Patton takes Prague - Capitalist Czechia, Communist Slovakia
- Thread starter Tocomocho
- Start date
Well..there would be a shift in some of the military planning no?
The Warsaw Pact would have to develop/shift a larger amount of troops into Poland for defensive purposes at the very least. Not exactly sure of the topography of the portion of Silesia that would be exposed because of a capitalist (and presumably NATO) Czechia...
Anyone with more military acumen care to comment?
The Warsaw Pact would have to develop/shift a larger amount of troops into Poland for defensive purposes at the very least. Not exactly sure of the topography of the portion of Silesia that would be exposed because of a capitalist (and presumably NATO) Czechia...
Anyone with more military acumen care to comment?
Nothing; US forces pull back to the already-agreed demarcation lines. Few more US casualties that's all.
Well then what about a slightly different conference where Czechia is granted to the US or is confirmed as a neutral like Austria? (With a presumed Communist Slovakia.)
Didn't the Soviets initially occupy Prague in 1945, then pull out a few months later? Perhaps they decide to maintain a presence in Slovakia and only withdraw from Bohemia-Moravia. Slovakia becomes a "popular democracy" and Czechia is committed to neutrality, like Austria, but still maintains close ties with the West.
I find this somewhat more likely, as the Soviets will probably occupy at least some of the Czech lands. However, if the Western Allies got to Prague, it's likely they will have taken Vienna also (or at least that the Soviets will hold Vienna and basically nothing else in Austria) so Austria is more likely to end up in NATO.
True. And the fact that the new Czech government will in all likelihood not be openly hostile to Moscow (in fact, the Czech governments of 1945-48 were very pro-Soviet and declined Marshall aid at Moscow's behest), means that the Czechs will be rather more comfortable as neutrals than Austria.
CanadianGoose
Banned
The more I look at 1945-1948 Czechoslovakia the more it seems to me that Stalin's original intention was to "finlandize" it. Czech were very friendly toward USSR in that time, but too aggressive American attempt to buy their loyalty lead to Stalin's decision to secure his "property rights" by installing puppet commie regime instead of democratic allies.
Bright day
This is quite the opposite of what many Czech and Slovak historians think. They believe the Košice goverment and the first afterwar goverment were merely convinient for expedient for Moscow. The communists spend those years on force controling police and army and setting up their own independen structers, complete with People's Courts and other stuff. Looking back at the period, one can say that the communist party of Czechoslovakia never negotiated in good faith.
CanadianGoose
Banned
You do understand that modern assessment of those events is extremely influenced by modern events, as well as by memories of 1968, don't you? Slovaks and Czech are on crusade today to prove to everyone they were no less oppressed than Poles and never been Russophiles (mortal sin in today's political life). But cold hard fact is that Czechoslovakia was the only country of Eastern Europe where Stalin allowed free elections and democratic regime for years. Neither Poland nor Hungary nor Romania or Bulgaria enjoyed such luxury.
The ironic thing is, that Czechia was the only Eastern European country in which the Communists had some chance of winning power democratically. Even if Czechia is attached to the Western sphere diplomatically and economically, there's still a chance of this happening, or at least of the Communists remaining a major player in Czech politics -- as in Italy.
Czechs are perfectly willing to admit that a lot of its elites were Russophiles.
But the facts remain, the sacking of police and military personnel without ties to communist party, setting up its own army (People's militia), harassment of independent labour unions, setting up its own independent judiciary. Czechoslovakia's postwar "democracy" was never set up to become norm. It has to be understood as a bridge from pre-war status into communist dictatorship.
Perhaps the Czech Republic becomes the country most known for "Eurocommunism" and not Italy (IIRC)?
ninebucks
Banned
The Communists in Italy weren't a major player. They were specifically excluded from any position of power, as American aid to Italy was dependent on Italy's elections returning coalitions that kept the Communists in the opposition. The Italian Communists were puppets, kept in place to maintain the illusion of democracy, while keeping a perpetually West-friendly government in Rome.
Well the fact is that Czechoslovakia's fate depends very little on armies on the ground. Beneš has accepted Moscow's yoke before any of the Big Three conferencs.
Now, if British goverment acknowledged Beneš and confirmed Czechoslovakia pre-Munich, the partition of the republic is more feasible. What fate would avail Czechia? Well pretty much everything is possible given right parametres.
Liberal capitalism was surely not in after WII in Czechoslovakia. Socialist tendencies were even much more marked in Czechia then in Slovakia. Nationalization decrets of Benes where not thought up by Communists.
So it would lead to leftis regime in someway, but not a Dictature of Proletariat, hopefully. But why then Slovakia should be Communist? Would Prague not under Moscow lead automaticaly to breaking Czechoslovakia?
So it would lead to leftis regime in someway, but not a Dictature of Proletariat, hopefully. But why then Slovakia should be Communist? Would Prague not under Moscow lead automaticaly to breaking Czechoslovakia?