Scandinavian Union in 1940

What if there had existed a strong Scandinavian Union which had a well trained and well equipped Millitary in April 1940?

Would Hitler have avoided moving on the Scandinavian Union? Would he had tried the diplomatic route insteed?

What do You guys say?

/Fred
 
What if there had existed a strong Scandinavian Union which had a well trained and well equipped Millitary in April 1940?

Would Hitler have avoided moving on the Scandinavian Union? Would he had tried the diplomatic route insteed?

What do You guys say?

/Fred
How did the union came to be?
And how strong a union? Are we talking a Federation, or a more EU-ish thing?
And what about Finland? What do they think? If it existed in 1939, it might give Sweden-level aid to Finland... which, with a better and stronger military would be significantly more aiding to Finland.
 

Valdemar II

Banned
What if there had existed a strong Scandinavian Union which had a well trained and well equipped Millitary in April 1940?

Would Hitler have avoided moving on the Scandinavian Union? Would he had tried the diplomatic route insteed?

What do You guys say?

/Fred

It would like a giant Sweden, so he would have taken the diplomatic route instead, the SU could be nice ally against the USSR.
 
IIRC, the prime reason Hitler invaded Norway to begin with was because the British were already planning to (Operation Wilfred) in order to sabotage the Swedish iron mining fields. With a stronger defence against Allied aggression, he wouldn't have to do that, and probably wouldn't.

Or, the British might invade anyway, creating an alliance between Germany and the Scandinavian Union.
 

Oddball

Monthly Donor
Sigh, here we go again ... :(

Please listen to this:

Without a serious POD in early 19th century, there is NO way Norway is going to act so that she alienates Britain.

Norway was one of Europs poorest nations, and we realy had just one asset. Our merchant marine. And that depended on atleast friendly neutarlity towards Britain. For all practical purposes Norway was a British sattelite. Hitler recognized this and Norways actions confirmed it. Hell, even if Britain and France had moved a week earlier and invade before Germany, probably not a shot would have been fired, but the Norwegian government would have roled over and cooperated.

So no, a Scandinavian alliance wich acts even remotly hostile to Britain wold NEVER EVER (without an early 19th century POD) include Norway.
 
The leaders of the four Nordic countries (Iceland not included) had a meeting in October 1939, what if this meeting had led to a military pact between all the participating Nordic countries instead of just a declaration of neutrality that didn't work anyway?

This could lead to a complete new power block forming in post-war Europe given that everything works alright.
 

Oddball

Monthly Donor
So no, a Scandinavian alliance wich acts even remotly hostile to Britain wold NEVER EVER (without an early 19th century POD) include Norway.

;)

The leaders of the four Nordic countries (Iceland not included) had a meeting in October 1939, what if this meeting had led to a military pact between all the participating Nordic countries instead of just a declaration of neutrality that didn't work anyway?

This could lead to a complete new power block forming in post-war Europe given that everything works alright.

One of the problems during those negotiations was excatley what I wrote previousley.

Norway was in no position to be TRULY neutral towards Britain.

Just as much as Sweden had relative similar problems towards Germany.

So IMHO there is no wonder that the Nordic pact never succeded :(
 
1939 would still be way too late to form the posited strong military, all other considerations notwithstanding.

Assuming a stronger pro-Finnish/anti-Soviet opinion in Sweden, could we have seen some more limited project, like a Finno-Swedish(-Danish?) Union? IIRC, the main trouble there was that Sweden was wary of foreign commitments.
 

Oddball

Monthly Donor
The solution could a anti Sovjet pact.

Yepp that could have worked :)

A little less pasifist Norwegian government could have accepted that.

Problem is that the lesson from WW1 told Norway that pro British neutralty would do the trick. Let the British sort this one out for us also, while we sit and watch :(
 
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