World on Fire

right|300px World on Fire (copyright 2012 TheElevatedDeviant) is an alternate history universe spanning from a very changed World War I to a future plagued by chaos.
World War I begins not with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, but when an Austria-Hungarian fleet strays none-too-accidentally into United States waters. The ensuing melee leads to a declaration of war on the Austria-Hungarian Empire by the United States on 15 August 1913. The war is mostly naval for the majority of 1913 and 1914, until the Ottoman Empire takes Austria-Hungary's side in the growing war. The United Kingdom and France take up arms on the side of the US, and the First World War (referred to normally as "The Great War") begins. The war is largely restricted to a few smaller naval actions in the Atlanic and Mediterranean between warships of the two opposing sides, with no great naval invasions as the theory of amphibious warfare has not yet been perfected. This goes on for years, with limited conflict in Europe between the armies of France and Italy, which by now has thrown in its lot with Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. When 1917 rolls around, the Kaiser declares that the war has gone on long enough with little event or purpose. The German Imperial Army and Navy moves to active combat zones and puts some buffer between the two warring factions. The German Military creates "exclusion zones", and anyone, Central Powers or Allied who violates these zones will be fired upon. Then, in October, the Russian Empire goes through a revolution- the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is born. By 1919, the Germans have alligned themselves with the US in hopes of stemming a sudden Russian onslaught. Austria and the Ottomans ally with the Reds, and the war picks up speed. Finally, in 1921, after a military boom on both sides, the USSR and US sign an armistice.
The 1920s and 30s are a period of prosperity as former alliances gradually decay. In 1935, Adolf Hitler siezes power in Germany, establishing the Third Reich. German military strength nearly doubles as a result, and in 1938, Germany invades its neighboring countries. With a civil war raging in Spain, France and England are caught off guard. In 1940, the Empire of the Rising Sun discovers the activity of the American Volunteer Group ("The Flying Tigers"), a group of volunteer USAF pilots flying for the Chinese Nationalist Air Force, and declares war on the US.
The War proceeds mostly as it does in real history until 1942. Dismayed with the way Hitler has been leading Germany, the High Generals, led by Erwin Rommel, stage a coup- Adolf Hitler and Joeseph Goebbels are shot to death by their own SS Guards. The reformed German Empire realligns itself with Britain, France, and the US. After five months of relative peace, war sparks again. The USSR, the new People's Republic of China, and the Empire of Japan allign to fight the Allies, and World War II begins anew. The war is mostly fought in Eastern Europe, while Germany creates the Pacific High Seas Fleet, a division warships dedicated to representing the Fatherland in the Pacific War.
World War II ends in 1951 with a peace treaty between the USSR and the allies- German Wehrmacht and US Army will safeguard most of Eastern Europe, while the Empire of Japan, the USSR, and the PRC hold dominion over most of Asia. The ensuing Cold War is enveloped in proxy wars- spanning from Africa to neo-Communist nations in South America. In 1991, the USSR attempts to conquer the Middle East. Iran, a US Ally, fights furiously against Soviet-funded militant groups. Iraq under Saddam Hussein sides with the Soviet Oligarchs, and Israel, ever a US puppet state, fights everyone in the region save for the Iranians, while India, having been in the Soviets' camp from the beginning, flies aggressive "combat air patrol" over their hated neighbor of Pakistan. The Great Middle Eastern War, as it is called, ends in a gray zone for the Soviets- Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq have Oligarchist puppet governments installed, but Iran and Israel now have an even tighter alliance. This carries over into the twenty-first century. Finally, in 2011, the USSR re-invades its enemies. This time, the Soviet Air Force establishes dominion over Eastern Europe first, only attacking the west afterward. The new war, known collectively as World War III, rages unchecked- no country is left untouched. The Oligarchist Argentines invade their capitalist Brazilian neighbors, and Latin America is thrown into chaos.
Category:World on Fire