The United States Congress declaring war on the French Empire
March 8, 1909
Background
The reasons for American intervention in the Great War are numerous and complex. This short section will endeavor to discuss a few of the major factors that ultimately led to the declaration of war against the French Empire on March 8th, 1909.
Francophobia
Starting with the French invasion of Mexico in 1862, America and France had for most of the latter half of the twentieth century had a mutually distrustful and antagonistic relationship. Although the Americans eventually forced the French to withdraw, the French built Panamanian Canal and suspected support for Spain in the 1877-1878 Spanish-American War further exacerbated poor Franco-American relations. Furthermore, the United States deeply resented France's close alliances with certain Latin American nations such as the Empire of Brazil and Columbia.
Ties with the Alliance
Demographically, the United States was heavily tied to the Alliance nations. Indeed, the vast majority of Americans could trace their ancestry back to either British, Irish, German, Italian, Polish, or Russian roots. The United States was also much more ideologically tied to the more liberal governments of the Alliance than to the absolute monarchies of the Entente.
The Bonaparte- Hanotaux Letters
As in Britain, the disclosure of the Bonaparte-Hanotaux Letters unleashed a firestorm of Anti-French sentiment. Although America had a long history of isolationism, Americans were deeply troubled about letting Napoleon IV with his expansionist aims run wild in Europe. Also, Napoleon’s desire to reacquire former French territory in the New World, such as Haiti and Quebec, was a clear violation of the Monroe Doctrine. By the time Britain had entered the war, many Americans believed that if France wasn’t dealt with now the United States would have to deal with a stronger French Empire in the decades to come.
Anxiety about the post war world
The United Kingdom’s entry into the Great War further complicated matters for the United States. Many American policy makers and academics now predicted that with British help the Alliance would eventually emerge victorious. Some, such as Secretary of State McKinley, worried that without America’s “moderating republican influence” the post war world would be dominated by the vengeful states of Prussia, Russia, and Great Britain. To illustrate his fears to Congress during the debate to declare war, McKinley had a map created titled “While America Slept” which showed his idea of the post war world. The map showed Britain having annexed all of France’s oversea colonies. Russia absorbed all of the Orthodox and Turkish parts of the Ottoman Empire, the Balkans, and Hungary. Fracturing China would be divided between the British and Russian Empires. McKinley also claimed that Prussia would form a “German Empire” and dominate the remaining European states. His bleak assessment of the post war situation did much to sway members of Congress who argued that if the Alliance was to emerge victorious anyway why should America join the war.
Sinking of American Ships
Historians largely agree that the incident which ultimately pushed the United States to declare war was the March 2nd sinking of the American passenger ship Macon. The loss of the Macon was the latest in a series of American ships that had been sunk “accidentally” by the Imperial French Navy. The Macon, and her 237 American passengers, had left New York City before the UK had entered the war. As the ship approached the British port of Bristol it was torpedoed by the French submarine Pieuvre which supposedly mistook the vessel for a British troop transport.
The Declaration of War On March 8, 1909 President Lincoln asked a joint session of Congress to declare war on the French Empire “in order to ensure that liberty and not despotism would prevail in the 20th Century.” The Senate and House of Representatives voted 78 to 20 and 366 to 84 in favor of the declaration. As the House chamber broke into The Battle Cry of Freedom, President Lincoln is reported to have turned to Vice President Johnson and said “now the Emperor will see how freemen fight!”
The entry of the United States in the Great War turned the conflict into a truly global war as the Western Hemisphere became a new theater of operations. As would be revealed after the war, American Secretary of State, William McKinley, had struck a deal with his British counterpart in the early days of February, 1909, that in the case America and Britain joined the Alliance, the United States would seize all French territory in the New World. This would allow the Lincoln Administration to keep its pledge to uphold the Monroe Doctrine as well as help clear the Western Hemisphere of Entente vessels. As such Secretary of War Theodore Roosevelt made conquering all French colonies in the Americas the Navy and Marine Corp’s primary goal during the early days of American involvement.
The Panama Canal
The single most important Entente possession in the Western Hemisphere was the French built and controlled Panama Canal. The French were well aware of the canal’s importance but also of its utter vulnerability. The United States Navy began blockading both sides of the canal in earnest by mid March, 1909. Although the Canal Zone was protected by a number of coastal fortifications the garrison, like most of France’s colonies, was severely under strength as the majority of troops had been recalled to Europe. The French commander Brigadier General Sinclair Montague attempted to save the canal by “transferring it” to France’s ally the neighboring United States of Colombia. Although the Colombian government was tempted by the offer, they wisely refused when the American naval commander threatened to open fire “on any Colombian forces which might try to take possession of the isthmus’s canal.”
On April 2, 1909 the Battle of Panama began when elements of the 1st Marine Division landed amidst enormous amounts of naval gunfire on the canal’s Pacific coast. After three days of bitter fighting, Panama City fell to the Americans. Although the French canal stretched for nearly another 50 miles, General Montague deemed that it would be only a matter of time before the Americans captured the entire waterway. Therefore, on April 7, 1909 Montague ordered for the locks still under French control to be destroyed and for the remaining French vessels to be scuttled in the canal. Although Montague would surrender the French garrison four days later, the canal was rendered completely inoperable. The United States still possessed its Nicaraguan Canal but the loss of a working Panama Canal proved to be a serious blow to Alliance shipping.
French Guiana
Following the capture of the Canal, the Americans next principal target was French Guiana. France’s only South American territory, Guiana had been ruled by France since 1643. With a population of only 36,000 the small colony provided the French Empire with valuable amounts of raw materials such as gold, timber, and fish and agricultural products. On April 21, 1909 Cayenne, the colony’s capital and largest city, fell to American forces after a brief naval bombardment silenced the city’s defenses. The small French garrison did not stay to defend the city but instead withdrew to the jungle interior to wage a guerrilla war against the invaders. The Guiana Campaign is also notable for the deployment of the San Cristobal Volunteers from the Commonwealth of Santo Domingo. The San Cristobal Volunteers would earn distinction for themselves as fierce jungle fighters as well as being an “integrated” unit consisting of white, black, and mulatto soldiers.
Guadeloupe and Martinique
The Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique were the most populous colonies in France’s New World empire. As such they proved to be the hardest nuts to crack. The Battle of Guadeloupe was the fiercest naval battle fought in the Caribbean, when on May 2, 1909 two U.S. Navy Squadrons attempted to blast the French defenses to pieces. French shore batteries proved especially resilient to American gunfire. The biggest blow however was the sinking of the cruiser USS Danville by a French submarine. Despite the heavy losses, the Americans were eventually able to make a landing on the island, but it would take until the end of May before the island was deemed secure and only after heavy fighting. The taking of Martinique in June was just as difficult and resulted in over 5,000 American casualties before the island was finally subdued.
Saint Barthelemey, Saint Martin, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon France possessed a few other small islands in the Western Hemisphere. The tiny islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the north Atlantic were actually the first piece of French territory to be captured by American forces in the Great War, surrendering on March 12, 1909 after putting up only a ceremonial defense. The small Caribbean islands of Saint Barthelemey and Saint Martin surrendered without a fight on May 11 and May 13 respectively.
Conclusion
In the end, the United States was able to secure all of France’s new world territory in roughly four months. American success came at a price though as they suffered higher casualties than expected. This was surprising considering that France’s Caribbean garrisons were under strength and that the Imperial French Navy, having been recalled to Europe, did not seriously contest American naval dominance. Regardless the string of victories bolstered American moral and strengthen the Lincoln Administration.
In the early months of 1909 the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy found itself in an increasingly precarious position. Austria-Hungary had, since the start of the war, made impressive gains against it belligerent neighbors, having conquered Montenegro, northeastern Italy, and most of Serbia. Their attempted to invade Russian Poland however, meet with failure as overwhelming Russian numbers pushed them back into Galicia. In early February of 1909, Austro-Hungarian ruler Emperor Maximilian, having accomplished the majority of his nation’s wartime objectives, thought that the time was right to cut his losses and bring a negotiated end to the war. Later deemed the “Hapsburg Plan,” Maximilian’s proposal was simple, it called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, with France and Austria-Hungary keeping their gains in Italy, Germany, and the Balkans, and the Entente-Russian borders returning to status quo ante bellum. Unfortunately for the Double Monarchy, the Russian Empire would launch two massive offensives into Austro-Hungarian controlled Galicia and Transylvania, shaking the Hapsburg state to its core. Furthermore, Britain and America’s entry into the war dashed any chance that Prussia and Russia would willingly agree to any peace favorable to the Entente.
The Fall of Galicia and Transylvania After having successfully driven Austrian troops from its Polish territories, the Russian Empire embarked on the invasion of Austria-Hungary itself. On February 16th, 1909, in a move that many thought was long overdue, Russian General Nikolai Yudenich invaded the Austro-Hungarian ruled Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria with over 245,000 men. The Austro-Hungarians put up a valiant defense but by the end of April had been nearly completely driven back into Hungary. As Yudenich’s army recovered from the Galicia Campaign, a Russian army of 195,000 under General Aleksei Brusilov and a smaller Romanian force invaded Transylvania in early May. On June 4, 1909 Klausenburg, the unofficial capital of Hungarian Transylvania, fell to the Russo-Romanian army after a fierce battle that reduced the city to rubble. By the end of the month the rest of Transylvania would fall to the Alliance, with King Carlo I annexing the territory for the Kingdom of Romania. Altogether, the enormous losses suffered on the Eastern Front at the hands of the Russians during the winter and spring of 1909 nearly brought Austria-Hungary to her knees. As Russia collected its forces for a push into Hungary, Emperor Maximilian could only hope that the arrival of French reinforcements could save his empire from destruction.
The Relief of Belgrade As Russian forces pushed into Austro-Hungarian Galicia and Transylvania, a third force arrived in the beleaguered Kingdom of Serbia. The Serbian capital of Belgrade had been under siege by the Ottomans since December of 1908. On May 16, 1909 the siege was finally lifted as Russian General Nikolai Ruzsky and his 116,000 man army evicted the Turks from their positions surrounding the city. The relief of Belgrade insured that Serbia would stay in the Alliance and continue the war.
Russian reinforcements to Prussia
It is also important to note that even as Russia was conducting offensives into Austria-Hungary and the Balkans, the Russian General Staff was also shipping tons of supplies and tens of thousands of troops to the Prussian Front in order to halt the latest French offensive into the Ruhr.
Before March, 1909 the Great War had remained primarily a European land based conflict. But now with the United Kingdom and United States having joined the Alliance the war would reach to the farthest oceans of the world. Listed below is a brief summary of the naval strength of the chief belligerent powers.
The Alliance
The Royal Navy
When the United Kingdom entered the war in March of 1909 it possessed the most powerful navy in the world. At the forefront of the fleet were 23 Leviathan class battleships named in honor of the HMS Leviathan which in 1901 revolutionized warship design with its lethal main battery of 12inch guns. In addition to the leviathans the Royal Navy also possessed 33 pre-leviathan design battleships, 9 battle cruisers, 21 town cruisers, 12 scout cruisers, 152 cruisers (pre 1901), 211 destroyers, and 26 submarines. It should also be noted that the figures listed above do not include the navies from the British Dominions.
Royal Naval Ensign
The U.S. Navy
The American Navy had grown rapidly since the Custer reforms of the 1890’s. By 1909 the U.S. Navy could muster a total of 15 leviathan class battleships, 24 pre-leviathan battleships, 13 armored cruisers, 26 protected cruisers, 4 light/scout cruisers, 65 destroyers, and 19 submarines.
49 Star U.S. Naval Jack
The Prussian Navy
Officially known as the Northern German Federal Navy(Norddeutsche Bundesmarine) the Prussian Navy had long been neglected in favor of the Prussian Army. By the time that the United States and Britain entered the war, Prussia had remaining only 2 leviathan class battleships, 5 pre-leviathan battleships, 6 battle cruisers, and 34 destroyers. Taking note of the French navy’s use of submarines however, Prussia did manage to field a respectable 42 submarines for use in the North Sea.
Prussian Marine Jack
The Russian Navy
After suffering serious losses in the war against Japan, by 1909 the Russian Empire possessed only 2 leviathan battleships, 3 pre-leviathan battleships, 10 cruisers, 19 destroyers, 8 submarines, and 47 torpedo boats.
Imperial Russian Naval Jack
The Entente
The Imperial French Navy
Although clearly behind the Royal Navy, the Imperial French Navy was still a formidable fighting force. It consisted of 14 leviathan battleships, 22 pre-leviathan battleships, 30 coast defense ships, 25 armored cruisers, 120 destroyers, and 79 submarines.
Imperial French Naval Ensign
The Austro-Hungarian Navy
In 1909 the Austro-Hungarian navy had a total of 48 vessels consisting of 3 leviathan battleships, 7 pre-leviathan battleships, 4 coast defense ships, 3 armored cruisers. 5 light/scout cruisers, 23 destroyers, and 3 submarines. Since the capitulation of Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Navy has helped blockade Greece and assisted the Ottomans in actions against the Russian’s Black Sea Fleet.
Austro-Hungarian Naval Ensign
The Ottoman Navy
The Ottoman navy was clearly the weakest of the Entente powers. By 1909, the Turkish navy consisted only of 3 pre-leviathan battleships, 2 coastal defense ship, 3 protected cruisers, 9 destroyers, and no submarines. For much of the war the Ottoman Navy has been defending the Dardanelles, while from time to time making raids into the Aegean and Black seas.
Ottoman Naval Ensign
Imperial Japanese Navy Despite loses at the hands of the Russians, by 1909 the Imperial Japanese navy still managed to possess 2 leviathan class battleships, 6 pre-leviathan class battleships, 4 coast defense ships, 7 armored cruisers, 13 protected cruisers, 3 light cruisers, 43 destroyers, and 11 submarines.
Since the start of the war the Imperial French Navy had maintained an effective blockade in the North Sea, strictly limiting Prussia and Russia’s access to the world’s oceans. However, with Great Britain joining the war in March of 1909 breaking the French blockade became a top priority in order to ship much need troops and supplies to the beleaguered Prussians. As such on March 14, 1909 the British Home and Channel Fleets meet the French Atlantic and Channel Fleets at Dogger Bank in the North Sea. The Battle of Dogger Bank would wage back and forth for three days as the British and French poured more and more ships into the fray. Despite British numerical superiority in ships, French submarines inflicted serious damage on the Royal Navy. Unusually poor weather further complicated the matter as the battle descended into a series of ferocious small scale engagements amidst the thick fog and smoke. On March 17 with both sides running low on ammunition, the battle swung decisively in favor of the Alliance as the weather cleared allowing the British to bring their superior numbers to bear. By the end of the day the French under Fleet Admiral Maurice Aucoin began to withdraw. The French retreat however was further hampered by the arrival of Prussian forces which picked off a number of damaged French vessels. The historic allusions to Waterloo with the Prussians arriving at the end of the battle did not fail to register with the British commander, Fleet Admiral Sir John Fisher, who is reported to have remarked “leave it to the bloody Germans to take their time getting to a fight.”
The French defeat at the Battle of Dogger Bank allowed the Alliance to start sending desperately needed men and materiel to the Prussian Front, with the first British units landing by the end of March. Victory however came at a high cost for the Royal Navy who lost 6 battleships, 19 cruisers, 37 destroyers, and a number of smaller vessels. French loses were roughly the same, but due to the Imperial French Navy’s smaller size were much more hardly felt.
Battle of the North Atlantic
A victim of French Submarine Warfare 1909
After their costly defeat at Dogger Bank, the French set about a policy of trying to starve Britain into submission. Known as the Battle of the North Atlantic, French submarines began sinking any vessel bound for British ports. This proved to be very successful in the spring of 1909, with hundred of merchant ships being sunk. In return the Alliance navies began their strategy of blockading France’s Atlantic coastline. The effects of this blockade were soon felt on the French economy as nearly all access to resources and goods from Latin America were cut off.
The Mediterranean
Although the Alliance dominated much of the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean remained in essence a French lake. The United Kingdom maintained only three outposts in the Entente dominated sea at Gibraltar, Malta, and Cyprus. Deemed “a thorn in the Empire’s side” by Napoleon IV, the French attempted a landing at Malta on July 1, 1909. The attempt failed due in equal part to the spirited fighting of the defenders and numerous French blunders in the amphibious assault. Despite the successful defense of Malta however, these three heavily fortified redoubts could in reality do little but try and hold on till the arrival of reinforcements.
French Troops on their way to the front during Operation Golden Bee
March, 1909
With the entry of the United States and Great Britain into the War, Emperor of the French Napoleon IV knew that in order to achieve victory the Kingdom of Prussia must be knocked out of the war before large numbers of American and British reinforcements arrived. In order to accomplish this, the French General Staff devised what would be one of the largest offensives of the war, Opération Abeille D'or (Operation Golden Bee), to deliver the coup de grace to their beleaguered German adversary. Golden Bee would capitalize off of the resent success of the Hess-Nassau Offensive by continuing to drive north along the east bank of the Rhine and into Prussia’s Westphalia Province. The ultimate goal of the offensive being to reach Prussia’s industrial heartland, the Ruhr valley. With the Ruhr severed from the rest of the kingdom, Napoleon believed that the Prussians would be forced to sue for peace. With Prussia out of the war a peace could be negotiated with the other Alliance powers that allowed France to keep her wartime gains.
Start of the Offensive Starting on March 15, 1909 the French, along with large contingents of their South German vassals, launched Operation Golden Bee. Entente efforts initially meet with great success as the Imperials slogged their way north despite heavy casualties. Over the next month and a half, Prussia lost Marburg and their remaining toeholds in Bonn and Cologne. On May 2, 1909 the commander of the Entente forces for Golden Bee, Marshal Petain, made a request to the Emperor that the offensive be halted in order to regroup and resupply. Napoleon IV denied Petain’s request and ordered that the operation continue until “the Ruhr valley is taken and every last Teuton is driven from her banks.”
The Battles of Dusseldorf, Kassel, and Sundern
French Soldiers at the Battle of Dusseldorf
April 13, 1909
On April 11, 1909 in what would become known as the Battle of Dusseldorf, French forces launched a major attack on their western limit of advance. The battle would rage for four days and see the French make several attempts to take the city. Although on the second day of the battle it looked as if the city would fall to the French, the arrival of elements of the British Expeditionary Force turned the tide in the Allies favor. Dusseldorf would prove to be the high watermark for the Entente offensive into Prussia. Over the next few weeks the French would suffer a series of defeats include one at the hands of a Russo-Prussian force south of Kassel. Another important turning point during Operation Golden Bee occurred at the Battle of Sundern where American forces saw combat for the first time in Europe. On June 2, 1909 in the thickly forested terrain outside of the city of Sundern, a composite Marine-Army element known as the American Expeditionary Corp inflicted a devastating defeat on the French-Bavarian force opposing it. At the battle the Americans took over 10,000 prisoners, most of them Bavarians. Due to the tenacity of the Americans’ performance during the battle, one French commander labeled them Démons de Forêt (Forest Devils) a name that would stick with American troops throughout the war.
Start of the German Revolt
Following the failure of Operation Golden Bee to end the war, and the heavy casualties suffered by south German troops, anti-French unrest exploded in the south German states of Bavaria, Württemberg, and Baden. Desertion skyrocketed as Prussian propaganda stirred up Pan-German sentiment while trying to alienate southern Germans from the co-religionist French and Austrian allies. Many historians mark July, 5, 1909 as the official start of the German Revolt, when guerrillas ambushed an Entente convoy outside of the Bavarian city of Bamberg resulting in over 200 French casualties. Over the next few months, tens of thousands of Germans would flee to the hills and forests to start fighting against their French and Austro-Hungarian oppressors. This forced the French to divert valuable men and resources, items they could not spare in light of the deteriorating military situation.
Flag used by many Pan-German guerrilas in southern Germany
British Machine Gun during the invasion of Madagascar
June, 1909
At the start of the war, France controlled roughly half of the continent of Africa. As the war dragged on, the French largely stripped their colonial possessions of their garrisons and conscripted large numbers of natives to fight in Europe. With the unexpected entry of the United States and Great Britain into the war in March of 1909 the French suddenly found that their African territories posed easy targets for the British, who with their naval superiority after the Battle of Dogger Bank could move and land troops with relative ease around the African coast.
Madagascar
The island of Madagascar had been a French colony since the 1870’s. It represented an important Entente naval base in the British dominated Indian Ocean. On May 24, 1909 a British/South African force landed on the west coast of the island near the city of Tomashina. The skeleton garrison the French had left to defend the island did not contest the landing but instead withdrew into the mountainous interior to wage a guerrilla war against the invaders. By July 13, 1909 the islands colonial capital Tananarive fell to the British. Over the next few months the British would use their superior naval strength to gain control of much of the coast. The French however, managed to maintain control of large sections of the islands interior due to the harsh terrain and thick vegetation.
Somaliland
French Somaliland was invaded by the British troops from neighboring British Puntland, Kenia, and Mombassa during late April, 1909. By June 3, 1909 the colony’s capital Mogadishu had fallen, and the French only managed to control a small strip of territory near the Ethiopian border.
West Africa
Although the British did not possess the troops necessary to invade all of France’s vast West African empire, several efforts were made in the spring and summer of 1909 to seize what the British deemed to be strategically important French territory. At the start of the war the French colony of Togoland separated the British possessions of Ghana and Nigeria. When the British invaded in early May of 1909, the French retreated north allowing the British to unite their West African colonies. Over the next few months the British would seize several other points on the West African cost. The only significant French victory during the early months of the African campaign occurred at the heavily fortified port city of Dakar in September, 1909 where the French managed to inflict heavy losses on a British attempt to take the city. After the defeat the British settled in on for a long blockade and siege of Dakar that would ultimately result in thousands of Alliance casualties, mostly from disease, before the port finally fell in February, 1909.
I think the next update should be about attacking Frances Asia/Pacific colonies, which I think will be quite difficult and I actually think the USA will join in on capturing the Philippines and may even take them after the war
For most of the Great War the Pacific theater was dominated by the Russo-Japanese conflict which had originally begun in October of 1906. With the outbreak of the Great War in September, 1907, France joined Japan as a cobelligerent against the Russians. When America and Great Britain entered the war in March of 1909, the balance of power in the Pacific swung dramatically to the Alliance. It is important to note that the British and Americans were at war only against the European members of the Entente and not Imperial Japan. The following is a brief account of the sweeping gains made in the Pacific by the Alliance in the spring, summer, and fall of 1909.
The Fall of New Guinea
The northern half of the island of New Guinea unceremoniously fell to a British/Australian force in late April of 1909 after the meager French garrison gave only token resistance. The island of New Britain and the rest of the Bonaparte Archipelago would fall in June of 1909, but only after the French put up a stiff resistance at Rabaul resulting in thousands of Australian and New Zealander casualties.
Australian forces at the Battle of Rabual
June, 1909
The Invasion of Indochina
In the early days of June, 1909 French Indochina was invaded by a British led Indian force of some 55,000 men from Burma. It would take until December 3 before the region of Tonkin fell after the siege of Hanoi. During the preceding months the British and their Australian and New Zealander subjects made landings near Saigon and at the old Imperial Vietnamese capital of Hue. The French and the small number of natives who stayed loyal to the Emperor harried the invaders at several points and retained control of much of the interior into 1910.
The United States seizes French Polynesia, Micronesia, and the Philippines
Once France’s American territories had been conquered the United States turned her attention to the Pacific. From bases in Hawaii and Samoa, the United States Navy launched several expeditions to secure France’s relatively undefended South Pacific possessions. On July 15, Tahiti fell after a naval bombardment and a landing by U.S. Marines. Enroot to the Philippines, Navy/Army taskforces made landings of Guam and other spots in the south and central pacific. By the time American troops landed in the Philippines in November, America had gained effective control of the Polynesian, Caroline, Marshal, Mariana, and Pelew Islands. Although French submarines and torpedo boats did manage to inflict several loses on the U.S. Navy, the Imperial French Navy was spread to thin and their island garrisons were to weak to pose a serious threat. The toughest nut to crack would prove to be the Philippines. Ever since Spain had sold the Philippine Islands to France in 1879, the archipelago’s capital Manila had served as an important outpost in France’s Pacific Empire. On November 7, 1909 a large American force landed on the Philippine island of Luzon after the small French naval force was defeated at the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The Battle of Manila on November 18 was ferocious as American troops were forced to storm the city after a 6 hour long bombardment. By the end of the month most of the French garrison had surrendered although small French elements would remain active on other islands for months.
Japan exits the War
After over three years of brutal warfare and with the likelihood of an imminent Russian breakthrough on the Yalu River, the Empire of Japan sought British/American mediation in ending its conflict with Russia. Russia was eager to end its war in the east as well as it had conquered nearly all of Manchuria and wished to concentrate its forces against its enemies in Europe. Therefore the Treaty of Honolulu was singed between Russia and Japan on December 8, 1909. Russia would receive a free hand in Manchuria and Japan would keep Korea and all of its Pacific possessions, such as Formosa. Although many in Japan were furious at the treaty’s terms the island nation was bankrupt and had little choice but to accept. The signing of the treaty signaled the end of major combat operations in the theater and the destruction of Entente power in the Pacific.
The London Conference In late August of 1909, representatives from the Alliance nations meet in London to discuss war aims and a more formal Alliance structure. The major powers included the United States represented by Secretary of State William McKinley, Great Britain by Prime MinisterCampbell-Bannerman, Prussia by Foreign Minister Heinrich von Tschirschky, and Russia by Foreign Minister Alexander Izvolsky. One of the first points agreed upon was that no nation would make a separate peace with any member of the Entente. The second major point agreed upon was that all territorial gains and punitive measures made after the war would be rdiscussed and ratified in a convention held after the war (in much the same way of the Congress of Vienne after the First Napoleonic Wars). Curiously one of the hardest things agreed upon was the name that this alliance should take. Some favored retaining the moniker of “Alliance” as it dated back to the original Prussian-Russian-Italian Alliance from the start of the war. Other’s favored the name “Coalition”, which would ultimately win out, in reference to the historical opposition towards the first French Empire. Still other more exotic names such as “The League” or “The United Nations” were also floated. Regardless, after much debate and compromise on October 2, 1909 a charter was signed under the name of the Coalition of Free Nations by the representatives of Prussia, Russia, the United States, Great Britain, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece. Charges that not all of the nations should be considered “free” have been levied over the years but at the time the description of the Coalition as an alliance amongst “Free Nations” was an important selling point for the British and American publics.
Mexico and Central America join the Coalition
With the Americas cleared of Entente forces and the Coalition charter singed in London, the United States’ Central American allies flocked to the Coalition banner. The first to join was the Republic of Nicaragua on October 21, 1909. Within weeks the rest of Central America and Haiti had joined the war. Mexico was the last to join, deciding to through its lot in with the Coalition in early December. Although it is fair to say that many of these nations were simple jumping on the Coalition bandwagon with little to offer of gain from participation, Mexico did field an infantry division that distinguished itself on the German front. Mexico’s entry into the war also cemented its position as a dedicated American ally and marked its entry onto the world stage as a respectable middle power.
Collapse of the Brazilian Monarchy
Having rulede Brazil for 85 years the House of Braganza finally fell from power on August 4, 1909 when a military backed Republican coup overthrew Empress Isablea. Although it is true that Brazil had prospered under the monarchy, the Empire's pro-French stnace, even after the publication of the Bonaparte-Hanotauz letters had hurt Brazil over the past few years. The Coalition blockade of France had deprived the Empire of Brazil of one of its most important markets. Furthermore, the outbreak of the Great War had dramatically curtailed French aid and investment to Brazil which the Imperial Family had become dependent on. On August 4, the Empress and the rest of the royal family were made to board the ship Ceres to go to Portugal in exile. Within days the Brazilian General Assembly officially declared the nation a republic under the new name of the Federated States of Brazil. The unexpected fall of the Brazilian monarchy sent shock waves thought South America where the pro-French governments of Colombia and Venezuela were struggling to hold onto power, neither of which would survive the year. The collapse of the pro-French governments in South America marked an important turning point in the region where Lain America would democratize and increasingly come under the leadership of the United States.
With Britain and America joining the war against the Entente in March of 1909, the conditions in France by the end of 1909 were deteriorating rapidly. Tens of thousands of troops had to be redirected from the front to guard the French coast. The Coalition was making impressive gains in both Germany and Hungary. Austria-Hungary was on the brink of collapse, and rumors abounded that the Ottoman Empire was looking for a way out of the war. On top of that, full blown guerrilla wars had erupted in the South German states and the occupied portions of Italy which were putting an unbearable strain on the dwindling manpower of the Entente nations.
The Economy
By the winter of 1910 the Coalition blockade of Europe had nearly completely cut of France and her allies from the markets and resources of the Americas, Asia, and Sub Saharan Africa. Indeed, the only non-European trade that the French had left was with their North African colonies, and even that trade was coming under increasing attack from Coalition submarines and commerce raiders from bases in Malta, Gibraltar, and Cyprus. In France rationing of food and certain materials was increasing. Shortages of fuel, steel, rubber, and ammunition was beginning to seriously undermine the Imperial war effort.
One of the many breadlines in eastern France
1910
The Disloyal Opposition
As France’s wartime prospects dimmed, a plethora of anti-Bonapartist groups grew in popularity. This included monarchist factions both Orleanist and Legitimist, and a large but fragmented left wing with competing anarchist, socialist, and communist movements. However, the largest and increasingly the most credible opposition group were the Republicans who sought nothing less than the overthrow of the Empire and the establishment of a “Third Republic.” All of these groups encouraged Frenchman to dissert from the Imperial Army and began to stockpile weapons and train men in remote locations. The groups also attempted to organize likeminded military officers with varying degrees of success.
Le Nouvel Empire As the number of enemies, both internal and external, grew Napoleon IV became increasingly worried about the precarious position his throne occupied. On November 15, 1909 an attempt was made on the Emperor’s life by an anarchist named Jacques Simardduring one of Napoleon’s palace speeches. Although Napoleon IV escaped unscathed he used the assassination attempt as an excuse to launch a massive crackdown on dissidents and to consolidate his power. In what he called Le Nouvel Empire (The New Empire) Napoleon IV abolished the legislature and suspended the constitution. Although his power had been considerable before the New Empire phase, Napoleon now ruled completely by decree and was free to let his gendarmerie to deal with any perceived threat to the Empire without restraint. Although this move was meant to strengthen the Emperor position, in the long run it created far more enemies than it silenced.
The Hungarian Offensive and the Battle of Budapest
July 1909- February 1910
The City of Budapest before the Battle 1909
In the West as American and British forces poured into Prussia and began to push the French back towards the Rhine, the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires were locked in a death match in the East. The Hapsburg’s had ruled their central European empire in some form or another since the reign of Rudolf I, over 600 years ago. Now, with the Coalition advancing and many of their disenfranchised subjects rising against them, the Hapsburgs could only fight on against what must have seemed like a Russian wave crashing over them.
The Russians resumed their push into Hungary in August of 1909. Three massive Russian armies totaling over 1 million men and supplemented by their Romanian, Serbian, and Bulgarian allies took part in the offensive. The Austro-Hungarians were forced to redirected hundreds of thousands of troops from their fronts in Bavaria and northern Italy to try and cope with the onslaught. By early January, 1910 the Russians had made their way to the outskirts of Budapest. The Battle of Budapest would prove to be the climax of the Hungarian offensive and one of the largest and deadliest battles of the Great War. As the capital and largest city of the constituent Kingdom of Hungary, Budapest had enormous importance to the Austro-Hungarians. Likewise, the Russians believed that after the capture of Budapest, the other non-Austrian subjects of the Austro-Hungarian Empire would read the writing on the wall and desert their German speaking overlords. The battle would last for roughly two months as the Russians were able to eventually encircle the city despite growing troubles with the long and precarious supply lines. Even after the city was surrounded, the half on the western bank of the Danube River (the historical city of Buda) would not officially surrendered to Russian General Alexi Brusilov until February 27, 1910. With Budapest and most of Hungary now in Coalition hands, Austro-Hungarian Emperor Maximilian began to look for a way for his country to exit the war while still preserving the dual monarchy.
Turkish Reversals
With the Russians making headway into Kurdistan, the Arab provinces in revolt, and ever smaller amounts of aid coming from France, the Ottoman Empire in the Autumn of 1909 began a fighting withdraw from much of its European holdings as the Turks decreasing resources were badly needed elsewhere. For the Bulgarians, Serbs, and Greeks who had been on the ropes fighting the Sublime Porte for years, the Turkish withdrawal was a godsend. By 1910 the Turks had largely stopped falling back and were digging in to protect their remaining European territory as illustrated by the Battle of Plovdiv in the early days of February, 1910 when a Russo-Bulgarian army was badly mauled after attempting to cross the Maritsa River.
Turkish troops defending the Maritsa River February, 1910
The Arab Revolt Since the start of the Great War, the Ottoman Empire’s relations with the Arab tribes that inhabited the interior of the Arabian Peninsula had deteriorated dramatically. Starting in 1908, Hashemite forces in the Hejaz under Sayyid Hussein bin Ali joined the Coalition and proceeded to try and drive the Turks from Arab lands. Although at first the Arab rebels meet with little success due to lack of munitions and supplies, aid from Prussia, and later Britain and the United States eventually allowed the Arabs to start gaining ground. In June of 1909 the important Arabian port of Jeddah was captured. Over the next few months the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina would also fall to rebel hands. Throughout the campaign the Arabs were assisted by a number of European officers, the two most famous being Prussian Captain Theophil Schoenfeld and British Major Kian Hawkins who would make a name for themselves by adopting Arab costumes and customs in order to gain their soldiers trust. By the Spring of 1910, Arab forces had driven the Turks completely out of the Arabian Peninsula and were preparing to advance into Ottoman controlled Palestine.
The Invasion of Egypt
As French possessions in the rest of Africa were continuing to fall to the Coalition, the British decided to embark on Operation Marlborough, the invasion of the French colony of Egypt. Having been part of the French Empire since the 1880’s, Egypt’s most important feature was the Suez Canal which if captured would allow the Coalition, who already controlled Gibraltar, greater access to the Mediterranean Sea. On January 13, 1910 a composite force under the command of British General Robert Baden-Powell but composed mainly of Australian and New Zealand troops landed near the port of Suez on the Red Sea. Although the landing came under intense shellfire, Coalition forces were able to seize the city by the end of the day. Over the next two months over 150,000 Coalition troops would land and fight their way north up the canal to Port Said. Although the French scuttled ships and tried to damage the canal to make in inoperable for Coalition use, they were only moderately successful. On March 30th, 1910 Coalition forces captured Cairo after a brief but intense siege. With Egypt and its canal no longer under Entente control, the Coalition could now dramatically expand its naval presence in the Mediterranean and deliver much needed supplies to its southern European allies.
Italy Reenters the War
Italy had undergone a transformation since the signing of the Treaty of Milan in February of 1908 which had taken the Mediterranean kingdom out of the war. Many Italians felt deeply betrayed by the monarchy for signing the treaty and longed to regain their lost northern provinces. On May 16, 1908 Queen Lucia was overthrown by a popularly backed military coup, and was force to flee to Spain. Within days the Italian parliament abolished the monarchy and the Republic of Italy was proclaimed. As the war waged on in Europe, Italy busied itself by rearming and retraining its battered army, a task which proved difficult since the most industrialized regions of the country were under enemy occupation. Throughout this period, known in Italy as La Tregua “The Truce”, the Italian military was put under the command of Generalissimo Brancaleone Lucchesi. Lucchesi had distinguished himself earlier in the war against the French and Austro-Hungarians and had successfully led his army corps south to safety following the armistice. Lucchesi would use his corps as the nucleus to build the new Italian Army around. An ardent republican, a notable rarity in the old monarchist army, the popular Lucchesi was an enormous asset in recruiting troops and bolstering the moral of the Italian people. Also during La Tregua Lucchesi did all he could to aid the Italian guerrillas in the mountainous regions of occupied northern Italy. With aid from southern Italy these guerrillas were exacting an increasingly severe toll on the French and Austro-Hungarian occupiers.
By the spring of 1910, the Italian army had largely regained its former strength and was determined to liberate northern Italy. News of the capture of Egypt and the steady stream of Entente reversals in Germany and Hungary finally convinced the Italian government and Lucchesi that the time was right to rejoin the Coalition. On May 5, 1910 roughly two years after the signing of the Treaty of Milan, the Italian government declared war on the Entente powers with Generalissimo Lucchesi making his famous statement “May Emperors tremble at sounds of freemen no longer slaves breaking their chains!”
Prussian troops fighting around Wetzlar, Prussia September, 1909
The summer and autumn of 1909 saw the Coalition rack up a series of victories on the German Front. The failure of Operation Golden Bee to win the war for the Entente, left the French in a very precarious position and their armies heavily attrited. By late July, American, British, and Commonwealth troops had arrived in Prussia in enough numbers to start pushing the Entente back on points all along the front line.
“To the Rhine!”
Canadian troops in action around Bonn August, 1909
Starting in July, the Coalition began launching a series of offensive aimed at pushing the French back towards the western bank of the Rhine. On August 9, 1909 the city of Bonn was liberated after a vicious street battle spearheaded by Canadian soldiers. The ballad “the Bloody Battle of Bonn” would come to be one of the most popular tunes of the war and be used as a rallying cry for Canadian nationalism for decades to come. From October 3-15 in what became known as the Second Battle of Frankfurt, a combined Anglo-Prussian Army of 204,000 men eventually succeeded in driving the French from the city. With the recapture of Frankfurt, all Prussian territory west of the Rhine had been reclaimed. November and December would see the Coalition make several successful thrusts into Baden and Württemberg were the locals were coming over in the thousands to the “German” cause.
The Fall of Bavaria
With the Russians advancing in the east, The Austro-Hungarians were forced to drastically weaken their armies in Bavaria and Bohemia. This provided an opportunity for the Coalition to launch one of the most daring offensives of the war. Known as Operation Vorschlaghammer or Sledgehammer in English, this daring Prussian-American offensive would see most of Bavaria and parts of Bohemia fall in less than two and half months. Launched in the dead of winter, Operation Sledgehammer took the ragtag Entente defenders completely by surprise. Prussian cavalry, supported by American armored car and airship units, spearheaded the attach allowing for a rapid advance. Although a few pockets of French troops put up determined resistance, the royalist Bavarian and Austro-Hungarian forces surrendered in droves. Nuremburg fell on New Year’s Day 1910, with the rest of Bavaria being captured in the coming weeks. The liberation of Bavaria held special significance to the Coalition as it was a crisis over succession to the Bavarian throne which had triggered the Great War in the first place. By the end of February 1910, a provisional republican government under Prussian supervision had been installed in Bavaria and the Coalition was eagerly looking across the border into Austria.
Wounded Prussian and American troops during the Austrian Campaign
June, 1910
No Way Out
By March of 1910, with roughly half of their territory now under the control of the Coalition, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was desperately looking for a way to exit the war. The empire was coming undone at the seams. Transylvania, Galicia, and most of Hungry, were now in the hands of the Russians or their allies. In the south, Slavic rebellions were increasing in intensity as Vienna’s grip on its provinces continued to slip. Using covert channels to disguise his intentions from the French, the 78 year old Emperor Maximilian sent emissaries to the Coalition powers to discuss an Armistice. In exchange for peace, Maximilian would confirm the annexation of Transylvania to Romania, the German speaking parts of Bohemia to Prussia, Galicia to Russia, and parts of northeastern Italy to the Republic of Italy. The remaining Austro-Hungarian territories would stay in the empire under the rule of the Hapsburgs. The deal found considerable support amongst the British, American, and Italians. The Prussians and Russians however disliked the offer. Many in the Prussian government were now determined to build a PanGerman state after the war which would need to include Austria. Russia disliked the offer of an armistice for two reasons. The first being that they would have to withdraw from recently conquered Hungry, and the second that a surviving Austria-Hungry could ally itself with Prussia or Britain against the Russians after the war. As such the proposed armistice fell through and the war continued, and the last chance for the survival of Austria-Hungry passed by.
Swan Song of an Empire
Austro-Hungarian artillery in action during the Waag River Offensive
April, 1910
With a diplomatic exit from the war having been rejected, the Austro-Hungarians decided that the only way to negotiate for peace was from a position of strength. Seeing the Russians as the biggest threat to the Empire’s existence, Emperor Maximillian decided to launch an offensive a hundred miles east of Presburg[1] in a last ditch effort to compel the Russians to the negotiating table. Known as the Waag River offensive, an Austro-Hungarian force inflicted over 67,000 casualties in a surprise victory over the overextended Russians in the early days of April, 1910. In the following weeks, the Austro-Hungarians on the eastern front rallied somewhat and were able to shore up the frontline, beating back Russian and Romanian attacks at Székesfehérvár and Mohacs respectively. In order to accomplish these victories however, the Austro-Hungarians were forced to weaken their defenses along the Bavarian border. A gamble which would cost them dearly.
The Invasion of Austria
With the Russian advance stalled in the east, the western members of the Coalition decided to mount an offensive to knock Austria-Hungry out of the war once and for all. Following on the heels of their rapid dash through Bavaria, the Prussian 3rd Army under General Karl von Bülow and the American V Corps under Lt. General Arthur MacArthur Jr. prepared to renew their advance. Starting on May 2, 1910, the Coalition crossed over the Inn River into Austria. Although the vast majority of the Austro-Hungarian army was deployed in the east fighting the Russians, they still managed to bloody the Prussians and Americans at places like the Battle of Linz before being surrounded and overwhelmed. The final action of the Austrian Campaign, the Battle of Vienna, began on June 26, 1910 as the Prussian-American force began to encircle the city. Over the next six days the beleaguered garrison, short on ammunition and food, was forced to fall back until it surrender on July 2, 1909. Emperor Maximilian abdicated the next morning, reportedly stating to his wife Empress Charlottethat “perhaps we should have gone to Mexico after all” a reference to the 1863 French offer to be made Emperor of Mexico. With the Emperor’s abdication and the refusal of his son the Archduke Joseph to carry on the struggle the Austro-Hungarian Empire ceased to exists. On the July 4 victory parade through the streets of Vienna the Pan-German tricolor was raised over Hofburg palace. Legend has it that the American commander, Lt. General MacArthur, led an assembly of Coalition officers in a rousing rendition of the Battle Cry of Freedom in both German and English well into the night.
Photograph from the aftermath of the Siege of Bagdad
June, 1910
Kurdistan
As the Russians slogged their way into eastern Anatolia, the area’s Kurdish population rose in rebellion against their Turkish overlords. With Russian aid and support the Kurds were able to sweeping the Ottomans from the regions mountains terrain. While Coalition advances along the Black Sea proved to be slow and costly, and in Thrace nonexistent, most of Kurdistan was freed from Ottoman rule by the end of July, 1910.
Palestinian Blunder
Turkish Artillery at the Battle of Jerusalem
June, 1910
Following the successful invasion of Egypt, Coalition forces embarked on an invasion of Ottoman controlled Palestine. Under British General Ian Hamilton, the Coalition force would run into a series of problems due to the harsh environment and lack of supplies. Although technically a Coalition victory the Battle of Gaza cost Hamilton over 10,000 casualties compared to the 5,400 suffered by his Turkish counterpart. The climax of the campaign came on June 11, 1910 during the Battle of Jerusalem when the Ottomans successfully repulsed a Coalition attempt to take the city. By the end of July, Coalition forces had fallen back as far as Beersheba in order to regroup and resupply.
Mesopotamia
While the Coalition suffered embarrassing reversals in Palestine, their offensive into Mesopotamia was far more successful. Pushing north from Kuwait in the early months of 1910, a Coalition force composed of mostly British and Commonwealth troops, travelled along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers towards the city of Bagdad. Aided by large numbers of Arab rebels, the Coalition army under the command of Major General Robert McDougal fought and routed a disorganized Turkish force at the Battle of Kut. Coalition forces then went on to besiege Bagdad. After several weeks of fierce fighting, the city surrendered on June 28, 1910.
The Ottoman Empire exits the War
Despite some success in defending Palestine, the Kurdish Rebellion along with the fall of Bagdad proved to many in the Sultan’s service that continuing the war was hopeless. News of the collapse of Austria-Hungry in early July seemed only to confirm that assumption as the Russian Empire would now be able to turn its full attention south. On July 22, 1910 the ailing Sultan Abdul Hamid II was deposed by a palace coup. He was replaced by one of his western educated nephews who was installed as Sultan Abdulmecid II. Abdulmecid II and his reform minded band of supporters wasted no time in sending dignitaries to the Coaltion powers to request an armistice. Although there were several in the Russian government who wished to continue the war against the Turks, growing war weariness and pressure from Great Britain and the United States eventually made them accept. On August 12, 1910 an armistice between the Sublime Ottoman State and the Coalition of Free Nations was signed onboard the HMS Guardian. The armistice had three major stipulations, the immediate end of all hostilities, the halt of all troop movements, and for a formal peace treaty convention between the former belligerents to be signed in the following months. The Ottomans role in the Great War was over.
With the collapse of the south German states and the eviction of Entente forces east of the Rhine River by March of 1910 the Coalition was finally prepared to cross the Rhine and liberate Prussian territory that had been under French occupation since the summer of 1908. The first stage of the mammoth operation was an attack by the British Expeditionary Force under Field Marshal Herbert Kitchener and the Russian 7th Army under General Venyamin Belyaev across the Rhine around Mainz on April 3, 1910 in order to draw French troops south of the Mosel. Although effective in distracting the French, the British and Russians paid dearly for every yard gained. With the Entente’s attention focused towards the south, the Prussian 3rd and 4th Armies under Field Marshal Schlieffen and the American Expeditionary Force under Lt. General James F. Bell broke through the French lines north of Koblenz on May 5, 1910 and made a rapid advance west towards the Belgian border. By the end of the month the French 6th Army was effectively trapped with the Prussians on the eastern bank of the Rhine, Americans on their southern flank, and the neutral but vigilant Belgian and Dutch armies to their west and north. Cut off and low on supplies and ammunition the French 6th Army would surrendering on July 7th, 1910 after the army’s commander, Marshal Philippe Petain, killed himself upon receiving news of the collapse of Austria-Hungary. All in all, over 164,000 men would be captured in what became known as the Rhineland Pocket.
The Brittany Debacle
After the successful landings in Egypt in January of 1910, the British were adamant on recreating a similar amphibious operation in western France. The rationale behind such a bold plan was that a landing on France’s Atlantic coast would force the French to divert troops away from the front lines in Germany and Italy. Furthermore, the British believed that if they could capture a sizable port, such as Brest, then it would significantly ease their logistical troubles when the war moved into northern France. On June 8, 1910 a large British/Canadian force of over 90,000 men under the command of Field Marshal Archibald Blackwell began to land on the north side of the Breton Peninsula at Kerlouan. Although the landing met with initial success, French reinforcements prevented Blackwell from taking Brest. Over the next few months, Brest would be reduced to rubble by Coalition naval and aerial bombardment. However, determined French resistance and crippling supply problems prevented Coalition forces from ever advancing more than a few dozen miles inland. As the campaign dragged on Brittany became a byword for failure as the British were forced to throw more and more men into the battle just to maintain their beachhead. Perceived British incompetence and callousness did much to alienate the Canadian and Irish soldiers fighting for the crown, a legacy which would have important consequences after the war.
Northern Italy
With Italy having reentered the Great War in May, 1910 after a nearly 18 month hiatus; the Italians initially made good progress against the disintegrating Austro-Hungarians in the northeast. After liberating Venice and Verona by the end of June, Italian commander Generalissimo Lucchesi turned his armies east to rid northwestern Italy of the French invaders. The French 5th Army, then the primary Entente formation in Italy, was critically undersupplied and manned and as such was forced to fall back towards France. On July 26, 1910 Milan was liberated after a brief delaying action by the French. Milan however would prove to be the last of the low hanging fruit as stiff French resistance around Torino would force the Italians to settle into protracted trench warfare. It was during this stalemate during the late summer of 1910, that Lucchesi’s forces benefited from large amounts of American aid in the form of weapons and food. Also, the American 7th Infantry Division would land in Italy in August and distinguish itself in a number of engagements in the Piedmont region.
The Liberation of Luxembourg
Following the victory in the Rhineland Pocket, the Coalition armies began pressing southwards. By the end of September, 1910 the American Expeditionary Force had liberated Luxembourg, and the Prussians, British, and Russians had forced the French back to their 1907 borders all along the front line. As the noose tightened around France, dissension was growing within the French army and public. Because Napoleon IV refused to negotiate with the Coalition due to their demand for his abdication, an ever-increasing number of Frenchmen began to view the Emperor as the ultimate obstacle to peace.
Prussian Machine Gun in action around the Rhine River
September, 1910
Formally known as the American Expeditionary Corps.
American troops during Operation Titanic
October, 1910
Operation Titanic
In what would prove to be the final and largest Coalition offensive of the Great War, Operation Titanic pitted the combined might of the Coalition of Free Nations against the Grande Armee of the French Empire. Along France’s eastern border the Coalition could muster a total of 5 Prussian, 3 British, 3 American, and 1 Russian Armies. While French armies were numerically larger than their Coalition counterparts Napoleon IV could only rely on the heavily attrited First, Second, Third and Fourth armies to defend his crumbling empire. The first of the three stages of Operation Titanic occurred on October 7, 1910 when Prussian Army Group B, composed of the Prussian 3rd and 6th Armies, engaged the French 4th Army at several points along the western bank of the Rhine. The second phase began 10 days later on October 17th, when the BEF and Russian 7th Army, now under the command of General Alexi Brusilov, crossed the border into France south of Saarbrucken and attacked the French 3rd Army and elements of the French 2nd Army. The third stage of the operation occurred on October 25th when, with the vast majority of the French army fixed on the attacking Russians and British, the AEF and Prussian Army Group A, composed of the Prussian 1st, 2nd, and 4th Armies, advanced south from Luxembourg towards the French city of Metz. The next few weeks of the operation would see some of the most intense combat of the war. In the air record numbers of French and Coalition airships and airplanes bombed and strafed while on the ground superior Coalition numbers overwhelmed the entrenched French infantry.
British Cataphract (Cat) Mk. 1
Supported by offensives in Brittany and northern Italy, the constant pressure of the Coalition advance began to break the French. On November 4, 1910 Metz fell as Coalition armored cars and new armored tracked vehicles called cataphracts, or cats for short, continued south towards Nancy. The Battle of Nancy would last for over a week, as the Coalition first encircled and then pounded into submission this important French supply and transportation hub. On November 19th, Nancy surrendered to AEF commander LTG James F. Bell. In the following week French resistance in Alsace-Lorraine began to deteriorate as tens of thousands of hungry and demoralized French soldiers surrendered. By the end of the month, the once Grande Amree was in full retreat to the southwest.
Operation Titanic Order of Battle
Coalition
American Expeditionary Force (AEF): General James F. Bell 1st Army: Robert Lee Bullard 3rd Army: Leonard Wood 4th Army: John Pershing
British Expeditionary Force (BEF): Field Marshal Herbert Kitchener
1st Army: Julian Byng 2nd Army: John French 3rd Army: Douglas Haig
Prussian Army Group A: Field Marshal Schlieffen
1st Army:Johannes Georg von der Marwitz
2nd Army:Otto Liman von Sanders
4th Army: Alexander Von Kluck
Prussian Army Group B: Field Marshal Von Moltke
3rd Army:Karl von Bulow
6th Army:Oskar von Huiter
Russian 7th Army: General Alexi Brusilov
Entente
French 1st Army: Ferdinand Foch
French 2nd Army:Louis Franchet d'Esperey
French 3rd Army:Jospeh Gallieni
French 4th Army: Robert Nivelle
The December Revolution
With the collapse of the French armies in Alsace-Lorraine it became clear to everyone in the French capital that the war was now unwinnable. Everyone that is except for the Emperor. On November 29, 1910 Napoleon IV addressed his supreme war council where he stated that preparations should be made to turn Paris into “the greatest redoubt in Christendom” were like the Byzantine capital of old it would “hold out for years against the godless hordes!” Several of the advisors present argued however that with the frontline in Alsace-Lorraine collapsing and the renewed Coalition offensives in Brittany and Italy making progress the country would be completely overwhelmed in two to three months. Led by the capable Brigadier General Augustin Follet several officers present argued that after over three years of war, the Coalition blockade, and crippling food and ammunition shortages the nation and the people could not carry on the war through the winter. Upon hearing this it is said that Bonaparte flew into a rage and declared that any discussion doubting France’s victory would be considered treason.
On the evening of December 3, 1910, in what would be become known as the December Revolution, Brig. General Augustin Follet and his confederates launched their plan to topple the monarchy and bring the war to an end. Having cut communications to the Imperial Guard barracks on the outskirts of the city, Follet began distributing the contents of several of the Parisians armories to members of the republican underground under the command of Marcel Ames. Around 10:45pm the group of roughly 450 disaffected soldiers and armed citizens marched on the imperial residence at the Tuileries. After blowing the gates and a brief firefight Follet and Ames’s republicans gained entry into the palace’s courtyard, with his guards deserting him and no avenue of escape, the Emperor made one last attempt to calm the situation. Appearing on a balcony overlooking the courtyard, along with the Prince Imperial Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon IV declared in a loud and defiant voice quoting his great-uncle “If any man would shoot his emperor he may do so now!” It would prove to be Napoleon IV’s last words as he and his son’s bodies were soon riddled by rifle fire from the mob who took up the chant Vive La Republique! With the Emperor dead, Paris descended in to open revolt for the next three days as hundreds of thousands of French citizens poured into the streets to fight against the gendarmerie and a few loyal imperial units. News of the Emperor’s death spread like wildfire through the remnants of the French Army who began deserting and surrendering en masse.
Last known photograph of Napoleon IV in civilian clothes
taken 2 days before his death
December 1, 1910
End of the Great War
On December 7 with Paris secured, Marcel Ames proclaimed the existence of the Third French Republic on top of the pile of rubble that was once the gigantic equestrian statue of Napoleon I to an exuberant crowd of over a million Parisians. An armistice was signed between delegations from the new French Republic and the Coalition powers in the city of Reims two days later. After three years and three months of fighting, the largest and most destructive war in human history was finally over.
Victory celebrations in New York City
December 9, 1910
With the Great War over and the Coalition victorious the world’s attention now turned to building a lasting peace. The Belgian city of Brussels was chosen as the sight of the negotiations which would last for nearly nine months before a comprehension deal could be reached.
Third French Republic
At the treaty negotiations France would see its once grand empire divided amongst the victors. Having violently overthrown the French Empire, including having killed its despised former Emperor, gave the French republican delegates a degree of legitimacy with the Coalition powers during the negotiations. Furthermore, the new French government, unlike its predecessor, had little desire to preserve its overseas empire, instead willing to trade overseas territories in order to not have to pay exorbitant monetary reparations. This is a clearly illustrated by France ceding Cameroun to the new Federal Kingdom of Germany. By the end of the treaty negotiations France had lost all of her American, Pacific, Asian and most of her African colonies managing only to retain Algeria. France was forced to allow Corsica and Alsace-Loraine to hold referendums on whether to remain part of France, become independent, or join Italy and Germany respectively. In the end, both provinces remained part of the republic. Furthermore, limits were placed on the French army and navy, and a demilitarized zone along France’s western border was established for twenty five years. Although tough, the treaty did not saddle the young republic with huge monetary reparations or permanently lose any of France’s metropolitan territory allowing the country to recover and prosper in the coming decades.
The United States of America
In the treaty, the United States retained nearly all of its island conquests. In the Caribbean the U.S. gained the Panama Canal, Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthelemey, and Saint Martin. In the north Atlantic the tiny islands ofSaint Pierre and Miquelon were kept despite protest from the Newfoundland government and ceded to the State of Maine. In the Pacific the United States acquired a virtual island empire having annexed all of the former French possessions in Polynesia and Micronesia. The Treaty of Brussels also acknowledged American dominance of the Philippine Archipelago. Not wanting to spend the resources garrisoning the unruly islands, the United States would establish the Philippines as an independent republic in 1916 after gaining considerable trade and naval basing rights.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
In terms of square miles of territory gained the United Kingdom received the most at the treaty negotiations. Britain greatly increased its African holdings by acquiring Madagascar, the Sudan, and most of French central and west Africa. The treaty granted Britain control of the Suez Canal and Egypt, which Britain set up as a puppet Kingdom of Egypt. Furthermore, Britain established puppet states in Mesopotamia and Indochina. In total, the British Empire would reach its zenith after the Great War controlling more than a quarter of the globe’s population and territory.
Italian Republic
Italy regained all the land lost in the Treaty of Milan and annexed all of the Italian speaking regions of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Due to the enormous damages that Italy suffered during the course of the war, many Italians including their new President Brancaleone Lucchesi, wished acquire further territories from France such as Corsica, Provence, and Savoy. During the course of the negotiations France retained Savoy and Provence but was forced to offer Corsicans a referendum on whether they wished to join Italy, become independent, or remain part of France with the Corsicans ultimately choosing the later. The Italian Republic did receive from France the important North African territory of Tunis-Tripolitania which included parts of Cyrenaica as well as vast stretches of desert in the interior.
Russian Empire Having already gained Manchuria during the Treaty of Honolulu, the Treaty of Brussels allowed Russia to annex Galicia as well as some territory from the Ottoman Empire in the Caucuses. In eastern Anatolia, Russia established the Kingdom of Kurdistan as a protectorate. Although not specified in the Treaty of Brussels, Russia greatly expanded its sphere of influence in the Balkans following the war.
Kingdom of Prussia/ German Empire
Having occupied nearly all of the German speaking areas of Europe by the end of the war, many in the Prussian government decided that the time was at hand to finally create a pan-German state. While negotiations were ongoing in Brussels, the Kaiser convened a convention in Berlin to discuss the formation of a new German nation. At the Berlin convention there was a wide variety of fractions present from Prussia, Austria, and the south German states including militarists, monarchist, republicans, federalists, and those wanting to only incorporate the Protestant or Catholic segments of Germany. After months of debate on August 5, 1911 an agreement was finally reached in what many historians would claim to be one of the best managed compromises in political history. The German states would be united into a new constitutional parliamentary monarchy known as the German Empire with the 80 year old Frederick III crowned as emperor. Internally, the empire itself was divided into several lander or states with significant levels of autonomy. The new German imperial constitution called for a bicameral parliament with the lower house elected from amongst the people (women would not get the vote until the late 1920’s) and an upper house chosen from the nobility from the various states. The constitutional protected both protestant and catholic religions, freedom of assembly and press, and the rule of law. The signing of the Treaty of Brussels in October of 1911 internationally acknowledged the formation of the German Empire and made it the new dominate power on the European continent.
50 Star Flag of the United States after the admission of Santo Domingo
Demobilization and “An Empire of Islands”
American soldiers returning from the Great War received a hero’s welcome with large tickertape parades in nearly all of the nation’s major cities. With the war over and won, the United States underwent a massive demobilization of its army and navy. However, Secretary of War Roosevelt and Secretary of the Navy Mahan did ensure that the lessons learned during the Great War would not be lost becoming the basis for American military doctrine for decades to come.
The Treaty of Brussels confirmed American ownership over the territories it conquered from France in the Pacific and Caribbean during the war in what Secretary of State McKinley called “An empire of islands”. Before leaving office President Lincoln and Secretary of State McKinley would work tirelessly to organize these new territories and start them on the eventually path to statehood. The notion that these oversea territories would eventually become full fledged states did not sit well with most Democrats and some of the fringe imperialistic elements of the Republican Party. By 1913 however, America’s oversea possessions were divided into territories and commonwealths including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Guadeloupe and Martinique, Polynesia, Micronesia, Guiana, and the Canal Zones.
Santo Domingo Joins the Union
Having been under American control since 1869, Santo Domingo achieved statehood on November 19, 1912 becoming the nation’s 50th State. Today, it is widely acknowledged that statehood for Santo Domingo was delayed for decades due to concern over the state’s Spanish language and high percentage of blacks and mulattos. The Great War however, saw Dominican units composed of all races perform admirably in the Caribbean and European theaters earning the island a reputation for patriotic and spirited soldiers. As with the neighboring state of Cuba, English became the language of government and was taught alongside Spanish in public schools.
Civil Rights and the 15th Amendment
Like the Spanish-American War but more so, the Great War was a proving ground for many ethnic minorities in America who distinguished themselves in both segregated and integrated units in nearly every theater of the war. Furthermore, while enormous numbers of men were mobilized for the war, millions of American women entered the workforce. In the wake of these achievements the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, which had been proposed before the war, was finally ratified on November 15, 1913 stating… “Section 1: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex, race, religion, or color.
Section 2: Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” Although it did not end ethnic segregation and would not be fully enforced in some parts of the south for decades, the passage of the 15th Amendment is seen as a successful conclusion to the women’s suffrage movement and what is known as the first wave of the civil rights movement. At a celebration to mark the ratification of the amendment in Atlanta, Georgia civil rights icons Rev. Samuel G. McGuffey and George W. Harley led a crowd of over 150,000 black and white men and women in singing the “Battle Cry of Freedom” which Congress had been officially recognized as the nation’s national anthem two weeks before.
1912 Presidential Elections
Theodore Roosevelt
Republican from New York
23rd President of the United States
Despite considerable pressure from certain areas of the Republican Party and the public President Robert T. Lincoln stuck with his pledge to not seek a fourth term. The contest for the Republican nomination soon became a contest between Vice President Andrew Johnson Jr. and Secretary of War Theodore Roosevelt after Secretary of State William McKinley refused to run on grounds of old age and poor health. Johnson was a moderate Republican who largely favored keeping the status quo. Roosevelt however, was an ardent supporter of more controversial issues such as African American civil rights and the democratic integration of America’s newly won overseas territories.[1] At the Republican convention held in Kansas City, Missouri Roosevelt eventually won the nomination declaring in a rousing acceptance speech that “This party, the party of Lincoln, will always stand for free trade, free men, and a free world!” For Vice President, the moderate Jacob R. Alexander of Oregon was selected to balance the ticket. The Democrats selected Judson Harmon of Ohio and Oscar W. Underwood of Alabama to head their ticket on largely the same protectionist, isolationist, and segregationist platform the Democratic Party had used for decades. In the end Roosevelt beat Harmon by a wide margin and was inaugurated as the 23rd President of the United States.
The Legacy of Robert Todd Lincoln
After leaving office in 1913, President Robert T. Lincoln returned home to Springfield, Illinois with his family. Following in his father’s footsteps RTL would further distinguish himself as an author by writing a bestselling memoir of his life as well as a two volume history of the Great War. In retirement, Lincoln lent his enormous prestige to several causes including civil rights and veteran affairs until his death on February 12, 1926 at the age of 81. In his twelve years as President, Lincoln had taken an America reeling from the Great Depression of 1897 and transformed the nation into a major world power while at the same time making significant advances in civil rights, infrastructure, and economic reform. As such, RTL is considered today by many historians to be one of the best U.S. Presidents in history surpassed only by his father and George Washington.
[1] Please keep in mind that the TL’s Theodore Roosevelt bears little resemblance to OTL’s especially concerning race relations.
Hey ya'll, thanks to everyone who has commented and messaged me about restarting this TL. As mentioned before we will be filling in the gaps between 1913 and 2011. I will start giving regular updates most likely by decade or presidential administration. However, I would like for people to start submitting installments to me on subjects that interest them. If they check out, I will post them as part of this TL. Also I would like for people to start doing profiles on the 58 states of this TL. I will kick it off with my home state of Georgia. Cheers!
State of Georgia
Name:State of Georgia Capital: Milledgeville Largest City: Atlanta Admission to the Union: January 2, 1788 (4th) Nickname(s): The Goober State (official), The Empire State of the South, the Peach State State Song:Goober Peas State Bird: Brown Thrasher State Flower: Cherokee Rose State Tree: Red Cedar
Professional sports teams
· Baseball: The Atlanta Goobers (historically the winningest team in baseball)
· Football[1]: The Atlanta Strikers
· Rugby: The Atlanta Rattlesnakes
· Handball[2]: The Atlanta Comets
· Lacrosse: The Georgia Crackers
Post Civil War History:
During the Civil War, the State of Georgia fared considerable better than many other Southern states such as Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Indeed Federal forces didn’t enter the state until a few months before the war ended. After the fall of the Confederacy, Georgia, with most of its cities unscathed, became the economic and cultural center of the “New South”. In the century and half following the civil war Atlanta would become the greatest city in the Southeastern United States and an important hub for commerce and American music styles such as Groove and Flim-Flam.
Notable Georgians:
· James E. Oglethorpe, Founder of the Colony of Georgia
· Archibald Bullock, Revolutionary Governor of Georgia
· Alexander H. Stephens, 1st Vice President and 2nd President of the Confederate States of America.
· George W. Harley, Civil rights leader during the 1st wave of the American civil rights movement.
· Leroy R. Connor, President of the United States from 1949-1957.
· Brandon K. O’Leary, Chief engineer in the American atomic bomb program.
· Lieutenant Colonel Walter K. Melton, first man in space.
· Danny “Funky” Turpin, the father of Groove music
[2] Also known as American Handball (though not the same as OTL American handball), it is an ATL game played on a court with an inflatable ball. It slightly resembles OTL basketball except that the ball is smaller and that instead of a basket the object of the game is the hurl the ball through the other teams “box” which is a 3x3 ft goal elevated 6 feet off the ground.
