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

Phase 28 - Great War (5)

In 1917, the war economies of various countries were experiencing hardship for their respective reasons. In particular, there was a significant shortage of war funds, and North American countries were purchasing bonds from both the Entente and the Alliance. The United States and the Confederacy primarily bought bonds from the Entente, while Yamato mainly purchased bonds from the Alliance. Furthermore, European countries not involved in the war primarily bought bonds from the Entente. This was because it was believed that based on the lineup of nations, the likelihood of the Entente winning was high.

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However, the outcome of the war was gradually becoming chaotic.

Especially for European countries, Japan's presence was like a dark horse. The Japanese-ethnicity nation of Yamato Republic understood Japan's national strength, the disparity in military power in East Asia, and Japan's strategic advantages, so they were buying Japanese bonds. But for other countries, the idea of Japan, a nation in East Asia, being able to defeat the Qing Dynasty, the military powerhouse Russia, and even the world's strongest British Royal Navy, was an unexpected turn of events.

Furthermore, Britain had effectively lost its major sea routes with its vital colony of India, causing the foundation of its war economy to tremble. Canada was performing beyond expectations, and the Confederacy had deployed a significant number of troops to Europe unexpectedly, but none of them had a decisive impact. Moreover, the Yamato Republic, the largest nation in North America, declared itself neutral and was fundamentally pro-Alliance. Furthermore, they were increasingly pushing for transactions based on physical resources rather than other forms of trade with Britain and other countries that exported various resources. This was seen as evidence that the Entente would most likely not win, even if they didn't lose.

Additionally, the Yamato Republic's alignment with the Alliance was contributing to the destabilization of the situation in North America.

The Confederacy had already sent nearly a quarter of its mobilized forces to Europe and had no desire for a war on North America. The US, too, was steadily purchasing bonds from France and Britain, so it was on the same side as its arch-enemy, the Confederacy.

Certainly, the US harbored a strong desire to invade the South and Canada and unify the eastern part of North America. If they did so, it might even open up the possibility of eventually defeating the Yamato Republic. However, in this war, there were only three choices: the Entente, the Alliance, or neutrality. The United States had to support the Entente and would likely face a massive counterattack from the Yamato Republic, which would join the Alliance for its own interests, after the war. Even if the US joined the Entente, the outcome would likely be similar. The idea was that the Yamato Republic would inevitably become an enemy of the United States.

Furthermore, neither France nor Britain wanted the Yamato Republic to enter the war.

In particular, Britain, having lost its food supply regions of Australia and India, depended on food imports from the Yamato Republic through Canada.

In North America, only the Yamato Republic had a strong pro-Alliance sentiment due to the influence of the ethnic composition. Therefore, it could be said that the Confederacy chose to stand with the Entente deliberately. The Yamato Republic's participation in the Alliance would not be tolerated by Britain, and the Yamato Republic itself was orchestrating it.

Moreover, the Yamato Republic was making enormous wealth by selling various goods to countries suffering from shortages of industrial products, grains, and underground resources in Japan, Britain, and even worldwide. Furthermore, the Yamato Republic was gradually expanding its military, already floating battleships of the dreadnought or super-dreadnought class in both the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to exports to Japan, they were modernizing and heavily equipping their own military, as well as modernizing the military system itself. By the time 1917 arrived, the military balance in North America was completely in favor of the Yamato Republic in all aspects.