The Fallen Eagle

The Fallen Eagle is a mod based on the scenario that WW1 never happened. However, while there has not been a Great War, the world has certainly not been peaceful.

Since the 1910s, issues in Austria-Hungary and between Greece and the Ottoman Empire came to a head, and lessons were learned that war had changed at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives. Russia’s reformed military seemed unstoppable, intervening against the Ottomans and Japan on separate occasions, but the deep stresses in Russian society remained. A series of political assassinations and deadlock in the new Duma resulted in the August Revolution in 1929, where a coalition of liberals, moderate socialists, and army officers leveraged popular protests in Moscow to proclaim a new government, expecting the Tsar to give in and sign off their new constitution that would make him effectively powerless. But he did not give in, and the Russian Civil War had begun.

This was the golden moment for the revolutionary elements in Russia, which while heavily suppressed had not weakened in the last two decades. The amnesty of political prisoners by the Moscow government and the return of exiles from abroad swelled the revolutionary leadership, who plotted a co-ordinated strike to capture Moscow and St Petersburg while the two Russian governments fought. Years spent spreading the word among certain army divisions bore fruit and large forces attempted to storm Palace Square and Red Square in November. However, the authorities were tipped off the day before the attack and were able to repel the revolutionaries. Remarkably, though dispirited and chased by loyal soldiers, these revolutionary armies were able to cut a fighting retreat to the area around Minsk and Bryansk, which had successfully been seized by their allies.

Watching the utter breakdown of authority in Russia and the movement of soldiers away from the frontier towards the fighting, much of the Empire was left lightly guarded or abandoned entirely. A patchwork of breakaway states appeared, some with nationalist or democratic visions, but others little more than warlords or opportunists.

Events in Russia have been watched with concern across the world. In the British Empire, the world’s leading power, their own economic issues and friction with the colonies have delayed their response, but the government is expected to come out in support of the Tsar. The Germans see the situation to their East and the rise of a new Polish state among others as unacceptable, and will attempt to restore order and perhaps expand their borders in the process. Partly inspired by the fear instilled into the governments of the world by the November Revolution, workers in Paris have come out to demand a better quality of life; the government has little room to manoeuvre in negotiating with them. Meanwhile, Russia’s enemy Japan looks upon the Pacific coast with envious eyes and a desire to avenge past humiliations.

Austria and Hungary have officially been fighting for eight years, but little ground has been gained on either side and the war has settled mostly into glaring at each other across the border. A fresh set of negotiations has begun, and it is up to the two nations to resolve their differences or risk a return to war. They should be well aware that this fruitless conflict has not endeared them to the other ethnic groups of the dual monarchy at all.

Our mod contains focus trees for the three Russian governments: the Tsarists based on Petrograd, the Provisional Government in Moscow, and the communist Revolutionary People’s Republic that is still holding on in the west. Only one can survive, but the process of defeating the other factions will be long and bloody. Among the breakaway states from the edges of the empire, the unsteady Transcaucasian Federation and the newborn state of Idel-Ural are also owners of focus trees where they can attempt to establish their nation and navigate the civil war alive.

Austria and Hungary, currently in stalemate, are also playable options. The constituent kingdom of Bohemia, who have been left wondering why they should fight and die in this war, and the aggressive Kingdom of Italy have content too, and their decisions will affect the outcome of the conflict.

Britain, France and Germany naturally have the ability to try and make sure the new order that emerges does not sideline them, but must also be careful not to upset each other and cause an escalation that could result in a worldwide Great War. France’s colonies of West Africa and Equatorial Africa and the British Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland have been given focus trees as well.

In the Middle East, the Ottomans are slowly but steadily rebuilding their military and financial strength. They were humiliated by Greece and Russia in the 1910s and have not forgotten these slights; with Russia weakened they may make their move, but reports are coming in that the Young Arabs are no longer as loyal as they once were. To their south the warriors of the Ikhwan seek to spread their hardline beliefs to all of Arabia after their successes taking over the Nejd.

Want to discuss the mod, report bugs, or have any questions or suggestions? Join our discord here: https://discord.gg/cPEuASf

The Fallen Eagle is a member of the Modding Co-Op, a community for paradox modders! Join their discord here: https://discord.gg/aCZhTMx

We have a subreddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/TheFallenEagle/

We are looking for coders to help improve the mod! Please let us know via Discord if you are interested.

This mod will not be compatible with other mods that change the map or country setup.

We would like to thank the Kaiserreich, Fuhrerreich and Darkest Hour teams for their generous permission to use their assets in our mod. Thank you to Grestin and Indyclone77 for the gfx we yoinked. If we haven’t credited you for any work included in this mod, we apologise in advance. Please contact one of us through discord or Steam and we will add you to the credits.

You can find the DH discord at: https://discord.gg/MMxdd3M