Okay, so, I have decided to rewrite a TL of mine, 1914: A Very Merry War. Frankly, the story has changed from what I wanted, and I got side tracked. Thus, I'm now gonna make a new TL for Merry War. Hope you all enjoy!
Kaiser Wilhelm II observered the map before him. He was seated at his desk in Berlin. Helmuth von Moltke sat across from him. The man was clearly agitated. The Kaiser eyes went from the map to Moltke, and back again. It was a detailed map of the North American continent, with the placement of known American military formations and several other targets. He scuffed, and glanced at the the letter from Japan. Inwardly, he grinned. They had agreed to his alliance offer.
Wilhelm finally stopped checking the map, and looked up at von Moltke. He spoke to his favourite general in the Imperial German Army. "Thank you for coming, von Moltke. There is much we must discuss." He handed the letter to von Moltke. "Read this." he said.
Von Moltke took the scrap of paper, reading it intently. He then handed it back to the Kaiser. "One of your greatest achievements, All Highest." All of the General Staff knew of the Kaiser's fondness for the Japan-Germany Friendship Treaty signed in 1906 after Germany's victory in the Great War. Von Schlieffen had played an important role in that conflict, having planned the war winning offensive that knocked out not only France, but also Britain. Many had praised him as the greatest commander of the era, and many Germans now bragged that no one could stand against them. However, there was one power that stood to gain that honour: the United States of America.
After Germany had intervened in the Mexican Revolution, relations with America has gone sour. Many in the Intelligence division believed that Pancho Villa, the rallying symbol for Mexican guerillas everywhere, was hiding in Texas. So far, the Germans had deterred the Americans, but for how long? President Theodore Roosevelt was already pushing for the US Congress to raise the total American Army to 1,000,000 men.
"Tell me," the Kaiser began, "how many troops do we have in Mexico at the moment?"
Von Moltke replied as best he could, hoping to hide the concern and worry in his voice. "Roughly 800,000 infantry, cavalry and artillery of various sizes. The Mexican Government, under the rule of Venustiano Carranzo, has supplied about 120,000 troops."
"Excellent." said the Kaiser, "I have just recived word that Austria will send troops to aid us. They have plans for about 200,000 men to join our army in fighting the Americans."
The Kaiser smiled, and flexed his good hand."I am sure you have devised a suitable plan of attack to defeat the Americans?" the Kaiser asked. His face was one of pride and admiration. But inwardly, von Moltke was sure if he gave the wrong answer, rage would show it's face. He sallowed, and began outlining his plan for the largest invasion in history.
"I have studied the Americans endlessly, and have concluded that, should we want to defeat America quickly, we must act quickly. Japan's navy is clearly an obvious counter weight to the Americans, and combined with our own, we can probably wrest control of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans from them." He was carefully chosing his words, so as not to offend the Kaiser. "It will be on North America itself that we must claim victory. I believe that we must divide our troops into four army groups, consisting of 200,000 each, and use one army group each in an attack upon the four border states of Arizonia, New Mexico, California and Texas. In Arizonia, we should at least try to reach Phoniex. We must advance up the Rio Grande in New Mexico, and head straight for Albuquerque. Texas clearly needs the Mexicans as back up, and San Antonio is the clear objective. California, however, may be more troublesome"
The Kaiser had been listening happily until California was mentioned. He frowned, and his rage threatened to burst. Von Moltke hastily explained.
"California has many mountains to block our path, so we must plan carefully for the drive into the state. Los Angeles must fall. With it, we will have a port for our forces to resupply, and we could even manage to defeat the entire American army defending the state. Without them in the way, we could most certainly reach San Francisco, and then claim victory over a battered American Army, and a sunken fleet."
The Kaiser's face was drained of all rage, and he he nodded happily. "Good, good, von Moltke. You do not disappoint." The Kaiser stood up, and dismissed him. "Inform General Hindenburg of your plan. In three days time, the Operational Plan IV will go into effect, and the invasion of America will begin. "
XXXXXX
The political situation in North America in 1914 was one of fear and mistrust. In the United States, more and more men were joining the armed forces, for fear of the German Army in Mexico. The Mexican Revolution had been brutal, and had given the United German Empire the excuse it needed to land it's troops on Mexican soil, in a move strongly condemned by the United States and other American countries, such as Brazil and Canada.
However, as things stood, America was in no shape to try to wrest control of Mexico from the Germans. For one matter, the German Imperial Fleet was one of the largest in the world, and even stood on par with that of the Royal Navy. More importantly, the Army was actually outnumbered some two to one by the Germans, and the presence of Spanish and Austrian forces in Mexico helped to tip the numbers balance against the United States. Furthermore, the Germans had emerged triumphant over Britain and France in the First World War of 1905-1906. What chance did America stand.
However, the Germans were also having problems of their own. The Imperial Army was harassed by Mexican guerillas during it's occupation of Mexico, and also had to contend with the poor terrain of Northern Mexico. Thus, an invasion seemed possible at the Rio Grande. The Kaiser, however, was determined to seize the border states, and would use whatever means were at his disposal to do so.
This resulted in construction of the infamous 'Santa Muerte's Railway', where several Mexican civilians and suspected guerilla were forced to work for hour's on end to build a vats railway network, from Mexico City to the Mexican border states. It was a cruel and inhumane act, which resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 Mexicans over a five year period, mainly due to exposure and starvation. When the working conditions of the railway become known, it lead to a massive outburst of fury from the international community, and almost triggered the Second World War. However, that conflict was to come.