As we celebrate the ending of the war 75 years ago, know this: victory for the Allies was never guaranteed, and historians agree there were countless ways Germany could have won the war. Could Nazi Germany conquer Britain in World War II. The Lend-Lease program also provided more than 35,000 radio sets and 32,000 motorcycles. The thing that is certain that war would last even longer in that case, and cost many more lives. The United States later declared war on German ally Austria-Hungary on December 7, 1917. Should we condemn the French Revolution? On top of that, we dont see Japan being able to subdue even China before it entered World War II. They wanted to make sure Roosevelt didnt accept Churchills arguments to delay Overlord, the code name for the cross-channel attack, particularly now, when he was on his way to meet Stalin, to whom he had been promising a second front, as the Russians referred to it, for well over a year. WebAnd without U.S. supplies, the Soviet war effort would have been massively diminished. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Defeat never came down to one battle or one campaign. With Britain gone, Hitler could have transferred more of his Panzer Divisions from France as well as the Afrika Corps. So, until 1944 summer, Soviets were practically alone in Europe. And the Russian winter. This would have slowed the growth of US armed forces once the entered the war in december 41 and probebly delayed overlord untill 1945. Without the American entry into World War II, its possible Japan would have consolidated its position of supremacy in East Asia and that the war in Europe could have dragged on for far longer than it did. There would have been no Yugoslavian uprising delaying Barbarossa by two months and Moscow would have been taken in late 1941. The Germans were not equipped or experienced in conducting a sea-borne invasion, and even if the RAF had been neutralised their high command was scared stiff of the overwhelming naval advantage that the Royal Navy had in home waters. WW2 My British born-American raised Mother has told me that my British born-Britsh raised Aunt Bethel always claimed that "Spam saved England" ---because it was ration free. without the US sending in Millions of troops and supplying material I dont see an Entente victory. Politics latest updates: Half of Britons think Tories will lose seats Would the Allies have won WWII if the USA had never entered the war? This series of events also would have almost certainly led to a German-Polish alliance against the Soviets that Hitler had long sought for as the Poles would have had no choice but to ally with Nazi Germany if they had any hopes of ever regaining the two-thirds of their territory which had been annexed by the Soviets under the terms of the original Hitler-Stalin Pact. Won Without landing craft another example of wrong equipment and lacking control of the skies of Great Britain, an invasion by Germany was simply impossible. And now they are saying that we had plenty of everything on our own.". Yet, here again is a case of the wrong equipment. WebWe would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Strangely, Hitler did not appear interested in convening such a Four Power Peace Conference. Prev 1 2 3 Jul 28, 2022 1 #41 Garrison Donor Tiredworker said: without the US sending in Millions of troops and supplying material I dont see an Entente victory. I think the USSR could have beat Germany even without american aid, aldo I wouldn't be surprised if one of the three mayor Soviet cities on the frontline had fallen, probably Stalingrad. Of course, we are not taking tactical considerations into account. Thus, landings in 1944 came at a point at which Soviets broke German armies and were racing towards Berlin. "In order to really assess the significance of Lend-Lease for the Soviet victory, you only have to imagine how the Soviet Union would have had to fight if there had been no Lend-Lease aid," Sokolov wrote. When we look at the situation in Western Front, we see Germans not sweating much to stall Allies after Normandy. Thousands of kilometers of advance, for nothing, practically. This, in turn, would have delayed the Soviet invasion of Finland until 1940. How America Saved the Day in World War One | Time So in World War One, I think fresh American troops helped change the outcome. Adolf Hitler joined a list of would-be invaders of the British Isles but clearly didn't remember that no one successfully invaded since 1066 when William the Conqueror defeated Harold II, the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England. Thats assuming they were able to make advances. American aid also provided 4.5 million tons of food, 1.5 million blankets, and 15 million pairs of boots. The US had massively increased production of planes and had developed some of the best single engine fighters of the war. Why did Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria ally with Germany in WWII and what impact did they have? Would The Allies Have Won Ww1 Without America? At these loss rates, the Red Army was still far more dependent upon Lend-Lease armour than it was willing to admit, and it did not have enough excess production to fully outfit its best units with T-34s until mid-1943. Also see r/History or r/AskHistorians. WebA quick look at the strategic setup, relative war production and technology level of countries seems to suggest that Ww2 could have been won without United States. Yes Lend-Lease was vital, In order to ensure that tank production goals were met by Soviet industry, Stalin made Vyacheslav Malyshev, an engineer who had proven himself in the expansion of Soviet heavy industry in the 1930s, head of the Peoples Commissariat of the Tank Industry of the USSR (NKTP) that was established on 11 September. Most Russians believe the Soviet military would have been able to win World War II without the efforts of the U.S. or its allies, a If we consider Lend Lease never happened, these resources would need to be spent by USSR, and hence hamper war machinery production. Here are some actions that Germany might have taken to achieve its territorial objectives without fighting the Western Powers. The plane spent 69 years on the tundra before a Russian Geographical Society expedition rescued it in 2016 and returned the wreckage to Krasnoyarsk. If Hitler had accepted Czech President Emil Hachas request to make the Czech Republic a German protectorate without actually occupying it with German forces, then he would not have been in violation of the Munich Pact. WWII- Whenever driven from Libya in defeat, would Axis forces have always retreated to & occupied Tunisia? However it doesnt seem to be critical to the wars result. Quora - A place to share knowledge and better understand the world However, it is likely he would have invaded all of those nations at some point during the 1940s regardless of what Hitler did or did not do since his massive expansion of the Red Army was completed by June 1941, by which time the Soviet Union boasted seven times as many tanks and four times as many combat aircraft as Nazi Germany. Having to only fight a one-front war against the Soviet Union might have enabled the Poles to hold out for a few months instead of a few weeks against the Soviet onslaught perhaps resulting in a few hundred thousand more Red Army casualties. Although World War I began in 1914, the United States did not join the war until 1917. I assume that since Overlord hasn't happened that most or at least many of the German troops garrisoning France are available to be redeployed to Munich, Budapest, or anywhere else the Germans care to send them. From there, it flew 5,650 kilometers to the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, one of some 14,000 aircraft sent by the United States to the Soviet Union during World War II under the massive Lend-Lease program. Instead, the United States became the arsenal of democracy and Germany's defeat was all but assured. Again I asked myself the question would the Allied powers had won without US involvement. Ukraine war latest: Boy, 6, cries as sister killed in Russian attack Many of the arguments are colored either by existing national or social biases, and many of them are colored by propaganda be it World War II propaganda, be it Cold War propaganda. Even with everything noted above, Germany and its European partners could have still won the war were it not for Germany's declaration of war on the United States on December 11, 1941. W. Without the need to fight in the Atlantic; to transport large amounts of troops, equipment, and supplies across the entire continent; and the necessity to defend against Allied bombing, Germany could have massively reduced its U-boat, locomotive, and anti-aircraft gun and ammunition production and converted at least part of these capacities into the production of more aircraft and equipment for land warfare. Germany had the military The Russian army would have advanced more slowly and few british supplies would have been available. Churchill kept working to delay/divert any landing in Western Europe: Roosevelt and Stalin Portrait of a Partnership. But right before the Normandy landings, this region (France, Atlantic Wall) was still considered a holiday region by German army, and sons, relatives of notables, party figures were sent there rather than Eastern Front as one old BBC documentary so bluntly put it. Despite the self-professed role of the US as the guardian of freedom, democracy, human rights and the world order, and the huge sums of money it spends on its military, it has never led a successful campaign to achieve the goals it set for itself. The war may have lasted into 1946, but the Soviets would still have captured Berlin and probably would have overrun the rest of Germany, too. Germany built no heavy bombers and lacked any truly effective long range aircraft. Would the Allies have won WWII without the USA? | History Forum Especially considering that the route from NW China/Korea to Soviet heartland passes through never ending Central Asian steppes. Whereas Japan would not benefit from the lack of resources and infrastructure in these areas. ", Nikolai Ryzhkov, the last head of the government of the Soviet Union, wrote in 2015 that "it can be confidently stated that [Lend-Lease assistance] did not play a decisive role in the Great Victory.". By June 1944, Soviets were already positioning for their drive into Germany, as can be seen from the state of Eastern Front at that date: Just a month after Normandy, Red Army was already pushing into Germany. What would NOT have happened would have been an invasion of the UK. Could the Allies have won without US ww1? We would have lost North Africa and the far east. BBC NEWS | Europe | Who won World War II? Had Germany been on an actual wartime economy from 1939 things could have been vastly different. "If the United States had not helped us, we would not have won the war," he wrote in his memoirs. WebAmerica's noteable allies in World War II were the USSR, Great Britain (and all her commonwealths, including New Zealand, Canada, Australia, etc. Myth: Japan could have won World War II, if only the Japanese had bombed the oil depots at Pearl Harbor in addition to the ships. The root cause of world war II is industrial and imperialist circles in the west fostering and backing fascist movements, When we look into the reality on the ground circa the time period when Operation Sea Lion was supposed to, Without demeaning the sacrifice of those who fought in the ranks of the British, lets do a simple review: In. WebRelatives and friends have buried children and others killed in a Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Uman. Stalin was of the same opinion but naturally did not admit it publicly. Theres rather broad agreement among mainstream historians on this. Unfortunately, his offer was ignored by Allied leaders who proceeded to declare war the following day. Many contributed to relief efforts; others volunteered as ambulance drivers or nurses, or even as pilots and soldiers. Though Germans would rightfully conclude that at that point a British invasion would not have much impact, therefore reduce their divisions in the West quite a lot. Would the Allies have won WW2 without There is no denying that German industry was able to produce some very fine weapons and military equipment. Nazi Germany had a powerful High Seas Fleet, but it was still really no match for the British Royal Navy and it never really could be. Franz Ferdinand was the strongest spokesman for peace in Austria-Hungary. Across Northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and into Northern Germany, 21st Army Group advanced on a front about 75 miles wide. The program sent nearly 2,000 locomotives and innumerable boxcars to the Soviet Union. World War II in Europe was Germany and Italy, which was joined by Finland, Hungary, Romania, and to some extent Bulgaria. ), and France. Without US help Britain would Such assessments, however, are contradicted by the opinions of Soviet war participants. The loss of the Ukraine and other occupied areas. In all, the United States shipped $50 billion ($608 billion in 2020 money) worth of materiel under the program, including $11.3 billion to the Soviet Union. American air superiority They're exposed to a German counter attack eastward from Munich or westward from Budapest, maybe both at the same time. Allies have won Does a neutral US still provide lend lease aid to both Britain and the USSR? The Moscow Victory Parade on June 24, 1945, involved some 40,000 Red Army soldiers and nearly 1,900 military vehicles. Instead of the four Allied powers the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union then standing together in a final Allied Victory Parade in a defeated Berlin in September 1944, the Germans could have celebrated the defeat of the British, marching through London and Moscow as they did Paris. Which Country Was Instrumental in Winning World War II? - VOA Then there was the fact that its Axis partner, Imperial Japan, didn't join in fighting the Soviet Union. This caused him to do an about-face and guarantee Poland against potential German military aggression, which Hitler had never even contemplated up to that point. The First World War saw two factions of "great powers" square off. A Japanese attack on the Soviet Union, on the other hand, would have put Josef Stalin in the very difficult situation of also fighting a two-front war. The captain, two crew members, and six passengers had left earlier in an ill-fated effort to get help. Lend-Lease trucks and jeeps put the Russian Army on wheels for the first time ever while US food (including, famously, spam)kept the Russian population going. This is the first in a series of five articles providing critical analysis as to how Germany Might Have Won World War II. Rather, the consequence of lend-lease was to virtually bankrupt this country and lead to the collapse in our manufacturing base, whilst the Marshall Plan created one of the strongest economies in the world - who got the short straw? And not surprisingly, not only the few German forces which took over Italys defense from Italian armies defended all of Italy easily and a lot of lives were lost in hilly Italian countryside, but also even at the end of the war the forces in Italy were not able to move out of soft underbelly of Axis towards French hinterland, leave aside Germany. "I want to tell you what, from the Russian point of view, the president and the United States have done for victory in this war," Stalin said. Plausibility check: could a better handled Italy have become France's partner in enforcing the Versailles treaty? That bogged down the men and material that could have been used in the invasion of the Soviet Union. have The disparage of manpower and supplies in the lineups are impressive, which makes what Germans achieved in North Africa even more noteworthy. It was the job of the ordinary German to perish in Eastern Front where he stood. On April 23, 1947, this C-37 was forced to make an emergency landing with 36 people on board near the village of Volochanka on the Taimyr Peninsula. Thus, Hitler could have achieved the last of his territorial objectives without war, with the exception of those pertaining to the Soviet Union. These territorial claims included the entire Istrian peninsula and northern Dalmatian coast and adjacent islands in the Adriatic Sea as well as a protectorate over Albania, all of which ended up being annexedfollowing the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. The Allies alone could not possibly have defeated Germany. But it cannot be denied that the Americans sent us materiel without which we could not have formed our reserves or continued the war. In addition, much of the $31 billion worth of aid sent to the United Kingdom was also passed on to the Soviet Union via convoys through the Barents Sea to Murmansk. The lessons from the First World War should have been enough for Hitler and the German high command, but the decision to invade the Soviet Union in June 1941 when the British were still undefeated was a colossal blunder. We all know how the war turned outwith an overwhelming Soviet-Western Allied victory over Nazi Germany ending with the destruction of Germany and the death by starvation of millions of its citizens. 'We Would Have Lost': Did U.S. Lend-Lease Aid Tip The Balance In Soviet Fight Against Nazi Germany? Much contention. Malyshev took charge of an industry that was in chaos, moving the Leningrad and Kharkov tank plants to the Urals. No one talks about this officially, and Stalin never, I think, left any written traces of his opinion, but I can say that he expressed this view several times in conversations with me.". Therefore when we look at the presence of US forces in Western Front, we see them delayed by Churchill to almost until the end of the war, and wasted in much bloody, irrelevant and peripheral battles in Italy. As noted, it dragged the Germans into campaigns that were unnecessary including in Greece and North Africa, and then when Benito Mussolini's government was toppled Germany was forced to occupy its former ally. When World War II started, America was isolationist and the Soviet Union collaborationist. More from the necessity of preventing a total Soviet takeover of Europe, coupled by the promises FDR gave years ago, than any initiative or lack of malice on the part of Churchill. To this day, there is still a tendency among Germans to believe that they lost only because they were outnumbered, and to minimize or ignore the extent to which they were outfought. It is our living history. But things suddenly take a weird turn after North Africa: Landings in Western Europe keep getting delayed despite all pressures from Soviets. All the while Indian colonial troops in India are still there, and many Chinese factions now encouraged with lessened Japanese forces in China. Most visibly, the United States provided the Soviet Union with more than 400,000 jeeps and trucks, 14,000 aircraft, 8,000 tractors and construction vehicles, and 13,000 battle tanks. Though this indeed tied some German forces, the forces were not anything which could be compared to what was being thrown to Eastern Front, with one notable panzer group being stationed ner Pas de Calais (Hitlers folly), and most of the preparation taking the form of elaborate fortifications that were called Atlantic Wall prepared mainly by Rommel. America fought five major wars after 1945 including Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan in addition to some minor wars in Somalia, Yemen, and Libya. War of 1812. They are related because both buildups on both sides of the cold war started during WW2 to fight the Axis powers. Neither the Allied Powers (France, Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and several smaller states) nor the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria) would have gained everything they wanted from a negotiated settlement. metal splinters inside the tank) when the tank was hit by non-penetrating rounds.137 Although designed as infantry support tanks and employed in that role by the Red Army, the 2-pounder gun did not have an HE round, which reduced the value of the tanks in that role. But it would also take longer and cost more loss of lives. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, fifteen years older than FDR and highly respected by him as an open-minded, patriotic Republican, had had Hopkins to lunch in his office at the Pentagon the day before he left for Tehran expressly to explore how they could stiffen the presidents resolve. Malyshev encouraged the use of stamped parts and a cast turret in order to cut corners, accepting a certain temporary reduction in quality in return for much greater output of tanks. Hypothetical Axis victory in World War II - Wikipedia Opposing camps of historians generally agree on that, but little else when it comes to
would the allies have won ww2 without america