Careful with socialists/communists in power. They might launch a revolution. It happened to me once as the German Empire. I was leading an invasion of Russia in 1896, and the Communists won the elections, and seized power, creating the DDR.
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Double post but:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GqH048vID0
I vote this be the anthem of the Empire of the Pacific!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GqH048vID0
I vote this be the anthem of the Empire of the Pacific!
So...when is Carr going to come in and start mucking about in South America? 
Seriously though, great AAR. Don't know why I haven't gotten into it before. Amazing borders, too. Wish all V2 maps could look something like that!
Seriously though, great AAR. Don't know why I haven't gotten into it before. Amazing borders, too. Wish all V2 maps could look something like that!
Wanted to say, an epic AAR. I've just finished reading the whole thing, and it is amazing. You must have put some work into both writing it and working out strategies to make your nation as powerful as it is.
Same as Anjwalker here, I read through the entire thing and it is absolutely awesome. Keep it up!
@MrHouse: That is indeed an independent Congo, Switzerland is its master.
@Sakura_F: That's the last thing I need.
@Seek75: Carr might come a bit later.
@Anjwalker: Many thanks, I'm glad to be attracting new readers!
@Veugdenmans: I am humbled by your comments, thank you.
Update incoming soon.
@Sakura_F: That's the last thing I need.
@Seek75: Carr might come a bit later.
@Anjwalker: Many thanks, I'm glad to be attracting new readers!
@Veugdenmans: I am humbled by your comments, thank you.
Update incoming soon.
Wilcox: 1911 - 1916
President-Elect Seymour Wilcox took his oath of office in San Diego, on the steps of the Californian Congress, and in his inauguration speech, he made a solemn pledge to the nation to take on big business, to continue the reforms of the like-minded President Harrison, and usher in a new age of Government accountability. In his speech, he was also adamant at pointing out the threat that the Empire of Greater Japan poised to the Californian Republic. He vowed to match them in Navy, Arms Production, and Military readiness.
1. Seymour Wilcox, Eleventh President of the Californian Republic.
Only just through the door of the President's Office, President Wilcox signed in a new initiative limiting the maximum number of work hours in a day to ten, down from the previous limit of sixteen. Next, the socialist Congress deemed it necessary to continue to push through reforms, hoping to better the lives of the citizens of California. In May of 1911, President Wilcox signed a sweeping reform of pensions and unemployment security, implementing them alongside a new series of Government-mandated safety measures for all factory workers. His moves brought the industrial workers firmly into the Socialist Camp, while completely alienating the factory owners.
2. Women Workers working in a textile factory, with greatly improved safety conditions.
With this increased government involvement in Business, the group of Trusts that had control over the nation's industries, the largest being Californian Steel and Oil Company, the successor business to President Jamous' old Jamous Steel Works, where it merged with Standard Oil of California after it was broken up, banded together and tried to impose any type of block to the President's actions. Unfortunately for them, President Wilcox appointed a new commission after signing the Smooth-Tarley Anti-Trust Act of 1911, which was a vast improvement on the previous Anti-Trust Act. By the fall of 1911, President Wilcox's commission had gone after and broken up over 36 trusts, out of the 42 generally believed to be in the nation.
Naturally, the economy took a small downfall, as wages fell and prices rose. Unemployment began to rise slowly as the now smaller corporations had to deal with a complex structure, no longer having everything streamlined in the Trust's main body. To try and combat this flood of unemployment, and after returning from a trip to the United States, Louis Chevrolet, a Swiss-born engineer, decided to establish the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in San Francisco, California on February 17th, 1912. His mission was to transplant the system of automobile manufacturing that Henry Ford of the Ford Motor Company had perfected in Detroit, Michigan. His sales quickly spiked as this explosive new, affordable, vehicle hit California. Thousands purchased this new object, now having a way to get around the countryside more easily. Although the country was spiraling into a recession, the automobile brought it right back out, quickly becoming the largest industry in the country.
3. The Chevrolet "California Flyer".
Even as California began to pull itself out of the economic downturn it was experiencing, an agreement was finally made between the British White Star Line, a shipping company, and the Californian Government. As owners of the two new Mega Ships, the RMS Olympic and the RMS Titanic, the Californians offered deep incentives to the company to open a route to the Californian Republic. After much debate, the White Star Line agreed to offer a one-time service from Southampton, England to San Diego, California. The journey was to take the Titanic from Southampton, then over to Cherbourg, France. From there, the Titanic would sail across the Atlantic Ocean, to New York City, and continue its journey through the new Panama Canal to the shores of California.
As fate would have it, the Titanic completed this journey, it's maiden voyage with relatively little problems up until New York. Leaving New York Harbour, the Titanic experienced a small boiler fire. It was quickly put out as the ship pulled away finally. On April 24th, 1912, the Titanic crossed the Panama Canal and made its way up towards California, expected to arrive in San Diego on the 27th of April. However, the ship wired in with some engine problems during the night of the 26th, and made it known that they would need some form of help to make it to port. Only two more messages came in from the Titanic that night, the first was a notice of a small light off the port side, and the second was of an explosion ripping through the stern, blaming it on the engines, and that the call to abandon ship was given.
4. The RMS Titanic leaving port in New York, New York.
The mystery of the Titanic only deepened, as there were not an adequate number of lifeboats on-board to accommodate all of the people, and overall one-thousand, five-hundred people perished, with only seven hundred surviving. A Mexican steamer picked them up and brought them to the Port of New London in Baja California. The investigation into this deepened, as many began to suspect foul play. Reports from those working in the engine room suggested that the explosion was an exterior one, not an interior one. The rate the ship sank too, overall fifty-six minuets, was suspicious, because any calculated explosion in the Engine Room would have caused the ship to sink low, have the water-tight bulkheads seal off the compartments, and have it float for a few hours before sinking.
The most ominous message was the one about the light off the port side, shipping records indicated that there was supposed to be no ship anywhere near the Titanic at the time, a very concerning fact for the Californians, who supposedly had unbridled control of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, where the Titanic sank. The conversation inevitability lead to the Japanese, but no one could figure out how exactly to blame them, they had no friendly ports in the area and Japanese shipping records, which they easily released, showed that no Japanese ship had entered the Eastern Pacific since late 1911.
However, this national fright was quickly shoved under the table, as the government did their best to make sure the people were not concerned with the safety of the Pacific, and the Californian Republic. Eager to turn the page, the Californian Government sponsored a new project to provide electric power the the hungry factories and cities. Choosing the Sacramento River as the location, the Government hired a famed American photographer, famous for taking pictures with his new camera, capable of colour pictures, to photograph the construction and final product in order to show it to the public to try and show them the progress of the nation.
5. Workers pausing to have their picture taken by the new type of Camera.
The damn, started in May of 1912, was finished by the fall of 1912, by sheer manpower and determination by the workers. The photographer who first took the picture of the damn being constructed was called back once again and his cameras were set up in the turbine room, where he snapped several photographs of the machinery. Once the population got a hold of this new colour picture, they felt a sense of pride and amazement, knowing that they could see a picture of something in full colour. The Californians, ever the consciousness ones, quickly lost memory if this magnificent achievement as tensions started to grow in Europe.
6. A photograph taken of the new hydroelectric turbines in the Sacramento River Dam.
The trouble started on December 18th, 1912, when oil was found on the border between Romania and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austro-Hungarians were determined to exploit this and impose a new border between the two countries, ones that the Romanians instantly refused. The Austrians were willing to go to war in impose these new borders, only when a minor revolution occurred in Serbia, electing a democratic government, did the Austrians back down on their threat, knowing that any type of war would throw the native Serbians inside the Empire into revolt, which would ignite the furious Balkan powder keg.
7. A cartoon of the troubles of the Balkans in Europe.
Even as 1913 churned on, the Californian people could tell that Europe was slowly lurching towards War. The United States of America, taking an unprecedented step, allied itself with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which, in turn, asked France for a defensive alliance. This was born the Entente Powers, or the Triple Alliance of the United States, France, and Austria-Hungry. Responding to this new threat, the nations of Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom signed a pact of friendship, forming the Central Powers. Putting aside their recent differences, the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan signed a defensive pact, thus bringing Japan into the Central Powers. The Kingdom of Italy, seeing itself bordering two Entente Powers, pledged their support to France and Austria-Hungry.
8. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, each wearing the others national uniform.
1913 ended with President Wilcox campaigning steadfast for the Worker's Union Party, hoping that the Californian people would return them to Congress in the January 1914 Congressional Elections. Unfortunately for the President, his policies were given a steadfast rejection as the Socialists lost a massive amount of seats, with control of the Senate and the Congress going to the Californian Conservatives, who vowed to stem the Red Tide, and push back with a reactionary push, condemning the policies of the Government. When the new Congress was inaugurated, the first bill passed was the Kemper-Jackson Tariff, which hiked up tariff rates from their nominal 1% to the Pre-Wilcox levels of 35%.
9. Speaker of the House Harold Jackson, a staunch Anti-Socialist and Anti-Communist.
By the spring of 1914, it was obvious that the tension in Europe was reaching a boiling point, the only thing that was needed was the spark that would set off the conflagration. Californian Diplomats tried furiously to diffuse some situations, and was only able to keep the peace for so long. Determined to stay out of the war entirely, California took a collective step back from all Diplomatic affairs in Europe, and sighed a break of relief as they no longer had to keep immense amounts of pressure up in Europe[1].
With the last Californian diplomat sending out his last diffusing message on June 18th, 1914, tensions rose even higher until they finally spilled over in a collective cascading effect. A Serbian Terrorist Group, called the Black Hand, was officially sponsored by the Serbian Government, and their full intentions were to bring all the Slavic peoples of the Balkans under one government. Some of these people lived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Black Hand send a force into Bosnia on July 28th, 1914, where they tried to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austrian Throne. They failed, and the Archduke was only injured, requiring intense medical care in Sarajevo.
The Austro-Hungarian Government unilaterally declared War upon the Serbian Republic. Honoring an alliance, and defending their Slavic brothers, the Russian Empire ordered a complete mobilization of their armed forces. France, in turned, moved to defend Austria-Hungary and declared war upon the Russian Empire. Russia quickly called her alliances into order and the Empire of Japan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain came to her defense. Watching these new declarations of war on France, the United States of America and Kingdom of Italy declared War upon the German Empire and the Central Powers.
10. Austro-Hungarian Artillery facing towards Germany, just days before the war.
By August of 1914, France had ordered a General Mobilization of their armed forces, to combat the German Empire's Army swarming over the border of the United Netherlands, intent on circumventing the French defenses and easily capturing Paris. This plan, however, quickly fell apart as French forces stormed across the Franco-German border, and stunted the German charge as they reeled around to defend the German homeland. By September 9th, 1914, both sides found out that, barring massive casualties, the only way to fight this was was through the usage of trenches. Both sides dug in, determined to outlast their enemy by any means necessary.
11. French Bayonet Charge in one of the first Battles inside Germany.
As 1914 drew to a close with stalemate in the Great War, the Californian Census Department released their findings. Unemployment was down, with jobless workers only existing in Mainland California, however it was falling daily as more factories expanded production to feed the War Effort in Europe. Overall, the Population grew by a modest 1,000,000 men, to a total population overall of 30,267,436 people living in the Californian Republic[2].
12. Population Statistics of the Californian Republic, 1915.
As 1914 dragged on, President Wilcox made a solemn pledge to the nation, he would keep California out of the Great War, even though President Theodore Roosevelt of the United States took the nation to war almost as soon as the first shot was fired. President Wilcox then geared up for the Presidential Campaign, hoping to retain his seat with the catchphrase "He'll Keep us out of War".
Conservatives, determined to try and wrestle control of the Presidency away from the Worker's Union, decided to band together with the Progressives and nominate a compromise candidate. Before the Confederate States collapsed, Virginian Governor Woodrow Wilson abandoned the Confederacy and moved to California, where he renounced his Confederate Citizenship and became an active Mayor in California. The Conservatives and the Progressives agreed on Wilson, and he was nominated on the first ballot for the Californian Conservatives.
13. Conservative Candidate Woodrow Wilson.
The election was an interesting affair, where Wilson campaigned exclusively as an Anti-War Candidate, and not being a socialist, Where Wilcox campaigned as an Anti-War Candidate, and tried to shy away from being a socialist. Once the votes were in, it turns out not being a socialist was the only thing that mattered. Like the Congressional elections a few years prior, the Worker's Union party saw a massive defeat at the polls, where Candidate Wilson was elected by a massive landslide, becoming the President-Elect of the Californian Republic. In his acceptance speech, he made it known he was planting his foot in the ground now, and that California would remain at peace, and he would stay committed to that to the fullest extent his powers allowed him.
Previous Update: Orleans: 1906 - 1911
Next Update: Wilson: 1916 - 1921
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Author's Note(s)
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[1] - Many Europeans were enraged at California's entrance into European Affairs, they mostly shrugged them off, but these diplomats were instrumental in diffusing over three different situations that could have caused the war.
[2] - California alone is home to 10,284,535 people. In 1910, OTL, California had only around 2,500,000 people.
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Wilson as the Conservative candidate?
Not...entirely sure how I feel about that...
Not...entirely sure how I feel about that...
Took a while, but I finally caught up, as promised. For what is worth, considering the war, let me say that those are the neatest borders I've ever seen in Africa.
And it will turn out that the Japs sank the Titanic with some new submarine and Wilson will have to declare war..., since we all know that he is bound to do so in any timeline
And it will turn out that the Japs sank the Titanic with some new submarine and Wilson will have to declare war..., since we all know that he is bound to do so in any timeline
Where the seasons come,
and the seasons go,
nothing ever stays the same,
California~ California~
and the seasons go,
nothing ever stays the same,
California~ California~
Another great update and the titanic story is an interesting cb. I look forward to your next update!
I doubt there would be any other reason to have Wilson become the President than for California to go to war late... at least those Red's were shown who own's California
If California enters the war against Japan...they would be alone in the Pacific versus Japan, Russia and Great Britain. Quite interesting the least...
Tim
Tim
Another great update, though I will note that you spelt Dam as Damn, as in the curse word not the water catchment.
I'll looking forward to seeing what happens with the Great War. It's always a dangerous business, going to war with the UK.
I'll looking forward to seeing what happens with the Great War. It's always a dangerous business, going to war with the UK.
I have to agree with Seek on Woodrow Wilson... other than that, another great update!
I couldn't clearly see how the world was divided between the two blocs so I colored in a world map to check that out. If click on the link you get a full-resolution PNG that you can easily edit. Might be handy for you Frymonmon, as I request detailed goings on about the war The map is pretty accurate in terms of main combatants but I have no idea how the world is divided in spheres so there might be more fronts that we can see here.
The image shows us a few things:
-The Western Hemisphere will be quickly secured by the Allies, as the powerful American military can easily swoop in and take those remote colonies. If Canada is part of the Central Powers, than they'd have more work to do, but I imagine it'd just be a matter of time
-The front in Africa will quickly stabilize as well, with West Africa going to the Allies and East/South going to the Central Powers. The only major operation will take place in Egypt, where both sides will fight over control of the Suez Canal
-The Central Powers are in firm control of the Mediterranean, controlling Gibraltar, Malta, Crete and Suez. This will help keep contact with the colonies as the Western African coast will quickly become inhospitable
-Austria-Hungary will be in danger of being cut off from her allies. One strong push through the Alps and the Austro-Hungarians would have to fight a two-front war on its own
-The Baltic States, while close to Moscow, would not be a suitable ally for the Allies. germany would quickly occupy Denmark, blocking off sea access. The Russian army would do the rest. They are helpful as neutrals because they help create a bottleneck between Russia and Germany
-Ukraine would be an ideal ally. Keeping Russia and Germany small would be in their advantage and they could quickly cut off land access between the Russians and the Germans
-The other ideal ally would be the Ottoman Empire. While a shell of its former glory, it has much land to regain and is an ideal situation to take Suez for the Allies
-The Dutch East Indies are completely isolated and without aid will quickly fall unless the Californians join the war on the side of the Allies. The Californian navy can take at least Japan on its own and its many islands allow for a slow retreat if possible (reverse OTL WWII Japan). The US Pacific fleet could help even the playing field
-The Californians don't have a choice, with the US on its doorstep. Either they stay neutral or they join the Allies.
The map is pretty accurate in terms of main combatants but I have no idea how the world is divided in spheres so there might be more fronts that we can see here.
The image shows us a few things:
-The Western Hemisphere will be quickly secured by the Allies, as the powerful American military can easily swoop in and take those remote colonies. If Canada is part of the Central Powers, than they'd have more work to do, but I imagine it'd just be a matter of time
-The front in Africa will quickly stabilize as well, with West Africa going to the Allies and East/South going to the Central Powers. The only major operation will take place in Egypt, where both sides will fight over control of the Suez Canal
-The Central Powers are in firm control of the Mediterranean, controlling Gibraltar, Malta, Crete and Suez. This will help keep contact with the colonies as the Western African coast will quickly become inhospitable
-Austria-Hungary will be in danger of being cut off from her allies. One strong push through the Alps and the Austro-Hungarians would have to fight a two-front war on its own
-The Baltic States, while close to Moscow, would not be a suitable ally for the Allies. germany would quickly occupy Denmark, blocking off sea access. The Russian army would do the rest. They are helpful as neutrals because they help create a bottleneck between Russia and Germany
-Ukraine would be an ideal ally. Keeping Russia and Germany small would be in their advantage and they could quickly cut off land access between the Russians and the Germans
-The other ideal ally would be the Ottoman Empire. While a shell of its former glory, it has much land to regain and is an ideal situation to take Suez for the Allies
-The Dutch East Indies are completely isolated and without aid will quickly fall unless the Californians join the war on the side of the Allies. The Californian navy can take at least Japan on its own and its many islands allow for a slow retreat if possible (reverse OTL WWII Japan). The US Pacific fleet could help even the playing field
-The Californians don't have a choice, with the US on its doorstep. Either they stay neutral or they join the Allies.
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Well I'm sure Wilson won't be able to back out of this one either, especially with the Titanic acting like a new Lusitania. At any rate, another great update!
Considering the fact most ships ever built in Belfast either sank, blew up or capsized, I wouldn't be surprised if it was built badly.