GURPS Lucifer-5?

[RogerBW]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

When the time to cross the Atlantic shrinks from something like a week to 2 hours or less the US wouldn't have much faith in oceans any more.

1908 might be too late for a fundamental shift in cultural attitudes, but certainly when one compares say the modern Dutch-German border (accelerate from 130km/h) with the British-French border (half an hour waiting for a bored functionary to glance at your documents, young lads with assault rifles ask to see in the back of your car) there's clearly a different mindset involved when the border is "soft".

[AlexanderHowl]

I completely agree. The German Empire would have been better off he had died before he become Emperor and his younger brother had instead become Emperor.

[adm]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Strangely enough, the Germans would have been better off with investing the money they spent on the dreadnoughts on artillery and submarines. With more submarines, they could have sank the British and French fleets and not bothered with soft targets like cargo ships. With more artillery, they could have just established a superior defense along the French border and chewed their troops to hamburger with only a quarter of the troops (and sent the other troops to roll back the Russians to the Urals). The Central Powers could have divided European Russia by the end of 1915 and swung around to crush Greece, Italy, Romania, etc in 1916. By the end of 1917, they would have controlled the eastern half of Europe, and could have probably forced the French and British to sue for peace.

If the Germans had not built their dreadnoughts, England may not have gotten involved in WW I quickly enough to make a difference.

[fchase8]

Yeah, the Kaiser's naval pretensions screwed Imperial Germany doubly, both by directing resources away from more effective submarines (though, to be fair, submarines hadn't been tested in war until WWI) and scaring Britain enough for it to ally with France & Russia.


Note that he would still be the Kaiser on present day (1938) Lucifer-5, though possibly ailing (IRL died in 1941). One could see him becoming enamored with the post-St. Petersburg superscience metals and torchships, directing German efforts from naval to aerial.

According to GURPS Alternate Earths, the German Empire is the top power on Lucifer-5.

[RogerBW]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

I completely agree. The German Empire would have been better off he had died before he become Emperor and his younger brother had instead become Emperor.

Or if his father had lived longer, which might have happened had he not trusted his English doctor.

My favourite death for Wilhelm is: accidentally shot by Annie Oakley in 1890, when he overrules his bodyguards and gets her to do the cigarette trick. (She is hastily smuggled out of the Paris Exposition and back to the USA.)

[AlexanderHowl]

Anne Oakley was the most accurate shot in history, so it would have to be a real assassination that looked like an accident.

[RogerBW]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Anne Oakley was the most accurate shot in history, so it would have to be a real assassination that looked like an accident.

Clearly she was in the pay of the International Socialist Conspiracy. (Probably with bonus antisemitism, considering the era.)

[AlexanderHowl]

Now that would be a dark timeline, where Anne Oakley is a paid assassin rather than a celebrated performer.

[robkelk]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Now that would be a dark timeline, where Anne Oakley is a paid assassin rather than a celebrated performer.

There could be two shooters, the second with a suppressor on his weapon ... (goes and looks at Wikipedia) ... no, there couldn't - silencers weren't available before 1902.

Could there be a second shooter some distance away, with a sniper rifle?

(I'm starting to sound like a JFK-shooting conspiracy theorist here. No doubt this worldline has plenty of Wilhelm-shooting conspiracy theorists...)

[fchase8]

Originally Posted by RogerBW

My favourite death for Wilhelm is: accidentally shot by Annie Oakley in 1890, when he overrules his bodyguards and gets her to do the cigarette trick. (She is hastily smuggled out of the Paris Exposition and back to the USA.)

My father had told me about that possible turning point when I was kid, long before I was interested in alternate history.


The Lucifer-5 asteroid striking St. Petersburg on June 30th, 1908, likely would have stopped/changed the Kaiser's disastrous interview with The Daily Telegraph later that year. He would still have great influence, respect, and self-confidence at the time that Imperial Germany expanded into wrecked Russia.