Without Hitler declaring war on the US, they would have only received the tiniest fraction of that from Britain before Britain went under.
What allowed Britain to hold on as long as it did was Hitler invading Norway. That was another colossal blunder. Norway handed over about 1600 ships from its merchant marine to the British when they extracted the Norwegian royal family.
Other than that, I agree with you.
SpyNavy
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
ThankQ for all that info on sails!
>>The Soviet Union only survived because it was propped up by MASSIVE infusions of everything we could send them. Without Hitler declaring war on the US, they would have only received the tiniest fraction of that from Britain before Britain went under.<<
I agree. In addition, a covert operation by the Nazis had tricked Stalin into believing his military officers were disloyal, resulting in the execution of many top generals, and virtually all division commanders. If, after conquering France, Hitler had headed east and invaded Russia in the early spring of 1941 he would have been opposed by an army with weak leadership, and with enough time before winter to force a surrender prior to the U.S. entering the war.
>>What allowed Britain to hold on as long as it did was Hitler invading Norway. That was another colossal blunder. Norway handed over about 1600 ships from its merchant marine to the British when they extracted the Norwegian royal family. Other than that, I agree with you.<<
Perhaps. There are many opinions on the strategic necessity and success of the Norway operation, but this one gave a more positive tone:
“[I]t is difficult to be too critical of German strategy. Britain would have undoubtedly occupied Norway, and possibly Denmark, had Germany not done so, with clear implications for the invasion of France and the Low Countries.” [Hooker & Coglianese, “Operation Weserubung and the Origins of Joint Warfare.” Joint Force Quarterly, Vol.1, Summer, 1993, p.109]
Mr. Kalamata
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Right. Stalin's numerous, highly placed agents in the FDR administration, including "Assistant President" Harry Hopkins, senior Treasury official Harry Dexter White, Alger Hiss, and most likely the FLOTUS, saw to it that the USSR received most of everything, even at the expense of British and American forces.
According to Diana West in "American Betrayal," Hopkins shipped uranium and other materials to Stalin to get their atomic program moving, even before Hiroshima & Nagasaki.
This extreme Soviet infiltration is why I think FDR may still rank as the worst President in U.S. history, despite stiff competition from Xiden and LBJ.