(This is NOT supposed to be a full time line. I'm merely attempting to gather everything together that has been said on this thread into a more discernible format to make it easier for people to comment on and criticize. And sorry, Grey Wolf--I was working on this and I didn't see your posts until this posted.)
OK, so it's 1941 and the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. We have the "this day will leave in infamy" speech from FDR, but things have diverged in Europe from OTL. IBM has had a better time lobbying for cooperation, and there is less of an idea in the US of Germany being dangerous to its own safety. Furthermore, Lord Halifax accepted the offer of PMship when offered; while Winston Churchill remains a trusted member of Halifax's cabinet, FDR and his advisers aren't convinced that Britain is in the fight for the long term.
Simply put, America goes to war against Japan but there are no hostilities between Germany and the United States. Japan, for the moment, continues on its OTL path and attacks both British, French, Dutch, and American holdings in the Pacific. This leads to an interesting situation for the governments of Britain and the US, as they consider each other allies only in the Pacific front. British forces in the Pacific, however, have been tasked with defending India, Southeast Asia, and Australia as their main goals, and thus there is not a massive amount of cooperation between the two powers. There are some newspaper articles in the US reporting that FDR would like to have a casus belli against Nazi Germany, but public support remains against a war with the Nazis.
Britain, lacking a strong American ally in Europe, begins to dig deeper into the pockets of its Empire. In return for men and material, GB begins to parcel out dominion status to its holdings across the world. Such nations as Kenya, India, and Nigeria all agree to the plan. In India, however, there is a great deal of controversy over the issue, with many leading Indian politicians advocating full independence instead of mere dominion status. Despite their differing ideologies, both Mahatma Ghandi and Subhash Bose resign from the Indian National Congress. (OOC: How feasible is it for Bose to play a bigger role against the UK in this TL, perhaps leading a larger, more successful Indian National Army that is involved in guerrilla actions inside India?)
In Europe, GB finds itself unable to launch a full-scale invasion of continental Europe by its lonesome, despite an influx of Imperial soldiers and foodstuffs. British politicians decide to concentrate on the North African front, with the long-term goal of keeping the Suez viable. (OOC: How tenuous would the coalition government be in this TL? If British troops suffer too many defeats, would the government begin to fracture?) The Germans also begin to see the North African front as one of the most important fields of war--the Nazi leadership recognizes that without the Suez Canal, GB would be hard put to continue its war. (OOC: Without American tanks, does Britain stand a chance on the North African front? Could we see Hitler opening up a front in the Middle East?) The British do manage to launch a series of Dieppe-style raids on mainland Europe; the first few are dismal failures, but as the British Army learns from its mistakes the raids become more and more successful.
On the Eastern Front, the war looks dim for the Soviet Union. Stalin is determined to fight on and Russian forces have been able to inflict some minor defeats on the German army, but the vast Russian steppes give the Germans space to recoup and reorganize. The Germans have been able to capture and hold Rostov, and are at the gates of Moscow as winter sets in. (OOC: Would the Soviets be able to pull off a Winter Offensive without American Lend-Lease?) Leningrad's situation seems bleak at best, although Stalin remains adamant that the city not fall. GB remains supportive of its Russian ally, but back channels in Parliament are skeptical of Russia remaining in the war. (OOC: Where would the most feasible location for Cripps in this TL? Furthermore, how cranky would Stalin get with the British over opening a second front?)
[So there you have it. Sound good? Any comments/criticism? I'm really interested in this as a viable TL and I'm thinking about keeping this thread open as long as possible. With GB and SU on the ropes and America concentrating on Japan and Japan only, where do we see this TL going? I can see an earlier, quicker defeat of Japan without the use of atomic weapons--is it too optimistic that Japan would surrender without an invasion? Would the Americans accept a conditional surrender of the Japanese Empire? I'm also interested in Britain and the United States becoming closer and closer as time goes on, with American public support of joining the European war rising slowly.]