User Panel
lately I've been on a Pacific theatre kick.
The Battle of the Philippine Sea and the later Invasion of Leyte with the Battle off Samar are beyond interesting |
|
The millions of Russian soldiers that were taken prisoner by Germany with a great majority never to return home.
On that note, the vast number of young men all sides lost and future impact on society. |
|
How the Battleship went from the most expensive/powerful naval weapon in the world to obsolete pretty much overnight.
|
|
Quoted:
Manpower,yes. Equipment? Nope. Perhaps you should stop relying on google and actually read the works of historians. You’re parroting false talking points with way too much confidence. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Google the amount of manpower and equipment Germany expended fighting the Russians. It's not made up. Perhaps you should stop relying on google and actually read the works of historians. You’re parroting false talking points with way too much confidence. You would think that the downfall of militaryphotos.net would have reduced that kind of derp online. lol |
|
The Battle of Britain was one that always fascinated me also.
|
|
|
Quoted:
QFT. With the assistance of triangulation, our hunter-killers groups (one CVE and six DE) were largely responsible for eliminating the U-boat threat. If the Germans had the newer and quieter Type XXI in large operational numbers, we would have been SOL for a while. Our subs in the Pacific sank about 90% of the Japanese merchant marine, making it near impossible for Japan to feed itself or sustain the war effort. It's one of the three main reasons why Japan had to capitulate. View Quote In May 1945 U3503 was scuttled by its crew in Swedish waters. The Swedish Navy salvaged torpedoes and secret documents in the first few weeks, and a year later the whole sub was raised. All aspects of it was far head of our subs, so we studied all of it. The entire snorkle assembly was removed and refitted to a Swedish sub. |
|
Quoted:
US was actively aiding England with material and supplies (lend lease). Additionally, the USN was escorting England bound convoys halfway across the Atlantic, thereby easing the strain on the Royal Navy. Those "neutrality" patrols also dropped depth charges on U-boats. We had cruisers searching for German hilfskreuzers (auxiliary cruisers or Q-ships) in the South Atlantic on the pretense that it was searching for or deterring slavers and slave running. Yes, it was a mistake to declare war against the United States; but the US was already engaged in a quasi-war and the Germans rarely fired back. They did our destroyer, the Reuben James but that didn't upset the American public too much. Then the battleship USS Texas was sent to war waters and a U-boat asked for permission to torpedo her. Berlin said nicht! and we were spared a Remember the Texas! moment. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
the most interesting aspect of WW2 is this: Why in the hell did Hitler declare war on the United States shortly after Pearl Harbor? THAT more than anything else guaranteed Germany's defeat. At the time, the US public's ire was directed entirely at Japan, now Hitler says "look at me! look at me!" I get the argument that his treaty with Japan may have compelled him to join in, but it would have made more sense to repudiate that than bring the US into the ETO. If Hitler had NOT done that, to what extent would the US have been involved in the ETO? And without US involvement in the ETO, the Red Army would have eventually pushed all the way to the English Channel. Yes, it was a mistake to declare war against the United States; but the US was already engaged in a quasi-war and the Germans rarely fired back. They did our destroyer, the Reuben James but that didn't upset the American public too much. Then the battleship USS Texas was sent to war waters and a U-boat asked for permission to torpedo her. Berlin said nicht! and we were spared a Remember the Texas! moment. |
|
Since my Grandfather was a US Army Infantry Officer and participated in the Battle Of The Bulge and also crossed the Rhine
and went to Germany, I've always been interested in the ETO. However, as an aviator, I'm fascinated with the air war in the Pacific, both USAAF and USN/USMC. The weather, distances flown over water and lack of resources made their flying/fighting much harder than in the ETO. |
|
The worst acts of humanity and the greatest acts of humanity, all occurring simultaneously
|
|
Quoted: I get all that, but turning the US from an active source of enemy aid into an enemy belligerent was still stupid, and it sealed Germany's fate. View Quote |
|
That the US tried to stay out of the conflict and only declared war on the European axis countries after they had declared war on the US.
|
|
I’ve always been fascinated by the naval war in the Mediterranean. The Royal Navy (led by two of its best admirals, Cunningham and Somerville) against the sometimes feckless, sometimes dangerous Italian Regia Marina, backed by the German air force and small craft. There were heavily fought reinforcement convoys to Malta, British raids on German and Italian convoys to Libya, battleship and cruiser engagements, underwater commando raids, and the longest ship-to-ship gunnery hit in history: HMS Warspite on the Giulio Cesare at 26,000 yards. It’s also interesting how the Italians were hampered by stereotypical characteristics: munitions makers manufacture a top notch batch of shells for the testing of their new 15-inch guns to get the contract, then make them really cheaply for the main production run (except for when they knew a navy quality inspection was being done). Resulted in their newest battleships, which had excellent fire control and extremely accurate guns, having some of the worst shooting in naval history, with some salvoes having a dispersion of a mile or so.
|
|
Quoted:
Aircraft were View Quote US: P-40, F4F UK: Hurricane, Spitfire Germany: Bf-109, Bf-110 Japan: Ki-27, A5M USSR: I-16 |
|
The irony of it for me is that it was almost over before it began* yet so many ended up dying.
*The US development of nukes was such a huge step ahead in technology that even if Germany and Japan started turning back the tide it would have been absolutely reversed as fast as the nukes could be deployed. |
|
Quoted:
Yes, the effort Americans undertook to make certain that half the world was enslaved under Communism was indeed remarkable. No other nation could have managed such and then been so humble as to never take credit for it. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted: Came here to post this. It's become trendy to claim that the Soviets won the war and American contributions were minimal, the Pacific Theater was a side show, etc. The United States performed the impossible during that war. But you're not. |
|
That, at least in Europe, it didn't have to happen in the first place.
|
|
|
How intelligence was what really won the war in both theaters
How Hitler could have won the Battle of Britain if he knew how strapped Britain was |
|
Battle of the Atlantic. U Boats vs the convoys and anti submarine warfare. ‘39- ‘43
|
|
Quoted:
Google the amount of manpower and equipment Germany expended fighting the Russians. It's not made up. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
The US did perform the impossible but it is historical fact that over 70% of Germany's military and resources were occupied fighting the Soviets. So in the European theater at least, it was literally Germany vs. Russia. The luftwaffe used the most resources out of all branches, and was destroyed in the west. Your stat is completely made up. If you ever saw the long lines of trains, ships, or huge airplanes involved with moving a Battalion, you would know better. The Nazis didn’t understand Logistics either, or they never would have started the war. Britain controlled the ocean, and America supplied nearly everything the Soviets needed. Germany was Blockaded, just like in WWI, and that’s what defeated them. Imagine being a German commander, and being short on everything, from food, to fuel, to oil, to parts, to medicine, to clothing, to ammunition of every kind. And in spite of all this, they still won nearly every battle with the Russians. You’ve lived a sheltered life, if you can’t picture how important Logistics is to waging modern war. |
|
Quoted:
But who exactly would have been around and competent enough to fly them correctly? Production wasn't Germany's problem, manpower and fuel were. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes |
|
|
Quoted: Guys like you who fetishize the Russian contribution, don’t have any understanding of Logistics. If you ever saw the long lines of trains, ships, or huge airplanes involved with moving a Battalion, you would know better. The Nazis didn’t understand Logistics either, or they never would have started the war. Britain controlled the ocean, and America supplied nearly everything the Soviets needed. Germany was Blockaded, just like in WWI, and that’s what defeated them. Imagine being a German commander, and being short on everything, from food, to fuel, to oil, to parts, to medicine, to clothing, to ammunition of every kind. And in spite of all this, they still won nearly every battle with the Russians. You’ve lived a sheltered life, if you can’t picture how important Logistics is to waging modern war. View Quote |
|
|
Much of what has been shared. Operation Olympic, Coronet, and Downfall are fascinating also. Glad those were cancelled
|
|
Another fascinating aspect is how many “Great Men” converged in history at the same time.
When I say “great” I don’t mean good. FDR and Stalin were ruthless power hungry communists. Hitler was, well, Hitler... Churchill was as cold and calculating as the rest of them. But each, was amazing in terms of Leadership ability. What they were able to exhort their people to accomplish. Charisma combined modern propaganda and ruthless efficiency. Truly amazing. Any one of those guys could have conquered the world, had they rose to prominence during a different time. To put it another way, Hitler believed he was destined to conquer Europe, and he would have been right. Had he not run up against three other guys who were destined to stop him. Russia would have fragmented without Stalin, and Britain would have made peace without Churchill. It was the sensible thing to do. The US would have survived without FDR, but could have easily ignored the whole European problem or profited from both sides. |
|
Quoted: Guys like you who fetishize the Russian contribution, don't have any understanding of Logistics. If you ever saw the long lines of trains, ships, or huge airplanes involved with moving a Battalion, you would know better. The Nazis didn't understand Logistics either, or they never would have started the war. Britain controlled the ocean, and America supplied nearly everything the Soviets needed. Germany was Blockaded, just like in WWI, and that's what defeated them. Imagine being a German commander, and being short on everything, from food, to fuel, to oil, to parts, to medicine, to clothing, to ammunition of every kind. And in spite of all this, they still won nearly every battle with the Russians. You've lived a sheltered life, if you can't picture how important Logistics is to waging modern war. View Quote All I have been pointing out in this thread is that Russia tied up 70% of Germany's military, but guys like you are completely blind to this, and pointing it out triggers you. |
|
Quoted:
Much of what has been shared. Operation Olympic, Coronet, and Downfall are fascinating also. Glad those were cancelled View Quote The projections for casualties were so incredible, that the Purple Hearts ordered for these invasions, were still being issued out into US Armed Forces well into the late 90s Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War I, Somalia, ect... |
|
|
Quoted:
It's amazing how just pointing out facts makes people fetishizing the Russian contribution. I pointed out earlier in the thread that Germany's mistake was thinking they could supply their armies in battles far away from Germany. Stalingrad was 2500 miles from Berlin, outside of Germany's ability to resupply their army. All I have been pointing out in this thread is that Russia tied up 70% of Germany's military, but guys like you are completely blind to this, and pointing it out triggers you. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted: Guys like you who fetishize the Russian contribution, don't have any understanding of Logistics. If you ever saw the long lines of trains, ships, or huge airplanes involved with moving a Battalion, you would know better. The Nazis didn't understand Logistics either, or they never would have started the war. Britain controlled the ocean, and America supplied nearly everything the Soviets needed. Germany was Blockaded, just like in WWI, and that's what defeated them. Imagine being a German commander, and being short on everything, from food, to fuel, to oil, to parts, to medicine, to clothing, to ammunition of every kind. And in spite of all this, they still won nearly every battle with the Russians. You've lived a sheltered life, if you can't picture how important Logistics is to waging modern war. All I have been pointing out in this thread is that Russia tied up 70% of Germany's military, but guys like you are completely blind to this, and pointing it out triggers you. If you care to educate yourself, read about the bomber missions against Germany, and all that Germany did to defend itself. (they actually did pretty well). Read about the Med and North Africa campaigns and ask yourself; Why would that area be strategically important? Read about the battle of the North Atlantic and ask yourself why That was important, and then, read about Germanys Uboat program and it’s attempt at building a Navy. If you’ve never been on a Battleship or a Submarine, you’ve got no concept of what it takes to build and staff and operate one. You also have to clue about Heavy bombers, and medium bombers, and light bombers, and ground attack planes, and fighters, and seaplanes, and transports. Tens of Thousands of them. Crawl inside one someday, and take a close look at the details. It’s kind of sad but, This is the kind of thing which won WWII, not a few million Russian bodies. Attached File Attached File The Russian were willing to fight, and for that, we are grateful. All the rest of your claims are uneducated nonsense. |
|
Quoted: 70% Lolz I'm not triggered at all. Just amused. All of your "facts" are based on lies and propaganda. You read something, or saw a YouTube video one time, made some assumptions, and your learning process Stopped Dead. I'm trying to restart it. If you care to educate yourself, read about the bomber missions against Germany, and all that Germany did to defend itself. (they actually did pretty well). Read about the Med and North Africa campaigns and ask yourself; Why would that area be strategically important? Read about the battle of the North Atlantic and ask yourself why That was important, and then, read about Germanys Uboat program and it's attempt at building a Navy. If you've never been on a Battleship or a Submarine, you've got no concept of what it takes to build and staff and operate one. You also have to clue about Heavy bombers, and medium bombers, and light bombers, and ground attack planes, and fighters, and seaplanes, and transports. Tens of Thousands of them. Crawl inside one someday, and take a close look at the details. It's kind of sad but, This is the kind of thing which won WWII, not a few million Russian bodies. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/12451/6AB68948-C71F-4B31-946E-245B580BF3FE_jpeg-1066972.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/12451/33B99AC5-E6D3-4244-B0FF-0FBB30143CA3_jpeg-1066974.JPG The Russian were willing to fight, and for that, we are grateful. All the rest of your claims are uneducated nonsense. View Quote |
|
I was always a Western Europe type of a guy. Just good old fashioned American soldiers kicking in the teeth of the bad guy. And if you could still find gentlemen on the battlefield, you typically found it on the Western front.
Eastern Europe was too messy, just socialists going blood thirsty on socialists. Also not a big tank guy. I never really had an interest in the naval nor air aspect of warfare which was a big things for the Pacific, so I never really got into it. Plus I respect the hell out of the Japanese soldier, they were tough as nails and unafraid of death. |
|
Quoted:
Let's do this. Since you are clearly the expert, and I the uneducated serf, give the numbers. How many Germans were on the Eastern front vs. the Western front, how many tanks, how many planes etc... Post the numbers and we'll do the math. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted: 70% Lolz I'm not triggered at all. Just amused. All of your "facts" are based on lies and propaganda. You read something, or saw a YouTube video one time, made some assumptions, and your learning process Stopped Dead. I'm trying to restart it. If you care to educate yourself, read about the bomber missions against Germany, and all that Germany did to defend itself. (they actually did pretty well). Read about the Med and North Africa campaigns and ask yourself; Why would that area be strategically important? Read about the battle of the North Atlantic and ask yourself why That was important, and then, read about Germanys Uboat program and it's attempt at building a Navy. If you've never been on a Battleship or a Submarine, you've got no concept of what it takes to build and staff and operate one. You also have to clue about Heavy bombers, and medium bombers, and light bombers, and ground attack planes, and fighters, and seaplanes, and transports. Tens of Thousands of them. Crawl inside one someday, and take a close look at the details. It's kind of sad but, This is the kind of thing which won WWII, not a few million Russian bodies. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/12451/6AB68948-C71F-4B31-946E-245B580BF3FE_jpeg-1066972.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/12451/33B99AC5-E6D3-4244-B0FF-0FBB30143CA3_jpeg-1066974.JPG The Russian were willing to fight, and for that, we are grateful. All the rest of your claims are uneducated nonsense. That’s been true, since before the days of Napoleon. I’m not an expert, but I enjoy learning about whole World war. It’s endlessly fascinating. You should try it. We used Russia as a client state, to help defeat our enemies. They didn’t quit in the face of overwhelming losses, and they eventually learned to be effective with the logistics that we provided. Nobody is trying to take that away from them. How many gallons of gasoline did the Russians produce from 1940-1945? How many tons of Steel? |
|
Quoted:
You are correct. My father was the Chief Flt. Engineer Instructor at Alamogordo. Otto Mueller, C.O. of the school, was the pilot of the first B-29 to survive a deadstick landing. Maj. Mueller said that his Flt. Engineer saved that aircraft and had the Flt. Engineer write up the procedures. That Flt. Engineer was Louis Snyder 18OCT19-22AUG18. They became best of friends and stayed in contact till Maj. Mueller's death. Dad said that Maj. Mueller would buy the largest two bottles of red wine on almost every Sunday, sign out two M-1 carbines w/ammo and they would walk the desert getting drunk and shoot rattlesnakes. There was a period of time that the B-29 was killing more crews than the Japanese. Dad died 1 year and three days ago, sorry for the choppy sentences. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
The b-29 was the most expensive weapons system of world war II. Otto Mueller, C.O. of the school, was the pilot of the first B-29 to survive a deadstick landing. Maj. Mueller said that his Flt. Engineer saved that aircraft and had the Flt. Engineer write up the procedures. That Flt. Engineer was Louis Snyder 18OCT19-22AUG18. They became best of friends and stayed in contact till Maj. Mueller's death. Dad said that Maj. Mueller would buy the largest two bottles of red wine on almost every Sunday, sign out two M-1 carbines w/ammo and they would walk the desert getting drunk and shoot rattlesnakes. There was a period of time that the B-29 was killing more crews than the Japanese. Dad died 1 year and three days ago, sorry for the choppy sentences. |
|
Quoted:
This. All other theaters of war paled in comparison. Kursk tank battle was epic. Don't know why there are no movies about it. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
1941 Eastern Front, when everyone was at the top of their game. After that it was like a slowly deflating balloon for the Axis Powers. Kursk tank battle was epic. Don't know why there are no movies about it. World War 2 - 1943 - Battle of Kursk - 1_5 |
|
Quoted:
Our Submarine warfare in the Pacific although it was PT boats first. Battle of Britain period was always fascinating. View Quote I love PT boats but they were pretty fragile and partly because of lame torpedoes I don't believe they were very effective , more as scouting units and placeholders than any real threat against real naval ships. The guys who ran them were something else but as the book and movie said "they were expendable" |
|
Coastal Defense guns and bunkers and the strange weapons the Nazi's made.
|
|
I've grown more interested in the Fallschirmjaeger over the years. My FIL was in the Fallschirmjaeger until he was captured at Brest in Sept 1944. He spent the next four or five years in a POW camp in England. They kept the SS, Uboat crews, and Fallschirmjaeger prisoners well after the war because the Allies were afraid that they would stir stuff up if released.
I wish I had spent more time talking to my FIL about his service. He would talk to me because of my background. The operation that interested me the most was Gran Sasso. My FIL was there and had a different perspective on that operation than what you read. He mentioned it the first time we met and I made the mistake of mentioning Skorzeny. There was no love lost there. |
|
Quoted:
One interesting thing, and I’m not sure this is wording it correctly, was is the lack of value of life. Or maybe it was the scale of things. We lost 4,000 souls during the years and years of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Roughly the same amount of Americans died on D Day. One single day. All sides commanded soldiers to their deaths by the thousands. 80 million people dead. It’s something I have a hard time putting into perspective. View Quote No way would we be able to stomach something like that today. |
|
|
used to be zee Germans by far... German aviation and the cabal of gangsters that took over Germany in the 30's in particular... but I'm kinda over saturated with it now.
I like reading about pre-WW2 conditions.. other countries than the big 5 mostly, like Poland and France, etc... essentially the politics and logistics/big picture type stuff is what's most intriguing to me... I guess because I know less about that stuff. I'm also interested in American naval operations in the Pacific. |
|
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.