Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Retrospectively, what would have become of the Nazis if the US had not intervened?
They probably would have lost the war anyways. The Soviets wore them down by sheer numbers and ultimately crippled the German offensive capabilities before U.S. aid to the Soviets became a substantial factor. The Nazi's were retreating on all fronts by mid-1943 by the time the first U.S. soldier set foot on continental Europe.
The German military was specifically designed in this period to win wars through quick decisive battles not through attrition. They had to destroy the entire Soviet military in a quick decisive action to win the war against the Soviet Union. They didn't accomplish this at all in 1941 and by then the Germany was overstretched and already in a dire position. The Germans were essentially winning battles but losing the war during Operation Barbarossa.
Hitler was a fool. If he had attacked the Russians first, the rest of the world would have helped him. He was going mad from syphilis, and without his orative powers, the Nazis were not going much further.
Retrospectively, what would have become of the Nazis if the US had not intervened?
I think you need to research your subject a bit more before you assume that "the US intervened"; it was Hitler who declared war on the US a day or two after Perl Harbor Had provokes the US into declaring war on Japan.
I'd recommend Doris Kearns Gpodwin's book No Ordinary Time as an excellent record of what was on Roosevelt and Churchill's minds during the weeks after Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in the spring of 1941, thereby committing himself to the three-front war (Britain, Russia, North Africa) which ultimately brought Nazi Germany down.
Had Hitler not overextended himself, The United Sates would have had only Japan to contend with, but the development of the first atomic weapons would still have been the decisive point. That might have allowed the Germans to hold Stalin to a stalemate in Russia until Nazi A-bombs were available. And we can all thank whatever higher power we recognize that this did not come to pass.
The US was sending aid to Britan before it was offically at war with Germany. I say officially since long before, as soon as supplies were sent and the sub fleet was tasked to protect 'our property' there were engegements with the German U Boats. The quiet secret was there was already a shooting war going on between the submarine fleets. We had already 'picked a side' by chosing to send aid as well.
Japan drew us into the active war, and Hitler by choosing to declare war as well. But while it would have been a longer war, it would have ended with Germany losing. By the time the US was *forced* into the war, they were already over extended and could not sustain it long. It is also possible that some future assination attempt would have succeeded and the new german leader would have sued for peace to get it over.
America was heavily involved in protecting the North- and South-Atlantic sea lanes even before they entered the war. America occupied Iceland (with their governments' consent) before the war began for this same reason.
The Soviets did 90% (? or so) of the fighting for the Allies in Europe... the USA did what, 5% or less? So one would presume the outcome would have been the same.
Though did US aid to the communists (Lend Lease) play a significant part in them beating the Nazis? I'm not sure.
I'm one to think the Nazis and Japanese would have won had the USA not been involved in the war.
America had a HUGE advantage the other allies were missing; easy access to resources and a place to turn them into weapons/equipment that was effectively immune to disruption (until they were put on a ship anyway).
If England was successfully cut off, they would have fallen and it would have been curtains for Western Europe.
If Hitler went up against the Soviets with only a Western Front to worry about, he would have enjoyed a position similar to the USA and could have thrown a virtually uninterrupted supply of weapons/supplies East to the war zone. The Soviets would have been stuck in a war of attrition and would have continually been pushed East.
On the Japanese side; they likely would have gone after the USSR once their empire was secured as well.
If the Axis leaders had been smart, they would have conquered the Eastern Hemisphere but moved heaven and earth to keep the Western Hemisphere out of the conflict before that... or at least until they had the capability to attack the Americas directly. Luckily, they weren't smart or patient.
You can bet they wouldn't have been satisfied with less than the whole tamale though; once that half of the world was secure they would have come here and given America an apocalyptic homefront war that we wouldn't have been likely to win by ourselves.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
