I see our friend Walter Duranty is making sure his friends in Moscow have their point of view heard on the Times front page. It’s amazing, that column could have been written by one of the apparatchiks from Pravda.
Figured you might like this WWII movie in case you have not seen it. It’s called Downfall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O705I-xT6KI
"I can conceive of nothing more futile than to send expensive tanks against a prepared position. The doctrine for so doing was originally written by me and was based on the fact that in 1918 tanks were invincible, but a careful analysis of what the Germans have done leads me to a totally different solution for present day armored forces..." - George S. Patton in his Address on Orientation in Maneuvers"The thing I believe which we must remove from the minds of the high command is that the direct charge against anti-tank guns over open country is as impracticable as is a cavalry charge against barbed wire." - George S. Patton to Major General Lesley J. McNair, head of the Army's training program.
I'm beginning to see the seeds for Patton's preference for lighter and faster tanks like the Sherman in comparison to the Panther and Tiger.
Next I have an interesting bit on Japan's nuclear program. Many don't realize that the Japanese were also looking at the possibility of making an atomic bomb as well, they just didn't have number of people involved or the dedication to the idea. Many of the records concerning their program were destroyed so homing in on just how far they really got is very difficult to ascertain. However, one of the players in the Japanese bomb program was Tokutaro Hagiwara.
Japanese physicist Tokutaro Hagiwara lectures at the University of Kyoto that not only does Uranium235 have the potential to make a fission bomb but that also it has potential for being used to initiating fusion of hydrogen and thus create a thermonuclear bomb.
On the American side of things right now the thought of using an atomic bomb as an initiator for a hydrogen bomb is just an idle idea in Edward Teller's head. "The Super" as it will be called will not even be officially considered for another year.
Then there are some problems at the State Department that will lead to a fued between F.D.R. and the Army. This will cause problems down the road when it comes to delivering intelligence to the President.
The State Department reports that they have lost intelligence memo Number 9 from the previous March which the Army believes led to the Germans warning the Japanese that their codes had been compromised. Fortunately, Japan ignored the warning, but G-2 headed by Brigadier General Sherman Miles decides to clamped down on security as a result of this slip and stops providing the White House with MAGIC decrypts.
Finally, I have this quote from today by Colonel General Erich Hoepner, commander of Panzer Group 4 preparing for operation BARBAROSSA. This demonstrates the totality of the upcoming war even in the minds of the front line generals. This will lead to some well documented atrocities of which even the Wehrmacht cannot absolve themselves from responsibility.
"The objective of this battle must be the destruction of present day Russia and it must therefore be conducted with the unprecedented severity. Every military action must be guided in planning and execution by an iron will to exterminate the enemy mercilessly and totally. In particular no adherents of the present Russian-Bolshevik system are to be spared" - Colonel General Erich Hoepner
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