Stalin invades Eastern Europe in 1938, Nazis become Allies?

What if in 1938, while the Hitler problem was just starting, Stalin invaded Eastern Europe while the other powers were distracted. Stalin suddenly annexes Finland, the Baltic States, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. The latter two shatter Hitler's Anschluß and he declares war. The other powers get involved and declare war on Russia. This could have other RL-ly neutral nations become involved. For example, Turkey and Iran liberating Azerbaijan, Sweden having to retake Finland, etc.
 
The main problem with this scenario is that Stalin didn't tend to act in this fashion, at least not without the influence of the Brotherhood of Nod:

Kane_with_Stalin.jpg


Stalin was an opportunist first and foremost, grabbing whatever he could once he could guarantee that nobody would really protest, and never took to Hitler-style brinksmanship prior to the war, generally because he never really had to.
 
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The Red Army did not have the means to seize that much territory so quickly, and Stalin knew it. The whole reason why he entertained Molotov-Ribbentrop was to buy time to build up his strength. Stalin was content after the failure to "liberate" Poland to develop Socialism in One Country and bide his time.

Besides, the Red Army was all but leaderless thanks to the purges of the 1930s, which would become very obvious IOTL a year later during the Winter War.
 
What if in 1938, while the Hitler problem was just starting, Stalin invaded Eastern Europe while the other powers were distracted. Stalin suddenly annexes Finland, the Baltic States, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. The latter two shatter Hitler's Anschluß and he declares war. The other powers get involved and declare war on Russia. This could have other RL-ly neutral nations become involved. For example, Turkey and Iran liberating Azerbaijan, Sweden having to retake Finland, etc.
Yeah.... Stalin is not going to just suddenly annex Poland, Finland or Czechoslovakia. It would have been a tough campaign, without assured sucess, especially if he goes as otl with his purges.
 
The Red Army did not have the means to seize that much territory so quickly, and Stalin knew it. The whole reason why he entertained Molotov-Ribbentrop was to buy time to build up his strength. Stalin was content after the failure to "liberate" Poland to develop Socialism in One Country and bide his time.

Besides, the Red Army was all but leaderless thanks to the purges of the 1930s, which would become very obvious IOTL a year later during the Winter War.
Well, if Stalin was gearing up for war in 1938 it's unlikely that he'd purge the Red Army as savagely as he did in the 1936-1938 period, but I still contend that even that decision is very unlikely given his personality at the time.
 
But even if Stalin did have a pre-purge military, and no one in Soviet Russia disagreed about making such an invasion, would it really have been possible to make a quick conquest of so many countries? :confused:
 
The Red Army did not have the means to seize that much territory so quickly, and Stalin knew it. The whole reason why he entertained Molotov-Ribbentrop was to buy time to build up his strength.

In 1938, he had the largest Airforce and Army on the Planet.

If he decides to use the Army, instead of purging it.....
 
If Stalin ever tried, I'd imagine fascism as a whole getting a major boost in popularity. We'd be seeing Polish and German troops fighting side by side, and practically an anti-Soviet world aligned against him. Of course, this is exactly the scenario Stalin hoped to avoid, hence why he never moved for the kill first.

But even if Stalin did have a pre-purge military, and no one in Soviet Russia disagreed about making such an invasion, would it really have been possible to make a quick conquest of so many countries? :confused:

Not really. He wanted quick conquests, not a grindfest that could cost him way too much time and effort to occupy and rebuild.
 
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