Europe 1960 Challenge map

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Europe, year 1960.

Red - Soviet Union
Orange - Warsaw pact and Comecon
Blue - NATO & EU
White - neutral countries
Yellow - Balkan pact

What happened?
 

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Maybe the Nazi elites have a terminal case of being totally accidentally shot in the back?

Even so, those borders are awfully convergent.

No, Germany is still defeated as in reality. Germany has kept the name of the Reich, and as a settlement of the Soviet Union and the US was left as a neutral buffer zone. The new Germany is a semi-democratic republic, but it is powerless to do anything about the border with Poland.
 
I don’t think the allies would accept the word “Reich”, despite its multiple meanings, as being part of postwar Germany’s official name. Far less likely to go lenient like they did with the Weimar Republic on that matter. The official name of a neutral Germany would probably be a compromise of two OTL German states; perhaps the “Federal Democratic Republic of Germany”?
 
I don’t think the allies would accept the word “Reich”, despite its multiple meanings, as being part of postwar Germany’s official name. Far less likely to go lenient like they did with the Weimar Republic on that matter. The official name of a neutral Germany would probably be a compromise of two OTL German states; perhaps the “Federal Democratic Republic of Germany”?

In this timeline, the Soviets and the Western allies are not in good relations. As a result, we have no detailed arrangements for the future map of Europe. The capitulation of Germany was in 1945, but without agreement on occupation zones. Germany's denazification was fast and brutal. In 1949 an agreement was reached on the future of Germany. Germany will be permanently military neutral country with limited military for their own self defence, and both sides retain the right of preventive strike if the provisions of the agreement are violated by Germany.

As a result, there is no Western and Eastern Germany. Germany is the federal republic, as it is today, with the name of Weimar Germany. Adenauer was the first post-war chancellor who under the pressure of the Allies signed an agreement on permanent borders with Poland. Same deal was reached for Austria year later.
 
Northern Ireland has Donegal which suggests an eventful few years long before the Second World War... and an even worse Troubles to come later on in the decade.
 
Northern Ireland has Donegal which suggests an eventful few years long before the Second World War... and an even worse Troubles to come later on in the decade.

That seems accidental, given the border shown between Donegal and the rest of the North.
 
Beria comes to power after Stalin dies. Germany is reunified in exchange for 'peace'. Turkey and Greece decide that neither Russia or the West have their best interests at heart and shock the world by proposing the 'Pact of The Straits' and forming the Balkan Block, aka Balkan Pact. Tito, Hovna, and Gheorghiu-Dej decide that 1955 is the time to leave as well. Chervenkov tries to stay in the Warsaw Pact but his own people are so disgusted with his rule they oust him and Anton Yugov becomes leader of a transitional government. Czechloslovakia and Poland go into full revolt as does Hungary, and while Soviet troops are able to take back half of Yugoslavia they are stopped short at Sarajevo, Chisnau (which also proclaims independence only to join Romania immediately), and finally in an outright ambush at Szeged. At the latter the Balkan Pact forces detonated a large bridge out from under the last of a tank column before the infabtry could cross and used flak cannons at close range to decimate the tanks that had already crossed the river. Soviet forces had very little territory outside of northern Yugoslavia to account for and the Pact was ready to launch a full invasion of Hungary. Malenkov, fresh from ousting Beria, made peace at Ploesti and himself was ousted by Khrushchev less than a year later. Czechloslovakia was broken as 'punishment' with crackdowns there, Poland, and Hungary making Stalin's rule look like happy days.
 
In November of 1940, Romania refused to join the Tripartite Pact, surprising many geopolitical experts. Quickly, the political factions in the country gathered support, and a civil war began. The Germans "intervened", creating a RK there. This sparked Balkan nationalism, especially in Yugoslavia, where the country was trying to prepare for a German invasion. In May 1941, Hitler demanded permission for moving troops from Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. The nationalist sentiment there did not allow them to agree, and so they were both swiftly invaded, along with Greece.
While the Germans were fighting the USSR, partisan activity grew tremendously, and they could hold cities for months at a time. By the time the Soviets reached Romania, the royalists had re-established a nation there. The situation in Yugoslavia was different, as Serbia and Montenegro were also liberated by the small, but powerful royalist faction. With D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, it was clear the Reich could not win this war.
The conference for dividing Europe was not easy. The kingdoms who had liberated themselves refused to cooperate with the others, establishing the Balkan Pact. Another hot topic was the fate of the Baltics, a debate the Soviets lost. Finally, the fate of Germany was decided to be a neutral country, with no affiliaton to either side.
Once the Cold War began, the Balkan Pact wanted to expand, to be a new power against the influence of the West or the East. Turkey joined, and together with Greece pressured the UK to liberate Cyprus, which they managed to do. Another surprise was Franco's path to democracy, ending with Spain joining NATO in 1958.
 
OK, I like your scenarios.

My POD is declaration of war by the United Kingdom and France to Soviet Union after the attack on Poland. This declaration only fueled Stalin's paranoia, and Hitler saw a great opportunity to use Stalin in the struggle with the West. In November 1939 the Winter War begins. France and UK are sending help to Finland via Sweden. Stalin sends even more raw Materials and oil to Hitler. In the early 1940 Soviet troops occupied and annexed the Baltic states. In January 1940, Finland signed peace treaty with Soviets with OTL conditions.

USSR terminates diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom and France. Hitler seeks for allies in Europe. Along with Italy, he found himself an ideal ally in Hungary. Romania refuses to give part of the transylvania to Hungary. Hitler declared Romania as enemy from WW1, and artifical country. New, expanded Ribbentrop-Molotov pact includes the division of Romania. Soviets took Bessarabia, Hungary return borders from days of dual monarchy, and the rest of Romania was the German satellite ruled by the Iron Guard. Monarchy is abolished and State of Romania is set up. Michael I flees to London.

In mid-1940, France and Britain launched Operation Pike. Furious Stalin orded bombardment of the bases in Turkey, Iraq and Iran, sending the Red Army to northern Iran. The Anglo-Soviet war begins. In the coming months, the Soviets succeed in occupying most of Northern Iran and part of Eastern Turkey. Turkey declared war to the Soviets.

Germany attacks France as a reality. France is defeated even faster than in OTL, humiliated and and British forces remain trapped in Dunkirk. Hitler publicly offers peace to Britain. Churchill refuse peace proporsal. Angry Hitler orders the destruction and capture of the BEF. After hours of bitter fight, and without any hope of succesful evacuation, British forces surrended to Wehrmacht forces. Churchill, under pressure from the defeat in Iran and 250,000 captured British soldiers by Wehrmacht, begins negotiations with Germany. In a peace agreement with Germany, Britain is forced to recognize German domination over Europe and puppet governments, while Germany will not ask any of British colonies. Most governments in exile escaped to US, Canada and Africa. De Gaulle escaped in Algeria where he declares Free France. In addressing Parliament, Churchill promises that it is not the end, and that this is only a temporary armistice with Germany. British soldiers are returning to their homes, humiliated, angry and ready to fight next round when the time comes. British are at war with Japan, but Hitler doesn't care about it.

In meanwhile, US is still out of war, trading only for hard cash.

At the end of 1940, a treaty with the Soviet Union was signed. The United Kingdom and the Soviet Union have renewed diplomatic ties, restoring status bellum ante quo.

Mussolini is angry because Hitler did not protect Italian interests in negotiations with the British. After the Italian catastrophe in Greece, Hitler offered him an eastern Mediterranean at most. Mussolini offers to Serbian politicians a breakup of Yugoslavia. Milan Stojadinović, pre-war prime minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and a politician who established good relations with Italy and Germany before the war returns to the state. Hitler wants to get solve Balkans as soon as possible, so that he can fully concetrate himself to attacking the Soviet Union. In January 1941, Vienna's treaties were signed. Yugoslavia no longer exists, Italy took most of Dalmatia and part of the country with the Catholic majority, Slovenia is given to Germany, and Prekmurje and Međimurje to Hungary. Kingdom of Serbia was proclaimed and she took half of Albania and receive rights of use of the harbor in Thessaloniki. There is no satellite Croatian state. Greece is occupied, and Bulgaria has been awarded with South Dobruja and Thrace.

Without African front, and invasion of Yugoslavia, Barbarossa was launched in early May 1941.

To be continued...
 
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