World at War - 2e - Distant War Sept 39 to May 40

[zaq423]

I hold a different opinion about the conclusions Buchanon's book. Remember peace agreements with Germany were not worth the paper they were written upon. I doubt that Germany would have pursued peace if FDR had supported Churchill.. England had used all their manpower resources and limited munitions producing capability. There would be no reason for pursuing peace. My question is what do you think would have happened had Japan attacked Russia instead of Hawaii.

[BearCavalry5]

What is the name of the song the Germans are playing when they march into Oslo?

[wanker4761]

Oh isn't it fashionable with lefties and religionists to call humankind "pathetic"?

Ditto to what that guy said on Buchannan's book.

[opiewontaylor]

Churchill repeatedly turned down peace overtures from Germany. For whatever reason, Churchill was determined to be at war with Germany. I wonder if he would have been as obstinate, if he hadn't had FDR in his corner. Perhaps Churchill realized that without the Germans as the enemy, he would have no real importance.

[historyvideos101]

Have tou read or heard about Pat Buchanon's book about the origins of WWII - and he basically calls Churchill out on all of the blunders he made - from WW I onward to 1955 - "Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World"

Buchanon "...generally holds that British and American participation in both WWI and WWII was avoidable if British leaders had recognized that Germany was no threat to the vital interests of the British Empire..."

[joshvn715]

Hitler loved Britain and their culture but, the point of fighting him was-- Hitler determination to restructure all of Europe and that would eventually affect the "vital interests" of Britain, especially when British looked at themselves and empire as a leading power if not the strongest at the time.

Churchill had his failings but he had great vision and understood people's motives and ambitions very well.

[emann1066]

So all those dead jews, Poles and gypsies, disabled people, journalists, trade unionists, and 'undesirables' makes that alright then?

[saulpaulus]

@historyvideos101 It is ironic for the rise of Hitler and Stalin can be attributed almost entirely to isolationists entirely akin to Mr. Buchanan philosophically.

[DJRichardKegg]

@historyvideos101

everyone here needs more information, you're all missing the point. look on google video, the history of oil by rob newman.

[LeMousqueteerBleu]

@historyvideos101 amen!

[loran7866]

are you insane?, if anything churchhill was smart enough to realize that hitler was using peace overtures to try to keep britains military smaller and less ready for war. hitler proved over and over to be a lier when it would help his military win quickly and deceptively.

[joshvn715]

When did Churchill overturn peace overtures, Churchill was very practical not a blinded and crazed war-hawk.

[opiewontaylor]

One of Churchill's chief aides said that Hitler had sent a couple of peace feelers to Churchill, but Churchill had them burned. And it's a known fact that he rejected peace attempts by Hess, and Himmler. For whatever reason, Churchill did not want the war to stop, short of germany's total defeat.

[VagabondOracle]

Gee I wonder why, maybe because Nazi Germany sucked ass and deserved to be annihilated. How uncouth of him.

[sukneh]

But did he have FDR in his pocket that was any way useful? Even in 1941 the majority of Americans were oposed to entering the European war, however much they were willing to give away old destroyers. Ironically, it was Hitler who declared war on the US a few days/ after Pearl Harbor. One of the the great ifs' of history - what if Hitler had not declared war but neutrality in the upcoming conflict between the US and Japan?

[tenchimuyo69]

Maybe... but it is also common knowledge that you fight your enemies allies. It is why Germany declared in the first place.

If Germany had not declared, I am still sure we would have declared war on them. Because Britain is at war with both Germany and Japan, who are allied to each other.

One way or another, these alliances will cause the war to fall into place the way it did. The dates may have been changed, but I feel it was still inevitable.

[DJRichardKegg]

@opiewontaylor

everyone here needs more information, you're all missing the point. look on google video, the history of oil by rob newman.

[sidensvans67]

To land troops at Andalsnes and Namsos and then to try for Trondheim with no proper equipment was lunacy.

Did any of these "planners" know anything about the terrain. Typical mistake by Ignorant Politicians.

[paladin313]

...especially one named Chamberlain!

[historyvideos101]

How about the "Butcher of Gallipoli" for being the architect of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in WW I ... that man's name was Winston Churchill.

[paladin313]

Yep, that was him. Too bad for those that hate him that it was his leadership that was responsible for keeping Britain in the fight, his warnings for six years to do something about Hitler before he became a problem, who told the German ambassador where to get off in 1938 when he pratically spelled out what Hitler planned, who, though he made a horrible mistake in WWI, was given God's grace, mercy, and forgivness at the right time to be the man that needed to be there when the chips were down.

[historyvideos101]

I'm not saying that I, or other "hate" him - but he was human - just like Chamberlain - and to blame Chamberlain for everything that went wrong, is casting stones and living in a glass house.

My guess is that most of us, were we in that day - and with the knowledge that they had at the time, would have done almost anything to avoid another war.

God has nothing to do with war. To keep God in your pocket as a trump card for killing, is a dishonor. Examine your heart on that one.

[paladin313]

Actually, God has a LOT to do with war, although He only allows war as a last when nations will not correct themselves, and He has tried every other means to get their attention. No, war is not good. God has three means he usually uses to get a nation's attention. 1) he hits their economy, 2) then He hits their ecology, 3) He allows someone to come and conquer them, (the Bible is rife with examples.) However, I wasn't saying that God used war to forgive Churchil. I am saying that, (con't)

[paladin313]

when war came, however it came, he had a chance to erase his failures. Yes, we are failures sometmes, but would you not agree he was the right man at the right time? Know when he planned Africa with the allies and his generals, Gallipoli was on his mind, that he wanted to be sure that did not happen again. He was a grea man, fallible, but the right man at the right time.

[paladin313]

By the way, it seems that so many people are putting "The World at War" on borad in sort of a scattered way and in different titles that I cannot keep track of their proper order, if they are all here at all. Is there a way to get a list of the episodes, proper titles, so that I can track this right, (I am so out of order on this.) Or, I could just resist my Scottish blood and fork over the cash to buy the series. :-)

[VagabondOracle]

Just like god has alot to do with outcome of sporting events, if one were to ask the athletes participating. For a deity that spends so much time concerning himself with a pathetic bunch of meaningless stupid creatures like human beings on Earth (according to you and many others), it's a wonder he has time to run the universe.

[saulpaulus]

@historyvideos101 God can use people to accomplish His Purposes. Surely no one believing in God would suggest that He would allow Hitler to remain in power. Chamberlain unfortunately lacked backbone at a critical time. The German generals were ready to attempt a coup in 1938 if he had stood up to Hitler at Munich.

[historyvideos101]

FYI - THE BEST way to see if you want to buy the whole series is to rent them from Netflix/blockbuster. Netflix has the entire series, and with a cheap one month membership - or even free trial, you can see them all! Most good library systems also have the full 26 hour series on VHS or DVD & "Making of" DVD

[timo1595]

Very moderate estimation tells that USSR lost over 140 000 men killed in Finnish-Russo Winter War. German intellegence has estimated that red army could have lost even 250 000 men killed in 105 days of that war.

It has said that there very only three european nations mentally ready to fight in 1939: germans, russians and finns.

[BitnikGr]

I don't think that russian were ready. Maybe military adviser knew that sooner or later it will happen, but simple people knew only about treaty of not-attacking which was signed between Russia and Germany. Stalin himself was refusing to beleive that Germany will attack Russia.

[radio187]

The Germans are always ready to fight, the Russians are always forced to fight, and the Finns are, well, Finns.

[mobboss1944]

The Russians obviously lost a great deal of troops in the invasion of Finland, but this was not because of the quality of the common Soviet soldier. Russian soldiers have always been great fighters. It's their leaders, however, who were not as skilled as their Western European and American counterparts.

[Tpz1446]

To mobboss1944:

That is because higher ranking Russian commanders didnt place much value on the lives of their troops, as they seem to have endless supply of conscripts. Even in Berlin 1945 the Red Army was throwing men away needlessly and selfishly. Many losses could have been avoided by better planning. Although on the other side of the coin Monty missed some good opportunities because he was too careful with the lives of his men.

Its just finding a good balance, maybe Patton had it right?

[evacuationplanb]

Or Rommel.

[WARP10CK]

Not to mention the finns who refused to give up despite impossible odds.