Under Construction
General Robert E. Lee makes a crucial decision at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Confederacy earns support from both Great Britain and France leading to a divided North America and a South America, unprotected by the Monroe Doctrine, that faces the same colonial fate as Asia and Africa.
01 July 1863- POD
Confederate General Robert E. Lee, at the suggestion of General James Longstreet, decides not to confront Union Maj. General George Meade's Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg while the Union is dug in on the high ground. Instead, Lee Marches North, around the Union Army and places himself between Meade and the Union Capital of Washington, D.C.
General Meade, realizing Lee's Army of Northern Virginia is now between him and the capital, has no choice but to follow Lee back into Maryland.
The War for Souther Independence, 1863-1864
07 July 1863
Lee crosses the Patapsco River and entrenches his forces.
08 July 1863
While Meade's Army of the Potomac crossed the Patapsco River, Lee surprise attacked Meade and routed his army at the Battle of New Windsor. Meade, inflicted with heavy casualties, retreated to Baltimore. The successful Army of Northern Virginia then marched towards Washington D.C. The United States government,upon hearing of the tragic loss, hastily evacuated the capital by sea and relocated to Philadelphia, PA.
10 July 1863
Seeing the major confederate victory at New Windsor and nothing between Lee and Washington, D.C., Great Britain and France recognize the Confederate States of America and declare war on the United States.
Union General Ulysses S. Grant is forced to abandon his siege of Vicksburg, MS in the western theater to reinforce the now vulnerable east.
15 July 1863
Lee begins a siege on the Union capital. Washington, D.C. will fall to the Army of Northern Virginia after a 3 week siege.
August 1863
France, then in Mexico, invades California.
Great Britain conducts a three pronged attack on the United States, invading at Detroit, MI, Niagara, NY, and Plattsburg, NY.
The British Army at Detroit marches south into Ohio where it encounters Grant's Army on its way to reinforce Meade's Army of the Potomac. The Battle of Marietta was a route for Grant's unprepared forces, but they managed to retreat across the Ohio River and on to Washington, with The British force in pursuit. Grant reaches Meade, held up in Baltimore. But shortly after the combined Army of Grant and Meade is ordered to Philadelphia to protect the interim capital
The British Army at Niagara first marched south to capture Buffalo. Then, the British advanced eastward through Western and Central New York, finally meeting with the British Army from Plattsburg in Albany.
The British Army at Plattsburg quickly moved southward meeting up with the British from Niagara to siege the New York state capital of Albany. From Albany, the first British Army headed south toward New York City and the second British Army headed east toward Boston.
Autumn 1863
By the end of the campaigning season, British and Confederate forces were entrenched on the outskirts of Boston, New York, and Baltimore prepared to starve the major cities come spring 1864.
Also, the Union blockade of the confederacy is broken in September of 1863 by the British Navy, allowing British and Confederate forces to liberate New Orleans and open the Mississippi River.
Spring 1864
All three major cities fall by May of 1864 for after long sieges and British Naval blockades.
June 1864
Confederate and British Forces head from New York and Baltimore toward Philadelphia. Meade and Grant take their well rested, but much smaller armies to intercept the British and Confederate forces. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but ultimately, the British and Confederates were too much for Meade and Grants Armies. Both Union Generals Surrender, leaving the interim Union capital unprotected.
Threatened by a siege, the U.S. government agrees to negotiate a peace with the Confederates, French and British.
North America after the Treaty of Havana
July 1864
The Treaty of Havana, ironically signed on 04 July 1864, granted the 11 secessionist states their independence, ceded the states of Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and the District of Columbia to the Confederacy and ceded the Arizona territory and Oklahoma territory to the confederacy. Britain did not ask for any concessions from the United States hoping to re-establish friendly relations with the country. France, however, hoping to garner support for Mexican Emperor Maximilion I, whom the French placed on the throne, wanted to re-acquire California for Mexico. But, British pressure forced the French to concede their demands.
1865-1880
Mexican Empire Not threatened by the United States through the Monroe Doctrine, France remains in Mexico, propping up Maximilion I, a member of the Austrian Hapsburg royal family. The French eventually succeed in establishing a European style monarchy under Maximilion's Hapsburg line. Mexico, with French aid, heads south to conquer all of central America under the New Worlds only Monarchy. French troops leave Mexico in 1870 to fight the Franco-Prussian War in Europe, but Maximilion's empire is now strong enough to stand on it's own.
C.S.A. Taking over Washington, D.C. and establishing it as their permanent capital the Confederate States begin to rebuild their new country with significant help from the British. The British help to industrialize Confederate cities. Using their significant aid as leverage, the British put pressure on the Confederate government to end the institution of slavery. Seeing it as becoming obsolete, the Confederates release their slaves and in turn hire them to work in their new factories and farms. This peaceful transition allows the freed blacks to incorporate into society with few if any of the post-Reconstruction race problems that plagued the U.S. in the OTL. Immigrants, coming to find jobs in the new Confederate industrial centers, bolster the Confederate population.
Despite the state's rights issues that led to the Southern War for Independence, the resulting governments are remarkably similar. However, the Confederate Federal Government, while more powerful than the states, maintains specific state's rights in their constitution.
U.S.A. The United States also recovers quite nicely, having an already established industry and infrastructure. Immigrants continue to come to the U.S.A as well and continue to arrive after 1880 as Confederate immigration tapered off.
The U.S. establishes their new Capital in New York City, which is made independent from New York State, much like Washington, D.C. was. Abraham Lincoln, now extremely unpopular, resigns as President and returns to Illinois. He is succeeded by Vice President Andrew Johnson. Despite also being unpopular, Johnson is convinced to run in 1868 against Democrat, Horatio Seymour. Seymour wins easily, receiving the first unanimous electoral vote since George Washington, and re-establishes a more conservative, small government in the north.
The World on the eve of the Great War, after the colonization of South America, Africa, and Asia
1880-1910
The C.S.A. and U.S.A., realizing that they can benefit from each other, re-establish relations with each other and become close trading partners as well as allies. In 1896, an independence movement in Cuba sparked the interest of both countries. Seeing the Cuban cause as similar to their own in 1776 and, for the CSA again in 1860, press for Cuban independence from its mother country, Spain. After an explosion on the USS Maine in Havana Harbor, the United States and the Confederate States both declare war on Spain, starting the Spanish-American War. The United States, with a slightly more powerful Navy, attack the Spanish in the Philippines, while a joint U.S.-C.S. expeditionary force invades and liberates Cuba. The Post War Treaty gave The Philippines and Guam to the United States, while Cuba and Puerto Rico are made protectorates of the C.S.A. Later, both would apply for and gain statehood in the C.S.A. The U.S.A. also acquired Hawaii, which gave them stepping stones to far eastern trade.
In the 1880's, European powers and Japan scrambled to establish new empires in the third world, including Asia, Africa, and without the protection of the Monroe Doctrine, South America. Germany, Italy and Russia were the most prominent powers in South America, with German and Italian Colonies established on the east coast of the continent and Russian colonies on the west coast to go with Alaska.
In Asia, Japan had attained Korea and Manchuria as colonies. Russia, wishing to tap into the resources of Manchuria, went to war with Japan in 1902. In the Russo-Japanese War, Japan surprisingly handed Russia a significant defeat ending their pursuit for an Asian colony.
1910-1940
The Great War With most of the world snatched up by European Colonial Powers, rivalries for resources ensue, causing tension in continental Europe. In 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Russia, France, Great Britain and, eventually, Italy went to war with Germany, Austria-Hungary and, eventually, the Ottoman Empire. The war spread to the colonies of the European powers, including South America, where Russian and Italian colonial troops fought a jungle and mountain war with German colonial troops as well as the Mexican Imperial Army, led now by Emperor Augustine I, son of Maximilion I, who as a Hapsburg, allied with the Triple Alliance. The U.S.A. and C.S.A., hoping to benefit from the war, traded with the belligerent powers. The U.S. banks also loaned money to the belligerent governments.
The Great War in Europe, 1914-1918
Both countries remained neutral until 1917, when a telegram that was intercepted by the British was given to the U.S. and C.S. governments. The Zimmerman telegram offered Mexico the lost territories of New Mexico, Arizona, and California at the end of the war if the United States entered the war on the side of the Triple Entente. With both countries standing to lose territory, they declared war on the Triple Alliance, thinking that Mexican armies would be to preoccupied in South America. However, six weeks after the declaration of war, Mexican Armies crossed the borders of the U.S. and C.S. Both countries scrambled armies to their southwest states. The U.S. and C.S. armies slowly pushed out the Mexican invaders and jointly marched toward Mexico City, capturing it in February of 1918. The combined American forces dethrone Augustine I and set up a parliamentary democracy in Mexico.
The Great War in the Americas, 1914-1918
In Europe, stalemates ensued on the Western and Eastern front. However, in late 1917 and early 1918, the Russians, now under a new Bolshevik government, sign an armistice with Germany. Now with thousands of troops freed up, Germany focuses its attention on Britain and France in the west. In May of 1918 Germany mounted a massive offensive bolstered by Eastern Theater veterans. Without needed manpower from the Americas, the tired British and French Forces are pushed back and Paris is surrounded. In order to save Paris from a destructive bombardment and siege, the French sue for peace in 1918. Knowing they cannot fight the Germans alone, Britain quickly follows suit.
At the Munich Conference, held during the summer of 1918, Germany forced France to give up many of her colonies and demilitarize. Britain and Italy were allowed to keep their empires. The Americas, still maintaining significant military leverage, were able to keep their southwestern states as long as the Mexican emperor was allowed to rule under a constitutional monarchy.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, shattered by both the war and internal strife collapsed in the Aftermath of the War. Germany held up what remained of Austria, but all other areas of the empire were given up.
The Great Depression In post-war Europe and America, Economies began to boom, especially in the C.S.A., U.S.A., Germany, and Britain. The U.S.A., now the most wealthy country in the world because of a large industrial complex and banking industry helped to fund Europe's reconstruction. While hostility toward Germany remained in the former entente, diplomatic relations strengthened between the governments.
In 1929, The U.S. stock market crashed. The entire world was plunged into an unprecedented financial crisis. The U.S. and C.S. were hit especially hard since their economies were tied so closely. France was also hit hard, but kept afloat by a combined effort of her former allies. Elected in 1932, President Franklin Roosevelt of the U.S. and President Huey Long of the C.S. came up with a joint 5 year plan to pull the world out of the depression. By 1937 despite the Death of Long in 1935, economies around the world were growing again.
In 1931, the Statue of Westminster limited ties between the British government and some of her older colonies like Canada and Australia.
Russia, now the USSR, already in a financial crisis, granted independence to her colonies in name only. Both Alyeska in North America and Aleksandre in South America maintained Communist puppet governments. After the Rise of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union, the country began showing signs of aggression as it built up an unprecedented military.
In Asia, The USSR surprisingly saw an ally in its former foe, Japan. The two countries signed the Stalin-Tojo pact in 1939.
1940-1947
World War II, Beginning in the Spring of 1940, The Soviet Union and Japan declared war and invaded the German Empire and her colonies. In Europe, the main force of the Red Army invaded Greater Germany itself as well as Austria, while the Royal Japanese Army invaded Germany's Asian colonies in China. In South America, Aleksandrian troops, backed by a significant Soviet force invaded the German South American colonies of New Bavaria and Klein-Venedig. The other powers of the world, fearing another global war declared neutrality leaving Germany to fight a global war against the Soviet-Japanes Alliance. Within a year Germany, her South American colonies and her Asian colonies were conquered. The Government and Army as well as the Austrian Imperial Family evacuated from the German port city of Bremen as the Red Army closed in. From Germany, the Imperial convoy traveled to Germany's largest colony in Africa, Kamerun.
For nearly a year, Soviet and Japanese fleets bombarded German Africa and sent several invasion forces to try to finish the off the German Empire, but all were repelled. In 1941, the other Great Powers convened in Mumbai, India to discuss the crisis. The German delegation pleaded for economic and military aid, but the reluctant powers opted only to place sanctions on the aggressor nations. However, this cut off Japan's oil supplies from the U.S.A. and C.S.A. In late 1941, with the sanctions starting to strangle Japan, the Japanese conducted an attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, HI. The U.S. declared war on Japan the next day and the C.S. followed. In response, the Soviet Union declared war on both countries.
The Japanese led an invasion of the U.S. controlled Philippines in the Pacific. The other powers of Europe began to mobilize their own militaries, fearing that their overseas colonies could be next. Britain, France, Mexico and Italy formed the Western Alliance in the summer of 1942. Under this alliance, the three powers agreed to all go to war if one or more of them was victimized by Soviet or Japanese aggression anywhere in the world.
World War II, 1940-1946
Needing to Strike the America's on their home front, the Soviets and Japanese build up forces in Alyeska. In September of 1942 The combined Soviet and Japanese force invaded western Canada, knowing full well that the Western Alliance countries would declare war. As the Soviets and Japanese swept through Canada into the northwestern U.S., Britain, France and Italy launched a joint multi-front strike on occupied Germany. Soon the remnants of the German military in Kamerun were deployed to liberate their home front. The War in Europe soon halted to a stand still as both armies dug in. Mexico launched an offensive into Soviet South America as well.
In North America, Soviet forces occupied Western Canada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana before they were stopped by U.S. and C.S. forces. After a brief stand still, U.S. and C.S. forces began pushing the Soviets and Japanese out of North America. With the Soviets now occupied on three fronts, they became increasingly warn out against the seemingly unlimited industrial and man power resources of the American countries. Within another year, the Americans had driven the Soviets and Japanese back into the Arctic Ocean, occupying Alyeska. The Americans then focused on the South American campaign, aiding Mexico in liberating New Bavaria and Klein-Venedig. This campaign only took six months before the German colonies were liberated and Mexico occupied the Aleksandre.
American forces then quickly reinforced the Western Alliance forces in Europe and the Americans and the Western Allies soon began pushing the Soviets back toward Russia by May of 1944. After another year of vicious fight in Europe, the Allies occupied Moscow and knocked the Soviets out of the war. With one final front to worry about in Asia, the Allies invaded Japanese occupied China from Russia and British India. Although they liberated Japanese China, the ferocity of the Japanese Army in Asia made the Allies reluctant to invade the Japanese homeland. Instead, the Americans brought a secret joint project to the table. The two countries had been developing a weapon that harnessed the power in atoms to create a bomb powerful enough to destroy an entire city. In January of 1946, U.S. bombers from Hawaii dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One week later the Japanese Empire surrendered to the Allies.
After the end of World War II, The Confederate States, The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Mexico met in New York City to discuss the post war world. The Treaty of New York stripped the Soviet Union and Japan of all of their colonies. All members of the Soviet communist government were either executed or imprisoned for war crimes. The Russian Monarchy was reestablished as a constitutional monarchy with a powerful elected parliament. Alyeska was ceded to the United States and the name was Anglicanized to Alaska. Aleksandre was split up between Britain and France, giving them a more prominent presence in South America. The new French possession was renamed West Guiana. and the new British possession was renamed Churchill. Korea was granted its independence and China was given complete control of its possessions, including Manchuria. However, westerners remained in their southeast Asian colonies.
1947-1970
Decolonization Despite winning the Second World War, the Allies were significantly weakened by the war. The cost of the war plus the growing call for colonial independence caused many of the great powers to grant independence to many of their colonies.
Britain first granted the Jewel of her Empire, India, independence in 1947. This started a chain reaction that would unravel for the next two decades. By the end of the 1960's most colonies in the third world were granted independence.
The United Nations and Western Pact In the post war world, representatives from around the world met in New York again, but this time to establish a global organization to prevent another world war. The five permanent members of the UN security council were named as the United States, The Confederate States, Great Britain, France and China.
In response to Communist China's rising power, the former Allies signed the Western Pact in 1949, establishing a binding alliance between The US, CS, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Australia and Japan. The terms of the alliance stated that an attack on one of the members would be treated as an attack on all of the members.
The Rise of China Right after World War II, a Civil War commenced in China between the Chinese Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party. By 1949 Mao Ze Tung and the Communist Party had taken control of all of mainland China. The Allies, now also including Japan, watched these events with caution. In 1952, China surprised the world with the detonation of their own atomic bomb, ending the West's nuclear monopoly.
Beginning in the 1950's, China began to assert its power, first into North Korea. They then looked to spread Communism to the newly independent Indonesia and Indochina. Lastly, China spread its influence to Mongolia. These now Communist countries formed the Eastern Alliance, the counterweight to the Western Pact. Tensions between the two increased until it looked as if the two could go to war at the drop of a pin.
The Second Rush for the Third World
As the former colonies of the world became independent, the The Western Pact and the Eastern Alliance both reached out to them, trying to gain influence in as many new countries as possible, resulting in numerous conflicts around the world.
The Korean War The First conflict occurred in the 1950's when North Korea tried to unite the peninsula and invaded South Korea. Western Pact nations came to the aid of South Korea and repelled the Northern invaders.
The Indonesia-New Guinea War Beginning in the mid 1950's the Indonesians, backed by significant Chinese aid, launched an invasion of New Guinea. The New Guineans, backed by Western Pact support, were able to hold off the Indonesians for nearly five years before they were finally conquered, a Communist Government placed put in power, and the country joined the Eastern Alliance.
The Sino-Indian War Beginning in the 1960's China began a campaign against its rival, India. At first, the relatively new military of India was unable to hold off the Chinese forces. Western Pact allies knew they could not afford to lose another billion people people to Communism. Before it was too late, the Western Pact flooded the Indian military with supplies and support. One year later, the Indians had taken the initiative and began pushing the Chinese back. China flooded India with forces and India followed suit. The two armies, now reaching close to 20 million men each, ground each others forces down. China realizing that it could not possibly survive if the Western Pact entered the war, decided to retreat. Both India and China suffered heavy casualties in the 3 year war, but India survived and quickly joined the Western Pact.
The Middle Eastern War After the defeat, China had no problem convincing India's other enemy, Pakistan, to join the Communist cause. Pakistan, receiving minimal, but effective aid from the Chinese, was able to covertly infiltrate neighboring Afghanistan and Iran and cause Communist revolutions there. A communist alliance of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan launched an invasion of Iraq, trying to spread communism further beginning in 1970. Many of the Arab countries seeing this as an ancient Persian threat, came to the aid of Iraq. The countries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and soon, Turkey sided with Iraq to defend against the invading Communists, this time, some of the Western Pact countries did not hesitate. The US, CS and Britain committed troops to the conflict while the rest of the Western Pact gave supplies to the cause. With the help of the three western powers, the Arab countries were able to repel the Iranians and their allies. Soon after the war the many of the Arab countries joined the Western Alliance.
The African Horn Conflict With the Middle East almost completely claimed by both sides, the China looked to spread its influence to the Horn of Africa. Communist agents infiltrated Ethiopia and the other African Horn countries in the late 1970's. The now recovered Chinese then launched an offensive from Ethiopia into Sudan. The Western Pact again poured resources into Sudan and after the invasion was repelled, quickly incorporated Sudan and Kenya into the Western Pact.
Klein-Venedig Conflict China, seeing one last opportunity to spread Communism, infiltrated the South American country of Klein-Venedig. Communism was not as accepted here as it was previously and after a brief, but bloody insurgency, the Communists were either ejected or executed from the country and the entire continent joined the Western Pact.
The Space Race Throughout the Cold War, China and a joint program between the US and CS both raced to advance further than the other into outer space. Until the Sino-Indian War, the two sides were evenly matched, but after China spent many of its resources in India, the US-CS program pulled ahead, putting a man on the moon in 1969. The Western space program gave the alliance a significant advantage in the rest of the Cold War.
The End of the Cold War
Beginning in the late 1980's China, unable to support many of its Eastern Alliance allies, began a policy of reform and self governance. As China pulled out of the countries, many began to reject Communism. By 1995, all former Eastern Alliance countries except China, Indochina, Pakistan and North Korea had elected moderate governments
With China having a hurt pride due to its relative lack of success around the world, it stopped projecting its power, likewise, the Western Alliance stopped adding members. Essentially, the Cold War was over.
With no enemy to fight, the Western Pact was unsure of what it should do. Instead of dissolving like the Eastern Alliance, the Western Pact remained to help with nation-building in much of the third world including some of the former Eastern Alliance countries.