DBWI: Axis Japan, Allied USSR

[Dolan]

1) Manchuria remaining part of Japan was not entirely a case of Japan simply refusing to give China something back. A vast majority in the province much preferred the rule of foreigners who at least were somewhat in touch with them to Chiang's corruption and despotism. Indeed, this fact was cited by the UK early on in the Cold War.

Manchu people's loyalty nowadays, at least technically, still lies to the Kingly House of Aisin-Gioro (Qing). The later just happened to be Vassal of the Japanese Emperor, and Japanese investment and economic development did helped them going from one of the poorest region of China into one of the richest developed parts of the World.

You just don't bite the benevolent hand that led and fed you, that's why Anglo-Japanese bloc thrives despite the best American effort to undermine them.

 

[Duke Andrew of Dank]

You just don't bite the benevolent hand that led and fed you, that's why Anglo-Japanese bloc thrives despite the best American effort to undermine them.

Or at least they did, since mind you the US and the Anglo-Nippon bloc are finally at peace.

 

[Duke Andrew of Dank]

I also think people should talk more about the consequences of Eastern Europe's future had the USSR been allied.

One of the most obvious ones would be that Stalin would not have allowed Hitler to set up extermination camps in the Ukraine or Russia. The former was mainly as a way for Stalin to deal with his own "undesirables" - namely, Ukranians.

 

[Duke Andrew of Dank]

Another thing that comes to mind is how little the ANZACs are appreciated when fighting on the China front. Especially when you consider that most Commonwealth forces were in the Afghan front - whenever you read about allied forces in China other than the US, Japan, and the RoC they never seem to come up.

 

[Duke Andrew of Dank]

Been a while since I last posted, so I thought that I'd go through some additional thoughts on the East Asia theater.

- Other people on this thread say that it was the Afghan Front that cost the Axis their victory. While that may have been true for Germany and Hungary, I think it was the China front that cost the Soviets their chances. Most of the time, they left Europe to Germany and rarely bothered to send reinforcements to the Afghan Front, instead spending them all on a front where, even in spite of the initial victories almost claiming everything in China except Hong Kong, things quickly went downhill thanks to America's quick action to start fighting alongside the Allies. Not helping matters was that by the end of the war, those still under the PRC's reign saw them as mere puppets for a new, horrendous Russian Empire.

- I'd say that if anything, Japan's "Wall of Water" strategy was actually better than what most historians credit it for. The navy knew Japan could never hold Manchukuo, and decided to simply evacuate whoever they thought would be a target for Soviet genocides and general mass murders to either Japan itself or Formosa. Whereas the military the was left focused mainly on using Korea as a cushion so that the Soviet forces would have a harder time reaching Japan.

- The communist uprising of Ho Cinh Minh in French Indochina, and their support for communist rebellion in Thailand would have only delayed the inevitable of the UK simply going there and re-installing the previous governments.

 

[Duke Andrew of Dank]

@TwoRivers and I once talked about that PT-109 from Jimmy Dean about JFK. Makes me wonder what Dean would have called "The Godless Freaks of Russia" if the destroyer had been Japanese and not Soviet.

 

[Duke Andrew of Dank]

Hello eveyone, sorry I've been away for long. But a thought also struck me while I was busy in culinary school.

IOTL, the west's (relatively) newfound obsession with Thai cuisine began in Australia during and immediately after the war. Apparently this was because when the US entered the war, most ANZAC forces were instead sent to fight on the Indo-Afghan front while American forces filled the gap they left in the Sino-Korea theater. Naturally, most of these ANZACs headed for India had to get through Thailand's south on a stop over. Meaning that they grew accustomed to enjoying meels that felt Indian, but could still be adjusted for more variety due to Thailand not having India's religious dietary restrictions.

@AltoRegnant @SealTheRealDeal

 

[Duke Andrew of Dank]

Another thing I thought of recently, based on @Devvy and @QTXAdsy's previous musings about British steam.

Had the war not gone on as long as it did, there's a question of whether some of the last BR steam engines build would exist. The 9F 2-10-0s would have likely escape butterflies thanks to being planned around the same time as the Standard 7s. But the 9MT 4-8-2s and 10F 2-10-2s might not have existed at all.

As a whole, the entire BR Modernization Plan may have been more open to fallibility. Given how some line abandonments that were fortunately averted (like the Great Central Main Line) would likely have turned out to be crapshoots.