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Date Posted: 17:29:57 10/31/05 Mon
Author: Sunshine
Subject: Re: T 34
In reply to: Celebaelin 's message, "T 34" on 16:47:24 10/31/05 Mon

The King Tiger, bigger, better and more advanced
They were also slower and less reliable. The fact that there were not enough of them attests to the difficulty in building them and keeping them in action.

how close Bonaparte had come to being defeated at Marengo
Close only counts in hand grenades and nukes. Again, I look at the whole campaign – Napoleon using maneuver to defeat his enemies piecemeal. My emphasis is the operational conduct of the campaign. Napoleon was constantly faced with superior forces. He was facing the combined reactionary royals of Europe (I do not include the British in this contingent – they had very different motives for fighting the French). Only his development of the maneuver on the rear saved his rear. That he eventually overreached is unquestionable. Not being a linguist, I really don’t know the origin of the word hubris but every time I hear this word I think of Napoleon. This is absolutely, positively my last statement on Napoleon. Feel free to respond, I will be quiet now on this subject.

The fact that the initial, relatively dramatic, use of tanks was not backed up by any kind of advance, let alone the 'cavalry breakthrough' which the old duffers had been banging on about for the entire f***ing duration of the war, is a bewildering failure to exploit an obvious advantage.
I would cite the incredible speed at which the Germans penetrated the Soviet Union in 1941 was indeed an example of a ‘cavalry breakthrough’. The fact was is was too much of a breakthrough – the logistics were overextended as the panzers outran the supplies. The fact that it ultimately failed was a strategic consideration – who in their right mind would invade the Soviet Union? The fact that it almost worked is due solely to yhe effectiveness of the blitzkrieg.

As it was the ask on Fighter Command was that they down enemy planes at a 2:1 ratio. They did.
When the Luftwaffe had the RAF on the ropes, knocking out airfields and fighter support, the British caught a break. When the RAF bombed Berlin (I believe due to an errant German bomb that hit the civilian area of London but maybe not), Goering, who had promised the German public that Germany would never feel the sting of enemy bombs, redirected the emphasis to bombing London. This respite allowed the RAF to recover and eventually win. This is not to denigrate the British effort – when I think of the heroism that humans are sometimes capable of exhibiting, the Battle of Britain is one of the first examples that come to mind. Besides the bravery of the RAF (never has so many owed so much to so few) is the bravery of the ordinary Londoner. Almost makes me sorry that we had to kick your ass but in 1776 and thereabouts. I bring this whole point up to illustrate that luck comes into play in any human activity, especially one as complicated as total war.

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