Kaiserreich: Legacy of the Weltkrieg

About

Kaiserreich: The Legacy of the Weltkrieg is an alternative history mod that explores a world where Germany had won World War I. The mod was initially released on Hearts of Iron II in 2006, but was ported to Hearts of Iron IV on December 1, 2016.

Background

After being announced in December of 2005,^[1] Kaiserreich was released initially for Hearts of Iron II in 2006. The mod received critical acclaim but remained relatively obscure. The mod was then released on the Steam workshop for Hearts of Iron IV on December 1, 2016.^[2] This was when the mod became known to more people, as Hearts of Iron IV is more user-friendly than Hearts of Iron II.

History of the Timeline

The mod takes place in an alternative universe, where Germany had won World War I. The timeline of the Kaiserreich universe remains consistent with the normal timeline, until January 8, 1917. There is an extensive timeline on the Kaiserreich wiki^[3] which explains major events in detail until 1936, which is the year the mod starts.

The US never joined World War I due to Germany revoking its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. France, Italy, and the Balkan allies in the Entente had all surrendered to Germany by 1919.This led to The Treaty of Versailles which radically changed the landscape of Europe. Some of the demands include: Belgium becoming a puppet of the Germans, Italy being balkanized into numerous Italian states, the defeated Balkan nations of Greece, Romania, and Serbia forced to make various territorial cession to Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary, and French cession of some colonial holdings and some border provinces to Germany. Also, Russia's provinces of Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic states, and Finland all became part of the Central Power's sphere of influence as part of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. The Peace with Honour was signed with the remaining Entente combatants which maintained the status quo with the only demands being that the remaining Entente must recognize the treaties and demands made already.

In this timeline, The Soviets led by Vladimir Lenin are defeated in the Russian Civil War, and Marxist-Leninist Communism never becomes widespread and is instead replaced by Syndicalism. In 1919, The war-weary French government was defeated in a coup by a Syndicalist uprising, and the remaining French government goes into exile in their remaining colonial holdings in North Africa. A similar fate happens to Britain when in 1925, the government is overwhelmed by a Syndicalist uprising and the Royal Family is forced to flee to Canada and assumes control of the state.

After this, Germany stood as the unrivaled superpower of the world until 1936.

Situation At the Start of the Mod

Due to the nature of the game, nothing beyond 1936 (with a few exceptions) is set in stone. This is because there are various events which impact how the game plays out, so the game is different every time. In Europe, The Commune of France, Union of Britain, and The Socialistic Republic of Italy have formed an alliance known as the Third International and are rivaled to Germany. The remnants the Entente consisting of Canada (along with several other former British dominions and colonies), The French Republic in North Africa, and the Kingdom of Sardinia look to reclaim lands lost during the revolution from the Syndicalist nations. The German Empire leads Belgium, Ukraine, Belarus, and The Baltic States as well as all of her colonial holdings in an alliance known as the Reichspakt (formerly called Mittel-Europa). These are the main factions of the game.

Online Presence

r/Kaiserreich was launched on February 25, 2013, and reached 10,000 subscribers on January 14, 2017.^[4] The mod currently stands as the 2nd most subscribed mod on the Hearts of Iron IV Steam workshop (the first spot goes to Millennium Dawn, a mod set in 2000).^[2] The game also has a Wiki with over 250 pages.^[3]

Related Memes

Every Man A King / Share the wealth

These two sayings originate from the Louisiana governor Huey Long, who wasn't assassinated in this timeline and would become the head of state for the right-wing rebel nation during the Second American Civil War, American Union State. "Every man a king" is a catchphrase that was used to represent Long's populist economic policy. The catchphrase is frequently used as a meme about Huey Long; However, it can also be used in any situation just replacing the "king" part with something else. "Share the wealth" is the name of Long's economic program. The name is used similarly to "Every man a king," but less frequently than the former.

Direct Rule From London

"Direct rule from London" refers to a decision a player can make as the Union of Britain regarding the autonomy of Scotland and Wales. Oswald Mosley, who is a Totalist in this timeline, meaning he supports an authoritarian version of Syndicalism similar to how Communism in our timeline works, is required to make the decision pop up, so the meme is usually associated with him. The meme is used similarly to "Every man a king" with the "London" part being replaced with something else to better suit the situation.

Break the Chains / Solidarity Forever

"Break the Chains" is a catchphrase used by left-wing political organizations such as Syndicalists expressing their desire to metaphorically "break the chains" or be free of their capitalistic oppressors. Used typically when the subject matter is something Syndalistic, but can be used in any situation just like the other memes above. "Solidarity Forever" is a song originally by Ralph Chaplin often that speaks of the importance of unions to help the workers stand versus capitalistic opponents.

Reclaim the Birthright

"Reclaim the Birthright" refers to a catchphrase where the Entente (usually Canada) looks to retake their lands from the Syndicalist nations.

Of note, all of the memes above are usually typed with spaces between each letter similar to "Aesthetics".

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu's Meathooks.

This meme originated from Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the leader of the fascist Iron Guard Romania. Codreanu and his party were infamous for various atrocities, the most known being how he would kill Jews by impaling them on meat hooks. It is known as one of the more disturbing memes originating from the Kaiserreich subreddit and discord server. It often involves replacing characteristics of Iron Guard Romania such as its navy, weaponry, and appliance with hooks. Iron Guard Romania in entries is sometimes depicted as a pirate or fisherman due to this meme.

Die Wacht am Rhein

Die Wacht am Rhein (The Watch on the Rhine) is a German patriotic anthem with roots in the rivalry between the Germans and the French. The song is iconic as it is played on the main menu of the mod itself. The main showdown of the game is between Germany and the French Commune, and the song fits the tensions between the age-old enemies of France and Germany perfectly as the game plays out.

Trotsky's Penguins and Himmler's Chickens

Leon Trotsky was Lenin's right-hand man in the Soviet Union. Following the defeat of the Reds in Russia, he was spared execution and lives out his days in an unknown country. There is a joke among the Kaiserreich community on how he is in Antarctica recruiting penguins to help him take over the world. Heinrich Himmler was one of the leading members of the Nazi party until his suicide in 1945. Since the Nazis never rose to power in Kaiserreich, he became a chicken farmer and desired to breed a master race of chickens (called Haushuhn Herrenvolk).

What if X won World War 1?

This meme originates from content creators on Youtube such as Alex the Rambler, Drew Durnil, and iSorrowproductions who have gained popularity for their commentaries on Hearts of Iron 4, other video games created by Paradox Interactive, and their mods such as "Kaiserreich: Legacy of the Weltkrieg". It is a parody of the mod's introduction: "What if Germany won World War 1?" and the titles of other mods which took inspiration from the idea such as: "What if Russia won WW1?", "What if Austria-Hungary survived WW1?", and many others. Parodies include: "What if Tesco won WW1?", "What if Germany lost WW1?", and "What if Belgium won WW1?".

Betraying the Revolution / Syndicalism with X characteristics

Betraying the revolution is a meme originating from the Kaiserreich subreddit and Discord server and "Syndicalism with X characteristics" is a play on Mao Zedong's statement "Socialism with Chinese characteristics." "Definitive proof that X will betray the revolution" or "Syndicalism with X characteristics" are common captions of screenshots of the game. Betraying the revolution can be achieved by three means:

1. By hiring figures such as Oswald Mosley or Lavrentiy Beria to turn the country into a totalitarian state.

2. By a socialist state incorporating conservative or libertarian ideals like private enterprise or monarchies.

3. By a socialist state helping or joining a faction such as the Reichspakt or the Entente who are actively attacking socialist factions like the Third or Fourth Internationale.

The reverse of 2 or 3 is sometimes called "betraying the reaction".

Enemies on all sides! / Not Yet Lost

The quote "Enemies on all sides" is a reference to a focus which the AI and player can choose as Switzerland. During the Romandy crisis, Switzerland seeks protection from neighboring countries or can submit itself to French syndicalism. If all nations neighboring the country refuse to send help, Switzerland will gain a significant nationalistic boost and turn into the Swiss State, abandoning their neutrality and effectively having enemies on all sides.

Unfortunately, the offensive power of the Swiss State is quite insignificant compared to its larger neighbors which ultimately forces the Swiss to turn their country into a gigantic fortress backed up into a corner, desperately trying to seize land at any occasion.

The quote "Not Yet Lost" is attributed to one of the focuses Poland can take. The focus can boost the National Unity and the power of their partisans, rendering Poland incredibly hard to capitulate. The quote is often paired with screenshots of capitals surrounded on all sides yet refusing to give up even after the rest of their country has fallen to enemy forces.

The quote "Enemies on all sides" and "Not Yet Lost" are also paired with other countries who often take a more suicidal approach in diplomacy and warfare such as Expansionist Russia, the United States, the German Empire, National France, and Hungary.

Fuck it, I'm Genghis Khan now!

"Fuck it, I'm Genghis Khan now!" is a false quote attributed to Roman von Ungern-Sternberg known as the Mad Baron, after proclaiming to be a direct descendant of the Khan dynasty. Roman von Ungern-Sternberg was a Russian soldier known for its fierce fighting, blind luck, divine aspirations, and suicidal courage during WW1. In Kaiserreich, Roman von Ungern-Sternberg can lead the Mongolian Khanate, proclaim himself as a descendant of the Khan dynasty, and claim all of the former lands of the Mongolian Empire.

Soviet anime and Disney propaganda

Soviet anime is a reference to the "Soyuzmultfilm" focus which the Soviet Union can take under Nikolai Bukharin's leadership following the 2nd Russian Civil War. "Soyuzmultfilm" or "Union Cartoon" in Russian is an animation studio with the sole intent of producing syndicalist propaganda and films for the whole world to see. The studio is made up of Russian cartoonists, American defectors, and Japanese volunteers. This has led the community to believe that manga and anime originated from Russia, not Japan in the Kaiserreich universe.

During the 2nd American Civil War, the Pacific States of America can select Walt Disney as one of its ministers if the ruling party of the country is conservative.

The Welsh Union has capitulated!

"The Welsh Union has capitulated!" is a common pop-up in Kaiserreich known for its annoyance among the community. If the TUC of the Union of Britain goes autonomist under Niclas Y Glais's leadership, then Wales and Scotland will be released as puppets of the union. The Welsh Union with only one port, one province, no divisions, and one city is pretty easy to capitulate. Since the AI often retrieves divisions from foreign occupied territory, the Welsh Union will capitulate to enemy forces, then be rescued by the British army, only to capitulate again to enemy forces.

Ma Clique

The mod was given a recent update that added more detail to China, one of them being more detail to the Ma Clique. The Ma Clique is a Muslim warlord clique in northwest China in the mod. A clip of a magazine showing Ma Hongkui – the leader of the clique – as liking 'wives, song and ice cream' and 'detests reds' appeared in the announcement for the update. This led to a large amount of memes dealing with Ma Hongkui, his love of 'wives, song and ice cream' and his opposition to both Syndicalism and the aforementioned Sternberg.

Every ideology a X

The mod contains in total ten different ideologies. "Every ideology a X" is a series of edits associating a person or a work of fiction with each ideology of Kaiserreich by quoting said person or work of fiction. The portrait varies with each ideology.

Princess Victoria Louise

A submod on Steam was created that allowed Princess Victoria Louise (sometimes spelled Viktoria Louise), the daughter of German Kaiser Wilhelm II, to be the leader of France if the Germans create a puppet-state there. The Kaiserreich community has often referred to her as a waifu and she has become a meme among the community.

Boris Savinkov

When the Russian government collapses, the country is given several options. One of those options is to have Boris Savinkov seize control of the Russian government as a fascist dictator under the NRPR. As a result, Savinkov has become a well-known character in game. Most of the memes surrounding him deal with his irredentist and expansionist foreign policies, with the quote "All is Russia" being prominent.

Organic Kingdom / Portuguese Integralism

"Organic Kingdom" refers to a national focus for the Kingdom of Portugal, that allows them to implement more policies in line with the Monarchist and Catholic ideology of Integralism (already the leading ideology at the start of the game). Reddit users – most famously afonsom98 – became well known for posting memes on the topic, mostly about Portuguese irredentism and the monarchy, and accompanied by references to the phrase "organic".

Blessed Karl

Karl I of Austria (the real-world last Emperor of Austia and King of Hungary) is the in-game leader of the country. In real life, he was beatified (blessed by the Roman Catholic Church) by Pope John Paul II on October 2004. He is often memed by the community, referred to by his Catholic title of Blessed Charles (or Karl), and potrayed positively.

Ottoman Yo-Yo Ban

In March 2019, a leak from the Kaiserreich developers came out showing an in-game event from the Ottoman Empire, where Islamic Muftis in Damascus blame the local droughts on Yo-Yos^[7]. The player controlling the Ottomans then has the option to either ignore the issue of confiscate all Yo-Yos to appease the religious leaders. This later led to several memes about the leak.

Propaganda Posters

The community has also produced plenty of fictional propaganda posters often based on real-life propaganda posters.

Union of Britain Flag Submissions

Around September 19th and 20th of 2018, several users of r/Kaiserreich uploaded their own requests for a potential new flag of the syndicalist Union of Britain. The community quickly made this a meme withing a matter of hours, by creating flag submissions mocking the absurdity of the genuine requests. This quickly turned into a meta-meme about how quickly the meme formed.

Removing Leaders

There are multiple times in which certian country leaders were removed from the mod by the developers and replaced with someone else. This generally led to a reaction from the community. Some noteworthy examples of this were Charles Curtis (known for preventing the US from going into civil war, called the Compromiser) and Jose Agripino Barnet (Market Liberal leader of Cuba). Sternberg still leads Mongolia, but no longer does he have the title Ghengis Khan II.

Fan-Made Sequel Mods

Fans have been making submods for Kaiserreich for some time now, but recently fan-made sequel mods have been becoming popular, notable examples being Krasnacht and Kalterkrieg. Currently both of these mods are work-in-progress and have not been released yet, although they both have subreddits.

Kaiserreich has no 'official' storyline beyond the 1936 start date, so all of these mods are unoficcial to the Kaiserreich storyline.

Krasnacht

Krasnacht is a work-in-progress mod set in a world where, after the Second World War, the German Empire and Entente have been defeated, and the world is divided between the Syndicalist western bloc, and an eastern bloc led by a nationalist Russia. The mod has a subreddit^[5].

Kalterkrieg

Kalterkrieg (formerly known as Nachkrieg before a name change) is a work-in-progress mod where, after the Second World War where the Syndicalist powers have been defeated, the former territories are divided between the German Reichspakt and the formerly exiled Entente. The mod has a subreddit^[6].

Search Interest

External References

^[5] Reddit – /r/Krasnacht

^[6] Reddit – /r/KRGmod

^[7] Reddit – Ottoman Leak