As a great fan of the 'alternative' history by such writers as Turtledove, I have often found myself speculating on the 'what if' of history..

One of my recurrent thoughts, is what would have happened if the Allies had decided to 'mop-up' all the 'allies' of Nazi Germany - the case in point is a theoretical invasion of Spain.

Personally, I think it would have been a relatively simple operation. The assets were in place, Spain's defensive capability was minimal and (particularly) in the North especially in Catalunya and the Basque Region, the hostility towards the Francoist regime was enormous...

Any thoughts?...Jim

Unfortunately I can't make an informed comment here, as I am not too familiar with Spanish history.
That said, I'm sure the Allied forces could have launched a "blitzkrieg" operation into Spain to clear out any Nazi sympathisers/allies. However, also bear in mind that the Allies also needed forces to police the newly liberated regions of Europe, as well as redeploy troops to the pacific theatre.

An interesting concept/idea. Can you suggest any further reading material about the military forces/strength of Nazi allies?

It would have been interesting to see if Hitler would release the Spanish Div fighting on the Eastern front
to fight in Spain

Hypothetically speaking, an invasion would not have been considered until the defeat of Germany. The 'División Azul' had already been annihilated long before then...Jim

I don't think the Allies would have embarked on such an operation, if only for logistical reasons. The British were at the end of their thether, both economicaly and with regards manpower, the Russians had their own agenda on the Eastern side of Europe and the Americans where only interessted in Germany, or rather what financial and sientific gain they could get from the remains of the Third Reich. If you are designing bombs and rockets, your political stance is not important, only which side you are designing them for..... Talking about 'what if's', what if Germany would have been able to create the first A bomb...
Seeing that the war in the Pacific an S E Asia was still in full swing, the deployment of a large nummber of troops for what would have been a pointless attack on a harmless country, albeit one with an unsavoury leader ( hmmm, rings a bell..), seems very unlikely.

The following statement is in no way meant to be a slur on the americans who fought to give us back or freedom. It comes forth from the hesitancy of the American governments to join or intervere the war untill the trade seemed to be threatened. I don't know if the American involvement in Europa after the war (NATO) was based on a genuiene desire to help Europe to live in peace, I sincerely hope so, or a calculated way of asuring that the Lend-lease repayments from the allies would not be jeopardised. I don't think Western Europe ruled by Russia would have made many repayments.

Cheers
Henk

Henk, my thoughts exactly - postwar U.S. policy towards Spain was to view it as another 'Bulwark' against communism. U.S.administrations cared little for the oppressive nature of the regime. This is bolstered by the re-equipping of the Spanish armed forces in the 1940s/50s and the establishment of a number of important naval and air bases on Spanish territory...Jim