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How feasible is it for an extra-continental power in a pre-Cold War setting, anticipating the need to rapidly deploy large land forces to the European continent ahead of or at the onset of a general European conflict, to pre-position large stocks of military equipment in warehouses on the...

If Alexander II survives the attempt on his life, could we see him lead Russia into a mid-1890s war against the Ottomans sparked by the Hamidian massacres? Being more reform-minded than either of his two OTL successors, perhaps Alexander II would be less wary of intervening in support of the...

During the time that Spain was aligned with France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, the only major British expeditions against Spanish colonial possessions were those launched to seize the Rio de la Plata. Given the abundance of targets, the superiority of the Royal Navy, and...

The Soviets endorsed the aims of the Coalition and voted in favor of the various UN resolutions, but could they have gone a step further and contributed combat forces to the Coalition? Saddam's Iraq was, in theory, a client state of the Soviet Union, but it was certainly a wayward one at that...

In OTL, the Delta Works were constructed from 1958 to 1997 at a cost of roughly $7 billion at 1997 valuation. When one compares this to the construction of the Afsluitdijk (just the dam/dike itself, not the polders), one notes that the Delta Works took much longer to complete and were much more...

What if, concurrent to the First World War, a war broke out between two or more neutral European powers, which was totally unrelated to the other war going on in Europe? This war could be over colonial holdings or a "metropolitan" dispute, or perhaps something else. Are there any plausible...

What’s the earliest point at which you can develop and deploy effective wire-guided munitions? I’m talking about both missiles (rockets) and torpedoes. Apparently, there was an American fellow who produced a wire-guided torpedo in the 1870s, but that torpedo’s only instance of combat usage...

Let’s say that Argentina decides to move forward with its planned invasion of Chile in 1978. With Chile now the defender in a war of aggression, how are international attitudes towards the Pinochet regime impacted? If Chile is able to emerge victorious from the conflict, how is the longevity...

The terms of the Treaty of Riga were nominally a victory for Poland — the treaty had seen the borders of the Republic extended, and Soviet reparations secured. In reality, though, Poland was saddled with an indefensible eastern frontier and a sizable new population of non-Poles. Many Poles...

Though they differed markedly when it came to the details, the Schlieffen and Manstein (Fall Gelb) plans shared at least superficial similarities and had a common objective, that being: Utilizing the territory of neutral powers as a thoroughfare for the German army in order to bypass a heavily...

The MBT-70 was a tank jointly designed by the US and West Germany during the 1960s. It featured a 152mm gun capable of firing normal ammunition in addition to the Shillelagh GLATGM. Though about two dozen prototypes were produced, the project was plagued by cost overruns and disputes over how...

Would we still see the establishment of a Jewish state in a world where the Central Powers are victorious in WWI? If so, would it still be located where modern-day Israel is located, or is there a chance that a different (geo)political environment might necessitate/lead to such a state being...

Let's say that Harper doesn't become chief aide to Jim Hawke and continues working for Imperial Oil before moving to the States to work in an oil company there. That would probably place him in Texas. This happens at about the same time that a repeal of the 22nd Amendment is passed towards the...

Contemporary European sources treat India as if it had been devastated by the plague, but contemporary Indian sources reveal nothing of the sort and make no mention of any kind of plague. I don't know anything about the trade situation between the Indian subcontinent and the neighboring areas...

Enter the fourteenth century, and Europe is flying high, with two centuries of economic prosperity and population growth. However, a change in climate and overpopulation lead to decreasing crop yields and a series of famines: Millions die, malnourishment increases (leading to an increase in...

Carnations Forever If William McKinley Had Survived Hello, and welcome to my first-ever TL! I've been here for a little over two years now, so I figured that it was about time I contributed something to the board instead of loafing around and begging for likes. I jest, of course. Before we...

Mark Hanna, as you know, was a close friend of William McKinley and the chief strategist (as well as a financier) behind many of his political ventures. Hanna apparently loved to play kingmaker - before he backed McKinley in 1896 he, together with McKinley, backed John Sherman of Ohio for the...

In the 1884 United States presidential election, James G. Blaine (Continental Liar-ME) was pitted against Grover Cleveland (Good, Honest Adulterer-NY). In the final days of the election, a prominent New York pastor and Blaine supporter, Dr. Samuel Burchard, made a comment ("We are Republicans...

First off, to preclude confusion, I am not talking about McKinley avoiding the assassination attempt entirely, but rather surviving it; say the second bullet doesn't hit him in the abdomen, misses him entirely, or better medical services are available. Having assumed those variables, 1) What...

In 1990, Lee Atwater developed a brain tumor which would eventually prove fatal for him. Atwater was renowned as a master campaign manager, and his record backs it up - in the 1988 election, Bush was faced with a 17-point deficit following the conventions. At least partially due to Atwater's...