Recaps

The Soviet delegation toured East African cities and countryside, comparing the country’s urban planning, infrastructure, and agriculture with those of the Soviet Union, the United States, and Germany. They arrived in Rhine City impressed by East Africa’s scale and development, and prepared to meet Crown Prince Friedrich.

• Minister Litvinov and Spiridonov praised East African cities for their careful planning, while acknowledging that the Soviet Union prioritized rapid industrialization over comfort and aesthetics.
• Spiridonov judged East Africa’s rural development exceptional, citing its agricultural resources, extensive electricity coverage, and countryside roads.
• The Soviet delegation reached Mbeya city and recognized it as a major industrial and technology center that rivaled Moscow and Leningrad.
• The delegation arrived in Rhine City, where East African officials received them and arranged accommodation.
• An East African official told Litvinov that Crown Prince Friedrich would hold talks the next day while Ernst was away on an inspection tour.

Crown Prince Friedrich negotiated with Litvinov over Soviet-East African cooperation and secured guarantees for East African interests. The talks concluded with the Rhine Empire and Soviet Union Trade Cooperation Agreement, including a Central Asian trade corridor and railway led by East Africa.

• Crown Prince Friedrich challenged Litvinov to address the Soviet Union’s seizure of foreign assets after 1928, and Litvinov promised governmental guarantees for future agreements.
• Litvinov proposed expanding agricultural, mineral, and energy cooperation, while Friedrich questioned how trade could remain secure during the European War.
• Litvinov offered to upgrade the Central Asia Highway and build a railway to East Africa’s standards, alongside concessions in Afghanistan and access to Central Asian markets.
• Friedrich agreed to continue negotiations and required the Soviet Union to stop illegal ideological propaganda in East Africa; he also promised not to use the Tsarist Russian government-in-exile against the Soviet Union.
• East African and Soviet officials finalized the Rhine Empire and Soviet Union Trade Cooperation Agreement, with East Africa funding and leading the Central Asia Railway in exchange for Soviet mineral extraction rights.

Litvinov and the Soviet delegation reviewed East African news about Germany’s victories in Scandinavia, the war in the Far East, and Belgium’s strength. They overlooked a brief report announcing East Africa’s successful nuclear test in the Kalahari Desert, leaving the test’s significance concealed.

• Litvinov and Spiridonov read that Germany had occupied Denmark and attacked Norway, then discussed how the campaigns could help Germany secure iron ore and challenge the British blockade.
• Litvinov and Spiridonov considered whether the Netherlands and Belgium could help Britain and France resist Germany, including the Congo Free State’s potential contribution to Belgium’s forces.
• Litvinov and Spiridonov discussed East Africa’s unfavorable view of Japan and how that stance could deepen divisions between East Africa, Japan, and Germany.
• Litvinov spotted a short newspaper item reporting that East Africa had successfully completed its first nuclear test in the Kalahari Desert, but he mistook it for an ordinary scientific experiment.
• Ernst remained in the Kalahari Desert after witnessing the secret test, while the newspaper editors and Soviet officials failed to grasp the report’s importance.

Ernst reaffirmed the secrecy and safety requirements surrounding East Africa’s nuclear program while promising recognition for its participants in the future. As the European War drove up demand, Lobito’s traders shifted their attention toward supplying Britain and France, while East Africa’s East Coast trade with the Axis powers suffered from the British blockade of the Suez route.

• Ernst told East African nuclear experts that their work must remain secret and that the state would recognize their contributions when they could be declassified.
• At Lobito, Mars Laimi and his secretary Tate discussed expanding the company’s Western European trade to profit from British and French wartime orders.
• Mars Laimi decided to recruit workers and order ships while reducing the company’s exposure to the North American market without abandoning South American trade.
• British restrictions on the Suez Canal reduced East African East Coast trade with the Axis powers and made the North African and Berlin-Baghdad railways important trade routes.
• Germany’s advance purchases of strategic materials helped it prepare for the blockade, while Italy used its position between East Africa and the Axis powers to profit from trade.

Ferdinand I and Karl I agreed to exploit France’s weakness in the European war by attacking its West African colonies, beginning with Dahomey and Upper Volta. They planned to rely on East African support, while leaving the Habsburg Monarchy and the New Austria Kingdom poised for a larger struggle with Britain later.

• Ferdinand I arrived in Natitingou and met Karl I to discuss expanding their West African kingdoms.
• Karl I reported that the Habsburg Monarchy had over eighty thousand people and a seventeen-hundred-man army, while Ferdinand I said the New Austria Kingdom had a twenty-four-hundred-man army.
• Ferdinand I and Karl I judged that France’s weakened West African forces and vast territory made Dahomey and Upper Volta vulnerable to attack.
• Ferdinand I proposed that the Habsburg Monarchy seize Dahomey and the New Austria Kingdom receive Upper Volta, while they avoided provoking Britain over Nigeria and the Gold Coast.
• Karl I and Ferdinand I agreed that East African support would be essential, and Ferdinand I said East Africa intended to use them to reduce West Africa’s native population.

The Habsburg Monarchy and the New Austria Kingdom invaded French Dahomey and Upper Volta, with East Africa limiting their aims and forbidding them to fight under its banner. Karl I’s forces captured Porto-Novo and took control of Dahomey, while French forces in Upper Volta continued resisting and waiting for reinforcements.

• East Africa approved the kingdoms’ campaign but ordered them to keep it independent of East African authority and restrict its scope to Upper Volta and Dahomey.
• On April 17, 1939, Karl I led Habsburg troops toward Porto-Novo as another column advanced against French strongholds in Dahomey.
• Lafleche surrendered Jugu Town to a Habsburg cavalry detachment, and the French commander and two other Frenchmen were taken to Natitingou as hostages.
• Karl I’s army advanced through Dahomey, capturing towns and taking French officials prisoner with little resistance.
• After defeating the governor’s hastily assembled force and besieging Porto-Novo with artillery, Karl I accepted the French colonial government’s surrender; French forces elsewhere in Dahomey also laid down their weapons.
• The Habsburg Monarchy took control of Dahomey within a week, while the New Austria Kingdom’s campaign in Upper Volta proceeded smoothly but faced continued French resistance.

Colonel Tapriye confronted Governor Wajel over East Africa’s role in the Habsburg Monarchy’s invasion of Dahomey, but Wajel denied responsibility and offered to mediate. Tapriye left Togoland to report the situation in Senegal, while Wajel urged France to cooperate with East Africa.

• Colonel Tapriye accused Governor Wajel of helping the Habsburg Monarchy invade Dahomey, and Wajel denied that East Africa was involved.
• Tapriye cited East African weapons, uniforms, and the Habsburg Monarchy’s ties to East Africa, but Wajel argued that these did not prove responsibility.
• Wajel privately knew Togoland had supplied the Habsburg Monarchy and New Austria Kingdom with material and intelligence support, which had helped the invasion succeed.
• Tapriye warned that France might suppress the Habsburg Monarchy, and Wajel said France would have no grounds to blame East Africa if it did.
• Wajel offered to reprimand the Habsburg Monarchy and mediate, and Tapriye departed for Senegal to report the situation.

As France struggled to defend its West African colonies from the Habsburg Monarchy and the New Austria Kingdom, it sought East African mediation rather than risk losing support during its war with Germany. France agreed to cede Dahomey and Upper Volta, while the two kingdoms promised to respect its remaining interests; they then looked toward British colonies as future targets.

• Colonel Tapriye and his adjutant discussed East Africa's growing trade and influence, blaming Germany for France's troubles in West Africa.
• Governor Boisson learned that the Habsburg Monarchy and the New Austria Kingdom had occupied Dahomey and threatened Upper Volta, and concluded that French West Africa could not defeat them without risking wider colonial unrest.
• Boisson referred the crisis to mainland France, and Prime Minister Daladier asked East African ambassador Kahel to mediate and help preserve France's remaining interests.
• Kahel offered East Africa's mediation, and Daladier accepted rather than jeopardize supplies needed for France's war against Germany.
• France, the Habsburg Monarchy, and the New Austria Kingdom signed an agreement transferring Dahomey and Upper Volta to the two kingdoms, which pledged not to attack France's other West African holdings.
• The Habsburg Monarchy and the New Austria Kingdom planned to consolidate their new territories before pursuing British-held Gold Coast and Nigeria.

Germany launched its war against the Low Countries with air raids and airborne attacks on the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The Dutch resisted the assault on The Hague, leaving the German paratroopers unable to capture the city without support from ground forces.

• France accepted negotiations with the Habsburg Monarchy and the New Austria Kingdom while Britain remained focused on Germany's war against the Low Countries.
• On May 9, 1939, Dutchman Yodeler woke from a nightmare about German bombs and reassured his wife Laura that The Hague was safe.
• German aircraft bombed The Hague and Rotterdam at three in the morning, while Dutch air-raid sirens sounded and antiaircraft guns opened fire.
• German paratroopers landed near The Hague's airports, but Dutch troops counterattacked and prevented the Germans from taking the city.
• Germany began attacks on Belgium and Luxembourg as the Dutch government chose to resist rather than surrender.

Japan’s Kwantung Army launched a surprise attack on Soviet forces at Khalkhin Gol, escalating the Nomonhan War while Japan’s army and navy pursued separate campaigns. Yosef mistook Japan’s offensive for part of a German plot to encircle the Soviet Union, prompting Moscow to seek cooperation with Britain and France.

• Tsuji Masanobu persuaded Komatsubara Michitaro to attack the Soviet Union before Japan’s war in the Nanyang region could constrain the Kwantung Army.
• Komatsubara Michitaro ordered Higashi Hachizo’s 23rd Cavalry Regiment and Yamagata Takemitsu’s 64th Regiment to advance into the disputed Khalkhin Gol region.
• Soviet-Mongolian troops stopped Higashi Hachizo’s crossing with artillery and machine-gun fire, and the Soviet 57th Army sent reinforcements as the fighting escalated.
• Ueda Kenkichi arrived in Hailar, while Japanese newspapers praised the campaign and the navy continued preparing for war in the Nanyang region.
• Yosef ordered the Soviet forces to retaliate and, after Prokofiev suggested Germany had prompted Japan’s attack, directed the Soviet leadership to prepare for a two-front war.
• Yosef’s government moved to seek British and French cooperation, and Soviet diplomats in both countries resumed efforts to establish an alliance against Germany.

After Japan launched the Nomonhan War without consulting Germany, Adolf accepted that Germany would wait and see while focusing on Britain and France. France seized the chance to pursue Soviet cooperation, and Daladier left convinced that the Soviet Union might eventually help reverse France’s position against Germany.

• Adolf learned from Stahmer that Japan had started its war against the Soviet Union without informing Germany and condemned the move for disrupting German plans.
• Adolf decided Germany would let Japan test Soviet strength while keeping its attention on Britain and France.
• Daladier urged Suritz to strengthen French-Soviet cooperation and consider a military alliance against the Axis powers.
• Suritz agreed to report France’s proposal to Moscow and support closer cooperation, though he could not promise an alliance.
• Daladier met with France’s military and political leaders and announced that Soviet support might change the course of the war.

France tried to keep its morale up by suggesting the Soviet Union would join the war, while Japan escalated its failing campaign at Nomonhan and prepared to seize the East Indies. In Batavia, Governor Staveren and Hulst chose neutrality amid the Netherlands’ expected defeat, while fearing East Africa might exploit the crisis to take the colony.

• Prime Minister Daladier urged French officials to hold the front until the Soviet Union entered the war.
• Lieutenant General Komatsubara Michitaro and Major Tsuji Masanobu decided to commit every soldier after the 23rd Division suffered heavy losses against Soviet forces.
• Tsuji Masanobu sent Kwantung Army Headquarters a misleading report of Japanese success, prompting Ueda Kenkichi to order reinforcements for Nomonhan.
• Japan prepared to attack the East Indies with two fleets, two divisions, and one mixed brigade.
• Governor Staveren and Hulst concluded that the Dutch East Indies should remain neutral while the homeland’s fate was decided.
• Staveren ordered his officials to avoid clashes with East Africans, fearing East Africa would use the Netherlands’ crisis as an excuse to seize the colony.

General Wavell faced Italy’s invasion of Egypt and the threat to Malta, while British forces struggled to match the Italian numbers. He planned to exploit Italy’s vulnerable supply lines and use mobile desert units to harass the invasion, leaving the battle for Egypt unresolved.

• The intelligence chief told General Wavell that at least one hundred thousand Italian troops had crossed into Egypt from Cyrenaica and that Italy had also attacked Malta.
• General Wavell discussed Malta’s defenses and the need to coordinate with Admiral Cunningham, whose Mediterranean Fleet was responsible for naval operations.
• General Wavell judged Egypt’s defense the priority because Britain had only a little over thirty thousand troops in western Egypt against Italy’s far larger force.
• General Wavell and the intelligence chief reviewed Italy’s supply difficulties, including British and French attacks on the North African Railway and East Africa’s restrictions on exports to Italy.
• General Wavell proposed forming agile units from the Western Desert Force to attack Italian supply convoys and harass the advancing army.

After fishermen in the Southern Ryukyu Islands reported a massive Japanese fleet heading south, East Africa and other powers watched Japan’s movements. On May 29, 1939, Japan attacked the Dutch East Indies, destroying the Dutch Navy’s main forces and leaving Sumatra and Java exposed to invasion.

• Fishermen told Miyako Island Police Department director Kragman that dozens of Japanese warships, including aircraft carriers, had sailed south, and Kragman inferred their likely destination was Nanyang.
• Kragman praised the fishermen, promised them rewards, and sent their intelligence to the local naval department.
• Pacific Fleet headquarters ordered East African bases and strongpoints to monitor and guard against Japanese movements as Britain, France, and the United States also watched the fleet.
• Japan’s fleet passed through the South China Sea and approached the Dutch East Indies while the colony remained unaware of the coming attack.
• On May 29, Japan split its fleet and attacked Dutch naval bases at Sabang, Padang, Surabaya, and Batavia, wiping out the Dutch East Indies Navy’s main forces in less than a day.

Governor Staveren decided that the Dutch could not defend Batavia against Japan and rejected surrender, choosing to withdraw northward instead. He wanted a retreat route that would let the Dutch escape into East Africa’s sphere of influence.

• Governor Staveren dismissed resistance in Batavia as hopeless because the colonial army was weak and Japan had overwhelming military strength.
• Staveren concluded that the Dutch East Indies Navy was likely defeated and that Batavia was in danger.
• Hulst asked whether they should withdraw or surrender, but Staveren refused to surrender because it would stain their reputation.
• Staveren rejected Hulst’s suggestion to retreat to Bandung, judging it too close to Batavia and vulnerable to Japan.
• Staveren decided the Dutch should withdraw northward to a place from which they could escape into East Africa’s sphere of influence.

Governor Staveren fled Batavia as Japanese forces advanced and sought East Africa’s protection, offering sovereignty over the Sunda Strait in exchange for intervention. East African Brigadier General Traliening said he needed orders from the homeland, leaving the Dutch envoy’s proposal awaiting a decision.

• Governor Staveren argued that East Africa’s interests in the Dutch East Indies might lead it to resist Japan, while Advisor Hulst doubted East Africa would risk war for the Netherlands.
• On May 29, 1939, Governor Staveren and key officials fled Batavia, abandoning its troops, and the Japanese occupied the city with little resistance.
• Governor Staveren established the Dutch East Indies Colonial Government’s provisional seat at Merak and sent Sapiat to Port of Nanning to request East African intervention and protection.
• Brigadier General Traliening told Sapiat that he could make no promises until East Africa’s homeland decided how to respond.
• Sapiat offered East Africa sovereignty over the Sunda Strait and land fifty kilometers inland from both shores in exchange for intervention and the provisional government’s safety.

East Africa's leaders debated Governor Staveren's request to trade Dutch East Indies territory for protection during Japan's invasion. Crown Prince Friedrich approved a treaty to bring the Sunda Strait more firmly under East African influence while limiting East Africa's involvement in the war.

• Brigadier General Traliening reported Sapiat's request through East Africa's submarine cable network to Rhine City.
• Minister Schwaiger urged East Africa to accept the Dutch offer and secure control of the Sunda Strait, while Foreign Minister Alfred warned that Japan might retaliate against East African holdings in Nanyang.
• Schwaiger argued that Japan would avoid confronting East Africa before dealing with Britain and France, and his reasoning persuaded most of the government.
• Crown Prince Friedrich ordered Traliening and Governor Staveren to establish the territorial arrangement in a treaty.
• Friedrich agreed to mediate the war and shelter Dutch colonial officials, provided they stopped openly resisting Japan once inside East African territory.

East Africa secured the Sunda Strait from the Dutch East Indies and deployed troops to Merak, provoking Japan. Japan withdrew rather than risk a conflict, while negotiations with Governor Staveren stalled and left the Dutch colonial government stranded under East African protection.

• Crown Prince Friedrich instructed Foreign Minister Alfred to negotiate with Japan over the Netherlands while avoiding an irreparable break in relations.
• Governor Staveren accepted East Africa’s plan and signed a treaty transferring the land on both sides of the Sunda Strait, including Port of Nanning and Merak, to East Africa.
• Brigadier General Traliening sent troops to Merak, where Major Koizumi Taichiro protested the transfer but could not challenge East African forces.
• Japan’s leaders ordered their troops to withdraw from the Sunda Strait area after weighing East Africa’s strength and Japan’s losses at Nomonhan.
• Governor Staveren and the Japanese envoy failed to reach an agreement, leaving the Dutch colonial government confined to East Africa’s controlled zone.

East Africa's Ambassador Mahe joined Dutch Ambassador Pabst in negotiations with Japan, but Foreign Minister Arita Hachiro rejected the Dutch proposal to preserve the Dutch East Indies. Mahe then demanded that Japan respect East Africa's newly acquired Sunda Strait territory and sign a non-aggression treaty, leaving that issue unresolved as he raised other demands.

• Mahe visited Pabst and offered to mediate between the Netherlands and Japan on behalf of Governor Staveren.
• Mahe and Pabst met with Arita Hachiro, who defended Japan's war against the Netherlands as an obligation to Germany.
• Mahe proposed that the Netherlands compensate Japan in exchange for Japan refraining from fully occupying the Dutch East Indies, but Arita rejected the proposal.
• After Pabst left, Mahe told Arita that East Africa expected Japan to respect its territory in the Sunda Strait and sign a non-aggression treaty.
• Arita said Japan would consider the treaty, while Mahe remained dissatisfied and raised several other issues with Japan.

Hiranuma Kiichirō and Arita Hachiro decided Japan would temporarily accept East Africa’s control of the Sunda Strait in exchange for tacit acceptance of Japanese rule over the Dutch East Indies. Hiranuma rejected East Africa’s trade demands but agreed to let its immigration recruitment from the Far East Empire resume.

• Ambassador Mahe asked Japan to decide on East Africa’s requests, and Arita Hachiro went to report them to Hiranuma Kiichirō.
• Arita Hachiro and Hiranuma Kiichirō concluded that Japan should recognize East Africa’s deal with the Dutch over the Sunda Strait for now, while seeking East Africa’s tacit acceptance of Japanese rule over the Dutch East Indies.
• Hiranuma Kiichirō said Japan needed to consolidate its new East Indies holdings and develop their oil and rubber resources before taking on Britain, France, or East Africa.
• Arita Hachiro reported East Africa’s requests to ease restrictions on its merchant ships and trade, and to resume immigration recruitment from the Far East Empire.
• Hiranuma Kiichirō refused to lift trade restrictions unless East Africa ended its military aid to anti-Japanese forces, but he allowed immigration recruitment to resume as a minor concession.

After East Africa secured Japan’s agreement to reopen immigration from the Far East Empire, Karl I learned that the Habsburg Monarchy urgently needed settlers to govern Dahomey and prepare for expansion toward Nigeria. The news reached Porto-Novo just as he and Prime Minister Bright were discussing the kingdom’s population shortage, and Karl I called for joint talks with the New Austria Kingdom.

• Arita Hachiro told Ambassador Mahe that Japan had agreed to recognize the Sunda Strait as East Africa’s sphere of influence and meet other demands, and Mahe signed the treaty.
• In Rhine City, Crown Prince Friedrich told Ernst that negotiations with Japan had achieved their goals, including restarting Far Eastern immigration for the Habsburg kingdoms.
• In Porto-Novo, Prime Minister Bright reported Dahomey’s estimated 1.2 million Black residents and explained how the Habsburg Monarchy’s small population made governing and developing the territory difficult.
• Karl I and Bright discussed the scarcity of European and Asian immigrants, while Karl I blamed Japan’s war and blockade for disrupting recruitment from the Far East Empire.
• The Foreign Minister brought Karl I a telegram from Rhine City announcing that immigration channels from the Far East Empire had reopened, and Karl I ordered the New Austria Kingdom to be contacted about joint recruitment.

Yosef blamed the Soviet Army’s heavy losses in the Nomonhan War on poor frontline command and appointed Zhukov to lead the Far Eastern forces. Fearing Germany would attack before the Soviet Union was ready, he decided to enter the war and strike Germany early to help Britain and France keep fighting.

• Yosef questioned Shaposhnikov and other officials about how the Soviet Army had suffered losses comparable to Japan despite its superiority in troops and equipment.
• Shaposhnikov recommended Lieutenant General Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov to take command in the Far East, and Yosef approved the appointment.
• Yosef and his officials feared Japan would reveal the Soviet Army’s performance to Germany and encourage an attack, potentially aided by the Axis powers’ Eastern European allies and the Ottoman Empire.
• Shaposhnikov reported that Britain and France were struggling against Germany, with the Netherlands near defeat and France’s resolve weakened.
• Yosef concluded that the Soviet Union could not wait for Germany to dominate Europe and decided to enter the war and strike Germany to bolster Britain and France.

East Africa arranged aid deliveries to the Far East Empire through the newly opened Central Asia Highway and discussed securing the route with a Shancheng Government commissioner. Consul General Eborn also explained East Africa’s plan to recruit Far East Empire immigrants for West Africa, while the commissioner accepted that the migration could help the war-stricken country.

• Soviet diplomats held further talks with Britain and France as Yosef sought agreements on wartime responsibilities and postwar interests.
• East African aid supplies reached the Far East Empire’s border near Shule County, where Consul General Eborn warned Commissioner Short about securing transport beyond Western Regions Province.
• Short assured Eborn that the Shancheng Government would assign personnel to protect and manage the aid route.
• Eborn said East Africa also planned to use the Central Asia Highway to recruit immigrants for West Africa, and explained that its allies there needed workers and population.
• Short concluded that East Africa was expanding its influence in West Africa and accepted that taking in refugees could benefit the Far East Empire.

East Africa used the Central Asia Highway to support the Far East Empire with supplies and refugee immigration, while the first convoy reached Baoji. On June 19, 1939, the Soviet Union declared war on Germany and attacked its European neighbors, leaving the Eastern Front in a stalemate as Germany prepared to accelerate its Western European campaign.

• Consul General Eborn told Commissioner Short that East Africa’s refugee immigration would ease the Far East Empire’s burden, and Short promised his government’s cooperation.
• The first Central Asia Highway convoy entered the Far East Empire and continued toward Baoji, a major hub serving its northwestern and southwestern rear areas.
• Yosef announced that the Soviet Union had declared war on Germany, citing Axis hostility and the Nomonhan War as reasons for the conflict.
• The Soviet Army crossed the border and attacked Germany, Poland, and West Ukraine, while the Ottoman Empire and other southern states waited to see how the war unfolded.
• German and allied forces resisted the Soviet advance, producing a border stalemate, and Adolf ordered preparations for war against the Soviet Union while accelerating the offensive against Britain and France.