[Ennath]

May 1901
Diplomatic Relations Anglo-German alliance negotiations end, though this is not immediately apparent to Berlin. When warned that Britain will seek to mend relations with France if no alliance is made, the German foreign office scorns the idea that two such hereditary foes could ever reach an accommodation. They continue to expect that they can impose their will on a suppliant Britain.

May 1912
Albania An uprising against Turkish rule begins.
Germany Various nationalist, occult and anti-Semitic groups meet in Leipzig to found the Germanenorden.

May 1915
War at Sea U-Boats sink 120,058 tons of shipping. Two U-Boats are lost, along with an Austrian boat. Noting that Austria’s submarine fleet is too small to make an impact on Mediterranean shipping, the Germans disassemble and transfer several coastal submarines to Pola. These boats will operate under Austrian colors, but with their usual German crews.
Russia A Special Council is convened to direct the war effort, composed of Duma members and industrialists. It is expanded in June to include political representatives and there are hopes for economic and political reform, but the Council is crippled by disputes between the industrialists of Petrograd and those of Moscow, competing for contracts.
Switzerland German agent Alexander Helphand arrives to contact Lenin in attempts to foment unrest in Russia. Lenin, however, distrusts Helphand, fearing the German might try to seize control of the Bolshevik movement from him. Discussions are put on hold.
Turkey A Kurdish rising is crushed in a battle at Shaibah.
Persia The Germans give up their efforts to win over the Shah. Turkish behavior has left him so angry that he even toys with the idea of declaring for the Allies, whom he hates. He opts to remain neutral.

May 1916
War at Sea U-Boats sink 129,175 tons of shipping. Three U-Boats are sunk.
France Noticeable numbers of acts of indiscipline are beginning to afflict the army.
Afghanistan The German mission leaves Kabul empty-handed.

May 1917
War at Sea U-Boats sink 596,629 tons of shipping. Seven U-Boats are sunk. The first convoys are organized, but the system is still haphazard and will take a few months to fully work out. Nevertheless, the results are immediately apparent.
United States The American Protective League is formed and authorized by the Justice Department. Its remit is to identify German sympathizers and counteract the activities of radicals, anti-war activists and left-wing labor and political organizations. Encouraging people to spy on their neighbors, they target those who fail to register for the draft or people of German ancestry. They are frequently little more than vigilantes. They provide an example for fascist paramilitary leaders like Mussolini, as well as Communists like Lenin, in how to intimidate the opposition. It is disbanded a few months after the armistice.
Entry into the war has brought a wave of anti-German sentiment. German books are pulled from libraries, orchestras drop music by German composers from the repertoire, sauerkraut is renamed liberty cabbage, and the use of the German language in public is sometimes banned (ruled unconstitutional in 1923). The response of German-Americans is to “Americanize”, playing down their cultural roots, speaking only English and Anglicizing names. In fact the patriotic wave speeds assimilation of many immigrant groups.
Russia Some conservative elements in the army are tentatively planning a coup. Nothing is firmly decided and nothing comes of it.

May 1918
War at Sea The submarine campaign is at a turning point. U-Boats sink 295,520 tons of shipping, but 13 U-Boats are lost during the month, the highest one month total of the war. The Germans make one effort to muster a group attack to overwhelm the convoy escorts, foreshadowing World War II’s wolfpacks, but communications are poor and the effort is unsuccessful. Sporadic operations begin in American waters by the few large U-Cruisers. Ship production in the USA is now 300,000 tons per month.
War in the Air The Fokker DVII, perhaps the finest fighter of the war enters squadron service.
Russia A poor cotton harvest and the consequent famine, together with Red raids throughout Turkestan, fuel the Basmachi rebellion. The Communists begin a campaign against “Kulaks” (rich peasants), said to be withholding grain. The class struggle is to be carried out without pity or mercy. Peasant revolts spread in resistance to government requisitions.
Italian Planning Diaz refuses several pleas from Foch to launch an offensive.

May 1920
Caribbean The Haitian revolt is all but over. Some 1800 Haitians have been killed.
Persia Soviet troops enter Enzeli; the Jangals proclaim a Republic of Gilan.

May 1924
Russia Lenin’s will is read aloud to the Party Central Committee. Zinoviev points to the smooth operation of the triumvirate as evidence that Lenin’s fears of Stalin were groundless.
At the 13th Party Congress, Zinoviev demands that Trotsky retract his “errors”. Trotsky, declaring that one can only be right within the Party, not against it, submits. This attitude renders Trotsky vulnerable to his opponents, who justify their actions in the name of the Party.
In the fall, Trotsky publishes Lessons of October, restating his theory of “permanent revolution”. Stalin publishes Problems of Leninism setting out his theory of “socialism in one country”, setting Russia in order before vigorously exporting Communism.