Wyragen-TXRG4P
Banned
First of all the Czech would have their fortifications,which would mean a bloodier time for the German army. An armed uprising it the Studentland would be a flop most of the ethnic German population would not figh only a tiny pro-Nazi Minority.
1: Austrian Border
2: Hungaryan Border
3: Said fortifications are overated.
4: Poland want Teschen back.
5: Tiny nazi minority? Then why the ethnic cleansing and massacres back in 45?
Second France had a treaty with Czechoslovkia which required them to come to their aid. If the Czechs fought there is no guarantee that the French would stand by and do nothing.
LOL, the French would be even less likely to launch an offensive than historically.
Third I would expect that Britain and France would hault all sales to Germany and if they found that Italy was funneling supplies to Germany they would turn off the sale of materials to that country. No British coal to Italy meant thItalian factories would stop functioning and Italian home grow cold. Germany could not supply both Italy and itself with enough.
Again, why would these brilliant plans be executed in 38, when they where not in 39, when the allies where more willing to face war.
Fourth: any major setbacks and a military coup in Germany would take place. Hitler did not have the military might to stop a coup. The army could have crushed the small SS ,
Even the july coupists in 1944 lacked the organisation necessary to succede, the German army didn´t rise in their support, thus...
Some clarifications.
'Oxford companion to WW-II' reports the Germans got only 870,000 tons of oil in total from Russia during 1939-1941. Mean while the annual oil production/imports/Synthetic/war bootie, during each year was
1939= 10,428,000 tons
1940= 8,794,000 tons
1941= 11,696,000 tons
Russian oil imports @ 3% of the total were hardly critical.
German tank inventory
Jentz tells use that in 1939 Sept German tank inventory was
1445 x Pz-I
1223 x Pz-II
202 x Pz 35t
78 x Pz-38t
98 x Pz-III
211 x Pz-IV
Czech tanks at 8% out of 3257 tanks is important but also hardly critical, especially since German tank doctrine was tailored to a tank detachment that composed almost entirely of Panzer I & II and only a handful gun armed panzers.
Depending on how such a scenario plays out the Germans may end up with a slightly smaller tank inventory but with more gun panzers and less light tanks, thus making up any deficiency in Czech tanks. Again it was their doctrine & training, that set these combat division apart from their adversaries.
If we look at the mid 1940 numbers we have
1077 Pz-I [334 other Pz-I had been removed from the inventory to be converted to 15cm SiG , PzJager I , Flamm Pz I & muntions schleppers] In addition another 175 had been produced as command tanks]
1092 Pz-II
143 Pz-35t
237 Pz-38t
329 Pz-III [plus another 45 produced as command tanks and 30 produced as StuG-III in early 1940]
280 Pz-IV
In this case Czech tanks counted for 10% or 380 out of 3567 tanks in the inventory. Again important but not really war altering is it? Especially since the industrial labor and funding between 1939-1940, would have been redirected elsewhere.... perhaps to conduct many more conversions of the Panzer I chassis? More Panzer I command tanks so no Panzer III have to be built as command tanks. Improvised infantry gun tanks based on Panzer I chassis utilizing the large production of 75L11 infantry guns instead of Panzer Jager I [which relied on captured stocks of Czech 47mm guns] , so no StuG-III are built but solely Pz-III tanks are produced. Before invading France considerable effort could have been redirected to these tasks especially if the first clashes with Czech and later Polish forces , showed the vulnerability of the Panzer I & II when used as tanks
Luftwaffe plane inventories were indeed as high as were indicated. The fact remains that an air forces inventory of planes experiences a huge turnover each year, so individual inventory numbers shift only gradually unless there is a huge upswing in production.
Aircraft effectiveness in combat is mostly dependant on pilot training and doctrine. Due to experiences in the Spanish civil war, German air fighting & bombing doctrine was ahead of everyone else’s.
Wouhou, 38 myth busted!
Last edited: