Frankfurt am Main, German Empire, April 03, 1905
It's very difficult to get a doctorate, thought Walter Ulrike. The topic he'd chosen to write a disseration on was perhaps the most pivotal in recent times--the origins of the "Day of Disaster" and the causes of War. And he'd only begun to write the topic, as huge amounts of research were compiled to support those views.
The problem was, that this history was clearly still being written. For five years, the world in general and Europe in particular had essentially been stuck in chaotic cycles of war and peace, or as Ulrike put it "in a State of Confused Fighting".
This idea had grown on him for years, as his older brother was among the men who fought in Von Holt's army against the French and forced the French Government to flee--twice. While the fighting still raged on, Walter had accumlated a huge amount of press documents, and a few confiscated papers from the French government.
The first page of his disseration had been rewritten several times, and it was the facts behind that disseration that were remaining so elusive.
It was inevitable that the world would face a catastrophic war. With the worlds imperial powers seizing whatever territory they could, there is no more land in the world to be had. Europe's seven great powers, combined with the United States and the Japanese Empire, control most of what is left in the world.
If left to their own causes, this situation would eventually mean war, but this war was provoked prematurely by the events of the 'Day of Disaster', where the leaders of these great powers died.
The deaths of these leaders have litterally anilihated both Metternach's concert of nations and Bismarck's system of alliances. We do not know the cause of these deaths, but at this point, this is irrelevant. The Consequneces are clear:
Most minor European nations have been occupied, annexed by other nations. It may be the case that "Spainish Peacekeepers" and "New Bulgarian Civil authority" were made with better intentions, but Spain and Bulgaria are clearly unequal to their host nations.
It the opinion of the Author that the "Day of Disaster" has initated a third round of imperialism:
In the first age of Imperialism, the New World was discovered, and huge colonies were created. Then they were lost by stupid and ineffective contols.
In the second age of Imperialism, Africa and Asia were colonized by expansionist powers. This phase ended not with the loss of these empires, but with the ending of recognition of these powers.
This third age of Imperialism is one which will be dominated by warfare. Wars have been fought, without end, for five years, and are likely to continue for decades more. A revival of Manifest destiny has led to a repeat war between the USA and Mexico, and there can be little doubt that once again, Mexico will be quickly crushed. In Asia, Protectorates over Manchuria, Taiwan and Korea have made Japan the dominant power. With the collapse of the Qing dynasty, it appears that Japan has turned China it a puppet of its own--the Liao Dynasty can only be a free government in name.
It is too early to predict the winners of this conflict. Already, ultranationalists and communists hover at the fringes of society.
We may never again have peace in our time.
It was a good start, but such conclusions required mountains of evidence. But Walter Ulrike had these mountains at his disposal. As he sipped a cold beer, he began to shuffle through three file cabinets. While he could not understand all of the languages spoken, the giant font of the headings clearly indicated the severity of the content.