Colin’s Comments (group member since Dec 16, 2012)

Colin’s comments from the THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP group.

Bracken wrote: "Colin wrote: "Crete was closer to Greece, and therefore more easily sustained by air transports and fighter cover. Malta, too far away for fighter cover, also had the largest British fighter baes i..."

Once Barbrossa started, and 2/3 of German supplies, forces and weapons/tanks/aircraft were transferred east, it was a non sequitur. Germany would have had a great chance of another invasion on malta, but the cost of Crete forced Hitler to abandon any airborne assault, and he did not have the naval presence in the Med to alter that reality. If he could not invade the UK in 1940, he was unlikely to succeed after June 1941. In my interviews with senior German officers of all branches, this was their assessment.

I had the great privilege of knowing and interview Jimmy Doolittle, and parts 1 and 2 of that interview were published yeats ago in WW II magazine, and may be online. I still have the Rayban sunglasses he gave me, which he wore during the war. I met my wife wehen we were both covering the Dollittle Raiders reunion in 2002.

happy wrote: "Geevee wrote: "And Monty may have been a good general (I know many will not subscribe to this) but he was a master at rubbing people up the wrong way."

My personal opinion was that he was a master..."

Monty would out race his supplies and communication, and even when he had the advantage, he would wait for that support to catch up. Rommel moved with his supplies close by, using the double envleopment as a protective force for his supplies, and Luftwaffe air cover. Rommel learned quickly that Monty was not taht unusual in his method, so he was able to exploit the rigid minded british wirth his free thinking and intelligent approach to open desert warfare.

Geevee wrote: "I've often wondered Colin what would have happened if "Stafer" Gott had lived - the quirks of history. Did Clade have a view on this, and also the intense effort to continue shooting a downed cras..."

Intel believed that it may have had an SAS team, targeting German runways. They had no idea the staff was on board. I think Gott would have been far more aggressive in his methods than the wait and see Monty method. Gott, from what I have learned, also was a humble man who took suggestions, unlike Monty.

Crete was closer to Greece, and therefore more easily sustained by air transports and fighter cover. Malta, too far away for fighter cover, also had the largest British fighter baes in the Med Theater, with Royal navy protection. That would have been impossible for Hitler to have taken Malta. The same with Gibraltar.

Ironically, Monty only became British commander of 8th Army due to my late friend Emil Clade, of JG-27 shooting down the transport of his predecessor, killing him.

Remember that Operation Market garden, the greatest Western Allied blunder of the war was Monty's brainchild, and he and Browning ignored Dutch underground intelligence, just to risk getting a big headline.

Anthony wrote: "Hello all

My name is Anthony Hill, an Australian author of some 17 books, with an emphasis in recent years on Australian military history, all published by Penguin Books. I live in Canberra, the c..."

You appear to be a kindred spirit, as I also enjoy writing biorgaphies and conducting interviews. Welcome aboard!

The reasons were simple. During both uprising (1943 Jewish and 1944 General) these events tied up two and three German divisions respectively. Bombing Warsaw would only have killed cvilians and Germans. The Soviets were, in 1944 were less then 100 km away, and could have driven into the area and attacked from the flank. Stalin decided to let the Germans root out the Poles, making any future gains and occupation easier. Also, by making the Poles a cause celebre by proxy, it galvanized the Free Polish Army fighting with the Western Allies.

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Members can discuss or post details on any great photo, picture, illustrated or coffee table type books covering the Second World War in this area."

Nice photo of the Me-109F Trop in Mediterranean color scheme.

Check my friend Adam Makos' new book, Voices of the pacific. His previous book was A Higher Call

carl wrote: "Good info on the Finn front Tytti.

Also, I learned a new word: abysmally !"

That word describes my first two marriages

Geevee wrote: "Interesting Rick as I think the Poles certainly helped change the tactics - notably 303 Sqn. There are suggestions that Douglas Bader was first in the RAF to change from Vic to finger-four, but th..."

Moelders did in fact create the finger four, prior to the Battle of Brunette. he usewd the two pairs of fighters (rotte) and created the "schwarm". This allowed for greater attack as well as defensive capabilities, hence the great bloodbath against republican forces in Spain. Likewise, the Poles experienced the method, and later the British during the Battle of France. Do not know if Bader was the first, but they adapted quickly as they lost fighters at a rate of 7 to 1. The "schwarm" also allowed for better visual confirmation of victories.

The interviewees in my book "The German Aces Speak" discussed the BoB. I am now working with Anne on volume 2 of that series, with Rall, Steinhoff and Hrabak who were BoB vets.

You may all want to read my book "Occupation and Insurgency" on the Holocaust from the SS perspective with interviews, focused upon the eastern Front.

I know Eric, a good guy and great historian. We used to have the same agent and publisher.

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I found these figures in regards to German war material sabotaged by Polish forced labour on page 66 quite interesting but wonder how accurate they are:

[spoilers removed]

We have all read accoun..."
Yes, French forces laborers working on the V-2 did the same at the Nordhausen rocket factory. They left notes inside the fins hoping Allied intelligence would gather detaled data on the program.

Tytti, my book "The Star of Africa" will be out in French and Finnish, maybe you should contact the publisher, and get the contract to write the translation? I have an agent who may be interested.

See Galland's chapter in my book "The German Aces Speak", where he discussed the Stalingrad issue with Goering and Wolfrum von Richthofen. Interesting indeed.

Try my friend Bryan Mark Rigg's book "Hitler's Jewish Soldiers"