Germany invades Russia through Slovakia in 1939
- Thread starter AMBOMB
- Start date
Slovakia doesn't border the Soviet Union at this point in time. So the only thing the German army will be able to do upon reaching Slovakia's eastern border is to slowly march back home through the scenic Tatras.
Even better, Slovakia did not border Russia until the USSR and Germany had invaded Poland, so doing it "instead of invading Poland" is not possible.
In addition to which, there aren't any significant roads running east-west in the eastern end of Slovakia.
I was looking up stuff for a hypothetical Soviet support of Czechoslovakia during the Munich crisis, when I discovered the horrible links there. You really have to have the connexion about halfway into slovakia, and do a fair bit of travel through Poland or Romania or both.
I was looking up stuff for a hypothetical Soviet support of Czechoslovakia during the Munich crisis, when I discovered the horrible links there. You really have to have the connexion about halfway into slovakia, and do a fair bit of travel through Poland or Romania or both.
Wouldn't it be much easier to invade through the Baltics instead of Romania? If you go through Latvia you at least have a straight shot to Moscow, whereas Kiev is between Romania and Moscow and is like twice the distance.
That means having to lift all the supplies, soldiers, vehicles, horses, artillery, arms, etc. by sea, which the Germans were...not good at. Railroads are simply better for transport than barges.
I've postulated something similar, even having Finland facilitate a Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, thereby bypassing Poland altogether. Stalin will notice what's going on wherever Hitler decides to invade from. No matter what Hitler does, it's still going to piss off the UK and France.
Deleted member 9338
The Baltics seem to be a better path in 1939. Not sure if the logistics will allow it though.
So take the Polish Corridor and then push through East Prussia?
They won't.
Too small. OTL Germany had all the rail capacity of Eastern Europe to use, and it wasn't enough. Using just that of East Prussia is insane...
which admittedly doesn't mean the Nazis wouldn't be willing to try it. Still, don't expect much, if any, success.
But the thing here is, its not JUST the logistics that make a 1939 invasion of the USSR so remote a possibility. In 1939 Germany simply wasn't READY to attack the USSR, they don't have the tanks, the trucks, the trains, the planes, the money, etc. that was there OTL after the fall of Poland, Norway, Denmark, the Low Countries, and France of OTL. They haven't siezed those nations' assets, nor deployed better tanks. They also haven't secured the Allies that OTL provided so many troops. The Italians had, what, a quarter million troops.
In addition, without the shocking speed of the fall of France, combined with the abysmal performance of the USSR in the Winter War, would there have been as much certainty that the "rotten house" would come down?