The German Century

[Joriz Castillo]

The All-American Badass​

The beginning of Teddy Roosevelt's presidency was not a rosy one. Having been a running mate alongside McKinley during the election and the VP during his presidency until his out-of-nowhere assassination, Teddy had to contend with mourning his partner's death but he could now breath a sigh of relief as he nows had the chance to implement his agenda for future of America. The bosses in the GOP may hate him, but he was a man of the people who thrill-fully supported the man. This was the man that led the charge up San Juan Hill with the Rough Riders, transformed the NYPD into a professional institution, and went up against Tammany Hall.

During this time, in 1903, he lent a helping hand in Panama's liberation from Colombia by deploying the US Navy. In return for America's assistance, the new country would allow Roosevelt the right to building a canal across the isthmus. Once the Panama Canal was under US control, Teddy did a favor to soothe feelings over. As an act of goodwill, he let the future revenue from the canal be split between Panama and the USA. He conserved a lot of areas in the country that were turned into nature reserves, deeply inspired by his time out west. He broke up a lot of monopolies and trusts that were strangling the economy, earning the moniker 'Trust-buster'.

One other important thing that happened in his first term was the state visit of Wilhelm III of Germany in 1902. Since the chances of an alliance with Britain were dashed, the young emperor looked to the west. He traveled aboard the SMS Hohenzollern and landed at New York Harbour to be greeted by a huge crowd and lots of press. During this time, he met officials, dignitaries, folks from the German American community, notable people like Thomas Edison, Rockefeller and many others. Along the way, Wilhelm stopped by Washington DC to go meet the President. Both of them had a cordial meeting, which included a splendid dinner, where they talked a lot about friendly bonding, the cultures between the two nations, and more importantly, diplomacy.

In those talks, Wilhelm, along with his diplomatic entourage, negotiated with Roosevelt regarding Germany's interest in the Caribbean. For one, the German Navy needed a coal refueling station to secure their ship's journey to the Pacific but Roosevelt was, following the Monroe Doctrine, opposed to any European annexation into the western hemisphere. The talks continued until, one night, both men had struck a deal: Germany would abandon any interest in the Caribbean. In return, the US would let German ships refuel in their harbors, particularly in places like Florida and Puerto Rico.

The Coal Deal, as it was called, was a masterstroke in diplomacy as it ensured mutual respect for both the Monroe Doctrine and Germany's naval goals. Soon after this, public opinion began to be more positive regarding Germany and its young and smart king.

A few months later, the Venezuelan Crisis would erupt when the Venezuelan president, Cipriano Castro, refused to pay the country's foreign debts and damages by Europeans in its recent civil wars. As a consequence, Britain, France, and Italy sent ships to blockade the country and shelled its forts and harbors in an attempt to force the government to honor its debt repayments. Teddy resolved this crisis by sending his fleet into a standoff and warned the British, Italians and French to back off as America threatened war if they try to land troops on the coast. One notable absence from this blockade was the Germans.

Eventually, the crisis was settled in 1903 at The Hague as the blockading powers were awarded preferential treatment. Roosevelt wasn't satisfied with the ruling as it could encourage future intervention. As a result, the Roosevelt Corollary was added to the Monroe Doctrine.

A year later, Teddy Roosevelt won the 1904 election in a landslide victory against the Democrats very own Alton B. Parker, who only won the entire South. During his victory speech, he made one announcement that would surprise everyone: he would run again as president in 1908.

The Bull Moose would continue marching on.

Theodore Roosevelt, US President (1901-)
(1859-)​

 

[haider najib]

So germany recongises the the americas is american sphere, so what where the domestic remaification of germany not sending its fleet Venezuela owes them a debt don't they?

 

[Joriz Castillo]

So germany recongises the the americas is american sphere, so what where the domestic remaification of germany not sending its fleet Venezuela owes them a debt don't they?

Instead of sending the fleet, Germany decides to handle this in a diplomatic way so as not to get on America's bad side, which is part of Wilhelm's goal of finding allies in the world to counterbalance France and Russia and this was before Britain signed the Entente Cordiale.

 

[Joriz Castillo]

*Bump*

 

[Michel Van]

Exzellent solution to the Venezuelan Crisis, but would that not undermine the US vindication to build lager military fleet like OTL crisis ?

Interesting, Germany get needed Coal bunkers for there Sea Fleet, with idea of Wold wide operational German Combat fleet could make British and French Empire nervous.

And can I hope that in this TL something terrible happen to a certain Woodrow Willson ?

 

[Joriz Castillo]

Exzellent solution to the Venezuelan Crisis, but would that not undermine the US vindication to build lager military fleet like OTL crisis ?

Interesting, Germany get needed Coal bunkers for there Sea Fleet, with idea of Wold wide operational German Combat fleet could make British and French Empire nervous.

And can I hope that in this TL something terrible happen to a certain Woodrow Willson ?

The US would still be vindicated to build a bigger fleet after the crisis. Germany not getting involved was just a slight change from OTL.

Indeed, with a friendly nation willing to let you refuel in their ports the others would be worried.

Wilson will be covered. I won't tell you what would happen to him though.

 

[Coulsdon Eagle]

Bethmann Hollweg Chancellor at the turn of the century is unlikely - he was only appointed by Wilhelm II to replace Bulow a decade later. Bethmann only became Prussian Minister of the Interior in 1905 (promoted by Bulow) and Imperial Secretary of the Interior & Vice Chancellor in 1907. As the Chancellors chosen by Wilhelm II were very individual & personal choices by the Kaiser, and not necessarily driven by numbers in the Reichstag, I think almost any OTL Chancellor is unlikely.

 

[Joriz Castillo]

Bethmann Hollweg Chancellor at the turn of the century is unlikely - he was only appointed by Wilhelm II to replace Bulow a decade later. Bethmann only became Prussian Minister of the Interior in 1905 (promoted by Bulow) and Imperial Secretary of the Interior & Vice Chancellor in 1907. As the Chancellors chosen by Wilhelm II were very individual & personal choices by the Kaiser, and not necessarily driven by numbers in the Reichstag, I think almost any OTL Chancellor is unlikely.

Duly noted and changed. I'll be honest, I didn't know much about the politics of the time so I didn't think clearly on who was the Chancellor at the time. I just thought of the name right from my head so I apologize for that.

 

[Coulsdon Eagle]

If you want a good handle on the leading personalities, "Dreadnought" by Robert K Massie is not only informative but an exceptionally good read.

 

[jotto]

If you want a good handle on the leading personalities, "Dreadnought" by Robert K Massie is not only informative but an exceptionally good read.

Agreed. Very good, very readable book. In fact I may grab my copy and reread it again....

 

[Jaenera Targaryen]

Plenty of German-Americans in the USA, the largest immigrant group after Anglo-Americans. If Germany takes Britain's place ITTL's special relationship, I imagine the latter would likely abandon/paper over the 'Anglo' part of their heritage, likely by referencing that America won its independence from Britain in the 1700s, and they are Americans, period. I also imagine a certain Friedrich von Steuben (George Washington's Prussian-born Chief of Staff) will also be a very prominent historical figure here, more so than IOTL.

 

[bobbobbins3]

*flaunts big stick at europe*

 

[Joriz Castillo]

*flaunts big stick at europe*

 

[Protagoras]

Promising! On the theme of what happens if Wilhelm II doesn't screw everything up, I'm curious whether anyone has done a "Frederick III doesn't get cancer and lives as long as his father did" timeline?

 

[Blobfish]

Given the improving German-American relations, it seems likely that there’ll be either a U.S. in the Central Powers or at the very least neutrality towards Germany. Either outcome increases the Kaiser prospects in the Great War (assuming it happens and starts in a similar fashion to OTL, which it very well might not).

 

[Joriz Castillo]

Promising! On the theme of what happens if Wilhelm II doesn't screw everything up, I'm curious whether anyone has done a "Frederick III doesn't get cancer and lives as long as his father did" timeline?

Onkel Willie did one.

 

[haider najib]

Could it also be wise to sell some of the Pacific islands to the usa or atleast allow the usa to dock and put there navy there, they can much more easily power project there and leave it undrr unofficial US protection and keep japan greedy hands off.

 

[abysskaiser]

Could it also be wise to sell some of the Pacific islands to the usa or atleast allow the usa to dock and put there navy there, they can much more easily power project there and leave it undrr unofficial US protection and keep japan greedy hands off.

or they could instead sell all their pacific holdings (barring Chinese ports) to japan to try and cultivate a world wide alliance, though that’s probably incredibly ooc (but i’d totally read such a story)

 

[Joriz Castillo]

Samurai Underdogs​

Ever since the country abolished the shogunate, Japan had been on the path towards modernization and reform. The old samurai class lost its privileges, factories and railways were built, the army was modernized, cities were transformed. Japanese society had been transformed from an isolated, agricultural group of islands to an industrial powerhouse. With a new constitution, the Emperor became a figurehead while a Diet headed by a prime minister ruled the country.

To become a great power in its own right, they had to take baby steps. The first step was Korea for it was right next to Japan and therefore it's very backyard. First, they forced the hermit country to open its ports to trade. Then they sponsored Pro-Japanese officials to help pull Korea into its sphere of influence. When the Queen of Korea, Empress Myeongseong, opposed their efforts they had her assassinated. This made things worse for the Koreans as they were on the road to Asian servitude.

In 1895, Japan went to war against China. They overran the Korean peninsula, which used to be a Chinese vassal, and marched into the fringes of Manchuria. Along the way, they destroyed the relatively modern Beiyang fleet in a one-sided battle and landed on the shores of Taiwan. Seeing the disaster, the Qing emperor requested peace and soon the war was over.

While it was a victory, to the Japanese it was a hollow one as they didn't get their desired goal of having Port Arthur which they were stopped by the western powers. With this, Japan continued building its navy which was having state of the art ships in its arsenal. In that same year, Korea came completely under the influence of Japan.

In 1905, Japan and Russia went to war. Everybody predicted that Japan would lose as Russia was superior, the only factor being that they were white and Japan was yellow. Whilst the Russian army mobilized thousands of men, Japan sent fewer men but managed to score victory after victory. Soon the fighting shifted to Southern Manchuria. While the Japanese army was smaller, it was effective in tactics and strategy. The greatest example of this was in the sea.

The Russian Baltic fleet had arrived just in time after crossing the Suez Canal. They were sent to help fight the Japanese Navy while Port Arthur was being blockaded [1]. To break the blockade, they were tasked to clear out the Japanese ships at the Yellow Sea. Unfortunately, the Japanese had predicted this scenario and were ready to strike. The two fleets met at Tsushima straits and clashed in an epic struggle. By the end of the day, the mighty Baltic fleet was underwater and the rising sun was waving in the wind.

When the war was over a year later, the world was shocked. Japan had defeated a great power and became recognized as one. It was a wake-up call that shattered the myth of European armies as invincible to the rest of Asia. In the treaty of Portsmouth, Japan's control of Korea, including Port Arthur, was recognized while Russia's influence in Manchuria was recognized as well. They also gained the southern half of Sakhalin along with the Kuril Islands.

For Russia, this was pure humiliation. After fighting and dying for a Tsar that crushed popular movements and didn't improve their lives, the people demanded change. When a crowd of workers led by a priest marched towards the Winter Palace with a list of demands, the soldiers fired on them. As a result, the workers rose up with weapons in their hands and fought numerous gun battles with the police and later the army. For a while, there was a chance the autocracy would be overthrown but they were soon crushed by force of arms as Tsar Nicholas considered it his mission to stamp out any revolution in Holy Russia. Although the revolution was crushed, reforms were made to satisfy the people's demands. A constituent assembly, the Duma, was established along with a constitution in 1906.

As for Germany, these events were considered far away and distant. It was a huge surprise that Japan won against a white nation and was soon becoming anxious about their Imperial ambitions as Germany had colonies in the Pacific such as Micronesia and New Guinea.

What they didn't realize was that trouble was brewing far, far closer to home.

Out with the old, In with the new

Empress Myeongseong, assassinated by the Japanese
1851-1895​

Japanese troops on the lookout for Russians (1904)

Japanese illustration of the Battle of Tsushima (May 1905)

Treaty of Portsmouth, hosted by Teddy Roosevelt (1905)

Soldiers fire at a crowd outside the Winter Palace, Bloody Sunday 1905​

***
1. There's no Dogger Bank Incident so the Russians were able to use the Suez Canal to reach faster than OTL.

 

[haider najib]

There's no Dogger Bank Incident

What about the snake that almost hijacked a ship?