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To Struggle and Strive: The Combined Syndicates of America in 1932. A Kaiserreich Quest

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February 27th, 9:00 AM

"Syndicalist Army Marches on Washington!" - The Chicago Tribune

"Unpaid Soldiers Will Demand Compensation on the Lawn of the White House!" - The New York Times

"American Boys Neglected by Establishment Demand Wealth Be Shared!" - The New Orleans Journal
 
February 27th, 10:00 AM

Congress is in session when something happens. An aid rushes to the vice president, who stiffens and leaves, practically mid-sentence. Secret Service men storm in, guns at the ready.

What the hell is going on?
 
Oh wow, the veterans are going to get slaughtered. Good thing we didn't go for the anti-Hoover focus, he's probably dead.
 
February 27th, 3:00 PM

He was footsore and weary, but the sight of his goal in the distance gave him strength as he sprinted from the head of the column to the center. "We're almost there, sarge!" he called at Sergeant Smith. Cheers rippled up and down, from one end to the other. Hats were thrown into the sky and left to be trampled or blown away. Someone began to sing "America the Beautiful."

Adam Smith turned his eyes towards the sky and began to whisper a prayer of thanks. And then he saw a glint of metal flash by.

It came again. Lower. Closer. Louder.
 
February 27th, 4:00 PM

Congress is in revolt, howling in rage, Senators demanding to know what is going on. "The President will hear of this!" roared one.

"This is illegal!"
"What is going on on?"

The shouts fill the chamber, echoing off the walls, panic underlying the anger. You are more than a little frightened yourself. Is this a coup?

Into the chamber strides General MacArthur, wearing his uniform.

"Senators, MacArthur regrets to inform you that there is an attempted attack on Washington, DC. Former soldiers have banded together to overthrow the government..."

The shouts erupt again.

"Liar!" you rage.

"Two-faced bastard! You should hang for this!" spits Long.

For once, the two of you are united with each other.

And MacArthur backs down.

After a minute of hesitation, he gives in. "MacArthur will request that President Hoover come and explain the situation."
 
No Long is at his core more nationalist than socialist. We can work with him on some issues but he is one our primary enemies.

What does this move by the government mean? Early revolution? Or simply another step towards class war
 
February 27th, 6:00 PM

The Payment Army has made it to the Potomac, and is preparing to cross. Marching up the road, they begin to approach the bridges.

Sergeant Smith scans the sky, uneasy. He turns to his second in command. "Have the women and children fall back, and tell off a few men to guard them."

The man nods and the caravan begins to split.

And on the bridges, they see ranks of men in uniforms, the same one the Payment Army wears. But the Payment Army is filthy and ragged, these men could have stepped off a parade ground.

An officer steps forward. "You are in violation of Executive Order 3703. Disperse at once!"

The soldiers lift their rifles, ready to fire a volley. It looks like it will be a warning shot.
 
So rather than MacArthur going against orders it looks like Hoover intentionally ordered the Payment Army to be removed. If it even was Hoover. For all we know they're doing things like Woodrow Wilson, pretending Hoover is fine and issuing orders in his name when really he's in no condition to be President.
 
February 27th 6:00 PM

The president has come, as MacArthur promised. The Secret Service men and the arrogant general have retreated out of the chamber.

Hoover looks aged, his skin pale and his hair graying. He's lost a great deal of weight, and his face seems...off, like one side hangs lower than the other.

"My eshteemed Senatorsh," he slus from the podium.

At first you are shocked, then you begin to calculate...something has clearly happened to Hoover. You don't know how bad it is...

He assures you that the Secret Servicemen are just here to protect you from dangerous radicals currently attacking the city, and that you can of course leave, although he will ask that you accept an escort until you reach the city limits or the "threat is dispersed."

Immediately, you and Long both storm out, followed by your delegations. The chamber is left nearly half-empty.

You and Long ended up walking side by side. You look over him, considering. He's a clever and charismatic man, one who desires to better the lot of workers and opposes the excess of capital. But then you look at the men following him, the men he has allied himself with. Your face freezes. If he comes to you...you might be willing to accept him.

As the door to the Capitol swings open, you turn away from him and inhale. It might be your imagination, but you think you can smell blood.
 
I would be down for trying to convince Long that the socialists and syndicalists would be stalwart allies. We'd have to offer concessions, but we'd bring a lot of organization, manpower, and industry to the table to get our own concessions. This isn't constrained by the limitations of the programming in game, we could make a sincere effort to find a compromise in order to become the dominant power in the civil war.
 
Parzival95 said:
I would be down for trying to convince Long that the socialists and syndicalists would be stalwart allies. We'd have to offer concessions, but we'd bring a lot of organization, manpower, and industry to the table to get our own concessions. This isn't constrained by the limitations of the programming in game, we could make a sincere effort to find a compromise in order to become the dominant power in the civil war.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Long is an opportunist first and foremost. That makes him a very poor long-term ally, because he'll jump ship the moment it becomes convenient for him. I'm willing to work with him on limited, short-term projects in which we happen to share a common goal(like pushing legislation through Congress, which is surprisingly feasible if both of us get on board), but in preparing for the upcoming civil war? No. Keep him at arm's length, at best.
 
Looks like Hoover suffered a stroke at some point. We could use that as a method of attack to remove him from office, though that would leave us with Curtis.

Dare we side with nationalists to stand up to the government? We have two things in common right now. A better lot for workers (though the means of better varies very differently) and what the government did to the Payment Army was unacceptable.
 
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We'll see how things go. I think the Aftermath of the Payment Army and the Chicago General Strike will be very different from the environment we're in before them.
 
Next turn we should write a newspaper article for the Red Banner about the Payment Army giving our position and criticizing the government. There's a lot of potential to use it to recruit new followers and bring down support for Hoover/Curtis.
 
Newspapers litter your desk. "Bloodbath on the Potomac!" "Syndialist Mutiny Defeated!" "Longist Rebellion Destroyed" "The Imperialist Butchers Have Turned on Their Own!" Every reporter in the country has their own version, and none of them can agree, but the facts as best you can gather are this:

They were told to disperse and refused, and were fired on before tanks began to move in, using their bulk as mobile metal walls to force back and corral the soldiers and their families. At least a dozen have died, perhaps more.

Curtis told MacArthur to drive them away. MacArthur delegated the matter to a couple lesser officers, although how exactly is unclear. He insists that he said not to use excessive force. Then he went to protect Congress in hopes of getting some gratitude and to arrest you or Long, who he claims collaborated to lead the army.

You know he's lying. And you are confident he ordered the soldiers to fire. But there's no one to confirm it. The survivors have fled and are scattered. MacArthur is being lauded as a hero or condemned as a monster. Curtis has thrown him to the wolves while his subordinates defend the general.

In your office, glaring at the list of names that starts with Sergeant Adam Smith, you vow that both will die for it. They have started this class war, but you will finish it.

As you stand up, a delegation of your supporters enters. "Jack, have you seen this?" Thomas asks, throwing a newspaper down. The headline announces that MacArthur will not be charged.

"He's going to get away with it! He's going to get away with it! The goddamn monster slaughters Americans in cold blood, lies through his teeth, and then...this won't stand!" Norman Thomas rages, and the room falls silent.

He's a peaceful man by nature, and a pious one. He rarely even says "dang" or "dash." Your mouth is hanging open.

And then he fixes his gaze on you, and it burns. "This will not stand," he snarls.

You suspect if you disagree, it might cost your life, given the sheer rage radiating from him.

"We won't let it," you vow.

[+1 Influence from the sheer unbridled rage everyone in the SPA is feeling at MacArthur]
 
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