Small quibble - I think his name would actually be Alexander IX. The last Alexander before this was Alexander VIII who died in 1691.
Sequel de Mayo (Cinco de Mayo, Vol. II)
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Small quibble - I think his name would actually be Alexander IX. The last Alexander before this was Alexander VIII who died in 1691.
Dan has elaborated the reasons why New Orleans would probably retain its prime position within the CSA, so I agree
Catholics more conservative, but also in a sense Protestantism is both more liberal and more conservative. What I mean by that is that the ultra-fundamentalist evangelical Christianity associated with today is kept in a deep-fried containment field in Dixie without the ideological and financial resources it enjoyed being part of the USA to export internationally. That said, mainline denominations stay more conservative for much longer (take the Anglican/Presbyterian Orange Order as your clearest example) and however one defines LDS, they’re obviously much more fundamentalist ITTL
They might ironically also be a strong supporter of the OE, in terms of the Devil they know vs the devil they don’t, so to speak
The Austrians are probably close to parity with battleships to Italy but not on smaller vessels like destroyers, cruisers, etc, so it may be more 3:2 than 2:1. Still, advantage Italy, especially since Italian boats were generally excellent, and Austrian ones were… not.
I will need to do the numbers on fleet tonnage before the war kicks off, though, like I did for the GAW.
The one issue for Germany is how amenable Britain is to them just launching the KM through the Channel at France, but without needing to screen the Baltic for Russian vessels, the Germans can commit a very large expeditionary fleet, and may find a friendly port in Spain for refueling, even if Spain is formally neutral.
ah, you’re right. This may be a holdover from when I’d pondered him taking the name Adrian VII in honor of the *last* non Italian pope, though seeing as he’s long been associated with Vatican administration he may not think that symbolically.
Hmm. Open to suggestions here!
Honestly, he may stay away from Alexander as a name, because even though he's Spanish, I don't think he'd particularly want to associate himself the Borgia Pope!
Perhaps he'd choose the name of a prominent Spanish Saint, such as St. Ignatius of Loyola. Added bonus, Merry De Val was educated by Jesuits and the university he got his PhD from was actually founded by St. Ignatius.
So, Pope Ignatius I does have kinda a nice ring to it
Somewhat related, I'm kinda bummed the current King of the UK isn't Arthur I (Arthur is one of his names) instead of the way more boring Charles III. Dude could literally have been King Arthur.Pope Peter II
I think the British would definitely oppose fleet action in the channel or a total blockade of France, but Germany could still send their fleet to the Med, if the can get it there. The issue would be if the German fleet is strong enough not to get intercepted by the French one before they can join the Italians.
I have to imagine that one of the first things the British would do once the war breaks out is to declare the Strait of Dover closed to all warships. They obviously have the means to enforce it, and last thing they need is for the Channel and the North Sea to become a massive warzone.
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Ha!Pope Peter II
I actually really like that ideaHonestly, he may stay away from Alexander as a name, because even though he's Spanish, I don't think he'd particularly want to associate himself the Borgia Pope!
Perhaps he'd choose the name of a prominent Spanish Saint, such as St. Ignatius of Loyola. Added bonus, Merry De Val was educated by Jesuits and the university he got his PhD from was actually founded by St. Ignatius.
So, Pope Ignatius I does have kinda a nice ring to it
OTL France typically kept the weight of their naval forces in the Med, in part because they knew Britain had the North Sea locked down. ITL they’d have a tradeoff - possession of the Suez (informal as it may be) would lean towards an even greater presence there, but the German threat would speak to having more boats at Brest and Le Havre. So they may not have the forces available for a decisive battle off Normandy against the bulk of the KM, if they also need to consider their strategic prerogatives in the Med/Far East. They’re spread very thin, potentially
That’s probably exactly what they’d do. Germany will be pissed it has to go around Scotland but that’s probably not a huge issue
It does lead to the question as to whether the French have any ship building capacity on the Channel that the British have just functionally given protection to.
Le Havre/Cherbourg were important to the French Navy for obvious geographic reasons, but the bulk was out at Brest and thereabouts, and then of course Toulon. (Bordeaux was a submarine base in WW2 but that was always much more of a commercial port than a military one)
I must note two things. First if TTL Germany was building up a fleet up to OTL levels then Britain would not be a happy camper. To put it politely. The British-German deals are also indicative of a German navy that isn't though of as the single most dangerous threat for the RN and by extension British security.
Second the table below from Conway's All the World Fighting Ships 1906-21 is... indicative
Third republic France in a decade spends 154.7 million pounds on the navy in a decade with 59.68 million going to new construction. All 26 German battleships and battlecruisers from Nassau down to Baden and Hintenburg cost... 57.6 million pounds. TTL France is not changing naval ministers every second week. No reason France builds 6 Dantons for example each costing as much as a proper dreadnought. And of course by 1918 the OTL French under the 1912 naval law were supposed to be building 28 new battleships 12 were actually built or under construction as of 1914. So.... is the Imperial French Navy actually any weaker than the German? I'm inclined to believe there are good reasons to expect its actually the second largest navy on Earth behind Britain.
I’m always glad to be corrected or buffeted by hard data, lol!
Yes, my head canon has always been that France is number deux when it comes to navies ITTL. Bear in mind too that with actual Navy man Heinrich in charge rather than pretend Navy manchild Bill in charge, guys like Tirpitz don’t take over. So the Germans stick with Jeune Ecole philosophies for longer, and pivot to a dreadnought program much later. So they may indeed be playing catch-up to France!
Yeah but then he's going to be remembered as the cheeky cunt who took King Arthurs legendary name as his own, so if he doesn't have an epic reign and live up to his chosen moniker he's always going to be considered inferior in some way instead of judged solely on his own merit.
The rape, dismemberment of Confederate/US troops, soldiers being crucified, and the lynchings.What was so visceral about it? (if you're willing to share, I'm going to go back and remind myself what the'Red Summer' was to be certain I'm remembering correctly o
It doesn't take much to substantially improve the capabilities of La Royale.
The main difference between TTL and OTL is that historically traditional battleships were deemed as mastodons and symbols of the old regime by the fiercely republican torpedo boat proponents of the OTL Third Republic.
TTL they will by all likelihood remain prides of the fleet, while Britain remains the traditional potential adversary.
It logically follows that large parts of the funding spent on torpedo boat flotillas and armoured cruisers will be used for battleship construction instead.
This does not by any means entirely butterfly away the French armoured cruiser construction and the proponents of Jeune École, though. The more extensive network of French bases and the control of Suez will affect the French naval strategy in any case, as the Mediterranean is not viewed as a bottle that Britain can seal at will.