Admiral Halsey
Banned
Your challenge with a PoD no earlier then D-Day is to get the Wallies in Berlin before the Soviets. Bonus Points if the Soviets aren't in any part of Germany.
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AHC: Wallies in Berlin before the Soviets
- Thread starter Admiral Halsey
- Start date
Wait, so we only have pre-D-Day PODs to work with? That is too easy. Only having to work with post D-Day POD's would be much harder.
Only one possibility leaps out at me. And that is the Valkyrie coup is better planned and ultimately successful. The attempt at a conditional surrender falls flat, of course, and ultimately the leadership decides that their first priority is to keep the Red Army as far away from Berlin as possible and let the Western Allies take everything before they surrender. They throw everything they can eastwards and order what they can not transfer to surrender to the WAllies with as little resistance as possible.
The Red Army likely still takes all of Germany east of the Oder in this though.
The Red Army likely still takes all of Germany east of the Oder in this though.
If the pod is after D Day [after 6-10 June 1944], maybe a less damaging Operation Bagration might do it. Or the Germans take troops from Norway and/or [more likely] Italy and the Balkans. Other possibilities include the D Day and Western Front afterwards going [way] better for the Allies or the Soviets doing worse [or getting distracted by secondary fronts such as Finland, stubborn Balkan Axis countries fighting on or others]. Battle of the Bulge and Operation Nordwind cancelled or increase in defences against the German Soviet front might be the latest pod, if doable.
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Paul V McNutt
Banned
To have an impact, you have to get the Wallies there before the occupation zones agreement is signed.
usertron2020
Donor
Or perhaps Hitler is gravely wounded and takes too long in taking back power, causing a temporary collapse on the Western Front. Perhaps leading to surrenders in the fortified port areas, clearing out logistical logjams, forcing the cancellation of the Ardennes offensive, and allowing an easier and earlier Rhine crossing. Maybe Market-Garden works? If Hitler is seen to be at death's door, only the fear of the Soviets will keep them fighting.
IDK that the kind of garrison troops in the Balkans, Norway, and Denmark will make much of a difference in the real world of warfare on the Russian Front. Security and static divisions would get eaten for lunch by the Red Army.
OTOH, a disabled Hitler MIGHT mean less "no retreat" orders, allowing for a more elastic defense in the east, which would give the Heer a helluva respite.Eisenhower was willing to have US and British troops extend into areas ultimately destined for Soviet occupation, and if say the Russians are still crossing the Vistula while the WAllies are sitting on the Elbe then they can't stay there for long.
Agreed if you mean that Hitler would permit retreats. If the troops from the Balkans and Scandinavia are weaker than the average German troops on the Eastern Front, why not send them to the Western and Italian fronts and reinforce Finland and Army Groups North, Center and South with the better quality troops? This permits [along with retreat allowed] the Germans to have more troops for Army Group Center and keeps the Soviets busy, especially if the Balkan countries continue fighting.Or perhaps Hitler is gravely wounded and takes too long in taking back power, causing a temporary collapse on the Western Front. Perhaps leading to surrenders in the fortified port areas, clearing out logistical logjams, forcing the cancellation of the Ardennes offensive, and allowing an easier and earlier Rhine crossing. Maybe Market-Garden works? If Hitler is seen to be at death's door, only the fear of the Soviets will keep them fighting.
IDK that the kind of garrison troops in the Balkans, Norway, and Denmark will make much of a difference in the real world of warfare on the Russian Front. Security and static divisions would get eaten for lunch by the Red Army.
Eisenhower was willing to have US and British troops extend into areas ultimately destined for Soviet occupation, and if say the Russians are still crossing the Vistula while the WAllies are sitting on the Elbe then they can't stay there for long.
[Maybe not the troops in Norway due to shipping and plane issues, iron ore and mines and logistics involved, but if possible, they can make the journey to Finland and [permitting] by ferry or small boats to Estonia. If for the Western and Italian Fronts, unfortunately, interception by the Allied navies and aircraft over sea and air and possible counterattack in Norway, plus the fact they would be fighting against the Western Allies, not the Soviets, won't meet the requirement and even if offensive [at least panzers and planes, plus elite troops] could be sent to the east, the process probably uses more fuel. Permitting that Hitler allows retreats from unstrategic territories, which is unlikely. And, as stated before, logistics and even more for the transportation and weapons.]
cubefreak123
Banned
Well if they do get to Berlin before the Soviets via the means other posters have posited then the impact really won't hit until after the war. The occupation zones may not really change but you'd have a lot more Germans and their resources fleeing to the WAllies occupation zones. That means that the Soviets don't get much in the way of German scientists or their research and equipment. The Soviet nuke and rocket programs are probably pushed back by a number of years because of that. It could also lead to a lot more of the stolen art that's still missing and assumed to be in Russian hands getting back to the rightful owners (or a museum).