RDan,
Gotta disagree with you on that one. In 1917 the United States was just barely a world power, and really the only status they had as such was defeating the rotting carcass of the Spanish Empire. Before the Great War, we had a very small standing army and our navy was second rate, especially compared to both the Royal Navy and the Imperial German Navy. In the scenario I present here, the Mexican Navy and Army have both been built up with the secret help of Germany and if you look at the battles, the US Atlantic Fleet actually does not win any battles.
Yes, in time the US Army would have eventually defeated the Mexicans, but it was the timely intervention of the Royal Navy (at the cost of a total defeat of Imperial Germany) that shortened this war, and after the British captured Veracruz, they marched on Mexico City. Also, the attack by the Brazilian forces diverted resources the Mexicans could have used against the Americans, thereby also shortening the war.
Also, keep in mind that these are occupation zones, analogous to the German Occupation Zones of WWII (Which will never happen because Imperial Germany steps up to the Armistice as a weakened belligerent and not a defeated power, therefore no German humiliation and no reason for the rise of Hitler.) What I would suspect would happen with these zones, and would most likely have been spelled out in the Treaty of Havana, is that eventually Mexico would have been partitioned into two or more independent nations. (I alluded to that in the copyright for the map [University of Tijuana, City of Tijuana, State of Baja California, Country of Norte Mexico])
This would open up an entirely new 20th century where I suspect the Cold War would have started earlier, or perhaps WWII would have been the Allies v. the Soviets...but that's another can of worms.
Originally Posted by WillP
