WIC: What if Denmarrk joins WW1?

It would be helpful to know when and which side they join

If they join the Entente, the Germans will pound them with their fleet and army. If they join the CP, they won't be much help and I can't think of what they would gain in a CP victory
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
Germans actually worried about a Danish entry during the autumn of 1916 when the Romanian fron had recently opened. They had too many fronts already, and worried that pulling people from other fronts to block the Danes would make them vulnerable. This was shortly after the Kornilov offensive, so I guess their fear was that the Eastern Front might crumble if they pull away men.
 
Why Denmark would join to WW1? For that not be much if anything benefit or reason to join and if it would join to Entente, Germany would crush that as bug and as CP it is totally useless. More plausible participant Nordic nation is Sweden.

Germans actually worried about a Danish entry during the autumn of 1916 when the Romanian fron had recently opened. They had too many fronts already, and worried that pulling people from other fronts to block the Danes would make them vulnerable. This was shortly after the Kornilov offensive, so I guess their fear was that the Eastern Front might crumble if they pull away men.

Wasn't Denmark quiet weak in military issues? It might help France or Russia if Germany would deploy some troops to invade Denmark but not so much.
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
Why Denmark would join to WW1? For that not be much if anything benefit or reason to join and if it would join to Entente, Germany would crush that as bug and as CP it is totally useless. More plausible participant Nordic nation is Sweden.



Wasn't Denmark quiet weak in military issues? It might help France or Russia if Germany would deploy some troops to invade Denmark but not so much.
This was actually discussed by the German High Command, it could be a) that they didn't really know how weak Denmark was, or b) that they assumed Britain and France would provide troops to a Danish front too.

But I agree that Denmark had no real good reason for entering the war.
 
This was actually discussed by the German High Command, it could be a) that they didn't really know how weak Denmark was, or b) that they assumed Britain and France would provide troops to a Danish front too.

But I agree that Denmark had no real good reason for entering the war.
Especially when Germany was pretty much the only country they had ANY reason to go to war with.
 
I am assuming that Denmark was making money selling food to the Germans and also marking up any goods sent to Denmark and reshipped to Germany. So why would they risk that to go to war with Germany?

Was the lands that they lost more important?

"Denmark lost the Duchy of Schleswig, as well as the German Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, to Prussia and Austria in 1864 in the Second War of Schleswig. Following Austria's defeat in the Austro-Prussian War (1866), all three provinces were annexed to Prussia."
 
I am assuming that Denmark was making money selling food to the Germans and also marking up any goods sent to Denmark and reshipped to Germany. So why would they risk that to go to war with Germany?

Was the lands that they lost more important?

"Denmark lost the Duchy of Schleswig, as well as the German Duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg, to Prussia and Austria in 1864 in the Second War of Schleswig. Following Austria's defeat in the Austro-Prussian War (1866), all three provinces were annexed to Prussia."
Best to also look at the Eastern Crisis of 1920. The Danish government was going about working on plebiscite areas in Schleswig so people could vote on if they wanted to join Denmark or not. The King wanted it all so dismissed the Prime Minister and Cabinet. That... did not go down well. His powers were curbed, three zones for voting were created, the northern most being annexed. Southern Schleswig voted to stay in Germany, so the Danes left them and didn't bother going through with the plebiscite in Holstein. Makes sense anyways, since the Schleswig-Holstein Crisis many decades before was that the Danes wanted to annex Schleswig, while the locals demanded both duchies stay together. Anyways, either we have the parliament who knows they will be crushed in a war trying to go after Germany to get their land back, we have the king trying to take it back, backed by his relatives relatives married to the Russian and British royal families (though in the case of the British, I think only his brother, the king of Norway, was married to a Saxe-Coburg Gotha girl), or you have them supporting Germany in the hope of getting a sliver of land back from the bullies who had invaded literally every country their bordered (iffy with the Swiss' and they did try bullying the Dutch), including their own allies. Considering how the Danes trying to an armed neutrality league with the Russians and Swedes in the Napoleonic Wars got their fleet blasted out of the water by the British, I doubt they would have a good chance here. On the plus side, the modern UK can stretch from Newfoundland to England in an arch through formerly Danish islands. Danish Virgin Islands would be tricky, though...
 
Germany gains control of the Danish straits. Either because Denmark is an ally, or because they are an enemy and they take it by force.
 

NoMommsen

Donor
Germany gains control of the Danish straits. Either because Denmark is an ally, or because they are an enemy and they take it by force.
Not necessary. The Danes closed and mined their starits by themself after a simple and polite (no bullying involved) request by Germany.
The Danes just weren't fond of the idea, that their ass-tight home-waters become a war-zone. This way they kept full control of their home-waters also for the sake of their own fishery and shipping. Otherwise they would/could have never known where mines might be.
 
The only way I see Denmark joining the Entente is in late 1918 or 1919 to grab some territory from Germany collapsing into revolution.
 

Redbeard

Banned
By WWI Denmark was a de facto German vassal and as NoMommsen said the Danes on German request mined the Danish Straits. The "deal" between Germany and Denmark was something like: The British has to be kept out of Danish territory no matter what, and either you do it yourself or we come and do it for you.

For that reason the armed forces of Denmark were relatively strong (probably the strongest ever in relative terms). The navy was focused on blocking the straits with minefields and defending the minefields with coastal subs (15-18 in all), destroyers and battleships. The last were a far cry from traditional battleships, but small shallow draught ships with heavy armour (CA +) which were strong enough to keep away minesweepers and light cruisers and if meeting something heavier could withdraw over shallow water and leave the job to the coastal subs and destroyers. The army was concentrated around Copenhagen which had strong fortifications built from late 19th century and still was worked on by 1914. The fortifications should protect the capital area and block Oeresund and had guns up to 14". In 1914 50.000 men were called up to man the fortifications but fully mobilised the army had 5 infantry Divisions plus support troops.

Jutland was practically undefended, but the German army had prepared a line of field fortifications south of the border in case of Entente landing in Jutland.

Taking Copenhagen and Zealand would have required a major and well prepared effort and could easily have had the Dardanelles look like a walk in the park.

If the British try anything vs. Copenhagen/Zealand the Germans with relative ease can reinforce the Danes from south of the minefields.
 
Germans actually worried about a Danish entry during the autumn of 1916 when the Romanian fron had recently opened. They had too many fronts already, and worried that pulling people from other fronts to block the Danes would make them vulnerable. This was shortly after the Kornilov offensive, so I guess their fear was that the Eastern Front might crumble if they pull away men.

I never heard of Kornilov Offensive. When did it happen?
 
Denmark joining WWI would either need a POD several decades before WWI (especially if they joined against Germany), or it would demand incredible stupidity from the British side.

But there's one potential POD, where Denmark can accidental join. When the Germans asked the Danes to mines the straits, the king ordered the navy to ignore the order in secret. The navy ignored the king and mined it anyway and didn't tell the king. If the king had let the British know that it wasn't mined, the British could decide to try the entire Baltic naval landing. The result would have been a disaster and a clusterfuck worse than Gallipoli. Imagine a British navy attempting to sail through mined Danish waters with a warships and troop transports. It could be a naval disaster and it would break the Danish neutrality and forcing Denmark into the war.
 

Redbeard

Banned
Denmark joining WWI would either need a POD several decades before WWI (especially if they joined against Germany), or it would demand incredible stupidity from the British side.

But there's one potential POD, where Denmark can accidental join. When the Germans asked the Danes to mines the straits, the king ordered the navy to ignore the order in secret. The navy ignored the king and mined it anyway and didn't tell the king. If the king had let the British know that it wasn't mined, the British could decide to try the entire Baltic naval landing. The result would have been a disaster and a clusterfuck worse than Gallipoli. Imagine a British navy attempting to sail through mined Danish waters with a warships and troop transports. It could be a naval disaster and it would break the Danish neutrality and forcing Denmark into the war.
Waouv, I didn't know of that "detail"! But I've read somewhere that the King shortly afterwards wrote to King George and said something like: " Sorry old chap, but I've had to mine the straits. Nothing personal, but you know those tuchy Huns..."
 
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