In a couple of other threads, I had talked about a better German Strategy achieving hegemony in Europe, in threads that discussed wildly different ideas (and as a consequence, were ignored). Each thread moved well away from Hitler's stated intentions in Mein Kampf, but I think the right move is for Germany to get away from Hitler and Nazism all together.
In terms of Government, I propose that the Red Baron; von Richthofen; becomes military leader of Germany--The Nazi Firebrands might be crushed or they might be a nuisance. The KPD, in comparison, has been outlawed. In any case, Richthofen has replaced the ailing Hindenburg as President; an allied politican becomes Kanzler.
As is often the case, a military government decides to answer problems at home by starting a war with another country. But Richtofen is not Adolf Hitler, and he understand the situation in Europe far better than Hitler does.
But who to target for this kind of victorious war? Some choices should be entirely discarded. Fighting the Western Allies a second time can not possibly lead to a German victory--even if France were somehow defeated (which they were not in 1914), Germany has no answers for defeating the United Kingdom. The Submarine blockaded of the Isle of Britian had ultimately provoked a military response from the United States that proved insurmountable.
If fighting France could only be won in a long, difficult war, and the UK could not be beaten at all, also out of the running would be attacking a Benelux country or Denmark--Democratic countries that might not put up much of a fight on their own but would likely draw countries that could.
This left two options--going East, or going South. But going East posed other problems as well. Poland's army was considerable, and beyond Poland is a country of essentially endless size--the Soviet Union. Fortunately for Germany, the Soviet Union is reclusive on the world stage (in actuality, it was murdering its own people by the hundreds of thousands).
To be fair, Richtofen has some idea of how bad the situation is in the Soviet Union. But there is at least one simple maxim that comes to mind--never interrupt an enemy while they are making a Mistake. If Stalin decides to rip his own foundation out from under his own feet, so much the better. But unless the Soviets toppled themselves, the price would be millions of German men and boys and the likely result would be similar to WW1--the Allies would stop Germany from collecting its spoils and these loses would be in vain.
This leaves going south as an option. Austria--a country mostly German in ethnicity--had been forbidden to united with Germany under the Treaty of Versallies. But Richtoften's Foreign Minister saw through the letter of the law to the spirit of the Allies. It would not be easy for them to justify denying "national self-determination" to the people of Austria. Austria, however, was backed by the erratic Italian midget dictator, Benito Mussolini.
And so, Germany would slowly (at about half the pace of OTL) rearm, using a variety of pretexts, such as fighting a communist insurgency (an exaggeration but not an outright lie), national defense, and that Versallies was an unjust treaty. Although France and the United Kingdom had every right to be upset over this situation, certain actions weren't taken.
Germany didn't even bother building a navy, and the German Rhineland remained demilitarized. With the Military Junta's long term plan in mind, negotiations with Poland for a rail line to East Prussia via Danzig were successful, as were negotiations with Czechloslovkia for ensuring the well being of the German minority in the country. With such negotiations in play, the Sudenten Germans would play a critical role in keeping Prague neutral in the coming showdown over Austria.
Meanwhile, the Duce was getting into serious trouble. A Civil War in Spain led to heavy Italian involvement in that crisis. A small Balkan country, Albania, was outright annexed by Italy. But most provocatively of all, Italy invaded Ethiopia. Against a far more modern opponent, the Ethiopians had little chance of winning.
But they could be a pressure issue. Ultimately, Italy was the one country in Europe that Germany could be fully confident of defeating in a fight. The addition of tiny Hungary to Germany's list of enemies would be a non-starter, but Italy's betrayal of its allies and its subsequent failure to achieve a meaningful victory woud be long remembered. Germany, of course, had the benefit of excellent officers and commanders on its side. Italy would have no such advantage.
By the time Germany declared to the world that it was going to unite with Austria in 1940 unilaterally, only two countries would raise an objection. The first, Hungary, was informed that Germany was willing to fight a war over this issue--and made the correct decision to back down.
Italy, now embargoed for its attack against Ethiopia and entirely lacking in friends, finds its bluff called. Mussolini's resultant declaration of war against Germany would be the greatest mistake of his career, not that would remain intact for much longer.
With the world supporting a German right to self determination over a blustering fool's right to forge an empire, Germany need never have worried as much as it had over the consequences of the war. And to their great surprise, the Italian Army fought with even less skill and competence than the German Wehrmacht had even dared to believe.
Germany had superior aircraft and numbers, as well as better gear for its infantry and better officers. But what was not counted upon was how very unprepared for a war Mussolini was. The Annexation of Austria occured in March of 1940. One year and a day later, the Italian Government was forced to evacuate Rome in the face of the advancing Wehrmacht. Owing to the inevitable, Italy would be forced to surrender unconditionally to Germany.
The Final peace would leave Germany not only with Austria, but also with Venice, Fruili and Lombardy. Albania was liberated, Libya was partitioned between France and the UK as a German appeasement of Western unhappiness with the war, and Ethiopia was given its independece--and Somalia and Erithea.
The Red Baron had won another war, and now could direct his efforts to winning the peace that the addition of Northern Italy and Austria would have provided him...
In terms of Government, I propose that the Red Baron; von Richthofen; becomes military leader of Germany--The Nazi Firebrands might be crushed or they might be a nuisance. The KPD, in comparison, has been outlawed. In any case, Richthofen has replaced the ailing Hindenburg as President; an allied politican becomes Kanzler.
As is often the case, a military government decides to answer problems at home by starting a war with another country. But Richtofen is not Adolf Hitler, and he understand the situation in Europe far better than Hitler does.
But who to target for this kind of victorious war? Some choices should be entirely discarded. Fighting the Western Allies a second time can not possibly lead to a German victory--even if France were somehow defeated (which they were not in 1914), Germany has no answers for defeating the United Kingdom. The Submarine blockaded of the Isle of Britian had ultimately provoked a military response from the United States that proved insurmountable.
If fighting France could only be won in a long, difficult war, and the UK could not be beaten at all, also out of the running would be attacking a Benelux country or Denmark--Democratic countries that might not put up much of a fight on their own but would likely draw countries that could.
This left two options--going East, or going South. But going East posed other problems as well. Poland's army was considerable, and beyond Poland is a country of essentially endless size--the Soviet Union. Fortunately for Germany, the Soviet Union is reclusive on the world stage (in actuality, it was murdering its own people by the hundreds of thousands).
To be fair, Richtofen has some idea of how bad the situation is in the Soviet Union. But there is at least one simple maxim that comes to mind--never interrupt an enemy while they are making a Mistake. If Stalin decides to rip his own foundation out from under his own feet, so much the better. But unless the Soviets toppled themselves, the price would be millions of German men and boys and the likely result would be similar to WW1--the Allies would stop Germany from collecting its spoils and these loses would be in vain.
This leaves going south as an option. Austria--a country mostly German in ethnicity--had been forbidden to united with Germany under the Treaty of Versallies. But Richtoften's Foreign Minister saw through the letter of the law to the spirit of the Allies. It would not be easy for them to justify denying "national self-determination" to the people of Austria. Austria, however, was backed by the erratic Italian midget dictator, Benito Mussolini.
And so, Germany would slowly (at about half the pace of OTL) rearm, using a variety of pretexts, such as fighting a communist insurgency (an exaggeration but not an outright lie), national defense, and that Versallies was an unjust treaty. Although France and the United Kingdom had every right to be upset over this situation, certain actions weren't taken.
Germany didn't even bother building a navy, and the German Rhineland remained demilitarized. With the Military Junta's long term plan in mind, negotiations with Poland for a rail line to East Prussia via Danzig were successful, as were negotiations with Czechloslovkia for ensuring the well being of the German minority in the country. With such negotiations in play, the Sudenten Germans would play a critical role in keeping Prague neutral in the coming showdown over Austria.
Meanwhile, the Duce was getting into serious trouble. A Civil War in Spain led to heavy Italian involvement in that crisis. A small Balkan country, Albania, was outright annexed by Italy. But most provocatively of all, Italy invaded Ethiopia. Against a far more modern opponent, the Ethiopians had little chance of winning.
But they could be a pressure issue. Ultimately, Italy was the one country in Europe that Germany could be fully confident of defeating in a fight. The addition of tiny Hungary to Germany's list of enemies would be a non-starter, but Italy's betrayal of its allies and its subsequent failure to achieve a meaningful victory woud be long remembered. Germany, of course, had the benefit of excellent officers and commanders on its side. Italy would have no such advantage.
By the time Germany declared to the world that it was going to unite with Austria in 1940 unilaterally, only two countries would raise an objection. The first, Hungary, was informed that Germany was willing to fight a war over this issue--and made the correct decision to back down.
Italy, now embargoed for its attack against Ethiopia and entirely lacking in friends, finds its bluff called. Mussolini's resultant declaration of war against Germany would be the greatest mistake of his career, not that would remain intact for much longer.
With the world supporting a German right to self determination over a blustering fool's right to forge an empire, Germany need never have worried as much as it had over the consequences of the war. And to their great surprise, the Italian Army fought with even less skill and competence than the German Wehrmacht had even dared to believe.
Germany had superior aircraft and numbers, as well as better gear for its infantry and better officers. But what was not counted upon was how very unprepared for a war Mussolini was. The Annexation of Austria occured in March of 1940. One year and a day later, the Italian Government was forced to evacuate Rome in the face of the advancing Wehrmacht. Owing to the inevitable, Italy would be forced to surrender unconditionally to Germany.
The Final peace would leave Germany not only with Austria, but also with Venice, Fruili and Lombardy. Albania was liberated, Libya was partitioned between France and the UK as a German appeasement of Western unhappiness with the war, and Ethiopia was given its independece--and Somalia and Erithea.
The Red Baron had won another war, and now could direct his efforts to winning the peace that the addition of Northern Italy and Austria would have provided him...
).