Infinite Powers

[Shroom Man 777]

Well, at least he took my suggestion of turning mere obstacles mountain ranges into airstrips and somehow made it seem not so ridiculous.

[Czernobog]

Then came the brutal attack of the European War (which is generally regarded by historians as a separate conflict to the Pacific War), in which Stalin's armies swept through the republics of White Russia (Poland, the Ukraine and Finland) and Scandinavia, but they could not break through Festung Deutschland (a commonly-used term for the network of fortifications at Germany's eastern borders, from Vienna to Konigsberg), which remained sancrosact till the end of the war.

I know that this is alternate history, but if you've had the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk occur as it was intended in our world (which I would assume any victorious German government would press for), then the Ukraine, Finland, Poland, Baltic States, and Belarus would have been satellites of Germany as per the Mitteleuropa Plan.

Well, the Great War wasn't so much a German victory as a victory for no-one, it was a complete stalemate until both sides were too battered to fight, which was the cause of peace negotiations. Germany wasn't in any shape after the war to demand concessions.

I would like to point out something, though, that has come to my attention. Specifically, your Alfred J. Jones-class Superheavy Star Battleship is very familiar for some reason

The Alfred F. Jones is a technological marvel on a par with the Yamato-class. A singularity reactor, an artificial black hole, provides power to its many systems, while smaller cold fusion reactors scattered around the ship provide local and emergency power in the event of the black hole decaying (as normally happens when the containment fields and/or grav-repulsors stop functioning). It has a hyperdrive capable of crossing the galaxy in mere days (if it doesn't happen to run into an interdictor field, of course), with a tactical jump drive and access to the wormhole grid that enables rapid communication and transport throughout the USS.

Compare to my article on the Sic Semper Tyrannis-class superdreadnought:

An Antares Translight Solutions hyperdrive motivator acts as the primary form of faster than light travel, while a standard subspace warp drive acts as a back up drive. For instant travel, the ship also makes uses of a space-fold jump drive, which provides instantaneous travel to any destination. Said jump drive, while undeniably fast, is limited, however, by the sheer amounts of energy needed to complete a jump, the calculations that need to be crunched, and its practical range, which prevents the SST-class from simply making one massive jump across the galaxy. As with all warships, the Sic Semper Tyrannis-class is fully capable of using military-grade Galactic Gates for rapid response across the Milky Way and those areas of the satellite galaxies that have been linked to the network. All of this is powered by a trio of Deneb Consolidated Industries Mk. LXX primary conversion furnaces, as well as a large number of smaller, secondary conversion furnaces spread throughout critical locations of the ship.

It also has hangar bays filled with thousands of fighters and bombers, enabling it to take on a carrier role as well, making it a multi-role vehicle. This was Congress' attempt at a compromise between the proponents of the Superheavy Carrier and the Superheavy Star Battleship, and it has worked well thus far.

Compare with this:

Emboldened by their successes, the carrier admiral clique immediately challenged the expansion of the number of ships of the wall in the capital ship fleet in favor of more fleet and heavy carriers, such as the United States-class heavy carrier. After all, the carrier fleet had proved itself to be highly successful in base strike operations (the Battle of Hajir, where the USSN 258th CVBG annihilated the Hajir Naval Base, is a testament to their success) and force multiplication capabilities, and, as such, many of the carrier admirals began to question the wisdom of building warships such as the Sic Semper Tyrannis-class when ships like the United States-class heavy carrier could fulfill its intended role at a (marginally) lesser price. The wall admirals, however, would reject the Untied States-class, as the Sic Semper Tyrannis-class could provide something another block of supercarriers could not, namely the ability to engage large formations of enemy capital ships, such as 6th Imeprium superdreadnought divisions, and be able to withstand their withering firepower and the ability to crack open fortified planets with ease. The debate continued for days in Congress before a frustrated President Blackstone forced the factions of the Star Navy to compromise.

And this:

As with all warships, superdreadnoughts fall within a spectrum that ranges from pure warships, i.e., no troop or fighter carrying capabilities, to hybrid warship/carrier designs, such as superdreadnought-carriers (essentially much more massive and heavily armed battlecarriers). The Sic Semper Tyrannis-class, like many other starships, falls within the middle, or general purpose, spectrum. Hanger bays located in the ventral 'harbor' of the ship allows the SST-class to carry multiple wings of starfighters, gunboats, and support craft, as well as provide some support services to lesser warships via the harbor.

Now, there are a few differences (namely, a couple of changes in the terminology and the lack of my detail), but I was able to make the connection relatively quickly. Care to comment on this Kamin?

Nothing was intended to be reminiscent of the Sic Semper Tyrannis, and all similarities are coincidences.

[Czernobog]

Vehicles and Equipment of the United Stellar States

M-1080 'Sabre' Medium Tank

The Sabre medium tank is a reliable vehicle, built as the counter to the Kurushio-type grav-tank, and in that respect it has excelled. Powering it is a cutting-edge dimensional reactor, supplying a constant trickle of power to the tank's systems. Instead of of grav-repulsors it uses treads, with mass-lightening technology to prevent it sinking, grav-repulsors for emergencies and self-repair nanobots over all vital areas.

As its main weapon, it has an M-98 'Hellbore' 345 mm mass-driver, which can reach into low orbit. It also has a missile pod (with singularity warheads) and an anti-infantry explosive flechette launcher on four turrets to the front and behind. Ammunition problems are dealt with by point-to-point teleportation of ammunition to the tank from orbiting arsenal-ships.

M-1666 'Agamemnon' Ground Superiority/Command Vehicle

After the Teutonians introduced the Kriegsveld, and thus the ultraheavy ground superiority vehicle, a counter was quickly developed by the USS - the Agamemnon. Slightly larger than the Kriegsveld, it serves as both command vehicle and ground superiority tank, moving on grav-repulsors as treads would not have been able to bear its immense weight, even with mass-lightening devices. Its main weapons are three large fusion beams, each able to deliver 18 megatons of explosive power a second for up to five seconds, with beams that can reach into geostationary orbit. Aside from that, it has countless turrets and missile pods, designed to unleash a rain of devastating fire down on the enemy.

Its main reactor is a singularity reactor, but it has a secondary reactor that runs on cold fusion for emergency and auxiliary power purposes.

'Blade' Heavy Armoured Suit

The Blade is heavy armour, stronger and harder to manufacture than the lighter Sword and Sabre types and thus reserved for the respected Pioneer Corps. It has a high-rated shielding system, able to withstand 10 megatons of explosive force before breaking. Underneath the shielding and the first layer of armour, there are multiple layers of carbon nanotubes, buckminsterfullerene, adamant, kevlar, titanium, aluminium and other substances, enabling the armour itself to resist an explosion of 50 kilotons with no adverse effect on the pilot. With integral quantum processors and hyper-quick computing systems, the Paladin has its own sapient Turing-level AI, which is programmed to become a firm companion of the pilot and to aid him in battle. It stands ten metres tall, with immense bulk and strength, and two manipulator arms if the need comes for close combat.

It has four integral hardpoints where weapon modules can be transferred to, including Gatling-cannons, mass-drivers and other such weapons. Ammunition loss is automatically rectified by site-to-site teleportation from nearby depots.

The Paladin also has two integral mass-drivers as weapons, and two small missile pods (fusion or singularity warheads) on the shoulders of the suit. It also has a fusion torch to enable it to fly, and inertial dampers to prevent G-force from adversely affecting the pilot.

Type-74 Standard Issue Singularity Grenade

The type-74 grenade works by manipulating gravity to create a small, short-lived black hole that, when it decays into nothingness, releases a burst of gamma rays that are deadly to anything unshielded. The singularity created is effective against shielded units, as shields are useless against gravitational effects such as black holes.

The gamma-ray burst, that while not as powerful as the astronomical disaster that it is a smaller version of, can take down shields for a brief period (about 5 minutes) and is instantly fatal to anything unshielded.

M-1948 'Incinerator' Standard Issue Plasma Gun

The M-1948 plasma gun is the standard issue weapon of the USSLA (United Stellar States Land Army), capable of firing bolts of plasma hotter than the surface of a main-sequence star. It works via the use of an ionising laser to superheat supercooled plasma, which is then propelled in a magnetic bottle at approximately twice the speed of sound. This creates a large explosion comparable to a fragmentation grenade. The USSLA is currently unsatisfied by the weapon as it underperforms at breaching shields, and has sent several contracts out to major defence corporations to devise a better weapon.

'Wraith' Stealth Armour Suit

The Wraith is a prototypical, cutting-edge design, using a dimensional reactor to power a cloaking device that is far more effective than the active camouflage used by the current 'Assassin' stealth suit. The Wraith has relatively light shielding and no integral weapons, as it is designed for stealth and speed foremost.

[Booted Vulture]

'Paladin' Heavy Armoured Suit

The Paladin is heavy armour, stronger than the lighter Crusader and Templar types. It has a high-rated shielding system, able to withstand 5 megatons of explosive force before breaking. Underneath the shielding and the first layer of armour, there are multiple layers of combat gel, carbon nanotubes, buckminsterfullerene, adamant, kevlar, titanium, aluminium and other substances, enabling the armour itself to resist an explosion of 50 kilotons with no adverse effect on the pilot. With integral quantum processors and superluminal computing systems, the Paladin has its own sapient Turing-level AI, which is programmed to become a firm companion of the pilot and to aid him in battle.

The Paladin also has two integral mass-drivers as weapons, and two small missile pods (fusion warheads) on the shoulders of the suit. It also has a fusion torch to enable it to fly, and inertial dampers to prevent G-force from adversely affecting the pilot.

Oh MM's going to love that one.

[Czernobog]

Oh MM's going to love that one.

I've edited it, seeing that you complained about it.

[Mobius 1]

I love the diction. "Complained", like we're all just a bunch of whiners who can't appreciate true art.

[Invictus]

'Blade' Heavy Armoured Suit

The Blade is heavy armour, stronger and harder to manufacture than the lighter Sword and Sabre types and thus reserved for the respected Pioneer Corps. It has a high-rated shielding system, able to withstand 10 megatons of explosive force before breaking. Underneath the shielding and the first layer of armour, there are multiple layers of carbon nanotubes, buckminsterfullerene, adamant, kevlar, titanium, aluminium and other substances, enabling the armour itself to resist an explosion of 50 kilotons with no adverse effect on the pilot. With integral quantum processors and hyper-quick computing systems, the Paladin has its own sapient Turing-level AI, which is programmed to become a firm companion of the pilot and to aid him in battle. It stands ten metres tall, with immense bulk and strength, and two manipulator arms if the need comes for close combat.

It has four integral hardpoints where weapon modules can be transferred to, including Gatling-cannons, mass-drivers and other such weapons. Ammunition loss is automatically rectified by site-to-site teleportation from nearby depots.

The Paladin also has two integral mass-drivers as weapons, and two small missile pods (fusion or singularity warheads) on the shoulders of the suit. It also has a fusion torch to enable it to fly, and inertial dampers to prevent G-force from adversely affecting the pilot.

I love how your idea of "editing" involves doubling the shield strength, adding more guns and two extra arms and finally making it ten meters tall.

[Booted Vulture]

While still retains most of the description that made me think 'this is MM's Paladin suit stripped of all interesting detail and universal flavour' in the first place.

Also you managed to not change the name to Blade at the beginning of the article. Also the change in naming structure has left you were a power suit with the same name as a tank.

[Czernobog]

While still retains most of the description that made me think 'this is MM's Paladin suit stripped of all interesting detail and universal flavour' in the first place.

Also you managed to not change the name to Blade at the beginning of the article. Also the change in naming structure has left you were a power suit with the same name as a tank.

Magister's suit was called a Gladius. As for the ten metres thing, I occasionally get confused between metres and feet. Consider it fixed soon.

[Booted Vulture]

Turns out you're right. He has a Tank named the Paladin; with which I confused it.

[Shroom Man 777]

He had a powered armored Comix character with the codename of Paladin, too.

I'm personally not too familiar with Magister's non-Comix stuff, but eh. Hopefully the 'verse won't be just generic weapons descriptions after generic weapons descriptions. And, hopefully, Kamin will eventually slow down from making 'verse after 'verse and decide to pick one 'verse to actually work on for the long-term. In two months (Oct-Dec), he's already made four 'verse threads - from 'A Thousand Years' to 'Drums of War' to 'World War Weird' to this one, 'Infinite Powers'. Hopefully he can pick one to work on, rather than making another new 'verse (or two more!) by January.

[Magister Militum]

I'm not stupid, Kamin. I know were you're getting your 'inspiration' and its getting tiring. I'm not going to bother pointing out any similarities for obvious reasons, but just remember that I'm keeping a very close eye on this.

[Blackwing]

And, hopefully, Kamin will eventually slow down from making 'verse after 'verse and decide to pick one 'verse to actually work on for the long-term. In two months (Oct-Dec), he's already made four 'verse threads - from 'A Thousand Years' to 'Drums of War' to 'World War Weird' to this one, 'Infinite Powers'. Hopefully he can pick one to work on, rather than making another new 'verse (or two more!) by January.

Amen to all of that, brother.

[Heretic]

I really don't know what to make of this universe. I mean, your Drums of War universe was getting prospective. Flesh that out some more.

[Czernobog]

Power Generation, Sensors and Propulsion

Power Generators

Singularity Reactors work by siphoning energy off artificial black holes, converting the immense amounts of radiation produced into electrical power. Due to the obvious danger of using black holes as power sources, they are made to decay automatically if the repulsor-fields that keep the ship from falling into them fail, even for the tiniest moment.

Dimensional Reactors work by tapping the energy of higher dimensions through a spatial vortex, defying the laws of thermodynamics. Dimensional reactors can work indefinitely, having access to infinite energy, but only a relatively trickle of this power can come through at a time.

Anti-matter Annihilation works by slamming antimatter and matter particles into each other, causing a gamma-ray explosion that is contained by forcefields and turned into electric power. It is extremely efficient, and is a heavily used source of power.

Cold fusion is the third most common method of power generation, requiring very little input energy. However, it is not efficient, and is commonly used as emergency/auxiliary power or on smaller vessels.

FTL and STL propulsion

Jump Drive

Jump Drive essentially enables the ship to teleport itself across large distances using a zero-point electromagnetic field, ignoring interdictor fields, but this requires vast amounts of power and cannot be done safely outside of sensor range (usually 4-5 light-minutes), putting extreme practical limitations on the drive.

Reactionless Drive

The most common form of STL drive, reactionless drives can have many forms, from bias drives to negative-energy induction, but all share the same basis: they do not involve chemical or nuclear reactions.

Hyperdrive

The most common type of FTL drive, hyperdrive basically allows the vessel to access hyperspace, an alternate dimension where everything moves with tachyonic speed. There also exists a sub-type of hyperdrives, called subspace drives, that exploit an interface layer between hyperspace and normal space, but these are slower than most hyperdrives.

Wormholes

Wormholes are faster and safer than both hyperspace and jump drives, but require a pre-existing network of fixed gates, which can be destroyed or otherwise disabled, making their military defence a top priority for those few polities that have them.

Interdimensional Drive

Interdimensional drive enables a ship with it to go to an alternate universe - a 'what-if' where things are slightly different, with a divergence point at any time. All dimensional travellers keep a bubble of their own reality around them when in another dimension, minimising most of the risks. However, interdimensional drives are extremely high technology, and few ships have them.

Sensor And Communication Systems

EDS

EDS (Electromagnetic Detection System) incorporates most of the known electromagnetic spectrum, as an evolution of radar. It can analyse multiple spectra of light into one reading, compensate for diffraction, and with an FTL component, tell where enemy ships actually are in tactical FTL combat.

Quantum Entanglement Communication

Quantum entanglement communication is the most common form of military communication in the galaxy. In essence, one uses a radio, coupled to a quantum-entanglement array, to send radio messages at FTL speed, essential for military operations where timing is of the essence.

[Czernobog]

The United Stellar States

Flag of the United Stellar States

OCpz3.png (10.15 KiB) Viewed 13462 times

History:

The United Stellar States can trace its history back to 1776, and the Declaration of Independence of the USA. Its history continued for many centuries, many tyrants defeated by the might of its armies, but it remained neutral in the wars of the 20th Century, until the Pacific War of 1940-44, in which the Japanese Empire was crushed by the USA, ending in the invasion of Japan and the ousting of the insane Emperor Yoshiro from power.

Then, came a cold war with the USSR, which lasted centuries and was gradually thawing when the leaders of a hard-line coup dropped the Annihilator Superbomb on Yellowstone, causing the Armageddon War which resulted in the destruction of all life on Earth. Luckily, Vice-President Alfred F. Jones was touring the colonies when it haopened, and quickly declared a State of Emergency before carrying out various reforms and uniting the colonies as the United Stellar States.

The United Stellar States quickly became the heart of the Orion Arm Alliance, which declared war on the Central Entente when a dispute over a planet rich in resources became violent, starting the First Great Interstellar War.

Teutonia was humiliated in the war, as its industry and central planets devastated by the forces of the Orion Arm Alliance, surrendering just as the Alliance war-fleets broke into its capital system.

Eventually however, their revenge came when the Central Entente was rebuilt as the Teutonia Pact, and struck again at the Orion Arm Alliance, resulting in the Second Great Interstellar War, which goes on to this day...

Politics:

The Capital World of the United Stellar States is the ecumenopolis of New Manhattan, in the Helios system. Currently, there are about a thousand systems in the Union, not counting the vast numbers of colonies, protectorates and Dominions. Its population is about 5 quintillion, not counting that of protectorates and Dominions.

There are two main political parties: Republicans (Centre Right) and Democrats (Centre Left), with dozens to hundreds of more obscure and, frankly, ignorable parties.

Military:

The Military of the USS is divided into three arms: the USSLA (USS Land Army), USSSN (USS Star Navy), and USSASF (USS Aerospace Strike Force). All three of these arms are the most technically up to date (with the exception of the Empire of the Rising Sun's armed forces) military fighting forces in the galaxy.

[Shroom Man 777]

What do those thirteen stars on the flag represent, and what is the bipartisan future politics of Space America with Dems and Reps in the grim darkness of the far future like?

[Magister Militum]

Precisely how do the dominions work in relation with the USS? Does it follow the British model, i.e., colonies that have matured enough to become self-governing? If so, at what point do they become states, if at all?

what is the bipartisan future politics of Space America with Dems and Reps in the grim darkness of the far future like?

The better question is how the hell did the Democratic and Republican parties survive millennia of socio-political change without apparently going through any evolution themselves? I mean, they even have the same political leanings as their 21st Century counterparts despite the ludicrous impossibilities of that!

[Acatalepsy]

Imagining the future is hard. Most people tend to treat "one hundred years in the future" as about only twice as far away as "ten years in the future" and by the same token tend to treat "one thousand years in the future" as only twice as far away as "one hundred years in the future."

Which is fine if you want to have "RAR MODERN WORLD BUT WITH MORE POOWWWEERRR!" You just have to be aware that that is what you are doing.

[Shroom Man 777]

In my SOTS, I think I had one of the factions' political parties segregated between the Retroregressives and Paleoconservatives. One of them was pro-choice (pro-abortion), the other was pro-life (anti-abortion) but was also for lowering the death penalty to include young children. Because the future is great like that.

(Actually I based my sci-fi politics on this article of Maddox I read...)

[Czernobog]

The Second Great War

The Second Great War is generally used by historians as an umbrella term for two separate conflicts - the Pacific/Asian war and the Second European War. A general overview of the history surrounding the two conflicts is required, as is an explanation of the actual fighting and history of what historians rightly call 'the war that shook the world'.

General Overview

It is December 1920, and the Berlin Conference is over. The bloody fighting of the First Great War is over, and the Central Powers have gained a compromise peace, but the strain has been too much for the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires - following riots and street fighting, they unexpectedly dissolve. The Russian Empire, too, is gone - in the revolution of 1917, it collapses into civil war between 'white' (Republican/Czarist) and 'red' (Communist) factions.

In 1923, the Russian Civil War ends, with the Whites, unable to take Moscow or Saint Petersburg, and the Reds, unable to drive the Whites out of Poland, Kamchatka, the Ukraine, and Finland, making a bitter peace. Out of this peace five nations arise: The Czardom of Vladivostok (ruled by an illegitimate heir of Czar Nikolai), the Republics of Finland, Poland, and the Ukraine - and the most powerful, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

In 1925, the Greater Italian Kingdom annexes the war-torn areas of Illyria (formed out of parts of Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire), Greece (renamed Athenia by the Italians), and Romania and Bulgaria (renamed Dacia). Also, the Austrian (a rump state of Austria-Hungary) and German Empires unify.

But all is not well in Europe.

In 1930, Stalin annexes Mongolia, a ruined state created in the collapse of the Chinese Qing Dynasty. It is met with little concern by the Great Powers, mostly because few of them particularly care about it.

But then, in 1933, his forces cross the border with Turkey, quickly crushing the Turkish army and making it into a puppet state. In 1936, his tanks move into Afghanistan, long held as the border between the Russian and British spheres of influence.

He then promises, in the Leningrad Agreement, that he shall not undertake any more territorial expansions.

This is a lie.

Then, in 1940, his forces invade Poland, Ukraine, Vladivostok, and Finland simultaneously, rolling over them within weeks. Italy, Germany, Britain and France declare war on him. Thus begins the European War...

The European War

The European War begins with an offensive, Stalin invading Scandinavia in the height of summer. Norway and Sweden fall within weeks - Denmark within a month. Emboldened by this, Stalin declares the invasion of Germany on two fronts, an offensive from Jutland and an attempt to cross Festung Deutschland, the network of fortifications that runs from Konigsberg in East Prussia to Vienna in Austria.

The Jutland offensive is a relative success - after being held down by twenty infantry divisions for six months, Stalin's forces reach perilously close to Berlin. However, they are encircled and cut down by lack of supplies and reinforcements, eventually becoming little more than bandits and raiders.

The Konigsberg offensive is also a failure - Konigsgberg falls, but is retaken within two weeks. However, Stalin decides to wear the Germans down with strategic bombing, and as a result the Kaiser and the processes of the German Government are evacuated from Berlin to Vienna, where they continue to work and perform the essential business of governance.

In the east, Stalin attacks from Mongolia to the underbelly of China, in support of Japanese offensives (the Yoshiro-Stalin pact, a secret alliance between the USSR and Japan, ensures that Stalin will attack the weak Kuomintang government in exchange for Manchurian oil).

The war, in Eastern Europe, has ground down to one of attrition. Both German and Russian scientists are working on the ultimate weapon - an atomic bomb, however, Germany is far ahead, due to possessing brilliant scientists like Albert Einstein, who are being put to work on this new weapon.

Romania, long held by the Italians, is ignored, as Stalin seeks to knock out Germany before invading Italy. The Turkish army is currently too weak to strike at the Italians, and a knock-out blow delivered to them by the Italians will leave Turkey undefended.

Stalin's forces, meanwhile, break into Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia and Persia, controlling the area with pathetic ease. The north-easterly sections of British India also fall, and there is heavy fighting in Italian Egypt. With Stalin's control over the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus also falls, and Russia performs amphibious landings on Crete and in the Dodecanese.

In 1941, Stalin decides to invade Britain, but his fleets assigned to the task are wiped out before they get close to Scotland, further infuriating him.

In January 1942, the war is in the balance. However, an unexpected victory arrives - Italian forces, after heavy fighting, reclaim Constantinople and are poised to move into Turkey. After passing through light resistance, they break through Stalin's tanks at Ankara and liberate Turkey. With Turkey under their control, they then move south through Syria and Palestine, crushing the undersupplied, underprepared Russian troops easily. Meanwhile, Arab guerillas manage to liberate Mesopotamia, and declare the Kingdom of Babylon.

Stalin is at his wits' end - he, in his paranoia, believes that his generals are betraying him. So, he authorises the Great Purge of 1942 - hundreds of officers are executed or sent to the Gulags.

This reduces the fighting spirit and organisation of his armies by a great deal, as many of his best generals are removed from the chain of command, replaced by promoted ideologues and cronies who are cowardly and do not even know the basics of tactics or strategy.

In the spring of early 1943, Germany begins Operation Franz Ferdinand, the invasion of Russia. Poland is quickly liberated, as Stalin is not believing the accounts of his generals and is moving more and more troops to the east to guard against imaginary invasions.

In May 1943, Scandinavia is liberated, and the push towards Moscow begins. An amphibious landing at Leningrad also succeeds, but the attackers take heavy casualties and are in no state to begin marching toward Moscow. Angered by this, Stalin moves most of his men out of the Baltics and Ukraine in a bid to use a pincer movement on the Germans.

However, rebellions quickly begin to flare up in the Ukraine, distracting Stalin from the German attackers. He then changes the deployments so that the majority of his troops march to the Ukraine. However, the deeper he drives the rebellion underground, the more it increases, so that the guerrillas continue their resistance. This further distracts him as the Germans continue to march, the final insult being the Italian landing at Sevastapol.

Finally, in December 1944, the Germans are at Moscow's gates, and begin to encircle and besiege the city.

As the six-month Siege of Moscow ends, the majority of the garrison having died by strategic bombing or starvation, Stalin is dead, and the Soviet Union surrenders.

Leon Trotsky, returned from exile, is appointed as Secretary General of the Communist Party, and the entire administration is tried and executed by firing squad. However, Stalin's legacy is not entirely gone.

A Soviet Strategic Bomber drops a nuclear weapon on Paris, decapitating the Republican government. The Third French Empire is shortly declared.

The Pacific War

The Pacific War was much shorter and bloodier than the European War.

It began in 1940, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour in a bid to knock out the USA's Pacific power projection capacity. It was a complete failure, with not a single American ship sunk, 17 Japanese ships destroyed, and with the death of one of the IJN's best admirals to compound the grotesque failure.

The USA decided to go straight for Japan's throat, and over a million people were drafted into the military over a period of just six months. Then, began the island hopping campaign.

Over a period of two years, Japan was steadily driven from the Pacific islands it held, over the course of an immense number of bloody battles.

Then, Okinawa fell and Operation Victory could proceed.

Operation Victory was nothing less than a three-pronged attacked aimed at Kyushu, Honshu, and Japan's Chinese holdings.

Landings at Nagasaki and Kyoto quickly began, and so were amphibious invasions of Shanghai and Hong Kong. Not all of these landings were successes - Shanghai fell three days after the initial landings, while Hong Kong was a complete and utter failure. But with the weight of two million men behind them, the Japanese were driven progressively backwards, and with the liberation of Nanjing by Kuomintang freedom fighters in early 1944, Chiang-kai-Shek's government-in-exile quickly reestablished itself as the government of China.

Then, began operation Flaming Sword - the invasion of Tokyo itself. Five hundred thousand men fought in the brutal landings around Tokyo, and as the city was encircled and invaded, the Imperial Guards were slain to the last man defending the Emperor.

The peace terms that Japan was subjected to were relatively mild - while Emperor Yoshiro was ousted from power, the office was not abolished and Japan got to keep the Kurils, Southern Sakhalin, Taiwan and southern Korea.


Aftermath

The aftermath of the Second Great War lead to many things. For one, it lead to the establishment of Italy (which had already proven its military conduct in Abyssinia) as a great power, which was vindicated by the crowning of King Emmanuel as New Roman Emperor. It also lead to the establishment of the Third French Empire by Charles de Gaulle, and the military decline of the USSR, until rearmament in 2012 and the cold war of the 22nd-27th centuries.

It also lead to the German absorption of Scandinavia, and the satellitisation of Poland, which led to its eventual annexation in the early 21st Century, leading to the creation of the Teutonian nation. Indeed, many of today's Star Powers were born in the fires of the two Great Wars, and it is for that reason that they maintain their historic significance.

[Shroom Man 777]

So Stalin is the Hitler, but whatever happened to Hitler himself?

What's the situation post-war? With something like this, did the Cold War ever happen?

[Czernobog]

So Stalin is the Hitler, but whatever happened to Hitler himself?

What's the situation post-war? With something like this, did the Cold War ever happen?

Hitler is an obscure artist in this time-line, best known for his landscapes.

As for the situation post-war, I will add an aftermath part to the article. And no, the Cold War did not happen.

[Malchus]

The European War

The European War begins with an offensive, Stalin invading Scandinavia in the height of summer. Norway and Sweden fall within weeks - Denmark within a month. Emboldened by this, Stalin declares the invasion of Germany on two fronts, an offensive from Jutland and an attempt to cross Festung Deutschland, the network of fortifications that runs from Konigsberg in East Prussia to Vienna in Austria.

The Jutland offensive is a relative success - after being held down by two infantry divisions for six months, Stalin's forces reach perilously close to Berlin. However, they are encircled and cut down by lack of supplies and reinforcements, eventually becoming little more than bandits and raiders.

The Konigsberg offensive is also a failure - Konigsgberg falls, but is retaken within two weeks. However, Stalin decides to wear the Germans down with strategic bombing, and as a result the Kaiser and the processes of the German Government are evacuated from Berlin to Vienna, where they continue to work and perform the essential business of governance.

In the east, Stalin attacks from Mongolia to the underbelly of China, in support of Japanese offensives (the Yoshiro-Stalin pact, a secret alliance between the USSR and Japan, ensures that Stalin will attack the weak Kuomintang government in exchange for Manchurian oil).

The war, in Eastern Europe, has ground down to one of attrition. Both German and Russian scientists are working on the ultimate weapon - an atomic bomb, however, Germany is far ahead, due to possessing brilliant scientists like Albert Einstein, who are being put to work on this new weapon.

Stalin's forces, meanwhile, break into Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia and Persia, controlling the area with pathetic ease. The north-easterly sections of British India also fall, and there is heavy fighting in Italian Egypt. With Stalin's control over the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus also falls, and Russia performs amphibious landings on Crete and in the Dodecanese.

In 1941, Stalin decides to invade Britain, but his fleets assigned to the task are wiped out before they get close to Scotland, further infuriating him.

In January 1942, the war is in the balance. However, an unexpected victory arrives - Italian forces, after heavy fighting, reclaim Constantinople and are poised to move into Turkey. After passing through light resistance, they break through Stalin's tanks at Ankara and liberate Turkey. With Turkey under their control, they then move south through Syria and Palestine, crushing the undersupplied, underprepared Russian troops easily. Meanwhile, Arab guerillas manage to liberate Mesopotamia, and declare the Kingdom of Babylon.

Stalin is at his wits' end - he, in his paranoia, believes that his generals are betraying him. So, he authorises the Great Purge of 1942 - hundreds of officers are executed or sent to the Gulags.

This reduces the fighting spirit and organisation of his armies by a great deal, as many of his best generals are removed from the chain of command, replaced by promoted ideologues and cronies who are cowardly and do not even know the basics of tactics or strategy.

In the spring of early 1943, Germany begins Operation Franz Ferdinand, the invasion of Russia. Poland is quickly liberated, as Stalin is not believing the accounts of his generals and is moving more and more troops to the east to guard against imaginary invasions.

In May 1943, Scandinavia is liberated, and the push towards Moscow begins. An amphibious landing at Leningrad also succeeds, but the attackers take heavy casualties and are in no state to begin marching toward Moscow. Angered by this, Stalin moves most of his men out of the Baltics and Ukraine in a bid to use a pincer movement on the Germans.

However, rebellions quickly begin to flare up in the Ukraine, distracting Stalin from the German attackers. He then changes the deployments so that the majority of his troops march to the Ukraine. However, the deeper he drives the rebellion underground, the more it increases, so that the guerrillas continue their resistance. This further distracts him as the Germans continue to march, the final insult being the Italian landing at Sevastapol.

Finally, in December 1944, the Germans are at Moscow's gates, and begin to encircle and besiege the city.

As the six-month Siege of Moscow ends, the majority of the garrison having died by strategic bombing or starvation, Stalin is dead, and the Soviet Union surrenders.

Leon Trotsky, returned from exile, is appointed as Secretary General of the Communist Party, and the entire administration is tried and executed by firing squad. However, Stalin's legacy is not entirely gone.

A Soviet Strategic Bomber drops a nuclear weapon on Paris, decapitating the Republican government. The Third French Empire is shortly declared.

Okay, I've kept mum about this so far, but you just hit a sore point. There's always one big problem over these "Germany wins over the USSR" alternate history scenarios--they're all bollocks, and display a lack of undertanding of logistics and geography. Okay, fine, in you scenario Stalin did squander a lot of the Red Army on a Red Alert I-esque invasion of Europe and Asia. But, still, Russia isn't Germany. It's goddamned huge. It's a logistics nightmare, pure and simple. Even with Stalin's own actions gutting the Red Army, the Germans still won't have an easy time of it.

Then there's making Stalin's stand in Moscow reminiscent of Hitler's last days in Berlin. That just doesn't work. Unlike Hitler's Germany, Stalin's USSR isn't under attack from both sides, just from the West. He's not gona stay in his capital when it's clear it's gonna be overrun just to make a point. He's going to move east of the Urals if he has to, and move his government along with him. In fact, there were contingency plans to do just that in real life IIRC. Stalin being the ruthlessly pragmatic survivalist he is, he'd move when the Germans arrive at the gates of Moscow.

Oh, and if Stalin moves east and if the Soviets apparently have enough of an industrial base there to build a strategic bomber and a nuke, then they're not gonna go after Paris for some idiot reason. They're gonna go after the guy who's at their throat--the Germans. The Soviets would likely send said nuke bomber into Germany (hell, if it can make it all the way to Paris unopposed, it should have no trouble going into Germany) and nuke a German city. And, no manner how well-equipped you make Germany in this 'verse, there's no bloody way they can make it across the Urals in time to stop any nuclear vengeance Stalin might wreak.

Given all that, "Hurr Huyy, Germans kick shit out of stupid Soviets lol" isn't gonna happen. Hell, just the fact that the USSR gets the bomb first means eventual Soviet victory, or at least forcing the Germans out of their territory.

[Shroom Man 777]

Maybe in this verse, Stalin ends up becoming one of Kamin's standard issue rant-and-raving madman?

Hrm. You have a point. The mere existence of a Soviet nuke, dropped on some European capital, would end up scaring the shit out of the other powers. Unlike the Amerikaners, the Soviets also know pretty damn well how to keep their secrets.