I admit that I sometimes fantasize that I am one of the most powerful conquerers in human history, at at time when his success was at its highest peak. Yes, I believe that Hitler was pure evil manifested in the form of a small German male, however, all moral ethics aside, If I knew everything I know now about WW2, and was placed in Hitler shoes during the phoney war…… would victory be assured? I will only talk about strategical warfare decisions, and avoid anything to do with the holocaust, as it is not a necessary point of discussion for a topic like this.
Seeing as it would be a stretch to improve on the Polish campaign for the Germans, and that my insertion into an existing form via time travel, would certinatly alter the course of history from that point forth, I would choose to gain Hitler’s power around the spring of 1940. The first thing I would be sure of is… repeating the things that worked (remember, this is just an experiment in tactical warfare, I’m not a Nazi sympathizer).
1. Attend Field-marshal Gurdarian’s demonstration of “Blitzkrieg” and praise him while making enough phantom alterations to call the whole idea my own. After all, I need the whole nation and the military forces I command to believe that I am a tactical genius while I’m ahead, so they don’t challenge my decisions later, or try to assassinate me.
1. I’d get laid, eat a steak, and maybe explore my painful childhood through some professional help.
2. If, failing those methods of simmering down, I’d consider which of my mannerisms might be prone to parody, and I’d curtail those. Just in case things go badly.
3. If, failing those measures of self-improvement and failing to prevent becoming the butt of decades worth of jokes, I’d simply quit while I was ahead and hope that future generations would overlook the whole “evil, genocidal” thing.
4. Failing to even notice that now would be a good time to say “Cash me out, boys, I’m calling it a good night!”, I would definitely sue for peace before “Oops, no more Germans in Prussia for the rest of eternity… my bad.”
5. If I’d whizzed past all the signposts on my inevitable path to a sad bunker, I’d notice that moment as my last chance to grasp at a modicum of human decency, and I’d pen a contrite little note, owning up to all the aforementioned mistakes.
For all this to even get it kinda to work you also have to set a goal!..As a NOT Nazi sympathizer what would it be?..for wich reason then you would like to gain territory in the east and threatning England?..otherwise it would just be what it was, ( don´t get me wrong ,I think to know what you mean but you will have immediatly hurdles like the Partisans etc…) get a little more detailed on it, please.
I think that was his point Marc. :)
I kill myself
I would stop and consolidate what i had before war started and build up the navy and technology. Secondly, i would export National Socialism to other nations and create more allies converting/developing South America, and Turkey. I would enlist Stalin into a future war against UK granting him spheres of influence in Persia and India. I would do anything to get USSR bogged down into a war with UK/India about 2 years before i was ready for war. The timing would depend on Italy and her developments toward gearing for war ( around 1943). No war would start before we had a huge military advantage over everybody. The progress of the war would follow what happened with the focus on taking and sealing off the Medd and the Suez from UK, taking Malta, Gibraltar, providing safe passage for further campaigns against British assets in Africa/ Middle East.
Russia would be invaded at the best moment, when her armies are fighting in India/middle East enlisting my new ally, Turkey with the promise of land gains as she had during the Ottoman period.
Once Russia was defeated, i would again consolidate my gains and prepare for war again against UK and USA with an enlarged navy and enough subs to totally blockade USA/UK
@Imperious:
I would stop and consolidate what i had before war started and build up the navy and technology. Secondly, i would export National Socialism to other nations and create more allies converting/developing South America, and Turkey. I would enlist Stalin into a future war against UK granting him spheres of influence in Persia and India. I would do anything to get USSR bogged down into a war with UK/India about 2 years before i was ready for war. The timing would depend on Italy and her developments toward gearing for war ( around 1943). No war would start before we had a huge military advantage over everybody. The progress of the war would follow what happened with the focus on taking and sealing off the Medd and the Suez from UK, taking Malta, Gibraltar, providing safe passage for further campaigns against British assets in Africa/ Middle East.
Russia would be invaded at the best moment, when her armies are fighting in India/middle East enlisting my new ally, Turkey with the promise of land gains as she had during the Ottoman period.
Once Russia was defeated, i would again consolidate my gains and prepare for war again against UK and USA with an enlarged navy and enough subs to totally blockade USA/UK
looks promissing IL ,how are you dealing with France and Greece in the meantime? and how would you deal with the Oil problems Germany had?
As a person who enjoys acting, and engaging in total-persona, I don’t think I can fairly answer this question without getting indicted for a hate crime lol…
I kill myself
Don’t you remeber Red ALert. That would insure Papa Joe’s rise to power.
Also we would have lost out an MANY serious technolgical Acheivements
I kill myself
Don’t you remeber Red ALert. That would insure Papa Joe’s rise to power.
Also we would have lost out an MANY serious technolgical Acheivements
Hmm…
60 million lives + 70 years of children.
vs
Some serious technology…
What a Kunundrum to be in! LOL…
As a person who enjoys acting, and engaging in total-persona, I don’t think I can fairly answer this question without getting indicted for a hate crime lol…
Just think millitary, and forget about the forced labour and final solution stuff.
looks promising IL ,how are you dealing with France and Greece in the meantime? and how would you deal with the Oil problems Germany had?
The Soviets, Hungary and Romania would export under new trade agreements where participants would receive land grants in say Yugoslavia and Greece. Other oil would come from sending a proper force to Africa and taking it from British influence. The goal is to make as many partners in crime as possible with the goal of further isolation of UK.
When the war starts ( about 1943) France would be dispatched in the first year, Greece would be after.
In the case of France, i would be more proactive in seizing her post-defeat fleet.
The only issue was if the French government was going to extend the Maginot wall to the channel… I think they would not have the funds in time.
Also, the total waste of resources for the Final Solution would be used for labor camps building war material in our factories. Under no circumstances would we be dealing with ghettos or killing people for racial reasons.
@Imperious:
Also, the total waste of resources for the Final Solution would be used for labor camps building war material in our factories. Under no circumstances would we be dealing with ghettos or killing people for racial reasons.
What about political opponents?
What about political opponents?
They go back to Canada and freeze.
If I were Hitler in 1940 I would convince all the subhumans in East Poland, Byelorussia, Ukraine, Baltic states etc that I was there to liberate them from Jewish Bolshevism, be nice and turn them to my side, and use them to kill Stalin and the Reds. Then with the power vacuum and ensuing civil war I would promote various nationalist and ethnic movements to get them fighting amongst themselves. Let the civil war reduce the slavic population by a few tens of millions and then when they are are their weakest I would sweep in with the SS to finish the job. Finally, once all my enemies are dead I would kill my friends.
Germany represented the pinnacle of success in the summer of 1939. In the arts, technology, the socioeconomic arena……in just about everything, Germany stood at the forefront of the world. I would not have gone to war. Instead, I would have been happy with the fact that I changed Germany from a broken, failed state into one of the world’s economic powerhouses. I would have enjoyed this success and continued to strive for a better tomorrow for all Germans. I would have made all of Speer’s little models onto a reality. I would have worked for a better world…one led by German’s example, not by it’s destruction.
Well the Nuremberg laws didn’t help Germany socially or culturally for the world, but aside from racial policies it can be argued Germany was looking promising from 1933.
@Pacific:
Germany represented the pinnacle of success in the summer of 1939. In the arts, technology, the socioeconomic arena……in just about everything, Germany stood at the forefront of the world. I would not have gone to war. Instead, I would have been happy with the fact that I changed Germany from a broken, failed state into one of the world’s economic powerhouses. I would have enjoyed this success and continued to strive for a better tomorrow for all Germans. I would have made all of Speer’s little models onto a reality. I would have worked for a better world…one led by German’s example, not by it’s destruction.
I would have shot for this.
But I think the reality, from reading the political climates at the time, is that Europe was due for war one way or another…
Germany was only a few good decisions away from ruling all of Europe and maybe even Africa, I would have went to war and hoped for better fortunes.
