Were there only wusses in WWII besides Russians, Germans and Americans?

[Saras]

Originally posted by Cort Haus


Yeah, that was a crazy thing to try. Still, we learned how not to do it from that experience.

Commandos still rocked, together with ~50 US Rangers.

[BlackCat]

Wasn't it btw mainly the brits that destroyed the german fleet - especially the submarines ?

[Cort Haus]

Arnhem could go down as a crazy risk, too. Though I expect Ecthy will chalk that one down to ineptitide.

[Ecthy]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
I can't believe the OP dismissed Japan's first-half performance like that. They made huge gains, and fought the US hard until the end. Also, in Europe there was Guerilla resistance in places like Yugoslavia and Crete.

Japan: they might have made huge gains in the beginning, but then the US wasn't prepared for war. So they made a sneak attack, as cowards. In this connection, the Japanese were indeed wusses. In the meantime they fought a war in China that they never really managed to win.

Partisans don't count, of course there were brave people everywhere. I'm talking real armies.

[Ecthy]

Originally posted by Lord Avalon
OK, I'll bite. The RAF fought off the Luftwaffe (after Hitler mistakenly shifted the focus of attacks from airfields & planes to bombing cities). I don't know if you'll count this as "fighting," but the British codebreakers were key in the war effort.

Pretty posh thing to do, nothing compared to real fighting in the field. I'll acknowledge the importance of their work for the war effort overall, but it's not the real manly fighting thing.

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Lord Avalon

I would disagree with that - defeated, yes, ass kicked? I wouldn't say that. His supplies often didn't get through (due to the aforementioned codebreakers), and he never got all the troops he wanted. He did a lot with a little. And after El Alamein he kept out of Monty's reach all the way back across Africa.

It doesn't make much sense to talk about what-if's (though, it can be fun to fabulate about it). Fact is that the AC was stopped, thrown back and on the run until they left africa. Wheter that is to be defined as asskicking or not, the fact that the brits (including colonial troops) did it.

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by Ecthy


Pretty posh thing to do, nothing compared to real fighting in the field. I'll acknowledge the importance of their work for the war effort overall, but it's not the real manly fighting thing.

OK, what about the SAS? Or the British Airborne? Did they fight manly enough for you?

[GePap]

Originally posted by Ecthy


Japan: they might have made huge gains in the beginning, but then the US wasn't prepared for war. So they made a sneak attack, as cowards. In this connection, the Japanese were indeed wusses. In the meantime they fought a war in China that they never really managed to win.

The world had been at war for two years. Why blame Japan for taking advantage for the mistakes of its enemies?

Japan's quick conquest for European colonies was a set of brilliant strokes. There was a very tought battle for Burma that took years.

And as for China, why would it be a suprise that Japan could not easily conquer a country several times its size?

Wuss implies cowardice. Even a brave soplider can be defeated by bad startegy and poor eqipment. Only a nut would call Japanese soldiers wusses.

[Ecthy]

OK, what about the SAS? Or the British Airborne? Did they fight manly enough for you?

I'm talking land armies.

Originally posted by GePap
The world had been at war for two years. Why blame Japan for taking advantage for the mistakes of its enemies?

The USA wasn't an enemy before the attack. By your logic Germany can't be blamed for the attack on the USSR.

As for China, why would it be a suprise that Japan could not easily conquer a country several times its size?

Why actually attack a country several times your size, AND even more countries several times as strong?

Only a nut would call Japanese soldiers wusses.

Keep your personal judgements to yourself.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Ecthy
The USA wasn't an enemy before the attack. By your logic Germany can't be blamed for the attack on the USSR.

Actually, NO. The Logic (which you missed totally) is that even if the US was not at war, everyone around it was, and the US had significant diplomatic tensions with Japan (having placed several embargoes on it), so the US should have been better prepared for war. Even then, the US severely underrated Japan's military abilities, as did the Europeans. And they paid heavily for it.

Why actually attack a country several times your size, AND even more countries several times as strong?

What does that have to do with your "wuss" logic? NO wuss would ever take on a large group of guys bigger than themselves.

Keep your personal judgements to yourself.

This whole thread is based on your personal judgement. Stop the hypocrasy.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by GePap
Japan's quick conquest for European colonies was a set of brilliant strokes. There was a very tought battle for Burma that took years.

And as for China, why would it be a suprise that Japan could not easily conquer a country several times its size?

Wuss implies cowardice. Even a brave soplider can be defeated by bad startegy and poor eqipment. Only a nut would call Japanese soldiers wusses.

Absolutely correct.
And don't forget those nasty battles for Guadacanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, the Philippines, etc., etc. Wusses?? Definiately not.


And don't forget the Gurkas
At one point, some were asked to volunteer to be dropped by plane into occupied France on a very dangerous and possibly suicidal mission. Their captain was highly embarassed when only about half his company volunteered. --But then he thought to explain that they would be given parachutes when they jumped out of the plane. And then the whole company ethusiastically volunteered.

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by Ecthy

OK, what about the SAS? Or the British Airborne? Did they fight manly enough for you?

I'm talking land armies.

Well, they didn't do their fighting in the air.

[Pekka]

We didn't give up or stop fighting after few weeks, it lasted for years. And there were only 3 capitals involved that were never occupied by enemy troops, and those capitals be London, Moscow and Helsinki.

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Pekka
We didn't give up or stop fighting after few weeks, it lasted for years. And there were only 3 capitals involved that were never occupied by enemy troops, and those capitals be London, Moscow and Helsinki.

Please tell when and by whom washington was occupied

[Pekka]

Well if you can't separate the real theater of war and islands, then maybe you can go and have a banana!