What if ww2 started later

Preparations began in earnest, with both the British and Americans convinced that an invasion was imminent. What's more, with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact securely in place a treaty of non-aggression between Germany and the USSR , Hitler didn't have to worry about a Soviet incursion; Stalin was content with his share of Poland, and he had his sights set on Finland.

Operation Sea Lion. Credit: Wikimedia Commons. But Hitler nixed the plans to invade Britain. For starters, it became painfully obvious that more time and preparations were needed. An invasion in would have been met with utter failure.

Britain's navy controlled the Channel, and as the Battle of Britain revealed, the Luftwaffe could not dominate the skies in the way needed to support the attack. What's more, Hitler was unreasonably impatient about wanting to attack Russia. Some historians say Hitler convinced himself that he'd die young, precluding him from seeing his ultimate dream come true. History's most notorious gambler decided to make his move. But instead of invading Britain in or the Soviet Union in , one of two things could have happened differently.

For one, Hitler could have delayed his attack on Russia until or Stalin would have been none-the-wiser. Or, Germany could have continued its air assault on Britain while continuing its naval blockade around the Isles. Then, after an appropriate period of preparation, an amphibious landing could have commenced on British shores in either or This isn't ridiculous considering how long it took the Allies to prepare for its invasion of Normandy — something that wouldn't happen until mid Then, with Britain knocked out, Germany could have started its preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union.

Had Sea Lion been successful, a likely scenario would have seen the British government and monarchy relocated to Canada. From there, working with the Americans, the Allies could have planned for an invasion of Africa, which in turn could have led to further incursions in Italy and the Balkans. One thing's for sure, however, it wouldn't have been easy — especially if Germany's subsequent invasion of the Soviet Union turned out to be successful. The isolationist movement in the United States was alive and well in It was not a foregone conclusion that the country was going to enter into the war — especially after its harrowing experience in the Great War.

But with Japan's invasion of Pearl Harbor, the President's hand was forced. Aviator Charles Lindbergh was so vocal about his opposition to U. Credit AP. Japan's fateful decision to confront the United States stemmed from its need to secure oil and rubber reserves from the Dutch East Indies and southeast Asia. Had it not attacked Hawaii, its expansionist policies would have likely drawn in the United States eventually, say, after an invasion of the Philippines.

But for argument's sake, let's assume that the U. In such a scenario, Britain and her colonial allies would have been left in the lurch. Public opinion polling was still in its infancy as World War II approached, but surveys suggested the force of events in Europe in had a powerful impact on American ideas about the war. Soon after, however, France fell, and in August the German Luftwaffe began an all-out bombing campaign against Great Britain.

The day after the attack, Congress declared war on Imperial Japan with only a single dissenting vote. Faced with these realities and incensed by the attack on Pearl Harbor, everyday Americans enthusiastically supported the war effort. Isolation was no longer an option. Star Shirley Temple had a special relationship with the Hawaiian Islands.

In the prewar years, she made several tours of Hawaii, delighting local and military audiences. World War II shaped conversations on the future of service including universal military training and conscription. It was Franklin D. The initial victory in Europe would have been followed by the direct annexation of countries Hitler deemed suitably Nordic: Denmark, Norway , Sweden, and Finland , as well as the German-speaking region of Switzerland.

Japan would temporarily receive the rest of the Soviet Union. Mussolini would be permitted to acquire lands approximating those of the Roman Empire, except that Hitler intended to retain control of France and Great Britain as well as Ireland and convert Spain and Portugal into satellite states.

In sub Saharan Africa he expected to restore the colonies Germany had lost after the First World War and seize the rest from defeated European powers.

But they also intended to eliminate Christianity and to adopt a state policy of polygamy so that the male survivors of wars expected to kill four million German soldiers would be able to impregnate enough German women to forestall a drop in population. Hitler plainly saw his principal allies, Italy and Japan, as partners of convenience. Getting the perfect shot in wartime is not only about weapons.

With over 30 countries involved in World War II and the loss of over 50 million lives, war photography captured the destruction and victories of the deadliest war in history. Lead by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, over one Born in Maine, Gillars was a former Broadway showgirl who moved to Berlin in She remained in Germany after President Woodrow Wilson in his famous Fourteen Points.

But from the moment the leaders of the For four years, from to , World War I raged across Europe's western and eastern fronts, after growing tensions and then the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria ignited the war. Trench warfare and the early use of tanks, submarines and airplanes meant the Live TV.

This Day In History. History Vault. Leading up to World War II. Recommended for you. How the Troubles Began in Northern Ireland. Pearl Harbor. The Holocaust. Japanese-American Internment Camps. The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.