Cold War without WWII

Let's just say the Weimer Republic survived and Japan didn't start anything in Asia because of the European powers breathing down their neck.

What is the relationship between the USA and USSR like and how do they progress? Do they still become the superpowers wanting global dominance as in OTL? Would either of them still been as powerful?
 
Let's just say the Weimer Republic survived and Japan didn't start anything in Asia because of the European powers breathing down their neck.

What is the relationship between the USA and USSR like and how do they progress? Do they still become the superpowers wanting global dominance as in OTL? Would either of them still been as powerful?

The USSR wouldn't have become a superpower.
 
As soon as they get nukes they are near enough a superpower, no question.

But not to the same degree, of course.
The Soviets would certainly be a member of the nuclear club and thus obtain a measure of fear/respect, but nuclear weapons aren't enough for superpower status by themselves.

It also occurs to me that since Versailles naturally makes no mention of nuclear weapons the restrictions on the Weimar military just became a lot less significant. Italy would probably try to go nuclear as well; once it became that all the major powers were getting nuclear weapons Mussolini would put a lot of effort into it. Japan would go for nukes as well sans restrictions and Hiroshima/Nagasaki legacy.

More nuclear powers could definately make things interesting...

What ends up happening with China in this scenario?
 
Let's just say the Weimer Republic survived and Japan didn't start anything in Asia because of the European powers breathing down their neck.

What is the relationship between the USA and USSR like and how do they progress? Do they still become the superpowers wanting global dominance as in OTL? Would either of them still been as powerful?

First of all both the US/USSR are going to be weaker, both absolutely and realatively.

Without WWII decolonization takes a huge step back. The colonial powers are not exhausted, were not ejected from many of their colonies, did not have to encourage military activity on the part of native populations, ect, ect.

The US did not have all economic competitors bombed flat, did not recieve bases thoughout the world, did not build up their military to a huge degree, did not have the Manhattan project.

The USSR did not conquer half of Europe. Then again they were not a bloody battle field either.

Weilmar Germany survives?

Versallies is eventually scrapped. Rearmament will happen, but war is not inevitable.

As the USSR industrializes and arms, the concern about Germany will diminish.

As anti-imperalism spreads, aided by the sovs, the UK and France move to deal with both the rebellions and the soviets who are supporting them.

I really see, at least initially the US remaining to the side of the world stage.

WHo gets the bomb first? Germany?

THat leads to a shock. Demands of lost territory?

Race for the bomb.
 
Just occurred to me, without WWII, battleships would not have been discredited. And tanks would not have been proven to be as important to battle as OTL.

People would still be thinking of trench warfare when they though of warfare, at least major european war.
 

Susano

Banned
Just occurred to me, without WWII, battleships would not have been discredited. And tanks would not have been proven to be as important to battle as OTL.

People would still be thinking of trench warfare when they though of warfare, at least major european war.

Tanks have made their impression in late WW1 already. And I do think massed tank assaults instead of tanks as infantery support will be proven in some other war somewhere. Now, battleships might hold out longer, because naturally it takes big powers with capital ships to go to war to disprove them, which is a rarer occurance.
 
Just occurred to me, without WWII, battleships would not have been discredited. And tanks would not have been proven to be as important to battle as OTL.

People would still be thinking of trench warfare when they though of warfare, at least major european war.

The superiority of these will be proven by small/proxy wars over time. Kind of like helicopters,they were definately seen as effective by the end but it took later wars to prove their worth.
 
The Soviets might not turn out as uber as they think--WW2 saw Stalin come to terms with the flaws in Red Army strategy and doctrine, and it saw the production of their serious hardware, the T-34 and all. Of course, if they play their cards right, espionage can net them some cool stuff...
 

Susano

Banned
The USSR was a huge industrial power by 1937, well before WW2. Without WW2, the great colonial empires still would have declined, and the Soviets would have emerged as a leading power.

The USSR only became a superpower once they got Eastern Europe. Without WW2, that wont happen. A Great Power it will be of course, as was the Russian Empire, but no real superpower. Without WW2, there probably will only be great powers and no superpowers around in general.
 

Nietzsche

Banned
Ooo. A Germany that dominates Europe without a massive war. I like this. I say dominates Europe because some things are inevitable in this scenario: Wiemar Germany still wanted the Corridor, and there was more than enough support for an Anschluss before Hitler came into power. And of course, we're probably going to see either a German nuke or an American one by 1947-48.
 
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