Greetings, and welcome to this thread.
I'd like to discuss the way major political ideologies that affected the global events of 1930s and 1940s came to being in the form we know them in OTL, and talk about the ways different outcomes of WW1 and Russian Revolution might have affected to their development and content. The fascism and Marxism-Leninism we know are both offspring of Great War and Bolshevik triumpf in the Russia, and if we butterfly those origins to something else, the end results will naturally look quite different as well. This discussion is part of my attempt to create a Kaiserreich-styled alt-history mod for Hearts of Iron 3, but feel free to ignore that little detail and just discuss the matter in the contect of alternate history.
Let's start with the general outlines of the world where these changes and postwar developments take place. It is based on a shameless and openly admitted mix of creations of others, namely John Trungove, DerGreif, Hnau and wiking.
Short summary: Due different political development before the Great War in several fields (German naval policy, Moroccan Crisis, 1st Balkan War) result at least somewhat succesfull Ango-German detente, Germany goes against Russia first and leaves Belgium be by staying on the defensive in Alsace and Lorraine. Britain, busy with Home Rule crisis, starts to mobilize a large ground army but stays initially out from the conflict where France and Russia confront Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Eastern Front becomes the main battlefield of WW1, and in the end Russia is the first country to leave the war. February Revolution of 1917 is followed by July Revolution where the Provisional Government (that was way more more conservative than in OTL) is toppled and Petrograd Soviet takes over with Mensheviks and SRs in charge. Grigory Gershuni and Mikhail Gots, leaders of PSR, guide the new Russian Republic out from the world war by signing a separate peace where Russia cedes away Congress Poland and the Baltic provinces, cede Bessarabia to Romania, the latest member of Central Powers, and recognizes the independence of Finland. After brief civil disturbances and local fighting against the few renegedate White Generals and their forces, the new Russian government is able to consolidate its hold over the country. In general the PSR rules the countryside and is thus the strongest political force in postwar Russian politics, while reunified RSDLP holds most sway among the workers Soviets. In addition to this Kadets and some other smaller centrist parties have token presence in the postwar Duma.
By late 1917 still neutral Britain has a large ground army, German, Austro-Hungarian and French home fronts are tired of the war and French troops are still fighting on German soil in Alsace-Lorraine but their population is increasingly restless and doubtful about the outcome of the conflict. Finally British-mediated peace negotiations bear fruit when London together with US support more or less pressures both sides to come to terms. WW1 ends in the West, when France agrees to cede French concessions in China and protectorate of Morocco together with rest of French Congo, Djibouti and Madagascar. Even without war guilt clauses the outcome of the war is widely seen as a disappointment compromise on both France and Germany - nothing has been really solved and much has been made worse. But while German leadership can still point out to the new gains in the East and Africa as a proof of victory in the war, French public opinion is traumatized by their defeat.
This is the premise for postwar political development and the rise of major ideologies that I plan to discuss in this thread. On next post I'll start with in-depth look to the domestic situation of France, the most likely birthplace of equivalent of OTL fascism.
I'd like to discuss the way major political ideologies that affected the global events of 1930s and 1940s came to being in the form we know them in OTL, and talk about the ways different outcomes of WW1 and Russian Revolution might have affected to their development and content. The fascism and Marxism-Leninism we know are both offspring of Great War and Bolshevik triumpf in the Russia, and if we butterfly those origins to something else, the end results will naturally look quite different as well. This discussion is part of my attempt to create a Kaiserreich-styled alt-history mod for Hearts of Iron 3, but feel free to ignore that little detail and just discuss the matter in the contect of alternate history.
Let's start with the general outlines of the world where these changes and postwar developments take place. It is based on a shameless and openly admitted mix of creations of others, namely John Trungove, DerGreif, Hnau and wiking.
Short summary: Due different political development before the Great War in several fields (German naval policy, Moroccan Crisis, 1st Balkan War) result at least somewhat succesfull Ango-German detente, Germany goes against Russia first and leaves Belgium be by staying on the defensive in Alsace and Lorraine. Britain, busy with Home Rule crisis, starts to mobilize a large ground army but stays initially out from the conflict where France and Russia confront Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Eastern Front becomes the main battlefield of WW1, and in the end Russia is the first country to leave the war. February Revolution of 1917 is followed by July Revolution where the Provisional Government (that was way more more conservative than in OTL) is toppled and Petrograd Soviet takes over with Mensheviks and SRs in charge. Grigory Gershuni and Mikhail Gots, leaders of PSR, guide the new Russian Republic out from the world war by signing a separate peace where Russia cedes away Congress Poland and the Baltic provinces, cede Bessarabia to Romania, the latest member of Central Powers, and recognizes the independence of Finland. After brief civil disturbances and local fighting against the few renegedate White Generals and their forces, the new Russian government is able to consolidate its hold over the country. In general the PSR rules the countryside and is thus the strongest political force in postwar Russian politics, while reunified RSDLP holds most sway among the workers Soviets. In addition to this Kadets and some other smaller centrist parties have token presence in the postwar Duma.
By late 1917 still neutral Britain has a large ground army, German, Austro-Hungarian and French home fronts are tired of the war and French troops are still fighting on German soil in Alsace-Lorraine but their population is increasingly restless and doubtful about the outcome of the conflict. Finally British-mediated peace negotiations bear fruit when London together with US support more or less pressures both sides to come to terms. WW1 ends in the West, when France agrees to cede French concessions in China and protectorate of Morocco together with rest of French Congo, Djibouti and Madagascar. Even without war guilt clauses the outcome of the war is widely seen as a disappointment compromise on both France and Germany - nothing has been really solved and much has been made worse. But while German leadership can still point out to the new gains in the East and Africa as a proof of victory in the war, French public opinion is traumatized by their defeat.
This is the premise for postwar political development and the rise of major ideologies that I plan to discuss in this thread. On next post I'll start with in-depth look to the domestic situation of France, the most likely birthplace of equivalent of OTL fascism.
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