I’ve been reading the light novels for “The Saga of Tanya the Evil” (just started Vol 4) … and there’s an … interesting little tidbit from the very beginning which seems to be very … ignored? … by a lot fo the readers of the series / watchers of the anime. The Empire (Tanya’s “side”, aka, the Germans) were originally the defenders.
The Republic (France) and the Entente Alliance (Norwegian countries) attacked FIRST. Sure, the Empire then proceeded to counter-invade and capture Entente … and then, when Dacia (Austria-ish?) prepared to attack as well, they got trounced, etc.
But – again … the Empire was on the defensive side. They were repelling an attack because everyone else feared them – so they were, effectively, FORCED to become the massive powerhouse that they’re turning into.
As somewhat of a WW2 … “fan”? (mainly from a love of tactical / strategic wargames) … it’s interesting to see how everyone seems to “mis-compare” the world of Tanya to our world. Sure, it’s easy to see the corollaries in terms of national powers and such, but certainly the initial reasons for the war starting are somewhat different than from our world. And, in that context, I have to say – I’m not sure that the Empire (at least so far) has been acting “improperly”. They were attacked and are repelling that attack.
Given the seeming “out of nowhere” nature of the assault, and the apparent lack of any sort of active diplomatic efforts on the side of the attackers to try and calm the waters, it seems perfectly reasonable for them to want to obliterate their enemies. Heck, the main diplomats of the Commonwealth (UK) actively speak of how they want to beat the hell out of the Empire, but (initially) don’t want to involve themselves, actively, in the war. These are not the statements (nor the positions) of a neutral third-party.
[Yes, as Tanya realized early on, this then is likely to turn it into a “world war”, but that’s because the attackers aren’t allowing themselves to see a situation where a militarily-powerful Empire is “allowed” to exist.]
[This is in no way intended as any sort of commentary on anything happening in the current “real world” and should not be taken as such.]
