Alternative History


Great War

Principia Moderni IV (Map Game)


Clockwise from the top: The aftermath of shelling during the Battle of Calais, Borealian panzers crossing the King's Line, SMS St. Lauwens sinks during Séikinnigin, a Belkan machine gun crew wears gas masks during the Battle of Tegucigalpa, Arcadian D.III fighters in Texas.
Date 8 June 1913 - 1 December 1916 (Occidentalian War)

21 September 1914 - 6 May 1919 (War in Europe)
1 April 1915 - 2 March 1921 (War in Asia)

Location Europe, Arcadia, Laurentia, Atlantic Ocean, Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands, South Asia, Africa
Result Overall Entente Victory
Belligerents
European Entente:

France
Belka
Uniõ de Cádiz
Great Britain
New England
Avalon
Texas
China Korea (1915-)


Co-Belligerents:
Argentine
Peru
New Granada (1915-1917)
Ethiopia

Burgundy

Borealia
Brésil
Savannah
Arcadia
Aztlán
Vinland
New Granada (-1915)
Scandinavia


Co-Belligerents:
Arabia
Egypt
Swahili
Uluru
Free India
Nepal

Commanders and leaders
Maxime Weygand

Sergei Draculesti
Ferdinand Draculesti
John Custer †
Alexander Woodward
Arthur Currie
Harold Pershing
Neville Smith
Miguel II
Gabriel Siqueira
Ulisses Varela

Viktoria

Graf Roosevelt
Jan Fëscher
Eduard Ijzenhouwer
Jan Heutsz
Willem Treslong
Johannes Galama
Hendrik Trajectinus
Alexander Calhoun
Thomas Jackson
Vincent Neri
Indrarjun Singh

Strength
2,300,000

300,000
500,000
1,900,000 (1915)




See Strength Section

Casualties and losses
See Casualties Section

X Total Military Deaths
Y Total Civilian Deaths

The Great War, also known as the Global War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 21 September 1914 to 6 May 1919. The war is also viewed concurrently to the Occidentalian War, also known as the Albion-Savannah War, which broke out the previous year in 1913, and directly escalated into the global conflict. Contemporaneously described as the "war to end all wars", more than X million military personnel were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. An estimated X million combatants and X million civilians died as a direct result of the war, while it is also considered a contributory factor in a number of genocides and other disasters, such as the 1918 Trench Flu pandemic, which caused between 50 and 100 million deaths worldwide. Military losses were exacerbated by new technological and industrial developments and the tactical stalemate caused by grueling trench warfare. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history and precipitated major political changes in many of the nations involved.

By 1913 the continent of Arcadia was largely divided into two coalitions: the Pan-Arcadian alliance of Borealia, Aztlán, Brésil, et al, backed by the Kingdom of Burgundy, and the English nation of New England, backed by many of the nations of Europe through alliance or indirect alliance, such as Great Britain, France, Iberia, and Belka. New England had suffered defeat at the hands of Burgundy and allies in the Commonwealth War, which saw the loss of English territory to Borealia and others. The humiliating defeat and the 20-year insurgency that ravaged New England, led to the rise of ultranationalist John Custer. Custer's policies led to New England's annexation of Avalon, however, they were thwarted in their attempts to annex Savannah, leading to New England invading Savannah in 1913, followed by Burgundy and Borealia declaring war in support of Savannah.

In Europe at this time the Russo-Arabian War was being concluded, which had escalated into a proto-global war by 1913. Despite Arcadian support for Arabia, a series of diplomatic incidents soured relations between Belka and nations such as Borealia and Burgundy. Great Britain remained a staunch opponent of Burgundy as part of a centuries-long rivalry, while France quietly ended their alliance with Borealia in favor of an alliance with New England. This aligned the interests of the nations of the European Economic Area, who voted to formalize the agreement into a military alliance. In 1914, with the war having already been raging in Arcadia and Laurentia ("Occidentalia"), France declared war on Burgundy, followed by the nations of the European Economic Ara and Belka.

The conflict escalated further into a truly global war, with fronts on every other inhabited continent. In Asia the nation of China-Korea joined its ally Belka, launching a series of invasions in Burgundian Indochina and other colonies. Great Britain's colonies in the Indian subcontinent launched a revolt to liberate India from British rule, while likewise in Anangu/Australia the Empire of Uluru declared its independence after over a century of British control. In Laurentia the nation of Brésil fought against the Laurentian Union of Peru and Argentine, and later fought New Granada alongside Guyana, after they switched to Belka's side in 1915. In Africa multiple fronts emerged across the many colonies of the continent, but most notably the Swahili Federation launched an invasion of British East Africa.

By 1916 the nation of New England had been defeated in Arcadia, and attempts to liberate the country failed, leading to the Treaty of New Rome that ended the war in Arcadia. Overall the Treaty of Amiens in 1919 was the final conclusion to the conflict.

Names[]

The term "First World War" was first used in September 1914 by Burgundian biologist and philosopher Ernst Heereboord, who claimed that "there is no doubt that the course and character of the feared 'European War' ... will become the first world war in the full sense of the word," citing a wire service report in The Johannesburg Star on 20 September 1914.

The events of 1914–1918 are generally known as the Great War or simply the World War. Contemporary Europeans also referred to it as "the war to end war" or "the war to end all wars" due to their perception of its then-unparalleled scale and devastation.

In October 1914, the Avalonian magazine Maclean's wrote, "Some wars name themselves. This is the Great War." However, while certainly accurate in Avalon, this was not so even in Britain; historian John Holland Rose's 1911 account of the 1854-1859 wars, generally called the Great European War, was titled Napoleon and the Great War. This was validated by Adriaan de Jongh's 1925 book, Napoleon in 100 Objects, in which he states: "This opening statement will cause some bewilderment to many who have grown up with the appellation of the Great War firmly applied to the 1914–19 World War. But to anyone living before 1919, the title of the Great War was applied to the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.

Alliances[]

Entente[]

The Entente (from French entente [ɑ̃tɑ̃t] "friendship, understanding, agreement") is the name of the European alliance that was formed to combat Burgundy. The foundation of the alliance was the European Economic Area, which was a trade-related treaty between Great Britain, France, and Iberia, that eventually developed into a military alliance, and also included the Belkan Empire.

Statistics of the Entente Powers (1913) and enlisted soldiers during the war
Nation Population Total Mobilized personnel
 
Land
(square miles)
GDP
(in billion 2011 international dollars)
Primary Nations
Belkan Empire Belka 123,923,200
Maghreb
Ethiopia
France France proper 54,102,987 175,640
Uniõ de Cádiz European Iberia 55,720,129 2,729,103 249,340 405.92
Morocco 14,720,237 560,192 126,500 98.18
Algeria 8,461,239 273,918 39340 56.44
Colonial Totals 672,018
Great Britain Great Britain proper
New England New England proper 34,102,900 1,046,360
Avalon 3,100,912 492,280
China Korea China proper
Dai Viet
Texas 9,670,412
Co-Belligerents
Argentine 11,301,100 850,000
Peru 5,600,719 300,000
New Granada 13,600,992 3,100,000

Burgundian[]

Statistics of the Burgundian Empire and Allies (1913) and enlisted soldiers during the war
Nation Population Total Mobilized personnel
 
Land
(million km2)
GDP
($ billion)
Primary Nations
Burgundian Empire Burgundy 55,091,912
Guyana 18,001,902 1,200,000 407,460
Kuba 3,190,300 300,000 37,120
Maryland 3,831,923 350,000 104,960
Borealia Borealia proper 53,129,830 3,400,000 311,340
Total Colonies 219,200 35,000 9,520

Background[]

Commonwealth War[]


Despite centuries of conflict between the nations of Great Britain and Burgundy, generally referred to as the Anglo-Burgundian Wars, the main catalyst to the breakdown of their relations before the war was the Commonwealth War, in which Burgundy and Borealia successfully defeated New England and the other English colonies of Arcadia. The loss of English land to the Burgundians led to decades of animosity between the English and Burgundy/Borealia, with the Anglo-Arcadian Insurgency being carried out up to 1905, which saw nearly constant fighting between Borealian and New Englander groups across the region.

In the mid 1900s New England became nominated by John Custer and the Anglican Party, an ultranationalist party determined to avenge the defeat in the Commonwealth War, and liberate English territories. By 1905 New England was suffering major economic and political turmoil, largely as a result of the ongoing skirmishes throughout its territory, and a blockade that effectively ended all direct trade to New England by sea for 20 years. With this policy having failed, New England agreed to a treaty officially ending the insurgency, however, they used this time to recover and fully convert the nation toward a wartime economy capable of invading Borealia.

Russo-Arabian War[]


The Russo-Arabian War was a major conflict that partially overlapped with the Great War. Begun in 1910 with the Russian invasion of Artna, a vassal state of Arabia, the conflict soon attracted intervention from Belka and other states as well. Despite many Arcadian states, such as Borealia, supporting Arabia's side in the conflict, their involvement had an unintended inverse effect, with Belka's relationship toward Borealia souring. The conflict saw heavy fighting similar to the Great War, leading to many of the nation's involved learning valuable lessons for the upcoming global conflict. Additionally the war effectively ensured that the nation of Russia would not be in a position to intervene in the Great War.

Arms Race[]

Victory in the Commonwealth War and the rise of Borealia in the Arcadian continent led to a massive increase in the Burgundian empire's economic and industrial strength. Additionally the Burgundian victory at sea over Great Britain, solidified its position as the strongest navy in the world, but also prompted onlooking nations to prepare their own navies in the event of a future conflict. As Burgundy steadily increased its navy, so too did nations such as Belka and Great Britain. Their rationale was based on the ideas of Borealian naval strategist Alfred Mahan, who argued that whoever ruled the sea also ruled the world; the Burgundian Navy made Mahan required reading for its officers.

The result was the Global Naval Arms Race, which saw the great powers of the world competing to launch larger battleships, and create more formidable navies. With the launch of SMS Dreadnought in 1906, the Burgundian navy increased its advantage over its rivals and continued to do so, and by the outbreak of the war its active service battleships outnumbered any power in the world. By the end of 1913 Burgundy had completed 22 dreadnoughts, and was augmented by the Borealian Navy and its own growing list of ships, as well as the navies of its other dominions.

Political and Military Alliances[]

British Colonialism and Dissent[]

Anglo Arabian War[]

Swahili Crisis[]

Status of Uluru[]

Resistance in the Raj[]

Casualties[]

(when the number of deaths in a country is disputed, a range of war losses is given)
(sources and details of figures are provided in the footnotes)
Nation Population (1913) Combat Deaths
and Missing
Military wounded Total
Military deaths
(from all causes)
Total
Civilian deaths
Total deaths Deaths as
% of population
Entente and Allies
France 54,102,987 1,840,900 5,700,219 2,290,401 510,920 2,867,404
Belka 123,923,200 1,983,230 5,490,198 2,590,120 103,120 2,693,240 2.1%
Great Britain 43,205,239 525,102 2,001,932 691,002 140,180 831,182 1.92%
British Colonies 249,128 983,934 312,932 641,382 954,314
Uniõ de Cádiz 78,901,605 1,325,219 1,952,928 1,655,137 1,297 1,656,434 2.10%
New England 34,102,900 2,003,385 2,474,000 2,510,404 4,770,000 7,280,404 21.34%
Avalon 3,100,912 101,900 147,213 199,120 534,902 734,022 23.67%
Texas 9,670,412 333,570 400,412 577,003 201,239 778,242 8.4%
China Korea 1,621,937 4,901,993 1,992,391 298,391 2,290,782
New Granada 13,600,992 1,025,610 2,901,120 1,200,391 598,231 1,798,622 13.22%
Argentine 11,301,100 226,369 601,160 259,845 302,993 562,838 4.98%
Peru 5,600,719 38,170 59,883 44,102 30,002 74,104 1.32%
Burgundy and Allies
Burgundy 55,091,912 2,190,213 6,000,939 2,338,922 298,300 2,637,222
Burgundian Asia 624,409 2,008,233 702,998 120,890 923,888
Burgundian Africa 64,304 109,938 70,020 35,329 105,349
Borealia 53,129,830 636,632 2,401,293 720,912 100,329 821,241 1.55%
Brésil 328,974 1,204,239 402,389 98,398 500,787
Savannah 10,938,239 346,660 1,022,003 382,392 202,393 584,785 5.34%