(Act 1) Chapter 5 - A New Old Order

On the 6th of January 1944, across most of Germany, the sound of guns would stop. After four years of grueling warfare, the Second World War would finally come to an end, and with it the end of the suffering of the millions of people caught in the brutal conflict. Yet, peace was still a few weeks away as the leadership from the main participants prepared to meet in Prague.The Prague conference would be the last Allied meeting regarding the post-war fate of Germany. As it would finally decide the final peace terms for Germany and, to a lesser extent, Hungary as well. The conference talks were heated, especially as the French representatives demanded the separation of Germany into at minimum three states. Although the American and British representatives didn't outright refuse the French demand, they also only saw the division of Germany as a second option should Germany refuse to demilitarize itself.However, with France's position as one of the Big Four that suffered and contributed the most to the war effort against the Germans, the other powers couldn't refuse the French demands. This was especially true as the representatives of the nations that suffered from the complete occupation by the Germans joined the French side.The main end result would be the transfer of all of East Prussia and Silesia to Poland, alongside border revisions on the German-Polish border in the region of Pomerania and Poznan. This was followed by the liberation of Austria and the separation of Germany into three states, which were:- The Rhineland protectorate under France's protection, consisted of the entire region of the Rhineland.-The South German Confederation, consisting of the catholic southern German States of Bavaria, Wuttemberg, and Baden.- And Finally, Germany itself, now devolved back mostly into the former German territories of the old Kingdom of Prussia.Alongside the separation of Germany, the nation would also be subjected to a harsh demilitarization policy, which would prohibit the remainder of Germany from ever having another military. Other points of the treaty would include the prosecution of Nazi officials, denazification, and the promotion of pacifism across the three German nations, among various other minor points. As for Hungary, it would mostly experience the loss of any territorial gains made during the period, alongside minor border revisions with Yugoslavia, as well as a similar denazification policy to Germany.After the peace treaty was signed and ratified by all involved parties, Germany would still be subjected to Allied occupation as a measure to ensure the enforcement of the demands, especially for the implementation of denazification measures, with varying levels of effort across the four occupation zones.Although the Prague Conference was mostly well known for being the meeting that formally ended the Second World War, the conference was also the birth of the United Nations, a successor to the failed League of Nations, aimed at preventing more wars like the First and Second World Wars from happening again.This international organization had six main organs, with one of them being the Security Council, the organ responsible for discussing and maintaining international peace, consisting of 15 members, four of whom held permanent seats and veto powers. The nations with the permanent seats were the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the Third French Republic, and the Empire of Japan, chosen by themselves due to their positions as the Big Four in the coalition against Germany and their capabilities to act as policemen of their respective regions.However, even with the victors commemorating their peace, the world situation couldn't be described as peaceful, as what would become known as the Cold War had just begun.While Britain and France were still considerable military powers in their own right, the war had taken a toll on them and allowed the United States of America and the Soviet Union, two newcomers to the global stage, to achieve the status of superpowers. The two nations possessed the largest economies, with the USSR also having the largest modern military in Europe, while the US was rapidly mobilizing its military to compete with the Soviets.Then, just a year later after the end of the war, shocking news would come from the US. The Americans had harnessed the power of the atom, and now the United States was the sole wielder of a new weapon called the Atomic bomb, capable of inflicting widespread destruction with just one bomb. This would, at the time, effectively prevent a Soviet invasion of Europe due to the American nuclear monopoly. The Soviet plan of waiting until the Red Army was at its zenith to defeat all of the European Capitalists and Imperialists had failed, yet the American monopoly wasn't eternal.In 1947, the Alliance discovered that the Soviet Union had also harnessed the power of the atom, as the Soviets tested their first nuclear bomb. This brought the balance of power between the USA and the USSR back to an even position, further cementing their positions as superpowers. Europe and Asia were now effectively at the mercy of either the USA or the USSR, as they lacked any form of real deterrence against American or Soviet nukes.Yet, the powers of Britain, France, and Japan refused to become nothing more than poker chips. These three imperialist powers had already been engaged in a joint nuclear program since the Second World War, but it was increasingly sidelined as the Trident Alliance required more conventional weapons to arm their forces rather than an unproven wonder weapon during the war. Later, due to the necessity of recovering and rebuilding their nations, Britain and France further diverted their nuclear research funds to help their recovery. Meanwhile, Japan, by itself, couldn't harness the power of the atom as quickly as the Americans or Soviets.So, with their positions as great powers now being threatened, the big three revived their joint nuclear research. And in record time, by 1950, they also became nuclear-powered nations, marking the start of European and Asian foreign policies that disregarded the US opinion.The Roaring '50sThe beginning of the 1950s was marked by the independence of India from Britain, which was preceded by a very convoluted series of negotiations and near misses as the British government struggled to define the post-colonial borders of India.Starting since the end of World War 2 in 1944, the initial plan was for a united India where Hindus and Muslims would share equal rights. However, pressure from Muslim political parties for the creation of a Muslim state dashed that plan away. The second plan initially called for the formation of two Indian states, A Hindu India and a Muslim Pakistan. But as the boundaries of the two states were being decided or voted on by the people, areas like Punjab, Bengal, and Kashmir saw a series of protests, as the people in those regions also began demanding the choice of independence instead of just joining Pakistan or Hindustan.With the Indian question quickly deteriorating day by day, as no consensus was being achieved between The Indian National Congress, the Muslim League, and the various other cultural and religious groups, the British government finally caved in and asked for UN assistance with the independence of India. With the issue now falling into the hands of the United Nations, a special committee was formed, and a series of demographic studies were conducted.The subsequent report regarding the partition of India would objectively dismiss the two-nation plan for partition. Instead, the subcontinent would be split into various states. In Pakistan, the regions of Punjab, Kashmir, Bengal, Sindh, and Baluchistan were to be given independence, while the border region of the Durand Line, dominated by the Pashtun people, would be given to Afghanistan, effectively destroying any idea of a united Indian Muslim state.For the Indian Union, its partition would be less severe but still considerable. Just like Pakistan, the nation would lose the regions of Kashmir, Punjab, and Bengal, but alongside those, the regions of Gujarat and Rajputana were granted independence. Meanwhile, the Princely States of Hyderabad and Sikkim had chosen to become independent. Even with those losses, the Indian Union was still the largest nation in the subcontinent.On July 18, 1952, the British government ratified the Indian Independence Act, effectively granting full independence to all the Indian states of the former British Raj. It was hoped that with UN assistance, further conflicts in the subcontinent would be avoided. However, those hopes were soon shattered in 1953 when the Union of India invaded Hyderabad, triggering the Indo-Coalition War. With all the other Indian states siding with Hyderabad and attacking the Union of India out of fear that if Hyderabad was annexed without a fight, they would be next.The ensuing bloody conflict became the site of the first conflict of the Cold War, as the Soviets assisted India, while the West, especially China, assisted the anti-India Coalition. The conflict lasted for a year until the United Nations intervened once again in the subcontinent, this time mediating a ceasefire. This forced India to retreat from Hyderabad, with minimal changes to the borders. However, diplomatically, India found itself isolated and surrounded on all sides by enemies, leading its government to fall into the arms of the USSR sphere of influence.But the international stage would only become more chaotic as 1956 approached.1956: The Suez CrisisOn October 26, 1956, the Second Arab-Israeli War commenced as Israel launched Operation Kadesh. The Israeli Defense Forces would easily defeat the Egyptian forces in the Sinai Peninsula, and on the following day, Britain and France sent their ultimatum to both nations. Egypt clearly refused, and on October 31, Operation Musketeer was launched by the British-French forces. Their paratroopers quickly took control of the Suez Canal, and by November 3, most of the objectives of the three nations had been achieved.The crisis, which had been brewing since Gamal Abdel Nasser's rise to power in Egypt in 1952, as he constantly attempted to thwart British and French influence in the Middle East, supported anti-Zionist, groups, and tried to play the Soviet Union against the West, and vice-versa, finally erupted when he attempted to nationalize the Suez Canal Company, a key strategic location for the European economy due to its reliance on Arabian oil.The invasion would be a military success, but it was a geopolitical failure as most of the world, including the two superpowers of the USA and USSR, opposed the invasion. The Soviets even made threats of joining the war on Egypt's side. As the situation rapidly escalated, the United States, under the Eisenhower Administration, first attempted to resolve the situation through the United Nations, but Britain and France vetoed any attempts made through the Security Council.With the chances of World War 3 growing by the hour, the US government began applying economic pressure to the attacking nations. This, alongside the oil embargoes from some Arab nations, ended up in failure. Within Europe, Romania and Hungary also offered to increase their oil production to Britain and France as the price of the barrel increased and in hopes of receiving better military equipment deals in the future. While an unlikely participant came from East Asia.When Eisenhower announced that the United States was ready to sell its Sterling Bonds, the Empire of Japan, under Prime Minister Minoru Akai, followed suit to help Britain prevent the devaluation of the Pound. Additionally, Indonesia offered to increase its oil exports to Europe, thanks to the intricate influence Japan had in the region.The reason for the Empire supporting Britain and France was due to their ongoing conflict in Korea and the brutal policies being used by Minoru's administration, which caused the nation to become increasingly isolated. This Japanese intervention and assistance in the crisis was enough to allow the British and French governments to continue with their plans of capturing the canal and even deposing Nasser by force of arms.By November 7th, Egypt was forced to surrender under the demands of Britain, France, and Israel. The straits of Tiran were opened for Israeli vessels, the Canal was forcefully demilitarized and put under international control, effectively separating the Sinai from the rest of Egypt, and Nasser was placed under arrest, and later on found dead under weird circumstances, bringing a halt to the nationalist movement in Egypt for the time being.Yet the British, French, and Japanese intervention had caused a serious rift within the Western sphere. The United States government was outraged at the three nations collaborating and ignoring American opinions during the crisis, effectively giving the Soviets massive influence in the Middle East on a silver platter.For the European nations, the US would prove to be a liability for the alliance. In their view, the US had abandoned Europe in defense of the Arabs, even as the USSR threatened to invade Europe and reduce it to nuclear ash. The Soviet threat only stopped after a concerted warning from the British, French, and Japanese governments that they would use nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union if an attempt to invade their Eastern European allies was made. That happened at the same time, as the Republic of China intensified its border conflicts with the USSR, believing that the bear would be too preoccupied with Europe to defend its eastern territories.To Japan, had managed to break its diplomatic isolation and completely take over the special relationship with Europe from the United States. Alongside its allies in France and Britain, this marked the emergence of a third player in the Cold War – the Imperial powers of old – who sought to maintain their diminishing global influence and importance.The Suez Crisis only widened the rift between the US and the predominantly European members of the Alliance. Formed during World War 2 and continuing to exist as the primary bulwark against communism in Europe, the Alliance had a distinctly Eurocentric mindset. This often clashed with most of the American demands for standardization on their terms. The situation was exacerbated by the constant Japanese meddling in support of Britain and France, especially after what became known as the Castle Bravo Fallout incident in 1954.This refusal of European nations to comply with American demands and a series of diplomatic incidents finally caused the USA to leave the Trident Alliance and form its own international bloc in 1957, known as the Organization of Free Nations (OFN). This new group was primarily composed of the USA and the Republic of China, with other members including Brazil, Uruguay, Ireland, the Philippines, and a handful of other third-world nations either under overt or covert American influence or influenced by promises of economic benefits.With the Suez Crisis gradually fading into the past, the world returned to an uneasy peace between superpowers. However, in Japan, their situation was only becoming more chaotic as their conflict in Korea was truly starting.