AHC: Allies vs Commitern WW2

How do you make World War 2 between

Commitern

Germany
USSR

V.S.

Allies

Japan
United Kingdom
France
USA

Other countries could join either side as well but those are just the minimum.
They don't need to join off the bat. Plus PoD must be after World War 1
 

Tovarich

Banned
My apologies for this half-arsed attempt, Nikky :eek:

I think getting Germany involved with Comintern is the most difficult part of your challenge, so I'm just going to go with Luxemborg/Liebnicht not being brutally murdered by the Freikorps (the butterflies there alone have enormous wings!) and the KPD become the first 'port of call' for disaffected German youth.

Regarding the 'Allies', keeping Japan alongside UK/France seems comparatively simple: keep the already existing UK/Japanese naval treaty going, and allow Japan favourable trade terms for oil/rubber from British/French imperial territories.

As for the spark that kicks-off WWII, is it in any way possible for 'the West' to adopt a 'Jack London' view of China, and therefore be sympathetic to attrocities committed in Manchuria by Japan?
If so, then a breakout of hostility between USSR and Japan over borders may begin TTL's WWII.

Again, I'm sorry how half-baked this post is, Nikky, but maybe it'll provoke some of the more knowledgeable board members into action!
 
Since we need a POD in the '20s to get a communist Germany, we can also effect some changes in Japan to get them on the side of the Allies. If you can somehow reduce the impact that the economic crash of the early '30s has on Japan, you'll be able to limit the influence that the militarist factions wielded over in terms of hypernationalism in the government's foreign policy adventurism, which could be used to explain a decision to not invade Manchuria.
 
Who would be most likely to lead this Communist Germany?
and what other countries would be likely swayed into the Commitern
 
During the Soviet-Polish War, the Soviets diverted soldiers toward the Polish Corridor with the goal of taking it and giving it to Germany, who they theorized would be their ally in a wider revision of the Versailles Treaty.

Perhaps in TTL this is pulled off without somehow provoking a Franco-British attack on Germany--maybe the Germans play up the anti-Communism card to justify occupying it "ahead" of the Soviet troops.

Also in OTL, I think the Soviets had diverted troops in Poland toward Hungary to support the Communists there, although given the timing, they might not have gotten there in time to stop Admiral Horthy from overturning the Reds there.

(Of course, if there were enough of them, they could overthrow Horthy and take revenge.)

Best-case scenario for the Soviets is Red Hungary and a new partition of Poland. The Baltic states can be rolled up later, although the Germans might want a piece of that pie too.

This doesn't lead to a Communist Germany, although the Soviets as allies might weaken domestic German anti-Communism--they'd be more inclined to view the USSR as a friend.

That might lead to Communism being stronger in Germany in TTL and an eventual Communist takeover, or at least the KPD having a role in the government.

Failing that, you could have a *WWII between the USSR and a non-Communist Germany--say the Germans want Anschluss and the Soviets want Constantinople and to spread Communist generally and that means war with France and Britain.

About Japan, with the Soviets being scarier in TTL, maybe the British insist on retaining the Anglo-Japanese alliance. Given the bad blood between Russia and Japan, the West might see Japan as something necessary to contain the USSR and might tolerate their activities to a degree--perhaps Manchuria but not China proper.
 

MSZ

Banned
Soviet victory in the Polish-Bolshevik War could easily fullfil the challenge. Germany goes communist, but doesn't enter the French-occupied Ruhr. A ceasefire between the western allies and the alternate Germano-Russian Soviet Union takes place, with the Comintern preparing for another war, which starts at any point. France and Britain get involved almost immediatly, Japan once it realises how much of a threat the SU is. The US might join at some point as well.
 
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