What if Italy Joined the Central Powers? Animated Alternate History

#history #alternatehistory #ww2 #ww1 #italy #map #usa #historia #kaiser

Italy's choice to abandon their allies and join the Allies (or Entente) changed the course of history forever. Today we explore what would have happened if Italy joined Germany and the Central Powers in WW1.

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[thatguywhosenameyoukeepmis]

I doubt that Italy would have been promised that much land and that the Central Powers offensive would go that well. I think that Italy was still too weak for a victory to be achieved that early and dominance over all of North Africa seems a bit much. I could see Italian involvement leading to a Central Powers victory in 1918 with more conservative land gains in Tunisia, Corsica, Nice, Savoy, Malta, and some Saharan territory alongside protectorate in Albania and maybe a bit more territory by the Austrians then just Trentino & Trieste. I think that Italian involvement could have still been delayed to 1915 as Italy was very opportunistic and would likely demand more concessions from Austria before joining.

[alexandrub]

8:10 that(Romania) is unrealistic and doesn't take in consideration the secret pact between Romania and the Central Powers that basically made Romania part of the alliance.

One of the main reason why Romania stayed neutral in the first 2 years was because of Italian Neutrality. Chances are that if Italy joins the Germans so will Romania either immediatly or just in time to take Bassarabia back.

[superpangamer]

11:13 shoutout to the Bulgarian division for invading Estonia

[goran]

I doubt Austria would give all of its Adriatic coast to Italy becoming landlock almost...

[GlassJoe]

I could see them gaining back Nice and Savoy from the French. Then then given Corsica and maybe Tripoli. Probably British Somaliland. At the very least. I think the bulk of Italian gains would be colonial.

[mrsillytacos]

Man, I really like the fact that you nerfed the British navy heavily.

[homeworld]

Very interesting scenario.

I suspect Italian involvement wouldn't be quite so decisive in 1914/1915. They started the war with an army of just 300, 000. They eventually mobilized 5 million men (their population was just slightly smaller than France but with a fraction the industrial capacity they took time to equip). The Alps are terrible to attack through and I don't see an Italian breakthrough there in 1914 as likely. The German offensive stalled due to logistical issues as much as Allied resistance. The deadlock on the western front would probably still have eventuated (though perhaps a little deeper into France/Belgium). Given Allied naval superiority, a swift conquest of Italian Libya is more likely than the Central Powers taking Egypt.

Regardless, by 1917 I can see a decisive difference. Without the Italian front, 60+ Austrian (and a few German) divisions are freed up for use elsewhere. Russia collapses in 1917 (if not sooner). If Romania still joins the Allies she is overrun even more swiftly and chances are there's never much of a Macedonian Front. Central Powers troops could have reinforced the Ottomans to halt their slow retreat from the Middle East.

By early 1918, in our reality, the Germans achieved a narrow advantage of 192 to 178 divisions on the western front. Here, things would be decisively more lopsided. With Italy now fully mobilized on the Alps and probably both fronts reinforced by the Austrians, it would have been closer to 300 to 178. France would have capitulated by mid-1918 for sure. Even with American help this balance could not be righted and I suspect we'd have an armistice in 1919 or later where the British let the Central Powers dominate Europe in return for keeping the rest of their empire.

[GigaRoman]

I think Italy wouldn't gain Algeria and Morocco, as they had almost no interest in it, and Italy probably wouldn't seek to rebuild the Roman Empire, since that idea derived from the Fascists, especially Mussolini.They also probably wouldn't attempt to conquer Greece, instead limiting themselves to imposing a sphere of influence on them. As for the Ottomans? They probably won't clash with them except for conflicting interests in Africa and the Balkans. I'd imagine Italy also taking Sudan instead of Algeria and Morocco since they desired it alongside Egypt. Speaking of Egypt, I doubt Germany would desire the Suez Canal or ANY kind of control in the Mediterranean as they already have 2/3 allies in it. Of course, this could be disproved by the fact that Germany could imitate Britain and crave for control in both the land and the sea.
As for answering the question of Italy joining the Allies or staying in the Central Powers, I think Italy would stay in the Central Powers as the Britain and France would probably also be angry at Italy and I don't think Italy would have interest in coming to blows with the Germans, but, yet again, this could also be disproven.
Great video, man! 😄 As an Italian (especially a pro-Central Powers one) I was very excited for this video!

[michaelthomas]

Italy joining the war on the German side could have changed the battle of the marne just by it (Italy) opening another front for France and making some of the fronts for the central powers easier to deal with. No the Italians would not have done well themselves in any battles, most likely needing German support just like Austria-Hungary did, but by existing alone and being on the side of the central powers they could have indeed made the capture of Paris more possible and thus maybe even the fall of France itself. Anything after that though is within the realm of imagination.

[masterchief]

Great video! Central powers italy is a super underated alt history timeline that deserves more attention IMO

[danielsantiagourtado]

What if Miguel Da Paz Survived and inherited Castile, portugal and Aragon, forming an Iberian Union?

[Nassamest]

I highly doubt that after the war Italy would gain more land form Austria-Hungary, especially all the coast basically. It just doesn't make sense why they would give up territory post war. While the negotiation in the alps are realistic, and I think could've played out, I doubt AH would cede Trieste as it was the major port for the k.u.k. marine.
Besides that the push into France was realistic IMO, as Germany almost had Paris in our timeline. But i don't see why with Italy on the central powers side they would do better against the Russians. The north Africa front was important too, but I doubt that besides capturing Egypt with the ottomans, they would have such an easy time pushing the entente out. All in all, good video and keep up the work

[rca]

Ramania was part of the central powers until the war began, carol the 1st wanted romania in the war in order to take basarabia back but the crown council declined, in this timeline romania would have joined the war early againt the entente

[GaryFelien]

I always enjoy discussing possible different historical outcomes. As to this one, I think Italy lacked the military and industrial capabilities to make the large gains predicted in the video. The main impact of Italian troops attacking France instead of Austria, as discussed, would be the Schlieffen Plan probably working because of France diverting troops to the south, and Austria Hungary doing better against Serbia and Russia because no troops were required against Italy. Italian gains would probably have been Savoy, Corsica, Tunisia, Malta, Cyprus, and Egypt in addition to the Austrian concessions Italian speaking South Tyrol and Trieste.

[ant_cosacco]

We want a part 2 ❤🇮🇹
Your videos are more detailed and perfect than the great documentaries on TV 👍

[agnieszkagolebiowska]

him: let me just buff italy a little bit italy: strong as the ussr in the cold war

[MRMixedup]

I think Malta should also have been mentioned for a bit, had Italy sided with the Central powers, they would have tried taking Malta, with the island serving as "the nurse of the Mediterranean" in reality, the Italian attempt (maybe even successful attempt) to take the Maltese islands would have impacted the entente troop's medical wellbeing because since Malta served as a base to heal wounded troops, the Italians taking the island would lead to the Entente's medical wing struggling more, leading to their troops taking longer to recover and more rushed medical infrastructure having to be built, costing the Entente further budget and potential land for war factories.

[MaeviousPachatourides]

really love your narration and backround animation, great job!

[koldonn]

Joining the Entente was the worst mistake Italy had ever made.

[danielsantiagourtado]

Love your Channel man! Suggestion: What if Napoleon III had won the Franco-Prussian War and then arrenged for his son to marry Princess Beatrice, forging closer ties to the UK?