This is what I've cobbled together as a timeline from 1917 to 1938. While I've tried to account for as much as I can, I still believe it's incomplete (what happens in Asia in the 30s, for example? What's happening in Britain and America?).
World War I
Four years after it began, World War I is over. The Central Powers have won, but the world is far from at peace.
1920s
A decade of civil wars, new ideologies and rapid change has resulted in an entirely different world to the one of twenty years ago. But as the 1920s draw to a close, the chaos is only beginning…
1930s
With totalitarian regimes on the rise across the globe, war seems inevitable. But no one yet knows when they will be plunged into the abyss of another global conflict…
Now my other questions. We really need to get a clearer picture of WWII and the lead up to it, especially for nations other than Russia.
My other major issue is with this:
Ukraine (as well as the Baltics) are under significant German influence. If Germany is world hegemon (which they seem to be at this point in time), then they are not letting a radical, expansionist Russia just take what amounts to their food bowl with only "token resistance". I think the reasons for Russia's expansion may need to be thought out a bit more.
As regards claims, while I'd like to restate my position that we put them on hold until a complete timeline is formed, I'd like to mention that I asked to work on Africa. Furthermore, @Red Arturoist , I think your claiming of almost the entirety of Europe is a bit unfair. Given the centrality of Europe to this timeline, I think development of that continent especially needs to be a collaborative endeavour. I'm more than okay with you taking a leading role in the development there, but I think an outright claim on almost the entire continent shuts others out of most of the influential parts of this timeline.
Finally, can we please fix those former Austria-Hungary borders? They're painful to look at.
World War I
- February 1917: Germany does not reintroduce unrestricted submarine warfare; America never enters the war. The tsar is deposed in Russia as per OTL.
- October 1917: The Bolsheviks come to power in Russia; they seek and obtain an armistice with Germany.
- November 1917: With a bad harvest and little will left to fight, French soldiers mutiny en masse.
- December 1917: The Christmas Revolution in France sees much of Paris fall to a revived Commune. As uprisings spread and under pressure from the rebels and mutineers, the French government seeks an armistice with Germany.
- February 1918: King George V dies at the hands of a union activist. Widespread strikes and riots force significant portions of the army to be recalled to maintain order. An anti-union movement begins among the returning soldiers, who eventually suppress the “Red Spring” by May.
- April 1918: Russian revolutionaries conclude the Treaty of Vilnius, with Poland, Lithuania, the United Baltic Duchy, Belarus, Ukraine, Crimea and Kuban becoming independent under varying levels of German influence. Montana, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Dagestan become independent under Ottoman influence.
- May 1918: Without much hope after France’s surrender and troubled by internal instability, Britain also seeks peace; Belgium, now effectively abandoned, follows suit.
- June 1918: The French Fourth Republic is proclaimed, adopting a constitution on socialist principles.
- August 1918: The Treaty of Strasbourg ends the war on the Western Front with German annexation of the French departments of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Belfort and parts of Vosges; the entire nation of Luxembourg, and the Belgian provinces of Liège and Luxembourg. Significant colonial concessions are also obtained, resulting in the creation of German Central Africa.
Four years after it began, World War I is over. The Central Powers have won, but the world is far from at peace.
1920s
- German puppet governments in Eastern Europe stabilise, mostly under German nobility and semi-authoritarian governments.
- France falls into all-out civil war; while the socialists have secured much of the north and left-wing strongholds like Toulouse, much of the countryside remains under government control.
- Under the leadership of Chancellor von Hindenburg, Germany cements its place in the post-war order. After seizing a vast colonial empire from the allies, he turns his attention to developing Germany’s spheres of influence in Eastern Europe, Africa and East Asia.
- February 1919: Belarus’ regime falls to Bolshevik revolutionaries, backed by Moscow. In order to maintain influence there, Lithuania and Poland (backed by Germany) invade; citing historical ties, the Confederation of Lithuania and Belarus is created.
- May 1919: The (hitherto) Russian Far East asserts their independence as the Siberian Confederation; despite the ongoing civil war, it lays down roots reasonably quickly.
- September 1919: Emperor Karl I attempts to reform Austria-Hungary into a more democratic and equal system; he proposes two new sub-kingdoms be created in Bohemia and Croatia. This backfires spectacularly, and Hungary declares independence, followed swiftly by Croatia. Austria-Hungary falls into civil war before the reforms are even enacted.
- March 1920: A French-backed revolt sees the proclamation of the Commune of Wallonia; l’Armée Rouge marches across the border.
- April 1920: Pro-German generals, urged on by Chancellor Hindenburg, attempt a coup against China’s republican government, installing the young Puyi as a puppet emperor. The Empire (of China) strikes back.
- June 1920: The Cardiff Conference results in the “ten-point manifesto” of the British Proactive Movement
- July 1920: The final government troops leave Marseilles for Algiers; the metropole is now under the control of the Republican Assembly.
- August 1920: After their defeat in the war, Italy erupts into civil conflict, with a loosely-defined ideology centred around admiration of the Roman Empire gaining traction in the south.
- September 1920: The last British troops leave the port of Bombay. India is now (almost) free of colonial control, and split into many new nations, although Germany exercises significant influence in the region. (I will admit, this seems quite radical for such a late POD, but given it seems well established, I’ll leave it in. I’d still like some clarification though.)
- December 1920: Romania takes advantage of the chaos in what was Austria-Hungary, seizing Transylvania and incorporating it into the Romanian state.
- January 1921: The Empire of Egypt proclaims independence, now free of British rule.
- March 1921: Planted rebels in Algiers rise up at the same time that French troops begin their assault on the city. The “Free French” government begins its long retreat to Dakar.
- November 1922: The British general election sees the Proactivists gain the balance of power and enter government.
- August 1923: The failed introduction of a package of economic reforms prompts the growth of labour revolts, anarchist communes and warlord states across Japan. The military, hampered by limits forced on it at Strasbourg, are unable to maintain control.
- April 1924: After a series of attempts on his life, the Japanese Emperor flees to Sakhalin, where an imperial government-in-exile is established. The remainder of Japan is under no central authority, with pockets of almost every ideology imaginable established across the country.
- August 1924: The four-year Italian Civil War draws to a close, with most of Italy now under the control of the Roman Republic. The Romanist Manifesto is issued; it mixes nostalgia for Roman culture with hopes for rapid industrialisation, all under a highly powerful executive.
- September 1924: A vast and sprawling empire unto itself of protectorates, colonies and military districts, a central authority for Germany-in-Africa is established, yet it remains comparatively weak. As long as the rubber, copper and gold continues to flow out of the coastal ports, Germany is more or less content to leave Africa alone.
- January 1925: After a period of rapid change in the leadership of the new France, Hubert Lagardelle becomes Premier, quickly asserting control and stabilising the nation; ‘Madame Guillotine’ is put to use again.
- September 1925: The British Proactivists intentionally bring down their coalition with the Conservatives to force a general election; they win a knife-edge majority after a dirty campaign on all sides.
- 1925: Romanist parties begin to gain traction across southern Europe, especially in Spain and Greece.
- January 1926: Leon Trotsky is assassinated by a young reactionary; shouting anti-communist and anti-Semitic cries, he shoots Lenin’s deputy and disappears into the crowd.
- May 1926: The British Labour Party is outlawed.
- November 1927: Lenin dies a natural death; a power struggle erupts in the Bolshevik Party, and anti-communist elements seize their chance. Within two months, the Second Russian Civil War begins and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic is dissolved.
A decade of civil wars, new ideologies and rapid change has resulted in an entirely different world to the one of twenty years ago. But as the 1920s draw to a close, the chaos is only beginning…
1930s
- March 1930: The Second Russian Civil War draws to a close, with democratic republicans returning to power. Elections are scheduled for July.
- May 1930: May Day riots in major UK cities turn into what would become known as the Day of Bayonets, where the army and Proactivist paramilitaries ruthlessly crushed dissent. In the aftermath of the riots and massacres, Prime Minister Leese obtains authority from Parliament to govern by order-in-council, effectively making him a dictator. Regular renewals of this authority lend some legitimacy to the regime, although after all other parties are banned the passage of each measure becomes a mere formality.
- June 1930: A hitherto mostly unknown figure named Konstantin Rodzaevsky attempts a coup in Moscow, espousing radical Orthodox nationalist ideas, anti-Semitism and authoritarianism. His trial sees his public profile raised a hundredfold, and a sympathetic judge (along with instructions from the government not to provoke too much public ire) see him earn only five years in jail.
- July 1930: Free and fair elections are held in Russia for only the second time in its history. Democratic republicans win a slim majority, although the opposition is sharply divided between radical leftists, radical rightists, monarchists and an assortment of other groups.
- September 1930: Hungary declares war on Romania, swiftly invading and seizing most of Transylvania.
- November 1931: A Romanist party wins the balance of power in Argentina, beginning their eventual takeover of the government there.
- December 1931: In an alternate universe, the Statute of Westminster would be passed, granting the British Dominions almost total legislative independence. With the Proactivists in control, this never occurs.
- May 1932: The Macedonian Republic, a Romanist government based in Salonica, sweeps across much of northern Greece with Italian backing. Six months later, a coup in Athens brings a military junta to power in the rump Greece; it has close ties to Rodzaevsky’s movement.
- June 1933: Western Australia is officially constituted as a separate Dominion within the British Empire; more pro-Proactive than their eastern counterparts, the balance in Canberra begins to shift towards making moves for independence from London's increasingly overbearing dictats.
- August 1935: Rodzaevsky is released from prison and quickly assumes his seat in the Duma, leading the National Populist Party as the third largest party in the Duma. His fevered speeches against “the system” gain him an even wider following.
- May 1938: Black Thursday sees the Berlin Stock Exchange plummet. With it, much of the world economy crashes.
- In the months following Black Thursday, Orthodox nationalists come to power in Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia. Most notably though…
- June 1938: Rodzaevsky secures a majority in the Duma, and assumes the office of Prime Minister for a total of three days. Following intimidation and outright attacks on opposition members, a two-thirds majority is cobbled together to amend the constitution. The position of Consul is created, endowed with “all power to govern the peoples of Russia”, and allowed to unilaterally amend the constitution. The Russian State is officially declared only ten days later.
With totalitarian regimes on the rise across the globe, war seems inevitable. But no one yet knows when they will be plunged into the abyss of another global conflict…
Now my other questions. We really need to get a clearer picture of WWII and the lead up to it, especially for nations other than Russia.
My other major issue is with this:
Ukraine (as well as the Baltics) are under significant German influence. If Germany is world hegemon (which they seem to be at this point in time), then they are not letting a radical, expansionist Russia just take what amounts to their food bowl with only "token resistance". I think the reasons for Russia's expansion may need to be thought out a bit more.
As regards claims, while I'd like to restate my position that we put them on hold until a complete timeline is formed, I'd like to mention that I asked to work on Africa. Furthermore, @Red Arturoist , I think your claiming of almost the entirety of Europe is a bit unfair. Given the centrality of Europe to this timeline, I think development of that continent especially needs to be a collaborative endeavour. I'm more than okay with you taking a leading role in the development there, but I think an outright claim on almost the entire continent shuts others out of most of the influential parts of this timeline.
Finally, can we please fix those former Austria-Hungary borders? They're painful to look at.
