What if it kicked off big, what would you do?

Question

A question that i find many guys talking about is what would you do if britain was in the same situation is was in in 1938. Would the britain of today be able to fight off a massive attack from the continent. But individually, would you defend Britain?

Some interesting points. Like saying it would be very different now. Im not really talking about the military, they are great. But imagine we took such losses as having to conscript. Guys between the ages of 18-35 getting a letter in the post saying they have to fight. Think of that!

If world war 3 is fought with nuclear weapons. Then world war 4 will be fought with sticks and stones.

Answer 1

we r allies with most of the countrys in the continent . i would fight 4 england if there was no choice . i m from portugal but live here now . u got 2 support the country that suports u .

Answer 2

I despise the comments such as "America will protect you!". What if it was America who decided to attack Britain. I'm not saying it can't happen, once Bush has all the oil in the World, he's gonna want all the money and best countries. We may be allies but after all wasnt Germany allied with Italy and Russia in the Second World War, what happened there?!

And if there's nothing left in the UK that people want why are so many immigrants continually crossing all the borders in Europe just to end up in the UK. I mean there's a fair few countries between here and Albania!

Answer 3

I am in the Royal navy so I would probably be already out there but I would like to think the do-gooders and pacifist and all those who presently are not prepared to stand up for the country that provides them a living would do their bit.

I think people do need to think about their level of commitment to this country and if you do not want to be a part of it and defend it's shores then maybe you need to leave.

As for an attack from the continent - it is so unlikely because other European countries are so alike at present - overborne with lefties and disloyal immigrants who would make raging such a war impossible.

Answer 4

I think Britain could fight off a massive attack from Europe.
And even though I am not British, if it were Canada having to draft people I would go with a heart and a half, but only if it was the same situation as WWII, where you really are fighting for peace & your country.

Answer 5

people have become a lot weaker now . ' how do you cook without a microwave' etc. would you defend Britain?- - i would because i love it. but i think the biggest threat would be from civil war within Britain. while me and all the other mugs were off getting shot, a load of people would rip the place apart from within--- cant see the same situation as 1938 happening in the same way again, it would be different.

Answer 6

I certainley would, Britain would be able to fight off an attack from mainland Europe, We are battlehardened and have the best trained military in the world,

Not to mention the the pride that young Brits have.

If anyone did start to get the upper hand on Britain, Im pretty sure that we could call on our friends from across the Atlantic Ocean to help us.

Answer 7

I was in the Royal Navy during the Falklands Conflict. My ship was hit by an Exocet missile and I lost some friends. It took me years to come to terms with what I saw. If the scenario you described happened then you would be called up to defend our country and have no choice. As it stands today, we do not have enough weaponry to defend ourselves apart from a dozen nuclear missiles. If it came to a normal war we would be out gunned. We would have to rely on prompt help from the Americans. If they waited like they did in the 1940's it would be too late. The level of technology means that the invaders would be able to conquer us in days not months. I wouldn't want too, but if it came to being ruled by a country who is hell bent on euthanasia and genocide, I would fight as the alternative would be the same unless your a blonde, blue eyed, Caucasian.

Answer 8

I think most people in this country are closer - in attitude - to the contiental nations than to those d@mn religious nutjob yankees.
I have felt more 'at home' in Utrecht or Dortmund, than I have in Cincinatti or Seattle.
Don't get me wrong, I love Las Vegas or NY for a visit, but I could never live there.

I dont think it will come to war with the continent.
Would I fight 'for Britain'? - No, I couldn't foght for soemthing so vague as a national border...But I could fight for an ideal or right.

Answer 9

We just couldn't do it the same. I don't think we westerners could gel together fast enough to pull in the same direction. Modern warfare is too swift and too remote controlled.

For a modern war to get right down to hand-to-hand contact between soldiers and civilians in a European nation things would have to have come a very long way and by then the politicians would be looking for a way out, if they hadn't been blotted out of existence with a nicely aimed "pre-emptive" missile strike.

I grew up reading Tom Clancy novels, those early ones where the baddies were the Eastern Block and the "enemy" had a tangible face you could punch. Back then (only in the 80s) it was becoming increasingly technical to get a raw recruit, dragged out of a life of loafing at university, to point a weapon correctly and squeeze the trigger when told to at the enemy we had been bred to fear.

Nowadays, it would be extremely impossible to fight a long conventional war the way they were fought 60 years ago. Our big weapons require a degree of skill and knowledge in all sorts of fields just to turn them on. No pick it up and shoot any more.

If a war in Europe (or Asia...) took so long to finish that the trained armies had been exhausted, the war would end and the civilian population would do what is being done in Irak. Use stones and pitchforks if necessary, or more cunningly, wait and form underground movements to repell their conquerors.

Something pretty nasty would have to happen to all the electronic gadgetry the armies use for them to be brought down to a level where a quickly trained civilian could dent an opposing force and nowadays, anything like that would have affected the societies at war (I'm thinking a low yield nuclear weapon wiping out all the gizmos with an Electro-Magnetic Pulse as we see in some movies.) People might have more immediate worries like feeding themselves, than fighting an enemy.

And this is without opening that insidious can of worms that is 21st century terrorism. No more car bombs on a quiet sidestreet or in front of a government building. Now it is us. You and me and everyone else in a mall, or on a bus, or a train or anywhere a regular person goes about their usual life. No more wondering at a car that rides lower than usual because it is chock full of explosives. The stuff that goes bang inside a schoolbag can shut down airports, parkings, you name it.

And it is that fear of knowing we're already in that war we didn't ask for or vote for and can't shout loud enough for common sense to be heard and worse things be avoided. All that hate that simmered in the middle east a few years ago is going to be stoked by someone and cause a really big mess.

Your duty to your country and your way of life is to inform yourself as much as possible: get real information so that you don't get swayed by panicking media, learn survival skills for yourself and for your family, and try to lead a good life without becoming biased against normal foreign people who live their lives next to you. We're too jumpy and this is what the terrorists feed on. We panic, they win. We stand firm in the democratic liberties our fathers and grandfathers fought for 60 years ago, they wither and die.

Now, what would I do? Given my track record in games, the world would be safer if no one depended on me to lead a platoon gun in hand... but I'd drive an ambulance into a hail of mortar fire and back out for you.

Answer 10

If the UK ceased its war-mongering ways and became a peaceful nation, there is no reason for anyone to want to attack. Almost all natural resources are already depleted, so there's nothing that anybody else wants. Wars are only started and run by politicians who are dragged along by the secret controllers of the planet.
By disbanding the military, and disposing of the secret services, the UK would be a much safer place.

Answer 11

mmm difficult to say as times have changed so much in terms of warfare. The way a modern army operates means that conscription wouldnt work as it would be impossible to train civillians to use modern equipment in a reasonable time frame.

I personally wouldnt volunteer unless i truly believed that the danger was imminant and grave. Even then i would be fighting to protect my family rather than some notion of queen and country which i dont believe in