Turning Point - Sekigahara: Toyotomi's Global Expansion and its Consequences

Phase 29 - Great War (6)

As of 1917, the war economies of various countries were becoming strapped for various reasons. In particular, there was a significant shortage of war funds, and there was little difference between the Entente and the Alliance countries. After all, in this war, there were few economically prosperous neutral countries. Only a very limited number of European countries were wealthy enough to buy bonds and maintain neutrality, while many countries were directly involved in the war.

Among them, neutral European countries mainly purchased bonds from the Entente. This was because it was believed that the Entente had a high probability of winning based on the lineup of countries. However, the scale of purchases was limited, and each country had its limits on the consumption of bonds domestically, so they wanted to end the war as soon as possible. But, if they were to lose, astronomical reparations awaited them. Considering this, the thinking among the Entente and the Alliance, and especially for the latter which is more disadvantaged, was that there could be a ceasefire, but surrender was not an option.

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However, in the spring of the same year, a major event occurred that could potentially overturn the global strategic environment.

In March 1917, a rebellion of the impoverished population due to total war broke out in the Russian Empire, leading to the swift downfall of the Romanov dynasty in the capital, St. Petersburg.

However, the revolution alone did not bring about extreme strategic changes.

Kerensky, who led the provisional government formed after the revolution, did not pursue a ceasefire or peace with the Alliance. However, this provisional government was far from stable.

Various anti-government, anti-Russian, and anti-imperial organizations and forces, including socialists, communists, anti-aristocracy groups, and minority ethnic groups, participated in the provisional government, but there was no organization with a significant support base. Furthermore, there were various opposing forces, such as the populace who still somewhat blindly believed in the Emperor and Russian Orthodoxy, the Orthodox Church and its led masses who viewed the communists opposing the religion as enemies, the wealthy who disliked the revolution, and the middle-class citizens.

The provisional government attempted to address this instability through the presence of external threats, but the soldiers were already weary of the war. Despite initially dealing blows to the Austro-Hungarian army in the post-revolution offensive, an unusual situation unfolded as the Russian army's front collapsed due to desertions. Subsequently, the Alliance counterattack shattered their offensive, and Russia found itself in dire straits. However, at this point, the Alliance was not prepared for a large-scale offensive, so Germany sought to create further chaos in Russia by sending what were considered the most dangerous communists from Switzerland.

Thus, the radical and innovative communists led by Lenin were sent from Switzerland to Russia.

Meanwhile, in the region of Eastern Siberia, which had been the Japanese territory of Hokkaishū until about a decade ago, almost simultaneous independence movements were taking place. During the early days of the revolution, there was some enthusiasm for joining the revolution under the banner of anti-Russia. However, due to the remote location and the fact that they were colored people, they were not taken seriously by the White Russians from other regions. Consequently, they quickly adopted a path of independence rather than trying to exploit the revolution.

The local Japanese population had suffered under the arbitrary rule of the Russians since the Japanese War before the Great War. Therefore, they had no particular loyalty to the Russian Emperor or the Russian Orthodox Church. Moreover, many were descendants of landlords and nobles (samurai) from before the arrival of the Russians, so they were not inclined to align with communism or socialism. The Russians living in Hokkaishū, on the other hand, included bureaucrats, military personnel, and Cossacks belonging to the ruling class sent from the center. There were plans to establish concentration camps, but fortunately, the revolution began before they could become operational. Therefore, there was no inclination for socialism or communism to gain ground locally.