AHC: a peaceful 20th century in Europe

Here's the idea: somehow avoid major European wars in the 20th century, with a PoD before 1900.

Perhaps there is a major European war in the late 19th century that involves all major powers, which leads to an earlier start of European integration, leading to a sort-of European Union or at least Coal and Steel Community in the 1930s? I know that any war before the advent of modern machine guns, barbed wire and artillery would not make this proto-Great War that bloody, but a long war in the 19th century would be able to cripple European economies enough for them to slowly start to warm up to each other, eventually forming an early EU.

Go crazy :)
 
Pretty much impossible in my opinion.

You had Divine Right of Kings still very much entrenched in Europe at the time, along with Imperialism. France won't make peace with Germany. Russia won't make peace with Austro-Hungary etc. Too many egos exist to prevent war occurring.

Even if you have a major conflict pre-1900, you still have Marxism/Fascism (or equivalents) arising as a result of the conflict (there's no way you won't have a war without the extremist elements gaining power). The economy is inevitably going to turn for the worse too which will encourage the extremists to power.

I would argue that the horror of WW2 is what forged the modern world and modern Europe in particular. Pre-1900 is too early for a 'peaceful' Europe. It needs to encounter the terrors of full blown extremism, coupled with the dangerous of modern weaponry and the threat of nuclear annihilation.
 
Pretty much impossible in my opinion.

You had Divine Right of Kings still very much entrenched in Europe at the time, along with Imperialism. France won't make peace with Germany. Russia won't make peace with Austro-Hungary etc. Too many egos exist to prevent war occurring.

How about a more widely successful series of revolutions in 1848? With Vienna, Paris and Berlin all taken?

And I don't want to see a competely peaceful Europe, just avoid world wars.
 
How about a more widely successful series of revolutions in 1848? With Vienna, Paris and Berlin all taken?

And I don't want to see a competely peaceful Europe, just avoid world wars.

Problem is Imperialism and Jingoism is big at the time. If you have revolutions, the more stable powers (probably including the UK) will gobble up the colonies which will be another reason for war. With the colonies being the major conflict point at the time the Imperial masters with inevitably clash at some point.

Plus I'm of the opinion, every revolution makes the next harder. Look at the rise of Communism. When Russia fell every other nation clamped down on Socialism to prevent it taking root there. Maybe half of Europe falls (you'd never get the whole thing), the other half will take advantage to seize territory they've wanted historically. This sparks revanchism feelings leading to a WW2 analogy reclaiming lost land.

You can't stop power blocks in Europe clashing during the 1900s. The only way to prevent LATER conflicts is to make the wars SO horrific and the weapons used SO devastating that war no longer becomes fashionable. You also need to remove feelings of Imperialism, probably the majority of European monarchy, AND prevent the rise of extremism. All nations need to retain their national identity, not be forced into dishonorable defeat terms, not lose land considered 'key for their interests' plus much more. It's too many plates to juggle without 1 falling and smashing.
 
It is possible that you could luck out and not need a major war. In the run up to WWI, there was a school of thought that said war between the great powers was impossible because it would cripple their economies. Perhaps make this the mainstream belief, and war might be avoided. An external threat might also help. Maybe China or the US?
 
It is possible that you could luck out and not need a major war. In the run up to WWI, there was a school of thought that said war between the great powers was impossible because it would cripple their economies. Perhaps make this the mainstream belief, and war might be avoided. An external threat might also help. Maybe China or the US?

Problem is economies rise and fall in the capitalist system. When the economy has an inevitable bust, how does Europe react to that?
 
Some of the 1792 revolution spreads across the Channel. Not enough to get a republican Britain, but enough for a civil war that wrecks their economy. The French are luckier and manage to work out a continental system of everything west of Russia (also no invasion of Egypt so the Ottomans stay on the side of France). A round two between France and the Russo-British alliance sees a French victory. Europe stands united. There's not world peace, but the fields of war are outside of Europe.
 
Some of the 1792 revolution spreads across the Channel. Not enough to get a republican Britain, but enough for a civil war that wrecks their economy. The French are luckier and manage to work out a continental system of everything west of Russia (also no invasion of Egypt so the Ottomans stay on the side of France). A round two between France and the Russo-British alliance sees a French victory. Europe stands united. There's not world peace, but the fields of war are outside of Europe.
...

My god, that's horrible! Its so terrifying I want to read a timeline about it...
 
I think if the Russo-Turkish War somehow escalated, or if the wars in the ten years prior had been different and/or much bigger that this could have been possible. However, to really get an earlier Coal and Steel Pact, you'd need a quicker, more thorough rise of Russia and/or the United States, possibly coupled with less serious of an effort to conquer/administer the African interior.
 
No! A FRENCH dominated Europe is terrifying :p

I like the French. :p

Also, for all the people saying that a war in the late 19th century couldn't scare Europe out of war for a while, let's not forgot that the 30 years war had Europe antsy about mobilising for over a century.
 
I like the idea of a Russo-Turkish War escalating. How about a larger involvement in the Boxer Rebellion? The war drags on for a long time, eventually leading to a more stable European alliance?
 

dead_wolf

Banned
Probably a more violent 19th century is what's actually needed here, and that's saying a lot considering how brutal the 19th already was. You'd likely need something like the Seven Weeks, Franco-Prussian, or Russo-Turkish wars to take on a larger, more international scope. Something to really smash up the old order before 1900.
 
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