Let the ruling classes tremble – an Interactive Revolutionary AAR

[Pneumonia]

And someone calls this a democracy?

I kept posting endlessly pro-Anarchist messages, the Anarchists gained their best score so far, but still Trotsky gets elected and decides to start his purges?

I agree, this is unfair. A future vote for the Anarcho-Kadonists will help rectify all this!

Meanwhile, Kadon who seems absent becomes a huge martyr and my party is split into two?

Kadon's body might be moldering in his grave, but he is always with us. Our enemies can never silence a hero as true as he, one that bore such a brave message! And do not fear the Anarchists split; Nestor Makhno will lead us as brilliantly as Kadon did!

[Raph]

This is typical Trotskyist argument. It sounds good until you actually count up the numbers and realise that tens of millions are dying to save a few thousands.

It is not the capitalists that our workers are killing in their millions, Trotsky is leading us to slaughter the very same workers that the Troyskyists purport to be saving. They will not die in the capitalists' factories, because they have already fallen to the guns of those that pretend to be their comrades.

I find it naïve to think that the death toll of capitalism is in the mere thousands. Every premature death because of disease, malnutrition, starvation or disability is the fault of a system that only cares for those with money to pay forthemselves. Furthermore, the constant drive of the imperialist forces to expand their oppressive rule over the world and rob it of its resources has buchered the entire population of large parts of the Americas, and brought millions others from there and from Africa into slavery. What we're doing now is a courageous attempt to finally break this constant cycle of opression and bring change to this ravaged world.

[Gergenuss]

Onward towards the socialist world republic!

[LeCare]

Therefore, according to your own logic, discriminating against the True Germans is hardly discrimination because they are xenophobic, misogynist, hyper-nationalists. And yet you will defend them against discrimination over and over again...

You're setting a double standard in which anything the M-L's do is somehow worse than the same action taken by others. It's a crime when the M-L's discriminate against the True Germans, but it's perfectly acceptable for other factions to discriminate against the M-L's.

Hm...
We held a few speeches and fought on the streets one or two times causing a minor nuisance.
Trotsky disregarded the Assembly, ejected us and is now in the process of a total war that will kill millions

I really dont see the double standard for we really did not discriminate anyone yet while Trotsky did (you cannot be charged for discrimination just because someone suspects you will be a discriminator in the future, however you can charge a discriminator who has discriminated for discrimination (principles of logic II: a crime is based upon a mens rea and an actus rea, i.e. a criminal mind and a criminal act. The sole possible existence of a criminal mind does not constitute a crime and vice versa. Trotsky commited the act and had the intention therefore it does constitute an act so sorry no doublstandard)

[yourworstnightm]

The True Germans should keep quiet with their Reactionary Propaganda. Trotsky had all the rights in the world to ban a group trying to destroy the Revolution. We need to silence counterrevolutionary propaganda in this Republic while we're at war to liberate our brothers and sisters from the bourgeois slavery.

[Enewald]

The True Germans should keep quiet with their Reactionary Propaganda. Trotsky had all the rights in the world to ban a group trying to destroy the Revolution. We need to silence counterrevolutionary propaganda in this Republic while we're at war to liberate our brothers and sisters from the bourgeois slavery.

For me it seems that Marxists are more backwards-leaning and reactionary than this new party that proposed new ideas, was in the elections for the first time and is thoroughly a fresh invention.
Meanwhile, Marxists have had the same policies and methods for half a century and have formed their own conservative cliques that have infested our republic.

Trotsky had no laws backing him, except for the fact that we lack laws, some of which we direly need. Trotsky is above the law.
For one man to be above the law is reactionary, in a revolutionary republic the people are the force behind the law, not one brutish tyrannous immigrant.

We need a constitution to guarantee our freedoms and rights. The constitution should ensure safety and security for our own citizens, to protect equality and solidarity.
And to prevent one man from doing his wantonly deeds.

We need a new united front. One against Trotsky.

[Konnigratz]

I find the reaction to the expulsion of the True Germans shocking. The members of the organization have not been imprisoned, nor has the organization been made illegal (as far as I know). They were merely expelled from the Party. Since they represent an ideology that is the antithesis of Communism, I do not see why it should be causing such outrage. We would not allow a group that advocates complete free-market capitalism into the Party, so why should we allow a group that supports the other hallmarks of the bourgeoisie?

[Raph]

I find the reaction to the expulsion of the True Germans shocking. The members of the organization have not been imprisoned, nor has the organization been made illegal (as far as I know). They were merely expelled from the Party. Since they represent an ideology that is the antithesis of Communism, I do not see why it should be causing such outrage. We would not allow a group that advocates complete free-market capitalism into the Party, so why should we allow a group that supports the other hallmarks of the bourgeoisie?

This is important. Compared to the history of the republic and the party, this is very benign. No imprisonments, no censorship, no executions, now brawls or riots. It's just this one important thing: the people's party is a socialist party. If you're not a socialist, you shouldn't be allowed to be a member of the party.

[Hoody]

Oh, I think that Trotsky will made purges but after the war or in time the war will be decided. Actually it would be very stupid to terminaly purge partymembers before war. Marxists and especially Trotsky is the biggest reactionaries here, long time ago they stop develop, they left idea of revolution, the only thing they care is their own power and to secure their positions.
M-L were afraid of internal affair so they made the grandest war ever. I´m waiting when they start to call that war Great Patriotic War.... M-L have hands full of workers and farmers blood. Shame on them. We need to forge united front against these warmongers.

[winsingtonIII]

Hm...
We held a few speeches and fought on the streets one or two times causing a minor nuisance.
Trotsky disregarded the Assembly, ejected us and is now in the process of a total war that will kill millions

I really dont see the double standard for we really did not discriminate anyone yet while Trotsky did (you cannot be charged for discrimination just because someone suspects you will be a discriminator in the future, however you can charge a discriminator who has discriminated for discrimination (principles of logic II: a crime is based upon a mens rea and an actus rea, i.e. a criminal mind and a criminal act. The sole possible existence of a criminal mind does not constitute a crime and vice versa. Trotsky commited the act and had the intention therefore it does constitute an act so sorry no doublstandard)

You're viewing this as a physical crime with physical evidence. That's not what it is. Discrimination is not as cut and dry as some sort of physical action that you can quantify. It involves the rhetoric and beliefs of the faction as well, and the rhetoric and beliefs of the faction are already discriminatory. The name of the faction is the "True Germans," which both implies that they are superior to other Germans and that Germans are superior to other nationalities. The rhetoric stemming from members of the faction includes misogyny and xenophobia. To make discriminatory speeches is to be discriminatory. As such, the True Germans have already taken discriminatory actions in their xenophobic and misogynistic rallies and speeches. Of course, this only matters if you believe (as you do) that it is OK to discriminate against discriminators.

Also, the assembly is an advisory body. It's word is merely advice, not law, which means that Trotsky can not be charged with anything for disregarding their advice. Everyone should already know that.

As for the war, 1) it is unrelated to the issue of discrimination, and 2) the True Germans supported a war in their platform as well, so it's a bit disingenuous to suddenly be anti-war after voting for them. Would the war of the True Germans not have resulted in many deaths?

I'm not saying Trotsky's actions were fully justified; in fact, I don't believe they were fully justified. I just don't understand how people can be in denial about the fact that the Assembly is only an advisory body, that Trotsky's actions were not illegal by the laws of the VSVR, and that the True Germans were a discriminatory faction.

[Tommy4ever]

Manifesto of the Artistic Revolution

First of all I want to announce that I denounce True German ideology. I now agree that their aims were wrong even though I still strongly believe that their banning was wrong too. Further I want to make it clear that I simply am the Catalyst for the Artistic Revolution I shall proclaim below. After it has been proclaimed it will be completely independent of my views and independent of all other political views.

The Manifesto of the Artistic Revolution:

Now more than fifty years have passed since the establishment of the VSVR. This is an interesting time span as it is one of those round time spans where one begins to reflect on what has happened in order to rejoice over good moments and learn from mistakes. The Republic certainly had many great moments which are worth rejoicing for but every comrade knows this. What not every comrade remembers (or doesn’t want to remember), however, is the darker moments of the Republic. There has been much bloodshed throughout these 50 years and many had to give their life for the Republic to be what it now is. Yet I disagree that this bloodshed was inevitable. In several occasions it would have needed just a little bit more faith in the power of the word and many fellow proletarians would now still be alive. This is no one’s fault, words were simply unanimously not respected. The question is: why was (and still is) there no faith in words? The reason is as simple as it is obvious. While the Republic has achieved so many things it has failed to establish one of the most important institutions of mankind: art.

What is art?

Art is the identity of the Proletariat. The Proletariat is by definition the working class. The working class does not define itself through wealth, power or belief but it defines itself, as the name suggests, through its work. The product of the proletariat therefore is the definition of the proletariat. The problem, however, is that the working class is denied this self-definition by capitalist society. Capitalist society makes the working men a servant and the capitalist a master and forces the working men to produce for his master. The working class is thereby led to believe that it needs a master to exist and has to repay its master for the right to exist by working. The working class loses conscience of its existence and the master can exploit his workers as he wishes. The only way the proletariat can free itself from this trap is by regaining its consciousness. While invasion, as it is being done, is one way of achieving this, it is certainly not the best. So what is the best way? The answer is again simple: the working class has to regain consciousness through its work. They do this by slowly sophisticating their work and putting more and more of themselves into it. As they learn to make better produce they will notice that it also becomes more and more satisfying to produce. At one point they will then realise that their work is not only useful but also beautiful. At this point it then becomes a mirror for the self of the working class and through the mirror-image the proletariat will regain conscience. Now conscious, they will realize that it is not them who are dependent on their master but is their master who is dependent on them. The master will now either back down or face an insurrection he cannot suppress. In the end the Proletariat is free.

What does this mean?

This means that the best way of furthering the revolution is to make work beautiful once again. All around the world the Proletariat works day for day in factories constantly producing the same products again and again. It should be surprise for no one that this kind of work beats the working-class into submission. We therefore have to make art accessible to the working class so that they can use their hands and their minds to create the things they want to create and not the things which yield profit. So, instead of researching ever more deadly guns, let our thinkers explore the mysteries of philosophy. Instead of sending soldiers to die let us send artists to every corner of the world. Let us flood the borders with poems, songs, pictures and novels. Let us decorate our streets with artworks. Let us make the VSVR into the most graceful place on earth so that even the religious think they have arrived in paradise!

It is not enough to break your chains, workers of the world.
You have to make them into a sculpture so beautiful that it even makes the Tsar cry with awe!

After already having submitted the manifesto of the artistic revolution, the time has come to proclaim the Artistic Revolution and the 9 Theses of the Artistic Revolution:
1. Art is not a tool of the government or factions. It is the identity of the working class and can therefore neither be censored nor banned nor used as propaganda exclusively for one mode of thinking
2. Art is not a danger to a righteous state. The only reason a government might fear art is when it has a dark secret to hide. If a government has to suppress art of the proletariat in order to survive it has lost its right to exist long ago.
3. Art moves beyond the bounds of politics, economics and even national security. It is accountable only to the Proletariat as a whole but not to its representatives
4. Art does not support violence. This means art is not entitled to be used as weapon against the government, however, it is entitled to criticise crimes regardless of who commits them
5. Art is not a justification for violence. This means a piece of art cannot be used to justify a crime. It can however support an armed struggle if the Proletariat is in full support of this struggle
6 .Art is not a mean but an end
7. Art is everything the Proletariat wants it to be
8. The artistic revolution cannot be declared over by the Party once proclaimed. It only ends once all of the Proletariat declares it to be over
9. The core of research must be concentrated upon art and philosophy
Now that all is said:

I hereby proclaim the Artistic Revolution
Victory through Beauty!

- Comrade LeCare

[LeCare]

You're viewing this as a physical crime with physical evidence. That's not what it is. Discrimination is not as cut and dry as some sort of physical action that you can quantify. It involves the rhetoric and beliefs of the faction as well, and the rhetoric and beliefs of the faction are already discriminatory. The name of the faction is the "True Germans," which both implies that they are superior to other Germans and that Germans are superior to other nationalities. The rhetoric stemming from members of the faction includes misogyny and xenophobia. To make discriminatory speeches is to be discriminatory. As such, the True Germans have already taken discriminatory actions in their xenophobic and misogynistic rallies and speeches. Of course, this only matters if you believe (as you do) that it is OK to discriminate against discriminators.

Also, the assembly is an advisory body. It's word is merely advice, not law, which means that Trotsky can not be charged with anything for disregarding their advice. Everyone should already know that.

As for the war, 1) it is unrelated to the issue of discrimination, and 2) the True Germans supported a war in their platform as well, so it's a bit disingenuous to suddenly be anti-war after voting for them. Would the war of the True Germans not have resulted in many deaths?

I'm not saying Trotsky's actions were fully justified; in fact, I don't believe they were fully justified. I just don't understand how people can be in denial about the fact that the Assembly is only an advisory body, that Trotsky's actions were not illegal by the laws of the VSVR, and that the True Germans were a discriminatory faction.

Ok, now you got me started. Lets discuss language then.

First of all: True is not discriminatory. That someone states that he is a true german means that he really is a german but in no way makes a statement that he is better than another nationality. If someone calls himself a true worker it also does not imply that he is better than the peasants but it simply says that he really is a worker.

Secondly discrimination is a criminal act. It is the act of discriminating someone. If you allow someone to not participate in the government of a republic even though he was elected it is discrimination and a criminal act. That is clear.
Now if rhetoric alone signifies discrimination is a wholy different issue. I agree that some of the policies of the speeches of the TG were not nice. However there is a difference between announcing an opinion in the company of supporters who want to listen to a platform and enforcing discriminatory opinions. The TG never enforced discriminatory opinions, never actively discriminated anyone and never forced anyone to listen to them. Therefore I see no criminal act per se.
However, I do agree that some TG policies were wrong and now I probably support them far less than before especially since I think they unfortunately gave Trotsky a strawman to conceal his evil plans yet still I think banning them is wrong.

As to the war. The TG wanted war with A-H but never anything beyond that. That truly is something different to the world war trotsky made. And again, I never agreed to all TG policies and was against war like you say you dont deem Trotskies action justified. No one has to support every single policy of a plattform, otherwise voting would become impossible.

To the assembly being an advisory body. This is true legally but not true ethically. The laws of ethics stand above those of a state. If someone gets elected you cant simply expel him without charging him with a real crime despite a few speeches.

[winsingtonIII]

First of all: True is not discriminatory. That someone states that he is a true german means that he really is a german but in no way makes a statement that he is better than another nationality. If someone calls himself a true worker it also does not imply that he is better than the peasants but it simply says that he really is a worker.

Secondly discrimination is a criminal act.

To the assembly being an advisory body. This is true legally but not true ethically. The laws of ethics stand above those of a state. If someone gets elected you cant simply expel him without charging him with a real crime despite a few speeches.

Well, the first point is mostly just semantics. I'm looking at the implied meaning behind the name as opposed to the explicit meaning. It doesn't really matter though.

Is discrimination really a criminal offense in the VSVR? I was not aware of that. Also, again, there's a disagreement over semantics here. I believe that saying something discriminatory counts as an act of discrimination. Getting up and saying something discriminatory is an action in my book. Clearly, you don't agree with that, and fair enough, your opinion is probably the more commonly held opinion on the subject.

Yes, of course we do not have to support all policies on a faction's platform. I've been a swing voter in this AAR, and there have been many times in which I voted for what I believed was the lesser evil with the knowledge that I did not support all of the faction's policies. It was unfair of me to assume that you supported the True German's war while being against Trotsky's war. And yes, the wars were very different in scope and scale.

Unfortunately, for all practical intents and purposes, the laws of the state do stand above the laws of ethics. Trotsky cannot be prosecuted for doing something considered morally wrong if the state has not codified that offense into law. That is all I was trying to point out. Ethically, I disagree with the purge. But I wished to point out to those calling for his blood that he has done nothing wrong in the eyes of the law.

I am not an ardent Marxist in this AAR. I have voted for Left, Centrist, and Right-leaning factions over the course of the AAR. I just think that the projection of Trotsky and Lenin's authoritarian aspects onto all Marxists is unfair. Yes, I have been guilty of generalizations in the past. I no longer judge all Anarchists by the words of some, and I will try not to judge all True Germans by the rhetoric of the most extreme. All I ask is that the other factions receive the same consideration. As someone who has been associated with a wide variety of factions throughout this AAR, I can assure you that not every member of each faction is to blame for the actions of others in the faction.

Sorry for cutting out much of your post; it was just an attempt to make the overall post shorter.

[Communard]

I find the reaction to the expulsion of the True Germans shocking. The members of the organization have not been imprisoned, nor has the organization been made illegal (as far as I know). They were merely expelled from the Party. Since they represent an ideology that is the antithesis of Communism, I do not see why it should be causing such outrage. We would not allow a group that advocates complete free-market capitalism into the Party, so why should we allow a group that supports the other hallmarks of the bourgeoisie?

It is the principle of the thing. What if Trotsky declares the Anarcho-Kadonists to be counter-revolutionary? The Democratc Anarchists? And so on and so forth. Plus, as I have already said, expulsion and exclusion will make them more popular, the best disinfectant is sunlight. Let the True Germans show themselves to be the reactionary fools they are in the open! The more they are hidden the more power they gain.

But to be honest this is a fairly minor issue to me. It is indicative of a mistaken attitude, but it is not what I find most objectionable. I am far more worried by Trotsky's essential destruction of Council Communism and his adoption of incredibly adversarial politics, especially in regard to the peasantry. Do we want a civil war as well as a revolutionary one?

[Raph]

It is the principle of the thing. What if Trotsky declares the Anarcho-Kadonists to be counter-revolutionary? The Democratc Anarchists? And so on and so forth. Plus, as I have already said, expulsion and exclusion will make them more popular, the best disinfectant is sunlight. Let the True Germans show themselves to be the reactionary fools they are in the open! The more they are hidden the more power they gain.

But to be honest this is a fairly minor issue to me. It is indicative of a mistaken attitude, but it is not what I find most objectionable. I am far more worried by Trotsky's essential destruction of Council Communism and his adoption of incredibly adversarial politics, especially in regard to the peasantry. Do we want a civil war as well as a revolutionary one?

I guess we'll have to see how these decisions affect the future development of the Republic. Trotsky won the election for Chariman in a landslide; if his policies turn out to lead us on the path towards tyranny (something the "true germans" certainly would have done, but that's beside the point) I trust the intellect of the members of the party to vote for a better chairman.

[Communard]

I guess we'll have to see how these decisions affect the future development of the Republic. Trotsky won the election for Chariman in a landslide; if his policies turn out to lead us on the path towards tyranny (something the "true germans" certainly would have done, but that's beside the point) I trust the intellect of the members of the party to vote for a better chairman.

Comrade, stop talking as if I support the True Germans. I don't support the Anarchists or the Trotskyists, do I want to ban them? No! The True Germans will never win an election. If they did(hell below freezing), I agree with you, they would quickly establish some sort of dictatorship.

Your definition of "landslide" is interesting, given that the overwhelming majority of the Party and People alike didn't vote for him, and in the end Trotsky had a lead of a mere 7 votes.

Perhaps you are right, Trotsky is authoritarian for my tastes, but I doubt he is a tyrant. I disagree with his strategy, though.

[Enewald]

I guess we'll have to see how these decisions affect the future development of the Republic. Trotsky won the election for Chariman in a landslide; if his policies turn out to lead us on the path towards tyranny (something the "true germans" certainly would have done, but that's beside the point) I trust the intellect of the members of the party to vote for a better chairman.

Trust in their intellect? I gave up long ago.
People won't learn. Marxists are bad.
Trotsky is bad.

No, they are deaf and do not listen to me.

[Tommy4ever]

The New Years Crisis

The New Years Crisis refers to the series of event from late 1899 through early 1900 that culminated in the beginning of the Great War. In truth the roots of the crisis can be traced back to June 1899 when, following the death of Lenin, Leon Trotsky took charge of the Marxist-Leninist faction in the VSVR and quickly emerged as the favourite in the coming elections.

This might not have been a problem if it had not been for Trotsky’s flagship policy – a great revolutionary war to wipe away the imperialist powers of Europe (most notably Austria-Hungary and France). Trotsky made no secret of his desire for war and frequently called for it in his speeches and writings. Unsurprisingly really that the imperialist powers attempted to counter him at every step.

Many historians, and indeed contemporaries, tried to blame Trotsky as the sole driving force behind the idea of a grand revolutionary war. In reality Trotsky was just a product of popular forces within both Party and People that were pushing for, nay demanding that the VSVR put it now unmatched power to use by smahing the old regimes that surrounded it. This was not a man creating a jingoistic fervour out of nothing, it was a man simply making himself the flagship of that fervour. This is something that the imperialist powers seemed to misunderstand.

From early December both France and Britain were involved in anti-Trotsky propaganda campaigns in the VSVR as they supported all anti-Trotsky groups. However before the election was called both French and British propaganda rings were uncovered. After this the capitalist powers turned away from espionage and towards diplomacy.



Delcasse was one of the great diplomats of his generation. A member of the Socialist Party in France and serving under a Republican Prime Minister his personal ideology was almost as opposed to the Habsburg and Romanov Empires as it was to the VSVR yet he managed to bring the former two into a grand alliance. Travelling to the Serbian city of Belgrade in mid-December 1899 he met with Austrian and Russian delegates and together they formed the League of Nations. The League was essentially a mutual defence pact aimed directly at the influences of the VSVR and the Comintern. Each of the following powers agreed to join together in the event of an invasion by the VSVR: France, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland and Montenegro. Only 3 non-socialist states in Europe were not League members (Bosnia, Portugal and Britain).



In the early days of January 1900 the worst fears of the League of Nations came true. On January 7th the elections in the VSVR ended. Trotsky convincingly won the Chairmanship whilst his Marxist Bloc was just shy of a majority in the Constituent Assembly. However within 5 days he had successfully expelled the True German faction – thus securing a majority in the Assembly and more importantly shoring up his popular support amongst his Marxist voter base and perhaps more importantly amongst other groups of voters who opposed the Anarchists. The move was a dramatic one as it both greatly weakened his standing within the People’s Party whilst reinforcing his already significant popularity amongst the masses.

A crucial moment in the crisis occurred on January 12th during his speech announcing the opening of the Constituent Assembly for a second time – this time without the True Germans. The speech, attended by the British ambassador to Cologne, called for the people of the Republic to now put aside their differences now that the reactionary True Germans had been defeated and to unite under the Red Flag of revolution as it marched across the entire world. This was a clear and final statement of intent from Trotsky and convinced the British ambassador that ‘’Trotsky is not a man Britain can work with’’. The ambassador returned to London where he informed Prime Minister Balfour (of the Conservative Party) that Britain must either join forces with the League of Nations of abandon Europe to the communists.



Balfour chose to fight. Just two days after Trotsky’s speech Balfour for attending a meeting with French, Austro-Hungarian and Russian diplomats as he negotiated Britain’s entry into the League and what to do next. It was decided that the League of Nations would have a headquarters established in London and its international representative would be the French foreign minister Delcasse. The League swore to protect peace around the world and the other powers agreed to a final mission to avoid war. Before Britain’s entry into the League the members had barely 2,500,000 men available to the VSVR’s army in excess of 3,000,000 (approximate). However Britain brought 7,500,000 men to the table along with a navy of incredible proportions. It was hoped that the threat of Britain’s immense military might would force Trotsky into arbitration.

On January 20th a large delegation from the League of Nations arrived in Cologne to meet with the VSVR Commissar for Foreign Affairs – James Connolly. As the opening for what would be the final chance for peace in Europe, Delcasse opened with a near utter capitulation as his desperation to avoid a war was laid bare for the world to see. ‘’What can we do to ensure peace?’’

James Connolly, sitting across a long table, stood up and leaned across the desk before describing exactly what the new ideology of the so called Trotskyite Marxists was in the most eloquent fashion possible. ‘’Our demands most moderate are – we only want the earth!’’

Aghast with horror Delcasse realised that with that simple Connolly had forever destroyed the dream of peaceful coexistence between capitalist and communist. Under the energetic leadership of Trotsky the VSVR would stop at nothing until the entire world was Red, he would never allow the Second Republic to survive. Either the imperialist powers would have to destroy the Revolution that began back in 1848 once and more all or they would be destroyed by it.

In his diaries kept at the time Delcasse described his view of Trotskyism ‘’Trotskyism represents the most belligerent and unwavering force ever to come out of politics. You cannot reason with it, for it is assured of the justice of its own cause. You cannot negotiate with it, for its sole mission is to destroy you. You cannot defeat it for it holds the position of strength with a vast military, an ever vaster economic base behind it and a vaster still network of contacts with the proletarians of every major country on earth. You can only hope to bleed it dry. The only force capable of defeating Trotskyism today is the idea of the nation. This and only this can hold back the unstoppable tide of the Trotskyite threat, only the nation is a force powerful enough to save France, yet by the same token it is doomed to destroy our allies in Eastern Europe.’’

With the League of Nation’s failure to secure peace its members quickly began the process of mobilising their populations for war against the VSVR. The VSVR had already started this process and as such Trotsky was eager to attack as quickly as possible (before the League states could prepare themselves) so on January 27th 1900 the VSVR started the Great War as Red Army forces crossed over into Russia, Austria-Hungary, Switzerland and France as the grand opening moves of the war began.



A multitude of military plans were presented to the Central Committee prior to the invasion of how the war should be carried out. However one thing the plans agreed on was that Africa could not be saved. In Africa alone the French and British had over 1,000,000 men whilst the VSVR could only muster around 200,000 men, the vast majority of whom where militia volunteers from the new industrial cities in the West. The Red Army would have to concentrate upon Europe. The Russian Imperial Army was as small as it was weak (the smallest of all the Great Powers involved in the war and the more backward). Many Generals proposed an all out assault to smash the Russian Army and topple to Tsar within the first few months of war. However Trotsky favoured to idea of advancing a short way into Russian territory before halting and waiting for the Russians to make their move, meanwhile from the North Red Army units coupled with Swedes (Sweden being the only other Comintern state to join the VSVR from the declaration of war) would make a play for the Russian capital at St Petersburg. To the South two hammer blow offensives would be launched from Silesia and Bavaria. The aim was to crush the Habsburg army (concentrated in and around Vienna), take Vienna and then march onwards into the Hungarian Plain – thus destroying the Habsburg Empire once and for all and within a short period of time. In the West the Red Army would launch an invasion of Northern France with the main focus of the army concentrated around the Parisian area. Unlike the other two continental powers France could still realistically put up a fight against a large scale invasion. It was hoped that by defeating the French standing army early on the reserves could be dealt with without a collapse in the front. At the same time an FWL insurrection was already in the process of breaking out across the Second Republic – it was believed that this would further weaken the French position.

Almost everywhere the emphasis was on delivering the hammer blow to the opposing armed forces before British troops arrived on the continent (if they ever did). Even combined the continental powers were dwarfed in power by the sheer might of the British Indian Army (6 million men). If the Indians could be brought to bear on any front they would most likely overwhelm Comintern opposition.

Faced with the prospect of a total war one might think that the VSVR’s population would be sullen of at least frightened. One would be wrong.



Millions throughout the Republic gathered to celebrate the beginning of what they believed would be the final conflict in human history. In Cologne during Trotsky’s public speech announcing the declaration of war against the League of Nations many old communists were in tears. One man, Kasper Deisler made a speech following Trotsky to the assembled masses. He was 72 years old. As a young man of just 20 he had joined to initial insurrection in 1848 and had fought for two years for the revolution in the Rhineland. Following victory in 1850 he instantly joined the People’s Party. He knew many of the great figures of the revolution personally (having become friends with Friedrich Engels in later years). He claimed that Trotsky’s revolutionary war represented the ultimate ambition of the great grandfather of the revolution Karl Marx. He claimed that had Marx had Trotsky’s resources he would be doing exactly what the Chairman was now. Almost in tears by the end of his speech he sent out a call to arms to every worker, peasant, soldier, sailor and pen pusher on earth to rise up against their masters. The final words of his speech perfectly encapsulated the mood of the Republic in January 1900.

‘’This is the final conflict in human history! Let every man and women take his place. It is time to liberate the human race!’’

For better or for worse the world had just entered the first World War.

[Tanzhang (譚張)]

Trust in their intellect? I gave up long ago.
People won't learn. Marxists are bad.
Trotsky is bad.

No, they are deaf and do not listen to me.

On the contrary dear Enewald, it is the anarchists who are deaf. How else could they possibly put up with your endless raving?

[Tanzhang (譚張)]

Tommy, why is Arthur Balfour Prime Minister and not Lord Salisbury?