The German response to all this will be the subject of an update in the not-too-distant future... but there's other stuff that needs covering first
Place In the Sun: What If Italy Joined the Central Powers? (1.0)
- Thread starter Kaiser Wilhelm the Tenth
- Start date
On a brighter note, I imagine von Lettow-Vorbeck and his African troops are quite the stars in Germany right now. Cut off from all reinforcement and resupply, outnumbered by the British, they not only held out for two years but even kept the British on their toes for those same two years. In a way, they preserved Germany's honor overseas, German East Africa holding out against all odds and ensuring the colonial empire isn't a complete goner once the war was over and won.
Considering how Kaiser Wilhelm II thinks, he might consider von Lettow-Vorbeck's troops the equivalent of the British Empire's Sikh or even Gurkha troops, the cream of the crop and comparable in every way to the stormtroopers that won the war in Europe. Considering they're probably securing Mittelafrika right now, it'd be an irony if they started something of a new turn for the better in racial attitudes in Germany.
Considering how Kaiser Wilhelm II thinks, he might consider von Lettow-Vorbeck's troops the equivalent of the British Empire's Sikh or even Gurkha troops, the cream of the crop and comparable in every way to the stormtroopers that won the war in Europe. Considering they're probably securing Mittelafrika right now, it'd be an irony if they started something of a new turn for the better in racial attitudes in Germany.
Well damn, basically everyone I was rooting for (Mexico, Danube) is going to have a bad ending. I knew they were going to lose, but I was hoping they'd land some good hits here and there before the inevitable. Now it looks like Mexico will just turn into a bunch of little countries without the US needing to do more than supply the factions, and Danube will survive only because Germany helped them.
Sorry.
Mexico isn't over yet... they'll be the subject of the next update...
As to Danubia, though, I'm afraid you're likely right.
That's a very good analysis. As of right now, von Lettow-Vorbeck is commander of all German colonial troops in Mittelafrika. He'll be well-remembered even in TTL's 2020 as a hero in the popular imagination, similar to how stories of the American Wild West persist.
Wild Middle Africa, more like, considering the German colonial empire stretches coast to coast across the whole continent.
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It's railway building time.
Perhaps there's a peerage waiting for him when he returns to Germany? The Lion of Africa's legend deserves a barony at the least, if von Hipper winning an indecisive victory against the British won him such an elevation from the Kaiser.
At least Austria and Bohemia isn't going to be absorbed into Germany this time.
This is a fascinating idea for a segment. Lettow-Vorbeck essentially becomes the (un)official administrator of a huge German colonial region. Will he chafe under his new responsibilities? Will bureaucratic paperwork agree with the general?
How will the Afro-German military grow from here? Will they play a part in any future European conflict? (Probably not). But it would be nice to see German racial relations improve as African courage and fortitude leaves a positive impression on the German national psyche.
I can see German industrialists drooling over the long term development of Mittelafrika. What kind of infrastructure projects are being contemplated right now? Will Germany plan to create their own grand trans-African railroad to connect the Atlantic and Pacific ocean (as a way to beat the British with their supposed Cape-to-Cairo railroad project)? How will Germany control the Congo? Will Germany create a desert Afrika corps to patrol German chad? Will there be any conflicts with the Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique (Which Germany wanted in OTL)?
As for settlements, I can see Germany creating schemes to encourage more European immigration to German East Africa (Tanzania ) and certain regions of the Congo and Cameroon as those regions have the best conditions to support large European populations. While Germans will have a preference, I can see Germany not being too picky and encouraging migrants from other countries like Austria and Eastern Europe. Depending on how things go in Hungary, maybe even mass migrations of Hungarians to the colonies could be seen as beneficial.
These are just mental burps on my part.
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I don't think Germany took Chad at all. AFAIK, Mittelafrika ITTL includes pre-war German East Africa (no way Germany would give up territory there, what with the Lion of Africa undefeated on the field), plus the Congo and Ubangi-Shari, and linking up with German Cameroon (returned by France as per the armistice). They also still have Togo, also returned by France during the armistice, and as per the Treaty of Dresden, have basing rights at Dakar and have taken over the protectorate in Morocco.
To be fair to the others, this is the first TL I've ever seen where German Chad is a thing.
Now that is curious. IIRC, von Bethmann-Hollweg's deal with Grey was that Germany wouldn't take territory from Britain, among other things, in return for Britain selling out the rest of the Entente.
Tschad Ist Deutsch!
It would seem according to the official map that they have
Well if you're going to f*** up, and give Chad to Germany, may as well run with it.
Um... are there even enough cars in all of Serbia to make this a serious problem? This is only 1917, after all...
I seem to be sensing a degree of frustration here, is there a problem?