re: Which country had the best soldiers in WWII? Which country had the worst?

Yep. Think of Russia as 1,000,000,000,000 children defending a city against a 20 year old male. Most of those kids are going to die, but there’s just too many.

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Bad - Poland

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Poland got the 20th Century European trophy for “Most fricked-Over Nation”*.

The Nazis and the Soviets tried to exterminate anyone there who’d shown they had an IQ over 90.

Ironic that WWII and the fall of the Iron Curtain both had a Polish component to them.

*Some areas of the Balkans are runners-up, along with Armenia (if one allows it to be considered European).

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Little know fact that a foundational aspect of Blitzkrieg, was advanced recon to steal enemy tank catalytic converters, to render them inoperable prior to the offensive.

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So meth heads dating back to WWII have been stealing catalytic converters? Time is a flat circle.

Ehhh the Russians hammered the Japanese in Manchuria and in Eastern Asia. The Russians also had that problem at first, but towards the end of the war they were some hard sons of bitches and after general winter took its toll and the T-34 was mass produced the russian infantry and army stormed back. They were a truly elite force.

Eta
Thanks Doc

T34

Of the major powers, France and Italy were pretty bad.

Obviously outnumbered, the Germans had the best soldiers until attrition began to take a heavy toll by mid-1942. The Japanese were some of the most fierce warriors of the modern era.

Of the allies, it really depends. In cold weather, the open steppe or in cities, the Russians were monsters. Once they got a little experience, American troops were formidable. The Brits, as always, were fairly consistent and reliable throughout.

One thing a lot of people that are casual history fans weren’t aware of (myself included until recently) is that the Americans had elite artillery, arguably the best in the world. We forget/downplay the importance of artillery in infantry battles and the Americans were the best at it.

I also heard a quote about jungle fighting from Dan Carlin. I’m paraphrasing here “The Australian fighters were gifted jungle fighters and fought valiantly against the Japanese who in their own rights were incredible jungle fighters. Many people consider America elite jungle fighters but in reality, they were elite landscaping crews and simply bulldozed the jungle down to fight in open ground where they were significantly superior to the Japanese”.

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Even then, had the Germans brought their armor in to support the defense on D-Day, things may have gone horribly for the Allied landing force.

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If Hitler listened to Rommel and refused to let them establish a beach head the Germans may have won the war. Allowing a landing station ensured hitler would always have to fight a war on two fronts.

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One thing a lot of people that are casual history fans weren’t aware of (myself included until recently) is that the Americans had elite artillery, arguably the best in the world.

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American artillery and engineering expertise is a tradition back to the early 19th Century. Most of the brightest minds drifted into either artillery or engineering. Robert E. Lee and Joe Johnston were engineers before becoming general. Sherman, Jackson and Meade were artillerymen, just as a few examples.

Encirclement from German strategy, as opposed to the concentration on defending only with the Maginot Line, killed much of that army. They held the perimeter so that the Brits could escape at Dunkirk. They did the heaviest fighting in Italy against the Germans more than Americans and Brits.