ALTERNATIVE HISTORY
OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
Part II. Danger that was successfully avoided: unification of Great Britain and Nazi Germany against the USSR

Accomplishment of the bellicose British plans of war against the USSR in 1940-1941 would have objectively eased the conquest of our country for Hitler, which was the main goal of führer. There are absolutely no reasons to believe that the very fact of such war would have brought the USSR and Germany to a united military camp. Because of the British aggression military-political state of our country could have been much worse than it actually was by the 22nd of June, 1941.

The end. Beginning is given here: http://www.win.ru/en/Mysteries-of-History/4113.phtml

If the Englishmen have stricken first...

Allied Supreme Military Council of England and France made the principal decision to attack the USSR — as the nearest planned military operation — as far back as on the 19th of December, 1939. Hitler made analogous decision only on the 31st of July, 1940.

Threat of the Anglo-French (or just the English) offensive against the USSR was rather real during the 1940 and the first half of 1941. However, every now and then different circumstances obtruded the already projected plans of the West. In March of 1940 it was the military defeat of Finland by the Soviet army. In May-June of 1940 successful Wehrmacht offensive against Netherlands, Belgium and France messed with the western plots. In June of 1941 Hitler’s attack at the USSR prompted the British leadership (on second thoughts) to formally proclaim themselves to be the Ally of our country.

The circumstances might have been different, however. Leaders of England and France were characterized by the sluggishness during the decision making process and carrying out of the adopted plans. So, as far back as in January of 1940 — having generally decided to render aid to Finland — they were delaying the practical steps until Finland was defeated. But we can imagine that Anglo-French troops might have been sent to Finland by the February—beginning of March, 1940. Or that Finland stood against the Soviet troops until the beginning of April of 1940, i. e. until the moment when the Allied contingents were actually sent to Norway. Anglo-French invasion to the Soviet polar zone might have started in spring of 1940 then.

Failure of the German offensive in the West in May-June of 1940 also might have been a rather probable alternative. Mind, that initially the German command was planning the offensive operation in similarity with the «Schlieffen plan» of the First World War period — i. e. as the turning movement around the northern flank of the French troops via Belgium with the latter outflanking of them. Implementation of that plan would have led only to frontal forcing the French armies back, thus, depriving Wehrmacht of the decisive victory in the beginning of the campaign. Only the capturing of the German command plans by the Allies, has forced the Germans to intensively consider the direction of the future main strike. In the end these considerations developed into the final variant of the «Fall Gelb» plan that stipulated the strike, which countered the Allied front through the Sedan to Dunkirk and the latter throwing of half of the Allied troops to the sea.

If the German command acted according to its initial plan (which the Allies, having obtained the German documents, were preparing to — not concerning about the fact that since the German plans were exposed by the enemy, Nazis were to definitely change their plans), Anglo-French coalition might have had all the chances to drag on the German offensive and foist off the trench warfare on Wehrmacht. In this case England and France might have got the ability to finish their preparations for the war against the USSR.

Finally, delay of the German offensive against the USSR — which might have become quite probable in case of German procrastination during the occupation of the Balkans and Crete, for example — might (as we’ve just seen) have led to the fact that in the end of June-July of 1941 England could have started the warfare against our country. How would have the Second World War changed in this case?

Western coalition against Russia was rather probable

Certain thought inevitably comes to mind — if England (and France) had the time to attack the USSR before the Germany attacked us, the latter might have become the USSR ally against the Western states. Both course of the Second World War and the composition of the fighting coalitions might have been quite different than it was in reality. Though, how rightful the view of that kind might be?

Character and course of the Western powers’ preparations for the war against the USSR in the end of 1939 — the first half of 1941 leaves no place for doubts that they were made given the presupposition that in the end Hitler would deny his bellicose intentions towards the West and join the anti-Soviet coalition! That was the main aim of English and French (and the USA that backed them as well) policy both in the period of preparing and bringing the shameful Munich plot to life (September of 1938) and the latter period.

During the period of the «strange war» at the Western front (September of 1939 — beginning of May, 1940) England and France permanently stick to the «pacifying policy» towards Hitler and were undertaking the demarches in order to convince Germans of the fact that their national goals lie on the East — and the Western states won’t put any obstacles on their way of reaching them. By the way, the question whether this position was sincere or provocative is still unclear. Be as it may, but during that period Anglo-French aviation was dropping the leaflets rather than bombs to the German cities — they’ve proclaimed the slogans like «Down with Bolshevism!» where Hitler was depicted as the «crusader who gave up his crusade», «the man who submitted himself to Moscow». Viscount Halifax, then British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, having had a public speech at the House of Commons on the 4th of October, 1939, voiced his sincere regrets that Hitler has «betrayed the primary principles of his original policy», implying that he preferred the non-aggression pact with Moscow to the immediate offensive against Russia righter after the invasion to Poland.

We all know that conquest of the European part of the Soviet Union made up the most part of the expansionist plans of Hitler — this way they have been proclaimed in «Mein Kampf» and during the numerous private speeches of führer. The warfare against the USSR in 1940-1941 that the Western powers were going to unleash wouldn’t have impeded but, quite the contrary, pretty much helped Hitler to fulfill his plan to defeat and occupy France and then send all of his troops to our country. For the sake of that, Hitler might have become the temporary ally of Stalin and even sign the corresponding treaty. However, nothing may prove that such alliance would have been long-lasting.

Repelling the raids of the Anglo-French aviation, fights against the enemy fleet at the Black Sea, against enemy expeditionary troops at the North Polar Circle, Caucasus and, probably, in the south-west of the Ukraine (France had a military cooperation pact with Romania) would have inevitably weakened the Soviet armed forces at the threshold of the Hitler’s offensive against the USSR. Distraction of the Anglo-French troops to the East would also be beneficial to Hitler as long as it would have helped him to put France out of the war as soon as possible — and probably even put England to its knees after the air warfare. Everything would be favorable for Hitler, all the more encouraging him to invade Russia. At that, war between the USSR and Great Britain would have significantly complicated the possibility to form the anti-Hitlerite coalition after the 22nd of June, 1941, which could have also been favorable to the Nazi aggressors.

What have Churchill and Hess failed to negotiate about

Let’s pay attention to the fact that the last directions of the British Heads of Staff Committee prior to the 22nd of June, 1941 to prepare and conduct the air strikes at the Soviet territory were given after the second person of the Third Reich — Rudolf Hess — had arrived to the foggy Albion with a secret mission. Now we have all the grounds to assume that six weeks prior to the start of «Barbarossa» operation, Hess brought the offer to conclude peace and form an alliance with the United Kingdom. Obviously, the conditions of the peace treaty seemed to be absolutely unacceptable to the British leaders. Seemingly, having offered the salvation of the British Colonial Empire, Hess insisted that Germany was to remain the only supreme power at the European continent. For England that was equal to conceding the defeat. That’s why in the end, on the eve of the 22nd of June — when the upcoming attack of Germany at the Soviet Union wasn’t a secret to anyone — Churchill decided to support our country. But in the end of May—beginning of June, when the Chief Commander of the British Air Force at the Middle East was ordered to prepare the raids at Baku from the Mosul air fields, the negotiations haven’t seemingly reached the dead-end yet. Had the Englishmen and Hess shown more mutual compliance — then the Anglo-German coalition against the USSR might have become true in summer of 1941.

Accomplishment of the bellicose British plans of war against the USSR in 1940-1941 would have objectively eased the conquest of our country for Hitler, which was the main goal of führer. There are absolutely no reasons to believe that the very fact of such war would have brought the USSR and Germany to a united military camp. Because of the British aggression military-political state of our country could have been much worse than actually it was by the 22nd of June, 1941.

Whole number of circumstances — military and diplomatic actions of the Soviet Union were not the least of them — have prevented such unfavorable course of events. First of all, in March of 1940 it was the moderate claims of the USSR while signing a peace treaty with Finland. The latter has signed this treaty, having lost just a small part of its territory — that has cut the ground from under the prepared intervention of the Western powers into the Russian North. Then, using the military victory of Germany over France, the USSR has eliminated the jumping-off ground of the anti-Soviet power in the Baltic States, which could have been also used for the invasion into our country, and improved its strategic positions at the Balkan direction, having retrieved the Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. Afterwards, in spring of 1941 Stalin made great diplomatic efforts to convince the British leadership that in the end, Soviet support in the upcoming inevitable war against Germany would be more beneficial to England than the alliance with Hitler against our country. How did he do it is quite another, though very large-scale subject.

Long story short, in the 1940 — the first half of 1941 Soviet Union managed to avoid the terrible danger, embodied by the offensive of England and France (or just the England) given the inevitable future attack of Germany — as well as the quite probable new closer between Hitler and the Western powers that could have led to conclusion of the «new Munich plot» for the account of the USSR.

By Yaroslav Butakov