Challenge: Tuckatjveskij Head of Soviet Union

Possible? What would a Soviet head by a popular general have been like? Would he have prepared better for Hitler, among other things?
 
He was the creator of "deep operations," which caused the Nazis such havoc later on. I imagine the USSR would be much better prepared for the Nazis if they come in TTL, at least in terms of tactics, strategy, etc.

The problem is getting him into power--the Bolsheviks were VERY concerned about "Bonapartism."
 
My idea for that is he learns about the Stalin purges before they start, so starts a coup to get rid of Stalin. Don't know if that could work out but...
 
My idea for that is he learns about the Stalin purges before they start, so starts a coup to get rid of Stalin. Don't know if that could work out but...

Might work, if he had support. My concerns are that he would draw his support primarily from the army (as internal politics in the USSR worked for some time, factionalism) and this would effectively align everyone from the Party to the NKVD against him. The fact that he's ACTUALLY a part of the military and not a token outsider chosen to lead the faction.
 
Might work, if he had support. My concerns are that he would draw his support primarily from the army (as internal politics in the USSR worked for some time, factionalism) and this would effectively align everyone from the Party to the NKVD against him. The fact that he's ACTUALLY a part of the military and not a token outsider chosen to lead the faction.

Perhaps he gets the NKVD somehow on his side? He'll need it later considering how vital the intelligence service in the Soviet Union was. Question is how...
 
Power in the USSR was shared between the military (meaning the Red Army), the Communist Party, and the NKVD. Whenever one started to get too powerful (in the judgement of Stalin) the other two would cooperate to restore the balance.

This is precisely what happened; Stalin judged the Army to be too independent and took measures to bring it back into line, politically speaking. That those measures seriously weakened the Red Army precisely when its strength was needed was an unintended consequence.

For Tukhachevski (as his name is normally written in the West) to supplant Stalin will require the cooperation of the NKVD or the Communist Party. Given that Stalin was head of the Party and kept the other members on a tight rein, and periodically purged them as well, no help will be forthcoming from that quarter. Beria, who is one of Stalin's cronies, is ambitious himself, so might be persuaded to cooperate, but will probably not be willing to give first place to Tukhachevski; he will probably insist on a civilian leader, preferably himself.

A coup engineered by Tukhachevski is probably a non-starter; the Army is too closely watched and the necessary cooperation of the Party and/or NKVD will not be forthcoming. A coup engineered by Beria, on the other hand ...
 
Power in the USSR was shared between the military (meaning the Red Army), the Communist Party, and the NKVD. Whenever one started to get too powerful (in the judgement of Stalin) the other two would cooperate to restore the balance.

This is precisely what happened; Stalin judged the Army to be too independent and took measures to bring it back into line, politically speaking. That those measures seriously weakened the Red Army precisely when its strength was needed was an unintended consequence.

For Tukhachevski (as his name is normally written in the West) to supplant Stalin will require the cooperation of the NKVD or the Communist Party. Given that Stalin was head of the Party and kept the other members on a tight rein, and periodically purged them as well, no help will be forthcoming from that quarter. Beria, who is one of Stalin's cronies, is ambitious himself, so might be persuaded to cooperate, but will probably not be willing to give first place to Tukhachevski; he will probably insist on a civilian leader, preferably himself.

A coup engineered by Tukhachevski is probably a non-starter; the Army is too closely watched and the necessary cooperation of the Party and/or NKVD will not be forthcoming. A coup engineered by Beria, on the other hand ...

Is their someone in the NKVD that would want to oppose Stalin, and help Tukhachevski gain power?
 
Alternate polish campaign postings

Tuckachevsky and Stalin hated one another since they were on diferent wings of the soviet offensive against Warsaw, and when the offensive failed the left and the right flank teams accused one another of having been responsible for the defeat. So whe can imagine tha if they had been on the same flank, with Tuckachevsky as military commander and Stalin as political commissar, they could have been friends and Tuckachevsy could have been running the Red Army after the purges instead of dimwits like Buddienny and K.V. From here on the butterflies go wild, for the Red Army would have been much better run, but once Stalin died as in OTL our favourite soviet Field Marhall could become the new leader.
That would not be good for NATO. The man was way ahead of it's time when it came to operational doctrine...
 
Tuckachevsky and Stalin hated one another since they were on diferent wings of the soviet offensive against Warsaw, and when the offensive failed the left and the right flank teams accused one another of having been responsible for the defeat. So whe can imagine tha if they had been on the same flank, with Tuckachevsky as military commander and Stalin as political commissar, they could have been friends and Tuckachevsy could have been running the Red Army after the purges instead of dimwits like Buddienny and K.V. From here on the butterflies go wild, for the Red Army would have been much better run, but once Stalin died as in OTL our favourite soviet Field Marhall could become the new leader.
That would not be good for NATO. The man was way ahead of it's time when it came to operational doctrine...

I want that TL NOW!:D Sounds amazing.
 
Tuckachevsky and Stalin hated one another since they were on diferent wings of the soviet offensive against Warsaw, and when the offensive failed the left and the right flank teams accused one another of having been responsible for the defeat. So whe can imagine tha if they had been on the same flank, with Tuckachevsky as military commander and Stalin as political commissar, they could have been friends and Tuckachevsy could have been running the Red Army after the purges instead of dimwits like Buddienny and K.V. From here on the butterflies go wild, for the Red Army would have been much better run, but once Stalin died as in OTL our favourite soviet Field Marhall could become the new leader.
That would not be good for NATO. The man was way ahead of it's time when it came to operational doctrine...

That's a really good idea.
 
TL guidelines

Since I didn't have the time to write a complete timeline, here are some basic roadsigns for one

1.Red Army Mecahnization goes faster, better than OTL in 30s
2.Purges still happen, but instead of the progressive, Staff Officers getting purged the conservative, "Horses don't break down" faction is purged.
3. Transition from BT7/T28 to T34/KV1 smother/faster than OTL
4. Red Army in better shape and fully commited to deep operations leads to:
5.Much bigger defeat for the Japanese in Manchuria.
6.Finland is invaded in September 39 at the same time the soviets move into poland, and beaten way faster.
7.From the defeat of France Stalin and Tuckachevsky realise that war with Nazi Germany is inevitable and start preparing a response. When the Nazis move on Youguslavia, the USSR launches an assault on German occupied Poland while bulliyng Hungary, Rommania, etc to staying neutral. This leads to a situation not very different from the scenarios for a NATO vs WarPAct war in the early 50. The Germans will have better fighters but in smaller numbers, the Soviets have better tanks and in much larger numbers. The Nazis have to cancel the invasion of Greece and fight the Soviets to a stanstill on the Oder line. But winter is comming, and in the terrible winter of 1941 the weather will hamper the luftwaffe and favour the Soviets...
 
more roadsigns

Japan might reconsider the decision to go to war. If it does attack it will face the full weight of the US...
Churchill will have forces on the ground in "the soft underbelly of Europe..." and the temptation to move in will be great. In Vichy France the govermnent might be overthrown and require British assistance.
We could have the war ending in early 42, with a massive Soviet winter push towards Berlim. Greece and Yuguslavia are with the Brits, Hungary, Rommania, Bulgary are neutral. The Iron Courtain falls in very diferent lines...
 
If the Japanese get a severe enough curbstomping vs. the Soviets, could that discredit the militarists politically?
The Army militarists maybe. The Navy militarists would seek to use this as support for attacking the colonial powers, as it was OTL.
 
Could we see A much heavier response to Japanese attack with earlier Mechanisation & the preparation for the Nazi offensive plus the subsequent failure by the Nazis to disrupt & destroy Logistics & manufacturing infrastructure in the USSR? The production capability in this TL for the Soviet Union would be huge, They may not even need Lend lease. Could this differing turn of events mean that Manchuria could be liberated from the Japanese & become an SSR or Multiple SSR's expanding the Soviet Union itself?
 
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