Henry Ford's Planes

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Yaab

Consider a alternative history scenario. USSR stays on the sidelines, neutral to the Third Reich and Japan. She entices a global war of Germany/Japan/Italy vs USA/UK/China. USSR waits for Germany/Japan/UK/Italy to bleed themselves white. I guess then even the American aircraft industry wouldn't be able to keep up with the losses.

Too many variables. Germany under Hitler saw its needs for space as coming from the East. Hard to imagine the Soviets sitting on the sidelines while this took place. And if Germany did not move east-where would they get the resources to fight the West. Much less the food-as Germany was never self sufficient in food. Look back to WWI.

[Jorge_Stanbury]

After France, Hitler was aware that in order to fight the British and Americans, he would need to re-focus his armed forced from land and army aviation into sea and strategic bombing aviation.
But he could not do it as long as the Soviet Union had a massive army on his eastern frontiers.

He knew he didn't have the navy or the bombers to challenge the British, he thought he had an army capable of defeating the Soviets.

Had he succeeded, then by simply adding the total industrial capability of continental Europe and Russia, he could had mass produced as much as the USA

[postfux]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

ORIGINAL: Yaab

Consider a alternative history scenario. USSR stays on the sidelines, neutral to the Third Reich and Japan. She entices a global war of Germany/Japan/Italy vs USA/UK/China. USSR waits for Germany/Japan/UK/Italy to bleed themselves white. I guess then even the American aircraft industry wouldn't be able to keep up with the losses.

Too many variables. Germany under Hitler saw its needs for space as coming from the East. Hard to imagine the Soviets sitting on the sidelines while this took place. And if Germany did not move east-where would they get the resources to fight the West. Much less the food-as Germany was never self sufficient in food. Look back to WWI.

Complete fantasy. But if a sane man would have been in charge I think the situation after the conquest of France was not too bad.

I dont think it is evident that Germany would have lacked the resources to fight the west. The ressources needed for the sub war and the war in the Med cannot be compared to the ressources burned in the campaign in the east.

The food situation was better than during WWI (over 80% self sufficient I think) and the SU could have been (and was) a supplier. The food situation historically collapsed only after the war.

With every month the SU became more of threat the politcal options in the west would have been increased. Not firebombing english cities and refraining from other atrocities would also be helpfull.

[Banzan]

ORIGINAL: ndworl

ORIGINAL: crsutton

The day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Churchill wrote in his diary that the war was won. He understood.

Churchill wrote to the Japanese ambassador on the occasion of his visit to Germany in 1941, as he reports in his "The second world war" series. He asked a number of pertinent questions, about relative industrial strength. The Japanese ignored the letter and proceeded on the basis of standing forces. History shows who was correct.

I can only advise to read Eri Hotta's "Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy".
It's a bit difficult to read, but it describes the political situation of japan quite well.
The amount of japanese leaders (political and military) who knew they couldn't win a war against the US/Western allies and thought it should be avoided at all cost is unbelivable. Even a war study in the summer of'41 came to the same conclusion and was just ignored.
They knew their industrial power was about 5% of the US, but logical thinking was replaced by divine belive and noone in charge had the guts to stand up and stop an unwinnable war before it started.