Hitler: the Victory That Nearly Was

by Bruce Quarrie

Another alternate history book (vice weird WW2) based on a delay of Barabrossa until 1942, and in turn Hitler was able to convince his Japanese allies to delay their Perl Harbour attack also for a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: B002DSX86U
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: David & Charles
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.

Customer Reviews

What nearly was...thank God is wasn't.

Hitler - The Victory That Nearly Was by Bruce Quarrie is one of the first realistic World War Two What-ifs I ever had. The idea is that the invasion of Malta by the Germans would give them control of the Mediterranean and also allow them to win in Africa. After that things just go downhill for the Allies. The author also changes two more things - the invasion of Russia is pushed back and so is the attack against the US forces by the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy. This helps the Third Reich by allowing them more resources and men during the first chapters of the book. The author, besides vast knowledge of World War Two, uses wargames to test and retest many of the battles and actions. His knowledge of the men and equipment allow him to plot out their actions without sounding too much like fantasy. No time machines, no laser guns, no alien invasions.

What Could Have Been

Over all, I really enjoyed this book. The Germans delay their invasion of Russia until May 1942. They invade Malta, which clears up their supply lines, and send more forces to Africa. The British are cut off, and are forced to sue for peace. The Germans then invade Russia, from Iran as well as from Germany. The Russians fall quickly, as the germans have more manpower than historically, plus have access to British heavy bombers to bomb the Russian factories in the Urals. This book is well written up to the end, when Hitler forces the U.S. to surrender using nuclear tipped ICBM's. Not even the Germans were that close to having missiles large enough, or warheads small enough.