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  1. mcdo

    No Second Sino-Japanese War: What Fate for the Treaty-Port System?

    Let's say, for whatever reason, Japan avoids the slide into militarism in the 1930s, and there is no invasion of Manchuria, no First Battle of Shanghai, and no total war in China. (The reason why falls outside the scope of this discussion.) Absent the war, and with no need to appease a Chinese...
  2. mcdo

    Turbosuperchargers for Militarist Japan

    Militarist Japan's airplanes were often handicapped throughout the war by the lack of efficient turbochargers and turbosuperchargers. This is not to say that none of the Japanese aircraft had turbochargers or superchargers, as some did. Nevertheless, there were quite a number of Japanese...
  3. mcdo

    AHC: more decisive Russo-Japanese War

    In recent weeks, there have been a handful of threads on this forum discussing possible Russian victories in the Russo-Japanese War. I am curious about the opposite possibilty: clear and decisive Japanese victories on land. In OTL, Japanede armies were able to force Russian troops back, but...
  4. mcdo

    AHC: The Italo-Japanese War of 1935

    I think this will be a very difficult challenge, but I do not believe it is completely impossible. So, many Japanese people in the early 20th century had a romantic image of Ethiopia. They viewed the nation as similar to Japan in that both nations had sucessfully resisted European colonization...
  5. mcdo

    AHWI: What if the Tientsin Incident leads to war?

    I have long wanted to use this incident as a PoD for a mini-TL. However, I'm curious about what you lot think would happen, as I don't have a clear idea. So, in the 1937 Militarist Japan conquered and occupied Tianjin/Tientsin. However, they did not occupy the city entirely, leaving the...
  6. mcdo

    Unlikely AHWI: Zepplins at Tsingtsao?

    A random idea I had, based on the thread about zepplins bombing the US. Is it possible to have the Germans station an airship at their base in Shantung/Shandong? I have a feeling the answer is "no", but maybe they could put one there with the idea that it would be useful as scout for the naval...
  7. mcdo

    earliest possible development of influence mines?

    Just a quick technical question--when is the earliest that a reliable magnetic or acoustic mine could be developed and mass-produced?
  8. mcdo

    WI: McAdoo does not shut down Wall Street?

    In 1914 the US was still a net-debtor nation, which relied in large part on European capital for new investments to keep the US economy growing. When WW1 seemed imminent, European (particularly French and British) investments began dumping their US stocks and bonds in order to repatriate their...
  9. mcdo

    WI: Black Chamber Goes Dark?

    What would happen during the Washington Naval Conference if, for whatever reason, the US was not able to intercept, decrypt, and read the diplomatic telegram traffic of the other conference participants? Would an agreement still be reached, and if so, how would it differ? Bonus question...
  10. mcdo

    Partial German Invasion of Poland on 25/9/39?

    As I'm sure you all know, the German Invasion of Poland was originally scheduled for the night of August 25-26, 1939. The orders were automatic, and were already underway when the troops were recalled "in mid-leap". Not everyone got the message in time, but overall it was a very successful...
  11. mcdo

    AHC: Move the Moveable Feast

    In the 1920s, Paris was home to a thriving art culture. Leading artists from various fields, including many expats, were drawn to the city. This created a sort of virtuous cycle, where the art scene drew in promising artists, who contributed to that same culture. Of course, there is no...
  12. mcdo

    AHC: Great Purge/Great Terror in Nazi Germany

    The Nazi leadership wasn't afraid to use purges. The Night of Long Knives shows that. However, the Nazi regime never experienced a purge on a scale to rival the Soviet terror of 1937-8. Your challenge is to create just such a purge in Nazi Germany. I want to give you as much leeway as...
  13. mcdo

    An Al Smith Presidency?

    Let's say, for whatever reason, that Al Smith is elected in 1932. Let's say FDR isn't there to oppose him at the Convention, maybe Smith didn't run in 28, etc. Given that it is 1932, I think Smith would win despite anti-Catholic sentiment, solely on the grounds that he isn't Hoover. So, how...
  14. mcdo

    AHC: longer lasting Treaty Ports

    From the First Opium War until WWII, more than 80 treaty ports were created in China. However, in 1943, the Allies agreed to give up their treaty ports. Following the communist takeover in 1949, the last vestigaes of the treaty port system disappeared (unless you count the New Territories...
  15. mcdo

    Toyotomi Strikes South

    As I'm sure you all know, in 1592 Toyotomi Hideyoshi lead the newly-reunified forces of Japan in an ultimately unsuccessful invasion of Korea. The reasons for this invasion were many, but I think that the most important ones were political. There were a lot of armed samurai around who only...
  16. mcdo

    AHC: Pulse jet powered fighters in WWII

    The challenge is to see a pulse jet engine, like the one on the V1, powering an operational fighter during the war. Obviously, this set-up has some disadvantages. The first one that srpings to mind is that the plane likely couldn't take off under its own power, and would require a capapult, a...
  17. mcdo

    WI: Darlan is not countermanded

    After Mers-el-Kebir, Admiral Darlan was incensed at the British. He ordered French ships in the Med to sortie and attack British shipping, and even to intercept Sommeville's ships. In OTL, Petain countermanded the orders, and instead broke off relations with the UK*. What happens if, for...
  18. mcdo

    WI: The Tullyhommon Bomb Goes Off

    The Remembrance Day bombing in Enniskillen (Northern Ireland) on November 8, 1987, killed eleven people and injured many more. It is sometimes seen as a turning point in the Troubles, as the targeting of civilians during a day of remembrance caused a significant loss of support for the IRA...
  19. mcdo

    Alternate Territorial Disputes

    I was reading about how the East Asian territorial disputes recently, and I started wondering what disputed territories might exist in ATLs. Please be realistic; don't just state that Israel claims the Lower East Side of Manhattan, for example. Bonus points if you are able to come up with a...
  20. mcdo

    DBWI: Could East Asia have pulled a South America?

    The economic growth in South America over the past few decades has been astounding. They started out mainly exporting agriculture to Europe, but thanks to generous growth subsidies (and a wide-open US market), they quickly moved on to consumer goods. Now, Brasil and Argentina have nearly the...
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