World War II fought against the Soviets

297* said:

I thought of a timeline where Communism would be the enemy force, rather than Fascism. Beginning with the World War I era, Japan does not make its Twenty-One Demands on China, knowing the Allies will render it in vain, thus making Japan and China on less hostile terms. In the Washington Naval Conference, Britain continues its Anglo-Japanese Alliance while maintaining friendly relations with China, Britain and the United States putting the screws on Japan to not mouth water over China. Thus there is no invasion of China and Manchuria and no border conflicts with the Soviets in the 1930s. Meanwhile, in 1930s Europe, the Soviet Union and Germany sign an early Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. The Germans desiring an alliance with France and Britain against the Soviets, refrain from immediate aggression against the areas promised to them by the Pact. The Soviets invade Finland and Romania and annex Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia like in OTL but earlier. The Germans, trapping the Soviets, protest their actions to the British and French, leading to appeasement. The Soviets eventually begin World War II by invading Eastern Poland, the last piece of land the Germans promised to the Soviets that they hadn't taken yet. The United Kingdom, France, and Germany (not sure if Italy would join) declare war on the Soviet Union in response. The earlier mentioned Anglo-Japanese Alliance plays a part when, the strategy of a two-front war is found to be useful. Instead of invading China, the Japanese combine forces with the French and British against the Soviets and Mongolians to the Far East. The United States and China find no benefit in fighting the Soviets, causing them to stay neutral. From what I can make out of this situation is, an Anglo-French Cold War against Germany.

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Ah alright.

Firstly Japan can be restrained by USA and such diplomatically all they want but the truth is the Army had its own agenda in China. Manchuria was already japanese possession before the 21 demands, so there will be Japanese troops present at the Chinese border, and there will be skirmishes resulting in inevitable full scale war unless they retreat their troops and exposing it to Chinese aggression. They need troops there to protect the borders, plain and simple. If not against the Chinese then against Soviets and Mongolians. Chinese-Japanese tensions were at an all time high ever since the first war between them.

You propose a pacifist Germany. For that you need the Nazis not taking power. How? Who? The Weimar Republic was weak and Germany's situation was terrible. The Soviet Union would not sign any kind of pact with them, they are not stupid and would know fully well a Weimar Republic Germany couldn't back them up when deviding Eastern Europe among eachother. Certainly not be so bold to agree on splitting Poland between eachother, a Weimar republic Germany ratting them out would just have to show the pact to the allies and WWII would start with USSR totally unprepared. They couldn't win against the Finns, how are they going to beat the rest of Europe? Stalin is not an idiot. He would annex the baltic states, sure, maybe attack FInalnd sure, but not something like attack Poland.

Japan would still get utterly crushed fighting the Soviets in the East. Even without battling China at that time there is nothing to gain, except for plains and hills. it would be a waste of time resources and manpower. China might decide it a perfect opportunity to attack Manchuria and help the Soviets, Japan would be helpless to stop them.