In the Early World War I timeline, the first world war broke out much earlier than it did in OTL; this is thanks to the Russo-Japanese War expanding into a global conflict rather than a Far East Asian War; thanks mainly to the Dodger Bank incident not being solved diplomatically (the timeline's POD).
The First World War is more of a period than one actual war, while the main world war was fought globally across the colonial empires of the European Powers, smaller localized conflicts also broke out, usually in the form of a civil war. For more detailed information on the respective Russian, Mexican, Chinese and Arabian theatres of war during this period please see their respective pages which are linked to below:
But before the war went global, for a couple of years it was just being fought between Russia and Japan around Manchuria. This article documents the whole of the war from its "humble beginnings" all the way up to becoming the largest conflict up to that point in time in this ATL.
1904[]
In 1904 Japan issued a declaration of war on February 8th 1904. However, three hours before Japan's declaration of war was received by the Russian Government, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the Russian Far East Fleet at Port Arthur. Tsar Nicholas II was stunned by news of the attack. He could not believe that Japan would commit an act of war without a formal declaration, and had been assured by his ministers that the Japanese would not fight. Russia declared war on Japan eight days later. This surprise Japanese attack on Port Arthur starts the Russo-Japanese War.
Then February 23rd for an approximate $10 million, the United States gains control of the Panama Canal Zone, the Russo-Japanese War continues with Russian troops in Korea retreating toward Manchuria, followed by 100,000 Japanese troops, which climaxed with the Battle of Yalu river on May 1st. Elsewhere the British expedition into Tibet continues with the battle of Guru and also on April 8th the Entente Cordiale is signed between the UK and France. U.S. Army engineers begin work on The Panama Canal on May 4th. As the year continues the Herero revolts begin, then on July 21st the Trans-Siberian railway is completed and the British expedition under Colonel Francis Younghusband takes Lhasa in Tibet on August 3rd with the Dalai Lama signing the Anglo-Tibetan Treaty with Colonel Francis Younghusband on September 7th. Anyway back to the Russo-Japanese War, where Port Arthur enters a siege on August 1st (the siege of Port Arthur) and on August 17th a Japanese infantry charge fails to take Port Arthur.
With the almost complete destruction of the Far East fleet, the Russians decide to send in the Baltic Sea fleet around the world to aid the Far East fleet. The Baltic Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy was sailing around the world to strengthen the Far East fleet, and since the British were Japanese allies, it meant the Baltic fleet couldn't use the Suez Canal and had to go around the Cape of Good Hope, with the estimated date of arrival May 1905; however while the Baltic Fleet were in the North Sea, they mistook some British trawlers at Dogger Bank for an Imperial Japanese Navy force, after rumours of an Imperial Japanese fleet detachment in the North sea. The Russians attacked on the night of 21st October 1904. Three British sailors died and a number were wounded, and Russian losses included one sailor and a priest aboard a Russian cruiser caught in the crossfire. A media frenzy and a diplomatic crisis start thanks to the Dogger Bank Incident, and the consequences of it would soon be felt across the world.
Diversion from reality![]
The route of the Russian Baltic Fleet is below, with red dots symbolizing when it took part in battles.
The British government wondered why the Russians would ever think the Japanese Navy had sailed to the North Sea and the British government demanded that the Baltic fleet stop to aid in the investigation into the incident. However the Tsar Nicholas II wanted the fleet in the east quick as possible and demanded the British postpone the investigation, but the British weren't having any of this and forced the Baltic Fleet to stop in the Bay of Biscay on October 22nd and placed troops on the Russian ships to make sure they followed the British fleet returning to Portsmouth. Then when in the English Channel, approaching the Isle of Wight on October 23rd, the Baltic Fleet commander Zinovy Rozhestvensky received a message from the Tsar demanding to make haste to Japan regardless of the current situation or face a court martial, the new only recently appointed Head of Naval Staff wanted to keep his reputation and decided to throw the British troops on board his ships over board and they messaged the British Home fleet escort commander to tell him that they were leaving to Japan and they wouldn't be sidetracked. The British demanded that they stop and as they left the escort they continued, they British continued to demand the Russians stop, then as the Russian fleet was passing Alderneythe in the Channel islands, a small merchant British ship travelled in front of the Russian Fleet, the Russians believing this was another British cruiser fired at it and sunk the ship in a small barrage (the Russians didn't mean to hit the ship as it was warning shots but due to miscommunication the gunners thought they where to destroy the ship), the British seeing another British merchant ship being shot at, where furious and fired hitting and destroying a Russian destroyer; the Russian fleet then turned around to fight the British, thus the Battle of Alderneythe began and a British victory followed with the majority of the Russian ships destroyed as they turned to meet the British, but poor Russian naval artillery fire meant only 7 of the British ships were hit, with only one British ship sunk, 1 ship needing major repairs, and the rest minor repairs. However during this battle other merchant vessels and fishing vessels where destroyed in the cross-fire. This battle then caused the British to declare war on Russia in order to avenge the civilian ships, respond to social outcry over the Dogger Bank incident and the political reasoning behind the declaration, to honour the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902 since Montenegro also declared war on Japan, the British claimed this set off Article 2 of Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902 and Britain declared War on Russia and Montenegro.
After this declaration the German Kaiser Wilhelm II saw interest in the war, declared Germany's neutrality in the war and decided to wait to see how serious the British would be in the war. The Kaiser secretly planned however, to see how serious Britain or Russia would take the war against themselves. Kaiser Wilhelm II would wait to see which side showed more likelihood to win. The Kaiser could therefore have Germany enter the war against Russia, or if France joined the war to help Russia; alternatively if the British were losing bad enough, the Kaiser would help the Tsar and attack Britain. The German's were playing their cards close to their chests, and the course of the war would be decided by the Kaiser's decision, and which side seemed more likely to win; after-all Germany could gain from either side's defeat.
The Japanese were pleased about the British actions and with this bolstering of Japanese forces, Japan began to plan an invasion of Eastern Russia, namely Vladivostok and Sakhalin; as well as the consolidation of their current holdings in Manchuria, and a plan to take over the rest of Manchuria. However the French were torn between helping either the British or the Russians in this war since they had alliances with them both, and decided if another country was to join with Britain and Japan attacking Russia, then they would join on Russia's side, or if another two countries joined with Russia to fight Britain and Japan, then the French would help the British; this agreement was known as the Dijon compromise.
The reminder of 1904[]
The British begin a naval blockade on October 30th around the area where the North sea meets the Baltic sea, by destroying any Russian Naval craft and charging all other Russian Merchant ships with a toll, and failure to pay the toll resulting in the confiscation of the trade goods and ships, with the ships being given to the families of people who had their lives and ships taken by the Russians in the Dogger Bank incident and the Battle of Alderneyther; and the trade goods sold for cheap in London. A similar blockade was set up in the Straits of Ottranto on November 3rd to stop Montenegrin naval ships, and charging a fee to merchant vessels, but failure this time to comply with the toll, meant the ships and trade goods where sold of cheap in Malta. The war in the east, continued with the siege of Port Arthur; plus the reminder of the Baltic fleet that escaped from the battle of Alderneythe were attacked and defeated at the battle of Cape town after the Russian fleet came too close to Cape town and the naval ships at Cape town noticed the Russians and sped after them and destroyed the reminder of the fleet in a quick, short and easy battle.
The HMS Dreadnought
The British came to an agreement with the Japanese to send in a fleet of British ships, a group of British ship builders to aid Japan in creating their own submarines and full dreadnoughts unlike the semi-dreadnought "Satsuma" and two army corps including new artillery units, to aid in defeating Russia. Also due to the war effort, the British admiralty decides to have all future battleships turbine powered, and the plans for the HMS Dreadnought are pushed forward, and it is laid out on the 29th November (2 years earlier than in the real world time line and as a result wasn't fully complete to specification however the British planned for more dreadnoughts class ships to be built even mightier than the original dreadnought design), it was launched on 14th January 1906 and commissioned on the 26th of January 1906, before joining the North Sea blockade. Also the 1904 Summer Olympics was celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States from July 1st, to November 23rd, regardless of the war.
1905[]
The Japanese take Port Arthur on the 2nd of January, and have the reminder of the Russian Far East fleet around Port Arthur were destroyed too. Then later on the 22nd the Bloody Sunday Massacre occurred with around 1000 to 2000 unarmed civilian protesters killed or injured in St.Petersburg.
The war in Manchuria
Then from the 20th February to 10th March the Battle of Mukden was fought, ending in a Japanese victory and while this battle was being fought, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia agrees to create an elected assembly (the Duma) on the 3rd of March. (Note the first or second Moroccan crisis never happen due to the Kaiser's will to wait to see how the war plays out, so he never asserts German equality with France in Morocco) The Japanese have complete control of Manchuria and then invaded the entire Sakhalin islands chain (Sakhalin and the Kuril islands) and them under Japanese control by the end of May, with the only noticeable resistance from the Russians during the Sakhalin invasions, was at the battle of Okha on May 26th - 29th. Then after a period of nationalism and desire to be independent brewing in Norway; the Norwegian Parliament declares the union with Sweden dissolved, and Norway achieves full independence on June 7th, and later on November 18: Prince Carl of Denmark becomes King Haakon VII of Norway. On June 27th the British fleet and army arrive in Nagasaki, where they join with the Japanese fleet and the joint navies begin the blockade and siege of Vladivostok, as well as an infantry and artillery corp also besieging the city. The Russians respond to this by sending in their armies into Manchuria and attack the Japanese garrison at Khailar and besiege it, the British and Japanese send troops to end the siege as well as destroying the Russian army.
For more detail on the The battle of Khailar please click here to be sent to be Russian Civil War page
The war continues with an Anglo-Japanese blockade of blockade and siege of Vladivostok towards the end of June. A Russian assault along the trans-Siberian-Manchurian railway to attack Khailar but this is repulsed by a combined British-Japanese force. This force goes onto attack Russia directly along the trans-Siberian railway in the winter by attacking and destroying Chinkuntsk, Chita, Lidinsk and Irkutsk. After destroying Irkutsk the force turned back to Manchuria while destroying the railway, also raised all the settlements it came across on its way back with some more 1000 Russians deserting with the Anglo-Japanese force. They returned to Khailar by September 1st. Many Russian exiles in Siberia join up with the British to be sent to Europe to take part in the European invasion of Russia and to help the allies communicate with the Russian radicals necessary to lead an uprising against the Czar and plague the Czar's armies with multiple uprisings & attacks necessary to make sure the Czar's forces faulted under the pressure of all the various different fronts and civil unrest.
While the attack on Irkutsk was happening, the siege at Vladivostok was continuing, however the Russians were holding out, very well from the naval bombardments. In order to aid the invasion of Maritime territory, the Anglo-Japanese force which attacked Chita and Irkutusk, moved out of Khailar across Manchuria to attack the town of Kumarsk and from their subdue the rest of the Amur region, before going on to attack Nikolayevsk and north Maritime oblast. On September 25th Vladivostok had fallen and most of the Amur region was taken too. The rest of Amur and Maritime was taken over by the 21st of February the following year, the length of this take over was greatly affected by a harsh winter, and the guerrilla tactics of the Russian loyalists; but the majority of the Russian peasants welcomed a new leadership in the area if it meant they were to be treated better.
However before the counter-attack in the winter in 1905, on August 2nd 1905, the Black Sea fleet mutinied and sailed out into the Black Sea, and then on the 4th the fleet arrived in Cyprus and offered there allegiance to the British. This was the last of Russia's main naval strength and were now at the mercy of the British, this caused lots of problems in the war council and cemented the Russian people's worst fears of a major defeat. But by the time this news reached the Russian people, members of the Bolsheviks of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party began a revolution in Moscow and Kiev and in other areas across Russia, this revolution by the Bolsheviks was to be violently suppressed by the 10th of August, but general Bolshevik terrorism continued.
Back to 1906 now, where the British knew they wouldn't be able to match Russian military strength on land so they devised a plan to make use of growing governmental discontent within Russia by sending in spies and agents via Norway to meet with the various leaders of independence movements and revolutionists in Kem the port on the White sea. The British would give arms, some military assistance and political recognition to the future states, in return for military aid and an alliance against the Tsar's forces. The Germans had also become interested in the war against Russia and decided to join the war against Russia. The forces began to be slowly build up and armed riots and coups in Riga and Helsinki began on January 2nd 1906, then a section of the British fleet then entered the bay of Riga and fired on Riga on the 3rd, as well as another detachment of the British blockade attacking Helsinki and another detachment sailing to St.Petersburg and a naval bombing commenced, which was to last until March, when the naval bombardment stopped.
Elsewhere across the world, the Irish nationalist Arthur Griffith founded Sinn Féin in Dublin, as a political party whose goal is independence for all of Ireland, on November 28th.
British strategy for 1906[]
The British knew they wouldn't be able to match Russian military strength on land so they devised a plan to make use of growing governmental discontent within Russia by sending in spies and agents via Norway to meet with the various leaders of independence movements and revolutionists in Kem the port on the White sea.
Britain's plan relied on the element of surprise by having the Imperial Russian forces occupied in the far east so then a large assault could start from the west, all while making use of the revolutionary local Russian populace
The British would give arms, some military assistance and political recognition to the future states, in return for military aid and an alliance against the Tsar's forces. The British and German intelligence agencies also met to discuss helping each other against Russia, the two forces came to an agreement, and the Germans began to aid the Polish independence movement secretly and the British moved into the Baltic sea based around Gothland and blockaded Russian trade ships, naval ships, and inspected everything else. In return for using Gothland as a naval base, the Swedish were promised land gains in Lapland. Meanwhile the British and Germans were planing a guerrilla war using Russian revolutionaries as well as a conventional front with Russia, the Japanese were planning a full scale invasion of of Vladivostok and the rest of the Maritime and some more of far eastern Russia, and the strengthening of Japanese positions within Manchuria. Then coupled with various riots across Russia, the Tsar's government began to mobilize the army to protect St.Petersburg and Western Russia in general, as well as starting another counter attack against the Japanese in Manchuria.
The agreement and re-drawing of the European map was known as the treaty of Oslo. This treaty was signed by the British, German, Norwegian & Swedish governments. Also representatives from the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian Republic separatist movements also were present & signed the treaty. The Japanese also signed an agreement with Britain & Germany in order to limit how much land Japan would gain from Russia, this was later known as the Kagoshima Agreement. However this didn't redraw all of Russia as large sways of European Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus Asian Russia, Siberia and Central Asia were not divided or even mentioned in these agreements, except on how far Japan could go in annexing far eastern Russia/Siberia. The Russian Republic were allowed to expand into this unclaimed land, but the allied powers weren't too sure how the rest of the war would pan out and so left this land to be contested at a later date.
1906, the war really begins[]
After the slow build up of forces and the increased frequency of riots across Russia, the British blockade was strengthened with the addition of extra ships to the blockade in order to free ships to aid the planed takeover of Riga and Helsinki. Armed riots and coups in Riga and Helsinki began on January 2nd 1906, a section of the British fleet then entered the bay of Riga and fired on Riga on the 3rd, as well as another detachment of the British blockade attacking Helsinki and another detachment sailing to St.Petersburg and a naval bombing commenced, which was to last until March, when the naval bombardment stopped.
The coups in Latvia and Finland then started to get into full swing as the British made troop landings in Riga, Helsinki, Aland islands and Osd island. Then on the 5th the Polish coup began, however this was much more successful as the Poles where armed much better, then on the 9th the Germans declared war on Russia and invaded Polish Russia and Lithuania. Then on the 12th the Swedes declared war on Russia and attacked Lapland. Then on the 13th Norway declared war,and the crack Swedish and Norwegian snow troops managed to start a successful hit and run invasion of Lapland. After 2 more weeks of these landings and advancements by the Germans, Swedish and British, the western front looked a little like this on the green line. The HMS Dreadnought is commissioned on the 26th of January and sails up the Baltic to give naval support to the Finnish land armies attacking the St. Petersburg region. This attack on St. Petersburg from Finland was were the majority of the allied armies were attacking from, meaning the majority of the Russian armies were drawn there, and lessened Russian resistance on the more northern Finnish, Russian, and Karelian fronts, however lots of Russians kept the Germans and Poles back, but the Baltic states were lost and by March 1st the fighting became a lot more trench based, and the fighting line became more static and moved back into Russia fairly slowly. Then in the next month of fighting, the front reached the green line on the map on the right; the Russians dug in and the fighting became very trench-oriented across the Russian line, except in Karelia where significant gains were made, but the Russians created a strong defensive line along the Onega river and to the big lakes of south Karelia.
Elsewhere in the far east the Japanese had set up defensive lines around Manchuria, the Uda river and the gap between; this defensive line repelled a Russian counter-attack in late February to early Match (a much weaker Russian counterattack than the previous year's). While this was happening the Japanese navy and army which had taken over the Kuril Islands went on to invade the Kamchatka Peninsula in order to gain some further land, also mainly because Japanese reconnaissance reported that only a single Russian militia guarded the main town in south Kamchatka: Petropavlovski, so the Japanese decided to invade based on this, and this information proved true. With this repulsion of the Russian counterattack in the 2nd Battle of Chita and the invasion of Kamchatka, the Japanese had spent the majority of their army forces, proven their military might, taken the territory they wanted, and the Russians who had been wanting a peace treaty since March this year, agreed a peace treaty with the Japanese, who kept all of their territorial gains as well as control of all Russian spheres of influence in China and Mongolia
On the left is a map of the Japanese Empire after the Russians and Japanese signed a peace treaty, and with this treaty signed, Russia's war in the east was over and they could concentrate more on their western European front. After the treaty, the Japanese declare the newly acquired Russian territories in maritime territory and the Amur region as the Colony of Yukiyama as well as declaring Manchuria a jointly controlled state, with Japan and China both running the region. Sakhalin and the Kuril islands are incorporated into the Japanese empire, each as their own prefecture (Karafuto prefecture(Sakhalin) & Chishima prefecture (Kuril islands)) and also many Japanese settlements are set up across the new prefectures. Back in the west though, during April and March the Russian line stayed about the same as at the start due to the start of trench warfare, thanks to the production and development of thousands of new machine guns by the Russians.
Then after many demands for help the French finally decided to intervene by declaring war on Germany and Britain. The French also gave arms and money to the Sinn Fein party in Ireland and they started a coup in Ireland, the French also sent a fleet down the Thames and they attacked London, this attack was eventually repulsed and caused much fear in Britain and a large naval war started in the Channel. Many battles happened between the two powers and the French invaded the Channel islands too. They also attacked Germany and German forces set up a defensive line in Alsace with a large garrison in Strasbourg.
Europe is quickly divided, but many powers remain neutral, however in Russia the independence movements form their own nations and Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Anarchist Republic of Crimea (Crimea is led by the would-be members of the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine in real world events, but here they gain support from Germany and England and form their own republic in the Crimean peninsula). Also the socialist armies under the leadership of Leon Trotsky, created their own soviet socialist republic centered in Siberia, the Soviet Republic of Siberia. The Socialists then created the communist alliance to join all the various socialist groups in Russia together into a single fighting force (the Red Army), and then the land conquered by the Red army would later be divided between the various communist groups.
The German and British fleets fight the French in the Pacific ocean, the French are attacked in Laos by the British Indian armies and there are small skirmishes across Africa, with the biggest battles in Western Africa around Nigeria, Togo-land, Cameroon and Ghana. Plus the British and French re-fight age old battles in the Caribbean. Around November in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia their independence movements become more recognized by the Russians, but the Turks see this as a good excuse to gain old land back, and they attack Georgia. As 1906 ends the conflict is truly world wide, as there is fighting in Europe, Asia, Africa North America and Oceania.
Other events in 1906[]
As well as the war, a few other events happened in 1906, such as a series of earthquakes, including the Ecuador-Colombia earthquake on January 31st (which happened just like it did in real life history), also the August 16th earthquake in Valparaíso, Chile leaves approximately 20,000 dead (magnitude 8.2) also happened just like it did in real life too, but the April 8th San Francisco earthquake was a lot worse than it was in real life, with almost the entire city destroyed, with near enough every citizen of San Francisco injured or killed; and as a result, serve building regulations were put in place and the city became more spread out over the whole San Francisco bay with building sizes being a maximum of 6 stories high; in order to prevent as much damage being caused from future earthquakes.
On July 12th Alfred Dreyfus was exonerated. He is reinstalled in the French Army on July 21, thus ending the Dreyfus Affair. Also the first German U-boat, U-1 entered the German navy, with several other U-boots in production and to be joining the Kaiserliche Marine in the next few years. Another important event in 1906 was the nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals revolt in Persia. This coalition forces the Shah to grant a constitution and establish a national assembly, known as the Majlis. Finally the 1906 Intercalated Games were held in Athens, regardless of the war.
Also on August 23th because Cuban President Tomás Estrada Palma is unable to control a rebellion, he requests United States intervention. The USA accepts under the terms of Cuban independence from the USA in 1902. After the rebellion is put down, the citizens of Cuba are so pleased with the USA's governance and fed up with a poorly ruled Cuban government, that they start a campaign for annexation into the USA. Unlike OTL Charles Edward Magoon is not installed as he caught and died of Yellow Fever when he was the Governor of Panama Canal Zone;
Congress debating the Cuban Annexation Act
so instead the more imperialistic Henry E. Burnham who saw the vast profits to be made from the Cuban sugar trade. He and other imperialistic government officials called for the annexation of Cuba, and then on December 12th the Cuban Annexation Act is passed through both houses of Congress, and Cuba became a territory of the USA as the Department of Cuba on December 25th, this is known as the " First Great Cuban Christmas Present".
1907, the world divides in two[]
As previously stated, the world was now in two, with some powers fighting for themselves, but the major two fractions fighting are the allies of Britain and Germany (the allies or reds in the maps) and the allies of France and Russia (the united forces or blues in the maps) (note the name of the two sides doesn't really matter, both sides referred to themselves as the allies, but as that may confuse the readers of this article) I have decided to call them two different things to lessen confusion. However the Ottoman Empire (the yellows) were fighting a war of their own, as were the Soviet republic of Siberia (the pinks) and their various communist guerrillas in the Russian Empire, the Japanese are in peach also, but out of the war; so this wasn't just a two sided affair, anyway the world map is below:
1907 begins with a selection of Russian democrats forming an alliance with the British and their allies, and they come to an agreement, with the Murmansk region and the White sea area becoming the Russian Republic, supporters of this republic began riots and attempted to cross over the White sea and the 'no man's land' between the Russian army and the allied line. The army attempted to stop this but they just made the rioting worse, and the Russian civil war got even worse.
The Ottomans take over most of Georgia by March and they begin to attack Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Early in June the British sends an invasion fleet to take Montenegro consisting mainly of the mutinied Russian Black Sea, who quickly takes the Montenegrin cost in two weeks, and the Montenegrin surrender to the British and agree surrender terms with the British and Germans, which included free passage of German and British forces through Montenegrin territory for the next 99 years. After the Russian Black Sea fleet had finished in the invasion of Montenegro they sailed to the Baltic to take part in the blockade.
The battle of the Vosges[]
Elsewhere in France the Germans had kept the front largely the same as the international borders, with the exception of the German attack on Belfort on February 4th. The battle of Belfort though, had spilled out to Munsterol by the 28th of February (where the majority of the German army in this battle were stationed), Delle by March 3rd and the Argot Forest on the 17th March, and later became the battle of the Vosges by April 1st, after the Germans take the French fort on Great Ballon d'Alsace and begin to attack Le Thillot, Cornimon, Gerardmer and Fraize, and with Markirch being attacked by the French. This battle remained on roughly the same lines for months, thanks to the strong French defences around Belfort, and equally the German defences around Markirch. However during December the Germans made a big push on Belfort and one of the fortresses of Belfort was destroyed in a non stop bombardment of the fort over the course of a week and the French began to weaken.
The Alsace frontline
The battle of Metz[]
Also at the same time of this the battle of the Vosges, the French were attacking the fortress city of Metz and the rest of the Alsace region, but with the focus on Metz. However like the battle of the Vosges the front stayed virtually the same, due to strong fortresses on both sides. The French commander of the battle of the Vosges (who was stationed in Epinal) was trying to convince the Swiss to let the French armies go through Switzerland to attack the German flank from Basel, to attack the German towns of Lorrach, Hegenheim and Blotzheim, however the Swiss government wished to remain neutral, and the Swiss promised to join the German side intermediately if the French attacked Switzerland.
(Note that on the map opposite, each red dot is a German division and each blue dot is a French division)
The battle of Nancy[]
This was another battle going on at the same time as the battles of Metz and the Vosges, this was a German attack to try and take the large French city of Nancy, in order to strike a psychological blow to the French by taking a major French city, plus it would serve as a good command post for the rest of the war for the French-German front rather than continue to use Strasbourg.
German strategy for a flanking attack[]
The Germans were also planing a flanking attack, but this one was through Belgium, but this meant that the Belgium's claim for neutrality would be broken, and the British would have to declare war on Germany because of the the 1839 Treaty of London and its significance from Article 7 of the treaty, which bound Britain to guard the neutrality of Belgium in the event of the latter's invasion. Meaning that the British would never allow the Germans to attack France through Belgium, so the Germans appealed to the British to invade France, and fortunately the British were planing just that. Then after around a month of planing the British finally came up with a plan to launch amphibious assaults on Calais and Cherbourg in October that year, or later if control of the channel was lost.
Events in Russia 1907[]
Russian troops waiting in their trenches for the allied attack
As well as the fronts in eastern Europe and around the other secessionist states, a revolt started in Moldavia and the Romanians came to an agreement with the Tsar, Moldavia would join Romania, and in return, Russian troops would be allowed to pass through Romania for the next 200 years, as well some reparations (which the Russians needed lots for the war effort). The soviets were also becoming more focused around Siberia, which soviet supporters were slowly travelling across Russia to join the Soviets. However the Norwegians and Swedish agreed peace terms with the Tsar in July, due to them gaining all the land they were promised, however they continue to support the Russian Republic in North west Russia.
Elsewhere the Crimean anarchists were losing support from the Crimean peasants and other non-anarchists and on April 3rd the Crimean republicans were founded and on September 2nd their army rebelled against the anarchists, as well as the majority of the Black army mutinying to join the Crimean Republican army, the remaining true anarchists left Crimea and began the Black March, in which the army went from Crimea, across east Ukraine, looking for another place to establish an anarchist state, the following year they would move out of Ukraine to continue the march across Russia. Elsewhere a group of Russian nobles, later known as the Muscovy league was formed, which was planning a revolt against the Tsar and to oust his government and replace it with their own government.
Also the Turkestan Army where planning their own revolution and in November they started an armed coup in several major cities in Russian occupied Turkestan, most importantly Samarkand was taken within a few hours and from that day served as the capital of the Turkestan empire and base of operations for the Turkestan army. Also in the Caucasus region the Ottomans had beaten the Russians and drafted a peace treaty, which ceded the Caucasus region to the Ottoman Empire, however no reparations had to be paid to the Ottomans from the Russians. The Russians accepted on July 17th in order to free up troops the Caucasus region was lately becoming increasingly hostile to Russian rule and the Ottomans moved in on July 20th. However Georgian resistance and Armenian resistance had Azerbaijan resistance had all met to form an alliance against Ottoman rule and help each other after their subsequent independence on August 1st and on September 4th they started an armed revolt.
Events in Asia 1907[]
As well as the war in Europe, there was also going ons in Asia, the most important of these was the re-entry of Japan into the war, however it was against China. You see after the Russians relinquished claims to Manchuria the Japanese declared it a jointly controlled territory (jointly controlled with China) the Chinese wanted their land returned as the threat of attack from Russia had disappeared. However the Japanese wanted to keep Manchuria as they had uncovered large mineral deposits needed to help the Japanese economy and improve the Japanese metallurgy business, however this didn't stop Qing China, and on March 23rd 1907 they declared war on Japan, starting the second Sino-Japanese war (however it was still included in the World War one, but as the Sino-Japanese campaign and The Chinese Civil War 1908). Qing agents started revolts in Manchuria against Japanese rule and the Chinese attacked the Chinese on two fronts, Taiwan and Manchuria. These revolts were stopped eventually with the promises of greater autonomy and the establishment of their own independent Manchu empire (basically it would be a protectorate of Japan), Korea was also offered a similar deal. The Chinese invasion of Manchuria was stopped quickly by the Japanese main defences but the Japanese main defences were quite a way from the Manchuria-China border so the Japanese lost a fair amount of land. However after the Chinese were brought to a standstill by the main defensive line of Japanese machine guns, the large Chinese armies were kept at bay. The Chinese invasion of Taiwan was stopped pretty quickly due to the presence of the British fleet, the British then left to join Hong Kong, the British then declared war on China after they attacked China from Hong Kong. The Portuguese were also offered territorial gains to their colony of Macao if they join Britain & Japan in fighting China. The Portuguese agreed and sent a fleet with around 3000 men, however this was kept secret until the fleet arrived in Macao, which was in December that year, which was when the Portuguese had declared war on China.
As well as the goings ons in China, there was also the attack on French Indochina by the British using their Gurkha, Indian and Burmese armies from Burma and by September they had beaten back the majority of the French army in Laos to the Mekong river. Plus dealings with local chieftains in Laos helping make sure that the British had the support of the locals by promising to create an independent Lao state. Similarly the British were financing Cambodian and Vietnamese rebels to throw the French out of the region.
The battle of the Isle of Wight[]
HMS Royal Sovereign
With the British aiming to invade France in December at Calais and Cherbourg, control of the Channel was seen to be in British hands. However, on November 29th the French fleet which had previously been stationed at Brest sailed around into the channel and using a combined fleet of submarines and battleships the French destroyed a patrolling ship the HMS Royal Sovereign (The Sovereign is pictured on the left) in a short engagement, due to the amount of French ships and subs. After the Sovereign was destroyed the rest of the British fleet was alerted and rendezvoused around Brighton. The French fleet, however, continued to sail and made landings on the Isle of Wight's south western coast around 10 PM, the French then marched across the plains of the isle, unopposed with a few police officers and armed civilians trying to fight back, however these people were quickly killed with only two French casualties. The French took Newport also, however there was a small army garrison there, but again they were killed with only three French casualties, by 11 AM the following day the isle of Wight was taken with only ten French casualties. The French then attacked the British fleet who were in port at Portsmouth and the British lost control of the Channel. While this operation was going on, the French were also invading the Channel Islands & had them all under French control in a week.
Other events[]
Other events included the first taxicabs with taxi meters begin operating in London; also New Zealand and Newfoundland become dominions of the British Empire. On October 17th Guglielmo Marconi initiates commercial transatlantic radio communications between his high power longwave wireless telegraphy stations in Clifden, Ireland and Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. On December 19th an explosion in a coal mine in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania kills 239; and also the triode thermionic amplifier invented by Lee DeForest, starting the development of electronics as a practical technology. Also by the combination of the Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory on November 16, 1907, Oklahoma joins the union as the 46th state in the USA.
1908, trench warfare[]
1908 was a deadly year with fighting on four continents! (Africa, Asia, Europe & Oceania). However, as well as the war a few other events occurred also including the following:
- Baluchistan is fully incorporated into the British Raj.
- The 1908 London Summer Olympics are cancelled and are to be played after the war is over.
- January 13 – A fire at the Rhoads Opera House in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. kills 170.
- January 24 – Robert Baden-Powell begins the Boy Scout movement.
- February 12 – The first around-the-world car race, the 1908 New York to Paris Race, begins.
- February 18 – Japanese immigration to the U.S.A. is forbidden.
- May 26 – At Masjid-al-Salaman in South-West Persia, the first major commercial oil discovery in the Middle East is made. The rights to the resource are quickly acquired by the United Kingdom.
- June 30 – The Tunguska event, also known as the Russian explosion, occurs near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Siberia, Russian Empire.
- September 27 – Henry Ford produces his first Model T auto-mobile.
- December 28 – An earthquake and tsunami destroys Messina, Sicily and Calabria, killing over 70,000 people.
King Carlos I of Portugal
Also due to the war in China, King Carlos I of Portugal employed more bodyguards to protect himself against Chinese assassins and also against the anti-war republicans as well as; this causes the king and the Infante Luis Filipe not to be shot dead in Lisbon on February 1st; this keeps the Portuguese monarchy in power, rather than Portugal becoming a republic in 1910.
Austro-Hungarian Empire also doesn't annex Bosnia this year as its spies notice an increase in Serbian military build-up, and rather than start a war with Serbia it decides not to annex. However this build-up in Serbia later turns out to be to fight Turkey.
The French theatre of War in 1908[]
The French-German front was becoming increasingly stationery due to the introduction of trenches across the line of battle, hundreds of men were dying in small advancements daily. However the situation in Britain was worsening for the British, with a lot of their channel fleet destroyed the French had won control of the Channel and another amphibious invasion of Britain looked certain, but this time on the mainland of Britain.
The British in order to stop this used lots of artillery to pound the French positions on the Isle of Wight and was re-ordering the British fleet into two groups, one in Milford Haven and another in the Thames mouth. The plan of the recently appointed British First Naval Lord John Fisher (Lord Walter Kerr was in control for longer, due to his knowledge of the fleet at the start of the war and not wanting to cause disarray in the navy bosses), the title of First Naval Lord was changed to First Sea Lord too, mainly as a show of British naval might, despite a French victory. The Mediterranean fleet however was doing much better against the French Mediterranean fleet and controlled the east Mediterranean with a blockade of British ships between Scilly and Tunis (the strait of Sicily), with a smaller blockade in the strait of Messina, with the back-up ships in Malta. However the waters around Corsica and the rest of the western Mediterranean was in French hands.
The French then launched an invasion of Lymington in early hours of January 12th and the port was took within the day. The French then increased their ground around Lymington, however the British were amassing an army to attack the French in Lymington, and on January 26th the British finally attacked from the New Forest area and the Battle of New Forest begun.
The British slowly pushed the advancing French back and then launched a counter attack against the French trench line which guarded the French beachhead, as the British generals realized they would have to quickly destroy this beachhead before the French landed too many troops on the English mainland. The well organized British assault attacked the French beachhead around Lymington and the Isle of Wight and by February 8th the French were off mainland Britain and the Isle of Wight. Soon after this the British & Germans landed at Calias and formed their own beachhead on the French mainland. While slowly expanding this beachhead, the Channel Islands were retaken by various naval attacks. The British then landed near Cherbourg and began to create a second beachhead in the Cotentin Peninsula. The mainland French forces were being attacked from four different fronts (the Franco-German Western front, the Anglo-German North Western front, the Anglo-Franco North front and the Franco-Spanish southern front).
The Treaty of Cagliari[]
Diplomats at Cagliari
With the defeat of France seeming very likely in the next few years, the German Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow,the Italian Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti,the British Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Paul Eyschen & the Spanish Prime Minister Antonio Maura all attended a Secret Conference in Cagliari, Sardinia: in order to come to a decision about how to split up France & its overseas colonies after the war. This conference ended in the formation and signing of the Treaty of Cagliari. This meant Luxembourg, Germany & Britain would gain land from mainland France. Spain would gain French Morocco and some land from French West Africa. Italy would gain Corsica and Tunisia. Germany would gain French Congo, Benin, and some land from French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa. Britain also gained Madagascar & some land from French West Africa. It also gave Spanish, German and British consent for Italy to invade Tripoli and annex it as a colony from the Ottoman Empire. The French Southern and Antarctic Lands would go to Britain & Germany; with Germany getting Archipel Crozet, Archipel des Kerguelen, Îles Saint Paul et Amsterdam. Whereas Îles Éparses is granted to Britain. This treaty also gave consent for Britain to take Egypt & Sudan as full colonies from the Ottoman Empire too. This treaty however left France with some colonies in order to lessen post-war revenge; the colonies retained included parts of French West Africa (North Senegal, French Guinea, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Mali, etc.), French Guiana & France's Caribbean territories.
Events in Russia[]
The Russian Empire's enemies are lessened after the treaty of Viborg is signed by Finland and the Russian Empire on October 3rd which declares Finland's peace with the Russian Empire and and establishment as a recognized state; this however causes the Russian Empire to lose a fair bit of territory. This is probably the best thing to happen for the Russian Empire in this year after the Socialists increase their control in Siberia and establish the Soviet Republic of Siberia in their Siberian controlled lands. However, divides between the various different Socialist groups which Trotsky called together starts to create a rift between the groups and threatens the stability of the Socialist armies. Trotsky in order to quell this problem forms the "Red Army"; this is to be a single socialist fighting force fighting under the socialist banner, which after the war would have the lands conquered by the Red Army split up between the many different socialist groups making up the Red Army between the groups. This was to stop in-fighting and to an effort by Trotsky to show his socialist allies that the real enemy was the capitalists and non socialists rather than fellow socialists. This worked to the best part and the vast majority of the socialists joined up with Trotsky's Red Army; however some socialist groups didn't join the Red Army and these would be either defeated by Tsarist forces or join the Red Army later in the war. Groups seen to be initiating a coup against the Red Army leadership and the Soviet Republic of Siberia would be harshly punished and usually the leadership of that group would be killed and the rest of the group would be offered to re-join the Red Army or face execution; saying this, the ones which re-joined the Red Army would be used as Cannon fodder usually.
More bad news for the Czar as more revolts and revolutions across Turkestan happen, increasing the land that recognizes the rule of the Turkestani army, the Turkestani controlled land doubles in size. Also the Black March of the Anarchist Black Army continues from Crimea to North modern day Ukraine and they take over Kiev. The Russian Republic makes more advances and gains from the Russian Empire in the North; and also the mainly German line continues to push into Eastern Russia. And also the Crimean republicans after expelling the anarchists & beating back an Imperial Russian invasion, they continue to stabilize there territory around the Crimean Peninsula.
These cause the Czar to launch 4 campaigns in this year, the Southern Campaign (against the anarchists and then to join up with the western campaign), the North eastern campaign(to attack the Soviet forces), the South Eastern Campaign(to attack the Turkistani armies) and the Western campaign (to push out from St.Petersburg against the Republicans and Germans).
The Southern Campaign is successful in re-taking Kiev and the black army is scattered. Half of the Southern Imperial Forces are sent to go & re-take Crimea from the Crimean republicans (this attack is beaten by the Crimeans at the battle of Novotroists'kyi); and the other half to go northwards to help stop the German advance. The Western campaign is largely unsuccessful as just as the Russian advance is about to begin, the Germans launch an advance and the Western forces end up just being reenforcements for the St. Petersburg area defences. Both of the Eastern campaigns do badly, with the Soviet forces wining the battle of Tomsk and the much larger south eastern Imperial forces also being beaten but by the Turkestanis at the battle of Alatmy. (Change these battle names as they are wrong)
The War in Africa, 1908[]
German Colonial troops
The Germans push back the French in Africa in the French colonies of French Congo & Benin, and modern day Chad. However this isn't a big expansion as the previous year. The French resistance was especially bad in Gabon. The British however push back the French in Africa quite a lot, especially in the French colonies of Senegal (pushing south from the Gambia to the Portuguese-Guinea border), Northwards from Nigeria into modern day Niger, westwards from Sudan into Tebu, and land in Madagascar and the British take over Reunion and the Comoros islands.
The Ethiopia's First World War[]
Mainly due to the location of Ethiopia, the country wasn't at war for very long, and Emperor Menelik II, the Nəgusä Nägäst of Ethiopia wished to expand his territory to include a sea port as it was costing Ethiopian merchants a fair amount of their profits to use the French port of Djibouti. This coupled with various other factors such as the creation of an Ethiopian navy and a larger merchant fleet. This would also allow the Imperial Railway Company of Ethiopia the chance to be reformed and to finish the railway (construction had ended in 1906 after the company went bankrupt and the entry of France into the War). The company would be reformed as a government owned agency known as the Imperial Railway Bureau of Ethiopia. This was to be the first part of the National Railway System in Ethiopia with more lines planned too (this was part of Menelik's modernization plan). The Abissinians came to an agreement with the British that if they could destroy the French forces in French Somaliland (modern day Djibouti) the territory could be annexed by Abissinia. The Emperor liked the terms of this agreement with the British as with their own sea port Ethiopian overseas trade could greatly expand. This treaty however stated that if the Ethiopians failed to take the French colony by 1910 (the year projected by the British as the year the other French forces in Africa would be defeated), the British would annex French Somaliland into British Somaliland.
The Emperor knew if Ethiopia wanted to modernize into a powerful African nation they would have to have their own sea port to make international trade much easier. The Ethiopians knew that the French were technologically superior but they could be easily outnumbered. Almost the entire Ethiopian army was sent to attack the French colony, the Ethiopian strategy was a simply one of charging and simply overwhelming the French defences. The French forces were quickly overwhelmed and most French troops died in vicious hand-to-hand combat which the Ethiopian armies were armed for. However when it was siege warfare the Ethiopians made use of catapults and their limited firearms. The strength of numbers was what caused the French to withdraw via sea and by October 21st the French forces in French Somaliland were defeated and no longer fighting in the area. Then on November 2nd the French gave Ethiopia the territory of French Somaliland as well as its shares in the Ethiopian Railway companies in the treaty of Djibouti. Ethiopia now left the war after all of its ambitions fulfilled and this allowed the beginning of a period of mass modernization in Ethiopia.
The War in Asia, 1908[]
The British Indian armies push into French Indochina taking over all of western Laos. In other regions the French colonial rule in Vietnam, Cambodia & the rest of Laos is severely weakened due to more revolts by natives and the French having to send more troops to deal with the British advance; and as a result the French lose control of several cities in the colony, including Vinh and Hue.
The Beginning of the Chinese Civil War[]
Last year the British, Portuguese, Germans, and Japanese fail in their peace talks with the Chinese Empire. China declares war on all 4 and joins with France & the Russian Empire after signing an alliance to join the blues. The allies/reds begin to fund Chinese separatists and republicans. This causes several anti-Qing groups to be formed which join the reds who are the Nanman republicans, Chinese Democrats, Tibetan separatists, and Mongolian separatists. Chinese communists also arise too as well as Chinese anarchists and lots of other little warlords (the warlords are mostly in the North West Xinjiang region). The British and Portuguese lines in the south of China are extended as the Chinese are pushed back. This starts the Chinese Civil War and the disorganized Chinese armies are pushed back out of Manchuria by the combined Manchu-Korean-Japanese armies; this mainly Japanese army gains more support from the Manchu population as the terms of Manchu independence are seen as better in terms of autonomy, as the Manchu people would be almost completely independent apart from they would be forced to help Japan or Korea in war (and vice versa though), major decisions (e.g. declaring war, expanding, alliances, trading agreements, foreign policy, etc) would have to be okayed by the Japanese Diet too; but this protectorate status was better than being an autonomous state in the Chinese Empire. The British & Portuguese advance slowly mainly due to the fact the Chinese outnumbered them and so had to make use of their modern weapons and a defensive advance (creating lots of defences while advancing, like building trenches) in order to keep the control of battle situation. Mongolian armies also readied up in the North fairly quickly and a few Japanese units marched to Mongolia to organise the Mongolian armies so they would fight in balance with the others. The British also did a similar thing with the Nanman and Tibetan separatist armies too.
The Ottoman Empire & her troubles in 1908[]
The anti-Ottoman revolts intensify across Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan; and the police struggle to keep the peace most of the time and so the army are brought in to aid in keeping the peace and martial law is declared in the Ottoman empire in the Caucasus region. With this revolution brewing in the Caucasus, the Ottomans try to stabilize the recently acquired territory. Things get a bit worse on October 5th, when Bulgaria declares its independence from the Ottoman Empire. Ferdinand I of Bulgaria becomes Tsar, however the main bad thing is that some Bulgarians wanted more territory from the Ottomans. The Greeks and Serbians also wished to extend their countries at the Ottoman's expense, and more revolution was brewing in Albania and Macedonia too. This caused worry for some Turks and the Young Turk secret society began planning a coup to throw out the Sultan in order to better deal with the brewing trouble for the Ottoman Empire. With these potential six revolutions and three invasion threats the Sultan was worried and began to strengthen the army and prepare for martial law, anti-guerrilla warfare and invasion.
1909[]
As well as the war and all the carnage; in January, the Old Age Pensions Act 1908 comes into force in Britain. Also:
- January 27 – The Young Left is founded in Norway.
- February 12 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded, commemorating the 100th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth.
- March 4 – William Howard Taft succeeds Theodore Roosevelt to become the 27th President of the United States.
- March 10 – The Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 is signed in Bangkok in order to decide the Thai-British Malay border.
- March 18 – Einar Dessau uses a short-wave radio transmitter, becoming the first radio broadcaster.
- The city of Tel Aviv (then known as Ahuzat Bayit) is founded on April 11th.
- The Anglo-Persian Oil Company, now BP, is incorporated on April 19th.
- June 15 – Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lord's and form the Imperial Cricket Conference.
- June 22 – Construction begins on the Cape Cod Canal, which would separate Cape Cod from mainland Massachusetts, United States.
- July 16 – A revolution forces Mohammad Ali Shah, Persian Shah of the Qajar dynasty to abdicate in favour of his son Ahmad Shah Qajar. He later tries to re-take the throne in an unsuccessful coup and is killed in the process.
- August 2 – The United States Army Signal Corp Division purchases the world's first military aeroplane. They buy the Wright Military Flyer from the Wright Brothers.
- In October the Trade Boards Act, a form of minimum wage legislation, is passed in the UK.
- October 13 – An agreement by Germany, Italy and Switzerland gives the Germans and Italians access to the Gotthard Rail Tunnel.
- Ito Hirobumi isn't assassinated as Korea gains more rights and isn't annexed by Japan. He remains as Resident-General of Korea though, however this is more of a moderating position as Korea gains more rights. He later will go on to help the Korean & Japanese military forces co-operate and collaborate in future battles & wars, as Resident-General is changed to the position of General of Korean & Japanese collaboration.
- The U.S. Navy founds a navy base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on November 11th.
- December 17 – King Albert I of Belgium succeeds his uncle, Leopold II, on the throne.
- December 31 – The Manhattan Bridge opens.
The War in Europe[]
The peninsula around Cherbourg is taken over and is in firm British control, over a large trench battle rages around the end of the peninsula as the British try to advance. Similarly in Calais the British extend their beachhead and push into Northern France, albeit while fighting a bloody trench battle or two. The Germans have little better luck and push into France further and push the French trench lines back, taking Nancy on August 2nd. This slow advance by the allies was costing them a lot of man power, but it was hurting the French even more. The leaders of Sinn Fein and the other Irish separatist groups are captured and executed. This ends the Irish rebellion and frees up further troops to fight in France.
The War in Russia[]
'Batko' Nestor Makno
Peter Archinov
The Crimean Republic is recognized as an independent state by most countries now and on July 1st the Treaty of Yalta is signed, declaring peace between the Crimean Republic and Russian Empire. The treaty also declares peace between Ukraine and Crimea but the Ukrainians continue to fight the Russian Empire.
After being forced out of Kiev, the Black army is fairly spread out and the Czar believes them to be defeated and dispersed. However the anarchists who fled Kiev to the South West continue to march and send out messages to regroup in Kaniv. On January 1st during the New years celebrations in Kaniv the dispersed anarchists meet back up with the main Black army and anarchists start a huge riot in Kaniv and burn it down as they cross the Dnieper (mostly in boats) to the east side and re-start the Black March. Nestor Makhno becomes de facto leader of the black army (he is known as Batko (father) to his admirers) & Makhno decides to march on Moscow & level it, to show the world the power of anarchy. He gets more people to join the Black army and the tachanka corps are expanded vastly and they become a large plundering force. This large expansion of the Tachankas is made possible thanks to a large smuggling operation of machine guns into Russia from Austria by Peter Arshinov (Peter is smuggling arms into Russia to sell to revolutionaries & cause of the war, Peter doesn't get caught unlike in OTL) who also then meets Nestor and joins the Black Army. (note because of the earliness of the Russian Civil war here, Nestor was never arrested for a third time & instead began to preach anarchism & formed his black army anarchist group in 1908 instead). The Black March continues and they cross over into Russia in November.
The Turkestani army also consolidates its hold on Turkestan and defeats a Imperial Russian assault in modern day south west Kazakhstan. This shows the power of Turkestan and they meet with the Soviets to decide on their international borders. However the Red Army doesn't make an agreement with the Russian Republic; and while the Russian Republic makes more advances eastward and meets the Red Army's advancing line near the Timan Range of mountains and the battle of Timan range begins between the Republicans and the Red Army, after negotiations fail to stop the escalating tensions and to agree on a border between the two nations. Details of the battle are found here.
The War for the Ottoman Empire[]
The Azerbaijani revolutionaries get more support and get stronger in general, and as a result they take control of Baku and some other cities and places in Azerbaijan. Seeing this the Armenian & Georgian separatists try similar things but aren't as successful but they still take over some places. The Ottomans try to retake Baku and some of the other places but they fail and a state of emergency is declared in the Caucasus region of the Ottoman Empire.
The War in Africa[]
Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire and invades Tripoli and Ottoman Libya in general in April. They take over the majority of the Libyan coast in a series of landings. The Italian fleet also engage with the Ottoman fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean too, with a few skirmish battles in the Aegean sea.
The British land more troops in Madagascar and they take control of the Island by November with the French forces only really amassed around Tananarivo (Antananarivo). The British and Germans continue to push back the French forces across Africa also. Also Liberia joins the British and German forces and declares war on France (mainly to gain some extra territory) after sensing that France are weakening and going to surrender soon, and the Liberians push into French West Africa.
The War in Asia[]
The French colonial forces in French Indochina lose control of Laos and North Vietnam. The remaining French colonial forces in south Vietnam and Cambodia surrender with there situation looking hopeless. Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia are declared independent states soon after. They attack China with the British Indian forces from Vietnam and Laos in order to get support for the Nanman republicans. However this force going into China is mainly British as the Laos, Vietnamese and Cambodians are more focused in nation building.
The War in China[]
The Guangxu Emperor & Dowager Empress Cixi both die (Dowager Empress Cixi dies first and has Guangxu killed to stop him from reforming the nation) and chosen by Dowager Empress Cixi while on her deathbed, Pu Yi ascended the throne aged 2 years and 10 months in December 1909 following his uncle's death on 14th November. He was titled the Xuantong Emperor. Zaifeng, 2nd Prince Chun is chosen as regent to rule in Pu Yi's place, he is mostly controlled by the war council fighting against the foreign invaders, and China's economy enters a phase of total war with all resources going towards the war effort. The war for China does get better in some ways with the economy now focused on the war but the Tibetan separatists are aided by British Indian troops and by December have control of Tibet and plan to attack China Proper. The Mongolian Separatists gain control of Outer Mongolia and continue to take over Inner Mongolia too and also the Portuguese advance with the British and they both besiege and take over Canton. The Chinese Empire loses further ground as the Manchu/Japanese/Korean line is strengthened as the Chinese Democrats ally with them and consolidate their hold in North East China.
The Chinese anarchists have more revolts across China but they begin to convene around the Ordos desert, making it a lawless land of outlaws and anarchists. The Chinese Socialists consolidate their control around Shanghai and south west inner Mongolia too. Plus the Xinjiang region becomes virtually lawless with hundreds of outlaws, rogue generals, mutinying army regiments, etc. Most of the north of China is now not under Imperial control and the Chinese Imperial government looks unstable in central China Proper too.
The War in the Americas[]
The department of Cuba gains statehood as the State of Cuba, and Cuba joins the union, becoming the 47th state in the USA on December 25th 1909 in the Second Great Cuban Christmas Present.
The British invade all of the French islands in the Caribbean in a large Royal Navy assault, however this is to simply take away the territories' ability to contribute to the war effort. This is because no nation was to take over any French territories in the Americas in order to lessen post-war French anger. French Guiana is also blockaded and this effectively defeats it too as the blockade isn't broken at any time during the rest of the war. This blockade was done rather than an invasion, in order to save land troops and too lessen casualties.
The Start of the Mexican Civil War[]
Porfirio Díaz
The Mexican Revolution starts with revolutionaries in the North killing many government figures and army members. The revolutionaries call for liberalism and begin to gain more support across the country, however they only join forces because they all want more freedom and for Mexico to be more liberal however many different groups are in the revolutionaries all wanting different things. The President Porfirio Díaz calls for assistance from the USA; as the Mexican Civil War begins.
The War in the Pacific[]
The ANZAC corps of the British Empire begin a campaign of invading and taking over French Pacific colonies. However these colonies are only held by policemen & small army units. The most defended island was Tahiti which took a month to take, as the French were dug in quite a lot. However by the end of the year, this campaign is over with all the French Pacific colonies under British command. These colonies were to be ruled jointly by the Australian and New Zealand governments after the war ended.
1910[]
In 1910 quite a few things happened including the fact Boutros Ghali wasn't assassinated and is selected by British officials to rule Egypt as Prime Minister, while under the influence & watchful eye of British official's of course. On May 6th, George V becomes King of the United Kingdom upon the death of his father, Edward VII. Haley's Comet passes Earth, the Union of South Africa is created on May 31st; and on October 23th: Vajiravudh (Rama VI) is crowned King of Siam, after the death of his father, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V).
Plus Britain & Germany invade and take over all of the French Southern Indian Ocean territories after a short naval campaign. The French Southern Indian Ocean territories are split up by Britain & Germany, seeing Archipel Crozet, Archipel des Kerguelen, Îles Saint Paul et Amsterdam being annexed into the German Empire as colonies. Whereas Îles Éparses is gained by Britain.
Events in Europe[]
1911 continues to be a another bad year for the French, with the British and Germans continuing to push back the French in France and looking to reach Paris within a year or two.
French soldiers holding the line
Things then get worse as Spain joins the war by invades French Morocco in January; however Spain also does a few smaller skirmish attacks into European France as well; however the Spanish keep to a fortification/trench line in the Pyrenees Mountains to stop the French from attacking Spain. The small Spanish raids into France angers the French government and an army is sent to attack Spain in May, however the Spanish fortifications allowed the Spanish to dig in deep and all the French attacks were repulsed. From August the French give up attacking and a nervous stand-off continues until Winter 1911.
Events in Africa[]
The French are continually pushed back in Africa by the British and Germans, and then Spain invades French Morocco in January as well! The French forces in Africa are on the retreat almost continuously and the French defeat in Africa is almost certain.
Events in Asia[]
General Yuan Shikai, later Emperor Yuan
The Chinese Civil War rages on, becoming especially bad in the North of China. This large amount of bloodshed and the incompetent government, causes the New Han Rebellion to break out in China, this causes the Manchu Qing Dynasty being overthrown and exiled into Manchuria. General Yuan Shikai lead this rebellion and established the New Yuan Dynasty with himself as Emperor Yuan. The new Emperor signs the Treaty of Luoyang (which he later changed the capital to). The Treaty of Luoyang declares the Chinese Empire to be one for the ethic Han and had the Great wall of China is to be its the Northern Border. The Treaty of Luoyang meant as well as that the Chinese Empire's northern border was set as the great wall, it also gave China's blessing in the creation of a Nanman state, a Manchurian State, a Mongolian State, a Tibetan state and a democratic Chinese state. The treaty also meant that Great Britain got a bit more territory to add into her Hong Kong colony and the Portuguese got lots of land to add to there Macau colony (including the whole Leizhou Peninsula). The Japanese gain Hainan and all of the Spratly, Pratas and Paracel Islands.
The Treaty also states that the lands in the Northwest of the former Qing Empire (Xinjiang) which are currently controlled by the Chinese anarchists, communists and many various warlords in Xinjiang are to be disowned by the Chinese Empire and declared internationally unclaimed & unruled territories. All this free, unowned and unclaimed land, started a number of expansions by the Mongolians and Chinese Democrats. However the anarchists and Communists also realized the fact their controlled territories wasn't internationally recognized and they both began to stabilize their regions. Some of the warlords in Xinjiang also noticed this, but they were more concerned with plundering and fighting. With the treaty of Luoyang, the Qing Dynasty collapsed in China and moved to Manchuria. The New Yuan Chinese Empire was declared, and New Yuan China, Manchuria, Korea, Japan, Portugal, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nanman & Tibet left the war after achieving their nation's respected goals.
Events in Russia[]
The Ukrainians greatly expand there controlled territory in the Ukraine and the Turkestanis expel the Russian Imperial troops from Turkestan and expand further, creating a large Central Asian empire. Woes for the Czar continue as on March 4th the Black army reach Moscow and as they attack Moscow, the Muscovy League begin there own rebellion too. The Battle of Moscow forms from the subsequent attack from the Anarchists, revolt my the Muscovy league and the Imperial forces trying to hold it. The battle rages on for the rest of March with the 3 forces fighting viciously all around Moscow. The Black army eventually decides to march east to find a place to establish an anarchist state on March 29th; the Muscovy league also then pushes back the Russian Imperial troops and then begin to expand outwards and gain control of an area around Moscow.
Chairman Leon Trotsky, founder of the USSR
Trotsky with the help of his loyalists and the Soviet Republic of Siberia formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, with the Soviet Republic of Siberia being the largest and most powerful of the Soviet Republics. The Red Army is declared the national army of the USSR, and the various other Socialist groups are invited to create their own Soviet Republic within the USSR, as long as the Republic would follow the same basic socialist principles and guidelines of USSR republics, outlined by Trotsky, a socialist group could create their own socialist republic within the USSR. Leon Trotsky declares himself Commander-in-chief of the Red Army, Chairman of the Central Committee of the USSR, Premier of the USSR, and Chairman of the Central Committee of the Soviet Republic of Siberia. Martov's Mensheviks and Lenin's Bolsheviks create their own republics as well as several other socialist groups, but these groups are kept under the careful watch of Trotsky's spies and loyalists. The battle of Timan range ends with a Soviet Victory and the River Petchora is decided as the Russian Republic - USSR border with the treaty of Lbuna. With its western borders now fixed, the USSR expansion is now aimed to go southwards and eastwards instead of westward following this agreement.
Estonia leave the war after signing the treaty of Pskov with various countries which stabilizes and decides its borders too. However Estonia agrees to allow allied troops to move through Estonia, while the war against the Tsar continues.
Events concerning the Ottoman Empire[]
With the Ottomans losing control and battles against Italy in Libya and the Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani revolutionaries in the Caucasus regions; the Greeks, Albanians, Montenegrins, Serbians, Macedonians, and Bulgarians all sign the anti-Ottoman alliance with the Italians, Georgians, Armenians and Azerbaijani, join their forces and declare war on the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman army is now very stretched out fighting on numerous fronts against several invading countries, and struggling to put down vast rebellions too.
1911[]
As well as the war, the following events also happen:
- January 1 – Northern Territory is politically separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control.
- January 3 – In London, in what becomes known as the Siege of Sidney Street, the Metropolitan Police and the Scots Guards engage in a shoot-out with a criminal gang of Latvian anarchists held up in a building in the East End.
- February 6 – Ronald Reagan is born
- March 8 – International Women's Day is celebrated for the first time.
- March 29 – The United States Army formally adopts the M1911 pistol as its standard side-arm, thus giving the gun its 1911 designation.
- April 30 – Sparks from a burning hayshed ignite the Great Fire of 1911, destroying much of down-town Bangor, Maine
- June 15 – IBM is incorporated as the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation (CTR) in New York.
- July 24 – Machu Picchu is rediscovered by Hiram Bingham.
- November 3 – Chevrolet officially enters the automobile market to compete with the Ford Model T.
- November 4 – The MS Selandia (the first ocean going diesel ship) is launched in Denmark.
- December 14 – Roald Amundsen's expedition reaches the South Pole.
- British physicist Ernest Rutherford deduces the existence of a compact atomic nucleus from scattering experiments.
The Modernization of Ethiopia[]
Map of the Imperial Ethiopian Railway
The Imperial Railway Company of Ethiopia finishes the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway, as well as the formal formation of the Ethiopian Imperial Navy. The dreadnought IES (Imperial Ethiopian Ship) Menelik II was laid out and construction began in June with the help of British overseers (the parts & designs were bought from a British company). The IES Menelik II would actually be better than the HMS Dreadnought in terms of ship fire-power and technology; but the Ethiopian seamen weren't as well trained (however the Imperial Ethiopian Navy Academy was built and opened in Djibouti (Started to build in April & opened in August) & ex-British naval officers were to train the future Ethiopian sailors) and the Menelik II was the only real battle ship in the Ethiopian Navy due to the immense cost of the advanced ship, expansion of Djibouti port and the railway. The rest of the Ethiopian Navy (until more battleships could be afforded) was comprised of torpedo boats and converted merchant ships.
The end of the war in Africa[]
Italy takes over all of Ottoman Libya in February, and the armies re-group and are re-enforced with more troops and they invade Tunisia in Early May. With attacking Spaniards, Italians, Liberian, British and German armies from almost all directions, the Commander of the French forces in Africa surrenders in August rather than waste the lives of this remaining troops. This ends the war in Africa for the most part. With the fall of the French forces in Africa, the Liberian government sign a peace treaty with the French and leave the war.
Events in Europe[]
After declaring war on France and invading French Tunisia in May, the majority of the rest of the Italian troops invade Corsica in July, this is the largest Italian attack against the French. However the invasion wasn't so simple as the French and Italian fleets engaged in the battle of the Straits of Bonifacio on August 4th. A French victory caused the Italian troops in Corsica to be cut off and the Italian forces rush to take over the Island. The British send in the Royal Navy to help the Italian Fleet to destroy French naval control and in the battle of Elba, the French navy is finally destroyed. After this the French southern coast is blockaded, stopping lots of supplies to France; and Corsica falls on October 11th. As well as the invasion of Corsica, the Italian army attacked mainland France and marched towards Nice in August. This attack was originally quite weak, but it was strengthened by returning troops from Africa in late August after the French surrender in Africa; and on September 5th Nice falls to Italy. The Italians then try to march forwards deeper into France, but Italian forces are stopped by advancing French forces, and Italian troops begin to retreat in November, and on November 19th the Second Battle of Nice begins.
The French-Spanish stand-off along the Pyrenees Mountains and the Franco-Spanish border is ended when Spanish troops launch a big assault on France in the winter due to the French moving troops from the Spanish front to fight the Germans. The Spanish with the superior numbers win, and the attack begins on November 9th and they reach Toulouse by December 28th.
The Ottoman Empire is defeated & the subsequence Arabian War starts[]
Peter I of Serbia leads the partition of the European territories of the Ottoman Empire
The British declare war on the Ottoman Empire, join the Anti-Ottoman league and invade Egypt and Sudan. British ships also move into the Aegean Sea in order to disrupt Ottoman ships too. Now with lots of invading enemies the Ottoman Empire experiences a rebellion in the Capital and the Turk rebellion starts and Turkish republicans join the anti-Ottoman alliance in January. The Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II (he stays in power as the people who would over throw him in the OTL are instead occupied trying to defeat the other rebellions and invasions) signs the treaty of Constantinople with the anti-Ottoman league which reduces the Ottoman Empire to a city state with some land around the city. With this the Sultan vows to make Constantinople much larger and for the city to take up all of the land his empire is now limited to. Elsewhere the rest of Asia Minor becomes the Republic of Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan; either gain land or become nations. Italy gain Libya and Britain gains Egypt & Sudan. This puts the anti-Ottoman league, except Italy who are fighting France, Britain who continue to expand into former Ottoman controlled land and to fight France, and the Ottoman Empire out also.
However with the Ottoman Empire out of the war and a shadow of its former self, a civil war starts in the former Ottoman Middle Eastern territories. This spills into the other states in the Arabian Peninsula and the recent discovery of oil in Arabia also attracts the interest of European Powers and many of them are re-drawn into the war, albeit with a lot less troops. The British and Germans planned to extend their influence over the former Ottoman lands. This involved the British expanding their colonies in Egypt into the Sinai Peninsula and Aden to control the rest of Yemen. The Germans wanted to get a colony in the gulf to secure some oil fields which the Germans needed to support their expanding petroleum and auto-mobile industry. As well as foreign colonization, there are some major independence movements for would-be countries including Syria, Iraq, Kurdistan, Lebanon, and Palestine. Also the Omanis, Kuwaitis and the Saudi clan also wished to expand their respectful territories; the Saudi clan simply wanted to expand their territories into a much larger kingdom and a more recognized country then there currently controlled lands in Arabia. Similarly Oman wanted to bring their country back to its previous glory days by having a bigger say in the rapidly expanding global oil industry. And the Kuwaitis wanted to regain their territory which was taken by the Ottomans.
The Russian Civil War rages on[]
Julius Martov leads his Menshevik faction in leaving the USSR to form their own state.
The Black Army and other Russian Anarchists end their march as they reach Samara and the Anarchist state of Nebesa is declared around Samara and the Ural river(basically east European Russia). They meet with the Soviets in order to establish a border as well, and after some negotiation the Ural Mountains and river is decided upon as the border. The Soviets though face more problems as the Mensheviks factions led by Julius Martov leave the USSR fearing Trotsky's growing power over them and Mensheviks wanting to establish their own communist state around Viatka following only Menshevik rules and not Trotsky's. They form alliances with some of the republics in the USSR and the Russian Republic which also helps to decide its borders. This angers Trotsky and appeals to the Mensheviks to rejoin the USSR with greater autonomy, but they refuse. Trotsky's anger is intensified even more after Turkestan break their previous 1909 border agreement with the USSR, with Turkestan citing that the previous agreement was with the Socialist Republic of Siberia, not the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and that those lands are ethnic Turk lands. The Turkestani army pushes the USSR back shocks Trotsky greatly. Trotsky demands Turkestan return to the previous borders; however General Omar Turan refuses and offers a new set of borders to the USSR, which are turned down by the USSR; and the conflict intensifies as the two sides couldn't decide on a common border. Then after seeing the creation of two new ex-Russian Empire states the Cossacks living around the river Don begin their own revolution and attempt to establish their own Cossack state. Similarly the Tatars and Abkhazians attempt to establish their own independent states respectively.
A Cossack cavalry brigade
This is all bad news for the Czar with even more territory lost to rebels and separatists, but things get even worse, as the Russian Republicans and the German lines begin to meet and the Russian Empire's armies begins to split. Czar Nicholas II begins to try and to establish peace with the Russian Republicans, the Baltic states, Poland and the Germans; however the Czar shows no peace to the communists, Ukrainians, anarchists or the Muscovy league. This is why the peace negotiations eventually fail as the Germans and Russian republicans see the communists, anarchists and others as more likely to beat the Imperials in the rest of the war.
Events in the former Chinese Empire[]
The Mongolians, Chinese Democrats, Chinese Anarchists, Chinese Communists and Turkestan intensify their efforts to annex the unclaimed land, left by Qing China. Lots of the warlord factions are defeated by these big five regional powers, as Xingjiang begins to return to law and order.
1912[]
France is defeated & on July 19th, the Austro-Hungarian empire formally annex Bosnia into their empire. Even though it had practically been part of the Austro-Hungarian empire for a while now, this still causes quite a stir in other Balkan states, namely Serbia; however due to the cost of the war efforts, Serbia were in no shape to plan military action against Austria, who had been readying its armies in case it joined the war, but because Austria had not fought yet, Austria was still at full strength. The Russian Empire were also angered by this move, but didn't really do anything either, in fear of the German fronts being bolstered by Austrian troops. Other states voiced their disapproval but no country was really in good enough shape to do anything.
The surrender of France[]
Émile Loubet, the French President
Due to the failure of the overseas French colonial troops and the battle slowly losing in France the French president Émile Loubet negotiates a peace treaty with the British and Germans. (In OTL Loubet did not seek re-election at the end of his term, however in this time line he stays in power mainly to keep the government similar because if a new government was elected then there may of been confusion and disarray as the governments changed). France are now out of the war and lose lots of overseas colonies and some territory from actual France thanks to the treaty of Strasbourg on January 8th. However the French territories in the Americas are returned to French control, the blockade of French Guiana ends, and control of some of French West Africa is returned to France also.
The War in Arabia, 1912[]
The Germans make
German Gunboat in Arabia
a landing around modern day Ank in Arabia to found their new planned colony of German Arabia. The Germans make a deal with the British to decide how the Persian Gulf shall be divided and how the status quo will be maintained. This deal is then offered to Persia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain; who were nearly forced to sign the treaty. This is known as the Treaty of Tehran and was ratified on April 2nd 1912. Also note, that this treaty was not offered to the Saudi clan as they weren't seen to control the remaining Arabian Peninsula and rather the rest of Arabia be split up by other Arabian clans, rather than just the Saudi clan which eventually beat all of the other clans.
By the end of the year though, Kuwait had finished expanding into its territory designated to them by the treaty of Tehran and they leave the war and begin to consolidate its newly gained land.
The War in Russia, 1912[]
Kaiser Wilhelm II leads the treaty of Baku to split up the Czar's empire
Things get worse for the Czar as the Russian Empire's forces are split in two after the Russian Republicans and German Lines meet. This cuts off supplies to Moscow and as a result the Muscovy League greatly expand their territory, as do the Mensheviks, Tatars and Cossacks. However due to all these expansions, the Treaty of Baku is signed between the Tatars, Cossacks, Soviets, Mensheviks, Muscovy league, Russian Republicans, Germany, Britain, Abkhazia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Turkestan, Nebesa, Japan, Poland and Ukraine to decide how post war Russian Empire will be split up. Then under the terms of the treaty of Baku, the USSR and Poland leave the war after gaining control of all the land allocated to them under the treaty of Baku. Similarly Nebesa expands northwards and westwards to its decided borders shown in the treaty of Baku, and they leave the war as they have nothing else to gain. Also the Abkhazians sign peace treaties with Georgia, Ukraine, the Tatars and the Russian Empire which gives peace from the Abkhazians and stabilizes their borders, which puts them out of the war.
As well as several countries leaving the war, the countries remaining do very well against the demoralized Imperial troops: the Don Cossacks greatly expand their influence and expand their controlled territory lots. Similarly the Muscovy league also expanded outwards greatly, thanks to finally deciding who would be the Prince of Muscovy out of the main leaders of the Muscovy League of Nobles. On October 17th Prince Ivan of Muscovy is crowned as the constitutional monarch leader of the Grand Duchy of Muscovy. (note I have to do some more research into the Russian Nobility of the time to get a more realistic list of possible Muscovy league members)
Events in the former Chinese Empire in 1912[]
The superior forces of the Mongolians, Chinese Democrats, Chinese Anarchists, Chinese Communists and Turkestan continue to push back the various Chinese warlords in the north as the Chinese Civil war begins to finish.
The Mexican Civil War[]
The Mexican revolutionaries weaken greatly this year, thanks to a large scale American-Mexican joint assault on various rebel strongholds.
Other Events in 1912[]
- January 4 – The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Commonwealth by Royal Charter.
- January 6 – New Mexico is admitted as the 47th U.S. state.
- January 8 – The African National Congress is founded.
- February 14 – Arizona is admitted as the 48th U.S. state.
- March 7 - Roald Amundsen announces his success in reaching the South Pole.
- March 27 – Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo gives 3,000 cherry blossom trees to be planted in Washington, D.C., to symbolize the friendship between the two countries.
- April 10 – The British ocean liner RMS Titanic leaves Southampton, England on her maiden voyage for New York City. She is attacked and sunk by a French experimental submarine. This attack is part of the rogue French nationalist submarine commander Pierre Jean Babineaux (a fictional character to all my knowledge), his attack on the Titanic is condemned by the French government & Babineaux denounces the French government & begins his own attacks on all shipping in the Atlantic. His campaign goes on until 1914 when he sails into the south Atlantic & then into the Pacific. He remains a notorious pirate for many years and becomes a figure of French nationalism by post-war extremists who wanted France back to the way is was before the war.
- May 13 – In the United Kingdom, the Royal Flying Corps (forerunner of the Royal Air Force) is established. They begin an unsuccessful bombing campaign, but other air warfare enthusiasts, simply see this as just the beginning of aerial combat.
- July 30 – Emperor Meiji of Japan dies. He is succeeded by his son Yoshihito who becomes Emperor Taishō. In Japanese History, the event marks the end of the Meiji era and the beginning of the Taishō era.
1913[]
The Chinese Civil War[]
The remaining Chinese warlords are beaten by the Chinese Anarchists, Chinese Democrats, Mongolia, Chinese Socialists and Turkestan respectably. This causes the Treaty of Borzson to be created and signed on June 1st by the Chinese Democratic Republic, The Mongolian Kingdom, Ordos Free State, The Chinese Socialist Republic (CSR)and the Empire of Turkestan. This treaty mainly fixes the signing countries borders among things; this causes Turkestan, Mongolia and the Chinese Democrats to leave the war; however the Chinese Socialists and Ordos Free State feel like their borders should be different and the Ordos-CSR war begins. However this only lasts until December 31st with the two nations coming to a standstill and the agreeing to the previous borders. This is also known as the useless war of Ordos-CSR due to neither side gaining anything.
The Arabian War[]
The British finish expanding to in Sinai and Yemen and pull out of war in July. Also the Kurdish separatists successfully take control of a large part of Kurdistan and declare it there own independent state; this takes Kurdistan out of the war. Plus the Saudi clan's army are pushed back by a large assault from the Al Rashid clan.
The End of the Mexican Civil War[]
The joint USA-Mexican armies defeat the last of the Mexican rebels in September and end the Mexican Civil War.
The Russian Civil War[]
Tatarstan with their controlled territories shown by the Treaty of Baku now taken, Tatarstan leave the war in June after the South Russian Army is defeated by a joint Tatar-Cossack attack in the 3rd battle of the River Don. Ukraine pulls out of the war for similar reasons, as with no more land to gain there isn't too much point in continuing to fight. However they do give a give a few troops to aid the war effort and let their allies through Ukraine. Latvia also pull out of the war in early January due to its economy nearing collapse due to a period of total war and more actual nation building being needed such as hospitals, laws, etc. Lithuania also pulls out but in November instead of January. However, both of these countries allow the Germans and other countries against the Russian Empire to transport troops and supplies through Latvia and Lithuania. Meanwhile, the Cossacks push back the Central Russian Imperial Army to around the city of Novgorod, and the Russian Empire is pushed back in all fronts after each front is only held by one Imperial army, expect the St. Petersburg area which is held by three armies.
Other Events in 1913[]
- March - The House of Romanov celebrates the 300th anniversary of its succession to the throne, amidst the civil war and monarchist sentiment in Russia.
- Presidential elections in US?
- Moros rebels? see here
- March 12 – Australia begins building the new federal capital of Canberra.
- March 18 – Due to a number of angry former Ottoman officials & soldiers, King George I of Greece always has a bodyguard with him at all times and therefore isn't assassinated on this day, but one of his bodyguards is killed by Alexandros Schinas. Schinas is later put on trail & executed.
- May 13 – Igor Sikorsky becomes the first person to pilot a fout-engine aircraft.
- May 14 – New York Governor William Sulzer approves the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which begins operations with a $100,000,000 donation from John D. Rockefeller.
- August 13 – Stainless steel is invented by Harry Brearley in Sheffield.
- November 5 – The insane King Otto of Bavaria is deposed by his cousin, Prince Regent Ludwig, who assumes the title Ludwig III.
- November 6 – Mohandas Gandhi is arrested while leading a march of Indian miners in South Africa.
- November 7–11 – The Great Lakes Storm of 1913 kills more than 250.
- December 1 - The Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line, reducing chassis assembly time from 12½ hours in October to 2 hours, 40 minutes (although Ford is not the first to use an assembly line, his successful adoption of one sparks an era of mass production).
- December 21 – Arthur Wynne's "word-cross", the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.
- Female suffrage is enacted in Norway.
1914[]
On February the British and Germans sign the treaty of Breman on January 17th which was not only an alliance between the Germans and British but also several territories are switched between the two empires. The Germans give the British the Caprivi Strip and what is to be known as the Tanzanian Lake Passage, which is a large strip of land which basically formed the west of German East Africa including Rwanda & Burundi. This is so the Cairo-Cape town railway could be built in lands controlled by the British. Whereas the Germans gained parts of Nigeria & Gold Coast to make the borders straighter and to gain the resources in these parts. Also the Germans gained British New Guinea which gave the Germans half of the Island of New Guinea. The Germans also required some other things like rail rights and British support in wars and such.
The Russian Civil War[]
The Mensheviks and Cossacks defeat the Russian Imperials in and around Novgorod after the battle of Novgorod which included a 2 month long siege. With this last treat to the Mensheviks and Cossacks gone they leave the war. The Other Russian Imperial Armies are pushed back too and the Czar looks set to unconditionally surrender.
Trotsky plans for a global revolution[]
Trotsky begins to consolidate the USSR's power and lifts the martial law which had been controlling the country since its founding. This allows a more socialist way of living to take place, and Trotsky publishes his own Marxist theories called Trotskyism in order to govern the USSR (This time line's Trotskyism is different to OTL Trotskyism due to different circumstance's concerning current situation, but his goal is essentially the same). For one, while Trotsky was fiercely against Socialism in one country as it opposed the basic tenets of Marxism; he realised that it was an unfortunate necessity as a revolution's degree of success in other proletarian revolutions across the world was a big hindrance to Trotsky's ideals of Proletarian internationalism. To put it simply, Trotsky announced that the USSR was in a transitional period as it needed to build up the resources to spark a world revolution or invasion and liberation of all non-socialist nations. He also stepped up efforts to bring about the other socialist groups to his way of thinking Marxism, and this period would be when the USSR would lead the international working classes into a global Marxist revolution by increasing its own military strength, supporting foreign communist parties and arming Marxist revolutionaries in other countries.
The Arabian War[]
Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan and Palestine continue to expand their territories.
- See this for Real world Arabian unification in order to understand more about how this would pan out.
Other events in 1913[]
- March 27 – Belgian surgeon Albert Hustin makes the first successful non-direct blood transfusion, using anticoagulants.
- May 25 – The United Kingdom's House of Commons passes Irish Home Rule.
- August 15 - The Panama Canal is inaugurated with the passage of the steamship USS Ancon.
- September 3 - Pope Benedict XV (Giacomo della Chiesa) succeeds Pope Pius X as the 258th pope.
The Final Year, 1915[]
Asia after the first World War
On January 12th, the Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress. Also the United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to vote. On the other hand, Women's suffrage is introduced in Denmark and Iceland.
The Russian Civil War ends[]
The Russian Empire surrenders on February 4th with 96% of her army at the start of the war dead, injured or joining other factions. This puts the Russian Empire, Russian Republic, the Don Cossack Republic, the Menshevik Federation, Belarus, and the Duchy of Muscovy; out of the war. The Czar is forced to sign the treaty of Baku to show his & the Russian Empire's consent to the new Russian order.
The Arabian War ends[]
The Arabian war begins to end as the remaining fighting factions finish expanding and consolidating there new territories. The end of the war pens out like so:
- Lebanon finish expanding and leaves the war on January 10th.
- Oman finishes expanding and leaves the war on May 22th.
- Palestine finishes expanding and leaves the war on May 30th.
- Jordan finishes expanding and leaves the war on June 9th.
- Syria finishes expanding and leaves the war on June 28th.
- The German troops return home from Russia and the colony of German Arabia is stabilized. These events cause Germany to leave the war around July 1st.
- Iraq leaves the war after they finish expanding around July 21st.
- The Saudi clan finish expanding after the surrender of the last fighting Arabian clan, and the modern day state of Saudi Arabia is established on August 1st as they also leave the war in a lavish ceremony.
After-effects of the war[]
The World after WWI
With these last few countries leaving the war, the first world war officially ends on August 1st, even though most countries leave the conflict before this. Millions of soldiers & civilians died in this war and the official figure is still unknown to this day, due to the brutality of the small warlords in the Russian, Arabian and Chinese theatres of war; the figure is estimated to be around 100 million dead.
Lots of international borders changed and millions died, but lots of other things happened as a result of the war. A new world order was established with the loss of the Russian Empire and Ottoman Empire as major world powers. The French over-sea's empire was also severely weakened and shrunk. The war also established other countries as major powers such as Japan, Germany, Turkestan, & the USSR. Many other nations were also established such as the Russian Republic, Turkestan, Manchurian Empire, Poland, etc. This war also greatly lessened lots of nations economic power and treasury funds, such as France, Russian Empire and Britain.
The years after the war would be tough ones, full of re-stabilization of territories and the global economy. Many independent inquiries were carried out to to discover some of the many war crimes and many ex-generals and such, were put on war crimes trials.
With the end of the war, the "The Aviation Era" began...
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