TL: Eagle and Lion

Eagle and Lion
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Hi, this is my first alternate history timeline. Its PoD is that gen. Sikorski didn't die in plane crash on Gibraltar. Title says about idea of polish-czechoslovakian confederation which will be covered there.
I'm going to write this in form of letters from polish journalist to his friend in US. He will speak mostly about his own country but also about the general situation in Europe.​
 
Letter 1 - Yalta

(attachment)
February 1944, Yalta

Greetings. I was one of the journalists who took part of Yalta Conference. In beginning of this month Allies negiotiated shape of post-war Europe. Main part of this negotiations was the east - Poland and Germany. Thats why the "Big Three" met with gen. Sikorski and president Benes. They were leaders of Polish and Czechoslovakian governments-in-exile. From 1940 this two nations are cooperating to create new democratic state - Union of Poland and Czechoslovakia.

First question was Germany. All five leaders agreed that this nation should be ultimately punished for two Great Wars and millions of people killed by them. They will be divided with no option of uniting in future. Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Henry Morgenthau proposed their plans for this division. At the end Roosevelt's plan was selected. Country will be divided for 5 zones controlled by 5 countries and Allied-administered Austria. I have attached the map.

Second question was East Europe. Allies let Soviets hold their land gains (Baltics and Bessarabia), but big trouble were polish borders. Stalin wanted something that could recompensate his nation's war contribution. In the other hand Poland shouldn't lose more than half of it's territory while being on the winning side! Sikorski proposed that in exchange for german lands, Poland will cede Kresy, based on Curzon line wariant from Teheran. Stalin agreed to this proposal.

Another question that they discussed was the federation. Sikorski knew that Allies may like this idea but he wasn't really sure. However Roosevelt and Churchill liked federational ideas and agreed for that.

At the end they agreed that all countries should be allowed to "select democratic institutions of their choice".

I will send you more letters, about our country and situation here.

Best wishes from Europe.
 
Union of Poland and Czechoslovakia
(postwar europe map)

country wikibox:
WpWqzrV.png


Government of gen. Sikorski:
  • Vicepresident: Edvard Beneš
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Jan Masaryk
  • Ministry of Defence: gen. Władysław Anders
  • Ministry of Interior: Juraj Slavik
  • Ministry of Justice: Bronisław Kuśnierz
  • Ministry of Finance: Jan Kwapiński
Administrative division: Country is divided into 3 parts with own local governments:
  • Republic of Poland (prime minister Stanisław Mikołajczyk)
  • Czechoslovakia (prime minister Petr Zenkl)
  • Capital city of Warsaw (president Julian Kulski)
Administrative division map (including Prussian Ocupation Zone)
 
For this to happen, the Soviet Union would have to have done massively worse in the war, and no offense, but for giving up Kresy, Sikorski would be doing political suicide.

Edit: On second thought, it would be better / more realistic for Poland to side with Cz-S in 1938 (*); with a modern day Union of Lublin, forming the Commonwealth of Three Nations - Polish, Czech and Slovakian that is. It would create a counterweight to both Hitler's Germany, and the Soviet Union.

* - I recall reading somewhere, that around the Munich debacle when Czechoslovakia got thrown to the wolves to appease Adolf, Czechoslovakian ambassador in Warsaw offered Poland unconditional union / incorporation - pretty much a merger of Cz-S into Poland, creating a single super-state.
 
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I really like the idea of a Polish-Czechoslovak union in 1938 as a big wrench in Hitler's plans.

For it to happen in 1944, I think you need Valkyrie to be successful and for the leadership to move all assets East. No way, though is there not an East Poland, at minimum Finlandized.

What could work is possibly a merger of the Southwestern parts of Poland and Czechia as a WAllied Czechopoland if Russia took more of a North Germany/Denmark approach to its territorial demands.
 
I really like the idea of a Polish-Czechoslovak union in 1938 as a big wrench in Hitler's plans.

For it to happen in 1944, I think you need Valkyrie to be successful and for the leadership to move all assets East. No way, though is there not an East Poland, at minimum Finlandized.

What could work is possibly a merger of the Southwestern parts of Poland and Czechia as a WAllied Czechopoland if Russia took more of a North Germany/Denmark approach to its territorial demands.

Actually, Pol-CZ union in '38 could butterfly the WW2 as we know it away. Pre-CZ conquest Wehrmacht was a much different thing then post-CZ one, that had access to Czechoslovakian weaponry and industry. Poland mobilizing for a joint war against Germany, could see Hitler coup'ed (his position didn't, at the time, benefit from the "see, I told you they'd give in" thing) and a new player in the area.

The French would be (probably) thrilled to see a much stronger entity on eastern border of Germany, and such an entity would also reduce the importance of Germany as a possible bulwark against the SU.
 
Indeed, much would depend on Germany's next actions. A true Molotov-Ribbentrop alliance would be interesting and more likely to have staying power as both countries would find themselves without friends.
 
Indeed, much would depend on Germany's next actions. A true Molotov-Ribbentrop alliance would be interesting and more likely to have staying power as both countries would find themselves without friends.

IIRC Germany was rapidly running out of cash when they started the war in '39, so if Hitler stays in power it's either war or economic meltdown anyway (short of Hitler being removed in '38 with military spending being cut something fierce, and economy re-set to make exportable consumer goods), and (again) IIRC they were also behind on payments for Soviet resources when they invaded SU.

Stalin, however, was on the cautious side, the odds of him starting a war in Europe when there wasn't a major one going on are rather slim.
 
Thanks for replies and for letting me know that it wasnt realistic. As I see, for this reason, timeline shouldnt go any further, and i want to make another one on that topic with more realistic PoD, so can this thread be deleted? I'm new to this forum and i still dont know how this quite works.
 
Thanks for replies and for letting me know that it wasnt realistic. As I see, for this reason, timeline shouldnt go any further, and i want to make another one on that topic with more realistic PoD, so can this thread be deleted? I'm new to this forum and i still dont know how this quite works.

For deleting the thread, you'd have to ask an admin. Or just leave it like that, for future reference. Also, if you need someone to betaread / bounce ideas off, I'm Polish and pretty good with Polish history, so feel free... ;)
 
Eagle and Lion

Hi, this is my first alternate history timeline. Its PoD is that gen. Sikorski didn't die in plane crash on Gibraltar. Title says about idea of polish-czechoslovakian confederation which will be covered there.
I'm going to write this in form of letters from polish journalist to his friend in US. He will speak mostly about his own country but also about the general situation in Europe.​


My Grandad's brother was on that plane.
 
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