A World at War: 1938-----
Hello everybody! My name's
Mersdon, and welcome to this ahistorical RP! In this timeline, history matches our timeline until Hitler decided to annex the Sudetenland. Instead of bending over backwards to accommodate the Nazis, Neville Chamberlain decided to act on his promise to protect Czechoslovakia, and thus declared war on the Third Reich when the Wehrmacht crossed the Czechoslovak border. As this RP is currently in its infancy, any feedback- on rules, ideas, or suchlike- is appreciated. I will put up an application format soon, as well as expand the playable nations in this game. I hope that you'll enjoy it!
The State of the World, October 1st, 1938-----
At this point, the
United Kingdom is dealing with an upswell in separatist sentiment in the British Raj, major patriation movements in Canada and in Australia, and with Oswald Mosley's fast-growing British Union of Fascists party. Its economy is still recovering from the Great Depression, its mighty military is scattered around the globe, and austerity measures- as well as the horrendous losses suffered by the country during WWI- have taken their toll. China covets Hong Kong and the British concessions on the mainland; India groans under British rule, and in Egypt, the first mutterings of revolt and independence are taking shape. The Exchequer barely keeps the budget and the Bank of England's reserves from giving out already; one more push, such as the loans needed to finance a global war- could take Great Britain's economy over the edge. The pound sterling and the Commonwealth's industry still dominate the world's economy- the question is, for how long? Can King George VI keep his people-and his government- together?
[Nation RPing as the United Kingdom-n/a]
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The
Fourth French Republic, however, is riven by internal divisions. Close to half of the country voted for the French Communist Party during the 1936 elections; they see a war with the Germans as the capitalist system perpetuating itself. In addition, the embryonic stages of the Algerian and Indochinese independence movements have started to grow into viable political forces in their own right. The French military, bloodied and pacifist following the carnage of the Western Front, is a shadow of its former self. Paris is a hotbed for emigres, exiles, and intellectuals alike, while the French government has to deal with its national economy just barely getting back on its feet, constant industrial strikes in Lyons and Marseilles, and the fallout from both Germany's move into the Rhineland
and the conclusion of the Spanish Civil War. China wants France's concessions gained after the Boxer Rebellion and its leased territory of Guangzhouwan. Japan desires Vietnam's fertile fields and abundant resources, and Italy wants to take the French Riviera and Tunisia. France and its prized City of Light stands as the world's intellectual and cultural beacon- but how long will a democratic, liberal France last, under the wave of darkness overtaking the world?
[Nation RPing as France- n/a]
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Across the Pyrenees, two factions battle for control of the Iberian Peninsula:
Republican Spain and the
Nationalists. Both claim to be the legitimate successors to the defunct Spanish throne, vacated by Alfonso XIII in 1931. Once a great power, Spain's precipitous fall from the world stage was finalized after the United States trounced the Kingdom of Spain at the turn of the 20th century. The Iberian Peninsula is widely considered to be the backwater of Western Europe; its people still deal with the presence of ideologies old and new; its industrializing economy is vulnerable to even the slightest tremor in the Paris Bourse or Wall Street, and currently, it is the sandbox in which the nations of the world test and hone their newest designs and fighting men. For now, the Church and the atheist State fight for control over that land, but there is hope that whatever comes out of the flames will be a resurgent nation, hardened by war, but stronger with peace. Will the guns fall silent in Spain, for the first time in half a decade? Will she finally take her place among the great powers of the world once again, or will she settle for poking fun at the Portuguese? You decide!
[Nations RPing as Nationalist/Republican Spain- n/a]
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