mai said:
Not completely out of line, some are simply misconceptions, some aren't even yours, some have been explained already. Commenting on Easter front only of which I most aware of understandably: - However, it was the Soviet campaign that later showed Germany was beatable (Stalingrad and all the later battles to come). - Operation Barbarossa went off pretty well for the Germans at first. The first winter hindered their progress (with other winters to follow that were even worse) but it wasn't till about the time of Stalingrad and closing near Moscow did the Germans start to falter. - If it were not for America supporting Russia and Britian through lend lease, and their eventual involvment in the European theater, neither Russia nor Britian would of been able to win. - You had Germany and the marvels they made turning the war...STG-44 being one of my favorite, which changed the face of small arms for the next century... I was actually trying to find an original weapon made by the Russians and I came up with the AK-47. After looking at the Wiki page on the AK-47 it can be pulled from there that they really were just copying the assault rifle idea mainly from Germany with their StG44. - "The origins of the T-34 stretched back to early 1930s, when Red Army planners supported a prototype tank designed by the American J. Walter Christie, its innovative suspension siring a series of Soviet BTs, or "Fast Tanks." Industrial legend has it that Christie's designs embodied most of the advances that later made the T-34 such a superior machine, but Soviet engineers vastly improved everything." - Soul of the Sword. Just thought to throw the last paragraph out there. While the T-34 can't be entirely credited to J. Walter Christie he did show them in the right direction. - That is the key. The initial stages totally destroyed Russian defenses. Unfortunately, Hitler made the huge tactical blunder of supressing the Ukranians that had suffered immensely under the Soviets. Rather than use their help against the Russians, he treated them like the Jews and Gypsies, which meant that man and materiel was diverted to supress them instead of getting them to help fight the Russians. - Another interesting group were the Russian Cossacks during WW2. I did a little reading up on them and while most fought with Germany there were a few that remained loyal to Russia/Soviet Union (although it states they weren't really 100% Cossack units). - Interesting fact is that Stalin killed more people than Hitler. |
Wow you dug up some old quotes of mine. I don't have time to rebuke or admit wrongful thinking right now. However, with the last quote about Stalin vs Hitler who killed more... I still believe Stalin killed more but both were guilty of mass murder. It is pretty depressing just reading this article when trying to find out again on my own.
I was going to put a quote from that link but after reading link I believe it deserves an in depth look.
You did bring up some quotes that I will have to further look into. One can easily fall into the hands of propaganda. I try to view WW2 without personal bias. However, being from USA I can't dismiss the possibility of being influenced by false information regarding WW2. I will look further into all topics you have brought up.