War of the Americas Reboot

1911-1920:

US National Overview:
This decade began under the leadership of the dynamic Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt, now in the third year of his third term, continued his sweeping domestic programs aimed at improving conditions throughout the country. Infrastructure in particular was high on his agenda and improvements and expansions of the existing rail network coincided with the first large scale road projects to support the growing numbers of cars and trucks in use since the turn of the century. These programs were continued under Robert La Follette’s administration.
Another, albeit secret, program was begun under Roosevelt’s last administration and continued under La Follette. Concerns over the country’s capital of Washington DC being so close to the Confederate border and thus vulnerable, had been growing since the Western Pacific War, and neither Roosevelt nor La Follette put much faith in Confederate promises (dating back to the Civil War era) never to attack Washington DC. In response, beginning in 1912 government functions and records began to be quietly shifted from Washington DC to Philadelphia while still leaving enough activity so that DC could function as a peacetime capital. This move was kept under tight security and was not revealed to the general public until 1924, when it was announced in order to allay fears over losing the capital to the Confederates following the outbreak of the War of the Americas.
On the eve of the 1912 presidential election, Roosevelt – having served as president longer than anyone before (or since) – decided to step aside in favor of his vice president Robert La Follette. La Follette won in a landslide and the Progressives made further gains in both houses of Congress as well as many state governments. La Follette’s administration was at first a continuation of Roosevelt’s as many new reforms and social programs were implemented as well as continuing the widespread infrastructure improvements already underway. When the Great War broke out in July of 1914, it was assumed by many that La Follette would intervene – siding with the Triple Entente (Allies) against the Central Powers – but instead he declared neutrality in the widening conflict. His rationale for this policy wasn’t immediately apparent – particularly to Roosevelt – who was all but shouting from the sidelines for the US to get involved. Soon, however, La Follette’s reasoning became apparent. If the US got directly involved in the conflict it was a good bet that the CSA, still smarting from their loss in the Western Pacific War, would move against the US while it was distracted in Europe. Eventually, even Roosevelt saw the wisdom of remaining neutral with a hostile South on the border – although La Follette did send vital war material to the Allies as well as humanitarian aid for both sides. The latter efforts didn’t sit well with many in the US – including a resurgent Democratic Party – and became an issue during the 1916 Campaign.
“Foreign Aid for Belligerent Nations” was ultimately the deciding factor and William Jennings Bryan won a very narrow victory over the incumbent – becoming the only person in US history to serve non-consecutive terms as president. Bryan’s second term was far more contested than his first as he had to fight the Progressive-controlled Congress over nearly every agenda. He did completely cut off all foreign aid in April of 1917 which enraged the Allies in particular and undermined much of the diplomatic goodwill Roosevelt had gained. The former president was livid about this and frequently spoke out against the “weak-kneed” Bryan.
Roosevelt’s relationship with La Follette, meanwhile, quickly recovered after the latter left office and in fact, La Follette was the first person outside the family to be notified on Roosevelt’s death in January of 1919. Roosevelt was buried in a cemetery near the family home in Sagamore Hill and his death was widely mourned throughout the US – and celebrated in much of the Confederacy. Among the honors he has been bestowed since his death has been the naming of several ships of his beloved US Navy – the first of which was the early aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CV-3) – converted from the incomplete battlecruiser USS Cumberland.

Presidents:
Theodore Roosevelt (P-NY) 1902-1913
Robert M. La Follette (P-WI) 1913-1917
William Jennings Bryan (D-NE) 1917-1921

Vice-Presidents:
Robert M. La Follette (P-WI) 1905-1913
Miles Poindexter (P-WA) 1913-1917
James M. Cox (D-OH) 1917-1921

Political party abbreviations: D-Democratic Party; R-Republican Party; P-Progressive Party
Key: A: Assassinated; D: Died in office; I: Impeached; R: Resigned; S: Succeeded to presidency

States admitted (year):
None

Other acquired territory:
US Virgin Islands: Purchased from Denmark in 1916

CS National Overview:
First elected in 1910, Confederate president Marion Butler was immediately mired in the aftermath of the CSA’s disastrous loss in the Western Pacific War and became almost a pariah in the Confederation Party. This hampered his efforts while in office and contributed to his being regarded today as one of the Confederacy’s worst presidents. Beyond this, however, Butler was considered a failure both domestically and in foreign affairs. He nationalized the Confederacy’s only privately owned railroads over their owners’ stringent objections which angered Firsters and declared neutrality in the Great War which alienated the British and French as well as members of his own party.
Butler became increasingly isolated following these unpopular measures and eventually holed up in the Executive Mansion in Richmond refusing to see nearly anyone. His self-imposed exile increased to a point that the last two years of his term were effectively under the control of his vice-president James Taliaferro, who provided to be equally ineffective – particularly in regards to reversing the nationalization of the railroads.
Unsurprisingly, the Confederation Party was squashed in the 1916 General Election and a States First candidate, Furnifold M. Simmons, was elected. An unabashed white supremacist, Simmons fervently wished he could revoke the Emancipation Act of 1899 but popular opinion as well as many members of his own party were opposed to any dramatic changes. Simmons did manage to implement some “reforms” designed to hamper African-American efforts at true equality. Particularly egregious was the Equalization Act – which was little more than state-sponsored segregation. Although occasionally weakened by subsequent administrations, the Act wasn’t abolished until 1951 by President Frank Graham of the short-lived Foundation Party and any remaining latent segregation was eliminated by Executive Order by President Harry Truman which finally granted equal rights for all Confederates.
Simmons other major accomplishment would have even more horrific consequences for the CSA. He pushed through a massive increase in funding for the Confederate military which had been allowed to decline during Butler’s administration. In addition, he began the push for war with the US with the dubious goal of finally defeating their rivals or at least seeing some territorial gains and weakening of the US so it would never again threaten the Confederacy. In fact, many modern historians assert that the War of the Americas began the day Furnifold Simmons took the oath of office.

Presidents:
Marion Butler (C-NC) 1910-1916
Furnifold M. Simmons (S-NC) 1916-1922

Vice-Presidents:
James Taliaferro (C-FL) 1910-1916
Michael Hoke Smith (S-GA) 1916-1922

Political party abbreviations: C-Confederation Party; S-States First Party; CR-Confederation-Reform Party; RF-Reform Party; F-Foundation Party
Key: A: Assassinated; D: Died in office; I: Impeached; R: Resigned; S: Succeeded to presidency

States admitted (year):
None

Other acquired territory:
None

The Great War 1914-1919:
Author’s note: With the exception of Europe’s and South America’s interactions with the US and the CSA in this timeline – the history of the rest of the world after 1864 is effectively the same as in our timeline until April of 1917 – when the US declared war on Germany. In this timeline both the US and CSA declare neutrality in the conflict which results in a very different outcome. Because of this I will not be including any great detail of the history of the War prior to this second point of divergence.

The first truly “global” war – the Great War started with the assassination of Arch-Duke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by a Serbian national in Sarajevo in June of 1914. Within two months all the major powers of Europe were pulled into the conflict by their interconnected alliances like a chain of falling dominoes. Germany’s advance into first Belgium, then France, had stalled by the end of 1914 with the situation degenerating into a prolonged period of trench warfare. In the East, however, the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and their allies) made substantial progress against Russia through the end of 1915. Unrest in Russia eventually resulted in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in March of 1917 and by 1918 the creation of the communist Soviet Union and a peace treaty with the Central Powers.
At sea, the primary antagonists were Great Britain and Germany – who had engaged in a naval arms race in the years leading up to the outbreak of war and had the first and second strongest navies in Europe, respectively. Major encounters were Heligoland Bight (August, 1914), Dogger Bank (January, 1915), Jutland (May-June, 1916 – the largest naval battle of the war), and Second Heligoland Bight (November, 1917). Although tactical victories for the German Imperial Navy in many cases, the strategic victory ultimately went to the Royal Navy – which maintained a blockade of Germany for nearly the entire war.
German U-boats meanwhile, had conducted a very successful campaign against merchant shipping but by the end of 1918 saw a dramatic drop in tonnage sunk due primarily to the introduction of the convoy system and improvements in anti-submarine warfare.
On land, however, the exit of Russia (now embroiled in a civil war) had allowed the Central Powers to shift substantial forces to the Western Front and in March of 1918 Germany launched a massive offensive against the Allied lines. Although this operation burned up nearly all of the Central Power’s reserves (particularly Germany’s) they did manage to break through in several places – coming within 30 miles of Paris by July before the Allies managed to use their superior numbers of tanks and mobile artillery to halt the advance at a tremendous cost in lives on both sides. This partial success, however, galvanized the previously stagnant High Seas Fleet – which sortied in September of 1918 in a final attempt to force the British Grand Fleet to battle and if possible break through the blockade to attack coastal targets in France before disappearing into the Atlantic.

Operation Standhaft: September 15-26, 1918
This final sortie; Operation Standhaft (Stalwart), was only a partial success. Although nearly half the German squadron (including both active Bayern class super-dreadnoughts) under Admiral Ehrhard Schmidt broke through and shelled both Cherbourg and Brest naval bases – overwhelming the light forces there (the major theater where the French Navy operated was in the Mediterranean where most of the fleet was located) before escaping into the Atlantic, the remainder of the force was mauled by British ships in the English Channel which forced the survivors to return to Germany.
A powerful British squadron under Vice Admiral Sir William Pakenham was ordered to pursue the German ships which escaped, and guessing correctly they lacked the range to reach any of Germany’s remaining African colonies, reasoned they would try and cross the Mediterranean Sea and reach the port of Tripoli (in modern day Lebanon) in the Ottoman Empire to take on coal and supplies for the run through the Suez Canal to German East Africa. There, they were expected to link up with General von Lettow-Vorbeck who was re-securing the territory after Allied forces were withdrawn to fight in Europe following the Spring Offensive. Schmidt was forced to risk a high-speed run past Gibraltar to try and shake his British pursuers, but was unaware of how close Pakenham’s ships were (they had been gaining on the German ships for days as Schmidt was compelled to reduce speed to conserve fuel following the extended battles in the English Channel earlier). Pakenham, in turn, was stymied by poor communications with French forces stationed at Toulon who were looking for the Germans in the wrong area, allowing Schmidt’s ships to easily elude them.

The Battle of Crete: September 27-28, 1918
After again being forced to reduce speed to conserve fuel, Schmidt’s ships were finally caught by Pakenham’s squadron west of Crete. The resulting battle – while not on the scale of Jutland – was considerably more violent – with Pakenham losing HMS Malaya and HMS Renown to Schmidt’s loss of SMS Baden, SMS Kronprinz, and SMS Hindenburg. Both sides saw most of their heavy warships damaged to one decree or another forcing the opponents to break off – Schmidt escaping to the east under cover of darkness. On October 3rd, Schmidt’s battered force limped into the port of Tripoli where, in a final indignity, his ships were interned by the Ottoman government. Schmidt and his men were eventually repatriated to Germany but by then, the war was effectively over.

End of the Great War and Aftermath:
By the spring of 1919, the land war had ground to a halt as mutual exhaustion and a growing sense of futility had set in. The High Seas Fleet had again been bottled up in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven and the British blockade had been re-established. Despite this, in April, the Liberal administration of David Lloyd George was ousted from power by Bonar Law’s Conservatives who pushed for a renewed offensive against the Central Powers. This was not only increasingly unpopular with the opposition Liberal Party but a growing number among the populous and led to a backlash against the Conservative Party, who began looking for a way out of the conflict.

When France was approached, their government was in crisis as well as proto-fascist and communist parties began to gain support as the French military was increasingly unable to dislodge German forces from their precariously close position to Paris in a conflict seen as increasingly endless. Even Georges Clemenceau, the outspoken and charismatic French prime minister, was forced into forming a coalition government with these radical groups as his insistence on nothing less than total victory over Germany looked less likely.

The situation was no better in the Central Powers. Germany’s citizens and growing numbers of its military were increasingly blaming the monarchy for its “military adventurism” and ever more dire economic and social conditions at home. Finally, in June, the Kaiser was forced to abdicate – the former monarch fleeing to the Netherlands. Existing political factions then declared a republic by the beginning of 1920 – which retained the previous name; German Reich. Almost immediately, peace feelers were put out by the new – albeit still mostly unorganized – government.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire, meanwhile, was becoming increasingly unstable as its various ethnic factions became more restless and confrontational with the Habsburg-Lorraine monarchy. Emperor Charles I – fearing his empire was about to fly apart and desperate to hold on to power created a “Parliament of the Balkans” – a multi-ethnic legislative branch that (barely) managed to hold the country together – in exchange for retaining his throne – albeit with greatly reduced powers. A crease-fire was called between Austria-Hungary and its principle enemy – Italy – but a formal treaty ending the conflict wasn’t signed until Gerhard Meier – regent for 10-year old Emperor (following the abrupt death of his father) Otto I – signed one with Italy and France in 1923.

Of the remaining major combatants; Russia emerged from its civil war in 1922 firmly under the control of communists under Vladimir Lenin – creating the USSR (Soviet Union).

Italy, smarting over the failure of the Allied war effort in securing the territories it was promised if it would break with the Central Powers, became extremely insular and withdrew from European affairs with the exception of “monitoring” Austro-Hungary, ostensibly to watch for any attempt by the latter to stir up trouble in the Mediterranean but was in reality the Italian government just looking for an excuse to restart the conflict – particularly boisterous in this policy were the Italian Fascists led by Benito Mussolini – who gained influence after the Great War, but were never able to completely dominate the government.

The Ottoman Empire collapsed after the conflict ended (as it did in OTL) forming the Republic of Turkey in 1923. The new government took control of the old Ottoman Navy including the German ships seized following the Battle of Crete, but its navy stagnated until a resurgence occurred in the late ‘30’s.

Treaty of Amsterdam: October 23, 1920
It wasn’t until May of 1920 that representative of the Great War’s combatants came together to hammer out a formal peace treaty. Every nation that participated save Russia – who signed a separate peace treaty with Germany – and Austria-Hungary – who signed an independent agreement with Italy and France – meet in the city of Amsterdam in The Netherlands. The Treaty of Amsterdam was finally signed in October after five months of acrimonious debate that in reality accomplished very little beyond re-establishing the prewar borders. Although many in diplomatic and political circles feared the weak document could lead to another war in the future, the truth was all the major European Powers were both economically and materially exhausted by nearly six years of total war and quickly settled in to an extended relatively peaceful period of rebuilding.

This “Pax Europa” (European Peace) led to a shift in the balance of world power during the Twenties and Thirties as the two Americas, the major powers of South America, and in particular, the Empire of Japan, would rise to fill the vacuum.

US Navy 1911-1920:
With the commissioning of CSS Georgia in 1910, the US Navy was finally shocked out of its complacency regarding its Southern rivals which had only been reinforced by the recent victory over the CSN in the Western Pacific War. After the conservative Navy Secretary Harrison Reed had been fired by President Roosevelt over the design of the Oregon class, the new Secretary; Andrew Winter – who had been naval attaché to Mexico – supported BuC&R chairman Richard Tallmadge’s desire for the US to field her own “dreadnoughts”. The result was the Minnesota class of 1911. These battleships were followed three years later by the more advanced Utah class of 1914. The USN then commissioned at least two dreadnoughts per year through 1918, with the final class of this decade being the three members of the Nebraska class of super-dreadnoughts which entered service in 1919.
The other major development of this era – the battlecruiser – wasn’t adopted as readily by the US as by the Confederacy. When the type was first considered beginning in 1912, the approach adopted was patterned after Germany’s battlecruisers – which, unlike British and Confederate designs, emphasized projection at the expense of speed and firepower. The first US battlecruisers; the Ranger class, didn’t enter service until 1916-17, and were followed by only one more class this decade; the Bonhomme Richard class, which entered service in 1919-20.
As for other combatants; no new armored cruisers were built as their mission had been usurped by battlecruisers (true heavy cruisers only began to appear shortly before the War of the Americas), while sixteen new “light” cruisers were in service by 1920. Additionally, thirty destroyers and 10 new submarines would join the fleet.
By the end of 1920, the US Navy consisted of 178 ships; 14 dreadnoughts, 2 semi-dreadnoughts, 4 pre-dreadnoughts, 6 battlecruisers, 14 armored cruisers, 21 protected cruisers, 16 light cruisers, 15 scout cruisers, 73 destroyers and 13 submarines.

CS Navy 1911-1920:
After the introduction of the dreadnought battleship to North America, the CSN quickly lost its lead to the USN due to declining naval budgets under the Butler Administration. Only one ship; CSS Alabama, was laid down between 1907 and 1916, when funding was massively increased by Confederate President Simmons. By the end of the decade seven new dreadnoughts were in service, but were still outnumbered two to one by the USN.
The battlecruiser concept, however, faired much better with the Confederate Navy. Between 1912 and 1919, seven battlecruisers joined the fleet, with more authorized for the coming decade. Although intelligence gathered during the Great War – including British after-action reports – brought the battlecruiser concept into question, the CSN remained convinced that its strategic situation was more suitable for large numbers of the type in service and it adopted strategies that it was thought would play to the battlecruiser’s strengths.
As for other cruisers, like the US Navy, the CSN didn’t build any armored cruisers during this period, and limited funding saw only eight “light” cruisers commissioned. Destroyers, however, had been embraced by this time; no less than thirty-two ships of the Entente and Fortress classes were built. Additional submarines entered service by the end of the decade as well.
By the end of 1920 the Confederate Navy comprised 109 ships; 6 dreadnoughts, 2 pre-dreadnoughts, 7 battlecruisers, 6 armored cruisers, 14 protected cruisers, 8 light cruisers, 53 destroyers, and 19 submarines.

Minnesota class (US):
[ img ]

The first true dreadnoughts built for the US Navy, the Minnesota class bore only a passing resemblance to there predecessors of the Oregon class, but were still quite conservative in design. They had been designed from the keel up once Richard Tallmadge – head of BuC&R – had been given full control of the project by the new Navy Secretary; Andrew Winter. Eighty feet longer and fifteen feet wider than the Oregon’s the new battleships retained only one major feature of the earlier ships – wing turrets – and this was their only real drawback as it forced an awkward separation of boiler rooms by the magazines necessitating a third funnel. On deck, the space between turrets C and F was originally intended for boat stowage but during Minnesota’s trials any boats stored there were reduced to kindling by the back blast from the 12” guns so stowage was shifted aft of the turrets. Overall, the new design was inadequate in many respects and unsurprisingly, was not repeated in the succeeding Utah class. USS Minnesota (BB-24) and USS Illinois (BB-25) were laid down during 1908, launched two years later, and commissioned during 1911.

The Minnesota class was 560 feet long overall, with a 93 foot beam, a nominal draft of 28 feet, and displaced 20,707 tons normal and 21,974 tons full load. They were armed with twelve 12”/45 Mk.7’s in six twin turrets, a superfiring pair forward and aft, and two wing turrets amidships. The secondary battery was kept light and consisted of twenty 5”/45 Mk.4’s; sixteen in casemates, and four in deck mounts. Finally, four 3”/50 Mk.5’s in open deck mounts and two 21” submerged torpedo tubes completed the weapons suite. Four Avondale direct-drive turbines producing 27,410 shaft horsepower propelled these ships to a design speed of 21 knots. Range was 8,000 nautical miles. Armor comprised an 11” belt tapering to 8” at bow and stern, a 2.5” armored deck, 12” main turrets with 10” barbettes, 5” casemates, and an 11.5” conning tower. Normal crew complement was 993.

The most powerful ships in the US fleet when they commissioned, the Minnesota class was quickly rendered obsolete by increasingly more powerful battleships and by the outbreak of the War of the Americas was relegated to second-line duties. They spent most of the war on harbor protection, but during the last year of the conflict participated in the bombardments of Norfolk and Charleston. With the peace, however, they were immediately placed in reserve and decommissioned by the end of 1928. Both were scrapped soon after.

Utah class (US):
[ img ]

The Utah class, the second US dreadnought design, rectified the Minnesota’s principle weakness – all six 12” gun turrets, arranged in three super-firing pairs, could fire to either broadside – making them the first US battleships with an all centerline main battery. This dramatic improvement aside, the Utah class was essentially an enlarged version of the Minnesota’s and were the last US battleships to mount 12” main guns and direct-drive steam turbines. Two ships; USS Utah (BB-26), and USS Pennsylvania (BB-27) were built in this class. They were laid down during 1911, and commissioned during 1914.

The Utah class was 585 feet long overall, with a 95 foot beam, a nominal draft of 29 feet, and displaced 22,886 tons normal and 23,963 tons full load. They were armed with twelve new 12”/50 Mk.9 guns in six two-gun turrets (individually sleeved for the first time) on the centerline, a secondary battery of twenty 5”/50 Mk.5’s; eighteen in casemates, and two in deck mounts, four 3”/50 Mk.6’s in open deck mounts and two 21” submerged torpedo tubes. Four direct-drive turbines built by Kellar-Morrison (a new company founded in 1908 by ex-Avondale engineer Charles Kellar) producing 28,770 shaft horsepower gave a design speed of 21 knots. Range was 8,000 nautical miles and they were the first US capital ships to have mixed coal and oil-fired boilers. Armor comprised a 12” belt tapering to 9” at bow and stern, a 3” armored deck, 12” main turrets with 11” barbettes, 5” casemates, and a 12” conning tower. Normal crew complement was 1,069.

After commissioning, the Utah’s were almost immediately deployed off the East Coast on neutrality patrol after the outbreak of the Great War. After the war ended, they resumed their normal duties and were scheduled for a major refit beginning in 1924, but that was nixed by the outbreak of the War of the Americas. Utah was seriously damaged in the Confederate bombing of Wilmington Navy Yard in 1923 and had to be extensively rebuilt – rejoining the fleet only in late 1926. Pennsylvania, meanwhile served primarily in bombardment squadrons or as a heavy convoy escort – at least before the USN abandoned using capital ships in that role by 1925 due to increasingly widespread Confederate submarine activity. After the war ended, Utah was converted to a gunnery training ship in 1928 and served in this function for another ten years before being decommissioned. Pennsylvania was placed in limited commission and served until 1935 when she was retired.

West Virginia class (US):
[ img ]

The West Virginia class was the last “first generation” US dreadnought design but incorporated several improvements, such as 14” guns, geared turbines, and using only oil-fired boilers. The first “super-dreadnought” in the USN, the new ships would mark the beginning of a progressive improvement in US battleship design. Their development and construction was anything but progressive, however, as the class became embroiled in Congressional debate over the rising costs of these ships verses their capabilities compared to foreign designs – spearheaded by Democratic senator Thaddeus Harold of Indiana. Harold waged a one-man war against what he called “outdated white elephants” and eventually managed to get Congress to cut funding for the West Virginia class to a single ship. Navy Secretary Winter was outraged, but with Congress controlling the naval budget, was unable to change the decision. In July of 1913, construction was halted on Maryland – the second ship of the class – and materials intended for her shifted to the construction of West Virginia, with Maryland broken up on the slipway soon after. USS West Virginia (BB-28) was launched early in 1914, and commissioned a year later.

West Virginia was 594 feet long overall, with a 95 foot beam, a nominal draft of 30 feet, and displaced 24,426 tons normal and 25,334 tons full load. She was armed with ten 14”/45 Mk.1 guns in five twin turrets on the centerline. The secondary battery consisted of twenty-two 5”/50 Mk.5’s; eighteen in casemates, and four in deck mounts, four 3”/50 Mk.6’s in open deck mounts and two 21” submerged torpedo tubes. Four Avondale geared turbine sets producing 29,840 shaft horsepower were installed and design speed was 21 knots. Range remained 8,000 nautical miles. Armor comprised a 12” belt tapering to 9” at bow and stern, a 3” armored deck, 14” main turrets with 11” barbettes, 5” casemates, and a 14” conning tower. Normal crew complement was 1,123.

After commissioning, West Virginia was assigned to neutrality patrol until late 1918 and later survived the War of the Americas relatively unscathed. Given a major refit in 1930-31 which included new guns, the removal of eight 5” casemate guns at the bow and stern which have been prone to washing out in heavy seas as well as all new tower superstructures and combining the two funnels into one which greatly changed her appearance, West Virginia continued in active service until 1940, when she was decommissioned and scrapped.

Coming up: More US dreadnoughts

Cheers!
Stealthjester

Shipbucket

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