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Peter1469
11-08-2013, 08:26 PM
Operation Torch (http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/operation-torch-the-allied-invasion-of-north-africa.asp) began:

The Allies invaded North Africa in an attempt to contain German expansion.

Mister D
11-09-2013, 03:49 PM
North Africa and Italy were the training ground of the Western Allies. They gained valuable experience there before D-Day.

Peter1469
11-09-2013, 03:57 PM
North Africa and Italy were the training ground of the Western Allies. They gained valuable experience there before D-Day.

All the while letting German and Russia bled each other on the Eastern Front....

Mister D
11-09-2013, 04:56 PM
All the while letting German and Russia bled each other on the Eastern Front....

If that was actually the intention they really didn't have any other course of action at least as far as ground operations were concerned. The Western Allies weren't in any shape to mount a serious offensive prior to 1944.

Peter1469
11-09-2013, 07:51 PM
If that was actually the intention they really didn't have any other course of action at least as far as ground operations were concerned. The Western Allies weren't in any shape to mount a serious offensive prior to 1944.

I agree that an earlier European invasion would likely have been a big fail, but I also think that FDR and Churchill wanted to bleed the Germans and Russians. My ex-wifes Grandfather fought in WWII (tank unit) and eventually retired as a COL in the Soviet Army.

Mister D
11-10-2013, 12:03 AM
I agree that an earlier European invasion would likely have been a big fail, but I also think that FDR and Churchill wanted to bleed the Germans and Russians. My ex-wifes Grandfather fought in WWII (tank unit) and eventually retired as a COL in the Soviet Army.

Ah, I remember. Your ex is Russian. They treated a lot of their vets like crap. I remember one guy who escaped from a German POW camp and they treated him like a spy. Sad.

Peter1469
11-10-2013, 12:12 AM
Ah, I remember. Your ex is Russian. They treated a lot of their vets like crap. I remember one guy who escaped from a German POW camp and they treated him like a spy. Sad.

Many Soviet officer POWs would kill themselves by slamming their heads into exposed nails in their camps. They knew that they would be executed at home since they didn't fight to the end.

Mister D
11-10-2013, 12:15 AM
Many Soviet officer POWs would kill themselves by slamming their heads into exposed nails in their camps. They knew that they would be executed at home since they didn't fight to the end.

brutal system in which paranoia prevailed.

Peter1469
11-10-2013, 12:16 AM
Ah, I remember. Your ex is Russian. They treated a lot of their vets like crap. I remember one guy who escaped from a German POW camp and they treated him like a spy. Sad.

My ex's grandpa was a very highly decorated tank commander. I don't have any of the old pictures, but I remember the one with my ex and him in uniform. She must have been 6 when the pic was taken. From the stories I heard about him, he was a hero, even if you disagree with his ideology.

Peter1469
11-10-2013, 12:16 AM
brutal system in which paranoia prevailed.

I am not sure that it was paranoia......

Mister D
11-10-2013, 12:21 AM
Paranoia is characteristic of radical egalitarianism ad the Soviet regime in particular. That's why they entered the war with a decimated officer corps. They killed them all. Enemies everywhere...

I'd rather live under Hitler any day.

Peter1469
11-10-2013, 12:31 AM
Paranoia is characteristic of radical egalitarianism ad the Soviet regime in particular. That's why they entered the war with a decimated officer corps. They killed them all. Enemies everywhere...

I'd rather live under Hitler any day.

Yes the purging of the officer corps was almost fatal.