Nuclear Roulette 1960-1964 Part 2
The Khitan Election of 1960 would, related or not be a grim prediction of a wave of Left Leaning and Socialist parties gaining sympathy across Western Europe. Though Political Chaos was not the only indicator of a rough decade, as not long after the Khitan Election, the American Space Agency announced the first successful launch and landing of a Man into Space. Meanwhile Conflict has broken out in Central Asia between Pegu-Tibet and the Shun dynasty following rumors of Prime Minister Pheak Mynn giving indications to Parliament to prepare a Federalization Constitution for the King's approval. All of this news however would quickly be dwarfed by Events in Danubia.
Danubia had a storied history, being divided between the Bohemians, Italians and Khitan for much of its history, only being given Independence at the end of the First World War. Independent and Free for the first time in Centuries the then called Bavarian Federal Republic had hoped to ensure it's security by seizing the German speaking region of Saxony from the Bohemians as well as the passes of Tirol, protecting it from her Traditional enemies to the North and South. In these pursuits the Bavarian Republic was successful, but such success was limited, as its attempts to Federalize with the Republic of Holstein in 1926 were blocked by the far more Powerful Khitan Republic. Denied unity with its Northern Brothers and the sudden collapse of the Great Depression, the Bavarian Republic descended into infighting and Fascist parties took root within the system, eventually leading to the Republic's collapse in the late 1930's and integration into the New World Order as a Puppet State.
When the Second World War had ended the Bavarian Republic was declared the Second Victim of Fascist aggression and largely returned to its pre war state, though under the Watchful eye of the 6th Khitan Army, left to Garrison the Border with the Communists. Danubia as it had come to be known however was anything but happy with the Post War deal, having lost Saxony to the Elbian Confederation, which has provisions to block German Unification written into its constitution. Tirol similarly was returned to Italy which the Danubians considered an insult. The Threat of Communism in the Carpathian Basin however had left the Republic complaint.
This Changed in the Fall of 1960, as massive Demonstrations broke out across Vienna following President Herman Eldenreich's executive order to Ban the German Worker's Party from participating in the 1962 Election, after previously being allowed to participate in 1959. Eldenreich's party, the Solar Front had lost a significant amount of seats to the Worker's party and the move was largely seen the world over as a way to preserve his Party Coalition in the face of a Leftward swing.
When the protests in Vienna turned violent however the outgoing President of the Khitan Republic, Francis Dumont enacted the European Council Charter 5, and deployed the 88th Armored into Vienna to restore order. In the resulting weeks Eldenreich changed his stance and formally demanded Khitan Troops to leave the country, Eldenreich would formally resign as fighting broke out across Bavaria and Austria Proper within Urban regions and military deployment ramped up extensively along the Border with the SBU.
The SBU would denounce the act and declare it as an Invasion. The World Council would similarly bring the issue to the Forefront, with the United States, SBU and Brazil demanding a Ceasefire. The Motion however would stop cold as the Japanese Empire made it clear that they would Veto the Motion and stand with the Khitan Republic on the Intervention. The British, Chinese and Australians, all on the Council at the time made similar gestures.
Though it was possible the SBU could use the Danubian Intervention to send actual boots into Germany, the intervention never came, as the SBU was in the midst of a massive arms redeployment into Central Asia to secure Khotan against Shun and Japanese interference, as well as to Suppress Unrest in the Persian states. When Robert Lehr took his Oath in January of 1961, Vienna was already in Ruins and the Country effectively was under Khitan Occupation much like Italy and parts of Bohemia and Russia. One of Lehr's first acts as President would be to quickly empower a Temporary President, naming Eric Schmitt a somewhat minor figure in the Eldenreich administration as acting President and tasked to keeping order and overseeing free and fair elections the following year.
At Home Lehr quickly went to Work with his Senate and Congressional Majority. His first major act would come to be known as the National Infrastructure Reformation Act, taking the Roadway and Rail reforms of the Belmore and Dumont administrations and increasing their scope by a factor of 10. In an address to the Senate Lehr would state:
"It is Important that we move forward not just with our connection to the world but with our connection to eachother, If our Great Capital is the Heart of the Nation, then we will need to ensure it's beats are felt equally from Brest to Bordeaux to Cologne. It is important to our Economic Security, our Military Strength and our Cultural Unity that we will be one country in the Face of a divided and dangerous world"
Lehr would also move forward to pass several acts weakening the Dumontian Reforms restricting voting and Civil Liberties within the Republic. Though the Reforms were far more minor than what some expected, Allowing the Citizenry requirement to be for two years of Public Service instead of Military Service. Censorship restrictions on Television were lifted by Executive order and later by legislation.
Lehr also would continue the Khitan Fascination with Nuclear Energy, Increasing the Funding for such plants and accelerating their production two Fold. Under Lehr's 'Nuclear Independence Plan' it was expected to have the Entire country running on Hydro-electric, Coal or Nuclear power by 1975. It was in Lehr's view that the Colonies could not be successfully evacuated until they were no longer needed by the Republic as a whole, but such efforts to increase the Country's independence could be increased. Similarly, Lehr by Executive order infushed massive amounts of Defense industry funding into the creation and running of STEM Education programs to set up the Infrastructure for a planned Standardization of the Khitan University system.
Experts however would begin to vent concerns that the Rapid focus on producing Reactors and getting them online as fast as possible carried serious safety issues, but ultimately were only slightly heeded. It was in the View of Robert Lehr that additional funding could be provided to better safeguard or replace existing reactors once the system was in place rather than trying to implement a new, better system from scratch.
The increase in reactors coincided with a massive warhead buildup domestically, bringing the Total of Khitan Nuclear Warheads to almost double the nearest Competitor, the SBU. The Airforce for the moment was still given proper control over the deployment of Nuclear Arms pending presidential approval, but that also was planned to change with Lehr drawing up plans for a 'Strategic Defense' branch of the Armed services whos entire duties would relate to the deployment and protection against Nuclear Arms. He would also as promised completely reform the Military Intelligence Services that had become somewhat notorious under Dumont, Demobilizing them and rearranging them into more modern forms for the times.
The RSS, otherwise known as the Republican Security Service was Reorganized yet again into the National Intelligence Department, or NID, Given an official Emblem and its upper management would be at least rumored to be dramatically reshuffled. The NID would inherit the Duties of the RSS, such as Counterintelligence and Corruption Investigations and the like. It would also see the largest 'official' expansion in Khitan History, with its official number of employees jumping from Twelve to Six Thousand over the course of 1961.
The MIS meanwhile would be renamed from Military Intelligence Services to The Mission Intelligence Service. It would also be formally expanded and given proper headquarters in the Capital as well as in Ceylon and Formosa. The MIS, as the foreign branch of the Khitan Intelligence Services was already influential in Europe and in Khitan allies and Neutral countries abroad. With the Formal reorganization and intelligence service expansion of the early 1960's further resources of the European Superpower had been made available to the Organization, all in the name of preserving Khitan Intrests abroad and containing the Spread of Communism and the Influence of the Co-Prosperity Sphere.
In Asia, Tensions between the Co-Prosperity Sphere, The Shun Dynasty and the International continued to rise as additional settlement and Military pressure from Japan pressed into Khotan. The Shun Dynasty, meanwhile was taking Premptive action against the Pegu Empire, fearing that recent talks of Federalization with Tibet could lead to the loss of yet another claimed chinese province to a Foreign Power. In Early 1961, Shun Dynasty soldiers, dressed as Tibetan milita had crossed the Border into Tibet proper and were initially successful, seizing several border villages and had begun to train Anti Colonialist militias within the norther regions of the country. Pegu, a Khitan Ally deployed soldiers into Tibet in order to root out the Shun presence forcing the relocation of the training camps back over the relatively desolate border region a year and a half later with some small skirmishes being fought near Nanqu.
Meanwhile Further Northwest, the Japanese had managed to turned the rough geography and Isolation of the Khotan People's Republic into a weapon, arming and training various minority groups within the country. These Separatist groups were loosely organized into what was referred to as the Central Asian People's Liberation Front. In more Recent news the City of Almaty had fallen to one such Separatist Group, resulting in the SBU deploying armed forces to oversee a Quick end to the Civil War. The Japanese and thier allies however had dominance over the Xinjiang Region of the country and while no Japanese ground troops were deployed, the Japanese were more than willing to contribute arms, equipment and 'advisors' to Freedom fighters within the Eastern Khotanese Provinces. As the Conflict escalated it did not take long for Japanese Type 56 Raijin's bearing Rebel Roundels to appear above the Skies in Xinjiang and other Khotanese Border regions. Though it wouldn't be officially confirmed it was strongly suspected that Japanese Pilots were participating in direct efforts to attack SBU forces both on the ground and in the sky within the country.
In South America the Argentine continued to escalate with the Deployment of the United States Army Alongside Brazil within the Republic of Concordia. The American Interventionists had been ultimately the most successful faction in the three way Civil War and thus King Franklin had authorized further military intervention in order to prevent a Japanese or SBU victory within Patagonia.
This Advance over the Parana river however caused additional Stir from the Incan Army to cross the Border in force and Advance South over the border towards American, Brazilian and Concordian Troops. The Japanese meanwhile deployed additional assets to Strongpoints along the Pacific Coast. The Communists who's support was more minor from the SBU found themselves pushed further and further into only the central core territories of Patagonia and along the Southeast.
By 1962 For the Communists, a Miracle had occurred as violence Incan and Amero-Brazilian forces had broken out and continual calls to de-escalate the situation by Robert Lehr were unheeded. The Incan Empire, in order to properly fight the war declared war on the Republic of Brazil, and moved troops through the old Paraguayan Heartland, eventually resulting in Further and Further focus for both alliances to be set on the North and allowing the Communists to focus soley on the Japanese in the West.
The Success however was short Lived, as in an effort to Protect the Falklands against the threat of the Communists, Khitan President Lehr approved "Operation Penguin" which detailed a Marine Invasion and Occupation of the Magellan Islands. The Region ultimately fell in late 1963 without Resistance, and Military emplacements were ordered to be constructed upon the Largest Island, including a Long Range Airbase for the Purposes of Harassing Communist activity.
Back at home, President Franklin, had managed to keep the conversation away from the Argentine Interventions and instead on Internal Issues. King Franklin was not as conservative as his father and thus held progressive views notably on matters of Welfare and Social Equality, and had positioned himself even before taking office as a Natural successor of Ellie Rosen's ideals after his death. Though now in Power, King Franklin was not nearly the Reformer that was Promised he did make an effort to continue to appearance, Continuing to feform the Tax Code and pass the Equal Rights laws of 1958, 1961, and 1964, Ensuring Equal Pay for Women and Minorities, and banning exclusionary workplace and social practices against Asian and African American Citizens.
King Franklin's popularity and Foreign Policy record ultimately had given him a level of popularity not seen in a Peacetime Monarch, which is why ultimately on one fateful day the entire American Comtinent was shocked to its very core. In an effort to Repair relations across the Americas, King Franklin, President Nigel Elison of Texas and President Hosa Kishe of California had all met in Dallas for the 1st American Solidarity Conference, to cool relations between the three Nations and Find Common Ground. Representatives from the Republic of Sonora and Central American State also attended, Canada however was barred from Entry. On the way to the meetings, King Franklin was shot twice, once in the back and a second time in the head and he was rushed to Hospital within minutes. The Shooter, one Alexander Winston was apprehended during King Franklin's Hospital stay as the world held its breath to see if the American King would survive the ordeal.
As fate would have it, Franklin would live, the Shot to his head hitting at an angle so as to be deflected away from his Brain. The First shot however had passed through the King and struck Prime Minister Arthur Wensly in the back of the Neck, Killing him instantly. It would be the first major assassination attempt on the American Head of State and while King Franklin had escaped with his life, it would shake the perceived security of the Monarchy to its core.
Rumors quickly spread about who ordered the Assassination. These Rumors and eventually conspiracy theories ranged from Rival Superpowers to Organized Crime. Though Alexander Winston was due to be interrogated on the assassination attempt of the Prime Minister and King, he was similarly Assassinated while in Texan Custody leading many to blame President Nigel Elison for attempting to have the American Head of State killed in an effort to protect Texan Independence. While the Official reports would claim Alexander Winston was a Lone actor, the specter of Conspiracy would delay any talk of American Solidarity for several more years.
In Japan, the Cultural Golden Age was continuing into the early 1960's. Advances in Science and Technology brought on by massive investments had sparked a similar influence on the Arts and Sciences. Japan, being at worst Neutral with the Powers of the New World order during the second World War did not have nearly the same Stigma against Futurism as the Powers of Europe, and as a result, it quickly took root in Chinese and Japanese society. Imagery of a Future Society built on Rocket Vehicles, Space Travel and Robots had enthralled Asian Science Fiction and had also led to an increase in Political Action to catch up to the Americans in the Space Race.
By 1962, Traditional Films portraying the Samurai Period and earlier had fallen out of Fashion in favor of a wave of Speculative Science Fiction and Science Fantasy, with similar trends taking place in written Published works as well as in Animation, By 1964 However Japan had shocked the world in its overtaking of the United States, Successfully performing the first Round Trip to the Moon and Back. Properly creating a Landing Craft for the ordeal however was still beyond the Japanese at the time. Geopolitically of course this was a clear message, Japan now had the Rockets to reach anywhere in the World, Should war break out again, the Japanese Nuclear Program could and would be capable of reaching any city no matter the Continent.
Further West however the SBU, was preparing a means to check the Japanese. Frustrated over its involvement in the Khotan and Influence of the Shun via the Co Prosperity sphere it spent much of the period fighting the Japanese but also looking for a means to relieve Japanese pressure on the North. In 1963, the Death of Premier Prabodh Patil and the Election of the Interventionist Parvin Lall by the politburo had given them that Opportunity.
The Indian Tiger was about to Wake, and the Order of Asia would forever change as a result.
