A small world war two?

What if Hitler decided that Soviet should be dealt with first, and leave France and British for later, would this result in a smaller regional war instead of a war that spans across the globe?
 
World War II is often described as a series of wars all categorized into one big one, the Napoleonic wars are a good example. Geographically Hitler can't attack the USSR without making the West angry.
 
It would be interesting to see how this would go. The soviets obviously wouldn't be ready, but I doubt the Germans could actually make it to Moscow. There would be a long, bloody war, and the west would probably supply the soviets.
 

CalBear

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If it's just a regional war, wouldn't that sort of eliminate that whole "World War" moniker?:confused:

What made WW I & WW II "world wars" was that they occurred all over the world (yes, I know it's obvious, but..) A 1939 war as you describe would be the "European War", or the "Hitler War". You need to get the Pacific Ocean & Western Hemisphere involved if it's to be a World War.
 
buildup-to-world-war-2-23.jpg

Ahem how?
 
It would be hard to see that happening.

First, the reasons that the German military commanders allowed Hitler to attack the USSR at all was that he had managed to pull off so many miracle victories, one of which was the near instant defeat of France. If Hitler had tried to build up for a eastern thrust with an unmolested France behind them, the German generals would have quietly disposed of the troublesome Austrian corporal.

Second, the French and British simply wouldn't have been able to restrain themselves: They'd have rolled into Germany with the Germans tied down in the Soviet Union. There was a reason that German staff and planning officers had been afraid of the two front war for decades, but deeper into that fear, they were more worried about the French still being functional than the Russians.
 
Geography is an important question. I'd addressed it before, but Germany needs a land route to attack the Soviets. Figure that mowing over Poland would not be acceptable to the West and would likely provoke a war.

So you have five routes between the Soviets and the Germans:

Finland and Southwest
: While Finland has claims on Soviet Territory, I don't see them launching a war against the Soviet Union for them. If the Soviets decide to abuse Finland first, it would probably support this offensive--but that is a contingency that is not likely to happen. The Soviets have little ground to give before Leningrad, but grabbing Ukraine or Moscow with this position is unlikely, and Leningrad is a tough nut to crack.

Baltic States: These nations are not going to support Germany diplomatically, not after the whole Freikorps thing tried to make them German Puppets. Lithuania was bullied out of the Memel Region--but even without Memel, the Baltics would not support a German attack. Germany MIGHT be able attack the Baltics without a reprisal from the UK and France, but it still has the next problem to consider:

Poland: More than any other choice on this list, Poland doesn't want to get involved and it has nothing to gain from a war in the East (Its satisfied already, after the Polish Soviet war of the 1920s). Poland MIGHT give transit rights across the Corridor under very limited circumstances, but the Germans would not have the wide front they enjoyed through negotiations with the Poles. Attacking Poland drags the UK and France into the fight.

Romania: The Pro-Allied nation of Romania is not going to support Germany as long as France is still standing. Attacking Romania is likely to augur French and British Wrath as well.

Turkey: Plausible in a diplomatic sense: The Turks want to have Armenia back, minus the Armenians. Not Happening any way shape or form militarily, as Germany has no way to supply Turkey satisfactorily, nor could a German army in Turkey hope to drive all the way from Kars to Moscow.

Geographically, WW2 would be a farce if the allies didn't get involved early on, and there's no way it could happen without them getting involved.
 
Is it possible with a Sealionesqe oversea assult toward Leningrad and/or a German military expedision in China attacking USSR with neutral allies?
 
a German military expedision in China attacking USSR with neutral allies?

Germany wouldnt have the sealift, also i suspect the western navies would make a move to prevent the hypothetical forces reaching China...
 
Also, it would be rather obvious to everyone what Hitler was trying if he moved a force into Manchukuko... unlike on the treaty line in OTL, Hitler has no reason to be sending entire armies to some Japanese puppet state.

For that matter, even if Hitler asked, would Japan accept? They were neutral towards the Soviets till near the end of OTL WW2
 
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