Gott Strafe England!

What would be a plausible worst case scenario for Britain and its empire in the First World War?
 
If Jellico lost the war in an afternoon, during the disaster at Jutland. Even then, at worse, I think the British might have lost a BC squadron that got cut off from the rest of their fleet. They would retreat and live to fight another day.

As far as the Empire is concerned, you really think the Germans can touch that? I suppose if a major revolution happened in India, and Indian regiments mutinied, that could really ruin the Limeys' day. The Germans in East Africa could, at best, make limited advances into British colonies, same in the Pacific. Now the French, they could get royally screwed. But the British.....
 
worst case for the British Empire = ZOMBIES:eek:

I think the BEF would most definitely be withdrawn leaving the French
in a shitty position. Brits would be happy to make peace with Germany and her allies to save England from the UNDEAD. :eek::D
 
The big danger to the RN was from u-boats.

It started 1917 with a six-month reserve of fuel oil, but so many tankers got sunk that by June this was down to less than three months. The Grand Fleet was ordered to cruise at three-fifths normal speed to conserve fuel, and when the US entered the war, we had to ask it to send only its old-fashioned coal-burning ships to British waters, as we could not spare any fuel for the modern ones.

Imagine things get worse. The US doesn't enter, and later in the year France collapses, making her ports available to u-boats and to German surface ships. More tankers than ever are sunk, creating a vicious circle which ends witht he RN being all but paralysed, and Britain being starved into unconditional surrender. From there on, it's a blacker version of Saki's When William Came.

Agreed, though, it's a low probability outcome. More likely, by convoying the tankers (and we'll have more available if we don't need to supply France etc) we can get enough fuel through to keep the Navy going. But it could be hairy. Low probability events do occasionaly manage to happen.
 
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What about an uprising in Britain proper.
Somehow Germany does a bit better on all fronts, holding ground in Africa and Pasific, killing Russians en masse and bleeding the French and British troops in France dry. The only thing they need for this is better generals (In France they don't get there soldiers slaughered instead they wait untill the most enemies are gunned down by machineguns, no attempt to stave Britian with subs). Eventually the Russian Revolution happens and Russia pulles out of the war. When the Germans reach Paris France is broken and sues for peace. In Britian the people are furious, millions have died for nothing and rise-up. What happens next doesn't matter much, Britian is screwed:eek:.
 
Alternative 1: The French front completely collapses in late 1914, forcing the British Government to evacuate the BEF, while Germany imposes some draconian peace on France and fight Russia until they give up in late 1915 or mid 1916. Italy joins Germany in early 1915 or late 1914, limiting the war to the Eastern Front, Egypt, the Caucasus and the Atlantic, where Britain is reluctant to endanger the Royal Navy, so they occupy the German Colonies.

Germany funnels weapons to the Easter Rising, which is slightly bloodier but easily contained, prompting Britain to realize they can't touch Germany and that the Germans can't touch British soil.

Result: Britain gains Togoland and Namibia, but lose all allies in Europe sans-Portugal.

I'd also think that this is pretty much the worst that could happen to Britain. And it's ASB. Would France accept a draconian peace treaty if both Britain and Russia still fight on? Would Italy join the CP if the RN is still around?
 
How about a POD which begins before the war but culminates with a WW1 Event.

Let’s say that there are deliberate Socialist & Marxist agitators in the UK, many more than the authorities realise (and tolerate to some extent) who see the growing political tensions in Europe as the perfect time to launch the revolution. They are very well organised and sponsor literacy programmes under the guise of left-wing leaning churches to ensure that the generation that will come of age post Victoria are educated and capable of good decision making.

Fast forward to the July crisis where it looks like war in inevitable following the demands placed on the Serbian government. These agitators decide that if war is declared and the BEF is mobilised, that they encourage as many of their people to volunteer for the army as possible, to learn military tactics and to spread the word throughout the armed forces where traditionally people from the length and breadth of the United Kingdom come together for perhaps the only time in their lives before going back to their towns and cities of birth.

Germany invades Belgium, war is declared and there is a surge of volunteers to fight the Central Powers. The BEF is all but annihilated checking the German advance and so the volunteers who haven’t really completed basic training are rushed over to France in order to plug the gap. The Germans are halted at the Marne and slowly pushed back. In the trenches as the autumnal months turn to winter, the soldiers begin to tell each other stories and the best are of a vision for a post war Britain where the workers own the means of production whilst the upper and middle classes are cast aside, no longer feathering their own nests. There are things like unlimited hot water, electricity, education, pensions etc which really appeals to the average working man.

The Christmas truce rolls around and stories filter back from France over telephones and telegraphs that soldiers have laid down their arms in comaderie with their continental brethren, spontaneous football games occurring and rations traded. The socialists/agitators are able to get a message through sympathetic radiomen – one word “Go”.

As Xmas Day become Boxing Day, there are reports of mutinies in the trenches, soldiers en masse are refusing to fight, claiming that the UK Government has betrayed the working classes, forcing them to fight in this bourgeois war of empires. It was never about the Belgian people, it was about Imperialism, plain and simple. The Germans are in the dark over this and don’t take advantage as yet but the French troops are in a similar position, left wing sympathies being more prevalent in the third Republic. The soldiers that refuse to bear arms outnumber those who will carry on and embarrassingly the British contribution falls apart (which is still less than the French efforts.

So one could have a couple of hundred thousand armed troops unwilling to fight for the UK but willing to bring the revolution to the UK. Plus there would be a substantively sympathetic population who wouldn’t want to see harm to come to their fellow Brits. If they get home…are we talking insurrection on a massive scale? That’d be the worst case scenario afaik.
 
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