L'union sacrée - A France holds TL

Is there still a Cold War? If so, is it less vast, or shorter?

A very interesting idea. Looking forward to the next installment.
 
Part 1 - Thank God for the French Army


Defiance: A history of the Western Front by Max Hastings


On the eve of World War Two France was a deeply divided nation it’s people felt little enthusiasm for this new war. No cheering flag waving crowds and solider believing French Élan alone would be enough to beat the Germans.

Popular jokes and anecdotes abounded a typical one being:

Two male friends meet, one has just received his call-up papers.

His friend says:

‘’I expect you’ll be dead or maimed in a month’’

The other young man sighs and replies:

‘’That’s what my mother says’’

Even so underlying this fatalism, fuelled by the Great Depression and fear of another war, and intense political factionalism with Communists on the left, Royalists and Fascists on the right openly advocating regime change. Was the firm convection that the only thing worse than winning the war against Germany would be losing it.. Indeed tis was perhaps the only thing truly uniting the people of the Third Republic on the eve of the German invasion.

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Thunder in the East: The Nazi-Soviet War by Evan Mawdsley

By Spring1940 Stalin knew his legions were still no match for those of Hitler’s Germany. The purges and massive expansion of it’s ranks left the ed Army in a state of chronic disorder. Through it was not the decimation of the higher echelons of command that seriously disrupted the Red Army indeed men such as Zhukov and Konev could easily step into posts made vacant by Stalinist terror. The shortage of experienced middle and lower ranking officers was in fact far had more serious consequences for the effectiveness of Soviet forces. Along with the baleful influence of Stalin, the NKVD and the political Commissariat.

Despite these drawbacks Soviets armaments production had outfitted the Red Army with truly remarkable amounts of equipment. Tens of thousands of tanks, artillery pieces, planes and trucks had been produced during the late 1930’s, representing an astonishing arms build up only equalled later by the United States.

As the battle of France started in the west, it only remained to be seen whither Stalin‘s gamble in signing a non-aggression pact with Germany. Would give the U.S.S.R the time it needed to drastically re-organize it’s armed forces.

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CNN News Website - October 27 2006


Massive protests in Rome and other Italian cities by left wing groups, monarchists and human rights organizations disrupt official commemorations of Mussolini’s March on Rome. Monarchist parties supporting different claimant’s to the throne clashed in what protest organizers claims was a deliberate provoking by the government forces.

Mussolini remains a highly controversial figure in modern Italy. He remained a highly popular leader and statesman during his lifetime, but critics of his regime point to his suppression of democracy, violation of human rights and expansionist polices in Africa and Balkans. Supporters of Musslinli’s regime notably the current Italian President Roberto Fiore claim that Musslinli’s rule prevented Italy succumbing to communist revolution and civil war, harboured Jewish refugees from Germany and kept Italy from being dragged into a losing war alongside Germany during WW2 and greatly improved Italy’s standing in international politics.

Such sentiments being the norm in the Italian government these days, the National Republican Party having governed Italy in coalition with other right wing parties for the past six years.

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Paris, France 10 May 1940 - 1159PM

General Maurice Gamelin was not a happy man reports after report flooded into his headquarters giving details of a massive German attack into the Low Countries.

Édouard Daladier was present along with President Reynaud. The former was already drunk and cursing King Leopold of Belgium. Going to graphic detail about all of His Majesty’s failings in the bedchamber, his pox-ridden nether regions and intimate relations with farmyards animals and possibly his sister. In Gamelin’s opinion Leopold really was a monumental dolt if the Belgians had allowed French troops entry weeks ago they would be in place to repel the Boche.

Gamelin chewed his lip in his only outward show of nervousness the new German tactics of lighting warfare and the reactance of the Belgians had forced to do the one thing he hated above all else, change his carefully laid plans. Already thanks to the suggestion of a young Colonel by the name of De Gaulle tens of thousands France troops who had been guarding the Alpine border with Italy were now deployed in the Ardennes along with several regular divisions of the 7th Army and newly mobilized units. Gamelin a cautious man by nature had been persuaded that although largely impassable lighter German tanks and motorized infantry could pass through the rugged wooded terrain and wreak havoc in French rear lines forcing troops further north to divert their attention from the German thrusts into Belgium. Hopefully II Duce Mussolini will remain unaware just weaken France’s southern border defences were, even so as Admiral Darlan had said the Italians were a flu, the Germans a plague…

Maurice_Gamelin.jpg

Maurice Gamelin Head of the French Army in 1940
 
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Archibald

Banned
I’ve seen a lot of WW2 TL were a military coup or successful Valkyrie plot is seen as a good outcome (invariably with Russia-screw involved) for WW2. The idea of France holding in 1940 is sadly neglected even through it’d be a far more palatable outcome all round. Odd given how massively lucky the Germans were to overrun France within six weeks in the first place.

Well said !

It seems that there is a spike in French based TL these days :D.

France fights on !!
 
You should decide between using Wade-Giles or Pinyin for Chinese transliterations, as using both at the same time is jarring.

Also, not sure about Putin--keep those butterflies in mind. If you want a srongman figure for that surviving alternate USSR, you could always go with Lebed.
Well I know next to nothing about Chinse name translations I just googled Kuomintang leaders and stanched that name.:eek:

As for Putin I didnt see any intrinsic reason why he couldnt rule the U.S.S.R by following that well known path to power I.E finding a patron, getting prompted to head of FSB/KGB then going for the presidency itself.

I just dont see Lebed as leadership material in the same sense as Putin was Soviet/Russian politics are too much of a snake pit for him to prosper. Besides Putin has too many AH fans to be gotten rid of even in an ATL.;)

Is there still a Cold War? If so, is it less vast, or shorter?

A very interesting idea. Looking forward to the next installment.
Given the nature of Stalinism and general fears of Communism still floating around ITTL there will most certainly be Cold War style tensions in different places with a differnt starting point, but for many of the same reasons.

But a Conservative one nonetheless. :p

I actually like him as well, he would make a much better PM than Cameron
Heh, one reason I picked, I could've went with someone far far worse.

A superb introduction indeed, consider me subscribed.

As the others have said, France seems to be somewhat more effective against Germany in this time-line which has clearly had repercussions for Algeria (which seems to remain part of the Métropole) and the nature of international Communism (which, despite a nationalist (or balkanised) China) remains on the warpath in East Asia.

Capital work! Prey continue!
France is considerably more effective, with many long term repercussions, which have been hinted at. The U.S.S.R being maybe the biggist. Algeria will turn into a bloody mess at some point, but is ITTL a part of modern Metropolitan France.

International Communism has had had both befits and drawbacks ITTL Moscow remaining dominant, but Maoist, Third Worldist movements remain active. China isn’t totally Balkinzed and it isn’t a totalitarian, environmentally ruined hell-hole either. If anything I see it being more like India ITTL or a corrupt South American democracy like say Colombia with large scale guerrilla/separatist problems and an army whose habit of stepping up to the civilian government and saying ‘’bitch please’’ is a major problem.

Still long term stuff on a lot of things has yet to be fully worked out, so China could be better off ITTL even if it loses some land.:)

Is that a Finn leading the UN I see?
Yes, it was either going to be Finn or a Brazilian.

Couple guesses about the present day -

Japan still starts a war and looses, pulling the US out of isolation.

Really no clue whether Italy, Spain, and Portugal remain fascist ITTL.

A much larger surviving Jewish population likely means a larger Israel (West Bank and Gaza annexed), even if most survivors stay in Europe. Even a million more Israelis in the 1940s tips the balance in a big way.

The survival of many colonies and much greater influence of the European powers, that's a given.

A relatively tame USSR, to avoid overruning Poland or Finland. Wonder how that comes about? Stalin dies early?
Japan is of course at war with China and is insanely aggressive as per OTL, through the war in the Far East will be somewhat different.

Spain and Portugal have no real reason to chance their OTL status inthe short to mid term, Italy will be somwhat different.

Millions of Jews survivesome will support Zionism to be point of going to Palestine, most wont.

Europe is less devastated but most colonizes were more trouble than they were worth post-war, in the long term these trends wont/cant change.

As for the U.S.S.R you'll need to wait and see about that, but the major change of TTL is that the Soviet Union wont be utterly ruined demographically and economically by a Nazi invasion. Thus allowing it to surivive until the present ITTL.

I'd guess that with the German offensive hitting a brick wall in the west, Stalin capitalises on the fact that Hitler only has 3 kids and dog defending his eastern border.
It's not quite that bad, and the Red Army is still a shambles at this point.
 
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...The Peoples Republic of Manchuria strongly condemns the actions of the Chinese government...

Han Chinese almost never call this place "Manchuria", especially after Mukden Incident. We referred there to as "Northeast China" (simplified Chinese: 东北; traditional Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi).

Unless Soviet deliberately set up an ethnic Manchu satellite regime a la Mongolian People's Republic (highly doubtful since after 1911 Revolution, Han Chinese out number Manchu there). Otherwise called it either People's Republic of China, Chinese People's Republic, or Democratic People's Republic of China.

Otherwise, a good TL.
 
Han Chinese almost never call this place "Manchuria", especially after Mukden Incident. We referred there to as "Northeast China" (simplified Chinese: 东北; traditional Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi).

Unless Soviet deliberately set up an ethnic Manchu satellite regime a la Mongolian People's Republic (highly doubtful since after 1911 Revolution, Han Chinese out number Manchu there). Otherwise called it either People's Republic of China, Chinese People's Republic, or Democratic People's Republic of China.

Otherwise, a good TL.

The Soviets did have a habit of giving regions the name of particular ethnic group even. If said group wasn’t a majority, if said region was the named group’s ancestral homeland. And a Soviet-backed regime trying to distance itself from a potently irredentist China might try keeping up the fiction that Manchuria really is distinct from China proper.

Anyway I always thought a Communist Manchuria calling itself ‘’China’’ is as absurd as Taiwan keeping up the pretence of being the ‘’Republic of China’’…
 
The Soviets did have a habit of giving regions the name of particular ethnic group even. If said group wasn’t a majority, if said region was the named group’s ancestral homeland. And a Soviet-backed regime trying to distance itself from a potently irredentist China might try keeping up the fiction that Manchuria really is distinct from China proper.

Anyway I always thought a Communist Manchuria calling itself ‘’China’’ is as absurd as Taiwan keeping up the pretence of being the ‘’Republic of China’’…

Not necessarily. That Taiwan's official name is the Republic of China is one factor that has kept the simmering differences between it and the mainland from breaking out into open war all these decades. Ironically, the Beijing government much prefers Taiwan to call itself China, since therein lies the tacit admission that Taiwan also considers itself to be part of China. The difference lies in Taipei regarding itself as the legal government of ALL China, but Beijing can live with that. What Beijing couldn't live with would be Taiwan officially declaring its independence from China. That would also involve an official name change.

As it is, I think in TTL Manchuria's official name could be expected to be the "People's Republic of China" (or PRC, which is OTL China's official name), just as North Korea's official name is "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" and East Germany's official name was "Deutsche Demokratische Republik" (German Democratic Republic). Just because one half of the divided nation is much smaller in population and economy than the other has never prevented its leadership from entertaining the fiction that it and only it is the "legitimate" government.

Anyway, looking forward to how this TL develops. I too think that there is an inflation of "Germany does better in WW2" TLs in AH.com. France doing better in 1940 has been woefully neglected. Good to see that you have taken up the challenge.
 
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