alternatehistory.com

So I have an idea for a timeline that might be plausible and I need input.

POD is 1914 and I think that it should be Liebknecht leading the Social Democrats to vote against the war, leading to the banning of the party by the Kaiser who believes national unity will keep dissent against this minimal. With no legitimate party, many former SDs join the Communists and build a far larger base for revolution.

So the war goes on pretty much OTL, until the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and the Americans joining the war incites the reds in Germany to rise up in December 1917. With the army tied down on both fronts, Berlin is taken swiftly and chaos ensues throughout Germany. The Eastern front crumbles on both sides, with mass desertions and many soldiers wreaking havoc in the occupied areas. The war is still officially on, but many don't know who is in charge.

On the Western Front, things are more simple for the soldiers. Due to shorter communication lines, the army is still intact, but near mutinous due to worries about home. Command has a serious problem, however, with revolutionaries starting to occupy factories supplying their armies, they either have to move forward the Spring Offensive and hope it works, or sue for peace and hope the army doesn't mutiny when set upon their fellow citizens.

There's much dithering and hesitation in German command until the Kaiser shows up at the front lines, smuggled from Berlin. When the Kaiser orders arrangements to be made for unconditional surrender, Erich Ludendorff arrests him and orders the Offensive to begin in a desperate bid gain a fair peace before the revolution gains momentum.

While the offensive to Paris is underway(late December 1917-January 1918), the revolution is crushed in the Rhineland, but is successful in Bavaria and Brandenburg. The rest of Germany is in turmoil, with revolutionaries often isolated and disorganized against the military police.

In February the offensive continues, with massive losses on both sides. To prevent mutiny in the German army, corporal punishment for even slight offenses is common. The Eastern Front has almost completely dissolved, with what remains of the organized German army heading back to Germany under orders from Ludendorff. The Bolsheviks are thus more successful without as many Germans to help the Whites and no opposition due to seeking peace. The Revolution in Germany starts getting more organized, with the People's Socialist Republic of Germany proclaimed in Munich. The Reds have taken Saxony, connecting their holdings, and there's a Red offensive into Hannover.

By March Ludendorff's offensive fails, with hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides. The army has mutinied and the Entente isn't sure who to talk to since the Kaiser, Ludendorff, and Hindenburg are all missing. General Oskar von Hutier negotiates an unconditional surrender at Marnes-la-Coquette, giving the Entente permission to fight the communists at home. The terms are largely irrelevant, as the Communists have taken almost all of Germany, and the Imperial government consists mainly of commissioned officers and diplomats.

In April 1918, the Allies are moving into the Rhineland encountering heavy resistance. There are many voices at home, too, wondering if the war is over, then why aren't the boys coming home? There are strikes in solidarity in Britain and the US, while there's uprisings in Paris and Lyon that are crushed, but not quickly.

So what does AH.com think? I know there are a ton of things that I didn't mention, like Austria-Hungary, but there's only so much I can put in one post.:D
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