Folks,
I've generally restricted my posts to aero engineering topics (tho I see fellow contributors here). I believe the war in Western Europe could have been concluded by mid November 1944 if Eisenhower had not, for whatever reason, halted the Allied virtual blitzkrieg across France in late August, giving German forces a desperately needed respite to reconstitute their forces and insuring that the slow moving (late summer thru winter 1944) Soviet advance would meet the Western allies at the Elbe River, well West of Berlin, rather than at the Oder, far to the East. All that was required was not halting Patton, Bradley and Montgomery.
I realize that what I've written requires substantiation, and this is provided with names, dates and locations by historian-novelist Caleb Carr in his chapter in a huge book that every serious Alt History enthusiast should have: "The Collected What IF", edited by Robert Cowley, Published by Putnam, ISBN: 978-0-399-15696-0 and Barnes and Noble ISBN: 978-1-4351-1825-6.
Carr's ten pages 733-743 cover everything but the long rumored direct order from the Roosevelt administration to Eisenhower.
Dynasoar
I've generally restricted my posts to aero engineering topics (tho I see fellow contributors here). I believe the war in Western Europe could have been concluded by mid November 1944 if Eisenhower had not, for whatever reason, halted the Allied virtual blitzkrieg across France in late August, giving German forces a desperately needed respite to reconstitute their forces and insuring that the slow moving (late summer thru winter 1944) Soviet advance would meet the Western allies at the Elbe River, well West of Berlin, rather than at the Oder, far to the East. All that was required was not halting Patton, Bradley and Montgomery.
I realize that what I've written requires substantiation, and this is provided with names, dates and locations by historian-novelist Caleb Carr in his chapter in a huge book that every serious Alt History enthusiast should have: "The Collected What IF", edited by Robert Cowley, Published by Putnam, ISBN: 978-0-399-15696-0 and Barnes and Noble ISBN: 978-1-4351-1825-6.
Carr's ten pages 733-743 cover everything but the long rumored direct order from the Roosevelt administration to Eisenhower.
Dynasoar