Strategic objectives of Germany after 1940: What wouyld YOU do

Peace with the UK. Could possibly get peace, at least in the short term through pulling out of France.
War was declared over Poland, not France, and Britain would be in an uncompromising mood.

You won't have to deal with Churchill if Churchill is no longer in power, and don't forget he wasn't even voted in, he was chosen as the man to lead the war effort, and it hasn't exactly gone well!
Churchill was put in power the day the Nazi's started on France and the low countries, he can't actually be blamed for anything that went wrong.

In addition, there is no NEED to fight the USSR and my strategic objective would be to AVOID doing it. With an alliance we can probably keep them in hand for a while, then hope to benefit from chaos when Stalin dies and prevent them from being a long-term threat
Without an invasion, the USSR will be on parity in terms of forces by about 1942, and leading the Germans by 1943.

Let's imagine Hitler is knocking out Britain via the Middle East, turning the Med into an Axis lake. Done with that.
How? Rommel tried it and it didn't work, and if Hitler holds off the Balkans, Hitler won't even get a chance to go at Africa because the British will already be in Tripoli.

Churchill is a strange character in this, having promoted intervention in Russia after the revolution. He was not exactly a fan of communism.


Ivan
After France he was even less a fan of Hitler.

Hitler basically dumped any chance he had of getting Britain (and France and everyone else for that matter) on his side the moment he invaded Poland. If Hitler pulls out of France, De Gaulle is going to launch a coup and renege on anything the Vichy government signed up to, and I can't imagine anyone in the other countries doing much different. business is going to boom for the US
 
That said, if Germany is sitting on the continent and Churchill is out, AND Soviet is attacking based on some justification (1943?), will it automatically get Britain back? Not necessarily, does it?

Precisely why Stalin won't strike in this situation.

If Hitler can then mobilise his Crusade against Communism strategy, maybe even Britain will join in?

I'm speaking of a comparatively equal peace that forces Britain out of the war, but does not necessarily weaken them any longer term. In that eventuality, the British are going to wait until the Germans are finished dying on the Molotov line and then liberate France.

A peace which forces Britain into a blatantly subordinate position to Germany would also be one that would reduce the ability of the British to help the Germans in a meaningful way against the USSR.

The key thing here is to not attack the Soviet Union after the peace treaty. It runs very much against the grain of Nazi Ideology, but if Hitler attacks the USSR from '42 on then Germany is doomed.
 
ivanotter: I believe we could get Speer in sometime in 1940. Hitler had brought Speer into his inner circle around 1934 and the two would often meet in the morning and then later on at dinner. Hitler referred to Speer as a "kindred sprit." Also, Speer was one of the few men who would simply ignore Hitler and do his own thing(often to a better success.) So we could certainly see Jet fighters entering into service earlier and perhaps even an Assault Rifle earlier.

Continuing from before:

1. Fire Fritz Todt as armaments minister. Let's say hitler is in a grumpy mood sometime early in 1940 and Todt just pisses him off. He throws Todt out of his office. Later that day he is having dinner with Speer(as Hitler often did) and decides to give the Architect a shot. Speer will move towards 24 hour production and more standardized means of production. He also won't fall ill for another 4 years(which delayed production again as individual ministers grabbed back their power.) We can easily beat 1943-4 Speer production in 1940-41 because of the lack of infrastructure damage.

2. Tell Benny to "KEEP THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAR." Promise him whatever he wants a place as a neutral mediator at the table, the potential to get some land post war. A free hand in invading Greece or Yugoslavia on the side. Just insist he doesn't declare war on France and Britain and open up a new pointless front.

3. Try to seek a hard but fair peace with France. This could be difficult but would help to keep Wehrmacht unburdened.

4. Ease down on the battle of Britain. Realize that Sea Lion is a pipe dream and just sending pilots over the isle to be captured by the British and lost doesn't help. Limit aerial battles over the channel and concentrate aircraft on attacking British shipping in the channel.

5. Invade the Soviet Union on schedule(hopefully the earlier date without the Yugoslavia incident.) You're not going to be able to get to the Urals but with Speer in charge of manufacturing you should be able to get Moscow and will probably be able to grind the Soviets down.
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6. Keep the Americans out of the war as long as possible. If this has to be done by restricting attacks by submarines. Remember, England can't hurt the Reich and the Reich can't hurt the English in any substantial way. Even if Mussolini still had stupidly declared war the war in North Africa can easily be stalemated without American intervention. No Torch landing means no new front forcing the Italo-German force to split their numbers.

7. Now it is early 42. Pearl Harbor happened there was no German declaration of war and things are going to start looking pretty grim. The English have nothing to show for themselves except gains in East Africa and some incursions in North Africa(if Mussolini got involved.) The Soviets will probably be launching their counter offensives and putting themselves through the meat grinder. Both sides are suffering horribly but Speer's forward thinking is allowing more supplies and equipment than historical to reach the front line. At this point someone is going to crack.

8. Either the British or Soviet governments are going to start mumbling about peace. The British have been sitting around doing nothing substantial for 2 years, their economy is fully geared for war and it doesn't look like anything is going to change anytime soon. And, now they are dealing with the Japanese attacking them in the Pacific. The Soviets are giving it their all and aside from lend lease and strong words of encouragement by the Brits they are facing Germany alone. Once one side starts talks the whole situation is going to crack. The other side will accuse their former ally of selling out.

9. Let's say Britain breaks first(at this point Hitler is still probably all or nothing in East and Stalin's iron grip on the USSR ensures no one speaks about maybe talking to the Nazis) Through either Switzerland or Italy(if they stayed out of the war) they send out feelers to Berlin. A cease-fire is called for as a more substantial peace deal is worked out. This allows Hitler to pull more aircraft from the west to the east and some troops. The nature of any future peace deal is iffy. We can surmise though that Germany will be asked to withdraw from France and perhaps the low countries. Germany will most likely get Alsace-Lorraine. The fate of Vichy will be up in the air.

10. It is now 1943/44. There is either a peace treaty in the west or an uneasy ceasefire. The United States doesn't get involved directly in the war. There is no political reason to risk American lives in a war that is about to end. The Eastern Front is a horrible war of attrition. German production is at an all time high, higher than OTL. Still it is not enough against the weight of numbers against them. Stalin is probably getting very nervous now, his paranoia is kicking in full time. "Maybe the British are only making peace to backstab me?" He thinks. Speer also is nervous he knows on paper they have enough production capacity to keep fighting the war but their manpower is shrinking. Him and other influential nazis gather to propose to Hitler to seek peace in the east. I can see this group consisting of Speer, Goebbels(remember he has no wartime function and to implement his largest propaganda pieces and increase his prestige he needs peace) and Goering being involved. Goering could be swayed over by playing to his ego, naming a town for him in the east, villas, hunting trips and the like. They approach Hitler to discuss their ideas not a peace they say but a temporary cessation of hostilities to allow the German army to regroup and to properly aryanize the land in the east to prepare for a future war to push the Soviets back to the Urals. Hitler reluctantly agrees to the idea.

11. Germany and the Soviets reluctantly come to the table together. There is no cease fire here leading to massive and ill planned offensives and counter offensives across the front trying to grab just a little bit more land before the peace occurs. Both sides will think they are taking a raw deal but the numbers don't lie and both sides view it as temporary till they can renew offensives. We'll probably see a border readjustment somewhere through Belarus and Ukraine.
 
Assuming I'm Hitler, I'd order all of the Nazi High Command shot, renege on all anti-Semitic laws, pull out of all occupied countries, and then shoot myself. Seems like it'd be the best thing for Germany.
 
And about the only way to get Churchill and De Gaulle to agree to a peace treaty. I mean Bomber Command was given authorisation to hit targets in Germany on the 15th of May (the day after the Rotterdam Blitz), and set out to do so that night.
 

CalBear

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One thing that some posts seem to ignore is that Gemany NEEDED to control France, the Low Countries were mainly along for the ride. France provided a huge amount of resources to the Reich, especially a huge amount of industrial base and food supply (current day France is th 2nd largest food exporter by some measures, in the world).

Just as Germany could not have invaded Poland with anything close to the mechanized force it did without have taken the Czech factories (notably Skoda, but many others as well), without France (and to a lesser extent the rest of Western Europe) the invasion of the East would have been simply impossible.

Giving back the May/June 1940 conquests would cripple the Reich to the point of failure (not that the Reich's economy was going to survive over the very long term regardless).
 
First Things First, know paranormal warfare. No searching for ancient artifacts and more attention on the nuclear bomb.

Then become the liberator of the "communist occupied" nations.

Once in poland begin to make the poles believe that germany only invaded to keep poland at least half free; from their recruit poles into the whermacht.

From their i would fortify france, the low countries, and scandinavia.
Then begin to invade the USSR, recruiting soldiers in each SSR promising them independents after the war;

Definately make sure to pay more attention to the balkans and invade the middle east.

Then I would launch total war on the USSR while keeping a battle of britain going just to keep them in check while we take on the bear.

Then, with resource lines coming from within the SSR's themselves take moscow and fortify behind the Ural mountains;
never crossing them.

Once the Soviets are dealt with, then turn completely to the middle east, invading all the way down to India where a stalemate would probably take place between German and British Forces.

By Now the US is probably in the war, and Britain is preparing for a total offensive. Turn the occupied territories into Fascist puppet states, then turn the attention on Britain; which by now is shelled to shit.

From there it all depends on the A-Bomb.
 
If things go as per OTL up to 1940, Hitler is basically screwed, The crappy infrastructure in Turkey and Libya will give him no real shot at the Middle-East, Britain will be bombing him constantly regardless of what he does, there will be active resistances in all the occupied nations, and the Soviets are fast rearming (oh, and Il Duce is invading everyone, with no chance of actually winning).
 
A Total War economy in 1940 focused on the attack on the Soviet Union and I would have the attack on the Soviet Union ready to go by June 1st and the troops would have winter gear when the time comes. I would demand Benny end the war with Greece and it would be an ultimatum to him that he would not refuse. I would end the sub war in the Atlantic and cut ties with Japan that don't help Germany. In doing so making it very difficult for FDR to declare war on Germany.

I would have a number of the leaders of the SS put against the wall including Himmler. For the rest they would get to have fun being front line infantry in the Soviet Union. The SS itself as an organization would be dissolved. Racial laws in German would be ended.

I would allow Poland and other states some self autonomy with a promise of governmental elections at the end of the war. I would also promise the French that the occupation of France ends when the war does.

After what is left of Russia and Germany reach peace I would focus on going after the UK's colonial holdings. I would get the Spanish into the war one way or the other and take the Gibraltar. I would focus the German, Italian, etc war production on defeating the British in the Mediterranean.

I suspect the British on their own won't last that long before they get exausted and kick out Churchill and make peace. Then I fulfill my end of the deal and end the occupations of European countries after elections are held. Oh, and I set up a European NATO of sorts so if Russia attacks Ukraine that Germany and other European countries are obliged by treaty to respond.
 
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After what is left of Russia and Germany reach peace I would focus on going after the UK's colonial holdings. I would get the Spanish into the war one way or the other and take the Gibraltar. I would focus the German, Italian, etc war production on defeating the British in the Mediterranean.
I think those were tried OTL, and none of them worked.

I suspect the British on their own won't last that long before they get exausted and kick out Churchill and make peace. Then I fulfill my end of the deal and end the occupations of European countries after elections are held. Oh, and I set up a European NATO of sorts so if Russia attacks Ukraine that Germany and other European countries are obliged by treaty to respond.
If you're focussing on the Med then you're pulling all your U-boats from the Atlantic (U-boats were about the only extra resources could give to the Med, every thing else requires shipping, which gets screwed up at the insufficient Italian ports), which makes life easier for Britain, not harder.

Basically the only card Hitler can (or at least will, without an ideology transplant) play any better than he really did OTL is putting Speer in as minister of armaments and war production.

As for the rest of it, Greece will have to go eventually, even Crete, British bombers based out of there could have hit the Romanian oil-fields, and air-defences pull resources away from Barbarossa. Ending the Atlantic war is a no-go, with Sealion off the maps, starvation is the only way to reduce Britain. Making promises is not going to assuage resistance, Hitler had already broken too many for anyone to trust him. You might get more success with integrating former Soviet forces, but again, that will require an ideological implant, and it still won't give the Germans victory in Russia, it will just slow the Soviet counter-attack.
 
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I think those were tried OTL, and none of them worked.

If you're focussing on the Med then you're pulling all your U-boats from the Atlantic (U-boats were about the only extra resources could give to the Med, every thing else requires shipping, which gets screwed up at the insufficient Italian ports), which makes life easier for Britain, not harder.

Those were tried OTL while fighting a two front war. I wouldn't be focused on building subs or fighting in the Med when fighting the Soviet's. That would come after the war in the East is over with the full weight of the German military no longer fighting in the East I am pretty sure I could get Spain into the war one way or the other.

I wouldn't waste troops, equipment, etc. on North Africa until the war in the East is decided.
 
Those were tried OTL while fighting a two front war.
Italian ports, even at full capacity, were never going to be sufficient to dislodge the british from North Africa, and the transport systems leading to everything other British possession in the area are even worse.

I wouldn't be focused on building subs or fighting in the Med when fighting the Soviet's. That would come after the war in the East is over with the full weight of the German military no longer fighting in the East I am pretty sure I could get Spain into the war one way or the other.
So for the two years you're advancing in the east (with, it must be added, not much more chance of winning than OTL) you're going to give the British free-reign on re-armament? Yeah, real wise.
 
Those were tried OTL while fighting a two front war. I wouldn't be focused on building subs or fighting in the Med when fighting the Soviet's. That would come after the war in the East is over with the full weight of the German military no longer fighting in the East I am pretty sure I could get Spain into the war one way or the other.

I wouldn't waste troops, equipment, etc. on North Africa until the war in the East is decided.

A war in the East where the German plan is fatally flawed in a manner no amount of PODs can ever realistically alter?
 
A war in the East...is fatally flawed in a manner almost no amount of PODs can ever realistically alter?
Corrected. Although I do wonder what might have happened if Hitler had just let them set up a defensive line south of the city while driving on the oil-fields.
 
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