The Eastern Vikings, Part 3 - Baltic Mega-Campaign

[Michaelangelo]

I figured that one of your German puppets would eventually reach great power status and break free. Makes for a good story though.

I'm also just now noticing the bordergore between China and whatever the long stretch of green is in eastern Siberia. Dear god, the horror of those borders.

 

[RedTemplar]

I figured that one of your German puppets would eventually reach great power status and break free. Makes for a good story though.

I'm also just now noticing the bordergore between China and whatever the long stretch of green is in eastern Siberia. Dear god, the horror of those borders.

That horrific t-shaped monstrosity is the Mongol Khanate, and it hurts my soul every time I look at it.

 

[Idhrendur]

China's military score is scary. I guess there's a little comfort in that it may reflect mere masses of troops and not quality, but still.

 

[RedTemplar]

China's military score is scary. I guess there's a little comfort in that it may reflect mere masses of troops and not quality, but still.

Fortunately they haven't shown much interest in the western world. But if another big war breaks out before the end of V2, I may just strong-arm them in to see what happens.

 

[stnylan]

The peace is proving most difficult to win. Indeed, perhaps Estonia is losing the peace? It seems quite possible.

 

[Cora Giantkiller]

I just read through this AAR in the last few days and it's been a blast! Can't wait to see how the revolutions turn out.

 

[Capage]

I want more! I'm hungry for more!

 

[RedTemplar]

I want more! I'm hungry for more!

Then you'll be happy to know that the France post for the postwar decade is in the works!

 

[RedTemplar]

May 1906 - May 1916 AD, Part Two

France - A Nation Reborn
On May 9, 1906, the Treaty of Orleans brought the French nation back into existence after almost 200 years of foreign rule under Germany and Andalusia. Its signing set off widespread celebration that saw most of France consumed with raucous festivity for almost a full week. Frenchmen of every stripe ate, drank, and celebrated their newfound freedom in a historic bout of revelry. But the elation over the rebirth of the French state would soon end and give way to years of bitterness and infighting. The effort to liberate France from foreign rule had united French freedom fighters regardless of their political persuasion. Communists fought alongside upper-class capitalists; anti-government anarchists fought alongside monarchists; authoritarian fascists fought alongside freedom-minded liberals. All of them shared a common desire to see France stand sovereign on the world stage once again. But once that goal had been reached, the necessity for cooperation among ideological enemies disappeared. The war for France's existence had been won; but the war for its heart was only just beginning.

With its borders now clearly defined, France would next need to formalize its system of government. The nations of the Democratic Entente had insisted that France's government be assembled via a democratic process, but they had left the details entirely to the French people. The process of building a new government began in early June of 1906 with the calling of the Council of Paris. There, on June 4th, leaders of a variety of French political parties and movements, as well as philosophers, military officers, and economic leaders gathered in the nation's capital to discuss, debate, and ultimately vote on the type of government by which the new state should be run.

The Council began in the worst possible way, being suspended just a week after it convened due to civil unrest.

When the leaders of France's communist movement learned that communist parties were barred from participation in the Council of Paris, they left the city and returned to the east, where they enjoyed the largest concentration of popular support. Once there, they gathered their followers, armed them from caches of weapons stolen from lightly defended military outposts, and declared their intention to secede from France and form the People's Republic of Burgundy, establishing a communist utopia in eastern France. Barely a month after it was officially restored, France was already embroiled in civil war. Julien Boucher, one of the nation's most outspoken communist leaders, proclaimed himself the Director of the new state, and called on his followers to liberate their land at any cost.

Fighting back against the communist secession was a daunting task for the young nation. As France had yet to even form a proper government, no formal French military existed at the time. For several days, the representatives at the Council of Paris argued about how best to respond to the military threat, but they were unable to come to an accord on how to proceed. Some wanted to turn back to the Entente and request peacekeeping forces to quell the uprising; others demanded the swift creation of a military by conscription; still others, not wanting to turn France into a military state, aimed to put out the call for an all-volunteer army and muster whoever volunteered into a temporary army. Ultimately, the Council's endless debate gave the communists the opportunity to establish themselves around Burgundy and Franche-Comté. Strongholds were established, troops marched, and eastern France was quickly being lost to the forces of communism. The People's Republic of Burgundy would become a reality if someone couldn't act quickly to stop it.

Ultimately, someone did. Henri Laurent, the famed French fencer whose celebration with Albert Ayat helped ignite the movement for French independence, had been invited to participate in the Council as a "leader in French nationalism." Frustrated at the lack of a proper response to the communist uprising, Laurent worked alongside several military leaders on a plan to rapidly mobilize an army to stop the secession. On June 27th, Laurent entered the Council chamber flanked by a group of armed soldiers and led by August du Galle -- a French military commander who had led a force of French volunteers fighting for the Entente during the Great War. Du Galle was greatly respected throughout France, and military veterans hailed him as one of the nation's premier heroes.

Laurent informed the Council representatives that Du Galle had assembled an army of civilian volunteers, Great War veterans, and local militia to band together and fight the communist forces in the east. Laurent unilaterally granted Du Galle the title of Marshal of the National Guard and charged him with defeating the communist forces; he challenged anyone in the chamber to speak up if they disagreed. He was met with stunned silence, and the measure went unopposed -- at least at first.

Marshal du Galle went to work quickly. His National Guard marched out to the east, and within a year they had broken the two largest communist strongholds in Burgundy. The communists had a substantial numerical advantage, but against the experienced soldiers of the National Guard and the sharp tactical mind of du Galle, they were consistently beaten back. Victory after victory came, but the hasty and undemocratic formation of the National Guard would soon come back to haunt it. While no one had dared speak against Henri Laurent when he gave du Galle command surrounded by armed soldiers, word of the event quickly spread around Paris and the surrounding cities. Many were scandalized by the act, and Laurent, once hailed as a national hero, came to be seen by many as a threatening figure who could plunge the nation into tyranny if not held in check.

As a result, the fall of 1907 saw a second faction take up arms in France, and it did so under the guidance of a surprising leader: Albert Ayat, Henri Laurent's fencing opponent from the 1900 Olympics and fellow hero of the French liberation. Ayat was appalled by Laurent's sharp turn toward military governance, but he feared that his great reputation as one of the first figures of French nationalism would give his attempts greater credibility. In order to neutralize the advantage of Laurent's celebrity status, Ayat lent himself to the cause of resisting du Galle's National Guard. Ayat worked with the leaders of several pro-democratic parties to establish the French Liberty Front, an armed organization dedicated to preserving proper democracy against authoritarian rule. Ayat published a series of columns in French newspapers condemning Laurent, writing that "his actions have demonstrated that Mr. Laurent has discarded whatever noble ideals of French liberty he once held in favor of the iron rod of tyranny."

Thus, two years into its life as a newly freed nation, France was divided between three factions: Boucher's People's Republic of Burgundy, located in the east; Ayat's French Liberty Front, with its power base in the northwest; and Laurent and du Galle's National Guard, working out of the capital in Paris. Just a few years prior, all of France had been united in the pursuit of a single goal; now, brother turned against brother as France threatened to destroy itself from within before it could even properly rise to its feet. Each organization had its official military forces, which marched in large battles across France. But even more fighting occurred in the city streets, where debates became fistfights, fistfights became brawls, and brawls became armed riots. Anyone who chose a side would find his shops burned, his family assaulted, and his property vandalized by supporters of rival factions, and those who refused to take any side got the worst of all three.

This violence would continue for five years, during which open field combat, violent lynchings, and neighborhood gang warfare became the norm throughout much of France. The "War for the Heart of France," as it was sometimes referred to by writers, would ultimately last even longer than the Great War which had restored France in the first place. But over time, Marshal du Galle's superior military force proved to be the deciding factor, and both the People's Republic of Burgundy and the French Liberty Front were worn down and defeated. Finally, on October 19th of 1911, Marshal du Galle returned to Paris to declare that all opposition had been defeated.

With their rivals now crushed, Henri Laurent and August du Galle could make their vision for France a reality. With the backing of du Galle and his National Guard, Laurent declared himself the first President of France, holding sole executive power. Under Laurent's government, Presidents would be elected democratically, but would serve a lifetime term. A legislative body with representatives from each of France's states was formed, but it would serve only in an advisory capacity, with all political decision-making power held solely by the President. Du Galle was given the new rank of Grand Marshal of the National Guard, making him the supreme commander of all French military forces. France was, for all intents and purposes, a dictatorship, albeit one in which its dictators could be elected by the people.

The move was a daring one, and given that many within France were still wary of Laurent's government, he acted quickly to create a new enemy against which the French people could be united. To do this, he turned to a familiar target: Germany. President Laurent railed against the Treaty of Orleans' handling of Alsace-Lorraine, insisting that the territory rightfully belonged to France and had been "stolen" from it by an election he claimed the Germans had manipulated to their advantage. Alsace-Lorraine was part of the historical borders of France, and under his leadership, he promised it would return home. He called on all patriotic Frenchmen to support the effort, promising to restore France to international greatness. In this, he would be supported by a new alliance of his own making; Laurent had secured alliances with Czechoslovakia and Hungary, forming a "French Entente" of liberated former German territories.

Much to the surprise of many of Laurent's detractors, the plan worked. Enlistment into the National Guard surged, popular support swelled, and enthusiasm for war reached a new height as the French people took their anger toward one another and turned it outward toward a foreign enemy. On October 31st of 1914, three years after Laurent proclaimed himself President for life, he issued a formal declaration of war and invaded Germany to reclaim Alsace-Lorraine for France.

Germany was in its most vulnerable position in years, and was a prime target for the invasion. Just a few months earlier in August of 1914, radical anarcho-liberals had successfully forced Kaiser Siegbert II to flee the country with his family, and they had established a new radical government that was still finding its way. When Laurent's declaration of war was made, the German army was quickly struck from two sides by French forces marching from the west and Czechoslovakian forces from the east. While Hungary dishonored the alliance and declined to participate, a German nation debilitated by postwar sanctions and crippling civil strife offered nearly no resistance.

The war lasted only five months, and the governing council of Germany accepted the demands of its conquerors in March of 1915. Henri Laurent kept his promise and restored Alsace-Lorraine to French rule, a move which helped him earn a significant boost in popularity. He also strengthened his ties with Czechoslovakian President Josef Sedlak by forcing Germany to surrender Austria to Czechoslovakia. The move backed Germany even further into a corner, reducing the already weakened nation's standing and leaving it sitting in a precarious position as the weakest power in central Europe surrounded by neighbors who were all on the rise. The victory also helped to validate the strength of Laurent's regime. He and Sedlak, both ruling as dictators in an allegedly democratic system, had become the first world leaders to make territorial gains since the conclusion of the Great War -- and they had done so without incurring the wrath of the democratic powers.

For now, the newly reborn French nation was in the hands of its fencer-turned-dictator and his loyal National Guard.

 

[stnylan]

It didn't take France long to try and stretch its muscles. Or engage into a little very French insurrection

 

[DensleyBlair]

This all seems… very bad. A revanchist, fascist France and an expansionist, fascist Czechoslovakia using Germany as a punching bag literally years after the Great War spells nothing good at all for Europe.

 

[Cora Giantkiller]

Ominous tidings. Estonia needs to keep a sharp on the rise of the far right in Europe.

 

[RedTemplar]

This all seems… very bad. A revanchist, fascist France and an expansionist, fascist Czechoslovakia using Germany as a punching bag literally years after the Great War spells nothing good at all for Europe.

Technically speaking, they aren't fascists.... They're both listed as "Presidential Dictatorships" -- there is an actual fascist dictatorship elsewhere in the world, but we'll get to that in a later post.

 

[DensleyBlair]

Ah I see, so they’re doing the whole “autocratic national conservative” thing that is incredibly fash-adjacent but still claims a little bit of breathing room. Man the interwar period is such a wild time.

 

[RedTemplar]

Ah I see, so they’re doing the whole “autocratic national conservative” thing that is incredibly fash-adjacent but still claims a little bit of breathing room. Man the interwar period is such a wild time.

It sure is... And we still have at least one more update in the postwar decade to come, maybe two depending on how much I see to flesh out certain nations.

 

[Michaelangelo]

Germany is certainly a shadow of its former self, overcome by anarcho-liberals and then lose even more territory. At least France poses less of a threat to Estonia than Germany did during its peak.

Interesting to see the newborn France slip into authoritarianism. If some of the victors are doing so badly, I can only imagine the state of some of the losers.

 

[RedTemplar]

Germany is certainly a shadow of its former self, overcome by anarcho-liberals and then lose even more territory. At least France poses less of a threat to Estonia than Germany did during its peak.

Interesting to see the newborn France slip into authoritarianism. If some of the victors are doing so badly, I can only imagine the state of some of the losers.

Surprisingly... in many regards the losers are actually faring better than the winners. Except for Germany, obviously

 

[Idhrendur]

Ah I see, so they’re doing the whole “autocratic national conservative” thing that is incredibly fash-adjacent but still claims a little bit of breathing room. Man the interwar period is such a wild time.

FWIW, the Vic2 to HoI4 considers this the same as a monarchy, and we lump them together as an 'autocratic' ideology.

And then make it mechanically more-or-less a copy of fascist.

 

[RedTemplar]

FWIW, the Vic2 to HoI4 considers this the same as a monarchy, and we lump them together as an 'autocratic' ideology.

And then make it mechanically more-or-less a copy of fascist.

Good to know! Considering I'm only 20 years off from the HoI4 start date, it's probably about time to start thinking about how to handle the transfer.

 

[HistoryDude]

War is easy when there is a common enemy... Otherwise, not so much.

Germany is so dead. But will France, the former vassal republics, and Czechoslovakia turn on their liberators?