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Description
Mass protests within the Ottoman - Habsburg sphere led the Pan Slavic Russian Empire to kick off the Great War in 1915. After a long stalemate between the Central Powers and the Entente, the war slowly fizzled out to a halt. Resources dwindled for the Central Powers, and, despite early successes in the Russian Campaign, sought a treaty ending in their narrow defeat.

The Central Powers

  The Central Powers, formerly known as the Triple Alliance, was formed in May of 1882, between Germany, Austria - Hungary, and Italy. In 1912, the countries gathered once again to renew their alliance. However, Italy sought the Principality of Trent to join their domain, seeing it as an oppression of ethnic Italians. The Ottoman Sultanate were also invited to join, as their historic rival of Russia was a common enemy between the Germans and the Turks. After the council had ended, the pact was renamed to the Central Alliance, with the German Empire, Austria - Hungary, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Ottoman Sultanate, as well as their vassals and puppets.

  After the war had started, the Central Alliance had seen success in the eastern front, pushing the Russians back swiftly. By 1915, the Kingdom of Sweden - Norway had been convinced to join the war as well, seeking their former territory of Finland returned to them. The Russians, fighting a massive front, and quickly crumbling from within, exited the war towards the end of 1917. This would result in Finland being returned to Sweden after 100 years of separation, and forming the Union of Scandinavia. The Grand Duchy of Livonia and the Kingdom of Poland - Lithuania being released as puppets for the Germans. However, the war was not over, and despite seeing such early success on the Eastern Front, the West did not quite fare the same. A quick blitz through the Benelux region that had the Belgians quickly capitulate would see the land devastated, before being halted in Northern France. As for the south, the French were pushed back to the Rhone, but no further.

  Although the Central Alliance had seen plenty of early success, it did not last, as resources would run thin, internal strife would begin to brew, and with the Entente controlling supply lines from the Americas, they saw their loss as inevitable. This would, of course, mean losing their newly established puppets in Eastern Europe. Major territorial losses for the leader of the war, Germany, would come to pass, ceding Elsass Lothringen, or Alsace Lorraine, to the French after 50 years post annexation. They would also cede the historic Prussian and Poznan regions to their former vassal of Poland, with the exception of Danzig, which would be released as a free city. The Poles established a new Constitutional Monarchy, with the King serving as no more than a figurehead, and the government no longer a German puppet. The Poles would now be under democratic rule, a newfound Republic in the East. The Grand Duchy of Livonia would have their Germanic King removed, with new Russian Monarchs taking the throne. Austria - Hungary would too see territorial losses, returning Galicia - Volhynia to Poland, a territory long removed from the Poles after many partitions.

  Italy and Scandinavia did not contribute much to the war after the Russians had conceded. Scandinavia, after making their territorial gains, had all but exited, at most supplying and assisting the Central Alliance. The Union of Scandinavia would return to the Kingdom of Sweden - Norway, and would end up losing control of the Finnish territory, as well as returning the historic Danish region of Scania to the Danes. However, seeing as the Russians were still struggling with mass revolts, a new government for the Finns would be established. Italy, seeing little military success after their initial push, hoped to occupy the land long enough to gain it in the peace treaty. Italy would end up ceding their port of Djerba to the British, but would mostly suffer through economic reparations. As for the Turks, they had lost their territories of Tripolitania, being ceded to the French and British. The Khedivate of Egypt would being ceded to the British as a new puppet state.

  This would not be the end of the Central Alliance, now known as the Central Powers in the West, as their struggles persisted after the war. The South Germans of Bavaria and Pfalz would revolt, seeking to establish a Socialist regime and take down the Empire's authoritarian grip, putting the country through war and famine, all which had amounted to a defeat. The Austro - Hungarian Empire would have many minorities start to revolt. However, under Franz Ferdinand, the country was able to federalize, leading to the four states of Austria, Hungary, Czechia, and Illyria. The Habsburg Realms were able to remain united, but for how long? The Turks, after their initial focus on keeping their European territories would lead to several autonomous regions in the Balkans. But the Empire would still face issues, as new revolts seeking independence in the east had arisen. Religious Shi'ite minorities, as well as the ethnic Kurds would revolt, being backed by their Persian neighbors. The Armenians would also see revolt in their historic region, seeking to join the rest of the Transcaucasian Republic, who separated from the Russians during their stint of internal struggles. Italians, being put through war and famine, similar to the Germans, also had struggles brewing, as the first Fascists would take office and seek to change the government from within.

The Entente

  The Entente was initially an alliance between the French and the Russians in 1894, with the United Kingdom only joining a decade later, formalizing agreements with the French in 1904 and a shaky alliance with the Russians in 1907. Despite the Triple Entente agreement not being as tight and binding like the Central Powers', by the outbreak of the Great War in 1915, the agreements were acknowledged as a fully fledged alliance. In 1902, the Anglo - Japanese Alliance had been formalized, leading to Japan also joining the Entente as the 'first' Eastern Power to enter the Great War. With Theodore Roosevelt winning the 1912 American Presidential Election, and holding aggressive foreign policy, had also decided to bring the United States into the Entente in 1915, with much resistance in Congress. After Roosevelt had declared war on the Central Powers, the War Powers Act of 1916 was passed, limiting the President's ability to declare war on foreign nations.

  The Russians and the French would take the brunt of the casualties early on. Being quickly overrun and having Communist Uprisings so early into the war, Russia would lose their territories of Finland, the Baltic States, and Poland in the Treaty of Warszawa in 1916. Revolts were widespread across the nation, with the Socialists being able to establish the Socialist Republic of Ruthenia, taking away swathes of valuable territory from the crumbling Tsardom. Several other states would break away from Russia's crumbling Empire, such as the Transcaucasian Republic, being formed of their former territories of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, as well as new Central Asian states like Turkestan and the Alash Orda. The Persians would also see this as an opportunity to add minor splinter states into their domain, securing themselves as a growing dominant power in the Middle East and South Asia. Russia, towards the end of 1919, would finally get a grasp on their country, and started to suppress the Bolsheviks, but not after many territorial losses from the newfound states that had left them. The Germans, seeking a way around the Maginot, would end up traversing through Belgium, devastating the land in the process.

  The German offensive was successful, in a sense, as they had managed to get around the well-fortified border in Elsass Lothringen, but they were still unable to repeat their quick seizure of Paris fifty years prior in the Franco - Prussian War. The Entente would be pushed back, facing many defeats until early 1917, where the front lines had mostly stabilized. Along the Rhone, the Italians couldn't manage to push further, leading to them giving up for the most part, and establishing a status quo in the area that would last until 1919. Germany was also unable to push farther in the North, but this would not stop them from trying. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, litres of blood for metres of land. But, despite the back and forth struggle, the Entente would have a steady supply of resources and men from the British and the Americans, and the Germans could not keep up. It was a war of attrition, with the Entente in the lead. The Central Powers would agree to an armistice, and the Treaty of Versailles would be formalized and signed on February 14th, 1919. On top of the territorial gains mentioned previously, there were several other changes on the map of the world.

  The Duchy of Belgium, with the Duke's death and his children in critical condition, saw the Duchy split along ethnic lines. The Republic of Wallonia would be an autonomous region under the French, and the Duchy of Vlaanderen would be annexed by the Dutch. The Kingdom of the Netherlands, whom still ruled Luxembourg in a joint union, would also seek reparations for the land and blood spilled in their junior partner, and would receive Ostfriesland. Japan, the budding empire of the East, received many of the German colonies in the Pacific and Qingdao. This would give them their second taste of Imperialism, their first after securing Sakhalin from the Russians in the Russo - Japanese War, further fueling their hunger for Eastern dominance. The Entente had established themselves as the dominant powers over Europe, and the World, for now.

Description
Mass protests within the Ottoman - Habsburg sphere led the Pan Slavic Russian Empire to kick off the Great War in 1915. After a long stalemate between the Central Powers and the Entente, the war slowly fizzled out to a halt. Resources dwindled for the Central Powers, and, despite early successes in the Russian Campaign, sought a treaty ending in their narrow defeat.

The Central Powers

  The Central Powers, formerly known as the Triple Alliance, was formed in May of 1882, between Germany, Austria - Hungary, and Italy. In 1912, the countries gathered once again to renew their alliance. However, Italy sought the Principality of Trent to join their domain, seeing it as an oppression of ethnic Italians. The Ottoman Sultanate were also invited to join, as their historic rival of Russia was a common enemy between the Germans and the Turks. After the council had ended, the pact was renamed to the Central Alliance, with the German Empire, Austria - Hungary, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Ottoman Sultanate, as well as their vassals and puppets.

  After the war had started, the Central Alliance had seen success in the eastern front, pushing the Russians back swiftly. By 1915, the Kingdom of Sweden - Norway had been convinced to join the war as well, seeking their former territory of Finland returned to them. The Russians, fighting a massive front, and quickly crumbling from within, exited the war towards the end of 1917. This would result in Finland being returned to Sweden after 100 years of separation, and forming the Union of Scandinavia. The Grand Duchy of Livonia and the Kingdom of Poland - Lithuania being released as puppets for the Germans. However, the war was not over, and despite seeing such early success on the Eastern Front, the West did not quite fare the same. A quick blitz through the Benelux region that had the Belgians quickly capitulate would see the land devastated, before being halted in Northern France. As for the south, the French were pushed back to the Rhone, but no further.

  Although the Central Alliance had seen plenty of early success, it did not last, as resources would run thin, internal strife would begin to brew, and with the Entente controlling supply lines from the Americas, they saw their loss as inevitable. This would, of course, mean losing their newly established puppets in Eastern Europe. Major territorial losses for the leader of the war, Germany, would come to pass, ceding Elsass Lothringen, or Alsace Lorraine, to the French after 50 years post annexation. They would also cede the historic Prussian and Poznan regions to their former vassal of Poland, with the exception of Danzig, which would be released as a free city. The Poles established a new Constitutional Monarchy, with the King serving as no more than a figurehead, and the government no longer a German puppet. The Poles would now be under democratic rule, a newfound Republic in the East. The Grand Duchy of Livonia would have their Germanic King removed, with new Russian Monarchs taking the throne. Austria - Hungary would too see territorial losses, returning Galicia - Volhynia to Poland, a territory long removed from the Poles after many partitions.

  Italy and Scandinavia did not contribute much to the war after the Russians had conceded. Scandinavia, after making their territorial gains, had all but exited, at most supplying and assisting the Central Alliance. The Union of Scandinavia would return to the Kingdom of Sweden - Norway, and would end up losing control of the Finnish territory, as well as returning the historic Danish region of Scania to the Danes. However, seeing as the Russians were still struggling with mass revolts, a new government for the Finns would be established. Italy, seeing little military success after their initial push, hoped to occupy the land long enough to gain it in the peace treaty. Italy would end up ceding their port of Djerba to the British, but would mostly suffer through economic reparations. As for the Turks, they had lost their territories of Tripolitania, being ceded to the French and British. The Khedivate of Egypt would being ceded to the British as a new puppet state.

  This would not be the end of the Central Alliance, now known as the Central Powers in the West, as their struggles persisted after the war. The South Germans of Bavaria and Pfalz would revolt, seeking to establish a Socialist regime and take down the Empire's authoritarian grip, putting the country through war and famine, all which had amounted to a defeat. The Austro - Hungarian Empire would have many minorities start to revolt. However, under Franz Ferdinand, the country was able to federalize, leading to the four states of Austria, Hungary, Czechia, and Illyria. The Habsburg Realms were able to remain united, but for how long? The Turks, after their initial focus on keeping their European territories would lead to several autonomous regions in the Balkans. But the Empire would still face issues, as new revolts seeking independence in the east had arisen. Religious Shi'ite minorities, as well as the ethnic Kurds would revolt, being backed by their Persian neighbors. The Armenians would also see revolt in their historic region, seeking to join the rest of the Transcaucasian Republic, who separated from the Russians during their stint of internal struggles. Italians, being put through war and famine, similar to the Germans, also had struggles brewing, as the first Fascists would take office and seek to change the government from within.

The Entente

  The Entente was initially an alliance between the French and the Russians in 1894, with the United Kingdom only joining a decade later, formalizing agreements with the French in 1904 and a shaky alliance with the Russians in 1907. Despite the Triple Entente agreement not being as tight and binding like the Central Powers', by the outbreak of the Great War in 1915, the agreements were acknowledged as a fully fledged alliance. In 1902, the Anglo - Japanese Alliance had been formalized, leading to Japan also joining the Entente as the 'first' Eastern Power to enter the Great War. With Theodore Roosevelt winning the 1912 American Presidential Election, and holding aggressive foreign policy, had also decided to bring the United States into the Entente in 1915, with much resistance in Congress. After Roosevelt had declared war on the Central Powers, the War Powers Act of 1916 was passed, limiting the President's ability to declare war on foreign nations.

  The Russians and the French would take the brunt of the casualties early on. Being quickly overrun and having Communist Uprisings so early into the war, Russia would lose their territories of Finland, the Baltic States, and Poland in the Treaty of Warszawa in 1916. Revolts were widespread across the nation, with the Socialists being able to establish the Socialist Republic of Ruthenia, taking away swathes of valuable territory from the crumbling Tsardom. Several other states would break away from Russia's crumbling Empire, such as the Transcaucasian Republic, being formed of their former territories of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, as well as new Central Asian states like Turkestan and the Alash Orda. The Persians would also see this as an opportunity to add minor splinter states into their domain, securing themselves as a growing dominant power in the Middle East and South Asia. Russia, towards the end of 1919, would finally get a grasp on their country, and started to suppress the Bolsheviks, but not after many territorial losses from the newfound states that had left them. The Germans, seeking a way around the Maginot, would end up traversing through Belgium, devastating the land in the process.

  The German offensive was successful, in a sense, as they had managed to get around the well-fortified border in Elsass Lothringen, but they were still unable to repeat their quick seizure of Paris fifty years prior in the Franco - Prussian War. The Entente would be pushed back, facing many defeats until early 1917, where the front lines had mostly stabilized. Along the Rhone, the Italians couldn't manage to push further, leading to them giving up for the most part, and establishing a status quo in the area that would last until 1919. Germany was also unable to push farther in the North, but this would not stop them from trying. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, litres of blood for metres of land. But, despite the back and forth struggle, the Entente would have a steady supply of resources and men from the British and the Americans, and the Germans could not keep up. It was a war of attrition, with the Entente in the lead. The Central Powers would agree to an armistice, and the Treaty of Versailles would be formalized and signed on February 14th, 1919. On top of the territorial gains mentioned previously, there were several other changes on the map of the world.

  The Duchy of Belgium, with the Duke's death and his children in critical condition, saw the Duchy split along ethnic lines. The Republic of Wallonia would be an autonomous region under the French, and the Duchy of Vlaanderen would be annexed by the Dutch. The Kingdom of the Netherlands, whom still ruled Luxembourg in a joint union, would also seek reparations for the land and blood spilled in their junior partner, and would receive Ostfriesland. Japan, the budding empire of the East, received many of the German colonies in the Pacific and Qingdao. This would give them their second taste of Imperialism, their first after securing Sakhalin from the Russians in the Russo - Japanese War, further fueling their hunger for Eastern dominance. The Entente had established themselves as the dominant powers over Europe, and the World, for now.