DBWI China doesn't join the central powers

During the first world war, china was a mess, and then when Japan joined the war they invaded german held areas. The government decided that neutrality wasn't possible and since the vast majority of coessions and colionies belonged to the allies to join the central powers and hopefully regain control of their country after the war was over.

How would the world change if they didn't make that choice?
 
Perhaps China would be a united and independent nation if it hadn’t made that mistake.

Well, it made that choice because the Entente refused to respect Chinese Neutrality. So instead we have the leftover Qing dynasty in Manchuria as a Japanese puppet, there’s the Windsor dynasty in East China, making it into the new India, Dzungaria now an Ottoman vassal, Tibet now a Bharat, vassal, Mongolia being a Russian puppet, and the Free Zhuang State, which is the US’s ally and basically has the Southeast Asia Nations under their sway.
 
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Well, without China being CP, the Scramble for China wouldn't have happened. As we all know, Russians felt threatened (both by China, and by the prospect of Japan gobbling up the entire country). Britain feared that Russians or Japanese would conquer China entirely. And Japan feared Russian expansion.

As Japan had its entire army deployed in China, this forced Britain and Russia to deploy as many troops to China, leading to British defeat in Egypt, Russian total collapse and Ottoman victory.

Without this, how would the Ottomans have fared ? Would Enver Pacha have become the Napoleon of Central Asia ? Could Russia have won or at least survived ?
 
Well, Manchuria would probably look quite different. As a Japanese satellite, it industrialised heavily - oil extraction, steel plants, then from the 50s onwards all that car and electronics manufacturing. Hell, this car

500b92c7d1969bdbb23d5dae48de953e--toyota-gt-bond-girl.jpg


the icon of Japanese modernity and industry, a lot of them were manufactured in Manchuria.

On a wider scale, you probably wouldn't have seen the differences in SE Asia. Laos, Cambodia and Thailand ended up as satellites of the Zhuang after the French left, while Japan brought Vietnam and Indonesia into its alliance system alongside Manchuria. Though they've all seen decent economic growth and employment as a result, just
 
Well, Manchuria would probably look quite different. As a Japanese satellite, it industrialised heavily - oil extraction, steel plants, then from the 50s onwards all that car and electronics manufacturing. Hell, this car

500b92c7d1969bdbb23d5dae48de953e--toyota-gt-bond-girl.jpg


the icon of Japanese modernity and industry, a lot of them were manufactured in Manchuria.

On a wider scale, you probably wouldn't have seen the differences in SE Asia. Laos, Cambodia and Thailand ended up as satellites of the Zhuang after the French left, while Japan brought Vietnam and Indonesia into its alliance system alongside Manchuria. Though they've all seen decent economic growth and employment as a result, just
Ah, the Manch car, famous the world around. Just behind the Yugo in popularity.
 
They were singularly cool cars, all right. All the rich would-be playboys wanted them, in East and West alike...

But it's just one example of Japanese industry in Manchuria.
Why did the US break up in the 1940s? With Alaska first to be seized by the Japanese puppet Siberian government?
 
The US as of present day still is divided into 12 independent countries. Maybe one they will unite. I doubt it.
California is an ally of Japan, for instance, while Pacifica is allied with Canada. And if one looks at the history books, they will realize there's bad blood between them.
Need proof? Just look at the Siberia vs California world cup final earlier this year. After Siberia won on penalty kicks, California cried foul, and both sides claimed the other side tried to cheat.
 
The US as of present day still is divided into 12 independent countries. Maybe one they will unite. I doubt it.
California is an ally of Japan, for instance, while Pacifica is allied with Canada. And if one looks at the history books, they will realize there's bad blood between them.

True. There's been a fair amount of cultural divergence. California, for instance, is a socially liberal social-democratic nation - pretty much the dead opposite of the Union of Southern American States.
 
Well, the major deaths from the Spanish Flu epidemic didn't help, or the economic problems arising from that. Add to that the Dust Bowl...

And of course there was the Business Plot. It failed and could never have worked, but it showed to American workers that their bosses were ready to turn the country into a banana republic just to maintain their priviledges. And as this would be coup was aimed at stopping "bolshevik contamination", ironically, it pushed the workers right in the arms of Communists.

On the other hand, even though no Jewish people were involved, US far right saw it as a Jewish plot.

When the Communist Party won the elections, there was a wave of secessions. The New Confederates in the Old South seceded. Texas seceded, but it led to a vicious ethnic war (as Hispanics, Natives and Blacks all supported the Communist government over the Texan racist separatists). The Mormons declared their neutrality and independence. In New England, there was a struggle between the Communists, the True Democrats (that claimed falsely that Commies had rigged the election), Father Coughlin and the Black Legion.

All this terrorism (including rebellion of most of the Army) forced the legitimate government to resort to special measures, which were necessary but not understood...
 
The US as of present day still is divided into 12 independent countries. Maybe one they will unite. I doubt it.
California is an ally of Japan, for instance, while Pacifica is allied with Canada. And if one looks at the history books, they will realize there's bad blood between them.
Need proof? Just look at the Siberia vs California world cup final earlier this year. After Siberia won on penalty kicks, California cried foul, and both sides claimed the other side tried to cheat.

Oh hell, that was completely insane. Though ironically enough, this actually allowed Mexico to become the dominant American power since most of the post-American powers aren't recognized by most except themselves (barring California.) Mexico is pretty happy with how much investment its gone as well as its universal health program and how well it is doing for itself, even equalling the US in propserity of old.

They also formed an anti-colonial bloc with the Zheng being the first to join among others, such as Iran.
 
The fighting in China itself also contributed. When they joined WWI, the US sent a lot of men to China as well as Europe. And lost a lot... guerrilla fighting in the parts of the country they were in could get nasty...

Though it was kind of ironic that in some parts of the former US that led to a better position for women in North America, withtne need for more women in the workforce because of the war and Spanish Flu losses. Which became even more acute when the country broke apart - with fighting breaking out industry still needed to operate.

Though a few more conservative parts of the old US were scandalised when California began recruiting women for its Air Force. Though the She-Bear Squadrons were pretty damn lethal (and ended up inspiring that Californian Wonder Woman comic :D)

And that persisted. California was ahead of everyone else in terms of women's rights, women in the military etc.
 
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If history had been different, the most unlikely event of diplomatic history, ie. the Ottoman Empire leading a Balkan bloc (Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Romania).

It came through the genius and sheer determination of Ioannis Metaxas and Mustafa Kemal, who met while fighting in 1917 and become best friends.

At first, Balkan nations all hated the Turks as well as each other. But then, Austria and Hungary, that had been turned into independent republics by the victorious Entente, re-united into Austria-Hungary.

Then, the Triple Alliance was reborn, with Austrians and Hungarians wanting to control Romania, Italians wanting Greece and Albania, both planning to carve Yugoslavia, and Germans supporting those plans.

The Triple Alliance also had grandiose plans about re-establishing the Kingdom of Jerusalem (under Habsburg Crown) with European colonists, while Italians saw themselves in Cairo and Suez, and Germans in Crete and Cyprus.

Of course, it all comes down to the Revivalism, a white supremacist and Christian ideology, that said Germany, Austria and Hungary lost because théy were allied with a Muslim power and tolerated Jews (a "cursed race") at home.

The answer was to re-unite the Balkans under their protection (and purge them of Pomaks, Jews, Gypsies...), as well as carving their Lebensraum out of Ottoman territory.

The Balkan Pact was the answer to this silliness...

Not only that, but with its oil and other resources, the Ottomans weathered the Depression decently. And the customs union with the Empire indeed revitalized Balkan economies.
 
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