Without the US Navy involved, it is unlikely that the Royal Navy, on it's own, could have broken the U-boat strangle hold on the Atlantic. It was a close run thing as it was.
The moment he declared war on the US, he had lost the war. After that, it was only a matter of knowing how many people would die. The ending was written in stone.
Japan lost the moment the first bomb fell on Pearl Harbor. The same caveat applies.
The US ended WW2 with a Navy of ~6,800 ships. The only other navies worthy of being called navies were the British & French and they were our allies. The Bretton Woods agreement, enforced by the US Navy, gave us the world we know today. With the end of the war and BW, we ended Imperialism, and contained the expansionist Soviets. We have world wide freedom of navigation and effectively, open world markets. This was NOT how it was before WW2.
With the exception of a few spats, we have had the best 75 year run in world history. The average world citizen is happier, healthier, wealthier, and more free than ever before. WARNING: it won't continue indefinitely.
SpyNavy
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
>>The BIGGEST mistake Hitler made was declaring war on the US after Pearl Harbor. Without the US Navy involved, it is unlikely that the Royal Navy, on it’s own, could have broken the U-boat strangle hold on the Atlantic. It was a close run thing as it was. The moment he declared war on the US, he had lost the war. After that, it was only a matter of knowing how many people would die. The ending was written in stone.<<
Perhaps, but Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec 7, 1941, 6 months after Hitler abandoned his planned invasion of Britain and began his invasion of Russia. If he had not attacked England after conquering France, and focused on invading Russia in the early spring of 1941, it is doubtful Rosevelt’s lend-lease would have passed in March, 1941, rendering the U.S. less threatening. It is also likely that Germany would have defeated Russia that year, before the U.S. declared war on Japan.
Alternately, if Germany had focused on Britain’s war industry and airfields until an invasion was practical, before considering an invasion of Russia, the U.S. would not have been a factor.
In both scenarios, Mussolini’s recklessness, and Hitler’s loyalty to him, would be a factor, but much more so in the way history actually played out.
Mr. Kalamata