The Limits of Peace

Start Date: July 20th, 1936

End Date: October 20th, 1945

3 years before World War II

''As democracies struggle to recover from economic depression, leaders in Germany, Italy, and Japan have begun expanding their powers. Will their actions destroy the world's fragile peace?''

''Japan has occupied Chinese Manchuria since 1931. Italy recently conquered Ethiopia. Nazi Germany has resumed military expansion and marched into the Rhineland, officially a demilitarized zone. Focused on economic troubles, Britain, France, and the United States have done little to protest these aggressions. Formerly shunned as a Communist threat, the USSR has grown popular as a potential counterweight to German power.''

''In Spain, the Nationalists have attacked the Republican government. How will the world respond to this civil war?''

China
Victory! China has pushed thousands of Communists on a "Long March" deep into the Western hinterland. You've battled internal Communist forces since the 1920s. Finally, they are all but vanquished.

Focused on suppressing Communism, everything else was secondary to China, including Japanese aggressions. In 1931, Japanese soldiers invaded the province of Manchuria (Feng Tien, Heilungkiang, Jehol, and Kirin). Japan has industrialized and militarized "Manchukuo", establishing a powerful toehold in mainland Asia. Japanese forces lie uncomfortably close to your capital and have been a constant threat.

To defend against Japan, you have sought support from the west - specifically, the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Can you convince them that, by protecting China, they protect themselves? How will China survive?

France
Since the depression of the early 30s, France has preferred to focus on economic growth, but international tensions demand your attention.

Italy has conquered Ethiopia. Germany has remilitarized the Rhineland and begun developing a powerful military. The Germans have the might to back their aggressive words. Do you?

France does have diplomatic alliances. You have woven a net of collective security, but have not tested its strength. You have considered new alliances. France shares goals with Britain, but Germany does not pose as immediate a threat to the island empire. The French government has long distrusted the Soviets, but they would make powerful allies.

Civil war has exploded in Spain. Should France come to the aid of the Spanish Republicans? They are, like France, a Popular Front government. What will the rest of Europe do?

Germany
Soldiers have returned to the Rhineland. The Wehrmacht has begun expansion. Germany has returned to the world stage.

The Versailles Treaty, imposed at the end of the Great War, was insulting and unfair. You have begun restoring Germany's economic strength and international prestige. You have proposed a Greater Germany, incorporating ethnic Germans from across Europe. Territorial expansion can highlight German superiority and bring you resources to fuel further growth. The plan has Germany first taking control of Central Europe, then Eastern Europe. Your ultimate ambition: to vanquish the USSR.

Civil war has broken out in Spain. The Fascist-influenced Nationalists will probably ask you to support their uprising. Will giving aid help or hinder your ambitions for Germany?

What will you do next, as you build your Third Reich?

Italy
Ethiopia is yours! You have dreamed of an Italian Empire, equal to the glory of Ancient Rome. With victory in Ethiopia, you avenged Italy's humiliation by the Abyssinians (Ethiopians) in 1896. Triumphant, you have begun planning further expansion. With an empire, Italy can achieve economic independence. Until then, Italy has to import resources to expand its industry and military.

You have also played the diplomatic game. The now-powerful Nazis borrowed much from your Fascist ideology. You've considered alliance with Germany, but know your friends Britain and France would be displeased.

The outbreak of civil war in Spain could change the diplomatic balance. You have pledged to support the Nationalists. Will you honor your word? How will Britain, France, and Germany respond?

Japan
National pride and the need for raw materials have fueled expansionism in Japan. Your factories rely on trade with the United States and United Kingdom, and will remain dependent on imports until Japan controls its own resources. Your goal: economic control of Southeast Asia.

You began by invading the Chinese province of Manchuria (Feng Tien, Heilungkiang, Jehol, and Kirin) in September 1931. The occupied land has been heavily industrialized and militarized, and can be a base for future incursions into China.

Japanese expansion could disrupt the colonies and trading posts of Western nations. Perhaps tensions in Europe will distract them from your maneuvers in Asia.

What are your next steps in China? In Asia? How can you manipulate global affairs to Japan's advantage?

Spain (Nationalist)
As leader of the military uprising, you have driven Spain into a civil war. Your enemy? The Popular Front government; an alliance of leftist and centrist parties that came to power in 1936.

On July 17, 1936, your group of right-wing army officers staged a revolt in Spanish Morocco. Officers on the mainland followed suit. Now Spain is ripped apart, with urban centers and the north supporting the Republican government and the more conservative and rural south and west backing your Nationalists.

Your uprising is supported by the conservative forces - military, church, and wealthy elite - that resisted the government's attempts to reduce their power. In addition, you have joined with the Falange, a right-wing Fascist group.

The Republican government begs the world's democracies for aid, while you look to Italy and Germany for support. Can you convince them that success for your Fascist uprising is in their best interests? International aid and strong military tactics are vital to your success. Spain will be yours!

Spain (Republican)
You are the leader of the Spanish Republic, democratically elected in February 1936.

Civil war is tearing Spain apart. The firestorm started on July 17, 1936, when right-wing army officers staged a revolt in Spanish Morocco, followed by officers on the mainland.

Northern Spain and the urban centers are loyal to the republic, while the conservative and rural south and west back the Nationalists.

Your Popular Front alliance of left and centrist parties was democratically elected in February 1936. Spanish conservatives and the fascist Falange party were disgusted by your reform efforts. They now support the military in its revolt.

Will Fascist Italy and Germany give military or financial aid to the Nationalist uprising? To save your government, should you look to the world's democracies and the Communist Soviet Union for help? Your fragile democracy is in peril. You must save the Spanish Republic.

United Kingdom
The Versailles treaty lies in tatters; Germany has remilitarized the Rhineland and begun military expansion. In May, Italy officially annexed Ethiopia. Flush with victory, Italian dreams appear unquenched. You've watched German belligerence with concern, but painful memories of the Great War remain strong in Britain. So, you've acted cautiously; made compromises, given concessions, and considered alliances.

Halfway around the world, Japan's 1931 occupation of Manchuria hasn't satisfied Japanese hunger for land. Further threats to China could endanger British territory and trade.

Civil war has broken out in Spain. When the combatants are Fascist Nationalists and the leftist Republican government, should Britain care who wins?

Defending the British Empire has always been your most important goal. As Germany, Italy, and Japan yearn to expand their borders, how will you defend yours?

United States
Isolationism. Since the end of the Great War, US foreign policy has boiled down to that one word. Although American leaders proposed the League of Nations, domestic resistance kept the US from joining the league.

Before the stock market crash of 1929, America had been a major trade partner throughout the world. US banks helped Europe rise from the ashes of the Great War. Following the Great Depression, Congress passed neutrality laws that prevented the US from supporting or joining any war. America's domestic focus has left its military underfunded and out of date.

You want to rehabilitate America's economy, but can you ignore global affairs? International tensions could damage American trade; you've watched as Japanese aggressions endanger China and East Asia, and as German and Italian belligerence threaten Europe and Africa. In an increasingly hostile world, how should America protect itself and its interests?

USSR
In 1917 the Communists wrested control from the tyrannical Czar. Since then, you have forced industrialization, abolished religion and private property, and staged public trials of alleged traitors, including some of the original revolutionaries. The Soviet economy has joined the Industrial Revolution, though it still trails Europe's major powers.

For years, the USSR has been an international pariah. No more. Western democracies have come calling. They fear your People's Republic, but know they need Soviet strength to counter German aggressions. Germany threatens the USSR too. You can use your "allies" as they want to use you - to protect the Soviet Union from the Fascist menace.

Civil war has broken out in Spain. The Popular Front government is under attack from the Fascist Nationalists. Should you help the Republicans? How will it affect your international status? This could prove your commitment to fighting Fascism.