The purpose of the thread is to devise and discuss an event chain, with a POD as late as possible, by which an alternate WW1 occurs with the following alliance system:
Central Powers: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, USA
Entente: British Empire, Russia, Habsburg Empire, Ottoman Empire, China
Japan, the USA, and China may join the conflict at a later date.
Germany, Italy, and the USA must be united and have at least the same territory as OTL (except France may keep Alsace-Lorraine), so PoDs like Austria wins the Seven Weeks War, France wins the Franco-Prussian War, or the Union loses the American Civil War due to Anglo-French intervention for the CSA are not allowed.
An easy PoD is acknowledged to be the success of the 1848 revolutions in France, Germany, and Italy, but not the Habsburg Empire; however it would be much more interesting to accomplish the scenario with a post-1860s PoD.