Hello all,
If some can remember me, my name is Masked Pickle, a French journalist who had his bit with fame with writing from 2011 to 2012 "A Giant Sucking Sound", an alternate history that imagined the consequences of the election of Ross Perot to the US presidency in 1992, with all its consequences, featuring a President Donald Trump in 2004, an invention that gave me dismay at the time from fellow AH.comers.
I undertook a TL that saw Archduke Franz Ferdinand surviving his assassination in Sarajevo, yet the lack of time and also the lack of feedback drove me to stop.
To avoid this, and now that I'm ready to look back to alternate history, I will do the same that for my Perot TL : submit you with a few choices of PODs I had, asking for your votes. The three winning ones, in two weeks (on Monday June, 26, 12 AM GMT), will be explored by me thoroughly and give birth to my new TL, once I have chosen them. You will have two extra choices indeed.
Thank you for your feedback !
Descriptions of the TLs :
For Want of a Pig : Prince Philippe of France, son of Louis VI, manages to hold his horse when the latter gets frightened by a running pig in the streets of Paris, in 1129. Hence, Philippe II replaces the lesser effective Louis VII, avoids losing the marital alliance of Alienor of Aquitaine, spending resources in the botched Second Crusade and further... Featuring surviving Crusader States, Scottish New York and unexpected invaders.
Disaster at Bouvines : The Battle of Bouvines turns into a catastrophe : King of France Philippe II is killed while Otho IV leads the day. Louis VIII, who has just defeated the English at La Roche-aux-Moynes, is forced to rise to the throne unexpectedly. Featuring an earlier unified Italy, surviving Catharism and Portuguese North Africa.
The Dawn King : Louis XIV doesn't live past infancy, dying of smallpox at 9, in 1647. His younger brother Philippe rises to the throne and leads to a very different Sun King... Featuring Christian Egypt, a resurgent Hungary and a neo-pagan cult in Latin America.
The Tale of Bonaparte Pasha : In 1799, Bonaparte's army manages to take Acre, allowing him not to stop his Egyptian Expedition. Now, three roads are opened to him : going all the way to India ? To Constantinople ? Or going back to France ? Featuring a Simon Bolivar on steroids, a very hungry Russia and a very different Germany.
Is Moscow burning ? : In 1812, Gouvion Saint-Cyr manages to decisively beat the Russian Army at Polotsk, opening the way to Saint Petersburg and forcing Czar Alexander to sue for peace and ensuring Napoleon's domination over Europe. Featuring a balkanized United States, French departements in England and a democratic Russia.
13 Juillet : In 1842, Crown Prince Ferdinand-Philippe doesn't die in a freak carriage accident and manages to keep liberal middle-class at bay in France. The 1848 Revolutions turn very different... Featuring a Garibaldi on steroids, a very different Karl Marx and more Latin American monarchies.
The Third Restoration : In 1873, Henri de Chambord is restablished to the throne of France and becomes King Henri V, hereby ending the Third Republic in its crib. Featuring a very different Africa, more trouble for Austria-Hungary and China.
For Want of A Sandwich : Gavrilo Princip doesn't bump into Archduke Franz Ferdinand's carriage in 1914 and the Austro-Hungarian heir escapes unscathed. But it is not enough to avoid World War One, which is delayed, but not adverted. Featuring multiple and realistic references to Kaiserreich, a multiparty space race and clone armies.
All the Russias : A realistic alternative to the All the Russias Mod for Hearts of Iron II, the spiritual predecessor to Kaiserreich. The Whites manage to win the Russian Civil War with Polish and Allied help, but Russia becomes terribly weakened. Featuring a benevolent Petr Wrangel, a Poland on steroids and a very unlucky Nazi.
The Red Wave : The Soviets win the Battle of Warsaw in 1920, and all of Poland gets implemented into the nascent USSR. With power struggles incoming with the demise of Lenin, disarmed and devastated countries now bordering the communist countries, what could possibly get wrong ? Featuring a Soviet leader you didn't expect, French heroes and an alternate Cold War.
Operation Charlotte Corday : Charles De Gaulle is assassinated by the OAS in Petit-Clamart in 1962. The Algeria War might be over, the Republic reinforced, but the trouble arising for this loss in balance will greatly influence some generals in France, then in Europe... Featuring multiple Operation Gladio, an independant California and some hope for Africa.
A Huge Sucking Sound : Donald Trump decides to run in 1988 and wins. Expect it as a spiritual successor and some sort of reboot to a Giant Sucking Sound. Featuring fucked up Latin America, a hardened Soviet Union and a stronger Europe.
Ideas about these timelines are welcome !