"One and Indivisible" (A Russian Kaiserreich AAR)

[Mkoll13]

I pefer to think that Japanese unit is like the battlefield ninja units from Shogun Total War, but with precision firearms and assault weapons added to their arsenal, stalking through the mighty forests of Sweden. Stories will surivive of encounters with terrifying oni-masked demon fighters during those hectic and confused days when Russian armor was smashing through the Syndies.

One retreating man looked back and saw that his whole squad, there only seconds ago, had vanished. They let him live to spread the fear

 

[4th Dimension]

As to the Balkans problem, you have to remember, to the people of the Balkans the Russian Tsar is not simply "King" of Russia like he is perceived in the west. For them/us he is also Emperor in old Roman sense as in protector of Orthodox faith AND to Orthodox Slavs it's considered their protector. Their bigger elder brother who guides them. So you do have a sort of workable solution. You could ask the Austrians to hand over to you portions of Balkan peninsula where Orthodox live (they would be left with the Dalmatia up to (including) Dubrovnik). You wouldn't be furthering nationalistic goals since you would be returning Orthodox back under the rule of one Emperor. Serb and Bulgarian populations might go with this (allthough I'm slightly uncertain about their monarchs) as long as they can have one of their own administering them (sort of freer Finn deal). Romanians might be a wildcard.

 

[H.Appleby]

Why bother though? Otto's your friend and in any case, the Russian Empire has bigger fish to fry, namely the Syndicalists and the Germans. Let the Slovaks twist in the wind and don't alienate your only European ally.

 

[Mr. Santiago]

Why bother though? Otto's your friend and in any case, the Russian Empire has bigger fish to fry, namely the Syndicalists and the Germans. Let the Slovaks twist in the wind and don't alienate your only European ally.

This. Meddling in Scandinavia is surely angering the Germans, you can't afford doing that to the other European empire that's sympathetic to you.

Besides, Otto and Vladi are best butties

 

[Mkoll13]

I failed to consider the fact that Otto is your buddy. But what he turns on you anyways should war with the Kaiser occur?

 

[NikephorosSonar]

I failed to consider the fact that Otto is your buddy. But what he turns on you anyways should war with the Kaiser occur?

Easy. He gets smacked down for taking the wrong side.

 

[Teivel]

Chapter 87: The Scandinavian Union
​

​

The two Romanovs, one an Emperor, one a Politician regarded the map of Scandinavia on the table with fatigue. Emptied glasses and silver plates gave some indication of the hours that had proceeded in this quiet consultation.

“So If I may summarise” ventured Dimitri. “If we break Scandinavia back up into its constituent states, we become the enemies of pan-Scandinavian aspirations and can expect no co-operation from even the moderate leftists. How the Finns or other Imperial territories might react to that precedent can also be very readily imagined.”

That was true thought Vladimir. The academic underpinnings of the new Russian Empire were still evolving, but even this early on, most people seemed to understand the basic premise that small nations could not deliver peace, security or prosperity to their people and were a force for artificial belligerence and suffering. “So restoring the national borders, after they have been, in many ways, unified by the Syndicalists would leave us with three unstable Scandinavian Governments and a wave of instability at home.” The Emperor shook his head slightly at the thought.

“Indeed, of course, Unifying them presents its own problems.”

“Politics?”

“Politics” came the slightly depressed. “ Sweden is the most powerful of the constituent states, nationalists there will logically see King Gustav as the natural leader of any Union.”

“And I do not find that an objectionable proposition. He's of the old school, understands the value of strong royal leadership. He had misgivings in 1917 and I think it's fair to say recent events have vindicated that concern. He and his family also felt the pain of arrest and exile, I expect he would make an ardent ally against Syndicalism.”

​

“Agreed, but there are other parties to consider.”

Vladimir sipped from his glass. It was only water, but the motion of the process gave him a moment to focus. “ The Norwegians and Danes.”

Dimitri cocked his head in response. “ Indeed, as the Foreign office has no doubt advised you. There is no legal justification for invalidating the Norwegian and Danish monarchies, the step which would permit the annexation of their territories into a single State under a Swedish King. Haakon is popular, even among some of the Syndicalists. The fact the revolutionaries chose to remove him was part of the reason resistance collapsed as quickly did.

The King returns to the capital after time spent in detention.
​

Nor can I see justification for alienating Christian, twenty years ago he may have been held down by his stand against chaotic democracy but now he's exactly the kind of ruler we could do with as an ally.”

​

Vladimir sat back in his chair and pressed his hands together. “ It does seem to be a political minefield, dare I say the actual conquest was the easier half of answering the Scandinavian question.”

Dimitri coughed and laughed at the same time. “ That is a fair assessment, but an incomplete one.”

“Incomplete?”

“The German Dimension..”

“Our good friends in Berlin that would sooner allow the Internationale to paint the globe red than accept a single Russian soldier on their Northern Border.”

“As you said, it is something of a political minefield.”

A solid rap at the door stopped the conversation before the two men got caught in that same frustrating logical loop that had dominated many foreign ministry briefings and Duma committee sessions over the last week. “ Come!” called the Emperor.

The aide bowed deeply as he entered. He handed over the message without comment before bowing and withdrawing once more. Vladimir unfolded the message and read it intently. The young Emperor smiled as he reached the end and set it down, a broad smile growing across his face.

“Good news I take it?”

Vladimir exhaled and shook out a day's worth of accumulated tension. “ News from Vienna. Otto has been pressing Berlin to be reasonable on this issue, I believe he's hoping for co-operation on the mess in Eastern Europe in exchange.”

“And Berlin has been receptive?”

“Vienna put a proposal to them, one which I believe will be acceptable to us, and Berlin has apparently acquiesced.” He passed the paper over to his Kinsman and President who read with interest. Soon he too was smiling.

“ As your chief of the army, I must object to the restrictions this will place on our positions in Scandinavia. As you President I can guarantee the Duma and media will applaud. I just hope Vienna doesn't want too much in exchange.”

The Russian campaign in Scandinavia had never been fought for the purposes of conquest or subjugation. It was fought out of a desire to deliver the Imperial Duchy of Finland from Syndicalist control and break the hold of Syndicalism over the states of Scandinavia.

That fact did not prevent a great deal of suspicion arising between Russia and Germany at the time. Berlin, while still focused on the threat to the West, was adamant that Denmark could not become a base for Russian military forces and a potential, albeit farfetched threat against the German Heartland. They harboured the Finnish Lapua government in exile as an implied threat against the Russian position in Scandinavia and demanded a conference to resolve the issue.

Saint Pertersburg, of course, had no waging war to annex Scandinavia. The Russ themselves, including the famous Rurikovich family, may well have once been Nordic invaders, but the passage of a millennium had broken any nexus between the territories of the former Syndicalist block and the Russian Empire. Instead, Vladimir embarked on an effort to restore a respectable order in the North, conducive to ongoing peace.

Several times in the past, Scandinavia had come close to political unity. In 1397 the Kalmar Union under Queen Margaret I of Demark bonded Sweden, Norway and Denmark together in a political union. This arrangement would endure for more than a century before coming to an end with Sweden's secession from the union in 1523 under King Gustav Vasa. Sweden would go on to assert itself for a major power during the bloodshed that accompanied the reformation in Europe. In an era of division and conflict between Christians that might be difficult for us to understand now, Sweden's warrior kings would forge their own path until their dominance in the Baltic came to an end at Poltava.

​

Sweden's secession had not been the end of political unity in Scandinavia however. Between 1536 and 1814, Denmark and Norway were bound in a personal union. Norway would then spend the next ninety years in a Union with Sweden rather than Denmark before the status quo was arrived at.

Passion for Scandinavian unity had faded for a while, but after the Weltkrieg (and accompanying the re-emergence of ideologies such as pan-slavism) it had become a tool of Syndicalists to secure support from a population eager for the strength and security closer relations promised.

​

That passion and ideology didn't cease to exist simply because Russian troops had evicted the Syndicalist Governments, rather, it continued as the basis for the leftist groups that sought to rally the population against whatever plans the Russians might have in store.

As a result, it caught most of those involved by great surprise when it was declared that what the Syndicalists had failed to achieve, the Russians and Scandinavia's remaining elites would accomplish once and for all. At the prompting of the Russian Czar, the liberated royal families of Scandinavia convened a conference in Saint Petersburg to determine the future of their liberated nations. The ball that followed was yet another highlight of the Social calendar for 1939. For those few that could secure invitations, it promised the chance to meet no fewer than three Kings, an Emperor, and countless lesser nobility in an environment that mirrored the prosperity and power of the resurgent Russian state.

When negotiations began, it should be noted that there was some pressure for the formation of a true Imperial System in Scandinavia. The proposal was for a new Imperial title, heritable by primogeniture, to one of the three kings present. That system however, no matter how efficient it may have been, could never secure the needed support amongst the two lesser powers. Instead, the Scandinavian Union was founded as a federal state, more centralised than the Austro-Hungarian Empire but less so than Imperial Germany. The three constituent Kingdoms would continue to exist within the new state and possess considerable autonomy.

Ultimately however, two Kings and their Governments were beholden to the orders of a Central Government on a range of key issues. Defence, for example, was to be a central power, as would be minting currency and undertaking foreign policy. Sweden was convinced that, as the most powerful constituent state, its King should take the place of King of Scandinavia at the Union's creation. Supreme executive power at this Federal level would be exercised by one of Scandinavia's kings. The leadership was not to be heritable but rather subject to the now infamous system of rotation which would see that power pass between the Royal Houses of Sweden, Denmark and Norway (in that order.) Whatever the uncertainty over this new system of government, the reception among the populous was positive and observers expected the system would remain relatively stable in the near to medium term.

​

Of course, establishing a new state from scratch, particularly one damaged by both civil wars and the conflict with Russia and its wayward grand duchy, would be a demanding task for the new government. The need for assistance on matters of defence and economic growth demanded that Scandinavia be able to call on a strong ally. The Scandinavian Union would thus be, from its first moment, bound by an intricate series of treaties to the Russian Empire. Russian advisors and resources would be made available to re-establish trade and a functioning bureaucratic and judicial leadership. Even tighter links would be forged at the military level. Russia would assist in developing a new Scandinavian professional army along the Russian model. From the moment of its creation, plans would be in place for co-operation in times of war. In the shorter term though, while Scandinavia was awash with combat experienced enlisted and commissioned personnel, the task of finding and developing a new, volunteer force would take time and work. Numbers or not, there can be no doubt that the new royal government in Scandinavia bore a strong desire to, at least in principle, endorse a strong and aggressive stance against Syndicalism.

​

All of this was cause for grave concern in Berlin. The conservative military leadership in Berlin was suspicious of Russian intentions. The increasingly leftist dominated assemblies pointed to Russia as a graver threat that the commune of France and dark political cartoons mocked the Government for turning absentmindedly away as the Russian moved troops into Denmark, ready to strike at Germany's heart. That was, of course, never Russia's intention, but in the suspicious climate of European politics in 1939, Germany was unwilling to settle simply for Russian protestations of innocence. There was, for a brief period, a chance that Russia and Germany might find themselves escalating the disagreement but a move for mediation of the dispute by Vienna proved fruitful.

Russia would agree to station no more than a token military force in Scandinavia, and the new state would restrict its troop presence in former Danish territories to no more than two military divisions. Russia and Scandinavia would also guarantee all German flagged vessels, both military and civilian, complete, unfettered and toll free access into the North Sea. Finally, Germany would be granted preferential trade status, a desperately needed shot in the arm for the German economy that was sluggishly readying itself for a potential European conflict. High grade Swedish iron ore in particular would be a godsend for German manufacturers of high grade Steel who had seen their margins fall since the Syndicalist revolutions ended the shipments of the high grade material. In exchange, Berlin would cease harboring Lapua and recognize the new state of affairs in the North.

Once again, potential Russo-German hostility was averted but the incident showed just how dangerous Russian ambitions in Northern and Eastern Europe would be. It also showed the importance of relations between Vienna and Saint Petersburg, relations which would soon be tested by the chaotic situation in the Balkans.

 

[unmerged(362010)]

Man, you should write a book....really...you are amazing I cannot describe how i enjoy reading this AAR.
And, on the Balkans matter (since I am Serbian Russophile, that views Russia as its own country), i expect nothing less for Serbia than territories offered in 1915 by Entente in London.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_London_(1915)

Yugoslavia would also do well, but the first option is preferable. Austrian Empire should be allowed to create a union with Croatia, Slovenia, Bohemia, Slovakia and Hungary (giving Transylvania to Romania, and Carpathian Ruthenia to Russia ), while Eastern Galicia should be absorbed into Russia, and Western Galicia given to Poland. That is my opinion

Once more, am loving this AAR!

 

[Mr. Santiago]

Man, you should write a book....really...you are amazing I cannot describe how i enjoy reading this AAR.
And, on the Balkans matter (since I am Serbian Russophile, that views Russia as its own country), i expect nothing less for Serbia than territories offered in 1915 by Entente in London.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_London_(1915)

Yugoslavia would also do well, but the first option is preferable. Austrian Empire should be allowed to create a union with Croatia, Slovenia, Bohemia, Slovakia and Hungary (giving Transylvania to Romania, and Carpathian Ruthenia to Russia ), while Eastern Galicia should be absorbed into Russia, and Western Galicia given to Poland. That is my opinion

Once more, am loving this AAR!

I for one would read such book.

Also, what's Vladimir's take on countries that were born as Republics, say the entire American continent? If people should revert back to its monarchs, what should the people who never had one do?

 

[H.Appleby]

I for one would read such book.

Also, what's Vladimir's take on countries that were born as Republics, say the entire American continent? If people should revert back to its monarchs, what should the people who never had one do?

Submit to the rule of the Hapsburgs, who are the rightful claimants to all thrones, real and nonexistent.

 

[Razgriz 2K9]

I for one would read such book.

Also, what's Vladimir's take on countries that were born as Republics, say the entire American continent? If people should revert back to its monarchs, what should the people who never had one do?

I have an idea on how to divvy up the Americas to monarchies without giving them all to the Hapsburgs...I'm pretty sure there is some degree of upper-class folks in these countries, I'm sure if we can't send them a European Monarch, we can pick and choose one of them to assume the position...

For the Existenting Royal Houses:
U.S.: Windsor, Bourbon or Hapsburg
Mexico: Habsurg-Itrubide
Haiti: I can't seem to find any info on surviving members of the various Haitian Royal/Imperial Houses...I know Duvalier married someone who was descended from King Henri I of Haiti, but I dunno who.
Dominican Republic/Santo Domingo: Hapsburg or Bourbon
Cuba: Bourbon
All of Spanish Latin America: Bourbon
Brazil: Orleans-Braganza

 

[Mr. Santiago]

I have an idea on how to divvy up the Americas to monarchies without giving them all to the Hapsburgs...I'm pretty sure there is some degree of upper-class folks in these countries, I'm sure if we can't send them a European Monarch, we can pick and choose one of them to assume the position...

For the Existenting Royal Houses:
U.S.: Windsor, Bourbon or Hapsburg
Mexico: Habsurg-Itrubide
Haiti: I can't seem to find any info on surviving members of the various Haitian Royal/Imperial Houses...I know Duvalier married someone who was descended from King Henri I of Haiti, but I dunno who.
Dominican Republic/Santo Domingo: Hapsburg or Bourbon
Cuba: Bourbon
All of Spanish Latin America: Bourbon
Brazil: Orleans-Braganza

Now that you mention it, the Bourbon-Parmas were offered the crown of La Plata in 1816, so there's a claim there for ya...

 

[Razgriz 2K9]

Now that you mention it, the Bourbon-Parmas were offered the crown of La Plata in 1816, so there's a claim there for ya...

...Oh my god you're right.

Someone should do a scenario on that.

 

[nachopontmercy]

Each update improves the previous one, this AAR is glorious!

 

[Mkoll13]

Submit to the rule of the Hapsburgs, who are the rightful claimants to all thrones, real and nonexistent.

You can find such prestigious titles as Emperor of the Elephants (aka Patriarch of Pachyderms), Grand Duke of the Dolphins, Monarch of the Monkies, as well as the august Supreme Sultan of Space & Stuff among their (lengthy) list of claims

 

[H.Appleby]

You can find such prestigious titles as Emperor of the Elephants (aka Patriarch of Pachyderms), Grand Duke of the Dolphins, Monarch of the Monkies, as well as the august Supreme Sultan of Space & Stuff among their (lengthy) list of claims

Emir of Entropy, Baron of Betelgeuse, Sultan of Swing, etc.

 

[NikephorosSonar]

George Washington have any descendants? They are the only true claimants.

 

[H.Appleby]

George Washington have any descendants? They are the only true claimants.

Nope. He was, in modern parlance, Childfree

 

[Razgriz 2K9]

Nope. He was, in modern parlance, Childfree

You're right...George may be gone, but the "one in ten million" pro monarchists agree, in the event that the possible heir is gone, there is always other relatives, and I'm pretty sure that there is a surviving relative from the House of Washington.

 

[Mr. Santiago]

I'd suggest getting TR's son for the awesomeness factor alone