Time for the final chapter of this AAR...
Chapter 21 - August-December 1943
With the final defeat of the French Reactionaries the country has now been divided between the USSA, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom who while combating a common enemy all remained suspicious of one another and the administration of the Post-War France remains in question. President Browder arrived in Europe to congratulate the brave soldiers of the Red Army who are due to be transferred back to Iberia where they will fight to defeat the remnants of the Spanish. While in Europe Browder would also meet with Soviet leader Nikolai Bukharin in the German city of Potsdam in an attempt to negotiate a possible united Popular Front Socialist Government in France but nobody on the American side expects these talks to have much progress as few are willing to allow the Soviet revisionists the chance to influence French Socialism that much. The USSA and USSR officially remain allies as the Soviets and their growing network of satellite states are still part of the Veracruz Pact but with France now defeated it seems like only a matter of time before the two Socialist powers end this alliance and go back to being rivals in name as well as practice.
Meanwhile as the USSA prepare to defeat the remnants of the Spanish Reactionaries the British, after making peace with Spain, have decided to withdraw from the territory they had occupied in Southern Spain and return it to the Spanish. The Spanish leader Franco remains determined to regain the rest of his country from the Socialists but there are worries that the British may aid the Spanish against the USSA like certain politicians in London have already apparently been doing with France. The British have made no official guarantee to the Spanish so the Red Army will move into southern territory just as soon as they're ready.
It will however take at least two weeks for the American forces to be ready to launch ground operations in Southern Spain but in the meantime there are some naval engagements around the Iberian coast as the Spanish Navy still proves itself to be capable of continuing the fight. There are reports of French warships now operating under the Spanish flag as they clearly remain determined to fight on against the forces of Socialism despite their countries defeat.
Meanwhile back in France the USSA is the first country to end the direct military occupation over their zone, clearly showing that they are liberators of the French people not the new oppressors as the French Socialist Republic is formed in Paris. The negotiations with the Soviets for a Popular Front Government had collapsed as expected due to the differences between the two systems that were just too great. Around the same time the Soviets also established a new satellite state in Luxembourg.
The Naval battles between the American and Spanish navies also continued as a large Spanish fleet was encountered not far off the Portuguese coast, there was no doubt that a large portion of this fleet was made up of French warships that had ignored their countries' surrender. However, despite their size and experience they were outclassed by the Red Fleet made up of capital ships and the USS America which decisively defeated this Axis fleet.
The Soviets continued to create new satellite states in Europe with new states being established in Italy and the Netherlands. The Civil War that had broken out in Italy still continued with Anti-Socialist partisans continuing to fight on from the mountains.
Back in France the direct British occupation over their zone came to an end with the creation of a Provisional Democratic Government. The British have also apparently rejected any chance of King Henri VI being allowed to retake his throne and seem committed to moving towards creating a Republican France instead. Across all of France the new Governments and military administrations have been working hard on policies of Demilitarization and Deactionization to finally rid France of her militaristic and actionist tendencies and to ensure that she can no longer threaten the peace of Europe or the world again. This is probably the one thing that the Americans, Soviets and British can all agree on in this post-war order.
In early September a new Pro-Soviet Government is established in Austria. While many Austrian Socialists desired a unified Socialist German state with their northern neighbour the Soviets as usual decided to ignore the will of the people in favor of cynical divide and conquer strategies.
On September 5th the Red Army's offensive into Southern Spain begun with Sevilla being quickly captured. The Spanish are clearly in no position to counter the mighty Red Army and quickly begin to retreat back towards their current capital of Cadiz.
The American advance continued with minimal resistance and Cadiz fell on the 8th. Around the same time the Spanish Navy was decisively defeated in the Gulf of Cadiz. American losses were also high with several Destroyers lost but now with the Spanish Fleet all but defeated they will no longer be an obstacle to the upcoming amphibious Invasion of Spanish Africa. Then on September 10th the Red Army captured Malaga, the last major Spanish-held city in the Iberian Peninsula. Scattered remnants of Spanish soldiers continue to fight on but now the bulk of the Red Army can be diverted to driving the Spanish out of Africa.
The Invasion of Spanish Africa began on September 20th with landings at the city of Rabat. These landings were almost entirely unopposed and were quickly successful, in fact no real Spanish resistance was spotted anywhere in their African colonies and Red Army soldiers encountered more local guerrillas who were also opposed to Spanish imperialism than actual colonial or regular Spanish soldiers. This campaign may indeed be a quick one...
...and after Casablanca fell to the Americans without a fight on the 22nd the Spanish officially surrendered to the USSA and Portugal. This marked the end of the war in Europe but further to the east the Egyptians were still officially at war with the Veracruz Pact despite having already agreed to peace with the Allies. Apparently the British were content to allow the Pro-Axis Government to remain in power as long as British rights to the Suez Canal were respected. Britain's apparent support of reactionaries so soon after the end of war with them continues to anger the USSA. The MSS agents in Britain trying to find information on this have discovered that a faction of hawkish politicians led by Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, are the ones responsible for this support of reactionaries and also helped plan that last coordinated French attack back in August. The fact that Churchill is head of this faction is of no surprise to the USSA leadership as he has long been a vocal opponent of Socialism and has apparently been advocating a first strike against both the USSA and USSR in Europe. There seems to be a growing divide in the British Parliament between these hawks and the more liberal doves led by Prime Minister Mosley and it seems like this may lead to political crisis in Britain in the near future. No doubt the USSA and the MSS agents in Britain must watch this situation closely. As for Egypt the distance between the two nations means that direct fighting is unlikely and even undesirable for both sides and the USSA leadership expect this war to soon peter out as Egypt's location as well as the fact that they are surrounded by Allied nations means that an Invasion would have too many difficulties to be worth undertaking. However, with the exception of Egypt the Axis are now totally defeated and the Second Great War is by now for all intents and purposes over.
In Early October the Soviets established the French People's Republic in opposition to the Socialist Republic created by the USSA and the Pro-Allied Provisional Government. This now finalizes the Post-War borders of France which now finds itself divided three ways between Pro-American Socialists, Pro-Soviet Revisionists and Pro-Allied Republicans.
Not long after the Soviets establish another satellite state, this time in Germany with the formation of the German Democratic Republic. This new German state will undoubtedly be a strong ally of the Soviets but, interestingly, the Soviets have chosen to retain direct control over East Prussia which is sure to anger many Germans who lost that territory to the Poles during the war. Meanwhile in Asia the Mongolian People's Republic is also established by the Soviets, regaining their Independence after long being under Chinese rule.
In Early December the Philippines gains Independence after centuries of Spanish domination over the islands. Following Spain's surrender in Europe the islands had been occupied by Japan with allied blessing. The Japanese were apparently not interested in replacing the Spanish as the colonial overlords there and have now established a friendly Philippine Republic. However the Japanese occupation, short as it was, has inspired a Socialist rebellion in the Philippines which has gained much aid from the USSA and is sure to continue the fight against this new Government until they achieve victory.
As 1943 ends and 1944 begins peace has returned to Europe following the Second Great War. The Red Army remains stationed in Europe both to deter any aggression against the allies from either the Soviets or the British while also continuing to fight stubborn Spanish guerrillas who refuse to accept their nations defeat.
On New Years Day 1944 the Governments of the Veracruz Pact nations and Egypt met in Gibraltar to formally end the state of war between them. In the months following the defeat of Spain there sad been no combat and neither side was interested in prolonging this war any further. The Second Great War is now officially over!
In the aftermath of this Peace Treaty the USSA wasted no time in expelling the Soviet Union and their satellites from the Veracruz Pact as their purpose for being allowed to remain had now passed. The USSA attempted to convince at least some of the delegates from the satellite nations to reject Soviet revisionism and remain but unfortunately they all followed their masters in leaving the alliance. This event made it clear that the Veracruz Pact and Soviet Bloc were now hostile rivals and nothing but.
With the war officially over and the Spanish claims to the American colonies ended it was decided that the time was right to establish Independent Socialist states in Cuba and Santo Domingo. These two new Republics were quickly brought into the Veracruz Pact and will no doubt serve as friends of their American liberators.
And now, with the official end of the Second Great War the victorious powers now begin to reorganize themselves and in the aftermath of the defeat of the Axis three powerful forces emerge all hostile to one another: The American-led Veracruz Pact, the Soviet-led Comintern and the British-led Allies. In the aftermath of such a devastating war that caused a massive loss of life to everyone involved it seems likely that the new major powers will avoid direct combat for now and instead compete with each other in other ways but to much of the USSA leadership a war with the Allied Imperialists and the Soviet Revisionists is inevitable, it is only a matter of time...after all, war never changes.
