Favorite WW2 Bomber

Very nice find, Garg.

Mussolini (and many others) thought the war all but won by Germany - hence the quote you post. From that starting point, with his political views and territorial aspirations, declaring war was an easy decision.

When you say “at this day and age” I think you mean with the largely pro-facist Italian mindset of 1940? So ignoring hindsight and my own morality?

Please clarify RJL.

Thanks
PP

@Gargantua:

I saw a documentary one time, that discussed the halt order.

The conclusion was that it was to do with the power dynamic of who was in charge of the Wehrmacht.  Hitler, or the High command.

The Dunkirk thing basically became a pissing match between the two parties, with Hitler winning the “halt” order, and exerting his will over total command.  At least… that was the opinion of the documentary, and I don’t know remember what the dynamics behind why Hitler wanted the halt order were, and why the Wehrmacht forces didn’t.

My impression–and I could be wrong–is that a large portion of the German general staff wanted the halt order. However, its most able, creative, aggressive generals–such as von Manstein–were strongly against the halt order.

Maybe the scale of the evacuation came as a surprise to many. On the other hand, it was common knowledge that Britain was a sea power with plenty of boats in or near the English Channel, so the idea that the soldiers might be evacuated should not have been a surprise. Perhaps more importantly, those Allied soldiers were on the run. The halt order gave them time to regroup, assume defensive positions, and to become a much harder nut to crack.

Von Manstein wrote that there are times when very important–but very fleeting–opportunities present themselves. When such is the case, it is often necessary to push soldiers to the absolute limits of human endurance. While this may seem cruel, seizing the opportunity in question is absolutely necessary to save your own soldiers’ lives.

The halt order was one of the two most important deviations from von Manstein’s original plan to conquer France. (Both deviations occurred over his objections.) The other deviation was that von Manstein had wanted to proceed to phase 2 (the conquest of Paris) even before having completed phase 1 (the encirclement and destruction of the BEF and nearby French forces).

You will recall that after the Germans reached the Channel, the French counterattacked from the south. Von Manstein didn’t want Germany to sit around waiting for that counterattack. Instead, he wanted to attack the French in their assembly areas, before they were ready to strike. That German attack would have secured the German path to the Channel, while also constituting the first part of phase 2.

Not really a weapon but a crucial life saver would have been a mirror or a small Perescope.

Try to look arround a corner in urban fights!

Here’s what I want:

A Japanese battleship that can launch German V2 rockets loaded with American A-bombs.  After annihilating the enemy cities with my atomic rockets I will sail in and land my British soldiers equipped with Russian T34-85s to finish the extermination.

@Fishmoto37:

@Gargantua:

@Fishmoto37:

Why do I need to have a favorite Mig? Oh well, if I must I will pick the Mig 15. When it first appeared on the world scene (Korea) it was superior to all straight wing jets. It stopped the B-29 raids on N. Korea until the F-86 was fully operational for combat. That was kind of a big deal to me when I was a kid. That was the time in my life when I was making plastic aircraft models. Yes, we had those way back in the early 50s.

You guys had WHEELS wheels back in the stone age??!?! ;)

�  Not only that, but we had aircraft with metal skin also.

  We also had steel wheels with rubber tires mounted on them that were held up with nothing but air. And also we had some really big WHEELS like Ike, MacArthur, Marshall and well the list is long. I think I made a humor. I like Ike!

Or even better, an A&A game about it.
Well, for tank lovers it will be a must!!!

He 219.
I like his strange configuration.