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Then it would have been England and France turning fascist and seeking revenge?
Would Germany have imposed terms any less harsh than the Versailles Treaty? We have the model of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk to indicate their notions of post triumph justice. Russia was forced to cede nearly all of its Eastern empire territories, an area which contained 25 % of the population, 25 % of its industry and 90% of its coal. Germany demanded six billion marks in reparation payments and the Russian armed forces had to be demobilized.
A victorious Germany would certainly have taken a large bite out of France to serve as a buffer against future aggression. It certainly would have acted to reduce Britain's naval superiority via forfeitures and future restrictions on construction. And since they expected Russia to pay for their foolishness, why wouldn't they demand the same from England and France? Oh, throw in a few of your overseas colonies while you are at it.
The consequences of this are unpredictable because you would have had completely different post war national psychologies at work. Would the defeated democracies been able to survive as democracies, or might the shamed populations have found greater appeal in the idea of single purpose dictators who vowed to restore their former glory? Might they have both gone socialist and formed an alliance with the USSR against the new boss of Europe?
Might it have been the French Jews who were blamed for the loss and subjected to maltreatment at government hands?
On the plus side, a German victory in WW 1 completely eliminates the basis upon which the Nazis rose to power. Corporal Hitler would have been absent his grudge.
Then it would have been England and France turning fascist and seeking revenge?
Would Germany have imposed terms any less harsh than the Versailles Treaty? We have the model of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk to indicate their notions of post triumph justice. Russia was forced to cede nearly all of its Eastern empire territories, an area which contained 25 % of the population, 25 % of its industry and 90% of its coal. Germany demanded six billion marks in reparation payments and the Russian armed forces had to be demobilized.
A victorious Germany would certainly have taken a large bite out of France to serve as a buffer against future aggression. It certainly would have acted to reduce Britain's naval superiority via forfeitures and future restrictions on construction. And since they expected Russia to pay for their foolishness, why wouldn't they demand the same from England and France? Oh, throw in a few of your overseas colonies while you are at it.
The consequences of this are unpredictable because you would have had completely different post war national psychologies at work. Would the defeated democracies been able to survive as democracies, or might the shamed populations have found greater appeal in the idea of single purpose dictators who vowed to restore their former glory? Might they have both gone socialist and formed an alliance with the USSR against the new boss of Europe?
Might it have been the French Jews who were blamed for the loss and subjected to maltreatment at government hands?
On the plus side, a German victory in WW 1 completely eliminates the basis upon which the Nazis rose to power. Corporal Hitler would have been absent his grudge.
Another interesting question is would it have revived Turkey? Could they have potentially gotten Greece and Egypt back, maybe even the Maghreb.
A victorious Germany would certainly have taken a large bite out of France to serve as a buffer against future aggression. It certainly would have acted to reduce Britain's naval superiority via forfeitures and future restrictions on construction. And since they expected Russia to pay for their foolishness, why wouldn't they demand the same from England and France? Oh, throw in a few of your overseas colonies while you are at it.
Actually, their planned annexations from France were quite small in area - the district around Longwy Briey and perhaps some land in the Vosges - though important as it contained most of France's iron fields. The German Navy hoped for bases on French soil, but this wouldn't necessarily involve massive annexations.
I doubt if they were in a position to impose such terms on Britain. Her real danger would have come a decade or two later, when she faced a Germany with maybe 500 u-boats and probably naval bases on the French Atlantic coast.
I doubt if they were in a position to impose such terms on Britain.
You could also doubt that they could have won, but in this hypothetical situation, they have. The degree of their triumph is limited only by your imagination.
France and Britain were able to capitalize on their actual victory to impose severe restrictions on German arms, and that was without having to invade Germany and topple the Kaiser. So why can't Germany be in that position in this fantasy?
I doubt if they were in a position to impose such terms on Britain. Her real danger would have come a decade or two later, when she faced a Germany with maybe 500 u-boats and probably naval bases on the French Atlantic coast.
They might have been if the Germans had been successful in helping the Turks create a modern effective army. After a Successful Turkish invasion of Persia they could potentially dictate to Britain by seriously threatening India.
You could also doubt that they could have won, but in this hypothetical situation, they have. The degree of their triumph is limited only by your imagination.
France and Britain were able to capitalize on their actual victory to impose severe restrictions on German arms, and that was without having to invade Germany and topple the Kaiser. So why can't Germany be in that position in this fantasy?
The difference lies in Britain being an island, and Germany not. If Germany is beaten on land, she is beaten, period. OTOH, if Britain is defeated on land she can hold out across the channel, which is a mite too wide to run a pontoon bridge across.
To knock Britain out, a power has to be simultaneously the greatest land power (to defeat Britain's continental allies) and the greatest sea power (to defeat Britain itself). This is a difficult and expensive call.
To knock Britain out, a power has to be simultaneously the greatest land power (to defeat Britain's continental allies) and the greatest sea power (to defeat Britain itself). This is a difficult and expensive call.
In this premise, Britain has been knocked out, has been defeated. The winners dictate the terms, not the losers.
If Germany wins before the US enters the war (1917), a likely outcome is a German-US alliance. Why? Because they're both emerging giants who missed the colony-grab in the late 19th century and resent the aristocratic mannerisms of France and England. But the US wouldn't allow Germany to trample England completely. It would remain as a prosperous but isolated island, stripped of its empire. The hypothetical England of 1919 would resemble the actual England of 1947.
In the longer term, the stability of the US-German alliance would depend on whether Germany transitioned to a more constitutional monarchy instead of an empire.
Meanwhile, Japan would rise even faster, taking advantage of England's weakness in Asia, and Russia's weakness from its defeat by Germany. The wild-card is whether a humbled Russia, still becoming the USSR, implodes or emerges as a rival world power. A second Russo-Japanese war is likely. If it ends much like the 1905 such war, we enter the late 20th century with the following players: Asia led by Japan, an intact but weakened and isolated Russia (or USSR), Europe led by Germany, and a semi-isolated USA. That actually resembles real history, the difference being that democracies never became ascendant and the US didn't become an unquestioned hegemon. Oh yeah, and WW2 would never have happened.
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