aronnax
Feb 20, 2007, 02:23 AM
I saw this posted in another forum and i thought it would be interesting to post.
Upon defeating the American rebels, a series of reforms were set up in the colonies to address some of their grievances. The Crown promised that it would not treat America as a plundering ground for taxes and levies but rather leave it much to its own devices. The state governors were given more power, and, influenced by the political philosophies of the rebels, ruled in a compassionate way. However, the British had learnt not to trust the Yankees, and the presence of His Majesty's Secret Service was increased in the urbanised North to monitor, and if neccessary, crush, any sign of dissent. In light of this, many of the would-be 'founding fathers' fled to the agrarian southern colonies and French Louisiana.
Life in the colonies was stable for two generations untill in 1827 (earlier than in real life) the British Empire abolished slavery. The South (i.e. everything from Virginia down), being incredibly dependent on slavery, and further influenced by the demogoguery of the survived failed rebels, decalred their independence from the British Empire. The war that ensued was long and introduced many innovations in military technology, however, the Yankees, having been kept under Britain's jackboot did not support what many saw as a war of imperial aggression. As the war toiled on it seemed that the South was succeeding in establishing its independence.
The Kingdom of France, having learnt fifty years earlier that meddling in Britain's North American affairs was futile, was approached by the British Crown to assist by opening a new front on the Southern-Louisianian border. Unfortunately, partially due to Britain's naval supremacy, the French Crown did not have any real power over Louisiana. Instead, that colony and the armed forces attached to it owed their allegiances to the gouverneur and the demogogues of the failed 1776 rebellion. And so, in 1830, Britain's worst nightmare comes true as Louisiana Gouverneur de Laussat declares his colony the independent République de Louisianie and allies himself strongly with the Southern rebels. Louisina joins the war and quickly smashes the British offensive. By 1831, Britain and their nominal ally France sue for peace. The Treaty of Richmond recognises the independence of the Confederate States of Louisiana and establishes its border with the United Colonies of North America.
The Confederate States of Louisiana corresponds roughly with our world's Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, (West) Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, aswell as significant nominal terretories to the West which are designated Frontiere and Terre d'Indiennes. The CSL is bilingual and its political philosophy can be seen as a fusion of American Confederatism and Napoleonic Republicanism. Strong Governors/Gouverneurs have the capacity to behave in quite a tyrannic way, and slavery is a pervasive establishment. The United Colonies of North America, consists roughly of the current states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachussetts, New Hampshire, Maine and (due to a colonial reordering during the war) the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Due to their collaboration and shared political systems a version of the Entente Cordiale existed between Britain and France much earlier than in our world. As such their colonial affairs were run more in co-operation than in competition, the understanding existed that France should control West Africa and South Asia east of Bangladesh, and Britain should control East Africa and central South Asia. As a symbol of this co-operation, vast trans-continental railways were built linking the continents during the Industrial Revolution. Countries like Sweden, Prussia, Greater Sicily and the Netherlands had colonies dotted around around the Old World, but Britain and France clearly dominated.
In 1871, Kaiser Wilhelm I became the first ruler of the united Prussia and Holy Roman Empire (hence known as the Deutsches Reich), and along with his Chanzler, Otto von Bismarck, began a process of rapidly industrialising Germany and establishing close relationships with the other European nations who felt that they were shut out of the colonial game. It was a widely known secret that the Kaiser wished to usurp the superpowerdom of France and Britain.
In 1888, Kaiser Wilhelm I died, leaving the throne and a prosperous and progressive empire to his son, Friedrich III (who was in this world a fanatically healthy man who banned tobacco and opium in his realm and imposed descriminatory taxes on strong liquors). Friedrich furthered his father's legacy of industrialisation, and created even stronger pan-European bonds (forming what became known as the Brandenburg Pakt), even with traditional enemies such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia. Specifically his policy on armament was particularly audacious, he was building a thoroughly modern navy, the likes of which could easily pose a threat to Britain or France. Germany's allies also beganning arming themselves for an upcoming conflict, this was aided by a generous program of sharing nautical and military specialists across Europe. As more and more nations saw the benefit in alligning with Germany it increasingly became the case that the only true Franco-British ally left on continental Europe was the Ottoman Empire (who still had quite a foothold in the Balkans due to their eagerness to co-operate in Britain's industrial schemes, specifically the TransAfrAsian Railway).
In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne, was assassinated. The Ottoman Empire was widely believed to have been behind the assassination. Austro-Hungary demanded apologies and reparations from the Ottomans, but the Ottomans steadfastly refused responsibility. Anger grew amongst Austria, Germany and their allies. Britain attempted to mediate and sought private assurances from the Sultan that he had not been to blame for the murder. To this day it is not known whether the Ottoman Empire had been involved or not. Regardless, the mood was that the Empire was to blame, and that this unwelcomed return of Islamic power into the Balkans was not to be accepted, and so, by the end of that year, the Pakt nations declared war and invaded the Ottoman Empire. Britain and France invaded Germany from the west as an act of solidarity.
Both sides' Eastern Offences were very effective, the Pakt armies (strengthened every day by recruits arriving from Germany, Sweden and Russia) quickly smashed through the Ottoman Balkans. Likewise, Germany's planned defences against French invasion proved useless as the French marched through Belgium instead of advancing straight across the border, German forces regrouped at the traditional Prussian border and dug trenches, quickly turning that side of the war into a war of attrition. In the East however, the Pakt continued to occupy the Balkans, but found they needed naval support if they were to advance into Asia Minor. The first naval battles consisted of the Ottomans decimating the antiquated Russian fleets in the Black Sea. The Italians attempted to defeat the Turks at sea, but their fleets to were no match for the Ottoman navy, which could quickly rebuild any losses as it had almost infinite access to steel thanks to the TransAfrAsian Railway.
As the Western war of attrition waged on, France and Britain had to find new ways of replacing the already record casualties from the trenches. By 1915, the solution was to recruit brigades from the colonies. The TransAfrAsian Railway brought hundreds of thousands of Indians and Indochinese to Morocco, to join hundreds of thousands more Africans to be ferried across the Gibraltar Straits, and marched through allied Spain toward the battlefields. Likewise, troops from Canada and the UCNA were also enlisted. As this plan became evident to the Pakt their strategy was modified. The conquest of the Ottoman Empire was no longer their primary concern, instead, the target would be North Africa. Vast Austro-Italian flotillas were sent across the Mediterranean, and engaged in saboutage against the TransAfrAsian Railway.
As 1916 dawned, the Mediterranean had become the most active arena of battle, as the British and French Navies routinely patrolled the sea to ensure no Pakt ships crossed onto their shores. As Britain became increasingly involved on the other end of the continent, the German Navy became increasingly audacious in its attacks on the British mainland, with warships skimming right up to the coast and shelling important cities, paranoia that élite German commandos were operating in Britain was wide-spread.
By that spring it had been noted in Paris and London that Mediterranean action was cooling down, this was interpreted positively. However, it was not anticipated that the Pakt was instead opening a new front: in May, Pakt armies marched (and rolled in, with new tanks) through the Caucasian territories of the Russian Empire and Persia and had begun invading the Ottoman Empire through the backdoor. The Ottomans, who had become overconfident that they had seen off the enemy from the West, were overwhelmed by the invasion from the East. The Pakt armies marched into Mesopotamia, which served as the lynchpin of the TransAfrAsian Railway, and obliterated its infrastructure. The Ottoman army attempted to halt the Pakt invaders, but they were no use against the tanks. Thousands of Indians were dragged into Arabia to fight the Pakt armies, but now that the Pakt controlled the Railway, the Allied advantage was lost, and Mesopotamia became one of the biggest bloodbaths of the war.
Unfortunately the Russians (who made up the majority of the Pakt Ottoman offensive) had not learnt the lessons that their own military victories had taught them, namely, that enemy climate may be even more dangerous than the enemy himself. And so, as the Arabian summer marched in the soldering heat turned the tanks into rolling ovens. Tank technicians became incapacitated due to heatstroke and several tanks exploded in their ranks as the fuel reached critical temperature within the engines. At this same time, the Ottomans released their own armoured vehicles - much more adapted for extreme heat. Hundreds of Ottoman tanks rolled out of the Syrian industrial heartland and began pushing the Pakt out of Arabia. By the end of next year the entire Ottoman Empire was back under Ottoman control and work rebuilding the TransAfrAsian Railway could begin.
As the Railway's inoperability made it impossible to import Asian soldiers, the Allies instead instituted a draft in North America, obliging every able-bodied man to join the British Colonial Royal Army, the call was overwhelmingly accepted. Louisiana was urgently persuaded to join in on the allied side, but the Louisianan politicos feared that their Blacks were on the verge of revolt, and that engagement in a foreign war would be the régime's final straw.
By 1917, over eleven million were dead, and the war showed no sign of slowing down. As the Franco-British-Ottoman system of third world recruitment grew in scale there grew more and more resentment to the empires in the colonies. Riots were a daily occurance in India, Indochina and Africa. These were put down exceptionally harshly by the French, whose land it was that hung in the balance. Even when the TransAfrAsian Railway did reopen, the trains it sent towards the War we sparsely filled, as the men of fighting age had lost patience utterly with the Imperial War. But this year also saw much more drastic events. In July, a joint Swedish-German fleet landed in Scotland and began a successful invasion of Britain. The British were incredibly shocked that they had allowed such a blind-spot in their defences. The counter-offencive against the invaders was swift and effective, but the trauma suffered by a nation that prided itself in never being invaded since 1066 was immeasurable. Britain reacted with extreme anger and took to the war with even more vigour, the Royal Navy began making excursions into the North and Baltic Seas, attacking important naval targets in that area. However, the British were outnumbered and in hostile territory, and were quickly pushed out of the North. The Britons returned to the continental war then with increased passions.
Another dramatic event in 1917 was the beginning of the Socialist revolution in Louisiana. Blacks, working class Whites, and intellectuals, rallied by the teachings of German philosopher Karl Marx began revolting. The revolution started on 1st September, when armed Socialists stormed the Alabama State Palace, executed the Governor, dismissed the legislature and verbally annulled the state and confederate constitutions. The Louisianan army was quickly sent in to quell the revolution, but it was too late, riots had broken out nationally and copy-cat coups were occuring in twenty other state palaces. By the end of September three quarters of the Louisianan states are under the control of Socialists, while the remaining quarter (in the North-West) stubbornly remain under the control of the racist former régime. As the newly united Red Army amasses on the border of those states, the Chairman of the Louisianan Socialist Party asks the President to resign. The last president of the CSL refuses and commits suicide some time before the Reds finally find his body in Colorado. The Louisianan Union of Socialist States is declared on 3rd October.
The spectre of a successful socialist revolution is a sign of optimism throughout the colonised world. The petty revolts of 1916 are replaced with organised revolutions throughout Africa and Asia. Colonial officials are massacred the world over and the railways are saboutaged. Britain and France are effectively cut off from their empires, the time calls for desperate measures. Britain and France reveal plans for a drastic push into Pakt-territory, involving tanks and unprecedented levels of infantry. On Boxing Day 1917, the push begins. A million die in the next few weeks alone. The Pakt, caught off guard are initially beaten back, the Ottomans reinvade the Balkans and beat the Pakt out of the occupied territory. Over the next four months huge tank battles take place throughout Germany and the Balkans, but after the Pakt regain their footing the French and British are pushed back again to only a few dozen miles forward of their original trenches. Morale has plummetted and desertion is epic (60% of the French forces, 40% of the British forces, and 80% of the Colonials), the Ottomans however have maintained control of the Balkans.
The French people unanimously calls for a peace to be agreed, but the King refuses even to consider surrender. The French Prime Minister (a social democrat) makes the unprecedented move of petitioning the Pakt for peace against the wishes of his Sovereign, this causes a constitutional crisis as the King attempts to dismiss his parliament and run the nation based on his own emergency powers. His absolute reign lasts no more than a day, as socialists and republicans storm the Bastille and order his abdication, the King flees to London and la Republique Sociale de la France is declared, a unitary socialist state. The new régime's first call of business is to sue for peace.
Britain is thus left totally unable to fight. Britain withdraws its troops from Europe but refuses to engage in peace talks, insisting that this is only a ceasefire.
May 1918 sees the effective end of the war in the west. By June, the Ottoman Empire emerges the triumphant ruler of the Balkans.
France surrenders with its colonial possessions confiscated. Indochina is surrendered to the Japanese and French West Africa is spilt between the Germany and Austrian-Hungary. Peace talks between Germany and Britain starts with Britain paying nearly 3 billion pounds that bankrupts the empire. When England turns to India for money to pay of its debts, India declares itself independent and declares war on England killing all colonial officers in India. Within a few days, the British agrees for Indian Independence setting the date on January 1st 1920. Following Indian independence, Revolt and riots rock the empire and many British colonies seize the chance to declare themselves independence. This ends the imperial age.
Upon defeating the American rebels, a series of reforms were set up in the colonies to address some of their grievances. The Crown promised that it would not treat America as a plundering ground for taxes and levies but rather leave it much to its own devices. The state governors were given more power, and, influenced by the political philosophies of the rebels, ruled in a compassionate way. However, the British had learnt not to trust the Yankees, and the presence of His Majesty's Secret Service was increased in the urbanised North to monitor, and if neccessary, crush, any sign of dissent. In light of this, many of the would-be 'founding fathers' fled to the agrarian southern colonies and French Louisiana.
Life in the colonies was stable for two generations untill in 1827 (earlier than in real life) the British Empire abolished slavery. The South (i.e. everything from Virginia down), being incredibly dependent on slavery, and further influenced by the demogoguery of the survived failed rebels, decalred their independence from the British Empire. The war that ensued was long and introduced many innovations in military technology, however, the Yankees, having been kept under Britain's jackboot did not support what many saw as a war of imperial aggression. As the war toiled on it seemed that the South was succeeding in establishing its independence.
The Kingdom of France, having learnt fifty years earlier that meddling in Britain's North American affairs was futile, was approached by the British Crown to assist by opening a new front on the Southern-Louisianian border. Unfortunately, partially due to Britain's naval supremacy, the French Crown did not have any real power over Louisiana. Instead, that colony and the armed forces attached to it owed their allegiances to the gouverneur and the demogogues of the failed 1776 rebellion. And so, in 1830, Britain's worst nightmare comes true as Louisiana Gouverneur de Laussat declares his colony the independent République de Louisianie and allies himself strongly with the Southern rebels. Louisina joins the war and quickly smashes the British offensive. By 1831, Britain and their nominal ally France sue for peace. The Treaty of Richmond recognises the independence of the Confederate States of Louisiana and establishes its border with the United Colonies of North America.
The Confederate States of Louisiana corresponds roughly with our world's Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky, (West) Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, aswell as significant nominal terretories to the West which are designated Frontiere and Terre d'Indiennes. The CSL is bilingual and its political philosophy can be seen as a fusion of American Confederatism and Napoleonic Republicanism. Strong Governors/Gouverneurs have the capacity to behave in quite a tyrannic way, and slavery is a pervasive establishment. The United Colonies of North America, consists roughly of the current states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachussetts, New Hampshire, Maine and (due to a colonial reordering during the war) the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Due to their collaboration and shared political systems a version of the Entente Cordiale existed between Britain and France much earlier than in our world. As such their colonial affairs were run more in co-operation than in competition, the understanding existed that France should control West Africa and South Asia east of Bangladesh, and Britain should control East Africa and central South Asia. As a symbol of this co-operation, vast trans-continental railways were built linking the continents during the Industrial Revolution. Countries like Sweden, Prussia, Greater Sicily and the Netherlands had colonies dotted around around the Old World, but Britain and France clearly dominated.
In 1871, Kaiser Wilhelm I became the first ruler of the united Prussia and Holy Roman Empire (hence known as the Deutsches Reich), and along with his Chanzler, Otto von Bismarck, began a process of rapidly industrialising Germany and establishing close relationships with the other European nations who felt that they were shut out of the colonial game. It was a widely known secret that the Kaiser wished to usurp the superpowerdom of France and Britain.
In 1888, Kaiser Wilhelm I died, leaving the throne and a prosperous and progressive empire to his son, Friedrich III (who was in this world a fanatically healthy man who banned tobacco and opium in his realm and imposed descriminatory taxes on strong liquors). Friedrich furthered his father's legacy of industrialisation, and created even stronger pan-European bonds (forming what became known as the Brandenburg Pakt), even with traditional enemies such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia. Specifically his policy on armament was particularly audacious, he was building a thoroughly modern navy, the likes of which could easily pose a threat to Britain or France. Germany's allies also beganning arming themselves for an upcoming conflict, this was aided by a generous program of sharing nautical and military specialists across Europe. As more and more nations saw the benefit in alligning with Germany it increasingly became the case that the only true Franco-British ally left on continental Europe was the Ottoman Empire (who still had quite a foothold in the Balkans due to their eagerness to co-operate in Britain's industrial schemes, specifically the TransAfrAsian Railway).
In 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian throne, was assassinated. The Ottoman Empire was widely believed to have been behind the assassination. Austro-Hungary demanded apologies and reparations from the Ottomans, but the Ottomans steadfastly refused responsibility. Anger grew amongst Austria, Germany and their allies. Britain attempted to mediate and sought private assurances from the Sultan that he had not been to blame for the murder. To this day it is not known whether the Ottoman Empire had been involved or not. Regardless, the mood was that the Empire was to blame, and that this unwelcomed return of Islamic power into the Balkans was not to be accepted, and so, by the end of that year, the Pakt nations declared war and invaded the Ottoman Empire. Britain and France invaded Germany from the west as an act of solidarity.
Both sides' Eastern Offences were very effective, the Pakt armies (strengthened every day by recruits arriving from Germany, Sweden and Russia) quickly smashed through the Ottoman Balkans. Likewise, Germany's planned defences against French invasion proved useless as the French marched through Belgium instead of advancing straight across the border, German forces regrouped at the traditional Prussian border and dug trenches, quickly turning that side of the war into a war of attrition. In the East however, the Pakt continued to occupy the Balkans, but found they needed naval support if they were to advance into Asia Minor. The first naval battles consisted of the Ottomans decimating the antiquated Russian fleets in the Black Sea. The Italians attempted to defeat the Turks at sea, but their fleets to were no match for the Ottoman navy, which could quickly rebuild any losses as it had almost infinite access to steel thanks to the TransAfrAsian Railway.
As the Western war of attrition waged on, France and Britain had to find new ways of replacing the already record casualties from the trenches. By 1915, the solution was to recruit brigades from the colonies. The TransAfrAsian Railway brought hundreds of thousands of Indians and Indochinese to Morocco, to join hundreds of thousands more Africans to be ferried across the Gibraltar Straits, and marched through allied Spain toward the battlefields. Likewise, troops from Canada and the UCNA were also enlisted. As this plan became evident to the Pakt their strategy was modified. The conquest of the Ottoman Empire was no longer their primary concern, instead, the target would be North Africa. Vast Austro-Italian flotillas were sent across the Mediterranean, and engaged in saboutage against the TransAfrAsian Railway.
As 1916 dawned, the Mediterranean had become the most active arena of battle, as the British and French Navies routinely patrolled the sea to ensure no Pakt ships crossed onto their shores. As Britain became increasingly involved on the other end of the continent, the German Navy became increasingly audacious in its attacks on the British mainland, with warships skimming right up to the coast and shelling important cities, paranoia that élite German commandos were operating in Britain was wide-spread.
By that spring it had been noted in Paris and London that Mediterranean action was cooling down, this was interpreted positively. However, it was not anticipated that the Pakt was instead opening a new front: in May, Pakt armies marched (and rolled in, with new tanks) through the Caucasian territories of the Russian Empire and Persia and had begun invading the Ottoman Empire through the backdoor. The Ottomans, who had become overconfident that they had seen off the enemy from the West, were overwhelmed by the invasion from the East. The Pakt armies marched into Mesopotamia, which served as the lynchpin of the TransAfrAsian Railway, and obliterated its infrastructure. The Ottoman army attempted to halt the Pakt invaders, but they were no use against the tanks. Thousands of Indians were dragged into Arabia to fight the Pakt armies, but now that the Pakt controlled the Railway, the Allied advantage was lost, and Mesopotamia became one of the biggest bloodbaths of the war.
Unfortunately the Russians (who made up the majority of the Pakt Ottoman offensive) had not learnt the lessons that their own military victories had taught them, namely, that enemy climate may be even more dangerous than the enemy himself. And so, as the Arabian summer marched in the soldering heat turned the tanks into rolling ovens. Tank technicians became incapacitated due to heatstroke and several tanks exploded in their ranks as the fuel reached critical temperature within the engines. At this same time, the Ottomans released their own armoured vehicles - much more adapted for extreme heat. Hundreds of Ottoman tanks rolled out of the Syrian industrial heartland and began pushing the Pakt out of Arabia. By the end of next year the entire Ottoman Empire was back under Ottoman control and work rebuilding the TransAfrAsian Railway could begin.
As the Railway's inoperability made it impossible to import Asian soldiers, the Allies instead instituted a draft in North America, obliging every able-bodied man to join the British Colonial Royal Army, the call was overwhelmingly accepted. Louisiana was urgently persuaded to join in on the allied side, but the Louisianan politicos feared that their Blacks were on the verge of revolt, and that engagement in a foreign war would be the régime's final straw.
By 1917, over eleven million were dead, and the war showed no sign of slowing down. As the Franco-British-Ottoman system of third world recruitment grew in scale there grew more and more resentment to the empires in the colonies. Riots were a daily occurance in India, Indochina and Africa. These were put down exceptionally harshly by the French, whose land it was that hung in the balance. Even when the TransAfrAsian Railway did reopen, the trains it sent towards the War we sparsely filled, as the men of fighting age had lost patience utterly with the Imperial War. But this year also saw much more drastic events. In July, a joint Swedish-German fleet landed in Scotland and began a successful invasion of Britain. The British were incredibly shocked that they had allowed such a blind-spot in their defences. The counter-offencive against the invaders was swift and effective, but the trauma suffered by a nation that prided itself in never being invaded since 1066 was immeasurable. Britain reacted with extreme anger and took to the war with even more vigour, the Royal Navy began making excursions into the North and Baltic Seas, attacking important naval targets in that area. However, the British were outnumbered and in hostile territory, and were quickly pushed out of the North. The Britons returned to the continental war then with increased passions.
Another dramatic event in 1917 was the beginning of the Socialist revolution in Louisiana. Blacks, working class Whites, and intellectuals, rallied by the teachings of German philosopher Karl Marx began revolting. The revolution started on 1st September, when armed Socialists stormed the Alabama State Palace, executed the Governor, dismissed the legislature and verbally annulled the state and confederate constitutions. The Louisianan army was quickly sent in to quell the revolution, but it was too late, riots had broken out nationally and copy-cat coups were occuring in twenty other state palaces. By the end of September three quarters of the Louisianan states are under the control of Socialists, while the remaining quarter (in the North-West) stubbornly remain under the control of the racist former régime. As the newly united Red Army amasses on the border of those states, the Chairman of the Louisianan Socialist Party asks the President to resign. The last president of the CSL refuses and commits suicide some time before the Reds finally find his body in Colorado. The Louisianan Union of Socialist States is declared on 3rd October.
The spectre of a successful socialist revolution is a sign of optimism throughout the colonised world. The petty revolts of 1916 are replaced with organised revolutions throughout Africa and Asia. Colonial officials are massacred the world over and the railways are saboutaged. Britain and France are effectively cut off from their empires, the time calls for desperate measures. Britain and France reveal plans for a drastic push into Pakt-territory, involving tanks and unprecedented levels of infantry. On Boxing Day 1917, the push begins. A million die in the next few weeks alone. The Pakt, caught off guard are initially beaten back, the Ottomans reinvade the Balkans and beat the Pakt out of the occupied territory. Over the next four months huge tank battles take place throughout Germany and the Balkans, but after the Pakt regain their footing the French and British are pushed back again to only a few dozen miles forward of their original trenches. Morale has plummetted and desertion is epic (60% of the French forces, 40% of the British forces, and 80% of the Colonials), the Ottomans however have maintained control of the Balkans.
The French people unanimously calls for a peace to be agreed, but the King refuses even to consider surrender. The French Prime Minister (a social democrat) makes the unprecedented move of petitioning the Pakt for peace against the wishes of his Sovereign, this causes a constitutional crisis as the King attempts to dismiss his parliament and run the nation based on his own emergency powers. His absolute reign lasts no more than a day, as socialists and republicans storm the Bastille and order his abdication, the King flees to London and la Republique Sociale de la France is declared, a unitary socialist state. The new régime's first call of business is to sue for peace.
Britain is thus left totally unable to fight. Britain withdraws its troops from Europe but refuses to engage in peace talks, insisting that this is only a ceasefire.
May 1918 sees the effective end of the war in the west. By June, the Ottoman Empire emerges the triumphant ruler of the Balkans.
France surrenders with its colonial possessions confiscated. Indochina is surrendered to the Japanese and French West Africa is spilt between the Germany and Austrian-Hungary. Peace talks between Germany and Britain starts with Britain paying nearly 3 billion pounds that bankrupts the empire. When England turns to India for money to pay of its debts, India declares itself independent and declares war on England killing all colonial officers in India. Within a few days, the British agrees for Indian Independence setting the date on January 1st 1920. Following Indian independence, Revolt and riots rock the empire and many British colonies seize the chance to declare themselves independence. This ends the imperial age.