god....freyjones
Banned
It's clear that in the real world, the defeat was inevitable for the Nazis even before Normandy. And even though the Western Allies suffered many casualties in the Bocage, they still won via more manpower/arsenals at hand.
But what if Hitler wasn't a stubborn dope and saw this himself, in say late 1944? If he had thought that a settlement was key, what would it have entailed?
I'd think he may say:
- Germany keeps its pre-war boundaries
- Germany is permitted to all arsenals it chooses (contrary to what Versailles said)
- Germany can retain its political system
- All German troops are restationed within Germany proper, per the pre-1939 boundaries
this is in exchange for:
- reparations to the Allies for war damages caused to civilians in all Allied and occupied territories (rebuilding homes, and infrastructure such as bridges, roads, railways, etc.)
- reparations to the Jews and other marginalised groups
- All Allied troops in Germany pre-1939 territory are to be removed, in addition to all equipment
Would Churchill, FDR/Truman, or Stalin, not be willing to accept these terms?
They may reckon Hitler is willing to re-group, but then there's nothing stopping the Allies from doing this. But Allied victory, due to sheer weight of numbers of personnel, weapons, etc., was inevitable. However, would this lead to a new Cold War? Would the USSR in the East and France, the UK and USA in the West have a dual Iron Curtain with Germany?
But what if Hitler wasn't a stubborn dope and saw this himself, in say late 1944? If he had thought that a settlement was key, what would it have entailed?
I'd think he may say:
- Germany keeps its pre-war boundaries
- Germany is permitted to all arsenals it chooses (contrary to what Versailles said)
- Germany can retain its political system
- All German troops are restationed within Germany proper, per the pre-1939 boundaries
this is in exchange for:
- reparations to the Allies for war damages caused to civilians in all Allied and occupied territories (rebuilding homes, and infrastructure such as bridges, roads, railways, etc.)
- reparations to the Jews and other marginalised groups
- All Allied troops in Germany pre-1939 territory are to be removed, in addition to all equipment
Would Churchill, FDR/Truman, or Stalin, not be willing to accept these terms?
They may reckon Hitler is willing to re-group, but then there's nothing stopping the Allies from doing this. But Allied victory, due to sheer weight of numbers of personnel, weapons, etc., was inevitable. However, would this lead to a new Cold War? Would the USSR in the East and France, the UK and USA in the West have a dual Iron Curtain with Germany?