What do you think about World War 2?

Answer 1

Soldiers who served in World War II had varying opinions on the things they experienced while they were deployed. Many still have flashbacks and nightmares regarding the things they saw, while others only recall brave actions carried out by themselves and others.

Answer 2

The American Soldier was either drafted or enlisted voluntarily. For the most part they were gutsy and fairly well trained *. The men were sent to either the Pacific Theater of Operation or the European Theater of Operation. The average age of the US soldier was 20 years old though the marjority of them were under twenty. The officers were usually college grads or had an expertise in a certain area or had a level of experience needed to be an officer. They averaged from age 24 to 45. Some of the officers were call 9 week wonders because that is all the officer training they got. The Regular Army officers and enlisted "grunts" did not favor those officers. *some GIs got into the war late and were not as well trained as the ones drafted or enlisted early

The American GI was known for being formidable and capable of thinking up solutions to quirky or difficult problems. One example is the "rhino tank attachment" used to get through the hedge rows of Normandy France or clever ways to build bridges or airfields. The Rhino Tank attachment was made by taking the metal materials from the beaches of Normandy which General Rommel had used to stop the Allies from gaining access to the French coast. So they used the metal of the enemy to combat the enemy. That was typical of the US Soldier. The US GIs in the Pacific Islands would use also captured Japanese construction equipment to build airfields or defeat the enemy.

Many GIs admitted to being scared and a lot of GIs did get post traumatic stress disorder during the war and some had it after the war. Some were able to get past it and return to the war front, others had to be sent to hospitals and home.

The Generals varied according to their personalities. General Patton was a hard charging tank commander but suffered from being politically incorrect. General Bradley was a great strategic general and more cautious than Patton and definitely more of a diplomat. General Eisenhower was the diplomat of 5 star quality and he was good at strategy and dealing with the tensions between the Generals and other officers.

Most enlisted and drafted GIs who were not Commissioned Officers or Enlisted officers hated the disparity of treatment of the soldiers. The Officers were treated with perks and deluxe advantages whereas the "grunts" (as they were called) got the shaft when it came to time off, food, quality of life and racial treatment. Oddly enough, the blacks were segregated until Eleanor Roosevelt had an impact on FDR and the Army. They were finally allowed to fight, fly and do important jobs. Incidentally, the blacks won more metals as aviators and fighters than did their white counterparts, who thought they were sub-humans.

The soldiers of England were steeped in the tradition of the Royal military services handed down from generation to generation. They were proud, considered themselves better than the American GIs (which was true in some circumstances and not true in other circumstances). The American GIs considered themselves to be better or as good as the Royal soldiers. The Generals thought all American Generals were idiots and the troops were useless. Eisenhower saw through all this chaos between to two countries' generals and realized the top English general Field Marshal Montgomery was slow, overly cautious but a great strategic planner. The US generals could outdo FM Montgomery most of the time. He was also responsible for the failure to tell the US Generals about the hedgerows and other problems they could encounter in Normandy. He was blamed for the deaths of 40 thousand GIs (including Brits and Canadians and Scots) in the Normandy invasion, yet the Brits hailed him as the best of the best.

General MacArthur in the Pacific was successful but most GIs and officers did not like MacArthur and neither did Admirals Nimitz and Halsey. The GI's in the Pacific were brave, able to fight against a foe that was better than them in experience and different from them. The ingenuity of the allied soldiers saved their hide. The Marines however out shined the Army soldiers and the soldiers revered them back then.

Another group of GIs you need to know about were the Australian and New Zealand GIs. They were very capable, smart and able to fight the hard to beat Germans and Japanese soldiers. They could handle the hot climates and harsh outdoor environs better than the US and UK soldiers. They won copious amounts of battles in the Pacific, Africa, Italy, Europe and Asia. They had the can do attitude of the Americans and did not hesitate to go after a formidable enemy or use innovative methods to defeat the enemy. They were friendly and many Aussies kept their friendships with their US allies for many decades. They had good generals too.

The French Soldiers suffered from having ancient old Generals who did not understand modern warfare or care about the troops. The generals were guilty of living in the headquarters and not fully supporting their troops properly or training them well. The troop morale was horrendous. Their Maginot Line was a joke against the modern warfare equipment, planes and ships and subs of the Nazi forces. They were not the army they should have been. General DeGaulle took credit for wining the battle in Paris when it was really due to the success of the French GI's and the resistance fighters and the local people.

The Nazi Soldiers were the best. They were well trained, experienced and had phenomenal tactics, training and war fighting equipment. They had good planes and tanks. Their submarines were ancient but they sure sunk a lot of ships.

(I know that is navy.) They were very hard for the Allies to defeat. Adolf Hitler ran the war and he made a lot of tragic, terrible mistakes that cost him the war. He was a very bad leader and did not adequately support his troops and was unable to fight a two front war as the Allied Forces could do. Some of the Nazi GIs loved to fight and love the war but most had been forced to fight and wanted to go home. If they did not fight they were shot for treason. There were many very evil, cruel soldiers who committed very cruel atrocities but the average soldier was not normally part of the war crimes.

The Japanese Soldiers were dedicated and willing to fight to the death. They were indoctrinated to be warriors and to think a certain way from the time they were nine years old. They were taught never to surrender but rather to commit suicide to avoid capture or to achieve a victory for the Emperor. They fought for the Emperor Hirohito not just an ideal or for freedom as the Allied Soldiers did. The Japanese considered the allied people to all be sub-humans. The did not understand the allied military personnel or their ways. They were extremely difficult to defeat. Most of the aviators were well trained until the Allies killed the well trained pilots. The next batch of aviators were inferior to the US and other allied aviators.

The Japanese were very cruel to their captors and hundreds of thousand died at the hands of the Japanese Soldiers in many ways. Many were prosecuted for their war crimes. They did not believe in the Geneva Convention and did not follow the protocols of the Geneva Convention.

The Russian Soldiers were numerous (in the millions) and they were well trained and able to defeat the Germans with their new tanks, planes, guns and ammo and of course their smarts. They outsmarted the Germans many times and they also let the harsh winter kill off their enemy (brilliant, no need to die themselves when they can let Mother Nature kill off their enemy). Stalin was smarter than Adolf Hitler and let his Generals call the shots to fight the war. They defeated the Germans with great flair. The had more to conquer than the Western Allies and they did a tremendous job of it. The average GI was a draftee but they were hard charging and motivated. The Generals were good considering Stalin had killed the best generals before the war.

The Russian soldiers had modern good equipment and they used it well. They were better supplied and rewarded than the Nazi counterparts. Their strategies could defeat the well entrenched Nazis.

In all of the war, most of the soldiers who fought in the war believed in their nations' reasons for warring and they did a good job. Sadly, one side had to win and it was the Allies who won due to their ability to create massive amounts of war equipment, medical supplies, provide oil and fuels and food and medical care and recruit millions of people to deal with both war fronts. They also had millions of people on the home fronts that were doing an exceptional job putting out war stuff and food. The Allies were also allowed to take care of situations as they arose whereas the Nazis and Japanese had their hands tied. The Japanese Soldiers and Nazi Soldiers were not given the freedom to create innovative ways and tools to defeat the enemy. They were not properly supplied due to their leaders' inability to supply them or because the Allies sunk their ships or destroyed their war making abilities.

Answer 3

World War 2 has many lasting legacies socially, politically, and economically. These legacies affect the world today. The second world war in essence ended the Depression, which FDR failed to end through his economic reforms. WWII caused many new industries to start production of war materials, which helped the economy greatly. World War II also gave birth to nuclear weapons. Weapons of mass destruction weren't used before this, but now nuclear weapons are always an option for warring nations. The government and society always has to think twiceabut getting into a war because of the threat of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons have also led to increasing protest to war by society. "World War II was an awful war - Just awful!" Ken Burns.

Answer 4

World War II soldiers were often very young, perhaps 20 or 21 years old. By the end of the war, they were very well trained. Hundreds of thousands had combat experience.