Thats a very good point. There were a lot of people who hated Stalin within the USSR. If they had invaded as liberators theres a very real chance that A) They woiuld have found plenty more manpower willing to fight for them and B) The whole USSR would have collapsed as Stalins many enemies used the chance provided to revolt.adiekmann wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 2:58 amAll good points, and since we're playing "What if..." and I find it fun tooRetributarr wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2020 8:40 pmWhat could have?... What should have?... What might have?:
Well to start with!... "What could have made a difference!".
***Securing Tungsten and other strategic metals from Spain with or without "Franco's" willingness or blessing would help maintain the 'Anti-Tank' units in Russia as to their capability to destroy Russian-Tanks in large numbers. Access to 'Gibraltar' would now be a much... much easier and simpler operation/task... to keep the British and the Allies out of the Mediterranean... thereby now drastically increasing the viability of "Rommel's Afrika Corps in the taking of Cairo and Egypt and the Suez-Canal!... as well as beyond and into the Caucasus. The 'Balkans' would no-longer have been a major issue and time waster now without British-Involvement [Operation "Barbarossa" could now start much sooner!.]. Defending Spain from Allied invasion would now... however have to be a major paramount concern and serious undertaking.
What should have!... Made a difference!:
Hitler NOT 'Declaring-War-On-The-United States' as soon or as early as he did... could have had a big impact on buying more time to settle matters before the U.S. would have then gotten involved. Instead of hindering the development and/or even trying to re-purpose the "Me-262" interceptor jets as well as their introduction into the Luftwaffe'... but instead they took the decision to favour or maintain full-throttle production on existing less leading edge or effective air unit types to no great outcome!. If on the other hand the acceleration of the development of the 'Me262 Jet... if the effort was put into it... could have resulted in an outcome of 'Crushing/Obliterating' the huge waves of bombers flying over Germany.
What might have!... Made a difference!:
Just my personal 'Opinion'... but I would have concentrated my 'main-efforts' on immediately taking the Caucasus... [With or without Rommel's assistance!... better with it... If at all possible.] … securing the 'Oil-Fields'... then bringing them back into full-operation... as well as setting up an impregnable defence perimeter/zone around the region to keep the Russians and other Allied interference out of the way. Russian effectiveness would now be so severely degraded to the point where they would no-longer be able to mount strong offensive and defensive actions or capabilities that they did before!... because now... 80% of their 'Oil-Supplies'... would now not be available to them!., allow me to throw another log onto the fire.
How about if Hitler listened to FM von Kleist's recommendation that they invade the Soviet Union as liberators, not...like racist supremacists who wanted to murder everyone they deemed as "Untermenschen." Soviet sources acknowledge that their brutal treatment of Soviet POWs and the population in occupied areas was the best thing that could have happened to them. Without it, the average Soviet soldier would not have fought. I mean why else fight for an a*hole regime like Stalin's? And if you were a Soviet soldier, would you surrender if you knew that that was a likely death sentence anyway? Plus then they will just murder or enslave your family were they to fall into the enemy's control? Of course not! So the Soviet soldier wasn't crazy or didn't care if he lived or died, he really had no choice. Man...we love to discuss this stuff and play a game about it, but we are all fortunate that we did not live in any of the major European countries during those years. (Sorry, but I am assuming that there's nobody THAT OLD on this forum!)
But in 1941, this would have gone against every bit of Nazi doctrine. I watched a few months ago on YouTube a lecture by a military historian where he discussed if Hitler was dumb, or insane, and the usual instinctive adjectives that first come to mind. He argued no. However, he went on to say that there are countless documented examples of where, say a General, would come and present his case for something. Hitler would listen respectfully and often even agree with the general but then do the contrary nonetheless! Why? His point was whenever there was a conflict between a good economic/strategic/etc. choice, and one of Nazi ideology, he ALWAYS went with the ideological choice. And that was his undoing.
Instead the atrocities inflicted on the Soviets by the invading Germans galvanised the whole USSR to unite and fight the great patriotic war.
ANother funny thing about the what ifs of WW2 is that they almost exclusively deal with the Germans...never what if Britain did xyz or something.
