DBWI: Reverse the order of Axis surrender

As we all know Japan surrendered to the Allies on July 4, then Germany surrendered on July 27 but Italy managed to hold out against the Allies until August 31. Is it possible to have Italy then Germany and finally Japan surrender to the Allies and would that have any serious consequences for the Post-war world?
 
Well if Japan holds out to the end the postwar reconstruction will probably be a lot harsher than OTL. Monarchy abolished and royal family members tried for their roles in war crimes, actual disarmament instead of the "self-defence force", the purge would probably be upheld by the constitution, heavy reparations, etc.
 
Yeah, if the Allies had invaded Italy in 1943 instead of Greece the Italians would have surrendered pretty quickly. The Italians would surely give up once Southern Italy was invaded even if they hadn't had Soviet forces closing in on them from Austria, and the Allies from Southern France.

If the Soviets had focussed more on reaching Berlin rather then secure the Balkans during Winter 1944-1945 and declare war on Japan in April, a nuke over a German city could be prevented as the Soviets entering Berlin would end it before the American have their nuke ready, i'd say mid-May. Japan, not being occupied by the Soviets from the North will get the bomb instead and surrender last.

At least, thats how i see it happening.
 
As we all know Japan surrendered to the Allies on July 4, then Germany surrendered on July 27 but Italy managed to hold out against the Allies until August 31. Is it possible to have Italy then Germany and finally Japan surrender to the Allies and would that have any serious consequences for the Post-war world?
The issue here is that you'd have to reverse the logic of why they surrendered when they did. Italy was the last not because it was some resurgent Rome that held to the end but because it was an afterthought in the entire war. The US focused most of it's resources on Japan due to public pressure but it outlasting Germany could happen thanks to something as small as weather conditions in the Pacific could make them come after Germany. That said Japan surrendered because they understood they had lost. Their whole plan relied on American will faltering after Pearl Harbor rather than strengthening, and when they were getting pushed back they knew the plan had failed. They were essentially skilled gamblers. They put most of their chips on one big bet and when they misread the hand they knew enough to walk away from the table without having to lose it all. Slow the US advance in the Pacific and Japan might have held out longer just to prove to themselves they could.

Germany in theory might have held out to the bitter end thanks to the sheer madness of their ideology but after Berlin was nuked they that force of personality was undercut. Hell if Germany hadn't lost most of their air defense then they'd be able to prevent the nuke being dropped and invading Soviets and Americans would have had to fight the Nazis in the streets of their capital.

Italy really only held out as long as they did in the hopes that they'd be able to have a stronger position at the peace table. They had at that point totally misjudged the way the Allies were viewing the war and thought it'd be similar to pre-WW1 peace conferences. I don't think they understood that the Allies wanted total unconditional surrender rather than minor territorial changes. Mussolini might have understood and that's why he fell on his sword in early August. That's the common thought behind what he meant by his last words of "I thought myself Caesar and now see I am Antony." If they understood that survival in their current form wasn't going to happen or even if one of the many factions that had turned against the Fascist internally took power they'd have surrendered much earlier.
 
How much longer could Japan have held out if they had managed to capture Singapore?
I know it's a stretch, but could they have captured Quinan's entire command? That could put all of Burma at risk and keep Slim out of Thailand until 1943, perhaps even later.
 
OOC: i think the Japanese not capturing Singapore is a bit far-fetched. I mean they already had all of Malaya. Also, from another thread i was led to believe they won't nuke Berlin.
 
I think you'd have to have Churchill in perfect health - that heart attack he had was so serious that meant Eden deputised for him, so there was no one to argue for the "soft under belly" attack that Churchill had wanted.
 
Maybe if you delay or prevent the Soviet DoW. Without the Soviets launching their own bombing raids from Korea and preparing for an invasion of Hokkaido, the Japanese government might hold out in the hope that the Soviets could serve as a neutral arbiter in the peace talks.
 
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