Terragenesis1989
Banned
It was early in the morning, Friday of December 18th, 1903. In a large American city, people were going to work, stopping by to get their issue of the day's newspaper. In the paper, there was a small headline, occupying no more than a quarter of a page, that barely caught the eye of anyone but aviation enthusiasts. Yesterday, there was an accident near Kill Devil Hills, in California - two brothers flew their newly constructed machine and crashed, neither surviving the accident. Most people shrug it off, as yet another of many faliures bound to happen in the process of innovation.
In the following years, each subsequent test either gives unsatisfactory results or comes with injuries or deaths. By 1914, scientific community has largely abandoned hope of producing an airplane-like machine capable of flying any significant distance.
World War I erupts. Both sides, as per tradition, use cavalry for reconnaissance, but that quickly proves to be inefficient. With the information about German advance lacking, BEF is encircled and nearly destroyed at Mons. The battle of Marne is a draw, and Paris is still endangered, however the Russian army scores a crushing victory catching Germans by surprise at Tannenberg, forcing them to abandon the Schlieffen plan and redirect some troops to the East.
The fighting continues as usually. German offensive operations are marginally more successful than in OTL, and Entente is put in somewhat difficult position because of German near total air superiority thanks to their airships. Entente eventually develops their own airship fleet, outproduces Germany and establishes air superiority. Airships become more efficient fighting machines, and see use in 1918 Spring Offensive, where Entente eventually overpowers Germany and force it to capitulate, ending World War I.
Bitter and beaten Germany attempts to make a comeback under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, and attempts to utilize airships on large scale in it's new doctrine - the Blitzkrieg. However, airships prove unsuitable for the task, doing negligible damage to the Allied troops. German war machine is significantly less effective than in OTL. French army holds it's ground after being pushed back some, and Germany gets bogged down in trench warfare again. German scientist attempt to create a new type of flying machine - the helicopter - but before any significant number is produced, USSR invades German sphere from the east. Without Luftwaffe to provide him with air superiority over the Red Army, Hitler is defeated by 1942.
Japan was still nuked, although the Atom Bomb was deployed from a gigantic ship cannon.
Back in Europe, the Red Army and the Allied forces are on the brink of open conflict, as both attempt to persuade neutral nations to join their respective blocks. Fortunately, the development of nuclear missiles by both sides, soon followed by Japan, prevented this from happening. All three sides engage in multiple proxy wars around the globe, where helicopters start taking the spotlight. But this flying machine cannot replace the planes entirely - it is slower and has shorter range. Helicopters are never used commercially, where ships and airships (the latter now abandoned by the military) remain the most used in civilian overseas transport.
As a result, the world is overally less connected, and all three superpowers have no ability of a fast, immediate response, and don't have an advantage so terrifying as a quick, devastating airstrike, over the smaller nations. The world is much more multipolar, with smaller nations not having to fear a bombing campaign (at least not a very effective one) from a far-flung superpower. Many wars also prove significantly more bloody - for example, in 1999, NATO is forced to deploy ground troops to Kosovo, and experiences a grinding, bloody campaign against the Serbian defenders, diminishing the alliance's image in the world. The terrorists hijack a US blimp and fly it into the Twin Towers, raising concerns for the safety of this mode of travel. Humanity never develops full control of the air, and that's where we are today.
In the following years, each subsequent test either gives unsatisfactory results or comes with injuries or deaths. By 1914, scientific community has largely abandoned hope of producing an airplane-like machine capable of flying any significant distance.
World War I erupts. Both sides, as per tradition, use cavalry for reconnaissance, but that quickly proves to be inefficient. With the information about German advance lacking, BEF is encircled and nearly destroyed at Mons. The battle of Marne is a draw, and Paris is still endangered, however the Russian army scores a crushing victory catching Germans by surprise at Tannenberg, forcing them to abandon the Schlieffen plan and redirect some troops to the East.
The fighting continues as usually. German offensive operations are marginally more successful than in OTL, and Entente is put in somewhat difficult position because of German near total air superiority thanks to their airships. Entente eventually develops their own airship fleet, outproduces Germany and establishes air superiority. Airships become more efficient fighting machines, and see use in 1918 Spring Offensive, where Entente eventually overpowers Germany and force it to capitulate, ending World War I.
Bitter and beaten Germany attempts to make a comeback under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, and attempts to utilize airships on large scale in it's new doctrine - the Blitzkrieg. However, airships prove unsuitable for the task, doing negligible damage to the Allied troops. German war machine is significantly less effective than in OTL. French army holds it's ground after being pushed back some, and Germany gets bogged down in trench warfare again. German scientist attempt to create a new type of flying machine - the helicopter - but before any significant number is produced, USSR invades German sphere from the east. Without Luftwaffe to provide him with air superiority over the Red Army, Hitler is defeated by 1942.
Japan was still nuked, although the Atom Bomb was deployed from a gigantic ship cannon.
Back in Europe, the Red Army and the Allied forces are on the brink of open conflict, as both attempt to persuade neutral nations to join their respective blocks. Fortunately, the development of nuclear missiles by both sides, soon followed by Japan, prevented this from happening. All three sides engage in multiple proxy wars around the globe, where helicopters start taking the spotlight. But this flying machine cannot replace the planes entirely - it is slower and has shorter range. Helicopters are never used commercially, where ships and airships (the latter now abandoned by the military) remain the most used in civilian overseas transport.
As a result, the world is overally less connected, and all three superpowers have no ability of a fast, immediate response, and don't have an advantage so terrifying as a quick, devastating airstrike, over the smaller nations. The world is much more multipolar, with smaller nations not having to fear a bombing campaign (at least not a very effective one) from a far-flung superpower. Many wars also prove significantly more bloody - for example, in 1999, NATO is forced to deploy ground troops to Kosovo, and experiences a grinding, bloody campaign against the Serbian defenders, diminishing the alliance's image in the world. The terrorists hijack a US blimp and fly it into the Twin Towers, raising concerns for the safety of this mode of travel. Humanity never develops full control of the air, and that's where we are today.
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