All the Kaiser's Men

Prologue

"Germany is fighting against the greatest odds known in history. She is not only fighting against the most powerful combination of enemies, but at the same time has to contend with a world of prejudice, skillfully created against her, as well as with lukewarmness toward our enemies' tyranny on the part of the neutral nations. Sometimes we wonder at this; but unerringly we go on fighting for our cause."

-Alfons Mumm von Schwarzenstein, 1916

In 1914 the German Empire and her allies waged the largest war ever known against the combined might of Britain, France, Italy, and Russia. Despite being surrounded, outnumbered, and nearly starved into submission by the stranglehold of the Royal Navy's initial blockade, in 1921 the Kaiser and his armies were victorious. After seven long years, and millions dead on each side, the "Weltkrieg" as it was known, was over.

Britain and France surrendered many colonial possessions which helped to form German Mittelafrika, the new crown jewel of the German Colonial Empire.

With the abdication and eventual execution of the Tsar, Russia had descended into one of the bloodiest, most chaotic civil wars in human history. The fate of the anti-Bolshevik Whites seemed grim at first. However, with aid from the rest of the world, and most importantly a strengthened German Empire, combined with several strokes of luck that had saved the fragmented White forces, the Bolshevik Reds were crushed and a new Russian Republic was formed. Many new states were born from the possessions of the former Russian Empire. Most of these served as little more than German satellites. Following a revolt in the East and a failed coup by Alexander Kolchak, Alexander Kerensky now presides over a weakened republic, led by a loose coalition of socialists and Kadets, which Kerensky both holds together through sheer force of will.

Britain was disgruntled with the loss of the war and more importantly, her colonies but this annoyance paled in comparison to France. The French had now lost two major wars against their Eastern neighbor in less than fifty years. Twice had the Kaiser sat in the hall of mirrors and twice had German boots marched beneath the Arc de Triomphe.

Italy had become what Metternich had referred to it just a century earlier, a "geographic expression." The country was shattered into several smaller states including an independent Papal State and a Socialist Republic to the North.

It seemed as though the Twentieth Century would be a German one. Bolstered by wealth drawn in by her new colonies, the power that came from the German dominated bloc of Mitteleuropa, and by the seemingly endless grain that poured in from her Eastern puppets, the German Empire stood head and shoulders above the rest. The future appeared to be bright for Europe's new superpower. However, this victory had struck a chord and the defeated nations would not just stand idly by.

France had been the first to react to this sudden continental upheaval of power. In 1919 the Confederation Generale du Travail (CGT) declared a general strike in the last days of the Weltkrieg. Combined with a second set of mutinies within the French Army that occured around the same time, the strike had effectively left the nation paralyzed. The CGT was unable to seize power before Paris fell to German forces but the damage had been done. The fall of Paris had turned the General Strike violent. A new Provisional Government was formed during the German occupation and the CGT was quick to declare war on the new state. Eventually, a red typhoon had swept the Provisional Government away. The remnants of the old order, under Marshal Petain, had fled to Algeria and formed National France. The Lion of Verdun ruled with an iron fist and claimed rightful ownership of the French homeland while denouncing the "socialist pretenders". From the ashes of the Third Republic, emerged the Commune of France. Peace was made with the Germans at the cost of Lorraine, several French African colonies, and an overbearing load of war reparations. Franco-German animosity was at an all time high. Now in 1936, Chairman Sebastien Faure must navigate the people's revolution through the increasingly toxic maze of French politics, threatened and cornered by opposing factions. Just like Italy though, a century earlier Metternich had uttered words that accurately described Europe's current predicament: "When Paris sneezes, Europe catches a cold."

The people's revolution had spilled out of France, crossed the Channel, and burrowed its way into the working class of Great Britain. In 1925 the Trade Unions Congress voted to take action in Britain. This eventually became the General Strike of 1925. The strike had been peaceful at first, until a stray shot was fired into the striking workers and the protest erupted into the British Revolution. John Maclean and Sir Oswald Mosley were among the leaders that roused the workers of Great Britain to take arms. Eventually much of the British Isles had been engulfed in a seemingly unstoppable red tidal wave. Parliament's waning power had been reduced to London and in its final days, the city stood alone. Finally, the British government had accepted the reality of their circumstances. The remnants of Parliament, the Royal Family, and loyalists within the military had fled to Canada. The sun had finally set on the British Empire, and in its place rose another state, a red state, the Union of Britain. By 1936, Chairman Philip Snowden seeks to resign in the upcoming Congress of Trade Unions. Oswald Mosley's Maximists, Niclas Glais' Autonomists, and Arthur Horner's Federationalists all vie for dominance as each seek to control the future of the Union.

Across the seas, America had prospered, ignorantly bliss of the suffering wrought upon millions by the Weltkrieg. The suffering was not avoided though, rather it had only been delayed. American banks and companies had invested greatly in Britain and France. The defeat of the Entente proved highly unprofitable for American investors however this minor financial loss would be be overshadowed when true disaster struck. As the Britain and France had violently turned red, any economic ties with the States had become null and void. Suddenly millions of dollars worth of loans, investments, and contracts had evaporated into thin air. As the financial sector crumbled, American manufacturing had fared no better. Overshadowed by the German Empire, the United States had been shut out of many international markets as global trade was now dominated by Berlin. The United States had begun a slow, painful decline.

By 1936, not only was Herbert Hoover's presidency challenged, the entire American two party system was threatened. The America First Union Party under Huey Long promised "Every man a king!" and that "America was a dead nation." The Combined Syndicates of America under John "Jack" Reed preached equality and justice for the working class of the country that for too long had been under the boot of the greedy capitalists. Both seek to control the future of the nation in the coming election. Looming over the horizon however was the head of the increasingly bold Army Chief of Staff, Douglas MacArthur. All eyes were on the General; would he be the American Cincinnatus many hoped for or would he become an American Caesar?

By this time German might had plateaued. Constant political bickering crippled the Empire's ability to act decisively. Stability had become the German Empire's own enemy. The ambition and bravado of the post Weltkrieg world had faded and now the Reich can only wish to maintain the status quo for however long it may last. Germany currently finds itself threatened by overzealous socialists, beset by resentful neighbors, and continuously crushed under the ever growing weight of the Reich's own immensity. By 1936 the future remains more uncertain than ever.