The Military History Thread

I'd think that our industry and agriculture advantages would allow us to stay supplied in eastern Russia. If anything we could make the Soviets keep some defensive forces in that campaign and give the western front an advantage.

I'm not a military historian either, most of my knowledge comes from watching history and military channels.

 

"Well, let's wall ourselves in, we are at the pinnacle of evolution!"

That is what happened.

 

At worst, Russian agricultural and industry are equal at the end of the war?

 

It's really that simple?

Space age to dark age and back again?

 

I don't think they slipped to a dark age. I think they just stagnated and everyone passed them by. But my Far East history is spotty.

 

Rule #1 - just don't attack Russia near winter. You will lose.

 

Too far to maintain effective lines of communication and supply.

I understand a two front war, where exactly are you going to take this second front?

 

Caucuses via the Black Sea and Persia. Turn off the oil spigot.

 

Spitfire I vs Hurricane I

 

And don't face them straight up. Keep ruining infrastructure, hit and run style. As you said, just keep the spigot turned off and put pressure on the western front. They'll have no choice but to fall back to try and defend the oil and manufacturing base there, as well as their capital. That is going to create some flanking opportunities.

 

He wrong. Would have eventually been a waltz and Russia was never a threat to US sovereignty. Fighting for their own soil was their lone advantage. Logistics machine would have eventually doomed Russia.

 

Because he had the same problem Hitler did. He couldn't defend 2 fronts against a logistics beast like we had. He witnessed the absurd ramp period.

 

Hell, he was getting supplied by the US.

 

People forget that Lend/Lease included the Russians.

 

http://ww2-weapons.com/History/Production/Russia/Lend-Lease.htm

They had a pretty impressive menagerie of equipment. Another Hitler blunder was not focusing submarine warfare far to the north.

 

Stalin also had a nasty habit of shooting a lot of his officers and imprisoning "traitors" among the soldiers. I also have to think the Americans would not have made the mistake of alienating the western areas of Russia that the Nazis did.

 

They withdrew from the world at exactly the wrong point in history. Missing the Industrial Revolution was a huge deal and they didn't wise up like the Japanese did in enough time.

 

I didn't realize it was that much.

 

I imagine part of the issue was sea ice. Those U-boats needed to surface or snorkel often until later in the war. Sea ice can persist for several months, and those years of WW2 were unusually cold. No way those boats could take hitting any sea ice, either. That technology was a decade and a half away. North Atlantic may be the best they could do.

 

Watched a show about Project Azorian, pretty neat story. Pretty cool how the Navy buried the recovered Soviet bodies at sea with honors, part of the code, I suppose.