Denmark becomes a strategic solution and flashpoint

German annexation of Denmark is one possible response to the canal's absence, although the counterfactual terrain required to prevent the canal could complicate an invasion. A Copenhagen base could give Germany access to both the Baltic and North Sea. German control of Denmark could also change Swedish and Norwegian attitudes towards Berlin. That prospect would alarm Britain, whose past interventions show its sensitivity to control of the Danish straits. Depending on political leadership, the dispute could weaken the Anglo-German naval race or provoke an earlier war over Denmark.