Nazi time Deutschland literally fought to annihilation -- until there was literally no country left to defend.
The Third Reich - she died kicking and screaming, finally crashing down in an orgy of pulverized, burning cities and a river of blood — civilian and military, German and non-German. Military history knows no year quite like 1944 -45 and if lucky, will never see another.
On May 7th the surviving ruling remnants of the once powerful Dritten Reich finally screamed "GOD! PLEASE! STOP!"
May 8th is Victory In Europe Day.
The legacy of VE Day is with us still. There never could have been a European Union - let alone a re unified Germany without Great Satan's will power, staying power and fire power.
And VE Day would not have been possible without Great Satan, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and the Russian Red Army's incredible ability to absorb horrific losses, to bounce back and win.
Happy VE Day!
My uncle was in that fight, he flew the P-47 Thunderbolt. First from England someplace and, eventually from a dirt strip on the continent. It didn't last long as a air to air fighter, the Jug soon became the premier air to mud fighter-bomber in that war while the P-51 Mustang and P-38 Lightning got the "glory".
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile Dad was in the Pacific, wondering why he got a rifle and a pair of battered combat boots instead of an airplane.
You're right, though, we probably won't see a time like 1944-45. Only because we no longer have what it takes to pound a society down until they beg us to stop. Oddly, though, now that we can do such with little risk to ourselves we lack the fiber to stop the Rawandas and the Darfurs. Since 1944-45 the death toll is about as high only it's the bad guys doing the killing while our "leaders" wring their hands.
I really hope, though, when the bad guys finally nuke those idiot Yankees in New York and Washington, it will finally galvanize the rest of the nation into action.
44-45?
ReplyDeleteThe war was won by the Russians in 42-43 - the Russkis knew it, and the Germans knew it. I don't want to discredit those who laid down their lives in the latter years of the war.
But if you're going to state that "Military history knows no year quite like 1944 -45", you are discrediting the millions of people killed in the battles such as Stalingrad and Kursk.
But yeah, happy VE day. As you say, may there never be another.
Sam,
ReplyDeleteMore people were killed, more propety destroyed betwixt 44 and 45 than all the years combined from 39 to 43.
Stalingrad, Kharkov, Kursk, Zhitomir and Sciliy included.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCould you give me more information than that?
ReplyDeleteYou're just stating fact, but don't have any supporting evidence.
I'm not saying you're wrong, I just want to understand.
Sam, It's in the link at that statement. Sir Max's "Armageddon." While that book deals with the death of NSDAP time Germnay - the statement is reflective of the entire globe for that time period
ReplyDeleteAh. That's not the impression I got from reading Why the Allies Won by Richard Overy, or Russia at War by Alexander Werth.
ReplyDeleteSRH - Lay it on us! Share please!
ReplyDeleteYou can't ignore that there had been fighting in Western Europe since 1940. But the big stuff kicked off in '42, and although not over by 1944, the outcome of the war had been determined. So by '44 you have to account for the previous 4 years of war.
ReplyDeleteThe Russian territory that was captured by the Germans had been ravaged. What hadn't been destroyed was transported out to Siberia. Then following Stalingrad, when the Russians took the offensive, the same ground was ravaged again.
The bombing exchange between the Western Allies and Germany had been ongoing since 1940. For the allies this had turned into the Strategic Bomber Offensive.
The Offensive had created a major characteristic of Kursk - the almost total absence of the Luftwaffe, because the German industry (such as ball-bearing factories) had either been destroyed, or resources were turned towards the (pointless) defence of Russia.
Following Kursk in Summer 1943, there was a mutual recognition between Russia and Germany that the outcome of the war had been determined. A whole year before a single Western allied soldier had stepped on the beaches of Normandy.
If you want to know more, I suggest looking at the books I mentioned before. Richard Overy is one of the most respected WW2 scholars there is (one of my lecturers went so far as to say that he is the most respected), and Alexander Werth was an American military liaison who spent most of the war in Moscow. Peter Calvocoressi is a good one too, I believe.
While I don't disagree with the assertion that the Russians did a lot of the fighting and dying, the Allied landing went a long way to sealing the fate of Nazi Germany.
ReplyDeleteSir Max's book is unique in how it combines both the Eastern, Western and to a lesser extent Italian Fronts into an outstanding narrative.
I also highly recommend Rick Atkinson's books on the direct role Great Satan and it's Britannic little brother had in defeating the Nazi hordes.