Despite the fact that France is technically at war with Nazi Germany, a secret society known as the Order of the Black Pillar have dedicated themselves to destabilizing the Third Republic so that their thirst for vengeance against the Republic of Texas can be slaked. Nearly a century ago, France invaded Texas and behaved barbarously, and in the war that followed saw virtually all of her army in Mexico destroyed. To humiliated by the Germans was one thing, but by cowboys and Indians? For decades, the Order has developed their power within France, infiltrating various organs of government. Now, the time has come to make their mark.Scratching her bruised ego, France continues to harass Texan shipping on the open waters, and after an attempt by the French navy to capture a convoy of oil tankers ends with half of the French fleet destroyed, open warfare quickly becomes inevitable and the course of what would become World War 2 changes dramatically. The Lone Star, the Tricolor, and the Swastika is an unexpectedly strong sequel to Texas at the Coronation, with an enormous amount of naval and air military operations. It’s still checked with grammar issues (“it’s” is consistently used for “its”) and pulp-fiction villainy, but the new theater of war and the dramatic potential consequences for what might follow. The military-technical parts are very interesting, frequently driving me to google for information on various ships, torpedo designs, airplanes, etc. Unfortunately, like Turtledove’s War that Came Early, the book’s ending is veering strongly right back into the path of normal history, despite elements existing that could have mixed things up. I’ll drop a line below on that for those who are curious.     

SPOILER! SPOILER! DIVE! DIVE!

So, Petain comes to power after the president is killed in a bombing. France then does a sneak-attack on Texas and bombs one of its major coastal cities with both conventional explodey-bombs and poison-gas bombs that kill thousands of civilians. France insists that Britain join it in prosecuting a war against Texas per their mutual-defense treaty,  or else it will make a separate peace with Germany.  Britain says “Not quite our cup of tea, thanks”, France begins its ceasefire, and Texas declares war on both France and Germany for some reason. I realize Hitler probably still wants Alsace-Lorraine, but if France is not opposing its movements in Poland, why would he want to waste men, time, and resources attacking it – -especially given Petain’s potential cultivation as an ally? And why is Texas going to war with Germany?