There are countless threads about wars that could have gone differently or conflicts that could have been prevented, but there aren't a lot of threads about counterfactual conflicts. Although there are a lot of war-game scenarios for future conflicts.
This thread is for listing all of the probable wars and military conflicts that could have occured after the year 1900, but fortunately did not.
I will get the easy and most notable one out of the way. That would be if the Cold War had gone hot between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. There are many potential flashpoints for this conflict like the Cuban Missile Crisis or the Able Archer incident. Who would win such a conflict depends on the year, scenario, and weapons allowed. Overall though, the Warsaw Pact would probably win a conventional conflict (in continental Europe, the Soviets could never land soldiers in the US or even the UK) while nobody would win a thermonuclear conflict.
Another major conflict that could have escalated was the Fashoda conflict. The British Empire and French Empire almost got into a shooting war over African territory. It actually started in 1898, but any major war would have lasted into the 20th Century. If the Fashoda conflict escalated, WW1 ain't happening (unless major European powers ally with both France and UK). I'm not sure who would win or what the goals would be, but the British Empire was the superpower during that era, so I doubt France would end the war better than they started. It is actually been a while since France ended a non-colonial war better than they started.
This thread is for listing all of the probable wars and military conflicts that could have occured after the year 1900, but fortunately did not.
I will get the easy and most notable one out of the way. That would be if the Cold War had gone hot between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. There are many potential flashpoints for this conflict like the Cuban Missile Crisis or the Able Archer incident. Who would win such a conflict depends on the year, scenario, and weapons allowed. Overall though, the Warsaw Pact would probably win a conventional conflict (in continental Europe, the Soviets could never land soldiers in the US or even the UK) while nobody would win a thermonuclear conflict.
Another major conflict that could have escalated was the Fashoda conflict. The British Empire and French Empire almost got into a shooting war over African territory. It actually started in 1898, but any major war would have lasted into the 20th Century. If the Fashoda conflict escalated, WW1 ain't happening (unless major European powers ally with both France and UK). I'm not sure who would win or what the goals would be, but the British Empire was the superpower during that era, so I doubt France would end the war better than they started. It is actually been a while since France ended a non-colonial war better than they started.
