Wonderful Steam Engines

All the figures in our history fit this scenario. All the same politicians from 1903 fit this scenario.

In 1904, the Russo-Japanese War will begin. Japan will attack and actively use its navy and air force, and conduct an offensive in Manchuria. Either Russia or Japan could win the war.

If Russia attacks a British ship that is near Japanese ships, the Great War will begin.

unions if this happens: Britannia Japan Germany Austria-Hungary

against Japan: Russia France Italy

Airships exist in all countries. They often resemble regular seagoing vessels or modified airships. All are powered by steam engines. Airships are used for both military and civilian purposes.

The Air Infantry are the elite of the military. Almost everyone looks up to them and aspires to be one. They often fly sorties directly from ships, assisting their fleet in combating the enemy. Their goal is to assault and board enemy airships. Sometimes they sabotage the enemy by maneuvering and planting explosives on enemy ships. They can be used as landing troops or take off from the ground.

Despite this, China remains a tense place, with constant skirmishes on the border between Russia and Japan, and local Chinese warlords occasionally attempting to break into newly captured territories. The discoveries of great scientists in the 19th century made the world shine, one can only hope that diplomats and rulers of the 20th century will not make it burn.

Back in 1836, the most significant technological leap in human history began. Steam engines were developed and modernized, and three centers of modernization emerged: Great Britain, Prussia, and France. Britain was the recognized leader, but Prussia and France constantly attempted to challenge each other's preeminence. The climax of this confrontation was the Franco-Prussian War, which left France behind and paved the way for a reunited Germany, led by Prussia. Now Germany was constantly striving to take Britain's place, and France's place in the top three was taken by the Russian Empire, which, after the reforms of Alexander II, began to experience an economic and technical boom. This precarious balance of three empires has existed for over fifty years. The second half of the 19th century witnessed many events, some significant, some less so. Several wars in Asia, America, and Africa subsided, and some states, such as Japan and Ethiopia, modernized and entered global politics, hoping to carve out a place for themselves in the sun. Overall, the 19th century can be described as a somewhat turbulent, but still largely good time for humanity, when many inventions improved life. Of course, not without the flip side of the coin: wars. However, the 19th century ended with a veritable storm in Asia. A peasant rebellion, directed primarily against foreigners, broke out in the Qing Empire. Soon, the government of Empress Qixi reached an agreement with the rebels, after which the rebels and the Chinese army joined forces to fight a coalition of foreign powers. Following a relatively short war, China was humiliated. Russia conquered Manchuria, Japan Fuzhou, France the territories bordering Indochina, Portugal somewhat expanded its Chinese colony, and only Britain and Germany were left holding the bag, nearly going to war over Shandong Province, but the situation was resolved in time.