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alternatehistory.com
I've gotten tired of most but not all of the AH's from the post 1900 forum being about one of 3 things, WWI, WWII, or the Cold War. I wanted to take an artistic stretch with this TL, hope it turns out well. Enjoy!
-Gen_Patton
To anyone who knows anything about the AH wiki there is an excellent TL project called Doomsday: 1983 a brilliant and dutifully loved cache of wiki articles. It is completely believable and not a lot of insert-country-here-wanking. This is my spin/homage. What if some cataclysm affected earth in 1923, one of the most volatile times in history? Occupation of the Ruhr...Beer Hall Putsch...Lenin Steps down...Harding dies...Hyper-inflation in Germany...Nationalists in China side with the Communists...Assassination attempt on the Prince of Japan. What if it all went differently?
Prologue: Wilderness Mystery
A little history of the Tunguska event: In OTL 1908, a meteoroid of some kind exploded in the atmosphere in Czarist Russia by the Tunguska River. No deaths were reported but the air-burst destroyed much of the surrounding forest. It was a lone wolf meteoroid, and impacted our atmosphere as a singularity; no follow up or shrapnel were reported. The shockwave would have been registered as a 5.0 on the Richter scale. While the mass and speed of the asteroid have been greatly debated, its impact could have been anywhere from 5-30 kilotons of TNT, easily enough to demolish any metropolitan area at that time. Events of this kind have been attributed to gods and demons over time, and 1908 is the closest humanity has been to destruction due to natural means.
Now many scientists have theorized that if the meteoroid were just a bit larger, heavier, and slower it could have hit or landed near enough any of the largest metropolitan areas in Europe or America. What if in 1923, this meteoroid had hit one of the most powerful cities on the planet....
Doomsday: 1923
Washington DC March 6, 1923 7:00 am EST
It was a peaceful day, and President Harding sat at his desk starting his day early. He hoped to get a good grip on the daily bills, not many were passing by his desk these last few days. Prohibition was in full swing, and Americans were happy with their moonshine, Jazz, and prosperity. Not much could be said for Germany, the President thought. Recent inflation had run out of hand, the mark was practically worthless. Worth 1/4,200,000,00th of a dollar. Pitiful, hard to believe that the world’s prosperity is based on their abilities to pay reparations. Harding reached onto his desk, picked up his coffee and a bill. It was proposing harder measures to enforce Prohibition. God, not again, he thought we've already sunk enough money into this. His hand rested on the table and he reached for his pen... there was a knock on the door. "Mr. President your cabinet is waiting." President Harding stood up and walked out the door.
Moscow USSR March 6, 1923 16:01 Moscow Time
Lenin looked up from his desk; it had been a long day. He felt sick; he knew he was sick he was going to suffer another stroke. He felt it would be his last He was the one who had worked tirelessly for decades for a workers’ paradise. He hoped to leave it in good hands. He wrote one name on a piece of paper, and pushed it toward his wife. He hoped he had left his country in capable hands, while not his favorite it was better than that stinking Georgian.
Munich Germany March 6, 1923 13:00 Local Time
Johan rubbed his head on his hands and kept walking. It was one in the afternoon, but he was tired. So far today had been exhausting. No work. He had tried looking everywhere, but looking at the scraps of news paper on the ground, there wouldn't be any jobs in Germany anytime soon.
Occupied Ruhr Germany March 6, 1923 13:00 Local Time The stupid, dumb, bastards trying to get out of their reparations. That was what Louis had been told when he was sent on occupation duty. But looking at the poor, starving Germans around him. He couldn't help but feel pity. There was no hope in their eyes, sullen and quiet they seemed to drift aimlessly but angry. He locked eyes with a boy playing with marks as if they were toy bricks. Oh! The destitution.
But above them all, either an angel or a devil was racing toward the west in all its blazing glory.
Impact
"All Republics at one time or another will fall"- Adolf Hitler from the Little Black Book
Excerpt from: "An Idiots Guide to: The Founding of the American Federalist Republic" Published 2003 Quest books Phillidelphia.
Introduction:
At exactly 7:03am EST March 6, 1923 a Meteoroid of indeterminate size and composition impacted off of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. The meteor was massive, but its actual size is still not known. Estimates place its size at roughly 1 kilometer across, made of rock and metal with a density of 4500 kg/m3. While its size may be debated its effects were not. The shockwave caused an earthquake close to 8.5 on the Richter scale, 6.1 seconds after impact. A tsunami with 30 to 60 meter waves hit within the hour. The earthquake and tsunamis destroyed much of the East Coast. Cities from New York, Norfolk, Boston, were subject to immense destruction. Waves and aftershocks reached Washington DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis. Washington itself was a scene of chaos. The Capital building had collapsed in upon itslef during session. There were few survivors in any condidtion to walk, let alone rule. The White House was destroyed as was the Supreme Court. President Harding, and his cabinet were all dead. Vice President Coolidge was dead. In a matter of hours practically all government was lost. The initial effects were severe. With most of as the news raced around the world by telegraph, boat, plane, car, newspaper, and word of mouth, panic gripped every household. Riots erupted in most major American cities still standing, and police were called up. The United States military attempted to mobilize, but with massive confusion amongst the ranks, its effects were sporadic and ineffective.
The longer term effects of the impact were horrific. People rushed to the banks, fearing economic crisis, and the stock market crashed within hours. The United States was hurtling toward chaos and no one could stop the spread of fear and panic. As the internal trading system collapsed people took to the streets in anger. Violence broke out, civil disorder was the norm and the governments soon had little to no power. America as the world knew it was dead. Without America's prosperity buoying the world economy things turned south very quickly. The collapse of the United States of America and the Crisis which followed was the defining characteristic of the modern world. In our anthology we will cover this event in overview as its specifics are just too massive, and knowing that you are probably reading this cramming for a ARC exam you probably won't be worring about details too much.