Other Roads III · Additional Alternate Outcomes of the Second World War

The third volume in the successful ‘Other Roads’ series, across 20 chapters concludes the considerations of alternate developments in the Second World War. It starts with Hitler being deported from Germany back to Austria in 1924 and continues through developments of the 1930s that would have altered the war to follow including a war between Germany and Poland over Danzig in 1933 and an active French response to the remilitarisation of the Rhineland. It looks at a Soviet invasion of Norway and a Japanese invasion of the USSR. It considers the many ways in which the German advance into France could have been halted and conversely the impact Vichy France fighting actively for the Axis would have had. It looks at the British being more successful on Crete and at Arnhem but also losing the Battle of the Atlantic. It finishes looking at the potential for German jet-powered bombers and the impact on Europe of a Communist victory in Greece.

‘Other Roads III’ is closest in style to the ‘what if?’ collections edited by Peter Tsouras, Robert Crowley, Duncan Brack, Niall Ferguson and Andrew Roberts. It draws on Alexander Rooksmoor’s two decades researching and teaching history and uses the analysis and debate into counter-factuals discussed down the year. It looks at both the detailed changes that could have occurred as well as much broader potential outcomes. This is a book that will fascinate anyone with an interest in why a central event of modern history unfolded the way it did. Anyone who has enjoyed the previous books will find ‘Other Roads III’ a strong, engaging addition to the series, that will undoubtedly stimulate fascinating controversy and debate.