- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: How were German armored divisions so much more elite than their US counterparts
Posted on 10/24/14 at 8:35 pm to HeadChange
Posted on 10/24/14 at 8:35 pm to HeadChange
quote:
For a country of that size fighting wars on two fronts and still having a shot at winning is pretty remarkable. From a strictly military standpoint, yes, I'd consider them elite.
They certainly outclassed the Soviets, who were eventually able to wear them down with sheer industrial capacity and manpower.
Take a look sometime at what assets they were throwing against the Americans and British in the drive to Germany. They still severely outnumbered us and had huge advantages in manpower, armor, artillery, etc on the Western front and yet they Brits and Americans were able to break them within a year of landing in France.
Do not forget that the United States was fighting an entire other war at this time (and the population disparity between Germany and the US wasn't nearly as large then as it is now).
Within a year of reaching contact with the Wehrmacht, the American and British armies were, both, man-for-man every bit the equal that the Germans were.
We never had more than 8% or so of our entire active force at the time on ground in the ETO. We could have wrecked shop if push really came to shove.
Posted on 10/24/14 at 8:38 pm to AbuTheMonkey
quote:
They certainly outclassed the Soviets, who were eventually able to wear them down with sheer industrial capacity and manpower.
And this only occurred because Hitler delayed taking Moscow. Hitler's "military genius" and the Russian winter is all that saved Russia.
Posted on 10/24/14 at 8:39 pm to AbuTheMonkey
quote:
Take a look sometime at what assets they were throwing against the Americans and British in the drive to Germany. They still severely outnumbered us and had huge advantages in manpower, armor, artillery, etc on the Western front and yet they Brits and Americans were able to break them within a year of landing in France.
Quite frankly I don't think the Western front in WW2 was nearly as grand as it is remembered the West. As I think has been referenced, Hitler's real goal was the east. He believed the Slavs were a subhuman race that didn't deserve that land, to Hitler.. it belonged to the Aryan's. I believe I've heard figures reference for every 1 German division on the Western front there was about 20 on the Eastern front, and "D-Day" type assaults in terms of number of troops and troop deaths occurred on a daily basis in the East.
I say all that to kind of back up your point. The US had nearly all of its Navy and Marine focus in the Pacific as well as some Army, whereas the Germans had the majority of their troops in the East.
It was never a "lets put all the German might against the American might and see what happens" kind of thing that I think it is sometimes depicted as being.
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News