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New Blood (Part 1)
"Thunder"
"Flash"
John had been part of the Washington Rangers for two years now, but had yet to participate in an actual battle. He would've rather it had stayed that way, but over his time there he had learned that, if the Captain said jump, he jumped.
"You got the goods?"
"Yeah, they're on my back," he said pointing to the bag on his back. He knew that he wasn't a fighter, but what choice did he have. His father had been in the Krieg, even earned himself a little farm for it in British Columbia.
"Alright, set them up here," the Sarge said handing the bag off to Charlie and Eddie. He turned back holding a Mauser in his other hand and asked "You know how to use one of these?"
"S-sure," John stuttered. When the Reds invaded his father got a tip that they were after him from a friend. So he put John and his little sisters into their car and told him to drive like the wind. They had barely gotten out before the Reds closed the way out of BC.
"Great, now get to cover. The Federales should be here in half an hour."
That's how the Sarge had found them. Just south of the border, their car had run out of gas. Although he wasn't Sarge yet then. He took them in and promised to look after them. When the Oregonites and Californians failed in 1948, Sarge and some of his old buddies decided to join the fight as well. He had asked John, if he wanted to join as well.
"Look sharp, they're here. Alright boys, standard procedure. Jones, prep that rocket."
John was shivering, his only hope was that he'd stay alive to see his sisters once more.

The United States of Mexico, perhaps the greatest winner from the Second American Civil War, had emerged into their position of regional importance from a bloody and violent civil war. Following the end to the fighting in 1920 the Party of the Mexican Revolution, a big tent left-wing party accepting everybody from Social Democrats to Leninists, had been formed with the goal of bringing peace and plenty to Mexico. Headed originally by President Alfonso De La Huerta the Mexican state began the long process of emerging from the ruins of the revolution. Although political violence continued to flare up during the 20s, society had begun to stabilize in the 30s. The assassination attempt on President Zapata shocked the Mexican populace, which was fearful of losing what little peace had been restored. Although Zapata recovered and the perpetrator was quickly caught, implicating Calles and the Totalist faction. Many however were still unnerved by the events as well as the gradual withdrawal of Zapata from public life, choosing instead to endorse his Foreign Minister Pancho Villa for presidency. The hero of the Centaur of the North was already celebrated, but following his presidency which oversaw the nationalization of the Oil Industry as well as reclamation of the territories lost to the Americans propelled him to near legendary status among the public. When Pancho Villa died on the 16th of July 1950, at the age of 73, he left behind massive shoes that, the Mexican people and indeed Villa himself thought, could be filled by no one else than Emiliano Zapata.

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Zapata and Villa in the Palacio Nacional, ca 1915
Villa had thought that the establishment of broad-based political alliances was necessary for long-term survival of the Party as a national party. For this the Party needed territorial presence in state and municipal governments as well as organizations of mass interest groups. In order to further this he created sectors of the Party and structured them into mass organizations to represent different interest groups within the Party. When Zapata took the reigns of the state once more the PRM had four sectors: labour, peasants, popular and the military. Through these sections the Party incorporated the majority of Mexicans into their mass organizations, notably absent from these groups however were entrepreneurs and the Church. The incorporation of the military had been questioned by many however Villa's aim had been to make the military politically dependent on the Party rather than allow it to act independently and function as a potentially counter-revolutionary force. In a way Villa saw it as a way to assert civilian control asserting that, "We did not put the Army in politics. It was already there. In fact it had been dominating the situation, and we did well to reduce its voice to one in four." Although Zapata had originally criticized Villa following his election as president for Bonapartism, the continuing rise of welfare of the Mexican people as well as the return of at least the semblance of political stability had convinced Zapata of not only the benefits, but the necessity of such a system. Zapata was however not pleased with the cult of personality that Villa had built around himself denouncing it at public meetings and beginning the slow, but systematic process of rooting it out.

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Villa's statues were among the first targets in Zapata's struggle
to rid Mexico of his old comrades cult of personality

In his last days Villa had been plagued by the ever present Anglo problem, an issue which would continue to remain a pronounced issue for the duration of Zapata's presidency. Although the return of the Lost Territories was celebrated as a great achievement by the Mexican people it was perceived differently by the largely Anglo dominated population that lived in the region. Villa had reached an accord with the former leadership of the Pacific States, following their annexation in 1940, which called for the restoration of peace and provided the Americans with a degree of autonomy. The stability established by the that accord was however shattered in 1948, when elements from the former administration of the PSA called for an uprising against the Mexicans due to what they perceived as attempts to undermine the autonomy provided to Americans as well as the continued resettlement of Mexicans into their states. Although the Mexican forces quickly crushed the so-called Sixth Continental Army, their example enflamed the Pacific coast states, which unlike Texas had up until now been relatively peaceful.

Villa's fight against at the emigration of Anglos through Mexico, which the Mexican government had labelled human trafficking only further stoked tensions as refugees fleeing from the collectivization in the CSA or its invasion of Canada found themselves trapped in Mexico. Many were subsequently convinced to join the various Anglo resistances as they seemed to be the only option left. Although Villa himself would've gladly been free of the Anglo refugees, he found himself pressured by the CSA to not allow its citizens to flee. Although he largely overlooked American demands for their citizens to be returned he continued to block their emigration. In his first days in office Zapata chose to quietly drop the policy forbidding emigration by Anglos, hoping to deprive the rebels of their source of new recruits, as well as publicly declaring an amnesty to all rebels that would relinquish their weapons.


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Often peaking, but not limited to, the 4th of July, attacks by Anglo guerilla groups
contributed to the massive administrative strain of the Lost Territories

Zapata's presidency would however be consumed by the issue of economic reform. Although Mexico had nationalized its oil, leading to the creation of PEMEX to administrate it, under Villa there had been little development of sectors other than the military. Zapata's land reform had done much to stimulate Mexican agriculture, but over the decades it had begun to wilt. The system of ejidos was popular with the peasantry, but issues of corruption had started becoming more and more commonplace. Also troubling was the slow speed of agricultural mechanization. Although the ejidos were a communal farm, similar to the colowns in the CSA, the land was parcelled into individual sections and only its facilities were collectively maintained. Due to the individualist thinking stemming from this type of half-and-half system many peasants didn't feel the need to invest in mechanization, which many felt wouldn't necessarily be profitable to them. This line of thought was especially true among those that had continued to largely depend on subsistence agriculture. In order to combat this Zapata ordered the start of a campaign to popularize both mechanization as well as the growing of cash crops. Large issues also loomed for Mexican industry, which had received little attention beyond what was necessary for the Army and what Phalanstère aid had been provided by the Commune of France and the Union of Britain prior to the start of the Syndicalist War. Preaching a policy of swords into ploughshares and wishing to aid his campaign of mechanization, Zapata pushed for machine building factories to transfer away from production of armoured vehicles into tractors.

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The over reliance on subsistence agriculture would continue
to threaten what Zapata had envisioned with his land reform
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I think you'll have to talk about Mexico at some point. On the face of things it doesn't seem terribly realistic for a Radical Socialist Mexico led by a longtime Syndicalist darling/American bugbear who has no doubt received his fair share of Phalanstare aid over the years to be awash with Anticommunist Anglo refugees.

Good point, hence without further ado.
 
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-hoping Mexico cripples the American resistance and if needed gives back some of the useless states (by useless, not previously Mexican)-
Nice update. ^^

BTW, am I the only one rooting for Japan to become socialist?
I don't remember ever seeing a Red Japan AAR, haha.
 
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Read through all of this over the past week, and really enjoying the world you've built. I've always wanted to see a good AAR delving into a KR universe cold war. Eager to see where this goes, and hear more about Japan's internal development in particular.
 
If Mexico industrializes successfully and finds a non military solution for the resistance they will be bound for greatness.
The most probable outcome though, will be an eventual retreat from parts of California.

How have the other major powers reacted to Japan's nuclear threat? Luckily the Japanese haven't gone OTL's way so at least East Asia and the Pacific won't start glowing green.
 
New Blood (Part 2)
On the 20th of July 1951, Kaiser Wilhelm III drew his last breath the man that had lead Germany through its darkest hour, had died. The papers reported that the Kaiser had died in his sleep, although the fact that he had died of a heart attack was left out of the papers. The papers had also been silent on the Kaiser's previous history of illnesses, which had lead to his son, Crown Prince Louis Ferdinand, taking over much of his duties. The Kaiser had wished to maintain himself in the minds of the German people as a strong leader, a role he had taken when he had taken to heart when he took over the duties of his ailing father Kaiser Wilhelm II following the beginning of the Syndicalist War. Although he had lost his oldest son, Prince Wilhelm, during the Battle of the Rhine the Kaiser seemed unfazed stating "We can mourn in Paris," when asked to comment on the death of his son. A promise that he kept, when following the conclusion of the war against the Communards the by then Kaiser organized a massive funeral procession honouring all the men that had lost their lives in Paris, his own son had been laid to rest in the Peace Church in a small ceremony. Although interned at the same location the funeral of Wilhelm III was a much grander event attended by representatives of all the royal families in Europe as well as the exiled Windsors.

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Princess Elizabeth would represent both Britain as well as Japan at the funeral of the Kaiser.
The Germans had been unwilling to accept a representative from the Japanese royalty, following
the attack on
Sydney, but were willing to accept a Windsor in that role.
The Crown Prince's pseudo-regency during his fathers bouts of illness had made him a known quantity in the circles of power. It had been the Crown Prince after all that convinced his father to give approval to the SPD lead coalition government, as the Prince saw them as the chance to reunite the German people. His tendency towards liberalism was only further confirmed when he took the regnal name of Friedrich IV, in a visible attempt to buck tradition and establish himself as the spiritual successor to his great-grandfather Friedrich III. Despite this however Kaiser Friedrich IV continued to believe that this unification of the people and empowering of the people should not come through the rapid weakening of the powers of the Kaiser, something which he believed would lead to strong backlash from the Junker establishment. Instead the Kaiser supported a more gradual transition of power like that of his great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. Additionally the state of Europe posed further worries for the Kaiser, who although more of an engineer than a soldier fancied himself a student of Bismarck and sought to ease the ever present tensions between the Russian and the German Empire. He did so by reaching out to his brother-in-law, who although originally little more than a puppet of his generals had begun accruing support in his own right. Although there was little the Kaiser could actually promise, as the talks the two Emperors largely circled back to the issue of Ukraine, the Kaiser conceded to recognize White Ruthenia, a German client-state that the Russians had occupied since the Syndicalist War, as a part of Russia. In exchange the Tsar would do whatever was possible to push for an amelioration between their two states.

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The ascension of Prince Louis Ferdinand to the throne of Kaiser
marked a tangible end to the Wilhelmine period

The Government was taken aback by this meddling from the Kaiser, who they had up until now thought would let them go about their business without interference. Despite this however they reluctantly agreed to the demands of their sovereign. The Foreign Office was tasked with reaching out to the Russians in order to realize the Kaisers plans of détente with the Russians. However with the elections inching ever closer the SPD decided to not pursue it that heavily. The decision to do so stemmed from a belief in the SPD leadership that the focus of the election should be aimed at internal, rather than external policies. Whilst the Coalition had lead the Kaiserreich into an economic crisis few among the public blamed them for it, despite frequent attempts by the opposition to draw attention to it. The fact that the economy had not only recovered, but improved massively from the position that it had been in 1947 had much to do with it. Women's suffrage as well as the Reconstruction Funds had also proven unequivocally popular. The only questionable policy the opposition could attack the government with was the policy of demobilization. Whilst it had proven crucial to providing the labour necessary for the German economic resurgence recent events such as the Internationale emerging victorious over the Entente as well as the Japanese atomic strike on Sydney had made the public anxious. Rather than insert the potentially explosive topic of territorial concessions to the Russians into the public sphere the SPD focused on bringing forth its plans for the creation of a full-blown welfare state.

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The SPD focused a significant portion of its campaign effort on the newly enfranchised female voters

Much to the surprise of the SPD leadership the election proved to be a hard fought affair, despite the fact that the policies of the SPD had grown its support massively even in the Zentrum leaning Rhineland. The DKP attacked the SPD viciously blaming them for everything from allowing the Internationale respite to alleging that the economic crisis was an attempt to stir revolution in the Kaiserreich, although the latter was a position held only by few radicals. Stoking the fears of the public towards the Syndicalists as well as once again raising the allegations that the SPD had ties with the Internationale proved a potent combo for the DKP base, even drawing away some less radical liberals. The unwillingness of most SPD parliamentarians to engage in debate on foreign policy beyond declaring that they had not been in government when the Second Peace with Honour was signed did little to improve things. The SPD had also been weakened by its decision to replace Kurt Schumacher following his declining health with Herbert Frahm, who they felt would be bet to lead Germany as well as the SPD into a new era. When election day, 9th of March 1952, finally rolled around the SPD emerged victorious, but fell short of a majority. The lack of a majority was however more of an issue of disappointment by some within the party rather than a hindrance to governance, as the FVP was more than willing to continue governing with the SPD. The Kaiser sent his warmest regards to Herbert Frahm on the 10th as well as appointed him as the next chancellor of the German Empire. In his first speech before the Reichstag the young chancellor set forth his political course of reforms ending the speech with his famous words, "Wir wollen mehr Demokratie wagen" ("We want to take a chance on more Democracy").

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The young chancellor Frahm's message of a caring and
open German state echoed across the political spectrum

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mexico will face a crisis soon. Will this situation be a Mexican version of Vietnam?

Perhaps or perhaps not. Zapata has at least presented an olive branch in hopes of solving the issue.

-hoping Mexico cripples the American resistance and if needed gives back some of the useless states (by useless, not previously Mexican)-
Nice update. ^^

BTW, am I the only one rooting for Japan to become socialist?
I don't remember ever seeing a Red Japan AAR, haha.

Mexico has a lot of potential, whether they'll be able to tap into it however remains to be seen. However as I said to Maciej, the first steps are always the hardest and they've been taken. Also, thanks!

The issue there might be due to game set up, a Red Japan as such can't really come into being as far as Kaiserreich is set up without the player forcing it on them. Yes, Taishuto is there as an electoral option, but despite being called Socialist they're more traditional social democrats than anything else.

Read through all of this over the past week, and really enjoying the world you've built. I've always wanted to see a good AAR delving into a KR universe cold war. Eager to see where this goes, and hear more about Japan's internal development in particular.

Glad to have you and happy for the praise. :)

Life has not been pleasant for the American people, no matter which side of the border they've ended up on :(

You can say that again.

If Mexico industrializes successfully and finds a non military solution for the resistance they will be bound for greatness.
The most probable outcome though, will be an eventual retreat from parts of California.

How have the other major powers reacted to Japan's nuclear threat? Luckily the Japanese haven't gone OTL's way so at least East Asia and the Pacific won't start glowing green.

Perhaps not California itself, however to some parts it may of course happen. However yeah, Mexico has a lot of potential.

I think I mentioned their reactions in the third part of Southern Cross. However the short gist is that they quickly started doing whatever they could to get their own bombs as well.
 
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The German-Russian alliance will surely help both in their struggle against syndycalism. The new Kaiser has made a good move.

And what about Balkans? From what I remember Bulgaria has been split between Serbia and Greece.
 
Interesting to see the Left doing so well in Germany. With their focus on builder a fairer Reich at home - the success of the SPD will surely see Germany shrink bank on foreign affairs.
 
New Blood (Part 3)
The 1953 elections saw the Seiyukai confirm its hold on the Diet with there being little change beyond the loss of all JCP held seats as well as the Taishuto replacing the Minseito as the main opposition party. Change however happened within the party as Inukai Takeru, third son of Inukai Tsuyoshi, became the president of the party just a few weeks prior to the election. Inukai had been a dark horse at the party congress, being a member of the 'reformist' faction, and many had hoped that Ashida Hitoshi would continue his premiership. Ashida however surprised everyone by announcing withdrawing his candidacy and instead endorsing Inukai. Citing his action as the Minister of Justice within his cabinet in helping to handle the recent crises as reason for his endorsement. Although there was an attempt to set up a last-minute candidate to oppose Inukai, this attempt was struck down. Many reformists within the party hoped that the new prime minister would push for further reforms and this seemed to be true as Inukai brought many members of his faction into his cabinet. However, this hope soon faded as the Inukai cabinet continued to pursue the policies of the former cabinet, with slight alterations. The victory in the general election however seemed to signal public approval for the cabinet silencing many opponents. Given the rapidly changing international arrangement that the Japanese would find them in the cabinet would largely be dominated by foreign policy issues, starting with the longest standing trouble child of Japanese foreign politics.

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Although his father's assassination had impeded his political career, Inukai Takeru was no
political rookie having held multiple minor ministerial positions in the previous governments

Japan had been trying to court the Philippines since the outbreak of the Second American Civil War. These reasons had multiple facets both economically as well as militarily, which only grew more pressing as the Yen Bloc expanded further south. Japanese overtures had however largely been rebuffed by President Emilio Aguinaldo, citing a policy of strict neutrality. Despite this the Philippines had remained open towards Japanese investment as well as trade, with Japan quickly becoming the island's largest trading partner. Japanese influence only grew following the collapse of German power in East Asia, as well as the resurgence of the Americans. The presence of Syndicalists on the South China Sea had also caused a security scare within the Philippines, pushing them to look for guarantors. Japanese offers of aid for the modernization of the Army as well as nigh ancient Navy, had only aided to push the Philippines further into the Japanese sphere. The rapid invasion of Australasia and the atomic bombing of Sydney seemed to put a hamper on things, as many Filipinos felt outraged by such blatant acts of aggression. Archbishop O'Doherty, denounced the attack as a crime against humanity. Despite the public outrage, the attack and the lack of response to it seemed to assure to the government of the Philippines that the Japanese remained the only plausible ally that could defend them, should the need arise. Thus, when the new Japanese diplomats approached them about a visit from the new Prime Minister, it was approved without second thought.

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Fostering trust in Japan among the Filipino public was seen as the
key in convincing their government to abandon their neutrality

The arrival of the Prime Minister was carefully choreographed to give off the warmest demonstration of Japanese strength, with the transport ship containing the delegation being escorted by a carrier division. Once off the ship the Prime Minister wasted no time mincing words presenting his opposites with a treaty. The treaty was in many similar to the one the Japanese had concluded with Siam, where both parties would be obligated to participate in conflicts should the other request it. In exchange for this Inukai was offering large amounts of investment into the economy of the Philippines as well as increased aid for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Pushed into a corner President Aguinaldo reluctantly agreed to the terms with the alliance being announced to the public in a grand ceremony on the 21st of March. Rather than return home however the Prime Minister continued his trip, this time setting his sight on the Philippines. Arriving in Jakarta, formerly Batavia, Inukai was greeted by Sukarno and the rest of the members of the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence and spoke at a public ceremony before once again retiring to discussions. Inukai approved the Committee's wish to increase the size of PETA and following difficult negotiations a date as well as the territory of the future Indonesian state was decided. The state would encompass everything west of Bali as well as the island of Sulawesi from the former governorate of Groote Oost. The rest of the Groote Oost would remain in Japanese hands with Japan also retaining exclusive resource rights within the new Indonesian state as well as the right to continue the policy of Japanification against the Christian population. The Prime Minister would also make a visit to Australia, where he would meet with Princess-Regent Elizabeth as well as Prime Minister Menzies to discuss Australasian worries before finally return to the country on the 18th of April.

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Following internal power squabbles Sukarno had emerged as the foremost among
Indonesian leadership, owing it at least partially to ample Japanese support

1953 also marked the blooming of the Second Chinese Wave and although it is often associated with the premiership of Inukai Takeru it had really begun with the 1952 movie ‘Woman of Shanghai’. Despite this however the role of the Prime Minister is not to be underestimated, who like his father was somewhat of a Sinophile, causing many to describe Chinese culture as his second mistress. In his memoirs Inukai would later explain his efforts to popularize Chinese culture in the rest of the Empire as a way to promote understanding between China and the rest of the Empire in order to unite it. Although nationalists decried these actions as a promotion of a backwards culture from an inferior people; it carried little weight as Chinese culture, both traditional and modern, took the country by storm. Although literary classics such as the Four Classic Novels once again made a comeback, they found themselves outcompeted by more modern media. Songs from shidaiqu legends such as the Seven Great Singing Stars filled airwaves with their songs having become more and more like ryūkōka in the 8 years since the First Wave. Despite the success of Woman of Shanghai, Chinese cinema itself however struggled to keep up with the strong showing made by the larger and better funded Japanese film industry facing films such as ‘Ugetsu’, ‘Gate of Hell’ and ‘Love Letter’.

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A daughter of Japanese settlers in China, Yamaguchi Yoshiko rose to stardom on the mainland in the late 30s
under the name - Li Xianglan, given to mask her Japanese heritage. It was not until the First Chinese Wave
that she achieved a similar level of fame in Japan.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It seems as though Germany's turn towards its own New Left (as it were) has proven to be more than just a passing fad. Frahm's new program certainly sounds quite ambitious.

Ambitious indeed, but you got to aim high after all.

The German-Russian alliance will surely help both in their struggle against syndycalism. The new Kaiser has made a good move.

And what about Balkans? From what I remember Bulgaria has been split between Serbia and Greece.

Currently at peace, but tensions still do exist, largely between the Austro-Hungarians on one side and Serbia, Romania and it's puppet Bulgaria on the other.

Interesting to see the Left doing so well in Germany. With their focus on builder a fairer Reich at home - the success of the SPD will surely see Germany shrink bank on foreign affairs.

You're rather correct in your assessment as far as refocusing their foreign efforts go, but the Reich can only afford to shrink only so much.


Sorry for the delay, I started my internship this week and have been a bit swamped by work.
 
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The Philippines are brought into the fold with a little bit of carrot-and-stick -- though mostly the former, thankfully.

The growth of the Japanese cinema scene has me wondering what's going to become of the Godzilla franchise in this world. OTL the creators were inspired by the destruction the atomic bomb had inflicted on Japan and the Cold War superpower brinksmanship that followed in the World War's aftermath. While this timeline's Japan is in a much different situation, and thus the movie is going to lack some of the impact that OTL's had on its audiences, I can't help but wonder if something like it might still arise from a "B-movie" environment similar to that of our postwar Hollywood.
 
The Philippines are brought into the fold with a little bit of carrot-and-stick -- though mostly the former, thankfully.

The growth of the Japanese cinema scene has me wondering what's going to become of the Godzilla franchise in this world. OTL the creators were inspired by the destruction the atomic bomb had inflicted on Japan and the Cold War superpower brinksmanship that followed in the World War's aftermath. While this timeline's Japan is in a much different situation, and thus the movie is going to lack some of the impact that OTL's had on its audiences, I can't help but wonder if something like it might still arise from a "B-movie" environment similar to that of our postwar Hollywood.

Godzilla is actually a mutant kangaroo or something.

It is a very interesting question though. So much of Japanese pop culture of the post-war period was influenced by the atomic bombs and defeat in the war. One wonders whether or not popular culture will take the opposite direction given that one assumes Japan is still a very militarised society.
 
New Blood (Part 4)

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Chaos has taken hold in Ireland, still reeling from death of President Michael Collins in a car bombing in central Dublin. Frankfurter Zeitung sources inside the state claim that the bombings was a signal for the beginning of the revolution and claim that revolutionaries acting under the name of Saor Éire have taken control of the country. Its paramilitary unit, the Irish Citizens Army, as well as military units loyal to the new revolutionary government have apparently disarmed units still loyal to the Collins government, who are reported to have offered no resistance. The revolutionaries have declared the Irish-German pact null and void, reportedly causing much tension in Berlin. And now sports, where we go live to the Meiji Jingu Stadium for the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League opening match [...]

Excerpt from an NHK radio and television broadcast on the 12th of April 1953

Collins' continued autocracy, the growing disillusionment among Irish-American refugees in the old country and the echoes of the German induced economic crisis, had proven fertile ground for efforts by Washington and London to foment revolution in Ireland. The island seemed locked in time and although the opposition had grown bolder, discussions even in Mitteleuropa were more focused on the growth of tensions between Italy and its allies in the Anglosphere, which had both denounced its growing 'revisionism'. The awakening was thus even ruder, when the Irish revolution kicked off with the assassination of Collins.


cAWHGih.jpg

Revolution in Ireland was seen not as a matter of if, but a matter of when

Moving in rapid succession the revolutionaries quickly established control over broadcast stations, replacing planned programming with popular music whilst others seized control of the Dáil as well as ports and railway stations in and around Dublin. Once they felt secure, the music stopped and the Socialist Republic of Ireland was proclaimed. Barring the initial attack the revolution was bloodless with the loyalist old guard in bases around Dublin surrendering to the revolutionary young officers with not so much as a shot fired. This subsequently inspired similar actions in the rest of the bases around Ireland with much of the old armed forces defecting to the Syndicalist cause nearly intact. Thus, before anybody on the outside could as much as lift a finger, the Republic of Ireland had ceased to exist. Europe and the world at large were once again taken aback by speed that these so-called revolutionary vanguard acted in overthrowing the government. Although many in Mitteleuropa had hoped that this revolution would see Ireland transition into a genuine democracy, these hopes were soon scuppered as German attempts for reconciliation were quickly shot down. The revolutionaries denounced the Kaiserreich as reactionary feudalist construct and called for the German proletariat to join them in revolution. Despite amounting to little of note this attack was not taken lightly by the Germans.

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Euphemistically called the 'Distancing' the Italian attempts to fight of Totalist influences
earned them the ire of both the Union of Britain and Combined Syndicates of America

The revolutionary government, with its' positions now seemingly secure, called for the First Syndicalist Congress of Ireland to convene on the anniversary of Easter Rising. Although some had pushed for the Congress to happen on May Day, the 1916 Rising was considered a better choice by James Larkin Jr, head of the Provisional government, and thus it was chosen. Additionally its proximity would help more quickly legitimize the new Provisional government. Thus when the 24th of April finally arrived representatives from Saor Éire, the Irish Workers League, the Revolutionary Workers Group as well as a left-wingers from Sinn Féin gathered in the old Dáil building to lay the future for a new Ireland. The first days of the Congress proved fairly uncontroversial, when the parties decided to abandon their various parties and unite under the name of the Republican Congress. This decision was followed by a resolution on the following day banning all political parties that weren't in the Republican Congress. Members of the parties that had not been banned were barred from public office and no new parties would be allowed to form. In a show of goodwill from the Internationale the Congress was visited by a delegation from the Commune of Brittany on the 29th proclaiming Gaelic Brotherhood under the Red Flag, as well as passing a note from the Union of Britain to expect a bigger delegation soon. Following this visit the Congress approved the dissolution of the Irish Scouting Association on the 30th, deeming it a reactionary bourgeoisie movement and spearheaded the creation of the All Ireland Youth League in its stead. The proximity of May Day however lead to the Congress concluding early and announcing that it would reconvene on the 4th.

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Unlike in Totalist states the Congress would for
the time being maintain its grasp on policy


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Modeled much after similar organizations in the UoB and the CSA,
the All Ireland Youth League differed in one key aspect it's independence from the Party

Upon its convening once more the Congress found itself under pressure from a cross-faction pressure from Cumann na mBan, The Irishwomen's Council, leading to the restoration of women’s rights as equals to the men as well as the expansion of military service to women. The Equal Rights bill was riddled with controversy and saw the first split vote for the Congress stoking tensions and heralding what's to come. Finally on the 7th a delegation from the Union of Britain arrived bringing greetings from Chairman Mosley, headed by find none other than Foreign Minister Aneurin Bevan. In an impassioned speech he Bevan praised the Irish workers for rising up against the reactionary Collins' as well as declaring an end to the Trade War. The hope for a unanimous pro-British declaration was once again split by factionalism. Although thanks to the cooperation of Saor Éire and the Irish Workers League it was finally pushed through, it was by now clear that the unanimity of the pre-May Day Congress was lost. The following days however saw the pair of Saor Éire and the Irish Workers League on the back foot as the Revolutionary Workers Group pushed through both a focus for a massive amount of public works projects, both in the cities and the countryside, as well as nigh anti-clerical policies going much further than the laïcité of the Collins era enraging many Irishmen and -women. However on the following days SE and the IWL took back control, first pushing through an intensification the Gaelicisation policies of the Collins era as well as an increased focus on the army, now renamed the Irish Citizens Republican Army.

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The battleship RNS Vanguard patrolling the Irish Sea in the early 1950s

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The end of the increasingly unpopular Trade War marked a propaganda victory for both Britain and Ireland,

It was not a day after the conclusion of the Gaelicisation vote that explosions once again rang out in Dublin. The perpetrators were however quickly caught and under interrogation admitted to being members of the Ulster Volunteer Force. Seeing this a threat to the revolution, as well as seeing a way to push out the RWG, the IWL and SE pushed through a resolution to maintain the Provisional Government and tasked with dealing with this threat. The deployment of Republican militias and the ICRA to the North in order to catch the perpatrators quickly turned violent with UVF members rose up against the Republican forces. Only the arrival of a division of the German Navy in the Celtic Sea pushed the government into negotiations and even then upon the behest of the British delegation. As the government reached out to leaders of the UVF to negotiate, reports came in that the British Republican Navy blocked the entry of the Germans onto the Irish Sea. Undismayed by the blocking of access to the Irish Sea the Germans conducted shooting drills off the coast of Cork, startling both the Republicans and Unionists. Startled by the German threat the UVF leadership agreed to negotiate. In gruelling negotiations the Provisional government agreed to drop some of the more anti-clerical policies as well as slightly limit the Gaelicisation in Ulster by allowing the universities to continue partially teaching in English. The German provocation had thus failed to divide the Irish and instead succeeded at dividing opinion at home as Chancellor Frahm came under fire from both the right, for provoking rebellions in German subjects with his permissive policy, and the left, for attempting to militarily meddle in a foreign nation. Despite this however the SPD seemed strong behind Frahm and polling seemed to suggest that the public supported a response to the Irish revolution.

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The arrival of Republican units to restore order in the North reminded many of the Civil War

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The failure of the Germans to provide support to the Unionists
contributed greatly to their willingness to come to negotiating table

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Will Japan invade the Vietnam?

We'll see.

The Philippines are brought into the fold with a little bit of carrot-and-stick -- though mostly the former, thankfully.

The growth of the Japanese cinema scene has me wondering what's going to become of the Godzilla franchise in this world. OTL the creators were inspired by the destruction the atomic bomb had inflicted on Japan and the Cold War superpower brinksmanship that followed in the World War's aftermath. While this timeline's Japan is in a much different situation, and thus the movie is going to lack some of the impact that OTL's had on its audiences, I can't help but wonder if something like it might still arise from a "B-movie" environment similar to that of our postwar Hollywood.

Godzilla is actually a mutant kangaroo or something.

It is a very interesting question though. So much of Japanese pop culture of the post-war period was influenced by the atomic bombs and defeat in the war. One wonders whether or not popular culture will take the opposite direction given that one assumes Japan is still a very militarised society.

Something might of course emerge, regarding Godzilla but as Tempest said much of what we think of Japan as today comes from the defeat in the war.

Culturally however, it is a better thing to be discussed as a chapter. My general point however would be that we would see a less blatant depiction of anti-militarism, both thanks to government crackdowns as well as the lack of a defeat as Tempest put it.

Also, sorry for the lack of protests. Midsummer got in the way and slowly transitioned from 5 days in the woods into a week.
 
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No worries :)

The death of Collins and the collapse of his government has certainly put the Germans in a tight spot, now that they've lost that little bit of leverage they had over the UoB in the British Isles. On the whole, though, I'd say it was fortunate that they managed to avoid an all-out war -- no one wants a repeat of the Second Weltkrieg, I hope!
 
It remains to be be seen just how independent the UoB will allow this Irish state to be. I would be surprised if ‘advisors’ and military bases start to pop up before long.

You would also wonder whether the treatment of the Ulstermen will strain Anglo-Irish relations. Even under syndicalism - many across the Sea will see the Ulstermen as their kin to some extent.
 
Interlude - De Watersnoodramp

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The Amsterdam Olympics marked the start of the so-called Golden Half Decade. The Netherlands was notable in Europe for its quick recovery from the Crisis of '48, owing greatly to their ability to play the German as well as the Japanese Empires off against each other. Trade relations with the latter as well as the Yen bloc in general proved vital to this recovery, contributing first to softening of the blow and then to rapid growth, as Mitteleuropan economies stagnated or declined. The reliance on the Yen bloc also further strengthened the Dutch role as the pseudo-staple port for Japanese exports into Europe. These ties however had done little to improve relations between the Netherlands and the Japanese as many in the public still held a grudge at the brutal handling of the East Indies Revolt. This grudge was only exacerbated by the Dutch government at the time continuing to kowtow to Japanese interests. The Netherlands also stood in sharp contrast to its southern neighbour - the Confederation of Flanders and Wallonia, in reality little more than two loosely affiliated principalities. The Confederation had struggled to regain its footing following the Second Peace with Honour. Initial developments were slow owing to the very limited amount of aid offered by the Germans, who also vetoed any direct aid by the Dutch. The Conservative government at the time had hoped to maintain the monopolistic power position it held over the region. German domination also contributed to the Confederation being hurt more than many other German dependents and trading partners by the Crisis of '48.

This tranquillity however could not last and although the 31st of January seemed like any other Saturday, it would rudely interrupt the mark the end for the period of peace. On the night of that day many dikes proved unable to resist the combination of a large spring tide as well as a northwesterly storm. The surge breached the Zeeland dikes in 67 locations. This allowed the water to come rushing in inundating large parts of South Holland, Zeeland and North Brabant. It was only thanks to quick actions by the locals as well as a lot of luck that many more were not lost that night. Nowhere else was this as obvious as with the Schielands Hoge Zeedijk (Schielands High Seadike) along the river Hollandse IJssel. The dike was all that protected three million people in the provinces of North and South Holland from flooding. The Groenendijk, which made up a part of it, was not yet reinforced with stone revetments, making its seaward slope weak. Despite efforts by volunteers to reinforce this stretch, it began to collapse under the pressure of the mass of water, which was only slightly below the crest, at around 5:30 am on the 1st of February. In a last ditch effort to save the dike, the mayor of Nieuwerkerk commandeered the river ship de Twee Gebroeders, The Two Brothers, and ordered its owner to plug the hole by navigating his ship into it. Fearing that the ship might break through into the polde Arie Evegroenr, the captain of the ship, took a row boat with him. The mayor's plan was resounding success with the ship lodging firmly into the dike and reinforcing it against failure.


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The floods wreaked havoc across the low lying islands of Zeeland consuming the work of generations in mere minutes

Neighbouring countries could do little to escape the storm either. In Flanders although the damage was mostly confined to local breaches in sea defences near Ostend, Knokke as well as Antwerp, the flooding claimed close to 28 lives. Neither could the wise guidance of Chairman Mosley save the the Union of Britain, which saw over 1,600 km of coastline damaged in addition to at least 1,200 breaches in its sea walls. In places the floods reached as far as 3 km inland and caused a total of 650 km2 of inundation. The flooding forced at least 30,000 people from their homes as well as the abandonment of many coastal camps and the relocation of their 'residents' further inland. The damage was estimated at £50 million with deaths in excess of 800.

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Escapees from the Union of Britain, would later tell tales of how Mosleyites had taken
advantage of the chaos stemming from the floods to 'clear' residents from the camps

The catastrophe provoked a great deal of sympathy in Mitteleuropa towards the Low Countries and caused Germany to offer unconditional aid to both countries in handling the crisis. Despite the situation the Dutch found themselves in, they saw the offer of the Kaiserreich as trying to take advantage of the situation it found itself in to finally break its neutrality. It was on these grounds that the Dutch refused any help from soldiers of any nation in their country. However they did accept the German offer, if it was provided by civilians. The Germans accepted this and soon helicopter pilots of the Heer, officially hired by the Reichspostamt arriving often in still wet Flettner Fl.290s to rescue people trapped on their rooftops. Queen Wilhelmina as well as Princesses Beatrix and Juliana visited the flooded area only a few days after in hopes of rallying spirits. In order to assuage the troubles of those affected by the floods the Dutch government also embarked on a large aid program named the National Relief Fund. Given the magnitude of the damage, the government thought it crucial to gain monetary support from the public both at home and abroad. At home the national donation campaign was also started with the most visible example of the campaign being soldiers going from door to door to sell pea soup. The out pour of sympathy from the international community was however not just limited to words with donations from around the world flooding the Red Cross to the degree that some of the aid was redirected to other causes.

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In total 100,000 commemorative postcards, featuring an illustration
by Eppo Doeve, were sold to raise money for the National Relief Fund

In response to this Great Flood the Dutch government authorized the formation of the Delta Commission, to study the causes and effects of the floods. According to an official report by the Commission it was estimated that flooding killed 1,835 people and forced the emergency evacuation of 70,000 more. Additionally, the floods covered 9% of Dutch farmland, and sea water flooded 1,365 km2 of land, this killed an estimated 30,000 animals and damaged 47,300 buildings, of which 10,000 were destroyed. The total damage of the floods was estimated at 1 billion Dutch guilders. The Commission brought forth many shortcomings in preempting the damage such as the fact that although the Rijkswaterstaat, Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management, had warned about the risk of a flood this warning nor that of the KNMI, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, had reached the at risk areas in time. This was largely due to the fact that none of the local radio stations broadcasted at night and many of the smaller weather stations only operated during the day. Due to these failures the populace had been unable to prepare for the impending flood. Issues were further compounded due to the fact that the disaster struck on a Saturday night, during which many government and emergency offices in the affected area were not staffed. Most startlingly of all the Commission found that the flooding could have been a whole 1.2 meters higher. The Delta Report, as it was called, caused the government to immediately approve of the ambitious Delta Project as well as plans to strengthen the already existing dikes.

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Completed in the early 30s, it is said that the Afsluitdijk recouped all of its costs in that one night.
The dam would also serve as inspiration for many parts of the Delta Works

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Greetings to all new readers that have ended up here due to the Showcase. I hope you enjoyed this so far and going forward as well. Same for those who've been here as well. Sorry for the leap back in time, we'll be plowing forward next time.

No worries :)

The death of Collins and the collapse of his government has certainly put the Germans in a tight spot, now that they've lost that little bit of leverage they had over the UoB in the British Isles. On the whole, though, I'd say it was fortunate that they managed to avoid an all-out war -- no one wants a repeat of the Second Weltkrieg, I hope!

They've lost for now, but who knows Donegal Bay looks nice all times a year, after all.

Let's hope, that Ireland will manage to avoid totalism and purges.

As the old saying goes, hope is last to perish.

It remains to be be seen just how independent the UoB will allow this Irish state to be. I would be surprised if ‘advisors’ and military bases start to pop up before long.

You would also wonder whether the treatment of the Ulstermen will strain Anglo-Irish relations. Even under syndicalism - many across the Sea will see the Ulstermen as their kin to some extent.

Congratulations Heath! You're the new Weekly AAR Showcase.

Thank you once again. As to your idea, many Scots and Englismen might still see the Ulstermen as their kin. However that poses the question of how much exactly does the Ulster loyalty have to do with the Monarchy and how much has it to do with their blood ties. At the very least the UoB would be cautious of supporting a group of restorationists so close to them.
 
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