The bloody canal (October-December, 1912).

New Great War: Balkan Front]

The month of October started as a truly conflictive month, and that is saying a lot within the New Great War.

The number of people involved (military personnel, logistics personnel, civilians) continued to increase and one of the main focuses became the ENTIRE Mediterranean Sea, with focal points in nearby regions such as North Africa, the Balkans, Italy and Iberia.

The British Admiralty and the German Imperial Navy had certain objectives that had to be fulfilled immediately to support each other.

The British wanted Suez back, and the Germans needed their enemies to be weakened, since mainland Germany was surrounded by east, west and south (and in the north was Denmark, not very friendly to the Berlin-London axis).

So a hasty logistical and military need had formed.

Through Morocco and Gibraltar (held against socialist Iberia), the Imperial Federation had to threaten the Eastern Mediterranean (through Cyprus, a weapon against the Russosphere) for the re-conquest of Suez.

And in all this played part Greece, ally of Germany and the Imperial Federation, surrounded by land and sea by other enemies (Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Ionia, etc).

The Imperial Federation sent forces to the Peloponnese and other vital parts of southern Greece (such as the Isthmus of Corinth). The north was falling after a few weeks against invading forces, destabilizing the kingdom, but that did not matter.

What was important was the increased British presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, repeatedly clashing with Russia and allies in the region.

With this the Imperial Federation could guarantee its interests in southern Greece and attack Russian allies, but not only that, they could also reinforce Cyprus (threatened by Russian allies, Cilicia more specifically) and better plan the attack on Suez.

But not only that, through the Anglo-Greek dominance of the southern Kingdom of Greece, the Imperial Federation began to attack the Adriatic Sea.

Through this attack on the Adriatic, the Imperial Federation could manage to divert enemy resources, avoiding or delaying movements against the German Empire and the Croatian-Slovenian protectorates.

The revolution in southern Germany had cut off the supporting German protectorates in the Balkans, that meant that sooner or later they could fall to the Socialists or the Russosphere.

Germany and the Imperial Federation could not afford that, so the navies of these countries carried out repeated attacks in the Mediterranean against Albania, the FSR of Italy, Montenegro and sent troops to defend Croatia (as a weapon against Bosnia).

Mainland Greece (the Helade) was in peril, but the Peloponnese was in tight control of the ultra-nationalist Greek dictatorship and the Imperial Federation.

The Eastern Mediterranean was a constant field of combat, and the British carried out various incursions against various parts of the Mediterranean world (Italy, Iberia, France, etc.) to gain time or resources against the enemy bloc.

But the jackpot was Suez or Cyprus.

The block or alliance of Moscow (Russia), Washington (USA) and Buenos Aires (Argentina) wanted to weaken the Berlin-London axis as it took place. The fall of Germany would occur on the ground, but overthrowing the Imperial Federation needed something more.

The Imperial Federation had to be cut from positions in continental Europe and the Mediterranean, to continually weaken the Royal Navy.

For this there were two vital points to dominate, the Strait of Gibraltar (in the Western Mediterranean) and Cyprus (in the Eastern Mediterranean).

Gibraltar was in British hands, with the Iberians attacking from the north (but missing for the moment), but Cyprus was also very close.

This is why the Russian Imperial Navy and its allies were mobilizing troops and efforts to conquer the island, effectively expelling the Royal Navy from various positions in the Mediterranean Sea.

Russia, Ionia, Cilicia, and others would play a vital part in this precise plan.

In the Balkans proper, with the exception of the coastal attacks, the situation was very unilaterally in favor of Russia and her allies.

Thanks to the alliances within the Russosphere, we speak of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Macedonia, Romania and Russia with the support of other countries against simply Greece, Croatia and Slovenia (with Anglo-German support).

Situations like all the aforementioned combats occurred especially in October and parts of November-December, but the war took a decisive course on November 8.

*******

[New Great War: Eastern Mediterranean]

On November 8, the British Admiralty officially launched the operation to reconquer Suez from the Second French Empire.

This is massive in many ways, the Royal Navy mobilized from one side of the Mediterranean Sea to the other with the intention of an amphibious assault against French Egypt.

Using as support its bases in Cyprus and Greece to fight against the French.

But obviously the French would not go without a fight and the 'allies' of the Second French Empire would lend support, simply to prevent Suez from falling into British hands.

Otherwise the logistics and economy of the Imperial Federation would improve exponentially, which meant a much more difficult war for the Block of Buenos Aires, Moscow and Washington.

The Russian Empire, Ionia, Cilicia, Bulgaria, Syria and thousands of other collaborators obviously entered into this.

By land, the forces of the bloc in the Middle East went towards Palestine-Transjordan to pass towards Egypt and defend the territory from British attacks.

Finally positioning himself in the Sinai and other parts of Egypt to reinforce the French and native forces against the invaders.

By sea the situation would be much more tense, we are talking about a variety of maneuvers and attacks along the coastlines and islands of various parts of the eastern Mediterranean, involving Anglo-Saxons, Slavs, Greeks, Turks, Armenians, Arabs, etc.

The navies of Bulgaria, Russia, Ionia and Cilicia in particular would target Greece and British movements near the Aegean Sea and other territories north of the Eastern Mediterranean.

In particular Cilicia would play an important role, under the command of Cilicia and Russia the task of taking Cyprus had been imposed (taking the island from British hands and preventing them from recovering it).

From Lebanon, the Alawite state and Palestine-Holy Land, the Russosphere was tasked with responding and delaying British attempts to move closer to Egypt.

What was initially proposed as a swift campaign would span 10 months of brutal warfare, involving hundreds of thousands of men on each side, fighting for the supremacy of Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The British side was led by Winston Churchill's Admiralty with the support of Prime Minister Louis Alexander Mountbatten, against the navies of various countries, led mainly by the Russian Empire.

Among the greatest leaders of this navy was the rear admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak, who had been tasked with commanding most of the Russian ships in the Eastern Mediterranean operations.

Bad decisions plagued the British side, but it did not take away a considerable advantage at various points in the Suez and Cyprus campaign.

********

[New Great War: Big problems in little China]

The conflict on Russia's western front was still continuing at a steady pace, but important situations occurred on the Sino-Russian front.

Troops from the Russian Empire began marching in the northeast of the Republic of China, heading for Beijing.

The march of the Russian army during late November finally broke the glass of Chinese stability, for the time being. The Republican government's ability to maintain order was greatly weakened, and various regional warlords began to plague the north, seriously weakening China's defense position against Russian forces.

Japan's maritime attacks on southern China also hurt Chinese war efforts as they had to invest resources in fighting this threat and the IJN also defended French Hainan from Chinese reconquest attempts.

In the south on the other side, Sun Yat-sen and the Kuomintang saw this, initiating movements to try to displace Yuan Shikai and thereby try to get China out of the war in a more favorable situation.

Various parts of the Republican government defected, local elites, military and even various parts of the state ministries, General Yuan Shikai sought to keep everything under control, but desperate, swift and somehow functional measures were needed.

Which was quite difficult ....

*******

[International]

3-4 October, US General Smedley Butler succeeds in movements against British forces and their allies in Nicaragua, carrying out the 'liberation of Masaya'. Shortly after from Masaya the Americans march towards Managua, where the British put up opposition but finally abandon.

In reality it is rather simply a change of administration, the Nicaraguan government constantly changing hands due to foreign intervention.

The west of the country is in the hands of the United States and the east is in British hands, de facto.

On October 4, the Royal Navy of the Imperial Federation succeeded in sinking a few US Navy submarines, preventing further American movements in the Caribbean.

October 6, the Imperial Japanese Navy obtains its first large-scale combat aircraft with the help of the creation of the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal and foreign technical-capital investment.

October 10, Australia (Imperial Federation) takes steps to continue the oppression of the natives and perpetuate White Australia.

On the one hand, every white woman residing in Australia receives five pounds per Australian-born child (part of the Imperial Federation), thanks to the Maternity Allowance Act.

On the other hand, aboriginal women do not receive anything, it is more, it could deepen other problems of discrimination in Australia, such as aboriginal babies who were removed from their families, etc.

October 12, in the midst of the New Great War, product of local wars, instability and the like, especially the German Revolution and the British occupation of New England, another period of economic depression occurs.

We are talking about a fall in the stock market in London, Berlin, Moscow, New York and other of the largest economies in the world.

Canada (Imperial Federation) is successful in several of its mega-economic projects and defense against the United States in the midst of the New Great War.

Especially in the improvement of ports, infrastructure (bridges and railways) and land-naval military production, launching some economic increases despite the problems in London.

October 14, an assassination attempt on United States politics.

John Flammang Schrank, an immigrant of German (Bavarian) origin, shot trying to assassinate the candidate for president, Robert M. La Follete Sr, of the National Republican Party, during a speech.

Despite this, La Follete Sr survived after receiving medical attention and Schrank was locked up (considered clinically insane).

Despite gaining public sympathy, the current situation and the assassination attempt weakened La Follete's position within his own party and in life in general (health problems resulting from the assassination attempt and medical intervention).

October 16, a typhoon in Cebu (central Philippines) kills 1000 people.

The war minister of the United Mexican States, Felix Diaz (Porfirio Diaz's nephew, old minister-president of the Second Mexican Empire) mobilized troops from Nuevo Leon towards the border with the Free Republic of Mexico, more specifically the state of San Luis Potosí. .

Obviously, this provocative action required a response from the opposing side, which sent its own forces (at the command of the Minister of War of the Free Republic of Mexico, Emilio Madero).

The resulting skirmish ended with the defeat of Diaz's troops, so the incident did not result in major problems.

October 22, troops in the north of the Federation of Rio Grande do Sul succeed in defending the country from the advance of the Republic of the United States of Brazil.

Despite this remarkable victory, the front only remains stagnant.

Right now Rio Grande do Sul does not have the resources to occupy much of republican Brazil, which for its part is more interested in the Empire of Brazil than in fighting against the federalists of the south.

October 23, the Nicaraguan campaign of General Smedley Butler for the liberation of Nicaragua begins.

The Kingdom of Denmark reforms its constitution, so Danish women can now vote.

At the end of October, the work of the writer Arthur Henry "Sarsfield" Ward, The Mystery of Burma, is published for the first time in the British pulp magazine "The Story-Teller".

The story is about the research of Dr. Petrie and Nayland Smith with a mysterious ally, 'Fu Manchu'. There has been kidnapping after kidnapping of several of the world's most famous European engineers (British and German of course, present in Burma and India at that specific time) by conspirators (belonging to Russia's 'barbarians', the Yellow Peril represented by Japan, Persia, the Arabian peninsula and the Jews ...).

* It is a piece of propaganda against several of the enemies of the British Empire, allied with the Republic of China (and others) against the Russian Empire, the Empire of Japan, Persia and the Arabs under French control.

Anti-Semitism is one more addition to the racism of the time.

* Fu Manchu was an interesting character for the time, not rid of the author's racism, but presented in an interesting neutral light.

Fu Manchu originated as an anti-hero, away from the traditional Manchu elite and away from the reformer-westernized Chinese. A third way with knowledge about the old and the new, he is crafty, he knows about chemistry, engineering and 'alchemy'.

* Petrie and Smith stay away from more logical and rational detectives like Sherlock Holmes, and are repeatedly outmatched by their enemies.

November 3, Inner Mongolia authorities confer on the Russian Empire the status of 'Most Favored Nation', a special status for commercial benefits, mining and logging rights.

On the same day, major Russian expeditions to the northern territory of China also begin.

November 4, again the Imperial Parliament denies modifications to laws of autonomy and expansion of the constituent states of the Imperial Federation.

The project was promoted by the last Irish attempts to obtain Home Rule, but after years of accumulation of rejections and internal problems, again the English answer is negative.

The last of the Irish and English reformers to support Home Rule are beginning to disappear, leaving simply the radical separatists and the hard-line English.

The same day the expansion and reconstruction plans of the United States Navy began, to put up a more serious fight against the Imperial Federation and Germany (plus other allies).

We are obviously talking about more submarines, more battleships and drednouts, improvements in the air force and navy, etc.

* [United States Elections: Results and Consequences]

Despite the fact that it could be said that it 'does not count', the presidential elections of 1912 and their final results in the United States took place.

However there were obviously some problematic voting, a result of the British occupation of New England (many states that could not vote normally).

* There was also the usual lobbying and interference of certain external factors in democracy, mainly other Americans.

* Champ Clark and Judson Harmon, with a percentage of the popular vote of 41.8%, won the elections for the Democratic Party, as president and vice president respectively.

* Robert M. La Follete Sr and Henry Ford, candidates of the National Republicans, were second with 29.2% of the popular vote.

* Eugene V. Debs and Emil Seidel, Socialist candidates, won 27.4% of the popular vote.

* The remainder of the popular vote went to minor parties / candidates.

Despite the fact that the Democrats won, it is obvious the changes in American politics in recent decades. But not only this, in reality the Democratic victory was more of a 'last vote of confidence'.

The American population was in a bad mood because of the Great Depression and the New Great War, which had so far had catastrophic results during the last Democratic administration.

The general American population was looking for a change after years of Democratic rule in the presidency, and with the traditional Republicans out of the game, other candidates had to be sought.

The new nationalist and revengeful spirits product of the New Great War and its consequences turned towards the National Republicans, more specifically towards the right wing.

This new American right during the New Great War would oppose the Democrats and La Follete progressives within the party.

Nominally under the leadership of Henry Ford, although Ford was not exactly pro-war, nevertheless these new supports meant that Ford would steal the leadership of the National Republican Party.

Thus, Ford replaced La Follete as the de-facto leader of the party, and would win the presidential nomination by 1916.

The Socialists were certainly a surprise in many respects, more than 3 million votes. Even infiltrating various parts of the Solid South Democratic, but that's for later.

*******

November 9, death of Mahuta Tāwhiao I, third king of the Maori people (or so proclaims the Maori King Movement, or Kīngitanga).

November 10, the last great storm of the 1912 season hit the Caribbean, more specifically Hispaniola, making some military movements in the region safer.

November 11, Smedley Butler has some success in his campaign through central regions of Nicaragua against the British and his allies. Although the destruction of Central America's infrastructure and climate is truly a nuisance ...

At the same time, the Berlin-London Axis succeeds in its advances in Bolivia, making the civil war in the country tilt in favor of this alliance in Latin America.

Chile, Peru, Brazil (Republic), the German Suriname and Bolivia are now on one side, only against the Empire of Brazil, the Republic of Acre, Argentina and Rio Grande do Sul.

* This is not counting the foreign participants of the New Great War in Latin America, only Latin American countries.

November 12, repeated violent encounters break out in New Zealand due to months-long mining strikes, we talk about unionized miners against the police and non-unionized miners.

Several deaths occur.

The Spanish anarchist Manuel Pardiñas Serrano tries to assassinate the president of Iberia, Francisco Largo Caballero.

Pardiñas fails and commits suicide before being captured by the president's guards.

Various legions of American volunteers are created on the European fronts.

* The Socialists create the Lincoln Battalion, which joins the efforts of the European Socialists.

* Other groups create various volunteer legions to fight on the side of the Russian Empire, including African-American and white legions.

* [Pseudo-science: Piltdown Man]

The first news of the Piltdown Man is given, which was initially considered by some to be the ancestor of the oldest man in the world.

The Manchester Guardian and other newspapers reported the discovery of Charles Dawson in southern England (East Sussex), the alleged remains of an unidentified early human.

This supposed ancestor, called Eoanthropus dawsoni (scientific name that can be translated as: Dawson's dawn-man), was around 500,000 years old and was influential in various European pseudo-scientific thoughts of the time.

Especially for racist and political reasons.

Other similar 'discoveries' in southern England were the basis for theories proclaiming white supremacism over all other human races and England's supremacism over other parts of Europe (and the world).

Theories supported by the Social Aristocracy and that were based on this discovery.

* The first humans arose in Eurasia, and more specifically they played an important role in the British Isles (the first humans, the first British).

* The human brain expanded before the human jaw adapted to new diets and foods (a dead end for scientific research ...).

* The non-white races were more primitive than the white man.

* The Aryan supremacy (in this case Aryans would be the Europeans, more specifically a particular type of European with traits superior to the rest of humanity), Atlantis (and how the British Isles could have been this, or the remnants of the Atlantean civilization ) and the like ...

Due to this, British archeology had a new boom, supported by the influential organizations and personalities of the Social Aristocracy, including the state, companies, the media, etc.

Simply British ultra-nationalism wanted more, more things to justify its superiority over the rest of the world (colonial subjects, Europe, etc).

Regarding foreign archeology, Russia and the renegade socialist countries were more skeptical about this, supporting rather later discoveries such as that of Taung Child in 1920.

The Piltdown Man was only 100% debunked in 1953, although there were always doubts about its authenticity (and it was practically in the dark in 2-1 decade before 1953).

*******

November 13, various defections in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China.

November 16, laws are established in the People's Republic of France to encourage families with more children ... and also for the recognition of paternity in illegitimate children, but that is another matter.

November 17, the composer Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky finishes the composition of the ballet The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps).

November 19, reforms in the Free Republic of Mexico establish new laws for the protection of children (laws against child abuse and labor), and laws for the equality and protection of women (reforms in labor rights, civil rights, etc.) .

With this comes the creation of new government institutions dedicated to this (child protection), construction of nurseries, and improvements in various parts of public life.

Slowly but surely.

November 22, the French authorities (Second French Empire) suffer several attacks by the British imperial navy in West Africa, more specifically, Sierra Leone.

However, attempts at an amphibious invasion are unsuccessful.

The French manage to maintain several native allies by freeing tribal chiefs and allowing (for the time being) the "Human Leopard" practice, a local practice related to cannibalism.

November 24, 44 people die in the Hippo Wars.

Te Rata Mahuta is 'crowned' as the new king of the Maori people, in New Zealand, Imperial Federation.

November 25, several Africans are forcibly recruited into the British colonial empire and the Second French Empire.

Both empires use these 'benefits' (official title, another nice name for forced labor) for their armed forces or building defensive infrastructure in the New Great War.

The goldsmiths of the Republic of China found China's first modern union on this day.

November 24 to 25, an important diplomatic meeting takes place between the Union of Iberian Socialist Republics (led by Francisco Largo Caballero), the People's Republic of France (led by Jules Guesde), the Federative Socialist Republic of Italy (led by Costantino Lazzari), the Socialist Republic of Andorra and the Free Republic of Germany (led by Karl Liebknecht).

In this meeting the European countries guarantee cooperation and mutual support in the New Great War against the 'imperialist powers' of the Imperial Federation, the German Empire and their allies (categorized as bourgeois, imperialists, etc).

Further acknowledging the revolutionary efforts of the German, Flemish and other socialists.

Among all this, it is also recognized that the People's Republic of France is going to annex Alsace-Lorraine as the Autonomous Socialist Republic of Alsace-Lorraine.

November 27, British troops occupy Western Sahara.

It is not very 'difficult', it is almost completely deserted and there was little reason to actually attack or defend the region.

It is simply to occupy more territory of the Second French Empire.

December 1, the military Benito Mussolini is promoted to Lieutenant General of one of the armies of the Federative Socialist Republic of Italy.

December 2, successful modernization of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the addition of two new divisions for this part of the armed forces.

While Japan has some successes, it is difficult to say that the situation in the Japanese Archipelago is improving, in reality there are only palpable improvements in the armed forces (IJN) and the increase in the war budget.

New railway lines are opened in South Africa (Imperial Federation) and the Boer United States.

The Chancellor of the German Empire, Paul von Hindenburg, makes a speech in the Reichstag against the German Socialists leading the German Socialist Revolution.

December 3, 15 people die in the Hippo Wars.

Former Democratic Party Chairman William J. Bryan gives the 1912 State of the Union Address, before Champ Clark officially takes office.

It approves public and political opinion about the need to expand the country's armed forces, the army and the navy alike.

Before 1912, the entire army numbered around 103,809, a very small number compared to the armies of the Imperial Federation, Russia, and Germany.

* 103,809 troops could fit perfectly only on the Eastern Mediterranean front at that time.

December 6, the bust of Nefertiti (wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, who ruled between 1353 BC and 1336 BC) is discovered in the archaeological excavations of Tell al-Amarna in Egypt (Second French Empire).

The Russian Empire bought the bust from French agents shortly after.

December 7, Champ Clark already begins his first functions as president, although the Executive Mansion has not yet been recovered.

These first steps include the country's economic needs and military needs.

Military reforms continue with success, but economic reform plans are more problematic under the Clark administration.

December 8, strong German counter-attacks against the German socialist revolution and the Russian Empire (the armies of Aleksey Brusilov).

In general these counter-attacks by the 'Council of war' led by Wilhelm III and Chancellor Paul von Hindenburg, end in major failures.

Which is obviously not a good thing for the imperial government.

December 12, in the German Socialist Revolution, the Bavarian royal family is captured by the Italian socialist forces, who hand them over to the local government council in Munich.

Those members of the royal family or related (cousins, etc.) not under the control of the socialist authorities, escaped from Bavaria.

* Luitpold Karl Joseph Wilhelm Ludwig, Prince Regent, had died shortly before capture due to medical problems in the midst of the revolution.

* Otto Wilhelm Luitpold Adalbert Waldemar, Otto I of Bavaria, was placed under the protection of the authorities for mental incapacity, which meant a mental institution, where his rights to the throne were removed. Some claim that he had schizophrenia.

* Ludwig Luitpold Josef Maria Aloys Alfried, Luitpold's son, was executed as well as some of his brothers.

* Various remains of the captured Bavarian royal family were under the control of the socialist authorities and were forced to abdicate their rights.

December 17, battles in central Africa intensify between the Second French Empire and the Imperial Federation, with the French managing to hold the line, for the time being.

December 21, the film The Miracle is released, the first full-color film (each painting had to be painted by hand).

The film is a success in London, Imperial Federation, and reaches the rest of Europe years later in the post-war.

December 22, the unionization of the actors of the United States expands.

December 24, failed assassination attempt against the Royal Family of Japan (the House of Yamato).

December 25, Ernest François Eugène Douwes Dekker (a man of Dutch and German-Javanese roots) founds the Indische Partij, an Indonesian separatist organization.

Similar organizations would emerge later with the support of Japan and Russia against the German Empire and the Imperial Federation.

An explosion (originated from dynamite) occurs on the street that William J. Bryan was running.

The origin or perpetrator of the blast is unknown, but an assassination attempt on President / soon-to-be-former-President Bryan is suspected.

Some say they were anarchists, others that it was the British, etc.

December 26, the government of the Free Republic of Mexico under Pancho Villa and Felipe Carrillo Puerto establishes infrastructure improvements and legislative reforms for several of the country's small workers.

However, everything is accompanied by small purges, many of the anti-revolutionary remnants that exist in Mexico are still being locked up and persecuted, after years of imperial rule and US interference.

December 30, 12-year-old Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (grandson of the famous Democratic Vice President, Adlai Stevenson I), accidentally fires a gun during a party in Bloomington, Illinois, which ends with the death of Ruth Merwin (16 years old, friend of the family).