The War That Came Early

Recently I finished yet another of Harry Turtledove’s alternate history series, this one he calls The War That Came Early, the books being Hitler’s War, West And East, The Big Switch, Coup D’Etat, Two Fronts, and Last Orders.

Premise.  In real life, the 1938 talks at Munich between Adolf Hitler (Nazi Germany), Eduard Daladier (France), and Neville Chamberlain (UK), resulted in an agreement essentially allowing Germany to swallow up Czechoslovakia, which the Germans did by March 1939.   The Czechs were not part of this negotiation and the benefit (to the extent we can ascertain any benefit at all) was that the European powers avoided a war – only temporarily.  The UK and France thought Hitler would stop here, but of course he was simply getting what he could without war but would invade if he had to, e.g. Poland just a year later.  Who knows how much firmer Chamberlain might have been had he known this – which is where this story picks up.

In this timeline, German-Czech troublemaker Konrad Heinlein is assassinated by a Czech troublemaker.  Although the Germans had nothing to do with it, Chamberlain and Daladier believe it’s too convenient and probably a set-up intended as an excuse to allow the Germans to invade Czechoslovakia.  Angered by what they perceive as immense bad faith by the Germans, they break off the talks.  Hitler, frustrated by this turn of events, decides to invade anyway, and the war which was postponed until September 1939 in real life, with the German invasion of Poland, arrives in 1938 with a German invasion of Czechoslovakia.  That goes fairly well for the Germans, and a French incursion into Germany stalls not far over the border. 

Spain.  In real life, Marshal Sanjurjo was the intended leader of the Fascist revolt, which began in July 1936.   Taking off with a small plane from Portugal overloaded with his heavy crate of uniforms, the plane crashed and he was killed, leaving Franco to lead the Fascists…to victory in March 1939.  Here, the pilot persuades Sarjurjo to leave his uniforms behind and he lands safely, surviving to lead the Fascists.  To victory?  We’ll see.  Since the real Spanish Civil War ended in March 1939 with the real WWII beginning in September 1939, versus, in these books, war breaking out in Europe BEFORE the Spanish Civil War ends, this cuts off the supplies to the parties involved so this war continues far longer, while WWII is still going on. 

Far East.  The Japanese succeed at defeating the Soviets up in Manchuria…for the time being.  Having his hands full fighting the Germans and Poles + the British and French, Stalin cuts a deal with the Japs just so he can focus on things further west.   They also romp over the Far East, but the Pearl Harbor attack never happens.  The Japanese use germ warfare against their opponents.

Eastern Front.   Poland and Germany are allies against Soviet Russia.   They make some modest progress into Russia, later losing that ground after the alliance with Britain and France breaks down and the two front war re-erupts.

Western Front.  The UK and France initially fight against Germany, briefly ally with Germany and help invade Russia, then switch back to being against Germany, returning to a two front war.  The UK itself has some internal struggles which cause it to switch sides twice, and the French simply followed their lead each time.

Holocaust & Internal Affairs.  Jews are mistreated in Germany, but the Final Solution never gets running.  Moreover, when the war turns into a stalemate, many of Hitler’s generals start causing problems.  The biggest problem is that the “blitzkrieg” which happened in the real war never quite gets full steam here, so most of the war is a series of stalemates on various fronts. Hitler has no decisive victory against any opponent to make him popular with his people or apparently infallible to his generals.  

United States.   The US enters the Pacific War against Japan, fighting over Wake Island and Midway, but stays out of the war in Europe.  There doesn’t seem to be much cooperation and coordination between Germany and Japan - or I should say, even less than there was in real life. 

War details.  The biggest nugget I got from this (Dana Carvey-as-Johnny Carson “I did NOT know that!”) was discussion of the German Panzer II tank.  I knew it had a 20mm cannon, but I didn’t know the cannon fired on full auto from a 10 round magazine.  I also didn’t know the radio man sat towards the back, near the engine, rather than up front next to the driver; there was no bow machine gun.  Plus there's some discussion of the Red Air Force, the dynamics between the various nationalities in the Soviet Union, and some some fun about "mat", which is the highly colloquial and heavily colorful slang which Russians use, particularly peasants and underworld denizens.  

Writing.   By now I’ve read the reviews on Amazon of Turtledove’s work and I agree with the consensus.  As a storyteller in terms of plot and what actually happens, Turtledove is fine.  No one really complains all that much about where his stories go. 

            It’s his writing that we beef about:  grotesquely repetitious.  What is a six volume series should really be a three volume series.  Every time a character is dealt with, HT has to repeat – even later in the same book – the same opinions, idiosyncrasies, and problems the character has.  Issues about ersatz coffee, cigarettes, etc. are repeated OVER and OVER again.  It becomes a deliberate pattern of conspicuous padding, and severely compromises the quality of his work and our ability to enjoy it.  This seems to be the most consistent complaint readers articulate against Turtledove for most of his books.

            Another problem I have with his writing, and which I haven’t seen complained of (yet), is the tone.  HT tells the story in a way that overexplains things to the point where you wonder who his target audience is.  Alternate history is a subset of science fiction which would only find an audience among people who know the real history and derive some entertainment from an alternative narrative.  I’m 46.  HT writes like he’s writing to his 12 year old nephew.  Are young teenage boys the target market?  Are the girls reading Harry Potter while the boys read Turtledove?  Is this Young Adult Fiction in disguise?  It’s just a step above Harry Potter in narrative sophistication, and J.K. Rowling seems fairly open about HP’s market, even if plenty of adults such as myself have actually read the books.  Just a thought…