Search results for query: *

Forum search Google search

  1. How can you extend the Lifespan/combat usage of certain aircraft

    The Vigilante holds a special place in my heart, but unfortunately the linear bomb bay really restricted it. As I understand it the bay was structural too, so it couldn’t be easily modified. That’s the core problem There was an improved version of the Vigilante, the A-5B, that added additional...

  2. WI: Archduke killed by German nationalists?

    There’s certainly a political crisis in Austria-Hungary with Franz Ferdinand dead. No war though. I’m not super familiar with internal Austrian politics, but my understanding is that the distinction between “Austrian” and “German” identifies was still fuzzy at the time. So perhaps the...

  3. What if the battle of Jutland was a Trafalgar style victory for the British Royal Navy?

    I don’t think there’s a plausible scenario where capital ships are actually captured. Even if one was left damaged and adrift it would be torpedoed and sunk not taken under tow. The idea of boarding a battleship to take it as a prize is a lot of fun though. Jubilation in Britain and despondency...

  4. Military consequences of no "Hindenburg" Plan

    Perhaps obvious, but it really depends on what Germany does instead. There were serious issues in the war effort that needed to be addressed somehow if Germany was to have any prospect of success. The Hindenburg Program eventually created problems on the home front, but I don’t think it was a...

  5. AHC: Kerguelens as a British settlement

    I think a population in the hundreds or even thousands is entirely plausible. Climactically, Kerguelen is perfectly habitable when you compare it to places like Iceland, parts of Alaska, or the Falklands. It’s just very remote. So let’s imagine the settlement is initially founded as a resupply...

  6. Political Commissars standard in Western Militaries ?

    Not really. There’s a screening and continuous evaluation program for personnel with certain nuclear weapons related duties intended to make sure only suitable and reliable personnel occupy those positions. Obviously there is a political component to that in that you have to be loyal to the...

  7. Small scale nuclear wars that could have happened?

    The US did, but only obliquely as far as I know. I don’t recall the specific wording but IIRC Dulles and Eisenhower made statements about being willing to defend Taiwan and the outlying islands with the weapons they saw fit and that the Air Force was capable of delivering nuclear weapons against...

  8. Would it be possible have steam locomotives still being produced into the 1970s in developed countries?

    I think that would drive widespread electrification rather than a return to steam.

  9. Italian claims forcefully taken in ww1.

    Italy did occupy the entirety of its claims under the Pact of London in November 1918. Italian troops simply marched in once hostilities ceased with the rapidly disintegrating Austria. In fact, Italy seized more territory than it was promised under the Pact of London since it also occupied...

  10. Would it be possible have steam locomotives still being produced into the 1970s in developed countries?

    There were quite a few paper studies into the idea in the 1950s, both in the US and Soviet Union (and maybe other countries too). IIRC the general consensus was that a nuclear train was entirely feasible from a technical perspective but it could never possibly be economical. The initial...

  11. AHC/WI: 1890s French build a Kra Canal

    I think it’s difficult to make a purely economic case for the Kra Canal, particularly in this era. It just isn’t saving that much distance over Malacca. So I think the primary driver has to be political rather than economic. In that light we might imagine a scenario where France conquers or...

  12. No Bulgarian front of 1877 Russo-Turkish War

    There’s a fair point in that Bulgaria and the other Balkan states were Russia’s primary objective in the 1877 war. The Balkan theater was the primary theater of combat and what the fighting was all about. Additionally, the war was very costly to Russia in both lives and materiel. Bulgaria was a...

  13. WI: The Macedonian empire remained united after Alex the great died?

    I think this is a case where the “how” of Alexander’s empire remaining united really dwarfs the rest of the scenario. We can imagine a lot of different scenarios for how Alexander’s empire remains intact after his death (and indeed on how Alexander dying at a different date would impact that)...

  14. WI: The lost Imperial Seal of China found... by a foreigner

    All hail the recipient of the Mandate of Heaven and Empress of China… *checks notes*… Georgia Meloni?

  15. Fate of Caesar, Parthia, and Egypt with no civil war?

    Personally, I doubt Caesar would immediately look to Parthia, but it’s certainly possible. It probably matters how exactly the civil war is avoided. Is one of the various compromise proposals accepted? If so then I definitely don’t think Caesar will be heading east to campaign against Parthia...

  16. Modification of the Treaty of Alcáçovas instead of the creation of the Treaty of Tordesillas

    Exactly. Tordesillas set the line where it did because Spain and Portugal’s interests in the newly explored territories had already begun to clearly diverge. Spain was interested in Columbus’ discoveries in the Americas and the potential east-west route to India. Portugal had reached the top of...

  17. Military tactics ( that were never developed or employed )

    Definitely yes, these could absolutely have been more widely developed/adopted. Russia and North Korea have 300mm rocket systems, and North Korea recently developed a 600mm system that basically blends an MLRS with a short range ballistic missile. If more countries saw a need for that kind of...

  18. Wars that could have had a second round

    Basically no chance of the US letting the Soviets send support to Iceland. IOTL Iceland asked for a surplus US warship to strengthen their coast guard, but the US demurred because it wanted to stay neutral in a dispute between NATO members. Iceland was able to get US diplomatic intervention in...

  19. Wars that could have had a second round

    Agreed. There have been 3-4 near misses that could have escalated. The trouble a second Mexican-American war is constructing a scenario where Mexico could actually believe it might get a positive outcome. The imbalance between the countries is just too big by the 20th century. I don’t think...

  20. Meta-AHC: Why more extensive Russian Expansion of Asia

    Annex in all likelihood. Russia strongly considered annexing Ili when it occupied the region.
Top