Would the Allies have won the war if the US didn't intervene?

Answer 1

The question is so hypothetical that it's almost impossible to answer it sensibly. For example, do you mean without any American help at all? Are you assuming that Japan would have fought only against China or would it have tried to seize India, for example? Without the entry of America I imagine that the war might have lasted a very long time indeed.

Answer 2

That's one of those wonderful questions that has been debated for a long time, and will forever be debated.

The US was involved in the war almost from the beginning. While not sending troops, the US was selling goods to the British almost from the start, and in 1941, passed the "Lend Lease Act", which made it easier to circumvent American laws outlawing selling equipment to England while they were fighting the war. The US was leaning towards joining the war on the side of the Allies the whole time- FDR often talked of how England was alone, fighting for civilization against the barbaric Germans.

That said, let's say the US doesn't actually get involved any more than they were before December 1941. Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union was starting to stall by that point- by January 1942, the Germans had failed to take Moscow. Leningrad and Stalingrad became horrific battlefields where the Germans eventually were defeated. The Germans were thrown back by the Red Army and by summer of 1943, the Russians were attacking the Germans, rather than the other way around.

Bear in mind that the Allies in the west didn't even attack Germany in any meaningful way until Operation Torch- the invasion of North Africa- which happened towards the end of 1942- and even that, they only faced a tiny portion of the German army (the Axis forces in Africa were mostly inferior Italian troops supported by better German troops). The Allies invaded France, finally creating the second front that the Soviets so badly desired, in summer 1944. The Red Army was in Poland and driving towards Germany by that point- the war ended less than a year later when the Red Army took Berlin and Hitler killed himself.

So my point is that the European theater was fought and won mostly by the Russians. By the time the US was even involved in Europe in any meaningful way militarily, the Soviets had already started pushing back the German military. I don't want to discount the hard work of the American, British, French, Polish, and other Allied troops. Their efforts absolutely helped end the war, and ended it far faster than if the Soviets were forced to fight it on their own. But I think the war would've been won by the Allies if the US hadn't actually joined the war.

You might then ask, but what about Japan? Well, that's an interesting side point. Japan had fought a short and bloody war against the Soviets in late 1930s, notably one particular battle called Khalkin Gol, where the Red Army totally thrashed the Japanese Army in a border clash. The Japanese made peace with the Soviets and never again dared to attack them. The war in Asia ended when the US dropped nuclear bombs on Japan, but also when the Soviets declared war on Japan and invaded Japanese controlled territory in China. Don't forget that Japan had signed on to the Axis powers in 1940 (Tripartite Pact), and the US had been quietly supporting Britain, as already mentioned.

And in another point, it was almost impossible for the Japanese to avoid a confrontation with the US. Relations between the two had been strained for years. Japan had invaded China in the 20's and the US opposed that; the subsequent trade embargos by the US really hurt Japan badly, which is partly why they so badly wanted to conquer Indonesia and French Indochina. Pearl Harbor was just Japan's way of saying "we're sick of talking, let's fight." and it was a huge mistake on their part.

This is one of those interesting discussions that'll never be resolved. I'm sure people will disagree with my above assessment, but that's the nice thing about this- the Allies won and we can discuss it!

Answer 3

NO, I am afraid that the allies would not have won the Great war, because the other countries in the allies such as Great Britain had their supply lines all but cut by the German U-Boats. (that is the supply lines from the United states.)

Answer 4

I believe the Allies would have still won but it would have taken up to 2 years longer.