Comments by "doveton sturdee" (@dovetonsturdee7033) on "Historigraph"
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@gruenergermane The second unrestricted campaign began in February, 1917, and was thereafter the policy of the Imperial Navy. Where have you got the '5 german submarines' nonsense from? Similarly, 'history tells us the US-ship transported amunition under false flag' What history would that be, then?
The Blockade, by the way, continued until World War 1 ended, in late June 1919 when the Treaty of Versailles was signed. If the Allies really wanted 'to kill as many huns as possible' it would have been far easier not to have agreed to a November, 1918 Armistice, but to advanced over the wreckage of the German army into the German heartland, as, I believe, Black Jack Pershing wished to do.
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During Operation Berlin, Scharnhorst & Gneisenau had the opportunity to attack HX106, protected by HMS Ramillies, an old 'R' class battleship. Later, they encountered SL 67, escorted by HMS Malaya, an unmodernised Queen Elizabeth class battleship. On neither occasion did Lutjens, the fleet commander, risk action. German warships in WW2 generally sought to avoid action, as comparatively minor damage would inevitably lead to their destruction, Bismarck being the obvious example.
By the way, the Deutchlands were very poorly armoured, up to heavy cruiser standard at best, as was demonstrated at the Plate, when Spee's armour was penetrated by Exeter's eight inch shells. I doubt that a Deutchland would have coped with an engagement with two Counties, let alone any of the five British & French battlecruisers capable of catching her.
As to two PBs and a battlecruiser (I assume you mean a Scharnhorst, actually a fast, lightly gunned, battleship) the Germans had their opportunity when both Scharnhorsts encountered Renown off Norway in April, 1940. Once again, after Gneisenau was damaged, the Germans refused action.
The reality is that the Deutschlands were planned in Weimar Republic days as a means of attacking French troop convoys in the event of a war with France, or France & Poland. The French produced the Strasbourgs in response. Once the Germans found themselves trying to deal with the Royal Navy as well, the Deutchlands became, in reality, largely irrelevant. Hence their lack of employment after early 1941.
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@ParabellumStoria Sorry, but my information about the raid on Alexandria is rather different :- 'Fortunately for the Allies the enemy was not fully aware of the precarious position of the Mediterranean Fleet. To fool Axis reconnaissance aircraft into thinking that the raid had failed, apparently normal operations were conducted on a day to day basis. Smoke came out of funnels, guns were trained, and all the routine ceremonial rituals performed as if nothing had happened. In fact below the waterline frantic repair efforts were being made which lasted several weeks. Had the Axis realised the truth then Admiral Cunningham, with only a few operational ships at his disposal, could have been driven out of the Mediterranean, with potentially disastrous consequences for the Allies.'
Certainly, the morning after the attack, Cunningham conducted the Colours ceremony, with the Royal Marine Band, on Queen Elizabeth's quarterdeck, and foreign correspondents were even invited to attend. If, as you say, the success of the attack was known, why was there no attempt by the axis to exploit their naval superiority?
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@myclearwater1471 There is no 'if true' about it. It is a fact. You may choose to question what motivated them, I will simply stick to the truth.
Your understanding, as seems to be a consistent thread, is wrong.
What has the nationality of the commanders to do with anything? In fact, unlike the US Army of the time, the British Armed Forces did not have a policy of racial segregation. A typical Indian division had a mixture of British & Indian units within it, and generally Indian units were commanded by Indian officers who, should the situation arise, also had authority over British units. Agreed, at the Corps and Army levels, the officers were mainly British, Australian, New Zealand, or Canadian, largely because that is where the career soldiers of the time came from.
Your prejudice, and your ignorance of the period, continues to amaze and amuse me. Just for your information, at the height of the Raj, around 320,000,000 Indians were administered (in your perverted view, oppressed) by 20,000 British administrators.
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@youraveragescotsman7119 Moreover, the High Seas Fleet, whilst it made two brief sorties later in 1916, carefully avoided risking any further encounter with the Grand Fleet, but largely stayed at anchor in the Jade. As a result, the British Northern Patrol maintained the Blockade, and systematically starved the German population. Anyone who believes that Jutland was anything more than, as far as the battlecruiser forces were concerned, a tactical success for the Germans would do well to read about the 'Turnip Winter.'
No wonder that, by late 1918, Germany was on the verge of revolution, and the High Seas Fleet had mutinied.
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@youraveragescotsman7119 He was appointed to command of V Corps, responsible for the defence of Hampshire & Dorset, in July, 1940. His immediate superior was Auchinleck, who was C-in-C Southern Command. At about that time, Monty began a long-running feud with the Auk, which seems to have continued for the rest of his life, and even resulted in the publishers of his autobiography having to include an apology in them for certain claims made by Monty which might have resulted in legal action.
I believe part of his doubt concerned the one undeniable weakness suffered by the Home Guard, their lack of mobility arising from their lack of transport. I think the Auk envisaged a more static defence in the event of a German landing, which would allow the RN to cut their supply lines and starve them to defeat, whereas Monty had a more mobile defence in mind.
Clearly, Monty had not been told about Corporal Jones' van, or the strategic importance of the Novelty Rock Emporium!
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