Vive L'Empereur: The Third French Empire - a National France Kaiserreich AAR

[Merrick Chance']

I wouldn't put Bonaparte as Autocratic Charmer, for the simple reason that Autocratic Charmer is rubbish.

It has its uses, especially in Darkest Hour. The large dissent decrease that you get from lowered dissent + lowered consumer need allows a player to take actions that give you dissent more often than not. I used Edward's autocratic charmer ability to integrate New England while devaluing my currency every couple of months.

And it is possible to get to the Commune before the Germans, at least as a Canadian player. You just need to form an alliance with the Papacy (difficult but doable), station a bunch of troops there, and intervene where ever possible (I was able to take the Northwestern corner of Spain from the FAI and Michigan from the CSA). Germany seemed to be making headway a bit, but France took Wallonia and a stalemate seemed to form, so I figured the stalemate would be tying up the Communards in Belgium, and took the opportunity to invade via Savoy and Rochelle. By the end most of France was under my/Rome's control, and I barely was able to take Paris before the Germans, and with most of France under my control I figured the Germans would consent to give a small sliver of French territory in return for Wallonian land so I reloaded as Nat France and demanded the territory.

Also, as the descendant of leftist Pied Noirs, I find it sad that Camus isn't a possible minister for a democratic Nat France.

[Antonine]

Sorry for the delay, politics has been hectic but we won a major victory in the Lords last night so I'm now celebrating and will be updating soon

[Antonine]

So, aiming for an update tonight with a bit of luck - I intend to try and get the Spanish Wars over and done with in one go and after than things segued pretty quickly into WW2 where there's lots of proper action for everyone.

[General_Hoth]

History can show you one thing: don't send the army in Spain.

Speaking of army, no proper French Empire would be complete without his own Garde Impériale

[Antonine]

History can show you one thing: don't send the army in Spain.

Speaking of army, no proper French Empire would be complete without his own Garde Impériale

That's what I was thinking of! I knew there was a renaming thing I wanted to do but I forgot what it was - to rename a unit the Imperial Guard. *facepalm*

And don't worry, no French soldiers are going into Spain itself. Instead the Empire will claim Spain's colonies and then join with the Carlists to reclaim the homeland.

[General_Hoth]

Ohhhh I wish for a Division Cuirassée de la Vieille Garde An Old Guard Armored Division!

[Shock3r]

update? i really like this AAR.

[Antonine]

While the French Empire secretly made preparations for war, domestic troubles were mounting. In the Sahara the Tuareg caravan drivers were becoming increasingly disgruntled with the taxes they had to pay to what they saw as a foreign government without receiving anything in return. For, despite the decades of French settlement of Algeria, French governments had never focused development of schools, hospitals or other basic services beyond the French settlements along the Algerian coast or in Dakar. However, the resentment had not yet boiled over into actual unrest and so continued to go unnoticed by the government in Algiers.

What did go noticed was the increasing discontent amongst the sizeable Jewish population of the white or "Pied-Noir" population of the empire. For many years French society, in common with most other european nations, had had an ugly vein of anti-Semitism flowing through it. This prejudice was especially associated with the right wing side of the political spectrum - the same spectrum that dominated the mainstream politics of the empire and National France before it. The Jewish population of the nation had long disliked but accepted this discrimination as a part of life - or at least the wealthy Jews had as their wealth insulated them from it. However, in recent months the voices of the anti-Semites had been growing stronger, blaming "perfidious Jewo-syndicaliste treachery" for the defeat of France by Germany in the Weltkrieg and demanding punitive measures be taken against the Jews of the empire. This was especially due to the increasingly stridently extreme rhetoric of Phillipe Henriot, an Anti-communard, Anti-Semite, Anti-Freemasonry, and Anti-parliamentarianist voice on Radio Algiers - the empire's official propaganda organ. Coupled with the presence of other outspoken anti-Semite politicians in government ministerial positions, this had led to a series of increasingly violent attacks on Jews and Jewish businesses by both the Catholic youth and by the small, but growing, paramilitary anti-Semitic organisations.

Facing not just prejudice but actual violence, the Jewish Pied-Noir population had become incensed to the extent that they had written to the Emperor threatening to emigrate unless the anti-Semites were fired.

The firing of the anti-Semites marked a turning point in French society, one which would ultimately lead to the label of France as "the Beacon of Tolerance" in the late 70s

After a hurried late night summons of De Gaulle to the Imperial Palace (in reality a commandeered country hotel), the Emperor and his Prime Minister came to the conclusion that the only option was to fire the anti-Semites from the government and from Radio Algiers.

The reasons for this were very different for the two men. While the Emperor viewed it as his duty to protect the religious freedom of all his subjects, De Gaulle had no interest in the welfare of the Jews other than the fact that they represented white manpower for the military and taxpayers whose wealth would be needed to fund his plans for the expansion of the army.

The next day, De Gaulle himself spoke on Radio Algiers, announcing the immediate dismissal, by the Emperor, from public office of all those who held views "contrary to the spirit of religious freedom enshrined in the constitution of the Empire and espoused by that great Frenchman and national hero Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte I."

With the Emperor's intervention, those expressing views that the sacking of the anti-Semites was wrong were effectively speaking out against the Emperor and therefore left themselves subject to arrest by the recently established but over-eager Imperial Secret Police.

With the Jewish community appeased, the empire endured a Christmas of relative peace and quiet, with discontent throughout the nation gradually falling as the uncertainty of the new system of government gradually settled down into stability.

The French government at the end of 1937

[Antonine]

This is the first update of today, another one will follow shortly. I had originally intended to post one big update but the two themes didn't really fit well with each other.

[Antonine]

While France enjoyed a peaceful Christmas season, the conflict in Spain continued unabated. The FAI offensive had almost driven the forces loyal to the Kingdom into the sea and the anarcho-syndicalists had gained control of the bulk of the country.

However, while the FAI forces were stretched to their limit occupying only recently conquered areas, the Carlists had been massing forces within their heartlands, and, at the beginning of November, launched a ferocious assault on the FAI, culminating in a December push which saw them push back the FAI and consolidate their hold on Madrid and its surroundings.

But the FAI militias fought back, well aware of the fate they would face at the hands of the Carlists if defeated and, by January, the front had stabilised with the country pretty evenly divided in half between the FAI and the Carlists with the Madrid government driven onto the fortified island of Gibraltar where they would spend the winter nursing their wounds and planning a counter-offensive.

With the press of imperial France captivated with "News from our Spanish correspondent", scarcely anyone in Algeria paid any attention to the news of the resurgence of the American Federalist armies or of the endgame being played out in the former nation of Russia.

Then, all of a sudden, it was February and the French transport fleet had been completed.

Only a few days later, after a pause only in order to finalise preparations, French soldiers crossed the border into Spanish West Africa without a declaration of war. With the garrisons all recalled to Spain, resistance was minimal to non-existent.

At the same time, two infantry divisions landed on the coast of Spanish Morocco, moving rapidly to secure the port and airfield of Tangier while Admiral Darlan's fleet provided cover for the landing craft and discouraged the Kingdom of Spain's remaining ships from doing anything rash once they realised what was going on.

By the 20th of February all of Spanish Morocco was under the control of the French Empire while Spanish West Africa was being annexed as fast as French soldiers could march through it. The entire operation had been finished in just two weeks and with no French fatalities - though records show that one Capitaine Fabien Lebeau of the French Foreign Legion was wounded in Tangier after a retired Spanish ex-Colonel took a pot shot at him.

While the French press and government celebrated the resounding success of an action which had brought vital factories, resources and taxpayers under imperial control, the Kingdom of Spain was determined to strike back.

On the 22nd of February, the Royal Spanish Navy sailed out from Gibraltar and attacked the fleet commanded by Admiral Darlan. After just a few hours of fighting the superior French firepower and leadership showed their worth and two Spanish ships were sunk, including the light cruiser Principe Alfonso, forcing the Spanish to retreat.

At the same time, the Carlists pressed the FAI, succeeding in pushing deep into southern Spain and to the east, seizing the vital port city of Valencia, cutting in two the FAI controlled territories.

With the Carlists clearly gaining the upper hand, the French government decided to take advantage of the situation and landed on the Spanish islands of Mallorca on the 14th of March.

While the islands had no particular value to the empire, they represented an opportunity to deprive the Kingdom of Spain of further territory while also gaining goodwill from the Carlists who were steadily driving back the FAI - aided by the return to the mainland of the Madrid government's forces who had taken advantage of the distraction of FAI to regain control of Cadiz and use it as a staging post to recapture Sevilla and Granada.

Meanwhile, buoyed by the national morale boost of the annexation of the last Spanish African settlement, the French government and the Emperor were in a receptive mood when Felix Amiot, the famous aircraft designer, proposed the creation of a state owned Dakar to Algiers airways company, to be owned by the state and to provide an alternative to lengthy sea or trans-desert land journeys by the wealthy between the two hubs of the imperial economy. The Emperor in particular was especially enthusiastic for the scheme, viewing Amiot's vision of an Imperial French Aeronautical Company driving out South Africa and German competitors as an effective way to boost prestige for both his throne and his country.

It was this imperial enthusiasm that eventually forced the sceptical De Gaulle to agree to the scheme - even though he viewed it as a waste of money.

However, one of the Emperor's pet projects met with De Gaulle's full support - namely the construction of additional troop transport ships and amphibious landing craft. Despite the strain it placed on French industry and the public purse, both Emperor and Prime Minister viewed it as a necessary step towards being able to invade and reclaim the homeland.

[Davisx3m]

Omg Russia is crushed! Now Crush them Spaniards

[General_Hoth]

Excellent. My habitual strategy is to start a massive infrastructure and IC building plan just after the tuareg rebellion, to sustain the long war that would be necessary to regain France. WOuld the Empereur do that, thus making every imperial citizen benefit from his rule?

[Antonine]

Excellent. My habitual strategy is to start a massive infrastructure and IC building plan just after the tuareg rebellion, to sustain the long war that would be necessary to regain France. WOuld the Empereur do that, thus making every imperial citizen benefit from his rule?

After the Tuareg revolt I normally just focus on building up my military as much as possible. That said, your strategy does sound like a better one. I had originally planned not to play any further than one update ahead of the AAR but unfortunately that didn't work out so I'm actually quite ahead of the AAR and unable to take that kind of advice. I have, however, stopped playing the game in order to catch up with the AAR - and the good news is that when the AAR has caught up then there's a big decision ahead for the empire and I will be asking all of the readers of this AAR to vote how it continues

Sadly, Napoleon IV isn't enlightened enough to care much the native inhabitants of Algeria - his main focus is on regaining the homeland. However, later on there will be a lot of infrastructure building projects which should benefit everyone in the empire. To be honest, I'd have been more inclined to build in Algeria were it not for the fact that once you've regained France Algeria becomes pretty useless as you can't access its manpower or IC in times of war due to the lack of a land connection

[General_Hoth]

Hey, I want the Empereur to be enlightened!!!

And as I say, you can't really count of regaining France mainland in a near future, if you want to play realistic. The best I can do in my own games are taking some provinces in the southern France before the Commune's collape. If syndies win, I frequently see algeria being bombed to pieces by UoB bombers, so my investments in the central and southern Nat France come in handy

[Antonine]

Hey, I want the Empereur to be enlightened!!!

And as I say, you can't really count of regaining France mainland in a near future, if you want to play realistic. The best I can do in my own games are taking some provinces in the southern France before the Commune's collape. If syndies win, I frequently see algeria being bombed to pieces by UoB bombers, so my investments in the central and southern Nat France come in handy

We're talking here about the guy who disinherited his son for accidentally prompting a French official to check the records and amend the family name. I don't really think he's ever likely to be that enlightened sadly. As it happens, (SPOILER ALERT) France is reclaimed in this AAR. Even if it wasn't though I normally end up coding in a Treaty of Bordeaux which sees the partitioning of France between the Germans and Nat France, provided I've taken sufficient territory that is.

[Antonine]

If it's any consolation, I fully intend to liberate Quebec from the perfidy of the oppresive mounties

[General_Hoth]

Count me in

[Antonine]

Aargh, really sorry about the lack of an update. Will try and get one done tonight - at the worst it should hopefully be done by Monday.

[Antonine]

As the Imperial French press celebrated the gains of the Spanish War, and eagerly reported on the details of the partitioning of Russia into Soviet, German, Ukrainian and Siberian zones, no one in Algeria could have guessed that, by the end of May 1938, the young empire was on the verge of the most serious threat to its existence so far.

For months the Tuareg and Bedouin of the Algerian interior had been growing increasingly resentful of the taxes on their caravans and the conscription and press-ganging of their young men into the Imperial Army of France. With no French military or police forces within the interior the sedition grew unchecked. After months of discontent going unnoticed by the government in Algiers, the powder keg was lit when a party of tax collectors was murdered outside the Saharan city of Tamanghasset. Accounts of the incident differ - the story reported in the French press was that that it had been an unprovoked attack while native accounts claim that the tax collectors were murdered after outraging locals by beating an elderly caravan master whom they suspected of holding out on them. Whatever the truth of the matter is, all that can be said for certain is that the French government dismissed out of hand the possibility of repealing the tax, which might well have avoided what was to follow. Instead, De Gaulle vowed vengeance and promised to bring into line the Emperor’s rebellious subjects.

The news that the murder of the tax collectors would be met with reprisals served only to inflame the Tuaregs. Those who had had nothing to do with the murder, motivated by fear of indiscriminate French brutality, joined forces with the rapidly growing bands of rebels. On the 5th of June tribal elders met at Tamanghasset and declared the independence of the Tuareg Confederation, refusing to pay taxes while Bedouin and Tuareg raiders mounted on camels and armed with sword and Weltkrieg era rifles attacked everything French that dared to move south of the Atlas and began raiding French military outposts.

The borders of the short-lived Tuareg Confederation

While the French government reeled in shock at the surprise of a full-scale revolt, unsure of how to react, the Tuaregs were buoyed by the apparent impotence of the French government and its inability to respond. After a few days of deceptive peace, large bands of Tuaregs and Bedouin swept out of the Sahara and south to the Niger River, pillaging, murdering and raping everything they encountered. The fate of the few French settlers unluckily enough to be in the area at the time of what was dubbed ‘The Terror’ was so horrific that the French government deemed it too distressing to be allowed to be known and ordered all records on the subject to be destroyed. Given the lurid and gruesome reports that appeared in the press at the time, it is not pleasant to consider how bad the reality must have been in order to be banned.

While the Tuaregs settled in to the north of the Niger, panic spread ahead of them. Rioting broke out in the cities of the South Coast as native citizens, terrified by tales of the unstoppable wave of Tuaregs, took to the streets. The violence escalated and mob rule broke out, ultimately culminating in the utter loss of control by the French government. Even as the governors and their families were hurriedly evacuated by Dakar-Algiers Airways planes, the Republic of Guinea was proclaimed. This declaration was repudiated by the French government who belatedly dispatched militia to crush the uprising.

[Antonine]

An update at last! Sorry for the delay and for the brevity but the good news is that I'm halfway through the next one already and am currently aiming to have it up by some time this weekend.