Recaps

Abyad's force failed to capture Kalanshu Outpost and retreated into the northern desert after suffering heavy losses. East African reinforcements arrived, and Zhang Jin warned Governor Badoglio that Italy needed to prevent further incursions across the border.

• Abyad ordered Borma's men to approach the bunker while Zaigut's men drew its machine-gun fire, but Treni's defenders repelled repeated attacks.
• After losing forty-eight men, Abyad accepted Zaigut's advice and withdrew northwest with his surviving troops and wounded.
• Treni's squad burned the battlefield dead, then reported the enemy's retreat to Second Lieutenant Kori when reinforcements arrived a day later.
• Second Lieutenant Kori praised the defenders and said Italy might identify the attackers through information from Jalu Town.
• In Benghazi, Zhang Jin told Governor Badoglio to notify East Africa in advance if enemies fled south from Jalu Town again, and Badoglio promised Italy would suppress the armed groups.

Zhang Jin explained East Africa’s trade position and argued that the North African Railway would benefit both East Africa and Italy without replacing the Suez Canal. He left Governor Badoglio with the prospect of expanding trade and strengthening Italian control in Libya if both countries completed and secured the railway.

• Zhang Jin told Governor Badoglio that the North African Railway could create a valuable new trade route between East Africa and Italy, whose markets connected to Europe.
• Zhang Jin described how the economic crisis had reduced East Africa’s European trade while growing trade with South America, the Middle East, and the Soviet Union helped offset the decline.
• Zhang Jin explained that East African grain and cash crops complemented Soviet needs, while Soviet minerals supported barter trade between the two countries.
• Governor Badoglio asked whether the Libyan Railway could replace the Suez Canal, and Zhang Jin dismissed the idea because land transport could not compete with the sea route.
• Zhang Jin argued that the railway would connect northern East African provinces with North Africa and Europe, develop the region, and bring major benefits to the Port of Benghazi and Italy.
• Zhang Jin urged Italy and East Africa to cooperate in completing and securing the railway, which would also strengthen Italian control over inland Libya.

As Bohemia’s rebellion intensified and foreign-backed factions threatened the Empire, Emperor Rudolf judged the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s collapse inevitable. He ordered Crown Prince Karl to move the royal family’s assets and core members to East Africa, leaving Rudolf behind to face the Empire’s final crisis.

• Rudolf learned that the Bohemian Alliance, Czech National Party, and German National Party had divided the rebellion’s forces, and he ordered troops to treat German National Party fighters as enemies.
• Rudolf explained that economic hardship, nationalism, and experienced former soldiers had strengthened the rebels, while the Empire’s ethnic and economic divisions made its survival unlikely.
• Rudolf told Karl to transfer the royal family’s assets to East Africa and take his mother and other core family members there to avoid the Russian royal family’s fate.
• Rudolf said he would remain in the Empire and fight until the end, hoping to preserve a chance for Habsburg to return to Austria someday.
• Rudolf advised Karl to rely on Archduke Ferdinand’s protection in East Africa and warned him not to attempt to restore the Austro-Hungarian Empire or return to Europe to stir up conflict.

Borut and Pahor arrived in Samarinda with other European immigrants and were impressed by the city’s prosperity and prospects. As Europe’s stability weakened, East Africa looked to its Twin Wings Market in South America and Nanyang to compensate for the loss of its Austrian ally and expand its influence.

• The Habsburg Royal Family secretly prepared to flee to East Africa, which Emperor Rudolf judged to be its best refuge from a coming European war.
• The Welfare reached Samarinda, where its captain described the city’s development and living conditions to the arriving immigrants.
• Borut and Pahor compared Samarinda with Trieste and Croatia, then grew optimistic about starting new lives there.
• East Africa anticipated that the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s collapse would destabilize Europe and leave it without a reliable partner in Central and Eastern Europe.
• East Africa planned to strengthen its Twin Wings Market, relying on South America for quick returns while waiting for Nanyang to develop and seeking a shift in the regional balance.

Second Lieutenant Helmut visited Gers Testing Ground and learned that the helicopter there was being tested for tropical rainforest conditions. Paul explained how helicopters could address the Nanyang region’s difficult terrain by scouting, providing fire support, and transporting troops and supplies, leaving Helmut eager for the military to adopt them.

• Second Lieutenant Helmut arrived at Gers Testing Ground and was astonished by its expanded facilities and the helicopter on its grounds.
• Paul told Second Lieutenant Helmut that the helicopter had arrived about a month earlier and was likely a domestically developed model designed for tropical regions.
• Paul explained that Institute 3207 tested equipment for tropical rainforest and island environments because mainland weapons and tactics often did not suit the Nanyang region.
• Paul described how helicopters could scout rainforest terrain, attack from the air, and transport personnel and supplies where ground forces struggled to operate.
• Second Lieutenant Helmut praised helicopters as ideal for overseas forces and hoped they would soon enter military service.

Second Lieutenant Helmut brought improved Type 29 Flamethrowers and fuel to Karls Proving Ground, where Paul discussed testing their performance. The chapter explained how Ernst had established the General Staff’s Tropical Rainforest and Island Warfare Group to prepare East African forces for the Nanyang region’s climate, terrain, and warfare.

• Paul warned Second Lieutenant Helmut to keep the classified helicopter he had seen at the proving ground secret.
• Second Lieutenant Helmut revealed four improved Type 29 Flamethrowers, and Paul recognized the equipment from earlier tests.
• The chapter described how Karls Proving Ground tested flamethrowers and sent results to Institute 3207 and the Tropical Rainforest and Island Warfare Group.
• The chapter explained that Ernst had created the group to prepare East African forces for the Nanyang region’s difficult environment and future military challenges.
• Second Lieutenant Helmut and Paul discussed the improved flamethrower fuel, and the men unloaded the weapons, fuel, food, medicine, and mosquito-repelling supplies from the boat.

Ernst and Crown Prince Friedrich discussed how Roosevelt’s recovery policies and improved US-Soviet relations could threaten East Africa’s global interests. Ernst assigned Friedrich to begin normalizing relations with South Africa and build economic ties, while first testing whether South Africans had moved past their hostility toward East Africa.

• Friedrich told Ernst that the United States and Soviet Union had officially established diplomatic relations, and Ernst explained that Roosevelt had prioritized economic recovery over anti-Soviet politics.
• Friedrich warned that a recovered United States could challenge East Africa in industry, agriculture, and influence over former British territories.
• Friedrich identified South Africa as a strategic concern because it bordered East Africa and might eventually fall under American influence after Britain withdrew.
• Ernst said East Africa should reassure South Africans that it had no designs on their country and cultivate the Boers as a potential counterweight to British influence.
• Ernst tasked Friedrich with beginning the normalization of relations and expanding economic cooperation, first sending officials to gauge South Africa’s attitude before Friedrich considered visiting.

Ernst and Crown Prince Friedrich discussed how Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy threatened East Africa’s influence in South America and risked turning Latin American opinion against it. They planned to contest the Montevideo Conference while using the policy to expand East African ties in the Caribbean, leaving the United States facing pressure in its own backyard.

• The chapter explained that East Africa had not annexed the rest of South Africa because British power, naval limits, and international opposition made further expansion too costly.
• Crown Prince Friedrich warned Ernst that the United States’ Good Neighbor Policy and the planned Montevideo Convention could provoke anti-East African sentiment across the Americas.
• Ernst said East Africa should challenge the policy’s success, mobilize pro-East African groups, reduce its South American troop presence, and attend the Montevideo Conference.
• Ernst and Crown Prince Friedrich proposed rejecting the idea of a unified American sphere and advocating South Atlantic economic cooperation.
• Ernst ordered East Africa to pursue partnerships in Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, and other Caribbean areas as the United States reduced its military presence there.

Harvey examined Germany’s growing influence in Argentina and warned that Adolf’s cultural and political infiltration could destabilize South America. East Africa chose not to confront Germany, viewing its expansion as a potential source of German-speaking influence and overseas assets that East Africa could inherit, while Germanization across the region accelerated.

• Stad reported that German-language schools and German-backed institutions were expanding rapidly in Argentina, with Germany’s efforts outpacing East Africa’s.
• Harvey warned Riel and Stad that Germany’s influence in Argentina was dangerous because German-backed nationalists and pro-German figures had gained influence, especially in the military and government.
• Harvey contrasted Argentina’s political alignment with Brazil’s large but less influential German-speaking communities, explaining that Argentina’s leaders trusted Germany and its economic and military model.
• Harvey explained that Germany’s limited naval reach constrained its power in South America and that East Africa’s interests in the region did not fully overlap with Germany’s.
• Harvey concluded that East Africa would tolerate Germany’s expansion because German schools, media, industries, and overseas assets could later benefit East Africa, even as Germany accelerated South America’s Germanization.

East Africa’s government assessed a fractured world market and debated expanding its influence in Africa. Schwaiger argued that West Africa should become a major East African market, while Alfred warned that aggressive moves could provoke Britain and France.

• Schwaiger described the rise of labor movements, extreme nationalism, and anti-colonial forces as causes of the old international order’s decline.
• Schwaiger warned that tariffs and colonial economic blocs were harming East Africa and urged the empire to expand its influence across Africa.
• Alfred cautioned that North Africa and West Africa lay within British, French, and German spheres and that provoking those powers could destabilize the world order.
• Schwaiger argued that Britain and France were too constrained by threats in Europe to stop East African expansion in Africa.
• Schwaiger proposed using the Kingdom of Southern Germany to develop West African transport links and integrate the region’s population and resources into East Africa’s economy.

Adolf and the German National Party secretly staged a bombing in the Imperial Parliament to crush the Labor Party and Social Democratic Party. After blaming the explosion on them, Adolf declared both parties terrorist organizations and ordered mass arrests, leaving Germany’s opposition imprisoned or facing execution.

• Heinrich reported that Germany’s economy had recovered and that support for the National Party had risen as the Labor Party and Social Democratic Party declined.
• Adolf ordered Heinrich to arrange a deadly Imperial Parliament bombing and plant evidence against the Labor Party.
• On February 23, a bomb exploded beneath the Labor Party seats, killing two members and injuring others as guards arrested those present.
• Police and security officials blamed the bombing on Labor Party members Marinus and Dehr, then accused Thälmann and other party leaders of involvement.
• Adolf declared the Labor Party and Social Democratic Party terrorist organizations and ordered nationwide arrests, imprisoning more than ten thousand members.

Emperor Rudolf signed an agreement leasing Dubrovnik to East Africa, giving its navy a foothold in the Mediterranean as Habsburg rule weakened. Rudolf and Alfred discussed the port’s strategic value and the growing cooperation between East Africa and the House of Habsburg.

• Britain and France praised Adolf and backed German expansion so long as Germany opposed the Soviet Union.
• Emperor Rudolf signed the Dubrovnik Port Lease Agreement with East Africa in Vienna.
• Rudolf explained that the agreement gave East Africa the right to operate Dubrovnik and build naval facilities there.
• Alfred thanked Rudolf and said the port would help East Africa protect its interests in the Adriatic and Mediterranean.
• Rudolf lamented that Austria had not expanded toward the Mediterranean and said East Africa was more trustworthy than Germany.

Colonel Yars inspected Dubrovnik and proposed turning its neglected harbor into a fortified East African-Austrian military port. In Vienna, Emperor Rudolf accelerated plans to sell the Habsburg family’s assets and transfer the empire’s common inheritance before the Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated.

• Colonel Yars and Strolin surveyed Dubrovnik’s harbor and discussed its defensive advantages and neglected facilities.
• Colonel Yars proposed renovating Dubrovnik’s harbors, strengthening Rovere Fortress, and building surveillance stations, with Dalmatia contributing to a jointly used military port.
• The chapter described East Africa’s naval focus and its preparations to keep its army ready for future wars.
• Crown Prince Karl told Emperor Rudolf that the family’s businesses were being sold and another batch of valuables had been moved to East Africa.
• Emperor Rudolf described the empire’s spreading uprisings and concluded that its collapse was near, then argued that its common assets should be sold rather than left to nationalist successor states.

Crown Prince Friedrich investigated the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s industrial strengths as the Habsburgs sought to sell assets to East Africa, producing a list of forty-seven technologies and industries they could transfer. The Habsburgs then offered East Africa warships and naval personnel, but Ernst rejected a large-scale warship deal and favored technology transfers and recruiting skilled workers.

• Crown Prince Friedrich asked Schmitz to identify fields where the Austro-Hungarian Empire surpassed East Africa, and Schmitz cited optics, metallurgy, and traditional heavy steam engines as limited advantages.
• Friedrich worked with East African Customs and the Ministry of Commerce to identify more than three hundred Austro-Hungarian technologies and industries, which the Habsburg Royal Family narrowed to forty-seven transferable entries.
• Crown Prince Karl proposed selling Austro-Hungarian warships to East Africa at low prices and sending experienced naval officers and sailors there for employment.
• Friedrich reported the proposal to Ernst, who concluded that the Habsburgs had lost confidence in their rule and refused to buy large warships.
• Ernst approved cooperation on technology transfers and recruiting talent from Austro-Hungarian naval shipyards, while suggesting that Germany might buy the warships instead.

Hoffmann arrived in Dihua to negotiate with the local government and clear the way for East Africa’s Northwest Air Route to the Far East Empire. The route would connect Gwadar, Dihua, and Xi’an, avoiding the dangerous southwestern plateau, though Soviet influence remained a concern.

• Hoffmann and his assistant Bronnie completed a two-and-a-half-day flight from Xi’an to Dihua aboard a German Junkers Ju52.
• Bronnie explained that Eurasia Aviation Company was the only airline operating in the northwest and that its German-backed route linked Xi’an with Dihua.
• Hoffmann said the Nanjing government had approved East Africa’s Northwest Air Route plan and that he had come to negotiate with Dihua’s local government.
• Hoffmann outlined a route from Gwadar through Dihua to Xi’an, describing it as safer and more practical than East Africa’s failed southwestern routes.
• Hoffmann warned that Soviet infiltration in the northwest could complicate the route, while East Africa’s influence in Afghanistan could help counter it.

Hoffmann negotiated with Supervisor Sheng in Dihua to establish the Northwest International Air Route and expand East African cooperation with Western Regions Province. The route opened a year later, giving East Africa direct access to the Far East Empire and reducing Soviet influence in the region.

• Hoffmann arrived in Dihua and found Soviet personnel and a military aircraft at the crude airport, raising concern that the Soviets might interfere with negotiations.
• Supervisor Sheng welcomed Hoffmann and agreed to cooperate on the Northwest International Air Route, while seeking direct ties with East Africa beyond the Nanjing government.
• Supervisor Sheng asked to import East African weapons to balance his dependence on Soviet support, and Hoffmann agreed to consult his government about arms and other trade.
• Hoffmann and Supervisor Sheng discussed the route and broader economic and military cooperation, and construction proceeded with the provincial government's support.
• A year later, the route connected Bosaso and Gwadar through Dihua to Xi'an and the Mountain City, enabling direct trade and faster travel between East Africa and the Far East Empire.

The Austrian Labor Party chose to preserve the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a united republic, then launched a rebellion against Habsburg rule. As its forces advanced through Vienna, Emperor Rudolf evacuated the royal family to East Africa and fled to Budapest, while the Great Austrian United Government declared its founding.

• Horner argued that Austria should unite with Hungary, the Czech lands, and other regions in an equal federal government, while Friedrich opposed preserving the empire as a continuation of oppression.
• Koplenich called a vote, and most party members chose the united path and planned a Great Austrian United Labor Party government.
• On May 4, the Austrian Labor Party began rebellions in Vienna and elsewhere, and by May 6 its forces had occupied most of Vienna while royalists resisted at Schönbrunn Palace.
• Emperor Rudolf sent Crown Prince Karl, the Queen, and other royal family members to East Africa aboard a K-20 aircraft, but chose to remain and defend the empire.
• On May 14, Rudolf and government officials fled to Budapest as Labor Party troops approached Schönbrunn Palace; the Great Austrian United Government proclaimed its establishment and called on other regional Labor Parties to join the Great Austrian United Republic.

The Great Austrian United Government gained support from the Czech and Hungarian Labor Parties, while Italy used its creation as a pretext to declare war and reclaim Lombardy and Venice. Italy retook East Lombardy, but Marshal Borojević’s Austro-Hungarian forces consolidated near Venice and held off the advance as Italy prepared attacks from three directions.

• Gottwald and János supported joining the Great Austrian United Government, bringing the Czech and Hungarian Labor Parties into a Vienna-centered unified organization.
• Benito declared war on the Great Austrian United Republic on May 15, and more than 200,000 Italian troops crossed the border to attack Austro-Hungarian forces.
• Marshal Borojević ordered his troops to resist Italy, then withdrew from East Lombardy after Italy captured Cremona and threatened the defenders’ rear.
• Italy recovered East Lombardy and advanced across the Po River Plain, while Borojević pulled his forces toward the Alpine region and Venice.
• Borojević established a defensive line using the Brenta River, Padua, Alpine high ground, and naval support, stalling Italy’s advance.
• Italy divided its forces between frontal assaults, a northern Alpine campaign, and naval reinforcements in the Adriatic Sea.

Adolf blamed Germany’s intelligence failures for losing influence in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and ordered preparations to annex it by force. German troops invaded Bohemia and Austria, while Adolf pushed for a faster campaign to secure the empire’s territory and coastline before Italy could take them.

• Adolf reprimanded Heinrich for failing to prevent the Labor Party from taking Vienna, then ordered him to reorganize the Austrian National Party and recruit former Austro-Hungarian officials and generals.
• At the end of May 1934, Germany’s General Staff planned a two-pronged invasion, sending one force into Bohemia and another south into Austria.
• In early June, German troops entered the Sudetenland and advanced south as local Alpine governments welcomed them, while the Great Austrian United Government organized resistance.
• On June 13, German forces reached the outskirts of Prague as former government supporters formed armed groups, attacked Labor Party forces, and supplied the Germans with intelligence and provisions.
• Adolf urged Germany’s senior officers to accelerate the invasion, secure the Adriatic coastline before Italy, and contact Austro-Hungarian officers in Venice to bring them over to Germany.

The United Government faced a worsening food crisis in Vienna as German forces advanced and Hungary blocked supplies, forcing leaders to consider mobilization and rationing. Meanwhile, East African employee Kyasov offered Austrian Academy of Sciences academician Krast a route out of the city to East Africa.

• Koplenich warned that Vienna’s population and Hungary’s blockade had created severe food shortages, making an eastern campaign necessary.
• Horner cautioned that German offensives and Rudolf’s forces in Hungary left the army too stretched to spare troops for an eastern campaign.
• Koplenich proposed mobilizing Vienna, forming new units, and imposing strict food rations while keeping forces on the western and northern fronts.
• As shortages worsened, Kyasov visited Krast and offered him the chance to leave Vienna for East Africa.
• Kyasov explained that East African aircraft could still operate from Vienna, and Krast considered the safe route offered to him.

Krast accepted Kyasov’s offer to leave Vienna for East Africa, where his research and belongings would be transferred and he would settle in Bella City. The chapter described East Africa’s wider effort to recruit Austro-Hungarian immigrants and distribute scientists and skilled workers across its homeland and colonies.

• Krast told Kyasov that Vienna’s worsening conditions and uncertainty over the Austro-Hungarian Empire had changed his mind about moving to East Africa.
• Kyasov gave Krast a prepared East African passport and identification document, and Krast supplied photographs so the documents could be completed.
• Krast asked the embassy to transport the books, research materials, and possessions filling a room, and Kyasov agreed to send staff to pack them.
• Three days later, an East African Embassy truck collected Krast’s research materials, and Krast prepared to depart for Bella City.
• East Africa continued recruiting Austro-Hungarian scientists, ordinary immigrants, and skilled workers, distributing scientists among research centers and expanding immigration to its overseas colonies.

The chapter described the completion of Tete City’s new cross-river bridge and its role in East Africa’s infrastructure renewal and industrial development. It left Tete City poised to become the central hub of the Central-East Industrial Cluster and a leading industrial city, while facing competition from other major cities.

• East Africa completed the 892-meter Tete City Cross-River Bridge, while engineers continued addressing wind and soil challenges for the planned Xindai city bridge.
• Mayor O'Connell said the new bridge and a forthcoming railway bridge would improve transport, support riverbank development, and allow the old Tete City bridge to be demolished.
• O'Connell described Tete City as a vital link between East Africa’s Bohemia, Lake Malawi, and Lower Zambezi industrial zones.
• The chapter explained that the Central-East Industrial Cluster would connect those zones with the Central Industrial Zone and make Tete City a major transportation and industrial hub.
• O'Connell declared that Tete City would become East Africa’s leading industrial city, though cities such as Mombasa, Cabinda, Luanda, and Xindai city remained strong competitors.

Ernst and Crown Prince Friedrich assessed the worsening international situation and agreed that East Africa should prepare quietly for an approaching world war. They set a long-term course for military expansion, with military development becoming a priority during the Eighth Five-Year Plan.

• Ernst explained that East Africa had to review its national assets early and prepare for international upheaval.
• Ernst predicted that a new world war would break out within five years and said Japan's war in Asia had already begun.
• Friedrich and Ernst discussed a likely Germany-Japan alliance and the conflict's potential to engulf Eurasia.
• Ernst argued that East Africa should favor a weakened Soviet Union over a dominant Germany and prepare for a three-power world order.
• Ernst and Friedrich agreed to begin weapons production, stockpiling, training, and other military preparations to reduce the disruption of future war.
• Ernst and Friedrich quietly made military expansion a priority for East Africa's Eighth Five-Year Plan, potentially delaying some civilian and infrastructure projects.

In October 1934, Ernst reviewed East Africa’s steady economic performance as Crown Prince Friedrich assessed the recovery and weaknesses of the world’s major powers. He outlined East Africa’s expanding overseas markets and warned that the Soviet Union and Japan required close attention.

• Ernst reviewed the Seventh Five-Year Plan and judged that keeping East Africa’s economy stable amid the global crisis was a victory.
• Crown Prince Friedrich reported that most major powers were recovering, while France’s population shortage, political instability, and weakening competitiveness constrained its economy.
• Crown Prince Friedrich compared the United States’ New Deal, Adolf’s economic policies in Germany, and Britain’s monetary reform and Imperial Preference as drivers of recovery.
• Crown Prince Friedrich described East Africa’s overseas markets, including its growth in South America and the Southern Hemisphere and its retreat from the Huaihai Region.
• Crown Prince Friedrich warned that the Soviet Union’s industrial growth could threaten Germany’s position, while Japan’s military-focused economy and powerful navy posed a danger.

Crown Prince Friedrich and Ernst outlined East Africa’s strategic priorities and argued that war could create an opportunity to take control of the Indian Ocean from Britain. The chapter ended with East Africa’s core interests ranked across Africa, the oceans, Nanyang, the Far East, and Europe, while noting the limits of its influence in the latter two regions.

• Crown Prince Friedrich said that unstable economic recovery and a dangerous international order meant East Africa had to prepare for war.
• Ernst identified the Indian Ocean as the core of East Africa’s future interests and described how controlling key chokepoints could secure regional dominance.
• Ernst argued that World War II would draw Britain back toward Europe and give East Africa a chance to take over the Indian Ocean at low cost.
• Ernst assessed how East Africa had weakened Britain’s interests across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Atlantic.
• Ernst ranked East Africa’s core interests and explained that geography and competition limited its influence in Europe and the Far East.