A Peaceful Time
The communists didn’t accept their defeat kindly. They rose up two more times in the next three years. By 1895, the communists were still revolting, but only in Siberia, and Indochina. The citizens finally accepted my rule in the massively industrial powerhouse once called the Russian steppes. These revolts did nothing, but annoy, and aggravate me. I was continuously writing to families, and handing out money to people that I have never met, but their sons did give their lives in the revolts. The only good thing to come out of the communist revolts was the combat experience that my young recruits gained.
Russian infantry kill all and any communist rebels that attempt to surrender
They learned how to effectively take the rigorous guerilla warfare of average civilians, and twist that disadvantage into a major advantage. The men planned their attacks by giving the communists a false sense of weakness, then allowing the communists to attack the “weakness” which actually became an envelopment trap allowing the destruction of the rebels. The sergeants of my squads, officers of my regiments, and generals of my armies all learned valuable experience as well. Organization, marching, and combat, all became a daily event for these men as they pushed into the rebels, and destroyed them. Finally after three years of revolts, these men learned decades of combat experience in a couple of years, with very few losses.
The Russian steppes become an industrial powerhouse throughout the entire world!
After the 1895, the revolts were contained, and the economy boomed! All of my factories began expanding not twice every ten years, but now they began to expand once a year or once every two years. Our craftsmen, and clerks became famous around the world for their expert work. Nations all over the world were buying Russian goods over British, or French goods. Russian artillery, small arms, and ammunition was the most widely used among the world. Only the Germans, and British managed to sustain their military with their own equipment. War was now going to be on Russian terms! Just because our military industry was the best in the world doesn’t mean I left everything else behind. I managed to supply a portion of the world with consumer goods, but more importantly, I managed to supply my country with whatever they wanted, and still had enough to sell to countries in my sphere of influence.
The French military attempts to cross the alps to flank the Italian military
With my economy booming, and my military gaining valuable experience, it was time for something interesting to happen in the world. No wars were fought since the First Great War, in which the Austrian Empire suffered a humiliating defeat by allowing the Swiss to siege their capital, the Italians taking their coast, the Germans securing most of their border, and the Russians destroying their military, and securing their most productive province. This time the Austrians wanted to redeem themselves! France, Austria, and Great Britian led an assault accompanied by The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Sweden against the Germans, and Italians. The French wanted their 1836 border to be re-established, and was ready to fight for it! The fighting went on from 1897 to 1899, mostly in the Alps, Belgium, and French countryside. The initial attack by the French Coalition was demolished by the veteran Germans, and Italians.
The strategic counterattack took the coalition by surprise! The Germans managed to secure all of Belgium, The Netherlands, and make a massive southern hook around the French defenses at Verdun, and strike at Paris, and eventually swinging back to destroy the defensive line. With the defensive line destroyed, over 250,000 German soldiers stormed the French countryside, most of them pushed south to aid their Italian allies who were having difficulty breaking the naval blockade by the British, and the repetitive assaults on two fronts by the Austrians, and French. Finally, the British landed over 100,000 soldiers in Sicily, and marched north to secure Rome. The Italian military was destroyed by the massive British army. This allowed the war to become a stalemate! A defensive line was established, Germany on one side, and the French Coalition on the other. The line stretched from Brittany through Paris, and down to the French alps. A second line was established on the Austrian-German border, and a final line was established from the English Channel to the Northern tip of Denmark. The French eventually broke the weakened line, but a fourth line was established in the old French defenses, at Verdun, and Belgian border defenses.
The newly invented German machine guns mow down the French as they attack the German trench line
The biggest, and bloodiest battle to date occurred during this war. When I was informed of how many men were already killed, and how many more were marching to its location, I turned my page, and wrote notes on the battle. I wanted to know who came out victorious, and what the casualties were. By figuring this out, I could see exactly how many men both sides were willing to lose, how many they could reinforce with, and how long both sides could keep the fighting going. The battle took place at Epinal, the center of the German defenses for the southern flank, I only started to take notes after the battle has been going for over a week, and 500,000 men were involved. By the time the battle reached its one month mark, over 200,000 casualties were recorded for both sides, and they were still marching more men to the battle sight. The battle also brought the attention of the British, and Austrians, both of which started to lend reserves to the French commander. The battle didn’t slow down once all the French were removed from the battlefield, and a strictly British line was established, then lost, then a strictly Austrian line was established then lost. After six months of gruesome fighting, the region was no longer lush farmland, it was a black archaic landscape that the German commander was using his expertise to defend, and slaughter enemy soldiers. Finally, after over 750,000 casualties, roughly 600,000 French Coalition, and 150,000 Germans, the French commander ordered the coalition to retreat, and regroup. Two months later, an armistice was signed, and another month later a white peace was signed. The French military was shamed, while the Austrians, and British suffered only some minor setbacks in the eyes of the world. The Germans on the other hand, they became my new best friend.
