Turning Point - Sekigahara: Toyotomi's Global Expansion and its Consequences

Phase 27 - Great War (4)

In the autumn of 1914, when Germany's initial surprise attack failed and the situation in Europe turned into a deadlock, Germany had to choose from among its adversaries.

They had to decide whether to focus on their main enemy, France and Britain on the Western Front, or to assist Austria, which was struggling more than expected, on the Eastern Front. Another option was to strike at Italy, which had essentially already betrayed them. Outside of Europe, Germany had limited forces stationed overseas, so their realistic options were limited to addressing the European issues, relying on the efforts of their allied nations such as Turkey and Japan, the Qing Dynasty, and the United States.

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In terms of overseas fronts, Germany was reasonably satisfied with the current situation. The involvement of the great power Yamato in the New World was a significant setback, but Japan and the United States were diverting the military power of Britain and France, regardless of the progress or outcome. The tranquility in the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic was undoubtedly due to the efforts of these two countries.

Among these factors, the one with a direct impact on Germany was the situation in Russia. Russia, because of Japan and the Qing Dynasty, couldn't move the army it had stationed in the Far East before the outbreak of the war. Moreover, due to the active actions of the Japanese army in the initial battles, Russia had no choice but to send in some reinforcements.

Furthermore, thanks to Japan and the US, primarily, Britain was not only facing delays in mobilizing resources from its colonies but also had its forces tied up in various locations. In East Asia, despite being outdated, a large number of allied warships were immobilized, which was a significant advantage for Germany. The fact that the Canadian army did not come to Europe was also a somewhat pleasant aspect. Considering these situations, it was predicted that at least Britain would not engage in large-scale operations in Western Europe until the overseas issues were resolved.

Therefore, the choice for Germany, the leader of the Alliance, was to start by striking at Russia.

The Eastern Front of Russia had a long north-south stretch, resulting in a thin troop density. It was mobile warfare rather than trench warfare, which was the expertise of the German army. Also, there was some hope for a distraction by the Japanese forces from the Far East, which was one of the reasons for choosing to attack Russia. A two-front war was a nightmare for anyone, but one of the objectives was to make the Russians taste that nightmare as well.

Germany planned to focus on the Western Front after striking at the Russian field army. During the Eastern Front campaign from April to September, which continued with mobile warfare, 250.000 Russian troops were "successfully" defeated by the German forces every month. Of course, by "defeated," it doesn't mean they were completely annihilated; it means there were significant casualties, injuries, and prisoners taken. The number 250.000 was the kind of damage that would have led to the abandonment of war in previous conflicts.

However, for Germany, the war situation was already beginning to darken.

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In 1914, the US had failed in its initial offensive. Originally, the US's entry into the war had been considered unlikely, and that's exactly how it turned out to be. The opponent was just too formidable.

Nevertheless, from Germany's perspective, as long as the US showed a stance of determined resistance, it was a reasonably satisfactory situation, given that it would divert Britain and other Entente forces in the New World.

In East Asia, the previously formidable Japanese navy was defeated in the summer of 1915 before the Entente invasion. For Germany, this was a more significant concern. The early elimination of Japan, which depended on food imports from overseas, was inevitable. If that happened, the Entente warships in East Asia would start pouring into the North Atlantic and the North Sea. Moreover, in the worst-case scenario, it had to be considered that surrendered Japanese troops could be sent to Europe.