Inevitable Conflict? A First World War AAR

[Yakk]

For all we know, WWII would have been the French/English rising up against the Germans. What "caused" WWII was:
1> WWI's loss could be viewed as "unfair" to the people of Germany.
2> The great depression.
3> Industrial societies can produce insane destructive power.

It would be easy to see a scenario in which any losing power in WWI would satisfy <1>, and there is no reason why <2> and <3> would change.

 

[502nd PIR]

Also it included Hitler's rise to power, and imperialistic plans for Europe, and Emeporer Hirohito's invasion of China, amongst other things, such as the weakness of the Leauge of Nations, and the lack of resolve by the League and men inside the German government to oppose the rise of Nazi Germany.

But enough of this. This story is about WWI, not WWII. patiently waiting Kan.

 

[Fiend777Fits]

For all we know, WWII would have been the French/English rising up against the Germans. What "caused" WWII was:
1> WWI's loss could be viewed as "unfair" to the people of Germany.
2> The great depression.
3> Industrial societies can produce insane destructive power.

It would be easy to see a scenario in which any losing power in WWI would satisfy <1>, and there is no reason why <2> and <3> would change.

here's where you're wrong. <1> is not simply the loss of ww1, it is the treaty of versailles which put most of the financial responsibility and moral blame on germany. the question is, had the germans won would they have imposed a similar treaty on the english and french? unlikely. since they were the aggressors of the war, it is likely they would impose tributes but nothing as financially devastating as the treaty of versailles.

 

[Darth_Pugwash]

The terms that the Germans imposed on the Russians in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918 were just as bad if not worse than the terms of the Versailles treaty. If they had won the war, I don't think the Germans would have been any more leniant on the Westerners than they were on the Russians.

Then we could have ended up with a Hitler-like figure taking control of France or maybe even Britain, and starting a different WW2. What would America's role be in this? What about the USSR?

It is interesting, but it's for another thread really

Looking forward to the next update

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

No problem. I suffer from it a lot. And I agree, theroies rock. I've always enjoyed writing 'what if?' books. working on an Allied Invasion of Japan one now actually

There's a couple of actual 'What If' books, which is a collection of essays edited by Robert Cowley. The second one contains one about the Allied invasion of Japan. It's interesting stuff, going into how much the Japanese would have fought on, and if the Soviets had invaded as well - possibly creating a 'North Japan and 'South Japan,' similar to what happened in Korea and Germany. In turn, this creates a rather bleak outlook for the Cold War.

Regarding the end of WW1, I'm no real expert. Had the Germans won, I imagine we would not see Poland - unless it were the formally Russian-held side, and some of Britain/France's colonial possession may be handed over - I'm thinking Gibralter/Suez specifically, and possibly some weakening of the Royal Navy. I don't think there are any major German populations in Belgium/northern France, so I doubt we would see a direct annexation on the continent.

I couldn't really see a fascist French/British state coming into existence, though both countries would have suffered a lot of turmoil. IIRC the French did have a socialist government after the Franco-Prussian War, so maybe a government sympathetic to the Soviet Union, if they did come into existence.

And if the USSR did survive it's revolution, and assuming it became the size it was (though I imagine the Germans may demand the independence of Ukraine/Belorus as a buffer state), then I imagine it would be the big bad on the scene - particularly if friendly to a communist France. Another two-front war between Germany and France/Russia sometime in the future, with the Brits sitting it out.

Just some guess-work there, particularly the last paragraph. I never like going too deep into alt-history, as there's just too many variables.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

Inevitable Conflict? The British Fight the Great War

November 1918 - May 1919


The battle to take Berlin truly began in November 1918, as dozens of British squadrons bombarded the city from Hanover. The main land forces were still forming, but High Command wanted Germany to be demoralised by constant attacks at her capital. The German airforces were relatively unable to counter the threat, giving the RAF control of the skies.

Following this, the British forces - mainly armoured divisions from the Cologne campaign - launched an offensive towards the city in late January, where they met little resistance. The entire army was not expected to be formed until March, but it was agreed that small probing attacks would be allowed, to gauge German strength.


British tanks bypass the Berlin defences.

These early attacks were successful, and forced the Germans to abandon any grand counter-attack they may have had. They did however, send a tank division north, destroying British infantry and pressing on to threaten the American forces near Luebeck. British High Command decided against pursuing them, and instead conducted several bombing runs using the RAF&#8217;s resources.

What was to be the final attack on the German capital began in March, as all forces threw themselves into the city. There were heavy losses, but above all else they were advancing, albeit at a slow pace. German reinforcements continued to arrive from the south, protected from the RAF by Germany&#8217;s own planes. Britain herself was aided by the Americans - their large-scale offensive in the south continuing to draw German forces away from Berlin. However this itself was beginning to collapse, and it would not be long before Germany was able to reinforce - possibly permanently - Berlin.

The breakthrough came in May, when the British Armoured Forces over-ran the last of the machine gun defences, allowing the infantry to make larger pushes forward. They themselves managed to push deep into the city, taking control of several key points, before finally flushing the German garrisons out by the end of month.


The ruins of Berlin

The expected counter-attack came shortly afterwards, as several German division hit southern Berlin. Their armoured forces quickly threatened the British gains, but a last minute push by already exhausted British tank corps saw the attack destroyed. The city was secured and in British hands, though the front lines were still a mere few miles outside the city outskirts. The American offensives were failing, and Britain was now dangerously over-extended. Germany had lost her capital, but not her will to fight on&#8230;

 

[502nd PIR]

Nice update. Fine continuation

 

[Darth_Pugwash]

The text is great, but I can't see any images!

Anyone else got this problem or just me?

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

I can still see them, I'll re-upload them through imageshack tomorrow if it's still happening to you or others

 

[Red Door]

I'm assuming there's no screenshots, since I see none. Good update!

 

[Darth_Pugwash]

I can see them now Kan.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

Yeah, I re-uploaded them again. Hope that works, as that's about as far as my technical skills go

 

[Rasputina]

Awesome story Kan!

 

[sirtommygunn]

bump!bump!

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

Awesome story Kan!

Glad to have pleased :hats:

bump!bump!

It'll be ready when it's ready. I forgot to take pics for the next update, which is slowing it down. Not to mention I spent this week on my Rome AAR. I need to finish this just to bring my total number of unfinished stories to 2

 

[Emp. Killyouall]

Update, Kan! And also I finished another game as Britian (noble), time victory (of course). I eliminated Germany, Austria- Hungary, and Romania (I think thats the other Central Power). All but Turkey, and I had taken about the easternmost 8 cities, coming down from Austria Hungary. Very wild, and for some reason, the Central Powers never got mobile machine guns or tanks...

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

Inevitable Conflict? The British Fight the Great War

January - July 1919


Even as Berlin was being fought over, across Europe many more operations were being played out. Nearly all fronts featured some form of offensive, with just northern Italy the only region in relative peace.

The largest attack came from the Americans, who began a massive front-wide offensive in February. It’s main aim was to capture the cities of Strassburg in the south, and Luebeck in the north - the latter providing Germany with her oil supply. It was also to force the German army away from Berlin as it continued to be assaulted by the British. During the American attacks, the RAF provided whatever air support it could to harass any German attempts at a counterattack.

By April, however, the offensive was already encountering sever problems. German resistance in the south was tenacious, to say the least, and it soon became clear that the massive amounts of German force there were not just for the defence of the industrial heartland of the Empire, but for a new offensive into France. Indeed, by the end of the month both the American army, as well as a small French force providing aid, had been completely destroyed, and German forces were approaching Reims. In response, additional British and French troops - vital for the battles around Berlin - were redeployed to protect the city.


Reims prepares for another German attack

Further east, the frontline continued to shift dramatically. In Russia, the threat of a full-scale civil war continued to draw needed troops away from the main campaign, a move that Austria took full advantage of in June. The nation was still bitterly embarrassed by failing to achieve victory in a single major campaign, particularly in the wake of Serbia reclaiming the city of Nish earlier in the year, thereby reuniting the country for the first time since the beginning of the war.

Their response was to continue the attacks into Russian-held Poland. The previous year had seen the capture of Krakow, and with Russian forces so thinly spread, Austrian High Command authorised an attack on the southern city of Kosice, the only non-Russian city still held by the Czar. With the Russians distracted by a German feint in the north, it was all too easy for the Austrians to march in and seize the city, thereby threatening Poland and an already weakened Russian Army.

With such a threat to their eastern ally, Britain had no choice but to step up operations in Germany, despite commanding an already thin front. The failure of America to take Strassburg was a heavy blow, but there was still a significant force in northern Germany that could cut off it’s southern territories. As such, High Command allowed troops from Berlin, and Hanover to begin a push for Leipzig - the main city connecting the south to the rest of the country. It was hoped that cutting Germany in two may succeed in finally ending the war, or at least cripple the nation long enough to allow for it’s total destruction…


The delicate balance of power in central Germany

 

[sirtommygunn]

THANK GOD AN UPDATE a small one but nontheless an update

now let us pray for another

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

sirtommygunn: Thank you, and my apologies for the delay

Inevitable Conflict? The British Fight the Great War

February - June 1919


In 1918, the British Admiralty had proposed a bold operation against the Ottoman Empire, aimed at an attack near their capital. The plan itself - an amphibious assault on the Gallipoli peninsula south-west of the capital - had in fact been suggested back at the opening of the war, but it was shelved in favour of more traditional offensives along the Eastern Mediterranean coastline. Now, with those pushes over, it was decided on gambling what forces were left in a final attempt to knock the Ottomans out of the war.


The plans for the opening landings

Part of the reason behind the landings was due to the region destabilising rapidly. Rebel groups, mostly fighting for an independent Turkey as the Ottoman Empire slowly collapsed, had been engaged in guerrilla warfare for three years now - mostly on Asia Minor and away from British-held territories. By now, however, they were becoming common across the Middle-East, as dozens of factions fought for independence. As such, the need to end the war and partition Ottoman territories rapidly gained importance, as it would free up British troops to return to Europe, particularly those garrisoning Turkish lands.

The independence movement came to a head in early 1919, when rebel troops managed to land in and seize the island of Cyprus from Britain. Given it&#8217;s importance in harbouring the Royal Navy&#8217;s Mediterranean Fleet, such an attack (and the fact the island was undefended) was a grave embarrassment to the Admiralty, and High Command as a whole. Though it was retaken two months later, it sealed the fate of the Gallipoli campaign - it had to go ahead.

The uprisings in the Middle East were not localised events - for years, civilian dissent had plagued the major powers in their war efforts. It had only been recently - most obvious with the Turkish independence movement and the Soviet uprising in Russia - that such rebellious groups had made their presence known. It was no different in the British Isles, where throughout the year of 1919 organised groups, rallied against the government, fought for the end of the war. As was made clear by High Command, it was ironic that such groups would violently fight for such a cause, but it was becoming obvious to all - the threat of revolutionary forces was real, particularly given the continuing survival of &#8216;communists&#8217; in Russia. The message was clear - the war had to end.


The landings at Gallipoli

The great landing at Gallipoli passed without much crisis. The Royal Navy began heavy bombardment of the region, suppressing the enemy enough to allow British and Commonwealth forces to land troops on the peninsula. With the bulk of the Ottoman forces still engaged with Bulgaria against the Romanians, it was an easy task to secure the region. By May, and with expected losses, the Allied Power had secured Gallipoli.

The expected counterattack was held, but it was quickly realised that there was nowhere near enough forces to continue the push towards Constantinople, particularly given the intelligence information received on the city defences. However, reinforcements were being summoned from whatever could be spared from the Middle East - even at the expense of captured territory in Ottoman Territory in Asia Minor - and naval bombardments were ordered on Constantinople. Regardless of if the city could be taken, it would finally suffer the horrors of war.


Gallipoli taken

The truth was, the so-called Great War was entering it&#8217;s final stages, but there was no clear victor in sight. The Ottoman Empire was falling apart, but still maintained a powerful army. Russia, Italy, France, America and Serbia had gained little, but were still overly determined to achieve some sort of final victory. Finally, there remained Britain and Germany. Both were overstretched, both were reaching the limits of their strength, both were ready for a final clash. The game was approaching it&#8217;s zenith&#8230;

 

[Emp. Killyouall]

What is your biplane strength? If you have over 40 planes, you can spare a few for Gallipoli to air strike Constantinople.