Kaiser's Age

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''What if Britain had never cracked Germany’s diplomatic code during World War I? Imagine a world where the Zimmerman Telegram is received by Mexico, unknown to the USA, and Mexico invades the southwest United States. What if…eventually…this leads to a German victory in the War to End All Wars?''

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In January 1917, after the Navy pressured the Kaiser, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. Britain failed to crack the German diplomatic code, and never intercepted the Zimmerman Telegram. The telegram was a proposal from Berlin for Mexico to join the war as Germany’s ally against the United States, as the USA was on the verge of joining the Allies.

The proposal suggested that should the United States enter the war, then Mexico declare war on the US and enlist Japan as an ally, sparking an American-Japanese conflict in the Pacific. This would prevent American forces from fighting in Europe, and would give Germany more time for their unrestricted submarine warfare program to strangle Britain’s vital war supplies. In return, Germany would promise Mexico support of re-claiming Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona- territory Mexico lost to the United States 70 years ago.

Mexico received the telegram, and secretly responded to Germany by accepting the proposal. Then, Germany sent a copy of the telegram to Tokyo and Japan told Berlin it would cooperate.

'''Mexican Invasion of the United States '''

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The Mexican attack kicked off with two major artillery bombardments, one against San Diego and one against El Paso, as well as an offensive into southern Texas. The United States responded by declaring war on Mexico as well as Germany. Germany did not have to worry though, for most American forces would have to focus on repelling the Mexican invasion and fighting the soon-to-be campaign in the Pacific against Japan.

Mexican forces captured the southern panhandle of Texas in two weeks, and began a march on San Antonio. El Paso fell a few days earlier. Only in San Diego American forces counter-attacked, and actually penetrated the border and occupied Tijuana.

On March 1st, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Japan’s goal was to crush the American Fleet stationed around Hawaii with a decisive blow, and then Japan would go on to capture the Philippines, Manchuria, and parts of eastern Siberia, without a rapid American intervention. The United States declared war on Japan, and then a sent a task force to re-capture Oahu.

Germany made peace with the newly-created provisional government in Russia that same month, and soon reinforcements from the Eastern Front were sent to the Western Front.

American forces advanced into the Baja Peninsula, and Mexican forces built a defensive line at the Colorado River. Meanwhile, Mexico built another defensive line about 15 miles south of Tucson, and another 20 miles north of San Antonio. But the element of surprise Mexico had was gone. Now, 500,000 American troops were on their way to destroy the Mexican invasion.

'''German Advance on the Western Front. '''

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German General Erich Ludendorff drew up plans (codenamed Operation Michael) for the 1918 offensive on the Western Front. The Spring Offensive sought to divide British and French forces with a series of feints and advances. German leadership hoped to strike a decisive blow before the Mexican invasion of the US was repelled and a significant amount of American forces would be deployed to Europe. The operation commenced on March 21st, 1918, with an attack on British forces near Amiens. German forces achieved an unprecedented advance of 60 kilometers (40 miles).

British and French trenches were penetrated using novel infiltration tactics, also named Hutier tactics, after General Oskar von Hutier. Previously, attacks had been characterized by long artillery bombardments and massed assaults. However, in the Spring Offensive, Ludendorff used artillery only briefly and infiltrated small groups of enemy infantry at weak points. They attacked command and logisitics areas and bypassed points of serious resistance. More heavily armed infantry then destroyed these isolated positions. German success relied greatly on the element of surprise.

The front moved to within 120 kilometers (75 miles) of Paris. Three heavy Krupp railway guns fired 183 shells on the capital, causing many Parisians to flee.

The initial offensive was so successful that Kaiser Wilhelm II declared March 24th a national holiday. Many Germans thought victory was near. After heavy fighting, however, the offensive was temporarily halted.

British and French forces counter-attacked, but it was too soon and the units were unprepared to retake territory lost in the German Spring Offensive. Newly-arrived German divisions from the Eastern Front were assigned to the diminishing German units from the offensive March 28th. The Supreme War Council of the Central Powers was created at the Vienna Conference on November 5th, 1917.

Following Operation Michael, Germany launched Operation Georgette against the northern English Channel ports. Soon after, the Germans prevented a British-French counter-attack on the Western Front. The German Army to the south then conducted Operation Blucher broadly towards Paris.

The Battle of Paris began on July 15th, and ended three weeks later. German forces had captured Paris. French forces retreated to the south, and both Britain and France were considering making a conditional peace with Germany.

'''Central Powers Advance and British Capitulation '''

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Germany quickly built a defensive line along the newly-created front in France, and now turned its attention to Britain. On September 26th, Operation Sealion was launched: The German Invasion of Britain. German forces landing in England in the Dover-Eastborne area. German units successfully held a beachhead.

The following week cooperating German and Austrian units broke out of Kent and Sussex Counties in Reigate, forcing the British out of the southeast corner of England. London was surrounded on three sides at this point. The Germans seized London throughout September. The British held up well here, and occupied the capital as a pivot until German artillery was brought up. Germany, now occupying a huge swath of England, continued to advance.

In order to avoid surrounded, British forces holding out on the Bristol Peninsula in the Southwest had to evacuate through a narrow passage still controlled by Britain, a 23-mile corridor from Bath to the Bristol Channel. The evacuation was a disaster, as German forces quickly took Bath and 150,000 British soldiers on the peninsula, now cut off from supplies, were forced to surrender.

France signed an armistice on September 29th. Germany occupied all of France. The British government, evacuated to Birmingham, was breaking apart. It was evident that Britain could no longer mount a successful defense, and Germany had victory in it’s hands. The British Army was dysfunctional, literally reduced to around 200 men. German forces raced north deeper and deeper into Britain, literally unopposed.

Meanwhile, news of Britain’s impending military defeat spread throughout the British armed forces. The threat of mutiny was rife. In a last ditch attempt to save Britain from total destruction, the remains of the Royal Navy was sent to bombard and destroy Dunkirk, a major port. Most sailors rebelled and were arrested, refusing to be part of a “suicidal” assault. King George dismissed parliament on October 26th.

Having suffered over 6 million casualties and an un-officially defeat, Britain moved towards peace. The German Kaiser demanded that the King and Prime Minister resign in order to even begin peace negotiations.

On November 9th, a ceasefire was declared, and a weak power gap took shape as the United Kingdom ceased to exist.

'''Allied Collapse '''

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The collapse of the Entente Powers came swiftly. France was the first to sign an armistice on September 29th, 1918 at Saloniki. On October 30th, the Ottoman Empire capitulated at Mudros, with Germany occupying all of her former territory.

On October 10th, US forces invaded Mexico. Mexican forces withdrew from US territory following the American occupation of the Baja. With supply lines poor and on the verge of being over flanked, Mexican forces were constantly on the retreat. 150 miles north of Mexico City, Mexican troops built a supply line that kept the Americans from advancing until the end of the war.

On October 24th, Austria-Hungary began a push after winning the Battle of Caporetto. This culminated the Battle of Fruli, which marked the end of the Italian Army as an effective fighting force. The offensive also triggered the disintegration of the Kingdom of Italy. On October 29th, Italy asked          Austria-Hungary for an armistice. But the Austrians kept advancing, reaching Trento, Udine, and Trieste. On November 3rd, Italy sent a flag of truce to ask for an Armistice. This time,

Austria-Hungary agreed. The Armistice with Italy was signed on November 3rd, near Padua.

After the collapse of the United Kingdom, a civil war broke out in parts of England not occupied by German troops. On November 9th, liberal, democratic forces took over Birmingham and a Republic of England and Scotland was proclaimed.

King George fled to Ireland. On November 11th, the official armistice between Great Britain and Germany was signed in a railroad carriage in Oxford, seven miles south of the front. At 11 a.m. on November 11th, 1918 (the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month) a ceasefire came into effect.

Opposing armies on the Western Front began to withdraw from their positions. Two weeks later, American forces penetrated Mexico’s main defensive line and began a siege of Mexico City. By December 1st, Mexico was on the verge of defeat- the capital was about to fall and Mexico held no elite fighting force left to wage war. On armistice between the US and Mexico was signed on December 5th.

Four days later, an armistice was signed between Japan and the United States. World War I was over.

Post-war Discontent in Germany

No other war had changed the map of Europe so dramatically- four empires disappeared: the British, the French, the Ottoman, and the Russian. All of Britain’s colonies were transferred to Germany, causing the largest shift in the balance of power since the collapse of the Roman Empire. Belgium and Serbia were badly damaged, as well with Austria-Hungary with 1.4 million soldiers dead, not counting other casualties. Britain and Russia were similarly affected.

The rise of the imperialism and fascism included a revival of the nationalist spirit and rejection of many post-war changes. Similarly, the popularity of the Stab-in-the-back legend (that Irish revolt against Britain caused a German victory) was a testament to the psychological state of defeated Britain and was a rejection of responsibility for the conflict. This conspiracy theory of betrayal became common and the British public came to see themselves as victims.

A refusal to accept defeat in Britain played a significant role in the rise of the British Imperial Party. A sense of disillusionment and cynicism became pronounced. Many British citizens believed it was the end of the traditional world as they knew it- German invasion, communist revolutions breaking out in Britain as well as Russia, and Britain being stripped of territory (Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.)

Communist and socialist movements around the world drew strength from this theory and enjoyed a level of popularity they had never known before. These feelings were more pronounced in areas directly or harshly affected by the war. Out of British discontent with the still controversial Treaty of the Reichstag, Winston Churingham was able to gain popularity and power. It was common for Britons in the 1930s and 1940s to justify acts of international aggression because of perceived injustices imposed by the victors of World War I.