Animal Mother
Active member
FutureRANGER said:
Still, had it not been for the crucial early victories, Iwo would not have even happened.
I can agree it was important, but it was no turning point in that sense IMHO.
Turning point of WW2
Still, had it not been for the crucial early victories, Iwo would not have even happened.
I can agree it was important, but it was no turning point in that sense IMHO.
silent driller
Active member
Iwo Jima was(in my "expert" 
opinion) the turning piont because it was the biggest morale booster for the Marines during the war. All a Marine needs is a little motivation and he will do amazing things!
The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years.
-James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy; 23 February 1945
opinion) the turning piont because it was the biggest morale booster for the Marines during the war. All a Marine needs is a little motivation and he will do amazing things!The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years.
-James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy; 23 February 1945
FutureRANGER
Active member
Animal Mother said:
I see what you're saying, that makes sense. What was the turning point in the Pacific? Maybe Midway.
Animal Mother
Active member
FutureRANGER said:
Coral Sea/Midway. Midway was the most important, but had it not been for the losses suffered by the IJN in the Coral Sea battle, they would have had 6 carriers instead of 4 at Midway.
Guadacanal showed that the IJA could beaten on land.
So in the end i would say Midway/Guadacanal.
silent driller
Active member
I can agree with Coral Sea, too. Our Navy kicks ass!
Panser 003
New Member
In my opinion, the major tactical errors, costing the Axis the war were:
A.) Dunkirk: 140 000 French and 200 000 British soldiers were allowed to escape back to England, forming the bulk force of the allies initially. The Germans could have prevented this, but instead stopped their advances and allowed the rescue to take place. Oh well.....
B.) Battle of Britain: Hitler shifted the Luftwaffe to attack civillian spots, rather than finishing off the RAF, giving the RAF time to organize and form an actual decent resistance. If they would have just taken them out, Europe would have been Hitler's.
C.) Operation Barbarossa: BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER. Those 3 million soldiers Hitler used to invade Russia could have been used elsewhere, and it only dragged Russia into fighting Hitler. This 2 front war is pretty much what ruined Hitler's whole thing. The non-aggression pact was probably the best thing Hitler had going for him, and as soon as he broke it, he pretty much doomed himself.
D.) Pearl Harbor: BIG BIG BIG BIG MISTAKE! What SHOULD have happened was, Germany whipe out Britain and force them to surrender, THEN Germany, Italy, and Japan all crush inward on Russia. I'm pretty sure Russia wouldn't be able to hold off against all three of them. Oh well.
And there's my 2 cents,
-Regards
A.) Dunkirk: 140 000 French and 200 000 British soldiers were allowed to escape back to England, forming the bulk force of the allies initially. The Germans could have prevented this, but instead stopped their advances and allowed the rescue to take place. Oh well.....
B.) Battle of Britain: Hitler shifted the Luftwaffe to attack civillian spots, rather than finishing off the RAF, giving the RAF time to organize and form an actual decent resistance. If they would have just taken them out, Europe would have been Hitler's.
C.) Operation Barbarossa: BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER. Those 3 million soldiers Hitler used to invade Russia could have been used elsewhere, and it only dragged Russia into fighting Hitler. This 2 front war is pretty much what ruined Hitler's whole thing. The non-aggression pact was probably the best thing Hitler had going for him, and as soon as he broke it, he pretty much doomed himself.
D.) Pearl Harbor: BIG BIG BIG BIG MISTAKE! What SHOULD have happened was, Germany whipe out Britain and force them to surrender, THEN Germany, Italy, and Japan all crush inward on Russia. I'm pretty sure Russia wouldn't be able to hold off against all three of them. Oh well.
And there's my 2 cents,
-Regards
Panser 003
New Member
Re: well
Yeah, it's sad, all those resources Hitler used to kill Jews could have been used in the war efforts. And of those millions of Jews killed, many probably would have fought for the Germans if Hitler hadn't done anything to them. Many had even fought for Germany in WW1, but were now targets of the Nazis. If Hitler had of just put his hatred towards the Jews aside, there's a few million more soldiers he could have used in WW2...Oh well. :?
Hitler's a perfect example of what you get for someone who grew up with a terrible childhood, grew up fighting in WW1, and only to come back to a country in the depression. Even as a child he had to have things his way and would through rages when they didn't.
I wonder how things would have played out for Germany had he of gotten accepted into one of the art schools he applied to.
sherman105 said:
Yeah, it's sad, all those resources Hitler used to kill Jews could have been used in the war efforts. And of those millions of Jews killed, many probably would have fought for the Germans if Hitler hadn't done anything to them. Many had even fought for Germany in WW1, but were now targets of the Nazis. If Hitler had of just put his hatred towards the Jews aside, there's a few million more soldiers he could have used in WW2...Oh well. :?
Hitler's a perfect example of what you get for someone who grew up with a terrible childhood, grew up fighting in WW1, and only to come back to a country in the depression. Even as a child he had to have things his way and would through rages when they didn't.
I wonder how things would have played out for Germany had he of gotten accepted into one of the art schools he applied to.
c/Commander
Active member
Agreed, General.FutureRANGER said:
BmrSooner451
Active member
ETO : Operation Barbarossa
PTO : Battle of Midway(Coral Sea included)
PTO : Battle of Midway(Coral Sea included)
xopxe1
Active member
Stalingrad - for there died so much highly trained german soldiers that the loses in quality could not be replaced - this was the begining of the end for the german army.
Also if the forces used for that battle were thrown towards capturing Baku and the oil there or at some other strategic direction could change the course of the war on the eastern front as we know it.
Also if the forces used for that battle were thrown towards capturing Baku and the oil there or at some other strategic direction could change the course of the war on the eastern front as we know it.
bush musketeer
Active member
turning points
A couple of important turning points would have to be the invasion of russia( napoleon failed there too).
in relation to the pacific thearte the aussies on the kakoda track (mainly militia battalions which did a fantastic job in stoping the japs even though they were heavily outnumbered before the other AIF units arrived.
The work of the coastwatchers who radioed in warnings of jap attacks to US and AUS forces from behind enemy lines.
cheers 8)
A couple of important turning points would have to be the invasion of russia( napoleon failed there too).
in relation to the pacific thearte the aussies on the kakoda track (mainly militia battalions which did a fantastic job in stoping the japs even though they were heavily outnumbered before the other AIF units arrived.
The work of the coastwatchers who radioed in warnings of jap attacks to US and AUS forces from behind enemy lines.
cheers 8)
Doppleganger
Active member
Panser 003 said:
Whilst it would have been better for Hitler to destroy these forces, I do not believe their escape had any determining factor on the outcome of WW2.
Panser 003 said:
Again, would have been better for Germany had Britain been subdued but not a major influence on why Germany lost. Hitler would have been fairly content to block UK shipping lanes with his U-Boat Wolfpacks. There isn't any way the UK could have launched a land offensive by itself and they would have been isolated as indeed they were until the US began to deploy forces there.
Panser 003 said:
With hindsight yes it's easy to say what a big mistake this was. However, IMO this conflict was UNAVOIDABLE given the completely opposite ideologies of both nations and Hitler's intense hatred and contempt for the Slavic peoples. German strategic studies indicated that 1941 was in fact the *best* time for Hitler to attack the Soviet Union and IMO Germany would have defeated the Red Army had Hitler not interfered and constantly meddled with the objectives/plans of the Wehrmacht.
Panser 003 said:
Yeah it was a BIG mistake by Japan to attack Pearl Harbour and a mini disaster for the Axis Powers. This definately was a HUGE factor.
BTW, Italian forces did fight on the Eastern Front, but they were found to be wanting when the going got really tough. Plus their numbers were miniscule compared to the 3,700,000 German troops they fought beside. Had the Japanese elected to attack Russia from the East, the 25 Siberian divisions that Stalin used to help save Moscow in 1941 might not have been available. So Japan really did kinda screw up a great chance of an almost total Axis domination of Europe and Asia.
Mark Conley
Active member
Achilles said:
you know, its a little bit funny but someone asked this very same question in another post. i believe under war crimes.
Mark Conley
Active member
Doppleganger said:
Gunner13
Active member
1. El Alamain - The British Imperial Army wins and the Axis lose the initiative in North Africa.
2. Battle of the Atlantic. The U-Boats lose the initiative and the convoys get thru to the UK.
3. Stalingrad- Bagration. The Axis lose a tremendous fight and then the strategic initiative in the East.
4. Midway - the Imperial Japanese Navy lose the initiative in the Pacific War.
5. Impal-Kohima. The Japanese Imperial Army is decisively defeated by the British/Indian forces and is forced to retreat from India and finally Burma.
2. Battle of the Atlantic. The U-Boats lose the initiative and the convoys get thru to the UK.
3. Stalingrad- Bagration. The Axis lose a tremendous fight and then the strategic initiative in the East.
4. Midway - the Imperial Japanese Navy lose the initiative in the Pacific War.
5. Impal-Kohima. The Japanese Imperial Army is decisively defeated by the British/Indian forces and is forced to retreat from India and finally Burma.