Comments by "David Himmelsbach" (@davidhimmelsbach557) on "Germany's Worst Defeat: Operation Bagration | Animated History" video.

Nazi Germany's worst defeat was The Big Week when the USAAF destroyed the viability of its Luftwaffe. This was achieved by wiping out its aviation fuel reserves AND the three key refineries that produced 90% of said aviation fuel. The Big Week was in February 1944. The Nazis no longer could move its armies around -- at will. Goering could no longer send up any sort of viable air defense. It was so bad that the USAAF changed the rules for becoming an ace. From this point forward, you could obtain ace status by shooting up parked enemy aircraft sitting at airstrips// airports... but only 1/2 credit was given. So, now TEN shot up planes were required to be deemed an ace. This was not a low-risk proposition as the enemy choked their fields with 20mm and 37mm rapid fire cannons -- often in quad mounts or dual mounts. These guns soon were shooting up more USAAF fighters than Luftwaffe planes ever did. German aircraft production zoomed to the skies -- but said planes usually were fated to be shot up without ever taking off.(!) This was especially true for the ME-262. For it, engines were the problem -- not fuel. Either way, the Luftwaffe was grounded. Only a token force could be set up after The Big Week. The loss of so much fuel also meant that late-war pilot cadets had virtually NO flight time. By 1945 the situation was just crazy. Bagration, Normandy -- both were blow-out United Nations victories BECAUSE the Luftwaffe was crippled.
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@yeary0517 Actually, I AM a historian. BTW, before posting insults, read UP on The Big Week. It's had PLENTY of press -- then and later. You might note that in EVERY single military action after the Big Week, the USAAF// USAF goes after logistics// oil supplies in all their forms... usually starting with bridges -- if there are no refineries to target. The NVA was so gasoline deprived that they countered with bicycle logistics. There are plenty of surviving photos of same. Yes, the Ho Chi Min Trail was clogged with pedestrian soldiers pushing heavy loads on their bicycles. The Big Week's targets also supplied the vast bulk of motor fuels, too.
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Mary Terwiliger My book makes me a real historian, though I admit that modern history is more towards an analytical hobby for me. My other hobby is predicting the future immediately ahead. My track record is so astounding that you'll NEVER believe it, and we'll leave it at that. My book lays out why, where and how humanity stopped roaming and began the modern settled life. The science, the evidence, the myths embedded in Western culture all come together.... It's a real page-turner... odd for any paleo-history.
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@yeary0517 You're demonstrating that you are so biased that you're certain you know that I'm lying -- when I'm not. That rather kills your reputation for analysis straight off.
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Mary Terwiliger Your post -- and motivation for slamming reveals poor judgment and not a little bit of intellectual anger. I'd pen a re-buttal -- but you're just not worth the time. Why don't you show all reading here what YOU know -- make a positive contribution.
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Mary Terwiliger My argument HAS been made. You don't like it, plainly. Read up on The Big Week and then pull the stats on the Luftwaffe. There is NO END of documentation on the implosion of the Luftwaffe. You might note that ever since WWII, simply EVERY combatant power is obsessed with air power. After sky-dominance, land battles are an afterthought. You can't advance without air cover, and you can't even hold your ground without air cover. So the BIG battle was in the sky. That's where every nation was putting all its money, fuel, and elite manpower. Japan collapsed because of naval and air power. Get a HINT.
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Mary Terwiliger The term you embody is projection. I've advance a thesis that no-one has rebutted in the least. The evidence is overwhelming, Bagration was a walk-over because the RAF and USAAF had absolutely crippled the Nazis -- months earlier. Note the extreme contrast with all major Soviet offensives. Bagration actually bags TWO German Army Groups. Soviet casualties were virtually trivial. Stalin was astonished. The Germans couldn't even retreat faster than the Soviets could move forward. The obvious reason was no gasoline, no Luftwaffe. There's a HUGE difference between running up the body count -- and winning the war. This is what you're missing. You remind me of Westmoreland. He thought as you do -- that body counts really count towards victory. 'Nam proved him totally wrong. BTW, most of Germany's casualties were self-inflicted -- at the strategic level. Adolf Napoleon'd his armies. The Ostheer was really destroyed in the Winter of '41-'42. It froze to death. Case Blue was just the last gasp. Close, but no cigar. By the Spring of 1943, virtually the entire Eastern Luftwaffe had been destroyed (the weather, again) or pulled out to face the West. At no time did the Soviets face ever half of the Nazi war machine. It didn't fight at sea -- very, very expensive -- and Adolf could never take his eyes off of Britain.
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