Part 106: Hearts of Iron II: Chapter 4 - Sparks in the East: Jun 1936 - Jan 1937

June 1936 - January 1937: Sparks in the East

Waldemar begins to reach out to his allies, rebuilding burnt bridges and signing trade deals. Germany technology is freely shared with its allies and satellites in order to make them more ready for an eventual conflict.


Switzerland holds its elections in July, electing the isolationist Nationalist Party. The Nationalists begun to pursue a policy of strict neutrality, hoping to keep Switzerland out of any future conflicts.


Later in the same month, a border conflict flares up in China as a local warlord along the vast Yuan border crosses into Nationalist China and burns down a small town in the Kunming province. The Nationalists send a delegation demanding compensation from the Yuan Emperor, but are given nothing more than a diplomatically worded insult.


Humiliated, the Nationalists take to intimidation, bringing their military to full readiness and deploying additional troops along the border. The Yuan are quick to respond, escalating the situation further. Alarmed, several of China's neighbours bring their own militaries to partial readiness.


As the situation grows more tense in China, Waldemar turns his attention to his intellegence agencies, increasing the funding for covert operations and approving an operation to airdrop propaganda leaflets over France.


The attempt fails miserably as the plane gets lost in the night and ends up over Switzerland, where it is shot down by the Swiss air force. Fortunately, Germany is able to play off the incident as a simple transport plane getting lost.


The modernization of the German military continues at a steady pace, a momentous task that is projected to be completed around summer of 1937.



Research also continues into a variety of topics military and otherwise.


The spark that ignites the Chinese tinderbox comes in August, as a newly deployed Nationalist regiment mistakes a Yuan scouting party in no-mans-land for invaders and opens fire. The firefight rapidly escalates into a full-blown battle, and before long Yuan China and Nationalist China are at war.


Waldemar quickly calls the embassy in Japan to find out whether the Japanese, whose interests in China are well-known, are preparing to enter the conflict. The answer is negative - the Japanese seem to be biding their time for now.


In October Byzantines in India make an offer to purchase the island of Ceylon, which they have a claim to. Waldemar declines on account of Ceylon's importance as a naval base in the Indian Ocean.


The first few months of the Chinese War see little progress on either side as the Yuan and Nationalist militias battle it out in the inhospitable mountains that make up their border. A nationalist offensive succeeds in gaining some ground in late October, but by November the mud has set in and grinds the offensive to a halt.


Snow falls over Germany as the year approaches its end. 1936 was a tense but quiet year for most of the world, and a momentous year for Germany, as its long internal political struggle seems to have been determined in favor of the monarchists.


What will 1937 hold in store?