Schlieffen-1

Current Year: 1934

In this universe, when Kaiser Wilhelm II demanded that the military forces of Germany be granted passage through Belgium on August 2nd, 1914, the Belgian government willingly capitulates. This not only allows German forces to rapidly overtake Paris by circumventing French defenses as detailed in the Schlieffen Plan, but also prevents Britain from immediately joining the conflict as it did in our universe due to the 1839 Treaty of London in which the country agreed to protect Belgium in the event of invasion. British isolationism means the sinking of the RMS Lusitania never occurs in 1915 as a result of unrestricted German submarine warfare, resulting in the United States never entering the conflict as it did in our universe in 1917. Serbia suffers a complete defeat to Austria-Hungary, which is backed by German troops that otherwise would have been occupied on the Western Front. Romania is soundly defeated by the Bulgarian military, ultimately being forced to sign the Treaty of Bucharest as early as 1915 (rather than in 1918 as happened in our universe). Italy never becomes involved in the conflict as a member of the Allied forces due to its membership in the Triple Alliance of 1882 which is never revoked under pressure from Britain as it was in our universe. Portugal also never enters the conflict due to a lack of German naval blockades in the Atlantic. Russia still suffers catastrophic losses to Germany such as the Battle of Tannenberg and the First Battle of Masurian Lakes, leading to a premature departure from the war by Russia while still paving the way for the deposing of the Tsar and the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. This series of events ultimately results in total victory for the Central Powers in WWI in early 1916, leading to drastic changes in the course of events for the 20th century compared to our universe.

The German Empire is maintained and annexes resource-rich portions of France, Luxemburg and Russia. Bulgaria retains control over large portions of Romania. A demoralized and economically devastated France has its situation made worse by being forced to pay war-reparations to the Central Powers. Without the Treaty of Versailles, the Treaty of Bucharest is never nullified, meaning Germany retains control of Romania’s oil-wells for the next 90 years. Though the degenerating Ottoman Empire does eventually undergo a collapse, it does not occur until 1932. Germany becomes the dominant military superpower in Europe, with its wartime allies Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria heavily benefitting from it. Without a massive post-war depression and political instability, an environment never arises that is conducive to the aspirations and consequent rise of Adolf Hitler and the adoption of Nazism in Germany. This effectively bypasses the entirety of what we know in our universe as WWII. America does not undergo a wartime industrial boom as it did in our universe, and America receives less influence in the theater of European politics. The League of Nations is never formed. With fewer participants and massive sweeping victories or losses for the forces involved that never degenerate into a drawn-out war of attrition, WWI actually goes more closely to how European powers predicted it would transpire in our universe. Though technology is inevitably modernized during the war, tactics are not due to their apparent continued effectiveness. 19thcentury military tactics are not forcefully revolutionized the same way they were during WWI in our universe. In addition, though wartime necessity spurs a growth in sphere of technology, the abbreviated conflict results in less technological advancement than that seen in WWI in our own timeline. In the Current Year of 1934, several threats have arisen to challenge the stability of Central German supremacy in the European theater. The disenfranchised nation of France has slowly recovered from its original defeat, and now could pose a threat to the Central Alliance by combining its forces with that of its allies. The global effects of the Great Depression course through Europe, reducing the power of the Deutsche Mark and threatening Germany’s top-heavy economy that has grown extremely quickly over the past 15 years but has become rapidly less stable and is now ripe for a recession. Internal struggles in Germany itself, such as a radical Communist movement lead by Ernst Thälmann and rapidly growing in power (likely partially funded in secret by the Soviet Union), threaten to destabilize Central supremacy from within. The relatively more technologically advanced but tactically stunted powers of Europe could be facing an unpredictable violent altercation in the near future.