Stalin dies November 12,1941

What if for some reason Stalin died on that date and Molotov took over? The question is does the chaos in changing leaders outweigh the fact that Stalin won't be there to interfere at all with Red Army plans?
 

Chilperic

Banned
What if for some reason Stalin died on that date and Molotov took over? The question is does the chaos in changing leaders outweigh the fact that Stalin won't be there to interfere at all with Red Army plans?

Depends how he died. Killed by the enemy? Heart attack? Coup?
 

maverick

Banned
Let's say heart-attack...let's see...Time of national Emergency...

I can see the Red Army making a deal with Beria and Molotov, making Molotov the New General Secretary...

Unless someone decides to blame the whole thing on Molotov (Ribbentrop-Molotov pact) and then a compromise candidate can be looked for...maybe Kalinin, Mikoyan, Kaganovich, Zhukov, Malenkov...
 
Let's say heart-attack...let's see...Time of national Emergency...

I can see the Red Army making a deal with Beria and Molotov, making Molotov the New General Secretary...

Unless someone decides to blame the whole thing on Molotov (Ribbentrop-Molotov pact) and then a compromise candidate can be looked for...maybe Kalinin, Mikoyan, Kaganovich, Zhukov, Malenkov...

Heart attack sounds good. The first post states Molotov takes over so you don't have to worry about that. My guess is that the USSR does somewhat worse in the short run but better in the long run. The question is do they lose Moscow or the oil fields before things straighten out because they would be hurting bad then.
 
Molotov was known for being nearly as ruthless as Stalin. I don't really see the war turning out any differently. In fact, unlike Stalin, Molotov may actually listen to the Red Army commanders in 1942 and not allow the Germans to retake the offensive through executive meddling in military affairs (something Stalin did do to the detriment of Soviet military operations). The only thing Molotov needs to worry about is Beria. That man is the hinge.
 
The power struggle might be bad; I'd suppose Stavka maintains national defence, but there may be break-aways and disloyals. If nothing else, morale takes a huge bust as the personality cult backfires.
 

Chilperic

Banned
The power struggle will be rather damaging for the Russian leadership, but I still think the Germans would suffer a similiar fate as OTL.
 
The power struggle will be rather damaging for the Russian leadership, but I still think the Germans would suffer a similiar fate as OTL.

The logistics and industrial oddswere so opposed to them that they'd have little chance anyway. However, with a less decisive Soviet response (or more decisive too early, before they're ready to counterattack) they'll be able to hold out longer and deal the USSR worse damage. Essentially, a lesser version of General Zod's often-proposed mutual exhaustion, though the Nazis still lose eventually.
 
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