Central Italy

On 1913, Italy was an ally of Austria-Hungary and Germany. However, scared, Italy left the Central Powers on 1914 and on 1915, it even joined the Allies. What if Italy hadn't done that? This timeline evaluates that POD and another one, in which the Germans choose Switzerland and Luxembourg as centers of the Schlieffen plan instead of Belgium.

Start of the War
On 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand is shot on the Bosnian city of Sarajevo, on the moment part of Austria-Hungary. Austria-Hungary sends an ultimatum to Serbia, declaring the killer to be punished and Austrian troops to patrol the Serbian streets. Serbia's answer is not what Austria expected.

On July 28, 1914, Austria declared war upon Serbia. Germany followed, mobilizing the 30th and declaring war upon Russia on the 1st of August. France mobilizes the same day, and on August 3, Victor Emmanuel III of Italy sends a note to the German and Austrian leaders declaring "to expect full help from Italy". Italy mobilized on the 4th of August, and on the 5th declared war upon France. The next day, Italian troops were heading towards Nice, while Germany decides to use a plan called the "Schlieffen Plan", in which the German troops would pass through Luxembourg and Switzerland instead of Belgium, which was the g plan, because Britain had sent an advertence towards Germany reading that Belgium had to be neutral in the war or Britain would interfere.

The Scheifflen Plan (August of 1914)
Expecting Russia to take at least three weeks to mobilize their gigantic army, the German count Alfred Von Schlieffen planned Germany's and Italy's armies to march through Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium (the Belgium idea was dropped) and western Italy to reach Lyon, Marseilles, Nice, Provence, and Paris within two weeks and make France surrender. Then the Germans would go to the Russian front in the third week. The German kaiser also told the Austrian emperor to protect the Eastern border in case the Russians were mobilized by now or would mobilize soon. What they didn't know is that the Russians were mobilized by the time of the declaration of war, due to several revolts and the Tunguska Event, which had burnt an entire Siberian town to the ground and, because nobody knew what had happened, had placed the Russian nation on full alert.

Germany declared war on Switzerland on the Seventh on August, and on Luxembourg on the Eight. Luxembourg had been easily occupied, and resigned the 9th of August.

On Italy, the troops had easily advanced through the territories east of the Rhone. Nice and Avignon had been occupied, while Lyon was laid under siege. Several divisions had advanced towards a stalemate near Marseilles, where a powerful French army had been entrenched.

Switzerland had defended easily during the first ten days, due to the many deep ravines and mountains. However, both Zürich, Bern and Geneva had fallen by the Eighteenth. Germany attacked through Italian-Occupied France, finnaly reaching Metz and sieging the Maginot line on the Twentieth.

During the time, Britain continued strenghtening, however, it didn't invade Germany.

Eastern Border (Late August, 1914)
The first Russian troops appeared at Galizia, the northeastern Austrian border, on the Twenty-first. Small skirmishes started during the day, being mostly Austrian defeats.

On the Twenty-second, Russia launched a great offensive against East Prussia, effectively destroying the northernmost Austrian army at Köninsberg after a large fight.