Shocking bit of Indian recent history

[ozzy72]

Well this is an interesting little article. Shocking, but a significant part of history nevertheless...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3684288.stm

[ATI_7500]

Interesting. What if that plan succeeded? India in german control?

[ozzy72]

It would have certainly changed things significantly in the battles of the Middle and Far East...

[Scorpiоn]

I doubt it...  Germany was over-streched enough with three fronts, much less four.

VE Day, 1944 anyone?

Although I did hear a smattering about this a couple of years ago.  Nothing to what the article states, mostly just that Germany had/was raised/raising forces to invade India.  Little else was said.

[Felix/FFDS]

Suggestion:

Germany does NOT invade Russia in 1941, but decides to "help" along an Indian "rebellion.".

This posits, of course, the the rebellion in Iraq is successful, and that Vichy France retains Syria.

Presuming that an German aided "liberation" of India is quasi-successful.  Plying on anti-Semitic feelings of the area, Germany succeeds in allying the area and possibly forces Britain to a tenuous "peace"

[Woodlouse2002]

I'm thinking that the British presence in Asia would have been enough to keep an Indian uprising down. After all, they wern't fighting Japan at that point. Whats more, how could Germany have kept any of it's forces there supplied when the Royal Navy literally ruled the waves. It's all very well starting an uprising in another country but it won't get far if you don't support it after it's started.

[Felix/FFDS]

Note that my scenario posits that the British are effectively nullified in Africa and Middle East, leaving the Alexandrian way to India.  By the time of the events, the British are involved with Japan.  Further scenario would have the Japanese not attacking Pearl Harbor, but concentrating on SE Asia and threatening India.

[Woodlouse2002]

I agree with that. But any indian uprising in early 1941 would have been met by the Commonwealth troops stationed in India and very quickly by reinforcements brought in from other surrounding British territorys. Burma, Australia, Hong Kong/Singapore etc.

Though, had the armies in the Middle East and North Africa been defeated it would have mean that England would have lost her oil fields in the Middle East and so would have been brought to her knees as Germany was when the Romanian oil fields were overrun later in the war.