General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Would Hitler have won World War II if he had left Russia alone? [View all]ballabosh
(330 posts)And I apologize that I can't remember where I read it and can't find it, is that if the UK and France would have held to their commitments to Poland to the fullest, the war may have ended pretty much before it began. Contrary to popular belief, Poland had a comparable army to Germany (in the first few days, Germany took heavy losses in the invasion), but not as advanced, and no air force to speak of. Germany committed 75% of it's forces to the eastern front. If France would have immediately invaded, Hitler would have been forced to pull some of those troops out of Poland. And if the UK would have provided air support, the Poles could have lasted much longer. If the Germans had bogged down in Poland, the USSR might have not invaded or even if they did, they may have been emboldened to break their pact with Germany and invade from the east. Germany might have been finished within weeks.
I'm not a military history expert, so I don't know how likely this is. But it's an intersting hypothetical.