Alternative History
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1985: Chernenko dies after just 13 months in office and is succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev immediately begins drastic reforms, plus the policies of glasnost and perestroika, meant to improve relations with their American allies.
 
1985: Chernenko dies after just 13 months in office and is succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev immediately begins drastic reforms, plus the policies of glasnost and perestroika, meant to improve relations with their American allies.
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[[Category:Timelines]]

Revision as of 05:18, 11 June 2019

What if the Axis Powers had actually considered their actions in 1941 logically?

1940's

1941: Instead of attacking the Soviet Union and starting a two-front war (which he also wanted to avoid in OTL), Hitler decides to focus all German war efforts on Britain. On December 7, Japanese planes bomb the ships at Pearl Harbor, but they also bomb the repair depots, fuel storage, and other facilities. A few days later, the US carrier fleet is also targeted out on the open ocean, truly crippling the US Pacific Fleet and enabling Japan to eventually take control of most of the Pacific Ocean virtually unopposed. Emperor Hirohito then somehow assures Hitler that Japan can single handedly defeat the US, persuading Hitler to not declare war on the US. Meanwhile, whatever remains of the US Navy is slowly but steadily rebuilt along the West Coast.

1942: Without American military assistance in the form of the US Atlantic Fleet against Germany, British imports suffer horribly in the Battle of the Atlantic, thus enabling Operation Sealion to be remotely feasible. As time goes on, the feasibility of Operation Sealion increases, paving the way for the final battle between the Kriegsmarine and the Royal Navy. Meanwhile, British forces in Africa suffer major defeats, especially after Spain joins the war by attacking Portugal and providing much-needed support for Italian forces in Africa. Egypt is mostly overrun, but the job isn't finished yet. Also, Japanese forces land in Hawaii, mostly securing Japanese control of the Pacific and enabling Japanese attacks on the American West Coast, especially California, where the US Pacific Fleet is desperately trying to rebuild.

1943: Finally, after being postponed indefinitely and even cancelled, Operation Sealion begins. With the RAF and British air defenses destroyed, the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine go all-out on the Royal Navy, pounding it straight into the ocean while the Japanese launch a big attack in Asia a few weeks prior to distract British forces. The massive Japanese attack secures Japanese control of New Guinea, while Italian forces with German and Spanish support (especially Rommel's infamous Afrika Korps) chase the British all the way down Africa. The Wehrmacht soon secures beachheads in southern England during November and December.

1944: After securing numerous beachheads in southern England, the Wehrmacht destroys the British army with blitzkrieg tactics, which can now be used again as they are once again fighting on land. They then speed toward London, blocking any and all potential escape routes, whether land, air, or sea. The British government is then forced to sign a peace treaty, allowing Hitler to keep all his gains in Scandinavia and Western Europe, although Allied governments-in-exile are allowed to remain in British custody. Meanwhile, Italy is allowed to take most British and French colonies in Africa, but Spain gains a few small colonies as a 'thank you' for joining the war, as well as Portugal and all her colonies. In Asia, Japan is allowed to keep all her Asian conquests so far and reorganise the land however they want to, but Britain is allowed to keep Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India. After this, the Axis is finally free to attack the United States from both sides. Also, Northern Ireland is given a referendum on whether to join Ireland or remain in the UK. They vote to remain, but Anglo-Irish tensions continue nonetheless. Finally, Japanese troops previously stationed in the Aleutian Islands begin advancing into the rest of Alaska. Hitler then considers starting Operation Barbarossa, but his generals persuade him not to, instead suggesting an invasion of the US.

1945: After preparing supply routes and revising strategies and tactics, the Third Reich declares war on the US. This comes right after President Roosevelt's death, which has proved to be demoralizing against the near-constant Japanese bombardments on the West Coast. He is succeeded by Harry S. Truman. Now that Britain has sued for peace, America will have to fight a two-front war against two military giants. However, fortunately for the US, the American people are willing to produce military equipment 24/7 while Hitler allows the German people to only work 9-to-5, although some decide to work extra hard for their Führer. Also, the Manhattan Project is then successfully tested in August and the US Atlantic Fleet is still intact.

1946: The American defense proves effective in repelling Axis attacks, and soon the US Pacific returns to action, successfully defeating the Japanese Navy in a few battles. The Kriegsmarine is also repelled by coastal fortifications and the US Atlantic Fleet while the mighty Wehrmacht is repelled by the fledgling US Army. The US also tries to get Britain back in the war, but the British military is still trying to recover.

1947: In the years since Pearl Harbor, the US has managed to rebuild a few aircraft carriers and they are now recommissioned with all-new crews, pilots, and aircraft. Many atomic bombs have also been built since the first ever successful testing of the atomic bomb in 1945, and the new aircraft carriers are now equipped with them. Armed with this new atomic arsenal, the US Navy sets out to obliterate the Japanese. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union tests its first atomic weapon.

1948: Due to the successful American resistance on the East Coast and in the Atlantic, plus recent successes gained by anti-fascist partisans, especially in Eastern Europe, Hitler reluctantly agrees to open peace negotiations. He visits the American Southwest and discovers the extreme segregation taking place there, giving him some hope for a future German-American alliance. Meanwhile in the Pacific, three atomic bombs are dropped on the Japanese navy, stunning them and paving the way for Japanese-American peace negotiations, but also complicating the German-American peace negotiations.

1949: A white peace is signed between the Axis and the US, ending World War 2, but it is clear that the Nazi atomic program must step up its efforts to beat the successes of the Manhattan Project and the Soviet atomic program. US troops move back into Hawaii and Alaska and efforts are made to make them states, while the Nazi-Soviet Pact is renewed to give the German military time to rest and train for the inevitable World War 3. The ensuing rivalry between Nazi Germany and the USA is soon termed the Cold War.

1950's

1953: Joseph Stalin dies and is eventually replaced by Nikita Khrushchev, who then releases information about the Great Purge, tarnishing Stalin and invalidating decades of dogmatic pro-Stalinist propaganda.

1955: After an African-American woman by the name of Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a public bus, the Montgomery Bus Boycott begins in December, gaining the support of the Soviet Union while the Nazis begin funding the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a Nazi-like organisation and an outspoken advocate of white supremacy. America becomes extremely politically divided between liberal civil rights supporters, supported by the American government and the Soviet Union, and conservative segregationists, backed and funded by the Third Reich. The government seems powerless to stop police brutality, but Dwight D. Eisenhower, a massively popular WW2 general-turned POTUS becomes a unifying American symbol while also advocating civil rights.

1956: A Nazi atomic bomb is successfully tested, sending the Cold War to new heights.

1957-8: Khrushchev is almost deposed and decides to consolidate his position and then introduces more reforms.

1959: Alaska and Hawaii finally gain statehood while a communist revolution occurs in the American puppet state ally of Cuba. The new Cuban government, led by Fidel Castro, agrees to tone down on the anti-American message as Khrushchev urges him to wait until the Third Reich is destroyed before opposing the US, since they are an indispensable ally against Hitler. The same year, the Nazi-Soviet Pact is renewed again due to fears of a nuclear World War 3.

1960's

1960: John F. Kennedy takes office as POTUS, taking a strong stance against "the fascist segregationists".

1961: Khrushchev and Kennedy sign the Treaty of Washington, creating the Anti-Axis, an alliance committed to defeating the Axis Powers and preserving the post-war peace. Britain swiftly joins the new alliance.

1963: The March on Washington paves the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which is helped by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson's expertise at handling Congress on President Kennedy's behalf (President Kennedy is not assassinated in this timeline).

1964: JFK wins a second term. Meanwhile, another attempt is made to remove Khrushchev, which succeeds due to Khrushchev's cooperation. Leonid Brezhnev becomes the new leader of the Soviet Union and clamps down on Khrushchev's reforms, sparking fears that he might scrap the Anti-Axis. However, he assures Kennedy that the Nazis are still a common enemy which they will continue working together to defeat.

1964-8: The Civil Rights Act and several other related bills are passed into law, significantly reducing the KKK's influence and angering their Nazi backers.

1965: Hitler dies due to medical complications and appoints new leaders in his will.

1967: The anti-fascist partisans are finally defeated after more than two decades of fighting. Celebrations are held all across Axis-controlled Europe, but silent dissent remains in the shadows.

1968: Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson succeeds President Kennedy as the Democrat candidate, winning the presidential elections partly due to JFK's continued popularity.

1969: The Nazi-Soviet Pact is no longer renewed, but despite the frosty anything-can-start-a-war relations between the two countries, neither side attempts to start a war due to the threat of nuclear annihilation.

1970's

1971: Benito Mussolini dies from age.

1972: LBJ wins a second term.

1976: Without the Watergate Scandal, there is no demand for outsider candidates, thus earning Hubert Humphrey the Democratic nomination. However, Ronald Reagan, a popular actor-turned Governor of California, wins the Republican nomination and soars to victory against the relatively unknown Humphrey.

1979: The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan takes place, souring the international climate.

1980's

1980: Reagan wins a second term.

1982: Brezhnev dies from a heart attack, paving the way for Yuri Andropov to take leadership.

1984: Andropov dies after just 15 months in office and is succeeded by Konstantin Chernenko.

1985: Chernenko dies after just 13 months in office and is succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev immediately begins drastic reforms, plus the policies of glasnost and perestroika, meant to improve relations with their American allies.