Timeline

The following is a brief summary of some of the major historical turning points in the Case Amber universe. Bolded events are points of divergence from the original timeline. The year 2062 is considered the "present day".

In terms of historical events, the Case Amber timeline begins to diverge in 1920, but technological and cultural progression begins to diverge in 1950. While technology marches forward, the world feels culturally and aesthetically "stuck in time".

2060s

Year	Date	Event	Location	Context
2062	August	Exercise REFORC '62	Republic of China	American and Australian military forces conduct REFORC '62 (standing for "REturn of FORces to China, pronounced re-force) to train reinforcing the Republic of China in case of war. The American forces involved include the 25th Infantry Division; 11th Airborne Division; 4th Armored Division; 1st Light Tank Destroyer Battalion, 249th Infantry (OR ARNG); Combat Command "B" (CCB), 40th Armored Division (CA ARNG); and supporting units. The Australian contingent was represented by 3rd Task Force (Armoured), 1st Division. While not technically part of the exercise, the U.S. also deployed the 1st Battle Group, 22nd Infantry and 2nd Battle Group, 49th Infantry of the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) to the Republic of Vietnam, which refused to officially take part in Chinese security frameworks.

2050s

Year	Date	Event	Location	Context
2057	January-December	Reduction of British Forces China	Republic of China	Due to political and economic problems at home and growing tensions in Europe, the withdraws its two rotational Armoured Brigades from the Republic of China. Following diplomatic protest from the United States, the British Army subtely re-roles 48 (Gurkha) Infantry Brigade in Hong Kong into an airmobile brigade with a power armor-equipped infantry battalion for the purpose of rapidly deploying into China and establishing an anti-tank blocking line should war break out.

1940s

Year	Date	Event	Location	Context
1947	1 December	Vietnam Becomes a Trust Territory	French Indochina	Vietnam (a unification of the French Indochinese territories of Cochinchina, Annam and Tonkin) becomes a UN Trust Territory under administration by the United States. The U.S. and Republic of China had invaded Japanese-occupied Tonkin and Annam during the Pacific War. Trusteeship followed heated debate pushed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the strengthening of the working alliance between the U.S. and Viet Minh, and the continued stationing of U.S. troops in Indochina even after the surrender of Japan. However, Laos (which was occupied by the British from 1943 rather than the Americans) and Cambodia (which was held by isolated Japanese forces throughout the war and reoccupied by France post-war) remained as components of French Indochina until 1967. The American push for decolonization of Indochina and the Far East in general is seen as a defining moment when European Allies began to perceive the U.S. as not only an unreliable partner, but a potential political adversary. It is commonly held in France that the decolonization of Indochina was against the French government's consent and was largely the result of American strongarming. While the fervent American push from trusteeship was partially the result of Roosevelt's own personal distaste for French administration and European colonialism, some American academics make the case that returning control of Vietnam to France would have complicated the security picture in Southeast Asia. It would have reinserted a colonial power that could not be controlled on the Republic of China's southern border, likely have resulted in the termination of U.S. military basing rights in Northern Vietnam, and put the U.S. at risk of becoming intertwined with European security. Many historians believe that unfavorable decolonization in the Far East led to France's spirited fight to retain its remaining Asian holdings (including Cambodia and Laos) into the 1960s and its African holdings into the 1970s despite international pressure, growing casualties, and unrest at home. France further refused to cooperate with the U.S. and U.K. in supporting the Chinese security framework. It also firmly cemented the U.S.'s withdrawal from Continental European affairs and its engagement in the Indo-Pacific.
1942	February 10	Chiang Kai-Shek meets with Mahatma Gandhi	British Raj	Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek and First Lady Soong Mei-ling visit British India and are hosted by Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi assures the Chiangs that the Allies will never treat China as an equal. Following, Chiang petitions U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt to mediate in an attempt to pressure the British into accepting the demands of Gandhi's Congress Party.. Britain tells the U.S. to mind its own affairs.

1930s

Year	Date	Event	Location	Context
1935	August 1	1935 Reichstag Bombing	German Reich	The nationalist paramilitary and veterans organization Der Stahlhelm bombs the Reichstag in an attempt to overthrow the Weimar government. The violence ultimately does not achieve its goal. After militants were suppressed by government forces, extreme elements of the monarchist German National People's Party (DNVP) were implicated. It was argued that the some DNVP leaders approved the attack in response to the in response to the SPD-Centre Grand Coalition's abnormally stable government (3 years to that point). This caused the Conservative People's Party (KVP) to rapidly grow in membership as the moderate wing of the DNVP jumped ship. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck was installed as KVP chairman to instill public confidence, as the monarchist cause was then associated with terrorists. The KVP would form a coalition with the Centre Party as a junior partner to unseat Otto Wels' SPD government in the 1936 federal election. The Reichstag bombing coincided with the pan-Germanic nationalist putsch in Austria, which was successfully suppressed by the Fatherland Front with diplomatic support from Fascist Italy, France and Germany.
1932	July 31	1932 German federal election	German Reich	The SPD-Centre Grand Coalition (SPD–Z–DDP–BVP) unseats the DNVP's Nationalist Coalition (DNVP—DStB—DDP—BVP). Otto Wels (SPD) becomes Chancellor of Germany. Center-left moderates capitalized on the failures of the DNVP's pro-elite response to the Great Depression and major tensions caused by rightist paramilitaries briefly but very publicly reoccupying the Rhineland half a year after France left.
	March 13/April 10	1932 German presidential election	German Reich	Joseph Wirth (Centre) is elected President of Germany. To ensure the defeat of the DNVP candidate, the SPD agreed to support the Centre Party on the second ballot provided it was an agreeable candidate like Wirth.
1931	4 January	Paramilitaries Reoccupy the Rhineland	German Reich	Less than 6 months after France withdrew from the Rhineland, armed nationalist paramilitary groups reoccupied it. This was desperate bid to stoke nationalist sentiments. While denied by Hugenberg’s DNVP government, it was an open secret that the DNVP had financed the operation (possibly with Hugenerg's personal funds). Nationalist commentators stoked hype that soon it would be the military following in their steps. It was known to France and the UK that the paramilitaries were being used as proxies for official state action. The reoccupation was heavily opposed by Centre and SPD due to causing a massive international incident and showing Germany to be acting in bad faith. It was opposed by the military due to the generals knowing they weren’t ready for a war with France, and it threatened their plans to remilitarize in the late 1930s to challenge Poland. After a stand-off and threats from the French to invade the Rhineland once more, the DNVP government secretly called back their mercenaries and denied involvement. The incident was seen by the public as an embarrassment.

1920s

Year	Date	Event	Location	Context
1929	October 24/29	Wall Street Market Crash	United States	The New York Stock Exchange in the United States suffers a market crash, contributing to the beginning of the Great Depression.
1923	November 8-9	Beer Hall Putsch	German Reich	The Kampfbund attempt to seize Munich is violently suppressed by Bavarian police. NSDAP leader Adolf Hitler was shot and killed. The Nazi Party was banned, although other rightist militant groups (primarily focused on restoring the monarchy) replaced it.
1922	June 24	Attempted assassination of Walther Rathenau	German Reich	Erwin Kern, Hermann Fischer, and Ernst Techow attempt to murder German Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau on the orders of Hermann Ehrhardt, but are shot dead in the attempt. Rathenau escapes with moderate injuries from a grenade blast outside his car. While Rathenau normally sent away his guard because he did not like having shadows spying on him and disturbing his guests this time two were with him at the insistence of Chancellor Wirth and a plain clothes police officer guarding his villa was also present. Rathenau's speech before the Reichstag on bandaged and on crutches preached unity and moderation among the left.