Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

At the risk, again, of vastly simplifying the issue, Stalin’s main mistake in 1941 – apart from trusting Hitler – was in placing much of his available western combat power on the border between the two empires. The net result was the destruction of much of that force in the first weeks of the war. This destruction not only cost thousands of lives, it destroyed thousands of aircraft and supplies that would be needed in the war.

Lets change things a little. Let’s follow the assumption that Stalin was not planning to jump on Hitler as soon as it looked like there was a chance of success. Therefore, let’s have Stalin concentrate on the ‘Stalin Line’ and leave only token forces in Poland and the Baltic States, therefore, much of the Soviet forces are out of immediate reach when the war begins. However, the token forces are mainly prepared to act as partisans to attack German supply lines when they attack.

This won’t stop Hitler from attacking. Even if the nazi intelligence picks up on the moves, it’ll only convince him that the Soviets are weaker than suspected. The attack will begin on the 21st June 1941. The beginning strikes hit mainly nothing, including bombing several abandoned airfields, and the Germans waste considerable resources in futile lunges at nothing.

This gives the USSR’s main forces a small chance to get ready for the onslaught, lets say three days. This lets them man the Stalin line, which is mainly complete, get the aircraft manned and fuelled and generally prepare for the attack. The Germans attack the Soviet line and get severely weakened by the defences, while Soviet tanks, kept in reserve, often attack the spearheads that do break through. The Soviets lose 2 men for every German, but they can afford that. The German forces have been weakened and the march to the east halted.

September sees the USSR launch an offensive of its own. Spearheaded by the T-34 and led by Zhukov, the Soviets attempt to repeat their dramatic success at Nomonhan. They’re not quite that good, yet, but they force the Germans back through Poland as Beck orders a retreat to evade the Soviet thrusts. Stalin offers Finland their 1940 borders if they turn on the German forces in Finland and, reluctantly, the Finns attack the Germans, forcing them out of Finland. The other German allies, apart from Italy, start to edge out of the war, Romania, the first, accepting its 1941 borders as a condition for peace, along with the termination of supplies to Germany. Hitler wastes some effort by ordering Romania bombed, which convinces Italy to start preparing to desert. The Fascist Grand Council overthrows Mussolini and the border defences are manned, while Italian forces in the Middle East surrender to the British. Their loss forces Rommel, under pressure from British forces, to surrender, while many of the German forces are interned by the Vichy France colonies in Algeria.

Hitler orders total war, but its really too late. The Nazis attempt to negotiate a truce, but Stalin scents blood and demands concessions so huge that the Nazi’s cannot accept, forcing Germany to fight on. Hitler orders withdrawal from Norway and much of France, while handing over occupation duties to some Spanish volunteers, and prepares to fight to the end. However, its too late to get German industry on a total war footing, and the Germans are steadily pushed back in November.

With most of the German forces in East Prussia, the French communists see a chance to revolt and seize power. This spells the end for Vichy, which collapses as the communists blame it for the defeat of France, and the communists seize most of the Vichy stockpile of arms, including the ones Hitler (or the communists) were not supposed to know about. Germany finally surrenders in early 1942 and Soviet forces occupy Germany, as well as France (invited by the communists), while preparing to invade Spain and Italy as soon as they can. The British have occupied Norway, but they are suspicious of Stalin’s intentions and absorb the remains of the Vichy forces in Algeria and the Free French forces, preparing for a repeat of the Spanish Civil War tactics, just in France.

Seeing the collapse of their allies, Japan does not attack Pearl Harbour. Instead, as British paranoia about the expanded USSR grows, they become allies and work to build a new army. The British and Americans, who are also concerned, managed to negotiate a Sino-Japanese truce, which allows Chieng to get back to fighting the Chinese communists.

Author’s Notes: There was a challenge some time back to create a USSR that covered all of the European Continent. This is my solution and it’s the best one I can think of, unless D-Day fails completely (and even that’s patchy because of the Atomic Bomb.

The tactics I have the Soviets use were probably the only ones that the Red Army could use to win quickly. The Red Army was always a bludgeon, rather than a rapier, like the Germans. The soviets were also better at defence than the offensive. Give them a proper defence line and take away the German advantage of surprise at a local level (Stalin knew they were coming, he just paid no attention to the evidence.) Then the soviets can bludgeon the reminder into submission and head west. Initial German defeat makes it harder for them to return. The Balkan nations and Finland would edge away from taking part in the war, the Romanians, in particular, supplied Germany with oil, which was desperately needed.

The Japanese headed south, in part, because they believed that the Germans could keep the Red Army tied down in the west. Take away that and the Japanese won’t enter the war, instead trying to seek a compromise while strengthening the Kwangtang army in Manchuria. Take away the Japanese and the Americans won’t enter the war either.

That leaves the British. With most of their mobile forces tied down fighting Rommel, they won’t be able to reinvade France in time to stake a claim to it. Even if they do, attacking the weaker British won’t give Stalin nightmares, while the Americans won’t be involved, and the French communists completely on the soviet side. Occupying Norway is probably the best that they could do, while defeating Rommel and the Italians in Africa.

Stalin’s Pride