It would depend upon how many countries the British Empire was fighting more than anything else. If it was like OTL with the Royal Navies fighting Germany, Italy and Japan without any significant allies the Japanese would still win because the increase in the size of all 4 navies meant that the RN was still spread too thinly.Well, this case it would mainly depend on the aircrafts. But if it was a random pitch battle like Denmark Strait, e.g a bunch of Lion encounter Yamatos and worse, A150 on its way like Prince of Wales meet Bismarck OTL, the RN would get their ass whopped by Yamato, Musashi and A150 (20 inch gun would tore a Lion apart).
Still fighting all of them, but the Japanese still declare war against the US first.It would depend upon how many countries the British Empire was fighting more than anything else. If it was like OTL with the Royal Navies fighting Germany, Italy and Japan without any significant allies the Japanese would still win because the increase in the size of all 4 navies meant that the RN was still spread too thinly.
Though ITTL the projected expansion of the Dutch Navy would have been well advanced by early 1944. They might have even completed some of their projected battle cruisers.
The problem is that preventing Germany from seizing Czech in 1938 means declare war to Germany to protect CzechFor this to work you have to avoid the German occupation of the rump of Czechoslovakia in the spring of 1939 as well as the invasion of Poland. The British had effectively been mobilising since then. That included the doubling of the Territorial Army and the abolition of financial controls that up till then had stopped the "Top Brass" from expanding the armed forces at the rate they thought was necessary.
But not doing that deprives Germany of IIRC 10 million badly needed tax payers, the Czech gold reserves, the equipment of the Czech Army (equivalent of 35 divisions IIRC), the Czech armaments industry, including the LT-28 tank and the civilian industries of Europe's most developed small nation, with the possible exceptions of the Benelux countries.
One problem is that German-Soviet war might broke out before if war did not broke out in western front before 1941-42.
The annexation of the Sudetanland was in 1938. The annexation of the rump of Bohemia-Moravia and the creation of the Slovak puppet state wasn't until the spring of 1939.The problem is that preventing Germany from seizing Czech in 1938 means declare war to Germany to protect Czech
Well, he might still have to find a cause like Danzig to invade all of the countries (while he might also launch a Barbarossa style attack, I think the chance for this to happen is still lower)But wasn't the whole rationale behind Hitler's strategy to secure his western front before launching in the east, so avoiding the two-front problem Germany had in WWI? I don't really see a viable POD that enables Britain and France to stay neutral while Hitler attacks the Soviet Union, which must inevitably involve an occupation of Poland.
Also, much the same holds in the Far East. Does Japan still attack Pearl in 1941? If so, the democracies will still be in a major war; if not, why not?
Hitler's regime was running on momentum and he himself was an inveterate political gambler. He knew that he'd stolen a march on the democracies (and Soviets) and so an early war was to his advantage. Even if you remove Hitler from the stage, the same pressures apply.
The problem is that the you cannot prevent annexation of bohemia moravia after munich because it did not happen on diplomatic table. The problem was Daladier and Chamberlain in Munich, who gave Hitler a free hand. At that time, Czech was ready to fight but betrayed by them. Another good choice is declare war in 1938, which in best case can drag USSR into Allies. Germany would have been stonewalled against a modern Czech army with a strong fortification for a while. Oh wait, do not forget the little ententeThe annexation of the Sudetanland was in 1938. The annexation of the rump of Bohemia-Moravia and the creation of the Slovak puppet state wasn't until the spring of 1939.
In my opinion it was the latter that was what made World War II inevitable, because that was when Britain and France gave their guarantees to Poland. It was also when the British Government abolished financial controls on the armed forces and effectively put the United Kingdom on a war footing. The Deficiency Programme of 1934 and the Rearmament Programme of 1936 were intended to be a deterrent to the Germans and Japanese. Indeed the 1934 D.R.C. Report literally says that the improvements to the defences in the Far East were to "Show a tooth," to the Japanese while a political settlement was reached with the Germans. It was the German occupation of Bohemia-Moravia that proved a political settlement wasn't possible, not Munich.
I hadn't I was going to do a post saying their armed forces would be better equipped by 1944 and they might be more industrialised too. All the smaller European nations are going to be better armed in 1944 than 1939 for that matter, the most important being Poland.Oh wait, do not forget the little entente
Here I mean fighting Germany in 1938 for Czech would create more problems for Hitler than in 1939I hadn't I was going to do a post saying their armed forces would be better equipped by 1944 and they might be more industrialised too. All the smaller European nations are going to be better armed in 1944 than 1939 for that matter, the most important being Poland.