What if Germany Executed Operation Sealion?

[@state_song_xprt]

If Germany had attempted Operation Sealion, the main result would be that in the 21st century amateur historians on the internet would claim Germany could have won WWII if they just hadn't tried to invade Britain.

[@NotiTristan]

So real lolll

[@tom79013]

So what if Germany had waited until 1941 or 42, put Russian resources into building up a proper invasion force and trained a half a million marines?

[@andrews.5212]

​@@tom79013you can't build a fleet capable of contesting the waters of the UK in two years. Also the Luftwaffe lost the battle of Britain.. and Germany was running out of fuel.

[@JacenHawk]

​@@tom79013then the UK would have had time to complete its plans for war preperation, and it would have gone even worse for them, assuming that germany didn't just collapse economically before then.

[@Outlier999]

There were several strategies he could have used to get into a better position for peace negotiations.

[@WrinkledPaper674]

Everyone knows that the reason why Germany didn’t invade Britain was because of the Loch Ness monster

[@RHR199X]

Could you imagine if a group of Plesiosaurs were spotted attacking German ships by the Royal Navy

[@lmpious]

@@RHR199Xno, because it already happened, nessy helped us cross the channel that day..

[@minestar2247]

@@RHR199X oh Yeah, cool historical fantasy book idea

[@michaelthomas5433]

You mean all the mustache man had to do to win WW II was give the Loch Ness Monster tree-fiddy?

[@alexcritical9351]

after Operation Sealion, I took a walk around the Buckingham Palace. suddenly, Winston Churchill appeared behind me and asked me: "could we have a ceasefire?" and then me, leader of the German Reich answered: "yes, what are the conditions?" Churchill replied: "for starters, I need about three fiddy" and then i realized I wasn't talking to the British Prime Minister, but instead I was talking to an 8-story tall sea mosnter from the Protozoic era!

[@BurneraccountXD69]

You know despite the name, Sea Lions are actually more closely related to Wolves than Lions. I know that basically nothing to do with anything, but it's true.

[@kevin_anderson750]

Thanks buddy :)

[@GaryJones69420]

Yep seals and walruses are related to bears and dogs. The Elephant seal is literally a fat bear

[@Bryant-seas]

Ya they are water bears

[@maxdanzl-lage8498]

Funny considering the Main naval tactics was the Wolfpack 🐺 Tatics

[@BurneraccountXD69]

@@Bryant-seas well actually, "Water Bears", or Tardigrades, are very different animal, but I get what you mean.

[@tyvamakes5226]

On the president and chancellor A. H.: The reasons why he declared war on the US was that Donitz wanted to escalate what was essentially an unofficial naval war and that H sincerely believed that Japan could have the means to at least distract the US. H severely underestimated the US economic recovery after nearly a decade with FDR. As for Sealion, I remember a quote when Britain declared war on Germany, H said "What now?". It was a surprise in that Britain actually decided to intervene on Poland (and not of the earlier violations) and that the British blockade would mean both food and oil will now be limited.

[@tyvamakes5226]

Think yourself this at 1941: You have a Germany that seemingly recovered its awful economy with the Four year plan. Meanwhile, the US, under 3 US terms with FDR is still stuck in the Great Depression. Would it not be careless to assume that America won't be ready to aid, let alone fight, for some years after Pearl Harbor? And do all the lend-lease in short demand for Barbarossa and North Africa campaign? Also, I do believe Britain would ram their entire navy just to stop the transports. There's no shot that the 2nd wave would even survive, let alone resupply the 1st wave.

[@tyvamakes5226]

Also, Military History Visualized has done a proper video on WW2 naval landings. This was to be the first direct landings on enemy territory of the entire war. Unlike Normandy, that learned from Sicily and had naval and aerial hegemony plus paratrooper success, Sealion would have none of the experience nor the material that can keep the transports from being destroyed.

[@orangecitrus8056]

does A H stand for amber heard

[@tyvamakes5226]

@@orangecitrus8056 Can you imagine chancellor Heard?

[@notlucas6859]

@@orangecitrus8056 nah bruh thats chancellor austria hungary

[@cameronwixcey9692]

The problem with invading Britain by sea is that British geography hasn't changed. This has meant that every good invasion point already has ruined forts from previous invasion threats. This means the army knows where to fortify and worst case there is a stone wall to hide behind.

[@ianwhitchurch864]

The other thing was that the RN was worried about East Anglia, because the tides weren't as vicious meaning easier landings. But the German Army was insistent on the English Channel, which has 5-8 knot tides sideways, and once you get on shore, you're looking at scenic hills with narrow roads, hedges and stone walls ...

[@Das-ist-k-ein-VIRUS]

To unrealistic,from my 4000 hours of hoi4 I know that Britain never defends their homeland 😂 Edit :Thanks for 1k likes!!! Edit 2:Thanks for 2k likes!!!

[@ASlickNamedPimpback]

why didn't germany just spam subs? smh my head learn the meta

[@comradeeff406]

Tbh they kinda did​@@ASlickNamedPimpback

[@The_whales]

Their army is somehow in Africa and you could just invade northern England and get your steam achievement

[@Triple_Alliance]

@@ASlickNamedPimpbacki just raid convoys in the atlantic and distract the entire english navy

[@DAK_12]

If anybody invades Britain in hoi4 they know they don’t got shit there

[@rewriting-history]

I loved how at the end the Axis could have invaded Spain, in order to get to Gibraltar. If you're not planning on making a video on this, I will do it, I am fascinated by this idea, as it's even more interesting that what if Spain joined the Axis, to which you already have a video.

[@aaronsitoleallopez1645]

Yooo wsp I like yo vids, you should do What if Italy conquered Ethiopia in 1896, ur last video exploded!

[@minestar2247]

Oh Yeah, instead of Germany winning, we should have alt hist speedruns on how fast you could make Germany lose

[@essexclass8168]

Imagine Eisenhower announcing the Great Crusade on June 6th,1944 as Carlist Crusaders storm the French border

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

Spain was a basket case after the Civil War, and was reliant on American food supplies to avert mass starvation. Franco had been made well aware that the day Spain joined the axis was the same day these supplies would cease.

[@brianlong2334]

​@@dovetonsturdee7033 Was it? And in what quantities did the USA deliver to Spain throughout ww2?

[@Inucroft]

My university dissertation was on the anti-invasion defences and Strategies of the British Isles. TLDR- they could land but get cut off and be wiped out before they could reach London. Offical wargames between (West) Germany & UK, the closest they got was the GCHQ defence line The British were willing to lose nearly EVERY SHIP in the Home fleet to block the channel regardless of losses due to passive (mines) or active (naval or ariel) actions. And while not publically known, Churchill authorised the use of Chemical Weapons to be used in the event of an invasion (such as using bi-planes to gas the beaches)

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

The first challenge would have been the German inability to land meaningful forces in the first place. When your enemy has around 70 destroyers and light cruisers based within 5 hours steaming of Dover, as evidenced by the RN Pink List of 16 September, 1940, and can call up around 500 or so smaller warships, such as sloops, corvettes, fleet & auxiliary minesweepers, gunboats, torpedo boats & armed trawlers in support, then trying to land troops from converted river & canal barges, towed by tugs and trawlers at little more than walking pace, and almost unescorted, is really not a good idea.

[@richardhobbs7360]

@@dovetonsturdee7033 And additionally would have the benefit of any Empire ships not tied up with Japan (So pretty much only Canada) and the fact the US would be forced to join if the UK was at threat, it takes "huh, the Royal Navy is the strongest in the world, that's gonna be hard to beat" too "Well, even if they couldn't solo us and Italy, while fending off Japan, it doesn't matter, they've just doubled with the next two strongest Navies" (By war end it went US-UK-Canada, though that could be argued it was only possible because the US destroyed Japans navy which was arguably second only to Britain in 1939, and the UK destroyed Germany and Italy)

[@tigerland4328]

​@@richardhobbs7360Japan was not in the war in September 1940

[@richardhobbs7360]

@@tigerland4328 still had ships and men out there in preparation for it

[@KR72534]

Is your thesis available? How diffult was the research?

[@minestar2247]

Basically the three scenarios are: -germany loses -germany loses -germany loses Kinda feels like thise two Iran Iraq war videos, can t win in any way

[@42carlos]

This is probably your best video yet (from editing to narration and details), well done brother

[@Theth3]

Yeah the editing was much better in this video, just showing more than the map

[@ApostleOfDarkness]

Goering during the Battle of Britain: "Nah, I'd win"

[@Catitect]

Nah I'd loose

[@justagamer5932]

"well if the british use there radar and raf it might cause me a little bit of trouble" "but would you lose" "Nah i'd win" Uk:"Ahh yes my anti luftwaffe technique that i hadn't use since the great war"

[@ApostleOfDarkness]

@@justagamer5932 should be more like: "Well, if the British pilots keep on eating carrots, the RAF might cause me a little bit of trouble"

[@justagamer5932]

​@@ApostleOfDarknessthis comment section is now turning to lobotomy kaisen and i like it

[@narayasuiryoku1397]

​@@ApostleOfDarknessBut would you lose?

[@Riddleiculous632]

SUGGESTIONS: What if the Crusades Succeeded? What if the Ottomans modernised? What if Cortes failed? What if the Confederacy won the American Civil War? What if France won the Franco-Prussian War? What if Sweden won the Great Northern War? What if the German Communists Succeeded? What if the League of Three Emporers was Successful? What if the Reconquista failed?

[@ishkanark6725]

"What if Italy was competent?" Now now don't be unreasonable

[@quandangle9397]

@@ishkanark6725 yeah that is PREPOSTEROUS

[@Riddleiculous632]

@@ishkanark6725 lmao

[@Snp2024]

Italy Slander never stop lol

[@oc8636]

Instead of Ottomans winning at Vienna, id much rather have a what if the Ottomans successfully modernized

[@JevansUK]

People think of Dad's army when the home guard get's mentioned but they miss a point that Wilson was an experienced ww1 officer, Jones had seen at least 3 wars and even Mainwaring had been a trained officer. These men might have been middle age, but they knew their local area and a great number of them had fought before Germans walking into a prepared field of fire are going to be slowed down, especially without armour support.

[@andyf4292]

ever heard of the home guard pike?

[@ianwhitchurch864]

Awful truth time. They were issued, but in 1941, not in 1940 when invasion loomed, and not only to the Home Guard " The shortage of rifles was such that many of our units had to give up these weapons and were given instead pikes and cudgels. The pikes consisted of bayonets mounted on heavy piping, and the cudgels were of a design so novel that the gas-pipe handles were heavier than the small iron heads" Thats General Sir Frederick Pile, former General Officer Commanding Anti-aircraft command Great Britain. Quoted p95 of DM Clarke's 'Arming the British Home Guard, 194-1944' here core.ac.uk/download/140537.pdf

[@ninofromkitchennightmares1497]

That’s what people forget World War 1 was only 2 decades ago any soldier in the home front has more than likely fought in the First World War in 1918 Or earlier. If you were 18 in 1914 you’d still be at the end of your prime by 1940

[@jackx4311]

@@andyf4292 *PRAT.*

[@jackx4311]

I've downloaded a copy of a doctoral thesis on the Home Guard and its equipemnt. One of the points made by the author was that the *average* age of the Home Guard was about 25. He explained that a sizeable proportion of them were men who were in reserved, so could not be called up, nor could they voluntarily enlist; another hefty chunk were lads who were not old enough to be called up, and who saw enlisting in the Home Guard as a way to do their bit. Then, as you say, the NCOs and officers were largely drawn from men who had served and seen combat in WWI. It's worth noting, too, that one of the writers of the 'Dad's Army' script said that his father (who'd served in the HG) had not and would not watch a single episode, saying it bore no more relation to the real Home Guard than 'Allo, Allo' did to the real French Resistance.

[@galnamedCheri]

This editing style is actually really cool, whoever did it, god bless you

[@yondie491]

I'd love for all yt channels to offer "here is the certain with non-stop animation sound effects playing every time something pops up on the screen" and "we didn't add the excess noise in this version" so we can see how many of us hate the pandering to the non-attention-having crowd

[@MrAlbaniaOsc]

Honey wake up, a new possible history video dropped.

[@thepopulationofkazakhstan1116]

its still not the modern empires one :(

[@Zimbabweballenthusiast]

I wish I had someone to wake up so that we could watch possible history videos together

[@haydenrhysliutono5352]

We all do

[@KingGeorgeV1914]

Who are you? How’d you get in my house? I don’t have a girlfriend!!!

[@fatbuds001]

i was kinda sceptic at the begging but i think he might dethrone alternatehistoryhub

[@adamtheatomlive]

Love the video. Immediately liked it when I found out it was based off of an actual scholastic paper. We need more professional content on KZbin, god bless your work PH ❤💪

[@Hollows1997]

Disaster for the Germans. Considering the difficulties the allies had with D-Day and all of their advantages you’d say there is no chance for the Germans. Firstly, the allies had 3/4/5 successful amphibious operations (depending on which you class as being D-Day style assaults) in which to draw from. Secondly, complete aerial supremacy, something the Germans never achieved in 1940. Thirdly, complete naval supremacy, something that Germany would never have been able to achieve. Especially when you consider that the Royal Navy would have been almost suicidal in its determination to fight off a German invasion, even though this too would be unlikely given the state of the Kreigsmarine following the Invasion of Norway. Additionally, the Germans planned on using a captured port (assuming they weren’t all destroyed by the defenders, just as the Germans did in 1944) to not only land troops but keep them supplied. Not to mention that the German economy would grind to a halt on the basis that they planned on using river barges to land on beaches, some of which didn’t have engines and would have had to have been towed. As opposed to the 4,000+ purpose built landing craft used on Operation Neptune and the 2 Mulberry Harbours. Finally, by late Summer 1940, we had replaced a large part of the equipment lost at Dunkirk. And Britain would have been defended by genuine British troops and volunteers, in contrast to the Ost Battalions of captured POW’s put into German forces defending Normandy.

[@JLAvey]

I read one scenario where the invasion was a total disaster yet it forced a political solution in London. I think it all comes down to the will power of whoever is head of the British government.

[@ianwhitchurch864]

Yes, but there are many Nazi-wanks on the internet. And, remember, in 1939 Chamberlain and the rest of his cabinet thought that the bombers would get through, that those bombers would be using chemical weapons against civilians. And they declared war anyway.

[@gengarzilla1685]

And given that it'd be Churchill, well...

[@ianwhitchurch864]

@@gengarzilla1685 It's not just Churchill - it's Attlee and Simon as well.

[@DanBeech-ht7sw]

If Hitler had lost an army in England, the Wehrmacht would have removed the nazis from power.

[@vertexed5540]

If the invasion is launched at the very height of German power before the American entry, even a modest landing would definitely spook the British people and government. Churchill's hawkish position was hardly popular prewar, and support for the continuation of hostilities was iirc dropping up until the American entry

[@TristanTzara100]

I have heard it suggested that some almost wished that the Germans would try Sealion as it was such a preposterous idea that it might have shortened the war considerably.

[@Battyj]

Winston churchill himself said: "We are waiting for the long promised invasion. So are the fishes" sea lion would have just ended in the entire German surface fleet being wiped out, another giant defeat for the luftwaffe and any soldier they send would be killed or captured. The royal navy was simply too large for a naval invasion to occur, the RAF had gained air supremacy and the army was strong enough to fight off whatever little force they could land if they got lucky

[@TristanTzara100]

@@Battyj Yes of course. I think it was actually Churchill I was thinking of though I had forgotten. Thanks for that.

[@Battyj]

@NazarioOrbe so horribly misinformed. A direct blockade with submarines would be useless, if they got too close to Britain they'd just be hunted down and sunk. The only chance they had was convoy raiding, that failed, because by 1940 Britain already knee how to effectively counter submarines, that was made even easier with the enigma code being cracked. Germany made 1.1 thousand submarines that's more than any other country ever. The luftwaffe lost. Barbarossa was launched because the axis was desperately in need of oil, they had no choice, if they sent forces to Africa, 1, they probably wouldn't even make it, 2, they wouldn't be able to supply them, 3, theyd probably just lose regardless, and 4, what is the point of taking the suez, they couldn't blockade it, and even if they could, there wasn't much coming from the Indian ocean anyway, especially at that point. Anything absolutely essential could have just been taken around South Africa. Food, oil and weapons that Britain didn't produce itself was pretty much only coming from the Americas

[@tigerland4328]

​​@NazarioOrbethat's incorrect. The British actually had a larger supply of oil than Germany did throughout the war. Also due to the UK'S far superior shipbuilding industry and the longer and more complex process of building U-boats as opposed to merchant ships and escort vessels a successful german siege of the UK by cutting the sea lanes was simply not possible due to the size of the Royal navy and the number of British merchant ships. (The UK had the largest navy in the world from 1939-44 and at the start of hostilities one in every three merchant vessels on the planet was British). Interestingly the British were actually closer to starvation in 1917 then they were at anytime during ww2. It's long since been proven that starving the UK into surrender by U-boat siege would simply not have worked.

[@tigerland4328]

@NazarioOrbe but the Germans couldn't have sank enough of the British ships carrying the oil to the UK. Also Germany couldn't have put the forces it did into Barbarossa into Africa as the the port facilities could not support the logistics. It was estimated by the German general staff that no more than six German divisions could be supplied in North Africa and that the maximum amount of axis divisions on the continent could not exceed 13. So all these people saying the Wehrmacht could have put 50 divisions in north Africa are simply incorrect. With that being said if the Soviets joined the axis then I agree with you that holding the oil fields of the middle east would have been far,far more difficult for the British

[@pigpig252]

Where I live in the South of England, evidence of the British preparations is still everywhere. We sometimes boat down the Thames and almost every bend of it has a pillbox, It's very common for farmers to have a bunker or two on their land, and the village next to mine (Coleshill) has a tunnel system under it pre-built for resistance operations. It's very interesting to think of what could have been. Given Churchill's paranoia on the subject, I believe the British resistance would have been a far more coordinated one than the French for example. (That is not to disparage the French resistance, but to point out that they were a large number of disparate groups that often opposed each other)

[@gamingbuddy9042]

Basically Germany couldn't win

[@nathanmalik7056]

For Operation Sea Lion that is.

[@DouglasThomson-pl6sl]

The main factor in rendering Sealion almost impossible was that despite successfully invading Norway, the Kriegsmarine took an absolute hammering losing a cruiser and most of it's destroyer fleet. These were the very ships which would have been crucial in defending their invasion fleet.

[@chaz706]

The Kriegsmarine was in no shape to even hope to support such an operation. Furthermore: logistics even after a successful landing (which would be near impossible on its own) would doom any further progress. Germany didn't have enough of anything required for such an operation to work. Comparing this to operation Overlord which has full naval support (nearly uncontested waters), a pre built harbor and the red ball express as a followup. Operation Sea Lion would never leave the drawing board. Good thing it didn't come to that... Particularly in the days just after Dunkirk.

[@Lazardeve2]

WHERE IS THE GOD DAMN ALL EMPIRES OF THE MODERN AGE VIDEO???? WHERE IS IT??? WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR OH SO LONG!

[@allison122477]

Be patient

[@ВячеславВячеславыч-с7с]

@@allison122477 NO

[@cypanipinto7239]

@@allison122477 NUH UH.

[@randombritishperson.]

​@@allison122477I crave the video of modern empires.

[@ryanrg1545]

Am i the only one that didn't forget about the "My viewers voted on the Treaty of Versailles"?

[@nickparka7981]

Two things: Although the British army was still of decent size following Dunkirk, they lacked basically any and all heavy equipment. Following the defeat of France, Britain had less than 600,000 rifles, 12,000 Bren Guns and 500 artillery pieces total on the Home Islands (which is including literal museum pieces). Obviously that would be replenished over time (especially with US sales/aid), depending on how much time it takes Germany to prepare but its a really dreadful state. So even though Germany would have massive issues supplying its forces, I think there is a decent chance that a landed force, especially with armor, would be able to at the very least prevent itself from being pushed back into the sea. There is also the Luftwaffe transport fleet which could transfer troops and supplies by air. Like in the video, any invasion of the UK was a looooong shot, but if we add in some counter factuals, I think its slightly more plausible, especially for possibly forcing an armistice even if they cant actually advance through the whole of Britain. The second note was the loss of the destroyer fleet. 40 destroyers is no small amount and while the German surface fleet will never be able to beat the royal navy, that loss of escorts could seriously impact the security of convoys later on. There is huge debate on how close the UK actually came to being starved out at any point, but straining it even further cant help the situation. The UK had 184 destroyers at the start of the War and Wikipedia has them losing 3 in 1939 and 37 in 1940. Doubling that loss figure is really significant. This also impacts the UK's ability to engage the IJN in the Far East. I don't think the outcome of the war would have changed but I think the course may have. I mean Malta was days away from surrendering in OTL until a convoy came at the last minute. Convoys and landing craft availability was also a huge problem because they had to constantly be shuffled around the globe to various naval invasions. I love your videos because they let me think of stuff like this :), please keep it up! Also I'm writing this at work so if I missed something in the video or have my facts wrong let me know!

[@nugat1597]

The British army had about half as many anti-tank guns as there were tanks in 8 Panzer-divisions

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

​@@nugat1597the Germans never had enough barges to tow all their tanks to the other side of the Channel. With good weather they could move 2 miles an hour... some would need to travel a full day. Once ashore they might be able to steal some food or live off rations for a while but their tanks and trucks would need fuel, and lots of it. Gas stations would lnow they were coming and would not be available In 1944, with the Allies ruling the sky amd the water, a storm caused them to stop unloading supplies for 3 days. They had to halt all offensive operations, ration artillery fires and generally just hibernate... with ports they brought themselves and oceanworty ships. The Germans could never supply a larger force

[@aquila4460]

The thing is the German invasion force wouldn't have had any heavy equipment either. The Germans had no way of actually disembarking heavy equipment without the use of the Harbor, which the british would deny them at all costs, while the british had at least the heavy equipment they still had. While whatever tanks the Germans managed to bring onto the British isle would likely struggle with even the most minor river crossing, without any of the equipment they would usually use in that situation and a total lack of heavy support.

[@jgw9990]

I don't think you have any comprehension of how hard an amphibious invasion is. D Day was extremely hard for the allies despite having naval, air, land and intelligence supremacy. Plus a French insurgency and most the German army in the Soviet Union. How is Germany going to succeed without any of those things. Britain would know about the plans through the enigma. This is before even considering that London is next to the coast. So Germany would have to conquer the largest British city quickly, somehow? I just don't see how.

[@jgw9990]

​@@nugat1597There's no way Germany could land 8 armoured divisions in Britain, so that's irrelevant.

[@benceveber3927]

New editing is gold

[@mat3jjj]

Kinda miss the old theme music

[@beans00001]

Too many swoosh sound effects

[@Bumpy_18]

New style looks good, just remove the swoosh sounds please

[@wile123456]

Worst editing trend of these days

[@shi5369]

That and the music is a bit loud

[@yondie491]

​@@wile123456 worse than overlapping sentences so that one sentence starts before the previous one ends? Worse than subtitles only display one word at a time, and that word has to be animated the entire 0.37 seconds it's on screen? It's a terrible editing style, but I wouldn't say worst. And yes, I'm an editor. And yes, I hate the audience that drives these shite trends.

[@NovikNikolovic]

Day 4 of asking for a "What if the Romani people had a state after WW2?"

[@theducknamednewepicla9507]

Ok

[@KanzlerOttoVonBismarck]

But where would it even be? Also, as far as I know, they don't even want one

[@edelweiss7928]

Israel but worse

[@minestar2247]

@@edelweiss7928 you can t do worst than israel, like, litterally

[@minestar2247]

Ok, that's an interesting idea, but you'd need Stalin to really want it(and Yugoslavia to agree)

[@Ratta907]

You know when possible history doesn’t upload in 7 days he’s cooking.

[@sergioconfero6049]

The guy wrote the dissertation in Latex. Well done.

[@yeeyee5057]

"But would you lose Sealion?" "Nah, I'd win."

[@pilum3705]

One small pet peeve. You mentioning the Dunkirk evacuees for the defense of Britain misses the fact that a Germany that is far more certain of invading Britain is far less likely to let as many escape.

[@stanchpandora3658]

Bruh they never "let" the British escape

[@pilum3705]

@@stanchpandora3658 Of course they did not let them simply walk out. But a Germany that has no illusions of possibly making peace with Britain and rather actively desires to invade would be more likely to invest more resources in the operation.

[@edelweiss7928]

@@stanchpandora3658They did though lmao, even after all we did against them, the Germans still wanted peace with us

[@net2150]

I also thought about that during the vid. These evacuees, after getting back on island, served important role in royal navy and fleet as I know, and training new pilots and sailors would take time, which Germans could use for their plans

[@essexclass8168]

@@edelweiss7928 they didn’t, Goering was just being Goring and their ground forces were tired from all the meth they took racing to the sea. The mostly French defense of the roads to Dunkirk also had something to do with it.

[@GoranXII]

Several issues with the plan not mentioned here: 1) The Heer and Kriegsmarine couldn't agree on how broad the front was to be. The Heer wanted a wide front, the Kriegsmarine a narrow one. 2) The Germans had no landing-craft, so they were planing to use converted river-barges and pontoon ferries. And most of the barges (>50%) were utterly unpowered, while many of the rest didn't have enough power to overcome the tides in the Strait of Dover. 3) The Germans didn't have enough sailors to man all of the required vessels, so would have to use impressed sailors from France and the Low Countries. 4) The British were prepared to throw _everything_ , including chemical weapons into the mix.

[@sebping7205]

Yeah, the Germans would have to use basically every old sailboat they could find. There is a maritime museum not far from my home, where one such boat that was to be slightly refitted with a single machine gun and place for troops, is shown. They really would have taken everything :o

[@GoranXII]

@@sebping7205 Sailboats with civilian crews don't do well when they're being shot up. Nor could they have used them to get tanks across, not troops in any significant numbers, since most of them wouldn't have been equipped to unload over the beach.

[@Counterfactualy_no]

All that showed in the title of the video for me was "What if Germany Executed" and my brain auto completed order 66 lol

[@pmcshow44]

That's just the night of long knives

[@latviabol]

isn't order 66 operation barbarossa

[@Ghosty.maria7]

Sealion was more stupid than trying to fly by flapping your arms

[@AtomicSub]

Lol

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Please Make more interactive history: suggestion For the next one. Napoleónic wars

[@shockwave2617]

Love the new style!

[@AqriOmgRL]

Germany forgot to get the navy production bonus from the focus tree

[@emperor_msk]

It's funny how ppl even suggest Sea Lion when the Wehrmacht troops that DO land would just become target practice for the Home Guard

[@bomoose]

traget practice

[@liua42]

@@bomooseglerng

[@quandangle9397]

@@liua42 blorg

[@Møraq152]

Yea but after the fall of France the British Army didnt have enough supplies in heavy guns

[@emperor_msk]

@@Møraq152 That really doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that Operation Sea Lion was more of a paper threat and actually carrying it out would require years of naval buildup to even come close to challenge the Royal Navy. Any landing craft trying to make beachhead in Britain would just be sunk, and the few lucky ones that do land would just get killed by the Home Guard. So essentially they are trapped in this island without any way of resupplying them. So yeah, Sea Lion doesn't work.

[@KyloHen4162]

Idk why Hitler didn’t like Sealion. Like why would he be pessimistic about naval invading if the naval country.

[@Tritonfromneptune]

Haiii Amelia, i wanted to tell you I’ve been watching your content for a long time and it always makes me laugh!

[@michaelleez18]

what if the soviet union was more prepared for operation barbarossa?

[@Burh643]

A.K.A Stalin dosen't put his head into the sand

[@alt_account4866]

​@@Burh643 or A.K.A. he didn't kill all of his generals

[@minestar2247]

Well, they were technically prepared (they were once invaded by all sides during the Russian civil war), but I agree with Stalin, you'd need to be really dumb to try and invade the Soviet union while being at war with britain

[@saidblanco7696]

If he would have believed Sorge? Then the war would have ended in 1944. The Soviets had the biggest fleet of tanks, combat aircraft and artillery pieces in 1941, most of those things were destroyed/captured/damaged in the first 2 months of Barbarossa due to the Soviets being unprepared and unorganized.

[@minestar2247]

@@saidblanco7696 oh, so all of Germany would have been part of the Soviet sphere. And seeing how east Germany fairs now, the Soviet collapse might be even more catastrophic than it already was

[@GoofySillyGuy]

dude i love your new maps and how detailed they are! keep up the great work, genuinely.

[@Igarashi-yo]

:D Also nice new presentation methods, I believe?

[@l.m.buraggio9743]

I really like the music You're using - jazz is an awesome choice for alternate history

[@r2dinoboy166]

I love Possible History!

[@bukanIqbal375]

(Romantically)

[@NinjaKitty91_]

1:40 probably one of the most memed movie scenes around. Downfall is a very good movie

[@planetarystargazer]

What If the US/United States 🇺🇸 never nuked Japan 🇯🇵 in WW2

[@Polon_8]

Japan would propably still surrender, maybe a week or two later, with the Soviets advancing through manchuria and many cities including Tokio being leveled by Amercian fire bombing they didnt have much hope left

[@syedmohammadbaqirrizvi5577]

​@@Polon_8you're underestimating Japanese fanaticism the invasion of Japanese islands would be at least take 1947

[@randombritishperson.]

​@@syedmohammadbaqirrizvi5577I don't think the Japanese could hold back the Soviets for that long.

[@SnickersKnight]

Japan lasts a little longer and both sides gain a lot of casualties. Japan ends up split North/South like Korea.

[@syedmohammadbaqirrizvi5577]

@@randombritishperson. I am talking about the home islands ,mate. Soviet navy would not play a major role in any amphibious assault in my opinion and Japanese would have mobilised tens of millions of people

[@YouTubeshortscoller78]

Ok this is so far, for a alternative history channel called possible history to make this

[@floor737]

What if War broke out between Norway and Denmark in 1933? (Please Norway)

[@roystonpapworth9520]

Difference between the German and British viewpoint was that Germany focussed on tactics as didn't have a clue about strategy. For all its reputation of being a wonder army, the German army was a mugger fit only for limited campaigns where it had overwhelming force.. The invasion of France was an outlier against a peer. Even against Poland, the German army was having a hard time until their Soviet allies joined in.

[@awesomestickguy]

This is incorrect, he has never played hoi4

[@ASlickNamedPimpback]

7:35 not to mention a LOT of them were both commanded by and actually consisted of Great War veterans - basically the experts in defense

[@serbiankanyewest]

I was in school 2 hours ago and we learned about WW2. This was literally what I was wondered about.

[@what-dk5ul]

Remember when the Wagner group uprising in Russia where they marched to Moscow but decided to cut it off last minute? You should do an alternate history video on what would have happened if they didnt end their march and instead successfully won the battle at Moscow.

[@jackthorton10]

Indeed

[@sb3033]

Was waiting for this😊

[@chrism7395]

Comparing all the logistics and training that went into D Day with Operation Sealion makes Sealion look like amateur hour. It makes me wonder if the planned operation and the prepared (for want of a better word) landing craft were actually an attempt to persuade Britain to make peace rather than a legitimate invasion plan.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

Below I've "copy and pasted" the preamble to Hitler's "Fuhrerbefehl No. 16" (Fuhrer Directive 16) issued from the "Berghof" (Hitler's "holiday home" in Bavaria), on 16th July 1940 to the German armed forces high command (OKW). The directive was transmitted over secure landlines encrypted in what the Germans believed was an unbreakable code, showing that it was NOT for the digest of the British and simply designed to initmidate them into coming to the surrender table, but was a true indication of Hitler's intent. "The Fuhrer And Supreme Commander Of The Armed Forces. The Fuhrer's Headquarters. 16th July, 1940. 7 copies Directive No. 16 -- On Preparations For A Landing Operation Against England Since England, in spite of her hopeless military situation, shows no signs of being ready to come to an understanding, I have decided to prepare a landing operation against England, and, if necessary, to carry it out. The aim of this operation will be to eliminate the English homeland as a base for the prosecution of the war against Germany and, if necessary, to occupy it completely."

[@stargazer-elite]

Suggestion: What if the good relations of the USA and Russian empire turned into a full on alliance after the sale of Alaska?

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Oh we'd would have had some fun though... _"The Petroleum Warfare Department (PWD) was a government department established in Britain in 1940 in response to the invasion crisis during World War II, when Germany apparently would invade the country. The department was initially tasked with developing the uses of petroleum as a weapon of war, and it oversaw the introduction of a wide range of flame warfare weapons."_ We had, amongst other terrifying weapons, figured out how to set the sea on fire. Sort of permanently.

[@ryanhodin5014]

And given how astonishingly heavily the German plans for troop transport involved wooden barges and sailing ships... Well. Hopefully the fish that inhabit Channel in such an alternative world enjoy the taste of char-broiled hairless great apes.

[@alexanderkolchak1]

new map is insanely good

[@BRAINDEADWASTAKEN]

Haven't commented in a while but thank you for the content, keep up the great vids!

[@BRAINDEADWASTAKEN]

And I forgot to mention this new editing style? The movement of the vids and slides, looks awesome! I like the change

[@LORDDOC-hi7lk]

The Germans did have semi air superiority in our timeline when they were focused on hitting airfields instead of cities, but when the allies bombed core German territory the German airforce hit cities instead of airfields which lost them the air war

[@kairon5249]

counterintuitively, if sealion succeeded germany would actually lose the war harder then they did in our timeline, because stalin would actually prepare.

[@John.McMillan]

​@@kairon5249 Ehhhhhhh. That's heavily debatable. Stalin was already preparing, just slowly. He knew war with Germany was coming, but he didn't think Hitler would break the pact before its time was up, which he thought gave him plenty of time. I doubt Sealion would make Stalin prepare much faster and almost definitely wouldn't result in a Soviet declaration on Germany.

[@kairon5249]

@@John.McMillan he was preparing for a war that would happen in '42 or '43 (whenever he thought germany would stop fighting britain). If sealion succeeded in '40 or '41 he recognizes the imminent threat

[@kairon5249]

@@John.McMillan the preparations stalin was making where long term and strategic (building up the army, logistics, airforce, etc), but he neglected planning on the tactical level, leading to the decimation of his army. There may not be a significant difference in army buildup, but the army that would face the germans would be far more prepared

[@RIB555]

Ayo love the new editing style (especially the music choice) dude! One thing I will say was that it did feel a little weird to not have your usual title card with the video thumbnail near the start of the video, but other than that the new style is really phenomenal! Keep up the good work, you’re doing awesome!

[@vincevanhartingsveldt1801]

What if the allies did not lend lease the Soviets.

[@thatguyriverside]

​@@John.McMillanThe trucks also helped, but yeah, at worst it would have delayed a Soviet advance into Germany proper

[@awesomebrawel4050]

The soviets lose simple

[@joaojonito3764]

Basically, the soviets suffer more, the germans advance further into them, focusing more resources on the war with the soviets and keeping Control of their far greater eastern european holdings, while the allies manage to advance much further, leading to a weaket soviet union and sphere

[@ultimatestuff7111]

Soviets lose, they were supplied with 15% of their total military equipment, and half of their resources, meaning the Soviets can’t afford to produce enough, also the Soviets will starve even worse than in our time line

[@moonshinei]

video has been made, basically the Soviets still win but the Allies would be in a better spot

[@plasmakitten4261]

Operation Sea Lion, the plan so batshit insane that even angry Austrian painter thought it was a bad idea

[@Bluesonofman]

Sea Lion could have only worked in the one timeline were America was in the Axis And Japan was in the Allies.

[@tigerland4328]

But in 1940 America wouldn't have yet been in the axis and Japan wouldn't have yet been with the allies

[@manueldeabreu1980]

Hitler wasn't fulled Methed up until later in the war. He did go against conventional doctrine, which is why a LOT of Germany's early attacks work. If Germany got 90,000 troops and equipment across the channel the British would be in trouble. They lost a LOT of their heavy equipment in their retreat from Dunkirk. The ONLY shot Sea Lion works is Germany goes all in on an invasion with every front moving all air and naval operations to the Channel. They would have to mine the crap out of the channel on the ends. All airborne operations would have to be on bombing air bases and getting a foot hold for a focused invasion area. The entire U-Boat fleet would have to be focused on bottling up the channel with support from air bases. All paratroop divisions would have to be sacrificed in getting behind the invasion beaches. They would have to have air dominance and cause so much damage to the Royal Navy that being able to reinforce and resupply a foot hold.

[@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684]

"all paratroop divisions"? They had 1 fallschirmjager division which had lost a fair number of troops during their operations in Norway & the low countries in Apr-June 1940, but more importantly was the number of TRANSPORT aircraft they nazis had lost during those ops. 150 Ju 52s were lost in Norway and 125 Ju 52s were lost in the Netherlands alone, The Germans themselves considered they had enough transport aircraft to carry just 4,500 Paratroopers during any attempted invasion of Britain.... as that was all they had ANY hope of keeping supplied if they suffered no further losses of their Ju 52 fleet (which was incredibly unlikely) You've also not explained how the German army was going to sneak its 2,500 towed canal barges past the world's largest navy at the stately speed of 3 knots !!! (Any faster and the barges would swamp). They also had to contend with nightly mine laying operations by the fleet of minelaying ships the RN had stationed in the English Channel and southern part of the North sea. And before you say "the luftwaffe would take care of the Royal Navy", you would be referring to the same luftwaffe that had completely failed to stop the Royal Navy and the flotilla of hundreds of small ships from evacuating 338,000 Aliied troops from the coast of Northern France just 2 months earlier, after Herman Goering had promised they would do just that. Also by "the entire U-boat fleet" you're referring to the 57 U boats they possessed in 1940.... of which at any one time only a THIRD could be on operational patrols. No matter which way you try to dress it up, the nazis had utterly NO hope of successfully conquering the UK in 1940 (or at any other time for that matter!!!)

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

Getting 90,000 troops across the Channel would have required the construction of a hell of a lot of Montgolfier balloons, because there was no other way of doing it. Good luck with trying to mine the Channel with six auxiliary minelayers, at a time when the Royal Navy were carrying out regular nightly destroyer patrols through the Channel from Plymouth & the Nore, and had around four hundred fleet and auxiliary minesweepers in service. Entire U-boat fleet? Do you mean every one of the 27 operational boats in service, of which on average 13 were at sea on any one day in September. If you discount the large Type IXs, sent out into the Atlantic to monitor weather conditions in support of Sealion, that leaves around eight. By the way, the Kriegsmarine had already sent three Type IIs into the Channel in October, 1939. All three were immediately sunk. You have already had an answer, so I will not repeat much of it. I could recommend a book or two on the subject, as it seems that your knowledge is somewhat lacking, if it would help?

[@Bansique]

I noticed the different editing, and while i do like it, PLEASE use that "whoosh" sound less, it gets annoying really quick.

[@ShadowOfThePit]

Ah yes, can't wait for the planned video "What if Operation Sealion Happened", that sounds very interesting

[@Videoman2000]

You could make a video what if Germany executed Operation Tannenbaum (Invasion of Switzerland), and focused on the relation after the war.

[@theexplosive1062]

Love the new style of storytelling with speech bubbles and such, the jazz is also great!

[@jamesguitar7384]

My dad was an RAF pilot at the time and he dropped incendiaries on the German invasion barges . He saw them, lots of them. He was in a Blenheim bomber and they were absolutely forbidden to speak of it to avoid causing panic . Not even an entry in his log book which we have .

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

Panic? When the presence of the barges was well-known?

[@jamesguitar7384]

@@dovetonsturdee7033 I replied to you and fir some reason it was erased . I'll try again. I had a conversation with another Battle of Britain pilot who confirmed that this would be kept quiet to avoid panic. They were there . I believed them .

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

@@jamesguitar7384 Actually, the first Blenheim attacks on barge ports began on 5 September. For the whole of August, nightly patrols by RN destroyers from the Nore & from Plymouth through the Channel had regularly inspected, and often shelled, the same barge ports. I can well believe that pilots, just like warship crews, were ordered not to discuss their activities, but not for the avoidance of panic, but for reasons of security. People would not suddenly panic about the possibility of an invasion, when they had been being warned about it since July.

[@jamesguitar7384]

@@dovetonsturdee7033 I'm sure you can well believe something . So can I. The man , who still had his big moustache used the word panic . My father only said that raiding the barges was not really problematic because they got back out over the channe before the Germans could react properly. I cannot question the pilot I spoke to and neither can you .

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

@@jamesguitar7384 'I'm sure you can well believe something.' I can if it is supported by documented facts. I did interview a number of veterans from WW2 as part of my degree. None ever suggested that there was likely to have been any panic if German barges were attacked. In fact, the actions would have been applauded. You haven't explained why you think people would have panicked, by the way.

[@aaronsitoleallopez1645]

Yo wsp, I’ve been your fan since you’re 1812 video and I just wanted to tell you that I like your videos but I would probably suggest you do a video on what if Italy conquered Ethiopia in 1896 by then, I will probably get my paycheck to donate some bread. Thx

[@bradenanders9105]

A disaster of this scale that went against strategic sense of so many would almost certainly result in the Wermacht couping the National Socialist government, especially after they heard they were still planning Barborosa.

[@jackx4311]

Two points the narrator may have overlooked. Firstly, it would have been almost impossible for German troops to make a mass landing in England *unless* they first captured a port, with cranes in working order. Reason? The only vessels they had available were a limited number of merchant ships and Rhine barges - neither of which could land and off-load on beaches! Thames barges of that era had flat bottoms and were designed to be grounded to off-load in minor creeks and rivers, which was why they proved so useful at Dunkirk. Rhine barges were deep draught vessels, which relied on access to crane-equipped docks to load and unload. Shipping and landing thousands of troops on open beaches would have been extremely slow and difficult, and motor vehicles and artillery would be almost impossible - yet there aren't many few suitable harbours along the Kent and Sussex coast, and *all* of them could be put out of action by sinking a single block ship in the narrow entrances. Second point; why did Germany *have* to invade Russia at all? Oil. Thanks to the blockades put around Germany and German controlled territory by the Royal Navy and RAF, it was almost impossible for Germany to import significant levels of oil from North or South America, and the stubbord defence of the 8th Army in North Africa prevented the Afrika Korps from reaching the Middle East oilfields. The only sources available in Europe were in Hungary and Romania - but their entire supply wasn't even enough to keep German industry going at full output - let alone the armed forces, too. Both Chamberlain and Churchill refused to accept even the non-aggression pact which Hitler offered us in 1940 (let alone a full surrender); yes, for all his failings in some respects, Chamberlain never wavered on that. Our subsequent air and sea blockade around Europe certainly didn't defeat Hitler's forces - but it *did* mean that, unless he got access to huge amounts of oil, we'd made it impossible for him to win.

[@cedo3333]

00:45 Yeah sorry i'm about to close the video... The generals were not all nazi Guderian? Rommel? etc...

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

Their personal views really don't matter. They were working for the regime. Opposition to hitler only seemed to appear when events turned against Germany.

[@John.McMillan]

They were party members and a part of Nazi Hi-Com. Get over yourself mate.

[@painsufferingandcheese]

🤓

[@paulohagan3309]

Everyone talks about what might have happened if Germany had delayed Barbarossa. If they had just delayed a year, etc. Germany could not delay Barbarossa; they had to get to the oil fields in Baku asap. Germany was desperately short of oil. In fact they could have kept the war going for at least another year or two if oil had not been their primary weakness. If they had got to the oil fields in Baku some have argued it would have done them no good. The Soviets would have destroyed the oil producing facilities before the Nazis arrived and the Germans did not have the technological capabilities to fix the damage. However, the rationale to go try to get sufficient oil supplies drove them to attack the Soviet Union. towards the end, the fact that they didn't have the oil to keep going drove them to surrender on top of the allies being on top of them in Germany.

[@ΓιάννηςΣούνδιας-χ4μ]

When is the Perfect Entente video coming?

[@yersennn]

I love that you used a thesis!

[@Follower_of_Yeshua]

What if Sweden Colononized Siberia Instead of Russia?

[@Follower_of_Yeshua]

*So They Maybe Could have Invaded Novgorod and In Need of Editional Land and Resorces gone and Colonized East Ward Which Maybe Could have Started som Muscovite-Swedish Colonization Race.

[@alex_zetsu]

Scenario I is the most realistic Sealion out of these 2, I doubt II would possibly happen since the more planning goes into this, the more obvious it is that it's a bad idea. Invading the Soviet Union was bad in hindsight, but it sort of made sense. Both the Germans and the British expected the Soviets to fall, so it wasn't just blind optimism. Also it was common sense that you couldn't fight a war successfully while suffering from a famine. One thing you might miss is that while the German invasion of 59K troops could easily be militarily defeated, it could spook parliament. All the military and ex-military guys (except maybe Churchill who managed to lose to the Ottomans of all people) are capable of analysis and know it poses no threat, but the politicians could be spooked. They might demand the Royal Navy commit its capital ships to stop the resupply of the invasion force. It is possible parliament puts so much pressure on Churchill to get some results that he couldn't play the slow game. The RN might lose a few ships to mines and air strikes, but the sheer size of it means it wouldn't matter much and they would be able to wreak havoc on the German resupply attempts. The invasion would be defeated sooner with the commitment of the battleships, although they might lose 3 or more. In fact the sheer size of the navy means that even if the RAF lost 70% of its force trying to save France, any German attempt to block the channel would be doomed.

[@cevawos]

‏‪13:52‬‏ surely they aren't stupid enough to drag in another major enamy! Well yes, yes they are, very much so

[@skreeonk4233]

LESGOO, PH UPLOADED, WAKE UP PEOPLE🗣️🗣️

[@davemillerthesoldier2426]

what kind of PH ????

[@emillybech3837]

"Since the soviets had longer to prepare and the germans had less troops to fight the soviets, the soviets would manage to liberate less land" Yup, makes sense, and thanks for the explanation

[@Theover4000]

I love the new editing style!

[@polishscribe674]

Then weraboos would say "If not for the Sea Lion Germany would win the war!?

[@murderbus]

Dude your content is awesome! Please keep up the grind you deserve the success.

[@domschra]

"i can take uk" "In a fight right?" "IN A FIGHT RIGHT????"

[@Outlier999]

Hitler never should have considered Sealion. But then, he never should have invaded Poland 🇵🇱 in the first place.

[@exlipse717]

What if Churchill never existed

[@Kraed3]

Not much

[@jmum189]

Keeping an invasion force supplied on an island requires lots of ships, and the Germans didn`t have them. What they did have would have been sunk one by one, its troops would have run out of ammunition, weapons, and food. We was wounded after Dunkirk, but by no means defeated.

[@derevianne1108]

it feels like this jazz is messing too much with the rest of the audio

[@oracle372]

Nah

[@johnhudghton3535]

Agreed. It is annoying.

[@TheHellishOtherWriter]

Imma make a movie on the Finno-Korean Hyperwar, and it's mostly cuz of your content and how I felt inspired to make my own channel.

[@grogfrog9564]

The new map is really good

[@Rudnaz_127]

I like this newer style of the video

[@rct3LP]

Wehraboos are crying right now

[@jamaicafosvaldo]

Video 11 of asking Possible History for a video about "If Valery Sablin was succesful"

[@GreatLakesSongs]

25 seconds ago, 7 views, 3 likes, time is 10:00 AM on 6/21/2024. I was the third comment. Finished video on 10:18 AM. The video has 506 likes, 2,745 views and was posted 19 minutes ago. It has around 80 comments.

[@Igarashi-yo]

hehehea

[@Ntinos7971]

you were 3rd

[@GreatLakesSongs]

@@Ntinos7971 yeah i changed it

[@ybl1075]

You should really do a What if everything went great for Japan Or even Ottomans, i feel like both could’ve benefited if they took initiative and advantage of some situations to they were in especially Japan, and I believe it would be one of your best vids ever💯

[@isaacskinner5565]

Day 22 of asking for 'what if everything went perfect for Australia'

[@danielleayala2171]

That sounds llike a good idea!