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  1. WW1 starts with Tanks

    If the proposed idea for British is based on the Simm's Motor War Car then hopefully some one sits on the idea until it goes away. The Burstyn Motor Gun was a missed opportunity by the Germans.

  2. WW1 starts with Tanks

    Another example is the USA WW2. A lot of factories were converted from producing cars, etc to making war machines. WW1 and WW2 factories were more convertable than modern ones. The thing is that is an overhead in converting a factory from say cars or locos to tanks because you have to reorganise...

  3. WW1 starts with Tanks

    At the time no one would know whether or not a tank or armoured car is cost efffective because no one knows what it might achieve. Comparing the cost of a tank against 1000 rifles overlooks two factors. One, there are no tank factories whilst there are rifle factories. Two, the establishment...

  4. WW1 starts with Tanks

    Spain and Italy had armoured cars in pre WW1 colonial wars but they do not seem to have made any impression. Also Britain had a post-Boer War armoured vehicle. However, it is such a monstrosity that it was not going to go anywhere fast in more ways than one. So I agree the British could have...

  5. WW1 starts with Tanks

    One issue with a lot of the early armoured cars is that they were all essentially experimential vehicles. For a major power to take them seriously they have to be used by a major power in a serious war. Only then is a production run going to be set up as per by the Belgiums and British in the...

  6. Is there any way for Rome to survive?

    Highly unlikely, Whilst the Franks were able to defeat and assimilate other Germanic tribes the Romans were unable to. Paradoxially the Franks were also able to assimilate Romans to create a literate class in their empire.

  7. Good Vinland PODs?

    If Markland does have spare bog iron then logically it would trade it. If they find the iron ore deposits and can get miners from Europe to emigrate to it that is a game changer. It gives them a serious export to Greenland and maybe Iceland as well as having colonists come from outside those...

  8. Good Vinland PODs?

    1) The Norse were the sort of people who killed strangers just to see what colour their blood was. Assume eventual bad relationships with any natives. 2) If the Norse in Labrador had excess fish and seals (and I assume that you are talking about them) they are more likely to trade such stuff...

  9. Good Vinland PODs?

    It is unlikely that the Norse will establish long term friendly relationship with natives of Labrador. After all they failed to do so in Greenland and Vinland.

  10. What if the German Empire had no colonies -> Better performance in WWI?

    Depends when the war starts. Ireland was on the brink of a civil war. If WW1 does not kick off until the autumn then the Irish civil war could break out before then. In that case no BEF in France before 1915.

  11. Could The Roman Empire have conquered all of the British isles, had it chosen to try?

    Because they would remember how Germany turned out. You can campaign there but not hold it. However, all it takes is some Emperor to think it is a good idea at the time and they try it.

  12. Could The Roman Empire have conquered all of the British isles, had it chosen to try?

    Unlike Germany or Syria I cannot see the threat shifting dynamically enough. In the case of the Germans there were migrations from farther east. In the case of Syria there was a switch to a more aggressive Persian empire. In the case of Scotland though, yes the naives did get more aggressive...

  13. Could The Roman Empire have conquered all of the British isles, had it chosen to try?

    Unlike the Romans the Medieval English conquered virtually all of Scotland yet they could not hold it for very long. Why? Because the hilly redoubts are too big to control without puttng hundreds of troops into them and they could not afford the supercastles to buy time. You might be able to...

  14. Could The Roman Empire have conquered all of the British isles, had it chosen to try?

    There is also all those islands for Irish/Scotti raiders to use as bases for hitting the mainland. It is going to cost a fortune in gold to secure a Roman Scotland. There were 10,000 auxilaries on Hadrian's Wall and most of them were apparently moved to the Antonine Wall when that was in use...

  15. Could The Roman Empire have conquered all of the British isles, had it chosen to try?

    It is unlikely that the Romans would have deployed enough ships to affect the Irish raiding Scotland. After all unlike the Saxon Shore fleet there was no fleet covering Wales so why are they going to build one in Scotland? As for land forces, the west coast is so rugged that ships can easily...

  16. Could The Roman Empire have conquered all of the British isles, had it chosen to try?

    Uniform as in Roman towns and Celtic countryside? As for the Irish raids they would have a field day with Roman Scotland with their ships outmanaeuvring any land patrols. Roman Scotland would ahve been a text book example of Imperial overreach, especially given that Roman southern Scotland...

  17. How could the Oregon dispute have gone differently?

    The biggest problem any power had in gaining control of Oregon at the time of the dispute is putting people whether colonists, troops or whatever on the ground. For the Americans and British there are just too many equally profitable options closer to home/eastern Canada to expend great effort...

  18. How could the Oregon dispute have gone differently?

    Pretty much the same state of affairs that the British had in 1861 and the Trent Affair. Financially speaking Britain made more from investments than a diplomatic concession would have cost the country. I am not saying that Britian would always back down though.

  19. How could the Oregon dispute have gone differently?

    If you are sending large numbers of people by sea then it is going to be dangerous and expensive. Every ship has got to go via Cape Horn twice, unless you want to make every voyage a one way trip. The HBC could tell American colonists to pound sand, but that does not mean that local factors...

  20. How could the Oregon dispute have gone differently?

    RE a larger Russian Alaska. Alaska was of marginal value to Russia. It was just too far away from Moscow. You have to travel all the way across Russia before you are even close to it. Re British Seattle. Same problem as the Americans had. The only sensible way to get there is by wagon train...
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