Britannias Fist: From Civil War to
World War: —An Alternate History by
Peter G. Tsouras
An Excellent Volume 1, With Wonderful Allohistorical Notes
Once too often in the War Between the States, Great Britains support for
the Confederacy takes it to the brink of war with the Union. The escape of
a British-built Confederate ironclad finally ignites the heap of combustible
animosities and national interests. When the U.S. Navy seizes it in British
waters, the ensuing battle spirals into all-out war. Napoleon III eagerly joins
the British and declares war on the United States. Meanwhile, treason
uncoils in the North as the anti-war Democrats, known as Copperheads,
plot to overthrow the U.S. government and take the Midwest into the
Confederacy. Britannias fist strikes quickly and hard. Along with the
Canadians, the British invade New York and Maine, and the Royal Navy
strikes at the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. The clash at Charleston
is historys first great naval battle between ironclads. Meanwhile, a French
army marches into Texas from Mexico, and the French Navy attacks the

Gulf coast. In the Midwest, the Copperheads rise in revolt to liberate
Confederate POWs and arm them with stockpiled weapons. Never has the
Republic been in such peril. Britannias Fist brilliantly describes not just a
war of stroke and counterstroke but one in which new technologies--
repeating weapons, observation balloons, advances in naval ordnance and
armament--become vital factors in the struggle of the young country
against the Old Worlds empires. For one of the great missed stories of the
Civil War was not the advance of military technology but its impediment by
incompetence, disorganization, and in some serious cases outright refusal
to contemplate anything innovative. This is also a war in which the Union
finds a combat multiplier when it organizes historys first national-level
intelligence effort. Britannias Fist is the compelling story of powerful
historical personalities who come together as the Union goes into total war
mobilization in the fight for its life.
Personal Review: Britannias Fist: From Civil War to World War:
—An Alternate History by Peter G. Tsouras
As a fan of alternate history, I found this book quite enjoyable, especially
because it was written more as an alternate history textbook rather than an
alternate historical novel (the standard method). As such, there were few
new characters created, and the focus was on how real-life people would
react to what a was a very possible road that fortunately was not taken.
As stated by other reviewers, the book is short (and makes one wonder
how everything will be wrapped up in only two more volumes) but the
allohistorical references (i.e. references to works that would exist in this
alternate history, but did not exist in ours - marked as such to avoid
confusion) provides a treasure trove of "Easter eggs" concerning events
that will occur in future volumes. As such, I have spent more time reading
this book than I would have a standard alternate history three times its
length.
One final note: in order to provide a faster pace for events, and to provide
a better understanding how the Union technology could be quickly
increased in this alternate timeline, Tsouras does allow for events involving
General Sharpe to diverge before 17 September 1863 (when word of the
Battle of Moelfre Bay reached North America). Although confusing at first,
it does pay off in the narrative (and I'm sure will also in future volumes).
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