Diamond Day

Clio calls.

June 6th, 1944, it was a day. The Longest Day according to some because (of course) advance units were already in motion on June 5th.

I duly bemoan the sad state of Historical Pedagogy (minds out of the gutter folks, could have used "instruction" but I like to be obnoxious) that allows the Atlantic Powers (I'm looking at you England and France too) to imagine that it was in any way (except one I shall mention at the end) pivotal and critical to the defeat of the European Axis Powers.

Nazi Germany was already beaten and had been for years.

Comrades! Allow me to send you greetings from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Worker's Paradise! Each Independent Republic is a Representative Democracy of the Proletariat with a delegation in the United Federation. Political Parties? There is only one Political Party, just the way Madison and Jefferson intended.

WE ARE NOT RUSSIA!

Perish the thought.

The Red Steamroller

On June 22nd, 1941, Germany launched an attack on the Soviet Union. Poorly organized and led after recent purges and armed with slightly inferior equipment for the same reason, the Soviets suffered defeat after defeat as the Germans seemed able to attack at will.

The thing is though, the USSR is big, really big, and there are many distractions. The German offensive ground to a halt in the Fall rain and mud.

On December 2nd a German Combat Engineer Patrol reached Khimki. Scouts claimed they could see the Domes of the Kremlin. It was the closest they would get.

On December 5th the Red Army began the Moscow Strategic Offensive Operation.

What the Soviets had learned from their chief spy in Tokyo, Richard Sorge, in mid-September, was that Japan was committing a maximum effort to it's Offensive on the United States and Britain in the Pacific (the action actually started with the Bombardment of Kota Bharu, 50 minutes before Pearl Harbor). They took 18 divisions, 1,700 tanks, and over 1,500 aircraft away from Siberian border where they had been held in Reserve (Japanese thrashed spineless corrupt Romanov oppressors in 1905) and transferred them West.

The Germans were taken by complete surprise and hampered by exceptionally low temperatures. In late December the Luftwaffe was able to achieve at least parity with the Red Army Air Force after ceding control of the Air for weeks. German lines stabilized about 62 - 155 miles behind their initial positions. Operations ceased around January 7th, 1942.

There were more purges, German ones, and Hitler assumed direct control of the Military, bypassing his General Staff which was re-populated by reliable yes-men.

Here's another date- February 2nd, 1943. That was the end of Stalingrad, a place of no strategic importance whatsoever until Hitler decided to make a statement and lost a reinforced Army or two. Where are my Legions Varus? To be fair Hitler was no more strategically misdirected than the norm (consider Churchill's "soft underbelly"), though he was remarkably persistent which is not an advantage if you have limited resources.

How about August 23rd, 1943? That was the end of the Battle of Kursk. Germany was never again able to mount an Offensive Campaign in the East.

June 6th, 1944? Important to be sure but mostly in that Conan sense-

What is best in life?

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear their lamentations.

The Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation began on January 12th, 1945 with the Vistula–Oder Offensive. By April 30th Hitler was dead and by May 3rd the German garrison surrendered.

Had Operation Overlord failed Germany still would have fallen.

Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.

Pivotal

I did mention there was a way in which the Invasion at Normandy was pivotal and that is this-

Without it you would have Vodka and Borscht as well as Vin and Baguettes in the Café on the Champs-Élysées.

(Of course it's cross- posted at DocuDharma and The Stars Hollow Gazette- ek)

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Brave and heroic yes. Necessary? No.

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US casualties were barely 1% of Soviet casualties. D Day invasion was not only unnecessary but would have been totally impossible without incredible damage that the Soviets did to the German war machine and personnel, about 75% destroyed. Surviving Germans from D day have verified this. With the Luftwaffe at strength and the German army at strength D day would have resulted in a huge pile of dead Americans, Canadians and Brits. And the warships would have been a grave for the sailors. The Allied invasion was all about stopping the Soviets, as indeed was the horrendous use of nuclear bombs on civilian populations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And yet the Russians (a critical part of the partnership of the three major Allies) were not invited to the D day celebrations, but the Germans were. And the war against Russia goes on, and now against China. No sacrifice of the citizens of other nations is too great a price to pay to fight Russia. Everything changes and nothing changes.

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Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.

snoopydawg's picture

@The Wizard

waited so long to do D Day. After Russia had almost destroyed and contained the German army Roosevelt was worried that Russia would then take over Germany and then Europe. It was best to watch which army came out on top and hopefully both armies would kill men on both sides.

ETA this is from Moon of Alabama yesterday. It's close to what I read somewhere.

Since they were attacked by the Germans in 1941 the Soviets had pressed their allies to open a western front against Germany. In 1943, after the defeat of the Germans in Stalingrad and the failure of their counter attack in the Battle of Kursk, it became obvious that the Soviets would defeat the Nazi forces. At the Tehran conference in November 1943 Stalin pressed Roosevelt and Churchill again to finally open a western front. Knowing that the Soviets would win over Germany they agreed to launch their invasion in May 1944.

The U.S. dominated western Europe ever since and quite successfully indoctrinated it with its false version of history.

But of course Hitler would never have been able to do what he did without the help from Ford, Prescott Bush, the banks and big corporations. Gee...kinda like how Isis and Al Qaida wouldn't be able to do what they do without help from us and our allies huh? That people can be so blausay about how their actions will end up killing people is beyond my comprehension. There is no way I can wrap my mind around it.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

The Aspie Corner's picture

to take down the Soviet Union. When that failed, we did what we do with any client or proxy that fails us: Bomb their asses to the stone age.

Here's another little known fact: It was Stalin's invasion of Manchuria that stopped Japan, not the A-bombs we dropped on them. But don't let your average pro-capitalist and pro-fascist historian or demographer catch you saying that.

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

@The Aspie Corner
before either the A bombs or Soviet intervention. Factories in the cities Lemay burned were producing virtually nothing because American naval forces, particularly submarines, had established an effective blockade around Japan some time before.

On the other hand there were a substantial number of Japanese who preferred death to surrender. Even after all that had happened a cabal tried to prevent the emperor's broadcast of Japanese surrender.

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Lookout's picture

https://therealnews.com/stories/d-day-how-the-us-supported-hitlers-rise-...
(text or video/audio)

Paul Jay and author Peter Kuznick discuss, D-Day was also the moment where the United States' opposition to communism could no longer outweigh its tacit acceptance of Nazism, and the U.S. industrialists who helped rearm Germany after World War I could no longer profit from Hitler's Germany.

“In the aftermath of [World War I], there was such strong anti-war sentiment throughout Europe and throughout the United States that people were very, very loath to get involved in another war, and they were willing to tolerate things they perhaps shouldn't have,” Kuznick said. “The attitude in the United States was that the United States had been effectively suckered into the war by the munitions manufacturers and the bankers. That instead of it being a noble cause to make the world safe for democracy, to fight the war to end all wars, it was really a war to secure the vast Morgan loans to the British and the French and way to fatten the coffers of DuPont and the other munitions makers.”

...and Russia who primarily won WWII and China, who suffered mightily, were not invited to the WWII celebration? Seems about right doesn't it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdl1Rp6u09Y (7.5 min)

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

ggersh's picture

@Lookout especially since the Wilson admin has pretty
much been one huge lie.

wilson was on par w/clinton for being against
the people.

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley