What about if a Fascist Russia sparks World War II in place of Nazi Germany? Here's what I was thinking:
The Whites win the Russian Civil War. Subsequently, sometime in either the 1920s or 1930s, Russia goes Fascist, authoritarian, and totalitarian (every Central/Southern/Eastern European country other than Czechoslovakia became a dictatorship by 1938 in real life), undergoes a rapid industrialization and military expansion program, and looks for an opportunity to reassert itself in its foreign policy once it's ready. First of all, Russia and Germany gang up on Poland around 1940, with Russia conquering the Kresy (eastern Poland) while Germany conquers the Polish Corridor (minus Gdynia) and perhaps Polish Upper Silesia as well. Lithuania gets Vilnius after the end of this war--or perhaps it won't be a war, but will simply be a war scare, with a Munich Agreement-like negotiated outcome and partition of Poland afterwards, with the consent of the Western Powers. (Though the central Polish core of Poland, plus Gdynia, would remain independent.) Then, Russia decides to demand Bessarabia from Romania, which in turn motivates Hungary to demand Northern Transylvania from Romania and Bulgaria to demand Southern Dobruja from Romania. Again, war is avoided with another Munich-style conference. Afterwards, Russia purchases Subcarpathian Ruthenia from Czechoslovakia. But Anglo-French patience with Russia is running thin. So, the next time that Russia makes territorial demands on a neighbor--in this case, Russia demanding the former six Armenian Vilayets from Turkey, in eastern Anatolia, Britain and France decide to back Turkey to the hilt and to offer Turkey a guarantee against Russian aggression. Russia subsequently proceeds to invade Turkey, which results in an Anglo-French declaration of war on Russia and in France revoking the 1890s Franco-Russian alliance.
In this war, Russia will aim to do an assault on eastern Anatolia from the Caucasus while also aiming to do an amphibious attack on Constantinople. Russia would also be quite capable of expanding this war onto other fronts--for instance, by allying with Afghanistan in order to invade British India, which it can also portray as an invasion to liberate British India from British tyranny (while of course giving its Pashtun and possibly Baloch parts to Afghanistan). There could perhaps be some fighting in the Persian theater as well. Meanwhile, Japan, seeing a golden opportunity with the Anglo-French distracted, could proceed to make a move on some of their colonies, such as making a move on French Indochina.
Anyway, how do you see this war playing out? And do you actually see any realistic way to bring the US into this war, other than by a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor or something similar?
The Whites win the Russian Civil War. Subsequently, sometime in either the 1920s or 1930s, Russia goes Fascist, authoritarian, and totalitarian (every Central/Southern/Eastern European country other than Czechoslovakia became a dictatorship by 1938 in real life), undergoes a rapid industrialization and military expansion program, and looks for an opportunity to reassert itself in its foreign policy once it's ready. First of all, Russia and Germany gang up on Poland around 1940, with Russia conquering the Kresy (eastern Poland) while Germany conquers the Polish Corridor (minus Gdynia) and perhaps Polish Upper Silesia as well. Lithuania gets Vilnius after the end of this war--or perhaps it won't be a war, but will simply be a war scare, with a Munich Agreement-like negotiated outcome and partition of Poland afterwards, with the consent of the Western Powers. (Though the central Polish core of Poland, plus Gdynia, would remain independent.) Then, Russia decides to demand Bessarabia from Romania, which in turn motivates Hungary to demand Northern Transylvania from Romania and Bulgaria to demand Southern Dobruja from Romania. Again, war is avoided with another Munich-style conference. Afterwards, Russia purchases Subcarpathian Ruthenia from Czechoslovakia. But Anglo-French patience with Russia is running thin. So, the next time that Russia makes territorial demands on a neighbor--in this case, Russia demanding the former six Armenian Vilayets from Turkey, in eastern Anatolia, Britain and France decide to back Turkey to the hilt and to offer Turkey a guarantee against Russian aggression. Russia subsequently proceeds to invade Turkey, which results in an Anglo-French declaration of war on Russia and in France revoking the 1890s Franco-Russian alliance.
In this war, Russia will aim to do an assault on eastern Anatolia from the Caucasus while also aiming to do an amphibious attack on Constantinople. Russia would also be quite capable of expanding this war onto other fronts--for instance, by allying with Afghanistan in order to invade British India, which it can also portray as an invasion to liberate British India from British tyranny (while of course giving its Pashtun and possibly Baloch parts to Afghanistan). There could perhaps be some fighting in the Persian theater as well. Meanwhile, Japan, seeing a golden opportunity with the Anglo-French distracted, could proceed to make a move on some of their colonies, such as making a move on French Indochina.
Anyway, how do you see this war playing out? And do you actually see any realistic way to bring the US into this war, other than by a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor or something similar?
