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While the U-boats were trying to blockade Britain (for which they need a lot more U-boats much earlier to succeed), Britain and France were blockading Germany's ports, much more successfully.

Re: the discussions about Stalin's popularity or lack of, British newspapers (the serious ones) and TV news often carry reports about how the old people still admire him. Although that may be a mixture of seriously rose-tinted history and 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the...

Very good point. The oil/gas company that part-time Londoner Roman Abramovich bought turned out to have been so under-valued that he only paid the Russian state 1% of what it was worth. They ended up with a choice between the frying pan and the fire! And people wonder why Russians always seem...

Even if the Germans win at Jutland (which is a pretty big if; they were outnumbered), and if in that battle the British fleet is decimated somehow, it still leaves the US (and the British would simply build another fleet, and probably learn from its mistakes at Jutland). And if the Germans put...

The other thing is, victory at Jutland would come at a cost. The biggest winner would be the US navy. You have to avoid WW1, I think. The POD would have to be a LOT earlier. You have to eliminate Britain as a naval power. War doesn't do this, because whoever beats Britain is going to be the...

As opposed to some of the Germanwank I've seen on here? Not referring to you btw! The Soviet army may have been scraping the barrel but it was still physically there. If Stalin announces in advance he's going to move into Eastern Germany anyway to claim what he regards as his, do the US...

I shall check this out. Thanks.

Good thing the Soviets will simply sit there and let us do that. You know, those guys with the biggest land army in history (care to put Shermans up against T34s?). And a serious grudge against the Germans. And who aren't distracted by a war in the East. Luckily, the Allies, who are complete...

I can see the Allies making a deal, but not one on the terms of this scenario. I certainly don't see the Allies giving the Germans territorial integrity, for the simple reason that that's what the Germans want. The most basic rule of diplomacy is: never give the other guy what he wants...

Probably the Allies best chance. But the key word is effective. Because in 1940 the Allies are anything but! France not falling requires a LOT of people on the Allied side suddenly to become competent instead of incompetent. That's the only way the result changes.

I simply don't understand why the Allies give the Germans the terms they are seeking. All they have to do is Nothing. Just stop fighting (unless attacked) and simply sit there, watching the Germans start to panic as they look at the approaching Soviet colossus and waiting for the Germans to...

Fair point.

The British invasion of Norway in April 1940, and why it cost them the war Well, the Germans only beat them to it by 24 hours! Imperial Germany's war in the Philippines 1898 I think that's the right year. Again the US only just beat them to it. The Kaiser wanted a major territory in the...

Well, they were fighting the BEF, not the Empire, but I see your point. But I think the Germans still win, unless they either screw up, or they are halted by German High Command who have panicked that they are too far ahead of their supporting units (this happened twice between May 10th and...

There was an attempted coup by the old guard in 1991 and it was crushed. It also had very little public support. And was massively opposed abroad. The problem is that too many of the Yeltsin and Putin generations (the people that would be needed to run a Soviet State) know that it doesn't work...

I should be surprised by this, but actually I'm not. Who says racism has to make sense!

That looks interesting. I'll have to check it out. I do prefer Chinese films at the moment to American ones (at least modern ones). Out of interest, who watches foreign films with subtitles and who watches them with dubbing? Subtitles for me but I know a lot of people who hate them! PS Love...

This is most likely what would happen. WW2 was a huge stimulus to the US and in particular its government and army (the US army was tiny in peacetime). Although there is one way for France to win in 1940. And that is for the Germans not to use Fall Gelb. Originally they were going to repeat...

The problem with Barbarossa is that it was based on the idea that when Communism collapses (after 3 to 5 months!), the Russians stop fighting. I don't see this happening. If the Soviet regime does collapse, the army just takes over. Hitler confused the Communist political system with the actual...

But without historical cinema, how would we know that Robin Hood had an American accent?