What happens if Germany and the Soviet Union deadlock in Poland in 1944-45 while the Western Allies occupy the rest of Germany?
Short answerThe Vistula line could support a stalemate and produce Allied and Soviet zones in Poland, though Polish national cohesion might make a lasting division difficult.
NotesThe Vistula River and major Polish cities could anchor a German defensive line strong enough to delay the Soviet advance. If Western Allied forces enter western Poland first, they would probably support an independent Polish government and station troops there. Soviet forces could still receive an occupation zone in Poland and a sector in Berlin, creating an initially divided country. Polish national identity would press strongly for reunification, making a lasting partition doubtful. Tito's independent communist course in Yugoslavia would add another uncertainty to the altered postwar bloc.