Never Ending Struggle

The long-time rivalry between the British and French Empires was largely over by the mid-1800s, and by the early 1900s, the two nations were allies in the face of the "German threat". What if this British-French rivalry continued, Four PODs lead this to occur. Bismarck is killed in 1848, and the Franco-Prussian War never occurred. Turkey also won the First Balkan War, and the Ottoman Empire is still a strong power. Britain and France are, as usual, at war on and off over colonies, alliances, and a general struggle for supremacy. In 1940, Winston Churchill calls this "the Never Ending Struggle" between Britain and France. In this world, Britain, the Netherlands, and Austria-Hungary are close allies. Similarly are France, Spain, and Italy. Germany is divided into North and South, while Russia is a weak, war-weary democracy struggling in the aftermath of a bloody civil war in the 1920s.

PODs:[]

Otto Von Bismarck was killed in the 1848 small-scale revolution that occured in Prussia. The revolution was defeated, but no one takes on Bismarck's role in OTL.
Britain and France go to war following the Fashoda incident.
Britain and Russia go to war following the Dogger Bank Incident
Nazim Pasha never ordered Zekki Pasha to engage the Serbian army at Kumanovo during the First Balkan War.

The 20th Century[]

The 20th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1901 and ended on January 1, 2001 at 12:00 AM. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashoda_Incident#Background%7C ]]

The 20th century opened with World War I waging, due to a culmination of great tensions in Europe ever since the end of the Great Prussian War in 1876. During the period of time between World War I and World War II, the Ottoman Empire enjoyed a short period of expansion, while Russia was embroiled in a civil war between Russian monarchists, capitalists, and communists.

Following a crisis in the Balkans and an independence movement in Austria-Hungary, World War II broke out, pitting the Allied Powers (chiefly Russia, South Germany, the United Kingdom, and Austria-Hungary) against the Axis powers (chiefly France, North Germany, and Spain) which eventually resulted in a victory for the Allies, at the cost of over 60 million lives and complete devastation of many nations.

Power shifted from Eastern and Central Europe to Western Europe and North America. The United States, remaining neutral in all European conflicts, emerged as a superpower because it wasn't devastated in the fighting. Britain and France were largely weakened, but both sought to restore glory by winning a war against the other.

World War III, or the Great Anglo-French War, raged from 1956 to 1963. Britain won, with massive American support. The USA meanwhile defeated another potential superpower, Japan, in the East Asian War from 1951 to 1955. Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, and remaining memers of the British Empire all merged into the "Federation of Oceania."

The creation of the FO hugely upset the balance of power in Europe, triggering another World War. Following its creation, the FO declared war on by France, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, and was attacked by American and Japanese nationalists rallying for independence. The war lasted until 1986, when Britain agreed to break up its empire. Europe's economy was destroyed, and a weak USA was unable to aid it. This led to the rise of communism in Europe. A fifth and final World War occured in 1989. Communist revolutionaires took over Russia, South Germany, Italy, and France. The other nations started a war to "liberate" these countries from communism. The so-called "War on Communism" rages to this day, and is still a stalemate.

Culturally and technologically, the 20th century is parallel to OTL. Just not politically/militarily.

List of Wars[]

World War I[]

Austria-Hungary
Spanish Nationalist Uprising
United Kingdom
The Netherlands
North Germany
Portugal
Ottoman Empire
Bulgaria
Japan

---vs.---

France
Spain
South Germany
Serbia
Montenegro
Greece
Romania
Russia

World War I (1898–1914) was fought among several European powers. Long-term causes included a long-time competition among European powers for world influence. Border tensions in Africa were high during the 1880s and 1890s, during the Scramble for Africa. France, after being diplomatically defeated in the Fashoda Crisis, launched an all-out invasion of Sudan days later, starting the British-French war in Africa. Besides naval warfare, other European states on the continent weren't affected immediately. In November 1904, Great Britain had declared war on Russia following the Dogger Bank Incident, turning the isolated British-French war into a World War. Japan and Britain were against Russia and France. The system of alliances was triggered- for several nations wanted to expand global influence by participating in the war. Spain and South Germany declared war on Britain, while North Germany, Austria-Hungary, Portugal, and the Netherlands all declared war on France, Spain, and South Germany. Following the outbreak of war, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia for "peaceful" purposes, and the Balkan League declared war on Austria-Hungary. The Ottoman Empire then came to Austria-Hungary's support.

The war was centered in Spain, the Balkans, and West-Central Europe (especially the Low Countries), with other important fighting in Germany and Italy. The war was fought not only in Europe but also in Africa and East Asia, where the conflict became known to the Africans as "The War Among our Enemies" Over the course of the fighting, some 4 million people were killed.

Russia and Austria-Hungary were greatly weakened by the war, the Ottoman Empire once again administered vast territory in the Balkans, and was the regional power there. Spain, France, and Italy made no gains. North Germany and the United Kingdom grew in power.

World War II[]

Hungarian rebels against Austrian-dominated Austria-Hungary
North Germany
France
Spain
Italy
Sweden
Ottoman Empire
Bulgaria
Bosnia
Croatia