South America 1974 (42 DR)

The Break-Up of the Umezu Shogunate

Despite the end of active conflict between the Germanic Union and the Japanese Empire in 1965 (33 DR), the Reich continued to act covertly against the Umezu Shogunate. Working with various groups within the new state, Germany found numerous allies to weaken General Umezu's power base eroding the future threat he represented to the German satellite of China.

Germany would arm and support forces under such men as Sukarno and Chin Peng despite the latter's communist stance. Due to their poor training (with increasing numbers of troops coming from the native population), Umezu's Japanese army was able to contain numerous uprisings and prevent gains by the guerillas. Deciding he needed to quash these rebellions before they became worse, he began to actively wipe out those villages he viewed as bases for guerillas rapidly turning the countryside against him. Volunteers in the thousands began swelling the ranks of the guerillas. These rebels began using wave attacks, sending waves of troops against the Japanese forces until they broke through. Even though the casualties were high, the guerillas began to gain ground and force the Japanese back.

Umezu resorted to desperate tactics in the face of the turning tide. Poison gas, artificial famine, death camps, and more began to reshape the war. Within the first two years, 20% of the population in Umezu's empire had perished. For the Indonesians, the war gradually began to take on religious implications as they saw their struggle not simply to be for independence but survival itself against the darkest forces on Earth. Islamic faith galvanized the disparate Indonesian forces into a single unit bent on jihad. The fanaticism of these holy warriors unnerved even the Japanese in their willingness to die for victory.

By 1969 (37 DR), Umezu had lost control of Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan. New Guinea saw fierce fighting that devastated the island and wiped out the native population becoming nothing more than a garrison for Umezu's troops. Claims of genocide were thrown at the Shogunate's forces which it staunchly denied.

In 1970 (38 DR), the Philippines successfully seceded from the Shogunate following an unsuccessful offensive by Umezu to retake Sumatra. Reeling from defeat, his forces tied down, the relatively unoccupied Philippines saw their chance for independence. German and Chinese troops quickly moved in to support this declaration of secession from the Shogunate. With the loss of the Philippines, Umezu's forces in New Guinea were cut off. Under relentless attack by Indonesian guerilla forces, the island would surrender within several months.

Meanwhile, the Khabuankarn Seri Thai movement had begun to deal major damage to the Shogunate's industrial sector via sabotage of important factories and mines. This was only the beginning. Plans were already underway for an uprising across the whole of Siam. These Thai plans relied heavily on the success of a quick, surprise strike by a special police unit against the Japanese command structure. The residences of ten leading officers and Japanese communications facilities were under surveillance. The police assault would be coordinated with a general attack by the partly-mechanised Thai 1st Army against the Japanese army in Bangkok. Fortifications, in the guise of air raid shelters, had been dug at key street intersections in the city and additional troops had been transferred to the capital in small groups, dressed in civilian clothes. The task of Thai forces elsewhere in the country would be to interfere with Japanese efforts to reinforce their Bangkok garrison by cutting communications lines and seizing airfields.

Given this reliance on surprise, Pridi had to take into account the fact that the Japanese were building up their forces in Siam to serve as an invasion force to retake Indonesia as well as to clamp down on guerilla operations in Siam. Although previously most of the Japanese forces stationed permanently in Siam had been support troops, the local command had been upgraded from garrison status to field army in December 1970 (38 DR).

To meet the need for officers to lead Thai forces in the attempted coup, Pridi and his allies devised a clever plan for an officer-training programme, taking advantage of a desire on the part of the feared Japanese Kempeitai to have the Thais set up a parallel military police unit. Pridi assigned a loyal supporter, Admiral Sangvara Suwannacheep, to head this organization in January 1971 (39 DR). In March, Sangvara recruited a contagion of approximately three hundred male students. Sangvara, who spoke some Japanese and frequently met with Kempeitai officers, sold the new training programme to his counterparts as preparation to resist insurgencies by the Indonesians. Japanese dignitaries, including the local commander, General Akeo Nakamura, participated in the launching of the programme in April. Japanese propagandists shot film of the recruits, who were ostensibly preparing to defend the Shogunate.

By September 1971 (39 DR), following the beginning of Umezu's campaign to take Sumatra, Pridi gave the order to commence the uprising. The initial part of the uprising was a startling success. Several leading Japanese officers were captured by Thai forces and numerous communication facilities and airfields were either sabotaged or seized from Imperial forces in the chaotic opening hours. However, things began to quickly shift. Despite their early successes, the Thai 1st Army bogged down in its assault on Japanese forces in Bangkok due to its green officer corps. Both forces quickly found themselves in the hell of urban combat. Fighting would last for weeks leading to the decimation of parts of the city. Elsewhere, Umezu sent reinforcements originally earmarked for Indonesia to reclaim airfields and counterattack Thai forces. The situation soon became much worse as Vietnamese guerillas, aided by the Chinese, assaulted Umezu's rear. Umezu found himself in an untenable position. To hold Siam, he would have to sacrifice Indochina. With the majority of his industry in Siam, Umezu did just that withdrawing his forces and ceding the eastern slice of Indochina to the Vietnamese. Within six months, the Thai uprising had largely been crushed.

When the Imperial Staff discovered that Umezu was planning yet another offensive at retaking Sumatra, the general was assassinated. The succeeding general, Hiroshi Tokugawa, decided it was time to formalize what was a reality. Peace treaties were signed recognizing the independence of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. With that, the conflict came to a close. Learning from the lessons of the collapse of Japanese strength in Southeast Asia, Tokugawa initiated a program to fully indoctrinate those peoples within the Shogunate rather than to keep them at a distance as Umezu had. This meant the adoption of the Japanese language, customs, names, and more. He would forcibly make the subjects of his rule Japanese to prevent future uprisings, binding them to him and his troops culturally and spiritually. In order to make this more palatable, he raised the living standard of citizens, offering free basic education, socialized medicine, and more.

The final cost of the conflict proved staggering. Fully 60% of Southeast Asia's population had been wiped out over seven years of war via battle, death camps, slave labor, disease, and starvation. The financial cost was in the billions. Despite their new freedom, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam would fail to economically recover in the wake of the war. The Shogunate alone would find economic growth which it would use to gradually re-exert its authority over the region.

SOURCE: Kaigo, Shitzu Umezu's Hubris: The War of Southeast Asia

Asia 1965 (33 DR)

Reichsfuhrer Heydrich

The coup of April 20, 1964 saw the removal and execution of Albert Speer and the rise of SS Reichsfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich to the position of world leader.

Due to Speer's refusal to attack Japan over its nuclear program as well as his plans to initiate multi-party elections, Heydrich struck against the Reichs Chancellor. He found numerous allies throughout the Reich: party members afraid of losing their place in the upcoming elections; Wermacht, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine commanders sure that Speer was prepared to enact further budget cuts to the military; industrialists promised the renewal of slave labor and less government intervention. Heydrich built a coalition among these men before embarking on his daring strike for power.

Known as Operation Phoenix, the SS rounded up Speer and his closest allies the night of Germany's greatest triumph: landing an Aryan on the moon. Only Goebbels avoided imprisonment, his usefulness as a propagandist a sure asset the SS could exploit to explain the shift in power and prevent full-scale civil war. President Goering was quietly retired to his estate at Karinhall and his office fused once more with that of the chancellor which was in turn fused with that of Reichsfuhrer.

Speer would be put on trial and found guilty of betraying Germany for his refusal to strike at Japan, for his undermining of the military, and for threatening to dissolve the Party. Found guilty on all charges, he was executed and denied a state funeral, branded a traitor instead and his body cremated with the ashes scattered.

Heydrich proved an adept leader. Realizing the importance of Speer's programs and government design, he did little to upset them. The bureaucrats and technocrats continued to work smoothly under his reign, though the government increasingly found itself integrated into the SS with the requirement of a rank structure, uniforms, and swearing of allegiance to the Reichsfuhrer.

Heydrich's first act was to prepare for war with the Japanese Empire. Military leaders were saw their budgets swell as reserves were mobilized and plans made. He signed a treaty with President Vlassov offering the Russian leader the return of Siberia in exchange for his invasion of said Japanese province following the initial German strike. Vlassov readily accepted under the condition that no German soldiers would move through Russian territory and an extension of their non-aggression pact be included. Secret negotiations with India assured her neutrality in the war to come in exchange for Burma.

June 21, 1965, Heydrich initiated Operation Sunblossom. From three aircraft carriers which had covertly moved into the Pacific via Chile, the island of Honshu was struck by numerous nuclear weapons destroying key cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima. Russian forces immediately struck into Siberia surprising Imperial Troops still confused following the collapse of the Japanese High Command. German forces would strike into Western China through Central Asia and take advantage of the uprisings of the Chinese who saw the Germans as liberators. The Japanese grip on China proved tenuous despite nearly thirty years of occupation (and wiping out three-quarters of the Chinese population through their "three alls" program). The Japanese quickly lost control of the Chinese Provisional Government which proclaimed independence in September. Within three months the war was over. Sporadic fighting continued with scattered pockets of Japanese forces, especially in Southeast Asia, but the main phase of the war was finished. China would be recognized as an independent entity as would Manchukuo, Tibet, and Korea, though German industrialists were already looking for ways to penetrate the new markets. Southeast Asia (French Indochina, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Siam) remained in Japanese hands though with the collapse of authority in Japan itself, General Umezu declared a military junta under his rule. Siberia was turned over to Russia while India was informed that if they wanted Burma they would have to earn it "with their own blood." The Japanese home islands suffered greatly for the remainder of 1965. Millions died in the nuclear strikes, tens of millions more in the starvation and chaos caused by the sudden collapse in their infrastructure. The Emperor and the entire royal family were wiped out dispelling the myth of his immortality and power. The Empire of Japan was no more.

Heydrich would be noted for numerous wars during his reign including Yugoslavia, Turkey, Afghanistan, and the states of the Arabian peninsula where slaughter and bloodshed reached epic proportions as Heydrich demanded the wiping out of all untermenschen. Full scale war with Iran nearly occured following the capture and sacking of Mecca and Medina by the Wermacht. Though Iran would eventually back down, a jihad was declared and an insurgency begun though failing miserably as the native populations dwindled and the insurgents found it increasingly difficult to blend in.

Heydrich would turn his attention to other matters. The remaining untermensch in Africa, Europe, and Asia under German hegemony would be culled as factories began to move into China and Machukuo to make use of the cheap labor within. Also on the economic side, a treaty was drawn up to include all nations outlawing trade barriers, tariffs, and other boundaries to German economic dominance in the international arena. With cheap labor derived from Asia, no power could match Germany's low costs of production. No country dared resist under the threat of nuclear extinction.

Heydrich began to foster and support fascist parties abroad. Their greatest successes came in South America. Following their success in Brazil, the National Congress was dissolved and the and power centralized in the executive while Argentina and Chile ascended to membership in the Germanic Union. The National Socialist States and Confederate States of America would also see ascension to the Germanic Union. Switzerland would see an increase of funding and support for the rise of a pan-german movement aimed at the union of Switzerland to the Germanic Union. It would also see itself blockaded and pressured politically until anschluss occured in 1972 finally uniting the whole of Europe under one power. Brazil would likewise join the Germanic Union in 1972.

Brazil proved a pet project for Heydrich. A country long noted for its interracial past, the Reichsfuhrer, the SS, and the leaders of Brazil worked to turn the public against those dubbed untermenschen via a gradual series of repressive laws and edicts. Blame for economic stagnation, political instability, and more were laid at the feet of non-whites. Soon camps began to arise with the properties and assets of non-whites being transferred to the government for distribution among the whites further solidifying their support for the regime's assaults. Many close friends of Heydrich stated that the Reichfuhrer took excessive glee in watching the steady change in Brazil. Brazil would join the Germanic Union in 1974.

Through Argentina and Chile, Heydrich was able to fight proxy wars drawing numerous nations into conflict with the Reich. Chile battled Peru and Bolivia as Argentina fought Uruguay, Parauguay, and Bolivia.

In space, Heydrich ordered the construction of weapons platforms. Fearing that keeping nuclear weapons on the ground would leave them vulnerable, launch platforms were constructed in orbit as a threat to those who would challenge the almighty power of the Reich. Construction of these platforms would continue until the mid-eighties with the final warhead being shipped into space in 1987.

The Church would undergo further change as pagan ceremonies began to be introduced and Christian values were stripped out. The figure of Jesus was increasingly buried with Hitler taking far greater prominence. This would culminate in the shift of the calendar from Christian (AD) to a Reich (DR) centered numerology with year 1 being the Christian year 1932, the year that Hitler was elected president and the Third Reich established. The usage of the Christian system would only continue in the United States of America, Central and parts of South America.

Those few Jews still alive continued to hide from the all reaching hand of the SS in South America and the United States.

Heydrich would die in 1976 (44 DR) from a heart attack. At his lavish funeral, the new Reichsfuhrer proclaimed Heydrich Hitler's true successor, a valiant Aryan, and a conqueror whom Germania should worship and remember for all time.

SOURCE: Harpenau, Franz Rise of the Reichsfuhrer: Heydrich the Great

The Germanic Union

The Germanic Union (GU) is a political and economic community of seventeen member states, located in Europe and Africa. It was established in 1957 by the Nuremberg Treaty, adding new areas of policy to the existing Economic Union created by Reich Chancellor Albert Speer in 1946. With almost 300 million citizens, the GU combined generates an estimated 50%-60% share of the world's nominal gross domestic product.

The GU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all member states, guaranteeing the freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital. It maintains a common trade policy, agricultural and fisheries policies, and a regional development policy. All seventeen member states have adopted a common currency, the mark.

It is a federal system of government with shared power between the overarching European Parliament and the legislatures of member states. It has supranational bodies able to make decisions without the agreement of members though local issues are largely decided by the states themselves. Important institutions and bodies of the GU include the Parliament, the Council, the Court of Justice and the Central Bank. GU citizens elect the Parliament every five years.

The GU traces its origins to the Economic Union formed among eight countries in 1946. Since then the GU has grown in size through the accession of new member states and has increased its powers by the addition of new policy areas to its remit. The Treaty of Munich, signed in December 1958, further cemented the GU as an overarching government body bringing signatory nations into a single governmental entity.

Economic Union
The political climate after the end of World War II favored Western European unity under German hegemony. To Reich Chancellor Albert Speer, the originator of the Economic Union, it was a method to draw Europe together for economic recovery and to forestall any future wars upon the European continent. One of the first successful proposals for Economic Union came in 1946 with the the European Economic Community (EEC) establishing a customs union between Germany and France. With increasing German control of French business, German pressure for a complete dissolution of customs barriers became too great to ignore. It was also seen as a step towards aiding the ailing French economy which had seen major economic drops following their defeat in 1939. Cheap French labor drew German investment with customs barriers between the two nations removed allowing for an easier transfer of capital and trade across the border. The Community's founders declared it "a first step in the federation of Europe", with the hope that this would enable the rebuilding of Europe and to pursue the development of Africa. The other founding members were Italy, Burgundy, Brittany, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Rumania.

European Community
In 1949 the Economic Union enlarged to include Spain, Portugal, Finland, South Africa, Ukraine, Ostland, Muscovy, and Caucuses. The latter four, seen by many as German puppets, were spun off from official German control and recognized as states of their own (though still ruled by a German citizenry who worked closely with Berlin). This allowed Germany a political majority in GU policy. With a coalition between these four states along with Brittany, Burgundy, Italy, and South Africa, Germany was able to steer all decisions made by the union. The United Kingdom would join in 1956.

The first direct, democratic elections of members to the European Parliament were held in 1951. They allowed citizens to elect 300 MEPs to the European Parliament and were the first international election in history.

The Vienna Agreement in 1955 created largely open borders without passport controls between most member states. In 1956 the GU flag began to be used and leaders signed the Single European Act. This revised the way community decision making operated to take account of its greater membership, aimed to further reduce trade barriers and introduce greater European Political Cooperation.

Germanic Union
In 1957, the Nuremberg Treaty was signed recognizing the supremacy of the European Parliament over all member states. It drew all colonies under the member nations into the Office of Regional Development, established a supranational tax to support the Union, began military integration, and established a single currency. The treaty came into force April 20, 1957.

1958 saw the ratification of the Act for the Preservation of Germanic Character. It established the conditions of citizenship in the GU. It also gave authority to the SS under the auspices of the Germanic Union to begin marking citizens as fit or unfit for life in the new Germanic Union. Those marked unfit were to be removed and segregated in camps for liquidation in order to ensure the purity of Germanic blood and the eradication of radical elements.

Nations outside the Germanic Union have pressed for accession to the GU including the Confederate States of America, the Nationalist States of America, Argentina, and Chile. Though treaties have been signed creating a quasi-union between these nations and the GU including a dismantling of trade barriers and a cohesive foreign and domestic policy, no official treaty has been signed recognizing union between them.

Member Nations

Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Portugal Finland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Rumania, Brittany, Burgundy, Ostland, Muscovy, Ukraine, Kaukusus, South Africa

Conservatives Win!

October 26, 1955 - Anthony Eden had become the new Prime Minister following the defeat of Labour at the polls. Many have cited the economic downturn of the nation as the contributing factor to Labour's fall from power.

Eden has vowed to initiate talks with Germany in order to join the Economic Union as part of his economic plan to salvage Britain's manufacturing sector. He has aslo sworn to cut military spending and to consider granting independence to what few British colonies remain.

Atlee's popularity has been declining since the last election in 1952. Failed wars with South Africa in Botswana, Rhodesia, Swaziland, and Lesotho coupled with Labour's socialist policies failing to stimulate the economy have led to a rush to embrace the Conservatives.

With the pounds value fast falling, many are afraid of what the future holds.

SOURCE: Manchester Guardian

Russia to the 1960s

Following the surrender to the Third Reich in 1940 and peace with Japan in 1942, the once mighty Soviet Empire had collapsed into a rump state of roughly 40 million. Ruled by a military junta headed by General Vlassov, moves were made to secure Russia's remaining raw materials and to rebuild lost industry.

With threats on both fronts, Vlassov made conscription mandatory with every citizen, including women, required to undergo military training and to remain in the reserves up until the age of 60. The military became the central facet of Russian existence roughly comparable to anicent Sparta. Well over 50% of Russia's budget was allocated to military spending. Vlassov also paid former Wermacht and Luftwaffe officers handsomely to come to Russia to train his soldiers in armor, infantry, and air tactics.

Foreign policy was also important. Vlassov ensured non-aggression treaties with both the Third Reich and Japanese Empire in order to secure his borders. The general became adept at playing both sides off against each other in order to preserve his country's precarious position. He understood the friction that began to develop between both parties and played up his place as a buffer between the growing super powers.

The economy was built on a war footing. Everything was subjugated to keeping the sword sharp against possible invasion. This was further reinforced by the occassional refugee who wandered into Russia either from the Third Reich or the Japanese Empire relating horrific tales of what was happening to Slavs abroad. Still, an embryonic consumer economy began to emerge among the population as fears of invasion from either side abated by 1955. This would later lead to double digit growth in the 1960s as military spending began to decline and consumer investment rose coupled with the government cutting imports.

Vlassov proved liberal in his later years allowing for the formation of a Duma elected by the people. Though it held little power, it allowed for the people to offer their opinions and open dialogue at the local level. By the 1960s, the Duma began to accumulate true legislative power as the population pressed for economic reform, tired of the spartan environment they were captured in. This led to further reforms and Vlassov eventually allowing for presidential elections which he won handily. Some claimed voter fraud though others believed the people embraced the general as their father, protecting them as he had for decades.

Attempts were made to woo back the lost Central Asian republics though prodding by Germany quickly ended this political action.

The Russian arts flourished beginning in the late 1950s. Fatalist in nature, garnering a romantic streak in later years, it served to intiate a movement which would migrate to the Reich and abroad with its stress on mortality and its acceptance of suffering.

SOURCE: SS Factbook