| “ | The rescue of India from the ages of barbarianism, tyranny and internecine war and its slow but ceaseless forward march to civilization constitute upon the whole the finest achievement of our history. | „ |
| ~ Winston Churchill. |
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill is a potential playable character in the Hearts of Iron IV mod Red Flood. He is the leader of the United Provinces, a warlord-state in India and one of the few remnants of British colonial rule left. In this timeline, Churchill was reassigned to obscure colonial stations after a humiliating defeat at Gallipoli. As the British Raj in India collapsed, Churchill managed to gain control of a warlord-state in Uttar Pradesh.
Background[]
Winston Churchill was born in 1874 in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. In the year 1915, one year after the Great War started, Churchill led Australian, New Zealander, and British Indian troops into battle against the Ottoman Empire at Gallipoli. Unfortunately, this Gallipoli campaign ended in a humilating defeat, with 95,000 Australian and New Zealander troops killed for no gain. This failure prompted Churchill resign from his position.
After the Great War ended, Churchill again commanded troops, this time stationed in the newly-colonized Kurdistan. However, some troops under his command killed 157 civilian protestors, causing the British to relieve Churchill of his post and reassign him to a minor administrative job in Uttar Pradesh, India.
At one point, the British Raj would collapse, leaving India in a state of chaos. Churchill was able to keep control of Uttar Pradesh, but his fiefdom was landlocked and isolated from the rest of the British Empire. As time went on, he found himself resorting to more and more dire measures to keep the natives in line. First he only called for using non-lethal tear gas. Then he began producing chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas, hoping he wouldn't need to use it. Then he started using these lethal agents to deal with particularly bad rebellions. Then he started using them in more and more circumstances. In time, the United Provinces he ruled over became held together only by sheer military force keeping the people in line through fear. Churchill himself descended into alcoholism and depression, feeling guilt and hopelessness in the face of his current situation.
In-game[]
There are three potential paths that the United Provinces' focus tree allows Winston Churchill to go down:
Old British Values[]
In the "Old British Values" path, Churchill will attempt to establish a parliamentary democracy in the United Provinces. He will also dial back on his repressive policies, disarm the police, and attempt to reconcile with the Indian people. The exact details of what kind of democracy he establishes will be up to player choice: he can grant suffrage either to the Indian natives or only to the English citizens; he can have either controlled parties or freedom of speech; and he can either grant the right to protest or limit dessent. Whichever way the player goes, Churchill will then run for office in the parliamentary democracy he created. Whether he wins or loses depends on player choice. However, the loosening of repression means that there is a much higher chance that Churchill will be killed by rebels.
Steady as she goes...[]
In the "Steady as she goes..." path, Churchill will try his hardest to stay in power and regain contact with Britain. While this path is the most straightforward, it does not solve the unrest among the Indian people, and it will allow Churchill to become more prone to fatal mistakes over time. He will become more despondent and his alcoholism will grow worse. Churchill will continue using gas against the Indians to keep them in line. One of the big projects Churchill will undertake in this path is invade Bihar and the other Indian states to the east, allowing Churchill to gain access to the ocean; this in turn lets him regain contact with Britain and the much-needed resources they provide. However, his forces will also be spread out thin, making it harder to maintain stability.
A Night in the Library[]
In the "A Night in the Library" path, Churchill will first go to the library to read some books on race and books on rule. These books will convince Churchill that the answer to the United Provinces' problems is doubling down on repression, "civilizing" the (supposedly inferior) Indian people, and making India loyal to the British Empire by force. Among the reforms Churchill implements are mandatory curfews, making the Indians adopt British customs, making them abandon the "savage" Hindu gods, creating labour camps for dissenters, having the army open fire on protestors, and encouraging the creation of native collaborationist governments. The intent of these reforms are to make the locals prioritize their identity as British subjects over their identity as Indians.
Churchill will also fight against all of the other Indian warlords, and with his stronger army, it is likely that he wins. Should Churchill's regime unite India under this path, the news event "The Unification of India" claims that international observers "have described it as a nightmare, as totalitarian, as a state that invokes such names as Leopold in its administration." A British state visit will be shocked by the horrors of his regime, and they can either depose him for this or turn a blind eye to his crimes.
Personality[]
Winston Churchill spends most of the game haunted by his past failures, desperately hoping to rectify them. At the game's start, he is despondent, addicted to alcohol, and slowly losing hope. Whether his mental situation improves depends on player or AI choice. The "Steady as she goes..." sees his mental health worsen, while the "Old British Values" path sees him get better. The "A Night in the Library" path sees Churchill overcome depression, but also grow much more paranoid.
Trivia[]
- In the 16th Progress Report, the developers described Churchill' "A Night in the Library" path as his "darkest path" in the mod.
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