Sunday, 29 November 2020

A new look at World Wars 2 from Victor David Hanson

 The review linked here has many surprises.  The Axis mostly killed and starved non-combatants and the Allies mostly killed combatants.  LeMay repurposed the B29 bomber for low altitude flights with much higher bomb loads.  The Japanese jet stream played a role.  WW2 was multiple wars.  Production dispersed away from the battlefield helped Russia (factories moved east of the Urals) and Japan (factories dispersed in civilian areas which were not attacked initially) and USA  (no serious effort was made to bomb the USA).  In an existential war, the side that can destroy the other side's homeland is the winner.  Hitler's unforced move to declare war on the USA is highlighted again as a major failure.  The London Blitz was a strategic mistake after Berlin had been bombed when Hitler should have stayed focused on bombing air fields, aircraft factories and radar.  And more.

Update:  I'm just finishing my copy.  Very readable.  The exceptional can redirect a war but outcomes favour the one building and delivering the most killing resources.  Immense detail included about tanks, planes, infantry weapons and repair issues and how many were fielded and how fast they were fielded.


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