Europe January 1st 1948:
How it got like this - (All events subsequently are Work in Progress and subject to change of varying degrees whether minor or major, be it events map etc)
After Hitler accepted the Unholy Alliance in exchange for a larger portion of Eastern Poland and the Baltic states, he issued an ultimatum (part of the Unholy Alliance agreement) to Finland to be allowed to join into a sovereign alliance with Germany under the conditions they cede Soviet claims in/near Karjala; or fight a dual war against the Reich and USSR. The Finnish begrudgingly accepted, with assurances from Germany that never again would her borders be changed.
In late January 1940, Hitler launches Operation Weserübung.. a joint invasion of Denmark (where he meets little to no resistance) and Norway, which, despite holdouts around Narvik, quickly capitulates to the combined German Airborne/Marine invasions. This sets the stage for May 1940, with German Panzers reinforced by millions of Soviet troops and artillery positioned along the Dutch/Belgian border, both countries accept conditional military access to the two mustached monsters in exchange for guarantees of future sovereignty and non-intervention. France, overwhelmed by the speed and ferocity of the attack and betrayed by the lowlands capitulates by mid June. The evacuation to England (historically at Dunkirk) is much less successful due to Germany not facing any resistance throughout the low lands. For the time being, Vichy France is going to be relatively historic in how it was formed and its loyalty/conditions with Germany.
The speed and overperformance of the German military as well as the manpower and resources at its disposal due to its alliance with the U.S.S.R. sends shockwaves around the globe. Nearby Fascist neighbors, Franco and Mussolini, are both anxious for spoils feeling they know the clear winner of this conflict, and begin posturing themselves to formally ally with Germany. Fearing a similar invasion of conquest targeting the central Balkans, as well as concerns over Italy wanting to connect Albania to the boot and their growing closeness with Germany, Yugoslavia joins into a Treaty of Friendship (historic) with Germany. Mussolini, feeling his chances of forming the New Rome slipping away, is furious. Hitler, wishing to consolidate his control over mainland Europe and end his potential fronts there, quickly invites Mussolini and Franco to Berlin for a meeting to try and create a united ideological front. After much squabbling over who would get what pieces of Africa in exchange for a full military alliance between the 3, the deal is made that Spain will get control over Iberia and Western North Africa, Germany will control the Suez and some French possessions in the Middle East, and Italy can have as much of the rest as they can grab in Africa. (in Mussolini's mind he believed he could grab much much more and that this deal was better for him than it actually was.)
The formal alliance known as 'The Berlin Treaty Pact' is announced October 1940 and Italy & Spain subsequently declare war on The United Kingdom and her allies. During the negotations, Germany in secret moved a large portion of the Wehrmacht to the Portuguese border and the day of the alliance announcement an ultimatum to enter into dominionship under Spain or suffer the fate of France is issued to Portugal. Antonio de la Salazara is absolutely stunned by this complete reversal of his relations with Franco and his violation of the Iberian pact signed early 1939, and having not been properly mobilized or prepared for war accepts a junior role in the relationship between himself and Franco under the condition he maintains full control over domestic policy bar none. The deal is concluded and Iberia is secured for the BTP.
Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary.. their positions precarious and leaders mostly pro-German, quickly follow suit and also join the growing German led European faction.
For the first time in the war the Allies hold their ground however, and the campaigns in Africa are bogged down. Germany sends 'The Afrika Korps' under Erwin Rommel to help clean up the mess January 1941, and proceeds to turn the tide making great progress towards Alexandria. He passes Benghazi within months with the British tied up dealing with Franco around Gibraltar and Cetua; the grizzled Spanish civil war vets holding their own in the West in a back and forth between the Commonwealth (CW) troops, and the CW holding The Rock (Gibraltar) until late '41 when Dora and Gustav (800mm Railway Artillery) arrive, are set up, and pound the forts and coastal guns there to smithereens. By the years end the pockets of underground resistance were ferreted out and The Rock is under Spanish control for the first time since 1713, but nowhere near as defensively viable as it had been previously.
The additional German supporting divisions (minus the guns) are transferred with the most modern equipment to help Rommel make his final push on Alexandria; which now with British supplies needing to be rerouted through the Suez, (due to Dora/Gustav and other coastal batteries blocking the strait) lies directly in his sights... Alexandria subsequently falls mid 1942, with the rest of Egypt and a corridor towards previously French controlled Syria/Lebanon secured by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, a series of coups in Yugoslavia backed by the British and in Iraq by German sponsored nationalists has shaken up the status quo in The Balkans and Middle East. The Yugoslavian coup, whilst successful in disposing of the BTP sovereign government, proves disastrous as Yugoslavia was simultaneously invaded on all sides by the Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania capitulating within months. (the map showing the current borders of the partition of it, & whats left of Yugoslavia being a puppet of Germany giving Germany Mediterranean naval bases connected to its cores more details in the Balkans screenshot to come)
In Iraq, however, with the British overmatched and beleaguered in Egypt and Germany able to rerout modern equipment and forces to lend aid, the coup is extremely successful and Iraq becomes a Nationalist state, that despite being pro-German has no formal obligations or alliances with The Third Reich. (although various trade agreements including protections of the oil fields and the Berlin-Baghdad railway are secured, this along with other Middle East regions will be elaborated upon further in the Middle East screenshot)
Back in England, The Battle for Britain is not going well for the British. With the Red Airforce sending large amounts of volunteers (viewing this as a prime opportunity to test out its Airforce and see how there's compare against Germany/U.K.'s, and implement better designs) day bombing of Southern England is possible and the population is weary and losing faith with the terrible overseas news coming in hourly. The Afrika Korps finishes off the remaining holdouts in West Africa by April 1943 and plans for a June invasion of England are put into full motion with additional divisions arriving and preparing from other fronts. On June 5th 1943, Hitler offers the U.K. a non-negotiable peace accord that must be accepted or face annilhation.
Alright that'll be it for the first part of the Dev Diaries/Articles regarding regional lore! I plan on doing either a large regional overview such as this one, or a much more in depth detailed breakdown of the events in that specific region (from other screenshots, so if you feel like something is missing like Greece/the U.K. surrender it's because it has so much detail a brief synopsis here!) daily throughout the next week or 2.. So please let us know what your thoughts, comments, and concerns are as well as which region you'd like me to do next!
Huge shout out the Jade 'Wilf', my co-creator and the design lead that allows me to focus on the creative side, and special thanks to Gre, Weaboo, xugador, Undead Unicorn, TarmSparkarn, Ryzemon, Weaboo, Macaron, Glosur and everyone else actively helping us with the mod to various degrees... feel free to join us to check on progress, collaborate, or volunteer your help at Discord.gg
-silent
p.s. whats a Luxembourg
p.p.s. thanks mikey :D
