General Questions Regarding an Earlier WWII

1) If Hitler had attempted an Anschluss in 1934, how well would the Whermacht have faired against the Italian/Austrian forces?

2) Would Britain, France or any neighbouring countrys have intervened?

3) What is the likelihood of France holding the "Little Entente" together or indeed expanding it?

4) If the Sudetenland Crisis had lead to war, who would be most likely to win?

5) On whose side would Mussolini place Italy in this scenario?

6) Would Poland possibly intervene and if so would they have a signifcant impact?
 
In 1934, with no Luftwaffe and a German army of 100,000 men backed by @350,000 lightly armed Freikorps? I'm not sure Germany could defeat a fully mobilized Austria in 1934.
 
Expansion didn't begin nor was the Luftwaffe formally established until 1935 and it still required several years for the expansion to be truly effective.
 
The likelihood of Great Britain intervening in 1934 is pretty much nil, and France would probably be delighted to see Germany weakened, Austria saved and Italy doing the work, not to mention the blow to German-Italian relations in the future.


Without Hitler I don't see why the Little Entente wouldn't hold together although the alliance's record of crumbling on Czechoslovakia in 1938 and Romania in 1940 makes the usefulness of the alliance appear somewhat questionable.


If war erupts in 1938 Italy stays out as Mussolini has already advised Hitler that rearmament will not be sufficiently advanced until 1941-42. He only entered in June 1940 because he thought, erroneously, that the war was all but over.

Poland will not intervene while the USSR is free to act and already in favor of supporting Czechoslovakia as this would only destroy Polish ties to France and Great Britain.

In all likelihood such a war ends in defeat for Germany since the Germans are unprepared for war and underestimated Czech defenses and especially if the USSR enters the war.
 

nbcman

Donor
1) If Hitler had attempted an Anschluss in 1934, how well would the Whermacht have faired against the Italian/Austrian forces?

Poorly as stated elsewhere. Also note that the Germans did not start conscription until '35 when they officially increased the size of their military beyond 100k

2) Would Britain, France or any neighbouring countrys have intervened?

Italy - almost assuredly
Britain / France - possibly

The above 3 nations were signatories to the Stresa Front guaranteeing Austrian independence in '35 and that Italy was opposed to the failed coup / initial Anschluss attempt in '34.

3) What is the likelihood of France holding the "Little Entente" together or indeed expanding it?

In '34, pretty high since the Germans could be picking a fight with three larger powers. Who knows whether the Little Entente powers would declare war over Austria. But France would have to get involved first before any of the Little Entente powers would jump in.

4) If the Sudetenland Crisis had lead to war, who would be most likely to win?

Impossible to say without further information on who the participants in the war would be. Any war over the Sudetenland would be bad for Germany no matter whether they win or lose.

5) On whose side would Mussolini place Italy in this scenario?

Same as IRL - he would jump in to whomever he perceives to be the winning side.

6) Would Poland possibly intervene and if so would they have a signifcant impact?

Possibly, they took a slice of CZ from the final dismemberment of the CZ IRL.
 
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