Say Stalin is shocked at the rate at which the germans are advancing into France and knows that he will be next since he's read mein kampf and knows about lebensraum and so orders a preemptive invasion of the reich. What happens?
Say Stalin is shocked at the rate at which the germans are advancing into France and knows that he will be next since he's read mein kampf and knows about lebensraum and so orders a preemptive invasion of the reich. What happens?
what if the Soviets grabbed the Romanian oilfields?
even if they drain troops out of their sections of Poland to the point of losing it to a German counterattack, so what?
and they might be able to enlist (a new government in) Bulgaria in the enterprise?
and if everything goes poorly for the Soviets AND assuming a strong resistance by the Romanians, they could probably render the oilfields inoperable as they did (OTL) with their own fields at Maykop?
a bitter pill for Germany by 1941
what if the Soviets grabbed the Romanian oilfields?
even if they drain troops out of their sections of Poland to the point of losing it to a German counterattack, so what?
and they might be able to enlist (a new government in) Bulgaria in the enterprise?
and if everything goes poorly for the Soviets AND assuming a strong resistance by the Romanians, they could probably render the oilfields inoperable as they did (OTL) with their own fields at Maykop?
a bitter pill for Germany by 1941
After Finland, Romania would be a hard nut to crack. It was far more populous, had a much larger and well equipped military, there was bad infrastructure on the border, and major river defense lines. Plus now the Red Army was a mess after Winter War, so the Germans could pump in troops, as would the Italians without hesitation given their close relationship with Romania, slowly and the Soviets would get bogged down very quickly until greater commitments of German troops could move into Poland. The oil regions were well south of the combat zones and were protected by river lines and mountains, thus lots of defensible terrain. It would be the Odessa campaign of 1941 in reverse before the Germans go involved; it would be a bad mistake for the Soviets to attack Romanian in 1940 or 1941.
Romanian army in WW2:
http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=1734
Though lacking on the offense, in terms of defense, their military was well capable of defending well in their terrain, even with obsolete equipment, as most of what they would be facing offensively from Russia would be old equipment in 1940 or even 41, plus a Red Army that was still suffering from the Winter War. Plus they would get German and Italian help pretty quickly after a Russian invasion if absolutely necessary.
thanks as always for the maps and info.
would Italy even enter the war if Soviets were attacking from the east? (not clear from OP exactly when Stalin acts?)
my scenario (and expectation) would be the Soviets DO perform poorly but are able to damage Romanian oilfields somewhat coupled with ending oil exports to Germany that could cripple Axis operations quickly. certainly they would have zero reserves left? hampering any invasion of USSR.
if not Romania, stir the pot in Bulgaria and encourage a breakaway Serbia? really anything to delay a German invasion for a period of time AFTER they stop selling them oil, allowing their reserves to disappear.
Say Stalin is shocked at the rate at which the germans are advancing into France and knows that he will be next since he's read mein kampf and knows about lebensraum and so orders a preemptive invasion of the reich. What happens?
Well, assuming that this is in 1940, Soviet Forces are probably going to get stomped. There might be some initial 'aura of surprise', but the Soviets weren't really ready to -defend- their country until around 1942, let along attack Nazi positions.