Hitler attacks through Romania not Poland??

randomkeith

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Given that Hitler's main aim was to invade Russia, what if instead of invading Poland, he chose to expand the Pact of Steel to include Hungary and Bulgaria (Both of these countries would have been keen for it pre-1939) and also Romania (This is the hard part, but with the Soviets breathing down there necks about about Bessarabia it is plausable to see them siding with the Nazi's instead of facing Russia alone)

Does no attack on Poland mean no British or French involvment???? Would the Russians be caught as unprepared as they were in Barbarrosa??? (Probally yes) How long before Poland got involved?? (as it most certainly would) and on which side???

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Why would he do that when attacking Poland would mean the restoration of German lands 'stolen' at the treaty of Versailles?
 
Originally posted by randomkeith
Given that Hitler's main aim was to invade Russia, what if instead of invading Poland, he chose to expand the Pact of Steel to include Hungary and Bulgaria (Both of these countries would have been keen for it pre-1939) and also Romania (This is the hard part, but with the Soviets breathing down there necks about about Bessarabia it is plausable to see them siding with the Nazi's instead of facing Russia alone)

Why alone? Romania was allied to Poland and France. Poles would have supported Romanians, and so would France. Add to it a threat of British blockade, supplies from USSR (if there had been any) cut off by Poland and you have a logistical nightmare.
After the fall of Czechoslovakia, Poland was the strongest country in Central-Eastern Europe. Only its elimination gave Germany enough influence to force other countries of that region to do their biding. Sure, Hungarians would have been very interested in gaining Transylvania, but not with possibility of Polish-French intervention. And Romanian army wasn't so weak either.
Of course, ther is another possibility: Germany and Hungary invade Romania, Poland and France prepare an intervention and then Red Army enters Romania from east and occupies as much as it can, including oil fields in Ploeszti. After all, they had to save peasants and workers of Romania from German fascists, right?
 
Why would he do that when attacking Poland would mean the restoration of German lands 'stolen' at the treaty of Versailles?
exactly... that was the intial point of the invasion, not to get a better position against the Sovietse but to reclaim lost land.
 
Problem is, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense: Poland is the quickest route into the Russian heartland and offers few natural barriers to invasion. Romania is mountainous, and Germany was able to get it on its side through diplomacy. The USSR was seen by Romanians as the far greater threat, so they allied with Germany.
 
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