Thanks for a great post. Random thoughts below.
Hitler and Stalin were hardly subtle threats. I gave him credit for his resolve and emotional leadership. It can never be stated enough, especially the threat that Stalin represented before and after the war. Sadly, FDR was fairly blind to the Russian threat but Truman stood up to them.
His view on racial superiority that was (is) all too common is one of the reasons nobody wanted to go to war with Germany over the extermination of the Jews. As you likely know, there was a strong, pro-Nazi fascist contingent among the elites of the UK. Germany and Japan did not become enemies to fight until they attacked the would-be Allies. Churchill responded to attack which was natural and represented the consensus of England to resist. True about the fascist support for Hitler, even all over Europe. Like today, it was quite popular, with many fascist dictatorships across the continent. Churchill was one of the early identifiers of the threat Hitler posed and also always hated Stalin.
I don't know what the world would be like without Churchill's resolve. Germany was doomed when their attempt to seize the Soviet Union was halted. Russia was defeating the Wehrmacht without the Western front being opened. I think it's 8 of 10 German soldiers who died in WW2 were killed by the Red Army. Always worth repeating that we supplied aircraft, trucks, jeeps, and most importantly, food for the Red Army. Did you know the first Russian tanks into Berlin were Shermans? Crazy stat: Russians SHOT almost as many of their own soldiers for cowardice than we had total combat deaths. The Russians continued to attack the Japanese in Manchuria AFTER the Japanese has surrendered to seize as much land as possible. They even demanded occupation of Japan (after fighting the Japanese for a whole week) and we told them to F off.
I'm not sure Churchill's resolve does the trick for England if the Japanese don't bomb Pearl Harbor and Germany does not declare war on the US. The Royal Navy would have prevented any invasion of the British Isles as it had done for centuries. England would have had to just take the battering of the Luftwaffe and missiles until Germany fell. The Germans were planning on floating their army to England on barges. LOL, a German invasion planner was removed from command for asking if anyone else was concerned that their invasion fleet would cross the Channel slower than Napoleon's would have.
Churchill was a terrific symbol. Please have the last word. I'm sure nobody needs to read any more on the subject from me. Thanks for your response.