• We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Nov 2, 2006
591
0
Thunder over the Mekong: an Indochinese AAR

Hello everybody,

My first AAR will be played with the French mod 33, well-known if you already read the AARs of General Grant, if you are French or if you like alternate history. It’s an attempt to change Asia with a newly independent country: Empire of Indochina. I hope you will enjoy reading, despite my poor English.

P.S.: The foreign events are made by the AI. I will stay in my dear Indochina. The only non-Hearts of Iron point of divergence is the failure of the assassination of French president Paul Doumer in 1932.

648px-Flag_of_South_Vietnam.svg.png


Chapter One: The second Great Depression

The month of february 1933 was very hard for the world. Meanwhile German new chancellor, Adolf Hitler, was applicating the national-socialist program, the United States of America had their first president killed before taking office: on February, 15 1933, president-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt was shot at Miami by Italian anarchist Giuseppe Zangara. The Chicago mayor, Anton Cermak, sitted next to Roosevelt, said to the wounded president: “I’m sad it was you and not me, Mr. President”. Roosevelt died from his wounds February, 19.

Assassination2.jpg

President-elect Franklin Roosevelt and Chicago mayor Anton Cermak a few moments before the shot, February, 15 1933

His vice-president, John Nance Garner, proved in his inaugaration speech on March, 4 that he was not the man who was waiting the weakened America, weakened by the 1929 Krach. Facing the new crisis which was coming, Louisiana Senator Huey Long begun to campaign for a withdrawal of the southern states from the weak and poor Washington’s administration…The secession fever was near to destroy the country a new time.

JohnNanceGarner.jpg

John Nance Garner (1868-1967), 32nd President of the United States of America

The second Krach of Wall Street occurred on March, 12 1933. To avoid a second Civil War, the Congress removed all his powers to president Garner to give them to the Trust, a newly formed commission of high-ranking militars and powerful CEOs: their first decrees were proclaiming the martial law and suspending for an unknown period the Constitution.

748px-Eisenhower_d-day.jpg

Visit of General Dwight Eisenhower, member of the military wing of the Trust, to American soldiers

Through the world, thousands of companies came to bankrupt, still suffering of the Black Tuesday. Stalin’s USSR was protected from the misery wave with her autotarcic economy, and fascist and nazi governments taked advantage of this to turn their economies into more self-sufficient ones. But for the western democracies, the risk of popular uprisings was at hand. Great-Britain turned more isolationist, but France saw another way…

180px-Lange-MigrantMother02.jpg

A family ruined at London

The French president, Paul Doumer, was a old man who built his carreer in colonial administration, named governor of French Indochina during five years. Very popular after his assassination attempt by a mad Russian emigré, Paul Gorguloff, the past year, he propose to the National Assembly a new recovery plan: as former colonial governor, he was believeing that maintain the colonial empire was taking too much of French economy’s effort. The plan was to release the most faraway and unstrategical colonies and let them working. Getting rid of these useless wastelands, France would be able to bail out her economy.

pdoumgd.jpg

Paul Doumer (1857-1935), 14th President of the French Republic

To his great surprise, his proposition was accepted. When a deputy call out to him, asking what would be the first colony to be released, President Doumer replied:

-“The most useless of them. Because, when I was young, I take care of it.”
 
Last edited:
Indochina! Never seen an AAR about it. With mod 33 it may be really interesting.

Bonne chance!
 
BAO-DAI.jpg

Bao Dai (1913-1997), formerly prince Nguyen Vinh Thuy, 13th emperor of the Nguyen dynasty

Chapter two: A laborious birth

800px-Hue_Porte_Citadelle.jpg

Door of Huê citadel

Emperor Bao Dai was looking on the awake town of Huê from the Imperial City. Who he was? A truely puppet monarch in the French hands. His father, emperor Khai Dinh, died in 1925, encouraged collaboration with French colonizators after the tentative of uprising by his predecessor, Duy Tan, still exiled on Reunion island. Himself, he made all his studies in Paris to become a true French gentleman and he didn't even came back to his country when his father died: the crown prince stayed in his flat on the rich districts of Paris. When he came back in Vietnâm, on 1932, he even spoke French to the high civil service.

Under this face of puppet emperor was sleeping a reformist spirit. He remove the painful traditionnal prosternation, forehead to soil, created new laws, tried to govern alone and made better the old and corrupt mandarin system. The French authorities was looking him as an ally against Vietnamese nationalism, spreading by politicians as the communist Nguyen Sinh Cung (better known as Ho Chi Minh) or the aristocratic conservative Jean-Baptiste Ngo Dinh Diem.

ho_young.jpg
Ngo_Dinh_Diem_-_Thumbnail_-_ARC_542189.gif

Two Vietnamese nationalists: communist Ho Chi Minh and conservative Ngo Dinh Diem.

When president Doumer announced his decision to give independance to Indochina for January 1934, the news came very hurry to Hanoi, Saigon, Huê, Phnom Penh and Vientiane: during summer 1933, Indochinese opinion was preparing for independance, but the crowd was instrumentalized by communist groups, financed by the attentive USSR. To avoid a commuist uprising in Southeastern Asia, French authorities decided to negociate Vietnamese independance with the powers in place: the Hoang De, the Emperor.

488px-HD-SN-99-02045.JPEG

Vietnamese nationalist observing the last colonial forces, leaving Indochina at Saigon, winter 1933-1934

First, Bao Dai became the leader of a National Union movement for a new independant Empire of Indochina, to avoid division between Cambodia, Laos, Annam, Tonkin, Cochinchina...And also, to negociate not with the transition governor-general, Marshal Philippe Pétain, but with the minister of Foreign Affairs himself, Joseph Paul-Boncour, like a true Head of State.

vua-bao-dai.jpg
petain.jpg
Paul_Boncour.jpg

The actors of Huê negociations: Emperor Bao Dai, transitional Governor-General Philippe Pétain, foreign minister Joseph Paul-Boncour

During the negociations, Bao Dai obtained the cession of indigenous forces to Indochinese control, the full independance of Indochinese administration, industry, army, foreign politics, common use of Allied technologies (because Indochina would be maintained in Franco-British Alliance), the approval of an Indochinese Constitution, non-agression pact and recognizing independance of Indochinese Empire, modernization of Indochinese industry and army...And even, his potential claims over his neighbours...

mapzr3.png

Indochinese Empire (blue) with his neighbours.

On January 18, 1934, Governor-General Pétain officially proclaimed Indochinese independance: emperor Bao Dai was recognized by international scene as Head of State of Empire of Indochina, and his prime minister was the conservative catholic Ngo Dinh Diem. Ho Chi Minh decided to serve Indochinese nation as Marshal of the new Imperial Army.

indochinacabinetyf1.jpg


A new Asian nation was born...
 
Last edited:
Very nice AAR you have bubbling up here. Will you base this realistically or will you go on a grand campaign conquest spree of the entire world? To be honest, the 'realistic' approach is certainly most fun.....

Anyway, looking forward to the next update!
 
Ksim3000: I will try to be realistic, even if the Indochinese are able to beat American forces...I don't know, participate to the Greater Sphere of Co-Prosperity with the Japanese, or stay in the Allies and fight against the big bad Japanese. In both cases, trying to make a little empire in Southeastern Asia.

Chefportnen: Yellow is beautiful!
 
480px-HD-SN-99-02041.JPEG

A French military advisor inspecting the future tank "Gia Long", first armored vehicle of Indochinese Imperial Army

Chapter 3: The Indochinese miracle

Shortly after Indochinese independance, the riots of February, 6 1934 in France showed the contestation of French parliamentary regime within Metropolitan France: along with nationalist groups, the presence of communist and pro-coloniast organizations in the rioters showed that the people was criticizing the gestion of both economic crisis and colonial empire. President Doumer resigned very quickly: he retired and died shortly after in May 1935 in his natal city of Aurillac. New president Lebrun and President of Council Doumergue shortly abandonned the politics of abandon colonies.

Concorde1934.jpg

Concorde place, February, 6 1934.

Ignoring the troubles in Europe, Bao Dai and his prime minister Ngo Dinh Diem decided to make everything possible to increase Indochinese strength: the bought French divisions were coming at Saigon, there was 23 millions of inhabitants in Indochina and therefore 23 millions of potential workers and soldiers, but Indochinese industry was very low: 10 IC only. The Imperial cabinet decided to put in place a program of building in every province of Indochina to make new factories and industrial centers, and also to improve machine tools in whole country. The results of the research could be very good for French-Indochinese relationships, by selling this technology in exchange of other ones.

800px-HD-SN-99-02044.JPEG

Mekong fishers are aboarding an Indochinese military ship to participate to the modernization program.

This plan give to Indochina, in May 1935, a honourable Industrial Capacity. This serve to improve Indochinese forces: the Emperor and his former communist rival, Ho Chi Minh, take officially command of both Imperial ground forces, despite the advertisements of Nam Phuong, the Empress, married the 20 March 1934, from a rich and catholic family, which was controversial for Indochinese stern nationalists.

NamPhuong.jpg

Nam Phuong (1914-1963), formerly Marie-Thérèse Nguyen Hûu Thi Lan, first wife of emperor Bao Dai and first Empress of Indochina

icuo9.png

Indochinese IC in May 1935.

armiesez1.png


But, if the situation in Europe (with the increasing power of Germany in the ruined continent) and America (with the Trust continuing his military dictatorship) was completely ignored by Indochinese politicians, the situation in Asia was turning wrong for the Allied interests: despite the independance of India and Pakistan in 1935, following French tentatives for their economy (even if the Burma was not released), their power in Asia was coming down. The Japanese pan-asiatism was gaining more and more partisans in Asiatic politics (including in Indochina) and in China, the communists of Mao Zedong, supplied by USSR, were winning the war against their nationalist enemies led by Tchang Kai-Shek...The risk of a red China, allied with USSR, was such a danger for Asia...And even the world.

asiauy3.png

Situation in Asia at May, 22, 1935, with Indochinese diplomats comments.

chinava5.png


Near Haiphong, were the Imperial forces were stationned, two rebel warlords faction were maintining, opposing to Tchang's policies: very rich Guangxi, led by warlords Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren, near of Portuguese and British colonies Macao and Hong-Kong and controlling the very industrialized city of Canton; Yunnan, a quite mountainous area led by Long Yun...

200px-Bai-Chongxi.jpg
longy.jpg

Bai Chongxi, one of the leaders of New Guangxi clique; Long Yun, principal leader of Yunnan clique.

Bao Dai commented this situation to Ngo Dinh Diem with these words:

-"If Nationalist China fall, Chinese warlords fall. And if Chinese warlords fall, we fall. It's the duty of free Indochinese empire to avoid that these happy provinces, felt into anarchy by Chinese civil war, become under communist control. We will prove that an European-powered country can save Asia, and we will be ready in case of Japanese response"...
 
South_Vietnam_coat_of_arms.gif


Chapter 4: The Guangxi War (13/6/1935-9/8/1935), the baptism of fire

The conference of Dacca, in May 1935, prime minister Ngo Dinh Diem, French foreign minister Pierre Laval and his British homologue, John Simon, decided of a quick intervention in Southern China to avoid that this industrialized area come under communist control. The offensive would be under control of the young Indochinese control, to prove that the old empires are permissive with their new friends and former servants.

guangxi1ey2.png

guangxi2zr7.png

guangxi3rf7.png

guangxi4yp7.png

guangxi5xi5.png


After the Guangxi armistice, the former warlords decided to be judged at Hong-Kong. Helped by the slow occidental justice, they were only put in jail and released quickly after: it's difficult to say if they continued their life in exile in a South American country or if they join one of the other faction in China...

Even if Southern China was integrated into Indochinese empire, the revolts were also spreading the new provinces, despite the new industrialization plan initialized in those. The authority of emperor Bao Dai was also shaked by the successes of the communist marshals during the baptism of fire of the Indochinese nation: they became heroes for the whole Indochinese people...

A new colonial war had also begun, by in another continent, between fascist Italy and old empire of Ethiopia. A war which lasted more longer that the Guangxi war.

italyethiopiarr9.png


But in China, the things were getting worse...

china2bw6.png


A second intervention would be decided to avoid that communist China become finally a reality...
 
Last edited:
It sad to see than no many people are reading this AAR, it so well made. A lot of time have probably been invested into the graphics.

The tensions within Indochina are interesting to follow. But what happened in China? Chiang seem doomed.