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Local history
Living in northern Ohio, my maternal grandfather (1916-2005) worked 16 hours a day 6 days a week at Plum Brook Ordnance Works in Sandusky Ohio. He ran the third nitrater making TNT. I wonder how many of the bastards his tnt blew up during the war. My Paternal grandfather (1906-1981) worked as a firefighter at Marathon Oil. Akron Ohio built Corsairs Toledo Ohio Jeeps Cleveland Ohio Tanks half tracks and armored cars. |
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Quoted: They would have dwarfed every major invasion landing before or since. 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... View Quote |
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Local history Living in northern Ohio, my maternal grandfather (1916-2005) worked 16 hours a day 6 days a week at Plum Brook Ordnance Works in Sandusky Ohio. He ran the third nitrater making TNT. I wonder how many of the bastards his tnt blew up during the war. My Paternal grandfather (1906-1981) worked as a firefighter at Marathon Oil. Akron Ohio built Corsairs Toledo Ohio Jeeps Cleveland Ohio Tanks half tracks and armored cars. View Quote |
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The complete collapse of the Colonial System the world ran on and how the USA backed it. The politics leading up to, during, and after the war are fascinating. View Quote But let’s be honest, this was a communist plot by FDR and his fellow travelers. American boys have been dying since Korea trying to pick up the pieces. The American form of government was never designed to be world policeman. It was set up for America to be the opposite. How can you try police the world with an executive branch with hardly any power. The destruction of the European Empires has allowed Gollum nations to grow in the power vacuums. Pax Americana will be the end of Western Civilization. |
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Pacific Naval theater. There really isn't anything else like it in the history of warfare.
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WWI, too. It’s just so long ago we forget how many things appeared all of a sudden. In some ways, though, the lack of impact of that technology interests me too. There were lots of things under research, but with few exceptions people fought the war and won or lost based on where they started the war. Many technological innovations during the war had little impact on the war (V1, V2, STG 44, ME 262), and some of the most important things were boring (Liberty ships, repair-ability of Sherman tanks, General Winter, US Logistical supremacy). The US used more Springfield 1903s than Garands, the SVT-40 was interesting but eclipsed in use by Mosins, and the STG 44 mainly changed things after the war. Nukes are an exception, but the war was won or lost based on things set in motion far before. That and the “neutrals” or other minor players. The involvement of the Finns, Poles, Swiss, Swedes, and others is interesting, as are the changing allegiances (or pseudo-alliances) during things. View Quote |
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I find the New Guinea campaign to be the most interesting. Mainly because of its obscurity compared to other campaigns of WWII. Also because it occurred in arguably the most primitive conditions of the war. View Quote |
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The communist destruction of the European empires is the dumbest thing America ever did. But let’s be honest, this was a communist plot by FDR and his fellow travelers. American boys have been dying since Korea trying to pick up the pieces. The American form of government was never designed to be world policeman. It was set up for America to be the opposite. How can you try police the world with an executive branch with hardly any power. The destruction of the European Empires has allowed Gollum nations to grow in the power vacuums. Pax Americana will be the end of Western Civilization. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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The complete collapse of the Colonial System the world ran on and how the USA backed it. The politics leading up to, during, and after the war are fascinating. But let’s be honest, this was a communist plot by FDR and his fellow travelers. American boys have been dying since Korea trying to pick up the pieces. The American form of government was never designed to be world policeman. It was set up for America to be the opposite. How can you try police the world with an executive branch with hardly any power. The destruction of the European Empires has allowed Gollum nations to grow in the power vacuums. Pax Americana will be the end of Western Civilization. Even as the US was fighting Communists all over the World, it took their side elsewhere. |
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The Pacific Theater
The sheer brutality on land/air/sea, constant beach invasions, Japanese/US development of carrier-based air superiority ending the age of battleships, non-stop jungle warfare with disease, and the very real possibility of Japanese home islands invasions that would make the Eastern European theater look like civilized warfare. |
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The fact that history is written by the victors. An example. Rarely do we admit that the rest of Europe was going along with Hitler. It’s rarely mentioned that the poles wanted the Jews gone as much as the nazis did. Rarely are we taught about how we left Japan with few options other than to go to war with us. View Quote |
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The advancement of small arms, night vision & tactics- was revolutionary.
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To me, the most interesting thing about WWII is that at it's core, it was a race war and a resource war.
A lot of people miss the glaring fact that the Nazis, as exemplified by the SS, were fighting a war against people whom they viewed as oppositional races. The Japanese were guilty of this, too. And racism also became a motivator for allied troops as well. And it was a resource war. The German economy could not even provide sufficient socks to put on the feet of little German children. The poverty of the global economy outside of the U.S. was shocking. |
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The incredible output of the American economy.
It was ramping up before we entered the war, but the amount of ships, airplanes, trucks, tanks, etc. built 1942-1945 is mind blowing to me. And how fast designs changed. That was a LOT of engineering. |
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To me, the most interesting thing about WWII is that at it's core, it was a race war and a resource war. A lot of people miss the glaring fact that the Nazis, as exemplified by the SS, were fighting a war against people whom they viewed as oppositional races. The Japanese were guilty of this, too. And racism also became a motivator for allied troops as well. And it was a resource war. The German economy could not even provide sufficient socks to put on the feet of little German children. The poverty of the global economy outside of the U.S. was shocking. View Quote |
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How it was allowed to happen to begin with. Allowed, encouraged... whatever. View Quote This one hit me hard too when in Band of Brothers episode in Bastone, Christmas Eve you could hear the Germans singing 'Silent Night'. How 2 great tribes of peoples with so much common ground were opposed vehemently in war is a head scratching mystery to be sure. To happen in 2 world wars is astounding (Of same German heritage no less). Crazy what man can do to one another on this earth. Crazy what we are willing to follow on blind faith and obedience. If the tables were turned I doubt Americans could / would not fall into same Hitler trap provided all circumstance which lead to rise of Hitler. Hitlers "total war" strategy which decimated Germany end and post war. Starting to scratch the surface studying Eastern Front warfare. Germans and Russians hated each other with a vengeance. Like to research and read how logistics were supplied to Russia. I do love to read the stories of all WWII infantry/combat arms doggies who managed to survive against all odds and go on to live productive lives despite carrying that burden of war the rest of their lives. The men are tribute to resiliency of the heart, mind and sou l[goes for all combat vets]. Books like "Roll Me Over" "Citizen Soldier" do come to mind. Engineering genius that was John Garand. So many other it take my lifetime+ to study it all and the ramifications. |
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Exactly. And Patton’s desires or no, there was no stomach for that right after we won WWII. It sucked, but I can’t see it turning out any other way. View Quote |
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Quoted: It's interesting how the US managed to repeat those same mistakes in Suez, and more recently the Panama Canal. Even as the US was fighting Communists all over the World, it took their side elsewhere. View Quote National Suicide: Military Aid to the Soviet Union by Prof. Anthony Sutton Just goes to show how compromised the US power structure is. |
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I knew they had a dispersion problem, but they delayed the firing of the centre gun to alleviate it. Source? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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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. |
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Quoted: There would have been if Patton could have been allowed to expose the slaughter of Allied POWs by the Soviets. He was on his way back to Washington to blow the whistle on this. View Quote |
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One of my Grandpaps was a B-29 pilot (never went overseas). The other medicaled out of the Army so went to building bombers in Wichita. He always figured that if the first revision of a bomber ever did a barrel roll it would rain down bucking bars.
:) |
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To me, the most interesting thing about WWII is that at it's core, it was a race war and a resource war. SNIP And it was a resource war. The German economy could not even provide sufficient socks to put on the feet of little German children. The poverty of the global economy outside of the U.S. was shocking. View Quote More than half of Europe was starving by the end of the war. My grandfather and his group of friends in the POW camp were allowed to have a pet dog. They had to kill the poor thing for something to eat, in order to survive, things were that bad. |
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Quoted: Europe was totally exhausted of all resources by the end of the war. More than half of Europe was starving by the end of the war. My grandfather and his group of friends in the POW camp were allowed to have a pet dog. They had to kill the poor thing for something to eat, in order to survive, things were that bad. View Quote |
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You serious Clark? We gave the Japanese no other option while they invaded everyone else within their sphere/range? View Quote Recall the conspiracy theories about Roosevelt letting Pearl happen? To this day, the Japanese rightwing combines them with the US presidency using the McCollum memo as a war-creation plan. |
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The Pacific as my dad was in well before WW2 and after Korea fought in both wars.
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The men that raised me from 1954 till 1972. Thanks Dad, Buck, JT, Renfro and all the rest!!
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The re-fit of the Yorktown between the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway was a fucking miracle, and a story that needs to be told.
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Might want to check those numbers. Battle of Brody German tanks=750 Russian= 3,500 Battle of Kursk In 2 phases of the battle 1st phase Operation Citadel German tanks=2,928 Russian=5,128 Soviet counter offensive German tanks=3,253 Russian=7,360 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brody_ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kursk View Quote |
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There’s debate on whether we were trying to start a war or just contain the genocidal maniacs as best as possible. The flip side of the coin is that the US needed to contain the Japanese - they were threatening us and our allies. How do you respond short of war? And that isn’t an act of war. Wasn’t then, isn’t now. Unless OAPEC declared war on us and others in ‘73. Doesn’t look that way from here. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted: He's correct. FDR put an oil embargo on the Japanese. That's an act of war in the 20th century. There were about 7 other things FDR did that were highly provocative to the Japanese. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCollum_memo And that isn’t an act of war. Wasn’t then, isn’t now. Unless OAPEC declared war on us and others in ‘73. Doesn’t look that way from here. Y'all can apologize for Japanese conduct all you like, but the final analysis shows that they were genocidal scum, doing things that not even the Belgians would have done in the Congo. Japanese plans for China included doing the sort of thing that the Nazis had wet dreams about doing in Eastern Europe. The attempt to excuse what they were doing by saying that the US started the war, for some unknown reason? Purest bullsh*t. If Japan hadn't been raping their way through China, exploiting Manchuria, and abusing Korea, nobody in the US would have had a word to say about what they were doing. |
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Starting off the war with one level of technology and ending it with technology of a completely different world.
Jets, ICBMs (Or near it), nuclear weapons, proximity detonated fusing, radar guided/computer controlled AA guns, encryption, on and on and on. There are so many layers and levels of technology that was produce that we are still finding stories on today, so far past the event blows my mind. Also , don't forget - The British had a jet far superior to the ME262 in the same time frame. Had the German jet ever of been a real threat, the sky would be full of American produced meteors. |
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Quoted: Europe was totally exhausted of all resources by the end of the war. More than half of Europe was starving by the end of the war. My grandfather and his group of friends in the POW camp were allowed to have a pet dog. They had to kill the poor thing for something to eat, in order to survive, things were that bad. View Quote https://www.amazon.com/Prisoners-Odyssey-Herb-Sheaner/dp/1441546642?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-brave-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1441546642 |
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Local history Living in northern Ohio, my maternal grandfather (1916-2005) worked 16 hours a day 6 days a week at Plum Brook Ordnance Works in Sandusky Ohio. He ran the third nitrater making TNT. I wonder how many of the bastards his tnt blew up during the war. My Paternal grandfather (1906-1981) worked as a firefighter at Marathon Oil. Akron Ohio built Corsairs Toledo Ohio Jeeps Cleveland Ohio Tanks half tracks and armored cars. View Quote Columbus built swords, knives and all sorts of steel. |
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You might want to listen to the Glantz lecture. Those stats you quote out of Wikipedia are not accurate, at all. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Might want to check those numbers. Battle of Brody German tanks=750 Russian= 3,500 Battle of Kursk In 2 phases of the battle 1st phase Operation Citadel German tanks=2,928 Russian=5,128 Soviet counter offensive German tanks=3,253 Russian=7,360 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brody_ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kursk |
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Quoted: I do love to read the stories of all WWII infantry/combat arms doggies who managed to survive against all odds and go on to live productive lives despite carrying that burden of war the rest of their lives. The men are tribute to resiliency of the heart, mind and sou l[goes for all combat vets]. Books like "Roll Me Over" "Citizen Soldier" do come to mind. View Quote |
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The Nazi obsession with the supernatural and the interesting weaponry they made.
Just to name a few |
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Jesus... "Some guy" in this case is the leading expert on the Eastern Front in WWII. What more do you want? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Find some official numbers other than what some guy says in a lecture and I'll consider it. Let me add this. https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/military-history/2018/07/05/the-largest-tank-battle-in-history-began-75-years-ago-today-heres-how-it-changed-wwii/ Puts the numbers on par with the other links vs this from The National Interest which includes details of Glantz' lecture. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-battle-brody-the-biggest-tank-battle-ever-its-been-19836 In the article it does say this: Expanding the number to encompass all of Operation Citadel would include many more tanks. But they were not concentrated and committed in the same numbers as at the Battle of Brody, which hardly anyone has written about. That's also according to Zamulin and David Glantz, a historian of the Eastern Front and Soviet military. "This, in fact, is the biggest tank battle in World War II," Glantz said regarding the Battle of Brody during a 2007 lecture available via the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center. Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. Beginning on June 23 between Dubno, Lutsk and Brody in far western Ukraine, six Soviet mechanized corps under Gen. Mikhail Kirponos launched a counter attack into the advancing 1st Panzer Group advancing toward Kiev. The battle which developed and then concluded on June 30 was a confusing morass that swallowed 2,648 Soviet tanks out of a total force of 5,000 versus some 1,000 German tanks. It's unclear how many tanks of the 1st Panzer Group were destroyed in the battle, but the force did lose 100 of its tanks during the first two weeks of the war. So even according to the Glantz article, there were more tanks at Kursk. |
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That don't make him right. Some proof to support his claims is required, you can't rewrite history that was based on official German records without some concrete proof. View Quote Furthermore, if you read Nipe's book "Blood, Steel and Myth", one of the leading state historians of the Soviet Union came out at veterans memorial meeting at Kursk and stated that all the Soviet records pertaining to the battle are complete fabrications. The Soviets got so fucked up by the Germans they had to lie about everything to stop people going to the Gulag and stop the communists from looking so bad. Soviet sources claim being "attacked by 500-600 Tigers and Panthers" and their destruction of "70 Tigers" in certain sectors, like around Prochorowka, you go back and check the records for the say the 3 Waffen SS division in that area, turns out they only had 14 Tigers total lost between 3 divisions. I know it's a newsflash to call Geraldo with: "Communists lied". The reality is that when the Waffen SS armor clashed with best Soviet tank divisions, the Waffen SS were killing them at the rate of about 15-1. Remember anything that isn't palatable for communist consumption is purged from the history books. Western historians have such an inaccurate view of events like the Battle of Kursk because up until very recently they based so much of their interpretation on the Soviet primary sources alone! Added to that the very real leftist slant in academia, and even almost 80 years later it's still a truth many don't want to hear, because it is not compatible with their artificial world view. |
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Quoted: Dude Glantz and George Nipe both have examined the Soviet sources and said they are bullshit. Furthermore, if you read Nipe's book "Blood, Steel and Myth", one of the leading state historians of the Soviet Union came out at veterans memorial meeting at Kursk and stated that all the Soviet records pertaining to the battle are complete fabrications. The Soviets got so fucked up by the Germans they had to lie about everything to stop people going to the Gulag and stop the communists from looking so bad. Soviet sources claim being "attacked by 500-600 Tigers and Panthers" and their destruction of "70 Tigers" in certain sectors, like around Prochorowka, you go back and check the records for the say the 3 Waffen SS division in that area, turns out they only had 14 Tigers total lost between 3 divisions. I know it's a newsflash to call Geraldo with: "Communists lied". The reality is that when the Waffen SS armor clashed with best Soviet tank divisions, the Waffen SS were killing them at the rate of about 15-1. Remember anything that isn't palatable for communist consumption is purged from the history books. Western historians have such an inaccurate view of events like the Battle of Kursk because up until very recently they based so much of their interpretation on the Soviet primary sources alone! Added to that the very real leftist slant in academia, and even almost 80 years later it's still a truth many don't want to hear, because it is not compatible with their artificial world view. View Quote |
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Last week I just finished reading Herb Sheaner's Prisoner's Odyssey. Sheaner and other privates were captured at the Battle of the Bulge. They were taken out of their stalag and made to dig ditches (widen drainage/irrigation ditches) for the Germans. They got only one meal: a watered down soup and one slice of bread. Holy f*ck. We fed German prisoners here the same rations our Army was receiving if they were in camp. Fresh bread, butter, milk, meat, vegetables. The Germans were literally working and starving Sheaner and his buddies to death. It's better to sit in a camp and not have to work than to work and conserve energy since one barely fed. https://www.amazon.com/Prisoners-Odyssey-Herb-Sheaner/dp/1441546642?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-brave-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1441546642 View Quote The POWs were given menial labor jobs to do. I know they were working in the forest cutting trees and going around the town picking up trash from people's houses. Being the sailors and soldiers that they were, apparently they soon had "ladies whose rubbish they would spend a while collecting", so my grandmother told me. I also remember him saying cigarettes were way better than actual money. The end of the war till about a year or 2 later was absolute anarchy across Europe. We still don't know how many people starved to death in the Winter of 1945. Hundreds of thousands of German POWs died that winter in Allied captivity. Then there's the really nasty secret, how many British, Canadian and American POWs were murdered by the Soviets, we still don't know. General Patton had an idea though. My grandfather said the 3 scariest things in the war were: 1. Being attacked by Stukas 2. The RAF bombing raids 3. Being "liberated" by the Russians. There's some really interesting books on the subject: https://www.amazon.com/Other-Losses-Investigation-Prisoners-Americans/dp/0889226652 https://www.amazon.com/Victims-Yalta-Secret-Betrayal-1944-1947/dp/1605983624/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=victims+of+yalta&qid=1566864076&s=books&sr=1-1 https://www.amazon.com/minister-massacres-Nikolai-Tolstoy/dp/0091640105/ref=pd_sbs_14_5/134-7002132-3449322?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0091640105&pd_rd_r=b4d0d7e2-e711-41fc-9cc9-407be4d6c782&pd_rd_w=y7w7q&pd_rd_wg=nurg4&pf_rd_p=1c11b7ff-9ffb-4ba6-8036-be1b0afa79bb&pf_rd_r=KRKKKBXNGHHJ4FZQF05M&psc=1&refRID=KRKKKBXNGHHJ4FZQF05M https://www.amazon.com/Last-Secret-Nicholas-Bethell/dp/0465038131/ref=pd_sbs_14_1/134-7002132-3449322?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0465038131&pd_rd_r=b4d0d7e2-e711-41fc-9cc9-407be4d6c782&pd_rd_w=y7w7q&pd_rd_wg=nurg4&pf_rd_p=1c11b7ff-9ffb-4ba6-8036-be1b0afa79bb&pf_rd_r=KRKKKBXNGHHJ4FZQF05M&psc=1&refRID=KRKKKBXNGHHJ4FZQF05M https://www.amazon.com/After-Reich-Brutal-History-Occupation/dp/0465003389/ref=pd_lutyp_im_2_3/134-7002132-3449322?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0465003389&pd_rd_r=6ea9ced9-bdde-4cc6-9d9d-b506fda69da1&pd_rd_w=ta7wY&pd_rd_wg=qpKdu&psc=1&refRID=7XCJRX6GSZKBDAK1W6VY |
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The Nazi obsession with the supernatural and the interesting weaponry they made. Just to name a few View Quote There are some REALLY disturbing primary source documents that support the fact the Germans were working on some things that even today are still classified. In March of 1945 Von Braun was working on the A-10 rocket with a 6,000 km range. Interestingly he had also designed a space shuttle in the 1930s. They had also born the idea of satellites and their weaponization. |
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I updated my post above yours with links. View Quote |
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That somebody didn’t off Hitler once the Allies has a clear advantage.
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Last week I just finished reading Herb Sheaner's Prisoner's Odyssey. Sheaner and other privates were captured at the Battle of the Bulge. They were taken out of their stalag and made to dig ditches (widen drainage/irrigation ditches) for the Germans. They got only one meal: a watered down soup and one slice of bread. Holy f*ck. We fed German prisoners here the same rations our Army was receiving if they were in camp. Fresh bread, butter, milk, meat, vegetables. The Germans were literally working and starving Sheaner and his buddies to death. It's better to sit in a camp and not have to work than to work and conserve energy since one barely fed. https://www.amazon.com/Prisoners-Odyssey-Herb-Sheaner/dp/1441546642?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-brave-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1441546642 View Quote |
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Once again GD is afraid of tackling the real issues https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/459941/C94CFF23-79AC-4E38-BC44-AD5D87AF8BFE_jpeg-1068506.JPGhttps://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/459941/A3469C18-9178-4538-9D7A-C72B4CC73C01_jpeg-1068507.JPG View Quote |
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