Against All Odds (AAO) is a series of Alternate History stories written primarily by Trekaddict. The main (and by far the largest) of the stories is Against All Odds: The British Empire in World War II, originally written as an After-Action Report for a game of Hearts of Iron II.
The world of Against All Odds diverges from our own in 1901, when US President William Mckinley survives an assassination attempt which was fatal in our own timeline. This small change sets off a chain of events which results in the United States falling to a communist revolution in the early 1930s. Finding itself increasingly alone, Britain takes the plunge and enacts Imperial Federation, giving her colonies equal status with the United Kingdom. The British Empire in World War II follows exactly what it says it does, chronicling the Empire's struggle against an Unholy Alliance of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, as well as Japan. Other stories in the series include The Nerve of War and Operation Tidespring, both set during flashpoints of the Cold War that follows.
The main story can be found on the Paradox Interactive forums [1]
. Has its own wiki here, with links to all of the associated stories.
Against All Odds provides examples of:
- Awesome Personnel Carrier: As per real life, the Canadians in Europe manage to kludge together Kangaroo APCs out of surplus tanks which outperform most purposely designed APCs of the time.
- Broken Pedestal: The Soviet Union becomes this for the American communists after Stalin allies with Hitler.
- Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys: Pointedly averted; even when the Nazis and Soviets take over metropolitan France, the government flees to Algiers and fights on from exile. Other French stereotypes still apply, though.
- Citadel City: The Poles hastily rig Warsaw into one of these in 1939.
- Civil War: In the US, leading to a communist victory. In Spain. (Very) briefly in Canada.
- Cool Ship: Several such as the Type 82 destroyers, Implacable-class fleet carriers, Lion and Union-class battleships are a few examples
- Cool Plane: The Atlas Carver, Avro Canada CF-103 Canuck II and CF-105 Arrow, B-1R Lancer, Breguet Br 1120 Sirocco, CAC CA-31, Convair Model 200, Dassault Mirage 4000, Hawker P.1103, Hawker P.1121, Helwan HA-300, IAI Lavi, Vickers-Supermarine Type 583, TSR-2 (as the De Havilland dH.501 Mosquito II), Yakovlev Ya-43 and Yakovlev Yak-44 are all several aircraft that were cancelled in OTL but exist in AAO.
- Conscription: Pretty much everybody, especially the Axis and the Japanese. Notably averted in Canada.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Battle of the South China Sea, in which Japan loses almost all of its remaining capital ships without dealing anything more than negligible damage to the Allied fleet. There is also the 1st Battle of Midway where the American People's Navy has its ass handed to it and the Battle of the Blockade where the Graf Zeppelin sinks four British battleship while only losing a few planes.
- Delaying Action: The Battle of Warsaw results in the near obliteration of the Polish capital, but it ties down Axis forces long enough for Britain, France and the Commonwealth to mobilize.
- Different World, Different Movies: With the US going communist in the 30s, culture is radically different in many areas. For example:
- John Lennon exists, but rock and roll never became popular so he does movie soundtracks instead.
- One of the most acclaimed pieces of media in the setting is The Last War, a six-season British-Canadian-German TV series depicting the Cold War going hot.
- George Orwell's book was published a year later, as Nineteen Ninety-Four.
- There is a niche West Japanese video game called Capsumon.
- Doorstopper: The main story clocks in at over 350 chapters - and not short ones, either.
- Enemy Mine: Idealogical enemies Hitler and Stalin join forces, each planning on backstabbing the other as soon as the Allies and Japanese are out of the way.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The Union of American People's Republics is a brutal dictatorship, but they are still horrified when the Soviet Union allies with Nazi Germany.
- Evil Versus Evil: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Stalin against the Empire of Japan.
- The Federation: The British Empire evolves into this.
- Government in Exile: The USA has one in Ottawa after the Second Civil War. The Poles, Dutch, Belgians and Luxembourgers have theirs in London during World War II, while France operates one out of Algiers.
- It's Raining Men: Airborne forces in general, but especially the SAS. Including the SAS Gurkha regiment.
- Last Stand: The Poles at Warsaw.
- Oppressive States of America: The communist Union of American People's Republics
- Reporting Names: The Allied Pact has these for aircraft of the Wake Island Association-which are exactly the same as the real-life names for said aircraft.
- Word of God is though that this was done to minimize the in-universe jargon the author and audience had to keep track of.
- Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: In this case, Saddam Hussein the Used Car Salesman. Fidel Castro also ends up a baseball player rather than a revolutionary.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The Allies and the UAPR in this case.
- The Alliance: The Allied Pact and the Wake Island Association.
- The Siege: Warsaw again.
- Token Evil Teammate: The UAPR is this to the Allies.
- Villain Team-Up: Nazi Germany and Soviet Union against the Allies.
- You Shall Not Pass!: The cruiser HMS Thunderchild engages a superior IJN force to buy time for civillian transports fleeing Hong Kong. Thunderchild sinks, but the transports escape.
- The HMS Hood engages the massive Japanese battleship Yamato to protect an Allied destroyer convoy. The Hood sustains severe damage but survives thanks to the Yamato receiving a false submarine warning.
