Favorite Bantam WWII Book?

I mean according to the battle of Castle Itter, there was a SS officer that helped the allies out.

Well as I said before, Italy shot Germany in the foot that lead to Axis defeats years later and Hitler already knew this, that is why he began to reject Italian help whenever it was sent.

Look at it like this, Italy invaded Greece because Muso wanted to restore the Roman Empire hence his attack on Greece plus he just defeated two nations prior without help so in his mind, he thought Greece would be cake. Attacking Greece and being counter attacked by Greek/UK forces lead to the Wehrmacht being sent in to help the Italians which leads to Greek defeat. That lead to the pyrrhic victory that became Crete. Axis looked at paratroopers as being cancer and that lead to the Allies learning why paratroopers are useful which that bit the Axis in the A$$ in the end.

Of course as for Africa, I am sure Germany didn’t mind helping Italy because I figured Germany taking Egypt would cut of the UK navy from India as well as link Axis forces in the Middle East gaining oil reserves and possibly a secondary front against USSR. I don’t know if Germany would have the balls to attack India in this situation.

Obviously Germany had virtually no respect for the Italians. I think Rommel was the only one who spoke favorably about the Italian soldiers, hated their officers. After Italy surrendered and about half of the Italian military joined the Allies, Germany had no problem going from defending their allies to suddenly occupying a nation as well as engaging their former allies.

If you recognize someone as looking like Albert Kesselring in a drive thru, you might be a WW2 junkie.

Build Your Own WWII Army, is basically what most of us read and did Kurt Godel7, maybe. I did!  :-D

If it really would have come down to build my own Army I would have gone for a small one.

Something like a Platoon is consisting of 7 Peps.(has also a dedicated armoured/personnel carrier.
One Platoon leader ,1 MG 42 man,1 Radioman, 1 Engineer (handy w. explosives and such) 3 Reg. Inf. men.
3 Platoons a Group , 3-4 Groups a Brigade.

7 Tanks a Platoon ,3 platoons a group ,3-4 Groups a Brigade.
Platton consisting of 1 Command Tank, but diffrent in design ( More Armour no heavy Gun, 2cm maybe for defence)
2Heavy tanks such Tiger or Panther,JS I or equivalent, 2 Med Tanks like P IV class or Sherman and 2 Tank Hunter like StuG, Hetzer (whatever fits Best).
Each Tank Platoon gets 3-4 dedicated Selfpropelled Artillery Guns w. Ammo carriers.(Wasp,Priest etc. 10.5 cm o.e. shells)
Each Tank Platoon gets 3 Fighters and 4 Bombers wich they can be called upon any given time via Liason officers who are on board the Command Tank.

I just wanted shorter Communication ways and the combined best of everything, my thoughts behind the build your Army.
I think less is most of the times better then to much.
The most important equipment of course would have been the Radio then.

These Brigades combined with Reg Inf. and Tank Divisions as rearguard Divisions would have done any Job they would have been asked for, whereby the Reg Division would have taken the part to secure and hold the gain Positions and Terretories conquered.

This all apllies for Land based Operations.

What do you all think of it??

I can’t really pick a favourite because I only know a few of the units involved (the 82nd, the 101, the 1st Airborne and the Polish Brigade), but Market-Garden always brings to my mind the scene in A Bridge Too Far in which General Horrocks stands in front of a big room of XXX Corps officers and jovially declares: “Gentlemen, this is a story you will tell your grandchildren…and mightily bored they’ll be.”

Unfortunatley our last thread was closed. Continue posting your idea on here but REMAIN ON TOPIC! Nothing to political or controversial.

Italian troops were greatly important in policing the Balkans. Italy had around 200,000 troops in the Balkan States. After 1943 Germany did not have the man power for the occupational duties the Balkans required.

@Col:

With the ME 262 seemingly winning the poll, eyebrows should be raised at the fact that the ME 262’s closest rival in it’s own catagory, the Gloster Meteor was unfairly banned from the poll.

I’m surprised that a jet is the winner. I came close to not including the Me 262.  I may just be old school.

Col Cool, i have named you the Poll Cop- always fighting poll injustice.