What if the United States joined World War I in 1914?

What if the United States joined World War I in 1914?

The POD is in 1905. Instead of shelving Operaiton Plan III In favour of preparation for a European conflict, Kaiser Wilhelm puts it into effect.

The Germans attempt to invade the United States to eradicate it's hold on possessions in South America, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The East Coast, especially New York City is bombarded heavily. The Germans attempt to land at Princetown, Massachusetts and nearby Cape Ann.

With their superior naval strength, the Americans repel the invasion, but in the aftermath, the American people are worried that the Germans will attempt to invade the US again, so President Roosevelt signs the Entente Cordiale, officially joining the Entente.

Though the Germans are significantly weakened by this farce of a war, they continue to prepare for a war in Europe.

1914 comes around. Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated, the Austro-Hungarians declare war on Serbia and the German Empire invades Belgium and France, dragging the US and the British Empire into World War I.
 
If the Kaiser went forward with Operation Plan III you wouldn’t have to wait until 1914 for WWI to start.
As soon as Germany attacked the US, France would declare war on Germany. Followed quickly by Russia, regardless of what’s happening with Japan. That would, most likely, force Austria to join Germany. Turkey may join Germany as well, then the Balkans explode.
Britain would join France in order to prevent German domination of the continent and would be working overtime to calm things down between Russia and Japan.
Italy is the wild card, but with a sizable chunk of the Germany navy damaged and/or destroyed, Britain has many more ships to send to the Med. to influence Italy’s actions.
 
I think there would be easier ways to get the Americans into the war in 1914. The 1905 idea has a lot of butterflies- like its hard to see how the Kaiser keeps his throne or to keep the French from pouncing knowing the Americans are behind them
 
In a surprise move, the Dutch sell the Dutch West Indies to Germany in April 1914. On the back of the Ypiranga incident and occupation of Vercruz, the US preemptively seize the islands. Germany declares war on the US but has it's hand full with the July crisis. August 1914 and the US makes common cause with the Triple Entente.
 
What if the United States joined World War I in 1914?

The POD is in 1905. Instead of shelving Operaiton Plan III In favour of preparation for a European conflict, Kaiser Wilhelm puts it into effect.

The Germans attempt to invade the United States to eradicate it's hold on possessions in South America, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The East Coast, especially New York City is bombarded heavily. The Germans attempt to land at Princetown, Massachusetts and nearby Cape Ann.

With their superior naval strength, the Americans repel the invasion, but in the aftermath, the American people are worried that the Germans will attempt to invade the US again, so President Roosevelt signs the Entente Cordiale, officially joining the Entente.

Though the Germans are significantly weakened by this farce of a war, they continue to prepare for a war in Europe.

1914 comes around. Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated, the Austro-Hungarians declare war on Serbia and the German Empire invades Belgium and France, dragging the US and the British Empire into World War I.

Woulden't such a demonstration of America's naval power, power projection capacity, ability to mobalize their massive civilian economic base to a military one, sheer industrial and economic potential, ect. over the Germans transfer many of the fears that Britain had over Germany (While the lumps Berlin takes weakening their capacity in Britain's main areas of worry, like potential future domination of markets the Empire wanted to penetrate and the firepower of the High Sea's Fleet, oppritunities for friendly bases in third-world counteries who now don't trust Germany, ect.) to The United States, thereby making them less willing to line up with them in a future war? Ultimately, British economic and geopolitical interests can be just as threatened by America's rise as Germany's, but the later was seen as a military pygmy who was politically inert or at least far more withdrawn/noncompedative as far as Asia, Africa, and Continental Europe was concerned. That's not even taking into account the ramifications of a Paris-Moscow alliance dominating the continent with strong ties to said America
 
uh... so what happens between 1905 and 1914? The Germans try to invade the US, the USN repels it... and the US just chills until WW1 rolls around? That doesn't seem likely...
 

kernals12

Banned
What if the United States joined World War I in 1914?

The POD is in 1905. Instead of shelving Operaiton Plan III In favour of preparation for a European conflict, Kaiser Wilhelm puts it into effect.

The Germans attempt to invade the United States to eradicate it's hold on possessions in South America, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The East Coast, especially New York City is bombarded heavily. The Germans attempt to land at Princetown, Massachusetts and nearby Cape Ann.

With their superior naval strength, the Americans repel the invasion, but in the aftermath, the American people are worried that the Germans will attempt to invade the US again, so President Roosevelt signs the Entente Cordiale, officially joining the Entente.

Though the Germans are significantly weakened by this farce of a war, they continue to prepare for a war in Europe.

1914 comes around. Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated, the Austro-Hungarians declare war on Serbia and the German Empire invades Belgium and France, dragging the US and the British Empire into World War I.
Why would the rest of the world sit around twiddling their thumbs after Germany launches an unprovoked attack on the United States? We would have World War I 9 years early and after seeing nominally neutral America get attacked, every country that was neutral IOTL would declare war on Germany.
 
uh... so what happens between 1905 and 1914? The Germans try to invade the US, the USN repels it... and the US just chills until WW1 rolls around? That doesn't seem likely...

Nah, Teddy Roosevelt would probably be pretty chill about an attempted invasion of the US.
 
Why would the rest of the world sit around twiddling their thumbs after Germany launches an unprovoked attack on the United States? We would have World War I 9 years early and after seeing nominally neutral America get attacked, every country that was neutral IOTL would declare war on Germany.
I don't see that happening... the US wasn't particularly allied to anyone in Europe, so the attempted invasion doesn't really need to draw in anyone else. That said, the attempt is likely to cause the rest of Europe to raise their defense spending some as they are snickering over Germany's comeuppance...
 

kernals12

Banned
I don't see that happening... the US wasn't particularly allied to anyone in Europe, so the attempted invasion doesn't really need to draw in anyone else. That said, the attempt is likely to cause the rest of Europe to raise their defense spending some as they are snickering over Germany's comeuppance...
Such a belligerent attack would cause all the countries of Europe to fear that they'd be next.
 
Such a belligerent attack would cause all the countries of Europe to fear that they'd be next.
true, which is likely to spur some military spending and defensive alliances... Germany is still a damn powerful force on the Continent who defeated France not all that long ago, so they're not going to go to war so casually...
 

SsgtC

Banned
Ok, so your POD is 9 YEARS before OTL WWI, AND it's a major military action. But there's not a single butterfly that takes wing from it? Everything just goes back to OTL for the next decade? I'm sorry, but it doesn't work for me.

As has been stated, in this scenario, you don't need to wait till 1914 for WWI. It's kicking off immediately when France declares war on Germany "in support of our oldest allies and friends" the United States. The fact that they REALLY want A-L back is just a coincidence, they swear.

Then there's internal politics in the US. ITTL, the United States is going to be FAR less isolationist. They'll be thinking, after all, we've tried that and STILL ended up fighting the Europeans 5 times now (Revolution, Quasi-War, 1812, Spanish-American, WWI). ITTL, the USN will quickly equal the RN as THE premier Navy in the world. This will be helped in no small part by the fact that the Navy has just crushed the HSF and it's officers can show concrete proof to Congress exactly WHY the Navy needs to be so strong. Expect to see the Army and Marine Corps also being enlarged and for the now very powerful United States to start throwing it's weight around a bit more and for it to be far less inclined to just go with the flow.
 

kernals12

Banned
The United States in 1905 was a breadbasket for the world and produced virtually all of its petroleum, there is no way other countries would sit around if Germany attacked. And even if the war stayed between those two countries, which is impossible, it would still technically be a world war. The US would attack Germany's colonies in Africa while the Germans would do likewise to Cuba, meanwhile the South Pacific islands controlled by Germany would face attacks from US ships anchored in Hawaii and the Phillipines.
 

SsgtC

Banned
TR winning in 1912 and Germany accidentally sinking some random American ship in Europe in August 1914 might be an easier PoD.
I actually used that in one of my own timelines. TR wins in 1912, sees Germany for the threat they are, begins preparing America for war early (physically and psychologically), and the US declares war in 1915 when the Lusitania is sunk with the deaths of 128 Americans.
 
You need an earlier POD, with some grievance against Germany to set this off. If your serious about writing a TL based on this, obtain a copy of Holger Herwig's "Politics of Frustration: the United States in German Naval Planning, 1889-1941". Try the US and Germany fighting over Samoa, in 1889 or 1899, or over the PI in Manila Bay in 1898. Or, work out a way to keep the British from getting involved (which seems unlikely to me) in the Venezuelan Crisis, allowing the US and Germany to if not outright battle, rachet up tensions considerably. Any of these (or possibly a couple of them) will greatly ease the way for a US entry into WWI in 1914, if another provocation ensues. Provided of course, that an American defeat by Germany in 1898 doesn't cause the nation to simply say "fuck it, we aren't going to be imperialists at all" and not enlarging the USN. If you pave the way through an earlier POD, and give sufficient provocation in 1914, the US could go to war, otherwise, it won't happen.
 

NoMommsen

Donor
I actually used that in one of my own timelines. TR wins in 1912, sees Germany for the threat they are, begins preparing America for war early (physically and psychologically), and the US declares war in 1915 when the Lusitania is sunk with the deaths of 128 Americans.
Threat for who and what ? ... esp without hindsight.
What time/era you're talking about, when you say "are" ?
 
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