poll: was Hitler evil

[StCapps]

Japan had a decent navy but then they picked a fight with two vastly superior naval powers instead of attacking the Soviets, which screwed the Germans. Womp Womp.

Forced to by the Anglo-American oil embargo from Southeast Asia.

Without the oil the Japanese would have ground to a halt precipitously.

Anglo-America forces their hand.

Anglo-America wins both wars in both theaters, at sea.

The British Wars of Hegemonic Succession.

Sea wars wherein the Mahanian Eternal Seapower encircles and contains Eurasia.

King Dollar rule the waves.

Indeed. Lack of oil leads to Japan attacking Anglo-America because they needed the oil they were sitting on near their sphere of influence to keep their war against China going, which seals their doom. Better to have ground to a halt than side against Anglo-America, but desperate times caused them to jump to desperate doomed measures.

Germany was forced by the Soviets to attack the Soviets before they could attack first as well, they were totally boxed in, and never had a hope. Damned if they did, damned if they didn't.

Der Krieg Ist Verloren

[brewster]

Japan had a decent navy but then they picked a fight with two vastly superior naval powers instead of attacking the Soviets, which screwed the Germans. Womp Womp.

The Royal Navy was pretty limited in its ability to project power into the Pacific theater by Dec 41. The Japanese that seen the writing on the wall about carriers and aircraft being the future and the Royal Navy had not. The losses of the Repulse and Prince of Wales to land based aircraft in close succession shocked the shit out of them, and the British shipyards could not play the war of attrition vs production that Americans won. The RN never did play a major role in the Pacific war more than supporting their ground troops in SE Asia.

[Smitty-48]

Der Krieg Ist Verloren

Mahanian Eternal Seapower.

Defeats the Soviets next.

Containment.

Blockade.

Only Nixon can to to China.

King Dollah rule the waves.

[StCapps]

Japan had a decent navy but then they picked a fight with two vastly superior naval powers instead of attacking the Soviets, which screwed the Germans. Womp Womp.

The Royal Navy was pretty limited in its ability to project power into the Pacific theater by Dec 41. The Japanese that seen the writing on the wall about carriers and aircraft being the future and the Royal Navy had not. The losses of the Repulse and Prince of Wales to land based aircraft in close succession shocked the shit out of them, and the British shipyards could not play the war of attrition vs production that Americans won. The RN never did play a major role in the Pacific war more than supporting their ground troops in SE Asia.

Japan was still behind them, but they were closing the gap, until they picked a fight with better navies out of desperation for oil.

[Smitty-48]

Japan was still behind them, but they were closing the gap, until they picked a fight with better navies out of desperation for oil.

Japan sunk the Pacific Fleet.

America built another one.

America blockades Japan with unrestricted submarine warfare.

Japan strangled.

Then nuked as punishment.

[StCapps]

Japan was still behind them, but they were closing the gap, until they picked a fight with better navies out of desperation for oil.

Japan sunk the Pacific Fleet.

America built another one.

America blockades Japan with unrestricted submarine warfare.

Japan strangled.

Then nuked as punishment.

Can't sink a fleet that hasn't been built yet. In the long run, all they did was wake a Sleeping Giant. Hitler wasn't the only one who underestimated the Americans.

[Smitty-48]

Can't sink a fleet that hasn't been built yet.

Do have to maintain the shipbuilding capability.

King Dollar Rules the Waves.

Freedom of Navigation.

Containment.

Balance of Terror.

Survivable Second Strike Countervalue Deterrent.

Preemptive First Strike Theater Counterforce.

Power Projection.

Carrier Strike Group.

Expeditionary Strike Group.

Never Get Out Of The Boat Unless You Are Going All The Way.

Space Program.

[Hastur]

Recommended listening:

http://ww2podcast.com/ww2-podcast/94-19 ... t-the-war/



The usual narrative for WWII is that turning points of the war are in 1942 with the battles of Midway, El Alamein and Stalingrad. While these are unquestionably major victories that signalled the ‘end of the beginning’, as Churchill would put it. Friend of the podcast Andrew Nagorski has suggested that actually 1941 was the pivotal year of the war.

Andrew contends that the decisions made in 1941, by the major nations, would make an allied victory not just possible but inevitable. It’s a compelling idea.

As we’ve had Andrew on the podcast previously (in episode 18, when discussed Nazi war crimes), I thought it would be good to get him back for a catch up and to outline his thesis laid out in his new book ‘1941: The Year Germany Lost The War’.

Bestselling historian Andrew Nagorski takes a fresh look at the decisive year 1941, when Hitler’s miscalculations and policy of terror propelled Churchill, FDR, and Stalin into a powerful new alliance that defeated Nazi Germany.

In early 1941, Hitler’s armies ruled most of Europe. Churchill’s Britain was an isolated holdout against the Nazi tide, but German bombers were attacking its cities and German U-boats were attacking its ships. Stalin was observing the terms of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, and Roosevelt was vowing to keep the United States out of the war. Hitler was confident that his aim of total victory was within reach.

By the end of 1941, all that changed. Hitler had repeatedly gambled on escalation and lost: by invading the Soviet Union and committing a series of disastrous military blunders; by making mass murder and terror his weapons of choice, and by rushing to declare war on the United States after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Britain emerged with two powerful new allies—Russia and the United States. By then, Germany was doomed to defeat.

Nagorski illuminates the actions of the major characters of this pivotal year as never before. 1941: The Year Germany Lost the War is a stunning examination of unbridled megalomania versus determined leadership. It also reveals how 1941 set the Holocaust in motion, and presaged the postwar division of Europe, triggering the Cold War. 1941 was a year that forever defined our world.

[Smitty-48]

Agreed. 1941 is the ultimate turning point.
'
1941 is when it escalates out of the control of the British, French, Germans, Japanese.

1941 is when it becomes a war between America & Russia.

British War of Hegemonic Succession Two.

Competition between America & Russia as to which is to be the Successor.

Defeat of Germany & Japan is an inevitability, simply a matter of time.

Jockeying for position for the coming Cold War is in effect even before 1941

Mahanian Eternal Seapower.

United Kingdom United States Security Agreement.

Anglosphere.

Containment.

[brewster]

Japan sunk the Pacific Fleet.

America built another one.

Actually, there's a pretty good argument that the losses at Pearl weren't strategically significant. Battlewagons were no longer capital ships and our carriers were at sea. Plus, many of the "sunk" ships were in shallow water and refitted within the year or sooner.

The Japanese were put on the defensive at Midway, 6 months after Pearl, and long before new ships were coming off the ways.