1912-1939 (Quebec Independence)

World War I
The devastating conflict of World War Ibegan in 1912 with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary would soon result in the entire world going to war, as the chains of alliances were activated across the globle. The Allied Coaliton and the International Entente would fight it out for 5 years until 1917, with battlefields ranging from northern France to Mississippi to colonies in the Pacific. The official German surrender on October 14 would signify the end of the war, but not before 11 million men had been killed and entire regions were devastated.

Trench warfare would dominate the battlefront, with millions of men being maimed for little ground, as artillery constantly thundered. The war lead to the creation of new weapons like the tank, poison gas, and the airplane, while weapons like machine guns and modern battleships were improved upon. While their role was somewhat limited, it was ensured that these weapons would be widely used in future wars.

Winners and Losers
The finally surrender of Confederate, British, and German armies in 1917 led to the Allied Coalition declaring certain victory in the "war to end all wars". The Coalition, led by France, the United States, and Russia, took over large swaths of land from their enemies. One of the most significant was the victory of Manifest Destiny in the United States, which had finally won a Pacific coastline by taking Oregon Territory from the British. However, the war was not without loss, with about 23 million soldiers and civilians killed during the war, from battles, raids, bombings, disease, and partisan action. So despite winning the deadliest war in history up until that time, it was not without loss.

The International Entente, led by Britain, Germany, and the Confederate States, had surrendered by 1917 and lost the war. The humiliating Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, led to the defeated nations giving up much of their land and paying huge war reparations to the victorious Allies. This led to anger in these nations, who had begun to blame others for their losses. In Germany, this was blamed on the communist and Lyonist revolts near the end of the war, as well as the old politicians who had led the failure. In Britain, it was blamed on the "inferior" Irish, African, and Indian troops, despite the fact they had fought with bravery and they had led British victories in previous wars. In the Confederacy, the defeat was blamed on the free black men and the politicians and generals who had achieved their rankings because of their relations and not on talent, and the fact they had opposed industrialization, which had led the Union to victory. Racism and discrimination swept across the globe.

Aftermath
The war resulted in a major redrawing of the world's map. Old empires, like Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman were dismantled into several new countries. Germany was forced to give up land to France, Russia, and the Netherlands, while its military was severely restricted. The same went for Britain too, with its entire colonial empire stripped away, either being transfered to France or granted independence, like Canada and Australia. The army and navy was restricted, while the nations were forced to pay huge amounts of war reparations to the victors. Massive debt and unemployment gripped the defeated nations.

Future Confederate leader Hugo Black declared, "The conditions the Allied Coalition has forced upon our nations are unacceptable and needs to be met with vengeance." Movements across the losing nations promised to change things for the better and gain revenge for the losses, but these movements were rarely listened to, for fear of another war breaking out. An entire generation had been devastated by the war, and a total of around 43 million citizens would lose their lives. Adding to this was the outbreak of the Spanish Flu, which wrapped around the globe in 1918 and infected around 500 million people and led to the deaths of between 50 and 100 million. Fortunately, the flu disappeared during the winter, but troubles were far from over.

Communist Revolutions
The communist Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin and Lev Kamenev, led a revolt against the autocratic rule of Tsar Nicholas II in 1917. Despite early defeats, Nicholas escaped from the Bolsheviks and continued to lead the army. The Tsar's leading general, Joseph Stalin, led the crackdown on Bolshevik supporters, throwing many into prisoner or outright executing them. During this "Red Scare" thousands of people were imprisoned or executed by Stalin. Despite his violent methods, the plan worked and the revolution lost support. In late 1918, Stalin's men gunned down Lenin, and in early 1919, captured Kamenev, who would later be executed. The revolution lost its footing and ended soon after. While Nicholas celebrated this victory, he agreed to enact some democratic reforms in his government, which would pave the way to the peaceful Russian Revolution in the 1940s.

Communist and socialist revolts appeared in Germany and Britain following the war, but they too were crushed quickly and efficiently. The widespread fear of communism led to the rise of "take back the nation" parties, which preached that the current leaders were unable to handle the communists and were unfit for duty.

Lyonism in France
France may have been the hardest hit nation, with millions of men dying in the trenches of the Western Front during the 5 years of warfare. Cities were bombarded daily, and an entire generation of France's young men had been destroyed. Economic stagnation and the fear of revolution had divided the nation. The bloodshed horrifed and the economic stagnation angered French Field Marshall Philippe Pétain, who blamed it on the current republican government in charge. In the city of Lyon, Pétain created a new model of government: Lyonism. Pétain advocated a strong central government that supported the masses, led by a small council of qualified workers. Pétain would die of Spanish Flu in 1918, leading to a power struggle between Charles de Gaulle and Pierre Laval.

The assassination of Prime Minister Georges Leygues in 1921 would lead to the "Quiet Revoluton" during which de Gaulle replaced most of France's politicians with his own Lyonist supporters. Charles de Gaulle brought stability back to the nation, while silencing his opponents and taking away free speech and press. The people welcomed his new government though, because he was bringing a return to the calm and secure nation that existed before World War I.