Turning points in history.

In My Humble Opinion
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Are there any points in history where relatively minor changes to events would change the course of the world.

This question is on behalf of a group of freinds are trying to put togther a roleplaying game based on time travel. The basic premise is that changing time is possible, but only at truly critical points. Basically you could go back and kill Hitler, and it would probably only delay the war for a few years because someone would take his place. However if you warned the Nazis about the true location of D-day landings in advance the course of the war could have been drastically altered because the allies would have failed to make a beachhead. What would need to be changed and the best/worst effects.

What they’re looking for is points in history where changes that could be made by a small group of well-equipped individuals could change the history of the world. My example of the D-day landings is probably not the best, since although the loss of life was minimised by the Germans defending the wrong beaches, I suspect the landings would have succeeded anyway. I’m sure however that such points existed, and that the clever folk here would know them.

I’m posting this here rather than in GD because I want answers that are imaginative without getting bogged down in historical detail. Scenarios only have to be plausible, not probable. Any time period, any where is acceptable. Any modern equipment that can be carried by one person is allowable but due to the nature of the game nothing that’s gpoing to show up in legends/newspapers is allowable, so no taking portable nukes into a battlefield. Aside from that get creative.
Please

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Maybe your OP put me in mind of WW2.

Winston Churchill was forced to resign as first Lord of the Admiralty after the Gallipoli fiasco; perhaps someone could go back in time and convince him to return to his career as war correspondent, rather than take up that post as the Minister of Munition in 1917. It must have taken him considerable courage to front up for government service again.

Another idea - could someone play “caller from Porlock” for Thomas Edison? Some of the things he invented would still have come to pass, but perhaps not all of them. Something similar for another historical figure: “Albert, why do you want to spend so much time daydreaming? You’ve got a perfectly good job as a patents clerk, just concentrate on that…”

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Potentially world affecting events, hm?

How about these…

Assassination of Julius Caesar, 44 BC. Potential change to the entire future of Roman history, therefore altering incalculably the history of Western Civilization.

The Battle Of Hastings, 1066 BC. No Norman control of England. The Angevin Empire of England would never have existed and the Hundred Years War fought for its regain would fade into non-history. Everything in England and France would diverge fundamentally from that point, thus completely changing course of events in Western Europe and the colonization of America.

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Louis XVI escapes the revolutionaries in France-instead of dying on the guillotine, he escapes to England, where he rallies his loyal followers, and returns to France. The revolution dies, and the monarchy is restored. hence, there is no napoleon (he remains an obscure officer in the French army). France remains the leading monarchy in Europe, and Germany never rises to nationhood. Hence, there are no world wars 1 and 2, no holocaust, and no state of Israel. The world is at peace-no Bin Laden!

5

Persuade Hitler to delay or cancel his invasion of Russia, and to focus his attentions in North Africa and Western Europe. Africa falls, Britain falls, America has no staging area from which to regain Europe. Hitler bides his time, hits Stalin a little later and – potentially – overwhelms Russia. Even if Russia cannot be beaten, the end result is a world still under the thumb of Nazi ideology, and a Europe of blackshirts and social Darwinism.

Alternatively, any of a half-dozen flashpoints during the Cold War could leave us in a cold, glassy waste right about now.

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Respectively in the 8th and 17th centuries. Islamic influence in Western Europe was halted at Tours. Nine centuries later, Islamic domination (but not influence) stopped at the gates of Vienna.

We can’t imagine how a world dominated by an all-Islamic Europe would have turned out. Instead of the Soviet Union and the US as “super powers,” it might have been Turkey, India, and China.

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If you had killed off the first few explorers to the Americas, then there may never have been born a United States.

Or maybe convinced the British to attack Washington at Valley Forge when morale was at its lowest, it might have crushed the rebellion.

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Set your Wayback Machine for 323 BC and shoot Alexander up with a good dose of antibiotics. After he recovers from the illness that killed him at 33, he goes on to conquer the other half of the world and lives long enough to create a stable empire.

For a more recent event, go back to 1914 and take out Gavril Princep. Without his entirely fortuitous assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Princip literally ran into him on a street corner) there wouldn’t have been a first World War. Which means no second World War, no Russian Revolution, no Holocaust, no decline in European Imperialism, no end to American isolationism, no rise of Japan as a world power, a long delay in development of aircraft, automobiles, radio, etc.

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Well, I once saw this movie where Tom Hanks was staying at the Watergate hotel…

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Brilliant people. Thanks so much.

Any chance of getting some more ‘ancient’ suggestions. I loved the idea of a Muslim superpower.

I love this place.

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Sounds like you might want to take a look at Chrononauts- a tabletop card game that deals with turning-points in history.

There are three books I’d recommend off the top of my head (and conveniently part of the pile of books next to my computer)[ul][]Great Turning Points In History - I disagree with most of the selections in this book. Or, perhaps, I should say that they aren’t necessarily applicable to what you’re looking for. That is, a few points the author selects are “The Opening of Japan, 1853”, “Stanley Meets Livingstone, 1871”, “Flight of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, 1903”. While these may indeed be pivotal events in history, whether they happened then or ten years later is mostly irrelevant.[]What If? The World’s Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been - This is worth picking up. Do it do it do it, everyone. Amazon conveniently has the entire first chapter accessible from the web, which deals with the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C. What if Sennacherib wiped out the nascent Jewish religion?What If? 2: Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been - The first was specifically military turning points; this is more philosophical, social, religious, etc. Very definitely worth it. (I’m griping quietly about going to the ChiDope this weekend, as I’d almost rather stay at home and read this.)[/ul]

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You want more? I got more. This is a partial list I once posted on an alternate history discussion group.

What if …

… King Saul of Israel was successful in his attempt to kill his son-in-law David ben-Jesse in 1020 BC? David would not have survived to eventually overthrow Saul and found his own dynasty.

… the Chaldean dynasty founded by Nabu-apla-usur not succeded in seizing control of Babylon in 626 BC? Nabu-apla-usur’s eldest son, Nabu-kudurri-usur, would not have succeded his father and would not have been in power to overrun Jerusalem and order the Jews into exile.

… the Persian fleet had beaten the Greeks at Salamis in 480 BC? The Persians might have conquered Greece and either destroyed Hellenic culture or forced it into captivity and exile.

… Alexander was killed while leading a charge at the battle of Granicus in 334 BC? His conquest of Persia would have been aborted at its beginning and the Macedonian rule over Greece would have fallen apart.

… Perdiccas had been strong enough to establish his control over the other sucessors after Alexander’s death in 323 BC?

… the Roman senate had accepted Pyrrhus’ peace offer after his early victories in 280 BC?

… King Ying Cheng of Ch’in did not survive the assassination attempt made against him in 227 BC? He would not have gone on to unify China and become the first emperor (Ch’in Shih Huang Ti).

… Hannibal had brought seige equipment with him when he invaded Italy in 220 BC? He might have been able to capture Rome after he defeated the legions at Cannae in 216.

… Archimedes had been taken alive, as the Roman commander Marcellus had ordered, when Syracuse fell in 212 BC? Archimedes’ practical knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering may have influenced the development of Rome.

… Julius Caesar was defeated by Pompeius at the battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC?

… Augustus had decided to launch a full punitive conquest into Germany after Varus’ defeat in 9 AD?

… Saul of Tarsus decided Rome was too evil to convert and headed East instead of West to preach after his conversion?

… The High Priest Kartir had died and Emperor Shapur had lived in 272? Kartir was an orthodox zealot and Shapur was a religious liberal and the religious life of the Persian empire would have been completely changed.

… the Emperor Galerius had kept better watch on his “guest” Constantine and he was still a captive when his father Constantius died in 306?

… Arius, the missionary who converted a number of barbarian kingdoms to Christianity, had been more orthodox in his convictions? Arianist beliefs kept the Goths, Vandals, Visigoths, and Burgundians from assilimating into the portions of the Roman Empire they occupied.

… Augustine of Hippo had kept his early Manichaean faith and not converted to Christianity in 384? Christianity would have lost and Manichaeanism would have gained a strong advocate.

… Prince Ysuf As’ar Yath’ar (aka Dhu Nuwas) of Yemen had defeated the Ethiopean invasion of 525 and his chosen state religion of Judaism had survived?

… the Mononobe and Nokatomi clans had defeated Soga no Umako at the battle of Shigisen in 587? Soga would never have made his far-reaching changes in Japanese religion, politics, and culture.

… the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius acted on his plan to relocate his throne to North Africa when Constantinople was threatened in 619?

… Muhammed had named his relative Ali as his chosen sucessor before his death in 632?

… Robert Guiscard had not died of natural causes in 1085? He might have succeeded in conquering Byzantium and establishing a Norman dynasty in the East.

… Rodrigo Diaz (El Cid) had not been reconciled with King Alfonso of Valencia in 1086 and remained in the service of the Moorish ruler al-Mu’tamin?

… the child Temujin had been killed along with his father in 1169? He would not have grown up to unite the Mongol tribes and be named Chingis Khan.

… it hadn’t rained the night before the battle of Agincourt in 1415? The French cavalry charge would have been able to attack at full speed and could have reached the English line before being destroyed by archer fire.

… the Chinese exploration program led by Jeng Ho not been shut down in 1425?

… Dekanahwideh had not succeeded in united the Iroquois nations in 1451?

… Mehmet had not died suddenly in 1481 in the midst of his invasion of Italy?

… King John II of Portugal had agreed to Christopher Columbus’ request and financed his trans-Atlantic voyage in 1484?

… King Richard III of England had defeated Henry Tudor at Bosworth Field in 1485? The Plantagenet dynasty would have continued and the Tudor dynasty would not have been.

… Suleyman had not allowed the survivors of the fall of Rhodes in 1522 to go free? The Knights of St John would not have relocated to Malta and spent the next four decades campaigning against him.

… Oda Nobunaga had been killed when he lead an outnumbered surprise attack against the forces of Imagawa Yoshimoto in 1560? Nobunaga would have died before he could conquer half of Japan, restore the Ashikaga shogunate, or advance his successors, Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

… the weather had favored the Spanish rather than the English in 1588 and the Armada had succeeded in landing troops in England?

… King Louis XIII of France had backed Samuel de Champlain’s 1610 proposal to start a major colonization program in Canada?

… King James I of England’s son Henry did not die of natural causes in 1612 and inherited the throne in 1625 instead of his younger brother Charles? Henry probably would have avoided Charles’ mistakes of pursuing a pointless war against Spain, increasing religious controversy, and antagonizing Parliament to the point of civil war.

… Sebastien Vauban had not been pardoned in 1653 for participating in the Prince de Conde’s revolt? France may not have benefitted from his military innovations through the rest of the 17th century.

… Isaac Newton’s mother stood by her original decision to remove her son from school in 1658 in order for him to take over the family farm?

… William of Orange’s attempt to cross the channel failed due to bad weather and King James II defeated his Parliamentary opponents in 1688?

… Charles XII of Sweden had accepted the Russian peace offers made to him in 1708?

… Canada, rather than Guadeloupe, had been returned to French control by the Treaty of Paris in 1763? It’s been argued that the removal of French power from North America led to the American independence movement.

… George Washington had been unable to intervene and stop the Newburg movement from marching on Washington in 1783?

… the anti-federalists had succeeded in 1789 and the United States had become a loose federation of sovereign nations?

… the British squadron commanded by Horatio Nelson successfully intercepted the French squadron bound for Egypt in 1798? Nelson almost certainly would have destroyed the French expedition and its commander Napoleon Bonaparte.

… the disputed Presidential election of 1800 had gone to Aaron Burr rather than Thomas Jefferson?

… Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, then Prince Royal of Sweden, had moved his troops to Paris faster in 1814 and taken the French throne after Napoleon abdicated? Bernadotte’s successors may have proved as able at keeping the French crown as they have been with Sweden’s.

… the British had won the battle of New Orleans in 1815? While the Treaty of Ghent was already signed, this battle would have affected how well its terms were followed. Jackson’s defeat would have also ended his political career.

… Hung Hsiu-ch’uan had passed his civil service exam in 1827 and not had his religious revelation and gone on to lead the Taiping Rebellion?

… William Walker did not break with Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1855 and was able to keep power in Nicaragua with his support? Walker may have been able to act on his plans to expand into neighboring countries.

… George McClellan had fallen off his horse and been killed on 13 September 1862, the day Lee’s lost orders were found? In the resulting confusion the captured documents might not have reached the Union headquarters. Alternately, the replacement Union leader might have acted more decisively in exploiting the information.

… The Booth conspirators had succeeded in assassinating Andrew Johnson along with Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and William Seward had become President?

… Counts Festetics and Thun had not disobeyed orders and held their positions during the battle of Koniggratz in 1866? Their advance opened a hole in the Austrian line which Prussian reinforcements used to win the battle.

… Kaiser Frederick III had not been terminally ill when he suceeded to the throne in 1888? His father lived to 90 and his son lived to 81, so he might have ruled Germany for three decades instead of three months.

… Gladstone had not argued with Parnell in 1890 and had been able to enact Irish Home Rule in 1893?

… Esterhazy was quietly convicted and Dreyfus was exonerated by the French army in 1894?

… the Fashoda crisis of 1898 not been resolved peacefully? Britain and France would at best have been hostile neutrals and may have fought a general war.

… if the German, rather than the American, plans had been implemented in China after the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900? The Americans successfully argued for a token Chinese independence with all foreign powers having equal access while the Germans wanted China partitioned and placed under direct European political control.

… the British MP’s who opposed a declaration of war had been more steadfast in 1914 and delayed the sending of the BEF?

… German military leaders had not pressed for an armistice in 1918 and the fighting had continued into 1919? The United States would have been more actively involved, armored combat would have been fully deployed, and Germany’s eventual defeat would have been more decisive.

… Aleksandr Kerensky had not called for a Soviet uprising in response to a threatened military coup in 1918?

… V.I. Lenin had acted more decisively at the 12th Party Congress in 1923 and ousted Josef Stalin from power?

… Winston Churchill was killed by the car accident which almost claimed his life in 1931? There was no other politician who could credibly have led Britain in resisting Germany in 1940.

… Mussolini had not declared war on Britain and France in 1940 and Italy had remained neutral in WWII?

… Franklin Roosevelt had been legally barred from running for a third Presidential term in 1940?

… Germany had encouraged Russian collaboration when they invaded the Soviet Union in 1941?

… the United States had not initiated the Manhattan Project in 1941?

… Chiang Kai-shek had agreed to allow a Communist enclave to exist in Manchuria in 1946 while keeping control of the rest of China?

… the Inchon landing in Korea in 1950 had run into the rough conditions which were typical of the area and failed?

… Cardinal Giuseppe Siri had been elected Pope in 1963? Siri was a conservative who opposed the changes initiated by the Second Vatican Council.

… Sergei Korolev, the leader of the Soviet space program, had not died during a routine surgical operation in 1966?

… the Watergate burglars had not been caught during their 1972 break in?

… Gorbachev had pushed for economic rather than political reform in the Soviet Union in 1985?

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  1. Time travelers introduce the following simple inventions to the Romans in 50BC: The mouldboard plow, the horseshoe, the horse collar, the stirrup, the spinning wheel, the horizontal loom, knitting, the chimney and mantlepiece, the sternpost rudder. The common thread of all these is that they all later turned northern Europe into economically thriving centers of civilization. Thus Rome’s northern conquests would have added to the strength and wealth of the Empire instead of being remote outposts.

  2. The technologically advanced Chin dynasty in China is shown a new application for the gunpowder they already possess: using it to shoot a lead pellet out of an iron tube. This makes it possible for China to resist the Mongol invasions. As a result, the regressive Ming dynasty never comes to pass, and China doesn’t turn it’s back on the world. So by the late 15th century China turns back the European advances into the Indian ocean.

  3. One of the Viking settlements in Vinland passes a contagious European disease to the local indians, killing off most of the local resistance. So instead of being driven off, the Vikings successfully establish colonies in the New World. Then the “Little Ice Age” cuts off the Iceland/Greenland/Labrador sea route, and North America is left alone for 200 years. Not having firearms, the Vikings can’t completely overrun North America, and the Native American tribes have a chance to develop resistance to European diseases. The Vinlanders explore down much of the eastern coast and a few even as far as the Carribean and Mexico, acquainting the locals with people of European heritage. They introduce domestic livestock, ironworking and shipbuilding to those tribes willing to adopt the new techologies. They also introduce Christianity and some tribes convert on their own terms. So when advances in shipbuilding allow Europeans to return to North America in the late 15th century, they find an America which is “innoculated”, figuratively and literally, against the new invaders, and the natives are not obliterated to the same extent that they were in real history.