The Military History Thread

Obviously Hitler was an odd cat, but his reliance on uboats and luftwaffe was boderline psychotic.

 

Any one see Red Tails? Finished watching it during lunch. It was hollywood but a fun ride. The cliches were tiring but expected.

 

Tuskegee Airmen was better

 

U-boats would have won the Atlantic early and for good if he had listened to Donnitz.

 

Been watching the Untold History of the United States? Oliver Stone makes a strong argument that the Soviets fought the war for everyone else.

 

I have not, is this their argument?

It is not hard to see Russia took on and
destroyed the overwhelming majority of the german army.

It is no great revelation Ike did not want to bleed out on the western front going into germany. Heck, Ike had no desire to liberate Paris because of the logistixal nightmare of feeding refugees and taking away supplies from his troops.

 

Donitz failed miserably holding up the type XXI boats.

Those would have been game changers earlier in the war.

 

sure they would have, except they were not needed early in the war. Before surface radar, they were addressing problems that didn't yet exist. Hitler also was spreading the u-boats too thin early on. Had they concentrated their u-boat forces in the North Atlantic completely, they could have shut the supply lines down utterly. Instead, he had boats going to the Med, down the Iberian coast, hanging out in the English channel, going up to Norway, etc. By the time they started concentrating their forces, it was too late. The Allies had perfected the convoy system, deployed surface radar, increased cover flights, and were building destroyers faster than they could be sunk. They had a window from 1940 to early 1942.

 

That is part of his argument. He also discusses how the US broke agreements with the Soviets to open the Western front on two occasions, and looked the other way on war atrocities at the hands of both the British and Soviets. He also makes an argument that the Cold War was completely avoidable, but certain US interests encouraged it.

He then goes on to argue that the dropping of the bombs on Japan were done to make sure the Soviets didn't get credit for that victory too. The Soviets were weeks away from invading the Japanese from the North (they had agreed to attack Japan years earlier, if and when the Germans were defeated), and it is likely that the Japanese would have been ran over quickly once those big Russian tanks were on Hokkaido and Honshu.

 

Sorry, cant quote without it messing up.

How realistic could it have been to concentrate the uboat force on the atlantic?

The german surface fleet was non existent and Hitler needed a screen for troops/supplies to North Africa

I thought it was a given that the we promoted the atomic devastation to the Russians. MacArthur personally gave the devastation tour to Russian brass.

 

Trut would be going nuts right now talking about the atomic attacks.

 

I recently learned that Oppenheimer was a card-carrying American communist and donated 10 % of his income to the cause every year.

 

I always thought that was a myth.

 

Abandoning Moscow and the ensuing clandestine "scorched earth" activities to ensure the lack of resources left for Napoleon was a simply brilliant strategy.

 

Completely agree, I truly wonder why Napoleon wanted Russia?

 

Hmm. If it is, it is a pervasive one. I'll look into it.

 

Megalomania?

OE, is you have not read War and Peace, I can guarantee you would love it more than almost anyone on this board. It is the grandest novel I have ever read, and I will probably re-read it now because it has been over a decade for me, and the more I discuss this with you, the more I want to be in the middle of that history again.

 

I know he was heavily involved in progressive causes that McCarthy deemed communist. The FBI had an ongoing file on him but again no surprise.

McCarthy was a jackass imo.

I would find it odd Kennedy would give a
communist the Enrico Fermi Award.

 

Couldnt quote you pooch. I have read and enjoyed war and peace.

Is it as simple as meglomania?

Was he frustrated he never completely crushed the eastern alliances?

We know why Hitler went, why did Napoleon go?

 

Pooch, you know what series I adore? The Winds of War and War and Remembrance.

Actually, I love every thing by Herman Wouk.