World War II: Difference between revisions
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In OTL, the Germans do not conquer the British mainland as Operation Sealion fails, and the Germans fail to capitulate the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. In the timeline of TNO, though, the Germans succeed in many of the decisive operations that failed for the Germans in OTL.
== History ==
=== Background ===
==== Interwar Years in Europe ====
In the aftermath of World War One, the old European order was shattered. Empires which had existed for centuries, such as Russia's, the Ottomans' or the Hapsburgs', collapsed. The ascension of Germany had been stopped in its tracks, and the new republic crushed beneath humiliating military and economic restrictions, despite only being defeated on one front. Even the victorious western allies had their nations shaken to their cores. Millions were left with their faith in the inevitable progress of man destroyed.
The first major change was the rise of the [[Communism|Bolsheviks]] to power in the former Russian empire in 1917, with the revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin (and his successor, Nikolai Bukharin) creating the first stable socialist state, and one with a mission to spread Marxism across the world. This, though it inspired the leftists of the world, was far more empowering to the reactionaries who feared communist expansion, creating the red scare.
This first took shape in Italy. After years of growing political tensions, almost boiling over into a civil war at various points, Benito Mussolini and his [[National Fascist Party|fascists]] took power in Italy in 1922, creating the first fascist state. From there, a new movement began, in opposition to communists, socialists, liberals, and all those deemed a threat to the nation. True fascist ideologues, conservatives, nationalists, militarists and broader anticommunists united in Germany and Spain, under Adolf Hitler and Francisco Franco respectively. In particular, the rise of the [[National Socialist German Workers Party|Nazi Party]] in Germany saw substantial change to Europe. What was a fairly weak liberal republic quickly turned into a ultranationalist, irridentist and totalitarian one-party state, and one which saw territorial expansion, military buildup and the reversal of the deeply unpopular treaty of Versailles.
Italy and Germany would find common ground in their fascist leadership and desire for expansion. Ethiopia, Albania, Austria and Czechoslovakia were subjugated, all to the relative inaction of the United Kingdom and the French Republic, both of whom followed a policy of appeasement, in an effort to preserve peace.
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