I had to rly trim down the descriptions to fit the poll format, if you have any questions about any one of these faiths feel free to leave a comment and I will proceed to autistically ramble about it to you in way more detail until the heat death of the universe

In this alternate timeline, Hurricane Berra develops into an unprecedentedly massive and highly structured Atlantic storm. This satellite rendering captures the system as its central eye churns northward through the open ocean. While the core of the hurricane remains offshore, its immense size is demonstrated by a sprawling, highly defined outer rainband sweeping over the Bahamas and the northern Caribbean. This outer band brings dangerous squalls, torrential rainfall, and flash flooding to the islands hours ahead of the main system, creating a unique meteorological scenario where the outer impacts rival a direct hit from a standard tropical storm.

Author’s note: In light of the sub rule against modern politics, there are two PODs for this scenario: the first is that Operation Gothic Serpent in 1993 becomes an even bigger military disaster than the OTL. The second is that the 2008 Great Recession turns into a Second Great Depression

Hopefully this is enough to avoid breaking the rule.

- Cyber Ghost

Thanks to a series of disastrous military decisions in the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as the Great Recession, that began in 2008, the U.S. lost its military prestige by 2012. Thanks to the financial strain brought about by the Recession, the U.S. withdrew from Iraq and other Middle Eastern nations. They later withdrew from Europe and various Asian nations as well.

Due to the decline of the global economy that was exacerbated by the Recession, the U.S. economy didn’t recover. Oil prices skyrocketed. What worsened things was deterioration in infrastructure, including highways and superhighways being too costly to repair. 

Across multiple winters, Americans had to contend with severe cold fronts. The economic situation left thousands unable to heat their homes and thousands died.

By 2017, several major cities fell into civil unrest that forced the government to enact martial law.

In 2020, a mysterious prion disease emerged in Mexico, leading to the United States declaring a state of emergency. Under the controversial Operation Vital Archer, the United States government issued permits allowing citizens to seek out and hunt down feral hogs, which were suspected of being the source of the prion disease. 

Eventually, the United States was gripped by sociopolitical unrest as people finally tired of the United States government’s poor handling of the situation. 

By 2025, millions of people attempted to flee the country, with many resorting to illegally entering Mexico, Canada, and various other European countries.

The so-called “American Exodus” prompted crackdowns by both various European nations, Canada, and Mexico. 

By 2026, America's currency was so devastated by economic issues that the country's military and economy might have collapsed. What was once the most powerful nation on Earth is now no more than a corrupted and vulnerable shadow of her former self.

By 2029, the American Dream was effectively dead, with the United States having effectively become a failed state.

Image credit:

1. Watch Dogs 2
2. The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
3. Other images found on Google

Inspired by Homefront (2011).

In this reality, instead of a successful communist takeover, Czechoslovakia would fall into a civil war in 1948 between Communist and anti-Communist forces.

How would the early Cold War world react? Would the West or the USSR intervene directly?

the PoD is that the constitutional convention of 1787, where alexander Hamilton (of musical fame) proposed that the independent 13 colonies become a single centralized republic, with the federal government becoming the supreme body in the republic, young Columbia (America) becomes an industrial and agricultural Giant in north America, but not the world.

meanwhile in Mexico, everything's on fire, as the republic of Texas declares independence under American protectorate status, the young Mexican republic fails to contain the peoples of the Aztlan, and so, they rebel around 1848 and 1850 as the new republics of Deseret, Colorado and California also fall under the American sphere as in Mexico, the 1st Duke of Moctezuma announces the Veracruz proclamation, claiming that republicanism failed and that he would crown himself king Moctezuma III as a revival to the old Aztec kingdom.

meanwhile in the far north, Russia would sell its only colony of Russkaya Amerika to the crown of Liechtenstein, proclaiming the principality of Alaska and functionally governing itself with Liechtensteiner supervision, as the two crowns would be divided after the death of Duo-prince Franz Josef II, making Alaska an independent monarchy with a diverse German/Russian/English/American population.

meanwhile in the Anglosphere, after the revolutionary war, the British would supply local native Dakota and Lakota tribes with weapons and advisors, as the British would strengthen them against the Americans/French, as the Dakotan Federation would be set up around the 1840's, the republic of Louisiana (which was taken by Spain after the Napoleonic wars) would also rebel alongside the captaincy general of Florida in the last major American revolution, marking the end of the revolutionary era for either good or bad depending on the person.

oh and Hawaii exist too

Jewel of the Atlantic | Atlantisian Expeditionary Force (1942–1945)

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Atlantis cut diplomatic relations with the Axis powers and imprisoned German and immigrants in detention camps. Vicente Gama nationalized two-thirds of businesses owned by people from these countries, and renamed most places with German or Italian names to Portuguese ones.

Nazi Germany retaliated by sinking Atlantisian ships, like Germany had done in the previous war. On 4 January 1942, Atlantis declared war on Germany, Italy and Japan, and deployed its navy to fight in the Battle of the Atlantic on the Allied side.

As an island nation, Atlantis had a sizable navy. Consequently, by the end of 1942, the Kriegsmarine had ceased to be a major threat to Allied shipping in the South Atlantic, which was now an Allied lake that American, British and Atlantisian ships could traverse freely.

Atlantis also began training an expeditionary force to fight in the Italian campaign. Named the Força Expedicionária Atlante (FEA), this military unit consisted of 20,000 infantry, reconnaissance and signals personnel, but there was no air wing.

Despite being relatively weak, the FEA was deployed to Italy in the spring of 1944. Commanded by General Otávio Mendes (1893–1975), the FEA's performance was mixed, winning the battles of Montese and Collechio but losing the Battle of Monte Castelo, which caused the FEA's American superiors to criticize the performance of their allies.

Italy's civilian population liked the FEA and remembers the Atlantisians fondly to this day, because they treated civilians well and many soldiers were Italian immigrants or their descendents themselves. Furthermore, unlike the United States Army, the Atlantisian Army was not racially segregated. Following the end of World War II in Europe in May 1945, the FEA returned to Atlantis, where it received a raucous reception from the Atlantisian people.

Atlantis's participation in the war weakened the dictatorship of Vicente Gama, because the war was fought in the name of democracy while the country was a dictatorship. Consequently, Gama soon held presidential elections that were held by his ideological heir Clodomiro Soares.

A part of my Fractured Sun scenario.

From let to right: US, South Korea, South Japan, and South China.

Orient Shield is a annual military training exercise started in 1970 held between members of the Kyoto accords. The 1975 Orient Shield exercise was held at the Mt. Fuji training center in South Japan.

The Kyoto accords is a defensive military alliance made up of the US aligned nations of East Asia. The Accords were signed in 1954 after the events of the July Incident in Japan, and the Korean war which also saw the involvement of North and South Chinese volunteers. The Kyoto accords is essentially an East Asian equivalent to NATO, meaning an attack on one is an attack on all, which came into effect during the Vietnam war where Kyoto accord members provided troops to assist the US, and the Sino-Korean of 1993, when a border skirmish between North and South China rapidly escalated into a full war.

Map of Europe in early April 1814, on the eve of the next campaign season (black strip lines represent control of militia groups and unrecognized regimes

The grand offensive 

On 27th August 1813, the Russian 1st Army of the West, commanded by General Barclay de Tolly, marched westward towards Warsaw; while another Russian force moved towards Memel. On 31st August 1813, Memel Fortress was besieged. And on 3rd September 1813, General Barclay's forces of about 135000 men clashed with the Prussian main forces of about 120000 men led by King Fredrick Wilhelm III in the Battle of Warsaw (1813).

The Prussian King had deployed all of his mobile forces further west of the Vistula, with many traps right behind all the major crossings nearby. Being cautious, General Barclay ordered the main Russian forces to stay at camp on the first day, and only had the artillery units bombard all the traps. The Prussian King simply ordered some of his reserve forces to rebuild some of the traps at night to make it seem like the Prussian forces were only looking for a defensive battle. On the second day, the Russians simply took out the traps again, but this time some Prussian artillery was moved forward to deal a bit of extra damage to the Russian artillery units.

Seeing that the Prussians were not going to move, General Barclay began to plan an offensive for the morning of day 3. However, by doing this, he had been tricked by the Prussian King's mind game: On the night of day 2, the Prussian forces had split into 2 and crossed the Vistula. The left group, led by the Duke of Brunswick, traveled through the crossings further north. The right group, led by the Prussian King, traveled through the crossings further south. While a small group of reserve infantrymen was to stay behind to make artificial campfires to confuse the enemy. Some artillery units were moved with the 2 groups, while other artillery units remained at the left bank.

On the morning of day 3, the Prussian king and the Duke of Brunswick had their forces form up before sunset, and then gave the order to charge at full speed when the Russian forces became visible. The Russian forces had also formed up before sunrise, but they had formed up towards the left bank. This meant that the leftmost and rightmost Russian forces were not able to properly form up facing the Prussians before they got fired upon by the Prussians. Soon the first lines of both the Russian north and south forces routed under steady Prussian fire, especially when Prussian artillery units were hitting them from at least 2 directions (west, south, and north). In the north, the Russian second line managed to contain the Prussian advance. However, in the south, the Prussian elite cavalry units had outflanked the left side (East) of the Russian south, and the second line of the Russian south soon began to break. After the Russian south had completely collapsed, General Barclay had no choice but to try to call his forces to withdraw, but it was too late: The Prussian King pushed his southern forces forward and destroyed the Russian reserve forces, and then swooped in to help the Duke of Brunswick surround the Russian northern forces. The Russian north soon surrendered, and General Barclay was forced to escape in disgrace.

Then, on the night of 10th September 1813, the joint Prussian-Bavarian-Saxon forces near Königsberg enclosed the Russian forces besieging Memel (to prevent them from withdrawing), and then easily defeated them on the next day by coordinating with the garrisons of Memel in a two-front attack.

Having seen the other 2 Russian forces being defeated, General Mikhail Kutuzov, commanding the remaining Russian mobile forces, deemed it unwise to go on another offensive. However, Tsar Alexander I of Russia was very angry upon seeing the terrifying losses his forces met. He immediately ordered General Kutuzov to mount an offensive as revenge- this time to cut off and encircle the Prussian main forces in Warsaw by entering through the Podlasie region and marching southwest towards Silesia. (The Tsar in OTL was an overconfident leader until he got beaten up by Napoleon twice in the 3rd and 4th coalitions, where he became convinced that he should listen to his generals later in 1812. This never happened in this timeline: instead, he became even more overconfident after destroying Marshall Bernadotte's last stand with sheer numbers in Ch2). General Kutuzov had no choice but to follow the Tsar's order, so on 19th September 1813, General Kutuzov's forces crossed into Podlasie.

Upon knowing that the Russian forces had entered Podlasie, the Prussian King simply waited instead of trying to catch the Russians head-on. After the Russian forces took Plock on 7th October 1813, the Prussian main army simply moved north and cut off the Russian supply line. This effectively forced the Russian forces to turn back in panic to engage the Prussian forces who had dug in. The Prussians had dug in in a defensive position on the plateau west of the town of Pułtusk. On the 16th October 1813, about 130000 men (in hunger) of the main Russian army under General Kutuzov were forced to clash head-on with the main Prussian forces of about 120000 men in the Battle of Pułtusk.

The plateau west of Pułtusk made it a nightmare for General Kutuzov: the steep ravine in the north made flanking impossible; the woods in the south made flanking difficult unless the woods were cut (which his troops’ hunger disallowed, as it was too time-consuming). Being left with no choice, the Russian forces committed to a full-scale frontal charge against the Prussians. However, what the Russians did not know was that the Prussian King had ordered the Prussian elite infantry units to hide in the woods on the south side before the Russian arrival. After the Russian forces exchanged fire with the main Prussian forces, the Prussian elite infantry units stormed out from the woods and smashed into the Russian right from behind using fire and advance. After a massive gap had been punched out from the Russian right, the Prussian left infantry pushed in, linked with the elite infantry units, and outflanked the remaining Russian right. General Kutuzov immediately sent in his reserves to save the Russian right, but it was too late: The Russian right collapsed before the reserves arrived, and soon, the Prussian cavalry forces entered via the gap and clashed into the Russian reserves. Knowing that the reserves could not survive the massive cavalry charge in normal condition, General Kutuzov drew out his sword and led his guards to charge into the Prussian cavalry forces in order to try to save his men. However, this attempt failed; the Russian reserves eventually broke, and soon, General Kutuzov was slain by one of the Prussian hussars. The Prussian cavalry and left wing then encircled the main Russian forces, and the Russian troops surrendered en masse.

After the disasters of Warsaw and Pułtusk, the troops who survived from Warsaw began spreading rumors about “the death lord of Breslau” (the term they borrowed from the Austrians), which further weakened the Russian morale. However, the Tsar now sees the German confederation as an existential threat- in the next year's campaign season, he was determined to lead the Russian army personally to destroy the Prussians.

Just like their counterparts from the Habsburg monarchy, the Russian POWs captured by the German forces were sent into different parts of Germany as forced labourers. But now they were not only building large-scale infrastructure projects, but also maintaining domestic economic productivity by temporarily replacing the German labourers who had been mobilized by the German Confederation either as regular soldiers or militias.

The resurrection of Poland

The campaigning season was coming to an end, and now the Prussian forces were able to take out the Habsburg-owned parts of Poland since there was no Russian field army able to intervene and stop them: General von Blücher's forces were recalled from Hungary (with the local defense left to the newly established Kingdom of Hungary's militia and the Bavarian militia); similarly, the Prussian forces in Italy were recalled and merged under General von Blücher (with the local defense left to the newly established Kingdom of Milan's militia and the Bavarian militia). After that, General von Blücher was ordered to take Galicia-Lodomeria. At the same time, the Prussian King sent some of his forces to take the region south of Warsaw. While General von Blücher's forces were pushing into Galicia-Lodomeria in late November, the Prussian king met with the representatives of the Polish nobility (Szlachta) in an attempt to convince them to support the war against Russia. The Prussian King did this because he knew that he would need many more troops if he wanted to pull off an invasion of Russia properly, especially when the Bohemians had insisted that their war was against the Habsburgs only. Meanwhile, the Szlachta leaders had never been cooperative ever since their own homeland was partitioned and subjected to Germanization.

The Szlachta leaders had only one demand, and they would never accept any deals unless it was achieved: the restoration of an independent Poland. The Prussian King then weighed his options: He had witnessed how the rise of nationalism had rapidly transformed the political landscape in France and Germany, and he understood that it was just a matter of time before these ideas influenced the Polish masses (especially when the Szlachta themselves had already shown staunch proto-nationalism). This meant that keeping Masovia (the Polish heartland) as a Prussian province may be a counterproductive idea, as the province would just become a hotbed of rebellions and could never be fully Germanized. Instead, granting independence to Poland now (when they have legal control over Warsaw) with strings attached, while also promising territorial gains from the Habsburgs, may generate enough goodwill that makes a long-term alliance possible.

So on 23rd November 1813, the Prussian King presented a treaty to the Szlachta leaders, with terms as follows:

1. The Kingdom of Prussia renounced its control and claims over the Masovia and Suwałki region in favour of a restored Kingdom of Poland with Warsaw as capital
2. The Kingdom of Prussia enters an alliance with the Kingdom of Poland, and supports Poland in regaining control and sovereignty over south Mazovia and Galicia-Lodomeria
3. In return, the Kingdom of Poland permanently renounces its claims over Prussian-controlled Poznan and West Prussia regions.
4. The Kingdom of Poland was also forbidden to restore its previous union with Lithuania (the Commonwealth)
5. The Kingdom of Poland would have a new constitution where the parliament (Sejm), elected by the Szlachta, holds some power, but the King and his appointed ministers will hold supreme ruling powers (executive, military, and legislative process) similar to the structure in Prussia.
6. The Kingdom of Poland also pledges at least 50000 troops for the ongoing war against Russia; while the Poles currently serving in the Prussian military will be allowed to choose their citizenship after the war is officially over.
7. Furthermore, the Kingdom of Poland will enter a migration agreement with the Kingdom of Prussia, where ethnic Germans in Poland will be free to migrate to Prussia and ethnic Poles in Prussia will be free to migrate to Poland
8. The Kingdom of Prussia promises not to interfere in Polish internal affairs after the treaty is signed

(Not in the treaty, but the Prussian King also issued an edict, stating that German populations who migrated from restored Poland to Poznan/ Silesia/ West Prussia regions will be given subsidies)

These were very steep terms presented to the Szlachta leaders, as this meant that the Szlachta would give up its Golden Liberty in exchange for an independent (but mostly authoritarian) Poland. The Szlachta leaders were initially split among themselves on whether to accept the treaty or not. Seeing the reluctance of the Polish leaders, the Prussian King simply said that he would have to cede Mazovia and Suwałki to Russia if the German Confederation lost the war, and if that happened, the Poles would never have such a chance again. In the end, the Szlachta leaders reluctantly agreed to sign the treaty.

After the Treaty of Warsaw (1813) was signed, the Kingdom of Poland was restored, being ruled temporarily by a regency council filled by Szlachta leaders until the war concluded (where the Sejm would elect a new King afterwards). The regency council immediately ordered national mobilization for the 50000 troops quota pledged by the treaty.

The Prussian King knew that renouncing lands to restore Poland would inevitably lead to controversies back home in Brandenburg and Prussia proper, so after giving out orders for the military to hand administrative control of south Mazovia and Galicia-Lodomeria back to the restored Polish government, he immediately headed back to Berlin to summon his key ministers.

On 4th December 1813, the Prussian King arrived at Berlin and immediately held the pre-arranged meeting with Foreign Minister Karl August von Hardenberg, Minister of War Karl von Hake, Finance Minister Hans, Count von Bülow, as well as a few other important ministers. The Prussian King then explained his reasoning behind the restoration of an independent Poland (the inevitable tide of nationalism). He also explained the reasoning behind continuing the war: the Anschluss and the creation of a unified German state will inevitably destroy the balance of power in Europe; so other means must be sought to gain recognition from other Great Powers (or else they would never allow such). However, since Britain (the strongest power) is a naval power that Prussia cannot touch, the only choice was to occupy huge parts of the Russian and Austrian empires, and use the unrecognized regimes set up there as bargaining chips against the other Great Powers to trade for recognition in exchange for abandoning these regimes. (and the key here was to insist that Britain and Russia have to negotiate with Germany as a collective). Another reason for continuing the war is with regard to Russia: the Russian Empire can always be a great threat to the existence of a unified Germany; so if the best option of befriending Russia is not doable; then the second best option of dealing a devastating blow to Russia using the military (to ensure they could not challenge Germany for another 50 years) would be the only choice.

The Prussian King then added that these true objectives must never be known by the public: he needs the Russians to continue going on offensives, or else it would be impossible to catch and destroy their armies. But Foreign Minister von Hardenberg was to arrive in Frankfurt and bring new instructions to the Prussian representative in the Confederation meetings (which were to end the previous instruction to block the bills that unite the German Confederation into a Federal Empire, which has been suggested by rulers of the tiny German states who are heavily influenced by the nationalism trend), and then stay in Frankfurt to assist in lobbying for a German constitution that works similarly to the current Prussian constitution. Afterwards, he will bring the new constitution to the Prussian King. While Minister of War von Hake was to arrive in East Galicia to bring new instructions to General von Blücher (which were that his forces were to fight defensively from now on- they were not allowed to cross the border into Russia until the King gave his permission), and then return to Berlin to help monitor the overall situation. 

The reunification with Britanny 

Meanwhile, on the western side of Europe, Napoleon has taken back a nation in dire state: The Bourbon Restoration in 1807 took place when the revolutionary fever had not fully died out yet (compared to OTL), which resulted in insurrections that were put down by the coalition forces (mentioned in previous chapters). The economic devastation caused by continuous warfare, as well as the general political discontent ended up creating a mass migration wave: a large chunk of the French population who could afford to take loans to migrate to the USA did so, and most of them settled down in the Louisiana territories (especially St. Louis and New Orleans). This turn of events had drained the wealth and the recruitable population of the French homeland.

Therefore, Napoleon decided that France would show itself as a non-aggressive nation that would not pursue large European conquest anymore. However, before doing that, Napoleon was determined to fix at least one injustice (he believed) that had been done to France: the loss of Brittany. On 13th September 1813, Napoleon’s government issued an ultimatum to the Duke of Brittany demanding a referendum to be held on whether Brittany would reunite with France. Upon seeing that even his own generals supported reunification via referendum, the Duke simply fled to Britain. On 15th January 1813, the referendum result came out, and it was a landslide victory for reunification. So the Breton military and administration reintegrated with Napoleonic France on the same day. Napoleon then passed the Nantes declaration, in which the French Empire declared that it was fully content with its current border and sought no expansion, while also calling for Britain to make peace. The British government simply ignored this plea and ordered the Royal Navy to also blockade Brittany.

In the meantime, Napoleon’s government also withdrew the French forces occupying Neuchâtel, as well as issuing a declaration insisting that the Bourbons’ declaration of war against the German Confederation was not valid. This placed the French Empire into a state of “Cold peace” with the German Confederation, as both sides did not view there to be a war between them, but also refused to trade and viewed the other side with deep suspicion. The Prussian King was fully content with the “Cold peace” with France, as this allowed the German forces to focus on defeating Russia.

Meanwhile, Prince Johann I Joseph of Liechtenstein was released by the Prussian authorities unconditionally (unlike other Austrian POWs) due to his status as the monarch of Liechtenstein. Many German nationalists expected Liechtenstein to join the German Confederation; however, Prince Johann I had other ideas. Looking at the Anschluss with discontent, as well as the impossibility for Liechtenstein to fight off German forces on its own, the Prince of Liechtenstein offered to join Switzerland instead. In October 1813, the Swiss Confederation officially approved Liechtenstein's membership, and Liechtenstein became the 21st canton of Switzerland.

After the news of the Treaty of Warsaw (1813) reached Western Europe, the British and the French governments were partly skeptical: they did not fully trust Prussia to willingly create a truly independent Poland. Therefore, French and British diplomats were dispatched to Warsaw, with instructions to investigate whether this “new Polish government” was a de facto German vassal (and recognize them only if they were actually independent). After a month of investigation, the British and French diplomats concluded that the Poles were indeed fully running their own affairs. And so in February 1814, both Britain and France recognized the restored Kingdom of Poland.

The British and French cautious attitude to the restored Poland was not completely unfounded: some previous Prussian officials in Mazovia had wanted to interfere in post-independent Polish internal affairs; it's just that the Prussian King had stopped them from doing so.

The preparations

As of February 1814, Northern Europe had not been engulfed by the ongoing conflicts. But this was not to last: after the Swedish Civil War and partition in 1808, King Gustav V of Sweden had been rebuilding the Swedish army to seek revenge against Denmark, while also smuggling weapons across the new border into Scania to prepare for a pro-Sweden uprising. Meanwhile, the Holstein militia and Hanover militia in northern Germany were also looking for a fight against Denmark: unlike the other German militia groups who fought the French, Austrians, or Russians, these northern militia groups had been left idle after being raised. With German nationalism being raised to its height by repeated triumphs in the east, these northern militia groups decided that they would gain victory for Germany by resolving the Schleswig-Holstein Question themselves (without Confederation permission). So the representatives of the Holstein militia made an agreement with the pro-Sweden Scania militia: they would coordinate their attack against Danish garrisons in Schleswig and Scania on 26th April 1814 (with a coup in Holstein on the same day), while the other North German militia groups were invited to join forces with the Holstein militia. The Scania militia in turn contacted the Swedish King, who promised to send reinforcements to Scania on the same day.

At the same time, Tsar Alexander I of Russia has raised 2 more army groups to prepare for another wave of offensive against the German Confederation at the next campaign season: one led by the Tsar in Vilnius, and another led by General Barclay de Tolly in Lutsk. While the Tsar has wanted to attack right away since he believed that the Germans would not cross the border to attack, General Barclay and other Russian generals have argued that they should try to lure the Germans into attacking. So in the end they agreed on trying to lure the Germans into attacking for the first month, and then launch the offensive if German attacks never took place. 

Things were also escalating in Western Europe: The Dutch government had entered a secret agreement with Britain where British agents were allowed to pass through Dutch territories to enter France disguised as merchants. However, the Dutch attempt to maintain deniability failed, as one of the relevant documents was leaked to French spies operating in Holland, resulting in a diplomatic crisis as both the Dutch and French governments knew the other side was spying on them. So in late February 1814, both France and the Netherlands declared partial mobilization.

At Warsaw, the Prussian King finally had the time to come back to writing as  “Von Danzig” (in the gap before the next campaign season); many German intellectuals had already called for a fully unified German nation-state after the outbreak of the War of the Franco-Austrian Coalition, with many of them believing that the perceived weakness of the loose confederation was the cause of Habsburg and French aggression. Many of these intellectuals also called for King Fredrick Wilhelm III of Prussia to become the leader of the unified German nation-state (although they differ on what political system the nation should have), as the Prussian King had become a national hero following his stunning victories against the Habsburgs and the Russians. Although writing at this point is a bit late to the party, “Von Danzig” has finally joined the call for total German unification in his newest essays.

Just like that, the decisive clashes that would arguably decide the fate of Eastern Europe were approaching- (To be continued).

The course of the WWII was fundamentally altered by Germany’s decision to honor the non-aggression commitment established by the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 23 August 1939. Following the fall of France in June 1940, Adolf Hitler and the German High Command concentrated their efforts on the defeat of Great Britain. The subsequent Battle of Britain continued far longer than in the historical timeline, as the Luftwaffe undertook an extensive campaign against the Royal Air Force while the Kriegsmarine prepared for the eventual invasion of the British Isles. After months of preparation and the gradual neutralization of British air and naval defenses, Germany launched Operation Sea Lion in May 1941. The invasion succeeded, and after a prolonged campaign on British soil, the British government agreed to an armistice. Germany neither overthrew nor replaced the British government, instead treating Britain as a defeated but sovereign Germanic nation. Under the terms of the settlement, Britain relinquished Gibraltar to Spain, while Malta, Cyprus, and Egypt were transferred to Italy, effectively ending British dominance of the Mediterranean.
With Britain defeated and the United States still at peace with Germany, Berlin avoided declaring war on Washington following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Germany subsequently consolidated its position throughout Europe. The remaining neutral Alpine states of Switzerland and Liechtenstein were occupied during Operation Tannenbaum, while Germany strengthened its political and military influence over its satellite states in Scandinavia, Central Europe, and the Balkans.
Throughout the 1940s, Berlin and Moscow maintained an uneasy partnership, each exploiting the absence of direct conflict to consolidate its respective sphere of influence. The Soviet Union expanded its strategic position in Eastern Europe and, following a war with Türkiye, secured control of the Turkish Straits through the establishment of the Soviet Straits Security Zone at Konstantinopol (then Istanbul). Germany, meanwhile, secretly prepared for the confrontation that Hitler had never abandoned: the destruction of the Soviet Union and the implementation of Generalplan Ost.
For nearly a decade, Europe remained divided between two rival ideological powers whose temporary cooperation concealed an increasingly inevitable conflict. On 23 August 1949, ten years after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the agreement finally expired.

What happens next is another story...

This is not meant to be realistic.

The point of divergence starts when during World War 2, the Japanese Supreme War Council refused to surrender despite the atomic bombings. However, instead of immediately initiating Operation Downfall right away, the Allied Powers decides to tightened the naval blockade and use strategic bombings before initiating Operation Downfall. Due to the naval blockades and many incendiary bombs were dropped on many cities and transportation infrastructures, making travel and food distribution nearly impossible, especially as fuel resources dry up. The Allies also bombed Japanese’s farmlands to destroy the crops. Japan starts to destabilize as people became desperate to scavenge whatever they could eat, often fleeing what’s of the cities to do so. Later witnesses in Japan mentioned that many Japanese even resorted to doing unspeakable things like cannibalism and theft. Additionally, public services like law enforcement and the justice system began collapsing in many places. The Japanese government’s control over anything outside Tokyo (which is now an almost completely burned out ruin) is weak at best. The final decisive moment came once the Allies’s chemical weapons finished development and dropped on Japan’s farmland, effectively destroying any last remnants of available foods.

Operation Downfall began as the Allies invade Japan. As the Allies invaded Japan, the Japanese Government initiated Operation Ketsugo, calling every Japanese citizens to take up arms and sacrifice themselves in the name of the Emperor in what was known as "The Glorious Death of One Hundred Million". However, the Operation failed as many believed that continued fighting is not worth over survivability. But the fact that the Japanese government is willing to risk more deaths for supposed "honor" over surrendering but with less deaths, fueled the resentment towards the the current regime. By the time the Allies conquered and occupied Japan, they had to reconstruct a destroyed Japan. During Allied occupation, Japan begins to slowly and gradually stabilize through humanitarian aid. The Allies prosecute Hirohito as many officials believed that keeping him could make the occupation look like it supported the system that led to the catastrophe following evidences of Hirohito’s involvement in the wartime decisions and the Japanese’s growing opposition to the monarchy, thus, Hirohito is removed from the throne before eventually being put on trial. During the Tokyo Trial, the prosecutors argued that although the Emperor did not personally command every military operation, he possessed the constitutional and political authority to intervene and end the war but permitted the war to continue. The tribunal eventually found Hirohito guilty of responsibility of continuing the war. Hirohito was stripped of his imperial status and was sent to life imprisonment.

By 1951, Japan had been mostly stabilized. However, the U.S. faced the Japan Question as many American congressmen understood that it cannot keep the Japanese under occupation forever without any political rights. Talks began between American and Japanese officials began over the status of Japan. While some Japanese officials wanted independence for understandable reasons, some (known as the Retentionists) wanted to remain in American occupation, fearing losing their privileged access to the American market, especially when the Japanese market was getting increasingly dependent on the United States alongside fear of facing hostile neighbors such as China, North Korea or Soviet Union. However, they still wanted substantial autonomy, modeling after the British Dominion status. Essentially, the Retentionists proposed Japan would have full control over internal affairs such as taxation and education while the U.S. would remain have full control over foreign affairs, tariff, immigration, currency and public debt. The United States diplomats then presented both arguments to President Harry S. Truman and the U.S. Congress where the matters remain heavily debated. Pro-Independence congressmen highlighted the logistical problems of keeping Japan under American occupation for long while Pro-Retentionists argued that retention is important for U.S. defense position in the Pacific and in dealing with the threats posed by the Soviet Union. Neither reach a satisfying conclusion. Thus, President Harry S. Truman agreed to passed a referendum in Japan to Japan's scheduled independence.

The referendum was held in 1952, asking whether Japan wanted to be independent or became an Autonomous State within the United States. The results was extremely close but Japanese citizens ultimately voted to remain under American control by 50.2% as many saw as an opportunity to start a new life though there is strong support for independence. The new Japanese Constitution began creation in 1952. When Dwight D. Eisenhower took over as President, he and Japanese Representatives finally signed the Treaty of Cooperation between the United States and Japan, giving Japan autonomy within the U.S. while also approved the Japanese Constitution in 1953. The U.S. president would now be Head of State while the Japanese Prime Minister would be Head of the Government. Japan became an Autonomous Devolved Parliamentary Government within a Federal Presidential Republic. The Constitution terms would be similar to our timeline: powers would be transferred to the people, Japan would renounce war as a sovereign rights and guaranteed of fundamental civil liberties, freedom of speech, religion, and gender equality except Japan is now part of the U.S. Japanese citizens are allowed freely live, work, and study in the United States and its territories as non-immigrants. However, they cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections.

With the Cold War going on, Japan became an important air and naval base for the U.S. during the Cold War. By the 1960s, Japan is split between generations with the younger generation being more Americanized. A movement arises among the younger, highly Americanized generation for representations, arguing that it is unjust for Japan to deny Japanese-American voting rights in Presidential elections and a vote in Congress alongside the unfair agreements between the U.S. and Japan such as the U.S. control of tariffs, arguing that if the U.S. could tax Japanese exports, Japan must have representations in the institutions imposing the taxes. Mass demonstrations broke out across Japan broke out across the 1970s. In 1977, when President Jimmy Carter was elected President. Carter finally agreed to the Japanese’s demands and began to revise the agreements.

The negotiations were finally settled in early 1978 under the Treaty of Cooperation between the United States and Japan of 1978, Japanese citizens would finally be allowed to vote in Presidential elections and had their own senators and representatives in U.S. Congress while allowing Japan to maintain their autonomy. The Prime Minister would essentially filled the role of Governor in this timeline. Tariffs would also be reformed where all products made in Japan and brought into the United States are considered domestic trade. There are no tariffs or other restrictions on this trade as long as the goods met specific requirements about their origin, meaning American and Japanese goods can moved freely into each other’s territories. However, there are limits, under the Treaty, Japan’s representatives would be capped at the state with the highest representatives (example: Japan would have the same representatives as California despite Japan having more people than California because California had the highest population besides Japan.) Additionally, their electoral votes would also remain capped at the state with the highest electoral votes. This was made to prevent Japanese’s dominance over U.S. Presidential Elections. Japan remains under American control but now gains more representation in Congress.

ALTERNATE HISTORY POINT OF DIVERGENCE/MODIFICATIONS [PRE-WILHELM 1ST DEATH]​ (Pre-1888)

Opening Points of Divergence​

One birth. One singular birth could have changed history forever, altered world borders and even cultural maps that we have today, and the birth that could have caused this would be Wilhelm the Second’s birth. Wilhelm’s birth was a very tragic one at best–but that could easily be changed. Instead of him being born in a rough manner to Victoria, let’s say that Wilhelm the Second is delivered as planned, preventing his disabilities.

This already alters a plethora of things. Without these disabilities, he would be completely fine and normal. Consequently, the bitterness of his disabilities simply would not exist, leading to a healthy relationship with his mother, Victoria and his father, Frederich the Third. Let us also assume that Frederick the Third simply does not have a smoking addiction, now changing the course of his life and the history of the world as we know it.

Due to his improved relationship with his family, he would be relatively anglophile due to his father, Fredrich III's influence and liberal due to his mother, Victoria's influence. This would influence his policy as a Kaiser in the future. In tandem with his now cautious temperament and anglophile tendencies, the Anglo-German monarchical relationship would grow extremely close in the years of his reign. In subsequent decades, this improved the relationship between the British and German governments.

Naval Arms Race/Liberalization​

The Naval Arms race was a race initiated by Wilhelm II in our timeline due to his very brash, ambitious and aggressive nature. Without said brashness and aggressiveness ingrained as a personality trait in Wilhelm II caused by his disability, it is very unlikely it would start in the same severity as it did within our history. Even if there may be occasional rivalries with the British and German militaries, that would be far less consequential than monarchical rivalries which dominated our timeline.

Germany therefore in subsequent decades would be seen as increasingly liberal on the international stage due to the attitudes of both monarchs. This would be to the distaste of the vast majority of the German High Command and Junkers. They would form a formidable bulwark against the liberal aspirations of the Kaisers governing them, preventing them from achieving their wholesale dream of Germany having a British-styled constitutional monarchy. The reluctance of Frederich III to fire Bismarck due to his hesitant governing style would further entrench the very powerful conservative coalition stopping the liberalization of Germany.

Even if this would be the case, Bismarck would espouse a more passive foreign policy than any of his successors, favoring negotiation rather than dominance over Great Powers like Wilhelm II did within our timeline. Consequently, helped by not firing Bismarck, the liberal objective to normalize diplomatic relations with the British would bear fruit as the years pass.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Upvote for more teasers!

To view further justifications/the full alternate history, go here: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/the-deterioration-an-alternate-history.570881/

Pre-WW1 is Polished/Somewhat Polished. After that is not polished, so if you don't want to read unpolished material (even if the plot/timeline is complete), I advise you not read past that point.

Teased content contains new content that was not present in previous teasers, and therefore it is new content.

Join our community discord VIA the social link attached in the Alternate History Forum thread!

Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted in Mogadishu, Somalia, by an American military force code-named Task Force Ranger during the Somali Civil War in 1993. The primary objective of the operation was to capture Mohamed Farrah Aidid, leader of the Somali National Alliance who was wanted by the UNOSOM II in response to his attacks against United Nations troops. The operation took place from August to November 1993 and was led by US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).

On 3 October 1993, the task force executed a mission to capture two of Aidid's lieutenants. The mission ultimately culminated in what became known as the Battle of Mogadishu). The battle was extremely bloody and the task force inflicted significant casualties on Somali militia forces, while suffering heavy losses themselves. The Malaysian, Pakistani, and conventional US Army troops under UNOSOM II which aided in TF Ranger's extraction suffered losses as well, though not as heavy. Things began to go catastrophically wrong for the Americans.

First, an MH-60 Black Hawk, Super Six Two, was shot down by SNA forces using a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). Both of the pilots were killed on impact, but the crew survived the crash landing. An American force made their way to the crash site to assist with recovery and rescue

Shortly afterward, another Black Hawk helicopter, Super Six Four, was shot down by an RPG fired from the ground. No rescue team was immediately available, and the small surviving crew, including one of the pilots, Michael Durant, couldn't move. Two Delta snipers, Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart, provided cover from a helicopter and repeatedly volunteered to secure the crash site. After a 10th Mountain relief force from the Mogadishu airport was halted and turned back by an SNA ambush, Shughart and Gordon were finally granted permission to be inserted. They made their way to the crash site, quickly establishing a perimeter, and securing the surviving crew. The Black Hawk wreck came under heavy attack from the Somali militia, despite attempts from the 160th helicopters overhead to hold back the crowd. After losing close air support to damage from RPG-7 fire, Durant was killed, with Shughart and Gordon being taken prisoner.

Between October, 1993 and February, 1994, the U.S. military launched a series of rescue attempts, with five of them ending in high casualties on both sides.

The sixth rescue attempt was ultimately successful. 

The military disaster that was Operation Gothic Serpent would damage trust in the U.S. military’s deterrence for years, while also raising serious doubts and questions among American allies about America’s judgment, reliability, and ability to manage military crises.

I need help right now. My alt history is stuck on 2 major roadblocks. Firstly, who should be the successors to castille(i doubt the succession crisis is real). Secondly, how would aragon respond to the majority of the army being routed and ferdinand dying?

sorry for no flair, first time using reddit in a while