Chapter 39: War on the Horizon (Aug 1929 – Dec 1935)
Over the course of 1929, Italy invaded the Bengal region of Talakad to expand their Lan Na protectorate, taking advantage of the Indian state’s recent weakness.
In Europe, Al-Turkis took advantage of Bavaria’s vulnerability to its two Fascist neighbors and demanded Croatia, with Aquitaine pledging to support their ally if Bavaria refused. Seeing little chance of victory and attempting to preserve their strength, the Bavarians folded.
As 1930 began, the popular fascist party in Genoa finally succeeded in overthrowing the communists after a third revolt. This created an interesting dynamic with Italy - the two countries were now ideological allies, but historical enemies with overlapping land claims.
Only a few months later though, that question was put on hold when Italy and Bulgaria both invaded Bavaria. Italy was finally going after their long-coveted claims along the Adriatic coast, while Bulgaria wished to take the rest of Bavaria’s far eastern land. Only a week after the war began, the new Genoese government also declared war on Bavaria.
Meanwhile, Canada had finally ended their decades-long conflict with Jiazhou by invading and annexing what remained of the country.
Bavaria proved completely unable to deal with the combined southern offensive – their government and army were beginning to crumble once again as a result of increasing division within the country, constant losses in warfare, and a bloated bureaucracy.
In August of 1931, they surrendered – Italy was given the entirety of their Adriatic claims, and Bulgaria extended their borders north. Italy also annexed the strategically valuable island of Malta, which had been held by Bavaria for centuries. Genoa had been offered Tyrol, but the country refused and continued their invasion, aspiring to take far more.
That same month, the Socialist Party of Livonia gained an unprecedented majority in parliament, taking nearly half of the seats. By this point, Livonia’s economy was becoming quite strong once again, and the Socialists promoted the decrease in unemployment with new laws adjusting maximum working hours and increasing funding for the public school system.
In January of 1932, Genoa ended their war with Bavaria by annexing an enormous amount of land. This provoked a hugely negative reaction by Aquitaine and Livonia, but the Genoese fascists were stubborn – in reaction, Aquitaine declared war on Genoa.
The war consisted of heavy fighting along the mountainous border, but Aquitaine’s army was both better equipped and in better shape than that of Genoa. Klavess of Livonia also sent a volunteer army to assist the invasion, taking advantage of the conflict to test out the new Livonian tanks and airplanes.
Interestingly, Italy declared their own war against Genoa in an effort to take Tyrol for themselves – it seemed that even with a similar ideology, Italy still felt no obligation to become allies when the alternative was more convenient.
Within months, all of Genoa was occupied by the two countries, and the war ended with the state being contained by both – Aquitaine grabbed Genoa’s Swiss territories (since returning them to Bavaria would be pointless), and Italy took Tyrol. Genoa had been quickly contained after the overaggressive demands on Bavaria, but they still came out in better shape than they had been before the initial invasion.
In June of 1933, England broke from its diplomatic isolation following Radford’s takeover. The country had been quiet since its revolution, but within England there were massive changes taking place – especially in the army and navy, which had been massively expanded (The other Europeans were partially aware of this, but were unaware of how large the expansion was). Now that things were looking up for the European Fascists, England announced an alliance with the Germans once again. In December, Italy was also admitted into the alliance, forming what would come to be the Fascist Union.
At the same time, the Bavarian state was in serious crisis. While fascism had been banned from political representation in Bavaria a while back, Bavarian fascists had remained an influential organization across the country, especially in the industrial sector. As the country collapsed, the Bavarian fascists were increasingly becoming popular as they advocated an alignment with the Germans and Italians in order to stop the constant warfare. They argued that the current borders established between the states were where they naturally should have been, and as the Fascist Union was formed, Italy and the Germans both publicly supported the idea of alignment with a fascist-led Bavaria.
In June of 1934, the Union issued a two-part ultimatum to the government of Bavaria. First, the Rhineland province would be transferred to the North German Union, which many of its own citizens had been petitioning for. Secondly, Bavaria would reallow its Fascist party to become part of its government - or else the two countries would force these terms through via military action, and impose even harsher terms.
Bavaria’s current government had essentially lost its sovereignty by this point, as both foreign powers and its own citizens worked against it. Fearing complete annihilation if they refused, the state was forced to accept the ultimatum. Even many of the pragmatic voices within the current government felt that perhaps a reorganization of Bavaria and alignment with the Fascists would be the best way to revive the state.
However, Livonia and Aquitaine immediately announced full support for Bavaria’s democracy, vowing to support the current government against any sort of takeover, whether internal or external. Both countries began sending military equipment to Bavaria as well in order to bolster its defensive forces and maintain order. This was crucial to the democratic allies, as Bavaria was the last bastion of democracy in central Europe and a Fascist takeover of their country would leave Aquitaine surrounded.
At the same time, Livonia formed an alliance once again with Aquitaine’s ally Al-Turkis, creating a three-way coalition. Livonia hoped that between the allies’ strong armies in Europe, and their control of most overseas resources (which would also be protected by Livonian ally Japan), they would still be able to beat the Fascists in the long term.
There was also tension in what remained of Pomeranija, which the Germans were attempting to influence into alignment or even annexation. Livonia was even more aggressive though in countering this propaganda, and were ultimately successful – despite defeatism within Pomeranija, many still hoped that the German state could be crushed and Pomeranija restored.
There was now serious buildup in the navies of both Livonia and Japan, preparing for the worst. While intel about the navies of England was extremely vague, it was clear they were going to be a real threat. Japan also wanted to ensure their control of Asia, especially against the possible threat of American imperialism, which was their greatest concern.
The diplomatic situation in Europe was fully gearing towards a war, and at this point it seemed far too late to avoid – the last several years had only been peaceful because each side was constantly trying to gain any advantage they could, and this behavior would inevitably continue to escalate in the coming years until another Great War was ignited.
END
Over the course of 1929, Italy invaded the Bengal region of Talakad to expand their Lan Na protectorate, taking advantage of the Indian state’s recent weakness.
In Europe, Al-Turkis took advantage of Bavaria’s vulnerability to its two Fascist neighbors and demanded Croatia, with Aquitaine pledging to support their ally if Bavaria refused. Seeing little chance of victory and attempting to preserve their strength, the Bavarians folded.
As 1930 began, the popular fascist party in Genoa finally succeeded in overthrowing the communists after a third revolt. This created an interesting dynamic with Italy - the two countries were now ideological allies, but historical enemies with overlapping land claims.
Only a few months later though, that question was put on hold when Italy and Bulgaria both invaded Bavaria. Italy was finally going after their long-coveted claims along the Adriatic coast, while Bulgaria wished to take the rest of Bavaria’s far eastern land. Only a week after the war began, the new Genoese government also declared war on Bavaria.
Meanwhile, Canada had finally ended their decades-long conflict with Jiazhou by invading and annexing what remained of the country.
Bavaria proved completely unable to deal with the combined southern offensive – their government and army were beginning to crumble once again as a result of increasing division within the country, constant losses in warfare, and a bloated bureaucracy.
In August of 1931, they surrendered – Italy was given the entirety of their Adriatic claims, and Bulgaria extended their borders north. Italy also annexed the strategically valuable island of Malta, which had been held by Bavaria for centuries. Genoa had been offered Tyrol, but the country refused and continued their invasion, aspiring to take far more.
That same month, the Socialist Party of Livonia gained an unprecedented majority in parliament, taking nearly half of the seats. By this point, Livonia’s economy was becoming quite strong once again, and the Socialists promoted the decrease in unemployment with new laws adjusting maximum working hours and increasing funding for the public school system.
In January of 1932, Genoa ended their war with Bavaria by annexing an enormous amount of land. This provoked a hugely negative reaction by Aquitaine and Livonia, but the Genoese fascists were stubborn – in reaction, Aquitaine declared war on Genoa.
The war consisted of heavy fighting along the mountainous border, but Aquitaine’s army was both better equipped and in better shape than that of Genoa. Klavess of Livonia also sent a volunteer army to assist the invasion, taking advantage of the conflict to test out the new Livonian tanks and airplanes.
Interestingly, Italy declared their own war against Genoa in an effort to take Tyrol for themselves – it seemed that even with a similar ideology, Italy still felt no obligation to become allies when the alternative was more convenient.
Within months, all of Genoa was occupied by the two countries, and the war ended with the state being contained by both – Aquitaine grabbed Genoa’s Swiss territories (since returning them to Bavaria would be pointless), and Italy took Tyrol. Genoa had been quickly contained after the overaggressive demands on Bavaria, but they still came out in better shape than they had been before the initial invasion.
In June of 1933, England broke from its diplomatic isolation following Radford’s takeover. The country had been quiet since its revolution, but within England there were massive changes taking place – especially in the army and navy, which had been massively expanded (The other Europeans were partially aware of this, but were unaware of how large the expansion was). Now that things were looking up for the European Fascists, England announced an alliance with the Germans once again. In December, Italy was also admitted into the alliance, forming what would come to be the Fascist Union.
At the same time, the Bavarian state was in serious crisis. While fascism had been banned from political representation in Bavaria a while back, Bavarian fascists had remained an influential organization across the country, especially in the industrial sector. As the country collapsed, the Bavarian fascists were increasingly becoming popular as they advocated an alignment with the Germans and Italians in order to stop the constant warfare. They argued that the current borders established between the states were where they naturally should have been, and as the Fascist Union was formed, Italy and the Germans both publicly supported the idea of alignment with a fascist-led Bavaria.
In June of 1934, the Union issued a two-part ultimatum to the government of Bavaria. First, the Rhineland province would be transferred to the North German Union, which many of its own citizens had been petitioning for. Secondly, Bavaria would reallow its Fascist party to become part of its government - or else the two countries would force these terms through via military action, and impose even harsher terms.
Bavaria’s current government had essentially lost its sovereignty by this point, as both foreign powers and its own citizens worked against it. Fearing complete annihilation if they refused, the state was forced to accept the ultimatum. Even many of the pragmatic voices within the current government felt that perhaps a reorganization of Bavaria and alignment with the Fascists would be the best way to revive the state.
However, Livonia and Aquitaine immediately announced full support for Bavaria’s democracy, vowing to support the current government against any sort of takeover, whether internal or external. Both countries began sending military equipment to Bavaria as well in order to bolster its defensive forces and maintain order. This was crucial to the democratic allies, as Bavaria was the last bastion of democracy in central Europe and a Fascist takeover of their country would leave Aquitaine surrounded.
At the same time, Livonia formed an alliance once again with Aquitaine’s ally Al-Turkis, creating a three-way coalition. Livonia hoped that between the allies’ strong armies in Europe, and their control of most overseas resources (which would also be protected by Livonian ally Japan), they would still be able to beat the Fascists in the long term.
There was also tension in what remained of Pomeranija, which the Germans were attempting to influence into alignment or even annexation. Livonia was even more aggressive though in countering this propaganda, and were ultimately successful – despite defeatism within Pomeranija, many still hoped that the German state could be crushed and Pomeranija restored.
There was now serious buildup in the navies of both Livonia and Japan, preparing for the worst. While intel about the navies of England was extremely vague, it was clear they were going to be a real threat. Japan also wanted to ensure their control of Asia, especially against the possible threat of American imperialism, which was their greatest concern.
The diplomatic situation in Europe was fully gearing towards a war, and at this point it seemed far too late to avoid – the last several years had only been peaceful because each side was constantly trying to gain any advantage they could, and this behavior would inevitably continue to escalate in the coming years until another Great War was ignited.
END
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