Red Star over the Southern Seas - a Communist Australia AAR (Modified)

[linkthewindow]

Introduction and Background

Playing on Easy, with a (self-made) mod to make Australia a Federal Socialist Republic in 1936.

Lance Sharkey's photo in the early 1930's. Found in a file kept in the spy archives in Canberra.

"The recent Australian election was dominated by the current crisis in our economy. The victory for the United Australia Party, however, was overshadowed by the fact that the Communist Party of Australia Coalition (including both the Stalinist and Leninist parties) had won enough seats in the Upper House to have a "balance of power." If the UAP wanted to pass a bill, they would have to negotiate with the Communists, or negotiate with the Labor Party. Neither seem likely."
The Times of London, 31 December 1931

"The working, exploited masses of Australia have made their choice. The capitalist road is not the solution to this problem." Lance Sharkey, head of the Communist Party, in his first speech to the Senate.

The year 1932 was a difficult year for Australia. Since the Senate was not willing to cooperate on any major legislation, none was passed. This lead to little effective economic relief. With the Lower House (House of Representatives,) being controlled by social conservatives, and the upper house being controlled by a mixture of communists and social democrats, little legislation was passed. This culminated in a budget crisis in April 1933, the Upper House failed to pass a budget which basically argued for a laissez-faire approach. A "New Deal" style approach, argued for by the Labor Party didn't pass, this would have passed the Senate with UAP support. This lead to a double-dissolution election in June 1933. This saw the electoral annihilation of the Labor Party, it's members seeing it as ineffective, many voting instead for the Communists.

The Communists now had complete control over the Senate, and had a very small majority in the Lower House, but still enough to form a government. When Sharkey asked for the Governor-General's permission to form a government, permission was not given:

"[The Communists] are a severe threat to Australian democracy and national security. I cannot, in good faith, allow Mr. Sharkey permission to form a government." Isaac Isaacs - Governor General of Australia

The reaction was severe, yet predictable. Sharkey condemmed Isaacs as a "capitalist tool" who was in the "pockets of the industrialists, committed to preventing the working classes from having a say in a "democratic" system." Isaacs, with the permission of the King, mobilized Australia's armed forces, in order to keep order, and declared martial law. Sharkey, who already had loyal elements in the armed forces declared that the "Australian proletariat would have to fight for their socialism," and asked the USSR for help. Millions in arms and monetary help was sent, although only a thousand troops were sent as "volunteers." Stalin saw the clear strategic and propaganda victory at stake here, and apologized (privately) for not sending more help.

The Australian Civil War had begun.

The War took two years, and resulted in a Communist victory (see map below.) It resulted in a totalitarian society - Sharkey clearly took ideas from Lenin's "War Communism," and stayed on that course.

Sharkey also managed to limit damage to industry - any damage was quickly repaired after the war. He also used Australia's industrial heartland to it's best, and used effective propaganda to win the support of the workers, while consodilating the power of his party. The impact of the war, while destructive, was limited. Sharkey was careful not to bomb any major industrial or agricultural centers, as he saw that these would be necessary after the war. He realized that indiscriminate bombing would only increase the cost to him, not to the enemy.

The diplomatic impact of the war would live in throughout the 1930's and 1940's, well into the Cold War. Australia joined the Comintern (being the first non-Soviet puppet to join,) and relations were permanently strained with the Commonwealth, with Australia (formally) withdrawing immediately after the war. Relations were especially strained with the Dutch, New Zealand and the British, all of which had committed aid to the war.

"Australia is the greatest threat to security in the Pacific. Their goals to spread Communism directly contradict those of our democratic allies. Australia must not be allowed to spread Communism at the expense of democracy." Winston Churchill, 1935

The war thankfully (for Australians) had a quick conclusion, ending two years later with a Communist victory.

Main events in the Australian Civil War. (larger version.)

Sharkey quickly re stabilized the country, formally abolishing the democratic system in December 1935. In January 1936, Australia is somewhat stabilized, but in dire need to build up it's industry and army. The smell of war is in the air, and Australia will find itself in the firing lines.

(OOC)

This is my first AAR. It's both something to do during the holidays, so chances are, it'll be frequently updated. Please critique my writing and style - it's my first time after all.

And, yes, this scenario is somewhat implausible, but so's Mexico invading Germany .

The image at the top (of Sharkey) is actually an image from the late 1930's, taken from Wikipedia.

 

[linkthewindow]

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The First Post-War meeting of the Politburo.

 

[Sir Humphrey]

Cool. Interesting premise.

 

[Myth]

This looks like it'll be pretty interesting! A revisionist Australia power, wow!

 

[linkthewindow]

The first meeting of the Australian Politburo after the War, 3 January 1936

The men all stumbled into the room after the New Year holiday. Some were tired. Some obviously hungover. Some things about Australia would never change. After the usual shallow propaganda speeches and self-congratulatory speeches, Sharkey stood up.

"Today I am announcing my Cabinet and goals over the next four years, until 1940. We must protect our people from capitalist aggression, while spreading socialism throughout the Pacific. The yoke of fascist and capitalist aggression will be removed from the Pacific for good. The Pacific is red, not black or blue."

Sharkey then went on to announce his Cabinet:

"Over the next four years, we will rebuild our army. It will have a primarily defensive focus, and focus on infantry. We must also secure more oil and energy supplies, and we will be asking our brothers in the Soviet Union for assistance. We are also announcing a slight change in direction in some of our policies:"

(OOC - I love the free resources bonus of the Comintern .)

"Thank you for your attendance today, comrades. We will build a more prosperous Australia, prosperous for all Australians, not just the capitalists. Now, if my new cabinet, the Soviet ambassador, and the Comintern ambassador stay behind, please."

Sharkey asked the official state reporters to leave the room. When it was empty, he started speaking:

"Obviously, the world is becoming more tense. We live in the shadow of capitalist aggression. Our armies must be prepared. By the end of the year, our navy will have an invasion capability, with enough transports to launch an invasion of a small country. We will also be boosting our army with more troops, including armored divisions. We must be prepared to spread socialism throughout the Pacific."

He pulled down a map:

"The Indonesian people want independence from their vile Dutch overlords. We must assist them in their struggle, and win another country for Communism. Likewise, we must liberate the oppressed workers of New Zealand..."

John Miles, the Security minister interrupted:

"Should we annex New Zealand or make it a puppet? Obviously, the Indonesians want independence, as you said, but an independent New Zealand won't provide us with additional industrial capacity and resources, which is what we are lacking at the moment."

Sharkey replied:

"We'll vote on that later. We've got enough industrial capacity for now. Anyway, the other major threat in the region, or two major threats, are America and Japan. Japan looks to have ambitions in China, so I suggest we guarantee Communist China against Japanese aggression. For now, I don't fear America, and it is more likely that they will ally with the Comintern in the event of a Japanese war. Comrade Cannan, start preparing plans for a possible intervention in China. Unless anyone has to say anything, dismissed."

The men left the room quietly.

 

[Myth]

To Java and Jakarta!

 

[linkthewindow]

Thanks for the support so far.

To Java and Jakarta!

Easier said then done . Risking war with the Allies now would be suicide (for both me and the Russians,) so I'll have to wait after the Molotov/Ribbentrop pact, so the Allies will be busy in Europe. Then, take as much of the European Asian empires before (more like if, in my experience the Japanese AI is pretty hopeless,) the Japanese arrive. I doubt we'll see Australians in India, but Indochina and Burma are definitely possible (as well as Thailand, if they go Axis.)

Update in a couple of hours, probably. As I've stated, I'm off school for the next few weeks, so I've got far too much time to play HoI3.

(Also, how do I directly link to a post?)

 

[Myth]

In the top right corner of the post, in the little bar, there's the post number. That's actually a link, you click on it and it takes you to just your post.

 

[linkthewindow]

1936, the "Slow Year"

"It has been a difficult year for Australia, but it is clear that the Communist presence will not be going away soon ... the Communist government is reasonably popular, and has rebuilt the nation's army, a great concern to it's neighbors, especially the Dutch." Journal of Foreign Relations - January 1937

"Asia is coming under a new spectre, the spectre of socialism" - John B Miles, December 1936

1936 had been called "The Slow Year" of the "Year of Rest" for Australia. Of course, the nation deserved it in a sense, it had recently fought a civil war, and had a sudden change in ideology. It was also called "slow" because little happened, the nation was re-militarizing, and their was clearly a strain on the workers, but no wars were being fought, except on the ideological battlefields. The Spanish Civil War started in this year. It was (again) used to illustrate the "dangers" of fascist aggression, but Australia could not contribute directly to the war.

Italy's annexation of Ethiopia wasn't a surprise, but it was used by the government to show the "threat" of fascism and capitalism. Realistically, few nations posed a direct threat to Australia in 1936.

The Spanish Civil War was also used for propaganda, despite the fact that Australia did not directly intervene.

The society also started to become more totalitarian, with the law changes mentioned in a previous post. According to Sharkey, these were necessary to prepare the country for a future war. Sharkey stressed (much to the surprise of Japan,) that the country would not focus on "spreading socialism in the Pacific in the short term," but would focus on "liberating the oppressed people of Asia from the yoke of imperialism."

This statement alarmed the British, French and Dutch.

Economically, the country was becoming more (some would say disturbingly,) reliant on the USSR, importing a large amount of Soviet goods (mostly fuel) to bolster the areas in which it's economy lacked. The Soviet Union saw a clear need to keep Australia strong, as it saw a strong, socialist Australia necessary for the spread of socialism in the Pacific.

Australian reliance on Soviet goods quickly became obvious (screenshot taken in March 1936)

The country did have some minor problems with illegal newspapers, but also privatized more of Australia's industry, and also banned the creation of new parties. This was rather pointless anyway (most parties had been banned,) but provoked a reaction in Western Europe. France and Britain condemmed Australia as a "totalitarian society" (Sharkey privately joked that they "just got the memo").

Australia became more totalitarian throughout 1936, much to the fear of France and Britain.

The Australian army was also built up. It had a large amount of transports added, giving it the capability to move it's army, and, potentially, invade it's neighbors. This, combined with prior statements about "liberation" was starting to make the Dutch fear a war in the region.

In late 1936 the first Australian tank brigade was built:

The first Australian tank brigade, although rather pointless (due to the terrain of the Pacific,) was a propaganda coup. Shown during a parade in Canberra.

In 3 January 1937, a year after the first meeting when a liberation of Indonesia was discussed, Sharkey called another meeting. He privately sent a telegram to John Northcott and James Cannan, telling them to "start considering preparations for an invasion of Indonesia ... it's rather important."

 

[linkthewindow]

Weekly Politburo meeting, July 1, 1937

"Comrades! We are ready! Over the last year and a half, we have built up our army, so we can liberate Indonesia from the vile Dutch who run the place without regard for the proletariat. We are right, and right always succeeds over the wrong, the worker over the boss, the proletariat over the bourgeoisie. Comrade Cannan, you have our plans ready?"

"Yes, Comrade Sharkey. Here they are:

Our main goal is Irian Jaya (West Paupa,) as we hope to formally incorporate that into our nation. That should take a long time to secure, as it's difficult terrain, but we expect to meet little resistance.

We are going to land our second corp on the island of Sulawesi, starting at the top (securing it's port and airfield,) and pushing down the island, until we reach the capital at Makassar. Then, they get back on the ships, and land on Borneo.

Our third corp will land on Java, secure all the critical cities there, and then cross to Sumatra. We expect this campaign to take a reasonably long time, but we expect to meet little Dutch resistance. We do, however, expect to see some attrition damage."

"But what of our new Navy?"

"Our transports will stay away from any action, obviously, but our navy will focus on blockading Dutch supply routes. The exploitation of Indonesia will end the moment we declare war."

"Thank you, Comrade Cannan. There is one other thing we must speak about today, before I dismiss you. Comrade Bateman?"

"Yes, Comrade Sharkey. We are set to sign, next week in Osaka, a treaty between us, the Japanese, the Indonesian Communist Party, and the Russians. This treaty will, as you can see on this slide...

• Formally cede us West Paupa
• Sign a non-aggression pact between us, the USSR and the Japanese
• We will recognize the Japanese sphere of influence in China and the Pacific, while they will recognize the current Russian sphere of influence, and our future sphere of influence in Indochina
• The Japanese will allow a future annexation of New Zealand.

We also hope to solve the potential problems in Timor and Borneo. That's it"

"Thank you comrades."

The Times of London, July 8, 1937
"Japanese, Australian and Soviet representatives met in Osaka yesterday to sign a treaty. The exact point of the treaty is unclear, with reporters not being allowed into most negotiation sessions, and only parts of the treaty being released today. It does contain a non-aggression agreement between the three powers and Russian and Australian acknowledgment of Japanese gains in China."

"...the treaty negotiations were a success. Although the Indonesians will not be allowed Borneo for now, they will have East Timor once we liberate it from the Portuguese. In exchange for the non-aggression pact, the Russians asked for the return of the island of Sakhalin (lost in the Russo-Japanese War,) Japan gave them this and another small island near the Kamchatka Peninsula as a gesture of good will. Our claims over West Paupa were confirmed, and we are clear to go to war with the Dutch as soon as we are willing. We are also clear to annex New Zealand at at time of our choosing...
I've attached a map showing these changes to this letter."

Private letter between the Ambassador to Japan and Foreign Minister Bateman, dated July 10, 1937.

(Soviet gains in blue.)

"Australia has mobilized her armed forces, sending waves of shock and confusion throughout the Pacific..."
The New York Times, 25 June, 1937

Just a quick, (OOC) note, I'm doing most of these things (the Treaty of Osaka, Australian invasion of Indonesia, annexation of New Zealand,) via self-coded events. Yes, I'll probably release the mod I'm using after the AAR's done ;p.

 

[Myth]

Bold plans with Indonesia. How soon do you think you'd be able to put them into effect?

 

[linkthewindow]

Bold plans with Indonesia. How soon do you think you'd be able to put them into effect?

Reasonably soon. Out of game, I've still got to code the "Australia annexes West Papua" event (which isn't hard, just lots of work,) and in game, one of my divisions needs some reinforcing. I would like some Marines for this attack, but the tech is too far off.