Comments by "doveton sturdee" (@dovetonsturdee7033) on "War Stories" channel.

  1. Yet, apart from one Canadian division & two Australian/New Zealand brigades, there were no Commonwealth troops in Britain in 1940. In the event of an assault landing, however unlikely it might have been, it would be the British who, almost entirely would be the ones who resisted it. Encouragement from far away, whilst good for morale, would not have helped much. There were 574 Commonwealth & Foreign pilots in the Battle of Britain, and 2353 British ones, by the way. Moreover, you greatly exaggerate the importance of the Battle of Britain. After all, if the Germans had achieved a temporary measure of air superiority, all that they then needed to do was find a way past the largest navy in the world for their towed barges.
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  2. 'The Most Feared' depends on the context. To your average U-Boat commander, a capital ship would be more of an opportunity than something to fear. However, a Black Swan class sloop with someone called Walker on the bridge would be a different matter.
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  3.  @peterbreis5407 Where 'one eyed jingoism' is concerned, I confess that I am not in your league. Just to correct one or two of your basic errors, Australia actually declared war on Germany on 3 September, 1939. There was no war in the Far East until the end of 1941. What would you have suggested that the Australian armed forces should have done other than that? Yes, Australia paid for British equipment and ships. Shouldn't Australia, just like New Zealand and Canada, have contributed to the maintenance of their own military? Were you to actually look up the war records of such well-known Australian warships as Canberra, Australia, Hobart, Perth, Sydney, & Stuart, you would find, probably to your surprise, that all, after some served in the Mediterranean prior to Pearl Harbor, had been returned to Australian waters, actually before December, 1941. Indeed, after Pearl Harbor, all but one Australian division was returned. The 9th, by the way, was returned after 2nd Alamein following an agreement between FDR & Churchill that a US division would be sent to Australia in the interim. As the ships transporting the other Australian forces back to Australia were overwhelmingly British, as were their escorts, Churchill, supported by Roosevelt by the way, believed that the unfolding crisis in Burma was of greater immediate concern. Actually, he was probably correct, as only those with limited knowledge of the distances and logistics involved could ever have viewed Australia as threatened by any Japanese invasion. Certainly, Tojo's testimony after the war had ended confirmed that Japan had never held such ambitions. Correct, the Yugoslavian merchant fleet was returned to Yugoslavia at the end of the war, just as those of Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Greece were also returned. Not to Tito personally, by the way. Josep Tito was, for good or ill, Prime Minister of Yugoslavia at the time. Again, what would you suggest should have happened to the fleet? 'Canada, New Zealand and South Africa' like Australia, made sacrifices in order to defeat Germany, Italy & Japan. In terms of military deaths as a % of national populations, however, somewhat less than the sacrifice that Britain made. When Australia is deeply mired in a bizarre 'Voice' campaign, accusing others of being 'self obsessed' is, I assume, your attempt at humour, and how is Brexit possibly relevant to events which ended almost 80 years ago, and about which you seem to have little actual knowledge?
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  4. They would probably say, 'Quite correct. There were only a tiny number of us in Britain in 1940. Our major contribution came later.'
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  5.  @aresee8208  Then you are misinformed. In 1940, there was one Canadian division, and two Australian/New Zealand brigades, in Britain. Of 34.5 operational divisions in Britain in September, 1940, 32.5 were British. A small number of Commonwealth pilots did serve with the RAF in 1940. The Royal Navy, the real first line of defence against invasion, included a small number of Canafian (and French) destroyers, but was otherwise entirely British. Moreover, why do you make the odd assertion that Britain has not thanked the Commonwealth and Empire for their support? That is decidedly not the case.
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  6. But in 1940 all were a long way away, and troops in Australia, New Zealand, etc., were not much use if a German invasion attempt took place in September.
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  7. Not around at the time of the Battle of Britain
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  8. After Pearl Harbor and the German declaration of war, Roosevelt had no choice about 'involvement.' Churchill was not against D-Day. He simply wanted to ensure it was not attempted prematurely, as George Marshall initially suggested.
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  9. Keith Park had joined the (British) Royal Flying Corps in 1917, and remained with it, and with the successor, the Royal Air Force, for the rest of his military career.
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  10. You must mean one Canadian division ans two Ausralian/New Zealand brigades?
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  11. Just as you fail to acknowledge that pilots from the Dominions, together with a small number of pilots from neutral countries and from conquered European states, flew in British aircraft, in British squadrons, and under a British command and control system. The Commonwealth and Empire was to play an increasingly important role as the war progressed, but in 1940 the only Commonwealth troops in Britain were one Canadian division, together with two Australian & New Zealand brigades. In the improbable event of an attempted invasion, it would have been faced in September, 1940 by some of 34.5 operational divisions. 32.5 of those divisions were British. Certainly shouts of good wishes from distant Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India would have been much appreciated, but equally they would have been of little practical use against German forces landing, for example, between Rye & Hastings. Clearly, the very idea of British resistance must upset you. You have even broken your caps lock!
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  12. Nonsense. The foreign pilots who flew with the RAF played their part, but you are guilty of gross exaggeration, as well as being insulting to all the others.
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  13.  @PeakyBlinder  I have. However, I also know the facts.
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  14.  @walterCronkitesleftshoe6684  It really isn't worth replying to this celebrated single sentence troll and crank.
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  15. You must be American. It has become fascinating how strident some less well informed Americans have become since the US was defeated by a gang of medieval thugs in Afghanistan. A reaction based on loss of self-confidence perhaps? Bismarck sailed from Norway on 22 May, and reached the Atlantic sea bed on the morning of 27 May. It took the Home Fleet five days to corner and deal with her.
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  16.  @jarrodyuki7081  Spain was a shambles after the civil war, and depended upon shipment of food aid from the United States to avoid mass starvation. Franco had been informed by FDR that, should Spain join the axis, or act in support of Germany, then the food shipments would end on the same day. The Caudillo, literally, knew which side his bread was buttered!
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  17. Really? Even if the war against Russia didn't begin until over six months after the Battle of Britain & Sealion had been abandoned?
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  18. Equally, you might ask Bismarck's survivors how feared their ship was.
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  19. It is called Force Concentration. In other words, if you have the resources, you use them. As demonstrated by the US Navy subsequently at Leyte Gulf.
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  20. Actually, your knowledge is quite lacking. In 1940, the Commonwealth and Empire, though it later played a major role, was still far distant, although supportive. In September, 1940, of 34.5 operational divisions in Britain, all except 2 were British. Immediately after the French surrender, the only Commonwealth troops in Britain were one Canadian dicision and two Australian & New Zealand brigades. There were a number of non-British pilots in Fighter Command. Other than those from Commonwealth countries, and a handful of volunteers from neutral countries, these men had joined precisely because their own countries had been occupied, and joining the British armed forces was the only way they could continue to resist their conquerors. They did, of course, fly in RAF squadrons, using British aircraft. What 'American industrial might?' In 1940, the United States was happy to sell supplies and equipment to Britain, at the full market rate. These items were then shipped across the Atlantic in British ships, escorted overwhelmingly by Royal Navy warships. I appreciate that the idea seems to distress you, but at the time of the Battle of Britain, Britain was, to all intents and purposes, alone.
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  21.  @walterCronkitesleftshoe6684  It's a long time since 'A' level English Lit. I much preferred 'Julius Caesar.' Still, the set text was 'Pride & Prejudice' by Jane Austen. To use another quote, from Joseph Conrad in 'Heart of Darkness,' 'The Horror!. THe Horror!' Especially since the book for the following year was 'The Ship' by C. S. Forester.
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  22.  @jamesrose1351  Patton was never in Italy.
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  23.  @jamesrose1351  Don't you recall posting this, two months ago? :- Patton's push through Sicily and Italy was stopped cold too wasn't it???
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  24.  @jamesrose1351  It certainly confirms that, as in your original post you referred to Sicily and Italy separately, you were wrong. Don't be so defensive, it isn't a cardinal sin.
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  25.  @CityRedesigner1945  Must have slipped my mind. I always thought the Battle of Britain would have been won more quickly if British & Commonwealth pilots had not just stood back and left it entirely to the Poles and Czechs.
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  26. To blockade Britain, any enemy would need to close the Atlantic.
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  27. Not at the time of the Battle of Britain.
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  28. Whilst enthusiasts for Russia might claim that WW2 was won by the Soviet Union alone, it really isn't true that most Americans or British think along similar lines. As to the Battle of Britain, there were 2353 British pilots, and 574 non British pilots. All of whom flew British aircraft, maintained by British ground crews, and were trained in the air defence system unique to Britain. The fact that Britain was the only European nation to remain in arms against Germany for the whole of WW2, and was the only one at all to oppose Germany militarily from June 1940 until June 1941, does seem to annoy you, however.
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  29.  @Ira88881  Thank you. I must admit that I do get annoyed with those, probably of a certain political persuasion, who dismiss the role of the Western Allies in WW2, especially when they do it by using dodgy arguments!
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  30. Small problem here. In May, 1941, the South Dakotas weren't yet built. The North Carolinas were still working up, but not yet operational. Oh, and the United States was still neutral.
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  31. In terms of firepower and armour, probably the Nelsons, although a case can be made for the Colorados, which were slightly slower, had thicker belts, but thinner decks, than the Nelsons. By mid 1941, the KGVs were appearing, although teething troubles had not been resolved. The Littorios were also probably superior.
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  32. They weren't a regiment. They were 9th Australian Division, plus 18 Brigade from 7th Australian Division. Odd that no recognition was afforded to the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade, or the four British artillery regiments, or the 3rd Armoured Brigade, or 1st Royal Northimberland Fusiliers, who were also there.
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  33. 'Germany kept trying to de-escalate.' Oh dear, the plaintive cry of that sad bird, the Lesser Spotted Neo. How did Germany try to do that? Unless you count hitler's 'Last Appeal to Reason' of 19 July, 1940, aka 'Surrender or we bomb you.' Made when, after Mers el Kebir, if finally dawned on him that the British were not going to sign a French style Armistice/Surrender, and he had no means of invading. As to the Hess comic interlude. If the intention is to seek confidential talks, do you :- 1). Make discreet approaches to British Embassies in Spain, Sweden, or Switzerland. Or perhaps even approach the United States to act as a neutral arbiter? or:- 2). Let an unbalanced member of your staff fly to Scotland, in order, hopefully, to bail out near the estate of a minor Scottish aristocrat who might, just possibly, have the ear of Winston Churchill? As the exam papers used to say 'Give reasons for your answer.'
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  34. You mean the allies which let down the alliance by not being up to the task, I assume?
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  35. You mean Bismarck, the ship that was sunk on her first and only operational mission? The ship that failed to achieve her mission objective?
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  36. Adding exclamation marks doesn't make a comment any less crass, you know.
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  37.  @King_of_Railways  You don't call declaring was not interfering? What saved Britain was the most advanced air defence system in the world, a large number of British & Commonwealth pilots who understood how it operated, and a number of instructors who taught it to the Poles and Czechs. But most of all, the Royal Navy.
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  38. Well, perhaps invading Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium wasn't such a good idea after all? Was it, herr obersturmbannfuhrer?
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  39. Except the Germans needed rather more than simply aircraft to attempt an invasion of Britain.
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  40. Not according to the Official Battle of Britain website they didn't.
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  41.  @walterCronkitesleftshoe6684  Having just been involved in a 'discussion' with one of these odd people in which I was the fortunate recipient of over 100 posts, perhaps I should keep my head down for a while? However, I won't!
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  42. You must be one of those Americans who missed attending school. Stop pretending that your country came to anyone's rescue, when it was actually dragged reluctantly into WW2 by Japan and Germany. WW1, of course, was different. You finally arrived after the Central Powers had been driven to the verge of collapse by the British Empire & France. Germany was already on the brink of starvation and revolution as a result of the Royal Navy's blockade, the German Spring Offensive had been defeated, and the British Empire/France were about to embark on their successful Hundred Days Offensive. There are things called books which could tell you the facts about 1914 and 1939. Assuming that you can read, that is?
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  43.  @nickdanger3802  'British ideas, as embodied in the Ram, a tank designed by the Canadian General Staff, using the M3 as a starting point, also influenced the development of the American Sherman tank.' The rapid manner with which the US was able to produce a tank as battleworthy as the M4 was admirable, but part of the rapidity was because they were able to draw upon British battlefield experience. Incidentally, part of the reason the British seemed to lag behind in the production of a 'first class' tank was, bizarre at it might seem, the smaller loading gauge on British railways. It sounds odd, but it is a fact.
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  44.  @nickdanger3802  I always understood that was the reason for the Lee/Grant as well. The Ram itself was not particularly innovative, and many countries, Britain included, had been building turreted tanks for some time, the Vickers Medium being a typical British example, but I understood (from a conversation at Bovington years ago) that the it influenced the eventual M4 shape. Movement of the Churchill by rail in the UK did pose me a bigger problem, which took some searching. All previous British tanks had been within the British loading gauge restriction of 9' 6" (A10 - 8'4", Matilda II - 8' 6", Crusader 9'1"). Looking at the few wartime photos. of Churchills on flat cars, they do seem to have one thing in common, in that projecting rectangular 'boxes' on the side of the vehicle near the rear, clearly visible on most photos. of the tank, appear to have been removed. I suspect, though I don't know for sure, that this brought the overall width down to below 9'6". Later in the war, as the British built Scammell tank transporters and acquired around 1,000 Diamond Ts from the United States, other alternatives to rail transport became available and the width restriction was not such a problem.
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  45. 'Arguably?' Only if the argument is a false one.
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  46. Which is, of course, entirely false. The Admiralty were given warnings about the danger by intelligence, but this intelligence did not involve any Enigma decrypts.
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  47. Yes. Churchill did believe that white Europeans were superior. As did many people at the time. Gandhi believed that Africans were inferior humans who should not be accorded the right to vote. Where do you get the idea of mass slaughter of Indians & Africans from, out of interest?
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  48. And how many troops from 'Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Poland, Czechoslovakia, USA, etc' were actually in Britain ready to attempt to repel a German invasion? This video is about 1940. Why do you people find it so difficult to understand? Certainly, the USA was supplying materials and weapons to Britain in 1940. These were bought and paid for, and brought across the Atlantic in vessels escorted by British warships.
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  49. How many time? In the summer of 1940, the only Commonwealth forces in Britain were one Canadian division, and three Australian/New Zealand brigades. How would Commonwealth forces being built up far away have been able to prevent an attempted German invasion?
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  50. Please try to understand. This video is about 1940, when the only Commonwealth troops in Britain were one Canadian division, and three Australian and New Zealand brigades. Yes, the Commonwealth and Empire provided immense support from 1941, but not as early as 1940.
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