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Hearts of IronHearts of Iron II - Scenario - Bad Boys!!
What if the USA could declare war right away? What if it was the aggressor? This scenario allows you to find out...
In 1936, the United States was at peace, but right-wing forces and hardliners meant a society different from what one would have expected.
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The November 1936 election proved the polls wrong. Staggeringly, Alf M. Landon was elected as President of the United States. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the heavy early favorite, was out and sent packing to his estate in Hyde Park, New York, career over. His campaign of “full democracy for all” had been sent to the dust bin; there would be no return to normalcy.
Landon’s Vice President was Frank Knox, and his cabinet included Arthur Vandenburg, William D. Leahy and America’s favorite celebrity, Charles Lindbergh.
With Landon and his cabinet entrenched in their new positions, emboldened hardliners exerted their influence, pushing the nation further to the right. Not everyone was on board: dissent zoomed to 10%. Then, at 1:00 am on January 1, 1937, another small movement toward authoritarianism and away from democracy made it possible for the United States to declare war against many nations. This was Landon’s dream.
Having long eyed Istanbul as a gateway to the Black Sea to one day launch a surprise attack on the belly of the Soviet Union, a few hours later, the United States declared war on Turkey. It was still only January 1, 1937. It had been a busy day.
While the United States had almost zero ground forces, it had a good navy with several fleet carriers and many battleships. Declaring war would mean a flood of resources, which would permit a rapid expansion. So what if dissent would now exceed 20 percent? That would go down soon enough, and then the building would begin…
Unfortunately, a day later Yugoslavia declared war in defense of Turkey. And then Germany declared war on the United States. And the Soviet Union, Mongolia and Tanu Tuva did too. It was only January 4, 1937. The world would never be the same…
As the United States embarked on a crash battery of naval research, Italy declared war on February 26, 1937.
The Allies were happy to have the United States join their alliance. Knox wanted to join the Allies. Among other things, it would be good for trade, he argued and preempt a stab in the back from Canada or any of the other Allies. But the three Ls (Landon, Leahy and Lindbergh) overruled him. America would not be beholden to any alliance or have to answer to the United Kingdom and France. The US would fight the Germans, Italians, Turks, Yugoslavians and Soviets all alone. But neither side really had the ability to project power yet. This was going to be a heck of a phony war…
Time flew by. America’s military ramped up. Carriers, battleships, heavy cruisers and submarines were laid down. Eventually so to were fighters, tactical bombers and even marines. The only problem was that even using Monrovia, Liberia as a stepping stone, American ships lacked the long legs needed to assault any enemy territory. The nearest was Calabria, but even that was out of reach. So in the spring of 1938, the three L’s swallowed their pride. The USA offered alliance to the Allies. This offer was accepted. The Allies declared war on all those America was at war with. The dice were cast. Now the world really would be in flames…
By the summer of 1938, the war expanded further as Turkey joined the Axis. So did Hungary, Romania and Italy. Poland, seemingly suicidal, declared war on the Soviet Union.
By January 1939, it was over for the Italians, squeezed as they were by a triple attack from the British, French and the Americans, who struck first at Florence before cutting down to Rome and across the boot. The Soviets and the British and Americans also attacked Turkey. Ironically, though the war started with the American declaration of war on Turkey, it was the UK who annexed it. And then the Soviets kept adavnacing.
Eventually Greece, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Austria joined the Axis, Yugoslavia the Allies and Romania flipped to the Soviets. The United States, United Kingdom with help from France fought the Soviets in a Balkan Black Sea with much seesaw action in the Balkans, Crimea, in Baku and even the capture by the Allies and liberation by Soviet forces of Stalingrad. Strong Allied showings eventually overran Greece, Bulgaria and Romania.
The United States transferred massive forces through Venice to fight Austria before penetrating deep into Czechoslovakia and Germany. Austria was relatively easy to defeat, but the strong Czech forces fought on for many months before being crushed by the Americans from the south and the Soviets from the east.
Now the Soviets focused on Poland and the Polish German forces therein, while the French regained Belgium and the United States pushed further up into Germany. Poland fell after some months. And then by January 1942, all German armies had been crushed.
Much happened after that. Eventually, the US captured Japan and the Soviet Union too!!!
French Military Victories...