Why do some Americans believe they single handedly won WW2?

[Foxfyre]

This is where it's best analyzed as looking at what would have happened had each of the allies not contributed.
Yes, the Germans would have won if not for the Americans. But the same could be said of the English, and the Russians.
America would not have invaded "fortress Europe" without the English providing a base of attack.

Montgomery drove Rommel across most of Africa before the Americans ever engaged him there. Americans often want to paint Montgomery as a prima dona and not all that important to the war effort but those who do that do not appreciate how much the British did contribute to their share of winning that terrible war. But then Brits also naturally look to their own glory without appreciating how much the Americans were also needed.

And yes, if Hitler had not foolishly ordered a Russian campaign in the dead of winter in the middle of it all, seriously draining the German resources and resulting in a decisive Russian victory, the war could have been prolonged much longer.

Competent students of history do not make the mistake of overlooking all contributions to the war..

One fictitious but telling war movie properly grants appreciation to both Brits and Yanks besides being a very entertaining movie is "Where Eagles Dare." Filmed and released in 1968 it isn't a true story and is based on the book by the same name, but it is still a really good movie.

 

[The Duke]

America provided arms, cars, ships, etc and really ramped up manufacturing so was a key player in WWII. That being said, it was cooperation of all the allied forces in sharing the development of weaponry tech that really made a difference. Hitler did not have that advantage.

Well, that manufacturing capability needs to return, yesterday.
The NAFTA people were traitors. Every president from Reagan to Trump has been.

 

[meaner gene]

How the fuck would Germans have invaded the US from Britain? Seriously, I'm interested.

WWII was about Germany taking Europe, not the world.
The US was safe (at least for decades) from being invaded by either Germany or Japan.

But with Japan controlling the pacific, and Germany controlling Europe and the atlantic. The next target would have been South America, not North America.

 

[ShahdagMountains]

You don't even live on the island.

Yes l know that, but…..

Don’t forget, you were British once.

 

[ShahdagMountains]

WWII was about Germany taking Europe, not the world.
The US was safe (at least for decades) from being invaded by either Germany or Japan.

But with Japan controlling the pacific, and Germany controlling Europe and the atlantic. The next target would have been South America, not North America.

Blah blah.

 

[meaner gene]

Montgomery drove Rommel across most of Africa before the Americans ever engaged him there. Americans often want to paint Montgomery as a prima dona and not all that important to the war effort but those who do that do not appreciate how much the British did contribute to their share of winning that terrible war. But then Brits also naturally look to their own glory without appreciating how much the Americans were also needed.

WWII is best seen like a relay race. With each of the allies just one leg.
While true the Americans ran the "anchor leg" to victory. They wouldn't have been in the running without the support of the other legs.

America helped, both through lend lease at the beginning, and their warfighting at the end.

 

[Meathead]

WWII was about Germany taking Europe, not the world.
The US was safe (at least for decades) from being invaded by either Germany or Japan.

But with Japan controlling the pacific, and Germany controlling Europe and the atlantic. The next target would have been South America, not North America.

Both tactically and strategically that makes no fucking sense. I tire of ill-informed idiots.
The Germans couldn't take Britain and the Japs couldn't tale Hawaii after Midway. WTF were they going to take S. America?

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Yes l know that, but…..

Don’t forget, you were British once.

I was never British The Family name comes from there and that is all.

 

[Kruska]

It seems to crop up quite a few times where posters claim everyone would be speaking German if the US hadn't won WW2.

Time for America to get over its WWII nostalgia

It was the nadir of human history, not a Saturday morning cartoon

theweek.com

There's nothing wrong with an interest in history. But the distorted and chauvinist way the war's history has been presented in the popular imagination is a major problem. It's long since time Americans adopted a more realistic and sensible attitude towards World War II.

The greatest error of historical fact in America's popular interpretation of the war is the idea that the United States won it pretty much single-handedly.

So despite actual history, do you still believe America single-handedly won WW2? Why? Is it something school taught you or your parents? Genuinely would like to know.

Americans indeed tend to overplay the role they had in the Western European theater - in regards to defeating Nazi-Germany

The Soviets already had the Germans on the run from end of 1942 onward - with no chances left for Austrian to win that war. The UK could indeed have waited it out on their island - leaving it up to Stalin to take over "liberate" Europe.

I am convinced that Churchill could see this coming, after having won the BoB and thus evaded a German invasion onto Britain, and therefore kept urging the Americans to come in, so as to stop Stalin from taking all the spoils - since the UK could not have stopped him. The Austrian having declared war onto the USA, had helped him tremendously in this aspect.

Therefore it was indeed vital for the UK and France, to get the USA into the European theater. Not just to join into the defeat of Nazi-Germany, but factually preventing Stalin aka Communism from taking over Western-Europe. I guess that this was in Roosevelt's foremost interest, his factual motivation, since it must have been a huge concern for him as well.

 

[Foxfyre]

Well, that manufacturing capability needs to return, yesterday.
The NAFTA people were traitors. Every president from Reagan to Trump has been.

I think our modern generation most of which has never been personally involved in combat doesn't truly appreciate how important it is that the USA be able to produce its own resources for its own national security.

Should the unthinkable happen and we find ourselves in war with China, the fact that China furnishes so many of the products and components necessary for us to fight a war would put us immediately at terrible risk. Without the manufacturing capabilities we had in the 1930s and 40s, it would take a dangerously, probably disastrously, long time to get manufacturing operations up and running here.

Then all we had to do was retool tractor manufacturing operations--they made all their own components and parts--to make military vehicles, tanks, etc. That took weeks instead of months or years to do and otherwise repurpose manufacturing processes for the war effort.

 

[Stryder50]

Montgomery drove Rommel across most of Africa before the Americans ever engaged him there. Americans often want to paint Montgomery as a prima dona and not all that important to the war effort but those who do that do not appreciate how much the British did contribute to their share of winning that terrible war. But then Brits also naturally look to their own glory without appreciating how much the Americans were also needed.

And yes, if Hitler had not foolishly ordered a Russian campaign in the dead of winter in the middle of it all, seriously draining the German resources and resulting in a decisive Russian victory, the war could have been prolonged much longer.

Competent students of history do not make the mistake of overlooking all contributions to the war..

One fictitious but telling war movie properly grants appreciation to both Brits and Yanks besides being a very entertaining movie is "Where Eagles Dare." Filmed and released in 1968 it isn't a true story and is based on the book by the same name, but it is still a really good movie.

Battle of El Alamein was only a couple weeks before Torch landings in NorthWest Africa, and took a while for Montgomery to reach Tunisia. German retreat Westward because of Torch landings had much to do with Monty's drive, not to mention the tanks(Shermans) and aircraft the USA had sent to him.

Hitler ordered Barbarossa start in June, but failed to focus enough on Moscow before winter hit. All Soviet railroads funneled through Moscow and taking such would have crimped Soviet ability to shift troops and supplies along the fronts.

Also didn't help that Stalin had most of the military deployed on the border instead of in depth behind. Made it possible for the Germans to surround most of them right from the start. It was USA Lend-Lease to Russia that helped them put a stop to German advances and then begin counter-attacks.

 

[meaner gene]

Blah blah.

Your wasted words will never be heard
Go on home, baby, and watch it on TV

 

[ShahdagMountains]

I was never British The Family name comes from there and that is all.

British Empire and all that.

 

[The Duke]

Yes l know that, but…..

Don’t forget, you were British once.

Well...there is some of that. The British people better stand up because their government is fucking them coming and going.
They live in a total surveillance state with like online mods being bobbies but actually arresting people,
hatespeech laws are of the devil, they can't have weapons, and their government is importing Muslims into their country
and they are are at a high percentage there. That's a huge problem.
Islam is a world domination plan masquerading as a religion.

 

[ShahdagMountains]

Your wasted words will never be heard
Go on home, baby, and watch it on TV

Everything’s wasted on you, you stupid sok.

 

[ShahdagMountains]

Well...there is some of that. The British people better stand up because their government is fucking them coming and going.
They live in a total surveillance state with like online mods being bobbies but actually arresting people,
hatespeech laws are of the devil, they can't have weapons, and their government is importing Muslims into their country
and they are are at a high percentage there. That's a huge problem.
Islam is a world domination plan masquerading as a religion.

Yes, you are correct about all that.

I’m in one of my former colonies right now , and l don’t like what’s been going on here the past few years. A country l championed through thick and thin. Maybe the rot set in with Biden. The worst chapter in American history, IMO.

 

[Meathead]

Battle of El Alamein was only a couple weeks before Torch landings in NorthWest Africa, and took a while for Montgomery to reach Tunisia. German retreat Westward because of Torch landings had much to do with Monty's drive, not to mention the tanks(Shermans) and aircraft the USA had sent to him.

Hitler ordered Barbarossa start in June, but failed to focus enough on Moscow before winter hit. All Soviet railroads funneled through Moscow and taking such would have crimped Soviet ability to shift troops and supplies along the fronts.

Also didn't help that Stalin had most of the military deployed on the border instead of in depth behind. Made it possible for the Germans to surround most of them right from the start. It was USA Lend-Lease to Russia that helped them put a stop to German advances and then begin counter-attacks.

The reason Operation Barbarossa didn't take place before the winter hit is because of the heroic resistance of the Greeks for which Hitler had to divert his troop to the southern flanks in Mussolini's failure. In fact, Hitler once uttered, "Let it not be said that the Spartans fought like Greeks, but the Greeks fought like Spartans."

There are few higher words that could be uttered by the victorious than that.

 

[meaner gene]

Then all we had to do was retool tractor manufacturing operations--they made all their own components and parts--to make military vehicles, tanks, etc. That took weeks instead of months or years to do and otherwise repurpose manufacturing processes for the war effort.

This is a situation the US, and frankly all other countries haven't prepared for. No nation is capable of producing the number of 5th generation fighter aircraft that would support an all out war. Both sides would expend their inventory in weeks or months, with replacements not being manufactured in sufficient numbers for years.

The instruments of war were so much simpler back then. Today if you can't get the microchips from Taiwan, military manufacturing couldn't produce the first rate smart weapons.

 

[odanny]

Can you imagine today's republican response to Lend Lease?

I hate to even consider making the comparison of two tyrants joining forces, so I must refrain.

 

[The Duke]

I hate to even consider making the comparison of two tyrants joining forces, so I must refrain.

I bet you don't even believe your own baloney.