American Caesar: An United States AAR in Kaiserreich

[TheExecuter]

We will finish what we failed to do in 1812.

Uhrm...hopefully not.

Annexation isn't what you really want...

What they discovered was a scene of true horror: inside, King Edward lay bloodied and drunk, his sword stained with blood. At his feet were the corpses of the Queen Mother and Prince Henry

Oof.

But Landon refused to go down that path. Instead, he announced the creation of the Federation of the West Indies—a presidential republic with a liberal, multicultural focus designed so that the peoples of the Caribbean could feel truly represented.
Although the conservative wing of the Republican Party—ever more influenced by Hearst—objected to this move, Landon’s support for decolonization and the liberation of peoples garnered significant backing from liberals. With American support, Victor Sévère was elected provisional president of the new republic.

Interesting.

And yet, you keep locking me up here.
- Because you are still mistaken.

Ah, going the Soviet / Russian route of medical torture then.

Some of the most depressing reading on Wikipedia is the pages on medical treatment / torture methods on the unconsenting.

You would think that the largest pages would be on the Russian and German regimes use of these methods...but, the tragedy is that the largest pages are on American use and abuse of the incarcerated and powerless.

My soul weeps with anger for people who believe that doing this to other souls does anything other than merely heap up evil to be judged later.

 

[TheExecuter]

General who had saved democracy during the Civil War

Ugh.

Such blatant propaganda...

 

[TheExecuter]

Newspapers tell us what they want us to believe. What they don’t say is what really matters.

Dang.

Is this your own or is it borrowed from someone?

It's a very deep truth succinctly said. I like it.

It’s not ideology that destroys—it’s how we use it

Amen.

Also a bit of a backhand insult that the FBI minder is too dumb to catch...

 

[TheExecuter]

The more I read about him, the more I like MacArthur as a character. I’m really looking forward to showing how an authoritarian man, so accustomed to command like the Caesar, will have to deal with bureaucracy and the interests of Congress.

He certainly was a character.

Not much of a military leader, but certainly effective as a strategist...if he gets out of the way of the actual fighting men. (It's why I am reminded of McClellan when reading about MacArthur.)

Mac and little Mac though never did well with dealing with determined opposition...

We shall have to see how the Caesar does...or whether the Triumvirate decides an Ides of March is the right choice...

 

[TheExecuter]

If successful, it would not only prevent Portugal from falling into enemy hands but also create a new American-aligned government in Europe, reshaping the balance of power in the region.

...and embroil the US in yet another global war...

Everyone in this timeline is extremely bloodthirsty!

 

[Bloodfelt]

Chapter 32: The Vienna Conference (Part 1)

- Peace is not made at the council table or by treaties, but in the hearts of men.
Herbert Hoover

MacArthur was different from any previous President. He wasn’t the only one with a military background or controversies. But he was the first President “democratically” elected after the Civil War and the first to win a majority of electoral votes since Hoover’s victory in 1928 (Jack Reed achieved it in 1936, but the Supreme Court declared it null and electoral fraud). In addition to all this, MacArthur had been the man who, alongside former President Hoover, had risen against Reed. Douglas MacArthur I was no ordinary man. Nor was he an ordinary politician. MacArthur was a Caesar. A former general. A former “dictator.” And now, he had returned to the White House for his second term with plans. Many plans. However, right at the start of his Presidency, he had to deal with external problems before beginning his reforms.

First of all, MacArthur had to deal with a major diplomatic crisis as soon as his term began. The truce established by former President Landon between the various armed groups in Algeria broke when President and General Charles de Gaulle attempted to reconquer the city of Médéa, controlled by the Front de Libération National, the Algerian independence group. This attempt was part of a plan to establish some kind of defensive zone between Algiers and the rebellious rural areas, as well as to occupy an oil refinery built in 1939 that would provide the Government of National Salvation with fuel for its remaining armored units and aircraft. Thus, de Gaulle, without American authorization, ordered 34,000 of his men (plus some militiamen with no prior combat experience) to advance south by road, supported by about 28 armored vehicles and several artillery pieces. This force was led by General Henri Honoré Giraud, a World War I veteran who had gained recognition for suppressing the Tuareg uprisings during the rebellion of ’37. However, Giraud soon discovered that it was much easier to confront disorganized rebels than the forces of the FLN. No sooner had they left the capital than Algerian scouts alerted military leader Ferhat Abbas, who began moving his men northward to engage the French in a decisive battle. While all this was happening, General of the 1st Army Omar Bradley (whose forces were the only American ones in Africa) was summoned by the Senate’s Commission on African States, which believed it needed the General to finally present possible post-war borders in Africa. In his place, the veteran Matthew Ridgway would be tasked with garrisoning the area. However, American intelligence services were unable to detect Giraud’s movements until the battle had already begun.

During his two-day march south, Giraud was harassed by small groups of Algerian guerrillas, who began to wear down the French troops. Particularly frustrating were the hit-and-run mortar attacks, which managed to destroy two of the armored vehicles and killed more than a hundred soldiers. Finally, Giraud’s troops reached the outskirts of the city, where they encountered strong resistance. The Algerian forces numbered around 35,000 men, almost the same as the French. This didn’t mean that the military experience and equipment of both groups could be compared. On the one hand, the French had a core of trained veterans (despite one-third of the army being conscripts), tanks, and artillery. However, General Abbas planned to compensate using the “city” and guerrilla tactics to destroy the French. Giraud ordered the attack to begin on the 11th, at 6 in the morning. Once he lost the faint hope that the city might be empty, he ordered a massive artillery strike, which destroyed the city and killed the remaining civilians. After more than 30 minutes of shelling, the General gave the order to advance, launching an attack in three columns. The tanks were added to the central column, which would attempt to take the town center.

"Position of the forces at the start of the attack. Mechanized and armored troops can be observed, along with the 3:1 artillery superiority of the French (in blue), while the Algerians (in red)maintained control of the town."

This initially seemed to bear fruit, as French tanks managed to crush (sometimes literally) the Algerian forces and push them further south, into the desert. However, the flanks of the attack, mainly infantry, suffered heavy casualties trying to take the outskirts of the city. By the end of the day, the French had occupied a quarter of the town, mostly in the central part. So, when night fell, Giraud ordered the attacks to halt and fortify. He was certain the Algerians would attack at night. And so they did. In a battle rivaling Verdun, the French forces were forced to fight in the dark against the Algerians with bayonets and swords. This nighttime combat, which the French won and which lasted all night, allowed Abbas to move his forces northward. When the sun rose in the East on the morning of the 12th, the French forces in the city numbered 29,000 men, while the Algerians had risen to around 38,000, despite the previous night’s losses. While all this was happening, Ridgway heard the news on the night of the 11th and looked for nearby troops to send to the area. Thank God, a full American division was located south of the city, at the important railway hub of Ain Oussara. Thus, Major Mark W. Clark was ordered to move his division northward. As for what to do once he arrived in the area, Clark was to meet with both sides and reach an agreement for a clean withdrawal. When Ridgway asked which side he should support in case he had to take a stance, a newly inaugurated Douglas MacArthur ordered him to side with the defenders, who had not violated the truce. By 11 a.m. on the twelfth, American troops could see the fighting in the city from the road leading to town.

As they approached the city, the American troops began to be bombarded by the French, who had mistaken them for Algerian soldiers. By the time Giraud ordered the attack to stop ten minutes later, 58 American soldiers lay dead, while another 200 were wounded—Clark among them. This mistake would cost Giraud and the French government dearly. When the news reached Algiers, de Gaulle panicked and ordered Giraud to return to the city. The General, who had nearly expelled the Algerians from the city, obeyed the orders and commanded his men to begin a retreat northward. Thus, by midday, the city's defenders were celebrating the withdrawal under the watchful gaze of the Americans.

"Situation of the fighting shortly before the French bombardment of the American forces (in green). We can see how Giraud had almost expelled them from the city. However, we can also observe how the Algerians appeared to be preparing forces in the north for a counterattack and to encircle the French."

When the news reached Washington D.C., a belligerent American public roared in anger at this attack by de Gaulle and his men. Hearst demanded Giraud’s head and that he be tried by a military court. But MacArthur did not want to go that far. Thus, through a radio address (the first of many), he announced that he had made a decision regarding the future of Algeria and Africa in general. First of all, the Americans, with the help of local authorities, would establish native governments according to the Senate’s plan. These would have administrations to prepare the country for elections before the year 1945. These would be independent, free, and democratic. However, with “a civilizing mission,” MacArthur ordered the creation of an army of 100,000 soldiers whose mission would be to establish peace among these new states, advise the new African armies, and intervene against insurgent groups. George C. Marshall would be the new commander of this force. Another measure was to recognize the independence of Tunisia, which allowed American troops to enter its territory to protect it from the Internationale.

The situation of Algeria remained to be decided. Unlike other places, the white population of Algeria, the pieds-noirs,had come to make up 22% of the population, usually from the upper and middle classes. However, they now had to face the remaining 72% of the population. And although they were more poorly armed and had fewer resources, the latter had every chance of winning the war in the long run. This added to the fear that the Internationale would tip the balance within the FLN between the Muslim democrats and the syndicalists. Thus, MacArthur and the Senate established the Republic of Algeria. This would be a federal republic where both pieds-noirs (with their own representatives) and natives would be considered equal citizens. A former Muslim collaborator was appointed provisional president, which seemed to keep both sides content—for the moment. Despite all this, millions of French people emigrated south to Mittelafrika.

While the anti-de Gaulle French forces under General Alphonse Juin “willingly” joined the Republic (in the following years they would form the French National Party within the republic), de Gaulle and his forces in Algiers refused to join the republic. They demanded a homeland of their own, where they could govern according to French laws and wait for the right moment to liberate France from Syndicalism. Their eyes turned to the island of Corsica, which the Americans had occupied after the war. He publicly requested to withdraw with his men to the island and create a French Government in exile. As a gesture of goodwill, he withdrew from the city of Algiers toward Oran, which remained de facto under French control.

All of this displeased Chairman Valois, who saw Corsica—a part of the homeland, occupied by the Americans—about to be handed over to another rival French government. Therefore, he ordered Admiral Darlan’s republican navy to prepare a military operation to take the island. However, the Chairman found himself facing the joint opposition of General Gamelin, still influential from his living room, Admiral Darlan, and surprisingly, his own chief of secret police: Doriot. All of them met with Valois and made him see that the Internationale was not ready for a war with the United States, even less so with the Russian Bear breathing down their necks. Therefore, Doriot offered the alternative of inviting the American delegation to the Vienna Conference, the first major meeting in broad daylight between the Moscow Accord and the Third Internationale. Why not kill two birds with one stone? Thus, with Savinkov’s consent, the Americans were invited as one of the four great powers to the Conference (the others being Mosley’s Union of Britain, Savinkov’s Russian State, and Valois’s Commune of France). At this conference, the delegations agreed that the conference would begin on January 25th and that the following topics would be discussed:

• The situation of the Portuguese territory occupied by the Americans during Operation Salazar
• The status of Corsica
• Naval exclusion zones for Americans and members of the Internationale
• The delimitation of zones of influence in Germany, the Balkans, and Scandinavia
• The possibility of establishing future non-intervention agreements on other conflicts (e.g., the Chinese Civil War or the Middle East War)
• Possible arms limitation
• The situation of Malta and its return to the Italian Socialist Republic
• Non-aggression pacts for three years among the powers
• Trade agreements (especially from the Internationale, which needed African resources to maintain, for example, its aircraft production)
• Possible release of prisoners (the Union of Britain pushed for the release of Russian and American socialist prisoners)
• Repatriation of military or scientific personnel to their countries of origin.

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The journalists watched William attentively. It was his first high-level conference, and he felt nervous. He was used to being on the other side of the podium, asking questions to get an answer.
He hadn’t wanted the job… at first. He would have preferred to remain a correspondent, showing the American public the outside world and the stories of the people. However, Helen had convinced him to keep the post. She wanted him closer to home to start a family. And William, though he found it rushed, didn’t really complain. Now, with more than a dozen journalists in front of him and hanging on his every word, maybe just a little.

-Good morning. I will answer your questions shortly. Following the request issued by the French Government in Paris, President MacArthur has decided to accept it and will personally travel to Vienna for the Conference.

There were murmurs in the room.

- The delegation will be composed of the President, General Eisenhower, Secretary of State MacNider, and Chief of Staff Johnson, also assisted by other delegates that the President will inform you about in the coming hours. For his part, President MacArthur wishes to convey calm to the American public. Our President desires peace. However, we do not forget. We do not forget our dead nor the tragedies committed by the red threat on our soil. While the President is away, Vice President Robert Taft will be in charge of directing some state affairs with the help of cabinet members. That will be all for now. Any questions?

Every journalist raised their hand.

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This cabinet is a strange mash-up of military veterans, career politicians, business executives and MacArthur yesmen...

There's no guarantee it'll last.

There are a lot of ambitious egos in MacArthur's cabinet. Way too many for it to run smoothly.

Yes, you're absolutely right. Not only that, but we're also very different ideologically. But well, we'll see how it all ends.

Whoa! That’s HUGE.

That's nearly five historical divisions! But oh well, it's the only thing that seems to pierce the armor of the armored divisions

They're my space marines.

There is a lot of eerie parallells to RL modern politics in this story. Yet, also very different.

I need someone to tell Trump to stop copying me. No, seriously. I spent months planning all of this, creating a cabinet, a timeline up to 1965 just in case... (having played back in October) and now everything’s starting to look like a vague imitation of OTL

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

At this conference, the delegations agreed that the conference would begin on January 25th and that the following topics would be discussed:

• The situation of the Portuguese territory occupied by the Americans during Operation Salazar
• The status of Corsica
• Naval exclusion zones for Americans and members of the Internationale
• The delimitation of zones of influence in Germany, the Balkans, and Scandinavia
• The possibility of establishing future non-intervention agreements on other conflicts (e.g., the Chinese Civil War or the Middle East War)
• Possible arms limitation
• The situation of Malta and its return to the Italian Socialist Republic
• Non-aggression pacts for three years among the powers
• Trade agreements (especially from the Internationale, which needed African resources to maintain, for example, its aircraft production)
• Possible release of prisoners (the Union of Britain pushed for the release of Russian and American socialist prisoners)
• Repatriation of military or scientific personnel to their countries of origin.

As he's a military man, I don't think MacArthur will agree to any "possible arms limitation". The others he might agree to (but releasing socialist prisoners will probably be with the asterisk that they immediately leave for Internationale countries).

 

[slothinator]

This has been a riveting story so far and I can’t help but wonder what the MacArthur presidency will look like.
Without the 22nd amendment, there is a clear path for our dear president to bring peace, justice, freedom, and security to his new republic

 

[TheExecuter]

For his part, Wallace emphasized the importance of reclaiming the American territories that had been captured, which at that time were under Liberian control. Wallace believed that America should learn from the mistakes of Britain and France: "We must not colonize African territories. These territories must be liberated as independent countries and aligned with the free world." This concept, the "free world", would be increasingly used by politicians in Washington and even in other countries as news from Europe reached them. In addition to all this, Wallace supported efforts for the United States to negotiate peace with the European Powers and even normalize relations with the Powers of the International. This point, which was not originally in his speech script, made it easy for conservatives to claim that Wallace was a crypto-syndicalist.

The very fact that a peaceful world is considered an extremist position...

 

[jak7139]

It remains to be seen whether this Conference of Vienna will be as successful as the the one at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. There are many topics to get through and any one of them could blow the whole thing up.

Also, so many high ranking figures in one place could lead to an assassination.

 

[Nikolai]

This smells like a trap. Be careful, Americans.

 

[TheExecuter]

Hours later, Edgar Hoover smoked a cigar calmly in his office. In his hand, a duplicate tape of his meeting with Frankfurter and Eisenhower. If he wanted, he could leak it to Hearst or even MacArthur himself to discredit them.

I would imagine both Ike and Frank know that their conversations with Hoover have been recorded...it's not like Hoover is an unknown entity at this point.

I am fantasizing about a Beria like ending for Hoover though...that would be a happy ending of sorts...

 

[TheExecuter]

- Of course you do. Who said otherwise?
- I’m quite busy, in case you hadn’t noticed.
- Busy doing what, Mr. President? Packing your bags and looking for a job in the private sector?

Ah, MacArthur...trying to 'win friends and influence people'...

- Me? You were part of that too, you idiot!

Indeed.

Landon, the 31st President of the United States, didn’t need much time to think.

- I’m in, MacArthur. Where do we start?

You really should think about this longer, Landon...

 

[TheExecuter]

- Did we kill him?
- No, he died of natural causes in November.

William jumped up from his bed.

Ah, Prescott...always the naive Watson.

There, wearing a gas mask and surrounded by the corpses of civilians, soldiers, and guerrillas, Wisner stopped sleeping. At least, without nightmares. He had also been the liaison between the three ultra-secret prisons in the military districts and Hoover. He was the one responsible for eliminating the prisoners that Hoover deemed... irredeemable. Wisner had lost count of how many prisoners he had personally executed. 50? 100? Among them, one stood out: Jack Reed himself

Ah...

This whole section reminds me of the Comte de Rochefort...from the Three Musketeers novels.

A good man who has chosen poorly whom he will serve...

- I,- he muttered softly to himself,- am nothing more than that. A cog. A cog whose job is to make America look like what it once was. But my old America has died"

So...the muttered words of a former prisoner starting to really haunt the dog cog, are they?

Evil has a cost. Caveat Emptor.

 

[TheExecuter]

However, we do not forget. We do not forget our dead nor the tragedies committed by the red threat on our soil.

I'm sure the rest of the world hasn't forgotten the people currently imprisoned by this US for the mere crime of being on the wrong side of the border of a civil war and accused of having the wrong ideology...

It's always amusing to me how people talk about not forgetting their enemies atrocities while conveniently ignoring their own...

I need someone to tell Trump to stop copying me. No, seriously. I spent months planning all of this, creating a cabinet, a timeline up to 1965 just in case... (having played back in October) and now everything’s starting to look like a vague imitation of OTL

Trump is just doing what many before him have done (Mussolini, Petain, Hitler, Lenin, etc etc). Unfortunately, his evil is a common feature of government under humans...use power to abuse those who can't defend themselves...govern through fear and force.

The irritating thing to me is that these tyrants keep thinking the path they choose will lead to good things...instead of the violent and bloody ends that are the usual consequences.

Also, finally caught up!

 

[Bullfilter]

Back up to date again. Poised for an interesting period: one gets the impression that the main participants at the Vienna Conference will soon be at each other’s throats, fighting over bits they didn’t get and thought they should have. And then there’s Japan and the rest of Asia …