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The Greatest Conflict[]

World War II is currently the most destructive conflict in humanity's history. Beginning with the French invasion of Belgium in 1940, the war would last six devastating years until the conflict's end in 1946 with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The world was divided into two vast alliances: the London Pact, led by the United Kingdom, United States, Russia, and Germany (until its defeat in 1941) versus the Axis Powers, led by the National Socialist nations of France, Italy and the Confederate States, along with Japan. The world was in a state of total war, where nations put theit entire military, economic and scientific capabilities for the war effort, blurring the line between military and civilian. Nearly 85 million people were killed between the ferocious battles, the mass death of civilians in events such as bombing raids and the Extermination by the Confederacy, and only use of nuclear weapons in war, making World War II the deadliest conflict in history.

War in Europe[]

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Russian soldiers in the outskirts of Moscow

The conflict began with the invasion of Low Countries, mainly Belgium by France. Using lightning warfare, France easily took rolled over Belgium and Holland, and in 1941 the lightning tactics used by France resulted in Germany's surrender. While Germans mounted underground resistance programs and their colonial armies regrouped, France considered their old enemy dead, and made plans for their next phase. The largest military operation in history, the invasion of Russia, was launched in 1942. The French made great gains until they were finally stopped at Moscow and Volgograd as the terrible Russian winters set in. 

The Russians counterattacked, as the French continued to retreat from Russia. Meanwhile, Britain and German forces had took back North Africa from the French, and landed on the European continent by taking over Italy. In 1945 the Russians retook Berlin, while the Western powers came through Italy and retook southern Germany. With the aid of new North American reinforcements, the Western powers landed on the shores of Normandy while an offensive was mounted in southern France. French dictator Charles de Gaulle would be killed in the fighting, and French surrendered in May 1946.

North American Theater[]

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American soldiers in the Battle of Pittsburgh

North America remained relatively peaceful while the war raged in Europe, until the massive Operation Lee was undertaken by Confederate forces. The Confederates took Kentucky, cutting off the east from their new western seaport and resources. Newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt rallied the nation to fight back, and the United States allies Quebec and Alyeska joined the war to defend the US, while the age old enemy Canada joined as well. The Californians were sent to capture the western American ports, while two Confederate drives were sent, one of to capture the industrial areas of Pittsburgh, while the other was sent along the eastern seaboard to capture America's major cities.

All three offensives failed, as Canadian and Alyeskan reinforcements defeated the Californians, the Confederate armies were destroyed at Pittsburgh, and the American defenders rallied in the suburbs of Washington DC to repel the southerners. From there, the Pact armies counterattacked, reaching Richmond in late 1944. Hugo Black and the Confederate government fled to Atlanta to continue their war. While Pact armies subdued California, the Americans fought a ferocious campaign across the heartland of the south toward Atlanta. General George Marshall led the devastating "March to the Sea" campaign, burning much of the Deep South to the ground. The Americans reached Atlanta in late 1945, and after a month of heavy fighting, the city finally fell with Black committing suicide in his bunker and Confederate general Holland Smith surrendering.

Pacific Campaigns[]

The Imperial armies and fleets of Japan had aggressively expanded across the Pacific and Asia, threatening the colonies of the London Pact members, who decided to end trade with Japan. Japan, with an incredible need for resources such as oil to keep their war machine going, decided to take resources by force. On December 8, 1942, the Japanese launched a series of assaults across the Pacific on Pact naval bases and colonies. The Pact regrouped, and led by Canadian Supreme Commander William John Patterson, defended the vulnerable Australia from Japanese aggression, then decisively defeated the Japanese navy at the Battle of Midway.

From there, "Patterson's Plan" was created, where the Pact forces would ignore heavily defended Japanese controlled islands, and focus on the lesser defended ones as they made their way to Japan. Heavy fighting across the Pacific resulted in severe casualties for both sides, especially the Japanese, who often fought to the death without surrender. The capture of the Philippines by Pact forces in 1945, and later the capture of Okinawa and Iwo Jima, forced the Empire of Japan to its knees, but they still refused to surrender. With France defeated in Europe and the Confederacy defeated in North America, the world turned its attention to the island nation. In summer 1946, Pact scientists led by America successfully split the atom, and used the destructive capabilities of the atomic bomb to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Faced with the possible destruction of the entire Japanese people, the Emperor surrendered, ending the most destructive conflict in history.

Rebuilding the World[]

Peace was finally achieved as National Socialism was defeated and democracy reigned victorious. In North America, the United States finally decided to put down the Confederacy once and for all. It was placed under occupation by the American Occupation Forces, led by General Creighton Abrams. Plans were made to stabilize the Confederate States and add them back to the Union, which would not be finally achieved until 2012. California was dismantled as well, and placed under occupation by the United States. In Europe, there was a clear division between the Unitarian controlled nations and the Western controlled nations. This "Iron Curtain" as British Minister Winston Churchill called it, resulted in Germany being split in Unitarian North Germany and western South Germany. The French Empire was torn down and replaced by a western-allied Republic of France, and Italy underwent a similar government change as well. The Unitarians maintained their iron grip over Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The kingoms of the many Eastern European nations were dismantled, replaced by single party Unitarian governments that were essentially puppets of Moscow.

Formation of the League of Nations[]

Chinese Civil War[]

Operation Ichigo2

Communist Party of China tanks during the Liu Offensive

In the aftermath of the war between China and Japan, the war had shifted in favor of the Communists under Mao Zedong. The Communists controlled around 25% of China's territory and 33% of China's population. Initially, the Communists had the advantage of using abandoned Japanese weapons and hardware, and were supported by Russia, but during 1946 and 1947 Zedong continued to resist Unitarianism, and remained fully in support of Communism. As a result, Russia refused to vacate Manchuria, Mongolia, and Korea, and tensions rose between Ivan Konev and Mao Zedong. In late 1947 Russia withdrew all support of the Communists, and attempted to find support within the Kuomintang. A good portion of the KMT had become upset with Chiang Kai-Shek, and led by General Li Zongren, defected from the KMT in late 1947 to form the Russian-backed People's Unification Army. Mao would be killed by PUA forces, leading to his replacement by General Zhu De.

Ironically, the Russian-led split of the KMT led to a Communist victory. With the KMT falling apart, many soldiers and leaders would defect to the Communists, who quickly gained ground during 1948. Zongren would be captured by the Communists, and large units of KMT forces were captured by the Communists as well. With new access to heavy tanks and other weaponry operated by the KMT, the CPC were able to conduct large-scale offensives to destroy the PUA and KMT. Without Zongren, most of the PUA would surrender and defect to the Communists. In 1949, the KMT was on its last legs following several campaigns that destroyed its most veteran units. The KMT capital, Nanjing, was captured, and the KMT was chased by the CPC across southeast China until the KMT evacuated across the Taiwan Strait to Taiwan. Zhu De proclaimed victory and the establishment of the People's Republic of China with its capital at Beijing. Kai-Shek proclaimed Taipei, Taiwan as the temporary capital of the Republic of China, and maintained his position that the KMT was the sole legitimate authority in China. 

With tensions remaining high between the PRC and Russia, it appeared there was going to be a third major power in an upcoming standoff between Russia and the United States. However, Zhu De decided to maintain a policy of isolationism and internally stabilize the nation and centralize authority. 

The "Unitarian Menace"[]

Joseph McCarthy

American President Joseph McCarthy (1953-1958)

In America, President Joseph P. Kennedy had dismissed the threat of Russia and the Unitarians, but his successor, Joe McCarthy, regarded the Unitarians with a much more guarded eye. McCarthy, elected in 1953, was incredibly suspicious of any movements "that threatened democracy and liberty anywhere on this earth" as he proclaimed in the State of the Union in 1954.

In Russia, Ivan Konev had come to power in 1948, and planned to speed up the process of unifying the world under the Unitarian banner. With much of eastern Europe burned and ripe for settlement, he sent Russian families to colonize these lands. Public schools in eastern Europe and parts of China were required to teach Russian, and the Unity Forces, set up by Konev in 1951, made sure that Russian culture was established. Anyone who resisted their new culture would be sent to Siberia for "re-education. It became clear that if the world was to become unified, it would unified under Russia, which made President McCarthy all the more suspicious.

German War[]

Germany was a hotbed for violence in the late 1940s. Many believed the French dissolution of the German Empire was illegal and void, with both North Germany and South Germany proclaiming to be the rightful successors of the German Empire. Chancellor Konrad Adenauer of South Germany wished to reunify the country, by force if necessary, to restore the now defunct German Empire, while General-Secretary Walter Ulbricht of North Germany believed in the unification due to his strong belief in in Unitarianism. As the years went on, each side went about establishing their own governments and economies. With reunification disappearing from the horizon, Ulbricht decided he must strike now before it was too late. On April 12, 1954, North Germany launched a surprise invasion of South Germany, starting another destructive war in Europe. 

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American soldiers in South Germany during the German War

The North German armies quickly advanced, the League of Nations called for a ceasefire. Determined to back up their claim as attempting to establish world peace, the League stated it was an illegal invasion and the United States began to push forward a mandate to intervene. With the Russians boycotting the Security Council, the mandate was pushed through, and the League called for a coalition to protect the sovereignty and rights of South Germany. Roughly 375,000 coalition soldiers were shipped to South Germany, the vast majority of which were American. The UN Peacekeepers, as they were called, were led by American war hero General Jacob L. Devers. By the time the coalition arrived, most of South Germany had been conquered, with the hub of southwestern South Germany falling days before. The North German drive was stalled at a quickly set up defense line around Munich, and Devers began to push the North Germans back, reaching the border by August.

Newly-elected President McCarthy considered this a good time to reunite Germany and rid of the Russians. Devers pushed northward into North Germany, with North German defenses rapidly collapsing. General-Secretary Ulbricht appealed to Konev for aid, which Konev eagerly granted. Hoping to avoid a direct conflict with America, the Polish and Romanian battalions were mobilized and sent to North Germany. This rapid influx of reinforcements eventually forced the South Germany advance to stall as well, and as the reinforcements continued to flow into North Germany, the coalition was defeated in a series of decisive battles. Also faced with insurgency behind coalition lines, and with winter approaching, Devers called for a retreat back to the fortified border. Operations stopped for the winter as each side licked their wounds. By now, the two sides, seeing the stalemate, agreed to come to the negotiation table. The war continued as both sides fired shots across the border and large scale bombing raids battered both Germanies, until a ceasefire was finally signed in 1956, and the Treaty of Oslo was signed soon after, establishing peace and a return to the pre-war status quo.

Creation of Alliances[]

The war made the two superpowers realize the important of a formal alliance. McCarthy believed the German War could've been prevented if a collective defensive alliance had been formed between the United States and its allies. An alliance would also be necessary to defend Western Europe from Russian aggression. The leaders of several North American and Western and Northern Europe countries met in Washington DC to sign a treaty that created the Northern Defensive Alliance. The founding members would be the United States, United Kingdom, France, South Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Quebec, Portugal, Italy, Norway, and Denmark. By 1960 Greece and Turkey would be added to the fold.

Russia would quickly respond. Moscow blamed the militaries of their satellite states, like North Germany, Poland, and Czechslovakia, for the failures in the German War, and wanted a way to control their militaries directly. The creation of the NDA gave Russia to opportunity to do this. In 1958, Russia and its satellite states would sign the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance in the city of Prague. This treaty created a collective defensive alliance. The members of this Prague Pact would be Russia, Poland, North Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Mongolia, and Manchuria.

Conflict in Southeast Asia[]

The colonies of Indochina had longed for their independence, and there were several movements that began during the transition of French colonial rule to British colonial rule, but these were shut down by the new British colonial government. The underground resistance movements resurfaced during Japanese occupation of southeast Asia during World War II. The communist Viet Minh movement declared victory over the Japanese occupiers when they retreated from Indochina, only to be replaced by returning British soldiers. The Viet Minh decried the British as imperialist occupiers as well, and a war for independence against them began as well. As part of the period of decolonization, the British eventually planned to grant independence to the region, but under no circumstances would independence be given to a communist government. The bitterly fought conflict would only increase in size as the United States sent military advisers during the German War, and later full battalions of troops following its end.

The combined British and American effort, as well as the fracturing in the Chinese and Russian alliance which were backing the communist groups, defeated the communist resistance movements in 1960, entirely destroying the movements or forcing them to retreat deep into the jungles or across the border into China. In 1961, the British gave independence to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, all of which were nominally democracies, but were prone to instability and takeovers by the militaries. But as long as the government wasn't fascist, the United States tended to turn a blind eye to the new government. With a strong bulwark of pro-west nations in southeastern Asia, the unitarian forces of the world were forced to look elsewhere to spread their revolution. 

Dixie Rebellion[]

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President Rockefeller (1958-1967)

The good times of the late 1940s and early 1950s were coming to an end in America. In 1958, a bad omen was delivered: the death of President McCarthy due to illness. Vice President Rockefeller ascended into the presidency, with the focus of his plans being establishing civil rights across the nation, including the Occupied South. Tennessee and the new state of West Virginia had been added back to the Union in 1952 and 1953, but the rest of the southern states had been resistant. Riots against the Occupation Forces, most notably the 1949 Birmingham Riots, were common. During this time, an underground movement began to spread. Known as "The Lost Cause" it sought to re-establish independence. The Lost Cause tried to stay away from a position on race due to the extermination camps under the devoirist government and focus on chivalry and strength of the Confederate soldier in the original war of independence, but soon more radical wings of the movement began to form, with the largest being the Ku Klux Klan.

The Lost Cause[]

101st Airborne at Little Rock Central High

Occupation Forces escorting black children to school in Little Rock

The powder keg of the rebellion was Atlanta, which had been heavily destroyed in the previous war and still not fully rebuilt. Here, feelings for independence remained strong. The leader of the Occupation Forces, Creighton Abrams, was fully intent on enforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which made it illegal to discriminate in the workforce or schools based on race, and desegregated public schools and public services. Riots in Atlanta led to full scale war in the city, as members of the Lost Cause fought fiercely for independence. George Wallace took the reigns of the rebellion, and with dozens of Occupation troops being killed daily and multiple bombings as well assassination attempts, Abrams ordered his forces to pull out of Atlanta.

Guerrilla fighting broke out in the summer of 1960 across the south, as rebel southerners attempted to take control of their cities. The Lost Cause reorganized themselves in Atlanta, and Abrams had difficulty defeating an enemy "that existed in the shadows, behind trees and bushes and windows, never in an open field". While the cities remained under Occupation control, the countryside became under the control of The Lost Cause. The KKK began a wave of terror across the south, lynching blacks and assassinating supporters of civil rights and bombing churches and government offices.

By the end of summer of 1960, it became clear that without support, the Occupation Forces couldn't contain the rebellion. President Rockefeller promised "the full extent of our military might will come down upon these rebels." The American military was mobilized once more, but it was ill equipped for a guerrilla war such as this. However, in January 1961 Abrams retook Atlanta, but The Lost Cause fled to the countryside and its new center of operations, the city of Birmingham.

Ivan Konev had taken note of this war, and believed the Americans could be weakened by supporting the rebellion. Arms and munitions were shipped over to The Lost Cause, who continued their guerrilla fight. The war was a stalemate, because it became clear the US would not pull out of the conflict, and the rebels could never defeat their superior opponent. Following the capture of Atlanta, a new wave of terror was unleashed by the Ku Klux Klan across the south, and in certain cases, the north. Rockefeller was nearly killed by a Klansman assassin in a New York City speech, but the assassin missed his target.

Winding Down and Aftermath[]

Guerrilla fighting continued across the south into 1964. The war had claimed thousands of American troops, and Rockefeller had lost support because of the long conflict. The election of 1964 was one of the closest in history, with Rockefeller barely taking the victory. Rockefeller's second term began with a severe economic downturn. The nation was in a struggle, and Rockefeller vowed that by the end of his term the conflict would be over.

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Ku Klux Klan rally in southern Georgia in 1963

By 1966, the majority of the The Lost Cause had lost the will to fight and wished to return home from their countryside army camps. Abrams took note of this, and along with President Rockefeller announced that anyone in the rebellion that lay down their arms in the next two months would be given full amnesty and be forgiven. Thousands of rebels showed up at Occupation camps with white flags and laid down their weapons, and the rebellion was losing its footing. The Ku Klux Klan was given better weaponry by the Greater Union to drag out the conflict as long as possible. In September, the United States launched a last assault on the final stronghold at Birmingham, Alabama. The Battle of Birmingham resulted in the capture or death of most of the Klansmen, with the camp being destroyed in the battle. Wallace was captured in the raid, and decided to drag down the Greater Union with him, revealing that Russia had given The Lost Cause weapons and supplies for most of the war.

The rebellion was finally over, with The Lost Cause leader captured, their camps burned, and their most extreme members executed or driven off. With the conflict over, Rockefeller planned to rebuild the south and turn the economy around. However, on September 17, 1967, Rockefeller was assassinated while visiting Philadelphia by three Klansmen. The Klansmen were promptly arrested and later executed, but the damage had been done. Nelson Rockefeller would be the final casualty of the Dixie Rebellion.

Escalation of the Cold War[]

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Joseph P. Kennedy (1969-1977) in a photograph during his service in World War II

New president Raymond P. Shafer was limited in his response to the unitarians supplying the Dixie rebels due to the gridlock between the Nationalist president and Liberal Congress, despite Shafer's position as a moderate. In the 1968 election, with the economic slump and years of war, the country had turned away from the Nationalists and turned to the Liberal Party and their shining candidate, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.

"Pat" Kennedy was eager to move out of his father's shadow and establish himself as a good president based on his talent. Due to his youth he was popular with new students and workers, and Kennedy promised to make the United States into the superpower and "defender of democracy" the world needed. In his first months, he met with the leaders of the Northern Defensive Alliance in an effort to improve the relations between the United States and their countries. Konev was not be to outdone, and stepped up his campaign to unify the world and defeat the West.

Mexican Crisis[]

To the south of the United States was the large nation of Mexico, under the autocratic rule of dictator Gustav Saenz de Sicilia. Saenz was the last devoirist ruler in the world, using his powers to send dissidents and opponents to remote camps, silencing free speech, and the only political party was his own. Saenz had carefully kept Mexico out of the massive war, using the time and cheap pool of labor to launch huge industrialization plans, partially inspired by the plans in Russia in the 1930s. Saenz had continued to keep out of foreign wars and involvement, but over the years became increasingly unstable. In 1971, revolution broke out, and the CIA's plan to install a pro-US strongman failed, as Gustavo Diaz Ordaz and his unitarians took control of the government.

P-2H Neptune over Soviet ship Oct 1962

American patrol planes over a Mexican ship in the Gulf of Mexico

Kennedy had authorized the CIA to train revolutionaries to overthrow the government of Mexico, while at the same time Ordaz attempted to keep the socialist revolution going by funding rebels across Latin America and the Caribbean. These former colonies were especially vulnerable as their governments were weak and unstable. Kennedy responded by sending aid to the governments of these countries and in extreme cases, such as in Guatemala, toppling a Unitarian government in favor of pro-US one. Tensions were high as each side tried to outdo each other in the unstable Latin America, and in 1974 American spy planes discovered missile sites were being built in Mexico.

Privately, Ordaz had received funds from Konev in exchange for building missile sites right across from America's border. Kennedy quickly ordered a blockade of Mexico, resulting in Mexican and Russian submarines being mobilized. The Mexicans revealed their knowledge of the upcoming "Veracruz Invasion" by CIA-funded revolutionaries. Tensions were high, with war looming. Hoping to defuse the situation, the UN hosted negotiations between Kennedy and Konev two weeks later after the blockade began. The Russians agreed to remove their missile sites and warheads and Mexico, in exchange for the United States to promise to end their harassment of Mexico, and in secret, the removal of the strongest American missiles in Italy and Turkey. 

Middle East Divided[]

Shahanshah Aryamehr 1

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran

The former British and German colonies in the Middle East had achieved independence following World War II, with the establishment of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, and Cyprus. The land was pretty much peaceful following the war, with the population enjoying the massive economic prosperity given by their oil resources. The Middle East was the greatest source of oil for the world, and contracts and business deals for this oil gave those in charge great power. With the British and Germans pulling out of the Middle East, the United States took an interest in securing allies in the Middle East and their valuable oil supplies. The Unitarians had already established themselves in the region, with Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi becoming very close to Moscow. The Shah, convinced to join the cause of unifying the world in order to end the bloodshed, funded several Unitarian groups across the Middle East and Afghanistan.

This funding would lead to General Abdel Nasser coming to power in Egypt in 1954 Nasser quickly made attempts to modernize the nation, sending millions of dollars to education, land development, and industries. The navy and army were updated as well, making use of modern Russian weaponry and vehicles. Funding from Russia to improve Egypt's infrastructure resulted in Egypt and its oil become closely bound to Konev. In 1961, Egypt and Syria joined together to form the Republic of Egypt-Syria. Nasser privately made plans to eventually include Iran and eventually the entire Arab world in a "United Arab Republic".

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President Nasser of Egypt-Syria, a major supporter of unifying the Middle East

The government in America noticed this with alarm, fearing that they would eventually be cut off from the oil that drove their economy. President Kennedy's plan to secure alliances in the Middle East were prioritized when a revolution in Iraq resulted in General Saddam Hussein coming to power, a known Unitarian and a leader in anti-Western belief. Kennedy reaffirmed his alliance with Turkey, and also came to the aid of Palestine, replacing Britain as the nation's main Western ally. In secret, CIA director William Colby, with the authorization of President Kennedy, sent arms and funding to Faisal bin Abdulazis, the ambitious nephew of the King of Saudi Arabia. With this aid, Faisal led a well-supported coup of the current Saudi government, becoming the new King. A beloved ruler, Faisal's rule stabilized soon after, and King Faisal allowed the US to occupy a few military bases in his nation, and their preferred trading partner for oil.

"Faisal's Corruption" by Western influence led to the formation of underground Islamic fundamentalism groups, fueled by anti-Western beliefs. These groups sprung up in every nation, and Egypt-Syria planned to make great use of them in the future. In a meeting with the Arab leaders in 1975, President Nasser revealed his belief that in order for the Arab world to be united, all Western influence must be removed, which would be sure to cause conflict in the future.

Revolution in South America[]

Escalation[]

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