Miscellaneous >1900 (Alternate) History Thread

Did Boris Yeltsin really cause an autocoup/insurrection in 1993 in the Russian Constitutional Crisis, or is the usage of those terms inaccurate? I know something went very wrong very quickly, but is calling that an autocoup or insurrection accurate?
 
Does anyone know what the subdivisions of French Mauritania were? I see subdivisions in both Q-BAM and WorldA of 1914 but didn't really find any information about them.
 
Could the "Night of the Long Knives/Night of Broken Glass" have failed (spectacularly?) What would be the repercussions of a failed either one?
 
Could the "Night of the Long Knives/Night of Broken Glass" have failed (spectacularly?) What would be the repercussions of a failed either one?
Those really aren't the same thing. The Röhm Putsch (also known as the Night of the Long Knifes) was in 34, where Hitler purged dissident members of the SA/Nazi Party/Political Elite. Not too sure what the repercussions of a failed one there would be? The ones purged would probably have to actually be organised, planning the putsch Hitler accused them of planing. As far as I know things were far from as clear cut. If it was never started we might see a Nazi party with a stronger socialist slant. But I'm not an expert on that subject.

Novemberpogrom/Reichspogrom/Reichkristallnacht(Nazi terminology)/Night of Broken Glass(translated Nazi terminology) on the other hand was a terror campaign against Jews in 38. How would the Nazis fail that? There might be a few more or less Jews dead at the end of that night, but it was organised well and the outcome was never in question. So the question to repercussions isn't even a thing with that one.
 

Driftless

Donor
How about a "second act" for the Jeffrey/Nash Quad truck after WWI? It was an innovative, successful, and sturdy 4WD with 4 wheel steering. Over 40,000 were produced between 1913 to 1928.

Give it a design tweak or two and a new production run after 1928.

Landships
Wikipedia
 
Kinda kitsch but I had the idea of WI Hitler became an evil German Walt Disney instead of an evil politician.
If Nazi superscience makes an appearance, then Hitler could be Walt Disney but he actually does get cryogenically frozen and demands not to be woken up until the Jews are gone.

Realistically I think if he were a German Walt Disney then no one would pay much heed to his political views but over the decades they'd become more and more an unfortunate side note. He'd probably produce a few cartoons that were blatantly antisemitic or referencing German nationalism but I'd think with their historic and artistic value (like if we assume he has Disney's brilliance) they'd be regarded like Triumph of the Will or Birth of a Nation.
 
If Nazi superscience makes an appearance, then Hitler could be Walt Disney but he actually does get cryogenically frozen and demands not to be woken up until the Jews are gone.

Realistically I think if he were a German Walt Disney then no one would pay much heed to his political views but over the decades they'd become more and more an unfortunate side note. He'd probably produce a few cartoons that were blatantly antisemitic or referencing German nationalism but I'd think with their historic and artistic value (like if we assume he has Disney's brilliance) they'd be regarded like Triumph of the Will or Birth of a Nation.

I was also thinking about it from an economic standpoint. One of the many interpretations of that wicked State can be that it was basically a marketing, merchandising and make-believe corporation. Not to torture or Godwin the point, but what that State did is like an evil inversion and dystopian distorted version of Disney in the business world. Hence the idea.
 
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Driftless

Donor
While flying into the war zone near Caporetto for an observation trip, Giulio Douhet's plane is shot down by an Austrian fighter (One of their limited successes in 1917). As a byproduct "Command of the Air" is not written. Perhaps someone else (Billy Mitchell?) writes a similar treatise, but not at that point in time, and maybe not as widely accepted.
 

Grey Wolf

Gone Fishin'
Donor
What happens if Hitler dies after Germany takes Memel but before the invasion of Poland?
If he dies of natural causes or an accident?

So, Germany has basically pissed everyone off by this point, what with annexing Bohemia and Moravia earlier in the month, and now Memel.

Goering is not yet named heir apparent - he might be the second most powerful person in Germany, but a case could be made for the succession of Hess as Fuhrer at this point.

I would think that these political machinations and their repurcussions would scupper any plans to push Poland for more than transit rights and access to East Prussia.
 
If he dies of natural causes or an accident?

So, Germany has basically pissed everyone off by this point, what with annexing Bohemia and Moravia earlier in the month, and now Memel.

Goering is not yet named heir apparent - he might be the second most powerful person in Germany, but a case could be made for the succession of Hess as Fuhrer at this point.

I would think that these political machinations and their repurcussions would scupper any plans to push Poland for more than transit rights and access to East Prussia.
hess is an idiot so i can only imagine how well his government would've gone
 

Grey Wolf

Gone Fishin'
Donor
hess is an idiot so i can only imagine how well his government would've gone

I guess it depends on whether the Fuhrer HAS to make decisions. In a practical sense, other people have control of most of the important things - e.g. Goering and the Four Year Plan

One could argue that all Hess has to do is make the occasional speech (something he WAS good at) and let everyone else do their jobs. Of course, everyone else would also be plotting against each other, and trying to undermine each other, so there would be a limit to how long-term that strategy might last.
 

Driftless

Donor
Why did Packard step back from designing their own aircraft engines in the 30's? They had a number of high performing engines of varying capacities in the 20's, of their own design and adaptation of the Liberty.

Of course, they jumped back in with US manufacture of the RR Merilins in the 40's
 
Random question, what was the effect of sales of Earl Grey tea after Star Trek the Next Generation debuted? Asking because it occured to me that I probably only know that kind of tea exists, and only started drinking it because my ten year old self wanted to be like captain Picard.
 
Random question, what was the effect of sales of Earl Grey tea after Star Trek the Next Generation debuted? Asking because it occured to me that I probably only know that kind of tea exists, and only started drinking it because my ten year old self wanted to be like captain Picard.
Whilst there may well have been a slight increase in sales, I don't think it would be possible to quantify them, as Earl Grey tea is produced by so many different companies in many different countries. It's the second most popular tea in the UK, accounting for a bit less than a fifth of all tea sold, apparently (source), but that's modern data, not 1980s/90s.
 
Was there a planned peace deal or ceasefire in the Russian Civil War to move the Whites past the Urals and into Siberia? I may just be getting Mandela'd but I distinctly remember this yet I can't find it again
 

Driftless

Donor
Pancho Villa is killed or captured during one of the several battles in the Spring of 1915 (i.e. Celayo, or Leon/Trinidad). Both those battles devastated Villa's forces through casualty or being captured. If Villa were captured, it's highly likely he would have been executed quickly. (Historically Villa eventually semi-retired, but was assassinated anyway in 1923)

  1. Villa es muerto - Big impacts on the course of the Mexican Revolution/Civil War. Villa's complete removal from the scene would likely help stabilize the Carranza Constitutionalist regime, as none of Villa's surviving lieutenants had his charisma and leadership for North-Central Mexico.
  2. With Villa out of the picture, the 1916 raid on Columbus, NM likely doesn't occur, so there's no US Army pursuit of the raiders deep into Mexican territory(400 miles/650k deep). That pursuit was an understandable response for US domestic political reasons, but it also further soured US/Mexican diplomatic and economic relations for a long time after. Cross border raids of one stripe or another had gone on before and after, but not on the Columbus scale. It was too big and violent to be ignored, especially coming on the heels of the execution of 16 US mining engineers weeks earlier.
  3. With no 1916 Pancho Villa Punitive Expedition, the US Army does not get a shakedown run prior to going off to fight in Europe in 1917. The 1916 operation gave the US Army very valuable experience in larger unit functions, partial mobilization of the National Guard, logistics under difficult field conditions, and its first run with aircraft, radios, setting up a modern intelligence service, and larger numbers of motor vehicles in the logistics train. The absence of that experience would further delay US readiness for the war in Europe. On the flip side, while there were US Army infantry and artillery units deep in Mexico, they played virtually no role in the core of the operations. US horse Cavalry chased the mounted Villaistas with only localized tactical successes. Basically, an old Wild West marshall's posse writ large.
 
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