I was talking with @Oldbill and reading through AH's Japanese-Ethiopian alliance threads when I came up with the potential TL idea of a Japanese-Ethiopian alliance being established during or after ww1. The POD is Ethiopia joining the Entente in 1916, following the Battle of Segale where Ras Tafari enters into talks with the Entente. London is willing to cede British Somaliland to Ethiopia in exchange for Ethiopia sending men to reinforce Allied forces in the Middle East and/or the Western Front. Tafari manages to pressure Empress Zewditu into declaring war on the CP in favor of the Russian Empire, a fellow Orthodox Christian ally. World War 1 goes largely as IOTL, except Ethiopian forces are serving in the Middle East and even on the Western Front where they're attached to the French Army. In 1918, Empress Zewditu dies from the 1918 flu pandemic and this allows for Ras Tafari to become Emperor of Ethiopia. In 1919, an Ethiopian delegation attends the Paris Peace Conference where they receive a small portion of financial reparations from the CP and its delegation meets with the Japanese one. Hearing of Ethiopia's victory against Italy in 1896, Tokyo seems interested in the possibility of a Japanese-Ethiopian alliance. Tokyo and Addis Ababa manage to cement their relationship through the conclusion of a pact and the marriage of Amha Selassie to a Japanese princess in the 20s and 30s.
What happens next? How could this potential Japanese-Ethiopian alliance end? What else could happen?
What happens next? How could this potential Japanese-Ethiopian alliance end? What else could happen?