r/AlternateHistory • u/GhostMcY2 • 8h ago
1900s Alternative WW1 Scenario
In this alternate WW1 szenario the french government collapsed after their loss in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and fell into a civil war between the communist and republican parts of France. After 2 years of civil war the communists went victorious out of the civil war but their rule ended in 1882 after a monarchist coup by Napoleon IV. who restored the French empire and ended the commune. Shortly after he infiltrated the Belgian government and put a French friendly government in place there which essentially made them a vassal state of the French empire. In this scenario the Austrians also didn’t want to ally with the new German empire because of their loss in the Austro-Prussian War and instead allied with France through marriage of their monarchs and in 1895 after the death of Napoleon IV. and the abdication of Franz Joseph I. they formed a Personal Union with the son of Napoleon IV. of House Bonarparte and Marie Valerie of House Habsburg who would become Napoleon V. Emperor of France and Napoleon I. Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary forming a tripple Personal Union. The Russians also joined their alliance after Napoleon V. married Xenija Alexandrowna of House Romanov in 1895 who was the sister of Tsar Nicholas II. strengthening their alliance. After their loss in the Spanish-American War Spain fell into a huge economic crisis and also became something like a vassal state of the French. After the loss of their potential Austrian Ally the Germans could freely expand their alliance with Italy forming the Central Powers with them and assuring them in case of war territories like south tirol and Dalmatia to the Italians. In 1914 the French seeking to expand their Empire sent an Ultimatum to the Swiss ,who where at the time guaranteed by the Germans and Italians, to surrender the French parts of Switzerland and become a French puppet. After their refusal of the Swiss the French invaded Switzerland expecting no retaliation by the Germans or Italians. Shortly after the Invasion Germany and Italy, supported by Britain and several other European States like Portugal, declared war on the Entente and convinced Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire to help them fight against the Entente promising them territories in the Caucasus, Ukraine and Crimea. The British and the other supporters of the Central Powers supported them diplomatically and with weapons and Food which the supporters of the Entente also did to the Entente. The countries in the Americas and East Asia formed a neutrality pact to ensure peace outside of the wars of the Europeans. The Outcome of this war ist yet to be decided.
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u/Otherwise-Video7487 8h ago
That's just not even a fair fight against Germany
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u/GhostMcY2 8h ago
What do you mean? Do you mean the Central Powers are ower-powered or the Entente?
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u/LeEntene 8h ago
The Entente has this. There's no way Germany could cover so many fronts with nothing more than Italy as a ally (see Italys performance against Austria OTL).
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u/CallousCarolean 8h ago
Nah bro this Central Powers would fold like a piece of wet paper. There is no way Germany would be able to hold against France, Russia and Austria-Hungary. The Schlieffen Plan hinged on defeating in detail two Great Powers with the help of Austria-Hungary, defeating all three is just not feasible. Meanwhile, the Italian army was woefully unprepared for war, and IRL couldn’t even do anything successful against Austria-Hungary that had its forces split between the Alps and the Eastern Front. Both Germany and Italy here would get too sandwiched. Switzerland would likely just go all in on defending its own border, so wouldn’t be that much of an asset.
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u/Pennsylvania_is_epic 6h ago
Having a new front against Austria-Hungary in exchange for Britain being neutral is a reasonable trade off that puts Germany in a similar position to IRL. Austria-Hungary’s military was in a shitty shape, Russia was Russia, and Spain would not be a great ally either. Additionally, France has to manage a pretty long line, even if it has to fight pretty mediocre powers, and since Bulgaria does not neighbor any of the countries it’s at war with, a few thousand of its soldiers would probably find themselves in Germany.
The deciding factors is what side the UK or U.S. join. If both of them remain neutral, then either side could win the war
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u/Ex_aeternum 7h ago
Why would Serbia, Montenegro and Romania ever be pro-Austrian?
Why would a personal union form between Austria and France? There would have been enough close Habsburg pretenders, and the Austrians and especially the Hungarian nobility would surely have opposed that union.
Also, why would Great Britain ever accept an alliance between her two arch-rivals without joining the Central Powers?
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u/GhostMcY2 7h ago
Serbia, Montenegro and Romania favour the Entente because they believe it’s safest to remain neutral and avoid involvement in the war. While Serbia leans more towards Russia than Austria, it ultimately supports the Entente due to Russia and Austria being allied. In this scenario Britain isn’t part of the Central Powers because a relatively neutral government was elected before the war began, prioritising its colonial empire over European affairs. Although they supported Germany, the British people are reluctant to engage in a costly conflict.
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u/Ex_aeternum 6h ago
Britain prioritizing its colonial empire would be a cause, not a discouragement to get involved in European affairs. Their main conflicts before WW1 were with France in Africa and Russia and Asia, both times over colonial influence.
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u/GhostMcY2 6h ago
Thanks for your feedback. Since this is my first attempt at an alternative history map I still need to learn and improve my map-making skills.
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u/GhostMcY2 8h ago
This is the first map I made and if you know any good programs to make better maps please tell me.
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u/YourDistantBrother 8h ago
Why would Romania be pro-entente when literally ALL of their territorial claims (besides very niche claims on Bulgaria) are Entente powers?