The Entente policy of return to Europe hadn't been proceeding as expected. Whilst many Exiles in the British Dominions as well as leaders in France had begun to believe that victory could be easily accomplished by simply kicking the door down, seeing the rotting structure crumble and being greeted as liberators, the reality proved much different. After 6 long years of fighting, with no end in sight, neither France nor the former British Dominions were any closer to reclaiming their respective metropoles. What's more many had begun to feel that they were now further than they had been in 1940 when the fighting began. Although there had been successes, they were outweighed by subsequent failures, such as the Internationale reclaiming Western France. Similarly whilst the Italian Front had re-established the Entente on the Continent, the fighting had proven gruesome and remained, for the better part of 4 years, at a stand still. One of the few success stories the Entente could claim was the reunification of India. As the war continued grinding on the subcontinent would become the crux of the Indian war effort, as countless droves of young Indian men were sent to fight and die for God, King and Country in France and Italy. Something that the Indian population had begun to resent.
General elections in India, 1944
Much to the surprise of British planners, the 1944 elections in India swept the leftist Home Rule Party into power. The party, lead by the lead by the charismatic Muhammad Ali Jinnah, promised economic reforms that would better protect workers rights, cut down on the powers of the Princes and put an end to the senseless spilling of Indian blood in the distant and seemingly endless Syndicalist War. Setting first out on their policy of economic reform the party found change slow and arduous. Although the powers of the Princes had been crushed in the North they still remained a potent force in the South. Likewise Syndicalist radicals could still be found waging guerrilla warfare in the lands of the former Bhartiya Commune and Burma. Despite mounting opposition, from left-wing radicals as well as aristocrats, the Home Rule Party persevered. Despite the popularity of the economic reforms among the rural and urban poor, the issue of continued war with the Internationale remained leading to many open anti-war protests across all of the major cities of India.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, known as the father of modern India leading the country to new greats
As the public protested, Indian diplomats had been hard at work trying to convince the what remained of the British Empire to provide them with some incentives, as well as Home Rule, for the continued participation of Indian troops in the Syndicalist War. More often than not, they found themselves being stonewalled and played for time. As many Exiles kept waiting for victories that would not arrive. As discontent grew among the populace so too it did among the diplomats and the elected representatives of the Home Rule Party. More and more MPs were pressuring Government to either take a stand and leave the Entente altogether without further negotiations or to present the Canadians with a clear cut ultimatum, wording Indian demands. Many in the party leadership however still felt that continuing negotiations would prove to be most beneficial, but redirected effort away from negotiations in Canada to the propagation of Indian soft-power within the region.
The humble British Hotel in Ottawa would oversee the negotiations about the future of the Entente
As negotiations continued to stall in Ottawa, Foreign Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy spearheaded the creation of the South-East Asian Customs Union in June of 1946. Made up of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Tibet. Bhutan as well as Afghanistan refused, officially citing policies of neutrality however unofficially it was made clear that these decisions were influenced by the 4th Anglo-Afghani war as well as the threats made towards Bhutanese sovereignty in reclaiming the districts occupied after the collapse of the Raj. The decision of cooperation from Sri Lanka, however marked a change in the island nations' policy so far, which had been Germanocentric and interpreted by some foreign observers as an attempt to balance the declining German dominance. As well as its neighbours in South-East Asia, India also sought amicable relations with the Republic of China. Although tensions were high, due to Indian control over Tibet, as well as other regions which the Chinese diplomats called unlawfully occupied territories, negotiations proceeded. Although a trade agreement was eventually reached and amicable relations were be established, control over Tibet would remain a prickly issue within Sino-Indian relations.
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, credited with the creation of the South-East Asian Customs Union as well as the normalization of Sino-Indian relations. Suhrawardy was just the man to lead the negotiations concerning the future of India
Although Indian diplomatic focus seemed to have changed, Indian representatives in Ottawa remained hard at work hopeful to try and reach a deal with Canada that the they hoped would be acceptable to the public. Finally on the 14th of November, after 2 years of being stonewalled Prime Minister Jinnah had had enough and authorized Foreign Minister Suhrawardy to travel to Canada to extract an answer out of the Canadians, yes or no. After meeting with HIM Edward VIII, Foreign Minister Suhrawardy presented the Canadians with clear cut ultimatum - either monetary and industrial concessions would be made, in addition to an ironclad guarantee of Indian sovereignty or the Indians would make separate peace with the Internationale and withdraw from the Entente. Having grown tired of delaying tactics Indian diplomats had prepared the terms to be as harsh as possible, for the Canadians, but still something they believed would be seen as worth the cost of continued Indian cooperation in the war effort. Upon receiving the ultimatum Canadian representatives, lead by Foreign Minister Robert James Manion, requested for a recess, something that the Indian delegation interpreted as further delaying tactics. The Indian representatives responded to this by leaving the summit, confident that the Canadians would rather lose India than make concessions to them.
Bevin greeting Indian delegates at the Gothenburg Summit, 23rd of November 1946
Instead of returning directly to India however, the delegation set course towards neutral Sweden. Once there they asked Swedish diplomats to facilitate peace talks between the Internationale and the Dominion of India. Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin, as well as Chairman Oswald Mosley were reportedly ecstatic about the offer and flew to Sweden at once. Peace with the Union of Britain was reached on the 23rd of November 1946 in the Swedish port city of Gothenburg. At the summit India announced the immediate repatriation of all Indian troops deployed overseas as well as a withdrawal from further military operations organized by the Entente. This decision sent shock waves across the world, raising questions in many foreign capitals about the capabilities of the Entente, as well as making some Canadian politicians consider the sustainability of further war.
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The scene in the introduction was very relatable. Some things truly never change
Japan has threaded the needle, maintaining peace and steady economic development despite the chaos unfolding in the rest of the world. The East Indies in particular must be the Japanese Empire's "crown jewels," given the problems they've traditionally had with acquiring oil and rubber. It'll be interesting to see how Japanese administration plays out over the long term there.
The oil in the East Indies has gone a long way to securing increased independence from imports, but I'm still fairly sure that a big war would push that to its limits, both since the decreased focus on the Army has resulted in fewer units that could be deployed to defend the region whilst still keeping China under lock and key as well as the problems stemming from keeping the convoys safe once war begins.
Managing to reduce the internicine rivalry between the services is probably the most significant achievement.
There is still probably a strong sense of distrust between the Army and the Navy, what with the Navy extracting the Air Force from the Army to weaken it. However having to deal with the Air Force as partners, rather than subordinates as well as the importance of combined arms operations has probably managed to teach the Army some new tricks.
I hope, that Japan will go through some major defeats during this AAR. Otherwise it won't be as interesting, as it might be.
We'll see as the story goes, however I'll try to keep the "Rule Japonia" to a minimum if at all possible. I know that this is going to sound a bit suspicious given this following chapter, but I hope that you can trust me.
On another note, the next installment will be delayed a bit since I have an exam tomorrow. Additionally, starting from February Uni is starting back up again, so the posts will become less frequent, probably one post per week at a minimum, but hopefully they will be more substantial as well as interesting.
Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the AAR going forward.
