In our history, the Germans signed the armistice with the Entente on November 11, ending the four-year-long world war.
But in this timeline, thanks to the butterfly effect caused by this time-traveler named Karl, the armistice between the two sides had yet to be signed.
On November 12, word spread that the U.S. President was coming to Europe for the post-war peace summit.
Thinking he’d won the previous fights, General Pershing gathered his forces once more and launched a fierce attack on the German positions from two directions.
This time, though, the American offensive didn’t go nearly as smoothly as before.
For three straight days, they hammered away — and all they got for their trouble was a pile of fresh corpses at the German lines. Not an inch of ground gained.
What’s worse, the German Army Group A, which was about to retreat, got fired up by Crown Prince Wilhelm’s stubborn defense. Led by Crown Prince Rupprecht, they not only returned to their positions but also launched their own flank attack on the Americans.
The U.S. First Army, which was resting and refitting, got caught completely off guard. The Germans actually broke into their trenches.
Eventually, Pershing had to pull reinforcements from other sectors and beg nearby French units for help before they managed to hold the line and push the Germans back.
But by then, the American offensive plan was dead in the water.
To make things worse, as the fighting spread, more and more German units refused to pull back — they dug in and joined the fight against the Entente.
That dragged the British and French into the fight too, and the whole front was teetering on the edge of chaos.
Western Front, Supreme Headquarters of the Entente Forces.
A few days ago, this headquarters was practically buzzing with victory vibes. Today? It was gloomier than a funeral.
"What the hell is going on? How’d this battle turn into this?"
"No idea. But from Belgium to Strasbourg, the entire front is a total mess!"
"Didn’t the Germans already surrender? Why are they picking up weapons again?"
"If we want to swallow up all 2.5 million Germans on the Western Front, how many troops would we need, and how long would it take?"
"At least 4 million men, three months or more — and that’s the best-case scenario!"
"4 million men? Three months? What kind of casualty bill are we looking at?"
"The war’s basically over. The men are all waiting to go home. You think they’re gonna have the morale to fight this thing?"
"Exactly. This fight just isn’t worth it. Even if we don’t destroy those Germans, they’re still gonna surrender. No point in taking meaningless losses."
The French were genuinely terrified at this point. Four years of war had sent millions of young men to their graves — damn near wiped out an entire generation.
France was already battered and bruised. They couldn’t afford another hit like this.
And on top of all that, this fight didn’t even need to happen!
The war-weariness was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Marshal Foch let out a long sigh and told the French negotiator:
"Go back to the Germans. I accept their condition to keep their weapons. But they must withdraw from France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Alsace-Lorraine, and the left bank of the Rhine within 15 days."
Originally, the Entente high command wanted to force the Germans to hand over all their heavy weapons — artillery, machine guns, planes, tanks — and head home with just their rifles.
But now, with the American offensive failing, that goal was basically out the window.
What you can’t win on the battlefield, you don’t get at the negotiating table!
Unless they launched an all-out attack and beat the Germans into submission by force, there was no way they’d convince the Germans to disarm.
Damn shame, really. This could’ve been the perfect chance to wipe out the threat on France’s border once and for all.
But now? That goal looked out of reach.
The French caving like that was music to Hindenburg and Ludendorff’s ears.
On November 18, German representatives officially arrived at Marshal Foch’s personal train and signed the armistice with the Entente.
Since it was signed in the Compiègne Forest north of Paris, the agreement became known as the Compiègne Forest Armistice.
With the armistice signed, the First World War — which had dragged on for four years and claimed tens of millions of lives — officially came to an end.
News of the war’s end spread around the world in no time via telegraph and newspapers.
People everywhere who’d been trapped in this nightmare were crying tears of joy when they heard it was over.
This endless war that had brought them so much suffering — finally, it was done!
...
"Time to go!"
On the German positions, Crown Prince Wilhelm rode his white horse to high ground and took one last look at the trenches they’d held so stubbornly.
Then, without hesitation, he turned and took his first step back home.
It wasn’t until several hours after the Germans left that the Americans finally crept into the abandoned positions and took over the trenches.
The Germans had wrecked all the fortifications themselves. Everything they could take, they took. Everything they couldn’t, they destroyed.
The Americans rummaged around for a while and found absolutely nothing worth keeping. They started cursing up a storm:
"Damn Krauts! These guys are straight-up Scrooge reincarnated — they even picked up every damn shell casing!"
Shell casings?
That’s precious brass! After the war, Germany was hurting badly for supplies — and brass was basically a strategic resource!
A thrifty Crown Prince like Wilhelm wasn’t about to waste any resource!
...
After the armistice was signed, the Entente immediately started organizing the first post-war peace summit in Paris.
The so-called "peace summit" was basically just the Entente powers getting together to decide how to carve up the spoils of war.
And the Central Powers, including Germany? Yeah, they were the spoils.
The summit was America’s idea. President Wilson cared so much about it because this was America’s first step onto the world’s main stage.
If this step went well, America’s international status and influence would skyrocket.
And getting to that point cost America a fortune!
Just six months ago, there were only 9 divisions — fewer than 300,000 men — of U.S. troops in France.
But after America’s war machine kicked into gear, the numbers kept climbing.
Late May: 18 divisions landed...
Late June: 25 divisions...
Late July: 29...
Late August: 35...
Late September: 39...
Late October: 42...
The American ships crossing the Atlantic weren’t just ferrying supplies and ammunition — they were shipping 250,000 to 300,000 fresh troops to Europe every single month!
Originally, after knocking out Russia, the Germans had pulled massive numbers of troops from the Eastern Front. They actually had a shot at beating the British and French in the West.
But once America joined the fight, the balance of power on the Western Front tipped completely. The Entente kept getting more men while the Germans just kept losing them.
Sure, American fighting ability was mediocre — they didn’t have much to show for themselves in terms of battlefield results.
But their ability to keep pumping men into the fight was terrifying. The Germans couldn’t kill them fast enough to make a dent.
And this wasn’t even America’s limit. Word was, they’d already mobilized 4 million men back home.
If the war kept going, the Americans could genuinely ship all 4 million to the front.
Even though American battlefield results didn’t match the British or French, they were the final straw that broke the camel’s back.
So the Americans felt pretty damn proud of themselves. They figured they were the key to the Entente winning the war.
With that in mind, they showed up at the post-war carve-up expecting a big slice of the pie.
Too bad they were thinking way too kindly of the British and the French.