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WWI What If: No Austria-Hungary, rump Ottomans, Russo-German Alliance, USA fights earlier

F

Force Lord

So, let's say that, while WWI still happens, the following changes are present beforehand by act of ROB:

1) The big one: Austria-Hungary is effectively history before the 19th century is out, disappearing around the 1890's at the latest. The Austrian half (Austria proper, Austrian lands claimed by Italy, Bohemia-Moravia, Sudetenland and Slovenia) is integrated into the Kaiserreich. Galicia-Lodomeria and Bukovina (either the northern part or all of it) is annexed by Russia. The rest is organized into a Kingdom of Hungary (pretty much the entire Hungarian half of Austria-Hungary, and later on Bosnia is added) that retains a Hapsburg monarch, but otherwise becomes little more than a German client state. Balkan states wanting a piece of Hungarian pie are forced to drop those claims by Berlin and St. Petersburg, who compensate them with Ottoman territory, but they're not entirely happy, and some are putting secret feelers to the Entente.

2) Around the same time period the Russians go to war against the Ottoman Empire and this time they don't stop at British and French threats, thanks to German backing. Constantinople and the surrounding areas become Russian exclaves, while the Ottomans become Russian puppets ruling over a rump Turkey detached of any territory the Russians, Bulgarians and Greeks deign to take. The Syrian-Lebanese and Iraqi-Transjordanian-Palestinian provinces are taken over by France and Britain respectively to keep the Russians out of the Arab lands. Russia and Britain squabble over influence in Persia/Iran, and this time there's no 1907 treaty.

3) Germany and Russia turn the Reinsurance Treaty into a proper alliance, effectively dashing French hopes for surrounding Germany. France gets some geopolitical compensation in the form of an Italy quitting its alliances with Germany in rage since Berlin didn't give it back its irredenta, but kept them for itself. At the same time, Britain is now 100% behind the French, and makes it absolutely clear. A firm Triple Entente now composed of France, Britain and Italy opposes the German-Russian-Balkan alliance by 1914.

4) Teddy Roosevelt manages to win the United States 1912 presidential election to become president for a third time. Roosevelt is even more pro-Entente than Wilson, and when the Lusitania is sunk in 1915, Teddy uses it as a casus-belli to declare war on Germany and its allies.

How does WWI turn out in such a scenario?
 
Do you really think that with Russia backing Germany France will be able to withstand an attack? Much less things taking the exact same path as they did in WW1?
 
Ignoring everything else that doesn't make sense about the scenario, why does WWI still occur at the same time in this scenario?
 
Eliar said:
Do you really think that with Russia backing Germany France will be able to withstand an attack? Much less things taking the exact same path as they did in WW1?
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It all depends if Germany can knock out France in 1914. If France hangs on until 1915, when the USA joins the war, then the Entente may have a chance.
 
To get to the meat of things? It would be an utter mess. Just looking at the map shows a load of potential fronts and hotspots. If a western fronts solidifies then thhere will be war from one one side of Eurasia to the other. Middle East, Iran, Africa, Far East nothing will be spared.
 
The problem is that the background is farcical so it's hard to form an opinion. The British and French would never have tolerated a Russian Ottoman Puppet; the "threats" would have turned into a general war.
 


This says it all. Let's remove the surround that is part of what brought the Triple Powers down! Let's hamstring the Entente by giving them the millstone that is the Balkans!

Alright, serious time- two things killed Germany OTL. The first was ruining out of food. The second was running out of bodies. Now, what are Russia's two main exports? Food and bodies.

Conversely, the US doesn't have that strong a relationship with the Entente even with Teddy in charge. Between the sheer material support the US needed to kick in, plus the fact that Foch and Haig wanted to put American soldiers on boats to go into English and French training and units- which would make American political power in the victory almost nil. Perishing flipped his shit when this came down the line at him, and he had to raise a fuss to get it shot down. If Teddy Roosevelt, the face of anything approaching American Imperialism, heard that notion, I would expect a total hold on material transport or somesutch. Remember, Roosevelt is a lot mercurial than many presidents. This is good and bad.
 
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