[RN7]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Lets look at this from another angle.

Could the US have won without the Commonwealth. My money is firmly on "not a chance in hell".

It would have been difficult for them to do so in the early part of the war without Australia in the Pacific, and near impossible in Europe without Britain.

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Also, could Germany have won if a) they didn't have to bail out Italy in Africa, and/or b) they left the USSR alone for another year?"

It would have been easier for them to do so but the more likely outcome would have been that the Germans reached an armistice with Britain in Europe and the Med.

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

What if Spain had joined in on the side of the Axis??"

It would have created problems for the Allies in North Africa and the Med, but more to do with enabling German forces to use Spanish ports and airbases than any great threat from Spanish forces. The Canary Islands and Spanish North Africa wouldn't last too long from Allied invasion and they would have been useful as bases against the Axis. Gibraltar probably would have been invaded but Spain would also have been wide open to attack and invasion from the Med and may have been an easier route to an Allied invade Europe than Italy and the South of France.

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

What if Japan had coordinated their submarine war with Germany?

It would have undoubtedly caused some problems but anti-submarine tactics used in the Atlantic could have countered it. Japanese submarines in the Atlantic and German U-boats in the Pacific might have been interesting.