Alternate History Ideas and Discussion

[Aldarion]

Could a three way struggle ensue in the Władysław-Jan Olbracht-Maksymilian triangle, each supported by a different group of magnates and nobles?
Could Croatia end up breaking off under Max, while the brothers - or rather, the factions wishing to put them on the throne - fight it out in '91 and '92, i.e. up to the Polish election?
As Kazimierz died in June, before the news reach Hungary and Prague the campaign season should be in full swing before the news reach the brothers.

It definitely is a possibility, seeing how a war did ensure between Ferdinand I and John Zapolya following the Battle of Mohacs. And Croatian nobility was somewhat close to Habsburgs, so yes, we might end up breaking off.

Not sure campaign season matters - in fact, Hungarian armies tended to campaign whole year long, but particularly throughout the winter, counting to avoid field battles against Ottoman forces by doing so.

 

[Buba]

Not sure campaign season matters - in fact, Hungarian armies tended to campaign whole year long, but particularly throughout the winter, counting to avoid field battles against Ottoman forces by doing so.

YMMV - my perspective is from north of the Carpathians
The Ottomans standing down for the winter could had afftected Hungarian strategy?

 

[Aldarion]

YMMV - my perspective is from north of the Carpathians
The Ottomans standing down for the winter could had afftected Hungarian strategy?

Eh, winters in the Balkans could be quite harsh as well. But yes, Hungarians tended to try and exploit this Ottoman tendency, by focusing on winter-time sieges of fortified places. Habsburgs later continued this strategy:

It is certainly no coincidence that as late as the 1560s, when the Ottomans, after their conquest of part of Hungary, faced a Habsburg Empire that was much stronger than the medieval Kingdom of Hungary had ever been, Lazarus von Schwendi still argued strongly against opposing the Ottomans on the battlefield, suggesting instead wintertime sieges of strategic forts – exactly the strategy that King Matthias had applied almost a century before.

(Book is From Nicopolis to Mohacs, pg.449 - 450).

 

[ATP]

Eh, winters in the Balkans could be quite harsh as well. But yes, Hungarians tended to try and exploit this Ottoman tendency, by focusing on winter-time sieges of fortified places. Habsburgs later continued this strategy:

(Book is From Nicopolis to Mohacs, pg.449 - 450).

King Matthias beaten turks on battlefield.And captured Vienna.
If his Black Army was not disbanded,Hungary would never fall.

 

[Aldarion]

King Matthias beaten turks on battlefield.And captured Vienna.
If his Black Army was not disbanded,Hungary would never fall.

Had he managed to become the Holy Roman Emperor, perhaps.

But by 16th century, Hungary simply didn't have resources to compete with the Ottoman Empire, even with a king like Matthias at the helm. And Jagellons, while not exactly incompetent, were a far cry from Matthias himself.

 

[ATP]

Had he managed to become the Holy Roman Emperor, perhaps.

But by 16th century, Hungary simply didn't have resources to compete with the Ottoman Empire, even with a king like Matthias at the helm. And Jagellons, while not exactly incompetent, were a far cry from Matthias himself.

They had Czech Kingdom and Silesia,too.
Only reason why they lost during Mochacz battle was becouse everybody except pope and Church betrayed King.

There should be polish and austrian allies - but they never come.
There should be ruler of Transylvania and Czech,but they do not come,the same goes for silesians.

Only 8 bishops/7 of them died there/ and mercaneries hired by pope come,but it was too little.

But,if he still had Black Army,he would still destroy any turkish host who could come there.Unfortunatelly,hungarian nobles made next King disband it in 1490.

 

[Zyobot]

'AHC: USSR Collapses In The 1980s Instead'.

Having nuclear war with the West doesn’t count, by the way.

 

[ATP]

'AHC: USSR Collapses In The 1980s Instead'.

Having nuclear war with the West doesn’t count, by the way.

Easy to get - Nixon do not try anytching stupid,keep power,and start technological embargo on soviets.Replaced by Reagan,soviets fall about 1983 as result.

 

[Zyobot]

'AHC: Phoenician Empire'.

Can be decentralized and remain more trade-oriented than conquest-driven, but it should still be a united realm.

 

[Sergeant Foley]

I believe you’re thinking of The Devil’s Double, which is just as terrifying as it sounds.

That's the movie I am referring to indeed. It was gruesome and grisly at some of the violent scenes.

 

[ATP]

'AHC: Phoenician Empire'.

Can be decentralized and remain more trade-oriented than conquest-driven, but it should still be a united realm.

Well,they need to leave their old cities/Assyria was too much danger/,but,if thhey move to Spain and Africa,and Carribean,they could get it.
Till Rome come,becouse they would kick them out of both Spain and North Africa.

Maybe surviving phoeniciams in South Africa making money on spices from India sell to Rome ?

 

[Zyobot]

'Harry Truman Assassinated At Blair House'.

See here for context on how the original attempt went. IOTL, Truman was unharmed and largely unphased, but I think ATL scenarios in which the Secret Service wasn't so quick to act (and thus, end in the early deaths of Truman and his wife) could easily have taken place.

 

[Zyobot]

'AHC: Barack Obama Commits To A Large-Scale Ground War'.

IOTL, I recall he favored air power, drone strikes, commando raids, and cruise missiles to take out enemy targets far more than Bush (who was more of an old-fashioned, "Boots on the ground!" guy). In large part, that's probably why he wasn't called out so much on his actions in Libya while Bush got hammered for Iraq.

 

[Circle of Willis]

'AHC: Barack Obama Commits To A Large-Scale Ground War'.

IOTL, I recall he favored air power, drone strikes, commando raids, and cruise missiles to take out enemy targets far more than Bush (who was more of an old-fashioned, "Boots on the ground!" guy). In large part, that's probably why he wasn't called out so much on his actions in Libya while Bush got hammered for Iraq.

Very difficult IMHO, Obama was extremely skittish about foreign intervention - he would basically only do it if it seemed guaranteed to be an easy layup that could be done on the cheap, with minimal or no ground presence - and the US in general wasn't interested in any more extensive foreign adventures after Iraq and Afghanistan (which was still ongoing throughout Obama's entire presidency!).

Best and most plausible answer I can think of is that maybe the Taliban seems resurgent a few years early, causing him to not draw down troop presence in the country but instead sustain and expand the ISAF rather than make the transition to Resolute Support. In the next two most obvious cases, I can't see Obama mounting a ground invasion of Syria even if he does commit to intervening in 2013 (then it's just airstriking Assad's forces into oblivion while the Syrian rebels do all the heavy lifting on the ground, same as Libya) and I definitely can't see him sending a large-scale ground expedition to go fight Russia head-on in Ukraine in summer of 2014 in any universe that's still remotely anchored to our reality.

 

[TheRomanSlayer]

PC: A larger Ryukyu Kingdom

Given that Ryukyu Kingdom was a surprising mercantile minor power while paying tribute to China, it has received the epithet of being the Venice of Asia. However, it is also surprising that it didn't create a trade league like how Venice did with many others. Was there a chance that Ryukyu could have been a bit more powerful? Also, given that the island of Taiwan was rather close to Ryukyu, it's shocking that they didn't even make an attempt to expand to there.

 

[ATP]

PC: A larger Ryukyu Kingdom

Given that Ryukyu Kingdom was a surprising mercantile minor power while paying tribute to China, it has received the epithet of being the Venice of Asia. However, it is also surprising that it didn't create a trade league like how Venice did with many others. Was there a chance that Ryukyu could have been a bit more powerful? Also, given that the island of Taiwan was rather close to Ryukyu, it's shocking that they didn't even make an attempt to expand to there.

They could take some minor islands near Japan,too.
And,as a result,first meet portugal sailors there.

And first take their technology/arkebus,later muskets,and calaver and later galleons/
As a result,they would never fell to sone daimio in 1610,like in OTL,but keep being independent.

Too weak to keep Taiwan/China would take it,like in OTL/ they could still keep some remote japaneese islands,and maybe even Honsiu - island still belonged to Ainu people then.
Maybe discover Australia and made colony there,too.

They probably remain independent till 19th century,when somebody would take them - probably England after defeating China in 1842.
But,thanks to that,Japan would not take them,and they would remain independent nation.
And,after 1945,they would become independent state,too.
Since Japan here would invade them in 1942,they would probably hate them.

P.S i remember some old alternate History about japaneese merchants leaving Japan after Tokugawa closed islands,making empire in Australia and other places,and eventually become superpower on Pacyfic.
Forget name,as usual,but - i think it would be unlikely.

 

[TheRejectionist]

I am toying with the idea of a RSSU instead of a USSR. Basically the Georgian Stalin proposed or tried to coerce Lenin into having what would have become the Soviet Union into an unitary and even more centralized state.
You would not see the butterfly until the OTL collapse...because Yeltsin basically wouldn't need to work with the other SSR heads to dissolve the Union.
If 1993 would go as well as our world, Yelstin would be not beloved in the West.
Another thing I would work in conjuction with this would be to have an unified bureau for the space race instead and have it succeed just in time for the Americans elections of November of 1968. My bets would be that : a) NIXON wins harder b) Wallace! The dark horse and American Independent Party wins the race.

What would be interesting with Wallace is that I see no China opening and he would likely go AFTER everything socialistic, so Yugoslavia, Egypt and Baathist Iraq would be directly on the chopping block. Hell we might see Rhodesia, Portuguese Africa and more survive.

It is a tad bit simpler than what I am putting down now.

 

[Buba]

1956 - Eisenhower, sensing weakness in USSR after XX Congress, unrest in Poland and revolt in Hungary, goes WWIII.
Starts by nuking Kremlin in early November during parade to commemorate the Day that will live in Infamy, i.e. the October Revolution. This kills the entire top leadership as on that day you either watch the parade from top of Lenin's Tomb, or you are not in the government.
How do things go?

 

[Skallagrim]

1956 - Eisenhower, sensing weakness in USSR after XX Congress, unrest in Poland and revolt in Hungary, goes WWIII.
Starts by nuking Kremlin in early November during parade to commemorate the Day that will live in Infamy, i.e. the October Revolution. This kills the entire top leadership as on that day you either watch the parade from top of Lenin's Tomb, or you are not in the government.
How do things go?

The USSR does have about 500 nukes at that point. The USA has roughly nine times that number, but still-- 500 nukes can do very nasty things, even if you kill their whole government in a decapitation strike. I have no doubt that the relevant commanders have standing orders to throw all the atomic bombs they have at the West, in such an event.

I don't know what either side's capabilities are when it comes to delivery. Basic estimate is that the USA is able to completely crush the USSR with the liberal application of nukes (basically: what LeMay wanted in OTL becomes a reality here). But before its final fiery end, the USSR will reduce quite a few European cities to ash.

Ultimately, I doubt the premise. I don't think Eisenhower would go for this, because he'd understand the cost of it all too well.



(...if you want an "early" scenario where the USA would actually consider it, then you need to go earlier, and run with a premise where things really escalate over the Berlin blockade-- and the Soviets shoot down the airlift planes. That brings everything to a nadir, and then the Korean War breaks out and MacArthur gets his way. The USSR and China go ape-shit over it, and the result is all-out nuclear war in 1950. With 350 American nukes versus... all of 12 Russian ones.)

 

[Buba]

In 1956 delivery only by plane or truck, I understand?