A note on the Soviet Union:

Russia is still the merry Soviet Union, the workers' paradise...Stalin still rules the nation, albeit more paranoidly as the Kappists are arming anyone and their brother willing to fight the communists as well as planting false (and true) plots against Stalin, causing him to purge anything that looks slightly suspicious.WIth the continuous purging, and his fear of the army and the populace, the Soviet Union will not become the industrial giant of OTL. Stalin hopes that by keeping the people wedded to the land and the Army at just enough strength to repel invasion that he will not be overthrown.

Many former generals and members of the White movement in Russia now live in Germany, a number of whom participate in a Kappist-style government in exile - The Free Russian Republic. (Many of the members who were scattered OTL congregated in Germany and quietly supported by German intelligence, something of an open secret)

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From the very beginning, Austrian dictator Englebert Dolfuss resisted Kappist German overtures for Anschluss, and instead aligned himself with Fascist Italy to secure Austria’s independence. When Dolfuss is assassinated in 1934, the newly rearmed (and still rearming) Germany attempts to use his death at the hands of Kappist goons, to force an Anschluss by force. Italy intercedes, stating any violation of Austrian soil by German forces will force Italy to declare war to protect their ally. French and British rumblings and backdoor communications indicate that they’d support Italy in their war with Germany. President Hugenberg and Defense Minister von Schleicher and Foreign Minister von Papen (the German Triumvirate) decide that a war at this time would be disastrous.

The failure of Anschluss in 1934 serves as a minor victory for the Entente and for Italy…however, it prompts Germany to look at less challenging territorial claims, the so called unredeemed territories of the Rhineland, Saar, Sudetenland, and Polish Corridor. The Reichswehr promptly began to remilitarize the Rhineland, while the Foreign Ministry and the office of the President spoke publicly about the need to write the wrongs created by the Treaty of Versailles. As many soldiers as the Germans can commit push into the Rhineland, while aircraft buzz Entente positions aggressively, trying to frighten and intimidate.

Accompanying the remilitarizing of the Rhine is a push for the plebicite to be held in the Saar a year early. The French however prove extremely resistant, and refuse to hold the plebiscite even a day early, and even hint that the plebiscite may never be held. The German response to this hint is much saber-rattling that forces the French to hold the plebiscite 2 months early; the results are painfully predictable as by the time 1935 is ushered into the Saar, it is ushered into a Kappist, German Saar.

Following their smaller victories in the Rhine and Saar, Germany relents for the time being, and in the summer of 1936, the powder keg that had become Spain exploded into full-blown civil war between the Nationalists and the Republicans. The German government sees something of a common history with the Spanish Nationalists, and send volunteer units and directly aids General Franco in moving his army from Spanish Morocco to Spain proper. Italian aid to the Nationalists slowly begins to draw Italy and Germany together despite their differences, and to the horror of the Entente, a formal alliance.

The Entente, fearful of growing Kappist and even Fascist influence in Europe back the Republicans, but not to the extent of the Berlin-Rome Alliance. As time wore on, it became increasingly obvious that the Nationalists would win in Spain, and some would later wonder if Germany hadn’t used the Spanish Civil War to distract Mussolini from the Anschluss with Austria in January of 1938.

The Anschluss of Austria, occurred in the early spring of 1938 with the German annexation of Austria and the western half of Czechoslovakia. In mid-1937 the Kappists were prepared to make another move towards annexing Austria into Germany, and made the openning move of their gambit by demanding the Austrian president immediately reinstate political parties, full political freedoms and release party members of the Kappist National German-Austrian Party (along with all other political prisoners) or face military force. President Schuschnigg complied and even appointed NGAP men to his cabinet as appeasement.

The next German demands were for the dismissal of the current Minister of Defense, Alfred Jansa, who had prepared within the Austrian army a plan to deal with the possibility of a German invasion, something that greatly displeased the Hugenberg, Schleichler, and von Papen. However, following the dismissal of the Jansa, the President found that his Kappist ministers were usurping his control of the country. Forced into a hard position, the President allows communists and socialists to appear in public for the first time since 1934, and asks for their support in the government against the Kappists (they do, but only after considerable concessions). The President proposes a referendum on Austrian independence to be held as soon as possible.

The results are horribly mixed as both sides try and tamper with the results, the conflicting announcements bring widespread violence to the cities of Austria as NGAP supporters and thugs assault supposed communists, socialists and supporters of the President. The army is also divided, and unable to end the violence, and in more than a few cases, contributes to it.

In a move designed to end the situation on their terms, the President and his allies appeal for Czechoslovakian and Polish support of Austrian independence and to put down the NGAP rioters. Only the Czech government responds, sending a few volunteer units to end violence long enough for a recount of the results to be held. Unfortunately, in the days after the intervention the Kappists take this and run with it, painting it as an invasion of Austrian sovereignty and an attempt to stop the rightful results of the plebiscite from being announced. Within minutes of a radio broadcast by Foreign Minister von Papen rationalizing German intervention, Reichswehr units supported by the Luftwaffe pass into Austria, supported by NGAP members.

Hailed by the populace, the Reichswehr in Austria crush the old government and its supporters, and run headlong into the Czech volunteer units. A handful of skirmishes break out as shots are exchanged by accident, unfortunately though, there are casualties on both sides. President Hugenberg and Defense Minister Schleichler describe the skirmishes as intentional attacks by the Czech forces, and demand compensation from the Czech government in addition to the withdrawal of their volunteer units (already completed by this time). The Czech government is extremely hesitant to comply with the Germans, and drag their feet, and look for support from the Entente and Poland. The Entente is unwilling to go to war with Germany over a skirmish in Austria, and Poland's government is suffering from internal constipation on any decision, hoping to play both sides against one another. A meeting between Prime Minister Chamberlain and President Hugenberg in Munich serves to defuse the situation after Hugenberg reassures Chamberlain repeatedly that German demands will be very reasonable, and end here, along with German territorial demands.

With this agreement, the Czechs are pressured into meeting German demands of surrendering the Sudetenland, which they do with extreme reluctance in October 1938. To the unpleasant surprise of Chamberlain, the Entente and their supporters, Germany annexes the rest of Czechoslovakia in March to much international condemnation and marks the end of the limited trust between Germany and the Entente.

END PART TWO