Robert Conroy - 1920 - America's Great War

A number of American military personnel are recognized as major players in World War II, including Patton, Nimitz, MacArthur, and Marshall. Herbert Hoover and Eisenhower both served as presidents of the United States, with Hoover unfairly getting much of the blame for the Great Depression. John Lejeune became the Commandant of the Marine Corps and Dr. Grayson was Woodrow Wilson’s personal physician.

D.W. Griffith continued to make movies, but none were as successful, or as controversial, as Birth of a Nation .

Amelia Earhart disappeared in 1937 while flying over the Pacific.

Most of the other characters: Luke Martel, Kirsten Biel, Elise Thompson, Josh Cornell, Marcus Tovey, Mrs. Tuttle, the Dubbins boys, Steiner and Olson, and others were all figments of my imagination.

If I’ve missed anyone and you’re still curious, do what I did and look it up.

“Conroy extrapolates a new and militarily plausible direction for WWII… A thrilling adventure.”

“[Conroy] adds a personal touch to alternate history by describing events through the eyes of fictional characters serving on the front lines. VERDICT: Historical accuracy in the midst of creative speculation makes this piece of alternate history believable.”

“An ensemble cast of fictional characters… and historical figures powers the meticulously researched story line with diverse accounts of the horrors of war, making this an appealing read for fans of history and alternate history alike.”

“[E]ngrossing and grimly plausible…the suspense holds up literally to the last page.”

“…moving and thought-provoking…”

“Realistic…”

“…fans of Tom Clancy and Agent Jack Bauer should find a lot to like here.”

“A significant writer of alternate history turns here to the popular topic of Pearl Harbor, producing… this rousing historical action tale.”

“A high-explosive what-if, with full-blooded characters.”

“…cleverly conceived…Conroy tells a solid what-if historical.”

“… likely to please both military history and alternative history buffs.”

Himmler’s War

Rising Sun

1920: America’s Great War

Liberty 1784 (upcoming)

1920: America’s Great War

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by Robert Conroy

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A Baen Book

Baen Publishing Enterprises

P.O. Box 1403

Riverdale, NY 10471

www.baen.com

ISBN: 978-1-4516-3931-5

Cover art by Kurt Miller

First Baen printing, December 2013

Distributed by Simon & Schuster

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Conroy, Robert (Joseph Robert), 1938–

1920 : America’s great war / Robert Conroy.

pages cm

Summary: “Consider another 1920: Imperial Germany has become the most powerful nation in the world. In 1914 she had crushed England, France, and Russia in a war that was short but entirely devastating. By 1920, Kaiser Wilhelm II is looking for new lands to devour. The United States is fast becoming an economic super-power and the only nation that can conceivably threaten Germany. The U.S. is militarily inept, however, and is led by a sick and delusional president who wanted to avoid war at any price. Thus, Germany is able to ship a huge army to Mexico to support a puppet government to invade and conquer California and Texas. America desperately resists and as a second battle of the Alamo looms, only the indomitable spirit of freedom can answer the Kaiser’s challenge” —

Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4516-3931-5

1. United States—History—20th century—Fiction. 2. Germany—History—20th century—Fiction. 3. William II, German Emperor, 1859–1941—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3553.O51986A615 2013

813’.54—dc23

2013032739

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pages by Joy Freeman ( www.pagesbyjoy.com)

Printed in the United States of America