Battle of Moscow, 1941 (whatif?)

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Battle of Moscow, 1941

Posted on: Thu, 9 Sep 2010 16:07:49 +0000 (UTC)

I can't seem to find a WI on this topic (but I didn't look hard).

Hitler demanded at least three major delays prior to the Battle of
Moscow: (1) the Balkans adventure prior to June, 1941, (2) the push
toward the Ukraine in August, 1941, and (3) the push toward Leningrad
in September, 1941. Operation Typhoon, the attack on Moscow, didn't
start until October, 1941. Obviously, operations in the Balkans and
against Kiev and Leningrad affected the course of the war, but let's
ignore those for a minute.

What if we minimize these three delays, push Barbarossa up to April,
and Typhoon up to August? Germany gains Moscow (maybe). Is this the
knockout blow for the S.U.?

What if Germany gives up the Balkans (and lets Italy fend for itself),
Kiev, and does not conduct a close siege of Leningrad, but gains
Moscow?uming that this does not eliminate the S.U. as a
belligerent, what does the course of WW2 look like?

There's no possibility that Germany can win, especially given Japan's
attack on December 7 and Germany's subsequent declaration of war on
the U.S., so maybe we will get nukes on Dresden instead of
incendiaries, and maybe the invasion of France will be delayed or end
in defeat. Maybe Churchill will win the war with a soft underbelly
strategy in the Balkans and Italy.

In any case, I think that the course of the Cold War would be impacted
more than the course of WW2.

CC..

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