Thread: Type IX/D2
View Single Post
Old 04-06-09, 08:53 AM   #53
Hitman
Pacific Aces Dev Team
 
Hitman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Spain
Posts: 6,099
Downloads: 109
Uploads: 2


Default

Quote:
The funny thing is that if you read Mein Kampf and some other Nazi pre-war propaganda, their main target was Russia, not England. The main plan was to be Britain's ally, this stifled in 1936 with the abdication of King Edward because he was willing to throw in with the Nazis and remake Britain in Germany's image. Churchill and compatriots even set up a secret government in exile in the US to prepare for that eventuality. Had it been discovered it would have resulted in the impeachment and conviction of President Roosevelt, who was quite willing to sacrifice his reputation and presidency to save the free world.

That the Germans chose to attack a nation that they were not prepared to defeat, which they had sympathy for and had no need to antagonize is just one of the more bizzare features of WWII.
Hitler expressed his admiration and sympathy for Britain on many occasions, his target was Russia and the "Drang nach Osten" (Push to the East) his main policy to ensure the "Lebensraum" for his 1000 years Reich. Had Britain not moved a finger for Poland, Hitler would have never engaged Britain or France, but only Russia. And Hitler was until the last moment convinced that Britain would not enter the war, then that it would accept a peace once Germany gave guarantees that Britain was not a target. That partially explains his naval strategy -mainly regarding the U-Boats- because if Britain was not to be the potential enemy, but a land nation like Russia, then of course U-Boats were not a priority.

But Hitler made here his greatest miscalculation, (This one politically, not military) in that he failed to recognize that Britain would never tolerate -as they hadn't in the past 3 centuries- another power as strong as theirs in the continent. Historically Britain engaged in many wars where they had no apparent direct interest, but that were done with just the purpose of preventing any european nation to be powerful enough to challenge them. A 300 years long policy was not going to change just because that little bastard nazi wanted it, and so it all happened again as in WW1. King Edward was just, well, a british King, and that means the most ancient and refined parlamentary monarchy in Europe, or if you prefer it, a monarchy where the King had less to say than the parliament and the government. To further worsen things, Hitler left the job unfinished against Britain after the failed Battle of Britain, and engaged the USSR before being able to call "Britain is finished!" and of course the Empire stroke back.

I have readed recently a very interesting essay about the british empire by Niall Ferguson, but despite his efforts to present Britain as willing to risk their empire for preserving democracy and stability in Europe by engaging germany in WW2, the fact is that the true reasons were less prosaic. Britain knew well that allowing germany to grow too much and become powerful would sooner or later mean a direct confrontation with them, so better to act before they are too strong. The apeacement policy by Chamberlain was just a mirrage, a result of the horrors of WW1 in the public opinion of Britain. But their heartly policy of standing alone in the supremacy of Europe, leaving others disupte while Britain's position remained untouched, was at the heart of what happened after Poland was invaded.

So in fact Hitler did not engage or attack the british, it's them who reacted and said "Enough!" and Hitler was forced to wage war against them.

Oh, and BTW the tutorial for the fleet boats was created using pure german WW2 U-boat tactics for AOB and speed not coincidentally -and as the ONI report of captured U-570 suggests- german UBoats were highly mechanized and had lots of devices to allow rather unexperienced crews man them, so you generally have more gadgets and simplified things aboard an U-boat.
__________________
One day I will return to sea ...
Hitman is offline   Reply With Quote