Simon_Jester wrote:Honorius, you're daft enough to think Khalkin Gol was almost a win for the Japanese, and you're the guy who was dumb enough to come up with a war plan for the US in 1942 that others identified as "perhaps the only way Germany could win the war after the US got involved."
And you're an idiot who can't do basic research on what was actually involved beyond a few lines in a History Book. Fact is the Japanese were doing quite well, but Stalin backed his generals and the Japanese Government stabbed the Kwangtung Army in the back due to the Byzantine nature of Japanese War Politics that wound up eventually destroying them just as much as American B-29s.
As for the Quiberron Bay Scenario I provided the actual balance of fighting power available to both sides and it heavily favored the Allies while you provided nothing but anecdotes of a German Counter-attack using units that didn't even exist yet somehow being able to repulse a beach head in the face of an overwhelming Allied Air, Naval, and Artillery advantage which they had never historically been able to overcome. Nor did the Kriegsmarine have anything that could remotely threaten the Allied Fleet in the Bay of Biscay in that time period.
Everyone arguing against the scenario never addressed those point in anyway that was coherent or didn't involve Naziwank. Especially you. Try getting a hold of actual force strengths for once before making an argument.
You didn't even read the very post you quoted, or you'd notice my point that the only "colonial possession" Italy had which is credibly even threatened (not attacked, threatened) by the Cats is Ethiopia. Keeping Ethiopia safe for Italy by allying with Britain is nowhere near as big a prize as securing the domination of the entire Mediterranean Sea by helping the Germans defeat Britain.
Britain in this scenario would be suing for peace with Germany which Hitler would grant as it secures his objectives, and he cares squat about the Duce's insofar as how they benefit him to entertain. And even if France still gets beat down in May, June still was the scene of the hardest and heaviest fighting of th Battle of France and France still had substantial forces intact after the Armistice which Hitler forbade Mussolini to attack till the Vichy French control of the Colonies slipped and it became moot.
The Duce's thinking would be Alien Invasion, hey, an entire new world to counter invade and take without having to go to war with any Human Empires and if I conquer it, no-one will e pesky about it. And since their not human, he can pass the chemical munitions out and use them freely.
You appear to be implying that Hitler didn't want Mussolini to join the war, something I'd be grateful if you'd find evidence for. You also appear to be implying that Hitler would shrug and accept the formation of a Franco-Anglo-Italian bloc to fight the Cats without his participation, which would have been a very stupid move on his part. That same alliance might very well turn on him after the Cats are defeated, and Italy was the one country in Europe of any significant size that was likely to be his ally... if he didn't just shrug and let them wander out of his camp.
You're imposing your rational views on Hitler which is not the right way to go about it. Hitler's goals were clearly laid out in Mein Kampft. He wanted European Russia as a German Colonial Possession, everything else was secondary to that and if he could get Britain and France to focus on the Cats and leave him be, all the better in his mind. Italy jumping into the war surprised everyone, especially him and his entire relation with the Duce was to keep his Southern Flank secure from an Italian Collapse.
For that matter, I'd be grateful for evidence of any of your claims about the diplomacy. Because I don't trust your ability to possess accurate knowledge on things, after remembering your belief that US Navy warships of 1942 had torpedo-proof deflector shields.
Demonstrate more knowledge of history than a few paragraph from a school history book or propaganda spiels, and I'll gladly help you.
And you're last blurb shows your idiocy again as my argument was the Germans had too few subs, and their success rate against troop transports was negligible, especially given the shallowness of the Bay of Biscay and the massive allied air and ASW advantage at that time. In addition the German Subs were way out of position to begin with due to a decoy convoy being sailed at the time. Germany wasn't exactly swimming in subs at that time either and it would take two weeks to get them in place, running a gauntlet of forward Allied ASW patrols to do so and then risking the Bay of Biscay while the Subpens built there are not operational yet and would have to be abandoned due to the invasion as Allied BBs can bombard the shit out of them while Allied Heavy Bombers supported by Land and Sea based fighters can pile on the pressure with Piper Clubs nearby to rescue downed aircrews. In addition the Allies would have had the support of the French Resistance and once a firm lodgement formed, the Vichy French as well which had built up a secret off-the-books army in Southern France in addition to its legal one, and would have had an intact Navy to bring its African Army home to fight and opened its ports to the Allies.
All the advantages were the Allies in 1942 and had they pressed them into France in 1942, millions fewer people would have died.
