What would be the POD for such a...bizarre idea?
I've toyed around with this idea. I've thought about making a TL in which WWII is longer and bloodier, and as a result the US has a much more isolationist foreign policy.
Here's the gist of it:
-POD 1: The Germans do better in 1941/42, taking Leningrad during the winter of 41/42 and taking Stalingrad in 42
-The WAllies launch Op Sledgehammer in Autumn 42 to relieve pressure on the Sovs, but are beaten back into the sea with heavy casualties
-The WAllies opt for peripheral attacks in Norway and the Med, leading to higher casualties and a longer war
-The Sovs have to retake more lost ground due to the defeats in 41/42, with the same result: higher casualties and a longer war. Angry over Leningrad, they launch a full-scale invasion of Finland, which delays the advance on Berlin and whittles down Soviet numbers more
-The Sov advance stalls after the WAllies reach France, and the WAllies get to Berlin first
-POD 2: The Japanese don't surrender after Hiroshima/Nagasaki, so the Allies launch Op Downfall, with US casualties in the millions
-When the war ends in 1946, the Marshall Plan is never implemented, and there is no politial will to station troops in Europe since the Sovs are weaker and their military is less powerful than OTL. As a result, Europe becomes a battleground between West Europe and the USSR