If there's no ENGLISH CHANNEL
A Can of Man
Je suis aware
The English are a different type of European. I don't think they would have been completely beaten. I think they could have held out. It would, of course make the job MUCH more difficult.
we definatley wouldnt have surrendered if thats what you mean...
as churchy himself said ''we will fight them on the (well theres no beaches if theres no channel), we will fight them in the fields/roads/towns etc''
and, not having a channel wouldnt have affected the battle of britain so they would still have no air cover, so they couldnt use the effective ''Blitzkreig'', and would have had to have gone slower, giving us more time to get re-inforcements...
also we had the ''British Constabulary force'' or something like that i forgot the name, who were detachements of 5-10 men from every town in UK with shit loads of bombs and stff to take out as many enemy until they got killed
as churchy himself said ''we will fight them on the (well theres no beaches if theres no channel), we will fight them in the fields/roads/towns etc''
and, not having a channel wouldnt have affected the battle of britain so they would still have no air cover, so they couldnt use the effective ''Blitzkreig'', and would have had to have gone slower, giving us more time to get re-inforcements...
also we had the ''British Constabulary force'' or something like that i forgot the name, who were detachements of 5-10 men from every town in UK with shit loads of bombs and stff to take out as many enemy until they got killed
A Can of Man
Je suis aware
I think you would have put up a much better fight. After all when it comes to World War II, it was actually hard to do worse than the French.
redcoat said:We like to think so, and its very nice of you to say so, but in truth we are not.the_13th_redneck said:
If there was no English Channel, Britain would have been defeated in a matter of days after the fall of France.
Claymore
Active member
What would they have put up the fight with?? Remember, the BEF was in a full retreat to Dunkirk, most of their equipment was left on the beach there, and their economy was not yet on a full war footing. I have no doubt that the British would have fought tooth and nail, but they still would have been no match for the German armor. For an excellent account of the condition of the British war preparation read Churchill's series on WWII, particularly "The Gathering Storm". The English Channel is the reason that there has only been one truly successful invasion of the island nation from Europe.
Shadowalker
Active member
We would of fought harder, and would not of collaborated with the germans, but the germans may of treated us better as hitler at one point asked us to join them, as we were the closests in the world to aryans after the germans, in hitlers opinion.
For the context of the question.. yes Britain would have been quickly defeated. Depending on a large fleet to defend a nonexistant channel showed a questionable lack of intelligence.
However its a rather short sighted question..since without the channel British History and argueably World History would have been completely different.
However its a rather short sighted question..since without the channel British History and argueably World History would have been completely different.
Both French and British armor was far superior to German armor during the invasion of France. Most German tanks used where obsolete Panzer I and II and a lot of 38T's. The Germans totalled at 3000 tanks against 4500 French and British if i'm not mistaken. Of the 3000 Panzers used i believe only about 600 where Panzer III and 200 where IV's. The reason Germany kicked ass in France was because the French/British tactics and strategies didn't really evolved after WW1.
On topic: If the English Channel was nonexistent Germany would have whooped British forces, but then again, England would probaly have been a part of France for centuries.
godofthunder9010
Active member
The problem with French and British armor was not inferiority, it was implementation. They saw the tank as a wonderful supporting unit for the infantry, so rather than concentrating their tanks, they spread them among the whole army -- making them mostly useless.
The UK was very fortunate to have rescued some of the BEF from Dunkirk. Consider that they DID RUN. Why did they run for it? Because they had no answer (as yet) for the German Blitzkrieg. Lovely to ponder elements of resistence and whatnot -- but there is not a doubt in my mind about it. On the conventional field of battle the Brits would have had their butts whipped. So would anybody else, so that's absolutely nothing demeaning. Its just a simple reality check. Look what Germany did to VASTLY superior numbers in Russia!
The British needed some time to lick their wounds and rethink military strategy and tactics in response to Germany's Blitzkrieg.
The UK was very fortunate to have rescued some of the BEF from Dunkirk. Consider that they DID RUN. Why did they run for it? Because they had no answer (as yet) for the German Blitzkrieg. Lovely to ponder elements of resistence and whatnot -- but there is not a doubt in my mind about it. On the conventional field of battle the Brits would have had their butts whipped. So would anybody else, so that's absolutely nothing demeaning. Its just a simple reality check. Look what Germany did to VASTLY superior numbers in Russia!
The British needed some time to lick their wounds and rethink military strategy and tactics in response to Germany's Blitzkrieg.
Doppleganger
Active member
This really is a no-brainer. Our being an island has literally saved us on more than a few occasions over the centuries. Remove that fact and we'd be conquered in a week by the Wehrmacht.. 
There would be a significant guerrilla campaign for sure but we'd definitely be part of Grossdeutschland for sure.
There would be a significant guerrilla campaign for sure but we'd definitely be part of Grossdeutschland for sure.
Doppleganger
Active member
beardo said:
I'm British too and proud of it but there's no way that detachments of volunteer policeman with Lee Enfield rifles would stand up to the Wehrmacht professionals. Also, with no English Channel the Luftwaffe air-support units would just move up with the German Army as it advanced. The ground radars that played such a big part in the Battle of Britain would be destroyed and all our airfields and airbases in the south of England would be overrun in a day, 2 at most. There would be nowhere for the Spitfires to take off from.
Consider this. The Germans overran France in 4 weeks. They overran most of European Russia and the Ukraine in 6 weeks. They captured over 2 million Soviet prisoners during that time. Do you really think we could stop them without a body of water in the way?
godofthunder9010
Active member
The German Gestoapo would have been ruthless in Great Britain just as they were in every other country. Guerilla resistence would have been brutally punished.
Also, everyone is failing to consider something -- most of Great Britain fits into the German definition of the "master race", etc. Obviously, Brits are by and large not a gullible people, but its very appealing being told that you're superior to all other races of mankind. That's why it worked so well in Germany after all.
Also, everyone is failing to consider something -- most of Great Britain fits into the German definition of the "master race", etc. Obviously, Brits are by and large not a gullible people, but its very appealing being told that you're superior to all other races of mankind. That's why it worked so well in Germany after all.
Bellerophon
Active member
redcoat said:We would've had our butts kicked
We like to think so, and its very nice of you to say so, but in truth we are not.the_13th_redneck said:
If there was no English Channel, Britain would have been defeated in a matter of days after the fall of France.
You're assuming that Britain would still have a small professional army,would this be the case if they did'nt have a powerful fleet?Remember Britain had always been invincible,not because of the channel,but because of the Royal Navy.The Channel did'nt stop Britain invading the continent,ever!
godofthunder9010
Active member
How many times has the English Channel saved England? Removing it would be like putting Russia in the tropics (no more Russian winter). One of the most defining features that makes the UK what it is today is the English Channel. It might be the UK without it, but I doubt it. We're talking a heavy duty rewrite of the history of the world.
As it relates to WW2, the lack of the Channel would negate any help the Royal Navy could be and they'd have been over-run ... just like everybody else. If the USA had a shared border with Continental Europe, Germany may have made short work of conquering us too.
As it relates to WW2, the lack of the Channel would negate any help the Royal Navy could be and they'd have been over-run ... just like everybody else. If the USA had a shared border with Continental Europe, Germany may have made short work of conquering us too.