Here we discuss an alternate timeline where the Soviets managed to push a little faster towards the West, and get to "liberate" Denmark before installing a Soviet-friendly communist government in the country that will be a member of the Warsaw Pact, likely called the "Danish People's Republic" or the "Democratic Republic of Denmark" or something like that.
This leads to a slightly larger East Germany, while Denmark would serve as an important military base for the USSR, especially the Soviet Navy given its coast at the North Sea. As for the Danish Royal Family? I imagine they flee somewhere abroad, possibly to the United States, assuming they aren't executed first.
Then there's the matter of Greenland. Here, since the US was already occupying the land, and had actually wanted it in OTL (even offering Denmark to buy it, which they refused) and they don't want it to fall to the Reds (especially as Cold War tensions mount and Greenland would give the Soviets a good base too close to them), they would annex, I mean, liberate Greenland by having it "join" the US. Basically, they hold a snap referendum to leave Denmark and join the US, which everyone votes to do (don't question the results its totally legitimate...).
In the Cold War, the US and their Allies (plus the exiled monarchy) recognize this as legitimate (albeit likely with some diplomatic pressure involved), but the Soviets, the communist Denmark and the Eastern Bloc would never recognize this, and propaganda portrays this as an example of Western imperialism. Of course, the West would portray Denmark's communist government itself as illegitimate too. Greenland would play an important role for the US as a major military base, a frontline defense that the US invests billions in to build up the infrastructure, though few Americans likely think of it regularly. As its a frozen wasteland, it's a place that no US soldier wants to go to, but it's a job that has to be done. Greenland likely never becomes a state, but always a territory like Puerto Rico or Guam.
As for Denmark itself, we can expect the nation to be rebuilt with a lot of communist architecture. It'd be interesting to see Denmark's natural beauty contrasted with the cold, brutal, unappealing design of Soviet buildings, apartments, military bases and statues of figures like Marx and Lenin. In the early years, it's likely Denmark suffers from trying to modernize into an industrial economy, just like the others, especially since resources would be leeched by the USSR. We might see uprisings that get violently put down by the Soviets, like East Germany 1953 or Hungary 1956. Expect many escape attempts to West Germany, or the UK by sea, until the Soviets heavily fortify the border. After Stalin dies and Khrushchev takes power, and reforms spread across the Eastern Bloc, expect living conditions to improve, but still be behind the West.
Assuming that the Cold War ends at the same time in TTL, we can expect the old government plus the exiled monarchy to return to Denmark in the early 1990s. But today, it's unlikely Denmark is as prosperous as OTL, given the decades of communism likely set it back a bit. We can expect many communist buildings to remain, so cities like Copenhagen aren't quite as nice all around (though it can still be beautiful, just like at places like Budapest), and Greenland becomes rather irrelevant to the US interests now that the main reason for their investment into dissolved. Likely it gets stripped for its equipment to be used elsewhere in the War on Terror, but still remains a US holding.
Anyways, this is how I imagine a timeline where the Soviets took Denmark. It's not too realistic that the USSR can take all of Denmark, but crazier things happened and assuming luck is on their side it happens here.
Anyways, what do you guys think would happen if the Soviets took Denmark?
This leads to a slightly larger East Germany, while Denmark would serve as an important military base for the USSR, especially the Soviet Navy given its coast at the North Sea. As for the Danish Royal Family? I imagine they flee somewhere abroad, possibly to the United States, assuming they aren't executed first.
Then there's the matter of Greenland. Here, since the US was already occupying the land, and had actually wanted it in OTL (even offering Denmark to buy it, which they refused) and they don't want it to fall to the Reds (especially as Cold War tensions mount and Greenland would give the Soviets a good base too close to them), they would annex, I mean, liberate Greenland by having it "join" the US. Basically, they hold a snap referendum to leave Denmark and join the US, which everyone votes to do (don't question the results its totally legitimate...).
In the Cold War, the US and their Allies (plus the exiled monarchy) recognize this as legitimate (albeit likely with some diplomatic pressure involved), but the Soviets, the communist Denmark and the Eastern Bloc would never recognize this, and propaganda portrays this as an example of Western imperialism. Of course, the West would portray Denmark's communist government itself as illegitimate too. Greenland would play an important role for the US as a major military base, a frontline defense that the US invests billions in to build up the infrastructure, though few Americans likely think of it regularly. As its a frozen wasteland, it's a place that no US soldier wants to go to, but it's a job that has to be done. Greenland likely never becomes a state, but always a territory like Puerto Rico or Guam.
As for Denmark itself, we can expect the nation to be rebuilt with a lot of communist architecture. It'd be interesting to see Denmark's natural beauty contrasted with the cold, brutal, unappealing design of Soviet buildings, apartments, military bases and statues of figures like Marx and Lenin. In the early years, it's likely Denmark suffers from trying to modernize into an industrial economy, just like the others, especially since resources would be leeched by the USSR. We might see uprisings that get violently put down by the Soviets, like East Germany 1953 or Hungary 1956. Expect many escape attempts to West Germany, or the UK by sea, until the Soviets heavily fortify the border. After Stalin dies and Khrushchev takes power, and reforms spread across the Eastern Bloc, expect living conditions to improve, but still be behind the West.
Assuming that the Cold War ends at the same time in TTL, we can expect the old government plus the exiled monarchy to return to Denmark in the early 1990s. But today, it's unlikely Denmark is as prosperous as OTL, given the decades of communism likely set it back a bit. We can expect many communist buildings to remain, so cities like Copenhagen aren't quite as nice all around (though it can still be beautiful, just like at places like Budapest), and Greenland becomes rather irrelevant to the US interests now that the main reason for their investment into dissolved. Likely it gets stripped for its equipment to be used elsewhere in the War on Terror, but still remains a US holding.
Anyways, this is how I imagine a timeline where the Soviets took Denmark. It's not too realistic that the USSR can take all of Denmark, but crazier things happened and assuming luck is on their side it happens here.
Anyways, what do you guys think would happen if the Soviets took Denmark?
