Fenians, Brits, Mexicans, Canucks and Frenchies....OH, MY! An alternate American Civil War

[Alt History Buff]

November, 1916

Eastern Front

Against expectations, the Russian forces would launch a winter offensive which would take the allies by surprise. At length, the Russians had managed to throw 1.5 million men across the borders at the allied forces shivering in their trenches wondering when they could be recalled to "winter quarters".

The Russians successfully flanked several fortifications and managed to encircle Minsk while pushing to the Dnieper in the Ukraine. Unaccustomed to such winter warfare and ill-equipped, the allies struggled to reorganize in the bitter cold.

Catalonia

The French Army would launch another series of attacks on the Spanish-Italian forces in Catalonia while simultaneously crossing the western border again into the Basque country, this time the French army pressing for Madrid.

The King of Spain would call for aid from anyone - Italy, Germany, China - that may be able to help. As they marched south, the French would commence burning churches by the thousands, enraging all but the most virulent Spanish Marxists. But stubborn Spanish partisans were not remotely as effective against the French as their forbearers a century prior. New weaponry made certain of that.

Only the rugged topography of Spain aided the defenders.

The King of Italy would ship another 100,000 troops to Spain over the winter....but nothing seemed to staunch the inexorable French advance.

December, 1916

Amazon River delta

As 40,000 American and Brazilian troops sickened on Marajo Island to no positive effect for either party, the Amazon River itself convulsed with combat over a thousand mile length. Dozens of gunboats exchanged volleys and torpedoes in a fierce war of attrition. The Brazilian forces which sailed down the Amazon during the momentary Brazilian control over the Delta would assault numerous American outposts along the north side of the River. Brazilian forces arduously transported by land to the southern Amazon tributaries controlled by Brazil would sail north and do the same.

However, the American forces continued to be augmented and, with control over the Delta, American naval and army resources continued to be funneled westwards along the main branch. Slowly, the Americans seized the initiative given this massive advantage in supply.

Garnering his forces, the American commander, General Jeb Custer Stuart II, would move with alacrity to strike at the primary Brazilian base and supply entrepot on the Amazon, the river side city of Santarem.

With a dozen gunboats (including several destroyers with a shallow enough draft to navigate the River), the American forces steamed upstream to bombard the defensive fortifications of the city of 20,000 now engorged by over 10,000 Brazilian soldiers. A like number of American soldiers disembarked at the outskirts.

The American forces were supplied via the Amazon while the Brazilians were moderately well-supplied by the Tapajos River (a major eastern tributary of the Amazon, at which Santarem sat at the confluence of the two rivers).

Like the battle of Manaus to the west, the war would bring a new level to the already hellish climate of the region.

Beijing

For months, the new Republic would argue back and forth regarding what to do with Manchuria, Mongolia and Tibet. The Emperor remained defiant from his power base in Manchuria where he continued to claim China as a whole....but the Manchurians were considering themselves independent.

The Mongolians gave nominal allegiance to the Emperor....but were acting with impunity and pushing the Han settlers from their borders.

Tibet was claiming full independence and that they had never actually BEEN a province of China but more in a patron/client relationship which they were now withdrawing.

The Joseon Empire, long a client state, as well as Vietnam and other southeast Asian nations, were declaring that their patronage relationship with China was strictly related to the presence of the Emperor.

However, the Republic, which remained in the throes of internal conflict, were simply not in a position for an omni-directional war to reinforce the "Middle Republic's" (the "Middle Kingdom" was obviously no longer an option) hegemony outside her borders given the Civil Wars engaging within by regional warlords, Marxists, Manchu Monarchists and other factions.

For now, at least, the "Middle Republic" was entering an era of introspection.

 

[Forbiddenparadise64]

Oooh good reading so far, can’t wait to see where this goes!

 

[naraht]

At the rate that these wars are going; we will be having the twelfth American Brazilian war by the end of the 1900's.

America also keeps nibbling territory off of Brazil everytime that it wins. (I think they have won every time) At this rate America will own Brazil by the end of the 1900's as well.

Just because you do it over and over doesn't mean things go anywhere. What's Portuguese for "Battle of the Isonzo"?

 

[Alt History Buff]

January, 1917

London

The Irish "Home Rule" Bill would be signed in Parliament after the House of Commons voted on it for the third time (after three successful votes, the inevitable rejection by the House of Lords was overturned by the Commons). The occasion would spark intense political discourse as the Labor Government led by Ramsay McDonald and Arthur Henderson would be blamed in many quarters for allowing this catastrophe to pass.

The Conservative opposition would make much hay of this but would quietly breath a sigh of relief that Ireland may FINALLY be off the forefront of the national agenda. Great Britain's population had boomed while Ireland's stagnated (largely due to emigration) thus the Emerald Isle was not remotely as central to the British economy as it once had been. Indeed, the decades long occupation had drained both British treasure and patience.

If Ireland agreed to "Home Rule" under the King (and no one believed it would be long for His Majesty's rule), then time was finally ripe to cut the ties. Britain had never been happy or comfortable with over a tenth of Parliament Irish Catholics. As many Britons would be relieved of the severance as horrified by it.

As Ireland prepared for self-government, the eyes of Britain would also turn towards Continental Europe which convulsed in war.

Eastern Front

The Russian forces would reach an unprecedented 2,000,000 soldiers along the front lines of Eastern Europe. Even the Chinese Armies of previous centuries never reached such a height. And the Russians were STILL mobilizing!

The vast armies of the previous decade were dwarfed in comparison.

Only the absolute mobilization of the entirety of Eastern Europe (Poland, Ukraine, Byelorussia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Finland) augmented by Germany and Romania would keep the breakaway Kingdom's from being overrun.

Northern Spain

As French forces inexorably tightened their grip around Barcelona and Madrid, the Spanish Monarchists, Spanish Republicans, Italians, French Monarchists (the Emperor remained in exile in France), international volunteers (British, American, German, Portuguese, etc) would fight a losing battle with the French who pressed further and further south.

Paris

However, the French Commune had not even fully invested in Spain. The bulk of her armies would remain poised against the German border where the Germans would nervously gaze westward even as most of the German resources were stretched ever further east.

While the war in Spain had proven.....frustrating....it hadn't been much more than a sideshow for the Commune. In truth, Germany was always on the Commune's mind. No other nation - not Spain, Britain or Italy - could challenge France in western Europe but Germany. And with the Russian Reactionaries obligingly pulling German attention east, the border was more vulnerable than ever. What was more, the Germans did not seem to realize that the old trenches may not be quite as effective as they had been a decade prior.

A few more months of the Russian Bear bleeding Germany dry....and the global revolution could truly begin.

Hindu Socialist Republic

After years of slow buildup, the HSA would cross the border into Gujarat. Bound by treaty, the Sikh Empire, Sind and Baluchistan would offer immediate support.

Hyderabad and Mysore would promptly mobilize as well.

Unlike their counterparts in France, the Indian Socialists were less interested in "global Marxist supremacy" as they were in local Hindu supremacy over the subcontinent. Victory for the HSR meant death for the other states of the subcontinent.

 

[Alt History Buff]

February, 1917

Eastern Front

With over 2.5 million men, the Russian Army would pour into Eastern Europe as the defenders struggled to keep the masses from overwhelming them.

The Poles, Byelorussians and Ukrainians would mass over 1.2 million while Germany would augment with another 600,000. Romania, the Baltic and Finland added 300,000.

However, the Russians would have the advantage in cold weather fighting (and would not waste time against the Baltics or Finns. They could be dealt with easily enough after Poland and the others) and the initiative which allowed them to concentrate forces in key areas. Massive artillery bombardments would precede infantry charges.

The beleaguered allies would be pressed to the breaking point in the dismal cold of Byelorussia and the Ukraine.

March, 1917

Eastern France

To the French Commune, the assault on Spain was but a minor dress rehearsal for the primary target. As always, this was Germany. New tactics were tested in Spain with the intent of greater use against Germany. Indeed, the primary weapons tested in Spain (tear gas and tanks) would prove nearly useless in the rugged terrain. But the flat plains of western Germany though.....that may be a different story.

A rapid mobilization would quietly commence with the public purpose of "reinforcing the patriots liberating Spain". Soon, nearly a million men were in camp, preparing to obey their political officers' every command....or else.

Indian Subcontinent

The Hindu Socialist Army would barely slow as it seized much of inland Gujarat. The HSA offensive was only slowed with the arrival of Baluchi troops while the Sikh Empire attacked from the north into HSR territory.

Large forces from Hyderabad and Mysore would be formed in excess of 500,000 men and threaten the HSR's southern border.

In the meantime, a rebellion in West Bengal and East Bengal continued apace against occupation.

Santarem, Brazil

The bitter battle for Santarem, the primary depot on the Amazon for the Brazilian offensives east and west along the River would rage for nearly a month. Over a dozen gunboats from both sides would fight along the river as Brazilian and American army forces would exchange artillery bursts. The small city itself would go up in flames, the carefully horded warehouses in ruins.

Eventually, the American navy was able to press the Brazilian vessels from the river itself giving the initiative to the US army. Transports, barges and anything that could float would be assembled as the Americans crossed from their pestilential swamp on the northern shore of the Amazon to the burnt-out remains of Santarem.

Supplies and reinforcements were sped up and down the river by both parties but this was enormously hazardous as any grove of trees may conceal a cannon ready to hole the light vessels now plying the dangerous river.

Manaus

Further west along the Amazon, the American base in Manaus was similarly experiencing a siege. Fortunately, the initial assault would be repelled, giving the Americans time to dig in. Like Santarem, the once beautiful rubber boom city would be burned to the ground.

Belem

After the Battle of Macapa had cost both Brazil and America several ships, the US Navy would debate its next step with the temporary naval superiority it had achieved. The Brazilian Navy largely abandoned Belem itself, deeming it indefensible by sea.

Thus, the US Navy would besiege the city and bombard any military targets. While the city was laid waste by the heavy capital ships, the Brazilians were more concerned with the loss of supplies to the ongoing battle through the Para River and other small estuaries surrounding Marajo Island which supplied the Brazilian war effort on the Amazon.

Already US forces from Macapa were attempting to cut off the Brazilian beachhead at the confluence of the Para River and Amazon. If that were to be lost.....then the Brazilian war effort inland would be almost certainly doomed as it would be nearly impossible to supply via the backwoods chain through the southern (Brazilian) tributaries of the Amazon alone. Already, the Brazilian government was struggling to ship war material by train through the hinterlands to some petty port town on the Madeira and other rivers to ship north by boat to Manaus, Santarem and other battlegrounds.

 

[Alt History Buff]

March, 1917

Santarem

General Jeb Custer Stuart (Jr.) had been raised in a variety of post-Civil War outposts where his Virginia-born father had agreed to serve in order to maintain his career after fighting for the Confederacy. Fortunately, the US Government was usually shy on officers willing to serve Montana or Santee or Guyana and were generally happy to let bygones be bygones in order to staff frontier posts. It was here that the Stuarts met the Custers and forged a close bond.

Stuart would serve with his old friend Brigadier George Armstrong Custer Jr. (the latter being the subordinate), renewing the old family friendship, across many posts during his near 30 year career. Once again reunited, the old friends were determined to take the town of Santarem from the Brazilians. Located on the southern bank at the confluence of the Tapajos and Amazon Rivers, this was a vital supply link for the enemy. If taken, the Brazilian war effort the length of the Amazon would wither.

Having obliterated the town in an artillery duel, Stuart would join the first wave of invaders to seize the rubble and cut off the Tapajos from Brazilian power. Initially, the seizure went well despite stubborn Brazilian opposition. The Brazilian commander would opt to dig into the city itself and instead retreated to the forest.

Finally, the Americans reached the town in a hail of shells and bullets and Stuart proudly raised the American flag.

He looked northwards to see the second wave under Custer boarding the transports and crossing the mighty river when he heard an odd sound. He'd never heard it before and couldn't place it. It sounded almost like a thousands of those smelly new tanks being designed in Washington but certainly they could not be utilized here.

Then, defying explanation, the Amazon seemed to slow to a stop.....then started flowing UPRIVER westwards in a rush. Waves ten feet high would batter the stunned American transports and capsize many of them. The lucky ones would be washed UPSTREAM. The last Jeb Stuart would ever see of his friend was seeing Custer's barge collide with an uprooted tree and disintegrate.

What the Brazilians knew and the newly arrived American commanders had not reckoned with was a local phenomenon called the Pororoca, a biannual tidal bore event in which the lunar and solar tides line up and force the water of the river back from the ocean in a huge wave. Only by a shocking turn of poor luck did this occur during the American crossing and cost thousands of lives. Even the US Navy units which had been present on the Amazon long enough to know of the event had not considered it (they simply forgot).

George Armstrong Custer Jr. would die along hundreds of his own men.

Perhaps worse, the Americans would see two heavy river gunboats damaged at the crushing waves of the Pororoca. These were considered vital in American plans to sail down the Tapajos and wipe out the Brazilian supply entrepots keeping the Brazilians in the fight along the Amazon.

 

[Alt History Buff]

April, 1917

Belgium and Western Germany

The French buildup could hardly have gone on unnoticed by any of her neighbors. However, the Germans were perhaps too complacent with the past. In truth, France HAD largely given up the pretentions of regaining modest border territories under the Commune......because the Commune had far greater ambitions.

Spain had been nothing more than a sideshow....a dress rehearsal for the true war of liberation. Once Germany had fallen, the Commune could move on to the arch-reactionaries in Russia....and on and on and on.

750,000 French soldiers would assault the trenches of Belgium and Western Germany. The attacks were so sudden and so violent that they swiftly broke through the front lines which, even if only partially defended, still were thought to be strong enough to withstand any assault for an extended period.

However, the French strategy of deploying huge quantities of tear gas and newly discovered mustard gas (ironically invented in Germany but stolen by a Marxist spy among the German scientist ranks) would prove extremely successful when combined with massed tank formations. With nearly 800 tanks in the lead, the German defenders would swiftly be pressed back to the Rhine as southern Belgium and much of northwest Germany would fall within months as the Germans hastily reallocated resources westwards.

Minsk

Little by little, the Russian Army concentrated at key points in order to seize Minsk and Kiev. The former was nearly surrounded. The Russians had pushed to the Svislach River where the eastern reaches of the city were plundered by the Russians.

Kiev also faced enormous danger as the east bank of the Dnieper.

Fanatical resistance by the Ukrainians and Byelorussians would slow the Russians to a crawl as more and more German and Polish forces were rushed east.

Santarem

After weeks of vicious fighting, the American superiority in supply eventually give them the advantage and the Brazilians pushed back into the rainforest south of Santarem. More importantly, the confluence of the Amazon and Tapajos Rivers were now under American control.

A series of gunboats would be prepared to sail west towards the confluences with the Madeira and Purus Rivers to seize those as well. Just west of the Purus was Manaus, still hotly contested between the two forces.

Sikh Empire

The Hindu Socialist Army would strike into the Sikh Empire April. Half of Gujarat had fallen and the allied Sikh's, Sind and Baluchi nations would be hard-pressed to slow them down. Fortunately, aid was arriving from the far south.

Southern Hindu Socialist Republic

After yet another pogrom against the Muslim and other minorities of the HSR, the Kingdoms of Hyderabad and Mysore would belatedly join the war, crossing the southern border of the HSR with 300,000 men.

 

[Alt History Buff]

May, 1917

Porto Velho, Madeira River

Over the past years, the Brazilian government would build a railroad west from the coast to Porto Velho along the Madeira and then on to the rubber plantations of the Andes. Unfortunately for the Brazilians, synthetic rubber and competition from the Congo and Malaya would end the Amazon rubber boom just as the railroad was completed (at great expense).

Porto Velho also supplied the Brazilian war effort along the western Amazon Basin. Sailing up the Madeira to the main body of the Amazon, Manaus was only hours to the west.

As the Americans slowly consolidated their hold on Santarem, the US Navy would ponderously travel westwards towards Manaus. The route was arduous as Brazilian artillery units secreted to the southern Amazon River's coastline would repeatedly bombard the Americans from shore. Worse, the Brazilians had made wise use of mines. Several American ships were lost without seeing the enemy. The American advantage in gunboats would slowly erode as the brown-water fleets of both nations would wipe each other out in a brutal war of attrition.

But America was able to reinforce the Amazon while the Brazilians could not. Light gunboats pulled from mothballs in America had been recommissioned and sent south despite their aging nature. Two new "Springfield"-class gunboats were also allocated as well as several repurposed Coast Guard ships. This far upriver, even destroyers tended to run aground too often to make them useful.

Rather than continue on to Manaus, the Americans would make a surprise turn down the Madeira and, instead of relieving Manaus, would instead opt to seize Port Velho, cutting off the main Brazilian source of supply. The Brazilian land and marine forces would not expect this and hadn't prepared the same anti-convoy defenses (mines and land-based artillery) on the Madeira that had so vexed the Americans on the Amazon. The 600 mile journey south to Porto Velho would prove considerably less dangerous than 50 miles to Manaus.

In the matter of days, the town of Port Velho would fall.


Natal

The weapons used on the Amazon were more akin to the river monitors used during the American civil war than the gargantuan behemoths bombarding Belem....and Natal....and Salvador.

The heavy American Atlantic fleet would sail about the coast of Brazil and pummel coastal military sites as well as disrupt trade. Orders against directly bombarding the cities were given but the occasional shell would nevertheless land in populated areas and set fires across both Natal and Salvador.

The Brazilian population, frustrated at the losses of the past decades, were already irritated by the Brazilian Monarchy and government. Picking a fight which resulted in them being fired upon was another level.

Riots would commence throughout the nation as trade collapsed and the nation's army appeared to be foundering.

Desperate, the government would order the Brazilian Navy consolidated near Rio de Janeiro and prepared to sail north en mass to repel the US Navy.

 

[Alt History Buff]

May, 1917

Western Front

Completely unprepared for the effectiveness of the French tanks (the Germans only had 20 in service themselves) which easily (well, more easily than anything else expected) crossed the "no-man's land" with a level of efficiency that would have shocked anyone who fought in the wars of the past 60 years. Only the Rhine and the fact that so many of the French tanks would encounter mechanical problems (stuck in ditches, blown motors, blown tracks, lucky hits by artillery, etc) would slow the French advance.

The poison gas and tear gas would greatly terrorize the German defenders but would have only a modest effect on the actual battle. Gas masks would swiftly be adapted and the gas attacks would often fail due to contrary winds or, early in the war, that the gas would not prove functional in cold weather.

Upon reaching the Rhine, the French would face the German forced dug in on the eastern shore.

Northern Spain

With the French invasion of Germany (and Belgium and the Netherlands), the French army in Spain would see a severe drop in supplies. But that was acceptable. The French intervention of Spain had always been a dry run.

The siege of Madrid was abandoned and even the attack on Barcelona curtained. The Spanish and Italian forces attacked the French lines....only to be repelled with heavy casualties. Controlling over a quarter of the country, the Spanish Marxists and their French patrons would viciously suppress local partisans while killing huge numbers of clergy and other "counter-revolutionaries".

Eastern Front

Though German supplies would start to dry up, the rainy season would douse much of the Eastern Front in mud. This would give the allies a bit of a reprieve though a dry summer would soon follow, granting the massive armies greater leave to maneuver.

Minsk would fall in June while Kiev, still fiercely contested, was literally a shell of its former self.

Rome

King Victor Emmanuel would see the writing on the wall. France and Russia were both attempting to dominate the continent. While Italy was fighting for her own reasons and had little history of cooperation with Germany, Italy would sign a new pact with Germany (and its many allies) to join the war.

200,000 Italian troops would be prepared to move west into France or east into Russia over the summer.

Ironically, this act would bring Croatia-Slovenia into alliance with Germany if only to ensure Italy did not act with aggression against THEM. Italy had fancied retaking the Dalmatian Coast years ago but was perhaps less interested than they may have thought.

Another 50,000 Croat-Slovenian troops would enter the war on the allied side.

 

[Alt History Buff]

June, 1917

Port Velho, Madeira River

Though built only a few years prior, the town of Port Velho had a disproportionate influence upon the Brazilian war effort in the west. With the seizure of the town by American forces, the railway to the rubber producing region of Acre had been cut off as well as supplies along the length of the Amazon and her many tributaries.

Manaus

After months of bitter fighting, on several occasions devolving to bayonets and hand to hand, the city of Manaus, once home to beautiful rubber baron mansions, had been laid waste. Trenches now snaked to and fro as American and Brazilian troops sought any form of advantage.

General Jack Pershing commanded the local American forces and had been delighted to learn of the fall of Santarem months before. However, immediate aid was no apparent as the American high command had deemed Port Velho the priority and diverted naval and army resources south along the Madeira instead of to the bitterly contested Manaus where Pershing's troops had long passed the point of exhaustion. Outraged, Pershing would demand reinforcements and supply only to receive modest amounts of each.

Finally, American forces would arrive with 10,000 fresh troops.....but, by this point, the Brazilian supply situation had proven so bad that the Brazilian Army was forced back to the southern bank of the Amazon.

In an effort to take advantage of the supply situation, the fresh American forces would immediately sail up the Purus, Tapajos and Xingu Rivers to seize upstream towns and rail junctions. As few roads existed in the region worth the name, it was virtually impossible for any supplies to be transported by land.

The newly founded town of Altimira on the Xingu, Itaituba on the Tapajos and Boca do Acre on the Purus would fall over the course of June and July, effectively cutting off the 80,000 Brazilian soldiers and sailors fighting along the Amazon and trapping them with little to no hope of escape.

General Pershing was livid at the lack of support but was pleased that the Brazilian artillery bombardments from south of the Amazon soon tapered off for lack of shells.

One of the few sources of entertainment for the American and Brazilians during this period was watching the "dogfights" as American Wrights squared off with the French-made Brazilian airplanes. Initially used mainly for scouting and very selective bombing missions, the use of airplanes would soon expand to shooting down observation balloons and, eventually, each other.

These duels had little effect on the actual war but would prove quite enthralling to witness from below.

Western Front

The "crossing of the Rhine" had been planned for years. Never before had a nation's army endured such an ordeal into the teeth of German defenses. However, spurred on by the threats of political officers, the French WERE able to cross the Rhine at various points.

By May, half of Belgium and the Netherlands had fallen as had Luxembourg, Alsace and the Moselle. The French had planned for the use of specially built rafts across the river and, to their surprise, worked perfectly. However, shipping tanks across the River would prove nearly impossible while under fire (several were lost to capsized barges) and the French infantry were forced to slog towards the German trenches with only modest assistance.

Great Britain was actively observing the situation and rapidly realizing the magnitude of the crisis should France and/or Russia dominate Europe. Though nominally still neutral, the British would quietly provide prints for their own tank designs over the winter of 1916/1917 and German factories were soon churning out their own models.

Hindu Socialist Republic

Hundreds of thousands of Hyderabad and Mysore troops would march northwards into the HSR and be appalled by the obvious devastation of the once-prosperous region. Famine had gripped the HSR as long-standing tenant-landowner dynamics had been abruptly changed while vast amounts of fertile and productive farmland left barren after the HSA drove off millions of Indian farmers of Muslim or other non-Hindu faiths.

While some towns showed an increase in manufacturing, the overall health of the HSR economy proved incredibly poor relative to the last days of the British Raj.

It would take months before the HSR would manage to redirect military resources south. Evidently, the leadership had not counted upon the "decadent reactionaries of the south" to make good of their threats to intervene with HSR aggression in Northwest India.

Catalonia

After months of stalemate, it appeared that the war in Spain had stalled. Little progress was being made either way as French resources appeared to be focused on Germany. The Italians were even withdrawing many of their forces from Spain to concentrate upon the Eastern Front.

It was at this time that a sudden French (and Spanish Marxist) attack on Barcelona would unexpectedly break through after months of trench warfare. The French had used this time to bring up dozens of tanks as well as improved poison gas shells (which were more effective than the tear gas canisters previously used).

Soon, Barcelona would fall and the Spanish Royalists thrown back into southern Catalonia.

Basque Country

Having believed their war won, the Basque Monarchists under the charismatic Father Adolf would be similarly taken by surprise and the German priest captured and executed in late June. In short order, the Basque resistance collapsed and the French hold on northern and eastern Spain reinforced.

Naturally, the King of Spain appealed to his allies, particularly Italy, for aid but this came to nothing as the rest of Europe was plainly a bit busy at the moment.

Eastern Front

With much of Byelorussia and the Ukraine having fallen, the task of reorganizing and pushing back the Russians fell heavier and heavier upon Germany, Poland and Italy. Requests for aid to Hungary and Bohemia (the only major nations on the Continent NOT to be involved) were rejected.

However, Russia was not quite done with her surprises. The Czarina's diplomats would finally twist the arms of Greece and Bulgaria with promises of land acquisition from their fellow Balkan nations if they agreed to attack northward.

The ensuing assault into Romanian and nominally neutral Serbia was relatively poorly planned and executed despite Russian assistance (fifty thousand Pontic Greek, Armenian, Assyrian and Georgian troops were assigned from the Caucasus on behalf of the Czarina to the Balkans). The result was Romanian withdrawing her forces from the Ukraine towards Bulgaria while Serbia joined the war effort directly on behalf of the allies.

Beijing

After years of internal conflict, the Chinese Republic would manage to crush most of the regional military strongmen....only for monarchists to rise up. These were defeated.....only for Marxists to raise their ugly heads. These were defeated.....only for a Muslim rebellion in the west and southwest to dominate attention. These were wiped from the map.....only for a coup to take place at the height of the Republic government.

Through it all, Reverend Doctor Sun would preach the Mormon doctrine wherever he could. The Republic assured freedom of religion for the most part (the Muslims, after their rebellion, would not receive such freedom for the near future).

For all their good intentions, the Republic would be wracked with internal rebellion and political posturing for years. At no point would the Republic attempt to follow through on threats to conquer the Manchu, the Mongolians or the Tibetans. Things were complex enough with the Han.

There was also the rather sizable concern that Japan may intervene on mainland China for the first time in generations. The Japanese Imperial Navy was still a shell of its former self but the Army remained powerful. It would not be difficult for the Japanese to reach the mainland. Indeed, the Joseon Kingdom was so alarmed by Japanese militarism that they sought closer ties to the United States.

 

[Alt History Buff]

July, 1917

50 miles east of Rio de Janeiro

Over the course of several weeks, the US Navy's Atlantic Squadron would make its way down the Brazilian coast, always anxious for submersible sightings. What the Americans DID NOT KNOW was that the Brazilian navy was down to but a single functional submersibles. One had been sunk at Macapa and a second damaged, now trapped in Belem's shipyard. A third had sunk in a storm in June. Only the fourth submersible remained functional. Brazil had several more in production but had failed to complete them for lack of specialty parts.

The Brazilian Navy, spurred on by the Government in Rio de Janeiro, would sail towards the Americans with four capital ships, four cruisers and four destroyers. It was a strong squadron but the American Nevada-Class Nevada (since repaired after damage at Macapa), Minnesota and Indiana would lead an American fleet of similar numbers (4 heavy battleships, four cruisers and eight destroyers) plus four submersibles.

The latter would swiftly vex the Brazilians as three American submersibles would lay in wait off of Rio de Janeiro and fire several torpedoes each at the passing Brazilian ships. By a combination of poor American marksmanship, one dud torpedo and panicked maneuvers, only two Brazilian ships were struck, both destroyers. One would sink immediately and the other forced to limp home.

The fleet managed to sink one of the American submersibles but the other two would escape without even being spotted. The Brazilians then sailed on towards the American ships on the horizon, their confidence already shaken. The two fleet collided at 5 miles and pounded one another for hours. The American Nevada-Class were more modern and were faster, more heavily armed and more heavily armored. The Brazilian Admiralty knew this perfectly well but knew their duty to try.

The first few hours of the engagement went fairly well for the Brazilian. An American cruiser was badly struck and was forced to limp off the line. However, the heavier and more accurate American guns were soon taking a toll on the Brazilians.

One of the primary reasons that the Americans had not inflicted more damage was that the line was hampered in maneuvers by strict American orders to avoid submersible damage. The Nevada had been torpedoed at Macapa and this was considered the primary threat by the Brazilians. In order to maintain the Destroyer "screen", the American fleet was slowed somewhat and their maneuverability somewhat hampered.

But eventually a Brazilian battleship was struck three times in quick succession. Though the anti-fire measures were more up to date that previous models, the ship nevertheless soon erupt in flames despite the fire crews' best efforts. Several shells exploded, water pressure was lost, the engine room was choked with smoke and the ship was forced to strike her colors as the crew threw their ammunition overboard.

A Brazilian cruiser was hit at the waterline by a heavy shell and visibly listed to the point that one of the props was spinning in the air. The Captain was forced to abandon ship.

Deeming he'd done his duty, the Brazilian commander signaled a withdrawal as twilight. The American commander decided to go in for the kill by abandoning the destroyer screen and giving full chase. One Brazilian cruisers was struck aft so badly that the engines simply shook apart. It lost all power and was forced to surrender. Another Brazilian battleship, now holding the rear guard, was exchanging blows with the pursuing USS Nevada and Indiana and taking the worst of it. Suddenly, the Brazilian spotters shouted out "torpedoes"!

The battleship was struck twice, gashes opening in her hull and giving the vessel a visible list as she slowed. The guns could not be properly elevated to fire. Helpless, the Brazilian struck her colors. However, the crew would be shocked to see the USS Nevada suffer two blows in the darkening skies. A cheer erupted as it was assumed that a Brazilian submersible had caused the damage. However, it was actually one of the American submersibles which had accidently targeted a friendly vessel. The Nevada slowed and turned northwards as her crew sought to limit the flooding.

In truth, the only remaining Brazilian submersible was currently an anchor in Salvador.

Belatedly, the American destroyers would steam forward and launch several torpedoes at the fleeting Brazilians. However, the two remaining Brazilian destroyers would greatly interfere with the targeting by engaging at "knife range", damaging two American vessels at the expense of one of their own.

In the final account, the Brazilians lost two battleships, a cruiser (and a second badly damaged), and two destroyers (and a third badly damaged). Most of the other ships had taken at least moderate damage. The bulk of the Brazilian naval fleet had been lost or was out of service. The Brazilian coastline was vulnerable.

The Americans suffered one badly damaged heavy battleships, one lost cruiser and one submersible. Most of the remaining ships had taken blows and were slowly crawling north towards port. As the entire American assault was little more than a glorified raid intended to lure the Brazilian fleet into battle, it had been deemed a success....even when the Nevada sunk in Barbados harbor where it had taken shelter. It would later be refloated and repaired once again.

 

[Alt History Buff]

August, 1917

Atacama Protectorate

Over the past decade, the strip of land along western South America which had been seized from Chile, Bolivia and Peru had been organized into a semi-self-governing protectorate under American control. For years, the significantly better oversight from America would see Peruvian, Bolivia and Chilean immigrants arrive to labor in the Nitrate industry as well as from further abroad like Japan, China, America and Europe. European businesses would prefer the stability of American control vastly more than the previous occupants.

However, the new immigrants, which rapidly were forming a mixed ethnic culture, would demand more and more self-government. In 1917, President Roosevelt would approve the expansion of the elected "advisory" council into a legislature as well as replacing the appointed American governor with an elected official.

For all intents and purposes, Atacama would be independent.

This was only permissible by the lack of aggression from Peru (which had splintered), Bolivia (which was apathetic to say the least and was more interested in the ease of transportation of their rubber harvests via American railroads) and Chile which had overthrown the military dictatorship years prior and were embarking upon a newfound attempt at true democracy.

With opposition within the American government to further expansion taking a partisan overtone, Roosevelt was willing to grant ever more independence to a quiet backwater filled with over a hundred thousand Spanish speakers as a show of good faith. Also, the nitrate boom was starting to ebb from Atacama and, should the need arise, he could always dispatch forces back to Atacama on short notice.

Having been viewed as an aggressor over the past decades by much of South America, the President also wished for better ties in the region and this was as good a way as any to prove he had no intention of conquering the continent.

"Green Ukraine"

Over the course of the past half century, the Russian Empire had encouraged emigration eastwards into Central Asia and Siberia all the way to the Pacific. The reverses of the previous war had cost the Russians much of eastern Siberia as China invaded north to the Trans-Siberian Railroad and America seized Kamchatka. The fact that the Mandarin had been evicted from China allowed Russia effectively to march in and regain many of the lands lost in the previous war.....though the lack of the Trans-Siberian Railroad remained devastating.

This centuries long migration tended to be ethnically focused with some areas received higher mixes of immigrants from one region over another. This was the case in Far East lands still under Russian control (north of Vladivostok) in which over 50% of the settlers were Ukrainian and perhaps another 20% were Byelorussian, Polish and others ethnicities under the Czarina's control at the time. The town of Vladivostok had been retaken by regional militia in the past year as the Manchu were less than prepared to contest empty lands taken from the Russians in the previous war.

With independence of the Ukraine and other new Eastern European countries and the defacto severance of direct Russian access to the region......well, not much happened. The region stagnated with the exception of the Pacific-ward migration of tens of thousands of Siberians facing Russian pogroms. Some locals - Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, Jews, Cossacks, Siberians, etc - would migrate to the Ainu Islands but this was only a minority.

With the renewal of war, the Czarina's forces would gather up tens of thousands of "traitors" be they soldiers or just natives of occupied territories in Byelorussia or the Ukraine and ship them to Siberia as laborers building a new Trans-Siberian railroad.

However, over the summer of 1917, 70,000 of these men would rebel and flee eastward through Siberia and Mongolia towards the "Green Ukraine", the lands of the Russian Far East dominated by Ukrainians and non-Russian ethnicities.

These men would overthrow the regional government and the 350,000 residents would declare themselves the "Green Ukraine", an independent Republic. Russian bureaucrats, soldiers and other Nationalists would be expelled and forced to march home the long way through Siberia late in the year. Most, over 10,000, would die in the attempt.

Borneo

Over the past decades, the Australian Government responsible for Borneo and other other British East Indies would encourage Indians fleeing the Hindu Socialist Republic (particularly Christians but few were turned away) to settle. The current war on the subcontinent would see tens of thousands more refugees.

However, by 1917, the now ethnically diverse island of Borneo as well as other islands were beginning to see ethnic unrest. Malaya, Java and Sumatra had rebelled against the Japanese (and the Europeans before them) to gain independence and the natives of the "British East Indies" would demand more and more regional self-government. The Australians, who had only lightly settled the region (and still patently refused Asian settlement to Australia), would be willing to bend.....a little. The peoples of Borneo had certainly helped resist the Japanese in the previous war. But it was becoming apparent worldwide that long term colonialism was a losing proposition and many of these colonies were not even paying for themselves. Australia, with a smaller population than Great Britain, was not as financially able to foot the bill for a repressive campaign if needed.

Thus the Australians would agree to "regional elections" for mayors, the formation of a Legislature, etc.

It was simply cheaper than putting down unrest.

If Great Britain was forced to bow to Ireland's political pressure, Australia seemed unlikely to stand for long in the British East Indies.

Anglo-American Co-Protectorate

Inexorable expansion inward from the coasts would see much of the African interior brought under the nominal control of the Co-Protectorate. The exponential increase in complexity would lead to ever more need for central authority to control education, justice, the army, etc.

The number of American and British colonial "freedmen" departing the Western Hemisphere for Africa would continue to increase in absolute numbers as bureaucrats, English-speaking teachers, soldiers, etc, were required by the Co-Protectorate (some Caribbean islands were virtually denuded) but would by 1917 be dwarfed by the number of native-born Africans educated in new schools and universities entering the workforce. Black businessmen had once been almost entirely "American" born but by the second decade of the century were rapidly seeing native businesses flourish. Of course, this was not necessarily to the detriment of the "American" born as the overall economy of Africa would rapidly expand opening up new avenues for opportunity across the board.

However, as one may expect, there was always more desire for increased local control despite a vast expansion on the "Councils" and the Continental Parliament of native African representation. Having ANY American or British appointed officials was proving a hot political issue as native Africans had long felt (largely correctly) that the Co-Protectorate always favored these "New Africans" as many derisively called these reverse transplants.

However, the frequent struggles that the Co-Protectorate had with inland tribes not to mention the vast diversity of the Continent's racial, ethnic, linguistic and religious peoples would ensure that the Co-Protectorate government seldom even whispered for full independence. Without British and American aid, it was difficult to believe that Africa would not collapse into a web of ethnic, religious and political strife.

Just as many Indians decades ago feared what would happen if the British Raj collapsed (justifiably), the educated African classes feared a severance of ties, even peacefully done, to Britain and America.

 

[Alt History Buff]

August, 1917

Amarillo, Camancheria

The huge estate created by PT Barnum in Amarillo would slowly evolve into a enclosed open air zoo with hundreds of Javan and Sumatran Rhinos, Quaggas and other beasts. Some of these animals were highly endangered in their native lands. Americans would pay for tour guides to escort them through the park or drive them though in trucks. Giraffes, Zebras and other animals had been added over the years.

By 1917, competing parks were inaugurated in Southern California, Mescalero and Texas. To the surprise of many, the Barnum Park would happily exchange animals with these other parks. Barnum had long since moved from profiteering and towards animal conservation. By spreading out his herds of animals, he gained greater resources towards their preservation.

The Javan Rhino and Quaggas were already nearing extinction in their native lands (the South African Quagga was already extinct in Africa and both the Cape Colony and Boer Republic were requesting specimens to repopulate their own parks). Barnum had saved the Quaggas from extinction.

Washington

President Roosevelt had put aside the requests by Trinidad, Bolivar, Para and Guyana for statehood until the end of the war. But the non-voting representatives continued to agitate in Congress. Since the admission of Orinoco years before for statehood, it was inevitable that neighboring territories would do the same.

Roosevelt knew that his predecessors had made a mistake in seizing the northern Amazon. Brazil had been stupid to pick three wars with the United States since the US gained Guyana but the hostilities may have been avoided with superior diplomacy and restraint.

But now, after three wars, the United States citizenry were not well-disposed towards the Brazilians and giving the Amazon BACK was not a realistic option politically.

But how could Roosevelt avoid more conflict in the future?

As best he could tell, the Brazilians would continue to invade Amazonia as long as they had capacity to do so. So Roosevelt was intent to make sure Brazil had no capacity to do so. He realized that accessibility was the key. Without access to the Amazon River, Brazil would be unable to gain a foothold. Without river access, railroads (the handful of Brazilian railroads in the region had already been cut) and deplorable roads, there would be no avenue to invade. Thus, to avoid future invasions of Amazonia....America had to take ALL of Amazonia.

It was counterintuitive and would, once again, dent Brazilian pride. However, Roosevelt had a second idea which would at least mitigate the Brazilian fear of an American invasion / domination of their populated areas.

The Amazon would be declared a huge demilitarized natural and Indian preserve. Yes, the Park Service, the Interior Department (which managed Indian affairs) and the Army would have a great deal of control over the region. But no significant development would occur which would signal to the Brazilians an American intent to populate with potential to invade the core of Brazil. Roads and railroads would not be encouraged while immigration, if not expressly forbidden, would be actively DISCOURAGED.

Unless Brazil feared that American soldiers were going to WALK a thousand miles through the Amazon jungle, there seemed little likelihood that an invasion was coming. Likewise, the Brazilians would be forced to trudge though nearly impassable jungle for a thousand miles to get anywhere.

A huge demilitarized zone separating two powerful, populated nations. It seemed the best way conclude a war now apparently on the verge of victory.

As it was, Roosevelt was growing increasingly concerned with the state of Europe. While the American people held no interest as a whole on Europeans killing one another, the President knew that disaster in Europe would eventually filter across the Atlantic one way or another. Even Great Britain, up to now holding itself aloof from the Continental war, was paying closer attention, seeing the French Marxists as perhaps a more viable threat to the world than previously thought.

Paris

The Commune leadership was getting irritated with Vladimir Lenin. Having advocated a global centric version of Marxism, the Russian was displeased with the "French-centric" version of Marxism. Lenin wanted nationalism as humanity knew it to die.

The French political leaders Jules Guesde and Jean Longuet (the grandson of Karl Marx) would be too "Nationalistic" to Lenin's mind. This friction would see Lenin increasingly marginalized. As hundreds of thousands of French soldiers died, civilian unrest was reaching a breaking point. This threatened not only global socialism but, more importantly, the survival of the French government.

The last thing Guesde and Longuet needed was Lenin harping with his rhetoric. The French had given this foreigner a great deal of influence domestically over the years out of respect for his place in the global Marxist movements. But Lenin's constant demands that France act against domestic interests was getting tedious and tiresome.

 

[Alt History Buff]

September, 1917

Catalonia

Despite having withdrawn some of their forces from Spain, the French forces would easily hold their positions in Catalonia against Spanish Monarchist support. During the occupation of northern Catalonia, the Basque country and other parts of northern Spain, the French would systematically hunt down "counter-revolutionaries" throughout the region. Tens of thousands of civilians were imprisoned and executed.

Thousands of churches and cultural icons were destroyed.

The Rhine

The French summer assault on the Rhine would prove disastrous. Over a quarter of a million casualties later and the French toehold on the east bank of the river remained tenuous at best. The Germans had managed to deploy their own tanks and poison gas tactics, mitigating the French advantage.

Elements of the French army, horrified by the scale of the losses, would nearly mutiny. Thousands of French soldiers would be arrested and summarily executed.

Kiev

After months of siege, the Ukrainian-Italian counteroffensive would press the Russian forces back, eventually to the Donets River. Virtually the entirety of the Ukrainian population had been mobilized to fight for their freedom and, armed with German weapons, would stubbornly resist the Russian onslaught.

Minsk

The German-Polish counter-offensive would press the Russians back towards Minsk as well. Over 150,000 Russian troops would surrender after a German envelopment maneuver and were trapped against the Svislach River.

Manaus

The Brazilian Army had dispatched over 140,000 troops to the Amazon over the past year only find itself cut off from supply with the American ascendancy on the waves. As the southern tributaries of the Amazon were now controlled by the US Navy and Army, the surviving Brazilian troops were running low on ammunition, food and medicine. Forced into the jungle, the Brazilians starved. Many opted to march southwards through hundreds of miles of jungle. Large numbers would sicken and die on the trek.

Others would commence surrendering in large numbers as their bodies withered for lack of provisions.

Marajo Island

Despite protests from various American officers, firm orders from above saw a significant American force to land upon Marajo Island. Many viewed the war as being effectively over and invading an impassable hellish island as pointless. Thousands of Americans and Brazilians would die over the next few months on Marajo Island, more of disease than actual combat, all for no particular point for either party.

Belem

The city of Belem would dominate not only the Para River, which connected to the Amazon, but the Tocantins River as well. The US Navy had long blockaded the port and preventing significant reinforcement or provisioning to the city. Tightening their grip, the Americans would land troops to the north and east of the city with the intent of forcing submission. Like Marajo Island, there was significant resistance among the American officer corps as the entire campaign being an expensive and bloody waste.

 

[Alt History Buff]

October, 1917

Salvador and Natal

After years of frustration with the Coffee Oligarchs which had served as the Emperor's Prime Ministers for the past several decades, a series of Junior officers would attempt revolts in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. These were put down easily enough but the somewhat marginalized northern states of Brazil would see greater support. Here, the disproportionately black population, which had hereto been firm supporters of the Emperor, had quite enough of the government's incompetence which led to a wasteful expense of blood and treasure.

A Convention was called in Salvador, along the northern coast, to discuss a new Constitution in which high offices were selected directly (or indirectly through Parliament) rather than by Imperial command. Beyond long-term political concerns, the collapse of the economy and effective defeat in three consecutive wars would drastically reduce faith in the Emperor's ability to govern. While some called for a "Republic", the majority of the representatives (mainly local notables, Union leaders and army officers) would still seek a compromise.

Sao Paulo

The fortyish Pedro III would be outraged by the events in Salvador. He knew it was not simply personal unpopularity driving this northern resentment but also military, economic and social problems as well which was leading to divisions in society.

At least Pedro III knew that he could count on the support of his government. If the Emperor lost dignity so would they. With so many of his best army units wasting away in the Amazon (or dead or in prison camps), the Emperor would command the Army and Navy to regain control over the northern coast of Brazil.

However, the return of 30,000 angry soldiers after a months' long trek through the Amazon would only create more problems. Having managed to retreat via the Amazon's southern tributaries, the Brazilian soldiers would effectively revolt and march through Sao Paulo state bound for the capital in Rio de Janeiro.

Southern Brazil - Parana Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul

The three southernmost states of Brazil had long maintained a rather uniquely European-dominant demographic as large numbers of Germans, Italians and others (Irish, Poles, Ukrainians, etc) had settled the more temperate states. The region had long been contested by Portugal and Spain and later between Brazil and Argentina.

Similarly tired of the domination of the nation by Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Minos Gerais, the southern Brazilians were prepared to consider breaking off themselves though were more circumspect about the discussions.

 

[Alt History Buff]

December, 1917

Eastern Front - Minsk

A month long offensive would see the city of Minsk reclaimed after an army of 500,000 Poles, Byelorussians, Baltics and Germans fell upon the Russian forces defending central Byelorussia. The Russian forces cracked and retreated back to the eastern bank of the Svislach.

Kiev

After a year, the battle of Kiev ended and the Russians forced back towards the Donets River, the defacto border with Russia. The Ukrainian, Italian and German forces would succeed in turning the Russian southern flank and rolling them towards the River.

Even the Czarina's presence at the front would do little to rally the troops after two years of war.

Western Front

Spurred on by their political officers, the French army would attack again and again in November and December. The casualties reached the hundreds of thousands. Finally, exhausted, the French would cease their assault.

On Christmas Day, German musicians would play Silent Night. Over the battlefield, the French soldiers would sing along and emerge from their trenches. The Germans would do the same and clasp hands over the "No Man's Land". The French political officers were apoplectic, both at the reactionary religious fervor and the disobedience of orders. Several political officers would shoot their charges in hopes of regaining control but this only provoked a mutiny en masse. The French turned on their political officers, slaughtering hundreds of them.

As one, the French army would turn towards the Rhine, seeking to return home. Knowing that the Commune would never allow this, the army was preparing to fight its way to Paris.

London

Though outraged by the French invasion of Belgium and the Netherlands, the British government would nevertheless stay out of the fray. However, the continued British supply of the German Confederation would raise tensions already high by near constant mutual harassment at sea. The French had largely given up foreign trade in the absence of nations with which to trade. It was somewhat of an anomaly that the current war had so little naval aspects to it. France had given up the waves while Germany had yet to develop much of a navy.

Catalonia

The inept Spanish army would be defeated once again in Catalonia. This time, the French offensive would finally manage to break through and conquer Barcelona. The purge of the Catalan clergy and political leaders would escalate. Similar events would occur in the Basque country.

Rio de Janeiro

A pitched battle outside of Rio de Janeiro would see the rebel soldiers who survived the Amazon war defeated. However, the Emperor's problems were hardly at an end.

Northern Brazil would proclaim itself the Republic of Santa Cruz (Republic of the Holy Cross) while the southern states would declare independence as the Garibaldian Republic (in homage to the Italian adventurer who cut his teeth while fighting in the region against Brazilian Imperial tyranny).

 

[Alt History Buff]

 

[Alt History Buff]

 

[Alt History Buff]

January, 1918

Washington

The emissaries from the "Republic of Santa Cruz" arrived bearing tidings of peace in January of 1918. For the most part, the Brazilians wanted an immediate ceasefire in the northern Brazilian territories (which included Belem).

Naturally, the "Santa Cruzans" (or whatever they called themselves) wanted the ante-bellum borders but Roosevelt was not inclined to give a square in back to either Brazil or this potentially fly-by-night nation. Who knew what could happen?

Maybe the Emperor would reconquer the region. Besides, American soldiers had bled three times for the Amazon Basin and Roosevelt needed a popularity boost.

With Brazil fragmenting, the war was grinding to a halt anyway. Roosevelt was willing to wait out the chaos ensuing and merely consolidate the Basin.

Dividing the southern Basin into military districts named after the assorted north/south tributary rivers (it seemed as good a way to name them as any), the Americans accepted the surrender of thousands of Brazilian soldiers now cut off completely from the coast and apparently divided into three countries. The Americans would segregate the three "types" of Brazilian now and expedite the return of soldiers from Santa Cruz and the Garibaldian Republic while keeping those of the Empire of Brazil in moderately comfortable captivity.

Roosevelt was now willing to turn his attention east across the Atlantic. There had been innumerous stoppages of American ships at sea, mostly by France, but also a few by Britain. This was common in war and Roosevelt did not want to be brought into a war on someone else's terms and without any apparent benefit to his own country. However, the French Commune was proving particularly loathsome (America had less of an opinion about the remote and mysterious Russian Empire) and sympathy for the Germans, Poles and Italians (among others) were high given the number of immigrants from these nations which had settled America in the past decades.

Rumor had it that Great Britain was seriously considering entering the war and Roosevelt wondered if perhaps it would be a good time to put this radical Socialist crackpot theory to rest. Accounts of mass executions in France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands of anyone opposed to the Commune were disconcerting to say the least.

But Roosevelt also knew quite well the lack of enthusiasm among Americans, even his own Party, for war abroad. Even the Brazilian attack (yet again) on American territory had elicited a wave of discontent at fighting a war which, in many eyes, had been brought on by Republican insistence on taking useless land on another continent. Indeed, three wars in a few decades with Brazil had not wrought much in the way of benefits to America (though the Orinoco oil fields were certainly proving productive).

All of this led to the public debate over the request by Trinidad, Bolivar, Guyana and Para to enter the United States as full states. Would this not result in MORE American attention being focused on a huge region of useless rainforest (even the wood was soft)?

But, given the fact that the people of these territories had suffered attack due to their possession by America and still remained loyal, the President could not see any justification for refusing their request. Roosevelt would publicly endorse these territories for statehood....though with a provision that Congress also approve his plans for deliberate non-development of the Amazon Basin as a massive Indian reserve and "Global Park"...which would also serve as a buffer against intrusion.

Yes, it would be possible for Santa Cruz or Brazil or Colombia or Bolivia or some other neighbor to "invade" the Amazon Basin but, given that there was nothing to seize - no roads, railroads, intact mines or large-scale farms, etc - the most the invaders could do would be sit around in a pestilential environment and commence building facilities. This would probably take years and attention spans tended to be short. By that point, America could leisurely put an end to the "invasion" on her terms.

Roosevelt was quietly negotiating with Colombia and Bolivia to clean up the somewhat nebulous borders and was prepared to be generous with his "allies". Colombia was important for their canal (and the export of their excellent wonder drug, cocaine) while ties to Bolivia still needed to be mended after the US assumed control over their coastal areas. Handing over some land 99.9999% of Americans would never see or care about was a good way to get cheap political points with a region already suspicious of American intentions.

Dublin

The Kingdom of Ireland's first Parliament in over a hundred years (Home Rule now restored) would, as everyone knew it would, be rocked by a Fenian Party member's proposal to be made a Republic.

Even the Fenians knew this was not realistic at the moment but naturally a Radical had to throw that out there from the first day.

Like many in Britain, the Irish people expected that "Home Rule" would sooner rather than later see a move from King Albert I's rule to full Irish independence. But even the Fenian leadership knew this was best (and more peacefully) done in stages.

The Orangists of Ulster, in particular, would prove restive despite legitimate Fenian attempts to halt partisan violence. Few Fenians actually openly proposed "expelling the damned Protestants" from Ireland, an act which would almost certainly bring British regulars down upon their heads, and most of the leadership made a show of attempting to reconcile.

Many Protestants, particularly the Presbyterians, would seek to join the government in unity. Mostly Anglicans, roughly 10% of the population and centered in Ulster, bitterly fought any such ideas.

 

[naraht]

A few comments on the map. The Global map and the South American map disagree on who controls the Chaco. World: Paraguay, which is similar to OTL borders. South America specific, Bolivia.

Secondly, the only nation left in South America that hasn't lost *signficant* land to someone is Colombia. Bolivia is bigger than OTL, but still lost the coast (as iOTL, but *might* not be as annoyed over it.

Never thought taking off my shoes wouldn't be enough to count the countries in South America.

Bonus points if you can get the TL to 2021 and have South America has the same number of countries as OTL Africa and vice versa. (I think that would be 12 and 55 respectively)