The Road Not Taken - A Fan Fiction AAR

[Kordo]

The Road Not Taken
A Fan Fiction AAR

Writers have long sought the answer to the infamous question what if? An uncounted amount of historians have fallen to this siren’s call, men like Harry Turtledove who’s brilliance and creative thinking is sorely missed in this time where real history has fallen by the wayside. People in this time of economic trouble seem to look favorably on the onetime possibility of fascist victory as opposed to the bloody stalemate that proceeded after the failed Gehen Sie Plan. But that will be addressed in time. The purpose of this book is to address what did happen in what is now called the War of French Aggression.

The Armistice to end the Great War was signed on 11th November, 1918, and it was agreed that there would be a Peace Conference held in Paris to discuss the aftermath of the ‘War to End All Wars.’ While various conferences had taken place in various locations since the end of the war, it was not until January 20, 1920, that the Paris Peace Conference would begin.

The conference was the first of its kind, and perhaps the last. Though it represented a whopping 75% of the world’s population in one form or another, the negotiations were dominated by the five powers that were responsible for the defeat of Germany and the Central Powers: the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Japan. These delegates dominated the negotiations and included Georges Clemenceau (France) David Lloyd George (Britain), Vittorio Orlando (Italy), and Woodrow Wilson (United States).

The product of this conference was five treaties named after the Paris suburbs and dealt with the Central Powers and their destruction: Versailles (Germany), St. Germain (Austria), Trianon (Hungary), Neuilly (Bulgaria) and Serves (Turkey). The most famous of this is of course Versailles which most modern scholars blame for the rise of extremism such as Nazism in Germany.

The affects of the Versailles Treaty on Europe

NOTE: The picture located at the top is intellectual property of ME and while you can use it if you want, please ASK before doing so.

[Telstar]

Sounds good. Looking forward to first update.

[Kordo]

Originally Posted by Telstar

Sounds good. Looking forward to first update.

Thanks! It was your excellent Fan Fiction that inspired me to write one of my own. One of course where the world turns out quit differently then yours!

[GeneralHannibal]

Hmmm, the war of French Aggression, sounds a fair bit different than OTL.

[lifeless]

french? aggressive? this sure will be interesting....noooo not harry turtledove!!

[Bismarck1]

War of French Aggression good start, intreasting Idea.

[Kordo]

Originally Posted by GeneralHannibal

Hmmm, the war of French Aggression, sounds a fair bit different than OTL.

Originally Posted by lifeless

french? aggressive? this sure will be interesting....noooo not harry turtledove!!

Originally Posted by Bismarck1

War of French Aggression good start, intreasting Idea.

Its not starting wars thats their problem, its finishing


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The Bloodly Red Flag

The 1920’s and 1930’s were a time of great upheaval in Europe and the world. The Bolshevik revolution in Russia reached a critical point after Japan intervened, creating a puppet buffer state out of Far Eastern Russia and nearly leading towards war between not only Japan and the Communists, but with the ‘White’ Russian forces as well. It saw the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, causing the splintering of the Balkan region into numerous states such as Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and others along with the economic collapse of the nations formally known as the Central Powers.

It also saw the rise of Communism and Socialism around the world. As noted before, Japan invaded Far Eastern Russia in 1921 as Red forces seemed to be securing their position in Russia. While many nations decried this invasion initially, when Japan established its puppet state, one dominated by ‘White’ Russian politicians, most nations quieted, glad to see anything that could weaken the spread of Communism. Primorsk as the new nation was called was quickly become a major issue between Japan and the USSR that repeatedly pushed the two nations towards war.

However, Russia was not the only nation to succumb or to almost succumb to Communism. The United States, bastion of Capitalist values was also came near to falling to communism. While most of America prospered, the working class in America was becoming increasingly militant during the Great War. The issue came to a head however in May 1920 when famed Socialist and Presidential candidate, Eugene V. Debs was freed from prison by a bold and bloody battle. Violence erupted across the nation. Socialists clashed openly in the streets with police and mobs that mostly consisted of former Army veterans. Socialists accused the government of ‘arranging’ the breakout for an excuse to oppress the working man and promised to make the May Day Riots of 1919 look like a meeting of the Quakers. The government meanwhile accused the Socialists of plotting to overthrow the current government and replace it with a communist one. The violence would last for several months leaving hundreds dead and the socialist party crushed. America was left a nation deeply against Socialism and Communism and firmly in a Right-Wing state of mind.

America was not alone however. While riots rocked America, the mystery of Eugene V. Debs’ disappearance came to light. It was revealed that in his time in prison, Debs had met several Frenchmen arrested for communist activities. They and Debs quickly became friends, and Debs quickly began leaning towards more radical and violent action. Soon they revealed to Debs that they had arranged for their friends to break them out, and invited him to come with. Debs and his newfound friends fled to France where he quickly becomes the Golden Boy of French Intellectuals, often showing his captivated audiences horrifying picture of alleged atrocities that American troops were committing against those suspected of communist leanings. An assassination attempt in October 1920 by a former American ‘doughboy’ only enhanced his reputation has a fighter for the rights of the common man.

While Communism and Socialism quickly became the popular party for self-acclaimed ‘intellectuals’ to support, the Parti Communiste Français or PCF enjoyed little more success than in any other western nation. It would take two events: the arrival of Leon Trotsky in February 1929 and the Wall Street Crash of 1929 to turn France toward Communism.

Leon Trotsky, with his calls for expanding the revolution and calls for reclaiming Primorsk, was a popular man in Soviet Russia. However, Joseph Stalin was on the rise and quickly began to steal the limelight, and power, from Trotsky. The issue finally came near violence in late 1927. Stalin had mustered a significant amount of support. Yet even he was not able to bring to bare enough support to completely eliminate Trotsky. So, Trotsky was “sent” to France, a nation whose party leaders many Russian Communists accused of being capitalists themselves. Leon, like Debs who had died in his sleep in 1927, was an instant success. The PCF saw its supporters rise four-fold almost overnight with Communists and Socialists sweeping the next election. It would not be until 1936 however, that a Communist controlled government firmly ruled France. Sadly Trotsky, like Debs would not live to see it. Trotsky was assassinated by Action Française just days before the elections.

[Bismarck1]

nice, did britain change in this storyline?

[GeneralHannibal]

So France will be communist ruled by Thoretz or Leon Blum?

[MIG-15]

the pillsberry doughboy

[lifeless]

commie france! interesting!

[Kordo]

Originally Posted by Bismarck1

nice, did britain change in this storyline?

Only slightly, I'm gonna make a few more pre-1936 posts (one or two I can't remember off the top of my head) then post an update with all the ahistorical changes.

Originally Posted by GeneralHannibal

So France will be communist ruled by Thoretz or Leon Blum?

Errr.....not sure yet. I still have to look up information on French Communists. Any help would be appreciated

Originally Posted by MIG-15

the pillsberry doughboy

Originally Posted by lifeless

commie france! interesting!

Yep!

[Kordo]

The Second Sino-Japanese War

[i]Japan had occupied Manchuria since its intervention in the Russian Revolution. However it had always maintained at least publicly that it would eventually return control of the area to China. However with active support from both France and the USSR, both of who tried to woe the Chinese communists, civil war erupted in China between the Communists and Nationalist China in early 1926.* Japan used this opportunity to establish a puppet state in the region in 1927 and named it Manchukuo or "Manchuria Nation.” This of course was a major issue in Chinese politics though it was ignored by much of the West who wanted any chance to isolate China who many thought was doomed to follow the USSR and France towards socialism and communism. Violence only continued to rise in China as Communists who had the advantage of widespread sympathy in China and supporters in France and Russia fought the Nationalists who were given a steady supply of weapons by the west.

1930 proved to be the turning point in the civil war. Communist sympathizers assassinate Chiang Kai-shek and his wife and a cabal of Army leaders quickly takes power to lead the nation. If Chiang Kai-shek was at least bearable to the Chinese people under his role, the cabal was anything but. Violence of an unseen intensity rocked the country. Politicial groups that were once friendly begin fighting for local and national dominance. Ethnic Han majority began executing other ethnic groups that supposedly where inherently untrustworthy: Mongol’s were executed for being communist sympathizers, Manchu’s for being puppets of the Japanese forces and so on.** Soon a new word began to spread around the confines of the League of Nations –genocide. So when the League of Nations called for and unprecedented action- foreign intervention to stabilize China, Japan and Great Britain take action. And while Great Britain only secured a fraction of territory near Hong Kong, Japanese troops seized several major cities on the coast of China and declared them ‘Protectorates.’

[center [/center]

This of course was not very popular with the Chinese people, Communist, Nationalist or otherwise. And so, the ‘United Front’ was created as the various Chinese factions banned together. Great Britain, already isolationist and with a public that was widely against getting involved in an ‘Oriental’ conflict, quickly transferred its protectorate to Japan. Japan meanwhile, quickly expanded its protectorates to include much of the surrounding countryside as the self-declared battle against ‘Chinese genocide and communism.’ As time progressed it became increasingly clear to both China and the world that what once was a League of Nations sanctioned operation had regressed into a blatant attempt by the Japanese to expand its empire at the expense of the Chinese people. By 1935 however, Japan had paused to strengthen it position and Chinese resistance had almost completely melted away as most Chinese were busy fighting amongst themselves or simply fighting for survival. In fact, some villages going to far as to surrender to the Japanese in hopes that they would bring stability to the areas under their control. While rumors swirl of growing Japanese atrocities in China, most are dismissed by the world more concerned about finding the next meal and paying the rent as the depression continues.

*France, while not communist at the time, was still well on its way to the left wing state of mind and more then willing to help those fighting an ‘oppressive’ government with money they were getting for free from Germany.
** Think Rwandans on opium *shudder*

[Bismarck1]

nice update, I hope france goes communist.

[lifeless]

wow! i guess china will be dominated by japan, so that they wont waste resources in order to attack the us!

[americafuhrer]

french? aggressive?

Ha ha, thats funny

[Kordo]

Originally Posted by lifeless

wow! i guess china will be dominated by japan, so that they wont waste resources in order to attack the us!

We'll see. A lot of what happens after 1936 is up to my adoring fans

[Nikolai]

Very interesting. You've gained a follower.

[Kordo]

Nations in Review

So some of you might be wondering, what exactly has changed from Real Life?
That’s why this update is just for you! It will go nation by nation and explain the major differences in this nation from its Real Life counterpoint. So in no particular order, let us begin!

The United States of America
Reforms stumbled during the ‘Industrial Age’ leading to wide unrest during the Great War as increased demand put more pressure on factories and their workers. This led to widespread labor unrest in the nation and is the main reason for such violence after Debs was ‘liberated’ from prison in 1920. The riots were crushed, but they led to widespread fear of anything Communist or Socialist related. FDR was still elected however there was no miracle ‘Hundred Days’ as Congress fought each ‘Communist’ bill bitterly. America for all its increasing social unrest is extremely right wing (though not on the order of Fascism) and highly isolationist.

Japan
Japan is still widely respected for its ‘peaceful’ intervention in the Russian Revolution by many nations who lacked the spine to do so themselves. Japan is also known for its push for prisoner rights in the League of Nations in the early 1920s, though effort has fallen off dramatically since the second Sin-Japanese War began. Recently it has managed to stabilize the conflict in China, though it remains an open wound in Japanese foreign relations as in recent years the campaign has become increasingly bloody.

Primorsk
The last bastion of Conservative Russians and a Japanese puppet, Primorsk has been in an unofficial war with the USSR since its creation. Armed to the teeth and heavily fortified, this nation is more then willing to take on the USSR alone though so far cooler heads have prevailed so far.

France
Though officially Communist, France is considered to be nothing more than a communist wannabe by the USSR. While very aggressive in pushing for a worldwide Communist movement, the French are often considered all talk and absurd warmongers by the rest of the world who often ignores France. France however is looking to reclaim its respect through violence if necessary and increasingly looks towards its borders to due so.

Great Britain
With its mainland ally of France having fallen to Communism, Great Britain has turned increasingly isolationist. Its allies remain almost exclusively former colonies though it maintains good relations with many others including Greater Belgium-Netherlands and suprisingly Germany. It also maintains a right wing tradition like America, though again, it is definitely not fascist.

The Arab Federation
Created out of the ashes of the Great War and consisting of RL Arabia (Saudi, Oman etc), Kuwait, Iraq and Israel/Palestine, it is a highly traditional nation with close ties to Great Britain. Though close to the UK as stated, it is increasingly becoming influenced by Pan-Arabic and Pan-Islamic ideals and it seems likely that it will chose to intervene in any future wars only if there is something in it for themselves.

Germany
Hitler rose to power on the Nationale Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NDAP) on a firm line of anti-Communism/Socialism and promises restoring Germany to its former greatness. Same basic evilness everyone knows and loves to hate. (PS: catch the minor change if you can – first one who does gets a prize )

Greater Belgium-Netherlands
After the Great War, Belgium and the Netherlands saw it necessary to protect themselves from outside attack- especially by a resurgent Germany. What began with a military and economic alliance in 1919 quickly spread to national unity in all but name in 1934. To be sure, this wasn’t widely popular in many circles, but the combined resources of the nations saw ithem avoid such dramatic economic crisis as their neighbors and itheir extension of the Maginot Line with France put thousands to work during hard time.

China
Currently in an on-and-off bloody war with Japan and in an even bloodier civil war, China lacks any central authority with the only organized group remaining is the Communist forces lead by Mao who is supported by both France and the USSR.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have, I'm more than willing to answer them!

[El Jefe]

In reality it was the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche ArbeiterPartei not the Nationale Deutsche Arbeiterpartei. Yours seems to be the National German Workers Party where it was the National Socialist German Workers Party.