There were pivotal events. If Hitler had been a little more strategic, he would have waited to attack Russia until *after* he'd invaded and controlled the UK. That was a *huge* error. If Tojo had been a little more strategic, he would have waited to attack the US *after* he'd coordinated with Hitler on squeezing Russia (they barely defended Stalingrad: imagine if they'd had a two front war with no help from the Brits and the US still in isolationist mode...). These people in charge were real meatheads, but you can find them throughout history (even Napoleon overstepped, just like Hitler, who then didn't learn from history...).
Speculation is always tricky, and the historians know more facts, but--although I really think most SciFi is dreck--do read Philip K. Dick's
. If you decide you like the genre, you might also like L. Sprague deCamp's
(which is set 2000 years earlier in Rome....).
What if pigs flew?
Buffy
