What would you have done had you been Hood or another general in the West?
If I was Hood I would have shadowed Sherman deep into Georgia and attempted to counter attack him near Savannah while his supply lines were at his longest.
Best general
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I always liked Aldolf Galland. Youngest Inspector of Fighters General in history. What a sweetheart ace.
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Kesslring. he had his eyes on the prize (malta) and kept us running till the end.
rommel pulled too many blunders IMO. and monty sux as much as the boston red sox.
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What about Erich von Manstein?? He was very good at warfare!!!
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Actually it was Kesselring that pulled many blunders too. Though many will remember him for the staunch defense of Italy against the Allies, he was marred by two critical incidents.
During the Battle of Britian, he was instrumental in Hermann Goring’s decision to change Luftwaffe tactics from direct pressure on RAF Fighter Command to bombing Britain’s cities. This led to the ultimate loss of the Battle of Britain.
The second was when Resistance members detonated a bomb in Rome killing 32 German soldiers. In retaliation, Hitler demanded that all able-bodied men in Italian capital be transported to prison camps. Kesselring instead had 335 citizens of Rome rounded up and shot at nearby Grotto Via Ardeantina. Kesselring worse then Hitler?
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To add on from what you said, when the foundations of the Luftwaffe were being set, Kesselring was not an advocate and protested harshly about a long-range heavy bomber. This had many repercussions especially during the Battle of Britain and the war against Russia.
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From what my brother has in his World War II binder, the use of the Luftwaffe was based more on the experiences from the previous Great War. He writes,
"…The continued domination of the European skies by the Luftwaffe was caused by two factors, the first of which was the difference in military theory between the Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force. The theories concerning the purpose and function of the Luftwaffe and RAF were exactly opposite and were a result of their experiences in World War I.
During WW I, Germany attempted a strategic bombing effort directed against England using Gothas (biplane bombers) and Zeppelins (slow-moving hydrogen balloons) which did not give much of a result. This, plus the fact that German military theory at the beginning of WW II was based much more on fast, quick results (Blitzkrieg), meant that Germany decided not to develop a strategic air force. The Luftwaffe had experienced great success when they used tactical ground-attack aircraft in Spain (e.g. at Guernica), and so they figured that their air force should mainly consist of this kind of plane. So Germany made the Luftwaffe a ground support force that was essentially an extension of the army and functioned as a long-range, aerial artillery.
The RAF, on the other hand, had experimented with ground-attack fighters during WW I, and had suffered grievous casualty rates. This, combined with the fact that the British had been deeply enraged and offended by the German Gotha and Zeppelin attacks on their home soil, made them determined to develop a strategic air force that would be capable of bombing German soil in the next war. Thus, at the beginning of WW II, the RAF was mostly a strategic force that consisted of heavy bombers and backup fighters, and lacked any tactical dive-bombers or ground-attack fighters."
There still leaves one question left. How would Kesselring, a army officer, have any say on the Luftwaffe? Did he use to be a fighter pilot like Herman during the Great War? Can anybody shed some additional light on this? I will try to look into his notes some more.
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Still, all projects regarding the heavy bomber were scraped, hindering the development of one in the future. The closest the Germans ever got to a heavy bomber was the Heinkel 177 and it was a piece of crap. I guess the Germans had no perception of the limitations of the Blitzkrieg, which was their downfall.
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Oh, so you must be the legendary Candyman I spoke too. hee-hee :smile:
In response, the Germans never intended to fight a long-term war. In reality, German high command expected the war to be over with the invasion of Britain in 1941-1942. When Germany invaded Russia, they expected the fighting to end within six weeks. Of course even with the initial success of Barbarossa, this planning was very optimistic.
As you can see, long-range, strategic bombers weren’t the primary concern of German planners. The heaviest bomber the Germans had was the Focke-Wulf Condo, which was designed as a commercial transport. During the Battle of Britian, Bf-109s could only spend 30 minutes over Britain after crossing the English Channel before turning back. Even then the Germans were one the verge of winning the Battl of Britain if not for Hitler, Kesselring, and others.
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Umm, I changed my mind. I think the best General was Zhokov. You try leading the largest army the world has ever known, with Stalin breathing down your neck.
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k, im Zhukov; i’ll just take my army and throw it at the enemy, regaurdless of the casualties. A fine WW1 strategy.
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Zhukov was during WWII imbecile. But it worked didnt it??
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Kesselring started off the war commanding Luftwaffe airfleets in Poland, then France, then against England. In March 1941, Hitler sent him to Rome to be the German co-commander of the Italian/German effort in Africa. Rommel reported to Kesselring. So Rommel was the field commander in Africa, but Kesselring directed the larger effort. He didn’t leave Italy until March 1945. That’s about all I know of Kesselring, and as far as I know he is the only WWII general to command both air and land armies.
Hess
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[ This Message was edited by: Mr Ghoul on 2002-04-18 10:37 ]
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On 2002-04-18 06:46, Gul’Dan wrote:
Zhukov was during WWII imbecile. But it worked didnt it??I know he’s from WW2, His tactic of throwing wave after wave of men at enemy positions is WW1-ish…Bitch
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LMAO…
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"During the Battle of Britian, he was instrumental in Hermann Goring’s decision to change Luftwaffe tactics from direct pressure on RAF Fighter Command to bombing Britain’s cities. This led to the ultimate loss of the Battle of Britain.
The second was when Resistance members detonated a bomb in Rome killing 32 German soldiers. In retaliation, Hitler demanded that all able-bodied men in Italian capital be transported to prison camps. Kesselring instead had 335 citizens of Rome rounded up and shot at nearby Grotto Via Ardeantina. Kesselring worse then Hitler? "
One, Hitler wanted the attack on cities, and one cannot question the fuhrer. Two, Hitler wanted to kill people, and one cannot question the fuhrer. excuse my spelling. I don’t think kesslring was a good person (he fought for the wrong side), but he did a good job.
Now one has to understand that Webel (that guy who wanted the long range bobmers, “euro bomber”, i believe), wanted long range bombers. Now here is the problem. No german aircraft company had any serious heavy bombers in the works. Another was that Germany wanted to use their blitzkreig tactic. They never planned a prolonged war with russia, or war with britain at all. Webel might of been right, but at the time he was wrong, and his reasoning highly conflicted with Nazi tactics.
Now Zhuhkov, well…sucked. Sadly he was the best russia had! He was able to win wars of attrition…that’s it. Was Yemenko (i think it is his name) the guy in stalingrad? He held when the river was frozen, and he couldn’t get any more supplies and men. In fact, as little as 40 russian soldiers at one point stopped the german army from taking the volga river side.
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I bealive that Zuhkov was at Stalin grad, but I might be wrong. Still, the fact that he was able to bring the Russians to victory in europe has to count for something
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His tactic of throwing wave after wave of men at enemy positions is WW1-ish
If it aint broke, dont fix it Ass
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On 2002-04-20 11:04, Gul’Dan wrote:
His tactic of throwing wave after wave of men at enemy positions is WW1-ish
If it aint broke, dont fix it Ass
Whats you problem?
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On 2002-04-20 11:00, Gul’Dan wrote:
I bealive that Zuhkov was at Stalin grad, but I might be wrong. Still, the fact that he was able to bring the Russians to victory in europe has to count for somethingHey guy, how do YOU spell Stalingrad?
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