"One and Indivisible" (A Russian Kaiserreich AAR)

[JodelDiplom]

Considering how ineffective Soviet Radar guided anti-air missiles were against low-flying aircraft especially when operating with targeting assistance from UAVs, I would not count them out. The air war would become irrelevant if it undermined both air forces capacity for ground support but if any of the forces achieved decisive success in suppressing the opposing air force and anti-air systems, wouldn't the ground forces remain at that air force's mercy?

By the end of Operation Mole Cricket 19, the Syrians were practically defenceless from the air. Not a great example, but from my amateurish quasi-academic knowledge, I am led to understand that the Soviets more or less realized that they could not keep up in the air at that point of the Cold War as they realized that if we could pull that kind of operation off, the Americans and other Nato air forces would not be far behind. Not exactly relevant for here though.

The US during the cold war never put any effort into figuring out strategies for high intensity tank warfare, and thought they could funnel/lure the soviets into a few imaginary terrain features ("Fulda gap" LOL) to beat them there with artillery and air strikes, like when the heroes roll boulders down into the canyon onto the heads of surprised baddies in a western movie.

The west Germans wanted, for political reasons, an insane forward defense that would have fallen like a house of cards 24 hours into a soviet invasion, because they couldn't stomach the idea of just yielding a big chunk of German territory to a soviet advance in the name of better strategy...

The soviets basically planned to barrel across the inter German border on a wide front, rush groups of tank forces towards the Rhine and the Netherlands, leaving NATO forces in their rear be mopped up by follow up forces, and present NATO with a fait accompli of soviet control and domination some 3-7 days after the start of hostilities. They also planned to nuke everything, left right and center of their advance, right from the start. In case of a NATO attack they also planned to nuke everything, left right and center, launch all the missiles, and retreat from Germany.

The plans all were terrible but at least the soviets had the right idea that you couldn't plan set piece battles, that you couldn't confine the battle to areas where you wanted to fight it, and that you needed to condition your ground troops to fight on, and keep following orders, under hellish circumstances, without regard for their own comfort. Both sides had large and capable air forces, there was an immense amount of anti air firepower on both sides, and the mobility of both sides ground forces in Germany was such that absent opposition you could drive a tank from the inter German border to the Rhine or Oder (which would end the war, more or less, by grabbing the prize that was Germany) in a day. So I think the idea that one side's air forces would be able to develop supremacy over the other in time to affect the course of the war on the battlefield, was IMHO not likely. The joke made sense

 

[Aussie Perun]

Chapter 284: From Cape to Casablanca

Tauride Palace Dining Room​

Lev Gumilev set down his spoon for a moment. The dining room of the Tauride had a more utilitarian feel than it once must have had, now that it served members of the Duma and cabinet every day, but it still had an underlying feel of opulence and very good food. For the three directors dining with him today, it was probably a welcome diversion from the staff canteen.

“And so when viewed in that light, what many would call the period of Mongol occupation could be better construed as a period of consolidating power between kindred ethnicities, one that protected the Eurasian identity from the intrusion and influence of Catholic Europe”

Lev was used to what was meant to happen next. These men, all older than him, all desperate to exploit his success and perceived ‘in’ with the Tsar would nod, ask question, and praise him. It was rejuvenating. This time however, they looked nervous, silent. As a shadow fell over the table, and Lev pivoted in his seat to see President Yuspov staring down at him, he understood why.

“Lev, the Mongol invasions of Russia were horrible, not a consolidation of power; To raid and pillage and they did is not a sign of national character, but of moral bankruptcy. Strategy and unity, not some vague sense of passion is the path to victory.”

The foreign minister fidgeted with his spoon, giving half an eye to his now cooling lunch. “Did the President of the Duma come here just to insult my ideas, or do you have a point Yuspov?”

Yuspov set the communique, wrapped in a concealing leather binder down on the table, shunting aside Lev’s drink to do so.

“You are wrong about history, about peoples, about Europe, about our future….and you were wrong about De Gaulle as well.”

The President turned and left, leaving his foreign minister to open the document, contemplate the news, and consider how he would face the Cabinet the next day.

From War, Tyranny, and Liberation​

Russo-Roman foreign policy had presumed that, once De Gaulle was separated from the British Empire and its dominions, the Algerian French regime would recognise the desperation of its position and agree to fold itself into the Russian, or at worst the Austrian sphere.

With the secreting of the Count of Paris out of Algiers, Russian confidence grew further. Now Saint Petersburg could threaten to constitute a French Metropolitan regime without the official involvement of the French exiles at all, relying on individual returning exiles and with a potential vassal monarch in hand. The Imperial Government did recognise that extensive work would be required to de-syndicalise France and prepare it for reconstitution, but there was a real belief, pushed by the Foreign Minister more than any other member of the Government, that the Algiers regime would ultimately accept subservience in exchange for a continuation of desperately needed economic and military support.

It was this confidence that led the Imperial Government to, on the advice of Minister Gumilev, reject the first compromise proposal advanced by De Gaulle in September 1942. That loose set of principles would have given the French exiles extensive control over the assets and future political structure of the French Metropole, essentially entrenching the De Gaulle regime, in exchange for France entering a treaty of friendship and security with Russia and offering the French people a referendum on the restoration of a symbolic constitutional monarchy which would at least give the regime the trappings of the kind of Ancien Regime Russia and Austria seemed to be seeking.

. ​

Rejection of this offer was taken in Algiers as confirmation that Russia and Austria had no interest in allowing the Algiers regime to exercise actual control over the French homeland, and that only a sign of defiance and resilience could be expected to change their position. Such a show however would rely on an ability to overcome the Nation’s immediate emergency needs; money, and munitions.

An offer that could provide both came from an unexpected quarter. Mittelafrikan Secretary for relations with Germany, Joachim von Ribbentrop had transformed into the Freistaadt’s defacto foreign minister after the collapse of Germany in the 1940s. He had been the one to negotiate the ceasefire with De Gaulle after Syndicalist intervention in Africa, and in September he travelled to Algiers for secret meetings with the French Exile Government.

​

Mittelafrika offered De Gaulle access to titanic stocks of captured Communard materiel, obtained, we now know, through grey market contacts with Russian Business figures who almost certainly at least enjoyed a blind eye from the Government in Saint Petersburg and free purchase rights over surplus captured stock. These stocks would keep De Gaulle’s army not just in the field, but give it the capacity to more freely conduct offensive operations. Ribbentrop also put forward a plan to use each nation’s respective economic and political connections (for example, Mittelafrika’s growing relationship with a number of Japanese commercial interests) in order to maintain the health of the imperiled African economies. All of this was wrapped in a simple enough proposal, to combine the forces of the White powers on the African continent from the Cape to Casablanca, in order to drive the reds off the continent. As a combined force, it would exceed Japan in mobilised military manpower. Still nothing compared the the length of the frontline, but a major hurdle for the red armies to overcome.

​

The Ribbentrop mission from Mittelafrika represented a further break from the pre-war legal relationship between the Freistaat and Berlin. Mittelafrika was not allowed to have its own foreign affairs, those were subordinated to Germany. When Mittelafrika had ended its war with the Algiers government, this had raised questions overseas, but Goering’s defenders in Koenigsberg and Vienna had been quick to point out that he was only confirming a peace that also existed between the German client Government in Europe and the Entente as well.

Now, Goering was increasingly flagrantly engaging in foreign policy negotiations without consulting Berlin (who he continued to assert were without power until a new legislature could be elected and made quorate).

When Berlin made signs of condemning the move, Goering’s defenders in Germany were quick to rally, launching a series of emotional appeals and legalistic arguments. Goering was not allying with any hostile power, merely cooperating with a co-belligerent against the threat of Syndicalism. A threat against which the German Government, they implied, was doing precious little. With the Reich still in disarray and what there was of the Heer needed at home (and the navy non existent) there were no resources to spare to either aid or pacify Mittelafrika, and so the Far-Right were quick to paint Goering as the one man doing all he could to defend German territory against the red incursions.

The political screening seemed to warn off sterner action by Berlin, though a perhaps more significant factor was that Berlin knew it lacked the means to retaliate against Goering without appealing to the Russians or Austrians, which was considered politically unacceptable. Work was commencing on a new High Seas Fleet, capable of restoring connection and power over what was left of the colonial empire; but for now Dar es Salaam was too far away to truly regulate.

And so, with Russia unexpectedly rebuked, Algiers made common cause with its recent enemies. Three Governments, each rebuked by their major power sponsors, joined together with the common goal of sustaining their respective regimes and banishing Syndicalism from the African continent. Resource exports and forced labour would provide the funding, allied tribes, mercenaries, and ‘settlers’ drawn from Europe would make up the manpower, and a common desperation to survive the motivation.

The African battleground, already among the harshest given the immense frontline length, sparse infrastructure, woeful logistics, desperation, and often unforgiving climate, was about to take on yet further layers of brutality.

​

 

[TomorrowsHerald]

Chapter 284: From Cape to Casablanca

Tauride Palace Dining Room​

Lev Gumilev set down his spoon for a moment. The dining room of the Tauride had a more utilitarian feel than it once must have had, now that it served members of the Duma and cabinet every day, but it still had an underlying feel of opulence and very good food. For the three directors dining with him today, it was probably a welcome diversion from the staff canteen.

“And so when viewed in that light, what many would call the period of Mongol occupation could be better construed as a period of consolidating power between kindred ethnicities, one that protected the Eurasian identity from the intrusion and influence of Catholic Europe”

Lev was used to what was meant to happen next. These men, all older than him, all desperate to exploit his success and perceived ‘in’ with the Tsar would nod, ask question, and praise him. It was rejuvenating. This time however, they looked nervous, silent. As a shadow fell over the table, and Lev pivoted in his seat to see President Yuspov staring down at him, he understood why.

“Lev, the Mongol invasions of Russia were horrible, not a consolidation of power; To raid and pillage and they did is not a sign of national character, but of moral bankruptcy. Strategy and unity, not some vague sense of passion is the path to victory.”

The foreign minister fidgeted with his spoon, giving half an eye to his now cooling lunch. “Did the President of the Duma come here just to insult my ideas, or do you have a point Yuspov?”

Yuspov set the communique, wrapped in a concealing leather binder down on the table, shunting aside Lev’s drink to do so.

“You are wrong about history, about peoples, about Europe, about our future….and you were wrong about De Gaulle as well.”

The President turned and left, leaving his foreign minister to open the document, contemplate the news, and consider how he would face the Cabinet the next day.

From War, Tyranny, and Liberation​

Russo-Roman foreign policy had presumed that, once De Gaulle was separated from the British Empire and its dominions, the Algerian French regime would recognise the desperation of its position and agree to fold itself into the Russian, or at worst the Austrian sphere.

With the secreting of the Count of Paris out of Algiers, Russian confidence grew further. Now Saint Petersburg could threaten to constitute a French Metropolitan regime without the official involvement of the French exiles at all, relying on individual returning exiles and with a potential vassal monarch in hand. The Imperial Government did recognise that extensive work would be required to de-syndicalise France and prepare it for reconstitution, but there was a real belief, pushed by the Foreign Minister more than any other member of the Government, that the Algiers regime would ultimately accept subservience in exchange for a continuation of desperately needed economic and military support.

It was this confidence that led the Imperial Government to, on the advice of Minister Gumilev, reject the first compromise proposal advanced by De Gaulle in September 1942. That loose set of principles would have given the French exiles extensive control over the assets and future political structure of the French Metropole, essentially entrenching the De Gaulle regime, in exchange for France entering a treaty of friendship and security with Russia and offering the French people a referendum on the restoration of a symbolic constitutional monarchy which would at least give the regime the trappings of the kind of Ancien Regime Russia and Austria seemed to be seeking.

. ​

Rejection of this offer was taken in Algiers as confirmation that Russia and Austria had no interest in allowing the Algiers regime to exercise actual control over the French homeland, and that only a sign of defiance and resilience could be expected to change their position. Such a show however would rely on an ability to overcome the Nation’s immediate emergency needs; money, and munitions.

An offer that could provide both came from an unexpected quarter. Mittelafrikan Secretary for relations with Germany, Joachim von Ribbentrop had transformed into the Freistaadt’s defacto foreign minister after the collapse of Germany in the 1940s. He had been the one to negotiate the ceasefire with De Gaulle after Syndicalist intervention in Africa, and in September he travelled to Algiers for secret meetings with the French Exile Government.

​

Mittelafrika offered De Gaulle access to titanic stocks of captured Communard materiel, obtained, we now know, through grey market contacts with Russian Business figures who almost certainly at least enjoyed a blind eye from the Government in Saint Petersburg and free purchase rights over surplus captured stock. These stocks would keep De Gaulle’s army not just in the field, but give it the capacity to more freely conduct offensive operations. Ribbentrop also put forward a plan to use each nation’s respective economic and political connections (for example, Mittelafrika’s growing relationship with a number of Japanese commercial interests) in order to maintain the health of the imperiled African economies. All of this was wrapped in a simple enough proposal, to combine the forces of the White powers on the African continent from the Cape to Casablanca, in order to drive the reds off the continent. As a combined force, it would exceed Japan in mobilised military manpower. Still nothing compared the the length of the frontline, but a major hurdle for the red armies to overcome.

​

The Ribbentrop mission from Mittelafrika represented a further break from the pre-war legal relationship between the Freistaat and Berlin. Mittelafrika was not allowed to have its own foreign affairs, those were subordinated to Germany. When Mittelafrika had ended its war with the Algiers government, this had raised questions overseas, but Goering’s defenders in Koenigsberg and Vienna had been quick to point out that he was only confirming a peace that also existed between the German client Government in Europe and the Entente as well.

Now, Goering was increasingly flagrantly engaging in foreign policy negotiations without consulting Berlin (who he continued to assert were without power until a new legislature could be elected and made quorate).

When Berlin made signs of condemning the move, Goering’s defenders in Germany were quick to rally, launching a series of emotional appeals and legalistic arguments. Goering was not allying with any hostile power, merely cooperating with a co-belligerent against the threat of Syndicalism. A threat against which the German Government, they implied, was doing precious little. With the Reich still in disarray and what there was of the Heer needed at home (and the navy non existent) there were no resources to spare to either aid or pacify Mittelafrika, and so the Far-Right were quick to paint Goering as the one man doing all he could to defend German territory against the red incursions.

The political screening seemed to warn off sterner action by Berlin, though a perhaps more significant factor was that Berlin knew it lacked the means to retaliate against Goering without appealing to the Russians or Austrians, which was considered politically unacceptable. Work was commencing on a new High Seas Fleet, capable of restoring connection and power over what was left of the colonial empire; but for now Dar es Salaam was too far away to truly regulate.

And so, with Russia unexpectedly rebuked, Algiers made common cause with its recent enemies. Three Governments, each rebuked by their major power sponsors, joined together with the common goal of sustaining their respective regimes and banishing Syndicalism from the African continent. Resource exports and forced labour would provide the funding, allied tribes, mercenaries, and ‘settlers’ drawn from Europe would make up the manpower, and a common desperation to survive the motivation.

The African battleground, already among the harshest given the immense frontline length, sparse infrastructure, woeful logistics, desperation, and often unforgiving climate, was about to take on yet further layers of brutality.

​

LOOOOOOOOOOL! This is priceless! The birth of the African Union, only between the colonizers rather than the colonized. The hilarious thing is that it makes a lot of sense from the point of view of those powers if they want to remian independent. If they manage to beat the Syndicalists, they could preserve their alliance against the natives; what does Russia care so long as we get our yellow cake? I say, let them bleed clean up the reds and save us the trouble of pacifying Africa. If the Reds regroup and defeat them, that solves the political problem of dealing with this, if the reds lose, then it saves us the trouble of having to beat them.

(In addition, since we can't liberate France so long as the Commune exists, the lack of cooperation from Algiers can simulate the difficulty of setting up a new state.)

Somehow, I don't think decolonization in Africa is going to go "as well" as it did in OTL.

 

[HIMDogson]

One hopes that Gumilov, having been rebuked, won't seek the company of a certain lunatic monarchist, a certain racist mathematician, and a certain policeman with a hatred for Koreans

 

[Lord Tim]

“Lev, the Mongol invasions of Russia were horrible, not a consolidation of power; To raid and pillage and they did is not a sign of national character, but of moral bankruptcy. Strategy and unity, not some vague sense of passion is the path to victory.”

Strategy and unity of course being what the Mongols had and the Russians of the day lacked.


Anyway, yes, for all three regimes that's the sort of alliance that makes sense. But it's a huge area to campaign over with horrible terrain and neither side has a huge surplus of forces. This is going to turn into a war against whatever economic resources the enemy can exploit, which means hitting civilians is a certainty. And there's always the possibility that the Cairo Pact will decide to join the party if it gets messy enough. That would be interesting, in the Chinese sense.

 

[JodelDiplom]

LOOOOOOOOOOL! This is priceless! The birth of the African Union, only between the colonizers rather than the colonized. The hilarious thing is that it makes a lot of sense from the point of view of those powers if they want to remian independent. If they manage to beat the Syndicalists, they could preserve their alliance against the natives; what does Russia care so long as we get our yellow cake? I say, let them bleed clean up the reds and save us the trouble of pacifying Africa. If the Reds regroup and defeat them, that solves the political problem of dealing with this, if the reds lose, then it saves us the trouble of having to beat them.

(In addition, since we can't liberate France so long as the Commune exists, the lack of cooperation from Algiers can simulate the difficulty of setting up a new state.)

Somehow, I don't think decolonization in Africa is going to go "as well" as it did in OTL.

I don't think that a few million white people, who constantly try to kill each other, are in the long (or even medium) run going to keep down 200 million Africans. (1940 population)

I mentioned earlier, that I think this war in Africa first between SandFrance and Mittelafrika, then between Syndies and Mittelafrika/SandFrance, is not going to work out in favor of strengthening white domination over the continent. Several things work against that...

1) Europeans are currently in Africa to fight wars against each other. This means they are going to not just recruit black africans to fight in these wars, which is a given, but also absolutely certainly will recruit every white person who can serve in a military, to lead the Africans. These are fairly hard fought wars after all, race wars some of them, ideological conflicts others. You don't hold back on mobilization in these kind of conflicts. And since officer casualties are mostly higher than casualties in enlisted personnel, and because there are only so many white people in Africa, odds are that the white population in Africa will come out of this weaker, and more dependant on willing cooperation from its black population, than it was before the wars.

2) White populations in Africa are concentrated into cities, especially coastal cities. Coastal cities saw widespread back and forth fighting once the Internationale entered the war. Given the ideological bent of this war, each wave of conquest will see mass arrests and executions of predominantly white leadership personnel so where does that leave the white population?? Decimated! That's what.

3) Education of black people. The colonial period saw establishment of a lot of mission schools and generally church run schools, throughout the cities and also the interior of the continent. They provided mostly elementary and middle school education but that goes a long way towards enabling bright children to grow into leaders - when you start small, you educate the brightest and smartest kids first, whom you identify fairly quickly in the first 2 or 3 years of elementary school. Those kids only need to be taught basics before they will start devouring books and self-teaching themselves to an extent you can't expect from average kids. Like I said, these schools are all over the continent, in areas untouched by war, and as a result the number of educated Africans is growing mostly on the same pace as before the wars started. While the white elites slaughter each other, and the numbers of black population as a whole may also suffer from war, famine and repression, the number of black people who possess leadership relevant skills (reading & writing, philosophical/theological knowledge, historic knowledge) is still growing. The whites will increasingly want to (and need to) hand over lower tier leadership duties to suitable personnel from the black population so they can replace losses at the front lines. Where does this leave the overall situation? Also, changed in disfavor of the white domination.

So yeah some of the African factions who rose up in revolt, failed hard, and got massacred / retaliated against in the worst fashion. Like those Tunisian syndicalists who were mentioned in one of the chapters. On the other hand, the white people on the continent are also massacring each other. When the French communard army-in-exile seizes a Mittelafrikan town, whom are they going to line up against the wall first? The mayor, the police chief, the business leaders, the plantation owners, and the priests. All of them white. And when the Mittelafrikan troops take the town back, who now gets lined up against the wall, and shot (alongside the captured African leaders)? All the French commissaires politiques (white), the upper level officers (white), and every white citizen who showed sympathy for the syndies. It's a hard war, and when the dust settles only a few white people will still be there. White generals and governors, with small cadres of white leadership personnel, and their families, but a lot of black sergeants, pilots, foremen, technicians, telegraph operators, farm overseers. With so many guns in the hands of African troops, and white/black demographics being the way they are, white rule over Africans is going to be only one violent coup away from being done away with permanently. It'll look grotesque at first, when the first ex-sergeant dons a general's uniform and announces his rule on television, while his troops secure the capital city, but Africa will get used to it... like it did IOTL... Settlement colonies like South Africa and Algeria of course being the exception.

Anyways, long story short, Huge Hard Fought Wars Do Not Help the Demographics of White Rule in Africa.

What are your thoughts?

 

[JodelDiplom]

Another question that's been on my mind:

1) Vladmir's eldest sister Maria Kirillovna

We heard of one of Vladimir's sisters, Kira Kirillovna, and how she's doing in the Hohenzollern family (with the help of her 8 years younger brother). But Vladimir had also another sister, Maria Kirillovna, 10 years older than Vladimir. IOTL she married a German aristocrat from the house of Leiningen and had a BIG family with him (7 kids).

The Leiningens were was a rich and ancient noble family but they had not been a reigning house in pre-revolution Germany. For the eldest daughter of a pretender to the Russian imperial throne, IOTL this probably was a decent match if it were about money and a pretense of status (the Romanovs were poor and the Leiningens were rich and still "noble enough"). In a world where Germany is still a monarchy though, the Leiningens would be small fish compared to all those other German ruling houses who ITTL would still command their pre war fortunes and might be very eager to snatch up an exiled Russian princess.

Did Maria Kirillovna marry the Leiningen prince ITTL or did she marry someone else? What is her and her family's relationship with her imperial brother, now that the Romanov family is back in power? Has she and her family made it out of syndie Germany?

2) Vladimir's future (IOTL) marriage

IOTL Vladimir, living in Spain after WW2, at age 31 (1948) married a princess Leonida from the house of Bagrationi. (CK2 players will recognize the family name as medieval kings of Georgia.) Her family had been aristocrats in Georgia before the revolution but fled Georgia first in 1918, then returned, then fled a second time in 1931 to Spain, then France.

Before marrying Kirill, Leonida had been married to a rich American from a millionaire family. It had been his 3rd marriage, and Leonida's first. When Leonida married him, her family had already lost everything (including her father) to the revolution in Russia, so I suppose this was a marriage primarily for money (for her) and for fun/status (for him). They divorced a few years later after having one daughter together. I assume the divorce saw her family's financial status much improved because Wiki says they continued to live on their own in France and didn't have to move in with relatives (as so many exiles had to). The American ex husband was later deported to Buchenwald and died there. Leonida met Kirill after the war, when Kirill's finances were probably not so great (he lived with his aunt) although he had been since 1938 the head of the Romanov family. So his pedigree was, like, super top notch by the standards of exiled nobility. Being two exiled noblees in a foreign land, of more or less the same age (she 36, he 31), one of them with top aristocratic status but financially poor, the other of somewhat low but still "high enough" status yet financially probably well off, it was likely a kind of perfect match for both of them given the circumstances.

BUT ........... how does all of this play out ITTL? Firstly, like the Leiningens, the Bagrationi had not been a reigning family since the 16th century. They were considered a royal house, but really, would be bottom of the list of formally 'royal' houses, in a world where reigning royal houses are still around in large numbers. She was also a couple of years older than Vladimir.

ITTL a young Russian czar, head of state of a superpower, would be heavily pressured to marry someone of far higher status, to secure close ties with friendly and/or important states, and also, really, because the reigning houses are SOOOOO much richer than an obscure family who ITTL would likely still live in Georgia, far out of the way of the high and mighty. And would a reigning czar really marry a divorced woman who is five years older than him, and who has a child from another man? From a rich American?? It would be a big scandal, like with Edward VIII OTL. His image with the traditional minded people would be in the toilet. He'd be considered a total fool, politically heavily damaged. Would he really marry her? Maybe he's tired of governing, burnt out, unable to actually meet and be easy around any other woman except the one he randomly met at a dinner party? So he wants to throw it all away, and marry for love?

On the other hand there are A LOT of suitable noble ladies, first and foremost the three sisters of Emperor Otto, who are ALL of exactly the right age....... ??

 

[HIMDogson]

I think Vlad marrying Elizabeth is being set up; while the age gap is a bit questionable it's certainly par for the course for the time. I definitely do think the government would be thinking about who to marry Vlad to at this point, given the upheaval his death without an heir could cause, so maybe they would try to rush an engagement with one of Otto's sisters. Austria certainly seems to be angled to be more prestigious than the vestigial British Empire after this war.

 

[JodelDiplom]

I think Vlad marrying Elizabeth is being set up; while the age gap is a bit questionable it's certainly par for the course for the time. I definitely do think the government would be thinking about who to marry Vlad to at this point, given the upheaval his death without an heir could cause, so maybe they would try to rush an engagement with one of Otto's sisters. Austria certainly seems to be angled to be more prestigious than the vestigial British Empire after this war.

Hmm, what does the Russian imperial line of succession look like, right now TTL? Vladimir has no brothers, so next in line would be either Alexey Nikolaievich (who more or less didn't want it when he could have claimed it) or the next best male Romanov from the lineages of other sons of Alexander II? Second degree cousins of Vladimir, as it would be.

--edit: after some wiki research, I am very surprised at how few eligible male heirs there were??? Three generations of large families in the direct imperial lineage since Alexander II, and only ONE male second degree cousin of Vladimir who wasn't born from a morganatic marriage?

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[TomorrowsHerald]

I don't think that a few million white people, who constantly try to kill each other

The question is will they keep trying to kill each other now? Algiers isn't exactly in a position to threaten much of anything. If it's going to remain stubborn about Metropolitan France and Georing wants to continue his independence from Berlin, it seems like both have an interest in a stable long term alliance.

(My guess is that eventually Georing will agree to a compromise subordinating himself to Berlin so long as they agree not to give him any orders.)

Other than that, remember that the people Georing has on his staff are remarably effective at convincing people. You are probably right long term, but short term, I think it will take years for black liberation movements to recover; especially if the more proactive people are presumably being bled on the Snydie front lines.

I think Vlad marrying Elizabeth is being set up

Definitely hinted at as a strong possiblity and it makes sound political sense for both players; it places future liberated Britain and the remnants of its Empire squarely in the Russian Imperial project since any heirs would be Romanovs. Long term, that may prove very useful in balancing out Germany and Austria as well as sure up the alliance against Syndicalism with Britain as the frontline fortress in a "special relationship" (since it's incredibly unlikely that Russia is going to liberate America) Eventually, the price of keeping a navy big enough to defend so much territory will tell, having a maratime ally could be quite useful in picking up the slack.

Of course, first we have to land in Britian...

 

[HIMDogson]

Hmm, what does the Russian imperial line of succession look like, right now TTL? Vladimir has no brothers, so next in line would be either Alexey Nikolaievich (who more or less didn't want it when he could have claimed it) or the next best male Romanov from the lineages of other sons of Alexander II? Second degree cousins of Vladimir, as it would be.

--edit: after some wiki research, I am very surprised at how few eligible male heirs there were??? Three generations of large families in the direct imperial lineage since Alexander II, and only ONE male second degree cousin of Vladimir who wasn't born from a morganatic marriage?

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

tbh I think there's no reason they can't just revoke the Pauline laws to get Maria as Empress, realistically that would be preferable to some more distant relative becoming monarch.

Definitely hinted at as a strong possiblity and it makes sound political sense for both players; it places future liberated Britain and the remnants of its Empire squarely in the Russian Imperial project since any heirs would be Romanovs. Long term, that may prove very useful in balancing out Germany and Austria as well as sure up the alliance against Syndicalism with Britain as the frontline fortress in a "special relationship" (since it's incredibly unlikely that Russia is going to liberate America) Eventually, the price of keeping a navy big enough to defend so much territory will tell, having a maratime ally could be quite useful in picking up the slack.

I can't really see the British navy being much of a player, tbh. The RN post WWII was only a factor because it still existed, but here Russia will be blowing the Republican Navy away. Britain will also have much more reconstruction to do, severely limiting the resources they can spend on essentially rebuilding a navy from scratch. I also think that this Russia should be rich enough to keep a strong navy; it has quite the fleet already, and it's been spared the devastation of Barbarossa. Russia should be able to approach USN levels for the Cold War I'd say, maintaining naval parity with the CSA should be doable.

 

[Aussie Perun]

- Demographics in Africa -

A fascinating series of thoughts. I think responding to them and showing what the manpower sittuation is and how it may evolve probably needs to feature the next time an update covers Africa.

until then, you can take as a given that National French white manpower is endangered by drift back to the Metropole if they don't clamp down and the Russians make good on the promise of property for those returning. Mittelafrikan manpower...well you can imagine that there are recruiting parties outside the unemployment lines, or vacuuming up failed applicants for the Heer, or drifting among werewolf circles singing the siren song. "Come to Africa where you can be given your own land/reliable pay/status/a chance to fight reds etc." Volunteerism like that is never going to yield huge forces though, not in the long run.

South Africa is the only power among the three that probably doesn't have to worry about the eventual rise of black majority rule, for the obvious and dark reasons I touched on in some of the previous updates.

Another question that's been on my mind:

1) Vladmir's eldest sister Maria Kirillovna

We heard of one of Vladimir's sisters, Kira Kirillovna, and how she's doing in the Hohenzollern family (with the help of her 8 years younger brother). But Vladimir had also another sister, Maria Kirillovna, 10 years older than Vladimir. IOTL she married a German aristocrat from the house of Leiningen and had a BIG family with him (7 kids).

2) Vladimir's future (IOTL) marriage

IOTL Vladimir, living in Spain after WW2, at age 31 (1948) married a princess Leonida from the house of Bagrationi. (CK2 players will recognize the family name as medieval kings of Georgia.) Her family had been aristocrats in Georgia before the revolution but fled Georgia first in 1918, then returned, then fled a second time in 1931 to Spain, then France.
....

ITTL a young Russian czar, head of state of a superpower, would be heavily pressured to marry someone of far higher status, to secure close ties with friendly and/or important states, and also, really, because the reigning houses are SOOOOO much richer than an obscure family who ITTL would likely still live in Georgia, far out of the way of the high and mighty. And would a reigning czar really marry a divorced woman who is five years older than him, and who has a child from another man? From a rich American?? It would be a big scandal, like with Edward VIII OTL. His image with the traditional minded people would be in the toilet. He'd be considered a total fool, politically heavily damaged. Would he really marry her? Maybe he's tired of governing, burnt out, unable to actually meet and be easy around any other woman except the one he randomly met at a dinner party? So he wants to throw it all away, and marry for love?

On the other hand there are A LOT of suitable noble ladies, first and foremost the three sisters of Emperor Otto, who are ALL of exactly the right age....... ??

Firstly, to Maria, I had tentatively mapped her into the Bavarian Royal family as spouse to Albrecht, son of the reigning Ruprecht. I noted that that family mostly escaped during the war and the liberated Ruprecht is also alive. This means that while Kira was in Koenigsberg, Maria was likely in Vienna from 1940-42, and will probably remain a useful contact for her younger brother. Unlike Kira though, her age means she had many more years in Germany before the rest of the family made it big in Russia again, so while I imagine she was likely a useful advocate, she'll be more 'entrenched' in her new family and life I imagine.

As to the why I made that marriage, it makes sense given the ongoing Bavarian game to try and keep up with Prussia. There's a symmetry to both the Hohenzollerns and the Wittlesbachs each poaching one of the sisters.

Meanwhile, I think suggesting Leonida would still happen ITTL is just stretching reality so far it would break. The reality is that the reigning monarch of a superpower is going to almost certainly either marry at tier or be left in an OTL Edward situation...which doesn't match Vladimir's character. The dangers of Vladimir are that he's too driven, too torn by the competing superiority and inferiority complexes that come with Romanov history, too scared of losing it all again (after his dad literally died recovering it)...not that he's likely to throw a away everything for a poor match wedding.

I have a huge amount of politicking planned about the series of marriages that are going to have to play out soon. Think about just how many eligible rulers, heirs, and what not are out there. Otto and Vladimir are both single for one. In order to keep the narrative clean though I'm trying to make this period of time about the war while tracking things like Africa and dynastic issues on the side. Both can then expand to fill the void left when the war ceases to dominate current events quite so much.

Hmm, what does the Russian imperial line of succession look like, right now TTL? Vladimir has no brothers, so next in line would be either Alexey Nikolaievich (who more or less didn't want it when he could have claimed it) or the next best male Romanov from the lineages of other sons of Alexander II? Second degree cousins of Vladimir, as it would be.

--edit: after some wiki research, I am very surprised at how few eligible male heirs there were??? Three generations of large families in the direct imperial lineage since Alexander II, and only ONE male second degree cousin of Vladimir who wasn't born from a morganatic marriage?

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Sparse is how it looks. I imagine that while the politicians want to tread carefully, there will be significant pressure on the Tsar to both get married and look seriously at the Pauline rules. Until he has a viable (adult) heir of his own, I imagine the viable alternative candidates will all have their subtle supporters.

The question is will they keep trying to kill each other now? Algiers isn't exactly in a position to threaten much of anything. If it's going to remain stubborn about Metropolitan France and Georing wants to continue his independence from Berlin, it seems like both have an interest in a stable long term alliance.

(My guess is that eventually Georing will agree to a compromise subordinating himself to Berlin so long as they agree not to give him any orders.)

Other than that, remember that the people Georing has on his staff are remarably effective at convincing people. You are probably right long term, but short term, I think it will take years for black liberation movements to recover; especially if the more proactive people are presumably being bled on the Snydie front lines.



Definitely hinted at as a strong possiblity and it makes sound political sense for both players; it places future liberated Britain and the remnants of its Empire squarely in the Russian Imperial project since any heirs would be Romanovs. Long term, that may prove very useful in balancing out Germany and Austria as well as sure up the alliance against Syndicalism with Britain as the frontline fortress in a "special relationship" (since it's incredibly unlikely that Russia is going to liberate America) Eventually, the price of keeping a navy big enough to defend so much territory will tell, having a maratime ally could be quite useful in picking up the slack.

Of course, first we have to land in Britian...

I think it's more that the reds are killing whites, although since most of the fighting is happening in the Congo and whatnot, I imagine white casualties at the moment are mostly combat casualties. It's not like Dar es Salaam has fallen or anything.

As for the future of Africa, there are so many factors playing into that, that even I'm not sure how it will end yet. I control the narrative and model the more complex bits, but if I'm not sure whether the reds or the whites will win yet, it's hard to predict a post war reality for Africa.

tbh I think there's no reason they can't just revoke the Pauline laws to get Maria as Empress, realistically that would be preferable to some more distant relative becoming monarch.


I can't really see the British navy being much of a player, tbh. The RN post WWII was only a factor because it still existed, but here Russia will be blowing the Republican Navy away. Britain will also have much more reconstruction to do, severely limiting the resources they can spend on essentially rebuilding a navy from scratch. I also think that this Russia should be rich enough to keep a strong navy; it has quite the fleet already, and it's been spared the devastation of Barbarossa. Russia should be able to approach USN levels for the Cold War I'd say, maintaining naval parity with the CSA should be doable.

I think they mean the Royal as opposed to Republican Navy.

It's hopelessly outdated (other than some of the newest ships) and can't be sustained in Australasia for lack of specialised facilities (like ammunition and gun makers) but in sheer size it's still up there. With access to the infrastructure on the Home Islands, it could survive as a force if it scrapped most of its old ships and had a few new builds, but that would rely on there being any money at all available post war. You can't live on pilfered American gold and loans forever.

 

[HIMDogson]

I think they mean the Royal as opposed to Republican Navy.

It's hopelessly outdated (other than some of the newest ships) and can't be sustained in Australasia for lack of specialised facilities (like ammunition and gun makers) but in sheer size it's still up there. With access to the infrastructure on the Home Islands, it could survive as a force if it scrapped most of its old ships and had a few new builds, but that would rely on there being any money at all available post war. You can't live on pilfered American gold and loans forever.

Yeah, I did no that- I mentioned the RN because there wouldn't be much of it left for the Royal Navy to convert because it would be at the bottom of the sea. At the end of the day Britain's best case scenario is utterly wrecking its economy for the privilege of being Russia's loyal lieutenant in the Atlantic. It's just not worth it.

 

[JodelDiplom]

Yeah, I did no that- I mentioned the RN because there wouldn't be much of it left for the Royal Navy to convert because it would be at the bottom of the sea. At the end of the day Britain's best case scenario is utterly wrecking its economy for the privilege of being Russia's loyal lieutenant in the Atlantic. It's just not worth it.

I doubt that a restored United Kingdom will find in themselves the economic strength and the political willpower to rebuild a huge navy and contest dominance over sealanes to Africa, the Middle East and Asia with the CSA or anyone else. Britain is a spent force. Russian economic aid can only go so far, when basically every nation in Europe is currently on Russian life support.

Moreover, when you imagine a postwar Britain, with a restored monarchy, ruling over an island on which syndicalism ruled for 20 years - with a system of governance from which the British people, especially the younger generations, have been quite alienated - a system in which the faces of the monarch in every office room, the faces of HM's ministers, of the nation's restored financial and industrial leaders, the military leaders, the leaders of all major political parties, are all alien faces to the British people - is that going to be a confident nation?? Or isn't it rather going to be a nation very much at unease with itself, untrusting in soldiers to follow orders of their new officers, not trusting in industrial workers to follow the orders of their new bosses, not trusting in tenants and renters to respect the new laws obliging them to pay what the landlords say is "market value" of the land rent and the housing rent? It's going to take many years before the government will feel secure enough to draft naive British young men into its army and navy and send them to die in colonial wars again, or to send the police into the dock yards and factories to crack down on industrial unionism and use batons and rubber bullets to beat respect for her majesty's laws into their muddle headed syndicalist-poisoned heads. The government may have to tiptoe around a lot of issues at first, picking fights to desyndicalize Britain and restore the old order only where it can afford to do so.

But there's one very urgent factor that will require them to rebuild something like a self defense navy (in the OTL Japanese fashion) quite fast.

The role of Britain in the postwar world, in the global perspective, is IMHO not to be a naval enforcer of the Russian dominated new order. That's asking too much from a nation of her size. Rather, it will be the first and most exposed line of defense against Syndicalist power operating out of North America. Britain is an island off the European continent, and the CSA are a naval power too. A powerful one, which can threaten Britain from almost all directions (except from the European continent). Not only is there a risk that the CSA may send submarines into British waters and sink ships headed for Liverpool or Irish ports. The CSA navy can also, if unopposed, land invasion forces on the Shetland island or outer British islands like the Orkneys. They can supply arms and money to an underground syndicalist resistance. And they can cut Britain off from virtually all trade, except that through the channel and the north sea. Relying on Russian protection against such direct threats must be inacceptable for any self respecting British government. What does that mean? It means that Britain, if it wants to remain relevant in any way at all, must rebuild its navy with a strong focus on defense of the home waters and the European Atlantic coast. Sadly that's exactly not what the present Australasian navy is about, with its many battleships, cruisers, and high seas going aircraft carriers. Postwar Britain does not need a fleet to deliver decisive battles, it needs a fleet of modern ASW destroyers, small but replaceable aircraft carriers, and short ranged capital ships that can quickly sally from port to confront, under cover of large naval aviation forces, CSA surface task forces in the eastern Atlantic, and fend off the threats from invasion and blockade that those forces present. The old 18 or 20 knot battleships are utterly useless for that purpose. They might as well sell them all for scrap metal. One confrontation with a modern CSA task force, and they'll be at the bottom of the Atlantic.

The role of the Russian navy will be to run task forces around the world, including the western Atlantic and the Caribbean, and enforce the will of the Czar. The role of the British navy will be to keep the eastern Atlantic safe from Browder. Australasia is much to far away to play a role in postwar British defense planning, they'll be on their own. Not that they will need much help, they have to find accommodations with the Japanese overlords of Asia anyways and that's not something Britain can play a role in.

 

[HIMDogson]

I'd say that the postwar Russian navy would be mainly based around an Atlantic fleet; I don't think them having a Caribbean task force would be really practical. But yeah, the Brits would probably need a navy of some kind for defense, but no one would be able to mistake that navy for that of a great power. I'd also say Britain would have to wait a while to be in a position to build even that- say the early 50s, at least.

 

[JodelDiplom]

Firstly, to Maria, I had tentatively mapped her into the Bavarian Royal family as spouse to Albrecht, son of the reigning Ruprecht. I noted that that family mostly escaped during the war and the liberated Ruprecht is also alive. This means that while Kira was in Koenigsberg, Maria was likely in Vienna from 1940-42, and will probably remain a useful contact for her younger brother. Unlike Kira though, her age means she had many more years in Germany before the rest of the family made it big in Russia again, so while I imagine she was likely a useful advocate, she'll be more 'entrenched' in her new family and life I imagine.

As to the why I made that marriage, it makes sense given the ongoing Bavarian game to try and keep up with Prussia. There's a symmetry to both the Hohenzollerns and the Wittlesbachs each poaching one of the sisters.

Yeah it probably makes sense!

But if both of Vladimir's sisters are married to reigning monarchs, and their children are in line for foreign thrones, where does that put them in the question of who can succeed Vladimir if he dies without issue?

He can't make them heirs to the throne, if they aren't even living in Russia, and at the czar's court. It would jeopardize the entire realm if the heir to the throne (tsesarevich? tsesarevna?) were not thoroughly prepared for his or her future role, and if he or she were allowed to lead an independent life, and develop all kinds of attachments to foreign interests. Even if Vladimir were to open up the succession to females such as his sisters, wouldn't he logically require that the person who is designated heir to the throne, must take up residence in Russia, at his court, and stipulate that the designated heir must clearly exclude those of their progeny who stand to inherit foreign crowns, from the Russian line of succession?

Meanwhile, I think suggesting Leonida would still happen ITTL is just stretching reality so far it would break. The reality is that the reigning monarch of a superpower is going to almost certainly either marry at tier or be left in an OTL Edward situation...which doesn't match Vladimir's character. The dangers of Vladimir are that he's too driven, too torn by the competing superiority and inferiority complexes that come with Romanov history, too scared of losing it all again (after his dad literally died recovering it)...not that he's likely to throw a away everything for a poor match wedding.

I have a huge amount of politicking planned about the series of marriages that are going to have to play out soon. Think about just how many eligible rulers, heirs, and what not are out there. Otto and Vladimir are both single for one. In order to keep the narrative clean though I'm trying to make this period of time about the war while tracking things like Africa and dynastic issues on the side. Both can then expand to fill the void left when the war ceases to dominate current events quite so much.

That will be fun to read about

Maybe more than a few people will start scratching their heads, wondering why the wedding of a monarch should be such a super important matter in this modern day and age. OTL Lizzy II after all didn't face all that much pressure, her marriage to the son of the deposed Greek royal family wasn't really an important thing in British-Greek relations after all.

Yes we have in this timeline people saying "Monarchy is still important!" And they will gravely nod their heads while they say it. But... wouldn't they at some point wonder, is it REALLY that important who sits on the throne, and whom he or she marries? Aren't ultimately the matters of state more important than the personal concerns, or preferences, of the dressed up actors who play the part of the monarch? The "autocrat" style of government is not viable as a system to lead nations unless you have an exceptionally well talented and motivated person on the throne (such as our dear Vladimir). Russia did after all have "autocracy" as a model of government before WW1, and its key facets such as ministers reporting directly to a monarch who wasn't a professional politician, were pretty much universally terrible for the conduct of the affairs of state. Vladimir seems to be able to keep things together but what if he doesn't want to spend his life as a professional head of government and state? He'll eventually need a prime minister who is in charge, and then eventually Russia will need a system of government that ensures an orderly and regular turnover in this powerful position. Autocracy totally isn't such a system.

Sparse is how it looks. I imagine that while the politicians want to tread carefully, there will be significant pressure on the Tsar to both get married and look seriously at the Pauline rules. Until he has a viable (adult) heir of his own, I imagine the viable alternative candidates will all have their subtle supporters.

Yeah, I think he needs to settle those things.

But will he really have an option to NOT set one of his really distant cousins up as heir presumptive for the time being?

On the one hand, bringing a total stranger and into the court, as heir presumptive, is a huge risk. What if that guy builds his own factions? Inevitably everyone who doesn't get along with Vladimir, will be pulled into the court of the heir presumptive, and start whispering ideas into that person's ear, right? I mean, that's just how it works, eh... A big risk to the so far uncontested position of Vladimir, and the uncontested control he enjoys over his ministers. Would a driven man, a near paranoid man, like Vladimir, really want to bring in a stranger whom he can't trust?

On the other hand, NOT designating a clear successor, that is a risk too. Not so much for Vladimir, but for everyone else who is invested in the well being of the state, the idea that Vladimir would die and leave a power vacuum, that must be utter horror? The idea that total chaos may break out again, that ambitious generals may march on Moscow with various distant and degenerate Romanov cousins in tow, or that even the German kaiser may scheme with some of the Russian generals in Europe, bribing them and offering all the support the Reich can muster, if they send their troops and his Fallschirmjägers to St Petersburg to press the claim of a Germanized Romanova, and make themselves Grand Vizier / dictator of some sort.

Or even worse (for some), the monarchy as a concept may be discarded from one day to the next - what an uncomfortable thought, if people wake up to the idea that restoration of the republic may be better than seeing Russia torn apart in a medieval style fight over a throne! Russia indivisible, just one myocaditis infection, apoplexy, or assassination away from falling to chaos again? There may be those to whom this is a worse risk, than the risk of designating some useless Romanov cousin heir to the throne, for the time being. Those people may lean on Vladimir an impress on him the importance of designated lines of succession... Vladimir's personal preferences be damned, Russia needs a tsesarevich, they will tell him.

 

[Lord Tim]

I'm sure there are people (like Churchill) who imagine post-war Britain as the centre of the Empire, with Australasia and a few parts of the Caribbean, and certainly likely to intervene in India to unite it behind Delhi., and perhaps even trying to regain some of the old African colonies, and one day liberating Canada. At least I expect that's what the British government would hope for, and none if it seems particularly unpalatable to Russia. I doubt they could manage it, but this is a generation brought up on the British Empire and its myths and they might well persuade themselves it's both their duty and achieveable.

 

[TomorrowsHerald]

I'm sure there are people (like Churchill) who imagine post-war Britain as the centre of the Empire, with Australasia and a few parts of the Caribbean, and certainly likely to intervene in India to unite it behind Delhi., and perhaps even trying to regain some of the old African colonies, and one day liberating Canada. At least I expect that's what the British government would hope for, and none if it seems particularly unpalatable to Russia. I doubt they could manage it, but this is a generation brought up on the British Empire and its myths and they might well persuade themselves it's both their duty and achieveable.

I am not too sure, OTL Britain won the World Wars and lost its Empire in doing so, TTL Britain lost the World Wars and lost its Empire in doing so. Yes, the remnants of their forces and Russian support might reclaim Britain, but I think the post-war reconstruction challenges will prove to be much harder than anything Post-War TTL Britain went through. India is an unstable mess that probably won't remain a British colony for much longer no matter who wins while Australia even if loyal to the Empire is behaving like an independent player and will have its hands full with America and its immediate Russo-Japanese allies in that fight in the future.

To me, it sounds more like the remnants of the Empire readying themselves to a death or glory attack on Britain just to reclaim the Home Islands if nothing else after losing even their 2nd Home Land to Syndicalism. The only parallel I can think of is the Quarian attack on the Geth in Mass Effect 3; it was a rather hopeless affair without quite a lot of outside help. Without Russian help, this will probably be the fate of the Royal Navy unless its opts to rust away in Australia instead:

Britian and the Empire after this war will be a spent force, equivelent to a starving body which ate its cells to sustain itself long enough to liberate the Home Islands. Canada has been sacrificed, The Carrabean probably will also be sacrificed, many Australian lives have been sacrificed, and through that sacrifice the prospect of effective aid to Dehli becomes less and less likely and thus its interest to remain part of the Empire is likely to evaporate in favour of membership in the Russio-Japanese alliance which can render that aid. Australia will likewise rely on Russio-Japanese support against America. To retake Britian, the Empire will be sacrificed.

 

[HIMDogson]

To retake Britian, the Empire will be sacrificed

Well, not sacrificed. The Empire was already gone. Canada's fall was inevitable from the moment the CSA won, India was never going to stay under such a small Commonwealth, and without those two there was never any hope of reclaiming Great Britain without the help of some continental power or another. The Empire isn't sacrificing anything, because that implies that it could have kept the Empire if it gave up on Britain. It seems to me that this isn't really the case.

 

[Aussie Perun]

Chapter 285: Towards the long winter​

RNS Victorious limped through the water like a wounded animal, leaving a trail of black behind her. Her crew, veterans of so many battles, and survivors of Operation Manchester, worked feverishly to contain the flooding from the great gashes torn in her side by some Austrian or Russian torpedo.

On the horizon, her aircraft buzzed about like determined bees, trying to ward an intruder off from the hive, the sea of transporters and their american human and material cargo hugging the capital ships for protection.

Like the thick hide of a bear repelling insects, the Pyotr Velikiy’s armour shrugged off the lone bomb that made it through the wall of flak and planted itself into her deck.

Victorious' own armoured hide had saved her against the Germans, Canadians, and the bombs of the Kido Butai.

Against an 18.1 inch shell fused for a carrier target, it splintered like matchwood in the fraction of a second before the projectile detonated in the heart of her hanger deck. Victorious went up in a conflagration of munitions and aviation fuel, another emblem of the new world, thoroughly rebuked by the old.

From War, Tyranny, and Liberation​

By mid October 1942, economic and humanitarian conditions on the British isles were in serious decline. Compulsory work hours across the population reached sixteen hours per day in some industries and rationing of fuel became almost total for all non military purposes.

Russian percussion attacks on bridges, rail links, and transportation infrastructure meant that London, the seat of Mosley’s power, was mostly limited to bringing in food and vital supplies by barge on the Thames at night, as daylight travel was seen as too much at risk of strafing or rocket attack by marauding Imperial aircraft.

Attacks by Russo-Roman Strategic bombers had been launched on synthetic oil and oil storage facilities to debilitating effect, cutting British Synthetic oil production by nearly seventy percent and severely depleting static reserves while starting tremendous fires that were impossible to conceal from the British public despite determined censorship.

The Imperial forces were tremendously aided in this endeavour by accurate target information and bomb damage assessments provided by the British Empire’s military attache in Saint Petersburg. While the Empire had limited capacity to directly intervene in the battle from its base in Australasia, it still maintained one of the world’s most complex networks of informants and agents on the British isles. This information would do much to improve the efficacy of the Imperial bombing effort.

With the situation growing dire, industrial production plummeting for lack of key materials (even the Damocles project was starved of strategic materials at this point) and concern that the Republican Air Force could soon be impacted by fuel shortages, London finally chose to discard its caution at sea.

Several successful resupply operations to Africa had been undertaken on a lavish scale by the first week of November, escorted by much of the Republican Navy, and limited opposition by the Russo-Romans had been brushed aside.

When, in response, the Russo-Roman carriers were spotted sailing South in an apparent attempt to prevent further transits, the Republicans took their chance to despatch a massive convoy of more than two hundred and fifty merchantmen and tankers (including a number of troop transports carrying American soldiers) from the American East Coast, escorted by the carrier Victorious, Superbattleship Republican, and the Battlecruiser Thistlewood as well as a substantial number of cruisers.

​

The chosen route would take the ships through the North Atlantic, avoiding Imperial aircraft flying from France, transit around the Northern tip of Scotland, and then disembark there, with the plan being to then transport resources South by small ships and barges under the cover of darkness.

The sheer scale of the preparations inevitably lead to leaks in America however, where anti-Browderite cells still clung on in places, and Imperial aircraft flying from Greenland and Iceland were more than capable of surveiling the force, although they were frequently warded off by Victorious’ air group. The intelligence gathered was enough however, to vector in more than forty submarines to an ambush position in the North Atlantic.

While the response of the Republican escorts was superb, the night ambush landed almost twenty hits before the convoy out-paced the old Russian boats and cleared the area. Importantly, Victorious, still not fully repaired after her encounters with the Japanese, was hit and forced to slow, removing her ability to effectively break off from the convoy. The super battleship Republican, scarred by many temporary, patch-job type repairs, would actually sink as a result of a series of torpedo hits to her starboard side.

​

That would become significant the next day, when what was there of the combat ready Russo-Roman battlefleet made its intercept. The carriers may have gone South, but with sufficient warning the battlewagons were able to make it before the ships reached Britain. Denied the gun protection of Republican and Thistlewood, the Pyotr Velikiy and the battleships Sevastopol, Poltava and battlecruiser Izmail set upon the convoy with an almost cruel efficiency. Merchants were instructed to strike their colours and stop their engines. Some did, others chose to be destroyed by the big guns or the torpedoes of the escorting destroyers. The Victorious, decorated veteran of a dozen major engagements, was reduced to frantic evasive maneuvers before gunnery from the Pyotr finally set her aflame.

​

For the Republicans, it was an unmitigated disaster and the last time a major convoy would attempt to force its way to Britain in 1942. The Republican navy would persist in supporting operations to Africa, but the rapid return of the Imperial carriers showed that the Russo-Roman fleet was absolutely committed to the goal of strangling Britain above all others. Britain would guard convoys to Africa, and in exchange America would try to sneak small groups of transports past the surface raiders. It was something, but it would not be enough.

The British isles were forced to prepare for the Winter of 1942 with precious little in the way of food, oil, or materiel imports. The rise in public discontent was noticeable, despite omnipresent propaganda and the vigilance of the Republican Political Officers.

The success of the submarines was finally enough to generate political will in Saint Petersburg. A joint technical mission with Japan had been developing the idea of a truly next generation submarine for some time. While research had been funded, production had seemed unlikely as both powers focused on surface ships, believing that their enemies submarines, and their own, had so far mostly been ineffective.

The success of even the old boats, coupled with the capture of a shipment of American torpedoes on the surrendered merchantmen revealed the truth. Submarines could be deadly foes, and the American and Republican submarine forces had been let down not by their boats, but by the extraordinary failure rates of the American torpedoes, which horrified the IJN when they observed testing in the Baltic sea. Surface ship construction would have to be trimmed somewhat, but both nations would work towards renewing their submarine arms.

​

For the Imperial armies, the establishment of a firm vice grip over Britain meant that invasion was no longer a hypothetical. There could be no escaping the fact that the air force and navy appeared as if they would do their part, and so the army would have to as well. New weapons were being rushed to the front, including upgraded tanks mounting a new generation, 85mm gun in a larger, more ergonomic turret. These, and the new self propelled guns would not make much difference during the landing, but were they successful, they would be critical to offsetting the Republican numerical advantage in the fight on the isles themselves.

​

Japan meanwhile, set itself the task of eliminating the last Syndicalist holdouts from the Pacific islands by the end of the year. Of these, only Wake Island and Midway had not been fully evacuated during operation Manchester, the British troops there left until last in the evacuation order to appease Chicago. On Wake island and a dozen other, much smaller battlefields, the IJN and IJA would (somewhat reluctantly) work together to storm the last red bastions. At Wake, more than 30,000 Republican troops of the Pacific Expeditionary Corps, an invention intended to show Britain’s Internationalist credentials, marched into captivity or early graves, while killing or wounding some 7,000 Japanese.

​

Arms shipments to the struggling Republicans in China continued, with business intermediaries performing apparent miracles in sourcing relatively modern hardware, including captured German and outdated Russian vehicles. The first shipments would be relatively small, and paid for with the KMT’s dwindling hard currency reserves. As the waves of Qing soldiers, militias, and millenarian zealots pressed South however, driving the casualties up at a rate that would have horrified even jaded Western observers, shipments would increase until enough equipment had arrived in KMT hands to equip two entire corps, as well as provide ammunition for much of the field army.

Only time would tell if it would be enough to make up for the crushing numerical advantage of the Qing and their aggressive tactics that occasionally even reached the level of planned human wave assaults.

But for Britain, such news seemed a world away. What mattered now was that the caloric allowance for non party members was now between 4,200 and 5,300 KJ per day, and the oil paralysis of agriculture and transportation gridlock endangered even that. Party members of good standing could still eat more fully, but they too would constantly look west in the vague hope that the next transport to arrive might carry some relief. The crush of rationing had been seen as unlikely in prewar studies which saw domestic production as sufficient to avert health impacts, but transportation breakdowns and fuel shortages hampered both production and, more importantly, distribution.

Britons hoped each day would bring relief. Instead, the news each day was all too often the same.

​