So what if the Germans did win WW1

[mbailey]

I saw this on another forum I belong to and thought it would be intresting to bring the question here

Would the world be a better place?

I do think it's  a bigger question than what if Princip never killed the Arch Duke as Europe was ripe for a war

If the Schlieffen Plan was successful and the Germans took out the French early in World War I, before Britain could get involved in the war:

A peace agreement probably would have been similar to the Franco-Prussian war and added a little more territory on each front to the German Empire. Since the war was short, the punishment would not be nearly as high as the Treaty of Versaille.

Also Hitler would never have come to power, due to the lack of German resentment for losing the war.

As a result, no holocaust or WWII

Also if the war ended early there would be no need to send Lenin into Russia and as a result there would no Russian Revolution, Soviet Union, oppressive communism, the massive amount of deaths related to Stalin, or a Cold War. With the Russians able to concentrate on the home front communism may have been blunted

There would also be no Saudi Arabia because the British would have never negotiated with the royal family for assistance against the Ottomans

The Ottomans would continue to keep the Middle East stable and filled with violence as it is now

Would America have become a Superpower?

What do you think about an alternate world of an early German victory of WWI?

I find the "what ifs" of history to be a very intresting topic as their are really no wrong answers. What are your thoughts?

[Plazus]

Who knows. Maybe I would be speaking German instead of English?

[Oldman731]

Would the world be a better place?

http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=9779

Sorry.  I would not have wanted these people in charge.

- oldman

[zack1234]

Who knows. Maybe I would be speaking German instead of English?

It was touch and go in America what would be the state language all the Immigrants were using German

The Germans idea of Lebenraum in the East was already on the agenda at this time

Russia would be like India

[RotBaron]

Interesting   

My History adviser (from Stuttgart, and remembers hvy bombers overhead) way back when, has done his whole life's work on the idea that post-war scarcity is the reason for the cultural revolution of the '60's, thus lots of time devoted to mindset (WW2) of rationing...however, he never brought up this idea, I wish we had though.


What he did bring up, was if they had let the lunatic in to damn art university, of course that's hardly worth talking about if you've ever seen his art.

Marx had already proposed his ideas, where would Europe have headed, roaring '20s, would the US and world markets still collapse in '29...hmmm

That professor always said, as if to poke us Americans in the eye, "Russia won the war, they spent the men," maybe so, but did America win the world?


 

[FLOOB]

Well the nazi party would likely not have come to power. It's very difficult to imagine that a non-nazi Germany could have been worse.

You might find this interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5AbQF1jJ_A&list=PL6EA1BA1FBCABF250

[Rich46yo]

Honestly I think Europe would have still had another war left in them. By "winning" all that means is that probably Germany would have only subdued France. They could never have taken England nor would they have had the means of beating Englands Naval blockade on them. They didnt have the technology to over run Russia and probably would have frozen like Napoleon did.

Most likely thing would have ended with a negotiated settlement with better terms for Germany and worse for France. But I'd agree its unlikely the Nazis would have rose to power.

I dont think America and England would have accepted a mainland Europe dominated by Germany. And I dont think that Germany at the time had the ability or ruthlessness to enforce such a Empire. They were, at the time, an honorable educated Christian people. The German army was an honorable institution. However without the bitterness and economic meltdown imposed upon them by losing the world today would be a very different place. And a German army that thought it won, instead of Not thinking it lost, would probably have not made the deal with the Devil it eventually did in order to rise to prominence again.

Very interesting thread.

[Slate]

  I have to admit I know much more about ww2 than ww1. This exert ( if accurate) is about the causes of ww1 and interesting it states Japan and Britain had an alliance? Never knew Japans role in ww1. I guess all these nations were positioning themselves to control resources.

Over time, countries throughout Europe made mutual defense agreements that would pull them into battle. Thus, if one country was attacked, allied countries were bound to defend them. Before World War 1, the following alliances existed:
•Russia and Serbia
•Germany and Austria-Hungary
•France and Russia
•Britain and France and Belgium
•Japan and Britain
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia got involved to defend Serbia. Germany seeing Russia mobilizing, declared war on Russia. France was then drawn in against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium pulling Britain into war. Then Japan entered the war. Later, Italy and the United States would enter on the side of the allies.

[Skuzzy]

While the idea of this thread is not bad, at all, I can easily see it wondering into politics.

So here is a preemptive warning.  If you do bring politics into this thread, it will not end well.  Just a friendly heads up.

Thank you.

[hotcoffe]

See Rule #2

[LCADolby]

Wilhelm was a weak man trying to prove he was strong. It lead to his erratic posturing, impulsivness and bullying behaviour.
If Wilhelm had managed to win WW1 he would have continued to sabre rattle and cause conflict to continue to build an Empire.
Poland would have still been invaded as 1897 Weltpolitik stated that Gemany should have a colonial empire, an ocean going navy and most notably, Living Space (in the east).

[zack1234]

We would have to wear leather shorts and eat big sausages

[Bizman]

But I like big sausages! With beer 

[zack1234]

 

[jeep00]

 

  I have to admit I know much more about ww2 than ww1. This exert ( if accurate) is about the causes of ww1 and interesting it states Japan and Britain had an alliance? Never knew Japans role in ww1. I guess all these nations were positioning themselves to control resources.

Over time, countries throughout Europe made mutual defense agreements that would pull them into battle. Thus, if one country was attacked, allied countries were bound to defend them. Before World War 1, the following alliances existed:
•Russia and Serbia
•Germany and Austria-Hungary
•France and Russia
•Britain and France and Belgium
•Japan and Britain
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia got involved to defend Serbia. Germany seeing Russia mobilizing, declared war on Russia. France was then drawn in against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium pulling Britain into war. Then Japan entered the war. Later, Italy and the United States would enter on the side of the allies.

I believe Belgium also accidentally declared war on themselves at first in the confusion......

As to the results, really hard to say. But we would likely not be us at this point if we were at all. And we'd be playing Grey Demons and complaining the torps were overmodeled and wondering what would have happened if they had lost the war.