Timeline (The Kaiser's Dream)

### 1917

The Zimmermann Telegraph arrives in Mexico, where after much deliberation, the offer is officially refused by the Mexican government. Soon after, the German Empire begins a massive offensive against Russia, hoping to take out one opponent so they could focus manpower if America joined the war. The offensive was primarily directed against the Baltic's, and was paired with an Austrian assault against Poland. The Russians took heavy causalities, and were forced to retreat to Warsaw, and lost land and men in Lithuania. Unrest began to grow in Russia, and by early march, various communist factions began to rise up against the Tsar, effectively ending the Russian Empire.

With Russia almost destroyed, and falling rapidly into civil war, Germany and Austria began to concentrate manpower on other fronts. Austria turned their attention to Serbia, and launched a huge invasion of the nation, sweeping across the northern part of the nation. Meanwhile, Germany was able to move nearly a million troops to the western front, an amount that couldn't be matched by the already weakened french and British. By June, Germany had achieved three major breakouts, and had thrown the entente into chaos. The entente was unable to hold the Germans at the line, and thus tried to retreat, but the German breakout was already on it's way to Paris.

By early July, Paris had been captured by the Germans, and the rest of France was vitally undefended, as most of the entente's troops were trapped between to former front line and Paris. Because of this, the Entente was forced to surrender, and thus the central powers claimed victory. In the end, several colonies were ceded to Germany, and part of the french Proper also became German. Meanwhile, Russia fell further into civil war, with the monarchists weakened, but still actively fighting, controlling the southern regions of Russia, as well as large parts of Siberia. The Central Powers chose not to intervene, and instead let the war resolve itself.

### 1918

Although the great war had ended, the Russian civil war raged on in the east. The two sides, Monarchist and Communist, were almost evenly matched, both in man power and in supplies. However, the Communists had a slight advantage, as the monarchists were split into two groups, one based around Ukraine and Central Asia, and the other in Siberia. Taking advantage of this, the communists launched a mass attack into siberia, trying to make the Ukraine the only monarchist controlled region. Whole this attack was successful, it gave the monarchists the chance to fortify their positions. Under the orders of Valdimer lenin, the communists managed to take land from the monarchists, thus forming Lenin's gap.

Meanwhile in Europe, the Central powers began to consolidate power. Italy was readmitted to the alliance, albeit with limits put on army size. The Entente on the other hand, now reduced to only France and Britain, were both deep in debt, both to the USA and the central powers. Many were angered at the failure of their governments, and radical political parties began to rise, though not especially frequently. Additionally, both sides were fighting for influence in Spain, whitch had remained neutral throughout the first world war. This lead to several riots in Spain, both pro central powers and pro Entente. However, the Entente was able to gain more support, though nothing was official yet.