The United States: 'Advantages without Obligations'

[Copper Nicus]

Originally Posted by Dhatori

Is the whole world enough for Stalin?

For Stalin, "World is Not Enough"...

[Prufrock451]

Originally Posted by TheBee

My knowledge of Japan in the 1940's is extremely limited, but AFAIK they just have an overly greedy and ambitious government while Stalin is about as devil incarnate as it gets.

Well, I don't know about you, but if I had to choose between occupation by Stalin's USSR and Hirohito's Japan, I'd choose having my throat torn out by dogs.

I hate to say it, because Mettermrck's America has me digging in my drawer for my black armband, but I'm rooting for Oceania in this fight.

Eastasia and Eurasia double-plus bad.

[Faeelin]

I suspect the US will join the war against Eurasia.

But you will not like the state that arises afterwards.

Anyone else picturing the Roman Empire in the modern day?

[TC Pilot]

I just realized this....

What is Johnson, a Democrat, doing with the Nationals?

Oh yes.....Go Soviets!!!!!!!

[Dhatori]

Originally Posted by Copper Nicus

For Stalin, "World is Not Enough"...

My thoughts exactly.

[Msbon]

hehe copper.
I'm still thinking about the halfing of the new CV's and BB's though. At least new modern ships will be built to replace the old timers. Quality over quantity, right?
I look forward to how this situation will continue to develop. keep up the suspense and good work.

[Frankie]

Holy moly! The Soviets at war with Japan. Lindy has to interfere now, forget the cuts in the military!

[Mr.G 24]

Dam you and your cliff hangers!

Lets go JAPAN! I have more respect for a military that fight to teh last man, then a military that think men are expendable.

Best case scenario: The use nukes and wipe each other out. The Allies and the US then split the land.

[Kan' Sharuminar]

Just a standard post with my congratulations on an amazing AAR. This is one of those rare ones that makes it the first thing I check when I come online. Something to do with your brilliant writing and horrible, horrible cliffhangers, I thinks.

Now go do something about those damn Soviets. Now is not the time to be worrying about public opinion and dissent hit and the strength of your forces! Be brave, face Stalin's armies head on and save what is left of the free world.

Or die trying...

[Ego]

Originally Posted by Prufrock451

Well, I don't know about you, but if I had to choose between occupation by Stalin's USSR and Hirohito's Japan, I'd choose having my throat torn out by dogs.

Shouldn't that be 'face eaten out by rats', in keping with the theme?

Originally Posted by Prufrock451

I hate to say it, because Mettermrck's America has me digging in my drawer for my black armband, but I'm rooting for Oceania in this fight.

Why are you hiding it in a drawer? Are you some kind of Trotskyist agitator? The armband should alway be prominently displayed and within easy reach.

And in this quadripolar world, where everyone hates everyone, I'm rooting for.... SWEDEN!

Ego

[ThewEiRdOne27]

Originally Posted by TC Pilot

What is Johnson, a Democrat, doing with the Nationals?

Nixon is with the Nationals too...

Perhaps a Nixon/Johnson ticket is in order?

[Prufrock451]

Originally Posted by Ego

Why are you hiding [your black armband] in a drawer? Are you some kind of Trotskyist agitator? The armband should alway be prominently displayed and within easy reach.

Just to clarify for those who think I'm pumped up, I mean the kind of black armband you'd wear to smash a Starbucks window during a World Bank meeting, not a "we like fascism" black armband.

You know, the anarchists really need a more distinct symbol.

[TheArchduke]

Originally Posted by Copper Nicus

For Stalin, "World is Not Enough"...

I like that one.

[Faeelin]

Err, I'm a bit confused as to why people are cheering for the nation that used biological warfare in China, committed the rape of nanking, and was responsible for the death of millions of chinese.

So yea, I'm kinda dubious that Japan's any better than the USSR. At least there's potential to improve things there, once Stalin dies.

[Bigcat]

The balanced budget has me hooked on this AAR. To balance what the government perceves as the next big threat to its way of life and ignoring the needs of the people is a tough call. I can't imagine having to make that choice (I will very soon in my own game as the US). I know with Mett's writings we will all know the fallout, and hear the common man's feelings on having to ration meat in times of peace.

Perhaps you may get lucky and get Japan to whittle away at the red menace. The only problem with the Soviets at was is the unlimitied budget they now have to counter any small buildup of forces that you can muster.

Ohhhhh, one last thing. UPDATE!!!!!!

[Sindai]

Originally Posted by Faeelin

Err, I'm a bit confused as to why people are cheering for the nation that used biological warfare in China, committed the rape of nanking, and was responsible for the death of millions of chinese.

So yea, I'm kinda dubious that Japan's any better than the USSR. At least there's potential to improve things there, once Stalin dies.

Underdog effect.

[Mettermrck]

Prufock: There, there. You can always hope for a slow AI. I think McCarthy will be calling you for the next round of hearings.

Vandelay: It's going to be the classic contest between the will of the executive versus the will of an exhausted public and Democrats eager to move against him. It won't be easy, that's for sure.

The Yogi: Coming so soon after a peace treaty, a full alliance is probably not an imminent possibility.

rollothepirate: Well, I doubt Lindbergh could've finessed the kind of program he's put into place over the last six years, sure to earn him enemies. Now we see if it comes back to haunt him.

cthulhu: From the perspective of the public, there is less sympathy for Japan I think than the Soviets. Though the Soviets are imposing, and a menace academically, the US actually fought against Japan.

Lord E: Well, Stalin wanted to make sure the key elections in Europe went smoothly and once he saw the US began to freeze its military expansion...war time! Heh, I don't think Lindbergh quite has the moxie to 'remove' Democratic legislators.

Jopi: The FBI will be at your front door later.

La France Libre: A good question. Perhaps Comrade Stalin can shed some light on the subject.

TheBee: Well, geopolitically, it's in the American interest to balance Japan vs. the Soviets. Yet as we know, except maybe in Bismarck's imagination, cold calculation doesn't always govern international politics - political perception is a big factor, and the perception of Japan in American eyes is probably not one of sympathy.

Dhatori: So you're the guy who started the phrase. Thanks. We're beyond dominoes now. It's the Zoo Theory - keep the bear behind the fence.

Copper Nicus: *picture saved* I love it.

Faelin: Hmm...Romans...or Mongols out of Asia. Japan is a lesser evil, in some view, than the Soviets, though certainly not without its own demons.

TC Pilot: Good catch. I recently finished Caro's great bio of LBJ. I figured him as someone who got a lot of support from big oil in his career, he was a perfect choice as the first National Senator - a Texan too. He was also ambitious and calculating and not above riding coattails.

Msbon: Sad, isn't it? And production is down to a trickle now. Out of the 1,100 IC, 600 is now required for consumer goods, and with the large supply requirement, there's little left for research and production.

Frankie: Good luck telling the public that 10 years of war isn't enough. As realpolitik as it is to stop the Soviets now, it could be dangerous politically to propose it.

Mr. G 24: A prolonged grinding stalemate would be positive for the US, unless nukes showed up. Japan does have China and India as allies, which should be big contributors, but Kiri China is a puppet with a smaller military and India is barely getting off the ground.

Kan' Sharuminar: It wouldn't be an American AAR if public opinion wasn't a factor.

Ego: Sweden's already negotiating with the Allies. You'd better go to Switzerland, in a sea of Soviet land.

ThewEiRdOne27: Now that would just be bizarre, and in keeping with some of the odd stuff in this story.

Bigcat: Thanks again! I think the story will actually begin to resemble the earlier writing in the late 1930s when politics, not war, was the forefront of the drama. The clash between government vigiliance and public consumerism will be a profound one, just in time for the 1948 election.

Sindai: A good point.

[Mettermrck]

February – March 1947: Muddled Transition

If ever the Soviet Union could have picked a worse time for its invasion of Manchuria, it was the late winter of 1947. Ice gripped the Amur River, not thick enough for tanks to cross, yet dangerous for laying pontoons. The weather was unreliable. Most of the Red Army remained in Europe, watching over the transition from occupation to “assisted government”. The bulk of the Soviet tank corps was being refitted with newer heavier tanks, models that were being wishfully treated as fantasy in Allied capitals. Approximately fifty divisions ringed Korea and Manchukuo, perhaps enough for a summer offensive yet woefully inadequate for a sudden attack in cold February. Indeed, the only advances seen were those in Mongolia, where the Soviet puppet advanced and overran its Japanese counterpart, Inner Mongolia. Soviet divisions also managed to push into the northern tip of Manchuria. Yet it was not the lightning advance that had been anticipated and even as March ended, most of the line remained a bitter stalemate. Reinforcements, of course, were already on the way, and those who had any clear information about the fighting waited for summer to make the war more mobile.

The Soviet invasion of Manchuria had a slow beginning

No protests were issued over the invasion. For both the Allies and the United States, having recently concluded treaties with Japan, there was little sympathy for the embattled Empire, now under attack from another Empire. In Europe, the protests being issued surrounded the recent Dutch elections, where on February 6th, De Waarheid (‘The Truth’), the party newspaper of the Dutch Communists, – now in power after the December elections - announced the proclamation of a republic, a move which seemed to instantly condemn the new President, Paul de Groot’s, government to great unpopularity. As with many of the other European countries, the presence of Soviet divisions stationed nearby kept open criticism to a minimum. Queen Wilhelmina, then living in exile in London, was ordered to abdicate, which was ignored, adding to her growing luster as a figure of national pride amongst the Dutch population. Britain and France both filed protests with the Inter-Allied Council, which the Soviets ignored, stating merely that they had to ”respect the wishes of the Dutch electorate and the actions of its government,” a statement which seemed to convince nobody.

President Paul de Groot and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Calls for the Queen to abdicate weakened the credibility of de Groot’s government

It was yet another protest adding to a growing number of them. Soviet plans for a “common exchange” amongst its satellite nations - a major economic threat to the Allies, Soviet fortifications along the zone borders in France, and one major issue, Soviet insistence on holding war crimes trials in Moscow rather than Berlin or Vienna, as suggested by the Allies. The preliminaries for these trials were already under way in late March, as the list of senior officials and former officers to be arraigned was publicly disclosed. It was a list that raised many eyebrows, for it contained many individuals who had long been considered missing. The more prominent names included:

Ludwig Beck
Joseph Goebbels
Martin Bormann
Rudolf Hess
Heinz Guderian
Benito Mussolini
Francisco Franco
António Salazar

Most of the senior Nazi leadership had perished as a result of the June 7, 1944 assassination of Adolf Hitler, which included the deaths of Himmler and Goering as well, and its immediate aftermath. Goebbels and had been repatriated from a German prison to a Soviet one in 1945, and Beck had been capturing trying to escape into Switzerland that same year. Mussolini’s seizure on Corfu and Franco’s in Malaga were also a matter of record. Salazar had been seized in Lisbon, his country having been involuntarily brought into war by a Soviet invasion with a thin pretext. There were many other officials, particularly those in power in governments the Soviets fought against. There were also industrialists, bankers, judges, and military officers, the most notable of which was Heinz Guderian, who had commanded the German forces in Russia and had refused to surrender during almost a year of hard-fighting in the “Wermacht Pocket”. Most of these individuals were under Soviet control, which gave them leverage over the Allies regarding the format of the trials. Essentially, the Allies had the option to participate under Soviet terms or not at all, which would scarcely affect the prestige of the trials. The Soviets did insist, however, that Rudolf Hess, the lone major Nazi in Allied possession, be prosecution as a condition for the joint trials.

As was planned, there were to be five judges, three Soviet, one French, and one British, a glaringly weighted bench so obvious that the international press seemed to cringe. ”Three judges and two spectators,” gloomily intoned the London Times. Press, indeed, was another factor of control. The Soviets rigidly monitored announcements coming out of Moscow. Transcripts and reporters had to be cleared first with the Soviet censors. The trials themselves would be held in the Great Hall of the Palace of Soviets, which was vast enough to accomodate all of the approved officials and spectators sure to travel to Moscow. The atmosphere surrounding the trials resembled more of a scripted pageant than a genuine trial. There had been arguments over the procedures and objections to the Soviet use of the more judge-centered ‘inquisitive system’ for trial. The concept of trying international leaders in such an atmosphere also made many viewers nervous. It seemed less of an international tribune than a Soviet court. During March, as the key participants were gathering in Moscow, a month of depositions and records gathering began before the trials proper began in the summer.

The Great Hall of the Palace of Soviets – Moscow Trials 1947

Even more ominous than the Moscow Trials, however, was the news coming out of Soviet-occupied France. According to the terms negotiated at the Orleans Conference in 1945, France was to hold joint elections by the end of 1947. While most of Europe had already held their elections, divided France continued to wait. In early 1947, as delicate Allied inquiries became more insistent, the Soviets declared that in July, a popular referendum was going to be held in Soviet France over the future of this territory. ”We act” declared Pravda in its March 29th announcement, ”on the will of the French people who so earnestly cry out for self-determination.” The French Communists, led by Maurice Thorez, who had returned from Moscow in 1945, had risen to great prominence in the Soviet-occupied zone and Communists had been given important civil posts within the Soviet administration. ” Who are we to refuse the will of the French proletariat?” Pravda went on to say. A flurry of indignation erupted in the West, most especially in Nantes, where Charles DeGaulle practically demanded an immediate declaration of war. Considering the preponderance of troops in France, however, he eventually held back from this momentous step and confined himself to the outrage felt by almost all citizens living in Rump France. He demanded a meeting with Atlee, who himself had expressed censure of the entire proceedings.

A tightening grip – Soviet troops erect barriers along zone border

In the United States, as troops poured into the West Coast and the vast Pacific Fleet assembled at Pearl Harbor for reassignment, most of the country had its attention not on the world around them. Even as Secretary Kennedy arrived in Hispaniola to confer with the bickering governments of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the public had its eye on other things. In December 1946, civilian auto production had resumed and early 1947 resounded with an unexpected wave of commercial consumption as the American public embraced an end to war. Studebaker unveiled the ’47 Skyway Champion with the slogan, ”First by far with a postwar car”.

The 1947 Studebaker Roadway Champion, the first all new postwar car design

TWA began regular air service from New York to London in February. General Electric began mass production of its refrigerators. Citizens began clamoring for demobilization and the return of their loved ones. Democrats, eagerly hoping to seize the opportunity, proposed the Maximum Employment Act, ”ensuring full employment for Americans” and a direct challenge to the business-oriented executive. In this flurry of postwar euphoria, the President’s dire warnings of the communist threat and the harsh editorials of the Hearst media, went largely unnoticed. The average man cared less about international issues in early 1947. The country had been at war for ten years and the people were tired. They wanted a break. It was this trend that had seen the “Home Budget” into being and made the Chiefs of Staff dread the coming Reassessments in 1948. And so, as empires clashed in the frozen mountains of Asia and the Allies fretted about the tightening Soviet grip over Europe, the United States seemed to be easing into postwar consumerism.

By 1947, the American public was beginning to focus more on the commercial

[Mr.G 24]

Ow man, I dont know where this will turn. The Allies can't fight a war against Soviets and it looks like the US are gonna sit down and let spoil of the victor grow. Another great update Mettermrck.

By the way, whats the Soviets official reason for DoW the Japanese?

Edit: oh yeah plz don't hurt poor Hienz. Who knows what the commies will do to Guardien.

[Miral]

Well Mr. Lindbergh, that's what you get for declaring peace with your enemy when you had him in the vice.

Well, nobody beleived the peace and sure enough they were right on. I certainly didn't expect Stalin to act this quickly though.