1901 by Robert Conroy
1901 by Robert Conroy
A little-known fact about the military buildup of Germany at the end of the 19th Century is that contingency plans were developed for a German invasion of the United States of America. At the time, Germany had the best army in Europe (and probably the world) and America almost didn’t have one. Germany also had a larger and more modern navy than the United States so it’s short-term prospects in a war with the U.S. looked good. In 1901, Conroy has come up with a justification for Germany actually launching the attack and then in a delightful bit of alternate military history, takes the reader through the course of the war.
I was a little frustrated in the beginning because I didn’t think Conroy understood how vast the resources of the U.S. in 1901 were and how implausible it was that Germany could prevent a massive buildup against their invasion, but it quickly became apparent that Conroy had respectably built these factors into his plan of war. He also effectively shows the peace faction, many of whom had staunchly opposed absorbing the former Spanish empire into the U.S., causing trouble for the president and adding tremendously to the risks if the growing U.S. army suffered a major defeat.
There are a lot of other things to like about this novel as well. The role of the British struck me as highly credible. The technology issues that would still be around (in our world) in 1914 were even more of a problem in 1901. There are tremendous leadership problems to be resolved (and the solution made me laugh with delight). Conroy also does some very nice work with the U.S. navy in this book and I thought his depictions of Kaiser Wilhelm II fit well with what I have read about the man, as did his characterization of Theodore Roosevelt.
On the other hand, there were two things about this novel that I didn’t like. The first was that President McKinley was very reluctant to declare war on Germany even after they invaded. This just isn’t plausible. Yes, McKinley was slow to declare war on Spain over actions in Cuba which he doubted justified going to war over, but that is highly different than a foreign power without provocation landing an army on Long Island. Even Woodrow Wilson would have rushed to declare war under those circumstances.
The second thing I disliked was how much time was devoted to the two romances in the novel. Nothing against romance, I read them occasionally, but this was a book about a war that might have happened and they were a huge distraction.
Overall, I was quite glad I read the book and I am adding Robert Conroy to the list of authors I’d like to read more of.
