Russian generals were used to command huge army groups at this stage. That was not something US/UK generals had any experience in.
... and the idea of arming German POWs? they just managed to survive WWII so now they are eager to sign up for Barbarossa V2? Maybe not.
And if 200,00 (maybe also...
Is Darlan the 'joker' in the pack? a lot of French top military commanders (or so i have heard) identified more with their German colleagues than with Britain and surely not with that colonel.
Could Vichy have been even more aligned with Germany that OTL?
Did Germany take into account any...
Was 'Free French' even a factor in June/July 1940?
De Gaule was a non-entity as far as i know it until we get a bit further (and nobody really liked hm, surely not Stalin who regarded him as a 'b..sh..ter' of note.
I believe France is still trying to come to terms with the amount of people...
Allow me to be 'educated' in this:
Was there not talking about a big loan from the US that Truman torpedoed?
as I recall something I must have read somewhere, Beria was involved in securing this which would have made him a big hero.
The utter destruction of Western part of USSR would have...
I started on a scenario some time ago, but never really got into it in a more serious way. Feel free to use.
Scenario 1:
We need to look a bit at the characters in this and the more complex of them all is PW Botha. It is not true that he didn’t like black people. He didn’t like people to begin...
Maybe the pre-purge generals would have been too steeped in 'old' doctrines?
The new breed of communist generals might just have had a better handle on the new way of doing a war.
if we look at the absolute heroes of USSR generals, the best part were not of military upbringing. Most born to...
Interesting comments. It is all about timing.
1945: a new war going in, this time against a former ally - USSR - would not be very popular.
UK was not in a good shape. rations and universal misery really.
US did have plenty of resources
1948: Berlin blockade:
Maybe one of the instances...
Not convinced with an earlier time line.
1944 still saw US/UK being 'good friends' with USSR (Stalin).
April 1945 was different. USSR had installed its puppet government in Poland (the 'reason' for going to war) and shown its hand in settling Eastern Europe. Tension was indeed building.
Could...
LOL - no, i don't 'hate' Churchill. He was probably one of the most ruthless leaders but rather realistic.
It was not his idea with 'unconditional surrender' and there were rumblings (Bennet's book on Canaris) that Churchill could be moved on that account.
No, Hitler would have to go...
All,
Please don’t condemn this one to the ABS section – although it might be slightly ‘left field’.
Hitler and his close entourage in the last days hoped for a fall-out between US/UK and USSR, saving nazi-Germany.
In the light of reality, it was far-fetched and not aligned with much military...
1940 was not 1944 or 1945
What the book also claims is that the realisation that it was going to be a long and very costly war was starting to sink in.
Maybe the governing elite feared for the british empire.
... and 'victory' was not guaranteed in1940 or '41.
crazy schemes? compare to a...
Churchill was (apparently) also looking at the cost of a prolonged war if the US did not enter. The cost might have been too high to the British empire. These were (again apparently) considerations in 1941/42. Therefore not linked to any 'panic' after the fall of France.
Even with US in the...
That is the 'sticky' point. Could US/UK accept a Hitler still in power? highly unlikely, but perhaps not total BS?
If we overlook the rather pedestrian coups against Hitler and US/UK look at Germany not equal to Hitler, and Hitler not = Germany, there could have been rom for something...
All of it noted. That is also why it is a fascinating read.
The book has some intriguing insights into the movements of the key players.
It also claims that Hitler was fully aware and might have initiated such peace feelers. Same with Churchill.
On the UK side, the incentive could be...