|
Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM |
|
|
Join Writer Development Section Writer Development Member Section
This Day in Alternate History Blog
|
Munich
Redone
The settlement that
occurred at Munich had two great flaws. One,
it left the final parts of Versailles (the Polish Corridor + the German
Colonies) unsettled and therefore a possible excuse for a war, and two, Hitler
was fundamentally unappeasable. That
particular combination of errors only put the war off by a year. Let’s have
Chamberlain understand that point and a few others.
Britain cannot afford massive rearmerant and a war.
To fight in Europe means the end of the British Empire.
To leave Hitler with any further grievances means that a war might become
inevitable. So,
let’s have Chamberlain offer Germany the borders of 1914, with the single
exception of Alsace-Lorraine, and a colony arrangement that gives Germany
nominal sovengnity over most of their old colonies.
(East Africa is too close to South Africa and TisenTao is held by Japan.)
In exchange, Hitler agrees to a freeze on arms production and limits on
military strength, although these are in the context of the other European
powers instead of Versailles-style Germany-only.
Finally, Germany receives trading privaiges in China, the Empires and
other places. Polish
and Czech objections are ignored. The
Poles get the reminder of Czechoslovakia (stupid, but in line with their OTL
actions) and permission to settle there. Polish
Jews get the option of an all-expenses-paid trip to South Africa and Rhodesia.
Czechs get a similar offer, paid for by the German government, to settle
in French North Africa and British East Africa. Germany
also gets to export its Jews to Africa, but there are strict limits on the
number of German troops that can be stationed in the colonies.
Soviet
objections are countered by quietly allowing them to control parts of the
Balkans, providing a counter-balance to Italy, and offering guarantees of
support in the event of a soviet-German war.
Hitler’s
unhappy because he’s been deprived of his war.
However, his generals have brought great pressure against him to accept
the offer and peacefully restore Germany’s pre-1914 status.
I suspect that Hitler would consider himself forced to accept the offer
and work to maximise German potential for his successor – the Poles are now
effectively dependent on the Germans, so German influence can be expanded.
The Germans also work to develop their colonies.
A secret
clause to the treaty concerns Italy and Ethiopia.
Hitler agrees to pressure Mussolini into withdrawing from Ethiopia in
exchange for supplies and access to markets.
Italy also gets to settle Libya and some other parts of Africa.
The British and French are very interesting in white immigrants for their
colonies – the natives are getting uppity.
World War
Two does not happen. The Germans
have enough problems absorbing Germans from the disputed territories and
dispatching millions of Jews to Africa. The
Japanese discover that the French and British have strengthened their defences
and are quietly supporting the Chinese. A
British negocatied treaty ends the war with China at the cost of China
recognising Japan’s claim to Manchuria. The
Powers develop Africa to first-world standards, often sapping their strength in
wars with the natives who refuse to integrate, but the massive immigration and
superior firepower defeats the natives. Ironically,
co-operation between powers and the German economic sphere brings a peace and a
union to Europe.
|
