AHC: Earliest Possible World War I

With a POD no earlier than 1850 or later than 1900, what would have been the best opportunity for a First World War?

My guess would be a Russo-Turkish War spilling all over Europe.
 
With a POD no earlier than 1850 or later than 1900, what would have been the best opportunity for a First World War?

My guess would be a Russo-Turkish War spilling all over Europe.

This world war there was no one single event that caused it, but a number of events that merged to have small battles come together into one single war.

WWI
Date: 14 June 1862 - 11 May 1874

Location: Mainly Europe, Northern Africa, Middle East, China and off the coast of South and North America

Belligerents​
Austria
Second French Empire
Ottoman Empire​
Spanish Empire
British Empire
Confederate states of America
Japan
Portugal
Dutch East Indies
Denmark
Canada
Republic of Chile

Kingdom of Prussia
Russian Empire
Italy
Romania
United State of Ameirca
United Mexican States
Qing Empire of China
Empire of Brazil
Kingdom of Siam
South African Republic
Kingdom of Morocco​
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Define world war....

With a POD no earlier than 1850 or later than 1900, what would have been the best opportunity for a First World War?

My guess would be a Russo-Turkish War spilling all over Europe.

The 1854-56 conflict between Russia on one hand and Turkey, France, Britain, and Sardinia on the other included combat in the Black Sea, Baltic Sea littoral, the Arctic, and the Pacific, and the potential for conflict in the Western Hemisphere. If the Austrians and/or the Prussians had seen a need to make gains in Italy or northern Europe (respectively), as opposed to the Austrian desire to see Russia defeated because of the Russo-Austrian conflict over the Balkans and the Eastern Question, it is entirely possible the 1854-56 conflict could have grown.

If you are suggesting an all-out, world-encircling conflict between two large alliances, there were certainly more than enough conflicts in the 1850s-60s that could have grown into larger wars.

And in the absence of a treaty system, the liklihood of any two countries lining up with each other would depend greatly on the initial conflict.

Best,
 
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Kingpoleon

Banned
This world war there was no one single event that caused it, but a number of events that merged to have small battles come together into one single war.

WWI
Date: 14 June 1862 - 11 May 1874

Location: Mainly Europe, Northern Africa, Middle East, China and off the coast of South and North America

Belligerents​
Austria
Second French Empire
Ottoman Empire​
Spanish Empire
British Empire
Confederate states of America
Japan
Portugal
Dutch East Indies
Denmark
Canada
Republic of Chile

Kingdom of Prussia
Russian Empire
Italy
Romania
United State of Ameirca
United Mexican States
Qing Empire of China
Empire of Brazil
Kingdom of Siam
South African Republic(impossible as a British puppet)
Kingdom of Morocco​
"The Russian people are no threat to the Prussians, and no Prussian wishes to harm the Russians. As family members, let us rejoice in the signing of this alliance between our two countries!" - King Wilhelm I of Prussia, January 1861, upon the signing of the Russo-Prussian alliances
"The Coalition of Italy, America, and China, would be proud to join your most honorable monarchs in both an offensive and defensive alliance." - Official statement from the Coalition, shortly before being welcomed into the fold
Brazil, Siam, and Morocco joined over time spent by the various diplomats in those countries. Romania joined due to close relations with Russia. In response, the Anglo-French alliance began to grow.
Austria, Spain, and the Ottomans had been planning to remain neutral until the Allianz(Russo-Prussian) began trying to convince Egypt to join. Recognizing that the two would be fighting a six-front war between them if the Allianz turned on them after defeating the Anglo-French Coalition, Austria and the Ottomans joined, followed by a revanchist Spain with a thirst for American blood.
 
When I was new to this site, one of the first thoughts was "how do I turn the US Civil War into a World War?". Tie in the Taiping Rebellion, the modernized wars in Japan, Italy and German Unification wars, French intervention in Mexico, Russia's internal issues, and throw in a more successfully interventionist Napoleon III and Britain -- all told you've got the makings of a major global conflict in the 1860's.
 
"The Russian people are no threat to the Prussians, and no Prussian wishes to harm the Russians. As family members, let us rejoice in the signing of this alliance between our two countries!" - King Wilhelm I of Prussia, January 1861, upon the signing of the Russo-Prussian alliances
"The Coalition of Italy, America, and China, would be proud to join your most honorable monarchs in both an offensive and defensive alliance." - Official statement from the Coalition, shortly before being welcomed into the fold
Brazil, Siam, and Morocco joined over time spent by the various diplomats in those countries. Romania joined due to close relations with Russia. In response, the Anglo-French alliance began to grow.
Austria, Spain, and the Ottomans had been planning to remain neutral until the Allianz(Russo-Prussian) began trying to convince Egypt to join. Recognizing that the two would be fighting a six-front war between them if the Allianz turned on them after defeating the Anglo-French Coalition, Austria and the Ottomans joined, followed by a revanchist Spain with a thirst for American blood.
The South African Republic was trying to distance its self from Britain and with US support rebelled against them and raiding their trading routes around the cape.
Eygpt is a dodgy area as each team wants to use them and by 1864, Egypt was able to gain the same "nuetrality" that switzerland has.

When I was new to this site, one of the first thoughts was "how do I turn the US Civil War into a World War?". Tie in the Taiping Rebellion, the modernized wars in Japan, Italy and German Unification wars, French intervention in Mexico, Russia's internal issues, and throw in a more successfully interventionist Napoleon III and Britain -- all told you've got the makings of a major global conflict in the 1860's.
In OTL Napoleon III and Queen Victoria were good friends (when he was exiled to Chislehurst, England, QV had her own private plateform built at the station so she could visit him) so have a closer alliance between the two, maybe have her youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice marry his son, Prince Napoleon?
 
You need earlier scientific advances in order to have an earlier version of the WWI that we saw---called the 'war to end all wars' due to the scale and scope of the armies and warmaking techniques and technologies being employed. You need earlier nationalism -and- militarism (mobilization of civilian population, etc.). You need an earlier naval arms race, which means earlier everything else.

All of this is not really doable after 1850. Would probably need the Napoleonic Wars (the second true world war, after the 7 Years War) to not happen---the aftermath kept Europe at peace (and stagnant) until the Crimean War.
 
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You need earlier scientific advances in order to have an earlier version of the WWI that we saw---called the 'war to end all wars' due to the scale and scope of the armies and warmaking techniques and technologies being employed. You need earlier nationalism -and- militarism (mobilization of civilian population, etc.). You need an earlier naval arms race, which means earlier everything else.

Well strictly speaking, the OP only asked for a "world war", not for any specific casualty numbers; but if you do need them, it's important to remember that OTL the Taiping Rebellion alone killed 20 million, so just getting the casualties high isn't a problem (assuming you're not picky about how the details).
 
In my mind a prerequisite for a world war is coordination interconnection of theatres, which in my mind requires the construction of the global telegraph network and probably the Suez canal, steamships and railways. So regardless of the cause and belligerents a truly world war couldn't easily occur until about the 1860s.
 
I like the Crimean War idea.

Russia
Austria
Prussia
German Confederation
Two Sicilies, Papal States, Tuscany, Parma, Modena
Sepoy Mutinists
Persia

vs

Ottoman Empire
UK
France
Sardinia
Sweden
Denmark
Polish Revolutionaries

So the things bleeds into the Sepoy Mutiny and it's a World War. It ends with the British subduing India, the Russians chastened in the Balkans, Italy (except Venetia and Lazio) united under Sardinia, Finland ceded to Sweden. Norway independent, Germany united under an Austro-Prussian presidency. Polish aspirations frustrated again.


:cool:
 
When I was new to this site, one of the first thoughts was "how do I turn the US Civil War into a World War?". Tie in the Taiping Rebellion, the modernized wars in Japan, Italy and German Unification wars, French intervention in Mexico, Russia's internal issues, and throw in a more successfully interventionist Napoleon III and Britain -- all told you've got the makings of a major global conflict in the 1860's.

Now that is an interesting idea... combat theaters on all continents (well, Australia will have to be content with another Emu war, I guess).
 

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Monthly Donor
Want to join Qing China into the first (Russian) coalition? The 2nd opium war is about to start.

I like the Crimean War idea.

Russia
Austria
Prussia
German Confederation
Two Sicilies, Papal States, Tuscany, Parma, Modena
Sepoy Mutinists
Persia

vs

Ottoman Empire
UK
France
Sardinia
Sweden
Denmark
Polish Revolutionaries

So the things bleeds into the Sepoy Mutiny and it's a World War. It ends with the British subduing India, the Russians chastened in the Balkans, Italy (except Venetia and Lazio) united under Sardinia, Finland ceded to Sweden. Norway independent, Germany united under an Austro-Prussian presidency. Polish aspirations frustrated again.
 
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