Mallard Fillmore on December 7

Jewish World Review ^ | December 7, 2004 | Bruce Tinsley

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

On another note, I once read that Germany, at least in the first part of the war would give a warning notice to abandon ship before attacking non ships of war. I can't find a reference to it now. Do you know where I might find it?

You must read "Operation Drumbeat" by Michael Gannon. Great descriptions of U-Boat tactics, the men and the machines.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060920882/qid=1102456477/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-0758721-3553761?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I'm not sure that the U.S. would have joined the war against Germany without Pearl Harbor. Strategically, Pearl Harbor was a disaster for the Axis. It did enough damage to insure that the U.S. would enter the war, but not enough to insure that Japan would win. The Japanese knew this, they were counting a lack of resolve on the part of the Americans. They miscalculated.

In May 1945, Stalin had about 250 Divisions on the ground in Europe, Eisenhower 109, counting those in Italy. Stalin was aware of the Atomic Bomb, but strategically it would not have prevented him from pushing the Anglo-American forces out of Europe if he chose to. I think Truman got as good a deal as he could, considering.

[blackie]

Mallard Fillmore ~ Bump!

[bill1952]

>As for Germany, after so much of their maritime harrassment it was time to do something about them too

I don't think so.

The Krauts weren't sinking US ships randomly around the world.
They had declared an "exclusionary area" around England that sounds for all the world what we did to Cuba, and of course they sunk ships that were delivering military supplies to their enemy.

I did read up on the international law that was in effect at that time.
I don't remember all the details, but they had some basis in international law, and that, combined with the large amount of pressure NOT to enter that war, was what stayed our hand.

Hitler was truly insane to go to war with us.

[bill1952]

But you are right in writing that we would have had to do something sooner or later, given Germany's behavior.

[Graybeard58]

Hitler was truly insane to go to war with us.

As pointed out by "Lonesome in Massachussets" Hitler didn't think the American people had the will for war. He might be close to right with that assumption today because the liberals in this country do not have the will no matter what the cause.

I believe Roosevelt wanted war with Germany because of our close alliance with Great Britain and he could foresee the fall of Europe without help from the U.S. but he didn't have the popular support without a nudge from the Japanese (Pearl Harbor)

I have grave doubts about tying our hands with international law, then or now.

[bill1952]

Oh, I agree totally with you.

However, I never was convinced of the need to make Europe safe for Socialism, although we didn't foresee that, of course.

If Hitler had not invaded Russia (and they also did not attack him later), and he just ignored England as much as he could, I think that we would be hard pressed to declare war on him.

I don't think that FDR would have considered going to war without one.

Of course, if Hitler had acted like that, then he wouldn't be Hitler, now would he? 8^)

[SauronOfMordor]

Most people are unaware that American pilots were flying combat missions against the Japanese in China (The American Volunteer Group, aka The Flying Tigers).

FDR was trying everything he could think of to get the US attacked so he could get the US into WW-2

[SauronOfMordor]

I meant to say "American pilots were flying combat missions against the Japanese in mid-1941"

[aomagrat]

Hoover was president on December 8, 1941?

[cicero's_son]

Sheesh. Could Mallard Fillmore be any less funny or original?

Say what you will about Doonesbury, at least the guy is funny sometimes.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

No, but he still had friends to whom he wrote letters and ex-presidents are still referred to as "President".

[El Gato]

Actually we denied the Japanese the oil to continue their war with China

Mostly it was the Dutch and Brits that did that although in part at our urging. They also denied them rubber. The sources were in the East Indies. We denied them steel and even iron ore. We weren't exporting all that much oil, even then.

[El Gato]

Most people are unaware that American pilots were flying combat missions against the Japanese in China (The American Volunteer Group, aka The Flying Tigers).

Although the Roosevelt administration winked at the violation of the neutrality act, and even helped a bit with the recruiting effort, the Flying Tigers were mercenaries, paid by the legitimate government of China, that is the Nationalists. Most of them retained their US military commissions though.