Why WWII Didn't End Sooner

Townhall.com ^ | June 11, 2015 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Kaslin]

Seventy-one years ago, the British, Canadians and Americans landed on the Normandy beaches to open a second ground front against Nazi Germany.

Operation Overlord -- the Allied invasion of Western Europe -- proved the largest amphibious operation in military history, dwarfing even Xerxes' Persian invasion of Greece in 480 B.C.

Brilliant planning, overwhelming naval support, air superiority and high morale ensured the successful landing of 160,000 troops on the first day -- at a cost of about 4,000 dead.

Three weeks after the June 6 landings, nearly a million Allied soldiers were ashore, heading eastward through France. Hitler's once-formidable Third Reich seemed on the verge of collapse. On the Eastern Front, the German army was imploding under the weight of 5 million advancing infantrymen of Russia's Red Army. At the same time, Allied four-engine bombers, with superb long-range fighter escorts, at last were beginning to destroy German transportation and fuel infrastructure.

[PA Engineer]

I don't agree with Victor Davis Hanson on this one. The Hürtgen Forest and the Battle of the Bulge could have arguably been avoided had Eisenhower's relationship with General Devers been more professional. Eisenhower had an extremely difficult job and could be forgiven for many mistakes, however his insecure motivations at stopping Devers cannot be forgiven.

How World War II Wasn’t Won

One Allied army, however, was still on the move. The Sixth Army Group reached the Rhine at Strasbourg, France, on Nov. 24, and its commander, Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers, looked across its muddy waters into Germany. His force, made up of the United States Seventh and French First Armies, 350,000 men, had landed Aug. 15 near Marseille — an invasion largely overlooked by history but regarded at the time as “the second D-Day” — and advanced through southern France to Strasbourg. No other Allied army had yet reached the Rhine, not even hard-charging George Patton’s.

Devers dispatched scouts over the river. “There’s nobody in those pillboxes over there,” a soldier reported. Defenses on the German side of the upper Rhine were unmanned and the enemy was unprepared for a cross-river attack, which could unhinge the Germans’ southern front and possibly lead to the collapse of the entire line from Holland to Switzerland.

[Kaslin]

But you agree with the NY Slimes?

[ricmc2175]

Study it, rude person, I’ve lived it as an 11-A.

[PA Engineer]

But you agree with the NY Slimes?

Has nothing to do with agreeing or disagreeing. I just couldn't post my 354 page history book on this thread.

This subject has been well discussed over the past year on the WWII threads, kindly posted daily here by Homer_J_Simpson. The threads are well researched and involve a remarkable amount of work.

[central_va]

I read a book about the Enigma program. Breaking the German Code took years off the war he said. That is what all the experts in intel at the time said. The war would have taken an extra 2-3 years without it.

[truth_seeker]

“Those boys were, frankly, relieved when they heard Truman had bombed Japan.”

My USMC amphib. tank driver father was wounded on Okinawa after 45 days combat there. He was treated in hospital in Honolulu, and was back serving in limited duty, ready for full duty when the war ended.

My mother (age 90) still tells that story, that the atomic bomb likely saved our father’s life and gave us ours.

[foreverfree]

bump

[Nowhere Man]

I guess, too, that if America hadn’t developed the atomic bomb, & Truman hadn’t had the guts to use it, Japan would have fought on Japanese soil to the last woman & child with broomsticks killing many more thousands of Allied troops.

Troop carriers were on their way to Japan when Truman dropped the bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki. - Their commanding officers lined them up and told them, “Look to your left & then to your right. When we land, two out of the three of you will die.” - Those boys were, frankly, relieved when they heard Truman had bombed Japan.

I remember a story where they had a troop ship going from Europe to Asia. After they dropped the bombs, the ship changed course or Boston and the men aboard cried tears of joy knowing they were headed home instead of Japan. I also had a college professor, he was in WWII and the first thing he said was "if you are against the atomic bombs in Japan, get out of my class. The bombs saved my life." A teacher of mine in high school was flying a B-24 over to the Pacific as he heard the news of the Hiroshima Bomb.

Lastly, one interesting story told to me from a local WWII vet was he remember them watching them load the A-Bomb aboard the Enola Gay. Naturally he didn't know what it was but knew it was important. Later when Tibbetts and his crew came back, the same vet served him in the officer's club and he remembers Tibbetts saying over and over again, "what have we done?" That was a cool story, being an actual witness to history.

[Texas Eagle]

That was a dig at Obola. He who “ended” the wars in Iraq and Aghanistan. You know the story. His parents supposedly met during the march in Selma or some such poppycock.

[Rebelbase]

Why WWII Didn’t End Soccer.

Need to put on my glasses.

[Rebelbase]

Iwo and Okinawa are in the North Pacific, not South.

Technically the Philippines are in the North Pac. also.

[Rebelbase]

Had we not dropped the bomb there are a lot of FReepers who never would have existed.

[ohioman]

Will do. Thanks for the heads up. I am always up for catching a good war movie.

[rbg81]

OOps....yes, “unconditional” surrender. How embarrassing!

[matt1234]

Hanson gives a pretty good overview.

Another factor was the Soviet pause during the Warsaw uprising and thereafter.

[Twinkie]

Probably me for one. - My Dad was drafted into the Army Infantry for the duration plus six. He’d already hit the beaches in N. Africa, Sicily, then into Italy - then into Germany. Had the backpack shot off his back by a German machine gunner, was injured by shrapnel; but, I’m sure he was slated for landing on the shores of Japan for more shooting & getting shot at. - I wasn’t born until 1946, after the war. - War is probably about as close to Hell as one gets in this life.

[central_va]

The second wost hell is watching a republic devolve into a tyrannical oligarchy. Now I know how real Roman patriots felt when Caesar did his power play.

[bigdaddy45]

Oh I do love the armchair Generals. And I’m sure you could have done it better smart guy? Someone is criticizing the planning of D-Day. I do think I have now seen it all.

[ricmc2175]

My professors at USMA were not “arm chair generals”. Ad hominems are not a substitute for arguments. Thank you for the compliment, however, a 178 IQ would probably qualify me as a smart guy, as would my Ph.D. That is at least one part of your ignorant comment that you got correct.

[bigdaddy45]

Bragging about your Ph.D. and your supposed IQ immediately makes you lose any argument. You do realize that, right?

D-Day was a huge success. Why don’t you tell us how you would have done it better Mr. High IQ Ph.D guy?