Favorite WWII Ship

at the start of the battle, the german OKH had two options. Both where considered. They had a very limited capacity to transport vital supplies to the front. They had enough to send the ammunition and fuel for a drive on Moscow without winter equipment. Or, they could send the  winter equipment, fuel and ammunition that was needed for defensive operations. They chose to send ammunition and fuel, but no winter coats. This resulted in the disaster in front of Moscow, and the loss of a lot of the elite leadership of the german army. I believe the only reasonable choice would be to realize that the campaign could not be won in 41 and plan for a 42 campaign. Instead they decided to launch a battle with the potential to lose to war.

The First Battle of Smolensk was a large scale battle during the opening stage of Operation Barbarossa in World War II, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It took place in the region around the city of Smolensk between 10 July and 10 September 1941, about 400 km west of Moscow. At that point the Wehrmacht had advanced 500 km into the USSR in the mere 18 days that had elapsed since the start of the invasion on 22 June 1941. During the battle the German army encountered unexpected resistance, leading to a severe delay in their advance on Moscow.

Ultimately, three Soviet armies (the 16th, 19th and the 20th army) were encircled and destroyed just to the south of Smolensk, though significant numbers from the 19th and 20th managed to escape the pocket. Some historians have asserted that the losses in terms of men and materiel incurred by the Wehrmacht during this drawn-out battle, together with the 2-month delay in the march towards Moscow, were decisive for the Wehrmacht’s defeat by the Red Army at the end of the Battle of Moscow three months later in December 1941.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Smolensk_(1941)

Historians say that this battle had a profound effect on Germany’s drive to Moscow in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa.  
What do you guys think?

The Allies didn’t have “a” plan to wage the Battle of the Atlantic, and neither did the Germans.  The Battle of the Atlantic was a complex battle of attrition on a gigantic scale which lasted all the way from September 1939 to May 1945, and it was characterized by constant changes of plans and tactics and weaponry on both sides as it progressed, with each side trying to overcome every new enemy development with a suitable counter-development.  The campaign see-sawed several times, with one side or the other gaining the advantage at various points; some methods of waging the campaign became ineffectual as time progressed, but were highly effective in earlier stages and therefore were entirely correct to use at those points.

Hands down, US Fletcher class destroyer. 175 built, the next two US destroyer classes based off of it. It was the destroyer that screened the US carrier battle groups. 5 duel purpose 5" guns, numerous AA guns, 10 21" torpedo tubes (only effective after the US solved its torpedo problem). speed, 38 knots. a true warship. also, one could argue they won the war for the US. It was basically the Navy’s version of the Sherman tank. plus, the last one was decommissioned in 2001, so a life of 57-59 years depending on when it was commissioned.

Build Your Own WWII Army, is basically what most of us read and did Kurt Godel7, maybe. I did!  :-D

If it really would have come down to build my own Army I would have gone for a small one.

Something like a Platoon is consisting of 7 Peps.(has also a dedicated armoured/personnel carrier.
One Platoon leader ,1 MG 42 man,1 Radioman, 1 Engineer (handy w. explosives and such) 3 Reg. Inf. men.
3 Platoons a Group , 3-4 Groups a Brigade.

7 Tanks a Platoon ,3 platoons a group ,3-4 Groups a Brigade.
Platton consisting of 1 Command Tank, but diffrent in design ( More Armour no heavy Gun, 2cm maybe for defence)
2Heavy tanks such Tiger or Panther,JS I or equivalent, 2 Med Tanks like P IV class or Sherman and 2 Tank Hunter like StuG, Hetzer (whatever fits Best).
Each Tank Platoon gets 3-4 dedicated Selfpropelled Artillery Guns w. Ammo carriers.(Wasp,Priest etc. 10.5 cm o.e. shells)
Each Tank Platoon gets 3 Fighters and 4 Bombers wich they can be called upon any given time via Liason officers who are on board the Command Tank.

I just wanted shorter Communication ways and the combined best of everything, my thoughts behind the build your Army.
I think less is most of the times better then to much.
The most important equipment of course would have been the Radio then.

These Brigades combined with Reg Inf. and Tank Divisions as rearguard Divisions would have done any Job they would have been asked for, whereby the Reg Division would have taken the part to secure and hold the gain Positions and Terretories conquered.

This all apllies for Land based Operations.

What do you all think of it??

Wow, miss a few days drinking and dancing…well watching others dance anyways…but I digress.  We no longer have an expert on the WWII food thingee/justification whatchermacallit?

I bet, many of you are like me, I grew up reading the Bantam WWII series of books. I starting looking at the number of books produced and realized how many i have not read.

What is your favorite? I love Iron Coffins, Samurai & Company Commander.

I played WaW once. Didn’t like it much. But I’ll give it another try if you think it is worth it.
  What do you like about it?
  Crazy Ivan