The Super Summary of World History

by Alan Dale Daniel

  [258] Some of the trouble stemmed from lack of preparation because of the impact of the peace movements, but poor leadership was the main cause of the Allied debacles.

  [259] Note the Japanese landed on an undefended beach. They landed far from Singapore to avoid British resistance during the landing.

  [260] Aircraft carriers. It should be noted the aircraft that sank the two British ships were land based. Since the 1600s battleships or ships of the line had ruled the waves. The attack off Singapore changed all that forever.

  [261] Nations prepare for war against all other nations of any consequence by war gaming the conflict and then drafting plans based on those war games. These plans are updated constantly.

  [262] War Plan Orange was updated to the Rainbow Plan that assumed a war with Germany and Japan, but still called for the defense of Bataan in the Philippines. War Plan Orange, by Edward S. Miller,1991, US Naval Institute.

  [263] The “initiative” is a term that means the power to determine what to do next. The attacker decides when, where, how, and with what forces to attack. The defense then responds. Thus, the attacker has the initiative. Note there is both a strategic and tactical initiative.

  [264] He also received a huge sum of money from the Philippine government . . . for some undisclosed reason (want to make a guess?).

  [265] US Army thought he should have said, “WE shall return . . .”

  [266] The Japanese had aircraft spotters to help direct their shell fire and they had the Long Lance torpedo. The Japanese Long Lance torpedo had a twenty-mile range, one thousand pounds of explosives, was very accurate, and always worked, which made this the best torpedo of the war by far. Four Japanese destroyers defeated a larger Allied force in an action at Badung Strait with these superior torpedoes.

  [267] This was a daring raid by B-25 aircraft flown off of the carrier USS Hornet. The air crews successfully bombed Tokyo and flew on to China.

  [268] The emperor was a god on earth to the Japanese, and he had to be protected.

  [269] See, The Shattered Sword, the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway, by J. Parshall and A. Tully.

  [270] Admiral Halsey’s place at Midway in command of the USS Enterprise was taken by Admiral Spruance due to Halsey’s being ill. USS Yorktown, in a different task force, was commanded by Admiral Fletcher.

  [271] There is some dispute about this: see, The Shattered Sword: the Untold Story of the Battle of Midway by Parshall and Tully; Midway, the Battle That Doomed Japan, by M. Fuchida, M. Okumiya, R. Spruance and C. Kawakmi; Miracle at Midway, by Gordon Prange; Incredible Victory, by Walter Lord, among others.

  [272] This destroyer had been depth charging the US submarine Nautilus that was trying to get in on the battle. The Japanese destroyer was heading back to the main fleet.

  [273] SBD was the Dauntless designation meaning Scout, Bomber, Dive (or, slow but deadly).

  [274] Nagumo was badly served by his staff during these critical moments in the battle. Constantly changing orders caused the ordinance crews to rush, leaving bombs and torpedoes just lying on the deck. When the fire reached the ordinance it exploded helping to sink the carriers. One bomb was enough to sink one of the Japanese carriers.

  [275] Because of outstanding damage control efforts, it took two Japanese air strikes hitting the Yorktown with four bombs and two torpedoes, plus torpedoes from a Japanese submarine, to put the Yorktown under.

  [276] Sounds like the battle for Malaya and Singapore.

  [277] The Japanese force was starving as it advanced up the Kokoda Track because of inferior logistic support. Still, they went forward.

  [278] See: Guadalcanal: the Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle, by Richard B. Frank

  [279] See p.977 The Oxford Companion to World War II, editors Dear, & Foot, Oxford University Press, 1995.

  [280] As the battle went on, the Japanese became much worse off. Even with fast destroyers as the delivery method, little food got through. Japanese troops were literally starving to death and eating grass trying to stay alive. Again, we see the importance of logistics in warfare.

  [281] Hitler wanted fascist Spain to join the Axis, but Franco (Spain’s leader) wanted no part of another war. Sub-rosa, Spain did aid the Axis, but stayed neutral. Spain joining the Axis would increase the Axis power base substantially.

  [282] Reserves were available on the Eastern Front in early 1942 IF no further offensives were undertaken.

  [283] General Von Paulus commanded the German Sixth Army fighting at Stalingrad.

  [284] After the attack, Germany’s Army Group Center ceased to exist. It was wiped from the German order of battle as completely as the Sixth Army had been after Stalingrad. And this was an ARMY GROUP of twenty-five divisions or more, not just one army.

  [285] Operation Drumbeat.

  [286] German Type VII submarines carried twelve torpedoes

  [287] In fact, there were barely any escorts for convoy duty. The United States failed to construct or even design ships suitable for convoy duty or fighting submarines. Convoy escorts are normally smaller ships with a large carrying capacity so they can haul a lot of fuel and depth charges and stay on station for long periods of time. The larger and faster destroyers are not well suited for that kind of duty, but they could have been used for convoy protection given the state of the emergency in 1942.

  [288] Horton was one of the most important and least known men of WWII. He was the key man in the defeat of the German U-boat menace. He was in charge of the Western Approaches to England.

  [289] This shows how essential supply is to war. Logistics are THE first priority.

  [290] Well . . . not everything. In the category of armor missteps occurred. Fast Tanks and Heavy Bombers: Innovation in the US Army, 1917-1945 (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs) by David E. Johnson (Paperback—Mar 2003). The Germans had better tanks, and both the British and American troops knew this by 1943. Somehow, the Allied generals did not get the message until late 1944. Better Allied steel, slopping the armor, better ammunition, and a high-velocity 75mm gun could have made a substantial difference for the main Allied battle tank, the M-4 Sherman. The Sherman was inferior to the German tanks but was not upgraded until sometime in late 1944 (Battle of the Bulge saw some improved Shermans). Some of this was due to Allied battle doctrine wherein the Tank Destroyer was to fight other tanks; however, anyone should have seen, as the Allied troops did, that the Sherman was totally outclassed at D-Day and needed immediate improvement or replacement. The tank crews were simply riding in their coffins as they faced German Tiger and Panther tanks. On the plus side, the Sherman was fast and reliable, and once up gunned it did a little better against the German tanks. The German Panther was an excellent tank, but it too had problems stemming mostly from design flaws that were caused by Nazi infighting during the production process.

  [291] In later years, Montgomery said the invasion of Italy was planned in the men’s room at Allied HQ. The results certainly make it look like the plan was drawn up in the men’s room.

  [292] The landings in Sicily were about as large in terms of men committed to the initial assault; but at D-Day, the follow-on forces were much larger and the stakes far higher.

  [293] Large British raid of 18 to 19 August, 1942 on the German-held French coast at the town of Dieppe involving some five thousand Canadian troops. The raid was a colossal failure resulting in the loss of two-thirds of the invasion force.

  [294] In one location, the Americans found a buried chest full of Japanese code books enabling US code breakers to read Japanese transmissions more extensively, thus giving US commanders better intelligence on Japan’s actions.

  [295] General McKinney is largely unknown because he served under MacArthur, who was a fanatic about keeping his name ALONE in the news. It was “MacArthur’s air force sinks convoy.” McKinney was never mentioned. Most military men didn’t care. They were fighting to win the war, not gain accolades from the press

  [296] The Higgins boat was a landi
ng craft with a flat bottom, a shallow draft, and a bow ramp that dropped to let the troops rush ashore, but it needed four feet of water to float and the reef was three feet below the surface on invasion day.

  [297] The admiral led at Pearl Harbor and Midway, but had been demoted after Midway. He died on Saipan.

  [298] Lost in the sense they could not achieve their war aims; however, they might prevent an invasion of their homeland. Thus, they would lose the war but “save” Japan, if not successfully invaded.

  [299] Kurita HAD to know the plan was to draw the US fleet away from where he was, so why was he surprised to be told the US fleet was elsewhere? It was supposed to be elsewhere. Even if it was not, his mission was to destroy the supplies, not to attack carriers.

  [300] US submarines had seen and reported the Japanese ships.

  [301] Some, like the California, had been raised from the mud of Pearl Harbor to rejoin the fleet.

  [302] Defeat Germany first then Japan, defeat submarines first then the Luftwaffe second, keep China and USSR in the war, take North Africa, invade Europe in 1944, put massive emphasis on technology, keep full war production from the outset of the war, listen to the generals not the politicians about how to wage the war, etc.

  [303] Memoirs, by Carl Doenitz, Da Capo Press, 1997.

  [304] Insightfully, this was exactly what Stalin had planned when France, England, and Germany went to war. Stalin was going to wait until the Western powers were exhausted in a World War I kind of confrontation, and then he would invade from the east and conquer all. But France buckled, and everything changed.

  [305] Several ships and men were lost to a surprise German e-boat attack while they were practicing for the invasion. The loss of several LST’s worried the generals as they were low on landing ships.

  [306] See: Cross Channel Attack, by Gordon Harrision for detailed review. This is the best book on the D-Day invasion. Lots of maps and detailed background information—it’s all there.

  [307] In making a WWII movie in England, a film company had to apply for a permit to tow the authentically constructed gliders behind aircraft. The permit was denied because the gliders were deemed not airworthy. Wonder if the guys knew that in 1944?

  [308] Note how difficult this invasion was and compare it to Germany’s ability to cross the English Channel in 1940. The Allies had ten times the power of the Wehrmacht in 1944, and it would still be hard to accomplish. How could the German’s have pulled it off in 1940 against a nation with a strong navy on top of everything else?

  [309] War gaming and the actual events show Rommel was correct about Allied airpower.

  [310] Except for the wading tanks that had to get ashore on their own. Launched from LSTs, high seas sunk nearly all these specialized tanks, and many crews were lost.

  [311] Goodwood and Charnwood were the largest of these attacks and were complete Allied defeats. Charnwood did manage to take a portion of Caen; but as long as the Germans held the high ground above Caen, the town itself was nearly meaningless. See: Decision in Normandy, by Carlo D’Este, for a detailed look at the planning and fighting for Normandy.

  [312] The British were on the left flank of the Allied advance across France where the port cities such as Dunkirk were located, but Montgomery failed to order their seizure thereby exacerbating the Allied supply problems.

  [313] Patton had argued he should get the supplies on his claim that he could reach Berlin if he got them. Typical of Patton; however, he may have had a better chance than Montgomery, given the speed with which he did cross the Rhine; and German forces to his front were not as accomplished as those Montgomery found on the way to Arnhem.

  [314] German tanks in 1944 were MUCH larger than the German tanks of 1940 which had traversed this forest to attack France.

  [315] I say this a lot, but good plans, without false assumptions attached, and good preparations are critical to achieving victory.

  [316] It was even hard to locate a city, much less a few factory buildings.

  [317] The reader may want to compare this logic to (1) The English blockade of Germany in WWI, the German U-boat campaigns in WWI and WWII, and the terrorist’s attacks of the late twentieth century.

  [318] The P-51 was a long-range fighter that could escort the bombers to the targets and back. Even targets deep in Germany could be reached by the P-51. In addition, even though it had tremendous long-range capability; it was also a superb combat aircraft.

  [319] I can hear you now . . .”What about Vietnam?” . . . well, what about it? The United States won virtually EVERY battle. Even after US forces were all but withdrawn, a major communist invasion from Cambodia employing many heavy tanks was turned back by a few US helicopters and the South Vietnamese Army. Also, the fall of Saigon may be traceable to the withdrawal of US air power.

  [320] Germany could have used a long-range bomber, especially for supply interdiction and reconnaissance.

  [321] Command of the Air (1921) by Giulio Douhet

  [322] See: p152 et seq, Panzer Battles, von Mellenthin, 1956, Konecky & Konecky

  [323] This massive attack began on June 22, 1944, which was sixteen days after the Allies landed at Normandy. The pressure on the Wehrmacht was increasing beyond all imagination.

  [324] Soviet losses were underreported throughout the war. Even after the war, the true number of Soviet losses in men and equipment remained unknown. Most think it was double or triple what was reported after the war (triple is probably more accurate). It may be that Stalin simply did not have the resources to keep track; however, given Stalin’s attitude toward people, it is likely he did not care.

  [325] Apparently, this was some kind of pseudo-Viking funeral for the Fuehrer and his bride.

  [326] Another outstanding general a few know about. He brilliantly reversed English misfortunes in the Southeast Asian Theater and completely defeated the Japanese.

  [327] 6,821 Marines dead, 494 missing (7,315 total), 20,703 Japanese dead.

  [328] Japan was saved from a Mongol invasion when a great storm blew up and sunk the Mongol fleet. The Japanese named the storm the Divine Wind because it had saved Japan from invasion. They now hoped the new mechanized Divine Wind would do the same.

  [329] Nazi Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.

  [330] Casualty ratios on Okinawa were about ninety to sixty or three to two; thus, for every two American casualties, there were three Japanese, NOT counting civilians. If civilians are included it is 4 to 1. An assault on mainland Japan, using the same ratios and assuming 3 million Japanese casualties, there would be 2 million American casualties (or 2 million Americans to 8 million Japanese if civilians are included). It is thought that 3 million Japanese casualties is a very low figure. In other Pacific island battles the US was killing its enemy at a 12 to 1 ratio in most battles. At Tarawa it was 1:5, and the ratio became more favorable for the US until the Japanese changed tactics in the Palau islands. (12,500 US soldiers dead, 40,000 US soldiers wounded, 5,000 US Navy dead = 57,000 rounded to 60,000; 66,000 Japanese dead, 17,000 wounded, 2,000 Kamikaze dead = 85,000 rounded to 90,000; thus a 2:3 casualty ratio.)

  [331] This is another battle I have war gamed. I landed where the Americans would have; and after a month of heavy fighting, I decided to abandon the invasion because of dramatically high losses of troops and ships. My biggest victory was just managing to evacuate my troops without further losses.

  [332] Other calculations say 7 million Japanese would have died for 500,000Americans, but I don’t know how they did the calculations. Note these totals are for deaths only, not casualties. The 2 million Japanese deaths were calculated by the American military prior to the planned invasion.

  [333] Einstein emigrated from Germany to the United States of America before the war started. He was warned by physicist friends still in the Reich that Germany had started making heavy water, and Einstein then knew Germany was trying to manufacture an atomic bomb.

  [334] See The Gathering Storm, Winston Churchill,1949, various publishe
rs.

  [335] Older computers operated off magnetic tape systems. The large rolls of magnetic tape, such as seen on reel-to-reel tape recorders, held the data and the instructions for operating the computer. No floppy disks or CDs in 1955.

  [336] Remember, England and America believed the Germans had started World War I and World War II.

  [337] Given the size and combat power of the USSR, the only way to stop a Soviet advance was the atomic bomb.

  [338] Eisenhower was extremely worried about the last flight and reluctantly gave the OK after CIA assurances it was still relatively safe. The aircraft suffered an engine flame out causing Powers to descend to try a re-start, and the Soviets were able to reach him before he could adjust back to his safe altitude.

  [339] The blockade did not get rid of the missiles that were already there, but at least he was “doing something.” Americans like action. Sitting doesn’t please Americans when problems arise.

  [340] Some interesting side notes: the day Kennedy was shot an investigator was briefing powerful republican lawmakers on financial misdeeds of Vice President Johnson, and a Mr. Baker, previously associated with Johnson’s political team, was running a prostitution ring that included call girls that had “visited” President Kennedy, Vice-President Johnson, and many top democrat leaders in Washington DC. After Johnson became president, he killed the investigation through the committee the investigators were reporting to. On a straight party line vote the democrat lawmakers on the committee voted to stop the investigation—and they had the votes to make it stick. It is now clear that President Kennedy had been seeing prostitutes while he was president, and one of them was an east German spy. Also, Kennedy had let it be known that Johnson would not be on the ticket as vice-president in 1964. It is not a secret that Johnson despised the Kennedy clan, especially Robert Kennedy the attorney general. Johnson had been the most powerful man in Washington, and was still a tremendous force in Texas his home state. Many conspiracy buffs think it is compelling evidence that Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, where Johnson was all but a king. Many of the conspiracy theories trace the murder back to Johnson, whose hatred for the Kennedy brothers was fierce, who did not want to be forced out of the government, who did not want to be exposed as a criminal or a user of call girls, and had powerful friends in Texas who wanted more business directed to the Lone Star State.