Future What if: 1940

[Gamingboy]

It's January 1940, a bar somewhere in New York.... (although any Europeans may speak up).


Well, the war seems to have become phony over there. Makes me think this war will last forever. What are the calling that war anyway... O yeah, the "Sitzkrieg" or somthing. Well anyway, I think the Frogs and the Nazi's will be staring at each other for so long that eventually they will just call the whole war off. Who here agrees with me?

[Grey Wolf]

I don't trust that Stalin creep. He'll be the key, believe me. The British, the French. the Germs they'll all be dancing to his tune - though they won't know it. Manipulate the good people of this world through them Comintern things, blinker the workers, lead them astray. And all the time planning his own world domination. Watch Stalin - he'll ...ugh...

Grey Wolf

[Linkwerk]

...ugh...

Whoops, looks like he's got an icepick in the head!

Anyways, I think the germans will attack soon. They've only got one place to do it- the lowlands. The maginot line is too tough to crack and the RAF and french air force can plaster them on mountain passes and roads further south.

Sucks for the germans. A griding, high-firepower armored slog across the flat terrain of belgium and holland? The french tanks will rip them to pieces!

[Gamingboy]

Whoops, looks like he's got an icepick in the head!

Anyways, I think the germans will attack soon. They've only got one place to do it- the lowlands. The maginot line is too tough to crack and the RAF and french air force can plaster them on mountain passes and roads further south.

Sucks for the germans. A griding, high-firepower armored slog across the flat terrain of belgium and holland? The french tanks will rip them to pieces!

Yeah, if Germany does attack, it WILL be in the Lowlands, it's the only solution. And they won't stand a chance against those finely built french vehicles.
So i've change my mind, the war will either burn it's self out by inaction, or will end once the Frogs beat back those Jerries.

[Yellmic Wigwawa]

I'm not so sure. Call me stupid, but I can see the Germans being fairly successful this time; if (and it's a big IF, I admit) Stalin keeps out, don't be too surprised to see Germany force France to the conference table by 1942, or 1943 at the latest. I can see a revision of frontiers to what they were in 1914, and Britain making a compromise peace which will involve Germany regaining most of her African colonies.

[Chengar Qordath]

My guess, Stalin is going to try and "spread the workers revolution" some, and everyone will figure out he is the bigger problem. France and Germany will give up on their phony war, and get to what is important, wiping out those crazy godless commies.

[Romulus Augustulus]

Yes, but there's a problem...the French aren't positioned to defend the Ardennes...this'll be the Frogs' undoing. Believe me.

[Paul Spring]

I wouldn't worry too much about the French leaving part of their frontier unguarded. After all, they did more than any other country to beat the Germans in the Great War, so I'm sure their generals know what they're doing.

Personally, I think that Hitler has backed himself into a corner. Sure, the Germans ran over Poland quickly, but Poland was a fairly poor country with an army that didn't have that many tanks or airplanes. Fighting the French and British will be a different story. I've heard that the French have the best tanks in the world. The Germans have a lot of tanks on paper, but almost half of them are really small and have only machine guns on them. The French tanks all have real guns on them.

Don't forget the Belgians, either. If the Germans invade Belgium, the Belgian army is MUCH better prepared to fight back than it was way back in 1914.

A lot of people were worried because the Germans had a bigger air force than the French or British, but after months of war they haven't done more than occasional small raids on a few targets in Britain and France. Based on this, I think the German air force might be overrated, too.

The one mistake that I worry the French and British might make is trying to fight the Soviet Union, too. I've heard some wild stories that they might try to send troops to help the Finns. One war at a time! The Soviets look pretty incompetent fighting the Finns now, but there are an awful lot of them, and Stalin has no compunctions about using as many of them for cannon fodder as necessary.

If I was betting man, here's what I think will happen. Hitler will make an attack into Belgium in the spring, but the Germans won't get far before they are brought to a dead halt. Everything will bog down in trenches like in the last war. Meanwhile, the Soviets will beat the Finns just by piling on sheer weight of numbers.

With the Germans stuck in the west, Stalin will start trying to pressure Germany for concessions - maybe more territory in Poland. They'll also force Romania to cough up some territory. The German generals will see that this war is getting them nowhere, and that their greatest enemy, the Soviets, is becoming stronger. There will be a coup by the military that will get rid of Hitler and the other top Nazis. The new government in Germany will agree to peace terms with the French, British, and Belgians, evacuating any territory occupied and paying some reparations. Before long, Germany will join Britain and France to defend central and western Europe against any further aggression by Stalin.

[Romulus Augustulus]

They'll attack through the Ardennes...I suspect that with the Germans attacking through the Ardennes and catching the Allies off balance, the Germans will have a very good time for four or five years, until the US enters the european war...war with Japan is inveitable...1942 at the latest.

[TheLoneAmigo]

No friggin way. The Krauts are going to crush the French and the British this time. Do you remember what happened to Poland? How long did that take them? The French are going down, it's only a matter of time. And the British? The empire's falling apart. Look at India. We must hope that Hitler can defeat the Anglo-French fast enough so that the west is not weakened against the threat of the Comintern. Stalin is not going to be happy with his current Empire.

[NHBL]

<Setting down my newspaper as the discusion gets going>
You know, you're all missing something. Each year, new machines roll out of the factories--beter than last year's. We might not have Buck Roger's inertron, but there's certainly rockets. Imagine rocket planes streaking from Berlin, or even New York, to bomb enemy targets at speeds no fighters can match. I mention New York and Berlin, since the Germans and Americans seem to be the most innovative, but the nation that really goes for the sciences will win.
Perhaps even atomic motors on submarines, rocket guns...
Funny how recent science fiction stories using atomic bombs have dried up.
One thing for sure--Ireland had best look to her defences. Neither the British nor the Germans are anyone we want walking all over our island--we've had enough of that over the past centuries.

[Romulus Augustulus]

Eh...how about dropping bombs from orbit in big rocketplanes? That sounds very fun...

[Imajin]

Even bombs will be advanced- Perhaps, and this may not be the material of this war, but the Germans will most definately start another, we could have bombs that need not be dropped, but fly to their targets themselves!

[KJM]

At this rate, I believe that by century's end, the peoples of this world will be speaking two languages: Russian and German.

[Peter]

They'll attack through the Ardennes...I suspect that with the Germans attacking through the Ardennes and catching the Allies off balance, the Germans will have a very good time for four or five years, until the US enters the european war...war with Japan is inveitable...1942 at the latest.

You do undertsand that the point of this exercise is to predict alternative developments and see how the people of the day might have seen the future?

[Romulus Augustulus]

It'll become a war of attrition...the US will enter the war when Japan attacks them on the Allied side, and the resulting influx of stuff will kill the Axis. Also, apparantely, I heard a rumor that they're actually building an honest to goodness nuclear bomb...

[mattep74]

i suspect the rumors that the ardenne forrest is unguarded is a trap made by the french. When the germans go there the whole britttish and french airforce will be there and bombing the loooooong columns at will and if they manage to get out on the other side there will be lots and lots of brittish and french tanks waiting for them

SInce i am Swedish i am woundering what will happen in the north. Maybe a new Kalmarunion and then a surpriselanding in Germany like we did in 1631

Russia is overrated, they cant even beat the finns

[Romulus Augustulus]

Yes, but the Finns are crazy.

[FederationX]

Bah, the Soviet Union can hold its own.

[PaleHorseRiding]

I was talking to my cousin in who goes to the canadian Military College they wargamed in 1935 a WI using tanks u went through the ardennes forest. Turns out the Germans win really fast because as Powerful as the French Tanks are teh German Tanks are Faster and using Guderian's Book which is quite popular in Germany u never know I mean look at Poland. But thats a huge if I can see Hitler going after Soviet Union. Look How weak it is Its having problems With Finland a Country smaller than it and was/is being held off realy well. Also He also stated in Mein Kamph his book my german cousin sent me He states he wants to destroy the Soviet Union. Also Maybe its a good thing If germany wins end all this endemic war in Europe and with Germany as it biggest population and best organized why not. We would not see these stupid wars every 20 years

PS this is based on my real family history thinking at the time.

PPS also hisorical irony the cousin mentioned is Isla Koch aka butcher of Buchenwald FUBARED family tree.

[Strategos' Risk]

Ack, can't trust the Mexicans, either. Remembered what they tried back in 1917 with von Eckardt? And those Irishmen. I heard Dublin's offering U-boats safe passage to their ports.

So, who's voting Lindbergh?