Quote:
|
Originally Posted by perseus Whilst Churchill was in charge it is unlikely that Britain would have surrendered, and it is difficult to see what could in principle make Britain surrender. |
That's the thing though isn't it? If Churchhill was in charge. There is no guarantee how long he would be if Britain faced the 3rd Reich alone. Given Hitler's soft spot for the British Empire (and Ollie is right Hitler did have a lot of time for the British) and the fact that Germany (Prussia) and Britain were historical allies until quite recently, the overtures from Germany would be polite and respectful. Hadn't Rudolf Hess supposedly been tasked with securing a seperate peace with Britain on the eve of the invasion of Russia? Churchill was very much a wartime leader. Faced with a very powerful neighbour who had no real malice to wage war with them (and who lacked the practical means to wage it anyway) how long before someone like Lord Halifax ousted Churchill and took over? Why would the British people want to continue the war against Germany anyway? The reasons why Britain declared war on Germany were far from convincing in the first place. With hindsight we can justify that it was an entirely correct action given the appalling actions of the Nazis against the Jews and Slavs but at the time Poland was quite a flimsy reason to go to war.