The World of Kaiserreich: Exploring the Lore of An Alternate WWI

[Music] in the wintertime every neighbor the war in the West was over for the second time in 50 years the flag of the German Empire flew victoriously over Paris it appeared as if this war was going to be different but as the first world war or vel Creek ended Prussian military might was once again unmatched leading the Kaiser Reich to victory and yet even after millions were left dead and nations were in ruin this was only the beginning it's often been wondered what the world might have been like had the Central Powers won World War one it's a common idea in alternate history than explored in books movies but what about something more niche say a mod for the game hearts of iron for a strategy game that tells events using only pictures texts and a world map but with the magic of modding knowledge of history and some good creative vision this is the world of Kaiser Reich and I want to explore it the year is 1917 the war is up to this point gone relatively the same Archduke is shot things start to get hot and the overall battles tactics and players of the war are the same we all know and love in our timeline by this phase of the war the Germans never restart unrestricted submarine warfare the policy that caused the sinking of the Lusitania and soured US relations with Germany and not only do they take preventive measures to assure the u.s. stays in neutral they actively promote anti-war propaganda in the States to sway the American population Russia as usual collapses into civil war allowing the Germans to keep their gains in the East 1918 in the West Britain and France attempt a massive offensive that only ends in failure while the Central Powers have lost some land in the Middle East and are suffering from blockades in both the North Sea and Mediterranean the gains by the Treaty of brest-litovsk has given Germany a bit of breathing room Russia is practically out of the war so Germany can reorganize on the Western Front the new plan to hold and bide their time another year 1919 the time has come get the boys around we're dedicating fully to the Western Front Germany has been able to keep Britain in France at bay and the Russians distracted long enough to formulate their own new offensive a blitzkrieg if you may this was called the great offensive in March Germany launches their attack this new form of modern war overwhelms the intent and their line falls apart within a matter of months Paris will be encircled the French army falls into disarray mutinies are bound as the troops become tired of poor planning and failed counter-attacks the stalemate has turned into a rout Italy collapses as Austria gains ground and even Ethiopia joins in on the fun Germany and her allies despite losing morale and resources from the British blockade had bid their time and successfully gone on the offensive France had surrendered but will focus on that in a bit Britain remained on the sidelines without an ally in the mainland there was really nothing they could do while in the Western Front the war had been decided in the east another fight was brewing the civil war for another two years the Bolsheviks and white armies would clash but unlike in our timeline the tides were not in the Red Army's favour let's go back to 1918 the Bolsheviks had taken control of the state and their main concern was simply gaining a reasonable peace with the Germans the Germans of course took advantage of the new government's precarious position peace only came after another Swift offensive as the central power armies waltzed up to Moscow forcing their own concessions that the Bolsheviks had no choice but to accept having the enemy manhandle your new government doesn't really look good the Bolsheviks were not only humiliated by this but their tentative hold onto power was absolutely destroyed the breaths Lovaas treaty held Russia's Western Holdings were fractured Ukraine was now an independent state and new nations from this really became nothing more than puppets loyal to the white army had taken over key points in the south and even parts of the left had rallied against the Bolsheviks long story incredibly short this is the start of the end for the Red Army their own forces were infighting Lenin was assassinated by a disgruntled worker and the response to root out any enemies of the revolution only created more enemies against the failing Bolsheviks by 1920 Moscow was the last bastion for the Reds and the white army a mix of leftists pro monarchists and anti-communist and retaken Russia with the state of their armies although victorious the white army generals with Kerensky at its head had no choice but to recognize the previous treaty with Germany Russia would never hold the lands in the West again with the dust finally settled by 1921 the greatest fears of the intent now defunct was realized the Central Powers were now the victors in Europe in the Mediterranean Italy was dissolved into a series of states on the peninsula new treaties pretty much stripped the losing parties of their colonies and divided the spoils Germany gained a far bigger hold in Africa Austria actually didn't die and the Ottomans as weak as their rule was regained territory lost to Italy and Britain losing has its consequences and after such a dramatic loss in the West France was about to have a revolution at 11 a.m. November the 11th 1921 the final declaration of peace was signed peace with honor it was called but to the losers of such a war there was no honour France suffered through the German offensive for years losing countless in the fields only to surrender in the last minute Britain controlled the largest empire ever seen in history and none of that mattered when signing that peace treaty resentment from a tired population was hard to miss in everyday life such disillusionment had to be channeled somewhere and ideas once seen as radical became demanded as necessary what followed for the next five years would be a transformation of Western Europe one that dramatically began in the last days of the war as the German armies surrounded Paris threatening to take the entire nation the army had mutinied refusing calls by the government for another offensive after so many had failed a general strike was organized to shut down France forced the government into a concession and removed them from power in under a month the Third Republic would collapse but before we get to the collapse of yet another French Republic let's have a chat about syndicalism syndicalism was a leftist movement that arose in the late 19th century after the founding of the or general Confederation of labour in English for simplicity let's just call them the CGT the main facet of syndicalism compared to other sects of socialism is the main power in a nation would be in the labor unions themselves so no central government but decisions decided by a series of worker focus collectives policies directly in the hands of the working class from the local level to regional and finally national and this encompasses everything from economics to social policy and even military matters as describing any ideology it's more complicated than just that and it varies it was more prominent in Western Europe before the start of World War one especially in France but fell apart once the Soviets took over in Russia yada-yada Red Scare leading socialist state is Leninist and eventually Stalinist syndicalism never reaches real prominence but is still around today in small circles in this alternate timeline the Red Army in Russia is falling France the most prominent hotbed for syndicalism and socialism takes the mantle in dead and what better time for an ideology like syndicalism to take charge than when the government itself collapses a provisional government was established in the third Republic's place think of it like the Kerensky government where it was at odds with more extreme factions within the country socialists and liberals were at odds with the radical notions of the CGT who believed they as the leaders of the union's held rightful power over France before the war against Germany was even over another one had begun a civil war between the provisional government and the syndicalists while in the East the Bolshevik Revolution was as dead as Lenin in the West it had only strengthened the Provisionals knew the military had CGT sympathies and tried to disarm the military under the excuse that the war was coming to an end the remaining radical portions of the government abdicated in protest and joined the opposition and a few months France had gone through two different regimes and the sole power left in the country with any backing or effective influence was the CGT and the syndicalists and much like the Bolsheviks of our time line a period of violence followed as opponents and remaining sympathizers to the Republic or Provisionals were hunted down achieving peace with Germany quickly only to secure their own position [Music] in Britain the Labour and conservative parties had become ineffective there was a convoluted election and failed tariff policies meant to help the economy only led to disaster economically Britain was becoming isolated one coal shortage and rise in unemployment later and the economy collapsed such a bungled mess of policies had only reaffirmed opinions of the government created since the signing of the treaty a change had to be made the labor unions of Britain organised nationally calling for a general strike in March of 1925 across the island the cities were packed with workers calling for better reforms and for corrupt leaders to step down the response against them was swift and quickly the situation deteriorated whoever began the fighting was never known a propaganda that it was the military that shot first was soon shared to organizers across the nation the royal family decided to take a trip to Canada to ride out the storm but the storm wouldn't pass a revolution had begun over the period of three months the UK would cease to exist Parliament floundered an effective response the workers transformed into militant revolutionaries and soon even London itself was on the verge of falling when the Capitol eventually did fall any forces loyal to the crown in old Britain followed the royal family to Canada the United Kingdom was disbanded the Union of Britain was born the ramifications for this were felt across the entire Commonwealth the land of the crown was no longer in Europe but instead Canada and the chaos from the revolution left loyalties and obligations up in the air Australia and New Zealand banded together into a single Confederation as did Britain's holdings in the West Indies their African colonies were quickly swallowed up by the Germans moving on Italy while it was divided into a federation even this quickly fell apart as its new nations began to fall under the easy sway of its much larger neighbors the newly created Republic of Italy with its capital in Venice became a puppet of the Austrians the commune of France helped facilitate a socialist revolution in their south forming the Socialist Republic of Italy so small tangent if you can't tell already this is what Marx originally predicted would have happened the workers revolution was supposed to occur and already industrialized societies where people were sick of their low wages and terrible working conditions in factories just so happened that by a little bit of German trickery and planting of a Lenin what we associate as the first communist state began and the not industrialized not highly populated Russia are a tangent over three European countries now were in the hands of labor unions the syndicalists and for this they united into a faction of their own a buffer against the German system middle europa an economic alliance that united the puppet states of germany together with the reich at the center as for the actual victors of the war the post-war years were not some glorious victory dance for the Germans millions had still died in the fighting when the treaties were signed in 1921 the population was just recovering from the last 7 years of food shortages in a way it was a miracle at all that the kaisers image was not tarnished but victories do tend to have that positive effect so what is a right to do and what issues do they need to deal with well for one the economy the war while one took a tremendous toll out of the market manufacturing in factories had to reshift from their wartime production back into civilian mode pound this with a reduction in the conscripted military and now millions of men were returning to civilian life without jobs in German cities and that's only the domestic issues as the Reich now oversees the newly liberated nations in the East who being recently you know founded their economy wasn't having the best time either in Germany bore the brunt of this as the economic bloc was their idea with some economic reforms in the 1920s under the newly appointed Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz Germany would go through a golden age by the time of his death with a stable economy and society think of it like the 50s in America in our timeline oh yeah also Germany uses interventionist methods across the world and messes with other people's conflicts but this video is already long enough to sum up the state of Europe the continent is split between a series of military pacts Syndic lists in the West German military block of rice pact and the more neutral nations of the Russian Republic Austria and the Ottomans who I didn't really mention during this as their problems and influence aren't really that important but hey it's interesting they exist going back in time the United States went through the 1910s pretty calmly until the end of the war that is the aftermath of a conflict the US wasn't even involved in would forever shift America's balance of power in the world Germany is monopoly on trade and Europe alongside loans to Britain and France during the war now never being repaid led the u.s. to find itself smaller weaker and poorer as a result its closest allies now or its own neighbors with to ongoing socialist revolutions occurring an emergency session of the Socialist Congress was declared in 1920 to discuss what action American leftist should take Lenin had just been shot in a rift not just in America but globally was occurring between Communists and syndicalists what was settled it wasn't really the important part this was simply the origin for what would come to decide the next two decades for America as a poor economy would only make politics more extreme than the young nation more fractured at first the situation in the 20s were the typical worker riots or protests the very real Battle of Blair mountain look it up still occurs as miners take up arms in West Virginia the ensuing battle and calling in of the army leads to a hundred dead there are protests here and violence there throughout the decade you get it the US wasn't just losing its influence abroad but its own government was losing it at home the stock market collapsed in 1925 going practically uncontested for a century to now being kicked out by new parties on all sides socialism actual socialism in many circles had gone mainstream the unions which had grown in power thanks to the trust-busting of Teddy Roosevelt became more than just forces for workers rights factions were starting to grow by the 20s the Midwest had become an active hotbed of socialist and syndicalist activity so much so it was nicknamed the red belt get it by the turn of the 30s most positions in any of the red belt states are either influenced or control by socialist politicians with mainstream parties entirely voted out the main power behind the success the CSA not that one the combined syndicalists of America the national body of unions led by Jack Reed journalist turned politician whose influence has dominated the left in the United States since the end of the war without the USSR existing France and Britain are able to promote their own ideology on to the US which while beneficial to the Rust Belt still causes a scare throughout the rest of the nation down south in Louisiana the politician Huey Long is elected as governor long was a very unique politician being from one of the poorest states in the Union when he got in an office the population was rural poor and without education its infrastructure was non-existent long was a man who was against socialism but his policies especially the share the wealth program would do everything to expand opportunity in the state he ran his office with almost dictatorial powers but was actually incredibly popular his mantra ran his philosophy every man a king I'm not going to go too much into Huey Long here are a few videos a southern Democrat who used populism and strong Manning opposition to actually do good for the people of Louisiana and in this alternate timeline with the US government not having too much credit and the economy in shambles long decides to run for president but upon losing the Democratic nomination he falls out with mainstream parties forming his own the American First Union party a coalition of Southern Christian and pro distribution elements with a little bit of populism the southern alternative to a failing system that isn't the CSA wait a minute so why was the mainstream government so disliked two words Herbert Hoover in his second term his effect in the office has only led to radicalization on both sides marred by military operations against protesters and strikers and generally being seen as a puppet of the elite when Black Monday occurs this only leads to more isolation of the Democrats Republicans and even progressives after one of the most convoluted elections in American history between five different distinct ideologies the result any result leads immediately into collapse the second American civil war as it will be called begins as the syndicalists and the Midwest declare independence with their new capital in Chicago as does the American first unionists with Huey Long at its head as the centrist government collapses in Washington General MacArthur declares martial law and immediately mobilizes what remains of the loyalist states around his cause to reunite the US this shockingly quick assumption of power and new dictatorial Authority only leads to the western states now known as the Pacific states to rebel as well claiming they're the true successors to what the US once was also New England exists in its own faction basically a puppet of Canada and they just kind of want to be left alone who will win this fight and who will survive is entirely up in the air maybe New England just sweeps everyone speaking of which as the UK fell to the syndicalists the royal family sought refuge in Canada Britain's colonies were gobbled up and the power that was the intent was a shadow of its former self yet even by the 30s that power is still around a remnant of the old world Canada and the years after the war has actually been the most stable country outside of Germany with the head of state remaining the king the main geopolitical goals for Canada is really just to get the UK back and stop any syndicalists action within their borders he does have its fair share of problems though corruption is rampant and there's a constant debate on the status of Quebec for the most part Canada is just vengeful Britain which is words I never thought I would say the Nationals revolution devoured itself as it was consumed by corrupt dictators and fell into a patchwork of squabbling warlords with the help from the Germans intervening now in many foreign conflicts loyalists to the Fallen Ching are able to reclaim Beijing after two decades of war the Chinese population don't care much anymore for democracy or at least nationalism which the Germans were more than happy to promote as they believed having a strong monarch was best for everyone anyway the Ching's greatest rivals are to the north in Manchuria the Feng Chien government they claim themselves as descendants of Sanya Sens revolution yet at least for now they're simply biding their time with aid from the Japanese waiting to retake Beijing from the Ching China as a whole is fractured what was once its territory is now a series of smaller cliques in warlord states competing with one another the two largest factions slowly becoming puppets of the Germans and Japanese looking for control who will come up on top is still in the air with the signing of the treaty in 1921 Germany went from having a few disconnected pieces of Africa to owning basically the center of the continent a vast stretch that not only absorbed the Congo Free State but stretches from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean with the collapse of Britain's Empire abroad Mittal Africa expanded their control to much of the Gold Coast its main rivals remain the French Republic in exile who is nothing more than the Sahara colonies and a newly independent Egypt that stretches down into Sudan in many ways it's one of the largest political entities on earth larger than the continental United States yet because of its poor infrastructure in geography its influence is rarely felt its leader is Herman Goering whose alternate self in this alternate timeline wishes to make a colonial I'll post one of the most profitable colonies in the world with the previously mentioned collapse India and much of Southeast Asia fell into land grabs revolutions and reorganisation parts of British control still remained in India as the Dominion of India a collection of princes and British upper class loyal to the crown however their control is vastly diminished as other Prince's have rebelled and created their own alliance known as the princely Federation lightning round / Kaiser ik is very in-depth alternate history scenario so much so I didn't even get into events with the Ottoman Empire or the Mongolians or Brazil or any other country on earth every nation in some way has changed this history is just the backdrop where the war and stories change with every game the victor and the history is up to you so how will this alternate timeline turn out will the u.s. remain a single nation after all opposition is purged will Britain ever be home to the crown again oral Canada simply fall to a syndicate revolution as a spreads from the south all of those are wrong the king fish Huey Long baby will conquer America every single game every single time every man a king bridges will be built everywhere even across the Pacific [Music] [Music]

Channel: AlternateHistoryHub

Views: 2,496,349

Keywords: Kaiserreich, Kaiserreich Lore, Alternate History, alternatehistoryhub, alternate ww1, great war, great war alternate history, central powers, kaiserreich alternate history, hearts of iron iv, hearts of iron iv mod, kaiserreich mod, kaiserreich history, alternate history, alternate history mod, kaiser kat

Id: HxM5FfdHVD8

Length: 27min 2sec (1622 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 12 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/tundrasealpanda]

This all is gonna be out of date in like a month, which is why I love this mod so much

[u/csilvergleid]

My guy gets Italy all confused :(

At least it was overall a pretty good video

[u/randomperson654]

Ending was 10/10

[u/the-fall-of-hernande]

Didn’t even mention Hawaii in us factions. Disliked and unsubscribed

[u/Catafracto_Gaucho]

Ah yes, Egypt, the main rival of Mittelafrika. sad integralist noises

[u/Adrianator2]

My god that was confusing at points

But it was not the worst, good in few places

How is ACW pre Black monday BTW ?

[u/Vidyaorszag]

Fengtian

followers of Sun Yat-sen

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

All in all I expected worse since he never bothered contacting us and the wiki is all over the place and quite incomplete.

[u/Criqcan]

The video was really nice. My only complain is not mentioning the Mittelafrikan-Portuguese rivalry, that Cody should've gone a little more in depth in Italy and China, and I felt SandFrance was only mentioned at the end and not after the collapse of the 3rd Republic. Overall, I give it a 7/10.

[u/DarnChaCha]

Solid video, Some of the smaller details are already out of date, but even if he got them perfect, they have before, could later, and absolutely will go out of date in the future anyway so can't fault him on the confusion.

What's important is he gets the base setting concept out there, and potentially introduce new people to the mod.