Consider another 1920: Imperial Germany has become the most powerful nation in the world. In 1914, she had crushed England, France, and Russia in a war that was short but entirely devastating.
By 1920, Kaiser Wilhelm II is looking for new lands to devour. The United States is fast becoming an economic super‑power and the only nation that can conceivably threaten Germany. The U.S. is militarily inept, however, and is led by a sick and delusional president who wanted to avoid war at any price. Thus, Germany is able to ship a huge army to Mexico to support a puppet government.
Her real goal: the invasion and permanent conquest of California and Texas.
America desperately resists as the mightiest and most brutal army in the world in a battle fought on land, at sea, and in the air as enemy armies savagely marched up on California, and move north towards a second Battle of the Alamo. Only the indominable spirit of freedom can answer the Kaiser's challenge.
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Product ReviewAn interesting exploration of alternate history, but one that is closer to fantasy than fact.
Woodrow Wilson was an opinionated, idealistic narcissist, but he was also a pragmatic politician and supporter of the Monroe Doctrine. As shown by the reaction to the "Zimmermann" telegram and his interventions in Mexico in 1914 and 1917. While defense spending declined to its lowest level since 1898 in 1915, it began rising, slowly for the Army with its entanglements on the Mexican border, spectacularly for the Navy from 1916. In 1916, Wislon pushed through a naval expansion that authorized 18 "super" dreadnoughts, all of which were funded by Congress and under construction by 1920, two of which would be completed and commissioned in 1920. While this act was aimed as much at the British as the Japanese and Germans, it was designed to give the US a navy "second to none". The German navy was built for short range battles and short duration deployments in the North Sea. The most modern US battleships (USS Nevada and later) out-ranged and were better protected for long range engagements. They could not have deployed across the Pacific and they would have needed a base in Mexico to deposit tens of thousands of tons of coal to support operations. The US Navy even war-gamed and trained against a "Black" (German) offensive into the Caribbean. Even more, the Germans couldn't deploy their entire strenght with Russia continuing to build its Navy and the Royal Navy sitting on its LOCs across the Atlantic. The logistics of supporting 500,000 German troops in Mexico during the Revolution would have been horrendous with almost everything needed coming by ship through very limited port capacity. The US mobilized the Guard several times between 1912 and 1917 to shield the Mexican border and the US Army had in production or available a number of modern weapons equal to what the Germans would have deployed without the experience of four years of war. But the real question is whether the British, once the French collapsed, would have made peace with a nation that would dominate Europe, the Channel ports and continue a naval race that threatened Britain's very existence, something that did not happen in 1940. Until that happened, the German Navy wasn't going any further than Heligoland Bight.Posted on
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Product ReviewConroy once again aspires to be Turtledove at his worst and once again fails to achieve his goal.
Conceptually the point of departure is interesting and plausible. As appears to be normal, however, he fails to understand logistics and lacks the ability to read maps; either that or he simply can't tell the difference between alternate history and fantasy.Posted on
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Product ReviewNeeded (needs) proofing. Author also seems less than familiar with the actual terrain in both Southern CA and the Bay Area.
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Product ReviewEnding was rushed. Story was too much like 1901. Enjoyed reading it but felt it could have been better.
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Product ReviewA very enjoyable read well thought out and well written. I recommend this book to all
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Product ReviewThis is the best alternate history novel I have read in years. I know Conroy sticks with stand alone stories, but I would love to see more of this timeline.
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