The United States: 'Prophets of a New Order'

BipBapBop: Annexation represents unconditional surrender and allows for at least some semblance of an occupation, and allows me to dictate terms more realistically than the game's peace system.


America at War - Part IV

With the unconditional surrender of Cuba, a large portion of the invading force was now freed for combat operations elsewhere. Encouraged by the muted and lackluster response of the general Cuban populace, President Roosevelt, in consultation with Henry Stimson, the newly-appointed Secretary of War following Patrick Hurley's resignation in late July, decided that V. Army, although barely more than a few hours ashore, would be charged with the occupation of the island until a suitable treaty would be arranged. I. Army, meanwhile, was to be shipped to Veracruz, where it would assist in what General MacArthur envisioned would be the final assault to break Mexico's will to resist.

As I. Army slowly organized itself for the journey and V. Army began the uncertain process of attempting to pacify and police the entire island, a treaty delegation headed by Secretary of State Hull and Henry Hopkins, landed at Havana on August 8, where they were met by the American ambassador to Cuba, Joshua Wright. The trio were charged by the President to develop a treaty punitive enough to have justified an invasion, but lenient enough so as not to sabotage future US-Cuban relations; despite the years of economic depression, Cuba still remained an attractive investment to the reinvigorated American economy.

Aware of the extraordinary freedom to dictate the fate of the Cuban nation the President had granted them, the American delegation met with the defeated Cuban government on August 10 in the Presidential Palace, under the watchful eye of a battalion of American soldiers. Negotiations moved slowly; President Gomez, hoping for better terms once the populace began to rise up against their Yankee oppressors, stalled for time. The United States' initial offer was relatively innocuous: Cuba would agree to repay the United States double the amount Firtz Kuhn had used to bribe his way into the country, as well was reparations for damages done to the Guantanamo Bay, and would grant the United States the right to extradite any of its refugee citizens that it deemed 'evidently dangerous' to U.S. interests; there was to be no repeat incident of the Kuhn affair. Meanwhile, the erstwhile National demagogue continued to elude the American occupation, and many suspected he was no longer on the island.

After almost two weeks of continued heel-dragging on the part of President Gomez, the delegation was losing its patience. The United States lacked the manpower to impose itself on the whole island, but no resistance had manifested itself despite the Cuban government's sincere hopes. On August 21, General Batista, regarded by many Cubans to be a hero for his valiant defense of Santa Clara from repeated American assaults, approached Secretary Hull, offering to put pressure on Gomez to accept whatever demands they made, on the condition that the United States support his bid for power once the occupation ended. Hull balked at the suggestion and flatly refused to consider coercing the Cuban President. But Batista did not give up so easily, instead approaching Hopkins, who reacted much more favorably. As Roosevelt's personal agent to the conference, his word was enough to sway the President. Hull protested, but reluctantly bowed to the President's decision.


So on August 23, the United States presented a new series of demands, far harsher than its original terms. On top of the reparations and extradition rights, Cuba would reavow the perpetual lease of Guantamo Bay and agree to expand its size by several square miles. In addition, Cuba agreed to hold new elections by the end of the year. With the threat of a military coup now looming, Gomez had no choice but to relent. The Treaty of Havana was signed August 24, 1941, amidst a surge of protest that assured Gomez would not survive the imminent elections. Publicly criticizing the treaty was a betrayal of the Cuban people, General Batista announced his intention to run for the presidency.

As the delegates worked in Havana, the war in Mexico continued. Mexico City remained threatened by II. Army from both the north and east. With Cuba defeated and the whole of I. Army now on the way, most Americans believed that the war was all but over. But the military junta in power in the Mexican capital refused to accept the inevitable; with their power reliant solely on nationalist appeals, to do so would leave them powerless and discredited in the postwar period.

With little concern for the ramifications on postwar Mexican power struggles, I. Army landed at Veracruz on August 9 and quickly moved southeast to bolster II. Army's rather precarious hold on Puebla and the surrounding countryside. Now outnumbering the Mexican army by an appreciable margin, Stillwell and Hodges went on the offensive. Secure on its flank, Clark, supported by the Atlantic Fleet and the rest of I. Army, began its march on Villahermosa on the 11th. Making up for their lack of training with a fighting spirit that gave Clark pause, the Mexican forces resisted the advance for as long as they could. But superior numbers and weapons proved too much, and Mj. General Viejo retreated toward Oaxaca, bloodied and beaten.

After the Mexican high command made no move to bolster its crumbled southern defenses, the second phase of the American attack began on the 15th. Sidestepping the Mexican army around the capital and moving parallel to Viejo's retreating army, the rest of I. Army pressed deeper and deeper into Mexico's interior, aiming for the city of Acapulco on the Pacific coast. Two days later, advanced units of Bradley's corps stumbled across the Mexican army's southern headquarters. Using the mountainous terrain to its advantage and turning its anti-air defenses to the ground, General Palafox held off Bradley's corps for over two days before I. Army at last broke through, sending the Mexicans into a rout

Back in the north, DeWitt continued to mop up the remainder of del Rio's forces trapped in southern New Mexico. Still unable to break the American lines despite repeated attacks on the 10th, 12th, and 17th, the Mexicans at last received word that DeWitt's cavalry surrounded and destroyed the last of del Rio's army north of Las Cruces on the 20th of August.

The Mexican position was rapidly becoming completely untenable. Stretched across a huge front against a technically superior and more experienced foe, the Mexican army could not continue to resist the invasion for much longer. But still, Quiroga and Mendoza vowed to continue the fight, by themselves if need be. This brave face proved ineffective, as more and more soldiers deserted their posts, and the populace grew increasingly pessimistic. But reaction was not all negative, however; some vowed to fight to the bitter end resisting Yankee imperialism, and to uphold the legacy of the Zapatatistas.

On August 21, their chance to prove just that came. The whole of II. Army, four division in total, launched a two-pronged attack directed at the capital. Outnumbered two to one, the Mexican lines buckled and could not hold the American forces back. But rather than retreat in disorder, the Mexican forces maintained their cohesion, fighting as they retreated, making Stillwell pay for each miles his soldiers advanced. In the north, Eisenhower had better luck, but still the Mexican forces did not break. The American progress was slow. The hundred miles from Puebla to Mexico City took II. Army more than two weeks to cross. In spite of the heroic defense, the capital was finally surrounded on September 5, and finally Mexico City fell in an all-out-attack on the 6th.


The fall of Mexico City sent a shockwave through the country. The military junta fled to the northwest to Guadalajara, where they hoped to reorganize and prepare a last stand. But just like Lombardo before them, Quiroga and Mendoza were now discredited, in the eyes of the military and the public. The military now took orders from General Cardenas, who wisely ordered contact with American forces to be avoided until a proper armistice could be negotiated. But the Congress of the Socialist Party was not quite ready to surrender, resisting Cardenas' demands that Mexico admit defeat. For the next two weeks, I. Army continued its steady advance through Mexico, contrasting sharply to the endless fighting of the previous two weeks. On the 13th, Acapulco fell to Bradley, while Villahermosa was not captured by Clark until the 21st. With the country now split in half and Mexico City controlled by the Americans, the Congress finally accepted the inevitable. In Chihuahua, Cardenas ordered the army to lay down its arms and the Congress surrendered. By September 23, the war between the United States and Mexico was over.

Kurt_Steiner: Many options abound. Canada is involved in the European war, Kuhn is still unaccounted for and may yet still appear in some Latin American state, or the United States could retreat back into isolation, with Roosevelt lording over a practical monopoly on power.

FlyingDutchie: I'm glad you think so. Indeed, both Brazil and Centroamerica spring to mind as syndicalist states.

Nathan Madien: Perhaps. It's unlikely that he died in the war, at the very least.


The Aftermath of War - Part I

The end of the war with Mexico on September 23, 1941 left the United States with a serious predicament. The American military had performed better than expected; though experienced from the civil war and with greater quantities of higher-quality weapons than their Mexican and Cuban counterparts, most planners and politicians in Washington had assumed the war would have been prolonged by several months. Some even expressed joking disappointment that the war had concluded before the new American armored formations could be put into service.

The chief cause of the unexpectedly rapid American victory was ultimately the disunity and chaos of the Mexican government. The conflict between President Lombardo and the military seriously hindered strategic planning, and the disagreements between the two parties prevented the Mexicans from developing or implementing a cohesive defense. Even more unexpected from the American perspective, both factions were now utterly discredited in the eyes of the Mexicans: Lombardo for offering to cede half the country, and the Quiroga/Mendoza junta for its inability to alter the course of the war. Lacking a clear leader in either the civilian or military hierarchy, governance of the unoccupied territories fell to the unwieldy and uninspiring CPS (Congreso del Partido Socialista).

Roosevelt's dilemma was simple: leaving Mexico would invite the risk of renewed anarchy and civil war along the southern border, while annexing territory to serve as a buffer between a chaotic Mexico and the United States 'proper' would permanently antagonize Mexico and tie up vital resources in occupation and pacification efforts. As such, when the American peace delegation arrived in Mexico City, composed once more of Henry Hopkins, as well as General George Marshall and Henry Stimson, President Hoover's Secretary of State, it a clear conception of American objectives. Unlike with Cuba, the trio were not granted the broad independent authority to dictate terms, both because Mexico had not unconditionally surrendered, and that the fate of Mexico was far more important to the American public than was Cuba's, thus also denying the delegation the authority to determine those objectives for itself.

The CPS delegation was headed by Eduardo Hay, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Doroteo Aranga, Minister of Internal Security. Though part of the legitimate Lombardo administration, neither had the popularity of the people nor the ambition to act beyond the mandate authorized by the CPS. Chaired by Luis Morones, the CPS's Foreign Affairs Committee established that Mexico would refuse to grant any territorial concessions, nor return control of American oil interests nationalized during the lead-up to the war.

Negotiations commenced on September 27, and a combination of Mexican intransigence and American uncertainty assured that the negotiations would stall for quite some time. The American delegation demanded that the United States receive compensation in some form or another for the oil nationalization, but lacking a clear idea of whether it would be accomplished through deregulation or direct monetary compensation, the idea was left to ripen on the vine. Stimson, less than clear as to his role in the negotiations, off-handedly suggested that a demilitarized zone policed by American troops be established on the Mexican side of the border, in the event of any post-war chaos, at with point Hay threatened to walk out of the negotiations and suggest a resumption of hostilities to the CPS for what he claimed amounted to an abrogation of Mexico's sovereignty.

Worried of criticism from an American public that only half-heartedly approved the war in the first place, Roosevelt decided to call Hay's bluff on October 5. By then, the President realized just how precarious the situation was; divided in half between rule by an incapable legislative body and military occupation, the country was steadily breaking down. The CPS was running on borrowed time, and survived only so long as no competitor came to the fore. The American delegation agreed to drop any suggestion of a long-term occupation, so long as ownership of the Mexican oil interests be returned to those American companies it had been seized from.

Ultimately, the CPS caved in to the American demands on October 8, knowing full well that the longer they delayed, the more popular discontent was growing. Already, General Lazaro Cardenas, who boasted de facto control of the army and the intelligence apparatus, was growing bolder in his power play; J. Edgar Hoover predicted that, should the CPS refuse to hold elections that Cardenas would most likely win, it would be deposed in a relatively bloodless coup before long. As such, the Treaty of Mexico City was signed on October 10, 1941. The United States agreed to withdraw from Mexican soil by November 15, in which time Mexico would return ownership of the oil fields to the American companies. The Senate gladly ratified the treaty 92:5.


But the President's attention was diverted further afield even as negotiations were underway. On September 26, having finally stirred from its decades-long slumber, Russia finally responded to the war between France and Germany. With the vast majority of the German armies locked in a life-and-death struggle with the French, Russia was now in a fortuitous position to recoup its losses from the Great War. On September 25, Foreign Minister Konovolov cabled an inflammatory ultimatum to Berlin, demanded Germany cede the recently-annexed 'Baltic Duchy.' Wilhelm III was outraged by the demand, deriding it as a 'treacherous stab in the back.' Though the Russian armies would assuredly be crushed in a direct confrontation, Field Marshal Witzelben cautioned that Germany could not fight a two-front war in its current condition, and the Kaiser ultimately conceded to the Russian demands on the 26th.

Though wholly unpopular amongst the German people, the decision ultimately proved correct. On September 28, Marshal Duclos launched a two-pronged offensive into the Ruhr Valley with approximately forty divisions, aimed at encircling Essen. In the west, Field Marshall Blomberg's I. Armee was rapidly overrun by French armored and motorized columns, and in the east von Rundstedt's II. Armee gave way under the weight of French numbers and air superiority. Within a few short days, Dortmund fell to Duclos and Field Marshall August von Mackensen and thirteen divisions were trapped in a huge pocket around Essen.

Within days of this success, the French launched a secondary attack across the Rhine in the south, directed at Stuttgart which achieved equal success. Caught between these two offensives, German High Command proved itself unable to organize an effective counter-attack. Day by day, Duclos' army pressed harder on the German forces trapped in the Ruhr pocket, finally seizing Essen on October 14 and accepting von Mackensen's surrender. At once, nearly a tenth of the German army and one of its preeminent Great War generals had been captured. Not only that, the combined losses in the Rhineland and at Stuttgart delivered a severe blow to the German industry; already, French production was outpacing its German counterpart, and the gap was widening at an accelerating pace. Only the onset of inclement weather and the losses sustained the combined offensives prevented the Syndicalist allies from sweeping through Bavaria and central Germany immediately. General MacArthur predicted that, unless Austria-Hungary or the Pope's Italian Federation intervened, Germany would likely not survive through the summer of '42.

The American public's reaction to these events was mixed. All but the staunchest Germanophiles, a rarity in the United States, viewed the German defeats as anything more than a country getting what it so rightly deserved for its bully-boy tactics and brutish militarism that had led it to such catastrophe. But many, particularly Republicans and erstwhile Nationals, looked at France's, and with it syndicalism's, rising ascendance with growing concern. In any case, the war was benefitting the American economy tremendously. The collapse of German trade presented American companies with new investment oppurtunities that had been unavailable for the past two decades, while the continued trade with France remained as profitable as ever; military aid had been cut off with the declaration of war against Cuba and Mexico, but France and Britain continued to sign trade deals.

I figure I should explain the situation with Russia. The Germans handed over the Baltic provinces to Russia in an event I made after Germany annexed the Baltic Duchy. The Germans had a forty percent chance to refuse and go to war, which would have started another chain of events I had in mind.

But, rather wisely, they chose to cave in.


The Storm Over Europe - Part V

Following the Syndicalist alliance's successes in the Ruhr and Wurttemberg, the front once again stabilized, as French and allied forces recouped their losses and reorganized for subsequent campaigning. But 1941 was rapidly running out and the weather took a sharp turn for the worse. Faced with stiff German resistance and heavy snowfalls, all renewed offensives for November were cancelled for the winter.

What followed was a bizarre five-month period of relative inactivity along the entire front line, as both sides stared at each other from increasingly-elaborate trench systems, reminiscent of the Great War. The peace was broken only by the occasional artillery duel, aerial dogfight, or short skirmish between French and German units that raided and counter-raided enemy lines to sow confusion and wreak havoc. Many civilians took part, prompting swift Syndicalist suppression campaigns and reprisals against suspected dissidents; thousands of Germans were rounded up and many were executed without trial.


But above all, the greatest danger for civilian and soldier alike was the elements itself. Just as America faced an unprecedented heat wave, so too was Europe enduring the coldest winter of the century. Heavy snowfall and artic temperatures pushed men to their limits; tanks, trucks, and planes were put out of commission, frostbite became a constant danger, and soldiers and many more displaced refugees froze to death in appalling numbers. Of all the countries, Germany, deprived of the coal mines of the Saar and Ruhr, suffered the greatest. With mounting home front deprivations and military defeat, what once was only the muttered whispers of the most die-hard SPD members was rapidly becoming commonplace; dissent and war exhaustion were on the rise.

Despite it all, the German Empire managed to endure through the winter of '41-'42 intact. During this time, Foreign Minister von der Schulenberg had not been idle; realizing that Germany desperately needed assistance to bolster its flagging armies, Schulenberg turned to Austria-Hungary and the Italian Federation, confident that they could be persuaded to join in an alliance against the forces of syndicalism with little effort.


Schulenberg was soon to discover, much to his incredulous astonishment, that neither was eager to enter the war. Together, Austria and the Papacy boasted armies roughly equal in number to Germany's remaining forces, but, as was the case twenty years earlier, the quality of these forces was suspect. Schulenberg quickly recovered, however, and once more pressed Italy and Austria-Hungary for military assistance. Foreign Minister von Arbengau responded positively this second time, but cabled back to Berlin that Emperor Otto I was eager to assist his 'dear allies in the struggle against that wretched blight.' The Papacy, however, was a different matter; though Pope Julius IV adamantly despised syndicalism and knew that the Church would be abolished if Togliati and Gramsci were ever to seize Rome, the Italian Federation was trapped between France and the Sicialian Republic, unable to attack one without risking destruction against the other.

Undeterred, Schulenberg continued his diplomatic efforts with Austria-Hungary in earnest through the early months of 1942. Although he had Austrian support firmly, he had yet to win over the Hungarians, who, terrified by the growing unrest in the Balkans, resisted any call to war. As Schulenberg endeavored to overcome this final hurdle disaster struck at the front.

On March 26, the Syndcalists launched a massive offensive from Freiburg with thirty-four divisions, including thirteen armored divisions. Against such a force, Field Marshall von Bock's entrenched infantry was rapidly overwhelmed and sent into headlong retreat. All of southern Wurttemburg and Bavaria suddenly seemed to be within Syndicalist grasp; reinforcements were hastily dispatched from von Kuchler's army defending northern Bavaria and the local Volksgrenadier divisions were called up.


The German move played right into Marshal Manouchian's overall plan; rather than continue to advance eastward toward Munich and pursue von Bock's battered army, the massive French armored columns made an abrupt ninety degree turn northward as General Georges attacked von Kuchler's army on April 2. Still struggling to grasp the consequences of French armored superiority, von Kuchler gave battle; the French tanks under Lt. General Touchon, smashed through the weak German flank, instigating a massive rout that shattered the German southern theater. Within two days, Nuremberg and Regensburg fell to the Syndicalist armies, trapping von Bock's entire army in southern Bavaria.

Many still hoped that the situation might still be saved if Austria immediately intervened in the war and relieved von Bock's stranded forces. Indeed, sixteen Austro-Hungarian divisions stood ready on the border, armed with the latest and most advanced weapons produced by the Czech munitions factories. But on April 6, just two days after Germany's crushing reverses in northern Bavaria, 'Iron Guard' Romania, under the leadership of the nationalist Corneliu Cordeanu declared war on Serbia with the intent of establishing a Greater Balkan state. Terror gripped the Magyar aristocratic elite, who dominated the Romanian Transylvania and Slav lands, instantly undoing all the progress Schulenberg had achieved in the past three months.


Trapped and without hope of Austrian intervention, von Bock's army was quickly overwhelmed in Munich and forced into an ever-shrinking pocket. The Syndicalist offensive continued unabated in the north. von Kuchler's battered army was pursued north. By April 9, French troops were advancing through Saxony; on the 11th, Frankfurt fell to a massive three-pronged attack, and on the 16th, von Bock formally surrendered in the war-torn streets of Munich.

If the Syndicalist allied offensives of October in the Ruhr had been a disaster for Germany, the three-week period between March 26 and April 16 was an unmitigated catastrophe: easily twenty percent of the German army had been utterly destroyed and the whole of southern Germany was now occupied territory. Perhaps even worse, any hope of Austrian intervention had evaporated with the renewed Balkan war.