History After 1900 Discussion of historical events and alternate history scenarios taking place after 1900. Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:53:37 +0000 Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:53:37 +0000 What If Machine http://whatifmachine.org/forums/history-after-1900.66/ WI: United States Military Under a 1976 Reagan Victory Thu, 20 Sep 2018 01:19:00 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-united-states-military-under-a-1976-reagan-victory.136/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-united-states-military-under-a-1976-reagan-victory.136/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force 1976 United States presidential election between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter was one of the closest in history, as was the 1976 Republican National Convention between Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. It's quite possible that Ronald Reagan could have won both contests and gone on to be elected president in 1976, taking office in...

WI: United States Military Under a 1976 Reagan Victory]]> How Plausible is the 99 Balloons Scenario? Wed, 16 May 2018 23:29:14 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/how-plausible-is-the-99-balloons-scenario.134/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/how-plausible-is-the-99-balloons-scenario.134/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force 99 Balloons the singer and a friend purchase some balloons from a store and let them go at dawn during the summer. The then float away and set off a faulty early warning system, eventually culminating in World War III and a nuclear exchange. Here are the relevant lyrics from the English version of the song (source):

How Plausible is the 99 Balloons Scenario?]]> President Rockefeller? Wed, 16 May 2018 23:07:52 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/president-rockefeller.133/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/president-rockefeller.133/ invalid@example.com (Bytor) Bytor 1 Celebrated Russian author Isaak Osimov Mon, 16 Apr 2018 03:18:22 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/celebrated-russian-author-isaak-osimov.132/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/celebrated-russian-author-isaak-osimov.132/ invalid@example.com (Bytor) Bytor 1 WI: Imperial Japan Intercepts Pacific Route Shipping (World War II) Thu, 15 Feb 2018 05:10:11 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-imperial-japan-intercepts-pacific-route-shipping-world-war-ii.131/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-imperial-japan-intercepts-pacific-route-shipping-world-war-ii.131/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force Pacific Route, which was uncontested for most of the War. While the British and Germans often intercepted neutral ships trading with their enemies, Imperial Japan wanted to maintain good relations with the Soviets and allowed ships flying the Soviet flag to trade with the United States. Imperial Japan inspected the ships to make...

WI: Imperial Japan Intercepts Pacific Route Shipping (World War II)]]> What if in 1990, a nuclear war happened? Sun, 04 Feb 2018 14:55:21 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/what-if-in-1990-a-nuclear-war-happened.129/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/what-if-in-1990-a-nuclear-war-happened.129/ invalid@example.com (SonicJordan) SonicJordan 4 WI: French Saar Offensive (1939) Thu, 25 Jan 2018 01:58:13 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-french-saar-offensive-1939.130/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-french-saar-offensive-1939.130/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force 1939 Kasprzycki-Gamelin Convention called for France to launch an offensive into Germany within three weeks of hostilities breaking out between Germany and Poland. The French military went ahead with preparations for a major offensive and sent forces into the Saarland, a heavily industrialized region with significant coal production. Some forces advanced to within a few kilometers of the...

WI: French Saar Offensive (1939)]]> WI: Washington's Cherry Trees Built (1920s) Sun, 26 Nov 2017 06:58:14 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-washingtons-cherry-trees-built-1920s.124/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-washingtons-cherry-trees-built-1920s.124/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force Washington Naval Treaty had been completed as planned? How would France and Italy respond and how would the Cherry Trees fare in the 1930s and later?

Also, is there any chance the Lexington class battlecruisers could or would be retrofitted with survivability improvements? The armor protection is essentially the same as first generation Royal Navy...

WI: Washington's Cherry Trees Built (1920s)]]> History: Imperial Iran's Military (1985) Sat, 11 Nov 2017 09:21:55 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/history-imperial-irans-military-1985.27/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/history-imperial-irans-military-1985.27/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force here for Wikipedia source). By 1985, it would have had a military almost a quarter the size of the United States in most areas, armed with tens of billions of dollars worth of imported military equipment.

The...

History: Imperial Iran's Military (1985)]]> 5 What if: British plan to invade Ireland in 1940 Tue, 31 Oct 2017 16:28:28 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/what-if-british-plan-to-invade-ireland-in-1940.122/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/what-if-british-plan-to-invade-ireland-in-1940.122/ invalid@example.com (lordroel) lordroel What if: British plan to invade Ireland in 1940

Churchill had many plans during World War II, including a preventive war with the Soviet Union after the fall of Nazi Germany-as did every other leader, but while we now about the German plan to invade Ireland during World War II in Operation Green, it seems that Churchill also had made a plan to invade Ireland as in 1940, he was urged to invade...

What if: British plan to invade Ireland in 1940]]> WI: Alternate US Military Pistol Trials (1980s) Tue, 17 Oct 2017 06:52:05 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-alternate-us-military-pistol-trials-1980s.120/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-alternate-us-military-pistol-trials-1980s.120/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force Fallout setting, in which 10 mm Auto is adopted by the United States military. It's possible .45 Super was adopted by the military in Fallout too, as the .45 Auto cases are suitably strengthened to allow the Courier to handload them in Fallout: New Vegas while in real life .45 Super cases are produced by cutting down...

WI: Alternate US Military Pistol Trials (1980s)]]> Battlefield 1919: Equipment and Tactics Thu, 05 Oct 2017 19:10:38 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/battlefield-1919-equipment-and-tactics.117/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/battlefield-1919-equipment-and-tactics.117/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force Pattern 1913 Enfield in .276 Enfield, the Meunier rifle, and the Lyon class dreadnoughts, among many other projects?

Did...

Battlefield 1919: Equipment and Tactics]]> 3 AHC/WI: Imperial Japan in Europe (World War I) Wed, 04 Oct 2017 07:39:20 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/ahc-wi-imperial-japan-in-europe-world-war-i.118/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/ahc-wi-imperial-japan-in-europe-world-war-i.118/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force here). Those were seized by the end of 1914, after which Imperial Japan largely kept to its interests in the Pacific and took advantage of the situation to try to increase its influence in China. The only forces deployed...

AHC/WI: Imperial Japan in Europe (World War I)]]> DBWI: If Truman Won Mon, 18 Sep 2017 15:12:33 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/dbwi-if-truman-won.116/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/dbwi-if-truman-won.116/ invalid@example.com (NapoleonCorinII) NapoleonCorinII
So, do you think there is anyway Strassen...

DBWI: If Truman Won]]> The Creators of this Hell: An Alternate 1940s Mon, 18 Sep 2017 06:50:50 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/the-creators-of-this-hell-an-alternate-1940s.95/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/the-creators-of-this-hell-an-alternate-1940s.95/ invalid@example.com (SpanishSpy) SpanishSpy
This world was developed for a Model United Nations conference my school was hosting for middle schoolers (ages 11-14, for those not familiar with the American school system). The conference was back in 2014, and since it is now done I felt I could post this up here - I have permission to do so. Parts of this were written by my co-chair, but the majority is my own work, and the concept is entirely my own; she gave me permission to post this.

I will be the first to concede that...

The Creators of this Hell: An Alternate 1940s]]> 8 History: 1950s/1960s British Military Nuclear Projects Tue, 12 Sep 2017 09:37:08 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/history-1950s-1960s-british-military-nuclear-projects.29/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/history-1950s-1960s-british-military-nuclear-projects.29/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force 1958 United Kingdom-United States Mutual Defense Agreement. This offers some insight into what direction an independent or Franco-British military nuclear program might have gone. Information from here....

History: 1950s/1960s British Military Nuclear Projects]]> 3 History: "Megaton" Class Fission Bombs (1940s/1950s) Tue, 12 Sep 2017 09:34:19 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/history-megaton-class-fission-bombs-1940s-1950s.114/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/history-megaton-class-fission-bombs-1940s-1950s.114/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force
History: "Megaton" Class Fission Bombs (1940s/1950s)]]> WI: Soviet Embassy in Iran Stormed (1979) Fri, 08 Sep 2017 08:23:54 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-soviet-embassy-in-iran-stormed-1979.79/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-soviet-embassy-in-iran-stormed-1979.79/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force advocated storming the Soviet embassy.

WI: Soviet Embassy in Iran Stormed (1979)]]> 6 WI: Ground Attack A-12/SR-71 Mon, 04 Sep 2017 12:53:15 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-ground-attack-a-12-sr-71.112/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/wi-ground-attack-a-12-sr-71.112/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force A-12 and SR-71 were developed that could have provided the basis for interesting air to ground platforms.

The M-21 was a variant of the A-12 designed to launch the D-21 autonomous drone. The D-21 could fly up to Mach 3.35 at...

WI: Ground Attack A-12/SR-71]]> AHC/WI: World's Fairs More Prominent Than the Olympics Mon, 04 Sep 2017 12:41:57 +0000 http://whatifmachine.org/threads/ahc-wi-worlds-fairs-more-prominent-than-the-olympics.111/ http://whatifmachine.org/threads/ahc-wi-worlds-fairs-more-prominent-than-the-olympics.111/ invalid@example.com (Delta Force) Delta Force World's Fair in Chicago demonstrated the utility of electric lighting. President McKinley was assassinated at the 1901 World's Fair in...

AHC/WI: World's Fairs More Prominent Than the Olympics]]>