@Private:

Here is a different take that resonates for me:

I have seen it argued that both Germany and Japan* were strategically weak. Both lacked natural resources and needed access to those from elsewhere to maintain their war machines.

In the case of Japan that required secure supply lines from the East Indies, which their naval losses and strategic myopia denied them.

Germany needed to conquer territories that would secure those resources.

By contrast the allies were resource rich. Command of the seas gave access to resources from across the globe. Japan challenged US command of the Pacific for only a very short time frame. German U Boats did cause the Allies difficulties in the Atlantic for a longer period of course, but denying global resources to the UK is not the same as denying them to the USA, let alone gaining them for Germany.

Axis supremacy needed victory after victory in the face superior Allied production and manpower. The Allies only needed to deny them a sufficient proportion of those victories.

Of course, those that faced the Axis onslaught did not perceive any such “inevitable” Allied victory. And for a time those victories did keep coming …

*I include Japan in this answer because one of the reasons why Germany lost WW2 is that Japan never diverted enough allied resources away from the European theatre.

I agree with this, but that may not even fully capture all the reasons Germany lost.  In terms of just pure industrial production capacity Germany could not compete against the US, especially with the latter protected by its isolation from bombing.  I recently read an interesting book, Death Ride, that made much of Germany’s failure to develop long-range bombers, and with much of the USSR’s industry moved well East of Moscow Germany could not bomb it.  Göring apparently preferred lots of little short-range bombers to fewer and larger long-range bombers.  It also made much of the Germans’ decision to divert part of its Eastern Front ground forces to Italy leaving them under-supplied and outnumbered in Operation Citadel.  The near-impossibility of maintaining distant supply lines, despite Göring’s assurances that he could make up for it, have been discussed to death.

All-in-all, I think the reasons are so many that in retrospect it would have taken a near-miraculous perfect storm of events for Gemany to have emerged victorious.

I never argued the move could prove a flop for the Raiders, I simply argued they won’t be leaving Vegas before 2030.

That’s Fair and Balanced!  :wink:

Boones is closest to any type of wine selection.  :?

Though rediculously far away from the Portuguese 6 grapes port I drink.
You get good n ripped sipping at this delicious fortified wine… similar to wiskey and ice.

A sweet honey wine I make that tastes like Boones sweetness, with a extra level of kick. Is another option that can, possibly convert a few to the “Boones” vote  :-D

@Imperious:

Pretty sure this is from Japanese television

Remove “television” insert “propaganda”

Monty Python got some good alliterative mileage out of that term in their movie “And Now For Something Completely Different.”  One sequence in the movie is a fake WWII British newsreel, in black and white, with suitably bombastic narration that includes the opening line “Yes, the war against the Hun continues – and as Britian’s brave boys battle against the Boche…”  By the standards of genuine WWII newsreels, that’s actually not as over-the-top as it sounds to modern ears.  And during a real WWII deception operation, the fake letter from General Nye to General Alexander which was the centrepiece of the “Mincemeat” disinformation scheme used such phrases as “We have had recent information that the Boche have been reinforcing and strengthening their defences in Greece and Crete…”

Anyone who watched both Battle of Britain and Dunkirk understands which of the two is a better war movie

Europe 1940 for sure.

Most amount of pieces, best options, best map to make alternate scenario’s!

“And so the bravest nations tore themselves to pieces. For then, I think, must have occurred a most remarkable spectacle, where one might see the Goths fighting with pikes, the Gepidae raging with the sword, the Rugi breaking off the spears in their own wounds, the Suavi fighting on foot, the Huns with bows, the Alani drawing up a battle-line of heavy-armed and the Heruli of light-armed warriors”

Gepid Swordsman
Rugi Spearman (ignores wound)
Suavi Footman
Hunnic Mounted Bowman
Heruilan Peltasts Light Infantry
Alani Heavy Shock Troops

@Flashman:

@Cmdr:

Dang IL, might be a bit salty there about the rat thing that is often mistaken for a dog. :P

CWO - neat comic, like Dilbert.�  He’s my patron saint of technology I think.

As for “hot or not” probably.�  P-40s are seksi in their way, I mean they’re not P-51s so they’ll never be really seksi, but they’re seksi.

Thanks for clarifying everything.

Everything?  :)

I do not have a P40 tattoo.  I have a tattoo of a bald eagle super imposed over the Stars and Stripes on my right shoulder.

Also, I happen to like Catbert a lot, Dogbert is a close second.

America was founded by a bunch of slave owners who wanted to be free… not the first time America confused the world, nor will it be the last.

Only reason I had any idea what this topic was about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1s4zrjlzWg

I agree with everything you say GHG, but as LHoffman pointed out Bettman is merely doing the owners’ bidding, which is the role of the modern commissioner. The position is no longer a “caretaker of the game” but a pit bull used in mauling the player unions during collective bargaining agreements.

The funny thing is Nashville fans should have been appreciate of Bettman since sunbelt expansion and team preservation is one of his primary legacies. Let’s see the result of this Cup run on the Predators’ TV ratings next year, which were laughably low this season.

Sitting out the Olympics will be a huge mistake for the league and its branding, I figure the owners will have to blink eventually.

Of course, if the Japanese player knows what he is doing, the Allies Will be reacting to him.
But my point is: Europe is probably more scripted, historically.

@CWO:

@Der:

It’s hard to believe that powder can still be good after 70+ years!

That’s actually part of the problem.�  If I’m not mistaken, certain types of explosives can destabilize over time and become more sensitive to shock.�  I think this is particularly the case with nitrocellulose explosives, whose nitroglycerin component apparently re-liquifies and seeps out of the solid matrix when it gets too old.�  It’s sort of an extreme example of the concept of the “best before” date that is more ordinarily applied to packaged foods and pharmaceutical products.

This is true. The picric acid used in hand grenades still during WWII reacts with the metal casing of the grenade to form picrate salt, which is highly unstable.

WWII era hand grenades are problem also in Finland because of the “Weapons Cache Case”. As the Continuation War against Soviet Union was turning bad, some of the Finnish officers decided to hide large amounts of weapons and explosives all around the country in case the Soviets would occupy Finland. Those supplies were meant to be used in guerilla warfare against the occupation. Since this never happened, some of those caches still remain untouched and are discovered from time to time during house renovations, building excavations etc. The weapons are still functional and often sold on black market, and the hand grenades pose a serious threat to anyone handling them and to those nearby.

edit: some typos

Wonder if Roger Mortis has set in yet.