Washington Post Claims McCain Wildly Exaggerated D-Day, says Soviets better

washington post ^ | 9.28.08 | Michael Dobbs

[6SJ7]

WaPo referencing a Nazi invasion as “the greatest”. Figures. Their sympathies are with the national socialists.

[meandog]

It is however, worth remembering that during the D-Day landings, the allies had total air and naval superiority and they were fighting against forces that were for the most part, the dregs of the German Army. Those too old, ill, or green to fight on the Eastern Front, which was the front which had top priority for the Nazis. Both the Germans and the Russians were throwing the best they had at each other....

BUT, considering the British debacle at Galipolli in WWI and the failed Dieppe raid it was a HUGE GAMBLE which I believe that neither the Soviets or Russians could have pulled off, even had either had a navy to do it with...neither had the amphibious warfare experience of either America or Britian.

[maro]

I though it was satire, and then I went to the link. You can’t make this stuff up. If McCain said “This is still the greatest country in the world,” would this “fact checker” say, “Actually, Sweden has a higher life expectancy . . . .”?

[uncbob]

DDay was a sea land invasion —much much harder than any land invasion

[nclaurel]

So far I think the Obama campaign and it's subsidiaries like the Post have attacked the elderly, handicapped and war veterans regarding computer use, women for running for VP instead of being “home baking cookies”, cancer patients, now it the turn of the “greatest generation” to be demeaned. At least many of those who fought in WWII and on D-Day are gone or are too old to care that this low tactic or is it strategy is being used on them.

[EDINVA]

And Dobbs’s expertise is ?????

[Enterprise]

So Operation Barbarossa was the greatest invasion in history. So how did THAT work out?

[xrmusn]

I wish the Washington Post/Daily Worker would step up its factfinding mission on locating those 57 states and splain to me how FDR addressed the Nation on TV in 29.
In sheer #’s of ships, aircraft, men etc D DAY 6JUN44 was the greatest AMPHIBIOUS OPERATION.
Those 2 mental midgets just shoot from the lip and NO ONE really gives a rats arse what comes out..except of course US but then again it is preaching to the choir...

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

Considering the overwhelming material and logistical advantages the allies enjoyed on D-Day, the German Blitzkriegs in the early part of the war were ‘greater’ in scope and achievement with what was available vs the forces they faced.
Part of this Blitzkrieg involved the successful airborne/amphibious conquest of Norway, despite lacking the total air and naval dominance enjoyed by the allies on D-Day, nor the time to plan it that Monty and the other commanders had....

[cincinnati65]

Try Googling "greatest military invasion" and see how many hits you have to go through before you find one that DOESN'T mention D-Day.

To say the WaPo is fish-wrap is an insult to rotten fish!

[SeaWolf]

Comparing an amphibious invasion to a land invasion is apples and oranges. The writers comparison of the two bespeaks either grand ignorance or Goebbelesque lieing, I personally suspect both.

[Enterprise]

What they also tend to ignore was that during the initial stages of Operation Barbarossa the Russians were unprepared, while in Normandy, the Germans were entrenched and firing on the troops as they came ashore.

[Lazarus Starr]

Of course the Marxist State Media (MSM) would think the Commies did it better. The question is this... Why don’t they all move to Russia? We’ll let them. We’ll even have our congress foot the bill for it. I’d pay extra taxes to ship our libs off to another country.

[Gumdrop]

WOW! This is an argument that the WaPo cannot win! I hope they keep it up!

[Bellflower]

Greatest can mean most memorable and famous for us. For the USA this was the greatest one in history.

[ExpatGator]

Greatest large scale amphib assault? Yes.

Last large scale amphib assault? No.

Inchon. Not as big, but just as audacious and successful.

[kenavi]

It’s like Obama comparing his Iran proposals to Nixon-Kissinger’s opening of Red China.

[caver]

You must work for the Washington Post.

[Shqipo]

Greatest amphibious invasion, yes. Greater than Barbarossa too, because it actually led to Victory!

[17th Miss Regt]

Squidly, the 326,000 figure sounds accurate. The qualification is the 'initial D-Day landings in June 1944.' and that is the key. After June, some 2,500,000 were transported over to France from England in the form of some 50 divisions and lots of support and logistics troops.

Also note the authors' claim of 4.5 million troops in June 1941. The usual accepted figure for June 22, 1941 is 3.5 million, which includes the forces of Finland and Rumania. The author did a shabby job on his homework.