How would the last two European Wars have turned out had we not shown up?

Hard to say for WW1, but for part 2 one can only speculate that Japan and Germany would have followed through with their declared war and annexed the american colonies.

PDR

Seems to me the Germans could not cross the English Channel...so their coming to America seems a bit far fetched don't you think?

History reminds me that the British, with German(Hessians) help, could not hold on to the American Colonies.

Don't we think this is becoming rather childish, boys and girls? There are nice people and complete tossers in every organisation and every nation. Stereotypes are not a basis for sound judgement.

I'm just countering the fallacy that somehow the USA joined WW2 to support Britain. The USA joined in because it came under direct (and unrelated) attack by Japan and shortly afterwards was the subject of declarations of war from both Japan and Germany.

PDR

Genstabler is correct - not only silly but serioous thread drift

There's no law that says a great pilot or a brave pilot has to be pleasant or a role model- think Hermann Goering......................

It would be nice they WERE good people but it's not a requirement for the job

Oh, I don't know..
Reading between the lines, Winkle Brown seemed to think Hermann was sort of alright as a person.

Possibly Hermann did rather more for his air force in his productive years than CY did for his ?

The US along with other nations were supporting Britain long before declaration of war.

PDR, the US did not have to join in the war against Germany in the same way that Russia did not join the war against Japan.

As a neutral the USA did not supply war material directly to the UK. Had they remain as a friendly neutral they could have built Liberty ships but not tanks. The air war against Fortress Europe would have been a night war with Germany still committed to maintaining day fighters lest we switched tactics.

Africa could have dragged on much longer but logistics would have remained the Achilles heel for Rommel. D-Day would not have happened in 1944.

The atom bomb would not have been developed when it was.

The US would have been down to one aircraft carrier in 1943.

They would not have developed H2X when they did. Packard would not have built Merlins.

Russia would not have had the convoys.

Stalin would have been defeated.

Germany would control Europe.

Chuck Yeager dislikes the British.
 

I was lucky enough to be trained as a pilot at I BFTS at Terrell in Texas. I had nothing but kindness from the locals and most of the instructors and certainly had first class training. I was "adopted" by a family and was in contact for many years post war. Travelling as a cadet was easy and I never experienced anything but kindness and hospitality. Later, taking a Shackleton to various US Naval bases on their east coast, we were treated extremely well and as fellow comrades in arms, shown everything. We are lucky to have such a good ally and I for one, hope that our special relationship holds, despite various folk, on both sides, trying to sow discord. It is a great pity that we do not have a joint operations room in the Middle East with US,UK and RUSSIA. ,!!

I challenge this assertion. The events before Moscow of December '41 illustrate that the Germans could never finally defeat the Soviets.

Patrick, moot point. Stalin, personally, might have gone.

Of course we had our own equivalent arrogant geezers the best example I can think of being in Dougie Bader - Arrogance personified.

Rigga, and of course each Army had one VSO the same.

Stanwell Re your #128
Not True at all. Eric refused to shake his hand when being interviewed as he was waiting for the Hangman. Eric described him as a terrible Nazi. When Eric asked him who he thought won the Battle of Britain, Herman said he thought it was a draw!

As did Adolf Galland. With some reason.

Did not Goring contribute directly to the failures of the Luftwaffe as head of the organization as compared to Yeager who was just a Fighter Pilot in the US Army Air Corps.

No doubt just as much as Reading and Didcot...

If your aim is to achieve a particular goal which is essential if you are to be able to continue a further operational line of action, and you are prevented from achieving that goal, that ain't a draw. It's a defeat.