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How Few Remain (novel and spinoff series)

Last modified: 2007-03-10 by marc pasquin
Keywords: how few remain | great war | book | novel | alternate history | congaree socialist republic | germany | ireland | quebec | mexico |
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Congaree Socialist Republic

[red field, black broken chains]
by Marc Pasquin, based on the text, 31 January 2007

A short lived entity set up by some marxist-inspired black inhabitants of the CSA near the river of the same name. It was declared during the Great War. A flag is described (GW:WIH p.19):

[...] the red flags with the broken chains in black [...]
The design pop up a few more time later on in posters and the like. Note that the february and october revolution either failed or never happened *there* in russia so none of the familiar symbols associated with communism are used *there* (the colours red is used by all socialists).

Does anyone know if a broken chains symbol was used by any specific group *here* ?
Marc Pasquin, 31 January 2007

German Empire

Flag Described in text

Germany, never defeated as *here*, seem to have kept on using the imperial war flag (AE:TCCH p.19):

The German naval ensign fluttered from her stern: a busy banner, with the black Hohenzollern eagle in a white circle at the centter of a black cross on a white field. In the canton, [...], was a small version of the German national banner: a black maltese cross on horizontal stripes of black, white, and red.
At least at first glance, this appear to be the historical german imperial War Ensign used *here*. The author use of "maltese cross" in this instance however would appear to show that, baring a slip, either the Confederate Battle Flag mentioned before (also describe as bearing a maltese cross) is unlike the one we usualy think of or the german national flag *there* bears a black saltire. If however the german Iron cross is what the writer consider to be a "maltese cross", this would go a long way in confirming James' hypothesis in regard to the Confederate battle flag mentioned before.
Marc Pasquin, 31 January 2007

Flag seen on a cover

[red field, black broken chains]
by Marc Pasquin, based on the cover of the paperback edition of Great War: Breakthrough, 31 January 2007

Another flag appears on the cover to the 2001 Hodder & Stroughton paperback edition of Great War: Breakthrough. It shows a submarine bearing German and US decoration on his prow (a US flag and an iron cross). A few flags flow from it, one of which is a red St. George's cross with, centered, a white circle containing an iron cross, both the cross and circle fimibriated black. This is probably strictly a creation of the cover's painter since it does not describe any event from the book, makes little sense (Germany and the US have no joint operations let alone, joint ships) and in any case the US flags shown are of the 50 stars variety, unknown in this timeline. Nonetheless, I have included an image for the sake of completeness and because I know someone would eventualy send one saying we don't have it.
Marc Pasquin, 31 January 2007

Republic of Ireland

[3 horizontal band red-white-red, blue canton with 16 white stars]     [3 horizontal band red-white-red, blue canton with 16 white stars]
both images by Marc Pasquin, based on the text, 6 January 2007

Ireland gain independance from Great Britain as condition of its surrender (it lost to the US and Germany). The flag is first described during a visit of a US ship to an irish port (AE:BAI p.158):

A destroyer flying a green-white-orange flag with a harp in the middle of the white led the way [...]
I guess that to the author, the simple tricolore didn't look irish enough. There is and historical tricolour with an harp but with the defacement on the green stripe.

On the other hand, since the direction of the bands are not indicated and that france *there* was on the british side and thus an enemy of Ireland, the flags could actualy be like the Indian national flag *here* with the harp replacing the wheel. There is the possibility of one historical flag with horizontal bands *here*, a sketch of which we have here

In a later book, the flag is described as (AE:TCCH p.18):
[...] the orange, white, and green banner of the Republic of Ireland [...]
This could just be a mistake but since most people tend to describe flags the way they read, this would seem to imply that the order of colours has been changed. Note that this description follow an attempted ulsterite bid for independence so the flag could be a compromise: reverse order, no harp.

Interestingly, one of the earliest irish tricolour *here* (the Meagher's flag of 1848) had orange first.
Marc Pasquin, 6 January 2007

Empire Of Mexico

Mexico is still under Maxillian's Empire in the 1880 timeline of "How Few Remain", and continues as the Empire of Mexico in the later World War I volumes. I would assume, therefore, that the Imperial Mexican flag continues to have an imperial crown over the eagle.
Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr , 21 october 2000

From (AE:TCCH p.199):

Red-white-and-green flags fluttered everywhere. Both sides in the civil war flew those colors, which got as confusing as the Stars and Bars and the Stars and Stripes had during the Great War.
The civil war in question is the Mexican Civil War that serve *there* as a counterpart to the spanish civil war *here* (complete with volunteers sent by the losing side of the Great War). Both side using similar flag could be an echo of the situation *here*. The flags refered to are not described but the imperialist side is probably either this one or that one. As for the republican one, considering this take place in the 1930s, it might be the 1934 pattern.
Marc Pasquin, 29 december 2006

Republic of Quebec

After the invasion of Canada, Quebec becomes a US satelite/puppet state. Its flag is at first vaguely described (GW:AF p.80):

Posters [...] showed Quebec's fleur-de-lis banner side by side with the stars and stripes.
Then in the interbellum (AE:BAI p.67-68):
Instead, the [Quebec] Republic's flag (which had also been the provincial flag) floated above it: a field of blue quartered by a white cross, and in each quadrant a white fleur-de-lys.
The author could have simply thought of the current provincial flag, but this would mean a creation date 30 years earlier or more. Simply from an historical point of view, it could be the Carillon-Sacre-Coeurs or some variation on it.

The fact that it is presented as something already in use seem to go with the idea that Canada (and its provinces) adopted local symbols much earlier then *here*.
Marc Pasquin, 6 January 2007

Sources Used