European Theater of WW2: Megathread

PlasmaTorch

Banned
Hi everyone. After being on AH for about 1 year now, I can't help but notice how many storys and scenarios there are, focused around the european theater of WW2. Sometimes, the 'what if' scenarios go down a really good path and attract alot of good commentary. Other times, not so much...

I wanted to open a 'megathread' for this purpose, where people can ask questions that don't require an entire individual thread to answer. I'm also thinking of having a 'commentary' section, where some of our more knowledgeable users can give dissertations on certain topics. Maybe on things like operation weserubung, or the battle of stalingrad, etc.

Of course, it doesn't have to be a purely military discussion, either! A megathread like this would be useful for discussing the beliefs and motivations of all the partys that were involved in WW2. I suppose this could even be done for the interwar period, too, if necessary.

Finally, another thing I would like for this thread is to make a sortof database. Maybe someone wants to know what would happen if case blue (fall blau) was a success, or if the atom bomb was ready six months earlier. If its a topic that comes up alot, and theres alot of good AH posts which discuss it, then we can do a 'link dump' on it.
 
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PlasmaTorch

Banned
And just to get the ball rolling, I myself would like to ask a simple question.

If nazi germany defeated the USSR (maybe in 1943 or something), what would happen to neutral countrys like sweden, switzerland, and portugal? They would have to know they were in great danger from the nazis and their allys, so... What would they do to stave off the threat of invasion?
 
I think you might have a too "mega" subject here for a single thread.. You have by now seen the sheer size of the threads we produce on even relatively minor world war-related questions - I think trying to deal with such issues in a general thread might be an exercise in futility...

And just to get the ball rolling, I myself would like to ask a simple question.

If nazi germany defeated the USSR (maybe in 1943 or something), what would happen to neutral countrys like sweden, switzerland, and portugal? They would have to know they were in great danger from the nazis and their allys, so... What would they do to stave off the threat of invasion?

I don't personally buy the idea that the neutrals would necessarily be under the threat of invasion. The Third Reich would have enough to absorb as it is. Sweden et al would have to contend with Nazi overlordship of the continent and probably a necessary erosion of their sovereignty towards the Reich, but in the short to medium term would likely keep their formal independence.
 
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PlasmaTorch

Banned
I think you might have a too "mega" subject here for a single thread.. You have by now seen the sheer size of the threads we produce on even relatively minor world war-related questions - I thing trying to deal with such issues in a general thread might be an exercise in futility...

You actually make a good point. I should have narrowed it down to 'just' WW2, and just the european theater. That would be more manageable.

Edit: I decided to alter my title and OP to reflect that change. It will now be... European Theater of WW2: Megathread.

I don't personally buy the idea that the neutrals would necessarily be under the threat of invasion. The Third Reich would have enough to absorb as it is. Sweden et al would have to contend with Nazi overlordship of the continent and probably a necessary erosion of their sovereignty towards the Reich, but in the short to medium term would likely keep their formal independence.

You might be right about sweden, but I'm less certain over switzerland. Hitler had this weird hatred for the swiss, and the only reason he didn't invade was because germany was busy fighting the USSR.

With the soviets out of the way, theres a real possibility that the nazis would launch operation tannenbaum and invade switzerland. It would be a tough, nasty fight though, due to the organisation of the swiss military, and the formidable terrain that was ideal for protracted defense.
 
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And just to get the ball rolling, I myself would like to ask a simple question.

If nazi germany defeated the USSR (maybe in 1943 or something), what would happen to neutral countrys like sweden, switzerland, and portugal? They would have to know they were in great danger from the nazis and their allys, so... What would they do to stave off the threat of invasion?
I think Sweden might move closer to Germany, a little closer at least and so would probably Turkey and definitely Spain would also. I think Portugal would try to ride the fence between Germany and Britain, they wouldn't want to get close to Germany but wouldn't want to antagonize Germany either.

I'm not sure what Switzerland would do but of the neutrals you've mentioned, Switzerland would probably be the only country Hitler might invade but I think its a big might and that a lot of his Generals and other advisers would try to talk him out of doing.
Just my opinion and others here much more knowledgeable on this topic might strongly disagree with me here, if so, I defer to their superior knowledge.
 

Deleted member 97083

Even narrowing it down to European theater is a massive topic. Even just one of the fronts has hundreds of threads about individual battles or trends.
 

PlasmaTorch

Banned
I think Sweden might move closer to Germany, a little closer at least and so would probably Turkey and definitely Spain would also. I think Portugal would try to ride the fence between Germany and Britain, they wouldn't want to get close to Germany but wouldn't want to antagonize Germany either.

I'm not sure what Switzerland would do but of the neutrals you've mentioned, Switzerland would probably be the only country Hitler might invade but I think its a big might and that a lot of his Generals and other advisers would try to talk him out of doing.
Just my opinion and others here much more knowledgeable on this topic might strongly disagree with me here, if so, I defer to their superior knowledge.

Yeah, that was pretty much my opinion too. If the USSR falls, then that leaves the nazis and their gaggle of allys (italy, hungary, romania, etc) as the sole rulers of mainland europe, and part of eurasia, too. The neutrals would be forced to take more permissive policys towards germany, because they would wield all of the power. Portugal would be in a tough spot, because of their borders with spain, an unofficial ally of the nazis. They're off in the corner of europe, so the situation isn't as dire as sweden or switzerland, but still.
 
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