Comments by "William Cox" (@WildBillCox13) on "Did the Soviet Union win WW2 alone?" video.

  1. Chuikov's book makes good reading. So does Bradley's. And Von Mellenthin's. Von Luck's reads like an adventure novel. Crusade in Europe is a must read as are the Stillwell Papers. I wish Yamashita had left a memoir. Generals make great reading. But one can't read them open eyed. They are, one and all, from Bomb dodging Mark Clark to Chiang's nemesis Vinegar Joe, from Curt Lemay's war crimes to Goering's gangster ways, from Petain's cupidity to Guderian's bombastic narratives, from Pistol Packin' Mama Patton to Butt of Churchey's drunken rants Wavell, from Electric Whiskers to WustenFuchs, shameless self-promoters. Each general's memoir is an advertising campaign. Each national history is a convenient narrative with cherry-picked heroes. So pick a general's story, read it through, grab the next one, and let fly! Don't stop at one or you run the risk of becoming a fanboi.
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  2. Liked and shared. Got buddies who'd enjoy worrying this particular bone.
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  3. Stopped at 2:33. Will continue after I write this. You might agree with me when I declare the Soviet Union was as inept, logistically speaking, as Germany. That much is in the historical record. Additionally, bad roads work both ways. Also, we might count the troops stationed in France in the German order of battle if not needed to resist threat of allied intervention. Not to mention the 20,000 8.8cm and larger FlaK guns left behind to defend the Reich from . . . Allied Strategic (or Terror, depending on point of view) Bombing effort. Walk with me through the industrial marvel of Essen as it ramps up production fed by Swedish ore and coal, all nonchalant, as the Soviets have few long range bombers. Multiply that by the number of cities allied bombing would otherwise have razed into rubble. Enjoy with me the feeling of Soviet Pride as we witness Missalooney's triumphant entry into Cairo . . . aboard an overloaded white destrier. Consider the impotence of Mahanesque power projection and trade unhindered by the pesky Grand Fleet when Germany realizes the Allies have pussed out. Bismarck and Tirpitz sortie often and perhaps effectively; part of a naval blockade imposed by a WW1 conscious Leader. German imports swell, while Soviet imports die. Including those important lead-based additives. Would any of that act to prolong the war in the Axis' favor? My conclusion is-yes. Even without Lend Lease*. *Lend Lease took full effect in mid-'44. 1941/2 was "All Soviet on the Eastern Front".
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  4. If we're counting war effectiveness by the number of casualties one absorbs, doesn't China fit in somewhere? And Poland? And Ukrainu? Further, World War 2 is two theaters-the Atlantic/European theater of operations and the Pacific theater of operations. The CCCP was not engaged in the Pacific at all. The motherland took no aggressive action against the other major Axis power: Japan; fighting no battles against Japanese forces from 1939 to August of '45*. If we claim the Soviets won the war fighting in only one theater, we have to entertain the notion that it was the USA who won World War 2 by defeating Axis powers in both theaters of operations. The soviets fought one war. The USA (and its UK allies) fought two wars. The CCCP had zero effect in the Pacific War. The allies had much more effect in the European war. *Repeating its earlier Poland gambit with Hitler by jumping on a dying man-Japan's continental army. It might be argued (perhaps accurately) that Stalin saved the imperial Japanese army from the Chinese retribution it so well deserved.
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  5. Don't forget Jimmy Savile!
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  6.  @fazole  As far as I can tell through reading, Von Mellenthin, Guderien, and others were inveterate liars. Watch TiK's coverage of the numbers involved. There was no such imbalance at the front, even when the Germans fell back. Encirclements aside, the numbers were always exaggerated. There were no "seas of Soviet Soldiers". Just generals wanting to be stars after the war.
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  7. If counting corpses is the metric, then China won, the Soviet Union came in 2nd, and Germany a distant 3rd (counting blue on blue violence). Poland and India are tied for 4th, Japan is 5th, Gypsies are about 6th . . . if we count the Romani as a nation. Wow! The USA isn't even in the top ten! Neither is France! Hungaria is ahead of France and the USA, as are Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia . . . even Puny Britain lost more men than the USA! So- all hail Chang Kai-shek and his most faithful ally, Stalin! The rest of us salute your sacrifice!
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