1938: No purges of the best Red Army commanders.
1939: Stalin decides that a self-serving agreement with Germany will be to his advantage; R-M pact goes forward.
1940; Red Army imposes a communist government on Finland. With her north Flank secure, Stalin's spies see that the Germans are massing for an attack on Western Europe. In May 1940, they begin their offensive. Within two weeks, the Soviets opportunistically attack Germany.
1942: Germany defeated. With France reluctantly staying in the fight in the West and the Red Army steamrolling the weaker forces aligned against them, Germany is split into occupation zones.
1943-5: The Soviet Union's sphere of influence now includes Finland, Hungary, Romania, Poland and former Prussia, as well as "Slovakia" in their control. Tensions with the west are rising, with the Soviets planning a similar grab of Japanese territories in the Far East.