Oceania though...
Oh boy
Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Papa New Guinea
ERE WE GO
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Lincoln Lives: How a failed assassination changed the course of a Nation and a newly freed people
- Thread starter Issei Uzumaki
- Start date
Oh boy
Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Papa New Guinea
ERE WE GO
Chapter 10: US Joins a Great War
Chapter 10: US joins a Great War
Prior to the US joining the Great War that had embroiled the world, President Hughes had seen the likelihood of the US being drawn in but was unsure of what side, all he knew is that he was surrounded by potential threats on land and sea. With the foresight of his predecessor having begun a naval buildup, President Hughes now had a far larger ocean-going fleet in anytime in US history, as such, he now had an Atlantic and Pacific fleet. Prior to the Naval Act of 1906, there had only been a small Asiatic Squadron in Guam and a Pacific Squadron at San Francisco. As part of the Naval Act of 1914, the new Pacific Fleet was to have its HQ established at San Diego, CA. The base was due to be completely operational by December 1916 after originally targeted for 1917, construction was sped up thanks to war time urgency after the US joined the war. (AN#1) While the new Naval HQ was being built, the US had already established temporary HQ in San Francisco and the new Pacific Fleet was already created and organized out of the two prior squadrons, along with older ships coming from the Atlantic fleet. This was a change from the original plan where the new ships would be split evenly, the reasoning by President Hughes being that the most pressing threats were in the Atlantic and that in his mind, even the older ships could easily hold their own against anything the ANZAC group or Japanese could throw at them. When war was declared in June 1916, the US Pacific fleet now made up of the prior squadrons as well as 60% of the old main fleet from the Atlantic. The US immediately went to impound ships from the UK and convert for troop transport, the most famous being the Lusitania, the Titanic's sister ship, which had been in port loading up on passengers for a return trip to the UK when war broke out (AN#2). An agreement was also made with the German government to lease ships from Germany stuck in US ports due to the UK blockade, in exchange for supplies up front, with later supplies purchased in hard gold currency. These ships would become very useful in ferrying troops to Caribbean and Pacific battlefields.Chapter 10: US joins a Great War
On June 1nd, 1916, the day the official DoW from Congress, the entire National Guard was called up and was federalized, put under the control of the General Pershing, commanding officer of the US Army. This brought an additional 181K men to the 300K strong US Army, which included the new Army Air Service that had nearly 3,000 planes thanks to the Army expansion push started in 1914, a push that also expanded the Marines to nearly 50K strong by this time. The army did not yet have a large supply of armored cars like those showing up in Europe and only a handful of experimental tanks, but those numbers would expand rapidly by summer of 1917, but for now, General Pershing had to organize his forces, with a small force of 20K made up of southern border state national guard units being left to guard against any possible Mexican involvement, though that proved to be unwarranted as a revolution was soon to break out in Mexico and would embroil the nation in civil war for the next decade. However, General Pershing, the President, and Congress were about to get a shock, though welcome one, when on June 3rd, before any US army units could even fully organize on their border, the local governor of British Columbia sent word that they wanted to have peace talks with the US.
On June 10th, former President Roosevelt was dispatched at President Hughes request to speak with representatives of the territory (it was still listed as such as it so far had resisted joining Canada). They would meet in Seattle to discuss terms. The negotiations were quick, taking only 2 days to work out the details. The BC delegation explained that approximately 50K BC men had enlisted to support the UK but after the brutal first months on the Western Front, 90% were dead and the rest were either missing or crippled. The territory was shocked and angered, feeling like these men were sacrificed for nothing, especially considering how little the UK had paid attention to their territory after the discovery of gold in South Africa, and they no longer supported the United Kingdom, especially since almost 50% of their current population was either American or Asian in origin. Their demands were simple; have the US support their forthcoming declaration of independence and provide a fair-trade deal to help the new nation get off the ground. In return, they would allow US troops to occupy the land for its defense as well as allow the US Navy and her allies to use their ports. Teddy sent word back on the evening of June 11th of the offer and after a brief consultation with Senate leaders, the President sent word to accept it and that they had full faith the Senate would approve of this treaty. So, it was in a joint announcement from Seattle, WA, the US declared a peace treaty with the new Republic of Cascadia, with its interim first President William John Bowser. The Republic of Cascadia was welcomed as a new nation, as it officially declared its independence on the following day, June 13th, 1916. The Senate would ratify the treaty on June 23rd.
In the meantime, US Army units (federalized Guard units) from nearby states of Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, entered Cascadia for occupation duty. There were also volunteers from Cascadia’s eastern neighbor, the US territory of Mackenzie, named for an explorer who had passed through the area in the 1700s. This territory would, in fact become a state the following year on August 12th, 1917 (the 51st). Some of these units would later be shipped up to Anchorage to help provide defense in Alaska. As a brief side note, the war also helped usher in the new states of Saskatchewan on May 1st 1918 (52nd) and Manitoba on May 2nd, 1918 (53rd). The delay had been a concern over lingering possible loyalties to the United Kingdom but they turned out unfounded especially considering the length of time as US territories, as over a hundred thousand men ended up volunteering from these 3 new states during the course of the war. The last territory, Superior, due to its proximity between Manitoba and Ontario would not see statehood until after the war, when it joined on September 19th, 1919 (54th AN#3). Nearly 60K men from Superior would enlist but all of them would end up staying stateside, serving as part of the occupation force in Canada until the end of hostilities.
In Europe, the Central Powers, but specifically Germany, were cheering their good luck. The German Imperial Fleet were originally planning to sortie out on May 30th to try and lure out the Royal Navy to try and destroy it piecemeal but were delayed due to weather, then on May 31st before they could sail, they heard about the incident between the US and UK near the Netherlands. In a rare stroke of brilliance and lucidity, the Kaiser immediately ordered the planned naval operation to stop until they could determine the outcome of this engagement. They didn’t have to wait long, as on the next day they were informed about the DoW from the US and quickly negotiated a treaty to allow both sides to use the others ports for resupply and rest, including the part dealing with use of German ships stuck in port to be used as troop transports. Now the German Imperial Navy could wait a bit longer, as the RN would have to decide, keep its main force to block in Germany or sortie out to try and protect its supply line, as Canada provided a substantial amount of food to the UK. The UK was forced to divert a fourth of their main fleet to try and relieve Canada and their Caribbean possessions. This ended up being a mistake, as nearly the entire US Atlantic Fleet would manage to engage this force off the coast of Nova Scotia in late August 1916, dubbed by some as the Battle of the Maritimes. It was the largest naval battle to date, the US would lose 2 of its first-generation Dreadnoughts, 1 Battlecruiser, and 6 destroyers, and suffer damage to several other ships, proving how deadly even a smaller RN force could be. Meanwhile the Royal Navy would lose 80% of their force with most sunk, and 3 captured, with all the remaining ships damaged in some capacity and retreating back to home ports, one of the single largest defeats in the history of the Royal Navy to that point, unfortunately for them it would not get any better as the US would manage to smuggle in via U-boat, a naval attaché to the German Empire and they would plan a joint strike. The US informed the German command that they wanted the plans hand delivered to the Imperial Fleet, as they had discovered on one of the captured RN ships that they had been reading German communications, meaning all Imperial Fleet communications had been compromised. They would use the next 7 months planning the naval campaign and changing their Naval codes, but they would not implement the new codes until after the coming battle, for they believed they old codes could be their Trojan horse.
Back in the US, they had spent all of June and July mobilizing their military forces, thanking God, they had one less front with the surrender of the now Republic of Cascadia. At the time the navy was preparing for battle off Nova Scotia, the Army had amassed nearly 350K men split between the western side of Ontario within the Superior territory and the eastern part split itself at points in western NY near Buffalo and northern NY near Plattsburgh. The Great Lakes Patrol had been strengthened pre-war and had already eliminated any Canadian and UK naval presence and had already begun bombarding coastal cities around the Great Lakes. The US had planned it’s initial assault to take place with simultaneous attacks heading east from Superior, and west from Buffalo to cut off Ontario from Quebec, with the 3rd thrust coming from Plattsburgh force heading towards Montreal. While the Canadians had received some militia from its Newfoundland and Labrador, most of their manpower was stuck in Europe and the USN made sure they could not get back home. So while the US planned invasion, the Dominions of Canada and Newfoundland were holding a joint meeting and discussing whether to attempt to resist or offer peace, the delegations were split with Newfound wanting peace having lost is only regiment in Europe similar to British Columbia, while Canada wanted to resist.
The choice would be removed from them, however, when the US finally launched it’s attacks on August 31st. The northern thrust made the most headway initially, capturing the east side of the St. Lawrence all the way up to the outskirts of Montreal within 10 days. The Buffalo front was mainly made of up artillery shelling and strafing from airplanes along the ground, while the Army Corps of Engineers worked to put in place temporary bridges to replace the ones destroyed by Canadian teams immediately after the DoW was received. The push east from Superior initially ran into trouble as trenches had been prepared and even though they had advice from German military advisors that had come over from Europe, they still had to learn on the job as it were and it was a very bloody experience. The difference here for the Americans besides having knowledge brought from the Germans, was the fact that Canada and Newfoundland simply didn’t have the manpower, artillery, or airplanes to put up fight like the Western Front in France. This would lead to a breakout 3 weeks later when a combination of US Cavalry (useless in Europe but room to move here) along with a small contingent of armored cars pushed through just north of Sudbury, a US town just west of the Canadian border. They Canadian regiments had no choice but to begin falling back or risk capture. Ontario was now at risk of being overrun. Canada had initially predicted a landing across from Detroit, but the artillery barrage on Windsor was just a diversion. This along with a surprise attack by 40K National Guardsmen from Maine into Nova Scotia sealed the Dominions fate, without any hope of resupply from Great Britain, they requested an Armistice on October 8th. Peace terms were actually fairly light as President Hughes wanted to rebuild a peaceful friendship and trade but they had to be broken away from England. So it was that Canada agreed to official peace that would include occupation by US forces until the war with Great Britain was over, and no national army post war. They would be allowed a national police force and a limited militia force of no more than 100K and a limited Navy and Coast Guard, with no ships larger than 10K tons. There would be no territorial concessions, however, both Dominions would have to publicly renounce the British Sovereign as head of state and reorganize themselves into new nations or a joint one if they preferred and they were forbidden from entering into any military alliances with any nation, in return the US would guarantee their safety under its military umbrella. Peace was made official on October 16th, 1916. The Canadian Federation would be born post war on July 1st, 1920. It was a parliamentary style government made up of the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, Labrador (deciding to split postwar from Newfoundland), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (which absorbed Prince Edward Island).
In the Pacific during this time, what was available to the Royal Navy and ANZAC forces in the Southeast Pacific, took American Samoa with 1K troops, most from the occupation force in German Samoa and then made plans to raid Hawai’i. Unfortunately for them the new US Pacific fleet had already sortied out with the intent to try and protect Samoa and ran into the British fleet, there was a minor skirmish before the British forces turned and ran finding themselves outnumbered. The USN arrived to find Samoa under ANZAC control. They sent a boat under flag of truce asking them to surrender and return control of the island or face a blockade until US troops arrived. The ANZAC forces refused. However, the US had already been planning to reinforce the area as well as take back German Samoa and had a small convoy on its way with 10K US Marines on it’s way. The Marines would arrive on September 26th and immediately split between two groups with the second heading for German Samoa. On September 28th, the US demanded surrender a 2nd time, this time the forces agreed. The Marines would take up duty defending both German and American Samoa for the remainder of the War, as well as providing a fueling station on the way for future convoys to NZ. The ANZAC forces were sent back to the states to live out the war in POW camps. There would be coastal raids by the Pacific fleet around Oceania for the next several months, until they were called back to prepare the invasion of New Zealand (AN#4).
The United States would close out 1916 by taking Bermuda in mid-October, occupying the Bahamas on November 1st with only 10 casualties and no deaths on either side. A few days later President Hughes would win a landslide re-election. Jamaica was the toughest to invade, costing the US Marines over 3,000 casualties, over 1k of those KIA, when it was finally captured in early December. No other major land operations would be taken until the summer of 1917. The Navy would send a growing submarine fleet to join the U-boats in targeting British merchant fleets in the Atlantic, while a small raiding force was created out of the Pacific fleet to target British supplies coming from the Malaysia area of operations. President Hughes made the decision to keep the strongest fleet in the Atlantic to use in conjunction with the German Imperial Fleet to take on the Royal Navy next spring but all land forces were to focus on mainly the Pacific, with British Honduras being the lone target in the Caribbean theatre of operations. The US would also use this time to train up the volunteers that had flooded the recruiting offices, by Summer of 1917 nearly 1.3 million men would be in the army, with the Marines hitting nearly 80K. The only question in the American minds, and increasingly in a number of British politicians, was how long before the UK had to make peace?
Edited; April 20, added the US election results.
Notes:
1 – San Diego Naval Base originally started in 1919, completed by 1922, here started in Fall of 1914, completed Winter 1916.
2 – Lusitania had not sunk yet in this TL and since the US was more hostile, there was no illegal munitions onboard at any time loaded in the US.
3 – for reference, Canada purchased the area of Ruperts land back from US east of the 80th Degree West Parallel, the land between OTL Manitoba and this New Canadian border at the 80th would become the future state of Superior in this TL.
4- best numbers I can find are that NZ had around 1 million people at start of WW1, they will put up a tough but brief fight.
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Oops.
One of the first thing the British did was cut the communication cable between the U.S. and Germany, so that only their side of the war could be heard.
I know Germany still has an Embassy in Washington in this scenario, but, communications would be difficult.
I am pretty sure International Radio News was a not a thing yet.
A nit pick, but, how'd they find out so early?
A couple of days, a week, information from a neutral power, sure, But a day?
Otherwise, love the scenario.
Fair points, I was not aware that even neutrals were cut off at this time, is there a source for that, specifically that Netherlands was cutt off? I'm going under the premise that word through neutral Netherlands, which his how they heard about the battle to begin with. I could modify to reflect this but the delay getting to them has no impact, as the German fleet had already cancelled their plans that led to OTL Jutland until further information could be had on the US stance versus the UK anyways.
I am curious if any one has info about Australian troop dispositions in summer of 1916, including how many were deployed abroad and left guarding the home front? I found numbers indicating over 400K served in the war with a staggering casualty rate but can't see to confirm. The ones abroad are going to have a hard time getting home in my TL in significant numbers for political reasons with UK and having to deal with the new US Pacific fleet but I dont have any numbers to help decide how to complete my plans for Oceania at this time. Any help appreciated!
A college military history class (mumble, mumble) years ago.
I specifically remember a film from then about the invasion of Belgium distributed in America where it showed a German soldier kicking a dog.
Will search for other stuff.
Wish me luck.
So British Columbia is a puppet to the US? You wrote earlier that some Chinese were offered land there, will the US force B.C to take those lands and give them to "deserving" white people?
No, the US will only be involved during the war. They will, obviously be under the US sphere of influence but the US will not interfere directly in internal politics, Cascadia is their own country. Think more like OTL Canada, just a smaller scale. And this TL Canada will have more interaction due to the security arrangement but will be left mostly alone as long as they don't try to re-establish the UK monarch as head of state, which they wont.
What if Canada here decides to install its own monarchy? Will the US intervene?
Unfortunately I have no map skills at all but if anyone does and wants to volunteer to create one for fun, feel free to send me a PM and we can discuss!
Chapter 11: The End Draws Near
Chapter 11: The End Draws Near
Chapter 11: The End Draws Near
As Spring of 1917 dawned, the US forces prepared for their first major offensives on land and sea since the capitulation of Canada. A troop refit and resupply of existing forces had been completed and by March the US Army had ballooned to nearly 1.3 million men from the prewar 300K (plus 180K NG units). Some in the government were thinking they would need to push for a draft as volunteers had slowed to a trickle, however, President Hughes was not keen on sending troops in large numbers to Europe, especially when the threat of the RN persisted, so plans had been worked on all winter for sticking to operations in pushing the British out of the Caribbean while also planning the largest amphibious operation to date, dwarfing the Gallipoli operation attempted by the British in 1915; target New Zealand. This would leave a large number of troops available for defending the continental US but not so much that a draft was needed for operations outside the US. Thanks to the treaty with the Republic of Cascadia, the occupation force had been reduced to only 15K troops, the rest diverted to the planned NZ campaign. In Canada, the occupation force was much higher at 150K men, almost half coming from the territory of Superior alone but this again, freed up men, though the forces from the original Canadian operation were being redeployed for the planned Caribbean campaign was to kick off in March, followed by a major fleet offensive near England with the combined strength of the German Imperial Fleet in a joint operation. The final details had been worked out and the US attaché from the prior year had returned to the US via U-boat in January, all that was left was to initiate the campaign. All of the damage from the fleet action off of Nova Scotia had been repaired and the California had joined the fleet after completing her sea trials. The President also transferred about 25% of the Pacific fleet to the Atlantic ahead of the anticipated naval clash in Europe. This still left enough ships to properly protect the convoy that was being put together for the NZ campaign. The first thing the US did before beginning its major operations the year before was to cut the transatlantic cables to prevent any UK spies from sending information back, now they would see if this worked as well as they hoped as Operation Sugarcane was about to kick off.
On April 1st, elements of the US 1st Army group left the Pacific coast on route to New Zealand, with a cobbled together force of ships transporting over 80K troops, the first of the 500K strong US 1st Army. On the same day on the US east coast, ships set sail with the US 3rd Army group, around 300K strong and comprised almost entirely of volunteers from Nicaragua, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Maguana. This led to the nickname “The Latin Gang”, as the states had either majority or significant minority of Latin American citizens. Most of the transports were currently in use in the Pacific, but they did reserve enough space to transport about 15K men at a time; first stop, British Honduras. This was deemed sufficient as the US had made a secret pact in the fall of 1916 with Guatemala via the United Fruit Company as a go between. If they would declare war on the UK, they would get British Honduras and the claim post war would be backed by the US. This was an easy win for the US, as Guatemala already had claims on that land anyway, so in their minds they were simply taking back what was theirs. On April 19th, 3 days after the US landed on the coast of British Honduras, Guatemalan forces pushed east from their territory. Resistance was light in the western part of the territory, with the US seeing the brunt of resistance thought it wasn’t much as defense forces were light, with the US and Guatemala declaring the territory fully secured by April 30th. While this was being secured, the US Marines occupied the Cayman Islands, landing over the course of two weeks in May, completing occupation on May 30th, Memorial Day in the US that year. The rest of the US 3rd Army group began boarding transports the 1st week of June, destined for British Guiana. In the meantime, the 2nd US Army group, about 500K strong itself, continued to train stateside as well as provide for defense against and increasingly unstable Mexico that was on the verge of civil war. It’s first action would not occur until almost September if all things went well off the English coast just a couple of months.
On May 13th, after about 6 weeks of sailing which was only impeded by the speed of troop transports and some weather, the US convoy successfully arrived in NZ waters. It was mostly intact, only losing 1 supply ship and receiving some damage to 3 escort vessels to submarine activity, the convoy having worked better than expected. By this point, Australian and New Zealand forces had begun making their way back home to defend against possible US attack, though the UK was hesitant to release them due to needs on the Western Front. By the time the US arrived, only 30K New Zealanders were within the islands to defend, 20K of those on the North Island. So, on May 14th when the US fleet began bombarding Auckland, though it was mostly shelled around the city in hopes of a quick surrender. The US was able to successfully capture a dock facility through a bold action by a small group of Marines that had used a small craft to sneak in overnight and by morning of the 15th, the USN had a place to unload the troops of the US 1st Army. At the time, Auckland had a population of about 65K people but many had started fleeing the city once the USN appeared, with the city at only 1/3 its normal size by the time troops started disembarking. The commanding officer had given strict orders against looting of any kind and for the most part, local residents were treated well enough that the city would see most of the population return within 2 weeks. There were a few incidents of men trying to force themselves on local women or looting stores, in all 8 men were arrested and 6 shot for their actions, with the other 2 stripped of ranks and set for a dishonorable discharge once and sent back to the states when the convoy left to return home. This helped reinforce the army policy while giving the locals some peace of mind that these troops were not like the Germans who had gone through Belgium in 1914. It took a week to fully unload all men and supplies from the convoys and while this was going on a portion of the fleet went around the island and began shelling Wellington, preparing it for the US army to push south. By the time the convoy had returned stateside to load up more of 1st Army, just in time for the 4th of July holiday, the 80K men from first army had secured nearly 80% of the North Island and had established a siege of Wellington. With the US fleet gone, the small Australian and New Zealand fleets were able to help ship the remaining troops over to the South Island. In all, the NZ forces suffered approximately 3,000 dead and over 8,000 wounded, the remaining 9,000 joined the 10,000 on the South Island for a last resistance. Wellington would surrender on July 10th and the US would declare the entirety of the island secured by the end of July, though technically there was resistance for another 30 days spread out over the island. The NZ forces hoped to put up a stronger stand on the South Island using the mountains enhance their defenses. However, it was Royal Navy action in the English Channel that would be the biggest news of the summer.
On July 4th, while the US celebrated its Independence Day, the German Imperial fleet sent out a message, informing its navy of a modified version of the plan they were going to use in May of 1916, focusing on meeting the US fleet, anticipated to arrive north of Scapa Flow by July 14th. What the Royal Navy did not know, was that Germany now knew they were intercepting their communications and that unlike the prior year when they RN was planning on trapping the HSF, this time was the RN in trouble. The RN firmly believed it could put 60% of its fleet into taking out the Americans, despite the naval buildup of the last decade, and they were most likely correct in this assumption. However, the USN was not heading to the North Sea, they were heading south. The US arrived on July 12th off the southern coast of Ireland. During its reorganization over the winter, the US created a regiment made up entirely of Irish Americans, this regiment was brought ashore at Garretstown Beach on small craft from the ships offshore during the predawn with a small number of ships as escort while the main fleet continued on towards the Channel. The hope was this Irish Regiment could kindle another uprising, after the harsh treatment of those involved in the Easter Rising the year before had inflamed passions among the Irish and the US hoped to exploit this. The regiment never fired a shot, eventually setting up a command post at the small community of Ballinspittle, County Cork. News spread like wildfire and while many were apprehensive about another uprising, the fact that they were now backed by the support of the US government brought many volunteers to the south, eventually, nearly 25K Irish had come to form up around the US Irish Regiment. The US actually had no plans to engage in a major Irish battle during this period and having the Irish volunteers was enough to give the British Forces in Northern Ireland a pause before attempting to move south. While the US fleet was passing Ireland, it had been spotted by two submarines, one friendly and one not. The RN sub that spotted them immediately left the area to communicate up the chain of command that the US fleet was south of Ireland and not anywhere near the North Sea. The other, was a German U-boat, that surfaced and signaled the US Fleet. They briefly met and the U-boat commander then using new codes, signaled the Imperial Naval command that the US should make the southeast coast of England no later than July 15th, with them having to slow to avoid mines laid by both Germany and Britain in the Channel, but at least knowing where the Germans laid theirs made it a bit easier. Still, the US would lose 2 destroyers and pre-dreadnought battleship to mines, while several others had minor damage, most of this happening in the Straits of Dover. Having been warned about the US approach, the RN sent the southern of its two fleets under Admiral Beatty towards London with hopes of stopping the US fleet there, just what the HSF wanted, making a breakout to try and meet up with the US fleet. At the same time this was going on, another major change was happening with the Royal family, as they had changed their name to Windsor to try and detach themselves from their German roots. It was partially successful as they survived the war, however, the Royal family was never again seen in a favorable light. Eventually, proponents of Republicanism would force an end to the monarch in 1969, when the final British colonies were granted independence and it was deemed that Royals were simply no longer needed in the modern world.
The northern force would not make it south in time, so now the combined US and German fleets had successfully met up just hours before the southern RN fleet found them in the afternoon of July 15th. Knowing they had to try and stop them or London could be threatened directly. (An#1) What became known as the Battle of Dover was an outright thrashing 60% of Beatty’s fleet would be put out of commission, with 80% of that being sunk outright either due to enemy action or being scuttled. The US lost one dreadnought (USS Wyoming) and one heavily damaged (USS Florida) and 4 destroyers with several other ships damaged, mainly owing to the inexperience of men. The Germans performed better but still had their own losses, 1 battlecruiser sunk, 1 pre-dreadnought sunk, 4 light cruisers sunk, and 5 torpedo-boats sunk, with a dozen other vessels with varying degrees of damage, but all their dreadnoughts mostly intact with only minor damage on two. The vessels with the heaviest damage were sent to Wilhelmshaven for repair and resupply. The following day would see an even larger engagement and the decisive one that naval men of all nations dreamed of. The Battle of Dogger Bank started just after 3pm on July 16th and was even more vicious then the prior days battle and would result in the largest naval battle and loss of men and ships in history, even to this day. German look out U-boats had signaled the path of the fleet and after quick consultation between commanding Admirals of the two fleets, Admiral Sims (US) and Admiral Scheer (Germany), it was determined that the HSF would sail directly towards the RN with the USN attempting a wide arc in attempt to get behind the RN. It only partially worked, as the RN own submarines had spotted the fleets movements and notified the RN command. The USN was not able to completely cut off the RN but they did make an impact, joining the battle 40 minutes after the initial contact. Admiral Jellicoe, while not completely trapped, like Beatty before him knew his options were limited and tried going straight at the HSF hoping to knock them out then turn to the Americans. The savageness of the battle cannot be put into words, it would later be said that this was the German and American Trafalgar in how decisive an engagement it was. By the time the sun had set, the USN and HSF had left two thirds of Jellicoe’s fleet on the bottom of the ocean, of the third that remained over half would be out of commission indefinitely. However, the US and HSF suffered significant losses of their own. The HSF lost 6 dreadnoughts, the USN lost 8 of theirs. Overall, 35% of the USN fleet and 30% of the HSF had been sunk, with major damage to half their remaining fleets, post war it was determined that at least 10% of the USN/HSF damage was in fact friendly fire. The Royal Navy may have lost, but they made the USN and HSF suffer, even today the few survivors that are still alive talk with great admiration for the men of the RN that fought in those two battles. However, this would be the end of the Royal Navy as a major power, the United States and Germany had taken their places at the top and would hold them until the Second Great War, when the former co-belligerents would be on opposite sides but that is for a later chapter. After the Dogger Bank battle, the USN would stop by Wilhelmshaven to resupply the ships that were still capable of making the trip home over the Atlantic, the rest would remain until repaired enough to make the Voyage. Ten days later, the remnants of the US fleet, even with the damage still strong enough to be a serious threat, sailed for home. The HSF agreed to run a diversionary attack towards Scapa Flow to make it seem like they were going to finish off the RN, thus taking much of the focus away from the USN heading west to US ports. Admiral Sims, however, wanted to make sure the British remembered what happens when you mess with the US and proceeded to make quick stops at Southampton, Cardiff, and Newport. Admiral Sims would eventually be reprimanded for his actions against those cities but would be seen as a hero by most Americans for even with the huge loss of lives and ships, the British were no longer a significant threat to US shipping, and that was something to celebrate.
In the Caribbean theatre, the US 3rd Army had begun landing in British Guiana on July 8th, securing the city of Georgetown and New Amsterdam by July 21st, at which point word of the Naval battles near British Isles had reached the soldiers and more than a few were punished for drunkenness the following day. The US Marines were busy making their own landings, with nearly 3, 000 landing in Trinidad and Tobago taking them easily, the United Kingdom simply didn’t have the manpower to properly secure their Caribbean possessions at this point, with most colonial troops either securing German colonies in Africa or fighting on the Western Front in Europe. Meanwhile, the sea worthy remnants of the HSF were unable to draw out the remnants of the RN and instead decided to make for Petrograd, with the rest of the HSF and USN in Wilhelmshaven being repaired as quickly as possible, with priority given to the USN to just get them sea worthy so they go home and finish repairs there. While in Oceania, the Pacific Fleet had arrived off German New Guinea on August 17th, currently occupied by small force of Australians. This caught the ANZAC forces off guard as it had been expected the return would attempt to invade the South Island in New Zealand, however, the US commanders believed capturing the main cities of the Northern Island were sufficient for now and instead wanted to take back German New Guinea and Australian Papua to use as a logistics base to support an eventual assault on Borneo, Sarawak, and Brunei, with the intent of taking oil and rubber supplies away from the British. The Australians decided to evacuate back to Papua, damaging any port facilities and supplies that they could. This would hamper unloading troops and supplies, with the final unloading of the 80K strong contingent not completing until August 24th, at which point word finally reached them; the United Kingdom had asked for an Armistice with the United States and the German Empire, as well as the rest of the Central Powers.
EDIT: added Central Powers at the end, can't believe I forgot that ugh.
Notes: First off, yes, I know the battles probably stretches the imagination but you had two major fleets threatening the home islands. The Germans in OTL had planned to split the RN to try and pick them apart, so I just took that and ran with it, using the British knowledge of German Imperial codes against them. OTL Jutland showed how effective the Germans could be even though the UK claimed victory but had higher loses and the US simply had large numbers of new ships thanks to their recent buildup, I firmly believe that a combined USN/HSF could have dealt the damage that I listed and I stand by that. Also, since the Battle of Jutland hadn't occurred in this TL, they were not aware of changes that needed to be made to improve the ship designs and operations in battle so the heavy losses in OTL Jutland were magnified here.
Next chapter will be final one, Great War Epilogue.
1 – Going by the higher success rate of the Germans at OTL Jutland, this battle turns into a route thanks to the combined forces and
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Good Start. For the former Canadian territories and Alaska, also remember there are two semi-autonomous zones for Native Peoples, one in Northern Alaska and the other in what is the states of Mackenzie and Saskatchewan.
This is a pre-war map, so Saskatchewan+MacKenzie aren't states yet. I'll add the autonomous zones and put the soon-too-be-states into territories.
Would I be correct in assuming the United States ITTL will be at least the second largest country on Earth, in terms of area?
Actually it most likely ends up the largest, I'm about to post the final chapter that explains why, thanks to a mix of peace treaties and post war countries falling a apart.
Chapter 12: War and Peace
Chapter 12: War and Peace
Chapter 12: War and Peace
After hearing of the initial successes of the Battle of Dover and Battle of Dogger Bank, the US government decided it was time to restore communications and began patching cut telegraph cables, planning on laying out new one's post war to prevent a single point of failure (especially from a security perspective). By the time the first cables were confirmed up and working again with their patches in place, the government in London had seen enough. Many were shell-shocked, never having imagined their Royal Navy being thrashed like it was, most certainly not by a German Empire with no real naval heritage. After hearing of further losses in the Caribbean and seeing a growing Irish Revolt nearby, the United Kingdom sent out a request for an Armistice over the newly repaired cables on August 19th. This did not stop the war with the Central Powers for the rest of the Entente but the writing was on the wall, so the rest of the Entente, including the Russian Provisional government all agreed to an Armistice a week later on August 26th, 1917. Prior to a meeting taking pace, the US made it clear it would help Germany negotiate it’s part with the understanding that the US did not want the UK economically destroyed as that would cause economic chaos but they were open to territorial concessions forced on them. As for the United States they would have a separate treaty, though Free Irish delegates would be present as the United States would be honoring its promises to the Irish Regiment and would ensure a united and free Ireland.
Wanting to emphasize the point about its neutrality being violated, the United States insisted on holding peace talks at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. While the delegates were setting up shop, all armed forces were ordered to stand down but maintain readiness should hostilities resume and maintain their current locations. This had the effect of helping to relieve the growing hunger crisis in the Central Powers territories as the US and other neutrals were finally able to get significant amounts of food through. On Monday, October 19th, 1917, the conference began between the US, Ireland, Guatemala and the UK with German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman delegates simply as witnesses for this stage of negotiations of what would be the First Treaty of Amsterdam.
The United States was surprisingly light on the financial aspects, only asking for enough reparations to cover the cost of what the United States had just paid earlier that year to acquire the Danish East Indies, now referred to as the US Virgin Islands. The US talked the Dutch (re: threatened AN#1) into selling at $25 Million in US dollars, so with the peace treaty they essentially walk away with the Virgin Islands without paying a dime.
Other Key points would include the following;
- The UK would officially cede British Honduras to Guatemala and renounce all claims to it. The US would also help provide grants to Guatemala as part of coming into the war that was used to help modernize infrastructure and help connect its new land. It's largely credited with stabilizing the country until civil war broke out in the 1960s.
- The UK would recognize a free and fully united Irish Republic, agreeing to take on any refugees who do not wish to live under Irish Republican rule. (As a side note, more than 1 million North Irish would leave, with nearly 200,000 settling in former German Southwest Africa, now part of the Union of South Africa)
- The UK would cede all islands in the Caribbean, as well as Bermuda, to the United States. This effectively turned the Caribbean into a US lake.
- British Guiana would be recognized as a US protectorate, becoming independent in 1933 as Guyana ( a close friend to the US thanks to their support for Independence)
- UK would cede all islands they claim east of the Solomons in the Pacific to the US. (The Germans would give the US German Samoa as part of debt reduction post war)
- The UK would recognize the fully independent Republic of Cascadia and independent Canada (later Canadian Confederation) with Newfoundland now a part of Canada.
- The UK would recognize New Zealand as a United States protectorate (It would be granted full independence after the Second Great War essentially operating as a commonwealth until then but maintains close ties to the US to this day)
- The UK would recognize a fully independent Australia, with Australia now a republic with the Royals no longer heads of state. Though US occupation would be agreed to for a period of one year in its main cities. Surprisingly, there was not much bitterness between the two nations, and much like New Zealand would remain close friends with the United States. This includes West Australia which seceded in the 1930s. In fact, there was more anger at the UK for the high death rate among ANZAC forces compared to the other UK and Dominion forces.
- The United Kingdom would hold a plebiscite in India with two options; Dominion status or Independence, no later than 1925. (The US was surprised when in 1924, the vote went 55% for Dominion status. Most believe this is due to the loss of so many territories forcing Great Britain to dramatically improve investment into India and better treatment for its citizens. This also is attributed to keeping India together and avoiding partition when they gained full independence later on)
- As an interesting side note, due to the growth of automobile usage under US occupation in places like Australia, New Zealand, and Guyana with the US driving on the right side of the road, many former UK possessions now drive on the right like most of the world, while the UK proper and her remaining possessions drive on the left.
The Second Treaty of Amsterdam was a bit harsher but not too terribly considering what the Central Powers originally wanted. Had the US not used its influence to sway the members, it would have been harsher. The US also reminded them they had not technically won on the battlefields in Western Europe yet, so some give and take was needed, though there would be more taking by the Victors. Some key points that the Central Powers, though this does not cover everything as the list would be too long for this chapter;
- Germany would receive the Belgian Congo but would not annex any parts of Belgium in Europe and fully restore their boundaries, however, Belgium would be prevented from building any major fortifications on its border with Germany.
- Germany annexed Luxembourg as a Duchy within the empire.
- Germany would make no claims against France in Europe but France would have to recognize German ownership of Alsace-Lorraine in perpetuity.
- France would cede the land known as French Equatorial Africa in return they would receive Togoland.
- Germany allowed Japan to keep all land they took in the Pacific in exchange for the equivalent of $30 million US dollars.
- Germany would receive Papua from Australia and the rest of the Solomon Islands from the UK. Germany would also receive the Territories of Sarawak, Brunei, and North Borneo.
- Germany would receive North Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Uganda, and British East Africa, in return they would give up German Southwest Africa to the Union of South Africa. This would allow the creation of German Mittleafrika.
- Britain would give up land east of Suez to the Ottomans while the Ottomans took control of the Suez.
- Austria-Hungary would have its annexation of Serbia recognized and would be given Tunisia from France and Libya from Italy, as well as Malta from the UK.
- Ottomans would also receive British and Italian Somaliland, while Eritrea would become an autonomous protectorate. As well as the Dodecanes from Italy.
- All Ottoman debt held by the Entente was to be immediately cleared and the Ottoman Debt clearing house closed. The Turkish Petroleum Company would also be nationalized and any shares owned by British or French companies would revert to the Ottomans and no compensation would be granted to the foreign entities. The United Kingdom, France, Russia and Italy would also pay a combined reparation to them equal to approximately $5 billion in US dollars over a 20-year period. The Ottomans managed to complete their reforms that started prewar, thanks to the removal of debt, reparations, and booming oil income. It is now a major first world economy, the became more secular as the 20th century wore on.
- Germany and Austria-Hungary each would receive the equivalent of $15 billion US dollars from the Entente powers.
- On the Eastern front, Russia was forced to recognize a reformed and independent Poland, a free Baltic States formed as the United Baltic Duchy, and an independent Ukraine. All except Ukraine were German puppets with German born nobility on the throne.
Postwar, things were a little slow picking up, but all the powers adjusted to their changes in position, economic standing, and territorial changes and by mid 1920s the global economy was growing. However, there would end up being a brief French civil war between a far-right party that called themselves National Socialists and communists in the French Commune between 1922 and 1923. Eventually, the National Socialists won with the aid of the German Empire, who did not want a communist country on their border. They had already fought off the Red scare in the Russian Civil war with the help of the United States and Japan, as the AH Empire was too weak to be of any help. The Russian Republic was formed but it too ended up splitting, with the Far Eastern part from the Lena River on East having the remnants of supporters for the Tsar moving out there in a mass migration. Tsar Nicholas, who barely escaped execution by the Reds, pledged his support for the Kingdom of Yakut under his brother, now Tsar Michael I. The former Tsar Nicholas, would see his daughter Maria marry Lord Mountbatten and live her days out in the United Kingdom, furthering the bond between the old Russian royalty and English nobility, though this would cause a temporary strain on relations with the Russian Republic. The relations thawed when the Kingdom of Russia adopted the Yakut name, thus preventing in dispute over land rights and possible resumption of hostilities. (And who wants a land war in Asia? Am I right?). Japan did manage to take full control of Sakhalin during this period and agreed to pay the Kingdom of Yakut for it, wanting to stick it to Russia one more time. Russia still holds a formal complaint over that to this day. The Kingdom of Yakut would eventually partner with Japan to invade Manchuria, splitting it between them in 1933, causing a loss of trade with the US for several years before return just before the Second Great War. One interesting note on this, after the Second Great War a plebiscite was held in both controlled parts of Manchuria. The Japanese saw their part turn independent but the northern part known as Northern Manchuria voted to stay as part of the Kingdom of Yakut. This greatly benefited the Kingdom when oil was found in the 1950s, so much so that Russian immigration picked up and boosted the population, it’s now a modest 55 million by global standards, but much higher than it would have been without Northern Manchuria and its oil. It was so economically successful, that the poorly run Southern Manchuria, trying to hold off Chinese encroachment, held a plebiscite in when 66% voted for annexation into the Kingdom of Yakut in 1969. Not long after joining, the Kingdom found oil in Liaohe.
Austria-Hungary would only last until Hungarian independence when in 1921, when Emperor Charles had announced the creation of the Danubian Federation. There was a brief conflict saw an uprising in Serbia, so Charles agreed to peace with Hungary as long as they renounced all territorial claims outside of Hungary. The Hungarians agreed and then helped Charles put down the Serbian revolt. The Federation would last until the Second Great War when it finally broke into a dozen different pieces.
Italy would follow France with it's own National Socialist uprising, with an upstart named Benito Mussolini taking power in 1924. Italy and France would end up joining forces once again during the Second Great War.
In the US, President Hughes would end up leaving his presidency with the highest approval rating of any modern President, only surpassed by Washington and Lincoln in all of US history. His continued support of reforms started by Teddy Roosevelt and couple with a major war victory, received the rare 2nd term, mid-term election boost. The GOP opened up a Veto proof majority in Congress, though they never needed to override the President as he would always try to work with them and would never publicly oppose a bill if it had broad party support. The only real down part of his second term was the death of this VP, Charles Fairbanks, in 1918. This left the 1920 election wide open though Hiram Johnson would end up winning after earning the Presidents endorsement. Leonard Wood was thought to be in the running for VP but he pushed his support to Hiram’s nomination in return for receiving the Secretary of Defense role, which he served in until his death in 1927. Instead, it was the ticket of Hiram Johnson / Frank Lowden, ensuring GOP dominance until 1932 when a major recession hit in the fall of 1929 before turning into what became the Great Depression when protectionist measures started popping up in multiple countries. This would sow the seeds of the next Great War but that, is another story.
Note: Well, this is the end, I never intended to go past the Great War. Though keep watching the TL, someone has offered to assist in creating a map for me showing the US before war breaks out so I hope to have that in the near future. Thanks to all that have read, my first attempt at a TL, I know it could be better but I feel good about at least getting this earworm done with and written down finally, cheers!
1 - This is how most view the OTL sale of the virgin islands, the US clearly using a fairly obvious language without an actual threat to get them to sell the islands. Pretty much insinuated by the US govt that sell or we take them.
why I haven't seen this earlier
( I am interested in the second great war and the subsequent events like the dawn of republicanism in Britain during the 60s