Currently mulling PODs for a story that might become an "Alternate Elections" anthology pitch, and one that (at present, anyway) seems to work best involves no Vichy collaborationist regime being set up. The key elements:
* Somewhat more prolonged Battle of France, ending in full German occupation a la Case Anton.
* Darlan killed in a naval battle during final flight/collapse of French forces, in which much of the French Navy is destroyed/scuttled.
* Much greater numbers of Pied-Noir & "Indigene" troops therefore needed in (initially token) Free French resistance from African colonies, up to the (somewhat later than OTL) Liberation of Paris and the end of WWII.
Leaving aside these elements and their plausibility for the moment, what would have had to change for Germany to end up occupying the whole of France by, say, mid-July 1940 rather than November 1942? How does this affect German strategy/policy for the rest of the year? The demands of occupation, plus concerns of continued resistance from French North Africa, suggest that Sealion might be shelved, certainly for a while, but would it be abandoned altogether? Presuming de Gaulle manages to escape/rise to prominence in exile as in OTL, how much worse (or better) are his prospects, and those of the Free French? How might the occupation of all France in 1940 take shape--like that post-Case Anton, or a different form altogether? Who would likely oversee the occupation, whether they be German administrators or French puppets?
Broadest question of all: What's the likeliest course/outcome of the war in general without Vichy, from September 1940 onward?
* Somewhat more prolonged Battle of France, ending in full German occupation a la Case Anton.
* Darlan killed in a naval battle during final flight/collapse of French forces, in which much of the French Navy is destroyed/scuttled.
* Much greater numbers of Pied-Noir & "Indigene" troops therefore needed in (initially token) Free French resistance from African colonies, up to the (somewhat later than OTL) Liberation of Paris and the end of WWII.
Leaving aside these elements and their plausibility for the moment, what would have had to change for Germany to end up occupying the whole of France by, say, mid-July 1940 rather than November 1942? How does this affect German strategy/policy for the rest of the year? The demands of occupation, plus concerns of continued resistance from French North Africa, suggest that Sealion might be shelved, certainly for a while, but would it be abandoned altogether? Presuming de Gaulle manages to escape/rise to prominence in exile as in OTL, how much worse (or better) are his prospects, and those of the Free French? How might the occupation of all France in 1940 take shape--like that post-Case Anton, or a different form altogether? Who would likely oversee the occupation, whether they be German administrators or French puppets?
Broadest question of all: What's the likeliest course/outcome of the war in general without Vichy, from September 1940 onward?
Last edited: