What a German soldier of WWII thought of US soldiers.

[Joe in PNG]

Funny enough, even as a dictatorship, Nazi Germany had a hard time moving to a proper total war economy. It wasn't until Speer took over that they were able to take some of the same steps as the allies- move women into factories, reduce production of civilian luxuries, and try to standardize their equipment. That was a big problem: too many different kinds of guns, tanks, fighters, trucks, ect- pressing the arms and equipment of at least six different armies is not the best thing for a logistical chain.

And then there was the whole thing of wasting countless millions on trying to develop wonder weapons that their industrial infrastructure could not produce in any quantity.

And then the biggest problem they had- Hitler. The man was an enthusiastic amateur who never could or would learn from his mistakes.

[Mike C]

Thanks VT1032 and NickA. I'll be ordering them right away.

[LSP972]

Fighter bombers and massive artillery also helped to defeat them, but the German Army of WWII was an extremely effective and efficient machine, and without overwhelming air and artillery power I'm not sure we would have beaten them.

That was, like, my point…

.

[trailrunner]

Max Hastings has written some good war books. "Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945" will provide a good comparison of US, Russian, and German troops and leaders. Also recommended is "The Last Battle: The Classic History of the Battle for Berlin," by Cornelius Ryan.

For the Pacific front, Max Hastings wrote "Retribution." James Bradley wrote a couple of good books. I think it was "Flags of our Fathers" that brought out some of the racism and propaganda used to motivate the US troops. "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa" by E. B. Sledge gives a personal view of the Marines fighting on the islands.

There are also the popular books by Ambrose, Atkinson, and Shaara.

[overton]

My grandfather was a German paratrooper in Africa. He is 94 now and still tells that when they encountered US troops, their officers often made dismal decisions, which were carried out by very brave soldiers. Btw, they hated Rommel's guts as he always pushed foreward in disregard of their condition or safety.

[Drang]

If you look at the Army that started the war in 1942 in North Africa, they very much were amateurs from a training standpoint. The US Army as you know it of WW2 was slapped together in less than a year in 1941.

I'm sure many here are aware of the quote attributed to Rommel, that Americans started out greener than any other nations troops, but learned the quickest. Whether he really said that is as debatable as whether the "German General Staff" ever really opined that the US does so well in war because war is by nature chaotic, and the US Army practices chaos on a daily basis, or that the "Soviet Army" said that there is no point to studying US doctrine, because Americans feel no obligation to do so.

[Tamara]

\Whether he really said that is as debatable as whether the "German General Staff" ever really opined that the US does so well in war because war is by nature chaotic, and the US Army practices chaos on a daily basis...

It's how we beat the Germans. You bet.

[Bigguy]

I found this posted on another gun board under a similar topic, and thought it was funny.

[Kyle Reese]

I thought that the 1911 won the war for Uncle Sam against Hitler and Tojo.


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[VT1032]

I thought that the 1911 won the war for Uncle Sam against Hitler and Tojo.


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It did... .45 ACP is what happened to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, don't let anyone tell you different...