Alright, I've been playing around with a map in my free time, the first I have ever felt comfortable sharing on this forum. It is unfinished, and I would like to ask for some help on a few points.
I have adapted this from the
1885 map helpfully provided in the original post of the current WorldA thread.
The basic premise is as follows: with a point of divergence at some point in the 1850s, a global conflict breaks out in the 1860s when several geopolitical flashpoints - the sectional crisis in the United States, territorial and maritime disputes between the United States and the United Kingdom (eventually leading to Franco-British support for the South once they secede from the Union), Austro-Prussian tensions, Austro-Italian tensions, Franco-Prussian tensions, and Russo-Turkish tensions - all boiling over at around the same time, leading to two
ad hoc coalitions supporting one another.
Column A
- United States of America
- Kingdom of Italy
- Kingdom of Prussia and allied German states
- Russian Empire
Column B
- Confederate States of America
- Austrian Empire
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- French Empire
- Mexican Empire (French puppet)
- Ottoman Empire
The war ends in victory for Column A. The Austrian and Ottoman empires collapse entirely, their territory largely partitioned between the victors. Seized by a wave of German nationalist sentiment, Berlin absorbs much of Cisleithania (pretty much what we would consider Austria proper today, as well as the Czech lands). Italy annexes not only Venetia, but also South Tyrol, Istria, and other bits of the Dalmatia coast that had previously belonged to Austria, while Russia takes Galicia, Lodomeria, and Bukovina. Russia's biggest awards lie to the south, though: they take control not only of Constantinople, but the entire Turkish straits region, as well as an area of Eastern Anatolia roughly corresponding to the borders of Wilsonian Armenia. They also support Bulgaria's claims to full San Stefano borders, in addition to other parts of Thrace. Going back to Italy, they are also granted Tunisia, Tripolitania, and Malta, and are never compelled to cede any territory to France in the west.
France and Britain are punished much less harshly. In addition to Alsace-Lorraine, they also give up their Indochinese territories to Germany, and lose Corsica to Italy and Saint Pierre and Miquelon to the United States. Washington also wins Canada in the settlement, as well as the British colonies in Bermuda and the Bahamas. Needless to say, the Confederacy is crushed, and America also takes some more of Northern Mexico.
The map depicts the status quo as of ten or fifteen years after the war ended. You will note that the United States has taken some other territory here or there by war or transaction.
Now, I fully admit some of the borders from other maps, particularly...
With my sources cited, here are my big questions...
- What might the borders of the various Central and Southeastern European states look like after the war? Hungary gains independence from Austria, but can it expect to lose more territory to Germany, Russia, Italy, Romania, or anyone else? What might Romania's borders look like? Serbia? Croatia? Albania? And especially Greece, given that I am not entirely sure whether they would enter the war or not. If they did, it would likely be as a British ally, no? If they stay neutral, might the victors award them with some more territory, such as Smyrna and its environs at the expense of Turkey or Cyprus at the expense of Britain?
- Speaking of which, who are some other potential major participants in this war? Might Spain somehow become embroiled in the conflict? What about Persia? I could plausibly see them fighting either Russia or the Ottoman Empire, but again, would they participate at all, and how would they be rewarded or punished territorially depending on their side?
- The Middle East is a big area of concern for me. My idea is that the Ottoman Empire loses de facto or de jure control of any land outside of core Turkish territory, but what does that look like in practice? Would we see independent Arab or Kurdish states? Would more of the Middle East be divided into European colonies or protectorates in a manner similar to the aftermath of the First World War in our timeline? If so, who gains? Might Britain actually make some inroads in the territory of its former ally? I had thought about a Jewish state being carved out of the Levant, but this was before Zionism really took off, right? Would that be plausible?
- How might the aftermath of this war impact colonization efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere?
- As it stands, does the United States gain too much territory at the expense of the British Empire in the Atlantic than might plausibly be expected? Could they even get away with taking more from Britain and France in the Caribbean? Or is it just right?
- As long as Russia is technically defeating Britain in a conflict, might they take the opportunity to encroach upon London's sphere of influence in Central Asia? What might that look like?