AHC: Germany and Austria a bit bigger

NoMommsen

Donor
Part 4 : The ITTL WW I in the 'rest of the world'

East Asia and Pacific :
The Graf Spee squadron bombards Wladiwostok, thereby grounding the cruiser Zhemchug
French cruiser Montcalm bombards Rabaul
Battle at the Paracels : french cruisers Dupleix and Montcalm get grounded, as well as Gneisenau
After repairs at Tsingtao Scharnhorst and Nürnberg reamin in East Asia to harass french seatrade and coastal cities
Emden gets detached to the Indian Ocean to join Königsberg

Africa :
Togo taken by french forces
German forces in Cameroon are forced to retreat dep into the country but are not defeated

The Seas :
cruiser warfare of Leipzig and Dresden in the caribbeans/America
cruiser warfare of Königsberg in Indian Ocean and around Madagascar
Roon and Yorck together with Stralsund and Strassburg are sent to the caribbeans to form an Atlantic cruiser squadron

The "Vaterland" incident :
End of october the german atlantic steamer SmS Vaterland (Fatherland) in an attamp to reach Bristol in England as a first step of its journey home gets sunk by french cruisers and destroyer(s) of the french atlantic squadron south of Ireland - just inside the "no-warship-zone" declared by Britain. Numerous british and ... US citizens are drowned.


(Part 5 : Some diplomatics and other bits 'n pieces on change of 1914/1915 in the works)
 
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NoMommsen

Donor
Part 5 : Foreign affairs and economics at the end of the ITTL first Year of The First Great War

Foreign affairs

Ottoman Empire :
Closes the Dardanells for similar reasons as Britain the English Channel.
Is heavily courted by France as well as A-H and Germany with much more pros to tzhe CP ("selling" Breslau nad Goeben to very ... favorable conditions helps this a lot). The british diplomatic embarresment about the Dardanells even support its leaning towards the CP.

Italy :
Stays still out of war being even more courted by the CP and France.Ohhhh, A-H seems invitingly weak atm, but ... as France has no means to support Italy substantially atm, there should be more in the offer : Tunesia i.e. (keeping on bargaining). The 'offer' of Nice, Corsica and the mediterrainian alps by the CP are also quite ... tempting, esp. since France starts to reduce its mediterrainian fleets to build up something in the atlantic and - perhaps - in the North Sea.

Romania :
Still between the fire and the pan. With A-H so utterly beaten Transsylvania just looks so ... tempting. But to be 'embraced' by Russia looks as frightening.

Bulgaria :
Leans towards the CP more 'n more every day. First it can't allow Serbia becomming too big in case it succeeds against A-H, Second it would need some allies, if Romania might be supported by mighty Russia and dosn't looks 'just' at Transylvania but also southwards.

Japan :
With Wladiwostock 'wide open', the russian garrisons stripped of troops for the west the Amur provinces looked ... teasing. Why not getting all of Sachalin also ? And japanese diplomats appeared a bit more prominent in Berlin.

China :
Been the ball to play with than a player by itself, China started to sense some possibilities to perhaps put a wedge between the powers. While trade with germans was somewhat encouraged and its river patrol boats greeted at chinese ports, in the southern, french controlled parts, their traders had more and more ... problems, beside some unappetizing 'incidents'.

Britain :
Pro-french politicians lost ground with always every day. With flaring up of the Ireland-question they tried to distrac at least public opinion. What also distracted the public from any favor for war at all (beside the not amusing reports on the slaughter of french troops). There means to 'help' France by securing its northern coast and closing the channel payed back unfortunatly with the "Vaterland"-incident, not to speak of the violation of belgian territory. Luckily Belgium didn't asked for military support to enforce the guarantee Britain once gave.
There seemed some substantial change in foreign politics necessary. ... or returning to a very old one : splendid isolation.

Belgium :
Big Problems here. It had to DoW France, not as Germany ally but out of its own reson dètre. Allying with France from the start would have determinated any position of neutrality at all. It would have nullified all the treaties that guaranteed Belgiums, that founded Belgiums existence at all.
Though it could for the same reasons not ally with Germany to get the means to drive the invaders off the country but didn't have that means out of its own power. Not fighting the invader ... would make Belgium a triviality at all.
For the time being it could do nothing than watch the show south of the Ardennes and allow Germany to trade on 'good' conditions through its harbours
... and making quite some money with it. Meanwhile pressure from France as well as Germany to 'join' was building up every day.


Economics :

France :
Slowly but surely running out of money, as their foreign assets are frozen by the closure of Londons and all of the US stockmarkets. Loans are - after invasion of Belgium, the "Vaterland"-incident and the performance of their troops almost nowhere to get, if than only very small ones on bad terms. The industry doesn't let itself easily submitt under martial conditions and stays less than necessary organized.

Russia :
Dardanells closed, Baltic sea now a german-swedish lake, Wladiwostock almost blockaded iscut off from almost any foreign trade. There is only a trickle if any at all left via Persia and central Asia.

A-H :
Not being anywhere near 'war-readiness' at the beginning, the massive emergenca conscriptions of any man who can just carry a rifle reduce their industries capacity considerably. Unfortunatly and with the result of quite some ... situations of public unrest especially in Bohemia. Weapons output falls dangerously, so that A-H militaries have to ask for such stuff in Berlin.
At least it has some trade possibilities in and via the Mediterrainian, though italian producers and traders ask for ashaming prices.

Germany :
As demanded by von der Goltz on taking the helm, organisation of the war-economy started right away. The man to head this 'Empires Administration for the economy at war' that eventually control and regulate - often indirect - almost every aspect economic life controlling institution was found in Walther Rathenau. First success of this could be seen even by the militaries, when during winter the ammunitions production started to considerably surge up, closely followed by increasing numbers of guns output. Even the imports of food as well as industrial raw materials increased at that time.
Main problem at that time was to get enough shipping space to go 'round Scotland. The german buyers in the neutral countries in europe as well as oversea were well received, as the consulates and embassies were well equipped with cash.


(End of Second Chapter. Third Chapter with the second year of the First Great War will follow ... but needs some time.)
 
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