October 1953 - December 1955
The End of the War
The United States issued its ultimatum and declared war on Mexico in August of 1944, ushering in the longest -- and bloodiest -- leg of the greater conflict today known as World War 2. Years of stalemate saw extended fighting in Asia against Korea, resulting in a long campaign through the frozen forests of eastern Russia as the Axis and Synarchist Pact slowly ground Korea down to surrender.
Then, when all other fronts seemed to run stale, Mexico drew first blood against the United States by launching a nuclear assault on the southern border and capturing San Diego. From there, rapid Mexican offensive operations saw southern Texas overrun by the elite armored divisions known as the "Jaguar Warriors" of the Mexican army. But the surprise attack, fueled by nuclear strikes and new-model jet fighters, was short-lived. Eventually, the element of surprise war off as the United States contributed more and more land and air power to the Mexican front. With portions of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California in Mexican hands, the United States tripled down on its defense and returned the war to a new stalemate.
In a final desperate attempt to push the war back into motion, Nazi agents operating within Japan had spent years preparing for a second Japanese Civil War. Capitalizing on the frustration of many Japanese who felt their government had failed to deliver any meaningful progress in the war, German intelligence helped to organize and supply a new resistance effort of pro-Axis Japanese, resulting in Heihachiro Inoue's rebellion in the fall of 1953. These pro-fascist elements rose up with particular strength in southern Japan, where they occupied Nagasaki and Hiroshima as their primary base of operations. With control of southern Japan, these fascist rebels allowed Axis forces to safely land on Japanese soil for the first time, cooperating with the rebels as they pushed their way north to bring Japan under the heel of Axis rule. As with the other theaters of the war, the fighting was long and difficult -- and brought on unfathomable brutality.
As the Axis forces slowly pushed their way north, in the summer of 1954 Hitler ordered the most decisive strike of the war yet: a nuclear attack on the Japanese capital of Tokyo. As American and democratic Japanese forces fought bitterly on the front line, they looked on in horror as, far behind the front, the light of a German nuclear weapon filled the afternoon sky and ravaged Tokyo. The resulting damage, both to infrastructure and to morale, ultimately proved to be one of the final breaking points for Japan. By the end of 1954, the democratic Japanese government had capitulated to the Axis, and all of Japan was under Inoue's pro-German government.
Now, the United States of America stood completely alone against the Axis and Synarchist pact, and the Americans were beginning to feel their backs pressed to the wall.
For the first time in the war, the Americans mounted a large coordinated counterattack against the Mexican army. From eastern Texas all the way to New Mexico, American divisions launched a rapid attack across the border. They were met with repeated failures in the west thanks to heavily dug-in Mexican positions, but they managed to break through the primary defense line of Mexico's forces in Texas, breaking open a pocket and advancing in an attempt to send the occupiers backwards. The strike made it as far as San Antonio, which the United States was able to briefly liberate before a counterattack ended the ill-fated American offensive, drawing the battle lines back to the same static position it had held with minimal change for years.
Even after the United States retaliated with their own nuclear strike in Newfoundland, none of the battle lines budged. Then, in the heat of the summer of 1955, spirits began to break.
Americans had been promised a swift and decisive war against Mexico, painted as puppets of Hitler and imperialists challenging America's leadership in the western hemisphere. They had been led to believe that the overwhelming might of the American army would crush Mexico and restore order quickly, but those promises had come up void. Instead, casualties had skyrocketed thanks to multiple Mexican nuclear strikes, failed American pushes to the south, and incessant aerial combat over the border. The loss of life, coupled with the increasingly demanding rationing and restrictions of a wartime economy had sapped the enthusiasm of the American people for an offensive war. In July of 1955, a proposal was made to negotiate an armistice.
In Mexico, public sentiment strongly favored the acceptance of peace with the United States. Although Mexico had been stirred into a patriotic fervor by the prospect of American aggression, a decade of war had likewise taken its toll on the Mexican people. With so little territory occupied after 11 years of battle, it was becoming evident to both the people and the government that Mexico would not successfully push far enough north to reclaim its former territory. Presidents Truman and Abascal met in Dallas on August 11, 1955, to agree to a cessation of hostilities between the United States and the Synarchist Pact.
Under the agreement, all occupied territory would be returned to the United States, and a demilitarized zone would be created along the border of the two nations for a period of 25 years. The Panama Canal would remain under Mexico's control, but the United States was granted free use of it and given permission to station a small naval force there to ensure its security.
Most significantly, as part of the agreement to maintain control over the canal, Mexico agreed to send all Axis forces currently stationed in its territory back to their home nations. The German base of operations at Villahermosa was vacated, and all Axis troops left Mexico to return to Europe by the end of 1955.
The Axis, meanwhile, recognized that the loss of Mexico and the support of South America meant that a proper invasion of the United States was even less likely. Begrudgingly, King Edward agreed to allow Canada to hold a referendum vote to determine if the nation would reclaim its sovereignty, submit to the British crown, or affiliate with the United States. The Canadian people chose to maintain their status as a British dominion, and American forces returned past the 49th parallel and allowed the Canadian government to resume its operations.
Thus, by the end of 1955, the war finally saw some vestige of peace after years of endless war. The Axis' appetite for power had not been sated, but for a time, the world would have an opportunity to recover and rebuild following the bloodiest conflict in human history.
