Alternative History
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The Californian Liberation Movement was a activist/terrorist group in American occupied Pacific Republic in the aftermath of the Third Global War.

The Californian War[]

Founded in 1950 by former members of the Pacific Republic's military, namely Captain Ronald Reagan, the group conducted numerous attacks on the occupying US Army starting on New Years, 1951. Under the able leadership of General George Patton, most of these attacks were blunted, and then began the drive to eradicate the movement by the US, despite the increasingly steep cost and ineffective counter-partisan measures adopted by the Army.

However, the assassination of Patton in 1958 by a radical, Sorelist influenced wing of the party hardened the American resolve, and General John F. Kennedy (a son of former President Joseph P. Kennedy, and brother to future President Edward Kennedy) was placed in charge. BY now, both France and Japan saw the opportunity to draw the US into a quagmire in North America, so funneled weapons to the "Cali's." however, the recipent of most of these weapons were the extreme Right Wing members of the diverse group. Reagan, a moderate, tried to push the Sorelists out, but Japanese and French pressure forced him to keep the increasingly violent Sorelists. At this point, realizing that the CLM was only causing the unnecessary destruction of California, began to secretly work with the US Army.

Despite this new information from the leader of the CLM, Kennedy was as equally ineffective in halting the attacks as Patton was, now shifting from not solely the army, but now civilians that either supported the US, or even those that didn't support any side. Kennedy's demand for more troops to end the conflict were meet with anger and outrage throughout the nation, the draft and even some of the reserves having to be called in to continue the fight. Riots, protests and marches, along with the rising Civil Rights Movement reverbated through America while President Joseph McCarthy, and his successor Curtis LeMay continued to support the fight, not wanting to let the Sorelists to surround the US. In 1963, an improvised explosive device exploded on General Kennedy's convoy, knocking the general into a coma.

General Marion Mitchell Morrison, Kennedy's Second in Command, was placed in charge, and began the new "Pacification Policy #1" to cut the support of the CLM by giving the people security and improving their lives. This policy worked spectacularly: the rebels began to lose their grip on formerly Cali dominated areas, and the people began to see the US not as occupiers, but as defenders.

The Californian Liberation Movement becaming increasingly desperate, and set their sights on President Curtis LeMay, assassinating him in Chicago on May 19, 1966. His Vice-President, Edward R. Morrow, called for justice, and an end to the fight. With progress still evident, General Morrison continued to press the CLM, and eventually forced the last organized remnants of the group to surrender on November 5, 1968.

Aftermath[]

The 17 year conflict was the most most expensive fight in American history. At one point or another, at least 400,000 men where in the occupied territory, though many claim the number who actually served is close to two million soldiers, with over 675,000 casualties, of whom 147,982 were killed. 67,000 civilian casualties were also recorded, most in the last few years as the Sorelist Cali's began attacking civilian targets. This blood letting was only justified by trying to ensure that the Sorelist or Brazilian powers could not gain yet another foothold in North America, and the revelation in 1965 that France and Japan were supplying the CLM confirmed this demand. Altogether, the cost is estimated to be nearly $12 billion dollars for the military alone, not to mention the property destruction that was almost as high. The economy of California was devastated for years, and even to this day California is perhaps the poorest part of America, despite its wealth of resources and new enterprises in technology.

But the anger in America at both the casualties, and French and Japanese (and assumed Brazilian) support lead Congress to supply funds, arms and advisers to the"Cooperativa de Liberación Venezolana" (Venezuelan Liberation Cooperative, the CLV) in their war against Colombia and Brazil, and even later, demands to support whatever anti-Sorelist movement in the world sprung up. This need to appear strong despite the scars of the war may have indirectly led into the Crisis of 1991, as President Barry Sadler was a soldier who fought in California, and he did not want America to go through it again.

Perhaps the most shocking event was that, despite the death, chaos and burdens, the Nationalist Party still held the White house throughout the entire war. Most historians claim that the Nationalists fought for their lives in these elections, and the only reason they won was because the Socialist Party was still recovering from Harry S. Truman's presidential mishandling in confronting Sorelist power in the 1950s, or, as one historian said "... the Socialists handed the unpopular Nationalists the White House year after year because they just couldn't get their act together."

On New Years Eve, 1979, the last remnants of the CLM detonated several bombs at events in New York, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia, killing 669 and wounding over 2,300 more. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was now able to track down and destroyed the last cells of Californian Liberation Movement supporters in America.

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