New Deal Coalition Retained Pt II: World on Fire
- Thread starter Prince Daemon Targaryen
- Start date
Given that Germany has essentially been completely overrun and its cities destroyed for the 2nd time in about 40 years, how is Germany going to be able to recover, both economically and demographically? I assume some sort of Marshall Plan post-war, and its possible they might be able to recover some of the areas lost to Poland after World War 2, but given the low birth rates, won't Germany just be a shadow of its former self?
Most German civilians have fled, but there still are millions trapped in the Soviet occupation zone
The low birthrates are more a symptom of the cultural stagnation. With the Freyist philosophy of having Germany be a bastion of human freedom, birthrates will be higher
Oh boy, can't wait to know what the war will look like.France will have its own war very soon
If NATO can't hold the Soviets at the Rhine, I don't see how they can stop them from overrunning all of Western Europe. There don't seem to be any good extensive natural boundaries between the Pyrenees and the Rhine that can stop such a large force.France will have its own war very soon
On another note, will we see the emergence of resistance movements in the occupied territories? If Germans have mostly absorbed the Freyist doctrine then I would expect some sort of guerrilla movement to emerge in the months following the invasion.
Ask the Germans about Belgium sabotaging its railroads in 1914.
Beyond the Rhine and its bordering plains, there is much hilly and mountainous ground, Vosges, Lorraine plateaux, Ardennes. The only open ground is through the "Low" Countries, Netherlands and Belgium alike.
Now, it's not like if these have never been crossed, but it require a good deal of preparation and the element of surprise, which the Germans had a good measure of in both 1914 and 1940, but less so in 1944.
Here, if the Germans and NATO forces do as well as Belgians did in 1914 to sabotage road and railroad infrastructures all the way to the Rhine, Soviets are going to have serious issues.
In 1914, the delays caused by this sabotage was enough to buy time for French-British forces to prepare for and defeat the German invasion of France, and in 1944, the resistance of Bastogne did as much to derail the German offensive.
Plus, in the Netherlands, you still have that good old Fortress Holland and the Water Line.
manav95
Banned
I imagine the Soviet I could be lured to the Dutch coast and then the dikes and dams could be released, flooding away a good chunk of the Soviet forces.
They're not stupide neither, or are they? If they planned to go there, they have surely accounted for the Water Line. Airborne actions may be in way, but this way rarely achieved success; Germans had luck in 1940 but losses they suffered in Crete made them reconsider it; and there is also Market Garden on the side of the Allies to learn from. Plus, the Soviets won't have the element of surprise, will have to try that over skies they don't control and against a ground defense probably aware they are coming.
Add to that if i were a dutchman i would not want to flood away good portion of my country along with the soviets.
I'm not sure what you're meaning. The Dutch hadn't any problem at flooding their country to save, be it against Louis XIV or Hitler, though in the latter case, the Germans had a stroke of luck and were able to bypass the Water Line.
good point. It still might be a matter of debate among the Dutch and by the time they their ass together the soviets could of gotten over the line. the weaknesss of democratic goverments you see is that their will be legeslators from the area which would be most affected by the flooding and they would not want to flood their own constituency
Not really relevant, and much a cliché I should say.
When the country is in immediate threat, the norm is leaving the government and the military large freedom to do as they want, taking only big setbacks to see the parliament meddling into their business, and forming national coalitions spanning both sides of aisle.
Then, being part of the NATO, the Netherlands have surrendered much of their military independence, and if the NATO command say "flood that" to save Holland, they will do so.
When the country is in immediate threat, the norm is leaving the government and the military large freedom to do as they want, taking only big setbacks to see the parliament meddling into their business, and forming national coalitions spanning both sides of aisle.
Then, being part of the NATO, the Netherlands have surrendered much of their military independence, and if the NATO command say "flood that" to save Holland, they will do so.
