1941-1980 (Canadian Independence)

Second Great War
Crowds cheered in London, Washington DC, Frankfurt, Beijing, Tokyo, and other cities once the war was finally declared over on March 3, 1948. The war had costed over 55,000,000 lives, by far the deadliest war in the history of the world. Most of the casualties were of civilians rather than soldiers, and also the Holocaust, in which France and Italy killed thousands of people deemed racial inferior. The Axis nations were defeated, and nationalist socialism was wiped off the planet.

Three Powers
The end of the war, three nations dominated foreign affairs across the world: the United States, with allies in the Americas and the Pacific, and its main ally was Japan; Germany, who had several puppet and vassal states set up all across Europe and western Russia, and its mainly ally was Great Britain; and China, who had defeated Russia in the deadly Russo-Sino War and now had allies across Asia, and its main ally was the Philippines. The Three Powers were also split idealogically, as the United States was capitalist; Germany was an empire, and China was communist. The three powers jockeyed for power across the globe, in what is known as the Cold War.

Beginning of the Cold War
Following his election of president of the United States in 1948, Democratic president Omar Bradley set to work on foreign affairs, which was mainly defending the world against imperialist Germany and communist China. He created the "Bradley Doctrine" which was basically containing imperialism and communism to one country, because of the fear of the Domino Effect, which was the belief that if one country fell to either imperialism or communism, the nations surrounding it would become ideaology, and so on. Bradley's greatest concern was the Middle East, which was situated right between Germany and China. To keep these nations from falling, Bradley signed an alliance with the newly formed Iran-Iraq Confederation, which confirmed a US presence in the Middle East.

The Indian War
Before the 1940s, the subcontinent of India was a vast land of tiny warring states controlled by different warlords. The only real country in the subcontinent was Sikhia, which by now was a mix of British and Sikh cultures. In the 1940s, former military officer Mohandes Gandhi united much of southern India, which was below the Satpura Range and the Tapati River. Gandhi created a democratic nation, the Republic of India, which the US soon sponsered. China, fearing US total control of India, supported communist revolutionary Kanu Sanyal. By 1950 he had united northern into the communist People's Republic of North India. In 1951, North India invaded South India, hoping to unite all of India under communism.

The intial communist attack caught the southerners off guard, forcing a rapid, unorganized retreat. Bradley, not wanting South India to fall, organized a military assault including members of the US-led Organization of American States. The troops landed in Chennai and soon forced the communists back. By early 1952, Delhi was in OAS hands. China was outraged, so 70,000 troopers from Central Asia were sent in the warzone. The attack forced the democrats back into South India. Bradley was not going to let up, and more soldiers were sent. By late 1952, the war had become a stalemate at the Satpura Range.

By 1954, an armistice managed to be created between the two countries. Containment was working; communist was at bay in North India. A peace treaty was never signed, so a de facto state of war still exists between the two countries till 1993.

Rebuilding Europe
Europe was the hardest hit continent of the war, with fighting going on in every nation, tearing and ripping apart the place. Germany, now the undisputed master of Europe, was given the daunting task of rebuilding Europe, which is began a year after the end of the war in what is known as the "Himmler Plan" named after Germany Secretary to the Kaiser Heinrich Himmler, who suggested it to Kaiser Otto II. The Kaiser agreed, and millions of dollars were spent sending aid to all the corners of Europe. Destroyed cities such as Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Rome, London, Warsaw, and Moscow were rebuilt, fit to become modern cities. In Germany itself, large scale architectural programs were started, and noted artist Adolf Hitler and architect Albert Speer designed much of new German buildings in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, and Frankfurt. The Plan also focused on restarting industry and agriculture and getting the economy back up again, so trade barriers were removed. Industries in cities were placed, with large factories. Farming land, much of which had been destroyed, was replanted and large plantations and farms. Trade was encouraged, and the economy soon became as good as new. By 1953, when the plan ended, the European economy was surging past 1939 levels. The cost for the plan nearly bankrupted Germany, who had spent a lot of money in the years before on the war, but the trading, manufacturies, industries, and agriculture by not only Germany, but all of Europe helped the German economy become great again. By the 1960s, Germany would have one of the largest economies in the world.

The Sixties
The 1960s, also known as the Sixties or the "Swinging Sixties" in London, Great Britain, was a decade in which several cultural and political trends marked the globe. The Sixties also had some severe Cold War scares, which led to peace protests and the appearance of the Hippie culture.

Civil Rights
With the election of Democratic Theodore Seuss Geisel as President of the US in 1961, Civil Rights became an important topic in America. Geisel was an active supporter of Civil Rights, passing the Civil Rights Act of 1963, which outlawed segregation in schools, the workplace, and public facilities. It also outlawed other major forms of racial discrimation against African Americans and Jews. Women's rights were also passed, ending sex discrimation and wage differentials based on sex were prohibited. Geisel was extremely popular in most parts of the country, but was nearly assassinated on June 17, 1965 when two bullets struck him in the shoulder while he was driving in Little Rock. What followed was mass protests and riots across Arkansas, and when it ended, it was announced the Geisel had survived. This and the Little Rock Crisis in 1957 made the general population supported desegregation, which it achieved in 1968.

Also leading the charge in the South was Martin Luther King Jr, who had led marches and non-violent protests in several Southern states. Thousands who supported him drew to Washington D.C., to hear his "I Have A Dream" speech. Sadly, King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on September 9, 1966. In response, large scale riots broke out across the city, resulting in the death of 104 and injuries of over 400. The fighting died down once National Guard units one control of the city. These events prompted Geisel to issue the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which ended most, if not all, major forms of segregation.

The riots of Memphis live on in the presence, with the Memphis Eagles of the NAHL playing their home games at King Center.

China's Second "Great Jump"
Heading into the 1960s, it became even more apparent that China was far behind German and American technology. Honorable Chairman Mao once again called for a "Great Jump" and hoped that it would follow the success of the Americans and Germans. The focus was on industrialization, as agriculture was already great. Because of the near-failure of the backyard furnaces of the first jump, they were replaced by "town factories". Town factories would be placed in the center of each town and they would run by government officials. Steel would be shipped in and the peasants that worked there would make the steel into steel girders. Mao believed that the mobilization of peasants would be the key to the plan's success, and thus millions became state workers. Mining was also focused, and many new mines were dug in western China, brining out coal, iron, tin, oil, and petroleum. Cities that were built near these mines experienced large population and economic explosions, such as Xi'an, which had a large boom following the beginning of the Jump. The Second Great Jump is considered by most to be a great success, bringing China close to American and German standards.

However, there is a darker side to the Jump. Mao secretly began the "Opposistion Campaign" and created the National Guard, commonly referred to as the "Shanghai Men" since in the beginning most of the men were recruited from Shanghai. The government promoted particular schools of thought toward their national policies, and would not accept anybody who thought differently. Many opposers were abducted by the National Guard, and family and friends were told that they were sent to work in the mines in the west. It is commonly accepted that the abductees were sent to re-education camps in Siberia, where the conditions were brutal and many people perished. The number of people that disappeared is estimated to be 500,000 thousands people, most of them intellectuals, rightists, democratic revolutionaries and Tibetan Independentists.

Break-Up of the Ottoman Empire
In the late 1950s, the Ottoman Empire, which had barely survived Russian invasions during the Second Great War, was troubled with rebellions and internal conflict. On March 23, 1963, Sultan Osman IV was assassinated while riding in a convoy in Beirut, and communists seized control of Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire officially dissolved the next day, and several regions secceeded, giving the three belligerents of the Cold War perfect real estate to expand into. Germany and Great Britain were in perfect posistion to take control of the new lands because of Britain's power in Egypt. Three battlions of the German Army led by Helmut Schmidt moved in the lands on the western coast of the Meditterean and took over the land, creating the Empire of Jerusalem. Meanwhile in the United States, President Geisel worried that the domino effect would take over the Middle East, and the Iran-Iraq Confederation moved troops into the area. Jerusalem then declared war on the Confederation, beginning the Middle East War.

The objective of both sides was to take Amman, which was located at the heart of the so-called "Unclaimed Territory", and was a strategic city. Fierce fighting began on January 17, 1964, and when it became clear that neither side could take the city, German and American troops rushed to help their allies. On March 1, a large scale German-Jerusalemite attack pushed back American-Iran lines back, and nearly took Amman. To fight back, the Americans launched a huge counter-attack across northwestern Saudi Arabia and hit the Germans southern flank. It was now apparent that the war was pivotal in German and American geopolitics, and would stop at almost nothing to achieve it.

Escalation and Opposition
In 1965, Vice President John F. Kennedy of the United States was killed while driving through Miami, Florida. A great FBI and CIA investigation ended with pointed fingers at Germany. All of America cried for war, and thousands of people volunteered to join the fight in the Middle East. President Geisel secretly ordered Operation Eagle Claw, in which secret agents would be sent to Berlin and assinate many high-office rankers, the highest being Secretary to the Kaiser Willi Stoph. The plan was set in motion in July 1965, and many office holders were assassinated, but Stoph survived, but had lost an arm. Now it was the Germans who cried for war, and Germany mobilized the nuclear arsenal, prompting a similar response from the Americans. The fighting continued to in the Middle East, with fronts opening up in southern Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The world seemed to be about plunged into war, and the US entered DEFCON 1, the highest level of readiness. The world prepared.

However, not all Americans were ready. In New York City, thousands gathered wanting an end to the war. The protested non-violently for a month, and other cities, such as Boston, Seattle, Washington DC, Chicago, and Los Angeles soon experiencedd protests. In 1966, Germany and the United States managed to negotiate an armistance in the Middle East, and from help from the UN, the war ended. The areas being fought for would be divided between Germany and America, and Amman would a UN controlled city. Once the weight of war was over, the US economy boomed. But in Germany, Stoph would eventually die of his wounds in April 1966, ending the popular Secretary's time and forcing Germany to get another one.

Downfall of Germany
Germany, following devastating losses in the war in the Middle East, was slowly reeling. In 1970, massive protests took place in the occupied Russian territories against the empire. Led by the charismatic Mikhail Gorbachev, thousands gathered in large cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Tsaritsyn experienced massive protests. When the German government began cracking down on protesters, a military army was created, led by Nikita Krushev. Battles began between the two opposing sides, though because it was so far from German proper, no one really cared. However, in 1976, Munich hosted the Olympics, in which 40 German athletes and civilians were gunned down by Russian terrorists. Large scale bombings began in Berlin and Munich, prompting the government to send more men. The Russians would not back down, and the fighting continued. It is believed that the Americans and Chinese both supported the rebels, allowing them to survive during the horrendous fighting of spring 1977. The German government, after 5 years of fighting, agreed to give the Russians there own nation. This marked the beginning of the end for Germany.

Rumbles in Great Prussia
The weak German government could barely hold to everything, but with Russia's independence the century and a half old German empire began to fall apart. In May of 1978, armed uprisings occured across the Prussian Archipelago, and the Chinese and Filipinos were quick to help the rebels. Eventually, the rebels split, with one faction communist and the other democratic. The Germans, hoping for an edge, sign an alliance with the democrats, promising autonomy after the war was over. The democrats soon gained the upper hand, and the capital of Rhineville was taken. Infuriated, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping began Operation Sonic Boom, in which areas controlled by Germany were bombed. Thousands of democrats were killed, and the communists began to roll through, taking control of the entire archipelago by mid-1979.

As the war dragged on, thousands of Germans were killed and wounded, making the war very unpopular in Germany. In September, millions of protestors gathered in Berlin and circled the Imperial Palace, demanding an end to the monarchy. When the members of the military and police in Berlin joined the protesters, it became clear that the Kaiser's reign was over. The Kaiser and the Secretary to the Kaiser both resigned, and the Kaiser fled to the Central American Republic. The German Empire was dismantled, and the new Republic of Germany was established. The consequences of the tight German control of ethnic tensions would unfold during the next decade, giving the two remaining powers of the Cold War new territory to expand into.