[[quoteright:333:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cauldron.jpg]]

''Cauldron'' is a 1993 PossibleWar novel about another major continental European war written by Creator/LarryBond in collaboration with Patrick Larkin. A worsening economic situation in early 90s Europe leads to a trade war and the unraveling of NATO. The continental juggernauts of [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades France]] and [[UsefulNotes/WeAreNotTheWehrmacht Germany]] form the European Confederation ([=EurCon=]) in order to solidify their economic control of the continent. Their attempts to impose their influence on Eastern Europe lead to rapidly increasing tensions which finally break out into open war, threatening to drag the United States and Russia with them.

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!!'''Tropes Appearing In This Novel Include:'''
* AlternateHistory: A more violent attempt at unifying Europe compared to the Treaty of Maastricht that established the real-life European Union.
* TheCavalry: American reinforcement by air and sea helps Poland [[spoiler:hold the line at Danzig]].
* CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys: Averted. The French are shown as a genuinely formidable military threat.
* CoolPlane: The French Rafale stealth capability and maneuverability give it an edge in the skies. The Americans have the supersonic B-1B Lancers and stealth F-117 Nighthawks, both of which devastate [=EurCon=] ground facilities.
* EmergencyAuthority: Unrest caused by the deteriorating economic situation in Europe has forced a number of governments there to impose authoritarian measures.
* FalseFlagOperation: A favorite tactic of the DGSE. The book opens with a bombing attack on a French-owned helicopter plant in Sopron, Hungary, which is staged to look like an attack by Hungarian nationalists and meant to give France more control over Hungary's economy. Later, the DGSE blow up an LNG tanker ship off the coast of Poland and try to make it look like either eco-terrorism or an accident, hoping to convince the Poles that importing fuel in violation of the French embargo is too dangerous.
* TheFederation: What the European Confederation’s main movers try to portray the organization. In practice, averted with the stranglehold the French and Germans have on the levers of power and with the methods they employ.
* FragileSpeedster: The German Luchs and Polish BRDM scout vehicles may be fast, but do not hold up to enemy fire.
* GovernmentInExile: [[spoiler:Hungary’s Government of National Salvation find themselves in France after their ouster.]]
* GunboatDiplomacy: [=EurCon=] forces mass on Germany and Austria’s eastern borders in an attempt to force Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary to follow the confederation’s dictates.
* HegemonicEmpire: Despite its claims to be TheFederation, this is how [=EurCon=] ''actually'' works. France and Germany call all the shots, while the other members are little more than client states. Hungary's government in particular functions as little more than a face for French rule.
* HomeGuard: German reservists are called up as the fighting intensifies.
* KillSat: The Brilliant Pebbles of the US GPALS (Global Protection Against Limited Strikes) system take out French and German reconnaissance satellites in the opening days of the war.
* MacrossMissileMassacre: An American convoy in the Baltic Sea suffers this from [=EurCon=] air attacks [[spoiler:leading to the sinking of several ships.]]
* TheMutiny: [[spoiler:Hungary’s armed forces rebel after being ordered to attack the revolutionary government in Budapest.]]
** [[spoiler: German units refuse to obey orders and consider French units hostile after the Polish advance stalls.]]
* NextSundayAD / TheNineties: Has exact dates in 1997-1998, a few years after the year the novel was published.
* NicknamingTheEnemy: American troops refer to the French and Germans as “Frogs” and “Krauts”, respectively.
* NukeEm: [[spoiler:France attempts to launch nuclear-tipped cruise missiles to wipe out America’s North Sea carrier battle groups.]]
* PuppetKing: The French President is in fact controlled by his ministers, with [[BigBad Desaix]] most prominent among them.
* SceneryGorn: The descriptions of environments following artillery and air attacks.
* SeaMine: Used by both sides to significant effect in the Baltic Sea and English Channel.
* SomebodySetUpUsTheBomb: A favorite of the DGSE operatives in the story, damaging a helicopter plant near Sopron in Hungary and [[spoiler:destroying a shipyard in Gdansk by blowing up a liquid propane tanker.]]
* TankGoodness: The cutting-edge (at the time) French AMX-56 Leclerc, German Leopard 2, and American [=M1A2=] duke it out on the battlefields of Poland, along with their less-advanced brethren.
* UnitedEurope: The goal of the heads of the European Confederation.
* VillainousValour: Demonstrated by Lt. Col. “Willi” Seelow.
* WarRefugees: As the situation in Poland worsens, the local civilian population is forced to flee the encroaching frontlines.

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