Return of the King, A Kaiserreich Canada Play through Part 1

When Britain went to war against the Germans in 1914, hardly anyone could have predicted that the war would end in 1920 with Russia defeated, France and Italy in revolution, and Britain herself humiliated. And it only got worse from there. The British economy took a sharp nosedive, and in 1925 Britain went through it's own syndicalist revolution, forcing the Royal Family and their supporters to flee to Canada. Like vultures, aggressive neighbors swooped in to seize many of Britain's old colonies. The Irish invaded Ulster, most of British Africa fell to the Germans, the Spaniards took Gibraltar, The Ottomans captured Cyprus, and half on India rose up in rebellion against the Raj. By 1936, all that was left of the old British Empire and Commonwealth was Canada, Australia and New Zealand (now united as the Australasian Confederation) The Dominion of India (Which was in fact nothing but northwest India) and the various Caribbean Islands. Their only remaining ally was the authoritarian democratic French government in exile, based out of old French Algeria.

Considering this bleak situation, it is perhaps no surprise that King George V died in Ottawa on January 20, 1936, a broken man. His eldest son, now crowned Edward VIII, was determined to avenge his father by taking back the British Isles from the wretched Reds.

But in order to do so, the political situation in Canada itself would need to be sorted out. The Liberal Party, under Prime Minister Mackenzie King, had been in power for nearly 10 years by 1936. It was no secret that King Edward and the Prime Minister did not exactly get along, to the point that many Canadians joked about "The War Between Two Kings." Edward VIII felt that Prime Minister King was two soft on the Syndicalist menace, while the Prime Minister saw the King as a dangerously ambitious warmonger.

Events abroad soon swayed Canadian public opinion in Edward's favor. The rise of the Totalist demagogue Oswald Mosley in Britain, and Afghanistan's attack on the Dominion of India, convinced many Canadians that a stronger leader than Mackenzie King was needed to lead Canada through the crisis. That leader, Edward believed, was Richard Bennett.

A devout Methodist, army veteran, and Empire loyalist, Bennett was the charismatic leader of the Canadian Conservative Party, nicknamed the Tories after their old British predecessors. Bennett made no secret of his stance on the Syndicalist menace, calling for it to be crushed "with an iron heel." As a result, the 1936 Canadian General Election was a landslide victory for the Tories, and Bennett was swept into 24 Sussex*, determined to crush the Mosleyites in the Union of Britain...

*24 Sussex is the official residence for the Canadian Prime Minister, and more or less the Canadian White House.

Ideologies of Kaiserreich

In preparation for my next Kaiserreich play through, I thought it might be useful to explain some of the political ideologies in Kaiserreich so when these terms pop up you'll know what they mean. To be clear, I won't explain what Conservatives, Liberals, or Social Democrats are, because I assume you already know what they mean. I'm going to focus on explaining terms that are either obscure or unknown outside of Kaiserrech. So. here it goes:

TOTALISM: Totalism, short for "Totalitarian Socialism" is essentially exactly what it says on the tin. Totalists believe that an all powerful government with a cult of personality around the glorious leader is necessary to protect the worker's revolution from the bourgeoisie scum. They oppose traditional religion, considering it a tool of capitalism, and tend to embrace either atheism, or in some cases paganism. Many of them are also hardcore nationalists, and they REALLY want to spread the revolution to other countries by force. The closest example in real life would be Stalin's Soviet Union, or maybe modern North Korea. Basically, they are Orwell's nightmare. One running gag in Kaiserreich is that many of the Totalists are people who in real life started out as socialists but eventually shifted to fascism, most notably Oswald Mosley in Britain, Marcel Deat in France, (google them) and Benito Mussolini in Italy.

SYNDICALISM: Syndicalism is kind of similar to Leon Trotsky's vision, in that it is made up of Trade Unions who run the economy and elect members to represent them in a Trade Union Congress, which serves as the country's government. While they're not quite as extreme as the Totalists, in that there's plenty of room for debate within the party elite, they're still hardly democratic either: non-socialist parties are banned, the media is state controlled propaganda, and religion, while tolerated, is strictly controlled and monitored by the state. The best real life examples would be Khruschev's Soviet Union, or modern Venezuela.

RADICAL SOCIALISM: These guys can be seen as the "nice" socialists. They're basically just a democratic state with a somewhat socialist economy, state's rights, free speech, and freedom of religion. Basically, they're what America might be like if Bernie Sanders were president.

AUTHORITARIAN DEMOCRACY: These guys basically believe that in order to protect the nation from it's enemies, it's sometimes necessary to use... "Questionable" methods, like, say, monitoring or arresting suspected extremists. They also tend to value traditional religious values and nationalism at least somewhat. They aren't total dictators though, they still have regular elections, and as long as you're not a radical or something, you'll probably be fine. Similar to America during the McCarthy era, or the George W. Bush administration.

PATERNAL AUTOCRATS: These people are highly conservative and highly authoritarian. All the subjects are treated as wards of the benevolent and paternalistic leader (either an absolute monarch, or some other kind of dictator.) But don't step out of line, the wise leader's patience has it's limits... Franco's Spain or Saudi Arabia would fall under this category.

NATIONAL POPULISM: National Populism is a totalitarian ideology that supports uniting the nation under a strong leader. It combines socialist economic policies and militarism, with ultra nationalist and even racist beliefs Nazi Germany would be a good real life example, as well as Assad's regime in Syria.

So there you have it. Aside from the regular liberals and conservatives, these are the ideologies of Kaiserreich! I hope this clears things up a little.

Are We Back in the 1930s?

Over the last few weeks, I've been reading a book about one of the most chaotic and dangerous eras in human history: the years leading up to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. And while reading this book, I had a very worrying thought: the tumultuous years of the 1930s were disturbingly similar to our own time...

Think about it. Back then, the world was rocked by a worldwide economic crisis which fueled discontent and anger. There were several blood-thirsty tyrants (Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo...) who were seeking to settle old grudges with the dominant powers by stirring up chaos. They were willing to throw weaker countries like Spain into civil war to give them a battleground to vent their anger and rivalries. We have plenty of tyrants like that today as well: Putin, Kim Jong Un, the Ayatollah Khamenei, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who are using Syria in the exact same way.

Back in the 1930s the Western Powers were mostly led by weak leaders like Neville Chamberlain, who sought to maintain peace at any cost, even if it meant giving in to murderous foreign thugs. Reading about it, I can't help but be reminded of Obama's cowardly deal with Iran.

And finally, the 1930s also had brave men like Winston Churchill, who were willing to stand up and speak out against the tyrants and those who enabled them. I can think of at least one man like that in the world today: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Do we have anyone like that here in the United States?...

I pray to God we do.

Historical Highlights: Avraham Stern, Israel's would be Fuehrer

Jewish Nazis? For obvious reasons, most find the idea absurd, or even a contradiction in terms. But surprisingly, Israel did once have it's very own fascist movement, and it's very own would be dictator...

Avraham Stern was born on December 23, 1907 in the village of Suwalki in Poland, then part of the Russian Empire. When World War One broke out, he, his mother, and his brother David, fled to Russia to escape the carnage. Growing up in Russia during the First World War and the Russian Revolution was obviously not easy, so it's not surprising that Stern, like many other Jews of his generation, became attracted to the Zionist movement at an early age.

After his mother's death, he decided he had no more reason to stay in Russia, so at the age of 18, he moved to Israel, then a British colony. When the Arabs of Palestine started a pogrom against the Jews in 1929, Stern served with a Jewish socialist militia. A few years later, Stern was awarded a scholarship to study at a university in Florence, Italy. While in Italy, Stern became impressed with Benito Mussolini's fascist movement. He saw how Mussolini had seemingly brought order and pride to the once disorderly and divided Italian nation, and decided that the Jews needed their own strong leader to save them from the horrors of foreign domination. He decided that he would be Israel's secular messiah.

After completing college, Stern spent the rest of the 1930s organizing Jewish militias, and smuggling Jewish immigrants into Palestine against the will of the British colonial authorities. As a result, the British arrested him in 1939. In mid 1940 he managed to escape, and founded a new militia called the Lehi, a Hebrew acronym that stood for Fighters for the Freedom of Israel, promising to establish a Jewish state based on "Nationalist and totalitarian principles". In addition to adopting fascist ideology, the Lehi copied many of the outward trappings of Mussolini's movement as well. They wore black uniforms, and even used the fascist salute. As their symbol, they adopted the half clinched fist, in reference to Psalms 137:5. ("If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget it's skill!")

Stern's hatred for the British colonial authorities was so great, that he was willing to work with the Axis to achieve his goal of driving the British out of Israel. However, he attracted very little support from either the wider Jewish community, who opposed Nazism and supported the British, or Hitler, who obviously preferred to support the Arabs. As a result, the Lehi was forced to carry out it's guerilla campaign against the British on it's own.

Inevitably, Stern's terrorist campaign failed, and on February 12, 1942, he was shot by British troops in Tel Aviv. After Stern's death, the Lehi movement began to fade away. After World War II they tried to get support from Stalin's Soviet Union, again without success, and by the founding of Israel in 1948, the movement was dissolved.

Stern's story serves as a warning that people of all, ethnic groups, not just white "Aryans" can fall prey to dangerous ideologies...

American Caesar Part 4

Nearly all historians agree that the Battle of St. Louis was the decisive turning point of the Second American Civil War. Lasting for the first half of 1937, it was the bloodiest battle in American history to date. US troops stood guard in trenches for days and even weeks on end, as wave after wave of Syndicalist and America First soldiers attacked across the Mississippi River into the city. But thanks to the fortitude of the American forces, the line held. 

By June of 1937, with St. Louis firmly in US hands, MacArthur decided he was ready for a counter attack. On June 4, US forces crossed the Mississippi and began what became known as "The Long Push". The Long Push lasted for almost two and a half years, and finally brought total victory to the United States on September 2, 1939. 

But even as the war in America was winding down, across the Atlantic, another war was breaking out. The Syndicalist Commune of France and the Union of Britain under the rule of its Totalist dictator Oswald Mosley, invaded Switzerland, forcing the Germans to come to aid of the Swiss. Meanwhile, the exiled royals in Canada saw this as their chance to liberate Britain from Syndicalism, and declared war on Mosley. The Second Weltkrieg had begun, and it was time for the United States to pick a side...

American Caesar Part 3

The first two months of the war went poorly for the US to say the least. The Syndicalists were closing in on Washington D.C. from the north, while the AUS troops were approaching from the south. Further north, the Canadians peacefully occupied New England and Alaska. MacArthur opted not to press the issue for the time being, privately admitting that it was probably for the best, considering that he had no troops in the region, and that without the Canadians, New England would likely have fallen to the Syndicalists. On the West Coast, there were fears that California, Washington State, and Oregon would secede from the Union, but a tense meeting between California governor Frank Merriam and MacArthur resulted in them agreeing to join forces.

By December of 1936, it was clear that MacArthur's strategic position east of the Mississippi River was indefensible. AUS troops had captured the naval base at Norfolk, Virginia, while Syndicalist troops took Baltimore after a bloody battle. With the fall of Washington clearly inevitable, MacArthur made the difficult decision to retreat his troops westward to the Mississippi River where they would regroup and form a new defensive line. Vowing to return, MacArthur and his wife and son boarded a biplane and flew to the new temporary capital of Denver, Colorado. By January of 1937, most of his troops had made it to St. Louis, Missouri, which MacArthur had chosen as the center of the new front line.

To make things even worse, the syndicalist government in Mexico decided to take the chance to declare war on the United States in order to regain lost territory. For the most part, MacArthur tried to limit the war with Mexico to small border clashes, but it hardly made his position easier. It was difficult to see how he could accomplish victory now...

American Caesar, Part 2

September 26, 1936, Washington D.C.:

General Douglas MacArthur had fervently hoped it would never come to this, but alas it had. President Hoover had proved himself unwilling and unable to quell the chaos and subversion of the Syndicalists and America Firsters. If America was to be saved from tyranny, Hoover had to go. MacArthur had already secretly discussed this with Vice President Curtis, who had agreed to support him, and the General was now marching on Washington at the head of his 1st Infantry Division.

Within a few minutes after leaving the barracks, a number of civilians had gathered around to see what was going on, and many of them jeered at the troops.
"Syndies..." MacArthur snarled under his breath. One of the soldiers next to him seemed nervous, casting worried glances at the angry mob.
"Don't worry Private." MacArthur told the young man. "As long as you keep marching and don't let on that you're afraid, they won't dare bother you."
"Yes Sir." The young soldier replied. Sure enough, as the troops marched on undaunted, the mob lost their nerve and dispersed. Within a few minutes, MacArthur and his men could see the White House just ahead. As they neared the gates, they finally encountered a guard.

"HALT! WHO GOES THERE?!" The guard demanded.

"General Douglas MacArthur." The General replied calmly. If there was one thing he'd learned after so many years in the army, it was keeping cool under pressure. He wasn't about to back down now, not with so much at stake.

"What's your business?" The guard asked.

"To save this republic." MacArthur replied, keeping his poker face as much as possible.

The two men stared at each other in silence for a tense few seconds. Finally, the guard spoke.

"Alright. Go ahead sir." He said, opening the gate and saluting MacArthur, who strolled into the White House lawn as his troops surrounded the building. Finally, he came to the Oval Office door, took a deep breath, and opened it.

"General MacArthur?!" President Hoover exclaimed. "I wasn't notified that you had an appointment here/ What's going on?!"

"Mr. President," MacArthur replied, with all the nerve he could muster, "as you have proven yourself unable and unwilling to protect this country from subversive elements, I, as Chief of the Army Staff, am invoking the 25th Amendment, which allows for the cabinet to remove a president who has become unfit for office. As Vice President Curtis is in poor health, he has agreed to place me in office as acting president."

"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! IT'S TREASONOUS!" Hoover bellowed.

"On the contrary Mr. President, it's perfectly constitutional."

"And what if I refuse to comply?!" Hoover demanded.

"I would not recommend that, Mr. President. My troops have surrounded the building. I suggest you do things the easy way, and leave peacefully.

Hoover's face was still red with rage, but he grumbled "Fine" through clenched teeth. MacArthur than had him escorted out of the building to a comfortable house arrest.

-
The next day, Acting President General MacArthur made a speech to congress, announcing his takeover from Hoover and cancellation of the 1936 election until the situation had stabilized.. Congress, having essentially been presented with a fait accompli, voted unanimously to approve MacArthur's coup, giving his junta an air of democratic legitimacy. MacArthur made it clear that he did not intend to impose a dictatorship, and would keep the Congress in place as an advisory body. Most ordinary Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, breathed a sigh of relief, believing that the crisis was over. But not everyone accepted the change so readily. Syndicalists rioted in several cities, and MacArthur responded by declaring martial law, and banning the Combined Syndicates, as well as the America First Party.

This proved to be the last straw for the extremists. On November 24, 1936, Jack Reed's Syndicalists took control of Chicago, and proclaimed a new regime called the Combined Syndicates of America. Two days later, on November 26, Huey Long's Minutemen Militia took control of Atlanta and announced the creation of the American Union State. MacArthur refused to back down, and there was no turning back. The Second American Civil War had begun...