The shattered American continent began picking up the pieces following the war that had broken the USA and Canada into multiple countries. Now, with rival powers right next door, each nation had to maintain its own significant military. The USA, CSA and Dominion of Canada had a huge head start, with the first two having hated each other since the War Between the States, and with Britain helping Canada along. Quebec and Mexico received French help, and Manitoba was more or less allied to the United States. Deseret ran itself pretty well, with a wonderfully efficient infrastructure, and Pacifica along with Alaska were both run by military governors, with Russia being concerned elsewhere...
In Europe, Austria-Hungary had been systematically eliminating its ethnic minorities (that is, everyone not an Austrian, and whichever Hungarians the Vienna government could manage to bump off) for some time now. Competition for area influence with nearby Serbia and Russia led to Serbian-encouraged terrorist activity inside Austria-Hungary. When this failed to stop after an ultimatum was delivered to Serbia, Austria declared war. Russia and Germany were both summarily dragged into the fighting, with initial gains being made on the side of the Germans and Austrians because of their military airships - large, lightly armored and gunned flying cruisers. The typical Russian strategy of trading space for time went right ahead.
France, dismayed to see the emergence of Germany as a power on the Continent, went ahead and used neutral Sweden and the newly formed Italian Imperium to ship modern artillery to the Russians, of the sort that could strike at airships. When the Russians received these, the Austro-German advance, spearheaded by their airships, was brutally forced back before reaching Smolensk. After turning the front into a meat grinder, Russia was able to return more or less to its own border, summarily accepting an armistice with Germany and Austria that ended the war.
The CSA secured an agreement with the Nicaraguan government to construct a canal. USA ships were promised free usage, but even so, the United States were very wary...
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