The World War: 1907-1912
As the communists prepared for war with France, few could foresee how the war would escalate into a global conflict, and how large the staggering loss of life would be throughout the war. When war was declared, many allies of the French declared war on the PRA in return. Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, and Bavaria all came to France's aid against the PRA, who in return called its own allies into the war. Most of the countries officially involved in the war were too small or too far away to make any significant impact on the war, the only real ally of the French that the PRA found themselves fighting against was their old enemy, Spain.
The PRA captured French Guyana with little resistance within months, but the war did not end there. The French had recently lost the Alsace-Lorraine region to The North German Federation, and half of their colony in Southeast Asia to the British. They still were still at war with Italy, which was the only war that was going favourably for the French. When that war was over they planned to counterattack the PRA, so they did not consider their South American colony lost just yet. The French decision not to give up Guyana would have grave consequences for them in the years to come.
American troops in French Guyana
With France's refusal to surrender, the PRA decided to expand their military campaign in the summer of 1907. Using their now unstoppable navy, they launched invasions on both French and Spanish colonies across the globe. Cuba, French colonies in the Caribbean, both French and Spanish Micronesia, as well as French New Guinea were all invaded, and there was little either the French or Spanish navy could do to stop the PRA. Realizing just how large the advantage the PRA had, the communists considered just how far they could push their luck.
American troops in the South Pacific
The Communists considered the possibility that they could defeat France in its entirety, resulting in a "winner takes all" scenario where all of France's colonial possessions would become American. It was doubtful that a direct assault on France itself would be successful as the PRA had no platform to launch from in Europe, but the PRA could establish one through Africa. Liberia, while part of the PRA sphere and a communist country, had remained neutral. The PRA could use it a base to launch an invasion into the French African colonies, eventually working their way up to Spanish Morocco. From Morocco they could easily attack Spain, and from Spain into France itself. It was a bold plan, and it would not be a quick campaign. With the campaign beginning in Spring 1908, military planners believed that they would be in France before the end of 1910.
The route for the PRA offensive starting in Spring 1908
The campaign commenced in April 1908, as planned. Hundreds of thousands of American soldiers were shipped to Africa, in what was the largest overseas military campaign the PRA, or even the former USA had ever attempted.
A month later, a dramatic series of events would escalate the war even further than it had been. Italy, while no friend of the PRA, was still at war with France and in a desperate situation. Near complete defeat, they decided to offer an alliance with the PRA in an attempt to bring down the French together. The PRA realized there was little they could do to help Italy's desperate situation, as the Mediterranean and most of Italy itself was occupied by France and her Allies. Likewise, there was little the Italians could do to directly help the PRA. However, an Ally in Europe could prove to be incredibly valuable in the future, so the PRA agreed. Italy also extended the same offer to the NGF (North German Federation) who agreed, but did not extend that alliance to the PRA. While the NGF, the great democracy of Europe, was bitter enemies with France, if there was anyone they hated more, it was the PRA. France, alarmed that her enemies were working together to wipe France off the map, began its own series of diplomatic actions to gain more allies. As the saying goes, an enemy of an enemy is a friend. Three countries joined France, mainly out of ideology to destroy the PRA and everything it stood for. The greatest ally France would gain was the PRA's greatest ideological enemy, Russia. The capitalists in Russia had overthrown the monarchy a decade earlier and established a Bourgeois dictatorship, a complete opposite ideology of the PRA. The others were Baden, a German ally of France, and Chile, who opposed the spread of communism through South America. While the PRA, Italy, and the NGF were all now at war with France, and supposedly working together, their campaigns remained quite separate, particularly that of the PRA and the NGF. Nonetheless, the series of conflicts against France and her allies had reached a global scale, unlike any other war the world had ever seen. This war was different, with conflicts on every continent. It was a World War.
American recruits waved off as "war fever" reached an all time high
The PRA initially encountered little opposition in Africa, and through the summer of 1908 made significant gains. However, by Autumn 1908, French and Spanish reinforcements had arrived en masse in Africa, and began to slow the PRA's progress. The French and Spanish reinforcements could reach Africa much quicker than the PRA could, as the PRA transport fleets could only transport so many men, and it was a long voyage. Over the next year hundreds of thousands of men would perish in the bitter fighting, and many more would succumb to the harsh conditions in Africa, mainly due to disease and lack of adequate supplies. Overtime, the PRA could not keep up with the continuous stream of enemy reinforcements, and by late Summer 1909 had been pushed all the way back to Liberia, taking substantial losses in the process.
Artillery in Africa
While initially reluctant to involve the Navy in large scale operations far away from any friendly base, the PRA realized that the constant flow of enemy troops out of Europe and into Africa could result in them losing the war. As soon as the PRA started losing significant ground in Spring 1909, the Navy was sent to form a blockade in the Mediterranean, cutting off Europe from Africa. In addition, the amount of transport ships in the navy was doubled to allow more troops to get to Africa at a much quicker rate. While the blockade was too little too late to prevent the PRA from being overrun by summer, in the long run it would turn the tide of the war.
The PRA Navy in the Mediterranean
In October 1909 the PRA renewed their assault in Africa. While the French and Spanish were now cut off, there was still a force of over 200,000 professional soldiers in Africa. In addition, the French relied on conscripting the locals to fight for them. The French, Spanish, and Russian navies also attacked the PRA blockade. Despite being outnumbered, the superior American dreadnaughts held firm against their foes, and nearly nothing got through the blockade into Africa.
Local African soldiers recruited by the French
Unlike their first African campaign, the PRA faced fierce opposition straight away with their renewed assault. Just north of Liberia, The French put up a fierce resistance to the PRA's attempt to move north. As more PRA soldiers arrived in Liberia to help the push, more French soldiers joined the defense. In the province of Kankan, the largest battle of the war was decided. With well over half a million men involved in the battle, the fighting was long and fierce, and hundreds of thousands succumbed to the fighting. Even away from the front line the conditions were harsh, as supply limits could not keep up with the hundreds of thousands of soldiers that had amassed there. By late February 1910, the French lines had began to break, and they retreated in full. When all was said and done, the amount of casualties between both sides had neared 200,000. It was one of the greatest battles the PRA had ever fought, and they came out victorious. For the French it was a disaster, and was the last well organized defense they would form.
Results of the Battle of Kankan
Throughout the year of 1910 the PRA pushed hard north through Africa, from the forests and savannas of Guinea and into the harsh Sahara desert. The fighting was still fierce, though the French could not stop the PRA's advance. As the PRA moved through the Sahara their advance slowed, but did not stop, and by the end of the year they had reached Spanish Morocco. By January 1911 they prepared to cross the straits of Gibraltar and move into Spain itself, the first time the PRA would attempt a land invasion on Europe itself.
PRA Progress by January 1911
While the PRA fought in Africa during the years of 1909 and 1910, the fighting in Europe between France and her enemies the NGF and Italy continued. Fighting between the NGF and France was particularly bitter, but by mid 1909 the war was going clearly in the NGF's favour as they began to occupy much of France itself. In February of 1910 France and Italy were able to agree on peace, which allowed France to concentrate on the NGF who had occupied much of their homeland, and the PRA to the south who at the time had just won the battle of Kankan. The peace agreement was a humiliating defeat for Italy, who ended up losing Piemonte to France, and even the island of Sicily was handed over to Bavaria. The Italian government laid much of the blame for their loss on the PRA who failed to come to their aid, and relations between the two counties quickly deteriorated. They were never friends to begin with, and the shaky alliance they created less than two years prior completely fell apart.
Italy After their surrender
Even though France was now able to pull their troops out of Italy to face the immediate German threat, it was a lost cause. The German occupation force was overwhelming, and before long the France was completely occupied. The NGF found themselves in a position where they could demand nearly anything they wanted from the French. They annexed the Franche-Comte region, annexed the nation of Baden, and returned Piemonte to Italy. On top of that, they found themselves in a position where they could deny the PRA what they wanted from France. Determined to stop the spread of communism wherever possible, the French and Germans agreed to prevent the PRA from annexing French Guyana. As part of the Franco-German peace agreement, French Guyana was to become its own nation, albeit heavily influenced by the NGF. When the communists in the PRA were made aware of this deal, they were furious. However, they also realized that refusing to disengage from Guyana could be seen as an act of war with the NGF, a situation the PRA did not want to involve themselves in, at least not yet. Reluctantly, the PRA recognized the independence of Guyana and withdrawled.
The independent nation of Guyana
The PRA campaign into Spain which began in January 1911 was relatively easy when compared to the conditions they had previously faced in Africa, and their campaign was complete by October of the same year. When Spain and the PRA came to an agreement on peace, the result was an overwhelming victory for the PRA. The current Spanish monarchy would be overthrown, and replaced with a communist dictatorship. The new Spanish communist government agreed to give Cuba to the PRA. The PRA had also demanded that the Philippines be annexed, but while the Spanish communists were friendly towards the PRA, they were reluctant to give away one of their last major colonial possessions. The PRA reluctantly agreed that Spain would retain control of the island of Mindanao, while the rest of the Philippines would be annexed by the PRA. Most importantly of all, the PRA now had an important ally on mainland Europe, which they used to launch their invasion into France.
Spain surrenders
The invasion into France itself was the easiest campaign yet for the PRA. France itself was in complete disarray from the German occupation which had only ended a short while ago, and the once might French army had largely vanished. There was almost no resistance at all to the PRA invasion. The invasion began in March 1912, and was finished by August. The PRA had achieved victory, and the French were forced to dismantle their empire.
France Surrenders
Over the coming months through a series of treaties, France's colonies were signed over to the PRA one by one. In addition, Southern France was to be divided into several new nations, to permanently prevent France from ever achieving its former Strength. Much of Southern France would form into the nation of Occitania, and along the border with Spain, two new small nations would form, Catalonia and Vasconia. France immediately plunged into revolt, including the now German Franche-Comte. The revolt was so intense that Germans reluctantly agreed to hand that area over back to France, but even with that territory regained, France was no more, and its economy had completely collapsed. Only a few short years earlier it was considered to be the third greatest nation in the world by international standards, now it was ranked 60th.
Discussion on the fate of the former French Colonies
Europe after the end of the war
The PRA now had possessions on every continent except Europe, but there they had their new ally Spain. France was in ruins, and most of her former allies had pulled back their support. Chile, who supported France, had been occupied by the PRA's South American communist allies and had become communist as well. While the PRA had always been a strong nation, they were now undeniably the strongest nation in the world.
Map of the world after the World War
Map highlighting the People's Republic of America after the World War
As the communists prepared for war with France, few could foresee how the war would escalate into a global conflict, and how large the staggering loss of life would be throughout the war. When war was declared, many allies of the French declared war on the PRA in return. Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, and Bavaria all came to France's aid against the PRA, who in return called its own allies into the war. Most of the countries officially involved in the war were too small or too far away to make any significant impact on the war, the only real ally of the French that the PRA found themselves fighting against was their old enemy, Spain.
The PRA captured French Guyana with little resistance within months, but the war did not end there. The French had recently lost the Alsace-Lorraine region to The North German Federation, and half of their colony in Southeast Asia to the British. They still were still at war with Italy, which was the only war that was going favourably for the French. When that war was over they planned to counterattack the PRA, so they did not consider their South American colony lost just yet. The French decision not to give up Guyana would have grave consequences for them in the years to come.
American troops in French Guyana
With France's refusal to surrender, the PRA decided to expand their military campaign in the summer of 1907. Using their now unstoppable navy, they launched invasions on both French and Spanish colonies across the globe. Cuba, French colonies in the Caribbean, both French and Spanish Micronesia, as well as French New Guinea were all invaded, and there was little either the French or Spanish navy could do to stop the PRA. Realizing just how large the advantage the PRA had, the communists considered just how far they could push their luck.
American troops in the South Pacific
The Communists considered the possibility that they could defeat France in its entirety, resulting in a "winner takes all" scenario where all of France's colonial possessions would become American. It was doubtful that a direct assault on France itself would be successful as the PRA had no platform to launch from in Europe, but the PRA could establish one through Africa. Liberia, while part of the PRA sphere and a communist country, had remained neutral. The PRA could use it a base to launch an invasion into the French African colonies, eventually working their way up to Spanish Morocco. From Morocco they could easily attack Spain, and from Spain into France itself. It was a bold plan, and it would not be a quick campaign. With the campaign beginning in Spring 1908, military planners believed that they would be in France before the end of 1910.
The route for the PRA offensive starting in Spring 1908
The campaign commenced in April 1908, as planned. Hundreds of thousands of American soldiers were shipped to Africa, in what was the largest overseas military campaign the PRA, or even the former USA had ever attempted.
A month later, a dramatic series of events would escalate the war even further than it had been. Italy, while no friend of the PRA, was still at war with France and in a desperate situation. Near complete defeat, they decided to offer an alliance with the PRA in an attempt to bring down the French together. The PRA realized there was little they could do to help Italy's desperate situation, as the Mediterranean and most of Italy itself was occupied by France and her Allies. Likewise, there was little the Italians could do to directly help the PRA. However, an Ally in Europe could prove to be incredibly valuable in the future, so the PRA agreed. Italy also extended the same offer to the NGF (North German Federation) who agreed, but did not extend that alliance to the PRA. While the NGF, the great democracy of Europe, was bitter enemies with France, if there was anyone they hated more, it was the PRA. France, alarmed that her enemies were working together to wipe France off the map, began its own series of diplomatic actions to gain more allies. As the saying goes, an enemy of an enemy is a friend. Three countries joined France, mainly out of ideology to destroy the PRA and everything it stood for. The greatest ally France would gain was the PRA's greatest ideological enemy, Russia. The capitalists in Russia had overthrown the monarchy a decade earlier and established a Bourgeois dictatorship, a complete opposite ideology of the PRA. The others were Baden, a German ally of France, and Chile, who opposed the spread of communism through South America. While the PRA, Italy, and the NGF were all now at war with France, and supposedly working together, their campaigns remained quite separate, particularly that of the PRA and the NGF. Nonetheless, the series of conflicts against France and her allies had reached a global scale, unlike any other war the world had ever seen. This war was different, with conflicts on every continent. It was a World War.
American recruits waved off as "war fever" reached an all time high
The PRA initially encountered little opposition in Africa, and through the summer of 1908 made significant gains. However, by Autumn 1908, French and Spanish reinforcements had arrived en masse in Africa, and began to slow the PRA's progress. The French and Spanish reinforcements could reach Africa much quicker than the PRA could, as the PRA transport fleets could only transport so many men, and it was a long voyage. Over the next year hundreds of thousands of men would perish in the bitter fighting, and many more would succumb to the harsh conditions in Africa, mainly due to disease and lack of adequate supplies. Overtime, the PRA could not keep up with the continuous stream of enemy reinforcements, and by late Summer 1909 had been pushed all the way back to Liberia, taking substantial losses in the process.
Artillery in Africa
While initially reluctant to involve the Navy in large scale operations far away from any friendly base, the PRA realized that the constant flow of enemy troops out of Europe and into Africa could result in them losing the war. As soon as the PRA started losing significant ground in Spring 1909, the Navy was sent to form a blockade in the Mediterranean, cutting off Europe from Africa. In addition, the amount of transport ships in the navy was doubled to allow more troops to get to Africa at a much quicker rate. While the blockade was too little too late to prevent the PRA from being overrun by summer, in the long run it would turn the tide of the war.
The PRA Navy in the Mediterranean
In October 1909 the PRA renewed their assault in Africa. While the French and Spanish were now cut off, there was still a force of over 200,000 professional soldiers in Africa. In addition, the French relied on conscripting the locals to fight for them. The French, Spanish, and Russian navies also attacked the PRA blockade. Despite being outnumbered, the superior American dreadnaughts held firm against their foes, and nearly nothing got through the blockade into Africa.
Local African soldiers recruited by the French
Unlike their first African campaign, the PRA faced fierce opposition straight away with their renewed assault. Just north of Liberia, The French put up a fierce resistance to the PRA's attempt to move north. As more PRA soldiers arrived in Liberia to help the push, more French soldiers joined the defense. In the province of Kankan, the largest battle of the war was decided. With well over half a million men involved in the battle, the fighting was long and fierce, and hundreds of thousands succumbed to the fighting. Even away from the front line the conditions were harsh, as supply limits could not keep up with the hundreds of thousands of soldiers that had amassed there. By late February 1910, the French lines had began to break, and they retreated in full. When all was said and done, the amount of casualties between both sides had neared 200,000. It was one of the greatest battles the PRA had ever fought, and they came out victorious. For the French it was a disaster, and was the last well organized defense they would form.
Results of the Battle of Kankan
Throughout the year of 1910 the PRA pushed hard north through Africa, from the forests and savannas of Guinea and into the harsh Sahara desert. The fighting was still fierce, though the French could not stop the PRA's advance. As the PRA moved through the Sahara their advance slowed, but did not stop, and by the end of the year they had reached Spanish Morocco. By January 1911 they prepared to cross the straits of Gibraltar and move into Spain itself, the first time the PRA would attempt a land invasion on Europe itself.
PRA Progress by January 1911
While the PRA fought in Africa during the years of 1909 and 1910, the fighting in Europe between France and her enemies the NGF and Italy continued. Fighting between the NGF and France was particularly bitter, but by mid 1909 the war was going clearly in the NGF's favour as they began to occupy much of France itself. In February of 1910 France and Italy were able to agree on peace, which allowed France to concentrate on the NGF who had occupied much of their homeland, and the PRA to the south who at the time had just won the battle of Kankan. The peace agreement was a humiliating defeat for Italy, who ended up losing Piemonte to France, and even the island of Sicily was handed over to Bavaria. The Italian government laid much of the blame for their loss on the PRA who failed to come to their aid, and relations between the two counties quickly deteriorated. They were never friends to begin with, and the shaky alliance they created less than two years prior completely fell apart.
Italy After their surrender
Even though France was now able to pull their troops out of Italy to face the immediate German threat, it was a lost cause. The German occupation force was overwhelming, and before long the France was completely occupied. The NGF found themselves in a position where they could demand nearly anything they wanted from the French. They annexed the Franche-Comte region, annexed the nation of Baden, and returned Piemonte to Italy. On top of that, they found themselves in a position where they could deny the PRA what they wanted from France. Determined to stop the spread of communism wherever possible, the French and Germans agreed to prevent the PRA from annexing French Guyana. As part of the Franco-German peace agreement, French Guyana was to become its own nation, albeit heavily influenced by the NGF. When the communists in the PRA were made aware of this deal, they were furious. However, they also realized that refusing to disengage from Guyana could be seen as an act of war with the NGF, a situation the PRA did not want to involve themselves in, at least not yet. Reluctantly, the PRA recognized the independence of Guyana and withdrawled.
The independent nation of Guyana
The PRA campaign into Spain which began in January 1911 was relatively easy when compared to the conditions they had previously faced in Africa, and their campaign was complete by October of the same year. When Spain and the PRA came to an agreement on peace, the result was an overwhelming victory for the PRA. The current Spanish monarchy would be overthrown, and replaced with a communist dictatorship. The new Spanish communist government agreed to give Cuba to the PRA. The PRA had also demanded that the Philippines be annexed, but while the Spanish communists were friendly towards the PRA, they were reluctant to give away one of their last major colonial possessions. The PRA reluctantly agreed that Spain would retain control of the island of Mindanao, while the rest of the Philippines would be annexed by the PRA. Most importantly of all, the PRA now had an important ally on mainland Europe, which they used to launch their invasion into France.
Spain surrenders
The invasion into France itself was the easiest campaign yet for the PRA. France itself was in complete disarray from the German occupation which had only ended a short while ago, and the once might French army had largely vanished. There was almost no resistance at all to the PRA invasion. The invasion began in March 1912, and was finished by August. The PRA had achieved victory, and the French were forced to dismantle their empire.
France Surrenders
Over the coming months through a series of treaties, France's colonies were signed over to the PRA one by one. In addition, Southern France was to be divided into several new nations, to permanently prevent France from ever achieving its former Strength. Much of Southern France would form into the nation of Occitania, and along the border with Spain, two new small nations would form, Catalonia and Vasconia. France immediately plunged into revolt, including the now German Franche-Comte. The revolt was so intense that Germans reluctantly agreed to hand that area over back to France, but even with that territory regained, France was no more, and its economy had completely collapsed. Only a few short years earlier it was considered to be the third greatest nation in the world by international standards, now it was ranked 60th.
Discussion on the fate of the former French Colonies
Europe after the end of the war
The PRA now had possessions on every continent except Europe, but there they had their new ally Spain. France was in ruins, and most of her former allies had pulled back their support. Chile, who supported France, had been occupied by the PRA's South American communist allies and had become communist as well. While the PRA had always been a strong nation, they were now undeniably the strongest nation in the world.
Map of the world after the World War
Map highlighting the People's Republic of America after the World War
hmy: . With 26 years left and two great powers defeated, Britain and several other countries should fall as well! Good luck.
