So just a question, I noticed some comments about the US selling to both sides, and I realized the Scandinavian nations could probably make a killing as intermediaries between the US and the CP, although Britain might complain about it, since the US would probably make a lot of money off of that trade, if the US makes noises about "consequences for violating the neutrality sovereign nations and free trade between non-belligerents" would the Brits risk pissing off the US to shut that trade down?
A New Balance
- Thread starter Jim Smitty
- Start date
World War One, The Far East
There were other nations in play as the biggest war the Earth had seen since the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars over a century before. Only the world had radically changed since these wars. It was the first war that saw the four British Dominions to enter the war in the defense of the mother country. It also saw the first war that a European nation call on an Asian ally to join it in a war. This was when the British called on Japan to honor the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. Japan answered the call on August 27th when it formally entered the war. This was only after the British had let it be known to Tokyo that the Japanese would be allowed to annex German China[1] into its growing Empire.
For Japan, this war came at the worst possible time through. They were in the middle of brutally putting down a rebellion in the Japanese Philippines. The Japanese were killing any Filipino who opposed the new Japanese rule. Since the end of the Spanish-Japanese War it was believed around the world that the Japanese had killed over 50,000 Filipinos and forced a further 100,000 plus to flee for their lives south into what was officially the Spanish Philippines. The Japanese were held bent on turning their part of the Philippines into a part of their empire if the Filipinos wanted it or not. However, this effort had tied down a sizeable chunk of their army.
Their navy however wasn’t tied down like their army had been in putting down the Filipino Rebellion. They were quickly able to place a blockade of German China once war had been declared. Yet they missed the prize they were really after and the bulk German Pacific Squadron. It had been at sea when the war started and were moving east to the British Sandwich Island Colony to resupply there as when the war started they were caught between their base and the Japanese. Yet they did find one older cruiser and a number of torpedo and gun boats used for coastal defense. But it wasn’t the prize they had been seeking either.
As the navy cut off the Germans from the bulk of the war the army drew up plans to invade. This wasn’t an easy task as the Germans had in the years since gaining their colony in China build up a large number of forts to defend their jewel in the Far East. They had the idea of building it into a German Indochina or German India as time marched on. Yet before these plans could come to pass this war started. Now the Japanese were trying to take the German Jewel in the Far East.
It wasn’t till October 2 that the Japanese launched their invasion of German China. They were greeted by the only totally German military unit in the German colonial system, the 50 Infanterie Division[2]. Billets in this division were highly sought after by NCOs and officers within the German military machine as it was the only overseas assign that allowed them to go overseas and work with fellow Germans instead of leading native troops. As such the 50 Infanterie was a crack unit as only the best officers and NCOs were assigned to it. They through had to guard the whole of the colony and only a battalion was covering where the Japanese decided to land. They gave better than they got from the Japanese but through weight of numbers and artillery support from the IJN for the Germans to fall back.
With the Japanese landing more units in German China the Germans who fell back linked up with the rest of their division and informed them of the landing. With the question of what would the Japanese would do being answered the German commander of the 50 Infanterie decided to fall back to the capital of German China, Bismarkshaven[3]. This would lead to the Siege of Bismarkshaven that started on October 9th and would last till January 1st 1915. The outcome was never in doubt as the Germans manning the defense of Bismarkshaven never had a chance of reinforcement or a foreign force to come to aid them against the Japanese and British forces who were laying siege to their Asian Jewel Capital. Yet for the Germans manning the defenses at Bismarkshaven it was about pride.
Once Bismarkshaven had fallen through the task of taking control of all of German China wasn’t finished. The Japanese had committed a corp to the Siege of Bismarkshaven. Yet with the still ongoing but slowly dying rebellion in the Japanese Philippines they could afford to commit more than that. This was because they hadn’t mobilized yet. Yet there were still outpost within German China that needed to be cleared outed to bring this piece of China firmly under Japanese rule. It wasn’t till February 7th that the last German outpost within German China fell to the Japanese.
With their two pieces of silver the Japanese when back to focusing on ending the rebellion of the Filipino people in the Japanese Philippines. However, they were left with a question of what to do now. They believed that the ongoing rebellion of the Filipinos would be over by the summer of 1916. The Filipinos were running out of willing people to try and throw the Japanese yoke off. They wanted to take another bit of China but China was such a mess it was questionable if they entered it would they be able to get out it with what they wanted. Then there was the United States to factor in who was clearly against further Japanese expansion at the cost of the Chinese. So they decided to focus on ending the rebellion in the Japanese Philippines and watch to see what would happen next.
[1] OTL Lianyungang
[2] The Germans had a larger Army and smaller Navy ITL. The Army would be about 1.3 times the size of the OTL German Army with the Navy being at 3/5 the size of OTL. Because of their goals in China they shipped a division overseas.
[3] OTL Yangshandao. Remember even through the Chinese call Lianyungang a city its over 7,000 sq km in size.
For Japan, this war came at the worst possible time through. They were in the middle of brutally putting down a rebellion in the Japanese Philippines. The Japanese were killing any Filipino who opposed the new Japanese rule. Since the end of the Spanish-Japanese War it was believed around the world that the Japanese had killed over 50,000 Filipinos and forced a further 100,000 plus to flee for their lives south into what was officially the Spanish Philippines. The Japanese were held bent on turning their part of the Philippines into a part of their empire if the Filipinos wanted it or not. However, this effort had tied down a sizeable chunk of their army.
Their navy however wasn’t tied down like their army had been in putting down the Filipino Rebellion. They were quickly able to place a blockade of German China once war had been declared. Yet they missed the prize they were really after and the bulk German Pacific Squadron. It had been at sea when the war started and were moving east to the British Sandwich Island Colony to resupply there as when the war started they were caught between their base and the Japanese. Yet they did find one older cruiser and a number of torpedo and gun boats used for coastal defense. But it wasn’t the prize they had been seeking either.
As the navy cut off the Germans from the bulk of the war the army drew up plans to invade. This wasn’t an easy task as the Germans had in the years since gaining their colony in China build up a large number of forts to defend their jewel in the Far East. They had the idea of building it into a German Indochina or German India as time marched on. Yet before these plans could come to pass this war started. Now the Japanese were trying to take the German Jewel in the Far East.
It wasn’t till October 2 that the Japanese launched their invasion of German China. They were greeted by the only totally German military unit in the German colonial system, the 50 Infanterie Division[2]. Billets in this division were highly sought after by NCOs and officers within the German military machine as it was the only overseas assign that allowed them to go overseas and work with fellow Germans instead of leading native troops. As such the 50 Infanterie was a crack unit as only the best officers and NCOs were assigned to it. They through had to guard the whole of the colony and only a battalion was covering where the Japanese decided to land. They gave better than they got from the Japanese but through weight of numbers and artillery support from the IJN for the Germans to fall back.
With the Japanese landing more units in German China the Germans who fell back linked up with the rest of their division and informed them of the landing. With the question of what would the Japanese would do being answered the German commander of the 50 Infanterie decided to fall back to the capital of German China, Bismarkshaven[3]. This would lead to the Siege of Bismarkshaven that started on October 9th and would last till January 1st 1915. The outcome was never in doubt as the Germans manning the defense of Bismarkshaven never had a chance of reinforcement or a foreign force to come to aid them against the Japanese and British forces who were laying siege to their Asian Jewel Capital. Yet for the Germans manning the defenses at Bismarkshaven it was about pride.
Once Bismarkshaven had fallen through the task of taking control of all of German China wasn’t finished. The Japanese had committed a corp to the Siege of Bismarkshaven. Yet with the still ongoing but slowly dying rebellion in the Japanese Philippines they could afford to commit more than that. This was because they hadn’t mobilized yet. Yet there were still outpost within German China that needed to be cleared outed to bring this piece of China firmly under Japanese rule. It wasn’t till February 7th that the last German outpost within German China fell to the Japanese.
With their two pieces of silver the Japanese when back to focusing on ending the rebellion of the Filipino people in the Japanese Philippines. However, they were left with a question of what to do now. They believed that the ongoing rebellion of the Filipinos would be over by the summer of 1916. The Filipinos were running out of willing people to try and throw the Japanese yoke off. They wanted to take another bit of China but China was such a mess it was questionable if they entered it would they be able to get out it with what they wanted. Then there was the United States to factor in who was clearly against further Japanese expansion at the cost of the Chinese. So they decided to focus on ending the rebellion in the Japanese Philippines and watch to see what would happen next.
[1] OTL Lianyungang
[2] The Germans had a larger Army and smaller Navy ITL. The Army would be about 1.3 times the size of the OTL German Army with the Navy being at 3/5 the size of OTL. Because of their goals in China they shipped a division overseas.
[3] OTL Yangshandao. Remember even through the Chinese call Lianyungang a city its over 7,000 sq km in size.
World War One, Homefront Canada
For the British Dominions they faced more difficult choices than what would had been the case if the London had been on good terms with Washington. Outside the Union of South Africa, the other three White Dominions within the Empire faced hard choices about how best to support the Mother Country in her time of need. None was more highlighted than that of the Dominion of Canada. They shared over a 5,000 mile border with the United States that gave little in terms of defense advances for a nation with such a small population as Canada against a nation that had such a much larger population than her.
Canada had been slowly expanding its army since the early 1900s and by 1915 it fielded the largest army of all the White Dominions. Yet this army had been designed with the goal of slowing the Americans down in the eastern part of the nation till the British could reinforce Canada and help turn the tide against the Americans. Yet the British had committed the British Expeditionary Force to the early battles in the Great War for it to almost be totally destroyed as a fighting force. The British Army was in needed of troops to help fill the gap created by the beating the BEF took as they trained a new army to take up fighting in France. Yet Canada didn’t want to send its whole army for fear of what might happen if the US decided to join the Central Powers and attack north. This would lead to the Conscription Crisis of 1914.
In Canada things were complicated as they had the French Catholics in Quebec and the English Protestants within the rest of the nation. During the buildup of the army starting in 1902 the Canadians had only formed one all Quebecois regiment. The rest of the units were totally controlled by the English Protestants. The Canadian Government was steadfast in its refuser to raise further Quebecois regiments. As the war started many English Protestants rushed to sign up for the war and service. Quebecois didn’t. They knew that so long as there was only the single Quebecois regiment within the Canadian Army they would get treated poorly in the barrack life that awaited them in service if they joined as the Quebecois regiment was already filled out to its full allotment of soldiers.
Ottawa also understood that if it sent all the whole army to Europe there would be little left to defend Canada with. To that end they floored a bill to start conscription within Canada. It would start conscription within Canada but it didn’t make a difference between English Canadian or French Canadian. Further it didn’t raise anymore Quebecois regiments under its program designed to grow the Canadian Army size tenfold within a year. It also made clear that men conscripted would be sent overseas under the plan to maintain a force both in Europe and Canada. The Quebecois didn’t want anything to do with this and took to the streets when PM Thomas Sproule pushed the bill through.
Sproule was long known as anti-French leader within the Conservative Party and had been elected to the leadership position in 1909 and became PM after the failure of the Naval Bill of 1910 which caused the fall of the Liberal Party. Sproule had never been warmly greeted within Quebec but the Military Service Act was too much for Quebecois. Things got so bad that Sproule was forced to send the army in too put down the rioting within a few cities within Quebec. It also forced Sproule to change the bill to appease Quebecois. He made it so men who were conscripted would only serve in Canada. He also created more all French Quebecois regiments. Still this only raised the number of Quebecois regiments to six but it was a huge improvement to Quebecois.
Even after things died down the number of regiments Canada sent to Europe were far short of what the British were hoping for. But by the start of 1915 Canadian Divisions were taking up part of the British line on the Western Front. They were able to form three divisions which were attached to the BEF in Europe by the start of 1915 with a fourth division forming in Canada for shipment to Europe slated to happen by the spring of 1915. They were making one mistake through, the units going to Europe got the latest stuff with the units staying behind getting cast offs. This was because they only had a limited production ability to make weapons in 1914 and the Mother Country was just about tapped out itself in terms of making weapons. The US the only source not already in the war that could supply weapons refused. This created a logistical nightmare for the Canadian Army that was kept in the Americas. This led to units raised in British Colombia being equipped with Japanese Type 29 Rifles[1] to units raised in the Maritimes Provinces Lee-Metford Rifles that were taken out of storage for use. Some training units were using even older Martini-Henry Rifles.
In terms of the Royal Canadian Navy things were fairly limited. Their primary focus during their military buildup had been the army and not the navy. As such the navy got scraps for the most part. Their Atlantic coast was totally depended on the Royal Navy. This was even with Halifax being a major hub for the Royal Navy in this part of the world, the Royal Canadian Navy just didn’t have the men to spear for defending the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Lakes. On the Pacific side, they were based out of Esquimalt on Vancouver Island. Even then they were still fairly depended on the Royal Navy for help. Their Pacific Fleet was built around three protected cruisers with all three be second hand ex-RN units. The oldest was built in 1890 with the newest being built in 1899.
Then there was the Lakes, i.e. the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. Under the terms of the Treaty of Washington that was signed in 1871 made the lakes a total demilitarized zone. However, as tension built between London and Washington some within the USN questioned this treaty and their voices grew loader after 1899. Then in 1902 the year that is marked as the start of the Anglo-American Naval Arms Race Washington passed a note to both Ottawa and London that they were withdrawing from terms of the Treaty of Washington and returning to the terms of the older Rush-Bagot Treaty. Ottawa decided not to withdraw from the terms of Rush-Bagot as they couldn’t afford the men and money to match the US in a naval race on the lakes. This led to the Canadians building a gunboat that fell within the limits of the terms of the Rush-Bagot. What they got was a slow design[2] that could only reach 10 knots and armed with a single old QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun. This weapon was selected as it fell within the terms of Rush-Bagot and the Royal Navy wasn’t willing to design a gun that met the 18 pound shell limited as the larger naval guns were well over this limit.
Yet there were no plans to expand the Royal Canadian Navy in 1915 even as the Conscription Crisis played out. They simply didn’t have the men for it. Outside part of the Pacific Squadron moving south to help defend the Sandwich Islands and the rest of the Pacific Squadron saying to guard the Pacific Coast the RCN didn’t expect to see much in terms of fighting in this war.
[1] OTL Type 30 Rifle
[2] Something like OTL Fly Class Gunboats but modified with a single weapon to be fully mounted on it at all times. Yet a number of smaller weapons could be mounted on it if needed in times of war.
Canada had been slowly expanding its army since the early 1900s and by 1915 it fielded the largest army of all the White Dominions. Yet this army had been designed with the goal of slowing the Americans down in the eastern part of the nation till the British could reinforce Canada and help turn the tide against the Americans. Yet the British had committed the British Expeditionary Force to the early battles in the Great War for it to almost be totally destroyed as a fighting force. The British Army was in needed of troops to help fill the gap created by the beating the BEF took as they trained a new army to take up fighting in France. Yet Canada didn’t want to send its whole army for fear of what might happen if the US decided to join the Central Powers and attack north. This would lead to the Conscription Crisis of 1914.
In Canada things were complicated as they had the French Catholics in Quebec and the English Protestants within the rest of the nation. During the buildup of the army starting in 1902 the Canadians had only formed one all Quebecois regiment. The rest of the units were totally controlled by the English Protestants. The Canadian Government was steadfast in its refuser to raise further Quebecois regiments. As the war started many English Protestants rushed to sign up for the war and service. Quebecois didn’t. They knew that so long as there was only the single Quebecois regiment within the Canadian Army they would get treated poorly in the barrack life that awaited them in service if they joined as the Quebecois regiment was already filled out to its full allotment of soldiers.
Ottawa also understood that if it sent all the whole army to Europe there would be little left to defend Canada with. To that end they floored a bill to start conscription within Canada. It would start conscription within Canada but it didn’t make a difference between English Canadian or French Canadian. Further it didn’t raise anymore Quebecois regiments under its program designed to grow the Canadian Army size tenfold within a year. It also made clear that men conscripted would be sent overseas under the plan to maintain a force both in Europe and Canada. The Quebecois didn’t want anything to do with this and took to the streets when PM Thomas Sproule pushed the bill through.
Sproule was long known as anti-French leader within the Conservative Party and had been elected to the leadership position in 1909 and became PM after the failure of the Naval Bill of 1910 which caused the fall of the Liberal Party. Sproule had never been warmly greeted within Quebec but the Military Service Act was too much for Quebecois. Things got so bad that Sproule was forced to send the army in too put down the rioting within a few cities within Quebec. It also forced Sproule to change the bill to appease Quebecois. He made it so men who were conscripted would only serve in Canada. He also created more all French Quebecois regiments. Still this only raised the number of Quebecois regiments to six but it was a huge improvement to Quebecois.
Even after things died down the number of regiments Canada sent to Europe were far short of what the British were hoping for. But by the start of 1915 Canadian Divisions were taking up part of the British line on the Western Front. They were able to form three divisions which were attached to the BEF in Europe by the start of 1915 with a fourth division forming in Canada for shipment to Europe slated to happen by the spring of 1915. They were making one mistake through, the units going to Europe got the latest stuff with the units staying behind getting cast offs. This was because they only had a limited production ability to make weapons in 1914 and the Mother Country was just about tapped out itself in terms of making weapons. The US the only source not already in the war that could supply weapons refused. This created a logistical nightmare for the Canadian Army that was kept in the Americas. This led to units raised in British Colombia being equipped with Japanese Type 29 Rifles[1] to units raised in the Maritimes Provinces Lee-Metford Rifles that were taken out of storage for use. Some training units were using even older Martini-Henry Rifles.
In terms of the Royal Canadian Navy things were fairly limited. Their primary focus during their military buildup had been the army and not the navy. As such the navy got scraps for the most part. Their Atlantic coast was totally depended on the Royal Navy. This was even with Halifax being a major hub for the Royal Navy in this part of the world, the Royal Canadian Navy just didn’t have the men to spear for defending the Atlantic, Pacific, and the Lakes. On the Pacific side, they were based out of Esquimalt on Vancouver Island. Even then they were still fairly depended on the Royal Navy for help. Their Pacific Fleet was built around three protected cruisers with all three be second hand ex-RN units. The oldest was built in 1890 with the newest being built in 1899.
Then there was the Lakes, i.e. the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. Under the terms of the Treaty of Washington that was signed in 1871 made the lakes a total demilitarized zone. However, as tension built between London and Washington some within the USN questioned this treaty and their voices grew loader after 1899. Then in 1902 the year that is marked as the start of the Anglo-American Naval Arms Race Washington passed a note to both Ottawa and London that they were withdrawing from terms of the Treaty of Washington and returning to the terms of the older Rush-Bagot Treaty. Ottawa decided not to withdraw from the terms of Rush-Bagot as they couldn’t afford the men and money to match the US in a naval race on the lakes. This led to the Canadians building a gunboat that fell within the limits of the terms of the Rush-Bagot. What they got was a slow design[2] that could only reach 10 knots and armed with a single old QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun. This weapon was selected as it fell within the terms of Rush-Bagot and the Royal Navy wasn’t willing to design a gun that met the 18 pound shell limited as the larger naval guns were well over this limit.
Yet there were no plans to expand the Royal Canadian Navy in 1915 even as the Conscription Crisis played out. They simply didn’t have the men for it. Outside part of the Pacific Squadron moving south to help defend the Sandwich Islands and the rest of the Pacific Squadron saying to guard the Pacific Coast the RCN didn’t expect to see much in terms of fighting in this war.
[1] OTL Type 30 Rifle
[2] Something like OTL Fly Class Gunboats but modified with a single weapon to be fully mounted on it at all times. Yet a number of smaller weapons could be mounted on it if needed in times of war.
If the USA throws in with the CP Canada is toast. Very quickly the Lakes will be totally dominated by the USN and any coastal cities will be totally open - I assume there are coastal fortifications but undoubtedly obsolescent. I would expect Vancouver taken quickly to make sure there is free access from Seattle area to the ocean. The RN would face U-boats in the eastern half of the Atlantic and US commerce raiders (surface) along the Canadian coast and perhaps some US subs. Eastern Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes would be what could be held - everything west of Thunder Bay is indefensible. If the US offers Quebec independence...vive Quebec libre?
One thing I wonder is if the USA decides to fund an Irish rebellion if they end up at war the UK. Though no matter what, the Irish-Americans would certainly support the war effort against Britian with great enthusiasm. Seems like it would be easy for the USA to ship some guns into Ireland.
That does make me wonder what that status of Ireland is by this point anyway, was the UK considering giving Ireland home rule, or has that been butterflied away?
That does make me wonder what that status of Ireland is by this point anyway, was the UK considering giving Ireland home rule, or has that been butterflied away?
World War One, Homefront Imperial Federation of Australia and New Zealand
For the Imperial Federation of Australia and New Zealand they faced difference challenges than their Canadian brothers did. The IFANZ formed in 1899 as the United States power in this region of the world grew. They did share a small land border with the United States on the Island of New Guinea but this area was still not heavily built up as the terrain was such that made supporting anything on both sides of the border tricky. They faced the face they were at the end of some long logistical lines at the ass end of the world with a mass of islands that were either controlled by themselves or the US. There were only a hand full of islands control in their reach that was controlled by the British and/or the French.
Politically the number of former colonies that made up the IFANZ were still gelling together to form a single nation in 1915 even through they had been formed over 15 years earlier. New Zealand had only joined in forming the IFANZ after pressure from London and the growing present of the United States who it seemed wanted further growth. They had only selected their capital city of Canberra till 1909. They however had no issues in finding an agreement on which branch of the military they wanted to build up. At the cost of the army which was kept fairly small and understaffed they pushed most of their military spending into building up their navy.
For the IFANZ they were much like their mother country. They were an island nation or to be more to the point an islands nation which a large group of islands covering a large area in the Southwest Pacific with only a land border on New Guinea with the Dutch and Americans. Yet they had a mess of American islands that could easily threaten them. Even more so with the American Naval Base at Simon’s Harbor[1]. They understood that they would live and die by their navy. So sending the fleet to support the mother country was simply out of the question. This was with the fleet being built around two Australia Class Battlecruisers[2] with 6 Town Class Light Cruisers in support with a number of lesser ships. With an American cruiser squadron at Simon’s Harbor equipped with somewhat modern Armored Cruisers they weren’t about to send the fleet. Sure they would take part in patrols in the Indian and Pacific Oceans but basing the fleet in Europe was simply out of the question.
The Army in the IFANZ had been a small branch of the military within the IFANZ. There were four regiments spread throughout the nation that were short on men as most IFANZ recruits signed up for naval service instead of service in the army. With sending the fleet out of the question it was decided to raise an army to send to support the mother country in her time of need. Like their Canadian counterparts they ran into the problem of equipment. They were better off in terms of building their own artillery as they have started a program to start building lighter ships in their nation and that included their own weapons. With some retooling, they were able to get the lighter field pieces built locally. Their small arms industry through was worse off. They led to the bulk of the force being put together being either equipped with Japanese Type 29 rifles or Lee-Metford Rifle which both were outdated.
At first this army was slated to go to France, then events in Africa overtook them and they were reassigned to other theaters of the war. The IFANZ Army wouldn’t get their first taste of combat till 1916.
[1] OTL Rabaul, the Americans simply made it something a normal English Speaker could say.
[2] Ok the Australia Class is laid out and armed like the OTL Lion Class BCs but with the armor the earlier Indefatigable Class BCs and only slightly more power engines giving the class 26.5 knots at flank speed.
Politically the number of former colonies that made up the IFANZ were still gelling together to form a single nation in 1915 even through they had been formed over 15 years earlier. New Zealand had only joined in forming the IFANZ after pressure from London and the growing present of the United States who it seemed wanted further growth. They had only selected their capital city of Canberra till 1909. They however had no issues in finding an agreement on which branch of the military they wanted to build up. At the cost of the army which was kept fairly small and understaffed they pushed most of their military spending into building up their navy.
For the IFANZ they were much like their mother country. They were an island nation or to be more to the point an islands nation which a large group of islands covering a large area in the Southwest Pacific with only a land border on New Guinea with the Dutch and Americans. Yet they had a mess of American islands that could easily threaten them. Even more so with the American Naval Base at Simon’s Harbor[1]. They understood that they would live and die by their navy. So sending the fleet to support the mother country was simply out of the question. This was with the fleet being built around two Australia Class Battlecruisers[2] with 6 Town Class Light Cruisers in support with a number of lesser ships. With an American cruiser squadron at Simon’s Harbor equipped with somewhat modern Armored Cruisers they weren’t about to send the fleet. Sure they would take part in patrols in the Indian and Pacific Oceans but basing the fleet in Europe was simply out of the question.
The Army in the IFANZ had been a small branch of the military within the IFANZ. There were four regiments spread throughout the nation that were short on men as most IFANZ recruits signed up for naval service instead of service in the army. With sending the fleet out of the question it was decided to raise an army to send to support the mother country in her time of need. Like their Canadian counterparts they ran into the problem of equipment. They were better off in terms of building their own artillery as they have started a program to start building lighter ships in their nation and that included their own weapons. With some retooling, they were able to get the lighter field pieces built locally. Their small arms industry through was worse off. They led to the bulk of the force being put together being either equipped with Japanese Type 29 rifles or Lee-Metford Rifle which both were outdated.
At first this army was slated to go to France, then events in Africa overtook them and they were reassigned to other theaters of the war. The IFANZ Army wouldn’t get their first taste of combat till 1916.
[1] OTL Rabaul, the Americans simply made it something a normal English Speaker could say.
[2] Ok the Australia Class is laid out and armed like the OTL Lion Class BCs but with the armor the earlier Indefatigable Class BCs and only slightly more power engines giving the class 26.5 knots at flank speed.
Well things are starting to come together. If there is to be a conflict between the US and Britain, Canada and the Federation are kinda screwed. Canada gets overwhelmed while the USN tries to take out the Federation Navy. From there they can just leave the Pacific alone while they concentrate on the Royal Navy. One thorn might be if Japan sticks by Britain if the US enters against the Entente or tries to stay neutral.
Canada is the one in the most trouble though since they are right next to the US and while they have numbers it is all poorly equipped and supplied. Of course even by being neutral we are already seeing the US have an effect on the British since they have to keep more forces back in the Dominions then they would normally. Combined with Belgium being half Allied/half CP and the destruction of the BEF things are going a bit worse for them than normal. Also AH despite the loss of two armies is in a better spot since they have to worry less about the Balkans thanks to Greece and Bulgaria being part of the war. Now the question becomes how does Romania and the Ottomans swing along with Italy.
Italy is gonna be sitting by the fence and jump in when it's clear who's going to win imo.
Romania will likely join Entente considering the fact that a large Bulgarian state is something they don't want, one of the reason why they went into 2nd Balkan War OTL in the first place.
Ottomans on the other hand is gonna be hard to tell.
Romania will likely join Entente considering the fact that a large Bulgarian state is something they don't want, one of the reason why they went into 2nd Balkan War OTL in the first place.
Ottomans on the other hand is gonna be hard to tell.
After playing Vic II for about a week now I giving it up. That game engine is a god damn trip
World War One, Matthew 7:24-27
For the Union of South Africa they didn’t face a direct American threat like the other White Dominions did[1]. They however did border a German colony, German Southwest Africa. They also faced a harder political domestic front than any of the other White Dominions. This was because the Second Boer War had only ended 13 years prior and the Union of South Africa had only formed in 1911. The Germans also knew this. There were a number Boers who had refused to accept the peace that ended the war. They were known as the bittereinders. And the Germans decided to back them to keep the South Africans from coming into play in this war.
Because of how brutal the Second Boer War the Germans found a willing leader to mount a rebellion in South Africa. This leader was Jan Smuts[2] a highly skilled Boer general who had escaped the British at the end of the war. Within weeks of the war started as South Africans were mobilizing to attack German Southwest Africa Smuts crossed into South Africa with other bittereinders and a large amount of money from Germany with some weapons. With contacts with Boers who hadn’t been excluded from the South African Army or forced into exile they rebelled against the South African government that was loyal to London.
The Smuts Rebellion caused panic within the halls of Whitehall as it became known about. Even more when Pretoria fell to Smuts’ Army on October 9th with an Army under Smuts’ command pushing 24,000 men in size. But with the fall of Pretoria the Smuts Rebellion morphed into the South African Civil War. Many Boers felt that there was too much control in the South African government by London and supported Smuts. Refusing too allow South Africa to fall to the Boers the British ordered the British Indian Army to South Africa to destroy Smuts and his Army. It was decided in late October as well that the IFANZ Army would be send to South Africa as well to stomp out the Boers once and for all.
As South Africa fell into a civil war the Germans in German Southwest Africa decided to help themselves and invaded the British enclave at Walvis Bay. This was something that the Germans wanted for their African colony as Walvis Bay was the only good deep water harbor along this part of the coast but it was under control of South Africa. With the South Africans and by extension the British being busy dealing with the Boers in South Africa they viewed this as the perfect time to help themselves to this piece of land.
The first Indian Troops reached South Africa in mid-November landing at Durban. Most of these troops had been slated for an invasion of Crete, yet the South African Civil War had sprung up before these troops could be sent out to take control of the island or even to forward staging areas. The Boers for their part was organizing themselves around Pretoria after the fall of the city. And on November 19th declared the Treaty of Vereeniging null and void as the old flag of Transvaal when back up in Pretoria. Soon after this Germany extended diplomatic recognition to the new Republic of Transvaal follow by Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria by the end of the year. Greece follow suit after the turn of the year.
Under the command of Lt General Sir Julian Byng the Indian Forces marched north to retake Pretoria. Smuts learned of this and took his army south to defend the new Transvaal Republic. The new sides met at the town of Harrismith in early December. During the three day battle both sides tried to gain the edge but were evenly matched. Neither side that the troop number edge and they were working with limited resources. The Battle of Harrismith ended in a draw with both sides retiring to lick their wounds.
[1] I’m not really sure how Newfoundland would handle this set up. They have a smaller population base than everyone else. Granted they still distance but they are in between a rock and hard place.
[2] Yes, that Jan Smuts, the Second Boer War was nastier than OTL and the British weren’t as nice at the peace table.
Because of how brutal the Second Boer War the Germans found a willing leader to mount a rebellion in South Africa. This leader was Jan Smuts[2] a highly skilled Boer general who had escaped the British at the end of the war. Within weeks of the war started as South Africans were mobilizing to attack German Southwest Africa Smuts crossed into South Africa with other bittereinders and a large amount of money from Germany with some weapons. With contacts with Boers who hadn’t been excluded from the South African Army or forced into exile they rebelled against the South African government that was loyal to London.
The Smuts Rebellion caused panic within the halls of Whitehall as it became known about. Even more when Pretoria fell to Smuts’ Army on October 9th with an Army under Smuts’ command pushing 24,000 men in size. But with the fall of Pretoria the Smuts Rebellion morphed into the South African Civil War. Many Boers felt that there was too much control in the South African government by London and supported Smuts. Refusing too allow South Africa to fall to the Boers the British ordered the British Indian Army to South Africa to destroy Smuts and his Army. It was decided in late October as well that the IFANZ Army would be send to South Africa as well to stomp out the Boers once and for all.
As South Africa fell into a civil war the Germans in German Southwest Africa decided to help themselves and invaded the British enclave at Walvis Bay. This was something that the Germans wanted for their African colony as Walvis Bay was the only good deep water harbor along this part of the coast but it was under control of South Africa. With the South Africans and by extension the British being busy dealing with the Boers in South Africa they viewed this as the perfect time to help themselves to this piece of land.
The first Indian Troops reached South Africa in mid-November landing at Durban. Most of these troops had been slated for an invasion of Crete, yet the South African Civil War had sprung up before these troops could be sent out to take control of the island or even to forward staging areas. The Boers for their part was organizing themselves around Pretoria after the fall of the city. And on November 19th declared the Treaty of Vereeniging null and void as the old flag of Transvaal when back up in Pretoria. Soon after this Germany extended diplomatic recognition to the new Republic of Transvaal follow by Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria by the end of the year. Greece follow suit after the turn of the year.
Under the command of Lt General Sir Julian Byng the Indian Forces marched north to retake Pretoria. Smuts learned of this and took his army south to defend the new Transvaal Republic. The new sides met at the town of Harrismith in early December. During the three day battle both sides tried to gain the edge but were evenly matched. Neither side that the troop number edge and they were working with limited resources. The Battle of Harrismith ended in a draw with both sides retiring to lick their wounds.
[1] I’m not really sure how Newfoundland would handle this set up. They have a smaller population base than everyone else. Granted they still distance but they are in between a rock and hard place.
[2] Yes, that Jan Smuts, the Second Boer War was nastier than OTL and the British weren’t as nice at the peace table.
World War One, Battle for the Neutrals, the Ottomans
In Europe, the eyes of both the Central Powers and the Entente cased their eyes on three neutral nations who it was viewed as likely they would join the war. These were the Kingdoms of Italy and Romania and the Ottoman Empire. This was because the Dutch had made it crystal clear they had no interest in taking part in this war or further territorial gains in either Europe or in the colonies. Spain was fighting a multi sided civil war at the moment and was zero help. The Swiss were staying out. Sweden had possibly but no one really wanted a repeat of Belgium as the King was pro-German but tempted by the fact Riksdag didn’t want to fight or pay for a war. Denmark and Norway simply didn’t have the power to matter. After Belgian cluster the British were having to play nice as it put the fear into many monarchs that the British would remove them at a whim.
For both the Central Power and Entente diplomats notably in the cases of Romania and the Ottoman Empire they would pass each other as they would pass each other in Constantinople and Bucharest as they were buying for both these nations to join their side. Italy through had angered Berlin and Vienna by failing to live up to its treaty obligations under almost laughable weaseling ways Italy exited the Central Power’s alliance. They were making a play for Italy to enter the war on their size or at the very least stay out of the war but the British and French were pushing even harder in Rome than either Berlin and Vienna were.
It was Berlin and Vienna who drew first blood in this. On November 4th the gained the Ottoman’s word they would enter the war on the sides of the Central Powers come Spring 1915 when they would launch an attack against the Russians in the Caucasus and the British in Egypt and Kuwait. This was not easy task for Berlin to gain the Ottoman’s entry into the war. It forced the Germans to put heavy pressure on the Bulgarians and Greeks to give up land to the Ottomans. In the case of Bulgaria it had been East Thrace[1]. The Bulgarians in the aftermath of the Balkans War had come to own land that was in spitting distance of Constantinople. The Ottomans wanted to push the border back some and take the pressure off Constantinople. For the Greeks they had to hand over all of the Aegean Sea Islands they had gained in the Balkans War.
Wresting both the Bulgarians and Greeks into giving up their territory was not an easy task. They were helped by the fact the Serbs had checked both the Bulgarian and Greek offensives into Serbian territory. Berlin put pressure on Vienna to launch their own offensive on the Serbs to help out the Bulgarians and Greeks. This was tricky in of itself but with the Austro Hungarians licking their wounds from their failed campaign into Russia it was viewed as a good moral booster for their army. But with Berlin giving their word they would launch a major offensive against the Russians in Spring 1915 as well.
It had taken more than that through to make this deal to happen. Germany had to agree to hold talks post-war to end the long standing issues between the Ottomans and Greeks who honestly hated each other. Then Germany had to agree to help both the Ottoman and Greek navies post-war as well. The Ottomans had been burn by the British who took control of two Ottoman battleships built in the UK at the start of the war. The Ottomans who were having major funding issues had turned to a fundraiser campaign to pay for these battleships only to have the British nationalize them before they had been turned over to the Ottoman navy was a bitter blow. The Germans agreed to build two new battleships for the Ottoman Navy post-war.
For the Greeks they had been trying to find the money to buy a Hercules type battleship yet no one wanted their money. This was largely because following the Balkans War the Greeks had been on the verge of bankruptcy. No bank have been willing to take Greek notes at that value needed to buy a Hercules class battleship. Germany agree to hand over two of its three Nassau Class Battleships[2] post war to the Greek Navy for their use there. The Imperial German Navy high command have never been that happy with the performance of the Nassau Class and was more than willing to part with them. It when without saying that the Ottomans and Greeks didn’t know about either deal for battleships as it would have likely caused the deal to fall apart as a whole.
The final spoils of war at the end of the war weren’t covered in the Treaty of Constantinople for what the Ottomans would be awarded. The Germans knew they wanted gains in the Caucasus, to retake Kuwait, and Egypt from the British. But they weren’t sure how well the Ottomans would perform in this war. They were trying to modernize their armed forces but the Germans didn’t know how the Ottoman reforms since the Balkans War would hold up. So they weren’t making any promises of territorial gains that the Ottomans couldn’t take. It was simply stated in the treaty there would be territorial gains it just didn’t cover what they would be.
[1] OTL Turkish Thrace
[2] Fairly close to the OTL design
For both the Central Power and Entente diplomats notably in the cases of Romania and the Ottoman Empire they would pass each other as they would pass each other in Constantinople and Bucharest as they were buying for both these nations to join their side. Italy through had angered Berlin and Vienna by failing to live up to its treaty obligations under almost laughable weaseling ways Italy exited the Central Power’s alliance. They were making a play for Italy to enter the war on their size or at the very least stay out of the war but the British and French were pushing even harder in Rome than either Berlin and Vienna were.
It was Berlin and Vienna who drew first blood in this. On November 4th the gained the Ottoman’s word they would enter the war on the sides of the Central Powers come Spring 1915 when they would launch an attack against the Russians in the Caucasus and the British in Egypt and Kuwait. This was not easy task for Berlin to gain the Ottoman’s entry into the war. It forced the Germans to put heavy pressure on the Bulgarians and Greeks to give up land to the Ottomans. In the case of Bulgaria it had been East Thrace[1]. The Bulgarians in the aftermath of the Balkans War had come to own land that was in spitting distance of Constantinople. The Ottomans wanted to push the border back some and take the pressure off Constantinople. For the Greeks they had to hand over all of the Aegean Sea Islands they had gained in the Balkans War.
Wresting both the Bulgarians and Greeks into giving up their territory was not an easy task. They were helped by the fact the Serbs had checked both the Bulgarian and Greek offensives into Serbian territory. Berlin put pressure on Vienna to launch their own offensive on the Serbs to help out the Bulgarians and Greeks. This was tricky in of itself but with the Austro Hungarians licking their wounds from their failed campaign into Russia it was viewed as a good moral booster for their army. But with Berlin giving their word they would launch a major offensive against the Russians in Spring 1915 as well.
It had taken more than that through to make this deal to happen. Germany had to agree to hold talks post-war to end the long standing issues between the Ottomans and Greeks who honestly hated each other. Then Germany had to agree to help both the Ottoman and Greek navies post-war as well. The Ottomans had been burn by the British who took control of two Ottoman battleships built in the UK at the start of the war. The Ottomans who were having major funding issues had turned to a fundraiser campaign to pay for these battleships only to have the British nationalize them before they had been turned over to the Ottoman navy was a bitter blow. The Germans agreed to build two new battleships for the Ottoman Navy post-war.
For the Greeks they had been trying to find the money to buy a Hercules type battleship yet no one wanted their money. This was largely because following the Balkans War the Greeks had been on the verge of bankruptcy. No bank have been willing to take Greek notes at that value needed to buy a Hercules class battleship. Germany agree to hand over two of its three Nassau Class Battleships[2] post war to the Greek Navy for their use there. The Imperial German Navy high command have never been that happy with the performance of the Nassau Class and was more than willing to part with them. It when without saying that the Ottomans and Greeks didn’t know about either deal for battleships as it would have likely caused the deal to fall apart as a whole.
The final spoils of war at the end of the war weren’t covered in the Treaty of Constantinople for what the Ottomans would be awarded. The Germans knew they wanted gains in the Caucasus, to retake Kuwait, and Egypt from the British. But they weren’t sure how well the Ottomans would perform in this war. They were trying to modernize their armed forces but the Germans didn’t know how the Ottoman reforms since the Balkans War would hold up. So they weren’t making any promises of territorial gains that the Ottomans couldn’t take. It was simply stated in the treaty there would be territorial gains it just didn’t cover what they would be.
[1] OTL Turkish Thrace
[2] Fairly close to the OTL design
As OTL Italy and the Ottomans are for sale, and like OTL the problem is that the prices being asked risk offending other allies. The Germans have Greece and Bulgaria on their side here, and have forced some small gains from earlier wars to be offered up. Of course what the Otomans end up getting depends on how well they do militarily, and how well the Greeks and Bulgarians do - those who do well will get higher rewards. Italy is a problem for both sides. The territory the Italians would love to get along the Northern Adriatic littoral would have to come from Austria-Hungary, and some of the colonial gains it might want would cost the French. It is easy to give a ptoential ally gains you take from the enemy, persuading one ally to give up something to entice a new potential ally not so much.
Regarding Italy, well in reality (at least OTL) Wien was not really angered with Italy to stay out, frankly they even provided the excuse...as otherwise they were 'forced' to divide the spoil with her and at the time there were a lot of optimism regarding the war and Berlin was pretty ok for a neutrality that favored the CP as a mean to create a big big hole in the blockade and not really happy with Wien when the negotiation stalled and crashed due to her stubborness.
I expect the Entente to offer Italy everything of OTL plus some piece of Greece, but with Giolitti at the helm politically and Pollio military Italy will more probably be more friendly with the CP (it's not that neutrality is a bed of rose)...but as a price and what agreed OTL before the negotiation collapsed was ok (maybe some vague word about further compensation on the colonial side will help) and with the current political climate it's possible that Rome will accept an IOU from Vienna about it.
Naturally i expect that A-H will found or invent any excuse for delay or scrap the treaty, but this will create a serious crisis and probably a war and i doubt the Hapsburg Empire will be very happy to start a new conflict with the only fresh power of the continent for some piece of estate that's not so important both strategically and economically...except naturally Albania that will permit at Italy to control the Adriatic access but it will be a necessary sacrifice for getting Serbia and piece of Russia
I expect the Entente to offer Italy everything of OTL plus some piece of Greece, but with Giolitti at the helm politically and Pollio military Italy will more probably be more friendly with the CP (it's not that neutrality is a bed of rose)...but as a price and what agreed OTL before the negotiation collapsed was ok (maybe some vague word about further compensation on the colonial side will help) and with the current political climate it's possible that Rome will accept an IOU from Vienna about it.
Naturally i expect that A-H will found or invent any excuse for delay or scrap the treaty, but this will create a serious crisis and probably a war and i doubt the Hapsburg Empire will be very happy to start a new conflict with the only fresh power of the continent for some piece of estate that's not so important both strategically and economically...except naturally Albania that will permit at Italy to control the Adriatic access but it will be a necessary sacrifice for getting Serbia and piece of Russia
While I did like the update Jim I frankly don't understand how and why Greece and Bulgaria would be able to give up their land so easily. Yes of course their going to get Serbian territory along with some potential modernization help from Germany later on, but there's no way in hell that any of the Balkans nations would willingly give up land that they currently owned, especially to the Ottomans who were their former oppressors. In the early 20th century the Balkans was possibly the most nationalistic region in all of Europe and the whole Second Balkans War was started just because Bulgaria thought they didn't get a decent slice of the pie at the peace talks. Even with the 40 years worth of butterflies the nationalistic mentality would still remain. I could see Greece giving up old land claims in the Ottomans but not the Aegan Islands or East Thrace. The Ottomans would have to pay huge monetary compensation since these lands were recently liberated with Greek and Bulgarian blood. Why couldn't Germany just promise the Ottomans large amounts of land from Britain and Russia in Asia while agreeing to finish the Baghdad Railway and invest millions of Reichsmarks into the country after the war. The Ottomans didn't need too much of an incentive to join OTL so there is no reason that they would push so heavily for territory here.
While some border adjustment on Ottoman favor will happen (as it happen in OTL as Bulgaria give up the left bank of the Maritsa to the Turks as to compensate her big gain on Romania) ceding West Thrace or the Aegean Islands will cause serious internal problem and tension among allies, expecially if Berlin put a strong pressure on her allies...basically all this deal seem to put a short term patch on the various alliance problems but seem to ensure a lot of headhence once the gun feel silent
More or less Luke. The Germans have just started to see how they misjudged that this could be a quick war. Then again everyone did. Only ITL Berlin is just starting to understand that. They had to promise a lot more than what I covered in the update to both the Bulgarians and Greeks to get them to hand over those small pieces of Europe to the Ottomans. This inculdes money to pay for the war, weapons to fight the war, promises to help them build up their economies post-war. Plus a lot of arm twisting. The Germans know full well the Balkans aren't going to be stable post-war but they care more about winning at this point than dealing with a possible mess in the Balkans post war.