Reich-8

"Ich habe das nicht gewollt." (I did not want this/I did not will it so.)
::-God, "The last days of mankind", by Karl Kraus
(So far, just an idea by Max Sinister for a timeline in which Nazi Germany wins World War 2 - without crashing down after few years already. But done in a realistic way, without Magic, Time Travel, or important persons suddenly and without any motivation acting in a way that helps the Nazis.)
== The situation ==
This Quantum 8 world has been learned about by Infinity Unlimited only recently, via a data leak which source hints at Centrum. At the first glimpse, it seems to be similar to Reich-1, with Nazi Germany defeating the BEF in 1940 and the Western Allies easily overpowering Imperial Japan, but the researchers are worried by the fact that "Document Reich-8 #1" (scanned pages from this parallel world's Encyclopaedia Britannica about World War II) seems to be several years old at least, opening the possibility that Reich-8 might have progressed a lot - in the worst case, even farther than Reich-5. But until the secret source (nicknamed "Wilhelm") will speak again, all that IU can do is speculating.
== Part I: The World War ==
Sidebars: Free France in Africa; The Greater Germanic Reich (Work in progress)
The loss of the BEF (only the smaller part of the 400,000 British, French, Belgian, and Polish men could be saved) in the encirclement battle of Dunkirk did not destroy Churchill as a PM (he had risen to power only weeks ago), but seriously damaged the Empire's ability to raise more, well-trained troops, which would hurt them in the long run.
In July of the same year, Gestapo and Sicherheitsdienst managed an important strike against their competitor, the Abwehr. The "Black Orchestra", as Heydrich called them, was uncovered, resistance members like Hans Oster arrested, admiral Canaris compromised. Opening the possibility that the Nazi regime now knew about his support for its opponents, and worse, that of Heydrich's survival - maybe to become the next "führer", like in Reich-5? More important however, Enigma security was notched up, which especially helped the German subs, leading to the fall of Malta in mid-1941.
Professionals study logistics
"Operation Barbarossa" went along similar as in Homeline, except for being started two weeks earlier and with a dozen more German divisions (which weren't needed in the West). In September 1941, two important divergences cropped up: First, general Dietl's Lapland Army (incl. the Finnish corps of general Siilasvuo, but Nazi propaganda liked to play that down) successfully attacked in Karelia, cutting the only railroad from warm-water harbor Murmansk, thus making it useless for L&L. Second, a stray British bomb destroyed the Neue Reichskanzlei in Berlin, which the "führer" had loved so much.
Enraged, he made an offer to Stalin: A peace treaty giving Germany a good piece of "Lebensraum", plus deliveries of resources like oil - on the condition that the Soviets changed sides and helped with the war against the Empire. After some hesitation, Stalin (who had less respect for the Empire after Churchill had not managed to push back the Axis, except in Abyssinia, and was under more pressure than ever in Homeline) agreed. The Second Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was made with Nazi Germany, handing over the Baltic states, Byelorussia, half of Ukraine, plus Crimea. Even when Nazi-Soviet hostilities would flare up later, the new border stayed.
In spring 1942, thanks to lots of support from Nazi Germany, the "caudillo" Franco reluctantly joined the war to conquer Gibraltar. Churchill even allowed him to make a separate peace with the Empire in which he received the peninsula - to avoid it falling into worse hands.
Meanwhile FDR was seriously worried about the Nazis taking over Africa next - and his chances in the midterm elections of 1942. So he pushed for an invasion of Morocco to help with both. Ironically, because he hurried it so much, the invasion army gets defeated in the fall of 1942 by Rommel and Schörner - and the election handed the House to the Republicans, which didn't help FDR.
=== Free France in Africa ===
In September 1940, Félix Éboué - first black governor, freemason, and follower of de Gaulle - made the colony of Chad break with Vichy France and started a movement which ended with all of the French colonies in French Equatorial Africa at the side of Free France. In late 1942, during the failed Operation Freedom in Morocco, de Gaulle's followers expanded their influence all over sub-Saharan French Africa. After this victory, de Gaulle would permanently move to Tombouctou (Timbuktu in Mali), which he made his capital, becoming "the uncrowned emperor of African France". His aim was having the values of the French Republic survive in its colonies - liberty, equality, fraternity, and meritocracy.
=== The Greater Germanic Reich ===
== Links ==
* Entry on the AltHistory Wikia (updated 21/8/2024)
** Entry on the DifferentHistory Wikia (updated 21/8/2024)
** Entry on the German AltHistory Wikia (updated 21/8/2024)
* Entry on the AlternateHistory.com Wiki (updated 15/6/2024)
* Entry at TV Tropes (updated 28/9/2022 - censored in 11/2022)
** How Many Sixes does Adolf Nazi have to Roll? on The True Tropes Wiki (updated 19/6/2024)
* Discussion at Alternate Timelines (updated 24/7/2024)
** Preview of published chapters (members only)
** Discussion of a very complex topic... (members only)
* Discussion at SpaceBattles (updated 18/5/2024 - locked)
** Preview of published chapters (members only)
* Discussion at Sufficient Velocity (updated 7/8/2022)
* Original Discussion at Sea Lion Press' forum (locked since 26/4/2022)
See also: Reich-8/Considerations
Category:Infinite Worlds
Category:Settings
Category:Quantum 8
Category:No Mana
Category:Reich timelines