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First of all, is the forum being weird?
I wasn't logged in and the pictures were so tiny-yyyy, now I logged and they have a normal size?
Someone knows what's going on? lol

I'd just chalk it up as yet another piece of the general weirdness that comes with the new update, honestly.

Again, hope all is going well with you and yours :)
 
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Chapter VIII: Unexpected developments. (Part II)
Chapter VIII: Unexpected developments. (Part II)
"Most of wars or military coups or invasions are done in the name of democracy against democracy." - Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist.

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Algeria's Struggle. - Augustine Blanchet.

Korean AAR 00.jpg

The month of June started with a battle at the city French city of Orleansville, which had been renamed to Al-Asnam after the Algerian Liberation Front took it, after securing their control at Oran by April. The French Army got the upperhand, after armoured divisions from Algiers joined the fight as well.
The numerous failures against the Algerian Liberation Front proved to be shocking to the French government, numerous divisions had surrendered to the Algerians after making successful landings back into the colony. However, these landings were eventually beaten back by the Algerian fighters and important amounts of French soldiers ended up being POW's of the ALF. The immediate consequence of such huge victories (and humilliating defeats for France) was straining the logistic lines of the rebels, after all, they now had to at least maintain them in acceptable conditions, believing that failing to do so would spark not just French outrage but also a response from the International Community that could lead to complications regarding their public image.

Raoul Salan, the French general commanding the situation at Algeria was angry at the situation taking place and he pressured the government to act by sending even more troops. His original focus had been on placing army garrisons on different sectors of the country in an attempt to suppress the guerrilla movements and terrorist attacks behind the French lines, but when the situation got worse he eventually changed the pace of the conflict. By May the country launched a stronger offensive which ended up with the retaking of Oran and other cities in the region, however, this came at a great cost since the army garrisons left their positions to support the frontline; basically leaving their rear open to terrorist and guerilla attacks.

Al-Asnam had been ignored in the initial Algerian advance, but when Oran fell and Algiers was threatened by the ALF they chose to move against the French garrisons at the city: being cut off from the rest of the armed forces severely damaged the morale of the defenders. Once Al-Asnam fell, the Algerians disarmed the garrison and quickly started to fortify the city, digging trenches and preparing chokepoints in several alleys and streets of the city for the time the French tried to take it back. What the local commander failed to foresee was that the French Army would come from two directions at once, deploying tanks and armoured cars to flank the defenders which were already heavily demoralized by that point.


Korean AAR 01.jpg

After the French Army took back Al-Asnam they quickly reverted the name back to Orleansville, they proceeded to arrest en masse those Algerians possessing weapons and sent them towards Algiers. The fighting would've been a huge success for the defenders if they had been morally stronger, since many of the defences were even intact when the surrender order came from the local commander. Chokepoints unused that otherwise would have been lethal for the French foot soldiers or armoured cars.
After the French took back Orleansville, general Salan was decided to keep crushing the Algerian will to fight and their revolutionary spirit. He ordered the forces present at Tlemcen to launch an offensive against El Bayadh (renamed by the ALF, the city had the French name of Geryville) with support from some of the armoured cars and tanks that took back Orleansville. The offensive began and even though the defenders had many advantages, especially the terrain, the fast assault proved to be a complete surprise for the Algerian soldiers that were also severely outnumbered.

It's ironic, despite the successes that the French Army was collecting now, the unrest within France was still high enough. Since the war started being more bloody and fierce the left had organized protests, minor or major, through months generating a strong opposition to the war. Meanwhile, the right elements of the French political scenario were angry at the situation, having lost Indochina entirely to the Communists, being humilliated by Nasser and the Soviet Union and now having lost countless numbers of soldiers after numerous surrenders, they didn't stop their attacks against the government and some sectors of the population also started to sway to the right. The situation went worse after the ALF launched a new terrorist attack at Algiers which left Raoul Salan quite injured, he survived but he was left in state of coma.

However, before it happened, a new amphibious assault had been planned against the Algerian Forces at Annaba (previously named Bona, the ALF started renaming the cities after they successfully took Oran, feeling that victory was more than certain) and it proved to be a huge success. That part of the front had been mismanaged by the Algerians, due to the big amounts of French soldiers that had been captured due to failed landings or strong offensives that managed to break the French defenders the Algerian supply lines were dealing with a huge burden. And most of the ammunition and fresh volunteers were sent towards the western side of Algeria in an attempt to slow down or completely stop the French offensive. Therefore, when an aircraft assault started destroying the weakened supply lines for the Algerian soldiers at Bona, panic became widespread.


Korean AAR 02.jpg

With the heavy air support along naval one and the huge strength of the assault, which included medium and light tanks, along self-propelled artillery and tank destroyers, the firepower was the main advantage of the French Army which used it entirely to crush the Algerian morale, making it collapse and inflicting huge casualties by the end of the last battle of Bona; the city fell, the Algerians expelled or captured, some POW's recovered and the city named back to Bona.
The final battle of Bona lasted three days, ending by June 19th with a crushing French victory. It was clear that the French Forces had recovered and adapted to the nature of the conflict, being capable of crushing now the Algerian Liberation Front which started to have internal divisions due to the failures of the last month. Some of the most Communist-leaning elements of this United Front insisted that directly asking the Soviet Union for assistance was the only way to end the conflict favourably for the Algerians, they felt that only through Soviet support would they be able to achieve real independence from France. However, the majority of the ALF was integrated by nationalists who weren't willing either to lean so much towards the Soviet Union; they saw Nasser as an example of both, good things and bad, being his dependence on the Soviet Union as a bad one. (An idea that would later became known by Nasser)

Meanwhile, the situation was not much better for France either.

The mounting casualties, the economic deficit due to the war, continuous protests and the attacks made by the conservatives were causing huge unrest against the French government, something well known by the Algerians as well. The two enemies were at the breaking point already, for the ALF their unity was collapsing and it threaten to weaken even more their defences against the French as they had also lost important cities and territories, while the French government was going through a huge political unrest. Therefore, with Raoul Salan (the most vocal supporter of the war by this point) in coma and the situation turning more complex with each passing day, both sides agreed to a ceasefire on June 18th, 1957.


Korean AAR 03.jpg

The government lacked the will to continue fighting at Algeria, they desired to negotiate an end to it after agreeing to a mutual ceasefire in order to end the hostilities that had been going on since 1954, however, the ceasefire also proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back, the French Army and the right-wing elements of society were so angry at this.
All the events that France had gone through since the decade started had been a painful reminder of the current state of the country, it was no longer the great power it had been once, Vietnamese peasants, a mere Egyptian officer and now the Algerian guerrillas had been humilliating the country. And now, there was huge unrest within the country, threatening not just to leave Algeria in the same pathethic fashion they had left Indochina, but now there were new fears as well, the government was spineless and cowardly; at least that was the perception of this group of men, they felt the country was on the verge of collapse, that they only had to blink to find a new Communist regime in Paris sponsored by the Soviet Union and they were certainly against it.

However, as much as they hated the spineless government they also knew the chaos that France would have to go through if they were to act just like that. They needed a popular figure to rally the entire nation behind and they all knew who this was, they all agreed that there was only one man capable of saving France from decadence, from the humilliation but most importantly; from Communism. So, two days after the agreed ceasefire was started, a group of Algerian generals along the former Governor General Jacques Soustelle launched a coup in Algiers and seized the power in the bleeding colony; they called for the formation of a Government of Public Safety led by general de Gaulle, hero of France.

With Raoul Salan still unconscious, the main generals present at Algiers chose to form a Committee of Public Safety (which would eventually receive the name of the French Triumvirate) integrated by Jacques Massu, Edmond Jouhaud and Jean Gracieux, with Jacques Massu as the leader of the Triumvirate that now ruled Algeria. He was quick to announce his support for de Gaulle and insisted that the army had provisionally taken the responsability of French Algeria for the time being, a day later Charles de Gaulle asserted in a press conference that he was willing to serve his country and was ready to assume the powers of the Republic, reassuring as well that his intentions were just to bring order and not a dictatorship.

The next day, due to the lack of an answer from the government, the French paratroopers from Algeria launched an operation and landed on Corsica by aircraft, taking the island in a bloodless operation that would became known as "Operation Corse". After that, Jacques Massu, leader of the Committee of Public Safety announced once again that the current state of affairs would only end when Charles de Gaulle was recognized as president of France and allowed into the government in Paris. The situation was turning tense with each passing hour or day, with the French government knowing that they had few options left if they wanted to avoid the explosion of the country which had already gone through a lot of unrest in the months before; so, they did what seemed as the best option, they called de Gaulle to accept the demands from the army.


Korean AAR 04.jpg

Charles de Gaulle had been contacted and informed about the situation, the government was willing to accept the demands from the Committee of Public Safety, however, June 23rd would prove to be a tragic day for France as a whole, he was going to be driven to the parliament when a pedestrian suddenly shot him several times with a Makarov pistol that was left in the crime scene.
The presence of the Makarov pistol was enough proof for the conservative elements in France and for those at Algiers and Corsica as well, Operation Resurrection was meant to just be launched in case that de Gaulle asked for military support in Paris, the Communists attempted to take the government or the government refused to cede the power to Charles de Gaulle. But this situation was so unexpected and when Jacques Massu received the news from France he saw what would happen to the country if he didn't act, he felt that it was a Communist conspiration against the nation and therefore, he gave the green light for the paratroopers that now counted with the armoured forces based at Rambouillet.

By June 24th, Paris had been taken by the military forces, quickly dispersing the protests, dissolving the government, proclaiming the martial law and outlawing every political party for the time being. Jacques Massu announced that any Communist attempt to "destroy France and her people, shall fail as long as we are here to protect our nation and avenge general de Gaulle", relations with the Soviet Union were finished and each country withdraw their ambassador, in just a few days the relations between France and the Soviet Union had been broken with tensions starting within NATO due to the new French stance regarding the Soviet Union.

The new French government, more interested in foreign issues and domestic anti-communism kept the same stances regarding European integration or cooperation, while also asserting that any Communist involvement within Europe would be punished. Even though the government didn't recognize the ceasefire with the ALF, hostilities didn't restart while the French Triumvirate consolidated their position in the power. The new regime was quickly recognized by Portugal and Spain: the Cold War had just taken an unexpected turn and several countries would feel it eventually.


Korean AAR 05.jpg

The new French government after the Algerian Coup of 1957.

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Hi everyone!
Here it is, after a long, long, long time! (Apologies)

This update is focused on France and the Algerian War, I know it may be a bit short, but I couldn't find a way to introduce the other two events that I've got to cover in this chapter. One takes place in Asia and the other one at America, you'll certainly find them quite interesting!

I hope you are all staying safe, taking care and having good health.
I hope you all enjoy the update. :)
 
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I had a feeling de Gaulle would come into the picture eventually -- but that didn't quite go the way I was expecting, honestly. The hardliners have just been handed the one thing that will transform them from traitors into heroes, at least in the eyes of the French public (for a time) -- a martyr.
 
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I had a feeling de Gaulle would come into the picture eventually -- but that didn't quite go the way I was expecting, honestly. The hardliners have just been handed the one thing that will transform them from traitors into heroes, at least in the eyes of the French public (for a time) -- a martyr.
Believe me, I was so surprised as well haha.
I made the events considering several things, "A day like any other?" event has that option and another one (with higher chance) that is called "A charming day, isn't it?", it basically continues with the demands of the army and it leads to accepting de Gaulle as president (OTL) or refusing, if France refused the army had two options, Support de Gaulle or not and if Operation Resurrection took place de Gaulle took power (slightly more radical way than OTL, but still having democracy) and if they stood down (lower chance) the government kept going as usual.

It was a headache to get this ideas but I thought that I had to consider some interesting scenarios too, so, here we have a dead de Gaulle something that took me by surprise. :p
 
Hello to everyone out there, I hope things are going well and more than well for you all. ^^

As you may already know, life tends to get in the way of me updating the AAR and the latest months have been a bit agitated with stuff going on and my own laziness as well tbh, nonetheless, I have been recently working on events for the rest of the chapter along writing up some ideas for when I eventually get to the 60's (Yup, that's pretty much a goal I'm planning to achieve) so, I apologize for the amazingly long pauses and breaks I take from the AAR and while I can't promise it, I expect next update to be ready in two weeks, maybe three, but believe me it will take you all by surprise. ^^
Take care and be safe!
 
No worries

Look after yourself as well.
 
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Chapter VIII: Unexpected developments. (Part III)
Chapter VIII: Unexpected developments. (III)
"The first duty of a revolutionary is to be educated." - Ernesto 'Che' Guevara.

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Gyeongmudae, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ~ April 25th, 1957.

Ki Seung-min, the Minister of Construction and Transportation, knew that president Cho's intentions towards the Korean people were good and sincere; but as the time went by, she also started worrying about his stances in some issues, mainly the security of the country as some conservative politicians or more moderate partners had expressed. As the days went by, more border incidents were appearing in the newspapers, they were far away from Korea but it was worrying nonetheless; after all, a Communist Thailand would absolutely prove the Domino Theory that many were already considering that was taking place in Asia. As much as she hated to say it, both Korea and Japan were in this together, her position regarding Japan was quite negative due to her family history, but she was very capable of understanding that Korea and Japan were the main bulwarks of defence against the Sino-Soviet bloc.

The minister of national defence, Kim Yong-woo was a close friend to her, after all, even if many of the ministers weren't conservatives some of them didn't like the idea of her being in the cabinet and they also disliked the idea of having a civilian manage the security of the country. They had talked earlier, before the meeting officially took place, he had expressed the same concerns she had but with a tiny twist, "I believe that the regional security lies in more countries than us and Japan, I mean, following Kennan concept of containment I firmly think that the main points of resistance are Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, our countries provide the perfect containment to the People's Republic," those had been his words and they kept ringing in her head: though she wondered why was she so focused on those issues, even if there seemed to be a conflict arising between Indochina and Thailand the relations with China were as cold as usual, not warmer, but not colder.

"President, our last month's projection is proving to be right after all, while the general situation of the people is improving our economy is suffering from this and also from the current subsidies. Electric power, water, food, housing, cultural subsidies among others are helping to uplift some of the more disadvantaged, but it is also contributing to a low sustainability within the government. The economic support from the United Nations and the United States is proving to be quite helpful to develop our economy, but along the subsidies it's being counterproductive, prices swing upwards in matter of weeks and I personally fear the inflation rates will soar higher than mount Paektu by New Year," there had been many worries regarding the budget and the state of the economy, but president Cho wasn't willing to cave in: even if he never said it, Seung-min felt he was worried about throwing the population into the Communist camp if the generous subsidies were cut off, but at this point there wasn't another choice.

Vice president Kim Kyu-sik had been absent in the last meetings, but in his place the deputy vice president had been assisting much to the dismay of people like general Kim Sik-won, he felt that Pak Hon-yong had been influencing the president's stances on many issues and he felt that the current state of the economy was also his fault. Seung-min wasn't fond of the general, he was the kind of man that believed her place was back into a house tending to her husband, not knowing that her husband had died at a Communist artillery bombardment when the war started. Even if she ignored that fact about the general, she couldn't find herself agreeing with him ever, though now she felt the same way she knew he did: Pak Hon-yong had been a rallying icon to reunite ideologically the peninsula, but he was a threat within the government, especially how vocal his support to president Cho's economic policy was, a policy that could unstabilize the entire country in the long run.


Korea SS 01.jpg

Even if the American advisors also agreed about the dangerous stance of president Cho he remained unmoved by
any opinion, in his mind he was doing the best for the population and that thought was heavily supported by
Pak Hon-yong, whose influence had been growing since Kim Kyu-sik started to be more absent.


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Modern History: Korea. - Wade Barnett.

1957 was such an abnormal year, plagued by unexpected events and their respective outcomes that even today continue to be studied. After all, there were numerous circumstances that proved that the Cold War was such a dynamic conflict with not only two main actors, but a whole cast of players behind the scenes and the best year to prove it is 1957 due to the numerous developments that took place in the world. Ranging from local revolutions, to military take-overs, students of Korean history continue wondering if the situation that took place in the Korean Summer was unique or if it was a product of the entire lot of events that had been going on in the year.

One of the main events that took place in the year was the French military coup after the sudden assassination of the popular general Charles de Gaulle, the importance of this event is always studied by fellow historians, after all, it was the perfect example about how the Leftist unrest if left unchecked could grow to become a serious threat to a country's stability. Even to this day the French archives, regarding de Gaulle's assassination, remain classified and practically treated as a national security affair, but everyone knows the consequences of his murder. Jacques Massu, established what came to be known as the Second French Consulate, he named himself the Premier Consul of France and even if it was a triumvirate (on the paper) he basically was the sole ruler of France in the years following the Coup of June.


Algiers.jpg

The military quickly rallied to Massu's call, even if the support had been lacking in the start, after de Gaulle's death it became clear that a wider shadow was trying to engulf the French people, surprisingly enough the military coup was silently supported by the population or at least that's what many
historians believe due to the lack of a strong movilization against the "Triumvirate".

The new leadership of France acquired a foreign war on Algeria and it also positioned itself against the Soviet Union and any communist country, creating tensions inside NATO and creating a complex dilemma for the United States. Within itself, the new French Consulate clapped down against the leftist groups, parties, organizations and associations, branding them as enemies of the French people and calling them Soviet-puppets awaiting to give the country without resistance: comparisons about resistance against nazism and resistance against the Soviet influence started to be made, forging a strict vision opposed to any communist idea. However, on the other hand, the French Consulate's foreign interests also grew bigger than the ones the 4th Republic had, even being pragmatist at some moments like the support towards Cambodian and Laotian rebels through Thailand in order to weaken the "expansionist Vietnamese," as Massu called Indochina or stepping up the cooperation between France and Israel in order to counter the Egyptian position in the Middle East.

But there is one event that remains overlooked by many when thinking about this year, on March 13th, 1957 the Havana Presidential Palace attack took place; organized by the Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil (Student Revolutionary Directorate) it successfully achieved the goal of murdering the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. And even if one may perceive certain disconnection from this event and others, it's important to acknowledge the way the Havana Presidential Palace attack influenced Jacques Massu's perspective. Obviously de Gaulle was not Batista, but it proved how leftist organizations were capable of carrying out complex operations against their ideological enemies: which is quite ironic since the more leftist movement within the Cuban Revolution was the Movimiento 26 de Julio (26th of July Movement) led by Fidel Castro.

The assassination on Batista was like an earthquake to the power structure within the Caribbean nation, the panic was generalized and some of the fiercest supporters of Batista fled with fear when numerous amounts of population took to the streets minutes after José Antonio Echeverría's speech on Radio Reloj ocurred. The police reacted quickly, but having enough time to end his speech and with overwhelming popular support, the police swiftly left the scene in order to avoid a certain bloodshed. News eventually reached every corner of the island, with soldiers going against their officers, other deserting to the rebels and others outrightly executing their officers and pledging new loyalties: but there was a new issue at hand too.

The Movimiento 26 de Julio and the Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil had several differences, with the DRE controlling Havana it was clear that Castro would need to take a different approach regarding them, even if Ernesto "Che" Guevara was willing to compromise on some positions with the Student Revolutionary Directorate, Castro's stance was impossible to sway. Even if both movements had agreed that they had to cooperate and coordinate in order to end Batista's dictatorship, now that he was dead the gap between them suddenly grew wider. With some parts of Cuba directly under the control of Castro's movement, others pledging loyalty to the Student Revolutionary Directorate and others trying to stay between them while the situation cleared up: José Antonio Echeverría made a proposal to Castro and Guevara, they would organize a unity government while the country stabilized itself and after a certain amount of months passed (which was to be negotiated between both movements) elections would take place.

This phase of the Cuban Revolution is commonly known as the Etapa Dual or Dual Stage and it was so important that it influenced the events of France and beyond, it proved that leftist organizations willing to apply the tactic of golpeando arriba (hitting up) were capable of bringing down a tyrant along his structure of power. Even if Jacques Massu avoided to mess with the traditional American sphere-of-influence, he privately expressed his concern regarding the way the Cuban Revolution developed; "had we not stepped in, I am sure the Communists and their Soviet backers would be here in Paris right now, with us being jailed along thousands of innocents. They brought down de Gaulle, but we are not letting them destroy the nation and deliver it to Moscow."

Even if there were more situations going on all over the world, these two proved to be the most influential for some serious developments that took place in Korea. However, now that the Cuban Revolution and the Algerian Coup of 1957 have been explained, we can easily shift back to the main focus of this book. The Havana attack that ended up with Batista's death took place back in March, while the Algerian Coup ocurred on June 24th, one day before the chain of events that would be known as the Korean Summer.

President Cho had gone to Jeju Island as part of a campaign he had started, he tried to be more active regarding the uplifting of the island inhabitants. Most of the local population had suffered enough hardships in the previous years, especially during Syngman Rhee's tenure and as much as it embarrased him, president Cho had barely focused on Jeju Island; allowing it to stagnate in the reconstruction phase, since he mainly concentrated his efforts on rebuilding the northern part of the peninsula. On June 25th, while visiting a village he was suddenly approached by a mysterious man while he toured the village and met with the locals, unfortunately; this man had been a soldier in the KPA and participated in some of the most gruesome battles of the Korean War, his firm support to communism led him to shooting the president three times before he was subdued.

He gave a brief speech, condemning the Americans, Japan, the Korean government and capitalism for all the misery at Jeju Island and the tragic loss of life during the war. He was arrested and taken away from the island, however, archives disclosed in the last decade provided evidence that the background of the assassin was never cleared up, his identity lost to history. On the following hours, vice president Kim Kyu-sik was notified of president Cho's death at Jeju, however, his health had been declining since late February and he fell into comma after hearing the news (he died two days later due to a heart failure), this paved the way for the worst nightmare for many conservative and moderate Koreans: the deputy vice president (a position meant to be just ornamental) Pak Hon-yong was sworn in as the new Korean president.

The population's response was quite diverse, within the North there was some support for the new president Pak, while the South had stronger opposition against him. Chang Myon quickly rallied his few supporters against the new president, while Park Chung-hee's supporters (without his approval) also rallied to Seoul and other major cities in order to express their opposition to Pak Hon-yong. However, kilometers away from the Korean peninsula, vice president Nixon also made his move: the CIA sent a letter to the advisors on Seoul, a message directed to general Kim Sik-won; the most traditionalist members of the Hanahoe's Triumvirate.


Korea SS 02.jpg

The circumstances around president Cho's untimely and unfortunate death have been studied for years, it has also turned into a common conspiracy theory, with some alledging that the Soviet Union and China were behind it and others insisting that the Hanahoe was responsible for it, however,
to this day nothing has been openly disclosed or cleared up.


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Well, this really took me a loooong time to write along to order in my head. I still have more material for another update (or two more) before having to make more events again, but I'm pretty sure you'll find following developments to be quite interesting.

I hope you all are fine, healthy and safe aaand... that you enjoy this update.
And as I always say :p , may take time to post, but this ain't dead, I am still planning to reach 70's. :D
 
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Quite a bit of assassination going on. Which is a bit inconsiderate really :D
 
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Interlude: The Declaration of Independence of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Revolution. - taken from Secolo d'Italia.
July 13th, 2019.

Ukrainian Protests.jpg

Forces of the Ukrainian National Front managed to take the capital of the Ukrainian SSR after numerous soldiers of the Soviet Army in Ukraine defected.

Background.
Since the Stalinist elements within the Soviet Union took control through a military coup back in March, the situation in the country has quickly deteriorated, sanctions placed against the USSR have slowed down the Soviet economy and the reversal of the popular policies of the deposed Symonenko have sparked up the unrest against Moscow in several of the Soviet Republics; mainly Ukraine but also Georgia and Armenia.
The outrage against the actions of the GKChP (State Committee on the State of Emergency) increased after the dispersal of protests by violent means (including the use of army units instead of relaying on police forces), the arrest of prominent leaders of the opposition has also been quite notorious and has caused great condemnation; in their attempt to "rectify" the policies of Symonenko they have also removed several leaders within the Soviet Socialist Republics, which was something that took place in Russia when the coup started and Ukraine few days after it.

After hostilities began between the Republic of Korea (including the Republic of China and Japan) and the Soviet Union the situation got worse, sanctions have increased and the popularity and support of the GKChP has plummeted within most of the Republics, leaks in the Internet have shown brutal government crackdowns against protests in cities like Moscow, Leningrad, Baku, Tbilisi, among others. Meanwhile, the situation developing in the Far East has caught almost all of the attention of the Stalinists in power, Vladivostok fell to the Sino-Korean force a mere week ago, while the JMSDF has sunk an estimated amount of four submarines near Hokkaido, while also downing three more Su-24M en route to Japanese airspace.

The poor performance of the Soviet Army in the Far Eastern War has caused even more unrest within the country while also forcing the GKChP to send even more reinforcements to the East, this decision came with a huge consequence as the units that have been redeployed were some of the most loyal ones tasked with enforcing the GKChP's authority over the separatist republics. The end result of this has been the unfolding of the Ukrainian Revolution along sectarian conflicts in the Caucasus, with the Armenian SSR and the Azerbaijan SSR entering into a violent conflict after decades of Russian support to Azerbaijan, at the same time, Kazakh freedom fighters have attacked the Supreme Soviet building in Alma-Ata: protesting the Russian dominance over their country.


Freedom Fighters liberate Ukraine!
After the coup took place and the leader of the Ukrainian SSR was arrested, Volodymyr Puzakov was appointed to rule Ukraine for the GKChP; however, it hasn't escaped anyone's attention that the real power in Kiev is the former commander of the Kiev Military District, Yevhen Marchuk, he has been playing an important role since the coup took place as he has watered down orders and policies sent from Moscow in order to keep some sense of stability in Ukraine. Nonetheless, the numerous arrests that have taken place since March, along the mysterious disappearance of the opposition figure Myroslava Petryshyn led to an upheaval in the Ukrainian society, with the main figure of the democratic movement gone and several other prominent politicians getting arrested it seemed as if the resistance against the coup would die out.

In an unexpected turn of events, the Far Eastern War provided the opportunity Ukrainian nationalists and freedom fighters have been waiting for, the redeployment of numerous units of the Soviet Army to stop the Korean advance has been the match to light the fire. After the opposition movements were practically strangled due to Putin's efficient handling of the KGB and other police forces, the Ukrainian resistance was severely weakened, leaving Dmytro Yarosh's movement (All-Ukraine League) as the only one in the political scene. Widely considered to be a mere joke movement and also seen as a KGB-financed party, this view would change after a Soviet unit was tasked with the arrest of Yashov and his followers in a rally taking place at Kiev, though his brave refusal to allow Ukraine to be subjugated was met with violence by the Stalinist enforcers.

This act of resistance by a mass numbering the thousands sent the Soviet unit retreating back to Moscow, while also providing the hero the population needed to find, with almost every important politician jailed or long gone, the resistance coalesced around Yashov's All-Ukraine League, creating what came to be known as the Ukrainian National Front. This event proved to be the one of utmost importance, since just days later the redeployment of the Soviet Army took place, allowing the UNF to improve their situation and positions, soon a guerrilla campaign began all over the Ukraine in their struggle to free their country from the Soviet occupation.


Ukrainian Soldiers.jpg

In a stupid move by the GKChP, the bulk of the Ukrainian units stayed in Ukraine, while most of the Russian forces were sent eastwards to fight the Koreans, Chinese and Japanese. This allowed Yevhen Marchuk to rally the Ukrainian units in defense of their country.
Finally, on July 11th, Ukrainian soldiers and units within the Soviet Army defected and joined the struggle for National Liberation choosing to ignore orders from Moscow and following the advice of former commander Marchuk, allowing the Ukrainian National Front to advance against the government buildings in Kiev. The protestors didn't stop there, storming as well the police armory along the "Small Lubyanka" (a KGB building in service since the Troika years), however, the KGB officers in place were capable of burning down the archives; so the fate of the arrested politicians remains in the air.

Yesterday, the former commander of the Kiev Military District, Yevhen Marchuk publicly announced the proclamation of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, stating among others:

  • Secession from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
  • Dismantling of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and establishment of the National State of Ukraine.
  • Nationalization of the property of the Communist Party within Ukraine.
  • Immediate end of hostilities between the National State of Ukraine and the Republic of Korea, Republic of China and State of Japan.
  • Provisional elections to take place within the next three months for a five year administration.
The answer of the United Nations was a proposal to mediate the situation between the Soviet Union and Ukraine, while American president Kamala Harris quickly granted recognition to Ukraine and said: "...the will of the people has been expressed and national self-determination must be allowed to the Ukrainian People, the illegal seizure of power that took place in the Soviet Union can't be supported by our silence." However, no response has come from the Kremlin, while sources from Korea report that once again the number of units in the Far East is changing, it's possible to assume some units are being sent against the recently proclaimed National State of Ukraine.

United Nations turns a blind eye on Yugoslavia.
With the outbreak of war in the Far East it was evident that the Korean soldiers that compose the bulk of the peacekeeping efforts at Dalmatia would go back to the Korean Peninsula, leaving behind a tiny minority of British and Canadian soldiers that have proved unable to stop the Yugoslav and Croat paramilitaries from clashing between each other. However, it has been the legitimate defensive measures of the Italian paramilitaries at Dubrovnik that spurred the anger of the United Nations accusing our proud nation and our king of "attempting to disrupt the peace process in Dalmatia." The UNTAD has been in place for a long time but it's evident that the peacekeeping efforts of the United Nations are not being useful at all, the prime minister has stated that if this continues the case then the Kingdom of Italy will be forced to...

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So, I hope you enjoy this brief update, it came to my mind suddenly and out of nowhere but I thought it would be an interesting development.
Just to clarify, some notes:

  • In some aspects it's a bit vague due to: a) Me not fully developing this lore yet. b) Secolo d'Italia is the official newspaper of the Kingdom of Italy in this world, a nation with a stronger far-right (and I'll eventually reach that when we reach 60-70s). So, with the newspaper being against the USSR and left in general it turns a blind eye upon the All-Ukraine League and the OTL controversial and quite far-right guy that leads it.
  • I'll just ask you posters to avoid talking about OTL politics in here, even if some references and winks are made in here, I'm crafting an entirely separate world from ours. This has never been an issue in this thread but let's keep it that way. :)
  • I'm almost finished with the batch of events I'm working on so you can also expect a main update soon.
  • Oh, and the last one, later on I will return to this Ukrainian affair BUT from a different perspective, one that will be way more polished and objective with the current developments in this world.
As I said, I hope you enjoy the update and if you have questions about something I'll kindly answer them. :p
 
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As above, glad to see you back in action :)

I have to wonder if we're seeing the opening moves in the dissolution of the USSR in this timeline -- it seems as though it might be a much bloodier affair than it was in OTL if so.

The alternative, of course, is that this could also be leading to a new Third World War -- an incredibly dire prospect.
 
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Chapter IX: The Korean Summer. (Part I)
Chapter IX: The Korean Summer. (Part I)
"When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die." - Jean-Paul Sartre.

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Besalú, Spanish State. ~ July 26th, 1957.

Today's weather had been pretty average, though at least the sky was clear from any possible clouds that could threaten the clotheslines, that seemed to make the mothers in the small town quite happy. Few days ago it had rained for a long time, it had not been intense but the amount of time was enough to annoy several ladies that had been waiting for the clothes to dry up, while their children ran around like chivos seemingly enjoying the sudden freshness in that hot summer day.

Life at Besalú was quite boring, at least he felt that way, after all, it lacked many of the attractions he had started to love about Madrid. Though all in all, Madrid wasn't that fun of a city either, he felt displaced, stripped from his roots and stranded in a strange country that he was unable to love or even like. But the circumstances weren't favorable for him to be picky, with Germany divided and under the occupation of the United States and the Soviet Union it was clear that stepping in German soil would condemn him to a life in jail if not worse, he could be grateful to Spain for that, though even that had been an achievement of the now defunct Reich.

He stood up and walked some steps towards the dusty desk in the room's corner, trying to ignore the sound of the children running around and screaming in the backyard. In a quick fashion he opened one of the drawers and took the Luger handgun, it had been a long time since he carried it while fearing for his life, but this time it could all be different, it was all different as well. No, this wasn't Nuremberg, these were not Americans and certainly this forgotten town wasn't going to turn into mere rubble.

Back down stairs, he sat staring towards the door, at any moment they would arrive and unexpectedly he was feeling nervous about all of this. After all, why were they trying to make contact? Why were they interested in him? What was all of this about? He had seen the news when it took place and considering he was in Spain, the news about it were even more constant, Franco had been eager to establish relations with the new regime and in short span of time he did. Well, establishing relations was one thing that had already took place, but Franco had been so interested in talking to the new ambassador and his stances on some issues. But before he could give his mind any more time, he managed to hear a car closing in, while some of the mothers called their children to be careful.

The car arrived, the motor stopped abruptly, doors opened and quickly closed and a shadow soon could be seen below the closed door between them.

*Bang bang bang*

"Come in! Dinner is almost ready!" he shouted, staying still while his right hand held the Luger tightly, aiming at the door.

After he had said that, two men wearing suits and carrying an unconscious man entered the small house with a third right behind them, walking slowly into the place. The other two and their pal rushed upstairs, with the third man slowly closing the door, unimpressed by the Luger pointed at him.

"Dear cousin, thanks for receiving us today with such a short notice!" he shouted, trying to disguise the shady meeting that was taking place. "Alfred there had such a hangover that I had to ask my friends to help him, imagine it!"

Julius had read the dossier beforehand, he was fully aware about the unconscious man's identity, he was no more and no less than Jean-Paul Sartre one of the most vocal critics of the Algerian War, the Second French Consulate and of Jacques Massu. But he also knew the reason behind this, the Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage was interested in a meeting with Otto Skorzeny, claiming they had a proposal he wouldn't be able to reject.

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Modern History: Korea. - Wade Barnett.

Coup 6.jpg

The Korean Summer started with the assassination of the popular president Cho, beloved due to his policies to
strengthen the country and uplift the population from a dire economic situation along restoring a
semblance of peace after the brutal crackdowns of Syngman Rhee's presidency.

After the murder of president Cho at Jeju Island, the situation at the Korean Peninsula quickly deteriorated due to a power vacuum taking place, vice president Kim Kyu-sik's health had been quite delicate since the beginning of the year and to make it worse, after learning the news of president Cho's murder his health declined even more, sending him into a collapse that left him unable of fulfilling his role as acting president and two days after the president's death the vice president also died. The constitution was clear and disregarding the interests and voices of those opposed to it, deputy vice president Pak Hon-yong was sworn in as the third president of the Republic of Korea, something that quickly fanned the flames of the conservative circle in the political scenario: civilian and military, both sides (within the conservative spectrum) were worried about the future of the country now more than ever.

In the immediate aftermath of the president's assassination, acting president Pak refused to deploy army units or the police in wide numbers to Jeju Island, insisting that those kind of actions had been the ones to slowly radicalize the members of the society into committing violent acts such as the president's shooting. Instead, he argued that the amnesty given by president Cho had not been enough to quell the angerand grievances among the population, he stated that "as long as there is economic inequality, the amnesty will always end up short to our expectations...", he claimed that only through greater subsidies, tax cuts and the creation of exclusive financial support to former members of the KPA or the different Communist organizations would the violence end.

This stances were evidently enough to spur even more anger within the general public, he was practically sieged from any side of the political spectrum except, of course, the radical left. The conservatives viewed him as a walking threat, they had never been comfortable with him getting a position so close to power fearing that something like this could happen. The moderates felt that he was too radical to find common ground with the other political parties, while they had been willing to accept Cho Bong-am's leftism, he had been also willing to negotiate and tone down some of his policies. And the leftists feared that his radicalism would endanger president Cho's legacy and darken it, along also feeling anger against him for not prosecuting their beloved president's murderer instead of doing so, granting him amnesty and losing that man as a needle in a haystack.

Even if Pak Hon-yong had been brought into the government to display the forgivingness character within president Cho's administration, his most recent attitudes and actions had also alienated a numerous part of the population from the North. Some felt that having him as deputy vice president was something useful to further the concepts of forgiveness and unity and there were some willing to ignore his past association with Kim Il-sung and his ilk, however, they also felt that he had to stay away from power due to that very same association. But it is also important to mention that as there were critics and detractors in the North, he also had supporters within that part of the country still believing that more leftism was needed in the government, still firmly thinking that Kim Il-sung could not be entirely wrong.

As the days passed, the National Assembly pressed president Pak to name a vice president and announced their intentions to legislate in favour of removing the position of deputy vice president, something that Pak Hon-yong fiercely fought against. The situation was turning even more unstable with the executive power and the legislative power bickering between themselves, this kind of discussion also spilled to the general public. With the days slowly advancing and a clear clash between two of the government powers, the population also started to take a side, most of them agreeing that president Pak's actions were detrimental to the stability and security of the country. Though, in silent corners, there were also supporters of Pak Hon-yong, hiding and trying to stay low enough in order to avoid reprisals by the clear majority.

However, it is also important to mention that, Pak Hon-yong sent two proposals for a vice president, one of them to none other than Chang Myon in an attempt to quell the unrest within the country and moderate the way others saw him. But Chang Myon wasn't entirely interested in joining a sinking administration and refused the proposal, something that few historians even mention, though the other proposal has been lost to history. Finally, the impasse that dominated the government ended when the last of Pak Hon-yong's proposals was made widely known; he asked Yi Sung-yop to be his vice president, a former Communist, some sort of chief/mentor to him and also someone that had been part of the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, serving as the Mayor of Seoul during the KPA's occupation and clearly someone that had benefited from president Cho's amnesty.

This was the straw that broke the camel's back, having had enough of his bickering with the National Assembly, his statements and his clear inaction to the issues affecting the country, a secret plan was finally put into motion. Those three weeks that passed between June 25th and July 18th would pass down to history as one of the darkest and most tense moments in Korean history, after all, the aftermath of that would drastically threaten once more the country. Fearing that China or the Soviet Union would take the chance to flip the entire peninsula back to Communism, the United States silently approved a plan that vice president Nixon and CIA director, Allen Dulles, had been weaving for a long time: the greenlight was sent to the Hanahoe and the shady faction within it.

Korea SS 03.jpg

General Kim Suk-won's faction of the Hanahoe was the first to act, taking Sinuiju as their HQ and capital,
his followers merged into a movement that took the name of "Joseon Restoration Army" with their
goal being the destruction of the Republic and the restoration of House Yi to the Korean throne.

One of the most memorable events of the Korean Summer took place in July 18th, 1957. Through the Summer Declaration, general Kim Suk-won and his supporters announced their intention to remove from power the illegitimate president Pak in order to stabilize the country and keep it save from Communism. The uprising was large enough to take wide swathes of land in the immediate aftermath of the Summer Declaration, however, it is also important to mention that numerous soldiers that took part in this putsch attempt were in it due to some kind of bandwagon effect within the army, but the loyalties of many monarchists was doubtful. In no way was the ROK Army a crop field of monarchists but numerous young soldiers fell for the secret propaganda operations Kim Suk-won organized, trying to inspire the soldiers to desire a return to the glories of the past: these young soldiers, ignorant of the past, tragically fell for it.

And as some naive soldiers aligned with the Joseon Restoration Army, others willingly joined in what they saw as an opportunity to improve their lives. A hefty amount of support had been given by the CIA to the Hanahoe, not knowing that a generous slice of it was going into the monarchists plans and there were also former members of the KPA that saw the movement as a way to bring enough chaos to make possible a restoration of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea: though it's important to mention they were a minority.

Surprisingly enough, leaving aside some provinces, the government seemed to be in control of the rest of the country. President Pak was quite impressed by the putschist failure to take Seoul, he considered that even if the Joseon Restoration Army had easily taken hold of numerous northern provinces it was more due to the shock and surprise factor of it. He viewed the north as the most leftist part of the country, he felt it was a stronghold and that the population would most likely beat back the rebelling officers and soldiers and he felt more sure about his analysis once he learnt that the rest of the army had stayed loyal along the airforce and navy.

Therefore, in one of his poorest decisions and trying to avoid a bloodshed, he order the Armed Forces to avoid conflict, to stay away from the now-occupied territories of the Joseon Restoration Army while he made a call to the civilian population to actively resist the putschist's takeover. He thought that it was a matter of time before a nation-wide uprising, or at least one in the north, mobilized against the monarchists to end their threat and at least in that he had been right; though not in the way he wished.

Korea SS 04.jpg

Four days after the Summer Declaration and with the government not ordering any action against the
Joseon Restoration Army, the Hanahoe had its breaking point, generals Chung Il-kwon and
Choe Deok-sin made a call to the Armed Forces to fight against the monarchists and

preserve the stability of the country.

President Pak Hon-yong's blind beliefs proved to be a complete mistake, the rest of the Armed Forces rallied around what came to be known as the Constitutionalist Defence Army with just small numbers of soldiers and police enforcement units staying loyal to his government. Now he was sure that Seoul was an objective of both sides, therefore, even if he ordered the few units left to defend the capital, he along members of the National Assembly and State Council fled. Numerous members of the government chose to simply retreat into territories seized by the Constitutional Defence Army, while a smaller and almost minuscule amount joined with president Pak at Gwangju, remarkably, Ki Seung-min, the only woman in the State Council and Minister of Construction and Transportation fled towards Constitutionalist territory while the whereabouts of Kim Yong-woo, Minister of National Defence, were currently unknown.

In just seven years, Korea was once again under the threat of civil war, one that could provide an opportunity for the enemies of the Korean people to further their own goals. And even if Summer was reaching it's end, this series of events would forever be known in history as the Korean Summer.

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Well, I hope you all enjoy this update, I know it took a huge amount of time to bring it but I had a lot of testing to do, learning new event commands (and testing them), some research and well, life also taking place. I feel this is the longest chapter I've posted in a long time, but it's the series of events I said that were highly interesting to think about.

And as the previous interlude, this update's first part deals with a complex situation, organization and character I made, so, I'd be so glad if we avoid delving into current politics or pre-WW2/WW2 stuff deeply unless an update requires so. :)

Enjoy!
 
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Chapter IX: The Korean Summer. (Part II)
Chapter IX: The Korean Summer. (Part II)
"We have been born into this land, charged with the historic mission of regenerating this nation." - Park Chung-hee.

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Gimpo Airport, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ~ July 27th, 1957.

After the Constitutional Ultimatum ocurred the entire country was plunged into chaos, fears of a new civil war began to spread widely through the peninsula. The situation in Seoul was quite similar too, the president's escape from the capital city lowered the morale of the police forces still present in it along the Seoul Reserve Army, reports mentioned the Joseon Restoration Army moving in to seize the capital and proclame the restoration and soon many soldiers gave up while others chose to leave the city and join the Constitutional Defence Army as well, in a matter of hours the capital had turned into a massive free-for-all in which the distinct factions tried to control the city.

Exploiting the unrest and the lack of control in some districts of Seoul, numerous politicians opposed to the monarchists took their opportunity to flee, that was the case of Ki Seung-min, Minister of Construction and Transportation. She had been in the western district of Seoul, Gangseo-gu and she was waiting for a plane to leave from the Gimpo Airport. Even if the Joseon Restoration Army seemed to be unbeatable, their large and surprisive uprising failed to take control of important airports and cities, like Kanggye, Pyongyang, Seoul, Busan, among others; in this sense the Constitutional Defence Army and her sympathizers had more success, they had been helping evacuate some commanders and important politicians while they tried to establish a defensive perimeter behind the Han River.

The plane was scheduled to leave for Busan in fifteen minutes, minister Ki spent some of that time wondering what would be of her after this whole situation ended. There was just one plausible option in her mind, a military junta would take place, she had overheard some military men talking about the monarchist uprising and they seemed to agree that their huge initial success was due to the surprise factor of it, their opinion was that it was a matter of time before the Joseon Restoration Army slipped with the Northern population, the most leftist among the peninsula even now. And also, now that Pak Hon-yong could be counted out of the equation, some considered that desertion would cripple the monarchist forces. In that case, a military government would take Seoul and restore order through the country, she wondered if it would be similar to Rhee's late month in the presidency or if it would be an entirely different thing.

"Well, considering how they are, I bet this is my career's end," due to the conservative nature of many army officers, she seemed inclined to believe the ministry was lost to her, so she started wondering what other options she could have now. But those thoughts were suddenly interrupted, a soldier rushed in with a terrified expression in his face.

"Monarchist forces have taken Ganghwa Island and they seem to be using small barges and boats to ferry soldiers through the Han River!"

The idea of allowing the Joseon Restoration Army to take hostages and the airport was unacceptable to the local commander, he was unwilling to allow Gangseo-gu to fall, but he also knew the current situation was untenable for his forces. The morale was low and the shock value of the uprising had allowed some soldiers from the Seoul Reserve Army to flee or desert in panic, it was a matter of time before the monarchists took all of Seoul, but he was decided to stay, while other officers insisted on him retreating to Busan with the other politicians and important figures.

"Daejang Park, with all due respect, you are more needed in Busan than here. We can keep fighting against the restorationists but if they take you or any member of the National Assembly or State Council as hostage, they will have a great advantage going for them," even if that officer had a higher rank than Park Chung-hee the respect in his voice was more than evident. "Daejang, once you reach Busan the preparations will be more than ready I assume. We will try to hold the south bank of the river as long as we can."

Ki Seung-min then realized how wrong was her supposed scenario, she had left out of the option of the popular Hero of Seoul leading the country in this dire time, though considering the conservatives among his ranks, she tried not to think too much about her future in politics. But it was enough of it already, the arrangements for the plane were finished faster than she could imagine and the line to board it kept advancing. "What awaits us now?" she wondered.

Korea SS 09.jpg

By July 28th, 1957, the capital fell under the occupation of the Joseon Restoration Army though
Constitutionalist resistance kept fighting in the southern districts of Seoul.


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Modern History: Korea. - Wade Barnett.


Korea SS 05.jpg

By August 1st, the Republic of Korea only held Gwangju and some other cities, though in reality even there
president Pak lacked legitimacy. The same happening in the wide swathes
of land that the Joseon Restoratin Army captured in the early stages.


The tension in the Korean peninsula only grew more after the capital fell under monarchist control, the line was clearly drawn by that point, even if no one dare to officially say it was a civil war, the fighting had already began. But the situation was complex enough for the three parties involved, for different reasons for almost two weeks there were no more rebel or army movements in the country, each faction trying to gain time to prepare and ready itself for the struggle ahead.
  • Republic of Korea/Gwangju Government: after leaving Seoul, president Pak Hon-yong retreated to the south, hoping to establish himself far away from the main clashing points, though in doing so he also favored the Constitutional Defence Army and the Joseon Restoration Army. The monarchists proved capable of taking the main districts of the capital along several industry centers in it, but president Pak's inaction was widely denounced as treachery to the Korean people by some figures. And when the line was finally drawn, each faction had already consolidated themselves and in this regard the Gwangju government was way behind, lacking support from the army and mostly defended by police units and garrisons of dubious loyalty.
  • Joseon Restoration Army/Sinuiju Government: to the casual observer, the strongest faction in the Korean Summer is obviously the Joseon Restoration Army, however, this is mostly due to the quick advance they were capable of in the first stages of the conflict. Their army wasn't homogeneous as some like to portray and there were huge disparities within itself, both in composition and in ideology, I previously covered how even Communist-aligned soldiers joined them in an attempt to cause enough chaos in the country, but there were also those willing to fight for easy cash provided by general Kim Suk-won. There's also the bandwagon factor we need to consider, with their unexpected rising and their successful offensive against the government, several soldiers thought there was no other logical conclusion to the Korean Summer and this allowed them to sway the opinion among the army in their favour or just causing enough panic among other troops for them to surrender: as was seen in the case of the Seoul Reserve Army.
  • Constitutional Defence Army/Busan Government: the other two members of the Hanahoe had not known about Kim Suk-won's plans beforehand but their response to him was quick and decisive, with the monarchy widely discredited among most of the population and their now apparent image of them also refusing to acknowledge president Pak, the Constitutional Defence Army easily carried the recognition of the Armed Forces, politicians and even part of the population. Defections taking place within the monarchist side allowed them to carry enough strength to takeover the lands east of Seoul and regain control of Pyonyang, but that wasn't all of it. The armed forces stationed on Busan quickly joined the constitutionalist side and arrested those still loyal to president Pak, with Park Chung-hee and members of the National Assembly and State Council arriving hours before the fall of Seoul was made official. The mere presence of a majority of the National Assembly and State Council members allowed the Constitutional Defence Army based in Kanggye to proclaim themselves as the most logical successor to late president Cho instead of Pak.
The appearance of the constitutionalist faction did not only split the support general Kim Suk-won had but his resources as well, not only soldiers left to join generals Chung Il-kwon and Choe Deok-sin but most of the equipment and supplies ended up with them as well. The fall of Pyongyang was bloodless due to most of the garrison changing sides at the right moment, even the minuscule amount of aircraft pilots that had joined the Joseon movement left it, wether due to their own loyalty to the Constitutional Defence Army or a lack of fuel and spare parts. Even the navy that was officially aligned with president Pak had refused to follow his command, they stated a neutral stance in the Korean Summer but they were clearly opposed to the idea of involving themselves directly in the conflict.

American soldiers and advisors even if officially neutral soon started to also provide support to the moderate faction of the Hanahoe, recognizing that general Kim Suk-won's actions could unstabilize the country quickly enough if allowed to, fearing a renewed Communist insurgency if that was the case. President Eisenhower did not endorse any side either and limited himself to stating the American stance regarding the peninsula, any Chinese or Soviet involvement would imply American intervention against the external forces, but behind the scenes he was angry at the mess the CIA had caused by supporting a splinter group within the Hanahoe but he refused to reveal the wide involvement America had in the Korean Summer.

As days passed by and each faction consolidated their strength, they also began making moves of their own.

President Pak tried to form a militia but his attempts ended in failure as well when a meagre number of twelve hundred appeared, even if there was people willing to trust his intentions most of the population now rightly believed he had caused all of this due to his ideological stances, seeking to strengthen his preferred groups instead of governing for the whole country and finding a compromise. Meanwhile, the monarchists were also having a tough time, with numerous industrial centers in his hands, Kim Suk-won ordered the work times to be extended and a labor mobilization was enacted; his goal being the production of enough supplies for a large offensive. He also slashed the government subsidies and raised the taxes in an attempt to buy his way into more soldiers, to replace those that had left, but his actions were only gaining him unrest and anger among a population that already was against him.

And last but not least, the Busan Government was in a strong position regarding ammunition and other vital supplies, the Hanahoe avoided taking unpopular measures in order to keep the people's goodwill. If they needed weapons, medicine, or any other kind of supply/material/resource, they asked for it to the Americans which were more than happy to provide. Unknown to the public in those days, general Park Chung-hee also established communications with the Japanese government (which had terminated an informal trade deal short after president Cho's death). The Japanese PM, Nobusuke Kishi, recognized that the situation was dire and that a monarchist Korea wouldn't be as easy to negotiate with, fearing also the idea of a Communist revival in the peninsula, so he agreed to keep trading with the Busan Government under the table and providing a favorable loan to it as well. Finally, the Americans also moved some troops to the Korean border with China and the Soviet Union in order to prove their point.

With their own position solid enough, the first to make a move would be the Constitutional Defence Army, some members of the National Assembly and State Council had urged generals Chung and Choe to forge a united front along president Pak to defeat the monarchist threat. But having seen what president Pak caused in his brief tenure they refused to compromise, they saw in him a threat to not just their power or the Hanahoe, but to the entire country. When the Hanahoe was created, they had already agreed on what had to be done, on their common vision for Korea, so when the time came, there wasn't any dispute or claim to power: instead they just discussed the current affairs with general Park, after all, now that president Cho was death, he was the most popular man in the country.

Having ironed the details and agreed on the course to take, general Park led an armoured column (along other infantry units) towards Gwangju on August 9th, 1957. In a couple of hours the Hanahoe had finally realized the goal they had been planning for a long time and with it, the first stage of the Korean Summer ended as well.

Korea SS 10.jpg

The disappearance of president Pak was a mystery for the days to come, many believing he
had fled to the countryside in an attempt to rally for armed resistance against the coup.

President Pak's deposition proved to be an extensive popular move through Korea, even in those territories nominally held by the Joseon Restoration Army, and the willingness of the National Assembly to recognize the legitimacy of now president Park Chung-hee helped him to weaken even more the monarchist forces. Now that Pak Hon-yong was removed from power there was no doubt about which was the legitimate government in the country, even the twelve hundred volunteers that had joined Pak's movement refused to fight. Out of fear or out of respect due to the identity of the new president, whichever it was, the first government led by a former Communist and member of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had ended and now what everyone wanted was peace in the country.
President Park would be happy to provide as well.

Park Chung Hee 2.jpg


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Well, here we are, a bit earlier than what we all thought would be. President Park Chung-hee has arrived to power, what will this mean to Korea? We shall see soon.

I hope you enjoy the update, gotta admit I had some event screenshots that I wanted to show but I felt they weren't too necessary for the update, it was basically the Constitutional Defence Army choosing not to trust president Pak and uniting behind Park Chung-hee and launching a coup. The coup was quite successful and we had enough luck to avoid the messier situation, though Korea is still in danger.

Cheers.
(An apology if the event has such a massive text haha, when writing it I felt it was shorter)
 
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Oof, I'm really such a slow AAR-writer ain't I?

Anyways, apologies for taking so long to update it, I had a busy semester and I had been taking my Japanese classes the last month. Fortunately enough I am once again free enough to return to the AAR, I have plenty of screenshots to make the next chapters at least until 1958. But I recently had a marvelous idea, watching the events for the Ottoman Empire in Kaiserreich I realized I can attempt to use them into the AAR.

"What do you mean?"

Well, the events about reform support and the several parties have some interesting flags, triggers, etc. I think I can implement something similar to those events but instead of managing reform in a country it could be used to simulate and handle some "guerrilla" aspects.
So, for example, let's take Indochina:

USA provides 5 Black Ops points to Thailand, Thailand may choose to use them as they see fit, investing more could give more success, but will deplete them faster. And of course, Indochina would have their own stack of points as well, they could be disputing a province and for example, if Thailand gets enough advantage in Cambodia and Laos, if war started then they could count on rebels rising up there against Indochina.

It's still a messy idea, I will slowly try to develop it more but I think this could heavily spice up the Cold War flavor in the AAR.

I hope to have an update soon enough! :)
Take care fellow readAARs.
 
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Chapter IX: The Korean Summer. (Part III)
Chapter IX: The Korean Summer. (Part III)
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson.

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Sinuiju HQ, Joseon Restoration Army controlled territory. ~ August 11th, 1957.

The situation within the leadership of the Joseon Restoration Army was a complex one, there were numerous debates going on regarding the status of land ownership and the best way to handle the opposition they met at their territory. President Cho had restored the ambitious land reform implemented by the defeated Democratic People's Republic of Korea and even expanded it to the southern part of the peninsula, the decision had proved to be quite unpopular with the landholders and the wealthiest members of Korean society. General Kim Suk-won had maintained communication with Crown Prince Yi Un, he had expressed his support to the idea of reverting the land reforms that had been carried out, nonetheless, several officers within the leadership voiced their own concerns, North Korea' s population was the most left-leaning and small militias had already appeared to fight against them. Abolishing the land reforms before defeating the Busan government wasn't seen as the best course of action, not only would they fuel the rage in the countryside, but they would have to divert resources from the conflict that would soon start against the junta under Park Chung-hee.

Another reason for the complex situation within the Joseon Restoration Army was the recent deposition of president Pak, the Constitutional Defence Army under the other two members of the Hanahoe's Triumvirate had supported Park Chung-hee to take power, their original intent. The Hero of Seoul was now the leader of the nation and the consequences of that were reflected in the monarchist's cohesion, numerous soldiers defected to the constitutionalist side while officers began having doubts about not only their actions but the nation's security. It was clear for general Kim Suk-won, the only option he had was waging war against the Busan regime, there would be no negotiation and he had to act while he still had enough strength. General Kim reluctantly chose to respect the land reform, otherwise he would not only have the peasants against him but his own staff members and that would severely weaken his own forces. Ironically, the monarchist greatest achievement had also played against them, taking Seoul meant more resources diverted to stabilizing that part of the front and even then the capital was plagued by resistance: ranging from some democracy activists to Park's sympathizers, the monarchy had been widely discredited.

"General, our forces are slowly infiltrating the security perimeter established at Pyongyang", said the officer in charge of the Pyongyang operation. Kim Suk-won knew that without the city their position at Sinuiju was at danger, they were completely encircled by the Constitutional Defence Army and if they desired to they could easily siege him down with most of his forces away. "We have recommended the use of barges to evacuate some elements from Seoul in order to strengthen our own position here or to support the forces that will take Pyongyang".

Even if Sinuiju was encircled there was an advantage within the Joseon Restoration Army, Seoul had provided some strategic depth and the Constitutionalist advance would be surely focused on retaking the capital city, this meant that Pyongyang could easily fall in monarchist hands before Park's forces could arrive to stop them. But there was another reason to be careful with the operations, admiral Soon Won-yil and the entire naval branch of the armed forces was behind Park Chung-hee, this in turn provided the constitutionalist forces at the northern part of the peninsula the possibility of further support either in supplies or reinforcements. That was the key difference between the operational flexibility each had, here at Sinuiju they spoke about barges but down south at Busan they had numerous ships and specialized transports to move around their troops.

"What abou-", a fit of coughing suddenly interrupted his words. General Kim wasn't young at all, but he had been quite healthy overall, he thought it could be connected to the recent reports of flu outbreaks in some places. He dismissed that concern, a flu was just that, a flu, he had far more important matters to attend to than a mere sickness. Even though he had been feverish last night he was still there, working without a break, fighting without rest. "What about the forces that will infiltrate Kanggye?" That was his real concern, Kanggye was the constitutionalist stronghold in the north, being located at the merging point of four rivers, heavily fortified and with big enough installations to base the entire ROK Air Force; it was crucial for his plans.

"We haven't heard from them in a while, we can assume the worst," that usually meant two things; captured or defection. Unknowingly to them there was a new explanation for the sudden disappearance of some soldiers, with the flu spreading quickly due to the constant movement of troops many fell ill or just abandoned their posts in order to return with their families or at least get away from the growing number of cases. The top brass of the monarchist movement had focused so much on viewing Park as their greatest threat, while microorganisms were slowly spreading chaos and weakening their own forces. Even though the American forces in the peninsula had refused to involve themselves in the struggle it was no secret that they had been supplying Park Chung-hee's forces, but they had also offered to provide medical assistance to general Kim, only to be called "opportunists".

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Modern History: Korea. - Wade Barnett.

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Park Chung-hee agreed that another conflict would inflict material and political damage to the peninsula, unstability
could eventually brew up another Communist inspired movement and that was something he wanted to avoid.

The memories of what had been the Korean War were still fresh in the minds of the population, even those officers and commanders that were now driving the country to the brink of civil war could still remember the horrors they saw during the conflict. And that hadn't been all, after the country was reunited a fierce insurgency took place, fueled by the divisive policies encouraged by Syngman Rhee. With those horrible months in mind it was evident that no one wanted to risk the nation once more, Park Chung-hee also felt that another war would facilitate the Sino-Soviet interests in the peninsula, after all, widespread chaos could eventually allow the revival of the dreaded KPA and their supporters. With that in mind it's easier to understand why he chose to offer amnesty while delivering his ultimatum to general Kim Suk-won. Unfortunately for him and the rest of the Korean Peninsula the decision made at Sinuiju condemned the country to another war, Kim Suk-won and his closest supporters had been vocal enough to silence the opposition within the Joseon Restoration Army and with his troops ready to take Pyongyang hostilities started by August 17th, 1957.

Just two months away from the seventh anniversary of the end of the Korean War, conflict was once again raging through the peninsula. An overwhelming force attacked the Constitutionalist garrison at Pyongyang, which had been severely weakened after mid-night operations of sabotage took place by the units that managed to infiltrate the perimeter. The local commander panicked due to the strength of the monarchist assault and the sudden sniper campaign that left most of his staff dead, fearing for his own life he chose to order a retreat, the perimeter collapsed from the inside out, the Constitutionalist forces withdrew towards Kanggye; their northern fortress. Meanwhile, the encircled forces at the shared border with the Soviet Union and China organized themselves for the planned evacuation, admiral Soon would provide the ships for those encircled units, their destination wasn't determined yet, it all depended on the success of Park's offensive against the monarchist forces at the capital. On the same day that hostilities between the two sides started, Generalissimo Park led an army consisting of four divisions and numbering around 30,000 soldiers against a sixth of his force that was located at Seoul's outskirts.

The monarchist garrison present at Seoul had a smaller number of motorized vehicles and personnel, but they had a numerical advantage regarding tanks, fortunately for the Constitutionalists they had more anti-tank equipment and their opponents lacked both spare parts and enough training. Since many defected to Park's side, fresh soldiers along draftees were swiftly incorporated into the military of the monarchists, this was directly translated into a lower combative effectiveness compared to the professionalized forces under Park Chung-hee. At the same time Generalissimo Park incorporated some of the shady structures of the Hanahoe into the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation, some of the officers had organized a branch of military intelligence, though surprisingly enough they had failed to foresee Kim Suk-won's intentions. With the nascent intelligence service incorporated he tried to establish contact with prominent figures within the JRA leadership, he guaranteed them the offers of amnesty in exchange of Kim Suk-won, however, no one at Sinuiju was ready to act. They considered Park's invitation, but they decided to keep their options open, in case of facing reversals they would accept the proposal and launch a coup against general Kim.

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By August 24th the Constitutionalists managed to recover Seoul, routing the monarchist garrison left at the capital city, two days before that the JRA had managed
to consolidate their control at Pyongyang. Surprisingly enough, despite the numerous advantages posessed by Park's forces they suffered almost half of the

damaged they inflicted to the Seoul garrison composed by close to five thousand troops.

The Battle for Seoul proved to be a victory for the Constitutionalist cause, but the American advisors at Korea were impressed (in a negative way) with the performance of the ROK Army. Fighting a force six times smaller than theirs and they had sustained almost a half of the casualties their enemies suffered, though fortunately it seemed that the mobile tactics implemented on the ROK Army were proving to be useful. None of the Constitutionalist tanks had been lost and the gunners had even used their cannons to sink numerous barges that were trying to retreat out of Seoul. But the Generalissimo's real goal wasn't the capital city per se, he quickly moved with some of his units towards Incheon, there he would meet admiral Soon. The evacuated troops from the northeast would stay at Seoul with some reinforcements while Generalissimo Park assembled a task force for his next ambitious offensive against the monarchists. With American help he also organized some relief and medical support for Seoul's population, the monarchist's mismanage of the city had allowed the cases of flu to severely increase, Park knew that with the current conflict it would spread even more than on normal circumstances but he would try his best to mitigate the propagation of the illness.

In a move quite reminiscent to the Korean War, Park Chung-hee directed his forces towards Nampo, a coastal city quite close to Pyongyang. The JRA had obviously used those barges to slowly infiltrate Nampo and advance towards Pyongyang, but now with his overwhelming naval and air support the Generalissimo would teach them a lesson from their own playbook. By August 25th an estimated number of 62,000 Constitutionalist soldiers engaged against barely 15,000 monarchist defenders, as the operation carried on a new offensive also took place against Sariwon and Wonsan in an attempt to prevent the JRA troops from reinforcing Pyongyang. The battered remnants of the Seoul garrison were unable to mount a successful defense with the troops at Sariwon, but they succeeded on inflicting 200 more casualties than the ones they suffered against the advancing forces by the point of their retreat on September 1st. But the greatest news came from Pyongyang, the monarchists gave up on August 30th after suffering a staggering amount of 6,500 casualties while Park's forces only lost close to 1,500. After news about the retreat from Sariwon and Park's offensive against Pyongyang reached Wonsan, the soldiers there mutinied against their officers and surrendered to the Constitutionalist Defence Army. This was the reversal many officers had been waiting for, it was time to end this charade.


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With the Wonsan mutiny, Sariwon's retreat and Park's offensive against Pyongyang the dye had been cast for Kim
Suk-won's forces. Sympathizers of Park Chung-hee and opportunist officers chose to distance themselves and
jump the sinking monarchist ship while they still had a chance. A swift coup at Sinuiju ended the
monarchist restoration attempt and with it; the Korean Summer.

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Seoul, Republic of Korea. ~ September 10th, 1957.

Despite being the new president of the Republic of Korea, Park Chung-hee had been absent from the capital for several days, he had just stayed briefly for his official inauguration and then he marched northwards once more. Many had believed that Park Chung-hee would once again leave the military now that he had been named president, but that hadn't been the case, he made no comments about it and just stated that "Korea is in a fragile position, the country's security shall go first". That had been troubling for Ki Seung-min but she was also rather surprised, she had thought that Park and his conservative allies would leave her out of the cabinet, but instead of doing so she kept her post as Minister of Construction and Transportation along being assigned to lead the border improvement efforts that Park Chung-hee had asked for. Minister Ki thought it could be an antagonizing action towards China, after all, president Cho had always tried to stay in-between the two Cold War blocs. But Park Chung-hee had been clear on his stances, only through cooperation with the United States would Korea develop and stay truly independent. So, naturally, she felt the militarization of the border could endanger the fragile status quo with China.

She shrugged those thoughts out of her mind, after all, no matter what her opinion was on the subject it was something that had to be done. There was something she couldn't deny, it was peaceful to leave the Summer chaos behind, ever since president Cho had been murdered she had been worried about Korea's future, her own future and her own life. But there were still missing dots all over the place, there were questions left unanswered and she felt curious about them. How had Kim Suk-won acquired enough funds and supplies for his army? President Cho's death had been really a coincidence? But there was something she couldn't stop wondering about, no one talked about it and they preferred to ignore it, but her curiosity knew no limits... Where was former president Pak? After Park Chung-hee advanced towards Gwangju no one saw neither heard about president Pak any more, what had happened there? However, before she could continue wondering about those mysterious events, someone rushed into the office waving a paper in his hand; the boy was rather sweaty and his face revealed the fear he was feeling at the moment. The other ministers looked up and met his worried eyes as well, silently expecting him to say something, those seconds passed as years:
"Chinese soldiers are crossing the Yalu!"

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So, here we have it, the last installment of the Korean Summer chapter and what we can consider the beginning of one of the most interesting and important arcs within the AAR. Will president Cho's desires and legacy be uphold by this new leader? How will Korea fare now on? Are there more CIA machinations on the wait list?

Since I played this part of the AAR before learning more about the 1957-58 Flu pandemic the mentions are rather scarce, however, I will try to mention it a bit more on next chapters. I truly hope you enjoy this chapter as it was one of the funniest I played, even though making the events for the Korean Summer was a bit tiring I must say it was something I truly enjoyed and enriched this world by showing the political complexities in this united Korea.

If there's any grammatical mistake please tell me so I can correct it and if you want to ask about something feel free to do so, as well, if you want to suggest something about the plausibility, go ahead!
Thanks for the patience dear read-AARs, enjoy!
 
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I'm surprised I haven't commented on this great AAR until just now.

Looking forward to what comes next.
 
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