From Enigma to Paradox Revisited

Guest post by Tyler “tbguy1992” Bugg.

Four years ago, I was one of six writer’s chosen to appear in Substitution Cipher, an alternate history anthology that focused more on espionage and spies than soldiers and battles, and how those that work in the shadows can change history as much as a king or a general. I only got that chance thanks to the Alternate History Weekly Update, who posted about the anthology when it was still accepting sub-missions, and allowed me to publish my first work, and then reviewed it and gave away a free copy of the anthology.

My story, “From Enigma to Paradox,” turned World War Two onto it’s head by allowing Nazi Germany to uncover that their “unbreakable” Enigma code was broken by the Polish and British, and used the information to their advantage.

“From Enigma to Paradox” is still my favourite short story I’ve written, and not only because it was printed in a book that I could hold and read over and over again, but because I had the chance to research and hypothesize a rather unique Nazi Wins World War Two Scenario. However, with the bene-fit of hindsight, I do realize there are some issues with the original story I didn’t touch on, glossed over, or ignored. So maybe it’s time now to look back at some of those points, and talk about it here, on the website that got me my big break.

Also, I will say it now: there are spoilers ahead. If you don’t want to find out what actually happened in my story until you read it, go find the e-book or the paperback on Amazon right now, and come back after you’ve read it. Otherwise, here we go!

The point of divergence in my story is that a convoy of the secret materials, along with a copy of the Enigma machine, was captured by the Nazi’s during the invasion of France in May and June 1940, and the German intelligence agency, the Abwehr, quickly discovered from the information revealed that the codes had been, if not quite broken, at least were mostly readable thanks to a Polish agent in 1932 getting their hands on the original device and code books. The Poles had already given all their knowledge about Enigma to the British, who, operating at Bletchley Park, were already working on breaking the Enigma code, a process they called Ultra.

This was a major part of the story: the discovery that the British were, if not reading the full messages, could figure out most of the messages, allowed the Germans to give false information to the British, which resulted in a destruction of the RAF in the Battle of Britain. With RAF Fighter Command barely holding on through most of long months from July to October 1940 in our history, this was what broke the camels back. This is very similar to what the Allies did to try to trick the Germans, which they did regarding the Invasion of Sicily, D-Day, and many other smaller events through the war. This time, I just flipped it on it’s head, and had the Germans doing the tricking, Operation Paradox in my story.

With four years of further research and knowledge, I realize that this would have been a huge stretch. For one thing, despite the brilliant combined arms attacks that paired Panzers, motorized infantry and close support aircraft on the battlefield, the high command, from the heads of the Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Heer, the OKW, the SS, and a dozen other military and intelligence functions were at odds. While this isn’t uncommon in most nations (consider the rivalry of the US Army, Navy, and Air Force, as a start) it wasn’t helped by Hitler’s determined efforts to ensure that all the major departments would be fighting and squabbling with each other to ensure they would be reliant on him alone to solve any issues that would come up. I did mention that the ruse fell apart, but by then the battle with England was already virtually won, so the effect wasn’t totally detrimental to the Nazi’s. However, with hindsight, I’d think that maybe the deception would have unraveled quicker, and it would have allowed the British to recover, even if they knew they couldn’t trust Enigma again.

What happened next was Operation Sea Lion, the invasion of England. With the RAF destroyed, the Nazi’s actually did try to cross the English Channel. In my story I only said that air superiority and the U-boats allowed the invasion to proceed, especially after a mad dash by the Royal Navy to destroy the invasion was mostly halted by the Luftwaffe. While there are many cases in World War Two of airplanes being superior to ships (the sinking of the Bismarck, Pearl Harbor, and the entire Pacific Campaign come to mind), the Royal Navy was still the master of the seas, especially the North Sea and the Channel. If anything, the invasion would have to be put off even longer, until the U-boats, Luftwaffe and naval building program that built the Bismarck, Tripitz and other ships were finished. This would mean a full year or two before Sea Lion could have begun, but by then Hitler’s attention would have been drawn elsewhere: i.e., the Soviet Union. And in that time, the Luftwaffe would have to be still bombing England, keeping the RAF down, and trying to hamper the British Army as it was rebuilt, slowly and painfully. But a year is a long time in a total war, and the British were not going to give up that easily, especially with Winston Churchill in charge.

This brings up the paradox of World War Two, at least for Germany: Germany knew, from a long, bloody history, that they couldn’t fight a two front war. They did it in World War One, and lost. They were doing their best in World War Two to not do it, but if anything Hitler allowed himself to be dragged into not only two fronts (West vs. Britain, the US, Canada and other nations, and east against the Soviet Union), but also a third (North Africa), forth (Scandinavia), fifth (Balkans), sixth (the Atlantic Ocean), seventh (the Holocaust), and eighth (occupied countries) front. So, if Hitler wanted to win, he had to focus on one front, or at least the one that would have posed the biggest threat to him in the long run, which was Great Britain. From there, eventually the British Empire and the US, if it ever entered the war, would be able to try to force a crossing back to the Continent. If the UK wasn’t there, and the British had to fight from Canada or India, then returning to the British Isles was only going to happen after a long brutal battle, or the negotiating table.

But here’s the other part of the Paradox I mentioned: Germany was in no shape to attack Britain. This is something that Alternate Historians have agreed on for years, that Operation Sea Lion was a non-starter, and would have most likely failed within weeks of starting. But Britain couldn’t be bombed into submission. They could be starved with the U-boats, but that was a long and uncertain battle. Hitler wanted immediate results, and after the success in invading Poland, the Low Countries, Norway and France, he was used to them. An invasion of Britain would have failed though, shattering the Nazi war machine, and possibly give Stalin ideas to invade west...but that’s another story.

So, is my story plausible? To a degree, yes. The Nazi’s could have found out about the breaking of Enigma, and eventually replaced it, rendering the British cryptanalytic unit useless for months, if not years as they tried to solve the new one. But would it have been able to win the Battle of Britain? If used right, a broken code is almost as useful as an airtight one, but it’s hard to see how it could have worked for anything approaching the Allied deception plans.

And Sea Lion? Maybe if I had the invasion in 1941, but by then the British would have been able to rebuild, rearm and prepare for the attack, while destroying the Luftwaffe piecemeal, and throwing off Hitler’s other plans to invade the USSR. And even then, it’s uncertain if the Germans could have smashed across to a heavily fortified island without a strong navy to help.

So, I give my own “From Enigma to Paradox” a somewhat plausible rating, but even now, I can see that it most likely would not have worked out in the long run.

I’d like to thank Matt and the AHWU for allowing me to write for them several years ago on different topics, and for promoting my new blog, (Alt)History Inc. And, of course, for bringing Substitution Cipher to my attention over four years ago, covering the story, the interview and review, and everything else.

Happy Birthday Weekly Update! And here’s to another five years of history twisting, fictionalizing the past and reimagining yesteryear!

* * *

Tyler "tbguy1992" Bugg recently received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Winnipeg in History and English, and now he tries his best to use both, writing for a small town newspaper and writing his own blog, (Alt)History Inc, and procrastinating by playing Civilization, Fallout and other video games. You can find him on Twitter @tbguy1992.

The President That Never Was: A DBWI Alternate History by Tyler “tbguy1992” Bugg

Entry for the DBWI Writing Contest.

On June 7, 2013, the Chairman of the Australian based International History Council, Sir Alan Dearing, held a discussion with author Ken Harper, the writer of a new book, The President That Never Was, a substitution history of how forgotten New York Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt nearly became the President of the United States, and what his role in America and around the world could have been. This is a small portion of the two hour interview that was held in Sydney, and to be fully printed in the July edition of the Historians International Monthly.

DEARING: What exactly is the basis for this book?

HARPER: When I was still in the United States studying at Yale, I came across the papers of a former governor of New York State, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was running for the Presidency in 1932 as a Democrat; however the revelation that polio had crippled his legs and prevented him from walking without iron braces had scuttled his chances for running. The Democratic Party instead turned to John Nance Garner, who won against the incumbent Republican, Herbert Hoover. After reading through the papers, I began to envision a world where Roosevelt was elected, and the consequences that would have.

DEARING: Despite his disability, you paint a very robust and upbeat Franklin Roosevelt.

HARPER: Even before he contracted polio, he was a very energetic man, serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in the Great War and in other high government positions. After his illness in the 1920s, Roosevelt would work twice as hard, eventually becoming Governor of New York despite his illness. However, the revelation that he was confined to a wheelchair ended his chances to be President, and he would retire to a comfortable life at his family’s estate at Hyde Park, as well as his secondary home at Warm Springs, Georgia, passing away in his sleep in 1952.

DEARING: The president that could have been you proposed in your story seems almost superhuman, getting things done that many presidents had failed to do. In comparison to what actually happened, why do you say this, when even right now the US is struggling in yet another Depression?

HARPER: He was a very charismatic man, giving one liners that, though most are forgotten today, were both uplifting and steadfast in his time. One of my favorites, which he wrote to a family friend in 1935, was “The only thing you and I have to fear is fear.” In his short run for President, he never made any specific policy announcements, besides that the Great Depression must be fought, and that America was great, instead saying that he was willing to try whatever he could. I think through his words alone, he could have convinced the US that he would do whatever he could to rectify the Great Depression, though whether he could or not would never be seen. President Garner, though a very capable man, did not have the way with words as Roosevelt did. The programs he got through Congress in his first year, like Social Assistance and the Jobs Council, were very much the result of compromise with the strong Republican minority and conservative Democrats, which the liberal Roosevelt would not have tolerated to the same degree. While America was lifted out of the Depression by 1936 in our history, partially from massive make work projects and cutting taxes for businesses to virtually nothing, I would argue that under Roosevelt it could have happened sooner with more proactive, government supported actions.

DEARING: Perhaps the biggest change, and the one that has had many critics complain, was the foreign policy of your fictional presidency. Why do you think that he would have been very proactive in external affairs, going so far as to aid the British in their doomed war effort, and picking a fight with Japan?

HARPER: I will answer the second part of the question first. It wasn't necessarily that Roosevelt picked a fight with Japan that it looks like he did in my story: in the various crises that occurred in the 1930s that damaged the relationship with the Empire and America, such as the sinking of the Panay in China during the 1936 invasion, the occupation of French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies would have been met with economic countermeasures, such as in embargo of oil and steel. Now, not to say that it is right or wrong, but President Garner, in his view that America was not strong enough, nor cared to fight an overseas enemy, instead continued diplomacy with a militant Japan. This would eventually end American involvement in the Philippines, which almost promptly fell into the East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere as a bloodless triumph. While we are close allies with Japan today, in the alliance brokered by President Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. in the 1960s, before then it looked very much like war, or at least a vicious trade struggle, would ensue.

As for Britain, my President Roosevelt was taking a long term view that some American politicians to this day never did: Britain was the one bulwark that could protect America from a cross-Atlantic attack, with the Royal Navy of the 1940s and  their strategic position against a Nazi Europe. It is clear that Prime Minister Winston Churchill, though leader of Britain for a few months after the “Great Appeaser” Neville Chamberlain’s death in November 1940, had depended on the US’s involvement in the Western European War to prevent the spread of fascism. Garner, a great domestic president, was pushed around in foreign affairs by the dictators of the era, and the American people, led by the likes of Charles Lindbergh, had no interest in overseas military intervention. It would come back to haunt us in the Hot Peace, when we had few allies to turn to against a militant Europe and Soviet Union.

DEARING: Now, the diplomatic moves that your Roosevelt put against Japan can be seen as cause for war. Yet, you think that Japan would have settled it peacefully, and not actually engaged us in war. Why do you think so?

HARPER: The Japanese leadership of the 1930s and 40s would, and should, have known that America was a sleeping giant, one that could use its vast economic might to crush them in any total war. Roosevelt was known as a man that would not back down unless he got what he wanted, or if the greater majority of the public disapproved of it. I think he would have been prepared to go to war with Japan, but only after getting the American people to support him. That was going to be the big issue, getting the American people to support a war that they otherwise had no interest in. It wasn't like Japan had the capabilities in the 1940s to launch an attack against us, which would perhaps be the only way to get the American public of the Thirties and Forties interested in wars on the other side of the oceans that protect us.

DEARING: In your analysis, you think that Roosevelt would have wanted to run a third term. No president has ever succeeded in getting a third term, but what would make you think he would?

HARPER: Roosevelt’s uncle, Theodore Roosevelt, was the closest to ever winning a third term in 1912, so I think it runs in the family. I’m sure the desire to lead the nation, not for selfish reasons but because they feel that his job would not be done, would have convinced him to try for a third term. However, I highly doubt the American people would have went along with that, and an effective Republican campaign, like that of Charles Lindbergh in 1940, would have painted Roosevelt as a dictator like those he opposed, trying to keep himself in power. He would have run, but I highly doubt he would have won.

DEARING: Now, this book has been banned in both the Third Reich and in the Soviet Union. You paint a very bright picture of the Soviets in your book, saying that Roosevelt would have supported the Russians if the Nazi’s had invaded. What do you have to say about that?

HARPER: The Soviet Union was in greater danger than they could have realized in 1941, before the failed attempt at a British Invasion in the west distracted Hitler. Even reading Mein Kampf, it’s clear that Hitler wanted to attack and annex large parts of Russia, but the long drawn out battle with England sapped his and Germany’s strength, and Hitler’s death in 1946 before Germany was fully recovered from the war ensured that he would never attack the Soviet Union. The alliance the two established in 1939, and reaffirmed every few years, seems to be a historical certainty, but I think the Soviets got off lucky.

As for the censorship, I do not mind. The Third Reich and the Soviets are, if maybe at one point at different ends of the political scale, are now almost virtually identical in their methods of government and education. I cannot see them understanding that this kind of fiction is not only plausible, but could have been so likely to happen.

DEARING: One final question: if Roosevelt had been president, exactly how great would he have been ranked?

HARPER: That is perhaps the hardest question. It completely depends on how successful his domestic policies were, and if he kept America out of war. I’m sure he would have repaired the economy as quickly as he could, which alone could have cemented his status. However, he did seem more bellicose in international affairs, which, while he may have gotten a war to fight, it would not have been what the American people wanted. So, if he repaired America and served two terms without sparking a war, I’m sure he would be recognized as one of the Greats, like how we see George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and (arguably) Jimmy Carter today. If he did get us in a war, it depends on the circumstances. I highly doubt he would have because he was militant, but because he thought that it was right. The people of the time may not have recognized it, but history always will.

* * *

Tyler "tbguy1992" Bugg is an aspiring writer, history student, gamer and Canadian, and somehow managed to merge all four into his current project, a Fanfiction set in Manitoba in the Fallout gaming universe. His first published short story, "From Enigma to Paradox" can be found in the Alternate History Anthology Substitution Cipher. He is also barely on Twitter.

Liberty, Tyranny, Empire and Republic: Napoleonic Alternate History

Guest post by Tyler “Tbguy1992” Bugg.

It’s been a while since I have been able to find the time to write an article for the Update. However, with school mostly out of the way, and now we are approaching Christmas, it’s time for me to talk about an Alternate History subject close to my heart, the man known as Napoleon.

So, if you want to write an Alternate History in this era, where do you begin? The Napoleonic Wars, by loose definition, lasted from 1799, when Napoleon mounted a coup to become the First Consul of the Republic, until 1815, when he was finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo, and sent to St. Helena to live out his days, not to mention that Napoleon served with the revolutionary armies before this point as well. So, we can boil it down to almost 20 years of near constant warfare in Europe, Africa, India and the high seas.

The most important nations in this struggle were the naval and economic power of Great Britain, and the land and populous power of France. All the other nations, including Spain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, the Italian city states and German principalities and the Ottoman Empire were part of shifting alliances with one or the other throughout this period. Only once, in a short period between 1802 and 1804, were France and Britain not directly at war.

So, where to begin…

First, the two sided nature of the conflict in the early years. From the beginning until at least 1808, Napoleon was unstoppable when two armies faced off against each other. Using the reformed military structure of the republic, where the army was organized into self-contained corps and divisions lead by highly capable generals, but all under the strategic and tactical genius of Napoleon and his staff. When facing off against the armies of the other powers that had not changed since Marlborough was fighting in Europe almost 100 years before, as well as using outdated tactics that played right into Napoleon’s hands, meant that wherever Napoleon went, he was victorious.

On the other side, Britain controlled the seas. The Royal Navy was unmatched even before this conflict, with only France as its closest rival. The Revolution, however, decimated the French Navy’s officer corps, as the nobles who were the highest officers in the navy all fled from the terror of the guillotine and Revolutionary justice. Without his most able officers, Napoleon’s navy was confined to port, while the Royal Navy was able to not only protect England (after all, as one admiral told the House of Lords: "I do not say, my Lords, that the French will not come. I say only they will not come by sea") they were able to disrupt French trade with the outside world, as well as interfere in the peripheries of the French Empire at will. The British never had to rely on a large army (after all, British gold paid the other continental powers to fight for them!), but where this small, highly trained force was sent it won, usually because they were facing generals other than Napoleon.

So, as time and time again has proven, such as in the Seven Years War in the 1700s, as well as the World Wars, when a land power, and a naval power fight, the land power usually has the shorter end of the deal, while the naval power, usually the United Kingdom, has the advantage of both time and resources. The land power must either try to take the British on their own watery turf, or starve and force them into submission. Napoleon tried both routes: the first case resulted in the disastrous Battle of Trafalgar (which is the basis for my own Napoleonic Timeline), which prevented the French navy from ever affecting the course of the war, and then the Continental System, where all British trade with Europe would be banned. This was partially successful, but it ended up hurting the French more than the British. After all, as the premier industrial power in the world, British goods were cheaper than anything the French could produce, not to mention that other goods could only be gotten outside of Europe and not reproduced in any other way.

The second, and perhaps more important factor, was the onset of “Victory Disease.” After Austerlitz in December 1805, Napoleon was feeling almost invincible. After all, wherever he went, he won. This lead to his decision to invade Spain in 1808, nominally to get at Portugal for breaking the Continental System, but then to solidify France’s domination over Western Europe. However, this lead to an expensive sideshow, where more and more French troops were sent to Spain, while the hardy peasants, with British guns and money, were able to mount a successful guerrilla war, while Arthur Wellesley, soon to be of Waterloo fame, lead a British army to bolster the Spanish.

However, Spain was nothing compared to what the ill-fated decision to invade Russia meant. Again, the Continental System, and Russia’s continued noncompliance, convinced Napoleon that he must invade the massive nation. What was supposed to be a quick invasion: capture the main towns, destroy the Russian army, and make the Czar see sense, turned into a bloody slog, to end up barely seeing the army they were to defeat, and then arriving in Moscow to find the city in flames. Forced to retreat by the same route they came, which had been stripped of food an resources, Napoleon at last arrived back in Poland, where he started, with less than 100,000 of the massive 600,000 men force he set out with.

After 1812, it was all downhill. Despite moments of brilliance, Napoleon was now outmatched by her enemies, both materially and with new tactics to counter Napoleon’s. The enemies arrayed against Napoleon, while not fighting better than him, fought well enough. After being sent to Elba, to rule over the insignificant Mediterranean island, Napoleon made a comeback in early 1815, rallied another army, and marched into modern day Belgium… and was defeated in the “damn near thing” at Waterloo.

So, as usual when making an alternate history, the point of divergence is the first point. So, let’s take a look at a couple of the more well-known ones: Trafalgar and the invasion of Russia.

Trafalgar is a popular POD (and the one I use for French Trafalgar, British Waterloo) because that was the point in which the Royal Navy was truly the ruler of the waves. For over a hundred years after, not one other nation could rival Britain and its navy. With this, they were able to colonize and control a quarter of the world and a quarter of the world’s population. So, what if Trafalgar went another way? And how?

Well, despite what many think, Trafalgar would have meant very little. For one thing, even if the French did defeat the fleet under Horatio Nelson, there were more powerful squadrons in home waters, and that would mean that another fleet, say Admiral Cornwallis blockading the Brest Fleet, would have been able to destroy the French fleet. But, let’s continue on the Alternate History path, and say that Admiral Villeneuve and the French-Spanish combined fleet was able to defeat both Nelson and Cornwallis. Then what? Well, most would say, Napoleon would try to invade England.

Unfortunately, they would be wrong. Just a few days before, Napoleon won one of his greatest battles, at Ulm, which is in Austria, half a continent away. The army that Napoleon had assembled for the invasion of the island was turned East as Austria and Russia were assembling a force to attack, so the greater threat had to be dealt with.

But, again, let’s play the Alternate History Game. The Royal Navy is defeated, and the army is ready to invade Southern England. Chalk up another victory for Napoleon!

And then an even worse defeat than in Russia. I shall explain.

First of all, the fleets under Nelson and Cornwallis are not the only ships England has. They have dozens more of the powerful ships of the line, all they have to do is be gathered together. So, England is invaded, the powerful French army is destroying all in its way, because Napoleon will do that. However, the Royal Navy should be able to regain its strength, and sail down the channel, blowing every French ship they can see out of the water. Napoleon would be trapped in England, and, barring an escape like he pulled off when the Royal Navy blockaded his army in Egypt in 1799, Napoleon and his army will be captured. Napoleon’s Waterloo would occur 10 years earlier, and when he was still at the height of his tactical genius.

Even if Napoleon did escape and make it back to France, Russia and Austria are still assembling an army. With most of his best troops trapped in England, what kind of an army can Napoleon bring together? Well, it will be like the army he assembled in Waterloo: a few veterans that were sent home, and a National Guard (more like a hastily trained reserve than the National Guard of the United States is today). He might be able to get some victories, but not the decisive, crushing victories he’s known for.

The more likely outcome, and the one I went with, is that Britain at last throws in the towel. After all, it’s getting expensive to fight all these battles, and propping up ineffectual allies. And, if Napoleon can challenge the Royal Navy, then what good is there spending money on this? England will agree to peace terms, and then Austria, Prussia and Russia will be alone. However, this will not mean sudden peace. This will just mean that the rest of the 19th Century will be a continuous series of wars like the 18th Century before. However, given time, Napoleon will be able to build a new colonial empire, and industry to rival Britain. In just the few years Napoleon led France, they made an enormous leap forward in industry, and I can foresee this continuing when the attention of the Empire is not on fighting for its life and expansion.

So, with Trafalgar taken care of, the invasion of Russia in 1812 is the next most popular Napoleonic Wars. However, to say that Napoleon decides not to invade Russia will be a stretch. The main reason is Napoleon’s personality. He was a vengeful man, much like Hitler would be 140 years later. The slightest insult to him, and by extension, his empire, will be met with overwhelming force. Haiti, which broke away from France after King Louis XVI lost his head, was invaded in 1803 to disaster, and later Prussia faced this in 1806, Spain and Portugal in 1808, and then Russia in 1812. However, the one thing Napoleon did not take into account during these invasions was that they were unlike Western and Central Europe. There, if you defeat the army and occupy the capital, they will give up, as Prussia and Austria did. In Russia, as well as Spain, the capital wasn't as important, and the army could retreat and not have to face the powerful French army. So, with French forces pushing both to capture the capital and destroy the army, they were not prepared for a longer campaign, the problem that many people who invade Russia face.

So, what can be done? Well, perhaps an adviser suggests that, instead of invasion, maybe Russia be added to the Continental System as well, and have their goods and resources blocked from being sold in Europe. Since Russia is still developing from their feudal society, this will affect them strongly. Without being able to buy the materials from England or France, both because of Napoleon and blockade, I could see the Czar either actively opposing France, being defeated time and time again whenever an army is assembled, or bowing to French pressure. However, the first course seems more plausible, but, eventually, they will have to give up. Britain can try all it wants, but they will be unable to provide much assistance to Russia.

All in all, perhaps the most important thing about Napoleonic era Alternate Histories is how much influence Napoleon himself had. No man in that time was able to excite and terrify the people of Europe any more than he was. A conqueror, a law giver and an idol, Napoleon Bonaparte perhaps goes to show how one man can change the world. His tactics and triumphs continue to be studied as the epitome of maneuver and battle, and the law code he established is the basis for most of modern Europe’s legal system. Having brought France to the point of continental domination, Napoleon is seen as a hero and a villain: the man who brought the golden light of the French Revolution to the subjected people of Europe, and as a tyrant who destroyed liberty. Which is right? I’m not sure. However, there is no denying that, 200 years after his disastrous retreat through Russia, Napoleon still holds a place in the history books that will not be erased anytime soon.

* * *

Tyler Bugg, who goes by “Tbguy1992” on the Internet, is an aspiring writer, a history student, gamer, and Canadian. You try to figure out what he likes best. His first published work, “Enigma to Paradox” will be in the upcoming short story anthology, Substitution Cipher, available December 18.

Industria, Tecnologia, Potenza: An Italy After Action Report

Guest post by Tyler “Tbguy1992” Bugg.

So, at last, I finally have started on my first AAR! Although having played Hearts of Iron 2 for years, I have not yet played a game that I can then show to everyone else. It changes now.

With help from the Alternate History Weekly Update blog and their Facebook page, I’m glad to finally show off what I’m going to do! After a couple weeks of voting, it has been decided that I will play Italy.

Other than that, I designed my own rules. First, it will be played with the expansion Arsenal of Democracy, which I do like almost as much as HoI2 Doomsday Armageddon and Darkest Hour. Next, I will be playing this on the normal difficulty and with the AI having normal aggression. I don’t usually play any difficulties higher than this on ANYTHING, so, yeah. Next, no cheats. The temptation to cheat on HoI2 is really easy, so I will force myself not to do it. I will be playing this at relatively fast mode until a major war begins, because at that point, you need the time to think. I’m going to pause at time as well, because a flood of commands is easier than racing to catch up! At last, autosave every month. This is mostly to make sure that, in case I forget to actually, you know, save pictures and such, I can come back and try it again. I’m already sure, once or twice, I will do that, so it’s best to prepare ahead of time. Each post will take into account everything that occurred between the previous post to that date, and I will decide myself on when to cut it off. After all, building armies and factories is boring, so I might just skip to 1939, lol.

Anyway, on with the show!

Prologue: When in Rome…

January 1, 1936

It is midnight on January 1, 1936. Around the world, people celebrate the New Year, and the citizens of the Kingdom of Italy are no different. However, Il Duce, the revered and dictatorial leader of the nation, is meeting with his ministers and trusted advisers in a closed meeting in Rome, along with King Vittorio Emanuele III, the puppet of the charismatic and popular Head of Government.

For Italy is an aspiring empire with few resources or places to expand. With only Libya and Somalia as part of their empire when he came to power, Mussolini continues to agitate for turning the Mediterranean into an “Italian Lake.” But the road to accomplish such a goal is a difficult one, and may result in conflict with any combination of nations: decadent but powerful France, a resurgent Germany under Adolf Hitler, a proud but fearful British Empire, and the Soviet Union, currently under Joseph Stalin and his brutal form of Communism. This is not even mentioning nations that are not quite as powerful, but hold the lands that Italy directly claims, including Dalmatia, held by Yugoslavia, Albania and even Greece.

The Empire of Italy, surrounded by France, Switzerland, Austria and Yugoslavia, and with only a few colonies, all surrounded by the larger French and British colonial holdings.

The first step to this new drive for colonial expansion is Ethiopia, having been invaded a few months before. This is the second time Ethopia has been invaded: the first ended in the horrible failure that was the Battle of Battle of Adwa in 1896, which still haunts the nationalist inspirations of Italy to this day. However, France, Britain and the USSR have so far done nothing to stop Italy besides ineffectual embargoes through the League of Nations, and they do not seem interested in interfering in Africa with crisis brewing in Europe. However, it is still uncertain as to what they will do if a country more important that Ethiopia is invaded, so patience is advised there.

The cabinet is called to order, and the problems facing Italy are painfully laid out. Industry is pitifully small, and unable to sustain the army in any modern war. The army in Italy needs reinforcement, while mostly militia units are currently fighting in Ethiopia. Although this time there has been no Adwa, the fear that one may come up has pushed both the leaders of the military to organize a plan.

The ministers meeting in Rome on New Year’s Eve, and lead by Prime Minister (and Il Duce) Benito Mussolini. The World’s first Fascist regime is moving in an unexpected direction right now.

After a couple hours, the first proposals and plans are outlined, and soon the process to redevelop Italian power has begun.

It is decided on a three-fold path to both economic and military security, and then efforts to expand will begin, the earliest of which may not be until 1940. A new slogan, “Industria, Tecnologia, Potenza” (Industry, Technology, Might) easily describes this new path. A focus on Industrial expansion, including new state factories in provinces to be decided after, as well as a drive for centralization will begin immediately. Technologies, focusing mainly on industry, army tactics and organization, as well as the navy and air force will begin. The needs of the factories, the military, and for consumer goods will be left in the hands of Armaments Minister Guido Jung, with the power to give order in Mussolini’s name. As for Might: after industrial and technology catches up, the army will be expanded with both armored and infantry divisions. Since Italian ship yards are already busy building new ships, many of the older vessels will have work halted on them for the moment, and they will be upgraded. However, after this vessels are finished, Italy will focus on building its factories, most of which will take at least a year or so to finish.

The orders currently on call of the Italian state.

On top of this, a new propaganda effort will begin. Instead of focusing on the pure Italian race as conquerors and heroes, an effort to emphasize all citizens, including those of the colonies and those not of pure Italian blood, as workers for the greater good will be pushed. It will take months to implement, however, and the possibility of dissent, especially amongst Nationalists and industrialists that will have their factories taken over will be high. However, as long as this can be implemented in stages, the effects will not be as serious.

At last, a proposal from the Military Chief of Staff, Francesco Grazioli for a major reorganization of the Army, Navy and Air Force are in order. Generals who focus on reducing supply usage will be named to posts within Italy, and three-division corps of infantry will be the main standard, instead of the hodge-podge of one and two division corps that reigned before. Surface ships will be organized into self-contained forces, composed of capital ships and smaller vessels to protect them. The entire kingdom’s transport vessels will be focused into one large fleet, easier to transport forces to under-defended Libya as soon as Ethiopia is crushed. As well, the various submarine forces will be organized into their own fleets, able to work without the need of any surface ships what so ever.

At last, the pressure of what to do with Ethiopia. New plans were drawn up, advocating a thrust by three forces, two from Italian Eritrea and one from Italian Somaliland, to eventually capture the capital of Addis Abba. Once this is accomplished, by early February if all goes according to plan, the nation can be annexed, and the humiliation of 1895 will at last be avenged.

The Planned Invasion of Ethiopia, Jan 1936

The meeting at last broke up, with military officers racing off to contact their commands to begin the process of re-organization, while orders to companies to begin focusing on research were issued, to be put into effect at the earliest possible moment. Count Ciano, the Foreign Minister and brother in law to Mussolini is to meet with Il Duce in a few days to begin organizing diplomatic efforts, and a meeting with Ceasare Amé, the head of the Intelligence services, and Security Minister Guido Buffarini-Guidi will be held in the near future for both internal and external security matters. The results of the military organization will be reported to the Cabinet in a few weeks.

Mussolini himself, tired after a long day, retired and went to sleep at 2 AM, as the cheers and noise of partying continued outside. In a few days, he will give a speech outlining the new goal of Fascist Italy, and the efforts needed by the people to achieve this.

* * *

Tyler “Tbguy1992” Bugg is a Canadian History Student currently on summer break, and, if he can find time in between video games, work and such, he tries to write. If he could find a job writing for a video games company for an Alternate History story set in Canada, the world will most likely stop turning for a moment while everyone comprehends it. Check out his short story "From Enigma to Paradox" in the upcoming anthology Substitution Cipher.

Interview: Tyler Bugg

I now present my interview with friend of the blog and new author Tyler "Tbguy1992" Bugg:

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Well, not to much to say. Grew up on a cattle farm about 30 minutes north of the North Dakota border in Manitoba, Canada, and am currently attending the University of Winnipeg in my third year for a History degree. Was always interested in history as a kid, and perhaps that started when I was in Grade 3 and found a book on the Titanic: scared me senseless, my overactive imagination deciding to pretend I was on the boat that night after I read it, but it has stuck with me since then. Ask me anything about the Titanic, and I'm sure I can give you the answer.

I'm also a big PC gamer, playing such classics as Civilization and Command and Conquer (both of which can be considered AH to some degree), and I've recently been getting into the Fallout series, mostly because of the wonderful story rooted in a 50s-esque nuclear wasteland. Would love to get the chance to write for a video game... especially an Alternate History video game. Set in CANADA!

Oh, and I like hats. Big, fancy hats.

What got you interested in alternate history?

A trip to the local library, oddly enough. Wandering through the small building, I happened to notice a book with the US Capitol building in ruins and burning, with Confederate-flag carrying soldiers around it. I had found Harry Turtledove's Great War: American Front. I read that, and was hooked. A few months after that, I found the Alternate History Wikia online, and the rest is pretty much history.

I had a similar start to my alternate history obsession, except it was Worldwar: In the Balance by Harry Turtledove and it was the cover with Churchill and Hitler standing behind a piece of alien weaponry. Is Turtledove your favorite author?

Yes, I would have to say so. I'm not sure if its just because he was the first AH writer I was introduced to, or if its more because I really enjoy his stories and the entire timelines he creates. The only author I would name as a favorite, as in I have read most of his work, would be Tom Clancy, who does seem to have gone from a secret history in his Jack Ryan novels to an alternate history, not to mention the realistic and plausible World War Three scenario Red Storm Rising. I should find that book again...

How would you describe the Alternate History Wikia to someone who has never been there?

Its like Wikipedia, only with no need to cite your ideas and sources, and the excuse to make up anything you want. And believe me, people have made up whatever they want.  Just some things make more sense than others. I also believe that the AHWikia is a lower step than alternatehistory.com, because when you post on the Wikia, it seems that you usually don't get much feedback except if you ask for it. Its an unwritten rule on the forums that they will poke as many holes as possible into the idea, and any future posts related to that idea as possible. I'm sure, had I started posting my timelines on the AH Forum, I would have easily become dissuaded and gave up on the idea. There ya go! Alternate History on Alternate History!

What is "From Enigma to Paradox" about?

Very simply, its what happens if your most prized "secret weapon" falls into the enemies hands. In this case, its the Germany discovery of the Allies secret "Ultra" operation, the massive project to break the "unbreakable" German Enigma code, and how this will play into the future of the Second World War. The primary result is the "Unmentionable Sea Mammal" (thanks alternatehistory.com!) actually taking place, after a deceitful counter-counter intelligence operation which allowed the Luftwaffe to gain the upper hand in the Battle of Britain. Of course, the story doesn't end there, but I don't want to give away the end... yet.

What inspired you to write the story?

I guess the main thing was a book I found, written by Anthony Cave Brown, called Bodyguard of Lies. It was written in 1975, as the first wave of wartime documents were declassified in the United States and the UK, which showed exactly how massive, and at times improbable and insane ideas that the Allies put together to fight the intelligence war with Germany, especially the story of how Enigma was cracked. So, taking the story of Enigma, and then the famous "Operation Bodyguard" that deceived Germans to the true location, time and direction of the D-Day landings, I wrote a German variation, where the Nazi intelligence services work to deceive the British through the most vital stages of the Battle of Britain. Plus, I always was a fan of a Tom Clancy-esque spy caper, even if I didn't understand half the techno mumble-jumbo he throws in, so I wanted to try that.

What sources were particularly helpful when researching for your story?

Most of the idea for the story, and the knowledge of Enigma, came through Bodyguard of Lies. For other parts, it was mostly the background knowledge of World War II, including William Shrier's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and Inside the Third Reich by Albert Speer, for information of the organization of the Nazi war machine, as well as The World War Two Desk Reference by Douglas Brinkley for tidbits and ideas for future research to flesh out the story.

And, I will shamelessly admit, Wikipedia.

Is this your first published story?

Yes, and I thank Candlemark and Gleam for the chance to be published! Also, (knock on wood), this isn't my only story to be published...

So you have been a fan of alternate history roughly 4 years and are already a published author in the genre, with a review in Publisher's Weekly and you are still in college. Wow. Any comment on that?

I...really don't know what to say, to be honest. I can't believe all of this has happened to the procrastinating, know-it-all, allergic-to-everything farm boy from the middle of nowhere, Canada. I try not to think of it too much, frankly, because then I get nervous that this run of good luck is going to crash and burn.

Then again, it shows anyone what they can do when they put their mind to it.

Do you have any other projects you are working on?

Oh, I always have Alternate History ideas: just open any history book! However, school is more important at the moment, but my Creative Writing class is helping flesh out and develop stories I otherwise would have put on hold. My timelines, like French Trafalgar, British Waterloo on the Alternate History Wikia is always being added to, but otherwise not much ready to be shipped out.

I do hope to have a larger novel(la) completed by the end of the school year, but time will tell how well that works out.

Do you plan to write fiction in your French Trafalgar, British Waterloo timeline?

I've always been back and forth on this idea. Sometimes, I think it would be cool to try to write a short story, or even a novel or two, based on events and outcomes from something I've already created. However, other times, I don't want to go into any further depth to the story than the God like, third person, "Wikipedia-esque" historical depth I already have invested in it. I may take ideas from it from time to time, but I highly doubt I will ever get around to making a larger story centered on FTBW. Too many other ideas I want to explore than to stick in the same place that already feels fairly well done in my opinion.

What are you reading now?

I actually just picked up Coup d'Etat, Harry Turtledove's new novel [Editor's Note: Fourth volume in the series began by Hitler's War]. Beside it, I have The Company of the Dead (which I got because A) its Titanic, and B) I read about it here on AHWU) Also have Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, but I'm taking that one slow. So many other books I have bought, but haven't opened yet!

Do you have advice for would-be authors?

Normally, this would be the part where the author would say "just keep writing!" However, I'm going a different path this time: something my Creative Writing professor, published Canadian author Margret Sweatman, told us: read! Ideally, you should actually be reading for both research and pleasure almost as much as you write. I take this particular idea to heart, if for no other reason that it gives me an excuse to read books when I'm procrastinating other things. And, don't be afraid to take ideas from other places. After all, every story has been told: its the writers job to retell that story in a new, interesting light, and Alternate History especially fits that role.

The Maple Leaf (Not Quite) Forever: Canada in Alternate History

Guest Post by Tyler Bugg.

As a proud Canadian, I can’t help but look forward to see how the second largest nation on Earth does in alternate histories. However, I’m usually left with a sinking feeling, mostly because my home and native land seems to be a favorite stomping ground, and always toward the top of the “To Conquer” list in American dominate AH’s, or an unlucky pawn in different British Empires and the rest of the world, and, if the Nazi’s won the Second World War, you can be sure of one of two things: a) it’s the refuge of a fleeing British Monarchy and government, or b) yet another colony of Hitler’s. Well, maybe that would be better than the United States of North America, I dunno.

Often times, the nation is a fraction of its current, gargantuan size, composed of only the original provinces of Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec (unless the latter broke away), or, rarely, even larger. The War of 1812, the Oregon Crisis (54° 40° or Fight!), the Trent Affair, and plan old Manifest Destiny are popular POD’s, though, of course, the butterflies and Bats from Space that are Aliens would cause damage for any POD around the world…

I don’t mind too much, as its all fiction. But it seems to me that when Canada is involved, there are three categories that it can be divided into:

1. “Greater Canada”: This is primarily a “Canada wank” TL, where the Thirteen Colonies that became America instead joined Canada to become a massive, continent spanning Dominion of the British crown, or simply that Canada invades the US and, somehow, improbably, wins (though, listening to this song, you may think we’re one step away from following in our former Colonial Master’s shoes) Of course, these TL’s are rare, although I would consider Harry Turtledove’s The Two Georges as a “Greater Canada” TL (even including an RCMP analogue, the Royal American Mounted Police!)

2. “Lesser Canada”: Canada doesn’t stretch into the Great Plains, much less British Colombia and often times Quebec will be independent. Basically, only OTL Ontario would be “Canada”, as the Maritime Provinces might have either become part of the US, or simply remained colonies of the British Empire. I made a “Lesser Canada” in my major Timeline “French Trafalgar, British Waterloo,” the rest of OTL Canada becoming the republics of Assiniboia (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, North West Territories and Nunavut) and Alyseka (Russian Alaska, BC and Yukon), only later to have my “lesser Canada” become “No Canada” after a Civil War a la Spanish Civil War, replaced by, you guessed it, Quebec.

3. “WTF is Canada?”: No change, most likely because the writer either doesn’t think Canada is that important: just another nation on the list, right beside Nepal, Sierra Leone and Tibet that exist; or simply, isn’t interesting and says that the butterflies have no effect north of the 49th Parallel, even if the US became a Neo-Nazi, Commie Hippie, tree hugging dystopia. This, sadly, is the most often seen one, especially on the Alternate History Wikia, the one place I frequent more often than anything else counterfactual historically related.

One of the most notable Canada’s in Alternate History is, once again, from Harry Turtledove. While Mr. Turtledove does add Canada in many of his stories, such as an angry Union attacking the defenseless nation after the succession of the Confederacy in The Guns of the South, one of the most inhospitable territories conquered by the Race (and later given back!) in the WorldWar and Colonization series, the largest involvement in a Turtledove story is in the Timeline-191 (or Southern Victory) series. Six of the multitude of viewpoint characters are either from the north or spent some time there, from farmer/saboteur Arthur McGregor (from my home province of Manitoba, no less!), and his daughter Mary, to American pilot/lawyer Jonathon Moss, whose wife and daughter are killed by a bomb sent to them by Mary. Having a setting in Canada, especially the contrast between the resistant English settlers of the west, and the Quebecois in the east, given their own nation under American “protection” is a nice touch, and one that, as a Canadian, makes me wonder “What if the US did march on Canada?”

Either way, Canada is mostly an unimportant player in Alternate History, mostly due to its proximity to the US, and a much, much smaller population (as of right now, Canada is only a breath away from 35 million: the US is well passed the 300 million mark) and the general feeling Canada is either a “Polite American” or “America’s Hat.” Of course, I can’t say too much bad about the United States, if for the fact that I’m only 20 miles from the border…

*          *          *

Tyler “Tbguy1992” Bugg is a Canadian History Student currently on summer break, and, if he can find time in between video games (ALTERNATE HISTORY video games, mind you), work and such, he tries to write. If he could find a job writing for a video games company for an Alternate History story set in Canada, the world will most likely stop turning for a moment while everyone comprehends it.

Rearranging the Deck Chairs and Changing the Course: Titanic Alternate Histories From the Writers Point of View

Guest Post by Tyler "Tbguy1992" Bugg.

The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic is here, and I have decided to talk about the different alternate histories that revolve around the sinking. Ever since the morning of April 15, 1912, when the world awoke to find that the massive liner was gone, people have been asking “What If?” Walter Lord, historian and writer of A Night To Remember, one of the greatest Titanic books ever written once said:

"I still think about the 'might have beens' about the Titanic, that's what stirs me more [than] anything else. Things that happened that wouldn't have happened if only one thing had gone better for her. If only, so many if onlys. If only she had enough lifeboats. If only the watertight compartments had been higher. If only she had paid attention to the ice that night. If only the Californian did come. The 'if only' kept coming up again and again and that makes the ship more [than] the experience of studying a disaster. It becomes a haunting experience to me; it's the haunting experience of 'if only'."

So, there are many ways we could look at Titanic Alternate Histories, but how can we make them plausible? After all, ships at sea face many other dangers besides icebergs like fog, collisions with other ships, fires and countless other events that could send any vessel to the bottom of the sea.

While we now know most of the major flaws of the ship, and how they could have been rectified, Alternate Historians are faced with a challenge. If, say the White Star line, the owner of the Titanic, agreed to put on even more than the 20 she ended up carrying? More people might have been saved, yes, but unless there were enough lifeboats for every single person, many were still going to die that night.

We could go on about the design, the number of people saved, and that sort of thing, but in the end, if you are going to write an Alternate History of the Titanic, you have to decide one question: does it sink, or does it survive?

This is where it gets tricky. Most people will go: “The Titanic just missed the iceberg, made it into New York.” Okay: then what? One thousand, five hundred and seventeen men, women and children that would have died instead survived. How many of them would go on to lead normal, uneventful lives? Will maybe a dozen of them become rich, go into politics, or shape the world in a way that is completely different? The butterflies now kick in, because not only did those 1,517 people survived, but now the passengers that are unmarried or do not have children are going to have kids, and they will have kids, etc. etc. This means that thousands of people that would not even exist are now living, and how will that change things?

Okay, so the Titanic made it to New York, disembarked its passengers, and is prepared to go back to England. Does Fate now strike? Or does it strike a few years down the road? What about World War One? All the major powers used the merchant shipping for troop transport, hospital ships, axillary cruisers, and dozens of other roles. The Titanic’s sisters Olympic and Britannic served in the Great War: the former as a troop ship and survived the conflict (and even sank a U-Boat!), while the later struck a mine in the Mediterranean in 1916 and sank with only 30 deaths while serving as a hospital ship. What’s to say a torpedo or a battleship’s cannon doesn’t find Titanic there? And after the war, is the Titanic returned to trans-Atlantic service? Is it sunk later, or lives out its long and useful life until finally its outdated, too expensive to run, and ultimately scrapped like the Olympic in 1935? It is, after all, up to the writer to decide.

Another thing to remember, if the ship did survive, will it still carry insufficient lifeboats? The answer is most likely yes, because, after all, why fix what isn’t broken? This, in the end, would mean that another maritime disaster would be needed to spur the installation of enough lifeboats. The only reason the Titanic didn’t carry more was because J. Bruce Ismay, the chairman of the White Star Line, wanted enough room on the boat deck for the wealthy to enjoy, and not raise the fear that the ship was in any danger.

So, let’s instead say the Titanic sinks. A lot of people would make an otherwise unknown or forgotten Point of Divergence years before the ship set sail on its maiden voyage, then have a shadowy cabal or secret organization or (le gasp!) the GERMANS sink the Titanic. Then you can say it sparks a war with any combination of the powers in 1912.

But, say the warpath is not for you. Instead, why not make up an idea to save the liner, or at least the passengers and crew? In The Mammoth Book of Alternate Histories did exactly that, in a (horribly implausible and downright ludicrous) short story, “The Raft of the Titanic.” You can treat it with more class, and instead say another ship, such as the Californian makes its way to the shipwreck and saves more lives, though this point is disputable. After all, the smaller liner was stopped and surrounded by ice, and took four hours to make its way to the rescue ship Carpathia in day light. If it took that long (and possibly longer, due to the dark) to reach the Titanic, the Californian would have been unable to rescue anyone else, even if it received the radio message just after midnight, it would have been almost 4:00 am when it arrived, an hour and 40 minutes after the ship sank, and too late to save the 1,517 that died.

This is not to say that Titanic Alternate Histories are bad. It’s just to say that it is very difficult to make a convincing story of the disaster. The story itself, of man’s greatest achievement, touted as indestructible is in turn brought to heel by Mother Nature, and revealing heroes, cowards, the brave, and the foolish. The fact that over fifteen hundred where killed that night is what draws us to the disaster; very few people delight in tragedy, while we all desire to recover something that was lost in a time before the world jumped into the fire of war, Fascism, Communism, death, misery and destruction, overthrowing the status quo in a world that never seem to cease throwing curveballs at humanity.

First Class Passenger John B. “Jack” Thayer, a survivor of the Titanic, later wrote of the Titanic, and what it did to humanity:

"There was peace and the world had an even tenor to its way. Nothing was revealed in the morning the trend of which was not known the night before. It seems to me that the disaster about to occur was the event that not only made the world rub it's eyes and awake but woke it with a start keeping it moving at a rapidly accelerating pace ever since with less and less peace, satisfaction and happiness. To my mind the world of today awoke April 15th, 1912."

I now would like to present my list of Alternate History related to the Titanic. It is a tad difficult, because throughout the past 100 years there have been many references in movies, books and other media about the Titanic, but mostly to tell a story revolving around the sinking with historical and fictional passengers and crew. This list will seem short, because, frankly, it is.

• “Titanic Sails On: A Collaborative ATL”: Simply an AH.com thread where editors can add on what happens after the ship does not sink.
• The Company of the Dead by David Kowalski: The Titanic does not sink, and the US never joins WWI. Can the grand-nephew of JFK prevent history going off the rails, even if that means his own death? Check out Mitro's review of the novel.
• Titanic: Adventure Out of Time: perhaps the most detailed video game related to the Titanic. You play a British agent, sent back in time after a bomb burst outside of your apartment 30 years later in World War Two London to reattempt your failed mission on board the famed liner. While the ship does sink, this point and click adventure game gives you the chance to change the Russian Revolution, the rise of Adolf Hitler, and the course of both the First and Second World Wars, unless you prevent them!

*          *         *

Tyler “Tbguy1992”Bugg is a Canadian student of History, and a Titanic know-it-all since he was seven, and is working on a Titanic AH as well. In memory of the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking, Tyler would like to take this chance to dedicate this post to all 1,517 who died, totaling the number of words in this article.

Showcase: Napoleon’s World

Guest post by Tbguy1992.

Hello my fellow counterfactual historical thespians! Today I present to you a showcase of one web based source of Alternate History that has been overlooked here on Alternate History Weekly Update, the Alternate History Wikia. And those folks that have been to the Wikia know a bit about this one, Napoleon’s World created by KingSweden.

Napoleon's World in 2010.

Napoleonic Era Point of Divergences have a difficult time seeming plausible at the start, especially when a land power and a naval power go to war, in this case France and Britain. Since the only way for France to defeat England is to either beat them and their allies so much that they have no choice but to give up, or challenge them on the high seas, which is almost suicidal when you consider the state of the French Navy during the brilliant years of Bonaparte’s string of conquests in Europe. And Napoleon’s World is no exception. But this timeline almost seems to delight in the sheer implausibility that is this POD that you can’t help but enjoy it.

The POD takes place in 1813, when Napoleon emerges from his defeat in Russia the previous year and once again destroys everything in his path: starting with Russia, and invading Austria again, Northern Italy, and finishing off the last stragglers of the Peninsular Wars in Spain, and resulting in the death of the Duke of Wellington. By 1814, Napoleon is once again powerful enough to contemplate an invasion of England and defeating the “nation of shopkeepers” once and for all the next year. A string of victories in England climaxing in the second Battle of Hastings that makes Napoleon triumphant over all of Europe at last.

Almost the entire continent except a few small independent states like Spain, Denmark and East Prussia is consolidated in a massive empire that only rivals Rome and Hitler years later for sheer size. The United States goes into Imperialistic mode, and takes over a large chunk of Canada from the moribund United Kingdom. Russia and the Russian people are forced into Siberia, with many then fleeing to Alaska, in a pseudo-realistic view of what the Nazi’s would have done if they had taken over the USSR in the Second World War.

I could go on and on about how ridiculous this idea is, how implausible it is, and how loony it could be, but why bother? There are many other worse ones, and KingSweden himself did admit to me that it was maybe a bit whacky. But where this timeline really shines is the insane amount of detail that goes into the modern pop-culture, sporting events and politics and the major events, such as the WWII analogue “French Civil War” where Himmler is one of the good guys (gasp!). He has been very open about allowing others to contribute, especially with his Alternate Destinies page, where the famous and well known of our world are given new roles that are similar to their real life, or completely opposite of what they actually did (Dick Cheney as a football player? Francis Copula as the head of a Southern California organized crime syndicate? Barack Obama as one of the most popular actors in history?).

I do have a thing against really implausible timelines, and I never was a fan of the Alien Space Bats stories. However, Napoleon’s World works with that, and makes a story that is fun to read and entertaining and really spellbinding to look further into despite the weaker POD. Not a day goes by where a new article related to Napoleon’s World is added, further adding to the story in many colorful ways. I highly encourage you to read it, just make sure to leave your suspension of belief on while doing so.

*    *    *

Tbguy1992 is a young Canadian student of history with interests in video games and reading. When not busy doing things that Canuck's should be doing, like igloo's, hockey and overusing the first vowel in the alphabet, he is often writing on Alternate History Wikia and other domains of the Internet under the same name, as well as other works that may or may not be published in the near future.