Is this the most realistic scenario? No. Do I wish that they tried to? Yeah. But keep in mind this was made for entertainment and to make the world/lore more interesting and so some creative liberties, butterfly effects, etc. had to be made. Also this mod wasn’t made by professional historians and just people who really love history/alternate history/HOI4/etc.
Thats what I thought too. I don't think Britain would fall to a communist government but it makes for a damn good narrative, the exiled prince trying to take his birthright back from an opressive government. People have to remember that in an Historical Game, the "game" part is just as important as the historical one.
I mean in fairness alt history hub also missed several events in the lore that make the British blockade failing make more sense etc. (don’t get me wrong there’s still holes in stuff but the lore video alt history hub did makes it seem like there’s even more than there are)
They did a great job, with no real funding, to make so many insane scenarios for after the war. It’s the best Mod IMO. The US civil war is my next game
@@678uyjh If I remember my kaiserreich lore correctly, the germans promised ukraine that they would intervene against the bolsheviks and in return ukraine would provide them with their grain. I don't remember what happened after that tho.
Cody didn't really mention it but in real life Germany forced Ukraine, after the collapse of Russia , to send wheat but Germany surrendered before and shipments really got underway so in the Kaiserreich world Germany was basically using Ukraine as life support. There was an assassination attempt against Lenin in real life and Lenin was shot but lived so in Kaiserreich they just made it so the bullet wound actually killed him and the idea is that without Lenin there wouldn't be a unifying figure to keep the Bolsheviks together
Well, Germany didn't really force Ukraine into sending grain shipments, they made a deal with the government to militarily support them if grain was sent to the Central Powers (except for the Ottomans).
@@occam7382 true but if I recall Germany overthrew the Ukrainian government that broke away from Russia and replaced it with a puppet government to ensure the shipments happened
@@vareckthehistoricaldemon196, fair enough, but saying Germany "forced" Ukraine to send shipments sends a very different message than "Germany and Ukraine make a deal where Ukraine sends food to the Central Powers as a condition for military protection against the Bolsheviks. Ukraine's government turns out to be absolutely useless and doesn't follow through on their end of the deal. Germany finds a dude who they think will hold up that deal a lot better. They give support to this guy when he overthrows the government, and he sends food to the Central Powers as agreed." Now, is that series of events shady as sh*t? Of course it is, all I'm pointing out is the way you worded it made it sound like Germany threatened to invade Ukraine (again) to get their grain or something, not saying that's what you actually thought, but it could've been worded better, at least in my opinion. You get what I'm saying?
I feel like Kaiserreich strikes a good balance between the two different types of AltHist scenarios: The realistic "What if" and the fantastical "Wouldn't it be cool if". Especially given that, as they've gone on, the Devs have removed a lot of the more egregiously unrealistic aspects. It's also important to keep in mind that history isn't always "realistic", if that makes sense. If, say, the Communists had lost the Chinese Civil War, people would probably call you insane for saying they could've won, with how unlikely it was.
I'm a little late but yeah, there's plenty of crazy things beyond comprehension in history. A homeless kid on the Mongolian steppe who ate rats to survive formed the largest land empire in human history by uniting a bunch of horse people that hated and had been killing each other for centuries. History is often far from what we'd call "realistic." That said it's still nice to see alternate history writers do their best not to bs the whole thing, but I do feel like "muh realism" bros can go a bit too far at times.
@@justnormalthings1599Or like a random homeless man is rejected from art school, fights in WW1, decides to go into politics and becomes the most famous dictator that starts a war against the whole world
There are actually a couple of events that transpire in this timeline that affect the British blockade that aren't mentioned in his video. At one point, a British submarine mistakenly torpedoes an American freighter and the resulting massive backlash in the US forces the Royal Navy to partially open the blockade. The second was a naval engagement between Britain and Germany that causes enough shock to the Royal Navy that they break the blockade entirely. Starting to think I might be a little too in to the lore of this universe...
@@connorsteffey5898, oh, yeah. They have their own Wikipedia page and basically every country has a bunch of lore in it on how it got to the point it is in the game. It's really interesting. I've probably read at least dozens of articles on most of the countries, and it is fascinating. Give it a read if you're interested.
@@occam7382 will do thanks buddy. I played the eight provinces I think it's called in China and there was quite a bit of event pop ups it's super cool. It could be its own franchise I bet haha.
@@connorsteffey5898, ah yes. The League of 8 Provinces. That is certainly a fustercluck of a state. Let's all be glad is usually collapses so early in the game, am I right?
wasn't the ship that was blown up by the British blockade a cargo ship carrying Christmas presents in the lore? I could have sworn I remember that. That due to the cultural significance of the cargo and because of outcries from the homefront the US put its foot down on the British blockade.
I remember a detail not mentioned in thie video by Cody was the blockade around Germany was loosened after a british sub of sorts sunk an american ship, and in retaliation, they forced the blockade to ease up and allow some goods in, definitely allowing a bit of easing with the food situation in Germany
I can't speak for others but I have always found alternate history just as fascinating as are own world timeline history. What ifs? are very interesting to contemplate.
I think, considering your Civil War expertise, his series on a world in which the Confederates won(using a book series that I can't remember the name of by an author named Harry Turtledove) is right up your alley.
@@VloggingThroughHistory Cody did another one, but this following the general plot of Harry S. Turtledove's book series. I think you watched Cody's own interpretation. No offense, by the way, just letting you know.
So I just wanted to say that you have been my favorite history channel that I have ever watched throughout the years. I went to army basic training and AIT job training last year/beginning of this year, and when I was finally allowed to get on my phone and watch UA-cam, I found your channel and it gave me a place to clear my head for those long, hard days. Now, I just got my class schedule for college and am going for a Bachelors in History, and I just wanted to say you have been a strong inspiration for me among the history channels on UA-cam
On the contrary, I enjoy alternate history, as it demonstatrates how sometimes history may seem to be inevitable, but sometimes, it may be greatly changed because of a single event happening differently, or not at all.
There is a thing that Cody didn't mention in his original video, that being the Central Powers actually being able to conquer Greece Perhaps that aliviated the blockade
For what it's worth, I love when you do the alternate history reactions. I enjoy the requirement to think outside the box, and hearing both you and Cody give your takes gives a lot to consider. Great job as always!
As someone who very much enjoys the lore of Kaiserreich, and has played a lot of the various scenarios presented, I love Kaiserreich and the passion the team behind it has for a good story. I would recommend if you're interested more, in reaction to the various videos the Kaiserreich team puts out on their channel, stuff like the videos that they put out for the second American revolution.
As far as Germany helping the Whites, given the amount of military force the Entente sent to Russia after the actual end to WW1, I would think a victorious Germany would absolutely send a enough amount of aid to swing the balance in the Whites favor. As for Germany lasting until 1921, I guess I buy an explanation similar to what you said, German gains in the East are able to provide enough resources to keep the country going, and I guess based on other comments some elements of the British blockade are lifted due to American intervention.
IIRC Germany gained Ukraine from the Brest Litovsk treaty, which was the largest producer of grain at the time IIRC, so if Germany had held on for longer, maybe having Ukraine could have alleviated the effects of the blockade in terms of food.
Important to state that the war didn't really last into 1921. Lore wise the war was ended by an armistice between the entente and central powers in 1919. The other two years are peace negotiations. With peace being signed in 1921. This is quite close to our world, in wich, the war ended by an armistice in 1918, and the peace deals were only finished by 1920.
I think its great that you're also reacting to alternate history scenarios and not just real history because I think its quite fascinating to explore the various what-might-have-beens in our long storied past and how that might have drastically changed our present. Besides, its also a good exercise for the mind and makes for a good discussion among us history nerds.
I would strongly recommend watching the documentaries made by Kaiser Cat Cinema. They are a lot more detailed than Cody‘s summary and explain certain events a lot more.
15:00 If I recall correctly Britain upset the Americans by sinking an American ship so to prevent America potentially joining the central powers or stopping trade with Britain they loosen the blockade.
Alternate History, when done right or when simply embracing the ridiculousness of the scenario, can be fun. I'm currently in the 9th book of Harry Turtledove's Timeline 191 series. He used the cover of one of the books of that series when talking about Alternate History works. I recommend watching the Talkative History videos on that series, though Alternate History Hub and Emperor Tiger Star also collabed for a series.
I would also add the French Revolution also makes sense from a history rhymes perspective with the Paris Commune and the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
In the Kaiserreich TL the British blockade of Germany was ended in 1918 after the British sunk an American ship delivering Christmas presents to Germany
Greece's role in the eventual victory of the Allies is very underrated. After they joined and attacked Bulgaria, there was a chain reaction of capitulations like Bulgaria then Ottomans then Austria-Hungary and Germany was without allies.
2:40 More accurately, the Franco - Prussian War was a war between those two countries, but it was because of the peace treaty that Germany was born. It was not Germany at the beginning, at that time it was known as the North German Confederation as Prussia being the defacto leader. After the treaty of Versailles, 1871 edition was signed, it was known as the German Empire. I merely correct this as some people know little about the Victorian Era and the way that it was said could to very few, confuse them, well, I hope this cleared that tad bit of confusion.
Yes, however calling it the Franco-German war is also acceptable in my eyes. The nations who participated were France, The North German Confederation(Prussia) and the southern German states. So calling it The German states fighting against the French makes sense. It was the Germans fighting the French.
13:26 very true. I had a relative who was killed in the Civil War while being a officer in the CSA but before that he fought in one of the wars of Italian Unification (don’t know Italian History unfortunately it was in 1860). As a matter of fact he earned the highest Italian Award for bravery presented by the future dictator himself
I think there are a couple of reason as to why Germany would go back to Russia. 1) They would be wary of a full communist takeover. 2) Despite being enemies Czar Nicholas was still a relative of Kaiser Wilhelm so he might want revenge for his death.
Fantastic video and perspective on alternate history. A side suggestion, I know your love of Polish culture (and as a Pole that makes me happy to see people learning about our culture) and would recommend Suibhine's mini animated series on it.
15:01 might have been cut from the video but I Remember this exact video said that the US forced the Brits to Open the blockade when a US Ship with Toys going to Germany was Torpedoed by the Brits. so technically the Blockade was Let off.
Your reactions to Cody's alt history videos are my favourite reactions. While I seldom agree with his conclusions and find his alternative scenarios a bit underwhelming at times, he covers so many diverse topics that I have wondered about and it really gets the ball rolling for expanding the understanding of history and how the world works.
Hi, Chris, that was very interesting. I can not agree that even if the Central Powers had won WW1 that Austo Hungary would survive. I think their days were severely numbered. Also not entirely certain King George V would have left for Canada. Very interesting though, I enjoyed that.
They're very barely staying together as of the start date for the mod. It's more accurate to say that Austro-Hungary is barely staying afloat rather than thriving.
I have a question I would like to ask: Why is it that many (Americans in particular as far as I have seen) refer to the Triple Entente as the Allies? My history teachers always pointed towards the fact that during WW1 France was the dominant force behind the Counter-Alliance against the Middle Powers, hence the name Triple Entente. The Allies where led by Britain and later the US. Or am I getting something wrong here? School's a while back now...
@@LtGhost-tb3kq Towards the latter half of the first world war. It became more common to refer to the Entente as the "Allies". The term "Triple Entente" was only really used before the war when Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the "Triple Alliance". Once WW1 started and the Central Powers formed, the Triple Entente became just the Entente and later the "Allies" but it was more of an informal name for the alliance.
Around 11:24 I think he's talking about how the Central powers did this before turning their divisions west to make France surrender. He did say back to 1917/1918 because the Germans were still in the war at that time. Unless I misheard him then i think that is what he was referring to by the concessions that the Germans enforced in this timeline.
13:10 - Interestingly, Austria basically having its way and doing what it wanted with Italy is pretty much just a repeat of 1815 at the Congress of Vienna.
what he forgets to mention is that in the kaiserreich universe (according to the kaiserreich lore documentary on kaisercat) not only does the u.s. not intervene but also britain accidentally sinks am American civilian ship headed to Germany with Christmas presents. this makes the u.s. force the british to open the blockade a bit, giving life support to the german empire and its people. it is a very important point because otherwise the german people would've probably demanded an armistice.
While the Blockade *did* get disrupted, as others have pointed out, we also shouldn't discount the effect that bringing Ukraine into the German Sphere would have had. Ukraine is called the Breadbasket of Europe for a reason. I'm pretty sure that alone resolved food shortage issues in Germany.
15:13 Germany does effectively win in 1918, as thats when france was defeated. The remaining years are the collapse of Italy and Germany and Austria helping the ottomans not full die in the middle east. The Entente is reduced to just Britain, Portugal and Japan, and the remaining years are just trying to wrap the conflict up and get an official peace treaty.
Something the video doesn't mention is that something did change with the naval blockade as an british submarine mistook an American freighter carrying Christmas gifts to Germany as German and sunk it, pro-German politicians in the US used that to whip up such a frenzy that the allies had to loosen the blockade, allowing non-military cargo ships through, bringing in plenty of food and other stuff. Another change was that because the United States remains neutral, they're not as keen on giving loans to the British and French by 1918 as the war doesn't seem like it'll end anytime soon unless something drastic happens, and they're worried that the loans they already gave them might go unpaid, which slows down the allies war effort, further giving Germany and the Central powers breathing room.
Probably there was an exchange, stability created in ukraine with the help of german army and ukraine send supplies to germany. After weltkreig germany has created a economic sphere and german investors had a new workers, new resources and wide opportunies in eastern europe. This is probably how germany solved issues about socio-economic problems in and after the war.
I'm going to have to make a semantical point here. Technically, yes, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state of Canada, but it is exercised through her representative, the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada. For all intents and purposes, Mary Simon is our head of state. (It's really a figurehead position anyway, governors general are appointed on the recommendation of the prime minister.)
A few other things to note: - The note about the White Army is true in our timeline; the Russian army was an absolute mess given it was less than an army, and more of a loose coalition of groups for one cause (i.e. get the Communists out), consisting of Monarchists, Republicans, Orthodox Nationalists, Slavists (a political movement involving the advancement and integrity of Slavic peoples, a la Yugoslavia), Liberalists, and Democratic Socialists. Basically, it was the "everyone but Communists" club. - Another thing that the U.S. unintentionally did when joining the war was prevent the French mutiny from breaking out (well, breaking out further as it was already starting by 1917), as it gave the French some feeling of levity. - Greece isn't mentioned at all, and it practically went through its own civil war in WW1! (because the Prime Minister and King wanted to join the Allies/Central Powers; the King eventually abdicated, allowing the Prime Minister to join the Allies)
Hi! I would love it if you reacted to Extra History’s “Policing London” series, it is very unique and gives an interesting look into the culture of the time. It has to be one of my favorite series’s they have made.
You should play stronghold 2 on your gaming channel! It's an older game but it's on steam and is kind of a city builder with castle siege elements. Campaign is set in britan in 1000s and the conquest trail lets you siege castle all over Europe. Plus fan maps and challenges
Yes, Thanks for reacting to this. This is great. Have you checked out Kaiserredux? I think for the Second American Civil War, it's better for me personally.
I think both the strength and weakness of Kaiserreich as alternate history is that it is first and foremost, made for a game, and puts historical realism behind crafting good scenarios for the game. Like, recently, the KR devs have straight-up stated they're rewriting Russian history so it's started as the National Populist ideology because no major power starts with that ideology in the current version of the mod. These sort of decisions are great for a game mod, as they generally mean you always have something interesting to do no matter what country you're playing, as opposed to vanilla HoI4 where certain parts of the world feel like they're just out of the action. It does mean that sometimes historical reality is stretched a fair bit
I wonder what your thoughts would be of his alternate history iceberg video, it goes over alternate history situations. Some are really interesting. It is on the longer side.
You're right about the blockade, I think in Kiaserreich they only have a partial blockade. But I always have a hard time buying that instead of the Kaiserschlacht 1918 Spring Offensive. They wait it out and the Allied Entente version of their own planned Spring 1919 offensive and buildup just doesn't happen? And instead the Kaiserschlacht 1919 offensive is a runaway success? It's a bit of a stretch, but it makes sense in a context of a game where you have to have the Central powers win and it's either they win in 1914 or they somehow win near 1918, and that's what they went with.
The Fuller plan may have relied on more American troops, but the bulk of the plan involved mass use of new tank, small arms, and other designs made for that offensive. The allied manpower reserves were not nearly as tapped in 1917-1918 period as one might think. Especially with the rerouting of troops to the Italian and the Greece Balkan front. The irl 100 days offensive the US made up about 30% of the troops who took part. irl the UK started tapping into the homeguard to make up the losses from the 1918 offensive after the offensive. The Germans were just in a much worse position irl. So the handwave to say they were basically unaffected by the blockade and had the time to sit with no major offensives planned by the Allied forces is well. It's to make the game world possible, but I don't buy it as being plausible.
@@Gustav_Kuriga True but don't overblow it as if it was the only thing preventing the Entente from making any progression at all. Especially since it was post the 1918 German Spring Offensive. Americans are important for adding that much more of a time table for Germany to *have* to achieve victory as they were losing and could not trade man to man as the old Entente powers.
@@Drogmir Yes, but in this timeline there IS no 1918 Spring Offensive that wears down the Germans. So if the Allies are constantly attacking, they're going to be taking atrocious losses out of proportion to the Germans while the Germans have the strength advantage. Especially if someone has the bright idea of making the field guns into proper anti-tank guns.
The war really ended in 1919,the treaty just took time to organize and there the whole Japan situation since Japan didn't agree to leave the German colonies in Asia they conquered during the war. Also because Britain accidentally hit a American ship, the blockade was partially open and Germany won the battle of Jutland
Speaking of tensions between the US and Germany back then, I recently covered a more obscure event in 1915 which clearly defined where the wind was blowing for the US
In a recently-released video they explain that the German "eastern offensive" in 1918-1919 is ensuring eastern "proxies" take over where their troops left, such as Finland, Poland, and the former Russian Baltic, Belarusian and Ukrainian territories.
Holy crap I was subbed to your gaming channel first and didn’t even realize you were the same guy! I actually got into you by watching Ultimate General! Small world…
I don't post often, but I definitely do NOT mind the Alternate History. We must look at how things could have been, so we can appreciate and respect how things are and how they turned out.
Something thats actually left out that you touched on. The British sink an American Freighter bound to Germany with Christmas gifts. The international reaction caused the British to lift the Blockade from Germany which gave them just enough breathing room to reorganize and capitulate the French.
I think no one mentioned this so far. The buffer states in eastern europe which are created by the German Empire in Kaiserreich have their roots in the so called "Septemberprogram" drawn up by the then german chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg in september of 1914 and contained the war goals for the German Empire.
Regarding the food shortages of Germany during WW1: I would like to add: In this scenario, Germany pretty much gained controll over Ukraine (the most fertile soil and bread basket in Europe) but did not rush to the west to somehow push out France before the US arrives. In that scenario, every day helps Germany in building up supply lines from Ukraine, Belarus, etc. which could easily bring in more corn and overall food than Germany produced on top. Of course, that requires Germany to know how urgently they need the supplies from Ukraine and then setting the right steps. But I think this could be very well possible.
If I remember correctly, the war in Europe actually came to an end in 1919 in this alternate history, but WW1 was not officially over because Japan refused to sign this new treaty of Versailles because Britain wouldn't back their claims to captured German colonies in Asia and they stormed out. The year 1921 is the official end to the war because that is the year Japan finally surrenders with "Peace with Honor". I'm pretty sure this is the case and I don't know why Cody didn't mention it, but the world of Kaiserreich is so in depth that I understand the need to leave out some details. But you're absolutely right there is no universe where Germany can hold out in Europe until 1921 that just isn't happening, the war-weariness was already bad enough in 1918.
There is some things cody forgot in this senario. Dont know if this will be seen by you or pinned but. During a christmas… i think 1917 christmas a american ship carrying christmas goods to germany gets sunk by the blockade. This infuriate america to the british and forces the british to let up the blockade to not encourage the us to join the war on germany’s side. Its a minor detail but in the broader scope of it actually explains how germany survives 1917, the blockade is no longer causing food shortages to germany. Lowering the unrest. Also edittors note here. I am recalling what i remember from kaiserreichs lore back when i read it during 2018-2019. So do go soft on me and just mention what i forgot.
Hi Chris, I believe the russian situation couldn't have been ignored by the germans. This has been shown in our own timeline where the red army had conquered ukraine almost directly after the civil war and tried to do the same with poland. The communist at the time were clearly and opensly showcasing that their way of life was the best and they would have tried to make all of europe communist if the poles didn't win against them.
Yeah same. Without and Ally in mainland Europe I can see them signing a peace treaty basically giving away France but definitely not giving away any inch of ground in their own colonies
Cody pronounces stuff weirdly as well, like Console as council. Funnily it sounds like english french québécois trying to say those words. Like in some areas of the eastern townships in Quebec.
An important thing to note here is that this is a *massive* oversimplification of the kaiserreich history. He brushes over a lot of things that answer a lot of your questions and make this a lot more realistic. Of course unlikely things happen because honestly a history with no unlikely things happening is probably more unlikely than anything they could come up with
If you like Alt History, you should definetly watch zvallid. He has a lot of Alt History like what if the US joined the axis and even a series like what if germany won ww1 and what would the ww2 be in that world and what would be the cold war after that.
If Germany was able to fully defeat Russia in 1917, then their best shot at getting food would've been from the fields of Ukraine, which was occupied by the Central Powers from 1917 to 1918.
11:30 Didn't the German Republic send a bunch of help to the Whites? A more militaristic Germany could definitely get partially reinvolved. Especially if they are high on victory
It's also important to remember that by 1917, the US was manufacturing more war materiel than the UK, France, and Germany combined. If the US does not enter the war, the US is far more likely to require actual payment for those munitions. So both the UK and France are materially weakened in terms of arms
I think an interesting Alternate History topic that isn't talked about very much is the Paris Commune and what it could have been. Obviously, in real life, the Commune failed to organize and got crushed by the French but it is a very interesting topic that isn't talked about very much.
Very cool to see a historian's take on our universe! Looking forward to seeng more videos like these.
yo is that kaiser cat
Though it'd be nice if he reviewed our own work instead of someone else's take on it.
@@flamefang I was thinking the same thing. Why not the documentary series?
@@izzyj.1079 they're probably too long
Your music is awesome. Especially the French in exile song. Love your work!
Is this the most realistic scenario? No. Do I wish that they tried to? Yeah. But keep in mind this was made for entertainment and to make the world/lore more interesting and so some creative liberties, butterfly effects, etc. had to be made. Also this mod wasn’t made by professional historians and just people who really love history/alternate history/HOI4/etc.
Thats what I thought too. I don't think Britain would fall to a communist government but it makes for a damn good narrative, the exiled prince trying to take his birthright back from an opressive government. People have to remember that in an Historical Game, the "game" part is just as important as the historical one.
I mean in fairness alt history hub also missed several events in the lore that make the British blockade failing make more sense etc. (don’t get me wrong there’s still holes in stuff but the lore video alt history hub did makes it seem like there’s even more than there are)
They did a great job, with no real funding, to make so many insane scenarios for after the war. It’s the best Mod IMO. The US civil war is my next game
When the treaty of Brest livotsk happens and Ukraine is freed ,why wouldn't Germany use the Ukraine for wheat on the home front?
@@678uyjh If I remember my kaiserreich lore correctly, the germans promised ukraine that they would intervene against the bolsheviks and in return ukraine would provide them with their grain. I don't remember what happened after that tho.
Cody didn't really mention it but in real life Germany forced Ukraine, after the collapse of Russia , to send wheat but Germany surrendered before and shipments really got underway so in the Kaiserreich world Germany was basically using Ukraine as life support.
There was an assassination attempt against Lenin in real life and Lenin was shot but lived so in Kaiserreich they just made it so the bullet wound actually killed him and the idea is that without Lenin there wouldn't be a unifying figure to keep the Bolsheviks together
Well, Germany didn't really force Ukraine into sending grain shipments, they made a deal with the government to militarily support them if grain was sent to the Central Powers (except for the Ottomans).
@@occam7382 let's be real though, if they denied, their decision wouldn't have been respected per say lmao
@@occam7382 true but if I recall Germany overthrew the Ukrainian government that broke away from Russia and replaced it with a puppet government to ensure the shipments happened
@@vareckthehistoricaldemon196, fair enough, but saying Germany "forced" Ukraine to send shipments sends a very different message than "Germany and Ukraine make a deal where Ukraine sends food to the Central Powers as a condition for military protection against the Bolsheviks. Ukraine's government turns out to be absolutely useless and doesn't follow through on their end of the deal. Germany finds a dude who they think will hold up that deal a lot better. They give support to this guy when he overthrows the government, and he sends food to the Central Powers as agreed." Now, is that series of events shady as sh*t? Of course it is, all I'm pointing out is the way you worded it made it sound like Germany threatened to invade Ukraine (again) to get their grain or something, not saying that's what you actually thought, but it could've been worded better, at least in my opinion. You get what I'm saying?
@@occam7382 fair enough
I feel like Kaiserreich strikes a good balance between the two different types of AltHist scenarios: The realistic "What if" and the fantastical "Wouldn't it be cool if". Especially given that, as they've gone on, the Devs have removed a lot of the more egregiously unrealistic aspects. It's also important to keep in mind that history isn't always "realistic", if that makes sense. If, say, the Communists had lost the Chinese Civil War, people would probably call you insane for saying they could've won, with how unlikely it was.
As the saying goes, the advantage reality has over fiction is that reality doesn't need to be realistic.
I'm a little late but yeah, there's plenty of crazy things beyond comprehension in history. A homeless kid on the Mongolian steppe who ate rats to survive formed the largest land empire in human history by uniting a bunch of horse people that hated and had been killing each other for centuries. History is often far from what we'd call "realistic." That said it's still nice to see alternate history writers do their best not to bs the whole thing, but I do feel like "muh realism" bros can go a bit too far at times.
@@justnormalthings1599Or like a random homeless man is rejected from art school, fights in WW1, decides to go into politics and becomes the most famous dictator that starts a war against the whole world
And that's why kaiserredux exists.
There are actually a couple of events that transpire in this timeline that affect the British blockade that aren't mentioned in his video. At one point, a British submarine mistakenly torpedoes an American freighter and the resulting massive backlash in the US forces the Royal Navy to partially open the blockade.
The second was a naval engagement between Britain and Germany that causes enough shock to the Royal Navy that they break the blockade entirely.
Starting to think I might be a little too in to the lore of this universe...
That's super cool I didn't know the Lore was actually a huge thing for the mod
@@connorsteffey5898, oh, yeah. They have their own Wikipedia page and basically every country has a bunch of lore in it on how it got to the point it is in the game. It's really interesting. I've probably read at least dozens of articles on most of the countries, and it is fascinating. Give it a read if you're interested.
@@occam7382 will do thanks buddy. I played the eight provinces I think it's called in China and there was quite a bit of event pop ups it's super cool. It could be its own franchise I bet haha.
@@connorsteffey5898, ah yes. The League of 8 Provinces. That is certainly a fustercluck of a state. Let's all be glad is usually collapses so early in the game, am I right?
wasn't the ship that was blown up by the British blockade a cargo ship carrying Christmas presents in the lore? I could have sworn I remember that. That due to the cultural significance of the cargo and because of outcries from the homefront the US put its foot down on the British blockade.
KaiserCat Cinema has made their own videos on the lore of kaiserreich that go into a lot more depth of each country.
I wish he watched those ones instead
I remember a detail not mentioned in thie video by Cody was the blockade around Germany was loosened after a british sub of sorts sunk an american ship, and in retaliation, they forced the blockade to ease up and allow some goods in, definitely allowing a bit of easing with the food situation in Germany
I can't speak for others but I have always found alternate history just as fascinating as are own world timeline history. What ifs? are very interesting to contemplate.
Same, I love alternate history
I think, considering your Civil War expertise, his series on a world in which the Confederates won(using a book series that I can't remember the name of by an author named Harry Turtledove) is right up your alley.
I second this suggestion.
I also second this suggestion
The very first reaction video I ever did on this channel was his video on what if the south won the civil war.
@@VloggingThroughHistory Oh. Whoops. Guess I need to go through the archive lol
@@VloggingThroughHistory Cody did another one, but this following the general plot of Harry S. Turtledove's book series. I think you watched Cody's own interpretation. No offense, by the way, just letting you know.
So I just wanted to say that you have been my favorite history channel that I have ever watched throughout the years. I went to army basic training and AIT job training last year/beginning of this year, and when I was finally allowed to get on my phone and watch UA-cam, I found your channel and it gave me a place to clear my head for those long, hard days. Now, I just got my class schedule for college and am going for a Bachelors in History, and I just wanted to say you have been a strong inspiration for me among the history channels on UA-cam
Thank you Dillon! Glad you’re here.
On the contrary, I enjoy alternate history, as it demonstatrates how sometimes history may seem to be inevitable, but sometimes, it may be greatly changed because of a single event happening differently, or not at all.
There is a thing that Cody didn't mention in his original video, that being the Central Powers actually being able to conquer Greece
Perhaps that aliviated the blockade
For what it's worth, I love when you do the alternate history reactions. I enjoy the requirement to think outside the box, and hearing both you and Cody give your takes gives a lot to consider. Great job as always!
11:23 he specifically mentioned "turning back the clock" this is simultaneously happening as the Great offensive begins in the western front.
As someone who very much enjoys the lore of Kaiserreich, and has played a lot of the various scenarios presented, I love Kaiserreich and the passion the team behind it has for a good story.
I would recommend if you're interested more, in reaction to the various videos the Kaiserreich team puts out on their channel, stuff like the videos that they put out for the second American revolution.
Thank you for taking the time to check out one of my favorite channels sir, you have made my day
I’ve done quite a few of his. Good stuff.
How?! I just watched this yesterday. Keep up the great work man!
As far as Germany helping the Whites, given the amount of military force the Entente sent to Russia after the actual end to WW1, I would think a victorious Germany would absolutely send a enough amount of aid to swing the balance in the Whites favor.
As for Germany lasting until 1921, I guess I buy an explanation similar to what you said, German gains in the East are able to provide enough resources to keep the country going, and I guess based on other comments some elements of the British blockade are lifted due to American intervention.
The Germans were helping the whites in our own timeline when the Soviet Union invaded Ukraine, Estonia, and Poland.
IIRC Germany gained Ukraine from the Brest Litovsk treaty, which was the largest producer of grain at the time IIRC, so if Germany had held on for longer, maybe having Ukraine could have alleviated the effects of the blockade in terms of food.
Important to state that the war didn't really last into 1921. Lore wise the war was ended by an armistice between the entente and central powers in 1919. The other two years are peace negotiations. With peace being signed in 1921.
This is quite close to our world, in wich, the war ended by an armistice in 1918, and the peace deals were only finished by 1920.
I think its great that you're also reacting to alternate history scenarios and not just real history because I think its quite fascinating to explore the various what-might-have-beens in our long storied past and how that might have drastically changed our present. Besides, its also a good exercise for the mind and makes for a good discussion among us history nerds.
I would strongly recommend watching the documentaries made by Kaiser Cat Cinema. They are a lot more detailed than Cody‘s summary and explain certain events a lot more.
Amazing man! Another banger.
I've been delving into the lore behind this mod and making one of my own for Making History V: The First World War.
15:00 If I recall correctly Britain upset the Americans by sinking an American ship so to prevent America potentially joining the central powers or stopping trade with Britain they loosen the blockade.
Alternate History, when done right or when simply embracing the ridiculousness of the scenario, can be fun. I'm currently in the 9th book of Harry Turtledove's Timeline 191 series. He used the cover of one of the books of that series when talking about Alternate History works. I recommend watching the Talkative History videos on that series, though Alternate History Hub and Emperor Tiger Star also collabed for a series.
OMG I love you for doing this!
Do more alt histories! Maybe TNO but others would also be great!
I would also add the French Revolution also makes sense from a history rhymes perspective with the Paris Commune and the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
In the Kaiserreich TL the British blockade of Germany was ended in 1918 after the British sunk an American ship delivering Christmas presents to Germany
Hell yea, was up to date with the austria series and now youre doing a kaiserreich reaction
Greece's role in the eventual victory of the Allies is very underrated.
After they joined and attacked Bulgaria, there was a chain reaction of capitulations like Bulgaria then Ottomans then Austria-Hungary and Germany was without allies.
I highly recommend this channel's video on the Fallout world
15:11 a note, the cease fire happened in 1919 in the kaiserreich scenario if I remember correctly, it just took over a year to negotiate the treaty
Nice mustache, haven't watched the channel in a little while and its good to be watching the channel again
I've been eagerly waiting for you to cover this one
2:40 More accurately, the Franco - Prussian War was a war between those two countries, but it was because of the peace treaty that Germany was born. It was not Germany at the beginning, at that time it was known as the North German Confederation as Prussia being the defacto leader. After the treaty of Versailles, 1871 edition was signed, it was known as the German Empire. I merely correct this as some people know little about the Victorian Era and the way that it was said could to very few, confuse them, well, I hope this cleared that tad bit of confusion.
Not only Bavarian also fougt on the side of prussia next to Baden and Württemberg
@@generalfeldmarschall3781 Yes.
Yes, however calling it the Franco-German war is also acceptable in my eyes. The nations who participated were France, The North German Confederation(Prussia) and the southern German states. So calling it The German states fighting against the French makes sense. It was the Germans fighting the French.
13:26 very true. I had a relative who was killed in the Civil War while being a officer in the CSA but before that he fought in one of the wars of Italian Unification (don’t know Italian History unfortunately it was in 1860). As a matter of fact he earned the highest Italian Award for bravery presented by the future dictator himself
Keep up the good work. Been subbed for a while now. Glad to see you grow.
Cool! Thanks for the video!
I think there are a couple of reason as to why Germany would go back to Russia.
1) They would be wary of a full communist takeover.
2) Despite being enemies Czar Nicholas was still a relative of Kaiser Wilhelm so he might want revenge for his death.
I don’t know if the tsar also died in this scenario.
1:29 and Italy and Serbia and Romania
Fantastic video and perspective on alternate history. A side suggestion, I know your love of Polish culture (and as a Pole that makes me happy to see people learning about our culture) and would recommend Suibhine's mini animated series on it.
I love,I love the Kaiserreich ! As A monarchist I love it even more.
15:01 might have been cut from the video but I Remember this exact video said that the US forced the Brits to Open the blockade when a US Ship with Toys going to Germany was Torpedoed by the Brits. so technically the Blockade was Let off.
Your reactions to Cody's alt history videos are my favourite reactions. While I seldom agree with his conclusions and find his alternative scenarios a bit underwhelming at times, he covers so many diverse topics that I have wondered about and it really gets the ball rolling for expanding the understanding of history and how the world works.
Hi, Chris, that was very interesting. I can not agree that even if the Central Powers had won WW1 that Austo Hungary would survive. I think their days were severely numbered. Also not entirely certain King George V would have left for Canada. Very interesting though, I enjoyed that.
They're very barely staying together as of the start date for the mod. It's more accurate to say that Austro-Hungary is barely staying afloat rather than thriving.
It almost dies when Hungary rebels when they're told they can't kill minorities anymore
I have a question I would like to ask: Why is it that many (Americans in particular as far as I have seen) refer to the Triple Entente as the Allies? My history teachers always pointed towards the fact that during WW1 France was the dominant force behind the Counter-Alliance against the Middle Powers, hence the name Triple Entente. The Allies where led by Britain and later the US. Or am I getting something wrong here? School's a while back now...
In The Netherlands, they call the Entente the Allies as well. Idk why, it’s weird.
@@LtGhost-tb3kq Towards the latter half of the first world war. It became more common to refer to the Entente as the "Allies". The term "Triple Entente" was only really used before the war when Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the "Triple Alliance". Once WW1 started and the Central Powers formed, the Triple Entente became just the Entente and later the "Allies" but it was more of an informal name for the alliance.
@@JD-Media Aha, gotcha, mate. So Allies is the informal name for the Entente, but the offical name is the Entente.
@@LtGhost-tb3kq Correct by the end of WW1, even the Germans were calling them the allies.
Around 11:24 I think he's talking about how the Central powers did this before turning their divisions west to make France surrender. He did say back to 1917/1918 because the Germans were still in the war at that time. Unless I misheard him then i think that is what he was referring to by the concessions that the Germans enforced in this timeline.
Alternative history is really interesting I always wondered what would have happened if Juluis Caesar never adopted Octavian.
13:10 - Interestingly, Austria basically having its way and doing what it wanted with Italy is pretty much just a repeat of 1815 at the Congress of Vienna.
Bro I just gotta say ya channel logo is mad fye 🔥
what he forgets to mention is that in the kaiserreich universe (according to the kaiserreich lore documentary on kaisercat) not only does the u.s. not intervene but also britain accidentally sinks am American civilian ship headed to Germany with Christmas presents. this makes the u.s. force the british to open the blockade a bit, giving life support to the german empire and its people. it is a very important point because otherwise the german people would've probably demanded an armistice.
While the Blockade *did* get disrupted, as others have pointed out, we also shouldn't discount the effect that bringing Ukraine into the German Sphere would have had. Ukraine is called the Breadbasket of Europe for a reason. I'm pretty sure that alone resolved food shortage issues in Germany.
15:13 Germany does effectively win in 1918, as thats when france was defeated. The remaining years are the collapse of Italy and Germany and Austria helping the ottomans not full die in the middle east. The Entente is reduced to just Britain, Portugal and Japan, and the remaining years are just trying to wrap the conflict up and get an official peace treaty.
“The central powers were the Germans, Austrians and ottomans” god damnit VTH breaking my small Bulgarian heart again
11:00 he was talking about an actual offensive that did happen
Something the video doesn't mention is that something did change with the naval blockade as an british submarine mistook an American freighter carrying Christmas gifts to Germany as German and sunk it, pro-German politicians in the US used that to whip up such a frenzy that the allies had to loosen the blockade, allowing non-military cargo ships through, bringing in plenty of food and other stuff.
Another change was that because the United States remains neutral, they're not as keen on giving loans to the British and French by 1918 as the war doesn't seem like it'll end anytime soon unless something drastic happens, and they're worried that the loans they already gave them might go unpaid, which slows down the allies war effort, further giving Germany and the Central powers breathing room.
Probably there was an exchange, stability created in ukraine with the help of german army and ukraine send supplies to germany.
After weltkreig germany has created a economic sphere and german investors had a new workers, new resources and wide opportunies in eastern europe. This is probably how germany solved issues about socio-economic problems in and after the war.
I'm going to have to make a semantical point here. Technically, yes, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state of Canada, but it is exercised through her representative, the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada. For all intents and purposes, Mary Simon is our head of state. (It's really a figurehead position anyway, governors general are appointed on the recommendation of the prime minister.)
A few other things to note:
- The note about the White Army is true in our timeline; the Russian army was an absolute mess given it was less than an army, and more of a loose coalition of groups for one cause (i.e. get the Communists out), consisting of Monarchists, Republicans, Orthodox Nationalists, Slavists (a political movement involving the advancement and integrity of Slavic peoples, a la Yugoslavia), Liberalists, and Democratic Socialists. Basically, it was the "everyone but Communists" club.
- Another thing that the U.S. unintentionally did when joining the war was prevent the French mutiny from breaking out (well, breaking out further as it was already starting by 1917), as it gave the French some feeling of levity.
- Greece isn't mentioned at all, and it practically went through its own civil war in WW1! (because the Prime Minister and King wanted to join the Allies/Central Powers; the King eventually abdicated, allowing the Prime Minister to join the Allies)
Brtt-in.... Very Vicky Pollard (Ohioan's would fit in well in the world of the TV comedy sketch show "Little Britain")
Hi! I would love it if you reacted to Extra History’s “Policing London” series, it is very unique and gives an interesting look into the culture of the time. It has to be one of my favorite series’s they have made.
Rocking the stash! Love it
I would highly recommend watching the official lore from KaiserCat after this, it's much more up-to-date and detailed.
8:07 That and Germany would still be the reigning military as it was in 1914, due to their training and battlefield strategy.
I can’t wait till he sees Huey Long… I’m so excited!
You should play stronghold 2 on your gaming channel! It's an older game but it's on steam and is kind of a city builder with castle siege elements. Campaign is set in britan in 1000s and the conquest trail lets you siege castle all over Europe. Plus fan maps and challenges
Yes, Thanks for reacting to this. This is great. Have you checked out Kaiserredux? I think for the Second American Civil War, it's better for me personally.
Your channel is very wholesome
Great video, I hope u do more alternative history
I think both the strength and weakness of Kaiserreich as alternate history is that it is first and foremost, made for a game, and puts historical realism behind crafting good scenarios for the game. Like, recently, the KR devs have straight-up stated they're rewriting Russian history so it's started as the National Populist ideology because no major power starts with that ideology in the current version of the mod. These sort of decisions are great for a game mod, as they generally mean you always have something interesting to do no matter what country you're playing, as opposed to vanilla HoI4 where certain parts of the world feel like they're just out of the action. It does mean that sometimes historical reality is stretched a fair bit
It's odd to see that this was only 8 months ago after hearing you list off the prior British monarch and two PMs ago.
In fact, the Germans in the Kaiserreich used their warships in the battle of the Second Jutland where the Allies stopped their blockade of Germany
I wonder what your thoughts would be of his alternate history iceberg video, it goes over alternate history situations. Some are really interesting. It is on the longer side.
Maybe you should look into making a civil war alt history book sometime, though a lot of scenarios have been done already.
You're right about the blockade, I think in Kiaserreich they only have a partial blockade.
But I always have a hard time buying that instead of the Kaiserschlacht 1918 Spring Offensive. They wait it out and the Allied Entente version of their own planned Spring 1919 offensive and buildup just doesn't happen? And instead the Kaiserschlacht 1919 offensive is a runaway success?
It's a bit of a stretch, but it makes sense in a context of a game where you have to have the Central powers win and it's either they win in 1914 or they somehow win near 1918, and that's what they went with.
The Entente planned 1919 offensive assumed the involvement of the US... who are not anywhere to be seen.
The Fuller plan may have relied on more American troops, but the bulk of the plan involved mass use of new tank, small arms, and other designs made for that offensive.
The allied manpower reserves were not nearly as tapped in 1917-1918 period as one might think. Especially with the rerouting of troops to the Italian and the Greece Balkan front. The irl 100 days offensive the US made up about 30% of the troops who took part.
irl the UK started tapping into the homeguard to make up the losses from the 1918 offensive after the offensive.
The Germans were just in a much worse position irl. So the handwave to say they were basically unaffected by the blockade and had the time to sit with no major offensives planned by the Allied forces is well. It's to make the game world possible, but I don't buy it as being plausible.
@@Drogmir 30%? That's a massive portion of the army. Don't waive that away like it's trivial.
@@Gustav_Kuriga True but don't overblow it as if it was the only thing preventing the Entente from making any progression at all.
Especially since it was post the 1918 German Spring Offensive.
Americans are important for adding that much more of a time table for Germany to *have* to achieve victory as they were losing and could not trade man to man as the old Entente powers.
@@Drogmir Yes, but in this timeline there IS no 1918 Spring Offensive that wears down the Germans. So if the Allies are constantly attacking, they're going to be taking atrocious losses out of proportion to the Germans while the Germans have the strength advantage. Especially if someone has the bright idea of making the field guns into proper anti-tank guns.
The war really ended in 1919,the treaty just took time to organize and there the whole Japan situation since Japan didn't agree to leave the German colonies in Asia they conquered during the war.
Also because Britain accidentally hit a American ship, the blockade was partially open and Germany won the battle of Jutland
Speaking of tensions between the US and Germany back then, I recently covered a more obscure event in 1915 which clearly defined where the wind was blowing for the US
I still believe that your gaming channel should be called, “Gaming Through History”
In a recently-released video they explain that the German "eastern offensive" in 1918-1919 is ensuring eastern "proxies" take over where their troops left, such as Finland, Poland, and the former Russian Baltic, Belarusian and Ukrainian territories.
Holy crap I was subbed to your gaming channel first and didn’t even realize you were the same guy! I actually got into you by watching Ultimate General! Small world…
Awesome. Welcome!
@@VloggingThroughHistory I’ve been watching both channels for a while, but for some reason didn’t recognize your voice.
I don't post often, but I definitely do NOT mind the Alternate History. We must look at how things could have been, so we can appreciate and respect how things are and how they turned out.
Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t the Germans “help” the Latvians in their struggle for independence
Something thats actually left out that you touched on. The British sink an American Freighter bound to Germany with Christmas gifts. The international reaction caused the British to lift the Blockade from Germany which gave them just enough breathing room to reorganize and capitulate the French.
I think no one mentioned this so far. The buffer states in eastern europe which are created by the German Empire in Kaiserreich have their roots in the so called "Septemberprogram" drawn up by the then german chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg in september of 1914 and contained the war goals for the German Empire.
Regarding the food shortages of Germany during WW1: I would like to add: In this scenario, Germany pretty much gained controll over Ukraine (the most fertile soil and bread basket in Europe) but did not rush to the west to somehow push out France before the US arrives. In that scenario, every day helps Germany in building up supply lines from Ukraine, Belarus, etc. which could easily bring in more corn and overall food than Germany produced on top. Of course, that requires Germany to know how urgently they need the supplies from Ukraine and then setting the right steps. But I think this could be very well possible.
14:53 Maybe Germany would use the wheat in Ukraine and France that they had captured / made deals to acquire to survive until then?
If I remember correctly, the war in Europe actually came to an end in 1919 in this alternate history, but WW1 was not officially over because Japan refused to sign this new treaty of Versailles because Britain wouldn't back their claims to captured German colonies in Asia and they stormed out. The year 1921 is the official end to the war because that is the year Japan finally surrenders with "Peace with Honor". I'm pretty sure this is the case and I don't know why Cody didn't mention it, but the world of Kaiserreich is so in depth that I understand the need to leave out some details. But you're absolutely right there is no universe where Germany can hold out in Europe until 1921 that just isn't happening, the war-weariness was already bad enough in 1918.
There is some things cody forgot in this senario. Dont know if this will be seen by you or pinned but. During a christmas… i think 1917 christmas a american ship carrying christmas goods to germany gets sunk by the blockade. This infuriate america to the british and forces the british to let up the blockade to not encourage the us to join the war on germany’s side. Its a minor detail but in the broader scope of it actually explains how germany survives 1917, the blockade is no longer causing food shortages to germany. Lowering the unrest.
Also edittors note here. I am recalling what i remember from kaiserreichs lore back when i read it during 2018-2019. So do go soft on me and just mention what i forgot.
Stopping close to VTH land on our way home from Pennsylvania... Youngstown, OH
Where did you go in Youngstown?
Hi Chris,
I believe the russian situation couldn't have been ignored by the germans. This has been shown in our own timeline where the red army had conquered ukraine almost directly after the civil war and tried to do the same with poland. The communist at the time were clearly and opensly showcasing that their way of life was the best and they would have tried to make all of europe communist if the poles didn't win against them.
I’m not sure the UK falling apart is plausible without a defeat at sea
Yeah same. Without and Ally in mainland Europe I can see them signing a peace treaty basically giving away France but definitely not giving away any inch of ground in their own colonies
The British knew without America to save them their military was worthless.
Cody pronounces stuff weirdly as well, like Console as council. Funnily it sounds like english french québécois trying to say those words. Like in some areas of the eastern townships in Quebec.
An important thing to note here is that this is a *massive* oversimplification of the kaiserreich history. He brushes over a lot of things that answer a lot of your questions and make this a lot more realistic. Of course unlikely things happen because honestly a history with no unlikely things happening is probably more unlikely than anything they could come up with
You should watch his southern victory series with emperor tigerstar it goes up to ww2.
If you like Alt History, you should definetly watch zvallid. He has a lot of Alt History like what if the US joined the axis and even a series like what if germany won ww1 and what would the ww2 be in that world and what would be the cold war after that.
in the kaiserreich scenario germany defeats the navalblockade of great britain, don’t know why it wasn’t mentioned in the video
thanks
If Germany was able to fully defeat Russia in 1917, then their best shot at getting food would've been from the fields of Ukraine, which was occupied by the Central Powers from 1917 to 1918.
11:30 Didn't the German Republic send a bunch of help to the Whites? A more militaristic Germany could definitely get partially reinvolved. Especially if they are high on victory
It's also important to remember that by 1917, the US was manufacturing more war materiel than the UK, France, and Germany combined. If the US does not enter the war, the US is far more likely to require actual payment for those munitions. So both the UK and France are materially weakened in terms of arms
I think an interesting Alternate History topic that isn't talked about very much is the Paris Commune and what it could have been. Obviously, in real life, the Commune failed to organize and got crushed by the French but it is a very interesting topic that isn't talked about very much.