AHC: Latest possible "War of X Succession"

The War of Spanish Succession' and others proved that it wasn't that odd for natiosn in olden days to fight over who had influence over the succeeding ruler in a country.

The challenge is to have such a war as late as possible; and this is in post-1900 because that would be ideal to answer this challenge.

A different WWI might be a thought if you pick the right country; perhaps Austria, if the Archduke isn't assassinated and then when the Emperor dies someone kills a couple of the people in line for the throne. Or maybe even China if everyone's vying for influence colonially. It could always grow into an alternate WW1 wherever you have it.

An almost impossible challenge would probably be a POD post-WWI, though if you wanted to try you could.

Or maybe you think that a 20th century "War of X Succession" is impossible, in which case I invite discussion on when the latest one *would* be. SO, it's not necessarily a 20th century challenge, but I imagine at least someone will try to come up with a good 20th century POD.
 
If the Carlist Wars in Spain count, it would not be that hard to find a POD for a fourth one. If Alphonso XII had a daughter instead of a son as his third child, and still died as early as he did IOTL, the Spanish throne would again fall to a woman in 1885.Don Juan Carlos María Isidro de Borbón, Count of Montizón could decide that the time is ripe for another go at the Spanish throne. He would likely receive support from his traditional base in the Basque Counties, though his support in Catalonia and Galicia would probably be weaker this time around.

His rebellion would probably fail, like all the others before it, but it would be a War of Succession in so far as the major contenders are fighting over their right to inherit a throne.
 
If the Carlist Wars in Spain count, it would not be that hard to find a POD for a fourth one. If Alphonso XII had a daughter instead of a son as his third child, and still died as early as he did IOTL, the Spanish throne would again fall to a woman in 1885.Don Juan Carlos María Isidro de Borbón, Count of Montizón could decide that the time is ripe for another go at the Spanish throne. He would likely receive support from his traditional base in the Basque Counties, though his support in Catalonia and Galicia would probably be weaker this time around.

His rebellion would probably fail, like all the others before it, but it would be a War of Succession in so far as the major contenders are fighting over their right to inherit a throne.

Is it possible to argue that the Spanish Civil War was simply another Carlist War as well or am I being ignorant?
 
It isn't about “succession” in the strictest sense, but had Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaring accepted the Spanish crown, it would probably have meant war between France and Prussia earlier. Even though he did back down, this incident indirectly lead to the Franco-Prussian war.
 
It isn't about “succession” in the strictest sense, but had Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaring accepted the Spanish crown, it would probably have meant war between France and Prussia earlier. Even though he did back down, this incident indirectly lead to the Franco-Prussian war.

It's interesting to consider how that might relate to, or be impacted by, a Franco-Pruusian war waged over Luxembourg.
 
A war of the Serbian succession would have been plausible if the assassination of King Alexander had failed in 1904.

The world was still dominated by monarchies until 1914, so a succession crisis in a number of them could have led to a civil war. I can't see a country involved in WWI getting involved in a succession war too, but a neutral country well away from the fronts could have done.

The only one that comes to mind is Ethiopia after Menelik II. In OTL, Emperor Lij Yasu was deposed in 1917 (I think that's the date; going from memory) for becoming a Muslim. He fled (and was later captured) but it wasn't implausible that he could have raised forces and made a fight of it. The situation in Ethiopia was unstable for a while longer, too, because Lij Yasu was replaced by his aunt, the childless Empress Zauditu. There was more than one possible claimant to the succession after her.
 
Actually, I think you could still got a modern war of succession under the right circumstances. Maybe something like a succession crisis in Saudi Arabia where one claimant aligns with Islamist radicals while the other courts backing from progressives and the West.
 

Falkenburg

Monthly Donor
There's a possibility of a Post Second World War 'War of Succession' in Europe, I think.

Not sure how you pull it off but...

If King Zog of Albania had played a more subtle game in the 1930s and been less closely tied to Fascist Italy, then he may have stood a better chance of retaking his throne after 45.

The main issue would be removing Kim Philby.
IIRC (and I could be wrong, it's been a while :eek:) Philby supplied intelligence to the Soviets that enabled them to foil Zogs attempt(s).

So, hit Philby with a bus. The British support Zogs return (as they tried to do OTL).
Zog retakes the throne, quells the country, though never quite eradicates the Communist Resistance.

With Tito providing shelter to the North and fractious Greece in need of bolstering to the South, the West may have felt compelled to provide military support to Zogs Heir (Leka, IIRC), in the face of Communist inspired insurgents.

Don't know if that's what you're after?

Falkenburg
 
In the AHN Universe (which wouldn't count in this case, because its before 1900, but I'm going to mention it anyway), the Great War (1913-16) was sparked off because of a crisis in the succession of Poland-Lithuania.
 
Actually, I think you could still got a modern war of succession under the right circumstances. Maybe something like a succession crisis in Saudi Arabia where one claimant aligns with Islamist radicals while the other courts backing from progressives and the West.

good point... certainly there are a plethora of Princes, and some are more pro-western than others.
 
Top