Holding Back the Red Tide - A Czechoslovakian TL

Introduction- A Country Freed

The Czechs and Slovaks had fought against Hitler's regime in many ways, Czech paratroopers, with allied support assassinated Reinhard Heydrich and a goverment in exile was established in London. In 1942 German troops razed the village of Lidice to the ground and killed all men over the age of 16. The women and children were taken to concenration camps and killed. One of these death camps, Terezín had been liberated by American troops in May 1945. The Allied armies liberated Czechoslovakia in May 1945.
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In April, 1945 Soviet troops took Bratislava and in May, American troops took the cities of Plzen and Prague. A country that had lived in terror for the past 6 years was going to be free. The Russian soldiers were welcomed into Slovakia with open arms, they were cheered on the streets and given flowers by local women. In Prague the Americans were hailed as the bringers of peace, as their tanks rolled down the streets of the city people cried with joy. The liberation of the city was messy though, 1694 Czechs had died during the Prague uprising and many of the Nazi colaborators had been hanged or had commited suicide. In Pilsen the American heroes enjoyed Czech beer and were given gifts. The 6 years of Nazi rule had been bloody, Czechoslovakia felt betrayed by their Western allies and the Munich agreement still haunted the country. Emil Hácha, the president of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, who had been imprisoned by the Germans in 1945, had died in prison under mysterious circumstances and the goverment in exile in London, led by Edvard Benes was now ready to lead the country. Czechoslovakia helped the Allies during the war at Tobruk and the Battle of Britian. Now the country would need to get through the next decade and establish itself as a leading democracy.
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Oh my giddy aunt! The butterflies
You don't need much. Even in OTL at Slovakia Democratic Party won 63 % in first and last free election after war in 1946 and beat Commies. In Czech lands commies got 43 % and in Moravia around 34 %. So all others parties could push commies to opposition. With Prague liberated by US Army, election could end even worst for communists.
 
Yeah, what doomed Czechoslovakia was not the arrival of the Red Army. I understand they had left by 1946 and was not in position to help the Czech Communists. What doomed them was that non-Communist parties still thought that the Germans were the primary threat postwar, and thus leaned towards the Soviet Union to guarantee them, not the West. The Czechs caught on too late this was not the case, and Benes botched the governmental crisis in 1948 which lead to the coup.

If Benes had handled the crisis better, Czechoslovakia would have remained non-Communist. At worst, as a neutral along the lines of Austria or Finland. Or possibly even joining NATO.

The one thing an American presence in Prague could do is prevent Communists from seizing key positions in local government and militia, and perhaps enable non-Communists from getting some key senior positions. Thus later on the Communists aren't able to be as well placed which enables the non-Communists to retain power even if Benes makes some tactical mistakes.
 
With the Soviets occuping Slovakia, there will be a not so velvet divorce. t The Czech Republic will be a front line NATO member, with big US military bases.
 
Part 1 Vote Comrades, Vote
The Yalta conference had decided the direction Czechoslovakia would head in for the half a century. At Yalta, Churchill and Roosevelt had pressed Stalin to let American troops liberate Prague, while Russian troops would liberate Bratislava. The country would not be split apart and would remain in the western sphere of influence. Stalin in return demanded Austria, which the British and Americans reluctantly gave them. Stalin also promised free elections in Poland.
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After the war the Goverment in London returned to Czechoslovakia and was briefly based in the Slovakian city of Košice although it later returned to Prague. After the interm goverment had settled it created a new electoral system. The country was divided into 28 constituencies which had multiple members. 150 members were from Bohemia, 81 from Moravia and Silesia and 69 from Slovakia. Elections were to be held in 1946. Prior to the elections America had promised to implement the Marshall Plan in the Czech Republic. This had been welcomed by the Czechoslovak citizens. Although the Czechs had not forgotten about the betrayal at Munich they favoured the Democratic Parties. The Communists, who had fought against the Nazis, were led by Klement Gottwald. In Slovakia KSČ ( The Czechoslovakian Communist Party)was popular due to the liberation of Bratislava by Red Army troops.The Elections ended badly for KSČ. In Slovakia the Anti-Communist Democratic Party got 67% percent of the vote amounting to 52 seats. KSČ and the Slovakian Communists were crushed with the KSS (the Slovakian Communist Party) getting only 12 seats. Jan Šrámek, who served as Prime Minister in the Goverment in Exile was leader of the Czechoslovak People's Party. This party was anti-communist and won 57 seats.

The final results were:
(In Seats)
Czechoslovak National Socialist Party 71
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia 65
Czechoslovak People's Party 57
Democratic Party 52
Czechoslovak Social Democracy 38
Communist Party of Slovakia 12
Freedom Party 3
Labour Party 2

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The country would not be split apart and would remain in the western sphere of influence. Stalin in return demanded Austria, which the British and Americans reluctantly gave them.

Have you had a look at a map? That makes just a very confusing Iron Curtain!
 
Wow, if Czechoslovakia is stretching that much into the flesh of the Reds, one could wonder why almost all of its neighbors would be red nonetheless.
 
I wonder how a democratic Czechoslovakia will change the expulsion of German? As it's democratic, maybe some more of the Anti-Nazi Germans are allowed to stay. Also it could have interesting consequences, when all those anti-communist Austrians and germans expelled from elsewhere try to flee to the gateway of the west.
 
Swapping Czechoslovakia for Austria should make for a more interesting Cold War.I a m definitely interested to see where you take this timeline.

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With the Soviets occuping Slovakia, there will be a not so velvet divorce. t The Czech Republic will be a front line NATO member, with big US military bases.
What Soviet occupying Slovakia? Soviet army withdrew from Czechoslovakia in 1945/46. There was not Soviet army on Czechoslovak soil during Communist putch in February 1948.
 
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