The Second World War.

[jokerman]

Because of people digressing from the appropriate topics on the What Books are you reading & What's happening this week threads. Where we've mentioned the Second World War & With next Wednesday being the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. I thought I'd start a thread about the Second World War.

However there are some rules
1 Nothing racist, anti semitic or xenophobic is to be posted.
2 please keep to the facts.

[Mal Hombre]

How about a general history thread ?

[Brecht]

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

How about a general history thread ?

Thanks for suggesting this, Mal. I was going to do the same a few days ago.

[rotobott]

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

How about a general history thread ?

I think it should be about the ordinary soldiers too

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

How about a general history thread ?

The only "problem" is that history is an even bigger subject than everything else on VEF put together! I don't know if it's possible to have sub-categories ... so within GD&N we'd have "Military History" and within that "WWI", "WWII", the "English Civil War", "American Civil War" etc? Sounds a tad complicated, and it's okay me suggesting it, but I wouldn't have to do it!

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by jokerman

Because of people digressing from the appropriate topics on the What Books are you reading & What's happening this week threads. Where we've mentioned the Second World War & With next Wednesday being the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. I thought I'd start a thread about the Second World War.

However there are some rules
1 Nothing racist, anti semitic or xenophobic is to be posted.
2 please keep to the facts.

I'm all for it as the subject has fascinated me for years. I enjoy getting behind the headlines, learning about less well known battles, trying to get to grips with how all the pieces fitted together, and hearing other people's persepectives, in particular those from other countries.

If no one objects, perhaps you could set the ball rolling jokerman?

[billybunter]

Well, BB is going to say one thing. Pearl Harbor was a false flag. The US knew it was going to happen. They needed something to get the public to support joining the war. No offence meant. I have spoken to people who where there.

[tygrkhat40]

Originally Posted by billybunter

Well, BB is going to say one thing. Pearl Harbor was a false flag. The US knew it was going to happen. They needed something to get the public to support joining the war. No offence meant. I have spoken to people who where there.

Here's the problem I have with the theory that FDR knew that the Japanese were going to attack Pearl Harbor and let it happen to get the US into the war. The Pacific War was not the war FDR wanted the US involved in. FDR wanted to aid Britain because he felt that Hitler was the bigger threat than the Japanese militarists. It can be argued that Hitler's unilateral declaration of war on the US was his biggest mistake of the war. Without Hitler's declaration, FDR cannot justify a war in Europe after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

[Janus97201]

Originally Posted by tygrkhat40

Here's the problem I have with the theory that FDR knew that the Japanese were going to attack Pearl Harbor and let it happen to get the US into the war. The Pacific War was not the war FDR wanted the US involved in. FDR wanted to aid Britain because he felt that Hitler was the bigger threat than the Japanese militarists. It can be argued that Hitler's unilateral declaration of war on the US was his biggest mistake of the war. Without Hitler's declaration, FDR cannot justify a war in Europe after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

Hitler declared war on the US because he wanted Japan to declare war on Russia, and force Russia to fight on two fronts. The Japanese didn't do it - and eventually told the German Ambassador to Japan. The German Ambassador told his good friend - who turned out to be a Soviet agent. When the Soviets heard this, they moved 1 million troops from Eastern Russia and sent them to defend Moscow and Stalingrad.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sorge

[DTravel]

Originally Posted by Janus97201

Hitler declared war on the US because he wanted Japan to declare war on Russia, and force Russia to fight on two fronts. The Japanese didn't do it - and eventually told the German Ambassador to Japan. The German Ambassador told his good friend - who turned out to be a Soviet agent. When the Soviets heard this, they moved 1 million troops from Eastern Russia and sent them to defend Moscow and Stalingrad.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sorge

There is a timing problem with this theory. Soviet troops began the counter-attack against Wehrmacht outside Moscow on 5 Dec 1941, two days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. It took months to move the troops from eastern Russia to the German front (remember, we're talking the better part of a million troops and all their equipment).

The Soviet decision to move forces from Siberia may have been based in part on Richard Sorge's intelligence but it was made long before the Japanese attacked the US, UK and other Allies. And the Japanese decision to attack south instead of north was made at the latest in early 1941 as the IJN began very specific training to attack Pearl in the Spring of 1941.