Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer
Romanov-Number Not Yet assigned
Try this idea, the Czarist millitary decides that they've got one shot in 1914, throw 2/3s of their millitary at Berlin while the Germans hit France and the other third is sent to the Caucasus region to attack Turkey overland.
Realistically the Germans couldn't turn around, they admited as much. The sudden flood of Russians in Prussia heading for Berlin collapses the Imperial German war machine. Germany is out of the war by Christmas. Turkey is smashed before Easter 1915. Austria sues for peace as well.
It's late summer 1915. Everybody is out for blood at the "Peace" Conference.
I'd make this a Q6 world. The possibilities for intrigue and skulldugerry with or without the Centrum/Homeline struggle are pretty good.
|
But Russia did invade Germany in August 1914 full tilt with two armies, with the conquest of Berlin being the explicite objective of the exercise. (What do you think happened instead?) This was a good deal sooner than the German leadership had expected, by the way, but it seems that Russia had already begun to prepare for the war in secret, even before their official general mobilisation. Germany had to divert troops (the German 8th Army) to confront this threat (possibly leading, definitely contributing to the failure of defeating France in the West), and although greatly outnumbered, it was managed to defeat the Imperial Russian warmachine in a series of battles, most notably the (inappropriately named) Battle of Tannenberg in late August, where the 2nd Russian Army under Samsonov was destroyed, and, at least as important, the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes, in which the 1st Russian Army under Rennenkampf was crushed in early to middle September. Please do note that the use of the "imperial" terminology is much more appropriate this way around, since Germany, being actually a Confederation (its official name was "The German Realm"), was an Empire in name (and somewhat misleading English translation) only, whereas Tsarist Russia (official name: "All-Russian Imperium") was an Empire in every sense of the word, absolutism and despotism included.