In day to day life we can often say that we “almost managed” to do something and that we were “just short” of achieving something. However sometimes history can also be changed by things that happen just a bit too late. Here is a list of some last minute decisions which, if they had been carried out a little earlier, could have possibly changed the course of history…
In life nothing happens as you have planned. Sometimes tiny adjustments can prevent or cause a catastrophe or sometimes it is due to a lucky escape. What could have happened if the Russian authorities had announced an issue with the Chernobyl’s nuclear reactors earlier? What if the sailors on board the Titanic had rung the warning bell earlier? Could these disasters have been avoided? With all these “What ifs” could the course of history have been different?
1/ What if Field Marshall Rommel hadn’t returned to Germany to celebrate his wife’s birthday during the D-Day landings between the 5th and 6th June 1944?
From the 5th to 6th June 1944, Field Marshall Rommel who was in charge of German defense in Europe, went home to celebrate his wife’s birthday. During this time English and American troops landed on Normandy beaches in the famous D-Day landings passing pretty much right under Rommel’s nose. The rest is history…
2/ What if Russian authorities had declared the Chernobyl disaster as soon as the reactors merged?
Everyone has heard of the city of Chernobyl. The nuclear catastrophe spread into the atmosphere at an equivalent rate of 400 times the Hiroshima bomb. At the time of the disaster when the central’s reactor merged on the 21st April 1986, the Russian government did not think to inform the city’s inhabitants of the nuclear accident straightaway….
3/ What if the Titanic’s operator hadn’t ignored the radio alerts from another ship?
The lookout shouldn’t be the person immediately at fault. The Titanic shipwreck, during the night of the 14 April 1912, was caused by an iceberg that hit the starboard side of the liner. As a result the ship sunk in less than 3 hours. Although the terrifying block of ice wasn’t spotted early enough, it was not because of a languid kiss exchanged between Jack and Rose (dedication to moviegoers). Instead the weather was a dominant factor. It was a dark, cloudy night with little moonlight and the boat was going at too fast… enough to accuse the poor sailors!
The real issue was that the operator on board preferred to keep his line free rather than responding to iceberg alerts sent by another boat … To top it off, there wasn’t enough rescue boats on board. If everyone hadn’t believed the ship was unsinkable then we might have been able to change the course of history. However if this had been the case there wouldn’t have been any Kate or Leo…
4/ What if someone hadn’t forgotten to close the door after the siege of Constantinople?
Constantinople wasn’t scared of enemies that wanted to lay siege on the city. In fact the city managed to hold power for 1000 years until it was invaded by the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The blame lies with a careless inhabitant who forgot to close the entrance to the city… An oversight that changed the course of history. The person responsible must have felt guilty well into their afterlife…
5/ What if the Americans hadn’t forgotten the change of time zone in their attempt to invade Cuba?
On the 17th April 1961 the Americans landed in Cuba which had just become a communist country. However the operation was a disaster. One reason which contributed to such a negative outcome (among others according to historians) was a confusion in the time zone. This resulted in a stinging defeat for the Americans.
