Q&A ยท 3:53:34-3:55:28

Would a world without the interwar naval treaties avoid war?

Unrestricted construction would probably not prevent the European war, but it could force Japan out of the naval race sooner.

Question

Would the absence of the Washington and London naval treaties have prevented or limited the Second World War?

Short answer

Probably not in Europe, but an unrestricted race might have forced Japan to concede earlier and changed or prevented the Far Eastern war.

Notes

Britain and the United States possessed deeper industrial and financial capacity than Japan in an unrestricted naval competition. Japan might therefore have abandoned the race, accepted a distant third place, or damaged its own economy trying to keep pace. That altered balance could change or prevent the Far Eastern conflict even though Europe would probably still produce Hitler and war. Larger British naval expenditure would also slow debt repayment and might bring the financial dispute with the United States forward. A stronger and more widely deployed British fleet might also have discouraged Germany from investing in a small force of surface raiders and battleships. An Anglo-American war is considered unlikely in this scenario.