Dimension 398 or How a Few Bacteria Changed the Course of History
- Thread starter Beedok
- Start date
I should update it more.Wow, nice update, Beedok! I really should read this TL more.
The Ottomans, Koreans, and Japanese are all involved. So are the Hungarians, and theoretically the Mongolians. It's currently France's Economic Entente vs. Russia and the Thonburi Pact.
I'll be covering the Central Asian through the Balkan fronts in the next update, which should hopefully be this month. Also some further escalations.
I thought the destruction of the Mona Lisa would get more comments.
It is just a painting.
The way it was destroyed makes it more memorable than IOTL.
I hope to keep it going. I just had some poor time management this semester.My first post is for your timeline.
I started to read it from the beginning a few months ago, and I loved every part of it.
Please keep it going !
I'm excited for the post-war world. It's an interesting place.
Also cool, broke 250K views. On my way to a million! Muahaha!
The Balkan Bloodbath
(Pyongyang 1996)
(Pyongyang 1996)
While the rest of Europe worried the war would spread to their doorstep in response to violence in the Rhine and Po valleys, Istanbul had an Asian power on her doorstep looking for vengeance. The Russian Empire had been slow to mobilise, but so had the Ottomans. The Porte managed a slight speed advantage, as well as a slight edge in industrialisation, two advantages they sorely needed against the far more populous Russian bear.
Both nations had roughly 100 000 men in the Caucasus region, the Ottomans were supported by 20 000 Azeri militia soldiers from the Azeri Principality, while the Russians were supported by roughly 50 000 Armenian and Georgian militiamen, though these were poorly equipped and lacking in discipline. Hoping for a swift victory on this front by securing all of Russia’s transcaucasian territories the Ottomans transferred 60 thousand men from elsewhere in the Empire for the August 2nd offensive. The Ottoman forces crossed over into the ethnically Azeri majority regions surrounding the city of Ganja (at the time Elizabetpol) with 70 thousand men. The Russians had expected an assault to come from Anatolia, not Azerbaijan, and were caught off guard. As Russian forces moved to defend their flank the larger Ottoman force of 90 thousand launched an assault from the easier to supply expected direction. The Russian forces defending the region were quickly spread too thin to provide an effective defense, though local pi’guerre forces would bog down Ottoman invaders before they could successfully encircle the bulk of the Russian Caucasian forces.
The disaster in the Caucasus forced Moscow onto the offensive to maintain an air of strength in the eyes of the unmotivated serf majority. Twin assaults on the Crimean and Balkans were quickly called up and launched by late August. The Crimean assault was vital to Russia having any sort of naval presence in the Black Sea, and thus saw a major effort to take the Kerch Peninsula through amphibious descent.
The strategy was not one the Ottomans or their Crimean allies had expected, however it was also not one the Russians had properly planned for either. In the end the Russian army saw hundreds of men drown and thousands were scattered across the coastline in poorly planned landings. The chaos bought the Ottomans enough time to send a counter offensive and saw various segments of the Russian invasion force destroyed by local militias. The Ottoman fleet in Inkerman was mobilised in response and clashed with Russian forces at the mouth of the Azo Sea. The more modern and better equipped Ottoman fleet was able to attack in coordination with a land assault, which caused confusion amongst the Russians as they were torn between supporting their troops and fighting a naval battle. While most of the Russian fleet escaped the few large ships in the Russian Black Sea navy were destroyed and most of the invading army was killed or captured.
The Balkan Front would prove Russia’s last hope for victory, and proved more successful than the others. The Romanians had little love for the Ottomans and greeted the Russians as liberators. A prong of roughly 130 thousand Russian soldiers struck East to surprise the Hungarians. Hungary had technically entered the war with the rest of the Entente but, like the Oceanians, had hoped to sit out any major fighting and merely engaged in a token mobilisation. The Russians however had hoped to take advantage of Romanian nationalism and were hoping to liberate their Slavic cousins in Slovakia and Vojvodina. The Hungarians were quickly forced out of their Carpathian defenses and sent on the retreat.
This success gave the Russians confidence that a land battle would mean a swift victory and they expected the Bulgarians to greet them as liberators. Unfortunately for the Russians economics would lead to a different conclusion. The seeds for the issue were first laid when the Romans conquered the Greek peninsula. Filled with hope for a new Greek state many ethnic Greeks had departed the Ottoman Aegean for what they hoped were greener pastures. This had left a significant portion of the Ottoman heartland low on population. When French investment had led to modernisation and industrialisation across the Ottoman Empire Thrace and the nearby regions of the Balkans had stood to benefit. While many Turks had moved to fill the opened up job opportunities a number of Bulgarians had followed. Unlike the Serbs who continued to simmer with resistance the Bulgarians had also seen the oppression which the Romans had treated the Greeks to and developed a preference for the devil they knew, hoping that the riches of industry would give them a leg up in the Empire, at least until something better came along. The Russian invaders had hoped they’d been seen as that ‘something better’ by their Slavic brothers, however the Bulgarians looked at Russian serfdom and their historically pro-Roman policies which led to a conclusion that a Russian Bulgaria would be as free as Roman Greece.
The Russians army was slowed to a near total halt as they passed into Wallachia and face the bulk of the Ottoman military. A Russian army of 400 thousand slammed into a quarter million Ottoman defenders at Ploiesti on August 28th, and the superior training and equipment of the Ottoman defenders told. The Russian forces were forced into a hobbling retreat while the Ottoman force moved to strike a second Russian force in Dobruja. This smaller Russian force found itself cut off by Ottoman naval resources on the Danube and was mostly forced into surrender, though roughly a third managed to escape due to the length of the front. The larger Russian force soon called upon reinforcements and made an effort to outflank the Ottomans through spreading tactics. The smaller Ottoman army had previously relied on mobility, and still had some advantages due to control of the local rail network and a large number of rollers, however the need to defend such a long front prevented any real offensives.
The two armies quickly became locked in a stalemate, with only the occasional raid and feint. The Ottomans made an effort to train more men, but worsening relations with the Romans mean the Ottomans had to prepare for another front to open up at any time.
Popular Cultures of the Past
(Berlin 2006)
(Berlin 2006)
As the 20th century rolled into being the LRA was the place to be if you wanted to make it big in the arts. While many who arrived looking for fame and glory failed to achieve it, but those who made it big were idols for the world. The main magnets were of course Mexico City, Bogota, and Angel City[1], though for painters the rich of San Francisco and Havana’s ports and stock exchanges were attractive destinations.
Mexico City, with over 4 million people, was the second largest city on earth, beaten only by Paris, and as such was a magnet for people of all types. The music and radio industry were without rivals, and artists from around the world mixed ideas together. While Latin culture dominated, and the guitar was king, large numbers of immigrants from East Britain, Indochina, and the East Indies[2] brought new sounds and styles to audiences of the LRA. One of the influences was the revival of slit drums in American music (these drums had previously seen use in pre-Columbian music) as well as the active beat that had proven so popular in European cafés. The slit drum, guitar or two, a vocalist and often some form of deeper wind instrument were brought together is many small musical bands during the 1890s, and these various groups slowly morphed into what we today call Hop (so named for the ‘hopping beats’).
Hop music quickly spread back to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and soon after was hopping it’s way across Asia and the PRNA. Hope would have dominated the early 1900s completely if not for Bogota’s crowning musical achievement. Combining traditional Latin music with the stronger African influences found in the south (which grew stronger as a result of Brazil’s colonial aspirations) and a strong love of brass instruments the musicians of Bogota and other South American cities produced a lively music with a smoother flow to it than Hop, which would soon see the English name Swing applied. Swing would prove somewhat less popular than Hop in the pre-war era, seeing success primarily with Latin or African (and African diaspora) audiences, however by the 1910s it would spread across Europe and Asia as well.
Angel City was not set to see such influence in music, however cinema would be a different matter. Flush with oil money and looking to rival the larger, richer San Francisco further north, the well to do of the city decided that cinema would get them on the map. With relatively little competition in the LRA[3] Agnel City’s studios were soon pumping out photoplays the whole nation would lap up. The new medium of photoplay did attract another element to Angel City, as Scientificans hoped to spread their message through it. While most of the more evangelical photoplays flopped miserably some of the less preachy adaptations of Amorarte’s works (which took significant liberties due to the lack of special effects knowledge at the time) saw moderate success, and the Scientificans saw Angel City as key to their future success.
The History of South America
(La Paz 1955)
(La Paz 1955)
As Europe held its collective breath in the aftermath of the Mona Lisa caper and watched the protests in the Rhineland nervously the world expected the Great War would expand on that front any minute. As such the rest of the world was shocked when it would be the oft forgotten continent of South America which turned the conflict global. To those who followed the politics of the region it was not so massive a surprise though, and had been a cause for concern amongst French authorities in the area.
The Platians, both in Platia proper and Bonnair’s interior had been unhappy with French dominance in the region for decades. Meanwhile Brazil had continued to desire a victory in South America as her efforts to colonise Africa had proven less successful for rallying the populace after her failure in the Amazon than was hoped. With these two factors together it was clear that French efforts to recruit Platian soldiers would go very poorly. When Entente relations with the rest of Europe soured over Rio saw her chance to defeat the premiere power of the day and remove one of her two rivals for South America.
When the French made an effort to drum up recruitments in the region posters were often ripped down, and in a few cases recruitment officers had trash thrown at them by the Hispanic locals. In the furthest interior territory of Bermelleaux the local governor (Jean Tasse) was the son of an RSS agent who’d been active in Spain, and seeing the way the harsh methods his father had talked about seemed to have cowed the Spanish, Tasse decided to launch a severe crackdown on anyone found accosting a recruitment officer or defacing recruitment posters. This effort turned violent when a 12 year old boy threw a rock at recruitment rally and a police officer (who later stated he had not realised the youth of the assailant) hit the boy with his truncheon. The gathered townsfolk were outraged and the issue spiralled into a riot. Further police were called in to arrest the rioters, however a number escaped into the wild countryside.
As news spread, and rumours worsened the crimes of both sides tenfold, ethnic tensions boiled over across Bonnair. As a number of Platians retreated to the wild countryside many sought out weapons and Brazil was very happy to provide. By mid September the French authorities realised where the weapons were coming from and attempted to secure to border with Brazil. Unfortunately the border between Brazil and the territory of Parana was poorly surveyed and a number of clashes broke out between French and Brazilian forces out of confusion. In response Brazil declared that her territories had been attacked and invoked the Alliance of the Southern Cross in a call for support. New Rome declared war as soon as the request reached them, while the Dominion of Africa only entered the war after extensive debate and analysis of the treaty, fearing that her long coastline and unruly Black population were both serious risks in a war against France.
Soon after the Alliance of the Southern Cross entered the war the Northern Alliance realised there would likely be no better opportunity to break the Entente. The Austrians and German Confederation hoped to liberate the Rhineland and Sweden hoped to break Denmark. Berlin remained reluctant to engage, however they were forced to bow to her allies, as well as a pan-slavic element amongst her Polish and Czech population along with some pan-germanic elements in her Prussian population.
[1] Los Angeles. The area received many anglophone immigrants from the interior with the oil boom of the 1890s.
[2] With their long Pacific coast the LRA does about as much trade with the Thonburi Pact as they do with Europe, and the hot humid climate attracts more immigrants from Southeast Asia than Europe (plus there’s less competition for said immigrants, European Emigrants area sought after commodity by France, the Dominion of Africa, Oceania, and Brazil).
[3]Hammerstone remains a major competitor, as do a few scattered Acycian studios. Europe is mostly doing it’s own thing in cinema.
The Great War: Opening Maneuvers
(Oslo 1988)
(Oslo 1988)
With the declarations of war from Brazil, New Rome, and the Germanies, one might have expected panic in Paris. The reality however was something closer to giddy excitement amongst the high command. The Entente’s armies were already mobilised for the war with the Asian powers, while her European foes were in varying states of readiness. Not only that, but the Aosta Valley’s uprising opened a path to Padania. The only major worry was the convoys of troops and supplies moving to the Ottoman Empire at the time. This situation led to what was known as the Ninety Day Offensive, starting on September 20th and slowing for winter in mid-December.
The first maneuver of the Ninety Day Offensive was 150 000 French Soldiers flooding down the Aosta Valley. While the valley was a significant bottleneck it was still a more convenient entrance than the fortified mountain passes which marked the rest of the Franco-Roman border. The overwhelmed Roman defenders were unable to muster a significant resistance until the battle of Ivrea. A few thousand Roman cavalry men managed to blunt the forward force of the French invasion, however as more French soldiers exited the Aosta the New Romans were forced into retreat. A second Roman counter attack at Strambino similarly failed, though did prove a useful delaying action as Roman forces were mobilised.
The French continued to hold the initiative though. Securing their eastern flank with the hilly regions just past Ivrea through the use of trenches and other quick defensive measures the other half of the invasion force moved to cut off Turin from the easier lowland route of the Po Valley and moved on Chivasso, where the New Romans were at last able to prepare a significant dense. The 35 thousand Roman defenders managed to hold out against 52 thousand French attackers for 6 days, however the city eventually fell. The Romans attempted a second counter offensive at Cavaglia, however the French held and the Romans were rebuffed with heavy casualties.
With Chivasso captured the second wave of the French invasion force, a supplementary force of 75 000 men, launched an assault on Turin. The delaying action at Chivasso and distracting raids along the East Flank of the French army had delayed them enough that the New Romans had mobilised nearly 70 000 men to defend the city. The French force was held at the Stura di Lanzo River for a number of days as Roman grinder guns prevented infantry offensives and the muddy river blocked any roller assaults, however a strong investment in mortars and other artillery allow the French to eventually pound the Roman position down. As fighting broke out in the city proper the Roman general called for reinforcements from nearby border fortifications, which was noted by French scout éans[airplanes]. The French had been keeping a third wave ready in anticipation of this and launched assaults on the now weakened border defenses. Forces were concentrated on the Susa valley, which when broken allowed a rapid advance on Turin’s western suburbs. The defending forces risked encirclement and the Romans were forced to abandon Turin and the upper Po Valley to French forces. France had secured the entrance to Italy, however the battle of Alessandria a few weeks later saw a Roman victory as the French offensive was rebuffed, proving that she still had a long way to go before the Fleur de Lis flew over the whole of Padania.
The second front of the Ninety Day offensive was attacked as October dawned. The Invasion of Portugal was a far less precise affair without the need to squeeze through narrow mountain passes. The topography was also more conducive to roller offensives, which the French military made full use of. The Brazilian army proved reluctant to engage the French as Brazilian political thought saw Portugal as more of a liability than an asset by this point. Most of the fighting in the countryside was left to Portuguese militias, which had been poorly trained and equipped. These French were more delayed by the poor logistical situation of their Spanish allies than the Portuguese defenders. The almost purely French invasion force in the North, attacking from Galicia, reached the outskirts of Porto within a week and found themselves faced with the first true resistance by the Brazilian army. With roughly 30 000 men the Brazilians were outnumbered by the French invaders, and were quite poorly equipped by European standards[1]. The siege of Porto lasted roughly two weeks before a number of Brazilian soldiers mutinied. Occupation of the city proved difficult as the Portuguese feared a heavy handed rule like the Spanish had long endured, but the resistance was never a true threat to French forces.
The march to Lisbon would take the combined Franco-Spanish forces another month to achieve, however the city had barely any more in the way of defenses than Porto. The Brazilian born general in charge of defending Portugal, José Torres, had grown to hate the city due to the condescending attitude many Portuguese had to the Brazilians[2], and felt it more important to deny the city to the French than to defend it. As such the Brazilian forces would regularly launched incendiary munitions at recently lost regions of the city, or simply razed segments under their control for clearer lines of sight. The locals became so angered that a week into the battle for the city a number of local militias turned on the Brazilian forces. The French and Portuguese forces were soon able to work out a truce, and the Brazilians were forced from what was left of the city. Unfortunately for the Entente the Lisboeta rebels were unusual in Portugal and many of their countrymen were far less willing to work with the French.
The third front opened by the French was the Germanies Offensive. beginning with the Neuchatel offensive the Prussian Enclave was used as a chance to experiment with a few new techniques that were being passed around amongst the younger officers of the French military. The recently developed bomber éans were utilised at the battle, as well as a new tracked roller design, however the prototype of that technology suffered from a number of engineering flaws that caused the French to abandon the line of research for most of the war. The Prussian enclaves in the Rhineland region were the next to fall, and like Neuchatel they surrendered after only a token period of combat, having been seen as guaranteed losses by Berlin in any circumstance.
The main offensive into the Germanies would be the largest European offensive history had seen. The Southern Army stood a quarter million strong and broke through the westernmost Habsburg territories. The hilly and mountainous terrain of the region prevented any major gains, but the French flank was secured. The Northern Army held half a million men and attempted to cut off the Prussian coast along the North Sea. The Franco-Dutch force advanced relatively easily until they hit Hamburg, encountering only a few Prussian delaying actions. The primary city of Holstein, it was heavily defended. The city was well fortified, with 25 000 defenders from Holstein, supplemented by 100 000 Prussians, as well a several thousand Swedish soldiers. The French effort to cross the Elbe and take the city proved a failure. The two forces dug in, each on a different side of the river, and began shelling one another heavily. The French had invested heavily in artillery, however Hamburg held a significant fleet, as well as guns designed to ward off enemy fleets, meaning the defenders had an impressive battery as well. The Siege of Hamburg would last until March.
The two central army groups (Armies 2 and 3, with the Italian invasion holding the title of Army 1) was tasked with breaking the Germanies in two by reaching the Czech border. Hannover fell to the French after a fortnight of bloody urban combat, while Kassel lasted roughly a week (though took longer to reach). Braunschweig however would prove another bloodbath. The Prussian-Saxon defensive force turned the battle for the city into a nearly 2 month slog. The army advancing on Nurnberg would have a difficult march through the hilly Bavarian countryside, however the defenders were sparse until they reached Nurnberg. The fortresses just before the city were manned by a combination of German, Habsburg, and Czech forces whom the Entente army only slightly outnumbered. Like Hamburg and Braunschweig the battle would prove another bloody slog, though the city itself was just out of range of French artillery.
[1] Like the United States in OTL, Brazil was not nearly as militarised as European powers of the time. Add to this relative apathy about the fate of Portugal and few soldiers from Brazil were sent unless they did something to anger their superiors.
[2] Despite, or perhaps because, Brazil ruled the empire now the Portuguese held a strong opinion that Brazilians were nothing more than nouveau riche hicks.
The French should not underestimate the Portuguese willingness to fight.
Keep it up, Beedok!
Well if the Portuguese liked Brazil they'd have fought more, but there's honestly a lot who wonder if the French might be liberators (Spain suffered under French rule, but the Galacians have a lot of nice stuff to stay about them, meanwhile Brazil had often allowed infrastructure to atrophy and pushed tariffs against European states that ruined the Portuguese economy).
Battle For the Med: Franco-Roman Relations
(Bucharest 1977)
(Bucharest 1977)
The Mediterranean was essential to both the Entente powers and New Romans: Rome had her colonial empire across the sea, the Entente needed to support the Ottomans and hoped to use rail links to supply the Indian front. As such both sides had engaged in significant naval build ups during the preceding decades. Of special concern to all was the French possession of Malta (which had been a linchpin of French naval planning since the Age of Revolutions when the island was first taken by France). The island boasted impressive defenses, many of which were recent additions as France had launched her empire wide defensive build up in the 1890s as tensions had risen.
As the Romans mobilised their naval assets for war one issue which faced them was the number of vessels stationed in the Red Sea. While none were overly large their usefulness was still clear. By mid-September a line of Roman vessels was entering the Suez Canal when war was officially declared. The Canal had long existed in a precarious position as it was technically owned by four nations (the Romans, French, Ottomans, and Egyptians), and when war broke out the Ottomans saw it as an essential defensive line line, sitting on the border for most of its length. As such a number of Ottoman and French merchant vessels throughout the canal chose to sabotage and sink their own ships, trapping elements of the Roman fleet on the canal, while most were trapped in the Red Sea. Almost immediately upon learning they were trapped one of the Roman ships opened up her guns upon the nearest Ottoman maintenance shed (her captain apparently wanting to do something to harm the Ottomans). Unfortunately for the Romans this shed had a number of Egyptian workers within it (Egypt’s government had technically not declared war when Rome had, mostly due to a less efficient system of government).
As Roman marines attacked French and Ottoman security forces and crews the Canal descended into a confused mess which saw further Egyptian casualties when Egyptian nationals tried to negotiate a cease-fire until civilians could be evacuated. As word of the chaos reached various Egyptian towns the locals were outraged and Roman barracks were torched. Suddenly Rome would also require her navy to assist in controlling Egyptian port cities, stretching her forces.
The Ottoman navy was similarly stretched, having to maintain patrols in the Black Sea. The Habsburgs were able to supply a few torpedo ships to the Roman side, but apart from their fleet of turtles [submarines] these were either too small or too out of date to assist. The French Mediterranean Fleet meanwhile had a number of vessels on convoy duty sending supplies and troops to the Ottomans, but most of her capital ships were ready in Toulon.
The bulk of the Roman fleet was available in Taranto in early October of 1902 and was mobilised for the assault on Malta. Bringing all four Ares class warships and Rome’s two Juggernauts, as well as 12 of pre-Juggernaut warships, the Roman navy sailed for Malta on October 10th in response to the fall of Turin. A French convoy headed to the Levant was encountered and destroyed just south of Sicily, however the convoy was able to radio Malta and inform them of the assault. The French fortress on the island put up a valiant effort of defense, along with 3 light cruisers which had been in the region, however the firepower of Ares ships and Juggernauts told and the Island’s defenses were silenced after a two day exchange of fire. However by this point the primary French Mediterranean Fleet had arrived, bringing with it five Juggernauts and 16 pre-Juggernaut warships. With the Roman crews tired, and the vessels having taken damage and expended munitions, the French had a larger advantage than numbers alone would say. The Roman fleet was however in position for combat when the French arrived, and neither side was able to outflank the other significantly. The exchange saw eight hours of intensive fighting before the Romans were forced to withdraw.
Despite being forced to fall back the Romans had arguably won the battle. The French had lost their great fortress on the island, leaving it vulnerable to future raids, and two of the French juggernauts had taken significant damage forcing them to stay in port for repairs. The Romans had however loster a greater total tonnage in the decimation of their older pre-Juggernaut fleet as well as a large number of skilled sailors.
The North Sea During the Great War
(Kiev 1994)
(Kiev 1994)
France chose to trust the closing of the Baltic to her allies in London, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen. The navy was the one field where it would be truly a blunder to muddle France and the general Entente. While the great power had assisted her allies with loans for the construction of some vessels the Dutch fleet was on its own a significant force, the third strongest in Europe after France and Rome. The Danes meanwhile had been engaged in a tit-for-tat naval arms race with Sweden for the past two decades[1], and Stuart Britain knew that as an island her navy was key.
Wishing to take the battle to their enemies before the Prussian fleet in the Elbe could escape. As such a two pronged attack was devised. The larger Danish-Dutch fleet would sail into the Baltic and raise the hornet’s nest of Prussian, Russian, and Swedish fleets, while the British would bottle up the Swedish fleet at Oslo.
The first part worked as planned when the Dutch shelled a variety of Prussian and Swedish fortifications with the superior range of Juggernaut class guns. The Baltic fleets rallied at Bornholm before attempting an assault. Combined the Baltic powers had 14 pre-Juggernaut capital ships and an assortment of smaller vessels. The Danes had brought 7 pre-Juggernaut capital ships, while the Dutch had 10, and their two Juggernauts. The ensuing battle was a clear victory for the Entente as nearly half the enemy fleet was sunk or damaged enough to be unsalvageable. The Dutch did lose two older vessels, and the Danes one, but most of the crews were rescued.
The attempt to blockade Oslo was somewhat less successful as the British underestimated the Swedish Atlantic Fleet and sent secondary raids to captured Iceland and land near Tromso. As such the blockading fleet consisted of merely 8 pre-Juggernaut capital ships combined with a number of torpedo boats. The Swedish fleet of 6 ships had land based artillery support and forced the British to withdraw after both sides took heavy damages. The Swedish fleet was however trapped by fear of the Dutch Juggernauts, and Norwegian sabotage[2].
[1] With a far smaller population and fewer resources Denmark had struggled to keep up with Sweden, however the long depression had hurt Swedish accounts far worse than Denmark’s so the Swedes were operating at a lot less than full capacity.
[2] Due to poor economic performance tax rates in Norway and Iceland had been rather high. When the British landed at Tromso, which was still ethnically Norwegian but had been annexed into Sweden, they promised to restore the Norwegian state. What form that would take was left vague (some wanted a monarchy, some wanted a republic, some wanted a union with the more prosperous Denmark).
"With this update we've got Europe up to date until ~March of 1903. Now to worry about the rest of the world so we can show a map."
The Romans were prepared to defend the city with everything they could muster, knowing it would expose the French flank on any assault against Milan (arguable the Industrial capital of Italy). Defenses were still rather improvised as Roman planners had not expected the Alpine Front to fall so swiftly, but the garrison was massively increased. 80 000 men had been stationed in and around the city, with the best equipment New Rome could muster. The French for their part had brought a force of over 90 000 to assault the city. What would follow was a battle that would set the tone of the war.
The New Romans attempted a Roller Charge as the French moved into position, hoping that they could drive a wedge in the French formation and launch a grand counteroffensive. The French mortars, artillery, and anti-roller rifles however dented this offensive and caused many European generals to question whether or not the age of mechanised frontline warfare had ended.
The French assault on the Roman position involved a massive artillery bombardment, making use of poison gas delivery technologies the Romans had pioneered in Africa. Rome would protest via mutual ambassadors in the Romansch Republic that such weapons were too barbaric for use against Europeans, but the French rebuffed the claim. The defenders of Alessandria had no option for such complaints though and merely struggled to survive the poison gas raining upon their position. The survivors who stood their ground were soon overwhelmed by a French assault, while those who fled were captured by flanking French rollers. Only a handful of New Romans escaped, though within this group were a number of veterans from the Abyssinian campaign who had learned that urea could neutralise chlorine gas, and had improvised gas masks with this knowledge. The generals of Europe would quickly begin massive orders for gas masks.
The Battle of Genoa was even bloodier. The French had expended much of their gas supplies in Alessandria (the battle was apparently a test of concept), and the coastal city had significantly stronger defenses. It did not help that the coastal prong of the French Army meant to link up with the overland forces had stalled as Savona due to well placed naval guns which could fire on inland foes. Savona would fall after a month of fighting and nearly 10 000 dead, but the diversion of troops from the assault on Genoa allowed the Romans to increase defenses in the city. The Siege of Genoa would last from early November until late April of 1903, as both nations through more men and artillery into the battle. At it’s peak both sides would have nearly a quarter million men each.
While the attempt to capture Liguria was less successful than had been hoped the French knew they needed to at least threaten Milan as a blow to Roman moral and industrial capacity. This would lead to a string of bloody battles as the French launched assaults on Vercelli, Mortara, and Novara. The assault would grind to a halt on the Ticino Front. The French would control most of the western bank of the river, but the defenders of Vigevano would never quite be forced from the city, despite being encircled a number of times. Pavia would mark roughly the southern edge of the Ticino Front, while the alps would show her northern edge. The French would occasionally capture Abbiategrasso, Magenta, and Busto Arsizio (with one assault even entering the suburbs of Milan) over the next year as both nations poured more than two million men into the front.
Largest Cities In History:
(The Compendium Of Knowledge, the People’s Encyclopedia)
Largest cities in 1900:
The Great War: Opening Maneuvers
(Oslo 1988)
After securing Turin the French launched a two pronged assault. One was the assault on Liguria to secure a stronger supply chain for forces in Padania. This assault received less naval support than had been originally planned due to the battle of Malta, however older vessels and coastal bombardment craft were able to supplement the roll. First though came the 2nd battle of Alessandria. (Oslo 1988)
The Romans were prepared to defend the city with everything they could muster, knowing it would expose the French flank on any assault against Milan (arguable the Industrial capital of Italy). Defenses were still rather improvised as Roman planners had not expected the Alpine Front to fall so swiftly, but the garrison was massively increased. 80 000 men had been stationed in and around the city, with the best equipment New Rome could muster. The French for their part had brought a force of over 90 000 to assault the city. What would follow was a battle that would set the tone of the war.
The New Romans attempted a Roller Charge as the French moved into position, hoping that they could drive a wedge in the French formation and launch a grand counteroffensive. The French mortars, artillery, and anti-roller rifles however dented this offensive and caused many European generals to question whether or not the age of mechanised frontline warfare had ended.
The French assault on the Roman position involved a massive artillery bombardment, making use of poison gas delivery technologies the Romans had pioneered in Africa. Rome would protest via mutual ambassadors in the Romansch Republic that such weapons were too barbaric for use against Europeans, but the French rebuffed the claim. The defenders of Alessandria had no option for such complaints though and merely struggled to survive the poison gas raining upon their position. The survivors who stood their ground were soon overwhelmed by a French assault, while those who fled were captured by flanking French rollers. Only a handful of New Romans escaped, though within this group were a number of veterans from the Abyssinian campaign who had learned that urea could neutralise chlorine gas, and had improvised gas masks with this knowledge. The generals of Europe would quickly begin massive orders for gas masks.
The Battle of Genoa was even bloodier. The French had expended much of their gas supplies in Alessandria (the battle was apparently a test of concept), and the coastal city had significantly stronger defenses. It did not help that the coastal prong of the French Army meant to link up with the overland forces had stalled as Savona due to well placed naval guns which could fire on inland foes. Savona would fall after a month of fighting and nearly 10 000 dead, but the diversion of troops from the assault on Genoa allowed the Romans to increase defenses in the city. The Siege of Genoa would last from early November until late April of 1903, as both nations through more men and artillery into the battle. At it’s peak both sides would have nearly a quarter million men each.
While the attempt to capture Liguria was less successful than had been hoped the French knew they needed to at least threaten Milan as a blow to Roman moral and industrial capacity. This would lead to a string of bloody battles as the French launched assaults on Vercelli, Mortara, and Novara. The assault would grind to a halt on the Ticino Front. The French would control most of the western bank of the river, but the defenders of Vigevano would never quite be forced from the city, despite being encircled a number of times. Pavia would mark roughly the southern edge of the Ticino Front, while the alps would show her northern edge. The French would occasionally capture Abbiategrasso, Magenta, and Busto Arsizio (with one assault even entering the suburbs of Milan) over the next year as both nations poured more than two million men into the front.
Largest Cities In History:
(The Compendium Of Knowledge, the People’s Encyclopedia)
Largest cities in 1900:
- Paris - 6.8 million [this is slightly larger than London OTL, Paris has more government, similar industry, but a lot less commerce]
- Mexico City - 4.1 million [a bit smaller than New York OTL, impressive as is isn’t a port]
- New York - 3.5 million [has more competition than OTL, still bigger than our Paris though]
- Rome - 2.4 million [about the size of Berlin OTL]
- Mont Peuple - 2.1 million [gets a lot of the Great Lakes trade, a bit bigger than OTL Chicago, also the cultural capital of French Acycians]
- Moscow - 1.8 million [bigger than OTL St. Petersburgh]
- Istanbul - 1.6 million [about the size of OTL Vienna]
- Tokyo - 1.5 million [in the same ballpark as OTL]
- Calcutta - 1.4 million [the size of our Manchester, somehow dirtier]
- Philadelphia - 1.4 million [also the same ballpark as OTL]
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“We have successfully faked a level 3 mental stability card. We chose level three because it’s rarely used. Most folks are level 2, and most folks who move past push on to level 4, so basically no one has a level 3. This gave us hope any flaws would be missed. It seems to have worked, and we know have access to certain material labelled as ‘controversial’.”
Upon election FBM and her Bonapartists held control of the Presidency and the Lower Assembly, but the third branch of government, the Upper Assembly, would not see their staggered elections for nearly another three years. Under normal circumstances this would greatly limit FBM’s power as the Upper Assembly stood in the hands of the Progress Party and Popular Reform Party, which hated one another, but also distrusted FBM. While they were unwilling to cooperate in producing any legislation the two parties were quite willing to cooperate in preventing anything from passing the Upper Assembly. For nearly three months nothing could get past their embargo, and governing effectively ground to a halt. FBM had had enough.
In the political climate following the mass nationalisation of many factories, and their ensuing rental to the nation’s corporate powers, the stage was set for serious levels of corruption. When the economy stagnated this corruption grew worse in both dominant parties. As both had their thumbs in the pie neither wanted to bring too much attention to the matter. The Bonapartists however were (relatively) clean. As such FBM used her presidential powers to reorganise the AMP with more of her own supporters, and what followed was a massive crackdown on corruption. Nearly every member of both previously dominant parties was charged to some degree.
Acycian law was quite clear: anyone found guilty of bribery and corruption was forced to resign, however most trials would take months or even years. There was a second provision however that mattered when such a massive number were under trial: those under accusations of bribery and corruption were banned from sitting in government until the allegations could be cleared up. With the bulk of the Upper Assembly under trial (as well as a large number of the Lower House) the Bonapartists now had effective control of the government.
These moves were not without controversy of course. The Bonapartists had only received a minority of votes in the previous election, and the trials which were fairly clearly pushed by FBM had all but gutted the institution of the Upper Assembly. Unfortunately for her political enemies the moves were technically all legal. Even worse for those crying foul a number of trials found guilty verdicts quite quickly as juniour party members had made little effort to hide what they saw as the de facto norm of governing. As an added bonus for FBM the Manx News conglomerate, which controlled a number of the nation’s most successful newspapers, managed to put an efficient spin on the controversy. A number of political cartoons ran across the nation on the premise of FBM providing a ‘woman’s touch’ to ‘clean house’.
Not all newspapers were so supportive of the new regime, but efforts would soon be made to change that. Much of the nation’s lumber and paper industry was nationalised as part of the fury of activity now coming out of Hilfere, officially a response to demands of the Entente to ensure stability of supply. While they would fail to acquire a full monopoly, a number of mills were run by provincial/state governments or Amerindian bands, but the bulk of the nation’s paper production was in the control of Hilfere. Soon newspapers printing pro-FBM viewpoints would ‘accidentally’ receive extra shipments, and those who were more critical found frequent delays and lost shipments.
On top of an effective campaign to silence critics the FBM regime saw a steady improvement in the economy. Trade deals with the Entente and China helped the nation’s economy on all fronts, the Entente had a near insatiable demand for resources, while the Chinese (war torn and impoverished as they were) had a steady demand for manufactured goods. As people’s daily life improved many cared little for claims from corrupt inefficient parties that democracy stood on death’s door. By the time the Upper House elections rolled around nearly a quarter of the PR Party and slightly under a third of the Progress Party sat behind bars (with most being accepted as guilty by modern non-Acycian historians). The Progressives, having grown close to a specific set of companies, had been especially prone to corruption. The Progress Party essentially collapsed in the election, winning only a handful of seats in the lower Augerau river valley. The PR Party was seen as a greater enemy still by Progress Party supporters and most shifted to support the Bonapartists, or to simply not vote. The Bonapartists would win a majority of the seats, and popular vote.
Now with far less shaky a mandate FBM ended all leases on rented factories, removing the middleman and assuming direct government control over production. The military also saw heavy reforms as part of a series of joint cooperative efforts between the Acycians, Entente, and Chinese to help each faction adopt the latest tactics. Less officially the period saw a rise in shipments of arms to Jamaica, though these would remain a relatively minor trickle until 1898.
The election of 1899 saw an amazing result that many questioned, but seems to have been legitimate. The Lower Assembly was all but completely swept by the Bonapartists, who received nearly 65% of the popular vote, the sole member of an opposition party was Equalist Sybil Brun who won the seat for Buchtstadt Centre. The PR Party had come in second in the popular vote, but their voting base was spread across the Anglophone regions of the PRNA. For Francophones and other minority groups the electoral scene was a confused collage of minor parties attempting to replace the vacuum of the Progress Party’s collapse.
FBM: The Original Renaissancist
(Prague 1988)
(Prague 1988)
Upon election FBM and her Bonapartists held control of the Presidency and the Lower Assembly, but the third branch of government, the Upper Assembly, would not see their staggered elections for nearly another three years. Under normal circumstances this would greatly limit FBM’s power as the Upper Assembly stood in the hands of the Progress Party and Popular Reform Party, which hated one another, but also distrusted FBM. While they were unwilling to cooperate in producing any legislation the two parties were quite willing to cooperate in preventing anything from passing the Upper Assembly. For nearly three months nothing could get past their embargo, and governing effectively ground to a halt. FBM had had enough.
In the political climate following the mass nationalisation of many factories, and their ensuing rental to the nation’s corporate powers, the stage was set for serious levels of corruption. When the economy stagnated this corruption grew worse in both dominant parties. As both had their thumbs in the pie neither wanted to bring too much attention to the matter. The Bonapartists however were (relatively) clean. As such FBM used her presidential powers to reorganise the AMP with more of her own supporters, and what followed was a massive crackdown on corruption. Nearly every member of both previously dominant parties was charged to some degree.
Acycian law was quite clear: anyone found guilty of bribery and corruption was forced to resign, however most trials would take months or even years. There was a second provision however that mattered when such a massive number were under trial: those under accusations of bribery and corruption were banned from sitting in government until the allegations could be cleared up. With the bulk of the Upper Assembly under trial (as well as a large number of the Lower House) the Bonapartists now had effective control of the government.
These moves were not without controversy of course. The Bonapartists had only received a minority of votes in the previous election, and the trials which were fairly clearly pushed by FBM had all but gutted the institution of the Upper Assembly. Unfortunately for her political enemies the moves were technically all legal. Even worse for those crying foul a number of trials found guilty verdicts quite quickly as juniour party members had made little effort to hide what they saw as the de facto norm of governing. As an added bonus for FBM the Manx News conglomerate, which controlled a number of the nation’s most successful newspapers, managed to put an efficient spin on the controversy. A number of political cartoons ran across the nation on the premise of FBM providing a ‘woman’s touch’ to ‘clean house’.
Not all newspapers were so supportive of the new regime, but efforts would soon be made to change that. Much of the nation’s lumber and paper industry was nationalised as part of the fury of activity now coming out of Hilfere, officially a response to demands of the Entente to ensure stability of supply. While they would fail to acquire a full monopoly, a number of mills were run by provincial/state governments or Amerindian bands, but the bulk of the nation’s paper production was in the control of Hilfere. Soon newspapers printing pro-FBM viewpoints would ‘accidentally’ receive extra shipments, and those who were more critical found frequent delays and lost shipments.
On top of an effective campaign to silence critics the FBM regime saw a steady improvement in the economy. Trade deals with the Entente and China helped the nation’s economy on all fronts, the Entente had a near insatiable demand for resources, while the Chinese (war torn and impoverished as they were) had a steady demand for manufactured goods. As people’s daily life improved many cared little for claims from corrupt inefficient parties that democracy stood on death’s door. By the time the Upper House elections rolled around nearly a quarter of the PR Party and slightly under a third of the Progress Party sat behind bars (with most being accepted as guilty by modern non-Acycian historians). The Progressives, having grown close to a specific set of companies, had been especially prone to corruption. The Progress Party essentially collapsed in the election, winning only a handful of seats in the lower Augerau river valley. The PR Party was seen as a greater enemy still by Progress Party supporters and most shifted to support the Bonapartists, or to simply not vote. The Bonapartists would win a majority of the seats, and popular vote.
Now with far less shaky a mandate FBM ended all leases on rented factories, removing the middleman and assuming direct government control over production. The military also saw heavy reforms as part of a series of joint cooperative efforts between the Acycians, Entente, and Chinese to help each faction adopt the latest tactics. Less officially the period saw a rise in shipments of arms to Jamaica, though these would remain a relatively minor trickle until 1898.
The election of 1899 saw an amazing result that many questioned, but seems to have been legitimate. The Lower Assembly was all but completely swept by the Bonapartists, who received nearly 65% of the popular vote, the sole member of an opposition party was Equalist Sybil Brun who won the seat for Buchtstadt Centre. The PR Party had come in second in the popular vote, but their voting base was spread across the Anglophone regions of the PRNA. For Francophones and other minority groups the electoral scene was a confused collage of minor parties attempting to replace the vacuum of the Progress Party’s collapse.
Hi!
It's been a while since the last update so let's follow your advice and throw some questions:
-Which are the reigning royal houses in Europe?
-Regarding the current unrest there, how is the language/ethnic distribution in French Bonnair?
-What about the amerindian interior (OTL Midwest-Farwest) LRA and PRNA?
-Is New Rohan being settled by the French after ther victory over the Maori?
-Has any *World Fair taken place?
-How are the chinese Free Ports governed?
-About the ongoing Great War, have all major conflicts and theaters been introduced or will there be some surprises? Will D-398 be focused for some time on it?
I hope there are some updates soon!
Thanks in advance for your attention
It's been a while since the last update so let's follow your advice and throw some questions:
-Which are the reigning royal houses in Europe?
-Regarding the current unrest there, how is the language/ethnic distribution in French Bonnair?
-What about the amerindian interior (OTL Midwest-Farwest) LRA and PRNA?
-Is New Rohan being settled by the French after ther victory over the Maori?
-Has any *World Fair taken place?
-How are the chinese Free Ports governed?
-About the ongoing Great War, have all major conflicts and theaters been introduced or will there be some surprises? Will D-398 be focused for some time on it?
I hope there are some updates soon!
Thanks in advance for your attention
Yay. Questions are good. The next update should be soonish. I just want to get another chapter of my Avatar-esque story up this weekend, then I'll try to either get the next one of these up soon after.
I was actually thinking about doing an overview of monarchs from the end of the Age of Revolutions through to the start of the Great War, though I was worried about how much interest there would be compared to the trickiness of it. Seeing as how it was your first question I'll take that as a sign.
Well, as I mentioned before there's roughly 2 million Hispanic 'Argenitinians' in Bonnair. The French settlers meanwhile add roughly another 2 million. The French mostly grabbed the lands around Beunos Aires and the best lands along the rivers, while the Hispanics were pushed into the interior (though there's a smattering of poor agriculture lands in the east which still have hispanics).
In the northern dry parts of the LRA there's a lot of areas with Amerindian majorities, and a lot of rather rich individuals. While a fair number were a bit iffy about the whole 'noble savage' obsession the Libertists held they were happy to take advantage of some fairly generous land surveys and property declarations. There's a fair number of mines and the region is home to some of the main coal reserves for the LRA (along with the northern Andes), and various other minerals. The mining towns that spring up are typically either Anglo or immigrant majority places (the various Anglophone immigrants to come out the PRNA at various stages[1] are usually kind of poorly integrated into the Hispanic majority and take the less pleasant jobs). So all in all, life is pretty good. The only real sticking point is a few river valleys which have had a bunch of industrial towns spring up and arguments start over the building of rail lines through Amerindian held lands (they don't want too many settlers moving in). The story is a fair bit less pleasant in the jungly bits, where large fruit or cotton companies have started up plantations where Amerindian and Mestizo workers are treated little better than slaves.
In the PRNA the natives are often absentee land owners[2]. They were given pretty large tracts of lands to be held by different bands (either collectively, or officially in the hands of the local government), with which they usually made a quick buck selling some land for rail lines with a few towns, then renting surrounding lands to farmers. It's a bit different in the North where there's fewer rail lines and farmers, though mines and fur trappers pay some level of rent (or are directly owned companies). The far west is also different: the mountain interior folks do have some success with renting farmland or mines, but are generally more present; the coastal peoples are usually in constant arguments with Chinese squatters, the usually result is fishing factories being owned by the Amerindians and things are just generally messy. Most other bands tell them not to make to much noise to avoid rocking the boat when the Yankees are already complaining all the time. The reason treatment is so much better is a mix of three things: 1) the LRA treats their natives pretty good and the PRNA doesn't want to risk a rebellion nor give the LRA something to brag about; 2) the Cherokee, Iroquois, and other eastern peoples from between the East Coast and Mississipi had helped Napoleon overthrow Robspierre and install democracy so there's been a fair bit of good will towards them; 3) when the French had decided to 'grant cheap voyage to those willing to settle the new world/ship people the king didn't like to New France' in the 1750s-1790s they need to keep their Native allies so wound up setting a bunch of them up as effectively a local nobility (many were granted titles when 'given' their lands, and were allowed to tax the settlers and such, a fair number decided to keep these titles, so there continued to be Comtes and Marquies of Native extraction even though these titles meant nothing after the revolution, and very little before it).
[1] The main waves of Anglo-immigration were the failed Tea Rebellion of the 1770s, the Libertist rebels frequently forced south following the Rationalist victory in the war for independence (though a fair number stayed and formed a short lived Libertist party), and then during the Long Depression where the LRA seemed much richer than the PRNA (only a few succeed in finding a better economic standard, but they were a large enough minority to attract more immigrants).
[2] A lot of the Chiefs and other well to do ty[es moved to the Cherokee, Iroquois, Algonquin, and Chickasaw provinces which are where all the good Amerindian universities, libraries, and suchforth are. The Dakota have made a decent effort at building an Amerindian university on the Prairies, but they don't have the same name recognition the eastern universities manage.
Somewhat. There's enough Tangatan bandits to scare away too many settlers, but there's fertile enough lowlands to attract a respectible number of settlers. About half are Anglophones from Oceania [south Australia] though.
I was actually going to mention that. The Acycians decided to have a Centennial Fair, and after two years of arguing about what year to count as their centennial they decided to just have the fair in 1900. It was held in New Orleans, and was such a success they've decided to try to invite the world to their doorstep again (everyone was very impressed with the city's elevated electric railway). They decided those things called 'the Olympics' back in the day might be fun. Unfortunately the rest of the world decided to start a war while they were planning it, but that hasn't stopped the Mount Peuple Olympic Commission from continuing to plan (which during the war time mostly revolved around telling various Anglophone cities they weren't getting the Olympics because French tourists would outnumber Anglophones 10 to 1 at least).
Well governed might not be the most . . . accurate term. The Libertists were very big on the 'Free' part of the Free Cities, while the Acycians and Equalists decided that would be a recipe for corruption and crime that would make the populace desert en masse. In the end the other powers put in place some semblance of government (and a council for the various free cities to meet up and discuss things), but the goverments are incredibly weak, corrupt, and taxes barely exist. The southern two are little better than the walled city of Kowloon. Shanghai is actually semi-functional unless large amounts of money are involved. Governors are nominated by a council of foreign emissaries (the French, the Japanese, the Koreans, the Acycians, the East British, the Americans, the Equalist Chinese, the New Romans, and either the Russians, Prussians, or Indochinese depending on the city).
The theatres of this war are mostly covered (I haven't actually talked about armies fighting in South America yet, but I have talked about the opening fazes). The remaining fronts won't be game changers, nor will they really be surprises (Russia's central asian border will see some fighting, the Franco-Roman border in North Africa will see some skirmishes, the Hawks will be expected to actually do something). This war won't be the only thing happening at the time though.
It will probably take a while, but not as long as the Age of Revolutions as it's a shorter war (afterall WWI was much shorter than the French Revolution/Napoleonic War period).
As for surprises, well, I'm not sure which side people think will win, so I'm not sure how surprised people will be.
Thanks for the questions.I hope there are some updates soon!
Thanks in advance for your attention