The Great Chaos was the period following the Eruption of the Yellowstone volcano and is the reason of being for most nations on the planet today. It began when Yellowstone exploded on Eruption Day, setting off a chain reaction which led to the deaths of tens of millions of people all over the world, and directly was the cause of The Great Exodus.
The Americas
With the explosion of Yellowstone, a large portion of the western United States was destroyed immediately, with a greater area being affected by the "ash rain" which would fall immediately after the explosion and choke a large portion of North America. It would also cut off the United States from the west coast and lead to the declaration of martial law in the states which were still under some sort of control. It was uncertain initially how much of the nation had been affected as contact had been rapidly lost. Canada, too, was effected directly by the explosion, with Vancouver lost to the falling ash rain. Many of its people tried to get out of the city when they saw what was happening but very few would make it out alive or indeed survive.
In the coming winter following Eruption Day, Canada fell to the coldest winter on record and although the nation still had control over its lands, thousands from the north moved into cities in the southern part of the nation due to the abysmally cold temperatures and caused a huge refugee problem for Canada. Thousands died because of the cold. The United States too suffered as many who survived moved east to try to remake their lives. However, the influx of people toward the east was too great and the nation collapsed under the strain of trying to accommodate so many people. Multiple survivor states declared independence from the central federal government and established their own nations in different sections of the country. The United States government relocated from Washington, led by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and established the Provisional United States in the southern section of the former nation.
Millions died in the coming years as the cold and cloud cover led to the failures of multiple crops and the starvation that it brought with it. Cold temperatures also thwarted much work to reconnect many areas and get railroads working once more. However, there was one nation in North America which would actually benefit. Mexico had long become a glimmer of what that nation once was. Although the nation would suffer like everybody else, the lack of a United States would in the long run benefit the nation. However, things did not look up for it, for any nation in the region and temperatures began to cool and cause multiple problems relating to crop growing and trading between nations.
In the following years, there would be thousands who would move around. By the second year post-eruption day - 1937, the British had launched an attempt to rescue Canadians and relocate them to Australia where reports were that the land was becoming easier to farm - a rarity. Many Americans were also desperate to leave the nation, and the British merchant fleets saw an opportunity to earn a bit of cash while doing so. The iconic line, "100 Pounds Sterling for a ticket!" would be loud-speakered by merchant captains looking to make some money and would allow for Americans to flee to Australia along with their northern neighbours the Canadians. Most of the Canadian population would end up being evacuated, but around 600,000 would remain in the nation. These were those who had either missed their ship, those who were very loyal or those who were fools. Often it was all three. A large number of Americans too would be evacuated to Australia and the Philippines, and in the process would allow the merchant navy to earn a very large profit. For them, the volcanic eruption had been kind and had brought in good money. The merchant navy would be able to finance major headquarter buildings in sections of the future nation Britannia due to the great amount of money they managed to accumulate.
This period would also bring with it mass migrations southward as surviving people began to move to avoid the cold weather and try to rebuild what was left of their lives. For the first time, Mexico would see thousands of Americans enter their nation as a means to escape the cold and this began to prove a strain on the only country which could still support itself. Eventually, breaking point was reached and as refugee shelters filled up all around the nation - some groups began to call for the expulsion of all non-Mexicans from their lands. Many would take matters into their own hands and try to storm refugee settlements to force out migrants. Things would spiral out of control, with the north descending into Chaos as regions broke away while others were overwhelmed in late 1937. People would begin to go hungry as food became a problem and this only added to the growing problems of the Mexicans. The government would try to help its people as much as they could, giving out loans for the creation of new farmland, but it would be pointless. A few states in the south would break away too and form the Veracruz Republic.
Europe
Europe suffered the most when it came to the extending ice caps. After eruption day, a drastic drop in temperature could be noted all around Europe. It didn't take long for the British to realise things were not going to turn out well for the British Isles, and they quickly made preparations to move as many people as they could. They first readied their South African and Australian dominions for it first, however, for the incoming mass of people. The Great Exodus began in 1937 as the British put every ship they had to the use of evacuating large numbers of civilians to South Africa and Australia. The Royal Navy used its ships for the evacuation effort primarily and the removal of much of the British Fleet from around the world would allow many powers to expand, notably Japan and Nazi Germany. The Soviet Union began to feel the effects of the cold rather harshly, along with Scandinavia. It became painfully obvious in Scandinavia that they did not stand a chance of survival as towns in the north froze in the winter post-eruption, freezing fleeing people alive.
The states in mainland Europe would feel the cold too, with crop failures all around the continent. However, the cold would cause nations to begin to take more drastic measures. Germany found itself beginning to see thousands of incoming Scandinavians and knew actions had to be taken to keep stability. The Wehrmacht was mobilised and were quickly used to keep order even as people starved and riots took place on the streets. However, with the withdrawal of the British fleets, the Germans would take their chances and capture the Saarland along with annexing Austria and the Sudetenland from the Czech. After 1938, the Germans knew they needed to take out other major players in the region so they could invade smaller nations and gain their farmlands, which they could use to relocate millions of Germans and save their people. This would lead to the Great European War.
In the aftermath, Germany ended up controlling a lot more land and would be able to launch attacks to the southern states and gain farmland. There would be a few small breakaways from Germany in the Great European War, but these would soon rejoin - seeing no point in standing alone - or would be brutally conquered by the Nazis if they did not. The Germans would lose a significant percentage of their population, but would eventually come out on top in Europe, with the only other power remaining which could challenge them being the Holy Russian Empire.
Russia took the brunt of the cold due it its major population centres being in the north of the nation. With the decreasing temperatures, many military generals worried that Stalin's paranoia would take over and another purge would take place. This would lead to his assassination backed by generals. However, this would quickly lead to chaos descending in the Soviet Union and as citizens from the east of the Urals began to arrive west, the strain proved too great and the nation collapsed into chaos by October 1937. The chaos was truly great in the former nation as nations formed and disappeared every day or two. Yet an ambitious Soviet General by the name of Rodion Malinovsky saw a chance to recreate the Russian Empire. Well respected by his soldiers and other military men, he received quick backing. He would declare the Holy Russian Empire in January 1938 and would make the nation official later that same year when soldiers loyal to him began to take control of fertile lands in his name and begin to re-establish order in the region. However, by this time multiple smaller states had already emerged - all with their own unique mix of leaders and ideologies. Although the HRE had the majority of the military equipment - it was cut off from its oil supply from the Caucasus and this left much of its military hardware obsolete. Other nations too saw the same problem, so on that side of things at least - they were equal to the HRE with the problem. These warring states would soon begin to fight each other - fighting for dominance. This era would be heralded as the Second Russian Civil-War and would officially come to an end with the establishment of the Russian Forum.
Russia would be too caught up in internal affairs to fight the Great European War against Germany - which took heavy losses but established vast new lands for its people and forced the Italians to relinquish some land for the Germans on Austrian request. Russia would immediately see what had just happened and would begin to launch less offensives but open more diplomatic channels to the smaller breakaways. Ironically, this can be compared to the Holy Roman period of history; multiple small states which all had their own interests had to fall in line with the Holy Russian Empire to survive and present a united threat against the Germans. Over the next 40 years, these states would work out major differences and band to survive against the Nazi threat which breathed down on their necks and would establish together the Russian Forum. Initially, there were over 50 of these small survivor nations on the west of the Urals itself but over the span of the Great European War and the early discussions between these states to create somewhat of a united front against the Germans, these would begin to be absorbed by stronger nations which would grow in size and power and help to stabilise the region. Many nations would end up losing their communist governments as states began to transform into republics, soviets and dictatorships. The Russian Forum Treaty was signed and ratified by 15 nations on the 6th of June, 1944 and the Russian Forum came into being.
The Great European War was fought in Europe and was initiated by the Germans in a bid to gain Lebensraum or living space for the German people from the oncoming ice. After uniting with Austria and the bullying of the Czech to hand over control of the Sudetenland, the Nazis felt they were ready to take on Europe and create a bit of space for the German people. This began with the rapid invasion of France, which was launched through Belgium and the Netherlands, with both nations falling rapidly - unable to hold back the German blitzkrieg tactic. Ground forces and air units attacked in unison and caught the armies of the nations off guard. Keeping on the surprise, the French were attacked - who although had managed to hold their nation together - could not successfully muster enough strength to fight against the Germans and knew they could not survive the invasion. However, the French were prepared for this and their troops retreated toward the south; around Paris and south - troops numbers were great and they prepared to dig in and fight the Germans for every inch of land. More stuff about the Great European War as soon as the page is completely ready.
Following the end of the war, the Germans would expel all Jews from their territory eastward, letting it become a Slavic problem as they stabilised their own borders following the Great European War. This expulsion occurred from late 1940 to early 1942. These Jews would be caught in huge chaos and over a million would die as they tried to relocate to other parts of Europe. When many of them heard of a Jewish state in the Crimea, they risked it all to try to make it there. Some decided to set up home in Byelorussia instead, but many laboured on - to their final destination.
With the establishment of the Russian Forum, and Germany too busy in internal matters, one of the Forum's first moves was to move south and stabilise the region's which were in total Chaos. The task was tough and slow-going for the nations, but it was of paramount importance. It would allow for fertile farmlands to be created and help feed the nation's of the Forum. Total control would be established in early 1948 and the region would soon begin to be reconstructed. For Europe at least, this would be the end of the Chaos period as the final lines were drawn.
Asia
Asia perhaps was the least affected by The Great Chaos, initially. Being such a large land mass, there were a large number of ethnic minorities present in most colonial empires and nations.
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