VE Day 75 years later: The real story of how Britain won WW2

[crystal ball]

Where would they have been if we were not an island nation and we were under German rule?

Without strong leadership from Winston Churchill

Where would America and the Allies have launched their attack from.

Don't mistake that I'm saying we could have beat the Germans and then the Russians without any help, we just steadied the boat until the Americans joined the war.

Are you saying now that we were not alone

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

This period of being alone that you speak of, did we not have any foreign military stationed here?

Also the US entered the war at the end of 41, so from the outset thats two years of being alone

Plus extra time whilst the US properly trained and geared up for the war.

Germany was beaten in the factories, they were supposed to be a mechanised army, but that was far from the truth. We had a very mechanised army and geared up to a massive war production capability, as did the US eventually.

 

[durhamplumber]

If Great Britain was attched to the mainland of Europe

Can go on forever with that caper....no end

 

[Bodd]

Are you saying now that we were not alone

I would say we as an island nation we stood up and slowed the the German machine. Until the yanks joined the war and the Soviets swapped sides.

I'm saying if this Island was not an island but part of the mainland and Winston Churchill was a strong leader. Then there would have not been a sanctuary for anyone to oppose the threat from the East.

 

[fillyboy]

Perhaps the Germans were lucky. However, there is no doubting their military superiority, during WWII.

The Battle of Britain.

 

[Bodd]

Can go on forever with that caper....no end

It wasn't a stiff upper lip that helped beat the Germans.
The geographic location of this country strong leadership, our airforce, army and hardwear did what it had to do until the Americans pulled their finger out.

It was never likely D day was going to happen from Iceland.

 

[fillyboy]

It wasn't a stiff upper lip that helped beat the Germans.
The geographic location of this country strong leadership.

It was never likely D day was going to happen from Iceland.

You should have stood by your guns (no pun intended), the history books acknowledge that after the French surrendered, Britain was stood alone against Germany, everyone else in Europe had been conquered or surrendered.
Fearing the Navy would be too big an opponent for a land invasion, the Germans launched a massive air offensive with the intention of wiping out first the RAF then factories munitions etc, they did eventually change tack and target homes as well. Nosealls right when he says 'German military superiority', the Luftwaffe had four times the number of aircraft the RAF had, we somehow managed to crush the fokkers.

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

 

[crystal ball]

It wasn't a stiff upper lip that helped beat the Germans.
The geographic location of this country strong leadership, our airforce, army and hardwear did what it had to do until the Americans pulled their finger out.

It was never likely D day was going to happen from Iceland.

What about the navy, merchant navy, not forgetting ANZACS, Canadians and other allies

 

[ReganAndCarter]

As a country we never stood alone then, reminds me of a mate of mine who claimed he built his own house without help, apart from brickies, roofers, gas fitters etc

But if your mate hadn't set his mind to building the house the others wouldn't have got involved. Result = house would never have been built.

 

[fillyboy]

What about the navy, merchant navy, not forgetting ANZACS, Canadians and other allies

What about them, this was before we invaded Europe.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Perhaps the Germans were lucky. However, there is no doubting their military superiority, during WWII. If they had luck as well, then that's a bummer.

Monty showed Rommel though, in the desert.

Germany had a head start in gearing up for war, the counties they went to war against, including the UK, were just ill prepared. We were lucky to hold them off, until we had time to train and equip, but once we did....

Attacking and winning a war against a was prepared country, requires something like a 10 to 1 advantage for an attacking side, so we could not have freed Europe alone without US and later Russias help. Germany's main mode of transport was still the horse during WWII just as it had been in WWI and more so as the war progressed and they lost irreplaceable equipment. Germany built up massively for a land war before it started, but were completely unable to make up for losses during the war, they were not a very productive nation, made more problematic by the allies constant bombing as the war progressed.

In part the German's were beaten by their own maniac leader, Hitler who was clueless about many things, yet micromanaged the war itself and war production, constantly demanding redesigns and impossible improvements.

 

[crystal ball]

But if your mate hadn't set his mind to building the house the others wouldn't have got involved. Result = house would never have been built.

Quite, but he never did it alone

 

[crystal ball]

What about them, this was before we invaded Europe.

pointing out that bodd omitted them from his list

 

[ReganAndCarter]

Quite, but he never did it alone

Initiially he did. The others were encouraged to join later. It was his decision alone to build the house, others joined in, and if the house building failed it would have ultimately been his failure.

 

[IT Minion]

So far every post on here could be followed up with

It's a bit more complicated than that