I just hit the link and this site has “lost” $2000 of it’s value. LT I’d say your trivial comment is more than apt. I have to go outside now to see if the sky is falling.
Posts made by 11HP20
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RE: This place is worth $3,800 –-buy it!
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RE: WORLD WAR 3
I have to wonder how much the 1969 border fighting between Russia and China would have influenced the outcome. After that point the Soviets would have felt compelled to keep a large presence along that border just in case. Supposedly a KGB agent approached our side to see how we might react to a Soviet strike on China’s nuclear facilities. If so that shows a concern by the Soviets about some form of US - Chinese co-operation in a time of open hostilities. Surely both sides had to factor in the possibility of Chinese involvement if war in Europe had broken out. China also didn’t enjoy it’s role as the number 2 commie power and everyone know it. Yet more reason for the Soviets to concider Chinese involvement.
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What Europe learned from WW2
Nothing. That’s what they learned. Not admitting the Ukraine and Georgia into NATO because Putin might get mad is crap. We see how well appeasement of aggresive leaders works all the time. Of course everyone here will first think of Hitler. Everyone will realize appeasement didn’t work too well with the Soviet Empire or Japan either. Russia is in no position to pose a serious threat to a united Europe.
I’m not saying Putin is going to start WW3 at some point if he’s left alone. He will become a bigger and bigger problem though. How far that will go is anyone’s guess. He can be put in his place though with a little reality check.
Someone needs to get in Putin’s grill and tell him everyone knows Russia’s heavy military hardware is bunk. Their garbage can’t stand against anything the US, England, or Germany produces. They would have to face it all plus more. Putin wants no part of a conflict he can’t win. Yet if he acts like he’s not afraid the forces that could easily shut his face duck tail and run. I propose I be sent to talk to Putin. Here’s what I would TELL him.
“Sup cracka. You rollin up on me all frontin fool? We both know yo tanks an’ planes an’ sh!t is all whack. My whip a Abrams. Don’t make me roll up an’ bussa cap in yo dome beotch. But if you want to go all old school and settle this now I could just chin check yo punk ass on location. I done got yo ho’s mathmatics so what you gonna do fool. Sup sucka. Get to steppin.”
Instead NATO is going to send some pure as the driven snowflake who won’t keep it real. We are all going to see Georgia hung out to dry just like the Czechs were. Who is it that said “The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.”
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RE: Rommel, 12th SS and Normandy
@Crazy:
I believe that old Joseph Stalin would probibly eaten a bullet instead of Hitler, to avoid capture, because Russia would have been on its’ own, no peace could have been brokered between those two.
Russia would have beat the Germans on their own even without a western front. It is true that the Husky landings caused Hitler to falter on Cittedelle etc etc but given another year or two Russia would have come out on top.
What a difference that would have made in the world.
Exactly. Stalin would have overrun even more of Europe. Millions more people would have suffered under communism. Many people in the Brittish and American governments understood that reality at the time.
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RE: Which Battle Had a Greater Impact?
Both battles give examples of lessons not learned. When the Japs were clearing the Brits from Ceylon and the surrounding area the search pattern they used to find naval units proved flawed. Since the Japanese met their objectives due to weight of numbers they used the same search pattern at Midway. Stupid.
The Japanese had a habit of splitting naval forces with the thought of having them meet IN THE COMBAT ZONE. That worked exactly zero times when the tactic was discovered. So they approached Midway with a Landing Force and a Carrier Group. I’m going to go out on a limb to say if the Japs kept both groups as one the millions of additional rounds they could have thrown at the attacking American aircraft may have proved helpful.
The actions leading up to Leyte Gulf were the result the Japs learning nothing from Midway and other battles. They went into the Phillipines with three naval forces and these were handled one at a time. One force was mualed twice in fact. Of course with a little more resovle the Japanese could have turned Leyte into an American grave yard.
The Pacific war was filled with stories of needless sacrifice on the part of the Japanese service member. Guadalcanal showed the banzai charge to be a less than useful tool in modern warfare. Yet it happened over and over throughout the war. I can imagine some NCO or officer saying “Ammo’s low. Time to get shot. Let’s go gang! BANZAI!” Kiss my a$$ sarge. I’m going coconut hunting.
Even when the outcome was no longer in doubt the Japanese military leadership poured resources into Guadalcanal. This was the result of them not being able to accept being wrong. In the end that would prove to be the biggest mistake the Nipponese would make. It took entirely too much convincing to get them to admit being wrong.
The biggest contribution of both battles was no contribution at all for one side. The Japs learned nothing from their mistakes. Our boys used that to tactical, operational, and strategic advantage throughout the war.
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RE: Nazi Germany VS The Soviet Union
This may have been pointed out already but what if England and France had not lived up to their promise to Poland. No Western front. Now you have a scenario were Hitler could focus souly on the USSR.
Many Ukranians looked upon the Germans as liberators at first. Then reality set in. With fair treatment and the right propaganda who nows how many soldiers Hitler could have drawn from the western nations living under Soviet occupation.
It’s incorrect to say these people would have been fighting their former countrymen if they had decided to kill some Russians. The USSR was an empire guided by an ideology and dominated by Russia. The provinces, territories, what have you, of the USSR were nations before the USSR. Now that the USSR has collapsed they are nations again. People in these lands would have gladly fought against their former oppressors.
In this scenario Germany wins no sweat.
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RE: Interesting WWII facts
Unit 731. Thanks Jermofoot. I had forgotten the unit and I can’t remember the OIC’s name but I did watch a History Channel show about these guys. The Allies feared the possible destablization of Japan if war crimes trials were pursued in earnest. Some people like to say the Emperor was ignorant about most of the atrociteis commited by his troops. Allied leadership didn’t fall for that and knew a full set of war crimes trials would have to include the Emperor.
We needed a stable Japan as a hedge against the expansionist plans of the commies. In retrospect it payed off. Take Korea and Viet Nam as two examples. Our bases in Japan were hugely important in both cases. Without our troops in Japan Korea would have been entirely overrun and a lot more people would have died liberating the South. Too bad we had to betray our values to help ensure our success.
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RE: The Man and His Plan
OK now that someone is not grapping my attention thanks for the kind thank yous. Me doing this kind thing from time to time keeps my ex alive. :wink: Sir Basil was 22 when Plan 1919 was concieved. He wasn’t yet the military theorist he would become. Though as brilliant as Hart was he was well on his way. Too bad the Brits didn’t work more with him when they put him in charge of mechanizing their Army in 1937.
Another thing most people don’t know about the development of blitzkrieg is the impact Napoleon had. He didn’t have tanks so his concentration of force can in the form of artillery. Instead of shooting at the entire line like everyone else did Bonaparte massed his barrage on one point. When the men there crumbled an attack aimed at that point would begin. Punch through, roll up the lines, head to the tent for a stiff drink. This basic tactic was studied by the men who made blitzkrieg a household word around the world.
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RE: Interesting WWII facts
If i remember correctly they were also experimenting with bubonic plague as a biological weapon and nearly made an attack on san fransisco with it but disagreement from the navy prevented it.
They did some experimenting alright. The sick pecker heads had a facility in Manchuria where they infected people then cut them open to see how the illness effected living tissue. No anesthesia just your numbers up and you get filleted alive. The victims were refered to as “logs” because their dead bodies would be stacked like firewood before incineration. Too bad the political climate after the war kept this kind of information out of the limelight.
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RE: The Man and His Plan
To answer your question DF yes I did write it but after re-reading it I see a mistake. I forgot to mention the cavalry was supposed to enter the breach with the medium tanks. I had been up since 3 that morning and felt like doing something. I should have had some coffee first.
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RE: Interesting WWII facts
I had no idea about # 10. I guess I should read a D-Day book some day. The Germans did have a bomber capable of a one way trip to New York. I have forgotten which one I guess the Me 264 would have been it.
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RE: Kursk
You’ll need a lot of minefields to be accurate. The saddest part of Operation Citadel is the Soviets knew it was coming and Hitler knew they knew. After he needlessly had his men butchered Hitler blamed them for not trying hard enough.
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The Man and His Plan
How ironic is it that a Brit invented “Blitzkrieg” warfare yet the morons, the Brits called them generals, had to learn it from the Germans. In 1918 no one knew how close the Germans were to collapse. Plans were being made to continue the Great War into 1919 and beyond. One British officer didn’t see the war continuing past 1919. His name was Colonel John Frederick Charles Fuller. His plan was called Plan 1919.
Fuller envisaged a combined arms approach using tanks, artillery, aircraft, infantry, and cavalry to create a breakthrough in the Hindenburg Line then exploit the opening by attacking command, control, and logistics in the German rear.
First medium tanks would attack the front at two points with no artillery prep to warn the enemy. This would create the inherent confusion a two pronged attack creates. Then heavy tanks and infantry would smash a hole in the line. This hole would then be filled with medium tanks on their way to the rear to attack the head of the enemy army. The mediums would be supported by a rolling barrage as long as possible and ground attack aircraft.
Fuller’s ideas on aircraft were revolutionary. They can be some up in his own words. “Air warfare is a shot through the brain, not a hacking to pieces of the enemy’s body.” Armored ground attack bombers and fighters were developed due to Plan 1919. He even planned to use these planes in emergency supply situations for units who had advanced to far ahead for the conventional supply system to keep up with.
Fortunately the Great War ended on November 11 1918. Plan 1919 was never implemented. Due to technological advances it never has and probably never will be used in it’s original form. It has however been studied and used in varied forms since the end of WWI.
First off the great Polish leader Józef Klemens Piłsudski used attack plans very similar to Plan 1919 on limited scales during the Polish - Ukrainian War and Polish - Soviet War during the 20’s. The limitations were more set by equipment than thinking. Pilsudski did not have a great number of aircraft or armor vehicles to work with. After 123 years of subjugation Poland had a leader and opportunity to throw off the yoke.
In another bit of irony the tactics that helped Poland gain her independence would in 1939 be used to enslave her again. As it turns out Heinz Gunther Guderian was a student of Fuller’s also. It’s somewhat comforting to know Pilsudski died in 1935 and didn’t have to see it.
Even modern generals emulate Fullers thinking. The both Gulf Wars can be seen as adaptations of Plan 1919 during their ground attack fazes. Of course modern equipment made them wildly more successful than the modest forms of WWI motor transport could have been.
J.F.C. Fuller moved on to become a Major General. He was a noted military author, fascist, and occultist. These last two and his loathing of democracy did not endear him to many of his countrymen. Trying to tell his countrymen how a war should be fought didn’t sit well after he was an honored guest at Hitler’s 50th birthday celebrations.
Skip forward to Dunkirk. Soldiers swimming towards fishing boats and equipment left on the beach. That equipment included tanks totally useless for a Plan 1919/Blitzkrieg type of attack. Yet the Brits were running from an enemy taught by one of their own how to conduct modern warfare. Fuller must have been beside himself in grief.
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RE: Was he killed or it was just an accident
Two others come to mind for me. Vince Foster. Just Google him. It’s a crazy story. There’s another story but I don’t remember the names. A guy involved in White Water commited suicide by shooting himself in the back twice with a shotgun. The first coroner was pretty stupid. He couldn’t figure out it was a suicide. He died in an unwitnessed hit and run accident. Mr. Coroner’s wife goes to the local media raising hell about threatening phone calls about the autopsy. She died in an unwitessed hit and run at the same intersection as her husband. The second coroner (the smart one) was able to see how the murder victim commited suicide by shooting himsefl twice in the back with a shotgun. At last report the second coroner still has a clean driving record and his health.
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RE: What's your favorite color.
Both of my favorite colors are red. You have Ferrari Red as opposed to BRG. Then you have the red color of my opponents blood as it washes over my metal studded boots of conquest. The second one is not in a Crayola box unfortunately.
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RE: The rebirth of the Airship?
In the fifties the US Navy used blimps in the anti submarine roll. We had squadrons on both coasts one of which was stationed in Lakehurst NJ (thank you Discovery Channel). After losing numerous ships and crews during bad weather the idea went the way of the dinosaur. The routes of any modern lighter than air ships would have to be constantly monitored and adjusted. If I had the money I would love to cross the ocean in one. I just don’t seee them making a comeback. I do give you credit for thinking outside the box balungaloaf. If more people did that we could solve all kinds of problems.
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RE: Sideskirts
DF described the shaped charg/plasma jet perfectly. The space between the schurtzen and the tank did dissipate the plasme jet to the point of ineffectiveness. When in the air it becomes a cone and quickly losses it’s energy. In steel it remains focused and powers on. Certain ceramics sap it’s heat so fast it begins to solidify. That’s where Chobham armor got it’s start. Too bad for us the Brits didn’t invent it until the war had been over for 20 - 25 years.
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RE: Much needed Nipponese unit.
They’ve added Kamakazis to the War at scenario so it should only be a matter of time for this. What year should they put on the card for historical play?
I’ll have to find the book I read about this from. I don’t remenber a date but I do believe this started late in the war. Off the top of my head I’d say '44. I’m with dezrtfish. I’d love to see that as a rare. I wonder what they would go for on ebay.
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Much needed Nipponese unit.
After realising two facts the Japanese developed a new weapon. The first fact was allied armor was better than theirs. The second was the war might be going the wrong way for Japan. In response the Japanese developed a highly successful anti tank weapon. It was called the guy sitting in a hole with a 500 pound bomb and a hammer. This sounds like a joke but it’s true. I want to see these in AAM. Sherman rush this yankee-san.
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RE: Sideskirts
Schurzen “side skirts” were added to protect against hollow or shaped charges. I would think the schurzen would be a help to an infantryman doing a close assault. If mounting the tank were necessary or preferred having the side as another angle of attack would be a plus. Without schurzen between me and the tread… f that. I’ve always been an anti - me getting mashed into a fine paste type of person. Besides what soldier carries around a shaped charge on his person.
BTW the Germans discovered late in the war using a heavy guage wire mesh worked as well as the steel plate they had been using.