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It's October 1940. Italy has just invaded Greece. Stalin shuffles off the mortal coil, leaving in charge: you. Your goal is to get the Soviet Union through the rest of World War II in the best shape you can.

a) You have all your historic knowledge, however if you reveal it you will probably get deposed and put in a rubber room.

b) As soon as you take action that differs from what Stalin did historically, you raise the possibility of butterflies that alter events in the time-line. That means that your ability to foretell the future becomes less and less useful as you make decisions.

c) Realistically, you don't have Stalin's absolute power. You're leading a world class den of snakes in people like Beria. Your army is cluttered with people with no military ability but who were non-threatening to Stalin.

d) You can't count on a particular date for Barbarossa, if it happens.

e) Barbarossa is not inevitable, but it is extremely likely.

f) British and US support is extremely likely, but not inevitable if you screw up badly enough on the PR front. If you do extremely well early on, you may find Allied aid becoming scarce and token. The Brits especially won't be too thrilled about the possibility of the Soviets ending up on the English Channel in early 1942, for example.

g) You can't count on the Soviet population reacting the same way to your leadership that it did to Stalin's. That's the default, but fear of Stalin was pervasive, along with hatred in some circles. Fear of you is not as automatic. Hatred may or may not be there.

So, what do you think? Can hindsight that may or may not be reliable help you do better? What do you change? How does it work out for you?
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