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Originally Posted by StimAbuser
What does analysis predictions of Germany vs Soviet Union have to do with the French/British declaring war on the Soviet Union on top of Germany?
France/Britain had their hands completely full with Germany. So even if the SU wasn't thought of as strong as it ended up being, it was plenty enough to be too much for the allies to handle on top of Germany.
By the time Germany went to war with the SU, they were thought of as nearly invincible. They'd crushed the french like they were children. This was a huge part as to why people thought Germany would easily defeat Russia. Not because Russia wasn't a big power.
Also I doubt the war has a different outcome. Germany never had the navy craft to invade Britain and they also lost air supremacy. So they'd be at a stalemate with Britain until eventually the US enters the war and Germany still loses.
I mean its a big part of why Germany went to war with the SU when they did. They had no way to invade Britain, and figured if the conquered the soviet union the either the British would lose hope and make peace or Germany would at least have enough raw material to build a sufficient water/air fleet to invade Britain.
Well, first of all you are correct that Hitler couldn't have invaded Britain as he had no sizable Navy at the time he invaded the Soviet Union. I think that was one of the main reasons behind Barbarossa is that Hitler had no where to send the Wehrmacht: Britain couldn't be invaded but was unable to threaten Germany on the continent, Spain was friendly, Switzerland and Sweden were neutral and surrounded, everyone else (Finland, Italy, Romania, Hungary etc) was on Hitler's side.
Hitler's massive, plan was to kill all Slavic peoples by 1955 and replace them with Germans. Jews, Gypsies etc were the first priority for genocide but the Slavs were next in line. Fortunately the Nazis never got to carry this plan out completely. Like Leo Tolstoy argued in War and Peace, like Napoleon in 1812 it seems that Hitler had very little choice if he wanted to invade someone. Russia was the only realistic choice at the time he went in to "kick down the door." He thought they would fall easily to carry out his master plan.
However, let's suppose Hitler didn't invade Russia. What would he have done? The obvious answer is renew efforts in North Africa and efforts to take down Britain. Can you imagine what Rommel would have done in Africa if the resources that went to the eastern front would have been diverted to Africa. I can't see how the allies would not have been completely wiped out of Africa.
Germany might have finished the Graf Zeppelin, Bismarck and Tirpitz to form an invasion task force and renewed efforts to subdue the RAF. Would he have invaded Britain successfully? Would a potential fall of Britain have brought the USA into the war? I don't know...
I am not saying for certain because nothing is for sure, but the biggest mistake Germany made in WWII was invading the Soviet Union. If Hitler kept Stalin thinking they were allies with Germany, he would have had tremendous amount of resources to push the allies off of Africa. If Japan still attacks Pearl Harbor maybe America gets distracted in the East and the post WWII map looks completely different depending on the result of a later conflict with the Soviet Union.