Alternate Path in 1940

[JerseyJohn]

Continued Responses

Scook

Lots of luck with the world map and very glad you're enjoying these various ideas we're all coming up with.

At a writing website myself and a group of historically minded people have been looking at this scenario in terms of an alternate history WWII novel.

This is the latest post along those lines:

JP Dellova Posted]

... Excellent points. For one thing, on the succession, I'm not sure that Hess was still assumed to be Hitler's successor at the time the war began. After Poland Goering gained a lot of power in all areas, as he had been doing politically throughout the late 1930s, while Hess had been losing influence to Goering, Ribbentrop, Goebles and Speer. Goering was by far the most aggressive personality of the lot.

It's possible that Guderian, leading the panzer units that spearheaded through northern France, might have gone ahead on his own and taken Dunkirk while his boss, the army group commander, von Rundstedt, was taking other, mainly inland, objectives with the infantry corps. Historically, I think Guderian could easily have done that without even disobeying orders if he'd been a little faster to the coast (as it was, he was known as Hurrying Heinz).

And so, with the BEF cut off and forced to surrender, rather than have Hitler incapacitated, it might make more sense to have Churchill's star fading even as the France falls to the Germans in June 1940, and along with their defeated French allies, it's the British who initiate peace terms rather than the Germans. They send the former king, Edward, to iron out the details.

-- Hitler, in a euphoric state, is very understanding. Of course the British and French Empires must continue as otherwise they'd be replaced by an undesirable Japanese empire. No, Germany has no interest in African or Asian colonies, etc & etc.. Yes, of course Belgium and Holland must be returned -- he can understand that neither Britain nor France could feel safe with those two in German hands. And besides, with Norway, he's got enough strategic leverage against the UK to guarantee it won't be too quick to ever again think of fighting him. Iceland, part of Denmark, becomes German. The British grudgingly agree to that.

Hitler walks away satisfied. He's bagged Norway, Denmark and half of Poland while putting Britain and France two pegs lower as military powers. And, of course, part of the French territory ceded to the Reich includes the entire Maginot Line. Which, naturally, is gradually canabalized in favor of a new defensive line further west, protecting the newly acquired French mineral deposits.

By winter of 1940 all the deals are concluded.

Hitler turns his attention to where it's always been, the reason he doesn't desire overseas colonies. He looks east.

SeaMonkey,

Appreciated, but I think we're joint holders of that title. I've always been a great fan of your own what-if scenarios.

[Scook]

There are limitations to the SC and SC2 engine, and I can live with it. One game cannot be everything, and I like what SC and SC2 do. A branching logic path would be great, I have taken all of French territory before taking Paris, and it would be great to have the option to declare Vichy or not. The coding to add in every branching path would devolve the code into something like, say, 3rd Reich (uggghhh).

More later, gotta run NOW!