Quote Originally Posted by Brenus View Post
I mean - hell - if we'd declared ourselves neutral the Two Great Powers now would, even money, be Britain and either Germany or the US.” No need to answer, but you think Japan wouldn’t have attack Singapore? And you really thing that Hitler and his allies would have defeat USSR?
I think that the Germans *might* have beat the USSR - without Commonwealth material support the Northern European and Mediterranean fronts would have required less of a commitment, possibly allowing the Germans to attack earlier in the year, in which case there's a good chance they would have broken Russia's back.

If Japan had attacked Singapore while the British Fleet was not tied down in the Atlantic, and Australian troops were not needing to be shunted around to other theaters, they either would have failed to take the port, or to hold it.

World War I and World War II ruined Britain and France, but it was the aftermath of WWII that nailed the coffin shut on the British Empire.