More Cold War states-in-exile

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Hyderabad didn't sign up to join India. The new government squashed their attempt at independence.

Hyderabad was the strongest, largest and richest of the princely states; unfortunately, it was entirely surrounded by India, a strategically untenable position, and its Nizam's army had no air element to contest Indian control of the skies. This doomed his bid for independence from the start.
 
Could a Soviet-conquered Finnish government potentially hole itself up on the Aland Islands? (the question is who would back such a regime in the middle of WW2 in such a way that it could survive the war)

While intriguing, the option is not very likely. The Ålands were one of the main areas the USSR wanted to conquer in Finland, and indeed a a focal point of many Soviet-Finnish talks, formal and informal, during the late thirties. They control the approaches to both the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia and can act as a forward base to menace Stockholm from. I have never heard any Finnish plans to use the islands as a base if the mainland was lost, only as a conduit for withdrawal to Sweden and points south.

Now, lets say if Finland accepts Allied help in 1940 and Sweden and Norway too are brought to the Allied side, I could see the Ålands acting as the interim "Free Finnish" capital at the time of a general withdrawal from Finland in, say, Summer 1940. But I very much believe Stalin would not have left Mariehamn alone had rest of Finland fallen and the USSR got involved in a general war against the Allies. The strategic importance of the islands is way too significant for that.


Berra said:
What was the guy who signated to take over Finland had Soviet taken over.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Wille_Kuusinen

Possibly, however, the original candidate for Prime Minister was this guy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arvo_Tuominen

He claimed in his memoirs that Moscow tried several times in November 1939 make him to return from Stockholm to the USSR to run the Terijoki government but, having already fallen out with Soviet leadership, he consistently refused the offer. That is his story, anyway.
 
Where would SVN go? Thieu fled to Taiwan two weeks before Saigon fell IOTL. Of course, his 707 was loaded to MTOW with gold bullion...
 
There are some offshore islands, of course, but they're too small, and undeveloped. Also, they're vulnerable, being very close to the south Vietnamese mainland. The Republic of Vietnam could never have made a successful stand there.
 
No real way for the RVN to survive once Saigon falls, unless the remnants of III Corps and all of IV Corps make a final stand in the Delta.
 
As I understood it, Thieu took personal command of the ARVN in April '75 and botched the Highlands retreat, turning an orderly tactical withdrawal into a free-for-all retreat. If it weren't for Xuan Loc heroes, it would've been a complete cakewalk for the NVA. The only way would be if they had enough air to do round-the-clock CAS on the armored columns, and the US never gave them the equipment for an offensive. Flying an F-5 into the SAM zone is a kamikaze mission no matter how good the pilot.
 

oberdada

Gone Fishin'
Czech government in West Germany after 1968 would be interesting.
Austria, Switzerland or even Yugoslavia would be more likely.

Bringing us to another option a Tito-in-exile Government controling some of the many Croatian Islands.
 
An republican Spanish gobverment in exile in Moscow would be worth a TL.

Speaking of which, what about more exiles on the other side of the iron curtain?
 
Phu Quoc

No real way for the RVN to survive once Saigon falls, unless the remnants of III Corps and all of IV Corps make a final stand in the Delta.

The Delta could have helped ARVN to stay a year or so longer if properly handled. However, Phu Quoc would have been a far-better last stand because of the larger size, proximity to Thailand (therefore secret aids could have been delivered if ARVN performed well for couple of years there), relative importance geographically and large distance from Vietnam mainland. To enforce Phu Quoc solution, an early plan should have been figured out, which was absent in Thieu's office: all of the navy should be retreated to corps IV and then Phu Quoc "strait" orderly. None should be captured by PAVN. Most airpower should be transferred to Phu Quoc airfield. Population of Phu Quoc should be ensured to be staunchly anti-communist.
 
Taiwan is the foremost example of a regime that successfully fled elsewhere and was able to reestablish itself as a country. South Korea is somewhat similar, not exactly. What other oppositional regimes could have survived in the Cold War by fleeing to outlying territories and reestablishing themselves?

South Vietnam
Batista Cuba
Pahlavi Iran
any others

Baron von Ungern Sternberg´s Mongolian-Manchurian Khanate ? He was only 35 when he died could have lived into the hot phases of Cold war.
 
A "Two Cubas" scenario would be interesting, especially if JFK was wiser enough about Bay of Pigs (e.g. Castro's summer residence were discovered earlier) and ordered early training for Cuban exiles as they've prepared an invasion in the coast of Oriente province.
 
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