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Guns of July

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    Posted: 20-May-2005 at 22:40

Pt. One

1879 Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary sign Dual Alliance

1889 Georges Boulanger takes power in France, made dictator for life. Promises to rebuild a still-shattered France and get revenge on the European nations that stood by and watched the great cities of France be burned and their inhabitants murdered.

1890 King Georges I initiates modernization and building programs for the Army and Navy, aimed at offensive capabilities.

1890 Kaiser Wilhelm II announces further industrialization programs throughout Germany and Prussia.

1891 Franz Josef announces similar industrialization programs throughout Austria-Hungary.

1891 Austria-Hungarian Empire and Imperial Germany renew vows of Dual Alliance.

Pt. Two

1892 King Georges I sells off Guinea to Brazil and the African possessions to Italy and Russia

1892 British Parliament approves measure to begin industrializing British colonies even further.

1892 War between Brazil and Argentina, first months in favor of Brazil, then degenerates into stalemate for remainder of the year.

1892 Ebola River Rebellion spreads all throughout Congo River Systems

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1893 Belgian Army suffers massive defeat at hands of Congolese Rebels near settlement of Kikwit.

1893 Argentine Navy victorious over Brazilian Navy at the Battle of Porto Alegre

1893 Argentine Army launches invasion of Brazil, stopped at Battle of Pelotas

1893 Treaty of Shanghai signed, Manchu Empire begins consolidation and modernization

1893 Brazilian Army counter-attacks Argentine, achieves a five mile salient, stopped by Argentine reinforcements

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1894 "New Years Deal" begins importation of foreign experts to assist in modernization of China

1894 Emperor Meiji dies of Typhus, or poisoning, and throne taken by Isolationist brother Modernization of Japan ends

1894 Argentine forces attacks Brazilian salient near Rio Grande, massive casualties on both sides, Brazilians lose quarter-mile of ground

1894 Portuguese troops land in Brazil to assist Brazilians

1894 Battle of the Bulge Portuguese soldiers assault the Argentine trenches. Three day battle rages, both sides suffering massive casualties. Portuguese and Brazilian forces break out from the bulge and drive Argentine forces towards the border

1894 USN stops Argentine and Brazilian naval ships from going into shipping lanes north of Brazil

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1895 Argentine-Brazilian war ends, Argentina hands over small amount of land to Brazil.

1895 First Queue of ships for French Navy finishes: 7 battleships, 8 heavy cruisers, 5 light cruisers, 9 destroyers, 14 torpedo boats, 2 merchant raiders, 4 armed heavy transports

1895 British Parliament approves measure to increase indigenous military soldiers in British military, with pay equal to a British-born serviceman

1895 German Colonial Council decides to begin industrialization of German colonies.

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1896 Argentina and Brazil begin to repair their militaries

1896 US Govt. enacts Next Century Law, which pretty much ensures a policy of armed isolationism/neutrality after 1900. Also called Alienation Clause by critics.

1896 US begins to expand military forces and fortifies both mainland borders, Alaska, and possessions.

1896 Austria-Hungary and Germany form the Double Alliance, ensuring that both nations will be almost a single entity in time of war

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1897 UK joins Double Alliance, creating the Triple Alliance, creating a formidable alliance in Europe.

1897 Italy begins further industrialization programs throughout the nation and its colonies, following the patterns of the major powers.

1897 Russia emerges from its frigid nut shell (or vodka bottle) and begins truly colonizing its possessions purchased from France in 92.

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1898 Spanish-American War, US sells Philippines to Germany and Britain, and Cuba to Germany. Last US imperialist action of 19th Century

1898 Czar begins harsh policy of relocation of peasants in order to work in factories and farms in Western Russia

1898 Second Queue of ships for the French Navy finished: 4 battleships, 11 heavy cruisers, 7 light cruisers, 9 destroyers, 10 torpedo boats, and 5 armed heavy transports

1898 North Atlantic Treaty signed between Triple Alliance members and US guaranteeing more extensive trade and exclusive trade rights to certain things like munitions to continue after 1900. The Allied Powers will be one of the few trading clients with Isolationist America

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1899 Mexico divided into two nations: Chihuahua in the North, controlled by the Marxist revolutionaries, and Mexico in the south, controlled by military dictatorship. The Army of the Republic of Texas skirmishes with border forces along the Texas-Chihuahua border.

1899 Denmark, Norway, Sweden sign the Nordic Alliance, creating a Scandinavian military alliance

1899 Manchu Empire consolidates power over a large amount of land that was only Chinese in name.

1899 Manchu Navy receives 1 battleship, 3 heavy cruisers, 5 light cruisers, 2 destroyers, and 9 frigates from English and German shipyards.

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Pt. Three

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1900 Joint Austrian-German-British naval exorcises in North Sea and North Atlantic

1900 King Georges I demands the Spanish Pyrenees Mountains be handed over to France

1900 French soldiers open fire on radical democrats protesting King Georges rule in Paris

1900 Construction on massive Zhenjiang-Peking Shipyards begins in China; effort is put out by everyone

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1901 German troops on Luzon put down pro-French rebellion

1901 Chinese troops move into Manchuria and Korea to curb Russian imperialism in China.

1901 Britain delivers 3 battlecruisers, 5 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 9 torpedo boats.

1901 Argentine forces attack across Brazilian border, reaching Pelotas in four days

1901 Sieges of Rio Grande and Porto Alegre begin, Brazilian troops moving down from Sao Paulo

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1902 Brazilian troops attack Argentine fortifications at Porto Alegre. Argentines fall back and form a line with Pelotas at the right.

1902 Zhenjiang-Peking Shipyards finished. 4 battlecruisers laid down almost immediately. Construction on many small and fast torpedo boats begins.

1902 Taiwan occupied by Chinese Army

1902 Rio Grande falls to Argentine Army

1902 Weihaiwei and Qingdao nationalized to China

1902 The Kingdom of Hawaii takes delivery of 2 heavy cruisers from Germany

1902 Kaiser Wilhelm II sends ships to the Caribbean to protect shipping lines.

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1903 Argentine and Brazilian Navies clash at Battle of Porto Alegre, Brazilians lose five ships, Argentines lose four ships

1903 Austria-Hungary annex Bosnia-Herzegovina and Novi Pazar

1903 Britain allows Boer Orange Free State to remain independent, focusing on the independent Zululand

1903 Tens of thousands of Brazilian and Argentine troops killed in Battle of Pelotas. Argentine Naval fire slaughters retreating Brazilians

1903 Argentine counter-offensive reaches Porto Alegre and faces only resistance by naval personnel. Captured ships handed over to Argentine Navy.

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1904 Peace signed between Brazil and Argentina, giving the lower tip of Brazil and all lands lost in the first war, to Argentina

1904 Zhenjiang-Peking Shipyards complete first set of capital ships for Chinese navy: 1 battleship, 4 battlecruisers

1904 Germany begins an economic expansion project, as do the other two Triple Alliance members shortly after.

1904 France, Russia, and Italy form the European Alliance

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1905 Spain and the Ottoman Empire join the European Alliance

1905 Chinese torpedo boats attack Russian Pacific Squadron at Port Arthur, Chinese troops taking the base a few days later

1905 Russian troops defeated in Northern China at the Battle of Hailar and Battle of Hoeryang

1905 Manchuria and Korea formally reannexed by China

1905 German colonies allowed full representation in High Council

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Pt. Four

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1906 - Chinese and Russians sign Treaty of Harbin, placing Manchuria and Korea under Chinese control. Chinese Eastern Railroad is nationalized. China is now recognized as a military power.

1906 - Henry Ford imigrates to Imperial Germany in light of the booming economy. 9 factories are built by Germany Army under Ford's directions to build weapons and munitions. 4 civilian factories are built by Ford Manufactioring Company.

1906 - HMS Dreadnought is launched, obsoleteing all other naval vessels. UK plans to build eight more, ten will be added to the Hochseeflotte, and 13 into the French Navy

1906 - The Gewehr 1906 enters production. The G06 is the first semi-automatic rifle to enter production. Fed by a seven round detachable magazine. Rifle is unreliable and overly complex. Used primarily as a training rifle by German Imperial Forces.

1906 - UK purchases 200 models of the G06 for use by South Africa Force against the well-armed Zulu tribes.

1906 - King Georges I celebrates his 67th birthday with a parade of French Army units through Paris.

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1907 - All of the FMC's factories begin to mass-produce everything from canteens, rifles, machineguns, to big guns for naval vessels. The assembly lines in the factories break all previous production records. The civilian factories go into operation after the military factories.

1907 - SAF (South Africa Force) goes on campaign against the still independent Zulus. The inadequacies of the G06 rapidly surface in the dust of Zululand.

1907 - Haiphong Uprising in French Indochina is brutally put down by French colonial forces. Survivng rebels retreat further into Tonking.

1907 - Army of the Republic of Texas launches invasion of Eastern Chihuahua after Chihuahuan raiders attack several Texan ranches, stealing cattle and gold.

1907 - The Texan Navy begins blockade of the east coast of Chihuahua, firing on several French merchant ships.

1907 - The Second Battle of Islandwana ends in a stalemate due to SAF's superior weapons and superior Zulu numbers.

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1908 - The Gewehr 1908 is put into production by the FMC. The G08 is an improved variant of the G06. Ten round detachable magazine with folding bayonet. The G08 is shorter than most bolt-action rifles, but is more accurate than the Gewehr 1898 and Lee-Enfield rifles. Weight is also less than most bolt-actions.

1908 - France begins sending arms and equipment to Chihuahua.

1908 - Germany begins secretly sending arms, equipment, and advisors to Texas. The Hochseeflotte's Carribean Squadron keeps shipping lanes safe from Chihuahuan privateers.

1908 - First three Barbarossa-Class Heavy Battleships are finished and commissioned into the Hochseeflotte. The Barbarossa-Class ships have ten 18-inch main guns, better armor, and better engines than all other ships in the World's fleets. The Barbarossa-Class was described as being the big brother to the Dreadnoughts of Germany.

1908 - Southern South Africa Force is created. SSAF numbers 150 riflemen with G06 rifles, 2 machinegun crews, 2 1.75 inch Hotchkiss field guns from the US. South Africa Force is renamed Northern South Africa Force. NSAF numbers 200 riflemen with G06 rifles, 3 machinegun crews, 2 1.75 inch Hotchkiss field guns, and 1 3 inch field gun.

1908 - NSAF goes on campaign in Northern Zululand as SSAF moves up the coast. The Zulu had been secretly recieveing surplus Gewehr 1898 rifles from Portugal.

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1909 - Mexican forces invade Guatemala and El Salvador. A long geruilla war ensues.

1909 - The Navy of Texas recieves new ships from the UK and Germany, including two battlecruisers.

1909 - 3rd Texan Army makes an amphibious landing near Tampico, shutting down the only large Chihuahuan port on the Carribean. French ships start making more and larger deliveries, the ships sailing out of Indochina.

1909 - NSAF wins a victory over Zulu forces at the Third Battle of Islandwana. SSAF is badly beaten in an ambush by Zulu forces near the coast. SSAF falls back into South Africa.

1909 - The first motorized transport unit is formed in the German Army

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1910 - Guatemalan and El Salvardorian forces surrender officially to Mexico, ending the war.

1910 - Tampico and Monterrey are taken by Texan forces in the same week. Chihuahuan regulars fall back to Mazatlan and Ciudad Obregon to prepare for an offensive, leaving cavalry militia to slow the Texans.

1910 - NSAF is ordered out of Zululand as the Treaty of Capetown is signed. The Treaty of Capetown ensures Zulu independence and security from any further imperialistic moves. Zululand begins to modernize slowly.

1910 - After purchasing three trawlers from American fishers in San Diego, their Texan crews load the ships down with mines. After mining the waters off of Mazatlan and Ciudad Obregon, the three trawlers sailed south to Mexico, officially seized by the Mexicans, but unofficially being reloaded with mines.

1910 - Six French merchant ships are sunk by mines, killing most of their crews. This prompts French naval ships, mainly mine hunters, to move into the Sea of Cortez.

1910 - The Gewehr 1910 is put into mass-production and introducted as the new main battle rifle of the German Army. The G10 is an improved G08, keeping the size of it's predecessor while improving reliability and accuracy. The G10 has a 10- or 15-round detachable magazine with a detachable bayonet.

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1911 - After secretly aiding the Panamanian Revolution, Germany is allowed to build the Panama Canal, using steam-shovles and Quinine.

1911 - The French light cruiser Marseilles is sunk by a mine, killing Commodore Georges Joffre, commander of the new Latin America Squadron.

1911 - 2nd and 5th Texan Armies capture Chihuahua City and drive the Chihuahuan government to flee to Mazatlan. The 3rd Texan Army digs in within heavy artillery range of Mazatlan. Texan artillery shells the city, prompting the government to come to the negotiating table.

1911 - Argentina invades Uruguay, taking over the nation in a few months.

1911 - The new flagship of the Hochseeflotte, the Barbarossa-Class Berlin, is commissioned and based out of Helilgoland.

1911 - Treaty of Tampico signed. The east coast of Chihuahua is ceded to Texas along with north-eastern Chihuahua.

1911 - Argentina hands back some territory to Brazil and signs several peace treaties, and eventually signs the South America Alliance with Brazil in December.

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1912 - Ciudad Obregon is named the new capital of Chihuahua, with a new, democratic government being created. Marxist dictator Juan de Lopez Cabral is exiled to Switzerland, leaving the democrats in power.

1912 - Belgium and the Netherlands join the Allied Powers, China joining soon after. This creates a solid allied corridor from Austria-Hungary to the Channel and the UK.

1912 - Denmark joins the European Alliance, bringing the EA to it's wartime members.

1912 - Norway and Sweden form the Scandinavian Alliance and proclaim their joint neutrality.

1912 - Maji Maji Rebellion in Russian North Africa. The Maji Maji defeat many Russian colonial units before meeting their doom at the hands of eight Russian machineguns.

1912 - The Independence Movement of Algeria beats Italian colonial forces back into Libya with secret Allied support. Algeria is given independence on December 4th, 1912. The UK helps Algeria set up a strong democratic government with the support of the people.

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1913 - Portugal and Brazil form the Portugese Commonwealth, based on that of the UK. Brazil and Portugal have a nearly integrated army and navy, allowing for close collaboration.

1913 - King Georges I dies at the age of 75. The 'Great King' is replaced by his son Francis, who is a skilled politician and knows enough to leave fighting to generals. He is crowned King Francis I of the French Empire.

1913 - General Jorge von Metternich is placed in command of the German Army and the General Staff.

1913 - Italy launches an invasion of Algeria, which lasts only a few weeks before being crushed by well-equipped Algerian troopers.

1913 - The Republic of Texas and the Kingdom of Hawaii join the Allied powers, ensuring a significant presence in the Carribean and, with China, in the Pacific. Hawaii receive two cruisers from the UK.

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ALLIED POWERS - 1914

Germany*

Austria-Hungary*

United Kingdom*

Belgium

Netherlands

China*

Texas*

Hawaii*

 

EUROPEAN ALLIANCE - 1914

France*

Spain*

Russia

Italy*

Ottoman Empire*

Denmark*

Portugal*

Brazil*

Argentina*

 

* = More industrialized and powerful than in OTL

(Many officers and politicians are fictional, like General Jorge von Metternich or King Francis I)

 

(Now for July 1914 and August 1914 - Italian and Balkan Fronts aren't finished; Pacific, Eastern, and Carribean Fronts are not started)

July 2nd, 1914

Frenchman Pierre Clemens fires a shot at the King of Belgium, killing him with a hit through the head. After Belgium refused to extradite Clemens to France for a 'punishment' that would never happen, France seized all Belgian assets and property in France. This would begin the chain of events that would lead to The Great War. Belgium declares war on France on July 3rd, with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Great Britain following suit the next day. Denmark, Italy, and Russia declare war on Germany, A-H, Great Britain, and Belgium on the 5th, with Spain, the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, and Brazil following them on the 6th.

 

(Western Front)

July:

While most of the participants, except the Dutch, Hawaiians, Texans, and Chinese, were officially at war on July 7th, the real fighting would not begin until August. All through July, German troops were slipping across the Belgium border and setting up in a line that began with their right flank on the sea and stretched all the way to Mons. Miraculously without the French spies noticing anything but what looked like a rapid build up by Belgians of a Belgian defense line. German artillery repeatedly shelled French forts along the Border with France to keep up the pretense of an invasion from Germany. To help the idea moving, the 4th Army is posted on the border, it being called the 4th Army Group, and each division being called an army.

By July 21st, nine German armies and two Belgian armies are situated on the Belgian Defense Line. Across the border, their French counter-parts have only a faint idea of the strength of their hidden enemy and still believe the main thrust will come from Germany. The General Staffs of Germany, Belgium, and Britain meet in Brussels to decide upon a plan. After several hours of deliberation, a plan is decided on. The German Army will stick to the Schlieffen Plan, with the Belgians on their left, and drive to take Paris. The Royal Navy and parts of the Hochseeflotte will secure the Channel, defeat the French naval presence in the Channel, and cover the BEF landings in Brittany. The D-day is August 1st.

 

August:

A massive bombardment shatters the silence along the Franco-Belgian border, devastating, physically and mentally, the French troops that sit along the poorly maintained network of defenses. As the bombardment continues, the men of the elite Army Group Belgium, under General Von Lettow-Vorbeck, and their Belgian allies move out of the trenches, slowly picking up momentum as they get nearer the French lines. The bombardment stops, quickly being replaced by the chatter of machine-guns and the Gewehr 1910 semi-automatic rifles of the German troops. At Lille and Maubeuge, the main bastions of French resistance along the Belgian Line, resistance fell easily due to incompetent officers and reservists placed there to free up Regulars for the line along the German Border.

While the forces in Northern France were ahead of schedule, the BEF and its transports were unable to land on the beaches of Brittany. The weather gods had shown their presence as wind, clouds, and high waves roared through the Channel, seemingly a curse, but later proving to be hidden angel. As the French 3rd and 8th Armies sat on the coast waiting for a British landing, Vorbecks AGB drive closer and closer to Somme, hugging the Channel Coast under cover from the Hochseeflotte and being supplied by sea and rail. Cambrai and Dunkirk had fallen on the third day of the attack, along with two French capital ships, the Paris and King Georges I. The French Army is reeling from defeat, but not willing to move forces off the Germany Line for crippling fear of an invasion from there. So the only other alternative is used. The 3rd and 8th Armies are pulled off the coast, leaving only about a divisions worth of support and reserve units, and sent to the line being prepared along the Seine River. This left Brittany covered by nothing more than quartermasters, mule punchers, and a few reservists.

By August 5th, five days after D-Day on the Belgium Line, the go-ahead to begin the landing operation, termed Overlord, was given. At 9 A.M. the first troops of the BEF, from the Irish Guards, to set foot in France landed near St. Brieuc, quickly driving off the poorly trained riflemen of the 19th Paris Reserve Regiment. While the rest of the BEF landed near St. Brieuc, The Guards, with the rest of the 3rd Division, attacked south-east to Rennes in an attempt to cut off any retreat. The 1st Division moved out to attack towards St. Malo to secure the area north of Rennes. The 5th Division, along with the 1st Cavalry Division attacked towards Vannes to secure area south of Rennes, while the 2nd Division attacks towards Brest to secure the port. The 4th and 6th Divisions hit the southern coastal area of Brittany to secure the coastal flank and prevent any French landings. By the 9th, all of the initial objectives, with the exception of Vannes, had been reached and taken. Vannes was proving difficult as its Regular Army garrison had remained in place in case of an invasion, and its men were performing excellently. Vannes would hold out for another two weeks before troops of the 5th Div. would overrun the Regulars.

As of August 25th, the Army Group Belgium held Amiens, Reims, and was on the outskirts of Rouen. Army Group Germany, with the 4th Army, had attacked at high cost Frances Germany Line on August 10th, overrunning it by the 13th. Metz and Strasbourg had fallen a week later on the 20th, with Nancy falling the next day. After a decisive RN and HF victory over the French and Spanish Fleets off of Brest, the French Navy had retreated to its hideouts in the Bay of Biscay and into Spanish ports. Caen had been rendered useless after a costly raid by Royal Marines. The BEF, after taking Rennes, advanced on Nantes. After a four day battle, the BEF was forced to retreat back to its well fortified sanctuary at Rennes by the 2nd Royal Spanish Army and the 12th French Army.

From August 23rd to the 28th, Spanish and French troops went on the offensive on the Seine Front, attempting to drive back, or even just hold off, Von Lettow-Vorbecks Army Group Belgium, hitting the 3rd Belgian Army and the 9th German Army hardest. While these two units would be badly hit, the nine other armies in AG Belgium were able to spare them time enough to get rested and resupplied. As the Spanish and French troops kept coming, the Germans and Belgians began to dig deep, elaborate trenches in order to better their defensive capabilities. By the 29th, the European Alliance (France, Spain, Russia, etc) commanders realized the futility of the repeated assaults, which were continuously beaten back by the Germans superior rifles, machineguns, and artillery. The EA troops settled back into the Seine fortifications. The thrust from Belgium quickly turned into a stalemate, with German artillery bombarding Paris and Rouen, but the Allied commanders more willing to let the EA bash its brains out against their trenches instead of wasting tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, attacking the Seine forts.

The BEF was having problems of its own. The Tommies were being hit hard by the Spanish and French forces and were unable to move anywhere forwards. But they were not in retreat. The situation was similar to that on the Seine Line; everyone shooting their cannons and rifles like it was Victory Day, but not much being achieved.

Army Group Germany had fared a little better. The French Armies facing AG Germany had been badly beaten at the Battle of Nancy and were reeling in defeat. By the time AG Germany had reached the Seine River south of Paris and taken Dijon, French and Spanish reinforcements arrived in time to stop AG Germany from crossing the Seine and taking Troyes. Unwilling to make the costly attack across the Seine, AG Germany and its troops settled down, forming the mid portion of the Western Front.

To secure the middle and far left of the Western Front, Army Groups Belgium (B) and Germany (B) were brought into the fray. AG Belgium (B) was brought into the middle of the line, between Paris and Troyes, connecting the two main AGs in the middle. AG Germany (B) was situated south of its big brother, its center in Besancon, and its left along the border of neutral Switzerland. The stalemate on the Western Front had been reached.

(Italian Front)

July:

After the declaration of wars passed, Austria-Hungary began mobilization for war. Austria-Hungary had developed a plan based around inflicting a decisive defeat upon Italy, then turning on Russia with their German allies. When Italy joined into the war on July 5th, the Austrian-Hungarian General Staff pulled out a pigeon-holed plan called Case Blue. Case Blue involved drawing the Italian Army out of its coastal forts and beating it in a few decisive engagements. The General Staff had been focusing on this idea for years, and now the Austrian Army was going to put it into practice.

While the artillery of Italy and Austria-Hungary had been firing at each other since the declaration of war, no actual troop movements into opposing territory had been carried out yet. Italy was counting on the A-H Army making costly attacks on its coastal fortresses, while the A-H General Staff was still planning on letting its army run loose through Northern Italy in order to draw out the Italian Army. Austrian-Hungarian units were active getting into position to cross the border to begin the Italian Campaign. Both sides knew the Italian Army had to be dealt with, but neither side really knew how it would happen.

 

(Danish Front)

July:

By the time a state of war existed between the EA and Allied Powers, there was already a sizeable German force on the Danish Border, ready to plunge deep into Denmark and bring the small kingdom to its knees. The 17th Army had been training for the invasion for at least a year and a half, training that would prove invaluable. Unit commanders had pored over books about the terrain of Denmark and maps of the small country, getting to know every village, every country lane, every cove and inlet by heart. Just hours after the declaration of war, a massive bombardment was launched against the Dane border positions. In some areas, the barrage just served to make the terrain more difficult, but in some areas, such as around Kruna, the barrage was extremely effective, crushing the Dane's bunkers and morale. After nearly a day, the 17th went on the campaign it had been training for. The lead elements smashed through the Danish defense near Kruna and Tonder, with the border defenses between the cities proving more difficult. The center of the border forts would stay intact and not be abandoned, a move that would prove fatal. 17A and 17B Corps (the first number is Army number, the letter indicates which corp) moved through Kruna, then, on July 9th, swung North-West towards Tinglev, hitting the 8th Danish Corps outside the city. After fierce resistance by the 8th, A and B Corps made a costly attack that ended out breaking the 8th by July 12th, taking Tinglev by July 13th.

As A and B Corps moved up, D and E Corps shattered the 11th Danish Corps outside Tonder, taking the city by the first day. D and E Corps struck the right flank of the center border forts. The attack failed, the two corps fell back, E Corp digging to the North-West of the center forts. On the 10th, D Corps struck North, hitting the 4th Danish Corp as it made is way south from Skaerbaek. The 4th attacked D Corps as it dug in along the Skaerbraek-Tonder Road, an attack that halted D Corp for a few days.

C and F Corps had made an abortive frontal attack on the center forts, leading the two corps to seal off the southern face of the forts with trenches, the two corps' artillery hitting the forts with deadly force. G Corps had moved up behind A and B Corps, taking up a position directly behind the center forts after Tinglev fell. The center forts were now totally surrounded, with no way to break through the German forces. The center forts surrendered en masse between July 16th and July 19th, ending the threat in the rear, allowing the 17th Army to press onward.

C and F Corps moved up the Skaerbraek-Tonder Road, and with D Corps, launched an offensive on July 23rd that forced the 4th Danish Corps to fall back rapidly to the defenses around Skaerbraek, manned by the 12th, 6th, and 18th Danish Corps. When C, D, and F Corps hit the defenses around Skaerbraek, the Danes showed the resolve they were famous for. After attacking from the 27th to the 30th, the German troops were forced to settle in to siege positions, with the German artillery hammering the city.

A and B Corps moved out of Tinglev on the 20th, attacking towards Handerslev. The city fell after a massive assault on the 24th, pushing the Danish troops even farther into their own country. The A and B Corps were resupplied from Hochseeflotte convoys, then on the 30th attacked North to Kolding, reaching the city during the night of the 31st.

E and G Corps moved up together between the left and right wings of the 17th Army, hitting Gram with all their forces, driving back the 9th Corps, Royal Guard Corps, and the 7th Corps. The three Danish Corps were on their way to attack the German troops around Skaerbraek. When E and F Corps attacked during the night of July 27th, the unprepared Danes rallied soon after, but it was not soon enough to stop the Germans. The 9th, RG, and 7th Corps were driven back across the river north of Gram. There the artillery of E and G corps hammered the retreating Danes. On the morning of July 29th, E and G Corps crossed the river and hit the hastily constructed defenses, holding the Germans off for a few hours, but E Corps managed to get a breakthrough and surround the 9th Danish Corps, forcing it to surrender. After the 9th fell, the 7th began to fall back, with E Corps hot at its heels. G Corps hit the Royal Guards Corps hard, but the RG Corps managed to hold until it's flank dissolved after the 7th retreated. The RG Corps began to fall back on July 30th, catching up with the 7th and bringing G Corps with it, joining the chase with E Corps.

August:

On the morning of August 1st, the French Campaign began, but in Denmark, the true killing blow was also struck. Kolding fell to A and B Corps after a massive assault that lasted through the night. the loss of Kolding effectively cut off Copenhagen from mainland Denmark, the Hochseeflotte preventing sea transport. With the costly taking of Kolding, A and B corps holed up in Kolding to wait for reinforcements and supplies.

On August 2nd, C, D, and F Corps attacked the defenses of Skaerbraek again, finally getting several breakthroughs that permitted the German troops to get into the city and cut off the defenders from their comrades. Skaerbraek formally fell on the 3rd. C, D, and F headed North into Denmark, running lose through the northern end of the peninsula, acting much like Sherman on his March to the Sea.

E and G Corps finally caught up with the 7th and Royal Guard Corps on August 3rd near Grindstead, dealing the final blow to the brave Danes in the 7th and RG Corps. After slaughtering the units in the field, the survivors surrendered to E and G Corps.

When Copenhagen saw that most of it's army had been destroyed or taken prisoner, it began to contemplate surrender. Unconditional surrender came on August 11th after the German Navy's 3rd and 7th Marine Corps landed about 20 miles from the city.

The Conquest of Denmark had been quick, but costly for both sides. The Danes bravely fought on, the last units surrendering on September 3rd. The 17th Army would have to wait until December before it would have enough reinforcements to bring it up to pre-invasion strength.

 

(Balkans Front)

July:

When war was declared on the Central Powers, the southern border seemed safe from the Ottoman Empire. It was presumed that the Ottomans would not violate the neutrality of the Balkans. On July 18th, it was revealed how much respect the Ottomans had for neutrality.

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