(old fashion music)
Johnny get your gun, get your gun, get your gun.
Take it on the run, on the run, on the run.
Hear them calling you and me,
every son of liberty.
World War One was called the war to end all wars.
Europe was now at a new age.
A crisis, where tradition and the modern-day were
increasingly at odds.
Industrialization progressed faster than the mentality did.
The old noble ways of gentlemen war
clashed with the brutal reality of the
trenches and because of this, millions died.
World War One was the war to end
them all because this was the last time
the old European ideals would fight,
the last time monarchies would reign,
for whom won and lost, new ideas replaced them for
this industrial world like fascism and communism.
Simply put it set the stage for the next.
Germany in our timeline brought Russia
into civil war caused mutiny in
France and almost broke the Allies in
1917, before you know.. America. It was just
by bad decisions that we saw a
twentieth-century of American ascendance
when it easily could have become the
German century. Only, question is: what
would this look like? What if in an
alternate timeline, Germany and the
central powers won World War One.
Let's go back to 1914 with
the assassination of Austrian royalty
Franz Ferdinand. Ferdinand was dead by
the hands of a Serbian nationalist and the
Dominos began to fall into place. Treaties
certainly forced a lot of countries to
declare war for their allies. There's
one military decision that Germany made
that almost certainly lost them the entire
war: invading Belgium. France had built up
their military border in anticipation for a
German attack. Germany however had a plan:
the Schlieffen Plan.
bypass the French defenses
on the border by invading
through Belgium, which was undefended.
By going around this meat grinder, the
Germans would have easy access to Paris.
Well that's not so bad. Belgium's tiny.
They can't defend themselves. But, Germany
ignored that Belgium had one key friend:
the British. And the British had one
single condition that it stressed
shouldn't be violated: Don't violate
Belgian neutrality. Germany, in
oppression fashion, believed more in
military action than diplomatic
consequences and marched in anyway
it was this single act that brought on the
wrath of the
British Empire, redefining the absolute scale
this war would be fought on. The British
would block German ports and cut the
trans-Atlantic cable between the United
States and Germany. In this alternate
timeline for Germany to not lose the war,
one major step is, it simply doesn't invade Belgium
By doing this Germany
avoids immediate conflict with Britain.
Now this doesn't guarantee the Brits
would stay out of it
(keep in mind the central power victory
would cement German dominance in Europe
and we can't have that)
but without a provocation though, this
would by Germany enough time to gain a
major advantage over France even if it
was a year before Britain entered. It was
four years of trench warfare between the
British and French combined against
Germany alone. France alone wouldn't even
have the population to sustain a German
offensive. So in this alternate timeline
Germany's military keeps france at bay
through a small border they share at
Alsace-Lorraine while the majority of their
forces fully mobilized against Russia
aiding their Austrian allies whether or
not this alternate strategy would work
who knows, but does solve the whole
keep Britain out of the war thing no matter what
german military strategy is, resentment
is still insured against the Tsar
revolution can still undermine the
Russian war effort like in our timeline
enforce the Russians to negotiate. I'll
focus on this aspect in a bit
The German forces on the eastern front
now come to the west. Millions of troops
fighting in a small area until one side
finally breaks and without Britain that
side is most likely France. Germany then
invades. In our timeline Germany almost
destroyed the French defense in 1917
before the Americans arrived so it
wouldn't be long before the French
simply can't defend themselves and are
pushed back! soon
Paris falls. The war in the west and the
east is officially over. Both sides tried
to fight Germany and lost. Would Britain
just sit back and allow Germany to beat
two nations in war, achieving complete
dominance over mainland Europe? Probably
not. They declare war
It's unlikely however that they'd win as
the British were the masters of the sea,
the Germans were the dominant military
of the land
It's doubtful burden alone could put a
dent in the German occupation.
America would simply stay out of the war
In exchange for a ceasefire, an agreement
is made very similar to the treaty of
'Brest-Livostk'. In just one signing of a
document, Germany and Austria-Hungary
seize Poland, the Baltic States, Belarus
and all of the Ukraine and Crimea. By
1918 most of Europe is now either a
Germanic puppet or in the Empire.
'Why would they do this?'
Germany feared Russian dominance. Russia
for centuries was this backwater
european wannabe. Add size and manpower
but was woefully poor and far behind
technologically. In the last few decades
something changed. it began
industrializing rapidly and if Russia
fully industrialized there was no
defeating them. By seizing their valuable
lands diplomatically by military
agreement, Germany legally 'connotured' the
Russian state. A quarter of the population
now German; most of their coal, now German.
But this is just the beginning.
If there's one thing Slavs don't like
it's being invaded and occupied. So the
two million German troops in the East
now face a guerrilla war against the
insurgents including ones funded by the
Soviets. France is blamed for putting the
worst of the reparations on Germany but
it's not like Germany would be so kind
if they were in the same position. In
this alternate timeline Germany keeps
Alsace-Lorraine. They impose massive
amounts of war reparations and the
French people have to deal with a brief
German occupation. Imagine France at this
time. They had lost two wars now to the
new German Empire.. basically powerless to
stop the state that was practically
brand-new. It's not hard to imagine
elements of French society would be
resentful against the Germans. Does this
mean we'll have an alternate French
Hitler? Probably not. Even if France
actually did have a French Hitler, they
just don't have the population to win a
war. World War One was defining for one
reason: it set the stage for who the
winners and losers would be in the 20th
century; not just in terms of borders but
ideology. Old European aristocratic ways
died with the Kaiser (Emperor) and the Austrian
Emperor. Don't think Germany and Austria
expand monarchies to France or make the king
a new power or in Britain but they do send a message
that old European aristocracy and
nobility is still relevant.
It's very possible that the 20th century
could become the German century. The
Germans wanted an economic union that
United all people of Europe around
Germany. Without the rise of the Nazis,
intellectuals including people like
Albert Einstein continue their
scientific endeavors inside Germany.
However we're just getting started.
The Central Powers have established
themselves as victors in this war.
What matters is how they use this
victory. This however, is one scenario.
This is Cody of AlternateHistoryHub
(old fashion music)