I said Britain will go absolutely bats--t crazy, does that give you a hint? ;)
Why do I feel like Britain is going to be the bad guy in this timeline? :)
Which for the record I am fine with of course - its just I always get a weird feeling when I read a Timeline and realize that if I lived in it, I would be ashamed to be British.
Not that I'm particularly proud in real life, but still...
 
Why do I feel like Britain is going to be the bad guy in this timeline? :)
Which for the record I am fine with of course - its just I always get a weird feeling when I read a Timeline and realize that if I lived in it, I would be ashamed to be British.
Not that I'm particularly proud in real life, but still...
I'm half-British myself and still feel a bit guilty as to what I've got planned.
But, the island's political system won't be impacted in a big way for a few more decades.
 
Kinda wondering what Japan is doing, I assume they'll be involved in the Russian civil war (and without America maybe they settle in to stay), and with a strong German navy keeping Britain up at night, could and would the Anglo-Japanese alliance be maintained out of nessecity?

I don't rember seeing Japan at the peace conference, (not that anyone remembers them at Versaille), but there was a major diplomatic incident between Japan and China over Versaille and more importantly, the status of German Tsingtao in OTL, so much so China refused to sign the treaty.

I also assume the German transition to peactime government will be much nicer wthout the Hindenberg and Ludendorff "silent dictatorship" of OTL, but I await your rendition of the demobilization and reformation.
 
Kinda wondering what Japan is doing, I assume they'll be involved in the Russian civil war (and without America maybe they settle in to stay), and with a strong German navy keeping Britain up at night, could and would the Anglo-Japanese alliance be maintained out of nessecity?

I don't rember seeing Japan at the peace conference, (not that anyone remembers them at Versaille), but there was a major diplomatic incident between Japan and China over Versaille and more importantly, the status of German Tsingtao in OTL, so much so China refused to sign the treaty.

I also assume the German transition to peactime government will be much nicer wthout the Hindenberg and Ludendorff "silent dictatorship" of OTL, but I await your rendition of the demobilization and reformation.
Japan?
They currently control Indochina and the German Pacific empire (less Kaiser Wilhelmsland). They will get involved in the Russian Civil War, and it's a good bet that they'll sponsor a Green Ukrainian state.

They weren't at the peace conference; they signed a separate treaty in Portugese Macau.

As to Germany, I'm writing a chapter on the 1917 general election right now, so any and all ideas are welcome! The Silent Dictatorship is totally butterflied- the war ended before it could get going and Falkenhayn is the great German hero, not H-L.
 
As to Germany, I'm writing a chapter on the 1917 general election right now, so any and all ideas are welcome! The Silent Dictatorship is totally butterflied- the war ended before it could get going and Falkenhayn is the great German hero, not H-L.
Depending on how aspiring Falkenhayn is, he could jump into national politics, probably not in this election, but his backing will win seats.

With the war over, the Bergfriedenspolitik is over, and the SPD under Ebert and Haase can flaunt their patriotism in putting Germany over party politics, and without widespread radical socialism, (no October Revolution, France fighting itself is a bonus in some people's opinion.) the moderates have proven that working with the system is the way to go. The SPD might try to gain votes by promoting additional veterans benefits, a sort-off, "They payed for our war, now we must pay for their peace."

The Spartacists under Liebknecht and Luxemburg will pay the price for their anti-war stance now, as I doubt Ebert will let them get reinvolved with the SPD

With the only socialist revolution having any success is in France, and therefore, anti-German, maybe they'll try to keep their movement going, but without backing from the public, they might go join the other Communists in Switzerland.

The Hungarian revolt will make major headlines in Germany, and the question of intervention and more importantly, what happens afterwards, is the main question for the government, most will be for it after the sacking of Vienna and Hungary will pay dearly for its attempt to stand on its own, but I don't think Danubia is going to be held together by anything except German arms now.

The economic situation seems kinda worrying, Russia, Austria, and France are in various stages of falling apart, and they all were big trading partners with Germany, the return of business with Britain and America and the reparations with prop things up, but the reintegration of millions of soldiers into peactime society will be costly, unemployment will rise, and the value of the Mark is probably still down compared to the Pound or the Dollar.
 
Depending on how aspiring Falkenhayn is, he could jump into national politics, probably not in this election, but his backing will win seats.

With the war over, the Bergfriedenspolitik is over, and the SPD under Ebert and Haase can flaunt their patriotism in putting Germany over party politics, and without widespread radical socialism, (no October Revolution, France fighting itself is a bonus in some people's opinion.) the moderates have proven that working with the system is the way to go. The SPD might try to gain votes by promoting additional veterans benefits, a sort-off, "They payed for our war, now we must pay for their peace."

The Spartacists under Liebknecht and Luxemburg will pay the price for their anti-war stance now, as I doubt Ebert will let them get reinvolved with the SPD

With the only socialist revolution having any success is in France, and therefore, anti-German, maybe they'll try to keep their movement going, but without backing from the public, they might go join the other Communists in Switzerland.

The Hungarian revolt will make major headlines in Germany, and the question of intervention and more importantly, what happens afterwards, is the main question for the government, most will be for it after the sacking of Vienna and Hungary will pay dearly for its attempt to stand on its own, but I don't think Danubia is going to be held together by anything except German arms now.

The economic situation seems kinda worrying, Russia, Austria, and France are in various stages of falling apart, and they all were big trading partners with Germany, the return of business with Britain and America and the reparations with prop things up, but the reintegration of millions of soldiers into peactime society will be costly, unemployment will rise, and the value of the Mark is probably still down compared to the Pound or the Dollar.
Those are all really good points- thanks for commenting!
The issue of "just how revolutionary?" is a major issue for the SDP- Haase is more radical than Ebert. However, the SDP realises that it must appeal to veterans simply because they're such a huge portion of the electorate.

The Spartacists are dead, at least domestically. I have plans for Luxemburg... not sure about Liebknecht yet. The more successful ones will head abroad.

Danubia: you're absolutely right. They'll hold together but it'll be at the point of a bayonet.

With regards to economics, I know very little so your ideas are much appreciated!

Thanks for reading/commenting!
 
Speaking of German military heroes, let's not forget von Tirpitz and the rest of the Kaiserliche Marine. Yes, they performed less than expected, but Germany winning the war means they have ample room to point out what they did succeed in doing, alongside what they failed to do. Yes, the High Seas Fleet had to concede naval superiority in the North Sea and Atlantic to the Grand Fleet. But they also managed to keep the Baltic Sea and the German Bight under German control for the whole of the war. Germany did not lose control of the sea, it's just that in war you sometimes have to make sacrifices in order to win. And that's what the KLM did: conceding the North Sea and the Atlantic allowed the KLM to retain control of Germany's home waters. They kept the Russians from sailing out of the Gulf of Finland (and indeed, wiped them out the one time they tried), and kept the sea lanes to Sweden and the vital iron mines of Scandinavia open to Germany.

The KLM could also point out that the Battle of Jutland did have a strategic impact on the war, by proving that Britain's naval superiority is only a product of numbers. Qualitatively, the Germans performed just as well as the British if not better thanks to their focus on superior armor design and accurate fire unlike the British who skipped out on armor in favor of speed and bigger guns. Together with Souchon's Mediterranean Squadron eluding the British Mediterranean Fleet to get to Constantinople, and von Spee's last stand at the Falklands where he made the British pay for victory, it proves the KLM was no paper tiger. The submarine arm also proved its worth, contesting the British blockade in kind instead of just letting the British do as they please.

If nothing else, the KLM has enough ground to stand on and claim that unlike the French or Russian navies in the Napoleonic and Crimean Wars respectively, the KLM managed to challenge the RN as a peer power.
 
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My offer to help with Naval developments remains open, just FYI.
I will take you up on that in the not-too-distant future once I get round to writing a naval chapter! Thanks very much again. :)
Speaking of German military heroes, let's not forget von Tirpitz and the rest of the Kaiserliche Marine. Yes, they performed less than expected, but Germany winning the war means they have ample room to point out what they did succeed in doing, alongside what they failed to do. Yes, the High Seas Fleet had to concede naval superiority in the North Sea and Atlantic to the Grand Fleet. But they also managed to keep the Baltic Sea and the German Bight under German control for the whole of the war. Germany did not lose control of the sea, it's just that in war you sometimes have to make sacrifices in order to win. And that's what the KLM did: conceding the North Sea and the Atlantic allowed the KLM to retain control of Germany's home waters. They kept the Russians from sailing out of the Gulf of Finland (and indeed, wiped them out the one time they tried), and kept the sea lanes to Sweden and the vital iron mines of Scandinavia open to Germany.

The KLM could also point out that the Battle of Jutland did have a strategic impact on the war, by proving that Britain's naval superiority is only a product of numbers. Qualitatively, the Germans performed just as well as the British if not better thanks to their focus on superior armor design and accurate fire unlike the British who skipped out on armor in favor of speed and bigger guns. Together with Souchon's Mediterranean Squadron eluding the British Mediterranean Fleet to get to Constantinople, and von Spee's last stand at the Falklands where he made the British pay for victory, it proves the KLM was no paper tiger. The submarine arm also proved its worth, contesting the British blockade in kind instead of just letting the British do as they please.

If nothing else, the KLM has enough ground to stand on and claim that unlike the French or Russian navies in the Napoleonic and Crimean Wars respectively, the KLM managed to challenge the RN as a peer power.
Agree 100%. I think it's high time we made him Count von Tirpitz, for a start, so that's now officially canon! Count von Tirpitz!
Germany essentially achieved her strategic goals on the water; she prevented an airtight British blockade. Instead of RN ships 5-10 miles off the coast of Hamburg sinking every last vessel, they had to settle for a more fallible "distant" blockade. So, from Berlin's perspective, that was a major success.
Postwar, I would imagine the Germans go for quantity over quality, like you said.

Excellent comment, thank you as always for reading and replying!
 
I will take you up on that in the not-too-distant future once I get round to writing a naval chapter! Thanks very much again. :)

Agree 100%. I think it's high time we made him Count von Tirpitz, for a start, so that's now officially canon! Count von Tirpitz!
Germany essentially achieved her strategic goals on the water; she prevented an airtight British blockade. Instead of RN ships 5-10 miles off the coast of Hamburg sinking every last vessel, they had to settle for a more fallible "distant" blockade. So, from Berlin's perspective, that was a major success.
Postwar, I would imagine the Germans go for quantity over quality, like you said.

Excellent comment, thank you as always for reading and replying!
Don't you mean quality over quantity?
 
Don't you mean quality over quantity?
Actually, no. I think that, like you said,
Britain's naval superiority is only a product of numbers
Wouldn't it make more sense for the KLM to focus on narrowing the numbers gap between them and the RN? TTL, there's so much more confidence in the KLM because the war ended a week after Jutland- the notion is that they "won" that battle despite British numerical superiority, and that they can trounce the British if they have numbers. Of course, this is just what people are thinking in-universe.
 
I would also like to see how the development of the Tank is doing. Yes, the CP victory was won by just throwing as many soldiers at the problem at once, but i imagine some generals, especially those of smaller nations, will find such a practice wasteful, and will want to figure out a means of inflicting damage without taking damage with minimal casualties
 
I would also like to see how the development of the Tank is doing. Yes, the CP victory was won by just throwing as many soldiers at the problem at once, but i imagine some generals, especially those of smaller nations, will find such a practice wasteful, and will want to figure out a means of inflicting damage without taking damage with minimal casualties
That's a bit harsh towards the Central Powers. Yes, von Falkenhayn won at Verdun by literally forcing a bloodbath both there and at Bardonecchia, taking advantage of Germany's bigger manpower pool and France having to fight on two fronts at the same time, but once von Hutier's Stormtroopers showed him that breakthroughs can be achieved with precision strikes by small, highly-trained forces, von Falkenhayn quickly took to the idea. IIRC, he had von Hutier and his men spearhead the attack on Amiens that took the city in a matter of days, something practically unheard of given the circumstances of the war to date. They also later managed to force a British retreat to the Channel Ports after those same Stormtroopers managed to fracture the British line as part of a general offensive, though to the British's credit, they managed to avoid a rout like what the French suffered facing German Stormtroopers and a frontal Italian attack at Bardonecchia. Those same Stormtroopers later managed to storm Dunkirk, and in the process revealed to the Germans the value of combined arms: Stormtroopers take and hold the ground, while artillery, aircraft, and u-boats operating in concert to interdict the city prevented a breakout elsewhere much less an evacuation to Britain.

EDIT: On German politics, while Willy might find the socialists distasteful, I do think he'd be willing to work with them. Not that I actually think the socialists could win a majority, though a plurality in the Reichstag is well within the bounds of possibility. The conservative and monarchist military elite just have too much influence born of a victorious war to be sidelined.

Most likely, Willy will broker a compromise between any socialist plurality and the conservative opposition. Ebert wants to be Reichskanzler? Not a problem, so long as he gives at least a few seats on the Cabinet to the conservatives. Also, I don't think Willy would be against any socialist or liberal moves to compensate war veterans for their service. If anything, he'd jump on the idea, between the undeniable debt owed to the men in the trenches for finally winning Germany her place in the Sun, to say nothing of getting a chance to take the limelight, so to speak.
 
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With regard to the Habsburgs, IIRC the OP once said that the Croats are loyal to the Habsburg Monarchy, if only to stick it to the Hungarians. The Croats are also probably looking rather leery east at Bulgaria, or a potentially-resurgent Serbia to the south.
 
Actually, no. I think that, like you said,

Wouldn't it make more sense for the KLM to focus on narrowing the numbers gap between them and the RN? TTL, there's so much more confidence in the KLM because the war ended a week after Jutland- the notion is that they "won" that battle despite British numerical superiority, and that they can trounce the British if they have numbers. Of course, this is just what people are thinking in-universe.
Henry V didn't defeat the French Knights by using a bigger number of English Knights, he used a different weapon to counter Knights.
I don't think the Navy will be able to convince the rest of Germany to fork over enough money to build not just as much but outright more Dreadnaughts than Britain can. They need to come up with a counter for big battleships. At least that's what I'd tell them if I was in the German Army or the German Treasury or....
 
I would also like to see how the development of the Tank is doing. Yes, the CP victory was won by just throwing as many soldiers at the problem at once, but i imagine some generals, especially those of smaller nations, will find such a practice wasteful, and will want to figure out a means of inflicting damage without taking damage with minimal casualties
Tank development will be considerably delayed ITTL. The Germans are more focused on infantry tactics and Sturmtruppen; their experience with these in the Danubian Civil War will only confirm them in this bias. No other country will have both the resources or the need to come up with tanks until the 1920s.
That's a bit harsh towards the Central Powers. Yes, von Falkenhayn won at Verdun by literally forcing a bloodbath both there and at Bardonecchia, taking advantage of Germany's bigger manpower pool and France having to fight on two fronts at the same time, but once von Hutier's Stormtroopers showed him that breakthroughs can be achieved with precision strikes by small, highly-trained forces, von Falkenhayn quickly took to the idea. IIRC, he had von Hutier and his men spearhead the attack on Amiens that took the city in a matter of days, something practically unheard of given the circumstances of the war to date. They also later managed to force a British retreat to the Channel Ports after those same Stormtroopers managed to fracture the British line as part of a general offensive, though to the British's credit, they managed to avoid a rout like what the French suffered facing German Stormtroopers and a frontal Italian attack at Bardonecchia. Those same Stormtroopers later managed to storm Dunkirk, and in the process revealed to the Germans the value of combined arms: Stormtroopers take and hold the ground, while artillery, aircraft, and u-boats operating in concert to interdict the city prevented a breakout elsewhere much less an evacuation to Britain.

EDIT: On German politics, while Willy might find the socialists distasteful, I do think he'd be willing to work with them. Not that I actually think the socialists could win a majority, though a plurality in the Reichstag is well within the bounds of possibility. The conservative and monarchist military elite just have too much influence born of a victorious war to be sidelined.

Most likely, Willy will broker a compromise between any socialist plurality and the conservative opposition. Ebert wants to be Reichskanzler? Not a problem, so long as he gives at least a few seats on the Cabinet to the conservatives. Also, I don't think Willy would be against any socialist or liberal moves to compensate war veterans for their service. If anything, he'd jump on the idea, between the undeniable debt owed to the men in the trenches for finally winning Germany her place in the Sun, to say nothing of getting a chance to take the limelight, so to speak.
With regards to the military analysis, you're spot-on as usual. With regards to German politics, well, there's an update coming about that soon, so I won't spoil it. ;)
With regard to the Habsburgs, IIRC the OP once said that the Croats are loyal to the Habsburg Monarchy, if only to stick it to the Hungarians. The Croats are also probably looking rather leery east at Bulgaria, or a potentially-resurgent Serbia to the south.
The Croats are sticking with Maximilian here. They don't trust Bulgaria or Italy a bit, and are certainly uncomfortable with this new Serb state. All the more reason to stay with the central government and enjoy its protection.
Henry V didn't defeat the French Knights by using a bigger number of English Knights, he used a different weapon to counter Knights.
I don't think the Navy will be able to convince the rest of Germany to fork over enough money to build not just as much but outright more Dreadnaughts than Britain can. They need to come up with a counter for big battleships. At least that's what I'd tell them if I was in the German Army or the German Treasury or....
Germany certainly won't become the premiere North Sea naval power, but the KLM will grow in the wake of victory. Again, since the war ended so soon after Jutland, everyone ITTL considers it a German victory in a strategic sense... Hitler's OTL quote about "if we'd begun in the morning and had two more battleships and two more cruisers" is the general feeling. So there's a sense amongst the German Navy that if they can overwhelm the British in the inevitable next fight, they can defeat Britain in the next war.

Thanks as always for commenting, everyone! I couldn't write this TL without you!
 
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