The 5 Most Widely Believed WWII Facts (That Are Bullshit)

[redgreenandblue]

This will probably get me pounded from the WWII buffs, but here it is:

http://www.cracked.com/article_18389_the-5-most-widely-believed-wwii-facts-that-are-bullshit.html


The 5 Most Widely Believed WWII Facts (That Are Bullshit)

#5. America Won the War Single-Handedly

Claimed By:

Hollywood, WWII-shooters, Cold War politics and chauvinists.

Sixty years of World War II movies, and a decade of WWII video games, have made one thing clear: If it wasn't for America, you'd all be speaking German right now, baby! U-S-A! U-S-A!

Why it's Bullshit:

Because it's like thinking that while many X-Men contributed in their own special way, defeating Magneto really came down to Iceman.

...

[MADem]

1. Your source is Cracked dot com. It's candy, in essence, not serious writing. nt

[Geoff R. Casavant]

2. I disagree -- the tone may be lighthearted and comedic . . .

. . . but if you check the article itself, you'll see link after link to other sources that support the arguments. I'm a regular reader of Cracked, and I can tell you the article in the link is not an anomaly; the Cracked writers are funny, but they do their homework.

[MADem]

16. It makes assumptions not in evidence. No one, save a person who doesn't understand the meaning of

the term "Allies," thinks that USA won the war single-handed, for example.

It's not horrible, it's just simplistic and cartoonish. You paint with a broad brush, you're not gonna get any decent detail.

[truebrit71]

3. But all 5 points are on the money...

....well, except for number 1 maybe...I still think that FDR had an inkling however small...

[fingrinn]

11. My understanding is

That pearl harbor could have been warned if FDR didn't keep the Japanese ambassador waiting for several hours who was about to declare war on America.

[MADem]

18. Only to people who don't know the meaning of the term "Allies."

I don't see how anyone can have even a sloppy, halfassed education in world history and believe the assertion in Number Five. Anyone who lives in, or has lived anywhere in Europe, in UK, Russia, Australia, NZ, etc., etc., would take immediate issue with the assertion that everyone shares these "opinions."

The article makes five "absolutist" statements with the assumption that "everyone" believes them and then proclaims them bullshit. They just don't connect the dots AFAIAC....

[Poll_Blind]

9. Actually, for a comedy site, most of their articles are well-writted and well-cited.

Varies a bit but a number of their freelance writers are very good at turning otherwise esoteric/dry information into something entertaining to read.

Really.

PB

[MADem]

17. It's entertaining, sure, it's just simplistic. Like a cartoon. nt

[slackmaster]

4. That was kind of a let-down

I was hoping to learn something that I didn't already know.

[redgreenandblue]

6. I guess for experts on the subject, it is a let-down.

I for one did learn a thing or two

[slackmaster]

13. I regard myself as well-read and perhaps better informed than average about WWII

But not an expert by any stretch. I'm lucky to have heard many personal histories first-hand. Those people are dropping off at an alarming rate now.

I certainly never had any delusion that the USA won the war single handedly.

[knitter4democracy]

5. I've been wondering why we censor out the USSR for years.

Stalin took on the entire Eastern Front, for crying out loud, and the Soviets lost millions in the war. We hardly mention them most of the time, and it ticks me off.

As for Pearl Harbor, my dad was there (his dad was stationed there, so the family lived there in Navy housing), and he well remembered his parents talking about expecting an attack by sea from the south. I'm not sure FDR knew, but everyone living in Hawaii knew they were a target at the time according to Dad. They just didn't expect it at that time, on a Sunday, and from the air.

[caraher]

7. No fair-minded, knowledgeable WWII buff thinks America won the war single-handedly

Good luck getting ashore in Europe, for instance, without a little thing known as the Red Army bleeding the Nazis white for years on end. As Cracked pointed out... (though I think they're wrong about the Soviets being inevitable winners of the war - being big is no guarantee against a colossal screwup, it's just gives you a great capacity to recover from your blunders).

[WI_DEM]

8. seriously, who really thinks that the US won WWII single handedly

not any serious person.

[denverbill]

14. All Teabaggers, but as you say, not any serious person.

[Posteritatis]

15. I routinely run into Americans who claim that.

Even seen a few here, though not in awhile.

[slackmaster]

19. I can't recall ever hearing anyone say that in my life

Quite the opposite - I have often heard people praise the Soviets, French, British, Dutch, Canadians, and many, many other people for their bravery and contributions to the victory.

[Posteritatis]

23. It's one of those things you might run into more often if you're a foreigner

Most of that particular type of chestthumping tends to get directed outwards; as I said, I've run into it many times. Plenty, indeed most, people down there recognize that the Allies were, well, a group of allies, but even on DU I've had people flip out at me with the "you'd be speaking German if it wasn't for us!" schtick upon seeing I'm Canadian.

[ieoeja]

10. I was expecting the "winter stopped the NAZIs outside Moscow" myth.

When it actually stopped the Soviet counterattack outside Moscow as it shut down the Siberian Railroad. Roughly 10 divisions of over 100 infantry divisions had arrived and were pushing the NAZIs back by themselves. If winter does not shut down the railroad, those other 90 divisions would have made mincemeat of the NAZIs.

Winter gave Germany time to retool. Blitzkrieg is an all-or-nothing strategy. Germany had no reserves prepared and would have been hard pressed to stop the advancing Soviets if winter hadn't shutdown so much.

[Risen Demon]

12. Good read

And I love how they point out the machismo of games like Duke Nukem, and today the Call of Duty franchise. Call of Duty 2, however, was more accurate. You played 3 separate key campaigns: Soviet, British, and USA. Each one puts you in control of one of their military point-men, and each campaign tells about a contribution each allied force made.

After that, it went the direction of American machismo, and unfortunately, these games are being used by recruiters nationwide. Sad, really.

[drm604]

20. I didn't believe any of those 5 things.

Still, it was an interesting read.

[Kindly Refrain]

21. I've always thought Churchill was a jack ass.

[theKed]

22. I haven't read

the article...is any of the 5 that Paul Ryan beat Hitler in fisticuffs? Cause that shit's for real.
I mean, look at those pipes.
American Hero, right there.
Get that man a goddamn medal.