Challenge: Central powers victim of aggression

In OTL it was clear that Germany's actions were the main immediate cause of WW1, at least that is how I see it

Your challenge is with a POD in or after 1890 to have France, or more likely Russia (if you care to try it Britain) looks as much like an aggressor in a WW1 on roughly the pattern of OTL.
 
In OTL it was clear that Germany's actions were the main immediate cause of WW1, at least that is how I see it

Your challenge is with a POD in or after 1890 to have France, or more likely Russia (if you care to try it Britain) looks as much like an aggressor in a WW1 on roughly the pattern of OTL.

Pardon me? It was Austria which started the war. Germany was only dumb enough to follow them into it. Besides, everybody in Europe at that time had a "hooray we go to war" mentality... :rolleyes:

But, to answer your question, it'd be pretty easy to have the Entente start the war with a different POD.
 
No early POD required. Wilhelm II. was already backing away from war, but Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg did not heed his words.
Just let Wilhelm have the upper hand. That means Austria-Hungary will be stopped cold.
Russia and France will mobilise like in OTL (both started mobilisation before Germany) - and the CP will be the perfect victims of aggression.
 
No early POD required. Wilhelm II. was already backing away from war, but Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg did not heed his words.
Just let Wilhelm have the upper hand. That means Austria-Hungary will be stopped cold.
Russia and France will mobilise like in OTL (both started mobilisation before Germany) - and the CP will be the perfect victims of aggression.

Assuming the Kaiser chose not to give the Austrians a blank cheque in July 1914 I assumed that Serbia as in OTL accepts most of the Austrian Ultimatum, Serbia is humiliated but survives.

Why then would Russia or France do anything other than demobilize?
 
Assuming the Kaiser chose not to give the Austrians a blank cheque in July 1914 I assumed that Serbia as in OTL accepts most of the Austrian Ultimatum, Serbia is humiliated but survives.

Why then would Russia or France do anything other than demobilize?

The problem is not the blank cheque, but that the Austrians didn't give the Germans had idea about how they were going to use it.
 

General Zod

Banned
As far as I can tell, the best way of accomplishing the PoD would be for Germany to have a strategy far less reliant on a quick victory in France before Russia can mobilize: in other words, you need to butterfly the Plan Schliffen away and have Germany adopt a Russia First strategy. This way, when A-H declares war to Serbia, Germany does not feel obliged to rush and declare war on its own initative to Russia and France both when Russia mobilizes. They let Russia declare war on A-H, then they declare war on Russia, and let France declare war on Germany. Neutral Belgium is never violated (or if it happens, it is France to invade when they get a bloody nose in Alsace-Lorraine), Britain stays neutral, and A-H can claim it is defending itself from rogue nation thaty harbors terrorists, while Germany can claim it is defending an ally. With Belgium left alone, and Russia the first great power to declare war to another one, the CP position looks much better to neutrals. As an additional benefit, with Britain neutral, and Russia and France declaring war first, Italy shall be bound (and willing) to be true to the Triple Alliance.
 
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