Gunfire at Tsingtao in January 1939 might have started war in the Far East before the European conflict. Some versions of that counterfactual claim such a clash could have prevented the Second World War as it unfolded. The broader war probably still would have occurred even if the first crisis developed differently. The naval confrontation carried immediate danger, while its global consequences remain counterfactual.
Notable Point · 25:34-25:56
Would a January 1939 clash have changed the world war?
The near engagement prompts a counterfactual about an early Far Eastern war, though the wider Second World War probably would still have occurred.