Chapter Summaries

East African engineer Thrain discussed Persia’s history and the benefits and drawbacks of the Persian Gulf-Caspian Sea Railway with Persian foreman Ismail. The railway promised to link Persia’s main economic regions, but its East African gauge could isolate it from other rail networks as East Africa expanded its standards abroad.

• Thrain and Ismail discussed how Persian culture and institutions had helped Persia remain unified despite its difficult terrain and diverse population.
• Thrain explained that East Africa had abandoned efforts to divide Persia partly because a unified Persia could hinder Soviet influence in the Middle East.
• Thrain noted that the East African-gauge railway could boost Persian trade while making future integration with Persia’s other railways and Eurasian networks more difficult.
• Ismail argued that the railway would connect Tehran and the Caspian Sea region to world trade through the Persian Gulf and link Persia’s two wealthiest regions.
• The chapter described East Africa’s overseas railway projects and its rise to the world’s second-largest railway-standard network after Britain.

In 1933, the Austrian Labor Party organized Liberec’s unemployed and textile workers into an uprising against the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The workers seized key city institutions, turning the textile center into a red city and spreading the movement’s influence across the nearby borders.

• Crown Prince Friedrich urged the Ministry of Commerce to support strong enterprises, prevent reckless expansion, and pursue overseas economic cooperation amid the global crisis.
• Neumann told more than three thousand Liberec workers to unite, reclaim the fruits of their labor, and prepare to establish a workers’ nation.
• Neumann assigned tasks to the workers gathered at Pöltzl Textile Factory and made Liberec the starting point for a broader movement.
• On January 7, 1933, Liberec workers occupied the Police Department, factories, and municipal government offices under Labor Party leadership.
• The uprising turned Liberec into a red city and became known as the Bohemian Textile Workers’ Movement.

After textile workers rebelled in Silesia following the Liberec uprising, Adolf ordered Himmler to suppress the unrest and accused the German Labor Party despite Himmler's assessment that economic hardship had sparked it. Adolf then used the crisis to launch a nationwide campaign against the Labor Party and Jews.

• Adolf summoned Himmler after Silesian textile workers rebelled and demanded to know whether the German Labor Party had organized the unrest.
• Himmler argued that unemployment and the Liberec uprising had sparked the revolt, citing intelligence reports and the absence of other industrial workers from the protests.
• Adolf ordered the Stormtroopers to suppress the rebellion, directed that the Labor Party and Soviets be blamed, and placed Saxony under martial law.
• Adolf announced that he would use the unrest as an opportunity to purge the German Labor Party now that he had consolidated control over the government and military.
• On January 10, National Party newspapers accused the German Labor Party, Soviet spies, and Jews of plotting the Silesian unrest, beginning a nationwide campaign of political persecution.

Benito considered exploiting the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s Bohemia uprising to reclaim East Lombardy and Venice, but Balbo urged him to wait, prepare secretly, and let unrest weaken Austrian defenses first. By the chapter’s end, Italian National Party activity in the disputed regions had grown, while the Austrians struggled to identify the saboteurs.

• After the Bohemia rebellion began, Benito asked Balbo whether Italy should intervene and reclaim East Lombardy and Venice, but Balbo warned that Italy was too weak for a direct war.
• Balbo proposed secretly encouraging unrest in the disputed regions while waiting for the Bohemia crisis to force the Austro-Hungarian Empire to redeploy its troops.
• Benito approved Balbo’s plan and gave him authority to prepare troops and acquire weapons while keeping preparations away from the border.
• The Italian National Party expanded its activity in East Lombardy and Venice as economic hardship weakened Austro-Hungarian control.
• The Soviet Union coordinated Labor Party groups across the empire, while the Italian National Party kept its own operations more covert and drew less attention from the Austrians.

In Venice, Italian workers Lerto and Valer complained about Austrian rule and discussed rebellion, while Lever argued that Italians lacked the population, allies, and military strength to break free. The chapter left Venice classed as a low-risk region by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whose government faced greater threats in Austria, East Lombardy, and Croatia.

• Lerto blamed the Austro-Hungarian Empire for Venice’s decline and called for the city to break away.
• Valer agreed with Lerto, while Lever warned them to keep their complaints quiet and argued that the empire’s economic troubles reflected a wider crisis.
• Lerto and Valer called for rebellion or autonomy, but Lever pointed out that Italians were a minority in Venice and could not defeat Austria’s army alone.
• Lerto argued that Italy might support Venice, but Lever doubted the Kingdom of Italy would intervene.
• The chapter described unrest in Bohemia and identified Austria, East Lombardy, and Croatia as the empire’s likeliest sources of further crises, leaving Venice a low-risk area.

Stojadinović brought Croatia’s rival parties and representatives from across Yugoslavia together in an alliance to oppose Habsburg rule and pursue independence. As unrest spread throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Emperor Rudolf imposed martial law and ordered the army to suppress the uprisings, leaving the Empire’s survival dependent on military force.

• Stojadinović convened a secret meeting in Zagreb and urged Croatian and Yugoslav parties to set aside their differences against the Habsburgs.
• Milko of the Ustaše and Tito of the Croatian Workers’ Party clashed until Stojadinović intervened and focused the meeting on opposing Habsburg rule.
• Pavelic, Milko, Tito, and representatives from other regions agreed to join Stojadinović’s Yugoslav Alliance and work toward independence from the Empire.
• The chapter described uprisings and separatist unrest spreading through East Lombardy, Galicia, Croatia, Bosnia, and other parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• Emperor Rudolf declared martial law and ordered the army and nobles to suppress rebellions as the Empire’s political order broke down.

At East Africa’s consulate in Stuttgart, Czech welder Schuster asked Brien about immigrating to escape rising persecution and instability in Europe. Schuster chose to apply for the East African mainland, and the chapter ended with Friedrich telling Ernst that people across Central and Eastern Europe were fleeing abroad.

• Brien explained East Africa’s immigration requirements and urged Schuster, an experienced welder at a Daimler supplier, to apply as senior technical personnel.
• Schuster said he was Czech and feared Germany’s new government would persecute Slavs, while returning to Bohemia also seemed unsafe.
• Brien assured Schuster that East Africa welcomed immigrants who adopted its values, but warned that mainland jobs were competitive and suggested work in the colonies.
• Schuster rejected the colonial option, received an application form from Brien, and was told to submit documents and await a decision.
• In Rhine City, Friedrich told Ernst that people fleeing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Soviet Union were seeking refuge overseas.

Ernst discussed recruiting German and Austrian scientists while preparing for the possible collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In Italian Libya, Badoglio and officials planned to settle Italians and eliminate the native population to turn the colony into an Italian province.

• Ernst ordered East Africa to attract German and Austrian scientific talent, carefully screening Jewish applicants and preventing them from strengthening rival powers.
• Ernst agreed to support the Austro-Hungarian Empire with supplies and trade while preparing for its possible breakup and strengthening ties with the Kingdom of Dalmatia.
• Badoglio told Italian officials that Benito’s government intended to localize Libya, develop it as a breadbasket, and expand Italian settlement.
• Badoglio argued that Libya’s native population had to be eliminated to make way for Italian settlers and called on government departments to support military operations against local resistance.

Berber resistance leader Abyad’s battered force fled south across the desert after failing to capture Jalu Town, then followed caravan tracks to Kalanshu Outpost in East African territory. They discovered the outpost had a well, leaving them with a possible source of water and shelter.

• Abyad and Zaigut discussed their exhausted force’s lack of food, water, and ammunition and decided they could not safely turn back toward Jalu Town.
• Abyad ordered his men to search for a marked location, and a scouting party found camel tracks that appeared to lead south.
• Abyad’s force followed the caravan trail and found signs of a nearby foothold before continuing toward the map’s marked location.
• Abyad sent men disguised as traders to investigate the fortress-like structure, and they reported that it was East Africa’s Kalanshu Outpost with a well.
• Abyad recognized East Africa as a powerful country and considered the outpost a chance to replenish his men’s drinking water.

Abyad and Zaigut decided to attack Kalanshu Outpost to seize its supplies, believing they could escape before East Africa or Italy caught them. Treni’s soldiers spotted the threat and defended the outpost, leaving the battle unresolved as both sides struggled to hurt the other.

• Zaigut persuaded Abyad that capturing Kalanshu Outpost would provide supplies for their return to Cyrenaica, and Abyad ordered his force to advance.
• A soldier warned Treni that the supposed Arab caravan was suspicious, so Treni ordered his men into the bunkers and told Borma’s men to leave.
• Borma returned to Abyad without gaining access to the outpost, and Abyad ordered a frontal assault.
• Treni’s soldiers opened fire on Abyad’s charging cavalry and sent a call for reinforcements to Jiaofu Town.
• Abyad’s force struggled under machine-gun fire while Treni’s soldiers fired from protected bunkers, and neither side gained the upper hand.

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.