Victory In Europe...it Was The Yanks Wot Won It!

[10ClarionSt]

Although we mention Britain winning the war, it was actually the Yanks wot wun it folks. If they hadn't have entered the war, we'd all be talking Russian now. And even then, in lots of areas of battle, there were many commonwealth forces, particularly in the Far East, where Indian troops were the main defence against the Japanese in Burma. Not to mention Australian and New Zealand forces, also supporting the Americans in the Pacific. Oh yes. And don't forget the support in Europe (Italy, I think) that the Allies received from the Brazilian Army. Whilst I am proud of my familys' contribution to the war, Britain couldn't posibly have won it without the help of other countries. I don't think that's being anti British. It's fact.

[naomi24]

Just imagine if we hadn't been there from the off....and for the duration.

[mushroom25]

// Just imagine if we hadn't been there from the off....and for the duration. //

the UK leaving early was a real possibility. after chamberlain was humiliated into resigning in May 1940 the favorite as his successor was Halifax, who favoured negotiating peace, particularly in the face of the developing disaster at Dunkirk. but he declined and Churchill became pm. Churchill was against negotiating but couldn't just reject that stance as although pm, he wasn't party leader so had to sell his "fight on" policy by persuasion. as late as the end of May, negotiation was still being discussed, as a means of protecting the empire.

what if the uk had negotiated? with the war in the west suspended (with UK neutralised and the Italians remaining neutral), the Nazis would have been able to fling all their resources eastwards into a resounding defeat of the soviets. Britain would have preserved the empire but in the face of a rampant germany, would have been unlikely to have retained it for long after hostilities ended. and with Britain no longer fighting, the US would have been unlikely to get itself involved in Europe and pursued its "America First" policy in defending its pacific interests from the Japanese.

[gumboot]

Well, I was always taught at school that the yanks sat on the sidelines until Pearl Harbour. They then had to take action apparently as it no longer involved distant conflicts.

I've always kept an open mind about this and the explanation seems a bit simplistic to me. Still, I'm not arguing with anyone on here who has different views. I just think there might be more to it.

[ynnafymmi]

All that can really be said is that the socialists(Stalin and Russia),the capitalists(USA) and the mixed lot(us)won in the end.The big three.

[jno]

I think that's still true, gumboot. The US had nothing to lose by lending to combatants and nothing to gain by joining in, until Japan forced their hand.