German-British Armistice in 1940

While in hindsight it seems clear that Germany would turn eastwards and destroy itself fighting the Soviet Union, in the 1930's it was the British Empire which appeared to be a 'walking dead man' and in truth the Empire was weakening. It is accepted that even without WW2 India would have had at least 'Home Rule' by the late 40's.
WW2 didn't cause the end of the British Empire in itself, it just quickened the pace of collapse (and according to some historians made the break-up less painfull for Britain).

If the British were only concerned with "saving their ass" they would have made peace with Hitler in 1940, but the British decided they were going to save Europes 'ass' as well, and fought on.
The British had convinced themselves that their Empire was about more than power, that it was a force for good as well. In 1940 they had to decide whether or not this was true. By fighting on, they showed that there was at least a little truth to the myth.

[ 27. November 2003, 06:23 PM: Message edited by: redcoat ]