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I am looking forward to reading the next update, whenever it comes. All your updates are really interesting to read. 
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I am looking forward to reading the next update, whenever it comes. All your updates are really interesting to read.
Comments like this are always great to motivate someone haha, thanks! I've been fighting with what's left of the semester, but I hope to get an update soon,
I also started reading your AAR (from the beginning, even WW2 since I wanted to fully remember how each president was) Slowly reading through though, haha, but steadily.
Regarding my AAR, I already got the events I wanted for the year set up and some research done, ironically now I just need to find the time to play! But I'm quite excited about it, thanks for your kind words!
I also started reading your AAR (from the beginning, even WW2 since I wanted to fully remember how each president was) Slowly reading through though, haha, but steadily.
Regarding my AAR, I already got the events I wanted for the year set up and some research done, ironically now I just need to find the time to play! But I'm quite excited about it, thanks for your kind words!
I'm just going to chime in and add some kind words of my own.
Never feel chained to an update schedule, just know you have people here who will read it when you're ready.
Never feel chained to an update schedule, just know you have people here who will read it when you're ready.
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ReadAARs; now that I'm free once again (though I expect Halo Infinite's launch on next week will heavily distract me... ), you can expect an update soon enough. As I previously said, I had been editing the game and creating some events to spice up not only the situation of Korea but also of other countries (and fixing up tiny thingies I found). We are getting closer to the 1960s and with it a lot of changes in the entire world, or maybe just the region? ^^
Ever since I got approval for mild interactivity I've been trying to think up a way to get everyone engaged as well and while I haven't achieved success yet, I feel an idea will soon come to my mind. ^^ (Maybe contributing to decide an election result and things like that, though, y'all know the Hanahoe has a tight grip over the country )
Take care readAARs and when you least expect it I'll post my update.
), you can expect an update soon enough. As I previously said, I had been editing the game and creating some events to spice up not only the situation of Korea but also of other countries (and fixing up tiny thingies I found). We are getting closer to the 1960s and with it a lot of changes in the entire world, or maybe just the region? ^^Ever since I got approval for mild interactivity I've been trying to think up a way to get everyone engaged as well and while I haven't achieved success yet, I feel an idea will soon come to my mind. ^^ (Maybe contributing to decide an election result and things like that, though, y'all know the Hanahoe has a tight grip over the country
)Take care readAARs and when you least expect it I'll post my update.
Thanks for the kind words! I really appreciate it, classes and personal life had me really busy these last months (along a funny project I just started regarding Darkest Hour with someone ) and I think you are right on that, regardless of my irregular update schedule I've seen it's an AAR that continues to attract or keep people's interest and I'm so glad about it.
This AAR has been so far one of my longest writing projects going on and I must admit it has been so fun to write, I've learnt a lot by writing and also along the way due to my classes and personal reading, it's always nice to see that despite my long MIA periods there's always someone to read a new update.
Your words really motivated me, thanks! ^^
I really appreciate it, classes and personal life had me really busy these last months (along a funny project I just started regarding Darkest Hour with someone ) and I think you are right on that, regardless of my irregular update schedule I've seen it's an AAR that continues to attract or keep people's interest and I'm so glad about it.This AAR has been so far one of my longest writing projects going on and I must admit it has been so fun to write, I've learnt a lot by writing and also along the way due to my classes and personal reading, it's always nice to see that despite my long MIA periods there's always someone to read a new update.
Your words really motivated me, thanks! ^^
Chapter XI: Peace or not, the Tiger prepares. (Part I)
Chapter XI: Peace or not, the Tiger prepares. (Part I)
"If the Chinese Communists provoke another war, we must immediately deter it and give them a decisive counterattack at the initial place of aggression" - Park Chung-hee.
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"If the Chinese Communists provoke another war, we must immediately deter it and give them a decisive counterattack at the initial place of aggression" - Park Chung-hee.
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Undisclosed location, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ~ December 29th, 1957.
General Chae Byong Duk had been lucky back in 1950, he had been the commander of the ROK Army when the KPA launched the massive offensive across the border, his failure to engage effectively against the North Koreans angered the government and he was ordered to lead the troops personally from the front. Short time after that order was received his unit fought against a North Korean battalion, due to the mess the battleground was he couldn't recognize the troops meters in front of him, he attempted to establish contact with them but bullets and mortar fire were the reply from the soldiers positioned at nearby hills. Due to him turning at the last second he managed to avoid a bullet that would've clearly killed him, but he ended up heavily injured and in state of coma.
He remained unconscious for several months and once he finally woke up, he was still unable to return to his duties due to the long recovery process he had to undergo. Eventually, years later, he managed to recover and was reintegrated into the armed forces (despite his infamous reputation), he joined the Hanahoe once he learnt about it due to his personal mistrust of president Cho Bong-am and his political views and during the events of the Korean Summer he was mostly left at the margin. Though he was constantly overlooked by the authorities and members of the Hanahoe, once the Chinese attacked he was assigned to the front, fighting in the fiercest battle of the war, that being: the Battle of Shenyang. He wanted to chase the enemy, thinking the war was won, fortunately enough for his career's future he didn't and avoided a blunder.
"President Park, thanks to the Border Security Act we've been allocated more than enough resources to fulfill the defensive improvement projects. Numerous anti-air emplacements will be build along expanding existing ones, despite our best efforts the Chinese were able to do some minor bombing runs during the war, with the new emplacements those Chinese pilots flying over the country will face a certain death," the general had managed to partially clean up some of his reputation for his brave display at Shenyang, he had been assigned by President Park to oversee the construction efforts at the Chinese-Korean Border. "We also expect the expansion of the airbase to conclude in a matter of months, almost at the same time as the new radar stations, enhancing decisively our air capabilities at the border."
"Kim jang-gwan, the establishment of an intelligence agency was approved both by the State Council and the National Assembly, in a few days I will announce the official formation of the KCIA, though right now the strengthening of the economy along the armed forces' improvement is the current priority, understood?" Despite the atrocities committed by Japan during the period of colonization, Park Chung-hee admired the country's history and could recognize how important the Meiji Restoration and period had been to the consolidation of Japan's strength. In one way or another he was about to adopt the "Fukoku kyōhei" (Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Armed Forces) that heavily characterized Japan's modernization after the Boshin War and Meiji Restoration.
General Chae Byong Duk had been lucky back in 1950, he had been the commander of the ROK Army when the KPA launched the massive offensive across the border, his failure to engage effectively against the North Koreans angered the government and he was ordered to lead the troops personally from the front. Short time after that order was received his unit fought against a North Korean battalion, due to the mess the battleground was he couldn't recognize the troops meters in front of him, he attempted to establish contact with them but bullets and mortar fire were the reply from the soldiers positioned at nearby hills. Due to him turning at the last second he managed to avoid a bullet that would've clearly killed him, but he ended up heavily injured and in state of coma.
He remained unconscious for several months and once he finally woke up, he was still unable to return to his duties due to the long recovery process he had to undergo. Eventually, years later, he managed to recover and was reintegrated into the armed forces (despite his infamous reputation), he joined the Hanahoe once he learnt about it due to his personal mistrust of president Cho Bong-am and his political views and during the events of the Korean Summer he was mostly left at the margin. Though he was constantly overlooked by the authorities and members of the Hanahoe, once the Chinese attacked he was assigned to the front, fighting in the fiercest battle of the war, that being: the Battle of Shenyang. He wanted to chase the enemy, thinking the war was won, fortunately enough for his career's future he didn't and avoided a blunder.
"President Park, thanks to the Border Security Act we've been allocated more than enough resources to fulfill the defensive improvement projects. Numerous anti-air emplacements will be build along expanding existing ones, despite our best efforts the Chinese were able to do some minor bombing runs during the war, with the new emplacements those Chinese pilots flying over the country will face a certain death," the general had managed to partially clean up some of his reputation for his brave display at Shenyang, he had been assigned by President Park to oversee the construction efforts at the Chinese-Korean Border. "We also expect the expansion of the airbase to conclude in a matter of months, almost at the same time as the new radar stations, enhancing decisively our air capabilities at the border."
"Kim jang-gwan, the establishment of an intelligence agency was approved both by the State Council and the National Assembly, in a few days I will announce the official formation of the KCIA, though right now the strengthening of the economy along the armed forces' improvement is the current priority, understood?" Despite the atrocities committed by Japan during the period of colonization, Park Chung-hee admired the country's history and could recognize how important the Meiji Restoration and period had been to the consolidation of Japan's strength. In one way or another he was about to adopt the "Fukoku kyōhei" (Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Armed Forces) that heavily characterized Japan's modernization after the Boshin War and Meiji Restoration.
"Of course, I'm still preparing operatives within Beijing and Shanghai, can't claim the envisioned operations will be easy but we will certainly create enough chaos at China to get Mao distracted for as long as we need," Kim Jong-pil had been getting in contact with agents planted into the "government-in-exile" of the DPRK, through them he expected to earn influence within Beijing. After a meeting of the Hanahoe along Kim Jong-pil, they all had agreed that the best course of action was sabotaging China from within, this meant supporting Mao against any opponent; President Park and Hanahoe leaders Choe and Chung had agreed that Peng Dehuai's removal further damaged the PLA's performance, translating that into a wider scope, it could also mean weakening China as a whole and not just the armed forces.
1957 had been a chaotic year for Korea, the country almost faced total collapse after presidents Cho and Pak's administrations, France had experienced a military coup after the murder of the popular and war hero Charles de Gaulle, Cuban revolutionaries managed to assassinate Batista and the entire government collapsed with him and even in Thailand a coup had taken place. President Eisenhower received news about the plans of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat to launch a coup against Thailand's PM Plaek Phibunsongkhram, but he also knew about the current skirmishes going on between Indochina and Thailand along the former's support towards the Communist Party of Thailand; considering that a sudden regime change could worsen the already unstable situation at the country, he instead warned Phibun and provided him assistance.
While Korea was engaged in a brutal war against the Chinese, Plaek Phibunsongkhram movilized every general supportive of him or bought back their loyalties through bribes and promotions and on September 5th, Thai soldiers took Bangkok by surprise arresting Sarit Thanarat and those generals that had refused to follow Phibun once more. This self-coup removed any opposition directed at Phibun and began a new phase in Thai politics and history, taking the gloves off the new government started radical campaigns aimed against the Communists and other political figures that could threaten Phibun's hold of the country. At the same time, Phibun's self-coup further deteriorated the already fragile relations between Indochina and his country, while the former was having internal leadership struggles at the same time due to Ho Chi Minh's health.
Nixon and Dulles' pet project was approved by Eisenhower and now Thailand would carry the burden of both engaging into an internal conflict against herself and providing a bulwark and rival to Indochina on the region. Military advisors, generous loans, CIA operatives, military equipment and more was suddenly at Phibun's reach; Bangkok started receiving more and more Americans and it would be a matter of time for them to engage as well against the Communist guerrillas plaguing the border with Indochina. Korea had proved capable of fighting China and helped Chiang recover the islands lost in the Taiwan Strait Crisis, this was one of the key reasons for the United States to shift the attention towards Southeast Asia. Phibun's self-coup had not been the trigger, it had been the first step of Operation Wasp, after years being just a contingency plan, it had been finally enacted.
-----------------------------------------------
Modern History: Korea. - Wade Barnett.
Considering Korea had strong foundations, Park began the first five-year plan on 1958 after a quick
session with the State Council approved it back in 1957.
Modern History: Korea. - Wade Barnett.
Considering Korea had strong foundations, Park began the first five-year plan on 1958 after a quick
session with the State Council approved it back in 1957.
President Cho Bong-am had enacted a four-year economic plan which concluded on 1956, the results from the plan had been considered positive along his continuous investments into R&D areas viewed as key to the future. His economic measures had been popular across the entire peninsula since it alleviated the hopeless situation many Korean families had been relegated to in the aftermath of the Korean War, numerous subsidies were also approved under his tenure and while they proved helpful to bring plenty of families out of the poverty line, it also had drawbacks; there were many instances of fraud, inflation rose as the economy overheated and president Cho refused to acknowledge it even when his advisors told him about the unsustainability of continuing the current policies.
Ironically, both the Korean Summer and the Sino-Korean Border War provided some sort of response to Korea's economic woes. In such a strange way, the uncertainty the war generated made people save every won they had while the chaos of the conflicts allowed the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation to strike down and cancel almost every subsidy considered not vital for the population's wellbeing, some of them survived but were suspended while an agency was established to review the economic impact the subsidies had on the economy and possible measures to handle the inflation. Projections indicated the actions by president Park would allow to reverse the overheating of the economy that started under president Cho, though the new president had even bigger ambitions for the country.
There were numerous economic goals president Park planned to achieve, remembering the successful four-year economic plan under president Cho, he chose to create one of his own: thus came to be the Five-Year Economic Plans. The Economic Planning Board was created and a wide variety of actions took place in order to support Park's goals, incentives were provided to successful businesses and government funds were directed towards improving the infrastructure required to fulfill the export-focus president Park desired. At the same time, investments kept being made towards new technologies just as president Cho had done and funds continued to be provided for schools and universities: thus improving the impact of the National Education Investment Act and the Infrastructure Development Act.
The new economic measures supported by Park Chung-hee were expected to heavily industrialize the country in a matter of years, while he agreed on principle with the subsidies enacted by Cho Bong-am, he wasn't very fond of keeping all of them in place. He thought that by enriching and industrializing the country, the average workman would earn more while the poor would easily find a job; turning this situation into a gamble with the future. The economic plan started by Park met the American approval, since the budget wasn't a concern anymore, Korea would be more than capable to invest in her armed forces now that the government was sustainable once more. This fact contributed to the American decision of finally engaging in Thailand, since Korea would be flexible (and strong) enough to hold Chinese aggression in case American forces couldn't provide immediate support to the region.
Ironically, both the Korean Summer and the Sino-Korean Border War provided some sort of response to Korea's economic woes. In such a strange way, the uncertainty the war generated made people save every won they had while the chaos of the conflicts allowed the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation to strike down and cancel almost every subsidy considered not vital for the population's wellbeing, some of them survived but were suspended while an agency was established to review the economic impact the subsidies had on the economy and possible measures to handle the inflation. Projections indicated the actions by president Park would allow to reverse the overheating of the economy that started under president Cho, though the new president had even bigger ambitions for the country.
There were numerous economic goals president Park planned to achieve, remembering the successful four-year economic plan under president Cho, he chose to create one of his own: thus came to be the Five-Year Economic Plans. The Economic Planning Board was created and a wide variety of actions took place in order to support Park's goals, incentives were provided to successful businesses and government funds were directed towards improving the infrastructure required to fulfill the export-focus president Park desired. At the same time, investments kept being made towards new technologies just as president Cho had done and funds continued to be provided for schools and universities: thus improving the impact of the National Education Investment Act and the Infrastructure Development Act.
The new economic measures supported by Park Chung-hee were expected to heavily industrialize the country in a matter of years, while he agreed on principle with the subsidies enacted by Cho Bong-am, he wasn't very fond of keeping all of them in place. He thought that by enriching and industrializing the country, the average workman would earn more while the poor would easily find a job; turning this situation into a gamble with the future. The economic plan started by Park met the American approval, since the budget wasn't a concern anymore, Korea would be more than capable to invest in her armed forces now that the government was sustainable once more. This fact contributed to the American decision of finally engaging in Thailand, since Korea would be flexible (and strong) enough to hold Chinese aggression in case American forces couldn't provide immediate support to the region.
The establishment of GoldStar proved to be another success not just for Korea as a whole, but to
Koo In-hwoi who had been a successful businessman already.
Koo In-hwoi was not only one of the most prominent businessmen from Korea, but he was also the founder of what came to be LG Group. On 1947 he started a cosmetics manufacturing business, Lak Hui Chemical Industrial Corporation, which got a huge success through selling a facial cream called Lucky, after some years Mr. Koo chose to invest into the plastics industry, opening a plastics plant in Busan. The next successful business he started was GoldStar, becoming one of the first private pioneers in the electronics sector; a field that saw heavy investment and involvement from the government due to the importance placed on electronics and computer technologies. This trend would continue during president Park's administration, emphasys on R&D would be the main pillar of his economic policy.
Another consequence of Park's government and centralization efforts under the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation was the neutralization of some sorts regarding local politics: local politicians were expected to follow directives set by the central government in Seoul, mostly focused on stability, law enforcement and maintaining order at all costs. This effectively meant that almost everything regarding economics had to be approved by Seoul, though there was a tiny void that allowed local administrations to take the initiative from time to time. However, any dissenting voice opposed to the government's economic policy was met with a strong response, that same response was applied too to those politicians that refused to submit to the Supreme Council. Careers would end swiftly if government officials felt unsatisfied with their statements, positions and policies.
The results of this policy were diverse to say the least, in some places military Yes-men won the local elections, in other places the politicians compromised their beliefs with the government and in some other provinces or cities, independents kept trying to break the Supreme Council's hold in power, without success to say the least. The "revelation" of former president Pak Hon-yong's links with the KPA and China, Park's popularity and the victory against China fueled popular support towards the Council in such a massive fashion. While in some provinces government meddling guaranteed their candidates' victory, there were also places with genuine victories by members of the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation. All in all, the new regime counted on popular support but it also had more than enough tools to guarantee their supremacy in the political stage effectively meaning they were impossible to dislodge from power.
Another consequence of Park's government and centralization efforts under the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation was the neutralization of some sorts regarding local politics: local politicians were expected to follow directives set by the central government in Seoul, mostly focused on stability, law enforcement and maintaining order at all costs. This effectively meant that almost everything regarding economics had to be approved by Seoul, though there was a tiny void that allowed local administrations to take the initiative from time to time. However, any dissenting voice opposed to the government's economic policy was met with a strong response, that same response was applied too to those politicians that refused to submit to the Supreme Council. Careers would end swiftly if government officials felt unsatisfied with their statements, positions and policies.
The results of this policy were diverse to say the least, in some places military Yes-men won the local elections, in other places the politicians compromised their beliefs with the government and in some other provinces or cities, independents kept trying to break the Supreme Council's hold in power, without success to say the least. The "revelation" of former president Pak Hon-yong's links with the KPA and China, Park's popularity and the victory against China fueled popular support towards the Council in such a massive fashion. While in some provinces government meddling guaranteed their candidates' victory, there were also places with genuine victories by members of the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation. All in all, the new regime counted on popular support but it also had more than enough tools to guarantee their supremacy in the political stage effectively meaning they were impossible to dislodge from power.
The Economic Planning Board had the capacity to provide loans, financial assistance or redirect businesses to
different entities within the government to carry on with the plan's goals.
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different entities within the government to carry on with the plan's goals.
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So, here we are.
As you all know, I always struggle with the update length , but I hope you all find this one interesting. I'm glad to say I already played entire 1958, gathered a bunch of pictures, ^^
It has been quite interesting to write this AAR, believe me, I know I take ages to update but I have truly enjoyed this experience and I hope y'all enjoy reading it as well. As a tiny spoiler, -wink wink-, I'll tell you our next stop is probably at Middle East or Eastern Europe, I'll let you guess what is coming!
Take care! I will try to post soon enough, though with Halo Infinite getting here soon yeah... haha, but I will do my best.
If anyone wants me to cover a specific country or subject, please tell me!
As you all know, I always struggle with the update length
, but I hope you all find this one interesting. I'm glad to say I already played entire 1958, gathered a bunch of pictures, ^^ It has been quite interesting to write this AAR, believe me, I know I take ages to update but I have truly enjoyed this experience and I hope y'all enjoy reading it as well. As a tiny spoiler, -wink wink-, I'll tell you our next stop is probably at Middle East or Eastern Europe, I'll let you guess what is coming!
Take care! I will try to post soon enough, though with Halo Infinite getting here soon
yeah... haha, but I will do my best.If anyone wants me to cover a specific country or subject, please tell me!
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Korea now has peace, stability, and now perhaps finally the foundation for prosperity as well -- but at what cost?
- 1
I'm also getting strong 'what comes next?' vibes.
- 1
I'm glad to know you enjoyed the update.
And indeed, Korea seems to be heading into some deserved stability after the chaotic year that 1957 proved to be. While at the same time, the consolidation of power around Park Chung-hee, the Hanahoe and the nascent Supreme Council for National Reconciliation will effectively mean interesting developments are ahead in the peninsula's future. Something I've tried to show off so far is how the Hanahoe and the government are turning more and more nationalist as the time passes. Personally, I feel the lack of a Red-North Korea would lead to a stronger Nationalism (after all, IOTL South Korean dictators were quite nationalistic) and in this TL the main rival Korea has faced so far has been China either directly or indirectly.
Mark my words, 1958 will be also an interesting year to observe. ^^
And indeed, Korea seems to be heading into some deserved stability after the chaotic year that 1957 proved to be. While at the same time, the consolidation of power around Park Chung-hee, the Hanahoe and the nascent Supreme Council for National Reconciliation will effectively mean interesting developments are ahead in the peninsula's future. Something I've tried to show off so far is how the Hanahoe and the government are turning more and more nationalist as the time passes. Personally, I feel the lack of a Red-North Korea would lead to a stronger Nationalism (after all, IOTL South Korean dictators were quite nationalistic) and in this TL the main rival Korea has faced so far has been China either directly or indirectly.
Mark my words, 1958 will be also an interesting year to observe. ^^
Wish I could Santa up a new update out of nowhere in a span of minutes, haha, but sadly the next update is still on process. Meanwhile, I hope you all readAARs have a Merry Christmas, ^^
Take care and enjoy the day/night.
I hope to get next update soon for y'all to enjoy.
Take care and enjoy the day/night.
I hope to get next update soon for y'all to enjoy.
Wish I could Santa up a new update out of nowhere in a span of minutes, haha, but sadly the next update is still on process. Meanwhile, I hope you all readAARs have a Merry Christmas, ^^
Take care and enjoy the day/night.
I hope to get next update soon for y'all to enjoy.
Likewise, you as well! Merry Christmas!
Interlude: Hearts and Minds.
Interlude: Hearts and Minds.
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'Goguryeo' Leisure Hall, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ~ 1959.
Ka Moon-hee was sitting next to her parents while some of the other children ran like tiny wildlings around the Leisure Hall, the district they lived in wasn't as prosperous as other parts of Seoul but nowadays life seemed to be a little bit better than before. Previously, her parents hadn't been able to afford buying her candies, pastries or even toys of her own, while her clothes were usually recycled from a cousin of hers: but now it was all different, at least in her perspective. While not in huge quantities she at least got clothing of her own, sometimes after school her mom would buy her a candy or two along a pastry; maybe it wasn't as much as others had, but she was happy nonetheless. However, there was something she missed from the days long gone, now that both of her parents worked she was almost always under the watch of her halmeoni and even if she loved being with her grandmother, she always felt as if her parents were always busy or tired.
Ever since the 'Goguryeo' Leisure Hall was built. she and her parents could at least spend some time together on each Friday listening to the radio with other families from the community, there were days in which she preferred to play with the other kids at the Leisure Hall and there were also days in which her parents paid to use the projection room along other families willing to pay for it. The difference wasn't too big all in all, there currently was a show running on TV but it was also narrated in the radio in case anyone could not afford a TV set or access to the projection room. The Leisure Hall had plenty of activities to do, there were some colouring books for the younger ones, some copies of a new book published by the government regarding the past of the Korean Nation but there were also plenty of fun activities to do; the garden was big enough to run around or play a wide variety of games with other kids, there was a small room with a relatively decent diversity of toys and well, for the adults there were the projection room, a small library or another room especially dedicated to just listening music to relax.
The first time Moon-hee had seen the Leisure Hall she was so heavily surprised due to the amount of paintings or pictures on the walls, many of them featured a tiger standing fierce in comparison to a red dragon that was way smaller than him. At the center of the building there was also one picture of the president, Park Chung-hee, with a Korean flag above it and some pictures of the medals or paintings of the battles he had been at. Another thing Moon-hee loved about the Leisure Hall was the free candies or food one could acquire, you weren't given as many as you could get if you paid for them, but it still was quite a generous amount of sweets. All in all, going to the 'Goguryeo' Leisure Hall was one of her favorite activities nowadays, she got to play, eat, listen or watch something entertaining but especially: spend some time with her parents.
Both of her parents sat with their eyes closed while they listened to the radio...
"Mundeok-nim, the Sui soldiers have taken almost every border outpost we controlled and they also have numerical superiority, how are we even supposed to defend our land?"
"Before Eulji Mundeok was able to answer to his worried subordinate, he was able to see clouds rising up from the ground in the distance, announcing to everyone in the vicinity about the ferocious advance of the despicable Sui Dynasty forces", Moon-hee's eomma gasped after listening to that sentence, the current "drama" that was being broadcast by the KBS focused on the life of Eulji Mundeok, one of the most important figures of the Kingdom of Goguryeo, a kingdom that fought on numerous ocassions against both the Sui and Tang dynasties from China.
"They are blind for not noticing what our plan is, but they can also be fools if they aren't able to understand our strategy in this war," the way Eulji Mundeok had been portrayed both in the radio and TV versions was heroic and someone willing to give everything in order to further his goal of protecting the Kingdom of Goguryeo from the masses of Sui soldiers, easily creating a connection between his achievements from centuries long past and the successes the Park administration got from the First Sino-Korean War.
"Mundeok-nim, it will be better if we start the retreat at once, the sleepish dragon will fall prey to the fangs of the tiger after all", when the People's Republic of China attacked Korea everyone thought it would be the end, the country had seen bloodshed due to the messy succession of late Cho Bong-am but hope never extinguished in the hearts and minds of the Korean people, everyone joined the war effort in one way or another, be it on the supply depots, few factories available or directly into the army or other branches associated to it. The courage and patriotism in each citizen was evident to the Hanahoe and president Park, therefore, drawing inspiration from a previous show that ran on 1954, the Park administration asked the KBS to produce something capable of inspiring confidence and nationalism within the people.
Ka Moon-hee was sitting next to her parents while some of the other children ran like tiny wildlings around the Leisure Hall, the district they lived in wasn't as prosperous as other parts of Seoul but nowadays life seemed to be a little bit better than before. Previously, her parents hadn't been able to afford buying her candies, pastries or even toys of her own, while her clothes were usually recycled from a cousin of hers: but now it was all different, at least in her perspective. While not in huge quantities she at least got clothing of her own, sometimes after school her mom would buy her a candy or two along a pastry; maybe it wasn't as much as others had, but she was happy nonetheless. However, there was something she missed from the days long gone, now that both of her parents worked she was almost always under the watch of her halmeoni and even if she loved being with her grandmother, she always felt as if her parents were always busy or tired.
Ever since the 'Goguryeo' Leisure Hall was built. she and her parents could at least spend some time together on each Friday listening to the radio with other families from the community, there were days in which she preferred to play with the other kids at the Leisure Hall and there were also days in which her parents paid to use the projection room along other families willing to pay for it. The difference wasn't too big all in all, there currently was a show running on TV but it was also narrated in the radio in case anyone could not afford a TV set or access to the projection room. The Leisure Hall had plenty of activities to do, there were some colouring books for the younger ones, some copies of a new book published by the government regarding the past of the Korean Nation but there were also plenty of fun activities to do; the garden was big enough to run around or play a wide variety of games with other kids, there was a small room with a relatively decent diversity of toys and well, for the adults there were the projection room, a small library or another room especially dedicated to just listening music to relax.
The first time Moon-hee had seen the Leisure Hall she was so heavily surprised due to the amount of paintings or pictures on the walls, many of them featured a tiger standing fierce in comparison to a red dragon that was way smaller than him. At the center of the building there was also one picture of the president, Park Chung-hee, with a Korean flag above it and some pictures of the medals or paintings of the battles he had been at. Another thing Moon-hee loved about the Leisure Hall was the free candies or food one could acquire, you weren't given as many as you could get if you paid for them, but it still was quite a generous amount of sweets. All in all, going to the 'Goguryeo' Leisure Hall was one of her favorite activities nowadays, she got to play, eat, listen or watch something entertaining but especially: spend some time with her parents.
Both of her parents sat with their eyes closed while they listened to the radio...
"Mundeok-nim, the Sui soldiers have taken almost every border outpost we controlled and they also have numerical superiority, how are we even supposed to defend our land?"
"Before Eulji Mundeok was able to answer to his worried subordinate, he was able to see clouds rising up from the ground in the distance, announcing to everyone in the vicinity about the ferocious advance of the despicable Sui Dynasty forces", Moon-hee's eomma gasped after listening to that sentence, the current "drama" that was being broadcast by the KBS focused on the life of Eulji Mundeok, one of the most important figures of the Kingdom of Goguryeo, a kingdom that fought on numerous ocassions against both the Sui and Tang dynasties from China.
"They are blind for not noticing what our plan is, but they can also be fools if they aren't able to understand our strategy in this war," the way Eulji Mundeok had been portrayed both in the radio and TV versions was heroic and someone willing to give everything in order to further his goal of protecting the Kingdom of Goguryeo from the masses of Sui soldiers, easily creating a connection between his achievements from centuries long past and the successes the Park administration got from the First Sino-Korean War.
"Mundeok-nim, it will be better if we start the retreat at once, the sleepish dragon will fall prey to the fangs of the tiger after all", when the People's Republic of China attacked Korea everyone thought it would be the end, the country had seen bloodshed due to the messy succession of late Cho Bong-am but hope never extinguished in the hearts and minds of the Korean people, everyone joined the war effort in one way or another, be it on the supply depots, few factories available or directly into the army or other branches associated to it. The courage and patriotism in each citizen was evident to the Hanahoe and president Park, therefore, drawing inspiration from a previous show that ran on 1954, the Park administration asked the KBS to produce something capable of inspiring confidence and nationalism within the people.
Painting depicting the Battle of Salsu River, when Eulji Mundeok decisively defeated the forces of the Sui Dynasty and saved Goguryeo from China.
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Taken from a thread found at All K-Pop Forums.
The first Hallyu. - posted by Kim99Chae.
Most of the people tends to associate the term 'Hallyu' with KPOP and several of the prominent groups that Korea has given to the music world, however, it would be inaccurate to just think about music when we are talking about the Hallyu and the way Korean culture spread through the world in the last decades. I previously mentioned how the first traces of what came to be the Hallyu are placed on the reforms and policies of the Cho administration, after all, the generous subsidies provided to wide sectors of the population helped to finance numerous projects and the continuous investments into radio technologies and infrastructure also translated into bigger opportunities down the road. Interestingly enough, president Cho's subsidies contributed to the growth of the nascent musical industry in the country while at the same time it gave freedom to the beneficiaries from them.
In contrast, the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation under Park Chung-hee (I know, I know, divided opinions on his legacy but hear me out on this) heavily invested into the radio and TV sectors and through the creation of patriotic and nationalist shows he placed the roots for what would come to be the K-Drama culture in the country. The first K-Drama can be considered to Cheongsilhongsil and it was a radio drama focused on a widowed woman after the Korean War, a story that many people could relate to in the aftermath of the bloody but short conflict that took place in the Korean Peninsula. Despite the KBS producing other minor radio dramas none found the success or relevance that Cheongsilhongsil achieved initially, but this was until the government chose to produce Eulji Mundeok: Yeong-ung; it was regarded as one of the most ambitious projects the government got engaged in, producing it both for radio and TV and trying to bring the same experience no matter which "device" you used to hear/watch it.
The government spent a reasonable sum of resources in the project as it was deemed important enough for the objectives president Park had for the nation, this effectively meant a huge financial support not just towards production but it also included spending on new facilities and buildings both for the population and the KBS. This was the origin of the Leisure Halls, they were meant to provide a place for workers to relax and clear their minds at the end of the week, moderate subsidies were allocated to make them installations worth visiting in numerous ways; by attracting children and parents towards a common place where they would interact with others in a controlled environment it was expected to install a stronger sense of nationalism within the people. And all in all, it seemed to work, some years after the Leisure Hall Policy was enacted (in an interesting way to centralize thought, ideology and nationalism) the number of serving men also increased (and not only due to Korea's population growth) and plenty of the new soldiers even answered a government poll stating that protecting Korea from China had been one of their main reasons to enlist.
Surprisingly enough, even today there are government issued TV shows or dramas that seek to strengthen the nationalism of the newer generations in the way "Eulji Mundeok: Yeong-ung" did for the Korean War generation. Dramas as "Oath to Love", "The Conspiracy", "Beyond the River" (which is a clear reference to the Yalu River according to one cast member), "Road to Seoul" among others have been considered such attempts despite not getting close enough to the effect Eulji Mundeon had back in the fifties-sixties, however, Oath to Love was widely considered a success and according to media reports it impacted positively in the numbers of people seeking to join specialized branches of the armed forces for their military service, disregarding what some news networks claim, I really believe Oath to Love ended up being what everyone was expecting and it became the "Eulji Mundeok" of the new generations. Mostly due to how well written the drama was, without some cheesy lines or the blundering of certain plotlines (in comparison to The Conspiracy for example), though it is also attributed to both of the protagonists chosen for the show: the singer and actress IU (Lee Ji-eun) along the actor Gong Yoo, a duo whose dynamics and interactions really conquered the audience of Oath to Love.
Back to the thread's point.
To sum it all up, president Cho's administration placed important foundations (indirectly) for what would turn to be the first Hallyu both in music and television, however, even if he is frequently ignored due to policies taken in his latter years as president; Park Chung-hee also deserves recognition as one of the fathers of the modern Korean culture and shares responsability for the first Hallyu with his predecessor. What started as a tool of the government in order to spread their ideology in the Korean youth of those times ended up developing into something much different, after all, who would've thought such patriotic and nationalistic dramas would eventually evolve into the romantic, comedic, horror or mystery (among other genres) dramas we have today.
And yeah, I know you all must be wondering "What were the international implications of these dramas for you to consider them as part of the 'first Hallyu'?"
Korean TV shows gathered considerable attention after the sixties due to the economic growth and a set of different circumstances in the international and domestic arenas for Korea, by the late seventies several countries of Southeast Asia started to import some "cultural goods" from the peninsula and that's not accounting to the strong presence the Korean entertainment industry acquired on the Republic of China, the Philippines and even Japan (though in a much weaker way) years later. In conclusion, even if the effects of these policies took a long time to materialize, it is evident that the birth of dramas and the dynamics between the Korean culture and the new technologies had an international impact in the long run. After all, even with the tense relation between the Worker's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea, it is widely known that there's a flourishing black market for Korean products within Communist China, smuggling has become one of the most important activities in some of the border provinces between the WRC and the RoC, showing off how much of a good job Korea has done through the years.
In contrast, the Supreme Council for National Reconciliation under Park Chung-hee (I know, I know, divided opinions on his legacy but hear me out on this) heavily invested into the radio and TV sectors and through the creation of patriotic and nationalist shows he placed the roots for what would come to be the K-Drama culture in the country. The first K-Drama can be considered to Cheongsilhongsil and it was a radio drama focused on a widowed woman after the Korean War, a story that many people could relate to in the aftermath of the bloody but short conflict that took place in the Korean Peninsula. Despite the KBS producing other minor radio dramas none found the success or relevance that Cheongsilhongsil achieved initially, but this was until the government chose to produce Eulji Mundeok: Yeong-ung; it was regarded as one of the most ambitious projects the government got engaged in, producing it both for radio and TV and trying to bring the same experience no matter which "device" you used to hear/watch it.
The government spent a reasonable sum of resources in the project as it was deemed important enough for the objectives president Park had for the nation, this effectively meant a huge financial support not just towards production but it also included spending on new facilities and buildings both for the population and the KBS. This was the origin of the Leisure Halls, they were meant to provide a place for workers to relax and clear their minds at the end of the week, moderate subsidies were allocated to make them installations worth visiting in numerous ways; by attracting children and parents towards a common place where they would interact with others in a controlled environment it was expected to install a stronger sense of nationalism within the people. And all in all, it seemed to work, some years after the Leisure Hall Policy was enacted (in an interesting way to centralize thought, ideology and nationalism) the number of serving men also increased (and not only due to Korea's population growth) and plenty of the new soldiers even answered a government poll stating that protecting Korea from China had been one of their main reasons to enlist.
Surprisingly enough, even today there are government issued TV shows or dramas that seek to strengthen the nationalism of the newer generations in the way "Eulji Mundeok: Yeong-ung" did for the Korean War generation. Dramas as "Oath to Love", "The Conspiracy", "Beyond the River" (which is a clear reference to the Yalu River according to one cast member), "Road to Seoul" among others have been considered such attempts despite not getting close enough to the effect Eulji Mundeon had back in the fifties-sixties, however, Oath to Love was widely considered a success and according to media reports it impacted positively in the numbers of people seeking to join specialized branches of the armed forces for their military service, disregarding what some news networks claim, I really believe Oath to Love ended up being what everyone was expecting and it became the "Eulji Mundeok" of the new generations. Mostly due to how well written the drama was, without some cheesy lines or the blundering of certain plotlines (in comparison to The Conspiracy for example), though it is also attributed to both of the protagonists chosen for the show: the singer and actress IU (Lee Ji-eun) along the actor Gong Yoo, a duo whose dynamics and interactions really conquered the audience of Oath to Love.
Back to the thread's point.
To sum it all up, president Cho's administration placed important foundations (indirectly) for what would turn to be the first Hallyu both in music and television, however, even if he is frequently ignored due to policies taken in his latter years as president; Park Chung-hee also deserves recognition as one of the fathers of the modern Korean culture and shares responsability for the first Hallyu with his predecessor. What started as a tool of the government in order to spread their ideology in the Korean youth of those times ended up developing into something much different, after all, who would've thought such patriotic and nationalistic dramas would eventually evolve into the romantic, comedic, horror or mystery (among other genres) dramas we have today.
And yeah, I know you all must be wondering "What were the international implications of these dramas for you to consider them as part of the 'first Hallyu'?"
Korean TV shows gathered considerable attention after the sixties due to the economic growth and a set of different circumstances in the international and domestic arenas for Korea, by the late seventies several countries of Southeast Asia started to import some "cultural goods" from the peninsula and that's not accounting to the strong presence the Korean entertainment industry acquired on the Republic of China, the Philippines and even Japan (though in a much weaker way) years later. In conclusion, even if the effects of these policies took a long time to materialize, it is evident that the birth of dramas and the dynamics between the Korean culture and the new technologies had an international impact in the long run. After all, even with the tense relation between the Worker's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea, it is widely known that there's a flourishing black market for Korean products within Communist China, smuggling has become one of the most important activities in some of the border provinces between the WRC and the RoC, showing off how much of a good job Korea has done through the years.
Singer and actress IU along the actor Gong Yoo, picture taken in an interview about "Oath to Love".
-----------------------------------------------
Okay, so, here's an interlude I chose to write the other day. Recently I started watching a K-drama called "Hotel del Luna", it's quite good to be honest and I really enjoyed it so far (two episodes left). So, I figured out I wanted to show a bit more about the development of the Korean Culture in the context of this timeline, even if there are similarities I have avoided butterflying away the circumstances around them are pretty different in some cases (and yeah, some I just can't bring myself to handwave away).
However, the most important distinction is the fact that Korea is united instead of being split in two, that mere fact will obviously change some political/economic/cultural developments within the penunsula and at the same time, some may be worse due to the nature of the rivalry and status between (Red) China and Korea. Let's consider that the rivalry in those times between both Koreas was pretty strong, democratization and changes in the way of life in both countries eventually allowed a change of dynamic within the ROK, however, here we lack that unique relation and competition between two countries that share a common history. Instead of that we have seen it is Korea (as the sole successor of all the previous "regimes" and "states" that existed at one point in the peninsula) versus China (which at this point also shares that characteristic, despite Taiwan calling itself China) and this includes the historical baggage both countries share along the new developments that had been taken place since the ROK's victory back at the early fifties.
And to finalize, I have enough resources for the next part of the chapter I've just been a bit busy with classes and heavily distracted by other games, . But I expect to have an update soon enough, events ahead are getting spicy to say the least.
Take care readAAR's, I hope you enjoy this brief update.
However, the most important distinction is the fact that Korea is united instead of being split in two, that mere fact will obviously change some political/economic/cultural developments within the penunsula and at the same time, some may be worse due to the nature of the rivalry and status between (Red) China and Korea. Let's consider that the rivalry in those times between both Koreas was pretty strong, democratization and changes in the way of life in both countries eventually allowed a change of dynamic within the ROK, however, here we lack that unique relation and competition between two countries that share a common history. Instead of that we have seen it is Korea (as the sole successor of all the previous "regimes" and "states" that existed at one point in the peninsula) versus China (which at this point also shares that characteristic, despite Taiwan calling itself China) and this includes the historical baggage both countries share along the new developments that had been taken place since the ROK's victory back at the early fifties.
And to finalize, I have enough resources for the next part of the chapter I've just been a bit busy with classes and heavily distracted by other games,
. But I expect to have an update soon enough, events ahead are getting spicy to say the least. Take care readAAR's, I hope you enjoy this brief update.
- 2
Glad to see a new update, RV-Ye
I always enjoy your first-person interludes. It's fascinating to get a window into the everyday world and see how the world looks from the perspective of the average person, and how the political and diplomatic events of the day shape the culture that the live in.
I always enjoy your first-person interludes. It's fascinating to get a window into the everyday world and see how the world looks from the perspective of the average person, and how the political and diplomatic events of the day shape the culture that the live in.
- 1
Chapter XI: Peace or not, the Tiger prepares. (Part II)
Chapter XI: Peace or not, the Tiger prepares. (Part II)
“People do not want words – they want the sound of battle – the battle of destiny.” – Gamal Abdel Nasser.
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Oval Office, White House, Washington D.C, United States of America. ~ March 16th, 1958. “People do not want words – they want the sound of battle – the battle of destiny.” – Gamal Abdel Nasser.
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“Mr. President, we have reasons to believe Nasser was involved in the coup that took place a week ago at Iraq,” that was Allen Dulles, director of the CIA. He had been present at the Oval Office almost daily ever since the Iraqi coup happened, the sudden move launched by the Royal Iraqi Army took everyone by surprise, especially the British and the Americans who had thought Iraq was stable and capable of resisting the influences of Pan-Arabism spouted by Cairo ever since the revolution.
It all started with the establishment of the United Arab Republic, merging together both Egypt and Syria into a new country and strengthening the voices of Pan-Arabism in the mere course of weeks, the unification of both countries had reinforced the ideals of a United Arab Nation into the minds of plenty of Arab nationalists in the region; from Iraq to Morocco, disregarding their geographical position, plenty of Arab nationalists soon fell reinvigorated and hopeful about the future, though in reality the new United Arab Republic seemed uncapable of expanding beyond Egypt and Syria.
“At least the position of King Hussein is better at Jordan, reports indicate that the Arab nationalist uprising that took place at the country was quickly put under control by the king and loyalist Bedouin units from the Royal Army,” that was the voice of John Foster Dulles, brother of the CIA director and the secretary of state. “It seems there’s a power struggle at Baghdad at least, the officers that launched the coup seem to disagree on the course the country should follow. We could get involved in this, possibly.”
Richard Nixon had been silent so far, listening to the developments that had suddenly shaken the entire stability of the Middle East and spiked fear at London and Washington. The whole Middle East was in danger of falling into the hands of Nasser, the Soviet man at the region; at least that was the most common opinion if you asked any American politician. Lebanon was far from stable as well, plenty of unrest and protests had been taking place almost on a weekly basis against President Camille Chamoun, whose government was besieged by Arab nationalists and Maronite Christians, both groups have different interests in mind and the former being supported by the United Arab Republic and now Iraq as well.
“Using the Baghdad Pact? Seems unlikely, both Iran and Turkey are already undergoing instability of their own, the British are still dealing with the consequences of their last regional blunder and Pakistan is more interested in their rivalry with India than anything else,” Nixon finally spoke. “At the moment I don’t think we have any available option to act against the new regime at Baghdad, however, there’s still a place we can draw a line at, stop Nasser once and for all.”
“Lebanon,” President Eisenhower interjected into the conversation. “It seems the situation at Jordan is stabilizing once more, but Lebanon is still under fire by the Arabs, if Lebanon falls the situation for Israel will be untenable, war will be more than likely to take place and Moscow’s influence will span the entire Middle East: this can’t happen.”
“Speaking about drawing lines, I think we should once and for all tighten the leash on the British,” that was Nixon once more. “John and I agree on making it clear to London that Sudan must receive independence if tensions with Nasser are to be cooled down.”
After Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, the United Kingdom had refused to honor the agreement made in 1953 that stated Sudan would be independent by 1956. The British refusal to honor this agreement pushed Egypt into renewing the suzerainty claims on Sudan that they had dropped, effectively meaning that the United Arab Republic also laid claims on the lands to the south. The spread of Pan-Arabism had also influenced in some degree the Sudanese population, having been denied independence plenty of nationalist political leaders soon turned towards Cairo for inspiration and support. Therefore, Britain’s actions soon backfired as the Sudanese slowly started supporting the ideals of Pan-Arabism while Nasser’s position in the region strengthened even more.
“London won’t be happy to learn this, but we have been too patient with them already,” Eisenhower added. President Eisenhower knew both France and the United Kingdom were important allies, but their imperialist and colonialist ambitions wouldn’t not receive American support and if their stances caused problems to American foreign policy, then they should also be treated as issues to be solved immediately. He decided to be soft with France after the establishment of the Second French Consulate since advisors were worried about the political situation within the country, despite knowing that Massu’s claims of a communist conspiracy were most likely fake, he was not willing to risk such an important member of NATO.
It all started with the establishment of the United Arab Republic, merging together both Egypt and Syria into a new country and strengthening the voices of Pan-Arabism in the mere course of weeks, the unification of both countries had reinforced the ideals of a United Arab Nation into the minds of plenty of Arab nationalists in the region; from Iraq to Morocco, disregarding their geographical position, plenty of Arab nationalists soon fell reinvigorated and hopeful about the future, though in reality the new United Arab Republic seemed uncapable of expanding beyond Egypt and Syria.
“At least the position of King Hussein is better at Jordan, reports indicate that the Arab nationalist uprising that took place at the country was quickly put under control by the king and loyalist Bedouin units from the Royal Army,” that was the voice of John Foster Dulles, brother of the CIA director and the secretary of state. “It seems there’s a power struggle at Baghdad at least, the officers that launched the coup seem to disagree on the course the country should follow. We could get involved in this, possibly.”
Richard Nixon had been silent so far, listening to the developments that had suddenly shaken the entire stability of the Middle East and spiked fear at London and Washington. The whole Middle East was in danger of falling into the hands of Nasser, the Soviet man at the region; at least that was the most common opinion if you asked any American politician. Lebanon was far from stable as well, plenty of unrest and protests had been taking place almost on a weekly basis against President Camille Chamoun, whose government was besieged by Arab nationalists and Maronite Christians, both groups have different interests in mind and the former being supported by the United Arab Republic and now Iraq as well.
“Using the Baghdad Pact? Seems unlikely, both Iran and Turkey are already undergoing instability of their own, the British are still dealing with the consequences of their last regional blunder and Pakistan is more interested in their rivalry with India than anything else,” Nixon finally spoke. “At the moment I don’t think we have any available option to act against the new regime at Baghdad, however, there’s still a place we can draw a line at, stop Nasser once and for all.”
“Lebanon,” President Eisenhower interjected into the conversation. “It seems the situation at Jordan is stabilizing once more, but Lebanon is still under fire by the Arabs, if Lebanon falls the situation for Israel will be untenable, war will be more than likely to take place and Moscow’s influence will span the entire Middle East: this can’t happen.”
“Speaking about drawing lines, I think we should once and for all tighten the leash on the British,” that was Nixon once more. “John and I agree on making it clear to London that Sudan must receive independence if tensions with Nasser are to be cooled down.”
After Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, the United Kingdom had refused to honor the agreement made in 1953 that stated Sudan would be independent by 1956. The British refusal to honor this agreement pushed Egypt into renewing the suzerainty claims on Sudan that they had dropped, effectively meaning that the United Arab Republic also laid claims on the lands to the south. The spread of Pan-Arabism had also influenced in some degree the Sudanese population, having been denied independence plenty of nationalist political leaders soon turned towards Cairo for inspiration and support. Therefore, Britain’s actions soon backfired as the Sudanese slowly started supporting the ideals of Pan-Arabism while Nasser’s position in the region strengthened even more.
“London won’t be happy to learn this, but we have been too patient with them already,” Eisenhower added. President Eisenhower knew both France and the United Kingdom were important allies, but their imperialist and colonialist ambitions wouldn’t not receive American support and if their stances caused problems to American foreign policy, then they should also be treated as issues to be solved immediately. He decided to be soft with France after the establishment of the Second French Consulate since advisors were worried about the political situation within the country, despite knowing that Massu’s claims of a communist conspiracy were most likely fake, he was not willing to risk such an important member of NATO.
(Taking advantage of Washington's reluctance to condemn the new regime, Jacques Massu renewed the Algerian War)
American leniency on post-coup France was enough to allow them to renew their offensives against the Algerian Liberation Front on early February of 1958, dismissing the informal ceasefire that had taken place after de Gaulle’s assassination and the establishment of Jacques Massu as the Premier Consul of France. A month later, with the French having reestablished control over Algeria and dispersing if not eliminating most of the top leadership of the Algerian Liberation Front, Washington stayed silent once more, unwilling to criticize the government at Paris which still seemed to be fragile. One of the most important reasons behind Eisenhower’s reluctance to pressure Massu was the reports submitted by Allen Dulles, apparently the Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage was under an active investigation by the Parisian authorities, believed to be infiltrated by Communists, this showed how risky moving against the triumvirate could be.
Ironically, Jacques Massu had already purged plenty of Communists, Socialists, or leftists in general from numerous government institutions and departments. The reports the CIA had gathered were mostly fabricated (by the French) to inspire distrust and fears of a possible Communist insurrection or countercoup in France, thus strengthening Washington’s willingness to tolerate the positions and actions of the new French government. At the same time, Jacques Massu hoped this would help cover the questionable links the government had established with the recently founded Paladin Group, which included infamous figures such as Otto Skorzeny.
However, before details could be hammered out about how America would react regarding the current affairs of the Middle East, a man rushed into the Oval Office waving a paper and with a worried expression on his face.
“Jordan has fallen to Arab nationalists!”
Ironically, Jacques Massu had already purged plenty of Communists, Socialists, or leftists in general from numerous government institutions and departments. The reports the CIA had gathered were mostly fabricated (by the French) to inspire distrust and fears of a possible Communist insurrection or countercoup in France, thus strengthening Washington’s willingness to tolerate the positions and actions of the new French government. At the same time, Jacques Massu hoped this would help cover the questionable links the government had established with the recently founded Paladin Group, which included infamous figures such as Otto Skorzeny.
However, before details could be hammered out about how America would react regarding the current affairs of the Middle East, a man rushed into the Oval Office waving a paper and with a worried expression on his face.
“Jordan has fallen to Arab nationalists!”
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Nasser against imperialism. – Kateryna Ivanenko.
Iraqi soldiers were as tired as the general population of the monarchy, practically every armed unit joined the revolution of 1958.Nasser against imperialism. – Kateryna Ivanenko.
The results of the Suez Crisis had increased Nasser’s popular support through the entire region in such a dramatic fashion, after all, he stroke against Western interests and ended up unscathed by his actions; it truly was a huge victory for the Arab cause and the Arab world. Despite the tensions with Israel, these were quickly solved under the table to keep some of the American goodwill, Nasser knew that he couldn’t risk angering the Americans as well, it could and would be easier to deal with the imperialists one by one, starting off with the United Kingdom.
By 1958 the relations between Egypt and the United Kingdom had heavily deteriorated, only American, and Soviet stances kept them from going to a full-blown state of war between each other. A speech made by Nasser in January decried the British continued presence at Sudan, insisting that the United Kingdom would never give up on their colonialist ambitions and adventures at the region, fueling even more tensions with British Sudan which had already been quite restless ever since Britain backed on their word of giving independence to the country by 1956.
However, Nasser’s apparent alignment towards Moscow also caused problems in the region, emboldening Communist movements that saw in Nasser a fellow communist and ally to fight against the Western imperialists while at the same time providing “evidence” to fervent anti-communists about the danger of allowing Nasser to act unchecked in the Middle East. On the latter half of 1957, Syria was widely considered to be on the verge of falling to communism, with individuals such as Nasser believing it too despite the lack of evidence and facts. But this proved to be a hidden blessing for Nasser as well, fears of communism pushed the Syrian elites into petitioning to Nasser the absorption of their country into Egypt and merging both.
Having resisted initially to a total merger, Nasser eventually accepted due to the fears of a Communist takeover if Syria wasn’t reorganized following the lines of the Egyptian example. Thus, despite lacking universal approval, the Syrian elites accepted that the future of the country depended on Egypt. By February 1958 the merging was concluded and formalized, the United Arab Republic was established, and this development sent shockwaves through the entire region. Soon other Arab countries had to deal with the consequences of the merging of both countries, while Egypt was itself busy with reorganizing the new country and determining how it would work. The conditions agreed by both parties included the dissolution of the political parties of Syria, the withdrawal of the army from politics and despite not mentioning it at the moment, it would later on include subordination of the military officers to the Egyptian ones and Syria basically turning into another Egyptian province.
Despite having internal issues to deal with, Nasser and the United Arab Republic didn’t take long to act on the international stage. The situation at Lebanon had been deteriorating for over a year with Maronite Christians and Sunni Muslims pitting against each other and against the government, the UAR quickly started supporting the efforts of the Arabs of Lebanon which desired to join into the new state. At the same time, an uprising of Arab nationalists within Jordan took place on March 5th against the government of king Hussein, despite the rumors of his death the king was able to quickly regain the support of the army through the Bedouin units, stopping the coup attempt entirely.
Having learnt from this experience and worriedly observing the United Arab Republic, king Hussein proposed to his cousin at Baghdad (Faisal II) the establishment of an Arab Federation composed by both Hashemite kingdoms. With the French renewal of hostilities in Algeria taking place by March 5th and Hussein’s proposal being made one day later, the mood of Arab nationalists within Iraq was one of distress. Leading Arab nationalists feared that the establishment of the Arab Federation would be followed up with a crackdown against them, having seen that in Jordan after the failed coup and fearing losing the opportunity to act, they chose to strike at once on March 9th.
By 1958 the relations between Egypt and the United Kingdom had heavily deteriorated, only American, and Soviet stances kept them from going to a full-blown state of war between each other. A speech made by Nasser in January decried the British continued presence at Sudan, insisting that the United Kingdom would never give up on their colonialist ambitions and adventures at the region, fueling even more tensions with British Sudan which had already been quite restless ever since Britain backed on their word of giving independence to the country by 1956.
However, Nasser’s apparent alignment towards Moscow also caused problems in the region, emboldening Communist movements that saw in Nasser a fellow communist and ally to fight against the Western imperialists while at the same time providing “evidence” to fervent anti-communists about the danger of allowing Nasser to act unchecked in the Middle East. On the latter half of 1957, Syria was widely considered to be on the verge of falling to communism, with individuals such as Nasser believing it too despite the lack of evidence and facts. But this proved to be a hidden blessing for Nasser as well, fears of communism pushed the Syrian elites into petitioning to Nasser the absorption of their country into Egypt and merging both.
Having resisted initially to a total merger, Nasser eventually accepted due to the fears of a Communist takeover if Syria wasn’t reorganized following the lines of the Egyptian example. Thus, despite lacking universal approval, the Syrian elites accepted that the future of the country depended on Egypt. By February 1958 the merging was concluded and formalized, the United Arab Republic was established, and this development sent shockwaves through the entire region. Soon other Arab countries had to deal with the consequences of the merging of both countries, while Egypt was itself busy with reorganizing the new country and determining how it would work. The conditions agreed by both parties included the dissolution of the political parties of Syria, the withdrawal of the army from politics and despite not mentioning it at the moment, it would later on include subordination of the military officers to the Egyptian ones and Syria basically turning into another Egyptian province.
Despite having internal issues to deal with, Nasser and the United Arab Republic didn’t take long to act on the international stage. The situation at Lebanon had been deteriorating for over a year with Maronite Christians and Sunni Muslims pitting against each other and against the government, the UAR quickly started supporting the efforts of the Arabs of Lebanon which desired to join into the new state. At the same time, an uprising of Arab nationalists within Jordan took place on March 5th against the government of king Hussein, despite the rumors of his death the king was able to quickly regain the support of the army through the Bedouin units, stopping the coup attempt entirely.
Having learnt from this experience and worriedly observing the United Arab Republic, king Hussein proposed to his cousin at Baghdad (Faisal II) the establishment of an Arab Federation composed by both Hashemite kingdoms. With the French renewal of hostilities in Algeria taking place by March 5th and Hussein’s proposal being made one day later, the mood of Arab nationalists within Iraq was one of distress. Leading Arab nationalists feared that the establishment of the Arab Federation would be followed up with a crackdown against them, having seen that in Jordan after the failed coup and fearing losing the opportunity to act, they chose to strike at once on March 9th.
Abdul Salam Arif (left) and Abd al-Karim Qasim (right) were the main leaders of the 1958 Iraqi Coup, afterwards a power struggle ensured and Arif emerged victorious.
Abd al-Karim Qasim and Abdul Salam Arif were the most prominent voices within Iraq’s native Free Officer Movement, as plenty of other Arabs in the region they had been inspired by Nasser and his Pan-Arabist ideals and Arab nationalism. At the same time, domestically times had been tough for Iraq, there was political and economic unrest towards the established authorities which were seen as mere puppets of the Western imperialists. The successes achieved by Egypt under Nasser were seen as the successes of the Arab people, the population soon fell in love with the ideals spread by Cairo and the fierce opposition to the British and French in the region.
After the failed coup directed against king Hussein of Jordan, his cousin, king Faisal II of Iraq ordered the Royal Iraqi Army to move towards Jordan to reinforce the country against the southward’s movement of Syrian troops of the United Arab Republic. Taking this order as the golden opportunity it was, both Qasim and Arif moved against Baghdad and launched an all-out coup d’état against king Faisal II. In the early hours of March 9th, Arif seized control of Baghdad’s broadcasting station and announced to the country the revolution that was taking place, he denounced imperialism and proclaimed both a new republic and the end of the old regime.
While other forces were dispatched to deal with the previous government and the royal family, plenty of troops and soldiers were reorganized and ordered to keep marching towards Jordan, though they would only cross the border with Arif’s strict approval. The streets of Baghdad were an utter chaos after Arif fueled mob violence against any possible traitor, at the same time, Qasim arrived to establish the headquarters at the Ministry of Defense building and al-Said was eventually found and executed along the royal family: putting an end to the Iraqi Hashemite dynasty.
In the following days tensions arose between Qasim and Arif regarding the future of Iraq, Qasim was at first an Iraqi nationalist and thought that Iraq should stay independent and follow a path of its own. Meanwhile, Pan-Arabist Arif considered that Iraq should join the United Arab Republic to continue furthering the goal of Arab unity, nationalism, and freedom through the Middle East. Both agreed to wait until the situation at Jordan was fully solved, though Arif anticipated that Qasim could probably act against him sooner or later, so he focused on gaining the loyalty of the troops at Baghdad along using Nasser’s popularity to his advantage due to how strong it was.
Iraq was frozen for an entire week, the government refused to elaborate on the new stances it would have besides their withdrawal from the Baghdad Pact and harsh criticism aimed at the United Kingdom. The United Arab Republic allocated an estimated number of three thousand soldiers (despite being Syrian troops, they were led by Egyptians) while Iraqi provided the bulk of the army that would launch the invasion of Jordan. Between March 15th and March 16th, the coalition of Arab forces crossed Jordan’s borders and moved towards Amman to renew the uprising suffocated by the loyalist forces days ago.
The joint invasion ended up being a complete success, Arab nationalist forces quickly overwhelmed the Bedouin loyalist units and secured the capital in a matter of hours. However, the revolutionaries failed to capture king Hussein and the royal family, being smuggled towards Saudi Arabia once the invasion begun. As Arif received news of the victory at Jordan, he ordered the Baghdad garrison to move against Qasim, ending up with the power struggle way before it became worse. Having been Qasim’s subordinate and due to the respect he had towards him, Arif placed him on house arrest and forbid him from participating in politics or military affairs, silently removing him from the public eye.
Both Jordan and Iraq renamed themselves to Arab Republics and as Arif centralized power in Baghdad his Jordanian counterpart did the same in Amman, Ali Abu Nuwar. On the following days both countries officially petitioned to join the United Arab Republic, receiving Nasser’s approval despite his fears of losing Egypt’s preponderance in the union with Syria. Arif’s political strength in Iraq meant Nasser wouldn’t be able to handle the country the same way he planned to do with Syria, negotiations would be needed in the long run if the UAR was meant to last.
The enlargement of the United Arab Republic caused panic in Beirut and Riyadh, the Lebanese Arabs were emboldened by the successes and victories achieved by Nasserist ideals. At the same time, the UAR increased their support towards the Muslim leaders of Lebanon, pushing president Chamoun into asking the United States for help in the current crisis. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, king Saud bin Abdulaziz feared the strength of the new United Arab Republic and started preparations in case of a war against them while at the same time a crackdown was organized and directed towards any possible sympathizer of Nasser within the country. But those weren’t the only countries to fear the establishment and enlargement of the UAR, both Iran and Turkey were distressed as well due to the apparent Soviet alignment of the UAR, they felt encircled and in the case of Iran, there were fears due to the Arab population in Khuzestan province.
Another country to feel the shockwaves made by the UAR victories was British Sudan, resistance towards the colonial administration turned violent and continuous protests and strikes were made to shake off the chains of British colonialism. Despite the fears of neighboring countries, the United Arab Republic had one priority in the region, expelling the British once and for all, in a decisive manner. Supplies, advisors and volunteers were dispatched towards Sudan, the British would leave on their own terms or under Cairo’s terms. Nasser was more than ready to fight and sponsor a guerrilla war or whatever was needed to secure Egypt’s southern flank. He didn’t know the British government had been already considering leaving Sudan, the situation was untenable and American pressure through the backdoors had shown London that staying at Sudan could backfire in the long run, this already made decision would translate into one more success for Nasser eventually.
After the failed coup directed against king Hussein of Jordan, his cousin, king Faisal II of Iraq ordered the Royal Iraqi Army to move towards Jordan to reinforce the country against the southward’s movement of Syrian troops of the United Arab Republic. Taking this order as the golden opportunity it was, both Qasim and Arif moved against Baghdad and launched an all-out coup d’état against king Faisal II. In the early hours of March 9th, Arif seized control of Baghdad’s broadcasting station and announced to the country the revolution that was taking place, he denounced imperialism and proclaimed both a new republic and the end of the old regime.
While other forces were dispatched to deal with the previous government and the royal family, plenty of troops and soldiers were reorganized and ordered to keep marching towards Jordan, though they would only cross the border with Arif’s strict approval. The streets of Baghdad were an utter chaos after Arif fueled mob violence against any possible traitor, at the same time, Qasim arrived to establish the headquarters at the Ministry of Defense building and al-Said was eventually found and executed along the royal family: putting an end to the Iraqi Hashemite dynasty.
In the following days tensions arose between Qasim and Arif regarding the future of Iraq, Qasim was at first an Iraqi nationalist and thought that Iraq should stay independent and follow a path of its own. Meanwhile, Pan-Arabist Arif considered that Iraq should join the United Arab Republic to continue furthering the goal of Arab unity, nationalism, and freedom through the Middle East. Both agreed to wait until the situation at Jordan was fully solved, though Arif anticipated that Qasim could probably act against him sooner or later, so he focused on gaining the loyalty of the troops at Baghdad along using Nasser’s popularity to his advantage due to how strong it was.
Iraq was frozen for an entire week, the government refused to elaborate on the new stances it would have besides their withdrawal from the Baghdad Pact and harsh criticism aimed at the United Kingdom. The United Arab Republic allocated an estimated number of three thousand soldiers (despite being Syrian troops, they were led by Egyptians) while Iraqi provided the bulk of the army that would launch the invasion of Jordan. Between March 15th and March 16th, the coalition of Arab forces crossed Jordan’s borders and moved towards Amman to renew the uprising suffocated by the loyalist forces days ago.
The joint invasion ended up being a complete success, Arab nationalist forces quickly overwhelmed the Bedouin loyalist units and secured the capital in a matter of hours. However, the revolutionaries failed to capture king Hussein and the royal family, being smuggled towards Saudi Arabia once the invasion begun. As Arif received news of the victory at Jordan, he ordered the Baghdad garrison to move against Qasim, ending up with the power struggle way before it became worse. Having been Qasim’s subordinate and due to the respect he had towards him, Arif placed him on house arrest and forbid him from participating in politics or military affairs, silently removing him from the public eye.
Both Jordan and Iraq renamed themselves to Arab Republics and as Arif centralized power in Baghdad his Jordanian counterpart did the same in Amman, Ali Abu Nuwar. On the following days both countries officially petitioned to join the United Arab Republic, receiving Nasser’s approval despite his fears of losing Egypt’s preponderance in the union with Syria. Arif’s political strength in Iraq meant Nasser wouldn’t be able to handle the country the same way he planned to do with Syria, negotiations would be needed in the long run if the UAR was meant to last.
The enlargement of the United Arab Republic caused panic in Beirut and Riyadh, the Lebanese Arabs were emboldened by the successes and victories achieved by Nasserist ideals. At the same time, the UAR increased their support towards the Muslim leaders of Lebanon, pushing president Chamoun into asking the United States for help in the current crisis. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, king Saud bin Abdulaziz feared the strength of the new United Arab Republic and started preparations in case of a war against them while at the same time a crackdown was organized and directed towards any possible sympathizer of Nasser within the country. But those weren’t the only countries to fear the establishment and enlargement of the UAR, both Iran and Turkey were distressed as well due to the apparent Soviet alignment of the UAR, they felt encircled and in the case of Iran, there were fears due to the Arab population in Khuzestan province.
Another country to feel the shockwaves made by the UAR victories was British Sudan, resistance towards the colonial administration turned violent and continuous protests and strikes were made to shake off the chains of British colonialism. Despite the fears of neighboring countries, the United Arab Republic had one priority in the region, expelling the British once and for all, in a decisive manner. Supplies, advisors and volunteers were dispatched towards Sudan, the British would leave on their own terms or under Cairo’s terms. Nasser was more than ready to fight and sponsor a guerrilla war or whatever was needed to secure Egypt’s southern flank. He didn’t know the British government had been already considering leaving Sudan, the situation was untenable and American pressure through the backdoors had shown London that staying at Sudan could backfire in the long run, this already made decision would translate into one more success for Nasser eventually.
The United Arab Republic after accepting the applications of the Arab Republics of Jordan and Iraq, fear was the principal reaction coming out of places like Riyadh, Tel Aviv, Ankara, Teheran and Beirut: at least from those who were enemies of the Pan-Arabist Nasserist ideal and regime.
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Opposition to Plaek Phibunsongkhram had been rising through the last years and demands for further democratization and economic reforms had been made as well, however, his hold unto power seemed almost impossible to disrupt. Ever since the arrival of American advisors and supply shipments more and more rumors were heard about the possibility of a coup against the prime minister, after all, he was still remembered as the one leading Thailand during World War II. Everyone at Thailand was shocked to learn about the mobilization of the armed forces, taking everyone by surprise and especially military officers that were considering launching a coup of their own mere weeks before Phibun made his own move.
In the weeks following the coup a great number of advisors and cargo shipments arrived at Bangkok, unknowingly to the general population, plenty of the advisors belonged to the CIA instead of the US Armed Forces. In the span of two or three months, CIA operatives turned Bangkok into one of the most ambitious centers of intelligence operations at Southeast Asia, though at Phibun’s petition, the CIA agents focused first on domestic enemies laid out by the prime minister. There were suspicions levied against the military officers and other political parties, especially due to rumors of Indochinese infiltration among the rank and file of the army.
Pichit was one of those soldiers with secret affiliations to the Thai Communist Party, the economic inequalities and issues at Thailand had slowly pushed him towards the propaganda the Indochinese kept distributing among border provinces. He started supporting the Communists by providing them food rations, ammunition and in some cases maps or intel regarding the unit movements in the area, but after receiving a warning from one of the officers about a planned purge he chose to finally join the recently created combat squads of the Communist Party, financed, and supported by the government at Hanoi.
“There are rumors about an upcoming operation by the intelligence services and the armed forces, however, the positions of the army here at Bueng Kan aren’t strong enough yet,” Pichit explained to one of the Vietnamese officers at the storage room. Over the last days plenty of Vietnamese soldiers and officers had crossed the Mekong, getting there to help evacuate some of the members of the Communist guerrillas and combat squads or providing resources for the Thai Communist Party to use.
“What about Nakhon Phanom?” asked the Vietnamese officer, silently staring at the group of refugees fleeing from the increasing violence by the government. “Are there American forces in the vicinity?”
Pichit kept talking about the military secrets of the Thai Army and detailing the different positions and tactics employed by the government, unknowingly to him, the Vietnamese officer and his associates belonged to a government sponsored unit composed by Catholic refugees fleeing from Saigon. It was just one more of the tactics employed by the CIA agents at Bangkok, Thailand would be prepared for the eventual conflict against Indochina, whenever Hanoi chose to invade, Thailand would be ready to strike them back.
In the weeks following the coup a great number of advisors and cargo shipments arrived at Bangkok, unknowingly to the general population, plenty of the advisors belonged to the CIA instead of the US Armed Forces. In the span of two or three months, CIA operatives turned Bangkok into one of the most ambitious centers of intelligence operations at Southeast Asia, though at Phibun’s petition, the CIA agents focused first on domestic enemies laid out by the prime minister. There were suspicions levied against the military officers and other political parties, especially due to rumors of Indochinese infiltration among the rank and file of the army.
Pichit was one of those soldiers with secret affiliations to the Thai Communist Party, the economic inequalities and issues at Thailand had slowly pushed him towards the propaganda the Indochinese kept distributing among border provinces. He started supporting the Communists by providing them food rations, ammunition and in some cases maps or intel regarding the unit movements in the area, but after receiving a warning from one of the officers about a planned purge he chose to finally join the recently created combat squads of the Communist Party, financed, and supported by the government at Hanoi.
“There are rumors about an upcoming operation by the intelligence services and the armed forces, however, the positions of the army here at Bueng Kan aren’t strong enough yet,” Pichit explained to one of the Vietnamese officers at the storage room. Over the last days plenty of Vietnamese soldiers and officers had crossed the Mekong, getting there to help evacuate some of the members of the Communist guerrillas and combat squads or providing resources for the Thai Communist Party to use.
“What about Nakhon Phanom?” asked the Vietnamese officer, silently staring at the group of refugees fleeing from the increasing violence by the government. “Are there American forces in the vicinity?”
Pichit kept talking about the military secrets of the Thai Army and detailing the different positions and tactics employed by the government, unknowingly to him, the Vietnamese officer and his associates belonged to a government sponsored unit composed by Catholic refugees fleeing from Saigon. It was just one more of the tactics employed by the CIA agents at Bangkok, Thailand would be prepared for the eventual conflict against Indochina, whenever Hanoi chose to invade, Thailand would be ready to strike them back.
Operation Wasp had been planned ever since Vietnam conquered Laos and Cambodia, with growing tensions at the Indochinese Peninsula the American government green lighted the operation to begin, advisors and supply soon arrived to Bangkok, behind closed doors Washington also forged an informal alliance between Thailand and Korea.
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Okay, so, here it is, the next update!
Apologies for taking such a long time I've been either busy or distracted, but another reason for the long delay was that I wanted to actually research a bit more about the situation of the Middle East by this historical point and since I felt this update was such an important one I wanted to hammer it out properly. As we can see, France has been given some sort of free hand by Washington since there are fears of a Communist takeover, at the same time, America continues facing challenges to their foreign policy and the Eisenhower Doctrine: so far despite winning at Korea the Americans can easily be considered to be relatively "losing" the Cold War so far due to some blunders: 1) 1954 Taiwan Strait Crisis, which results were reversed after the Sino-Korean Border War. 2) Vietnam rampaging through Indochina. 3) Egypt aligning towards Moscow and with these recent events, practically almost the entire Middle East (despite America not knowing Nasser isn't willing to align with the Soviets). While they also face developments which they don't know how to react to: 1) France turning into a military dictatorship due to fears of a Communist Conspiracy. 2) Fulgencio Batista dropping dead and a revolutionary movement arising (which, as for now, is still moderate and I will try to revisit later on, though America already hated Batista so...).
And let's not forget the Sputnik launched on 1956, so, morale could be getting a bit low on America's end. However, as we can see, the Eisenhower administration is waking up and trying to deal with the numerous fires burning in Asia. Operation Wasp being conceived and carried out to use Thailand as a counterweight against Communist influence on Southeast Asia and Korea being considered one of the key partners for the security of the region. And most importantly, America is now getting decided on stopping the UAR and Nasser before the region turns out "worse". Despite this, each regional ally has their own issues to deal with as well. But don't assume the UAR will have it easy, one of the main reasons it failed in OTL was due to Nasser going full pharaoh on Syria and treating it as a province of Egypt (which caused tensions within Syrian elites), here he will need to moderate his stances since Abdul Salam Arif and Ali Abu Nuwar aren't just puppets (well, Nuwar can be considered one since he failed in his own coup haha), in the case of Iraq they willingly joined and they themselves overthrew their government without asking for external help, the moment Cairo starts pharaon-ing Baghdad, the moment Iraqi nationalists will call it quits.
I also wanted to provide a sneak peak on the events I made for Thailand to detail Operation Wasp, we will revisit more of the country in the future, next update will follow on the Arab movements in 1958, we'll probably pay a visit to one of our favorite Communist countries and possibly see a bit more about the Consulate foreign policy's plans.
Take care and I hope you enjoy this update!
EDIT: Oh, and thanks @Specialist290 !!
I'm glad you like those interludes, those are kinda the hardest to write (for me) on English but I always feel they really contribute to paint a clearer picture for the reader, to see the way the decisions taken by the top ones are affecting the country, the tangible effects of the intangible decisions taken by "higher" individuals.
Apologies for taking such a long time I've been either busy or distracted, but another reason for the long delay was that I wanted to actually research a bit more about the situation of the Middle East by this historical point and since I felt this update was such an important one I wanted to hammer it out properly. As we can see, France has been given some sort of free hand by Washington since there are fears of a Communist takeover, at the same time, America continues facing challenges to their foreign policy and the Eisenhower Doctrine: so far despite winning at Korea the Americans can easily be considered to be relatively "losing" the Cold War so far due to some blunders: 1) 1954 Taiwan Strait Crisis, which results were reversed after the Sino-Korean Border War. 2) Vietnam rampaging through Indochina. 3) Egypt aligning towards Moscow and with these recent events, practically almost the entire Middle East (despite America not knowing Nasser isn't willing to align with the Soviets). While they also face developments which they don't know how to react to: 1) France turning into a military dictatorship due to fears of a Communist Conspiracy. 2) Fulgencio Batista dropping dead and a revolutionary movement arising (which, as for now, is still moderate and I will try to revisit later on, though America already hated Batista so...).
And let's not forget the Sputnik launched on 1956, so, morale could be getting a bit low on America's end. However, as we can see, the Eisenhower administration is waking up and trying to deal with the numerous fires burning in Asia. Operation Wasp being conceived and carried out to use Thailand as a counterweight against Communist influence on Southeast Asia and Korea being considered one of the key partners for the security of the region. And most importantly, America is now getting decided on stopping the UAR and Nasser before the region turns out "worse". Despite this, each regional ally has their own issues to deal with as well. But don't assume the UAR will have it easy, one of the main reasons it failed in OTL was due to Nasser going full pharaoh on Syria and treating it as a province of Egypt (which caused tensions within Syrian elites), here he will need to moderate his stances since Abdul Salam Arif and Ali Abu Nuwar aren't just puppets (well, Nuwar can be considered one since he failed in his own coup haha), in the case of Iraq they willingly joined and they themselves overthrew their government without asking for external help, the moment Cairo starts pharaon-ing Baghdad, the moment Iraqi nationalists will call it quits.
I also wanted to provide a sneak peak on the events I made for Thailand to detail Operation Wasp, we will revisit more of the country in the future, next update will follow on the Arab movements in 1958, we'll probably pay a visit to one of our favorite Communist countries and possibly see a bit more about the Consulate foreign policy's plans.
Take care and I hope you enjoy this update!
EDIT: Oh, and thanks @Specialist290 !!
I'm glad you like those interludes, those are kinda the hardest to write (for me) on English
but I always feel they really contribute to paint a clearer picture for the reader, to see the way the decisions taken by the top ones are affecting the country, the tangible effects of the intangible decisions taken by "higher" individuals.
Last edited:
- 2
I sure do hope the UAR survives into the modern time, Pan-Arabism and Nasserism have a special place in my heart lmao
The finest of Pan-Arabism propaganda art
The finest of Pan-Arabism propaganda art
- 1
Gotta say I really liked that video, it was marvelous. ^^
I hope to get the next update ready soon enough so we can keep watching the newest developments by the UAR, I have plenty of plans for the country -wink wink-, so we can hope it won't get the same treatment as IOTL.
Yeah the Maestro you see here is one of the greatest Egyptian musicians of all time, he was also a huge proponent of the UAR, he wrote and created this song as a celebration for the beginning of construction of the high dam project, so I thought it was pretty fittingGotta say I really liked that video, it was marvelous. ^^
I hope to get the next update ready soon enough so we can keep watching the newest developments by the UAR, I have plenty of plans for the country -wink wink-, so we can hope it won't get the same treatment as IOTL.
I for one would actually like to see an Israel-Lebanon alliance as a counter in '67, followed by a short war that ends like OTL tooGotta say I really liked that video, it was marvelous. ^^
I hope to get the next update ready soon enough so we can keep watching the newest developments by the UAR, I have plenty of plans for the country -wink wink-, so we can hope it won't get the same treatment as IOTL.
- 1
So, today I was toying around with certain mod someone provided to me in the past...
(More or less the borders in East Asia by 2015 in this AAR)
(Borders ain't 100% accurate to the AAR by 2015, but here you can see the UN mission in Dalmatia)
Thanks for the input!
(More or less the borders in East Asia by 2015 in this AAR)
(Borders ain't 100% accurate to the AAR by 2015, but here you can see the UN mission in Dalmatia)
Just toying around, maybe I could eventually hop off to try some of the most recent updates, but who knows.
Main focus is and will keep being this AAR and the established timeline so far.
Apologies for the silence, have been a bit busy with university and stuff.
Main focus is and will keep being this AAR and the established timeline so far.
Apologies for the silence, have been a bit busy with university and stuff.
I have been thinking about the future conflicts between the UAR and Israel, part of me wants Israel to win or at least stay as OTL and part of me wants to give a bigger chance to the UAR instead of railroading the Middle East to some kind or form of OTL. But that's an interesting idea, guess an earlier Lebanese Civil War could happen... I'll have to read a bit more on some stuff.
Thanks for the input!
So, today I was toying around with certain mod someone provided to me in the past...
View attachment 814491
(More or less the borders in East Asia by 2015 in this AAR)
View attachment 814490
(Borders ain't 100% accurate to the AAR by 2015, but here you can see the UN mission in Dalmatia)
Just toying around, maybe I could eventually hop off to try some of the most recent updates, but who knows.
Main focus is and will keep being this AAR and the established timeline so far.
Apologies for the silence, have been a bit busy with university and stuff.
I have been thinking about the future conflicts between the UAR and Israel, part of me wants Israel to win or at least stay as OTL and part of me wants to give a bigger chance to the UAR instead of railroading the Middle East to some kind or form of OTL. But that's an interesting idea, guess an earlier Lebanese Civil War could happen... I'll have to read a bit more on some stuff.
Thanks for the input!
I know it sounds lame, but have you considered a miracle of peace option ? So a war starts, the UAR gets the upper hand at first but then Israel/Lebanon get their shit together and hold the line, it’d drags on a bit, filled with massive casualties and Pyrrhic victories for both sides, eventually war support wanes in both sides, people want peace, some sort of change of government takes place, negotiations start and some sort of shakey, but mostly lasting peace is agreed upon.
Maybe Israel joins the UAR but with special amendments added to the constitution to give them autonomy and special representation in government, so you can still have high levels of tension between them and the Arabs
OR a type of camp David accords are signed, guaranteed and mediated by stronger world powers, ideal remains independent but both they and the UAE are tied up by the accords when it comes to military presence in Sinai, the IDF size and makeup, freedom of travel and access to trade by both sides...etc. So again, you have peace, both sides can go home claiming to be the victors, but at the same time you leave a small window for renewed hostilities in the future.