Author's Note: This is effectively a remake of the previous prologue in the form of an actual chapter. I intend to use this to make things generally better than the mess they were.
Discord Code: huVWBnR3CG
War, in all sense of its very concept, is inefficient, impractical, and overall a clear waste of everything humanity has. However, despite how futile or useless it seems, there is no avoiding it. In my old life, the nations of the world came close to it, however even where there is the facade of peace, there is still conflict underneath. In my world it took the most bloody and catastrophic war in history, the threat of the annihilation of humanity, and nearly a century of constant pressure from two global superpowers who would like nothing better than to destroy each other to eventually bring about the closest thing humanity has ever seen to peace.
Even that though, was a facade. So long as differences exist in humanity, there will always be the fuse needed to spark conflict, and given enough time, humanity, with no other sparks to light, will light that next one regardless of how small it is. The only way to remove conflict would be to cause humanity to all lose its individuality, to become each the same or to at the very least somehow look past all differences. Such though, is impossible without losing the fundamental principles of freedom, liberty, and individuality that humanity strives not only to maintain, but that they need to thrive in a successful civilization.
And so, war comes. And what we know as true peace acts as little more than temporary breaks in the neverending wars of humanity. The Empire is no exception. The history of this world is at a turning point, where conflicts shift to ones solved through direct confrontation and bloody wars to politics and subversive measures. Fighting wars on foreign soil to expand the influence of nations in the event of a war that will not only likely never come, or will mean the end of humanity if it does.
However that era does not begin so easily, it begins with a spark, a bang, and if my old world was anything to go off of, that explosion will not only come big, but it will come soon. The Empire is on a clock towards its final showdown. War is not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.
The writing is on the blood stained walls of Europe, and most competent officers, at least I believe, realize that. None wish to admit it, however. The Great "War to End All Wars" was merely a conflict which laid the foundations of an even greater war to truly do what they thought the last would.
This war will be larger than all others we have faced in the past, and from the very signing of the peace deal, no, before even that, it was clear to tell where the lines would be drawn.
The Francois are angry, they're upset, they're furious. In truth, it's a clear reflection of pre-Nazi Germany. A people punished greatly and their nation crippled and limited. Their democracy is unstable, riddled with corruption, and their economy is on the verge of collapse. The only thing keeping its feeble democracy from falling apart is the division between its radicals, with the Left and the Right constantly at each other's throats, allowing the Democratic government to persist until one faction eventually comes out on top.
However, the Francois will not side with Albion. Their relations have been shattered after Albion signed a peace with the Empire following the fall of their Northeastern holdings on the Southern Continent and the Rocket-Bombing campaign launched in the final weeks of the war. This peace isolated the Francois who were still fighting a desperate resistance both at home and abroad in the colonies. However with them at risk of colonial revolt and being left with no allies willing to continue the fight, they reluctantly allowed for a peace, though it left them with spoiled relations with Albion.
Next was the Russy Federation. Ultimately its former leadership, after losing much of their major western cities was overthrown by a number of military generals consisting of those who escaped the various purges and those who had lost their loyalty from their losing war. Their time in power was ultimately brief, however the Military Junta succeeded in signing peace with the Empire and ending the Eastern War.
This victory brought about what is arguably the greatest gain of the war; our new eastern allies. Oukraina serves as arguably our closest ally in the east, having built up a strong military defense through Imperial backing in exchange for large exports of wheat and other foods to the Empire. Much like the Ukraine of my old world, this world's alternative is still the breadbasket of Europe.
Ruthenia, this world's Belarus, also serves as an important key in the Eastern Sphere. While Ruthenia isn't quite as valuable as Outkraina in terms of natural resources, its commitment to its independence was proven in the Great War, and ultimately it's likely the Empire can count on them in a war against the Rus. Lituae, this world's Lithuania, though its border actually extends beyond my world's border up to the river line, and the Duchy of Baltica which is a state consisting of my world's Estonia and the rest of Latvia, both are far smaller than Ruthenia and Outkraina. Despite this, however, they're still generally regarded as close allies to the Empire.
The last of our closest partners would be Vologa, a region filled with many ethnic Imperials, much like the Vologa Germans of my world. Due to a mixture of cultural similarities and other factors, they've become a close ally to the Empire and its gateway to the Caucuses, of which numerous states exist within the Empire's sphere, though are not as closely bonded through alliances.
Overall these nations have formed a kinship with the Empire both through the Empire's support of their complete independence, but also as many within these nations fought or aided Imperial soldiers side by side in their war for freedom. Nationalism is ultimately just as impractical as war, however it is just as useful of a tool when used on your allies and enemies alike. While our direct territorial gains in Eastern Europe were limited, we ultimately gained something likely much more valuable, strong and loyal allies and a firm political sphere.
While this sphere has secured the eastern border against a potentially restrengthening Russy Federation, the original starter of the war, Legadonia, remains dismantled into three states, Svedonia, Norweg, and Sama. The Sama nation in general I can't imagine lasting too long. In truth, their acquisition of land from Legadonia was mostly out of the hypocrisy that would've come from not giving them the land as the Empire's main goal in the peacedeals of Legadonia and Rus was "Local Self-Determination." Despite this, the Sama nation has land that both the Fin, Svedonians, and Norwegs want with ethnic minorities throughout. The main reason it's important is should any sort of alliances get entangled in it, as it remains one of the potential fuses of Europe.
The last enemy would be Albion, who in truth, one could easily say lost the least out of the war. Their defense on their home island made a direct assault impractical, and the loss of the air war overall made it impossible. The best the Empire could do was strike at its colonies and force it to negotiate a peace with honor. With the introduction of Ildoa into the war after some territorial concessions in the Istrian peninsula as well as territorial promises in the Francois and the Southern Continent, the Albion colonies were left wide open for the expansion of the Southern Continent Campaign.
Ultimately the campaign proved successful, and with their colonies in the Indian subcontinent and the cape threatened, they were beginning to be cornered into a position of negotiations, however the final straw would come shortly afterwards.
Schugel, while mentally insane and in many areas outright incompetent, does have his moments, and behind that cloud of madness does ultimately lie a brilliant engineering mind. Near the end of the war it seemed his competence returned to him, something I believe to be a side effect of another event entirely. Eventually Schugel invented the early rocket, and unlike my world's first attempts at rocket technology, this one proved successful... somewhat.
Ultimately testing of these rockets were minimal as the Empire was desperate for the end of the war as the Russy Federation began to slowly crumble and Albion was gradually backed into a corner. These rockets were massively produced and ultimately the Rocket-Bombing campaign over Albion, grouped with a final last-try aerial assault of the Albion mainland caused mass destruction of many of their naval facilities and major military encampments.
Of the about 100 missiles launched, only about 40 actually accurately hit their target. 20 came quite close, often causing some damage or at least creating a massive scare, about 30 Missed entirely, either falling short or veering off into the wrong direction. Most of those 30 were also luckily duds, preventing any civilian incidents. The rest of them failed to launch at all, or at best went a few hundred feet before crashing back down.
Regardless, even the 40 that accurately hit their targets and the other 20 which came close, it was enough for Albion to fear the dangers a prolonged war would bring if the Empire could properly weaponize this technology. They agreed to sign a peace, though under the condition of the signing of the Rocket Limitation Treaty, set to last until 1940, most likely as Albion believes it can muster up anti-missile technology or missiles of their own by then.
Ultimately they lost a decent amount of colonies, though retained some holdings in the western region of the Southern Continent as well as the cape of it. Their dominance in the Mediterranean has also subsided as their holdings in it have similarly been seized by Ildoa primarily.
Imperial diplomacy towards Albion has mostly been to rekindle relations and prevent them from interfering or opposing the Empire on the continent. This led to the Londinium Naval Treaties in 1933, a treaty aiming to limit the size and number of certain military naval vessels, specifically within the Atlantic Ocean, though other seas are not included. This led to Albion and the Unified States, the two other signatories of the treaties, to move much of their navy to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In the case of the Empire, much of their larger ships they had built up since the end of the war were relocated to the Baltic or Mediterranean, with many of their Submarines following suit in the Mediterranean.
The treaty overall strictly limited the amount of submarines a nation could have within the Atlantic ocean as well as the weapons they could hold and how they could be used. This was more or less a clear intent to prevent Imperial U-Boats, which had been the biggest threat to Albion's Navy, to be limited in their capacity and numbers in the event of war.
The relocation of the ships, however, has also caused Ildoa to get a bit upset with the Empire's increased naval presence in the Mediterranean as they for the most part lack the naval shipyards to manage their newfound Mediterranean fleet as much of it then moved to the Black Sea in Outkrainian ports.
Tensions with Ildoa have never been lower. Despite how little they fought and how much they gained, the Ildoans are still overly nationalistic and since the nationalist factions seized control over the government, their ambitions have grown larger and more aggressive. They remain our allies in name only, and even the common citizen with minimal knowledge of foreign politics can tell that Ildoa is not our friend any longer. If anything, as one of the few nations not primarily impacted by the war yet one of the ones which gained the most, it stands as a potentially dangerous rival for the Empire which still continues to mend its remaining scars from the war.
At last, the Empire. The Empire stands as the foremost Economic and military power of Europe, if not the world. With its economic influence now spanning the globe, its economy has never seen brighter days. While the war greatly impacted the Imperial economy, its ever-growing economic sphere only served to alleviate much of this. The Army, for a period, had near complete control over the nation. The Empire had always been a Military with a State as often said to reference the Germany of my world prior to the Weimar Republic. However such a political situation could only survive on the backbone of a militarist society, one the Empire formerly had, though one that collapsed following the war's end.
Regardless of our victory or gains, the casualties and costs of the war were immense, and people gave up much for that nationalistic sake of ultimate victory. With that victory now theirs, they wished to make peace, and most hoped to prevent another war that they would have to send their sons to die in.
With the end of the degree of Imperial militarism that kept the Military with high political influence as well as moves made by Monarchist and Liberal factions alike, the influence of the Military waned back to pre-war levels. Though in truth, such levels still leave the Military influential enough to not be ignored.
Regardless of the Military, the Empire's main goal, primarily due to the will of the people, was to prevent another war. This led to a shift away from the hardline "big stick" type diplomacy used by the Empire before the war which saw their military strength used as a bargaining tool. Instead the Empire sought more peaceful alternatives, utilizing their military as a background or secondary measure or intimidation tactic rather than a primary diplomatic tool.
The nation also liberalized to a degree, with a Reichstag being established and allowing free elections nation-wide. Despite this, the Reichstag holds only limited power, and more often than not serves as a mediator of conflicts between the Military and Monarchist factions. While they do hold some influence over the economy, in truth, various loopholes in the constitution ultimately allow the Kaiser to seize full de facto control if he wanted to regardless.
As for my career, it's needless to say I've gotten what I wanted. In the later years of the war, the name "Tanya von Degurechaff'' had joined the ranks of various other Imperial war heroes of the time such as General von Romel, though in the aftermath of the war my popularity seems to have far exceeded his. With me being given command of the Kampfgruppe, and with most of our enemies already knowing of my and the 203rd's existence, there was little reason to keep me hidden to the public, especially with the propaganda value I had, with the only restraint formerly being my age.
Following the propaganda footage I recorded and sent in of our raid of Moskva my presence in propaganda and Imperial news truly began, and eventually news reports on my former acts with the 203rd along with my own deeds were widely published for propaganda value. My success in the Battle of Josefgrad, a turning point in the caucasus campaign, got widely-covered news. In truth, the Battle of Josefgrad was a vital battle in the war as it helped to replenish the dwindling oil supplies of the Empire. By that point though, my career had already gotten a significant promotion. I had been promoted to Major General and commanded a decent force, hence why I actually made an impact in Josefgrad.
After the war, I was promoted to Lieutenant General, though wasn't accepted into the General Staff until late 1932, most likely since they didn't want a minor, regardless of their skill, inside of General Staff. Though to be completely honest, my promotion was inevitable. Not only was I a well-renown war hero for my efforts, but in the months after the war, documents were released about some of the Empire's tactics during the war. These were mostly for educational and minor propaganda purposes, but among the documents were many of my proposals throughout the war, each having been revealed to be my own proposals, warranting me not only more popularity, but much respect among the Military command. Luckily since I'm an orphan, there's no accusations of nepotism, so most people understand that my successes were my own and not plastered with my name on it, though some doubters reasonably remain.
Unfortunately, under the circumstances I found myself in since being reincarnated into this world, such would not guarantee me a promotion. More specifically because Being X wouldn't have allowed it so easily. At least he wouldn't if he hadn't suddenly vanished around the time Russy invaded. At first I was skeptical, however even the cursed part of my Elenium Type 95 which forced me to pray in order to use it seemed to stop. I'm still the only one capable of utilizing it, and it's still as strong as ever, but it's zealous brainwashing has faded. Because of that I was able to use it more freely, and I became even stronger as a mage.
Aside from that, there's been no real threats to me. The biggest threat was the possibility of losing the war, but I made well sure that such an outcome wouldn't occur. The only other individual that brought a risk to me was some American Mage among the volunteer force to Albion which nearly killed me, however I ended up shooting her straight in the head, killing her before killing the other American who came to try and save her.
Even Schugel seems to have become a bit less zealous. Of course, it's still generally there, but at least his relentless rantings about God and divinity have stopped and he seems more focused on succeeding in his work. If he wasn't a complete lunatic still I might even consider him a competent scientist. Regardless of how insane he is, he still has made decent strides in technology and so long as he keeps that up and keeps religion out of it, it's probably a good thing to keep him around.
I don't truly believe that Being X is gone for good. His disappearance alone is out of character, something must have happened to make him leave. Given enough time, Being X will most likely return. But for now... well for now, I'll enjoy this victory, Being X.
Auf Wiedersehen, Being X, I've won.