• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Apologies, work has been an absolute nightmare - update later this evening. Definately.


H.Appleby: Yeah, the Beria-Stalin relationship was a strange one to say the least, ironically Stalin had so little respect for him despite his secret policeman 'talents' he had very little suspicion for him. And guess who killed him! Goes to show if you are going to be a paranoid psychopath either go all the way or not at all. On the illnesses, yeah Stalin had a bit of the Bull Moose about him, hell the incredibly lethal dose of rat poison popped in his drink took 4-5 days to finally kill him.

c0d5579: Oh yes. More on this later.

El Pip: Israel is tricky for all parties involved, so we'll see.

Karelian: All interesting stuff. I've been debating over the Balkan Federation idea, because I can see Soviet-Yugoslav relations being better ITTL due both to no Stalin and Greece but I'm not decided. On Finland, I'll be honest I hadn't looked into it, but will make a point to do so, sounds a possible powder keg. Czechoslovakia and the Peace Conferences, I've been reading up on but again haven't had the time to lay out any concrete ideas.
 
Czechoslovakian communists enjoyed huge support from both czech and slovaks....
Development in Czechoslovakia would be not different from real history ( or not much, there might be longer delay between end of war and communist take over of the state ).
 
Dont forget about Poland! we fought against comunism politacally (and soem rarely with weapons) 1944-1947 and commies even after that waited 4 years before signing the finally commie constitution of Poland
 
You forget that the Finns hated the Russkies almost as much as the Poles did.



And of course all pinko leftists forget about Poland, especially those from furrin' countries like Russia and Massachusetts.
 
Fantastic AAR. Subscribed.
 
Is this dead Dr. Gonzo?
 
Chapter. 3
Demokratia



Corbis-HU011675.jpg

Victory: Greek Partisans, Oct. 1944


Like her neighbours to the north, Albania and Yugoslavia, Greece had been witness to a prolific resistance movement against Axis occupation during the Second World War. Fighting had been brutal, not only against the Italians and Germans, but amongst the various partisan groups themselves. These included the monarchist National and Social Liberation (EKKA) backed by the government-in-exile in Cairo, and the larger National Republican Greek League (EDES) under the command of Colonel Napoleon Zervas. Chief among them however was the leftist National Liberation Front (EAM). Its fighters numbering over 50,000 strong at the time of German evacuation from Greece in October 1944, the EAM was in control of three quarters of the country, including several major towns and cities, maintained thousands of secret supply points and hideouts, operated its own naval arm and had established the ‘Mountain Government’, chosen by over 2,000,000 voters, in Greece’s first ever universal suffrage election in March 1944. Despite its obvious strength, Allied Intelligence had limited its aid to the EAM during the war due to its communist elements, in favour of the smaller but more politically reliable EKKA and EDES. Following the German withdrawal from Greece in October 1944, the tense and often violent rivalries between the partisan groups was only exacerbated as the prospect of post-war governance hove into view. In an effort to avoid civil war, a small British peacekeeping force led by Lieutenant General Ronald Scobie had arrived in Athens to oversee the establishment of a unity government.


Although the EAM was granted six cabinet position within the new ministry, it was dominated by the Cairo exiles and led by the centrist Georgios Papandreou[1]. By December of that year, tensions reached boiling point as Scobie demanded all armed forces disarm and disband, with the exception of the Sacred Band and 3rd Mountain Brigade. Both units though regular forces who had fought alongside the Allies during the war, had been politically purified prior to their return, with over 8,000 officers and soldiers deemed sympathetic to the EAM detained in Egyptian prison camps. Fearful of the monarchists seizing power by force, the EAM organised over 200,000 supporters for a demonstration against the proposal in Athens on 3rd December. The government’s limited military and police forces completely outnumbered, they struggled to maintain order, however Scobie refused to interfere. Brawls began to break out and in the confusion, shots were fired into the crowd. In the ensuing chaos 28 demonstrators died while a further 148 were injured. The Dekemvriana had begun[2]. For five weeks Athens was scene to vicious street fighting between the EAM and government forces. Eventually the EAM gained the upper hand, and began to push its enemies out of the city centre. Fearful of a communist takeover, Scobie ordered elements of the 4th Indian Infantry Division into Athens, as British forces began to actively fight the EAM. By late December, Scobie’s support had escalated to artillery and strafing from aircraft. Outside the capital events remained relatively peaceful, as both the British and EAM were hesitant to escalate the conflict. There was heated debate in the House of Commons over British forces fighting a popular anti-fascist resistance movement with the war still ongoing. Eventually, under pressure from the majority of the Cabinet, Churchill himself flew to Athens to organise a cease-fire in January.


britparas-greece45.jpg

British Paratroopers in Athens, Dec. 1944

Soviet opinion on the events had been muted, with news of the fighting in Athens conspicuously absent from the pages of Pravda. This was in part due to the now infamous ‘percentage agreement’ established at Tehran between Stalin and Churchill. As the name suggests the two leaders had divvied up their post-war spheres of influence in the Balkans by percentage, with Greece falling to Britain in a 90-10 split. Unwilling to antagonise the Allies, Stalin had refused to intervene during the Dekemvriana, and had ordered the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the dominant force within the National Liberation Front, to limits its activities, leading to the February armistice. However by 1946, with access to the Mediterranean now a major issue within the Politburo, Molotov wished to make an about turn and increase communist influence within the country. The Premier was aware that direct action was an unattractive option, as reneging on the percentage agreement would only further antagonise London following the signing of the Turkish-Soviet Pact. Beria put forward the idea of backing the EAM not with munitions but electoral funds. The March legislative elections were fast approaching, and despite the violence in Athens, the communists and their allies still held considerable support as the main resistance movement of the war, while many on the political right were attached to the pre-war Metaxas dictatorship, or tainted with accusations of collaboration.


Despite being a recognised political party under the terms of the armistice agreement, the KKE had intended to boycott the elections, both in order to remove their legitimacy and also in protest of widespread anti-communist violence following the armistice, the so called ‘White Terror’. Instructions from Moscow in January forced Nikos Zachariadis, leader of the KKE to abandon this position in favour of a ‘popular front’ strategy. The Soviets not only demanded the March elections be contested, but that the Party distance itself from any and all paramilitary activities for the foreseeable future, regardless of “Monarcho-Fascist provocation”. The new course was not met with great enthusiasm in some circles. Moscow’s continuously changing instructions, often given without explanation, had led many grassroots party members to dub their collective Soviet contacts ’the sphinx’. Indeed many partisans had begun stockpiling weapons and setting up camps on both sides of the Yugoslav-Greek border, in preparation for a full blown revolution, per Moscow‘s previous instructions. The fact Zachariadis himself was seen as an outsider, absent during the wartime resistance, only engendered further resentment. When news arrived that even armed defence was prohibited during the upcoming election campaign, there was serious concern that a split was imminent between the partisans of the Macedonian-wing and the Party leadership. It was only when Markos Vafiadis, one of the principal leaders of the wartime resistance, came out in full support of Zachariadis in February[3], that internal opposition lulled, but certainly did not disappear, with many cells secretly retaining their weapons caches in direct opposition to Moscow’s orders.


KonstantinosTsaldaris.jpg

(l-r) Tsaldaris, Papandreou, Soufoulis, Zachariadis

The March 1946 elections proved a tense, but surprisingly bloodless affair. In Athens, the British presence ensured political violence remained low-key, although certain neighbourhoods remained no go areas for politicians of varying affiliation. Elsewhere the wartime fiefdoms controlled much of the campaign, with many northern towns and villages being ‘protected’ by supposedly unarmed communist gangs, while in the south the right-wing X Organisation did very much the same, ensuring little debate (but conversely little violence) took place in rural Greece. Where political deliberation was possible the key issues were with regards to universal suffrage, the future of the monarchy, treatment of wartime collaborators and land reform, all issues that deeply polarised Greek society. This division saw moderate parties squeezed in the final results on 31st March. The KKE and its allies received a full third of the vote and 125 seats, while the monarchist United Order of Patriots alliance gained a similar share, inching the communists out with 129 seats. However both fell short of the 177 seats needed to form a majority. Both parties struck out in search of coalition partners. Konstantinos Tsaldaris, leader of the monarchists was confident his parliamentary plurality (however slim) and reputation as a moderate pre-war politician could easily win over the minor parties in the face of the KKE. Indeed, the rump Liberal Party, dominated by Cairo exiles, was keen to avoid a communist government and willing to put the troubles of the 1930s aside. Talks were also underway with the National Party, the political arm of the EDES partisans, who warily saw Tsaldaris as the lesser of two evils. Regardless, both parties combined could only provide 38 seats; the real prize were the 53 deputies of the centre-left National Political Union. Despite containing many Cairo exiles themselves, including interim Prime Minister Papandreou, the Union’s composition was far from friendly. Its primary members, the Democratic Socialists and Venizelist Liberals had been the main political victims of the Metaxas dictatorship, while the right-wing Patriot bloc contained many former supporters of the General, not to mention the paramilitary X Organisation and its collaborationist links.


The KKE at the same time was taking an example from its French counterparts. Zachariadis, conspicuously dressed in a three-piece suit, addressed an Athens crowd in the hours following the results and called not for revolution but national unity. He urged the old politicians not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Indeed, historical parallels were certainly being drawn by many to the deadlock ten years previous, which had seen the monarchy returned, leftist parties banned, and Metaxas installed. The National Political Union was not so easily swayed however. The Dekemvriana made many doubt communist sincerity, Papandreou chief amongst them. The Venizelist leader, Themistoklis Sofoulis, was more inclined to negotiate however, fearful the Patriots’ less seemly elements might well fulfil Zachariadis’ prophecy[4]. Talks on 1st April were indeed begun. The Communist delegates (per Moscow’s instructions) made a generous proposal. In return for the role of Deputy-Prime Minister for Zachariadis and several cabinet posts, the KKE effectively offered to support a Union government, with Papandreou as head. Moderate demands were also made for a united ‘No’ front on the upcoming plebiscite on the return of the King, a programme of land redistribution and calls for the British to hand over the Dodecanese. Sofoulis backed it in full, and after an evening of contemplation, Papandreou accepted the offer. With the militias unarmed and guarantees from the Western Allies of support, the Democratic Socialist leader decided to take a risk; fears of the old far-right not far from his mind. The next day the three leaders entered the Hellenic Parliament to chants of ‘Demokratia!’ from the Government benches[5]. Westminster and Washington looked on. So too did Moscow.


Krasnyy_Krym_01.jpg

Light Crusier Krasni Krym on patrol in the Aegean Sea, Mar. 1946

[1] Grandfather and namesake of Greece’s current prime minister
[2] Translates as ‘December events’, this is all OTL
[3] ‘General Markos’ was a strong supporter of an electoral approach IOTL and was alienated from the KKE leadership in 1946 when Moscow commanded electoral boycott and military preparations.
[4] Despite wariness towards the communists immediately after the German occupation in 1944, fearing a Tito style seizure of power, Sofoulis had offered a coalition to the KKE in 1936 and in late 1948 IOTL, at the height of the Greek Civil War, proposed an amnesty and unity government.
[5] Notably, Demokratia means both democracy and republic in Greek.
 
Last edited:
Welcome back to life! It seems that Greece is going to become a battlefield of the Cold War between the old allies...
 
Welcome back to life! It seems that Greece is going to become a battlefield of the Cold War between the old allies...

Apologies, I stepped out for a cup of coffee. It was damn good coffee.

Truman isn't going to take it kindly, but with British troops in place and a 'technically' moderate government, the Allies will be stepping on egg shells for now. Churchill, though not in power, will probably be livid - Moscow has basically sidestepped the percentage agreement in a way Britain can't really object to.
 
Apologies, I stepped out for a cup of coffee. It was damn good coffee.

I'm pretty sure it was... :p

About Moscow's actions. Where will be the next "coup" taking place? Asia? Africa? South America?
 
hell yeah! finally the red tides will come!

about greece, so now instead of annihilation greek communists will end like commies in france and norway? fade out in capitalist "democracy"?
 
Glad to see this back. :)
 
KaiserMuffin: Good to hear

Deus Eversor: I'm not giving anything away. Though a crucial difference between the Greek communists and their French and Norwegian brother is that they are the dominant force in the government, not the moderates.

Jolt: Glad to be back!

Sandino: Indeed it is.


Update on China later today
 
Chapter. 4
A Cat of a Different Colour

Mao-ChiangToastToPeace.jpg

Keep your friends close: Mao and Chiang toast the end of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War, Sept. 1945


In early 1946, China was experiencing a peace unseen since the start of the Northern Expedition twenty years previously. However it was a peace that couldn’t last. Ravaged by civil war and the Japanese invasion, China was hungry, poor, and divided. The precarious truce organised between the Kuomintang regime of Chiang Kai Shek and the Communist guerrillas of Mao Tse-tung, in the name of defending the nation, had lost its purpose. Millions of American dollars poured into Nationalist coffers, while the Communists scavenged vast quantities of abandoned Japanese military hardware, both sides readying themselves for the return of violence. While American and Soviet diplomats half-heartedly fought for reconciliation and a unity government, the Chinese knew no such compromise could be made after so many millions had perished for their respective ideologies. In Manchuria, now under Soviet occupation after the vast, lightening offensive conducted by the Red Army in the dying days of war, the Communists had gained a valuable safe haven. The industrial heartland of China, Manchuria’s resources, and Soviet protection that came with it, could radically tip the balance of power in Mao’s favour. Soviet troops were earmarked by wartime agreements to leave the region by early 1946, but due to Chinese insistence this had been delayed.


It was however not Mao who had persuaded Moscow, but Chiang. The USSR officially recognised the Nationalist regime as China’s legitimate government and as such had barred their Marxist comrades from taking control of major towns and industries, officially awaiting Nationalist forces to relieve them. While the Red Army had happily allowed Japanese equipment to fall into Mao’s hands, Marshal Rodion Malinovsky, commander of the occupying force, was under strict instructions to stick to wartime promises. However the planned pull out in February would have allowed the Communists to seize control of Manchuria de facto. Chiang needed time to prepare his forces and persuaded the Soviets to hold on until June, so he could move the battle hardened 1st and 6th Armies of General Sun Lijen up from the southern Burma-Indochina Theatre. The Communists themselves partly assumed the Soviets had no intention of leaving at all. In August 1945, the Chinese Communist Party administration had moved wholesale from its mountain stronghold in Yanan to Manchuria. Following the arrival, their focus had been less on rearmament than establishing a government. Unarmed activists had been allowed into settlements across the region to establish party offices, while the Central Committee discussed the Manchurian postal system. Indeed before his death, Stalin had considered establishing a puppet government in the area or even outright annexation[1].


1945_TV_Soong_at_UN.jpg

T.V. Soong at the United Nations, Oct. 1945

In 1946 Chairman Molotov too mused on Soviet options. The Chinese Communist Party was certainly far from being Moscow’s favourite organisation. Mao’s dislike of Comintern advisors and his focus on the peasantry over the urban proletariat had led to difficult relations in the past. For these reasons, Molotov had given serious thought in late 1945 to sidelining Mao and creating a Manchu Soviet Socialist Republic. Beria was more hesitant. He was primarily worried as to how the Nationalists would react, and by extension the United States. Chiang’s diplomats, notably his foreign minister T.V. Soong, had been adamant with regards to Soviet withdrawal from Manchuria, using the threat of American military support to scare Moscow. In return they had offered up a trade agreement, Soviet control of the region’s railways, and the historic naval base at Port Arthur[2]. Beria insisted they take the offer. As the June deadline approached, Molotov and the Politburo discussed what to do. Malenkov and Kaganovich were for retaining the occupation and supporting the Communists, arguing the resources of Manchuria would massively aid Soviet post-war recovery. Bulganin however pointed out that Mao’s force were so weak and lightly-equipped, it would require a massive aid effort on the part of the USSR to build them up into a credible fighting force. An effort, Foreign Commissar Mikoyan pointed out, that would not be ignored in Washington and could lead to the Nationalists declaring war on Moscow, no doubt with support from the Western Allies. The Turkish-Soviet Pact and the recent Popular Front electoral victory in Greece had greatly worried the Americans.


The State Department was pumping huge electoral funds into centre-right party coffers across Europe, fearful of communist victories in upcoming elections across the continent[3]. Meanwhile General George C. Marshall had been sent as a special envoy to oversee the handling of the Manchurian situation[4]. Keen to calm Western fears in order to allow the Soviet recovery to continue, Molotov agreed with Mikoyan’s analysis. Despite Chiang’s anti-communist stance, the Kuomintang had a strong socialist element and Mikoyan in particular believed Nationalist China could prove a valuable trading partner if the Soviets ingratiated themselves to the right degree. The Politburo in support, the Foreign Commissar flew to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, in May to meet with T.V. Soong. The talks were informal and in official terms were effectively little more than a reassurance of the stipulations agreed to by Stalin. However Mikoyan insisted Chiang had Moscow’s full support and, notably, referred to Mao’s forces as ‘anarchist bandits’. He assured Soong that General Sun’s advance into Manchuria would meet with minimal opposition. To this effect Marshal Malinovsky was ordered to clamp down on Mao’s seizure of Japanese arms, and to disband the unofficial Communist ‘security forces’ that had been allowed to form in the countryside. Mao, confident in Soviet support, was assured these measures were only to appease Allied agreements and would be rescinded in the near future. As such the clamp down met with only moderate local resistance[5].


Long-march.jpg

Members of the People's Liberation Army gather for a political meeting outside Changchun, early 1946

When June came, a storm descended on Manchuria. Malinovsky’s forces withdrew as swiftfully as they had arrived a year previous taking with them the Japanese arms not already destroyed and almost two billions dollars worth of industrial machinery and resources, a stipulation tacitly agreed to by Nanking. The Communists quickly seized the major towns and cities, but without the munitions promised by Malinovsky, they were poorly prepared for General Sun. The million strong Nationalist armies cut through their enemies like knives through butter. With overwhelming air supremacy and a major advantage in artillery, the lightly armed guerrillas under the command of Lin Biao lost hundreds of thousands of peasant conscripts as they were rapidly pushed back into the Manchurian hinterlands. As the Nationalists approached the key industrial and logistical centre of Harbin, Mao called on George C. Marshall to negotiate a truce. Marshall, poorly educated on Chinese history and politics, had been confident for months he could establish a unity government. Indeed Sun’s advance had not been without cost. The Nationalist war machine was stretched to breaking point as it blitzed through Lin’s lines, while simultaneously suppressing Communist and warlord forces across China. Marshall badgered Chiang to halt and come to the negotiating table. Sun and other Nationalist commanders pleaded with Chiang not to listen and press on. Scouts of the 6th Army could see the suburbs of Harbin on the horizon - its fall would doom the Communist war effort. Chiang understood it was American dollars that allowed his armies to run at all. When Moscow heard of Marshall’s intervention, the Politburo was anxious. Their abandonment of Mao had not been received well by their erstwhile comrades, and Molotov feared a unity government or Communist retention of Manchuria would lead to a decisively anti-Soviet tone in the region.


In a bizarre turn of events, while Marshall backed Mao’s calls for negotiation, the Soviet ambassador in Nanking implored Chiang to push on and crush his enemy. When Marshall grew impatient at Nationalist dithering, he threatened to stop US funds. In turn, Moscow ordered their representative to promise arms to Chiang. Desperate to end the conflict once and for all, the Kuomintang leader accepted Soviet support and snubbed Marshall[6]. By October, Harbin had fallen to Sun’s onslaught, his forces strengthened by a contingent of T-34s shipped south along the Soviet controlled railway system. Soon the Communist position imploded, as mass desertions saw the People’s Liberation Army melt away. In January 1947, Chiang officially announced an end to the civil war and shelved the title of Generalissimo in favour of President of the Republic of China, becoming only the second man to hold it since the great Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1912. Lin Biao was less sure of the conflict’s end and travelled south, back to the peaks of Yanan to continue the Communist resistance well into the 1950s. Mao Tse-tung on the other hand would be dead before the end of 1946. All but abandoned by his followers, Mao had attempted to flee across the border towards Korea. Before he could make it however, he was seized and executed by the BIS, the Nationalist secret police. Although it is widely disputed, there is some evidence Mao was handed over to the BIS by members of the NKVD under order from Molotov. Regardless, January 1947 also saw the permanent return of Russian forces to Port Arthur after forty-one years. Marshal Malinovsky oversaw the official handover of the naval base. Under his command the Red Army in eighteen months had wiped away the shame of the First Russo-Japanese War, while Moscow had won the confidence of President Chiang. The question was: how long would it last?


Port_20Arthur.jpg

Soviet Marines raise the Red Fleet ensign over Port Arthur


[1] All of this is OTL
[2] T.V. Soong, Chiang Kai Shek’s brother-in-law, achieved just such a bargain with Stalin towards the war’s end. In an act of socialist brotherhood, the USSR dropped their rights in Manchuria on the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
[3] Greece means the Americans are even more worried about communists gaining power in France, Italy and elsewhere in 1946. This means even more covert support for their opponents, but the victory has greatly encouraged the communists themselves as well.
[4] This happened IOTL as well but Moscow see it in a different light ITTL.
[5] The CCP was incredibly trusting of the Soviet Union during the Manchurian period. Mao in particular, a semi-educated peasant, completely bowed to Moscow over international affairs and Allied agreements. This was one of the reasons the Soviets assumed the People’s Republic would remain a loyal ally (and subject) after 1949.
[6] Amazingly this is mostly OTL. Marshall did intervene to organise a settlement and managed to get Chiang to pause for several crucial months. Chiang later said it was the greatest mistake of his life and its been argued Marshall lost the Nationalists the war. The pause gave the CCP time to regroup and turn the tide against exhausted KMT forces. Stalin was never confident of Mao winning but was cagey enough to give them the benefit of a doubt and ignore Chiang’s requests to stop sending them aid. ITTL for various reasons, the Politburo is more conservative and back up their kind words to the KMT with actions.