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Our Perceptions of World War II
Free Vulcan:
--- Quote from: Sled Dog on March 14, 2021, 07:22:22 am ---Their biggest mistake was in starting the war with China in the first place, and they made an equally large blunder by attacking Pearl Harbor. The US did not want to get into the wars, and would have resisted strongly...then the surprise attack on Pearl. US mood changed over night.
We declared war on Japan, ignored Germany.
--- End quote ---
My Grandmother was 22 when the Japs attacked PH. She lived till 2015 at the age of 96. She worked in the Curtiss-Wright factory in St. Louis putting the wiring in the P-51's, because she was a master seamstress by training.
I visited her on PH day a couple of years before she passed. Asked her what was like like having been there.
She said right after it happened people were scared because they didn't know what the Japs had or where they would go next.
Then she got a really weird look in her eye, and all she said was: 'And the next day, we got mad.'
It was the look of the Japs being lucky we didn't wipe them off the map.
Free Vulcan:
--- Quote from: sneakypete on March 24, 2021, 02:29:18 am ---@Smokin Joe
There are many people who think King Roosevelt ALLOWED the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor "by surprise" because he needed an excuse to go to war in Europe to help save communism.
I'm one of them.
--- End quote ---
I don't think people realize how shady and ruthless FDR was.
Where do y'all think Bill Clinton got his moves?
Free Vulcan:
One if the biggest blunders Germany also made was that they stopped tech research from around '41 to '44.
Germany had the best scientists in the world, and lots of them. They had tech that even today would be considered almost sci-fi.
Had they fully developed and deployed what they had - like jets - they would have lasted far longer. But they thought they had the war won early on and diverted resources from new weapons development.
Make no mistake - the reason everyone was racing to get to the Reich first had little to do with territory, it was all about the tech. And I believe it has shaped the world ever since in ways seen and unseen.
sneakypete:
--- Quote from: Free Vulcan on June 28, 2022, 02:20:10 am ---One if the biggest blunders Germany also made was that they stopped tech research from around '41 to '44.
Germany had the best scientists in the world, and lots of them. They had tech that even today would be considered almost sci-fi.
Had they fully developed and deployed what they had - like jets - they would have lasted far longer. But they thought they had the war won early on and diverted resources from new weapons development.
Make no mistake - the reason everyone was racing to get to the Reich first had little to do with territory, it was all about the tech. And I believe it has shaped the world ever since in ways seen and unseen.
--- End quote ---
@Free Vulcan
They did have jets. The ME-262,and it was a wonder at the time. They just didn't have enough to be effective thanks to the massive bomber raids on German factories.
They could have had them earlier in the war,but Hitler would rather spend the money on invading Russia and claiming her oil fields. I guess the Nazi's just thought that jet aircraft weren't necessary at that time,so they spent the money on other things.
Hoodat:
Some of the things the US had going for them:
- Home-grown supply of raw materials including petroleum
- Huge industrial base
- An intact country free of bombing
- Overwhelming support for the war (thanks to Pearl Harbor)
- Ability to learn from our mistakes and adapt
When we entered the war, we were unprepared. Germany's war declaration resulted in massive loss of shipping on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Soldiers trained with wooden rifles. The US landings in North Africa were filled with mistakes. And our first major battle at Kasserine Pass was a disaster. But from each of these we learned.
We developed new technology and tactics that turned the tide in the U-boat war. Supply and logistics became a priority. The success of the D-Day landings were built on the errors of Torch. And tactical adjustments were made after our embarrassment at Kasserine Pass.
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