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Thunder and Bayonets: Book 9 of the WW1 Alternate Series
Early Winter 1915 to Spring 1916.
The war is far from over, with fighting flaring across the European continent without respite for soldiers and civilians alike. Much remains to be done before peace is achieved once more, as gigantic armies clash in a titanic struggle of bayonets and the thunder of cannons.
In the West, the Entente offensive on Nantes has achieved partial success with the liberation of the city, but is again stalemated by the strong German defenses west and north of the Loire Valley. The Germans, who have fought tooth and nail for Nantes itself to gain time, have succeeded in building quadruple lines of trench defenses complete with strong artillery batteries and barbed wire lines. The Anglo-American and French forces, exhausted and, most importantly, out of shells and ammo, have to take a pause before they resume their attack and reach their main strategic objective, St-Nazaire harbor and the bottled up half of the German High Sea Fleet.
In the East, the incredible victory won in Eastern Prussia by General Paul von Hindenburg over Russian General Rennenkampf and 600,000 men is also bogged down because of bad weather, exhaustion, and lack of supplies. The way to St. Petersburg is open to the German forces, but they cannot move due to a lack of supplies, which are all being sent to stop the bleeding in France. Just like his Entente counterparts in the West, the old Prussian commander will have to bide his time and attack in the Spring.
In Galicia, the victorious Central Powers continue their advances toward the Ukraine, as Russian General Brussilov's forces retreat toward Kiev and other Ukrainian cities. Meanwhile, the front is stalemated in Moldavia, with neither side strong enough to push or else defeat the other.
In the Ottoman Empire, the Turks, helped by their German allies and the excellent Austro-Hungarian Skoda guns elements, are poised to break out of their recently conquered city on the Black Sea Coast, Batum, while the Russian Army is moving troops north in a desperate move to try and reform a frontline in the Baltic States. In Iraq and following the terrible defeat at Kut, the British forces regroup north of Basra and hope to turn things around.
The naval war is also far from over. Defeated von Spee's scheme on his revenge, while von Hipper, stuck in Dar Es Salaam, plans a breakout with the help of the German long-range submarines in the area. In St. Nazaire, German Grand Admiral Hugo von Pohl contemplates the impossible task of attempting to sortie out of the harbor before the Entente takes the city and destroys his fleet without a fight.
This is the story of the Great War as it might have been.
The war is far from over, with fighting flaring across the European continent without respite for soldiers and civilians alike. Much remains to be done before peace is achieved once more, as gigantic armies clash in a titanic struggle of bayonets and the thunder of cannons.
In the West, the Entente offensive on Nantes has achieved partial success with the liberation of the city, but is again stalemated by the strong German defenses west and north of the Loire Valley. The Germans, who have fought tooth and nail for Nantes itself to gain time, have succeeded in building quadruple lines of trench defenses complete with strong artillery batteries and barbed wire lines. The Anglo-American and French forces, exhausted and, most importantly, out of shells and ammo, have to take a pause before they resume their attack and reach their main strategic objective, St-Nazaire harbor and the bottled up half of the German High Sea Fleet.
In the East, the incredible victory won in Eastern Prussia by General Paul von Hindenburg over Russian General Rennenkampf and 600,000 men is also bogged down because of bad weather, exhaustion, and lack of supplies. The way to St. Petersburg is open to the German forces, but they cannot move due to a lack of supplies, which are all being sent to stop the bleeding in France. Just like his Entente counterparts in the West, the old Prussian commander will have to bide his time and attack in the Spring.
In Galicia, the victorious Central Powers continue their advances toward the Ukraine, as Russian General Brussilov's forces retreat toward Kiev and other Ukrainian cities. Meanwhile, the front is stalemated in Moldavia, with neither side strong enough to push or else defeat the other.
In the Ottoman Empire, the Turks, helped by their German allies and the excellent Austro-Hungarian Skoda guns elements, are poised to break out of their recently conquered city on the Black Sea Coast, Batum, while the Russian Army is moving troops north in a desperate move to try and reform a frontline in the Baltic States. In Iraq and following the terrible defeat at Kut, the British forces regroup north of Basra and hope to turn things around.
The naval war is also far from over. Defeated von Spee's scheme on his revenge, while von Hipper, stuck in Dar Es Salaam, plans a breakout with the help of the German long-range submarines in the area. In St. Nazaire, German Grand Admiral Hugo von Pohl contemplates the impossible task of attempting to sortie out of the harbor before the Entente takes the city and destroys his fleet without a fight.
This is the story of the Great War as it might have been.
Kindle Edition
Published December 2, 2025
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About the author
Max Lamirande
92 books10 followersMax Lamirande is a 47 years old author from Quebec, Canada.
His first book was published in 2020 with the title Blitzkrieg Europa, setting off a successful Alternate history book series on the Second World War.
To date, Lamirande has published at quite a fast rate, with 8 books published and the 9th one coming up in December and the 10th in January 2022. He also has started a new series on the Napoleonic Era.
Lamirande majored in history back in 1998 and has been writing on and off for the last 30 years or so. Wargamer, historian, an expert on World War Two and the Napoleonic Era.
THE BLITZKRIEG ALTERNATE SERIES
BY MAX LAMIRANDE
Book 1: Blitzkrieg Europa
Book 2: Battle Europa
Book 3: Struggle Europa
Book 4: Fortress Europa
Book 5: Stalemate Europa
Book 6: Staggering Europa
Book 7: Faltering Europa
Book 8: Crumbling Europa publish date December 26th, 2021
Book 9: Falling Europa (publish date to be confirmed, approx. Mar 2022)
THE BLITZKRIEG ALTERNATE SERIES (complementary of Blitzkrieg Alternate Series)
By Max Lamirande
Book 1: Blitzkrieg Pacific, January 28th, 2022
Book 2: TBD
Book 3: TBD
THE NAPOLEONIC ALTERNATE SERIES
By Max Lamirande
Book 1: Austerlitz Alternate, December 2021
Book 2: TBD, march 2022
Book 3: TBD, July 2022
His first book was published in 2020 with the title Blitzkrieg Europa, setting off a successful Alternate history book series on the Second World War.
To date, Lamirande has published at quite a fast rate, with 8 books published and the 9th one coming up in December and the 10th in January 2022. He also has started a new series on the Napoleonic Era.
Lamirande majored in history back in 1998 and has been writing on and off for the last 30 years or so. Wargamer, historian, an expert on World War Two and the Napoleonic Era.
THE BLITZKRIEG ALTERNATE SERIES
BY MAX LAMIRANDE
Book 1: Blitzkrieg Europa
Book 2: Battle Europa
Book 3: Struggle Europa
Book 4: Fortress Europa
Book 5: Stalemate Europa
Book 6: Staggering Europa
Book 7: Faltering Europa
Book 8: Crumbling Europa publish date December 26th, 2021
Book 9: Falling Europa (publish date to be confirmed, approx. Mar 2022)
THE BLITZKRIEG ALTERNATE SERIES (complementary of Blitzkrieg Alternate Series)
By Max Lamirande
Book 1: Blitzkrieg Pacific, January 28th, 2022
Book 2: TBD
Book 3: TBD
THE NAPOLEONIC ALTERNATE SERIES
By Max Lamirande
Book 1: Austerlitz Alternate, December 2021
Book 2: TBD, march 2022
Book 3: TBD, July 2022
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