Sweden Intervenes in Finland 1917

[chris N]

The St Petersburg Zone as it was referred to did give the Swedish-Finnish Alliance several things. First it removed the Reds from the Gulf of Finland , 2) it removed them from the largest City in the West and from the doorsteps to Finland and 3) it connected the Swedish _Finnish alliance by land with Estonia.
Now the there was an overland connection between the nations as well as one by sea.
Should the Germans suffer a serious problem it now looked as if the Swedish and Finnish Kingdoms would then add on another partner the Duchy of Estonia. In many ways Sweden was turning the clock back and undoing all of the gains that Czar Peter had made.

 

[chris N]

As the winter of 1917-18 was drawing to a close it was clear to the joint Swedish-Finnish Military planning staff that the war in the East between the Central Powers and the Red Russian forces was drawing to a close. Lenin knew that the Germans were determined to end the war on their terms. So finally they were left with no choice but to sign or be destroyed.
This would mean that the Reds would get a chance to catch a breath before facing the white forces that were attempting to regain control of Russia.
The two Kingdoms had decided to supply the whites with some of the thousand of rifles and hundreds of other weapons that they just did not want to keep. Hopefully this would result in one of two things a friendly White Russia or a Red Russia that was so weaken by the Civil War as to be no threat to the Swedish- Finnish Alliance for 10-20 years after the fighting ended.
Neither of the nations were sure as to whether the Central Powers or the Western Allies would win the final battles in the West.
The Austro-German Forces had dealt a crippling blow to the Italian and it appeared that Italy might withdraw from the War after its government collapsed as a result of the heavy loses.
American troops were arriving daily in France and the German Chances of winning were dwindling. The Germans were sure that a hammer blow could decide the war in the West. There were those in Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire that urged peace.
Sweden's diplomats hoped that these voices might prevail as a continuation of the fighting would serve no ones interest.

 

[Deckhand]

The two Kingdoms had decided to supply the whites with some of the thousand of rifles and hundreds of other weapons that they just did not want to keep. Hopefully this would result in one of two things a friendly White Russia or a Red Russia that was so weaken by the Civil War as to be no threat to the Swedish- Finnish Alliance for 10-20 years after the fighting ended.

Except the whites will want their stuff back too, so whoever loses, Russia will not be "friendly".

The Austro-German Forces had dealt a crippling blow to the Italian and it appeared that Italy might withdraw from the War after its government collapsed as a result of the heavy loses.

Caporetto i assume? Why does the Italian government collapse here? They didn't OTL, and it is hard to imagine the Central Powers doing much better than OTL. Cadorna was widely understood to be responsible, within the army and without, and was finally sacked.

American troops were arriving daily in France and the German Chances of winning were dwindling. The Germans were sure that a hammer blow could decide the war in the West. There were those in Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire that urged peace.
Sweden's diplomats hoped that these voices might prevail as a continuation of the fighting would serve no ones interest.

Hard to see the Germans under Ludendorff going for peace in the west, and anything the germans would propose is pretty unacceptable to the Entente in any case. The germans cannot "win" any more in any case.

 

[chris N]

All too true. I expect that even if the White should win that they could be a headache in the end for the Swedish-Finnish side. But if they owe their success to them then perhaps things might be worked out but I wouldn't count on it.
In this time line the Austro-German forces press harder and with a little more force. With heavier Italian losses it turns into a disaster far worse than in OTL.
Yes, Luddendorf is still a problem but in this time line some of the other German General are doubting the wisdom of continuing the war. Even the Bavarian Crown Prince believes that it is better to make a peace now on somewhat favorable terms than to risk disaster.
Kaiser Karl has made it clear that the Austro-Hungarian Empire wants peace now so that he can have a chance to make reforms and save the empire.

 

[chris N]

It was clear that Sweden was hoping that both sides would realize that the war must come to an end. Swedish diplomats were convinced that General Luddendorf was using his influence to push for a military decision of the war. However, it appeared that there was a growing number of politicans in the Reichstag that were beginning to demand an end of the war. The war was making life harder and harder for the German people. Even some of the German General and Admirals were beginning to agree with Kaiser Karl of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to seek peace talks.

 

[chris N]

Fortune was about to play its hand an alter the course of History.
Kaiser Wilhelm II was being driven to a meeting of the military planners when a tuck driving on the road skidded on a patch of ice. Its brakes failed to stop it and it slammed into the car carrying the Kaiser.
The Kaiser was seriously injured and rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
It would seem that it was not to be the only tragedy as his son Crown Prince Wilhelm was killed by a bomb dropped by an allied plane.
Thus in one swoop the German Monarchy now rested on the Crown Princes 12 year old son. Doctors informed the wife of the Kaiser that things did not look at all hopeful and it would be best to prepare for the worse.
The Kaserin summoned the Kaisers younger brother from the navy.
Prince Henry was informed of his brothers condition and he was asked by his sister-in law to head the council of Regents for her grandson.
Prince Henry immediately spoke to the Chancellor and summoned Hindenburg.
Two days latter the Kaiser passed away and his Grandson became Kaiser Wilhelm III. Prince Henry had German diplomats in Switzerland ask the Swiss government to request a meeting with the British, French and American Ambassadors to discuss the possibility of peace.
While Kaiser Karl of Austria-Hungry was sadden by the death of both Kaiser Whilm II and his son he was happy that perhaps now there would be a chance to end the madness.
Germany stated that it would upon agreement to peace withdraw all of its forces from both France and Belgium. It would further agree to establish a fund to pay for damages to Belgium.
Below Prince Henry Grand Admiral and Head of the Council of Regents.

 

[Deckhand]

In this time line the Austro-German forces press harder and with a little more force. With heavier Italian losses it turns into a disaster far worse than in OTL.

It was a total disaster OTL, the Italian army was wrecked, and ended up running away faster than the Central powers could pursue. The CP outstripped their supply lines which allowed the Italians to regroup. The divisions the French and British sent were not needed really, but if you have the CP press more, they do so at their own peril.

ITTL if they outstrip their supply lines, and then keep going, and then smack into the Piave line and the fresh Entente troops, they will get their noses quite bloodied. and what was a victory could quite reasonably turn into a reversal. OTL they did about as well as they could have, and none of this will cause the Italian government to fall. Cadorna was responsible, everyone knew it. And once he was gone the Italians bucked up quite well.

So presumeably, the German stosstruppen have taken even bigger casualties than OTL, and Michael offensive will be less effective in the spring.

 

[Deckhand]

Fortune was about to play its hand an alter the course of History.
Kaiser Wilhelm II was being driven to a meeting of the military planners when a tuck driving on the road skidded on a patch of ice. Its brakes failed to stop it and it slammed into the car carrying the Kaiser.
The Kaiser was seriously injured and rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
It would seem that it was not to be the only tragedy as his son Crown Prince Wilhelm was killed by a bomb dropped by an allied plane.
Thus in one swoop the German Monarchy now rested on the Crown Princes 12 year old son. Doctors informed the wife of the Kaiser that things did not look at all hopeful and it would be best to prepare for the worse.
The Kaserin summoned the Kaisers younger brother from the navy.
Prince Henry was informed of his brothers condition and he was asked by his sister-in law to head the council of Regents for her grandson.
Prince Henry immediately spoke to the Chancellor and summoned Hindenburg.
Two days latter the Kaiser passed away and his Grandson became Kaiser Wilhelm III. Prince Henry had German diplomats in Switzerland ask the Swiss government to request a meeting with the British, French and American Ambassadors to discuss the possibility of peace.
While Kaiser Karl of Austria-Hungry was sadden by the death of both Kaiser Whilm II and his son he was happy that perhaps now there would be a chance to end the madness.
Germany stated that it would upon agreement to peace withdraw all of its forces from both France and Belgium. It would further agree to establish a fund to pay for damages to Belgium.
Below Prince Henry Grand Admiral and Head of the Council of Regents.

The Entente has already agreed to the 14 points as a basis for peace. Note the salient bits below. The ethnic minorities in the AH knew this, and were already angling for revolt. I know all your TL's have the Kaiserreich and AH surviving the great war and the Russia getting screwed, but it is too late in the game for MittleEurope to come off without a bloodbath that the Germans and Austrians can't pay for and do not want to have.

6. The German Army is to be removed from Russia. Russia should be left to develop
her own political set-up.​

7. Belgium should be independent like before the war.​

8. France should be fully liberated and allowed to recover Alsace-Lorraine​

9. All Italians are to be allowed to live in Italy. Italy's borders are to "along
clearly recognisable lines of nationality."​

10. Self-determination should be allowed for all those living in Austria-Hungary.​

11. Self-determination and guarantees of independence should be allowed for
the Balkan states.​

12. The Turkish people should be governed by the Turkish government. Non-Turks in
the old Turkish Empire should govern themselves.​

13. An independent Poland should be created which should have access to the sea.​

 

[chris N]

The German delegation along with its Austro_Hungarian Ally met with the British, French, Belgian and Americans in Switzerland. The British Government seemed to have moved to less of a Hardline position with the death of the Kaiser and his son. A Number of Points were agreed to Germany would begin a withdrawal from France and Belgium. Germany refused to accept responsibility for the war pointing out that the primary cause was the murder of the Archduke. Separately , Germany agreed to provide some money to Belgium for damages to that country over a period of years.
The issue of Alsace -Lorraine was a sensitive one for both sides. Germany agreed to return Lorraine and to a vote in Alsace. The vote would be monitored by the Swiss with observers from the US, Spain and Norway. Those areas which had more than 51% vote to return to France would be returned. However, any area where a clear majority wanted to remain part of Germany would be allowed to.
Since Italy had withdrawn from the war it could make no demands upon the Austro Hungarian Empire.
Serbia was not to be rewarded with territory from the Empire.
Additional terms were to be talked over.

 

[chris N]

As the meeting was called back into session the Germans pointed out that the allies demand for an outlet to the sea for the new Polish state would violate the rights of the German population of the area in question. They formed the majority of the population. The Germans and Austro_Hungarians pointed out that it was they who had created the Polish state.
President Wilson was finding that there was little support in continuing to fight a war with Germany in the United States now that the Germans were willing to give in.
Central Power forces had already begun to come home from Russia but Germany pointed out that if they totally removed their forces a power vacuum would be created. The new Ukrainian was still trying to get its act together. There was a discussion regarding the Austro_Hungarian Empire. It would withdraw from Bosnia but not from the part of it populated by Croatians. As for the Italian populated sections of the Empire the Austrian Kaiser Knew that his Italian subjects were more loyal to his country than to Italy. They had fought for the Empire. In remarks to the American delegation the statement was made are you going to force our subjects to join another country against their will?

Still on the main point the Germans agreed that they would remove their forces from the east as soon as other forces could be raised to maintain order.

 

[chris N]

Both sides were working on the new map of Europe. President Wilson was now finding resistance to the US staying in the war. In Britain there was war weariness and a feeling that with the death of the Kaiser perhaps it might be wiser to be more reasonable.
Below one of the first maps drawn

 

[chris N]

Germany Prince Heinrich, Regent of Germany fired General Luddendorf after the General made comments critical of the governments decision to talk peace rather than trying to win the war on the battlefield. The Regent made it clear to to the commander of the Army that preparation must be made to withdraw all German forces from France and Belgium. Fortification would be built to defend the borders of Germany.
Meanwhile King George V was lobbying his Prime Minister to support Kaiser Karl. The British Monarch found the Austrian Emperor to be one of the most humble rulers that he knew. He also found his geniune concern for his peoples welfare to be outstanding.
Winston Churchill continued to espress concern about the conditions in Russia. He feared that if the Germans withdrew without a replacement that war and revolution might spread.

 

[chris N]

Italy had turned into the big loser in the war. It would not be gaining any territory from its neighbor to the East but it was considering going to war over Montenegro . The Italian Royal family had a claim on the throne and Italy should be big enough to defeat the Serbs.
There was also a rumble of war between the Greeks and the Turks. The British, French and Americans were trying to avoid this bloodshed but it appeared that unless the allies were willing to threaten both sides it could happen.
It was clear that Congressional Elections in the Fall were going to see a massive Republican Victory. The Republicans would have overwhelming control and intended to force the Administration to reign in on its League of nations idea. In fact it wanted a peace treaty done and the troops called home.

 

[chris N]

While the Talks were going on in Switzerland things were happening. German had pulled back some of its forces from the East and as expected no sooner did they leave than the reds moved in. But the White forces had also begun to become more active. Already their was fighting between the two sides and things would get worse.
Swedish and Finnish troops were busy fortifying the new border. Law and order had returned to St Petersburg. When underground Red forces tried to set off bombs in the city and carry out acts of terror the Swedish Intelligence service was prepared. It had recruited agents and had managed to infiltrate the Red organization.
A good amount of the White forces recruited and trained by the Swedish-Finnish forces marched off into Russia proper to fight the Reds. On the Whole the Swedes believed the White forces to be poorly organized and on the main led by idiots..
German and Austro-Hungarian forces still remained in the Ukraine but there was still allied pressure on those nations to withdraw them

 

[Paul MacQ]

So the Balance of power between the Reds and the Whites might be in Central Powers hands, By how they hand over Russian Prisoners of War. As in handing them back via St Petersburg and white control ??

 

[chris N]

The German and Austro=Hungarian governments were releasing prisoners through white Controlled areas. In this case it was actually Swedish-Finnish controlled St Petersburg. The Whites were carefully checking the returning POWs to make sure that they were not Red supporter. In some cases the White Military Hung them.
This continued as when the Reds threaten to halt handing over captured Central Powers POWs the German Military threaten to renew the war.
The allied Powers in Switerland had been notified of this problem and raise only minor objections.

 

[chris N]

Kaiser Karl was now pushing through a series of reforms which he hoped would draw the empire together. There were still questions as to whether his actions could prevent the splitting up of the Empire. His ending of the war had given him a stronger standing. Still he had managed to convince the Slovenians, Croatians and Italian that were part of the empire to stick with Austria.
The Empire had given its Polish subjects to the new Kingdom of Poland.
The Kingdom at present had no King but Austria was quite popular.
There were talks of a Union with Lithuania which would give them an outlet to the Sea and the Poles were very much against the Soviets. Below the Latest Map.
The Civil war was raging in Russia and allied Forces were still in Arkhangelsk and in Siberia. German forces were slowly pulling back from the Caucasus regio to conform with the treaty.

 

[chris N]

The Serbs were Urging the Greeks to join then in a war against Albania.
They would split the country with the Greeks and promised that if victory is achieved they would help in the liberation of Christians from the Turkish state. The Ottoman Empire was collapsing and the allies were attempting to decide how to split up the spoils.
Below is the map of what the Serbs and Greeks believed that the region would look like with their victory.

 

[chris N]

A vote was held in Alsace and the Eastern Section of it voted overwhelmingly to remain part of German. Thus the French regain a great part of all of the lost territory. There was some territorial Adjustments in the Austro_Hungarian Empire but it appeared that a peace agreement could be finally signed.
Lithuania and Poland were united in the New Kingdom thus giving the Poles and outlet to the sea.
Poland however, seemed to jump into the Russian Civil War as its army moved into Belorussia seizing additional territory.

 

[chris N]

As the Peace agreement was signed by the allied Powers and the Central powers. The US Senate indicated that it wanted the US to sign a separate treaty with the Central Powers.
Germany had gotten out of the war with only slight losses of territory but with a lot of debt. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was not as intact. It had withdrawn from the non Bosnian lands and there had been a slight territorial adjustment with Romania and the new Polish state. There was a rumbling in Hungary and possibly some trouble in Bohemia and Slovakia.
Kaiser Karl was carrying out a number of reforms that would make the other members of the new country feel a part of it. The appeared to be a showdown coming with Hungary and the Austrian Kaiser intended to win it.
While he was not popular with the Hungarian legislature he was with the people and with the Army.
There was however another rumbling of war the Serbs were determined to enlarge their nation and they had convinced the Greeks to a partition of Albania and would support Greece in its quest for a Greater Greece.

Meanwhile the Poles had entered the Russian Civil War and were gobbling up land as the Reds were too busy fighting the Whites. The Ukraine was slowly coming together but only the Germans were preventing the Russian Civil War from spilling over into it. Germany was anxious to send its troops home, something that the allied powers were still demanding.