History is like a road, each decision leads to another, and another. Should a man make one decision, the entire history of the world may change. That is what happened here. During the American Civil War, the British Empire made a decision that would have unforeseen consequences which would in turn lead to the most destructive war in history.
The British Empire intervened on the side of the Confederate States of America, banking on their ability to severe the “Anaconda” of the United States Navy that was slowly strangling the lifeblood from the Confederacy. Instead, the Royal Navy found themselves facing “little titans,” the new iron hulled warships of the Union. At the Battle of the Potomac, the Royal Navy found themselves outmaneuvered by the seemingly indestructible Monitors of the United States Navy.
The war ended with the surrender of Robert E. Lee at the courthouse at Appomattox, and for a time it seemed that the only difference between our world and this new time line was the tension that existed between the United States and Great Britain. That was until the Dreadnought was constructed. The United States, still remembering the bitter naval battles between the USN and RN began desperate construction and research on their own Dreadnoughts. At the same time, the Kriegsmarine, seeing an ally in their long-standing rivalry with the Royal Navy reached out to the Americans and began a joint venture in researching new naval weapons that could counter the Royal Navy.
The start of the First World War saw an initially neutral United States, becoming more and more concerned by what Americans thought was an apparent revival in British Imperialism. As time wore on, more and more voices in the United States began to clamor for the United States to come to the aid of their German allies. In January of 1917, the United States of America declared war on Great Britain, France, and Russia.
The Great War ground to a standstill, Great Britain and France watched as the few gains they had achieved in 1916 slowly began to disappear as the sheer number of the combined United States and German troops began to wear down the British and French defenders. Great Britain was already in dire economic straits, with United States transports defying the Royal Navy by sailing through the English Channel to Kiel, and supplying Germany with much needed supplies and troops, the British realized that they had to cut off the reinforcements that were flowing to Germany.
The United States Navy had already redeployed the battleships from the Pacific Fleet to the Atlantic to meet the Royal Navy in combat. With USN Task Force Alpha sailing north-east to protect the convoys, and the Royal Navy steaming south from Scapa Flow to attack the convoys, the stage was set for a rematch between the USN and the RN.
The two fleets met off of the Dover Coast, the destroyer Rowan spotted a “Large group of vessels steaming South. Several battleships among.” Nearly twelve hours later, the battle was over. The battle was a victory for the United States Navy, with several British battleships sunk and several more rendered incapable of action for a significant time. The United States also suffered losses, with nearly a full squadron of destroyers mangled by the guns of the HMS Queen Elizabeth. The Queen Elizabeth did not escape unscathed, taking a 16” shell into the deck plating near her A turret. Seconds later, the ship was rocked by a massive explosion as a fire reached the magazine deep within the ship.
The battle of Dover had much the same effect on the Royal Navy that the battle of Jutland had on the Kriegsmarine, forcing the RN to remain in port while the surviving warships were refitted. Fortunately for the British, the United States Navy feared that spreading out their forces would allow the British to attack the squadrons piecemeal, and so shipping traffic for both sides was relative uninterrupted by surface threats.
In the East, the Japanese had struck an agreement with the United States, roughly aligning themselves with the US and Germany. The Russians, who had recently crushed the Bolshevik's, began to become worried by a new development on their Eastern border. Sun Yat-sen had retaken control of China and was beginning to modernize the nation in earnest, attempting to secure the fledgling nation's independence and security from increasingly hostile Japanese demands.
Japan, seeing this new development quickly moved to align itself with the United States, establishing an officer trade between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States Navy. This arrangement allowed Japanese officers to see combat firsthand with the US squadrons that would frequently engage in small tangles with squadrons from the Royal Navy.
The war ended in 1919 with neither side achieving victory. Germany was forced to cede territory to the French and in return retained control over the Netherlands. The resulting treaty said nothing about any restrictions to the military might of any of the involved nations.
Thus, almost as soon as the war ended, massive arms buildups began in Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the United States. These arms buildups were not halted even by the economic depression and food shortages that resulted from the dust bowl in the United States. In fact, it is likely that the massive amount of money spent by the great powers contributed to the continuing strength of their economies even through the early 1930s.
And so, that brings us to the present. It is New Years Day, January, 1936. Events are occurring that are slowly moving the two alliances closer and closer to war. When will they be forced across the bring? What will be the spark? How will the new weapons of war factor into this new Second World War? That's up to you.
As you guys can tell this is an Alternate Universe modification. This is not a scenario. I am planning to redo a significant portion of the tech tree. Credit where credit is due, I'm probably going to be basing at least some of my work on the fantastic foundation provided by the people over at Historical Stony Road, and Community Open Resources Exchange, kudos to them for all the wonderful work they have done.
Overall, Steel Eagles will hopefully feature a largely new series of Events, Units, Technologies, Ministers and so forth. Be sure to look out for familiar figures in unfamiliar settings.
Nations:
United States – The United States is a significant military and economic power. Its home territories escaped any damage during the First World War, but that isn't to say that the United States is not interested in what is going on right now. The United States has been rapidly building up its military by concentrating on the Navy and Tank units. As well, the United States has worked heavily on expanding and creating new industry. The United States is a member of the Trans-Oceanic Alliance along with Germany and Japan.
United Kingdom – The United Kingdom came out of the First World War with a deep seated hostility against the United States. Since the end of the First World War, they have concentrated on building up a large naval fleet to once again challenge the United States for control of the sea. They are members of the Triple Entente along with France and the Russian Empire. The British economy has suffered somewhat since the end of the First World War, with a majority of industry soaked up by the UK's massive armament programs.
Germany – Germany emerge battered, but intact from the World War. A large amount of her population was dead, and several boarder provinces were lost to France. The Germany government has concentrated on the new and exciting technological development of Tanks and Close Air Support aircaft as offensive weapons of war. Germany is the second member of the Trans-Oceanic Alliance.
France – Although France gained territory at the end of World War One, they have a deep seated distrust of Germany, and are worried by the growing strength of the German Army. It is no secret that the French are considering a first strike to prevent another costly trench war. The French have concentrated their production and development on Infantry, trusting the British to keep the sea-lanes open, and not trusting the aircraft as a useful weapon of war. The French are the second member of the Triple Entente.
Russia – Russia was in turmoil during the First World War. Even with the Red Army crushed by the White Army along with British and French expeditionary units there is still a great deal of unrest in Russia. The Russian military is very technologically behind the other European powers, but is massive in size. Albeit, it remains to be seen whether the Russian Army can provide a useful part of the Triple Entente.
Japan – Japan is the third member of the Trans-Oceanic Alliance. Even though they emerged untouched by the First World War, they were not untouched by war in general. They have been fighting an on-off war with the Chinese empire. Currently the two nations are at peace, although judging by Japanese naval activity in the Sea of Japan, there is no clue how long this peace will last. Their production has been angled towards their Navy, as well as developing a large air-force.
China – The Chinese Empire as formed recently after the end of the First World War and has been expanding throughout South East Asia. They have been engaged in several wars with Japan, but even though they outnumber the Japanese Army by several orders of magnitude, the abysmal state of the Chinese Navy has prevented them from invading Japan proper, or preventing Japanese amphibious invasions. They have concentrated their military development on mass hordes of cheap infantry and are starting to build a coastal navy.
That's all for now. I need to write up Italy, Turkey, some South American nations, some central European nations, and that's all for write-ups.
The British Empire intervened on the side of the Confederate States of America, banking on their ability to severe the “Anaconda” of the United States Navy that was slowly strangling the lifeblood from the Confederacy. Instead, the Royal Navy found themselves facing “little titans,” the new iron hulled warships of the Union. At the Battle of the Potomac, the Royal Navy found themselves outmaneuvered by the seemingly indestructible Monitors of the United States Navy.
The war ended with the surrender of Robert E. Lee at the courthouse at Appomattox, and for a time it seemed that the only difference between our world and this new time line was the tension that existed between the United States and Great Britain. That was until the Dreadnought was constructed. The United States, still remembering the bitter naval battles between the USN and RN began desperate construction and research on their own Dreadnoughts. At the same time, the Kriegsmarine, seeing an ally in their long-standing rivalry with the Royal Navy reached out to the Americans and began a joint venture in researching new naval weapons that could counter the Royal Navy.
The start of the First World War saw an initially neutral United States, becoming more and more concerned by what Americans thought was an apparent revival in British Imperialism. As time wore on, more and more voices in the United States began to clamor for the United States to come to the aid of their German allies. In January of 1917, the United States of America declared war on Great Britain, France, and Russia.
The Great War ground to a standstill, Great Britain and France watched as the few gains they had achieved in 1916 slowly began to disappear as the sheer number of the combined United States and German troops began to wear down the British and French defenders. Great Britain was already in dire economic straits, with United States transports defying the Royal Navy by sailing through the English Channel to Kiel, and supplying Germany with much needed supplies and troops, the British realized that they had to cut off the reinforcements that were flowing to Germany.
The United States Navy had already redeployed the battleships from the Pacific Fleet to the Atlantic to meet the Royal Navy in combat. With USN Task Force Alpha sailing north-east to protect the convoys, and the Royal Navy steaming south from Scapa Flow to attack the convoys, the stage was set for a rematch between the USN and the RN.
The two fleets met off of the Dover Coast, the destroyer Rowan spotted a “Large group of vessels steaming South. Several battleships among.” Nearly twelve hours later, the battle was over. The battle was a victory for the United States Navy, with several British battleships sunk and several more rendered incapable of action for a significant time. The United States also suffered losses, with nearly a full squadron of destroyers mangled by the guns of the HMS Queen Elizabeth. The Queen Elizabeth did not escape unscathed, taking a 16” shell into the deck plating near her A turret. Seconds later, the ship was rocked by a massive explosion as a fire reached the magazine deep within the ship.
The battle of Dover had much the same effect on the Royal Navy that the battle of Jutland had on the Kriegsmarine, forcing the RN to remain in port while the surviving warships were refitted. Fortunately for the British, the United States Navy feared that spreading out their forces would allow the British to attack the squadrons piecemeal, and so shipping traffic for both sides was relative uninterrupted by surface threats.
In the East, the Japanese had struck an agreement with the United States, roughly aligning themselves with the US and Germany. The Russians, who had recently crushed the Bolshevik's, began to become worried by a new development on their Eastern border. Sun Yat-sen had retaken control of China and was beginning to modernize the nation in earnest, attempting to secure the fledgling nation's independence and security from increasingly hostile Japanese demands.
Japan, seeing this new development quickly moved to align itself with the United States, establishing an officer trade between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States Navy. This arrangement allowed Japanese officers to see combat firsthand with the US squadrons that would frequently engage in small tangles with squadrons from the Royal Navy.
The war ended in 1919 with neither side achieving victory. Germany was forced to cede territory to the French and in return retained control over the Netherlands. The resulting treaty said nothing about any restrictions to the military might of any of the involved nations.
Thus, almost as soon as the war ended, massive arms buildups began in Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the United States. These arms buildups were not halted even by the economic depression and food shortages that resulted from the dust bowl in the United States. In fact, it is likely that the massive amount of money spent by the great powers contributed to the continuing strength of their economies even through the early 1930s.
And so, that brings us to the present. It is New Years Day, January, 1936. Events are occurring that are slowly moving the two alliances closer and closer to war. When will they be forced across the bring? What will be the spark? How will the new weapons of war factor into this new Second World War? That's up to you.
As you guys can tell this is an Alternate Universe modification. This is not a scenario. I am planning to redo a significant portion of the tech tree. Credit where credit is due, I'm probably going to be basing at least some of my work on the fantastic foundation provided by the people over at Historical Stony Road, and Community Open Resources Exchange, kudos to them for all the wonderful work they have done.
Overall, Steel Eagles will hopefully feature a largely new series of Events, Units, Technologies, Ministers and so forth. Be sure to look out for familiar figures in unfamiliar settings.
Nations:
United States – The United States is a significant military and economic power. Its home territories escaped any damage during the First World War, but that isn't to say that the United States is not interested in what is going on right now. The United States has been rapidly building up its military by concentrating on the Navy and Tank units. As well, the United States has worked heavily on expanding and creating new industry. The United States is a member of the Trans-Oceanic Alliance along with Germany and Japan.
United Kingdom – The United Kingdom came out of the First World War with a deep seated hostility against the United States. Since the end of the First World War, they have concentrated on building up a large naval fleet to once again challenge the United States for control of the sea. They are members of the Triple Entente along with France and the Russian Empire. The British economy has suffered somewhat since the end of the First World War, with a majority of industry soaked up by the UK's massive armament programs.
Germany – Germany emerge battered, but intact from the World War. A large amount of her population was dead, and several boarder provinces were lost to France. The Germany government has concentrated on the new and exciting technological development of Tanks and Close Air Support aircaft as offensive weapons of war. Germany is the second member of the Trans-Oceanic Alliance.
France – Although France gained territory at the end of World War One, they have a deep seated distrust of Germany, and are worried by the growing strength of the German Army. It is no secret that the French are considering a first strike to prevent another costly trench war. The French have concentrated their production and development on Infantry, trusting the British to keep the sea-lanes open, and not trusting the aircraft as a useful weapon of war. The French are the second member of the Triple Entente.
Russia – Russia was in turmoil during the First World War. Even with the Red Army crushed by the White Army along with British and French expeditionary units there is still a great deal of unrest in Russia. The Russian military is very technologically behind the other European powers, but is massive in size. Albeit, it remains to be seen whether the Russian Army can provide a useful part of the Triple Entente.
Japan – Japan is the third member of the Trans-Oceanic Alliance. Even though they emerged untouched by the First World War, they were not untouched by war in general. They have been fighting an on-off war with the Chinese empire. Currently the two nations are at peace, although judging by Japanese naval activity in the Sea of Japan, there is no clue how long this peace will last. Their production has been angled towards their Navy, as well as developing a large air-force.
China – The Chinese Empire as formed recently after the end of the First World War and has been expanding throughout South East Asia. They have been engaged in several wars with Japan, but even though they outnumber the Japanese Army by several orders of magnitude, the abysmal state of the Chinese Navy has prevented them from invading Japan proper, or preventing Japanese amphibious invasions. They have concentrated their military development on mass hordes of cheap infantry and are starting to build a coastal navy.
That's all for now. I need to write up Italy, Turkey, some South American nations, some central European nations, and that's all for write-ups.
