Thread: WW2 qusetions

Yes, the Austrians did fight for Germany, as the vast majority were German speakers and that was the reason Adolf used for the annexation was that they were german speakers and he was simply re-uniting them back into the fold of Greater Germany.

As to actual troop numbers you will have to refer to a greater authority than I, , but they had heaps and heaps of troops, as the whole nation was geared to the war effort and anyone of military age was expected to join up. You have to remember that Germany was really fighting on 4 fronts, Europe, Russia and the Balkins, The Med, and in Africa.

Certainly they were gearing for war for some considerable time, when the rest of the world was gearing down as we had just finished the war to end all wars (WWI) so yes the Allies had to play catch up very quickly, a good example is Malta, when the Germans attacked they were confronted with Biplanes against the German modern airforce....do a google search for Faith, Hope and Charity the last three Biplanes left defending Malta.

Not all the blame for WWII can be laid at the Germans door, if we had been a little bit more leanent following WWI the next war may never had happened as the German nation was really facing extinction, massive unemployment (due to the Frech seizing all their Industrial industries, The Ruhr Valley,) run away inflation, and the loss of all their provinces, all of which were German speaking ( We never learnt our lesson cos the smae thing happened following the end of WWII)

Originally Posted by RobHay

so yes the Allies had to play catch up very quickly, a good example is Malta, when the Germans attacked they were confronted with Biplanes against the German modern airforce....do a google search for Faith, Hope and Charity the last three Biplanes left defending Malta.

I know this story well
I am part maltese, and my dad at the age of nine lived through the bombings

Originally Posted by skidmark77

Just a quick question about WW2
How many troops did the Nazis actually have? did the Austrians fight with them after they were annexed? Obviously they were better prepared than us, so we were playing catch up. Just been reading up on the war and trying to get a picture of their troop numbers as opposed to their population

Andrew

Andrew

Something like 13 Million uniformed troops served with Germany during 1939 - 1945. Feldgrau :: Heer - The Army 1935-1945

You will remember that something like 50 million people died including 25 million Russians.

Every state that Germany occupied during the conflict supplied troops to the Wehrmacht and the Waffen SS, including Great Britain. There were something like 1.6 million deaths within the German military and 3 or 4 times that number of wounded.

Yes the Germans were better prepared, but only started re-building their armed forces after Hitler became Chancellor in 1934. After WW1 and with the Versailles Treaty, the rest of the world had become complacent. The western Allies didn't start re-arming till something like 1937 or 1938. and the US only about 1939.

Hope this helps.

Diana

Total numbers of troops serving Germany and allies would be almost impossible to tally. As Diana said, all occupied nations provided troops and record keeping and record survival would be chaotic at best in the countries outside Germany-Austria. I query the figure of 1.6 million as one respected historian wrote that 5% of the prewar German population by 1945 was dead or missing on the Eastern Front alone, 3 to 4 million. Only 5500 POW's were recorded as returning from Russia, some of them twenty years after the war. There were supposedly over 200,000 prisoners taken at Stalingrad alone, half of whom were dead in matter of months from exposure, starvation, execution, untreated wounds and disease.

Somewhat related questions.


Is their a reason Warner Brothers named the characters Tom and Jerry?

I know is would have been a post war world but feel the names would have been slightly touchy for a few ex servicemen of the time?

Why was Tom the evil, dumb cat and Jerry the lovable, ingenious mouse?

Are these cartoons part of a 1950's Neo Nazi propaganda machine?

Originally Posted by Numpty's Missus

Apparently Hitler was elected by a majority of 1
Imagine how different things may have been if 2 people had voted differently

according to the "world at war" documentary series hitler wasn't elected head of germany, he was asked to fill the position and did. he then went about setting himself up as a dictator or whatever he classed himself as.

i only just starting watching it again the other night and is the first time i heard that part and i have seen it several times so it stuck in my head...

Originally Posted by dobbo

Somewhat related questions.


Is their a reason Warner Brothers named the characters Tom and Jerry?

I know is would have been a post war world but feel the names would have been slightly touchy for a few ex servicemen of the time?

Why was Tom the evil, dumb cat and Jerry the lovable, ingenious mouse?

Are these cartoons part of a 1950's Neo Nazi propaganda machine?

The 1st Tom and Jerry cartoon was released in 1941
Hanna-Barbera held a in house contest to name the cat and mouse which was won by animator John Carr and the series went into production with the 1st episode called The Midnight Snack

Originally Posted by defenderkev

The 1st Tom and Jerry cartoon was released in 1941
Hanna-Barbera held a in house contest to name the cat and mouse which was won by animator John Carr and the series went into production with the 1st episode called The Midnight Snack

So can anyone say when were the allied troops first refered to as Tommies and "zee germonz" "Jerries" was it a result of the ongoing conflicts depicted in the cartoon's or were the characters named after the popularity in the battlefield terminology.