[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile. Also visit our general discussion thread

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
Battle of Bataan, 1942
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941 – American Carrier Operations, 7 December 1941-18 April 1942
Micronesia, Melanesia and New Guinea: Japanese Centrifugal Offensive-Japanese Fourth Fleet and South Seas Detachment Operations, December 1941-April 1942
Luzon, P.I., 1941: Centrifugal Offensive, 10 December 1941-6 May 1942-Fourteenth Army Operations on Luzon
Netherlands East Indies, 1941: Japanese Centrifugal Offensive, December 1941-April 1942, Sixteenth Army and Southern Force (Navy) Operations
Southern Asia, 1941: Japanese Centrifugal Offensive (and Continued Operations), January-May 1942
Eastern Europe, 1941: Soviet Winter Offensive – Operations, 6 December 1941-7 May 1942
North Africa, 1940: Rommel’s Second Offensive, 21 January-7 July 1942

[BroJoeK]

Headline: "Air Power in the War-IV (Baldwin) – 9"

"The old argument that 'planes can sink ships' is as much beside the point as it ever was.
No proof of that statement was ever needed -- though, for the doubting Thomases the headlines have offered redundant proof.
But sunken ships -- no matter how sunk -- no more invalidate the concept of the ship as a commerce carrier and man-of-war than wrecked planes invalidate the concept of the plane as a commerce carrier and aerial man-of-war.

"Any ship ever built, no matter how strong, can be sunk by air attack if enough force can be concentrated against it.
Planes and fleets of planes can be destroyed if enough force can be concentrated against them.

The air extremists have now dismissed navies and merchant navies as obsolescent, if not obsolete, just as the surfact-ship conservatives in the past blocked the full development of naval air power.
Neither is right.
The plane is a commerce carrier and an aerial man-of-war; but despite the predictions of a few air extremists, it probably will never totally replace -- certainly not within the foreseeable future -- the surface ship in either function.

"The quantity of air freight carried will unquestionably increase in the future, but today and tomorrow and probably throughout our generation the red-leaded tramp and the humble, smoking freighter will continue to carry the great majority of the world's bulk freight.
Heavy machinery, heavy munitions, wheat, manganese, railroad rolling stock, crude rubber, oil, gasoline -- indeed, nearly all of the important international commodities except those items relatively light in weight and small in bulk -- will certainly continue to be carried by surface carriers."

Baldwin did not foresee the advent of super-tankers and super cargo ships carrying hundreds of thousands of tons -- not-so-humble as the old smoking tramp freighters.
Otherwise, still spot on.

And when did anyone last see or hear the term "red-leaded tramp"?

[CougarGA7]

• "Our first march, which we completed this morning, was extremely instructive...It is too early to state definitely, but on the strength of this first experiment, the half-track performed in a superior manner. The 2 1/2 ton 6 wheeler [truck] was very satisfactory. The 4 x 4 [vehicle] satisfactory; and in bad going, the scout car of dubious value." - George S. Patton to General Devers

[snippy_about_it]

Such great reading. I don’t thank you often enough for posting these threads and I know what it takes. When we did the FReeper Foxhole daily threads it was a lot of work.

I really enjoy these though I don’t often post. I wanted you to know that.

Thanks again.