r/HistoryWhatIf Feb 05 '25

[Meta] Announcing /r/TimeTravelWhatIf and taking feedback

9 Upvotes

/r/TimeTravelWhatIf is back under active moderation. While we've had the sub linked in our sidebar for years, the subreddit itself hasn't been actively moderated (the sole mod was apparently suspended some time ago) and participation is nil. I've requested and received control of it via /r/redditrequest.

Time travel questions technically aren't here in HistoryWhatIf, but that doesn't stop the occasional time travel question from being posted and getting popular.

Now the /r/TimeTravelWhatIf can be moderated, I'd like to direct and welcome those questions to that sub.

I'd also like to take feedback on what rules and moderation guidelines we should have in that subreddit. I'd like questions in the vein of The Guns of the South or Island in the Sea of Time, but there are probably lots of other interesting question styles to consider.

What do you all think? You can add your feedback to this post or to the sister post in /r/TimeTravelWhatIf.


r/HistoryWhatIf 9h ago

What if the 22nd amendment limited presidents to three terms instead of two?

30 Upvotes

What Presidents, if any, would make a run for a third term after 1947 if this was the case. I could imagine Clinton and maybe Reagan, although his mental state was deteriorating by his second term. Potentially Obama as well. How would these third attempts have gone and how would they shift the political situation in America?


r/HistoryWhatIf 9h ago

What if China stays out of the Korean war and the UN wins?

13 Upvotes

Say the United States persuades Mao to stay out of the Korean war, perhaps by offering him a substantial demilitarized zone in the North. The United Nations forces defeat North Korea and Korea is united.

What happens next?


r/HistoryWhatIf 5h ago

What if the United States experienced a violent insurrection after the Vietnam War?

3 Upvotes

In 1973 under the Nixon administration, U.S. forces withdrew from Vietnam after 8 years of deployment to aid the South Vietnamese forces against the North. In 1975, South Vietnam fell with the Fall of Saigon, resulting in the unification into what is now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Back in the United States, Vietnam War veterans were left reeling from PTSD and discrimination by both people who were against the war and/or supported the war. With the amount of U.S. casualties, lack of support, and being alienated by the people; followed by psychological trauma and distrust with the government, it would trigger one or several men to take matters into their own hands. Going into lengths to launch a form of insurrection against the government similar to the Russian Revolution or the German Revolution in 1918. It would occur someplace between 1976 and the 1980s, given how much time they can prepare and organize a group of insurrectionists.

How do you think this kind of scenario involving an insurrection by a group of disgruntled veterans would play out and what would the outcome be?


r/HistoryWhatIf 9h ago

What if most of the Middle east oil, was located in Eastern Europe instead?

6 Upvotes

Shortly after WW2 ends, it is discovered that the middle east oil was vastly over estimated and will run out by the 1960s. Meanwhile the vast majority(99%) of the OTL Middle east oil is actually located in Eastern Europe. In the 1960s this oil starts to be discovered. With this much oil in communist hands, how will this change the cold war?

Saudi Arabia-Poland

UAE-Hungary

Qatar-Czechoslovakia

Kuwait- Bulgaria

Iran-Romania

Iraq- Yugoslavia

Persian Gulf- Baltic Sea


r/HistoryWhatIf 20m ago

What if the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada governed with the backing of the NDP in the 1970s?

Upvotes

The Progressive Conservatives were Canada's Official Opposition for much of the 20th Century. Their main opponent, the Liberal Party of Canada, formed government the majority of the time.

Despite being on opposite sides of the political spectrum in many ways, there are some commonalities between the Progressive Conservatives and NDP. The NDP, or New Democratic Party, is a left-wing social democratic/democratic socialist party with ties to labour.

  1. They both had lots of support in Western Canada, especially in rural areas.

  2. Leaders of the two parties got along at times (Diefenbaker and Tommy Douglas).

  3. They get less support from Catholics, Francophones and Quebec.

  4. Their membership and leadership is not as concentrated in the power centres of Montreal or Ottawa as the Liberals.

So the Left-Right coalition could have happened in theory but it didn't. It could have happened in 1972 and if this occured it would have completely reoriented the political dynamic in Canada. For those that are unaware, Pierre Elliott Trudeau was PM for close to 16 years between 1968 and 1984. The PCs were briefly in power in 1979-1980. The Liberals power base was Quebec, Toronto and Ottawa.


r/HistoryWhatIf 10h ago

What if Ukraine won the Polish-Ukrainian war?

4 Upvotes

PoD: The West Ukrainian National Republic (WUNR) is formed earlier and with greater preparation, before the collapse of Austria-Hungary, allowing the Ukrainians to win the war


r/HistoryWhatIf 2h ago

What if Germany was successful in the initial battle of operation sealion and impact to the war?

1 Upvotes

r/HistoryWhatIf 2h ago

What if germany never went at war with Ussr

0 Upvotes

r/HistoryWhatIf 2h ago

What if Liu Bang had successfully transported the prisoners to Mount Li without them escaping?

1 Upvotes

Liu Bang, who would later found the Han Dynasty, started out as a minor official under the Qin Dynasty. As a sheriff, he was tasked with escorting convicts to work on massive imperial projects like the construction of Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum at Mount Li. During one such journey, several prisoners escaped. Under Qin law, this was punishable by death, so instead of returning, Liu Bang released the remaining prisoners and became a fugitive.

Rather than disappear, Liu Bang leaned into rebellion. Some of the freed prisoners joined him, and he took over an abandoned stronghold at Mount Mangdang. He also stayed in secret contact with allies back in Pei County, including Xiao He and Cao Shen, who would later play key roles in his rise. What started as a small outlaw band slowly gained strength as discontent with the Qin grew.

After the fall of the Qin, Liu Bang’s forces grew powerful enough to challenge other rebel leaders, most notably Xiang Yu. Despite being the underdog, Liu Bang outmaneuvered Xiang Yu both politically and militarily, eventually defeating him at the Battle of Gaixia. In 202 BCE, Liu Bang declared himself Emperor Gaozu and established the Han Dynasty.

As emperor, Liu Bang maintained some of the centralized systems from the Qin but softened their harsh legalism. He promoted Confucian ideals alongside legalist structure, creating a balance that would define imperial governance for centuries. The Han Dynasty became a model for future Chinese empires, and even today, the majority ethnic group in China identifies as "Han" Chinese due to the lasting influence of his rule.

But what if Liu Bang had successfully transported the prisoners to Mount Li without incident? Would he have remained a minor official lost to history? Without him, would Xiang Yu have ruled, or would someone else have stepped up to unify China in the post-Qin chaos?


r/HistoryWhatIf 7h ago

What if Christianity never became the Roman religion?

2 Upvotes

Let's assume that (somehow) Christianity still survives into the present day in TTL, however it never becomes the state religion of the Roman Empire and never becomes the majority religion, rather it remains a minority religion.

How would this change the history of Europe and Christianity?


r/HistoryWhatIf 3h ago

Fleshing Out A “What If Japan Won An Alternate World War II?” Scenario

1 Upvotes

So I’m brainstorming a story set in a universe where Japan was on the winning side of World War II. General bullet points:

The Kodoha and Strike North Factions win the internal power struggles. This increases resource allocation to their army (at the Navy’s expense) and leads to Japanese victory at Khalkin Gol

Allied Plans to Intervene in the Winter War and bomb Baku go through, opening hostilities between the Allies and Soviets. This leaves the British feeling a lot of pressure after the Fall of France, and they opt to cut a deal with Japan.

Hitler sees the Soviets tied down fighting in Siberia and Iran against the Anglo-Japanese alliance and invades the Soviets despite their de facto alliance, expecting an easy victory. The war goes better for him than it did historically, but that just means it becomes a bloody quagmire that ruins both nations.

Japan ultimately succeeds in their goal of taking the “Northern Reaource Area” from the USSR, as Stalin is forced to withdraw all but a token force from Siberia to protect the Soviet heartland. There’s some talk of trying to reclaim it after Germany is beaten.

The war ultimately ends with Germany atom bombed and occupied, while the Soviets accept a loser’s peace in order to rebuild and recover.

Afterwards, I’m imagining a Cold War between the Japanese Empire and the US-UK. The US and UK aren’t happy about having to let Japan take a huge chunk of Siberia and expand in Asia, but at the time they had bigger fish to fry. Nobody wants another war, and there’s hope that Japan will be too busy trying to digest their conquests to keep causing trouble.

Things I’m still pondering on:

1: China. If Japan opts for the Strike North Plan there’s no Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, but some kind of conflict seems inevitable. An Imperialist Japan would still be expansionist, and China’s the next obvious target.

2: Indochina. Would Japan still take the opportunity to occupy French-owned Indochina? Once France is occupied by Germany they could take the territory without too much trouble, and while Britain wouldn’t be happy about it I don’t see that being a dealbreaker. On the other hand, taking the land is a lot less useful if Japan’s expansion is focused to the north.

3: Culture. What would this Japanese Empire be like presuming it survived to 2020? I’m imagining there would be a very messy push and pull between traditional Japanese values and Western influence (which is naturally viewed with suspicion given the Cold War against US-UK influence).

4: The US. How would they respond to the renewed Anglo-Japanese alliance? How do they go about getting involved in World War II in this scenario?


r/HistoryWhatIf 6h ago

What if the USSR invaded Japan during WWII?

1 Upvotes

This scenario is split into the following sub-scenarios:

  • Scenario A is a sequel to "What if FDR was killed during the Japanese attack against Pearl Harbor?" This alternate reality follows the timeline in which FDR is killed and Wallace takes over as the new President. With Henry Wallace at Potsdam instead of Truman, I imagine a significantly more vengeful and bloodthirsty Wallace giving Stalin the go-ahead to invade Hokkaido in 1945.
  • Scenario B puts the POD that makes this scenario possible all the way back to 1930. The USSR decides to aid the Nationalists against the Communists in the Civil War in China (In our timeline, Stalin backed Chiang Kai-Shek). Fast forward to 1931. The Mukden Incident occurs but unlike our timeline, several Soviet military advisors are killed during the incident, prompting the USSR to end all diplomatic relations with Japan. As a result, there is no non-aggression pact signed. In response to Japan launching a full scale invasion of China in 1937 following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the USSR declares war on Japan in solidarity with both the Communists and the Nationalists (who were fighting the Chinese Civil War up until this point). In this timeline, the Soviets back the Japanese Communist Party, as well as the Nationalists. In this timeline, the Soviets invade the occupied area of Manchuria (Thus starting the Soviet-Japanese War several years early), which was considered part of Japan despite being a puppet state, with intentions to invade Hokkaido later on (This would eventually be cancelled given Operation Barbarossa still happens in this timeline). Scenario B also means Hitler invades Poland on his own and does not receive any support from the Soviets. The Winter War also doesn't happen either.

r/HistoryWhatIf 6h ago

What if Ukraine won it's war of independence?

1 Upvotes

 Leon Trotsky's parents convert to Eastern Orthodoxy, leading Trotsky to be more culturally east slavic and nationalistic, then instead of being arrested, and being brainwashed by the communists in prison, Leon Trotsky escapes the Russian empire, into the plurality or majority Ukrainian part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, where he becomes a Ukrainian nationalist, and the Ukrainian nationalists that he initially meets, help him successfully conceal his jewish background (so any anti-semites among the Ukrainian nationalists don't drive him into the hands of the communists), and he helps the West Ukrainian National Republic (WUNR) to be formed earlier and with greater pre-planning. Crucially, before the collapse of Austria-Hungary. Ukrainian military committees within the Austro-Hungarian Army are more effective in secretly organizing and stockpiling weapons, and Trotsky helps make it's army more effective in ways he did with the red army in OTL, so when Austria-Hungary collapses, Ukrainian forces are immediately ready and seize control of Lviv and Eastern Galicia more decisively (instead of the initial chaotic fighting and Polish element of surprise) and with the Ukrainians on the offensive, a superior Ukrainian military presence in the region makes it harder for Polish volunteers and returning soldiers to gain a foothold and as the WUNR unites with the UNR, Trotsky gets a high rank in the national Ukrainian army and does his thing. Then the Poles, realizing that the Bolsheviks are the greater threat team up with Ukraine against them. And without Trotsky to help to Bolsheviks, they're able to secure Ukraine's independence


r/HistoryWhatIf 8h ago

What if the 1944 eruption of Mount Vesuvius was more destructive?

1 Upvotes

In March of 1944, Mount Vesuvius was moderately active, with the caldera filling with lava which overflowed the rim on the 18th of March. Then, on the 24th, there was an explosive eruption with a small pyroclastic flow. During this, around 0.01 cubic kilometers of material was ejected from the volcano, giving it a 3 on the VEI scale. For comparison, the AD 79 eruption is estimated to be a VEI 5 eruption, which means there was between 1 and 10 cubic km of ejecta.

As it was, the Allies had landed in Italy the previous year and had been pushing north, holding Naples at the time, and the eruption would have been right at the tail end of the Third Battle of Monte Cassino (which was taking place around 100 km north-west of the volcano). The USAAF also had a base at Pompeii Airfield, a few km away from the eastern base of the volcano, and the tephra and hot ash from the volcano damaged control surfaces, wind screens, and engines of around 80 bombers stationed there.

So, given all of that, what if the Vesuvius eruption in March 1944 was on the same scale as the AD 79 eruption (or possibly even larger)? How would that impact the Allied push towards Rome, or the larger Italian campaign as a whole?


r/HistoryWhatIf 14h ago

What if witches do exists, and our ancestors from year 1500 was just trying to protect society by burning the witches.

2 Upvotes

What if witches do exists, and our ancestors from year 1500 was just trying to protect society by burning the witches. Your thoughts?


r/HistoryWhatIf 8h ago

A modern fencer or hema champion travels back to upper medieval ages with weapons, armor, horse, and money. Could this person become a successful knight

1 Upvotes

r/HistoryWhatIf 15h ago

What if the US warned and demonstrated the nuclear bomb on uninhabited land before Hiroshima?

3 Upvotes

What I mean is what if the US government warned the Japanese by saying they have such a weapon, and will drop it on an uninhabited island off the coast or on the water, pre-warning and allowing the Japanese to send officials to see it, while not killing anyone?

Then issue an ultimatum that by a certain amount of days if they do not surrender, then they will use another on an actual target.

Was this feasible to begin with?

I should say I do understand that many officers and officials didn't believe the Hiroshima attack was real or thought it was exaggerated, and that ultimately no action was taken when people (mainly civilians) were killed, but I understand that to be not believing the US had a second bomb? Would a demonstration prove that they may as Japanese officials believe they wouldn't waste on a non-target?


r/HistoryWhatIf 1d ago

What if JFK & RFK never get killed?

56 Upvotes

In this scenario, it rains in Dallas on that fateful day in 1963, and the parade does not happen. JFK wins in '64, serves another four-year term to '68, with Kennedy passing the baton to LBJ for a run in '68 against Nixon, which Johnson wins. Johnson serves a four-year term and wins re-election in '72, but still has his fatal heart attack on January 22, 1973, moving Hubert Humphrey into the role of POTUS. Humphrey decides not to run in '76 due to a cancer diagnosis, and RFK wins the nomination from the Democrats, and ultimately the '76 election against Ronald Reagan.

How would this shape the '60s and '70s, and what lasting impacts would this scenario have today?


r/HistoryWhatIf 11h ago

In 1986, the Moral Majority places its own version of a fatwa on Margaret Atwood calling for her death. How is her life afterwards? What if someone succeeds in killing her?

0 Upvotes

r/HistoryWhatIf 2h ago

What if Russia became a Satanist country solely because a Christian was rude to Vladimir the Great?

0 Upvotes

Let's say that one of his emissaries brings back a Christian to tell Vladimir how great Christianity is, but during the discussion, they insult Vlad/Vlad's friends/Vlad's family. A fight breaks out, leading to the Christian being tossed out of Kievan Rus and back to wherever the emissary found him. Vladimir is so pissed off by this man that he announces that Russia was will be a satanist country. What happens now?


r/HistoryWhatIf 1d ago

What if the Romans never invaded Britain?

20 Upvotes

If Rome doesn't invade Britain does that free up more resources for advances into germania. Or is the gaulish coast vulnerable to raids from Britain? Would trade links led to Britain becoming part of the roman world regardless? How would a celtic Britain develop, would the tribes eventually unite? After the fall of the western empire would the british celts expand into France, assuming that the Western empire still falls, maybe it doesn't if the germanic tribes are subdued earlier and more completely. Where would hadrian build his wall?


r/HistoryWhatIf 22h ago

What if the Raj of Sarawak had survived to this day?

4 Upvotes

What if the White Rajahs of the Brooke dynasty were still in power? Would Sarawak still be a British protectorate or a fully independent state?


r/HistoryWhatIf 15h ago

What if a Mozarabic state emerged?

1 Upvotes

PoD: the Emirate of cordoba focused so much more on conquering Asturias & keeping the Franks out of the Pyrenees, and less on consolidating their power in Iberia, to the point where they would conquer Asturias & keep the Franks out of the Pyrenees, arming the Mozarebs in the process, then got overthrown by the Mozarebs.

I think a Mozarabic state, would blend it's cultural and religious identity with the administrative and intellectual legacy of al-Andalus and face challenges, including the need to stabilize its borders, fend off rival powers, and navigate the complex web of alliances and hostilities in the Mediterranean.


r/HistoryWhatIf 19h ago

What if Rosemary Kennedy was never lobotomized?

2 Upvotes

r/HistoryWhatIf 21h ago

You find yourself in the Year AD 1000 in Mesoamerica

2 Upvotes

One day you went to sleep in the 21st century. But you awake in a Mesoamerican city such as Chichen Itza in the year 1000 AD. You arrive with nothing. No money, clothes, or futuristic devices.

But you do find yourself able to speak read and write fluently with the locals. Any diseases you have were also rendered gone by the time transfer. Any knowledge you have of the present day also accompanies you.

What do you do?