Post by simon darkshade on Jan 14, 2020 4:15:42 GMT
No, the Germans ask for an armistice after they were pushed back out of France and most of Belgium and the Netherlands. This occurs as they were beaten soundly in the field and lacked any defensive positions short of the Rhine. Even then, the blockade was biting hard and Germany was threatened with revolution at home, creating a situation analogous to the 'stab in the back' myth propagated by German militarists historically, albeit somewhat more of a tenuous one.
In 1944/45, the Allies do not stop at the German border, but occupy the whole country. Berlin is taken by British, American, French, Canadian and Polish armies, with the Poles raising their flag atop the Reichstag.
Overall, it is a broadly similar war, given the array of combatants and the balance of power on both sides:
The Great War lasted from 1914 to 1918 in both Europe and around the world. The major fronts were the Western Front, Eastern Front, Italian Front, Balkan Front, Mesopotamia, Palestine/Syria and China.
The Allied or Entente powers were Britain, France, Russia (until 1917), Poland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Serbia, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, the USA (from 1916), Blue China and Romania. The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and Red China. There were associated proxy conflicts in South America.
The conflict began in August 1914 after an Austro-Serbian conflict erupted into a European war. Germany invaded France through the Low Countries and was stopped at the Marne. Russian offensives in the East were turned back. Civil war broke out in China between pro-Entente forces (Blue) and reactionary forces (Red), along with secondary factions. British, Indian and Japanese forces intervened. Ottoman Turkey joined the war on the side of the Central Powers.
In 1915, an amphibious offensive landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula and fought through to relieve Constantinople, establishing a Balkan front. Fighting in the West was stalemated, while in the East, Russia was forced back from Poland and Serbia conquered. Italy entered the war against Austria-Hungary to no great success. Japanese forces arrived in France. At sea, German and British forces clashed at Dogger Bank. Poison gas and tanks were used for the first time.
1916 saw the great naval Battle of Jutland, where the RN decisively defeated the German High Seas Fleet. In the West, Verdun was a titanic struggle between the German and French Armies, relieved by the first major British offensive at the Somme. In the East, the Brusilov Offensive was a great Russian victory, tempered by the swift conquest of Romania. British Empire forces captured Palestine and entered Jerusalem at Christmas. The United States entered the war in June after increasing tensions with Germany. The air war began to develop in earnest.
In 1917, Russia capitulated after a revolution. The Allies advanced steadily in the West and the first American offensive in Lorraine resulted in some success. The use of tanks at Cambrai threatened to break open the front. Imperial forces won great victories in China. The Ottoman Empire sued for peace.
The final year of the war began with a series of huge German offensives that were barely held. The counterstroke at Amiens was one of the greatest victories of the war, leading to the Hundred Days Offensive that took the Allies to the borders of Germany. The Great Landing by the Royal Marines in Belgium and the Netherlands liberated large swathes of those countries. An armistice was agreed upon in November.
The Treaty of Versailles limited the German Army and Navy, set heavy reparations, assigned blame and war guilt to Germany and changed the map of Europe. Alsace Lorraine went to France and Poland gained considerable German territories.
In 1944/45, the Allies do not stop at the German border, but occupy the whole country. Berlin is taken by British, American, French, Canadian and Polish armies, with the Poles raising their flag atop the Reichstag.
Overall, it is a broadly similar war, given the array of combatants and the balance of power on both sides:
The Great War lasted from 1914 to 1918 in both Europe and around the world. The major fronts were the Western Front, Eastern Front, Italian Front, Balkan Front, Mesopotamia, Palestine/Syria and China.
The Allied or Entente powers were Britain, France, Russia (until 1917), Poland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Serbia, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, the USA (from 1916), Blue China and Romania. The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and Red China. There were associated proxy conflicts in South America.
The conflict began in August 1914 after an Austro-Serbian conflict erupted into a European war. Germany invaded France through the Low Countries and was stopped at the Marne. Russian offensives in the East were turned back. Civil war broke out in China between pro-Entente forces (Blue) and reactionary forces (Red), along with secondary factions. British, Indian and Japanese forces intervened. Ottoman Turkey joined the war on the side of the Central Powers.
In 1915, an amphibious offensive landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula and fought through to relieve Constantinople, establishing a Balkan front. Fighting in the West was stalemated, while in the East, Russia was forced back from Poland and Serbia conquered. Italy entered the war against Austria-Hungary to no great success. Japanese forces arrived in France. At sea, German and British forces clashed at Dogger Bank. Poison gas and tanks were used for the first time.
1916 saw the great naval Battle of Jutland, where the RN decisively defeated the German High Seas Fleet. In the West, Verdun was a titanic struggle between the German and French Armies, relieved by the first major British offensive at the Somme. In the East, the Brusilov Offensive was a great Russian victory, tempered by the swift conquest of Romania. British Empire forces captured Palestine and entered Jerusalem at Christmas. The United States entered the war in June after increasing tensions with Germany. The air war began to develop in earnest.
In 1917, Russia capitulated after a revolution. The Allies advanced steadily in the West and the first American offensive in Lorraine resulted in some success. The use of tanks at Cambrai threatened to break open the front. Imperial forces won great victories in China. The Ottoman Empire sued for peace.
The final year of the war began with a series of huge German offensives that were barely held. The counterstroke at Amiens was one of the greatest victories of the war, leading to the Hundred Days Offensive that took the Allies to the borders of Germany. The Great Landing by the Royal Marines in Belgium and the Netherlands liberated large swathes of those countries. An armistice was agreed upon in November.
The Treaty of Versailles limited the German Army and Navy, set heavy reparations, assigned blame and war guilt to Germany and changed the map of Europe. Alsace Lorraine went to France and Poland gained considerable German territories.
