We Will Conquer the Entire World!

Zagan7 · Feb 8, 2020

The 1940 Imperial Census

Caution: Some of the categories, wording and interpretations of this census and of its data may make a person with present day sensibilities cringe. Please remember that the world was quite different 80 years ago.

Introduction

The May 1940 Imperial Census was conducted with haste in the short period between the 10th of May Unification of the Realms and the 8th of June invasion of Turkey which marked the Romanian entry into World War Two. It was the first census of the Empire (still officially called the Danubian Confederation at that time) and the first one in Romania since 1930. The analysis of the census data was not completed until the spring of 1941 and some data did not become publicly available until several years later.

In order to preserve the limited human resources for the upcoming war effort, the census was conducted by volunteers and the able bodied population was encouraged to come to the town halls and provide the required information themselves. The haphazard organization of the census notwithstanding, the collected data is widely considered representative and accurate.

Collected Data

The population was asked to provide the following data, if applicable, which were later typed in an Identity Booklet and converted to a punched card friendly form.

Name (given name(s), middle name(s), family name(s), patronyms, other names)
Other Names (maiden name, previous name(s), pen name(s), alias(es), unofficial baptismal name(s), monastic name(s), etc)
Names in Native Script (Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Armenian, Georgian, etc)
Date of Birth (Gregorian calendar)
Place of Birth (country, administrative unit, inhabited place)
Sex (feminine, masculine, ambigene, unclear, unknown, reserved)¹
Father (name)
Mother (name)
Height (centimetres)
Weight (kilogrammes)
Eye Colour
Hair Colour
Distinctive Signs (scars, tattoos, etc)
Citizenship
Other Citizenships
Previous Citizenships
Real Ethnicity²
Declared Ethnicity
Previous Ethnicities
Ancestry
Regional Identities
Race (European, Semitic, Turanic, Indian, Asian, Pacific, Aboriginal, Amerindian, African, reserved, other, mixed, unknown)³
Languages (with proficiency: native or near native, fluent, medium, basic, unknown, reserved)
Religion
Other Religions
Previous Religions
Education (illiterate, primary school, secondary school, high school, baccalaureate, university, master in sciences / arts, doctor in sciences / arts, member of the academy, reserved, other, homeschooled, unknown)
Professions
Current Jobs
Previous Jobs
Other Skills
Military Status (none, recruit, volunteer, active, honourably discharged, dishonourably discharged, reserved, other, unknown)
Military Branch (none, infantry, artillery, cavalry, armour, engineers, special forces, air defence, air force, navy, reserved, other, none, auxiliaries)
Military Rank
Mentions (military)
Driving Licences (vehicles)
Mentions (driving)
Criminal Convictions
Awards
Civil Rights (national importance, citizen, citizen with reduced rights, resident, resident with reduced rights, foreign diplomat, stateless, foreigner, enemy, reserved, other, unknown)
Civil Status (single, civil union, other, unclear, unknown, separated, widowed, reserved)⁴
Marital Status (single, married, other, unclear, unknown, separated, divorced, cancelled, widowed, reserved)⁵
Children (number & years of birth)
Politics (optional)
Rank of Nobility
Blood Group
Allergies
Surgeries
Health Issues
Required Medicine
Main Address (country, administrative unit, inhabited place, street, house number, flat number)
Other Addresses
Write-in Fields

1. "Ambigene" means "true hermaphrodite", i.e. the undisputed presence of both male and female gonads in the same organism (usually a "chimera"). It is extremely rare.
"Unclear" means "ambiguous external genitalia", i.e. either males or females with some genetic (chromosomial) disorder which may make the obstetrician unsure about what sex to assign to the baby. It is rare.
"Unknown" means "no data collected", the sex is completely unknown because, for example, the person refused to state their sex / gender (and the censor did not determine it). It is very rare.
2. It is not clear what "method" was employed in determining the "real ethnicity" as opposed to the "declared ethnicity".
3. Probably arbitrary in some cases.
4 & 5. The existence of "civil unions" as opposed to religious "marriages" will probably have interesting repercussions later on.
The idea was: "The state does not perform marriages, only the religious authorities do. However, the civil unions have the same legal consequences as marriages and create the same rights and responsabilities."

Identity Booklet and PIN

All citizens and residents were assigned a 32 digit immutable PIN (cod numeric personal, CNP).

All citizens, residents and foreigners over the age of twelve received a small, A6 size (105 × 148 mm), Identity Booklet (carte de identitate, CID) over the following year, which contained a black and white photograph, the PIN and various personal data.

A small subset of those data (because much of them were not applicable to children) was available in the Birth Certificates, which were used by children or by their parents or guardians in place of the Identity Booklets when needed or asked for. Similarly, a relevant subset of those data was available in the Death Certificates.

With the expansion of the Empire during the following years, the above system was applied (with little changes) to an ever increasing number of Imperial subjects.

Census Statistics

Sex Ratio (Males / Female): 1.08 (for the citizens), 1.05 (total). The sex ratio was a little lower for the residents, being skewed downwards by the large number of Polish refugees who were mostly soldiers and, thus, males.

Citizenship Status

Subjects: 57,604,319
- Imperial Citizens: 46,739,872 (81.14%)
  - Former Romanian citizens: 20,038,593 (34.79%)
  - Former Hungarian citizens: 9,496,607 (16.49%)
  - Former Bulgarian citizens: 6,402,133 (11.11%)
  - Former Czechoslovak citizens (Slovakia and Ruthenia): 4,574,850 (7.94%)
  - Former Yugoslav citizens (Serbia Proper and areas annexed in 1939): 5,725,188 (9.94%)
  - Former Greek citizens (Western Thrace, annexed in 1940): 319,175 (0.55%)
  - Former citizens of other countries: 183,326 (0.32%)
- Imperial Residents: 1,686,886 (2.93%)
  - Polish refugees: 174,794 (0.30%)
  - Jews expelled by the German Reich: 1,065,730 (1.85%)
  - Other people expelled by the German Reich and by Italy: 343,506 (0.60%)
  - Other residents: 102,856 (0.18%)
- Population of the Romanian Occupation Zones: 9,177,561 (15.93%)
  - Croat citizens: 4,183,010 (7.26%)
  - Greek citizens: 4,994,551 (8.67%)
Foreigners: 66,545
Unknown status⁶: 1,248
Loyal subjects in the diaspora: 1,500,000 - 2,000,000
- Pokuttya (administered by the Soviet Union): ~80,000
- Tiraspol (Soviet Union): ~35,000
- other parts of the Soviet Union: ~2,500
- Turkey: ~100
- German Reich: ~90,000
- Italian Occupation Zone in Croatia: ~800,000
- Montenegro: ~180,000
- Albania: ~120,000
- Italian Occupation Zone in Greece: ~250,000
- Western Europe: ~100,000
- North America: ~150,000
- South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa: ~30,000
- other parts of the World: <10,000

.

Real Ethnicity

Romanians: 16,450,949 (28.56%)
Hungarians: 12,030,485 (20.88%)
Bulgarians: 6,338,903 (11.00%)
Serbs: 5,013,556 (8.70%)
Slovaks: 3,103,394 (5.39%)
Germans: 1,193,660 (2.07%)
Ukrainians: 838,405 (1.46%)
Russians: 455,948 (0.79%)
Poles: 157,453 (0.27%)
Croats: 3,875,121 (6.73%)
Czechs: 72,384 (0.13%)
Slovenes: 14,400 (0.02%)
Albanians: 30,888 (0.05%)
Italians: 10,327 (0.02%)
Greeks: 225,831 (0.39%)
Turks: 405,506 (0.70%)
Tatars: 28,433 (0.05%)
Armenians: 17,430 (0.03%)
Jews: 2,485,383 (4.31%)
Gypsies: 991,305 (1.72%)
Others⁷: 8,390 (0.015%)
Mixed: 3,852,648 (6.69%)
Unknown⁶: 3,520 (0.006%)

.

Declared Ethnicity

Romanians: 20,892,044 (36.27%)
Hungarians: 11,640,949 (20.21%)
Bulgarians: 6,405,498 (11.12%)
Serbs: 5,240,551 (9.10%)
Slovaks: 3,004,052 (5.21%)
Germans: 1,407,830 (2.44%)
Ukrainians: 665,388 (1.16%)
Russians: 423,056 (0.73%)
Poles: 167,332 (0.29%)
Croats: 3,912,211 (6.79%)
Czechs: 70,237 (0.12%)
Slovenes: 14,375 (0.02%)
Albanians: 36,290 (0.06%)
Italians: 13,748 (0.02%)
Greeks: 238,458 (0.41%)
Turks: 415,930 (0.72%)
Tatars: 26,063 (0.05%)
Armenians: 17,113 (0.03%)
Jews: 1,919,455 (3.33%)
Gypsies: 236,364 (0.41%)
Others⁷: 9,996 (0.02%)
Danubians: 847,379 (1.47%)

.

Race

Europeans: 52,280,754 (90.76%)
Semites: 108,436 (0.19%)
Turanics: 276,677 (0.48%)
Indians: 360,689 (0.63%)
Others⁷: 2,205 (0.004%)
Mixed: 4,575,188‬ (7.94%)
Unknown⁶: 370 (0.001%)

.

Proficiency in Romanian

Native: 17,982,327 (31.22%)
Fluent: 4,300,726 (7.47%)
Medium: 1,084,525 (1.88%)
Basic: 7,604,594 (13.20%)
None: 26,612,513 (46.20%)
Unknown⁶: 19,634 (0.03%)

.

Fluency in Languages

One: 46,363,004 (80.49%)
Two: 8,752,409 (15.19%)
Three: 908,485 (1.58%)
More than three: 1,246,091 (2.16%)
Mutes / Cretins: 301,292 (0.52%)
Unknown⁶: 33,038 (0.06%)

.

Religion

Christianity: 53,341,145‬ (92.60%)
- Orthodoxy: 32,204,503 (55.91%)
- Roman Catholicism: 20,085,043 (34.87%)
- Protestantism: 1,025,669 (1.78%)
- Armenian Christianity: 16,832 (0.03%)
- Oriental Christianity: 1,288 (0.002%)
- Other Christian denominations: 7,810 (0.014%)
Judaism: 2,220,616 (3.85%)
Islam: 558,740 (0.97%)
Other⁷: 14,399 (0.02%)
None: 1,223,879 (2.12%)
Unknown⁶: 245,540 (0.43%)

.

6. In all of the above, "Unknown" means "data not collected", for various reasons.
7. In all of the above, "Other(s)" means that the data is known but that it is not one of the major groups (for example the small numbers of Baha'i, Pagans, etc, were placed in the "Other religions" catch all category).

No census was performed in Romanian Africa (later the de jure Republic of Equafrica).

It was estimated that:

The population of Romanian Africa was around one hundred thousand inhabitants.
Over 99% of them were native Africans.
Almost all of them were Roman Catholics, with a more or less native religious substratum / syncretic influence.
Besides an unknown number of native languages from the Bantu language family and several creoles, about half of the population could speak or understand Spanish.

Very little was known about the small population of Annobón, except that they were Africans or of mixed race, Roman Catholics and spoke Portuguese or a Portuguese creole.

Zagan7 · Feb 8, 2020

For reference, please see the 1940 Imperial Census Infochapter.

The Imperial Identity Booklet
Carta Identitatem
Carte de Identitate
CID

General Information

The Identity Booklet (Carta identitatem, Carte de identitate, CID) was an A6 sized (105 × 148 mm) booklet issued to all citizens and residents of the Empire starting from their twelfth birthday. They were first introduced in 1940 (during the opening stages of the War, shortly after the 1940 Imperial Census).

Besides the covers, the booklet contained three double sheets of paper for a total of 12 pages.

Note: The text which was translated in (some or all of) the official languages of the Empire (written in a smaller font) will be marked with underline in this infochapter.

Exterior Front Cover

Both the front cover and the back cover were made of glossy cardboard (the free model), leather (the premium model) or plastic (later), coloured in a purple hue presumed to be similar to the ancient Tyrian purple of the Imperial flag.

IMPERIUM

[Image: Roman Fasces]

CARTA IDENTITATEM

Both the lettering (in all capitals) and the Roman Fasces (the Imperial coat of arms) were printed (the free model) or engraved (the premium model) in a golden ink.

While most texts inside the booklet were translated in other official languages of the Empire, the three Latin words on the front cover were left untranslated. However, their meaning was straightforward for most speakers of an European language.

Interior Front Cover

MINISTERUL DE INTERNE
Ministry of the Interior (name of the issuing authority).

[Lines of Text]
The Imperial Anthem (in Romanian).

NIHIL SINE DEO
The Imperial Motto (Latin).

Page 1.

[blank page]
The deformations caused by the photograph and the stamp applied on the other side of the paper (on page 2) may make that page mostly unusable.

Page 2.

19230918010000007000000000000041
PIN: [Code32, format YYYYMMDD.CRSUULLAA.RRRRRR.S.XXXXXX.CC, where YYYYMMDD = date of birth, CRSUULLAA = place of birth, RRRRRR = reserved, S = sex, XXXXXX = counter, CC = control sum]
- Date of Birth: [Date, format YYYYMMDD, where YYYY = year, MM = month, DD = day]
--- Year: [Number4]
--- Month: [Number2, 01..12]
--- Day: [Number2, 01..31]
- Place of Birth: [Code9, format CRSUULLAA, where C = continent, R = region, S = state, UU = administrative unit, LL = inhabited place, AA = arrondissement]
--- Continent: [Digit, arbitrary]
--- Region: [Digit, arbitrary]
--- State: [Digit, arbitrary]
--- Administrative Unit: [Number2, arbitrary]
--- Inhabited Place: [Number2, arbitrary]
--- Arrondissement: [Number2, arbitrary]
- Reserved: [Number6]
- Sex: [Code1, where 0 = feminine, 1 = masculine, 2 = ambigene, 3 = unclear, 4 = unknown, 9 = reserved]
- Counter: [Number6]
- Control Sum: [Number2]
The PIN (Cod Numeric Personal, CNP), a 32 digit code, immutable and unique for each person.

19230918: date of birth, the 18th of September 1923.
010000007: place of birth code, Europe 0, Western Europe 1, France 0, Île-de-France 00, Paris 00, Arrondissement 07.
000000: reserved.
0: sex, feminine.
000000: counter, no special significance.
41: control sum (modulo 100).

[Photograph]
Black and white (later colour) photograph of the holder, 40 × 50 mm, glued or stapled (later laminated) to the upper-left side of the page.

[Holder's Signature]
To the right of the photograph.

[Issuing officer's Signature]
To the right of the photograph.

[Issuing authority Stamp]
Partially overlapping with the photograph and the signatures.

Eliberat la: 1940.05.10
Issued on: the 10th of May 1940.

Valabil până la: 1945.05.10
Valid until: the 10th of May 1945 (five years for youngsters, ten years or more for older people).

ROSS000000000000
Serial Number: [Code16, format SS.UU.XXXXXXXXXXX.C, where SS = state, UU = administrative unit, XXXXXXXXXXX = counter, C = control sum]
- State: [Code2, where RO = Romania, HU = Hungary, etc]
- Administrative Unit: [Code2, where BX = Bucharest, CJ = Cluj, LA = Lăpușna, TI = Timiș, etc, SS = Secret Service, AX = Army, etc]
- Counter: [Number11]
- Control Sum: [Digit]
The Serial Number (belongs to the booklet; the PIN belongs to the holder).

RO: issuing country code, Romania.
SS: issuing authority code, the Secret Service.
00000000000: counter, no special significance.
0: control sum (modulo 10).

Page 3.

ANA IULIA REGINA
Current name.

Alte nume:
Anne Antoinette Françoise Charlotte Zita Marguerite de Bourbon-Parma
[2 blank lines]
Other names. One position was filled (with a previous name) and the other two were left blank.

[4 blank lines]
The names in their native script. In this case, there was no different script involved, so the fields were left blank.

Data nașterii: 1923.09.18
Date of birth: the 18th of September 1923.

Locul nașterii: France, Paris
Place of birth.

Sex: F (feminin)
Sex: feminine / female.

Tată: René de Bourbon-Parma
Father.

Mamă: Margrethe Françoise Louise Marie Helene de Danemarca
Mother.

Înălțime: 168 cm
Height.

Greutate: 52 kg
Weight.

Ochi: 1 (căprui)
Eyes: [Code1, where 0 = black, 1 = brown, 2 = blue, 3 = green, 4 = gray, 9 = reserved, A = other, N = none, X = unknown]
Eyes: brown.

Păr: 1 (șaten)
Hair: [Code1, where 0 = black, 1 = brown, 2 = yellow / blonde, 3 = red / ginger, 4 = gray, 5 = white, 9 = reserved, A = other, N = none, X = unknown]
Hair: brunette / brown.

Semne particulare: --------
Distinctive Signs: (none).

Page 4.

Cetățenie: RO (română)
State: [Code2, where XX = stateless, RO = Romanian, DE = German, etc]
Citizenship: Romanian.

Alte cetățenii: -- / -- / --
Other citizenships: (none).

Cetățenii anterioare: FR / -- / --
Previous citizenships: French.

Etnicitate reală: MIX (amestecată / familii regale europene)
Ethnicity: [Code3, where XXX = unknown, MIX = mixed, ALT = other, ROM = Romanian, DEU = German, etc]
Real ethnicity: mixed (European royal families).

Etnicitate declarată: ROM (română)
Declared ethnicity: Romanian.

Etnicități anterioare: FRA / ITA / DAN
Previous ethnicities: French, Italian, Danish.

Ascendență: ITA / ITA / POR / DEU / DAN / DEU / FRA / FRA
Ancestry: Italian, Portuguese, German, Danish, French.

Identități Regionale: --------
Regional identities: (none).

Rasă: 0 (europeană)
Race: [Code1, where 0 = European, 1 = Semitic, 2 = Turanic, 3 = Indian, 4 = Asian, 5 = Pacific, 6 = Aboriginal, 7 = Amerindian, 8 = African, 9 = reserved, A = other, M = mixed, X = unknown]
Race: European (White).

Limbi vorbite: ROM0 / FRA0 / ITA1 / SCA1 / DEU1 / ENG1 / LAT2 / GRE2 / HUN3 / POL3 / ---- / ----
Languages: [Code4List12, format LLLP, where LLL = Language Code, P = proficiency]
- Language Code: [Code3, where ALT = other, ROM = Romanian, DEU = German, etc]
- Proficiency: [Code1, where 0 = native or near native, 1 = fluent, 2 = medium, 3 = basic, 4 = unknown, 9 = reserved]
Spoken languages: Romanian, French (native), Italian, Scandinavian, German, English (fluent), Latin, Greek (medium), Hungarian, Polish (basic).

Religie: COR (creștină ortodoxă română)
Religion: [Code3, format XYZ, where X = major religion, Y = major denomination, Z = minor denomination]
- Major Religion: [Code1, where X = unknown, N = none, A = other, C = Christianity, J = Judaism, I = Islam, H = Hinduism, etc]
- Major Denomination: [Code1, where X = unknown, N = none, A = other, O = Orthodoxy, C = Catholicism, P = Protestantism, etc]
- Minor Denomination: [Code1, where X = unknown, N = none, A = other]
Religion: Christian, Orthodox, Romanian (Romanian Orthodoxy).

Alte religii: --- / --- / ---
Other religions: (none).

Religii anterioare: CCR / --- / ---
Previous religions: Christian, Roman, Catholic (Roman Catholicism).

Page 5.

Educație: C (educată acasă)
Education: [Code1, where 0 = illiterate, 1 = primary school, 2 = secondary school, 3 = high school, 4 = baccalaureate, 5 = university, 6 = master in sciences / arts, 7 = doctor in sciences / arts, 8 = member of the academy, 9 = reserved, A = other, C = homeschooled, X = unknown]
Education: homeschooled.

Profesii: --------
Professions: (none).

Ocupații: Șef de stat
Current jobs: head of state.

Ocupații anterioare: --------
Previous jobs: (none).

Alte abilități: Diplomat, cercetător, inventator
Other skills: diplomat, researcher, inventor.

Situația militară: A (de jure Comandant Suprem al forțelor armate)
Military Status: [Code1, where 0 = none, 1 = recruit, 2 = volunteer, 3 = active, 4 = honourably discharged, 5 = dishonourably discharged, 9 = reserved, A = other, X = unknown]
Military status: other (de jure Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces).

Arma militară: N (nici una)
Military Branch: [Code1, where 0 = infantry, 1 = artillery, 2 = cavalry, 3 = armour, 4 = engineers, 5 = special forces, 6 = air defence, 7 = air force, 8 = navy, 9 = reserved, A = other, N = none, U = auxiliaries]
Military branch: none.

Grad militar: NN (nici unul)
Military Rank: [Code2, where NN = none, XX = unknown, S0 = soldier, U2 = sergeant, O3 = lieutenant colonel, G1 = major general, FM = field marshal, A1 = admiral, etc]
Military rank: none.

Mențiuni:
[8 blank lines]
Mentions: (none).

Page 6.

Permise de Conducere: M0 / A1 / N0 / U0 / H0 / V0 / S0 / X0
Driving Licences: [Code2List8, format VX, where V = vehicle, X = rank]
- Vehicle: [Code1, where M = motorcycle, A = car, N = naval, U = submarine, H = helicopter, V = airplane, S = spacecraft, X = other]
- Rank: [Digit, where 0 = no licence, 1..8 = increasingly advanced vehicles, 9 = reserved]
Driving Licences: May drive normal cars (not exceeding three tonnes and four passengers). May not drive other vehicles.

Mențiuni:
[8 blank lines]
Mentions: (none).

Condamnări penale:
[8 blank lines]
Criminal convictions: (none).

Page 7.

Decorații:
[8 blank lines]
Awards: (none).

Drepturi civile: 0 (importanță națională)
Civil Rights: [Code1, where 0 = national importance, 1 = citizen, 2 = citizen with reduced rights, 3 = resident, 4 = resident with reduced rights, 5 = foreign diplomat, 6 = stateless, 7 = foreigner, 8 = enemy, 9 = reserved, A = other, X = unknown]
Civil rights: National importance (VIP).

Situația civilă: 1 (uniune civilă)
Civil Status: [Code1, where 0 = single, 1 = civil union, 2 = other, 3 = unclear, 4 = unknown, 5 = separated, 6 = divorced, 7 = cancelled, 8 = widowed, 9 = reserved]
Civil status: civil union.

Situația maritală: 1 (căsătorită)
Marital Status: [Code1, where 0 = single, 1 = married, 2 = other, 3 = unclear, 4 = unknown, 5 = separated, 6 = divorced, 7 = cancelled, 8 = widowed, 9 = reserved]
Marital status: married in church.

Copii: 0
Children: [Number & Code2List, format YY, year of birth modulo 100]
Children: none.

Politică: Nu este cazul
Politics: not applicable.

Rang nobiliar: Regina
Nobility rank: Queen.

Page 8.

Grupa de sânge: 0
Blood Group: [Code3, where 0 = 0, 1 = A, 2 = B, 3 = AB, 9 = reserved, X = unknown]
Blood group: 0.

Alergii:
[8 blank lines]
Allergies: (none).

Operații:
[8 blank lines]
Surgeries: (none).

Page 9.

Probleme de sănătate:
[8 blank lines]
Health issues: (none).

Medicamente necesare:
[8 blank lines]
Required medicine: (none).

Page 10.

Adresa: 00000000000000490010 (România, București, Palatul Regal)
Address: [Code20, format CRSUULLAA.SSSNNNNFFFX, where CRSUULLAA = Address1, SSSNNNNFFFX = Address2]
- Address1: [Code9, format CRSUULLAA, where C = continent, R = region, S = state, UU = administrative unit, LL = inhabited place, AA = arrondissement]
--- Continent: [Digit, arbitrary]
--- Region: [Digit, arbitrary]
--- State: [Digit, arbitrary]
--- Administrative Unit: [Number2, arbitrary]
--- Inhabited Place: [Number2, arbitrary]
--- Arrondissement: [Number2, arbitrary]
- Address2: [Code11, format SSSNNNNFFFX, where SSS = street, NNNN = house, FFF = flat, X = extra data]
--- Street: [Number3, arbitrary]
--- House: [Number4]
--- Flat: [Number3]
--- Extra data: [Code1]
Address: Romania, Bucharest, Royal Palace.

000000000: address line 1, Europe 0, the Empire 0, Romania 0, Ilfov County 00, Bucharest 00, Centre 00.
00000490010: address line 2, Calea Victoriei street 000, Royal Palace number 0049, Royal flat number 001, no extra data 0.

Alte adrese:
[8 blank lines]
Other addresses: (none given, for security reasons).

Mențiuni ale titularului:
[blank half page]
Holder's write in: (none yet)

Page 11.

[Extention, Photograph]
Empty space, 40 × 50 mm, for the second photograph to be glued or stapled (later laminated) to the upper-left side of the page.

[Extention, Holder's Signature]
Empty space, to the right of the photograph.

[Extention, Issuing officer's Signature]
Empty space, to the right of the photograph.

[Extention, Issuing authority Stamp]
None.

Prelungit la: __________
Validity extended on: (blank).

Valabil până la: __________
Valid until: (blank).

Alte mențiuni ale autorităților:
[blank half page]
Officer's write in: (none yet).

Page 12.

[blank page]
The deformations caused by the photograph and the stamp applied on the other side of the paper (on page 11) may make that page mostly unusable.

Interior Back Cover

[Lines of Text]
Abridged rules regarding the use of the Identity Booklet (in the official language preferred by the holder).

[Apparently random small perforations]

Exterior Back Cover

[blank page]

[Apparently random small perforations]

The back cover of the Identity Booklet could be used as a punched card in a suitable reader. The most important information from the booklet was duplicated in those perforations.
.

Zagan7 · Feb 9, 2020

Chapter 42. The Imperial Armed Forces

It could be said that the Imperial Armed Forces and the Imperium itself were one and the same or that all the Imperial subjects were, in one way or another, part of the Imperial Armed Forces.

With the above caveat out of the way, in this chapter we will attempt to detail the internal organization of the Imperial Armed Forces as it was at the time of the entry of the Empire into World World Two.

Leadership

The President of the Danubian Confederation (Queen Anne, commonly called the Empress) was automatically the Commander in Chief of the Imperial Armed Forces.

However, after the wake-up call which had been the 1938 invasion of Bulgaria, Anne did not directly intervene in the day to day management of the Armed Forces, having delegated most of her powers to the Romanian Minister of War (later the Danubian / Imperial Minister of War), General (later Field Marshal) Ion Antonescu.

The small Imperial Navy (Romanian and Bulgarian) had been unofficially merged with the theoretically still independent, larger, better trained and more powerful Greek Navy and de facto placed under the leadership of the Commander in Chief of the Greek Navy, Alexandros Sakellariou.

Membership

All Imperial Citizens (de jure) and the rest of the Imperial subjects as well as the Croat and Greek citizens from the Romanian Occupation Zones (de facto) were potential members of the Imperial Armed Forces.

There was no conscription per se. It would have been entirely useless because the vast majority of the subjects wanted to serve and most applications had to be rejected mostly due to logistical reasons (there were not enough rifles and ammunition for everybody, people were needed to work in the fields and in the factories, to take care of children, the elderly and the sick, etc).

All men, women and children between 12 and 70 who were in reasonably good physical and mental health had at least some amount of military training. Obviously, the military aged men (18 - 45) and the women and the elderly who had been accepted for active service had been trained the most thoroughly. Most women, adolescents and seniors, as well as a significant number of military aged men, remained in reserve (the Home Front), their main duties being to support the deployed armies, to man the ubiquitous flak systems and to further their training. Moreover, if enemy armies were to occupy parts or all of the Motherland, the Home Army was supposed to devolve into asymmetric warfare against the would be invaders.

In practice, there was little difference between the "true soldiers", who were Imperial Citizens, and the "volunteers", who were either refugees (Poles, Jews, etc) or Croat or Greek citizens from the Romanian Occupation Zones. In fact, the only visible differencies between the Imperial Units and the Volunteer Units were the language used in the unit, the make-up of the religious support (Catholic military clergy for the Polish and Croat units, military Rabbis for the Jewish units, etc) and their uniforms which, according to the rules of war, had to be at least somewhat different.

With the important reduction in violent crime (murder, robbery, arson, etc) and the dissolution of the internal borders, many policemen, gendarmes, border guards and a smaller number of firemen were no longer needed in their jobs and, therefore, transferred to the army.

Arms

The Imperial Armed Forces were (roughly) divided into the following Arms:

The Imperial Army
- Infantry
- Artillery
- Cavalry
- Armoured Units (tanks, etc)
The Imperial Air Force
- Fighter Units
- Bomber Units
- Air Defence Units (flak)
- Paratrooper Forces
The Imperial Navy
- The Surface Navy
- The Submarine Force
- Amphibious Units
- The Armed Merchant Navy
Miscellanious Combined Units
Special Forces (including saboteurs and terrorists)
The Home Army
Support Units (Auxiliaries)
- Transport and Logistics
- Military Medicine (doctors, nurses, psychologists, etc)
- Spiritual Support (priests, rabbis, imams)
- Entertainment, etc
Military Research and Production (including the Nuclear Programme)

Structure

A Legion (Legiune) contained between 25,000 and 60,000 men and was roughly equivalent to an army corps. Each Army Group had the necessary Support Units, Air Force Units and Special Forces Units attached to it.

Various changes notwithstanding, the Imperial Army had the following structure during the first part of the war:

Army Group One (Nistru), deployed in Bessarabia and Bukovina (and, later, also Pokuttya), to defend against a possible Soviet attack (cca. 2.5 million)
- 36 infantry legions
- 10 artillery legions
- 6 cavalry legions
- 10 armoured legions
- 4 Polish volunteer legions
- part of the Black Sea Fleet
Army Group Two (Vest), deployed in Slovakia and Transdanubia, to defend against a possible German attack (cca. 1.5 million)
- 20 infantry legions
- 8 artillery legions
- 3 cavalry legion
- 5 armoured legions
Army Group Three (Balcani), deployed in Croatia, southern Serbia, Macedonia and mainland Greece, to defend against a possible Italian attack (cca. 2 million)
- 20 infantry legions
- 6 artillery legions
- 2 cavalry legions
- 4 armoured legions
- 8 Croat volunteer legions
- 8 Greek volunteer legions
- the Croat Army (cca. 100,000 men)
- part of the Greek Army (cca. 30,000 men)
Army Group Four (Asia Minor), deployed in Thrace and Aegean Greece, preparing to invade Turkey (cca. 6 million)
- 84 infantry legions
- 24 artillery legions
- 10 cavalry legions
- 18 armoured legions
- 6 Jewish volunteer legions
- 4 Greek volunteer legions
- part of the Greek Army (cca. 70,000 men)
- 1 paratrooper legion
- 1 amphibious legion
- part of the Black Sea Fleet
- the Aegean Sea Fleet
- the Greek Navy
The Home Army, deployed or in reserve all over the interior of the country (8-14 million, partially trained, partly adolescents, women and seniors)

The tiny Vatican Army and the faraway Equafrican Army were not integrated in any way with the Imperial Army and would, obviously, play no role in the war against Turkey.

Experience

The Imperial soldiers had the following combat experience:

1939 Invasion of Yugoslavia (only the Romanians, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Serbs and Croats) -- little useful combat experience as Yugoslavia fell quickly;
1938 Invasion of Bulgaria (only the Romanians and Bulgarians) -- little useful combat experience as the Bulgarian Army disintegrated before facing the enemy;
1919 - 1920 Soviet-Polish War (only the veteran Poles);
1919 Romanian-Hungarian War (only the veteran Romanians and Hungarians);
1914 - 1919 World War One (only the veterans);
1912 - 1913 Balkan Wars (only the veteran Romanians, Bulgarians, Serbs and Greeks).

The very limited fighting encountered in the invasion of the Vatican City (a few Croat irregulars) and the staged war in Romanian Africa (second rate colonial troops) must have contributed virtually nothing to the overall fight experience.

Therefore, the 1940 invasion of Turkey would be the first real war experience for most Imperial soldiers. How would they fare under the stress of combat against a tough and determined enemy remains to be seen.

(Near) Future

The Imperial Armed Forces will soon grow with the consolidation of the Polish, Croat and Greek volunteer units and of the small Croat and Greek armies into the Imperial Army, with the official merger of the Greek Navy into the Imperial Navy and with the addition of some Turkish forces.

Equipment

Most of the Imperial Armed Forces had been issued new uniforms, the most visible exception being the Home Army which still used antiquated and / or dissimilar ones.

The meals were standardized and included bread, biscuits, butter, cheese, jam, honey, yogurt, ham, meat, soups, vegetables, etc (all from internal production) as well as limited amounts of coffee, cocoa, chocolate, tea and some spices (which had been imported in large quantities before the war). Tobacco and alcohol products were also available, as well as limited amounts of amphetamines. Commonly used medicines were available in sufficient quantities. Sulphonamides were still relatively scarce but production was increasing.

Tents, shovels, pick-axes, flash-lights, cooking implements, fire starters, blankets and many other useful products were issued to every squad or platoon. Each soldier had his own standard multifunctional penknife. All these were produced by the Imperial industry.

The full standardization of the military equipment inherited from the various militaries subsumed into the Imperial Army (Romanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Czechoslovak, Yugoslav, Greek, Polish) proved to be an almost impossible task. Neither selling the disparate or obsolete materiel (due to a lack of time and buyers) nor producing sufficient quantities of new materiel (due to the limitations of the Imperial industry) were deemed possible. Therefore, the standardization and modernization of the materiel was only partially and unequally implemented, up to hundred percent in the offensive Army Group Four, between 20 and 60 percent in the three defensive Army Groups and almost not at all in the Home Army.

While rifles were available in sufficient numbers, ammunition for the rarer models was scarce as it was understood that they would be gradually phased out. The same was true regarding the spare parts for other rare or obsolete materiel such as some cannons, locomotives, trucks, tanks, airplanes, ships and so on.

The number of artillery pieces was deemed adequate. The rolling stock was barely sufficient and more trucks would have been needed to replace horses. The best trucks were the Fords produced under licence in Timișoara. The Empire produced decent light tanks in sufficient numbers but medium and heavy tanks were imported and were lacking in both quality and quantity. Airplanes, both fighters and light bombers were produced in Brașov in small numbers, the production being ramped up. No new warships were laid down but the existing ones were upgraded and repaired. The attempts to copy the Italian submarines and develop an indigenous production looked promising.

Zagan7 · Feb 9, 2020

Official and Unofficial Romanian Territorial Claims for the First Part of the War
May 1940
Before joining the War

Legend

Black Lines: International Borders
Gray Lines: Internal Federal Borders
Faint Gray Lines: Old Interwar Borders
Thin Gray Borders: Autonomous Areas Borders

Bold Text: Sovereign Countries
Normal Text: Dependent Territories, Protectorates, Federal Units, etc
Small Text: Autonomous Areas, informal territories, planned territorial units, etc

Fuchsia Lines & Romanian Yellow Fill: Current extent of the Empire (May 1940),

de jure: The Danubian Confederation (Romania Proper, Hungary, Slovakia, Ruthenia, Bulgaria, Serbia);
de facto: including the Romanian Occupation Zone in Croatia and the Romanian Occupation Zone in Greece.

Red Lines: Maximum extent of the Empire of the Orient during the reign of Empress Iulia in 1651 ATL.
Red and Orange Lines: Romanian official, semi-official and unofficial territorial claims.

Wide Diagonal Lines: Romanian official claims (against the Soviet Union, Turkey, Syria, Transjordan, Iraq, Iran, the United Kingdom)

Pokuttya (officially ceded by Poland to Romania, occupied by the Soviet Union, Romanian claim accepted by most countries), including Pokuttya Proper (part of 1651 ATL Romania) and the tiny Further Pokuttya;
Transnistria (claim accepted by Germany and Italy), including the Moldavian A.S.S.R., the rest of the Edisan (parts of 1651 ATL Romania) and Northern Transnistria;
Eastern Thrace (on behalf of Bulgaria, claim accepted by Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union), excluding the Straits Zone;
Ionia, Imbros and Tenedos (on behalf of Greece, claim accepted by Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union);
The Soviet Zone of Turkey (claim accepted by Germany and Italy);
Landlocked larger part of Syria (French LoN Mandate; claim accepted by Germany and Italy);
Small, deserted part of Transjordan (British LoN Mandate; claim accepted by Germany and Italy);
Iraq (British Client State; claim accepted by Germany and Italy), including the Iraqi-Saudi Neutral Zone;
Kuwait (British Colony; claim accepted by Germany and Italy), including the Kuwaiti-Saudi Neutral Zone;
Iranian Khuzestan, Iranian Kurdistan and Iranian Azerbaijan (claims accepted by Germany and Italy);
Soviet Armenia, Soviet Georgia (with Abkhazia, Adjara and South Ossetia), most of Soviet Azerbaijan (with Nakhichevan and Nagorno-Karabakh but without the NE coastal strip with Baku) and the Russian Sotch Area (claims accepted by Germany and Italy).

Thin Diagonal Lines: Romanian semi-official and unofficial claims (mostly against or competing with Italy), territories of the 1651 ATL Empire of the Orient

Italian Occupation Zone in Croatia (on behalf of Croatia, Germany ambivalent about the claim);
Italian Occupation Zone in Greece (on behalf of Greece, Germany ambivalent about the claim), including the Dodecanese;
Italian annexations in Croatia (Dalmatia);
Italian Protectorate of Montenegro (including parts of the Serbian Sanjak);
Italian Protectorate of Albania (including parts of Kosovo, Macedonia, the Sanjak, Montenegro, Serbia Proper);
Italian annexation in Greece (Corfu);
The International Straits Zone (Germany ambivalent about the claim);
The proposed Italian Occupation Zone in Turkey (Lycia and Cilicia);
The proposed Italian Occupation Zone in Syria and Lebanon (French LoN Mandates);
The proposed Italian Occupation Zone in Palestine and Transjordan (British LoN Mandates);
Arabia Petraea (part of Saudi Arabia, proposed Italian Client State);
The Sinai and the Suez Canal Zone (part of Eqypt, British Client State, proposed Italian Client State);
Cyprus (on behalf of Greece; British Colony);
Zara Exclave (on behalf of Croatia; integral part of Italy).

Thin Horizontal Lines: Romanian unofficial claims (mostly against or competing with Italy), NOT part of the 1651 ATL Empire of the Orient

The Hinterland of Fiume, possibly with Fiume itself (annexed by Italy from Croatia; on behalf of Croatia);
Egypt (British Client State, proposed Italian Client State);
Saudi Arabia (proposed Italian Client State);
Other territories from the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, British Protectorates, Colonies etc, proposed Italian influence / control).

Thin Vertical Lines: Romanian unofficial claims (competing with Germany)

The rest of Iran (Persia Proper, proposed German Client State / Ally);
Parts of Southern Soviet Union (Southern Ukraine, Crimea, "Cossackia", Kalmykia, the Northern Caucasus, the NE coastal strip of Azerbaijan with Baku, the Lower Volga Valley, most of Soviet Central Asia, etc), exact borders undefined.

.

Zagan7 · Feb 10, 2020

Chapter 43. The German Invasion of the Occident

May - June 1940, Scandinavia

The Soviet Occupation of Finland and the subsequent heavy militarization of the Åland Islands (about 100 kilometres from Stockholm) provoked consternation, anger and fear in nearby neutral Sweden and a good deal of uneasiness in Norway. The creation of a Sámi Autonomous Region in northern Finland, coupled with Sámi propaganda broadcasts over the border further unnerved both Sweden and Norway.

The invasion craze prompted the Swedish Government to start a frantic search for allies. Because of the prior manifest inability or unwillingness of the Entente to defend Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Greece and Finland against the aggression of their totalitarian neighbours, Sweden turned to Nazi Germany for a meaningful guarantee of its independence, political system and territorial integrity.

According to the German-Swedish Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed on the 2nd of May 1940, the German Reich deployed a small number of soldiers in the northern part of Sweden, close to the Finnish border, in order to act as a deterrent to the Soviets and to protect the Kiruna iron mines and the Luleå - Narvik railroad.

The deployment of German troops to northern Sweden unnerved the British who feared an imminent German invasion of Norway. Halifax felt pressured to act and tried to convince the Norwegian Government to ask for British help to defend Norway against the expected German aggression. Despite the fact that the Norwegian answer was noncommittal, the British decided to skip further diplomatic discussions and began to land troops in Narvik on the 8th of May.

That proved to be a horrible strategic mistake. Instead of welcomming the British as allies, the Norwegians opened fire and tried to resist the landings. Hitler was delighted and, after having Goebbels milk all the propaganda value out of the British invasion of a neutral country, he ordered the invasion of Scandinavia, in order to "protect our kindred Aryan Nations from the English imperialist aggression".

Denmark chose to officially refuse transit for the Wehrmacht troops and opted instead to offer a symbolic resistance and negotiate an extremely light occupation regime. On the 10th of May, after two hours of light fighting and less than fifty casualties, the entire territory of Denmark Proper was under German control. Both King Christian X and Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning remained at their posts and the Germans did not interfere in the internal matters of the country. The United Kingdom occupied the Faroe Islands and Iceland during the following days. Greenland was occupied by the United States, according to the Monroe Doctrine.

The Battle of Norway (11 May - 26 June) was fought between the British and the Germans, with the small Norwegian Army caught in the middle. While Oslo and southern Norway quickly came under German control, Narvik and other coastal areas in the northern part of country remained under British control until the collapse of the Western Front one month later. Although the Germans were not welcomed as liberators and there were a few instances of open conflict between the Wehrmacht and the Norwegian Army, Norway was eventually treated as a friendly nation, just like Sweden, and it was not placed under military rule. King Haakon VII continued his reign but the socialist government of Johan Nygaardsvold was forced to resign and was replaced by a nationalist government (Nasjonal Samling) led by Vidkun Quisling.

In June 1940, the situation in the Nordic countries was the following:

Finland: Soviet puppet (Soviet occupation, military and naval bases, coalition government controlled by the communists);
- Åland Islands (Swedish Autonomous Region): heavy Soviet naval presence close to the Swedish shores;
- Sámi Autonomous Region: heavy Soviet military presence near the land borders with Sweden and Norway;
Sweden: Independent, democratic, pro-Axis neutral, limited German military presence in the far north of the country;
Norway: German control, large German military presence, internal independence, Fascist government, minor Axis member;
- Queen Maud Land, Peter I Island, Bouvet Island: uninhabited, no military significance (Southern Hemisphere), no effective control by any country;
- Jan Mayen: uninhabited but with military significance as a weather station; sporadic control by the United Kingdom, the German Reich and the United States;
- Svalbard: demilitarized territory according to the Spitsbergen Treaty; limited Norwegian, Soviet and German ostensibly civilian presence;
Denmark: light German occupation, internal independence, democratic;
- Faroe Islands: British occupation;
- Greenland: American occupation, secret German weather stations;
Iceland: Independent Kingdom in personal union with Denmark, democratic, light British occupation.

.

May - June 1940, Western Europe

The German invasion of the Occident started on the 25th of May 1940 with the invasion of Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. The conduct of the hostilities was remarcably similar to that from the original timeline. Obviously, Hitler had absolutely no incentive to change anything from what would have been his greatest military success and the Entente was completely oblivious of the existence of parallel Universes.

There were two significant differencies though. The first one was that the terror bombing of Rotterdam and other Dutch cities did not occur as Hitler had been successfully persuaded by Anne that terror bombings were of very limited military value and came with an extremely negative public relations baggage. The second difference was a desperate push to obliterate the Dunkirk pocket and stop the amphibious evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force. It ended in total failure, with the German motorized spearheads at the end of an extremely long and perilous logistical line being soundly defeated and forced to retreat. As a result, a little more British and French soldiers and even some additional materiel could be evacuated compared to the original timeline.

Luxembourg was completely overrun during the first day of the war. Grand Duchess Charlotte and the Pierre Dupong Cabinet managed to flee the Duchy and organized the Luxembourgian Government in Exile a couple of weeks later. Luxembourg was later merged into the German Reich after a rigged plebiscite.

The Dutch Army surrendered on the 31st of May and the rest of the Netherlands was occupied by the Germans before the 6th of June. Queen Wilhelmina, the Royal Family and the Dirk Jan de Geer Cabinet had left the country for Britain where they formed the Dutch Government in Exile. The Netherlands were placed under German military occupation.

After less than two weeks of hopeless resistance, on the 5th of June, the Belgian Army, the Hubert Pierlot Cabinet and the King of the Belgians, Leopold III, surrendered to the German Reich. Belgium was placed under German military occupation. The Eupen-Malmédy-Sankt Vith region, the former Neutral Moresnet and other small adjacent areas (some of which had a German majority or plurality) were annexed to the German Reich.

France tried to keep on fighting but, after the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force, the fall of Paris and the collapse of the Maginot Line, both the military situation and the morale were abyssmal and it became clear that the war was lost. The Paul Reynaud Cabinet resigned and Maréchal Philippe Pétain was sworn as Prime Minister. During the armistice negotiations, the military situation continued to deteriorate. The Italian declaration of war and invasion of Tunisia convinced the French that delaying the inevitable surrender was counter-productive.

On the 29th of June 1940, just seven weeks after the start of the German invasion, France surrendered. The Second Armistice of Compiègne marked the end of the war in Western Europe and resulted in a deeply humiliated France. The northern half of France, including Paris and the entire Atlantic coast, was placed under German military occupation. Alsace-Lorraine was placed under German administration and was subsequently annexed to the Reich. The French Army from the Metropole was severely limited and the French Fleet from the Metropole (Toulon) was disarmed. However, Hitler allowed the French Navy stationed in Algeria (Mers-el-Kébir) to remain armed and on alert and shared with the French supposed intelligence regarding an imminent British attack. The Tunisian Island of Djerba, several small adjacent islands and a small portion of the Tunisian mainland neighbouring Italian Libya were ceded to Italy. The League of Nations Mandates of Syria and Lebanon were unilaterally terminated, with pro-Axis national governments being installed in Damascus and Beirut.

France was allowed to keep most of its large Colonial Empire, internal independence in the Free Zone, a limited amount of civilian control in the Occupied Zone, a small Metropole Army, its entire Colonial Armies, its Navy and part of its Air Force and managed to avoid more crippling territorial losses to Germany, Italy and, possibly, Spain.

May - June 1940, Eastern Europe

The Soviet Union, Romania and Italy took advantage of the shooting war between the German Reich and the Entente to settle some of their territorial ambitions.

After the prior imposition of pro-Soviet governments in the Baltic States and Finland, those puppet states asked for accession to the Soviet Union. Accession referenda were hastily organized and Lithuania (78%), Latvia (84%) and Estonia (82%) voted to become Soviet Socialist Republics. In a bizarre and completely unexpected turn of events, the Finnish Referendum failed, with 57% of the electorate opting for the continued independence of Finland. Stalin duly accepted the expressed will of the Finns and Finland remained a notionally independent, albeit Communist and Soviet-controlled, country.

The unexpected result (as everybody had assumed that the referenda would be rigged) had three plausible explanations:

The referenda were actually not rigged and the Finns preferred independence while the Baltics really wanted to join the Soviet Union.
The Baltic referenda were rigged but, for unknown reasons, the planned rigging of the Finnish Referendum failed and Stalin acquiesced to the result.
Stalin did not want to annex Finland from the beginning and used the failed Finnish Referendum to enforce the validity of the successful referenda in the Baltic States.

On the 10th of May, Romania federated with Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Ruthenia and Serbia to form the Danubian Confederation, with the full blessing of the League of Nations.

Romania (the Danubian Confederation), Italy and the Soviet Union tried to pressure Turkey into submission and, failing that, invaded it on the 8th of June.

The invasion of Turkey will be discussed in the following chapter.

The hinted further developments in Algeria (Mers-el-Kébir), Syria and Lebanon and elsewhere will be discussed after the events in Turkey (in a chronological manner).

Zagan7 · Feb 11, 2020

Chapter 44. The Fall of an Angel and the Fall of a Country

7 June 1940, Bucharest, Romania, Danubian Confederation

Mihai and Anne were trying to catch some sleep, for the next day was expected to be a difficult one. The first day of war. The stubborn Turks had rejected the ultimata issued by their stronger neighbours, so war was at that point unavoidable. In fact, everything was already planned as the invasion had been set for the following morning.

A short, light knock in the window. Mihai was startled. Anne sighed. Their bedroom was at the first floor. It was surely Elaine.

Anne: "Calm down, my darling. It's just Elaine... Elaine dear, you can come in, we are not sleeping yet."

Mihai sat up, leaned on the pillow and combed his hair with his right hand. Elaine passed effortlessly through the closed window and sat down on the couch with her legs neatly tucked under her. Anne stood up, walked to the couch and sat down beside the angel.

Anne: "Good evening, Elaine... Oh, my God, Elaine, you are not looking very well, are you?. Is it something wrong?"

Elaine: "Yes, it is. I told you that the Creator was not happy with your plans. Your alliance with Stalin against Turkey means that up to ten million innocent humans will end up under Soviet tyrrany."

Anne: "But we have already talked about that. Besides, I am also allied with Hitler, who is as bad as Stalin, if not worse, and He did not object..."

Elaine: "Your alliance with Hitler did not result in any new humans coming under his control, compared with the main branch. On the contrary, you managed to save at least one million of them from Nazi tyrrany till now and you will save many more in the future. However, if not for you, Turkey would have managed to avoid the horrors of war and the awful Soviet occupation."

Anne: "Do you think that I wanted that? Of course not. It's just that I had no choice. I can't conquer Turkey alone. Or just with those useless Italians. We are still too weak. Besides, if I didn't throw a bone to Stalin, he might have backstabbed us while our armies were fighting in Turkey."

Elaine: "I am with you, you know that. We are friends. However, the Creator does not see it that way..."

Anne: "So..."

Elaine: "So He told me to stop helping you."

Anne: "He fired you?! Damn! I hate Him!..." (blushing) "I mean, you know, I didn't really mean that..."

Elaine: "Don't worry, you are forgiven. Yes, He fired me."

Anne: "I am on my own, then, I am not? No guardian angel, no protection, nothing. Well, I'll manage, I think... And thank you for coming to tell me. I mean, you could have just vanished and all. I mean, you know..."

Anne began to cry softly. Mihai was silent. Elaine hugged Anne, using her arms and featherly wings, then kissed her forehead.

Elaine: "I will never abandon you. You are my charge. You are my friend. The Creator is just my boss. Between Him and you, I will always choose you."

Anne (still crying): "What do you mean? Did you disobey Him? So, what does this mean? That you are a fallen angel now? Will you grow horns and all? Like Eloxir?"

Elaine (carressing Anne's hair): "It's a little more complicated than that. Yes, you may say that I am a fallen angel, it's not very important though. It is still me. And no, I will not grow horns or anything. What is important is that I will be always by your side, even more now than before. I am still and I will always be your guardian angel and your friend."

Anne (blowing her nose): "Thank you." (hugging Elaine back) "But... Do you still have your powers? Can you still catch bullets and all?"

Elaine (smiling): "Yes, I told you, it's still me. It's just that I am out of grace. At least for a while. Don't worry for me, I'll manage."

Anne: "Do you know what I don't get? Why is the Creator so grumpy? I mean, yes, I did something nasty but still... To get mad at me for just one little thing?..."

Elaine: "Shhht. Please, don't go on that path. It was not just one little thing. The Creator was long ago disappointed with your behaviour. The alliance with Hitler, the takeover of the Vatican, and many more. He regrets that He created this World for you. He said you didn't deserve it."

Anne (triumphant): "So, He misjudged me! He made a mistake!"

Elaine (smiling): "Whatever pleases you, my dear. It doesn't matter anymore."

Anne: "But..."

Elaine: "Shhht. Leave it. Focus on the war. Don't delve in these matters. It's too much for you and, besides, I told you that I've got you covered. Let me worry about the Creator. What you need to know is that He won't take any action against you or against this Universe. He is simply no longer interested in it."

Mihai: "May I say something?"

Anne and Elaine: "No."

************

Elaine: "Do you have a spare room?"

Anne: "A spare room? Of course. What for?"

Elaine: "For me, of course. I am not welcome in Paradise anymore, so I'll have to live here for a while. With you."

Anne (jumping): "Yay! Super! We'll be together all the time!... Mihai, dear, do you mind?..."

Mihai: "Oh, no, of course not. Where are my manners?... Elaine, we are glad to have you as a guest of honour in our humble house."

Anne (walking towards the door): "Thank you, my darling... See, it's all settled then. Follow me, I'll show you your room... Just try not to spook the servants, please..."

Elaine (smiling): "I'll do my best."

Elaine fetched a cape and placed it on her shoulders, thus partially concealing her wings.

Anne (laughing): "You look like a hunchback!"

************

Anne returned to the royal bedroom a couple of hours later. Mihai was still awake and reading a book.

Anne: "I'm sorry, my dear. I thought you were sleeping and I stayed a little with Elaine. You know, girl talk..."

Mihai: "Sure, no problem."

Anne: "Are you upset?"

Mihai: "No, not at all. I'm just a little freaked out, that's all."

Anne: "We are not against God, Mihai. I am not sure who God is, I never met Him, but the Creator I know, He's not God. He's just someone who makes a lot of Universes and has fun watching them, that's all."

Mihai: "I'm fine with that. Seriously. Don't worry. Like Elaine said, I'm with you."

Anne (saucy): "Good. Because I'm feeling concupiscent again."

8 June 1940

Over half a million Imperial soldiers crossed the border with European Turkey, supported by more than one hundred tanks and thousands of military airplanes. At the same time, the Imperial Navy attacked the Turkish warships in the Black Sea and the Aegean and, shortly afterwards, Imperial troops began to land on Imbros¹ and Tenedos², the two islands guarding the Dardanelles, which fell shortly before nightfall.

The greatest military operation in the history of the small countries which had merged into the Danubian Confederation had just begun.

1. Gökçeada
2. Bozcaada

9-10 June 1940

The Soviet Union and then Italy joined the invasion of Turkey with naval, aerial and terrestrial attacks against the Turkish forces in the north-east, north, south-west and south of the country.

10-19 June 1940

Faced with the clear superiority of the Imperial, Italian and Soviet fleets in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean, the overwhelmed Turkish fleet retreated to the safety provided by the enclosed Sea of Marmara, temporarily saving the ships but, thus, relinquishing total control of the seas and shores to the attackers.

In the north-east, the Turks fought valiantly, slowing down the Soviet onslaught before retreating to better defensive positions in the rugged Anatolian interior. After a week long siege, the Red Army managed to capture both Riza³ and Trebizond⁴. However, the Soviet attempts to advance inland were so far unsuccessful.

In the south-west, the Italians quickly captured the Cnidos⁵ Peninsula but became bottled in and failed to capture more land. Another Italian beachhead on the Turquoise Coast, near the town of Cache⁶, was captured by the Turks after three days of heavy fighting, with thirty thousand Italians taken prisoners.

In the north-west, the Imperial Army encountered only sporadic resistance, the Turks retreating to their defence lines around Constantinople and the Gallipoli Peninsula. Adrianople⁷ was only defended by an ad-hoc civil defense and fell after two days of chaotic urban fighting, with significant casualties, both Turkish and Imperial.

At the end of the first week of the war, the Imperial Armies captured Rodosto⁸ on the Marmara Coast, thus separating the defenders of Constantinople from those of the Gallipoli Peninsula.

In the west, the Greek Fleet debarked thousands of Greek and Imperial soldiers on the Achirlis⁹ Peninsula, which was quickly captured but advancing towards nearby Smyrna was significantly more difficult.

3. Rize
4. Trabzon
5. Datça
6. Kaş
7. Edirne / Odrin
8. Tekirdağ
9. Karaburun
10. Izmir

20-22 June 1940

After successive virtually unopposed Soviet landings near Sampsunta¹¹ and Sinope¹² and the quick fall of those cities, Turkish resistance began to falter and then quickly collapse on all fronts.

For the beleaguered Turkish authorities, it had become clear that defending on all fronts against numerically and technologically superior enemies was all but impossible. In those conditions, President İsmet İnönü and his government decided to abandon the undefendable coastal regions and retreat to the mountainous interior of Anatolia, still hoping for an already increasingly unlikely final Entente victory.

11. Samsun
12. Sinop

21-30 June 1940

The remnants of the Turkish Army still operating in Thrace retreated over the Straits into Anatolia, abandoning all of European Turkey to the Romanians.

On the 23rd of June, Constantinople was declared an open city and the Imperial Army immediately marched in, placing the entire city under military occupation and, thus, preempting its takeover by the Red Army.

The following day, the 24th of June 1940, drapped in the imperial purple from head to toe, Anne entered Constantinople in triumph and crowned herself Empress of Rome (Împărăteasa Romei, Imperatrix Romae, Basilissa Autokrateira ton Rhomaion) in the newly reconsecrated Christian Cathedral of Hagia Sophia.

It is important to note that the coronation was officially meaningless because no territory was officially annexed, the official name of the Danubian Confederation was not changed and no constitutional changes were enacted. Nonetheless, Anne's action caused a significant amount of animated discussions in various foreign chancelleries, especially in Rome.

The entire Turkish fleet (including the Battlecruiser Yavuz), trapped in the Sea of Marmara, surrendered on the 25th of June and was duly impressed into the Imperial Navy.

During the following week, the Imperial Army took Smyrna, crossed both the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus and advanced eastwards as fast as possible. The Romanians met the Red Army less than 50 kilometres east of Constantinople and Bursa, much to Stalin's displeasure.

At the same time, the Soviets occupied all the Turkish Black Sea Coast and advanced inland between ten and one hundred kilometres, until the rugged terrain and lack of usable roads made armoured warfare difficult or impossible.

The Italians enjoyed significantly less success, being able to overrun only two small coastal areas with a combined area of a little more than one thousand square kilometres. Truth be told, the Italians had two other very important distractions: their own invasion of French Tunisia and the powerful armed insurrections (Liberation Wars) against their rule in Dalmatia, Montenegro and the Italian Occupation Zones in Croatia and Greece.

On the 29th, the Kurds from the south-eastern quarter of the country rebelled en masse against the faltering Turkish rule and proclaimed an independent and neutral Kurdistan the following day.

Newly independent Syria declared war to Turkey on the 30th of June but did not manage to actually join the hostilities before the Turkish capitulation one day later.

1-7 July 1940

Belatedly realizing that, after the 29th of June surrender of France, no help would be forthcoming, the Turkish Government surrendered to the Soviet Union, the Danubian Confederation and Italy. The Red Army entered Ankara on the 2nd of July and most of the country was overrun in the following week, although a powerful partisan network remained active in the Soviet and Italian zones for the entire duration of their short existence.

Turkey was partitioned by the victors but no peace treaty was ever signed.

Eastern Thrace (without the Gallipoli Peninsula, the Marmara Sea Coast, Constantinople and its hinterland) was annexed to Bulgaria (Danubian Confederation).
Imbros, Tenedos and Ionia (the Aegean Coast and its hinterland) were annexed to Greece and joined to the Romanian Occupation Zone in Greece.
Lycia and Cilicia (the Mediteranean Coast and its hinterland) were proclaimed an Italian Protectorate.
About half of Lazistan was annexed to Georgia (Soviet Union) and merged with Adjara into the Lazistan ASSR.
Less than one quarter of Western Armenia was annexed to Armenia (Soviet Union).
Hatay was reverted to an independent Syria.
An independent and neutral Kurdistan was created as a buffer state in the south-eastern part of Turkey. It was officially recognized by the Soviet Union, Italy and the Danubian Confederation but not by Iran, Iraq, Syria or rump Turkey. The political situation in Kurdistan remained chaotic and the state disfunctional.
A Danubian-Greek-Italian-German-Soviet Condominium, the International Zone of the Straits, was created on both sides of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus, including the city of Constantinople.
A People's Republic of Turkey was later proclaimed in the remainder of the Soviet Occupation Zone.

The Imperial Army vacated the areas assigned to the Soviet Union but the locals remained loyal to the Empire. The International Zone of the Straits was controlled by important effectives of the Imperial Army and smaller numbers of Soviet, Italian, Greek and German troops, in that order. Almost the entire population was loyal to the Empire but it begrudgingly tolerated the foreign occupation troops for the time being.

Zagan7 · Feb 11, 2020

The Invasion of Turkey
June-July 1940
Eastern Theatre
Previous maps from this series: January 1940, February 1940.

Legend:

De facto situation shown
National colours as usual
Greece (and Croatia) are independent countries under joint Romanian and Italian military occupation and political influence.
Albania (and Montenegro) are Italian Protectorates and in Personal Union with Italy.
The Dodecanese is officially part of Greece (albeit still administered by Italy as part of the Italian Occupation Zone in Greece).
Corfu is an integral part of Italy.
The Pind is an Aromanian Autonomous Region.
Black Lines: National borders
Grey Lines: Internal borders
Light Grey Lines: Old borders
Dotted Grey Lines: Maritime borders
Violet Lines: Initial advance of the Imperial (north), Greek (centre) and Italian (south) forces in Turkey (20 June 1940)
Cyan Lines: Maximum advance of the Imperial (north), Greek (centre) and Italian (south) forces prior to the Surrender of Turkey (30 June 1940)
Red Line: Maximum advance of the Soviet forces prior to the Surrender of Turkey (30 June 1940)
The International Zone of the Straits is an Imperial (Danubian) / Soviet / Italian / German / Greek Condominium.

.

Zagan7 · Feb 11, 2020

Romania and Its Environs
10 July 1940
After the Partition of Turkey
Previous maps from this series: January 1938, March 1938, May 1938, November 1938, January 1939, September 1939, January 1940, March 1940, May 1940.

Area: 858,000 km² (0.58% of the World land area)
Population: 59,200,000 (2.57% of the World population)
Including the Romanian Occupation Zones in Croatia and Greece, but not the International Straits Area

Key:
1. Denmark (German occupation)
2. Sweden
3. Latvian S.S.R.
4. Montenegro (Italian Protectorate / Personal Union)
6. Neutral Zones (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, British Kuwait)

A. Mount Athos (Greece)
D. Adyghe A.O. (Russia)
E. Karachai-Cherkess A.O. (Russia)
F. Kabardino-Balkar A.S.S.R. (Russia)
G. North Ossetian A.S.S.R. (Russia)
H. Checheno-Ingush A.S.S.R. (Russia)
J. Abkhaz A.S.S.R. (Georgia)
K. Lazistan A.S.S.R. (Georgia)
L. South Ossetian A.O. (Georgia)
M. Nakhichevan A.S.S.R. (Azerbaijan)
N. Nagorno-Karabakh A.O. (Azerbaijan)

Notes:

Bohemia-Moravia, Poland and Slovenia are German Protectorates.
Albania and Montenegro are Italian Protectorates.
Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia and Ruthenia are Constituent States of the Confederation of the Danubian Realms (Danubian Confederation).
Croatia and Greece are under joint Italian and Romanian occupation and influence.
Pocuttya was relinquished by the Soviet Union after it received a much larger share of Turkey than the other powers. It was joined to Ruthenia.
Denmark is under German occupation.
Lycia and Cilicia are Italian Protectorates.
Ionia (and Imbros and Tenedos) are parts of Greece (the Romanian Occupation Zone).
The International Straits Zone is a Condominium of the Danubian Confederation, the Soviet Union, Italy, the German Reich and Greece.
Syria and Lebanon are independent. Hatay was annexed back to Syria as an Autonomous Region.
Kurdistan is independent.
Rump Turkey is a People's Republic, a Soviet Puppet State (like Finland and Mongolia). There are no plans to turn it into an S.S.R.
Bulgaria, Armenia and Georgia have been also enlarged on behalf of Turkey.

.

Zagan7 · Feb 12, 2020

Chapter 45. Crisis in the Axis

February 1938 - June 1940, Europe

Almost since the beginning of her reign, Anne placed her Realms on a dangerous colision course with Italy. Dozens of inimical or provocative actions towards Italy had pushed Mussolini to the brink of war with his purported ally. The following are some of the most important of Mussolini's allegations:

Romania puppetized and later annexed Hungary and Bulgaria, friendly countries within Italy's desired sphere of influencce.
Romania humiliated Italy with the tensed stand-off at Saranda, where twelve Romanian soldiers refused to surrender the Concession, prompting Hitler's mediation.
Once again Romania humiliated Italy when it disregarded the Vienna Award which had alloted Southern Slovakia to Hungary and proceeded to invade and puppetize the country.
Romania appropriated a much larger share of Yugoslavia than Mussolini would have been willing to cede.
During the invasion of Yugoslavia, the Romanians frequently cooperated with the enemy and hindered the movement of the Italian troops.
When Italy wanted to puppetize all of Greece, Romania intervened and ended up with more than half of it.
Romania annexed its puppets, turning into a Great Power, larger and more populous than Italy.
Romania treated its Occupation Zones in Croatia and Greece as de facto integral parts of its Empire.
Romania continuously fermented anti-Italian sentiments in the Italian Balkan territories, culminating in the June 1940 well organized uprisings against Italian rule.
Romania provided the anti-Italian insurgents with shelter, financial and logistical support, weapons, ammunition, explosives and volunteers.
Romania instigated acts of terror in Italy, including the attack on the Vatican City.
Anne played a double game, cooperating with both the Axis and the Entente.
The Romanian Empire used mind control and brain-washing on its citizens, residents and prisoners, with nefarious consequences.
Anne tried to turn Hitler against Italy.
Anne proclaimed herself Empress of Rome, which signified a clear claim on Italy Proper.
Anne wanted to destroy Italy, conquer it whole and add its territory to a resurected Roman Empire.

July 1940, Europe

By the start of July, Mussolini had had enough of those Romanian upstarts. Freed of commitments elsewhere (both France and Turkey had by then surrendered), he ordered his armies to take positions at the Romanian borders.

Hitler was enraged. Obviously, Anne's behaviour was appalling but the prospect of a war between his allies was absolutely horrendous. He had four choices:

Side with Mussolini and invade Romania. Pros: none. Cons: loss of a powerful ally and the nightmare of a neverending guerilla war against a fanaticized population.
Side with Anne, invade Italy and let Anne have most of it. Pros: a Romania which included Italy would be more powerful than current Romania and Italy together. Cons: Romania would be so powerful as to become a credible threat to the Reich itself.
Let them fight it. Pros: with no distractions, the Reich could focus on the ongoing war. Cons: both Romania and Italy would be unavailable as allies against Russia at least until one of them prevailed over the other.
Use his weight to force a settlement. Pros: situation defused, both Romania and Italy free to fight England and Russia. Cons: Anne was deemed untrustworthy.

It was obvious for Hitler that the fourth option was the least bad one. After a couple of days of frantic and very difficult talks, Hitler managed to get both Mussolini and Anne to agree to meet in person, discuss their differencies and, hopefully, come to a mutually acceptable understanding and thus defuse the dangerous crisis.

Because Anne refused to travel abroad and both Hitler and Mussolini were reluctant to set foot on Romanian soil, a neutral location was preferred: Constantinople.

The 1940 Conference of Constantinople (Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Anne of Romania)

21 July 1940, Constantinople, International Zone of the Straits

Hitler and Mussolini had a few more hours to discuss the situation in private while waiting for Anne who was being late. At first, Hitler wanted to keep Anne's secret but, eventually, he ended up telling Mussolini everything he knew or suspected about Anne and the bizarre psychic phenomena which seemed to occur in her Realms. Hitler also summarily presented a faithful, albeit slightly expunged, narration of his two prior meetings with Anne. Mussolini's demeanour changed from the initial anger, first to incredulity, then to sheer horror.

Slumped in his armchair, Mussolini uttered "She's the Devil, isn't she?" exactly when the door opened and a smiling Anne entered the room. She saluted cheerfully and jumped on Hitler to kiss him, very much to his displeasure.

Anne: "Nice to see you again, Adolf. I missed you. How is Eva? I hope you two will have a baby soon. It's really wonderful to be pregnant... I overheard you Benito. It's not nice to talk like that. I'm no devil, you know, I'm just a witch. Would you like a spell or an incantation?..."

Mussolini: "Cut the crap, would you! What do you want? Tell me, what the hell do you want from me and my country!?"

Anne: "Me? Nothing. Nothing at all. I was minding my own business, trying to come to terms with the motherhood to be and it was you two who stirred all this fuss..."

Mussolini: "Nothing?!" [...]

And Mussolini ranted for almost one hour, accusing Anne of everything she was actually responsible of and many more she was actually not, while Anne kept checking her fingernails obsessively and Hitler just looked bored.

Anne: "I see. I understand your anger and I am sorry. I want nothing more than a place in the sun. I want to be your equal, I don't want to be treated like a minor power anymore. We are a great power now, just like you, but we are blocked everywhere by your designs to your spheres of influence. Adolf shuts me down from the Ukraine and Russia, you shut me down from Africa and most of the Middle East, while you keep territories on my borders, territories inhabited by my people whom you oppress..."

What followed was a cacophony of yells and imprecations, until Anne snapped and actually slapped Mussolini on his left cheek. Mussolini slapped her back but his palm hurt as if he had hit not human flesh but a brick wall. Nonetheless, Anne fainted and was taken away by her retinue. The first day of the meeting was thus ignobly adjourned. Firmly believing that Anne was insane, Mussolini wanted to leave but Hitler managed to convince him to stay.

22 July 1940, Constantinople, International Zone of the Straits

The following day, Hitler did most of the talking as Anne and Mussolini were not on speaking terms anymore. Anne stated her claims which were, as expected, preposterous: a border in the middle of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas and all the territory of the former Byzantine Empire in the east, north and south, including Egypt and the Crimea. Her minimal claims included freedom for the Croats and the Greeks, Syria, the Holy Land and various other lesser changes in the previously discussed spheres of influence.

When neither Mussolini nor Anne seemed willing to compromise, Hitler had an idea. Motioning to Anne to keep quiet, he addressed Mussolini.

Hitler: "Let me tell you how I see this unfortunate situation... Yes, we have a rather unfortunate situation in the Balkans and, potentially, elsewhere. The Croats and the Greeks are in open revolt in your zones but totally complacent and happy in hers..."

Mussolini: "Because they are brain-washed!"

Hitler: "Whatever the reason, the result is that Romania is free to use its entire army against our common enemies, while you have to fight these rebellions."

Mussolini: "So you chose her! Because of the damned war! She'll double-cross you as well, you'll see..."

Hitler: "I only choose what is best for the common war effort."

Mussolini: "Common war effort?! She didn't even declare war to England!"

Anne: "I will. As soon as we have an agreement here. As a precondition for any agreement if you like. Cross my heart."

Mussolini sweared again. Hitler ignored the interruption and continued his idea.

Hitler: "Tell me, please, why do you want your halves of Croatia and Greece? It's obvious that those people resent your rule. What's your endgame there? Do you hope to eventually make those territories integral parts of Italy? To make those people Italians?"

Mussolini: "No, obviously not."

Hitler: "Then why?"

Mussolini (snorting): "Strategic considerations, economic value, I don't know. It's land. The more, the better. Why do you want Russia?"

Hitler: "To provide living space for my people. To have Germans grow there instead of Russians. To make that land German. That is the only purpose of acquiring land. The time of old style colonialism is over."

Mussolini: "I'll make those lands Italian... somehow."

Hitler: "How, exactly? Will you convince those people to accept Italian rule? Will you deport them? Or will you rather... exterminate them?"

Mussolini: "No! Of course not. I will... I don't know. I'll think about a solution."

Hitler: "There is no other solution. You have a neverending insurrection which bleeds your armies white instead of using those armies to conquer living space in Africa."

In the end, Mussolini relented. Obviously, no Italian land would be ever ceded but the Occupation Zones, the Protectorates and the claimed spheres of influence were up to discussion. The map would be redrawn to give Romania its place in the sun, an equal status with the other Axis Great Powers. Mussolini cursed the day in which he had declared war to the Entente. He should have changed sides then. Now it was too late. But, alas, the crisis was averted and the Axis did not break. Yet. And Anne was smilling again.

Thus, the second day of the conference ended in a sombre but hopeful mood. In the following days, the three dictators discussed each individual point of contention and fine tuned the current and future borders between their empires.

Zagan7 · Feb 14, 2020

Chapter 46. The Resolution of the Crisis

For context, you may want to review the previous chapter.

23-25 July 1940, Constantinople, International Zone of the Straits

Mussolini was in an unenviable position. Between the German Reich (who clearly favoured Romania), the United Kingdom and its Domininions (with which it was at war) and an increasingly powerful, bold and hostile Romanian Empire, its options were limited. On one hand, starting a war with both Germany and Romania would have been suicidal, even if an agreement could have been arranged with the British beforehand. On the other hand, simply relinquinshing vast amounts of conquered land to an upstart country without a fight was politically impossible. Thankfully, both Hitler and Anne seemed to understand that and strived to make the agreement acceptable for the Italian public and sugarcoat the changes in plentiful amounts of reasonable political fiction.

The final agreement of the 1940 Constantinople Conference was signed and made official but, for obvious reasons, kept secret.

The Kingdom of Italy, the Danubian Confederation (Romania) and the German Reich (called the Signatories), represented by their Leaders, Duce Benito Mussolini, Queen Anne and Führer Adolf Hitler, agreed to the provisions summarized below.

1. Romania will officially and publically join the Axis within one month. Moreover, Romania will declare war to the remaining Entente powers (the United Kingdom and the British Dominions) within the same month. Romania does not have to engage in actual military operations against the Entente powers until it has both the means and the opportunity to do so (as Romania did not share any borders with Entente territory and the Romanian Navy was clearly not up to the task).

2. Romania is permitted to change its name to Eastern Roman Empire (or other equivalent names) and claim the succession of the Eastern Roman Empire but not of the undivided Roman Empire. The name of Constantinople will not be changed to Nova Roma (or other equivalent names). Queen Anne will be recognized as Eastern Roman Empress (or other equivalent titles) with succession in her family.

3. Romania declares that, beyond the lands and territories specifically mentioned in this treaty, it does not have any further claims on territories that belong to or are claimed by the other Axis Powers.

4. Romania and Italy will join the German invasion of the Soviet Union within its first week.

5. Romania is recognized as a fellow Great Power. The four Great Powers comprising the Axis (Germany, Italy, Romania and Japan) will have roughly equal spheres of influence at the end of the war, consisting of about one quarter of Afro-Eurasia for each one.

6. The joint Romanian-Italian Occupation of Croatia will be terminated within one month. The fully independent and allied Croatia will be allowed to join Romania if so it wishes. The former Croat territories annexed by Italy will remain Italian. Furthermore, Italy may annex other small border areas from Croatia (not exceeding one thousand square kilometres in total), for strategic and logistical reasons. Italy may choose to expel part or all of the Slavic population living in Italian Dalmatia. Croatia and Romania may not construct naval facilities on the Croatian Littoral and may not keep a fleet in the Adriatic Sea. Croatia and Romania may not construct military facilities less than one hundred kilometres away from the borders with Italian Dalmatia and the Fiume Region.

7. The joint Romanian-Italian Occupation of Greece will be terminated within one month. The fully independent and allied Greece will be allowed to join Romania is so it wishes. Corfu will remain Italian and Italy will annex the remaining Ionian Islands. The Dodecanese will revert to Italy. Crete will be separated from Greece and it will become an independent Kingdom in personal union with Italy and under the Protection of Italy (similar to Albania and Montenegro). Italy may choose to expel part or all of the Greek population living in the Ionian Islands. Greece and Romania may not construct naval facilities on the Ionian Greek Littoral.

8. The Sanjak will be separated from Montenegro within two months. It will be allowed to join Romania (Serbia) if so it wishes. Italy may choose to expel unruly elements living in the rest of Montenegro. Rump Montenegro and Albania will remain in the Italian Sphere of Influence.

9. Italy and Germany will maintain no more than a symbolic military presence in the International Zone of the Straits. The International Zone of the Straits will be annexed to Romania immediately after the start of the invasion of the Soviet Union. Italy and Germany will forfeit all their rights in the territory with the exception of the right to free and unimpeded military and commercial naval access through the Straits.

10. The Soviet Occupation Zone in Turkey, Soviet Georgia, Soviet Armenia, most of Soviet Azerbaijan (with the exception of its north-eastern part with Baku), the western and central parts of the Nothern Caucasus Region up to the borders of Checheno-Ingushetia, Dagestan and the Manych Rivers, Crimea, part of Southern Ukraine and Transnistria will be placed under the military control of Romania to dispose of them in any way it would see fit. Germany and Italy may choose to expel unruly elements living in the their parts of the Soviet Union and Turkey.

11. Romania may invade, occupy, puppetize and annex any or all of the following countries and territories: Kurdistan, Iraq, Syria (but not the Hatay and Lebanon), Palestine, Transjordan, the Sinai Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the Trucial States, Oman, Aden, Southern Arabia, Yemen, Persia (Iran), Soviet Turkestan (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgystan, parts of Kazakhstan), Afghanistan, small parts of British India (Balochistan, the Tribal Areas, the Cashmere), Madagascar, other islands in the Western Indian Ocean (the Seychelles, Mauritius, the Maldives) and maybe other territories, pending an agreement with Japan.

12. The Holy Moslem Cities of Mecca and Median (sic) will be left under independent or autonomous Moslem rule with any necessary occupation duties performed solely by Moslem soldiers. The Catholic Church and the Holy See will maintain their priviledges in Jerusalem and other holy places in Palestine. Freedom of pilgrimage and worship to all Christian and Moslem holy places will be guaranteed.

13. The Suez Canal will be jointly administered by Italy and Romania. Germany will enjoy free and unimpeded military and commercial naval access through the Suez Canal.

14. The rest of the Soviet Union will be divided between Germany and Japan.

15. Africa will be in the Italian Sphere of Influence. Other Western Latin countries (France, Spain, Portugal), under Italian leadership and guidance, will be allowed to keep several possessions in Africa. An independent and allied Boer State may be created in the southern part of the continent.

16. East Asia and the Pacific are considered to be in the Japanese Sphere of Influence.

17. The annexed maps are authoritative.

18. Miscellanious provisions (commercial, military, etc).

14 August 1940

The Danubian Confederation announced that it had joined the Axis and delivered a declaration of war to the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Bahrain and Nepal. No military operations against the Entente were executed or planed at that time, the declaration of war remaining purely symbolic for some time.

15-16 August 1940

Italy and Romania announced that their joint military occupation of Croatia and Greece was terminated, with those countries becoming fully sovereign. Italy annexed about 350 square kilometres of borderlands from Croatia and the rest of the Ionian Islands from Greece. According to a previous agreement with Greece, the Dodecanese reverted to Italian rule. Moreover, Greece recognized the independence of Crete, which was proclaimed an independent Kingdom under Italian Protection and with Victor Emmanuel III of Italy as its King.

Both Italy and the Empire started to evacuate their occupation troops and military administration from Croatia and Greece, due to be completed in two weeks.

The Croat Army and the Greek Army entered the former Italian Occupation Zones, following the retreat of the Italians. The anti-Italian insurrections died out silently within days.

Both Croatia and Greece announced the organization of referenda regarding their accession to the Empire, scheduled for the 1st of September.

28-30 August 1940

The Sanjak (already mostly under the control of the anti-Italian insurgents and militarily and economically useless) was separated from the rest of Montenegro and the remnants of the Italian occupation forces began to evacuate it in haste. While the de jure political situation of the Sanjak remained unclear, the local revolutionaries proclaimed an independent republic and asked for incorporation into the Empire as an autonomous unit.

With some of the results of the Constantinople Conference thus being out in the open, the Italian King and disgruntled members of Grand Council of Fascism began to contemplate a coup against Mussolini.

We Will Conquer the Entire World!

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