I was just sitting and reading 1st Great War history and just thought.
On 23rd June of 1918 BEF and French 5th, 6th Army in Northern Command under command of Haig, D'esperey respectively launched offensive operation codenamed "Thirty Days". The goal was, by the end of July to take Lille and throw Germans beyond Aisne. Using massive amount of tanks and what was first widespread usage of combined arms tactics, French 5th and 6th armiesmanaged to advance upon Aisne, capturing Sen-Quentin, Loon, and Rethel by 11th of July. BEF managed to capture Loos, Cambrai, Dracourt and La Bassee. However, due to insufficient logistics and oil shortages, Haig was forced to advance upon Lille without tanks, leaving his 380 tanks behind and advancing with infantry and light artillery only. What's happened next can be described as a first ever urban battle in 20th Century. General Armin, commander of the German 4th Army, managed to lure British 1st and 3rd Armies into a block by block fighting using only a third of his forces( approximately 12 divisions out of 37 he had). After 3 weeks of fighting , on 2nd of August, Armin cooperated with Quast, commander of German 6th Army, and as result, they presented their plan to Hoffmann and Ludendorff...After additional development, plan was accepted, and 2 armies launched a two condescending offensives to the north and south of Lille, aimed to Dracourt. Using their new Stormtrooper tactics and fielding around 160 SPW Oberschlesien, they managed to take British by surprise and by 8th of August they captured entire heavy artillery and tank stock of 1st and 3rd BEF armies, captured 90% of supplies and encircled 2.5 armies (half of 2nd Army too) in Lille, while retaking La Bassee, Cambrai and Loos. As a result, BEF and Belgian line north of Cambrai collapsed, and by early September Allied forces were fully out of Flanders, with frontline going down from Abbeville to Amiens to Continy, to Soissons and then to Rheims. To the West, German 1st and 7th Armies drove out French 6th Army to it's beginning positions, capturing much of tricks and tanks in process, before capturing Rheims on 31st of August. In October, Germans were able to take Nancy and Verdun, and by 27th of October French Army pretty much was rendered as disorganized, with 4th 5th, 6th and 10th Armies destroyed, Northern and Central Command in disarray, and Southern Command being thrown out behind Moselle. On November 1st Germans took Compiegne. On the next day, Clemenceau was given vote of no confidence and impeached. Instead of him, Aristide Briand came again to power and told Foch and Petain to go and sign Armstice, no matter what. On November, 3rd Armstice of Compiegne was signed, on German side by Ludendorff, Hoffmann, and Hindenburg,and by Haig, and Foch on Allied side. War came to end.
The rest is history as we say. Germany became a 2nd power after the UK, took Austria and Bohemia after collapse of AH in 1924, divided Auatrian Empire between puppets and allies, defeated Russian State under Denikin in 1941-1946, who was supported by UK, US going to war with Anglo-Japenese alliance in 1942 and winning entirely by 1947.
Now our world is stuck in a Great Game for nearly 70 years, since 1952 between US and Germany. Germany and USA divided world into their spheres, with Russia collapsing after Denikins regime and Second Russo-German War and falling into complete warlordism*(First one was Eastern front of GW), Japan and UK being occupied by US well into 1970's, being puppetized effectively afterwards. and German aligned states created after 1918 Brest Litovsk expanding themselves- Ukraine, United Baltic State, Belarus and Finland.
Germany decolonised by late 1970's, keeping only Pacific islands and Germanised Sudwestafrika as core territory.
Ironically, Germany and USA are going into detente right now, as they feel endangered by emerging powers of Republic of China and Brasilian State. But that's current politics so I won't touch this.
France didn't do much post-1918, except losing Algerian War of independence in late 1940's and acquiring nukes in late 1980's . Seems like they learned their mistake of not going aganist Germany in 1918.
But what if this all was different? What if Haig succeeded and Hoffmann with Ludendorff failed? What if Entente won Thirty Days and Great War?
On 23rd June of 1918 BEF and French 5th, 6th Army in Northern Command under command of Haig, D'esperey respectively launched offensive operation codenamed "Thirty Days". The goal was, by the end of July to take Lille and throw Germans beyond Aisne. Using massive amount of tanks and what was first widespread usage of combined arms tactics, French 5th and 6th armiesmanaged to advance upon Aisne, capturing Sen-Quentin, Loon, and Rethel by 11th of July. BEF managed to capture Loos, Cambrai, Dracourt and La Bassee. However, due to insufficient logistics and oil shortages, Haig was forced to advance upon Lille without tanks, leaving his 380 tanks behind and advancing with infantry and light artillery only. What's happened next can be described as a first ever urban battle in 20th Century. General Armin, commander of the German 4th Army, managed to lure British 1st and 3rd Armies into a block by block fighting using only a third of his forces( approximately 12 divisions out of 37 he had). After 3 weeks of fighting , on 2nd of August, Armin cooperated with Quast, commander of German 6th Army, and as result, they presented their plan to Hoffmann and Ludendorff...After additional development, plan was accepted, and 2 armies launched a two condescending offensives to the north and south of Lille, aimed to Dracourt. Using their new Stormtrooper tactics and fielding around 160 SPW Oberschlesien, they managed to take British by surprise and by 8th of August they captured entire heavy artillery and tank stock of 1st and 3rd BEF armies, captured 90% of supplies and encircled 2.5 armies (half of 2nd Army too) in Lille, while retaking La Bassee, Cambrai and Loos. As a result, BEF and Belgian line north of Cambrai collapsed, and by early September Allied forces were fully out of Flanders, with frontline going down from Abbeville to Amiens to Continy, to Soissons and then to Rheims. To the West, German 1st and 7th Armies drove out French 6th Army to it's beginning positions, capturing much of tricks and tanks in process, before capturing Rheims on 31st of August. In October, Germans were able to take Nancy and Verdun, and by 27th of October French Army pretty much was rendered as disorganized, with 4th 5th, 6th and 10th Armies destroyed, Northern and Central Command in disarray, and Southern Command being thrown out behind Moselle. On November 1st Germans took Compiegne. On the next day, Clemenceau was given vote of no confidence and impeached. Instead of him, Aristide Briand came again to power and told Foch and Petain to go and sign Armstice, no matter what. On November, 3rd Armstice of Compiegne was signed, on German side by Ludendorff, Hoffmann, and Hindenburg,and by Haig, and Foch on Allied side. War came to end.
The rest is history as we say. Germany became a 2nd power after the UK, took Austria and Bohemia after collapse of AH in 1924, divided Auatrian Empire between puppets and allies, defeated Russian State under Denikin in 1941-1946, who was supported by UK, US going to war with Anglo-Japenese alliance in 1942 and winning entirely by 1947.
Now our world is stuck in a Great Game for nearly 70 years, since 1952 between US and Germany. Germany and USA divided world into their spheres, with Russia collapsing after Denikins regime and Second Russo-German War and falling into complete warlordism*(First one was Eastern front of GW), Japan and UK being occupied by US well into 1970's, being puppetized effectively afterwards. and German aligned states created after 1918 Brest Litovsk expanding themselves- Ukraine, United Baltic State, Belarus and Finland.
Germany decolonised by late 1970's, keeping only Pacific islands and Germanised Sudwestafrika as core territory.
Ironically, Germany and USA are going into detente right now, as they feel endangered by emerging powers of Republic of China and Brasilian State. But that's current politics so I won't touch this.
France didn't do much post-1918, except losing Algerian War of independence in late 1940's and acquiring nukes in late 1980's . Seems like they learned their mistake of not going aganist Germany in 1918.
But what if this all was different? What if Haig succeeded and Hoffmann with Ludendorff failed? What if Entente won Thirty Days and Great War?
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