It's all a load of Cannonballs in here! This is the virtual Arsenal pub where you can chat about anything except football. Be warned though, like any pub, the content may not always be suitable for everyone.
QuartzGooner wrote:Great alternative history from STG!
Have to say that my view on WW11 is very much in line with DB10Gooner, that all Allied countries contributed to defeating the Nazis.
It must be remembered that whilst Germany itself was under Allied control at by the end of war in Europe, the Nazis in May 1945 still had 200,000 men armed and ready to fight and there is belief amongst some historians they would have been able to do so, using Norway and the Antartic as bases for a still substantial U-Boat fleet.
Whilst the Russian troops must be commended for the bravery and fierce fighting, they were savage too. No doubt they thwarted German advances into Russia, but the Italian can take the blame here for the Axis loss.
They failed to secure the Balkans summer of 1941, (fierce Serbian resistance a large part of that) and so key German SS divisions were diverted from the proposed Eastern Front to help out the Italians, and delayed and weakened the German attack on Russia.
The Sicilians though perhaps played their part? I had a fierce debate about this at University with a tutor who refused to believe the Mafia had any apart in fighting Mussolini, but there are stories of them helping American troops who landed in Sicily to fight the fascists, and there is significant anecdotal "evidence" that Mafia connections were used in American dockyards to work against German sabotage plans on American shipping.
A major factor in the defeat of Germany was the lack of fuel and supplies, down in large part to British and American efforts.
American bombing raids on the industrial regions of Germany were absolutely vital for ending the war, as DB10Gooner has pointed out. The American Super Fortress bombers inflicted considerable damage.
The Germans were successfully counter-attacking in the Battle of the Bulge Winter of 1944 - 45 and their 90 ton Tiger tanks were destroying Allied tanks, but the Germans ran out of fuel.
This shows the respect that must be govern to the British forces in North Africa for halting German advances on the Middle East oil fields. The Axis powers managed to produce just 2% of their fuel by artificial means (largely IG Farben factory in Austria).
:sodomite: 
wned: :finger: 
