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Everything seems to be going swimmingly, more lands freed and a very good bit of action in crushing the German forces at Torun. However whilst everything is going swimmingly in terms of the war as a whole, rather good that the infighting continues unabated at allied command, always makes for good reading! I look forward to finding out if MacArthur is able to make an invasion of India himself or not.
 
While I understand the reasons for Truman running for another term in 1960, I think he has been in office long enough (ever since the beginning of the AAR). Why not have Truman groom a handpick successor to oversee the endgame?

Also, are you going to bring in new Generals? The WW2 batch are all old men by now, and I think the Army could use a few younger men (perhaps Maxwell Taylor or Matthew Ridgeway can take command somewhere).

I could have Truman step down, but I really do not think he would do so in the middle of the war. I sure would not if I could help it. It would just feel like he was leaving unfinished business or leaving the job undone. I plan for him to leave office after the war by refusing to run in the next election after the war ends. I might even have him resign after the war. I am toying with the idea of having Bradley serve as his handpicked successor and then having Patton run against him. The result of the election would determine how I right about what happens after the war. That is the reason I have left a lot out when discussing after war stuff, as most of those developments will depend on who succeeds Truman.
As for the generals, I really do not think they would step down in the middle of the war either, especially Patton and MacArthur. They are both glory hounds and I think they would have had to force Patton to retire. Also, their is no death or retirement event for any of them and I cannot write one. That means I would have to have them sit in my pool unused and that seems like a waste of a good general. I would bring in generals like Ridgeway and the like but I have one big problem with that: I would have to add them in myself. I cannot really do that because my game does not take kindly to modding. In terms of the storyline, I think they would be mightily overshadowed by the likes of Clark, Patton, Bradley, MacArthur, and even Eisenhower to a lesser extent. These men are quick becoming legends and legends tend to force all other people into the shade, regardless of talent or whether they want to or not.

The war in the Balkans was now all but concluded. The only pockets of resistance that still needed to be mopped up were in Romania and the Greek Islands, and these were soon to be crushed. The first step in clearing the Greek Islands was in taking the Dodecanese Islands from Italy, who had 8 divisions trapped their by the American fleet just off shore. The first attempt by General Eagles failed and so more men were brought up and a second attempt made on the Islands
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This attempt was successful in forcing those 8 divisions to surrender, thus not only liberating the islands, but also depriving the Italians of 8 divisions they could ill afford to lose.

This development was accompanied by a much more significant development, however. That development was an announcement of independence. However, unlike other independence announcements, this one was not made by Truman or his generals. This one was made by the people of Yemen. They had been in revolt against the Germans since September of last year if not earlier and they had recently managed to secure control of the whole country. The result was that they proclaimed their independence and installed Yahya al Hamid as their new leader.

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This was met with a curious mix of emotions in Washington. On the one hand, it represented an oppressed people throwing off the yoke of Germany. More interesting where that reports seemed to indicate that these men only numbered about 10,000. A revolt of this size should have been easily crushed by Germany, as an earlier revolt by them indeed had. However, Yemen did not join the allies nor did it seem inclined to do so. That meant that Bradley would have to launch his campaign in India from Ethiopia and Somalia, much farther from reinforcements. This would only serve to further complicate matters of the invasion of India.
Shortly thereafter, offensives were also begun to liberate those parts of Romania that still remained in Axis hands.
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Then, on February 11, 1958, Eisenhower announced the liberation of two more states.
the first announcement was of the liberation of Greece.
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While most of Greece had been liberated some time ago, the official announcement had been held off until the Greek Islands could be taken and an effective government set up.
The second announcement was of the liberation of Bulgaria.
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It was a very humbling moment for the Bulgarians, who had considered themselves the masters of the Balkans. of their conquests since the war began, only Constanta remained to them. However, that was due entirely to a diplomatic oversight and eveyone expected that Bulgaria would be forced to hand it over after the war, thus returning them to their 1936 borders. What then had so many Bulgarians died for? To the Bulgarians, this question no longer had an easy answer. To many, the answer became that they died for German ambitions and that their government had sold them out to the Germans. They believed that King Boris and his ilk, by refusing to negotiate peace when they had the chance and chosing to fight to the bitter end, had made the sacrifice of all those Bulgarian men useless. Had they negotiated for peace when the tide turned against Germany, they might have gotten a peace deal that might have allowed them to keep those conquests which they had a legitimate claim to. To those who arrived at this answer, as an increasing number of Bulgarians did, they now acquired a burning desire for revenge against both the King and the Germans, both of whom were viewed to have led the nation to ruin. This desire for revenge against the King was carried out when the Bulgarians tried and convicted King Boris of treason. As punishment, the King was executed and his family exiled from Bulgaria. To get revenge on the Germans, the Bulgarians eagerly joined the Allies and began to raise regiments to fight against their former allies.
Soon after these developments, the Americans began amassing a force in Istanbul in preparation for an invasion of Turkey.
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Many were anxious about this invasion, as a similar invasion launched by the Germans, Italians, and Bulgarians early in the war had been an abysmal failure and gains had only been made when the Italians, fresh from victory in North Africa, began attacking Turkey from the East as well. With American forces there stalled and unable to provide assistance to the invasions, many feared that the invasion of Turkey might become a bloodbath. The invasion also raised a notable command and control issue. Many were unsure about who would be in command of the forces in Anatolia once they landed, Eisenhower or Clark. not wanting to incite another media free-for-all, Truman came up with a compromise. Eisenhower would maintain command until they had secured a foothold. Once they had managed to secure a foothold in Turkey, command of the invading forces would devolve onto Eisenhower's deputy, Bernhard Montgommery. However, to facilitate coordination between the forces in Western Turkey and those in Eastern Turkey, ultimate command would be transferred to Clark. It would be his job to coordinate the attacks of these two forces and catch the Italians in a pincer move. With this issue ironed out, the go ahead for invasion was given.
While these battles were raging and the men were trying to gain a foothold on the shores of Anatolia, Another development briefly distracted attention away from the Balkans, that development was the liberation of Poland.
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This was met with much celebration across Europe and America. The invasion of Poland by Germany back in 1939 had been what had sparked the war that would come to be known as WWII. The war had already become the largest and bloodiest war in human history by far. Indeed, it was believed by many that the bloody Iberian campaign had cost more American lives then the entire American Civil War, and that was only one campaign, albeit the bloodiest. When the war had started almost 20 long years ago, the Allies had been forced to watch helplessly as Poland fell. Now, that debt had been repaid with the Allied liberation of Poland.
Back in Turkey, the allied attacks on Izmit and Bursa had, while facing heavy resistance, resulted in victory. Bursa had fallen and Allied troops were already enroute to take Izmit. Indeed, not wanting to wait for Izmit to fall, Montgomery, who was in charge of the invasion, ordered his men to take Izmir.
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However, attention was once again refocused further North when Eisenhower announced the liberations of Romania and Hungary.
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This was a momentous occasion. With these two liberations, all of Europe west of Russia, save for parts of Scandinavia, was now free from German control. the Germans, whose territory in Europe was now confined to Russia, faced a the very real possibility of trying to hold the territory of what was once they most bitter enemy. The irony of this was not lost on anyone. The Germans one hope lay in building up their defenses before the snows melted and the resulting rasputisa, or muddy season, ended and the American forces surged forth into Russia. If they could consolidate their defenses and secure their positions, they might have a chance to hold out and possibly stop the American advance. However, that was a very big if. Only time would tell if they could pull it off.
 
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To reply to those of you who posted while the last update was being written.
Everything seems to be going swimmingly, more lands freed and a very good bit of action in crushing the German forces at Torun. However whilst everything is going swimmingly in terms of the war as a whole, rather good that the infighting continues unabated at allied command, always makes for good reading! I look forward to finding out if MacArthur is able to make an invasion of India himself or not.

I am glad you like the infighting. I believe it makes the generals more then simple faces commanding armies. It certainly would be good to see if MacArthur and his men can pull of the invasion and to watch Truman and Bradley wipe the egg off their face.

Now all I can imagine is MacArhtur landing in India by himself to liberate the country. Armed only with a scowl and a cob pipe.

I laughted pretty hard at that image. I got to say I would not necessarily put it past TTL MacArthur to try just that if he had to.
 
Very nice progress in Europe. Time to rid of Italy once and for all.
 
It's always good to see liberated countries. :)

By the way, I fully understand your reasons in regards to your reply to my last post. I just wanted to toss out those ideas and see what your reaction to them would be. You are doing a good job and keep up the fine work.
 
Very good stuff having freed both Poland and Romania, Germany truly is weakened now. Hopefully you can push on before Germany has a chance to build up any defences as they are really struggling at present.

Now all I can imagine is MacArhtur landing in India by himself to liberate the country. Armed only with a scowl and a cob pipe.

Love the imagery!
 
Very nice progress in Europe. Time to rid of Italy once and for all.

Soon, very soon. They are already on their last leg and they cannot hold for much longer without nonexistant German aid.

It's always good to see liberated countries. :)
By the way, I fully understand your reasons in regards to your reply to my last post. I just wanted to toss out those ideas and see what your reaction to them would be. You are doing a good job and keep up the fine work.

It is indeed good to see a country liberated. And thanks for the compliment.

Very good stuff having freed both Poland and Romania, Germany truly is weakened now. Hopefully you can push on before Germany has a chance to build up any defences as they are really struggling at present.
Love the imagery!
That will be the question. I highly doubt they can stop me at this point though. They do not have the manpower and the terrain does not favor them. The terrain in Russia is flatland, which does not confer a defensive advantage. They were able to keep me out of France because of the Pyrenees. The only mountain ranges of note they could whole up in in Russia are the Urals and the Caucauses, and if they get driven back to those, they are in deep trouble already.

Most of Europe had now been liberated from the grip of facism. The only place in Europe that remained to the Germans was Russia, once home to their worst ideological enemies, the communist USSR. Now, they were to be forced to defend that land. The terrain itself tended to defeat most of Russia's enemies. Numerous armies had tried, and only the Mongols and Germans had ever succeeded in conquering it. The allies were not stupid and knew better then to confront Russia's best general: General Winter. They therefore postponed all offensives into Russia until the snow's had melted and the resulting Rasputisa had cleared. They planned to use the time to plan their invasion.

While this planning was going on, all eyes were drawn to another harsh northern land: Scandinavia. This was owed to the announcement of the liberation of Norway from German control.
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However, Scandinavia as a whole was a really a sideshow, with no appreciable resistance anywhere in the region. The real fighting was happening in Turkey. In Turkey, the Americans had succeeded in gaining a foothold. They had seized Bursa, Izmit, and Izmir and where preparing to advance ever deeper into the region.
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Not wanting to lose momentum, Montgomery ordered a general offensive all along the line in Western Turkey. Antalya, Afryonkarahisar,Ankara, and Karabuk were all targeted in this offensive.
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All of them fell to American attacks.
Not wanting to waste any time, Clark immediately ordered an attack on Mersin, and he ordered Montgomery to attack the region from the West while he attacked from the East. He felt certain that this two pronged attack would finally break the back of the stubborn resistance in the region.
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The attack succeeded and the two fronts would join hands soon after.
In addition, a successful attack was also made on Samsun
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Sivas was also attacked soon after Ankara fell.
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the attack was a success and the region fell soon after, thus tightening the allied noose in Turkey.
However, while the Turkish campaign was going smoothly, a rather unexpected event occurred in Scandinavia. the Germans had managed to sneak a force into Stockholm overland from Finland and Aland.
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The Germans quickly took the city, driving the surrounding region into panic, as there were no forces anywhere in the vicinity that could stop them. This presented a very big problem, as these Germans now threatened to cut off the American forces in the North from resupply, and potentially take back huge swathes of territory. However,the problem was solved by the shipping in of a force of Canadians that succeeded in driving back the Germans in the area. The German force was driven from Sweden and the Canadians remained in Stockholm to guard against similar occurences.
Meanwhile, back in Turkey, Konya and Kayseri had fallen and further attacks were in the process of being planned.
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However, these occurences were mightily overshadowed by the beginning of the long awaited offensive into Russia.
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An offensive was launched by Patton all along the line and one by one, reports of success began to filter in. The Americans had broken through and were now beginning to push deep further in. So far, the answer to the question of whether the Germans had managed to build up sufficient defenses during the winter was no.
The German collapse in Russia was being paralleled by a similar Italian collapse in Turkey, as Elazig, Erzerum, and Sivas all fell or, in the case of the later, were about to fall. This gave Truman and Clark enough territory to do something they had been planning since the liberation of Iraq: They proclaimed the liberation of the new nation of Kurdistan.
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He also announced two more liberation soon after that, that of the nations of Iraq
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and Syria.
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The liberation of Kurdistan, however, was by far the most momentous and the most controversial. After centuries of being ruled over by other peoples, the Kurds were finally being given their own state. This was met with great celebration throughout the new nation, but grumbles began to rise from the regions of Iraq, Syria, and even Turkey, after that nation was given its independence. All three nations had lost territory to the new nation and all three were not happy about it. They demanded an explanation form Truman. Truman stated that what he wanted to do was give the right of self determination to as many ethnic groups as possible. He stated that if they really felt that strongly about the loss of territory, he would be more then happy to request Kurdistan to hold a plebisicite, overseen by representatives of all three states and the Americans. Knowing full well that they would lose in such a plebiscite, all three nations dropped the issue.
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This announcement was parelleled with the announcement of the liberation of Sweden.
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Thus, all three of the great Scandinavian nations had been liberated. However, one major obstacle still remained in the allies path. That obstacle was the state of Finland. Finland had allied itself with Germany, and had been well rewarded by being given all Russian territories north of Leningrad, including the port city of Murmansk. The Fins had beaten the Russians twice and were not going to be a pushover. plans were immediately drawn up for the defeat of Finland.
However, all of this was mightily overshadowed by another, much more momentous announcement. on July 18, 1958, Italy officially surrendered to the Allies when King Victor Emanuel II and Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio signed a document of unconditional surrender.
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This was a major breakthrough. After 12 long years of, Italy, one of the three main partners in the Axis alliance, had surrendered. This announcement was met with massive celebration both among the allied soldiers and on the homefront. To the Germans, however, it represented a complete disaster. Italy and its forces had been one of the main bulwarks against Clark. With them defeated and massive new forces now arriving in the region, their now remained little stopping Clark from forcing his way into Persia and the Caucuses. If he could break into the Caucuses, he could advance into Russia from the south, and possibly strike north, cutting off the Germans line of retreat into Siberia. At the very least, the opening of this second front would mean the total collapse of German forces fighting in Russia. If Persia fell, then India and the Japanese territories in China and Southeast Asia would be open to him. Thus, the Germans now began to feel the walls closing in on them.
 
Finally, Italy is gone forever! Now, to get rid of that massive dissent buildup...
 
Finally, Italy is gone forever! Now, to get rid of that massive dissent buildup...

That certainly is ironic. America is being hit with dissent for bringing freedom to the world.
 
Very nicely done, glad to see things going well in every theatre, especially the invasion of Russia. With Italy having finally surrendered it seems as if the end may finally be in sight, if still distant.
 
Finally, Italy is gone forever! Now, to get rid of that massive dissent buildup...

Indeed, but as this next update will show, they are not quite gone forever. I do need to do something about the dissent build up, but other then increasing my output of manufactured goods, I am not sure what their is to do.

That certainly is ironic. America is being hit with dissent for bringing freedom to the world.

It is rather ironic isn't it. I really cannot figure out why that dissent sticks around. Any dissent you receive from an annexation should in all honesty be eliminated once you liberate that country.

So the middle east is going to be far from quiet in TTL as well in the future I take it?

Actually, I think it will be a whole lot quieter. Palestine is to be given its own state in the Sinai peninsula after the war and they therefore do not really have that to fight over with Isreal. As for Kurdistan, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq could team up on them, but TTL America has a lot more influence in the Middle East then OTL America. That Kurdistan is likely to get assistance from the Americans. In other words, in any war, I am pretty sure the Kurds would come out on top. They also dropped the issue of Kurdistan being given their lands because they knew they could not fight the Americans and that they could not fight the Americans and that they had no chance of getting it back legally.

can you liberate the FRG? it would be so fun to see :D

I can liberate it, but I am not going to. I intend to wait to create a Germany until after the war.

Italy had finally fallen. This was a momentous occasion for the allies. The Italian people, who had suffered occupation for years while their government kept up the fight, could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Surprisingly, however, King Victor Emanuelle and Pietro Badoglio were not condemned for the defeat. Indeed, the Italian people remembered how they continued to fight for the liberation of Italy until their was simply nothing left to fight with. They had fought to the last, only giving up when their was no option left. Indeed, they had continued the fight rather admirably for a long time on the borders of Italy and in Anatolia. Only the breakout from Spain and the subsequent faltering of Germany had the struggle turned against them. Indeed, Badoglio and Victor Emanuelle tried to negotiate with the allies, but the Americans, seeing no need for a negotiated peace, insisted on an unconditional surrender. This was too much and they resolved to fight to the last. As they chose not to blame them for the defeat, neither did they blame either man for the war in the first place. All the blame for that particular failing was laid squarely on the shoulders of the now deceased Benito Mussolini. He had been the one to bring Italy into the war. At first, Italy had made impressive gains and become the dominant power in Africa and the Middle East and one of the three powers that dominated the Balkans. However, After the Americans entered the war, he proceeded to lead them into one disaster after another. It was only after his removal that the Italians had succeeded in halting the American advance, however briefly. Indeed, the Italian people remembered how Victor Emanuelle and Pietro Badoglio had defied him and ultimately caused his downfall in the firefight in his villa that had resulted in the dictators death. It was for this reason that the Italians chose to retain Victor Emanuelle as their King after they reformed their government.
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However, Badoglio was not retained, as he had grown tired of politics and opted to retire and live the rest of his days in relative quiet.
After the reforming of their government, Italians were left with a deep seething hatred for the Germans. They had followed the Germans into war and had fought alongside them in many a battlefield. However, what had been their reward for such service? Yes, they had been given a large expanse of territory, but when they needed the Germans aid in defending it, they received next to nothing. Only when American forces began approaching Germany itself by way of Italy and German held Persia in the Middle East did the Germans send sizable forces to assist the Italians. Few Germans had served in Africa to try and halt the American advance their. Indeed, the Italians believed that if the Germans had sent sizable forces to assist in Africa, they could have stalemated the American offensive there indefinitely, just as the Germans had done in Spain and the Pyrennes. Many Italians believed that the African campaign had been the decisive moment for them, when the fate of their empire had been decided. Its fall gave the allies a base from which to strike at both Italy itself and into the Middle East. Both of those disasters would never had happened had Africa been held. The Italians had fought very well in holding it early on and had nearly succeeded in stoping the Americans in North Africa. They therefore believed that even a few German forces fighting alongside them would have been sufficient to halt the American advance. The Italians therefore believed fervently that the Germans had failed them and they wanted revenge for that. The Italians therefore eagerly joined the Americans and Italians began enlisting in droves to fight the Germans. One of the Germans strongest allies had now become one of their greatest enemies.
 
Yay for the liberation of Italy! Time to drive into Russia!
 
If I recall correctly, in OTL the Italians weren't too happy with their German allies and some of their policies. Many believed that Mussolini was Hitlers pet and that they had been drug into the war to feed the egos of the two dictators.

Their desire for revenge is understandable.
 
It was for this reason that the Italians chose to retain Victor Emanuelle as their King after they reformed their government.

Nothing says "reform" quite like making an 88-year-old dead guy your Head of State.
 
Yay for the liberation of Italy! Time to drive into Russia!

It is indeed time to drive into Russia

If I recall correctly, in OTL the Italians weren't too happy with their German allies and some of their policies. Many believed that Mussolini was Hitlers pet and that they had been drug into the war to feed the egos of the two dictators.
Their desire for revenge is understandable.

They were not to happy about it. The announcement of Italy going to war was the first time that one of Mussolini's decisions did not meet with almost universal acclaim. The fact that they blamed him for the war is also evident in his rather gruesome death and the way they defiled his body after he had been killed.

Nothing says "reform" quite like making an 88-year-old dead guy your Head of State.
The lack of death events for characters strikes again! First Petain is the leader of Vichy France long after he should have died. Then, Albert Lebrun was briefly head of France despite being dead for years. Finally, Victor Emanuelle is King of Italy even after he is dead. None of it beats actually coming up against an admiral who I FOR SURE KILLED. I assassinated Raeder as a minister and then he showed up as an admiral. Aparrently, the Axis are dabbling in Necromancy.

Italy had become one of the Americans most firm allies. However, it would be a while before they could train and equip their raw recruits enought to make an impact on the war. Thus, the invasion of Russia went ahead without significant Italian support.
That invasion was making remarkable progress with no signs of being stopped anytime soon.
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It was now very clear that the Germans had failed to take advantage of the winter respite to prepare their defenses. In what had been dubbed by the press "Barbarossa in reverse" and "Operation Barbarossa 2.0" was going very smoothly. The Germans were being forced back at every turn and had failed to put up a decent defense. Patton, in a characterist boast, promised to "be spending the Christmas Holiday in Moscow". His critics were very unhappy with this boast, most notably Bradley, still cooling his heels in the Netherlands. He believed that it was nothing but bluster and was tempting fate. He also felt that it was taunting the Germans and daring them to stop him. Bradley believed that this was pattently unwise comparing them to a wounded lion. He is reported to have said "A wounded lion may be decidedly less dangerous, but if you poke it enough, it might just show you it still has teeth and claws". He believed that if Patton continued to taunt the Germans, he would simply add fuel to their still operational propaganda machine. He feared that it might wound their pride just enough to give them some of their old spirit back. However, Patton's fame continued to grow and many were not so receptive to these critics. They believed that Germany was not a wounded lion, but a dying one. They ate up Patton's boast and it only furthered his surging popularity. Patton had already become a legend as the man who liberated Europe. His rapid blitzkrieg, that had started when he broke out of Spain and which had not ceased or lost momentum since, also gave him an aura of invincibility among the populace. Moreover, his growing popularity started going straight to his head. He became even more arrogant then ever and started nursing even greater ambitions. Realizing that he would have gained as much military glory as he was ever going to get by the end of the war, Patton began to develop ambitions of potentially becoming President, realizing that Truman would not be president forever. Indeed, the great man had even promised to step down after the war was over by stating that he would not run in the next election after the war ended. Patton believed he could beat anyone that was set against him, and that made him ponder running even more. Ultimately however, he put those thoughts aside, realizing that their was still a war to win before he could even think of running for president.
That war was well on its way to being won. as evidenced by four more liberations
the first of these was the liberation of Turkey, which was accompanied by much controversy.
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This controversy came about as a result of a notable territorial concession: that of the city of Istanbul to Greece. To the Turkish, this was intolerable. They had already been made to give up much territory in the East to the new state of Kurdistan, and now they were forced to give up their largest city as well. The Turkish government protested to the heavens and refused to back down for anything. Eventually, Truman relented. He agreed to give the Turks a chance to get the city and its surrounding territory back. In order to make it fair to all involved, he offered to hold a plebisicite in the city after the war. In return, he extracted promises from both countries that if they lost the resulting plebisicite, they would give up their claim to the city. Both had very strong claims to it, so this was a considerable concession. In the case of Greece, it had been a part of Greece, an integral part, for a long time prior to the Ottoman conquests. It had served as the capital of the Byzantine Empire, the last great Greek state. Thus, the Greeks had long sough after its return. They also claimed, and Truman leaned towards agreement in this regard, that its concession gave the two nations a more natural border of the Bosporus. The Turks, in contrast, had held the city for centuries and it had served as the capital of the old Ottoman empire. While the City was no longer their capital, it was still their largest city by far. Both sides agreeing to give up these claims if they lost was thus a momentous concession on both of their accounts.
The other two liberations were nowhere near as controversial and much more widely acclaimed. They were the liberations of Lativia
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and Lithuania.
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These two nations had lost their independence even before WWII had broken out. They had been absorbed by the Soviet Union after not even 50 years of independence following centuries of foreign rule. There liberation reflected Truman's desire to restore the independence of all of the nations that had been given their independence from Russia after WWI and had since been reabsorbed following the Bolshevik's took over in Russia. He also toyed with the idea of sundering Russia itself into several different nations, such as Siberia and Primorsk. However, he was torn about carrying out this latter part of the plan as he feared it might do nothing but destabilize the region of Russia in the future through efforts to reunite the country. This would be made even more likely by the fact that the resulting splinter states would be in no way able to stand up to the vastly more powerful Russia, which would have a larger population and a much bigger industrial base. They would therefore need massive amounts of American support to even have a hope of preserving their independence, especially in the case of Siberia. Thus, this plan was put on the back burner for now.

And there you have it, another update. I would like to state that the shorter updates are not necessarily a portent of things to come, and the updates that come next week might just as long as the ones you are used to from me. I am making quite the advance in Russia right now and their is therefore much to write about.
 
I'll vote for Patton if he runs, no matter which party. I don't mind breaking the Southern Democrat tradition again.