I guess that if you take Vienna you can make Austria your puppet. Their divisions will be handy. The problem now is Russia more than Germany.
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Italy certainly is going to be a major player after the war. Are you going to keep the land you've conquered or carve Syndicalist states out of the territory?
You seem confused about the way this works Comrade! Perhaps its time for reeducation?
No, Germany can't be defeated
You seem confused about the way this works Comrade! Perhaps its time for reeducation?
I meant to submit this on Friday but I had forgotten to. The weekend left me with out access to the computer and I had forgotten ohmy to submit it on Monday. Had to make some corrections with images on Tuesday, but here it is:
Austria was a different place than the syndicalists in Italy were used to. While entrenched nobility existed like Italy had before the revolution and the unification, they had largely abandoned feudal land relations in favor of a more capitalist-friendly orientation. As such the task of spreading the revolution was far more difficult, with many rural farmers choosing to side with ‘their emperor’.
It was in the cities where the syndicalists found more support among the Austrians, and it was here that the new Austrian government was formed from and given the responsibility of winning over the populace that lived in the countryside. It would be difficult- overcoming nationalism, especially when it has been used to give loyalty to the state, has never been an easy task.
As fighting raged in the realms of the Austro-Hungarian empire, an experimental reactor was quietly opened outside of Rome where Enrico Fermi’s research facility was now relocated near to continue their work into nuclear physics.
Despite its milestone the government chose not to draw attention to the accomplishments of its scientists, following the precedent set by other nations in the development of nuclear physics. Only a small mention of it was made to the Commune of France and the Union of Britain to signal Italy’s willingness to integrate its reactor into the Sword of Damocles Project.
The front with Germany saw the total collapse of Germany’s defense of Alsace-Lorraine as French troops broke through from its positions in the north to surround the region, cutting it off from supply as Syndintern forces tightened the noose. By February 5th, a pocket had been created separating the remnant of the German forces there from the others that had withdrew into the interior of Germany.
Syndintern progress into Germany in early February 1943
For Italy the retreat of the German forces from Alsace Lorraine now meant that they would confront a mass of battle-hardened and better equipped soldiers in its positions in Bavaria. On February 8th Italian divisions in Nuremberg were confronted with retreating German soldiers who sought to take back the city and recreate defensive positions.
In a rather embarrassing defeat, Italian forces withdrew from Nuremberg but managed to repulse a similar attack on occupied Munich. German attempts to restore control to Nuremberg were frustrated by the Syndintern forces advancing from Alsace-Lorraine spilling over into Bavaria. The German forces could not deal with the rate of advance into its vulnerable and undefended interior, and were quickly kicked out of Nuremberg by a joint French-Italian assault.
The breakthrough of the French gave the British in Denmark room to breathe, who had been holding a tense front with the Germans stationed in Kiel. With the pressure removed, the Union of Britain moved to relinquish control of Denmark to a syndicalist government, giving Northern Schleswig over to the new Danish government.
The Ottoman Empire meanwhile continued its war with the Kingdom of Egypt. While managing to move a small amount of troops across the Black Sea to Ukraine and from there moving them to the frontlines, the Ottomans were for the most part unable to form a sizable portion of the Mitteleuropan defense against the Syndintern.
The declaration of war on the Syndintern however spelled doom for the Ottoman Empire’s operations in its client state of Libya. With its supply and troop transports under attack by the Syndintern navy, it was unable to bolster the weak army of Libya against a better trained and more numerous Egyptian one. By March 12th the Egyptian army made considerable inroads into Eastern Libya, nearing the important port city of Benghazi.
Egyptian gains in Libya on March 12, 1943
Egyptian forces had also managed to seize control of the Suez Canal from the weakened German garrison, forcing the German navy stationed there to move to its naval base in Aden. This would leave the entire of the Mediterranean inaccessible to the German navy or any other nation of Mitteleuropa.
On March 15th, utilizing the re-capture of Nuremberg, Syndintern forces managed to create a pocket of German forces trapped in the realms of Baden and Wurttemberg. This stranded a large number of German forces who were unable to retreat out of the recapture of Nuremberg which closed the salient that had existed between French forces advancing from the north and Italian forces from the south.
For Italy however its attentions were at the Battle of Vienna, which had extended past its estimated January completion. Despite a strong entrance into the city, the Italian assault was slowed by supply and manpower problems as well as committed defenders who were rallied by a sense of devotion to the Emperor in Vienna the brunt of the Italian assault now attacked Vienna from the entirety of its southern and western approaches.
With the Germans now on the defensive from a re-energized Syndintern, Austria increasingly found itself unable to deal with the Italian assault. The waves of bombings and artillery strikes were beginning to take its toll by late February as Italian forces managed to break through emplacements along the southern districts of Vienna, capturing essential factories in the process, and began to move towards the Innere Stadt, containing important government structures such as the Reichsratsgebäude [1] and the Hofsburg Palace.
On March 12th Italian forces advanced to the outskirts of the Innere Stadt, forcing the royal family and its entourage to fleet their residence across the Danube. Fierce fighting took place in the heart of Vienna as Italian forces began their seizure of the city.
The following day on March 13th Italian forces besieged both the Reichsratsgebäude and the Hofsburg Palace and stormed its last defenders. After tense room-to-room fighting the Italian forces managed to raise the red flag over both structures, spelling the beginning of the end of the Austrian empire.
The capture demoralized the defenders who had not retreated across the Danube, and many of them had chosen to surrender to the Italians ultimately rather than continue fighting what appeared to be a decided battle. As they had done in other cities, Italians had already set out to agitate among the populace in the industrial portions of Vienna, creating workers’ councils as they advanced through Vienna. Radical ex-members of the Social Democratic Workers’ Party [2] were chosen by these councils to head up the new government that would ultimately be formed a few days later in the Reichsratsgebäude.
The most foreboding to the entrenched nobility was now the mob justice being enacted by ad-hoc ‘People’s Tribunals’ that tried and found nobility in their area guilty of various crimes. It was in this environment that despite assurances that they would not be touched if they just renounced their titles of nobility and the benefits that came with it, that much of the Austrian elite fled the country, already seeing what had occurred to their counterparts in Italy.
The remnants of the Austrian government had all but evacuated the country by now, retreating into the realms of the Kingdom of Hungary and continuing the fight from that country’s resources.
On March 18th the new syndicalist government of Austria was proclaimed, joining the Syndintern. The government would be under the protection of the Italian People’s Republic until it would be able to complete its transition.
Monarchist Austrian forces, now operating from Hungary, renewed attempts to assault Italian positions in Balkan provinces in order to attack vulnerabilities in the Italian front which had shifted to the north towards Germany. In one such attack on March 21st, Austro-Hungarian forces were successful in dislodging Italian forces in Ruma.
The activities of Tito’s partisans had expanded greatly, outnumbering the pro-Serbia monarchists as the balance of power began to shift towards the Syndicalists on the continent. Already a nascent government was being formed from Zagreb drawing from the population of Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks in Italian-controlled areas.
With Hungary under assault by the Italians from the west and internal dissent already growing all over the disintegrating empire, the Kingdom of Serbia and Iron Guard Romania both saw opportunities to seize control of territories they felt were rightfully theirs. On March 28th, Romanian forces crossed into Hungarian held Transylvania under the pretext of ‘protecting’ Romanians from the Syndicalist invasion, coming into conflict with local Hungarian security forces. A confrontation took place in Nagyszeben [3] where a small contingent of Romanian soldiers were wiped out, prompting the Balkan Pact to declare war on the Kingdom of Hungary on April 4th .
This was an extension of the Belgrade Pact members still standing claims in the region. Iron Guard Romania desired the whole of Transylvania which had long been under Hungarian domination while Serbia declared war solely in an attempt to grab provinces before Tito’s partisans had a chance to assert their power over the region. The Kingdom of Greece on the other hand was less concerned with developments to the north as it was to the east towards the Ottoman Empire, where it claimed it had to reunify Greeks still living in the Ottoman Empire, focusing its attention on its Aegean coastal provinces and islands as well as the island of Cyprus, and demanding the Italians relinquish control of Crete to them.
The entrance of the Balkan Pact also moved the Russian Empire to increase its presence on its borders with Mitteleuropa. With the Russian Empire’s ambitions in Eastern Europe becoming more evident in the past year, it would only be a matter of time before the Russian Empire would too cross into these nations under the pretext of protecting ‘Russian’ subjects as the Syndicalist tide entered into Germany.
The Combined Syndicates made important progress in its war against Canada, capturing the capital of Ottawa on April 15th, causing the royal family and the government to evacuate the city as Syndicalist forces broke through defensive positions and shattered the Canadian army. American forces began attacks on Montreal City, prompting Quebecois rebels to take their opportunity and rise up against the Canadian state, allowing for Syndicalist forces to enter Montreal without much opposition.
Further west the syndicalist forces were beginning their advance into British Columbia, driving towards the city of Vancouver and threatening royal control in the region. With Montreal and Vancouver the only major cities remaining, the fall of Canada seemed imminent and the Entente made preparations for the worst case scenario.
Syndintern drives into the heart of Germany sped up as imperial forces began to disintegrate in face of an energized offensive. Much of Western Germany and with it its industrial heartland had fallen into Syndicalist hands, cutting off a vital source of supplies for the imperial military. Hanover had fallen by April 22nd after a pitched battle that saw German forces put up a strong defense in the face of overwhelming Syndintern attacks.
Back in Alsace-Lorraine the pocket had begun to close in on German forces trapped in the area, leading to a last stand at Freiburg by a division that had refused to surrender. By April 30th the last of the forces were defeated.
This now left the entirety of Alsace-Lorraine in the Commune of France’s hands, prompting celebration among its French residents as the long-sought unification with their motherland was achieved. That being said it must be kept in mind that the region also had its share of ethnic Germans, so the Commune of France’s commitment to internationalism would be tested with its attempts to show the war was not so much about its territorial ambitions as it was to ‘spread’ revolution.
Syndintern forces moved northwards to the essential Kiel Canal, cutting off access to Kiel from the rest of Germany as they wedged it in between French forces in North Germany and British forces in Schleswig-Holstein. Another Syndintern force made a drive towards the Imperial capital of Berlin, facing resistance along the way by redeployed German forces trying to hold the French advance back and possibly push them back to the Rhine River.
A French attempt to attack Berlin from the northwest was thwarted by the military forces there, who struck back with a counterattack that managed to push French forces out of Neuruppin.
Yet the thought that plagued all the German commanders involved was that with the momentum clearly on the Syndintern’s side, was there anything they could do against the onslaught? Even a successful counterattack from Berlin could possibly push back the French, but they had both the industry and the population to outlast the empire now. With Austria-Hungary disintegrating and its eastern protectorates being threatened by the shadow of Petrograd, could it feasibly reestablish itself by this point?
Panic gripped Germany as the prospects for the old kingdom faded, leaving some to defect and lay down their arms in areas occupied by France. Underground revolutionary cells led by the FAUD and the Spartacists, having risen up during T.E. Lawrence’s expedition into Germany, were now asserting themselves in German cities and constructing the basis for a socialist order in Germany. The menace of mob justice loomed on the nobility in the country, in particular the Junkers, many of whom now fled to the German holdings in the Baltics to avoid reprisals from angered subjects.
Italy for its part advanced north and east, focusing on the Austrian holdings of Bohemia and Moravia and the Kingdom of Hungary. By May 5th Prague was captured by the syndicalists, followed quickly by Brno. Soon, the whole of Bohemia surrendered and workers’ councils, encouraged by the Italian decision to liberate Austria, formed quickly to create their own government. After the fall of Bohemia, Syndicalist forces moved into the Slovak region of Hungary and captured the city of Bratislava with little resistance.
Another assault moved towards Budapest, the last major city in Austria-Hungary that had not yet fallen to the Syndicalists. The war had however by this point taken a toll on the Hungarian divisions, now facing assaults from Serbia and Romania on one end and Italy on the other. Advances into Budapest were much easier than Vienna had been, and by the time the Italians reached the city centre only a few weakened divisions remained in a last-ditch defense.
Through the rest of May the Italians consolidated their control in the region while preparing to establish a border with the Romanians and Serbians as it geared up for an assault into the Austrian realm of Galicia-Lodomeria. As Germany’s hold over its clients looked unsure, the Russian Empire too made preparations for the event of a clash with the Syndicalist forces in Eastern Europe.
Honoring its agreement with Tito, the Italians began the preparation for a creation of a socialist Yugoslavia that would be completed in the oncoming summer as the Syndintern prepared for its next assault on Berlin.
Fronts in early June 1943
_______________________________________________________________________
[1] “Imperial Council Building”, housing the parliament of the Austrian Empire
[2]The Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs was the main socialist party in Austria having been founded in 1888 off the example of its German counterpart. Like the SPD the aftermath of World War I saw the party abandon its more radical platforms in favor of those compatible with the monarchy, isolating and removing certain radical members who were against the political system present in the government and vocal in advocating socialism.
[3] Nagyszeben was a settlement near the border with Romania at the edge of the southern Carpathian range. Romanian pan-nationalists knew the city as “Sibiu”.
ohmy to submit it on Monday. Had to make some corrections with images on Tuesday, but here it is:The Red Danube
Austria was in chaos as the syndicalist forces swept through the realms of the empire. As the Italian forces made their way to Vienna in the previous months they left in their wake elite party cadres who were instructed to work with local syndicalists in establishing a friendly government in Austria.Leaflet dropped over Vienna said:
Austria was a different place than the syndicalists in Italy were used to. While entrenched nobility existed like Italy had before the revolution and the unification, they had largely abandoned feudal land relations in favor of a more capitalist-friendly orientation. As such the task of spreading the revolution was far more difficult, with many rural farmers choosing to side with ‘their emperor’.
It was in the cities where the syndicalists found more support among the Austrians, and it was here that the new Austrian government was formed from and given the responsibility of winning over the populace that lived in the countryside. It would be difficult- overcoming nationalism, especially when it has been used to give loyalty to the state, has never been an easy task.
As fighting raged in the realms of the Austro-Hungarian empire, an experimental reactor was quietly opened outside of Rome where Enrico Fermi’s research facility was now relocated near to continue their work into nuclear physics.
Despite its milestone the government chose not to draw attention to the accomplishments of its scientists, following the precedent set by other nations in the development of nuclear physics. Only a small mention of it was made to the Commune of France and the Union of Britain to signal Italy’s willingness to integrate its reactor into the Sword of Damocles Project.
The front with Germany saw the total collapse of Germany’s defense of Alsace-Lorraine as French troops broke through from its positions in the north to surround the region, cutting it off from supply as Syndintern forces tightened the noose. By February 5th, a pocket had been created separating the remnant of the German forces there from the others that had withdrew into the interior of Germany.
Syndintern progress into Germany in early February 1943
For Italy the retreat of the German forces from Alsace Lorraine now meant that they would confront a mass of battle-hardened and better equipped soldiers in its positions in Bavaria. On February 8th Italian divisions in Nuremberg were confronted with retreating German soldiers who sought to take back the city and recreate defensive positions.
In a rather embarrassing defeat, Italian forces withdrew from Nuremberg but managed to repulse a similar attack on occupied Munich. German attempts to restore control to Nuremberg were frustrated by the Syndintern forces advancing from Alsace-Lorraine spilling over into Bavaria. The German forces could not deal with the rate of advance into its vulnerable and undefended interior, and were quickly kicked out of Nuremberg by a joint French-Italian assault.
The breakthrough of the French gave the British in Denmark room to breathe, who had been holding a tense front with the Germans stationed in Kiel. With the pressure removed, the Union of Britain moved to relinquish control of Denmark to a syndicalist government, giving Northern Schleswig over to the new Danish government.
The Ottoman Empire meanwhile continued its war with the Kingdom of Egypt. While managing to move a small amount of troops across the Black Sea to Ukraine and from there moving them to the frontlines, the Ottomans were for the most part unable to form a sizable portion of the Mitteleuropan defense against the Syndintern.
The declaration of war on the Syndintern however spelled doom for the Ottoman Empire’s operations in its client state of Libya. With its supply and troop transports under attack by the Syndintern navy, it was unable to bolster the weak army of Libya against a better trained and more numerous Egyptian one. By March 12th the Egyptian army made considerable inroads into Eastern Libya, nearing the important port city of Benghazi.
Egyptian gains in Libya on March 12, 1943
Egyptian forces had also managed to seize control of the Suez Canal from the weakened German garrison, forcing the German navy stationed there to move to its naval base in Aden. This would leave the entire of the Mediterranean inaccessible to the German navy or any other nation of Mitteleuropa.
On March 15th, utilizing the re-capture of Nuremberg, Syndintern forces managed to create a pocket of German forces trapped in the realms of Baden and Wurttemberg. This stranded a large number of German forces who were unable to retreat out of the recapture of Nuremberg which closed the salient that had existed between French forces advancing from the north and Italian forces from the south.
The Baden-Wurttemberg Pocket
For Italy however its attentions were at the Battle of Vienna, which had extended past its estimated January completion. Despite a strong entrance into the city, the Italian assault was slowed by supply and manpower problems as well as committed defenders who were rallied by a sense of devotion to the Emperor in Vienna the brunt of the Italian assault now attacked Vienna from the entirety of its southern and western approaches.
With the Germans now on the defensive from a re-energized Syndintern, Austria increasingly found itself unable to deal with the Italian assault. The waves of bombings and artillery strikes were beginning to take its toll by late February as Italian forces managed to break through emplacements along the southern districts of Vienna, capturing essential factories in the process, and began to move towards the Innere Stadt, containing important government structures such as the Reichsratsgebäude [1] and the Hofsburg Palace.
On March 12th Italian forces advanced to the outskirts of the Innere Stadt, forcing the royal family and its entourage to fleet their residence across the Danube. Fierce fighting took place in the heart of Vienna as Italian forces began their seizure of the city.
The following day on March 13th Italian forces besieged both the Reichsratsgebäude and the Hofsburg Palace and stormed its last defenders. After tense room-to-room fighting the Italian forces managed to raise the red flag over both structures, spelling the beginning of the end of the Austrian empire.
The capture demoralized the defenders who had not retreated across the Danube, and many of them had chosen to surrender to the Italians ultimately rather than continue fighting what appeared to be a decided battle. As they had done in other cities, Italians had already set out to agitate among the populace in the industrial portions of Vienna, creating workers’ councils as they advanced through Vienna. Radical ex-members of the Social Democratic Workers’ Party [2] were chosen by these councils to head up the new government that would ultimately be formed a few days later in the Reichsratsgebäude.
The most foreboding to the entrenched nobility was now the mob justice being enacted by ad-hoc ‘People’s Tribunals’ that tried and found nobility in their area guilty of various crimes. It was in this environment that despite assurances that they would not be touched if they just renounced their titles of nobility and the benefits that came with it, that much of the Austrian elite fled the country, already seeing what had occurred to their counterparts in Italy.
Account of a “People’s Tribune” by La Repubblica said:
The remnants of the Austrian government had all but evacuated the country by now, retreating into the realms of the Kingdom of Hungary and continuing the fight from that country’s resources.
On March 18th the new syndicalist government of Austria was proclaimed, joining the Syndintern. The government would be under the protection of the Italian People’s Republic until it would be able to complete its transition.
Monarchist Austrian forces, now operating from Hungary, renewed attempts to assault Italian positions in Balkan provinces in order to attack vulnerabilities in the Italian front which had shifted to the north towards Germany. In one such attack on March 21st, Austro-Hungarian forces were successful in dislodging Italian forces in Ruma.
The activities of Tito’s partisans had expanded greatly, outnumbering the pro-Serbia monarchists as the balance of power began to shift towards the Syndicalists on the continent. Already a nascent government was being formed from Zagreb drawing from the population of Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks in Italian-controlled areas.
With Hungary under assault by the Italians from the west and internal dissent already growing all over the disintegrating empire, the Kingdom of Serbia and Iron Guard Romania both saw opportunities to seize control of territories they felt were rightfully theirs. On March 28th, Romanian forces crossed into Hungarian held Transylvania under the pretext of ‘protecting’ Romanians from the Syndicalist invasion, coming into conflict with local Hungarian security forces. A confrontation took place in Nagyszeben [3] where a small contingent of Romanian soldiers were wiped out, prompting the Balkan Pact to declare war on the Kingdom of Hungary on April 4th .
This was an extension of the Belgrade Pact members still standing claims in the region. Iron Guard Romania desired the whole of Transylvania which had long been under Hungarian domination while Serbia declared war solely in an attempt to grab provinces before Tito’s partisans had a chance to assert their power over the region. The Kingdom of Greece on the other hand was less concerned with developments to the north as it was to the east towards the Ottoman Empire, where it claimed it had to reunify Greeks still living in the Ottoman Empire, focusing its attention on its Aegean coastal provinces and islands as well as the island of Cyprus, and demanding the Italians relinquish control of Crete to them.
The entrance of the Balkan Pact also moved the Russian Empire to increase its presence on its borders with Mitteleuropa. With the Russian Empire’s ambitions in Eastern Europe becoming more evident in the past year, it would only be a matter of time before the Russian Empire would too cross into these nations under the pretext of protecting ‘Russian’ subjects as the Syndicalist tide entered into Germany.
The Combined Syndicates made important progress in its war against Canada, capturing the capital of Ottawa on April 15th, causing the royal family and the government to evacuate the city as Syndicalist forces broke through defensive positions and shattered the Canadian army. American forces began attacks on Montreal City, prompting Quebecois rebels to take their opportunity and rise up against the Canadian state, allowing for Syndicalist forces to enter Montreal without much opposition.
Canada
Further west the syndicalist forces were beginning their advance into British Columbia, driving towards the city of Vancouver and threatening royal control in the region. With Montreal and Vancouver the only major cities remaining, the fall of Canada seemed imminent and the Entente made preparations for the worst case scenario.
Syndintern drives into the heart of Germany sped up as imperial forces began to disintegrate in face of an energized offensive. Much of Western Germany and with it its industrial heartland had fallen into Syndicalist hands, cutting off a vital source of supplies for the imperial military. Hanover had fallen by April 22nd after a pitched battle that saw German forces put up a strong defense in the face of overwhelming Syndintern attacks.
Back in Alsace-Lorraine the pocket had begun to close in on German forces trapped in the area, leading to a last stand at Freiburg by a division that had refused to surrender. By April 30th the last of the forces were defeated.
This now left the entirety of Alsace-Lorraine in the Commune of France’s hands, prompting celebration among its French residents as the long-sought unification with their motherland was achieved. That being said it must be kept in mind that the region also had its share of ethnic Germans, so the Commune of France’s commitment to internationalism would be tested with its attempts to show the war was not so much about its territorial ambitions as it was to ‘spread’ revolution.
Syndintern forces moved northwards to the essential Kiel Canal, cutting off access to Kiel from the rest of Germany as they wedged it in between French forces in North Germany and British forces in Schleswig-Holstein. Another Syndintern force made a drive towards the Imperial capital of Berlin, facing resistance along the way by redeployed German forces trying to hold the French advance back and possibly push them back to the Rhine River.
A French attempt to attack Berlin from the northwest was thwarted by the military forces there, who struck back with a counterattack that managed to push French forces out of Neuruppin.
Yet the thought that plagued all the German commanders involved was that with the momentum clearly on the Syndintern’s side, was there anything they could do against the onslaught? Even a successful counterattack from Berlin could possibly push back the French, but they had both the industry and the population to outlast the empire now. With Austria-Hungary disintegrating and its eastern protectorates being threatened by the shadow of Petrograd, could it feasibly reestablish itself by this point?
Panic gripped Germany as the prospects for the old kingdom faded, leaving some to defect and lay down their arms in areas occupied by France. Underground revolutionary cells led by the FAUD and the Spartacists, having risen up during T.E. Lawrence’s expedition into Germany, were now asserting themselves in German cities and constructing the basis for a socialist order in Germany. The menace of mob justice loomed on the nobility in the country, in particular the Junkers, many of whom now fled to the German holdings in the Baltics to avoid reprisals from angered subjects.
Italy for its part advanced north and east, focusing on the Austrian holdings of Bohemia and Moravia and the Kingdom of Hungary. By May 5th Prague was captured by the syndicalists, followed quickly by Brno. Soon, the whole of Bohemia surrendered and workers’ councils, encouraged by the Italian decision to liberate Austria, formed quickly to create their own government. After the fall of Bohemia, Syndicalist forces moved into the Slovak region of Hungary and captured the city of Bratislava with little resistance.
Another assault moved towards Budapest, the last major city in Austria-Hungary that had not yet fallen to the Syndicalists. The war had however by this point taken a toll on the Hungarian divisions, now facing assaults from Serbia and Romania on one end and Italy on the other. Advances into Budapest were much easier than Vienna had been, and by the time the Italians reached the city centre only a few weakened divisions remained in a last-ditch defense.
Through the rest of May the Italians consolidated their control in the region while preparing to establish a border with the Romanians and Serbians as it geared up for an assault into the Austrian realm of Galicia-Lodomeria. As Germany’s hold over its clients looked unsure, the Russian Empire too made preparations for the event of a clash with the Syndicalist forces in Eastern Europe.
Honoring its agreement with Tito, the Italians began the preparation for a creation of a socialist Yugoslavia that would be completed in the oncoming summer as the Syndintern prepared for its next assault on Berlin.
Fronts in early June 1943
_______________________________________________________________________
[1] “Imperial Council Building”, housing the parliament of the Austrian Empire
[2]The Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Österreichs was the main socialist party in Austria having been founded in 1888 off the example of its German counterpart. Like the SPD the aftermath of World War I saw the party abandon its more radical platforms in favor of those compatible with the monarchy, isolating and removing certain radical members who were against the political system present in the government and vocal in advocating socialism.
[3] Nagyszeben was a settlement near the border with Romania at the edge of the southern Carpathian range. Romanian pan-nationalists knew the city as “Sibiu”.
Dear god I hope not. Germany deserves to be left to be Balkanized...I say divide Germany by a couple dozen, say for every state under the sun.
Is it possible to create an socialist Germany with Rosa Luxemburg as the leader? Because I would certainly vote for the release of the whole germany under her leadership instead of Balkanization.
Well, it's technically France's decision. They can decide to form a German Union, whose politics work in much the same way as the Italian politics, with union congresses every five years, and three main political factions. One of them is the Spartacists, and at least historically Luxemburg was one of the Spartacists' leaders. I don't know if she is in-game, or if she's even alive by 1943.
Aren't you the guy who got banned from AH.Com for bumping a Mike Collins thread?
Nice to see the war is going well. Dividing up Germany post-war is going to be... interesting, because Prussia will still end up as the most powerful state if it is left with 'core' Prussia. Maybe the best thing to do would be to restore Brandenburg and leave Prussia only with territory east of the Oder (with Poland gaining territory at Prussia's expense as well). I reckon Italy should take all of the territory it wants, the Yugoslavs haven't done anything to win their freedom, so they get it on Italian terms... (hey who said internationalism can't lose the 'inter' every now and again)
Why not welcome Germany as a powerful new ally in the world revolution? The CoF started the war to reunite Francophones, and has a similar policy vis-a-vis Switzerland. In the Balkans Italy advances uniting South Slavs more dissimilar than Germans. The German People are not responsible for the errors of their leaders, many have even fought bravely for the SDP in solidarity with the world revolution. If anything Germany should be unified with Austria and Switzerland (now mostly German speaking) though stripped of eastern territories dominated by Poles and Baltic Peoples (East Prussia being an exception).
I realize there is no mechanic for this in game, but an alternative split would be for the southern German states and Austria to form a Alpine Union. While the remained being the still powerful but suitably weakened North German Union.
I realize there is no mechanic for this in game, but an alternative split would be for the southern German states and Austria to form a Alpine Union. While the remained being the still powerful but suitably weakened North German Union.
I add my voice for a unified German Commune which covers Germany, Austria and Swiss and Bohemian German areas. About the Poles and Danes, let them choose where they want to belong.
Obviously Lugarno must be unified with the SRI.
PS: The former Baltic Duchy should stay German since most of it's population is now German.
Obviously Lugarno must be unified with the SRI.
PS: The former Baltic Duchy should stay German since most of it's population is now German.
I would prefer the Baltic Duchy to be released as an unified Baltic Nation.
Though I dunno why are we "voting" here since this is up to France and not Italy
Though I dunno why are we "voting" here since this is up to France and not Italy
Why yes I am. Nice to meet a fan (or at least someone who remembers). I got back on, though. How did you remember?
I'd still say Baltic Duchy and Bohemia should be separate since even if they have local German majorities, they have large numbers of other ethnicities also. Perhaps the Baltic State could be expanded to include Lithuania and East Prussia. Also I realize this is not in KR but it would be nice to have allied conferences for the fate of major defeated powers (perhaps just alliance leaders). Something for the perpetual wish lsit likely though since I don't see how it would be done in DH. Of course the KR team has been creative with some other stuff.
yep, Germany is in the French sphere of influence and the former Austria-Hungarian territories are in the Italian one.
You could give the Baltics to the exiles from annexed Luxembourg for all I care, as long as Flensburg returns to Denmark!
Thanks for the comments everyone. We will see how Germany's former territories will end up though in due time.
I apologize for the really late delay here. I had been busy for much of the previous week and never really got a chance to sit down and write up an aar, though I had already gotten the screens and gameplay sometime before.
So we'll just chalk this up as a Halloween Special. I know the whole premise- and outcome- of this aar is enough of a nightmare for some :laugh:
With it clear that the Habsburgs would be unable to reassert themselves in the region ever again, the Italian government turned its attention to the territories it was currently occupying- the remnants of the Balkan provinces that formed the frontier of the old empire.
Back in 1937 during the renegotiation of the Ausgleich between Austria and Hungary, agreements were made for territorial adjustments that saw the end of the Croatian and Bosnian units of the Austrian empire, which were directly annexed into either Austrian or Hungarian governance. The result was a massive crackdown on both nationalist and socialist organizations in the region, both of which ultimately ended up banned after organized resistance against occupying Hungarian forces in Croatia turned into a low-level resistance.
It was this experience that saw Josip Broz and a number of other pro-Syndicalist elements in the region flee into Italy where they were welcomed by the Anarcho-Syndicalist bloc in particular, granting them aid and training.
During this time, Josip Broz, now referred to as ‘Tito’, formed an umbrella group of opposition parties to the Austro-Hungarian occupation of the Balkans, all of them of a radical persuasion. Under the direction of the Italians, the group became decidedly pro-Syndintern and advocated for a full destruction of the monarchy and the establishment of a socialist government, putting itself into opposition of the nationalist groups that only desired a parliamentary system.
Even though tentatively the Italian People’s Republic agreed to what territories a potential ‘Yugoslav’ state would cover, the travails of the Italian military had caused some rethinking of the agreements- one that both sides knew going into the Venice conference.
The conference began on May 28th. While it was agreed that most of the Dalmatian coast would go to Yugoslavia, the proceedings over the Istria Peninsula went less than smoothly. While Tito’s forces had managed to lead militias that handily defeated the occupying forces distracted by Italian forces further north, there had been virtually no activity related to them in the Istria peninsula. As such the Italian government, particularly those related to the military, was not willing to turn over the territory completely to Yugoslav control. Rather they wanted to annex it directly to the republic, in return for relinquishing all claims on the Dalmatian coast.
The nature of the proceedings did draw criticism too, though from two completely opposite perspectives. On one end, the nationalist platforms headed by Mussolini’s National Syndicalists desired the whole of the Dalmatian coast and protested the Italian government’s willingness to not regain the whole of Italia Irredenta. On the other was the internationalist position held by the Chairman of the House of Commons Bordiga, which blasted such conferences as a waste of time and completely detached from the real and essential aims of a socialist revolution.
Both camps had more or less abstained from the proceedings of the Venice Conference, not agreeing with its outcome. The Italian government had in the end managed to secure the agreement of Tito and others in the resistance in exchange for the Italian forces to recognize the full sovereignty of the new government over the regions. Essentially this meant that while Italy would continue having a close partner in Yugoslavia, it would not be as indebted to Rome as Austria was.
The Italians did not like this but ultimately recognized that their forces could not afford to have a Yugoslavia that would not agree with being in the Syndintern, much less creating a pretext for the Kingdom of Serbia to position itself as the ‘real’ independent authority for the Slavs in the region.
With the oncoming battle with Russia that would come after an already exhausting battle with Central Asia, there really was no desire from Italy to replicate the troubles Austria-Hungary had experienced before them. A friendly Yugoslavia, with its resources and manpower contributing to the Syndintern, would be a better contribution to the war effort in the end. Thus on June 10th the formal creation of Yugoslavia was marked and control handed over to Tito and his Yugoslav committee.
The state was not recognized by the Kingdom of Serbia- which saw itself as the rightful ruler of the Balkans, and this was repeated by other members of the Balkan Pact and the Russian Empire, as well as other members of the Entente.
The French gave their approval to the agreement, and encouraged the Italians to continue their campaign into the realms of Hungary to finish off the ancient empire. France was continuing to focus on its own battle with Germany however.
By June 20th the city of Berlin was surrounded and Syndintern forces began to make their move capture the heart of Mitteleuropa, but had narrowly missed the Kaiser and his entourage who escaped before the city became completely surrounded, going with the military now attempting to make a last stand in Eastern Germany. The city of Kiel, where much of the German navy was operating from, was also surrounded, from British positions in Denmark and French positions from the south.
Berlin and Kiel Surrounded
The battle lines by this point had become merged. Syndintern forces were spread throughout Europe now, such that no one country was completely alone in any area. With the Balkans mostly cleaned up, the front decreased slightly though was still fairly long, stretching from near Berlin down to Budapest. Italian forces were in Germany, and French forces were in the realms of Austria-Hungary. It had truly become a Syndintern-led effort. [1]
On July 5th, Syndintern forces finally captured the center of Berlin, moving the war into another phase. Newspaper and radio broadcasts from all across France, Italy, and Britain announced the news proudly to their peoples, and the French in particular lauded the event as finally having ‘corrected’ the French defeats of the Great War and 1871. French papers such as L'Humanité had their front pages lauded the fall of Berlin as the ‘greatest blow to reaction everywhere’ and pictures of the red flag over various structures in Berlin were plastered on the front pages of the French publications.
The war’s three year anniversary- May 24th- had come and gone in the midst of the Battle for Berlin
The fall of Berlin would also mean that workers in the other parts of Germany were now further emboldened to seize control of their cities. Military officers sympathetic to the aims of the Syndicalists opted to put themselves in the position of popular militias that would assert control of a new order in Germany, and with it wipe away the old rule of nobility.
With Berlin gone the war had definitely turned in full favor of the Syndintern, and now pressure was on the German monarchy to surrender or keep up a doomed fight against a vengeful Commune of France. Germany would only find even more problems facing it as it underwent collapse.
The Russian Empire had been watching the war intently since its formal entrance earlier that year. Unable to move through the eastern regions of Mitteleuropa, it had opted to build up much of its forces on its western borders preparing for an eventual clash with Syndicalist forces as the fronts edged nearer to the Russians.
The fall of Berlin however came quicker than the Russians had anticipated. They had hoped the war might drag on inconclusively through the interior of Germany, but the Imperial military had failed to muster the sufficient counterattack against the onslaught of the Syndicalist forces. For Russia, things had just gotten much more complicated.
With that, Russia began to enact a plan it had probably made years before during the resurrection of the empire [2]. Acting under the pretext that Russia had to protect its ‘rightful subjects’ residing within the various states in the eastern parts of Mitteleuropa, Russian forces began to enter into Ukraine and the Baltics demanding local authorities recognize the sovereignty of Petrograd over their cities.
As one could expect though, the local garrison forces there were thrown into confusion over what to do. Some decided to recognize the authority of Russia while others resisted the ‘invasion’ of Russia into their territories. An incident in eastern Ukraine resulted in the Russian Empire severing connections with Germany and moving into Eastern Europe with the aim of a hostile takeover.
Russian forces now poured across its western border into Ukraine, White Ruthenia, and the Baltics, sweeping away forces in the latter two but facing resistance in Ukraine. The remnants of the German military were now wedged in between the Syndintern from the west and the Russians from the east. With regards to the latter, it was more troubling because the Germans knew that certain officials in their frontier states would be likely to cut a deal with the Russians to retain their positions, albeit under a different government.
The Union of Britain for its part began to reorganize its government, calling a long-overdue Congress of the Trade Unions on July 2nd, focused more on reorganizing the existing positions in the government rather than the makeup of the CTU.
While the war raged for much of that month, the British quickly set about the debates for the new face of the government. Against all odds, President Horner managed to retain much of the departments in the hands of the Federalists and appointed G.D.H. Cole, a close pupil, to the rank of General-Secretary. This was a surprise to those involved with many thinking Mosley and the Totalists would finally be able to push the government in their favor. They had retained certain war and industry ministries, but had been unable to secure any of the upper-level posts. Snowden had certainly proved his ability to withstand political tides and secured his position in the Union of Britain for the time being by the end of the month.
The Italian People’s Army had begun to move into the outskirts of Budapest by mid-July as the British TUC congress was underway. The Austro-Hungarian forces had put up a stiff resistance in the realms of Hungary, attempting to keep back the Italian attacks where they were launched along the lines. But with Germany on the ropes and Hungary dealing with the Iron Guard Romanians occupying nearly the whole of Transylvania, the battle’s conclusion was only a matter of time. However, the remnants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire would make the battle their last stand, their last mark on Europe.
The Entente faced a major defeat in North America the following August. The Combined Syndicates’ relentless assaults finally broke the defensive lines and American forces quickly occupied Toronto and Ottawa while capturing Vancouver shortly afterwards. Syndicalist forces also found it easy to make its way into the Quebec regions due to the unpopular conscription law which regional politicians blasted with placing undue burden on the people of Quebec. Due to the nature of fighting a war for the British monarchy- an entity detached from Quebec in the first place- draft riots broke out as the Canadians attempted to hold onto the Toronto region as the forces of the Combined Syndicates advanced.
On August 10th the Canadian government surrendered to the Combined Syndicates of America. Just a few days before the royal family evacuated Canada via Halifax, the remnants of the Royal Navy just large enough to discourage Syndicate raids on the fleet. The fleet just managed to squeeze through the Panama Canal before a pursuing Syndicate navy force seized the Canadian base there. The royal family would resurface in the Australasian Confederation some days later, and they, like the rest of the world, would bear witness to the Combined Syndicates’ final plan to its northern neighbor.
Connecting the struggles of the Combined Syndicates to the United States before it, President Reed discussed how the Canadians to the north of the United States had always presented a ‘threat’ to the early Republicanism of the country, with the relationship between London and Washington often being rocky. It became more so once the British monarchy fled to Canada and centralized the powers of the crown away from parliament. It had been a threat to Republicanism and later socialism, as Reed summarized.
There had been calls from some within the Combined Syndicates to annex the whole of Canada to begin the process of a genuine North American supranational entity, though this option did not gain much traction with the debates in Chicago. Ultimately the question was whether or not to create a strong, Syndicalist Canada or one made in mind with Quebec autonomy in mind. Those in favor of the former argued that a weak Canada would hurt the Combined Syndicates more than help it, while those aiming for the latter pointed out the help radical Quebecois gave in organizing draft riots.
On August 12th the Continental Chamber of Syndicates reached a decision for the final fate of Canada. A new socialist Canada would be created, but the territories of Quebec would exist as an autonomous region. For all intents and purpose, there was now Quebec and Canada to the north of the Combined Syndicates, both loyal to the aims of Chicago.
Back in Europe, the Italians decided to create yet another nation out of the ruins of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as its forces besieged Budapest. On August 15th the House of Commons debated the proposal for the northern frontier regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Notably the areas covered by Bohemia, Moravia, and the northern portions of the Kingdom of Hungary would be converted into a single state, referred to as “Czechoslovakia”. The Italians reasoned that intelligibility between the people contained in the regions would aid in the creation of a single nation.
There were previously suggestions to transform the whole of Austria-Hungary into a socialist union, but with the early declaration of independence by the Austrian syndicates, the entire plan was thrown into disarray. It was suspected though that Rome desired to keep Vienna humble, and a supranational entity occupying the old empire would be fraught with difficulty.
On August 17th, while only controlling Bohemia and Moravia, the Italian government liberated a new Czechoslovak nation based from the old Bohemian capital of Prague.
The new government would adopt a different flag, incorporating pan-Slavic colors. The Syndintern was unsure of whether the people would accept having to ultimately fight the Russian Empire- the champion of pan-Slavic ambitions. Only time would tell.
The Kingdom of Hungary, and with it the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ceased to exist following the fall of Budapest on August 25th. Italian forces, like they did in Vienna some months before, triumphantly entered the city center and accepted the surrender of the remaining Austro-Hungarian military forces, though the whereabouts of the Habsburg Emperor Otto II and his entourage was unknown.
On August 26th, acting in agreement with socialist opposition to the old empire, a new syndicalist Hungary was created, adding yet another member to the Third International.
The only component of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that remained was Galicia-Lodomeria, which had for all intents and purposes broken free of the destroyed empire and gravitated towards Poland. This would mean little though, due to the advancing Syndicalist forces preparing to breach the last of Germany’s defensive positions.
The Russian Empire was proceeding readily into Ukraine and had occupied the entirety of the Baltic States, with White Ruthenia mostly conquered as well. It also turned its attention southwards and moved into the Ottoman-held Caucasus and annexed Armenia on September 15th, a client state of the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Empire could do little against this, having a hostile Kingdom of Egypt attempting to cross the Suez Canal and attempts by the Balkan Pact to attack it from its European territories. However the Ottomans did manage to keep the Russians in the Caucasus range, and made its own progress in the Caucasus against the Balkan Pact.
Ottoman advances into Bulgaria
Germany had established strong defensive positions along the Oder and Neisse Rivers, trying to prevent a crossing of the emboldened and now numerically superior Syndicalist forces. With the Russian Empire barreling down their eastern borders however, they could not last through the endless onslaught of the Syndintern. On October 3rd the Syndicalist forces finally breached the defensive lines and made their first crossings into Eastern Germany, sweeping aside resistance and clearing the way for other forces down the front. A week later, the Syndintern had essentially captured the whole of Eastern Germany and was threatening the Polish capital of Warsaw.
Commune of France’s advance into Poland, October 12th 1943
The Battle of Warsaw would take the rest of the month, though Syndicalist forces would proceed into the Baltic regions and would engage in the first real battle with the Russian Empire on October 25th. Unfortunately for France, it was definitely in the advantage of the Russian Empire which had caught one of its advancing divisions off-guard.
With the Russian Empire from the east and the French from the west, Germany had essentially lost the entirety of its European territories. Still unwilling to surrender to Paris, the German Empire fled to its Mittelafrikan holdings and continued the fight there, gathering the remnants of its military, colonial forces, and the imperial navy and regrouping at Dar es Salaam.
This now shifted the war to one with Germany to one against the Russian Empire. And in that respect the Syndintern recognized it would need the entire strength of Europe behind it to overcome a resurgent Russia bent on reclaiming its place in Europe. With National France facing threats from joint Republican British-French attacks in Africa and the British monarchy in exile in Australasia, Russia had ascended to the head of the Entente’s war effort.
The first major decision Paris did was the creation of a friendly Poland, giving it territories the German Empire had taken from it in the past and hoping to gain the sympathy of the Poles living in the country by utilizing Greater Polish ambitions. On November 5th, the new Polish Republic was founded.
This was followed up with the restoration of Belgium as a socialist republic on November 8th, with France deciding to liberate the country instead of directly annexing it as had been thought earlier.
As Syndintern forces prepared to establish lines against Russia for the winter, the thought on everyone’s mind was what would happen to the former realms of the German Empire, much of which was still occupied by the Commune of France. Choosing Frankfurt as a venue, all nations of the Syndintern were invited to a conference to determine the fate of Germany. With the Russian Empire coming from the east, it would have to be done quickly and done with the potential challenges ahead in mind.
Eastern Europe at the end of November, 1943
_______________________________________________________________________________
[1] Though it was known that the Commune of France was shouldering much of the burden of the war.
[2] Even during the periods of the Russian Republic there was discontent among the military and government officials over the losses Russia incurred as a result of the First World War. It was rumored that the Tsar had entered into talks for membership in Mitteleuropa in exchange for territory in Eastern Europe which was rejected by Germany, possibly due to the later feeling the Russians should have been indebted to Germany for ‘rescuing’ them from the Bolsheviks.
I apologize for the really late delay here. I had been busy for much of the previous week and never really got a chance to sit down and write up an aar, though I had already gotten the screens and gameplay sometime before.
So we'll just chalk this up as a Halloween Special. I know the whole premise- and outcome- of this aar is enough of a nightmare for some :laugh:
Debout les damnés de la terre!
Radio Rome Broadcast from June 6th said:
With it clear that the Habsburgs would be unable to reassert themselves in the region ever again, the Italian government turned its attention to the territories it was currently occupying- the remnants of the Balkan provinces that formed the frontier of the old empire.
Back in 1937 during the renegotiation of the Ausgleich between Austria and Hungary, agreements were made for territorial adjustments that saw the end of the Croatian and Bosnian units of the Austrian empire, which were directly annexed into either Austrian or Hungarian governance. The result was a massive crackdown on both nationalist and socialist organizations in the region, both of which ultimately ended up banned after organized resistance against occupying Hungarian forces in Croatia turned into a low-level resistance.
It was this experience that saw Josip Broz and a number of other pro-Syndicalist elements in the region flee into Italy where they were welcomed by the Anarcho-Syndicalist bloc in particular, granting them aid and training.
During this time, Josip Broz, now referred to as ‘Tito’, formed an umbrella group of opposition parties to the Austro-Hungarian occupation of the Balkans, all of them of a radical persuasion. Under the direction of the Italians, the group became decidedly pro-Syndintern and advocated for a full destruction of the monarchy and the establishment of a socialist government, putting itself into opposition of the nationalist groups that only desired a parliamentary system.
Even though tentatively the Italian People’s Republic agreed to what territories a potential ‘Yugoslav’ state would cover, the travails of the Italian military had caused some rethinking of the agreements- one that both sides knew going into the Venice conference.
The conference began on May 28th. While it was agreed that most of the Dalmatian coast would go to Yugoslavia, the proceedings over the Istria Peninsula went less than smoothly. While Tito’s forces had managed to lead militias that handily defeated the occupying forces distracted by Italian forces further north, there had been virtually no activity related to them in the Istria peninsula. As such the Italian government, particularly those related to the military, was not willing to turn over the territory completely to Yugoslav control. Rather they wanted to annex it directly to the republic, in return for relinquishing all claims on the Dalmatian coast.
The nature of the proceedings did draw criticism too, though from two completely opposite perspectives. On one end, the nationalist platforms headed by Mussolini’s National Syndicalists desired the whole of the Dalmatian coast and protested the Italian government’s willingness to not regain the whole of Italia Irredenta. On the other was the internationalist position held by the Chairman of the House of Commons Bordiga, which blasted such conferences as a waste of time and completely detached from the real and essential aims of a socialist revolution.
Both camps had more or less abstained from the proceedings of the Venice Conference, not agreeing with its outcome. The Italian government had in the end managed to secure the agreement of Tito and others in the resistance in exchange for the Italian forces to recognize the full sovereignty of the new government over the regions. Essentially this meant that while Italy would continue having a close partner in Yugoslavia, it would not be as indebted to Rome as Austria was.
The Italians did not like this but ultimately recognized that their forces could not afford to have a Yugoslavia that would not agree with being in the Syndintern, much less creating a pretext for the Kingdom of Serbia to position itself as the ‘real’ independent authority for the Slavs in the region.
With the oncoming battle with Russia that would come after an already exhausting battle with Central Asia, there really was no desire from Italy to replicate the troubles Austria-Hungary had experienced before them. A friendly Yugoslavia, with its resources and manpower contributing to the Syndintern, would be a better contribution to the war effort in the end. Thus on June 10th the formal creation of Yugoslavia was marked and control handed over to Tito and his Yugoslav committee.
The state was not recognized by the Kingdom of Serbia- which saw itself as the rightful ruler of the Balkans, and this was repeated by other members of the Balkan Pact and the Russian Empire, as well as other members of the Entente.
The French gave their approval to the agreement, and encouraged the Italians to continue their campaign into the realms of Hungary to finish off the ancient empire. France was continuing to focus on its own battle with Germany however.
By June 20th the city of Berlin was surrounded and Syndintern forces began to make their move capture the heart of Mitteleuropa, but had narrowly missed the Kaiser and his entourage who escaped before the city became completely surrounded, going with the military now attempting to make a last stand in Eastern Germany. The city of Kiel, where much of the German navy was operating from, was also surrounded, from British positions in Denmark and French positions from the south.
Berlin and Kiel Surrounded
The battle lines by this point had become merged. Syndintern forces were spread throughout Europe now, such that no one country was completely alone in any area. With the Balkans mostly cleaned up, the front decreased slightly though was still fairly long, stretching from near Berlin down to Budapest. Italian forces were in Germany, and French forces were in the realms of Austria-Hungary. It had truly become a Syndintern-led effort. [1]
On July 5th, Syndintern forces finally captured the center of Berlin, moving the war into another phase. Newspaper and radio broadcasts from all across France, Italy, and Britain announced the news proudly to their peoples, and the French in particular lauded the event as finally having ‘corrected’ the French defeats of the Great War and 1871. French papers such as L'Humanité had their front pages lauded the fall of Berlin as the ‘greatest blow to reaction everywhere’ and pictures of the red flag over various structures in Berlin were plastered on the front pages of the French publications.
The war’s three year anniversary- May 24th- had come and gone in the midst of the Battle for Berlin
The fall of Berlin would also mean that workers in the other parts of Germany were now further emboldened to seize control of their cities. Military officers sympathetic to the aims of the Syndicalists opted to put themselves in the position of popular militias that would assert control of a new order in Germany, and with it wipe away the old rule of nobility.
With Berlin gone the war had definitely turned in full favor of the Syndintern, and now pressure was on the German monarchy to surrender or keep up a doomed fight against a vengeful Commune of France. Germany would only find even more problems facing it as it underwent collapse.
The Russian Empire had been watching the war intently since its formal entrance earlier that year. Unable to move through the eastern regions of Mitteleuropa, it had opted to build up much of its forces on its western borders preparing for an eventual clash with Syndicalist forces as the fronts edged nearer to the Russians.
The fall of Berlin however came quicker than the Russians had anticipated. They had hoped the war might drag on inconclusively through the interior of Germany, but the Imperial military had failed to muster the sufficient counterattack against the onslaught of the Syndicalist forces. For Russia, things had just gotten much more complicated.
With that, Russia began to enact a plan it had probably made years before during the resurrection of the empire [2]. Acting under the pretext that Russia had to protect its ‘rightful subjects’ residing within the various states in the eastern parts of Mitteleuropa, Russian forces began to enter into Ukraine and the Baltics demanding local authorities recognize the sovereignty of Petrograd over their cities.
As one could expect though, the local garrison forces there were thrown into confusion over what to do. Some decided to recognize the authority of Russia while others resisted the ‘invasion’ of Russia into their territories. An incident in eastern Ukraine resulted in the Russian Empire severing connections with Germany and moving into Eastern Europe with the aim of a hostile takeover.
Russian forces now poured across its western border into Ukraine, White Ruthenia, and the Baltics, sweeping away forces in the latter two but facing resistance in Ukraine. The remnants of the German military were now wedged in between the Syndintern from the west and the Russians from the east. With regards to the latter, it was more troubling because the Germans knew that certain officials in their frontier states would be likely to cut a deal with the Russians to retain their positions, albeit under a different government.
The Union of Britain for its part began to reorganize its government, calling a long-overdue Congress of the Trade Unions on July 2nd, focused more on reorganizing the existing positions in the government rather than the makeup of the CTU.
While the war raged for much of that month, the British quickly set about the debates for the new face of the government. Against all odds, President Horner managed to retain much of the departments in the hands of the Federalists and appointed G.D.H. Cole, a close pupil, to the rank of General-Secretary. This was a surprise to those involved with many thinking Mosley and the Totalists would finally be able to push the government in their favor. They had retained certain war and industry ministries, but had been unable to secure any of the upper-level posts. Snowden had certainly proved his ability to withstand political tides and secured his position in the Union of Britain for the time being by the end of the month.
The Italian People’s Army had begun to move into the outskirts of Budapest by mid-July as the British TUC congress was underway. The Austro-Hungarian forces had put up a stiff resistance in the realms of Hungary, attempting to keep back the Italian attacks where they were launched along the lines. But with Germany on the ropes and Hungary dealing with the Iron Guard Romanians occupying nearly the whole of Transylvania, the battle’s conclusion was only a matter of time. However, the remnants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire would make the battle their last stand, their last mark on Europe.
The Entente faced a major defeat in North America the following August. The Combined Syndicates’ relentless assaults finally broke the defensive lines and American forces quickly occupied Toronto and Ottawa while capturing Vancouver shortly afterwards. Syndicalist forces also found it easy to make its way into the Quebec regions due to the unpopular conscription law which regional politicians blasted with placing undue burden on the people of Quebec. Due to the nature of fighting a war for the British monarchy- an entity detached from Quebec in the first place- draft riots broke out as the Canadians attempted to hold onto the Toronto region as the forces of the Combined Syndicates advanced.
On August 10th the Canadian government surrendered to the Combined Syndicates of America. Just a few days before the royal family evacuated Canada via Halifax, the remnants of the Royal Navy just large enough to discourage Syndicate raids on the fleet. The fleet just managed to squeeze through the Panama Canal before a pursuing Syndicate navy force seized the Canadian base there. The royal family would resurface in the Australasian Confederation some days later, and they, like the rest of the world, would bear witness to the Combined Syndicates’ final plan to its northern neighbor.
Connecting the struggles of the Combined Syndicates to the United States before it, President Reed discussed how the Canadians to the north of the United States had always presented a ‘threat’ to the early Republicanism of the country, with the relationship between London and Washington often being rocky. It became more so once the British monarchy fled to Canada and centralized the powers of the crown away from parliament. It had been a threat to Republicanism and later socialism, as Reed summarized.
There had been calls from some within the Combined Syndicates to annex the whole of Canada to begin the process of a genuine North American supranational entity, though this option did not gain much traction with the debates in Chicago. Ultimately the question was whether or not to create a strong, Syndicalist Canada or one made in mind with Quebec autonomy in mind. Those in favor of the former argued that a weak Canada would hurt the Combined Syndicates more than help it, while those aiming for the latter pointed out the help radical Quebecois gave in organizing draft riots.
On August 12th the Continental Chamber of Syndicates reached a decision for the final fate of Canada. A new socialist Canada would be created, but the territories of Quebec would exist as an autonomous region. For all intents and purpose, there was now Quebec and Canada to the north of the Combined Syndicates, both loyal to the aims of Chicago.
Back in Europe, the Italians decided to create yet another nation out of the ruins of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as its forces besieged Budapest. On August 15th the House of Commons debated the proposal for the northern frontier regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Notably the areas covered by Bohemia, Moravia, and the northern portions of the Kingdom of Hungary would be converted into a single state, referred to as “Czechoslovakia”. The Italians reasoned that intelligibility between the people contained in the regions would aid in the creation of a single nation.
There were previously suggestions to transform the whole of Austria-Hungary into a socialist union, but with the early declaration of independence by the Austrian syndicates, the entire plan was thrown into disarray. It was suspected though that Rome desired to keep Vienna humble, and a supranational entity occupying the old empire would be fraught with difficulty.
On August 17th, while only controlling Bohemia and Moravia, the Italian government liberated a new Czechoslovak nation based from the old Bohemian capital of Prague.
The new government would adopt a different flag, incorporating pan-Slavic colors. The Syndintern was unsure of whether the people would accept having to ultimately fight the Russian Empire- the champion of pan-Slavic ambitions. Only time would tell.
The Kingdom of Hungary, and with it the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ceased to exist following the fall of Budapest on August 25th. Italian forces, like they did in Vienna some months before, triumphantly entered the city center and accepted the surrender of the remaining Austro-Hungarian military forces, though the whereabouts of the Habsburg Emperor Otto II and his entourage was unknown.
On August 26th, acting in agreement with socialist opposition to the old empire, a new syndicalist Hungary was created, adding yet another member to the Third International.
The only component of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that remained was Galicia-Lodomeria, which had for all intents and purposes broken free of the destroyed empire and gravitated towards Poland. This would mean little though, due to the advancing Syndicalist forces preparing to breach the last of Germany’s defensive positions.
The Russian Empire was proceeding readily into Ukraine and had occupied the entirety of the Baltic States, with White Ruthenia mostly conquered as well. It also turned its attention southwards and moved into the Ottoman-held Caucasus and annexed Armenia on September 15th, a client state of the Ottoman Empire.
The Ottoman Empire could do little against this, having a hostile Kingdom of Egypt attempting to cross the Suez Canal and attempts by the Balkan Pact to attack it from its European territories. However the Ottomans did manage to keep the Russians in the Caucasus range, and made its own progress in the Caucasus against the Balkan Pact.
Ottoman advances into Bulgaria
Germany had established strong defensive positions along the Oder and Neisse Rivers, trying to prevent a crossing of the emboldened and now numerically superior Syndicalist forces. With the Russian Empire barreling down their eastern borders however, they could not last through the endless onslaught of the Syndintern. On October 3rd the Syndicalist forces finally breached the defensive lines and made their first crossings into Eastern Germany, sweeping aside resistance and clearing the way for other forces down the front. A week later, the Syndintern had essentially captured the whole of Eastern Germany and was threatening the Polish capital of Warsaw.
Commune of France’s advance into Poland, October 12th 1943
The Battle of Warsaw would take the rest of the month, though Syndicalist forces would proceed into the Baltic regions and would engage in the first real battle with the Russian Empire on October 25th. Unfortunately for France, it was definitely in the advantage of the Russian Empire which had caught one of its advancing divisions off-guard.
With the Russian Empire from the east and the French from the west, Germany had essentially lost the entirety of its European territories. Still unwilling to surrender to Paris, the German Empire fled to its Mittelafrikan holdings and continued the fight there, gathering the remnants of its military, colonial forces, and the imperial navy and regrouping at Dar es Salaam.
This now shifted the war to one with Germany to one against the Russian Empire. And in that respect the Syndintern recognized it would need the entire strength of Europe behind it to overcome a resurgent Russia bent on reclaiming its place in Europe. With National France facing threats from joint Republican British-French attacks in Africa and the British monarchy in exile in Australasia, Russia had ascended to the head of the Entente’s war effort.
The first major decision Paris did was the creation of a friendly Poland, giving it territories the German Empire had taken from it in the past and hoping to gain the sympathy of the Poles living in the country by utilizing Greater Polish ambitions. On November 5th, the new Polish Republic was founded.
This was followed up with the restoration of Belgium as a socialist republic on November 8th, with France deciding to liberate the country instead of directly annexing it as had been thought earlier.
As Syndintern forces prepared to establish lines against Russia for the winter, the thought on everyone’s mind was what would happen to the former realms of the German Empire, much of which was still occupied by the Commune of France. Choosing Frankfurt as a venue, all nations of the Syndintern were invited to a conference to determine the fate of Germany. With the Russian Empire coming from the east, it would have to be done quickly and done with the potential challenges ahead in mind.
Eastern Europe at the end of November, 1943
_______________________________________________________________________________
[1] Though it was known that the Commune of France was shouldering much of the burden of the war.
[2] Even during the periods of the Russian Republic there was discontent among the military and government officials over the losses Russia incurred as a result of the First World War. It was rumored that the Tsar had entered into talks for membership in Mitteleuropa in exchange for territory in Eastern Europe which was rejected by Germany, possibly due to the later feeling the Russians should have been indebted to Germany for ‘rescuing’ them from the Bolsheviks.