OK, been brainstorming some ideas for a possible timeline of mine, but just wanted to run the basic gist of it through here. Somewhat inspired by rvbomally’s excellent Ad Astra Per Aspera, a little bit of Kaiserreich, TL-191, and one of the old “Famous People from Alternate Realities” thread.
Basically, the United States remains in it's isolationist phase, and the Central Powers find themselves victorious. Germany stands astride the European continent a colossus, France is humiliated and on the verge of civil war, and both Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire manage to use the victory momentum to keep chugging along awhile longer.
The French political situation would look familiar to someone from OTL; defeated and humiliated by their historic foe, and economically destitute from reparations to Germany, France finds itself within the control of Action-Francaise. France has managed to wiggle it’s way out of arms limitations and completely restructured itself into a militaristic, anti-Semetic, and above all anti-German state. In the search for allies and in response to the general anti-German feeling in France, Action-Françoise’s ideology has shifted to include a peculiar sort of pan-Catholicism that conveniently justifies the nation’s close ties with it’s former foe, the Danubian Confederation. The alliance with the Muslim Turkey is justified as partnership with a former comrade who was stabbed in the back by Germany, and thus converted to “their side”. Their colonial holdings in Africa and Southeast Asia are even more of a brutal place to be than before the war, as one would expect.
Britain was lucky enough to not fall to the same fate that France did, but the 1920s were a rough decade for Brtiain regardless; the dominions were asserting greater autonomy, southern Ireland tore itself from Britain outright, and the economy was dragging terribly. With France too politically/economically destitute (and later, too politically unsavory) to maintain close ties with, the UK has upheld the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, which may come in handy in the face of a fascistic China threatening the Indian dominions. In the case of Japan, the continued partnership with Britain has enabled to Taisho Democracy to avert the rise of the militarists and, thanks to Anglo-American pressure, a halt on Japanese meddling in China. Ironically, this semi-democratization has allowed China to reassert itself…..
In the case of Austria-Hungary, the nation is reformed into a sort-of Danubian Confederation with the Hapsburg's still remaining in a (rather-reduced) position of power. However, this confederation is wracked with political instability due to the suddenly greater-enfranchised statelets jostling for power, as well as the Bolshevik threat to the north and east. There is a growing sense of resentment towards the German Empire’s relative economic prosperity and SDP-dominated Reichstag; Germany is seen as a former comrade increasingly selling out its former friends, profiting from their decline, and falling to “Judeo-Bolshevism”. At the onset of (smaller than OTL, but still bad) worldwide economic depression in 1931, a *fascistic party similar to the one ruling Italy takes control and undergoes crash-remilitarization. The anti-German and pan-Catholic sentiment has earned it French and Italian allies (in the case of Italy, the territories held by the Danubian Empire still remain a bit of a sticking point). The alliance with the Muslim Turkey is justified as partnership with a former comrade who was stabbed in the back by Germany.
In the Ottoman Empire, things get progressively uglier. The victory in the war only slowed the empire’s inevitable collapse (not helped by holding a restless Cyprus), and through the 1920s, the Ottoman Empire becomes increasingly authoritarian and increasingly propped up by Reichsheer. As discontent continues to bubble throughout the empire and the power continues to slip through the fingers of the ruling parties, Germany becomes increasingly unwilling to prop up what is widely seen as a lost cause. When the empire finally collapses under its own weight in 1930 at the onset of another wave of empire-wide revolts, its subjects either gain independence or find themselves under British or German control, the rump Turkish republic finds itself angry and bitter at the loss of the territories it fought so hard to hold on to. Nationalist, revanchist political parties rule the rump Republic of Turkey, and the nation is currently undergoing remilitarization similar to France and the Danube.
In China an earlier incidental death of Mao Zedong fractures the CCP, allowing Chiang-Kai-Shek to more efficiently consolidate his control of KMT and, in turn, more effectively crush the warlords without much Soviet assistance. Chiang’s rise to power through deception, cunning, and assassination culminated in his ascension to the Presidency of the Republic of China, and the declaration of a “restored” Empire of China, held together by a mixture of anti-Japanese (Remember 1895!!!) sentiment, Chinese nationalism, anti-Bolshevism, and anti-“western corruption”. Mass suppression of ethnic minorities, Christians and Muslims, and anyone holding ideals deemed “un-Chinese” ensued. The Empire of China’s military, bolstered by Danubian and French military advisors and manufacturing companies, builds in strength to such a degree that those in Japan and Britain have grown worried……
The (Bukharinist) USSR is in a peculiar situation. An alliance with their former foe, the German Empire, would in ordinary circumstances be regarded as ridiculous. However, the threat of the Danubian Empire, the Turkish Republic, and the Empire of China has driven it to at least sign a Non-Aggression Pact with Germany (itself sandwiched between France, Italy, and the Danube), Japan, and the British Empire. It’s industrialized at a slightly slower pace than OTL, though demographically speaking it’s obviously a lot better without Stalin, and the Red Army itself is in relatively better shape without (as many) purges. As far as the Politburo is concerned, the matter of German control of Poland and a sliver of Western Ukraine could wait for another day…..
(Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Criticisms? This is the roughest of the roughest of outlines of any potential timelines, but I just wanted to post this to make sure that the general gist of it was OK.)
Basically, the United States remains in it's isolationist phase, and the Central Powers find themselves victorious. Germany stands astride the European continent a colossus, France is humiliated and on the verge of civil war, and both Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire manage to use the victory momentum to keep chugging along awhile longer.
The French political situation would look familiar to someone from OTL; defeated and humiliated by their historic foe, and economically destitute from reparations to Germany, France finds itself within the control of Action-Francaise. France has managed to wiggle it’s way out of arms limitations and completely restructured itself into a militaristic, anti-Semetic, and above all anti-German state. In the search for allies and in response to the general anti-German feeling in France, Action-Françoise’s ideology has shifted to include a peculiar sort of pan-Catholicism that conveniently justifies the nation’s close ties with it’s former foe, the Danubian Confederation. The alliance with the Muslim Turkey is justified as partnership with a former comrade who was stabbed in the back by Germany, and thus converted to “their side”. Their colonial holdings in Africa and Southeast Asia are even more of a brutal place to be than before the war, as one would expect.
Britain was lucky enough to not fall to the same fate that France did, but the 1920s were a rough decade for Brtiain regardless; the dominions were asserting greater autonomy, southern Ireland tore itself from Britain outright, and the economy was dragging terribly. With France too politically/economically destitute (and later, too politically unsavory) to maintain close ties with, the UK has upheld the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, which may come in handy in the face of a fascistic China threatening the Indian dominions. In the case of Japan, the continued partnership with Britain has enabled to Taisho Democracy to avert the rise of the militarists and, thanks to Anglo-American pressure, a halt on Japanese meddling in China. Ironically, this semi-democratization has allowed China to reassert itself…..
In the case of Austria-Hungary, the nation is reformed into a sort-of Danubian Confederation with the Hapsburg's still remaining in a (rather-reduced) position of power. However, this confederation is wracked with political instability due to the suddenly greater-enfranchised statelets jostling for power, as well as the Bolshevik threat to the north and east. There is a growing sense of resentment towards the German Empire’s relative economic prosperity and SDP-dominated Reichstag; Germany is seen as a former comrade increasingly selling out its former friends, profiting from their decline, and falling to “Judeo-Bolshevism”. At the onset of (smaller than OTL, but still bad) worldwide economic depression in 1931, a *fascistic party similar to the one ruling Italy takes control and undergoes crash-remilitarization. The anti-German and pan-Catholic sentiment has earned it French and Italian allies (in the case of Italy, the territories held by the Danubian Empire still remain a bit of a sticking point). The alliance with the Muslim Turkey is justified as partnership with a former comrade who was stabbed in the back by Germany.
In the Ottoman Empire, things get progressively uglier. The victory in the war only slowed the empire’s inevitable collapse (not helped by holding a restless Cyprus), and through the 1920s, the Ottoman Empire becomes increasingly authoritarian and increasingly propped up by Reichsheer. As discontent continues to bubble throughout the empire and the power continues to slip through the fingers of the ruling parties, Germany becomes increasingly unwilling to prop up what is widely seen as a lost cause. When the empire finally collapses under its own weight in 1930 at the onset of another wave of empire-wide revolts, its subjects either gain independence or find themselves under British or German control, the rump Turkish republic finds itself angry and bitter at the loss of the territories it fought so hard to hold on to. Nationalist, revanchist political parties rule the rump Republic of Turkey, and the nation is currently undergoing remilitarization similar to France and the Danube.
In China an earlier incidental death of Mao Zedong fractures the CCP, allowing Chiang-Kai-Shek to more efficiently consolidate his control of KMT and, in turn, more effectively crush the warlords without much Soviet assistance. Chiang’s rise to power through deception, cunning, and assassination culminated in his ascension to the Presidency of the Republic of China, and the declaration of a “restored” Empire of China, held together by a mixture of anti-Japanese (Remember 1895!!!) sentiment, Chinese nationalism, anti-Bolshevism, and anti-“western corruption”. Mass suppression of ethnic minorities, Christians and Muslims, and anyone holding ideals deemed “un-Chinese” ensued. The Empire of China’s military, bolstered by Danubian and French military advisors and manufacturing companies, builds in strength to such a degree that those in Japan and Britain have grown worried……
The (Bukharinist) USSR is in a peculiar situation. An alliance with their former foe, the German Empire, would in ordinary circumstances be regarded as ridiculous. However, the threat of the Danubian Empire, the Turkish Republic, and the Empire of China has driven it to at least sign a Non-Aggression Pact with Germany (itself sandwiched between France, Italy, and the Danube), Japan, and the British Empire. It’s industrialized at a slightly slower pace than OTL, though demographically speaking it’s obviously a lot better without Stalin, and the Red Army itself is in relatively better shape without (as many) purges. As far as the Politburo is concerned, the matter of German control of Poland and a sliver of Western Ukraine could wait for another day…..
(Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Criticisms? This is the roughest of the roughest of outlines of any potential timelines, but I just wanted to post this to make sure that the general gist of it was OK.)