What if Britain Stayed Neutral in WW1?

Check out this latest video from our "Alternative History" playlist on: "What if Britain Stayed Neutral in WW1?"

Britain lost many men and got into a lot of debt to win this war, but what would the world look like had they just stayed neutral? That's what this video attempts to answer!

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this video are my own and not those of my employers or affiliated organizations.

Peter Hitchens - "The EU is the Continuation of Germany By Other Means"

Alternate History Hub - "What if Germany Won WW1?"

Correction: 05:51 "1909 Germany 3 Dreadnoughts to Britain's 2"

#history #ww1 #britain #germany #alternativehistory #alternatehistory #whatif #alternativehistoryhub #hitchens #whatifalthist #hitchens #ferguson #niall

[yamamotohiromori]

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Vs basicly the whole world. And they hold for around about 4 years is actualy very impresive

[jasonthomasmt]

Underrated channel! You explained this topic very well

[gabrielpiccini]

Damm bro, it deserves a lot more then 20 likes, good luck on the channel, concise and interesting video, hope you grow fast in the near future

[gravk]

Really good video, hope this one does well!!

[richardcully]

Thanks for this, I had long wondered what would have happened, ! is it possible you could leave maps on screen for a little longer? some of them flash by a bit quick.

[rictechow]

Hi SKP. This my favourite historical what if, so thanks for making this (the geopol episode was available 2 am my time so thats tomorrow and I browsed past ones to get my fix). I'm Australian but an older Australian and I do miss the British Empire. Hmmh.

April 25 is ANZAC day and I usually go to a country town for it because the Country Fire Authority breakfast is really good. More seriously I get a little teary whenever I drive into Ballarat or Bendigo thru the Avenue of Honour with each tree being a soldier who lost his life. They go for miles. In a lot of country towns the number of trees are more than the current population. Do you have Avenues of Honour in the UK?

I am with Margret McMillian in that Britain should have stayed out. The dreadnought was a great idea but the biggest of own goals because at a stroke it rendered most of it's navy obsolete and leveled the playing field. I think Jackie Fisher resigned twice during WW1 and he advocated that Britain should Copenhagen the German fleet. Maybe that was the right response.

On the other hand maybe Wilhelm just needed a bit of respecta from his English relos and the world would have been different.

And just maybe if Hanover didn't have Sallic law and good Queen Vic could have inherited a different path would have been trodden.

BTW. I think Britain could have made a killing in manufacturing arms for continent instead of the US.

Cheers

[seangrant]

very underrated channel, subbed and liked!

[LucidFL]

I think a serious possibility you missed is Italy joining the Central Powers. With the UK not in the war trade between two could continue and the Italian fleet would be safe from British ships, the French would have fared far worse against the Germans, a combined Italian and Austro-Hungarian navy could rival the French fleet, and Italy always had eyes on French territory and colonies.

[AlternateHistory]

Hi, you commented on my video of Belgium joining the Central Powers.
Cool video and I will keep an eye on your channel. Very interesting and informative.

[MasterWooten]

If Britain stayed neutral during WW1 then CANZUK with a strong Commonwealth/USA linking might of happened a lot earlier!

[louisxix]

Excellent video! Engaging, eloquent and comprehensive analysis 👍. As an Irishman, thanks for covering us! However, the situation there in 1914 was more complicated than your summary suggests. The Ulster protestants were firmly, an violently, opposed to home rule in Ireland, and had home rule been achieved, there would have been an armed insurrection by Ulster protestants against what they perceived as newfound catholic dominance over Ireland, stripping away hundreds of years of protestant ascendancy domination of the Island. This would have precipitated some kind of a civil war in Ireland, and it is honestly hard to see how London would react. If the liberal government continued in power, they might forcibly quell the protestant insurgency, leading to a mass migration of ulster protestants back to great Britain. Perhaps it would simply result in an earlier division of Ireland into north and south, with both being subject to the British crown.

[danolix]

Good video very informative and good explanation about how it would play out in this alt history.

[BobHerzog]

I think a peace treaty after a shorter and less large war would have been less drastic than the demands formulated in the late stages. Which were also part of a kind of stupid plan to get the Western Allies to the table by makeing them fear what harsh peace terms Germany could impose.

Also many forget that Germany's chief concern at the ouset of the war was actually keeping Austria alive and in the game. So I think a quick war would mostly see a peace treaty aimed at stability for the Austrian Empire (presumably by makeing sure they can reform into a tirpple monarchy that includes a Slavic crown). Given the economic tools of the time that would likley see all Balkan states being forced in only takeing credits and military contracts from Germany and Austria - Hungary.

I'm particulary sure a peace after a war with British neutrality wouldn't see the Germans go for channel ports. Given the sentiments within the German Empire I see them being much more interested in French colonial posessions than any major territorial gains in Europe itself.

[odindave]

Appeared in my feed today for the first time. Youtube algorithms eh. Oh and good video thanks

[yamamotohiromori]

Look at thumbnail : oh, is ths another what if? Lets give it a try
Video start : face cam, suit, libraly background. *Insta sub

[Cotswolds]

I do take issue with this assumption that the war would have been over quickly in 1914 without Britain. Yes the BEF played a big role piercing the gap between the 1st and 2nd German Armies at the Marne, but there were French corps there too, not to mention the French battle line probably is shuffled a lil differently if the BEF wasn't where they were, so it's not inconceivable to me that France may have achieved the same thing to force the German retreat.

[sirhc]

It always amazed me that Switzerland, being right in the middle of Europe, was able to stay neutral in both world wars.

[Cotswolds]

When you say "overtake the German economy by 1930s", by what metric exactly do you mean?? Because in GDP terms, it already was just a hair larger in 1914. Did you mean in terms of industrial output??

[ziggytheassassin]

I view this as an objectively better timeline tbh. European governments never got drowned in debt, communism never ruined russia and then china and fascism never got off the ground. It might have been worse for some of the colonies since independence would be less likely but as a european i see it as better.

[BasicGecko]

YOU could have added uk wanted to make the imperial Federation but it failed d cause of ww1