So on that note its time for the new chapter...
Chapter 23 (1932-1933)
The year of 1932 started with a continuation of violence in East Asia as Japan followed up their seizure of Manchuria by capturing the Chinese city of Shanghai. China, which is embroiled in an increasingly violent Civil War proved yet again unable to stand up to the Imperialist Japanese.
In France there was another General Election that saw another Left-Wing Coalition take power with Edouard Herriot forming a Government. The fact that France continues to switch politically from right to left in this way shows that, unlike Germany which is united under the Kaiser and the Lion of Africa, France is politically divided in a way that will hopefully weaken them enough to prevent them from continuing to keep the Kaiserreich as weak as they can...
...and just three weeks later the political unrest in France grew even worse after President Paul Doumer was assassinated by a mentally unstable Russian Emigre named Paul Gorguloff. In the aftermath of this assassination an emergency election was held which saw Albert Lebrun of the Centre-Right Democratic Republican Alliance become the new French President. In Berlin these events are being watched with a great deal of satisfaction as Germany's old enemy continues to spiral into more and more trouble.
There was also political violence across the Atlantic as tens of thousands of Great War veterans gathered in Washington D.C to demand payments that they had been promised by the Government for their wartime service. These marchers, who became known as the 'Bonus Army' were later dispersed by US Soldiers, showing how little respect the US Government has for their war veterans, many of whom have become unemployed as a result of the Great Depression. It is interesting that many of the former Allied Nations have been stricken with political instability, particularly in France and America, while the former Central Powers Empires have weathered the storm well all things considered, although both Germany and Austria-Hungary of course have plenty of their own problems.
In August there were a new round elections in Germany. The Social Democrats gained a large increase in seats most certainly as a result of the Great Depression but the Zentrum remained the largest Party in the Reichstag with Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck remaining Chancellor for another term. The Lion of Africa remains a universally popular figure across Germany and the economic crash seems to have not changed this at all. Surely he is the one to pull the Kaiserreich out of this Depression.
With many of Germany's former enemies struggling economically and seeing increased political instability it seemed a perfect time for the Germans to increase intelligence funding and attempt to destabilise their neighbours as much as they can. It wasn't long until weapons and other equipment were being covertly delivered to Monarchists in the Rhineland and ethnic Germans living in territory controlled by the Intermarium.
However, it seems that the Soviet Union is even less affected by the effects of the Great Depression and have even showed real signs of recovery from the chaotic 1920s and the Civil War. The USSR may have lost vital territory and resources after their defeat by the Poles in 1920 but the Bolsheviks may soon be in a position to recover lost territory as the Intermarium continues to struggle to hold their Union together with the divisions that existed in the last decade being noticeably exacerbated by the Depression.
As 1932 ended and 1933 began the German Government continue to introduce new policies to help the economy recover, the public works programs introduced the previous year are also beginning to bear fruit and it really does seem like a recovery is in fact on the horizon for Germany.
The Americans were also taking their own steps to ease unrest as they finally repealed Prohibition after thirteen years. The banning of alcohol had proven unsuccessful as many groups found ways of circumventing the ban and with all the profits that could be made from re-legalising and taxing alcohol in the midst of this economic crisis it seemed obvious that Prohibition had to be ended.
Back in Asia the Japanese, who by now had once again agreed to a truce with Nationalist China, once again seeked to find ways to expand their influence in the Chinese mainland. The Imperial Japanese Army, along with their Qing Allies, soon began sending troops west into Inner Mongolia were they were harassed by local guerrillas. These skirmishes would only prompt further Japanese incursions into Inner Mongolia, which the Qing had claimed as their historic territory and the Japanese were eager to bring it under their influence...
...and these incursions soon led to the Battle of Jehol in which the Japanese and their allies successfully captured the Eastern part of Inner Mongolia which had been under the control of Chinese Warlord Zhang Xueliang. Jehol would soon be annexed into the Qing Empire as promised by the Japanese at the start of the campaign. Meanwhile back in Germany unemployment had started to decrease for the first time since 1929 as there were now definite signs of recovery. Once again things are looking positive for the Kaiserreich but even the most hardcore optimist can see that despite these good signs things are still far from good and the road to recovery will still be a long one.
As the Chinese continued to struggle to defeat the Communists or hold back the Japanese expansion certain regions took the chance to further escape the rule of Beijing. In the West of the Autonomous State of Xinjiang an Independent Uyghur Republic was formed that called itself the East Turkestan Republic. It remains to be seen how long this new state can last as the warlords in Xinjiang remain loyal to Beijing and may seek to crush these Uyghur separatists.
In April a German delegation was sent to Afghanistan to improve relations with the Middle Eastern Kingdom. Germany had unsuccessfully attempted to court Afghanistan as an ally during the Great War and the Kingdoms historic position as a buffer between British and Russian spheres of influence mean that this newly established cooperation between the two nations could have positive effects for both. Afghanistan is definitely a possible future ally should the Kaiserreich find herself at war with the Allies again.
Later in the month a new Trade Agreement was signed with the British as both nations seeked to improve relations. Kaiser Wilhelm III did not share his father's hatred of the British and the recent breakdown in relations between Britain and the Soviets had made the Kaiser hopeful that someday in the future an Anglo-German Alliance could be formed against the Bolsheviks to prevent them from expanding any further west. Of course this would also require the British to not take any action to prevent Germany from regaining her continental territory which even now seems unlikely.
In Asia an official truce was finally signed between Japan and Nationalist China that ended the state of war that had existed since the Japanese Invasion of Manchuria in 1931. As part of the peace terms a small buffer state was set up between the Japanese-occupied parts of Northeast China and the rest of China. This small state would be known as the East Hebei Autonomous Government and would be subject to heavy Japanese influence.
Meanwhile in the Balkans Albania began attempting to fight back against Italian influence in their country by closing Italian schools. This action angered Mussolini but the Italian dictator stopped short of military action as he did not wish to antagonise the Austro-Hungarians who would undoubtedly have opposed Italian attempts to regain a foothold in the Balkans.
Later in the year, opposition to British rule in India continued to increase in the Early 1930's as Independence Movements gained popularity. However, instead of seeking to free India through armed revolution the Indian Independence Movement instead advocated a non-violent course of Civil Disobedience which was personified by the actions of Mohandas Gandhi. From the German point of view it is good to see that the British are slowly losing their grip on their most valuable colony.
In November US President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to finally extend American recognition of the Soviet Union. The United States had been staunchly Anti-Communist throughout the 1920's and had faced a Red Scare as a result of the Soviet victory in the Russian Civil War. In Berlin politicians can't help but wonder why the US has chosen to extend recognition to their former enemy now but some have suggested that this new American President sees the Germans as a greater threat to peace than the Soviets. It is sincerely hoped that this is not the case. Around the same time in China as the Civil War continued to be fought, a group of Anti-Kuomintang politicians in Fujian set up their own Government in defiance of Chiang Kai-Shek. Divisions in Nationalist China continue to increase and this has allowed the vastly outnumbered Communists to continue fighting. The possibility of China falling to Communism is of great concern not only to Germany but most western nations.
In Ireland there was a growing Fascist movement as a group known as the Blueshirts began to gain some popularity amongst the Irish people. In December the Blueshirts and their leader Eoin O'Duffy attempted to March on Dublin in imitation of Benito Mussolini, whose own Fascist movement had greatly inspired the Blueshirts. However, the Irish Government forbade the Blueshirts from carrying out their march. O'Duffy agreed to call off the march but the Blueshirts were still banned not long after for holding several local parades commemorating Irish leaders who had died throughout the 1920's.
As 1933 neared its end a new program was implemented in Germany as the Government approved a construction project for building large motorways throughout the country known as Autobahns. These Autobahns could greatly improve the nations infrastructure and the massive manpower required for such a project would create a lot of jobs, something still badly needed for the German people.
And so 1933 came to an end on a massively optimistic note for Germany, if Government projects such as these have their intended effect then Germany might possibly be one of the first countries to recover from the Great Depression, which in turn would give them a great advantage over the nations which still rule land that belongs to Germany. There is signs that the optimism of the late 1920s is returning and hopefully this will continue, especially as the Allies continue to face increased unrest both at home and in their colonies.