2020 Turtledoves - Best Early 20th Century Timeline POLL

[Zagan]

The Footprint of Mussolini; @Sorairo

The Rainbow. A World War One on Canada's West Coast Timeline; @YYJ

Ulster Fought and the Kaiser Won; @KanonenKartoffel

April 1942 Alternate Indian Ocean; @Zheng He

Twilight of the Valkyries: A 20 July Plot TL (Redux); @LumineVonReuental

The March of Time - 20th Century History; @Karelian

Feeble Constitution - A Red-and-Green Russia 1917 Timeline; @Salvador79

England Expects that Every Man...; @vpsoccer

Peerless Air Ministry; @perfectgeneral & @sonofpegasus

A Lusophone World; @Lusitania

Dread-Nought but the Fury of the Seas; @sts-200

Operation FS: Japans Final Strike; @BiteNibbleChomp

The Sun, The Stars and The Sickle: Alt-WWII and a Tripolar Postwar World; @WaterproofPotatoes

Interception at Sea; @vpsoccer

 

[Lusitania]

A Lusophone World

"Bom Dia" Hello, hope everyone is safe and healthy,

What is Lusophone World? To understand that we need to understand what term Lusonphone means. Lusophones (Portuguese: lusófonos) are people who speak the Portuguese language, either as native speakers or as learners. Similarly, the Lusosphere or Lusophony (Portuguese: Lusofonia) is a community of people who are culturally and linguistically linked to Portugal, either historically or by choice. The idea of a Lusosphere is free of ethnic connotations, in that a Lusophone may not have any Portuguese ancestry at all. The Lusophone world is mainly a legacy of the Portuguese Empire, although Portuguese diaspora and Brazilian diaspora communities have also played a role in spreading the Portuguese language

So that we now have established the meaning why would you be interested in the "Lusophone World" TL? For one we try to take a small and backwards country in Europe with a series of undeveloped colonies throughout the world and attempt to not only modernize and develop them while at same time the country keeps its right wing dictatorship government. This is not you typical fascist dictatorship but an attempt at implementing a progressive type of government. Along the way we interact with some of the world most interesting political and military leaders of the 20th century.

Over time other countries are introduced and blended into the TL and the Lusophone world expands to not only include those who either speak Portuguese or can trace their link to Portugal but also those who choose to align themselves with the Portuguese Federation. For the world of the 20th century is fraught with intrigue and danger as the two super powers vie for dominance and power. iOTL the number of non-aligned countries were few and far between, but what if a third option was available and what if the third option was led by a Lusophone country?

I hope you take the chance to check out Lusophone Word and enjoy all things that are Portuguese. Obrigado.

 

[BiteNibbleChomp]

What is Operation FS: Japan's Final Strike?

Pearl Harbour heralded the beginning of Japan's march across the Pacific, but at Coral Sea that march was blunted. What if Japan's string of victories continued?

After the fall of Port Moresby and the destruction of two US carriers, the Japanese high command's next plan was Operation FS, an invasion of Fiji, Samoa and New Caledonia, aimed at cutting the supply line between Australia and the United States. A planned attack on Midway island is cancelled and the dream of a 'decisive battle', where Japan aims to win the war, is also directed into the South Pacific. After Admiral Yamamoto revises the original plans for FS, the Army agrees to send two divisions to ensure victory. Then, in July 1942, the attack begins.

Japan's Final Strike aims to present a realistic scenario of a more successful Japan in World War II. The titular Operation FS is fought roughly in accordance with historical plans, but every victory has its price. Stiffening American and Allied resistance, dwindling supplies of manpower and fuel, and old enemies at home will pose an increasingly difficult challenge for Yamamoto as he is drawn further and further into the South Pacific. Yet in decisive battle, defeat is not an option, no matter the price...

***

Good luck to everyone!

- BNC

 

[Sorairo]

The Footprint of Mussolini

Mussolini oscillated often in his life between Anti-Semitism and tolerance for Jews ... but what if he finally stamped down a firm opinion, and one that put him on a collision course with Hitler?

The Footprint of Mussolini tracks how one small, life-changing incident effects the entire world. It looks at the effect of Fascism being an acceptable political ideology to the wider world after the Second World War, and all the ramifications it could bring. The ramifications on the political stability of the United States, and what it means for the major political parties. The ramifications on the Middle East, and how it ultimately leads to a near apocalyptic final conflict between Pan-Arabism and Zionism. The ramifications on Africa, and the reversal of fortunes of states and kingdoms on that continent, from Katanga to Ethiopia. From one small corner of Italy, the whole world will be changed forever, sometimes even literally with the creation of entire seas.

This Timeline is not about creating a better or a worse world. It's about finding the moral grey that exists within human beings and exploring that to its upmost. I can only leave it to the readers to decide what they make of them.

 

[YYJ]

The Rainbow: A World War One on Canada's West Coast Timeline

Historically, at the opening of World War One, Admiral Graf Von Spee led the German East Asiatic Squadron from their home port in Tsingtao through the central and southern Pacific to victory at Colonel and defeat at the Falkland Islands. But what if, in the opening days of the war, the cruisers SMS Nürnberg and SMS Leipzig, left their historical positions in Hawaii and Mexico respectively and headed for the west coast of Canada to engage in commerce warfare? The Rainbow tell this story. A sample:

Captain Von Schönberg waited all day yesterday afternoon and evening for a westbound ship to take. After the prize Nürnberg had taken at noon, the shipping lane dried up. Today looked like more of the same. There was a trickle of eastbound traffic that he avoided, but nothing westbound, that is, outbound from North America. The visibility was poor at times and rain intermittent, but Von Schönberg felt that there was more going on than just that. Either it was time to move on, or time to behave more aggressively.

Around 1700 the lookout spotted a sail eastbound. He decided that a sailing ship with no wireless would be harder to determine as overdue than a steamer, so he decided to board.

Nürnberg stopped the 2000 ton 4 masted square-rigged ship Aberystwyth–Victoria BC, sailing from Yokohama. She was laden with tea, cloth, porcelain, rice, and sorghum.

“Hardly strategic war materials,” remarked Von Schönberg, although any food item was Conditional Contraband. In any case Aberystwyt was a ship of a belligerent nation. She was sunk with demolition charges. The boarding party returned with 23 crew, a monkey, 60 bags of rice and 20 cases of tea.

Von Schönberg decided that if more westbound traffic did not show by tomorrow, he was going to move closer inshore.

 

[sts-200]

Dread Nought but the Fury of the Seas

A sale that wasn't cancelled?
A 'Channel Dash' in 1914?
A more powerful flagship for the Royal Australian Navy?

Here are new ships, new tactics ... new mistakes.
Modest changes that ripple out into an alternate war at sea, from where they wash up onto the shore.

'Dread Nought' is a subtle variation on reality. You'll see familiar themes; Germany accepts defeat, Austria-Hungary collapses, Russia suffers many and diverse revolutions, but none of them are quite the same.
Would an early end to the 'War To End All Wars' really resolve anything, or will the 1920s see tensions spread once again?

 

[sonofpegasus]

‘The Peerless Air Ministry’ a POD by PerfectGeneral and an accidental time line by Sonofpegasus

From a PoD posted by Perfectgeneral, a time line has grown, unplanned, unstructured and total inexplicably written by Sonofpegasus. The TL was started with just a single paragraph in reply to the suggestion that Sir Phillip Cunliffe-Lister remaining as the Air Minister in 1936, might provide the impetus for an exploration of how in a different version of reality the British Air Ministry might have acted and changed the course of the conflict. The authors’ primary aim has been to fashion a highly plausible story which was firmly rooted in the political, social and technological constraints of the period.

As the story progresses it has become more difficult to write consistently due to the lack of planning and very ad hoc way in which the story was conceived, so I apologize for the inconsistent posting but as some kind hearts on the forum have requested this story be continued beyond the suggested date in the PoD of 1939, then I will continue to write, as and when I can, towards a logical conclusion for both the story and the authors writing.

From small changes and historically missed opportunities, the seeds of a burgeoning crop of butterflies have grown. Like the caterpillar that nibbles at leaves and grows, so has this story line developed, also like the caterpillar it has at times been dormant in it’s chrysalis, as it transforms to reappear changed and ready to fly.

So far, the story had covered just five years and has grown to some one hundred and fifty thousand words and is currently approaching the conclusion of the first defining moment of the RAF, The Battle Of Britain. All that follows will be influenced directly by the conflict currently being explored, explained and enhanced at the hand of Sonofpegasus.

 

[Salvador79]

Feeble Constitution - A Red-and-Green-Russia 1917 Timeline

What if the Petrograd Soviet had called the bluff of Lvov's cabinet in the aftermath of the April Days and accepted their resignation?

My timeline explores the consequences of a Russian Revolution in which a Constituent Assembly is elected and convenes in the early summer of 1917, paving the way for a transformation of the Tsarist Empire into a democratic federation, in the midst of the Great War, pandemics and all the other apocalyptic circumstances of the day.

So far, the timeline has only progressed two years, seen the end of the Great War and the emergence of a different world order in its aftermath. The emphasis of the TL is on alternate political history, with economic questions being discussed here and there. The scope has expanded to encompass all of Europe so far, with some spots thrown on the Middle East and other regions of the world, too. Cultural and religious issues will be addressed soon, while military divergences are not really something I'm very good at.

 

[LumineVonReuental]

Twilight of the Valkyries (Redux):
A 20 July Plot TL

On July 20th, 1944, a fateful explosion at the Wolf’s Lair in East Prussia marked the start of one of the longest and most dramatic days of World War Two: the attempt by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and a diverse group of unlikely conspirators to assassinate Adolf Hitler, to seize control of the Third Reich via Operation Valkyrie, and to save their Sacred Germany from disaster through the dream of a negotiated peace with the West.

In the world we know, Stauffenberg’s attempted assassination proved unsuccessful and Valkyrie – a very flawed plan - fell apart in spectacular fashion, heralding the dark final days of the Third Reich and Germany’s own Götterdämmerung. Stauffenberg’s efforts have been the subject of endless discussions about the potential realties of the final months of World War Two, a counterfactual debate of significance which provides us with fascinating avenues to explore.

Originally conceived in 2016 and bought back in expanded fashion a few months ago, Twilight of the Valkyries aims to answer a simple but irresistible question: what if Hitler had been killed by the bomb? Aiming to provide a detailed and comprehensive narrative of events and motivations, the timeline - currently into August 1944 - follows the immediate and inevitable struggle for power within Germany, the outcome of that struggle, and the significant consecuences of it.

 

[Karelian]

The March of Time - 20th Century History

Covering 8 years of alternative history in seven years, this TL features 148 chapters.
The latest updates deal with the chain of events that led to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in late 1908.

So, to recap: the POD is in 1900. It is now 1908.

In those eight years, the Ottoman Sultan has been assassinated, the Russo-Japanese war (probably) averted, the Kaiser has abdicated, the Qing have been replaced by another dynasty, the Entente is undergoing severe birthing pains, Sweden-Norway has disintegrated into civil war, and there's a threat of general war and revolution in northern Europe- and all that is just the highlight reel.

The timeline may only update occasionally, but it certainly covers ground.

 

[vpsoccer]

England Expects that Every Man....
Note: It appears that this thread is expected to have a short introduction to the nominated story lines, so I am adding one here. If this is not so, would the OP or a moderator please pop me a PM (and a link to the how-to for the T-D awards) and I will delete this message.

England Expects is a character-based story launching out of a single very well-known (to naval enthusiasts) moment in WWI. It leads to a few changes in how the war goes along, but is primarily focused on how things happen around the main characters and how they affect history. [Avoiding spoilers here.] Actual historical figures are featured, although one of them has what is probably a makeover in character in order to make the POD happen. A few roles are filled by fictional, but I believe realistic, junior officers and other ranks. Initially most of these were just titles or ranks, but as the story more than doubled in size it seemed necessary to give them names.

I gave them the POD but the characters carried the story onward by their actions and interactions, their strengths and weaknesses. The effort has been to put readers alongside the characters, whether on the bridge or in the magazine, or meeting with senior officers ashore. I do hope that you can feel that you feel their experiences and their feelings, both in action with the enemy at sea and then as they try to understand what happened and why and prepare to meet the enemy once more.

This is something like 32,000 words spread over 30 posts. Note that the final post is more than twice the size of any other.

Author's note: I am at the moment figuring out the first few parts of a sequel. (Yes.) And as I reread the original I am back-filling a couple of names to earlier parts in order to make the original avoidance of names less strained and the story more readable. If you see new edit dates, there is no need to reread unless for the pleasure of the story - it is unchanged.

Author's note: My other story, Interception at Sea, has also been nominated. I will post an introduction to it as soon as I can, but England Expects is my own favourite.

 

[WaterproofPotatoes]

The Sun, The Stars, and The Sickle has its initial POD in 1922 with a different Washington Naval Treaty, which sets butterflies' wings flapping.

By 1939, the world as we know it is similar in many ways, and different in others. National Socialism has still taken root in Germany, and the Reds have triumphed over the Whites in the former Russian Empire. However, in Japan, events have played out differently. Radical Army officers have been thwarted at every turn, and a fledgling "Showa Democracy" remains in place. Japan's colonies are governed in a far less brutal manner. Most importantly, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance has been restored in all but name, thanks to rapprochement between the two powers beginning in 1934. The United States, in the meantime, has wasted no time in building alliances of her own. Chiang Kai-Shek's Republic of China has also sought alternative alliances. The Sino-German Cooperation agreement has been extended rather than abrogated.

This mixture of alliances is volatile, and on a Day of Infamy, history as we know it changes...

 

[vpsoccer]

Interception at Sea

This is a short tale about a destroyer intercepting a merchant ship at sea during a particular (recogniseable) event in WWII, and how that works out for all concerned.

I don't know what else to say other than that it is about 8 posts and 5,000 words. I think it makes a nice little read. It takes place at a moment of wider activity in WWII and might or might not affect how larger events work out around it. A tale of men and a short period of time in their lives.

Author's note: My other story, England Expect that Every Man.... has also been nominated. I think England Expects, for which a sequel is under construction at this moment, is my own favourite of the two.

 

[Zheng He]

April 1942 - Alternate Indian Ocean: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/april-1942-alternate-indian-ocean.305957/

I appreciate the nomination and the votes. This was supposed to be a limited thread just dealing with events in the Indian Ocean in April 1942 but people liked it so much it has continued on as something much larger. Here was the original introduction:

Primary POD - Codebreakers and traffic analysts at the Far East Combined Bureau in Colombo actually provided Somerville with fairly accurate intelligence regarding Nagumo and Ozawa's Indian Ocean operation OTL. In this ATL, the information is even more accurate and timely and Somerville decides that trying to take on the Kido Butai is a fool's errand. However, he sees opportunity in the dispersed nature of the Japanese force deployments and instead (after a quick 2 April replenishment stop in Colombo) he takes the Eastern Fleet north into the Bay of Bengal to engage Admiral Ozawa's Malay Force which the Eastern Fleet outmatches in terms of airpower and surface firepower. Somerville is gambling that by the time Nagumo figures out what he is doing, his ships will be too far north for Nagumo to pursue them before he has to turn back. Somerville and Layton (the RN's onshore commander on Ceylon) have a few other surprises in store to keep Nagumo occupied south of Dondra Head as well.

Disclaimer - This ATL is based in part on the results of a "Trincomalee" scenario that I played on the old DOS based Carriers at War game that I still keep on an old laptop.

 

[Zagan]

The final results of the 2020 Turtledove Awards have been posted here.

The Plaques will be awarded to the winners in a few days.

Congratulations!

 

[Zagan]

Best Early 20th Century Timeline

The Footprint of Mussolini; @Sorairo