WI 1945 Tory victory in British general election.
- Thread starter perfectgeneral
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Not bad work, although getting into the realms of ASB with things like a Hanovarian rebirth.
I started work a little while ago on a TL that had a 1945 Concervative victory under Eden stemming from a sucessful operation Valkyrie and it shared a few similarities with your theories. (I will give more details if you want).
Some ideas (some from my TL):
**Based upon a real event where the British shared technology with the Americans reguarding their research into a supersonic aircraft, the Miles M.52 under the agreement that the Americans would do the same in turn. However, they did not and esentially stole the technology that allowed them to break the sound barrier in 1947! In OTL churchill helped cover this up, avoiding a scandal but I had it with no Churchill evolve into one, making men like Eden suspicious to the point of being unwilling to share vast amounts of technology with anyone (Americans included) unless it results in some real gain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_M.52#Prototypes
Hope at least some of this was helpful to you and gives you some fresh ideas! Keep it up!
Russell
I started work a little while ago on a TL that had a 1945 Concervative victory under Eden stemming from a sucessful operation Valkyrie and it shared a few similarities with your theories. (I will give more details if you want).
Some ideas (some from my TL):
- A post war economic focus the economy - social reforms lmited but not too limited. Marshall Aid better spent on rebuilding the countries economy.
- Massive downsizing of the military. In my TL I had it that, especially in the navy much of it was decommisioned and quickly scrapped 1945-1947. None to little was put in reserve (ships in reserve cost a hell of a lot, especially when Britain does it. We constantly upgrade reserved ships for years then scrap them anyway. Plus, the british economy needs the metal!). The Malta class ships are stopped (too expensive with little gain in terms of what is needed compared to what the smaller exisiting carriers can offer), although an extra Audacious Class and Majestic Class carrier is completed.
- I also had a "part time" national service with men aged between 18 and 21 serving in the reserves, being called upon if neccesary. Thus freeing them up for work in the industry.
- Much modern but surplus equipment (especially Naval and in the airforce) remains in the military. However, in order to raise hard cash the Concervatives initiate a program of selling rather than scrapping (making good bargains but still a better profit as opposed to scrapping - few countries are follish enough to reject this modern kit which they could have for a vastly reduced price. Less than half a dozen of the completed Colossus and Centaur Class carrier are scrapped (about 3/4), being sold instead to various Commonwealth, Latin American and French countries while most remaining cruisers in the Arethusa, Town and Dido Class are sold likewise.
- I also had the Concervatives support early on after their election the creation of a Zionist state in Palastine. However, it alienated much of the Middle East, pushing them much faster towards the soviets. A Middle eastern war (a sort of larger cross between 1948 and Suez) occurs in 1949, eventually dragging America and Britain (as part of a combined Commonwealth effort) into the war.*
- I also had Britain retain it technological leed here too. The more business minded Eden see's the possibility of developing and selling large amounts of British built technology around the world as opposed to the "sharing" of technology with other (particuarly the Americans) that Churchill and Attlee were so fond of.** As a result, by the 1980's British jet's and engines are still amongst the worlds most popular, with a huge market while british computer companies (the biggest being a formerly state owned enterprise "Imperial Calculations" is the biggest in the world).
**Based upon a real event where the British shared technology with the Americans reguarding their research into a supersonic aircraft, the Miles M.52 under the agreement that the Americans would do the same in turn. However, they did not and esentially stole the technology that allowed them to break the sound barrier in 1947! In OTL churchill helped cover this up, avoiding a scandal but I had it with no Churchill evolve into one, making men like Eden suspicious to the point of being unwilling to share vast amounts of technology with anyone (Americans included) unless it results in some real gain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_M.52#Prototypes
Hope at least some of this was helpful to you and gives you some fresh ideas! Keep it up!
Russell
I look upon this TL tester as more of a post war Britwank resource than a well thought out alternative history. It points out how things could have been much better without the old boy network and with merit getting credit. Some of the real world choices look more like sabotage than leadership.
Your suggestion of a pan-Arabian war reminds me that I've covered the post war conflicts very thinly if at all.
Malayan Emergency/Anti-British National Liberation War 1948-1960
(37,000 special constables, 24,000 federation police, 250,000 malayan home guard, 40,000 British and commonwealth troops) - including the SAS, three Royal Marine commandos, three Royal Australian Regiment battalions, eight Gurkha battalions, three Royal Malaya battalions and three King's African Rifle battalions.
Korea
Palestine
All with a much smaller defence budget?
Your suggestion of a pan-Arabian war reminds me that I've covered the post war conflicts very thinly if at all.
Malayan Emergency/Anti-British National Liberation War 1948-1960
(37,000 special constables, 24,000 federation police, 250,000 malayan home guard, 40,000 British and commonwealth troops) - including the SAS, three Royal Marine commandos, three Royal Australian Regiment battalions, eight Gurkha battalions, three Royal Malaya battalions and three King's African Rifle battalions.
Korea
Palestine
All with a much smaller defence budget?
Hmmm...
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Possibly. Although in my TL I didn't have a Korean War (successfull Valkyrie meant an earlier Soviet invasion of the far East and a complete communist control over Korea (plus North Japan).
In reality, the smaller defence budget is really due in large to much of the uncessary equipment being sold or paid off (especially in the navy). Perhaps at the same time, with a concervative government they could organise a greater contribution from the Dominions, paid for by them? Especially now that you have a united and more pro-British India who would have vester interest, especially in Asia of curtailing communist expansionism.
Russell