1839-1871
Introduction
The predawn sky was quiet here, air cool and still; laden with dew before the heat of the day to come. Mountains in the distance menaced the landscape below, their sullen grey forms lacking shape and substance in the dark. The sun; throwing the first few reflected rays up, and nightfall was becoming a memory. The mountains would soon stand arrogant, watching the sixty thousand men marching into history, their advance across the rolling hills to meet the sun. Dust rose and settled behind them, and people in the small villages they passed watched in silence.
Taken from: “The Swift Swiss Struggle: The First Prussian-Swiss War”
(c) 1963 by Prof. Heather Montclair
Yale University
Boston, United States of America
In 1839 the government of Switzerland came to the belated realization that for several years it had been under a carefully orchestrated blitz in the halls of the great powers. The Swiss lacked the time and the money to do anything to prevent the quiet Prussian influence, who had improved relations with England, France, and the scattered Italian states - isolating Switzerland.[...]
When the Prussian II, III, and VI Korps crossed the border of it's ally, the minor German state of Baden, the Swiss had no help forthcoming, and the lovely countryside was racked by something new: the sounds of guns. Switzerland of course had been steadfastly neutral for centuries, but this very neutrality, and newly Prussian friendly (or at least neutral) France, prevented any aid from coming to them. Swiss forces in the opening days of the war numbered only two operational divisions, and they took defensive positions covering the capital (Bern) and the neighboring province of Basel. Prussian forces were soon able to take over much of the rest of the country, but bad terrain and limited resources slowed them down enough for Switzerland to mobilize, and add six fresh divisions, enough to stave off repeated Prussian attacks and secure more of their country.
A bitter peace for Switzerland ended the war, with the loss of all but four provinces (Bern, Neuchâtel (technically also a Prussian principality), Genéve, and Sitten) plus the payment out of their shattered finances the heavy burden of war indemnities. Not that Prussian finances were in much better shape.[...]
A hush settled over Europe even as the German states underwent the long series of rebellions that was the Liberal Revolution. Triggered in part by the shocking occupation of Switzerland this tied down the German states manpower, except for Prussia (surprisingly untroubled) who was looking forward to a rematch with the Swiss, one where Prussian forces would be overwhelming, and the occupation would be complete. Certain geopolitical and economic realities at the time had prevented Prussia from shifting to a wartime footing and mobilizing. Therefore they were forced to rely on their standing strength, under half of which could be assigned to the Swiss invasion.[...]
The Prussian-Swiss conflicts must be looked at in a wider perspective. Prussia had never joined in the North and South American colony settlement, and found little prospect for a unified Germany with Austria and their Holy Roman Emperor delusions still in domination of the southern half of Europe. Expansion opportunities were slim, and while war with Russia over, or about, Poland was probably inevitable at some point the Prussian military was still undergoing reforms and would be for decades before a war with Russia could be won. The minor German states were strong allies but needed something to unite them as long as Austria still existed. Prussian objectives involved France, their long time enemy. They had worked hard to improve relations so that they conquer Switzerland. However Switzerland had proved stubborn, and hung on - denying Prussia it's planned objective of alternate French invasion routes.
Naturally a second Prussian-Swiss war was needed. [...]
1839: The Battle For Bern
The smoke hung heavy over the city as the sole Swiss division mustered to the outer edge, drawn up and glistening, arrayed in ranks. Artillery fired at a slow steady pace, throwing up dirt and bodies. Facing opposed was the Prussian VI Korps, dusty; their recent month long march about to be for naught. The two divisions that comprised the corp had had an easy time up to this point, conducting simple occupation duties in the eastern half of the country. The confidant well rested soldiers were ready for this fight. However they were about to receive an object lesson in modern combat strategy. The Prussian General Staff was going to have a few new shakeups.
"I cannot say that I ever expected to be watching a Prussian army getting handled this roughly in the middle of Switzerland, sir." Said the young man sitting half a mile away watching the battle atop a small hill, that sufficed for a reasonable view of the battle. At the moment a battalion of Swiss had just turned the Prussian flank along a small rise and were pouring fire into them. The Prussian forces refused to break, but were taking casualties at a horrendous rate.
"I have to admit I never thought I would be watching a Prussian army in Switzerland. Full stop." Spoke the older man, also watching the battle. The Prussian forces had begun to retreat in good order, but their flanks remained weak and they lacked cavalry to cover them. Around the two men sitting were a handful of other observers, mostly other Englishmen but with a few French observers looking much less worried then before the battle had started. "However when you think about, it is a logical solution to the French problem."
"Our French friends look somewhat happier then used to be, sir."
"Well, we can't all have the English Channel. There have been a few times when would have gone down without that well placed strip of water." He leaned back, lacing his fingers together, "Of course there have also have been a time or two when we did go down despite that. If I were the French I would be very worried, the Prussians want a longer border for the obvious reasons, and I would wager a few years down the line a group of observers are going to be sitting outside Paris remarking quietly about how odd it is to see the French army get handled so roughly protecting their own capital. Of course I am one minor general, who carried himself decently against Napoleon as a foolish young man."
"Wellington's staff, sir. Respectively."
The general's lips twitched, "Quite."
Taken from: “The Caroline Conflict”
Prof. Walter Morningside
(c) 1936 The Royal Press
Ottawa, Kingdom of Canada
In hindsight the defeat of the United States in the War of 1812 was probably inevitable. The British were heavily involved with Napoleon, but they had a global presence of arms that more then sufficed to crush the American invasion forces, and burn the White House. This came as a shock to the Americans who had defeated the British with much less in the American revolution forty years earlier, but that was in some senses a special case. No matter what Britain could do on the field of battle - generally win - they had lost their subjects with poor decisions leading up the revolution.[...]
The American's saw a second chance to seize part of Canada in 1844 when the British deployed soldiers to end the Caroline rebellion in the colony. The US assumed, incorrectly as in 1812, that the UK wouldn't be able to properly or effectively respond. The US declared war, and the British responded swiftly. American forces never even had a chance to attack Canada before they found themselves under a well coordinated British plan; the so-called American Problem plan 4.[...]
The British invasion was four pronged. Naval landings around Boston, additional diversionary naval landing in the South, and several invasion forces; one moving to relieve the Boston area landings, and the other to take New York and then turn and head southwest. Despite American resistance in the fortifications of Portland all moved more or less according to plan until British troops reached New York. Although they took the city easily enough a powerful and unexpected American counterattack forced the British almost back to the Canadian border - although they retained their Boston beachhead and scattered forces in the southern half of the US.
Mexico choose this moment to reject an offer to buy their currently subdued state of Texas. Although it remains unclear who acted first (ref: Buying Texas: The War That No One Started) Mexican forces were soon pushing into the United States. With troops drawn north against the British, and the reserves fighting the persistent southern landings America had no forces to fight the Mexican Army, who in other circumstances would have have been soundly defeated.[...]
With American now fighting two wars, on two widely divergent fronts the British were able to recover from the American New York counteroffensive and within four months were back in the city. The extra time had not been wasted, the Portland fortifications had finally been seized, and a third theatre had developed around Detroit even as Boston duplicated Portland's success.[...]
1845: The Siege of Boston
The man stood looking at the map, his shoulders just slightly slumped. There was for the moment no one to witness this proud man facing this burden. The red tide spilled southward, the green northward. Blue was absent. Around Boston was no more then a solid mass of red, even off the harbor; a British fleet waiting for the guns to be silenced before fresh troops from the far flung corners of her empire landed.
"Two wars. Three fronts. The world wonders." He said to himself in no more then a quiet murmur. It all hung on Boston. The Mexican's were scared to death that the British section might be resolved and they would have to face real troops, so any victory here would doubtless presage a settlement. The general straightened as the bells began to toll. Tugging at his uniform he strode out of the room, back stiff once more.
The room outside was just beginning to fill up with junior officers hazy from the lack of sleep. British shelling didn't leave a lot of silence. "Gentlemen." Everybody stood to attention. "At ease. We have a war to win and not much time to be about it."
Fifty hours later, and fifty thousand men dead alongside those two days the British forces were broken, peace with Mexico obtained, and the long fight back to the Canadian border had begun. In the end it wasn't a win, but they had proved America had what it took to on the world stage.
Taken from: “Flashpoints of the 19th Century”
(c) 1919 by Prof. Charles Davenport
Oxford University Press
University of Oxford, United Kingdom
With Prussia eyeing Switzerland hungrily, and relations with France still surprisingly good (but deteriorating) in the first days of 1846 the Second Prussia-Swiss war began. The seven year wait, and the relative quiet in Europe presented Prussia with the perfect environment to finish Switzerland and hence gain the required new routes into France for their planned future conflict, which Swiss territory was still viewed as the best way to accomplish. However Prussian mobilization was derailed by Denmark almost before it began.[...]
Prussia had no choice but to go to war over it, and forces were rapidly reassigned northwards: cumulating in a quarter million strong army arriving on Denmark soil just ahead of Sweden's navy.[...]
Prussia's victory over Denmark, and their occupation of all of Denmark proper (and of course the original origin of the conflict: the Schleswig and Holstein question) besides the capital allowed a vast force to transfered south to the Swiss front, whose borders had not shifted in nearly a year. The newly renamed Southern Army of Prussia was derailed in their second attempt to fight the Swiss, this time by the Austrian disintegration [wars]. Rebel forces had long been a major problem for Austria during the Liberal Revolution, and their support of Prussia against Denmark and Sweden had merely hastened the inevitable collapse. With the separation of Hungary, and the new Italian states of Venetia and Lombardy; Austria found itself vastly shrunk. Prussian and minor German state assistance was demanded and received and the Southern Army of Prussia altered course for Italy.[...]
The second Swiss conflict was hastily resolved with Sitten ceded to a Prussia that was entering what could have been a titanic Italian struggle, for the other Italian polities, the Papal-States, Two-Sicilies and Sardinia-Piedmont, had joined Lombardy and Venetia in their revolution against Austria.[...]
The sudden and surprising question of Neuchâtel was raised by a badly beaten but still proud Swiss nation that mistakenly believed Prussia was too tied up in Italy to fight them yet again. Prussian forces that had just arrived in Italy were turned around and supported by the Swiss garrison soon overrun what remained of Switzerland. The Third Prussia-Swiss War lasted barely two months, and resulted in Switzerland being wiped off the map. With this matter taken care of Prussian troops turned around again and once more marched south into the fire.[...]
Of course things weren't quite this simple. A Conservative Democratic coup resulted in the Monarchy being replaced by a full fledged democracy, albeit one with state run press and no unions. A Bismarck led Junker counter-coup resulted in the Monarchy being restored with a new National (Reactionary) party in charge. These events and the massive rebellions that followed the restoration of the Prussian Monarchy did prevent full attention being focused on Italy. Nevertheless nearly fifty weakened divisions (from the Denmark front) were involved there, with another seventeen full strength divisions busy involved with the various rebellions that were springing up all over Prussia and eventually the handful of Two-Sicilies landings.
The Italian conflict for the Prussians began with desultory invasions of Lombardy, and the declaration of war on Hungary. No Prussian forces ever wound up supporting the Austrian-Russian alliance against Hungary though, and in the grand scheme of things it was solely a political move to keep the alliance with Austria. With the arrival of XX Korps under Insterburg and peace with the Papal-States, Lombardy, and Venetia the invasion of Sardina-Piedmont was the real focus of the war. The Two-Sicilies landed troops several times in what was Denmark (and did in fact annex a minor German state), but III Korps fought them off most of the time.[...]
Despite Prussian success Austria was too involved with Hungary (which she eventually annexed) to muster much strength to fight for her former Italian possessions, and in early 1849 signed peace agreements with the various Italian states. Prussia did gain a pair of provinces from Sardinia-Piedmont (Navarra and Aosta) but that was little gain for much German blood. It was probably right around this time Bismarck decided that Austria had to go.[...]
1848: The Two Coups
"What is the meaning of this!" Demanded the officer to the motley dressed men in front of him.
One of them raised a small pistol and shot him dead. "It's the end of your kind," he spit contemptuously and the sudden silence was interrupted by the soldier that ran up. He was slightly too late to save his officer, but was in time to finish this group of rebels off. Unfortunately Berlin was crawling with them. The soldier did make it out alive though, and...
"What is the meaning of this!" Demanded the politician to the sharply outfitted soldiers in front of him.
One of them raised a large rifle and shot him dead. "We're back." He uttered arrogantly in the silence, punctuated suddenly by heavier guns sounding off. Berlin was still crawling with rebels, but this time they were going to be taken care of, not let to form a democracy and toss out the rightful monarch like last time.
Taken from: “The Texan Struggle for Freedom”
(c) 1978 by Dale Campbell
Dallas, United States of America?Used With Permission
The first rebellions against Mexico by the subjugated Texans were moderately successful and resulted in a Texas independent, recognized by both the United States of America, and England. However this reasonably happy state of affairs did not last. Once Mexico had taken care of their Yucatan problem, despite some Texan naval interference, they turned back north and wiped Texas off newly printed maps. The US was upset, but too involved with the British invasion to do much about it. They did offer to buy Texas, but Mexico refused.[...]
And so the Texas struggle for freedom bled over, and Mexican forces invaded America. The US was facing the greatest of the great; the United Kingdom itself, but nevertheless they fought back and. British troops in the south of American tied down US forces and let the Mexican army make headway in what should have been a resounding defeat for the incompetent and poorly equipped Mexican invasion. However this was not the case and the US was forced to make peace; the Mexicans didn't get any territory out of it though, probably because they had enough trouble with the territory they already had.[...]
With the end of the Mexican section of the war the US was able to preform well enough that the eventual and inevitable peace treaty with England resulted in the loss of only a single province, though America was still humiliated. England had realized that France was fast catching up to their power, and so were motivated to end the American problem quickly. Sadly Texas remained under the dominion of Mexico, looking enviously northward, and even westward - for during the war the nation of Deseret had been formed. Destined to soon become a US satellite it was nevertheless better off then the people of Texas, but not all hope was lost.[...]
1846: Marching on Virginia
The Mexican cavalry column was loosely organized, swirls of activity at the edges at they rode towards Virginia. The poorly disciplined troops were inclined to simply enjoy this poorly defended countryside.
At the northwestern edge of the regiment a young Mexican officer looked around him, his horse jolting slowly beneath him, "This United States is a much cooler country, and look at all this green. Yes, it is much nicer then my home. Of course that's why I joined this grand army."
His orderly looked at him, wondering at how out of reality one can get. "Yes sir."
"And we conquer everything in our past. It's just like being in a book. Lots of riding, beautiful, though pale, women, wonderful scenery. Quick combat where we crush them." He stood up in his stirrups, "This cool air. You know I think I'll retire here."
His orderly looked at him, "And deal with Yankee rebels...sir?"
The officer turned to look at him, but the orderly was the picture of blankness, "I suppose you might be right." He slumped back down onto his horse, "Back to work, we are out here conquering after all."
The orderly was only somewhat shocked when the officers head exploded. The Mexican's had reached Virginia. They wouldn't return.
Taken from: “The Fleeting Peace Of Europe”
(c) 1893 by Prof. Jacques Célment
Originally Printed: Engine Publications, Paris, Empire of France
Translation by Prof. Edward Montgomery, Cambridge University
Difference Engine Amalgamated Press: London, England. 1928
Used Here With Permission
With both Great Britain's Caroline war, and the Austrian disintegration war over peace was once again afoot in the world. The surprisingly brief Crimean War, with Russia and Austria on one side, and the Ottoman Empire, France (with a new Napoleon at its head), the United Kingdom, and Sardinia-Piedmont on the other never really threatened this peace. Russia proved unwilling to prosecute the war to its full extent, and Austria lacked its usual German allies and so too conducted the short war in a desultory manner.
France had to confront the newly extended frontier with Prussia especially once they added in the Luxembourg purchase, considered a preemptive move against a presumed French purchase in the future, but Prussia was far too busy holding down all of its captured territory to do much about it. Yet. The US was looking for a rematch with Mexico without the albatross that was the United Kingdom on its neck and continued their breakneck pace towards the Pacific. Austria had managed to settle the Hungarian problem, but had lost her Italian possessions and a great of men in doing so. However Austria's alliance with Russia at least gave her a limited freedom.
Elsewhere in the world South America was what it had been for a long time; unstable and brawling. A dozen major (by the local standards) and minor wars had been fought there, the United States of Central America lost Puerto Rico and almost broke up, and so forth. The Caribbean saw the Dominican Republic stubbornly refuse to join either the United States, or France, but rather continue along its own destiny; eventually forming an alliance with Haiti. The United Kingdom expanded their Australian and New Zealand holdings with little bloodshed, and avoided war with China a few times. Japan modernized, China stagnated, and South-East Asia fought amongst themselves. Britain continued to grip tighter about their jewel of empire, India, and everybody began thinking about Africa; the dark continent; the last place around to colonize. Naturally there were more wars coming for this blighted world.[...]
1851: The Pacific Power
The Australian Prime Minister stood next to his New Zealand counterpart. “Having a spot of trouble with the natives are we?”
The New Zealander looked at him, “Not really. But your country is a tad larger then mine. If New Zealand ever wants to have some independence then she’ll need support. Your next door, and also thinking about putting a little more room between you and the Brits. Are they still shipping those convicts?”
“Afraid so. Maybe we can put together a nice little kingdom out here and really get to work. This unification will be my legacy, and you get to put the pieces together and run the whole thing soon enough.”
The two men stopped talking as a hush fell over the audience. The scribbling newspaper men in the background watched as they signed the document creating the new Kingdom of Australia and New Zealand. New Guinea would soon join their nation, and Canada would follow their path to self government soon enough. Some say it was the beginning of the end for the British Empire.
Taken from: “Flashpoints of the 19th Century”
(c) 1919 by Prof. Charles Davenport
Oxford University Press
University of Oxford, United Kingdom
[...]The Second Opium War was over in a week in the waning months of 1856, and China continued to brood under British domination. However the next major flashpoint was oddly enough in America. Growing debate over the practice of slavery led to the breaking up of the Union, with the southern half of the country forming the Confederate States of America. The northern half retained the no longer correct name of the United States of America, and fought to make the name true once more.
The CSA states declared independence and began to secede on October 19th, 1859 with South Carolina. Followed on that same day by Florida, and two days later by Alabama and Georgia. On October 27th Arkansas joined the new nation, but when the CSA moved to seize federal property in their states the USA declared war upon them. One month later on December 13th Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee joined the CSA and the Civil War was well and truly joined. The CSA lacked both the industry and the manpower of the northern states. Material support from the United Kingdom and Mexico held them together for over six years despite the string of victories down the Eastern seaboard for the US forces led by Robert E. Lee. “Stonewall” Jackson was only the most notable and successful of the many brave Confederate generals. In the end though sheer numbers did the nascent state in. It's impossible what to say would have happened with General Lee leading the South, or if Texas, free from Mexico, had joined the CSA, but both possibilities have been a subject of a large number of counterfactuals.[...]
By 1862 the war was not looking good for the Confederates, and nothing they would do from this point on would help them recover from the burning of Richmond in December of the previous year. With Britain unwilling to intervene for a third war with the US in half a century the CSA's remaining years were a long hard struggle, concluding in with their surrender in January of 1865. With this the United States was once again whole, and had built the third largest military in the world to do so; trailing only the United Kingdom and Prussia. However they had plunged deep into debt to do this, and would remain there for several years as expansion westward continued as it had throughout the war.
Taken from: “America Asunder”
by Prof. Robert Weber
Originally printed in Counterfactuals: The Alternate Paths of History
(c) 1994 Sideways Publishing Corporation
New York, United States of America
Reprinted here with permission
The United Kingdom had not been pleased with the end of the Caroline Conflict. The withdrawal of Mexico had meant that the US managed to rally enough troops so that the war ended up as almost a draw, a single province conceded to the British instead of the half dozen they rightfully deserved. The start of the War Between States and the early victories over the USA by General Lee convinced them that this time they would teach their onetime colony a lesson. Of course they were amicable to the idea of punishing Mexico as well, helping out the CSA and supporting the struggle for freedom in Texas was a nice bonus though...[...]
The Turning Point: I’m fairly sure that most of you who read this counterfactual know what actually occurred, and can follow roughly where history changed. The large butterflies which soon alter the world can be followed by anyone with a basic grasp of geography, although reading a good history of the Civil War does help, several are listed in my Source List.
Of course the British never entered the Civil War, primarily because the early CSA record was a major defeat at Bull Run by the Union forces under General Lee. The English wanted to, but they also remembered the Mexican failure and they weren’t willing to deal with another losing ally. Originally I had the though of putting General “Stonewall” Jackson at Bull Run since he gave Lee a run for his money throughout the war despite numerous disadvantages; and at Bull Run the Confederates had had superior strength - one of only a few battles where that was true. However since Lee and Jackson were both very good, I decided that this alternate Bull Run would probably wind up a bloody stalemate; or at best a minor victory for either side, none of which in the long run would help the Confederates more then the defeat that actually took place. General Lee taking control of US’s armed forces was a close thing though, he very nearly decided in favor of his beloved Virginia and her new country; since he assumed that the CSA would ultimately lose, he thought that bringing the war to a swift conclusion would be the best thing. Here he decides that Virginia matters more then the Union, and takes up arms against the US. His superior generalship results in a longer Bull Run with the Confederate success leading to a siege at Centerville which they also win. With these decisive early victories the UK enters the war and invades the US from Canada, as well as breaking the US blockade. The US doesn’t lose, the internal railnet allows troops to be shuttled against the British much faster then the British can ship them, but the amount they can rail north remains limited because of the CSA. This results in a war they can’t win, and might eventually lose as the UK brings more force to bear, the US simply doesn’t have enough strength.
Lincoln is eventually forced to sign a peace accord with the CSA and the UK. The British gain lightly settled Indian land in the west, with British Columbia stretching down to (Mexican) California. The CSA retains all the States that decided to join it. Soon enough British and Confederate pressure force Mexico to relinquish Texas. Mexico’s internal problems increase, and the CSA and the USA fight a series of small scale undeclared wars in Indian Territory while they both race for the west coast. Eventually Mexico is much reduced, and the CSA and the USA each have a strip out to the west coast (Northern California for the US, Southern/Baja California for the CS). This results in earlier settlement of the area then historically, and a somewhat stronger Kingdom of Canada down the line. Other changes are beyond the scope of this article, but certainly a far weaker USA, a weaker Mexico, the existence of the CSA, a stronger Canada and a UK that’s won three wars in a row with the US are going to alter the world fairly drastically.
Taken from: “The Texan Struggle for Freedom”
(c) 1978 by Dale Campbell
Dallas, United States of America?Used With Permission
With the Civil War ended, the US realigned it's newly expanded military and declared war on Mexico in February of 1866. This war ended a little under a year later with a clear, but not overwhelming US victory wherein they gained the provinces of Austin and Eureka. With a small part of Texas now free from the tyranny of the Mexican overlords the newly free section of Texas began agitating to get the rest out from Mexico as well. However the US was till focused on finishing their population of the interior, as well as keeping adequate defenses facing the British, and conducting the sizable expense of building a powerful fleet. Texas, and the rest of Mexico would have to wait.[...]
Taken from: “Canada: The Business Deal of a Nation”
by Albert David Gault
Toronto, Kingdom of Canada
(c) 1983 The Harbourfront Publishing Company
Used With Permission
With the UK worried about American expansion, and still concerned about the Manifest Destiny that the US espoused John A. MacDonald easily sold his so-called anti-American alliance to the British, and turned around and sold it as a business deal to his fellow capitalists, and then sold it as a grand nation to the people. Despite being generally drunk he then set about to make it a nation, one founded on railways and westward expansion with a healthy dose of under the table dealings thrown in. Despite numerous scandals he remained in power with one brief interruption (when the public learned about his dealings, despite that he was soon reelected) until his death. The UK having had large successes in the last American war decided that the Kingdom of Canada would work just fine, rather then the Dominion of Canada they had previously been considering.
Taken from: “Flashpoints of the 19th Century”
(c) 1919 by Prof. Charles Davenport
Oxford University Press
University of Oxford, United Kingdom
The next major conflict to emerge after the US Civil War was over Greece. Thousands of years ago Greek city-states had ruled the known world, now it was but a minor player on the edge of the Balkans. The Ottoman Empire's declaration of war came as surprise since Greece happened to be allied with the United Kingdom at the time, but nevertheless it seemed like the rest of Europe would be content to see if the waning Ottoman Empire could handle the challenge. This war however never grew, and it was a slow Ottoman slog through rough Greek terrain while British Marines conducted harassing naval landings.[...]
The next major conflict that actually was a major conflict took place in 1870 when the French pushed Prussia into war over a minor Prussian noble assuming the throne of Spain. Unfortunately for the French the Prussians had mobilized some months before, preparing for a new fight with Denmark and their Swede allies. This pending conflict became moot when the French struck between the newly constructed Switzerland fortifications, and the older Rhineland Prussian ones. The French armies managed to take two provinces from Baden before an assortment of minor German states assisted by the Prussian VI and IX Korps pushed them back. Meanwhile the the First Prussian Army led by XX Korps with twenty-five divisions under Von Moltke swung through Luxembourg and headed for Paris. He was covered by the XXIII, XXIV and XXVI Korps, each with six divisions. At the same time the Second Prussian Army under Prinz Friedrich Karl with his XXI Korps and its twenty divisions, XXII Korps and its twenty divisions under Falckenstien covered by the XXV and XXVII Korps with respectively six and five divisions went through Switzerland on a parallel but southern course to Paris. The IV and V Korps remained at the Rhineland border for the opening phases then deployed their three divisions each as garrison/anti-partisan forces. On the Swiss-French border the XI, XII and XIII Korps with three divisions each (although the XII Korps had two cavalry divisions) protected that border, and then followed along behind Second Army as garrison/anti-partisan troops.
Von Moltke drove to the English Channel with his First Army and then swept from the north onto Paris, while the Second Prussian Army did the same from the south. The center french forces were the weakest and most disorganized and here the smaller covering Korps pushed forward when relieved of protecting the main army flanks. By the time Paris was brought under assault the Prussian forces had cleared a three to four province deep swatch south from the Belgium/Prussia/Swiss borders that stretched all the way to the English Channel. More importantly every inch of that was covered by a reasonably strong force, and additional units roamed inside the captured territory handling partisans.
Meanwhile the minor German states (plus the Prussian VI and IX Korps) found themselves facing what was eventually the entire original French border guard. Additionally various units that had been cut during the major Prussian thrusts congregated here at the border as well, all fighting for the single (by now) insignificant province of Strasbourg. At it's height over 300 000 French troops from a dozen corps, and nearly 400 000 German troops from at least twice that many corps (although many were single division commitments from the smaller German states), attacking from four different directions were involved in this titanic battle. The battles around and for Paris by comparison involved no more then 300 000 troops on both sides engaged at once, although the aggregate forces in the area numbered approximately one and a quarter million men, with roughly half of that total being from the Prussian army. That half was however better equipped, led, and conducted their brilliant operational plan (Case Eiffel) perfectly. Hence the unstoppable sweep to the English Channel, the southern thrust preventing many French troops from reaching Paris, and various forces (including the entire border guard) cut off inside Prussian lines.
During this time Denmark saw an opportunity and declared war on Prussia, hoping to regain some of its lost territory. Instead the I, II, III and XVI Korps took the Danish capital in a month, and Denmark readily surrendered its overseas possessions, retaining only (technically) the Virgin Islands because rebel forces controlled them. The Swedes did almost nothing, only a brief late sortie of their navy. This weak effort almost certainly dashed the Swedish dream of a unified Scandinavia. If they had[...]
In the end Prussia had deployed nearly one and a half million men in this short war. The minor German states added nearly half a million of their own (a slim majority from Bavaria) and Austria even contributed a pair of divisions. Additionally Prussia retained nearly a hundred thousand men covering her countryside, most of that force was eventually used in the invasion of Denmark. The French also mustered around one and a half million men, but the loss of approximately four hundred thousand in and around the border and surrounded during the Prussian thrusts was a devastating blow that she never recovered from. In the end of course France made terms, ceding several border provinces that had large German populations. Although the Prussian army might well have been able to occupy France and secure better terms, the unification of Germany took precedence and drew attention elsewhere. The French though had already begun to line up allies for the next conflict.[...]
Taken from: “The Eagle and the Siblings: The Unification of the German State”
(c) 1938 by Erwin Rommel
Knopf Press
Berlin, Germany
[...]With France suitably chastened, the minor German states were impressed by Prussian feat of arms. Looking at Bismarck and his eager attempts to unite the Germanic people they concluded jumping on the bandwagon before getting run over was the smart move. In the early days of 1871 all minor German states united under Prussia to form the new nation of Germany. Although the flag was not quite as eye-catching as it used to be, her neighbors viewed this new country (quite rightly) as a vastly stronger and more capable Prussia. Russia responded by positioning herself as a close ally. France was in no condition to worry about the event, yet, and neither were the remnants of Denmark. Sweden/Norway had Russian (and Finnish) worries of their own and the various Italian states were too busy squabbling amongst themselves. On the other hand Austria reacted to the loss of her formerly controllable German allies with shock and alarm, and a justifiable fear of Bismarck.[...]
Germany now had but two problems, France would be looking for a rematch soon enough, and Austria was deathly afraid that the next morning would bring the sound of Prussian artillery all along their poorly defended border. Germany set about this logically enough. First the newly extended German-French border had expansive fortifications built upon them, manned by a gradually strengthening infantry force. Secondly she prepared to invade Austria, but that would have to wait on two things; the final dismemberment of Denmark, and the pesky Two Sicilies province of Bremen on German soil.[...]
Introduction
The predawn sky was quiet here, air cool and still; laden with dew before the heat of the day to come. Mountains in the distance menaced the landscape below, their sullen grey forms lacking shape and substance in the dark. The sun; throwing the first few reflected rays up, and nightfall was becoming a memory. The mountains would soon stand arrogant, watching the sixty thousand men marching into history, their advance across the rolling hills to meet the sun. Dust rose and settled behind them, and people in the small villages they passed watched in silence.
Taken from: “The Swift Swiss Struggle: The First Prussian-Swiss War”
(c) 1963 by Prof. Heather Montclair
Yale University
Boston, United States of America
In 1839 the government of Switzerland came to the belated realization that for several years it had been under a carefully orchestrated blitz in the halls of the great powers. The Swiss lacked the time and the money to do anything to prevent the quiet Prussian influence, who had improved relations with England, France, and the scattered Italian states - isolating Switzerland.[...]
When the Prussian II, III, and VI Korps crossed the border of it's ally, the minor German state of Baden, the Swiss had no help forthcoming, and the lovely countryside was racked by something new: the sounds of guns. Switzerland of course had been steadfastly neutral for centuries, but this very neutrality, and newly Prussian friendly (or at least neutral) France, prevented any aid from coming to them. Swiss forces in the opening days of the war numbered only two operational divisions, and they took defensive positions covering the capital (Bern) and the neighboring province of Basel. Prussian forces were soon able to take over much of the rest of the country, but bad terrain and limited resources slowed them down enough for Switzerland to mobilize, and add six fresh divisions, enough to stave off repeated Prussian attacks and secure more of their country.
A bitter peace for Switzerland ended the war, with the loss of all but four provinces (Bern, Neuchâtel (technically also a Prussian principality), Genéve, and Sitten) plus the payment out of their shattered finances the heavy burden of war indemnities. Not that Prussian finances were in much better shape.[...]
A hush settled over Europe even as the German states underwent the long series of rebellions that was the Liberal Revolution. Triggered in part by the shocking occupation of Switzerland this tied down the German states manpower, except for Prussia (surprisingly untroubled) who was looking forward to a rematch with the Swiss, one where Prussian forces would be overwhelming, and the occupation would be complete. Certain geopolitical and economic realities at the time had prevented Prussia from shifting to a wartime footing and mobilizing. Therefore they were forced to rely on their standing strength, under half of which could be assigned to the Swiss invasion.[...]
The Prussian-Swiss conflicts must be looked at in a wider perspective. Prussia had never joined in the North and South American colony settlement, and found little prospect for a unified Germany with Austria and their Holy Roman Emperor delusions still in domination of the southern half of Europe. Expansion opportunities were slim, and while war with Russia over, or about, Poland was probably inevitable at some point the Prussian military was still undergoing reforms and would be for decades before a war with Russia could be won. The minor German states were strong allies but needed something to unite them as long as Austria still existed. Prussian objectives involved France, their long time enemy. They had worked hard to improve relations so that they conquer Switzerland. However Switzerland had proved stubborn, and hung on - denying Prussia it's planned objective of alternate French invasion routes.
Naturally a second Prussian-Swiss war was needed. [...]
1839: The Battle For Bern
The smoke hung heavy over the city as the sole Swiss division mustered to the outer edge, drawn up and glistening, arrayed in ranks. Artillery fired at a slow steady pace, throwing up dirt and bodies. Facing opposed was the Prussian VI Korps, dusty; their recent month long march about to be for naught. The two divisions that comprised the corp had had an easy time up to this point, conducting simple occupation duties in the eastern half of the country. The confidant well rested soldiers were ready for this fight. However they were about to receive an object lesson in modern combat strategy. The Prussian General Staff was going to have a few new shakeups.
"I cannot say that I ever expected to be watching a Prussian army getting handled this roughly in the middle of Switzerland, sir." Said the young man sitting half a mile away watching the battle atop a small hill, that sufficed for a reasonable view of the battle. At the moment a battalion of Swiss had just turned the Prussian flank along a small rise and were pouring fire into them. The Prussian forces refused to break, but were taking casualties at a horrendous rate.
"I have to admit I never thought I would be watching a Prussian army in Switzerland. Full stop." Spoke the older man, also watching the battle. The Prussian forces had begun to retreat in good order, but their flanks remained weak and they lacked cavalry to cover them. Around the two men sitting were a handful of other observers, mostly other Englishmen but with a few French observers looking much less worried then before the battle had started. "However when you think about, it is a logical solution to the French problem."
"Our French friends look somewhat happier then used to be, sir."
"Well, we can't all have the English Channel. There have been a few times when would have gone down without that well placed strip of water." He leaned back, lacing his fingers together, "Of course there have also have been a time or two when we did go down despite that. If I were the French I would be very worried, the Prussians want a longer border for the obvious reasons, and I would wager a few years down the line a group of observers are going to be sitting outside Paris remarking quietly about how odd it is to see the French army get handled so roughly protecting their own capital. Of course I am one minor general, who carried himself decently against Napoleon as a foolish young man."
"Wellington's staff, sir. Respectively."
The general's lips twitched, "Quite."
Taken from: “The Caroline Conflict”
Prof. Walter Morningside
(c) 1936 The Royal Press
Ottawa, Kingdom of Canada
In hindsight the defeat of the United States in the War of 1812 was probably inevitable. The British were heavily involved with Napoleon, but they had a global presence of arms that more then sufficed to crush the American invasion forces, and burn the White House. This came as a shock to the Americans who had defeated the British with much less in the American revolution forty years earlier, but that was in some senses a special case. No matter what Britain could do on the field of battle - generally win - they had lost their subjects with poor decisions leading up the revolution.[...]
The American's saw a second chance to seize part of Canada in 1844 when the British deployed soldiers to end the Caroline rebellion in the colony. The US assumed, incorrectly as in 1812, that the UK wouldn't be able to properly or effectively respond. The US declared war, and the British responded swiftly. American forces never even had a chance to attack Canada before they found themselves under a well coordinated British plan; the so-called American Problem plan 4.[...]
The British invasion was four pronged. Naval landings around Boston, additional diversionary naval landing in the South, and several invasion forces; one moving to relieve the Boston area landings, and the other to take New York and then turn and head southwest. Despite American resistance in the fortifications of Portland all moved more or less according to plan until British troops reached New York. Although they took the city easily enough a powerful and unexpected American counterattack forced the British almost back to the Canadian border - although they retained their Boston beachhead and scattered forces in the southern half of the US.
Mexico choose this moment to reject an offer to buy their currently subdued state of Texas. Although it remains unclear who acted first (ref: Buying Texas: The War That No One Started) Mexican forces were soon pushing into the United States. With troops drawn north against the British, and the reserves fighting the persistent southern landings America had no forces to fight the Mexican Army, who in other circumstances would have have been soundly defeated.[...]
With American now fighting two wars, on two widely divergent fronts the British were able to recover from the American New York counteroffensive and within four months were back in the city. The extra time had not been wasted, the Portland fortifications had finally been seized, and a third theatre had developed around Detroit even as Boston duplicated Portland's success.[...]
1845: The Siege of Boston
The man stood looking at the map, his shoulders just slightly slumped. There was for the moment no one to witness this proud man facing this burden. The red tide spilled southward, the green northward. Blue was absent. Around Boston was no more then a solid mass of red, even off the harbor; a British fleet waiting for the guns to be silenced before fresh troops from the far flung corners of her empire landed.
"Two wars. Three fronts. The world wonders." He said to himself in no more then a quiet murmur. It all hung on Boston. The Mexican's were scared to death that the British section might be resolved and they would have to face real troops, so any victory here would doubtless presage a settlement. The general straightened as the bells began to toll. Tugging at his uniform he strode out of the room, back stiff once more.
The room outside was just beginning to fill up with junior officers hazy from the lack of sleep. British shelling didn't leave a lot of silence. "Gentlemen." Everybody stood to attention. "At ease. We have a war to win and not much time to be about it."
Fifty hours later, and fifty thousand men dead alongside those two days the British forces were broken, peace with Mexico obtained, and the long fight back to the Canadian border had begun. In the end it wasn't a win, but they had proved America had what it took to on the world stage.
Taken from: “Flashpoints of the 19th Century”
(c) 1919 by Prof. Charles Davenport
Oxford University Press
University of Oxford, United Kingdom
With Prussia eyeing Switzerland hungrily, and relations with France still surprisingly good (but deteriorating) in the first days of 1846 the Second Prussia-Swiss war began. The seven year wait, and the relative quiet in Europe presented Prussia with the perfect environment to finish Switzerland and hence gain the required new routes into France for their planned future conflict, which Swiss territory was still viewed as the best way to accomplish. However Prussian mobilization was derailed by Denmark almost before it began.[...]
Prussia had no choice but to go to war over it, and forces were rapidly reassigned northwards: cumulating in a quarter million strong army arriving on Denmark soil just ahead of Sweden's navy.[...]
Prussia's victory over Denmark, and their occupation of all of Denmark proper (and of course the original origin of the conflict: the Schleswig and Holstein question) besides the capital allowed a vast force to transfered south to the Swiss front, whose borders had not shifted in nearly a year. The newly renamed Southern Army of Prussia was derailed in their second attempt to fight the Swiss, this time by the Austrian disintegration [wars]. Rebel forces had long been a major problem for Austria during the Liberal Revolution, and their support of Prussia against Denmark and Sweden had merely hastened the inevitable collapse. With the separation of Hungary, and the new Italian states of Venetia and Lombardy; Austria found itself vastly shrunk. Prussian and minor German state assistance was demanded and received and the Southern Army of Prussia altered course for Italy.[...]
The second Swiss conflict was hastily resolved with Sitten ceded to a Prussia that was entering what could have been a titanic Italian struggle, for the other Italian polities, the Papal-States, Two-Sicilies and Sardinia-Piedmont, had joined Lombardy and Venetia in their revolution against Austria.[...]
The sudden and surprising question of Neuchâtel was raised by a badly beaten but still proud Swiss nation that mistakenly believed Prussia was too tied up in Italy to fight them yet again. Prussian forces that had just arrived in Italy were turned around and supported by the Swiss garrison soon overrun what remained of Switzerland. The Third Prussia-Swiss War lasted barely two months, and resulted in Switzerland being wiped off the map. With this matter taken care of Prussian troops turned around again and once more marched south into the fire.[...]
Of course things weren't quite this simple. A Conservative Democratic coup resulted in the Monarchy being replaced by a full fledged democracy, albeit one with state run press and no unions. A Bismarck led Junker counter-coup resulted in the Monarchy being restored with a new National (Reactionary) party in charge. These events and the massive rebellions that followed the restoration of the Prussian Monarchy did prevent full attention being focused on Italy. Nevertheless nearly fifty weakened divisions (from the Denmark front) were involved there, with another seventeen full strength divisions busy involved with the various rebellions that were springing up all over Prussia and eventually the handful of Two-Sicilies landings.
The Italian conflict for the Prussians began with desultory invasions of Lombardy, and the declaration of war on Hungary. No Prussian forces ever wound up supporting the Austrian-Russian alliance against Hungary though, and in the grand scheme of things it was solely a political move to keep the alliance with Austria. With the arrival of XX Korps under Insterburg and peace with the Papal-States, Lombardy, and Venetia the invasion of Sardina-Piedmont was the real focus of the war. The Two-Sicilies landed troops several times in what was Denmark (and did in fact annex a minor German state), but III Korps fought them off most of the time.[...]
Despite Prussian success Austria was too involved with Hungary (which she eventually annexed) to muster much strength to fight for her former Italian possessions, and in early 1849 signed peace agreements with the various Italian states. Prussia did gain a pair of provinces from Sardinia-Piedmont (Navarra and Aosta) but that was little gain for much German blood. It was probably right around this time Bismarck decided that Austria had to go.[...]
1848: The Two Coups
"What is the meaning of this!" Demanded the officer to the motley dressed men in front of him.
One of them raised a small pistol and shot him dead. "It's the end of your kind," he spit contemptuously and the sudden silence was interrupted by the soldier that ran up. He was slightly too late to save his officer, but was in time to finish this group of rebels off. Unfortunately Berlin was crawling with them. The soldier did make it out alive though, and...
"What is the meaning of this!" Demanded the politician to the sharply outfitted soldiers in front of him.
One of them raised a large rifle and shot him dead. "We're back." He uttered arrogantly in the silence, punctuated suddenly by heavier guns sounding off. Berlin was still crawling with rebels, but this time they were going to be taken care of, not let to form a democracy and toss out the rightful monarch like last time.
Taken from: “The Texan Struggle for Freedom”
(c) 1978 by Dale Campbell
Dallas, United States of America?Used With Permission
The first rebellions against Mexico by the subjugated Texans were moderately successful and resulted in a Texas independent, recognized by both the United States of America, and England. However this reasonably happy state of affairs did not last. Once Mexico had taken care of their Yucatan problem, despite some Texan naval interference, they turned back north and wiped Texas off newly printed maps. The US was upset, but too involved with the British invasion to do much about it. They did offer to buy Texas, but Mexico refused.[...]
And so the Texas struggle for freedom bled over, and Mexican forces invaded America. The US was facing the greatest of the great; the United Kingdom itself, but nevertheless they fought back and. British troops in the south of American tied down US forces and let the Mexican army make headway in what should have been a resounding defeat for the incompetent and poorly equipped Mexican invasion. However this was not the case and the US was forced to make peace; the Mexicans didn't get any territory out of it though, probably because they had enough trouble with the territory they already had.[...]
With the end of the Mexican section of the war the US was able to preform well enough that the eventual and inevitable peace treaty with England resulted in the loss of only a single province, though America was still humiliated. England had realized that France was fast catching up to their power, and so were motivated to end the American problem quickly. Sadly Texas remained under the dominion of Mexico, looking enviously northward, and even westward - for during the war the nation of Deseret had been formed. Destined to soon become a US satellite it was nevertheless better off then the people of Texas, but not all hope was lost.[...]
1846: Marching on Virginia
The Mexican cavalry column was loosely organized, swirls of activity at the edges at they rode towards Virginia. The poorly disciplined troops were inclined to simply enjoy this poorly defended countryside.
At the northwestern edge of the regiment a young Mexican officer looked around him, his horse jolting slowly beneath him, "This United States is a much cooler country, and look at all this green. Yes, it is much nicer then my home. Of course that's why I joined this grand army."
His orderly looked at him, wondering at how out of reality one can get. "Yes sir."
"And we conquer everything in our past. It's just like being in a book. Lots of riding, beautiful, though pale, women, wonderful scenery. Quick combat where we crush them." He stood up in his stirrups, "This cool air. You know I think I'll retire here."
His orderly looked at him, "And deal with Yankee rebels...sir?"
The officer turned to look at him, but the orderly was the picture of blankness, "I suppose you might be right." He slumped back down onto his horse, "Back to work, we are out here conquering after all."
The orderly was only somewhat shocked when the officers head exploded. The Mexican's had reached Virginia. They wouldn't return.
Taken from: “The Fleeting Peace Of Europe”
(c) 1893 by Prof. Jacques Célment
Originally Printed: Engine Publications, Paris, Empire of France
Translation by Prof. Edward Montgomery, Cambridge University
Difference Engine Amalgamated Press: London, England. 1928
Used Here With Permission
With both Great Britain's Caroline war, and the Austrian disintegration war over peace was once again afoot in the world. The surprisingly brief Crimean War, with Russia and Austria on one side, and the Ottoman Empire, France (with a new Napoleon at its head), the United Kingdom, and Sardinia-Piedmont on the other never really threatened this peace. Russia proved unwilling to prosecute the war to its full extent, and Austria lacked its usual German allies and so too conducted the short war in a desultory manner.
France had to confront the newly extended frontier with Prussia especially once they added in the Luxembourg purchase, considered a preemptive move against a presumed French purchase in the future, but Prussia was far too busy holding down all of its captured territory to do much about it. Yet. The US was looking for a rematch with Mexico without the albatross that was the United Kingdom on its neck and continued their breakneck pace towards the Pacific. Austria had managed to settle the Hungarian problem, but had lost her Italian possessions and a great of men in doing so. However Austria's alliance with Russia at least gave her a limited freedom.
Elsewhere in the world South America was what it had been for a long time; unstable and brawling. A dozen major (by the local standards) and minor wars had been fought there, the United States of Central America lost Puerto Rico and almost broke up, and so forth. The Caribbean saw the Dominican Republic stubbornly refuse to join either the United States, or France, but rather continue along its own destiny; eventually forming an alliance with Haiti. The United Kingdom expanded their Australian and New Zealand holdings with little bloodshed, and avoided war with China a few times. Japan modernized, China stagnated, and South-East Asia fought amongst themselves. Britain continued to grip tighter about their jewel of empire, India, and everybody began thinking about Africa; the dark continent; the last place around to colonize. Naturally there were more wars coming for this blighted world.[...]
1851: The Pacific Power
The Australian Prime Minister stood next to his New Zealand counterpart. “Having a spot of trouble with the natives are we?”
The New Zealander looked at him, “Not really. But your country is a tad larger then mine. If New Zealand ever wants to have some independence then she’ll need support. Your next door, and also thinking about putting a little more room between you and the Brits. Are they still shipping those convicts?”
“Afraid so. Maybe we can put together a nice little kingdom out here and really get to work. This unification will be my legacy, and you get to put the pieces together and run the whole thing soon enough.”
The two men stopped talking as a hush fell over the audience. The scribbling newspaper men in the background watched as they signed the document creating the new Kingdom of Australia and New Zealand. New Guinea would soon join their nation, and Canada would follow their path to self government soon enough. Some say it was the beginning of the end for the British Empire.
Taken from: “Flashpoints of the 19th Century”
(c) 1919 by Prof. Charles Davenport
Oxford University Press
University of Oxford, United Kingdom
[...]The Second Opium War was over in a week in the waning months of 1856, and China continued to brood under British domination. However the next major flashpoint was oddly enough in America. Growing debate over the practice of slavery led to the breaking up of the Union, with the southern half of the country forming the Confederate States of America. The northern half retained the no longer correct name of the United States of America, and fought to make the name true once more.
The CSA states declared independence and began to secede on October 19th, 1859 with South Carolina. Followed on that same day by Florida, and two days later by Alabama and Georgia. On October 27th Arkansas joined the new nation, but when the CSA moved to seize federal property in their states the USA declared war upon them. One month later on December 13th Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee joined the CSA and the Civil War was well and truly joined. The CSA lacked both the industry and the manpower of the northern states. Material support from the United Kingdom and Mexico held them together for over six years despite the string of victories down the Eastern seaboard for the US forces led by Robert E. Lee. “Stonewall” Jackson was only the most notable and successful of the many brave Confederate generals. In the end though sheer numbers did the nascent state in. It's impossible what to say would have happened with General Lee leading the South, or if Texas, free from Mexico, had joined the CSA, but both possibilities have been a subject of a large number of counterfactuals.[...]
By 1862 the war was not looking good for the Confederates, and nothing they would do from this point on would help them recover from the burning of Richmond in December of the previous year. With Britain unwilling to intervene for a third war with the US in half a century the CSA's remaining years were a long hard struggle, concluding in with their surrender in January of 1865. With this the United States was once again whole, and had built the third largest military in the world to do so; trailing only the United Kingdom and Prussia. However they had plunged deep into debt to do this, and would remain there for several years as expansion westward continued as it had throughout the war.
Taken from: “America Asunder”
by Prof. Robert Weber
Originally printed in Counterfactuals: The Alternate Paths of History
(c) 1994 Sideways Publishing Corporation
New York, United States of America
Reprinted here with permission
The United Kingdom had not been pleased with the end of the Caroline Conflict. The withdrawal of Mexico had meant that the US managed to rally enough troops so that the war ended up as almost a draw, a single province conceded to the British instead of the half dozen they rightfully deserved. The start of the War Between States and the early victories over the USA by General Lee convinced them that this time they would teach their onetime colony a lesson. Of course they were amicable to the idea of punishing Mexico as well, helping out the CSA and supporting the struggle for freedom in Texas was a nice bonus though...[...]
The Turning Point: I’m fairly sure that most of you who read this counterfactual know what actually occurred, and can follow roughly where history changed. The large butterflies which soon alter the world can be followed by anyone with a basic grasp of geography, although reading a good history of the Civil War does help, several are listed in my Source List.
Of course the British never entered the Civil War, primarily because the early CSA record was a major defeat at Bull Run by the Union forces under General Lee. The English wanted to, but they also remembered the Mexican failure and they weren’t willing to deal with another losing ally. Originally I had the though of putting General “Stonewall” Jackson at Bull Run since he gave Lee a run for his money throughout the war despite numerous disadvantages; and at Bull Run the Confederates had had superior strength - one of only a few battles where that was true. However since Lee and Jackson were both very good, I decided that this alternate Bull Run would probably wind up a bloody stalemate; or at best a minor victory for either side, none of which in the long run would help the Confederates more then the defeat that actually took place. General Lee taking control of US’s armed forces was a close thing though, he very nearly decided in favor of his beloved Virginia and her new country; since he assumed that the CSA would ultimately lose, he thought that bringing the war to a swift conclusion would be the best thing. Here he decides that Virginia matters more then the Union, and takes up arms against the US. His superior generalship results in a longer Bull Run with the Confederate success leading to a siege at Centerville which they also win. With these decisive early victories the UK enters the war and invades the US from Canada, as well as breaking the US blockade. The US doesn’t lose, the internal railnet allows troops to be shuttled against the British much faster then the British can ship them, but the amount they can rail north remains limited because of the CSA. This results in a war they can’t win, and might eventually lose as the UK brings more force to bear, the US simply doesn’t have enough strength.
Lincoln is eventually forced to sign a peace accord with the CSA and the UK. The British gain lightly settled Indian land in the west, with British Columbia stretching down to (Mexican) California. The CSA retains all the States that decided to join it. Soon enough British and Confederate pressure force Mexico to relinquish Texas. Mexico’s internal problems increase, and the CSA and the USA fight a series of small scale undeclared wars in Indian Territory while they both race for the west coast. Eventually Mexico is much reduced, and the CSA and the USA each have a strip out to the west coast (Northern California for the US, Southern/Baja California for the CS). This results in earlier settlement of the area then historically, and a somewhat stronger Kingdom of Canada down the line. Other changes are beyond the scope of this article, but certainly a far weaker USA, a weaker Mexico, the existence of the CSA, a stronger Canada and a UK that’s won three wars in a row with the US are going to alter the world fairly drastically.
Taken from: “The Texan Struggle for Freedom”
(c) 1978 by Dale Campbell
Dallas, United States of America?Used With Permission
With the Civil War ended, the US realigned it's newly expanded military and declared war on Mexico in February of 1866. This war ended a little under a year later with a clear, but not overwhelming US victory wherein they gained the provinces of Austin and Eureka. With a small part of Texas now free from the tyranny of the Mexican overlords the newly free section of Texas began agitating to get the rest out from Mexico as well. However the US was till focused on finishing their population of the interior, as well as keeping adequate defenses facing the British, and conducting the sizable expense of building a powerful fleet. Texas, and the rest of Mexico would have to wait.[...]
Taken from: “Canada: The Business Deal of a Nation”
by Albert David Gault
Toronto, Kingdom of Canada
(c) 1983 The Harbourfront Publishing Company
Used With Permission
With the UK worried about American expansion, and still concerned about the Manifest Destiny that the US espoused John A. MacDonald easily sold his so-called anti-American alliance to the British, and turned around and sold it as a business deal to his fellow capitalists, and then sold it as a grand nation to the people. Despite being generally drunk he then set about to make it a nation, one founded on railways and westward expansion with a healthy dose of under the table dealings thrown in. Despite numerous scandals he remained in power with one brief interruption (when the public learned about his dealings, despite that he was soon reelected) until his death. The UK having had large successes in the last American war decided that the Kingdom of Canada would work just fine, rather then the Dominion of Canada they had previously been considering.
Taken from: “Flashpoints of the 19th Century”
(c) 1919 by Prof. Charles Davenport
Oxford University Press
University of Oxford, United Kingdom
The next major conflict to emerge after the US Civil War was over Greece. Thousands of years ago Greek city-states had ruled the known world, now it was but a minor player on the edge of the Balkans. The Ottoman Empire's declaration of war came as surprise since Greece happened to be allied with the United Kingdom at the time, but nevertheless it seemed like the rest of Europe would be content to see if the waning Ottoman Empire could handle the challenge. This war however never grew, and it was a slow Ottoman slog through rough Greek terrain while British Marines conducted harassing naval landings.[...]
The next major conflict that actually was a major conflict took place in 1870 when the French pushed Prussia into war over a minor Prussian noble assuming the throne of Spain. Unfortunately for the French the Prussians had mobilized some months before, preparing for a new fight with Denmark and their Swede allies. This pending conflict became moot when the French struck between the newly constructed Switzerland fortifications, and the older Rhineland Prussian ones. The French armies managed to take two provinces from Baden before an assortment of minor German states assisted by the Prussian VI and IX Korps pushed them back. Meanwhile the the First Prussian Army led by XX Korps with twenty-five divisions under Von Moltke swung through Luxembourg and headed for Paris. He was covered by the XXIII, XXIV and XXVI Korps, each with six divisions. At the same time the Second Prussian Army under Prinz Friedrich Karl with his XXI Korps and its twenty divisions, XXII Korps and its twenty divisions under Falckenstien covered by the XXV and XXVII Korps with respectively six and five divisions went through Switzerland on a parallel but southern course to Paris. The IV and V Korps remained at the Rhineland border for the opening phases then deployed their three divisions each as garrison/anti-partisan forces. On the Swiss-French border the XI, XII and XIII Korps with three divisions each (although the XII Korps had two cavalry divisions) protected that border, and then followed along behind Second Army as garrison/anti-partisan troops.
Von Moltke drove to the English Channel with his First Army and then swept from the north onto Paris, while the Second Prussian Army did the same from the south. The center french forces were the weakest and most disorganized and here the smaller covering Korps pushed forward when relieved of protecting the main army flanks. By the time Paris was brought under assault the Prussian forces had cleared a three to four province deep swatch south from the Belgium/Prussia/Swiss borders that stretched all the way to the English Channel. More importantly every inch of that was covered by a reasonably strong force, and additional units roamed inside the captured territory handling partisans.
Meanwhile the minor German states (plus the Prussian VI and IX Korps) found themselves facing what was eventually the entire original French border guard. Additionally various units that had been cut during the major Prussian thrusts congregated here at the border as well, all fighting for the single (by now) insignificant province of Strasbourg. At it's height over 300 000 French troops from a dozen corps, and nearly 400 000 German troops from at least twice that many corps (although many were single division commitments from the smaller German states), attacking from four different directions were involved in this titanic battle. The battles around and for Paris by comparison involved no more then 300 000 troops on both sides engaged at once, although the aggregate forces in the area numbered approximately one and a quarter million men, with roughly half of that total being from the Prussian army. That half was however better equipped, led, and conducted their brilliant operational plan (Case Eiffel) perfectly. Hence the unstoppable sweep to the English Channel, the southern thrust preventing many French troops from reaching Paris, and various forces (including the entire border guard) cut off inside Prussian lines.
During this time Denmark saw an opportunity and declared war on Prussia, hoping to regain some of its lost territory. Instead the I, II, III and XVI Korps took the Danish capital in a month, and Denmark readily surrendered its overseas possessions, retaining only (technically) the Virgin Islands because rebel forces controlled them. The Swedes did almost nothing, only a brief late sortie of their navy. This weak effort almost certainly dashed the Swedish dream of a unified Scandinavia. If they had[...]
In the end Prussia had deployed nearly one and a half million men in this short war. The minor German states added nearly half a million of their own (a slim majority from Bavaria) and Austria even contributed a pair of divisions. Additionally Prussia retained nearly a hundred thousand men covering her countryside, most of that force was eventually used in the invasion of Denmark. The French also mustered around one and a half million men, but the loss of approximately four hundred thousand in and around the border and surrounded during the Prussian thrusts was a devastating blow that she never recovered from. In the end of course France made terms, ceding several border provinces that had large German populations. Although the Prussian army might well have been able to occupy France and secure better terms, the unification of Germany took precedence and drew attention elsewhere. The French though had already begun to line up allies for the next conflict.[...]
Taken from: “The Eagle and the Siblings: The Unification of the German State”
(c) 1938 by Erwin Rommel
Knopf Press
Berlin, Germany
[...]With France suitably chastened, the minor German states were impressed by Prussian feat of arms. Looking at Bismarck and his eager attempts to unite the Germanic people they concluded jumping on the bandwagon before getting run over was the smart move. In the early days of 1871 all minor German states united under Prussia to form the new nation of Germany. Although the flag was not quite as eye-catching as it used to be, her neighbors viewed this new country (quite rightly) as a vastly stronger and more capable Prussia. Russia responded by positioning herself as a close ally. France was in no condition to worry about the event, yet, and neither were the remnants of Denmark. Sweden/Norway had Russian (and Finnish) worries of their own and the various Italian states were too busy squabbling amongst themselves. On the other hand Austria reacted to the loss of her formerly controllable German allies with shock and alarm, and a justifiable fear of Bismarck.[...]
Germany now had but two problems, France would be looking for a rematch soon enough, and Austria was deathly afraid that the next morning would bring the sound of Prussian artillery all along their poorly defended border. Germany set about this logically enough. First the newly extended German-French border had expansive fortifications built upon them, manned by a gradually strengthening infantry force. Secondly she prepared to invade Austria, but that would have to wait on two things; the final dismemberment of Denmark, and the pesky Two Sicilies province of Bremen on German soil.[...]
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and was a great set up for my counterfactual.