World without World War One

So I'm working on a timeline idea for my blog( http://weeklychrononaut.blogspot.com/) that I hope to also share here, and, without giving too much away the POD will center around WWI being brought to an end in 1915 amid home front revolt and frontline mutinies (caused by, among other things, far greater casualties in the first months of the war compared to OTL). The war ends with sort of a status quo antebellum situation. Alsace-Lorraine is made neutral, an independent republic. A string peace movement sweaps the continent.

So....what are some things that could likely happen with *no* WWI like we know it in OTL?

And yes I realize that the scenario, as vague as I stayed above, could seem highly improbable or even ASB. The purpose of this thread will be to discuss the consequences of the scenario, not if the scenario could come about.

So, with that said....what happens?

Does Austro-Humgaria manage to hold together? Will Germany be able to keep and reform its monarchy? What happens to Russia? Will this butterfly away the Revolutions of 1917 or a similar analogue?
What happens in the United States? Without getting dragged into WWI, how will America continue to develop in a more isolationist mindset?

These are just some of the issues, obviously. Looking forward to hearing everyone else's thoughts.
 
Colonies may last longer....alternatively, perhaps groups like the Black Hand continue to fester in and out of Europe,with more violent rebellion.

The US was never isolationist...in fact without the war, I'd wager they'd be more invested in the Pacific. No cooperation in a war with Great Britain or France might also make them more anti colonialist. I'm not sure how things with Japan would work out, though. It could really go either way, depending on how much the US feels its sphere fares in the region.
 
Colonies may last longer....alternatively, perhaps groups like the Black Hand continue to fester in and out of Europe,with more violent rebellion.

The US was never isolationist...in fact without the war, I'd wager they'd be more invested in the Pacific. No cooperation in a war with Great Britain or France might also make them more anti colonialist. I'm not sure how things with Japan would work out, though. It could really go either way, depending on how much the US feels its sphere fares in the region.

The colonial vs. anti-colonial powers could be an interesting future power struggle. And as for the black hand or other revolutionary groups, it should be noted that as a result of the revolts and mutinies that force the war to end in 1915, I'm considering having a quasi-socialist uprising in France that overthrows the government there and becomes part of why the war ends, because the new government supports ending the war. Not for sure on that yet but it's possible (with the idea being that, after France ends up in revolution, Germany and the UK are quick to agree to peace talks to avoid the possibility of a similar fate).

I feel like a total idiot now, forgetting when isolationism arose. You're right, that was a post WWI thing.
Hmm. Maybe the USA meddles even more in Central and South America?
 
The colonial vs. anti-colonial powers could be an interesting future power struggle. And as for the black hand or other revolutionary groups, it should be noted that as a result of the revolts and mutinies that force the war to end in 1915, I'm considering having a quasi-socialist uprising in France that overthrows the government there and becomes part of why the war ends, because the new government supports ending the war. Not for sure on that yet but it's possible (with the idea being that, after France ends up in revolution, Germany and the UK are quick to agree to peace talks to avoid the possibility of a similar fate).

I feel like a total idiot now, forgetting when isolationism arose. You're right, that was a post WWI thing.
Hmm. Maybe the USA meddles even more in Central and South America?

I myself am not too sure on whether France would fall victim to such a thing without a huge bloody war, but perhaps someone with more knowledge can comment on that. By 1915, the French did manage to push the Germans back, so I'm sure there would still be support.
 

BlondieBC

Banned
A-H survives.

Germany keeps Monarchy. Some type of voting reform is likely since started prewar momentum.

Russia has issues, but Tsar might survive. Might also get reform. Might get white government. Soviets as we know it do not happen.

USA is likely isolationist until today, at least outside of the Americas.
 
I myself am not too sure on whether France would fall victim to such a thing without a huge bloody war, but perhaps someone with more knowledge can comment on that. By 1915, the French did manage to push the Germans back, so I'm sure there would still be support.

Yeah I was honestly not sure about this. I liked the idea of one of the three main Western Front beligerants falling victim to this, and France I thought would have the most impact (plus, I wanted to keep the monarchy intact in Germany :p)

A-H survives.

Germany keeps Monarchy. Some type of voting reform is likely since started prewar momentum.

Russia has issues, but Tsar might survive. Might also get reform. Might get white government. Soviets as we know it do not happen.

USA is likely isolationist until today, at least outside of the Americas.

What will a surviving A-H look like? I believe a lot of people felt it was only a matter of time before it fell apart and WWI just hastened it.

I could definitely see the Tsar surviving in Russia. Without the pressure of the war, there might be enough time to reform. Plus it's doubtful that Lenin would get returned from exile.
 

BlondieBC

Banned
Yeah I was honestly not sure about this. I liked the idea of one of the three main Western Front beligerants falling victim to this, and France I thought would have the most impact (plus, I wanted to keep the monarchy intact in Germany :p)



What will a surviving A-H look like? I believe a lot of people felt it was only a matter of time before it fell apart and WWI just hastened it.

I could definitely see the Tsar surviving in Russia. Without the pressure of the war, there might be enough time to reform. Plus it's doubtful that Lenin would get returned from exile.

It survived 4 years of war before collapse. It was a food crisis that took down A-H. It lasted longer than the Tsar. France had Mutiny first. Italy had hundred's of thousands surrender with minor resistance first. Italy started the war 6 months later, so it was under 3 years before it showed problems. UK lost part of British Isles. It survives. Now what it looks like is more complicated. It could be larger or smaller. It could both gain and lose territory. For example in some scenarios, it might give part of its land to Poland for a Hapsburg on a throne plus effective annex parts of Serbia. If I had to pick country it would resemble, I would go with Italy or Yugoslavia. Sure, maybe it eventually falls apart, but so did Russia in the next 100 years. So did the British Empire, French Empire, etc.

Lenin does not return, generally speaking.
 
It survived 4 years of war before collapse. It was a food crisis that took down A-H. It lasted longer than the Tsar. France had Mutiny first. Italy had hundred's of thousands surrender with minor resistance first. Italy started the war 6 months later, so it was under 3 years before it showed problems. UK lost part of British Isles. It survives. Now what it looks like is more complicated. It could be larger or smaller. It could both gain and lose territory. For example in some scenarios, it might give part of its land to Poland for a Hapsburg on a throne plus effective annex parts of Serbia. If I had to pick country it would resemble, I would go with Italy or Yugoslavia. Sure, maybe it eventually falls apart, but so did Russia in the next 100 years. So did the British Empire, French Empire, etc.

Lenin does not return, generally speaking.

Yeah that's the question, what would a surviving A-H look like.

Yeah Lenin will probably never leave Switzerland. I see Russia having the chance to reform, but it's possible that a pro-democracy revolution could still occur if things don't improve.

Germany will likely pass enough voting reform that the monarchy in Germany will resemble the system in the UK in the long run. More power going to the Reichstag.
 

I haven't read through all of this thread you gave the link to yet, but what I have has been great! Definitely along the same lines as what I'm discussing here, although in OP in that thread pretty much called for WWI not to have happened at all, where as in the one I'm working with the war does occur just is very very short and ended by popular revolt and troop mutiny. Thanks for the link!

I also really like how the OP there made sure to mention the cultural impact not having WWI happen would have. That's something that can get easily overlooked.
 
Top