World War 2 General Discussion Thread

[Seraven]

a bridge to far
the longest day
fury
battle of Britain
das boot

I'd like to add The King's Speech and Judgement at Nuremberg, though neither deals much with the front line. The King's Speech shows things from the perspective of the British Royal family and their associates before and during the war, while Judgement at Nuremberg is about trials of Nazi officials after the war (and also deals with the start of the Cold War a bit).

I'd like to add The Great Escape. The Great Escape as its name implies, is about a plan to escape the internment camp, filled with pilots, and/with soldiers as well. It is based on a real-life event as well, I think. And it is set in WW2, so there are Scottish, English, one American I think (Steve McQueen), and couple of other men from other nationalities.

And maybe I'd add Monuments Men too. It's a group of Allied/American soldiers with expertise in arts, who tried to took the stolen and captured arts from Germany, who stole arts from their invaded territories, but unable to save some of them. Based on real-life group too.

I suppose I contribute, my grandfather was a civilian at the time, but in Indonesia which was Japanese-controlled territories at the time.

[Eol Sha]

So what are some good WW2 movies out there? I'm hoping to watch Downfall soon if I can find a good English sub.

Not a movie, but Spielberg's "The Pacific" is a fantastically good miniseries.

[The Krogan]

I'd like to add The King's Speech and Judgement at Nuremberg, though neither deals much with the front line. The King's Speech shows things from the perspective of the British Royal family and their associates before and during the war, while Judgement at Nuremberg is about trials of Nazi officials after the war (and also deals with the start of the Cold War a bit).

I'd like to add The Great Escape. The Great Escape as its name implies, is about a plan to escape the internment camp, filled with pilots, and/with soldiers as well. It is based on a real-life event as well, I think. And it is set in WW2, so there are Scottish, English, one American I think (Steve McQueen), and couple of other men from other nationalities.

And maybe I'd add Monuments Men too. It's a group of Allied/American soldiers with expertise in arts, who tried to took the stolen and captured arts from Germany, who stole arts from their invaded territories, but unable to save some of them. Based on real-life group too.

I suppose I contribute, my grandfather was a civilian at the time, but in Indonesia which was Japanese-controlled territories at the time.

Yes, both good movies.

[Seraven]

I'd like to add The Great Escape. The Great Escape as its name implies, is about a plan to escape the internment camp, filled with pilots, and/with soldiers as well. It is based on a real-life event as well, I think. And it is set in WW2, so there are Scottish, English, one American I think (Steve McQueen), and couple of other men from other nationalities.

And maybe I'd add Monuments Men too. It's a group of Allied/American soldiers with expertise in arts, who tried to took the stolen and captured arts from Germany, who stole arts from their invaded territories, but unable to save some of them. Based on real-life group too.

I suppose I contribute, my grandfather was a civilian at the time, but in Indonesia which was Japanese-controlled territories at the time.

Yes, both good movies.

Monuments Men, I recalled, has a lower reviews, unfortunately.

So what are some good WW2 movies out there? I'm hoping to watch Downfall soon if I can find a good English sub.

Not a movie, but Spielberg's "The Pacific" is a fantastically good miniseries.

I saw "The Pacific" as not as good as "Band of Brothers".

[The Krogan]

Yes, both good movies.

Monuments Men, I recalled, has a lower reviews, unfortunately.

Really? I thought it was quite good, from what I remember.

[Seraven]

Monuments Men, I recalled, has a lower reviews, unfortunately.

Really? I thought it was quite good, from what I remember.

I'm not saying it's bad.

[The Krogan]

Really? I thought it was quite good, from what I remember.

I'm not saying it's bad.

Yeah I know, I was talking about the reviews.

[Hollorous]

Here are some good WWII films that some Americans may not have seen:

City of Life and Death (China)-About the sack of Nanking. Very stark and depressing. Gives Schindler's List a run for its money. IIRC, Netflix stops streaming it at the end of the month, so watch it soon if you're interested.

Kanal (Poland)-The Polish Home Army tries to escape through the sewers after the Warsaw Uprising is crushed. Kinda slow, kinda B-movie, but it tells a story that you don't often see depicted in the west and it has some great suspenseful sequences and visuals.

Black Book (Netherlands)-The director of Robocop and Total Recall does WWII espionage. More grounded than either of those two movies, but still done with that same awesome "fuck you" attitude.

Fires On the Plain (Japan)-An IJA soldier slowly starves to death after his unit is crushed in the Philippines while also going crazy and dying of TB. That's pretty much the movie. Very artfully done, depressing, and with lots of black humor. A few sequences probably inspired Letters From Iwo Jima.

Come and See (Soviet Union)-Probably my favorite war movie. Kinda like Apocalypse Now, but better IMHO. Hyper realism mixed with surrealism, if that makes any sense. A tough watch though, to be sure.

[Goram]

So what are some good WW2 movies out there? I'm hoping to watch Downfall soon if I can find a good English sub.

The Dambusters and 633 Squadron.

Old but gold.

EDIT: Also, someone was talking about the most important battle of WWII. I'll see your Stalinngrad and raise you one Battle of the Atlantic/Artic naval operations.

[The Krogan]

So what are some good WW2 movies out there? I'm hoping to watch Downfall soon if I can find a good English sub.

The Dambusters and 633 Squadron.

Old but gold.

EDIT: Also, someone was talking about the most important battle of WWII. I'll see your Stalinngrad and raise you one Battle of the Atlantic/Artic naval operations.

*Applause*

[Esheaun Stroakuss]

Why didn't Hitler wait until Western Europe, including Britain, was under his control so that he could invade Russia?

[Goram]

Why didn't Hitler wait until Western Europe, including Britain, was under his control so that he could invade Russia?

Because invading Britain was, more or less, impossible.

[Eol Sha]

Why didn't Hitler wait until Western Europe, including Britain, was under his control so that he could invade Russia?

Invading and defeating Russia would probably have taken less time than rebuilding and repurposing the entire German fleet which, by June of '41, had had much of its (fairly meager) surface contingent decimated by British sea and air power. The Germans were also still dukeing it out with the British in Libya and Egypt. Plus, Hitler had long desired the conquest of Russia.

[Eol Sha]

Why didn't Hitler wait until Western Europe, including Britain, was under his control so that he could invade Russia?

Because invading Britain was, more or less, impossible.

That too.

[Shamhnan Insir]

The big battles and key points of each conflict theatre quite rightly dominate discussions on the war. But I always enjoy learning of the lesser known conflicts that took place at the same time, like the Winter War.

[Islamic Meritocratic Transoxiana]

Why didn't Hitler wait until Western Europe, including Britain, was under his control so that he could invade Russia?

Invading and defeating Russia would probably have taken less time than rebuilding and repurposing the entire German fleet which, by June of '41, had had much of its (fairly meager) surface contingent decimated by British sea and air power. The Germans were also still dukeing it out with the British in Libya and Egypt. Plus, Hitler had long desired the conquest of Russia.

Hitler's best bet probably would be devote more resources to N. Africa, and try and help his ally Rashid Ali in Iraq, then seize the M. East's oil. Also, his forces then could easily seize the Caucuses. Also, cut the Murmansk railway and get the Japanese to sink US shipping going to Russia in the Bering strait (to cut off lend-lease). Even w/ all this, it still would be pretty hard.

[Eol Sha]

Invading and defeating Russia would probably have taken less time than rebuilding and repurposing the entire German fleet which, by June of '41, had had much of its (fairly meager) surface contingent decimated by British sea and air power. The Germans were also still dukeing it out with the British in Libya and Egypt. Plus, Hitler had long desired the conquest of Russia.

Hitler's best bet probably would be devote more resources to N. Africa, and try and help his ally Rashid Ali in Iraq, then seize the M. East's oil. Also, his forces then could easily seize the Caucuses. Also, cut the Murmansk railway and get the Japanese to sink US shipping going to Russia in the Bering strait (to cut off lend-lease). Even w/ all this, it still would be pretty hard.

That relies on a hell of a lot of luck. Who knows how long the Germans could have sustained such a campaign. Plus, at the time, it seemed that Rommel was on his way to Cairo.

[Farnhamia]

Invading and defeating Russia would probably have taken less time than rebuilding and repurposing the entire German fleet which, by June of '41, had had much of its (fairly meager) surface contingent decimated by British sea and air power. The Germans were also still dukeing it out with the British in Libya and Egypt. Plus, Hitler had long desired the conquest of Russia.

Hitler's best bet probably would be devote more resources to N. Africa, and try and help his ally Rashid Ali in Iraq, then seize the M. East's oil. Also, his forces then could easily seize the Caucuses. Also, cut the Murmansk railway and get the Japanese to sink US shipping going to Russia in the Bering strait (to cut off lend-lease). Even w/ all this, it still would be pretty hard.

The Lend-Lease Pacific Route didn't use the Bering Strait and the USSR and Japan were not at war. The shipments went to Vladivostok in Soviet-flagged ships and did not include war materiel.

[L Ron Cupboard]

Why didn't Hitler wait until Western Europe, including Britain, was under his control so that he could invade Russia?

He was an idiot.

[The New Byzantine II]

Do you all know that after the Second World War, some remaining Nazis escape to Argentina? A trivia for today/tonight.

[Esheaun Stroakuss]

Why didn't Hitler wait until Western Europe, including Britain, was under his control so that he could invade Russia?

He was an idiot.

I think his ambition got the better of him. He was trying to commit resources to N. Africa as well as trying to invade Russia. He nearly did it, but Stalin caught up in time.

[Baltenstein]

Do you all know that after the Second World War, some remaining Nazis escape to Argentina? A trivia for today/tonight.

Thats like one of the most well-known factoids of postwar history.

[Baltenstein]

He was an idiot.

I think his ambition got the better of him. He was trying to commit resources to N. Africa as well as trying to invade Russia. He nearly did it, but Stalin caught up in time.

Hitler was largely uninterested in Africa and only sent the Afrikakorps because the Italians were extremely underperforming. Rommel constantly demanded more resources than Hitler was willing to give.

[Islamic Meritocratic Transoxiana]

Hitler's best bet probably would be devote more resources to N. Africa, and try and help his ally Rashid Ali in Iraq, then seize the M. East's oil. Also, his forces then could easily seize the Caucuses. Also, cut the Murmansk railway and get the Japanese to sink US shipping going to Russia in the Bering strait (to cut off lend-lease). Even w/ all this, it still would be pretty hard.

That relies on a h- of a lot of luck. Who knows how long the Germans could have sustained such a campaign. Plus, at the time, it seemed that Rommel was on his way to Cairo.

Agreed. The only other way I can think of right now is if Hitler waited for his scientists to build 'Wonder Weapons' before starting the war.

[The Huskar Social Union]

That relies on a h- of a lot of luck. Who knows how long the Germans could have sustained such a campaign. Plus, at the time, it seemed that Rommel was on his way to Cairo.

Agreed. The only other way I can think of right now is if Hitler waited for his scientists to build 'Wonder Weapons' before starting the war.

In which case Germany probably would have bankrupted itself, the build up of regular armaments and vehicles for their military put a massive strain on their recovering economy. The wonder weapons were frankly a waste of time and resources, and should not have had the focus put on them they did. It would have been far more appropriate and useful to manufacture things they already had in the field, or improved versions of them in suitable numbers.