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except that in 38 - the bad guys had the best military in the world (until US forces built up). today, the bad guys cannot win militarily. the only way they can win, is for the media and the world community to intervene on their behalf - causing the West to be unwilling to fight the total war needed to defeat them.

Not at all true. The British fleet was far superior to the German and the French should have been able to deal with the Italians in the Med. The French army was several times the size of the German Army and the CHAR B1 was far superior to any tank the Germans could field and the British Matilda had armor so thick that it could not be penetrated by any gun on a German tank in use in 1940.

In fact with the exception of the Panzer divisions the German army was equipped much as it had been in WWI. British and French should have been able to make short work of the Germans. Had the western allies attacked all out against the open German frontier while the Panzer divisions, the only ones that could maneuver, and the entire Luftwaffe were slicking Poland, they could have been in the heart of the German industrial territory and forced the Germans to fight on the defensive, and being badly outnumbered the Germans could not have lasted long in that mode.

However history shows that the French and British forces were handled timidly and ineptly. They spread out their tanks over the whole continent so that while they had a three to one superiority in numbers overall at any point on the battlefield the Germans had the edge. Instead of taking the offensive they sheltered behind their forts and allowed Germany a year to reposition their troops and launch a carefully prepared strike. Any of this sounding familiar yet?

When France surrendered they still hand twice as many tanks as the Germans. They could have fought the streets of Paris like the Russians did in Stalingrad, taking away the maneuverability advantage of the Panzer troops and forcing the Germans to bring up their slow unmotorized infantry divisions. But of course it would have meant reducing Paris to rubble. And we all know the choice the French made.

All the material in the world will do you no good if you are afraid to use it.