plurality of the vote, surmounting even the strengthened Vanguards as their numbers swell with Germans seeking a peace dividend after years of privation and struggle. Previously inactive voters make their presence known at the polls, leading to a small but vocal radical faction that calls for a purge of the right wing, even going so far as attempting to organize local youth militias. This effort is quashed by the National Police and Landwehr, who bloodlessly disperse the conspiracy and haul the ringleaders off to face trial.
However, a plurality does not equal a majority, and the Progressives are stymied in their efforts to form a governing coalition by both their own internal contradictions and the opposition of the other factions. The eleventh-hour split of the Progressive Independents into a pro-socialist and a pro-market faction contributes to their inability to secure power, but even a fully united Progressive delegation would have had a major uphill battle to take the High Commissioner's steel gavel.
It falls to the Vanguard Communists, as the second-largest group in the Assembly, to reforge the Red-Gold Coalition, or at least something like it. Lacking the numbers to fill out the needed seats, the Radical Republicans are relegated to a secondary partnership, maintaining their prominence mostly due to the strong historical image of their faction. Though the Constitutional Socialists have expanded their vote share, they too have less than a hundred seats, making them third or fourth fiddle at best. Instead, the Social Radicals are the ones who step in to bulk out the Coalition, having inherited the bulk of the Radical Republicans' delegates and many of their voters. This is entirely acceptable to the Vanguards; the Social Radicals are much more in line with their own policies, and the Red-Orange alliance is a historic one. Unfortunately, however, even with these four parties all aligned, the fragmentation and weak unity of the parliamentary groups leaves them shy of a true majority.
Enter the pro-socialist faction of the Progressives. Roughly sixty of the social-democratic delegates have coalesced around the need for financial reform, and are able to present a slate of demands sufficiently tolerable to the coalition leadership that they can in turn be allowed into government. Control over the Commission for Finance is their key demand, and it is one that is met reluctantly but nonetheless in full. While many communist and socialist delegates are wary of Progressive intentions, at least the socialist Progressives don't want to start selling off chunks of the country to Britain and France, and that's not nothing.
Possessed of a secure majority, the new Sunrise Coalition (so named as a union of Red, Orange, Gold, and Pink) begins staffing the Commission leadership roles and assumes power as the new governing force of Germany. In the end, while compromises are made and a certain amount of radicalism left out of the coalition manifesto, the talks are ultimately harmonious and produce a government with a minimum of rancor or strife.
Of course, in the Second Republic, a legislative majority is not the end of the conversation, but rather only the beginning. Over two hundred Progressives enter opposition and immediately begin mobilizing their local constituencies. While they might lack the ability to override government legislation or replace it with their own, they possess a key issue that resonates with the voter base: tax and tariff reductions.
Despite the post-war lowering of domestic taxes, duties and impositions remain at a substantial percentage of citizens' discretionary income, while tariffs are fully deployed against foreign imports. While the taxes are more or less bearable given the wide variety of social services available to the average German, the tariffs serve to raise prices on American food imports. Most of the extra cost is borne by the state, which uses its power to enforce food price maximums liberally, but the remainder that isn't is widely considered a burden on households. As such, the opposition Progressives are ideally positioned to capitalize on it as a wedge issue.
The first true referendum of the Second Republic, a new law reducing tariffs on foodstuffs and other imports, spreads like wildfire, catching on even in communist and radical redoubts. The government's opposition to the referendum is somewhat muted; fighting a cost reduction for food and other basic staples is not especially popular with the electorate.
Instead, they push a major Vanguard initiative and implement the Basic National Ration, which provides a guaranteed right to food, shelter, and clothing for all citizens of the Republic. The attendant stipend doesn't allow for much but the means of survival on its own, as the intent is to prevent starvation and privation rather than enable luxury, but the legislation does much to alleviate fears among the electorate, reduces overall costs, strengthens domestic demand, and saps much of the tariff referendum's support. The referendum passes, but only by about two or three percent, which is much reduced from its projected margin of support of sixty- or seventy-plus percent at its peak.
As reconstruction efforts enter their fourth year, the Republic is a nation largely free from rubble and debris, but many buildings and much key infrastructure still needs to be rebuilt. In this, workers and laborers of the National Labor Reserve are aided by an array of industrial machines, including steam shovels and steam rollers. With national labor stretched to its limit in both reconstruction and economic growth, these work-saving devices are crucial in seeing that roads and rails are laid down, new housing goes up, and parks and other public spaces are opened, all in a timely and efficient fashion.
The keystone of the rebuilding effort is the resumption of construction on the Karl Marx Canal at Kiel. Only about a quarter of the way done before digging stopped at the outset of the Civil War (the slow progress a result of a manual-labor employment strategy by the government), many of its laborers were volunteered into the Republicans' various military bodies and subsequently dispersed across northern Germany. Now, those veterans have returned to work, armed not just with shovels and picks, but steam-powered machines and trained engineers, as well as plenty of overtime pay. Once-sluggish forward progress practically sprints forward, and construction is now estimated to complete sometime around 1888.
The Progressive-led Commission for Finance is hard at work throughout 1884 and early 1885, producing a comprehensive slate of legislation to overhaul the national currency. Gold is withdrawn from general circulation and replaced entirely with bills and non-precious metal coins: the Paper Mark. Having thereby rebuilt the national gold reserve, all gold is earmarked exclusively for foreign trade in the form of the Gold Mark, which keeps Germany competitive in overseas markets while maximizing its currency advantage. It is the abundant internal supply of paper money, combined with the tariff reduction and other government policies, which combine to trigger the post-war economic boom, as available currency and high demand for goods power the Republic's industrial and agricultural engine.
To capitalize on this positive economic trend, the Assembly approves the establishment of dozens of regional branches of the National Bank, which is empowered to serve as lender and deposit-holder alike. These local branches extend banking services to millions of Germans who live outside major cities or away from military depots, allowing them to take out expansion loans for their agricultural cooperatives, often for the purchase of steam-powered equipment. These low-interest agricultural loans allow German farms to expand their productivity, thereby meeting the renewed demand for foodstuffs and not only maintaining but actually reducing foreign imports in the process.
In a surprising move for an otherwise pro-centralization government, the Sunrise Coalition devolves a degree of economic authority to local planning councils, which are made up of representatives from area co-ops and single-family ventures as well as government representatives. These planning councils are tasked with laying out local development efforts in cooperation with national bodies, including the Commissions for Agriculture, Infrastructure, and Industry. This reduces the strain on the bureaucracy in Frankfurt-Darmstadt and allows local interests to have a clearer say in matters which directly affect them, improving economic efficiency.
Though reduced in scope compared to its initial intentions, a nationally-sponsored pilot program for labor vouchers goes into effect in certain communities in the Ruhr Valley. These vouchers replace the Paper Mark as the means of exchange and are intended to eventually phase currency out entirely, should the program be successful. Numerous statisticians and other government observers are present to measure the area's economic activity, and various elements of the Assembly watch the experiment with a keen eye.
Following two years of intense study, the Combined Staff of the People's Armed Forces submits a comprehensive report on the Civil War to the Commission for War. In the lengthy document, the German army high command lays out the lessons learned from the conflict, both from the perspective of the victors and interviews conducted with surrendered officers from the defeated side. In short, it offers a trenchant, brisk set of suggestions: the imperative need to rapidly arrive at the battlefield and then fortify a position; abundant and indeed redundant lines of supply and communication; an expanded support and medical corps; the absolute requirement of a robust navy capable of keeping the waterways and ports open; and future suggestions for winterizing and ruggedizing equipment and preparing soldiers for combat in hostile terrain and weather.
The proposed expansion of the People's Navy is met with instant approval and enabling legislation is quickly passed to expand the Republic's maritime industry, river docks, and seaports, with an eye toward domestic production of warships to dominate the Baltic, secure the rivers, and defend the North Sea coast, as well as increased civilian shipbuilding to secure overseas trade. Dozens of new factories dedicated to producing armor plates, heavy artillery, huge steam engines, and numerous other necessary goods go up across Germany's industrial heartlands and along its coasts, ready to enable a general and wide-reaching naval buildup.
In foreign affairs, Germany seeks to replace the strategic depth of its Italian alliance with a more wide-ranging commercial and diplomatic breadth, sending envoys and approaches to several dozen countries ranging from Ottoman Albania to the Union of Central American States. Most nations receive the ambassadors cordially and have no problem negotiating general terms of trade and commerce, but their interest wanes beyond that. However, in Latin America, Asia, and the Balkans, there is further desire for interaction.
Greece, Serbia, Romania, and the Ottoman Empire find themselves largely adrift in the wake of the Austro-Russian alliance, the creation of an enormous Bulgaria as guarantor of Balkan peace, and the Entente focus on Africa. All have extensive outstanding territorial claims or historic grudges against the Imperial League and little prospect of securing them using their own capabilities. German trade and friendship may be what is required to break the undesirable status quo, and so they enter into more binding trade agreements as a potential foundation for future cooperation.
The republics of Latin America, particularly newly-liberated Mexico, the UCAS, Cuba, Argentina, and Peru-Bolivia, all see the benefits in commerce with the Second Republic. In the case of Mexico, Central America, and Cuba, German friendship with the United States opens the door for further relations. As for Argentina and Peru-Bolivia, they find themselves threatened by or opposed to Entente allies, namely French-aligned Ecuador and Chile on the one hand and Portuguese Brazil on the other. The South American nations seek additional sources of arms and funds to strengthen themselves against their prospective foes, and Germany is happy to provide.
Finally, the free nations of Asia eye the carving-up of Africa with profound wariness. Having seen the expansion of French Korea and Indochina in recent years, the Napoleonic Empire's appetite is seemingly boundless, and British economic hegemony is no less crushing. The Sublime State of Iran, the Kingdom of Siam, and the formerly-Spanish Philippines all welcome German approaches in the face of potential European colonialism, with a degree of warmth only available to a known anti-colonial power. China and Japan are likewise eager to renew commercial and diplomatic relations, in keeping with the First Republic's policy of extending its industrial trade to the Far East.
The greatest difficulty for Germany's expansion of its overseas influence remains its lack of guaranteed coaling stations and resupply ports, especially in Asia, and so leases are negotiated; not territorial or extra-territorial exactions in the manner of the European hegemons, but actual fair contracts with reasonable terms to rent harbor facilities and build coal depots. In this manner, the German maritime footprint vastly expands across the Americas and Asia, while the alliances of Europe watch with wary eyes.
World Events in 1884-1885
In response to the German declaration in 1882 and after attending the Second International, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, the unified body of labor unions and associations in the United States, announces its support for the eight-hour workday and the forty-hour work-week. The US Radical Republicans adopt the measure as part of their electoral manifesto and national support begins growing for the so-called "Three Eights."
The Essen Collective, in collaboration with the German and American governments, begins casting the all-steel Statue of Justice, a 200-foot effigy of a woman bearing scales and a sword, as a gift to commemorate German-American friendship. Unlike most depictions of Justice, this one is not blindfolded, but rather using the band to keep her hair out of her eyes, thus rendering her gaze clear and straightforward. The head and sword-bearing arm are exhibited around the United States to raise funds for the cornerstone and park intended to host the statue.
A French armada smashes a Chinese fleet off the coast of Fuzhou and French forces rout the Qing army, ending China's attempted intervention in the conquest of Tonkin and securing French control over northern Vietnam. The region is subsequently renamed French Indochina by colonial authorities.
Irish rebels nearly succeed in dynamiting the Tower of London, instead causing substantial damage and prompting an intense crackdown by British occupation forces in Ireland.
After a brief skirmish between two parties of armed "explorers," a joint condominium of British-aligned Belgium and the French-aligned Netherlands is established over the Congo, thereby defusing a potential point of colonial conflict within the Entente.
Britain and France sign the Suez Protocol, demilitarizing the waterway during peacetime and establishing joint naval patrols at both ends of the canal. Henceforth, the Suez Canal Zone is under joint Anglo-French protection.
The Second Mexican Empire collapses with the withdrawal of British garrison forces. The emperor, Agustin III, along with his imperial court, take ship for Britain just ahead of the approaching republican forces. General Porfirio Diaz marches into Mexico City to jubilant cheers and universal acclaim, and is almost immediately named interim president of the restored United Mexican States.
Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, abdicates. Rather than be succeeded by his daughter, whom he considers ill-suited to rule, he instead leaves the Brazilian crown to Dom Luis, King of Portugal, thereby reuniting the two Lusophone nations in a trans-Atlantic empire. It is rumored that this unorthodox succession is a consequence of Entente pressure, particularly from the British.
The Third Anglo-Burmese War concludes with the British conquest of the once-sovereign kingdom, expanding the Raj even further east.
Major colonial expeditions from the western European powers commence across Africa, carving up the territories there in the manner detailed by the London Conference.
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The German Republic in 1885
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
The German Republic in 1885
Government
Government Type: Parliamentary Republic
Governing Document: Constitution of 1880
Head of Government: High Commissioner Erich Mueller (Vanguard Communists)
Head of State: Chief Representative Viktor Schmidt (Social Radicals)
Legislative Majority: Sunrise Coalition (VC-SR-CS-PI-RR)
Demographics
Population: 45.47 million (32.74 million eligible voters)
Population Growth: 1.9%
Cultures: German, Polish, Danish, Sorbian, Other
Religions: Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism
Social Reforms
Basic Income: Minimal
Minimum Wage: Adequate
Work Safety: Adequate
Work Hours: 40-Hour Week
Healthcare: Adequate
Pensions: Adequate
Unemployment: Adequate
Childcare: Adequate
Retirement: Adequate
Child Labor: Banned
Foreign Affairs
War and Peace: N/A
Alliances: Spain
Defensive Pacts: N/A
Military Agreements: Japan, the Ottoman Empire, Spain
Naval Agreements: United Kingdom
Trade Agreements: United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, the Low Countries, China, Japan, the Ottoman Empire, Serbia, Romania, Greece, Iran, Siam, Mexico, Central America, Argentina, Peru-Bolivia
War
Landwehr
Type: Combined Army
Training: Adequate
Quantity: Medium
Equipment: Adequate
Morale: Adequate
Marinewehr
Type: Combined Navy
Training: Low
Quantity: Tiny
Equipment: Low
Morale: Adequate
Infrastructure
Fort Quality: Low
Fort Quantity: Low
Seaport Quality: Adequate
Seaport Quantity: Adequate
Interior
National Stability: Medium
Police Quality: Low
Police Quantity: Medium
Finance
Treasury: Low
Debt Ratio: Low
Credit Ratio: Low
Tax Income: High
Tariff Income: High
Principal Creditors: Britain (Large), Domestic (Medium), France (Tiny), Other (Tiny)
Principal Debtors: Domestic (Large)
Commerce
Economic Output: Medium
Economic Growth: High
Economic Activity: Agriculture (High), Industry (High), Trade (Medium), Finance (Medium), Services (Small)
Economic Ownership: Co-Operative (46%), Single-Family (31%), Public (23%)
Commercial Output: Medium
Commercial Growth: High
Trade Partners: America [mixed] (Medium), Britain [mixed] (Low), France [mixed] (Low), Japan [exports] (Low), China [exports] (Low), Other [exports] (Low)
Public Works
Roads and Canals: Adequate
Railroads: Adequate
Public Utilities: Adequate
Education
Literacy Rate: 85%
Literacy Growth: Adequate
Education Quality: Adequate
Stats
[None/Critical/Tiny/Minimal] / [Low/Small/High] / [Adequate/Medium] / [High/Large/Low] / [Ideal/Huge/Booming/Maximum]
Stats in bold are improving, stats in italics are declining.
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