Russia's Parallel War (World War I)

1914

23 July - Austria sends ultimatum to Serbia

Serbia, believing it has Russian support, rejects part of the ultimatum and begins mobilization

28 July - Austria declares war on Serbia

31 July - Tsar orders partial mobilization directed at Austria. Russian General Staff informs him partial mobilization is not possible, and Russia can only mobilize against both Austria and Germany. After deep thought and prayer, the Tsar instead of ordering full mobilization (as he did in OTL), decides against mobilization and calls for an international peace conference.

1 August - Germany doesn't declare war on Russia... the decide instead this gives them more time to hit France first

3 August - Germany declares war on France...

Schlieffen Plan etc., violation of Belgian neutrality, Brtiain enters the war etc., BUT Russia (and Italy) remain neutral

Later...

The Germans still fail to take Paris, trench warfare etc. They still need to keep forces deployed in the East, just in case Russia enters the war later.

Breslau & Goeben may still reach Turkey, but they don't shell Odessa, so the Ottomans aren't in the war

Russia remains neutral, planning only to enter the war if it gets a big enough bribe from the Entente, or Entente victory looks imminent

1915 Fighting breaks out between Ottoman and Russia in Persia. Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire

Italy joins the Entente... more trench warfare etc. in the West

1917 US joins the Entente

Russians make major advances in Anatolia. Turkish resistance begins to collapse.

1918 Constantinople falls to Russia

Germany strips Eastern border of troops for final offensive in the West. Major offensive causes panic in the West (however offensive fails in its objective of taking Paris)

Desparate Entente secretly offers to recognize Russian claims to pretty much the whole Ottoman Empire (except Kuwait, and guarantees regarding holy places), and to allow Russian gains in Persia, Manchuria. Mongolia, and East Turkestan (Western China) in return for Russian entry in the war.

Russia declares war on Germany and Austria, and makes rapid advances both. Both are also collapsing from blockade, starvation and internal strife. Cossacks are within sight of the outskirts of Berlin...when

11 November - Ceasefire.

A few days later, Tsar Nicholas II weeps tears of joy, and leaves his palace to great the cheering throng outside. A Bolshevik activist, Simon Ter-Petrossian, widely known as "Kamo", however lies in wait, and throws a bomb... killing Nicholas II (who is later sainted as a martyr by the Russian Orthodox church).

The 14 (15?) year old, Alexei succeeds to the throne, and is crowned in St Petersburg, and as his father would have wished, in Hagia Sophia (which is now a church again) in Constantinople.
 
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Interesting; one question though:

Given Alexei's condition and the fact that he is very likely to die young, would he really be the next Czar of Russia? I would propose as an alternative:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Michael_of_Russia

As Alexei's health is likely to become a major issue. If Grand Duke Michael IOTL leads a the army to victory against the Ottomans its likely his marriage to a commoner can be forgiven and his succession rights restored; furthermore, I think Alexei's health means that he is very unlikely to survive for too long.
 
According to wikipedia, in OTL, Nicholas II's first abdication was in favor of Alexei, and his second abdication was in favor of Grand Duke Michael... so I'd say that puts Alexei in the frame as the most likely successor if Nicholas II dies without a plan.

Secondly (also according to wikipedia), in OTL, Nicholas II did have the power to change the succession law in Russia, could have chosen Grand Duke Michael before, or chosen one of his female daughters, but chose not to. So again, that puts Alexei in the frame if Nicholas II is suddenly killed.
 
Only the very unstable situation in OTL 1918 even made it possible for Nicholas II to consider abdicating for his brother. In ANY other situation he would abdicate for Alexei - he was the divinely ordained heir, and Nicholas was not about to let his own blood fail to get what he had born to

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Quick question to all the WW1 experts in the house:

Why was partial mobilization for Russia impossible, while full mobilization possible?

It doesn't make sense to me.
 
Quick question to all the WW1 experts in the house:

Why was partial mobilization for Russia impossible, while full mobilization possible?

It doesn't make sense to me.

Well, it could have been possible, it's just that Russia had no real plans for a partial mobilization in place. So, there was no real procedure to do that--and that was a serious problem. After the war, some historians blamed Russia for dragging Germany into the war by mobilizing its entire country, rather than simply mobilizing against AH. That said, Russia is a big place, so I don't know how a partial mobilization would work...

But IRL, those instructions were not available.
 
It wasn't impossible, it was "highly inadvisable" (to use the original Baltar's words)

Russia would mobilise by military district, so it could be done, but IIRC doing it would throw out all plans for general mobilisation so that if Germany DID mobilise against Russia, Russia would be hard-pressed to sort out the mess and handle a mobilisation against Germany after all

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
If Russia had mobilized against Austria only, would Germany be able to stand aside while her ally was potentially crushed?
 
If Russia had mobilized against Austria only, would Germany be able to stand aside while her ally was potentially crushed?

Well, that was the calculation STAVKA made - it didn't seem likely, therefore mobilising only against Austria-Hungary was non-sensical because if Germany then did declare war, all of Russia's plans for action against Germany would be seriously screwed up

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Russia would have taken Stambul in summer 1918 IOTL, wouldn't Revolution got in the way (they had all the infrastructure, including beach-landing ships, ready by summer 1917, and storm units were in training). Without bloody mess of German War, Russians will be ready to jump at Stambul at least an year earlier.
 
...If the Germans don't declare war on Russia, I would think the Russians would declare war on Germany. The French would have screaming epileptic fits if the Russians stayed out of the war.
 
Yes, French would have kittens the size of elephants. And, given subborn Russian trait to follow signed agreements, I don't see them staying out of Great War. You will need a ruthless opportunist like Putin leading Russia in 1914 to keep it out of war, not a nearsighted idealists like Nickie (with all this crap about "need to help our allies") or Gorbachov (who believed Baker's oral assurances about not extending NATO East of Elbe). And I don't know Putin among Romanovs of 1914 vintage. Row after row of Gorbachovs.
 
ACtually, if Russia is out, Germany also stays out, so do France and Uk. The war is limited, between AH and serbia.....

Until the next crisis.
 
ACtually, if Russia is out, Germany also stays out, so do France and Uk. The war is limited, between AH and serbia.....

Until the next crisis.

Well if the Germans calculate in August that Russia is out now, but will be in later --- perhaps making this calculation if a German spy tells them that the Russian court is considering various mobilization options --- then it's not out of character for Germany to strike first --- and of course a 1914 German strike first policy begins with Belgium/France.
 
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