It's the 150th anniversary of the day Jefferson Davis sacked Joe Johnston from command of the Army of Tennessee and replaced him with John Bell Hood. It was one of the most controversial decisions of the Civil War and the question of what might have happened had Johnston stayed in command has become one of the classic AH questions of the war.
Since it's the anniversary, I thought we'd reopen the discussion. If Johnston had stayed in command, would he have evacuated Atlanta after a short resistance, or perhaps even without a fight, as Davis feared? Or would he have fought Sherman hard for control of the city, holding its fortifications with a small force while using the bulk of his army to attack Sherman, as Johnston later claimed had been his plan? Or would something else entirely have happened?
It shouldn't surprise anyone that I've given this question more thought than any other AH scenario, as I've written a novel based on the premise of Johnston staying in command. But I'd be very interested in hearing the opinions of others.