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The most important battle of WWII

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  Quote pekau Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: The most important battle of WWII
    Posted: 29-Mar-2007 at 22:49
Originally posted by gande

 
after stalingrad the germans never again won any battle of any significance
 
Nope. Assault of Seelow was another huge blow to Soviet invaders. Though Soviet prevailed in the end, the delay and the casualty of Soviet armies was considerable, espeically in the condition the German armies had to endure at that time.
     
   
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  Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30-Mar-2007 at 12:40

ALTHOUGH SEELOW WAS EXPENSIVE IT WAS NOT A GERMAN VICTORY. FOR STALIN IT SEEMS THAT ANY COST WAS ACCEPTIBLE AS LONG AS THE SOVIET UNION WON.

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  Quote Galahadlrrp Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-Nov-2008 at 17:41
--In the grand strategic sense, the most important battle of WW2 was Pearl Harbor.
--Why? Because the US had--before mobilization--nearly half the industrial capacity of the entire planet at the time, and Pearl Harbor brought the US totally into the war bent on absolute revenge in the form of total victory.
--That guaranteed that in the end the Axis powers were going to lose, because WW2 was a war of machines and machines were a product of industrial capacity.
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  Quote Red4tribe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16-Nov-2008 at 01:14
I think it would have to be the Battle of Britain. If Britian had fallen in line with France, there would have been nothing to stop Germany in Europe and Italy in Africa. Italy would have likely broken through to the Suez and into the middle east, taking the valuable oil supplies. Without having to send help to the Italians in Africa, Germany would have had extra troops and supplies for invasion of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union may have very well fallen. Without Britain's help, the United States may have given into Japan, and the world would have settled into a very uneasy peace.
Had this day been wanting, the world had never seen the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable of attaining.

George Washington - March 15, 1783

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  Quote warwolf1969 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29-Jun-2010 at 10:29
To me the most important Battle was Operation Barbarossa.  As much as I know it technically wasn't a battle.  The invasion of Russia resulted in the eventual defeat of Germany.  In spite of what anyone from the US might say, Russia beat Germany.  FDR himself knew that the main threat was in europe, not the pacific.  Which is why he agreed to make the defeat of Germany the main Allied priority.  Japan was never  real threat, her whole power was based on her navy which was very stretched. 
 
I don't believe the Battle of Britain was that important for the simple reason that there was no way Germany could have invaded, even if they had won.  With no navy to speak off any invasion would have resulted in a disaster.  The Royal Navy would have sailed into the area and sent the invasion force to the bottom of the ocean.  Hell, the German's didn't even have anything to transport the troops over with.
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  Quote DreamWeaver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29-Jun-2010 at 15:38
Is it that the Russians won it, or that the Germans lost it? A distinct difference after all.

As for the Battle of Britian, how does the RN defeat an invasion force if Britian lacks air superiority over the channel in the first place? Cant have naval without air supremacy.
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  Quote warwolf1969 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30-Jun-2010 at 00:16
And how would the Germans have attacked the Royal Navy, they had no anti ship airplanes.  All they had were the Stuka, which was even then slow.  The Germans had no transports to get their forces across the channel.  The commanders in the German Navy had washed their hands of Sealion even before the Battle of Britain.  They knew there was no chance of protecting an invasion force, let alone protecting the supplies needed for such a force.  The German army had even suggested using river transports to carry the troops over.  Most of which would have sunk in the channel without even been fired upon.  Sealion was never going to happen because the German army did not have the resources to carry it out.  Therefore the Battle of Britain was a none event, totally overrated.  And that comes from an Englishman.
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  Quote DreamWeaver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30-Jun-2010 at 13:44
The Germans seemed to do fine with sinking RN ships at Dunkirk and aftwerwards, why not in an attempted invasion? Air power still trumps naval powerin the setting. Quality of invasions shipping is less importants if the sea isnt going to be contested in the first place.

Sounds like the benefit of hindsight now declaring that it was never going to happen, surely at the time it was considered a major threat and possibility, so at the time the battle was of key importance? If it  was never going to be carried out, why all the bother in the first place?
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  Quote warwolf1969 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01-Jul-2010 at 03:01
There is a difference between Dunkirk where the ships were stationary in harbour or close to shore, and the situation for the invasion.  There the ships are moving, more able to cover each other.  German air attacks against mobile vessels are not known for their sucess.  Also the transports do count, the Germans had no actual transports apart from River barges.  These would have sunk in large numbers during the crossing.  If you can't get your troops to the beaches how are you supposed to invade.  Look at Normandy, even with proper transports the landings nearly failed.  Look at Tarawa in the pacific.  The marines landed with incorrect transports and were nearly destroyed in the sea.  It was only luck that resulted in the landing not been defeated on the beach. 
 
Also this whole tread is about Hindsight.  At the time I'm sure all battles seem important, all of historical study involves hindsight, because it is looking back at the situation in full knowledge of the facts.
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  Quote DreamWeaver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01-Jul-2010 at 03:20
Fair enough, just throwing ideas out there.
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  Quote opuslola Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01-Jul-2010 at 06:53
I would consider the Battle of Britain as one of the key events in WWII. In spite of the constant bombings, British industry was able to produce more fighter aircraft than was Germany! Germany it seems, was always spreading out its war production to too many companies, with too many competing aircraft, Germany got itself into a war between its own war producing industry. Shortly after 1942 or so, it became a logistical nightmare just to supply the correct ammunition and spare parts to its nightmare of war machines and weapons!

But, Britain continued to produce Hawker Hurricanes (the fighter that really won the Battle of Britain) and it stuck with the .303 Cal., as its main rifle round, etc. Standardization was Britian's friend!

Germany on the other hand, was stuck with numerous rifle rounds, sub-machine gun rounds, assault rifle rounds, artillery rounds, etc.!

About the only great weapon in the German arsenal was its famous 88 cannnon! This weapon was constantly revised and modified for differing usage, from cannon, tanks, to anti-aircraft use.

In the air war, the Supersubmarine Spitfire, was a rather late addition! The Hurricane had basically destroyed Germany's attacking bomber fleets before the Spitfire became available in great numbers!

Hail the Hawker Hurricane!

Besides, with the loss of so many aircraft Germany never really managed to catch up its production, since it found out how hard it was to protect its own manufacturing plants.

With the loss of air-superiority Germany had condemed itself to defeat!

Edited by opuslola - 01-Jul-2010 at 06:58
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  Quote Nenonen Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27-Jan-2011 at 07:10
You must remember that Stalingrad was just one small part of whole Soviet offensive in winter 1942-43. It was part of Operation Uranus. And there were even more important amoung these:

-Operation Mars (Zhukov's greatest defeat)
-Operation Jupiter
-Operation Saturnus

Actually only Stalingrad was successful for Soviets. But these others - especially Mars - were just very sad and bloody lessons for Red Army given by Germans.

Besides, there is strong evidence that elite unit, Leibstandarte, which was pulled from eastern front near the Stalingrad to Dieppe, west (Hitler's decision) could have eliminate Vasilevsky's offensive.

On the other hand, there are other evidence showing that Friedrich von Paulus was remarkable obtuse as a Wehrmacht army commander. His demand to pull 2 panzer division from back to city of Stalingrad was real stupid and bloody decision.
"Military history is nothing but a tissue of fictions and legends, only a form of literary invention; reality counts for very little in such an affair."

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  Quote opuslola Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Dec-2013 at 21:31
Stalingrad became a great loss to Nazi Germany because of Hitler! His ego defeated common sense! The smartest move was to merely destroy it and leave it to the survivors. The army was then free to march on its merry way to the Oil supplies, and "win one for the Gipper", so to speak! LOL

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  Quote salu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-Dec-2013 at 17:47
Number 1 in my opinion is the battle of sterligard
Because after the red army had won this battle it lead to them going into the offensive where nazis were forced to bring in renforcements which adventully lead to the allied forces landing on the normandy beachs and going on the offensive


Number 2 in my opinion is the battle of mid way
This battle resulted in the americans going on offense and defeating the jappenness

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  Quote opuslola Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14-Dec-2013 at 00:09
Well, salute', salu!


Ron

Edited by opuslola - 14-Dec-2013 at 00:12
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