Teacher: So, who wants to do more geopolitics??
….
Student: When do we get to the battles?
*Class cheers*
Teacher, grumbling: Soon…
The Kaiserreich School of International Affairs, Part II
1936 continued its inexorable march forward. February saw a noted increase in mafia violence. Even J Edgar Hoover is struggling to keep up the prosecution against this group. They do not appear to be aligned to either of the two factions yet, but it will be interesting to see where these bullies side in the coming election. No doubt they have a lot of sway over voters through intimidation. Also in February, Prince Edward VIII was crowned King of the empire. He was forced to make a decision on how he would oversee the government. A disagreement had arisen within the Canadian government. The tories and exiles wanted to transform Canada into a superpower purely to retake Britain, while the liberals led by William MacKenzie King advocated much more strongly for protecting Canada. Not mentioned is the fact that the tories also advocated for a much more authoritarian form of government, whereas the liberals were generally seen as more democratic. Thankfully the king sided with Prime Minister King, keeping Canada on the path of democracy.
Before anything else could happen, our worst fears were realized when the German stock market crashed. As if Europe wasn’t already suffering enough! A German economic collapse means that the last linchpin holding together Europe has fallen. We had no idea what to expect from this. By the end of what was called the “Black Week” by German bankers and administrators, several changes had occurred across the world
Even more worryingly, the so called Commune of France completed its 1936 elections- and the government saw itself as the vehicle for international syndicalist revolution. This is the worst of all possible outcomes. They have even pledged their support for the Combined Syndicates of America in the coming election.
Later in the month, MittelAfrika negotiated with Portugal for the Portugese colony of Angola. Surprisingly, both parties were able to come to an agreement, avoiding a potentially devastating inter-European war.
More importantly, turbulence was increasing on the home front. A strike by the United Auto workers union in Detroit quickly devolved into a riot. The strike was seemingly organized and spurred on by syndicalist agitators, which was evident as strikers chanted “Unionism not Fordism!” This demand for more power by the average worker is absurd; Ford actually pays decent wages and provides a steady job in a time of uncertainty. Nonetheless, Ford sent in their secret police to break up the strike. When this happened, violence erupted and countless people were badly mauled and beaten.
On the same day, Charlie Chaplin’s newest film called “Modern Times” debuted. Many saw it as a deep social commentary condemning a capitalist society and advocating syndicalism. It was censored a few days later.
Needless to say February was a bad month. Thankfully things can only go up, right?
Kind of. Another meeting was called in March to review the progress of operation Vanguard. All sorts of research and development had occurred in the last few weeks, and the progress of training the new army divisions was coming along nicely.
Towards the end of the month, the legitimate government of Italy asked us to shut down the very anti-Semitic radio broadcasts of Charles Coughlin. This would be an infringement of first amendment rights, but Coughlin’s broadcasts are doing nothing more than stirring up social antagonism. He also seems to be connected to Huey Long, as Coughlin has several times announced that he publicly supports the America first union party. MacArthur advised the president to shut him down, and the president agreed. Coughlin was becoming too dangerous to be left in play.
April was a calm month until her twilight hours. President Madrid, President of Panama, was killed by a syndicalist agitator. This left the country in a precarious state. President Hoover decided to meet with his two closest confidants, General MacArthur and now Grand Admiral King.
“What’s the situation in Panama, gentlemen?”
MacArthur spoke first. “Well sir, the assassination of president Madrid has left a power vacuum in the country. Since we have demobilized our Canal Zone garrison, we have no immediate forces in the area. However, the United Provinces of Central America, an ally of Panama, has given us a deal. They will use their forces to seize control of panama and ensure that a friendly democratic regime retains control over such a key territory.”
“What do you have to say, Ernest?"
“Well Sir, I agree with General MacArthur. Our navy could go to support the UPCA if needed, but otherwise our naval landing forces are in no shape to conduct any overseas operations.”
“Right then. Tell the UPCA government to go ahead with the takeover. Anything to protect the Canal Zone.”
Thankfully, the UPCA handled the situation excellently. The army moved in and quickly secured panama. This was a welcome relief for the US government in a time when many centro- and south american countries, like Bolivia, were turning to syndicalism.
May went along fairly smoothly, with the Syndicalist governments of the world meeting on may day to discuss how they will oversee a “Worldwide Revolution”. Thankfully, Alexander Berkman has remained quiet on the issue…
Oh. Shit….
So, there's another few months in the bag. I am sorry if this is a little boring right now, but I really want to make sure that everyone understand what's going on in the rest of the world, and 1936-37 are really the big years for this stuff as it pretty much sets up the rest of the game. I have an extended weekend this weekend, so hopefully should be able to turn out another 1-2 updates in that time. I promise that the next update will take us to the moment we have all been waiting for! Thanks everyone for reading! Also, I believe I have cleared this post of any writing errors, but if you spot any don't hesitate to point them out!
