This is my third and hopefully final attempt at what i call WW2.5, making WW2 as big as logically possible, while still being somewhat recognisable. Seeing as making it bigger generally boils down to bulking up the Axis, it could even equate to an Axis victory, but i'm not 100% sure on that one.
I'm planning to make a TL based on it, but i'm not 100% sure how it would all go, hence this thread.
Disclaimer:
I'm aware that not all these ideas are mine, many are from other AH threads and i'm not claiming them as my own. If i used something you came up with, feel free to claim that idea as yours in this thread. Also, if i used it, that means i thought it was an interesting idea.
- Mussolini and Salazar convince Vargas to turn Estado Novo in a more fascist direction. Perhaps tying Brazil closer to the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis, as i saw discussed somewhere, not sure where.
- The Dutch Nazi Party comes to power, perhaps in a coup, any way is okay.
The Dutch stay neutral at first, but before Fall Gelb, Hitler discusses his plans with Anton Mussert and tries to get him to join the Axis as part of the invasion. Perhaps he has to threaten the Dutch with occupation to get them to join in. Either way, they accept in the end and join Germany in the invasion of France and the other low countries.
- The Italians have a better military. Not 100% how to get this done, but this thread has some good ideas. I'm not carbon-copying this thread, but rather some of the basic things that improve Italy's army.
- The payment mode for German armament firms is made more rational, resulting in much greater efficiency in the use of resources.
- The Axis design tanks with sloping armour.
- Prestige building projects in Germany and some early armament projects of dubious value are cancelled and the money saved is put into stockpiles of strategic materials.
- Thailand aligns with Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese war, then fully contributing to the Pacific war.
- Finland is actually prepared for the Winter War, and Sweden decides to help out it's neighbour. Due to the Soviets' shear weight of numbers, Finland eventually signs the peace treaty, but only looses Karelia, and of course, the Soviets loose far more men.
Also, when Stalin declares war on Finland, starting the Continuation War, maybe he declares war on Sweden too, or Sweden simply backs up Finland once more. Granted Sweden is hardly a great power, but it's another country to fight.
- The UK do either Operation Wilfred or The R-4 Plan, putting Norway in the Axis camp, also souring Britain's favour with the USA.
In resonce to the attack, the Germans invade Denmark as in OTL to get a strategic advantage from where to enter Norway and expell the British.
- Better German tactics in the Battle of the River Plate save the Graf Spee, perhaps sinking the Exeter in the process in they're lucky.
Graf Spee retreats into Montevideo and the British shell the port, this gives pro-Axis Brazil and Argentina a reason to join the war. Of course if they do, so does Uruguay, and likely pro-Axis Paraguay
Also, after the fall of France and the various other nations joining the Axis, Venezula declares war on Britian to get it's hands on British Guyana, and perhaps some of their Carribean possessions.
- Iceland had no military to speak of, but let's say it does what little it can to resist British occupation, leading to a civilian resistance.
Seeing as Akureyri, Iceland's second largest city fell a week after Reykjavik, perhaps citizens there, hearing of the invasion could mount a resistance with what little weapons they have.
- The Germans run right up to the channel in time to stop Operation Dynamo, thereby killing or capturing over 300,000 Allied troops.
- Perhaps build one Monster, use it in battle then tell the world they have many, many more.
- Mussolini warns his merchant fleet about the coming war as opposed to having them totally unprepared, then launches a suprise attack against Malta and Tunisia with German support instead of launching a pointless attack into France.
- Spain joins the Axis in exchange for Gibraltar and Morocco, just aafter Italy yet before the fall of France. Not a new conecpt i know, but something to throw into the mix.
This allows Gibraltar to be seiged and maybe even taken, severing a major Allied supply route.
- Italy doesn't attack Greece, although Metaxes, who greatly looked up to Mussolini and Hitler, joins the war on the Axis side.
- Charles DeGaul is killed in the fall of France. This probably wouldn't stop there being a French resistance, but it will weaken it a lot.
- The Germans have more secure codes, codes that are not broken by the allies.
- Yugoslav coup fails, so basically an Axis Yugoslavia.
- Anti-colonial/pro-Axis uprisings in Syria and Yemen like the one in Iraq.
- The IRA actually comes up with the 50,000 die hard soldiers they promised instead of the 300 errand boys they produced
- The Finnish do what they can to pressure the Germans into creating an 'independant' Lithanian puppet state in the manner of The Slovak Republic during the invasion of the USSR, thereby gaining support from the Lithuanians. Not decisive, but it helps
- In October 1941, the British and Soviets issued an ultimatum to the Afghans demanding that they expel all Germans and Italians. They did. But let's assume they didn't and suffered the same fate as Iran, thereby bogging down more Allied troops fighting against the 75,000 thousand Afghan troops. Granted this would have been reasonably easy, but again, another drain on the allies.
- The Ecuadorian-Peruvian war spills over into something bigger.
I've seen it discussed on here before but i can't for the life of me remember what the thread was called. Either was, it was discussed that Chile, Colombia, Bolivia and for some reason, El Salvador may have attacked Peru due to a mixture of old grudges and terrible judgement (Don't remember the exact reasons).
It becomes a stalemate at first, then Ecuador and their allies ask for Axis support. Wary of the Monroe doctrine the European Axis don't declare war on Peru, but rather send supplies and millitary advisors.
However, the South American Axis (Brazil, Venezula, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, see earlier POD for how they entered the war) do declare war.
- The Japanese hit the submarine yard, oil tanks and dry docks at Pearl Harbour.
- Make the Azad Hind more active, add a couple of anti-British uprisings to the mix.
I should add that it's
ALL of these PODs, not just one.
My guess is that all this adds up to a MUCH larger war, perhaps lasting over a decade with over 100 million casualties. Although, Greece and the Netherlands will likely actually fare better in this TL than OTL, seeing as they'll only be occupied by the allies towards the end of the war, as opposed to occupied by the Axis for years, then invaded by the allies, but that's of little consequence.
I'm also fairly certain that Turkey can be drawn into the Axis by having very little choice, seeing as the fall of Gibraltar and Malta would make Egypt much harder to supply, coupled with the added Axis troops in Africa, Suez may very well fall, bringing Turkey into the Axis sphere of influence and eventually the Axis.
Another question i have is what would Salazar do during all this? My guess is he either joins the Axis or becomes an Axis non-belligerent. I wouldn't doubt if he sent a volunteer division to Russia as Spain did OTL.
Thanks in advance everyone, hopefully i won't bother you guys with another thread like this again, instead it'll be a nice shiny TL
