World War I Against the League of Three Emperors

Deleted member 94680

From the Russian POV, to develop indigenous industry. Getting Germany or AH to buy is another matter, but I'm looking for the best (possibly overly optimistic) case for Russia.

The Germans or the Austrians (unless in extremis for the latter) wouldn’t want to buy the junk the Russians would be selling.
 

Germaniac

Donor
The Germans or the Austrians (unless in extremis for the latter) wouldn’t want to buy the junk the Russians would be selling.

Russian equipment wasnt inherently inferior... but they will have enough trouble supplying their forces on the extremities they will be forced to fight in (pacific theater; central asia; persia; possibly anatolia)
 
The Germans or the Austrians (unless in extremis for the latter) wouldn’t want to buy the junk the Russians would be selling.
Austria-Hungary might buy some Russian field guns as an interim solution until Skoda equivalents are available in number (with the exception of their spectacular heavy siege guns, the Common Army's artillery was pretty out of date).
 

Deleted member 94680

Austria-Hungary might buy some Russian field guns as an interim solution until Skoda equivalents are available in number (with the exception of their spectacular heavy siege guns, the Common Army's artillery was pretty out of date).

Then the Russians won’t be fighting themselves as they barely had enough for their own Army.
 
Then the Russians won’t be fighting themselves as they barely had enough for their own Army.
Given that most people seem to agree that the Ottomans wouldn't lay down on the rails ahead of the Dreikaiserbund-express, I think Russia's only front would be with Japan.
 

Germaniac

Donor
Given that most people seem to agree that the Ottomans wouldn't lay down on the rails ahead of the Dreikaiserbund-express, I think Russia's only front would be with Japan.

Japan, but they will probably move into Persia to tie up British resources. As well as Entente attacks on peripheral areas... maybe central asia, the balkans (with or without the Ottomans)

I doubt Romania (understatement of the year) is gonna get involved so its european border is pretty much secured. If the Ottomans stay out then Crimea is out.

Just throwing out possibilities maybe afghanistan and india? Talk about logistical problems though... but opening up fronts against the Ottos allows the Entente to fight them directly... so not that good.
 

Deleted member 94680

Just throwing out possibilities maybe afghanistan and india? Talk about logistical problems though... but opening up fronts against the Ottos allows the Entente to fight them directly... so not that good.

Oh god that’s a good one. Thanks man, needed a good laugh this morning.
 
One of the issues that the Three Emperor's League always faces is that most sensible countries shape their policies for other times than war. Most AH posters on the other hand seem to think that war and conflict is the desired end goal rather than an unfortunate aberration.

The reason Russia leaned towards France was because of the greater economic opportunities it offered, the French had liquid capital while the German Government largely did not and lacked the degree of influence over where those Germans with money invested their funds that both the French and British set ups allowed. Thus when the French decided it would be politically expedient that French investment in the lands of the Tsar went up that money could be found even if the rate of return might have been considered disappointing otherwise. Being able to invest with government support and blessing in the other parts of the Franco-sphere was seen as adequate compensation.

Now if we go back to assuming there is a Three Emperor's League, then we should both expect a weaker Russia and while a different war the essential logistic constraints on the ground remain the same. The lack of roads in France let alone in Afghanistan are not going to be magically corrected, this is the limiting factor on the number of Three Emperor's League troops that can be sent anywhere. Thus the Three Emperors are still locked in a fortress much like the CP only it is a bigger fortress, the issue is that there are now fewer resources for Russia and more money for the British as they are not making massive loans to keep the Russians afloat.

Maybe having a bigger fortress will allow them to outlast the besieging Entente but it is unlikely they will magically conjure the new roads to let them break that investiture by main force.
 
Very good points @RodentRevolution . There were some real geopolitical/economic reasons why, despite the surface military benefit, Germany was gun-shy about taking the nessicery steps to align Russia and vice-versia. You already touched on the matter of capital (Which was a motivation in St.Petersburg), but there was also the major factor of German agricultural protectionism and access to markets/construction of the infastructure that would be nessicery to co-ordinate a war effort that the governing structure of the 2nd Reich simply coulden't allow. Russia's main export profits came, after all, from grain; which due to its low profit margin one really needs low tariff barriers in order to make it worth while. France, being the most agriculturally productive nation in Europe and more than capable of feeding itself, could be more than willing to keep trade limitations down as her domestic producers were competive against forgein competition, while Britain had largely hollowed out her own mass cereals sector and had recently declawed the landowners/House of Lords anyways with the People's Budget and limiting of their veto. This isen't true of the Teutonic States though; the Junker Estates of East Prussia and the Magyar Gentry who dominated in the Hungarian half of the Habsburg Empire both, due to franchise weighting/restrictions carried vast amounts of political power despite their increasing inefficency/economic irrelevance. Creating a system that would allow for the mass influx of Russian troops and supplies in wartime would nessecitate that that same bulk could and likely would be sent in peacetime, which would swamp the market and destroy what little fortune the feudal holdovers had left... and they had the control over the policy levers to make sure exactly that woulden't happen.
 
Top