1903: Walls Come Tumbling Down
The illusion of British naval superiority would be shattered by the end of the 1902-1903 winter. An American convoy of wheat and grain was determined to be sent through the Channel to aid a struggling continental Europe after a poor harvest in 1902. Along with the foods were weapons and money to be used to bribe the Russians into joining alongside the Allies against Britain. The convoy would consist of nearly a thousand ships from over a dozen nations, easily the largest concentration of shipping in history, even to the modern day. The British military was aware of the opportunity to perhaps sunder the Allies and force them to a negotiated peace in Europe and America. The Dutch navy, sitting intact in Amsterdam and the full force of the Royal Navy, with the exception of the Indian Command and Caribbean Command, were marshaled to meet the threat. They were placed under the command of newly appointed Admiral Archibald Milne, who, against all odds, used a converted yacht to sink the German light cruiser
Breslau and by doing so, he had become one of the few heroes Britain could point to in the first year of the war.
Against the British, the Americans deployed over 70% of their standing navy, a force which would have been sorely outnumbered by the might of the Royal Navy. However, even as the convoy steamed out of Boston and New York City, fleets were being marshaled across the world to defend the Alliances chance at victory. As the convoy approached the British islands, they were met by the French Atlantic fleet off the coast of Ireland, dramatically increasing their numbers, though not decisively. The British were still optimistic when the Royal Navy met the Americans near the great port of Scapa Flow. Everything changes when the Kriegsmarine came up from the southeast, positioning themselves in the rear of the British navy. The great convoy came to a halt as the largest naval battle in history began in the early hours of January 23, 1903. The British armada, desperate for a victory, formed into what would effectively be called a square formation in order to combat enemies on all sides. A scattered volley was fired at the Americans and French and the battle began. Outnumbered, but with better gunners, the Royal Navy extracted a terrible toll upon the Allied fleets. Seven out of thirteen American battleships assembled were destroyed or so badly damaged they were forced into port in Germany for the rest of the war. Five out of ten French battleships were sunk and the crews lost to the sea. Only four German ships were lost out of twelve, though KMS
Wilhelm II sunk while attempting to return to port due to damaged. The Royal Navy was likewise devastated, losing twelve proud battleships and a variety of smaller vessels. With the fleet threatened with encirclement and destruction Admiral Milne withdrew the Royal Navy into the protection of the guns of Scapa Flow. The great convoy passed to Germany unmolested.
The arrival of the funds borne by the convoy would result in the Russian declaration of war on February 12, 1903. The Ottoman Empire would join alongside the British a mere month later, opening another front in the growing conflict. The Imperial armies of Russia, assisted to a limited degree by the German and Austrian armies, invaded Asia Minor, moving to at last secure their warm water port. A brief campaign by Austria against the nation of Romania in late 1902 had opened the city of Constantinople for attack by the Allies. The victorious Austrians attempted to capitalize upon their victory by bringing the navy around from the Adriatic to capture the historic city. To the humiliation of the Austrians and the surprise of the Turks, the Russian fleet arrived first, destroyed the fortresses defending the city and seized the town. Over a hundred thousand Ottoman soldiers were forced to surrender to the Russian army. Russian military forces also attempted several assaults over the Caucuses through 1903 only to be rebuffed by the Ottoman military. Elsewhere in Europe the land war came to a standstill. French and German military forces quickly prepared for an invasion of Britain itself in order to completely bring the Empire to its knees with the capture of London. An armada of ships was quickly assembled in the port of Cherbourg as German and French armies amassed in preparation to land at the mouth of the Thames and advance on London. When the fleet disembarked in May they were met by the Atlantic Command from Scapa Flow. The gallant forces of the Royal Navy routed the fleet of the Kriegsmarine and the invasion of Britain was forestalled. No Allied soldiers would set foot on Britain throughout the course of the war. For the remainder of the war, Allied and British soldiers would stare at each other from across the Channel, coining the phrase phony war or sitzkrieg as the Germans referred to it. With the fall of Amsterdam, the main war in Europe had ended.
As the war was drawing to an anti-climatic conclusion in Europe, in the Americas the fight was growing. A major breakthrough southeast of Ottowa, American forces had at last broken British lines in Canada. With this victory, the American armies would capture Canadas provisionary capital and march up the St. Lawrence River to Quebec. Though for a brief time British strongholds in Newfoundland and Halifax would hold against the American onslaught, both regions would surrender by the end of the year. In the Caribbean, the victory at Scapa Flow enabled the United States Navy to act with impunity against the positions of the British Empire. Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the British Virgin Islands all fell with remarkable ease. Though the Haitian military forces continued to hold in the mountains until the armistice was signed in 1905, that island was soon secured by American marines. With winter not truly being an issue in the hot climate of the Caribbean nations, American forces would continue to press on under the relentless command of General Fitzgerald Lee. The Nicaraguan entry into the war in September 1903 resulted in the rapid occupation of Costa Rica by the Nicaraguan military, and American politicians grew concerned over possible threats in Central America. Therefore the invasion of Colombia was accelerated and American soldiers would land on the beaches of Panama and Northern Colombia by early November. The brutal jungle campaigns of Colombia would come to a conclusion with the occupation of Bogotá on April 3, 1904. Further south, Argentine forces used the withdrawal of the Falkland Command to seize control of the Falkland Islands and to assert full control over both Uruguay and Paraguay. Both nations were officially annexed on January 1, 1904.
1903 proved a disaster for British Commonwealth forces under the commands of Australia and New Zealand. The surrender of the Netherlands in June forced the British to seize control of the Dutch East Indies and defend the islands themselves. Nipponese forces easily overwhelmed the confused and strained ANZAC forces in Indonesia, and the Australian holdout at Port Moresby surrendered to Germany in July. A renewed French advance in Indochina drove the army of the Raj into Burma, and an attack through Malaysia resulted in the French occupation of Singapore. From August 1903 to March 1904, American soldiers and sailors would also continue their steady advance through the eastern Pacific Ocean, culminating in an invasion of New Zealand. Though ANZAC forces put up a valiant struggle, ultimately the weight of American arms won the day and the islands of New Zealand fell under the control of the United States. Australia had been surrounded and the forces of three nations prepared themselves for the invasion of a continent.
1904-1905: The Sun Sets on the British Empire
On April 23, 1904 Nipponese, German, and American soldiers landed at three vastly different points on the Australian continent. Nipponese forces, landing on the west coast easily dispersed the local militia and irregulars who emerged to combat the invasion. The few populated areas of the coastline were promptly occupied and martial law was declared throughout Western Australia. German forces landed east of the city of Darwin, quickly capturing the small metropolis and securing control of the northern coast line. A small engagement would be fought between German and ANZAC forces during the campaign, in which ANZAC veterans were easily defeated by the colonial Wermacht. The Americans would bear the brunt of the fighting for the invasion. Under General Cyril White, the Australians determined that if the Americans could be beaten in a single decisive battle, the terrain of Australia and the logistical strain could be used to defeat the Germans and Nipponese in detail. Six fresh, well-armed and supplied divisions were assembled outside of Sydney with the task of pushing the Americans out. For three months American forces were besieged in the city, awaiting a desperate resupply and relief attempt from California. When the convoy at last arrived, the last remaining ANZAC field army was defeated and dispersed.
The remainder of 1904 would be marked solely by two major campaigns. In Asia, the French would launch a renewed offensive into Burma alongside a French expeditionary force during the humid days of summer and fall. Governor-General Curzon had been expecting the move and after the arrival of evacuating forces from Britain, the Raj successfully defended Burma and India against the invasion. Multiple attacks were made by Allies throughout the remainder of the war, but with British positions reinforced, the Alliance had no chance to break through into the former gem of the Empire.
The most decisive campaign would be fought in the Atlantic. Surprising both their French and German allies, American forces would launch an invasion of Ireland, led by a volunteer division of Irish-American romantics and patriots under Joseph Kennedy. The Americans landed at Galway on June 6 1904, threatening both Dublin and the larger British bases in northern Ireland. Initially the Irish people fought bravely alongside their British overlords, but as American forces overwhelmed a multitude of defensive positions between the beachhead and Dublin, the tide quickly turned in favor of the invaders. Desertion reached an all-time high, and when American forces entered Dublin on July 4, they were met by ecstatic support and cheering crowds. It is widely believed that the photographs of the support of the Irish people and the victory at Sydney would lead to Theodore Roosevelts landslide victory in the 1904 American Presidential elections.
As the British Empire suffered defeat after defeat, dissent at home grew rapidly. Elections called at the end of 1903 resulted in a socialist victory in the House of Commons and King Edward VII was forced by the House of Lords to disband the lower House of Parliament and declare martial law and curfew throughout the British islands. Despite increasing unrest, the monarchy was able to keep control of the war effort, nationalizing industrial and financial assets to a degree never before seen in British history. By the end of the 1904, the cracks were beginning to show. The fall of Dublin in July sparked an open revolt through most of Britain. Led by communists Willie Gallacher and Thomas Johnston, the British workers refused to work in the factories until the war was brought to a conclusion. In both London and Glasglow, the military was called in to restore order and violence resulted. Large elements of the recently drafted regiments refused to fire on civilians and joined the growing unrest. By September most of Scotland and Wales had been secured by the communists, and only eastern England remained under government control. Communists then marched upon London, fighting loyalist forces as they advanced. After destroying the Household Division west of London and seizing the city in heavy urban fighting, the Congress of British Workers was proclaimed and Gallacher and Johnston proclaimed a government of the proletariat, establishing the worlds first communist regime. Under the threat of heavy gunfire from both small arms and artillery pieces, the Royal Family was evacuated along with the treasures of the Tower of London on the HMS
Indomitable. The remnants of the Atlantic Command escorted the Royal Family from Britain in a dash to India, fighting two minor engagements against the Spanish and French while en route.
In early 1905, the final campaign would be fought as Nipponese forces reinforced French and German armies in Indochina. The combined forces of the Allies advanced once more into Burma, and succeeded in advancing all the way to Calcutta. By April, the tides had once more turned, and within a month, the Allies were once more forced back into occupied Siam. With both sides exhausted and stalemated, the war came to an abrupt end as an armistice was signed on November 9, 1905. No single treaty would bring the First World War to a conclusion. A series of treaties would be signed in Calcutta, ending the war after four bloody years.
In the Americas, the United States of America was recognized as the sole power, and the Monroe Doctrine was confirmed as a treaty signed by the victorious nations. Most of the formerly British possessions in the Caribbean were transferred to American control and were admitted as territories in the United States. Canada and Quebec were also annexed by the United States and placed under military occupation and martial law. The United States vast possessions would face significant political issues and unrest until the Roosevelt Statehood Bill was passed by Congress in 1911. Guatemala was granted a charter as the United Provinces of Central America, gaining control over Belize, San Salvador, and Honduras. It was believed that the newly reformed UPCA would act as a buffer towards Nicaraguan ambitions in Central America. This concern was caused by a series of skirmishes in Panama between American and Nicaraguan military forces throughout late 1905, which would result in a draw. Argentina was also recognized as a South American power, and the United States and Germany granted extensive trading rights with the rising nation, bringing the three powers closer together.
In Europe, several nations had disappeared from the map. Even though Allied forces were poised once more for another invasion of Britain, the massive fortifications established over three years and the fanatical military display by the communists during the Winter Revolution gave pause to most Allied commanders. It was decided that though the Congress of British Workers was not to be officially recognized, it would nonetheless be left alone for the time being. The Low Countries had been eliminated from the map, disappearing under the mass of the powerful French and German empires. Their colonial possessions had vanished into the grasps of more powerful nations.
To the east, after two years of brutal combat, Russian forces had overwhelmed the Ottoman army and officially annexed Asia Minor. To the surprise of many and to the dismay of Western businessmen, in late 1904, a group of less than three hundred men under the command of Ibn Saud would throw the Ottomans out of Mecca and Medina. This uprising would result in a massive Arab uprising which found both Arabia and Iraq wrested from Ottoman control virtually overnight. Ibn Saud proclaimed himself the new Caliph, usurping the Ottoman-controlled one and declaring the region under Arabic to be Dar-al-Islam, or Peace under Islam. The final nail in the coffin of the sultan came with the late Italian entry into the war in 1904, which resulted in the loss of Egypt, Libya, and Palestine to the Italian Empire. The reign of the Ottomans, which began in 1453, came to a humiliating conclusion four hundred and fifty years later as the wealth of their empire was divided amongst their enemies.
In Africa, the British Empire lost the vast majority of its possessions to the greedy fingers of Italy, France, and Germany. The single exception and oddity was the Raj-controlled South Africa, which held off a small German invasion in the summer of 1903. The Boer Republic was recognized as a legitimate nation by most nations and under colonial rule, Africa once more settled down to a seemingly peaceful existence.
The shape of Asia was dramatically changed during the First World War. Nipponese victories against ANZAC and Dutch armies in Indonesia and Chinese victories against the Europeans during the Boxer Revolution demonstrated that the yellow man was just as good as the white man in warfare. Though displeased by Chinese actions in seizing international ports and revoking extraterritoriality from the Europeans, the powers at the Calcutta conference reluctantly acceded to the revitalized Emperor in Peking, as well as to the vast territories taken by the Nipponese. The addition of Indonesia to the Nipponese Empire virtually tripled the territories under the rule of the Emperor of Nippon. American and German colonial authorities quickly took charge of the plethora of British islands throughout the eastern Pacific, and several islands were seized by the French as well. The biggest spoil in the Pacific Ocean was no doubt Australia. The province of Northeast Territory was granted to Germany, who set up a new military and colonial authority at Darwin, which would be renamed Wilhelmsburg. Western Australia was directly annexed to Nippon and established as a penal colony for unruly Korean agitators and political dissidents. United States military authorities would establish both eastern Australia and New Zealand as territories under martial law, and once more the regions fates would be disputed until the Roosevelt Statehood Bill in 1911.
A final development of the First World War was the Council of Nations. This was the first international body to be established with peace and prosperity in mind. Its creator and first Chairman would be an American politician named Woodrow Wilson. His
Seven Points, published in 1915, would be the basis for nationalism in the twentieth century and the ideological basis for rebellions in Turkey, Poland, and Spain. The Council of Nations determined resolutions and international laws and doctrine using simple majority votes and it would see varying success until it disbanded in 1929. It is widely believed that the Council of Nations served as the predecessor for the United Nations which would be established after the Third World War.
The British Empire had come to a violent conclusion. King Edward VII took full control of the Raj in India, reestablishing the remnants of the British Empire as the Empire of India. The glory days were over for Britain. Yet, across the world, unrest seethed and war still menaced the new powers. Nationalist ideals and imperial ambitions threatened to turn the rising stars against each other and new alliances seemed in order to protect stability. The world had been rattled, now it began to pull itself together once more.