raharris1973
Gone Fishin'
Okay, so if you want to have WWII start in 1938, the better way to go about it is to have Hitler just force the war against Czechoslovakia to start before Chamberlain asks for one last conference, than to have Chamberlain or anyone in Britain deliberately decide to fight over the Sudetenland.
Denied the chance to even negotiate Czech surrender by a hurrying Hitler, France and the UK reluctantly declare war, but undertake no offensive action on land.
So, when Hitler begins the war on Czechoslovakia, you need to get past any possible coup attempts. It's plausible for plotters to lose their nerve or to try and then fail. That's the direction I want to go with with this one.
Then you've got the question of how the war against the Czechs goes. Germany doesn't have so overwhelming an edge as it would against Poland in 1939. The Czechs I believe had more modern weaponry, especially armor and aircraft. Unfortunately for the Czechs though, alot of the Czechoslovak artillery corps are ethnic Germans, and ethnic divisions can have a weakening effect on Czechoslovak capability across the board. Also, in the infantry versus infantry battles on the frontiers, the Germans at least are not invading an entirely foreign country- the local civilians favor the Wehrmacht over the Czechoslovak army. I'll give the Czechs, generously, 8 weeks, a few more than Poland had in 1939.
The Germans need to spend the winter of 1938-1939 resting, refitting and training for the next year's campaign.
"What next?" is the question I want to open up for floor debate. The main danger to Germany is France, making it the logical target of a spring 1939 campaign. However, there is still Poland to the east, technically neutral, but annoyingly positioned on Germany's eastern flank, cutting off East Prussia. Perhaps they should be taken care of in an early spring campaign. But that brings its own complications--how much of Poland is needed? If you leave any residual Poland it will wait for revenge, but going all the way to its eastern border will commit German forces far to the east while France is still there as a threat, and on top of that, bring a common border with the Soviet Union. Would Hitler and Stalin agree on a partition of Poland and a non-aggression pact? This could be difficult, especially if Stalin provided Soviet air support to the Czechs. Plus to the north, British action may threaten Germany's ability to import Swedish ore through Norwegian waters.
Hence the poll
Denied the chance to even negotiate Czech surrender by a hurrying Hitler, France and the UK reluctantly declare war, but undertake no offensive action on land.
So, when Hitler begins the war on Czechoslovakia, you need to get past any possible coup attempts. It's plausible for plotters to lose their nerve or to try and then fail. That's the direction I want to go with with this one.
Then you've got the question of how the war against the Czechs goes. Germany doesn't have so overwhelming an edge as it would against Poland in 1939. The Czechs I believe had more modern weaponry, especially armor and aircraft. Unfortunately for the Czechs though, alot of the Czechoslovak artillery corps are ethnic Germans, and ethnic divisions can have a weakening effect on Czechoslovak capability across the board. Also, in the infantry versus infantry battles on the frontiers, the Germans at least are not invading an entirely foreign country- the local civilians favor the Wehrmacht over the Czechoslovak army. I'll give the Czechs, generously, 8 weeks, a few more than Poland had in 1939.
The Germans need to spend the winter of 1938-1939 resting, refitting and training for the next year's campaign.
"What next?" is the question I want to open up for floor debate. The main danger to Germany is France, making it the logical target of a spring 1939 campaign. However, there is still Poland to the east, technically neutral, but annoyingly positioned on Germany's eastern flank, cutting off East Prussia. Perhaps they should be taken care of in an early spring campaign. But that brings its own complications--how much of Poland is needed? If you leave any residual Poland it will wait for revenge, but going all the way to its eastern border will commit German forces far to the east while France is still there as a threat, and on top of that, bring a common border with the Soviet Union. Would Hitler and Stalin agree on a partition of Poland and a non-aggression pact? This could be difficult, especially if Stalin provided Soviet air support to the Czechs. Plus to the north, British action may threaten Germany's ability to import Swedish ore through Norwegian waters.
Hence the poll