The Great War
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The Great War (or the Great European War, often abbreviated as GW or GEW) was a global war originating in Europe that started in 1935. It was fought between the Tripartite Coalition (composed of France, the Ottoman Empire, and the Austrian Empire) and their allies against the Cordial League, led by Great Britain and Russia.
The war led to the mobilisation of more than 80 million military personnel, including 60 million European soldiers, making it the largest war in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated 9 million combatant deaths and 13 million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war. Consequential atrocities and humanitarian crises caused an estimated 17–100 million deaths.
Context
Rising Anti-British & Anti-Russian sentiment
Russo-Ottoman relations
The Ottoman Empire was undergoing a political modernization in the 20th century. The rise of the Orkhonist faction in the Ottoman Grand Congress began fueling a revanchist attitude towards Crimea, which was once part of the Ottoman Empire, annexed by Russia after the Russo-Ottoman War (1884-1885). The Ottoman Empire began supporting rebellions in Central Asia, eventually culminating the Turkistan's declaration of independence from Russia in 1924. This negatively impacted Russo-Ottoman relations in the 20th century.
Throughout the early 1930s, anti-Russian and anti-British revanchist propaganda was scattered throughout the empire. The Orkhonists renewed a territorial claim in Crimea (which was taken by Russia during the 1884-1885 Russo-Ottoman War), based on the sultan's familial relations with the old Crimean Giray dynasty. They also promoted the idea of a Greater Ottoman state, one that controlled Egypt and therefore controlled the Mediterranean. Throughout the 1920s, the state would enter a rapid pace of industrialization and militarization. They found an ally in Austria and France, who also had their own resentments against the British and Russians. In 1929, the three states formed the Tripartite Coalition, which strengthened their relationship and cooperation.
Growing British influence in Europe
Meanwhile, at the beginning of the 20th century, the threat of Russian and British influence over Europe loomed largely. The Venetian invasion of the Papal Adriatic in 1908, primarily sponsored by the British, angered France and Austria. They saw this as another act of Venetian and, by extension, British aggression. Both France and Austria issued diplomatic protests against the British to restore the papal holdings occupied by Venice, but nothing came out of it. Rising diplomatic tensions eventually led to the Alps War in 1911, when Austria declared war on Venice. Austria called on the French to join the war but refused due to the communard government's instability at the time. The war ended in status quo ante bellum, and Austria was forced to recognize Venice's acquisition of territory in the Marche. This fueled even greater French and Austrian resentment against Britain.
Faramundism in Austria and the German realm
The neostabilists of Austria saw Faramundism, or the ideology of German unification, as a threat to Austrian hegemony in Central Europe. As such, Emmerich Stefanov worked on suppressing any German nationalism inside and on the peripheries of the Austrian Empire. By the 1920s, the neostabilists began to grow concerned about the affairs in the Kingdom of Saxony, where Faramundism and other ideologies deemed by the Austrians as radical (such as National-Republicanism) were allowed to flourish freely. A British intelligence report in early 1935 reported a military presence building upon the Austrian-Saxon border. As such, the British were on high alert but wanted to avoid resorting to military intervention at all costs should an Austrian-Saxon conflict happen.
Rise of Authoritarianism & the Tripartite Coalition
The ongoing political tensions drew the nations of France, Austria, and the Ottoman Empire towards authoritarian rule. On September 2, 1919, French president Herve Saunier was overthrown by Grand Marshal François Desmarais, who then abolished the position and ruled as a military dictator under his authoritarian-communard party, L'Avantgarde. After his death, his successor, Camille Laframboise (mockingly known in the Anglosphere as "the Raspberry General") continued authoritarian rule and made diplomatic ties with the Ottomans and Austria.
In Austria, the authoritarian conservative Neostabilist faction rose as the dominant political force in Austria, after its leader, Emmerich Stefanov, became Austrian chancellor in 1914. At the threat of being diplomatic pariahs, Stefanov rekindled Austria's diplomatic relationship with the Ottoman Emprire. In the Ottoman Empire, the rule of the Orkhonists meant a heavy hand on political and diplomatic policies.
Later combined with the socio-economic pressures of the European Economic Crisis in 1922-1928, the three nations eventually signed the Treaty of Agreement in 1929 in Vienna, Austria, forming a military and economic alliance. This alliance would be known as the Tripartite Coalition.
The War
Early War
Ottoman Attack on Russia (May 1935)
The war officially started on May 5, 1935, when Ottoman Grand Vizier Oguen Oesstekin announced a Declaration of War against the Nationalist Republic of Russia. The timing of the declaration of war was strategic; it was declared once the Russians poured most of their efforts into the eastern Russo-Corean War. Ottoman forces landed on the Crimean peninsula within the same week and captured the cities of Ochakov, Kerch, and Yevpatoria at the end of the month.
Austrian Occupation of Saxony (June 1935)
On June 7, 1935, Austrian troops finally mobilized and invaded the Kingdom of Saxony. Austrian ambassador to Britain, Friedrich Boehme, reported that it was not an act of war against the Kingdom of Saxony but a response to the Saxon monarchy's calls to quell the "state of anarchy" and restore order. The Saxon government was also reported to be in debt to the Austrian monarchy, which the Austrians used to justify their occupation. Austrian news reported the occupation as "welcomed" by the Saxon public. However, post-war analyses revealed this statement to be largely untrue. Britain, still unwilling to intervene directly, resorted to diplomatic means to resolve the issue, which resulted in Britain eventually recognizing the Austrian occupation on June 27, 1935.
Not long after, by the next week, on July 1, 1935, British intelligence once again reported a large buildup of the Austrian military, this time on the Pomeranian border. This shifted the attitude of Britain towards Austria. On July 5, Britain declared a guarantee of Pomeranian independence, warning Austria of a war should they invade Pomerania.
French Communard Intervention and Invasion of Savoy and Piedmont (July-August 1935)
Background
Since the 1880s, local communard parties had already sprung up in the kingdoms of Savoy and Piedmont. These communard parties followed the strain of moderate communardism promoted by France at the time, and some communards were respected and held administrative posts. Members of the Savoy Communard Party even had 15 out of the 40 seats in the Piedmontese parliament in 1903. However, as communardism in France grew more radical with the rise of autocrat Grand Marshall François Desmarais in 1910, new radical communard groups formed in Savoy and Piedmont.
On August 14, 1924, members of the Piedmont Communard Party known as the "Turin Group," led by Giusep Castiglione, staged a failed coup attempt. Castiglione and his accomplices were then arrested by the next week and were given what many communards deemed an unfair "show trial." Castiglione and 14 other accomplices (including one Savoyard) were then executed. This sparked public outrage in both Piedmont and Savoy. Throughout the late 1920s to early 1930s, Savoy and Piedmont would face riots and protests, some calling for the overthrow of the monarchy and the entire social order. The communards also pleaded to France for help. France's new dictatorial leader, Camille Laframboise, declared his sympathy for the Piedmontese and Savoyard communard struggle and vowed to bring security and stability back into the region.
The invasion
On July 5, 1935, France launched Opération Grosseille (on the same day the British announced their guarantee of Pomerania's independence), which aimed to restore order in Savoy and Piedmont. The French military entered Savoy and Piedmont on that week, and faced very little resistance. The Savoyard royal family fled to the Rhineland Republic while the Piedmontese royal family fled east to the Republic of Lombardy. New communard caretaker governments were set up. However, on August 12, 1935, Savoy and Piedmontese territory were reorganized into three communard republics: Arpitania, Piemont, and Lombardia (not to be confused with the neighboring Republic of Lombardy).
Great Britain and Portugal's entrance in the war
Great Britain's guarantee of Pomeranian independence on July 5, 1935, did very little to stop the buildup of Austrian troops on the Pomeranian border. To British Prime Minister Sir Benjamin Wallace Kaylock, this proved the Austrians' resolve and determination to invade the country. As a response, the British began stationing troops in Pomerania at the behest of King Otto of Pomerania on July 12. This angered Austrian Chancellor Emmerich Stefanov, who denounced it as another scheme by Great Britain to grow their influence on the continent. Queen Henrietta of Britain penned a letter to Austrian Empress Claudia Maddalena Hapsburg to defuse the situation, but it remains unclear whether the letter was ignored or had not reached her at all.
By the end of the week, Kaylock was convinced that the Austrians would invade. However, there were several issues with the British forces in Pomerania. Most of the men stationed did not speak German or Polish and had difficulty collaborating with their Pomeranian counterparts. The British also sported outdated military tactics and equipment, some even dating back to the Anglo-Turkish War in 1884-1885. Despite all of this, there was a sense of complacency and confidence amongst the British army in Pomerania, which some historians partially attribute to Britain's then prestige from the conquest of Africa.
On July 19, Austria formally declared war on Britain. Austrian troops advanced to Pomerania. Heavy fighting broke out on the outskirts of Berlin and the Pomeranian border. Eventually, the Austrians quickly overran the British and Pomeranian forces and entered the city of Berlin on July 22, 1935. After a fierce battle, the British were forced to retreat. This was a disaster and a colossal embarrassment for Prime Minister Kaylock's government.
Portugal, Britain's ally, also declared war against France and Austria. On the same day, Russia and Britain signed the 2nd Cordial Accord, a military alliance with the purpose of defeating the Tripartite Coalition, effectively merging the Russo-Ottoman conflict with Britain's war against Austria and France.
Entrance of Other Nations in the War
Throughout 1935-1936, various nations in Europe and Asia joined the war on either side. The Federation of Tussenland joined the war in 3 September 1935, after a Tussenlander ship, PWHS Potouwatomie, was allegedly sunk by French torpedoes (although this claim is widely contested). The Corean Empire joined on the side of the French and the Tripartite Coalition in October 1935, with the French promising the Coreans aid against the Russian and Japanese "invaders." Sicily joined the war in December 1935, after Austria and France promised them territory in Naples.
The War in 1935
By the end of 1935, the Tripartite Coalition was able to make significant gains in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Ottoman troops were able to occupy huge swathes of territory in Crimea and in the steppes, while the Austrians pushed south and invaded Naples with the help of Sicily A joint Ottoman and French force was also able to take control of the Suez Canal and parts of the Sultanate of Egypt, hampering the naval power of Britain and her allies. On the colonial front, France launched invasions into British territory, and was able to occupy Portuguese Guinea and parts of British East Africa. The French were also able to capture the island of Vandiemensland in Oceania.
Factions of the Great War
Tripartite Coalition
In the aftermath of the European Economic Crisis, rising tensions between the powers of continental Europe and Great Britain (and her allies) and the growing threat of National-Republicanism, the Austrian empire, the French Republic, and the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Agreement on September 7th, 1929. Later in June 1931, the Kingdom of Sicily joined the Tripartite Coalition as the fourth minor member. Throughout the Russo-Corean war, the Tripartite Pact was in correspondence with the Corean Empire. They promoted the Corean cause internationally and politically (Austria going even as far as supporting Corea through an arms-gifting program). Though the Corean empire never officially joined the Tripartite Coalition, it remained closely affiliated until 1936, when the empire fell to the Russians and nationalist collaborators. Additionally, the Coalition had a set of officially neutral and unaffiliated allies such as the Prohibitionist-run Republic of Virginia, the Republic of Genoa & the Kingdom of Illyria. In the 1932 and 1935 Conferences on the Fate of Europe held in Paris, the Tripartite powers made several plans to weaken British & Russian influence in Europe and divide the continent into "spheres of influence." Famously, the "Bolfras plan" was leaked to the British press in June of 1935, sparking international outrage against the pact.
The Tripartite pact was composed of polities of widely different political orientations. France was a Communard Republic, Austria was a neo-autocratic multi-national empire, and the Ottoman state was an empire led by a military government promoting Orkhonism (or Pan-Turkism), with a sultan who served as a figurehead. What allowed these nations to exist harmoniously as allies was the threat of Anglo-Russian domination of Europe and these nations' rejection of the growing economic world order based upon liberal-democratic capitalism in the west. Additionally, the ideology of National-republicanism championed by Russia posed an extensional threat to the Austrian & Ottoman empires.
Members of the Tripartite Coaltion (TC) and TC Allies
- The French Republic (1929)
- The Republic of Arpitania (French client state, 1935)
- The Republic of Piedmont (French client state, 1935)
- The Communard Republic of Lombardia (French client state, 1935)
- The Austrian Empire (1929)
- Kingdom of Saxony (Austrian client state, 1935)
- The Ottoman Empire (1929)
- The Kingdom of Sicily (1935)
- Corean Empire (1936)
- The Islamic Republic of Turkestan (1935)
Military strength of the Tripartite coalition
Cordial League
Unlike the Tripartite Coalition, the Cordial League was not a multilateral organisation until late in the Great War. The Kingdom of Venice and the United Kingdom of Great Britain maintained a strong and growing relationship starting in the first decade of the 20th century, with Britain supporting Venice in their 1908 invasion of the Papal states & the 1911 Austro-Venetian War. In 1917, Britain and their Italian allies Venice, Naples & the Latium Republic signed the 'Adriatic Treaty' in which Britain agreed to protect the nations and provide economic and military investment; out of this and subsequent agreements, Britain obtained a stronger presence in the Mediterranean and created a bulwark against the newly reinvigorated Austrian and Ottoman empires.
After initial skepticism and concern during the Russian Revolution & Civil war, the British Empire and the Russian National Republic signed the first of the Cordial Accords in 1934, where the nations agreed to a mutual understanding and cooperation against common threats. On July 22, 1935, the Russian ambassador to the British Empire signed the 2nd Cordial Accord, which allied the Russian national republic to the British empire and her allies to defeat the Tripartite Coalition. Additionally on the 22nd of July, British allies the Union of Portugal-Brasil, the Kingdom of Venice & the Kingdom of Naples joined the war on the side of the Britain. This day is generally considered to mark the beginning of the Cordial League.
Members of the Cordial League
As of July 22nd, 1935
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- The British Commonwealth Realm:
- Russian National Republic
- Union of Portugal-Brasil
- The Kingdom of Portugal
- The Kingdom of Brasil
- Kingdom of Venice
- Kingdom of Naples
