Alternate powers in WWII

Related to my alternate ideologies threads-

If you think about it, WWII had some wacky governments involved. Aside from the liberal democracies and fascist authoritarian states, you also had one single communist superpower, and one militarist imperial state where the emperor was still considered a god. Doesn't that sound crazy at all?

So, what alternate version of a major power could have been in WWII? What if the United States was, say, a technocracy? Or what if Ukraine was independent and a Makhno anarchist state? What if Trotsky had settled in Republican Spain and turned it into his version of communism? A constitutional imperial state China as in Hendryk's timeline? Social Credit Canada and Synarchist Mexico double-teaming the U.S.? etc.

Got any others? How about any that are actually half-way plausible?
 
China as a constitutional monarchy with an emperor who theoretically rules the country but is really mostly for parades, while all power resides within an elected government.
 
Communist Germany is a possibility.

The crazy thing is this can put it with the Communist Axis or the Western Allies, fighting either Bolshevism or fascism, depending on the circumstances.

Actually there are basically four possibilities: Weimar Germany survives (difficult but possible) Communist Germany, Nazi Germany or a militarist, Prussian-dominated Third Reich that may or may not have a Kaiser.
 
With an early enough POD, we could have Italy as a theocracy, ruled directly by the Pope.
I imagine that would make things considerably more interesting.
 
Greater Hungary. Or simply Austria-Hungary if the Hapsburg empire was able to hold on somehow.

Ottoman Turkey is possible too, as is a ''White Russia'' if the white forces somehow pull off a win in the Russian civil war.
 
Greater Hungary. Or simply Austria-Hungary if the Hapsburg empire was able to hold on somehow.

Ottoman Turkey is possible too, as is a ''White Russia'' if the white forces somehow pull off a win in the Russian civil war.

With an early enough POD, we could have Italy as a theocracy, ruled directly by the Pope.
I imagine that would make things considerably more interesting.

China as a constitutional monarchy with an emperor who theoretically rules the country but is really mostly for parades, while all power resides within an elected government.

Wouldn't some of these make for a great strategy game? Alternate WWII with different factions and coalitions.

Say, PoD before WWI leads to Communist Germany vs. Czarist Russia. In the East, China is a restored Empire better able to resist Japan. The United States seems likely to remain neutral in Europe. The Ottomans and the Entente pick their sides carefully...
 
Now here's a lark for you all: how about, in the blue corner, a reactionary and ossified Britain in which the trappings of parliamentary democracy are a fig-leaf for a single pseudo-fascist (but broad-church) party willing to play fast-and-loose with the law and use both the carrot and the stick to maintain its hold on power, joined by a Tsarist Russia transformed into a vaguely Francoesque clerical-technocratic fascist state smacking of Black Hundreds and of a ginormous interwar Balkan monarchy, and by a Japan which is, you know, Japan; and in the red corner, a Germany where the Kaiserreich has gradually developed into a parliamentary democracy with a rather musucular executive where the old Prussian elite manages to co-operate with the Social-Democratic leadership, and a formidably modernised Qing empire.

Okay, I'm finished shamelessly plugging EdT's Fight and be Right. ;)
 
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How about a Germany led by a Jewish communist?

Um, YES?

Now here's a lark for you all: how about, in the blue corner, a reactionary and ossified Britain in which the trappings of parliamentary democracy are a fig-leaf for a single pseudo-fascist (but broad-church) party willing to play fast-and-loose with the law and use both the carrot and the stick to maintain its hold on power, joined by a Tsarist Russia transformed into a vaguely Francoesque clerical-technocratic fascist state smacking of Black Hundreds and of a ginormous interwar Balkan monarchy, and by a Japan which is, you know, Japan; and in the red corner, a Germany where the Kaiserreich has gradually developed into a parliamentary democracy with a rather musucular executive where the old Prussian elite manages to co-operate with the Social-Democratic leadership, and a formidably modernised Qing empire.

Okay, I'm finished shamelessly plugging EdT's Fight and be Right. ;)

Haaaaaa!

I am really looking forward to Thande's mid-20th century war in Look to the West, but this will take some time...

Okay going off the theocratic Italy idea, what about a Catholic theocracy encompassing Spain, Italy, and pieces of the Habsburg empire? Okay, maybe ASB, but it could just require an earlier PoD.

If we're going back far enough, we can have a surviving Holy Roman Empire taking the place of Germany. Of course, this raises interesting theoretical questions: does going back to the 16th century or whatever create sufficient butterflies to avert the massive climactic war(s) of the 20th century, or are they just on track to happen one way or another, because of the power structure of post-Medieval, post-Carolingian or post-Roman Europe?
 
Here are some ideas that I've had.

After WWI, Germany collapses into warring factions while Poland under Pilsudski beats the Soviet Union in 1920. Pilsudski leans the country toward fascism and in WWII, you have and expansionist, fascist Poland take much of the role that Germany took in OTL. Hooray for role reversal!

Fascism stays very much a Mediterranean idea. Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Greece, Egypt, and Algeria fall under fascist leaders and they are all buddy-buddy against perceived aggression by Britain and France. Ataturk takes Turkey to the Soviet camp. One thing leads to another and you get a war between the Med Pact and the Entente. Not sure how the rest of the world leans in this one.
 
The Khedivate of Egypt does better and still is an independent state running the Sudan when WWI breaks out. It joins the allies in fighting the Ottomans, and is rewarded with OTL Syria, Jordan and the Hejaz. Later, a right-wing Arab nationalist party takes over and kicks the Khedive to the curb, and begins to grumble about British Palestine (does not include the Negev) and French Lebanon, not to mention the rest of Arabia, which should be rightfully theirs...and they join the Nazis in WWII.

Bruce
 
Or Fascist US and Germany vs. the UK, France, the USSR, democratic (more or less) Italy and a more moderate Japan still friendly with the UK.

Bruce
 
Now here's a lark for you all: how about, in the blue corner, a reactionary and ossified Britain in which the trappings of parliamentary democracy are a fig-leaf for a single pseudo-fascist (but broad-church) party willing to play fast-and-loose with the law and use both the carrot and the stick to maintain its hold on power, joined by a Tsarist Russia transformed into a vaguely Francoesque clerical-technocratic fascist state smacking of Black Hundreds and of a ginormous interwar Balkan monarchy, and by a Japan which is, you know, Japan; and in the red corner, a Germany where the Kaiserreich has gradually developed into a parliamentary democracy with a rather musucular executive where the old Prussian elite manages to co-operate with the Social-Democratic leadership, and a formidably modernised Qing empire.

Okay, I'm finished shamelessly plugging EdT's Fight and be Right. ;)

Eh, I kinda like Thomas W.'s 1918 series. desperate Great Britain + democratic Kaiserreich + surviving Austro-Hungarian Empire + not-neutral Nordic League vs. Tsarist Russia + fascist Roman Pact (France, Italy, Spain, others) + obligatory Japan. While the U.S. beats up fascist Mexico in the corner.
 

For extra fun, you would appear to have a France which is a broadly pro-German :)eek:) neutral, a somewhat unorthodox royalist Italy (Gabby D'Annunzio has held the premiership...) which might be up to anything, and an America which wields its big stick in keeping the conflict out of the western hemisphere, favouring Britain in weeks when the Germans have accidentally torpedoed something and Germany in weeks when the British have, uh, accidentally, uh, misplaced some Irish political prisoners.

After WWI, Germany collapses into warring factions while Poland under Pilsudski beats the Soviet Union in 1920.

He, uh, kinda did.

If you want Poland in a villainous role, Roman Dmowski, that charming gentleman, is indispensible; having Russia collapse into China-esque warlordism in 1919 would help too.
 
He, uh, kinda did.

If you want Poland in a villainous role, Roman Dmowski, that charming gentleman, is indispensible; having Russia collapse into China-esque warlordism in 1919 would help too.
Well, yeah, I meant an even greater victory and not just the miracle on the Vistula, possibly with Poland taking territory from the Soviets.
 
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