In this new volume of What if… Book of Alternative Military History, experts examine defining moments in battles, wars and conflicts through the ages and across the globe, and paint a picture of how things could have gone.We’ll explore an alternate reality and look at what would have happened.
Welcome to What if… Book of Alternative Military History
THE CONFEDERACY HAD WON AT ANTIETAM? • Confederate victory at Antietam might have contributed to the end of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency in the election of 1864
THE USA HAD LAUNCHED AN INVASION OF CANADA? • If War Plan Red had gone ahead, American troops would have marched on British imperial interests in North America and the Atlantic
NAPOLEON HAD WON AT TRAFALGAR? • Nelson’s victory saved Britain from the threat of invasion, but could the British have lost the 1805 naval battle?
ARGENTINA HAD WON THE FALKLANDS WAR? • Margaret Thatcher gambled on direct military action. But an Argentine victory could have left both her and Britain’s reputation in tatters
OPERATION VALKYRIE HAD ASSASSINATED HITLER? • If desperate members of Hitler’s closest circle seized one last chance to eliminate the Nazi leader, would the course of history be forever changed?
THE USA HAD WON THE VIETNAM WAR? • With the US successful in Vietnam, it could have adopted a more aggressive, less gun-shy foreign policy…
THE USSR HAD INVENTED THE ATOMIC BOMB FIRST? • A Soviet victory in the race for the atomic bomb could have meant a very different Cold War
PHILIP II HAD LOST THE BATTLE OF CHAERONEA? • If Philip II of Macedon had lost the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE the history of the entire world may have looked very different
THE DUNKIRK EVACUATION HAD FAILED? • In 1940 a vast rescue operation miraculously saved the majority of Britain’s army, but what would failure have meant in the war against the Nazis?
POMPEY HAD DEFEATED JULIUS CAESAR? • How the outcome of one battle would have changed the history of the Roman Empire as we know it
THE FRANKS HAD LOST THE BATTLE OF TOURS? • With a Muslim success at Tours, the culture, religion and power of the Arab world could reach deeper into Europe than ever before
THE SPANISH EMPIRE HAD TRIED TO INVADE CHINA? • Could a Spanish invasion in the 16th century have resulted in a war with China?
THE RAF HAD LOST THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN? • The possible consequences of Britain’s aerial defeat in 1940 have fascinated historians and perplexed military strategists for decades
JOAN OF ARC HADN’T BROKEN THE SIEGE OF ORLEANS? • A teenage girl in armour, with a God-given vision of victory, held the fate of France in her hands
SOUTH AMERICA HAD JOINED WORLD WAR I? • If Britain had convinced Chile and Argentina to side with the Allies, the Great War could have been a truly global conflict
BOUDICCA’S REVOLUTION HAD SUCCEEDED? • In 60-61 CE the queen of the Iceni tribe led a bloody rebellion that very nearly ended the Roman occupation of Britain
ABLE ARCHER 83 HAD TURNED TO WAR? • With NATO mounting a training exercise for launching a nuclear strike, the Soviet Union thought it was the real thing and prepared to retaliate
SULEIMAN I HAD SEIZED VIENNA? • Local leaders look to make peace with new power in the region, but Charles V vows to reconquer the Austrian capital for Christendom
JAPAN HAD REFUSED TO SURRENDER? • Massive invasions by the Americans and the Soviets planned after first-ever atomic bomb attacks fail to dent Japan’s resolve
THE CHINESE COMMUNISTS HAD LOST? • The communist takeover of China in 1949 helped shape the Cold War and the modern world, but what if they’d lost?
MEXICO HAD DEFEATED THE UNITED STATES? • What would have happened had Mexico maintained its claim on...