World War II Ends[]
After the peace between the United States, which now spanned an entire continent and had a foothold in its southern neighbor, Japan, which now controlled the entire Pacific Ocean, and Germany, which now spanned the globe, Adolf Hitler was ready to conclude the conflict with a swift and total takeover of the Balkans. America and the Soviet Union, on the other hand, now facing two vastly powerful opponents on both sides, began militarizing their nations to repel or discourage any attacks. America was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, as was Germany, and the Soviets were amassing an army so huge it would be nearly impenetrable. Hitler knew these facts, as did Roosevelt, and believed any further conflict between the three nations at this time would be fruitless and achieve nothing, so he settled on the idea for swiftly conquering and subjugating the rest of Europe, organizing his vast colonial territories, and gaining powerful allies in other regions of the world.
Europe Buckles at German Might[]
Hitler first wanted to assure the security of East Prussia. He did this on August 14, 1943, by purchasing the Polish corridor from Stalin for nearly $300 million. Next, he wanted to surround what remained of former Poland by annexing Slovakia and Hungary. He was able to enter and defeat these countries almost unopposed on August 23, occupying them fully. Finally, Hitler invaded his former ally of Romania on September 1, facing a well armed opponent trained by his own generals. The Germans were, of course, superior, and launched a blitzkrieg against the nation, causing its military to collapse by September 18, despite its best efforts to repel the German advance.
Europe after Germany and Turkey defeat the Balkans
Greece, seeing what Hitler had done to Romania, using then betraying it, left Hitler's list of allies, a move Hitler hoped they would make. Hitler then met with Refik Saydam of Turkey, to negotiate a plan which entailed conquering Greece and Bulgaria, which would go to Turkey, and Yugoslavia, which would go to Germany. This plan went into action on September 30, with Turkey and Germany invading Bulgaria from the east and north, crushing its military and occupying it by October 4th. The battle against Greece entailed much more effort, as joint operations were carried out by Turkey and Germany on the 7th, to little avail, followed by 3 more failed invasions. Finally, on October 15th, the Greek defenses crumbled and their enemies poured into Greece. The Nazi blitzkrieg devastated the northern half of Greece, as Turkish forces marched south toward Athens, reaching it by the 27th, and conquering it by the 31st. Later, on Halloween night, German forces marched into Yugoslavia by the thousands, catching its military off guard and securing most of the country within a week. Yugoslavia surrendered on the 10th of November, marking the end of the campaign in Europe. Germany later annexed all their conquered territories on November 16, followed by Turkey a few days later.
The state of the world at the end of 1943
The Second Battle of the Atlantic[]
Faced with a very dire situation, namely the death of democracy in the eastern hemisphere, Roosevelt decided that the navy should attempt to break through the German domination of the Atlantic to open a possible route to the liberation of former American allies, and to reach out to South Africa to help stop the Nazis from dominating the African continent entirely. So, on November 13, the U.S. navy, with its new submarines, began bombarding the southern half of the German lines with torpedoes. Neither side gained an edge for several months, until Roosevelt ordered an attack on the northern half as well, forcing Hitler to choose which to defend, as he did not have a large enough supply of ships or U-boats to sustain both battles. Ultimately, on January 26, 1944, the southern half of the German lines caved and the Americans had access to the southern half of the Atlantic, and subsequently, South Africa. Upon making contact with the South Africans, Roosevelt found the nation in extreme disarray, and undergoing a civil war, which was later won by the blacks who were fighting for rights and freedom on March 2. Immediately following this, Nelson Mandela, a leader of the freedom movement, became Prime Minister of what was now the Union of South Africa, and allied with the United States.
The Struggle for World Influence Begins[]
The Turkish-Saudi War[]
Hitler, as he had made public previously, thought of the Turks and Iranians as Aryans. This being the case, he was eager to solidify his alliance with Turkey, and did it in a very effective way. On January 31, he officially handed over all middle eastern colonies to the Turks, including Egypt, which Turkey then immediately annexed, creating the Turkish Empire. Saydim was very grateful to Hitler, and promised support in the future. The Turks were soon war-hungry, and wanted to defeat and annex Saudi Arabia for the purpose of gaining their rich oil deposits to emerge as a world financial power by 1955.
Of course, Hitler was delighted by his new ally's ambitions, and agreed to send forces to assist in this operation, as over half of Germany's Wehrmacht hadn't even seen battle in World War II since it was won so easily. The Turks were prepared by April, and Hitler showed him General Rommel's proposed invasion plan, dubbed Operation Sandstorm, and the Turks readied themselves for their first territorial conquest. Patriotism and nationalism had risen astronomically in both Turkey and its new territories, since they had been subjugated to Europe for so long. Finally, the invasion was ready, and planned for May 1. When the invasion finally came, the Kriegsmarine blockaded the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, and Turkish forces amassed in both the southern and northern territories. The Saudis, sensing the impending invasion a mere few hours before the declaration of war, prepared their defenses for the worst. At noon, German soldiers hit the west coast of Saudi Arabia, capturing the holy city of Mecca within a few hours. The next day, when some Saudi troops had been sent to defend the west, the Turks invaded from the north and south. The Saudi Arabians were well equipped and trained, but hopelessly outnumbered.
German troops advancing through western Saudi Arabia
By mid-May, the Germans had captured Medina as well, and the Turks were closing in on the remaining Saudi forces quickly. Desperate, the Saudis launched a counterattack on the southern troops, encircling them quickly and capturing or killing many of them. The invasion in the south was all but over by the time June rolled around, and the Germans and Turks concentrated again on the north, pushing a bit deeper day by day. The Saudi Persian Gulf fleet launched the second of three counterattacks, landing behind the invasion force, encircling it, and crushing it. The Saudis went on to capture all Turkish territories in the east, and then, launched their final counterattack through the Red Sea, which was a failure. Germans stationed in Somaliland saw the ships coming and warned those stationed in the Red Sea, which in turn decimated the Saudi fleet.
At this point, Hitler did not want to fight a war for the Turks, which had been essentially defeated, and made a deal with the Saudis, which gave Turkey all of the west coast of Saudi Arabia, but Turkey had to relinquish all of its territory with direct access to the Persian Gulf. This war later became known as the First Turkish-Saudi War. After the war ended, the United States allied itself with Saudi Arabia and the Saudis agreed to sell the Americans oil as long as they were able to transport it themselves.
The Pacific Purge & Nuclear Weaponry[]
Emperor Hirohito, with his empire finally at peace, set his plans in motion for the final step in securing his Asian co-prosperity sphere. He had to eliminate whites from colonies in the Pacific one way or another, and even allowed them to return to Britain or go to the United States. Approximately four million Australian whites went to either the United States or Britain in 1944, and the remaining two million were either executed or put to work as slaves after a month long revolution in November of that year.
After the whites had disappeared from Australia and New Zealand, Japanese people migrated to Australia by the thousands to colonize it. Australia was later granted freedom from Japan, and the nation was named Minami, meaning "south" in Japanese.
Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler publicly announced that Germany possessed nuclear weapons, and was prepared to use them on anyone threatening the Reich. This news horrified Roosevelt, who ordered the bomb be completed by the time his term was over. He eventually got his wish in October 1944, although Hitler found out through unknown means and ordered Roosevelt to dismantle it or face another full scale war. Roosevelt knew Hitler was only trying to intimidate him, and did not give in to his demands. The two nations with the most animosity between them were now nuclear-powered, a development many feared would lead to nuclear war.
The West Unites and Hitler Divides[]
Election map in 1944. Note that Australian immigrants raised Oregon to 19, Washington to 10, and California to 30, with Quebec and Ontario at 3 each
On November 7, 1944, Republican William King, former prime minister of Canada, narrowly defeated Roosevelt in the presidential election. Upon his inauguration in 1945, he enacted laws reversing Roosevelt's socialist policies, to the relief of many Americans, and restored traditional capitalism to the United States. In his inaugural speech, he referred to the United States as "the golden nation in a world or increasing darkness." Hitler later fired back with racially charged insults saying "In what way is Germany dark? Not a single dark person resides within her borders."
On February 6, the United States began Operation Sisterhood, aimed at forming an alliance with the entirety of South America. The operation began with Brazil and the United States invading the Nazi puppet state of Argentina to cheering in the streets. Hitler did not come to its defense, stating "Once the battle between the hemispheres yields the demise of America, then will I claim its southern neighbor." Argentina fell with relative ease, a mere week after the invasion began, and democratic elections were held. Chile was then invaded a few days later and fell in a similarly quick manner. Brazil, the United States, Chile, and Argentina formed the Union of Democratic Nations (UDN) on March 1, 1945. Hitler later referred to this union as "The Union of Fools."
The state of the world at the end of Operation Sisterhood. Blue indicates a member of ally of the UDN
Following the formation of the UDN, which in truth worried Hitler, Hitler wanted to ensure that his empire remained intact, and to achieve this the Hamburg Agreement was reached in late April. This entailed dividing German Africa into two new nations: Mittelafrika in the south, and Sahara in the north, each under the governments of trusted colleagues. Blacks would be allowed to work in certain fields, but not to hold office, which was reserved for ethnic Germans only. Some blacks would later be illegally forced to work in diamond mines. France would be divided amongst Spain and Germany, Germany taking some of the north, Spain some of the south. What was left would be ransacked by the Wehrmacht and any valuables confiscated. 5% of the male population would also be brought to Germany as servants for wealthy Germans. The rump state of France would be able to raise an army of any size, but no navy or air force, and its government could be decided by its citizens. Great Britain would be ransacked for valuables, and 5% of the population taken as servants as well. The nation would remain under Nazi occupation until 1950 and then was free to govern itself by the terms of the Treaty of Geneva. Lastly, any outlying colonies surrounded by South Africa would be sold to the South Africans for a reasonable price, and the former nations of Yugoslavia, and southern Romania would be sold to Turkey, as Hitler deemed them unnecessary and too costly to maintain. Hitler's last major act of the year was to sign a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, which in turn signed one with Japan.
The Cold War Begins[]
The Hamburg Agreement Phase 2[]
Location of Mittelafrika
On the first of January 1946, the second phase of the Hamburg Agreement went into effect. This began with the creation of two new nations encompassing the majority of the African continent. The state of Mittelafrika was created on January 9, with Sahara following a few days later. Mittelafrika was placed under the governance of Joseph Göbbels, and Sahara under Rudolph Hess. The two nations then conscripted a small but well equipped military defense force to solidify their power over the populous. As Göbbels and Hess were "Germanizing" central and northern Africa, Hitler sold the colonies of Swaziland and Basutoland to the South Africans.
Göbbels went about solidifying his power in Mittelafrika by suppressing dissent and imprisoning those who rallied against him. Nearly 6000 had been executed by the end of January and many more jailed. This trend continued until around May, when the people realized they were powerless to stop what was happening. Göbbels then rounded up a group of 50,000 volunteers and put them to work in diamond mines along the southern border of the new nation, and the west coast.
Location of Sahara
Hess employed similar methods in Sahara, except some of his punishments for dissent were much harsher, such as banishment to Spanish held western Sahara, where they were left to fend for themselves and most either starved or died of dehydration. By April, Hess's body count was well over 40,000, so his people learned obedience a bit sooner than Göbbels'. Similarly, Hess recruited 10,000 volunteers to work in diamond mines in Algeria and Mauritania. Those who volunteered were granted the luxury of being ensured that they could not be banished or executed by the government. Finally, Hess, went on to create jobs in the fields of drilling for oil and gas throughout the Sahara desert, and looked into a massive project to change the climate of the region.
Mittelafrika and Sahara were both required, as of June 1, to join the Munich Pact, a military alliance between Germany and her allies, followed by Spain a day later, and Turkey two days later.
Europe after the humiliation and partition of France and Britain
Humiliation of France and Britain[]
Following the creation of Mittelafrika and Sahara, and their joining of the Munich Pact, Phase 3 went into effect. France was to be ransacked by the Wehrmacht, stripped of its valuables, and have 5% of its population taken to Germany as servants for the German people. This took place on June 15. The Wehrmacht stormed through Paris, stealing art, destroying landmarks, and flying the Nazi flag over the Eiffel Tower. The next day, Spain annexed much of southern France, and Germany annexed parts of northern France, including Alsace-Lorraine. Following this incident, Francisco Franco proclaimed a Second Spanish Empire, and intended to spread Spanish influence throughout the world.
Next, Britain was ransacked, Big Ben flew the Nazi flag, and 5% of the British people were taken as servants, while Britain remained under military occupation. A small rebellion broke out at Oxford while this took place, but the Wehrmacht crushed it and executed all who participated. At this point, the British people's spirits had nearly been broken by 4 years of brutal occupation by the Nazis.
Now, France was free from all occupation and German influence, except that it could not raise a navy or air force. Charles de Gaulle was elected President on July 3, and proclaimed a Third French Empire, with the goal of raising a military so mighty that it would make even the Germans tremble in fear. Hitler of course dismissed this as a deluded fantasy, but the French Empire joined the UDN on August 1.
The Unions and the Pact[]
With the Munich Pact now a direct contest to the UDN, Stalin realized that the Soviet Union was swiftly falling behind not only the Reich, but an America whom the world viewed as defeated. So, he made arrangements to help China, which had recently been torn by civil war, develop into a communist nation by aiding Mao Zedong's Communist Party in defeating the already defeated Chinese government. He was able to do this successfully by the end of 1946, due to China's military being crushed by Japan, and the People's Republic of China was born, with Mao Zedong at the forefront. Both Germany and America condemned this move. Russia went on to admit Mongolia to the Soviet Union in December, again, a move condemned by Germany and America.
A few months into 1947, Tibet successfully rebelled from China through help from German soldiers who entered through India, and Stalin announced the first successful nuclear weapons test conducted by the Soviet Union. On April 4, 1947, Tibet joined the UDN, a move condemned by Hitler, and a move which he thought warranted retribution. After a brief war between the United States and Germany in Indian territory, India was split into two separate territories, one owned by Germany, one owned by the United States, and Tibet was saved from war with Germany. After this humiliating defeat, Hitler was furious, and wanted to assert his global dominance. He did this by capturing the Azores on August 19, and Iceland after a short war in September. Fearing that a move would be made on Greenland, President King ordered that Greenland be invaded the next day and that a massive defense base be set up there. Denmark was of course unhappy, and later went on to join the Munich Pact in 1948. Meanwhile, America released the territories of Guiana, which formed a nation under the same name, and joined the UDN.
The global situation at the end of 1948
The constant struggle for power and influence over global politics was clearly starting to heat up at this point, and the powers involved (Russia, Germany, and America) were nearly equal in power as of 1948, with a war over Greenland seemingly on the horizon, a war for dominance on the African continent, and a battle for overall global power spanning the continents. Hitler's New Order Project was to begin in 1949, giving him only a few months to set everything in place or face a premature World War III.
See the third part of the timeline here.