Comments by "John Burns" (@johnburns4017) on "Why The North African Campaign Was So Crucial For Hitler | Hitler's Soft Underbelly | Timeline" video.

@jean-louislalonde6070 North Africa was not a test for US troops. They were poorly trained and led. What's more it was that they took little notice of the British. Launching into German occupied France with the experience and setup the Americans had, would have been slaughter.
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That was poor excuse for arrogantly taking no notice of the experienced British.
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@JTD472 When the Americans were under British command they were fine - Normandy, the Battle of Bulge take over, etc. When by themselves they screwed up big time: Battle of the Bulge, Market Garden, Aachen, Hurtgen Forest, Metz, Lorraine in general. Then strategy. At times little clue. .. Montgomery to Alan Brooke.. "If we want the war to end within any reasonable period you have to get Eisenhower’s hand taken off the land battle. I regret to say that in my opinion he just doesn’t know what he is doing. Montgomery wrote of Eisenhower and his ridiculous broad-front strategy on 22 January 1945: “I fear that the old snags of indecision and vacillation and refusal to consider the military problem fairly and squarely are coming to the front again . . . The real trouble is that there is no control and the three army groups are each intent on their own affairs. Patton today issued a stirring order to Third Army, saying the next step would be Cologne . . . One has to preserve a sense of humour these days, otherwise one would go mad.” Alanbrooke wrote in his diary about buffoon Einsenhower: “At the end of this morning's C.O.S. [Chief of Staff] meeting I put before the committee my views on the very unsatisfactory state of affairs in France, with no one running the land battle. Eisenhower, though supposed to be doing so, is on the golf links at Rheims — entirely detached and taking practically no part in running of the war. Matters got so bad lately that a deputation of Whiteley, Bedell Smith and a few others went up to tell him that he must get down to it and RUN the war, which he said he would." "We discussed the advisability of getting Marshall to come out to discuss the matter, but we are doubtful if he would appreciate the situation. Finally decided that I am to see the P.M. to discuss the situation with him.” "November 28th I went to see the P.M. I told him I was very worried." Alan Brooke described in his daily diary that American generals Eisenhower and Marshall as poor strategists, when they were in jobs were strategy mattered. Brooke wrote to Montgomery about his talks with Eisenhower, “it is equally clear that Ike has the very vaguest conception of war!”
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@JTD472 The British were in command on D-day in, air, land and sea, and Overlord overall. Montgomery was put in command of two shambolic US armies in the Bulge. He stopped the spearhead then drove the Germans back to the start line. Allanbrooke's diaries, what he was writing by the day, is solid evidence. Also look at the performance of US forces in the ETO. I never mentioned US Admiral King in the 600 vessels sunk off the US eastern board in 1942, through shear incompetence. You have selective amnesia.
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@jelliott8424 How they went about matters was arrogance on the part of US officers. They would not take advice from the experienced British. American egotism, arrogance and downright stupidity costed many lives all through WW2. Their performance in the ETO was abysmal from high staff level downwards. Since WW2 the US have exaggerated and told outright lies to cover it. One of the methods was to disparage the more professional British. Hollywood assisting greatly.
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@brucenadeau2172 Monty's 40 Division Thrust General Bodo Zimmermann, Chief of Operations, German Army Group D, said that had the strategy of Montgomery succeeded in the autumn of 1944, there would have been no need to fight for the West Wall, not for the central and upper Rhine, all of 24 which would have fallen automatically. Indeed, had Monty's idea for a 40 division concentrated thrust towards the Ruhr been accepted by Eisenhower instead of messing about in the Lorraine, Alsace, Vosges etc, it would have all been over for the Germans in the west. "The best course of the Allies would have been to concentrate a really strong striking force with which to break through past Aachen to the Ruhr area. Germany's strength is in the north. South Germany was a side issue. He who holds northern Germany holds Germany. Such a break-through, coupled with air domination, would have torn in pieces the weak German front and ended the war. Berlin and Prague would have been occupied ahead of the Russians. There were no German forces behind the Rhine, and at the end of August our front was wide open. There was the possibility of an operational break-through in the Aachen area, in September. This would have facilitated a rapid conquest of the Ruhr and a quicker advance on Berlin. By turning the forces from the Aachen area sharply northward, the German 15th and1st Parachute Armies could have been pinned against the estuaries of the Mass and the Rhine. They could not have escaped eastwards into Germany." - Gunther Blumentritt in, The Other Side Of The Hill by Liddell Hart
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For two years the British Army in Africa and the Middle East was supplied around the Cape to Suez. The equivalent to half way around the world. No other nation in the world could have done this at the time. The Axis forces were supplied by nearby Italy.
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@brucenadeau2172 Eisenhower's delay in Clearing the Scheldt ‘At the September 10 conference in Brussels Field-Marshall Montgomery was therefore authorised to defer the clearing out of the Antwerp approaches in an effort to seize the Bridgehead I wanted.' - CRUSADE IN EUROPE by EISENHOWER, 1948. Page 336 "Eisenhower approved the operation with certain conditions. Market Garden would commence on 17 September. Securing the approaches to the port at Antwerp would be delayed until Montgomery seized bridgeheads over the Rhine. His priority after seizing the bridgeheads would be gaining the much needed deep water port. He would not continue the attack to Berlin as he had proposed." - A FRAMEWORK FOR MILITARY DECISION MAKING UNDER RISKS by JAMES V. SCHULTZ AIR UNIVERSITY MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE ALABAMA JUNE 1996. Page 50. “Eisenhower had lost the chance of capturing the Ruhr quickly. Then, in his anxiety to make good this mistake, he had authorised first MARKET GARDEN and then Montgomery’s ‘left hook’ plan, and thus had delayed the opening of Antwerp.” “Patton’s Moselle offensive was undertaken at the expense not only of the drive for the Ruhr but also of the operations to open Antwerp.” - The Struggle for Europe by Chester Wilmot
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@brucenadeau2172 Such confusion. Lorraine had 50,000 US casualties. Patton failed to cross the westwall in Lorraine. Monty was in charge of two shambolic US armies in the Bulge.
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@justinepaula-robilliard The vast majority of Axis supplies got through in those two years. Italy won the convoy war.
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@LybertyZ I only deal with facts.
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This Reynolds has not a clue.
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Yes. For two years the well supplied Germans, from nearby Italy, and their allies, tried for two years to defeat the British and failed.
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@jelliott8424 Just about right.
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@jelliott8424 Any time.
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This documentary is just mainly inaccurate opinionated drivel.
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@bigwoody4704 Rambo a quiz. Name the British general who took a quarter of a million Axis prisoners in Tunisia? 20 points for the correct answer.
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Bradley ordered not to close the Falaise Gap. Goodwood was success. 90% of German armour was destroyed by the British in Normandy. Market Garden was 90% success. The operation was planned by Americans. The two US airborne units failed to seize their bridges. Montgomery did not plan or was involved in the execution of Market Garden. Eisenhower under resourced it.
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@wordsmithgmxch What might these unfortunate command decisions be? Church was wrong in allowing an American to be supreme command. They were inexperienced. US generals overall were quite poor.
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An incorrect highly opinionated one.
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@bigwoody4704 Rambo, a quiz. Name the British general who went 1,100 km in 17 days in North Africa? 20 points for the correct answer.
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@bigwoody4704 BZZZZZT! Wrong answer. The name the British general who went 1,100 km in 17 days in North Africa, was.. 🎈🎊🍾 General Montgomery 🎈🎊🍾 Zero points Rambo. Zero. Better luck next time.
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@bigwoody4704 Rambo, a quiz. Name the British general who took a quarter of a million Axis prisoners in Tunisia? 20 points for the correct answer.
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@bigwoody4704 Rambo, a quiz. Name the British general that went through nine countries with no reverses? 20 points for the correct answer.
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@bigwoody4704 BZZZZT! Wrong answer. The name the British general that went through nine countries with no reverses was... 🎈🍾🎊 General Montgomery 🎈🍾🎊 Zero points Rambo. Zero. Better luck next time.
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Churchill wanted to enter Austria through the gap in the Alps.
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@bigwoody4704 Rambo, a quiz. Name the British general who had to take command of two shambolic US armies in the German Bulge attack? 20 points for the correct answer.
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@bigwoody4704 BZZZZT! Wrong answer. The name the British general who had to take command of two shambolic US armies in the German Bulge attack, was... 🎈🍾🎊 General Montgomery 🎈🍾🎊 Zero points Rambo. Zero. Better luck next time.
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@bigwoody4704 Rambo, a quiz. Name the British general who planned and commanded d-day? 20 points for the correct answer.
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