this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2024
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[–] PP_BOY_ 39 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (5 children)

This kind of "America did nothing in WW2" rhetoric is almost as r-word'ed as "America soloed WW2." You're an idiot if you think America was "years late" and didn't play a huge role in the European front. Not even to address the Pacific Theatre.

[–] Earthwormjim91 18 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Even prior to direct military entry, the US was providing mass amounts of aid to fight the Axis. We were giving the UK destroyers, arms, and ammunition immediately after the Nazi invasion of Poland, gave billions to China to help fight the Japanese invasion, and started arming the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease as soon as Germany invaded them.

We also deployed to Iceland to take over the Brits’ post there so they could free up troops to the mainland.

Even ignoring the European front, which is stupid, the US was instrumental in the African front and neutralizing Italy.

But nah, the US kicking ass and stacking bodies on 3 different fronts wasn’t important to winning the war. Nope.

[–] agent_flounder 5 points 11 months ago

Likewise (related to aid) churning out liberty ships at the rate of 3 ships every other day to counter lost cargo ships was totally superfluous and not at all crucial for England.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Everyone knows both world wars were won by a single anthropomorphic 1911 pistol.

[–] crashoverride 1 points 11 months ago

Not to mention the Britain was actually winning the war when we entered it

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Selling the UK destroyers, arms, and ammunition.

Congress wasn't so keen on taking a side until forced to.

[–] PP_BOY_ 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] PP_BOY_ 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Y-you're telling me that America wasn't willing to just give away billions of dollars in aid in the middle of the worst economic disaster in the county's history???

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Yes, exactly. Did you read the comment I originally replied to which claims the opposite?

[–] RatoGBM 17 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I lived in Russia, and in History class I was taught that Stalin singlehandedly showed up to save those poor helpless Europeans from bloody nazis, because it was the right thing to do.

When I loved in Europe, it were the Jewish partisans who won WW2 through brain drain on Germany, and the stupid Nazis killed themselves.

In the US I found out that the thing in Europe was typical Medieval European Kingdoms in a fight, and the real high-tech stuff was in the Pacific.

Now as a programmer, I know who truly won WW2: it was our legendary bro Alan all along.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago (1 children)

WW2 was won with British Intelligence, American steel and Russian blood.

[–] kSPvhmTOlwvMd7Y7E 0 points 11 months ago

Unfair to Ukrainians, Belorussians and baltic countries!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

If you haven't read it, 'Cryptonomicon' by Neal Stephenson sounds like it would be your kind of book. The story alternates between the grandfather, who helped protect the Enigma secret from the Nazis, to the grandson, who is trying to start an online bank. There is hidden treasure, heroic US Marines, mysterious wizards, and tooth extractions.

[–] meant2live218 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Is the cryptonomicon referencing actual cryptography, or cryptocurrency nonsense? The Enigma is cryptography, but the online bank thing makes me think it'll touch the cryptocurrency stuff.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

The book came out around 1998, so it might have invented the idea of cryptocurrency.

After I read it, I discussed it with another fellow. He told me that he'd shown one passage to his wife, an astrophysics student. She showed it to her professor, who told her that this was advanced math.

Try it for yourself.

[–] chimasterflex 5 points 11 months ago (5 children)

Ok so I'm by far an expert on world wars but from I understand, America did play a rather isolationist position prior to pearl harbor. We can agree that politically America had some pull on things going on in Europe but they didn't actively put boots on the ground until shit got really close. Giving others weapons to fight with is one thing. Sacrificing your own lives for the world is a different one

[–] Buffalox 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Yes WW2 started in 1939, and Pearl Harbor was in december 1941. So it took 2 years for USA to get involved. But USA was such a massive influence, because their industrial output was without comparison bigger than anything else in the world. It was bigger than Europe combined. USA was also a major factor in keeping the trans Atlantic traffic open, and defeating the German submarines. D-Day would have been impossible without USA, as USA was the biggest force. USA also suffered the most losses in operation overlord, with almost twice the casualties and killed as UK. All that is apart from doing by far the most in the effort against Japan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Overlord

It's denigrating to the American effort to call that waltzing in.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (2 children)
[–] PP_BOY_ 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Some would say 1935, with the invasion of Ethiopia. There's also a large body of historians who view WW1 and WW2 as being a single event. To sort of piggy-back off my above reply, the idea that WW2 "began" in 1939 is as Anglocentric as Americans thinking it started in 1941.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Supposedly, Foch said the WW1 Armistice wasn't peace, it was a 20 year truce.

[–] Buffalox 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Funny how different countries have different traditions.

[–] Buffalox 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I've always just seen 1939 as the beginning of WW2, and I've never seen it questioned since I learned about it in school in the 70's. But maybe it's seen different in Asia. And yes we also learned about the truce that was forced on the Germans, so that's been taken into account all along. It's still WWI and WW2, not WWI 1914-1945.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

If you want an interesting novel, try 'Night Soldiers' by Alan Furst. Young Bulgarian boy is killed by local fascists. His brother is then recruited by the Russians to be a spy. He's sent to Spain to help fight Franco. Enjoy.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

If it wasn’t for the supply shipments to Britain, they likely would have lost before things got close in the first place. Note it wasn’t just weapons but also food and medical supplies.

Edit: Also, the shipments were regularly attacked by German U-boats, so there absolutely was risk to American lives still.

[–] PP_BOY_ 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

America did play a rather isolationist position prior to pearl harbor.

Britain did play a rather isolationist position prior to the invasion of Poland. It's just a feature of diplomacy to avoid armed conflict at all costs. Kind of like when Britain secured "peace for our time" by offering Czechoslovakia to Hitler as a Sacrificial Lamb..

they didn't actively put boots on the ground until shit got really close.

False comparison. There was no alternative to "boots on the ground" for the European Allies when the war happened in their backyard, but there was certainly an alternative to the U.S. offering a quarter-trillion dollars (adjusted) in aid to Europe.

[–] rockSlayer 4 points 11 months ago

The US Merchant Marines were sinking German U-boats nearly a year before the US declared war.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago

Yeah they wanted the UK to give it all its patents first. They got paid off.

[–] crashoverride 3 points 11 months ago

Just say retarded, man.