Path: csiph.com!eternal-september.org!reader02.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Anne & Lynn Wheeler Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers Subject: Re: Who Knew ? Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2021 12:09:40 -1000 Organization: Wheeler&Wheeler Lines: 76 Message-ID: <87ee7qti3f.fsf@localhost> References: <87zgqp6kox.fsf@usenet.ankman.de> <87mtmn7ohj.fsf@usenet.ankman.de> <20211103072641.1f36fd9ef1e2138951d0396c@eircom.net> <8cd50e88-aa50-4323-b22f-468831e5b616n@googlegroups.com> <75qfogdqmtj23a21uo0ontic2dnka41lsj@4ax.com> <44689088.658086474.757082.peter_flass-yahoo.com@news.eternal-september.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Injection-Info: reader02.eternal-september.org; posting-host="672874c27edeeead7eb7b1948c546170"; logging-data="9170"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1+5aub9eNfVmTw3+O4ZZUZQuUCJOUH8Pfc=" User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/27.2 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:6lAJk55V3U1wzTyoCoRCT3+fsU4= sha1:G+JskAcTg0DGtqTBsqGTwhjwF1U= Xref: csiph.com alt.folklore.computers:219692 Maus writes: > Doubt it. Once the Germans had been stopped at Moscow, and the ordinary > Russian found out what was to happen if Germany won the war, it was only > a matter of time. > > Thinking today, there was a lot of very nasty things happening in > Manchuria before the Russian Invasion and after it, which is not really > known in The west. Roosevelt kept telling the Pacific commanders (asking for more resources) that Germany could win the war w/o Japan, but Japan couldn't win the war w/o Germany ... and so Germany had to be 1st priority ... 3/4s of German military were fighting Soviets and D-DAY was strictly side show for Germany. Sand and Steel https://www.amazon.com/Sand-Steel-Invasion-Liberation-France-ebook/dp/B07PPVG8HG/ pg19/loc992-98: However, OB West's remaining twenty-three Bodenstandige (static position) divisions were either immobile or reserve infantry formations, with low Kampfwert (combat effectiveness) ratings. They were assessed as incapable of taking on offensive missions, and suitable only for limited defence. For the latter's transportation needs, in Rundstedt's domain there were 115,000 military horses on strength, a stark reminder of how reliant on these creatures the German armed forces were in 1944 - by contrast, the Allies would bring with them not a single equine. 3 A year earlier, roughly twenty-five per cent of officers stationed in France had fought in Russia; by 1944, this figure had almost doubled to sixty per cent. This did not necessarily reflect a reinforcement of the west, but a higher proportion of wounded and convalescing leaders. pg38/loc1415-18: It still comes as a surprise to many that the German Army in Normandy was predominantly horse-drawn. When Second Lieutenant Bob Sheehan of the US 60th Chemical Company (an outfit responsible for smoke weapons) breasted a rise over the dunes of Omaha on 7 June, he saw 'a mind-shattering sight that convinced me the war was as good as won. It was a dead horse. The poor animal was still attached to the wagon it had been pulling. pg39/loc1421-24: We have already noted that 115,000 of them were assigned to OB West, with exactly 33,739 on the books of the Seventh Army on 1 March 1944, and another ten thousand arriving by 1 June. 60 These numbers came as a shock to Rommel, who, of course, had commanded the 7th Panzer Division in 1940 and the Afrika Korps in 1941-3, neither of which used horses. pg47/loc1600-1604: The stature of the Nazi war machine, forged in North Africa, Italy and on the Eastern Front, was still feared in 1944, though demonstrably hollowed out. It also helped Berlin that the Western Allies, particularly the 21st Army Group, were also excessively cautious, which played to the German inclination - despite their convoluted command - of tactical speed of reaction. Finally, it also suited many Allied commanders after the war to talk up the prowess of their opponents, making the achievement of subduing them all the greater. ... and part of horrific fighting on Omaha beach (from US army war college, free PDF) ... high altitude, heavy strategic bombing almost never hit the target (however, 2/3rds of total US WW2 spending went to strategic bombing program) https://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/2011/pubs/the-european-campaign-its-origins-and-conduct/ loc2582-85: The bomber preparation of Omaha Beach was a total failure, and German defenses on Omaha Beach were intact as American troops came ashore. At Utah Beach, the bombers were a little more effective because the IXth Bomber Command was using B-26 medium bombers. Wisely, in preparation for supporting the invasion, maintenance crews removed Norden bombsights from the bombers and installed the more effective low-level altitude sights. .... Roosevelt also felt US needed Soviets to defeat Japan ... aggreement with Stalin that Soviets would come in against Japan after Germany was defeated (i.e. 1.5million Soviets had quickly defeated million Japenese in Manchuria and were within 3days of invading Japanese homeland ... compared to Okinawa where 600k US and heavy shelling had to deal with only 76k Japanese ... and months away from any homeland invasion). -- virtualization experience starting Jan1968, online at home since Mar1970