Any military history buffs here?

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Here's a topic. I heard about a bloke who's written a book claiming Hitler had good reason to believe that he could successfully invade the Soviet Union. He says that no one really knew what Uncle Joe was capable of, or that a huge industrial complex could be conjured up overnight.

Once, when I was 12, I was channle surfing and stumbled accross the history channel. Been watching it ever since.

I'm a WWII buff.

As for my favorite aircrafts, I'm going with the Spitfire and the F4U Corsair as my favorite fighters and the B-24 as my choice of bomber. My favorite land vehicle of WWII is, hands down, the DUKW (though it's also a sea vehicle). For small arms, I find the M-1 Carbine and the grease gun (M3 sub-machine gun) to be the most interesting small arms.

d'oh! I forgot the Warthog, which essentially is a flying cannon...

I've argued that Hitler signed his death warrant when he signed Operation Barbarossa. How could he not know that Stalin was a monster? How could he think that the Wehrmacht could keep going during the Russian winter? Or the spring mud? And what was he thinking when he gave orders to annihilate all Russian jews? Or to leave scorched earth as the army moved forward? Not to mention the fact he gave orders to steal Russian art ?
It can be argued he didn't know what Stalin could do, but to open such a huge front at the same time he had most of Europe under his control??

I know a bit, but not completely. I mean if you asked me who Cornwallis was or who General Custard was I would be able to answer. But I have trouble remembering dates.

I've run across a WWII website that you post photos on. I'm seriously thinking of signing up. My father left a pile of photos he took, some are amazing.

You must post some up on WP!! ! Id love to see some vintage WWII photos.

I haven't scanned amy, but since you asked ! !! !

Will do.

Wish I had asked my father how he was able to take so many pictures. He wasn't a journalist or anything like that. But he left me scrapbooks full of pictures.

(A quick check of my garage shows my poor memory. I know the scrapbooks are out there, but I'll have to dig them out this weekend.)

General Custard? wasn't he the one who was killed in the basement with a pipe wrench?...

While it's probably not all that accurate, my view of GA Custer was formed by Little Big Man...;) If he'd taken the Gatlings, Hayes might have lost the election... The Indian women who 'cleaned up' pierced his eardrums (he was alrady dead) so he'd listen better in the next world...

I like reasing up on WWI Airplanes and Pre-historic warfare (Celtic expansionism, Proto-Slavs, Proto-Scythians, Blackfoot-Cree Wars.)

Ex-Wehrmact General Guderian wrote his biography and explained why Hitler thought the USSR was vulnerable.

In the winter of 1940, Soviet forces attacked Finland. Despite overwhelming superiority of men, tanks, planes, and artillery, the Red army was defeated in several battles along the long Finnish/USSR border. Eventually, and after significant losses, the Russian forces succeeded in breaking through the Mannerheim line, thus bringing Finnish leaders to the point of negotiation w/the USSR. But it was a blundering, bloody mess, made worse by the fact that Stalin had purged most of his general officer corps during the late 30s. (I can provide figures, it's not a pretty picture).

If the tiny Finnish army could blunt and defeat the massive Red Army, what chance, or so it was thought, would the Russians have against the Wehrmact? At that time the most advanced military in Europe, if not the planet. (arguably)

"You have only to kick in the door, and the whole rotten structure will come tumbling down." --Hitler, to his General Staff, prior to Operation Barbarossa.