Ch. 4: The Birth of Rivals and World Depression
1917 ATB - Russian Revolution occurs in Russia, resulting in the overthrow of Czar Nicholas II and the Romanov Dynasty. A Provisional Republic is set up immediately. By November, the communist Bolsheviks take over and take Russia out of the European war. Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldava, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Belarus declare independence from Russia during the revolution.
1918-1919 ATB- British, French, and Italian Forces, manage to defeat Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottomans. During the peace talks at Versailles, liberal movements not seen since 1848 erupt in every European country. With little or no resources left due to the war, governments have little resistance against revolutionary fever. The monarchy in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey all fall. The revolutionary wave also results in changes in the victor and neutral countries as well. Belgium, Albania, Spain, Holland, Italy, Greece, and Romania have their monarchs overthrown too while Britain and France have the people demanding new elections. Many of the former nobles form these countries flee elsewhere, mostly Britannia. Independence movements demanding self-determination also erupt.
At Versailles, however, the Allied Powers see what is happening with Britannia and South America, and fear Europe will share the same fate also. The nations at Versailles agree a European defense plan is needed. As a result of this proposal, the defeated Central Powers along with the exiled Provisional Republic of Russia are invited. Despite the rivalries from the Great European War, all the European nations at Versailles agree that Britannia's acts against South America shows Europe will probably share the same fate. However if together, Britannia would be more hesitant to attack.
The first problem to unity are the independence movements. Not to repeat the Congress of Vienna, the European nations decided to adopt the doctrine of self-determination and democracy. As a result, France gains territory it lost to Germany while the former Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolves into Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Slovenia, and Macedonia. Italy gains the Italian speaking Austrian territories also. Poland forms out of Russian and German territories. Poland claims territories in the East that is also claimed by the Belorussians and the Ukrainians. Poland, still maintaing their claim, mobilizes their newly formed armed forces to secure their claims. Belarus and Ukraine do the same as a response. Fearing that another inter-European war will make Europe more vulnerable to Britannia, Germany intervenes and offers a deal. Poland would be ceded the German Pomeranian and Silesian Regions East of the Oder-Neisse Rivers if Poland dropped their claims in the East. Poland would also have to pay for the expenses of moving the Germans out of the said regions over a certain period of time. Not wanting to risking war and therefore jeopardizing European unity, Poland reluctantly agrees. Romania and Greece also gain territory from Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria respectively.
The second problem that had to be addressed were the Bolsheviks. Fearing the chaos brought about by the Bolsheviks coming to their country, all the various European nations decided to expel the Bolsheviks from Russia and put the exiled Provisional Republic back in. A large force consisting of various European nations marched into Russia and eventually fight their way to Moscow. However, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin and his remaining followers manage to flee eastward into Asia. The Republic of Russia is declared and it recognizes all the nations that gained independence during the revolution. The Kola region of Russia also votes in favor of joining Finland.
The European Union or EU is then proclaimed in 1919. The EU nations, however, decide to make 1789 the founding date due to the fact that all the nations agree that the French Revolution was the ideological turning point in European history and is therefore the foundation of the EU. As a result the new capital is decided to be the heart of the French Revolution, Paris, France. The EU is composed of various committees, consisting of representatives of each member nation.
Each member, however, is still sovereign and therefore may act in their own interests, and is mostly responsible for their armed forces. Eventually Switzerland, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, and Turkey (from the dissolved Ottoman Empire) also join the EU. The newly formed EU immediately repairs it's economy and defenses, in case of Britannian intervention.
1921 ATB - Forces under the Republic of China, which had occupied Mongolia since 1919, are ousted by exiled Bolsheviks and other Mongols led by Damdin Sükhbaatar. The capital of Mongolia, Urga, is later renamed Ulaanbaatar (Red Hero) in honor of him.
1922 ATB - The Ottoman Empire ceases to be when it is partitioned into smaller nations. Turkey joins the EU while the other parts become Iraq, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon. Later on, the Hedjaz region would merge with the Kingdom of Nejd to form Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Thomas wil Britannia dies and is succeeded by his son Julius ei Britannia. The new Emperor of Britannia, wanting to secure the newly gained South American territories, decides to concentrate on domestic affairs over foreign ones.
1923 ATB - Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and other major Bolshevik leaders, who have sneaked into China via Mongolia, find refuge in Guangzhou, Southern China, where the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang controlling the region are willing to assist them. Lenin meets KMT leader Sun Yat-sen and CCP leader Chen Duxiu, where they discuss plans on how to oust the Beiyang Government in Beijing.
1924 ATB - Lenin dies before anything is fully planned out. Leon Trotsky succeeds Lenin as head of the remaining Bolsheviks.
1925 ATB - Sun Yat-sen, leader of the KMT, dies. The position of leadership of the KMT is fought is fought between the left and right-wing factions of the party. Leftist Wang Jingwei succeeds as Chairman of the KMT.
1926 ATB - All Chinese and Bolshevik forces launch a mass Northern offensive against the Warlord-run Beiyang Government. Chiang kai-Shek, Wang's political rival, is chosen to lead the force as Commander-in-Chief of the National Revolutionary Army. With the National Revolutionary Army gaining more Northern territory, the KMT relocates their capital to Wuhan.
1927 ATB - During the fighting against the Beiyang Government, the KMT splits in two after Chiang kai-Shek launches a mass purge of Communists in areas under control of Chiang's forces. As a result, Chiang and the right-wing faction of the KMT relocate to Nanjing, where they set up a base of operations.
The Leftist KMT leaders, along with leaders from the CPC and the exiled Bolsheviks, reacts immediately to the situation. Wang Jingwei, however, recruits a General from Luoyang named Jiang Min, who not only shares some of Wang's ideologies, but is also a genius strategist and feared tactician. Wang tells the rest of the forces loyal to the Wuhan KMT that if there is one man who has the power to defeat Chiang kai-Shek's forces, its General Jiang. Even though CPC and the Bolsheviks question Wang's choice and Jiang's ideologies, the leaders of the two groups, realizing defeat could mean death, agree to let General Jiang lead their forces.
Even though General Chiang kai-Shek and his right-wing forces managed to win some battles and make some gains, the clever and sly General Jiang manages to evade Chiang's forces, maintain supply lines, and launch severe surprise maneuvers at various battles. General Jiang claims victory for the Wuhan KMT government when he defeats and kills Chiang kai-Shek in a surprise skirmish. As a result, the rest of the Nanjing KMT forces are either arrested or flee to rural areas of the country.
1928 ATB - After defeating Chiang kai-Shek, the KMT now continues with the Northern Expedition. KMT forces still led by General Jiang manage to march into the Beiyang Government capital of Beijing, where the Beiyang Government immediately dissolves itself. The Northern lands of the former Beiyang Government are merged with the KMT's southern territory. Chairman Wang then orders his forces to halt the advance, which would allow the partially unified China to strengthen itself.
The capital is also considered to be moved to newly-conquered Beijing, but it's proximity to the still hostile, warlord-run Manchuria makes Beijing an easy target. Wang and the other leaders within China agree that Luoyang is a good candidate due to the fact it is not too North to be vulnerable to hostilities and it is the home of their hero General Jiang Min.
Meanwhile Zhang Zuolin, Warlord of Manchuria, is assassinated when his train is bombed by the Japanese Kwangtung Army. The Japanese, fearing the growth of the leftist-KMT, wanted to use the incident to expand their influence in Manchuria and the parts of China not under KMT control. However, the plan backfires when Zhang Zuolin's son, Zhang Xueliang, succeeds his father as Warlord of Manchuria. Zhang, wanting to see a unified China along with revenge against Japan, decides to relinquish his land and forces to the KMT in exchange for a senior position. As a result, all of Eastern China is unified.
1929 ATB - With their government mostly secure, Leon Trotsky, who serves in the Senior Council of the new Chinese Republic, advises Wang to promote the messages of Marx and Lenin. Despite being sympathetic with the Communist ideology, Wang personally doesn't fully embrace the views of Communism. However, Trotsky, along with Senior Council Members Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Chen Duxiu, Mikhail Borodin, Grigory Zinoviev, and Zhu De, believes that the message of liberating the workers, ending class conflict, and overthrowing the elite would rally the many disenfranchised peasants to rebel in the regions still under the control of Warlords. Chairman Wang, however, is still suspicious of the intentions of his Communist allies, and therefore rejects the plan. The Council, tired of Wang's resistance, decide to impeach the Chairman for "repeatedly refusing to listen to the Council". Wang Jingwei is ousted and Leon Trotsky becomes the new Chairman. The Chinese Republic is also renamed the Worker's Republic of China, while the KMT is called the Chinese Worker's Party.
Trotsky, a believer in the ideas of Marx and Engels, wants to see the a world revolution of the proletariat, which he believe can be obtained by fanning the flames of Communist movements in other countries. First Trotsky has the Worker's Republic of China ally itself with the People's Republic of Mongolia in the North. Via underground channels, both nations supply Communist movements in Tibet, Xinjiang, Yunnan, and Xibei san Ma. Revolutions eventually burst in each of these regions. Within a year, all these areas fall to Communist rule.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Britannian Stock Exchange crashes as a result of the economic disturbances caused by the Great European War and the Pan-American War. The world immediately suffers from mass unemployment and many bank crashes. Britannia's manufacturing industries are hit the hardest, and Britannia's laissez faire approach towards economics means that no attempts will be made to accommodate the working class.
1930 ATB - Even though Britannia's high class nobles and industrialists do well, a good portion of the Britannian populace are unemployed and homeless, meaning the government's tax revenue is sharply decreasing. With less money, the Britannian government fears it will have to cut down on it's defense budget, which would mean Britannia's control over its colonies will be threatened. The stress of maintaining the empire, making sure the mass amount of jobless workers won't revolt, fixing Britannia's financial problem, and defending Britannia from their foreign enemies proves too much for Julius to handle, resulting in him committing suicide. The empire immediately mourns the loss of Julius ei Britannia.
Frederick de Britannia is proclaimed Emperor as a result of his half-brother's suicide. Frederick immediately calls the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the highest ranking nobles, and the wealthiest industrialists to an emergency meeting at the Imperial Palace in New York City. At the meeting, Frederick proposes a solution that solves Britannia's dilemma. With the rise of the EU along with the spread of Communism in Asia, Frederick states that Britannia should immediately prepare it's military defenses. The giant industries would handle the development and production of Britannia's defenses. This would increase the demand for workers, therefore alleviating the unemployment problem. With people working, tax revenue will increase, allowing the government to buy the newly produced military goods. The nobles and industrialists have no objections to the plan, therefore allowing the plan to commence.
1931 ATB - The Maratha Empire in India, which had heavily relied on the EU for financial support, finds itself in a pool of unemployment and inflation due to the worldwide depression. Large businesses and banks in India literally fall apart while thousands of unemployed workers raid the streets demanding the government to do something. However, the Indian government is heavily divided on what to do. The workers' impatience eventually boils over and demand an election. The Maharaja as a result dissolves the government, therefore starting new elections. A coalition of moderate leftist-parties wins an outstanding 78% of the vote due to the fact that the party vows itself to "serve the needs of the people and not the greedy elite".
Within a few months, the new Indian government sends over representatives to Luoyang to meet with the Chinese government. After some negotiating, both countries agree that mutual cooperation, due to similar leftist ideology and anti-West feelings, would be the best course of action and should therefore form an alliance between the Worker's Republic of China and the Maratha Empire.
When India and China both announce the alliance, the EU and Britannia gets alarmed by this expansion of communism and other similar leftist beliefs. However, both sides are reluctant to go to war due to the economic problems they are facing. The alliance is eventually called the Worker's Alliance of Asia.
1932 ATB - Hard-line Senior Council members Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin, both tired of following Trotsky's leadership, decide to turn on Trotsky. They do this by making back room deals and promises with various Party members, along with gathering support from different factions of the army. When the annual election for the position of Chairman of the Worker's Republic of China comes, the Party decides to elect Mao as Chairman. Mao announces to the Party that his priority would be using power of the workers to enhance China's strength and development.
Stalin, who was promised a position if he would assist Mao, receives the newly created position of Premier of China. Chairman Mao would therefore be the Head of State while Premier Stalin would be the Head of Government. Despite the title differences, both men wielded almost absolute power over the country.
To achieve his goal, Chairman Mao decides that China must match the EU and Britannia militarily and technologically. Premier Stalin as a result decides to implement a series of "Five-Year Plans" which would use collectivization and forcing China's massive amount of workers to develop industry. The plan resulted in a massive increase in industrial production and development, but it also resulted in the death of millions of people through starvation. However, within 20 years, China would be a fully industrialized nation.
1936 ATB - Britannia's unemployment levels drop while tax revenue slowly increases by a decent amount due to Frederick's plan. However, poverty, homelessness, and mass unemployment is still somewhat visible in Britannian cities. Britannia's defenses are improved as a result also. The Imperial Army, Navy, and newly created Air force are upgraded and fitted with the state of the weaponry of the time.
At the same time, Britannian engineers start making many more advancements with Sakuradite-based engineering. Sakuradite-ran electric motors were first invented by the Serbian-Britannian Nikola Tesla. Noticing that the electric motors were powerful and light, the Wright Brothers decided to use one in their famous first flight. The Britannian government, along with many other foreign governments, decided to uses these motors for their own national interests. However, these electric motors were usually restricted to early airplanes, mainly due to the fact that Sakuradite had to be processed, which at the time was expensive to do. As a result, most vehicles still relied on the diesel-ran internal combustion engine.
However, in 1936, scientists and engineers found a cheaper way to process sakuradite into it's usable form. This as a result opened countless possibilities and technological advancements. Britannia R&D made rapid advancements in various weapons and vehicles. Soon after, the EU-member nations made the same discovery, leading to the EU making advancements as well. China and their allies soon catch up and start improving their armed forces in response.
1937 ATB - With demand for Sakuradite skyrocketing, Britannia, the EU, and the Worker's Alliance find that their own Sakuradite reserves aren't enough to meet their demands. Realizing this, Sakuradite-rich Imperial Japan exploits this through bargaining and coercion. Imperial Japan exports more than ever before, which pumps Japan's economy even further. Soon they make trade deals with the Middle Eastern nations and the Australian Confederation.
Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait. Was first sick then busy with things like work and stuff. Also this is the longest and hardest chapter I have written so far. Just to let people know, when Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin take control of China, I chose to make Mao the Chairman because I think it would be more appropriate for the Chairman to be ethnically Chinese. Also India (aka the Maratha Empire) is a constitutional monarchy, where they have a monarch, but the country is actually governed by a Prime Minister. India is still a monarchy, but the country is being ran by a coalition of socialist, communist, and democratic parties. India having the Maharaja is essential because they mention in the actual series that a Maharaja oversees India.
Next chapter will talk about how technological advancements will bring the Holy Britannian Empire, the EU, and the Worker's Alliance of Asia will conflict with one another over Japan's resources. The Worker's Alliance of Asia will also undergo a radical makeover during this period also (hint: It will involve General Jiang Min).