In the immediate aftermath of German in May 1945, at the behest of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the British War Cabinet's Joint Planning Staff developed a plan called "Operation Unthinkable." This plan was the result of concern about the enormous size of Soviet forces deployed in Europe, coupled with concerns about Josef Stalin's intentions regarding both the lands which Soviet forces occupied in Eastern Europe and a possible future invasion of Western Europe. Basically, the plan called for military action to "impose upon Russia the will of the United States and the British Empire," by which it was meant "a square deal for Poland," and whatever other war objectives the Western powers might decide upon. The plan operated on the following assumptions...
1) Hostilities would begin on July 1, 1945.
2) It was assumed that Russia would ally itself to Japan.
3) In addition to British and American forces, use would be made of 100,000 or more German troops and remaining German military equipment and industrial capacity, as well as the Polish armed forces. Oddly, no mention was made of the French or other allied forces.
In OTL, the plan was rejected by the British Chief of Staffs Committee, and nothing came of it. But what if it had been approved, and the Western allies attacked Soviet forces in Eastern Europe on July 1, 1945? Lets assume also that Russia does indeed ally itself with Japan within a few days afterward.
A few issues immediately come to mind.
1) Does the atomic bomb still get dropped on Japan, or is it used against Russia instead?
2) Russian tanks were generally superior to those of the Western Allies, but Russia also heavily depended on Western lend-lease supplies for things like trucks, radios, down to even things like boots and shoes for the infantry. Can the Russians chew up the allied armies before they start to run out of steam due to lack of resupply?
3) The airpower of the Western Allies could prove critical. They will almost certainly dominate the skies. Fighter sweeps could make supplying the Red Army even more problematic by shooting up trains, strafing truck convoys, bombing bridges, etc. Not to mention the heavy bombers which could prove devastating to Russian rear area operations.
So, how do you think all this plays out? What kind of world comes out of it? Is the world spared 50 years of Cold War? Do Communist regimes still take over large parts of the world?
1) Hostilities would begin on July 1, 1945.
2) It was assumed that Russia would ally itself to Japan.
3) In addition to British and American forces, use would be made of 100,000 or more German troops and remaining German military equipment and industrial capacity, as well as the Polish armed forces. Oddly, no mention was made of the French or other allied forces.
In OTL, the plan was rejected by the British Chief of Staffs Committee, and nothing came of it. But what if it had been approved, and the Western allies attacked Soviet forces in Eastern Europe on July 1, 1945? Lets assume also that Russia does indeed ally itself with Japan within a few days afterward.
A few issues immediately come to mind.
1) Does the atomic bomb still get dropped on Japan, or is it used against Russia instead?
2) Russian tanks were generally superior to those of the Western Allies, but Russia also heavily depended on Western lend-lease supplies for things like trucks, radios, down to even things like boots and shoes for the infantry. Can the Russians chew up the allied armies before they start to run out of steam due to lack of resupply?
3) The airpower of the Western Allies could prove critical. They will almost certainly dominate the skies. Fighter sweeps could make supplying the Red Army even more problematic by shooting up trains, strafing truck convoys, bombing bridges, etc. Not to mention the heavy bombers which could prove devastating to Russian rear area operations.
So, how do you think all this plays out? What kind of world comes out of it? Is the world spared 50 years of Cold War? Do Communist regimes still take over large parts of the world?
wouldn't do it.