So everyone likes to ask the question "How could have Germany/Japan win WW2?" To the point where it's become a meme.
But a question I have yet to see be asked (and one I think is far more interesting/even in terms of odds) is "How could have the Central Powers Have won WW1?"
Also I suppose this can serves as the WW1/Interwar/1900-1936 warfare thread.
Wyatt James
G*rmans and Hungarians not betraying the Habsburgs would work
Jeremiah Ramirez
look up the kaiserreich mod
Logan Brown
By developing tanks before the British, pretty key linebreaker for the vaunted stormtroopers there
Leo Perez
>But a question I have yet to see be asked (and one I think is far more interesting/even in terms of odds) is "How could have the Central Powers Have won WW1?" I'm not entirely sure I buy it, but in pic related, Lisle Rose makes a case that if the Germans, right off the bat, sent the entire High Seas Fleet into the Channel to disrupt the landing of the BEF and to shell harbors necessary for disembarking, they would have delayed things long enough to knock France out in the initial rush, albeit at the cost of pretty much the entire navy, which would get caught by the Home Fleet and pounded into scrap.
I'm not 100% sure the BEF was as critical for surviving the Frontiers and the Marne as he makes it out, but it's at least a workable idea.
Andrew Anderson
If you lose the entire HSF there's nothing stopping the bongs from permanently blockading the continent.
Oliver Sanders
doesn't Germany win the Weltkrieg because of an asspull socialist revolt in the Entente armies? Hardly realistic
Landon Wood
The British already blockaded the continent; and the HSF wasn't able to stop that. Plus, blockading is slow. If (and I'll be the first to admit it's an awfully big "if") you can knock France out quickly, you'll win the war on the continent long before the effects of the blockade become meaningful.
Bentley Campbell
Not start it.
With America on the allied side the germans had no chance at all because a superpower that you can't touch across the atlantic will always steamroll you.
That's also without including how massive american industry was and the sheer size of the american army and air force which turned germany into ash.
Face it, fighting America has always been a losers game.
Tyler Bell
It's not that farfetched, the French mutinies were a very big deal even back then, and America never joins in on the continental party in Kaiserreich
Ryder Price
The Germans could have helped their cause tremendously by delaying war with the Soviets until the absolute latest moment.
What put them in the ground was Hitler's feeling of invincibility and the fact that they split their forces on two fronts.
The eastern front was massive, encompassing a mind-boggling distance of square kilometers. That diluted the force projection of the Wehrmacht.
If the Germans concentrated their push to the western front, they could have solidified their hold on France, halted the Allied invasion, and probably had a better chance at winning.
The same strategy that lost them WWI (two front battlefield) lost them WWII
James Hill
Did...did you even read the OP?
Jaxson Cox
Ah yes, the vaunted Soviet legions of 1914 were just too much for the Nazis under the Kaiser
Jaxon Carter
A successful spring offensive
Socialist rebellions in France
There are quite a few routes to victory
Camden Ortiz
Not fight America. Without the sinking of an american ship the USA wouldn't have gotten involved and crushed them with their military might. They would have outright won if the USA hadn't have got involved.
Carter Cooper
Dont invade belgium, simple as that. The German army could hold off the french in Asance Lorraine indefinitely, crush russia with most of their army then turn around and either go through belgium with full force instead of half, or just force Asance-Lorraine
Michael Ross
>the sheer size of the american army and air force which turned germany into ash
The US Army and air force were fucking *tiny* in 1914. Even by the time the US officially joined the allies in 1917, the air force had 50(!) planes (48 of which were outdated training aircraft) and a couple of airships. Compared to more than 2,500 front line aircraft and about 50 airships for Germany. Once there were sufficient numbers of trained US pilots in France they just used French planes. Same goes for tanks. Now it's true that the US was able to build up its armed forces very quickly once it entered the war, but the only real difference the official declaration of war meant was manpower. The US was already bankrolling the Allies from the very start. The only thing that changed in 1917/1918 was the arrival of large numbers of US troops to give the allies the numerical advantage they needed. And US troops were very brave but not trained sufficiently in modern tactics, which led to a lot of 1914-style zerg rushes against fortified German positions that only worked because of the sheer numbers of doughboys involved.
Brayden Martin
>being this much of a blatant kaiserboo
USA had the best trained and experienced army upon entry to the war, only reason they didn't enter in 1914 (which WOULD have ended the war by christmas) was because they didn't want to risk mexico getting uppity and that they didn't want to flatten europe like they eventually had to in 1917.
They also ended up doing more for the Allies in the 1 year they were fighting that they had since 1914. The frontlines actually shifted with the brave american army and especially marine corp blowing the fuck out of any german they came across.
Fuck off with your revisionist history and anti american sentiment.
Parker Wright
Friendly reminder, the Lustania was a legitimate war target aiding the war effort, hiding behind civilians is a war crime.
Ian Brown
high quality bait, keep up the good work, son!
Gavin Sullivan
Weak bait
Jaxon Kelly
I know you're baiting but you're not actually wrong when you say the war probably would have ended sooner had the US joined the entente immediately in 1914. >USA had the best trained and experienced army upon entry to the war This part is just plain wrong though.
Jason White
Why did you post the exact same thread in /k/ and here?
Hudson Butler
>Hurr throw your navy away
Sounds like the entire book is written entirely with 20/20 vision. The leaders of Germany weren't gonna just throw an entire branch into the graces for a gamble they had no idea would turn out.