How to win World War Two

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

This is my blueprint for winning world war two for the Germans. I invite comments and other suggestions.

The first step is to occupy part of France and have the rest run by Vichy France, and work both to limit Vichy’s power and play on anti-British feelings in the French. Hopefully, the French can either be persuaded to be neutral or to actively assist Germany. The British attack on Oran to destroy the French fleet would be used to convince most of the French to help Germany in some ways.

The next step is to blackmail Mussolini into helping Germany and into taking German orders before the Italians start suffering serious defeats. The price for this is acknowledging Italian control over parts of Africa and the Middle East. No large price for the defeat of the British Empire. Force Mussolini not to bother with a declaration of war, but move a few panzer divisions to Libya and as most of the Luffwaffe as possible. Start the African war with a surprise attack on Egypt, using Italian troops as rear-area guards and German tanks and aircraft as front-line forces. By my offhand calculations, bases in Libya should allow the Luffwaffe to dominate the skies as far as Saudi Arabia, which would mean death for any British force unlucky enough to be caught. With battle-tested German troops, the campaign will be a walkover. More into Egypt and reach the Suez canal, the Egyptians will rise in revolt (and if they don’t it won’t matter much anyway) and seize the canal.

At the same time, use the Italian navy, along with German air cover, to seize Malta, Cyprus and Crete. Without the British having had time to dig in, it should be easy to take the Islands. The Germans can then offer Cyprus to the Turks as an incentive to join them, which would force the British to keep a sharp eye on them. Induce Franco into taking Gibraltar, offering him colonial concessions if he does and threaten invasion if he does not. German airpower and Artillitary can help the Spanish if necessary, but if they succeed in preventing the British from using Gibraltar, that’s fine as far as Germany is concerned.

Next, induce Vichy to collaborate as much as you can. French supplies in North Africa can help out the Italians and Germans (the trucks alone will be worth their weight in gold) and it would sour relations between the British and the free French (assuming that they exist in this TL). Once the battle lines are ready, advance across the Suez and take Palestine and support the revolt in Iraq. The chaos caused by fleeing Jews, Arab revolts and other problems would force the British to withdraw what remains of the Mediterranean fleet through the Straights of Gibraltar (which might become a death ride depending on how much success the axis had with their other operations.) You can then talk the Saudis into co-operating and attempt to prevent the Shah of Iran from remaining with the British.

While building up in Iraq, the Germans can support the Italians in Ethiopia if they want. I don’t think the British would commit forces there if there are more urgent matters, but it keeps the Italians from making trouble elsewhere and their incompetence won’t cause much damage in the middle of Africa. This should bring you to early 1941.

Once ready, push into Iran properly. Someone like Rommel would have harried the British as far as possible into Iran, but the logistics would need to be built up before a proper advance could be sustained. The Air Force can clear the way by bombing British forces and attacking British air bases. I suspect that if the Germans get a large force into Iran, the Shah, who was pro-German, will switch sides. In that case, the British will be shoved back to India. This should induce them to make peace.

If not, there are three tasks to complete. The first is to urge the Japanese to co-operate and use their military to intimidate the British. If they go to war, the US might join in, but if they tighten the screws, the British will be in trouble. The Burma Road will close parmantly. The second in to put the Indian Nationalist and traitor Bose at the head of an army made up of Indian POWs and send them to fight the British. Fomenting unrest in India should make life interesting (and dangerous) for the British Empire. U-Boats can go through the canal and attack British shipping in the Far East. The third is to build defensive lines in Poland, just in case Stalin gets ideas.

Spend much of 1941 building up again and working more closely with the Japanese and Italians. Send a few German officers to the Kwangtang Army in Manchuria and make a few helpful suggestions. Italy can supply troops for rear area security to back up the German forces in Iran. Speer can become head of production and build up new forces. The Germans also need to work on pipelines to supply oil to Germany; although local forces can be supplied direct. The Iranians can help with that if they have not realized what bad masters the Germans are.

The Situation for Britain is desperate. The Empire is cut in half. The royal navy is short on oil and gravely weakened. India is beginning to rebel against British rule and the Japanese are pressing the British harder and harder as they smell weakness. They have already taken the Dutch islands on a claim that the Dutch gave them to the Germans and the Germans passed them on to the Japanese. They occupied French Indochina as in OTL and signed agreements with the Kingdom of Siam. South Africa has switched sides, Australia and New Zealand have recalled their troops to defend their homes and Canada is unwilling to commit more to the war. The U-boat menace is hampering Britain’s lifeline constantly.

In late 1941, India rises in revolt, which degenerates into a five-way civil war. The Princes see a chance for ‘real power at last’, while the Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs attempt to avoid domination by the others and, in-between fighting the British. Bose and Rommel lead the combined army into North India (Pakistan) and attempt to force an uneasy peace on all the sides wile driving out the British. Hitler makes deals with the Princes, while arresting Ghandi, Nehru and Jinnah, attempting to recreate the British model. He holds most of the Indians in contempt through. British forces retreat to Ceylon as Burma explodes behind them. Some Germans encourage the civil war in parts of India that they can’t reach yet, as this will save them the trouble of killing the Indians themselves. The Japanese start seizing the British East Indies, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Hitler then continues his polish build-up, while Stalin desperately prepares to meet Hitler’s forces or to hit him first, depending on which side of the story you believe. Lets assume that Hitler strikes first. He will face a Red Army which will be more powerful and competent than in OTL, but even more untested and the Germans can also put an attack in through the Cascaous to destroy the Soviet Oil Wells. Taking them is not a problem so much as the need for denying them to the soviets, the Japanese can also be pressed into attacking the far east of the USSR. I suspect the Germans would win after several years hard fighting, as the red army degrades and runs out of supplies.

So, there we are, Germany is now in a cold war with America, Britain is no longer an independent power, and the world is Hitler’s oyster…