Could World War II Have Been Won Without The United States - Quora

11/21/2016
CouldWorldWarIIhavebeenwonwithouttheUnitedStates?Quora
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
WorldWars
AlternateHistories(HypotheticalHistoricalScenarios)
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
+5
CouldWorldWarIIhavebeenwonwithouttheUnited
States?
There'smoreonQuora...
Picknewpeopleandtopicstofollowandseethe
bestanswersonQuora.
CouldtheallieshavewonthewariftheUnitedStateshad'tsteppedin?
UpdateYourInterests
Answer
Request
Follow 131
Comments 3+
Share 7
Downvote
RelatedQuestions
62Answers
SeshadriKumar,RenaissanceMan
WrittenJun11,2014
Well,define"allies"withouttheUS.Themain"allies,"asthetermisunderstoodinthe
contextofWWII,weretheUS,GreatBritain,andRussia.TheFrenchrepublicinexile
andthePolishrepublicinexilecouldalsobeconsideredpartofthe"allies,"butreally,it
boileddowntothesethree.So,minustheUS,yourquestioncomesdownto"couldBritain
andtheSovietUnionhaveprevailedovertheGermansinWWII?"Abetterway,Ithink,to
askthequestion,then,is"CouldGermanyhavebeendefeatedinWWIIwithoutthe
Americans?"
AndtheanswerisYES,theGermanscouldhavebeendefeatedinEurope
withoutAmericanhelp.
ThereisanotherquestioninWWIIthatofthePacificfrontandtheJapanese.Ithinkitis
elementarytoconcludethatitwastheAmericanswhodefeatedtheJapaneseandthereby
endedtheJapaneseoccupationofeastAsiaandsoutheastAsia.Idon'tthinkthereisany
doubtaboutthat.Britainhadbeenconclusivelydefeated,andJapanwasknockingon
India'sdoor.HadMidwaynothappened,IthinktheJapanesecouldhavewelltakenover
allofAsia.
ButwithregardtothePacificfront,thequestion"withouttheUnitedStates?"isreally
pointless.TheUSdidnothaveachoice,itwasthrustintothewarbythePearlHarbor
attack.Arelatedquestionyoucouldaskonthatfront,beforeIcomebacktoEurope,is
whethertheUScouldhaveavoidedPearlHarbor.Ibelievetheycouldhave.PearlHarbor
wasaJapanesereactiontoaUSeconomicblockadeofJapan,whichisessentiallyacold
war.Blockadinganationislikedeclaringwar,andJapanwastryingtoprotectitsstrategic
interestsbyattackingtheUS.So,inthatcontext,Iwouldsay,yes,theUScouldhave
stayedoutoftheJapaneseconflictbynotimposingablockadeandnotrespondingtothe
JapaneseconquestofManchuria,inwhichcasePearlHarborwouldnothavehappened
either,andinthatcasethevictorofWWIIinthePacificwouldclearlyhavebeenJapan.
ButcomingbacktoEurope.CouldtheGermanshavebeendefeatedwithoutAmerica?I
haveaddressedthisquestionwhileansweringarelatedquestionrecently,andwillabstract
someimportantpointsfromthathere:SeshadriKumar'sanswertoWhatwereWinston
Churchill'scontributionstoWorldWarII?
OfallthemilitaryconflictstheUnitedStateshasbeen
engagedinsinceWorldWarII,whichcanbe
considered"justwars"?
CouldWorldWarIIhavebeenwonwithouttheSoviet
Union?
WhatwouldhavehappenediftheUnitedStateswas
involvedinbothWorldWarIandWorldWarIIfrom
thebeginning?
Howwouldtheworldbetodayifwe(theUnited
States)havelostthewarswewonandwonthewars
welost?
IftheU.S.hadmergedwithCanadaandMexicointo
theU.S.N.A,ortheUnitedStatesofNorthAmerica,in
WorldWarII,howmightthewarhave...
CouldtheUnitedStateshavewontheWarof
Independencewithoutmilitaryandfinancialsupport
fromFrance?
WouldtheEuropeanUnionhavebeenformedwithout
WorldWarII?
WouldithavebeenbetterfortheworldiftheUnited
StateshadbrokenupaftertheCivilWar?
HowdecisivewastheUnitedStatesinWorldWarII?
WhatwouldthepopulationoftheUnitedStatesbeif
somanymen,attheheightoftheirreproductive
years,hadnotbeenlostduringtheCivi...
MoreRelatedQuestions
QuestionStats
131Followers
235,100Views
LastAskedSep25
Edits
TheAmericans'contributiontotheEuropeantheaterofwarwere:
1.HelpingGreatBritainsurviveviatheLendLeaseact
2.HelpingtheSovietswiththeLendLeaseactandprovidingthemwithjeeps,trucks,
food,aircraft,andlocomotives,whichallowedtheSovietstofocusontankproductionand
defeattheGermans
3.InvadingItalyandGermanyinpartnershipwiththeBritishthroughOperationTorch
(NorthAfricanlandings)andOperationOverlord(Normandylandings),whicheventually
ledtotheconquestofwesternEurope.
HelpingBritainsurvivewasthemostimportantcontribution,withoutwhichBritainwould
havecollapsedorbecomeavassalofGermany.WithoutAmericanaid,Britainwouldlikely
havebeenfinished.AndwithoutBritain,probablyneitherTorchnorOverlordwouldhave
happened.
ThehelptotheSovietswasalsoveryimportant,asitprovidedthemthethingstheyneeded
forveryfastadvanceswhentheywerepursuingtheGermansin1943and1944thelarge
numberofjeepsandtrucks(32%oftheSovietarmy'struckswereStudebakersandDodges
andtheyhadmanyWillysjeepsseereferenceprovidedincommentbelow)allowedthe
SovietarmytomovefastandinflictbodyblowsontheretreatingGermansbeforethey
couldregroup.
https://www.quora.com/CouldWorldWarIIhavebeenwonwithouttheUnitedStates
1/37
11/21/2016
ButwithoutAmericanhelptotheRussians,andwithouttheBritishAmericaninvasionof
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
NormandyandSicily,wouldGermanyhavebeendefeated?
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
Ibelievetheywouldhavebeen.AsIhavesaidintheotherquoraanswerIquotedabove,
"MyconclusionisthatGermanywouldstillhavelostthewar.Itwouldnothavehappened
in1945maybeitwouldhavetakenanother3years.Idon'tthinkHitlercouldEVERhave
defeatedtheSoviets.Theneedtohavetofightonasecondfrontinthewestdidweaken
HitlerandhastenedthedemiseoftheThirdReichhowever,Germanyhadreceivedso
manybodyblowsevenbeforeTorchandNormandythatitsdefeatwasassuredatSoviet
Hands.OperationTorch,thelandingsinNorthAfrica,happenedinOctober1943
however,theGermanmarcheastwardwasforeverstoppedatKurskearlierthatyear,in
August1943(seeBattleofKursk ).AfterKursk,theGermanswereinconstantretreat.
NormandyhappenedinJune1944however,thesuccessofNormandy,whichmerely
establishedabeachheadinNorthernFranceforalliedforcestolandandinvadethe
continent,wasmassivelyeclipsed(thoughmuchlessreportedinthewesternpress)bythe
muchmoresuccessfulOperationBagration(OperationBagration ),whichcommenced
onJune22(threeyearsfromthestartoftheGermanSovietconflictin1941)andendedon
August19,resultinginthedeathsof1.5millionGermans,thedestructionofanentireArmy
Group(ArmyGroupCenter),thelossofabout17armydivisions,andtheliberationof
Belarus.
SomyconclusionisthathadAmericaandBritainnotinvadedGermanruledEurope
throughTorchandOverlord,theRussianswouldstillhavewon.Thedifferenceisthatthe
mapofEuropewouldhavelookedverydifferentafterthewar.Insteadofademocratic
westernEuropeandacommunisteasternEurope,thewholeofEuropewouldhavebeen
paintedred,andprobablyanotherfewmillionSovietswouldhavediedfighting.
CouldRussiahavedefeatedtheGermanswithoutthesubstantialassistanceoftheUSin
termsofjeeps,trucks,food,andthelike?Iaverthatitcouldhave,butitwouldhave
doubtlesstakenthemlonger.TheSovietsprovedevenin1941thattheycoulddefeatthe
Germans,withnoalliedaid,whentheycausedamillioncasualtiestotheGermanarmies
infrontofMoscow(aidedbyGeneralWinter),soIbelievetheycouldhavesinglehandedly
defeatedtheGermansintime.Insteadofthewarendingin1945,maybeitwouldhave
takentheSovietsuntil1950tofinishthewarontheirowntermsbyconqueringthewhole
ofcontinentalEurope."
Itwouldhavetakenlongerbecausetheywouldnothavehadtheadvantageofspeed
whichthejeepsandtrucksgavethem,andthebattleswiththeGermanswouldhavebeen
longerandbloodier,buttherewasreallynoquestionthatthemanufacturingcapacityof
theRussianswascontinuallyincreasingandthemanufacturingcapacityoftheGermans
wascontinuallydecreasingsointime,theSovietswouldhavebeenabletomaybeby
1945beenabletogettheirownproductiontoahighenoughleveltobeableto
manufactureenoughtrucksandjeepsoftheirowntofinallydefeattheGermansby1950.
Itwouldhavebeenabattleofattrition,butonethattheSovietswouldhavewon.
72kViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote 183
Downvote Comments 27+
YoshitomoMoriwaki,Almostfanaticalmilitaryhistoryenthusiast.
WrittenJun21,2014
Somuchoftheseanswersjustsay,"itwouldhavehappened"or,"itwouldn'thave
happened."
WhatdidUSAdoinWW2againstGermany?
1.FunneledlargequantitiesofresourcesandweaponstoUKandUSSR.
2.EngageddirectlyinlargescalecombatwithGermany.
Ithinkitfairlyobvious,althoughnotnecessarilywidelyknown,thatUSSRwaswellonit's
waytodefeatingGermanybeforeanymajordirectmilitaryinvolvementbyUKandUSA.
Thatleavestheimpactoflendlease.ForthemostpartUSSRdidn'tfeelthatourweapons
andtanksmademuchofadifference.Andthisassertionontheirpartisfair,the%of
theirtotaltanksUSAdeliveredisrelativelysmall,andmoreimportantlytheycameafter
USSRhadalreadyputGermanyonthedefensive.
ThemostsignificantcontributionUSAmadetotheSovietwareffortinWW2wasinthe
formoftrucks.USAdelivered500,000truckstoUSSR.That's32%oftheirtotalsupply
transportcapacitycomingfromUSA.Withoutthosetrucksthesuccessandvelocityofthe
Sovietoffensivesfrom1944onwouldhavebeenfurtherconstrainedbyinsufficient
logisticalsupport.
SoifUSAneitherfoughtnordeliveredgoods(trucksinparticular.)Itisnotunreasonable
2/37
11/21/2016
toimaginetheGermanshavingjustenoughtimeandadditionalforces(duetonosecond
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
frontmaterializing)toadequatelydefendtheirhomeland.
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
ThisisnotawinningscenarioforGermany,itissimplyavoidingcompletedestruction.
WhichwouldlikelyhaveresultedinafarworsesituationforGermanytoday.It'sprobably
fairtocallitanalliedvictory,butUSSRwouldhavebeenleftveryweak.Whichwould
possiblyhavebeseenpositivelyfrommanypointsofview.
19.5kViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote 36
OzgurZeren,AuthoratViaPopuli.com
WrittenMar23
Aquicklookatthestrategicsetup,relativewarproductionandtechnologylevelof
countriesseemtosuggestthatWw2couldhavebeenwonwithoutUnitedStates.Butit
wouldalsotakelongerandcostmorelossoflives.
Wehaveafewmajorfactors:
1UShelpwithLendLeasetoallies.
2UStakingonJapanandpreventingthemfromattackinganyoneelse.
3USasthemajorpartoflandingsinNorthernAfrica,ItalyandEurope.
..........
Whenweanalyzethese,aquickconclusioncomesasdescribedbelow:
1UShelpinLendLeasetoUSSRandBritainwasconsiderable.Butwemustalso
notethatLendLeasestartedwithoutUSjoiningthewar,onFDR'sinitiative,anditwould
bethereuntiltheendofthewarevenifUSdidnotjointhewar.
SoLendLeaseshouldnothavebeenafactorinthisanalysis.Butforthesakeofafull
spectrumanalysis,letsassumethatLendLeasewastiedtoUSjoiningthewar,andifUS
didnotjoin,therewouldbenoLendLease.
LendLeaseforUSSRwasimportantinnoncombatequipmentradios,trucksand
similar.USstartedthewarwithequipmentrathersubparforEuropeanfront(Tanks,
Aircraftespecially),andwhenfirstbatchesofthesesuppliesarrivedinUSSR,theywere
alreadyunusableinthemainfrontexceptafewitemsandtheywereinsmallnumbers.
Theywererapidlyobsoletedandwererelegatedtobacklineduties(reserve,regionalback
linedefense,training)towards1943duetospeedoftechnologicaladvancementonboth
sides.Howevernoncombataidliketrucks,radiosareanimportantfactor.Thesefreedup
Sovietresourcestoconcentrateoncombatvehicleproduction.
IfweconsiderLendLeaseneverhappened,theseresourceswouldneedtobespentby
USSR,andhencehamperwarmachineryproduction.Butwhenwelookattheproduction
numbers,wenoticethatSovietwarproductionwasmultiplesaheadofGermanand
Japanesewarproduction.Thisnaturallymeansthatthoughlackofsuchsupplieslike
radiosandvehiclesliketruckswouldbedetrimental,theywouldnothavebeencritical.
Japanisaspecialcasewhichmaybeweshouldn'tevenconsiderinregardtowar
production.Japanwasfartoobehindinwarproduction,technologyinrespecttoother
combatants.Theirheaviesttankwouldpassinbetweenalightandmediumtankin
Europeanfront,andevenatthattheywerequite,quitefewinnumbertobeafactor.Their
aircraftcarriersaremostlyconvertedfromcivilianshipsduringinterwaryears.Theydid
nothavetheimportantcriticalresources,mineralsneededforwarproduction,hampering
theiralreadytechnologicallybackwardequipment.Japanesestaffknewthis,hencethe
planforwaragainstUSwasaquickstrikewhichwouldcrippleadecentamountofUS
Navyandthereforehopefullyforceaquick,favorablepeace.
HowbehindJapanwasinregardtowarproductionandtechnology,weseein1939in
KhalkinGol,whereZhukovhaddevastatedasizableJapanesearmyduringthecourseof
~4months.
Attheendofthewar,thedisparagewasfargreaterSovietsranoveralltheelitecrack
troopsJapanesecrammedintoManchuriaandtrustedquitealot,andtheyranoverthem
injustonemonth.ThiswasthefinalblowtoJapanesewareffortandbrokethecamel's
back,bytheway.
2UStakingonJapanandpreventingthemfromattackinganyoneelseisan
importantcontribution,butespeciallyinthelightof#1,itdoesn'tseemtobecritical.
IfZhukovwasabletodestroyaveteranJapanesearmyin~4monthsinKhalkinGol,they
couldeasilyholdthemoffwithlessdivisionsandresources.Especiallyconsideringthatthe
3/37
11/21/2016
routefromNWChina/KoreatoSovietheartlandpassesthroughneverendingCentral
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
Asiansteppes.Siberia,isnotevenanoptiontoconsider.
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
JapanwouldhavetocrossthousandsofkilometersofcentralAsiansteppesinwhichthey
wouldbehavingtofaceSovietarmoredbriga...(more)
Upvote 139
KhalidElhassan,EclecticRabbitHole,WritingConsultant
WrittenMar24
Itwouldhavebeenmoredifficult,andtakenlonger,butyes,thealliescouldhavebeatthe
AxisiftheUShadnotsteppedin.
MostoftheheavyliftingagainstGermanyduringWW2wasdonebytheSoviets4outof
every5GermanskilledinthewardiedontheEasternFront,andtheSovietswerewellon
theirwaytowinningthewarontheirownbeforeUSaidarrivedinmeaningfulquantities,
andbeforetheUSdominatedWesternAllieslandedinFrancein1944.IftheUSand
WesternAllieshadnotlandedinFrance,thewarwouldhaveendedwiththeRedArmy
overrunningallofEurope.
MuchinkisdedicatedtotheroleofAmericanLendLease.Itcertainlyhelped,butitwas
notessential.ItshouldbenotedthatLendLeaseequipmentdidnotbeginarrivingin
largequantitiesintheUSSRuntillate1943.Indeed,thebulkofitdidnotreachtheSoviets
until19441945.Bythen,theSovietshadsomesignificantaccomplishmentsundertheir
beltsandwerewellontheirwaytowinningthewar.Accomplishmentsowedtonobody
else'sassistance:
BeatbacktheGermansintheBattleofMoscow(December,1941)
WontheBattleofStalingrad(winter,19421943)
WontheBattleofKursk(July,1943)
LiberatedtheUkraineandreachedtheBalkansandPoland(winter,19431944)
DestroyedtheGermanArmyGroupCenterinOperationBagrationbeforetheUSand
WesternAllieshadbrokenoutoftheNormandyBeaches(June,1944)
KurskwasthelastGermanstrategicoffensiveontheEasternFront.Fromthatpointon,
GermanywascontinuallyonthedefensiveandinasteadyretreatthatendedinBerlin2
yearslater.AndthatpointhadbeenreachedbytheSoviets,largelyontheirown.
AmericanLendLeasecertainlyhelpedspeeduptheRedArmy'sadvance,andthesecond
frontin1944helpeddivertsignificantGermanforcesawayfromtheEasternFront.Butby
1943andtheRedArmy'svictoryintheBattleofKursk,thebroadoutlineofthewarhad
alreadybeendefined,andGermanywaswellonthewaytowardslosingthewar.
Attheendoftheday,4outof5GermanswhodiedinthewardiedontheEasternFront.
Wouldthatextra5thGermankilledbytheWesternAllieshavemadeadifferenceif
thrownontheEasternFront?Itispossible,butcertainlynotinevitable.Itisjustas
possiblethathewouldhavesimplybecomeadditionalgristforthatinsatiablemill.
ItshouldalsobenotedthattheUSSRwasnotevenamajorrecipientofLendLease.the
Britishgot3timesasmuchLendLeaseasdidtheUSSR,eventhoughtheircontributionto
winningthewarwassignificantlysmallerthanthatoftheSoviets.LendLease
Upvote 86
AndyLeeChaisiri,learnedhistoryfromfolksallovertheworld
UpdatedJun21,2014UpvotedbyAlCarroll,Professor,Historian,Author,Fulbright
Scholar
SovietRussiawasthemostvitalelementinwinningorlosingWorldWarII
SovietshaltedtheadvanceofJapaninAsia,SovietshaltedtheadvanceofGermanyin
Europe.SovietsinflictedgreatercasualtiesupontheAxisthananyoneelse,aswellas
sufferingthemost.NobodyelsehadagreaterstakeinWWIIthanthem.
4/37
11/21/2016
AskorSearchQuora
AskQuestion
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
Ifitweren'tforthesacrificeofthesebraveladswe'dbewritingonQuorainGERMAN!*
*Thinkaboutanyothertimeyou'veheardaphraselikethat
Upvote 961
AdrianBeale
WrittenJun9,2014
MyanswerassumesthattheJapanesedon'tthreatenthepacific,andthattheUSAisstill
heavilybackingtheallieseconomically.
Yes.TheUSAandUSSRputoutsomanytanks,theendofthewarinEuropewasalmosta
foregoneconclusion.Howeveritwouldhavetakenlonger,andbeenmoreofaprotracted
battle.
AssumingtheUSAwascompletelyabsent(fromtheworld)andnothingstoodwhereit
existed,theJapanesewouldhavetakenovermostofthepacificislandsandafairchunkof
ChinaandRussia.TheBritishwouldneverhavewoninAfricawithouttheShermanand
Grant/Leetanks(althoughwhoknows,maybeknowingtheycouldn'tbuyanallies'tank
mighthavemeanttheytookdevelopmentandtestingmoreseriously.Asaresult,Germany
wouldhavehadtheLibyanoilfieldsandtanksliketheTigerwouldn'thavebeensucha
colossalmistake(Mostwereknockedoutbybreakdown,orrunningoutoffuel).
Upvote
JasonLimanjaya
WrittenJun19,2014
ItisunthinkabletopresumethatUnitedStateswouldstayoutofthewarafterJapan
assaultedPearlHarbour,consideringRoosevelt'sAdministrationantiFascismbias.Well,if
theydid,hereiswhatIimaginewouldroughlyhappeninPacificandEuropeanTheatres
ofthewar.
1.PacificTheatre
USAagreesonanonaggressiontreatywithJapanafterPearlHarbour,whichmeansUS
hastoreducetheirnavalpowersignificantlyfromHawaii,Guametc.Withthedeclineof
BritishnavyafterthesinkingofPrinceofWalesandRepulseandthedemolitionofDutch
navy,onlyANZACstandsinJapan'swaytobreachtoAustraliaandNewZealand.
SinceJapan'smainlandisnowfarfrombombardmentandthemuchneedednatural
resourcesinMalayaandDutchEastIndieshavebeensecured,thereisnothingthatharms
Japanesemilitaryindustrytoproducemorebattleshipsandsubmarinestoprotectthe
southeastarchipelagofromANZAC.JapanwouldnotlikelyinvadeAustraliasincetheir
armyhasalreadybeenstretchedtodefendOccupiedChina,butwouldmostlikelyisolateit
untilANZACsurrenders.
AnotheroptionwouldbeinvasionofIndia,whichismuchmoredifficultconsidering
strongBritishpresenceintheMiddleEast.However,theGermanscouldhelponlyifthe
developmentsintheEuropeanTheatrefavorthem.
2.EuropeanTheatre
Intheoriginaltimeline,rightbeforetheUSenteredthewar,UKwaswinningtheBattleof
5/37
11/21/2016
Britain.However,atthesametime,theGermansareenjoyingsuccesseswiththeirUboats
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
sinkingmassivetonnagesofBritishships,threateningtostarvetheBritishIsles.Without
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
USaidandpreferentialtrade,UKwouldsooncollapseintoaneconomicchaosasallthe
nearestportsnearthemareunderGermans'control.Churchill'sgovernmentwouldbe
underimmensepressuretochangetheirstanceortheywouldbeoverthrownbyanother
factionwhoaremoreamicabletowardsHitler.ThegoodnewsisHitlerhasalways
consideredanallianceorpeacefulcoexistencewithacooperativeBritain.Itisunlikely
thathewouldinvadeBritishIslesatthemomentwithhisarmystrainedinRussiaandhis
navyinferiortoBritishnavy,buthecouldexpectnoimmediatethreatfromthewestashe
embarksonhisSovietwar.
USSRwouldhavetosolelydependontheirUralindustrywithoutUSLendLeaseAid,
whichalsoincludetrucksandammunitionintheoriginaltimeline.WithWehrmacht's
thrusttowardsLeningradandMoscowhaltedintheendof1941,theGermanswouldlikely
followthesimilaroptionofattackingStalingradandwithoutUSbacking,theGermans
havelargerchanceofwinningthishellishbattle.
AtthesametimeinNorthernAfrica,HitlercouldsendmorereinforcementsforRommel
fromFrance,knowingthatUKwouldnotinvadeanyway.Itisknownthatthedecisive
factorthatcontributedtoRommel'sdefeatinElAlameinwasthathisarmywas
outnumberedbyMontgomery's.Hence,inthistimeline,thereisalsoagreaterchancethat
RommelwouldfendofftheBritishfromEgypt.WithoutAlexandria,theBritishnavyin
theMediterraneanwouldbesignificantlyweakenedeveniftheymanagetorelocateto
SyriaorCyprus.Also,noUSthreatfromwesternnorthAfricameanstheGermanscould
leavetheItalianstoprotectthemselvesinLibya,leavingtheGermansfreeto...
...continuetheirattacktotheMiddleEast.Yes,ifGermansdefeattheSovietsinStalingrad,
CaucasusoilfieldwouldbeHitler'sandallhellbreaksloose.Ideally,Rommelcouldlinkup
withPaulustoenforcetheBritishoutoftheMiddleEast.Indiaisnowstuckbetweenthe
GermansinthewestandtheJapaneseintheeast.Goodluck,BritishEmpire.
3.Conclusion
Ishallnotwritebeyondthispointsinceitwouldbemuchmorewishfulthinking.Inthis
timeline,by1943,theBritishEmpireisontheedgeoftotalcollapse.ThewarinRussiais
stillgoingstrongandcausingmanydeathsonbothsides.ThereisnoguaranteeStalin
wouldsuccumbandMoscoworLeningradwouldfall.Hitler'swarindustryincentral
EuropeandhisRomanianoilfieldaresafefromairassault,butthestrainonGerman
manpowerwouldultimatelyshow.Itisverylikelytherewillbeastalematewithlarge
territorialgainfortheGermanside.ItisbadnewsfortheSlavicpopulationlivingthere.
JapanwouldstillcontinuefightingChiangKaiShek'sChinaandMaoZedong's
CommunistPartyontwofront,depletingmostoftheirresourcesthere.However,they
wouldsoonbethemasterofthePacific,whileANZACstaunchlyfightagainstnaval
isolationandtheBritishconcentrateontheirdefenceofIndiaagainstpossibleattackfrom
Burma.
Thefuturelooksverygrimforthefreeworld.
Upvote 16
Downvote Comment 1
AmitMeltzer,OldguyfromIsrael,curiousaboutmanythings.
WrittenFeb23
Therearesomemarvelousdetailedanswersherethatanalyzethenetorsumcontribution
oftheU.S.toWWII.iwishtoposeaslightlydifferentview.
Thewarhappenedasweknowit.Ifyouwishtochangetheeventsbytakingoutamajor
contenderintheconflict,trylookingatitfromastrategicpointofview.
Sure,theSovietUnioncouldprobablyhadheldonevenwithoutthewarmaterialsand
fighton.TheBritishEmpirehadvastlylargerresourcesthanGermany,andcouldgoon
fighting.Intheend,thewarwouldhavedraggedonfor35moreyearsinEuropebutthe
endwouldprobablybethesame.
ThereasoninmyviewistheabjectfailureoftheAxis(tripartitealliance)toformulateand
followajointstrategy.ThroughoutthewarGermany,ItalyandJapanactedmorelikea
gangofegocentrichooligans,eachpursuingitsowngoalsandgettingoneinthewayof
theother.Theyneveronceworkedtoacommongoal.
ithasbeenarguedextensivelythatItalywasamajorcontributortothefailureof
BarbarossatocaptureMoscowandperhapspressureStalinintoacompromiseorachieve
hisremoval.BydelayingBarbarossafor6weeksinspring41'andlaterforcingGermanyto
divertmoretroopstoshoreupthesecondaryLibyanfront,Italyrobbedtimeandresources
fromGermanyandultimatelycausedthe41'campaigntofallshortofitsgoals.Iknowall
thecounterargumentsputtingtheblameonHilter'svacillations,I'mjustpointingoutthat
6/37
11/21/2016
therewasnojointstrategyhere.
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
Japanwasmuchworse,theypracticallybroughttheAmericansintotheconflictand
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
sealedthedoomofAxisalliancetofail.Whattheyshouldhavedonewasworkwith
GermanyandattacktheUSSRfromManchuriainthefallof41'insteadofoptingforthe
Pacificgamble.
HadJapanattackedtheUSSRinconcertwithGermany,delayingtheirconquestofsouth
eastAsia,theUSSRcouldverywellbetakenoutofthewarifnotcompletelydefeated.The
JapanesecouldgetmanyofthescarceresourcestheylackedfromBakuandothersitesin
USSRthatwouldcomeunderthecontroloftheAxis.
Moreimportantly,bydelayingPearlHarborTheU.S.wouldbekeptoutofthewaruntil
theUSSRisreduced.Thatisastrategicconcentrationofforcethatneverhappened.
ThefolliesoftheAxisallianceensuredtheformationofacounteralliancethatcouldbot
bedefeatedbyanyforceonearth.EvenhadtheU.S.joinedthewarAFTERtheUSSRwas
takenoutofit,thechancesforacompleteAllyvictorylookalotmoreiffyandthemost
likelyoutcomewouldhavebeensomesortofstalemate.
Tosumitup,therightquestioninmyviewisnot"whatiftheU.S.wasn'tinthewar"but
rather"whatiftheU.S.cameintothewartoolate".
OncelastquestionIwouldlovegetfeedbackonis"IfHitlerdidn'tdeclarewarontheU.S.
onDec.111941,wouldtheU.S.havegottenintotheEuropeanwaratall?"
2kViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
JakubHandl
UpdatedMar25
Iamnotsure.
USmilitaryinfluenceonEuropeanbattlefieldwasn'tthatbigsince80%ofGermansoldiers
foughtanddiedontheEasternfrontagainsttheUSSR.
HowevertheUSinfluencewasstillbig.USAsoldtheUSSReverythingforvanstocans
filledwithmeat.DoyouknowthefamousKatyusharocketlauncher ?Manyofthetrucks
thatthisweaponsusedweretheAmericanStudebakerUS6 .Andthisisonlyoneofthe
examples.
USAalsohelpedBritaintostayafloatin1940and1941eventhoughtheywerewellpaidfor
it.
AmericanbombersalsomadethelifeofaverageGermanswereunpleasantandtheDDay
invasionwhicheasedtheGermanpressureontheUSSRwouldn'tbepossiblewithoutthe
UShelp.
ButthegreatestproblemwouldcausepossibleJapaneseattackontheUSSRsinceJapan
wouldn'thaveproblemswiththeUS.
SoIthinkthatiftheAllieswonthevictorywouldcostevenmoremenandresourcesthan
inourtimelineandtheWW2wouldendinthelate1940sratherinthemid1940s.
Upvote
Downvote Comment 1
KevinBrowne
WrittenSep26
Itdependshowyoudefinewin.ImperialJapanwouldnothavebeenchallengedinthe
PacificorIndianOceansbyanyotherpowerasidefromtheUS.TheRoyalNavycould
eventuallyhavefacedtheIJNoneventermshadithadnoothercommitments,butmost
ofitwasneededtoprotecttheHomeislandsandtopreventtheuboatsfromstarving
themout.WhileStalinmightsomedayhavebecomeinterestedinseizingManchuria,he
carednotawhitforChinaortheanyoftheothercountriesdominatedbyJapan.
MostoftheanswershavecorrectlynotedthattheSovietRedArmydestroyedmostofthe
GermanWehrmacht4outofevery5GermansoldierskilledwerekilledbytheRedArmy,
hundredsofWehrmachtandAxisdivisionsdestroyed,etc.However,Ithinkthosewho
arguethattheRedArmywouldeventuallyhaveconqueredEasternEuropeandGermany
anyway,ignoreordiscountseveralcriticalcontributionsmadebytheUSintheEuropeand
MediterraneanTheaters.IbelievetheRedArmywouldhaveatmuchgreatercost
ejectedtheGermansfromallprewarUSSRterritoryandlikelytakeneasternPolandand
muchoftheBalkans,butthetwosideswouldeventuallyhavefoughtthemselvesoutand
settledonanarmistice.
Myreasoning:
1.USinvolvementtransformedtheUKwareffortfromaperipheralannoyanceintoa
directthreatthattheGermanHighCommandfeltcompelledtoconfront.Withoutthe
USArmy,theUKwouldliterallyneverhavebeenabletoreturntotheContinentthey
7/37
11/21/2016
justcouldnotfieldenoughdivisionsorbuildenoughlandingcraftortanks.Even
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
combiningUSandUKdivisions,itwasalwaysariskypropositiontolandforcesina
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
placewhereGermanscouldmobilizearesponseusingraillinks:Salerno,Anzio,
Normandyeachinvolvedaracetopushenoughmenandmaterialintothebeach
headbeforetheGermansrelocatedenoughdivisionstosmashedit.WithUSforces
addedtoBritishforces,theGermanshadtocommit5075divisionsintheWestthat
weresorelyneededagainsttheUSSR.
2.TheRAFlearnedin193941thatitcouldnotmountasustainedairoffensiveagainst
Germanindustryormilitarytargetsindaylight.Eventually,itwouldmountvery
effectivenight/areabombingoperationsthatwouldrazemostGermancitiestothe
ground,butthatconsumedbetweenaquarterandathirdoftheentireBritishwar
effort.WithoutAmericanfactoriesandshipyardsproducingthecargoships,escort
vessels,patrolplanes,andsoon,itsunlikelytheUKcouldhavemadesuchan
extremecommitmenttoitsbomberoffensive.
3.TheRAF/USAAFCombinedBomberOffensiveagainstGermanwasacriticalfactor
enablingRedArmvictoryintheEast.ItblindedWehrmachtarmiesfacingtheRed
Armyfrom1943on,strippeditofitscoverinearly1944,andthenimmobilizeditfrom
mid1944untiltheendofthewar.Whilemuchhardanddeadlyfightinghadtobe
done,theRedArmywasabletofaceamuchdifferentWehrmachtintheircounter
offensivethantheyhadfacedin194142.
a.RAFnightbombingfrom194043forcedanenormousdiversionofNaziGerman
strengthawayfromtheEasttodefendtheReich.Over1millionmenwere
devotedtobomberdetection,interception,andantiaircraftdefensebymid1943.
Nearly11,000oftheformidable88mmgunsweredevotedtoAAdefense,along
withwelloverhalfofthelightAAguns(20mmand37mm).Hadevenafraction
ofthisfirepowerbeenavailabletoGermanfielddivisionsforATandAApurposes,
RedArmylosseswouldhavebeenfarhighereventhantheywere.
b.TheadditionofUSAAFdaylightbombingforcedtheredeploymentofmost
LuftwaffefightersawayfromtheEast.Startinginspring1943,80%ofGerman
fightersweredeployedinGermany,France,andtheLowCountriestoopposethe
WesternAllies.TheimpactwasconsiderableontheGermanarmywhichhadto
thispointalmostalwaysfoughtwithairsuperiority.Theirabilitytogather
operational/strategicintelligence,andtheirabilitytomasktheirown
deployments,wereseverelycurtailednotethenumberoftimestheywere
surprisedbymassiveSovietoffensivesfrom1943on.
c.TheintroductionoftheP51Mustanglongrangeescortfighterinearly1944not
onlyallowedmorebomberstoreachandaccuratelybombtargets,italsoallowed
theUSAAFtodestroytheGermanLuftwaffefighterforce.InFebMarApr1944,
Germanslost8001000fighterspermonth,andlostcontroloftheairovertheir
owncountry.AlliedfighterscouldrangeoverGermanterritory,shootingup
airfields,bridges,railyards,andwhateverelsetheychose.Fromthispoint,the
RedArmyAirForcescouldalsorangeatwilloverthefrontknowingtheydnever
seemorethanahandfuloffighters,oftenwithpoorlytrainedandinexperienced
pilotsatthestick.
d.Finally,beginninginlatesummer1944,theRAFandUSAAFbeganacampaign
ofsustained,precisionbombingofGermansyntheticoilplants.Theresultswere
dramatic,withproductionbeingcutby90%fromSeptemberthroughDecember
1944.WhencombinedwiththeRedArmyoffensiveintoRomania,theRomanian
coupanddefectiontotheAllies,andtheresultantlossofthePloestioilfields,the
GermanArmywassuddenlyreducedtothespeedofmarchingmenandhorse
drawncarts.
754ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
AndreiBotu,historyenthusiast
WrittenMar16
Ithinkmyanswerwillbemuchlessclearcutthanmostoftheotheranswershere.IfI
assumenointerventionatallfromUSinWWII,iwouldbehardpressedtopickthe
winnerofWWII.
ThefirstbighelptheAmericansgavetotheallieswastheleaselendactthatmanyhave
mentionedhere.ButwhilefortheRussiansitmadelifeabiteasierthankstotheJeepsand
Studebakertruckssentthatway,fortheBritishitmeantthedifferencebetweenstayingin
thewarandsuingforpeace.ThebattleoftheAtlanticwasinfullswingin19401941and
alltheBritishsupplieswerecomingfromtheUS.TheKriegsmarinewassuffocatingthe
BritishbydestroyingenoughmerchantshipstomakethesupplyingoftheBritishIslands
unfeasible.ThissituationwouldnothavechangedintimetosavetheBritishwithoutthe
USTownclassdestroyersthatbecameBritishovernight,withouttheCatalinaandB24
planesusedforreconnaissance,andwithouttheUSmanufacturingalotofcounter
8/37
11/21/2016
measures(manyinventedbytheBritishwhotransferredtheintellectualrightstothe
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
Americans)iseriouslydoubtthattheBritishwouldhavelastedinto1942.
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
WiththeBritishmuchharderpressedforresourcesthantheyactuallywere,their
campaignsintoNorthAfricawouldhavebeenmuchshorterlived.Alsotherewouldhave
beennoOperationTorch,noPattonandtheAxiswouldhavebeenincontroloftheoil
wellsinIran,Iraq,BahrainandKuwaitbymid1942.Soinsteadofwastinglotsandlotsof
fuelfightinginNorthAfricaanddependingonRomanianoilfromPloestiforalotoftheir
oilneeds,theywouldhavehadanentireextraarmycorps,maybeunderRommel's
commandforinvadingRussia.Theywouldhavealsohadanextra16milliontonesoffuel
productionayear,whichismorethandoubletheRomanianproduction.Oneofthe
biggestproblemsfortheGermansthroughtheentirewarwasthelackoffuel.In1942one
ofthemaintargetsinRussiaweretheoilfieldsintheCaucasus.TheentirearmygroupA
wentthatwaytogetherwitha6000strongTechnicalOilBrigadeattachedtoit.Army
groupBwasinitiallysenttoprovideflanksupportforGroupAbeforegettingembroiledin
Stalingrad.TheentireGermanoilsupplyforoperationswasfor60days.Afterthatsupply
problemswouldhavestarted.AlsocapturingfueldidnothingbecausetheRussianshad
dieselengineswhiletheGermantankshadgasolineenginesin42.
IwouldarguethatStalingradwouldnothavehappenedthewayitdidiftheGermans
werenotdesperateforfuelandfortheCaucasusoilfields.Plusthathavinganarmycorps
comingfromtheSouthofCaucasuswouldhavespedupalottheoilfieldcapturing
processgettingmuchfartherthantheydidandmostlikelyactuallyreachingBaiku.What
thiswouldhavemeantwasthatatsomepointin1942agoodpartofArmyGroupAwould
havebeenavailabletobedivertedtowardsStalingrad,mostlikelycomingfromatotally
differentanglethanArmyGroupBandwithadecentchancetocuttheSovietsupplylines
tothecity.Alsowithmoreoilavailableandmoreresourcesavailablewithoutthesecond
frontintheWest,theLuftwaffe'sairliftmighthavesucceededoratleastdonemuchbetter
thantheydid.
IfKurskwouldhavestillhappened,itcouldhavetakenmuchlongerwithouttheinvasion
ofSicily.MoretopofthelineTigerswouldhavebeenavailable.Soeventhatbattlemight
haveendeddifferently.
AnotherbigissueforthetheGermanswastheheavyhitstheirindustrialbasetookbecause
ofBritishandAmericanbombingcampaigns.WithoutthemtheGermanindustrycould
havechurnedoutmuchlargernumbersofheavytanksandadvancedfighterplanes.And
asstrongastheRedArmywas,theGermanshadthecapacitytobeatthemthroughtheir
technologicaladvances.AmuchlongerwarwithlargernumbersofthelatewarGerman
technologyconcentratedonasinglefrontmakemewonderwherethewarwouldhave
went,evenifStalingradandKurskstillhappened.AndwithouttheAlliedbombingof
PloestiandwiththeMiddleEastoilwellintheirhands,aswellaswithmoreCaucasusoil
productionintheirhands,theywouldnothavesufferedtheintensefuelshortagesthat
plaguestheentireGermanarmytowardsfrom1943onward.
Andthisassessmentdoesn'teventakeintoconsiderationthepossibilitythattheGermans
wouldhavebeenmorefreetoredevelopindustryinFranceandmaybeevenBritain
increasingalottheirproductioncapacity.Inshort,ireallythinkthatthedangerofmostof
theworldspeakingGermannowwouldhavebeenmuchgreaterthanmanyassume.
Upvote
Downvote Comment
LesRobinson,Director,EnablingChange
WrittenJun25,2014
Notquite.By1944theSovietswerewellontracktodestroyNaziGermany,althoughUS
materialmadeagreatcontributiontotheirsuccess,especially20,000oddtrucks.Inthe
summerof1944,afewweeksaftertheNormandyinvasion,theSovietslaunchedOperation
BagratianthatdestroyedthreeGermanarmiesandrecapturedmostofBelorussiaandeast
Poland.ThatwasreallytheendforGermany.TherapidAlliedrecaptureofFranceandthe
lowcountrieswasreallyallaboutdenyingthemtotheSoviets.
ThePacificWarisadifferentmatter.WithouttheUS,Australiawouldhavefallenand
therewasnootherforcecapableofshiftingthemoutofSouthEastAsia,eveniftheSoviets
haddefeatedtheminManchuria.
So,withouttheUS,thewholeofEuropewouldhavebeenpartoftheSovietempire,and
JapanwouldhaveruledtheEastunopposed.Averydifferentscenario!
Upvote
Downvote Comments 3
BillyWilson,itsbeenmypassionandhobbytoresearchandstudyhistory
andwarfare
UpdatedDec5,2015
9/37
11/21/2016
WellmyanswermightbealittlebiasedsinceIamanAmericanbutI'veresearchedand
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
studiedextensivelyaboutWorldWar2anditspersonallyahobbyofminebuthere'smy
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
answer,TheAnswerisnotheAllieswould'vebeenunabletodefeattheAxisinworldwar2
here'swhythisisthemostlikelyoutcome.(I'dLiketoAddthisisawhatiftypescenariofor
somereasonsomepeoplemistakethisforbeingtherealityofwhatactuallyhappened).
FirstlyLookatwhydidNaziGermanyAllywithJapan
1.HitlersgoalwasalwaystoattacktheU.S.S.RbutinordertodefeattheRussiansand
theyresuperioramountofmanpowertheyneededthecapabilitytoformasecondfront
againsttheU.S.S.RwhichtheJapanesewascapableofopening.
2.WithU.S.S.RfacingtheGermansintheWestandJapaneseintheEasttheywould've
facedtwofrontsandwould'vebeenforcedtosurrenderitwould'vetakealongertimein
ordertohappenbutbothfrontswould'vecrushedandsappedthey'remanpower.
WithoutUnitedStatesinvolvementinWorldWarTwo
EUROPE
BritainandFrenchGovernmentinExile
WithoutFDRandcongresscreatingthelendleaseact,Britainwould'vebeenstarvedinto
submissionandtheconstantsuppliestoarm,equipandprovidevolunteerPilotstheRAF
would'veeventuallylostthebattleoverBritain,becausetheywouldn'tbeenabletoreplace
thelossesithadagainsttheLuftwaffe,withvictoryintheskies,itwould'veopenedthe
pathforanavalinvasionoftheBritishIsles,eventhoughtheBritishhadasuperiorNavy,
ittoowould'vebeenriddleddowntononexistence,alsotheywould'venothaveaccessto
thenumerousshipsthatwe'reNearlygivenforfree(exchangedforbasingrightsinBritish
NavalPortsforasetamountofyears)totheBritishalsotheAmmunition,Equipmentand
suppliesthatweresuppliedtothem,thenwithoutNavalorAirDominanceintheEnglish
Channel,Britainwould'vefallenaswouldtheFrenchGovernmentinexileaswouldmany
othergovernmentsinexilewould'vefallenaswellsincetheywerebasedinBritain,and
withouttheFGE,therewould'vebeenlessresistancetoGermanruleinnorthernFrance
andhavelesscapabilitytoresisttheGermans.ThetwooptionswiththefallofBritainone
theBritishgovernmentmovestoCanadaortoIndiaandcontinuestoputupminimal
resistanceoroptiontwoisturnedintoapuppetregimelikeVichyFranceofferingno
resistance.
Italy
SincetheUntiedStatesdidn'tenterthewartherewouldn'tbeenainvasionofSicilyorof
theItalianMainland,withthatinplaceItalywouldhelpedhuntdowntheremnantsofthe
BritishNavytoextinction,andsincetherewasn'tasecondfrontorthirdfrontinEurope,it
would'vebeenabletohelpsupplyandassisttheGermanwareffortinRussia.
Germany
WithwinningtheBattleoverBritainandsecuringtheBritishIsles,andthefalloftheFGE
itcouldthenfocusitsfullforceoftheGermanWarMachineinRussiawithminimalneed
toprovideforcestoitsoccupiedterritoriesandfordefenseagainstpotentialinvasionfrom
BritainhavingsecureditfrontsinwesternEuropeandinNorthAfricaandFreshOil
SuppliescominginfromthemiddleeastitcouldputitsfullmightagainsttheU.S.S.R,
sinceBritainhasfallenandtheUnitedStatesdidnotjointhewaritsManufacturingbase
would'vebeenleftunmolestedbyAlliedAirRaidsenablingitsupplyitsforcestomax
capacitywithlittlethreatwithcontinuedsupplies,Oilsuppliesfromthemiddleeastand
assistancefromitsalliesItaly,Hungary,Romania,AntiCommunistRussians,itwould
easilydestroyedtheU.S.S.RWareffortandwouldn'tbeendefeatedatLeningrador
Stalingradandwould'vepushedintotheUralMountainsandsincetherewaslittletonone
assaultsbyseaorairfromthewestanditsIndustrialCapacityleftunmolestedandintact,
itwould'vebeenableto...(more)
Upvote 26
AdamSmith
WrittenDec11,2015
Theeasyanswerisno.ThemorecomplicatedansweristhatGermanywasonthepathto
losingEuropebeforeAmericaninterventioninthattheater,butJapanwasonthepathto
completecontrolofAsia.
Germany'smistakewasnotfinishingoffBritainbeforegoingaftertheSoviets.Timinghas
tobeperfecttosustainsupplylinesallthewaytoMoscowintimetosurvivewinter.
Napoleongotclosetoo,butwarisn'thorseshoes.Itwasn'tjustAmericansuppliesthat
helpedtheEuropeaneffort.ThousandsofAmericansfoughtintheRAFbeforetheUS
declaredwaronGermanyandItaly.So,wehelpedBritainandtheUSSRhangonjustlong
enoughtosurvivetheinitialGermanattack.Theyprobablywould'verepelledthemafew
10/37
11/21/2016
yearslateranyway.
AskorSearchQuora
AskQuestion
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
There'snoquestionJapanwasclosertodominationofAsiathanGermanywastocontrol
ofEurope.IftheUShadn'tstoppedthat,theJapanesemaywellhavecreatedalegitimate
twofrontwarfortheSovietsandpavedthewayforasecondGermaninvasionofthe
USSR.
Upvote 55
GabrielChan,wellread
WrittenJul1,2014
WWIIwaswonby:
Sovietmanpower
Britishintelligence
Americanindustrialcapacity
Withoutlendlease,akaUncleSamgivingawayfreemilitaryhardware,theBritishandthe
Sovietswouldnothavebeenabletocounterattack.Lendleasehelpedbridgethegapuntil
Sovietindustrialcomplexcompleteditspivottoawareconomy.
Upvote 14
MichaelLedlow
WrittenMar27,2015
Ipersonallydon'tthinkGermanywouldhavebeendefeatedbytheSovietUnionif
Americanwithheldthelendleasematerials.Maybe,eventually,Russiawouldhave
regainedit'sabilitytoproduceandfightfromanewcapital.Maybe.But,withoutlend
lease,RussiawouldhavelostMoscow,StalingradandLeningrad.AmericawasRussia's
onlyallythathadtheinfrastructureandresourcestoshoreupit'scrumblingdefense
againsttheWehrmacht.
TheSovietshadahugearmy,buttheycouldn'tproperlybefed,clothed,transportedor
armed.
SovietWeaponsLossesin1941(TheFirstSixMonthsOfTheWar)
72%ofallTanks.
34%ofallCombatAircraft.
56%ofallSmallarmsandMachineguns.
69%ofallAntiTankguns.
59%ofallFieldgunsandMortars.
TakeitfromGeneralGeorgyZhukov(interviewofZhukovbyKonstantinSimonov):
"ItisnowsaidthattheAlliesneverhelpedus...However,onecannotdenythatthe
Americansgaveussomuchmaterial,withoutwhichwecouldnothaveformedour
reservesandcouldnothavecontinuedthewar...wehadnoexplosivesandpowder.
Therewasnonetoequipriflebullets.TheAmericansactuallycametoourassistancewith
powderandexplosives.Andhowmuchsheetsteeldidtheygiveus.Wereallycouldnot
havequicklyputrightourproductionoftanksiftheAmericanshadnothelpedwithsteel."
Upvote 11
Downvote Comment 1
JeremyMorren,AmateurHistorian
WrittenFeb13
Well,asmentionedalready,youhavetodefinetheUnitedState'srole.FDRwasincharge
beforePearlHarbourAmericanNavalwereunderorderstofireatUBoatsonsight.
Whatthatmeansis,whiletheywerenotatwar,theywereshooting.Thatbeingsaid,the
US'sroleboileddownto2things:
1.IndustrialPower
2.SeeminglyUnlimitedManpower
Let'sexplainthem.
1.IndustrialPower:TheUShadthelargestfactorypotentialintheworldbecause
therewasnobodybombingorattackingit.LendLeasesavedBritainandtheSoviet
Unionsimply,neithercouldproducethemilitarymaterialstheyneeded.LendLease
allowedthemtoconcentrateonfightingandnotlogisticsandgavethemfactories
theydidn'thave.
11/37
11/21/2016
2.SeeminglyUnlimitedManpower:ThenumberofSoldierstheAmericanshadbythe
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
War'sendwasstaggering.ThecrewofanEssexcarrier(themainAmericancarrier
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
duringthewar)wasabout2600.AndtheAmericanshad26,repeat,26carriersin
operationattheendofthewar.Thatis,forthosewhocannotbebotheredtodothe
math,67,600menservingonCARRIERSALONE.Thatisalotofmen,considering
thatthosemenareonlystokers(engineroomhands),signallers,etc.Theactual
numberofpilotswasprobably2or300(justguessing).Sothosepeoplewereonly
SUPPORTtheyweren'tactuallyfighting.DuringtheNormandylandings,
MontomerywasinchargeoftheBritish.Hewasextremelycareful,neverstarting
uselessattacks.ThismeantthattheBritishavoidedcasualties(forthem,therewere
notunlimitedAmericanboyswaitingtobeenlisted),butsloweddowntheiradvance
acrossFrance.TheAmericans,underBradleyandPatton,couldmovemorefreely,
andcouldaffordapitchedbattle.IfSoldiersdied,theycouldreplacethem.Ifthey
werewounded,theycouldaffordtosendthemhome.TheB17hadacrewof10,
whiletheLancasterhadacrewof7.AndtheBritishbombedatnight,whereitwasa
bitmoredifficultforthemtobeshotdown.TheAmericansloststaggeringamountsof
BombersoverEuropeasfarastheywereconcerned,therewerealwaysmoremen
thatcouldbetrainedasaircrew.So,tosumup,theAmericanscouldraiseenormous
armiesANDequipthem(Seeabove).
AsImentionedbefore,AmericanandGermanywereinashootingwarBEFOREPearl
Harbour.Thus,youcouldalmostsaythattheirinterventionwasinevitable,soonerof
later.However,WWIIcouldhavebeenwonwithouttheAmericans.Here'swhy.
1.TheGermansusedBlitzkrieg.Thatisalightningquickwar,overasfastaspossible.
Theirentirewarmachinecouldnotlastformorethan2or3monthsatpeak.Israel
thoughtthesamethe6daywarwaswhattheyhadenvisaged.Francesuitedthe
GermansfinebutwhenBritainheldout,theyhadaproblem.Theycouldn'tgoon
fightingawarofAttritionindefinitely.AndtheBattleofBritianwasfoughtbefore
LendLeasesotheBritishcouldholdout.
2.AssumingtheGermanshadmanagedtolandinBritain,therewastheHomeGuard.
Anddon'tthinktheywereabunchofOldMen.Theywerealmostallformersoldiers.
Intoday'sworldwearenotsoldiers.50yearsago,wewere.I'mfightingnow,Daddy
foughtinWWI,andGrandpafoughtintheBoerWar.Almosteveryablebodiedman
inBritianhadsomebriefmilitaryexperience(witnessthedraft).Letmeputinatrue
storyhere.SomeAmericansoldierswereguardingabaseinBritianafterthewar.
TheybettheHomeGuardtheycouldn'tcaptureit.Thebetwason.Thenextdaya
firetruckdroveup,sirenblaring,lightsflashing,yellingattheguardtoopenthegate.
Theguard,despitenotknowingofanyfire,didashewasrequested.TheHome
GuarddroveonintheFiretruckandcapturedthekeybuilding.Mission
accomplished.Sotheyweren'tabunchofpretenders.Theywereanarmy.Ifthe
Germanshadlanded,theywouldhavehadtofight.Don'tforgetthat.Theywerenot
wellequipped,butintheeventofsomelandingstheBritishwouldhavefoundsome
riflessomewhere.TheywouldhavestolenthemfromtheAmericanarsenalif
necessary...Iwouldn'tputitpastMI6.
3.AnavaloperationfromFranceisnotaseasyasitsounds.Theywouldhavehadto
usebargestheyfoundonthecoastofFranceandtheotheroccupiedcountries.Well,
duh.Well,that'saproblemsincetheyobviouslywouldnotbedesignedformilitary
use.TheAlliedamphibiouslandingsusedlandingcraftdesignedforthepurpose.
TheGermanswouldhavehadtousewhattheycouldfind.Thatmeansthelanding
wouldhavebeensomewhatdifferenttoNormandythesoldierswouldhavebeen
ratherexposed.Toshipproperlandingcraftoutwouldhavemeanteitherstarting
theinvasionfromGermany(whichwouldhavebeenanimpossiblylongtripforthe
soldierstheshorttripacrosstheEnglishchannelcausedmanyalliedsoldierstoget
seasick)orshippingthelandingcrafttoFrance.Thelatterwouldhaveexposedthem
totheRoyalNavyandRAFastheyjourneyedthere.Thismeansthatanyoperation
theGermanstriedwouldnothavemeasureduptotheGermanstandardsofquality
andefficiency.
4.TheBritishmanagedtoevacuate350,000menoutofaningloriousretreatin1940.
WhiletheFrencharmyutterlydisintegrated,theBritishheldtogetherandgotout.
WitnessthedifferencetheBritishcouldhandlearetreatandnotbreaktheline.
Thus,fightinginBritianwouldhavebeenaproperwar,andnotaretreatlikethe
FrenchhadtoParis.
TheRAF'sheroicholdoutintheBattleofBritianisproofthattheBritsweredeterminedto
seethethingthrough.Everylastmanwouldhavediedratherthansurrenderat900year
empiretoa10yearoldupstartReich.NowfortheRussians.
1.OperationBarbarossafailedbecauseofHitler'sstupidity.InsightofMoscow,he
turnedtoKievanddecidedtotakeMoscowlater.And,aswesaw,hefailedtotakeit
later(i.e.duringtheWinter)
2.Then,in1941,theGermansfailedagaininStalingrad.Andthatwasbecausethey
shouldhaveretreatedlongbeforeWinter.Anyfoolcouldsee,fromthefightthatthe
12/37
11/21/2016
Germanscouldn'twinit.StalinwasobsessedwithitsowasHitler.AndStalinwon
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
the6thArmysurrendered.
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
3.TheRedArmywasevenmoreakintoacolumnofantsthantheAmericans.They
enlistedanyonewhocouldholdagunliterally.Andtheystartedattackswithout
thoughtsforcasualties.Afterthewar,insomeareas,80%ofmalesbornin1923were
dead.TheSovietsputwinningfirst,livesafterwards.
4.HitlertoldtheWehrmachttoregardtheRussiansassubhuman.However,alsowith
nofood,sufferingthesameintolerablecoldwithhardlyanyclothing,justlikethe
Germans,theRussianswerestillfighting.Infact,theGermansstartedtoregardthe
Russiansoldiernotassubhuman,butassuperhuman.
5.TheSovietsranasuccessfulscorchedearthpolicytheydestroyedortookwiththem
alltheirtrainssotheGermanscouldn'tusethemandtheGerman'srailwaysranona
differentGauge,sotheentireRussianrailwaywasuselesstothem.TheSoviets
packedupentirefactoriesandshippedthemEastward,wheretheywereunpacked
andproductionresumed!
Aswecanseehere,theRussiansalsohadanidomitablespirit.
Tofinallysumup,neithertheSovietsnortheBritishweregoingtogiveup.Anyobserver
wouldhavesaid,inApril1940,thatGreatBritainwasgoingtofallandOperationSeaLion
wasgoingtobeasuccess.Hewouldhavebeenwrongonbothcounts.Theonlyproblem
facingbothBritishandRussianswas$$.AcrucialpartofLendLeasewasthatthe
RussiansandtheBritishwereallowedtowaituntilafterthewartopayitoffacrucial
pointsincetheBritish,atleast,werealmostbankruptwhentheAmericanscamein
properlyafterPearlHarbour.
NB:TheJapaneseattackedtheAmericansatPearlHarbour,thusbringingthemintothe
war.WithoutJapaneseaggression,Americawouldnothavebeeninthewar.Thismeans
thatthishypotheticalbattlewouldhavebeenfoughtwithouttheJapanese,sincethey
couldn'thavestartedanythinginthePacificwithouttheAmericanscomingin.Theyknew
this,andsotriedtodestroyPearlHarbour.Asaconsequence,Iassumedthishypothetical
WWIIwouldhavebeenfoughtinEuropealone,andcompletelyignoredthePacific.
Upvote
Downvote Comment
UmaPriyadarsi,CuriousaboutEverything.
WrittenJun9,2014
Ihavealreadywrittensomeanswersregardingthisquestionintheseplaces:
UmaPriyadarsi'sanswertoWorldWarII:WouldtheAllieshavedefeatedtheAxisin
WWIIwithouttheinterventionoftheUnitedStates?
UmaPriyadarsi'sanswertoWouldtheSovietUnionhaveconqueredNaziGermany
withouteconomicaidfromtheUSA?
Upvote
Downvote Comment
JimWayne,Itaughthistoryandsocialstudiesformorethanhalfofmy
career.
WrittenSep17
ManypeopletendtoforgettheWorldpartofWorldWarII.
Yes,theAllieswithouttheUScouldhavedefeatedNaziGermany.Mostofthatwouldhave
beendone,asitwasdone,byforcesfromtheUSSR.ItisverylikelythatallofEurope
exceptperhapstheUKandIrelandwouldhavebecomesatellitesoftheUSSR.Lacking
suppliesfromtheUSthroughLendLease,itwouldprobablyhavetakenmuchlonger,but
thefailureoftheAxistodefeattheUSSRdecisivelyin1941meantthattheSovietswould
havetimetomasstheirgreatforcesandeventuallydefeattheGermans.
If,however,theJapanesehadnotattackedPearlHarbor,itisverylikelythattheJapanese
couldnothavebeendefeatedbytheiropponents:
TheUSSRwouldnothaveenteredthewaragainstJapan.DefeatingGermanywithout
USlogisticsupportwouldhaverequiredallitsefforts.
Chinawasalreadystaggering.IftheJapanesehadbypassedthePhilippinesand
takenIndochinaandtheDutchEastIndies,Japanwouldhavesecuredtheoiland
otherresourcestheyneededtokeeptheirmilitarymachinerunning.
IftheyhadavoidedattackingBritishpossessionswhentheyavoidedattackingPearl
HarborandthePhilippines,theJapanesewouldhavefoundthattheironlymajor
enemywasChina,whichwasinthethroesofcivilwar.TheChineseCommunists
13/37
11/21/2016
underMaowouldhavegottenfarlesssupportfromtheUSSR.Itislikelythatallor
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
mostofChinawouldhavefallenunderJapanesesuzerainty.
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
14kViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote 164
KartikKolachina
WrittenJan22
Toughandreallyinterestingquestion.
LetmestartbyexplainingtheEuropeansituation.FromJune1941tothe1944June
NormandyInvasion,almost4years,theSovietUnionwasthesoleoppositiontoNazi
GermanyonMainlandEurope.ItwascrucialthatBritainsurvivedtheBattleofBritainbut
theyhadalreadyleftMainlandEurope.Inmyopinion,mostofthecreditfordefeating
GermanymustgototheSoviets.Theypaidtheultimatesacrificeinlife,infrastructureand
land,farmorethananyoftheotherAllies.27milliondead,ashockingamountof
infrastructureandthemostpopulatedpartsoftheUnionwaslosttoGermany.
Thewarwentthroughmanyphases.Firstthe1941Germanassaultwhenitlookedquite
possibletheSovietUnionwouldcollapseandMainlandEuropewouldbelost.Secondthe
defenceofMoscowandLeningradinwinter1941.ThiswasthefirstreversaltheNazis
facedanditlookedfarlesslikelytheywoulddefeattheSovietsafterthispoint.December
1941wasactuallythemonthafterwhichtheNaziscouldnolongerwinthewar.Thisdoes
notmeantheywouldlosebutvictorywasoutofreach.ReasonforthisistheSovietreversal
andNazisdeclaringwaronAmerica.
1942wastheSovietsholdingonafteranotherBrutalassaultthroughtheSouth.Stalingrad
isthenextturningpointbecausethedefeattheremeanttheNaziswouldnowcertainly
losethewar.End1943and1944wasthephaseinwhichtheNaziswerenowretreating.
Normandywascrucialinopeninga2ndfrontbutinmyopinionjustensuredtheNazis
wouldlosefaster.TheSovietsreachedBerlinfirstandwouldhaveliberatedtheentire
WesternEuropeeventually.Itwouldmeantmanymoredeathsandalongerwarbutthey
wouldhavedefinitelydefeatedthem.
SoIbelievetheotherAlliesincludingAmericadidnotcontributeanywhereclosetoas
muchastheSovietstotheEuropeanfight.However,thereareotherarenastoconsider.
NorthAfricaandGreecewasimportanttodivertGermantroopsfromtheEasternfront
butagainIdonotconsiderthatcampaignasgroundbreaking.Germansuccesstherewas
heavilydowntotheamazingtacticsofErwinRommel,theDesertFox.
ThePacifictheaterismoreimportant.IfAmericahadnotoccupiedJapanthere,Ibelieve
theJapanesewouldhaveeventuallyattackedtheSovietUnionwhichwouldmeana2
frontwarforthem.Atwofrontwarwouldhavebeenextremelytoughtohandleinmy
opinion.InDecember1941andfortheGermanretreat,Stalinorderedentireformationsof
troopsstationedintheEasttocomewestusingtheTransSiberianRailway.Hedidthis
onlyafterbeingabsolutelyconvincedthatJapanwouldnotattack.andJapanwouldnot
attackbecauseitwasalreadyhandlingtheUS.IpersonallythinkthattheSovietswould
notsurviveatwofrontwar.Alreadytheirresourcesandproductionwasstretchedbare
thinandatsomepoint,theywouldrunoutofcannonfoddertroopstofight2enemies.
SoAmericawasneededtowinthewarasawholebutnottheEuropeantheaterassuch.
AlsojusthavingAmericaonthiersideboostedtheAlliesmassively.Lendleasewasalso
crucial.
Upvote 17
KevinBone,SonHusbandFatherGrandfatherandtryingtolearn
everythingIcanto...
WrittenJul5,2014
YESBytheAXISpowers.AnyotherscenarioisNOregardlessofyourpatrioticfervoror
nationality.Americansoldiershelpedwinthewarfortheallies.Americanmanufacturing
wonthewar.TheincrediblybraveandvaliantRussiansoldiers(andyoumustinclude
theirwomen,theywereAWESOME!)wereessentialtodefeatingtheNazis,buttheyhad
nomorematerielle,anditwasthedeliveryoffood,weapons,ammunitionand
transportationthatthesebraveandobedientwereabletostoptheNazisandthendrive
themback.Thefamous"deaceandahalf"wasturnedintoeverythingfromarmored
vehicles,trooptransports,mobileheadquartersandbasictransportation.TheRussians
werethefirstonestoturnthemintoamphibiousvehiclesandcannibalizethemfor
whateverwasneededandtheydisplayedamazinggeniusintheircreativity.
Libertyshipsneveroutsmartedoroutmaneuveredthewolfpacks,theUSAjustproduced
themfasterthantheycouldbesunk.TheShermantank(called"Ronsons"bytheNazis
14/37
11/21/2016
'Alwayslightsonthefirstshot'")neveroutshotoroutrananyGermantank,butnumbers
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
andstrategydidthetrick.ThentherearetheaircraftinWorldWarII,bothinthePacific
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
andinEuropeitwasdominationintheairthatmadeitimpossiblefortheAXISpowersto
regroupandcounterattackorprotecttheirhomeland,theirresourcesandtheirsupply
lines.TheONLYdefenseagainstweaponsliketheV2wastokillthembeforetheygottothe
launchers.
Intheend,allsidestriedtousethestrategyor"bombthembeatthemstarvetheminto
submission".ThishasNEVERworked(thinkAlamo).Bullets,bombsandmissilesthat
landonciviliansjustmakethemmoredeterminedtofighttothelastdropofblood.Thatis
truewhetherthebombcomesfromavengeanceweapon,aB17orB29oraUAVfiringa
HellfireSpecialK.
ThishugemanufacturingeconomyiswhatallowedtheUSAtodominatetheworldafter
1946.TheUSAdidn'tsomuchwinthewar,aswinthepeaceafterWorldWarII.
3kViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote 11
JohnPileggi,Retainerofallsortsofuselesstriviaaboutsports,history&
business.htt...
WrittenJun24,2014
Ibelieveanyansweris,tostatetheobvious,veryspeculative.TheRussiansboreahuge
bruntofthedefeatoftheGermanmilitary.WithouttheUS,thathavetakeyearsand
manyliveslongerthenitdid.Wars,likemostthings,canbewonandlostbyalarge
numberofvariablesandthemoretimeHitlerandhishenchmenhad,thegreatertheodds
ofsomeunusualor(forthem)luckyevent.
Upvote
Downvote Comment
JonathanTobias
WrittenJun20,2014
Itdependsonhowyoudefine"WorldWarII."IfyoulimitittoGermanaggression,then
yes,theSovietUnionwascertainlythemostimportantpowerinbringingittoanend.This
stillleavesunansweredwhethereventhatparticularaggressioncouldhavebeenstopped
withouttheassistanceoftheUnitedStates.IamfairlypositivethatStalinhimself,who
demandedtheWesternincursionintoFrance(whichcouldnothaveoccurredwithoutthe
US),wouldhaveansweredthisquestionintheaffirmative.
Moreimportantly,WWIIreallymustbedefinedinabroaderfashion,toincludethe
JapaneseaggressionandthesmallerItaloFascistaggression.TheSovietUnionlimitedthe
JapaneseincursionintoAsiatoalimitedagree,containingonlythenorth,butitwasreally
theUS,alongwiththeBritishCommonwealth,thatdidthevastmajorityoffighting.Plus,
theAmericanandEnglishinvasionofItalyopenedupacriticalvulnerabilityinGermany's
southernflankthatsiphonedoffforcesthatwereneededintheEastandtheWest.
Finally,IthinkthatWWIIshouldalsobebroadenedtoincludeSovietaggressionandthe
beginningoftheColdWar.ThisfactwasneverabsentfromthethinkingofRooseveltand
Churchillandtheotherwarplanners.Everythingsaidandplannedeventhefriendly
gestureswasconditionedbythesamefearthatmobilized(sowrongly)thefascistic
conflagrationsofHitlerandMussolini.Ibelievethateverythingthathappenedafterthe
BattleoftheBulgeinEuropewasreallydonewiththeultimateaimofSovietcontainment.
Upvote
Downvote Comment
PaulIrving
UpdatedMar27,2015
TheanswerswhichstressthecontributionoftheUSSRmissthepoint.They'retryingto
answeradifferentquestion.Thequestionisn't"WhocontributedmosttowinningWW2?".
Andcasualtiesdonotdenoteeffectiveness.Francesufferedaboutthesamenumberof
militarycasualtiesintheETOastheUSA,&moredeathsoverallduringthewarthanthe
USA,butevendeGaullewouldhavebeenhardpressedtoclaimthatithadthesame
impact.
IthinkthatiftheUSAhadstayedoutofthewar(whichincludesnotfightingJapanwe'd
havetoassumethatJapanchosethenorthernoption&attackedtheUSSRinsteadof
goingsouth),thereisagoodchancethatGermany&Japantogetherwouldhavedefeated
theUSSR.
TheJapaneseattackwouldhavecuttheUSSRofffromsuppliesviathePacific(Soviet
15/37
11/21/2016
shipssailedbetweenVladivostok&foreignportsuntilAugust1945,deliveringUSfood&
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
otheressentialsupplies,unmolestedbytheJapanese),&tieddownverylargenumbersof
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
Soviettroops,whichwouldthereforehavebeenunabletofighttheGermans.
WithoutUSforces,theUKcouldnothaveinvadedtheEuropeanmainland,norseriously
threatenedaninvasion.Italywouldnothavebeenknockedoutofthewarin1943byan
Alliedinvasion.Asothershavesaid,Germanywouldhaveneededfarfewertroopsinthe
West,enablingittothrowmoreagainstaRedArmyweakenedbytheneedtoholdoffthe
Japanese,&lackingUSaid.TheUSSRwouldhavehadthousandsfewertanks,thousands
feweraircraft,radiosetc.,itwouldhavelackedtheUStruckswhichprovidedmuchofthe
transportofthefrontlinearmies,&beenabletomakefarlessforitself(e.g.explosives)
becauseitwouldn'thavehadthevastquantitiesofstrategicmaterials,machinetools,
railwaywagons,etc.shippedtoitfromtheUSA.
TheUSSRwouldhavefacednearlythefullstrengthofaLuftwaffewhichinreallifewas
destroyedbythewesternAllies.TheRedArmykeptmostoftheWehrmachtbusy,butit
didn'thavetoworryaboutmostoftheLuftwaffe,becausethatwasdesperatelytryingto
fendofftheUSAAF&RAF,whichbetweentheminflictedfargreaterlossesonthe
Luftwaffethanitlostontheeasternfront.TheRAFalonecouldnothavedonethat.
WithouttheUSA,theLuftwaffewouldhaveruledtheskiesoftheeast.
NotethattheWesternAllieswouldalsohavestrugglediftheyhadtofightGermany&
JapanwhiletheUSSR(presumablybecauseofnoBarbarossa)wasneutral.
Upvote 17
Downvote Comments 5
DavidWhite
WrittenJun22,2014
No,Idon'tthinkitcould.BUT,don'tmisinterpretthistomeantheUSAwasthelead
partner.Withoutthemtheallieswouldhavebeenunderstrength,butwithouttheother
alliestheAmericanscouldn'thavewoneither.Itwasacollaboration.TheSovietsdidthe
worstofthefighting,theUKprovidedavitallandbasefromwhichtoinvadeEuropeand
openawesternfront,resistancemovementsonthemainlandtieddownresourcesthat
couldhavegoneelsewhere,andtheUSprovidedvitalresources,bothintermsofmenand
materiel.
Upvote
Downvote Comment
ShawnLu,Realityandimaginationblurinmyvision.Orsomethingelse
edgy.
WrittenFeb28,2015
Veryunlikely.TheUnitedStatesmaynothavebeenthecountrywiththemostmanpower,
butitsfirepowerwasimmense.MostoftheAllieshadmuchoftheirsuppliesfromtheUS
duringtheirmostcriticaltimes,fromBritaintotheSovietUnion.TheUnitedStates
providedagiganticnavalarm,andthecarriersinthePacificwerecrucialtotyingdown
Japanfromengagingothercountries.TheUSservedasanenormous"arsenalof
democracy,"andwasinstrumentalintheAllies'finalvictory.ThemainwaragainstJapan,
anislandnationuntouchablebyanyoftheotherAlliesduetoitsnavy,wasfoughtand
wonmainlybytheUS.
Thatbeingsaid,everyonehadtheirroletoplay.Britainwasaforwardbaseforthe
WesternFront.TheSovietUnionendedupdoingalotoffighting,andlosingthemost
people.
Upvote
Downvote Comment
FrancisMakov
WrittenMar27
16/37
11/21/2016
AskorSearchQuora
AskQuestion
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
USSRhadthehighestcontributioninthewest,withtheUSbeingthemaincontributorin
theeast.
However,itneverisreallyjustthosetwo.TheBritishstandingfirmagainsttheGermans
madetheEuropeanfrontwhatitwas.TheyalsohaddetachmentsoutintheirSouthEast
AsiancoloniesalongwithAustralianandNewZealandforces(alsounderBritishrule,but
theyweremoreautonomous).Don'tforgettheChineseeither,astheyhadbeenfighting
theIJAsince1937.
TheUShadnearimmunityfromoutsideattacksandvastresourcescertainlykeptBritain
inthefightandwouldprovidethemanpowertomakeEuropeacertainty.Ournavyalso
prevailedintheendagainsttheJapanese(stillhadsomehelp).TheUSSRhadeven
greateramountsofmanpowerthattheythrewintothefightaswellasenoughresourcesto
pumpouttheequipmenttheyneeded.
IfyouputeitherjusttheUSorUSSRagainstbothAxispowersatonce,theywouldof
courselose.It'sareasonwhyalliancesexistinthefirstplace.
RecentlyIreceiveaprepaidVISAgiftcard!Saveoncandles,lotionsandotherproducts!
BathandBodyWorksGiftCard
Don'tmissthisopportunity!:)
Upvote 43
Downvote Comment 1
BarryHampe,Iread.
WrittenJun9,2014
Yes,butthequestionis,"Bywhom?"
Upvote 108
17/37
11/21/2016
AskorSearchQuora
RichardHarrold,Historyteacher,archivist,writer
AskQuestion
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
WrittenJul10,2014
ThepreviousanswerersseemtoignoretheArcticconvoysthatsuppliedtheSovietsfrom
Britain(Churchillnotedthatthemostprizedequipmentwasboots!)Theanswerreferring
totheBritishdefeatbyJapancompletelyignorestheultimatevictoryovertheJapanese
wroughtbyBillSlim,formanythesinglemosteffectivegeneralonanysideinthewar.
SlimcommandedAmericantroopstoo,butonlybecausetheywerethere.TheUSledallies
fightinginthePacificalsorequiredtheuseofAustraliannavalbases.Weshouldn'tforget
thecontributionsoftheAnzacsandtheCanadianstoocometothat,intheultimate
victory.
1kViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
FredStahl,Historybuffandhavefamilythatwasthere
WrittenJan25
Yes...here'swhy.
ThebattleofStalingradandthewinteroffensivestoppedGermany.ThebattleofKursk
wasthedeathknelloftheWehrmacht.GameovertheGermansneverrecoveredfrom
this,.....period!Lendleasewasminimaltononexistentatthisstageinthewar.Germany
wasbackonit'sheelslongbeforetheUShadmajorchipsinthegame.
SowhydidJapaninvadeChina...resources.DidJapanconquerChina...no.DidAmerica
landtroopsinChina(enmass)nonever.WhenJapanneededresourcesitwentafterthe
Indies...easytargets....notChinaorIndia.Japanwouldhaveneverbeenabletobreak
ChinaandIndia,yetalonehaveenoughtroopstooccupythem.Sillynotion.The
Japanesehadmanpowerissuesjustholdingwhattheyhad.Hellsomemembersofthe
JapanesemilitarywantedtoabandonthePhilippinesbecauseitwascostingthemmore
thatwhattheywerelootingfromher.TakingoutChinaandIndiawouldhavebledJapan
white,throwintheRussiansandendofstory.
LittleknownfactisZhukovgothisfirstcombatexperienceinmobilewarfareagainstthe
Japanese.AfterwhichtheJapaneseneverwantedtoinvadeRussia(notaneasytarget).
NobodycanconquerAsia...notevenRussiainitsprime.
SoinsummationpokingtheRussianBearwasasbadastheJapanesewakingthe
sleepingGiant.
Upvote
Downvote Comment
JoshHill
WrittenMar24
Ithinkit'sveryunlikely.AccordingtoChurchill,theBritishcouldhaveheldoutonlyafew
monthslonger.AndStalinmadeitclearthattheSovietscouldnothaveachievedwhatthey
didwithoutAmericanproduction.
FreedoftheneedtofighttheBritish,theGermanscouldhaveallocatedalmostalloftheir
manpowerandthefullindustrialmightofEuropetowardstheendofdefeatingthe
Soviets.TheGermanswouldinadditionhavehadaccesstotherawmaterials,inparticular
petroleum,thattheyneededtofueltheirwareffort.
Withtheirbreadbasketgoneandtheeffectivelossofmuchoftheirpopulationand
industry,theRussianadvantagewasinitiallyadesperatelyslimoneevenwithBritishand
thenAmericanmaterialaid,Britishcontroloftheseasandoilsupplies,andAlliedstrategic
bombing.Atsomepoint,theSovietsrebuilttheirindustrytothepointatwhichtheycould
havedonethejobontheirown,albeititwouldhavetakenlongerandcostmorelives.But
therewasasignificantperiodduringwhichtheirprospectswerediceyindeed.
469Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
ShannonMann
WrittenJun21,2014
IfyouareaskinghowcouldWWIIchanged?Toturnitaround,couldtheUShavetaken
onGermanywithoutGreatBritainandRussia?
TheNazismadeasignificantmistakeinnotfinishingGreatBritain.Theyfeltthatopening
upthesecondfrontwasnecessarytokeeptheGermanpeoplefightingthepeoplewould
nothavewantedtotakeonSovietRussiaafterwinningawarwithGreatBritain.They
wereprobablyright.
18/37
11/21/2016
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
Regardless,iftheyhadbeenabletotaketheBritishIsles,theycouldhavemorethoroughly
concentratedonRussia,andmoreimportantly,theycouldhavedirectlythreatenedthe
US,makingtheUSinternalstrifeatgettingintothewarmoreextreme.Germany'sUboats
wouldlikelyhaveruledmuchoftheAtlantic.
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
WithnoanchorinEurope,theUSwouldlikelyhavegivenintoNazidemandstorecognize
theirtakingsasdone,andRussiawouldn'thavethesupportitneeded,anditwouldhave
lostallthelandnearestEurope.EuropewouldhavelargelybecomeGerman.
But,thatdidn'thappen.TheyDIDattackRussiabeforefinishingEngland,andwehave
theoutcomethehistorybookssay.SpecifyingwhethertheUSwasimportantornotmisses
theothersidesofthings.Theycouldn'thavetakenGermanywithoutRussianandBritish
help.TheAtlanticwouldhavemadethatveryverydifficult.
1.5kViews
Upvote
Downvote Comment
JiShen
WrittenJan26
IpartiallyagreedwithMr.AdamSmith'sanswerofthePacificpart.ButIhighlydoubtthe
NaziwouldinevitablyfailtheirwarinEuropeifJapanwouldhavewontheEastand
SoutheastAsia.
SomyanswerisNo.WithoutUS,JapanwouldhavecontrolledAsia,andGermanyhada
bigchancetoatleastmaintainwhattheyalreadygotatthemidtimeofwar(Before1943
InRealLife/IRL).
Japanhadaveryreasonablestrategy:unlikesimpleminded,hotheaded,landgreed,
lunaticlymaniacNaziswhothoughttheywerelivinginmedieval,Japaneseknewthey
couldneverfullycontrolthewholeAsia.sotheywouldjustgrantindependencetothose
formercolonies,andbythisway,makingthosenewnationsinJapan'sfavor(thesocalled
NeoImperialisminJapaneseversion).ThiswascalledToaShinChitsujo,a"neworderin
EastAsia",inwhichthefreedindependAsiancountrieswithouttheirbrutalgreedyold
schoolEuropecolonialismmasters,andJapanasthegoodwhiteknight/samurai(sounds
familiar,cowboys?).AndJapandidgrantindependencetoIndonesia,in1944.
(FYI,Indonesianhadto'regain'theirindependencefromfullyarmedDutchcolonistarmy
(whoarmedwithsubmachineguns,tanksandcombatplanesmadeinUSA,whichwere
LentLeasedtothemtofightNaziinEurope,toregaintheirfreedomandindependence),
AFTERtheworldwarII,throughamorebrutalanduglywar.Alsohappenedin
Malaya(nowMalaysia)andIndochina(nowVietnam).Andfarmorepeoplewerekilledin
those"limiteddistrictlittlewars"thanintheWW2,byJapanese.)
Backtotopic,ifJapan'sstrategysucceeded(remembertheycontrolledthewhole
SoutheastAsiajustinmonthsIRL),theradicalIndianIndependenceMovementwould
certainlyallythemselveswithJapan(theyalsodidIRL),andBritaingotahighlychanceto
losetheDiamondontheCrown.Thiswasnotonlymeaningthelostofmostvaluable
resourcestheyneededtofightNazi,butalsomeaningtheIJN(ImperialJapaneseNavy)
wouldhavegotafootholdnearSuezCanal,ifnotgrabbeditalready(FYI,backthen,
BritisharmywasnotonlyfightingNaziinnorthAfrica,butalsofightingaantirevolution
warinnowArabarea,likeIraq.SeeAngloIraqiwar).Thiswouldbetheendoftheole'
Empire,andlonglivethenewone.WithoutthehelpfromUS,Britishwouldhavehung
Churchillandhiscabinet,electOswaldMosleyastheirnewultimateKing(orFuhrer),and
cryforapeacetreatywithJapanandNazi,byanyconditions.Orstarvedtodeathwith
theirhonor,intheironseaoftypeIsubmarineswhichwerecoveredbycloudofZeros,
withtheirwholehomefleetwentintodavyjones'lockerbynumerousNellsandBettys(just
likewhathappenedonPrinceofWalesandRepulse),whenLondonandDoverand
CardiffwerebeingbombedintoashesbyYamatoandcombinedfleet.
TheRussiawouldbethenext.TheNazi'sbiggestmistakeinRussiawastheirstupidracism
toSlavpeople.WhentheyfirstinvadedRussia,theywerecelebratedasliberatorwho
defeatedtheevilStalinism,onlywhentheSSbutcherscomingin,thenlocalpeoplerealized
theystillcouldhavelivedinbeautifulghettosratherthandiedinthosedisgustingdeath
camps.ButJapan,whohadatotallydifferentviewofideology(atleasttheJapanese
politiciansalwaystalkingabouthowtobea"kinderruler"infareast,andactuallyitwas
notadifficultthingtodocomparedtotheoldrulers),withthesupportofthenewly
formed"NewOrder"insoutheastAsia,wouldconquertheEasternRussiawithoutmuch
trouble.TheonlyproblemwouldbeNazi,ifHitler'sonlyleftball(orright?)gotachill
aboutthisRisingSunEmpire,hemightstopthewarwiththeole'palStalin,andletthe
RedArmyturningbacktoJapan,atleasttotrytheirbesttostopJapan'saggressively
advance.
Andnomatteryouacceptornot,althoughwasnukedthe****outanddisarmedtill
today,Japan'sstrategyisatleastpartiallysucceeded,theyreshapedmodernAsia.(and
19/37
11/21/2016
wecanhearUSA'sloleveryday)
AskorSearchQuora
1kViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
AskQuestion
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
Downvote Comment 1
KieraFreeman
WrittenThu
Actuallythisextremelywrong,withoutthewesternallies,particularlytheAmericans,the
warisunwinnable.StalinevensaidtoTheAmericans.Iquoteahistorianonthismatter.
Onthewholethefollowingconclusioncanbedrawn:thatwithouttheseWestern
shipmentsunderLendLeasetheSovietUnionnotonlywouldnothavebeenabletowin
theGreatPatrioticWar,itwouldnothavebeenableeventoopposetheGermaninvaders,
sinceitcouldnotitselfproducesufficientquantitiesofarmsandmilitaryequipmentor
adequatesuppliesoffuelandammunition.TheSovietauthoritieswerewellawareofthis
dependencyonLendLease.Thus,StalintoldHarryHopkins[FDRsemissarytoMoscow
inJuly1941]thattheU.S.S.R.couldnotmatchGermanysmightasanoccupierofEurope
anditsresources.
FurthermoreevenNikitaKhrushchevadmittedthis
IwouldliketoexpressmycandidopinionaboutStalinsviewsonwhethertheRedArmy
andtheSovietUnioncouldhavecopedwithNaziGermanyandsurvivedthewarwithout
aidfromtheUnitedStatesandBritain.First,IwouldliketotellaboutsomeremarksStalin
madeandrepeatedseveraltimeswhenwewerediscussingfreelyamongourselves.He
statedbluntlythatiftheUnitedStateshadnothelpedus,wewouldnothavewonthewar.
IfwehadhadtofightNaziGermanyoneonone,wecouldnothavestoodupagainst
Germanyspressure,andwewouldhavelostthewar.Nooneeverdiscussedthissubject
officially,andIdontthinkStalinleftanywrittenevidenceofhisopinion,butIwillstate
herethatseveraltimesinconversationswithmehenotedthattheseweretheactual
circumstances.Henevermadeaspecialpointofholdingaconversationonthesubject,but
whenwewereengagedinsomekindofrelaxedconversation,goingoverinternational
questionsofthepastandpresent,andwhenwewouldreturntothesubjectofthepathwe
hadtraveledduringthewar,thatiswhathesaid.WhenIlistenedtohisremarks,Iwas
fullyinagreementwithhim,andtodayIamevenmoreso.
TheflawisreferencingStalingrad.Yousee,Stalingradwouldn'thaveoccurredifthe
AmericanswerenottyingupAfricaKoreainAfricaandTunisia.Hencesomeofthe
absolutebestdivisionsintheGermanarmywereengagedinAfrica.Thereisnowaythat
anencirclementcouldoccurwiththemenofthatarmyguardingthe6tharmysflank.
Evenifyouwanttobeexceptionallygenerousandsaythatencirclementcould
occur(impossible),theencirclementcouldbebroken.Furthermorethecaucusoilfields
wouldbetakencuttingoffover80percentoftheoilsupplyfortheSovietUnion.Onthe
otherhandinoneyeartheGermanscouldrebuildthedestroyedoilfieldsandwagewar
foralonglongtime.Inotherwords,thecriticaltitanicturningpointofStalingradwould
notoccur,infact,theoppositewouldoccur,thesovietswouldbeleftwithouttheoil
resourcestowageanorganizedandmechanizedwaragainsttheGermanarmy.Taking
Moscowwouldbeamatterofformalityatthispoint.
It'ssortofbutterflyeffectstuff,butallthismustbebasedonthefactthatStalingradwasa
veryveryclosebattleanditcouldhavebeendisastroustoRussianstoloosemostoftheir
fuelsupplies.
740ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
KeithPatton,Ihavebeenageologistfor35years,workinginboththe
petroleumandenvir...
WrittenOct2
No.IftheUShadremainedtrulyneutral.The"allies"wouldhavefallenlikealeadballoon.
Britainwasontheropesin1941.NearlyallheroilcamefromtheUS.In1942hernavyhad
abouttwomonthsofoilforoperations.HadnotthecombinedeffortsintheAtlantic
defeatedtheUBoatmenaceshewouldhavebeenfinished.ThatisiftheUShadnot
providedanyformofLendLeaseandtrulystayedneutral.
TheUSSRwouldhavehadtoproduceinonewayortheother,themountainofaid
providedbytheUS.Thatincludedover250,0006x6trucks,tanks,planes,andother
materialsfromfoodtolocomotives,communicationswire,andeverythingelseaarmy
needs.RecallthattheGermanshadoverrunmanyindustrialareasandthatthose
remainingweremovedtoSiberiawheretheyhadtoberebuilt.Allthiswasinthefaceof
lossesinmanpowerin41and42inthemillionsofmenandtensofthousandsoftanksand
artillery.Wheredidallthereplacementscomefromallofasuddenwhilefactorieswere
beingrelocated?
20/37
11/21/2016
TakeawayallLendLeaseandindustrialcapacitythatwasusedfortanksandplanes
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
wouldhavehadtobeensiphonedofftomakeotherthings,reducingoverallproductionfor
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
weapons.Itisplainarithmetic.
AddintheAirWarintheWestthatexertedpressureontheLuftwaffeandrequired
withdrawalofthebulkoftheGermanairforcesfromtheeast.Addthedozensofdivisions
thatwereusedandlostinNorthAfrica,SicilyandItalyandeventuallyFrance.Noneof
theselandingswouldhavebeenpossiblewithouttheshippingbuiltinUSshipyards.Soin
effect,Britainwouldhavebeenpowerlesstodoanythingthingbutstageoperationslike
Dieppe,andtheoneinNorwaythatwerelimitedandonlysucceededingettinghighly
trainedtroopskilledandshipssunk.
WithouttheinfluxofUSmadetanks,NorthAfricawouldhavebeenlost.Therewouldnot
havebeenanElAlamein.GermanyandItalywouldhavecapturedAlexandria,cutthe
SuezandpossiblypersuadedTurkeytoenterthewarontheAxisside.Thiswouldhave
allowedadoublepincerintotheCaucasusdeprivingtheUSSRoftheiroilreserves.
TheUKgaveoccupationofIcelandtotheUSbecausetheywerestretchedtoothin.Whatif
theGermanshadsucceededinoccupyingIcelandandbasedaircrafttheretofurther
engageUKshipping?
WithouttheUSAustraliawouldhavefallenoratleastbeenpartiallyoccupied.When
MacArthurarrivedfromManila,theAussieswerepreparingtoabandonnorthern
Australiaandoccupythe"BrisbaneLine"adefensivelinejustnorthofBrisbaneallowing
JapanCarteBlanchinNewGuinea,andNorthernAustralia.Ifthishadoccurredthere
wouldhavebeennomoreAnzacTroopsinEuropeforpoliticalreasonsandpossiblya
separatepeacewithJapansinceAustraliaandNewZealandwouldhavebeencutofffrom
aid,remembertheUSwasneutral.
Upvote 18
Downvote Comments 2
AntonyMaanum
WrittenSep24,2014
Incontrasttothemajorityofanswershere,Iwilltakethestanceofansweringthequestion
asitwasaskedandspeaktowards"WorldWarII"andnotsimplythewarinEurope.
Atthebeginningofthewar,ImperialJapanhadarguablythemostpowerfulnavyinthe
world.Lookingpastpuretonnage,theirNavy(mostspecificallytheiraircraftcarriersand
accompanyingMitsubishiA6MZerofighterplanes)wastechnologicallysuperiortoother
navies.WithouttheU.S.involved,theyhadrelativelynorivaltoface,lessafewRoyalNavy
shipsusedbyANZAC.Historyhasshownusthatnavaldominationleadstoextremeworld
powerifnothegemony.Additionally,iftheUSArmyistakenoutoftheequation,the
JapaneseArmywasthe3rdlargestarmyinthewaraftertheUSSRandGermany,
respectively.
Thewarintheeastisrarelyreflecteduponwhencomparedtothewarinthewest.The
samecouldbesaidaboutImperialJapanwhencomparedtotheNazislikelybecausethe
NazisatrocitiesandbrutalexpansioneffortsoutshonethoseoftheJapanese.However,it
shouldnotbediscountedthatImperialJapanwasabelieverinSocialDarwinism,believed
intheirsuperiorityoverallpeopleandwantedsovereigntyover(atleast)allAsianpeoples.
Perhapsmostimportantly,theywereNaziGermany'sally.Furthermore,theirproximityto
RussiaandrecentwarringhistorywiththemshowsthatfurtherexpansionintoEurasia
wouldlikelyhavecontinuedifunchecked.Lastly,theyattackedandoccupiedlandsowned
bytheBritish,French,DutchandothersandwereinfactatdeclaredwarwithWestern
Powersaswell,justlessdirectlyengaged.(wewilljustassumethattheUSdidnotreactto
theoccupationofthePhilippinesandotherUSownedterritoriesforthepurposeofthe
question)
WiththesefactsthatwehaveofImperialJapanduringWWII,itissafetoassumethat
theywouldhavebecomeoneofthelargestEmpiresintheworld.Theywouldhave
continuedtoexpandaswellasbefreeduptoassisttheotherAxispowerstheywereallied
with.Morespecifically,JapancouldofferassistancewiththeiroldfoeRussiatoeasethe
relentlessattackonGermanybytheRedArmythateventuallywonthewarinEurope.
Witheveryothertruepowerintheworlddestroyingtheirresourcesfightingeachotherin
Europe,Japanwouldhavebeenabletotakeoverasmuchoftherestoftheworldwith
limitsonlycominginthenumberofpeopletheyhadtoholdthoseoccupations.
Iwouldanswer"no",thealliescouldnothavewonforthesemajorreasons:
1:TheUSwasintegralinthedefeatingGermany'sstrangleholdonEuropeandthe
fortificationoftheAtlanticWall.WithouttheUS,Ddaywouldnothavehappenedfor
severalreasons(soldiers,supplies,resources)
2:SansDDay,theGermanswouldhavehadmanymoreresourcestofighttheRedArmy
21/37
11/21/2016
3:WithouttheU.S.takingonthemosttechnologicallyadvancednavyand3rdlargest
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
Armyintheworld,theJapanesewouldhavebeenabletodestroyorstealglobalresources
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
andattackbothBritainandtheUSSRondifferentfrontsthusunbalancingtheadvantage
theAllieshadovertheAxispowers
Upvote
MichaelA.Comberiate,130sovereignstatesallcontinentsbothPoles,
manyothercountriesfor50yrs
WrittenAug2,2015
IhavetoagreewithMrWeidneronthesecomments.TheUSAprovidedtheunique
economicpowertorespondtoall
thelossesofequipmentandsupplies.Thisallowedacontinuousassaultontheenemieson
allfrontswhichdrainedtheirresourcesandeventuallystoppedthemfromanyquick
victory.FurthermorethetechnologicaledgeofGermanyenabledthemtocomeupwith
innovativeadvancesinweaponrythatcreateduniqueadvantagesoneveryfront.Their
inabilitytogetmanyoftheseinnovationsintomassproductionwastheresultoflosingAir
SuperioritytothecombinationofBritishandUSforcesfightingtogetherfrombasesinthe
UK.IftheGermanshadmoretimetheysurelywouldhavehadthefirstAtomicbombsand
usedthemimmediatelytoshutdowntheUSSRandtheUK.Theywouldhavesettledfora
temporarystabilityintheworldundertheirruleandeventuallyturnedontheUSAand
Japanoncetheirdeliverysystemwasuptothechallenge.WewerefortunatethatPearl
HarborallowedFDRtoRallytheUSAintoanactiveroleinthiswarbeforetheUKfelland
Australiacollapsed.IoftenwonderwhyHitlerfelthehadtoattacktheUSSRasearlyas
hedid(Perhapstheoilfields?)whenhisalliancewiththemattheinitialattackonPoland
madeitclearthattogethertheycouldoverwhelmmainlandEurope.Oncehehadsecured
thatanddeclaredatemporarypeace,histechnologiescoulddeveloptowheretheyhad
atomicbombsandmissilestodeliverthem.Thenthisworldwouldsurelyhavebeena
differentplacetoday.
864ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
NelsonLewis,Producerandmediapersonality
WrittenJul11,2014
Duetomypersonalbias,I'minclinedtosaythatitwastheAmericanswhowonWorld
WarII.Andifitweren'tfortheUS,itwouldhavetakenalotmoretobeatJapan.Butif
youaskaRussianwhowonWorldWarII(orastheyrefertoit:"TheGreatPatriotic
War"),they'llundeniablysayitwastheSovietUnion.80percentofGermany'sdeathsin
WorldWarIIoccurredatthehandoftheSoviets,andwhileAmericanswerefightingon
distantshoresinEuropeandthePacific,WorldWarIIwasoccurringinthebackyardof
theSovietUnion,soitwasalotmorepersonaltothem.
WhiletheSovietUnionwasn'tterriblyorganized,luckyforthem,Russiaisnearly
impossibletoconquer(theonlypeopletohaveeverdonesowastheMongols,whoonly
succeededbecauseRussiaasacountrydidn'texistatthattime).OncetheSovietsgottheir
acttogetherafteracoupleyears,theylaunchedadevastatingcounterattackagainstthe
Nazis,goingallthewaytoBerlin.TheSovietswereresponsiblefor4outof5German
deathsinWorldWarII.
1kViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment 1
RogerPierson,SystemsEngineerGDAISLittoralCombatShipprogram
9yrNavyVet.AmateurP...
WrittenJun9,2014
Well,IthinkthisquotefromWinstonChurchillonhowhefeltwhentheU.S.joinedthe
warprettymuchsumsitup:
TohavetheUnitedStatesatoursidewastomethegreatestjoy.Nowat
thisverymomentIknewtheUnitedStateswasinthewar,uptotheneck
andintothedeath.Sowehadwonafterall!Hitlersfatewassealed.
Mussolinisfatewassealed.AsfortheJapanese,theywouldbegroundto
powder.
WinstonChurchill
Upvote 10
Downvote Comment
MichaelLeBlanc
22/37
11/21/2016
WrittenJun20,2014
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
Yes,therearescenarioswherethealliescouldhavewon.Manyhavegivenamplereasons,
butIwouldliketoproposeonewhereGermanycouldhaveprevailed:ifthetrunk
containingtheplansforthecavitymagnetronandotheradvancedtechnologythatBritain
haddevelopedwhichwasplacedonashipinSeptember1940fordeliverytotheUSwas
sunkalongtheway,renderingtheUSunabletomanufacturedeviceswhichusedthese
technologies,BritainwouldhavebeenstarvedintosubmissionbytheUBoatthreat.Giving
GermanyaccesstoMiddleEastoil.ThisdevelopmentwouldhavelefttheSovietUnionto
fightonitsowninatwofrontwaragainsttheAxis(includingJapan).
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
Upvote
Downvote Comment
DougMcCarthy
WrittenMar24,2015
AlmosteveryanswerhereseemstoforgetthebiggestformofhelpthattheUSgavethe
Soviets.TheAirWar!IsaythatifHitlerlethisGeneralrunthewarandthealliesdidn't
bombGermanyfromtheair,thegermanswouldhavebeatentheSovietsoratleast
staslematedthemholdingontomostterritorythattheyconquered.
Thinkaboutthis.Almost2millionGermansoldiersfoughttheAlliedbombersonthehome
front.Inlate19434570%ofgermanaircraftwereprotectingGermanyorinthewestand
notfightingontheRussianfront.Andremember,thefactisthegermanfightersmade
mincemeatoftheRussianaircraft(eventheirmodernla5,yak9stuff).HowmanyFlak88
or128mmgunshadto"stayhome"andshootatUSaircraftinsteadofshootingatT34's
andhowmuchammodidtheyuseupthatcouldhavebeenusedontheRussianfront.
Howmuchmoreoil/gaswouldthegermanshavehadifitwasn'tforourbombersvirtually
destroyingtheirproductionafterthebeginningof1944.Allofthesethingswereamajor
factorintheSovietsbeingabletobeatbackthegermansasquickastheydid.Beingfair,
youcouldsaythesamethinggoingtheotherway.IftheRussianswerenotfightingthen
couldhavetheUSbeatenGermanywithoutthem???
790ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
WalterMacedo,IjustknowthatIdontknowanything.ButIdontgiveup.
WrittenMay28,2015
Inmyopinion,probablynot.Inthemodernwarofthe20thCentury,armynumber
counts,butmaynotbedecisive.Mobilitycountsmore.Besidesthat,inalongtermwar,
technologyisamongthemostimportantissues,andatthattimeGermanyhadapocketful
ofnewadvancedtechnologiesthatwouldeasilystopanyarmyprovidedtheyhadtimeto
developthem:fromjetpropulsiontoinvisibleairplanesandeventheatomicbomb(ina
longtermresearchprocess).ThesenseofemergencyofatwofrontwarmadeHitlerforget
aboutanytechnologythatwouldtakemorethanacoupleofyearstodevelopand
fortunatelyveryfewofthoseinventionsbecameeffectivebeforetheendofthewar.
IamquitesurethatwithouttheUnitedStatesthesituationwouldbecompletelydifferent.
ItisverylikelythatthetwofrontwarwouldbefoughtnotbyGermanybutbytheSoviet
Union.AndIamsayingthatbecausewithoutanyhelpfromtheUnitedStatesandwitha
BritishEmpirestrugglingtokeepthemselvesalive,MaoTzeThongandChiangKayCheck
wouldbeslowlyasphyxiatedandtheJapaneseexpansionismwouldsoonerorlatergo
North,preventingtheSovietUnionthedeploymentofitsAsiandivisionsagainstHitleror
atleastpartofit.
Ontheotherhand,intheAfricanfront,Montgomerywouldneverhaveafresharmyand
evenwithRommelsBrancaleonedivisions,hewouldbeabletoreachAlexandriaandgo
allthewaytoSaudiArabia,andconsequentlytheMiddleEastandthePloestioilfields
wouldkeepHitlersarmymovingforever.
Inthisscenario,andconsideringHitlersobstinatewarofannihilationagainst
communismandtheSlavssubhumans,thiswarwouldlastverylong.Probablylonger
thanStalinslifeandasfarasIcanseetherewasnootherdictatoravailableamongSoviet
LeadershipthatwouldbeastenaciousandobstinateasStalin,andafterhimasettlement
underrushconditionswouldguaranteetheGermanlebensrauminRussiansteps.
Inconclusion,theAmericaninterventiononSecondWorldWarwasdecisivenotonlyby
theunlimitedsupplyprovidedbyhimtohisallies,butalsobythechangingofthepaceof
thewar,forcingHitlertoabandonhisresourcesoflongtermtechnologyinventionsthat
couldbringhimbacktohisfeet.ThatisthescenarioIseeiftheUnitedStatesdidnotget
involvedintheEuropeanWar.
931ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
23/37
11/21/2016
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
KeithHisey,Wasahistorymajor,andhavereadhistoryforover50years.
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
WrittenFeb26
Thisisarehashofseveraldiscussionspostedpreviously.IsubmittheanswerasNO.Lets
lookattheStrategicsituationinEurope.BritainstoodaloneintheWesttheironlyactivity
ofnotewasinN.AfricaandtheNightBombingcampaign.NorthAfricawouldhave
eventuallybeenlosttoGermany.Why?BecauseeventuallyHitlerwouldhavesentthe
ArmyGrouphesenttocountertheAmericanLandingsinMoroccotoassisttheAfrica
CorpsandBritain,alreadystretchedwouldhavebeenstretchedtothebreakingpointand
beyond.WithouttheUSinthePacific,BritainwouldhavelostBurmacompletelyand
JapanwouldhavethreatenedIndia,andmightpossiblyhavepluckedtheBritishColonial
Jewelfromhergrasp.
Now,BritainwashavingtheUSbuildshipsandplanesforher,and90%ofthetanksused
aElAlameinwereAmericanShermansandGrants.TheywerealsoflyingUSP40sand
P38s.TheUSwassendingBritainfuelandAvgasfromitsrefineriesbackhome.Notsure
howmuchoilBritainwasgettingfromtheMiddleEastorFarEast,Iexpectmostofitwas
fromtheUS.
TheSovietswererichinmen,butnotmuchelse.TheyflewUSplanesanddrovealotof
UStanksuntiltheirindustrialplantswererelocatedbehindtheUralsoutofreachofthe
Germans.InthemeantimetheUSsentthemjustabouteverythingtheyneededtokeep
fighting,boots,food,wire,railroadlocomotives,tanks,planes,guns,andover500,000
trucks.ImentionthatspecificallybecauseiftheRussianshadhadtomaketheirown
trucks,howmanylesstankscouldtheyhaveproduced.Anythingtheyhadtomake
themselveswouldhavedetractedfromtheirproductionofotherthings,liketanksand
artillerywhichtheyproducedinmountainsinordertoreplacethelossestheysuffered.If
theUShadnotbeenfightinginthePacific,Stalinwouldnothavebeenabletoreleasehis
FarEastArmiestoreplacelossesinthewest.
WithouttheUSairwarintheWest,theLuftwaffewouldhaveretainedairsupremacyin
theEastwhichwouldhaveseverelydegradedSovietsuccessesafterStalingrad.Stalingrad
wasnottheend.TheGermanswagedoffensivewarafterthat.Withouthavingtofighton
threefronts,(France,ItalyandRussia)itislikelytheGermanscouldhaveeventuallybled
theSovietswhite.StudiesprovethattheAverageGermanLandserhadthreetimesthe
combateffectivenessthantheaverageIvan.Thatmeansbasedoncombatcasualty
statisticsonbothoffensiveanddefense,oneGermanwasworththreeRussians.Sothe
numberswereagainsttheRussians.
WithoutUSshipbuilding,theBritswouldhavebeenfacedwiththesamedilemmathatthe
Russiansfaced,whattowemake?TheBritscouldneverhavemadeenoughlandingcraft
tolaunchaninvasionofItalyorSicilyandcouldneverhaveinvadedFrancealone.Sothe
GermanscouldhavefocusedonRussia,andaftertakingEgyptcouldhavethreatenedthe
CaucusoilfieldsthroughTurkey.ThelossoftheSuezcanalwouldhavecuttheBritsoff
fromIndiaandtheirothercoloniesintheEast.AustraliaandNewZealandwouldhave
stopsendingtroopstoEuropeinordertodefendthemselvesfromtheadvancingJapanese
whowouldhaveseizedallofPapuaNewGuineaandtheSolomonIslands.Britainwould
havehadtowithdrawitsCarriersfromtheEastentirelyinthefaceofoverwhelming
JapaneseNavalforces.
ShornofheroverseascoloniesBritainwouldhavehadtocometoterms,likeitornot,
since,shewasgoingbankruptfightingthewar.Germanyontheotherhandwasusingthe
industrialmightofherconqueredterritories,France,Austria,Poland,Czechoslovakiaetc
andwascoaxingafairnumberofrecruitsfromthoselandsaswelltoaddtoherarmed
forces.Iftheycouldhavecontinuedtoholdthelinetotheeast,itwouldhaveprevented
RussiafromaddingPolesandUkrainianstoherforcesastheydidlaterinthewar.
EventuallyRussiawouldhaverunoutofmen,sincetheSTAVKAseemednottocarehow
manymenitspentinfruitlessattacks.Estimatesrunashighas100,000menwere
executedbyCommissarsbehindRussianlinesfordesertionorlackofenoughpatriotic
fervor.
Withoutthemassivestrategicbombingcampaignthatwaswagedfrom1940to45,
Germanywouldhavebeenfreetopursueherwonderweapons,andwouldhavehadjet
fightersoverRussia,couldhaveemployedherVweaponsagainstBritainandlaterthe
Soviets,andherwarproductionwouldhavecontinuedunimpeded.
So,allthosethingstakentogetherItislikelytheGermanscouldhaveprevailedwithoutUS
participationinthewar.WithoutUSwarproductionwhichinmanycaseswasgreater
thanalltheenemyproductioncombined,thebalancewouldhavebeentiltedbacktoone
morefavorabletotheGermans.
423ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
DennisWeidner,AmateurhistorianwithahugeWorldWarIIsite.
WrittenSep25,2014
24/37
11/21/2016
Yesitcouldhavebeen.TheSovietsmighthavedefeatedtheNAZIswithoutus,although
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
thatisnotacertainty.AnditwouldhavebeenatafargreatercosttotheSovietsthanthe
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
25millionpeopletheylostintheWar.
Theimportantpoint.however,isthattheWarwasnotjustlaunchedbyHitler.Itwas
launchedbyHitlerandhisallyStalin.BothinvadedPoland(September1939).Thusboth
wereaggressornationsthathadtobestopped.
WhatAmericadidwasto1)guaranteedthedefeatofNAZIGermany,2)endtheWarin
Europemorequicklythenpossible,savingmillionsofSovietandotherlives,3)prevented
JapanfromjoiningtheNAZIassaultontheSovietUnion,4)defeatedJapan,and5)
preventedtheSovietUnionfromoverrunningWesternEurope.
Inaddictiontotheseenormousaccomplishments,AmericaaftertheWar,turnedthe
horrendousNAZIandmilitaristJapanregimesintopeacelovingdemocracies.Noonein
194041couldhaveenvisionedsuchanachievement.
885ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
MartinHansen
WrittenSep23
TheUSAdidnotstepin,itwaspulledinthroughtheJapaneseattackonPearlHarbour
andthenGermanysdeclarationofwar.HadGermanynotdeclaredwarthenitisunlikely
thattheUSAwouldhaveenteredtheEuropeanwar,justastheUSSRdidnotenterthe
Pacificwaruntillate1945.ThiswouldhavestrainedrelationsbetweenBritainandtheUSA
aswithouttheUSAhelpinginEuropeitwouldhavebeenabigaskforBritaintohelpthe
USAinthePacific.SomaybeDDaywouldhavebeenanallBritish/Canadian/Australian
affairandtheliberationofEuropewouldhavebeenwithouttheUSA.
196Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
BrunoTaTa
WrittenMar8,2015
Can'tsayforsure,butitwouldhavebeenmorelikelytolapseintoStalemate.
1.Britainhadzeroabilitytoprojectenoughforceontothecontinenttoposemuchofa
threattoGermany,allowingamuchsmallerGarrisoninFrancebyGermany.Theseforces
andresourceswouldhavebeenavailablefortheEasternFront.
2.NorthAfricamaywellhavestalematedin1942withnoUSinvasionofN.Africa.
3.BritishairpoweralonecouldnothavedonethedamagetotheGermanyeconomythe
combinedairoffensivedid.MoreheavyAAunitsandmanpowercouldhavebeenspared
forEasternFrontuse(88mmAAgunsmakegreatantitankweapons).MoreGermanday
fighterscouldhavebeenmadeavailableforeasternfrontuse,andtheywouldhave
sufferedlessattritionoverGermany,whichdenudedthemoftrainedpilots.
4.ThelackofUSseapowerintheAtlanticandconvoyprotectionmayhavetippedthe
balancethere.Ordelayedalliedvictory.
5.SovietarmiesreliedonmassiveUSlendleasesupply,notasmuchtanksandairplanes
asthingsliketrucksandradios,pluseconomicresources.Ahugeproportionoftheir
transportthatallowedthemtomechanizelargeforceswas,bythemidpointofthewar,US
supplied.Theradiosallowedthemtobettercoordinatedeepoffensivesandtacticalunits.
TheUSprovidedalargeproportionofthesteelusedintheUSSRtoproduceweapons.
Alsooil.ThiscapacityhadbeengreatlyreducedbyGermanoccupation.Withoutthese,
themobileoffensivecapacityoftheUSSRwouldhavebeenreduced,possiblytowherethey
werenotabletowinvictoriesagainstreinforcedGermanyarmies.Theywouldhavebeen
moreofaninfantryarmythantheywereby1944.
6.JapanwouldhavebeendominantinthePacificw/oUSparticipation.TheBritishwere
prettymuchforcedallthewaybacktoIndia.Theylackedairpowerandcarrierstodo
muchthere.ChinareceivedUSaidthatkepttheminthewar.
7.NoUSandtheirsubmarineandnavalforceswouldhaveallowedJapantofully
exploittheirconqueredoilresourcesinIndonesia.Wesankmuchofitbeforeitreached
thehomeislandsforuse.AninvasionofAustralia,thoughunlikely,mighthavebeen
tried.
8.MostUKtanksby1944wereofUSorigin.Theywouldhavehadfewertanksw/othe
25/37
11/21/2016
US,furtherreducingthepossibilityofasuccessfulinvasionofFrance.Also,manylanding
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
craftwereUSbuilt.AswerethetransportsneededtosupplyGB.
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
802ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
JackMenendez,WannabeWriter,ComputerScience,Soccer,Rock
Climbing,Mathematics,Chemist...
WrittenJun22,2014
IgnoringJapan,theanswerhingesonwhethertheSovietUnionwouldhaveprevailed
withoutthewarintheWest,inNorthAfrica,Italy,andeventuallytheNormandyinvasion.
TheSovietUnionwouldhavelostinmyopinionbecausethebombingbythealliesandthe
diversionofGermany'sresourceswouldnothavehappened.Itspossiblethatearlyon
BritainwouldhavesurrenderedwithouttheUShelp.
ConsiderthattheUSdirectlysuppliedtheRedArmywithenormousamountsofmaterial
includingweapons.
Nobombingwouldmeanplentyoffuelandmanufacturing.Germanywouldhaveruled
theskywithjets.TheGermanarmywouldnotsufferfromconstantammunitionshortages.
PanthertankproductionwouldhavebeenmorerobustandHitlerwouldhavecommitted
farmoremanpower.ItalywouldstillbeaviablepartnerandGermanywouldhaveoiland
otherrawmaterialsfromN.Africa.
Thiswouldbeadifferentworld.
890ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
DonPurvis
WrittenJul8,2014
Idon'tthinktheAlliescouldhavewonwithouttheUS.FranceandPolandweregone.
Britainwasonthevergeofcollapse.JapanhadChinaandwouldhavemovedtothe
SovietUnion.IfitwasnotfortheUS,itwouldhavebeentheSovietUnionfightingontwo
frontsratherthanGermany.AndthatisignoringItaly.
TheUSdidn'tjustwininthePacificwhichneutralizedJapan.TheyfoughtGermanyand
Italy.TheyalsoprovidedequipmenttoourAllieswhichwasvitallyimportanttotheSoviet
Union.
WhiletheSovietUnionshowedtheGermansthedangerofexpandingtoofast,Germany
couldhaveeasilydonethesametotheSovietUnionbyfallingbackandforcingthemto
recaptureterritory.ButthatonlyworksiftheGermanswerenotfightingontwofronts.
IftheSovietUnionhadbeenfightingtwofronts,theycertainlywouldnothavebeenableto
gettheirsuppliesinplace.
Mostimportantly,iftheUShadgotteninvolvedearlier,Germanywouldhavelostmuch
sooner.IfJapanhadnotdrawnusinuntiltheSovietUnionwasfinished,wemightallbe
speakingGerman.
932ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
RobertJ.Kolker
WrittenJun9,2014
Yes.ItmighthavebeenwonbyGermany.
HoweveritispossiblethatGermanycouldhavelost,evenwithouttheU.S.inthewar.
HitlerscrewedupthecampaignagainsttheSovietUnionquitethoroughly.IftheRussians
couldhaveproducedtheT34withoutU.S.aidthenitispossiblethatRussiacouldhave
emergevictorious.
Itisreallyveryiffy.NeithersidehadalockonvictorygiventheabsenceoftheU.S.inthe
war.
Onethingforsure.TheU.S.wouldhavehadtodealwiththeaftermathofthewar
regardlessofwhowon.IfGermanywonwewouldhavehadaColdWarwithGermany.
Upvote
26/37
11/21/2016
StasGurovoy
AskorSearchQuora
WrittenMay11,2015
AskQuestion
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
Theanswerwasn'tclearbeforethebattleofStalingrad.AfterUSSRwontheStalingrad
battleitwasclearthatthesovietsareabouttotakeovertheEuropebystorm.Thisisthe
firstreasonwhytheallieshadtostepin.
Ifyoudoubtonthatcheckthestatistics:
60divisionsofGermanarmywerefightingagainstthealliesinthewestand200divisions
ofGermanarmywerefightingagainsttheUSSR.InfactUSSRdestroyer8timesmore
Germansoldiersthanallofthealliesalltogether.
ManypeoplesaythatthealliessuppliedtheUSSRwitheverythingnecessary,buttotell
youthetruth,Stalin'spoliticswereheartlessandhewouldchoosehispeopletodie
starvinginordertowinthiswar.Soifitwouldtakethewholenationtodieatwarhe
wouldgoforit.
Finally,i'dsayundoubtedlyUSSRwouldwinthiswaraloneifitwasnecessary
847ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
IanMarshall
WrittenJun21,2014
ImyopinionNO.
withoutthematerialsuppliedbytheUStobothUKandRussiaBOTHwouldhave
collapsed.
asitwas,itwasafairlycloserunthing.IthinkallthepostsabouthowUK+Russiacould
simplyhavefoughton,thatitwouldjusthavelastedlongerorbeenharder,arewishful
thinking.
(acoupleoftheposts,abouthowRussiacouldhavebeatenGermanyallbyitself,arepure
fantasy.)
thegermansalmostwonthebattleofBritainandtheAtlanticwarasis,andmuchofthe
alliespunchingpowerthereaftercamefromUSweapons.theRussianswerepushedallthe
waytoMoscow,evenwiththeheavysupportofUSsupplies.
withouttheUSholdingdowntheJapaneseintheeast,theJapanesecouldhavedevoted
moreresourcestohelpingthegermansviainvading/pressuringRussiainthefareast.and
remember,itwastheintelligencethattheJapanesedidn'tplantoattackthatallowedthe
RussianstotransferkeycrackunitstotheEuropeantheatrethatreallyhelpedswingthe
balancethere.
further,theUKandRussiaweregivenanimmensemoraleboostbyknowingthattheUS
arsenal/manufacturing/supplieswerebehindthemANDthatIFtheycouldholdonlong
enough,theneventuallythenumericalsuperioritycouldbebroughttobear.withoutthis
knowledge/hope,itbecomesmuchhardertofighton,especiallyforUK,whocouldhave
likelysuedforpeacewellintothewar.
withoutAmericanmaterial/supplies/resources,BOTHRussiaandUKcollapse.
Upvote
Downvote Comments 3
DavoHilti
WrittenDec18,2015
Itdependswhatyoumeanby"steppedin".
TheAlliescouldnothavewonWW2withoutLendLease.
TheAmericanmilitarycontributionwasactiallyquiteminimal.
Intermofactualfighting,theRussiansinflicted80%ofGermanlosses.TheUnited
Kingdominflictedstrategicallysignificantlossestooespeciallythenightbombing
27/37
11/21/2016
campaign.
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
TheUS8thAirForceinflictedstrategicallysignificantlossesontheReich,butevenso,the
SovietssupportedbyLendLeasewouldstillhaveoverrunGermanyin1945.
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
AmericasgreatestcontributiontoAlliedvictorywastrucks,shoes,food,locomotivesand
rails,andmachinetools.
JustlookatcasualtyfiguresforWW2.AfewhundredthousandAmericancasualties
comparetotensofmillionsofGermanandRussianlosses.
TheJapanese?Theyneverhadachancefromthebeginning.Theirmanufacturingbase
wastoolow.
HadtheJapaneseattackedtheSovietUnioninsteadoftheUS,itstillwouldhavemadeno
difference.TheJapscouldnotmanufacturetanksorsubmachineguns.Theycouldnot
fighttheRedArmy.
354ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
MichaelKirk
WrittenJun13,2014
HadtheUSAnotenteredWWII,IseeastrongpossibilitythatallofEurope,withthe
exceptionoftheUK,couldhavebecomeaunifiedtotalitarianstate.Whetheritwould
havebeenCommunistorNazicontrolled,andhowlongsucha"Reich"or"SovietUnion"
mighthaveenduredwewillthankfullyneverknow.
Upvote
Downvote Comment
StuartBintner
WrittenJul3,2014
InEurope,theSecondWorldWarwaswonontheEasternFrontparticularlyStalingrad
in1942.Theshapeofthefinalsettlementswouldlikelyhavebeendifferentwithoutthe
U.S.ThedefeatofGermany,however,wasassured.
InthePacific,theU.S.becameJapan'smainadversaryafterPearlHarbor,sothewar
wouldhavebeenquitedifferentwithoutAmericaninvolvement.Wewillneverknowhow
theChinesewouldhavefaredwithouttheU.S.Forthatmatter,wewillneverknowhow
overextendedtheJapanesewouldhaveallowedthemselvestobecome,
513Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
JaimeJaime
WrittenMay9,2015
SeshardiKumargotonepointwrong.TheU.S.didnotblockadeJapanbeforeitentered
WWII."Blockade"JapanmeanspreventingaccesstoandfromJapan.Iftherehadbeen
ablockade,itwouldhaverequiredahugefleettosurroundJapanandstopanyshipsfrom
comingorgoing.TheU.S.didnothavesuchafleetbeforeWWII,butitdidlateinWWII.
TheU.Sdidhavean"embargo"onJapanbeforeitenteredWWII,whichmeansitdidnot
tradecertainmaterialswithJapan,inparticular:scrapmetalandoil.Ablockadeisan
actofwar,andembargoisnot.
674ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
ChaoSui
WrittenJun21,2014
ifinaviewofjust10years,thewinnermaybejapanandgermany.butforalongdistance,
forexample20years,inasiachinesewillbeatjapaneseandineuroperussanwillbeat
German,thatissure.
Upvote
Downvote Comment
HarryLa
WrittenJun12,2014
EnglandwouldhavefoughtonaloneanditseemsunlikelythatGermanywouldhavebeen
abletoinvadewithoutairsuperiority.TheprobabilityisthatGermanywouldhavebeen
28/37
11/21/2016
unabletokeepitsgripontheoccupiedcountriesandsomesortofstalematewouldhave
AskQuestion
developed. AskorSearchQuora
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
AmericaonlyjoinedthewarwhenAmericawasthreatenedandthehelpthatit"gave"was
givenataverydearprice.Englandlostanempireandthisseemstohaveledtoaperiodof
Americanworlddomination.
TheanswertotheoriginalquestionisthatGermanyintheformoffascismwould
eventuallyhavelost.
818ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment 1
SeanThornton
WrittenMar4,2015
No!
WithoutLendLeasetheUKwouldhavecollapsedbeforetheendofthe2dyearofthe
Germanattack.
HitlerwithhissuccessassuredintheUK,wouldhavedriventhrutheBritsinEgypt,siezed
theCanalandallowedhimtosecureasupplyofoilwithoutinvadingtheSovietUnion.
WithFortressEuropasecured,NorthAfricanolongercontested,theMedaGermanpond,
andasupplyofoilassured,oldMadAdolphisnolongerunderanypressuretoattack
Stalingrad.InsteadofafailedanddelayedOperationBarbarrosa,heisallowedtorefitand
resupplyhisArmywithGOODwintercoldweathergearandwaitayearortwotoassault
Moscow.ThenturnsouthandsiezetheWheatBeltofGeorgia.
JoeStalinretreatstoSiberiawhereMarshalGeorgyZhukovstandsUncleJoeaganistthe
wall,shotsthebastardandsuesforpeace.
525ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
PeterLombardo
WrittenJun20,2014
TheonlywaytheAllieswinthiswariswiththemightoftheAmericanmilitaryindustrial
ComplexandourabilityatthetimetoholdtheSovietsatbayfromrollingoverallof
EuropeafterthefallofGermany.OnlytheUScouldhavedefeatedtheJapaneseand
stoppedthemfromrunningcompletelyoverallofthePacificandSouthPacific.Intime,
withouttheUSintervention,nodoubt,theRussianscrushtheGermansbutnotcontentto
stopthere,withouttheUSAparticipation,theRussianswouldhavedominatedallof
WesternEuropetoo....asitwas,evenwiththeUSAinvolved,theytook,byforce,allof
EasternEurope......soIbelievewithouttheUSAinvolvement,Russiawouldhavecontrolof
Europe,JapancontroloftheFarEast,andtheUSinfluencewouldhavebeenrestrictedto
theNorthAmericanContinent.Lookingattheworldtoday,Iseethatitallmayhavebeen
invainanyway......theNewSovietsaremakingheadwayintocontrollingEasternandmost
likelyWesternEurope,theMuslimswillfightitoutintheMiddleEastandChinawill
controltheFarEast.....theUSAisindecline,justasithappenedtotheGreeks,Romans,
Dutch,SpanishandmorerecentlytheBritish..........ourcurrentpolicieswillleadtomore
isolationismanddeclineandeventuallyirrelevance.
646ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
SteveBlack,SodthecoldI'mofftoIndiaandAustraliaforseveralweeks,
backforXmasday
WrittenJun24,2014
No.Weneededthefinancialaidasmuchifnotmorethanthemilitaryaid.Itwouldhave
beenamuchlongerwarbutwithRussiawewouldhavewon.
IalsobelievethatmilitarilyRussiawasmoreimportantthantheUSA.
Upvote
Anonymous
WrittenJun20,2014
ThoughyoucannotreallysaythatUSistheonlyreasonwhyWorldWarIIhasbeenwon
byAllies,youcoulddefinitelysaythatitisamainreason.IndirectlyUSwasresponsiblein
givingtheSovietUnionamuchneededpushintheOperationBarbarossa.When
Whermacht(GermanNaziarmy)almostconqueredthenorthandsouthpart,Aboutto
reachMoscowincentralregion(Around200milesaway),Stalinwasleftwonderingand
exploringtheoptionstostoptheGermanoffensive.Hewasquiteluckythatoneastern
frontJapan'sImperialarmygaveatemporaryreliefbyconcentratingonattackingpearl
29/37
11/21/2016
harbor(WhichultimatelybecamethemainreasonforUSentryintowar)
AskorSearchQuora
AskQuestion
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
Also,noonecouldforgetthecontributionofUSarmyduringtheDDaylandings&
Normandyepisode
Sayingthis,IwouldsayUSSRisthemainreasonwhyAllieswonthesecondworldwar.
Themanpowerlossesthatithadtobearforthecauseareastonishing.Iremember
readingsomewhere(GuesswhilereadingthebookonStalingradbynotedhistorian
AnthonyBeevor)thatduringOperationBarbarossa,aGermanofficerquoting
"Wehaveneverseensuchahugenumberofdeadbodieslyingacrossusintheinitial
daysofwar.Though,ononehand,itwasexcitingtoseethemassivevictories
everywhere,everysoldierhadafearaboutthesizeofRedarmy.Theyjustkeptcoming.
34monthsintothewar,everyoneintheunitcanfeeltherestlessnessandfatigue"
PS:Imighthavemisquotedit,Idon'trememberexactlines,buttheythemeaningisthe
same.Also,dofeelfreetocorrectmeifIamwrongwithmylogic/factsanywhere
746ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
BelhaSsen
WrittenJun9,2014
Thebigmistakewasdoneby*hitler*atthemomentwhenhedecidedtomakewarto
U.S.S.R.
U.S.A...wastheonlybeneficiarycountryfromthiswar:Byincreasingitsresourceson
sellingarmstothecountriesinwar..
Andalsobygivinga*credit*tomanycountriesinordertorebuilttheirinfrastructureand
tosurpassitseconomicscrises..
733ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
Answersthatneedimprovement
JamesSlate
WrittenAug18
Definewin.
IfyoudefinewinbyTheSovietUnionbeingabletodefenditselfthenyes
3Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
TerryCritchley
WrittenJan16
No,WWIIcouldnothavebeenwonwithouttheUSinvolvement.Ispeakasonewhowas
fedbyUSpowderedfoodduringthewar.
3Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
MurthyKottamasu
WrittenSep25
No
1View
Upvote
Downvote Comment
RobinRaj
WrittenSep11,2014
NoUnitedstatesreallyplayedakeyroleinWorldWarII,withoutthemitcouldnothave
beenwon,howeverthecontributionsofBritish,BritishIndians,NorthAfricans,
Norwegians,FreeFrecnh,Canadians,Australians,Russians,etc.canalsonotberuledout.
163Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
30/37
11/21/2016
MezeiDani
AskorSearchQuora
AskQuestion
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
WrittenDec23,2014
ItcouldhavebeenwonwithoutUS,butitmighthavebeenaveryhardvictory
becausetheUShadatthattimeagreatindustrialpotential.
155Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
KarthikeyanT,Aspaceandhistoryenthusiastwholovestoreadandlearn.
WrittenDec31,2015
Yes.Eventhoughamericadidanamazingjobandturnedthetideofbattlewhileinvading
Franceandendingthewarwithnukes,Russiaactuallygaveaheavierblowontheeastern
frontandthatiswhatstartedthedownfallofHitler.EvenifGermanywasvictoriousinthe
west,theirdefeatinthehandsofthegiantUSSRwasinevitable.
3ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
LTSpiceman
WrittenMar2,2015
Yes,DavidGlantzsaysthattheUSSRwouldhavedefeatedGermanyallalone,butwould
havetaken18moremonths
110Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment 1
Answerscollapsedbydownvotes
RakeshWarier,Historyenthusiast.
WrittenJun9,2014
WithoutUSA'smilitary,possibly.
WithoutUSA'sresources,mostlikelyNO.
IfUSAwentcompletelyneutralandtreatedbothAlliesandAxispowers,equally
definitelyNO
Upvote
Downvote Comment
JohnSimon,Me?Justoneof7billionridealongsinthevehicleknownas"Earth".
WrittenJun9,2014
Wewillneverknow.
732ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
CharlesFletcher,Justanotherhistorygeek.
WrittenJul27,2015
IfyoumeanwithoutanyassistancefromtheUSatalltheanswerisno.
IfyoumeanwithmaterialassistancesuchasprovidedbyLendLease,theanswerismaybe.
WithnoaidfromtheUSBritainwouldhavebeenoutofthewarin1941,theUSSRin1941
or1942.
45ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
ZhenlinAn
WrittenFeb2,2015
Historycan'tbechanged.
Especiallywar.EveryPartofawarcanbevital.Everyfator,evenlittletobeseen,may
becomethethelaststraw.Toomanyuncertainfatorsmadeit.Andwhenyouchangeoneof
them,itmayhaveachainreaction.Butterflyeffects.
31/37
11/21/2016
ItissaidthatthebattleoftheMidway,tosomeextend,ischangedbythetimewhenthe
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
Japanesereloadedthebombs.Wecan'tsayittotallywrong.
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
Butanysinglefactorshouldn'texplainthewhole.Therealwaysaresomethingweneglect.
Asonecan'tpredictaccuratelytheresultinthefuture,italsohardtopredicttheresultofa
warchangedpartly.Andanytryingislimited.
375Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
JimmyNguyen
WrittenJul8,2014
No,theallieswerefalling,theyneededtheUS,theyprovidedtheresourcesthewasneeded
356ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
MartinSimons,ApplicationProgrammerIdonot,normally,conversewithAnonymous.If
you...
WrittenJun10,2014
Probably,butIdoubttheEnglishandFrenchcouldhaveeffectivelyopenedatrueWestern
frontearlyenoughtomakeadifference,therebyprobablyleavinganantagonizedRussia
incontrolofnearlyeverythingHitlerhadmanagedtotake,anddoubt,beingincontrolof
thatmuchterritory,thatIdoubttheywouldhavemadeanyconcessionstothewestin
regardstothestatusofthoselands.
482Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
JubahHarshaw
WrittenOct29,2014
Someonewouldhavewon.Itissubjectofgreatdebatewhichsideitwouldhavebeen.
Britainmightnothavesurvivedwithoutthe"LendLease"program.
Germanywouldhavestillgottenit'sbuttwhippedbytheSovietUnionbuttheSoviets
wouldnothavethematerialneededtoreachbeyondit'sborders.
JapanmightormightnothavedefeatedChinabutwouldhavebeencapableofreaching
Australia.
120ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
IreneColthurst,Americanisolationist,ClayiteWhig
UpdatedSep24,2014
Almostcertainly.WhichmakesonewonderwhyEuropeanscaredsomuchabout
includingtheUS.
149Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
AyhanBilgili
WrittenMar24
Otherswrotelengthyandfullofinformationanswers.
Ijustwanttoshowmysupport:
Yes,itwouldbewonwithoutUS.SovietswereadvancingalreadywhenUSenteredthewar.
Onelessonfortoday:
USisthecleverone.Waits,Waits,Waitsandmakesthemoveattherightmoment.
Todayitisdoingthesame.Doesn'tcareaboutSyria,Iraqetc.justwaitingforEUand
Russiatosortouttheissues.SeemswhenEUisabouttodissolve,USwillmakethemove
again.TobethesaviorofWesternvaluesonceagain.
205Views
Upvote
32/37
11/21/2016
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
UsmanQazi,Keenlyinterestedinhowbygonehistoryisevokedinthepresent.
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
WrittenJun9,2014
Warsareunpredictable.BringingintheUnitedStatesonone'ssidedoesn'tguaranteea
victory.,Itdidn'thelpSouthVietnam..
864ViewsViewUpvotes
Upvote
Downvote Comment
ZamMu
WrittenOct3
no.USSRdidthehardwork,USpaidforit.Allotheralliedcountriesjustwerejusttrying
tosurvive.UKbasicallyuselessafterretreatedfromFrance.
10Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
AilieBeaudryFrew,5yearshistoryuniversitylovehistory
WrittenJun11,2014
The'Allies'withoutthem.
272Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
DavePetersen
WrittenJan27
WithoutUSsoldiersmaybe.ButcertainlynotwithouttheequipmentthatAmericasentto
BritainandRussia.AlistingofsomeofthesuppliesthattheUSsenttoRussiawas
profoundlyepic.Whenyoureadoneminorlittlelineitemof1500railroadlocomotives,
youonlythenbegintoappreciatethebiblicalofsupport.
7Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
WillRobinson
WrittenJun22,2014
WorldWarIImostdefinitelycouldhavebeenwonwithouttheUnitedStates,since
1.TheUSdidnotentertheconflictmilitarilyuntilverylateinthegame
2.AlargepercentageofGermany'sfinancialbackingactuallycamefromproFascist
Americanbusinesses
341Views
Upvote
HaydenGreenwood
WrittenJun14
ThesecondworldwarcouldhaveeasilybeenwonwithouttheUS.
InEurope.
Sealion:
TheLuftwaffewasdefeatedbytheRAF,thankstoradartechnologyandthesuperior
commandandcontrolsystemsonthesideoftheRAF.Withoutairsuperiority,any
invasionwouldbeseriouslyhampered.
TheGermanscouldntdefeattheRoyalNavysoanyattemptedinvasionwouldhavebeen
interceptedanddestroyedbytheRoyalNavy.Ifnotatthebeginningoftheinvasion,the
RNwouldhavecomeinandcutofftheGermanforcesfromtheirsupplies.
Montgomery,incommandoftheSouthEast,wheretheinvasionwouldhavecome,had
thebestpossibleplanforanypotentialinvasion.Strongmobilereservesthatwouldmove
andconcentrateontheGermansfoothold.Nottomentionhewasamastertrainerof
menandgreatformorale.
Anyinvasionwouldneedaportortwotoprovideenoughsuppliesandtroops.The
Germanshadnomulberyyharbours.TtheBritishwouldhavejustblownuptheports
beforetheygotanywherenearthemandthencrushedtheGermanswhiletheywere
strugglingwithpoorsuppliescominginfromthebeach.
StarvingBritainOut:
33/37
11/21/2016
TheUBoatswerearealproblematfirstbuteventually,theBrtishdevelopedcounter
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
measureswhichmadeUBoatsincreasinglyuseless.
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
NorthAfrica:
TheRoyalNavyhadcompletesupremacyoftheMedastheItalianNavywasuselessafter
ahalfheartedattempttostoptheBritish.ThisallowedNorthAfricanforcesfreedomof
supply.
WhenMontgomeryarrived,Rommelsforceswerealreadyontheendofaterriblesupply
situation,allshittingthemselvestodeathwithdysenteryandthequalityoftroopsseverly
reducedafteryearsoffighting.
MontgomerystoppedhandingRommelvictoriesbylauchingpointlessattackswith
demoralisedtroopsinpiecemeal.HechoseinsteadtoleatRommelbanghisheadoffthe
AlAmeindefenses.Afterthat,TheAfrikaCorpeswasdone.
BritainalsobroketheEnigmacodesonewwhatRommelintended.
SiciclywasasgoodascapturesaswasItaly.Itwasntamatterofifbutamatterofwhen.
ThePacific:
TheJapanesewouldnthavedaredtobegintheirexpansioninthePacific,ofEuropean
andUSterritories,withoutfirstdisablingthePacificFleetatPearlHarbour.Therefore
therewouldbenowarinthePacificwithoutUSinvolvment.
WiththeUSintheWar,theJapanesehadnochance.Iwontgointodetailbutthe
reasonscanbesummerisedasthis:
1UShadsuperiormanufacturingcapabilities.
2Japanesehadseverelyinflexibilecommandandcontrolsystem.
3Japanspreadthemselvesouttoothinthroughgreed.
4Japanhadapoorconceptoflogistics.
5USbrokeJapanesemilitarycodes.
Whatiwouldliketonothoweveristhatthe14thcommonwealtharmyunderSlim,
defeated2fullJapanesearmiesandtieddownmoretroops.
Russia
Imnotevengonnawastemytimeexplainingwhythiswasaninevitablevictory.
Upvote
WaltTreat,Personwhofillsoutboxesaskingforyouroccupationonwebsites
WrittenJun26,2014
SHORTANSWER
Yes,butitwouldn'tbepretty.
LONGANSWER
WorldWarTwocouldhavebeenwonbytheSovietUnioninEuropealone.Aworldwhere
thishappened,however,wouldinevitablybeworseduetotheunimaginablehorrorof
StalinrulingoverEurope.
However,itishardtoimaginetheSovietUnion,Britainoranyothercountrysuccessfully
invadingJapan.OnlyAmerica,withitsnuclearscientists,wascapableofdefeatingthe
EmpireofJapan.Remember,EinsteinandFermididnotfleetotheSovietUnion.
SovietEuropeandstillthereImperialJapanwouldprobablybebetterthanNazis
everywhere,buttheworldwouldstillbeworsethanitistoday.
108Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
KellyPhillips
WrittenFeb6,2015
Whatmakesyouthinkitwas"won"?RussiastartedthewarbyinvadingFinland,Estonia,
Latvia,andLithuaniabuteverybodyonlyremembersPolandwhichwasinvadedby
GermanyandRussia.EnglanddeclaredwaronGermanybutnotRussiabecausetheyhad
atreatywithPolandbutitdidnotstipulatetheywouldonlydeclarewarifGermany
invaded,whichtheyonlydidbecauseitwastheonlywaytothrowtheRussiansoutofthe
aforementionedcountries.ThewholethingwasatrapbecausetheGermanshadexpelled
theinternationalbanksandrescuedthemselvesfromtheeconomicdestitutionbrought
34/37
11/21/2016
aboutbytheTreatyofVersailles.Thewinnerswritethehistorybooksandtheyneversay
AskQuestion
they'resorry.AskorSearchQuora
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
185Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment
CharlesSmith
WrittenJul8,2014
Yes.TheRussianswerealreadywinningbecausetheywerefiveyearsaheadofthe
Germansinpreparationforit.WetheUSA,andothersgotinvolvedto
preventtheUSSRfromowningallofEuropeafterGermanywasdestroyed,
resultingintheexterminationofChristianityandit'sslavesystem,and
turningtheVaticanintoaparkinglot.WW2wasbutacounterattackagainstthe
BolshevikrevolutionandanefforttoreturnpoliticalpoweroverallofEuropetothe
Vatican,resurrectingtheoldHolyRomanCatholicEmpireunderanotheraristocracythat
HitlercalledAryans....andserfdomforall...
89Views
Upvote
Downvote Comment 1
CarlosZetina,CEOofWeareCynics
WrittenFeb8
Yes.RussiahadtheEuropeancampaignintheirpocket.Thechinesewerelosingverybad
intheirwaragainstthejapanese.Thejapaneseattackedamericabecauseoftheir
interferenceintheirwarofconquestinChina.IguessyoucansaytheAmericansdefeated
theJapaneseinthepacificcampaign.
ManypeoplebelievethatAmericawasthebiggestcontributioninwinningthewar.
AmericadidnothingofimportanceintheEuropeancampaignuntil1944whenThewest
sawtheprogresstherussiansweredoing,AmericahadtodosomethingtostopRussia
fromtakingallofEurope.
AmericawaschargedbyHitlerininstigatingthewar.TheAmericanswereworkingin
conjunctionwiththeRoyalNavyinhuntingsubmarinesandGermanBattleshipsinthe
pacific,thisisagainstinternationallaw,andanindirectdeclarationofwar.lookupthe
GermanshipAcuna,AmericaalsoparticipatedinthedestructionofTheGrafSpree.
AmericaalongwiththeBritishaidedthechineseincontinuingthewaragainstJapan.
Upvote
Downvote Comments 2
StephenMann,readabouthistory
WrittenJun21,2014
Nobecause,althoughHitlerwasaterriblegeneral,theJapanesealsohadanatomic
weaponbytheendofWWII.TheyhaddevelopeditinKorea.Theyalsohadajetbythen
and"miracleweapons"theyhadbuiltintheirmountaincaves(dugbyprisonlabor):
rocketplanesgyrocoptersetc.Withit,theJapanesemighthaveattackedtheUSSR.They
alsohadfivemillionsoldiersinthehomeland.TheywouldhavethusdefeatedChinaand
attackedfromthesouth,cuttingoffeastSiberia...
HitlerwassoincompetentthattheJapanesewereeasilymoreofathreatthanthe
Germans.Withtheirnavyprotectingtheirwesternflank,theycouldhavefieldedahuge
invasionofEurasia.TheJapanesefailedbecausetheydidn'tguardtheirmerchantships.
Theyonlythoughtaboutwinningseabattles.Thus,AmericadidtothemwhatHitlertried
toBritaintheywerestarved.IfweeliminatetheUSA,thenJapanwouldhavebecomethe
strongestnationintheworldandeasilyabletostopthehumanwaveattacksoftheSoviets
withtheirtroops...
Also,theywouldhavebuiltmoreandbetterplanesandtanksandeventuallyhave
dominatedthewar...
330Views
Upvote
Answerscollapsedbymoderation
Anonymous
WrittenJun27,2014
Probablyyes.
35/37
11/21/2016
AmericanindustrialreservesandfinancialreserveswereasimportanttotheAllies
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
winningWW2asBritishindustrialandfinancialreservesweretotheearlierAllies
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
winningWW1.InfactintheNapoleonicwar,asinWW1andinWW2,themoneyand
equipmentdeliveredbyBritain/theUSwasfarmoreimportantthanthenumbersoftheir
actualbootsontheground
LetusconsiderafewnegativeimpactsoftheAmericansjoiningthewar.
1.ThebattleoftheAtlantic,wellonthewaytobeingwonin1941,wasalmost
lostin1942and1943.Uptothreequartersofshippinglostduringthewar
wasbecauseofthelossoftheAmerican'safezone'intheWesternAtlantic
andparticularlythesecond"HappyHours"fortheUboatsthediversionof
USNavyvesselstothePacific,andthelatterwithdrawalofescortcarriersto
invadeNorthAfrica.Avery,verygoodargumentcanbemadethatthisalonecaused
manyextramilitarylossesfortheAllies,andslowedtheirresurgenceby....wellbythe
numberofshiploadsthatwouldhavegotthroughwithoutthosehorrendouslosses.Itis
nojoketosuggestthatastillneutralUS,guaranteeingtheWesternAtlantic,and
puttingalltheresourcesneededforreplacementshippingintotanksandaircraftand
landingcraft,wouldhavegreatlyimprovedthefightingpositionofthemanymillionsof
underresourcedAlliedtroopsfightingwithinadequatesupplies.Neteffectonthe
lengthofthewar...incalculable.
2.TheequipmentlosttoAmericanentryhadaterribleeffectonAllied
fightingresourcesforyears.BythisIliterallymeanthattheAlliesparticularly
Britain,butalsoRussiaandChinaandmanyothersliketheNetherlandsEastIndieshad
commissioned,andsometimespaidfor,thedevelopmentandproductionofvastquantities
ofequipmentneededforwinningthewar:muchofwhichwasthensyphonedinto
Americantrainingprogramsforrecruitswhowouldnotbeavailableforseveralyears.
Someofthesethings,rangingfromshipsandtankstoplanesandguns,were
supposedtocomeonlinein1942,butdidnotgetintoactionlargescaleuntil
1944.ThethingthateventuallygavetheSovietsthemaneuverabilitytodrivetheGermans
backwastensofthousandsofAmericantrucks.Theyweresupposedtostartarrivingin
1942,butbetweenAmericanrequirements,andshippinglosses,theyactuallystarted
arrivinginnumbersin1944.Neteffectonthelengthofthewar...vast.
3.Roosevelt1:InvasionNorthAfrica.Possiblyalsoausefulmilitary
exercisetopracticeamphibiouswarfare,butitwashardlyvital.Butenormous
resourceshadtobewastedonitfortworeasons.First,becauseRooseveltneededAmerican
troopsinactionsomewherein'Europe'byelectiontime.Second,becauseAmericantroops
desperatelyneededexposuretorealcombatintheeasiestpossibleenvironmenttocounter
Marshall'sfantasythathisnewconscriptswerereadytofaceGermanveterans.Would
Montgomeryand8tharmyhavepushedtheAxisoutofLibyaanyfaster?No.Would
GermanyhaveinvadedTunisiawithoutsuchprovocation?Unlikely.Wouldithavemadea
longtermdifferenceiftheyhadanyway?Probablynot.Themostdamagingpartofthe
wholeoperationwasstrippingallthenewescortcarriersandvastnumbersofnavalescorts
awayfromshippingroutesforseveralmoremonthsleadingto:A)greatlyincreased
shippinglosses,andB)anotherhugeslowdowninwhencounterattacksinEuropecould
begin.Neteffectonlengthofthewaralmostcertainlynegative.
4.Roosevelt2:UnconditionalSurrender!!Whatanidiotpoliticianwilldoforagood
soundbite.ThisstatementcostthelivesofmoreWesternAlliedsoldiersthananyother
pieceofstupiditysincePresident'sWilsonandClemencau'swillfuldestructionofany
prospectofaworkableWW1peacesettlement.GermansoldiersintherubbleoftheRuhr
preferredtodiethantobeshippedtoCanadianforestsandAmericanmines(yesreally
Goebbelswasthatgood),whileJapaneseresistancewentonendlesslybecausethis
seemedtothreatenthesacredEmperor.Longtermeffectonthelengthofthewar...
absolutelyindescribable.
HavingdefinitivelystatedthatAmericaninvolvementanddecisionsmadethe
warlonger(andtherearemanyotherexamples,buttheyamounttonit
pickingandcouldhavebeencommittedbynonAmericans...theabove
couldn't),isstillnotnecessarilygoingtoprovethatleavingtheAmerican
forcesoutofthewarwouldhavemadeitshorter.
Putsimply,wouldthecontinuedsecurityoftheWesternAtlantic,duetocontinued
AmericanneutralityhavegivenBritaintheextraflexibilityneededtowinintheIndian
Ocean?
Given
optionA:thatifJapanhadattackedBritainandtheNetherlandsandNOTtheUSinthe
EasttheJapanesewouldhavehadtokeepaconstantguardagainstthestillvastAmerican
navalpresenceinthePacific/Philippines,or
36/37
11/21/2016
B:theunlikelypossibilitythathadAmericabackeddownandsurrenderedafterPearl
AskQuestion
AskorSearchQuora
Harbor,aguardagainsttheireverincreasingWestcoastnavywouldhavestillbeen
Read
Answer
Notifications
Aditya
somewhatdesirablefortheJapanese
Source.:rethinkinghistory
Thanks:)
1kViewsViewUpvotes Answerneedsattribution
Upvote
Downvote Comments 2
Answersthathaveanunverifiedauthor
QuoraUser
WrittenJun12,2014
IntheEuropeantheater,America'smilitarycontributionsmadethewarshorterby
allowingthealliestoopenaseparatefront.Theeconomicandmaterielcontributions
howeverwereessential.HadHitlerbidedhistime,embargoedtheUKandbeenless
aggressiveinattackingtheUSSR,itpossiblethewarcouldhavereachedapointof
stalemateandGermanycouldhavenegotiatedpeacewithitsnewborders(i.e.Franceto
Poland)LikelytheUSSRwouldhavebeenabletofightbackandwinoveralongerperiod
oftimeduetoamassivepopulationsuperiorityovertheAxisandlargerreservesofraw
materialsincludingoil.HoweverStalinwasapragmatistandmayhaveagreedtostatus
quoantebellumgivensomeconcessionsinPoland,Hungary,Czechoslovakia,and
especiallyintheBalkans.
InthePacific,there'snowayJapanwouldhavebeenstoppedwithoutUSintervention.
There'salsonowaythatEmpirecouldhavelastedlong,asJapanwasalreadybankrupting
itselfandcouldnothavecontrolledthatmuchterritoryandthatmanypeoplewithits
limitationsonrawmaterials(OILOILOIL)andpopulation.
Upvote
Downvote Comment
TopStoriesfromYourFeed
AnswerwrittenSun
SuggestedOct29
Answerwritten11h
WhatistheGhatakplatoon(Indian
Army)?
WhydidthemightyIndianNavy
failtoprotectitsnavalbase
Dwarkaannihilatedbyatiny
flotillaofPakNavyinthe1965
war?
Whatisthemostdaringactdone
byIndianArmy?
AlokAsthana
WrittenSun
Ghatakplatoonisjustaplatoon(about30
35men)ininfantryunits,whoareashade
betterinphysicalfitnessthanothersanda
shadebetterintraining.Theseguysare
supposedtobetheunit...
ReadInFeed
RohanSingh,IndianArmedForces
aspirant
WrittenOct29
IbelieveyourereferringtoOperation
Dwarka.LetsseetheobjectivesofPakistan.
AccordingtoWikipedia:
ThemissionobjectivesofPakistanNavy
arelistedbelow:
1.Todrawheavyenemyunitsouto...
ReadInFeed
KaveeshKanwal,MilitaryHistoryand
Wars
Written11hago
ManystorieswhichIhavereadhereareof
post1947era.ManymenoftheBritish
Indianarmycarriedontoserveinthe
Indianarmyafter1947.Letmeshareoneof
manystoriesoftheBritishIndi...
ReadInFeed
37/37

Could World War II Have Been Won Without The United States - Quora

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Could World War II Have Been Won Without The United States - Quora

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

11/21/2016

Downvote Comments 27+

Downvote Comments 71+

Вам также может понравиться